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| Special Report: China's navy breaks out to the high seas Tuesday, Nov 26, 2013 08:10 PM PST  By David Lague HONG KONG (Reuters) - In late October, flotillas of Chinese warships and submarines sliced through passages in the Japanese archipelago and out into the western Pacific for 15 days of war games. The drills, pitting a "red force" against a "blue force," were the first in this area, combining ships from China's main south, east and north fleets, according to the Chinese military. Land-based bombers and surveillance aircraft also flew missions past Japan to support the navy units. In official commentaries, senior People's Liberation Army (PLA) officers boasted their navy had "dismembered" the so-called first island chain - the arc of islands enclosing China's coastal waters, stretching from the Kuril Islands southward through the Japanese archipelago, Taiwan, the Northern Philippines and down to Borneo. Full Story | Top |
| Hewlett-Packard, CEO Whitman ordered to defend securities class action Tuesday, Nov 26, 2013 07:27 PM PST  A California federal judge has ordered Hewlett-Packard Co and Chief Executive Meg Whitman to defend a securities shareholder class action that claims they knew statements about HP's acquisition of software company Autonomy were misleading. Senior District Judge Charles Breyer issued his ruling in San Francisco federal court on Tuesday. The ruling also dismissed claims against five other former directors and executives of the information technology supplier, including one-time CEO Leo Apotheker. The securities class action against HP and its executives was brought last November by investors including lead plaintiff PGGM Vermogensbeheer B.V., a Dutch pension administrator operating in the healthcare and social work sectors. Full Story | Top |
| Defying China, U.S. bombers fly into East China Sea zone Tuesday, Nov 26, 2013 06:58 PM PST  By Phil Stewart and Tim Kelly WASHINGTON/TOKYO (Reuters) - Two unarmed U.S. B-52 bombers on a training mission flew over disputed islands in the East China Sea without informing Beijing, defying China's declaration of a new airspace defense zone and raising the stakes in a territorial standoff. The flight did not prompt a response from China, the Pentagon said, and the White House urged Beijing to resolve its dispute with Japan over the islands diplomatically, without resorting to "threats or inflammatory language". Also defying Beijing, Japan's two biggest airlines - Japan Airlines and ANA Holdings - said they would stop giving flight plans and other information to Chinese authorities from Wednesday when passing through the zone. Full Story | Top |
| Tucson couple held daughters captive in bedrooms up to two years: police Tuesday, Nov 26, 2013 06:37 PM PST By David Schwartz PHOENIX (Reuters) - A Tucson couple were arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of holding their daughters captive in the family's home in filthy conditions for up to two years, with the girls complaining they had not been allowed to bathe for months, police said. Police responded to the house on Tuesday after the two youngest girls, ages 12 and 13, ran to a neighbor's house and said their stepfather had kicked in their bedroom door and tried to attack them with a knife, Tucson police Captain Michael Gillooly told reporters. "During the course of the investigation, it was alleged by the girls that they had been imprisoned in their bedrooms for at least the last several months and possibly up to two years," the Tucson Police Department said in a statement. Investigators were still seeking to determine exactly how long the girls were held captive, said Tucson police spokesman Sergeant Chris Widmer. Full Story | Top |
| Montana bride spoke of killing parents before pushing husband off cliff: prosecutors Tuesday, Nov 26, 2013 06:30 PM PST A Montana bride accused of killing her new husband by pushing him off a cliff at Glacier National Park had spoken of killing her mother and stepfather in the weeks before her June wedding, federal prosecutors said in legal documents. U.S. prosecutors say 22-year-old Jordan Graham was unhappy in her new marriage and deliberately shoved her husband of eight days off a rock ledge during an argument while hiking a steep trail on July 7. She was indicted last month on charges of first- and second-degree murder in the death of Cody Johnson, 25. Prosecutors, in filings in U.S. District Court in Missoula, said they plan to produce evidence at next month's trial that Graham made statements about killing her mother and stepfather about five weeks before Johnson plunged to his death. Full Story | Top |
