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Monday, April 30, 2012 8:30 PM PDT

Today's Politics - Bloomberg News Headlines - Yahoo! News: Ohio to return wild animals to widow Fed officials, hawk and dove, agree: no more easing MPs to give verdict on Murdochs Lawmaker Bachus cleared in insider trade probe Ex-CIA official says tapes destroyed to prevent al Qaeda reprisals Occupy supporters in New York, Wisconsin sue over free speech Greece's Venizelos says election could decide euro membership-report Florida school district officials accused of racism White powder packages sent to Wells Fargo NYC branches Occupy movement's May Day turnout seen as test for its future Mexico congress backs bill to support drug war victims Wrongly convicted Colorado man set free after 16 years Tigers' Young banned seven days for hate crime Witness says lied for former Senator Edwards to save campaign Oklahoma court rejects ballot initiative on "personhood" Wisconsin's Walker raises $13 million for recall election UK lawmakers to give verdict on Murdochs CIA ex-contractor pleads not guilty to Colorado assault Obama nudges China on rights, stays mum on Chen Obama slams Romney for changing tune on bin Laden Justice Department probes University of Montana student rape reports Lawsuit dismissed against "Three Cups of Tea" author Obama, Japan's Noda talk defense amid U.S.-China standoff Ex-pitcher Clemens targeted by Congress in "show trial": lawyer France holds Colombian FARC responsible for journalist U.N. panel prepares to expand North Korea sanctions: envoys New York police investigate rash of white powder incidents Witness says lied for former Senator Edwards to save campaign After doubts, some evangelical leaders put faith in Romney Clinton faces personal test in China diplomatic firestorm Mali soldiers fight to reverse coup in capital EPA official resigns after crucifixion comment Shooter in Trayvon Martin case gets new fundraising site U.S. pipeline regulator probing Exxon pipeline leak Canada budget cuts hit thousands of civil servants Colorado prosecutors using DNA to free man convicted of 1994 murder Venezuela's Chavez reappears in public, back to Cuba China wants "drastic" U.S., Russia nuclear arms cuts Congo ex-rebels threaten AngloGold mining project White House: U.S. drone killings legal to combat threats Ohio to return wild animals to widow Mon,30 Apr 2012 07:12 PM PDT Reuters - COLUMBUS, Ohio (Reuters) - Five wild animals will soon be returned to the widow of a man who released them into the Ohio countryside last year, state officials said on Monday, raising concerns of a repeat of the panic that gripped the state when dozens of beasts including lions, tigers and bears roamed free. Seven months after Terry Thompson released 56 exotic animals near Zanesville, Ohio, and then committed suicide, the Ohio legislature still is struggling to draft regulations on wild animal ownership. Ohio is one of only a handful of states with no restrictions on exotic animal ownership. ... Full Story Top Fed officials, hawk and dove, agree: no more easing Mon,30 Apr 2012 07:11 PM PDT Reuters - LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Two top Federal Reserve officials - one with a dovish, employment-focused bent, and the other a self-avowed inflation hawk - on Monday both said they see no need for the central bank to ease monetary policy any further. But the comments, from San Francisco Fed President John Williams and Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher, do not mean they believe the central bank should quickly move to raise rates, which it has kept near zero for more than three years. The economy grew at a 2. ... Full Story Top MPs to give verdict on Murdochs Mon,30 Apr 2012 07:09 PM PDT Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - Newspaper magnate Rupert Murdoch and his son James will be in the firing line on Tuesday when a parliamentary committee issues its verdict on a phone-hacking scandal that has made the family name politically toxic. Committee members have said they were obstructed and put under surveillance by Murdoch's News Corp during their five year investigation into the hacking of the phones of celebrities, murder victims, politicians and soldiers for newspaper stories. ... Full Story Top Lawmaker Bachus cleared in insider trade probe Mon,30 Apr 2012 06:33 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An ethics investigation has found no evidence of insider trading violations involving Representative Spencer Bachus, the chairman of the U.S. House committee that oversees financial markets, his office said on Monday. The board of the Office of Congressional Ethics, an independent agency, recommended on Friday that the House Ethics Committee dismiss allegations raised in media reports that Bachus may have used non-public information to make investments. ... Full Story Top Ex-CIA official says tapes destroyed to prevent al Qaeda reprisals Mon,30 Apr 2012 06:32 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Jose Rodriguez said it took a "few hours" to destroy 92 videotapes showing his CIA colleagues using harsh interrogation techniques - including waterboarding - on al Qaeda leaders such as September 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. But the former director of the CIA's National Clandestine Service told Reuters on Monday that he ordered the tapes destroyed to protect