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| Democratic senators see support for "fiscal cliff" deal Monday, Dec 31, 2012 08:04 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic senators emerged from a meeting with Vice President Joe Biden late on Monday saying there was strong support for quickly passing legislation aimed at averting the fiscal cliff. Senator Joseph Lieberman, an independent from Connecticut, and Senator Charles Schumer, of New York, who is a member of the Senate Democratic leadership, both said the Senate would aim to pass the newly struck deal by a midnight (0500 GMT Tuesday) deadline. If it passes the Senate, the House of Representatives would still have to approve it. A vote in that chamber could come on Tuesday. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. heading off 'fiscal cliff' despite Senate efforts Monday, Dec 31, 2012 08:04 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States was headed over the "fiscal cliff" - at least temporarily - at midnight on Monday as time was running out for lawmakers to back a last-minute deal between the White House and Senate leaders to avert severe tax increases and spending cuts. After months of fruitless argument between Republicans and Democrats, the White House and Senate reached an agreement that would delay harsh spending cuts by two months, administration sources said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Top Afghan negotiator cautiously optimistic on peace prospects Monday, Dec 31, 2012 07:53 PM PST  KABUL (Reuters) - One of Afghanistan's top peace negotiators said he was cautiously optimistic about prospects for reconciliation with the Taliban and that all sides now realized a military solution to the war was not possible. Mohammad Masoom Stanekzai also told Reuters that the Kabul government hoped to transform the Afghan Taliban into a political movement. He predicted the highly lethal Haqqani militant network would join the peace process if the Afghan Taliban started formal talks. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. House aims to split Sandy aid bill into two parts Monday, Dec 31, 2012 06:54 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to split a $60.4 billion Superstorm Sandy disaster aid bill into two parts, staging votes on $27 billion to fund immediate recovery needs and $33 billion for long-term and other projects, Republican lawmakers and aides said on Monday. The plan for votes on Tuesday or Wednesday would meet the demands of many Republican lawmakers to vote on a smaller initial package of aid for victims of the October 29 storm that devastated New York and New Jersey coastlines. ... Full Story | Top |
| "Fiscal cliff" deal reached between White House, lawmakers: source Monday, Dec 31, 2012 06:42 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House and congressional lawmakers have reached a deal to avoid the "fiscal cliff" that would delay harsh spending cuts by two months, Obama administration officials said on Monday. President Barack Obama called Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House of Representatives Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who both signed off on the deal, one source said. The agreement includes a balance of spending cuts and revenue increases to pay for the delay in the automatic spending cuts that would go into effect without a deal by lawmakers. ... Full Story | Top |
| North Korean leader, in rare address, seeks end to confrontation with South Monday, Dec 31, 2012 06:41 PM PST  SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called for an end to confrontation between the two Koreas, technically still at war in the absence of a peace treaty to end their 1950-53 conflict, in a surprise New Year speech broadcast on state media. The address by Kim, who took over power in the reclusive state after his father, Kim Jong-il, died in 2011, appeared to take the place of the policy-setting New Year editorial published in leading state newspapers. ... Full Story | Top |
| Venezuela's Chavez in stable condition, says son-in-law Monday, Dec 31, 2012 06:34 PM PST  CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is in stable condition and spent Monday with his daughters, the cancer-stricken leader's son in law said in an appeal for supporters to ignore rumors about his condition. Chavez has not been seen in public nor heard from in more than three weeks. The vice president said on Sunday that the 58-year-old was suffering a third set of complications after surgery in Cuba on December 11, his fourth operation in 18 months. ... Full Story | Top |
| Sour end to 2012 masks positive trends in America Monday, Dec 31, 2012 05:53 PM PST  CHICAGO (Reuters) - Many Americans seem to be in a sour mood as 2013 begins, after Hurricane Sandy ravaged parts of the East Coast, a gunman massacred 20 school children in Connecticut and a long, contentious election campaign was followed by failure to resolve the "fiscal cliff" issue by year-end. Americans have not been very optimistic since the Great Recession of 2008-2009, but the gloom had begun to lift this year until the blast of bad news as 2012 ended, IPSOS pollster Cliff Young said on Monday. IPSOS polling showed that some angst set in as the year ended. ... Full Story | Top |