| Iraq says no success tracing killers of Iranian dissidents Tuesday, Nov 26, 2013 06:11 PM PST By Suadad al-Salhy BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq is hunting militants, still unidentified, who led a deadly attack on an Iranian dissident camp near Baghdad and dismisses suggestions its own security forces were behind the violence, a senior government official said. More than 50 people were killed at the dissident Mujahadin-e-Khalq (MEK) group's Camp Ashraf in September in an attack the United Nations described as "an atrocious crime" and which drew condemnation from the United States and Britain. MEK, which the U.S. State Department removed from its list of terrorist organizations last year, wants Iran's clerical leaders overthrown and fought on former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's side during the Iran-Iraq war in 1980s. The group, which has accused Iraqi security forces of being behind the attack, is no longer welcome in Iraq under the Shi'ite Muslim-led government that came to power after U.S.-led forces toppled Saddam in 2003. Full Story | Top |
| Ballot measure to enact $15 minimum wage near Seattle wins narrow victory Tuesday, Nov 26, 2013 06:03 PM PST By Jonathan Kaminsky OLYMPIA, Washington (Reuters) - A voter initiative to enact a $15 minimum wage for thousands of workers in a Seattle suburb that houses the region's main international airport won a narrow victory on Tuesday that proponents hailed as a signal moment in the nationwide fight for livable wages. The measure mandates that some 6,300 workers at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and nearby hotels, car rental agencies and parking lots receive a minimum hourly wage more than double the federal minimum wage of $7.25. Washington state's hourly minimum wage is already higher than any other U.S. state, and will rise by 13 cents to $9.32 an hour in January. Full Story | Top |
| Americans back Iran deal by 2-to-1 margin: Reuters/Ipsos poll Tuesday, Nov 26, 2013 05:49 PM PST  By Matt Spetalnick WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Americans back a newly brokered nuclear deal with Iran by a 2-to-1 margin and are very wary of the United States resorting to military action against Tehran even if the historic diplomatic effort falls through, a Reuters/Ipsos poll showed on Tuesday. The findings were rare good news in the polls for President Barack Obama, whose approval ratings have dropped in recent weeks because of the botched rollout of his signature healthcare reform law. According to the Reuters/Ipsos survey, 44 percent of Americans support the interim deal reached between Iran and six world powers in Geneva last weekend, and 22 percent oppose it. Even if the Iran deal fails, 49 percent want the United States to then increase sanctions and 31 percent think it should launch further diplomacy. Full Story | Top |
| Atheist group erects 'Good without God' billboards in California Tuesday, Nov 26, 2013 05:38 PM PST By Sharon Bernstein SACRAMENTO, California (Reuters) - As the Christmas season approaches in the United States, a group of non-believers in the California capital are planning to erect billboards explaining why they are atheists in hopes of bringing broader visibility to their lack of religious faith. The 55 billboards that will soon dot the Sacramento landscape will feature pictures of local residents and slogans such as "Good without God," and follow similar campaigns in other major U.S. cities in recent years. "Those of us who are free from religion, who work to keep dogma out of government, science, medicine and education, have a lot to offer society," said Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-president of the Wisconsin-based Freedom from Religion Foundation, which sponsored the ads. The billboards set to go up in Sacramento on the day after Thanksgiving are part of the increasingly loud arguments between many deeply religious Christians whose faith has informed U.S. conservative politics for a generation, and a vocal cohort of secular, often younger voters who want to keep religion out of public life. Full Story | Top |
