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| Arizona Representative Ron Barber says recovering after minor cancer surgery Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 08:07 PM PST  PHOENIX (Reuters) - Democratic Representative Ron Barber, a former aide to Gabrielle Giffords who was wounded alongside her in a deadly 2011 shooting, said on Tuesday he is recovering after surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from his tongue. Barber, 67, beat Republican rival Martha McSally by a slender margin in the November 6 election to represent southeast Arizona in the state's redrawn 2nd Congressional District. Barber's office said he learned of the tumor on November 13. He underwent surgery on Monday to remove the growth, and is expected to return to work in Washington next week. ... Full Story | Top |
| Fed's Evans wants more easing, Fisher wants limits Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 06:50 PM PST  TORONTO/BERLIN (Reuters) - Deep divisions at the Federal Reserve were on display on Tuesday, just two weeks before the U.S. central bank's next policy-setting meeting, with one top Fed official pushing for more easing, and another advocating limits. The divide underscores the hurdles Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke faces as he tries to win consensus among his fellow policymakers on the central bank's sometimes controversial efforts to bring down the nation's lofty unemployment rate, which registered 7.9 percent last month. ... Full Story | Top |
| SEC's Walter may take similar path to ally Schapiro Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 06:49 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - For the past four years, Elisse Walter stood out at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for her deep loyalty to SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro. Now the veteran regulator and SEC commissioner - one of two Democrats on the SEC - is moving to the fore at the powerful agency, taking over the chairmanship after Schapiro steps down next month. The promotion is prompting regulatory watchers to talk about whether Walter will blaze her own path. ... Full Story | Top |
| Majority of Britons want press watchdog backed by law: poll Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 06:47 PM PST LONDON (Reuters) - More than two-thirds of Britons are in favor of an independent press regulator established by law, according to an opinion poll published in the Guardian newspaper on Wednesday, a day before a judge is expected to issue a report on problems in the industry. The poll found that 79 percent of Britons surveyed want the government to introduce legislation to create an independent press regulator. Only 9 percent oppose tough measures regulating the press. ... Full Story | Top |
| Infected and unaware: HIV hitting America's youth Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 06:43 PM PST  CHICAGO (Reuters) - More than half of young people in the United States who are infected with HIV are not aware of it, according to a report by government health officials that zeroes in on one of the remaining hot spots of HIV infection in America. Young people ages 13 to 24 account for 26 percent of all new HIV infections, according to the report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which was released on Tuesday in advance of World AIDS Day on December 1. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama promotes tax agenda, Congress in stand-off Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 06:25 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Tuesday launched a public relations push for his bid to raise taxes on wealthy Americans, but U.S. lawmakers remained deadlocked over dramatic, year-end tax increases and spending cuts known as the "fiscal cliff." At the White House, small business leaders emerged from a one-hour meeting with Obama to voice support for his goal of extending low tax rates for the middle class beyond the end of the year, while letting rates rise for wealthier taxpayers. ... Full Story | Top |
| Report challenges key Pentagon spending assumption Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 05:58 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As the U.S. military grappled with budget cuts over the past year, one thing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta made clear was the Pentagon must avoid reductions in training and maintenance that would lower the force's readiness to fight. But a report released by a Washington think tank on Tuesday challenged that assumption, concluding that a short-term cut in readiness funding could free up cash to develop weapons and equipment needed to be ready in the future. ... Full Story | Top |
| CNOOC, Nexen reapply for U.S. deal approval Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 05:52 PM PST CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - China's state-owned CNOOC Ltd and its Canadian takeover target Nexen Inc have withdrawn and resubmitted an application for U.S. approval of their $15.1 billion deal, as Canada gets close to its decision on whether to approve the transaction. The energy companies said on Tuesday that discussions with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) were still in progress, "with a view to completing the CFIUS review process as expeditiously as possible." In a brief statement, they did not provide a reason for, or the timing of, the unexpected move. ... Full Story | Top |
