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| Joe McGinniss, author of 'Fatal Vision,' dies at 71 Monday, Mar 10, 2014 09:06 PM PDT Journalist Joe McGinniss, an author who got up close to his subjects for revealing books such as "The Selling of the President" and "Fatal Vision," died on Monday at age 71, his friend and attorney said. McGinniss died of complications from prostate cancer at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, Massachusetts, lawyer Dennis Holahan said in an email. His 1983 book "Fatal Vision" became a classic of the true crime genre and was based on unlimited access he gained to former Green Beret Jeffrey MacDonald and his attorneys during MacDonald's 1979 murder trial in the deaths of his pregnant wife and two young daughters in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. cancer doctors urge payment fix as cases set to rise Monday, Mar 10, 2014 09:05 PM PDT  U.S. cancer doctors are worried about their ability to handle an expected surge in cancer cases in the coming years as they face cuts to government health plans and efforts to reduce payments to physicians. The influential American Society of Clinical Oncology, in a report released on Tuesday, cited estimates that cancer will become the leading killer in the United States by 2030 as the population ages, while treatment costs reach new heights. The group is calling on the U.S. Congress to help stabilize payments to doctors under the Medicare insurance program for the elderly. "What you are seeing from Medicare as well as others is they continue to constrain the revenues to practices. Full Story | Top |
| Governor Christie's trustworthiness takes a hit in New Jersey poll Monday, Mar 10, 2014 09:02 PM PDT  New Jersey Governor Chris Christie casts himself as a straight-talking everyman, but as scandal swirls around his administration, the number of state voters who see him as trustworthy has fallen dramatically, a poll said on Tuesday. Fewer than a quarter of New Jersey voters say "trustworthy" applies very well to Christie - down 20 points from October, according to a Rutgers-Eagleton Poll. Still, more than half of state voters see the charismatic Republican governor, who is seen as a leading contender for the White House in 2016, as a "strong leader." "Trustworthy was one of Christie's hallmarks, especially given voters' normal cynicism about politicians," said David Redlawsk, director of the Rutgers-Eagleton Poll. Also on Monday, local media reported that federal prosecutors in Manhattan had subpoenaed the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for records regarding the business dealings of the agency's chairman, David Samson, a Christie appointee. Full Story | Top |
| China to launch private bank pilot program Monday, Mar 10, 2014 08:46 PM PDT  China will launch pilot programs testing the development of privately owned banks in Tianjin, Shanghai, Zhejiang and Guangdong, the country's bank regulator Shang Fulin said on Tuesday. The pilot, which was approved by China's government in January, is the first tentative step by the country to open its hitherto closely guarded banking sector to private investors. An article appearing in the official party mouthpiece People's Daily on Tuesday named companies that have been approved to participate in the pilot project, including e-commerce giants Alibaba and Tencent - both of which have been competing to market high-yielding wealth management products online. It did not give names of these banks. Full Story | Top |
| El Salvador ex-rebel's lead 'irreversible,' rival wants recount Monday, Mar 10, 2014 08:44 PM PDT  By Nelson Renteria and Michael O'Boyle SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) - A former Marxist rebel commander's tiny lead in El Salvador's presidential election is irreversible, the country's electoral tribunal said on Monday, but his right-wing challenger demanded a full recount, insisting he was the real winner. Salvador Sanchez Ceren of the ruling Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN), which as a rebel group fought a string of U.S.-backed governments in the 1980-1992 civil war, claimed victory on Sunday after preliminary results showed he had won 50.11 percent support. Challenger Norman Quijano, a former mayor of San Salvador and candidate of the right-wing Nationalist Republican Alliance (Arena) party, had 49.89 percent support. Quijano said in a Tweet on Monday that he wanted a "vote-by-vote" recount, calling the election tribunal biased and insisting that he was the president-elect. Full Story | Top |
| BOJ keeps policy on hold, downgrades exports Monday, Mar 10, 2014 08:13 PM PDT  TOKYO (Reuters) - The Bank of Japan kept its monetary stimulus in place on Tuesday as the overall economy is recovering but downgraded its view of exports given recent weak shipments to Asia. The BOJ, as expected, voted unanimously to maintain its pledge of increasing base money, its key policy gauge, at an annual pace of 60 trillion to 70 trillion yen ($589-$687 billion). The BOJ raised its assessment on industrial production, saying that pace of gains are increasing somewhat. The central bank also raised its view of capital expenditure, saying the recovery is becoming more clear. ... Full Story | Top |
