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| No end in sight for Fed stimulus as inflation sags Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 09:05 PM PDT  By Pedro Nicolaci da Costa WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve's debate over U.S. monetary policy could begin to shift away from the prospect of reducing stimulus toward a discussion about doing more, given the signs of economic weakness and slowing inflation. But policymakers are not there yet. At a two-day meeting that wraps up on Wednesday, the Fed is widely expected to maintain its monthly purchases of $85 billion in bonds to support an economic recovery that is nearly four years old but still too weak for the job market to truly heal. ... Full Story | Top |
| Regulators cite Montana company in fatal 2012 bear mauling Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 09:00 PM PDT By Laura Zuckerman (Reuters) - The fatal mauling of a Montana animal trainer last year could have been prevented if captive grizzly bears had been properly secured while he cleaned their cage, federal regulators said on Tuesday. Benjamin Cloutier was cleaning the enclosure of two grizzlies in November when the deadly mauling occurred at Animals of Montana, a business in Bozeman that trains captive-bred animals for films, commercials and public appearances. ... Full Story | Top |
| Veteran Democrat, Republican newcomer win Massachusetts Senate primaries Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 08:44 PM PDT  By Scott Malone BOSTON (Reuters) - A Democratic Massachusetts lawmaker who has spent more than three decades in Congress will face off against a Republican who is a political novice and former Navy SEAL in the race to fill the state's open U.S. Senate seat. Primary voters on Tuesday picked Democrat Ed Markey and Republican Gabriel Gomez as their candidates in the June 25 special election, the second such race the state has seen in three years. A Gomez victory could help Republicans move toward their goal of retaking a majority in the Senate, where they currently have 45 seats. ... Full Story | Top |
| Accused Colorado gunman's lawyers may enter insanity plea over his objections Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 08:02 PM PDT  By Keith Coffman DENVER (Reuters) - Lawyers for accused Colorado theater gunman James Holmes are questioning the constitutionality of the state's insanity defense law, court records released on Tuesday show, and raising the possibility that they may enter an insanity plea over his objections. Public defenders for Holmes, 25, said in a filing that there is "significant uncertainty and confusion" in Colorado law surrounding an insanity defense in the context of a case where prosecutors are seeking capital punishment. ... Full Story | Top |
| Fight for Kings NBA team not over, Seattle investor vows Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 07:48 PM PDT  By Sharon Bernstein and Eric M. Johnson (Reuters) - A Seattle hedge fund manager whose bid to move basketball's Sacramento Kings to the Pacific Northwest city was rejected by a committee of NBA owners vowed on Tuesday to push forward with efforts to buy the team. A day earlier, the National Basketball Association's relocation committee unanimously recommended against approving a request by Chris Hansen and partners, who include Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, to move the Kings from Sacramento, California, to Seattle. ... Full Story | Top |
| Venezuelan lawmakers hurt during punch-up in parliament Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 07:38 PM PDT  By Mario Naranjo and Eyanir Chinea CARACAS (Reuters) - Fistfights broke out in Venezuela's parliament on Tuesday, injuring a number of legislators during an angry session linked to the South American nation's bitter election dispute. The opposition said seven of its parliamentarians were attacked and hurt when protesting a measure to block them from speaking in the National Assembly over their refusal to recognize President Nicolas Maduro's April 14 vote victory. ... Full Story | Top |
| NYC mayoral hopeful's aides broke finance rules: prosecutors Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 06:26 PM PDT  By Jonathan Allen NEW YORK (Reuters) - Closing arguments began on Tuesday in the fraud trial of two former fundraising associates of John Liu, a Democratic candidate in New York City's mayoral race, with prosecutors saying that he would have known the campaign routinely used illegal methods to solicit funds. Prosecutors told the jury that Jia Hou, the campaign's former treasurer, and Xing Wu Pan, a fundraiser for Liu, were following a "playbook" used frequently in Liu's campaign when they recruited straw donors, who are then illegally reimbursed for their donations. ... Full Story | Top |
| EU considers trade action after Bangladesh factory collapse Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 06:20 PM PDT  (Reuters) - The European Union voiced strong concern over labor conditions in Bangladesh after a building collapse there killed hundreds of factory workers, and said it was considering action to encourage improvements, including the use of its trade preference system. Anger has been growing since the illegally built structure collapsed last week, killing at least 390 people. Hundreds remain unaccounted for but rescue officials said on Tuesday they had given up hope of finding any more survivors. ... Full Story | Top |
