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Ex-nurse behind U.S. Congress mail threat gets two years in prison Wednesday, Mar 05, 2014 08:10 PM PST By Teresa Carson PORTLAND, Oregon (Reuters) - A former nurse from Vancouver, Washington, was sentenced to two years in prison on Wednesday for mailing more than 100 threatening letters containing white powder to members of Congress and media organizations in February of 2012. Christopher Carlson, 41, pleaded guilty to a charge of conveying false information and a hoax purporting to expose recipients of the letters to a biological toxin in a mass mailing that set off coast-to-coast anthrax scares. White powder contained in the envelopes, postmarked from Portland, Oregon, was later revealed to consist of celery salt and corn starch, the U.S. attorney for Oregon said in a statement about the sentencing. The letters were sent to congressional offices on Capitol Hill, and their field offices across the country, as well as to various media outlets, including The New York Times, National Public Radio and "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart." About two dozen of the letters were received and opened by staff members before law enforcement was able to intercept the remainder. Full Story | Top |
'Courtsiding' charge brought against Briton dropped Wednesday, Mar 05, 2014 07:47 PM PST Australian prosecutors have withdrawn a 'courtsiding' charge brought against a British man at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne, local media reported on Thursday. Melbourne police arrested Daniel Thomas Dobson, 22, at the tournament in January and charged him with one count of "engaging in conduct that would corrupt a betting outcome". Dobson, the first person charged under new legislation in Australia's southern state of Victoria, was not at the Melbourne Magistrates court on Thursday, having returned to Britain, the Australian Associated Press said. Full Story | Top |
U.S. government sues Philadelphia schools over beard policy Wednesday, Mar 05, 2014 07:39 PM PST By Dave Warner PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - The U.S. government sued Philadelphia's school district for religious discrimination on Wednesday for demanding that a veteran Muslim police officer trim his beard. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court by the Department of Justice, said the nation's eighth-largest school district passed a grooming policy in 2010 that mandated beards on police and security officers be no longer than one-quarter of an inch (6.35 mm). The officer in question, Siddiq Abu-Bakr, keeps an untrimmed beard longer than one-quarter of an inch in adherence to his Islamic faith, the suit said. The Pentagon decided in January to ease rules on beards and turbans in the U.S. Army. Full Story | Top |
Former Dewey law firm executives to be criminally charged: source Wednesday, Mar 05, 2014 07:15 PM PST By Karen Freifeld NEW YORK (Reuters) - Three former top executives from the bankrupt U.S. law firm Dewey & LeBoeuf are expected to be hit with criminal charges on Thursday related to their alleged misleading of lawyers and banks about the firm's financial straits, according to a person familiar with the matter. Indictments are set to be unsealed in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan against former Dewey Chairman Steven Davis, former Executive Director Stephen DiCarmine, and former Chief Financial Officer Joel Sanders, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The Manhattan District Attorney has been investigating the executives since around April 2012, when a group of Dewey & LeBoeuf partners asked the prosecutor's office to examine "financial irregularities" at the firm. A spokeswoman for the Manhattan District Attorney did not immediately respond to an email for comment. Full Story | Top |
Ill health effects seen as unlikely for New Mexico workers exposed to radiation Wednesday, Mar 05, 2014 07:12 PM PST Workers who initially tested positive for radiation exposure after an accidental release at a nuclear waste site in New Mexico are unlikely to experience any ill health effects, site managers said on Wednesday. Early tests of workers - who were above ground at the facility when unsafe levels of radiation were detected last month in an underground salt formation where nuclear waste is stored - showed 13 had inhaled radioactive elements at low levels, officials at the U.S. Department of Energy facility said. But further testing of the 13 workers have shown no further signs of contamination by radioisotopes such as plutonium, and they are thus unlikely to experience any health effects, managers at the facility said on Wednesday. "Follow-up testing of employees who were exposed to airborne radioactive material during the February 14 radiation release at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant shows exposure levels were extremely low and the employees are unlikely to experience any health effects as a result," managers said in a statement. Full Story | Top |
