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Tuesday, July 10, 2012 11:17 AM PDT

Today's Politics - Bloomberg News Headlines - Yahoo! News: Episcopalians set to be first big U.S. church to bless gay marriage Maine Governor LePage apologizes for "Gestapo" comment Barclays' Agius faces lawmakers over rate-rigging scandal U.S. spy agencies say won't read Americans' email for cybersecurity Thousands of Pakistanis protest opening of NATO supply route EU's Rehn: ECB has signed agency agreement with EFSF rescue fund Ethics probe targets congresswoman in key Senate race London's financial lobby machine sways UK policies-report Venezuela's Chavez says "totally free" of cancer, again Judge keeps South Carolina immigration law on hold after Arizona ruling Texas says voter ID law needed to combat election fraud House ethics panel to investigate Nevada lawmaker Wartime PM Jibril takes early lead in Libya vote Gunmen ambush police in western Mexico, 11 killed Cell phone companies see spike in surveillance requests One year on, U.S. sees Sudans in "mutual suicide" struggle U.S. lawmaker asks Tuvalu to stop reflagging Iran oil tankers "Small business" hard to define in Bush tax cut debate Texas rejects key provisions of Obama's health law Mexican leftist refuses to accept election result FARC funding squeeze driving attacks on oil and mining: minister Romney rides big donors to outpace Obama's fundraising Texas says voter ID law needed to combat "culture of election fraud" EU banks' stress-test capital shortfall largely raised: document Mladic trial witness tearfully recalls loss of father Bahrain court jails protest leader over tweets: lawyer Kenya candidates face ICC trial month after vote U.S. offers $1 million reward in 2010 death of border agent Verizon's cable deals make headway but regulatory doubts linger Obama challenges Republicans to keep tax cuts for middle class FDA focuses on training to stem painkiller abuse German diplomat slams UK for fence-sitting on EU Spain says to announce regional debt mechanism soon Russia's Putin says the West is on the decline Rangel rival concedes defeat in New York primary, drops lawsuit Saudi Arabia says two killed after cleric's arrest Canadian nuclear power engineers walk off jobs Bank of England's Tucker denies role in rate-fixing Hollande to stand by ban on Armenian genocide denial Romania court ruling may decide president's fate Episcopalians set to be first big U.S. church to bless gay marriage Mon,9 Jul 2012 06:59 PM PDT Reuters - INDIANAPOLIS (Reuters) - The U.S. Episcopal Church is poised to become the first major religious denomination in the United States to approve a rite for blessing gay marriages after its bishops overwhelmingly approved such a liturgy on Monday. The proposed blessing was agreed by the church's Chamber of Bishops at a meeting in Indianapolis and is expected to receive final approval from its House of Deputies later this week, Ruth Meyers, a chair of the Episcopalians' Subcommittee on Prayer Book, Liturgy and Church Music, told Reuters. ... Full Story Top Maine Governor LePage apologizes for "Gestapo" comment Mon,9 Jul 2012 06:50 PM PDT Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters) - Maine Governor Paul LePage apologized on Monday for calling the U.S. Internal Revenue Service the "Gestapo" during criticism of President Barack Obama's healthcare law. The Republican governor compared the tax agency to Nazi secret police during a weekend radio address on healthcare. "You must buy health insurance or pay the new Gestapo — the IRS," he said, according to local media reports. Democrats criticized the governor and called the remarks offensive. ... Full Story Top Barclays' Agius faces lawmakers over rate-rigging scandal Mon,9 Jul 2012 06:23 PM PDT Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - Marcus Agius, the man at the top of Barclays when its traders rigged a global benchmark interest rate, faces questions from British lawmakers on Tuesday about what he knew about a scandal that threatens a dozen more international banks. Barclays has been fined more than $450 million for its part in manipulating the London Interbank Offered Rate, or Libor, the interest rate that underpins financial transactions worth hundreds of trillions of dollars. ... Full Story Top U.S. spy agencies say won't read Americans' email for cybersecurity Mon,9 Jul 2012 05:48 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The head of the U.S. spy agency that eavesdrops on electronic communications overseas sought on Monday to reassure Americans that the National Security Agency would not read their personal email if a new cybersecurity law was enacted to allow private companies to share information with the government. The House of Representatives in April approved a bill that would allow the government and companies to share information about hacking. But the White House and key Senate Democrats back a broader approach. ... Full Story Top Thousands of Pakistanis protest opening of NATO supply route Mon,9 Jul 2012 05:45 PM PDT Reuters - ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Thousands of supporters of hardline religious groups gathered in the Pakistani capital on Monday to protest their government's decision to re-open supply lines for U.S.