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| Japan to mull ability to hit enemy bases in defense review Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 09:11 PM PDT  By Linda Sieg and Kiyoshi Takenaka TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan should strengthen the ability of its military to deter and counter missile attacks, including the possible acquisition of the ability to hit enemy bases, the Defence Ministry said, but officials denied this would be used for pre-emptive strikes. The proposal - Japan's latest step away from the constraints of its pacifist constitution - is part of a review of defence policy by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government, which released an interim report on the subject on Friday. Final review conclusions are due by the end of the year. ... Full Story | Top |
| Four more women accuse San Diego mayor of sexual misconduct Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 09:08 PM PDT  By Marty Graham SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - Four more women, including a retired U.S. Navy admiral and a college dean, accused San Diego Mayor Bob Filner of making unwanted sexual advances toward them, as local party leaders called on the 70-year-old Democrat to resign on Thursday. The latest allegations leveled at Filner during a group interview by public television station KPBS brought to seven the number of women who have come forth this week to accuse the former U.S. congressman of sexual harassment. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: On U.S. banks and commodity trade, Fed unlikely to say no Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 09:03 PM PDT  By Jonathan Leff NEW YORK (Reuters) - When it comes to commodity trading, the U.S. Federal Reserve has a habit of lengthy deliberation, deep enquiry and saying yes. The Fed granted its first authorization to trade physical commodities to Citigroup Inc in 2003 after nearly five years of study; the letter allowing it to keep its Phibro unit arrived just six days before a grace period ended. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Detroit set to beat bad-faith charge over bankruptcy Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 09:02 PM PDT  By Tom Hals WILMINGTON, Delaware (Reuters) - Meetings without the chance for any back and forth, unreturned phone calls and brusque tactics. To opponents of Detroit's bankruptcy filing, Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr has utterly failed to negotiate with them. But retired city workers, who are fighting to stop their pensions from being cut, and hope to stop Detroit's bankruptcy by claiming in court that Orr didn't engage in good-faith negotiations, are likely out of luck. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mexican President Pena Nieto's thyroid growth benign -official Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 08:32 PM PDT  MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A nodule on Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto's thyroid gland is benign, an official in the president's office said on Thursday. Pena Nieto is due to undergo surgery to remove the nodule next Wednesday, in a procedure that will last an hour and a half, the president's office said in a statement on Wednesday. The official said the operation was a simple one and that the nodule was being removed because doctors thought that was the best course of action. Pena Nieto will spend four days recovering after the operation. ... Full Story | Top |
| Organization of America States backs fragile El Salvador gang truce Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 08:20 PM PDT  SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) - Jose Miguel Insulza, the secretary general of the Organization of American States, gave his support to a fragile truce between El Salvador's gangs on Thursday, despite a recent uptick in murders. After meeting with El Salvador's president, Mauricio Funes, Insulza backed the tentative peace treaty between the Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, and their rivals, Barrio 18, pointing to an overall decrease in the number of killings in the Central American country since the truce took hold in March 2012. ... Full Story | Top |
| Opposition mounts to Summers as possible Fed chief Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 08:13 PM PDT  By Pedro da Costa and Mark Felsenthal WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama could be months away from announcing his pick to replace Ben Bernanke at the Federal Reserve, yet critics are already making an unusual public effort to stop one contender in the race - former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers. The outcry has come not from Republicans, but the left wing of the Democratic Party. Summers advised Obama, was treasury secretary under former President Bill Clinton, led Harvard University and was chief economist for the World Bank. ... Full Story | Top |
| Massive California wildfire sparked by faulty electrical gear Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 07:57 PM PDT By Steve Gorman LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Faulty electrical equipment sparked the 10-day-old forest fire that had threatened the scenic mountain resort of Idyllwild in Southern California before cooler, rainy weather helped crews largely subdue the blaze, fire authorities said on Thursday. The so-called Mountain Fire charred 27,000 acres in mountains near Palm Springs, forcing the evacuation of several communities and destroying seven homes. The blaze, which was first reported on July 15, was 92 percent contained by Thursday evening, authorities said, as crews worked to mop up hot spots. ... Full Story | Top |