White House national security adviser to visit Israel in May Wednesday, Mar 05, 2014 06:53 PM PST | Top |
Fisher warns Fed's bond buying could be distorting U.S. financial markets Wednesday, Mar 05, 2014 06:52 PM PST | Top |
Exclusive: Trafficking abuse of Myanmar Rohingya spreads to Malaysia Wednesday, Mar 05, 2014 06:31 PM PST | Top |
CIA probing allegations it improperly monitored Senate committee: reports Wednesday, Mar 05, 2014 06:26 PM PST The CIA has begun a probe of whether members of the agency secretly monitored a Senate Intelligence Committee investigation of Bush-era detention and interrogation policies, according to media reports on Wednesday. The New York Times, quoting officials with knowledge of the investigation, said the CIA's inspector general launched the probe after members of Congress complained that agency officers had improperly accessed the work of Intelligence Committee staffers. According to one official cited by the newspaper, CIA employees went so far as to gain access to computer networks the committee was using in its work for a report on the detention program conducted during President George W. Bush's administration. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin said in a statement that "if, as alleged in the media, CIA accessed without permission or authority a computer network dedicated for use by a Senate committee, it would be an extremely serious matter." The Michigan Democrat said such activity, if true, "would impede Congress' ability to carry out its constitutional oversight responsibilities and could violate federal law." CIA Director John Brennan said he was "deeply dismayed that some members of the Senate have decided to make spurious allegations about CIA actions that are wholly unsupported by the facts. Full Story | Top |
Panama says rejects Venezuelan President Maduro's 'offenses' Wednesday, Mar 05, 2014 06:01 PM PST PANAMA CITY (Reuters) - The government of Panama said on Wednesday that it rejected Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's "unacceptable offenses" against it after the South American oil giant broke off diplomatic and commercial ties with the Central American nation. Earlier, Maduro had used the anniversary of former President Hugo Chavez's death to sever ties with Panama, whose conservative government he accused of joining the United States in "open conspiracy" against him. (Reporting by Lomi Kriel) Full Story | Top |
Obama tells Democrats to focus on November midterms, not 2016 Wednesday, Mar 05, 2014 06:00 PM PST | Top |
Canadian police investigating after bitcoin bank Flexcoin folds Wednesday, Mar 05, 2014 05:51 PM PST | Top |
Chesapeake, Encana face criminal antitrust charges in Michigan Wednesday, Mar 05, 2014 05:46 PM PST | Top |
Rise in U.S. auto, home sales show Fed policies are working: Williams Wednesday, Mar 05, 2014 05:31 PM PST | Top |
In Ukraine's Crimea, a tense and surreal standoff Wednesday, Mar 05, 2014 05:28 PM PST | Top |
U.S.-based TV anchor quits Russian station during newscast Wednesday, Mar 05, 2014 05:16 PM PST A Washington-based news anchor for the Russia Today television network quit her job on air on Wednesday, telling viewers she could not be part of a Russian government-funded station "that whitewashes the actions of Putin." Citing on-air comments earlier this week by another U.S.-based Russia Today presenter, Abby Martin, that Russian intervention in Ukraine's Crimea region was "wrong," Liz Wahl told viewers that "as a reporter on this network, I face many ethical and moral challenges." "My grandparents came here as refugees during the Hungarian revolution, ironically to escape the Soviet forces," Wahl said, adding she was "very lucky to have grown up here in the United States." Wahl added she was the daughter of a military veteran and her partner was a doctor at a military base "where he sees everyday the first-hand accounts of the ultimate prices that people pay for this country." "And that is why personally I cannot be part of a network funded by the Russian government that whitewashes the actions of Putin," she said. "I'm proud to be an American and believe in disseminating the truth and that is why after this newscast, I'm resigning." Russia Today could not be reached for comment. Full Story | Top |
