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| Japan considers tax breaks to promote investment, help companies: report Friday, May 02, 2014 08:33 PM PDT  Japan is considering expanding tax breaks and loosening some rules to promote investment in start-ups as part of the second installment of the government's economic growth strategy, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Saturday. Japan is also likely to say next month that it will lower the effective corporate tax rate to 20 percent from around 35 percent currently, the Yomiuri newspaper said citing several government sources, which could encourage firms to boost much-needed capital expenditure in Japan. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government is set to announce the second part of its growth strategy next month. One proposal is to expand the value of an investment that a so-called angel investor can deduct from his or her taxable income from the current limit of 10 million yen ($97,800) to several times as much, the Nikkei reported without citing the source of its information. Full Story | Top |
| Nevada court rejects U.S. request on Okada probe, says Wynn suit can proceed Friday, May 02, 2014 08:23 PM PDT  By Alexia Shurmur LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - A Nevada state judge ruled on Friday that a civil lawsuit between Wynn Resorts and Japanese billionaire Kazuo Okada could proceed, rejecting the U.S. government's request to keep it on hold for another six months to protect the identity of witnesses in a criminal probe into Okada's business in the Philippines. In requesting a third, six-month "stay of discovery," Department of Justice attorney Laura Perkins told a hearing that allowing the civil case to proceed risked causing "irreparable harm if the witnesses' identities are revealed." Clark County District Judge Elizabeth Gonzales, who had already granted two previous motions suspending the civil proceedings for a total of 12 months, said the U.S. government had already been given enough time. It's been a year," Gonzales said, adding that she hoped her ruling would prompt the government to accelerate its criminal investigation. No representative for Universal Entertainment Corp , the Japanese gaming machine maker founded by Okada and the company at the heart of government's criminal investigation, could be reached for comment. Full Story | Top |
| China's April services growth quickens slightly: government survey Friday, May 02, 2014 08:02 PM PDT  Growth in China's services sector accelerated slightly in April as new orders held steady, an official survey showed, an encouraging sign of strength in an economy that otherwise faces a cloudy outlook. The purchasing manufacturing index (PMI) for the services industry edged up to 54.8 last month, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Saturday, up marginally from 54.5 in March. The mild improvement in the services sector, which mirrors a marginal gain in the official PMI survey of Chinese factories in April, should be welcomed by investors fretting about the health of the world's second-largest economy. But the pick-ups in the official PMI surveys for factories and services firms would not be enough to dispel concerns that China's slowing growth engine might cool at a sharper pace faster in coming months. Full Story | Top |
| Colombia court backs Santos in sea boundary dispute with Nicaragua Friday, May 02, 2014 07:53 PM PDT Colombia's constitutional court ruled on Friday that applying a decision by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that granted Nicaragua a disputed area of Caribbean waters could not take effect without a treaty between the countries. The court's verdict upholds the position taken by Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, who said the Hague-based ICJ's decision was not applicable according to Colombia's constitution without such a treaty, ratified by the Andean nation's congress. The ICJ in November 2012 reduced the area of ocean that belonged to Colombia around its cluster of Caribbean islands, determining that a section of their maritime shelf belonged to Nicaragua. Full Story | Top |
| Bundy sons in Nevada accuse feds of assault in police complaint Friday, May 02, 2014 07:10 PM PDT  By Jonathan Allen LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Sons and sisters of Cliven Bundy, the Nevada rancher who has been resisting efforts by federal agents to seize his cattle grazing without permits on public land, attempted to file police complaints on Friday accusing the agents of assault. Bundy's 21-year-old dispute with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) came to a head last month when hundreds of his supporters, many of them armed militia members, rallied at his Bunkerville ranch northeast of Las Vegas, where armed federal agents were guarding a corral filled with seized Bundy cattle. After a stand-off, the BLM federal agents retreated, saying the agency would pursue other methods to remove the trespassing cattle. Bundy and his supporters do not recognize federal authority over the land, which has been cleared of other ranchers' livestock to protect the habitat of the desert tortoise. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. jury orders smartphone maker Samsung to pay Apple $120 million Friday, May 02, 2014 06:38 PM PDT  By Dan Levine SAN JOSE, California (Reuters) - A U.S. jury on Friday ordered Samsung Electronics Co Ltd to pay $119.6 million to Apple Inc, far less than Apple had sought and marking a big loss for the iPhone maker in the latest round of their globe-spanning mobile patent litigation. During the month-long trial in a San Jose, California, federal court, Apple accused Samsung of violating patents on smartphone features including universal search, while Samsung denied wrongdoing. On Friday, the jury found the South Korean smartphone maker had infringed two Apple patents. Apple and Samsung have been litigating around the world for three years. Full Story | Top |
