More than half a million households in the north-eastern US and the south-eastern Canada are still without electricity after last weekend’s severe ice storm.
Utility crews are working round-the-clock, but warn that some homes could be without power at least until Saturday.
In Toronto, 72,000 people were without electricity on Christmas Day, officials in Canada’s Ontario province said.
At least 27 deaths in the region have been linked to the storm.
Most of those were caused by apparent carbon monoxide poisoning as people used gas generators, charcoal stoves and other appliances to heat their homes in freezing temperatures.
In Toronto, 72,000 people were without electricity on Christmas Day
“I understand they want to keep warm, but you cannot do this. This is deadly,” Toronto Mayor Rob Ford warned earlier this week.
Other fatalities were caused by traffic accidents.
Elsewhere in Canada, tens of thousands of people are still without power in New Brunswick and Quebec, and hundreds in Nova Scotia.
In the US, states from Maine to Michigan have been affected by the adverse weather.
Travel between Toronto and Montreal, Ottawa and New York had been disrupted.
Environment Canada meteorologist David Phillips warned earlier this week that the ice would remain as temperatures stayed below freezing.
Turkey’s PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced a major cabinet reshuffle after three ministerial resignations over a corruption inquiry.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan named 10 new ministers – almost half of his total roster – after talks with President Abdullah Gul.
One of those who quit, Environment Minister Erdogan Bayraktar, had urged Recep Tayyip Erdogan to step down himself.
Police are investigating allegations of illicit money transfers to Iran and bribery for construction projects.
Erdogan Bayraktar, Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan and Interior Minister Muammer Guler quit after their sons were taken into custody.
All three deny any wrongdoing.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced a major cabinet reshuffle after three ministerial resignations over a corruption inquiry
In Istanbul, protesters held a street rally against corruption in the government. There were reports of clashes with riot police late on Wednesday evening.
Commentators believe the scandal stems from a power struggle between Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government and an influential US-based Muslim cleric, Fethullah Gulen, who is said to have many followers within Turkey’s police and judiciary.
Supporters regard the Hizmet movement inspired by Fethullah Gulen as the benign, modern face of Islam, but critics question its motives.
Fethullah Gulen, who has denied any involvement in the investigation, left Turkey in 1999 after being accused by the then government of plotting to establish an Islamic state. He was cleared of that charge but has never returned to Turkey and now lives in Pennsylvania.
The government has dismissed dozens of police officials who were either involved in the investigation or thought to be linked to Fethullah Gulen.
Journalists have been prevented from entering police buildings, leading to claims that the government is trying to impede the investigation.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan submitted the new cabinet line-up to President Abdullah Gul late on Wednesday.
Among those who lost his job was EU Affairs Minister Egemen Bagis.
Egemen Bagis is accused of being involved in the corruption scandal – but has not been detained or formally charged.
Thai riot police have fired teargas at protesters trying to prevent political parties from registering for February’s elections at Bangkok’s stadium.
About 500 protesters tried to storm Thai-Japanese stadium where election commission officials were working.
PM Yingluck Shinawatra called the snap elections after weeks of protests that demanded an unelected “people’s council” take power.
Thai riot police have fired teargas at protesters trying to prevent political parties from registering for February’s elections
The demonstrators say political reforms are needed before polls can take place.
On Thursday, the protesters – some of whom were throwing stones – tried to break into the stadium where the electoral commission was registering candidates.
But police responded with tear gas, dispersing the crowd.
There were no reports of serious injuries.
Yingluck Shinawatra dissolved parliament and called an election on December 9th, after more than 150,000 demonstrators took to the streets calling for her government to step down.
Last Sunday, she said elections must take place and urged protesters to express their views at the ballot box.
“If we don’t hold on to the democratic system, what should we hold on to?”
Her Pheu Thai Party won the last election in 2011, and has a majority in parliament.
However, protesters say Yingluck Shinawatra’s brother – ousted former leader Thaksin Shinawatra – remains in charge.
