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| U.S. rebalance to Asia-Pacific gaining steam, Pentagon chief says Friday, May 31, 2013 09:03 PM PDT  By David Alexander SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The U.S. military will devote more air power, ground troops and high-tech weaponry to the Asia-Pacific region as it moves ahead with a strategic rebalance, the U.S. defense chief said on Saturday in a speech that accused China of cyber incursions. In remarks laying out his vision for regional security, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel assured allies and partners at the annual Shangri-La Security Dialogue in Singapore that the United States was fully able to continue its strategic pivot to the region despite budget constraints at home. ... Full Story | Top |
| Illinois lawmakers approve concealed guns bill Friday, May 31, 2013 08:48 PM PDT  SPRINGFIELD, Illinois (Reuters) - Illinois lawmakers on Friday approved a measure that permits residents to carry concealed guns, which if signed by the governor would make some form of carrying a concealed weapon legal in all 50 states. Illinois is the only state in the nation to ban most people from carrying a concealed gun outside the home and lawmakers are up against a deadline to approve a bill after a federal appeals court struck down that ban as unconstitutional. The appeals court said the ban violated the right to bear arms under the U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mother and baby killed as tornadoes menace Oklahoma City Friday, May 31, 2013 08:34 PM PDT  By Heide Brandes OKLAHOMA CITY (Reuters) - Violent thunderstorms spawned tornadoes that menaced Oklahoma City and its already hard-hit suburb of Moore on Friday, killing a mother and her baby, and officials worried that drivers stuck on freeways could be trapped in the path of dangerous twisters. The mother and baby were killed while traveling on Interstate 40, just west of Oklahoma City, when their vehicle was picked up by the storm, said Betsy Randolph, spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. The interstate was shut down due to the storm, with multiple crashes and injuries. ... Full Story | Top |
| Illegal immigrants to get driving privilege under Nevada law Friday, May 31, 2013 08:25 PM PDT By Alexia Shurmur LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Nevada's Republican governor signed a bill on Friday to authorize driving privilege cards for illegal immigrants in a move likely to win favor with the state's large and growing Hispanic community. Governor Brian Sandoval, a moderate Republican of Mexican ancestry in a state where Hispanic residents comprise over a quarter of the population, signed the bill in a ceremony at the state Capitol. The step comes during national efforts for immigration reform that saw a U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pistorius lawyer demands answers over bloody leaked pictures Friday, May 31, 2013 08:06 PM PDT  By Peroshni Govender JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Lawyers for "Blade Runner" Oscar Pistorius demanded answers from South African police and prosecutors on Friday after pictures of the bathroom and toilet where he shot dead his girlfriend were leaked to a British television station. Sky News obtained a series of images of the crime scene in Pistorius' luxury Pretoria home where the double amputee track star shot his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp, on Valentine's Day on February 14. ... Full Story | Top |
| Japan pledges $32 billion aid for Africa to boost investment Friday, May 31, 2013 07:30 PM PDT  YOKOHAMA Japan (Reuters) - Japan pledged African leaders a $32 billion in public and private support on Saturday to help growth on the continent and encourage Japanese firms to invest there over the next five years. The package, unveiled by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the opening of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD), includes $14 billion official development aid and $6.5 billion support to help infrastructure. ... Full Story | Top |
| Illinois bill to legalize gay marriage stalls Friday, May 31, 2013 07:28 PM PDT  SPRINGFIELD, Illinois (Reuters) - A bill to make Illinois the 13th state in the country to recognize same-sex marriage failed to win final approval on Friday before the state legislature adjourns until the fall. The measure, which the state Senate approved in February, did not come up for a vote in the state House of Representatives before it adjourned. Its chief sponsor vowed to seek a vote on the bill later this year. The bill would have made Illinois the third Midwestern state to allow same-sex couples to marry, after Minnesota and Iowa. ... Full Story | Top |
| China May official PMI stronger than expected Friday, May 31, 2013 07:23 PM PDT  BEIJING (Reuters) - China's official PMI rose to 50.8 in May from 50.6 in April, data showed on Saturday, beating market expectations and raising optimism that the world's second-largest economy may be stabilizing. Investors will get a fuller picture of the Chinese economy on Monday when the official services PMI is released along with the final HSBC survey that focuses on smaller private sector firms in the country. ... Full Story | Top |
| Turkish police fire tear gas in worst protests in years Friday, May 31, 2013 07:16 PM PDT  By Ayla Jean Yackley ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish police fired tear gas and water cannon on Friday at demonstrators in central Istanbul, wounding scores of people and prompting rallies in other cities in the fiercest anti-government protests in years. Thousands of demonstrators massed on streets surrounding Istanbul's central Taksim Square, long a venue for political unrest, while protests erupted in the capital, Ankara, and the Aegean coastal city of Izmir. Broken glass and rocks were strewn across a main shopping street near Taksim. ... Full Story | Top |
