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Thursday, December 15, 2011 8:31 PM PST

Today's Politics - Bloomberg News Headlines - Yahoo! News: Shots fired at Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles Gingrich under attack at Iowa presidential debate Factbox: Key quotes from the Republican presidential debate Canada Wheat Board bill becomes law, Ottawa takes control U.S. says Arizona sheriff violated civil rights laws "Batman" star roughed up in bid to visit Chinese blind activist China's Xi to visit Vietnam in test for tricky relationship Deal reached to avert government shutdown Gaddafi's death may be war crime: ICC prosecutor Moody's revises Ontario's outlook to negative from stable CME reveals auditor at center of Corzine accusations Stanford competent to stand trial: prosecutors Romney got permission to destroy 150 boxes of records Keystone XL still ahead of rivals Dudley: Fed's dollar lines shield U.S. from Europe Dutch pot sales to foreigners go up in smoke Gingrich to face attacks at Iowa 2012 debate Keystone XL still ahead of rivals: TransCanada CEO U.S. proposal links Palestinian aid to halting U.N. push Congress negotiators nearing spending bill deal Dudley: Fed's dollar lines shield U.S. from Europe Italy's Monti faces confidence vote on austerity Analysis: Aquino's anti-graft drive risks Philippine instability Parliament approves Wheat Board bill Russia's Putin offers protesters small change Veterans to tout Obama's record as military leader Military marks end to nearly nine bloody years in Iraq U.S. nuclear chief says he is intense, not a bully U.S. data point to firming economic recovery Syrian rebels kill 27 soldiers in south Senate passes new rules on detainees, sends to Obama Libya to allow police to probe Lockerbie - minister Lawmakers scramble as government shutdown looms Tea Party Patriots co-founder arrested in New York Generic drugmakers to build warning system on shortages U.S. says Arizona sheriff violated civil rights laws Russian draft offers hope of U.N. Syria resolution SEC appeals judge's rejection of Citigroup deal Republican Ryan backs new bipartisan Medicare Plan Libya to allow UK police to probe Lockerbie: minister Shots fired at Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles Thu,15 Dec 2011 08:18 PM PST Reuters - LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Gunshots were fired at the Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles on Thursday by a man identified by a security guard as a protester, and police said a suspect had been taken into custody. Details were sketchy, but police spokesman Gregory Baek said multiple rounds were fired at the building during the afternoon shooting, but no one was injured. A consulate security officer, Cipriano Gutierrez, 53, said he was in his guard hut outside the building when he heard shots ring out, at first mistaking them for firecrackers. "Then the reality kicked in. ... Full Story Top Gingrich under attack at Iowa presidential debate Thu,15 Dec 2011 08:02 PM PST Reuters - SIOUX CITY, Iowa (Reuters) - Front-runner Newt Gingrich came under sharp attack from rival Republican presidential candidates on Thursday at the last debate before Iowa launches the U.S. 2012 election season. Gingrich is in a tight race with Ron Paul and Mitt Romney in Iowa less than three weeks before the state's Republicans decide on January 3 who they want as their presidential candidate. It is anybody's guess at this stage as to who will win. At a Sioux City debate, Gingrich's rivals quickly pounced on his receiving up to $1. ... Full Story Top Factbox: Key quotes from the Republican presidential debate Thu,15 Dec 2011 07:55 PM PST Reuters - (Reuters) - Republican presidential hopefuls competing to challenge U.S. President Barack Obama in 2012 faced off in a debate on Thursday in Iowa, where the state-by-state Republican nominating contest kicks off in less than three weeks. Here are some of their main quotes. NEWT GINGRICH, FORMER SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Defending his merit as frontrunner: "I believe I can debate Barack Obama and I think in seven three-hour debates Barack Obama will not have a leg to stand on. ... Full Story Top Canada Wheat Board bill becomes law, Ottawa takes control Thu,15 Dec 2011 07:41 PM PST Reuters - OTTAWA/WINNIPEG (Reuters) - The Canadian Parliament gave final approval on Thursday to a government bill to end the Canadian Wheat Board's 68-year-old grain marketing monopoly, allowing the government to take control of the board from farmers who oppose its plans. Legal challenges, however, threaten to leave farmers and the grain industry in limbo into the New Year. The Senate easily passed the Conservative government's legislation to end the CWB's monopoly on sales of western wheat and barley for export or milling next August and allow farmers to sell those crops to whomever they choose. ... Full Story Top U.S. says Arizona sheriff violated civil rights laws Thu,15 Dec 2011 07:19 PM PST Reuters - WASHINGTON/PHOENIX, Dec 15 (Reuters) - An Arizona sheriff and his deputies violated U.S. civil rights laws by engaging in racial profiling of Latinos and making unlawful arrests in their bid to crack down on illegal immigrants, the U.S. Justice Department said on Thursday. Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's deputies regularly made unlawful stops and arrests of Latinos, the Justice Department said, adding there was also evidence they used excessive force and failed to protect the Hispanic community adequately. ... Full Story Top "Batman" star roughed up in bid to visit Chinese blind activist Thu,15 Dec 2011 07:02 PM PST Reuters - BEIJING (Reuters) - Hollywood actor Christian Bale was roughed up by Chinese security guards as he attempted to visit a blind legal activist whose detention has sparked a domestic and international outcry, CNN reported on Friday. Bale, who plays crime-fighting superhero Batman, and the camera crew from CNN were jostled by men in plainclothes from Dongshigu village in eastern Shandong province, where activist Chen Guangcheng has been under house arrest for 15 months, according to a video released by CNN on its website. ... Full Story Top China's Xi to visit Vietnam in test for tricky relationship Thu,15 Dec 2011 07:01 PM PST Reuters - BEIJING (Reuters) - China's Vice President Xi Jinping, likely to take over as top leader late next year, will visit Vietnam for three days from Tuesday in what could be a test of how he handles festering territorial disputes in the South China Sea. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin also said on Friday Xi will then make a three-day visit to Thailand, according to the ministry's website (www.mfa.gov.cn). The brief announcement gave no details about what issues or agreements Xi will take up in either country. ... Full Story Top Deal reached to avert government shutdown Thu,15 Dec 2011 06:48 PM PST Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lawmakers on Thursday reached a tentative deal to fund an array of government agencies through September 30 and avert shutting down many of Washington's operations starting this weekend. Democratic Senator Daniel Inouye, one of the chief negotiators on the massive spending bill, told reporters the deal had been struck and the full Senate could vote on the measure as early as Friday. The House of Representatives is expected to vote on Friday, a Republican aide said. ... Full Story Top Gaddafi's death may be war crime: ICC prosecutor Thu,15 Dec 2011 06:43 PM PST Reuters - (Reuters) - The death of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, who was captured and killed by rebels in October, may have been a war crime, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said on Thursday. "I think the way in which Mr Gaddafi was killed creates suspicions of ... war crimes," ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo told reporters. "I think that's a very important issue," he said. "We are raising this concern to the national authorities and they are preparing a plan to have a comprehensive strategy to investigate all these crimes. ... Full Story Top Moody's revises Ontario's outlook to negative from stable Thu,15 Dec 2011 06:25 PM PST Reuters - (Reuters) - Credit rating agency Moody's lowered its outlook on Ontario's debt ratings to 'negative' to reflect the Canadian province's growing debt burden, even as growth in the region slows down. The revised outlook on Ontario's Aa1 rated debt affects approximately C$190 billion in securities issued by Canada's most populous province. ... Full Story Top CME reveals auditor at center of Corzine accusations Thu,15 Dec 2011 06:07 PM PST Reuters - (Reuters) - CME Group revealed the identity of its auditor who is at the center of allegations that former MF Global chief Jon Corzine knew customer funds were improperly used, as part of a detailed description of the futures brokerage's final days. In a timeline CME provided to a House Financial Services oversight subcommittee, and released on Thursday, the exchange operator identified the auditor as Director of Audits Mike Procajlo. Contacted by Reuters, Procajlo said he could not comment. A CME spokeswoman would not elaborate on information in the document. ... Full