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Monday, August 6, 2012 8:30 PM PDT

Today's Politics - Bloomberg News Headlines - Yahoo! News: As elections loom, Fed's Fisher sees policy minefield Munich widows slam IOC, Rogge over no moment of silence Children who spotted shooter seen as heroes at Milwaukee Sikh temple Syrian prime minister defects, fighting goes on White House says Assad losing his grip on power NY state officials eye automatic control boards Entrepreneurs serving Afghan expats see good times ending Fewer students buy sodas, sports drinks still a problem: study Democrats, White House wage coordinated attack on Romney taxes IRS in political crossfire over tax-exempt pressure groups Sikh temple gunman was ex-soldier linked to racist group Government appeals ruling against military detention law Deloitte's role cited in Standard Chartered Iran deceit Obama: America needs "soul searching" on gun violence Egypt vows crackdown on "infidels" after border massacre Army general: don't hobble commanders in sex assault cases Syria premier defects to opposition Exclusive: NYSE in talks with SEC to settle data probe Cepheid inks deals to sell TB test in developing nations Obama pledges support to Spain on economic challenges Guards replaced after Tennessee nuclear security breach New England fishing industry faces disaster: lawmakers A critic of costly biofuels, lawmaker once secured funds for them Analysis: U.S. regulators get tougher on oil pipelines Gibson Guitar settles probe into illegal wood imports Jamaica celebrates 50th anniversary to mixed reviews Villain or scapegoat? Gu Kailai faces trial in China Six dead in pre-dawn raid on Ivory Coast military camp Enbridge to restart Line 14 on Tuesday Former Illinois Governor Ryan loses bid to shorten jail term Blast kills four in Russia's volatile Chechnya Drought could pinch world's poor, says think tank IFPRI Conditional change of plea hearing set for accused Tucson shooter Obama fundraiser planned with Anne Hathaway, Aaron Sorkin Egypt's Brotherhood says Mossad behind Sinai attack Israel dismisses accusation of involvement in Egypt attack Sinai spree prods Hamas to act against Gaza jihadis Mississippi church apologizes for refusing to host black wedding Four killed, police station attacked in Sudan's Darfur UK coalition in crisis over parliamentary reform As elections loom, Fed's Fisher sees policy minefield Mon,6 Aug 2012 06:41 PM PDT Reuters - DALLAS (Reuters) - New steps by the U.S. Federal Reserve to stimulate the economy so close to a presidential election would be a mistake, a top Fed official said on Monday, warning it could create a false impression of bowing to political pressure. Richard Fisher, president of the Dallas Federal Reserve and a consistent hawk on monetary policy, said the real problem with the economy, and the stubbornly high jobless rate, is Congress's lack of action on fiscal policy. ... Full Story Top Munich widows slam IOC, Rogge over no moment of silence Mon,6 Aug 2012 06:34 PM PDT Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - Widows of two of the 11 Israelis killed at the Munich Olympics in 1972 lambasted the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and its president at a London commemoration on Monday. The two, Ankie Spitzer and Ilana Romano, representing family members of the athletes, coaches and officials who were killed, say they have tried for four decades to persuade the IOC to organize an official commemoration. They vowed to continue their efforts get their wish at future Games. Senior international figures including U.S. ... Full Story Top Children who spotted shooter seen as heroes at Milwaukee Sikh temple Mon,6 Aug 2012 05:57 PM PDT Reuters - (Reuters) - Women at the Sikh Temple in Wisconsin were busily preparing lunch in the community kitchen on Sunday when two children burst in and screamed frantically they had seen a man with a gun outside. People began running in every direction, and 14 women, along with the two children, rushed into a narrow pantry in the Milwaukee suburb of Oak Creek. There was no lock, and so the women pressed their bodies up against the door to keep anyone from entering, witnesses said. ... Full Story Top Syrian prime minister defects, fighting goes on Mon,6 Aug 2012 05:57 PM PDT Reuters - AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian forces pressed on with their offensive against rebels in the largest city Aleppo after the prime minister fled the country, denouncing the "terrorist regime" of Bashar al-Assad. The defection of Riyad Hijab - who like most of the opposition hails from the Sunni Muslim majority - was a further sign of the isolation of Assad's government around an inner core of powerful members of his minority Alawite sect. ... Full Story Top White House says Assad losing his grip on power Mon,6 Aug 2012 05:57 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said on Monday the defection of Syria's prime minister showed that President Bashar al-Assad's government was "crumbling from within" and repeated the U.S. call for him to step aside and end the violence gripping the country. "This is a sign that Assad's grip on power is loosening. If he cannot maintain cohesion within his own inner circle, it reflects on his inability to maintain any following among the Syrian people that isn't brought about at the point of a gun," White House spokesman Jay Carney told a news briefing. ... Full Story Top NY state officials eye automatic control boards Mon,6 Aug 2012 05:51 PM