Thaksin Shinawatra is currently in self-imposed exile after he was overthrown in a military army coup in 2006 and convicted of corruption.
Kim Kardashian got into the holiday spirit in earnest on December 24 by giving back to those in need and then celebrating with loved ones.
For her first Christmas Eve as a mother, Kim Kardashian, 33, visited the L.A. Children’s Hospital with half-sister Kendall, where they cheered up young patients and staff alike.
Kim Kardashian and Kanye West inside the “Naughty or Nice” photo booth
Kim Kardashian had also tons of fun inside the “Naughty or Nice” photo booth, where she goofed off with pals like Robin Antim, designer Rachel Roy and her fiancé Kanye West, 36.
Kim Kardashian and Kanye West made Christmas-kissy faces in the cute black-and-white snapshot: “Kisses goodnight,” she wrote.
Jersey Shore’s Jennifer “JWoww” Farley is pregnant with her first child.
Now in her second trimester, Jwoww, 27, and fiancé Roger Mathews told family and friends via a Christmas card that showed off a sonogram image.
“We couldn’t’ have wished for a better gift this Christmas! Happy Holidays from our growing family to yours! Love, Jenni, Roger and arriving July, 2014 Baby Mathews.”
Jwoww and Roger Mathews got engaged in September 2012
Jennie Farley also broke the news via her website: “We wanted to share this exciting news with you all first because you have been a part of our lives these past few years and seen the love between Roger and me develop and blossom.”
“We are so excited to share this new chapter of our lives with you as we become parents and create more memories with a new addition to our family!”
Jwoww and Roger Mathews got engaged in September 2012.
Drummer Ricky Lawson has died at a suburban Los Angeles hospital following a brain aneurism at the age of 59.
He collaborated with musicians including Michael Jackson, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins and Whitney Houston.
Ricky Lawson collaborated with musicians including Michael Jackson, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins and Whitney Houston
Ricky Lawson’s uncle, Paul Riser of Detroit, said Tuesday that Lawson was removed from life support 10 days after the aneurism diagnosis and died around 7 p.m. Monday.
Ricky Lawson was being treated at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center in Long Beach, California, about 25 miles south of Los Angeles.
Edward Snowden has delivered an “alternative” UK Christmas message, urging an end to mass surveillance.
The broadcast was carried on Channel 4 as an alternative to Queen Elizabeth’s traditional Christmas message.
Edward Snowden, 30, focused on privacy, saying: “A child born today will grow up with no conception of privacy at all.”
He has temporary asylum in Russia after leaking details of US electronic surveillance programs.
Edward Snowden has delivered an “alternative” UK Christmas message, urging an end to mass surveillance
Edward Snowden opened his two-minute message, recorded in Russia, with a reference to novelist George Orwell, author of 1984, saying the surveillance technology described in his works was “nothing compared to what we have today”.
He said: “A child born today will grow up with no conception of privacy at all. They’ll never know what it means to have a private moment to themselves, an unrecorded, unanalyzed thought.
“The conversation occurring today will determine the amount of trust we can place both in the technology that surrounds us and the government that regulates it.
“Together we can find a better balance, end mass surveillance and remind the government that if it really wants to know how we feel, asking is always cheaper than spying.”
Channel 4’s alternative Christmas message has in the past featured Iran’s then-President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad and fictional characters Ali G and Marge Simpson.
Delaney Brown – the terminally ill girl who received support from thousands of Christmas carolers outside her home over the weekend – died early on Christmas morning, her family said.
On December 21st, thousands gathered outside Delaney Brown’s home in eastern Pennsylvania to fulfill her wish for a huge holiday singalong.
Delaney Brown, 8, of West Reading “passed away quietly with her loving family by her side”, family spokesman Christopher Winters said in a statement Wednesday.
