Indian-origin Sathwik Karnik has won National Geographic Bee 2013 contest after gruelling rounds testing his geographic knowledge about lions in Botswana, mountain ranges in Asia and port cities in England. To clinch the title, Karnik, 12, correctly named Chimborazo as the mountain in Ecuador that represents the farthest point from the Earth's center.Karnik, a native of Norfolk, south of Boston, is...

Source : IBNLive | 3 Hour(s) AgoCategory : City | City : Washington

House passes GOP bill to speed pipeline approval

House Republicans pushed through a bill Wednesday to bypass the president to speed approval of the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada to Texas. Democrats criticized the legislation as a blatant attempt to allow a foreign company to avoid environmental review.Republicans said the measure was needed to ensure that the long-delayed pipeline, first proposed in 2008, is built., D-Ariz., called the bill...

Source : News Times | 3 Hour(s) AgoCategory : City | City : Washington

FDA panel backs experimental Merck insomnia drug

A federal panel of medical experts said that an experimental insomnia drug from Merck & Co. Inc. appears safe and effective, despite evidence from company trials that the pill can cause daytime sleepiness and difficulty driving.panelists voted Wednesday that Merck's sleeping aid, suvorexant, helped patients get to sleep and stay asleep. In a separate set of votes, the panel voted that the drug appears...

Source : News Times | 3 Hour(s) AgoCategory : City | City : Washington

US acknowledges killing four Americans in overseas attacks

(REUTERS) - The United States (US) government formally acknowledged on Wednesday for the first time that it had killed four Americans in counterterrorism operations in Yemen and Pakistan, where the United States has carried out regular drone strikes.Attorney General Eric Holder named the four dead US citizens in a letter to members of Congress a day before President Barack Obama is scheduled to deliver...

Source : Straits Times | 3 Hour(s) AgoCategory : City | City : Washington

US sergeant accused of secretly filming cadets: Army

(AFP) - A sergeant at the US West Point military academy has been accused of secretly filming female cadets without their consent, including when they were in the shower, officials said Wednesday.The allegations at the prestigious institution mark the latest embarrassment for a force dogged by sexual assault and harassment cases.Sergeant First Class Michael McClendon has been charged under the military's...

Source : Straits Times | 3 Hour(s) AgoCategory : City | City : Washington

Boston bombing probe: Man shot dead by FBI

Washington, May 23 (IANS/RIA Novosti) An FBI agent shot and killed a 27-year-old alleged friend of slain Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev in Florida, a day after questioning him as part of the investigation into the April 15 attack, media reports said.The victim, identified as Ibragim Todashev, was shot at a condominium complex Wednesday in Orlando, Florida.The FBI confirmed a man...

Source : News Track India | 4 Hour(s) AgoCategory : City | City : Washington

US sergeant ‘secretly taped’ female cadets

Washington, May 22: A sergeant on the staff of the US Military Academy at West Point faces charges for allegedly videotaping female cadets without their consent, sometimes when they were in the shower, according to army officials.It is contacting a dozen women to alert them that their privacy may have been violated and to offer support or counselling as required, officials said.The suspect, Sergeant...

Source : Telegraphindia | 6 Hour(s) AgoCategory : City | City : Washington

House takes up GOP bill to speed pipeline approval

The House has taken up a Republican-sponsored bill that would speed approval of the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada to Texas.of Nebraska, is needed to ensure the long-delayed pipeline is built. The project, which first was proposed in 2008, would carry oil extracted from tar sands in western Canada to refineries along the Texas Gulf Coast.opposes the bill because it would "circumvent...

Source : News Times | 8 Hour(s) AgoCategory : City | City : Washington

Fed weighed slowing its pace of bond purchases

Several Federal Reserve policymakers this month favored slowing the Fed's efforts to maintain record-low long-term interest rates as early as June — if the economy showed strong and sustained growth. But those officials appeared at odds over what evidence would demonstrate such gains.Minutes of the Fed's April 30-May 1 meeting released Wednesday show "a number" of members expressed a willingness to...

Source : News Times | 8 Hour(s) AgoCategory : City | City : Washington

House committee passes Iran sanctions legislation

A new push to thwart Iran's nuclear ambitions by crippling the country's economy is gathering momentum on Capitol Hill.approved legislation Wednesday that would impose even tougher economic sanctions against Tehran. The bill seeks to further curb Iran's oil exports, limit Tehran's access to overseas foreign currency reserves, and expand the list of blacklisted Iranian companies.The U.S. and other world...

Source : News Times | 8 Hour(s) AgoCategory : City | City : Washington