| Judge orders tobacco companies to admit deception Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 05:26 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Major tobacco companies that spent decades denying they lied to the U.S. public about the dangers of cigarettes must spend their own money on a public advertising campaign saying they did lie, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday. The ruling sets out what might be the harshest sanction to come out of a historic case that the Justice Department brought in 1999 accusing the tobacco companies of racketeering. U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler wrote that the new advertising campaign would be an appropriate counterweight to the companies' "past deception" dating to at least ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama to meet with CEOs from Goldman, Deloitte on Wednesday Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 05:21 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Chief executives from top U.S. corporations, including Goldman Sachs , Deloitte LLP, and Caterpillar Inc , will meet with President Barack Obama on Wednesday to discuss U.S. fiscal problems, the White House said. Obama's meeting with influential leaders from the corporate world is part of his push for Congress to extend tax cuts for middle income Americans, one flashpoint in a standoff with Congress over the "fiscal cliff" - a series of tax hikes and spending cuts that will go into effect next year if lawmakers and the president cannot come up with a deal to stop them. ... Full Story | Top |
| Congo rebels say will withdraw from Goma Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 05:20 PM PST  GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) - Rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo said on Tuesday they would pull out of the eastern city of Goma in an apparent stalling of their drive to "liberate" the whole country. The situation on the ground remained far from clear after the rebels' political and military leaders gave conflicting statements over their intentions, though U.N. peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous said in New York "there were indications tonight that possibly the M23 elements were starting to withdraw. ... Full Story | Top |
| White House expected to seek billions in Sandy disaster aid Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 05:08 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House is expected in the coming days to send Congress a multi-billion dollar request to fund recovery from Superstorm Sandy, which caused an estimated $71 billion in damages in New York and New Jersey. Congressional aides said there was no clear indication of the request's size, but some said it would likely be at least $11 billion. The Federal Emergency Management Agency's disaster relief fund had access to about $7.8 billion as Sandy slammed the U.S. East Coast on October 29, causing widespread destruction in coastal New York and New Jersey. ... Full Story | Top |
| Rice meeting with senators fails to dampen criticism Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 05:04 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice on Tuesday conceded that an early account she gave about the attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, was partly inaccurate, but her admission failed to win over Republican senators who accused her of misleading the public. Rice met for about an hour behind closed doors at the U.S. Capitol with Republican Senators John McCain, Lindsey Graham and Kelly Ayotte, who have threatened to block her nomination if President Barack Obama chooses her for secretary of state or another top post in his second-term Cabinet. ... Full Story | Top |
| FTC patent ruling might hint at how it will treat Google case Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 04:33 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal regulators investigating Google for a range of accusations of antitrust violations took a stand this week on how to handle a type of patent similar to ones in the Google case, but also exposed a rift between regulators on how to proceed. The disagreement focuses on whether the Federal Trade Commission can use its power to enforce rules against unfair competition in pursuing companies which ask for sales injunctions against rivals because of allegations that their so-called standard essential patents (SEP) have been infringed. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. declines to name China currency manipulator Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 04:31 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration said on Tuesday that China's currency remained "significantly undervalued," but stopped short of labeling the world's second-biggest economy a currency manipulator. Although Beijing controls the pace at which the yuan can rise, the U.S. Treasury said in a congressionally mandated semi-annual report that China did not meet the legal requirements to be deemed a currency manipulator. The label is largely symbolic, but would require Washington to open discussions with Beijing on adjusting the yuan's value. It has been 18 years since the U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Boris Johnson mocks French government over Mittal Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 04:28 PM PST  LONDON (Reuters) - The Mayor of London Boris Johnson on Tuesday described France's Socialist government as left-wing revolutionaries that were driving investors away in a dispute with steelmaker ArcelorMittal. The Conservative mayor mocked the French government as 'sans-culottes,' a radical left-wing class during the French Revolution of 1789, while adding that British capital would welcome business fleeing from France. ... Full Story | Top |
