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| Kerry to resume Mideast peace talks after a pause Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 09:09 PM PDT  By David Rohde NEW YORK (Reuters) - To both critics and supporters, it was "classic" John Kerry. A day before the formal end of Kerry's quixotic, nine-month effort to broker an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement, the Secretary of State was surreptitiously taped making a comment that provoked a political firestorm in Washington. In a closed meeting with foreign policy experts, Kerry said that if there is no two-state solution soon, Israel risked becoming "an apartheid state." Kerry was apparently referring to an argument made by liberal Israelis and European critics that if two states are not created and current demographic trends continue, Palestinians will outnumber Israelis. "A unitary state winds up either being an apartheid state with second-class citizens," Kerry said on Friday, according to the Daily Beast. Full Story | Top |
| Shootouts claim 14 lives in northern Mexican border city Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 08:42 PM PDT At least 14 people were killed in a series of shootouts in the northern Mexican border city of Reynosa on Tuesday as gunmen battled police in a region racked by violence between warring drug gangs. Assailants in armored vehicles opened fire on federal police and military officers in three shootouts in Tamaulipas, an unruly state on the U.S. border where the brutal Zetas drug gang has fought the Gulf Cartel for control. The death toll in Reynosa, which is directly across the border from Hidalgo, Texas, included 10 gunmen, two federal police officers as well two young adults who were caught in the crossfire while driving in separate vehicles. It was not immediately clear if the gunmen were affiliated with any drug cartels, which vie for control of lucrative smuggling routes into the United States. Full Story | Top |
| Muslims, Sikhs object to headscarf ban at California go-kart parks Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 08:29 PM PDT By Laila Kearney SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Three Muslim families have filed complaints against an amusement park chain in California that they say barred them from riding go-karts wearing headscarves, family advocates said Tuesday. The families claim that Boomers! Parks in two locations in the state violated their civil rights with an unfair safety policy that bans all headgear on the rides, said Sammar Miqbel, a spokeswoman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which filed the complaints on behalf of the families. The United Sikh's organisation said it was preparing to file a similar complaint on behalf of a Sikh family. CAIR's Miqbel said the families visiting Boomers' in the San Francisco suburb of Livermore and the Los Angeles suburb of Irvine had been allowed to wait in line for go karts, but were barred when they reached the front of the queque. Full Story | Top |
| Oklahoma botches execution, raising questions on death penalty in U.S Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 08:27 PM PDT  By Heide Brandes OKLAHOMA CITY (Reuters) - Oklahoma inmate Clayton Lockett died during a botched execution on Tuesday, minutes after a doctor had called a halt to the procedure, raising more questions about new death penalty cocktails used by the state and others. Thirteen minutes after administering a lethal injection at the state's death chamber in McAlester, Lockett lifted his head and started mumbling. The troubled execution was expected to have national implications, with lawyers for death row inmates having argued that new lethal injection cocktails used in Oklahoma and other states could cause undue suffering and violate constitutional protections against cruel and unusual punishment. "This could be a real turning point in the whole debate as people get disgusted by this sort of thing," said Richard Dieter, the executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, which monitors capital punishment. Full Story | Top |
| Clippers start healing process after Sterling ban Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 08:24 PM PDT By Jahmal Corner LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The NBA's decision to ban Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling from the game for life marks the start of a "healing process," said coach Doc Rivers, as his players got back to the business of playing basketball on Tuesday. Earlier in the day, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver handed out a life ban to Sterling and fined him $2.5 million for racist comments that stunned the league and the nation. It was a strong statement warmly applauded by the NBA as a whole, and the Clippers in particular. While questions remain concerning Sterling's future ownership of the team, and the impact of his comments on the players, the NBA's stern decision has unquestionably lightened the Clippers load. Full Story | Top |
