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| Operator of crippled Japan nuclear plant says tank leaked contaminated water Monday, Aug 19, 2013 09:13 PM PDT  TOKYO (Reuters) - The operator of Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear plant said on Tuesday it believes about 300 tons of highly contaminated water has leaked from a storage tank designed to hold overflows from the site. Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority has classified the leak as a level 1 incident, the second lowest, on an international scale for radiological releases, a spokesman told Reuters on Wednesday. ... Full Story | Top |
| China to create agency to align financial supervision Monday, Aug 19, 2013 09:12 PM PDT  BEIJING (Reuters) - China is set to create an agency led by the central bank to coordinate financial supervision, without changing the roles of existing industry watchdogs, the cabinet said on Tuesday. The State Council said in its approval of the proposal from the People's Bank of China (PBOC) that the new office will coordinate China's monetary policies and financial regulations, maintain financial stability and reduce systemic risks. The agency would report to the cabinet and its creation is not expected to affect the role of current supervisors as it would not be a policy maker. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pakistan's Musharraf indicted in Bhutto murder case Monday, Aug 19, 2013 09:03 PM PDT  RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (Reuters) - A court in Pakistan has formally indicted former military dictator Pervez Musharraf over his failure to prevent the assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto in 2007, the public prosecutor in the closely watched case said on Tuesday. "He should be tried," the prosecutor, Mohammad Azhar, told reporters after a brief hearing in the city of Rawalpindi during which the three charges of murder, conspiracy to murder and facilitation of murder were read out to Musharraf. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. Open tennis official sues Los Angeles police for false arrest Monday, Aug 19, 2013 08:38 PM PDT  By Dana Feldman LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A 71-year-old tennis lineswoman arrested on a murder charge as she prepared to officiate at the U.S. Open but later cleared of bludgeoning her husband to death has filed suit against the Los Angeles police and others, her lawyer said on Monday. Lois Goodman was arrested last August in New York on a felony murder warrant on accusations of killing her 80-year-old husband by hitting him with a coffee cup, Alan Goodman, at the couple's home in the Woodland Hills section of Los Angeles in April 2012. ... Full Story | Top |
| California gets OK to force-feed some hunger-striking inmates Monday, Aug 19, 2013 08:18 PM PDT  By Sharon Bernstein SACRAMENTO (Reuters) - California authorities won court approval on Monday to force-feed some prisoners on a hunger strike after officials voiced concerns that inmates may have been coerced into refusing food in a protest against the state's solitary confinement policies. U.S. District Court Judge Thelton E. Henderson, responding to a request by state authorities, ruled that California prison doctors may force-feed select inmates near death, even if they had previously signed orders asking not to be resuscitated. ... Full Story | Top |
| A-Rod paid legal retainer for owner of clinic in doping scandal Monday, Aug 19, 2013 08:14 PM PDT  By David Adams MIAMI (Reuters) - New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez paid legal fees for the owner of a Miami anti-aging clinic at the center of a doping scandal that ensnared 13 professional baseball players, a spokesperson for the clinic owner said on Monday. Rodriguez, who is fighting a lengthy suspension for his alleged doping, paid the lawyer for clinic owner Anthony Bosch a $25,000 retainer in February, and later made a second wire transfer for nearly $50,000 that the attorney declined, the spokesperson said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Judge endorses use of fraud law against Bank of America Monday, Aug 19, 2013 08:09 PM PDT  By Nate Raymond NEW YORK (Reuters) - A federal judge has endorsed a broad interpretation of a savings-and-loan era law that the Justice Department is trying to use in cases against Wall Street banks. U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan said Monday that a "straightforward application of the plain words" of the Financial Institutional Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act (FIRREA) allowed the interpretation sought by the government. The law has a low burden of proof, strong subpoena power and a 10-year statute of limitations, twice as long as the typical limit for fraud cases. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. Senator Cruz releases birth certificate amid talk of presidential run Monday, Aug 19, 2013 07:57 PM PDT  By Marice Richter DALLAS (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican whose recent travel has fueled speculation that he may run for president in 2016, has released his birth certificate, showing he was born in Canada to an American mother, the Dallas Morning News reported on Monday. In a statement issued later, Cruz offered to renounce his Canadian citizenship in order to "be only an American." President Barack Obama, a Democrat and the first black U.S. president, faced intense scrutiny from "birthers" about his eligibility to be president. ... Full Story | Top |