| Arizona lawmakers pass bill making silver, gold legal tender Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 06:19 PM PDT  By David Schwartz PHOENIX (Reuters) - The Arizona Senate on Tuesday approved a measure to make gold and silver legal currency in the state, in a response to what backers said was a lack of confidence in the international monetary system. The legislation cleared the Republican-controlled Senate by an 18-10 vote after being approved by the state House earlier this month. It now goes to Republican Governor Jan Brewer, who has not indicated if she will sign it into law or veto it. ... Full Story | Top |
| Amnesty says Sri Lanka represses dissent to consolidate power Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 05:56 PM PDT  By Shihar Aneez and Ranga Sirilal COLOMBO (Reuters) - The Sri Lankan government is intensifying a crackdown on critics in order to tighten its grip on power, rights group Amnesty International said on Tuesday, urging Commonwealth countries not to hold a summit there in November. But the island nation's government accused Amnesty International of being in the pay of supporters of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), an insurgent group defeated in a nearly 30-year war that ended in May 2009. ... Full Story | Top |
| Boston bomb suspect's widow wants Tsarnaev family to get remains Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 05:46 PM PDT By Svea Herbst-Bayliss PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island (Reuters) - The widow of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev wants a medical examiner to release his remains to the Tsarnaev family, her lawyer said on Tuesday. "It is Katherine Russell's wish that his remains be released to the Tsarnaev family, and we will communicate her wishes to the proper authorities," Amato DeLuca said in a statement. Investigators have questioned Russell as they seek clues about how Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, and his younger brother Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, allegedly built the bombs and whether they had help. ... Full Story | Top |
| Death penalty lawyer Clarke 'humanizes' client and jury Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 05:11 PM PDT  By Joseph Ax NEW YORK (Reuters) - When death penalty expert Judy Clarke joined the defense team for the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski, she spent months trying to establish a rapport so she could convince him to accept a plea deal that would spare him capital punishment. Though she and his other lawyers angered Kaczynski when they sought to introduce evidence of his mental illness, he eventually pleaded guilty in 1998 and received a life sentence. ... Full Story | Top |
| Female U.S. Army deserter pleads guilty, gets 10-month prison term Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 05:01 PM PDT By Keith Coffman DENVER (Reuters) - An Army private believed to be the first female U.S. soldier to seek refuge in Canada rather than return to duty in Iraq was sentenced to 10 months in prison after pleading guilty to desertion, military officials in Colorado said on Tuesday. Kimberly Rivera, who said she grew opposed to the war during a three-month tour of duty in Iraq, pleaded guilty at a court-martial proceeding in Fort Carson, Colorado, on Monday and was sentenced immediately. ... Full Story | Top |
| ElBaradei says Egypt needs political consensus to heal economy Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 04:53 PM PDT  By Patrick Werr and Alexander Dziadosz CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's government must seek political compromise to win broad support for a crucial IMF loan and revive the country's ailing economy, senior opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei said on Tuesday. The former U.N. nuclear watchdog chief and Nobel Peace Prize winner accused the ruling Muslim Brotherhood of excluding other political forces from decision making, hindering recovery two years after an uprising ousted President Hosni Mubarak. ... Full Story | Top |
| Canada retailers plan new Bangladesh trade guidelines Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 04:44 PM PDT (Reuters) - The Retail Council of Canada said on Tuesday it will develop a new set of trade guidelines in response to last week's deadly collapse of a Bangladesh garment factory complex that manufactured apparel for western retailers including Loblaw Cos Ltd. The statement follows a private emergency meeting of retailers on Monday, including Loblaw, Sears Canada Inc and Wal-Mart Canada, to discuss how they would deal with the tragedy, which has killed at least 390 people. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ireland proposes limited access to abortion amid heated debate Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 04:39 PM PDT  By Padraic Halpin DUBLIN (Reuters) - Irish government ministers agreed draft legislation on Tuesday to allow for limited access to abortion where a woman's life is in danger, including the threat of suicide, a proposal that has already divided the country's ruling coalition. Ireland's two-decade-old debate over how the government should deal with a Supreme Court ruling that abortion be permitted when a woman's life was at risk was re-opened last year following the death of a woman who was denied an abortion of her dying foetus. ... Full Story | Top |