| Obama, Merkel still struggle over spying but agree on trade Friday, May 02, 2014 05:52 PM PDT  By Jeff Mason and Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel could not hide differences on Friday over U.S. surveillance practices despite Obama's offer of "cyber dialogue" with Berlin and a pledge to bridge gaps that have tarnished their relationship. The two leaders have been at odds over the U.S. National Security Agency's spying habits since revelations from former NSA contractor Edward Snowden last year showed the United States had listened in on many of its allies, including Merkel. Obama has since banned the practice of eavesdropping on allied political leaders, but the measure has not placated Germany. "We have a few difficulties yet to overcome," Merkel said in a joint news conference with Obama at the White House, referring to the conflict and pointedly declining to say, when asked, that trust between the two nations had been restored. Full Story | Top |
| Florida lawmakers take a swing at rules for Cuban baseball players Friday, May 02, 2014 05:35 PM PDT  By Bill Cotterell TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - The Florida state legislature passed a bill on Friday that would allow Major League Baseball teams in the state to seek subsidies for ballpark improvements, but only if MLB changes its hiring rules for Cuban players. A $13 million economic-development package aimed at encouraging the state's professional sports franchises won approval in the state House of Representatives on the last day of the session. It allows the Miami Marlins and the Tampa Bay Rays, along with soccer franchises in Orlando and Miami and the Daytona speedway, to compete for up to $2 million a year in sales tax concessions for expansion or renovation of franchises. The House and Senate added an amendment that would deny funding to baseball teams unless MLB drops a requirement that players from Cuba establish residency in another country before becoming free agents and negotiating with U.S. teams. Full Story | Top |
| Activists sue San Francisco over controversial tech bus program Friday, May 02, 2014 05:15 PM PDT  By Mary Papenfuss SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Activists have sued the city and county of San Francisco over a pilot program giving shuttles run by Google and other private companies access to municipal bus stops, claiming it favors higher-paid technology workers over low-income residents. The lawsuit, filed in San Francisco Superior Court on Thursday, marks the latest sign of tensions in the Bay Area over the growing income divide, which has been widened by the latest tech industry boom. Late last year, protesters began to block the commuter buses that ferry employees from San Francisco to the offices of tech companies, including Facebook, Google and Yahoo, south of the city, which they say symbolize the rift being created by abundant tech money. Under the 18-month pilot program the unmarked, WiFi-equipped buses use San Francisco Municipal transit system stops for a fee of $1 per stop per day and are viewed by many as a symbol of the industry's disconnect from a broader community left behind by the tech boom. Full Story | Top |
| Rose storms into contention at Quail Hollow Friday, May 02, 2014 05:08 PM PDT  By Andrew Both CHARLOTTE North Carolina (Reuters) - Justin Rose's hopes of repeating as U.S. Open champion next month got a timely boost as he moved within a stroke of the lead in the Wells Fargo Championship second round on Friday. "Obviously you can never win it on Thursday and Friday, you can only lose it, so two solid days put me in good position for the weekend," Rose, who will defend his U.S. Open title at nearby Pinehurst No. 2 next month, told reporters. Rose was in third place at eight-under 136 at the halfway mark, while Argentina's Angel Cabrera (69) and American Martin Flores (68) set the pace at nine under. Full Story | Top |
| Florida legislators clear way for non-U.S. citizen to practice law Friday, May 02, 2014 04:57 PM PDT By Bill Cotterell TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - The Florida Legislature voted on Friday to let a Mexican-born, non-U.S. citizen practice law in the state, prodded by a recent state Supreme Court ruling that illegal immigrants cannot be issued a law license. "This is a great day for Florida, a great day for immigrants, a great day for justice," said Jose Manuel Godinez-Samperio, after the Senate voted to send a bill to Governor Rick Scott clearing the way for the lawyer to join the Florida Bar. They entered with visas but overstayed them, and Godinez-Samperio went on to graduate from high school, college and Florida State University law school as a non-citizen. Full Story | Top |
