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| U.S. had more tips on Boston suspect; Congress asks questions Wednesday, Apr 24, 2013 08:30 PM PDT  By Patricia Zengerle, Samuel P. Jacobs and Mark Hosenball WASHINGTON/CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts (Reuters) - U.S. intelligence was alerted when one of the Boston bombing suspects traveled to a volatile region of Russia last year, U.S. officials said on Wednesday, raising new questions about the government's handling of the case and how well law enforcement agencies share information and cooperate with one another. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. judgment on Syrian chemical arms report won't be rushed: Hagel Wednesday, Apr 24, 2013 07:50 PM PDT  By David Alexander CAIRO (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said on Wednesday the U.S. effort to determine whether Syria has used chemical weapons is a "serious business" that cannot be decided in a rush just because several countries believe evidence supports that conclusion. "Suspicions are one thing, evidence is another," Hagel told reporters as he wrapped up a visit to Egypt that included talks about Syria and other regional issues. "I think we have to be very careful here before we make any conclusions (and) draw any conclusions based on real intelligence. ... Full Story | Top |
| South Korea wants talks with North to reopen joint industrial zone Wednesday, Apr 24, 2013 07:14 PM PDT  SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea said on Thursday it was proposing formal talks with North Korea to discuss restarting work at a joint factory zone located just north of the rivals' heavily armed border that was suspended in early April amid growing security tensions. The offer is the first formal proposal for direct talks by Seoul aimed at making a breakthrough in a deadlock over the Kaesong factory project, which was the last remaining channel open between the two Koreas until it was forced to close. ... Full Story | Top |
| South Korea summons Japan envoy over war shrine visits, Abe remarks Wednesday, Apr 24, 2013 06:41 PM PDT  SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea summoned the Japanese ambassador in Seoul on Thursday in protest over visits by senior officials and lawmakers to a shrine seen by Japan's neighbors as a symbol of wartime aggression, the Yonhap news agency reported. South Korea's Yonhap said the South's foreign ministry had called in Tokyo's envoy in protest over the shrine visits and comments made by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. China and South Korea chastised Japan after more than 160 lawmakers visited Tokyo's Yasukuni shrine this week. ... Full Story | Top |
| Justice Department says no need to furlough employees Wednesday, Apr 24, 2013 06:37 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Justice Department will not have to furlough any employees this fiscal year because of the automatic budget cuts that went into effect in March, Attorney General Eric Holder told employees in a memo on Wednesday. Hiring freezes and other cost-cutting measures will allow the Justice Department to keep its prosecutors, and agents at the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, on the job. ... Full Story | Top |
| Venezuela's parliament launches probe into Capriles Wednesday, Apr 24, 2013 06:35 PM PDT  By Deisy Buitrago and Daniel Wallis CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's government-controlled parliament set up an inquiry on Wednesday into violence over a disputed election that authorities blame on opposition leader Henrique Capriles. Nine people died and dozens were injured after opposition protests against Nicolas Maduro's narrow April 14 presidential poll win turned violent around the South American nation. The government said the unrest was evidence the opposition was planning a coup. ... Full Story | Top |
| Budget cuts back in spotlight as flight delays mount Wednesday, Apr 24, 2013 06:32 PM PDT  By Mark Felsenthal and Alwyn Scott WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Obama administration on Wednesday backed a plan that would temporarily eliminate spending cuts disrupting U.S. air travel, while lawmakers in Washington scrambled to avoid blame as the impact of the reductions began being felt across the country. Airlines pushed for the government to act as flight delays increased and planes stacked up at airports, with one chief executive saying, "We can't do this for long. ... Full Story | Top |
| Treasury OKs MoD's contractor-run procurement plan: report Wednesday, Apr 24, 2013 05:51 PM PDT  (Reuters) - The Ministry of Defence's plan to explore letting a company manage military-equipment procurement has been approved by the UK Treasury, Bloomberg reported, citing a person familiar with the matter. HM Treasury was unavailable to comment on the matter. Bloomberg said Defence Secretary Philip Hammond would on Thursday outline the final stage of plans to make the Defence Equipment and Support agency into a government-owned and contractor-operated body, known as a "go-co". (http://link.reuters. ... Full Story | Top |
