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Thursday, September 27, 2012 8:30 PM PDT

Today's Politics - Bloomberg News Headlines - Yahoo! News: Germany, France may seek combined 27 percent stake in EADS-BAE: report Iran says it reserves right to retaliate if attacked Chinese FM Yang tells U.N. Japan stole disputed islands from China Clinton urges "cool heads" in China-Japan island dispute Mormon website editor's church discipline hearing suspended Argentina, Iran say to talk until 1990s bombings resolved China says Iran nuclear issue at "new, crucial stage" Two dead, at least four wounded in Minneapolis company shooting California man linked to anti-Islam film ordered held without bond U.N. chief duped by prank call from fake Canadian PM Chevron pays $17.3 million Brazil fine for November spill U.S. cyber warrior accuses China of targeting Pentagon Japan ruling party lags badly in poll as election nears Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi tells Harvard students: I'm no icon Obama-Romney debate challenge: handling the off-script moment Factbox: Obama, Romney to square off in presidential debates Fred Alger fails to end whistleblower case over firing South Korean pilots visit Boeing, Lockheed jet fighter plants Reformist leader urges world to take fresh look at Myanmar Netanyahu draws "red line" on Iran's nuclear program Obama, Romney woo military in battleground state Virginia Libya's new leader apologizes at U.N. for Gaddafi crimes Ex-IRS examiner charged with naming whistleblower: prosecutor US Treasury's Geithner urges action on money market funds China's dorm room discontent emerges as new labor flashpoint Billionaire Soros pledges $1.5 million to Democratic "Super PACs" NATO worried by Libya armed groups, offers security help Google obeys Brazilian court order, blocks YouTube political video Witnesses recall hurdles to get Pennsylvania voter ID U.S. official sees eventual resumption of Iran nuclear talks California man linked to anti-Islam film in custody for hearing U.S. answers Florida cry to end tomato pact with Mexico Italian unions to strike against Monti spending cuts NATO resuming more operations with Afghans, Pentagon says Abbas says to seek upgrade of Palestinian U.N. status Judge dismisses charges against 92 Occupy Chicago demonstrators U.S. temporarily reduces staff in Libyan embassy In rare appearance, Germany's Kohl makes plea for European unity Factbox: Sudan and South Sudan border tensions Puerto Rico jury rejects death penalty in drug dealer case Germany, France may seek combined 27 percent stake in EADS-BAE: report Thu,27 Sep 2012 07:25 PM PDT Reuters - BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany and France may seek a combined 27 percent stake in a company to be formed from a planned merger of European aerospace group EADS and British defense contractor BAE Systems Plc , but Britain would be opposed, the Financial Times Deutschland said. The stake would create a shareholder counterweight with the power to block decisions by the management of the new company, the newspaper said, citing sources familiar with the matter, in an article due to appear in its Friday edition. ... Full Story Top Iran says it reserves right to retaliate if attacked Thu,27 Sep 2012 07:22 PM PDT Reuters - UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Iran responded to Israel's "red line" for Tehran's nuclear program on Thursday by declaring it was strong enough to defend itself and said it reserved the right to retaliate with full force against any attack. In a response to a speech at the U.N. General Assembly by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Iran's U.N. mission said Israel had made "baseless and absurd allegations against (its) exclusively peaceful nuclear program." It also said Israel "on a daily basis, threatens countries in the region, particularly my country (with) military attack. ... Full Story Top Chinese FM Yang tells U.N. Japan stole disputed islands from China Thu,27 Sep 2012 07:15 PM PDT Reuters - UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The islands at the center of a territorial dispute between Japan and China were seized from the Chinese in 1895 and the Japanese government's recent purchase of them is "illegal and invalid," Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said on Thursday. "The moves taken by Japan are totally illegal and invalid. They can in no way change the historical fact that Japan stole the Diaoyudao and affiliated islands and that China has sovereignty over them," Yang told the United Nations General Assembly, using the Chinese name for what Japan calls the Senkakus. ... Full Story Top Clinton urges "cool heads" in China-Japan island dispute Thu,27 Sep 2012 07:15 PM PDT Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged China and Japan on Thursday