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...

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Japan Emperor Akihito turns 79, says back to health

TOKYO: Japanese Emperor Akihito turned 79 years old on Sunday and reassured thousands of well-wishers that he has regained his health since his heart bypass surgery in February.The softly-spoken monarch gave his birthday address to the public from a glass-covered balcony at the Imperial Palace overlooking the East Garden, filled with visitors braving the bitter cold and waving small Japanese...

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Little common ground in debate on guns

STORY HIGHLIGHTSThe NRA wants to staff every school in America with "qualified armed security"Obama, Democrats and others see tougher gun control as the way to limit future massacresWhile both sides want to keep children safe, it seems they are living in two different worldsWashington (CNN) -- For National Rifle Association Vice President Wayne LaPierre and many other pro-gun Americans, the task is...

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Newtown parents reject NRA plan

NEWTOWN, Conn. When Adam Lanza started his lethal attack on Sandy Hook Elementary School, Andrei Nikitchyuk's eight year-old son and another third grader were on their way to the principal's office. It was their turn to bring the daily attendance sheet to the front office, near where principal Dawn Hochsprung and psychologist Mary Sherlach would become the first casualties inside the school. Play...

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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:...

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US gun lobby urges armed police in every school

WASHINGTON: The US' most powerful pro-gun lobbying group is suggesting that armed police be deployed to every school in the country following a mass shooting that left 20 young children dead.The National Rifle Association, which supports a broad interpretation of US citizens' constitutional right to bear arms, had been under pressure to respond in the wake of last week's massacre in a...

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Obama: Get short-term fix to fiscal cliff, then broader deal

STORY HIGHLIGHTSNEW: President Obama spoke with congressional leaders about a possible deal A Democratic source lays out possible scenariosHouse Republicans reject Speaker Boehner's tax alternativeEveryone's taxes go up in 11 days without an agreementWashington (CNN) -- President Barack Obama spoke separately Friday with Speaker John Boehner and the top Senate Democrat to try to salvage a fiscal cliff...

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Obama Still an 'Optimist' on Cliff Deal

Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty ImagesWASHINGTON D.C. – Ten days remain before the mandatory spending cuts and tax increases known as the “fiscal cliff” take effect, but President Obama said he is still a “hopeless optimist” that a federal budget deal can be reached before the year-end deadline that economists agree might plunge the country back into recession.“Even though Democrats and Republicans are...

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Goodbye, U.S. Postal Service?

This Christmas could be the Post Office's last, says John Avlon. STORY HIGHLIGHTSThe U.S. Postal Service is bleeding money and heading toward insolvency John Avlon: Congress can save the postal service in deal on the fiscal cliff He says the urgency is clear, let's hope for a Christmas miracle Avlon: But be prepared that Washington dysfunction can doom the postal service Editor's note: John Avlon...

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Britain's Akram Khan's dance of creative destruction

PARIS: A year ago, Akram Khan was told his dance career was over. Now, with the Olympics ceremony under his belt, two films on the boil and three shows on tour, Britain's best-known choreographer could hardly be busier if he tried.The 38-year-old ball of energy is in Paris this month with his most personal work to date, DESH, a full-length solo exploring his family roots in Bangladesh,...

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Newtown 'an assembly line of wakes and funerals'

STORY HIGHLIGHTS"We have to take action," Vice President Joe Biden saysNancy Lanza is buried at an undisclosed location, a family friend says Adam Lanza will be buried "if anything ... in the spring," he addsThree 6-year-old victims are buried; bells will ring Friday in observance of one-week mark(CNN) -- Much of the nation was set to mark the passage of a week since last Friday, when a young Connecticut...

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Obama to hold moment of silence for Conn. victims

President Obama speaks at a memorial service for the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting on December 16, 2012 in Newtown, Conn. / MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images WASHINGTON President Barack Obama plans to observe a moment of silence at the White House on Friday morning in honor of the victims of the Connecticut elementary school massacre. The White House says the president will...

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Fiscal Cliff 'Plan B' Is Dead: Now What?

Dec 20, 2012 11:00pm The defeat of his Plan B — Republicans pulled it when it became clear it would be voted down — is a big defeat for Speaker of the House John Boehner.  It demonstrates definitively that there is no fiscal cliff deal that can pass the House on Republican votes alone.Boehner could not even muster the votes to pass something that would only allow...

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Big-spender ex-PM to be Japan's finance chief: report

TOKYO: A former Japanese prime minister known as a big spender in his political and personal life, will likely become the country's next finance minister and deputy premier, a report said on Thursday.The leading Nikkei business daily said incoming Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will tap 72-year-old Taro Aso as finance chief and his own deputy, in a new government set to be formed next week.Aso's...

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Blizzard warning issued for large swath of Midwest

Drivers in Colorado contend with heavy snow Wednesday.STORY HIGHLIGHTSNEW: 156-mile stretch of freeway closed in Colorado23-car pileup in Texas dust storm kills one, injures 17Heavy snow, high winds stretch from Colorado to Wisconsin in season's first blizzardStorm to crawl from Midwest to New England by Friday(CNN) -- People traveling early for Christmas in the center of the country will be dashing...

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Senate GOP proposes much smaller Sandy aid package

WASHINGTONSenate Republicans on Wednesday proposed a $24 billion emergency aid package for Superstorm Sandy victims, less than half of what Democrats hope to pass by Christmas. The GOP alternative bill would provide more than enough money to pay for immediate recovery efforts through the spring. Republicans complain that the $60.4 billion Democratic bill being debated in the Senate is larded with...

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