| Flooding in central Montana strands hundreds, forces evacuations Monday, Mar 10, 2014 07:59 PM PDT Floods that washed out rural roads in central Montana left hundreds of people stranded on Monday and forced the evacuation of 30 homes in one small town, as forecasts predicted more rain and snow that could worsen conditions in the region. Floods also threatened to inundate three towns in north-central Wyoming where vast ice formations blocked the flow of the Bighorn River and caused it to spill from its banks. In Montana, a network of dirt roads linking rural Montana neighborhoods and ranches outside of Roundup were submerged in water or washed out by Monday, making them impassable, said Tara Gates, volunteer with the Musselshell County Disaster and Emergency Services. Governor Steve Bullock declared a flood emergency, allowing him to mobilize Montana National Guard troops and direct other resources to affected communities, and local authorities scrambled to devise plans to deliver food and supplies to an estimated 400 people who were cut off by the flooding. Full Story | Top |
| GM hires law firms it works with to probe recall response Monday, Mar 10, 2014 07:42 PM PDT  By Ben Klayman, Paul Lienert and Nick Brown DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Co on Monday said it had hired two outside law firms to probe the company's response to ignition-switch problems on cars that have been linked to 13 deaths, but both firms have done business with GM, raising questions of conflict of interest. The review will be led by Jenner & Block chairman Anton "Tony" Valukas, who won wide regard for investigating Lehman Brothers after the financial services firm collapsed in 2008. But GM has worked with Jenner & Block since 2002, and at least two of the automaker's former top attorneys, Robert Osborne and Elmer Johnson, were partners at the Chicago law firm. GM said lawyers from the firm King & Spalding, which represented GM during some of its bankruptcy proceedings and some other litigation work since, will also work on the recall review ordered up by CEO Mary Barra. Full Story | Top |
| Nepal's miracle gel saves newborns from infection Monday, Mar 10, 2014 07:36 PM PDT By Gopal Sharma DHULIKHEL, Nepal, March 11 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Sangita Shrestha desperately waits in a hospital bed to see the baby girl she has just delivered. In the next room, a nurse applies a gel to the stump of the newborn's umbilical cord, wraps her in cloth and places her in a cot next to her mother. Now I am happy to know that my daughter is safe from infection," 18-year-old Shrestha said at the Dhulikhel hospital, 30 km (19 miles) east of Kathmandu, Nepal's capital. The baby was briefly separated from her mother when an antiseptic gel known as "Navi Malam", or chlorhexidine, was applied to avoid umbilical cord infection - a main cause of newborn deaths in the impoverished Himalayan nation. Full Story | Top |
| Kerry-Lavrov meeting depends on Moscow's stance -U.S Monday, Mar 10, 2014 07:15 PM PDT By Arshad Mohammed and Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States held out the possibility on Monday that the U.S. and Russian foreign ministers could meet this week about Ukraine but said it needed to know Moscow would engage seriously on a diplomatic solution. Russia's bloodless seizure of the Crimea region of Ukraine has brought U.S.-Russian relations to one of their lowest points since the Cold War, with the United States searching for a way to keep Russia from annexing Crimea and its Russian naval base. Full Story | Top |
| Washington, D.C., businessman pleads guilty in mayoral campaign scheme Monday, Mar 10, 2014 06:34 PM PDT  By Tom Ramstack and Ian Simpson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A leading District of Columbia businessman pleaded guilty on Monday to violating campaign finance laws in a case that has tarnished the U.S. capital's Democratic mayor and overshadowed his bid for a second term. Federal prosecutors had accused Jeffrey Thompson, once a major government contractor, of running a "shadow campaign" that funneled more than $660,000 through friends and relatives to Washington Mayor Vincent Gray's successful 2010 campaign, breaking campaign laws that forbid contributions of more than $25,000 by one person. "Mr. Gray agreed to keep Mr. Thompson's fundraising secret," Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Atkinson said. "The things that I've heard today are fabricated." Under the plea bargain Thompson reached with prosecutors, the U.S. Department of Justice agreed to waive the penalty for a heavier federal charge of conspiracy to violate federal campaign finance laws and submitting false filings to the Internal Revenue Service in exchange for his guilty plea and cooperation with the government. Full Story | Top |
