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| Gunman opens fire in Arizona office building, one dead Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 08:08 PM PST  PHOENIX (Reuters) - A gunman opened fire in an Arizona office building following a legal mediation meeting on Wednesday, shooting dead one man and wounding two other people including a prominent Phoenix lawyer before fleeing in a car, officials said. Phoenix Police Sergeant Tommy Thompson said the shooting erupted after a morning meeting involving a legal dispute, and police were looking for a 70-year-old suspected gunman described as "armed and dangerous. ... Full Story | Top |
| New York Times says targeted by China hackers after Wen report Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 08:07 PM PST BEIJING (Reuters) - The New York Times said on Thursday that Chinese hackers had "persistently" attacked its computers over the past four months since the paper published a story on Premier Wen Jiabao, but sensitive material related to the report was not accessed. The New York Times said the attacks coincided with its report last October that Wen's family had accumulated at least $2.7 billion in "hidden riches". China said at the time the report smeared its name and had ulterior motives. ... Full Story | Top |
| Prominent New York prosecutor enters private practice Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 08:06 PM PST (Reuters) - Reed Brodsky, the former prosecutor who led the insider trading prosecution of former Goldman Sachs director Rajat Gupta, is leaving the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office to join law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher as a partner in New York, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the move. Brodsky, who is expected to specialize in white collar defense and general litigation at the Los Angeles law firm, also helped convict the hedge fund titan Raj Rajaratnam on insider trading charges in 2011. ... Full Story | Top |
| "Gomer Pyle" actor Jim Nabors weds longtime male partner Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 07:40 PM PST SEATTLE (Reuters) - American actor Jim Nabors, the star of 1960s television comedy "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.," married his longtime male partner at a Seattle hotel this month. Nabors, 82, also a singer, wed 64-year-old Stan Cadwallader, his partner of some 38 years, in a ceremony before a judge on January 15 at the Fairmont Olympic Hotel, where the couple traveled after same sex marriage became legal in Washington state last month. "I was just trying to solidify all of our years together," Nabors told Reuters on Wednesday from Hawaii, where the two live. ... Full Story | Top |
| Hostage drama drags on after Alabama school bus shooting Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 07:19 PM PST  MIDLAND CITY, Alabama (Reuters) - A gunman suspected of fatally shooting an Alabama school bus driver before holing up in an underground bunker with a young child is a Vietnam veteran with anti-government views, authorities and an organization that tracks hate groups said on Wednesday. Law enforcement officials from multiple agencies were bivouacked near the bunker in Midland City but offered few details about a standoff with the shooter that stretched into its second day on Wednesday. Authorities said driver Charles Albert Poland Jr. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.N. Security Council to discuss peacekeepers for Mali Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 07:18 PM PST UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council will soon begin discussing a possible United Nations peacekeeping force for Mali, an idea the world body had been uncomfortable with before France's recent military intervention, envoys said on Wednesday. Last month, the 15-nation council approved an African-led force for Mali that likely would have been funded with voluntary contributions from U.N. member states and trained by the European Union. ... Full Story | Top |
| Cod quotas slashed in New England amid dwindling stocks Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 07:17 PM PST LITTLETON, New Hampshire (Reuters) - New England's once mighty fishing industry suffered a blow on Wednesday after a council voted to cut cod fishing quotas by more than 50 percent this year amidst sharply declining North Atlantic stocks of the bottom-feeder. At a meeting in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, the New England Fishery Management Council voted to slash the legal harvest of cod in the Gulf of Maine by 77 percent to 1,550 metric tons for the fishing season beginning May 1, said Pat Fiorelli, a spokeswoman for the council. "It's really grim," said Fiorelli. ... Full Story | Top |
| Cuban dissident blogger Yoani Sanchez gets passport, will travel Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 07:16 PM PST  HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuba's best-known dissident, blogger Yoani Sanchez, received a passport on Wednesday under the island's new, freer travel law and said she would go abroad soon, after years of being denied that right. Sanchez' case was viewed as a test of the Cuban government's commitment to free travel, but the news was not as good for Angel Moya, another dissident who, Sanchez said, was denied a passport. "Incredible! They called to my house to tell me that my passport was ready. They just delivered it to me," Sanchez wrote on Twitter. ... Full Story | Top |