| First U.S. case of deadly MERS virus confirmed: CDC Friday, May 02, 2014 04:53 PM PDT  A healthcare worker who had traveled to Saudi Arabia was confirmed as the first U.S. case of Middle East Respiratory Virus (MERS), an often fatal illness, raising new concerns about the rapid spread of such diseases, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday. The male patient traveled via a British Airways flight on April 24 from Riyadh to London, where he changed flights at Heathrow airport to fly to the United States. He landed in Chicago and took a bus to an undisclosed city in Indiana. According to the Indiana State Department of Health, the man visited the emergency department at Community Hospital in Munster, Indiana, on April 28 and was admitted that same day. Full Story | Top |
| Jury reaches verdict in Apple-Samsung patents trial Friday, May 02, 2014 04:49 PM PDT  SAN JOSE, California (Reuters) - The jury has reached a verdict on Friday in a patent trial between Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, which will be read in a San Jose, California federal courtroom shortly, according to a court official. During the month-long trial, Apple accused Samsung of violating patents on smartphone features including universal search, while Samsung denied wrongdoing. (Reporting by Dan Levine; Editing by Lisa Shumaker) Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: U.S. anti-money laundering authority faces hiring probe - sources Friday, May 02, 2014 04:32 PM PDT  By Emily Flitter and Brett Wolf NEW YORK/ST LOUIS (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department temporarily froze all recruitment by its anti-money laundering arm and forced the agency to rescind 11 job offers, after an investigation found it violated the federal employment code during an aggressive hiring push, according to several government officials. The Office of Personnel Management, a federal agency that governs labor practices in the government, determined that the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, known as FinCEN, illegally screened candidates in a quest to hire only lawyers for certain jobs, the officials said. It has recommended further investigations by two other federal agencies into FinCEN's practices, they added. Rules for hiring at government agencies make it illegal to screen candidates for qualifications that aren't stipulated in the job description, and the jobs FinCEN had posted weren't designated as being only for lawyers, the officials said. Full Story | Top |
| Obama, Merkel vow broader Russian sanctions if Ukraine election derailed Friday, May 02, 2014 04:14 PM PDT By Steve Holland and Jeff Mason WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned Russia on Friday it will face additional sanctions against key sectors of its economy if Moscow disrupts Ukraine's plan to hold elections on May 25. The two leaders linked the threat to the election when they addressed a joint news conference in the White House Rose Garden after Oval Office talks dominated by the situation in Ukraine. Obama and Merkel said they were united in vowing to move to the tougher sanctions but made clear there were still negotiations to determine how to structure the sanctions should they be necessary. The election is to choose a successor to President Viktor Yanukovitch, the pro-Russian leader who resigned in the face of unrelenting protests and whose ouster has provoked the worst East-West crisis since the Cold War. Full Story | Top |
| Girl's blood in suspect's trailer, Virginia prosecutor tells jury Friday, May 02, 2014 03:52 PM PDT  By Gary Robertson LOVINGSTON, Virginia (Reuters) - The blood of a missing 17-year-old Virginia girl along with signs of a violent struggle were found in the trailer of a man charged with her murder, a prosecutor said in opening arguments of the handyman's trial on Friday. But a defense lawyer for the accused man, Randy Taylor, 48, said there was no evidence of either a murder or an abduction. Taylor is accused of abducting Alexis Murphy, a high school senior, in August 2013 while she was on a shopping trip, and then killing her. Nelson County Commonwealth's Attorney Anthony Martin told jurors that Murphy's blood was found on a shirt that had been balled up and shoved under a couch in Taylor's trailer. Full Story | Top |
| New EU force in Central African Republic sets stability as top priority Friday, May 02, 2014 03:48 PM PDT  By Crispin Dembassa-Kette BANGUI (Reuters) - The top priority of a new European Union peacekeeping force in Central African Republic is to restore stability in the capital, the force commander, French Major-General Philippe Ponties, told a news conference on Friday. Thousands of people have been killed in intercommunal violence in the former French colony in recent months and close to a million have been displaced from their homes. "The objective that we are looking for, and which I think we share with most of the international community, is to make it so each citizen of Central African Republic, whatever their communal background, can see a positive future," Ponties said. "There will be 850 soldiers (by June) who will be deployed to contribute to the security of the airport in Bangui and the establishment of a stable and secure environment in the third and fifth districts of the capital," he said. Full Story | Top |