to let "cool heads" prevail in a festering dispute over a cluster of islands in the East China Sea that has soured ties between Asia's two largest economies. Clinton met Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi on the sidelines of this week's U.N. General Assembly meeting in New York and said it was important to ratchet down tensions over the islands, known as the Diaoyu islands in China and the Senkakus in Japan, a senior State Department official said. "The secretary ... ... Full Story Top Mormon website editor's church discipline hearing suspended Thu,27 Sep 2012 07:14 PM PDT Reuters - SALT LAKE CITY (Reuters) - The Florida-based editor of a Mormon-themed website facing disciplinary action and possible excommunication over his writings said on Thursday his Orlando-area church leaders had suspended a hearing to decide his fate. David Twede's posts on MormonThink.com offer his account of the history of the church's political involvement, criticism of fellow Mormon and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, and the author's take on Mormon beliefs about the nature of God and temple ceremonies. Twede, a 47-year-old, fifth-generation Mormon and MormonThink. ... Full Story Top Argentina, Iran say to talk until 1990s bombings resolved Thu,27 Sep 2012 07:08 PM PDT Reuters - BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina and Iran will keep talking until they resolve diplomatically sensitive issues stemming from two 1990s attacks on Jewish targets in Buenos Aires that were allegedly sponsored by Tehran, both countries said on Thursday. Dialogue with Tehran is risky for Argentina, even if the focus is on Tehran's possible culpability in a pair of bombings. The opening of a diplomatic channel with Tehran could anger the United States and Israel, which are seeking to isolate Iran as it appears to pursue nuclear weapons. ... Full Story Top China says Iran nuclear issue at "new, crucial stage" Thu,27 Sep 2012 07:04 PM PDT Reuters - UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said on Thursday that the disagreement over Iran's nuclear program has reached "a new, crucial stage," and urged a diplomatic solution. "The Iranian nuclear issue has reached a new, crucial stage," Yang said in a speech at the U.N. General Assembly. "The relevant parties should remain committed to a diplomatic solution and begin a new round of dialogue as soon as possible." (Reporting By Arshad Mohammed; Editing by Stacey Joyce) Full Story Top Two dead, at least four wounded in Minneapolis company shooting Thu,27 Sep 2012 07:03 PM PDT Reuters - MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) - A gunman opened fire at a Minneapolis sign company in violence that left at least two people dead and four wounded, police and hospital officials said. Minneapolis police, Hennepin County sheriff's deputies and police from nearby communities converged on Accent Signage Systems after the shooting. No further details were immediately available. Police dispatchers confirmed that two people were dead. Local media quoted police as saying that "several" people had been killed, including the gunman. ... Full Story Top California man linked to anti-Islam film ordered held without bond Thu,27 Sep 2012 07:02 PM PDT Reuters - LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A California man linked to an anti-Islam film that has stoked violent protests across the Muslim world was ordered jailed without bond on Thursday by a federal judge over accusations that he violated terms of his probation on a bank fraud conviction. Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, 55, has been under investigation by probation officials looking into whether he violated the terms of his 2011 release from prison on a bank fraud conviction while making the film. ... Full Story Top U.N. chief duped by prank call from fake Canadian PM Thu,27 Sep 2012 06:42 PM PDT Reuters - UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A pair of Canadian radio comedians said on Thursday it took them less then an hour to get U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the phone during international diplomacy's busiest week - by pretending to be Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Ban was pulled out of a meeting during the U.N. General Assembly of world leaders on Wednesday to take the phone call from Quebec comedy duo "The Masked Avengers," famous for tricking celebrities and politicians. ... Full Story Top Chevron pays $17.3 million Brazil fine for November spill Thu,27 Sep 2012 06:38 PM PDT Reuters - RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Chevron Corp , the second-largest U.S. oil company, paid a 35.1 million real ($17.3 million) fine levied by Brazil's petroleum regulator for irregularities related to a November oil spill, the regulator said in