| Oregon Christmas tree bomb plot case goes to jury Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 07:02 PM PST PORTLAND, Oregon (Reuters) - Jurors began deliberating on Wednesday in the trial of a Somali-born man accused of trying to blow up a Christmas-tree lighting event in Oregon, after prosecutors and defense lawyers sparred during closing arguments over his intent. Mohamed Osman Mohamud, a naturalized U.S. citizen and former Oregon State University student, faces life in prison if he is found guilty of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction to blow up the holiday tree-lighting in Portland in November 2010, when he was 19. ... Full Story | Top |
| Arab-American groups call Coke Super Bowl ad "racist" Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 07:00 PM PST LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Arab-American groups have sharply criticized a Coca-Cola Super Bowl ad depicting an Arab walking through the desert with a camel, and one group said it would ask the beverage giant to change it before CBS airs the game on Sunday before an expected audience of more than 100 million U.S. viewers. "Why is it that Arabs are always shown as either oil-rich sheiks, terrorists, or belly dancers?" said Warren David, president of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, or ADC. ... Full Story | Top |
| Rocket blasts off with new NASA communications satellite Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 06:59 PM PST CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - An unmanned Atlas 5 rocket blasted off on Wednesday to put the first of a new generation of NASA communications satellites into orbit, where it will support the International Space Station, the Hubble Space Telescope and other spacecraft. The 191-foot (58-metre) rocket lifted off at 8:48 p.m. (0148 GMT Thursday), the first of 13 planned launches in 2013 from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station just south of NASA's Kennedy Space Center. ... Full Story | Top |
| Vince Cable sees merit in growth target for BoE Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 06:45 PM PST  LONDON (Reuters) - Business minister Vince Cable said on Wednesday he could see some merit in incorporating growth into the Bank of England's objectives, adding his voice to an emerging debate over the bank's mandate. "I think the argument for having growth as part of the objectives seems eminently sensible and I think it is important we have a debate on how best that should be done," Cable said in remarks at a think tank event in London. ... Full Story | Top |
| Cost cuts and poor governance blamed for rail fiasco Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 06:40 PM PST  LONDON (Reuters) - Cost-cutting, a lack of governance at the Department for Transport and mistakes by ministers contributed to the mishandling of the award of the West Coast Main Line rail franchise, according to a parliamentary report into the fiasco. The 13-year contract to run the London to Scotland route was awarded to FirstGroup late last year, but the government was forced to pull the award after flaws were found in the bidding process following a legal challenge by the losing bidder Virgin Trains. ... Full Story | Top |
| Military judge rejects defense arguments in Fort Hood shooting case Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 06:33 PM PST SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - A military judge on Wednesday rejected a defense counsel's arguments over whether Major Nidal Hasan, who is due to stand trial for the 2009 killing of 13 people at the army base in Fort Hood, Texas, could face the death penalty if found guilty. More than three years after Hasan, an Army psychiatrist allegedly carried out the worst shooting ever at a U.S. military base, defense lawyers last week asked the court to set aside the possibility of the death penalty against him. ... Full Story | Top |
| UK unveils £159 billion defence equipment plan, but doubts remain Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 05:46 PM PST  LONDON (Reuters) - Britain published on Thursday a 159-billion-pound long-term defence equipment spending plan, a move aimed at reversing decades of mismanagement but which drew only qualified praise from experts. The plan covers spending from 2012 to 2022, the first time the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has outlined defence equipment spending over such a long period, reflecting the gestation time of major military projects. ... Full Story | Top |
| Hamas plans more "enemy language" Hebrew in Gaza schools Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 05:40 PM PST GAZA (Reuters) - Islamist Hamas authorities plan to expand Hebrew-language classes in the Gaza Strip's high schools to help Palestinians know their enemy in times of conflict with Israel. Far from a sign that peace will soon break out, Hamas's promotion of Hebrew learning in the Israeli-blockaded Mediterranean enclave aims to make linguistic skill a useful new front in the struggle against the Jewish state. ... Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Iran crude oil exports rise to highest since EU sanctions Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 05:35 PM PST  GENEVA/DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran's crude oil exports in December leapt to their highest level since European Union sanctions took effect last July, analysts and shipping sources said, as strong Chinese demand and tanker fleet expansion helped the OPEC member dodge sanctions. Exports rose to around 1.4 million barrels per day (bpd) in December, according to two industry sources and shipping and customs data compiled by Reuters on a country-by-country basis and corroborated by other sources and consultants. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama says immigration overhaul possible by first half of 2013 Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 05:06 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama rejected Republican complaints about his proposals for overhauling the U.S. immigration system on Wednesday and said he believed it was possible to get a deal done by the end of the year if not in the first half. Obama gave an interview to a pair of Spanish-language U.S. television networks to promote his proposals for giving 11 million illegal immigrants a pathway to U.S. citizenship after a bipartisan Gang of Eight senators offered its own plan. "I´m hopeful that this can get done, and I don´t think that it should take many, many months. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bulk of Timbuktu manuscripts survived occupation Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 04:39 PM PST DAKAR (Reuters) - The majority of Timbuktu's ancient manuscripts appear to be safe and undamaged after the Saharan city's 10-month occupation by Islamist rebel fighters, experts said on Wednesday, rejecting some media reports of their widespread destruction. Denying accounts that told of tens of thousands of priceless papers being burned or stolen by the fleeing rebels, they said the bulk of the Timbuktu texts had been safely hidden well before the city's liberation by French forces on Sunday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Top senator denies sex tourism claim as FBI raids donor's offices Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 04:26 PM PST MIAMI (Reuters) - New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez, a Democrat and incoming chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, denied on Wednesday allegations that he engaged in sex with prostitutes during free trips to the Dominican Republic provided by a political donor. The denial from Menendez, 59, who was re-elected to a second term last year, came as FBI agents searched the offices of a prominent South Florida eye doctor who is the donor linked to his alleged unpaid trips. The FBI did not explain the motive for the raid on the offices of Dr. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. struggles over which gun crimes to prosecute Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 04:13 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A dispute erupted at a congressional hearing on Wednesday over which existing gun-control laws were worth enforcing, even as lawmakers debated whether to pass new ones. The flashes of anger underscored the deep divisions in America's gun culture. "You do not support background checks for all buyers of firearms?" Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont asked the head of the National Rifle Association, the largest U.S. gun rights lobby. ... Full Story | Top |
| RIM rebrands as BlackBerry; launches nifty new devices Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 04:04 PM PST  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Research In Motion Ltd on Wednesday unveiled the long-delayed line of smartphones it hopes will put it on the comeback trail, but it disappointed investors by saying U.S. sales of its all-new BlackBerry 10 devices will not start until March, sending its share price tumbling 12 percent. Chief Executive Thorsten Heins also announced that RIM was abandoning the name it has used since its inception in 1985 to take the name of its signature product, signaling his hopes for a fresh start for the company that pioneered on-your-hip email. ... Full Story | Top |
| Girl who performed at inauguration killed in Chicago shooting Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 03:49 PM PST (Reuters) - A 15-year-old Chicago girl who performed at President Barack Obama's inauguration last week was shot to death in a city park in what police think was a case of "mistaken identity" related to a gang turf war. "Mistaken identity -- wrong place at the wrong time," Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy said at a press conference on Wednesday, a day after the shooting that killed Hadiya Pendleton and injured another teen. The press conference was broadcast by CLTV. ... Full Story | Top |
| Florida teenager's killer seeks to delay trial Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 03:47 PM PST  ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - George Zimmerman will seek to delay the start of his trial in the shooting death of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin to allow him more time to raise money for his defense, his attorney said on Wednesday. Mark O'Mara, Zimmerman's lead defense attorney, said he planned to file a motion to request the trial, which is scheduled to start in June, be delayed by six months, arguing he needs more time and money to investigate the claims against his client. "I think that we still need another $200,000 to $300,000," he told Reuters. ... Full Story | Top |