| Colorado reaps $2.1 million from first month of recreational pot sales Monday, Mar 10, 2014 06:23 PM PDT  By Keith Coffman DENVER (Reuters) - Sales of recreational marijuana products in Colorado added more than $2.1 million to state coffers in tax receipts and other fees in the first month retail sales of the drug were allowed, state figures showed on Monday. The figures, which the Colorado Department of Revenue said were in line with expectations, add to just over $1.4 million collected in taxes and fees on medical marijuana in the state in the same month. The figures for recreational marijuana include revenues from a 2.9 percent sales tax, a special 10 percent tax on retail pot sales and a 15 percent excise tax imposed on growers, as well as licensing fees, the department said in a statement. Full Story | Top |
| Chilean is first foreign fatality in Venezuela unrest Monday, Mar 10, 2014 06:15 PM PDT  By Andrew Cawthorne and Diego Ore CARACAS (Reuters) - A Chilean woman was shot dead while clearing a barricade put up by anti-government protesters, the first foreign fatality during a month of civil unrest in Venezuela, authorities said on Monday. The death of Gisela Rubilar, 47, who was studying in the western Venezuelan city of Merida, brought to at least 21 the number of fatalities in five weeks of demonstrations against President Nicolas Maduro's government. "She was ambushed by extreme right-wing groups ... She was vilely murdered with a shot in the eye," Alexis Ramirez, the governor of Merida state, told reporters, blaming the killing on unidentified demonstrators in the Andean city. The barriers have become frequent flashpoints for violence between protesters, police and government supporters. Full Story | Top |
| Confrontation in Ukraine as diplomacy stalls Monday, Mar 10, 2014 06:13 PM PDT  By Andrew Osborn and Natalia Zinets SEVASTOPOL/KIEV (Reuters) - A pro-Russian force opened fire in seizing a Ukrainian military base in Crimea on Monday and NATO announced reconnaissance flights along its eastern frontiers as confrontation around the Black Sea peninsula showed no sign of easing. Ukrainian activists trying to cross into Crimea to show solidarity with opponents of last week's Russian military takeover there said they were halted by men in uniforms of the now outlawed riot police. With diplomacy at a standstill, Russia said the United States had spurned an invitation to hold new talks on resolving the crisis, the worst East-West standoff since the Cold War - although Washington said later a meeting of foreign ministers was possible this week, if Moscow shows it is ready to "engage". The U.S.-led NATO defense alliance said AWACS early warning aircraft, once designed to counter feared Soviet nuclear missile strikes, would start reconnaissance flights on Tuesday over Poland and Romania to monitor the situation in Ukraine, flying from bases in Germany and Britain. Full Story | Top |
| Roommate arrested in case of severed head found under Hollywood sign Monday, Mar 10, 2014 06:06 PM PDT Police have arrested a man in Texas suspected of killing his roommate, a former Mexicana airlines employee, whose severed head was found underneath the famed Hollywood sign overlooking Los Angeles in 2012, officials said on Monday. The suspect, 38-year-old Gabriel Campos-Martinez, was arrested on Sunday and is accused of murdering 66-year-old Hervey Coronado Medellin of Los Angeles and dumping parts of his dismembered body in Griffith Park near the Hollywood sign. Prosecutors said the suspect was the roommate of the slain man, who a coroner's report said died of asphyxiation. In January 2012, a mother and daughter walking dogs in the popular hiking area spotted Medellin's head in a plastic bag and reported it to park rangers. Full Story | Top |
| Two Russian cosmonauts, U.S. astronaut head back to Earth Monday, Mar 10, 2014 05:54 PM PDT  By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - A pair of Russian cosmonauts and a U.S. astronaut sealed themselves inside a Russian Soyuz capsule on Monday and left the International Space Station, ending a six-month mission, officials said. With former station commander Oleg Kotov at the controls, the Soyuz slipped away from its berthing port at 8:02 a.m. EDT/0002 GMT. Strapped inside the Soyuz with Kotov are station flight engineers Sergei Ryazansky and NASA's Michael Hopkins. "It was a really good increment," Kotov said during a change-of-command ceremony broadcast on NASA Television on Sunday. Full Story | Top |
| Venezuela says police killed government agent in bungled arrest of protester Monday, Mar 10, 2014 05:48 PM PDT By Daniel Wallis CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan prosecutors accused a policeman on Monday of shooting dead a young female intelligence agent that he mistook for a kidnapper after her plainclothes team forced a suspected protester into their car. The incident took place on Friday in a wealthy eastern part of Caracas, in an area where hooded opposition demonstrators clash nightly with riot police. With various state security agencies operating in the capital's opposition-governed Chacao district, many residents had feared a confrontation between them and the separate police force that works for the municipality and its mayor. In grainy security camera footage, members of national intelligence agency Sebin were seen grappling with a young man who was apparently carrying home groceries, before pushing him into the back of an unmarked car. Full Story | Top |
