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| Putin's body language studied for clues to decision-making: Pentagon Friday, Mar 07, 2014 07:08 PM PST By David Alexander WASHINGTON (Reuters) - It turns out all those years Russian leader Vladimir Putin was cavorting bare-chested outdoors, demonstrating his judo skills and darting whales, a Pentagon researcher may have been studying him for clues to his behavior. The Office of Net Assessments, a sort of internal think tank for the U.S. secretary of defense, has spent $300,000 annually since 2009 for research to study the body language and movement patterns of key global leaders, one of them being Putin, who has served as Russia's president and prime minister. Admiral John Kirby, the Pentagon's chief spokesman, said Putin had been studied in 2008, along with Russia's then-President Dmitry Medvedev, and again in 2012. Full Story | Top |
| California bill would ban orca shows, captive breeding Friday, Mar 07, 2014 05:27 PM PST By Dana Feldman SANTA MONICA, California (Reuters) - A California lawmaker introduced a bill on Friday to ban live performances and captive breeding of killer whales in the state, a measure that would force the SeaWorld San Diego marine theme park to end is popular "Shamu" shows. The measure was introduced by state Assemblyman Richard Bloom, who told a news conference his interest in the issue was sparked by last year's documentary "Blackfish," dealing with the treatment of killer whales at SeaWorld parks. The film, which SeaWorld has criticized as a misleading, inaccurate piece of animal rights propaganda, explores circumstances leading to the 2010 death of a top SeaWorld trainer, Dawn Brancheau, who was pulled underwater and drowned by an orca she had worked and performed with in Florida. Full Story | Top |
| Ice storm leaves 420,000 customers without power in Carolinas Friday, Mar 07, 2014 03:16 PM PST (Reuters) - More than 420,000 homes and businesses remained without power in North Carolina and South Carolina on Friday evening due to a winter ice storm with high winds that brought down trees and power lines. Duke Energy Corp, the biggest utility in the United States, said it had more than 355,000 customers without power in the Carolinas, down from 387,000 earlier in the day. Duke said power will be restored to some customers in western North Carolina late Friday, but workers were still working to assess damage in the hardest-hit areas around Raleigh and Greensboro and had no restoration schedule. North Carolina electric cooperatives said outages grew to 62,600 during the day, and Dominion Resources Inc said 3,000 customers lacked power in Virginia and North Carolina. Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Astenbeck fund jumps in February on oil rally that could help Oxy Friday, Mar 07, 2014 03:11 PM PST  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Famed oil bull Andy Hall's hedge fund rose nearly 8 percent in February in its biggest monthly gain in 2-1/2 years, boosted by a rally in crude oil that could help Occidental Petroleum's chances of selling its stake in the fund. Occidental , which acquired a 20 percent stake in Hall's Connecticut-based Astenbeck fund and trading house Phibro in 2009, said last month it wanted to reduce proprietary trading activities. Oxy, as it is known, has not said anything specific about selling Astenbeck or Phibro, which does some of its proprietary trading, mainly in crude oil and select commodities such as natural gas, platinum and corn. Full Story | Top |
| FDA probes cognitive impact of new cholesterol drugs Friday, Mar 07, 2014 03:09 PM PST The Food and Drug Administration has asked Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc and Sanofi SA to assess potential neurocognitive side effects of their experimental cholesterol drug, Sanofi said in its annual report on Friday. Amgen Inc, which is developing a similar drug, said it has also been in communication with the agency. The FDA said it could not discuss specific development programs, but is "aware of concerns raised with neurocognitive adverse events and other lipid-lowering therapies, including statins, and as part of our oversight of new drug development, we are carefully monitoring these events." The new drugs are part of an experimental class known as PCSK9 inhibitors designed to block a protein that maintains "bad" LDL cholesterol in the bloodstream. Full Story | Top |
| Two men plead guilty after video shows them harassing Florida manatees Friday, Mar 07, 2014 02:42 PM PST Two men pleaded guilty to harassing an endangered species after a video on Facebook showed them luring manatees to a dock and jumping on them, prosecutors said on Friday. Taylor Blake Martin and Seth Andrew Stephenson, both 22, face up to a year in prison and a $50,000 fine, according to the U.S. Attorney's office in Orlando. The Florida Manatee Sanctuary Act prohibits molesting or disturbing manatees, which are classified as endangered in Florida. According to prosecutors, the video showed Stephenson attracting the manatees with a water hose to a boat dock in Cocoa Beach, Florida, and then Martin jumping on an adult manatee and a calf. Full Story | Top |
| Great Lakes ice cover among worst in 40 years: U.S. agency Friday, Mar 07, 2014 02:02 PM PST By Kim Palmer CLEVELAND (Reuters) - The Great Lakes saw some of their worst ice cover in nearly four decades because of a frigid winter with months of below-freezing temperatures in large sections of the northern United States, the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration said. "We had lots of ice on the lakes early this year and then with the polar vortex at the end of December, we saw the ice continue to grow," said George Leshkevich, a physical scientist with NOAA's Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory. Four of the Great Lakes are more than 90 percent under ice, according to Leshkevich, something that has not happened since 1994. The 40-year average ice coverage for all the lakes is about 51 percent, the NOAA said. Full Story | Top |