| NBA-Clippers start healing process after Sterling ban Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 08:20 PM PDT By Jahmal Corner LOS ANGELES, April 29 (Reuters) - The NBA's decision to ban Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling from the game for life marks the start of a "healing process," said coach Doc Rivers, as his players got back to the business of playing basketball on Tuesday. Earlier in the day, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver handed out a life ban to Sterling and fined him $2.5 million for racist comments that stunned the league and the nation. It was a strong statement warmly applauded by the NBA as a whole, and the Clippers in particular. While questions remain concerning Sterling's future ownership of the team, and the impact of his comments on the players, the NBA's stern decision has unquestionably lightened the Clippers load. Full Story | Top |
| Santos holds lead in Colombia election opinion poll but rival gains Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 07:45 PM PDT  Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos maintained his clear lead in voting intentions ahead of May 25 elections, a Gallup poll published on Tuesday showed, but his nearest rival, Oscar Ivan Zuluaga, continued to gain support. Santos would win 32 percent of the vote, down half a point from the pollster's March survey, while Zuluaga, the anointed candidate of still-popular former President Alvaro Uribe, jumped 5 percentage points to 20.5 percent. Santos would beat Zuluaga in a second round of voting by 46 percent of votes versus 34 percent for his rival. Santos initiated talks with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia at the end of 2012 and the negotiations have made slow but promising progress. Full Story | Top |
| SeaWorld says San Diego killer whale is pregnant Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 07:37 PM PDT  By Sharon Bernstein SACRAMENTO Calif. (Reuters) - A killer whale at SeaWorld is pregnant, the San Diego theme park said Tuesday, a development welcomed by the company but decried by animal rights activists trying to outlaw the breeding of captive orcas and "Shamu" shows that feature them doing tricks. The news of the pregnancy comes weeks after California lawmakers effectively killed a closely watched bill that would have banned SeaWorld from continuing its breeding program and from using killer whales to perform tricks at its California park. "The calf's birth is expected in December," said spokesman Dave Koontz. Killer whales have a 17 1/2 month gestation period. Full Story | Top |
| Russia's Lavrov scolds U.S., EU for imposing sanctions Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 07:36 PM PDT Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov slammed the United States and European Union on Tuesday for imposing sanctions on Russia over the Ukraine crisis, saying they were the work of weak politicians in the West "attempting to blame others." The European Union on Tuesday announced asset freezes and travel bans on 15 Russians and Ukrainians over Moscow's actions in Ukraine, one day after the United States imposed sanctions on seven Russians and 17 companies linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin. "We reject sanctions in any of our relationships, in particular those sanctions that were sponsored by the United States and the European Union, which defy all common sense, regarding the events in Ukraine," Lavrov said during a visit to Cuba. Full Story | Top |
| NBA bans Los Angeles Clippers owner for life over racist comments Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 07:14 PM PDT  By Scott Malone and Larry Fine NEW YORK (Reuters) - The NBA banned Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling from professional basketball for life on Tuesday and fined him $2.5 million in an unprecedented rebuke for racist comments that drew outrage from players, fans, commercial sponsors and even President Barack Obama. Sterling, 80, the longest-tenured owner of any of the 30 National Basketball Association teams, will be barred from any role in the operations of his franchise or from serving as one of the league's governors, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver told a news conference in New York. Silver also urged the other owners to vote to force Sterling to sell the Clippers, a first-time use of such a sanction that would require approval of three-quarters of the current owners. Asked whether Sterling could end up as essentially an absentee owner if the league fails to force a sale of the team, Silver replied, "I fully expect to get the support I need from the other NBA owners to remove him." The controversy, which quickly grew into a national discussion of race relations transcending basketball, began over the weekend when the celebrity website TMZ.com released an audio recording with a voice said to be Sterling's, criticizing a woman friend for associating with "black people." In it, he asks her not to invite former Los Angeles Lakers star Earvin "Magic" Johnson to Clippers games. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. consumer confidence rebounds to pre-crisis levels in first quarter: Nielsen Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 07:12 PM PDT  By Susan Fenton LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. consumer sentiment rose sharply in the first quarter as optimism about the economic outlook improved, according to a global survey which also showed rising confidence in debt-laden euro zone countries. Globally, consumer confidence returned to pre-financial crisis levels in the first three months of this year, at its highest since the first quarter of 2007, the survey by global information and insights company Nielsen showed on Wednesday. Improving job prospects are bolstering consumer sentiment. Consumer confidence was highest in the Asia Pacific and Indonesia was the most upbeat market globally for a fifth straight quarter, followed by India. Full Story | Top |
