FCC Votes To Consider Lifting In-Flight Cell Phone Ban
he Federal Communications Commission voted 3-2 Thursday to consider lifting its ban on in-flight cell phone use. On the same day, the federal Department of Transportation and three members of Congress took steps to block those calls. Secretary of Transportation Michael Foxx said in a statement to CNN that he is looking into the possibility of banning in-flight calls, citing its aviation consumer protection authority. The DOT will determine whether allowing calls is "fair to consumers." Many people consider the idea of cell phone conversations annoying in the close confines of a plane, and some are casting it as a consumer rights issue. CNN

Taxpayers Have Spent $14K For Each Obamacare Enrollee So Far
The fiscal conservatives at Americans for Tax Reform have crunched the Obamacare numbers released by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, and here's the bottom line. American taxpayers have paid $14,196 for each Obamacare enrollee so far. In her testimony to Congress Wednesday, Sebelius said taxpayers have spent $677 million on the flawed healthcare.gov website through the end of October. On top of that, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has spent $4.5 billion to promote Obamacare at the state level. CNS News

Head Of U.S. Auto Safety Agency To Step Down
David L. Strickland, who oversaw a massive Toyota recall and helped formulate plans to dramatically boost U.S. fuel efficiency standards as head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, is stepping down, his office said on Thursday. The date of Strickland's departure was not announced but the NHTSA said his deputy, David Friedman, would be acting director. Strickland became chief of the NHTSA in January 2010 after eight years as counsel to a subcommittee of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, which has oversight of the NHTSA. Reuters

Officials: US Drone Strike Kills 13 In Yemen Wedding Convoy
Missiles fired by a U.S. drone slammed into a convoy of vehicles traveling to a wedding party in central Yemen on Thursday, killing at least 13 people, Yemeni security officials said. The officials said the attack took place in the city of Radda, the capital of Bayda province, and left charred bodies and burnt out cars on the road. The city, a stronghold of al Qaeda militants, witnessed deadly clashes early last year between armed tribesmen backed by the military and al Qaeda gunmen in an attempt to drive them out of the city. There were no immediate details on who was killed in the strike, and there were conflicting reports about whether there were militants traveling with the wedding convoy. A military official said initial information indicated the drone mistook the wedding party for an al Qaeda convoy. He said tribesmen known to the villagers were among the dead. MSNBC

White House Faces Press Revolt Over Access To Obama’s South Africa Flight
The White House faced an uproar from journalists Thursday over a lack of access to President Obama, including a virtual blackout of photographs during his nearly 40-hour flight to South Africa and back this week for the memorial service for Nelson Mandela. White House press secretary Jay Carney was besieged by questions from the press corps, some of whom accused the Obama White House of being less open to the media than his predecessor, Republican George W. Bush. Many journalists reminded Mr. Carney of Mr. Obama’s claim that he is running the “most transparent administration in history.” Washington Times

Cars, Trucks Sold In U.S. Hit Record Gas Mileage In 2012
New cars and trucks sold in the U.S. last year got an average of 23.6 miles per gallon in combined city and highway driving, a record that came mainly through improvements to engines and transmissions, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Mazda led all automakers with an average of 27.1 mpg, followed closely by Honda with 26.6 and Volkswagen at 25.8. Chrysler-Fiat, which relies more on trucks and larger cars for its sales, had the worst mileage at 20.1, followed by Daimler, maker of Mercedes-Benz luxury vehicles, at 21.1. General Motors, which also sells a lot of trucks and SUVs, was third from the bottom at 21.7 mpg, according to the report. CBS

Syrian Rebel Leader’s Flight A ‘Big Problem’ For US
Gen. Salim Idris’ departure from Syria is “a big problem” but the United States continues to support him and the moderate opposition, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said today. Idris is the head of the Free Syrian Army who reportedly fled Syria to Qatar this weekend after Islamic fighters took control of his group’s headquarters and warehouses in northern Syria stocked with U.S. aid.  That seizure prompted an end of U.S non-lethal assistance to rebels in that part of Syria to prevent it from getting into the hands of extremist rebels. ABC

