Yellow Hibiscus US News

Officer: U.S. missionaries had tried to take other Haitian kids

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 08:04:14 GMT

The group of American missionaries in Haiti facing kidnapping charges for trying to take 33 children out of the country last week made an earlier, unsuccessful attempt at taking dozens of other children, a Haitian police officer said Monday.

New Orleans turns out to welcome Saints home

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 08:00:00 GMT

Fans have a long tradition of greeting their team at the airport, even on losing weeks. But the morning after the Super Bowl is extra sweet - even following a long, sloshy night of celebrations.

For the paint store owners in the rest of the world, Monday was Monday. In New Orleans, Sophia Hardy closed down and drove to the airport, joining thousands of kids ditching, employees playing hooky, and fellow entrepreneurs who were more interested in greeting the conquering Saints than making a buck.

Governor of New York faces an avalanche of woes

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 08:00:00 GMT

Democrat David Paterson, who is battling the legislature over budget deficits and has been asked not to run again by President Obama, now is denying Internet rumors involving sex and drugs.

This is how bad it is for David Paterson, Democratic governor of New York:

Power plant explosion under investigation

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 08:00:00 GMT

The inquiry will focus on whether recently issued safety protocols were disregarded during the purging of a natural gas pipeline.

Possible gaps in safety protocols at the Kleen Energy power plant are at the center of the investigation into an explosion Sunday that killed five and injured 12.

Study links mother's age to child's risk of autism

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 08:00:00 GMT

Moms over 40 are nearly twice as likely to have a child with autism, according to the analysis of California births. The study finds that in most cases, the father's age plays little role.

Women who give birth after age 40 are nearly twice as likely to have a child with autism as those under 25, but it is unlikely that delayed parenthood plays a big role in the current autism epidemic, California researchers reported Monday.

On Health Bill, G.O.P.’s Road Is a New Map

By ROBERT PEAR and DAVID M. HERSZENHORN — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 07:55:29 GMT

Republicans this month will bring President Obama a set of ideas and a more modest health care plan.

As Data Flows In, the Dollars Flow Out

By JENNA WORTHAM — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 07:54:47 GMT

The average American is expected to spend nearly $1,000 this year on services like cable, Internet and video games.

Immigrants Claim Wal-Mart Fired Them to Provide Jobs for Local Residents

By DAN FROSCH — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 07:49:19 GMT

Ten West Africans have filed federal complaints accusing Wal-Mart stores in Colorado of discrimination.

McCain, Facing G.O.P. Foe in Primary, Tilts to the Right

By JENNIFER STEINHAUER — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 07:43:55 GMT

Challenged by J. D. Hayworth from the airwaves, and soon in a primary, John McCain has moved starkly, and often awkwardly, to the right.

For Obama, Nuance on Race Invites Questions

By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 06:48:32 GMT

President Obama’s nuanced approach on race is frustrating some black leaders and scholars.

Doctor Is Charged in Death of Jackson

By RANDAL C. ARCHIBOLD — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 06:46:49 GMT

A case like no other will be treated like any other case, a Los Angeles County judge says.

U.S. Officials Plan $78.5 Million Effort to Keep Dangerous Carp Out of Great Lakes

By MONICA DAVEY — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 06:45:32 GMT

Addressing a threat that has grown increasingly tense throughout the Midwest as genetic material from the fish was found in Lake Michigan.

Sidebar: A Mediocre Criminal, but an Unmatched Jailhouse Lawyer

By ADAM LIPTAK — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 06:44:19 GMT

While in prison, a former bank robber transformed himself into an accomplished Supreme Court practitioner.

Bills Stalled, Hospitals Fear Rising Unpaid Care

By REED ABELSON — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 05:45:13 GMT

While the debate continues in Washington, health care systems nationwide struggle to offset money spent to treat patients who cannot afford to pay their bills.

Optimism Persists in a Kentucky Town Where a Carmaker Brought Jobs

By MICKEY MEECE — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 05:39:38 GMT

As production resumes this week in Georgetown, Ky., and other American cities where Toyota builds cars, people are eager to see its recall problems blow over.