Last Saturday night, the crowd cycled through holiday favorites such as Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer and Jingle Bells and ended with a chorus of Happy Birthday to the girl, who turned 8 on Friday, The Reading Eagle reported.
Delaney Brown received support from thousands of Christmas carolers outside her home over the weekend
Shortly after the caroling began, the family’s Facebook page showed a picture of Delaney Brown giving two thumbs up with the text: “I can hear you now!!! Love you!”
Delaney Brown – whose nickname was Laney, – was diagnosed in May with a rare form of leukemia. The community held fundraisers to defray the cost of her medical expenses.
An update posted on Christmas Day on the “Team Laney” Facebook page said: “My heart breaks right now. Our little angel on earth earned her pink glittery angel wings in heaven. She took her last breath at home in her bed at 3:10 surrounded by all her family and friends. I miss her so much already.”
“Laney was a wonderful, kind, and loving child, who brought so much joy to our lives,” the family said.
“Even as her illness progressed, Laney never stopped having faith, she continued to smile in spite of her pain, and she showed more concern for all of us than for herself.”
President Barack Obama urged Americans to remember troops serving far from home and embrace the spirit of the season and give back in his annual Christmas message.
“Our extraordinary men and women in uniform are serving so that the rest of us can enjoy the blessings we cherish during the holidays,” Barack Obama said in a pre-recorded message with first lady Michelle Obama by his side.
“But that means many of our troops are far from home and far from family.”
President Barack Obama urged Americans to remember troops serving far from home and embrace the spirit of the season and give back in his annual Christmas message
Barack Obama urged people to celebrate Christmas with service by volunteering at a soup kitchen, buying gifts for kids in need or organizing food and clothing drives.
“For families like ours, that service is a chance to celebrate the birth of Christ and live out what He taught us – to love our neighbors as we would ourselves; to feed the hungry and look after the sick; to be our brother’s keeper and our sister’s keeper,” the president said.
In his weekly radio and Internet address, Barack Obama says the values Jesus taught can spur Americans of all faiths to be better parents, friends, neighbors and citizens.
First Lady Michelle Obama echoed the message, saying: “So as we look to the New Year, let’s pledge ourselves to living out those values by reaching out and lifting up those in our communities who could use a hand up.”
UPS acknowledged getting swamped by the seasonal cheer and failing to deliver thousands of orders in time for Christmas.
“The volume of air packages in our system exceeded the capacity in our network,” UPS spokeswoman Natalie Godwin said in a statement.
Now, even as the company is lionized on the holiday cover of Bloomberg Businessweek for making “dreams come true”, customers are streaming online to pummel the shipping giant.
For some of the customers the void under the tree came despite days of phone-and-Web wrangling with UPS customer service. In Houston, the Amaya family toggled between tracking their package online and waiting by the door for UPS to arrive. But after 10 days and two delays, they finally gave up hope.
Christmas is about more than just stuff, many posters acknowledged, but even some of the smaller, more symbolic gifts of Christmas got lost in transit.
“UPS understands the importance of your holiday shipments,” the company said in a Christmas Day statement on its website.
“However, the volume of air packages in our system exceeded the capacity of our network immediately preceding Christmas so some shipments were delayed.”
UPS acknowledged getting swamped by the seasonal cheer and failing to deliver thousands of orders in time for Christmas
Amazon.com, one of UPS’s biggest clients, cited UPS’s “failure” in an apologetic email to customers Wednesday morning. UPS itself is on a condolences tour, telling NBC in a statement that only “a small percentage” of packages were affected and pledging that most of these will arrive by Thursday.
The last time a significant number of UPS packages were late for Christmas was 2004, when an ice storm crippled Worldport, the UPS distribution center in Louisville, Kentucky, in the run up to the holiday. Back then employees ended up manually loading packages for days, and surprising revelers with Christmas Day deliveries. This year the company declined to call its workers in for holiday service.