Story Top Stanford competent to stand trial: prosecutors Thu,15 Dec 2011 05:45 PM PST Reuters - (Reuters) - Prosecutors are asking a federal judge to rule that financier Allen Stanford has regained competence and can stand trial over an alleged $7.2 billion Ponzi scheme. Stanford, who was indicted in 2009 on 21 counts including securities fraud and money laundering, had been found by a U.S. judge early this year to be of diminished mental capacity and unable to assist in his own defense. But in November, the Bureau of Prisons Federal Medical Center in Butner, North Carolina, concluded that he is now competent to stand trial, according to court filings. ... Full Story Top Romney got permission to destroy 150 boxes of records Thu,15 Dec 2011 05:12 PM PST Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In the final weeks of Mitt Romney's term as Massachusetts governor, his office sought and received permission to destroy 150 boxes of paper records of his tenure, according to documents obtained by Reuters. Officials could not immediately confirm whether the paper documents he sought to eliminate were in fact destroyed and his spokeswoman said he had followed precedent and the law in dealing with his records when his term ended in 2007. ... Full Story Top Keystone XL still ahead of rivals Thu,15 Dec 2011 04:58 PM PST Reuters - CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - TransCanada Corp still has a big advantage in the race to supply U.S. oil markets with Canadian supplies, despite a year's delay to its $7 billion Keystone XL project, because of the preparation already done, Chief Executive Russ Girling said on Thursday. TransCanada's customers have shown they believe the controversial pipeline is still the best option for moving burgeoning Canadian oil sands and North Dakota shale oil production by signing up for more capacity and backing an extension of the line in Texas, Girling told Reuters in an interview. ... Full Story Top Dudley: Fed's dollar lines shield U.S. from Europe Thu,15 Dec 2011 04:35 PM PST Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A top U.S. Federal Reserve official on Thursday defended the central bank's decision to provide dollars for overseas banks stressed by Europe's debt crisis, saying the action was needed to protect the U.S. economy. New York Fed President William Dudley, in testimony to Congress released on Thursday, said the Fed had put in place dollar swap lines with other central banks to help protect the U.S. economy from the potential risk of a big selloff in dollar assets. ... Full Story Top Dutch pot sales to foreigners go up in smoke Thu,15 Dec 2011 04:13 PM PST Reuters - AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The reputation of the Netherlands as the go-to country for a legal joint will begin to vanish like a puff of smoke next year as sales to foreigners of cannabis and hashish in coffee shops are banned. The Dutch government has been clamping down on the sale of soft drugs since 2007 because of gang-related crime and concern about the risk to health, particularly as stronger forms of cannabis have been introduced. "The Dutch drugs policy's appeal to foreign users has to be reduced," Dutch Security and Justice Minister Ivo Opstelten said in a letter to parliament. ... Full Story Top Gingrich to face attacks at Iowa 2012 debate Thu,15 Dec 2011 03:57 PM PST Reuters - SIOUX CITY, Iowa (Reuters) - Front-runner Newt Gingrich was braced for attacks from rival Republican presidential candidates at a debate on Thursday as they make their case one last time before Iowa launches the 2012 election season. Gingrich, Ron Paul and Mitt Romney lead the field in Iowa less than three weeks before the state's Republicans decide on January 3 who they want as their presidential candidate. It is anybody's guess at this stage as to who will win. Gingrich is trying to hang on to a slender lead in the polls and the 8 p.m. CDT (9 p.m. ... Full Story Top Keystone XL still ahead of rivals: TransCanada CEO Thu,15 Dec 2011 03:55 PM PST Reuters - CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - TransCanada Corp still has a big advantage in the race to supply U.S. oil markets with Canadian supplies, despite a year's delay to its $7 billion Keystone XL project, because of the preparation already done, Chief Executive Russ Girling said on Thursday. The company's customers have shown they believe the controversial pipeline is still the best option for expanding Canadian oil sands and North Dakota shale oil production by signing up for more capacity and backing an extension of the line in Texas, Girling told Reuters