-led NATO troops in Afghanistan. The protest was the largest so far against the reopening of the routes. Shops closed early in Islamabad and police set up barricades and cordoned off roads. Pakistan suspended NATO supply routes to Afghanistan last November after a cross-border NATO air attack killed 24 Pakistani soldiers. They were re-opened last week after U.S. ... Full Story Top EU's Rehn: ECB has signed agency agreement with EFSF rescue fund Mon,9 Jul 2012 05:41 PM PDT Reuters - BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Euro zone finance ministers met in Brussels to discuss support for Spanish banks and using the bloc's rescue funds to stabilize bond markets. (Brussels newsroom) Full Story Top Ethics probe targets congresswoman in key Senate race Mon,9 Jul 2012 05:41 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House Ethics Committee will investigate Democratic Representative Shelley Berkley, further complicating her bid to win a hotly contested and closely watched Senate race. The 10-member panel said in a statement on Monday that it had voted unanimously to probe allegations Berkley may have improperly involved herself in an effort to help save a hospital program connected with her husband's business. ... Full Story Top London's financial lobby machine sways UK policies-report Mon,9 Jul 2012 05:26 PM PDT Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - The British financial services industry spent 92 million pounds ($142.81 million) last year lobbying politicians and regulators, helping to sway important policy decisions, the Guardian reported on Tuesday. Political donations by firms and individuals connected to the City of London contributed 6.11 million pounds ($9.48 million) in 2011 to the Conservative, Labour and Lib Dem parties, the newspaper reported, citing the findings of an investigation by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism. ... Full Story Top Venezuela's Chavez says "totally free" of cancer, again Mon,9 Jul 2012 05:00 PM PDT Reuters - CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Monday declared himself fully recovered from cancer and ready to return to the streets for his re-election campaign ahead of an October vote. "Free, free, totally free," an ebullient Chavez told reporters when asked if he was free of the disease that struck a year ago. The 57-year-old socialist leader, who has dominated the South American OPEC member since taking power in 1999, was first diagnosed with cancer in the pelvic region in the middle of last year. ... Full Story Top Judge keeps South Carolina immigration law on hold after Arizona ruling Mon,9 Jul 2012 04:28 PM PDT Reuters - CHARLESTON, South Carolina (Reuters) - A federal judge who in December blocked parts of a South Carolina law cracking down on illegal immigrants said on Monday the law would remain on hold until an appeals court ruled on the case. That means South Carolina still cannot enforce a provision requiring police to check the immigration status of people they stop. The U.S. Supreme Court last month upheld that controversial aspect of a similar law in Arizona. U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel in December blocked that piece of the law and others from taking effect in South Carolina. ... Full Story Top Texas says voter ID law needed to combat election fraud Mon,9 Jul 2012 04:22 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A law requiring Texas voters to present photo identification at the polls is needed to combat a culture of election fraud plaguing the state, lawyers representing Texas argued in a landmark federal court case on Monday. Lawyers representing the state of Texas began their weeklong defense of the 2011 voter ID law in the first case challenging the federal government's power to block such a law since the Democratic administration of President Barack Obama took office. Texas hopes the case will eventually lead to a U.S. ... Full Story Top House ethics panel to investigate Nevada lawmaker Mon,9 Jul 2012 04:04 