Year: 2013

Test subjects who could fly like Superman through a virtual reality simulator were more likely to help somebody after the flight. Sophie Bushwick reports.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Eric Cantor, the often combative second-ranking Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives, sought on Tuesday to rebrand himself and his party, voicing hope that they can work with President Barack Obama for the sake of all Americans. While not wavering from his conservative principles and desire to tame the record U.S. debt, Cantor expressed a new eagerness to help the needy in such areas as education, healthcare, immigration and moving up the economic ladder. …

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. government is ditching ambitious plans to create a single computer system for troops and military veterans to track their health records, opting instead for a more modest, less costly plan that officials said will deliver on goals faster. The decision announced on Tuesday is complicated and technical but goes to the core of President Barack Obama’s goal to create a smooth transition for troops as they leave the military after 11 years of war and seek care at the Department of Veterans Affairs. The two bureaucracies – the largest in the U.S. …

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – California Supreme Court justices on Tuesday suggested that state law might empower local governments to ban medical marijuana shops, in a case set to determine how far cities and counties can go in clamping down on the industry. The case, which comes as elected officials across the nation grapple with how to handle a growing industry for the federally banned drug, pits the southern California city of Riverside against a medical pot dispensary it has sought to shut down, the Inland Empire Patients Health and Wellness Center. …

NEW YORK (Reuters) – New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is one of the most closely watched figures in U.S. politics but he is also the frequent target of fat jokes. Now, Christie is making it clear he can play along. Appearing on Monday on "The Late Show with David Letterman," Christie recited one-liners the late-night comedian has performed at his expense. They included: "A billion dollars will be spent on potato chips for Super Bowl Sunday, and that's just at Governor Christie's house. …

DALLAS (Reuters) – The suspect accused of shooting dead former Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle and another man stole a vehicle from the scene and told his sister “I traded my soul for a new truck,” investigators said on Tuesday. Eddie Ray Routh is being held on one count of capital murder and two counts of murder in the slayings on Saturday of Kyle and Chad Littlefield. Investigators said that shortly after the shooting Routh visited his sister, Laura Blevins, who said on a 911 emergency call released on Tuesday that the visit left her scared. …

(Reuters) – The suspect accused of shooting dead former Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle and another man stole a vehicle from the scene and told his sister “I traded my soul for a new truck,” investigators said. Eddie Ray Routh was being held on $3 million bond on a capital murder charge for the double-slaying on Saturday. The fact that Routh, 25, of Lancaster, Texas, served in the Marines from 2006 to 2010, including a tour in Iraq, put attention on the psychological wounds of war. The new evidence, which first came to light on Monday, suggests robbery could have formed part of the motive. …

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Eric Cantor, the combative second-ranking Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives, launched a major rebranding of his party on Tuesday, saying he hoped Republicans and President Barack Obama could "set differences aside" in the interest of helping ordinary Americans. …

GENEVA (Reuters) – Dirty water diseases are spreading in Syria, compounding the problems of hospitals that are perilously short of medicine and doctors after nearly two years of fighting, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday. The Health Ministry has run out of trauma treatments made in factories in rebel areas to help the increasing numbers of burns victims and wounded civilians in intensive care units, it said. That is assuming patients can reach treatment in the first place. …

MOGADISHU (Reuters) – A Somali judge on Tuesday jailed a woman who said she had been raped by soldiers and a journalist who interviewed her, finding them guilty of making up the story to besmirch the government. The verdict and one-year jail sentences drew condemnation from Somalia’s union of journalists. Human rights groups have called the trial politically motivated, aimed at covering up rampant sexual abuse of women by the security forces. “They fabricated a story to hurt the government,” Judge Ahmed Aden said in court. …