a statement on Thursday. Chevron received a 30 percent discount on the 35.1 million real charge because it paid promptly and did not challenge the 24 violations found by the regulator, the ANP, in its operations in the Frade Field northeast of Rio de Janeiro, the ANP said. The discount, allowed under Brazilian law, would reduce Chevron's bill to about 24. ... Full Story Top U.S. cyber warrior accuses China of targeting Pentagon Thu,27 Sep 2012 06:23 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Cyber Command's top intelligence officer accused China on Thursday of persistent efforts to pierce Pentagon computer networks and said a proposal was moving forward to boost the cyber command in the U.S. military hierarchy. "Their level of effort against the Department of Defense is constant" while alleged Chinese attempts to steal corporate trade secrets has been growing, Rear Admiral Samuel Cox, the command's director of intelligence, told Reuters after remarks to a forum on the history of cyber threats. ... Full Story Top Japan ruling party lags badly in poll as election nears Thu,27 Sep 2012 06:14 PM PDT Reuters - TOKYO (Reuters) - Two and a half times more Japanese will vote for the opposition Liberal Democratic Party than for the ruling party in an upcoming election, a newspaper poll suggested on Friday, raising the prospect of Shinzo Abe again becoming prime minister. The Nikkei business daily survey said 35 percent of those polled would vote for the LDP, compared with 14 percent for the ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) and 12 percent for the new Japan Restoration Party. ... Full Story Top Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi tells Harvard students: I'm no icon Thu,27 Sep 2012 06:03 PM PDT Reuters - CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts (Reuters) - Myanmar pro-democracy leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi got celebrity treatment from students at Harvard University on Thursday, but insisted she was not an "icon." "I don't like to be referred to as an icon, because from my point of view, icons just sit there," Suu Kyi said during a lecture before an enthusiastic, overflow crowd at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government in Cambridge, Massachusetts. "I would like you to think of me as a worker. I put a lot of faith in hard work. ... Full Story Top Obama-Romney debate challenge: handling the off-script moment Thu,27 Sep 2012 05:50 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - If history is a guide, Democrat Barack Obama will have a tough time in the first presidential debate on Wednesday, Republican Mitt Romney will be particularly aggressive, and both will risk committing a damaging gaffe if they wander off their talking points. The 90-minute showdown in Denver - the first of three televised Obama-Romney encounters in October that will set the tone for the final month of the presidential campaign - will feature two experienced and competent debaters who are at their best in scripted settings. ... Full Story Top Factbox: Obama, Romney to square off in presidential debates Thu,27 Sep 2012 05:50 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and Republican rival Mitt Romney will spar over whose vision is best for boosting the U.S. economy and navigating thorny foreign issues among other topics during three debates before the November 6 election. Vice President Joe Biden will also face Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan, a Wisconsin congressman known for his conservative budget proposals. Below are key facts about the widely anticipated debates, the first of which is next Wednesday. The encounters will each be moderated by a journalist and will air from 9 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. ... Full Story Top Fred Alger fails to end whistleblower case over firing Thu,27 Sep 2012 05:41 PM PDT Reuters - (Reuters) - Fred Alger Management Inc failed on Thursday to win dismissal of a whistleblower lawsuit by a former portfolio manager who said she was fired in retaliation for protesting that the money manager's trading policy benefited colleagues at her expense. District Judge Loretta Preska in Manhattan said that Rosanne Ott, who ran the New York-based firm's Alger Health Sciences fund from 2005 until her January 2011 firing, could pursue her wrongful termination claim. Several other claims were dismissed. ... Full Story Top South Korean pilots visit Boeing, Lockheed jet fighter plants Thu,27 Sep 2012 05:37 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - South Korean test pilots are visiting Lockheed Martin Corp's F-35 plant in Fort Worth, Texas, this week after a similar trip this month to Boeing Co's F-15 plant in St. Louis amid signs that Seoul will delay a decision in its $7 billion-plus fighter competition