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Friday, August 3, 2012 8:30 PM PDT

Today's Politics - Bloomberg News Headlines - Yahoo! News: Sudan, South Sudan reach deal to end oil dispute: African Union Schwarzenegger says tie-up with Stallone was decades in making After "Halftime in America," Clint Eastwood picks Team Romney Qatar says Annan successor needs new Syria plan Syrian army moves on rebels in Aleppo, Damascus Syria reaches oil deal with ally Russia Syrian rebels say seize security complex in eastern province Russia condemns "harmful" U.N. assembly resolution on Syria Labor chief Solis urges congress to aid employment White House says jobs data shows economy recovering Obama says too many still jobless, need to help middle class Hiring picks up but not enough to sideline Fed Michigan attorney general rejects union bargaining-rights ballot bid Treasury says to raise $5 billion from AIG stock sale Judge releases nun who broke into U.S. nuclear bomb facility Japanese minister tries out Osprey plane at Pentagon Judge rules condemned Oregon killer can reject governor's reprieve Venezuela electoral body probes both sides, baseball cap British coalition faces rift over political reform Chick-fil-A hit by "kiss-in" protests in gay marriage flap Some Turks call foul over Obama-Erdogan bat photo U.S., Pakistan appear to make little headway in spy meet Progress and tradition collide in Poland's green oases Tech start-ups: the last refuge of Spanish optimism Belarus expels Swedish ambassador, EU weighs response Michigan emergency manager law repeal on ballot: court Poland win gold on bodyweight Putin "cheated us again," Russian band lawyer says London mayor hosts Murdoch at the pool Germany should use armed drones: defense minister Michigan attorney general knocks unions' bargaining-rights ballot bid U.S. SEC examining risk controls at Knight Capital U.S. bomb dogs slept in hotel beds in Colombia security scandal: report Panetta orders review of military justice in combat zones U.S. set to start program sparing young illegal immigrants deportation U.N. nations condemn Syria; Russia, China seen isolated Geithner speaks with Greece's Samaras by phone U.S. nuclear bomb facility shut after security breach Camp "Romneyville" protesters ready to greet Republican convention Innovation tax break gaining some support in Congress Sudan, South Sudan reach deal to end oil dispute: African Union Fri,3 Aug 2012 06:55 PM PDT Reuters - ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Sudan and South Sudan have reached a deal on oil payments and will soon discuss when to resume southern oil exports through the north, a mediator from the African Union said on Saturday. Landlocked South Sudan shut down its entire oil production in January after failing to agree with Sudan on how much it should pay to export oil through northern pipelines. Oil is the lifeline of both economies. ... Full Story Top Schwarzenegger says tie-up with Stallone was decades in making Fri,3 Aug 2012 06:31 PM PDT Reuters - LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Arnold Schwarzenegger said he and fellow 1980s action star Sylvester Stallone wanted to work together for decades, but it wasn't until they met up at a hair salon that their first collaboration came together. The "Rocky" and "Terminator" actors had talked about uniting on screen for 20 years, Schwarzenegger said on Friday, but never found the right script at a time when they were both free of other commitments. "There was always something off. The script was not right, or the studio was not as much interested in it as we were. ... ... Full Story Top After "Halftime in America," Clint Eastwood picks Team Romney Fri,3 Aug 2012 06:04 PM PDT Reuters - KETCHUM, Idaho (Reuters) - Mitt Romney must be feeling lucky, punk. The Republican presidential candidate got a surprise boost Friday night when the star of "Dirty Harry," Academy Award winning actor and director Clint Eastwood appeared at Romney's fundraiser here, telling reporters he endorsed Romney because "the country needs a boost somewhere." "He just made my day," Romney said. Romney aides said Friday that the event in Idaho's Sun Valley raised more than $2 million, a record for a fundraising event in the state of Idaho. ... Full Story Top Qatar says Annan successor needs new Syria plan Fri,3 Aug 2012 06:04 PM PDT Reuters - BEIRUT (Reuters) - Qatar said on Saturday that any successor to Kofi Annan as international envoy for Syria must pursue a new strategy because of what it said was the failure of Annan's six-point peace plan. "There must be a clear modification to this plan now because the issue of the six points is finished," Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani said. "None of them has been implemented." Annan said on Thursday he was stepping down as joint representative for the Arab League and United Nations on Syria. ... Full Story Top Syrian army moves on rebels in Aleppo, Damascus Fri,3 Aug 2012 06:04 PM PDT Reuters - ALEPPO, Syria (Reuters) - Syrian forces stormed the last rebel stronghold in the capital Damascus in tanks and armored vehicles on Friday and blasted artillery at rebels in Aleppo, where the United Nations said the army was preparing a massive assault. The violence came within hours of former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan quitting as international peace envoy for Syria, underlining the impotence of mediation efforts in the 17-month-old uprising against President Bashar al-Assad. A senior U.N. ... Full Story Top Syria reaches oil deal with ally Russia Fri,3 Aug 2012 05:57 PM PDT Reuters - MOSCOW (Reuters) - Syria has reached an agreement with ally Russia to secure much-needed fuel as a delegation of ministers sent by President Bashar al-Assad asked Moscow to help alleviate the effects of sanctions on the war-torn country. The trip was a rare foreign visit made by high-level Syrian officials, whose circles of support are shrinking as violence mounts between rebel fighters and forces loyal to Assad, who the West and Arab countries say must leave power. ... Full Story Top Syrian rebels say seize security complex in eastern province Fri,3 Aug 2012 05:57 PM PDT Reuters - AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian rebels seized a security headquarters in the oil-producing province of Deir al-Zor on Friday, killing 13 security personnel in battles to control a major highway leading to Iraq, a rebel spokesman said. President Bashar al-Assad's forces have lost control over large swathes of Deir al-Zor in the last two months, but troops still surround the provincial capital, pounding the city with artillery and from the air. ... Full Story Top Russia condemns "harmful" U.N. assembly resolution on Syria Fri,3 Aug 2012 05:57 PM PDT Reuters - UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Russia condemned a resolution on Syria which the U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted on Friday as "harmful," complaining that it was tantamount to a show of support for rebels fighting to oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Russian U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told the 193-nation assembly that the Saudi-drafted resolution "hides blatant support to the armed opposition." Russia was among only 12 countries that voted against the non-binding text, which condemns Damascus and calls for a political transition. ... Full Story Top Labor chief Solis urges congress to aid employment Fri,3 Aug 2012 05:56 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Labor Secretary Hilda Solis said on Friday the U.S. labor market still has a long way to go to get back to health and urged Congress to do more to foster job growth. Speaking on CNBC, Solis said that while progress has been made in some sectors of the labor market, there was more that could be done. "We need to do more," Solis said. "We still have projects that we know can be moved on if the Congress will come together. I think the public just needs to be heard and make it clear to Congress that now is the time to act." Data on Friday showed the U.S. ... Full Story Top White House says jobs data shows economy recovering Fri,3 Aug 2012 05:56 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said on Friday that data showing U.S. hiring increased in July showed the economy was continuing to recover, and stressed the jobless rate was "essentially unchanged" despite its rise from 8.2 percent to 8.3 percent. "Today's employment report provides further evidence that the U.S. economy is continuing to recover from the worst downturn since the Great Depression," Alan Krueger, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, said in a statement. He also noted that although the unemployment rate ticked up, "more precisely, the rate rose from ... Full Story Top Obama says too many still jobless, need to help middle class Fri,3 Aug 2012 05:56 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama welcomed Friday's data showing employers kept hiring in July but said there were still too many Americans without jobs, and warned that Republican tax plans would hurt the middle class at a still-sensitive time. "We've still got too many folks out there who are looking for work, we've got more work to do on their behalf," Obama, who is running for re-election in November, told an event at the White House where he pitched his own plan to keep middle class taxes low and raise rates on the very rich. ... Full Story Top Hiring picks up but not enough to sideline Fed Fri,3 Aug 2012 05:56 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Employers hired the most workers in five months in July, but an increase in the jobless rate to 8.3 percent kept prospects of further monetary stimulus from the Federal Reserve on the table. Nonfarm payrolls rose 163,000 last month, the Labor Department said on Friday, breaking three straight months of job gains below 100,000 and offering hope for the ailing economy. "It's a relief we did not post another number like 75,000, but the reality is it's not night and day. ... Full Story Top Michigan attorney general rejects union bargaining-rights ballot bid Fri,3 Aug 2012 05:48 PM PDT Reuters - (Reuters) - A proposed referendum that would enshrine the right to collective bargaining in Michigan's state constitution is too complicated for the ballot, the state's top legal official said, dealing a major blow to the labor movement's campaign for the measure. Attorney General Bill Schuette, a Republican, said in a legal analysis obtained by the Detroit Free Press and published on Friday that Michigan ballot measures are limited to 100 words and the implications of the proposed measure are so numerous that it would be impossible to communicate them. ... Full Story Top Treasury says to raise $5 billion from AIG stock sale Fri,3 Aug 2012 05:27 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department said on Friday it expects to raise $5 billion from its sale of American International Group stock, cutting the government's stake in the bailed-out insurer to 55 percent. The sale, which would bring a profit of about $300 million to the U.S. Treasury, comes as President Barack Obama campaigns for a second term and has been