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October 30, 2013 On Halloween, watch a live Tiny Desk Concert featuring Neko Case and Kelly Hogan, as well as Eric Bachmann of Crooked Fingers and Archers of Loaf. Case is keeping her outfit under wraps for now, but promises a reveal worthy of the occasion. Come back to this page on Oct. 31 at 2 p.m. ET to watch.
As he stepped off an escalator leading from the Capitol's underground subway system to the U.S. Senate, Ron Johnson opened up a yellow folder, pulled out a copy of the “If You Like Your Health Plan, You Can Keep It Act," and handed it to fellow senator Chris Coons.
"I look forward to reading this," said Coons, a Democrat from Delaware.
"It's the president's exact language," replied Johnson, a Republican from Wisconsin.
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Pakistan will allow an Afghan peace delegation to meet with a senior member of the Taliban who may be able to help start talks with the insurgency, Kabul said Wednesday.
An announcement from President Hamid Karzai's office said an agreement was reached in London for a delegation from Afghanistan's High Peace Council to meet in the near future with Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, who remains in Pakistan after his release from prison last month.
Baradar was the No. 2 of the Taliban until his arrest in Pakistan in 2010.
The decision was made on Tuesday at a meeting attended by Karzai, British Prime Minister David Cameron and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
"The three leaders spoke about the role of Pakistan in the peace process of Afghanistan and all three agreed that a delegation of (the) High Peace Council of Afghanistan make a trip to Pakistan and meet with Mullah Baradar," an announcement said.
It remains unclear, however, if Baradar will agree to meet the Afghan delegation.
The Taliban have so far refused to talk directly with Karzai, his government or its representatives. Attempts to open talks between Afghanistan and the Taliban in June ended in failure after Karzai accused the militants of setting up a government in exile and demanded they remove their flag and a sign identifying the movement as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. The Taliban refused and closed their office in the Gulf state of Qatar.
Baradar's whereabouts have not been known since his release and he has not met with members of his family or representative of the Afghan government or the Taliban. He is thought to be in a Pakistani government "safe house" that is constantly under guard.
Karzai hopes that Baradar can help kick-start negotiations to end the 12-year war. Along with Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar, Baradar was a founding member of the Islamic militant movement.
One senior Taliban official told The Associated Press recently that Baradar is still under house arrest in Pakistan and is not allowed to see his family until he agrees to meet with the High Peace Council, which was set up by Karzai to negotiate with the religious movement.
The Taliban official told the AP in a telephone interview that Baradar had spoken twice to his family in Karachi since his release was announced Sept. 21.
Speaking on condition of anonymity because Mullah Omar has not authorized interviews, the official, who held a commanding position during the Taliban rule, also spent four years in Pakistani custody. He said Baradar met Taliban members while in custody and assured them that he would not defy Mullah Omar's orders forbidding direct talks with the Afghan government.
During the London meeting, the announcement said that Sharif accepted an invitation from Karzai to visit Kabul in coming weeks and that their interior ministers will also meet to discuss border security.
Relations between the two neighbors have been tense for years, with Afghanistan accusing Pakistan of supporting the Taliban insurgency and allowing the insurgents to retain safe havens in its tribal regions along the frontier. Pakistan has charged that Afghanistan allows insurgents opposed to Islamabad's government to use sanctuaries on its side of the border.
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AP Special Regional Correspondent for Afghanistan and Pakistan Kathy Gannon contributed to this report.
Follow Patrick Quinn on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/PatrickAQuinn
A vehicle from the Chinese police special tactical unit guards the sidewalk Tuesday where it is believed a car drove up before it plowed through a crowd and crashed and burned in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.
A vehicle from the Chinese police special tactical unit guards the sidewalk Tuesday where it is believed a car drove up before it plowed through a crowd and crashed and burned in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.
China, CCTV
We start this morning with more news on that deadly crash in Beijing's Tiananmen square.
Authorities say they've arrested five people in Beijing in connection with Monday's crash that killed two people and injured nearly 40. They labeled the incident a terrorist attack.
Police said the attack was "carefully planned, organized and premeditated."
The driver of the vehicle that crashed into a crowd of people was identified as Usmen Hasan, a Uighur from China's Xinjiang Province. Passengers included his mother and his wife. All three were also killed in the incident. Police said they found gasoline, two knives and steel sticks as well as a flag with extremist religious content in the jeep.