| Vice President Biden in Houston as son gets medical tests Monday, Aug 19, 2013 07:29 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Joe Biden on Monday accompanied his son Beau to Houston where the younger Biden was undergoing tests to investigate symptoms that led to his hospitalization last week, the White House and the Delaware Department of Justice said. "Beau Biden is being evaluated to determine the cause of an episode of disorientation and weakness that he experienced while on vacation with his family," the White House said in a statement. Biden, 44, is the oldest son of the vice president and was hospitalized in 2010 for what doctors described as a mild stroke. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mexico left-leaning party proposes limited energy reform Monday, Aug 19, 2013 06:59 PM PDT  By David Alire Garcia MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's largest left-of-center political party has proposed a plan that would revamp state-oil monopoly Pemex, but without amending the constitution to permit more private investment in the oil, gas and electricity sectors, as the government has suggested. The proposal of the opposition Party of the Democratic Revolution, or PRD, seeks to modernize Pemex by providing it with budget and management autonomy, and create a new fund to administer the nation's energy riches. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ex-Chicago official pleads not guilty to Ohio corruption charges Monday, Aug 19, 2013 06:46 PM PDT By Brendan O'Brien (Reuters) - Chicago's former comptroller pleaded not guilty in federal court on Monday to charges that he took kickbacks and enriched one of his friends while serving as deputy treasurer in Ohio, court documents show. Amer Ahmad, 38, was charged with conspiracy, bribery, fraud and money laundering over accusations he helped his friend and securities broker, Douglas Hampton, acquire lucrative business from the Ohio treasurer's office, where Ahmad worked from 2008 to 2010, according to the indictment. ... Full Story | Top |
| Colombia's ELN guerrillas say will release Canadian hostage in days Monday, Aug 19, 2013 06:30 PM PDT BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia's ELN guerrillas said on Monday they would release in the coming days a Canadian geologist they had kidnapped in January, a step the government has set as a pre-condition before it considers inviting the rebel group to peace talks. Jernoc Wobert was seized by the ELN or National Liberation Army in Bolivar province in the north of the country along with two Peruvian and three Colombian miners all contracted by the Toronto-based gold mining company, Braeval Mining Corp. The five colleagues were later freed but Wobert was retained. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egyptian authorities arrest Muslim Brotherhood leader Monday, Aug 19, 2013 06:08 PM PDT  By Tom Perry and Crispian Balmer CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian authorities escalated their crackdown on deposed President Mohamed Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood by arresting the Islamist organization's top leader, state media reported on Tuesday. Mohamed Badie, 70, was detained at a residential apartment in Nasr City in northeast Cairo "after information came to the security apparatus locating his place of hiding," the state news agency reported. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama welcomes new puppy named Sunny to White House Monday, Aug 19, 2013 06:00 PM PDT  (Reuters) - The White House announced a new resident on Monday. Sunny, a 1-year-old Portuguese Water Dog, moved into the Washington residence of President Barack Obama and his family, joining Bo, a male dog of the same breed, the White House announced on its website. That breed works well with the allergies in the Obama family. "Sunny is the perfect little sister for Bo - full of energy and very affectionate - and the first family picked her name because it fit her cheerful personality," it said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt arrests Muslim Brotherhood leader Badie: state media Monday, Aug 19, 2013 05:44 PM PDT  CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian security forces have arrested the top leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, state media reported on Tuesday, pressing a crackdown on his group. Mohamed Badie, 70, was detained at an apartment in Nasr City in northeast Cairo, the state news agency reported. "That was after information came to the security apparatus locating his place of hiding," it said. The Facebook page of the Interior Ministry was showing a picture of Badie, with dark rings under his eyes, sitting in a car between two men in black body armor, with a caption confirming his arrest. ... Full Story | Top |