until early 2013. Lockheed spokesman Mike Rein said South Korean officials were evaluating the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter proposal submitted by Lockheed in South Korea's 8.3 trillion won competition for 60 new fighter planes. He gave no further details. ... Full Story Top Reformist leader urges world to take fresh look at Myanmar Thu,27 Sep 2012 05:18 PM PDT Reuters - UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Myanmar's president on Thursday said achieving stability and rule of law would prevent "any reversal" in reforms that are helping his Southeast Asian nation emerge from decades of authoritarianism, poverty and isolation. In speeches in New York, President Thein Sein appealed for international support for sweeping political and economic changes in Myanmar and praised opposition leader and pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi as a "good colleague" who would help complete the country's democratic transition. ... Full Story Top Netanyahu draws "red line" on Iran's nuclear program Thu,27 Sep 2012 05:17 PM PDT Reuters - UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu drew his "red line" for Iran's nuclear program on Thursday despite a U.S. refusal to set an ultimatum, saying Tehran will be on the brink of a nuclear weapon in less than a year. By citing a time frame in an address to the U.N. General Assembly, Netanyahu - who has clashed with President Barack Obama over the urgency of military action against Iran - appeared to suggest no Israeli attack was imminent before the November 6 U.S. presidential election. ... Full Story Top Obama, Romney woo military in battleground state Virginia Thu,27 Sep 2012 05:16 PM PDT Reuters - VIRGINIA BEACH/SPRINGFIELD, Virginia (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and Republican rival Mitt Romney battled to capture the military vote in Virginia on Thursday as they tried to squeeze out an advantage in one of the most tightly contested swing states ahead of the November 6 election. Speaking in the military town of Virginia Beach, Obama called for a new "economic patriotism" to help middle-income voters whose support his campaign is targeting. Romney spoke at an American Legion hall a few miles from the Pentagon and blamed Obama for $1. ... Full Story Top Libya's new leader apologizes at U.N. for Gaddafi crimes Thu,27 Sep 2012 05:13 PM PDT Reuters - UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Libya's newly appointed leader apologized at the United Nations on Thursday for the crimes of ousted dictator Muammar Gaddafi and told critics that supporting the Arab Spring was worth it. During his address to the U.N. General Assembly, Mohammed Magarief, leader of Libya's ruling national congress, said the Libyan people were moderate and the country would never be home to extremist groups. ... Full Story Top Ex-IRS examiner charged with naming whistleblower: prosecutor Thu,27 Sep 2012 05:04 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A former Internal Revenue Service examiner was arrested on Thursday and charged with exposing an IRS whistleblower and interfering with the audit of an international bank, said the Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Dennis Lerner, 59, was arrested at his home in Edgewater, New Jersey and appeared before a judge in Manhattan, according to a statement from Attorney Preet Bharara. Lerner was charged with violating federal conflict of interest laws and improperly disclosing confidential IRS information. He could face up to 20 years in prison. ... Full Story Top US Treasury's Geithner urges action on money market funds Thu,27 Sep 2012 05:02 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner called on Thursday for the new U.S. financial risk council to consider reforms for money market funds, despite stiff opposition from the $2.6 trillion industry and from some securities regulators. In a letter released by the Treasury Department, Geithner said the Financial Stability Oversight Council should formally ask the Securities and Exchange Commission to move forward with new rules in a bid to get the divided SEC to act. ... Full Story Top China's dorm room discontent emerges as new labor flashpoint Thu,27 Sep 2012 04:52 PM PDT Reuters - TAIYUAN, China (Reuters) - Twenty-three-year old factory worker Wang spends up to 12 hours a day making iPhone components in China, but his major complaint is not about the monotony of the production line - it is about his degrading worker-bee life inside the dormitory. Wang, who did not want his full name published, is among thousands of workers housed in a vast complex where tensions aggravated by regimented and cramped living conditions boiled over on Sunday into a violent mass riot. ... Full Story Top Billionaire Soros pledges $1.5 million to Democratic "Super