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Poll: Americans rank Obama, Hillary Clinton most admired Reuters 8:41 a.m. CST, December 30, 2013 (Reuters) - Americans named President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as the world's most admired living man and woman in 2013, according to a Gallup poll released on Monday. Obama topped the annual list for the sixth consecutive year, a typical ranking for a sitting U.S. president, the polling organization said. But the percentage of those surveyed who choose him as the most admired man fell to 16 percent this year, down from 30 percent in 2012. The president's job approval...

The number of law-enforcement officers killed by firearms in 2013 fell to levels not seen since the 19th century, according to a report released Monday. The annual report from the nonprofit National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund also found that deaths in the line of duty generally fell by 8 percent and were the fewest since 1959. According to the report, 111 federal, state, local, tribal and territorial officers were killed in the line of duty nationwide this past year, compared to 121 in 2012. Forty-six officers were killed in traffic related accidents, and 33 were killed by firearms. The...

MOSCOW, December 30 (RIA Novosti) – Russian leader Vladimir Putin has been named International Person of the Year by Britain's The Times newspaper for succeeding in his ambition of bringing Moscow back to the international top table. The paper said Putin, 61, a judo black belt, has hip-flipped US President Barack Obama on the Syrian crisis, wrestled the EU to the ground on Ukraine, tripped up the opposition at home and rescued weaker team players such as President Assad of Syria and Edward Snowden, the NSA whistleblower, who was given asylum in Russia. Also this year, Putin, who served two...

Yes FR, there is an ACTIVE DC Chapter Not all of the DC Chapter FReeps had AARs wrote, so it was decided to write a Year In Review AAR for all of our activities. Enjoy the new AARs threads and remember the ones you already read. April 01: Dr Raoul’s Funeral: There were 18 FReepers in Philadelphia this day. They came from Ohio (StayTrue), Florida (Kristinn, TGSLtakoma and Taxman), the eastern shore of Maryland (Credo2) and places in between. We finally met Raoul’s family and his family finally met Raoul’s FR family. All were pleased to talk with each other...

" 4. After stopping for drinks at an illegal bar, a Zimbabwean bus driver found that the 20 mental patients he was supposed to be transporting from Harare to Bulawayo had escaped. Not wanting to admit his incompetence, the driver went to a nearby bus stop and offered everyone waiting there a free ride. He then delivered the passengers to the mental hospital, telling the staff that the patients were very excitable and prone to bizarre fantasies. The deception wasn’t discovered for 3 days........

I love astronomy. I have my whole life. Part of that is the wonder and awe it generates, learning about the Universe and our place in it. But of course, there is great beauty in the skies as well. From our nearest neighbors to the most distant galaxies, the cosmos is a wonder to behold. Every year I collect my favorite pictures—chosen both for their beauty and their importance to science—and put them together in a gallery to delight your brain (you’ll find links to previous galleries at the end of this article). Picking only a few is always a...

No a fence, but I'm watching Ellen the generious while I'm eating raw men noodles as Mom decorates the tree with ordiments. ....Might as whale for all intensive purposes be the Valid Victorian at high school who's looking in a mear.... You know I'm lack toast and tolerant so for lunch I had a Flaminyon with ketchup and chicken court on blue. ....You know I don't sugar code or beat around the brush. ...My dad gave me the car but his feyonce took it. ...I have movies that I can live bicuriously live thru.. Might have got die of beaties...

<p>NEW YORK – Sparse crowds at malls and “50 percent off” signs at The Gap, Ann Taylor and other stores give a clue as to how the holiday season is going.</p> <p>This is shaping up to be the most discount-driven holiday season since the country was in a deep recession. It’s also one of the most disappointing for stores.</p>

ed Cruz stood on the floor of the Senate and answered his critics: “….do you expect me to remain here silent, or to shrink from the discharge of my duty?… I will speak in spite of all the intimidations, or threats, or discountenances that may be thrown upon me.” Actually, Ted Cruz did not say that. But the fact that it is so easily believable that he did say it says exactly why Ted Cruz, Time magazine’s selection of the Pope notwithstanding, is the real “Man of the Year.” In fact, while Cruz did make Time’s shortlist, he also popped...

Pope Francis Named “Person of the Year” by World’s Biggest Gay Magazine By Julio Severo Praises keep knocking at the door of Pope Francis, who was named “Person of the Year” by The Advocate, the world’s biggest homosexual magazine. It is the second tribute that the pope has received in a week. On December 11, he was named Time magazine’s “Person of the Year.” In its headline, The Advocate highlighted Francis’ statement, made during a June interview: “If someone is gay and seeks the Lord with good will, who am I to judge?” “Pope Francis’ stark change in rhetoric...

U.S. home resales fell sharply in November to their lowest level in nearly a year, hurt by a rise in interest rates since the spring and ongoing price increases that have shut some home buyers out of the market. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) said on Thursday that sales of previously owned homes dropped 4.3 percent last month, the third monthly fall in a row, to an annual rate of 4.90 million units. That was the lowest annual rate since December 2012, and well below the median forecast in a Reuters poll of a 5.03 million unit pace. "It...

Getting it wrong, news outlets’ erroneous forecasts: Healthcare.gov like online shopping, abundant Atlantic hurricanes, $24 billion government shutdown and more. Print, broadcast or web, the media sure aren’t Nostradamus. In spite of their best attempts, the news media have gotten it wrong prediction after prediction on a wide range of business and economic issues in 2013. Just in the past year, reporters warned of “economic doomsday,” thought Healthcare.gov was going to be “easy” just like Amazon.com, and warned of melting polar ice, even as a new record was set for ice mass. In many cases, the failed predictions were an...

A leading lifestyle magazine that promotes gay rights and same-sex marriage has named Pope Francis its “Person of the Year.” The December issue of The Advocate features Pope Francis with a “NO H8” message photoshopped on his right cheek. Next to his photo is a quote from the pope’s interview with reporters in July, while en route from Brazil to Rome. “If someone is gay and seeks the Lord with good will, who am I to judge?” the pontiff told reporters. Pope Francis, who opposes same-sex marriage and vehemently fought its passage while he was archbishop of Buenos Aires,...

Once there was a boy so meek and modest, he was awarded a Most Humble badge. The next day, it was taken away because he wore it. Here endeth the lesson. How do you practice humility from the most exalted throne on earth? Rarely has a new player on the world stage captured so much attention so quickly—young and old, faithful and cynical—as has Pope Francis. In his nine months in office, he has placed himself at the very center of the central conversations of our time: about wealth and poverty, fairness and justice, transparency, modernity, globalization, the role of...

Another week, another media frenzy over our pope. This morning Time announced they have selected Pope Francis as Person of the Year. Good news? A non-story? What to make of this all? George Weigel has said that the late Blessed John Paul II regularly inquired of his visitors the details of what was happening in their corner of the world. According to Weigel, the pope wasn’t as much interested in the political stories that dominated the headlines. He was more fascinated by what the Holy Spirit was doing through these events. Which brings us to the widespread popularity of...

Who is the 2013 Conservative of the Year? John Boehner 0.34% (7 votes) Chris Christie 1.11% (23 votes) Bobby Jindal 0.43% (9 votes) Scott Walker 3.04% (63 votes) Rick Snyder 0.1% (2 votes) Sarah Palin 42.37% (877 votes) Rand Paul 7.25% (150 votes) Rick Perry 0.72% (15 votes) Ted Cruz 42.66% (883 votes) Mike Lee 1.98% (41 votes) Total Votes: 2,070

RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN TOPS FORBES’ 2013 RANKING OF THE WORLD’S MOST POWERFUL PEOPLE