his colleagues from possible retaliation by al Qaeda. ... Full Story Top Occupy supporters in New York, Wisconsin sue over free speech Mon,30 Apr 2012 06:10 PM PDT Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters) - A flurry of civil rights lawsuits accusing police of stifling free speech of Occupy Wall Street protesters have been filed ahead of a May 1 effort to reinvigorate the movement against economic inequality. Four members of New York's City Council and others accused police in a lawsuit of using excessive force during protests in New York City, birthplace of the movement against corporate greed. ... Full Story Top Greece's Venizelos says election could decide euro membership-report Mon,30 Apr 2012 06:08 PM PDT Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - Greece's Evangelos Venizelos, who will lead the ruling Socialists into the May 6 election, said in a newspaper interview on Tuesday that euro membership is not a certainty regardless of the outcome. "There are certain misconceptions that worry me: for instance, the misconception that whatever happens we are not going to leave the euro," Venizelos is quoted as saying in the Guardian. Venizelos, 55, quit as finance minister to lead the PASOK party after spearheading the marathon debt talks that were concluded with the world's biggest debt restructuring in March. ... Full Story Top Florida school district officials accused of racism Mon,30 Apr 2012 05:59 PM PDT Reuters - ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - A federal lawsuit against a Florida school district alleges two black women who scored well on an adult skills test in 2010 were accused of cheating because, they were told, "you people don't score that high." The lawsuit, filed in Ocala on April 20 and announced Monday by the Florida Civil Rights Association, which is representing Lelia Jackson-Burch, alleged violations of civil rights, defamation and false imprisonment. ... Full Story Top White powder packages sent to Wells Fargo NYC branches Mon,30 Apr 2012 05:43 PM PDT Reuters - (Reuters) - A rash of incidents Monday afternoon involving envelopes sent with suspicious white powder had police scrambling around New York City and forced the nation's fourth-biggest bank, Wells Fargo & Co, to shut down five branches around the city. In one of six cases identified by the New York Police Department, the substance turned out to be corn starch, a police spokesman said. The substance has not yet been identified in the remaining five cases, the spokesman said. ... Full Story Top Occupy movement's May Day turnout seen as test for its future Mon,30 Apr 2012 05:38 PM PDT Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters) - Occupy Wall Street vows a day of demonstrations in New York and across the United States on Tuesday, in a crucial test of its staying power some eight months after emerging as a movement against corporate greed and economic inequality. The "99 Percent" populist movement, which began as a 24-hour encampment in lower Manhattan last fall and spread to cities across the country, will join organized labor for a day of May 1 protests, in what it has called a "day without the 99 percent. ... Full Story Top Mexico congress backs bill to support drug war victims Mon,30 Apr 2012 05:23 PM PDT Reuters - MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's lower house of congress has approved a bill that will require the federal government to provide financial support to victims of the country's brutal gang violence. The lower house said congress unanimously backed the bill, known as the General Victims Act, which will provide financial, legal and medical aid to Mexicans caught up in the turf wars between drug gangs and their clashes with security forces. ... Full Story Top Wrongly convicted Colorado man set free after 16 years Mon,30 Apr 2012 05:18 PM PDT Reuters - GRAND JUNCTION, Co. (Reuters) - A Colorado man wrongly convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the rape and murder of a woman found strangled with a dog leash was exonerated on the basis of new DNA evidence and set free on Monday after spending more than 16 years behind bars. Robert "Rider" Dewey, 51, who had been incarcerated since 1995, walked out of a courthouse in Grand Junction, Colorado, a free man, accompanied by a woman he had been corresponding with from prison for the past year. ... Full Story Top Tigers' Young banned seven days for hate crime Mon,30 Apr 2012 05:14 PM PDT Reuters - (Reuters) - Detroit Tigers outfielder Delmon Young has been suspended seven days following his arrest in New York City for allegedly yelling anti-Semitic remarks during a scuffle with tourists, Major League Baseball (MLB) said on Monday. Full Story Top Witness says lied for former Senator Edwards to save campaign Mon,30 Apr 2012 05:08 PM PDT Reuters - GREENSBORO, North Carolina (Reuters) - The wife of the campaign aide who claimed paternity for former presidential candidate John Edwards' baby cried on the witness stand on Monday as she recalled why she let her husband say he was the father of someone else's child. Cheri Young said Edwards, a former U.S. senator from North Carolina who was seeking the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, explained that the arrangement was necessary to keep his campaign alive and to prevent his cancer-stricken wife, Elizabeth, from finding out about the affair. ... Full