U.S. Army general fighting sex charges will admit to lesser crimes Wednesday, Mar 05, 2014 05:01 PM PST | Top |
U.S. accuses Syria of stonewalling on chemical arms plants Wednesday, Mar 05, 2014 04:38 PM PST | Top |
Big power talks on Ukraine crisis make little progress Wednesday, Mar 05, 2014 04:35 PM PST | Top |
Murder charge filed in case of missing Tennessee nursing student Wednesday, Mar 05, 2014 04:30 PM PST By Tim Ghianni NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Reuters) - A Tennessee man was charged on Wednesday with murder and aggravated kidnapping in the death of a nursing student who disappeared three years ago from the driveway of her rural home. Zachary Rye Adams, 29, was arrested last week on an unrelated aggravated assault charge and is being held without bond in the Chester County Jail, authorities said at a news conference. Victim Holly Bobo, a cousin of country singer Whitney Duncan, was last seen on April 13, 2011 by her brother. Some spectators at the news conference at the Decatur County courthouse responded with gasps and sobs when Tennessee Bureau of Investigation director Mark Gwyn announced the murder charge. Full Story | Top |
Venezuela's Chavez remembered with pomp and protests Wednesday, Mar 05, 2014 04:27 PM PST | Top |
U.S. lawmakers divided on Russia sanctions, eye vote on Ukraine aid Wednesday, Mar 05, 2014 04:27 PM PST | Top |
U.S. businessman convicted in China economic espionage case Wednesday, Mar 05, 2014 04:18 PM PST | Top |
UK army cuts may leave army unable to handle threats - MPs Wednesday, Mar 05, 2014 04:16 PM PST | Top |
U.S. lawmakers skeptical of Pentagon's 2015 budget plan, priorities Wednesday, Mar 05, 2014 04:11 PM PST | Top |
British coalition partners to trade barbs over immigration Wednesday, Mar 05, 2014 04:02 PM PST | Top |
Arizona legislation prompts state senator to reveal he is gay Wednesday, Mar 05, 2014 04:02 PM PST By David Schwartz PHOENIX (Reuters) - An Arizona state senator revealed that he was gay on Wednesday, saying he felt compelled to make his sexual orientation public because of the recent battle over legislation in the state that would have allowed businesses to refuse sevices to homosexuals. The disclosure by Democratic Minority Whip Steve Gallardo comes as he is vying to replace retiring Representative Ed Pastor. I'm a state senator and it's OK,'" Gallardo said in a phone interview. "I want to tell those people who struggle every day about coming out that it's OK to be who you are." Gallardo, 44, said the "game-changer" in his decision to reveal his sexuality came on February 19 when a measure - vetoed by Republican Governor Jan Brewer last week - went to the floor of the state Senate for debate and drew a public outcry. Full Story | Top |
U.S. health plans that don't meet Obamacare rules can renew for two more years Wednesday, Mar 05, 2014 04:01 PM PST | Top |
Florida congressman denies shoving his estranged wife Wednesday, Mar 05, 2014 04:01 PM PST By Barbara Liston ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - A lawyer for U.S. Representative Alan Grayson denied accusations on Wednesday that the congressman shoved his wife during a weekend domestic dispute and said a video recording of the incident supports his account. The video shows that Grayson's estranged wife, Lolita, was the aggressor and the congressman did not touch her in any way, said attorney Mark Nejame in a press release. Lolita Grayson, who filed for divorce in January, this week won a temporary protective order against her husband, based on her statement of what happened during an argument at the family's home on Saturday. Lolita Grayson claims she responded by pushing her husband in the face and kneeing him in the stomach, the complaint said. Full Story | Top |
U.S. accuses Russia's Putin of making "false claims" about Ukraine Wednesday, Mar 05, 2014 04:00 PM PST By Arshad Mohammed WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department dropped its diplomatic niceties on Wednesday and all but accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of lying about events in Ukraine, publishing a list of what it said were 10 of his "false claims." A "fact sheet" released by the State Department's press office said Putin had ignored or distorted the facts in "justifying Russian aggression in the Ukraine." The publication of the document, entitled "President Putin's Fiction: 10 False Claims about Ukraine," is highly unusual for the State Department, which typically does not issue statements in public that a foreign leader is being untruthful. Russia and the West face their most serious confrontation since the end of the Cold War over influence in Ukraine, a major commodities exporter and strategic link between East and West. Full Story | Top |