in an interview. ... Full Story Top U.S. proposal links Palestinian aid to halting U.N. push Thu,15 Dec 2011 03:55 PM PST Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Congress would allow American economic aid to the Palestinians to continue next year so long as Palestine is not admitted as a state to any more United Nations organizations, under a proposal released on Thursday. The measure pending before lawmakers would appear to give the Palestinians a pass on the U.N. organization they have already joined -- the United Nations Educational, Scientific and cultural Organization (UNESCO). ... Full Story Top Congress negotiators nearing spending bill deal Thu,15 Dec 2011 03:52 PM PST Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Congressional negotiators neared agreement on Thursday on a spending bill to fund many U.S. government agencies through September 30, 2012, Democratic aides said. A deal would pave the way for Senate and House of Representative votes in coming days on legislation to avert a government shutdown. Current funding for the agencies expires at midnight on Friday. (Reporting by Rachelle Younglai) Full Story Top Dudley: Fed's dollar lines shield U.S. from Europe Thu,15 Dec 2011 03:49 PM PST Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve put in place dollar swap lines with overseas central banks to help protect the U.S. economy from the potential risk of a big selloff in dollar assets, the head of the New York Federal Reserve Bank said. New York Fed President William Dudley, in testimony to Congress released on Thursday, said the currency swap lines were aimed at ensuring banks outside of the United States could access dollar funds and prevent a firesale of assets that could dry up credit for U.S. households and businesses. ... Full Story Top Italy's Monti faces confidence vote on austerity Thu,15 Dec 2011 03:41 PM PST Reuters - ROME (Reuters) - Italy's government faces a confidence vote in parliament on Friday, a move to speed up approval of a 33-billion euro ($43 billion) austerity package intended to restore market confidence in the euro zone's third largest economy. Mario Monti's government of unelected technocrats has an overwhelming majority in both houses of parliament and the vote, to be held in the Chamber of Deputies in the afternoon, should pass easily. ... Full Story Top Analysis: Aquino's anti-graft drive risks Philippine instability Thu,15 Dec 2011 03:02 PM PST Reuters - MANILA (Reuters) - Philippine President Benigno Aquino has locked horns with what he calls an obstructionist judiciary beholden to his predecessor, but his anti-corruption zeal risks plunging the country into instability. Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona, accused of protecting former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo from investigation, was impeached by the lower house of Congress, dominated by Aquino allies, on Monday. Corona has vowed to fight the first impeachment of a chief justice, strongly backed by Aquino, a confrontation pointing to policy paralysis ahead. ... Full Story Top Parliament approves Wheat Board bill Thu,15 Dec 2011 02:52 PM PST Reuters - OTTAWA (Reuters) - Parliament gave final approval on Thursday to a government bill to end the Canadian Wheat Board's 68-year-old grain marketing monopoly, but legal challenges threaten to leave farmers and the grain industry in limbo into the New Year. The Senate easily passed the Conservative government's legislation to end the CWB's monopoly on sales of western wheat and barley for export or milling. It had already passed through the House of Commons and is expected to get royal assent by Friday morning to enable it to become law, effective next August. ... Full Story Top Russia's Putin offers protesters small change Thu,15 Dec 2011 02:48 PM PST Reuters - MOSCOW (Reuters) - Vladimir Putin offered to ease slightly his tight political control of Russian politics in token concessions to protesters he suggested had been paid to turn out in the biggest demonstrations since he took power 12 years ago. In a 4-1/2 hour call-in question-and-answer show that was broadcast live across Russia and intended to rebuild support as he prepares to reclaim the presidency, the long-serving prime minister sought to portray himself as a reasonable, even-handed national leader who can unite his people. ... Full Story Top Veterans to tout Obama's record as military leader Thu,15 Dec 2011 02:46 PM PST Reuters - CHICAGO (Reuters) - As the war in Iraq draws to a close, U.S. President Barack Obama's re-election campaign has quietly enlisted an army of veterans to urge other military