| China commentaries demand U.S. responsibility on "fiscal cliff" Monday, Dec 31, 2012 05:43 PM PST BEIJING (Reuters) - China's official Xinhua news agency demanded on Tuesday that the United States live up to its global economic responsibilities, put political infighting aside and sort out the "fiscal cliff" mess. "Being the world's only superpower and the issuer of the dominant global reserve currency, the United States has a unique role and an unshirkable duty to help cure the ailing global economy," one of its English-language commentaries said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Clinton suffers clot behind right ear, full recovery seen Monday, Dec 31, 2012 05:39 PM PST  WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton suffered a blood clot in a vein between her brain and skull behind her right ear but is expected to make a full recovery, her doctors said on Monday in a statement released by the State Department. Clinton did not suffer a stroke or neurological damage as a result of the clot, the doctors said, adding that "she is in good spirits, engaging with her doctors, her family and her staff." The U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Central African Republic rebels say split over peace talks offer Monday, Dec 31, 2012 05:26 PM PST  BANGUI (Reuters) - Rebels in Central African Republic are split over whether to start peace talks with President Francois Bozize or carry on an assault to overthrow him, a spokesman said on Monday, leaving efforts to end the conflict hanging in the balance. The Seleka insurgents had advanced to within 75 km (45 miles) of the mineral-rich country's capital Bangui and threatened to seize the city - until Bozize made a last ditch offer on Sunday to hold talks and share power with them. ... Full Story | Top |
| Chief justice stresses need for judges, funds despite US fiscal strain Monday, Dec 31, 2012 04:55 PM PST  (Reuters) - U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts on Monday called on the White House and Congress to provide sufficient funding and enough judges to ensure that the federal judiciary can do its job well despite the fiscal problems the country faces. In his annual report on the federal judiciary, Roberts recognized the battle in Washington over the "fiscal cliff," saying the country has a fiscal ledger that has "gone awry" and must address the longer-term problem of a "truly extravagant and burgeoning national debt. ... Full Story | Top |
| Rebel groups hit with U.N. sanctions over eastern Congo Monday, Dec 31, 2012 04:09 PM PST  UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A U.N. Security Council sanctions committee on Monday blacklisted two rebel groups that have been responsible for war crimes in conflict-ravaged eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, the United Nations said in a statement. The United States and Britain praised the move, with Washington suggesting further sanctions may be imposed against anyone who continues to cause trouble in eastern Congo. One of the groups added to the blacklist is the so-called M23, a Congolese rebel faction led by Bosco Ntaganda, a warlord indicted by the International Criminal Court. ... Full Story | Top |
| Maryland ushers in New Year with its first gay weddings Monday, Dec 31, 2012 04:08 PM PST BALTIMORE (Reuters) - Wedding bells were set to ring in the New Year for seven gay couples in Maryland early on Tuesday, the first wave of nuptials since voters in the state backed the legalization of same-sex marriage. Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake will pronounce the seven couples "lawfully married" rather than "husband and wife" at the 12:30 a.m. ceremony on New Year's Day in City Hall. "It's just a long time coming," said Darcia Anthony, 32, who serves in the National Guard and will be married in the City Hall ceremony to her high school sweetheart, Danielle Williams, 32, a chef. ... Full Story | Top |
| 2012 marred by U.S. mass shooting casualties Monday, Dec 31, 2012 04:06 PM PST  MILWAUKEE (Reuters) - A single bullet hole. Surrounded by peeling orange paint. Marked by a small plaque inscribed with "We Are One" and "8-5-12." While diminutive, it is a powerful reminder to those who come now to pray here of the carnage that descended on this Sikh temple nearly five months ago. A white supremacist went on a rampage, killing six worshipers and wounding four, including a police officer, before being shot by police and then taking his own life. "We left one bullet hole to remember them ... ... Full Story | Top |
| Israeli held for sneaking into Egypt Monday, Dec 31, 2012 03:54 PM PST CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt on Monday said it had detained an Israeli army officer in the Taba region of the Sinai peninsula for sneaking through the border, but his mother and Israeli media said he was a civilian pro-Palestinian activist. The Egyptian state news agency MENA said the man was a Tel Aviv resident of Russian origin who was not carrying a passport, and that his name had not been on tourist arrival lists. An Egyptian state security officer said the man was an army officer who had been detained on Saturday and was still being interrogated. ... Full Story | Top |