| Boehner tries to quell Republican anger over immigration remarks Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 07:01 PM PDT  By Julia Edwards WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House Speaker John Boehner tried to ease tensions with fellow Republican lawmakers on Tuesday after chiding them last week for their reluctance to pass an immigration reform bill. "You tease the ones you love, but some people misunderstood what I had to say and some members misunderstood," Boehner said after a closed-door meeting with Republican House members. He was referring to comments he made at a Rotary Club luncheon in his Ohio district last Thursday, in which he described the attitude of other House Republicans on immigration reform as: "Don't make me do this." Some congressional aides and immigration reform advocates viewed those remarks as a possible signal of a renewed drive to pass an immigration bill in the House. But Republican House members emerging from Tuesday's meeting said the speaker played down that prospect during the closed-door Republican meeting. Full Story | Top |
| Second man charged with murder of missing Tennessee student Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 07:00 PM PDT By Tim Ghianni NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Reuters) - A second man was charged on Tuesday with murder and aggravated kidnapping in the disappearance of a Tennessee nursing student from the driveway of her rural home three years ago. Jason Wayne Autry, 39, who is in custody on an unrelated aggravated assault conviction, was indicted by a special grand jury in the disappearance of Holly Bobo, a cousin of country music singer Whitney Duncan. Autry and the first suspect, Zachary Rye Adams, 29, were close friends, said Mark Gwyn, director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. Autry and Adams both are from Holladay, Tennessee, about 16 miles from the Bobo house. Full Story | Top |
| Minnesota man convicted in killing of unarmed teens Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 05:45 PM PDT By Todd Melby LITTLE FALLS, Minnesota (Reuters) - A Minnesota man whose killing of two teenagers who broke into his home was captured on an audio recording he made was convicted of first-degree premeditated murder and sentenced to life in prison on Tuesday. Jurors convicted Byron Smith, 65, and a judge sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole for killing 18-year-old Haile Kifer and her 17-year-old cousin Nick Brady at his home in rural Little Falls, Minnesota, on Thanksgiving Day in November 2012. He trembled, held his head in his hands and wiped tears from his eyes when prosecutors played excerpts from the audio recording during closing arguments on Tuesday. Full Story | Top |
| Iraqis vote on Wednesday as violence grips country Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 05:19 PM PDT  By Ned Parker BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqis head to the polls on Wednesday in their first national election since U.S. forces withdrew from Iraq in 2011 as Prime Minister Nuri Maliki seeks a third term amid rising violence. The country's western province of Anbar is awash in violence as Sunni Muslim militants challenge the Iraqi military and Shi'ite militias for territory surrounding Baghdad. The country's economy is struggling and Maliki faces criticism that he is aggravating sectarian splits and trying to consolidate power for political gain. On Wednesday voters choose among 9,012 candidates and the parliamentary election effectively serves as a referendum on Maliki, a Shi'ite Muslim who has governed eight years. Full Story | Top |
| Senator Reid opens door to Keystone pipeline vote Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 05:15 PM PDT  By Timothy Gardner and Thomas Ferraro WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, in an abrupt election-year shift in strategy, opened the possibility on Tuesday of allowing a vote on congressional approval of the long-delayed Keystone XL oil pipeline. "I'm open to anything that will move energy efficiency," Reid, a long-time foe of the project, told reporters. He was referring to a bill that would save energy through tougher building codes sponsored by Senators Jeanne Shaheen, a New Hampshire Democrat, and Rob Portman, an Ohio Republican, that the Senate is expected to consider as early as next week. Details were unclear, but in exchange for Republicans supporting the efficiency bill, Reid could permit a vote on a measure that would allow Congress to approve the bill of the pipeline. Full Story | Top |
