United States

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California Ranked Worst for Traffic
California Ranked Worst for Traffic

California Ranked Worst for Traffic

New Jersey boasts poorest road system

(Newser) - California ranks No.1 in the US for interstate traffic jams, says a new study which focused on congestion around big cities. With traffic snarled on 83.3% of its urban roadways, the Golden State edged out runners-up Minnesota and New Jersey. Surprisingly, New York—gridlock central—only came in...

Russia Stakes Claim to Oil-Rich Arctic Territory

Kremlin claims underwater shelf links huge chunk to Russia

(Newser) - Russia has claimed a massive, oil-rich chunk of the Arctic, despite international laws that block ownership of the territory. The Kremlin based its move on scientists' insistence that an underwater shelf links Russia to 460,000 square miles of the North Pole, which contains 10 billion tons of oil and...

Chavez Warns of US Attack
Chavez Warns of  US Attack

Chavez Warns of US Attack

Orders Venezuelan army to prepare for guerrilla resistance

(Newser) - Truculent Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has ordered troops to be prepared for a US invasion, the Guardian reports. America is intent on toppling his government in any way it can, Chavez warned in a speech to soldiers. "It's not just armed warfare; I'm also referring to psychological warfare, political...

US, Iran Split Over Terrorist Group
US, Iran Split Over Terrorist Group

US, Iran Split Over Terrorist Group

As talks loom, Iran seethes over US-sponsored group

(Newser) - As the US and Iran inch toward the table, a sticky wicket could be the US relationship with the Mujahedin e-Khalq, a paramilitary group that militantly opposes the Tehran government. The US, meanwhile, shelters the MEK in a base on the Iraq-Iran border that has become the organization's operations center.

US Eyes Blair as Mideast Envoy
US Eyes Blair as
Mideast Envoy

US Eyes Blair as Mideast Envoy

Soon-to-be-former PM would focus on groundwork for a Palestinian state

(Newser) - Outgoing British PM Tony Blair may step into a new role as a Mideast envoy focusing on the development of a viable Palestinian state, the Washington Post reports. Blair would concentrate on economic and governance issues; he would represent the quartet of world players involved in Mideast peace efforts—the...

US Must Bolster Fatah to Defeat Hamas

Peace with Israel will have to wait, says columnist

(Newser) - In the wake of Fatah's collapse in Gaza, and the subsequent takeover by Hamas, the US and its Mideast allies should focus on cleaning up corruption-tainted Fatah and making it more responsive to the Palestinian people, argues Dennis Ross in the New Republic. That is the only hope for a...

US, EU to Renew Palestinian Aid
US, EU to Renew Palestinian Aid

US, EU to Renew Palestinian Aid

End of embargoes bolsters Hamas-led emergency government

(Newser) - The US and the EU demonstrated support for the emergency Palestinian government today through separate pledges to lift economic embargoes and renew aid to the Palestinian Authority. The promises follow Mahmoud Abbas' establishment of a pro-peace cabinet without members of Hamas, putting the US in the curious position of supporting...

10 Arrested in Laos Takeover Scheme

Plotters led by former Laotian general and US military officer

(Newser) - Ten suspects were arrested in six Californian cities today for conspiring to overthrow the government of Laos. The plotters included a former general in the Laotian army and a former US military officer who was a covert operative during the Vietnam War, the AP reports. Most of the group were...

US and Russia Lock Horns over Kosovo, Missile Shield

Cold War fault lines rumble at prelim G-8 summit

(Newser) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US counterpart Condi Rice butted heads during a sit-down with G-8 foreign ministers yesterday, over US plans to grant Kosovo independence and build a missile defense shield in the region. The entire group endorsed freeing Kosovo from Serbian control, the Washington Post reports, except...

US-Iran Talks First Since 1979
US-Iran Talks First Since 1979

US-Iran Talks First Since 1979

On the table: Iraqi security. Off the table: Iranian nuclear buildup, detainees.

(Newser) - Ambassadors for the US and Iran met for four hours today in Baghdad, in the first bilateral talks between the countries in decades. The US's Ryan Crocker was expected to press claims that Iran is providing training and weapons to Iraqi insurgents, and his counterpart Hassan Kazemi Qomi to raise...

