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Firms seek to speed up U.S. campaign donations by text message
Thu,19 Jul 2012 06:56 PM PDT
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The companies that pushed U.S. regulators to approve political donations via text message want to accelerate the plan and are seeking a speedy response from the Federal Election Commission to the concerns of wireless carriers. Political consultancy Armour Media Inc and m-Qube Inc, an aggregator that serves as a middleman between wireless carriers and campaigns, have joined with U.S. Representative Jim Cooper in asking the FEC to clarify the process. ...
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"America's toughest" sheriff on trial over discrimination claims
Thu,19 Jul 2012 06:55 PM PDT
Reuters -  PHOENIX (Reuters) - Arizona lawman Joe Arpaio, who calls himself America's toughest sheriff, was accused of racial profiling as a trial began on Thursday in a class-action lawsuit alleging he discriminated against Latinos in his crackdown on illegal immigration. The case will test whether the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office can target those in the country illegally in immigration sweeps without racially profiling Hispanic citizens and legal residents. ...
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Syrian borders in rebel hands, battles in Damascus
Thu,19 Jul 2012 06:38 PM PDT
Reuters -  AMMAN/CILVEGOZU, Turkey (Reuters) - Rebels seized control of sections of Syria's international borders and torched the main police headquarters in the heart of old Damascus, advancing relentlessly after the assassination of President Bashar al-Assad's closest lieutenants. The battle for parts of the capital raged into the early hours of Friday, with corpses piled in the streets. In some neighborhoods, residents said there were signs the government's presence was diminishing. ...
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Closing arguments expected in Air Force sex scandal trial
Thu,19 Jul 2012 06:37 PM PDT
Reuters - SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - Both military prosecutors and defense attorneys rested their cases on Thursday in a trial against a drill instructor accused of serial sexual assault of women during U.S. Air Force basic training in Texas, in the first court-martial of a widening military sex scandal. Air Force basic training instructor Staff Sergeant Luis Walker is accused of 28 counts, including rape and attempted assault, for allegedly having inappropriate sexual relationships with 10 women. ... Full Story | Top |
China's Ai Weiwei says barred from hearing tax case verdict
Thu,19 Jul 2012 06:25 PM PDT
Reuters - BEIJING (Reuters) - China has barred its most famous dissident Ai Weiwei from showing up in court to hear the verdict of his appeal against a $2 million fine for tax evasion, a case that critics accuse Beijing of using to muzzle the outspoken artist. Ai is urging a Beijing court to overturn the city tax office's rejection of his appeal against the tax evasion penalty imposed on the company he works for, Beijing Fake Cultural Development Ltd., which produces his art and designs. ... Full Story | Top |
House votes to appropriate $606 billion for defense
Thu,19 Jul 2012 06:23 PM PDT
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The House of Representatives approved on Thursday $606 billion in defense spending for next year after two days of debate that saw lawmakers from both parties line up to condemn the ongoing war in Afghanistan as a waste of lives and money. The Republican-dominated House voted 326-90 to approve the annual defense appropriations bill, which includes a Pentagon base budget of $518 billion plus $87.7 billion in spending for the Afghanistan war and other overseas operations, according to the House Appropriations Committee. ... Full Story | Top |
250 people killed in Syria in highest death toll: opposition
Thu,19 Jul 2012 06:04 PM PDT
Reuters - BEIRUT (Reuters) - More than 250 people were killed in Syria on Thursday, an opposition monitoring group said, the highest death toll in a single day since the revolt against President Bashar al-Assad erupted 16 months ago. The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human rights said 155 civilians, including 44 people in Damascus where pitched battles have raged for five days, and 93 security forces personnel were killed. ... Full Story | Top |
Obama stresses Israel support on campaign trail
Thu,19 Jul 2012 05:55 PM PDT
Reuters -  WEST PALM BEACH, Florida (Reuters) - President Barack Obama cited the "ruthless" suicide bus attack in Bulgaria and upheaval in Syria as reasons to fortify support for Israel, telling a re-election campaign event in Florida on Thursday he stood by Israel's side. Departing from his normal stump-speech themes of tax fairness, education and healthcare, the Democratic president described the Bulgaria airport bus bombing that killed five Israeli tourists as "barbaric" and a "ruthless terrorist attack. ...