forced to defend his administration's decision to use taxpayer money to prop up companies during the crisis. The Treasury Department priced the offering at $30.50 a share, six percent above the $28.72 price needed for the ... Full Story Top Judge releases nun who broke into U.S. nuclear bomb facility Fri,3 Aug 2012 05:20 PM PDT Reuters - KNOXVILLE, Tennessee (Reuters) - A U.S. magistrate judge on Friday ordered the release pending trial of an 82-year-old nun and another anti-nuclear activist charged with breaching security fences at one of the most sensitive U.S. nuclear facilities, in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, where weapons-grade uranium is kept. The security failure was an embarrassment for the National Nuclear Security Administration, or NNSA, the Energy Department branch that operates U.S. ... Full Story Top Japanese minister tries out Osprey plane at Pentagon Fri,3 Aug 2012 04:55 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Japan's defense minister flew from the Pentagon grounds Friday in a revolutionary hybrid aircraft at the heart of a controversy that threatens to strain strong defense ties between the United States and its Asian ally. The minister, Satoshi Morimoto, donned a white flight helmet and goggles before taking the jump-seat, between the pilots, on the flat-gray Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey troop transport. ... Full Story Top Judge rules condemned Oregon killer can reject governor's reprieve Fri,3 Aug 2012 04:11 PM PDT Reuters - PORTLAND, Oregon (Reuters) - A condemned murderer, who was spared lethal injection when Oregon's anti-death penalty governor stopped all executions in the state last year, can reject that reprieve and seek his own death warrant, a judge ruled on Friday. Senior Circuit Judge Timothy Alexander wrote that Gary Haugen, who has dropped all appeals and asked that his death sentence be carried out to avoid living in limbo under an indefinite but impermanent reprieve, was not required to accept the blanket stay. ... Full Story Top Venezuela electoral body probes both sides, baseball cap Fri,3 Aug 2012 04:08 PM PDT Reuters - CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's election commission is investigating both sides in this year's bitterly contested presidential race over alleged campaign irregularities, a mere two months before voters head to the polls in the South American OPEC nation. President Hugo Chavez is squaring off against youthful opposition candidate Henrique Capriles in an October 7 vote that has become the controversial socialist leader's toughest political battle of his 14 years in power. ... Full Story Top British coalition faces rift over political reform Fri,3 Aug 2012 03:58 PM PDT Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - The junior party in Britain's coalition government said on Friday the two-year-old alliance was entering "uncharted territory" after reports that Prime Minister David Cameron planned to drop promised parliamentary reforms. Newspapers said Cameron was set to abandon reforms to parliament's unelected upper chamber, the House of Lords, that have been championed by his Liberal Democrat partners after he failed to overcome opposition within his own Conservatives. Cameron's office said talks on the Lords were still in progress and that an announcement would be made in due course. ... Full Story Top Chick-fil-A hit by "kiss-in" protests in gay marriage flap Fri,3 Aug 2012 03:29 PM PDT Reuters - FAIRVIEW PARK, Ohio (Reuters) - Gay rights activists and backers of same-sex marriage held "kiss-ins" at Chick-fil-A restaurants across the United States on Friday to protest the fast-food chain president's opposition to homosexual unions. Same Sex Kiss Day is a reaction to comments last month from Dan Cathy, who said he supported "the biblical definition of the family unit" and put his chain of roughly 1,600 restaurants smack in the middle of a cultural debate. ... Full Story Top Some Turks call foul over Obama-Erdogan bat photo Fri,3 Aug 2012 03:20 PM PDT Reuters - ISTANBUL (Reuters) - A photograph of U.S. President Barack Obama holding a baseball bat while talking on the phone to Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan was intended to show their close relationship, a White House spokeswoman said, after the photo caused a stir in Turkey. The two leaders spoke on Monday to discuss the crisis in Syria, after which the photograph of Obama seated at his desk, talking on the phone while holding a bat autographed by black-American baseball great Hank Aaron, was released by the White House. ... Full Story Top U.S., Pakistan appear to make little headway in spy meet Fri,3 Aug 2012 03:15 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. and Pakistani spy chiefs exchanged grievances in their first official meeting this week, sources familiar with the discussions said on Friday, but it was unclear if the two uneasy allies made any progress to end deep divisions on militants living in Pakistani tribal areas or on U.S. drone strikes. Lieutenant-General Zaheer ul-Islam, who was named in March to head the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), on his first official visit to Washington met on Thursday with CIA Director David Petraeus at CIA headquarters. ... Full Story Top Progress and tradition collide in Poland's green oases Fri,3 Aug 2012 03:12 PM PDT Reuters - WARSAW (Reuters) - Krystyna Pakulska walks down a dirt track lined with silver birch trees and stops for a moment to breathe in the air. "Look at the beauty around you, the flowers and the trees," says the 59-year old, a