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Banks Add $1.8 Billion Of Mortgage Debt As Volcker Rule Approved
Wall Street dealers added $1.8 billion of speculative-grade U.S. home-loan securities to their inventories yesterday as the Netherlands sold bonds to five banks led by Bank of America Corp. (BAC) and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) Trading data that includes the $5.1 billion auction by the Dutch government shows customers sold $5.5 billion of the debt to dealers, which in turn placed $3.7 billion with customers, according to Trace, the transaction reporting system of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. Bank of America won $1.9 billion in the Dutch sale, with Goldman Sachs getting $1.3 billion, according to a government statement. Bloomberg

Gridlock In The Senate, Progress In The House
A budget agreement between key Republicans and Democrats. Even President Barack Obama was on board. All without anyone threatening to repeal this or shut down that. Gridlock, however briefly, took an early holiday in the bitterly polarized, Republican-run House. But across the Capitol, the high-minded Senate remained in the grip of some of the worst partisan warfare in its history after majority Democrats curbed the Republicans' power. A round-the-clock talkathon is the result, putting no one in the mood for cooperation. Majority Leader Harry Reid threatened to shorten the Senate's cherished Christmas vacation if need be. A Republican called his bluff. "What's new about that? What's even threatening about that?" challenged Sen. Mike Johanns, R-Neb. Las Vegas Sun

American Airlines Signs Multi-Billion Dollar Deal For 90 New Jets
The newly-merged American Airlines company announced Thursday multibillion dollar contracts with Brazil's Embraer and Canada's Bombardier for 90 new 76-seat jets. Embraer has seen a surge in U.S. plane sales, with more than 700 sold this year. American's contract with Embraer is valued at $2.5 billion, with the purchase of 60 aircraft and the option to buy 90 more. Its contract with Bombardier is valued at $1.42 billion with the purchase of 30 aircraft and the option to buy 40 more. If American cashes in on the Bombardier options, the value could rise to $3.38 billion. "Consistent with American's Plan of Reorganization and Merger Agreement, these aircraft will provide much improved economics for the airline as they will replace smaller, less efficient 50-seat regional aircraft scheduled for retirement," the company reported Tuesday. UPI

Lower Odds Lead To $400M Mega Millions Jackpot
Des Moines, Iowa— Outshined by massive jackpots since Powerball doubled the cost of its tickets last year, Mega Millions enacted big changes to inflate its jackpots and lure customers who only play when the pots get huge — and the revamp appears to be working. The Mega Millions jackpot for Friday night’s drawing is an estimated $400 million. It is the second-largest Mega Millions jackpot ever, trailing only a $656 million jackpot won in March 2012, and the fifth largest lottery jackpot of any kind in U.S. history. Whereas Powerball jackpots started ballooning more quickly after the game increased its ticket price in January 2012 from $1 to $2, Mega Millions operators kept the price of a ticket at $1. But in October, Mega Millions significantly lowered the odds of winning the jackpot, thereby increasing the chances of it rolling over. Detroit News

Hacker: Queen Annoyed By Nut-Eating Police
Queen Elizabeth II was so annoyed by police officers eating nuts laid out at Buckingham Palace that she marked a line on the bowl to monitor the level, jurors heard Thursday at Britain's tabloid phone hacking trial. The allegation was included in a 2005 e-mail from then-News of the World royal editor Clive Goodman - who has been convicted of eavesdropping on the voice mails of royal staff - to his editor, Andy Coulson. "Memo now gone around to all palace cops telling them to keep their sticky fingers out," Goodman wrote. "Queen so narked she has started marking the bowls." Philadelphia Inquirer

Fonda Rep Denies Charity Violated IRS Rules
Jane Fonda’s private foundation has nearly $800,000 in assets but hasn’t made a charitable contribution during the last five years for which it has filed federal tax returns, it was reported Thursday. The Smoking Gun web site suggested that the Jane Fonda Foundation violated IRS rules and could be subject to stiff penalties. But Fonda’s attorney said the web site got it wrong and insisted the charity had complied with all regulations. The Atlanta-based foundation’s most recent tax return, filed last year for 2011, said it had cash, stock, and a bond portfolio valued at $798,133. Most of the assets came from Fonda herself. NY Post