men and women to vote for him in November. The Obama campaign has built a network of more than 700 supportive veterans to promote the president in key states such as Virginia and North Carolina, where 13 percent and 11 percent of residents are veterans, respectively. These states are among a dozen divided battleground states that could hold the keys to victory in the 2012 election. ... Full Story Top Military marks end to nearly nine bloody years in Iraq Thu,15 Dec 2011 02:41 PM PST Reuters - BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. forces formally ended almost nine years of war in Iraq on Thursday with a modest flag-lowering ceremony in Baghdad, while to the north flickering violence highlighted ethnic and sectarian strains threatening the country in years ahead. "After a lot of blood spilled by Iraqis and Americans, the mission of an Iraq that could govern and secure itself has become real," Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said at the ceremony at Baghdad's still heavily-fortified airport. Almost 4,500 U.S. ... Full Story Top U.S. nuclear chief says he is intense, not a bully Thu,15 Dec 2011 02:36 PM PST Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The head of the U.S. nuclear safety regulator acknowledged on Thursday that he needs to work on repairing damaged trust at his agency, but he stopped short of apologizing for behavior his colleagues have complained about. It was the second congressional hearing in two days to focus on accusations from colleagues about the temper and tactics of Gregory Jaczko, chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ... Full Story Top U.S. data point to firming economic recovery Thu,15 Dec 2011 02:30 PM PST Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits fell to a 3-1/2-year low last week and factory activity in parts of the Northeast gained speed in December, suggesting a further strengthening of the economic recovery. While other data on Thursday showed industrial output shrank for the first time in seven months in November, much of the decline came from auto production, which analysts said was held back by temporary supply disruptions. ... Full Story Top Syrian rebels kill 27 soldiers in south Thu,15 Dec 2011 02:30 PM PST Reuters - BEIRUT (Reuters) - Army deserters killed 27 soldiers in southern Syria on Thursday, an activist group said, in some of the deadliest attacks on forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad since the start of an uprising nine months ago. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the clashes flared in Deraa, where protests against Assad first erupted in March, and at a checkpoint east of the city where all 15 personnel manning it were killed. ... Full Story Top Senate passes new rules on detainees, sends to Obama Thu,15 Dec 2011 02:26 PM PST Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Congress on Thursday approved a defense bill requiring the military to handle suspected foreign militants allied with al Qaeda, sending it to President Barack Obama for his expected signature into law. Final action came when the Senate approved the bill in an 86-13 vote, a day after Obama retreated from a veto threat on the legislation. The administration was unhappy with the intrusion into its authority over counterterrorism matters but relented when some of its flexibility was restored. ... Full Story Top Libya to allow police to probe Lockerbie - minister Thu,15 Dec 2011 02:23 PM PST Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - The Libyan government will allow British police to go to Libya to investigate the 1988 Lockerbie bombing and the unsolved 1984 killing of a policewoman in London, a British minister said on Thursday. Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt, who held talks with Libyan ministers in Tripoli last week, said the Libyan government had given permission for British police to carry out fresh investigations into the two shadowy episodes that occurred under the rule of late strongman Muammar Gaddafi. ... Full Story Top Lawmakers scramble as government shutdown looms Thu,15 Dec 2011 02:21 PM PST Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lawmakers, urged on by President Barack Obama, raced against the clock on Thursday to keep the government funded beyond Friday and extend a worker tax cut and jobless benefits. Republicans and Democrats appeared to be backing away from a high-stakes game of "chicken" that has brought the U.S. government to the brink of a shutdown for the third time in a year and threatened an effective tax hike on 160 million people in 2012. ... Full Story Top Tea Party