| Arkansas judge rules voter ID law unconstitutional Friday, May 02, 2014 03:39 PM PDT By Suzi Parker LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas (Reuters) - An Arkansas judge ruled unconstitutional for the second time in about a week a new law requiring voters to show a photo ID, but said on Friday there was not enough time to prevent officials from applying the law at primary elections this month. Pulaski County Circuit Court Judge Tim Fox said he was staying his order because to do otherwise would create "turmoil" in thousands of precincts. Last week, he said the law was "void and unenforceable." Nearly three dozen U.S. states have voter identification measures, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The Arkansas attorney general on behalf of the state's election board and the election commission of Pulaski County, the state's most populous, filed separate briefs with the Supreme Court on Friday. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. projected firefighting costs exceed budget by $470 million Friday, May 02, 2014 03:31 PM PDT  By Laura Zuckerman SALMON, Idaho (Reuters) - The U.S. government expects to spend $470 million more than it has on hand to fight wildfires in a season that has already brought large blazes to California and Western states, where drought is worsening fire risks, federal officials said on Friday. Predicted high temperatures and less moisture for much of the U.S. West are expected to boost firefighting costs to nearly$1.87 billion this year for agencies that only have $1.4 billion budgeted, according to the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management. A provision in President Barack Obama's 2015 budget proposal and legislation pending in Congress would use federal disaster funds for expenses tied to catastrophic wildfires, which represent 1 percent of blazes but which cost roughly $400 million a year to contain, according to fire managers. Budget gaps come as federal agencies adjust to a "new normal" of wildfire seasons that start earlier and last longer, said Randy Eardley, spokesman for the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise. Full Story | Top |
| Wall Street Week Ahead-Bond, stock investors making hay; can both be right? Friday, May 02, 2014 03:27 PM PDT  By Rodrigo Campos NEW YORK (Reuters) - With U.S. stocks near record highs and Treasury bond yields near multi-month lows, the disconnect between equity and debt investors has rarely been as stark. After a wintry first quarter, stock investors are betting that economic growth is picking up, as evidenced by stronger spending figures and business demand. That's boosted the cyclical stocks which react to rising demand, particularly energy shares. "The data are suggesting this may be the year when we turn the corner," said Quincy Krosby, market strategist at Prudential Financial in Newark, New Jersey. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. sprinter Tyson Gay banned one year for doping Friday, May 02, 2014 03:20 PM PDT  By Gene Cherry RALEIGH, North Carolina - Former world double sprint champion Tyson Gay has been suspended for one year after testing positive in 2013 for a banned anabolic steroid, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) said on Friday. Gay has also returned the silver medal he won with the U.S. 4x100 metres relay team at the 2012 London Olympics but will be eligible to return to competition as early as next month after admitting his offence and co-operating with investigators. "We are thankful he decided to come in and be truthful in his cooperation with us," USADA chief executive Travis Tygart told Reuters. "With the loss of results since 2012, including an Olympic medal, he has suffered serious consequences, but by cooperating he has tried to help the sport move forward for the good of clean athletes." As part of the suspension he accepted, Gay, the joint second fastest man in history, was disqualified from all competitive results since July 15, 2012, the date he first used a product that contained a prohibited steroid. Full Story | Top |
| Florida lawmakers back in-state tuition for undocumented students Friday, May 02, 2014 03:18 PM PDT By Bill Cotterell TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - Florida legislators voted on Friday to allow students who are children of undocumented workers to qualify for in-state tuition rates at public universities and community colleges. Republican Governor Rick Scott said he will sign the bill, making Florida the 20th state to offer children brought to the United States illegally the same tuition as U.S. citizens. The approval of the legislation comes as Scott faces a tight re-election campaign and Florida Republicans look to court the state's influential Hispanic voters. Riding a Tea Party wave of conservative support in 2010, Scott campaigned on a promise to bring Florida a law like Arizona's hotly debated statute allowing police to check the immigration status of anyone they believe may be undocumented. Full Story | Top |