| Libya says halts tanker outside rebel port, plans military offensive Monday, Mar 10, 2014 05:25 PM PDT  By Ulf Laessing and Feras Bosalum TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libya on Monday stopped a North Korean-flagged tanker that had loaded oil from a rebel-held port, after naval forces briefly exchanged fire with the rebels, officials said. They also said the government will assemble forces to "liberate" all occupied ports, raising the stakes over a blockage that has cut off vital oil revenue. The conflict over oil wealth is increasing fears that the OPEC producer may slide deeper into chaos or even splinter as the fragile government fails to rein in dozens of militias that helped oust Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 but now defy state authority. The rebels, who have seized three ports and partly control a fourth in the North African country, said they had dispatched forces to central Libya to deal with any government attack. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. criticizes Maldives court's dismissal of election officials Monday, Mar 10, 2014 05:23 PM PDT  The U.S. State Department voiced strong objection on Monday to the Maldives Supreme Court's dismissal of the country's top election officials for failing to follow its guidelines during last year's presidential election. "These actions represent an unprecedented expansion of judicial powers which undermines an independent democratic institution that has made laudable efforts to hold multiple successful elections despite previous judicial interference," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement. On Sunday, the Maldives Supreme Court ordered the head of the election commission, Fuwad Thowfeek, and his deputy, Ahmed Fayaz, removed from their posts and asked the parliament to appoint replacements within six days. The election commission came under the court's scrutiny last year when it went ahead with a presidential runoff after three previous attempts were annulled or postponed by the court. Full Story | Top |
| White House has optimistic growth forecast for 2014, 2015 Monday, Mar 10, 2014 05:23 PM PDT  By Mark Felsenthal and Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House on Monday forecast more robust economic growth in 2014 than last year and a further pickup in the economy for 2015. Under a White House projection, the U.S. economy is expected to expand by 3.1 percent this year, faster than last year's 1.7 percent. Growth would pick up to 3.4 percent in 2015, the White House said. The jobless rate, which reached a high of 10 percent in 2009, fell to a five-year low of 6.6 percent in January. Full Story | Top |
| Videos show bin Laden relative warning of 'storm' of airplane attacks Monday, Mar 10, 2014 05:18 PM PDT  By Bernard Vaughan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Jurors in the trial of alleged al Qaeda operative Suleiman Abu Ghaith on Monday watched videos of the defendant warning of a "storm" of airplane attacks a month after September 11, 2001. Abu Ghaith, 48, is on trial in Manhattan federal court for conspiring to kill Americans, among other charges. Prosecutors contend he was a top-tier member of al Qaeda and knew of various terrorist plots. On Monday, prosecutors played two videos from October 2001 in which Abu Ghaith, a Kuwaiti and son in law of Osama bin Laden, is seen warning of further attacks in the wake of 9/11. Full Story | Top |
| Banker bonuses rise by nearly a third in 2013: survey Monday, Mar 10, 2014 05:02 PM PDT  Almost half of Britain's bankers and other financial services professionals to receive 2013 bonuses were awarded more than the previous year, with the average payout rising by nearly a third, a survey showed on Tuesday. The increase comes against the backdrop of public and investor anger over excessive compensation and European Union efforts to cap payments. A series of banks have recently disclosed that payments are on the rise, upsetting shareholders who believe that bonuses should reflect company performance. The European Union has sought to address that issue with a law that limits bonuses to no more than a banker's fixed salary, or twice that level with shareholder approval. Full Story | Top |
| California lawmakers take aim at elementary school truancy Monday, Mar 10, 2014 04:59 PM PDT  By Sharon Bernstein SACRAMENTO, California (Reuters) - California lawmakers took aim Monday at truancy among elementary school children with a package of bills that would help families bring their kids to school and keep them there, but it would not remove the threat of arrest if they refuse to comply. The bills were developed in the wake of a report by Attorney General Kamala Harris, showing that an estimated 250,000 elementary age children miss 10 percent or more of each school year in the most populous U.S. state. "As the chief law enforcement officer of the state, I've decided to make this a priority, because it is the law of California" that children attend school, said Harris, who sponsored the legislation. California passed a law in 2005 allowing parents of young children who are chronically absent to be charged in court or sent to a diversion program, joining dozens of states that have passed measures in recent years aimed at curbing truancy, according to the Education Commission of the States policy database. Full Story | Top |