Story Top Oklahoma court rejects ballot initiative on "personhood" Mon,30 Apr 2012 05:08 PM PDT Reuters - OKLAHOMA CITY (Reuters) - The Oklahoma Supreme Court on Monday struck down a ballot initiative that sought voter approval of a so-called "personhood" amendment to the state constitution to define an embryo as a human being from the moment of conception. The ballot question would have asked Oklahoma voters to expand the definition of a human being to include a fertilized egg. But the state's highest court said the proposed constitutional amendment was "void on its face" because the U.S. Supreme Court already has decided the issue. ... Full Story Top Wisconsin's Walker raises $13 million for recall election Mon,30 Apr 2012 05:06 PM PDT Reuters - MILWAUKEE (Reuters) - Wisconsin Republican Governor Scott Walker said on Monday his campaign raised $13 million in just over three months to ward off an attempt by Democrats and unions to remove him from office in a recall election because of his attacks on organized labor. The first-term governor, who faces the expensive special election in June, raised that amount between January 17 and April 23, according to a finance report filed with the state. ... Full Story Top UK lawmakers to give verdict on Murdochs Mon,30 Apr 2012 05:02 PM PDT Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - Newspaper magnate Rupert Murdoch and his son James will be in the firing line on Tuesday when a British parliamentary committee issues its verdict on a phone-hacking scandal that has made the family name politically toxic. Committee members have said they were obstructed and put under surveillance by Murdoch's News Corp during their five year investigation into the hacking of the phones of celebrities, murder victims, politicians and soldiers for newspaper stories. ... Full Story Top CIA ex-contractor pleads not guilty to Colorado assault Mon,30 Apr 2012 05:01 PM PDT Reuters - DENVER (Reuters) - A former CIA contractor who caused an international incident last year when he shot dead two men in Pakistan pleaded not guilty on Monday to charges of assaulting a Colorado man in a dispute over a parking spot outside a bagel shop. Raymond Davis, 37, entered his plea in Douglas County District Court where he faces charges of second-degree felony assault, misdemeanor disorderly conduct and fighting in public, said Casimir Spencer, a spokeswoman for the district attorney's office. Davis has a September trial date in the case, and remains free on $1,750 bond. ... Full Story Top Obama nudges China on rights, stays mum on Chen Mon,30 Apr 2012 04:53 PM PDT Reuters - The United States faces a tense week in China as high-level talks on trade and global hot spots like Iran and North Korea open in the shadow of a blind Chinese activist's bold escape from house arrest to seek U.S. protection in Beijing. The trip to Beijing would have been challenging for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner even without a human rights dispute over Chen Guangcheng, who a U.S.-based group says is hiding in the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. ... Full Story Top Obama slams Romney for changing tune on bin Laden Mon,30 Apr 2012 04:40 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Monday reminded Americans that his likely Republican opponent in the November election had been lukewarm about targeting Osama bin Laden, seeking to gain political advantage from the killing of the al Qaeda leader. Obama accused Romney, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, of being inconsistent on whether he would have ordered bin Laden's killing had he been president. "I said that we'd go after bin Laden if we had a clear shot at him and I did," Obama said during a White House press conference. ... Full Story Top Justice Department probes University of Montana student rape reports Mon,30 Apr 2012 04:07 PM PDT Reuters - (Reuters) - The Justice Department has opened an investigation into the handling of numerous sexual assault allegations involving students at the University of Montana, where at least two members of the football team are accused of rape. University President Royce Engstrom told Reuters he was informed of the inquiry during a 30-minute meeting on Monday with Justice Department officials, who told him the probe would examine the actions of the Missoula-based university, city police and county prosecutors. ... Full Story Top Lawsuit dismissed against "Three Cups of Tea" author Mon,30 Apr 2012 04:05 PM PDT Reuters - MISSOULA, Montana (Reuters) - A federal judge dismissed a class-action fraud lawsuit on Monday against Greg Mortenson, co-author of bestselling book "Three Cups of Tea," that accused him of fabricating much of his story about promoting education for girls in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The lawsuit, which also targeted Mortenson's co-author, publisher and his non-profit Central Asia Institute, alleged fraud, deceit and unjust enrichment over what the plaintiffs said was fabricated material intended to "induce unsuspecting individuals to purchase his books and to donate" to his institute. But U.S. ... Full Story Top Obama, Japan's Noda talk defense amid U.S.-China standoff Mon,30 Apr 2012 03:51 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda pledged on Monday to strengthen the U.S.