| Dozens die in Odessa, rebels down Ukraine helicopters Friday, May 02, 2014 03:13 PM PDT  By Maria Tsvetkova SLAVIANSK, Ukraine (Reuters) - Dozens of people were killed in a fire and others were shot dead when fighting between pro- and anti-Russian groups broke out on the streets of Odessa on Ukraine's Black Sea coast on Friday, opening a new front in a conflict that has split the country. In the east, pro-Russian separatists brought down two Ukrainian military helicopters involved in a pre-dawn operation to try to dislodge the militants from their strongholds in the town of Slaviansk. The separatists said three of their number had been killed, and two civilians, while the defense ministry said two crew from the downed helicopters died and two other servicemen were killed when separatists attacked them on Friday evening. "Heavy fighting is continuing," the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said. Full Story | Top |
| Genocide risk in South Sudan amid personal power struggle: U.N. Friday, May 02, 2014 03:06 PM PDT By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Ethnic violence in South Sudan risks spiraling into genocide, with the country's leaders locked in a personal struggle for power, top U.N. officials said on Friday as a U.N. Security Council showdown looms over calls to impose targeted sanctions. Thousands of people have been killed and more than 1 million have fled their homes since fighting erupted in the world's newest nation in December between troops backing President Salva Kiir and soldiers loyal to his sacked deputy, Riek Machar. Adama Dieng, U.N. special adviser on prevention of genocide, and U.N. Human Rights chief Navi Pillay briefed the 15-member council on Friday. "If such attacks are not immediately halted it could plunge the country into serious violence that could spiral out of control," said Dieng, who has visited South Sudan with Pillay. Full Story | Top |
| South Sudan leader ready for talks but rival doesn't commit Friday, May 02, 2014 03:06 PM PDT  By Phil Stewart JUBA (Reuters) - South Sudan's President Salva Kiir said on Friday he was ready for face-to-face talks with rebel leader Riek Machar to try and end months of fighting in the world's newest nation, but his rival held off from promising to take part. Kiir spoke hours after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met him in South Sudan's capital Juba to urge him to help end the conflict - part of a diplomatic push by Western and African powers who fear it could tip into full-blown ethnic slaughter and destabilize an already fragile region. "In the interest of peace in our country, I am willing and ready for face-to-face talks with Machar," Kiir was quoted as saying in a statement released by the government of Kenya, where he flew to brief his regional counterparts after meeting Kerry. Full Story | Top |
| Detroit's civilian retiree group agrees to pension cuts Friday, May 02, 2014 02:59 PM PDT  (Reuters) - The group representing the largest block of Detroit's retired workers on Friday agreed to accept the city's proposed cuts to their pension benefits, the latest in a string of deals the city has struck in an effort to resolve its historic bankruptcy. The board of directors for the Detroit Retired City Employees Association, which represents 8,000 retired civilian workers, voted to support the city's plan of adjustment, according to the mediators appointed by the federal bankruptcy judge overseeing the case. Under the deal, contingent on full funding of the so-called Grand Bargain to aid retired city workers, nonuniformed city retirees would accept a 4.5 percent reduction in benefits and the elimination of cost-of-living-adjustment increases to their benefits. Previously, the group representing retired police and firefighters agreed to back the city's adjustment plan, as had the boards for the two independent pension systems for both groups. Full Story | Top |
| China's Sina fined for indecent content in web porn crackdown Friday, May 02, 2014 02:58 PM PDT (Reuters) - Chinese Internet firm Sina Corp said it was fined 5.1 million yuan ($815,038) by Beijing authorities for allowing "unhealthy and indecent content" on its online reading channel and on its main website. Sina was stripped of some online publication licenses last week after being targeted in a pornography crackdown, the harshest punishment yet for a Chinese Internet company in an intensifying online crackdown. The fine was imposed by the Beijing Municipal Cultural Market Administrative Law Enforcement Unit, Sina said in a statement on Friday. Sina said it was currently evaluating the impact of the administrative penalties and the options available to the company. Full Story | Top |
| 'American Idol' runner-up Clay Aiken winning political respect in North Carolina Friday, May 02, 2014 02:45 PM PDT  By Colleen Jenkins CARY N.C. (Reuters) - "American Idol" runner-up Clay Aiken readily signs autographs and poses for selfies with voters in his bid for a North Carolina congressional seat, but tries hard to keep his pitch at campaign stops focused on political issues. "I have done my very best not to sing," said Aiken, 35. In April, the Washington-based Cook Political Report admitted surprise after Aiken proved to be well-versed on political affairs, "washing away any notion he's another superficial, stage-managed Hollywood star dabbling in politics as a new hobby." Even so, political experts say the first-time candidate is in an uphill, perhaps futile, battle to win the primary and then unseat the incumbent in a district North Carolina's Republican-led legislature re-drew to favor their party. U.S. Representative Renee Ellmers, 50, a former nurse, beat a moderate Democrat for the seat during the Republicans' national electoral sweep in 2010 and two years later won her second term with 56 percent of the vote. Full Story | Top |