American Missing In Iran Was On Unapproved Mission
In March 2007, retired FBI agent Robert Levinson flew to Kish Island, an Iranian resort awash with tourists, smugglers and organized crime figures. Days later, after an arranged meeting with an admitted killer, he checked out of his hotel, slipped into a taxi and vanished. For years, the U.S. has publicly described him as a private citizen who traveled to the tiny Persian Gulf island on private business. But that was just a cover story. An Associated Press investigation reveals that Levinson was working for the CIA. In an extraordinary breach of the most basic CIA rules, a team of analysts -- with no authority to run spy operations -- paid Levinson to gather intelligence from some of the world's darkest corners. He vanished while investigating the Iranian government for the U.S. Seattle Times

Iran's Fears Of Being A Target Cloud Nuke Talks
Assassinations, cyber-attacks and possible military strikes: As nuclear negotiations with Iran enter a crucial stage, Tehran is voicing fears that tougher oversight of its activities will increase the risks of an attack on its atomic facilities and the scientists working on them. Iranian fears that the country's nuclear activities are a target are plausible but some nuclear experts say such concerns are overblown. Five of Tehran's nuclear scientists and researchers have been killed in Iran since 2010 and a computer virus aimed at the heart of Tehran's nuclear program temporarily slowed its uranium enrichment activities three years ago. Tampa Tribune

Low Ratings, High Expectations For GOP In 2014
Ratings of the GOP match historic lows in a new USA TODAY/Pew Research Center Poll, but Republican voters are more optimistic than Democrats about how their party is going to fare in next year's congressional elections. Analysts are watching for signs of whether a "wave" election might be in the works, the sort of lopsided outcome that could boost Republican efforts to win control of the Senate or even longer-shot Democratic dreams of regaining the House. The new survey, taken Dec. 3-8, shows a conundrum: Democratic congressional leaders rate higher and registered voters by 48%-44% say they would vote for the Democratic congressional candidate in their district over the Republican if the election were held today. USA Today

NCIS Agent Implicated In Navy’s ‘Fat Leonard’ Scandal To Plead Guilty
A senior law enforcement agent accused of taking bribes in a Navy corruption scandal has agreed to plead guilty and cooperate with investigators, a major break in a case that has ensnared half a dozen Navy officers and threatens to tar more. John B. Beliveau II, a supervisory special agent with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, is scheduled to enter a guilty plea Tuesday in federal court in San Diego, according to court records and his attorney. Beliveau was arrested in September and charged with helping a Singapore-based Navy contractor, Glenn Defense Marine Asia, dodge multiple criminal investigations by leaking inside information about NCIS probes in exchange for prostitutes, cash and other favors. Washington Post

Budget Deal Allows Pay Increase For Federal Workers
Federal employees would receive a 1-percent pay raise next year under a bipartisan budget deal the House approved Thursday by a vote of 332-94. The pay bump would come in the form of a cost-of-living increase, something Congress has denied the federal workforce for the past three years. President Obama said in an August letter to lawmakers that he would use his executive authority to set the pay raise for next year in motion. The increase would take effect automatically unless lawmakers The budget bill represents the last realistic chance to block the proposed raise, but Congress has not added such a provision to the measure. Washington Post

Japan, SE Asia Fete 40 Years Of Ties, Eye China
Southeast Asian nations are hoping Japan and China will mend their frayed ties, to help minimize the risk of tensions flaring into conflict in the region, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said Friday. ‘‘It must be said that good relations between China and Japan are critical to the future of our region,’’ Yudhoyono told a gathering on the sidelines of a summit marking 40 years of ties between Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian nations. Yudhoyono urged all involved to build more trust, throughout both northeast Asia, where China and Japan are bickering over islands claimed by both in the East China Sea, and in the South China Sea, where several countries face disputes with China. Although Indonesia is not involved, it ‘‘is deeply concerned at the prospect of those erupting into open conflict,’’ Yudhoyono said. Boston Globe

More Purges May Follow Execution Of Kim's Uncle
The execution of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's uncle brought a swift and violent end to a man long considered the country's second most powerful. But while Jang Song Thaek is now gone, the fallout from his purge is not over. In a stunning reversal of the popular image of Jang as a mentor and father figure guiding young Kim Jong Un as he consolidated power, North Korea's state-run media on Friday announced he had been executed and portrayed him as a morally corrupt traitor who saw the death of Kim's father, Kim Jong Il, in December 2011 as an opportunity to make his own power play. Houston Chronicle