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House Ethics Committee will investigate allegations that Democratic Representative Shelley Berkley, who is in a tight Senate race, may have improperly used her official position to help a Nevada hospital program connected with her husband's business. The panel said in a statement on Monday that it voted unanimously on June 29 to open a formal probe of allegations relating to Berkeley's efforts in 2008 on behalf of a kidney transplant unit at a Nevada medical center. ... Full Story Top Wartime PM Jibril takes early lead in Libya vote Mon,9 Jul 2012 04:00 PM PDT Reuters - TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Wartime rebel prime minister Mahmoud Jibril took an early lead in Libya's national assembly election, according to partial tallies released on Monday that pointed to a weaker than expected showing for Islamist parties. If confirmed that trend would set Libya apart from other Arab Spring countries such as Egypt and Tunisia where groups with overtly religious agendas have done well - although Jibril insists his multi-party alliance is neither secular nor liberal and includes sharia Islamic law among its core values. ... Full Story Top Gunmen ambush police in western Mexico, 11 killed Mon,9 Jul 2012 03:56 PM PDT Reuters - MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Gunmen ambushed a police convoy in Mexico's western state of Sinaloa on Monday, sparking a shoot-out in which seven officers and four assailants were killed, officials said. The convoy of two police vehicles was attacked as it drove from the coastal city of Los Mochis into the town of El Fuerte, said an officer in the El Fuerte police department. Seven officers and four attackers were killed, he said. Officials did not know the motive of the attack, which bore the hallmarks of assaults carried out by drug cartels. ... Full Story Top Cell phone companies see spike in surveillance requests Mon,9 Jul 2012 03:48 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Mobile phone carriers received more than 1.3 million requests last year from U.S. law enforcement agencies for their customers' phone records and the requests are on the rise, according to data gathered as part of a congressional inquiry into cell phone surveillance. Representative Edward Markey released data on Monday from nine wireless carriers revealing the number of requests in 2011 for cell phone records. ... Full Story Top One year on, U.S. sees Sudans in "mutual suicide" struggle Mon,9 Jul 2012 03:48 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sudan and South Sudan are playing a dangerous economic version of Russian roulette that threatens the success of both countries, the top U.S. official for the region said on the first anniversary of South Sudan's independence. Princeton Lyman, U.S. special envoy for Sudan and South Sudan, said frayed relations between Juba and Khartoum will slow desperately needed growth unless they can negotiate settlements to the border and oil issues that remain unresolved one year after the South seceded. "Each side thinks the other is more vulnerable," Lyman said. ... Full Story Top U.S. lawmaker asks Tuvalu to stop reflagging Iran oil tankers Mon,9 Jul 2012 03:23 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A prominent U.S. lawmaker has asked the small South Pacific island nation Tuvalu to stop reflagging Iranian oil tankers and warned its government of the risks of running afoul of U.S. sanctions. The European Union banned Iranian oil imports as well as providing insurance for vessels carrying Iranian oil on July 1, and the United States has new economic sanctions that have curbed Iranian oil imports by most other major nations. ... Full Story Top "Small business" hard to define in Bush tax cut debate Mon,9 Jul 2012 03:06 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans blasted President Barack Obama on Monday for punishing small businesses with his push to let low tax rates on the wealthy expire, but the truth is more complicated. In a preview of an end-of-the-year fight over taxes, the parties are squabbling over the impact on "small business" if Obama gets his way and taxpayers earning $250,000 or more lose tax breaks that expire in December. "Nobody can agree what a small business is," said Will McBride, an economist at the conservative-leaning Tax Foundation, which backs lower taxes for all business. ... Full Story Top Texas rejects key provisions of Obama's health law Mon,9 Jul 2012 03:01 PM PDT Reuters - AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Governor Rick Perry said on Monday Texas will not implement an expansion of the Medicaid