-Japan security alliance, the latest effort to project unity between Washington and its Asian partners as a counterweight to China's growing assertiveness in the region. The two leaders put their stamp of approval on a long-stalled agreement to sharply reduce the U.S. military presence on the island of Okinawa, which could help ease the way for Obama's strategy of dispersing U.S. forces around the western Pacific. ... Full Story Top Ex-pitcher Clemens targeted by Congress in "show trial": lawyer Mon,30 Apr 2012 03:46 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A lawyer for former baseball ace Roger Clemens derided as a "show trial" on Monday the Capitol Hill hearing during which the onetime pitcher was pressed by lawmakers about performance-enhancing drugs. Full Story Top France holds Colombian FARC responsible for journalist Mon,30 Apr 2012 03:44 PM PDT Reuters - PARIS/BOGOTA (Reuters) - France on Monday said it held FARC rebels responsible for the life of a French journalist in Colombia, calling on the drug-funded group to release him immediately in line with a pledge it made to stop taking hostages for ransom. France believes Romeo Langlois, a freelance reporter for French news channel France 24, was taken captive by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia after being caught in crossfire between the Marxist guerrillas and government troops. ... Full Story Top U.N. panel prepares to expand North Korea sanctions: envoys Mon,30 Apr 2012 03:42 PM PDT Reuters - UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United States, South Korea, Japan and European nations have submitted to the U.N. Security Council's North Korea sanctions committee lists of individuals and firms they want blacklisted after Pyongyang's recent rocket launch, envoys said on Monday. Earlier this month the 15-nation council strongly condemned North Korea's April 13 rocket launch, called for adding new names to the list of those hit by existing U.N. sanctions and warned Pyongyang of further consequences if it carried out another missile launch or nuclear test. ... Full Story Top New York police investigate rash of white powder incidents Mon,30 Apr 2012 03:23 PM PDT Reuters - (Reuters) - New York City Police are investigating six separate incidents of packages or envelopes containing suspicious white powder reported at locations around Manhattan, police said Monday. Earlier, Wells Fargo & Co. said it had closed three of its bank branches in New York City after they received suspicious envelopes containing white powder. (Reporting by Edith Honan; writing by Dan Burns; Editing by Sandra Maler) Full Story Top Witness says lied for former Senator Edwards to save campaign Mon,30 Apr 2012 03:15 PM PDT Reuters - GREENSBORO, North Carolina (Reuters) - The wife of the campaign aide who claimed paternity for former presidential candidate John Edwards' baby cried on the witness stand on Monday as she recalled why she let her husband say he was the father of someone else's child. Cheri Young said Edwards, a former U.S. senator from North Carolina who was seeking the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, explained that the arrangement was necessary to keep his campaign alive and to prevent his cancer-stricken wife, Elizabeth, from finding out about the affair. ... Full Story Top After doubts, some evangelical leaders put faith in Romney Mon,30 Apr 2012 03:13 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In October, Texas megachurch pastor Robert Jeffress ignited a firestorm by calling Mormonism a "cult" and telling Republicans not to vote for Mitt Romney because the presidential aspirant was not a "competent Christian." Today, Jeffress is endorsing Romney. He is just one of many evangelical Christian leaders putting aside their suspicion of the former Massachusetts governor, a Mormon, to support him against President Barack Obama ahead of this November's election. ... Full Story Top Clinton faces personal test in China diplomatic firestorm Mon,30 Apr 2012 02:51 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hoped to highlight stability during her trip to China this week, but instead flies into a diplomatic hurricane sparked by the dramatic escape of a blind Chinese human rights activist now believed to be under U.S. protection. Clinton is due to depart Washington late on Monday for Beijing, where she will be joined by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and other U.S. officials for high-level meetings with their Chinese counterparts on Thursday and Friday. ... Full Story Top Mali soldiers fight to reverse coup in capital Mon,30 Apr 2012 02:34 PM PDT Reuters - BAMAKO (Reuters) - Soldiers from Mali's presidential guard unit, loyal to the country's ousted president, battled junta forces on Monday in an bid to wrest back control of the capital Bamako a month after a coup, witnesses and a junta official said. Heavy gunfire rang out in the centre of the city near a military barracks, and the red beret presidential unit took up positions around the airport and entered the state broadcaster building, witnesses said. ... Full Story Top EPA official resigns after crucifixion comment Mon,30 Apr 2012 02:28 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A regional Environmental Protection Agency chief based in Dallas resigned on Monday, days after Republican lawmakers uncovered comments in which he compared his enforcement of energy companies with crucifixion. Al