Penalty could keep smokers out of health overhaul

WASHINGTON (AP) — Millions of smokers could be priced out of health insurance because of tobacco penalties in President Barack Obama's health care law, according to experts who are just now teasing out the potential impact of a little-noted provision in the massive legislation.The Affordable Care Act — "Obamacare" to its detractors — allows health insurers to charge smokers buying individual policies...

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Feinstein Proposes Assault Weapons Ban

Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP PhotoWith an AR-15 and nine other guns on her left, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., introduced a bill today that would ban assault weapons and high capacity ammunition clips.The bill comes nearly 20 years after the first assault weapons ban was signed into law.“I remain horrified by the massacre committed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., and I’m also...

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Cameron promises Britons vote on EU exit

LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister David Cameron promised Britons a vote on quitting the European Union, rattling London's biggest allies and some investors by raising the prospect of uncertainty and upheaval. Cameron announced on Wednesday that the referendum would be held by the end of 2017 - provided he wins a second term - and said that while Britain did not want to retreat from the...

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Football: Giroud fires five-star Arsenal in Hammers rout

LONDON: Olivier Giroud helped Arsenal silence their critics as the France striker's double inspired a much-needed 5-1 victory over West Ham on Wednesday.Arsene Wenger's side had been subjected to scathing criticism from fans and pundits after successive defeats against Manchester City and Chelsea seriously damaged their bid to finish in the Premier League's top four.Wenger was reported...

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Yet another case filed against Owaisi

KARIMNAGAR/Adilabad: Yet another case has been filed against MIM legislator Akbaruddin Owaisi. The Karimnagar Three Town police registered a case late on Tuesday night against Akbar for allegedly delivering a hate speech on 22 October, 2012 at the Arts College grounds. Circle inspector C Vijaya Raj said the case was registered as per the directions of the Ist additional judicial magistrate Kshamadesh...

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Women have caught up to men on lung cancer risk

Smoke like a man, die like a man.U.S. women who smoke today have a much greater risk of dying from lung cancer than they did decades ago, partly because they are starting younger and smoking more — that is, they are lighting up like men, new research shows.Women also have caught up with men in their risk of dying from smoking-related illnesses. Lung cancer risk leveled off in the 1980s for men but...

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Pentagon to Allow Women in Combat

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta will lift a longstanding ban on women serving in combat, according to senior defense officials.The services have until this May to come up with a plan to implement the change, according to a Defense Department official.That means the changes could come into effect as early as May. The services will have until January 2016 to complete the implementation...

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Netanyahu claims election win despite losses

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Hawkish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emerged the bruised winner of Israel's election on Tuesday, claiming victory despite unexpected losses to resurgent center-left challengers. Exit polls showed the Israeli leader's Likud party, yoked with the ultra-nationalist Yisrael Beitenu group, would still be the biggest bloc in the 120-member assembly with 31 seats,...

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Justin Bieber overtakes Lady Gaga in Twitter follower race

  By mid-day, the Biebs had 33,342,299 followers, against 33,333,682 for the Mother Monster, followed by Katy Perry, Rihanna and, a day after his public second-term inauguration, President Barack Obama with 26,183,711 followers.Last week Twitter Counter had forecasted that, according to its algorithms, Bieber would clinch first place last Sunday.Bieber and Lady Gaga -- who had led...

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EC suggests to Justice Verma panel to penalize MLAs filing false affidavits

NEW DELHI: The Election Commission (EC), in its suggestions to the Justice J S Verma committee tasked with reviewing the anti-rape laws, has proposed that legislators found to have filed false affidavits with their nomination papers, should be immediately disqualified and punished with imprisonment upto two years.The EC, whose representatives appeared before the Verma panel on Saturday, sought a tougher...

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