First US recreational pot industry opens in Colorado as other states, countries closely watch
DENVER (AP) — Crowds were serenaded by live music as they waited for the nation's first legal recreational pot shops to open. They ate doughnuts and funnel cakes as a glass-blower made smoking pipes. Some tourists even rode around in a limo, eager to try weed but not so eager to be seen buying it.
And when the sales began, those who bought the drug emerged from the stores, receipt held high and carrying sealed shopping bags, to cheers.
"I'm going to frame the receipt when I go home, to remind myself of what might be possible: Legal everywhere," musician James Aaron Ramsey, 28, who did some time in jail for pot possession in Missouri and played folk tunes with his guitar for those in line.
Activists hope he's right, and that the experiment in Colorado will prove to be a better alternative to the costly American-led drug war, produce the kind of revenue that state officials hope and save the government costs in locking up drug offenders.
Just on the first day, prices had already risen to more than $500 an ounce, but it's too soon to say whether that will hold.
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A new year could bring good news or bad news — or both — for Obama's health care overhaul
WASHINGTON (AP) — This could be the year that things finally turn around for President Barack Obama's health care law. Yet it could start with another round of glitches that vex consumers and leave Republicans crowing, "We told you so."
The law's major benefits take effect with the new year, along with an unpopular insurance mandate and the risk of more nerve-racking coverage disruptions.
Big improvements are in store for some, including Howard Kraft of Lincolnton, N.C. A painful spinal problem left him unable to work as a hotel bellman. But he's got coverage because federal law now forbids insurers from turning away people with health problems.
"I am not one of these people getting a policy because I'm being made to," Kraft said. "I need one to stay alive."
What's good for millions like Kraft is secured through what others see as an imposition: requiring virtually every American to get covered, through an employer, a government program or direct purchase of a plan.
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As fighting rages in South Sudan city of Bor, peace talks to open in Ethiopia
JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — Negotiators from South Sudan's two warring sides arrived Wednesday in Ethiopia for peace talks, and a U.N. official urged both forces to bring the world's newest country "back from the brink."
Fighting continued in Bor, a gateway city to the capital of Juba, a government official said. Bor is just 120 kilometers (75 miles) from Juba.
Bor, the capital of Jonglei state, is the center of ethnically based violence stemming from the political rivalry between President Salva Kiir and ousted Vice President Riek Machar, the rebel leader accused of mounting a failed coup attempt.
Kiir declared a state of emergency Wednesday in Jonglei and Unity, two states where rebel forces have gained the upper hand in recent fighting.
Machar said Tuesday he would send his forces from Bor to Juba, but that threat was played down by Hilde Johnson, the U.N. representative in South Sudan.
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Palestinian ambassador to Prague is killed after safe explodes in his apartment
PRAGUE (AP) — The Palestinian ambassador to the Czech Republic died Wednesday in an explosion that occurred when he opened an old safe that had been left untouched for more than 20 years, officials said.
Ambassador Jamal al-Jamal, 56, was at home with his family at the time of the explosion, according to Palestinian Embassy spokesman Nabil El-Fahel. Al-Jamal was seriously injured and rushed to a hospital where he died, according to police spokeswoman Andrea Zoulova.
Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki said no foul play was suspected, noting that the safe had been left untouched for more than 20 years.
It also appeared that the door of the safe had been booby-trapped, according to Zoulova. It was unclear how al-Jamal tried to open it or what type of safe it was.
The safe was recently moved from the old embassy building, but it had come from a building that used to house the Palestinian Liberation Organization's offices in the 1980s, Malki said.
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Republicans, Democrats likely to put fresh paint on old arguments in 2014
ATLANTA (AP) — Both Republicans and Democrats are looking for fresh ways to pitch old arguments as they head into the final midterm election year of Barack Obama's presidency.
Eager to capitalize as the president's job approval rating hovers in the low 40s, Republicans are looking to hammer the clumsy implementation of Obama's health care overhaul and bemoan an economy that, while improving, still grows too slowly. They're already painting Democrats as fiscally irresponsible underlings of an increasingly unpopular president whose government creates more problems than it solves.
Democrats say they'll run as the party of average Americans and paint Republicans as out-of-touch allies of the wealthy, with a stubborn streak that forced a partial government shutdown and still prevents practical solutions for national problems. They're advocating populist positions like a minimum wage increase and an end to tax breaks for energy companies, and they're already reminding voters of Republicans' struggle to connect with women, non-whites and younger Americans. They're also looking to exploit the rift between tea party conservatives and establishment Republicans.
Republicans hold the House majority, and Democrats control the Senate; so each side wants to reclaim a second chamber to end the Capitol Hill divide that has largely resulted in gridlock for the past three years. Also at stake are a majority of governors' seats, which control key policy decisions around the country and will help shape the landscape for the 2016 presidential election.
Leaders and strategists from each party insist they'll have fresh twists to the health care fight now entering its fourth year. Since much of the health care law takes effect in 2014, voters will be reacting to actual outcomes rather than just political hyperbole from either side.