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Accused Texas base shooter praised militant cleric in emails
Thu,19 Jul 2012 05:51 PM PDT
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Army psychiatrist declared some suicide bombings acceptable and offered money to a militant Muslim cleric in emails months before he was accused of killing 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas, according to copies of the emails released on Thursday. The emails became public for the first time as part of a report assessing what the FBI knew about Major Nidal Hasan and whether the agency could have prevented his 2009 shooting spree. Hasan, 41, is scheduled to stand trial in a military court-martial on August 20 for the shooting spree, which also wounded more than 30. ... Full Story | Top |
Illinois panel votes to expel indicted lawmaker from legislature
Thu,19 Jul 2012 05:31 PM PDT
Reuters - CHICAGO (Reuters) - A lawmaker from Chicago who has been indicted for bribery but has refused to resign his seat should be expelled from the Illinois Legislature, a special investigative panel recommended on Thursday. State House Representative Derrick Smith was arrested in March and charged with accepting a $7,000 bribe in exchange for endorsing a daycare center's state grant application. ... Full Story | Top |
NASA hires SpaceX for science satellite launch
Thu,19 Jul 2012 05:23 PM PDT
Reuters - CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - NASA hired Space Exploration Technologies to launch an ocean monitoring satellite, a key win for the start-up rocket company that also wants to break into the U.S. military's launch business, NASA officials said on Thursday. The $82 million contract covers launch, payload processing and other services for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's ocean-measuring Jason-3 satellite, which is slated to fly in December 2014. Launch would take place from SpaceX's new complex at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. ... Full Story | Top |
Report finds private student loans riskier before financial crisis
Thu,19 Jul 2012 05:01 PM PDT
Reuters - (Reuters) - Borrowers who took out private student loans in the run-up to the financial crisis are facing higher levels of default, reflecting the risky lending practices at the time, the Obama administration said in a new report. The Department of Education and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said private lenders have since cleaned up some of the worst activities, but lawmakers should still work to improve the private loan market and enhance protections for students. ... Full Story | Top |
Bulgaria says suicide bomber blew up airport bus
Thu,19 Jul 2012 04:51 PM PDT
Reuters -  BURGAS, Bulgaria (Reuters) - A suicide bomber carried out an attack that killed seven people in a bus transporting Israeli tourists in Bulgaria, the interior minister said on Thursday, and Israel said Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants were to blame. Iran denied it was behind Wednesday's attack at Burgas airport, a popular gateway for tourists visiting the Black Sea coast. Video surveillance footage showed the bomber was similar in appearance to tourists arriving at the airport, Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov said. ...
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Obama seeks gains in Florida as voter angst on economy rises
Thu,19 Jul 2012 04:38 PM PDT
Reuters -  JACKSONVILLE, Fla./ROXBURY, Massachusetts (Reuters) - President Barack Obama sought a boost for his campaign in the crucial state of Florida on Thursday, amid new signs that voters are increasingly dissatisfied with his handling of the U.S. economy and questions about whether his attacks on Republican Mitt Romney are resonating. Kicking off a two-day swing through this politically divided state, Obama tried to shore up his support with senior citizens and continued to cast Romney as a defender of the rich at the expense of the middle class. ...
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Actor Morgan Freeman gives $1 million to pro-Obama Super PAC
Thu,19 Jul 2012 04:27 PM PDT
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Actor Morgan Freeman is the latest Hollywood figure to join the ranks of $1 million donors to Democratic President Barack Obama's re-election effort with his donation in June to the "Super PAC" helping Obama. The Oscar-winning actor's big donation to Priorities USA Action, the "super" political action committee backing the president, was announced on Thursday and will be reported in the group's federal disclosures on Friday. Priorities USA has raised $20. ...