| Australia PM seeks security dialogue with Indonesia after spy row Tuesday, Nov 26, 2013 05:21 PM PST  Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said on Wednesday he hoped to establish a "security round table" with Indonesia, seeking to rebuild a strategic relationship with a key Asian neighbor damaged by allegations of spying by Canberra. Reports last week that Australia's intelligence services had tried to eavesdrop on mobile phone conversations of Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, his wife and other top officials have dragged the relations between the sometimes uneasy neighbors to their lowest since the late 1990s. Abbott said he wanted something positive to come from the diplomatic bust-up, which has threatened trade and investment and prompted the suspension of security cooperation over the politically sensitive issue of asylum seekers using Indonesian territory to sail to Australia. "I'm going to reflect on the statement over the next day or so and then we'll be responding more fully but my objective as always is to have the strongest possible relationship with Indonesia." In response to demands from Jakarta, Abbott sent Yudhoyono a letter over the weekend regarding the spying revelations leaked by former U.S. National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden and published in Australia media. Full Story | Top |
| Berlusconi faces expulsion from parliament over tax fraud sentence Tuesday, Nov 26, 2013 05:19 PM PST  By James Mackenzie ROME (Reuters) - Italian center-right leader Silvio Berlusconi faces one of the heaviest blows of his 20-year political career on Wednesday when the Senate votes on stripping him of his seat in parliament over a conviction for tax fraud. The vote will be the culmination of months of political wrangling and is almost certain to lead to Berlusconi's expulsion from the upper house, opening an uncertain new phase for one of Italy's most divisive political figures. The 77-year-old media billionaire, who has dominated politics for two decades, has already pulled his party out of Prime Minister Enrico Letta's ruling coalition after seven months in government, accusing leftwing opponents of mounting a "coup d'etat" to eliminate him. The Senate is due to vote at around 7.00 p.m. (1800 GMT) to declare Berlusconi ineligible for parliament after he was convicted of masterminding a complex system of illegally inflated invoices to cut the tax bill for his Mediaset television empire. Full Story | Top |
| Italy PM Letta wins confidence vote as Berlusconi moves to opposition Tuesday, Nov 26, 2013 05:18 PM PST  By Paolo Biondi ROME (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta won a confidence vote on the 2014 budget, reinforcing his coalition government a day before the Senate is expected to ban center-right leader Silvio Berlusconi from parliament over a tax fraud conviction. Berlusconi's Forza Italia party voted against the so-called Stability Law, which it described as "completely mistaken, with neither head nor tail", formalizing its break with Letta after seven months in his left-right coalition. The measure passed in the Senate shortly after midnight with a majority of 171 to 135, helped by the votes of rebel senators who broke away from Berlusconi earlier this month. "From today we are in opposition and the grand coalition is over," said Renato Brunetta, lower house leader of Berlusconi's center-right party, now rebranded as Forza Italia, the name of the movement the billionaire media tycoon used to enter politics 20 years ago. Full Story | Top |
| EU demands protection against U.S. data surveillance Tuesday, Nov 26, 2013 05:07 PM PST  By John O'Donnell BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission called on Tuesday for new protection for Europeans under United States' law against misuse of personal data, in an attempt to keep in check the U.S. surveillance revealed by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. EU justice commissioner Viviane Reding said she wanted Washington to follow through on its promise to give all EU citizens the right to sue in the United States if their data is misused. "I have ... made clear that Europe expects to see the necessary legislative change in the U.S. sooner rather than later, and in any case before summer 2014," she said. The remarks underline a growing sense of unease in Europe at a delicate moment in transatlantic relations, when the globe's two biggest economies seek a trade pact to deepen ties. Full Story | Top |
| Detroit retirees drop objection to interest-rate swap deal Tuesday, Nov 26, 2013 04:53 PM PST  By Joseph Lichterman DETROIT (Reuters) - The committee representing Detroit's retirees in bankruptcy proceedings on Tuesday withdrew its objection to a deal Detroit reached to end some interest-rate swap agreements. The Official Committee of Retirees dropped its objection so the group, which represents about 23,500 retired city workers, could focus on negotiations on other issues with the city, a person familiar with the retiree committee's thinking said. The agreement that Detroit's emergency manager, Kevyn Orr, signed with swaps dealers Merrill Lynch Capital Services and UBS AG would end the interest-rate swap agreements at a discount rate of as much as 25 percent. In exchange, Detroit would save more than $70 million and the city would be able to stop making monthly payments from casino tax revenue to the counterparties. Full Story | Top |
