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Thursday, June 28, 2012 2:47 AM PDT

Today's Politics - Bloomberg News Headlines - Yahoo! News: U.S. leaders see fallout if joint missile funds nixed Texas man gets 40 years after 'stand-your-ground' defense fails Exclusive: Russia backs Annan idea of Syria unity government: envoys Ecuador plaintiffs target Chevron's assets in Brazil Mexico would need major reforms for better rating: Fitch Mexico's Pena Nieto wraps up campaign with victory near Holder faces House contempt vote on gun probe Exclusive: Annan calls for Syria national unity government: envoys Pelosi sees Roberts helping uphold U.S. healthcare law Do election laws encourage attack ads in campaigns? Bolivian police end rebellion after pay deal reached Obama takes lead in swing states, economy still weighs U.S. anti-tax pledge creator says oath is strong Italy debt cost likely to rise after Merkel rebuff Afghanistan wants its cultural heroes back Defence wasting cash on unused supplies: report Spain dash Portugal hopes with shootout victory Fed's Lockhart: not time for the bigger guns yet Venezuela poll shows tight race for Chavez U.S. to highlight China cooperation at ASEAN forum Saudi student in Texas convicted of terrorism, Bush a target U.S. defense cut could cost billions to implement U.S. lawmakers seek review of broadband data caps At least 20 dead as north Mali factions clash Comcast to pay $800,000 to resolve FCC probe Barclays paying $453 million to settle Libor probe Iran says ready to help solve Syria crisis Lawmakers reach transportation deal, Keystone out World powers to meet in Geneva on Syria Sayeeda Warsi committed "minor breach" of code U.S. bars business with four in Hezbollah laundering link Lawmakers press for open Trans-Pacific trade talks Spanish forced to pay for drugs as cuts take toll SEC charges Falcone, Harbinger with fraud Old rivalries dog Romney foreign policy team Senate, House negotiators reach transport deal: Sen. Boxer Congressional panel clears way for Fed audit bill Obama to learn Supreme Court health verdict from news Mississippi's sole abortion clinic sues over new law U.S. should be open to crude oil exports: EIA head U.S. leaders see fallout if joint missile funds nixed Wed,27 Jun 2012 07:20 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and his top weapons buyer warned U.S. lawmakers that failure to fund the final year of development work on a joint ground-based missile defense program with Italy and Germany could have serious diplomatic and financial consequences. Panetta urged Senator Daniel Inouye, the chairman of Senate Appropriations Committee, to support $400.9 million in a final year of funding for the Medium Extended Air and Missile Defense System (MEADS) built by Lockheed Martin Corp and its partners in Italy and Germany. ... Full Story Top Texas man gets 40 years after 'stand-your-ground' defense fails Wed,27 Jun 2012 07:04 PM PDT Reuters - HOUSTON, Texas (Reuters) - A retired Texas firefighter convicted in the fatal shooting of an unarmed neighbor was sentenced on Wednesday to 40 years in prison, after his "stand-your-ground" legal defense failed. Raul Rodriguez, 47, was convicted earlier this month of the 2010 murder of his neighbor, 36-year-old teacher Kelly Danaher, following a dispute about the noise level at a birthday party at Danaher's house. ... Full Story Top Exclusive: Russia backs Annan idea of Syria unity government: envoys Wed,27 Jun 2012 06:58 PM PDT Reuters - UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Russia and other big powers have told mediator Kofi Annan that they support his idea of a Syrian national unity cabinet that could include government and opposition members but would exclude those whose participation would undermine it, envoys said on Wednesday. ... Full Story Top Ecuador plaintiffs target Chevron's assets in Brazil Wed,27 Jun 2012 06:20 PM PDT Reuters - QUITO (Reuters) - Ecuadorean plaintiffs have filed a second lawsuit outside the Andean country, this time in Brazil, in a bid to enforce an $18 billion court ruling against U.S. oil company Chevron for polluting the Amazon, their lawyers said on Wednesday. The 2011 judgment against Chevron is one of the biggest rulings ever for environmental damage. The legal case has spanned nearly two decades and is being watched closely by multinationals accused of pollution elsewhere in the world. ... Full Story Top Mexico would need major reforms for better rating: Fitch Wed,27 Jun 2012 05:56 PM PDT Reuters - MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Meaningful reforms to Mexico's energy sector and tax base after Sunday's presidential election could move the country toward a higher credit rating, a top official with ratings agency Fitch said on Wednesday. Any boost to growth from reforms, though, would have to be weighed against a worsening global environment, said Shelly Shetty, who heads sovereign ratings for Fitch in Latin America. Opinion polls give front-runner Enrique Pena Nieto a wide lead ahead of the vote, putting the opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, on track to return to power. ... Full Story Top Mexico's Pena Nieto wraps up campaign with victory near Wed,27 Jun 2012 05:56 PM PDT Reuters - TOLUCA, Mexico (Reuters) - Mexico's presidential front-runner Enrique Pena Nieto scented victory as he wrapped up his campaign on Wednesday with polls showing he should easily