| Republican leaders withdraw healthcare bill amid conservative concerns Wednesday, Apr 24, 2013 05:46 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican leaders in the House of Representatives on Wednesday withdrew a bill that would change the Obama administration's healthcare law amid conservative concerns that the legislation was replacing one big government program with another. The House cleared the way to debate the bill, which was designed to help Americans with pre-existing medical conditions while preventing the administration from using an alternate source of funding to implement its healthcare law. ... Full Story | Top |
| Boston bombs were detonated by remote used for toy cars Wednesday, Apr 24, 2013 05:25 PM PDT  By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The two bombs that went off at the Boston Marathon, killing three people and wounding 264, were detonated with the kind of remote device used to control a toy car, U.S. investigators told a House of Representatives panel on Wednesday. "It was a remote control for toy cars," U.S. Representative Dutch Ruppersberger, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, told reporters after officials from the Department of Homeland Security, FBI and National Center for Counterterrorism briefed the committee. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pentagon sees risks, progress on Lockheed's F-35 jet Wednesday, Apr 24, 2013 05:20 PM PDT  By Andrea Shalal-Esa WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Top Pentagon officials on Wednesday cited both progress and continuing risks on the $396 billion Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 fighter program, and said Singapore had shown "tremendous interest" in the next-generation stealth fighter. Air Force Lieutenant General Christopher Bogdan, the Pentagon's F-35 program chief, told a subcommittee that he expects to reach agreement with Lockheed about a sixth and seventh batch of F-35s by the end of May, followed by a contract award in June. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. was alerted to bombing suspect's travel to Russia Wednesday, Apr 24, 2013 05:07 PM PDT  By Mark Hosenball and Tabassum Zakaria WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Force in Boston was alerted when one of the two brothers who later allegedly carried out the Boston Marathon bombings traveled to Russia, U.S. officials said on Wednesday in one of several disclosures that cast new light on the government's handling of the case. The officials also said Russia, which had tipped off the FBI about its concerns over one of the men, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, in early 2011 and asked the agency to look into him, made a second, identical request to the CIA in late September 2011. ... Full Story | Top |
| Two Houston ex-officers plead no contest in videotaped beating Wednesday, Apr 24, 2013 05:02 PM PDT By Andrea Lorenz HOUSTON (Reuters) - Two former Houston police officers accused of using excessive force against a teenage burglary suspect in a high-profile incident pleaded no contest on Wednesday to official oppression, a misdemeanor, their attorneys and a special prosecutor said. The 2010 case made national news after a video showed a number of officers kicking and striking Chad Holley, an African American youth, several times as he lay on the ground with his hands behind his head, and again after he was handcuffed. ... Full Story | Top |
| African Union brings Sudan, rebels together for peace talks Wednesday, Apr 24, 2013 04:53 PM PDT  By Aaron Maasho ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - The African Union on Wednesday brought together for the first time for peace talks Sudan and insurgents fighting government troops in two states bordering South Sudan, in a conflict that has affected almost a million people. Fighting broke out between the Sudanese army and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North, or SPLM-North, in the states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile around the time of South Sudan's secession from Khartoum in 2011. The violence has displaced or severely affected more than 900,000 people, according to the United Nations. ... Full Story | Top |
| Rhode Island set to be 10th state to pass same-sex marriage Wednesday, Apr 24, 2013 04:25 PM PDT (Reuters) - Rhode Island was set to become the 10th U.S. state to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples after the state Senate approved a gay marriage bill on Wednesday, in a major victory for gay rights activists. The state House had approved a similar measure in January, but the bill will now go back to the House for a new vote because it was amended. Gordon Fox, the speaker of the House, said he will schedule that vote for May 2. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ex-Air Force instructor gets six months for role in sex scandal Wednesday, Apr 24, 2013 04:14 PM PDT By Jim Forsyth SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - A former Air Force training instructor was sentenced on Wednesday to six months in prison for his role in a military sex scandal that has led to changes in training practices. Tech Sergeant Bobby Bass was also ordered reduced in rank one grade, to staff sergeant, and was fined $3,000 at a court martial at Keesler Air Force Base in Mississippi, according to First Lieutenant Victoria Porto, a base spokeswoman. ... Full Story | Top |