| Attorneys for New Jersey men say Boston bombing influenced sentences Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 04:39 PM PDT By David Jones NEWARK, New Jersey (Reuters) - Two New Jersey men convicted of conspiring to join an al Qaeda-linked militant group have appealed their sentences, arguing that prosecutors were unduly influenced by the Boston Marathon bombing, one of their attorneys said on Tuesday. Mohamed Alessa, 23, and Carlos Almonte, 27, were sentenced to 22 years and 20 years respectively in prison on April 15, just after two bombs exploded at the iconic race in Boston. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama to nominate Tom Wheeler as FCC chairman: official Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 04:38 PM PDT  By Alina Selyukh and Jeff Mason WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will nominate venture capitalist and former wireless and cable lobbyist Tom Wheeler on Wednesday to head the Federal Communications Commission, according to a White House official. After decades in and around Washington telecom circles, Wheeler would take the reins of the FCC as the industry prepares for a major reshuffling of ownership of radio airwaves and as the agency tries to catch up to rapidly changing technology. He has the rare support of both industry groups and a number of consumer advocates. ... Full Story | Top |
| No talks on key Mexico reforms until spat resolved: opposition Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 04:36 PM PDT  By Dave Graham and Ana Isabel Martinez MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A multi-party alliance to modernize Mexico's economy will not discuss pending energy and tax reforms until an electoral spat between the opposition and the government is resolved, the head of the main leftist party said on Tuesday. Jesus Zambrano, chairman of the opposition Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), said there could be no talks on these reforms until the government had taken clear steps to punish those responsible for a vote-buying scandal in the Gulf state of Veracruz that was exposed this month. ... Full Story | Top |
| Amanda Knox offers her side of sensational murder case in memoir Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 04:25 PM PDT  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Amanda Knox, the American student accused of the 2007 murder of her British roommate while both were students in Italy, paints herself in her new memoir as a naive young woman railroaded by a foreign justice system. Knox, 25, spent four years in prison for the murder of Meredith Kercher while they were exchange students in Perugia, a hilltop Italian university town popular with foreigners. Knox, who became a tabloid sensation in Britain and Italy, was acquitted on appeal in 2011. She returned to her Seattle-area home, but Italy's high court last month ordered a retrial. ... Full Story | Top |
| FBI says lab tests link Mississippi man to ricin letters Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 04:17 PM PDT  By Emily Lane JACKSON, Mississippi (Reuters) - A dust mask and other items seized from the martial arts studio of a Mississippi man charged with sending poison-laced letters to President Barack Obama and two other public officials tested positive for ricin, according to a court document released on Tuesday. Records seized by the FBI also showed that Tupelo martial arts instructor Everett Dutschke ordered castor bean seeds, used to make ricin, from eBay, FBI Special Agent Stephen Thomason said in an eight-page affidavit. ... Full Story | Top |
| Man who studied in U.S., four others freed in Uzbekistan: State Department Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 04:12 PM PDT By Susan Cornwell WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Uzbekistan has released five high-profile prisoners jailed for political or religious reasons, including an accused member of an Islamist group who studied in the United States, the U.S. State Department said in its annual human rights report. The five - also including two human rights activists and two members of the Jehovah's Witnesses, were freed last year, the State Department said in its 2012 survey of human rights around the world. ... Full Story | Top |
| Cyprus bailout scrapes through island's parliament Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 03:59 PM PDT  By Michele Kambas NICOSIA (Reuters) - Cyprus's parliament approved an EU bailout on Tuesday which will force it to wind down its second-largest bank and impose heavy losses on uninsured depositors at another, conditions that have intensified calls from islanders to exit the euro. With a razor-thin majority of just two votes, lawmakers approved terms accompanying 10 billion euros ($13.18 billion)in aid from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama won't rush to act against Syria over chemical arms Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 03:58 PM PDT  By Steve Holland and Warren Strobel WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama signaled on Tuesday he is no rush to respond quickly to Syria's apparent use of chemical weapons, taking a cautious approach to the country's civil war, mirroring the views of the American public, most lawmakers and some U.S. allies. Obama, who last year declared that the use or deployment of chemical weapons by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad would cross a "red line," told a White House news conference there was evidence those weapons were used, but there was still much that U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Expert network firm hires Texas-based SEC lawyer Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 03:49 PM PDT By Sarah N. Lynch (Reuters) - Gerson Lehrman Group, the country's largest expert network firm, has hired a Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement attorney to serve as its chief compliance counsel, the company confirmed on Tuesday. Gerson Lerhman's hiring of Michael King, an attorney from the SEC's office in Fort Worth, Texas, comes as the regulator and federal prosecutors scrutinize whether expert network firms in general may help hedge funds engage in insider trading. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama renews vow to close Guantanamo detention camp Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 03:34 PM PDT  By Matt Spetalnick WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Saying it was damaging to U.S. interests to keep holding prisoners in legal limbo at Guantanamo, President Barack Obama renewed an old vow on Tuesday to close the camp, where about 100 inmates are on hunger strike to protest against their years in detention without trial. Human rights groups welcomed Obama's recommitment to shutting the prison, but some activists called for action, not just words. Criticism of the camp, set up at the U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Illinois House speaker offers comprehensive pension fix Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 03:32 PM PDT  By Karen Pierog CHICAGO (Reuters) - Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan on Tuesday proposed a comprehensive plan to fix the state's sagging public pension system - the worst-funded state pension system in the country - with only a month to go in the legislature's spring session. The 271-page measure sets a cap on salaries used to determine pensions, limits cost-of-living adjustments on pensions for future retirees, increases retirement ages for workers currently under 45 years old, and hikes worker pension contributions by 1 percent over each of the next two fiscal years. ... Full Story | Top |
| IRS eyes U.S. accounts at Caribbean bank Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 03:18 PM PDT  By Nanette Byrnes (Reuters) - The Justice Department said on Tuesday that a federal court had authorized the Internal Revenue Service to seek information on U.S. taxpayers who may have accounts at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce FirstCaribbean International Bank (FCIB). In a move resembling a recent IRS inquiry into Americans with Swiss bank accounts, the Justice Department said a court order would let the IRS serve a 'John Doe' summons seeking records of FCIB's U.S. correspondent account at Wells Fargo & Co. ... Full Story | Top |
| Catholic church excommunicates Brazil priest for liberal views Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 03:05 PM PDT  By Paulo Prada RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - The Catholic Church has excommunicated a Brazilian priest after he defended homosexuality, open marriage and other practices counter to Church teaching in online videos. In a statement released late on Monday, the priest's diocese said Father Roberto Francisco Daniel, known to local parishioners as Padre Beto, had "in the name of 'freedom of expression' betrayed the promise of fealty to the Church." The priest "injured the Church with grave statements counter to the dogma of Catholic faith and morality. ... Full Story | Top |
| Speed traders eyed after Twitter hack attack: regulator Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 02:59 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The phony tweet from the Associated Press' hacked Twitter account, which sparked a short-lived panic in the stock market a week ago by saying that President Barack Obama was injured in two explosions at the White House, underscored the need to look at regulating automated trading, the top U.S. derivatives regulator said on Tuesday. "I think that we do need to finalize a concept release that we've been working on for many moons here at the CFTC," Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Gary Gensler told a public meeting of the agency on Tuesday. ... Full Story | Top |
| China steps up customs checks, but North Korea trade robust Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 02:47 PM PDT  By Ben Blanchard DANDONG, China (Reuters) - China has stepped up checks on shipments to and from North Korea almost two months after agreeing to new U.N. sanctions that demand greater scrutiny of trade, but the flow of goods in and out of the reclusive state appears largely unaffected. The sanctions were imposed after North Korea's third nuclear test on February 12. China has said it wants the measures enforced, but few analysts believe Beijing will take steps that hurt North Korea as it is committed to a policy of engagement. ... Full Story | Top |
| Rebound in job growth eyed, but momentum still slow Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 02:42 PM PDT  By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Job growth likely accelerated in April, but probably still lacked enough muscle to help the economy head off the blow from deep government budget cuts and higher taxes. Nonfarm payrolls are expected to have increased by 145,000, according to a Reuters survey of economists after stumbling to a nine-month low of 88,000 in March. While March's meager job gains probably exaggerated the labor market's weakness, the expected increase for April would still fall short of the monthly average of 200,000 new jobs for the first two months of this year. ... Full Story | Top |
