Karzai's U.S. visit a time for tough talk

The last time Presidents Obama and Karzai met was in May in Kabul, when they signed a pact regarding U.S. troop withdrawal.STORY HIGHLIGHTSAfghan President Karzai meeting with President Obama in Washington this weekFelbab-Brown: Afghan politics are corrupt; army not ready for 2014 troop pulloutShe says Taliban, insurgents, splintered army, corrupt officials are all jockeying for powerU.S. needs to...

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Banking sector became 'too arrogant' and must change: UBS

LONDON: The banking sector "needs to change" after it became "too arrogant" in the run-up to the infamous Libor rate-rigging scandal, the head of the investment bank division of Swiss lender UBS told British lawmakers here on Wednesday."We all got probably too arrogant, too self-convinced that things were correct the way they were. I think the industry needs to change," Andrea Orcel told...

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Biden: Obama may act alone to combat gun violence

STORY HIGHLIGHTSNEW: Obama is exploring executive orders, Biden announcesWal-Mart reversed a decision, saying it now will attend a Thursday meetingBurlington, Vermont, passed a resolution that could lead to an assault weapons banA Marine supporting an assault weapons ban pushes back against another MarineOn Wednesday night, Piers Morgan goes one-on-one with firearms lobbyist Larry Pratt over guns...

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Holmes posed playfully with gun before shootings

CENTENNIAL, Colo. The hearing to determine whether the suspected gunman in last year's Colorado theater shooting ended Wednesday with one last detail from police: James Holmes used a cell phone to take self-portraits the night of the attack, sticking out his tongue, smiling and posing with a Glock pistol The defense decided not to call witnesses to talk about Holmes' mental health. They are expected...

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Holmes Took Disturbing Photos Before Massacre

Hours before James Holmes allegedly carried out a massacre at a Colorado movie theater he took a series of menacing self-portraits with his dyed orange hair curling out of from under a black skull cap and his eyes covered with black contacts.A prosecutor told the court after the photographs were shown that Holmes had a "depravity of human heart."Those haunting photographs,...

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Iran faces oil revenue problem

By John Defterios, CNNJanuary 8, 2013 -- Updated 1535 GMT (2335 HKT)With elections in June, it remains unclear how energy policy will evolve after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's eraSTORY HIGHLIGHTSThe IEA has suggested Iraq surpassed Iran in output for the first time in over 20 yearsThe Iranian people are faced with spiralling inflation and job layoffs within the state sectorIranian oil revenues...

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Cricket: 'Passionate' Warne sorry for T20 bust-up

SYDNEY: Australian bowling great Shane Warne apologised Tuesday for the foul-mouthed Twenty20 confrontation that earned him a ban and a fine, and said he hoped he had not tarnished his legacy in the sport.Warne admitted he had gone too far in his on-field row with West Indian batsman Marlon Samuels in Australia's Big Bash League but defended his right to show "emotion and passion"."I'm...

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After affair and resignation, track coach feels 'ratted out'

STORY HIGHLIGHTSThe coach is a giant in women's trackShe learned to walk again after a devastating accidentThe affair with the student occurred a decade agoShe said she's "never stepped outside the lines" in her career(CNN) -- The University of Texas women's track coach who resigned under fire after the disclosure of an affair with a female student a decade ago doesn't understand why she was targeted...

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Concordia capt. "painted worse than bin Laden"

Ahead of the one-year anniversary of the Costa Concordia disaster, in which 32 people were killed when the cruise ship ran aground off the Italian island of Giglio, the captain of the ship told an Italian newspaper that he "was painted worse than bin Laden." 82 PhotosLuxury cruise ship runs agroundFrancesco Schettino said in an interview with the Turin newspaper La Stampa that he is tormented by...

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Jodi Arias: Who Is the Admitted Killer?

Jodi Arias is a woman that many can't keep their eyes off of--a soft-spoken, small-framed 32-year-old who last year won a jailhouse Christmas caroling contest. But she is also an admitted killer who is now on trial in Arizona for the 2008 murder of her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander.Sitting in a Maricopa County court, Arias, whose trial resumes today, cries every time prosecutors...

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