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| Wildfires hit U.S. West, could spread to Native American sites Monday, Jun 03, 2013 06:54 PM PDT  By Sharon Bernstein LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Wildfires, including one that could extend to Native American archaeological sites in New Mexico, raged across the western United States on Monday as dry weather and gusty winds stymied firefighters' efforts to make headway against the flames. In Southern California, a fast-growing wildfire spread to 30,000 acres, expanding by 50 percent from Sunday to Monday. It has destroyed six homes since it broke out last Thursday. In New Mexico two smaller fires roared out of control in separate wilderness areas. ... Full Story | Top |
| Defiant Erdogan denounces riots in Turkish cities Monday, Jun 03, 2013 02:48 PM PDT  By Birsen Altayli and Ayla Jean Yackley ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Anti-government protesters responsible for Turkey's worst riots in years are "arm-in-arm with terrorism", Prime Minister Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said, in a defiant response to three days of unrest in dozens of cities across the country. Hundreds of police and protesters have been injured since Friday, when a demonstration to halt construction in a park in an Istanbul square grew into mass protests against a heavy-handed police crackdown and what opponents call Erdogan's authoritarian policies. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama administration disputes charge attorney general lied Monday, Jun 03, 2013 05:22 PM PDT  By Steve Holland and David Ingram WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration on Monday pushed back against Republican accusations that Attorney General Eric Holder lied during a congressional appearance last month about his involvement in leak investigations that involved reporters. Republican lawmakers have called Holder's credibility into question by alleging that he failed to tell the truth in testimony to the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee about the Justice Department's secret seizures of journalist records. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ecuador says to talk with Britain on Assange on June 17 Monday, Jun 03, 2013 07:25 PM PDT  QUITO/LONDON (Reuters) - Ecuadorean Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino said on Monday he would meet Britain's Foreign Secretary William Hague this month to discuss a possible solution to the year-long diplomatic standoff over WikiLeaks' founder Julian Assange. Assange, 41, took refuge in Ecuador's tiny embassy in London last June to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning over sex assault and rape allegations. He denies the allegations. ... Full Story | Top |
| In e-books trial, U.S. says Apple conspired with publishers Monday, Jun 03, 2013 02:25 PM PDT  By Nate Raymond NEW YORK (Reuters) - Apple Inc conspired with publishers to raise the price of e-books in a scheme costing consumers "hundreds of millions of dollars," a U.S. government lawyer said on Monday. A three-week trial got under way before a federal judge in New York in a case pitting the Justice Department against the popular iPad and iPhone maker that could shine a light on the secretive Silicon Valley giant's business practices. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. says WikiLeaks soldier driven by 'arrogance' Monday, Jun 03, 2013 02:25 PM PDT By Ian Simpson FORT MEADE, Maryland (Reuters) - Military prosecutors said arrogance drove the U.S. soldier who went on trial on Monday accused of the biggest leak of classified information in U.S. history through the WikiLeaks anti-secrecy website three years ago. But at the opening of the court-martial of Private First Class Bradley Manning, 25, his defense lawyer portrayed him as a naive young soldier who had leaked the documents, combat videos and other data because he wanted to reveal the human cost of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: With trademark vigor, Justice Scalia dissents in DNA case Monday, Jun 03, 2013 12:39 PM PDT  By Joan Biskupic WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Justice Antonin Scalia can seem among the most predictable of the nine U.S. Supreme Court justices, voting conservative and regularly siding with law enforcement over individuals. But then comes an exception like Monday, when Scalia launched a fiery dissent from the bench to a decision permitting police to take DNA swabs from people arrested. The nine justices divided 5-4 in one of the most closely watched criminal disputes of the term, declaring that the collection of DNA does not violate the U.S. Constitution's protection against unreasonable searches. ... Full Story | Top |
| New IRS chief tells Congress he will clean up tax agency Monday, Jun 03, 2013 03:49 PM PDT  By Kim Dixon and John Whitesides WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The new chief of the Internal Revenue Service told Congress on Monday the tax-collecting agency would fully investigate and repair the problems that led to the inappropriate targeting of conservative groups for extra scrutiny. Acting IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel, appearing before Congress for the first time since moving into the top job two weeks ago, promised to restore the agency's tattered image with a public accounting of the practices that have led to multiple investigations and a political firestorm. ... Full Story | Top |
| Death toll reaches 18 in Oklahoma tornadoes, storms Monday, Jun 03, 2013 05:22 PM PDT  (Reuters) - The death toll from deadly tornadoes and severe flooding that struck Oklahoma on Friday and Saturday has risen to 18, including 12 adults and six children, with the bodies of seven people still unidentified, the state's chief medical examiner said on Monday. Officials on Monday added five victims - three adults and two unidentified children - to the tally of confirmed deaths, said Amy Elliott, a spokeswoman for the medical examiner's office. ... Full Story | Top |