| FBI probes possible links among rash of U.S. bomb threats Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 04:15 PM PST NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Reuters) - The FBI said it was trying to determine if there is a connection among telephone bomb threats to facilities in 30 counties of Tennessee on Tuesday and similar recent incidents in other U.S. states. Courthouses and public facilities in 30 Tennessee counties were temporarily evacuated on Tuesday following a rash of such calls. Similar threats closed more than a dozen courthouses in Oregon last week and bomb threats were also made in Washington state and Nebraska. All affected facilities in Tennessee had been searched by late on Tuesday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Venezuela's Chavez heads to Cuba for medical treatment Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 04:13 PM PST  CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez will travel to Cuba on Tuesday for medical treatment, following a nearly two-week absence from the public eye, months after undergoing cancer surgery on the communist-run island. Chavez, 58, underwent what appeared to be a remarkable comeback from an undisclosed type of cancer diagnosed in June 2011. In October, he won re-election despite running a campaign that was much more subdued than his previous bids. ... Full Story | Top |
| UK workplace pension pot charges should be revealed - new code Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 04:03 PM PST LONDON (Reuters) - Pension firms and insurers are calling for the costs taken automatically by people running UK pension schemes to be divulged to employers when they set up auto-enrolment schemes between 2012 and 2017. Pension charges have dramatically reduced in recent years, and now stand at 0.52 percent of the value of an individual scheme, says the Association of British Insurers (ABI). But the little-known fees and levies can wipe tens of thousands of pounds off the value of a worker's workplace pension. ... Full Story | Top |
| Deutsche Bank faces Libor questions from German lawmakers Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 04:02 PM PST  FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank's compliance chief Stephan Leithner and former board member Hugo Baenziger face skeptical German lawmakers on Wednesday as parliamentarians seek answers about how banks manipulated global benchmark interest rates. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama shields U.S. airlines from EU carbon fees Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 03:56 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama signed a bill on Tuesday shielding U.S. airlines from paying for each ton of carbon their planes emit flying into and out of Europe, despite a recent move by Europe to suspend its proposed measure for one year. The carbon fee bill was the first piece of legislation debated on the House floor after Congress returned from recess on November 13, and had been cleared by the Senate in September in a rare unanimous vote. It directs the U.S. transportation secretary to shield U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Former presidential nominee Dole in hospital: media reports Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 03:55 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole has been admitted to Washington's Walter Reed Army medical center for what an aide called a "routine procedure," media reports said on Tuesday. Dole, 89, "self-checked into the hospital for a routine procedure and will be discharged tomorrow," an aide told NBC News. "He's doing very well." According to Politico, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, said on the Senate floor on Tuesday that Dole was hospitalized "because he is infirm. He is sick." Reid's comments came during debate on the U.N. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bangladeshi man pleads not guilty to New Y ork Federal Reserve bomb plot Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 03:46 PM PST NEW YORK (Reuters) - A Bangladeshi man arrested in a sting operation denied on Tuesday charges that he attempted to blow up the Federal Reserve Bank in New York last month with what authorities say he believed was a 1,000-pound (450-kg) bomb. During a brief hearing in Brooklyn federal court, Quazi Mohammad Rezwanul Ahsan Nafis, 21, pleaded not guilty to a two-count indictment charging him with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and attempting to provide material support to a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization, al Qaeda. He faces life in prison if convicted. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syria launches air strikes as combat rages in Damascus Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 03:43 PM PST  BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian war planes attacked towns in the country's north and east and killed at least five civilians in a strike on an olive oil press as fighting raged in the capital Damascus on Tuesday, opposition activists said. The latest fighting follows recent battlefield gains by the rebels in their struggle to topple President Bashar al-Assad, but it is far from clear if a strategic breakthrough is likely. More than 90 people were killed on Tuesday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based group. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.N. committee condemns Syria, Iran for rampant rights abuses Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 03:43 PM PST UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A U.N. General Assembly committee on Tuesday condemned Syria and Iran for widespread human rights abuses, but both Damascus and Tehran dismissed the separate votes as politically motivated. The draft resolution on Syria, which was co-sponsored by Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United States, Britain, France and other Arab and Western states, received 132 votes in favor - 10 more than a similar resolution last year received - along with 12 against and 35 abstentions. ... Full Story | Top |
