Gwinnett Daily Post

Planetary alignment peaking with celestial show this weekend

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Venus and Jupiter, the two brightest planets in the sky this month, will be joined by tiny Mercury for a rare celestial show this weekend.. Typically, Venus, the second-closest planet to the sun, and Jupiter, which orbits beyond Mars, are tens of millions of miles

Bridge collapses In Washington state, sending cars into river

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Part of a four-lane freeway bridge over a river in a rural area north of Seattle collapsed on Thursday, sending vehicles and people into the frigid water below, authorities said.

Obama limits use of drone strikes

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama outlined plans on Thursday to limit the use of U.S. drone strikes against extremists abroad and took steps aimed at breaking a deadlock on closing the Guantanamo Bay military prison.. In a major foreign policy speech after two weeks of fending off domestic scandals, Obama

Hamburgers for life reward to man who helped Ohio kidnap victims

CLEVELAND -- The man made famous for putting down his Big Mac to help free three women held captive for about a decade in a Cleveland house will never have to buy a hamburger in his hometown again.. More than two weeks after Charles Ramsey became an instant folk hero

College student snares record long Burmese python near Miami

ORLANDO, Fla. -- An 18-foot, 8-inch Burmese python set a record for the longest snake ever captured in South Florida, where the exotic species has taken up residence.. College student Jason Leon snared the female python in a rural area southeast of Miami earlier this month, when he

Toll from Oklahoma tornado falls

Emergency workers pulled more than 100 survivors from the rubble of homes, schools and a hospital in an Oklahoma town hit by a powerful tornado, and officials lowered the death toll from the storm to 24, including nine children.

Microsoft unveils Xbox One gaming system

REDMOND, Wash. -- Microsoft Corp. gave the world a first look at its new Xbox One on Tuesday, announcing that its first gaming console in eight years will come with exclusive video and software content, including a "Halo" series produced by Steven Spielberg.. The Xbox One, which will be available

Monster tornado devastates Oklahoma

A massive tornado tore through the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore on Monday, killing at least 51 people with winds of up to 200 miles per hour that flattened entire tracts of homes, two schools and a hospital, leaving a wake of tangled wreckage.

IRS chief declines to ID employees

WASHINGTON --The outgoing head of the Internal Revenue Service provided little help on Friday to lawmakers investigating who at the tax-collection agency was responsible for targeting conservative groups for extra scrutiny.. As Congress kicked off the first of several investigations into a scandal that has put President Barack Obama

The supervised after-prom party: Now with cars, iPads

WICHITA, Kan. -- Sometime this morning, a Pennsylvania high school student will be presented with the keys to a black Honda Civic just for going to a party after the school's annual prom dance.. In Roanoke, Va., one student will drive away next month with a new car and two

CBO: Obama budget cuts deficit $1.1T over decade

WASHINGTON -- Near-term U.S. deficits under President Barack Obama's 2014 budget plan would be higher than those forecast by the Congressional Budget Office this week but $1.1 trillion lower than what it estimates over the coming decade, CBO said on Friday.. After four straight years of $1 trillion-plus

Canadian astronaut wrestles with gravity after spaceflight

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., -- Back on Earth, Canadian astronaut and cyberspace tweeter Chris Hadfield is getting a rough re-introduction to gravity after a five-month stint aboard the International Space Station, the former commander told reporters during a video webcast from Houston.. Hadfield became a social media rock star

Tornadoes tear through Texas towns, killing six

Six people were killed and seven are missing after tornadoes slammed into north-central Texas after dark, Hood County spokesman Tye Bell said on Thursday.

US tax chief ousted in scandal

WASHINGTON -- Washington's top tax official was fired on Wednesday as President Barack Obama sought to stem a rising tide of criticism over the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of conservative groups for special scrutiny.. Seeking to regain the initiative amid a series of controversies that have threatened his second-term

Barbara Walters announces retirement

Trailblazing broadcast journalist Barbara Walters, known for her interviews with world leaders and celebrities and the first woman to co-anchor a U.S. evening news program, said on Monday she will retire in the summer of 2014.