PDT Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York state is considering whether control boards for cash-poor cities and counties should automatically go into effect when localities fail certain fiscal tests, instead of being approved on a case-by-case basis as they are today, a source said on Monday. The new control boards, which could serve either as advisers or managers, might be triggered for municipalities such as Utica and Troy that have been in economic decline for decades. Some downstate local governments, including Rockland County and Yonkers, also might be at risk. ... Full Story Top Entrepreneurs serving Afghan expats see good times ending Mon,6 Aug 2012 05:01 PM PDT Reuters - KABUL (Reuters) - Behind high villa walls in Kabul's heavily guarded diplomatic district, restaurant owner Saju D'Cruz sits in a sun-washed courtyard and gives himself two more years in a country he has called home for a decade. Like many other entrepreneurs in an Afghanistan bracing for an exodus of foreign troops and aid workers in two years, D'Cruz thinks business can only get worse at his popular Namaste Indian restaurant, as expat customers vanish. "Our customer base has decreased already. ... Full Story Top Fewer students buy sodas, sports drinks still a problem: study Mon,6 Aug 2012 04:59 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Half as many adolescents as in 2006 can still buy high-calorie sodas in schools, but other sugary beverages remain easily available onsite, a survey showed. University of Michigan Ann Arbor researchers found the trend in a survey of more than 1,900 public schools, which has grown as the institutions banish sodas from vending machines, school stores and cafeterias. ... Full Story Top Democrats, White House wage coordinated attack on Romney taxes Mon,6 Aug 2012 04:57 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senator Harry Reid and the White House may be taking different roads, but when it comes to Mitt Romney and his taxes, the destination is the same. That became clearer than ever Monday in the daily White House briefing by spokesman Jay Carney. While keeping a distance from Senate Majority Leader Reid and his claim that Romney failed to pay taxes for 10 years, Carney was happy to take advantage of all the attention, and questions, provoked by the allegation to drive home the administration's broader message. ... Full Story Top IRS in political crossfire over tax-exempt pressure groups Mon,6 Aug 2012 04:56 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Internal Revenue Service got an earful from both sides of the partisan divide on Monday in a debate over the tax status of a breed of increasingly powerful political pressure groups, including some with ties to the conservative Tea Party movement. Ten Republican senators warned IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman in a letter not to buckle under to what they called pressure from Democrats as the tax collection agency decides what to do about tax-exempt "social welfare" groups. ... Full Story Top Sikh temple gunman was ex-soldier linked to racist group Mon,6 Aug 2012 04:38 PM PDT Reuters - OAK CREEK, Wisconsin (Reuters) - The gunman who killed six worshipers at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin was identified as a 40-year-old U.S. Army veteran and authorities said they were investigating possible links to white supremacist groups and his membership in skinhead rock bands. The assailant, shot dead by police at the scene on Sunday, was identified as Wade Michael Page. He served as a soldier in the Army from 1992 to 1998, said police chief John Edwards in the Milwaukee suburb of Oak Creek where the 400-member temple is located. ... Full Story Top Government appeals ruling against military detention law Mon,6 Aug 2012 04:36 PM PDT Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters) - Federal prosecutors on Monday appealed a judge's order barring enforcement of part of a law that permits indefinite military detention for those deemed to have "substantially supported" al Qaeda, the Taliban or "associated forces." Manhattan federal court Judge Katherine Forrest in May ruled in favor of activists and reporters who said they feared being detained under a section of the law, signed by President Barack Obama in December. The government says indefinite military detention without trial is justified in some cases involving militants and their supporters. ... Full Story Top Deloitte's role cited in Standard Chartered Iran deceit Mon,6 Aug 2012 04:21 PM PDT Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters) - Allegations that a banking unit of Standard Chartered Plc schemed with Iran to conceal billions of dollars in transactions have dragged Deloitte into the spotlight in another hit to the global accounting and consulting firm. The New York State Department of Financial Services, in a case involving U.S. anti-money laundering laws, on Monday said Deloitte LLP consultants hid details from regulators about Standard Chartered Bank's transactions with Iranian clients. The bank's actions "left the U.S. ... Full Story Top Obama: America needs "soul searching" on gun violence Mon,6 Aug 2012 04:07 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Monday that mass killings like the shooting rampage at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin were occurring with "too much regularity" and should prompt soul searching by all Americans, but he stopped short of calling for new gun-control laws. "All of us are heart-broken