It’s still unclear where the UPS network broke down, and the company has declined to specify the size of the problem. But Bloomberg Businessweek detailed the challenges likely to have stymied Santa’s corporate helper this year – and spotlighted the man who may take a fall for the year’s mishaps.
Scott Abell is known as “Mr. Peak” to the brown-shirted faithful, and he spends his whole work year outlining the company’s holiday delivery plans, scrambling hundreds of planes and thousands of trucks from his office at Worldport.
Beyond icy weather, which reportedly hampered UPS distribution hubs, the company was likely squeezed by a smaller window for holiday shopping and a record number of e-purchases being pushed through at the last minute. There were just 26 days between Thanksgiving and Christmas. At the same time, there was the continued growth of online shopping, which not only facilitates last-minute gifting but often rewards it with deeper discounts.
Online spending jumped 9%, to $37.8 billion, between November 1st and December 15th, according to the online research firm comScore, and retailers expect overall holiday sales to be up nearly 4%, exceeding $600 million.
UPS anticipated delivering 132 million bundles in the week before Christmas, according to Bloomberg Businessweek, and to meet that wave of holiday cheer, Scott Abell organized 55,000 part time workers, 23 extra planes and what amounts to a second fleet of delivery trucks.
A last-minute decision by one of UPS’s clients – reportedly Amazon.com – dumped additional packages into the system last weekend, but Scott Abell doubled the number of shifts at Worldport, still hoping to stay ahead. It wasn’t enough.
Scott Abell usually heads to Florida in January to play golf and decompress after the madness of the holidays. When he returns, the 31-year veteran of the company gathers his lieutenants for a special lemon session, detailing all that could have gone better in the weeks before.
Santa Claus proved he can also travel by sea in the Florida Keys.
Santa, played by Keys dive shop operator Spencer Slate, took some time off from getting ready for his annual Christmas toy run to dive amid the marine life in Elbow Reef in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.
The yellowtail snapper, angelfish and other Florida Keys inhabitants seemed to appreciate the visit from St. Nick.
Santa took some time off from getting ready for his annual Christmas toy run to dive amid the marine life in Elbow Reef in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary
Spencer Slate has been donning the jolly man’s outfit for years to take the plunge but there is a serious side to his shenanigans. Dive customers frequently have the opportunity to have their photo taken with Santa for an extra fee and the revenue goes to a local children’s charity to fund gifts during the holiday season.
Elbow Reef is situated about six miles off Key Largo. The site features the wreck of the City of Washington, a late 1800s military supply vessel that was converted into a coal barge and sunk off Key Largo in 1917.
Florida police officers stepped in to donate presents to a family whose Christmas gifts and dog were stolen Monday.
Tampa police say burglars broke into Melody Russell’s home, stole her two children’s gifts from under the tree and snatched the family’s puppy.
Melody Russell, a 33-year-old property manager, said the thieves broke in to her home northeast of downtown Tampa while she was at work Monday. She came home to find the back door open, all presents under the tree gone and Honey, their 12-week-old Shih Tzu, missing.
Florida police officers stepped in to donate presents to the family whose Christmas gifts and dog were stolen
Her two children, 7-year-old Marissa and 5-year-old Marcus, were at her sister’s home when the burglary happened. Marissa cried for a half hour when Russell broke the news about Honey.
“My kids are so in love with that puppy,” she said.
The white and tan puppy did not yet have a microchip, Melody Russell said.
Melody Russell said she had bought a handful of modest gifts for each of her children – Nerf guns and slippers and Ninja turtle toys.
“Typical Christmas stuff,” said Melody Russell, who is a single mother.
“Nothing extravagant.”
Tampa Police are investigating the case – and they also tried to save Christmas for the Russell family.
Melody Russell said that after the officers wrote their reports and processed the crime scene at her home, she sat in the living room, praying to God for strength. It was 1 a.m. on Christmas Eve, she said, and the phone rang.
It was a Tampa Police officer, telling her that he and his entire squad were coming to her house with gifts.