The five people arrested were also identified with names typically associated with Uighurs. Knives and a "jihad flag" were found in their homes.
The BBC adds that police were originally looking for eight suspects.
Israel, Haaretz
Now to Israel where the head of Teva Pharmaceuticals, the world's largest manufacturer of generic drugs, stepped down Wednesday. Just two days ago, Jeremy Levin denied media reports that he would do so.
"Since I joined Teva, we have made tremendous progress in setting a new course for the company," Levin said following his resignation. "I wish the company and its people, who I respect greatly, every success. I look forward to pursuing new opportunities where I can continue to apply my experience and contribute to the evolution of the global pharmaceutical industry."
Eyal Desheh, the firm's CFO, was named interim CEO.
The company had been criticized over plans to lay off 5,000 workers worldwide and over its tax incentives in Israel – both of which had created a rift between Teva's management and its board.
Argentina, Clarin
Finally, a ruling by the Supreme Court clears the way for the breakup of large media groups in the country.
Critics in the media, including Clarin, the biggest broadcaster and newspaper company, say the law silences the opposition. But supporters say it will reduce the influence of large corporations.
In a statement the Clarin Group said while it respects the court's decision, it is examining further appeals, including to international tribunals. The ruling will likely force it shed many media holdings.
The Supreme Court ruled that the 2009 law was constitutional.
To know where Modern Kin is coming from now, it helps to know where its members have been. The Portland trio — made up of Drew Grow, Kris Doty and Jeremiah Hayden — contains three-quarters of Drew Grow & The Pastors' Wives, a band noted for the loose, rollicking gospel fervor of its live shows over the past four years.
Modern Kin represents a reboot of sorts, and its self-titled debut (produced by Janet Weiss) is a collection of tighter, more focused songs. The fervor remains, and the most intense moments find Grow channeling a preacher in thrall to the good books of Cave and Waits. "Unannounced" is Modern Kin as a power trio, the band announcing itself and dispensing catharsis in the record's most straightforward rock song.
Watch opbmusic's entire session with Modern Kin at opbmusic.org.
From Heidi Klum to Christina Aguilera, see celebs getting ready for Halloween by having some festive fall fun!
Source: http://www.ivillage.com/celebrities-pumpkin-patch-2011/1-b-395163?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Acelebrities-pumpkin-patch-2011-395163SANTA ROSA, Calif. (AP) — Hundreds of demonstrators marched Tuesday to protest the fatal shooting of a 13-year-old boy by a Northern California sheriff's deputy in an encounter that sparked community outrage and an FBI investigation.
Officers stood on rooftops and others wearing helmets stood guard at barricades while protesters rallied outside the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office in Santa Rosa.
The protesters, including middle- and high-school-age students and members of the Occupy Oakland movement, assembled in downtown Santa Rosa before marching through streets with signs and hooded sweatshirts bearing photos of the boy.
"Andy Lopez did not have to die," they chanted during the nearly three-hour, peaceful demonstration. No arrests were made.
A funeral was also held Tuesday for Lopez, who was shot and killed Oct. 22 by Sonoma County Deputy Erick Gelhaus, a firearms instructor who authorities said mistook a pellet gun carried by Lopez for an assault rifle.
Investigators say the hoodie-wearing teen didn't comply with commands to drop the gun and was turning toward deputies while raising the barrel when he was shot multiple times.
The incident remained under investigation by the FBI, Sonoma County prosecutors and Santa Rosa police.
Victor Manieri, 15, a freshman at Elsie Allen High School, left school early to join the march. He said he knew Andy and wanted to show support for his family.
"I disagree with what that cop did that day," Manieri said. "There are other methods such as using a Taser that would paralyze him, not take away his life."
Mitzi Reyes, 16, a junior at Elsie Allen, marched with her mother and two younger brothers. They also knew Andy and his family.
"I'm here today because I want to get justice not only for Andy but for other people that have died for no reason," she said.
The shooting has generated several protests in Santa Rosa, located about 50 miles northwest of San Francisco. On Sunday, more than 1,000 people turned out for a service to remember Lopez.
Sonoma County Assistant Sheriff Lorenzo Duenas said Gelhaus, 48, has been a Sonoma County firearms instructor and rangemaster for 19 years and has trained his law enforcement colleagues in the use of force. He is one of 26 such instructors for the county.
Gelhaus also teaches pistol, carbine, shotgun and rifle lessons for Gunsite, a private company in Arizona, according to the company's website.