| Kerry calls new Arab League peace stance 'big step forward' Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 02:36 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday the Arab League's acknowledgment that Israelis and Palestinians may have to swap land in any peace deal was "a very big step forward." Arab states appeared to soften their 2002 peace plan on Monday when Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani, Qatar's prime minister and foreign minister, said the two sides could trade land rather than conform exactly to their 1967 borders. His comment, made on behalf of an Arab League delegation, amounted to a concession to Israel. ... Full Story | Top |
| Chile to be Latin America's only candidate to U.N. Council Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 02:33 PM PDT  SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Chile will be Latin America's sole candidate for a seat at the United Nations' Security Council for the 2014 to 2015 period, Foreign Affairs Minister Alfredo Moreno told reporters on Tuesday. The Andean country needs to be elected by two-thirds of the General Assembly in October to win a two-year term. Chile has already been elected to the Security Council four times. The U.N.'s Security Council, which has five permanent members and 10 non-permanent members, is focused on maintaining international peace and security. ... Full Story | Top |
| Boston Marathon bomb amputees offered prosthetics free of cost Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 02:23 PM PDT  By Daniel Trotta (Reuters) - A trade group representing makers of artificial limbs on Tuesday promised to provide prosthetics free of cost to the estimated 20 to 25 victims of the Boston Marathon bombings who underwent amputations. The American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association offered initial services and prosthetics not covered by insurance for patients injured in the blasts, which tore the lower limbs off some spectators near the finish line of the race on April 15. ... Full Story | Top |
| Senate panel to probe Texas fertilizer plant explosion Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 02:20 PM PDT  By Ayesha Rascoe WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senator Barbara Boxer said on Tuesday she plans to investigate the explosion at a Texas fertilizer plant earlier this month that killed 15 people and injured scores more. California's Boxer, the head of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, said the panel will hold a hearing "in the near future" on the disaster and will probe whether there are any gaps in the enforcement of U.S. chemical safety laws. The cause of the April 17 fire and explosion at West Fertilizer Co, about 20 miles north of Waco, is not yet known. ... Full Story | Top |
| Watchdogs launch review of Boston bombing intelligence Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 02:19 PM PDT  By Mark Hosenball WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Official watchdogs for the U.S. intelligence community have launched a review of how information was shared before the Boston Marathon bombing and how it can be improved. "We want to see, is there, in fact, additional protocols and procedures that could be put in place that would further improve and enhance our ability to detect a potential attack," President Barack Obama said at a news conference on Tuesday. "And we won't know that until that review is completed," Obama said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Football preparing the ground for first gay players Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 02:11 PM PDT  By Simon Evans MIAMI (Reuters) - They're big, they're tough, and, presumably, some of them are gay, but so far not a single active NFL player has come out and said so. After NBA player Jason Collins broke that barrier this week, the National Football League is making sure it will be ready for any coming out party. Earlier this year, at least three college football players said they had been asked about their sexual orientation during NFL recruitment interviews, sparking calls for the NFL to do more to fight discrimination. ... Full Story | Top |
| NFL-Football preparing the ground for first gay players Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 02:06 PM PDT By Simon Evans MIAMI, April 30 (Reuters) - They're big, they're tough, and, presumably, some of them are gay, but so far not a single active NFL player has come out and said so. After NBA player Jason Collins broke that barrier this week, the National Football League is making sure it will be ready for any coming out party. Earlier this year, at least three college football players said they had been asked about their sexual orientation during NFL recruitment interviews, sparking calls for the NFL to do more to fight discrimination. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama says too soon to declare demise of his domestic agenda Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 02:03 PM PDT  By Jeff Mason WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With his fight for tighter gun control measures defeated and prospects for a deficit reduction pact dim, President Barack Obama sought on Tuesday to project an image of a leader still in control of a faltering domestic policy agenda. At a surprise news conference, Obama made the case that recent defeats did not mean he was a lame-duck leader, and said he was hopeful immigration reform would become law. ... Full Story | Top |
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