Pelosi To Dems On Budget Deal: 'Embrace The Suck'
Few, if any, have been better about getting her members to vote the way she wants than Nancy Pelosi. Today, the Democratic House leader's message for rank-and-file members grumbling that jobless benefits weren't included in the Paul Ryan-Patty Murray budget deal was blunt: "Embrace the suck." NBC confirms that was part of Pelosi's rationale for Democrats to get on board in a closed-door meeting Thursday. MSNBC

Obama’s Afghanistan Experts Stumped On U.S. Death Toll, War Costs During Hearing
President Obama’s brain trust on Afghanistan does not know much the U.S. spends on the war each year or the American cost in lost lives on the battlefield. This embarrassing lack of basic knowledge from State Department and Pentagon experts on Afghanistan at a House hearing Wednesday prompted even a Democrat to say he was stunned. The setting was the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The Issue: Afghanistan and the transition to fewer U.S. troops post-2014. The witnesses: James F. Dobbins, State’s special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan; Donald Sampler, assistant to the administrator, U.S. Agency for International Development, which provides civilian foreign aid; and Michael Dumont, deputy assistant secretary of defense for Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia. Washington Times

Food Stamps See First Enrollment Drop Since 2007
While Congress debates cutting food-stamp spending in the new farm bill, new data from the Department of Agriculture show that enrollment is declining. More than 350,000 individuals left the rolls of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in September, marking the first year-over-year decline since early 2007. For supporters of the aid program, the decline supports their view that cuts aren’t needed and that enrollment will slip on its own as the economy continues to improve. The Republican-led House is proposing to cut almost $40 billion in food stamp aid over a decade, amid concern over a ramp-up in federal spending since the recession. Democrats have proposed cutting SNAP by $4 billion over the same time period. CBS

Iran Says It's Wrong To Think Nuclear Activity Slowed
Ali Akbar Salehi, one of Iran's top nuclear officials, said Thursday there was no basis to claims that Iran's nuclear activities had slowed down. Salehi, director of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, was quoted by the official Islamic Republic News Agency as saying Iran would never give up its rights to a peaceful nuclear program. Any claims to the contrary, he said, are "baseless and wrong." Iran agreed to certain nuclear concessions under the terms an interim nuclear deal reached with Western negotiators last month in Geneva, Switzerland. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Wednesday the Geneva agreement shouldn't be seen as an indication Iran was giving up on nuclear research. UPI

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Probe Launched Over $500M Spent On Afghanistan Planes Now Sitting Idle
The U.S. military spent nearly a half-billion dollars on providing refurbished aircraft to the Afghan Air Force, only to abandon the contract and leave the planes collecting dust on airfields in Kabul and Germany. With the planes potentially heading for the trash heap of the Afghanistan war, the chief military watchdog overseeing Afghanistan spending is launching a review into the terminated program. "I'm very troubled with the fact we may have wasted a half-billion dollars on planes that don't work, will never be flown and will probably be scrapped," Special Inspector General John F. Sopko told FoxNews.com in a statement. "We intend to get to the bottom of this and hold people accountable." Fox News

Wife Of American Pastor Held In Iran Blasts Obama Administration For Not Doing Enough To Free Him
The wife of an American pastor imprisoned for his faith in Iran said she was shocked to learn the U.S. government had been conducting secret negotiations with Iran even as State Department officials told her they could do little to free her husband because the nations have no diplomatic relations. Naghmeh Abedini, whose husband, Saeed Abedini, is serving an eight-year prison term in Iran after being arrested more than a year ago while visiting his homeland, told FoxNews.com she felt betrayed when she later learned U.S. diplomats were negotiating a nuclear agreement with Iran even while claiming nothing could be done for her husband. Fox News

Obamacare: A 'Stay Out Of Jail Free' Card?
Mercedes Smith walked out of Bedford Hills Correctional Facility after 20 years, hoping to become a productive member of society. Shortly after she was released in June 2010, Smith found a part-time job. She was thrilled -- until she found out that working for $13 an hour meant her newly acquired Medicaid insurance would be terminated. Medicaid, a federally run health program, is designed to provide coverage for low-income and disabled individuals. But in New York, where Smith lives, single adults without dependents who earn more than $8,994 a year don't qualify. In other states, the qualifying income level is even lower. Adults without children in nearly half of states don't qualify at all. CNN

