U.S. lawmakers pushed the country to the edge of the “fiscal cliff” on Sunday as they struggled to reach a last-minute deal that could protect the world’s largest economy from a politically induced recession. Democratic and Republican leaders in the Senate had hoped to clear the way for swift action that would avert sweeping tax…
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was sent to the hospital on Sunday with a blood clot stemming from a concussion she suffered earlier this month and was being assessed by doctors, a State Department spokesman said. “In the course of a follow-up exam today, Secretary Clinton’s doctors discovered a blood clot had formed, stemming from…
Rita Levi Montalcini, an Italian biologist who defied World War II fascist anti-Semitism and went on to win a Nobel Prize in medicine, died at the age of 103. Her niece told reporters that Levi Montalcini died quietly in her sleep on Sunday at her home in Rome. Tributes poured in from across the Italian…
The chances of a deal to prevent the U.S. economy from tumbling over a “fiscal cliff” remained uncertain on Sunday as lawmakers haggled over how to prevent taxes for all Americans from rising on New Year’s Day. Aides to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell worked on a…
A new basketball court built as part of a bar mitzvah project by a New York boy was dedicated in Beersheba. The court was dedicated Sunday in the “Yud Alef” neighborhood of Beersheba, a neighborhood that is mainly home to immigrants from Ethiopia and the former Soviet Union. As part of the opening of the…
After a decades-long campaign to legalize marijuana hit a high mark in 2012 with victories in Washington state and Colorado, its energized and deep-pocketed backers are mapping out a strategy for the next round of ballot-box battles. They have their sights set on possible ballot measures in 2014 or 2016 in states such as California…
President Barack Obama offered strong support for former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel as the potential next U.S. defense secretary but said in remarks aired on Sunday that he had not yet decided on a nominee for the Pentagon post. Hagel is considered a leading candidate to replace outgoing Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, but the…
Police in Paris reportedly arrested a man on suspicion that he participated in attacking a Jewish man outside a synagogue. The suspect was apprehended shortly after he and the other three attackers, who escaped, allegedly attacked the 47-year-old Jew on Dec. 20 as the victim was coming out of a synagogue in the French capital’s…
Israeli far-right leader Avigdor Lieberman was charged on Sunday with fraud and breach of trust, allegations that prompted his resignation as foreign minister two weeks ago, justice officials said. Lieberman, who has denied the accusations, remains head of the Yisrael Beitenu party that has formed a coalition with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party…
Israel’s Supreme Court ruled on Sunday an Arab lawmaker could stand in elections, overturning her disqualification by electoral officials over her participation in a Gaza-bound aid flotilla in 2010. The nine-justice court ruled unanimously Haneen Zoabi “shall be a candidate for the Knesset” in a Jan. 22 poll without giving details of its reasons. Zoabi…
Israeli officials have denied newspaper reportes that Ron Dremer, an aide to Benjamin Netanyahu with close ties to Republicans, would be taking over as Israel’s ambassador to the U.S. It took Israeli officials more than 24 hours, perhaps due to the Sabbath in which government offices do not work, in order to issue a broad…