| Juror says Zimmerman 'got away with murder' Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 07:39 PM PDT  By David Adams (Reuters) - A juror in the trial of George Zimmerman says the former neighborhood watch volunteer "got away with murder" when he was acquitted earlier this month in the shooting death of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin. The woman, who is part Hispanic and was identified in court as juror B29, said she would have liked to convict Zimmerman of murdering Martin but her hands were tied by a lack of evidence. "You can't put the man in jail even though in our hearts we felt he was guilty," she said in an interview due to be aired on ABC's "Good Morning America" on Friday. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. agents 'got lucky' pursuing accused Russia master hackers Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 07:08 PM PDT  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The two Russians arrested in what prosecutors call the largest online fraud case brought in the United States were caught through a combination of high-tech tools, dogged detective work and sheer luck. The propensity of the wealthy young Russians to travel provided authorities with their big opportunity to collar them in the Netherlands last year. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. navy to recover bombs from Great Barrier Reef Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 06:31 PM PDT  SYDNEY (Reuters) - The U.S. Navy said on Friday it would lead the effort to recover four unarmed bombs it was forced to drop in Australia's World Heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef marine park. The U.S. 7th Fleet would take the lead in recovering the bombs, coordinating with Australian authorities to ensure "the environment is protected with the greatest care", it said in a statement. "We are fully committed to redressing any potential adverse environmental impact in a timely manner," the Navy said, adding it would announce more detailed plans as they were finalized. U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Alabama executes man advocates said was mentally ill Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 06:25 PM PDT By Verna Gates BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (Reuters) - Alabama executed a convicted murderer on Thursday who prisoners' rights groups said was mentally ill. Andrew Reid Lackey, 29, was put to death by lethal injection at Holman Prison in Atmore, Alabama, prison officials said. It was the state's first execution since 2011. Lackey was convicted of killing Charlie Newman, an 80-year-old World War Two veteran in Athens, Alabama. Lackey made no statement before his execution, according to prison officials. He was pronounced dead at 6:25 p.m. CDT (2325 GMT). ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. sidesteps decision whether to cut off aid to Egypt Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 06:23 PM PDT  By Arshad Mohammed and Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration sidestepped a decision on cutting off most of the annual $1.55 billion of U.S. aid to Egypt by saying on Thursday it does not plan to rule on whether a military coup took place in Egypt. The stance resolves a dilemma for the White House: whether to comply with a U.S. law that requires eliminating most aid in the event of a military coup or to find that the armed forces' July 3 ouster of President Mohamed Mursi was not in fact a coup. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mississippi Supreme Court reverses DNA ruling in murder case Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 06:11 PM PDT  By Emily Lane JACKSON, Mississippi (Reuters) - The Mississippi Supreme Court has ruled that death row inmate Willie Jerome Manning can ask a lower court judge to allow DNA and fingerprint testing in a bid to overturn his conviction for murdering two college students. The ruling came more than two months after the same court stopped Manning's execution on May 7, hours before it was scheduled to take place. The order, dated Tuesday, also reverses an earlier decision in which the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 against Manning's request for DNA testing. ... Full Story | Top |
| Smithfield's China deal spurs heparin heart drug safety concerns Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 05:55 PM PDT  By Toni Clarke WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers are concerned a Chinese company's planned $4.7 billion acquisition of pork producer Smithfield Foods Inc could affect the safety and availability of heparin, a blood-thinner widely used in heart surgery and kidney dialysis that is derived from pig intestines. Members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce wrote to Smithfield on July 24 asking the company to turn over information on its production of crude heparin, the raw ingredient used to make the drug. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt braces for rival rallies, army signals crackdown Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 05:35 PM PDT  By Yasmine Saleh and Matt Robinson CAIRO (Reuters) - A deeply polarized Egypt braced for bloodshed on Friday in rival mass rallies summoned by the army that ousted the state's first freely elected president and by the Islamists who back him. Both sides warned of a decisive struggle for the future of the Arab world's most populous country, convulsed by political and economic turmoil since the 2011 uprising that ended 30 years of autocratic rule by Hosni Mubarak. ... Full Story | Top |