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Nations scramble for position in the melting Arctic; US racing to catch up, but far from lead
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. is racing to keep pace with stepped-up activity in the once sleepy Arctic frontier, but it is far from being in the lead.
Nations across the world are hurrying to stake claims to the Arctic's resources, which might be home to 13 percent of the world's undiscovered oil and 30 percent of its untapped natural gas. There are emerging fisheries and hidden minerals. Cruise liners loaded with tourists are sailing the Arctic's frigid waters in increasing numbers. Cargo traffic along the Northern Sea Route, one of two shortcuts across the top of the Earth in summer, is on the rise.
The U.S., which takes over the two-year rotating chairmanship of the eight-nation Arctic Council in 2015, has not ignored the Arctic, but critics say the U.S. is lagging behind the other seven: Russia, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Canada and Denmark, through the semiautonomous territory of Greenland.
"On par with the other Arctic nations, we are behind — behind in our thinking, behind in our vision," Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said. "We lack basic infrastructure, basic funding commitments to be prepared for the level of activity expected in the Arctic."
At a meeting before Thanksgiving with Secretary of State John Kerry, Murkowski suggested he name a U.S. ambassador or envoy to the Arctic — someone who could coordinate work on the Arctic being done by more than 20 federal agencies and take the lead on increasing U.S. activities in the region.
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James Avery, who played Uncle Phil in 'Fresh Prince of Bel-Air' TV series, dead at 68
NEW YORK (AP) — James Avery, the bulky character actor who laid down the law at home and on the job as the Honorable Philip Banks in "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," has died.
Avery's publicist, Cynthia Snyder, told The Associated Press that Avery died Tuesday in Glendale, Calif., following complications from open heart surgery. He was 68, Snyder said.
Avery, who stood more than 6 feet tall, played the family patriarch and a wealthy attorney and judge on the popular TV comedy that launched the acting career of Will Smith as Banks' troublemaking nephew.
The sitcom, which aired on NBC from 1990 to 1996, was set in the Banks' mansion, to which Smith's character was sent from Philadelphia when things got tough in his own neighborhood. Fans came to know the imposing Banks as "Uncle Phil."
Avery liked to say that the way to be an actor was to act, and he had a busy and diverse career before, during and after "Fresh Prince." His TV credits included "Grey's Anatomy," "NYPD Blue" and "Dallas," and among his many films were "Fletch," "Nightflyers" and "8 Million Ways to Die." His voice alone brought him many jobs, notably as Shredder in the animated TV series "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles."
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Pope's new year wish: accept differences and end arrogance
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis, laying out his hopes Wednesday for the just-begun year, urged people to work for a world where everyone accepts each other's differences and where enemies recognize that they are brothers.
"We are all children of one heavenly father. We belong to the same human family and we share a common destiny," Francis said, speaking from his studio window overlooking St. Peter's Square, jammed with tens of thousands of faithful, tourists and Romans.
"This brings a responsibility for each to work so that the world becomes a community of brothers who respect each other, accept each other in one's diversity, and take care of one another," the pope said.
Setting aside his prepared text for a moment, he expressed impatience with violence in the world. "What is happening in the heart of man? What is happening in the heart of humanity?" Francis asked. "It's time to stop."
He told the crowd this reflection was inspired by a letter he received from a man — "maybe one of you" — who lamented that there are "so many tragedies and wars in the world."
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Fire engulfs Minneapolis apartments after report of explosion; 14 injured, no fatalities
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A billowing fire engulfed a three-story building with several apartments near downtown Minneapolis early Wednesday, sending more than a dozen people to hospitals with injuries — some critical — ranging from burns to trauma associated with falls.
An explosion was reported about 8:15 a.m., and within minutes a fire raged through the building, said Robert Ball, a spokesman for Hennepin County Emergency Medical Services. Paramedics, amid sub-zero temperatures, responded to find victims on the ground, some with injuries that suggested they may have fallen multiple stories.
"It's not clear whether people were pushed out of the building from the explosion, or whether they fell or jumped out of windows to escape," Ball said.
No fatalities have been reported, but authorities weren't sure whether any residents were still inside the building. Its roof had partially collapsed, making it too dangerous for firefighters to enter and sweep the premises, said Assistant Minneapolis Fire Chief Cherie Penn.
Penn said 14 people were taken to hospitals, and six were considered to be critically hurt.
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Tyler Bozak lifts Maple Leafs to a 3-2 win over the Red Wings in snow-altered Winter Classic
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — A lot of winter. Very little classic hockey.
Tyler Bozak scored the winning shootout goal and Jonathan Bernier made two saves in the heart-pounding final moments, lifting the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 3-2 victory over Detroit at the snowy Winter Classic in front of the largest crowd to watch a hockey game.
The announced attendance Wednesday of 105,591 surpassed the 104,173 who saw Michigan and Michigan State skate in the same football stadium known as the Big House in 2010.
The game began with temperatures in the low teens and steady snow that didn't stop on a windy afternoon, leading to the sixth Winter Classic being much more of an event than a game.
It was, though, a closely contested spectacle.