US Rushes to Aid Lebanon
US Rushes to
Aid Lebanon

US Rushes to Aid Lebanon

Troops surround refugee camp, prepare siege or incursion to rout out militants

(Newser) - The US has rushed military aid to Beruit, as the Lebanese army continues to battle Islamist militants holed up in a Palestinian refugee camp. The first shipment arrived today. Condoleeza Rice expressed support for Lebanon's government, if not confidence: "I certainly hope that the Lebanese government will be able...

Bush Details Bin Laden Plot
Bush Details
Bin Laden Plot

Bush Details Bin Laden Plot

Attempt to start Al-Qaeda cell in Iraq dates to 2005

(Newser) - Osama bin Laden attempted to launch a terrorist cell in Iraq through which Al-Qaeda could attack the US, President Bush said today. The newly declassified information fleshed out a 2005 Homeland Security alert that Bin Laden directed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, then his top man in Iraq, to organize the unit...

Engineer Guilty Of Attempted Espionage

Jury convicts California man of trying to send defense docs to China

(Newser) - A Chinese-American engineer could get up to 35 years for trying to funnel classified U.S. defense technology to China. A federal jury in California convicted 66-year-old Chi Mak, a naturalized citizen who worked for an Anaheim defense contractor, of conspiring to send top secret plans for submarine propulsion technology...

Dems: Admit Iraqi Refugees
Dems: Admit Iraqi Refugees

Dems: Admit Iraqi Refugees

House Dems back bill easing resettlement

(Newser) - With Iraq war refugees numbering in the millions and as many as 70,000 joining their ranks each month, House Democrats will introduce a bill boosting the number of displaced Iraqis eligible for resettlement in the U.S. A total of 18 Iraqi refugees entered the U.S. in February...

21 Afghan Civilians Killed in Air Strikes

(Newser) - U.S. airstrikes killed 21 Afghan civilians in eastern Afghanistan late last night, just hours after the U.S. offered an official apology to the families of 19 killed in a March attack. The civilian deaths—as many as 1,000 in 2006 alone—are stirring unrest against NATO forces,...

Iranian, U.S. Diplomats Meet Briefly

Three-minute discussion focuses on Iraq, hints at Bush administration policy shift

(Newser) - It didn't involve the American Secretary of State or the Iranian foreign minister, but a brief meeting of high-level diplomats today in Egypt signals a thaw in relations between the countries, the International Herald Tribune reports. U.S. ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker said the three-minute conversation concerned the situation...

Iraqi PM Begs for Debt Forgiveness
Iraqi PM Begs
for Debt Forgiveness

Iraqi PM Begs for Debt Forgiveness

US, Iran, Syria to cross paths at Egypt summit

(Newser) - Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is begging other nations to write off Iraq's debt, saying the country needs reconstruction funds. He spoke today at a regional summit that will feature the first high-level talks between the U.S. and Syria since 2005; prospects of Secretary of State Rice sitting down with...

U.S. May Reqire Visas From Brits
U.S. May Reqire Visas From Brits

U.S. May Reqire Visas From Brits

Radicalism among Britons of Pakistani descent worries Homeland Security

(Newser) - Immigration officials are considering making British citizens apply for visas to enter the U.S., the New York Times reports. The aim is to screen out potential terrorists among Brits of Pakistani descent who might slip through because of the longstanding waiver of visas between the two countries.  An...

Prince May No Longer Speak For His King

Bush's Saudi conduit, Prince Bandar, is out of step with Abdullah

(Newser) - Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the former Saudi ambassador and longtime Bush conduit to the Saudi leadersip, may no longer be speaking for his country. The New York Times  notes that Bandar's uncle, King Abdullah, has taken several stands recently that surprised  the White House by being in direct conflict with...

Economy Slumps to 4-Year Low
Economy Slumps to 4-Year Low

Economy Slumps to 4-Year Low

Weak home sales, high oil prices drive slowdown

(Newser) - The country's economic growth has dwindled to its lowest rate in four years, with the housing slowdown, high energy prices, and a looming trade deficit driving lower-than-expected numbers released today. The economy grew 1.3% in the first quarter of 2007, down from 2.5% in the last three months...

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