| Weiner mayoral campaign falters; woman details sex chats Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 05:32 PM PDT  By Edith Honan and Jonathan Allen NEW YORK (Reuters) - Anthony Weiner's New York mayoral campaign took a beating on Thursday as he lost his lead in a new poll and admitted to sending lewd online messages to up to three women since he resigned from Congress over such behavior two years ago. One of those women came forward on Thursday to say they had frequent sexually charged conversations both online and over the phone last year, although they never met in person. ... Full Story | Top |
| Halliburton pleads guilty to destroying Gulf spill evidence Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 05:23 PM PDT  By Jonathan Stempel and Braden Reddall (Reuters) - Halliburton Co has agreed to plead guilty to destroying evidence related to the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the U.S. Department of Justice said on Thursday. The government said Halliburton's guilty plea is the third by a company over the spill and requires the world's second-largest oilfield services company to pay a maximum $200,000 statutory fine. Halliburton also agreed to three years of probation and to continue cooperating with the criminal probe into the April 20, 2010, explosion of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig. ... Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Asiana crash families hire prominent New York law firm Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 05:16 PM PDT  By Casey Sullivan, Dan Levine and Sarah McBride NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Families of the three passengers who died when an Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 crashed in San Francisco this month have retained the prominent New York law firm Kreindler & Kreindler to represent them as legal maneuvering over liability and damages heats up. Kreindler & Kreindler, which specializes in aviation law, made a name for itself representing victims in catastrophic air disasters, including the September 11, 2001, attacks. ... Full Story | Top |
| SAC gets cut by 'edge', a word Cohen hated Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 05:04 PM PDT By Lauren Tara LaCapra, Matthew Goldstein and Emily Flitter NEW YORK (Reuters) - Until recently, having an "edge" was a coveted trait on Wall Street. After the federal indictment on Thursday of billionaire investor Steven A. Cohen's hedge fund for insider trading, it is becoming a four-letter word. In painting a picture of a cutthroat culture at SAC Capital Advisors LP, U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. will not declare whether coup occurred in Egypt: U.S. official Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 05:01 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration told lawmakers on Thursday it does not intend to make a determination on whether a military coup occurred in Egypt, a senior U.S. official said, in a move that avoids a decision that would automatically force the cut-off of U.S. aid Briefing members of Congress, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns told them the administration was not legally bound to draw any conclusion whether or not the ouster of Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi should be designated a coup, and that to make such a declaration would not be in the U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. Navy defends new warship, warns against slowing production Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 04:57 PM PDT  By Andrea Shalal-Esa WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Navy officials on Thursday staunchly defended the newest class of U.S. warships despite a spate of technical glitches, and they warned lawmakers that halting funding for the ships or their equipment could drive up costs. They rejected a report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released Thursday that blasted the acquisition program for the Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) as a risky "buy before fly" approach and urged lawmakers to limit funding for more ships until the Navy completed technical studies. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. charges SAC Capital with insider trading crimes Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 04:49 PM PDT  By Emily Flitter, Svea Herbst-Bayliss and Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors indicted billionaire Steven A. Cohen's hedge fund for insider trading, a rare move that could end the career of one of Wall Street's most successful investors and trigger a fundamental change in how traders try to gain an edge over rivals. The government accused SAC Capital Advisors LP of presiding over a culture where employees flouted the law and were encouraged to tap their personal networks of contacts for inside information about publicly traded companies. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. does not plan decision on Egypt coup Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 04:48 PM PDT  By Arshad Mohammed and Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration told Congress on Thursday it does not plan to make a determination on whether a military coup occurred in Egypt, avoiding a decision that would force the cut off of most of the annual $1.55 billion in U.S. aid. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns delivered the message in separate briefings to senior members of the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives, several lawmakers told reporters after meeting the number two U.S. diplomat. ... Full Story | Top |