| Barclays to announce 'bad bank' next week - source Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 05:13 PM PDT  (Reuters) - By Steve Slater and Richa Naidu April 29 (Reuters) - Barclays Plc BARC.L will next week announce the creation of a bad bank portfolio of assets it deems non-core that it intends to sell or run down as part of a streamlining of its investment bank, a person familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. Last year, Barclays Chief Executive Antony Jenkins announced a portfolio of assets termed Exit Quadrant, that it aimed to get rid of; There are 54 billion pounds of assets in the Exit Quadrant portfolio. The Financial Times, which first reported the plan to set up a so-called bad bank of assets, said it is also likely to house parts of Barclays' macro products unit, which includes the trading of interest rate-linked products, currencies and commodities, and some or all of Barclays' retail banking businesses in France, Italy, Spain and Portugal. Full Story | Top |
| Switzerland, Norway are world's most expensive economies Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 05:08 PM PDT  Switzerland and Norway are the world's most expensive economies, followed by Bermuda, Australia and Denmark, according to a new ranking by the World Bank. The economies with the lowest prices are Egypt, Pakistan, Myanmar, Ethiopia and Laos, according to a review of economic data which seeks to compensate for exchange rate effects and measure spending power across countries. Eight countries, including Malawi, Mozambique and Liberia, had GDP per capita of less than $1,000. Compared to the last time the exercise was done in 2005, with a slightly different methodology and mix of countries, middle-income countries gained a bigger share of the world economy, at the expense of both high- and low-income peers. Full Story | Top |
| Washington state governor unveils carbon reduction plan Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 05:03 PM PDT By Rory Carroll SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Washington Governor Jay Inslee outlined policies on Tuesday to cut greenhouse gas emissions from the state, including a carbon cap-and-trade program, although he will need approval from the state legislature before implementing the measures. Inslee said the new policies were needed to ensure the state met limits set in 2008 requiring it to hit certain emission reduction targets in 2020, 2035 and 2050. In addition to the cap-and-trade program, Inslee also called for an end of the use of electricity generated from coal, a reduction in emissions from cars and trucks, increased funding for clean energy and energy efficiency programs, and a reduction in the state government's carbon footprint. Inslee directed a task force comprised of 21 leaders from business, labor, health and public interest organizations to make recommendations to him on the design and implementation of the cap-and-trade program. Full Story | Top |
| Connecticut prom stabbing suspect charged as adult with murder Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 04:54 PM PDT  By Richard Weizel MILFORD, Connecticut (Reuters) - A 16-year-old boy charged on Tuesday as an adult with murder in the stabbing death of a female classmate before their junior prom told a police officer, "I did it. Just arrest me," according to court documents. Christopher Plaskon of Milford, Connecticut, who previously was charged as a juvenile offender, was charged as an adult in a proceeding conducted at an undisclosed psychiatric center where the teen has been held since the attack, his attorney Richard Meehan, Jr., said in a statement. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ex-AIG chief Greenberg must face judge he called biased Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 04:54 PM PDT  By Karen Freifeld NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former AIG chief Maurice "Hank" Greenberg will have to defend himself against claims of accounting fraud in a non-jury trial conducted by a judge he tried to remove for alleged bias. Justice Charles Ramos of New York state court on Tuesday ruled against Greenberg's demand for a jury to hear the civil case brought by the New York attorney general. Earlier this month, a New York appeals court rejected Greenberg's attempt to remove Ramos from the long-running case. Greenberg claimed Ramos was biased against him and could not preside over a fair trial. Full Story | Top |
| Benghazi emails show White House image control: Judicial Watch Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 04:52 PM PDT  Conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch released emails from U.S. officials on Tuesday that it said showed the White House was concerned primarily with protecting President Barack Obama's image after an attack that killed Americans in Libya. The attack by militants on September 11, 2012, killed four Americans at the U.S. mission in Benghazi, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens. Days later, then U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice appeared on television news shows and said the violence resulted from a spontaneous crowd reacting to an inflammatory video rather than the work of Islamic militants. When Rice's account proved incorrect, Republican lawmakers accused her of trying to protect Obama during his re-election campaign, which the White House disputed. Full Story | Top |