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Active duty military may don uniforms at San Diego gay pride parade
Thu,19 Jul 2012 04:22 PM PDT
Reuters - (Reuters) - The Department of Defense will allow active duty members of all branches of the U.S. military to don their service uniforms while marching in the upcoming San Diego gay pride parade, event organizers said on Thursday. The move, announced the day before the weekend festivities are to begin, comes in the wake of a repeal that went into effect last September of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law, under which homosexuals were allowed to serve in the military only if they did not divulge their sexual orientation. ... Full Story | Top |
House votes to appropriate $607 billion for defense
Thu,19 Jul 2012 04:18 PM PDT
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday approved $607 billion in defense spending for next year after two days of debate that saw lawmakers from both parties line up to condemn the ongoing war in Afghanistan as a waste of lives and money. Lawmakers in the Republican-dominated House voted 326-90 to approve the annual defense appropriations bill, which includes a Pentagon base budget of $524 billion plus $83 billion in spending for the Afghanistan war and other overseas operations. ... Full Story | Top |
UK may need more steps to unblock credit: FPC's Turner
Thu,19 Jul 2012 04:17 PM PDT
Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - British policymakers may have to do more to get lending flowing around the economy, combining bank regulation and monetary policy creatively to ward off deflation dangers, Britain's top bank regulator, Adair Turner, said on Friday. Turner, the chairman of the Financial Services Authority, is tipped as a potential successor to Bank of England Governor Mervyn King, and he was speaking in his role as a member of the BoE's Financial Policy Committee, a new regulatory body at the central bank in charge of systemic threats to financial stability. ... Full Story | Top |
Egypt TV channel gives veiled women a face
Thu,19 Jul 2012 04:08 PM PDT
Reuters -  CAIRO (Reuters) - Abeer Shahin graduated from the prestigious American University in Cairo but struggled to find a job because of employers' aversion to her full Islamic face veil, or niqab. But now she has found a job she hopes will change how Egyptian society views niqab wearers once and for all: she is going to work as a TV anchor for a new channel being managed and run exclusively by women who wear the full veil. "It's unfair to deal with veiled women as a standard religious housewife. ...
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Non-partisan report sees no harm in tax hikes for wealthy
Thu,19 Jul 2012 04:00 PM PDT
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Letting tax rates for the wealthy rise will not put a short-term damper on the economic recovery, according to a report by the non-partisan research arm of the U.S. Congress. The study by the Congressional Research Service is likely to be used by Democrats in the looming battle over whether to extend tax cuts originally enacted during the administration of President George W. Bush when they expire at the end of the year. Republicans want the cuts continued for all income groups while Democrats favor letting them expire for the most affluent Americans. ... Full Story | Top |
House lawmakers reach deal on Russia trade, rights bill
Thu,19 Jul 2012 03:54 PM PDT
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top Republican and Democrat on the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee said on Thursday they reached a deal to move forward on Russian trade legislation, including human rights provisions opposed by Moscow. "I am pleased that we were able to gain bipartisan support for this important legislation that supports U.S. jobs and exports, and I look forward to marking it up next week," Committee Chairman Dave Camp, a Republican, said in a statement with Democratic Representative Sander Levin. Business groups, such as the U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
Don't give up on euro bonds forever: French finance minister
Thu,19 Jul 2012 03:46 PM PDT
Reuters - (Reuters) - The prospect of euro zone nations issuing common bonds may not have immediate political traction, but the monetary union should not relinquish the idea entirely, French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici said on Thursday. Moscovici spoke to reporters at the French ambassador's residence in Washington following meetings with U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, whom he described as somewhat "less nervous" about the European situation. ... Full Story | Top |
Eurogroup to approve Spanish banking sector bailout Friday
Thu,19 Jul 2012 03:46 PM PDT
Reuters - BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Euro zone finance ministers are expected to approve an agreement on Friday to lend up to 100 billion euros to Spain so it can recapitalize its banks, but the exact size of the loan will probably only be determined in September. Ministers are expected in a conference call to sign off on a lengthy memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Spain spelling out the terms of the aid, which will be fully disbursed by the end of 2013. ... Full Story | Top |
Pennsylvania pension woes weigh on credit ratings
Thu,19 Jul 2012 03:45 PM PDT
Reuters - (Reuters) - Credit rating agencies are warning Pennsylvania about the high cost of its pension system, with Standard & Poor's Ratings Services saying on Thursday that it could downgrade the state in the next two years if the problem isn't fixed. S&P changed its outlook on the state's debt to 'negative' from 'stable,' saying it was concerned in part about mounting spending pressure for public pensions amid a slow-growth economy. S&P affirmed the 'AA' credit rating on the state's GO debt, but said the rating could drop a notch if Pennsylvania does not enact pension reform. ... Full Story | Top |