program or create a health insurance exchange, placing the state with the highest percentage of people without insurance outside key parts of President Barack Obama's signature law. The announcement makes Texas the most populous state that has rejected the provisions. Some 6.2 million people are without health insurance in Texas, or 24.6 percent of the state population, the highest percentage in the nation. California has more people without insurance but a lower percentage. ... Full Story Top Mexican leftist refuses to accept election result Mon,9 Jul 2012 02:48 PM PDT Reuters - MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The runner-up in Mexico's presidential election rejected on Monday the final results of the contest and said he had evidence that about 5 million votes had been bought by the winner's political party. Sunday's official tally said leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who led six weeks of protests when he lost the 2006 presidential election, finished second with 31.59 percent of the vote. That left him about 3.3 million votes behind winner Enrique Pena Nieto of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) with 38.21 percent. ... Full Story Top FARC funding squeeze driving attacks on oil and mining: minister Mon,9 Jul 2012 02:42 PM PDT Reuters - BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia's FARC rebels have stepped up extortion and attacks on the oil and mining industries to finance their war as changes to the way the government distributes industry royalties have cut into the group's revenues, the energy minister said on Monday. More than a decade-long offensive by U.S.-backed troops has squeezed the fund-raising of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, pushing them deeper into inhospitable jungle and making it harder to raise cash from the drug trade. ... Full Story Top Romney rides big donors to outpace Obama's fundraising Mon,9 Jul 2012 02:41 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney raised $106 million in June, far surpassing President Barack Obama's $71 million haul in the record-setting money race leading to the November 6 election. Romney's fundraising mark, announced by his campaign on Monday, is the best monthly total so far in the 2012 presidential campaign. It is another sign that Romney and his allies are on course to wash away any cash advantage that Obama, as an incumbent president, typically would enjoy in a bid for re-election. ... Full Story Top Texas says voter ID law needed to combat "culture of election fraud" Mon,9 Jul 2012 02:22 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A law requiring Texas voters to present photo identification at the polls is needed to combat a culture of election fraud plaguing the state, lawyers representing Texas argued in a landmark federal court case on Monday. Lawyers representing the state of Texas began their weeklong defense of the 2011 voter ID law in the first case challenging the federal government's power to block such a law since the Democratic administration of President Barack Obama took office. Texas hopes the case will eventually lead to a U.S. ... Full Story Top EU banks' stress-test capital shortfall largely raised: document Mon,9 Jul 2012 02:12 PM PDT Reuters - BRUSSELS (Reuters) - A capital shortfall of 114.7 billion euros ($141 billion)identified in European Union bank stress tests has been largely raised from private and public sources, according to a document prepared for EU finance ministers. The document, obtained by Reuters, was prepared by officials for EU finance ministers ahead of their meeting in Brussels on Tuesday as well as the official release of the stress-test results on July 11. It said repairing banks' balance sheets was continuing in some countries, beyond the stress tests. "According to preliminary results, the 114. ... Full Story Top Mladic trial witness tearfully recalls loss of father Mon,9 Jul 2012 02:11 PM PDT Reuters - THE HAGUE (Reuters) - The first witness to testify in the genocide trial of Ratko Mladic broke down in tears as he told a war crimes court on Monday about the last time he saw his father, one of 150 Muslim men killed by Bosnian Serb forces in the village of Grabovica. The mass killing in November 1992 was part of an early wave of ethnic cleansing carried out by nationalist Serbs determined to carve out a Serb state in Bosnia by removing all Muslims and Croats. The 1992-95 war claimed 100,000 lives. ... Full Story Top Bahrain court jails protest leader over tweets: lawyer Mon,9 Jul 2012 02:06 PM PDT Reuters - DUBAI (Reuters) - A prominent Bahraini protest leader, Nabeel Rajab, was