PACs" Thu,27 Sep 2012 04:28 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Billionaire financier George Soros has committed $1.5 million to "Super PACs" backing President Barack Obama and Democrats running for Congress in the November 6 election, officials with those groups said on Thursday. Soros - a prominent donor to liberal political causes - has pledged $1 million to Priorities USA Action, which is running ads to help the Democratic president's re-election bid, and $500,000 to Majority PAC and House Majority PAC, which help Democratic congressional candidates, the officials said. ... Full Story Top NATO worried by Libya armed groups, offers security help Thu,27 Sep 2012 04:22 PM PDT Reuters - UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The head of NATO expressed concern on Thursday about armed groups operating outside government control in Libya and said he was encouraging Tripoli to accept an offer of help to reform its security sector. NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen made the offer to Libyan leader Mohammed Magarief after this month's attack on the U.S. consulate in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, which killed the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans. ... Full Story Top Google obeys Brazilian court order, blocks YouTube political video Thu,27 Sep 2012 04:18 PM PDT Reuters - RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - The Brazilian unit of Google, the world's No. 1 Internet search engine, said on Thursday it had obeyed a court order to remove a video attacking a candidate in Brazilian municipal elections from its YouTube service after legal appeals were exhausted. ... Full Story Top Witnesses recall hurdles to get Pennsylvania voter ID Thu,27 Sep 2012 04:17 PM PDT Reuters - HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania (Reuters) - A dozen witnesses testified on Thursday about the hours-long waits, multiple trips and misinformation they experienced in getting the voter ID cards required under a Pennsylvania law that a judge will soon decide whether to block. On the second day of hearings called by Commonwealth Court Judge Robert Simpson, a parade of witnesses, including one in a wheelchair and another who walks with a cane, spoke about the hurdles they faced to get the cards before the November 6 presidential election. ... Full Story Top U.S. official sees eventual resumption of Iran nuclear talks Thu,27 Sep 2012 04:16 PM PDT Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters) - The United States expects major powers' consultations on Iran's nuclear program to continue and eventually lead to another round of talks with Tehran, a senior U.S. official said on Thursday. The official, speaking after talks among representatives of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council - United States, France, Britain, Russia and China - and Germany at the United Nations, said "at some point" the group would likely return for a fourth round of talks with Iran. ... Full Story Top California man linked to anti-Islam film in custody for hearing Thu,27 Sep 2012 04:13 PM PDT Reuters - LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A California man linked to an anti-Islam film that has stoked violent protests across the Muslim world was in custody and appeared at a preliminary bail hearing in Los Angeles on Thursday linked to a bank fraud conviction, court officials said. Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, 55, has been under investigation by probation officials looking into whether he violated the terms of his 2011 release from prison on a bank fraud conviction while making the film. ... Full Story Top U.S. answers Florida cry to end tomato pact with Mexico Thu,27 Sep 2012 04:13 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's administration took a big step on Thursday toward terminating a 16-year-old tomato trade agreement with Mexico following a request from growers in Florida, an important swing state in the presidential election. Florida growers compete with Mexico for the U.S. winter and early spring tomato market. They have pressed the Obama administration since June to terminate the Mexico pact on grounds it fails to protect them against Mexican tomatoes sold in the United States below the cost of production. The U.S. ... Full Story Top Italian unions to strike against Monti spending cuts Thu,27 Sep 2012 04:06 PM PDT Reuters - ROME (Reuters) - Two of Italy's biggest unions have called a strike by public sector workers on Friday to protest against spending cuts enacted by Prime Minister Mario Monti in his attempts to pull the country out of crisis Thousands are expected to march through central Rome to a rally near the Coliseum. The strike follows clashes between anti-austerity protesters and police in Madrid and Athens