Dozens of casualties in attack on Damascus police headquarter: activist
Thu,19 Jul 2012 03:32 PM PDT
Reuters - AMMAN (Reuters) - A guerrilla rebel attack on the Damascus police headquarters on Thursday left dozens of security personnel and militiamen loyal to President Bashar al-Assad dead or wounded, an opposition activist said. Rebels armed with AK-47s, small machineguns and explosive devices cut off two main roads leading to the complex in the central Qanawat district and attacked it at around 4:45 p.m. (1345 GMT), he said. "Three patrol cars came to the site and were hit by roadside bombs near Bab Sreijeh. I saw three bodies in one car. ... Full Story | Top |
Los Angeles opens newly planted park trampled in Occupy protest
Thu,19 Jul 2012 03:31 PM PDT
Reuters - LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Police opened the gates to a revived Los Angeles City Hall Park Center on Thursday for the first time since November when a tent city of Occupy demonstrators turned it into a sandlot before they were evicted. But sign-waving protesters were barred from the $1 million project while local politicians and city workers held a press conference in the park. Concrete barriers with chain-link fencing remained on the edges of the park that covers a city block and surrounds City Hall. Newly posted rules prohibit camping. ... Full Story | Top |
U.N. impasse leaves U.S. scrambling for Syria options
Thu,19 Jul 2012 03:29 PM PDT
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Beaten back by a double veto at the United Nations, the United States on Thursday sought to rescue its Syria strategy amid fears that the crisis was lurching into a dangerous endgame. The Obama administration had fought for a U.N. Security Council resolution setting out consequences for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's failure to halt his crackdown, saying this was essential if international mediator Kofi Annan's fragile political transition plan was ever to take hold. ... Full Story | Top |
Senate Republicans block Democrats' jobs bill
Thu,19 Jul 2012 02:58 PM PDT
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans in the Senate blocked on Thursday an election-year "Bring Jobs Home" bill that, if nothing else, gave Democrats an opportunity to highlight Mitt Romney's ties to Bain Capital and its outsourcing practices. The partisan vote was one more instance of Democrats and Republicans in Congress offering up measures they know will not pass but can be used to fire up their respective supporters in the run-up to November's elections. The measure was stopped dead in its tracks when Senate Republicans blocked it from being debated. The bill also is opposed by some large U. ... Full Story | Top |
U.S. procurement agency embroiled in new spending scandal
Thu,19 Jul 2012 02:50 PM PDT
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Disclosure of another lavish party thrown by the U.S. government's buildings and procurement agency prompted fresh attacks on Thursday from Republican lawmakers on wasteful Washington spending under President Barack Obama. The General Services Administration spent at least $268,732 on a one-day performance awards ceremony in November 2010 -- including $20,578 on wooden drumsticks -- the agency's inspector general revealed to Congress as part of an investigation. The Washington, D.C. ... Full Story | Top |
Million Yemen children face severe malnutrition
Thu,19 Jul 2012 02:49 PM PDT
Reuters - SANAA (Reuters) - One million Yemeni children face severe malnutrition within months as families struggle to pay for food in one of the Arab world's poorest countries, the U.N. World Food Programme has warned. Political turmoil has pushed Yemen to the brink of a humanitarian crisis and aid agencies estimate half the country's 24 million people are malnourished. ... Full Story | Top |
FCC says Internet providers are lifting their game
Thu,19 Jul 2012 02:33 PM PDT
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An annual report card on how well Internet service providers meet or exceed advertised broadband speeds has placed Verizon Communications Inc and Cablevision Systems Corp at the top of the class. Overall, the 13 top U.S. broadband providers, representing four-fifths of all U.S. landline broadband connections, are coming much closer to consistently delivering their advertised speeds, the Federal Communications Commission said on Thursday. U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
Pentagon takes concern about leaks seriously, lawmakers say
Thu,19 Jul 2012 02:32 PM PDT
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lawmakers expressed concern on Thursday about a spate of recent national security leaks but said they were convinced that top Pentagon officials view the issue seriously and have taken steps to prevent the release of secret material. "We're concerned about the leaks that have come out over the years and accelerated, it seems, over the last few months," Representative Buck McKeon said after a closed-door hearing with Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Army General Martin Dempsey, the military's top uniformed officer. Recent disclosures about U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
Romney says Obama has "abdicated leadership" on Syria
Thu,19 Jul 2012 02:12 PM PDT
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney blamed President Barack Obama for a "lack of leadership" on the crisis in Syria on Thursday and accused him of abdicating the U.S. role to the United Nations. Romney turned the U.N. Security Council's failure to approve a Western-backed resolution threatening sanctions against the Syrian regime into an assault on Obama's foreign policy. Russia and China resisted U.S. pressure and vetoed the resolution. ...