win the weekend election and put the country's old rulers back in power. Voters elect a new president on Sunday and many are eager for the next government to fire up an underperforming economy and end rampant violence by drug gangs, sore points that have eroded confidence in the ruling National Action Party, or PAN. ... Full Story Top Holder faces House contempt vote on gun probe Wed,27 Jun 2012 05:18 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder faces a contempt vote by the House of Representatives on Thursday in a dispute involving a botched gun-running probe, and the chamber's top Democrat, Nancy Pelosi, said some in her party may line up with Republicans against him. The Republican-led House is to vote on whether to charge the nation's top law enforcement officer with contempt of Congress related to his withholding of documents in a gun-running sting operation on the U.S.-Mexico border code named "Fast and Furious. ... Full Story Top Exclusive: Annan calls for Syria national unity government: envoys Wed,27 Jun 2012 04:45 PM PDT Reuters - UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Russia and other big powers have told Syria mediator Kofi Annan they support his idea of a Syrian national unity cabinet that could include government and opposition members but would exclude those whose participation would undermine it, envoys said on Wednesday. The proposal is one of the main topics that Russia, the other four permanent Security Council members and other key players in the Middle East will discuss at a meeting in Geneva on Saturday about the 16-month conflict in Syria, diplomats told Reuters on condition of anonymity. ... Full Story Top Pelosi sees Roberts helping uphold U.S. healthcare law Wed,27 Jun 2012 04:31 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As the U.S. Supreme Court prepared to announce a decision on President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law, one of the legislation's chief supporters predicted that it would be upheld by a 6-3 vote. Nancy Pelosi, the House of Representatives' Democratic leader, said she can see Chief Justice John Roberts siding with Obama in an anticipated divided Supreme Court ruling on Thursday. "I believe 6-3," Pelosi told the Reuters Washington Summit on Wednesday. ... Full Story Top Do election laws encourage attack ads in campaigns? Wed,27 Jun 2012 04:29 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Washington operatives call it "drawing contrasts." Voters call it "slinging mud." Whatever the term used, the most expensive election in U.S. history is likely to feature an unprecedented amount of negative advertising as Republicans and Democrats vie for control of the White House and Congress, campaign officials told the Reuters Washington Summit. The attack ads could be driven in part by laws that aim to keep elections clean by separating campaigns from interest groups, according to the spokesman for a Republican group that plans to spend $300 million this year. ... Full Story Top Bolivian police end rebellion after pay deal reached Wed,27 Jun 2012 04:18 PM PDT Reuters - LA PAZ (Reuters) - Bolivia's police ended a violent mutiny and went back to work on Wednesday after reaching an accord with government ministers and the police leadership on pay and disciplinary rules, satisfying lower-ranking officers who had rejected a previous deal. Dozens of police officers were hurt and several police stations were destroyed in the five-day rebellion in the natural gas-exporting South American country that has a history of coups and violent conflicts. ... Full Story Top Obama takes lead in swing states, economy still weighs Wed,27 Jun 2012 04:17 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama is carving out a clear lead in swing states that are key to the November 6 presidential election, even as national polls show him neck-and-neck with Republican rival Mitt Romney. Helped by the White House's recent loosening of immigration rules, Obama leads Romney in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida, according to a Quinnipiac University survey on Wednesday. An NBC/Wall Street Journal national poll showed Obama ahead of his challenger by just 3 points: a lead of 47 percent to 44 percent which is within the margin of error. ... Full Story Top U.S. anti-tax pledge creator says oath is strong Wed,27 Jun 2012 04:08 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON, June 27 - Grover Norquist, the man dubbed by many the most powerful Republican in Washington, said on Wednesday that his anti-tax oath is alive and well despite recent opposition from senior figures in the party. Norquist, whose 1986 "taxpayer protection pledge" has been signed by the vast majority of elected Republicans, said the numbers prove his case that the oath is still in vogue. More Republicans today have signed the pledge than during the last election cycle, he said. ... Full Story Top Italy debt cost likely to rise after Merkel rebuff Wed,27 Jun 2012 04:05 PM PDT Reuters - MILAN (Reuters) - Investors are likely to drive Italy's borrowing costs further above 6 percent at a bond auction on Thursday after German Chancellor Angela Merkel brushed aside Spanish and Italian pleas for emergency action to steady debt markets. Battling with rising interest payments on its 1.95 trillion euro ($2.4 trillion) debt, Italy is offering up to 5.5 billion euros in five- and 10-year bonds just hours