When police dispatchers and Squad 204 heard about the theft, they quickly chipped in to buy Marissa and Marcus presents.
“Every single one of them had gifts in their hands,” Melody Russell said.
As of Wednesday morning, the tweet had more than 261,000 retweets and close to 200,000 favorites.
Justin Bieber claimed via his Twitter account late Tuesday night that he is supposedly retiring
Forty-two minutes after the retirement tweet, Justin Bieber blamed the media for his apparent career-ending decision: “The media talks a lot about me. They make a up a lot of lies and want me to fail but I’m never leaving you, being a belieber is a lifestyle.”
Last week, Justin Bieber told radio station Power 106 that his album, Journals, would be his last, and that he planned to retire.
Later, Justin Bieber’s reps claimed he was just joking, but suggested that the pop star take some time off after the movie release.
More than 200,000 homes and businesses remained without electric power for a fourth day in parts of Michigan and Maine.
Utility crews worked through the Christmas Day to try to restore electricity cut off by a severe ice storm Sunday.
The worst affected state was Michigan, with about 158,000 customers remained without power at 2 p.m. ET on Christmas Day, utilities companies said.
More than 59,000 customers in Maine continue to lack power. Crews were putting the final patches on power lines in Vermont and New York state, where outages were in the thousands earlier this week.
More than 200,000 homes and businesses remained without electric power for a fourth day in parts of Michigan and Maine
With temperatures far below freezing, ice on power lines was refusing to budge after the severe weekend weather.
Most of the hotels and motels around Flint, Michigan, had no vacancies Tuesday night as families poured in from hard-hit towns to be somewhere warm for the holiday.
In Maine, emergency officials across the state said the ice storm had created the worst conditions since the Great Ice Storm of January 1998, which left some parts of New England without power for months.
In Waldo County, more than 30,000 customers were without power Tuesday night — equivalent to about three-quarters of the county’s entire population.
Pope Francis has urged for humanitarian aid in Syria in his first Christmas Day address – Urbi et Orbi.
The pontiff told thousands of pilgrims in St Peter’s Square in the Vatican to pray for a peaceful end to violence in Syria and other conflict zones.
The Pope also said tragic incidents involving migrants trying to reach Europe should not be repeated.
Christians around the world are celebrating Christmas, which marks the birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem.
It was the third successive year that the Syrian conflict had been a main focus of the Christmas speech, one of the addresses known as Urbi et Orbi.
“Too many lives have been shattered in recent times by the conflict in Syria, fuelling hatred and vengeance,” Pope Francis said.
Pope Francis has urged for humanitarian aid in Syria in his first Christmas Day address
“Let us continue to ask the Lord to spare the beloved Syrian people further suffering.”
Pope Francis, 77, also called for peace in Iraq and a successful outcome in talks between Israelis and Palestinians.
Expanding on his concept of peace, he said: “True peace is not a balancing of opposing forces. It’s not a lovely facade which conceals conflicts and division. Peace calls for daily commitment.”
Conflicts in Africa were another focus of the Pope’s address.
He called the violence in the Central African Republic “often forgotten and overlooked” in a country “torn apart by a spiral of violence and poverty”.
He also urged an end to fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and for “social harmony” in South Sudan.
In the light of attacks on some Christian communities in the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere, Pope Francis said: “Lord of life, protect all who are persecuted in your name.”
A&E Networks executives are privately acknowledging they could have better camouflaged the indefinite suspension of Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson, according to RadarOnline.
“Network bosses now recognize they should have just taken the show off the air for two weeks, since reruns were just airing anyway,” the insider said.
A&E Networks executives are privately acknowledging they could have better camouflaged the indefinite suspension of Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson
“The fallout wouldn’t have been strong and everyone could have just moved on.”
Instead of blacking out the show, which draws about 12 million viewers per episode, A&E has scheduled a Duck Dynasty marathon in which 25 consecutive episodes will air beginning at 3:30 p.m. Christmas Day.
