Hagel on ice; a peak-scaling Interior Secretary; and synonyms for lobbying (read-this roundup)

Former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel’s nomination is still pending. (J. Scott Applewhite - AP) Here’s what the Loop is reading today: Vote delayed — Senators want to know more about former Sen. Chuck Hagel’s finances — like who has paid him for speeches — before they vote on his nomination to be defense secretary. Rough terrain ahead — More on Sally Jewell, the White House’s pick...

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S'pore the single largest foreign investor in Iskandar Malaysia

SINGAPORE: Global Capital & Development (GCD), the lead investor of Medini in Iskandar Malaysia's Nusajaya development zone, says the region has attracted some S$2 billion in investments from Singapore since 2006.GCD says investment from Singapore in Iskandar Malaysia is set to soar; Singapore is already the single largest foreign investor in the region. Link (THM) Holdings, a Singapore...

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Congress workers hooliganism in Murshidabad

BEHRAMPORE: A Congress delegation to the Murshidabad district magistrate today turned violent after the latter refused to meet them in his office here. District magistrate Rajiv Kumar refused to accept a memorandum from Congress leaders and instead asked the ADM to receive it, Pradesh Congress Committee president Pradip Bhattacharjee said. Congress workers who were sitting in a demonstration in...

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Severed Heads Were Sacrifices in Ancient Mexico

Archaeologists have uncovered the remains of more than 150 skulls from an ancient shrine in central Mexico—evidence of one of the largest mass sacrifices of humans in pre-Hispanic Mesoamerica.The skulls, many facing east, lay beneath a crude, slightly elevated mound of crushed stone on what was once an artificial island in a vast shallow lake, now completely dry."The site is barely a bump...

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Ex-LA Cop Sought in Shootings of 3 Cops, 2 Slayings

Police in Southern California say they suspect that a fired cop is connected to the shootings -- one fatal -- of three police officers this morning, as well as the weekend slayings of an assistant women's college basketball coach and her fiancé in what cops believe are acts of revenge against the LAPD, as suggested in the suspect's online manifesto.Former police officer Christopher...

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Population White Paper will benefit S'pore economy: SICC

SINGAPORE: The Singapore International Chamber of Commerce (SICC) said the Singapore economy will benefit from the many long-term principles outlined in the Population White Paper.In a statement on Wednesday, the SICC pointed out that early planning to build the infrastructure for a growing population will help Singapore maintain its competitive edge.SICC said that while attracting foreign...

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Congress slams fatwa against Kashmir's all-girl band

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Wednesday criticised the 'fatwa' against the state's all-girl rock band and supported the Jammu and Kashmir government's stand. "The state government has taken correct steps," Congress spokesperson Rashid Alvi told reporters here. Stating that the 'fatwa' against the girls' band was a "serious" issue, Alvi said, "There could be no restrictions on an individual's freedom...

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The Real Richard III

It's a question that actors from Laurence Olivier to Kevin Spacey have grappled with: What did Richard III, the villainous protagonist of Shakespeare's famous historical drama, really look and sound like?In the wake of this week's announcement by the University of Leicester that archaeologists have discovered the 15th-century British king's lost skeleton beneath a parking lot, news continues...

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Hostage Taker Waged Firefight With SWAT Agents

Jimmy Lee Dykes, the man who held a 5-year-old boy hostage for nearly a week in an underground bunker in Alabama, had two homemade explosive devices on his property and engaged in a firefight with SWAT agents before they stormed the bunker and killed him, according to the FBI.One explosive device was found inside the bunker and another was located in the PVC pipe negotiators...

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Strengthening security at the nation’s airports

Most people think of airport security as their walk through the metal detector and the eyeballing by transportation security officers (TSOs). Dan Liddell, whose job it is to protect the flying public at seven airports in central New York, instead sees 17 zones of worker responsibility and hundreds of different tasks. In pursuit of safeguarding the public, Liddell, a federal security director...

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