| Grieving parents join Florida 'stand your ground' protest Monday, Mar 10, 2014 04:54 PM PDT  By Bill Cotterell TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - Parents of two black teenagers whose killings sparked heated criticism of Florida's "stand your ground" law marched on the state Capitol on Monday, warning legislators of a political backlash unless they reform the statue. "Florida is failing us," said Sybrina Fulton, the mother of Trayvon Martin, whose fatal shooting in 2012 led to the murder trial and subsequent acquittal of former neighborhood watch patrol guard George Zimmerman. Stand your ground is absolutely, positively wrong." Fulton spoke after Reverend Al Sharpton led a mostly black crowd of protesters on a short march to the steps of the Capitol, where the Republican-dominated legislature began its annual session last week. Critics, including many civil rights groups, say the law passed under former Republican Governor Jeb Bush has created a license to kill for gun owners who hate or fear young black men. Full Story | Top |
| Freed nuns reach Damascus as prisoner exchange continues Monday, Mar 10, 2014 04:52 PM PDT  By Marwan Makdesi and Khaled Yacoub Oweis DAMASCUS/AMMAN (Reuters) - Thirteen Greek Orthodox nuns arrived in Damascus on Monday after al Qaeda fighters who held them for more than three months freed them in a deal providing for the release of women prisoners held by President Bashar al-Assad's government. Activists said at least 15 were released from Adra prison north of Damascus, just a fraction of the 153 which some officials had said would be included in the exchange. The mostly elderly nuns and three other women from their convent seemed in good health as they sat in a room in Damascus with several other Christian clerics. "All of Syria is happy today (for their return)," Bishop Luka al Khoury told Reuters. Full Story | Top |
| Swatch sues Target, claims it copied watch designs Monday, Mar 10, 2014 04:47 PM PDT  Target Corp has been sued by Swatch Group SA, which accused the second-largest U.S. discount retailer of illegally selling watches that copy its own. In a lawsuit made public on Monday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, Swatch, which is known for its plastic namesake watches, accused Target of infringing its designs for "zebra" and "multi-color" watches. Swatch said the quality of Target's watches is "inferior" to its own, and that their continued sale is likely to confuse shoppers and damage the Swiss company's sales. It also said it advised Target of the alleged infringement, but that the Minneapolis-based company continued its sales. Full Story | Top |
| Malaysia air probe finds scant evidence of attack: sources Monday, Mar 10, 2014 04:43 PM PDT By Eveline Danubrata and Mark Hosenball KUALA LUMPUR/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Investigators in Malaysia are voicing skepticism that the airliner that disappeared early Saturday with 239 people on board was the target of an attack, U.S. and European government sources close to the probe said. The fate of the Malaysian airliner that vanished about an hour into a flight to Beijing remained a mystery, as a massive air and sea search, now in its third day, failed to turn up any trace of the Boeing 777 plane. Neither Malaysia's Special Branch, the agency leading the investigation locally, nor spy agencies in the United States and Europe have ruled out the possibility that militants may have been involved in downing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370. "There is no evidence to suggest an act of terror," said a European security source, who added that there was also "no explanation what's happened to it or where it is." Meanwhile, dozens of ships and aircraft from 10 countries were still scouring the seas around Malaysia and south of Vietnam as questions mounted over possible security lapses that could have led to a downing of the Boeing 777-200ER after it climbed to an altitude of 35,000 feet. Full Story | Top |
| Ohio Libertarian candidates appeal to get names on May ballot Monday, Mar 10, 2014 04:41 PM PDT By Kim Palmer CLEVELAND (Reuters) - Libertarian Party candidates for Ohio governor and attorney general are challenging rulings by a Republican secretary of state that would keep their names off the ballot in a state primary in May, attorneys said Monday. Secretary of State Jon Husted on Friday ordered the names of gubernatorial candidate Charlie Earl and attorney general candidate Steven Linnabary pulled from the ballot, finding their petitions did not meet Ohio elections standards. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. Senate Democrats pulling all-nighter on climate change Monday, Mar 10, 2014 04:37 PM PDT  By Thomas Ferraro and Valerie Volcovici WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than two dozen U.S. Senate Democrats joined forces to speak through the night on Monday, hoping to "wake up" Congress to what is seen as the threat of climate change. "Despite overwhelming scientific evidence and overwhelming public opinion, climate change deniers still exist," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said. "They exist in this country and in this Congress." The Nevada Democrat made the comments in kicking off the marathon gabfest at 6:27 p.m. on Monday. Thirty of the Senate's 53 Democrats, plus the two independents who caucus with them, have signed up to participate. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. Senate passes military sex assault bill, may take months in House Monday, Mar 10, 2014 04:37 PM PDT By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate voted 97-0 on Monday to pass reforms in how the military handles sexual assault cases, but it probably will be months before the changes become law. The measure must still be approved by the House of Representatives, where Democratic and Republican aides said it is unlikely to be up for a vote until later in 2014. Backed by Senator Claire McCaskill, a Missouri Democrat, the bill includes significant changes such as eliminating the "good soldier" defense allowing a court to reduce the sentences of offenders who have strong military records. That proposed change in the military justice system was part of a separate bill on sexual assault in the military, backed by another Democratic senator, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, which failed in the Senate last week. Full Story | Top |
| Snowden: Proposed NSA reforms vindicate my data leaks Monday, Mar 10, 2014 04:32 PM PDT  By Jon Herskovitz AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Former security contractor Edward Snowden, addressing a sympathetic crowd at a tech-heavy event in Austin, Texas, on Monday from a secret location in Russia, said proposed reforms at the National Security Agency show that he was vindicated in leaking classified material. NSA officials declined to comment on the Snowden remarks. Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Chinese raw materials also found on U.S. B-1 bomber, F-16 jets Monday, Mar 10, 2014 04:27 PM PDT  By Andrea Shalal WASHINGTON (Reuters) - After discovering China-made components in the F-35 fighter jet, a Pentagon investigation has uncovered Chinese materials in other major U.S. weaponry, including Boeing Co's B-1B bomber and certain Lockheed Martin Corp F-16 fighters, the U.S. Defense Department said. Titanium mined in China may also have been used to build part of a new Standard Missile-3 IIA being developed jointly by Raytheon Co and Japan, said a senior U.S. defense official, who said the incidents raised fresh concerns about lax controls by U.S. contractors. U.S. law bans weapons makers from using raw materials from China and a number of other countries, amid concerns that reliance on foreign suppliers could leave the U.S. military vulnerable in some future conflict. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. stocks dip after China, Boeing data Monday, Mar 10, 2014 04:20 PM PDT  By Rodrigo Campos NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks dipped on Monday, weighed down by soft data out of China and Boeing's latest production setback. Merger and acquisition announcements, however, as well as company-specific news including on Facebook and Alexion Pharma, helped keep the S&P 500 and Nasdaq from bigger losses. China's exports unexpectedly tumbled 18.1 percent in February, against expectations for a 6.8 percent rise, swinging the trade balance into deficit and adding to fears of a slowdown in the world's second-largest economy. There's a little bit of profit-taking," said Paul Zemsky, head of asset allocation at ING Investment Management in New York. Full Story | Top |
| Carnival cruise passengers sue seeking $5,000 a month for life Monday, Mar 10, 2014 04:00 PM PDT  By David Quiñones MIAMI (Reuters) - A group of passengers suing Carnival cruise lines for damages after an engine fire left their ship adrift for days are asking the company to pay $5,000 a month for the rest of their lives for medical bills and mental anguish. A lawsuit brought by 33 passengers of the ill-fated 2013 voyage could change how cruise lines insulate themselves from legal actions, according to maritime legal experts. A second pending lawsuit with three-times as many plaintiffs has the potential to further undo the advantageous legal position cruise lines have long enjoyed. Stalled in the Gulf of Mexico for five days, passengers described human waste seeping into hallways, and being forced to sleep on deck under makeshift tarps with no cooked food. Full Story | Top |
| Spring break at the White House: Obama honors college athletes Monday, Mar 10, 2014 03:58 PM PDT  By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) - There were plenty of college athletes at the White House on Monday, but none of the usual NFL or NBA-bound football and basketball players. Instead, President Barack Obama recognized the achievements of college athletes not in the big-money pursuits of football and basketball, but in a range of other sports like riflery, field hockey, water polo, tennis, track and field, soccer, lacrosse and hockey. "It is nice to be outside for a change, and spring break is underway for a lot of schools, so we thought this was the perfect time to invite a bunch of college kids over to wreak havoc on the White House," said Obama, just a week after a snowstorm paralyzed the U.S. capital. Three schools had two national championship teams present: Princeton University (fencing and field hockey); Full Story | Top |