Sebelius Flip-Flop: Doesn’t Provide Congress List Of Obamacare Plans Not Covering Abortion
Although Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said on Oct. 30 that she would provide Congress with a list of the Obamacare plans in the federal health exchange that do not cover abortion, she has yet to do so and, testifying on Dec. 11, backed away from that pledge and urged consumers to just look at the plan benefits on the exchange website. At the Oct. 30 hearing before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce , Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.) asked Seblius, “Can you provide for the committee the list of insurers in the federal exchange who do not offer, as part of their package, abortion coverage?” During a somewhat heated back-and-forth, Sebelis said, “I think we can do that, sir,” and added, “I know that is the plan, I will get that information to you.” CNS News

Solid U.S. Retail Sales Boost Economic Outlook
U.S. retail sales rose solidly in November, adding to signs of a strengthening economy that could draw the Federal Reserve closer to reducing the pace of monetary stimulus. The upbeat picture was clouded somewhat by other data on Thursday showing the biggest jump in a year in first-time claims for jobless benefits. Economists, however, largely dismissed that report as skewed by a late Thanksgiving and other factors. The Commerce Department said retail sales increased 0.7 percent last month as Americans stepped up spending on a wide range of goods from automobiles to electronics. November's increase was the largest in five months and followed a 0.6 percent rise in October. Reuters

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Judges To Hear Arguments In Blagojevich Appeal
Imprisoned former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Friday gets what's likely his last chance to win his freedom as a three-judge federal panel hears oral arguments in his appeal. A lawyer for the disgraced Illinois Democrat steps before the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago to ask that it toss Blagojevich's corruption convictions. Short of that, Blagojevich's defense team hopes the court will at least agree to reduce his 14-year prison term — one of the longest sentences ever imposed for political corruption in a state where four of the last seven governors ended up in prison. FBI agents arrested then-Gov. Blagojevich five years ago this week, on Dec. 9, 2008. A jury convicted him of wide-ranging charges in 2011, including for trying to profit from his power to name someone to President Barack Obama's old U.S. Senate seat. Atlanta Journal

Huge Crowds Gather In Hopes Of Seeing Mandela Body
Tens of thousands of South African mourners waited in line on Friday to view the body of Nelson Mandela, which was lying in state for the third and final day, with the likelihood that many would be turned away before the casket is taken away later in the day. The government said some 50,000 people had gathered by 7.30 a.m. (0530 GMT), and an AP journalist said Friday the lines in Pretoria, South Africa's capital, were already several kilometers (miles) long. Organizers handed out water to the crowds, and moved up elderly people and women with children to spare them a longer wait. Charlotte Observer

Costs Of Filner Scandal Mount
The cost to taxpayers to get rid of and replace former Mayor Bob Filner has surpassed $8.7 million and the tally could be several million dollars higher before all is said and done. Filner resigned Aug. 30 following numerous allegations of inappropriate sexual behavior toward women, but the costs continue to pile up with two elections, legal fees and possible settlements to civil lawsuits. By far the biggest expense is the cost of the elections to replace Filner. The bill for the Nov. 19 special election was roughly $4.65 million while the coming February runoff between City Council members David Alvarez and Kevin Faulconer is expected to run taxpayers between $4 million and $4.5 million. San Diego Union

Oil Prices Down As Libya Plans To Resume Output
Oil prices were subdued Friday amid the possibility of new supplies from the Middle East after a Libyan militia said oil terminals could reopen. Benchmark U.S. crude for January delivery was down 9 cents to $97.41 a barrel at mid-afternoon Kuala Lumpur time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 6 cents on Thursday to settle at $97.50. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oils, eased 4 cents to $108.34 a barrel on the ICE exchange in London. The Libyan militia that shut down most of the country's oil terminals for months has said the terminals will reopen Dec. 15. Libya has been losing millions of dollars every day after production dropped from 1.4 billion barrels a day to a few thousand since the closure. Kansas City Star

Republicans And Tea Party Activists In 'Full Scale Civil War'
Years of growing friction between the Republican Party leaders and its Tea Party faction has erupted into what one conservative said today was "full-scale civil war." House Speaker John Boehner, whose strategies have been repeatedly thwarted by Tea Party revolts in recent years, was blunt today when asked whether he thought the ultra-conservatives should get in line. "I don't care what they do," Boehner replied. The speaker lashed out at Tea Party activists. "Well, frankly, I think they're misleading their followers," House Speaker John Boehner told reporters today. "I think they're pushing our members in places where they don't want to be." "And frankly, I just think that they've lost all credibility," Boehner said. ABC