| After Newtown, GE takes additional steps to stop all loans to gun shops Wednesday, Apr 24, 2013 04:13 PM PDT By Ernest Scheyder (Reuters) - General Electric Co discovered it was financing a small number of firearm purchases in the wake of the Newtown, Connecticut, school shootings - despite deciding five years ago to avoid the practice - and moved to stop future loans, the company said on Wednesday. Many of the conglomerate's employees live in or near Newtown, about 25 miles from GE's Fairfield, Connecticut, headquarters. Peter Lanza, the father of the Newtown gunman, is a GE executive. ... Full Story | Top |
| Planning for Boston Marathon security included bombing scenario Wednesday, Apr 24, 2013 04:08 PM PDT  CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts (Reuters) - The security planning for last week's Boston Marathon, where two bombs went off killing three people and wounding 264, included preparation for such an emergency, a top Massachusetts public safety official said on Wednesday. "We spend months planning for the marathon. We did a tabletop exercise the week before that included a bombing scenario in it," Kurt Schwartz, the state's undersecretary for homeland security, told a panel at Harvard University. ... Full Story | Top |
| Senate duo dials back anti-big bank proposal Wednesday, Apr 24, 2013 03:57 PM PDT  By Douwe Miedema WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Legislation to force U.S. banks to drastically raise their capital buffers - a proposal that has been criticized as a veiled attempt to break up the biggest banks - was presented in a slightly weakened form by two senators on Wednesday. The two, Sherrod Brown, an Ohio Democrat, and David Vitter, a Louisiana Republican, want to ditch a global accord on capital standards known as Basel III and put more straightforward caps on how much banks can borrow. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.N. rights chief urges Angola to cut "huge" rich-poor gap Wednesday, Apr 24, 2013 03:54 PM PDT  (Reuters) - The United Nations' top human rights official urged Angola's government on Wednesday to reduce the huge disparities between rich and poor that have developed in the oil-rich country despite considerable progress since the end of a 27-year civil war in 2002. Angola, which is Africa's No. 2 oil producer, has posted rapid growth since the end of the war, but opposition parties and rights groups have long accused President Jose Eduardo dos Santos of doing too little to combat widespread poverty. Speaking in the capital, Luanda, after a three-day visit, U.N. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. government, Fisker grilled over loans to green carmaker Wednesday, Apr 24, 2013 03:51 PM PDT  By Ayesha Rascoe and Deepa Seetharaman (Reuters) - Taxpayer-backed funds kept flowing to electric carmaker Fisker Automotive months after the company failed to meet key production benchmarks, lawmakers said at a congressional hearing on Wednesday. Republican lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee cited Department of Energy documents as showing Fisker got $32 million in payments, even after it failed to launch its Karma vehicle in February of 2011. ... Full Story | Top |
| Senator aims for bipartisan trade promotion bill Wednesday, Apr 24, 2013 03:18 PM PDT  By Doug Palmer WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An influential Democratic U.S. senator said on Wednesday he was working on a bipartisan bill to boost President Barack Obama's ability to negotiate trade deals, while Republicans made clear that more White House involvement is needed to pass the measure. "I would like to see a bipartisan TPA (trade promotion authority) bill introduced by June," Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus said at a hearing on the Trans-Pacific Partnership pact, a proposed free trade agreement among 12 countries on both sides of the Pacific. ... Full Story | Top |
| Colombia lawmakers reject controversial gay marriage bill Wednesday, Apr 24, 2013 03:16 PM PDT By Eduardo Garcia and Carlos Vargas BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombian lawmakers on Wednesday rejected a polarizing bill to allow same-sex marriage in the predominantly Roman Catholic nation, as hundreds of people took to the streets to demonstrate for and against the measure. The bill was rejected by 51 out of 102 lawmakers in the Senate - with 17 in favor. The negative vote was widely expected, given that lawmakers from the ruling coalition had made an alliance to oppose the initiative. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. arms makers boost earnings, shares surge Wednesday, Apr 24, 2013 03:14 PM PDT  By Andrea Shalal-Esa WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. weapons makers reported higher-than-expected profit and improved margins for the first quarter, even as revenue began to taper off after more than a decade of sharp growth in U.S. military spending. Boeing Co's defense division, Northrop Grumman Corp and General Dynamics Corp on Wednesday followed the lead of Pentagon supplier Lockheed Martin Corp in reporting higher earnings and lower revenue. Shares of the companies rose sharply on their financial results, with General Dynamics shares closing nearly 7 percent higher at $71. ... Full Story | Top |