before the start of an EU summit where Prime Minister Mario Monti will keep pushing for joint moves to contain government funding costs. ... Full Story Top Afghanistan wants its cultural heroes back Wed,27 Jun 2012 04:05 PM PDT Reuters - KABUL (Reuters) - - Interred a quarter century ago in Pakistan, the remains of Afghan poet Ustad Khalilullah Khalili now lie in a forlorn corner of Kabul University, brought here to be reburied so that no one else can lay claim to the revered poet-philosopher. He has no epitaph; only a few wilted bouquets lie at the grave of Afghanistan's most prominent 20th century poet. Three policemen guard the site. ... Full Story Top Defence wasting cash on unused supplies: report Wed,27 Jun 2012 04:02 PM PDT Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - The cash-strapped defence ministry is wasting money on unnecessary supplies and adding to storage costs by not disposing of old stock, parliament's spending watchdog said on Thursday, the latest criticism to hit the embattled department. As the government struggles to tackle a big budget deficit and revive an ailing economy, few of its departments have been more heavily criticised than the defence ministry, which is striving to corral its chaotic bureaucracy. ... Full Story Top Spain dash Portugal hopes with shootout victory Wed,27 Jun 2012 03:36 PM PDT Reuters - DONETSK (Reuters) - Holders Spain needed a stuttering penalty shootout win over Portugal on Wednesday to reach the Euro 2012 final, a soccer showpiece which is set to be attended by a European leader seen as a pariah by much of the continent. Cesc Fabregas scored the decisive kick for a 4-2 shootout semi-final success after a 0-0 draw in Donetsk. Spain will contest a third consecutive major tournament final, equaling the record set by West Germany in the early 1970s. Substitute Fabregas told Spanish TV: "I played awfully but the team worked really hard. ... Full Story Top Fed's Lockhart: not time for the bigger guns yet Wed,27 Jun 2012 03:31 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve would only likely launch another full-on round of bond buying if the economy took a turn for the worse or if Europe's problems flared out of control, a top policymaker said on Wednesday. "I don't think the conditions have developed that require us to bring out bigger guns quite yet," Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart said in an interview with Nightly Business Report. Lockhart is a voter this year on the central bank's policy-setting panel. Another round of quantitative easing "is certainly an option," he added. ... Full Story Top Venezuela poll shows tight race for Chavez Wed,27 Jun 2012 03:31 PM PDT Reuters - CARACAS (Reuters) - A new poll shows Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez only slightly ahead of challenger Henrique Capriles in the October 7 presidential election, welcome news for the opposition following numerous surveys showing Chavez with a wide lead. The leftist former soldier is seeking re-election for a third term to extend his self-styled socialist revolution, and he has boosted his public appearances as his health seems to be recovering from a cancer diagnosed last year. ... Full Story Top U.S. to highlight China cooperation at ASEAN forum Wed,27 Jun 2012 03:24 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States will stress "engagement and cooperation" with China at security talks next month in Southeast Asia where nations are wary of getting caught in superpower rivalry, a senior U.S. official said on Wednesday. Kurt Campbell, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, said the United States and China would unveil new cooperative initiatives at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum in Cambodia. ... Full Story Top Saudi student in Texas convicted of terrorism, Bush a target Wed,27 Jun 2012 03:23 PM PDT Reuters - SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Reuters) - A U.S. federal jury convicted a Saudi Arabian citizen on Wednesday of attempting to build a weapon of mass destruction to attack several targets in the United States, including the Dallas home of former President George W. Bush. Khalid Aldawsari, 22, who was a student at South Plains College near Lubbock, Texas, referred to Bush's home in an e-mail as a "tyrant's house. ... Full Story Top U.S. defense cut could cost billions to implement Wed,27 Jun 2012 03:16 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon may have to pay billions of dollars in termination fees and other contract penalties if Congress does not stop $500 billion in automatic defense spending cuts due to take effect on January 2, a top weapons industry executive said on Wednesday. Sean O'Keefe, chief executive of the North American unit of Europe's EADS , said U.S. defense officials were starting to assess added costs that might be triggered by the automatic cuts required under "sequestration," although they have not begun detailed planning for the across-the-board cuts. ... Full Story Top U.S. lawmakers seek review of broadband data caps Wed,27 Jun 2012 03:11 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two Democratic lawmakers said Congress should examine whether major wireless carriers and cable companies are stifling the growth of online video services like Netflix Inc and Hulu by limiting the amount of content Internet subscribers can download each month. Online video providers