Chavez Successor Takes Command -- New Progress On Gun Law Changes -- Osama Bin Laden's Son-In-Law Caught -- VAWA Reauthorized -- WH Tours Cancelled; 74k/Year Saved -- North Korea Vows Nuclear Attacks -- Facebook Tries To Stay Hip -- Jobless Claims Fall -- Oldies Reunite For Futuristic Movie
CHAVEZ'S HAND PICKED SUCCESSOR TAKES COMMAND IN VENEZUELA, ELECTION A MONTH AWAY
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| www.foxnews.com |
CARACAS, Venezuela – A flag-draped coffin carrying the body of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez floated over a sea of supporters Wednesday on its way to a military academy where it will lie in state. Away from the procession route, jittery Venezuelans facing an uncertain future without their larger-than-life leader flocked to supermarkets and gas stations to stock up on supplies, preparing for the worst a day after Chavez succumbed to cancer.
Tens of thousands lined the streets or walked with the casket in the capital, many weeping as the body approached, led by a grim drum major. Other mourners pumped their fists and held aloft images of the late president, amid countless waving yellow, blue and red Venezuelan flag.
SENATE PANEL APPROVES BILL TARGETING 'STRAW PURCHASES' OF GUNS
| AFP/Getty Images |
WASHINGTON — The Senate will take up its first firearms measure since the Newtown, Conn., school shooting, after the Judiciary Committee approved a bill Thursday to combat gun trafficking.
The proposal, steered by Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), the committee chairman, would impose strict penalties for buying a firearm for someone who cannot legally do so, an act known as a straw purchase. The bill would also toughen punishment for selling a gun to a person prohibited from owning one.
OSAMA BIN LADEN'S SON-IN-LAW IN U.S. CUSTODY, CHARGED IN CONSPIRACY TO KILL AMERICANS
WASHINGTON -- The son-in-law of former al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden, described by U.S. officials as a figure akin to a mob family consigliere, is in U.S. custody and has been charged in a conspiracy to kill Americans, according to federal court papers unsealed late Thursday.
Sulaiman Abu Ghayth, who served as the strident spokesman for the terror organization in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, will appear today in federal court in New York.
OBAMA SIGNS VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT REAUTHORIZATION
President Barack Obama signed into law a bill that extends for five years programs to help battered women and expands protections to Native Americans and gay-rights advocates.
“Today is about the millions of women -- the victims of domestic abuse and sexual assault -- who are out there right now looking for a lifeline, looking for support,” Obama said at a signing ceremony in Washington before an audience of women’s organizations, law enforcement officials, tribal leaders, survivors, advocates and lawmakers.
SECRET SERVICE: CANCELLING WH TOURS SAVES $74K A WEEK
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| The White House |
ABC News tried all day yesterday to get an answer out of the White House and Secret Service about how much money will be saved by canceling White House tours. Now we have an answer: $74,000 per week, according to Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan.
Here’s how they do the math:
The Secret Service says it takes an average of 37 officers to secure the tours. Each officer’s total pay (including benefits) averages $50 an hour. And, although the tours only are only open for 20 ½ hours per week, Donovan says the officers are on the clock for 40 hours. So – 37 officers at $50 an hour for 40 hours a week adds up to $74,000.
NORTH KOREA VOWS NUCLEAR ATTACKS ON US, SAYS WASHINGTON WILL BE 'ENGULFED IN SEA OF FIRE'
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| www.foxnews.com |
North Korea amplified its threatening rhetoric as the U.N. Security Council approved new sweeping sanctions, vowing to launch a first-strike nuclear attack against the United States and threatening to engulf Washington in a "sea of fire."
An unidentified spokesman for Pyongyang's Foreign Ministry said the North will exercise its right for "a preemptive nuclear attack to destroy the strongholds of the aggressors" because Washington is pushing to start a nuclear war against the North.
FACEBOOK TRIES TO STAY HIP WITH JAZZIER NEWS FEED
Facebook doesn't want to be dismissed as an Internet has-been before its social network even enters its adolescence.
In an effort to remain hip, it is infusing the focal point of its website with a more dynamic look and additional controls designed to empower its 1 billion users to sort streams of photos and other material into more organized sections that appeal to their personal interests.
JOBLESS CLAIMS FALL UNEXPECTEDLY
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| Associated Press |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) — The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, suggesting a pickup in the labor market and the pace of economic growth.
The decline in jobless claims, released on Thursday, may foreshadow a strong report on February employment.
GEORGE LUCAS SAYS HARRISON FORD, CARRIE FISHER AND MARK HAMIL TO APPEAR IN NEW 'STAR WARS'
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| Reuters |
“Star Wars” creator George Lucas let slip that Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill could be firing up their old lightsabers in “Star Wars: Episode VII.”
When asked by Bloomberg Businessweek
if the original actors from the sci-fi phenomenon would return, Lucas revealed, “We had already signed Mark and Carrie and Harrison—or we were pretty much in final stages of negotiation. So I called them to say, ‘Look, this is what’s going on.’”
if the original actors from the sci-fi phenomenon would return, Lucas revealed, “We had already signed Mark and Carrie and Harrison—or we were pretty much in final stages of negotiation. So I called them to say, ‘Look, this is what’s going on.’”
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