| Flight delays bring budget cuts back into spotlight Wednesday, Apr 24, 2013 03:09 PM PDT  By Mark Felsenthal WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House on Wednesday backed a proposal to temporarily eliminate spending cuts disrupting U.S. air travel, while politicians in Washington scrambled to avoid blame as the effects of the cuts started to be felt around the country. ... Full Story | Top |
| Treasury's Lew presses Congress on IMF funding Wednesday, Apr 24, 2013 02:57 PM PDT  By Anna Yukhananov WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Treasury Secretary Jack Lew on Wednesday urged Congress to permanently boost U.S. funding for the International Monetary Fund, saying it was essential for Washington to maintain its influence at the global lender. The Obama administration wants Congress to shift $63 billion from an IMF crisis fund to the IMF's general accounts in order to maintain U.S. power at the international lender and make good on an international commitment made in 2010. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bangladesh factory building collapse kills nearly 100 Wednesday, Apr 24, 2013 02:53 PM PDT  By Serajul Quadir and Ruma Paul DHAKA (Reuters) - A block housing garment factories and shops collapsed in Bangladesh on Wednesday, killing nearly 100 people and injuring more than a thousand, officials said. Firefighters and troops dug frantically through the rubble at the eight-storey Rana Plaza building in Savar, 30 km (20 miles) outside Dhaka. Television showed young women workers, some apparently semi-conscious, being pulled out. One fireman told Reuters about 2,000 people were in the building when the upper floors slammed down onto those below. ... Full Story | Top |
| Before retirement, Sen. Baucus targets tax overhaul Wednesday, Apr 24, 2013 02:52 PM PDT  By Kim Dixon WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A day after announcing he will retire from Congress in 2014, Democrat Max Baucus said he will spend much of his remaining time as a senator stepping up his bid to revamp the complex U.S. tax code. To speed up the process, Baucus said he is eyeing expiration of the federal government's borrowing authority - coming in late July or early August - as a vehicle for this project, he said on Wednesday. "There are .. the potential beginnings of a solution here," said the Montana lawmaker in an interview with Reuters. ... Full Story | Top |
| White House formally notifies Congress of Japan free-trade talks Wednesday, Apr 24, 2013 02:50 PM PDT  By Doug Palmer WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's administration on Wednesday notified Congress it will start free-trade talks with Japan, bringing the world's third-largest economy into U.S.-led negotiations on a regional free-trade pact. "The participation of Japan, a major U.S. trading partner as well as close ally, further increases the economic significance of a TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership) Agreement," acting U.S. Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis said in a letter to congressional leaders. The 90-day notification was expected after U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Factbox: FBI revisiting bioterror case lessons Wednesday, Apr 24, 2013 02:44 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Since deadly anthrax-laced letters were sent through the U.S. mail in 2001, killing five people and spreading nationwide panic, the FBI has beefed up its bioterror capabilities and created a Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate to focus on lethal threats. The branch has had some successes, such as the 2008 arrest of a Las Vegas man who was preparing ricin in his hotel room. But the recent arrest - and quick release - of Mississippi Elvis impersonator Paul Kevin Curtis, who was accused of sending poisoned letters to President Barack Obama, a U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. defense chief reaffirms military ties with Egypt Wednesday, Apr 24, 2013 02:24 PM PDT By David Alexander CAIRO (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel underscored Washington's military commitment to Egypt on Wednesday and pledged American support as Egyptian forces evolve to address new and shifting security threats, U.S. defense officials said. "I wanted to stop in Egypt to ... reaffirm American commitment to Egypt's emerging democracy, encourage the democratic and economic reforms that are underway here," Hagel told reporters after a day of meetings with Egyptian officials. "This is a large country, an important country. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Boar hunt shooting tragedy triggers Moldova crisis Wednesday, Apr 24, 2013 02:23 PM PDT  By Alexander Tanas CHISINAU (Reuters) - It all started when Moldova's top judiciary and businessmen gathered in a snow-laden forest called Tsar's Wood to mark the year's end by stalking wild boar. In the course of the hunt, a shot rang out and a man fell fatally wounded. Someone in the 32-strong private party of VIP amateur hunters had accidentally discharged his rifle. The 41-year-old businessman died the next day but the shot has echoed through Moldovan politics, felling prime minister Vlad Filat and threatening the ex-Soviet state's drive for a place in the European mainstream. ... Full Story | Top |