| Ex-SAC analyst takes stand in Steinberg's insider trading trial Tuesday, Nov 26, 2013 04:48 PM PST  By Nate Raymond NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. government's main witness in the insider trading case against Michael Steinberg took the stand Tuesday to testify against his former boss at Steven A. Cohen's SAC Capital Advisors. Jon Horvath, a former analyst who pleaded guilty to insider trading charges last year and faces up to 45 years in prison, told jurors he is cooperating with the government in hopes that he will not get anything close to the maximum prison term. "I'm hoping to avoid jail time," Horvath, 44, said. Steinberg is the first employee of SAC to face trial in the long-running investigation of Cohen's hedge fund that resulted in its $1.2 billion plea deal earlier this month. Full Story | Top |
| Britain's bankers to face annual checks under draft laws Tuesday, Nov 26, 2013 04:41 PM PST  A proposal for a new licensing regime, put forward by the opposition Labour party, unexpectedly won the support of peers in the upper house of British parliament by a narrow margin of five votes on Tuesday. Chancellor George Osborne could yet try to overturn the proposal before it becomes law. The defeat for the government comes after it conceded ground on another contentious part of the new banking laws earlier in the day by asking the Bank of England to decide whether it needs more powers to control bank risk-taking. Full Story | Top |
| Cuba suspends consular services in U.S., blames embargo Tuesday, Nov 26, 2013 04:16 PM PST  By David Adams MIAMI (Reuters) - Cuba is shutting down nearly all of its consular services in the United States until further notice after it said no bank would handle its business, the government announced on Tuesday, blaming the situation on the longstanding U.S. economic embargo. The decision threatens to disrupt a recent surge in travel between the United States and Cuba on the eve of the busy holiday season, as well as the Obama administration's "people-to-people" policy of increased contact with Cuba. The Cuban Interests Section, Havana's diplomatic mission in Washington, said in a news release that it was informed in July by its bank, M&T Bank, that it would no longer provide banking services to foreign missions. The Obama administration tried to convince M&T to keep the account active, according to a U.S. official. Full Story | Top |
| New clashes between army, Islamists in Libya's Benghazi Tuesday, Nov 26, 2013 04:07 PM PST  New clashes between the Libyan army and Islamists erupted in the eastern city of Benghazi early on Wednesday, wounding several people, security sources and residents said. Libya's military is struggling to curb Islamist militants and militias who fought in the 2011 uprising against Muammar Gaddafi but refuse to disarm and control parts of the OPEC producer. Fighting broke out on Monday between army special forces and members of the Ansar Sharia in Libya's second-largest city, killing at least nine people before the Islamists retreated from their main base. Full Story | Top |
| Caribbean leaders consider sanctions on Dominican immigration ruling Tuesday, Nov 26, 2013 04:04 PM PST  By Linda Hutchinson-Jafar PORT OF SPAIN (Reuters) - Caribbean heads of state meeting in Trinidad and Tobago agreed on Tuesday to defer an application from the Dominican Republic for membership in CARICOM, the region's largest cooperation group, until Santo Domingo addresses a high court ruling denying citizenship to thousands of Haitian descendants. Trinidad and Tobago's Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar who chaired the meeting said the controversial September 23 ruling by the Dominican Constitutional Court had created "grave humanitarian situation" that left those affected stateless and with no recourse to appeal. The leaders of CARICOM, a 15-member organization of mostly English-speaking Caribbean nations, called on the Dominican Republic to take immediate steps to redress the situation and asked countries in the region to urge Santo Domingo to "right this terrible wrong." Persad-Bissessar said the meeting attended by Haitian President Michel Martelly also discussed suspending the Dominican Republic's membership in the CARIFORUM group, which is part of CARICOM and coordinates policy cooperation and regional integration. Full Story | Top |