by what happened," Obama told reporters at the White House a day after a gunman opened fire on Sikh worshippers preparing for religious services, killing six before he was shot dead by a police officer. ... Full Story Top Egypt vows crackdown on "infidels" after border massacre Mon,6 Aug 2012 03:31 PM PDT Reuters - RAFAH, Egypt (Reuters) - Egypt branded Islamist gunmen who killed 16 police near the Israeli border as "infidels" and promised on Monday to launch a crackdown following the massacre that has strained Cairo's ties with both Israel and Palestinians. An Egyptian official said insurgents crossed into Egypt from the Gaza Strip before attacking the border station on Sunday. They then stole two vehicles and headed to nearby Israel, where they were eventually killed by Israeli fire. ... Full Story Top Army general: don't hobble commanders in sex assault cases Mon,6 Aug 2012 03:21 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sexual assault victims in the U.S. armed forces have been robbed of their trust in its justice system, but military leadership is still in the best position to restore that confidence, the new top Pentagon official charged with combating the problem says. In one of his first interviews since taking over last month, Army Major General Gary Patton acknowledged the extent of what he called "a terrible, repugnant and humiliating crime. ... Full Story Top Syria premier defects to opposition Mon,6 Aug 2012 03:12 PM PDT Reuters - AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian forces pressed on with their offensive against rebels in the largest city Aleppo after the prime minister fled the country, denouncing the "terrorist regime" of Bashar al-Assad. The defection of Riyad Hijab - who like most of the opposition hails from the Sunni Muslim majority - was a further sign of the isolation of Assad's government around an inner core of powerful members of his minority Alawite sect. ... Full Story Top Exclusive: NYSE in talks with SEC to settle data probe Mon,6 Aug 2012 03:04 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The New York Stock Exchange said on Monday it is in talks with U.S. securities regulators to settle allegations the exchange violated rules intended to promote fair competition. The Securities and Exchange Commission's investigation centers on a regulation that prohibits an exchange from sending out data on a private feed to certain clients more quickly than on public data feeds. NYSE Euronext, which operates the NYSE, confirmed the negotiations after Reuters reported on the settlement talks earlier on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter. ... Full Story Top Cepheid inks deals to sell TB test in developing nations Mon,6 Aug 2012 03:04 PM PDT Reuters - (Reuters) - Cepheid Inc said it signed deals with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and three other aid organizations to make its tuberculosis diagnostic kit available at reduced prices in developing countries burdened with the disease. Shares of Synnyvale, California-based Cepheid were up 7 percent at $36.61 after the bell. They closed at $34.16 on Monday on the Nasdaq. ... Full Story Top Obama pledges support to Spain on economic challenges Mon,6 Aug 2012 03:00 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Monday pledged U.S. support for Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's efforts to get Spain's economy back on track while acknowledging that the country faced "difficult challenges" amid the euro zone's debt crisis. The White House said the two men spoke by telephone as part of Obama's ongoing discussions with European leaders on the euro zone economy. Obama has voiced concern that economic "headwinds" from Europe could undermine the fragile U.S. economic recovery as he seeks re-election in November. ... Full Story Top Guards replaced after Tennessee nuclear security breach Mon,6 Aug 2012 02:55 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Energy Department said on Monday it was replacing guards and supervisors on duty 10 days ago when three peace activists, including an 82 year-old nun, breached perimeter fences at the principal U.S. facility for storing weapons-grade enriched uranium. The guards and supervisors work for WSI Oak Ridge, a subsidiary of the giant international private security contractor G4S, which was at the center of a dispute over security preparations at the London Olympic Games. A federal official at the U.S. ... Full Story Top New England fishing industry faces disaster: lawmakers Mon,6 Aug 2012 02:52 PM PDT Reuters - BOSTON (Reuters) - Members of the Massachusetts congressional delegation have asked the federal government to declare a disaster for New England fishermen and fishing communities, given prospects for catch limits to be lowered again in 2013. Their request followed a preliminary report from the New England Fishery Management Council last week that said commercial fishing quotas for several key bottom-dwelling species, or ground fish, would probably be reduced "markedly" next year after being cut in 2012. ... Full Story Top A critic of costly biofuels, lawmaker once secured funds for them Mon,6 Aug 2012 02:48 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A vociferous Republican critic of the military's spending on expensive biofuels was himself instrumental in securing federal funds to develop such fuels. Senator Jim Inhofe, at the center of a Washington dispute over the issue, pushed a provision in May barring the Pentagon from buying