U.S. tried to build a social media site in Cuba, failed
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration acknowledged Thursday that it had attempted, and failed, to build a Twitter-like social media site in Cuba but insisted that it was part of the Agency for International Development’s effort to encourage political discussions, not a covert program to overthrow the government.
Same-sex marriage opponent Eich steps down as Mozilla’s CEO
A little more than a week after becoming chief executive of Mozilla Corp., Brendan Eich is stepping down after an intense debate over his belief that same-sex couples should not be allowed to marry.
Two women kidnapped from a resort in Malaysia
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Gunmen kidnapped a Chinese tourist and a Filipino hotel worker, both women, from a beach resort on an island off the coast of Malaysian Borneo, the Chinese and Malaysian authorities said Thursday, spurring an international manhunt.
Nest labs stops selling high-tech smoke detector
Nest Labs, the home automation company recently acquired by Google for $3.2 billion, said Thursday that it was halting sales of its smoke and carbon monoxide detector over safety concerns.
April showers, then a return to sunny skies
Spring has finally made an appearance the last few days thanks to a high pressure taking control of the region Tuesday through Thursday, bringing dry weather and spring-like daily high temperatures in the upper 40s to low 50s°F. Today marks a brief change in this pattern as a low pressure system tracks up from the middle Mississippi River Valley and brings rain to our region overnight tonight. Expect a cooler high temperature of 43°F today due to easterly winds and increasing cloud cover ahead of the low. Tomorrow, we’ll see a return to seasonable conditions as the low pressure moves out and another high pressure settles in to take its place (although a chance of showers remains tomorrow morning as the low exits the region). Expect a pleasant weekend with partly sunny to sunny skies and daily highs in the low to mid 50s°F.
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PRAGUE — The Palestinian ambassador to the Czech Republic, who was killed Jan. 1 in an explosion in his new residence here, most likely died after an explosive device he was holding detonated, the Czech police said Monday.
Curbs on data collection get tentative nod
WASHINGTON — A proposal backed by President Barack Obama to constrain the National Security Agency’s systematic collection of Americans’ telephone data drew a cautious welcome Sunday from a key congressional intelligence leader, but she offered a few significant caveats.
Greece clears the way for bailout money after vote
ATHENS, Greece — The Greek Parliament voted narrowly early Monday to back a bitterly contested package of economic changes, clearing the way for the release of further funding considered crucial for a financial rescue, despite a last-minute attempt by the political opposition to postpone the vote.
Summer arrives at last — just kidding
After a terrible weekend of floods and ice pellets, summer has arrived! Expect temperatures in the high 70s°F and unabated sunshine.
Turkey’s premier gets push from party in local elections
ISTANBUL — Even as he faced sweeping anti-government protests last summer and a corruption investigation that challenged his rule, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan held close to the notion that voters had put him in office and would do so again.
UN court orders Japan to halt Antarctic whaling
PARIS — The United Nations’ highest court Monday ordered Japan to halt its annual whaling hunt in the Southern Ocean around Antarctica, saying that its present program was not being carried out for scientific purposes, as Japan has claimed.
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Now that Brazil has introduced vaccines against cervical cancer, more than 80 percent of girls in the Americas can get them, the Pan American Health Organization announced last month.
Asiana airlines: secondary cause of San Francisco crash was bad software
WASHINGTON — While the world has been fixated on the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, the investigation in the crash of another Boeing 777, the Asiana flight into San Francisco last July, is plodding forward, and the Korean carrier is raising arguments that threaten to put another question mark over the jetliner.
Health exchange in Oregon is not meeting high hopes
SALEM, Ore. — As the federal health care overhaul was rolled out over the last few years, Oregon was invariably the eager overachiever in the first row, waving a hand to volunteer. The governor, John Kitzhaber, a doctor who left the emergency room for politics, made health care his main issue. Fellow Democrats controlling the Legislature went along, embracing ambitious plans to extend insurance coverage and Medicaid to low-income residents.
Mild weekend, then return to unseasonable cold
Temperatures were able to reach 52°F (11°C) yesterday in the wake of a warm front passing over New England early Thursday morning. Unfortunately, the same low-pressure system that heralded this warm front also swept a cold front through our region Thursday afternoon as the system moved from southern Quebec into the Canadian Maritimes. Conditions behind this front were slightly cooler, with breezy winds gusting in the 30s mph.
Sexual misconduct case ends with no jail time for general
FORT BRAGG, N.C. — Bringing an end to a closely watched military sexual misconduct trial, a judge on Thursday reprimanded Brig. Gen. Jeffrey A. Sinclair for, among other offenses, mistreating an Army captain who was his mistress, but did not sentence him to jail time and allowed him to remain in the military.
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Less than a month after Netflix insisted that its deal to pay Comcast to get a more direct connection to the company’s Internet pipes had nothing to do with net neutrality, Netflix’s chief executive, Reed Hastings, said Thursday that, well, yes it did.
Newly detected objects draw searchers for Malaysian plane
SYDNEY, Australia — Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said Thursday that satellite imagery had detected floating objects in the southern Indian Ocean that might be parts of the missing Malaysia Airlines jet that vanished on March 8.
New York court sees improved efficiency
NEW YORK — For two decades, court officials in New York City have struggled to solve a vexing problem: reducing the arrest-to-arraignment time in its criminal courts.
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A super PAC supporting Hillary Rodham Clinton’s possible presidential campaign is reaching out to some of New York’s most powerful and wealthy gay and lesbian donors.