| New York Times CEO says Chinese language site under review Tuesday, Nov 26, 2013 04:02 PM PST  By Jennifer Saba NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York Times Co Chief Executive Officer Mark Thompson said the publisher is going to keep all its money losing operations under review - including those in China - as he seeks to negotiate the newspaper's increasing shift towards a digital landscape. The New York Times Chinese language website has been blocked in China ever since it published an article in October 2012 about the family wealth of Wen Jiabao, the former premier. Thompson said in an interview with Reuters on Tuesday that the website, which was launched in a beta version in June 2012, got off to an encouraging start. "The fact that we can't be seen officially inside China means the revenue is not as large as we would have wished it to have been," he said. Full Story | Top |
| U.N. committee calls for end to excessive electronic spying Tuesday, Nov 26, 2013 04:01 PM PST By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A U.N. General Assembly committee on Tuesday called for an end to excessive electronic surveillance and expressed concern at the harm such scrutiny, including spying in foreign states and the mass collection of personal data, may have on human rights. The U.N. General Assembly's Third Committee, which deals with human rights issues, adopted the German and Brazilian-drafted resolution by consensus. It is expected to be put to a vote in the 193-member General Assembly next month. "For the first time in the framework of the United Nations this resolution unequivocally states that the same rights that people have offline must also be protected online," German U.N. Ambassador Peter Wittig told the committee. Full Story | Top |
| South Korea order would drive F-35 per-plane cost lower Tuesday, Nov 26, 2013 03:57 PM PST  By Andrea Shalal-Esa WASHINGTON (Reuters) - South Korea's plan to buy 40 Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 fighter jets will save the U.S. military about $2 billion by driving down the per-plane price of the new plane, and could create up to 10,000 U.S. jobs, according to sources familiar with the program. Seoul's decision will also help to offset any move by the U.S. Air Force and Navy to deal with mandatory budget cuts by postponing orders for up to 54 jets over the next five years, according to analysts. "The sale of F-35s to Japan and South Korea - America's two leading industrial allies in northeast Asia means the F-35 is now becoming the gold standard for tactical aircraft across the western Pacific," he said. Full Story | Top |
| Ohio school employees put on leave after Steubenville rape case Tuesday, Nov 26, 2013 03:38 PM PST  By Kim Palmer CLEVELAND (Reuters) - The top school official in Steubenville, Ohio, has been put on leave after his indictment on charges that he obstructed an investigation into the rape of a drunk teenage girl at a party in 2012, the district school board said Tuesday. In addition to the superintendent, the district also placed on administrative leave an elementary school principal and a special education teacher, who were both accused in indictments of failing to report child abuse or neglect. It named former Steubenville Superintendent Richard Ranallo as acting superintendent. The rape case drew national attention to Steubenville, a town about 40 miles west of Pittsburgh, after a photo and video that appeared to document the assault of the 16-year-old girl were posted online. Full Story | Top |
| Ohio governor's Medicaid stance hurts him with some GOP voters: poll Tuesday, Nov 26, 2013 03:32 PM PST  By Kim Palmer CLEVELAND (Reuters) - Ohio Republican Governor John Kasich's decision to expand Medicaid under Obamacare has hurt him with some voters in his own party a year out from his re-election bid, a poll released on Tuesday found. Kasich held a lead over a relatively unknown, presumed challenger, Cleveland-area Democrat Ed FitzGerald, the Quinnipiac University poll said. About 24 percent of Republicans responding in the poll said they were less likely to vote for Kasich because he bypassed Ohio's Republican-dominated legislature in October and used a legislative panel to expand Medicaid. Kasich opposes the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, but wanted the $2.5 billion in federal money for his state that a Medicaid provision of the law provides. Full Story | Top |