| BBC rebukes 'Top Gear' presenter Clarkson over racist language Friday, May 02, 2014 02:42 PM PDT  By Belinda Goldsmith LONDON (Reuters) - British state broadcaster, the BBC, has rebuked presenter Jeremy Clarkson over using racist language while filming car show "Top Gear", one of the most popular and profitable TV programs in the world, but dismissed calls for his resignation. Clarkson, 54, apologized after a newspaper report earlier this week revealed he used an epithet for blacks while reciting the rhyme "Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe" to choose between cars while filming two years ago. Full Story | Top |
| Heroin trail in Peaches Geldof's death being investigated: police Friday, May 02, 2014 02:41 PM PDT  Police are investigating how Peaches Geldof, the daughter of musician and Band Aid founder Bob Geldof, received the heroin believed to have contributed to her death after finding drugs paraphernalia around her, British police said on Friday. The police also said Geldof's husband of two years, musician Thomas Cohen, was not under suspicion in her death or their concurrent investigation into the supply of drugs. "To prevent further speculation I will confirm that contrary to rumour in the media my officers did seize drugs paraphernalia from the address on 7 April." Geldof, a media and fashion personality, was the second of Irish musician and campaigner Bob Geldof and Paula Yates's three daughters. Yates died from a heroin overdose in 2000, three years after the death of INXS singer Micheel Hutchence, for whom she had left Bob Geldof. Full Story | Top |
| Senate Democrats press for speedier LNG export permits Friday, May 02, 2014 02:39 PM PDT By Ayesha Rascoe WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration must speed up approvals of liquefied natural gas exports to help boost global supplies and help U.S. allies, five Senate Democrats said on Friday. The lawmakers, all from natural gas-producing states, urged the Energy Department to place additional weight on national security matters in its review of LNG export applications. The Democrats said they wanted to show the White House that there is significant Democratic support for speeding up gas exports, even though Republicans typically lead the chorus. "Our allies have emphasized that a strong market signal from the United States that it is a willing future supplier of LNG, even if those supplies are not immediately available, would have profound, positive and immediate strategic implications," the lawmakers said in the a letter to President Barack Obama. Full Story | Top |
| Two Alaska troopers who appeared on reality TV killed in remote village Friday, May 02, 2014 02:36 PM PDT  By Steve Quinn JUNEAU, Alaska (Reuters) - Two Alaska State Troopers, who have been featured in a reality TV show, were killed while investigating a report of a person brandishing a gun in a remote village, officials said on Friday. The two troopers killed on Thursday, Sergeant Patrick Johnson and Trooper Gabriel Rich, worked for a rural services unit and had appeared on the National Geographic Channel's reality television show "Alaska State Troopers." State troopers have since arrested a 19-year-old man in connection with the shooting deaths in the Yukon River village of Tanana, said Department of Public safety spokeswoman Megan Peters. Full Story | Top |
| Obama to have attorney general look into botched Oklahoma execution Friday, May 02, 2014 02:26 PM PDT  President Barack Obama on Friday said the botched execution of a murderer in Oklahoma raises questions about the death penalty in the United States and he will ask the U.S. attorney general to look into the situation. "What happened in Oklahoma is deeply troubling," he said. The condemned man, Clayton Lockett, 38, who was convicted of murder, rape, kidnapping and robbery in a 1999 crime spree, died of an apparent heart attack minutes after the lethal injection protocol failed. A prison report said the problem was largely due to a collapsed vein during the injection of the lethal drugs and that the needle was inserted in Lockett's groin instead of his arm. Full Story | Top |
| Los Angeles teacher may have abused over 100 children, judge finds Friday, May 02, 2014 02:25 PM PDT (Advisory: Please note that this story contains graphic content.) By Alex Dobuzinskis LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A former Los Angeles elementary school teacher sent to prison for 25 years for taking bondage-style photos of his pupils may have abused over 100 children in all, groping and exposing himself to a number of them, a judge has found. The arrest of Mark Berndt in 2012 sparked widespread outrage when it was revealed that, between 2005 and 2010, he had taken pictures of blindfolded children, with some photographs showing spoonfuls of semen held to their faces. Berndt, 63, pleaded no contest last year to charges of lewd conduct involving 23 children in the criminal case centered on the photos. But revelations of a potentially wider scope of abuse have arisen in a civil lawsuit set for trial in July against his former employer, the Los Angeles Unified School District. Full Story | Top |