Iran Sanctions Applied To More Companies By U.S. Treasury
The Obama administration targeted companies and individuals today for evading international sanctions against Iran and supporting the country’s nuclear program, a move aimed in part at dissuading Congress from imposing additional trade penalties. The Treasury Department said it was freezing assets and banning transactions of entities that attempt to evade the sanctions, including by doing business with the National Iranian Tanker Co., Iran’s primary shipper of crude oil. “Today’s actions should be a stark reminder to businesses, banks, and brokers everywhere that we will continue relentlessly to enforce our sanctions, even as we explore the possibility of a long-term, comprehensive resolution of our concerns with Iran’s nuclear program,” David Cohen, Treasury under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a statement. Bloomberg

North Korea Executes Leader’s Uncle As A Traitor
North Korea said Friday that it has executed Kim Jong Un's uncle, calling the leader's former mentor a traitor who tried to seize power and overthrow the state. The stunning announcement came only days after Jang Song Thaek — long considered the country's No. 2 power — was removed from all his posts because of a long list of allegations, including corruption, drug use, gambling and womanizing. In an unusually detailed announcement, the official news agency KCNA said Jang had been tried for "such hideous crime as attempting to overthrow the state by all sorts of intrigues and despicable methods with a wild ambition to grab the supreme power of our party and state." It called him a "traitor to the nation for all ages" and "worse than a dog." Las Vegas Sun

Kerry Back Again, Continues Pushing Abbas, Netanyahu
Secretary of State John Kerry returned to Israel for the 11th time this year, this time going directly to Ramallah for a meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in what appears to be an effort to soften him to US security ideas presented last week to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. Kerry was accompanied to the meeting by Marine Corps Gen. (ret.) John Allen, head of a 160-strong US defense and intelligence team that has drawn up a plan for the day after an Israeli-Palestinian agreement. Allen briefed Netanyahu on the plan last week when he was here with Kerry, and this will be his first meeting with Abbas. The Palestinians have come out against the plan, which is believed to include an Israeli security presence in the Jordan Valley for an extended period. Jerusalem Post

Israel Voted Full Member Of CERN, First Non-European Country To Be Admitted
The 20-state council of CERN, the Center of European Nuclear Research that operates the Large Hadron Collider under the Swiss- French border, voted unanimously on Thursday night to accept Israel as a full member. CERN is the largest center in the world for the study of atomic participles and is run with an annual budget of 1.246.5 billion Swiss francs (more than NIS 4.9b.). Since October 12, 2011, Israel was an associate member in the pre-stage to membership of CERN, membership that needed to be held for a minimum of 24 months. Jerusalem Post

Syria Chemical Arms 'Probably Used' In Five Cases
Chemical weapons were "probably used" at five out of seven sites in Syria, UN investigators say in their report. In two cases, the weapons targeted soldiers, and in a third, soldiers and civilians, the report says. The report has not determined whether the government or rebels had used the weapons. The inspectors had already confirmed the deadly nerve gas sarin was used in an attack near Damascus on 21 August which killed hundreds. The report said it had evidence that chemical weapons in Ghouta, Khan al-Assal, Jobar, Saraqueb and Ashrafieh Sahnaya. BBC

Breast Cancer: Drug 'Halves' Risk Of Tumours
A "landmark study" shows a drug can more than halve the development of breast cancer in high-risk women. A trial on 4,000 women, published in the Lancet, showed anastrozole was more effective, cheaper and had fewer side effects than current medications. It stops the production of the hormone oestrogen, which fuels the growth of the majority of breast cancers. Doctors and campaigners are asking health services to consider offering the drug to healthy women. Some countries already offer the drugs tamoxifen and raloxifene to prevent breast cancer. BBC

Google Execs Saved Millions On Private Jet Flights Using Cheaper Nasa Fuel
Google's executives have been getting cheap flights for their private planes due to a "misunderstanding" that led Google to buy fuel from from the US space agency Nasa at cut prices, according to a report from Nasa's inspector general. Now the company may have to compensate Nasa, after the report from Nasa's top lawyer noted that the arrangement had "engendered a sense of unfairness and a perception of favouritism", and recommended it explore "possible options to remedy this situation". Guardian