| Nurse killed, 4 wounded in Texas hospital stabbing spree Tuesday, Nov 26, 2013 03:30 PM PST A man armed with a knife killed a nurse and wounded four other people in a stabbing spree in a Texas hospital on Tuesday, and police said they had arrested the adult son of a hospital patient in connection with the attack. Kyron Templeton, the 22-year-old son of a patient at Good Shepherd Medical Center in the city Longview, has been charged with murder and four counts of aggravated assault, police said. "At this point, we don't have a motive," Longview police spokeswoman Kristie Brian told Reuters. Templeton has been arraigned, with bail set at $2 million for the murder charge and $150,000 for each aggravated assault charge. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. watchdog gives foreign banks more time on swap rules Tuesday, Nov 26, 2013 03:17 PM PST  By Douwe Miedema WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. swaps regulator issued a temporary reprieve from its rules for foreign banks after closing a loophole that had allowed trading to continue outside regulated platforms in the United States. Led by Gary Gensler, a former Goldman Sachs investment banker, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has issued a slew of new requirements to get a grip on the $630 trillion swaps market after the devastating 2007-09 financial crisis. One of the most controversial issues is how its rules apply abroad, particularly because regulators in Europe and Asia have not proceeded as quickly as the CFTC in implementing a 2009 global pact to reform markets. The CFTC on November 14 made clear that foreign banks doing derivatives deals with foreign clients from Wall Street or other U.S. offices still needed to comply with some of the agency's rules for swaps trading. Full Story | Top |
| In Western swing, Obama goes on offensive over healthcare law Tuesday, Nov 26, 2013 03:14 PM PST  By Jeff Mason GLENDALE, California (Reuters) - Almost two weeks ago, President Barack Obama, looking down, walked into the White House briefing room and apologized for the flawed rollout of his healthcare reform law. During a three-day Western swing through Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles, Obama touted the accomplishments of his signature law, popularly known as Obamacare, and promised the glitches were going away. "Yes, we decided to fix a broken healthcare system," Obama told workers at DreamWorks Animation on Tuesday, the final day of his trip. "I was talking to some of the studio execs here and I said, 'You know the rollout of the healthcare marketplace was rough' ... and yet here in California and here across this state, there are thousands of people who are getting healthcare for the first time - for the first time - because of this." The administration has promised the website will be working for the vast majority of Americans by the end of this month, and White House officials continue to express confidence that goal will be achieved. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. court refuses to dismiss plot case against Bin Laden's son-in-law Tuesday, Nov 26, 2013 03:12 PM PST  By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) - A son-in-law of Osama bin Laden, who once served as a spokesman for al Qaeda, on Tuesday failed to win the dismissal of a U.S. indictment accusing him of conspiring to kill Americans. The defendant, Suleiman Abu Ghaith, also failed to win the suppression of statements he made while being interrogated by FBI agents nearly nine months ago, as he was being flown to the United States from Jordan to face the U.S. conspiracy charge. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan rejected Abu Ghaith's arguments that federal prosecutors brought their case too late and violated his due process rights. The judge found a lack of "credible evidence" that the United States could have indicted Abu Ghaith sooner and ended what the defendant called his "continual detention" in Iran from 2002 to January 2013, but instead deliberately waited to obtain a "tactical advantage." Kaplan also rejected Abu Ghaith's contentions that he had not been read his Miranda rights, including the right to remain silent and have a lawyer present, until well after questioning began; Full Story | Top |
| U.S. Army officer who blamed twin for sexual assaults pleads guilty Tuesday, Nov 26, 2013 03:07 PM PST By Keith Coffman DENVER (Reuters) - A U.S. Army officer who initially blamed his identical twin brother for a series of sexual assaults on underage girls because they share the same DNA pleaded guilty to the crimes on Tuesday, prosecutors said. First Lieutenant Aaron Gregory Lucas, an artillery officer stationed at Fort Carson, Colorado, pleaded guilty to kidnapping, sexual assault on a child, indecent exposure and other charges, said Lee Richards, spokeswoman for the El Paso County district attorney's office. Lucas, 32, was linked by DNA to the crimes in Colorado, as well as to other assaults in Texas and Alabama where he was previously stationed, prosecutors said. He initially pleaded not guilty to charges that between 2009 and his arrest last year that he either enticed or exposed himself to nearly a dozen girls in the Colorado Springs area, and sexually assaulted an 8-year-old girl. Full Story | Top |