| Syria among 'most dangerous places on Earth' for children: UNICEF Monday, Mar 10, 2014 03:56 PM PDT  The number of children affected by the civil war in Syria has more than doubled over the past year, with hundreds of thousands of young Syrians trapped in besieged parts of the country, the United Nations Children's Fund said on Monday. "After three years of conflict and turmoil, Syria is now one of the most dangerous places on earth to be a child," said the UNICEF report. "In their thousands, children have lost lives and limbs, along with virtually every aspect of their childhood." "They have lost classrooms and teachers, brothers and sisters, friends, caregivers, homes and stability," it said. "Instead of learning and playing, many have been forced into the workplace, are being recruited to fight, or subjected to enforced idleness." UNICEF said the child casualty rates were the highest recorded in any recent conflict in the region. Full Story | Top |
| Colorado reaps $2.1 million in taxes, fees in first month of recreational pot Monday, Mar 10, 2014 03:52 PM PDT By Keith Coffman DENVER (Reuters) - Sales of recreational marijuana products in Colorado added more than $2.1 million to state coffers in tax receipts and other fees in the first month retail sales of the drug were allowed, state figures showed on Monday. The figures, which the Colorado Department of Revenue said were in line with expectations, add to just over $1.4 million collected in taxes and fees on medical marijuana in the state in the same month. The figures for recreational marijuana include revenues from a 2.9 percent sales tax, a special 10 percent tax on retail pot sales and a 15 percent excise tax imposed on growers, as well as licensing fees, the department said in a statement. "We expect clear patterns will emerge by April and plan to incorporate this data into future forecasts," said Barbara Pohl, executive director of the department. Full Story | Top |
| Europe inches closer to deal on bank resolution, more talks ahead Monday, Mar 10, 2014 03:50 PM PDT  By Jan Strupczewski and Martin Santa BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Euro zone governments edged closer on Monday towards a deal on how to wind down failing banks, but reached no conclusions and more negotiations will take place on Tuesday to address demands of the European Parliament. Negotiations are set to last until Wednesday and may be the final step in a European banking union that would mean one supervisor for euro zone banks, one set of rules to close or restructure those in trouble and one pot of money to pay for it. The role of euro zone bank supervisor has already been assigned to the European Central Bank, which will take up its new duties in November. Talks on a new European agency to shut down failing banks, and on a fund to pay for such closures which together are to form a Single Resolution Mechanism (SRM), need to be agreed before the last sitting of the European Parliament in mid-April. Full Story | Top |
| Turkish cleric says Erdogan risking decade of reforms: FT Monday, Mar 10, 2014 03:48 PM PDT  By Humeyra Pamuk ANKARA (Reuters) - A U.S.-based cleric locked in a feud with the Turkish government has likened Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's grip on power to that of the once-dominant military, and warned that political and economic reforms of the past decade are under threat. In a rare written political commentary, Pennsylvania-based preacher Fethullah Gulen said Erdogan had lost trust at home and abroad because of measures such as curbs on Internet freedom, greater government control of the courts and stronger powers for the intelligence agency. Full Story | Top |
| Politics at play in U.S. Army general's sex crimes trial -judge Monday, Mar 10, 2014 03:37 PM PDT  By Colleen Jenkins FORT BRAGG, North Carolina (Reuters) - A military judge found on Monday that politics had been unlawfully injected into the rare court-martial of a U.S. Army general but refused to dismiss the sexual assault charges against him. The judge said he would allow Brigadier General Jeffrey Sinclair to renew an offer to plead guilty to some lesser charges in exchange for the most serious allegations of coercive sex acts being dropped. Military leaders at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, rejected a previous such proposal by the one-star general after giving improper consideration to a letter from the main accuser's lawyer that invoked politics while urging them to deny the offer, Colonel James Pohl ruled. Debate about the role that influences outside the military chain of command played in Sinclair's prosecution halted the day's scheduled testimony and could result in an indefinite delay in the trial. Full Story | Top |
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