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Iraq closes main border crossing with Syria: mayor
Thu,19 Jul 2012 02:02 PM PDT
Reuters - BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq has closed its main border post with Syria and sent troops to the frontier after Syrian rebels took control of the Abu Kamal crossing, a local mayor said on Thursday. "Qaim post, opposite Abu Kamal, is closed and now under the control of the Iraqi army," the mayor of Qaim, Fahan Fitaihan, said. Iraqi troops had also taken over another nearby post from Iraqi customs officials, he said. He said the Syrian Free Army had raised its flag on the other side of the border. (Reporting by Raheem Salman; Writing by Sylvia Westall; Editing by Alison Williams) Full Story | Top |
Mass anti-austerity protests on Spanish streets
Thu,19 Jul 2012 02:01 PM PDT
Reuters -  MADRID (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of Spaniards marched against the centre-right government's latest austerity measures on Thursday evening, following more than a week of demonstrations across the country. Parliament on Thursday approved a package of 65 billion euros ($80 billion) of spending cuts and tax hikes as part of measures to avert a full European bail-out, bringing more hardship in a severe economic downturn. ...
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Factory, jobs data show economy mired in weakness
Thu,19 Jul 2012 02:00 PM PDT
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The slowdown in the economy persisted early in the third quarter as factory activity in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region contracted in July for a third straight month and new claims for jobless aid surged last week. Other reports on Thursday showed home resales slumped to their lowest level in eight months in June and a gauge of future economic activity slipped last month. ...
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Canada's Conservatives slightly ahead of opposition: poll
Thu,19 Jul 2012 01:48 PM PDT
Reuters - OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's governing Conservatives have a slight lead over the main opposition party but do not have enough support to win convincingly if an election were held now, a new poll showed on Thursday. The right-of-center Conservatives have seen their support gradually slip since they got 39.6 percent of the vote in the last election in May 2011 and won a majority government. The next election is scheduled for October 2015. The new Nanos Research poll, conducted between July 7 and 12, put Conservative support at 33.6 percent, just 0. ... Full Story | Top |
Statistics Canada mulls changes to data release system
Thu,19 Jul 2012 01:44 PM PDT
Reuters - OTTAWA (Reuters) - Statistics Canada on Thursday said it was seeking comments about possible changes to the way it releases government data, an idea it floated in April but abandoned after a media outcry. The federal agency said it had begun consulting news organizations on whether to delay the release of data from its media lockup room to 08:30:04 from 08:30:00, so that the material could appear simultaneously on its website. ... Full Story | Top |
Steep hike in customs fees leaves many Cubans fuming
Thu,19 Jul 2012 01:43 PM PDT
Reuters - HAVANA (Reuters) - A sharp increase in customs duties has angered many Cubans and cast a shadow over market-oriented reforms on the communist-ruled island advocated by President Raul Castro. The move, which raises fees many times over in some cases, is expected to ratchet up prices and decrease the availability of imported merchandise. It also threaten to bankrupt some of the tens of thousands of mom-and-pop businesses that have sprung up in recent years. ... Full Story | Top |
U.S. says Iran ships using foreign flags to evade sanctions
Thu,19 Jul 2012 01:40 PM PDT
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States warned the maritime industry on Thursday that Iranian ships were still using other country's flags in an attempt to evade Western sanctions against the country. Sierra Leone is the latest country to revoke its flag for a vessel controlled by the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL), which is on the U.S. blacklist for its involvement in Iran's weapons program. The United States and the European Union have implemented tough sanctions against Iran in an attempt to stop the country from acquiring nuclear weapons. The U.S. ...
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