| Suspect in deaths of Kansas mother and children seen at store Tuesday, Nov 26, 2013 03:06 PM PST (Reuters) - A suspect in the deaths of a woman and her three children in southeastern Kansas was spotted early Tuesday afternoon at a store in a nearby town, law enforcement authorities said. David Cornell Bennett Jr is being sought in the deaths of Cami Umbarger, 29, and her three young children in Parsons, Kansas, which is about 150 miles south of Kansas City, the Kansas attorney general's office said in a statement. Bennett has not been charged. Authorities have not said when or exactly where Umbarger and her children were found, the cause of their deaths or how Bennett was connected to them. Full Story | Top |
| White House keeps up food stamp pressure on Congress Tuesday, Nov 26, 2013 02:45 PM PST By Ros Krasny WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration kept pressure on Congress on Tuesday to pass a new multi-year farm bill without resorting to the steep cuts in food stamp funding contained in the version approved by the Republican-led House of Representatives. Two days of talks among Congress' top agricultural negotiators last week failed to close the gap on food stamps between Republicans and the Democratic-run Senate, whose version proposes much smaller cuts. The House wants the biggest cuts in a generation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), some $39 billion over 10 years. The White House issued a report on Tuesday that highlighted the importance of nutrition assistance as being among the most effective tools against poverty and hunger. Full Story | Top |
| Obama administration proposes new limits on tax-exempt political groups Tuesday, Nov 26, 2013 02:25 PM PST  By Patrick Temple-West and Andy Sullivan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration proposed new rules on Tuesday to rein in tax-exempt groups that have transformed the U.S. political landscape in recent years by harnessing hundreds of millions of dollars in anonymous donations to influence elections. The proposal would alter definitions in the tax code that allow limited campaign and fundraising activities by the tax-exempt groups, some of which have been at the center of allegations that the Internal Revenue Service targeted conservative Tea Party groups for extra scrutiny. These tax-exempt "social welfare" groups, organized under section 501(c)(4) of the tax code, mushroomed after a 2010 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that relaxed campaign finance rules. Part of their appeal is that the groups do not have to disclose the identities of their donors as long as they spend less than half their time and money on political activities. Full Story | Top |
| Nasdaq closes above 4,000 for first time in 13 years Tuesday, Nov 26, 2013 02:23 PM PST  By Luke Swiderski NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Nasdaq composite index closed above 4,000 on Tuesday for the first time since 2000, while the Dow and S&P ended barely changed. Retailers and homebuilders were among the best performing sectors, responding to stronger-than-expected earnings and robust housing market data. Big-cap technology stocks helped the Nasdaq the most on Friday to finish above 4,000 for the first time since the dot-com bubble burst in 2000 and sent the tech-heavy index hurtling. Tiffany & Co jumped 7 percent to $88. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mexico deports U.S.-born teenage hitman who beheaded for cartel Tuesday, Nov 26, 2013 02:22 PM PST  Mexico deported a teenage hitman to the United States on Tuesday after he spent nearly three years in a juvenile detention center for crimes including murder, kidnapping and trafficking cocaine in a case that shocked even a nation so used to violence. U.S.-born Edgar Jimenez, known as "El Ponchis," worked for the South Pacific drug cartel in Morelos state outside Mexico City. He was captured in late 2010 when he tried to travel to the United States. "His plane has left for the United States," a Mexican security official said, asking not to be identified in line with policy. Full Story | Top |
| Detroit creditors push court to value art collection: filing Tuesday, Nov 26, 2013 02:16 PM PST  A group of the largest creditors in Detroit's Chapter 9 bankruptcy case are pushing for an independent valuation of the Detroit Institute of Arts' 66,000-piece collection, according to a federal court filing on Tuesday. This is the first court filing addressing the hot-button issue of selling the DIA's artwork to repay the city's creditors. The creditors include Financial Guaranty Insurance Company, Syncora Guarantee Inc as well as the city's largest labor union, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 25, according to the filing. Full Story | Top |