| Judge blocks emails between Fort Hood shooter and militant cleric Monday, Aug 19, 2013 05:28 PM PDT  By Jana J. Pruet FORT HOOD, Texas (Reuters) - Evidence purporting to show how U.S. Army Major Nidal Hasan adopted a radical vision of Islam, including emails Hasan exchanged with American cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, was blocked by a military judge on Monday at Hasan's court-martial for shooting dead 13 fellow soldiers. Judge Colonel Tara Osborn barred testimony about the correspondence between Hasan and Awlaki, the U.S.-born militant who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Yemen in 2011, and with other militants. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mexican drug kingpin Eduardo Arellano Felix sentenced to prison in US Monday, Aug 19, 2013 05:11 PM PDT  By Dan Whitcomb (Reuters) - Former Mexican drug kingpin Eduardo Arellano Felix, who pleaded guilty to laundering money for the notorious cartel that bore his family name, was sentenced on Monday in California to 15 years in prison in what law enforcement officials called the end of an era. With the sentencing in U.S. District Court in San Diego, Arellano Felix, 56, became the last of four brothers killed or sent to prison in connection with the Arellano Felix drug trafficking ring, federal prosecutors said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Judge dismisses suit against AOL in patent sale to Microsoft Monday, Aug 19, 2013 05:06 PM PDT  By Bernard Vaughan NEW YORK (Reuters) - A federal judge on Monday dismissed a lawsuit accusing AOL Inc and some of its executives of fraud for repurchasing 14.8 million shares in 2011 without disclosing that the company would sell a $1 billion portfolio of patents to Microsoft Corp months later. Plaintiffs in the case said they suffered significant losses when they sold their shares ahead of the patent deal, after which AOL's stock surged 43 percent in a single day. ... Full Story | Top |
| Guardian says Britain forced it to destroy Snowden material Monday, Aug 19, 2013 05:06 PM PDT  By Mark Hosenball and Pedro Fonseca WASHINGTON/RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - The Guardian, a major outlet for revelations based on leaks from former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, says the British government threatened legal action against the newspaper unless it either destroyed the classified documents or handed them back to British authorities. ... Full Story | Top |
| California may force-feed some inmates on hunger strike, judge says Monday, Aug 19, 2013 04:27 PM PDT SACRAMENTO (Reuters) - California authorities won court permission to force feed some hunger striking inmates who are refusing food to protest against the state's practice of holding prisoners believed to be gang members in near-isolation for years on end. In response to a request from prison officials who said they feared some inmates had been coerced into participating in the strike, U.S. District Court Judge Thelton E. Henderson said prison doctors may force feed some inmates who are near death, even if they had signed orders asking not to be resuscitated. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S., Russian officials to meet in The Hague on Syria Monday, Aug 19, 2013 04:24 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A leading diplomat from the U.S. State Department and the U.S. ambassador to Syria will meet with a Russia delegation in The Hague next week to discuss plans for a peace conference to end the civil war in Syria, a spokeswoman for the State Department said on Monday. "We have long agreed with Russia that a conference in Geneva is the best vehicle for moving towards a political solution," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told a daily briefing for reporters. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt security forces kill journalist after curfew starts Monday, Aug 19, 2013 04:23 PM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian security forces killed the bureau chief of a provincial office of state newspaper Al-Ahram on Monday after opening fire on a car they thought had tried to escape from a checkpoint enforcing a dusk-to-dawn curfew, the army said in a statement. Tamer Abdel Raouf, head of Al-Ahram's bureau in Egypt's Buhayra province, was shot dead while a journalist from another state newspaper, Al Gomhuriya, was injured. Journalists are exempt from the curfew. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. says it may cut aid to Egypt, but no decision yet Monday, Aug 19, 2013 04:20 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States said on Monday it still may cut economic or military aid to Egypt but has not made any decision to do so after the Egyptian military's violent crackdown on protesters in which almost 900 people have died in the last week. President Barack Obama's administration is uneasy at events in Egypt, which has suffered its worst political violence in modern history since the Egyptian army and police used force to break up sit-ins by supporters of ousted President Mohamed Mursi. ... Full Story | Top |