| TSX rises as jobs help offset mining retreat Friday, Mar 07, 2014 01:51 PM PST  By Solarina Ho TORONTO (Reuters) - Toronto's main stock index rose on Friday following better-than-expected U.S. jobs data, with gains in energy stocks offsetting a decline in mining. U.S. jobs growth picked up sharply in February despite an unusually cold winter, with 175,000 new jobs created, compared with a loss of 7,000 in Canada. Sentiment in Canada is often influenced by news out of the United States, the country's largest trading partner. I think there was enough there to even offset the job losses in Canada. Full Story | Top |
| White House plays down speedy role for U.S. natural gas in Ukraine Friday, Mar 07, 2014 01:38 PM PST By Roberta Rampton ON BOARD AIR FORCE ONE (Reuters) - The White House on Friday appeared to play down the possibility of changing U.S. policy on exporting natural gas to address the situation in Ukraine. White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters on Air Force One that policy changes would not have an immediate effect and noted that natural gas stocks in Europe were above normal levels because of a mild winter. "There is no indication currently that there's much risk of a natural gas shortage in the region," he said. Europe and Ukraine are key export markets for natural gas from Russia, which has historically shut down pipelines as a pressure tactic. Full Story | Top |
| Chevron's U.S. win in Ecuador case looms over cases elsewhere Friday, Mar 07, 2014 01:22 PM PST  By Mica Rosenberg NEW YORK (Reuters) - Ecuadorean villagers who are trying to get billions of dollars from Chevron Corp for pollution in the Amazon jungle are ready to refocus their fight on pending suits in other countries after a setback in the United States. A scathing judgment issued by a U.S. judge this week against their lawyer will cast a long shadow over cases filed in Canada, Brazil and Argentina, where the plaintiffs are seeking Chevron assets as payment because the oil giant no longer has a presence in Ecuador. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan handed down a 500-page decision that found American lawyer Stephen Donziger used "corrupt means" to help villagers from the Lago Agrio region win the historic $18 billion judgment against Chevron in Ecuador in 2011. Full Story | Top |
| New England has environmental concerns over Canada oil sands Friday, Mar 07, 2014 12:16 PM PST By Richard Valdmanis BOSTON (Reuters) - A decision by Canadian regulators to let pipeline company Enbridge pump oil sands into Quebec has environmental activists and politicians worried the oil could eventually spill into the neighboring New England region of the United States. Canada's National Energy Board on Thursday approved a plan by the country's No.1 pipeline company Enbridge to reverse and expand its Line 9 from southern Ontario to Quebec on condition that it undertake additional work on consultation and safety. The project would feed refineries around Montreal and Quebec City, but would also place oil sands at the northern terminus of the Portland-Montreal pipeline, which runs through Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. Full Story | Top |
| Suspected Russian spyware Turla targets Europe, United States Friday, Mar 07, 2014 11:45 AM PST  By Peter Apps and Jim Finkle LONDON/BOSTON (Reuters) - A sophisticated piece of spyware has been quietly infecting hundreds of government computers across Europe and the United States in one of the most complex cyber espionage programs uncovered to date. Several security researchers and Western intelligence officers say they believe the malware, widely known as Turla, is the work of the Russian government and linked to the same software used to launch a massive breach on the U.S. military uncovered in 2008. Full Story | Top |
| Yemen names new oil and interior ministers: state news agency Friday, Mar 07, 2014 11:35 AM PST Yemen appointed new oil and interior ministers on Friday, state news agency Saba reported, after a series of lethal attacks on security targets and oil facilities. Saba said Khaled Mahfouz Bahah had taken the energy portfolio and Abdou Hussein al-Tarb the Interior Ministry. A new head of the Political Security Agency, the domestic intelligence service, was also named. Impoverished Yemen, a U.S. ally, has seen political turmoil and violence since veteran leader Ali Abdullah Saleh stepped down in 2012 following months of mass protests against his rule. Full Story | Top |
| Germany to invest proceeds from frequency sales in broadband Friday, Mar 07, 2014 10:35 AM PST BERLIN (Reuters) - German Infrastructure Minister Alexander Dobrindt said on Friday Berlin will invest the proceeds of planned sales of frequency bands to mobile telephone services in broadband infrastructure expansion. Germany's right-left coalition government aims to have broadband of at least 50 megabits a second available across the country by 2018, up from a coverage level of 60 percent. For the upgrade an estimated 20 to 34 billion euros is necessary. (Reporting by Thorsten Severin and Peter Maushagen, editing by David Evans) Full Story | Top |
| Caves found in Patagonia may unlock secrets of how continents formed Friday, Mar 07, 2014 10:19 AM PST Chilean and French scientists have discovered a network of underground caves on a remote island in Patagonia that could provide valuable clues as to how continents were formed. The group found the system of around 20 limestone caves this week during a research trip to Diego de Almagro island off the far southwest coast of Chile. "You can make models of areas where the continents broke off and this could be one of those spots," said speleologist Natalia Morata. That could give clues as to how the continents split apart. Full Story | Top |
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