| Five people murdered in Illinois town, suspect dead -police Wednesday, Apr 24, 2013 02:01 PM PDT By Mary Wisniewski CHICAGO (Reuters) - Five people, including two small boys, were shot to death in their home early on Wednesday in Manchester, Illinois, before the suspect was killed in a shootout with police, state police said. Illinois State Police also said that a 6-year-old girl was critically injured in the shooting and taken to a hospital. State officials identified the suspect as Rick Smith, 43, who had a criminal history including for reckless homicide. ... Full Story | Top |
| In Myanmar, cheap SIM card draw may herald telecoms revolution Wednesday, Apr 24, 2013 01:58 PM PDT  By Jared Ferrie YANGON (Reuters) - Introduced a decade and a half ago under Myanmar's former military rulers, SIM cards sold for as much as $7,000 apiece. Today, they still cost more than $200. From Thursday, lucky winners of a lottery-style sale may get one for as little as $2. This is telecoms deregulation, Myanmar-style. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iraq on edge after raid fuels deadly Sunni unrest Wednesday, Apr 24, 2013 01:54 PM PDT  By Patrick Markey and Suadad al-Salhy BAGHDAD, Iraq (Reuters) - More than 30 people were killed in gun battles between Iraqi forces and militants on Wednesday, a day after a raid on a Sunni Muslim protest ignited the fiercest clashes since American troops left the country. The second day of fighting threatens to deepen sectarian rifts in Iraq where relations between Shi'ite and Sunni Muslims are still very tense just a few years after inter-communal slaughter pushed the country close to civil war. ... Full Story | Top |
| Republicans advance bill to prepare for debt ceiling fight Wednesday, Apr 24, 2013 01:52 PM PDT  By Sam Youngman WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A key committee of the House of Representatives approved a measure on Wednesday designed to make it easier for Republicans to again withhold approval of a rise in the government debt ceiling to extract spending cuts from President Barack Obama. The government is expected to hit the limit set by Congress on its ability to borrow money by late July or early August. Without an increase in the limit - known as the debt ceiling - the United States faces the prospect of defaulting on its debts, which could shake up markets and damage the economy. ... Full Story | Top |
| Starbucks, under fire in UK, seeks U.S. tax breaks Wednesday, Apr 24, 2013 01:46 PM PDT  By Kim Dixon WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Coffee chain Starbucks Corp , which has faced criticism for its low tax rate in Britain, has sought new tax breaks in the United States in comments to a congressional committee. As U.S. lawmakers move closer to possibly overhauling the tax code for the first time since 1986, scores of companies and interest groups have submitted comments to the tax law-writing Ways and Means Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives. Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp, a Republican, has vowed to introduce tax code overhaul legislation this year. ... Full Story | Top |
| EU lawmakers in tentative deal on accounting cap: sources Wednesday, Apr 24, 2013 01:40 PM PDT  By Huw Jones LONDON (Reuters) - Companies would have to change their accountant every 25 years under a tentative deal ahead of Thursday's committee vote on a European Union audit market reform, two parliamentary sources involved in the talks said on Wednesday. If endorsed, it would mark a big dilution in the draft EU law and trigger relief among the "Big Four" accounting firms - Deloitte , Ernst & Young LLP , PwC and KPMG - who check the books of nearly all blue chip companies worldwide. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egyptian judges accuse Mursi backers of attacking their independence Wednesday, Apr 24, 2013 01:33 PM PDT  By Paul Taylor and Shaimaa Fayed CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian judges accused President Mohamed Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood on Wednesday of trying to clamp down on judicial independence by conducting a campaign ostensibly aimed at rooting out corruption. A rift between Egypt's Islamist rulers and the judiciary is steadily widening amid a broader struggle over the future character of the country following the 2011 uprising that overthrew autocratic President Hosni Mubarak. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pentagon sees some risk of delay in F-35 software Wednesday, Apr 24, 2013 01:27 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program on Wednesday said there was "some risk" that software being developed by Lockheed Martin Corp for the Air Force version of the new fighter plane would be delayed beyond late 2017. Air Force Lieutenant General Christopher Bogdan, the Pentagon's program executive officer for the F-35 program, said work on the software known as Block 3F was the biggest risk currently facing the $396 billion F-35 program, the Pentagon's largest weapons program. ... Full Story | Top |
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