| Manufacturing activity contracts in May to four-year low Monday, Jun 03, 2013 10:13 AM PDT  By Leah Schnurr NEW YORK (Reuters) - The manufacturing sector contracted in May, driving activity to the lowest level in nearly four years, in the latest sign the economy is encountering a soft patch. Still, growth is not expected to pull back sharply, and separate data on Monday showed construction spending rose slightly in April, though it trailed expectations. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said its index of national factory activity in May fell to 49.0 from 50.7 in April, short of expectations for 50.7. It was the lowest level since June 2009. ... Full Story | Top |
| Blaze at locked Chinese poultry slaughterhouse kills 119: state media Monday, Jun 03, 2013 06:38 AM PDT  By Ben Blanchard BEIJING (Reuters) - A blaze at a locked poultry slaughterhouse in northeast China killed at least 119 people on Monday with several still unaccounted for, officials and state media said, triggering online outrage in a country with a grim record on fire safety. The fire broke out just after dawn near Dehui in Jilin province. The provincial government said it sent more than 500 firefighters and more than 270 doctors and nurses to the scene, evacuating 3,000 nearby residents as a precaution. ... Full Story | Top |
| Red Cross pushing for access to Syria's besieged Qusair Monday, Jun 03, 2013 10:08 AM PDT  By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - The International Committee of the Red Cross said on Monday it was still seeking a formal Syrian response to its request for urgent access to the besieged town of Qusair after a minister said aid efforts should wait until the fighting was over. Humanitarian groups say as many as 1,500 wounded people may be trapped in Qusair by fighting between rebels and President Bashar al-Assad's forces, who are backed by fighters from Lebanon's militant Shi'ite group Hezbollah. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama administration disputes charge attorney general lied Monday, Jun 03, 2013 03:23 PM PDT  By Steve Holland and David Ingram WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration on Monday pushed backed against Republican accusations that Attorney General Eric Holder lied during a congressional appearance last month about his involvement in leak investigations that involved reporters. Republican lawmakers have called Holder's credibility into question by alleging that he failed to tell the truth in testimony to the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee about the Justice Department's secret seizures of journalist records. ... Full Story | Top |
| Death toll from Oklahoma tornadoes, storms rises to 18 Monday, Jun 03, 2013 03:48 PM PDT (Reuters) - The death toll from Friday's tornadoes and storms in Oklahoma has risen to 18 people, including six children and 12 adults, the Oklahoma chief medical examiner said on Monday. Officials added five victims on Monday to the confirmed list of dead from the tornadoes and from storms that caused severe flooding: three adults and two unidentified children, the medical examiner's office said. (Reporting by David Bailey; Editing by Cynthia Johnston) Full Story | Top |
| Senator Frank Lautenberg dies at 89 Monday, Jun 03, 2013 09:21 AM PDT  By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Frank Lautenberg, a self-made multimillionaire businessman who became a leading liberal in the U.S. Senate and championed smoking bans, gun control, airline safety and rail transportation, died on Monday at 89, an aide said. Lautenberg, who was the Senate's last surviving World War II veteran, died from complications of viral pneumonia, the aide said. His office said in February 2010 that he had been diagnosed with cancer and would have chemotherapy and that June he said he had recovered completely. ... Full Story | Top |
| Czech capital on alert as floods swamp central Europe Monday, Jun 03, 2013 09:56 AM PDT By Jason Hovet and Jana Mlcochova PRAGUE (Reuters) - Volunteers piled up sandbags to keep a swollen river from overwhelming the Czech capital's historic centre on Monday after floods across central Europe forced factories to closed, drove thousands from their homes and killed at least eight people. Six people died in the Czech Republic from the worst flooding in a decade and a state of emergency was declared, while in Austria two people died and another two were missing. ... Full Story | Top |
| IAEA concerned about finding nothing at Iran site after 'clean-up' Monday, Jun 03, 2013 08:11 AM PDT  By Fredrik Dahl VIENNA (Reuters) - U.N. nuclear investigators may no longer find anything if granted access to Iran's Parchin military site, their chief said on Monday, in view of suspected Iranian efforts to remove any traces of illicit atomic activity there. Yukiya Amano also said his agency's talks with Iran on unblocking an IAEA inquiry into possible nuclear arms research by Tehran had been "going around in circles" for some time. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bank of America $8.5 billion settlement heads for court showdown Monday, Jun 03, 2013 03:09 AM PDT  By Karen Freifeld NEW YORK (Reuters) - A long-running fight comes to a head on Monday when court proceedings begin over an $8.5 billion settlement between Bank of America Corp and investors in mortgage securities that turned sour in the financial crisis. Bank of America agreed to the proposed settlement in June 2011 to resolve claims by investors who held bonds issued by mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp, which Bank of America bought in 2008. Twenty-two institutional investors, including BlackRock Inc, MetLife Inc and Allianz SE's Pacific Investment Management Co entered into the ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama urges greater openness in dealing with mental illness Monday, Jun 03, 2013 01:20 PM PDT  By Roberta