this week, and coincides with labor unrest at the ILVA steel plant in southern Italy. ... Full Story Top NATO resuming more operations with Afghans, Pentagon says Thu,27 Sep 2012 03:48 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - NATO-led forces are resuming operations alongside their Afghan counterparts in growing numbers, a week after commanders curtailed some joint missions due to a surge in insider attacks and tensions over an anti-Islamic video, the Pentagon said on Thursday. The Pentagon did not provide precise figures on the extent of the increase in partnering since the new policy was enacted. But Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said most units in Afghanistan were conducting "normal partnered operations at all levels. ... Full Story Top Abbas says to seek upgrade of Palestinian U.N. status Thu,27 Sep 2012 03:43 PM PDT Reuters - UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Thursday he would seek to have the Palestinians' U.N. status upgraded to a sovereign country and cautioned that Israeli settlement expansion meant time was running out for a two-state solution. "Despite all the complexities of the prevailing reality and all the frustrations that abound, we say before the international community there is still a chance - maybe the last - to save the two-state solution and to salvage peace," Abbas told the U.N. General Assembly. ... Full Story Top Judge dismisses charges against 92 Occupy Chicago demonstrators Thu,27 Sep 2012 03:25 PM PDT Reuters - CHICAGO (Reuters) - A Cook County judge on Thursday dismissed charges against 92 people arrested last October during two anti-Wall Street Occupy demonstrations in Chicago and said a rarely applied city curfew law violated their constitutional right to free assembly. Police arrested more than 300 people during the protests for violating a city ordinance when they did not leave a park near Lake Michigan when it closed at 11 p.m. Violation of a city ordinance was the lowest possible misdemeanor charge. ... Full Story Top U.S. temporarily reduces staff in Libyan embassy Thu,27 Sep 2012 03:24 PM PDT Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters) - The United States is temporarily withdrawing more staff from its embassy in Libya's capital for security reasons, but hopes to send them back early next week, the State Department said on Thursday. "This is a temporary further drawdown of staff for security reasons. We will review our posture again early next week with the goal of restoring staff as soon as conditions allow," a State Department official said in New York, where Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is attending the U.N. General Assembly. U.S. ... Full Story Top In rare appearance, Germany's Kohl makes plea for European unity Thu,27 Sep 2012 03:23 PM PDT Reuters - BERLIN (Reuters) - Former Chancellor Helmut Kohl, who reunified Germany and pushed the country into the euro, urged Europe to press ahead with closer integration despite a crisis of the single currency, saying the continent must never again descend into conflict. In a rare public appearance to mark 30 years since he became chancellor, Kohl was celebrated by party allies, an array of former presidents and prime ministers, as well as Angela Merkel, a former protégé with whom he has had a frosty relationship since she turned on him over a decade ago. ... Full Story Top Factbox: Sudan and South Sudan border tensions Thu,27 Sep 2012 03:11 PM PDT Reuters - (Reuters) - Sudan and South Sudan signed deals on Thursday to secure their shared border and boost trade, but failed to resolve other conflicts remaining after the South seceded last year. Here is a look at areas along the 1,800 km (1,200 mile) boundary where tensions remain high. * ABYEI: The fertile central region is claimed by both Sudan and South Sudan and their armies have clashed there a number of times. Abyei's residents were promised a referendum on which country to join under the same deal that granted the South its independence last year. But that vote has not materialized. ... Full Story Top Puerto Rico jury rejects death penalty in drug dealer case Thu,27 Sep 2012 03:10 PM PDT Reuters - SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (Reuters) - A Puerto Rico jury on Thursday rejected handing down the death penalty in the case of a drug dealer convicted of killing his girlfriend after he discovered she was an informant for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Edison Burgos Montes was sentenced to life in prison for the 2005 killing of Madeline Semidey Morales, who cooperated with the DEA in its investigation of him. The case was closely watched in Puerto Rico, where capital punishment is prohibited by the U.S. commonwealth's constitution. ... Full Story Top

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