sentenced to three months in prison for insulting some Bahrainis in a tweet criticizing the prime minister, Rajab's lawyer and the state news agency said on Monday. Rajab has been a central figure in organizing protests during 16 months of unrest in the Gulf Arab state. Majority Shi'ite Muslims have spearheaded calls for democratic reforms to limit the powers of the ruling Sunni Muslim Al Khalifa family. ... Full Story Top Kenya candidates face ICC trial month after vote Mon,9 Jul 2012 02:04 PM PDT Reuters - THE HAGUE/NAIROBI (Reuters) - The International Criminal Court said on Monday two senior Kenyan politicians would be tried for crimes against humanity in April 2013, just a month after they stand in a presidential election in east Africa's largest economy. The announcement of the court dates raises the prospect of Kenya's next leader making his first foreign trip to appear in the dock of a court set up to try some of the world's worst war crimes and atrocities. ... Full Story Top U.S. offers $1 million reward in 2010 death of border agent Mon,9 Jul 2012 02:04 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal investigators offered up to $1 million on Monday for information about a U.S. border agent's 2010 death, the same case that is fueling an election-year firestorm between the Obama administration and congressional Republicans. Republicans highlighted the death of U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry as they investigated Operation Fast and Furious, a since-abandoned program that targeted the flow of illegal guns across the U.S.-Mexico border to drug cartels. Two guns found at the scene of Terry's death in Arizona were among those that the U.S. ... Full Story Top Verizon's cable deals make headway but regulatory doubts linger Mon,9 Jul 2012 02:02 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The telecoms regulator is prepared to approve Verizon Wireless' plan to buy airwaves from cable companies, according to people with knowledge of the situation, though the company still has to convince the Justice Department that the deal will not lead to higher prices for consumers. Verizon Wireless, the biggest U.S. mobile provider, announced in December plans to buy spectrum from a consortium of cable providers, including Comcast and Time Warner Cable, for about for $3.9 billion. Verizon Wireless is owned by Verizon Communications and Vodafone Group Plc. ... Full Story Top Obama challenges Republicans to keep tax cuts for middle class Mon,9 Jul 2012 02:02 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama called on Monday for a one-year extension of Bush-era tax cuts for families earning less than $250,000 a year, seeking to steer the election-year debate away from high unemployment and portray himself as a champion of ordinary Americans. The tax proposal is unlikely to sway Obama's Republican opponents in Congress, who argue that the cuts should be maintained for everyone, including higher earners. Obama said both sides agree on the need to keep tax rates down for middle income groups at least. ... Full Story Top FDA focuses on training to stem painkiller abuse Mon,9 Jul 2012 01:59 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Health regulators are hoping more education for doctors and patients can stem the growing tide of prescription painkiller abuse in the United States. The Food and Drug Administration is mandating that all companies that make long-acting or extended-release opioid medicines - including painkillers like oxycodone and methadone - fund training programs for doctors and distribute info sheets for patients that promote proper use of the pills. ... Full Story Top German diplomat slams UK for fence-sitting on EU Mon,9 Jul 2012 01:36 PM PDT Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - Germany's ambassador to Britain, Georg Boomgaarden, took a swipe at Britain's attitude to the European Union on Monday, saying its politicians should stop 'fence-sitting' and clarify its future in the 27-nation bloc. "We want Britain to be a strong and committed full member of the EU and not sitting on the fence," Boomgaarden said at a seminar on Germany's economy organized by news provider Bloomberg in London. ... Full Story Top Spain says to announce regional debt mechanism soon Mon,9 Jul 2012 01:36 PM PDT Reuters - MADRID (Reuters) - Spain will give details this week or next of a debt instrument created to help its regions - which face prohibitively high borrowing costs in open markets - to raise cash and repay bonds, a government official said on Monday. Spain's 17 autonomous regions, largely responsible for the country missing its deficit