| Bombs, protests hit Egypt in run-up to presidential election Friday, May 02, 2014 01:55 PM PDT  By Shadia Nasralla and Tom Perry CAIRO (Reuters) - Two suicide bombings in Egypt's South Sinai killed a soldier and wounded at least eight people and two other bombs killed two people in Cairo on Friday, less than four weeks before a presidential election is due to be held, official sources said. In other violence in the port city of Alexandria, two people were shot dead when supporters of deposed President Mohamed Mursi clashed with residents, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. Militant attacks and other political violence have spiraled since the army overthrew Mursi, a senior Muslim Brotherhood figure, last July after mass protests against his rule. Former army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who led the action, is expected to win the presidential election on May 26 and 27. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. job growth jumps, but shrinking labor force a blemish Friday, May 02, 2014 01:52 PM PDT  By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. employers hired workers at the fastest clip in more than two years in April, pointing to a rebound in economic growth after a dreadful winter and keeping the Federal Reserve on track to end bond purchases this year. The brightening outlook was, however, tempered somewhat by a sharp increase in the number of people dropping out of the labor force, which pushed the unemployment rate to a 5-1/2-year low of 6.3 percent. "It lends significant legitimacy to the positive tone in the wide array of post-February economic reports, which have all been consistently pointing to a significant pick-up in economic growth momentum this quarter," said Millan Mulraine, deputy chief economist at TD Securities in New York. About 806,000 people dropped out of the labor force in April, unwinding the previous months' gains. Full Story | Top |
| Kevin Spacey brings stage act to big screen in documentary Friday, May 02, 2014 01:50 PM PDT  By Eric Kelsey LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Kevin Spacey, the two-time Oscar-winning actor and star of one of the most talked-about online streaming shows "House of Cards," leans forward and says that even in his lofty status among Hollywood actors, he still has a personal point to prove. With new documentary "Now: In the Wings on a World Stage," Spacey lets his personal passion for theater roar in a film that introduces audiences to his second career on the stage as he tours the world with his own company's production of William Shakespeare's historical play "Richard III." Spacey, 54, who has been the artistic director at London's the Old Vic theater since 2003, said his choice to cut back on his Hollywood career and devote his time to the stage, struck many as a self-defeating project. Full Story | Top |
| Florida lawmakers approve medical marijuana bill Friday, May 02, 2014 01:42 PM PDT  By Bill Cotterell TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - Florida legislators voted on Friday to allow doctors to prescribe a special strain of "non-euphoric" marijuana for treatment of chronic epileptic seizures and some other severe illnesses. Governor Rick Scott said he will sign the bill into law when it reaches his desk. It was historic," said Ron Watson, a lobbyist whose 8-year-old son, Dylan, died of leukemia. Watson and several other parents, many wheeling their stricken children into the Capitol, testified at committee hearings and contacted House and Senate members throughout this year's 60-day session of the Florida Legislature. Full Story | Top |
| Car bomb kills one in central Cairo: security sources Friday, May 02, 2014 01:41 PM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - A car bomb killed one person near a metro station in downtown Cairo on Friday, three security sources said, in the second blast in Egypt's capital after an earlier bomb attack killed a policeman in a different district. Two suicide bombers killed a soldier in South Sinai earlier on Friday and wounded at least seven others, official sources said. (Reporting By Shadia Nasralla, Ediitng by Angus MacSwan) Full Story | Top |
| U.S. to create gasoline reserve in Northeast after Sandy shortages Friday, May 02, 2014 01:37 PM PDT  By Ayesha Rascoe WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government will create a million-barrel gasoline reserve in the Northeast, a reaction to the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy in 2012 when motorists were left without fuel, exposing vulnerabilities in the fuel distribution network. The Energy Department said on Friday that two sites will each store 500,000 barrels of gasoline by late summer, one near New York Harbor and one in the New England region. It said the $200 million emergency reserve would complement an existing heating oil stockpile, which holds a million barrels of diesel fuel. The department will lease space from commercial storage companies for the emergency stockpile, but it will have to buy the gasoline because it does not currently have reserves of the fuel. Full Story | Top |
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