Police: Iraq vet abused daughter, held her head in water

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 04:03:04 GMT

An Iraq war veteran has been charged with assault on suspicion of abusing his daughter, whose head he allegedly held in water to get her to recite the ABCs, according to police in Yelm, Washington.

Orthodox Jews fall ill in mumps outbreak

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 03:00:29 GMT

More than 1,000 people in New Jersey and New York, many of them adolescent Orthodox Jews, have been sickened with mumps since August, health authorities said Monday.

More snow is headed for beleaguered capital

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 02:44:00 GMT

Still digging out from the weekend blizzard, Washington, Virginia and Maryland have declared emergencies and are bracing for another storm.

Still digging out Monday from a historic weekend snowstorm that shut down federal offices and schools, the nation's capital was bracing for yet another wallop of winter weather that could dump up to 20 inches of snow by Wednesday.

Toyota recalls may not solve problem, experts say

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 02:32:59 GMT

In his hectic, noisy laboratory at the University of Maryland, Michael Pecht is wary when it comes to assessing whether Toyota's suggested repair of sticky gas pedals will have any real impact.

Round 2 for snow-weary region

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 02:15:43 GMT

A second round of snow is heading toward Washington, D.C., and surrounding cities, where residents are still digging out after a record-setting blizzard.

Are coyotes calling Manhattan home?

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 01:43:27 GMT

At least three times in recent weeks, they've been spotted in various parts of Manhattan, from the streets of Harlem to Central Park to Columbia University.

Rep. John Murtha dies after intestines nicked in surgery

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 01:21:34 GMT

Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania, a longtime fixture on the House subcommittee that oversees Pentagon spending, has died following complications from gallbladder surgery, according to his office. He was 77.

Study: 'Electronic cigarettes' don't deliver

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:55:03 GMT

"Electronic cigarettes" that vaporize nicotine juice to inhale instead of smoke from burning tobacco do not deliver as promised, according to research at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Investigators barred from site of deadly plant explosion

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:18:47 GMT

State and federal investigators were expected to launch an investigation Monday at a Connecticut power plant where an explosion killed at least five people and injured more than two dozen, authorities said.

Budget hearings mix policy with presentation

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:30:02 GMT

When President Obama presented his budget for the upcoming fiscal year, he demanded that lawmakers forgo "the same old grandstanding when the cameras are on and the same irresponsible budget policies when the cameras are off."

A family left behind by the H1N1 virus

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 08:00:00 GMT

Virginia Romo was pregnant with her sixth child when she caught the swine flu. Her husband and children, raising the baby on their own, are still stunned at how swiftly the disease took her from them.

On a rainy January day, Karen Romo, 15, feeds her five younger brothers and sisters an early dinner and tidies the kitchen while waiting for her father to return from work. One of the children vacuums the living room, maneuvering around a large box of diapers. Another sibling holds the baby.

'Who dat' rejoicing? Saints fans

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 08:00:00 GMT

Hard-luck New Orleans gets its biggest wish: A Super Bowl victory.

The sound rose up and spread across the rooftops of the old city, a deep, guttural, Biblical sound -- the sound of souls wailing by the thousands.

Obama to invite GOP to healthcare summit

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 08:00:00 GMT

The president hopes both parties work out differences in televised talks. Republicans say they will participate but want the health bills tossed.

In a high-stakes bid to revive his healthcare overhaul, President Obama announced during a pre-Super Bowl television interview that he would convene a bipartisan summit in which Republicans and Democrats would try to forge a compromise while a national TV audience watched.

In Virginia, offshore drilling a bipartisan goal

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 08:00:00 GMT

The Republican governor is 'eager to get started,' and the state's Democratic senators are urging the Obama administration to begin selling leases next year. The plan has raised concern from NASA.

Virginia could become the first state on the Eastern Seaboard to open its coast to energy exploration since a decades-old federal drilling ban expired more than a year ago.

Five killed in Connecticut power plant blast

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 08:00:00 GMT

The explosion, which blew out windows of nearby homes, happened as workers cleared natural gas pipelines. At least a dozen others are injured, and rescuers search the rubble for more victims.

A devastating explosion destroyed a Connecticut power plant Sunday morning as workers cleared a natural gas piping system, killing at least five and injuring many more, emergency response officers said.