Wall Street Week Ahead: A lump of coal for "Fiscal Cliff-mas"

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street traders are going to have to pack their tablets and work computers in their holiday luggage after all. A traditionally quiet week could become hellish for traders as politicians in Washington are likely to fall short of an agreement to deal with $600 billion in tax hikes and spending cuts due to kick in early next year. Many economists forecast that this...

Read More..

Falcons top Lions 31-18 for home-field advantage

DETROIT (AP) — Matt Ryan got what he wanted.Calvin Johnson was forced to settle for what he could get.Ryan matched a career high with four touchdown passes, two to Roddy White, to help the Atlanta Falcons beat the Detroit Lions 31-18 Saturday night and earn home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs."It's great," Ryan said. "Our confidence is high and our experience — good and bad — has helped...

Read More..

Three Spaceflyers Arrive at International Space Station

This story was updated Dec. 21 at 9:10 a.m. EST.The three newest residents of the International Space Station arrived at the high-flying laboratory Friday morning (Dec. 21) aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft.At 9:09 a.m. EST (1409 GMT) the capsule delivered Canadian Space Agency astronaut Chris Hadfield — who will become the station’s first Canadian commander — as well as Russian Federal Space Agency...

Read More..

Senators slam movie's torture scenes

In the new film "Zero Dark Thirty," Jessica Chastain plays a CIA analyst who is part of the team hunting Osama bin Laden. STORY HIGHLIGHTSSens. Feinstein, McCain, Levin send letter calling new film "grossly inaccurate"Letter adds to controversy over depiction of torture as a key to finding bin Laden, Bergen saysSenate committee has approved 6,000-page classified report on CIA interrogations programBergen...

Read More..

Some states move to ease gun rules

WASHINGTON — As Congress gears up for a fight over possible new gun restrictions, lawmakers in some states have pushed in the...

Read More..

Israel says Syria chemical weapons are secure for now

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Syria's chemical weapons are still secure despite the fact that President Bashar al-Assad has lost control of parts of the country, a senior Israeli defense official said on Sunday. Amos Gilad told Army Radio that the civil war between Assad and opposition forces fighting to topple him had become deadlocked, but that the Syrian leader showed no signs of heeding international...

Read More..

U.S. budget setback hits shares, euro

LONDON (Reuters) - European and Asian shares weakened on Friday and both the euro and gold slipped, as a new setback in talks to avert a U.S. fiscal crisis stoked investor nerves. A proposal from Republican leader John Boehner to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff failed to get support from his party on Thursday, casting fresh uncertainty over talks to avoid across-the-board tax hikes and...

Read More..

Douglas wins AP female athlete of the year honors

When Gabby Douglas allowed herself to dream of being the Olympic champion, she imagined having a nice little dinner with family and friends to celebrate. Maybe she'd make an appearance here and there."I didn't think it was going to be crazy," Douglas said, laughing. "I love it. But I realized my perspective was going to have to change."Just a bit.The teenager has become a worldwide star since winning...

Read More..

EPA Scrambles on Year-End Regulatory Push

Forget the fiscal cliff and the National Rifle Association. The Environmental Protection Agency really got back to business on Friday after an election-year bottleneck, unleashing two new regulations and a controversial report on oil and natural-gas drilling.The trio of EPA news developments is part of the agency’s expected year-end push after several rules were kept in regulatory limbo much of this...

Read More..

Madness in the air in Washington

National Rifle Association Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre calls on Congress to pass a law putting armed police officers in every school in America.STORY HIGHLIGHTSDavid Gergen: After election, there were hopes partisan tension would fadeHe says this week we've seen a complete breakdown on the fiscal cliffThe NRA doubled down on its anti-gun-control rhetoric despite Newtown, he saysGergen:...

Read More..