alternative fuels if they cost more per gallon than petroleum-based fuels. He has called the Obama administration policy "completely skewed." But between 2002 and 2005 Inhofe helped secure $10 million in military funds to test such expensive fuels. ... Full Story Top Analysis: U.S. regulators get tougher on oil pipelines Mon,6 Aug 2012 02:48 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Conditions placed on Enbridge Inc to restart an oil pipeline highlight the tougher stance U.S. regulators are taking after a series of high-profile spills. The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration on Monday gave Enbridge the greenlight for resumption of the 318,000-barrel-per-day Line 14, which spilled 1,200 barrels of oil on a rural Wisconsin field in late July, after the agency said the Canadian firm agreed to a more stringent set of safety requirements. The company plans to restart the line on Tuesday. The U.S. ... Full Story Top Gibson Guitar settles probe into illegal wood imports Mon,6 Aug 2012 02:36 PM PDT Reuters - NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Reuters) - Gibson Guitar Corp, which makes some of the world's most prized guitars, will pay a $300,000 penalty under a criminal enforcement agreement with federal prosecutors, after it admitted to possible illegal purchases of ebony from Madagascar, authorities said on Monday. The agreement, announced by Justice Department officials in Washington, caps a probe into the Nashville-based guitar maker that began in 2009 when it came under suspicion of importing banned or protected wood from both Madagascar and India. ... Full Story Top Jamaica celebrates 50th anniversary to mixed reviews Mon,6 Aug 2012 02:21 PM PDT Reuters - KINGSTON, Jamaica (Reuters) - The timing could hardly have been better, with Jamaicans celebrating the 50th anniversary of their independence from Britain on Monday on the heels of a stunning display of the Caribbean island's athletic prowess at the London Olympics. Monday was a national holiday in Jamaica to mark the anniversary, and it was just as well since many celebrated late into the night after the country's sprinters captured four out of the six medals in the men's and women's 100 meters finals, winning gold in both races as well as a silver and a bronze. ... Full Story Top Villain or scapegoat? Gu Kailai faces trial in China Mon,6 Aug 2012 02:10 PM PDT Reuters - BEIJING (Reuters) - Cold-blooded killer or scapegoat, China's Lady MacBeth or over-protective mother -- Gu Kailai remains an enigma as she is tried for murder in a case that has shaken the ruling Communist Party and placed its secretive world of political privilege under intense scrutiny. The wife of ousted Chinese politician Bo Xilai will be tried this week in the central city of Hefei. There's little doubt a pliant court will find her guilty of murdering Neil Heywood, the British businessman who helped get her son into Harrow, the exclusive boarding school, and then into Oxford University. ... Full Story Top Six dead in pre-dawn raid on Ivory Coast military camp Mon,6 Aug 2012 02:03 PM PDT Reuters - ABIDJAN (Reuters) - Gunmen killed five soldiers and seized weapons in a pre-dawn raid on an army camp in Ivory Coast's commercial capital Abidjan on Monday, military officials said, heightening fears of renewed instability in the world's top cocoa-growing country. The West African state, where five soldiers were killed in a similar attack on a police station and army roadblock in another part of Abidjan only the day before, is emerging from years of political turmoil but remains awash with illegal weapons. ... Full Story Top Enbridge to restart Line 14 on Tuesday Mon,6 Aug 2012 01:51 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Enbridge Inc plans to restart on Tuesday a pipeline that leaked more than 1,000 barrels of crude onto a Wisconsin field after receiving the greenlight from U.S. regulators. U.S. pipeline regulators last week issued Enbridge a corrective action order, calling for measures to be taken before it would allow the resumption of flows along Line 14, which was halted after a leak was discovered on July 27. ... Full Story Top Former Illinois Governor Ryan loses bid to shorten jail term Mon,6 Aug 2012 01:37 PM PDT Reuters - (Reuters) - Former Illinois Governor George Ryan lost a bid on Monday to cut short his 6-1/2 year prison sentence for corruption, with an appeals court rejecting arguments that prosecutors failed to prove he took bribes. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago affirmed the conviction and sentence, finding that Ryan failed to provide honest services to the people of Illinois who elected him, and that he violated this duty by giving state benefits to his friends. ... Full Story Top Blast kills four in Russia's volatile Chechnya Mon,6 Aug 2012 01:32 PM PDT Reuters - GROZNY, Russia (Reuters) - A suicide bomb blast that killed at least four soldiers and injured three other people in the capital of Russia's volatile Chechnya region on Monday may have been organized by an Islamist militant group headed by two brothers, a regional official said. The explosion, which Interfax news agency said happened as the soldiers left an armored vehicle near their garrison quarters, shattered the fragile peace of the broader North Caucasus region, where militants trying to create an Islamist state still use violence daily. ... Full Story Top Drought could pinch world's poor, says think tank IFPRI Mon,6 Aug 2012 01:20 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Drought