| City officials probed for negligence in Brazil nightclub fire Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 03:46 PM PST  SANTA MARIA, Brazil (Reuters) - Prosecutors in southern Brazil, where 235 people died when a fire ravaged a nightclub in Santa Maria last weekend, are investigating whether city leaders and inspectors were negligent in allowing the club to operate. The investigation, which is separate from a criminal probe into the causes of the tragedy, comes after police said the club's sole exit was partially blocked and that fire extinguishers and emergency exit lights weren't working. ... Full Story | Top |
| Alabama school bus shooting suspect holed up in bunker: police Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 03:45 PM PST MIDLAND CITY, Alabama (Reuters) - The gunman suspected of fatally shooting an Alabama school bus driver before holing up in an underground bunker with a young child is a Vietnam veteran with anti-government views, authorities and an organization that tracks hate groups said on Wednesday. Law enforcement officials from multiple agencies were bivouacked near the bunker in Midland City but offered few details about an overnight standoff with the shooter that stretched into Wednesday evening. Authorities said driver Charles Albert Poland Jr. ... Full Story | Top |
| Giffords' husband offers senators chilling case for gun control Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 03:42 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former U.S. astronaut Mark Kelly pushed for gun-control measures on Wednesday by recalling in chilling detail the massacre that nearly killed his wife, former Democratic congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. Testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee just after Giffords called on lawmakers to "be courageous" and do more to reduce gun-related violence, Kelly gave a moment-by-moment account of the mass shooting in a supermarket parking lot near Tucson, Arizona, on January 8, 2011, that left six people dead and 13 wounded. ... Full Story | Top |
| China's narrow focus on oil in South Sudan won't work: U.S. envoy Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 03:38 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China needs to move beyond a narrow focus on oil issues in South Sudan and help tackle that country's larger political disputes with Sudan, the outgoing U.S. special envoy to the two African states said on Wednesday. Ambassador Princeton Lyman said he had worked closely with Chinese officials more than two years, during which time South Sudan seceded from Sudan in 2011 to become the world's newest nation. ... Full Story | Top |
| Possible to get immigration overhaul done by first half of year: Obama Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 03:37 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Wednesday that he believes it is possible to get an overhaul of the U.S. immigration system certainly by the end of the year if not the first half of 2013. Obama gave an interview to Telemundo, a U.S. Spanish- language television network, to push his proposals for giving 11 million illegal immigrants a pathway to U.S. citizenship after an influential Senate group offered its own plan. "I´m hopeful that this can get done, and I don´t think that it should take many, many months. ... Full Story | Top |
| CIA nominee had detailed knowledge of "enhanced interrogation techniques" Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 03:29 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - John Brennan, President Barack Obama's nominee to head the CIA, had detailed, contemporaneous knowledge of the use of "enhanced interrogation techniques" on captured terrorism suspects during an earlier stint as a top spy agency official, according to multiple sources familiar with official records. Those records, the sources said, show that Brennan was a regular recipient of CIA message traffic about controversial aspects of the agency's counter-terrorism program after September 2001, including the use of "waterboarding. ... Full Story | Top |
| Sell state liquor stores, use proceeds for schools: Pennsylvania governor Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 03:24 PM PST (Reuters) - Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett proposed a plan on Wednesday to sell off state-run retail and wholesale liquor stores, saying the privatization would generate $1 billion that would fund public education. The Republican governor said his plan would not impact state revenues. The money it would sacrifice from liquor sales would be offset in part by increased fines and fees and heightened regulation, he said. "My plan gets the state completely out of the liquor business," he said in a statement. ... Full Story | Top |
| Gunman opens fire in Arizona office building, three wounded Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 03:19 PM PST PHOENIX (Reuters) - A gunman opened fire in a Phoenix office building during a legal mediation meeting on Wednesday, shooting a lawyer and two other people before fleeing, officials said. The three shooting victims were taken to the hospital where one was in extremely critical condition, police said. They said two other people were taken to hospital for "stress related symptoms." Police evacuated the offices in central Phoenix and were searching for the gunman, according to Phoenix Police Department Sergeant Tommy Thompson. ... Full Story | Top |