have argued that data caps are keeping more Americans from accessing their programming as they worry bandwidth-heavy shows and movies could interrupt their Internet service. ... Full Story Top At least 20 dead as north Mali factions clash Wed,27 Jun 2012 03:11 PM PDT Reuters - BAMAKO (Reuters) - Al Qaeda-linked Islamists militants seized control of the headquarters of the local separatist rebels in the north Mali town of Gao on Wednesday after a bloody battle that killed at least 20, residents said. The battle follows weeks of tension between the separatist Tuareg-led MNLA and better-armed local Islamists who helped it take control of the northern two-thirds of Mali in April but whose goal is to impose sharia Islamic law across the country. ... Full Story Top Comcast to pay $800,000 to resolve FCC probe Wed,27 Jun 2012 03:09 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Communications Commission said on Wednesday that Comcast Corp would pay $800,000 to resolve an investigation of its broadband-related merger conditions. The FCC said it began the probe after it was tipped that Comcast was not properly marketing its standalone broadband services, violating a condition of its merger with NBC Universal that requires the cable operator to offer reasonably priced Internet services to consumers who do not subscribe to its cable offerings. ... Full Story Top Barclays paying $453 million to settle Libor probe Wed,27 Jun 2012 02:59 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON/LONDON (Reuters) - U.K. bank Barclays will pay $453 million to U.S. and British authorities to settle allegations that it manipulated key interest rates, increasing pressure on other banks to cooperate in a probe that could cost the financial industry billions of dollars. The settlement raises fresh questions about the reliability of the London interbank offered rate, or Libor, which underpins some $360 trillion of loans and financial contracts. ... Full Story Top Iran says ready to help solve Syria crisis Wed,27 Jun 2012 02:59 PM PDT Reuters - UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Iran is ready to help international envoy Kofi Annan's bid to bring peace to Syria, but if some countries do not want Tehran at a meeting of global powers then "that's their problem," Iran's U.N. Ambassador Mohammad Khazaee said on Wednesday. The meeting, called by Annan, will take place in Geneva on Saturday to work out a way to end the worsening conflict in Syria and bring about a political transition. ... Full Story Top Lawmakers reach transportation deal, Keystone out Wed,27 Jun 2012 02:38 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lawmakers from the U.S. Congress cut a deal on a massive transportation bill on Wednesday, ending seven weeks of talks just days before federal funding expires for roads, bridges and mass-transit projects. "I am so glad that House Republicans met Democrats half way, as Senate Republicans did months ago," Senator Barbara Boxer, who led the talks, said in a statement. Boxer gave few details of the massive bill, which was a big priority for both parties ahead of November 6 elections because it supports an estimated 3 million jobs. ... Full Story Top World powers to meet in Geneva on Syria Wed,27 Jun 2012 02:33 PM PDT Reuters - GENEVA (Reuters) - Foreign ministers from the global powers and Middle East countries will meet in Geneva on Saturday to work out a way to end the worsening conflict in Syria and bring about a political transition. International mediator Kofi Annan called the meeting on Wednesday just as the situation in Syria took an even more serious turn, with insurgents attacking a pro-government television station in Damascus and fighting breaking out in the capital's suburbs. Annan, who acts as envoy for the United Nations and Arab League, said he had invited foreign ministers from the five permanent ... Full Story Top Sayeeda Warsi committed "minor breach" of code Wed,27 Jun 2012 02:09 PM PDT Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister David Cameron avoided embarrassment and a possible enforced government reshuffle after a report on Wednesday found his embattled Conservative Party co-chairman had not committed a major breach of ministerial rules. Sayeeda Warsi faced a stream of damaging headlines last month, in which she was accused of making improper expense claims and of not declaring a business interest with a relative who had travelled with her on official business to Pakistan. ... Full Story Top U.S. bars business with four in Hezbollah laundering link Wed,27 Jun 2012 02:05 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday banned Americans from doing business with three Lebanese-Venezuelans and a Lebanese man it accused of helping to launder drug money to the benefit of the Lebanon-based Hezbollah militant group. It also designated one Colombian-Lebanese man, Ali Mohamad Saleh, as a global terrorist for his involvement with Hezbollah fund-raising. The action freezes any assets Saleh may have in the United States and also bars Americans from doing business with him. ... Full Story Top Lawmakers press for open Trans-Pacific trade talks Wed,27 Jun 2012 01:55 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A California congressman at the center of a legal battle with the White House on Wednesday asked U.S. trade officials to let him sit in on negotiations in San Diego next week between the United States