| "Fiscal cliff" tumble looms despite Senate efforts Monday, Dec 31, 2012 03:36 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States was on track to tumble over the "fiscal cliff" at midnight on Monday, at least for a day, as lawmakers held back from supporting an eleventh-hour plan from Senate leaders to avert severe tax increases and spending cuts. The U.S. House of Representatives looked unlikely to vote on a Senate "fiscal cliff" plan before midnight, possibly pushing a legislative decision into New Year's Day, when financial markets will be closed. The plan was heavy on tax increases and light on spending cuts, which was unlikely to appeal to Republicans in the House. ... Full Story | Top |
| Senate eyeing two-month delay of automatic spending cuts: McCain Monday, Dec 31, 2012 03:19 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A possible deal between Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and Vice President Joe Biden to avert the "fiscal cliff" would include a two-month delay in automatic federal spending cuts that were due to begin this week, Republican Senator John McCain said on Monday. McCain said the deal would include $24 billion in other spending cuts to cover the cost of the delay, and would also include a one-year extension of unemployment benefits. ... Full Story | Top |
| Chief justice stresses need for judges, funds despite fiscal strain Monday, Dec 31, 2012 03:05 PM PST (Reuters) - U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts on Monday called on the White House and Congress to provide sufficient funding and enough judges to ensure that the federal judiciary can do its job well despite the fiscal problems the country faces. In his annual report on the federal judiciary, Roberts recognized the battle in Washington over the "fiscal cliff," saying the country has a fiscal ledger that has "gone awry" and must address the longer-term problem of a "truly extravagant and burgeoning national debt. ... Full Story | Top |
| House expects to reconvene at noon Tuesday - Representative LaTourette Monday, Dec 31, 2012 02:58 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives expects to reconvene on Tuesday at noon, Representative Steven LaTourette said, after negotiations to avert the "fiscal cliff" developed slowly on Monday. LaTourette, a Republican, also said that House members have been told to stay close on Monday evening and that they may be called back to continue negotiations. (Reporting by Rachelle Younglai; Editing by Will Dunham) Full Story | Top |
| N.C. governor grants pardons in divisive civil rights-era case Monday, Dec 31, 2012 02:56 PM PST WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina (Reuters) - North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue pardoned on Monday a mostly African-American group known as the "Wilmington 10" after they were falsely convicted of firebombing a white-owned grocery store in 1971 during a time of bitter racial unrest. Human and civil rights groups had long decried the convictions and prison sentences ranging from 15 to 34 years for the nine black men and one white woman, arguing they were victims of racial prejudice and prosecutorial misconduct. ... Full Story | Top |
| Treasury says hitting debt ceiling on Monday Monday, Dec 31, 2012 02:54 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury said it would hit a legal limit on borrowing on Monday but was launching new measures to keep the nation from defaulting on its debt. A Treasury official said the federal government was hitting its $16.4 trillion ceiling on borrowing. The government is facing a crunch on the debt ceiling because the issue has become tangled up in talks to avoid some $600 billion in tax hikes and spending cuts due to begin in early January. Failing to raise the debt ceiling could cause the government to default on its debt. ... Full Story | Top |
| Combative Obama knocks Republicans, says fiscal deal in sight Monday, Dec 31, 2012 02:47 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama, in remarks that needled Republicans and resembled a victory lap, said on Monday an agreement with Congress to avoid a "fiscal cliff" of tax increases and spending cuts was in sight. The Democratic president appeared at a White House event in the early afternoon with cheering supporters to press for lawmakers to complete a deal that would extend tax cuts for the middle class, raise rates for high earners and extend unemployment insurance for people seeking work. ... Full Story | Top |
| Skeptical Senate Democrats seek meeting with Biden on "fiscal cliff" deal: aide Monday, Dec 31, 2012 02:18 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Skeptical U.S. Senate Democrats requested a meeting on Monday with Vice President Joe Biden about the tentative deal on the "fiscal cliff" that he is forging with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, a Democratic Senate aide said. With the deal apparently short of needed support, Democrats are hopeful that Biden will meet with them, but have not yet received a commitment, the aide said. Some Democrats complain that Biden went too far to find common ground with McConnell. ... Full Story | Top |