Vladimir Putin Defends Anti-Gay Laws As Bastion Of Global Conservatism
In an apparent reference to the laws banning "propaganda of non-traditional relations", the Russian president said that on the international arena Russia sees itself as a defender of conservative values against what it considers an assault of "genderless and fruitless so-called tolerance" which he said "equals good and evil". He said Russia will oppose attempts to impose foreign political ideology on sovereign countries. Such attempts, Putin stressed, often lead to destruction and bloodshed, citing events in the Middle East and North Africa as an example. Guardian

With $25 Million Bet, Silicon Valley Officially Claims Bitcoin As Its Own
What is the center of the Bitcoin universe? With a completely decentralized digital currency like Bitcoin, it’s hard to say, but today, Silicon Valley took a serious step toward claiming those bragging rights. That’s because one of the Valley’s most important venture capitalist firms, Andressen Horowitz, made the biggest bet yet on a Bitcoin company, dropping $25 million on Coinbase — a company that’s trying to make it easier for consumers and merchants to use the digital currency. It’s the largest-ever investment in a bitcoin company. And it’s a sign that bitcoin may be becoming a Silicon Valley phenomenon. “Bitcoin is going to be as big as the Internet,” Andressen Horowitz’s Chris Dixon told The New York Times today. Wired

With The New Gmail, People Will Know When You Open That Message
Beware: Google just made it easier for people to know if you’re opening their email messages. Today, the web giant announced a change to its popular Gmail service: Images embedded in emails will now be automatically displayed, saving users from clicking on a “display images” link and, Google claims, making “your messages more safe and secure.” But buried in the fine print, a different picture emerges. The new setup also means that people and companies who send you email will be able to find out when you’ve opened and read their messages, because loading these images requires a call back to the sender’s server. Wired

Africa’s Vast Sahel Region Threatened By Terrorism, Organized Crime, Ban Warns
Terrorism, trafficking in arms, drugs and people, and other transnational forms of organized crime are threatening security in Africa’s vast sub-Saharan Sahel region, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned the Security Council today. “The Sahel’s vast size and long, porous borders mean that such challenges can be addressed successfully only if the countries of the region work together,” he told the Council at the start of a meeting on the situation in the region. The meeting, which also adopted a Presidential Statement, was also addressed by World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, and Romano Prodi, the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Sahel. UN News

S. Africa Apologizes For Fake Signer, Vows Reforms
A South African Cabinet minister is apologizing for the sign language interpreter at Nelson Mandela's memorial who outraged deaf people worldwide by making signs they said amounted to gibberish. In the highest-ranking apology yet from the government, Arts and Culture Minister Paul Mashatile said Friday reforms must be implemented to ensure such an incident won't happen again. Mashatile is sticking to the government's refusal to say who was responsible for hiring the sign interpreter for Tuesday's memorial. Interpreter Thamsanqa Jantjie says he has been violent in the past and hallucinated during the memorial service as he was gesturing incoherently just 3 feet away from U.S. President Barack Obama and other leaders. Miami Herald

Berlin Prosecutors Investigate Nazi Guard Suspect
A former Nazi concentration camp guard living in the Berlin area is being investigated on suspicion of murder after authorities received a tip from the Simon Wiesenthal Center, prosecutors said Friday. The 87-year-old, identified only as Horst P., is alleged to have been involved in killings while serving as a guard at the Dachau camp near Munich, Berlin prosecutors' spokesman Martin Steltner said. He refused to provide further details, citing the ongoing investigation. The Wiesenthal Center's top Nazi hunter Efraim Zuroff said information on the suspect came in after the organization launched a poster campaign in Germany in July soliciting tips on the whereabouts of former guards and Nazis. He passed it on to Berlin prosecutors after confirming the suspect really had been a Dachau guard. SF Gate

UN Human Rights Chief Dismayed As India Re-Criminalizes Same-Sex Relationships
The United Nations human rights chief today voiced her disappointment at the re-criminalization of consensual same-sex relationships in India, calling it “a significant step backwards” for the country. In a decision announced yesterday, the Supreme Court upheld a colonial-era law, Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which provides for the punishment of those found guilty of “unnatural offences.” “Criminalising private, consensual same-sex sexual conduct violates the rights to privacy and to non-discrimination enshrined in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which India has ratified,” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay. UN News

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