and other countries in the Asia-Pacific region. "Given the immense impact that this agreement will have on many areas of the American economy, including intellectual property, I respectfully request that you allow me and certain members of my staff to be present as observers for this round of negotiations," Republican lawmaker Darrell Issa said in a letter to U.S. ... Full Story Top Spanish forced to pay for drugs as cuts take toll Wed,27 Jun 2012 01:50 PM PDT Reuters - MADRID (Reuters) - Patients in Spain will have to pay the full price for some prescription medicines under a new measure to cut healthcare costs approved on Wednesday, Health Minister Ana Mato confirmed at a press conference. The new measure, which will come into effect in August, will apply to 425 drugs for "minor ailments", including migraines. Patients will have to pay 100 percent of the cost for codeine, some anti-inflammatories and laxatives, among other drugs. "We're revising the financing of a series of drugs with little therapeutic use and for minor ailments. ... Full Story Top SEC charges Falcone, Harbinger with fraud Wed,27 Jun 2012 01:47 PM PDT Reuters - BOSTON/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The bad news keeps coming for Philip Falcone, once one of the hedge fund industry's most successful fund managers. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit in federal court on Wednesday charging Falcone with market manipulation, giving preferential treatment to several big investors who wanted to get their money out and borrowing cash from his hedge fund to pay personal expenses. ... Full Story Top Old rivalries dog Romney foreign policy team Wed,27 Jun 2012 01:46 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Little more than four months before the U.S. presidential elections, Republican hopeful Mitt Romney's foreign policy team is facing the same kind of internal rivalries that dogged the administrations of Ronald Reagan and both George Bushes. Romney's official campaign website lists 42 official foreign and defense advisers, including some of the Republican Party's most prestigious experts, many veterans of past administrations. ... Full Story Top Senate, House negotiators reach transport deal: Sen. Boxer Wed,27 Jun 2012 01:43 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - After seven weeks of talks, lawmakers from the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives have reached agreement on a transportation funding bill that will support 3 million jobs, Senator Barbara Boxer said on Wednesday. "I am so glad that House Republicans met Democrats half way, as Senate Republicans did months ago," said Boxer, the chairman of the negotiating panel, in a statement. (Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Editing by Sandra Maler) Full Story Top Congressional panel clears way for Fed audit bill Wed,27 Jun 2012 01:40 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. House of Representatives panel on Wednesday approved a measure that would allow an audit of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy decisions, a level of scrutiny the central bank says would compromise its independence. The measure was proposed by Republican Representative Ron Paul, a long-time critic of the central bank, and has 257 co-sponsors, more than half of all House members. Its approval by the House Oversight Committee clears the way for a vote in the full House. ... Full Story Top Obama to learn Supreme Court health verdict from news Wed,27 Jun 2012 01:40 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama will learn how the Supreme Court rules on his flagship healthcare law from watching the news, and won't get any advance word on the opinion, the White House said on Wednesday. Asked where Obama will be when the highly anticipated decision is announced on Thursday morning, White House spokesman Jay Carney said: "In my office." Supreme Court rulings are released in a carefully controlled way. Justices read excerpts from the bench in Washington at the same time as the full judgments are posted online and handed to reporters in paper form. ... Full Story Top Mississippi's sole abortion clinic sues over new law Wed,27 Jun 2012 01:21 PM PDT Reuters - TUPELO, Mississippi (Reuters) - The lone abortion facility in Mississippi asked a federal court on Wednesday to block a new state law that will require doctors who perform the controversial procedure to have admitting privileges at a local hospital. The law, set to take effect on Sunday, threatens to make Mississippi the only U.S. state without an abortion clinic. Some anti-abortion state lawmakers say they hope that would mean an end to abortions there. ... Full Story Top U.S. should be open to crude oil exports: EIA head Wed,27 Jun 2012 01:11 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States should be open to exporting domestically produced crude oil, the head of the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday, arguing that such exports could actually benefit the U.S. economy. Adam Sieminski, the former Deutsche Bank economist who was sworn in as EIA administrator earlier this month, said selling U.S. oil abroad could help provide a market for light sweet crude produced from shale formations in places like North Dakota, since the Gulf coast refining hub is more suited to process heavier crudes. ... Full Story Top

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