target by a wide margin in 2011, need to refinance some 36 billion euros ($44 billion) of debt this year, but investor nerves have made it tough for them to raise money. ... Full Story Top Russia's Putin says the West is on the decline Mon,9 Jul 2012 01:32 PM PDT Reuters - MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin said on Monday the West's influence was waning as its economy declines but warned Russian diplomats to be on their guard against a backlash from Moscow's former Cold War enemies. In a biennial speech to Russian ambassadors, Putin also took a shot at the West by condemning any unilateral actions to solve international disputes and underlined the importance of resolving such conflicts through the United Nations. ... Full Story Top Rangel rival concedes defeat in New York primary, drops lawsuit Mon,9 Jul 2012 01:31 PM PDT Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York state Senator Adriano Espaillat conceded defeat on Monday in his primary election bid to oust long-serving Democratic U.S. Representative Charles Rangel and dropped a lawsuit challenging the results. Espaillat initially conceded defeat two weeks ago on the night of the primary, when a preliminary count suggested that Rangel, a 21-term congressman, had easily turned away his strongest challenge yet. ... Full Story Top Saudi Arabia says two killed after cleric's arrest Mon,9 Jul 2012 01:29 PM PDT Reuters - DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia said on Monday two men had been killed following Sunday's arrest of a prominent Shi'ite Muslim cleric that stirred some protests in the oil-producing east of the country. An Interior Ministry spokesman said the deaths followed a protest in the village of Awamiya over the arrest on sedition accusations of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr. According to Saudi authorities Nimr was shot in the leg after police came under fire on trying to stop his car. Nimr, seen as a leading radical cleric promoting Shi'ite interests, was taken to hospital. ... Full Story Top Canadian nuclear power engineers walk off jobs Mon,9 Jul 2012 01:27 PM PDT Reuters - VANCOUVER/TORONTO (Reuters) - Nuclear engineers at the Candu Energy subsidiary of Canada's SNC-Lavalin Group Inc went on strike on Monday in a contract dispute and no talks to end the walkout are scheduled, their union said. The engineers, who design and perform major service at CANDU reactors in Canada and around the world, are not responsible for day-to-day reactor operations. The walkout is not expected to disrupt power supply unless the strikers set up picket lines outside nuclear plants and operational staff refuse to cross them. ... Full Story Top Bank of England's Tucker denies role in rate-fixing Mon,9 Jul 2012 01:21 PM PDT Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - The Bank of England's deputy governor, Paul Tucker, strongly denied suggestions on Monday that government ministers had pressured him to encourage banks to manipulate interest rates in a scandal gripping Britain's financial sector. A row over how much top officials knew about the rigging intensified as Tucker appeared before a parliamentary committee as part of its investigation into Barclays and other banks suspected of manipulating a key interbank lending rate. ... Full Story Top Hollande to stand by ban on Armenian genocide denial Mon,9 Jul 2012 01:17 PM PDT Reuters - PARIS (Reuters) - French President Francois Hollande will stand by a campaign pledge to make it illegal to deny that the killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks in 1915 was genocide, his office said, days after his foreign minister said the law had been abandoned. Relations between Paris and Ankara had begun to thaw after a decision in February by France's constitutional court to strike down the genocide denial law as contrary to free speech. Turkey had canceled all economic, political and military meetings with France in December after the French parliament voted in favour of the draft law. ... Full Story Top Romania court ruling may decide president's fate Mon,9 Jul 2012 01:11 PM PDT Reuters - BUCHAREST (Reuters) - The fate of Romania's president hangs in the balance as the Constitutional Court considers whether his rivals who run the government can change the rules of a referendum which will decide whether he will be impeached. The ruling Social Liberal Union (USL) of Prime Minister Victor Ponta suspended President Traian Basescu on Friday saying he had overstepped his powers, a move the court confirmed on Monday was in line with the constitution. ... Full Story Top

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