| Farm bill on hold while House tries again on food stamp cuts Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 04:39 PM PDT  By Charles Abbott WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Republican-controlled House will try to cut billions of dollars from the food stamp program before negotiating an overall farm bill with the Senate, the House majority leader said on Thursday two months before the current farm law expires. Majority Leader Eric Cantor said the House "eventually" would open final-round discussions with the Senate on a farm bill that could cost $100 billion a year. The current farm law expires on Sept 30. Congress has 12 days of work scheduled before then, mostly because of a five-week summer recess. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. judge approves IBM's foreign bribery case settlement with SEC Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 04:21 PM PDT  By Alina Selyukh WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Thursday signed off on IBM's 2011 settlement with U.S. regulators over charges of foreign bribery, wrapping up the latest case that questioned U.S. authorities' aggressiveness in investigating corporate misconduct. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon approved the settlement between International Business Machines Corp and the Securities and Exchange Commission after IBM agreed to a two-year reporting requirement on accounting fraud or bribery as well as federal investigations. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syrian rebels ask Kerry to send U.S. arms quickly Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 04:08 PM PDT  By Michelle Nichols NEW YORK (Reuters) - The head of Syria's opposition told U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday the country's situation was "desperate" and called for the United States to arm the rebels quickly and to push harder for a political settlement. The United Nations says more than 100,000 people have been killed since Syria's civil war erupted more than two years ago pitting President Bashar al-Assad's forces against rebels seeking to end his family's four-decade rule. President Barack Obama, having withdrawn U.S. troops from Iraq and seeking to wind up the U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. regulator announces $885 million settlement with UBS Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 04:04 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. regulator on Thursday said it reached an $885 million settlement with UBS over allegations the bank misrepresented mortgage-backed bonds that were sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac during the housing bubble. Under the terms of the agreement with the Federal Housing Finance Agency, UBS must pay about $415 million to Fannie Mae and $470 million to Freddie Mac to resolve claims related to securities sold to the companies between 2004 and 2007. The Swiss banking giant did not admit to any liability or wrongdoing in settling the allegations. ... Full Story | Top |
| Turmoil hits Tunisia after secular politician slain Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 03:46 PM PDT By Tarek Amara TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisian opposition politician Mohamed Brahmi was shot dead on Thursday in the second such assassination this year, setting off violent protests against the Islamist-led government in the capital and elsewhere. "This criminal gang has killed the free voice of Brahmi," his widow, Mbarka Brahmi, told Reuters, without specifying who she thought was behind the shooting outside their home in Tunis. Brahmi's sister later accused the main Islamist Ennahda party of being behind the killing. "Ennahda killed my brother," Souhiba Brahmi said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Tourre on stand says email in SEC case 'not accurate' Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 03:36 PM PDT  By Nate Raymond and Lauren Tara LaCapra NEW YORK (Reuters) - Fabrice Tourre, the former Goldman Sachs trader accused of secretly helping the hedge fund of billionaire John Paulson construct a $2 billion deal it could bet against, said Wednesday an email he sent to a key participant in the investment was inaccurate. Tourre, 34, made the statement after taking the stand in the eighth day of what has become the highest-profile trial to come out of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's investigations of the 2008 financial crisis. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. uses Syrian rebel supply lines as it prepares to send arms Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 03:33 PM PDT  By Lesley Wroughton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has quietly been testing the Syrian opposition's ability to deliver food rations, medical kits and money to rebel-held areas as Washington prepares to send arms to the rebel fighters. U.S. officials meet weekly in Turkey with Syrian opposition leaders to work out how best to keep supply lines open to rebel fighters and war-ravaged towns and districts. ... Full Story | Top |
