Rare peek inside Democrats' PR war room, as they cover the Conservative Political Action Conference (ABC News)
 

Rare peek inside Democrats' PR war room

The work kicks into full force as operatives fact-check speeches from CPAC and "trackers" keep watchful eye.  Favorite GOP speaker »

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  • Standoff reported at Ukrainian military base

    Crimea's new leader says 11,000 Russian troops now control all access to strategic region.

    Associated Press

  • Study ties trouble sleeping to reduced brain volume

    By Ronnie Cohen NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People who have trouble sleeping tend to have less volume in certain regions of the brain than those without sleep problems, a new study of Persian Gulf War veterans suggests. "People discount the importance of sleep. "The study suggests we shouldn't discount sleep importance," she said. In their study, sleep was associated with the amount of gray matter in the brain's frontal lobe in particular.

    Reuters

  • Who needs speeches? Scenes from CPAC

    Get weird at the Conservative Political Action Conference.

  • Is airplane turbulence becoming more dangerous?

    Despite technological advances in detecting and avoiding turbulence, it remains a threat to anything that flies, including civil, military and commercial aircraft of any size, and some experts believe we’ll be encountering more such episodes, thanks to the effects of climate change.

  • U.N. warns of 'lost generation' in Syria

    Security Council revisits resolution on children in conflict first adopted 15 years ago.

    AFP

  • Mom who drove kids into ocean charged with attempted murder

    DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A pregnant South Carolina woman who drove a minivan carrying her three young children into the ocean surf off Florida was charged Friday with attempted first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse, though she has denied trying to harm anyone, authorities said.

    Associated Press

  • Witnesses: Russians take Crimea military post

    Ukrainian military official says missile defense was taken over with no shots fired.

    Reuters

  • Russia rallies support for Crimea

    Across Red Square, 65,000 people waved Russian flags, chanting "Crimea is Russia!"

    Associated Press

  • Criminal lawyer's ad is subversive, sarcastic and pretty awesome

    Daniel Muessig is a criminal defense attorney not a judge. In an over-the-top online video that's making the rounds, Muessig says, "I’m the Pittsburgh criminal defense attorney Pittsburgh criminals hire when they commit crimes."

  • Mass. governor signs law banning 'upskirt' photos

    BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick signed a bill on Friday updating the state's voyeurism laws, just two days after the state's highest court ruled that a man who took cellphone photos up the skirts of female subway passengers in Boston wasn't violating the law as written.

    Associated Press

  • Army general coerced captain into affair, prosecutors say

    FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) — With the Pentagon under increased scrutiny over revelations of rampant rape and sexual misconduct within the ranks, opening statements began Friday in a rare court-martial of an Army general — believed to be the most senior member of the U.S. military to face trial on sex assault charges.

    Associated Press

  • Ukraine Paralympic chief says will quit Games if Russia invades

    By Alexei Anishchuk SOCHI, Russia (Reuters) - Ukraine's Paralympic chief, Valeriy Sushkevich, said on Friday his team would quit the Winter Paralympic Games if Russia invaded his home country, and that he hoped the competition would be able to spread peace instead. Russia is holding the Games in the Black Sea resort of Sochi at a time when it is being criticised for its actions in Ukraine's southern region of Crimea, where the West accuses Russia of seizing military and government institutions. While Putin says he has the right to send in troops to defend Russian compatriots there but that so far he sees no need to do so. "If there is an escalation of the conflict, intervention on the territory of our country, God forbid the worst, we would not be able to stay here, we would go," Sushkevich told a news conference.

    Reuters

  • Fire destroys 'Party Animal' house in Detroit

    DETROIT (AP) — A house covered in stuffed animals and dolls that was a key part of the Heidelberg Project in Detroit became the latest casualty Friday in a 10-month string of suspicious fires that has devastated much of the long-running interactive outdoor art installation.

    Associated Press

  • Not me: Calif. man denies he's bitcoin founder

    The denial comes after a published report claims he's behind the virtual currency.

    Associated Press

  • Pro-Crimea rally attacts 65,000 to Kremlin

    Over 65,000 people waving Russian flags and banners attended a rally in central Moscow on Friday, in a show of solidarity with pro-Russian authorities in the Ukrainian region of Crimea, police said. The rally, entitled "We are together", which began with Russian pop star Oleg Gazmanov singing patriotic songs, took place just outside the walls of the Kremlin. Crimean parliament speaker Vladimir Konstantinov, who earlier met top lawmakers in Moscow, offered greetings "from Crimea" as he took to the stage amid cheers. "Yesterday we took a historic decision," he said, referring to a request by the autonomous republic's parliament to join Russia, a move they want voters to ratify in a March 16 referendum.

    AFP

  • U.S. job growth offers upbeat sign for weather-beaten economy

    By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. job growth accelerated sharply in February despite the icy weather that gripped much of the nation, easing fears of an abrupt economic slowdown and keeping the Federal Reserve on track to continue reducing its monetary stimulus. Employers added 175,000 jobs to their payrolls last month after creating 129,000 new positions in January, the Labor Department said on Friday. The unemployment rate, however, rose to 6.7 percent from a five-year low of 6.6 percent as Americans flooded into the labor market to search for work. "It reinforces the case for the economy being stronger than it's looked for the last couple of months," said Bill Cheney, chief economist at John Hancock Financial Services in Boston.

    Reuters

  • Religious conservatives facing off at conference

    OXON HILL, Md. (AP) — The early auditions for the Republican Party's next presidential contest are in full swing at the nation's largest annual gathering of conservative activists, where some of the GOP's most prominent religious conservatives are facing off.

    Associated Press

  • Opening statements to begin in general's sex trial

    FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) — With the Pentagon under increased scrutiny over revelations of rampant rape and sexual misconduct within the ranks, opening statements were set to begin Friday in a rare court-martial of an Army general — believed to be the most senior member of the U.S. military to face trial on sex assault charges.

    Associated Press

  • Putin rebuffs Obama's warning on Ukraine

    After an hour-long phone call, Putin says Russia and the U.S. are still far apart.

    Reuters

  • Militant grip transforms, terrorizes Syrian city

    BEIRUT (AP) — Once a vibrant, religiously mixed community, Syria's eastern city of Raqqa is now a shell of its former self, terrorized by hard-line militants who have turned it into the nucleus of their vision for the Islamic caliphate they hope one day to establish in Syria and Iraq.

    Associated Press