Patriots co-founder arrested in New York Thu,15 Dec 2011 02:19 PM PST Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters) - A co-founder of the conservative Tea Party Patriots group was arrested at a New York airport on Thursday for gun possession, authorities said. Mark Meckler, 49, was charged with illegally traveling with a pistol after he was arrested at 5.30 a.m. at LaGuardia airport, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said in a statement. Meckler presented a locked gun box, which contained a pistol and 19 cartridges, at a Delta Airlines counter as he checked in for a flight. He has a California permit to carry the gun but not a New York state permit, authorities said. ... Full Story Top Generic drugmakers to build warning system on shortages Thu,15 Dec 2011 02:14 PM PST Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Generic drugmakers plan to work with distributors, wholesalers and others to create an advance warning system for medicines that are in short supply, the head of the U.S. generic industry's trade group said on Thursday. The private-sector system would supplement a notification system used by U.S. health officials to inform patients and others of looming supply problems for these life-saving medications, most of which are generic. The number of drug shortages has escalated this year to a record 220 medicines, up from 56 in 2006. ... Full Story Top U.S. says Arizona sheriff violated civil rights laws Thu,15 Dec 2011 01:57 PM PST Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration accused a firebrand Arizona sheriff on Thursday of engaging in racial profiling of Latinos and making unlawful arrests in a crack down on illegal immigrants. The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office -- led by Joe Arpaio, a sheriff famous for making inmates wear pink underwear -- regularly violated U.S. civil rights laws and the Constitution, the U.S. Justice Department said in a scathing report. ... Full Story Top Russian draft offers hope of U.N. Syria resolution Thu,15 Dec 2011 01:50 PM PST Reuters - UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Russia offered a new, beefed-up draft resolution on the violence in Syria to the U.N. Security Council on Thursday, and Western countries said for the first time they were willing to negotiate over it. Although Western envoys said the Russian text was too weak, their readiness to work on it offered a chance for the Security Council to overcome its deadlock and issue the 15-nation panel's first resolution on Syria's bloody nine-month-old crackdown on opposition protesters. ... Full Story Top SEC appeals judge's rejection of Citigroup deal Thu,15 Dec 2011 01:50 PM PST Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters) - The top U.S. market regulator is appealing a judge's rejection of a major Citigroup Inc civil securities fraud settlement, according to court papers filed on Thursday. The $285 million pact was rejected by U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff last month as "pocket change" for Citigroup. In that ruling, the judge criticized the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's policy of settling lawsuits without having defendants admit or deny wrongdoing. ... Full Story Top Republican Ryan backs new bipartisan Medicare Plan Thu,15 Dec 2011 01:38 PM PST Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican lawmaker Paul Ryan, who caused an uproar this year by proposing a plan to privatize Medicare, unveiled a new bipartisan approach on Thursday for cutting the cost of the government's $525 billion healthcare plan for the elderly. The chairman of the House of Representatives Budget Committee joined Democratic Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon to unveil a plan that would retain Medicare's popular fee-for-service program but subject it to direct competition from private insurance plans. ... Full Story Top Libya to allow UK police to probe Lockerbie: minister Thu,15 Dec 2011 01:33 PM PST Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - The Libyan government will allow British police to go to Libya to investigate the 1988 Lockerbie bombing and the unsolved 1984 killing of a policewoman in London, a British minister said on Thursday. Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt, who held talks with Libyan ministers in Tripoli last week, said the Libyan government had given permission for British police to carry out fresh investigations into the two shadowy episodes that occurred under the rule of late strongman Muammar Gaddafi. ... Full Story Top

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