retired employee of Polish state television. "Why destroy this beautiful land?" This is an allotment garden, one of dozens carved out of the Polish capital by the country's previous rulers so that workers could relax in their spare time by tending flowers and shrubs on their personal plots. ... Full Story Top Tech start-ups: the last refuge of Spanish optimism Fri,3 Aug 2012 03:11 PM PDT Reuters - MADRID (Reuters) - Half of Spain's youth are unemployed, and yet at the Wayra business start-up project on Madrid's majestic Gran Via avenue, young people buzz around an office chatting animatedly, typing furiously and holding up trails of wire and computer parts. These are Spain's technology entrepreneurs, and they're positive about the future - even as Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy tries to avert a full international rescue for a country beset by recession, a property market collapse and a banking crisis. ... Full Story Top Belarus expels Swedish ambassador, EU weighs response Fri,3 Aug 2012 03:08 PM PDT Reuters - STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Belarus has expelled Sweden's ambassador over his actions to support democracy, Sweden's Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said on Friday, as the European Union's foreign policy chief said the bloc would consider responding with "appropriate" measures. The diplomatic dispute flared up after a plane chartered by a Swedish public relations firm dropped hundreds of teddy bears over Belarus on July 4 in a pro-democracy stunt, prompting President Alexander Lukashenko to sack his air defense chief and the head of the border guards. ... Full Story Top Michigan emergency manager law repeal on ballot: court Fri,3 Aug 2012 03:05 PM PDT Reuters - (Reuters) - Michigan voters in November will decide the fate of a law that gave the state more control over struggling local governments after a court on Friday gave them the chance to repeal it. Michigan officials said that once the measure is officially certified for the November 6 state-wide ballot as directed by the state supreme court, the 2011 law known as Public Act 4 will be suspended and a former, weaker, emergency manager law will replace it in the interim. ... Full Story Top Poland win gold on bodyweight Fri,3 Aug 2012 02:54 PM PDT Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - Weightlifter Adrian Zielinski won Poland's first gold of the London Olympics on Friday, edging out Russia's Apti Aukhadov by virtue of his 130 gram lighter bodyweight after both athletes tied on a total of 385 kilograms. Twenty three year-old Zielinski took advantage of other athletes' failure to complete key lifts during a tight 85 kg weight class contest in which four out of twelve competitors in the evening session failed to finish. "I was sure I was going to get a medal. ... Full Story Top Putin "cheated us again," Russian band lawyer says Fri,3 Aug 2012 02:53 PM PDT Reuters - MOSCOW (Reuters) - Members of an all-woman Russian punk band on trial for staging a protest at the altar of Moscow's main cathedral will likely receive long jail terms despite President Vladimir Putin saying they should not be judged too harshly, a defense lawyer said. A Moscow court refused to hear most defense witnesses called to testify on Friday on behalf of the protest action by the Pussy Riot band, dimming hopes among human rights groups that Maria Alyokhina, 24, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 29, could escape lengthy sentences. ... Full Story Top London mayor hosts Murdoch at the pool Fri,3 Aug 2012 02:44 PM PDT Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - London Mayor Boris Johnson hosted Rupert Murdoch at an Olympic swimming event on Friday, fuelling speculation that the head of News Corp might be poised to endorse a bid by the Games cheerleader for the leadership of the Conservative Party. Johnson has supported the media tycoon despite a police investigation into phone-hacking by journalists at titles owned by News International, News Corp's UK operation. Johnson has said he was warned in 2006 he may have been a victim of phone-hacking. ... Full Story Top Germany should use armed drones: defense minister Fri,3 Aug 2012 02:42 PM PDT Reuters - BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany, which used unmanned aircraft in warfare during World War Two, should deploy armed drones in its military, its defense minister said. "A drone is nothing more than a plane without a pilot," Defence Minister Thomas de Maiziere told the daily "Die Welt" in an article to appear on Saturday. He said he was in favor of the German armed forces using armed drones, according to an advance copy of the article. "Planes can be armed so why shouldn't unmanned aircraft be allowed to be armed as well? I don't understand that," he added. ... Full Story Top Michigan attorney general knocks unions' bargaining-rights ballot bid Fri,3 Aug 2012 02:38 PM PDT Reuters - (Reuters) - A proposed referendum that would enshrine the right to collective bargaining in the Michigan state constitution is too complicated for the ballot, the state's top legal official said, dealing a major blow to the labor movement's campaign for the measure. Attorney General Bill Schuette, a Republican, said in a legal analysis obtained by the Detroit Free Press and published on Friday that Michigan ballot measures are limited to 100 words and the implications of the proposed measure are so numerous that it would be impossible to communicate them. ... Full Story Top U.S. SEC examining risk controls at Knight Capital Fri,3 Aug 2012 02:31 