| Texas health program can exclude Planned Parenthood: judge Monday, Dec 31, 2012 02:06 PM PST SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Reuters) - Texas won a court victory on Monday in its effort to stop state funds under a health program for low-income women from going to clinics affiliated with Planned Parenthood, a group that provides abortions at some of its facilities. A Texas judge allowed the state to go ahead with a revamped program for poor women, the Women's Health Program, that does not include Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood said it does not provide abortions at clinics that participate in the state women's health program. ... Full Story | Top |
| Wall Street ends 2012 riding high on "cliff" deal optimism Monday, Dec 31, 2012 01:38 PM PST  NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks closed out 2012 with their strongest day in more than a month, putting the S&P 500 up 13.4 percent for the year, as lawmakers in Washington closed in on a resolution to the "fiscal cliff" negotiations. The S&P 500's gain for the year marks its best performance since 2009, as stocks navigated through debt crises in Europe and the United States that dominated the headlines. Still, with numerous issues involving budget talks unresolved, markets could still be open to a shock should the deal break down unexpectedly. ... Full Story | Top |
| Last Cuban "commuters" retire from jobs at U.S. Navy base Monday, Dec 31, 2012 01:37 PM PST (Reuters) - The last two Cuban workers at the Guantanamo Bay U.S. naval base in Cuba retired on Monday from jobs they began more than five decades ago when the United States and its reluctant host enjoyed friendlier relations. Harry Henry, an 82-year-old office supply technician, and Luis La Rosa, a 79-year-old welder, had worked on the U.S. base in southeast Cuba since they were teenagers. They were among thousands of Cuban laborers who once commuted to the base each day, back when U.S. sailors spent their shore leave on Cuban-controlled territory outside the base. ... Full Story | Top |
| French government may water down 75 pct tax after setback Monday, Dec 31, 2012 01:23 PM PST  PARIS (Reuters) - The derailment of President Francois Hollande's 75 percent millionaires' tax presents a chance to water down a scheme which hurt France's image with investors but the Socialist leader is unlikely to give up without a fight. Hollande pledged to press ahead with a redrafted tax on the wealthy next year after the Constitutional Council's decision on Saturday to strike down the emblematic rate on income over 1 million euros ($1.32 million). ... Full Story | Top |
| House may not vote on any fiscal cliff deal before January 1 Monday, Dec 31, 2012 01:19 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives may not vote on any Senate-passed "fiscal cliff" deal until after Monday's midnight EST deadline, a Republican leadership aide said. The aide said any negative fallout from delaying a vote until Tuesday, New Year's Day, would be minimal since financial markets would be closed. The aide noted, "We still don't have a bill from the Senate and we want members to read it before they vote on it." (Reporting by Thomas Ferraro and David Lawder; Editing by Will Dunham) Full Story | Top |
| Key points in tentative deal Monday, Dec 31, 2012 01:16 PM PST (Reuters) - Hours before a deadline for $600 billion in automatic tax increases and spending cuts, U.S. Senate leaders on Monday were working out the details of a deal to avert the so-called "fiscal cliff." President Barack Obama cautioned there were still "issues left to resolve" in the tentative deal, which still needs approval from the Senate as well as the Republican-led House of Representatives. Here are details of the deal as it stood at midday on Monday, according to a source familiar with the talks: * Postpones the $1. ... Full Story | Top |
| Rwanda vows to help on Congo at U.N., assails "blame game" Monday, Dec 31, 2012 01:02 PM PST UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Rwanda warned on Monday it will not tolerate attempts to blame it for a rebel insurgency in eastern Congo but vowed to use its two-year U.N. Security Council stint to help put an end to the conflict that has destabilized its much larger neighbor. Rwanda - along with Argentina, Australia, Luxembourg and South Korea - was elected in October as a temporary member of the 15-nation U.N. Security Council for 2013-14. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: At cliff's edge, old ideas to cap tax breaks are new again Monday, Dec 31, 2012 12:57 PM PST  (Reuters) - Imposing overall caps on how much high-income people in the United States can claim on their tax returns in deductions, exemptions and other tax breaks is an idea whose time may have come - again. In the whirl of "fiscal cliff" talks, bipartisan backing has grown for imposing, or in some cases reinstating, caps on tax breaks for top earners. On Monday, Republicans threw their support behind several approaches to do just that in a framework to step away from the fiscal cliff of $600 billion in new taxes and spending cuts set to take effect on January 1. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt detains Israeli army officer in Sinai Monday, Dec 31, 2012 12:48 PM PST CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian security forces have detained an Israeli army officer in the Taba region of the Sinai peninsula after he snuck through a border crossing and took photographs of security property and talked to drivers, security sources said. "The Israeli officer was arrested by national security forces on December 29. State security is now interrogating him," a national state security officer told Reuters. The state news agency MENA said the arrested man is a Tel Aviv resident of Russian origin named Andrea Chetekov. ... Full Story | Top |