| Israel says kills three Qaeda-linked militants in West Bank Tuesday, Nov 26, 2013 02:06 PM PST Israeli security officials said their forces killed three Palestinian militants on Tuesday who were part of an al Qaeda-linked network in the West Bank. The Palestinian Authority, which administers the territory, denied the three had had any relation to al Qaeda and accused Israeli of setting out to kill the men. An official from Israeli's Shin Bet security agency said it had learned from a number of earlier arrests that the network was planning attacks in the coming days against Israeli targets and against the Western-backed Palestinian Authority. Al Qaeda-inspired groups have a small presence in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, but are less common in the occupied West Bank, which is policed by Israeli and Palestinian Authority forces. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. fines Weatherford $253 million over Iran work, junkets Tuesday, Nov 26, 2013 02:03 PM PST  Oilfield services firm Weatherford International will pay $253 million in fines to the U.S. government to settle charges that ranged from flouting sanctions against Iran and Syria to sending business partners on World Cup soccer junkets, officials said on Tuesday. Weatherford was charged with exporting oil and gas equipment to Iran, Syria, Sudan and Cuba in violation of sanctions, and exporting items controlled for nuclear nonproliferation reasons to Venezuela and Mexico. Prosecutors also filed criminal charges against Weatherford itself for failing to establish a compliance program, but they agreed to defer and drop them if the company improves its controls. The charges against Weatherford, the smallest of the four main oilfield services firms, also include Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) breaches and violations of export laws. Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: U.S. expands China hiring probe to Morgan Stanley Tuesday, Nov 26, 2013 01:58 PM PST  The U.S. Justice Department is probing Morgan Stanley for its hiring practices in China, according to a person familiar with the matter. The move comes as U.S. authorities expand their investigation into whether banks' hiring of politically connected Chinese employees may have breached U.S. bribery laws. Wesley McDade, a spokesman for Morgan Stanley, declined to comment. U.S. authorities' interest in the hiring practices of banks operating in China first came to light in August when media reports disclosed that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission was looking at whether JPMorgan Chase & Co's Hong Kong office hired the children of powerful heads of state-owned companies in China with the express purpose of winning underwriting business and other contracts. Full Story | Top |
| Trudeau's Liberals boost claim to be top contender for power in Canada Tuesday, Nov 26, 2013 01:57 PM PST  By Randall Palmer OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's Liberals have strengthened their claim to be the main challenger to the governing Conservatives in the next general election after being thrust back into the political mainstream by a strong performance in four special elections. While much can change in the two years before the October 2015 general election, Monday's results have given new momentum to the Liberals - led by Justin Trudeau, son of former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau - as they strive to get back into contention after a major setback in the 2011 election. The ability to get voters who oppose the Conservatives to coalesce around one of Canada's two main center-left opposition parties is critical if one of them is to defeat Prime Minister Stephen Harper's party in 2015. There are some deep philosophical differences between the Liberals and the New Democratic Party (NDP) on their left. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. trial ends over Ecuador pollution judgment against Chevron Tuesday, Nov 26, 2013 01:44 PM PST  By Joseph Ax NEW YORK (Reuters) - An attorney for Chevron Corp on Tuesday accused U.S. lawyer Steven Donziger of orchestrating an international criminal conspiracy by using bribery and fraud in Ecuador to secure a multibillion-dollar pollution judgment against the oil company. "It was a scheme so audacious, so bold, that it would make even a Mafia boss blush," lawyer Randy Mastro said during his closing argument before U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan, who is presiding over the non-jury trial. Lawyers for the defense said Chevron had failed to prove Donziger's involvement in any conspiracy. "Steven Donziger may be a jerk. Full Story | Top |
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