| Britain forced Guardian to destroy copy of Snowden material Monday, Aug 19, 2013 04:19 PM PDT By Mark Hosenball WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The editor of the Guardian, a major outlet for revelations based on leaks from former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, says the British government threatened legal action against the newspaper unless it either destroyed the classified documents or handed them back to British authorities. In an article posted on the British newspaper's website on Monday, Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger said that a month ago, after the newspaper had published several stories based on Snowden's material, a British official advised him: "You've had your fun. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. court gives lawsuit over Barclays disclosures second chance Monday, Aug 19, 2013 04:18 PM PDT  By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Monday said investors may revive a lawsuit accusing Britain's Barclays Plc of misleading them in a 2008 stock offering about its subprime mortgage exposure and ability to manage credit risks. Reversing a lower court, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York said investors may sue Barclays and its underwriters over a $2.5 billion offering of American depositary shares in April 2008 that lost much of its value within a year. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. questions Egypt prisoner deaths, Mubarak may be freed Monday, Aug 19, 2013 04:13 PM PDT  By Crispian Balmer CAIRO (Reuters) - An Egyptian court ruling has raised the prospect of freedom for deposed military strongman Hosni Mubarak, while the United States questioned Egypt's account of the deaths of dozens of Islamist detainees and called the incident "suspicious." Six weeks after the armed forces toppled President Mohamed Mursi and about a week after hundreds died when security forces broke up protests by his Muslim Brotherhood, the United States said on Monday it was still reviewing whether to freeze any of the $1.55 billion it gives Egypt in mainly military annual aid. ... Full Story | Top |
| Prince William and Kate release family snapshots of baby George Monday, Aug 19, 2013 04:12 PM PDT  By Belinda Goldsmith LONDON (Reuters) - Prince William and his wife Kate released two informal family snapshots as the first official photos of their son, Prince George, on Tuesday, disappointing royal fans hoping to get a good look at Britain's newest royal heir. George, the third in line to the British throne, was born on July 22 amid a global media frenzy, reflecting the international popularity of his parents and ongoing fascination with the British royal family. ... Full Story | Top |
| Falcone agrees to industry ban in new SEC settlement Monday, Aug 19, 2013 03:49 PM PDT  By Emily Flitter NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hedge fund manager Philip Falcone agreed to a five-year ban from the financial industry and will admit wrongdoing to settle charges by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that he improperly used money from his hedge fund and unfairly favored some of his investors, the SEC announced on Monday. The ban would put at least a temporary end to Falcone's controversial career of managing investor money, which was notable for a dramatic rise and fall during and soon after the financial crisis. ... Full Story | Top |
| Icahn seeks to end Herbalife short-seller's lawsuit Monday, Aug 19, 2013 03:47 PM PDT  By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) - Carl Icahn on Monday asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit brought by a short seller who accused the activist investor of perpetuating an alleged pyramid scheme at nutritional products company Herbalife Ltd . In papers filed with the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, Icahn said the lawsuit by Daniel Ravicher was based on an "inaccurate and absurd" allegation that the billionaire had "publicly conceded" that Herbalife is a fraud. ... Full Story | Top |
| Singer sues over California attack after Trayvon Martin dedication Monday, Aug 19, 2013 03:35 PM PDT By Ronnie Cohen SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - An African American performer who was shoved after he dedicated a song to slain Florida teenager Trayvon Martin at a California music festival filed a lawsuit on Monday against the white woman who he said assaulted him onstage. Prosecutors have charged Dinalynn Andrews-Potter, 43, with assault and elder abuse stemming from the onstage incident last month as Lester Chambers performed on the day a Florida jury reached a verdict in the racially charged killing. ... Full Story | Top |
| Use of UK terror law to detain reporter's partner 'a disgrace' Monday, Aug 19, 2013 03:33 PM PDT  By Estelle Shirbon LONDON (Reuters) - British authorities came under pressure on Monday to explain why anti-terrorism powers were used to detain the partner of a reporter who wrote articles about U.S. and British surveillance programmes based on leaks from Edward Snowden. Brazilian David Miranda, the partner of American journalist Glenn Greenwald, was held for nine hours on Sunday at London's Heathrow Airport where he was in transit from Berlin to Rio de Janeiro. He was released without charge. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.N.'s Ban 'deeply disturbed' by Muslim Brotherhood deaths in Egypt Monday, Aug 19, 2013 03:28 PM PDT  By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Monday he was "deeply disturbed" by the deaths in custody of 37 supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and condemned an ambush by Islamist militants that killed 25 Egyptian policemen. The Muslim Brotherhood supporters died on Sunday while being transferred to a prison. Government officials said they were suffocated by tear gas during an attempted escape, but the Brotherhood said the men were murdered and demanded an inquiry. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama asks regulators to speed up Wall Street reforms Monday, Aug 19, 2013 03:23 PM PDT  By Emily Stephenson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama called top U.S. financial regulators to the White House on Monday, instructing them to speed up Wall Street reforms in the face of intense bank lobbying. Roughly five years after the depths of the financial crisis, regulators have completed about 40 percent of the rules called for in the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform law. Agencies have missed numerous deadlines as they struggle to coordinate with one other and also consider feedback from the financial industry, consumer groups, Congress and others. ... Full Story | Top |
| Tax reform could hurt U.S. state and local governments: S&P Monday, Aug 19, 2013 03:16 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Congressional lawmakers working on comprehensive tax reform could harm U.S. cities, states and other governments that sell municipal debt and damage their credit quality, Standard & Poor's Ratings Service said on Monday. Eliminating the tax exemption for interest paid by municipal bonds, or simply changing the exemption, could reduce market access and raise borrowing costs for issuers, which in turn would have negative credit implications, the rating agency said. ... Full Story | Top |
| R&B singer Brown pulls out of Canada festival, shows canceled Monday, Aug 19, 2013 03:16 PM PDT  Full Story | Top |
| IRS debuts online registration for firms ahead of FATCA law Monday, Aug 19, 2013 03:15 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Internal Revenue Service on Monday launched an online registration program for the hundreds of thousands of financial firms around the world that must comply with a U.S. anti-tax evasion law or risk being shut out of financial markets. Starting the registration process, which is accessible on the IRS website, was one of the last steps the tax agency needed to take before the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), enacted in 2010, takes effect in July 2014 with steep penalties for firms that do not comply. ... Full Story | Top |
| Column: How long did JPMorgan (allegedly) deceive investors? Monday, Aug 19, 2013 03:15 PM PDT By Alison Frankel NEW YORK (Reuters) - Last week's criminal complaints against former JPMorgan Chase derivatives traders Javier Martin-Artajo and Julien Grout - who allegedly mismarked positions in the bank's infamous synthetic credit derivatives portfolio to hide hundreds of millions of dollars of trading losses in early 2012 by the JPMorgan Chief Investment Office - does not directly impact the shareholder class action under way in federal court in Manhattan. But you can be sure that the plaintiffs firms leading the class action were gratified that the Manhattan U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Career Education settles New York probe of job placement rates Monday, Aug 19, 2013 03:07 PM PDT By Jonathan Stempel (Reuters) - Career Education Corp has agreed to pay $10.25 million to settle a New York state probe in which the for-profit education company was accused of inflating job placement rates to attract prospective students to its schools. The settlement was announced on Monday by Eric Schneiderman, the state's attorney general. New York accused Career Education of inflating job placement rates from 2009 through the spring of 2011, disclosing annual placement rates of 54.9 percent to 80.2 percent that should have instead been 24.1 percent to 64.1 percent. ... Full Story | Top |
| Assad's forces push back rebels in Syria's Alawite mountains Monday, Aug 19, 2013 03:03 PM PDT  By Dominic Evans BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian army and militia troops loyal to President Bashar al-Assad have pushed back a rebel offensive in the mountain heartlands of his Alawite sect, officials and activists said on Monday, after days of heavy fighting and aerial bombardment. The assault by Islamist rebels on the northern edges of the Alawite mountains overlooking the Mediterranean drove hundreds of Alawite villagers out to the coast and marked a major challenge to Assad's reassertion of power over central Syria. ... Full Story | Top |
| Supporters of embattled San Diego mayor rally amid report of talks Monday, Aug 19, 2013 03:01 PM PDT  By Marty Graham SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - Supporters of San Diego Mayor Bob Filner protested on Monday what they said were unfair attempts to oust him over sexual harassment accusations, amid reports that the mayor's lawyers were negotiating a possible end to the political standoff. The rally by some 100 people came on the first day that Filner, who has resisted mounting pressure to resign in the face of allegations of unwanted sexual advances by 16 women, was due back at work following a leave of absence to seek therapy. ... Full Story | Top |
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