| Six hurt, suspect dead in Georgia FedEx facility shooting Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 04:42 PM PDT By Tami Chappell KENNESAW, Georgia (Reuters) - A FedEx Corp package handler armed with a shotgun opened fire at a shipping facility in suburban Atlanta early on Tuesday, injuring six people before killing himself, apparently with his own weapon, police and hospital officials said. Three people were in critical condition, two of them with life-threatening injuries, after being shot by the 19-year-old gunman just before 6 a.m. EDT at a FedEx warehouse near the airport in Kennesaw, Georgia, about 30 miles northwest of Atlanta, police and hospital officials said. The shooter, identified as Geddy L. Kramer of Acworth, Georgia, drove up to the security guard shack at the warehouse and shot the guard before entering the warehouse where he shot the other five people, according to police. FedEx employee Liza Aiken told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution she was correcting addresses on packages when she saw a colleague dressed in black and armed with a knife, gun and a cartridge belt strapped across this chest. Full Story | Top |
| Patton Boggs' latest case versus Chevron over pollution award tossed Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 04:40 PM PDT  By Casey Sullivan NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New York federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by Patton Boggs accusing Chevron Corp of "bad faith" litigation tactics while the Washington law firm tried to enforce a multibillion-dollar pollution judgment. In granting Chevron's motion to dismiss the case, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan on Tuesday agreed with a 2013 recommendation by U.S. Magistrate Judge James Francis that Patton Boggs did not have legal standing to sue. The lawsuit was the most recent of three that Patton Boggs had filed against Chevron in connection with its efforts to enforce an $18 billion judgment obtained in Ecuador in 2011. Plaintiffs lawyers led by Steven Donziger had claimed Chevron polluted Ecuador's rainforest. Full Story | Top |
| Patton Boggs' latest case vs Chevron over pollution award tossed Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 04:39 PM PDT  By Casey Sullivan NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New York federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by Patton Boggs accusing Chevron Corp of "bad faith" litigation tactics while the Washington law firm tried to enforce a multibillion-dollar pollution judgment. In granting Chevron's motion to dismiss the case, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan on Tuesday agreed with a 2013 recommendation by U.S. Magistrate Judge James Francis that Patton Boggs did not have legal standing to sue. The lawsuit was the most recent of three that Patton Boggs had filed against Chevron in connection with its efforts to enforce an $18 billion judgment obtained in Ecuador in 2011. Plaintiffs lawyers led by Steven Donziger had claimed Chevron polluted Ecuador's rainforest. Full Story | Top |
| EPA's Supreme Court win a boost for pending carbon rules Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 04:38 PM PDT  By Valerie Volcovici WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Supreme Court decision on Tuesday upholding U.S. rules that curb air pollution that floats across state lines was seen as a boost for the Environmental Protection Agency's upcoming plan to crack down on carbon emissions from power plants. The top court backed a federal regulation requiring 28 Midwestern and Appalachian states that cause smog and soot-forming emissions to limit pollution from their smoke stacks before it wafts downwind, mostly to eastern states. The D.C. Circuit court in 2012 had sided with the industry and certain states that said the EPA exceeded its authority by issuing a national plan. Lawyers said the 6-2 Supreme Court decision to side with the EPA was a timely boost for the agency as it moves to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from the country's power plants using a different section of the Clean Air Act. Full Story | Top |
| Alstom accepts 10 billion euro GE bid for its energy unit Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 04:36 PM PDT  By Matthieu Protard and Maria Sheahan PARIS/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The board of Alstom accepted General Electric's 10 billion euro ($13.82 billion) bid for its energy unit on Tuesday, several sources familiar with the situation told Reuters. Sources said GE is not in exclusive talks with Alstom. The French transport-to-turbines group is also set to receive an offer from its much larger German competitor Siemens AG , which said it had sent a letter to Alstom after its managing and supervisory boards had decided to make an offer. Alstom is expected to make a statement about the two offers early on Wednesday, before its shares, suspended since late last week, resume trading. Full Story | Top |
| Georgia governor signs law to drug test some welfare recipients Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 04:23 PM PDT  By David Beasley ATLANTA (Reuters) - Georgia Governor Nathan Deal signed legislation on Tuesday requiring some applicants for food stamps and welfare benefits to undergo a drug test. Under the bill, testing could be required if authorities have a "reasonable suspicion" of drug use. Drug use is a barrier to finding and keeping a job, Deal spokesman Brian Robinson said. Debbie Seagraves, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia, called the legislation "shameful" and said it violated the constitutional protection against unreasonable searches. Full Story | Top |