Rampton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Monday that Americans need to become more open about mental health issues so that people struggling with problems are not ashamed to seek help. More than 60 percent of Americans with mental illness do not receive treatment, many of them because they are embarrassed or afraid of being ostracized, Obama said, speaking at a White House conference on mental health. "We wouldn't accept it if only 40 percent of Americans with cancers got treatment," Obama said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Senator Lautenberg's death costs Obama's Democrats a liberal vote Monday, Jun 03, 2013 03:03 PM PDT  By Thomas Ferraro and Edith Honan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's Democrats lost a liberal voice and vote with the death of U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey on Monday, but it was unlikely to shift the balance of power in the Senate on any major issues including immigration reform. That is primarily because with 45 seats in the 100-member Senate, Republicans already had more than enough clout to block much of Obama's second-term agenda. ... Full Story | Top |
| China warns U.N. against 'irresponsible remarks' on North Koreans Monday, Jun 03, 2013 03:19 AM PDT  BEIJING (Reuters) - China warned the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees on Monday against making "irresponsible remarks" about nine North Korean defectors the U.N. believes were repatriated to their isolated, authoritarian homeland by China last week. The United Nations said on Friday that it was concerned about China's return of the nine young people to North Korea, where they face severe punishment, possibly execution, for having fled. The nine, all believed to be orphans, were first sent back to China after crossing into Laos. ... Full Story | Top |
| Miner shot dead at Lonmin mine in South Africa Monday, Jun 03, 2013 06:32 AM PDT By Agnieszka Flak JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - A shop steward from South Africa's National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) was shot dead on Monday at a Lonmin mine, police and the union said, sparking fears of a renewed cycle of violence in the troubled platinum belt. Lonmin said the shooting, in which another union official was also critically injured, took place at the NUM offices at Wonderkop community, which is near the town of Marikana, 120 kilometers (70 miles) northwest of Johannesburg, where police shot dead 34 miners last August, the country's deadliest police action since the end of ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S., Chinese manufacturing shrink, stoking growth fears Monday, Jun 03, 2013 08:30 AM PDT  By Steven C. Johnson and Jonathan Cable NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) - Manufacturers in the United States, China and Europe struggled last month as demand fell, suggesting an ailing world economy that still needs a steady diet of central bank support. Output at U.S. factories declined in May for the first time in six months, the Institute for Supply Management reported, while China's massive manufacturing sector shrank for the first time in seven months, adding to concerns that the world's two largest economies were losing momentum in the second quarter. ... Full Story | Top |
| Four dead in Lebanon's Tripoli, shots fired at Sidon cleric Monday, Jun 03, 2013 03:11 AM PDT TRIPOLI, Lebanon (Reuters) - Four people died in clashes in Lebanon's northern city of Tripoli and gunmen attacked a cleric in the southern port of Sidon on Monday, security sources said, in more violence stoked by civil war in neighboring Syria. The overnight clashes in Tripoli ended a week of relative calm after 29 people were killed last month in the deadliest fighting yet between gunmen who support the uprising against Bashar al-Assad and Alawite supporters of the Syrian president. ... Full Story | Top |
| Britain will bring in lobbyists' register, says deputy PM after scandal Monday, Jun 03, 2013 01:08 AM PDT  LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will introduce a statutory register of political lobbyists, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said after three members of the upper house of parliament were suspended from their parties at the weekend in a "cash for access" scandal. The three House of Lords peers were covertly filmed in a media sting offering to ask parliamentary questions, lobby ministers and host events in prestigious parliament premises in exchange for payment by what they were told were lobbyists acting for companies. ... Full Story | Top |
| Blast by school in Afghan east kills six students, two U.S. soldiers Monday, Jun 03, 2013 03:20 AM PDT GARDEZ, Afghanistan (Reuters) - A suicide bomber targeting a U.S. military convoy detonated a motorbike packed with explosives outside a boys' high school in eastern Afghanistan on Monday, killing at least six students, two U.S. soldiers and a policeman, officials said. About 20 people were wounded in the attack near the office of the governor of Paktia province. Most were schoolchildren, but they also included five U.S. soldiers, local officials said. The bomber struck at about 11.30 a.m. next to Samkani Boys High School as the convoy of U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. expands search team in GMO wheat investigation Monday, Jun 03, 2013 11:25 AM PDT  By Charles Abbott and Jane Chung WASHINGTON, SEOUL (Reuters) - The United States has expanded its search team in Oregon as it hunts for the source of unapproved genetically modified wheat found growing wild on a farm there in April. An Agriculture Department spokesman told Reuters on Monday that a team of 15 is now collecting evidence and information, versus nine investigators on the ground last week. He said there are "no indications that there is any GE (genetically engineered) wheat in commerce." Preliminary tests on U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
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