Civil rights activist and Baptist minister Jesse Jackson Sr. has jumped into the controversy surrounding anti-gay comments made by Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson.
Jesse Jackson Sr. compared Phil Robertson’s recent comments about African-Americans, gay people and women to comments made by the driver of Rosa Parks’ bus.
“At least the bus driver, who ordered Rosa Parks to surrender her seat to a white person, was following state law,” he said in a press release.
“Robertson’s statements were uttered freely and openly without cover of the law, within a context of what he seemed to believe was <<white privilege>>.”
Jesse Jackson Sr. has jumped into the controversy surrounding anti-gay comments made by Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson
Jesse Jackson’s human rights group, the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, has demanded meetings with A&E and with Cracker Barrel regarding the two companies’ treatment of Phil Robertson.
His group, along with LGBT group GLAAD and the National Organization for Women, urged A&E to keep Phil Robertson on an indefinite hiatus from the show, which the network started following the star’s comments in GQ magazine.
Cracker Barrel removed Duck Dynasty items from its shelves and then put them back Sunday after customers protested, according to a Cracker Barrel news release.
Jesse Jackson Sr. and the leaders of the other groups are demanding a sit-down meeting with Cracker Barrel and A&E in the next couple of days.
“It is unacceptable that a personality who has been given such a large platform would benefit from racist and anti-gay comments,” Jesse Jackson Sr. said in the release.
Twitter apologized for mistakenly blocking IStandWithPhil.com and restored pro-Phil Robertson users’ ability to link to the website.
Phil Robertson’s supporters had accused Twitter of censoring the site, which hosts a petition for reinstating him in Duck Dynasty show that has received 200,000 signatures.
Those who tried to link to IStandWithPhil.com on Monday received a message saying: “Oops! A URL in your Tweet appears to link to a page that has spammy or unsafe content.”
Twitter later lifted the block.
Twitter apologized for mistakenly blocking IStandWithPhil.com and restored pro-Phil Robertson users’ ability to link to the website
“The URL IStandWithPhil.com was mistakenly flagged as spam tonight, by an outside organization that tracks spam sources. We have restored access and apologize for the error,” Twitter said in a statement to news site Marketing Land.
Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson was suspended from his A&E show last week after making anti-gay remarks in an interview with GQ magazine.
Police closed the case of Barron Hilton’s fight with blogger Ray LeMoine after the socialite reportedly refused to co-operate.
Paris Hilton’s younger brother was allegedly punched in the face by Ray LeMoine following an all-night party at a rented mansion on Star Island, off the coast of Miami Beach in Florida, earlier this month.
Police closed the case of Barron Hilton’s fight with blogger Ray LeMoine after the socialite refused to co-operate
Barron Hilton, 24, subsequently documented his facial injuries in a picture posted on his Instagram page, but Miami police officers investigating the case have been unsuccessful in reaching him to get his side of the story and brought the investigation to an end, TMZ reported.
Turkey’s Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan and Interior Minister Muammer Guler have resigned after their sons were charged amid a corruption inquiry that has hit the government.
Twenty-four people have been charged as part of the investigation, including the head of state-owned Halkbank.
In a statement, Zafer Caglayan condemned the inquiry as an “ignoble operation”.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has threatened to “break the hands” of rivals who used the inquiry to undermine his rule.
Zafer Caglayan said he was stepping down “so that all the light may be laid on this ignoble operation that targets our government”
Zafer Caglayan’s son Kaan and Baris Guler, the interior minister’s son, have both denied accusations of involvement in bribery relating to urban development projects and the allocation of construction permits.
Zafer Caglayan, in his statement, said he was stepping down “so that all the light may be laid on this ignoble operation that targets our government”.
In response to the police crackdown, a number of police commissioners have been removed from their posts, including the head of police in Istanbul.
