National / International News

Lord McAlpine says he has dropped defamation claims against Twitter users with fewer than 500 followers who wrongly named him as a paedophile.

The Olympic and Paralympic sprinter is accused of murdering his girlfriend. In a court Thursday, it was revealed that the lead investigator himself had been accused of attempted murder in an unrelated case. That added to questions about the prosecution's case against Pistorius.

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What happened on the night of the shooting?

Republican Governor Rick Scott of Florida has been one of the fiercest critics of President Obama's Affordable Care Act. But yesterday, Scott reversed course on a big part of the new law, dropping his opposition to expanding health care for the poor in his state. Scott said he'll expand medicaid for three years -- that's when federal startup funding expires.

While the announcement is sure to make political ripples, it is also a big win for Florida hospitals – who currently absorb most of the costs that uninsured patients incur.

Yesterday, the Department of Health and Human services granted Florida a waiver to allow the state to expand its pilot Medicaid privatization program. Florida will seek a third-party vendor to manage the program. Governor Scott has argued privatization will help control Medicaid costs, which make up about a quarter of the state's budget.

To hear more about Florida's new health reforms, click on the audio player above.

Tottenham Hotspur fans are injured during an attack in a bar in Lyon on the eve of their side's Europa League match.

The latest episode of Diary of an Internet Phenom involves a Boston-based company, Kickstarter, and a new invention the whole family can enjoy.

WobbleWorks, a Boston-area toy company that needed funding, went onto Kickstarter at the beginning of this week with a total goal of raising $30,000. As of last evening, people had pledged $900,000 and counting. What could be that compelling? How about a two foot, plastic Eiffel Tower drawn with what's called "3Doodler," a new pen that's a 3D printer.

Video of 3Doodler Intro Video

 

Imagine a magic marker with an electric cord. Press the button and out comes, not ink, but a thin stream of melted plastic that solidifies. Ever see people build little models with toothpicks? It's like that, but no toothpicks, instead you doodle it free-hand in plastic.

"The same way that you use a pen, you can use a 3Doodler, except that when you lift the 3Doodler off the paper, the pen keeps spilling out ink, so you can write in the air," says Max Bogue, co-founder of the company that invented the 3Doodler.

The 3Doodler uses biodegradable plastic as ink, which instantly cools and hardens as you draw. That may sound neat, but Bogue thinks the real advantage of the 3Doodler is its simplicity.

"There is no software, there is nothing to learn, all you have to do is just draw with it," says Bogue.

Also: Bill O'Reilly has a new book; George Saunders g-chats The Paris Review; and Batwoman is getting married.

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Russia's central bank governor Sergei Ignatiev says that $49bn (£33bn), or 2.5% of GDP, left the country illegally last year.

More than 200 people attend the funeral of an ex-serviceman following a Facebook appeal, amid fears he would be buried without mourners.

A missing boy who sparked a police search involving a helicopter and sniffer dogs was found two hours later - sleeping under a bean bag at home.

Payday lenders are often blamed for taking advantage of the little guy. But that's something that Justin Davis, a payday lender in Kansas City, Missouri, takes issue with.

"For me and my business, I try to treat my customers right," says Davis. "As long as people do the math, then they are not doing something stupid."

A recent study from Pew reports that the average payday loan borrower ends up indebted for five months*, paying $520 in finance charges for loans averaging $375.

But Davis, who charges a 17 percent interest rate for a two-week loan, argues that his business can still be a good alternative for those who are trying to avoid even higher overdraft fees on late bills.

"My service is not only competitve with those fees, but in many instances, cheaper," Davis says. "Most banks will charge you a $4-a-day continuous overdraft fee."

 

*CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly referred to the length of time a payday loan borrower remains in debt, according to a Pew study. According to the study, the average borrower is in debt for five months. The text has been corrected.

British heavyweight champion David Price's next opponent Tony Thompson believes doping in sport should be legalised.

Next year's Giro d'Italia will begin in Belfast as part of three days of action on both sides of the Irish border.

A man accused of murdering two women from Northern Ireland tells a court in Turkey that he killed them but claims the women had attacked him first.

A widow hugs the driver who killed her husband and urges him to "get on with his young life".

Seven people have been shot dead in an attack on a mosque in north-eastern Kenya near the border with Somalia, officials say.

A man appears in court charged with the murders of a family of four at their home in Northampton.

Aberdeenshire-based singer-songwriter Emeli Sande lifts two awards at the Brit Awards ceremony at London's O2 Arena.

US sportswear giant Nike suspends its sponsorship contract with Oscar Pistorius, who is accused of murdering his girlfriend.

Patricia Machin told Radio 5 live Breakfast she has "never blamed" the driver who knocked down her husband and killed him.