| Monti aims for Italy vote majority, pro-Europe alliance Monday, Dec 31, 2012 12:30 PM PST  ROME (Reuters) - Outgoing Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti said on Monday he was aiming to win a majority in a parliamentary election in February and would seek alliances with parties agreeing with his pro-Europe agenda. While not explicitly saying so, Monti appeared to indicate he was open to an alliance with the centre left - led by Pier Luigi Bersani, who polls say is on track to win the election - although not until after the vote. The statement came a day after Bersani pressured Monti to choose sides. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bombs kill 23 across Iraq as sectarian strife grows Monday, Dec 31, 2012 12:29 PM PST  BAGHDAD (Reuters) - At least 23 people were killed and 87 wounded in attacks across Iraq on Monday, police said, underlining sectarian and ethnic divisions that threaten to further destabilize the country a year after U.S. troops left. Tensions between Shi'ite, Kurdish and Sunni factions in Iraq's power-sharing government have been on the rise this year. Militants strike almost daily and have staged at least one big attack a month. The latest violence followed more than a week of protests against Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki by thousands of people from the minority Sunni community. ... Full Story | Top |
| Connecticut attorney general says Newtown legal claim misguided Monday, Dec 31, 2012 12:12 PM PST (Reuters) - A $100 million claim filed against the state of Connecticut in the wake of a school shooting that left 20 children and six adults dead two weeks ago is misguided, Connecticut's attorney general said in a statement on Monday. Last week, a New Haven-based attorney filed an intention to sue the state on behalf of a 6-year-old survivor of the December 14 attack - the second deadliest school shooting in U.S. history. Under Connecticut law, any claim against the state must be approved by the state claims commissioner before it can move forward. ... Full Story | Top |
| Senate should pass tax relief now, McConnell says Monday, Dec 31, 2012 12:06 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said on Monday that agreements with Democrats have been reached on all of the tax issues in an emerging "fiscal cliff" deal, and the Senate should not delay in passing these. McConnell, speaking on the Senate floor, said he agreed with President Barack Obama that Congress' most immediate priority is preventing a tax hike for the majority of Americans on Tuesday. Obama "suggested that action on the sequester (automatic spending cuts) is something we can continue to work on in the coming months. So I agree. ... Full Story | Top |
| Turkey discussing disarmament with Kurdish leader: aide Monday, Dec 31, 2012 12:02 PM PST ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey has begun discussing disarmament with Kurdish militants after concluding that it is unlikely to defeat them militarily, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's chief adviser said on Monday. The government has been in talks in recent months with Abdullah Ocalan, jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), to end a hunger strike by jailed PKK members, but Monday's comment was the first confirmation that attempts to negotiate a wider peace settlement were on the agenda. "The main aim for the government is to disarm them. ... Full Story | Top |
| CAR rebels say split over peace talks offer Monday, Dec 31, 2012 11:59 AM PST  BANGUI (Reuters) - Rebels in Central African Republic are split over whether to start peace talks with President Francois Bozize or carry on an assault to overthrow him, a spokesman said on Monday, leaving efforts to end the conflict hanging in the balance. The Seleka insurgents had advanced to within 75 km (45 miles) of the mineral-rich country's capital Bangui and threatened to seize the city - until Bozize made a last ditch offer on Sunday to hold talks and share power with them. ... Full Story | Top |
| Reuters TV cameraman wounded in Syria Monday, Dec 31, 2012 11:47 AM PST ALEPPO, Syria (Reuters) - A Reuters television cameraman was shot in the leg and wounded while filming on the front line in Syria's northern city of Aleppo on Monday. Ayman al-Sahili, a Libyan citizen working as part of a Reuters multi-media reporting team, was hit by a rifle bullet fired from a distance. He was treated in Syria and then driven across the border to Turkey. His life was not in danger. The ambulance transporting Sahili to Turkey encountered an air strike in Aleppo and maneuvered into an alley until it was safe to continue the journey. ... Full Story | Top |
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