Scott Neuman

Scott Neuman appears in the following:

Indian Nurses Back Home After Being Trapped By Fighting In Iraq

Saturday, July 05, 2014

More than 40 Indian nurses trapped since last month in the rebel-held city of Mosul have arrived back home.

According to The Associated Press, the Indian government organized an Air India plane to fly the nurses home from Irbil.

The AP says: "Outside the airport in Kochi [in India's southern ...

Comment

Ukrainian Forces Retake Key Rebel Stronghold In East

Saturday, July 05, 2014

Ukrainian troops have retaken the key stronghold of Slovyansk from pro-Russian forces in a sign that Kiev may be regaining control over the country's east, months after insurgents swept through the region establishing a self-proclaimed independent republic.

The country's president, Petro Poroshenko, and a spokesman for the rebels confirmed ...

Comment

SunTrust Settles In Probe Into Mishandled Home Loan Modifications

Thursday, July 03, 2014

Atlanta-based SunTrust Mortgage Inc. has agreed to pay up to $320 million to resolve criminal allegations that it mishandled applications from homeowners seeking loan modifications under a federal program.

The deal with the Justice Department follows a similar settlement last month with SunTrust Mortgage over its mishandling of federally ...

Comment

Chinese Leader's Seoul Visit Seen As Snub To North Korea

Thursday, July 03, 2014

In a sign that China and South Korea are moving closer together, possibly at North Korea's expense, Beijing and Seoul have said they are close to a free-trade deal and issued a joint statement that they firmly oppose nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula.

The announcement on Thursday comes amid ...

Comment

Woman Charged In Denver With Seeking To Aid Islamic Extremists

Thursday, July 03, 2014

A 19-year-old Denver-area woman has been charged with conspiring to help a foreign terrorist organization after she was arrested in April boarding a flight that would ultimately land her in Syria, where she hoped to wage jihad, according to newly unsealed court documents.

According to the FBI, Shannon Maureen Conley ...

Comment

Saudi Arabia Reportedly Moves 30,000 Troops To Iraqi Border

Thursday, July 03, 2014

Amid reports that Saudi Arabia has deployed some 30,000 troops to its border with Iraq, President Obama has called King Abdullah to discuss the developments in the region.

Reuters quotes Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya television as saying the kingdom has deployed forces to its border after Iraqi troops abandoned their positions amid ...

Comment

Olympian, WWII Hero Louis Zamperini Dies At 97

Thursday, July 03, 2014

Louis Zamperini, an Olympic runner who later survived the brutality of a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp after his bomber crashed in the Pacific, has died at age 97. Zamperini's life story was chronicled in the best-seller Unbroken, and a film based on the book is set to be released in December.

...

Comment

Soul Singer Bobby Womack Dies At 70

Friday, June 27, 2014

Legendary soul singer Bobby Womack, who rose to prominence with such hits as "Lookin' For A Love" and "That's The Way I Feel About Cha," died Friday at age 70, his publicist says.

Womack began putting out records in the early 1960s as the lead singer of The Valentinos. ...

Comment

In The Stands At World Cup, It Was The U.S. That Beat Germany

Friday, June 27, 2014

I woke up Thursday to see a river washing down our street in Recife, Brazil.

Brown water washed in waves by tire-deep cars slowly fording the streets. Rain bucketing down while pedestrians in flip-flops cautiously made their way knee-deep over deluged sidewalks.

Normally, I might be concerned for my safety ...

Comment

Court Stays Decision Striking Down Indiana's Gay Marriage Ban

Friday, June 27, 2014

A federal appeals court has granted a stay on a lower court ruling striking down Indiana's same-sex marriage ban ahead of a planned appeal.

Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller was granted a stay by the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, which will hear an appeal of a ruling Wednesday ...

Comment

Ukraine Extends Cease-Fire With Pro-Russia Separatists

Friday, June 27, 2014

The Ukraine government today extended a weeklong cease-fire with pro-Russia separatists for another three days.

The announcement on President Petro Poroshenko's website said that Ukraine forces would stand down for an additional 72 hours, until 10 p.m. Monday.

The Associated Press says:

"The announcement came shortly after Poroshenko returned ...

Comment

Armed Drones Over Baghdad To Protect U.S. Forces, Pentagon Says

Friday, June 27, 2014

The Pentagon says armed U.S. drones are in the skies over Baghdad, protecting American forces deploying there to assess the security situation amid a Sunni insurgency.

Unarmed reconnaissance drones have been flying 30 to 35 sorties per day for the past week or so.

The decision to begin arming some ...

Comment

SCOTUS On Cellphones And The Privacy Of Poetry

Friday, June 27, 2014

To put a literary spin on the Supreme Court's recent decision to limit warrantless cellphone searches, author Craig Morgan Teicher turns to A.R. Ammons' book of poetry, Tape for the Turn of the Year.

Comment

Norway Does A Ctrl+Alt+Delete On E-Voting Experiment

Friday, June 27, 2014

After a two-year trial for Internet voting, Norway is pulling the plug.

The country's Office of Modernization said in a statement that there's no evidence that online voting, tested in elections in 2011 and 2013, improved turnout. It also said that "political disagreement" over the issue, along with ...

Comment

In Iraq, Coordination With Iran Not Impossible, Gen. Dempsey Says

Friday, June 27, 2014

"I'm not predicting that it's entirely impossible that we would at any point act collaboratively with Iran," the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff tells NPR.

Comment

GM Stops Selling Late-Model Chevy Cruzes; Recall Expected

Thursday, June 26, 2014

General Motors has issued an order to stop selling 2013 and 2014 model years of the Chevrolet Cruze compact car because of air bags that might not inflate properly. The automaker has identified 33,000 vehicles, mostly in the U.S. and Canada, with the potential problem and is expected to recall ...

Comment

Obama Asks For $500 Million To Train, Equip Syrian Rebels

Thursday, June 26, 2014

President Obama has asked Congress for $500 million to train and equip moderate Syrian rebels who are seeking the ouster of Bashar Assad.

If Congress approves the plan, it would supplement a covert training and assistance program already being run by U.S. intelligence agencies, The Associated Press says.

The White ...

Comment

Pot Use On The Rise In U.S., Report Says

Thursday, June 26, 2014

Marijuana use in the United States has gone up as the public perception of the drug's risk has gone down, according to a new United Nations report. The potency of the drug has also increased,

The World Drug Report 2014, put out by the U.N. Office on Drugs and ...

Comment

Former Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker Dies At 88

Thursday, June 26, 2014

Tennessee Sen. Howard Baker, who served as Senate majority leader in the 1980s and chief of staff under President Ronald Reagan, has died at 88, his law firm said Tuesday.

Baker died at his home on Thursday due to complications from a stroke he suffered on Saturday, according to ...

Comment

North Korea Threatens War Over New Seth Rogen Comedy

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

While it's hard to imagine Seth Rogen and James Franco being the proximate cause of World War III, the stars of Pineapple Express have prompted the latest round of blustery threats from North Korea.

Pyongyang has promised "merciless" retaliation if the duo's latest comedy, The Interview, is released as scheduled ...

Comment