| U.N. chief urges South Sudan's Kiir help end violence, anti-U.N. campaign Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 04:16 PM PDT  U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged South Sudan President Salva Kiir on Tuesday to publicly call for an end to a "negative campaign" against U.N. peacekeepers and to bring to justice those responsible for attacks there on civilians and the United Nations. In a phone call with Kiir, the U.N. chief called for "an immediate halt to the vicious fighting and the appalling killing of South Sudanese civilians," according to a statement from Ban's press office. More than 1 million people have fled their homes since fighting erupted in December between troops backing Kiir and soldiers loyal to his sacked deputy, Riek Machar. Thousands of people have been killed and tens of thousands have sought refuge at U.N. bases around South Sudan, the world's youngest country, after the violence spread. Full Story | Top |
| Commissioner Silver passes test with decisive Clippers action Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 04:12 PM PDT By Larry Fine NEW YORK (Reuters) - Less than three months into his job as the new commissioner of the National Basketball Association (NBA), Adam Silver has already left an indelible impression on the game. In his first big test since taking over from David Stern, who had served for three decades before stepping down earlier this year, Silver emerged as a strong leader prepared to take a firm stance against racial intolerance. The former lawyer's decision to ban Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling and fine him $2.5 million and initiate plans to force him to sell the team won Silver instant, widespread approval. Michael Jordan, the game's most celebrated global figure, led the accolades. Full Story | Top |
| Consumer confidence hits highest since June 2007 - GfK Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 04:12 PM PDT  British consumer morale improved further in April and reached its highest level since just before the start of the financial crisis in 2007, a survey from researchers GfK showed on Wednesday. GfK's headline consumer confidence index rose to -3 from -5 last month, compared to the average forecast in a Reuters poll of -4. "The seemingly inexorable rise of the index continues alongside a number of other economic indicators that continue to provide good news for the government," said Nick Moon, managing director of social research at GfK. The rise in the GfK index was driven by an improvement in households' willingness to make major purchases and in a better assessment of the economy as a whole, rather than stronger personal finances. Full Story | Top |
| UPDATE 7-NBA bans Los Angeles Clippers owner for life over racist comments Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 04:10 PM PDT (Adds legal analysis and sponsors status, comments from Players Association, Jesse Jackson) By Scott Malone and Larry Fine NEW YORK, April 29 (Reuters) - The National Basketball Association banned Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling from the game for life on Tuesday and fined him $2.5 million for racist comments that drew outrage from players, fans, commercial sponsors and even President Barack Obama. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. lawmakers press Obama administration on human trafficking Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 04:08 PM PDT  U.S. lawmakers called on the Obama administration on Tuesday to punish countries that do too little to fight human trafficking, including Thailand and Malaysia, and said Myanmar should not receive a waiver to avoid possible sanctions over its record. Citing reports on the exploitation of Myanmar's Rohingya Muslim minority in their home country as well as Thailand and Malaysia, Republican U.S. Representative Chris Smith said authorities have done too little to protect them. "Rohingya are leaving Burma by the thousands to escape religious persecution," Smith said at a House of Representatives subcommittee hearing on Tier Rankings and the U.S. State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons report, citing a Reuters investigation into the treatment of Rohingya Muslims. Full Story | Top |
| Pakistan should investigate spy agency over journalist attacks: Amnesty Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 04:06 PM PDT By Mehreen Zahra-Malik ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistani authorities should investigate the country's powerful spy agency for human rights abuses against journalists following a spate of attacks on leading reporters, London-based Amnesty International said in a report published on Wednesday. The report sheds light on the threat it says the country's media faces, including from political parties, Islamist insurgents and its own intelligence agencies. At least 34 journalists have been killed in Pakistan as a direct consequence of their work since 2008 and eight have been killed in the past 11 months since Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was elected to power in May 2013, Amnesty said. "A critical step will be for Pakistan to investigate its own military and intelligence agencies and ensure that those responsible for human rights violations against journalists are brought to justice," said David Griffiths, Amnesty's Deputy Asia Pacific Director. Full Story | Top |