in the U.S. farm belt may result in higher prices for poor people around the world, according to the head of an agricultural think tank who on Monday also recommended a halt to ethanol production from corn. Shenggen Fan, director general of the International Food Policy Research Institute, said the global spike in food prices in 2008 showed how poor crops and tight supplies have wide impact. IFPRI is the analytical arm of a coalition of agricultural research facilities. ... Full Story Top Conditional change of plea hearing set for accused Tucson shooter Mon,6 Aug 2012 01:14 PM PDT Reuters - PHOENIX (Reuters) - A federal judge has ordered a conditional change of plea hearing for the man accused of killing six people and wounding then-Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and 12 others in a mass shooting in Tucson last year, court documents showed on Monday. District Court Judge Larry Burns said he would hear the possible change of plea for 23-year-old Jared Lee Loughner if he is found mentally competent at an already scheduled status hearing set for Tuesday in federal court in Tucson. ... Full Story Top Obama fundraiser planned with Anne Hathaway, Aaron Sorkin Mon,6 Aug 2012 12:30 PM PDT Reuters - LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Mitt Romney may have Clint Eastwood in his corner, but the Republican presidential candidate still trails Barack Obama when it comes to Hollywood support. President Obama is hitting Connecticut Monday to try to wrangle some big checks from the Nutmeg State's well-heeled residents, and he's using some major movie business figures to help him make the pitch. ... Full Story Top Egypt's Brotherhood says Mossad behind Sinai attack Mon,6 Aug 2012 12:25 PM PDT Reuters - CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood said on its website that the attack on a police station in Sinai on Sunday in which 16 policemen were killed "can be attributed to Mossad" and was an attempt to thwart Islamist President Mohamed Mursi. The statement said Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency, was trying to abort the Egyptian uprising that toppled president Hosni Mubarak last year and that it was "imperative to review clauses" of the agreement between Egypt and Israel. ... Full Story Top Israel dismisses accusation of involvement in Egypt attack Mon,6 Aug 2012 12:25 PM PDT Reuters - JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel on Monday dismissed a claim by Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood that it was in any way involved in a deadly attack on a police station in Sinai a day earlier in which 16 policemen were killed. "Even the person who says this when he looks at himself in the mirror does not believe the nonsense he is uttering," Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said. The Muslim Brotherhood had said that the attack "can be attributed to Mossad", referring to the Israeli intelligence agency. (Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch; Editing by Michael Roddy) Full Story Top Sinai spree prods Hamas to act against Gaza jihadis Mon,6 Aug 2012 12:25 PM PDT Reuters - GAZA (Reuters) - Tensions between Hamas and Gaza's more radical Islamists were strained to breaking point by a gun attack in Egypt blamed in part on infiltrators from the Palestinian enclave. Hamas, once hopeful of building an alliance with Egypt now ruled by the Muslim Brotherhood, its ideological kin, and of ending the blockade on the Gaza Strip, is now under pressure to show it can bring Salafi militants under control. ... Full Story Top Mississippi church apologizes for refusing to host black wedding Mon,6 Aug 2012 12:04 PM PDT Reuters - TUPELO, Mississippi (Reuters) - A predominantly white church in Mississippi that sparked outrage for refusing to marry a black couple in its chapel has issued an apology, but the newlyweds said on Monday that church leaders had not personally told them they were sorry. In a statement read at its service and posted online on Sunday, First Baptist Church of Crystal Springs said it never should have asked Te'Andrea Henderson Wilson and Charles Wilson to relocate their July 21 ceremony. ... Full Story Top Four killed, police station attacked in Sudan's Darfur Mon,6 Aug 2012 12:03 PM PDT Reuters - KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Four people were killed when gunmen looted a market and set fire to a police station during several days of violence in Sudan's Darfur region, international peacekeepers said on Monday. Mainly non-Arab rebels took up arms in Darfur in 2003, complaining the central government in Khartoum had neglected the remote western region. Violence has since subsided from its peak, but law and order has collapsed in many parts of the vast territory and clashes have continued to erupt between rebels and government forces. ... Full Story Top UK coalition in crisis over parliamentary reform Mon,6 Aug 2012 11:56 AM PDT Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's coalition government suffered its worst crisis to date on Monday when the junior partner in the two-party administration rebelled after its ally in power, the Conservatives, killed its plans to reform the House of Lords. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader, said the coalition formed in 2010 had now entered new territory, though he said he would not bring down the government by withdrawing his party's overall support. ... Full Story Top

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