| High stakes as Syrian opposition tries to form government Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 03:43 PM PST CAIRO (Reuters) - Syria's new opposition coalition will hold its first full meeting on Wednesday to discuss forming a transitional government crucial to win effective Arab and Western support for the revolt against President Bashar al-Assad. The 60 or so delegates, chosen after marathon talks in Qatar this month, are meeting in Cairo ahead of a gathering of the Friends of Syria, a grouping of dozens of countries that had pledged mostly non-military backing for the revolt but which are worried by the rising influence of Islamists in the opposition. ... Full Story | Top |
| Lockheed Martin raises compensation of CEO-elect Hewson Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 03:33 PM PST  (Reuters) - Defense contractor Lockheed Martin Corp said Marillyn Hewson, set to become chief executive on January 1, would receive an annual base salary of $1.38 million and a target bonus percentage of 175 percent in 2013. Hewson, who became president and chief operating officer earlier this month, will receive an annual base salary of $1.1 million this year, up from $700,000, the company said in a regulatory filing. The company said Hewson would receive a target bonus percentage of 125 percent in 2012, up from 90 percent. ... Full Story | Top |
| Senate works on new package of Iran sanctions Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 03:28 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New sanctions aimed at reducing global trade with Iran in the energy, shipping and metals sectors may soon be considered by the U.S. Senate as part of an annual defense policy bill, senators and aides said on Tuesday. The sanctions legislation, which has not yet been unveiled, comes during a crowded calendar as the Senate races to deal with deficit reduction, the defense bill and other pressing issues by the end of the year. The package would build on current U.S. sanctions, passed almost a year ago, that have slashed Iran's oil revenues. ... Full Story | Top |
| Canada still examining options on foreign energy bids Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 03:27 PM PST  OTTAWA (Reuters) - With deadlines fast approaching, Canada is still weighing two proposed foreign takeovers of domestic energy companies, but a top minister offered no clues on Tuesday as to when or how the government would announce the hotly debated decisions. The government says it will unveil new policy guidelines on foreign investment at about the same time it announces verdicts on the proposed takeovers: A bid by China's CNOOC Ltd for Nexen Inc and a bid by Malaysia's Petronas for Progress Energy Resources Corp. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mexico's Pena Nieto backs Obama immigration reform push Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 03:17 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Mexican President-elect Enrique Pena Nieto on Tuesday backed President Barack Obama's planned push for U.S. immigration reform, pledged cooperation on border security and promised efforts to reduce violence in his own country. Three weeks after winning re-election, Obama held White House talks with Pena Nieto, who is due to take office on Saturday, to begin forging a personal bond and discuss shared challenges that have sometimes created fraught relations between their countries. Pena Nieto made clear that Mexicans were closely following Obama's plan to tackle a major U. ... Full Story | Top |
| New Yorker charged in killings of shopkeepers of Middle Eastern origin Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 03:14 PM PST NEW YORK (Reuters) - A Brooklyn grand jury on Tuesday indicted a clothing salesman on murder charges in the shooting deaths this year of three shopkeepers of Middle Eastern descent, prosecutors said. Salvatore Perrone, 63, was arrested a week ago on suspicion of murder when a witness in a pharmacy matched his likeness to a photo circulated by police after it was captured on a security camera near the latest killing this month. ... Full Story | Top |