Weather restrains U.S. private hiring, services sector growth Wednesday, Mar 05, 2014 03:47 PM PST | Top |
Colorado couple arrested in murder of ski resort socialite Wednesday, Mar 05, 2014 03:41 PM PST By Keith Coffman DENVER (Reuters) - A former physician and his wife, tenants of an Aspen ski resort socialite found dead in her home, have made their first court appearance after being arrested on suspicion of her murder, authorities said. The body of Nancy Pfister, 57, daughter of the Buttermilk ski area's co-founders, was found a week ago, the Pitkin County Sheriff's Office said in a statement. Authorities did not say how Pfister died nor did they disclose a possible motive for the killing, which the sheriff's office said was the first homicide since 2001 in the chic resort town southwest of Denver that serves as a getaway for Hollywood celebrities and other wealthy visitors. The suspects, William Styler, 65, and his wife, Nancy, 62, were arrested on Monday in a motel in the nearby town of Basalt, the sheriff said. Full Story | Top |
Biden, Holder push to end backlog of unanalyzed rape kits Wednesday, Mar 05, 2014 03:41 PM PST | Top |
ECB set to act against low inflation, hold fire on bolder steps Wednesday, Mar 05, 2014 03:37 PM PST | Top |
Washington state issues first pot-growing license Wednesday, Mar 05, 2014 03:32 PM PST By Jonathan Kaminsky OLYMPIA, Washington (Reuters) - Marijuana regulators issued Washington state's first business license for recreational cannabis on Wednesday to a grower who said he expects to have blooming pot plants ready to harvest within eight weeks. Washington state and Colorado residents alike voted to legalize personal possession and consumption of marijuana for adults in 2012, with Colorado getting a jump on opening state-licensed retail stores, which also were permitted to grow their own. Colorado beat Washington to the punch in part because it already had a system in place for licensing medical marijuana suppliers, and they became the first group of outlets allowed to enter the newly created recreational pot market in January. Medical marijuana was already legal in Washington as well, but the state had no formal regulation of its supply and distribution. Full Story | Top |
Illinois family charged with shoplifting, selling goods online for millions Wednesday, Mar 05, 2014 03:25 PM PST (Reuters) - An Illinois couple and their daughter on Wednesday were charged with operating a multimillion-dollar shoplifting ring that involved stealing toys, baby supplies and household items from retail stores and selling them on eBay, prosecutors said. Branko Bogdanov, 58, along with his wife Lela, 52, and daughter Julia, 34, of Northbrook, some 25 miles north of Chicago, were charged in U.S. District Court with interstate transportation of stolen property, the U.S. Attorney's office said in a statement. The trio shoplifted $7.1 million worth of items from stores in several U.S. states including Florida, Maryland, Tennessee and Oklahoma, according to prosecutors. Investigators say Lela Bogdanov allegedly stuffed items up a long black skirt that was outfitted with a lining capable of holding multiple objects. Full Story | Top |
U.S. House votes to delay Obamacare penalty for non-enrollment Wednesday, Mar 05, 2014 03:25 PM PST | Top |
Ukraine crisis: CIA, not Pentagon, forecast Russian move - sources Wednesday, Mar 05, 2014 03:19 PM PST By Mark Hosenball WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Until recently, collecting intelligence on Ukraine was a low priority for U.S. spy agencies, and as a result their reporting on recent developments was patchy, several current and former U.S. security officials said this week. The Central Intelligence Agency says it was following events closely enough to have outlined scenarios in which upheaval in Ukraine would become so intense that Russia would take military action. Two national security sources said the CIA had specifically warned policymakers, shortly before the Russian military moved into the Crimean peninsula, that such a move could be imminent. The Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Agency, however, predicted such a move was unlikely, said the sources, who requested anonymity to discuss intelligence matters. Full Story | Top |
SEC orders New York firm to pay record $7.2 million sanction Wednesday, Mar 05, 2014 03:16 PM PST | Top |
Frauds or fibs? Ex-Jefferies trader's fraud case goes to jury Wednesday, Mar 05, 2014 03:12 PM PST | Top |
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