A Santa’s helper delivering toys in Washington has been shot in the back with a pellet gun.
As a TV crew filmed him in the street, he said “Merry…” before staggering in pain as the pellet hit.
The man, who has not been named and is recovering in hospital, initially said he wanted to carry on with the giveaway but paramedics stepped in and took him away in an ambulance.
A Grinch character then saved Christmas by stepping in to deliver the gifts.
On the video posted on the website of WJLA-TV, the man waves as he walks down the street.
He says: “This is awesome, Merry…” but then recoils in pain.
Santa’s helper has been shot in the back with a pellet gun while delivering toys in Washington
“Someone’s shooting. Someone just shot me.”
He recovers to say: “I’m glad I got hit and nobody else go hurt”, before being taken to hospital.
A man dressed as the green-clothed Dr. Seuss character then took over.
ABC reported that the man would be out of hospital on Christmas Eve after the pellet was removed.
Its reporter quoted witnesses as saying two shots were fired from a second-floor window of a home, but no-one has yet been arrested. Police are investigating the incident.
The US government has offered help to people who missed the December 24 deadline to enroll for the ObamaCare.
The government said anyone who failed to finish their application through a dedicated website – HealthCare.gov – could still obtain a policy for the new year.
On Monday, it extended the original deadline by a day amid high demand and technical issues.
HealthCare.gov has been plagued by glitches since its October 1st rollout.
The problems with President Barack Obama’s signature bill have hit his popularity ratings hard.
The website was set up under a 2010 healthcare law that seeks to cover millions of Americans who do not have health insurance.
The US government has offered help to people who missed the December 24 deadline to enroll for the ObamaCare
“Sometimes despite your best efforts, you might have run into delays caused by heavy traffic to HealthCare.gov, maintenance periods, or other issues with our systems that prevented you from finishing the process on time,” a message on the federal marketplace website said just hours before the Tuesday midnight deadline.
“If this happened to you, don’t worry – we still may be able to help you get covered as soon as 1 January.”
The website also provided helpline contact numbers and told applicants to “tell our customer service representative that you’ve been trying to enroll and explain why you couldn’t finish by the deadline.
“They can tell you what you can do to finish your enrolment and still get covered for 2014.”
Two states have extended the deadline for coverage in the new year even further, to December 27th in Maryland and December 31st in Minnesota.
While the website has been upgraded over the course of the past two months, it has still experienced downtime in the past few weeks.
Americans may still enroll in private insurance plans through the website after December 24th, but they will not be guaranteed coverage at the start of the new year.
A more important deadline for the Obama administration is March 31st 2014, when enrolment in the programme ends for the year.
Those who do not have coverage through their employer, government-run health programmes or through the federal or state-run websites by then will have to pay a tax penalty.
Pope Francis celebrated his first Christmas Eve Mass since becoming pontiff St Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City.
The pontiff once again preached the importance of acceptance and humility, qualities he has demonstrated continually in his first nine months as head of the Catholic Church.
“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light,” Pope Francis began, quoting from Isaiah, a book of the Bible that includes prophesies foretelling the birth of Jesus.
Pope Francis has sought to change the image of the Catholic Church as a judgmental, lavish, inflexible institution since his election in March.
On Monday, he made a Christmas visit to Pope Emeritus Benedict and asked him to pray for him.
In Christmas Eve’s Mass, Pope Francis reiterated the importance of reaching out to the downtrodden, using the shepherds who were the first to hear of Jesus’ birth as an example.
“They were the first because they were among the last, the outcast,” he said.
“We bless you, Lord God most high, who lowered yourself for our sake. You are immense, and you made yourself small; you are rich and you made yourself poor; you are all-powerful and you made yourself vulnerable,” he said in thanks to God and also a clear indication of the humility he encourages his flock to emulate.