| After massacre, Connecticut town to design new Sandy Hook school Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 03:27 PM PDT  By Richard Weizel MILFORD, Connecticut (Reuters) - Newtown, Connecticut took another step this week toward replacing the Sandy Hook Elementary School, where a gunman in December killed 26 people including 20 young children, the town's top elected official said on Thursday. Fearing that a return to the school would further traumatize the remaining students, the town has decided to raze the existing building. Planning and design for the new Sandy Hook school will be funded with a $750,000 grant from the state, said First Selectman Patricia Llorda. ... Full Story | Top |
| Plea deal reportedly near for accused Cleveland abductor Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 03:23 PM PDT  By Kim Palmer CLEVELAND (Reuters) - The man accused of abducting and raping three women and holding them captive for years is due to appear in a Cleveland court on Friday amid media reports that an agreement is in the works that would allow him to avoid the death penalty. Cleveland television station WKYC reported on Thursday that prosecutors had offered Ariel Castro a deal, and WOIO-TV said an agreement was imminent. But Castro's lawyer Jay Schlachet told Reuters reports that an agreement had been reached "were false". ... Full Story | Top |
| House leaders defend NSA support after close vote Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 03:17 PM PDT  By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican and Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives on Thursday defended their support for a spy program that sweeps up vast amounts of electronic communications after it survived a surprisingly close vote a day earlier. The House voted 217-205 on Wednesday to defeat an amendment to the defense appropriations bill that would have limited the National Security Agency's ability to collect electronic information, including phone call records. ... Full Story | Top |
| All flights to and from Tunisia cancelled on Friday Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 03:15 PM PDT TUNIS (Reuters) - All flights to and from Tunisia will be canceled on Friday after a general strike was called by the main labor organization in protest at the killing of a prominent opposition figure, the civil aviation office said. "All flights to and from Tunisia will be canceled tomorrow because the workers at the airport responded to the calling of the general strike", a spokesman said. (Reporting by Tarek Amara; Editing by Alison Williams) Full Story | Top |
| Judge approves suit tying Morgan Stanley to toxic lending in Detroit Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 03:11 PM PDT  By Bernard Vaughan NEW YORK (Reuters) - A federal judge on Thursday approved a lawsuit accusing Morgan Stanley of discrimination for encouraging a subprime mortgage lender to target black homeowners in Detroit. In the ruling, U.S. District Judge Harold Baer in New York made a connection between predatory lending in the run-up to the financial crisis in 2008 and Detroit's bankruptcy petition last week. "Detroit's recent bankruptcy filing only emphasizes the broader consequences of predatory lending and the foreclosures that inevitably result," Baer wrote in a 13-page opinion. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bombings and shootings kill 28 across Iraq Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 03:07 PM PDT BAQUBA, Iraq (Reuters) - At least 28 people were killed in bombings and shootings across Iraq on Thursday, police said. In the deadliest attack, a bomb in a parked car exploded in a busy market killing 14 people in central Muqdadiya, 80 km (50 miles) northeast of the capital Baghdad, police said. "I was sitting in my neighbor's shop when suddenly we heard a big explosion," said eyewitness Salim Aziz. "I had no time to see anything, and when I opened my eyes, I found myself at the hospital and I was injured in my right hand and left leg, surrounded by dozens of wounded people," he added. ... Full Story | Top |
| Criminal case against SAC is strong: lawyers Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 03:07 PM PDT By Michael Erman and Emily Flitter NEW YORK (Reuters) - The decision by federal prosecutors to bring criminal charges against hedge fund SAC Capital Advisors LP, rather than its billionaire owner, Steven A. Cohen, makes it more likely that the government will be able to secure a guilty verdict, lawyers say. Attorneys who are following the case said they believe prosecutors have met the standard for convicting a corporation under federal law. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. indicts hackers in biggest cyber fraud case in history Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 03:02 PM PDT  By David Jones and Jim Finkle NEWARK, N.J./BOSTON (Reuters) - Federal prosecutors said on Thursday they have charged five men responsible for a hacking and credit card fraud spree that cost companies more $300 million and two of the suspects are in custody, in the biggest cyber crime case filed in U.S. history. They also disclosed a new security breach against Nasdaq, though they provided few details about the attack. Other companies targeted by the hackers include a Visa Inc licensee, J.C. ... Full Story | Top |
| Tunisia police fire teargas at protesters at Interior Ministry Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 02:35 PM PDT TUNIS (Reuters) - Riot police fired teargas in front of the Interior Ministry in the Tunisian capital on Thursday to try to disperse hundreds of people protesting against the assassination of opposition figure Mohamed Brahmi, a Reuters witness said. (Reporting by Tarek Amara; Editing by Alison Williams) Full Story | Top |
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