Predicting who's at risk for violence isn't easy

CHICAGO (AP) — It happened after Columbine, Virginia Tech, Aurora, Colo., and now Sandy Hook: People figure there surely were signs of impending violence. But experts say predicting who will be the next mass shooter is virtually impossible — partly because as commonplace as these calamities seem, they are relatively rare crimes.Still, a combination of risk factors in troubled kids or adults including...

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Weather Death Toll Up to 6 as Storm Churns North

A killer Christmas storm is churning its way north leaving hundreds of thousands without power and snarling travel plans for people trying to get home after the holiday.Six people have died, mostly in weather related car crashes, as the South was hammered by as many as 34 tornadoes and a lethal coating of sleet and snow that spread from the South into the Midwest.Over 280,000...

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Syria envoy seeks peace as clashes rage

BEIRUT (Reuters) - International envoy Lakhdar Brahimi pursued mediation efforts in Damascus on Tuesday, but there was no pause in the bloodletting as Syrian Christians marked a bleak Christmas Day with prayers for peace. "We are here in a cave that symbolizes Syria right now," said a priest standing beside a nativity scene in a grotto. "It is cold here but the door is open...

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Officials confirm 64% of Egypt voters backed new charter

CAIRO: Egypt's electoral commission confirmed on Tuesday that a controversial, Islamist-backed constitution was passed by 64 per cent of voters, rejecting opposition allegations of polling fraud.Those official results tallied with figures given by President Mohamed Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood immediately after the last round of polling at the weekend in the two-stage referendum.The National...

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Valley seeks measures to prevent ‘rape’ by forces

SRINAGAR: Hundreds of people have been taking to streets in the Valley to express solidarity with protesters in New Delhi seeking justice for the 23-year-old student gang-raped last week. One of the protesters at a rally in Srinagar's central square of Lal Chowk on Monday said they want stringent measures to prevent crimes against women and justice for hundreds of women allegedly raped by security...

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Gunman Killed Firemen With Bushmaster, Left Note

A convicted killer, who shot dead two firefighters with a Bushmaster assault rifle after leading them into an ambush when they responded to a house fire he set in Western New York, left behind a typewritten note saying he wanted to "do what I like doing best, killing people," police said.William Spengler, 62, set his home and a car on fire early Monday morning with the intention...

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Afghan policewoman kills coalition contractor in Kabul: NATO

KABUL (Reuters) - An Afghan woman wearing a police uniform shot dead on Monday a civilian contractor working for Western forces in the police chief's compound in Kabul, NATO said. The incident is likely to raise troubling questions about the direction of an unpopular war. It appeared to be the first time that a woman member of Afghanistan's security forces carried out such...

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US stocks slide on 'fiscal cliff' concerns

NEW YORK: US stocks dipped during a shortened Christmas Eve session Monday amid pessimism about prospects for a "fiscal cliff" deal by the end of the year.The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 51.76 points (0.39 percent) at 13,139.08.The broad-market S&P 500 lost 3.49 points (0.24 percent) at 1,426.66, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite shed 8.41 points (0.28 percent) at 3,012.60.The...

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Delhi gang rape: Verma panel starts work, seeks views

NEW DELHI: Amid serious debate over inadequacy of present laws to protect women, the committee set up to recommend changes in law on Monday sought public comments by January 5. The move may finally see the government bring the required legislation in Parliament during the budget session in February-March next year. The committee - headed by former Chief Justice of India J S Verma - was constituted...

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Predicting who's at risk for violence isn't easy

CHICAGO (AP) — It happened after Columbine, Virginia Tech, Aurora, Colo., and now Sandy Hook: People figure there surely were signs of impending violence. But experts say predicting who will be the next mass shooter is virtually impossible — partly because as commonplace as these calamities seem, they are relatively rare crimes.Still, a combination of risk factors in troubled kids or adults including...

Read More..