Armendariz, who was the chief of EPA's Region 6 office, which includes refinery-rich Texas, Louisiana and three other states, sent a letter of resignation to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson late on Sunday. She accepted it on Monday. ... Full Story Top Shooter in Trayvon Martin case gets new fundraising site Mon,30 Apr 2012 02:10 PM PDT Reuters - MIAMI (Reuters) - George Zimmerman's lawyer has launched a new website to raise money to pay for legal defense costs and living expenses for the neighborhood watch volunteer charged with second-degree murder in the Florida shooting death of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin. Defense attorney Mark O'Mara established the website gzlegalcase.com over the weekend, saying he hoped to use it to address some of the controversy and "malicious misinformation" surrounding the racially charged case. ... Full Story Top U.S. pipeline regulator probing Exxon pipeline leak Mon,30 Apr 2012 02:06 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. pipeline regulator is closely monitoring the shutdown of an Exxon Mobil pipeline after a leak in Louisiana over the weekend, an agency spokeswoman said on Monday. The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration has sent an inspector to investigate the leak, said Jeannie Layson, PHMSA's director for Governmental, International, and Public Affairs. "Prior to resuming operation, the failed section of pipeline will need to be repaired and tested in accordance with PHMSA safety requirements," Layson said in a statement. ... Full Story Top Canada budget cuts hit thousands of civil servants Mon,30 Apr 2012 02:00 PM PDT Reuters - OTTAWA (Reuters) - More than 8,000 Canadian federal government workers will receive notice this week that they may lose their jobs due to budget cuts, including about 2,300 employees at Statistics Canada, unions said on Monday. The Conservative government announced in its March 29 budget that it would cut operational spending across all government departments and agencies by 6.9 percent, eliminating 19,200 public service jobs, or about 5 percent of total federal employment, as it seeks to balance its budget by 2015-16. ... Full Story Top Colorado prosecutors using DNA to free man convicted of 1994 murder Mon,30 Apr 2012 01:58 PM PDT Reuters - GRAND JUNCTION, Co. (Reuters) - Colorado prosecutors, citing new DNA proof of innocence, asked a judge on Monday to free a man they say was wrongly convicted and has spent nearly 16 years of a life prison term for the rape and murder of a woman found strangled with a dog leash. Robert "Rider" Dewey, 51, who has been incarcerated since his 1995 arrest, was scheduled to appear before a state court judge later on Monday in Grand Junction, about 250 miles west of Denver, for a hearing where he is expected to be ordered released. ... Full Story Top Venezuela's Chavez reappears in public, back to Cuba Mon,30 Apr 2012 01:43 PM PDT Reuters - CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez made his first live public appearance in two weeks on Monday to announce a new workers' law prior to his return to Cuba for more cancer radiation therapy. The 57-year-old socialist leader has been shuttling between Caracas and Havana for treatment on an unspecified cancer that is hampering his ability to campaign for an October 7 presidential election in the OPEC member nation. Chavez's last live public appearance had been on April 13, though he phoned state TV several times and was seen in a pre-recorded video from Havana. ... Full Story Top China wants "drastic" U.S., Russia nuclear arms cuts Mon,30 Apr 2012 01:28 PM PDT Reuters - VIENNA (Reuters) - China called on the United States and Russia - which hold the vast majority of the world's nuclear warheads - on Monday to make further "drastic" cuts in their atomic arsenals. A senior Chinese diplomat also told a meeting in Vienna that the development of missile defense systems which "disrupt" the global strategic balance should be abandoned, a possible reference to U.S. plans in Europe that have angered Russia. A new U.S. ... Full Story Top Congo ex-rebels threaten AngloGold mining project Mon,30 Apr 2012 01:11 PM PDT Reuters - MONGBWALU, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) - AngloGold Ashanti said on Monday its Mongbwalu gold mine in Democratic Republic of Congo faces the obstacle of tens of thousands of ex-fighters already mining the area who do not want to leave. It plans to start Mongbwalu output late next year. "It's an immense challenge and we recognize that," Richard Peattie, general manager of the Mongbwalu project, told Reuters. ... Full Story Top White House: U.S. drone killings legal to combat threats Mon,30 Apr 2012 01:10 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. campaign of drone strikes to kill militants in other countries is legal under international law, President Barack Obama's counterterrorism adviser insisted on Monday in a rare public admission and justification of the controversial tactic. John Brennan's speech, on the eve of the one-year anniversary of the U.S. killing of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in a raid in Pakistan, was remarkable in that U.S. officials in public rarely discuss the drone program, which has for years been considered a covert CIA operation. ... Full Story Top

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