Before Christmas Eve Mass, Pope Francis personally placed a baby Jesus doll in a replica of a manger, a custom usually performed by an aid
In his address to Vatican administrators on Saturday, Pope Francis said holiness was a practice of “deep humility and fraternal charity in our relationships with our fellow workers,” as he urged the cardinals, bishops and priests to avoid gossip.
Before the Mass, Pope Francis further inspired meekness, when he personally placed a baby Jesus doll in a replica of a manger, a custom usually performed by an aid.
The 2 1/2-hour Mass was the first of many services Pope Francis will lead during the holidays. On Christmas Day, he will deliver a “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world) message from the basilica’s balcony overlooking St. Peter’s Square.
Pope Francis will also hold mass on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day and another on January 6, for the feast of the Epiphany or “Three Kings’ Day”, celebrating the Magi’s visit to the baby Jesus.
According to specialists familiar with Target security breach, the hackers who compromised up to 40 million credit cards and debit cards also managed to steal encrypted personal identification numbers (PIN).
One major US bank fears that the thieves would be able to crack the encryption code and make fraudulent withdrawals from consumer bank accounts, said an executive, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the data breach is still under investigation.
Target spokeswoman Molly Snyder said “no unencrypted PIN data was accessed” and there was no evidence that PIN data has been “compromised.” She confirmed that some “encrypted data” was stolen, but declined to say if that included encrypted PINs.
The retailer said last week that hackers stole data from as many as 40 million cards used at Target stores during the first three weeks of the holiday shopping season, making it the second-largest data breach in US retail history.
Target has not said how its systems were compromised, though it described the operation as “sophisticated.” The US Secret Service and the Justice Department are investigating. Officials with both agencies have declined comment on the investigations.
The attack could end up costing hundreds of millions of dollars, but it is unclear so far who will bear the expense.
The hackers who compromised up to 40 million credit cards and debit cards also managed to steal encrypted PIN’s
While bank customers are typically not liable for losses because of fraudulent activity on their credit and debit cards, JPMorgan Chase & Co and Santander Bank said they have lowered limits on how much cash customers can take out of teller machines and spend at stores.
The unprecedented move has led to complaints from consumer advocates about the inconvenience it caused from the late November Thanksgiving holiday into the run-up to Christmas. But sorting out account activity after a fraudulent withdrawal could take a lot more time and be worse for customers.
JPMorgan has said it was able to reduce inconvenience by giving customers new debit cards printed quickly at many of its branches, and by keeping branches open for extended hours. A Santander spokeswoman was not available for comment on Tuesday.
Security experts said it is highly unusual for banks to reduce caps on withdrawals, and the move likely reflects worries that PINs have fallen into criminal hands, even if they are encrypted.
While the use of encryption codes may prevent amateur hackers from obtaining the digital keys to customer bank deposits, the concern is the coding cannot stop the kind of sophisticated cyber criminal who was able to infiltrate Target for three weeks.
The attack on Target began on November 27, the day before the Thanksgiving holiday and continued until December 15. Banks that issue debit and credit cards learned about the breach on December 18, and Target publicly disclosed the loss of personal account data on December 19.
On December 21, JPMorgan Chase alerted 2 million of its debit cardholders that it was lowering the daily limits on ATM withdrawals to $100 and capping store purchases with their cards at $500.
Honey Boo Boo and her family say they aren’t going to let thieves dampen their Christmas display in McIntyre, Georgia.
The family is now using their celebrity status to help needy families.
The Thompson family has been setting up a light display at their home for years – long before they became household names from the show Here Comes Honey Boo Boo. Visitors are encouraged to donate what they can to help those in the community. This year they’ve already collected 5,000 cans and more than $18,000.
Honey Boo Boo and her family say they aren’t going to let thieves dampen their Christmas display in McIntyre
Over the weekend, the family discovered more than 50 bulbs missing from the display. They suspect it was nothing more than souvenir hunters.
Honey Boo Boo’s family vows that the theft won’t stop them from lighting up the city and helping those in need. The display runs through Christmas Eve.