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top U.S. securities regulator said government lawyers are trying to determine if Wednesday's big trading blunder at Knight Capital Group violated a new rule designed to protect the markets from rogue algorithmic computer trading programs. The Securities and Exchange Commission's market access rule, which took effect last year, requires brokers to put in place risk control systems to prevent the execution of erroneous trades or orders that exceed pre-set credit or capital thresholds. ... Full Story Top U.S. bomb dogs slept in hotel beds in Colombia security scandal: report Fri,3 Aug 2012 02:26 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Security personnel entangled in a prostitution scandal in Colombia in April irritated hotel staff by letting bomb detection dogs sleep in hotel beds and soil the linens, a U.S. military report released on Friday said. Hotel guests "thought to be American" were "bothering and propositioning" college-age female greeters working at the hotel for the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the report by the U.S. military's Southern Command. The report gave details of how unhappy hotel staff contacted U.S. ... Full Story Top Panetta orders review of military justice in combat zones Fri,3 Aug 2012 02:19 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has directed a panel of experts to assess whether reforms are needed in the way the military justice system handles crimes committed by U.S. forces against civilians in combat zones, the Pentagon said on Friday. While the Pentagon said the decision was not linked to any specific case, it follows a spate of incidents in Afghanistan that have outraged the local population, including one in which a soldier is suspected of killing 16 villagers in a shooting rampage. ... Full Story Top U.S. set to start program sparing young illegal immigrants deportation Fri,3 Aug 2012 02:15 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Young illegal immigrants - many of whom have spent much of their lives attending schools in the United States - will be able to begin emerging from their uncertain status on August 15 when the Obama administration begins letting them apply to stay temporarily. An estimated 800,000 young undocumented residents could qualify for the program that would grant deportation deferrals of at least two years for those who are approved. ... Full Story Top U.N. nations condemn Syria; Russia, China seen isolated Fri,3 Aug 2012 01:59 PM PDT Reuters - UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. member states on Friday overwhelmingly voted to condemn the Syrian government at a special session of the General Assembly that Western diplomats said highlighted the isolation of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's supporters Russia and China. The 193-nation assembly approved the Saudi-drafted resolution, which expressed "grave concern" at the escalation of violence in Syria and condemned the Security Council for its action, with 133 votes in favor, 12 against and 31 abstentions. ... Full Story Top Geithner speaks with Greece's Samaras by phone Fri,3 Aug 2012 01:58 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner spoke by phone with Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras on Friday to discuss the European country's efforts to maintain financial stability, Treasury said. "Secretary Geithner spoke by phone earlier today with Greek Prime Minister Samaras to discuss Greece's continued efforts to reform in order to ensure economic recovery and financial stability," Treasury said in a statement on Friday. (Reporting by Jason Lange) Full Story Top U.S. nuclear bomb facility shut after security breach Fri,3 Aug 2012 01:48 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government's only facility for handling, processing and storing weapons-grade uranium has been temporarily shut after anti-nuclear activists, including an 82-year-old nun, breached security fences, government officials said on Thursday. WSI Oak Ridge, the contractor responsible for protecting the facility at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, is owned by the international security firm G4S, which was at the center of a dispute over security at the London Olympic Games. ... Full Story Top Camp "Romneyville" protesters ready to greet Republican convention Fri,3 Aug 2012 01:47 PM PDT Reuters - TAMPA, Florida (Reuters) - A group of protesters in pink tents are creating a headache for Tampa city officials after they rented land inside a restricted zone near the location of the Republican National Convention being held in Tampa later this month. The small camp, dubbed "Romneyville," population roughly 15, could soon swell to 300 activists who plan protests over social and economic issues during the convention. ... Full Story Top Innovation tax break gaining some support in Congress Fri,3 Aug 2012 01:35 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A proposed corporate tax break on profits derived from research and development done in the United States is winning some bipartisan support in Congress, with the promise that it could spur jobs and innovation. A "patent box" tax break is in the policy mix as lawmakers target full-scale tax reform in 2013. The idea is to give companies a tax break, and a sizable one, on profits derived from patented products that originated with U.S. research and development. Several European Union countries have embraced the patent box and the United Kingdom is set to adopt it next ... Full Story Top

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