| Rhode Island to leave "Christmas" out of tree ceremony Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 03:13 PM PST (Reuters) - Rhode Island will go ahead with plans to hold a "holiday tree" lighting ceremony in the state capital despite controversy last year over Governor Lincoln Chafee's decision to avoid using the word "Christmas" in reference to the tree. The announcement on Tuesday that the state would hold a tree-lighting ceremony in Providence came just 24 hours after the governor's spokeswoman said the annual event had been scrubbed. Last year, protesters interrupted the ceremony with demands the conifer be officially referred to as a "Christmas tree. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egyptians challenge Mursi in nationwide protests Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 03:09 PM PST  CAIRO (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Egyptians rallied on Tuesday against President Mohamed Mursi in one of the biggest outpourings of protest since Hosni Mubarak's overthrow, accusing the Islamist leader of seeking to impose a new era of autocracy. Police fired tear gas at stone-throwing youths in streets near the main protest in Cairo's Tahrir Square, heart of the uprising that toppled Mubarak last year. Clashes between Mursi's opponents and supporters erupted in a city north of Cairo. ... Full Story | Top |
| Palestinians say no rush to join international court after U.N. vote Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 02:21 PM PST UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The Palestinians will not rush to sign up to the International Criminal Court if they win a U.N. status upgrade on Thursday, but warned that seeking action against Israel in the court would remain an option, said the Palestinian U.N. observer. The Palestinians appear certain to earn approval in the 193-member U.N. General Assembly for a status upgrade to "observer state" - similar to the Vatican's rank - from observer "entity." The move would implicitly recognize Palestinian statehood. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. investigating use of force by Albuquerque police Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 02:10 PM PST (Reuters) - The Justice Department said on Tuesday it launched a civil rights probe into whether the police department in Albuquerque, New Mexico, has shown a pattern of using excessive force on civilians. The investigation - which is civil, not criminal - is one of 14 active police reform investigations across the country, according to the Justice Department. There have been 25 shootings involving Albuquerque police officers since 2010, 17 of which were fatal, according to KOB, a news station in the city. ... Full Story | Top |
| Outrage at "Jewish list" call in Hungary parliament Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 02:08 PM PST  BUDAPEST (Reuters) - A call in the Hungarian parliament for Jews to be registered on lists as threats to national security sparked international condemnation of Nazi-style policies and a protest outside the legislature in Budapest on Tuesday. The lawmaker, from the far-right Jobbik party, dismissed demands he resign, however, and said his remarks during a debate on Monday had been misunderstood - he was, Marton Gyongyosi said, referring only to Hungarians with Israeli passports. ... Full Story | Top |
| Greek PM hails debt compromise, public skeptical Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 01:58 PM PST ATHENS (Reuters) - Prime Minister Antonis Samaras welcomed a debt deal agreed by lenders to unlock aid, promising skeptical Greeks a new dawn after months of haggling under the threat of bankruptcy. Worn down by political squabbling and repeated austerity cuts, many Greeks reacted to the deal with disdain while the Syriza opposition party called it a "half-baked compromise" that would not solve the country's problems. "A very grey, a very dark period for Greece officially ended yesterday and it has ended for good," Samaras said in a televised statement. ... Full Story | Top |
| Greece, markets satisfied by EU-IMF Greek debt deal Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 01:58 PM PST  BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The Greek government and financial markets were cheered on Tuesday by an agreement between euro zone finance ministers and the International Monetary Fund to reduce Greece's debt, paving the way for the release of urgently needed aid loans. The deal, clinched at the third attempt after weeks of wrangling, removes the biggest risk of a sovereign default in the euro zone for now, ensuring the near-bankrupt country will stay afloat at least until after a 2013 German general election. ... Full Story | Top |
| ACLU sues over policy barring women from combat Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 01:50 PM PST  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The American Civil Liberties Union and four servicewomen sued the U.S. Defense Department on Tuesday to end a ban on women in combat, calling the military the last bastion of discrimination by the federal government and saying modern warfare has already put women in the line of fire. The civil rights group argued in a legal complaint filed in federal court in Northern California that the military policy barring women from roles primarily focused on combat solely because of their gender was unconstitutional. ... Full Story | Top |
| Seven killed as Nigeria gunmen rob banks and attack police Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 01:46 PM PST ONITSHA, Nigeria (Reuters) - - Bank robbers armed with assault rifles and high explosives attacked four banks and two police stations in southern Nigeria, in a coordinated strike that left seven people dead, police said on Tuesday. It was the latest in a spate of security lapses in Nigeria in the past two days, after a suicide bombing by suspected Islamists inside a military barracks on Sunday and a jail break in the capital Abuja in the early hours of Monday. The attack took place late on Monday night in the remote town of Auchi, in Edo state. ... Full Story | Top |
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