| NATO chief to warn defense cuts could endanger alliance's power Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 03:14 PM PST  BRUSSELS (Reuters) - NATO's military power and global influence could be put at risk if allies continue to slash their defense budgets while emerging powers boost theirs, NATO's chief will warn on Thursday. Anders Fogh Rasmussen is also expected to warn in his annual report, due out later on Thursday, that too deep defense cuts could worsen the West's economic crisis by weakening defense industries that are key drivers of innovation, jobs and exports. ... Full Story | Top |
| Israel hits Syria arms convoy to Lebanon: sources Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 03:11 PM PST BEIRUT/AMMAN (Reuters) - Israeli warplanes bombed a convoy near Syria's border with Lebanon, sources told Reuters, apparently targeting weapons destined for Hezbollah in what some called a warning to Damascus not to arm Israel's Lebanese enemy. Syrian state television accused Israel of bombing a military research center at Jamraya, between Damascus and the nearby border, but Syrian rebels disputed that, saying their forces had attacked the site. No source spoke of a second Israeli strike. ... Full Story | Top |
| Lawsuit targets New York's post-Sandy Hook gun law Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 03:01 PM PST ALBANY, New York (Reuters) - Two gun owners have filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn New York state's sweeping new gun-control law, enacted after the mass shooting at the Sandy Hook elementary school in Connecticut. The suit, filed on Tuesday in state Supreme Court in Erie County, is apparently the first to challenge the crackdown on firearms championed by Governor Andrew Cuomo. Attorney James Tresmond, who is representing the gun owners, asked state Supreme Court Justice Diane Devlin to enjoin the law pending the state's response. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.N. Security Council to discuss peacekeepers for Mali: envoys Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 02:57 PM PST UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council will soon begin discussing a possible United Nations peacekeeping force for Mali, an idea the world body had been uncomfortable with before France's recent military intervention, envoys said on Wednesday. Last month, the 15-nation council approved an African-led force for Mali that likely would have been funded through voluntary contributions and trained by the European Union. It would not have begun operations against Islamist militants that took control of northern Mali last year until late in 2013. ... Full Story | Top |
| Judge's language skills also on trial in Chinese antitrust case Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 02:56 PM PST NEW YORK (Reuters) - As a U.S. judge prepares to face a Chinese puzzle in a rare antitrust trial, one skill in particular stands him in good stead - his ability to speak Chinese. The class action lawsuit was filed by vitamin C purchasers who claimed that the Chinese manufacturers had fixed prices. The antitrust trial, due to begin on February 25, would be the first to involve Chinese corporate defendants, said lawyers involved in the case. It also marks the first time the Chinese government has filed an amicus curiae, or "friend of the court," brief in a U.S. court. ... Full Story | Top |
| Some lawmakers on panel reviewing gun control are gun owners Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 02:50 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican Senator Lindsey Graham keeps an AR-15 at home, a semi-automatic rifle similar to the weapon used recently in the mass shooting at a Newtown, Connecticut, school. But he is far from the only U.S. lawmaker who has a gun. At least seven of the 18 members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is considering gun-control legislation, own firearms, according to senators and their staffs. Among bills before the committee is a proposal to ban the manufacture of firearms like the AR-15. ... Full Story | Top |
| Fed keeps stimulus in place as U.S. economy "paused" Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 02:35 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve on Wednesday left in place its monthly $85 billion bond-buying stimulus plan, arguing the support was needed to lower unemployment even as it indicated a recent stall in U.S. economic growth was likely temporary. The U.S. central bank predicted that the nation's job market would continue to improve at a modest pace, and repeated a pledge to keep purchasing securities until the outlook for employment "improves substantially. ... Full Story | Top |
| GDP unexpectedly shrinks, decline seen temporary Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 02:34 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The economy unexpectedly contracted in the fourth quarter, but analysts said there was no reason for panic given that consumer spending and business investment picked up. Gross domestic product fell at a 0.1 percent annual rate, its weakest performance since the economy emerged from recession in 2009, the Commerce Department said on Wednesday. If it were not for the hit from slower inventory growth and the deepest plunge in defense spending in 40 years, the economy would have grown at a respectable 2.5 percent rate. ... Full Story | Top |
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