| Boehner assures Republicans he won't push immigration reform Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 04:04 PM PDT By Julia Edwards WASHINGTON (Reuters) - House Speaker John Boehner on Tuesday reassured fellow Republican lawmakers that he will not push them to pass immigration reform and said he was just teasing last week when he criticized his caucus's reluctance on the issue. Boehner held a closed-door meeting with Republican House members to cool their anger over remarks he made last Thursday at a Rotary Club luncheon in his Ohio district. In that widely reported speech, Boehner described the attitude of other House Republicans as: "Don't make me do this." After Tuesday's meeting in Washington to address the issue, Boehner told reporters: "You all know me. You tease the ones you love, but some people misunderstood what I have to say and some members misunderstood." Some congressional aides and immigration reform advocates viewed Boehner's comments last week as a possible signal of a renewed drive to pass an immigration bill in the House. Full Story | Top |
| Colorado prosecutors oppose moving theater massacre trial Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 03:31 PM PDT  By Keith Coffman DENVER (Reuters) - Prosecutors seeking to convict accused Colorado theater gunman James Holmes of murder in the deaths of 12 moviegoers oppose moving his trial to another county, saying such a measure is premature, according to a court filing made public on Tuesday. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. FCC chief details pledge to police Internet 'fast lanes' Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 03:14 PM PDT  The top U.S. communications regulator on Tuesday said he would use "every available power" to prevent Internet providers from restricting users' access to any web content as he seeks to calm a consumer storm over his proposed new Internet traffic rules. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler has been under fire for proposing new so-called "open Internet" or "net neutrality" rules that would allow content companies to pay broadband providers for faster Internet speeds delivering their traffic as long as deals are deemed "commercially reasonable." Consumer advocates are worried the rules would ultimately allow Internet companies like Comcast Corp or Verizon Communications Inc to create "fast lanes" on the web for traffic of content companies that pay up, potentially shutting out poorer newcomers. Full Story | Top |
| Apple, Samsung make final pitches to U.S. jury in patent trial Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 03:10 PM PDT  By Dan Levine SAN JOSE, California (Reuters) - Apple has vastly exaggerated the importance of its patented iPhone features, a Samsung attorney said on Tuesday as the two companies delivered closing arguments to jurors after a month-long trial over mobile technology. Apple, however, argued that the South Korean company could not have competed in the smartphone market without unfairly copying its flagship product. The two tech leaders also sparred over how Google's work on the software used in Samsung phones affects Apple's patent claims. Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd have been litigating around the world for three years. Full Story | Top |
| Biden urges U.S. colleges do more to prevent sexual assaults Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 03:09 PM PDT  U.S. Vice President Joe Biden used some dramatic anecdotes on Tuesday to urge colleges and universities to do more to prevent rape and sexual assault on their campuses. Unveiling a White House report with recommendations on what campuses can do to address the issue, Biden said frequently the assailant is someone known to the victim. Full Story | Top |
| U.N. says needs Syrian government consent for cross-border aid deliveries Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014 03:08 PM PDT By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations on Tuesday rejected calls for it to deliver humanitarian aid across borders into Syria without the approval of the government in Damascus, saying such operations would be possible only under a stronger U.N. Security Council resolution. Dozens of top lawyers from around the world argued in a letter to the United Nations on Monday that there was no legal barrier for the world body to carry out cross-border aid deliveries or support other organizations to do the same. More than 150,000 people have been killed in Syria's three-year-old civil war. "It's the longstanding and consistent position of the United Nations that consistent with its charter ... the organization can engage in activities within the territory of a member state only with the consent of that government of that state," U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Tuesday. Full Story | Top |
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