| Illinois House adjourns with no major pension reform Friday, May 31, 2013 06:58 PM PDT  SPRINGFIELD, Illinois (Reuters) - Illinois' huge public pension funding problem was left unsolved on Friday after the Democrat-controlled House and Senate failed to reach a deal on comprehensive reform. House Speaker Michael Madigan adjourned his chamber's spring session, while a spokeswoman for Senate President John Cullerton said the upper chamber would not take any further action on either of two major pension reform bills before a midnight deadline. But both leaders expressed a willingness to negotiate a fix to the state's nearly $100 billion unfunded pension liability. ... Full Story | Top |
| German tourist shot and seriously wounded in Rio slum Friday, May 31, 2013 05:52 PM PDT  BRASILIA (Reuters) - A German tourist was shot and seriously wounded in the stomach on Friday in one of Brazil's largest slums, where drug traffickers still control areas despite a crackdown in 2011. Frank Daniel Benjamin, 25, was shot in an alley of the poorest section of the Rocinha slum on Rio de Janeiro's south side, a police statement said. A local resident picked him off the ground and carried him to a police unit from where he was rushed to hospital with a serious wound to the liver. ... Full Story | Top |
| Lebanese parliament delays June election, deepening drift Friday, May 31, 2013 05:28 PM PDT  By Laila Bassam BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanese lawmakers decided on Friday to extend their term by 16 months until November next year, postponing a scheduled June parliamentary election, because of political deadlock and violence spilling over from neighboring Syria's civil war. The move, criticized by the United States and the United Nations, provoked a protest in a main square near the parliament. Demonstrators garbed in black carried signs saying they were in mourning for the democratic process in Lebanon and some threw tomatoes at convoys of politicians driving past. ... Full Story | Top |
| Federal judge lifts ban on public access to Medicare data Friday, May 31, 2013 05:01 PM PDT By Maurice Tamman (Reuters) - A federal judge lifted a 33-year-old injunction barring public access to a confidential database of Medicare insurance claims, a decision that could lead to greater scrutiny of how physicians treat patients and charge for their services. Judge Marcia Morales Howard ruled Friday in favor of a motion by Dow Jones, publisher of the Wall Street Journal, that the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida lift an injunction imposed in 1979. ... Full Story | Top |
| Family stunned, confused over U.S. woman's death in Syria Friday, May 31, 2013 04:59 PM PDT By Steve Neavling FLINT, Michigan (Reuters) - The daughter of a 33-year-old Michigan woman who converted to Islam and was killed in fighting in Syria this week insisted on Friday her mother was "NOT a terrorist," although the woman's father said he had expressed concerns about her to the FBI. Syrian state media said Nicole Mansfield, a single mother from the Midwestern city of Flint, was killed with two others in an ambush by Syrian government forces on an opposition mission in northwestern Syria. Syrian media also showed the passport of a British man, Ali alManasfi, 22. ... Full Story | Top |
| Four firefighters die, five injured battling Houston blaze Friday, May 31, 2013 04:56 PM PDT  By Amanda Orr and Andrea Lorenz HOUSTON (Reuters) - Four firefighters died and five others were injured on Friday when a roof collapsed during a blaze at a hotel and restaurant in southwest Houston, fire department and city officials said. Fire Chief Terry Garrison told a news conference that firefighters were searching for people who may have been trapped inside when the roof gave way. "They were in the highest amount of risk possible because we thought we had some civilians in the structure," he said. "Unfortunately, the building had much more fire in it than we originally thought. ... Full Story | Top |
| British businessmen await Cuba's verdict as graft trial ends Friday, May 31, 2013 04:50 PM PDT By Marc Frank HAVANA (Reuters) - The two-day trial of two top executives of a British investment fund ended in Havana on Friday with a five judge panel expected to deliver its verdict within 10 days. The sentences of two other foreigners tried a week ago have yet to be announced, as the government presses forward with an unprecedented crackdown on corruption. In this week's trial on the communist-run island, Amado Fakhre, a Lebanese-born British citizen and chief executive officer of Coral Capital Group Ltd, faced various bribery charges related mainly to the fund's import business. ... Full Story | Top |
| IRS faces more heat from watchdog report amid Tea Party fracas Friday, May 31, 2013 04:44 PM PDT  By Kim Dixon WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The new chief of the Internal Revenue Service conceded on Friday there was "inappropriate" spending on a 2010 agency conference, a subject set to be the focus of one of three U.S. congressional hearings next week at which the IRS will likely face more criticism. The IRS is already embroiled in a major political scandal over extra scrutiny it gave to conservative groups seeking tax-free status, and Republicans in the House of Representatives are likely to keep the White House on the defensive over the agency's actions. ... Full Story | Top |
| Boston rockers play fundraiser for bomb victims Friday, May 31, 2013 04:23 PM PDT  By Richard Valdmanis BOSTON (Reuters) - A succession of all-star bands from Aerosmith to Jimmy Buffett rocked a packed house at Boston's TD Garden on Thursday night in a mostly raucous fund-raiser for the victims of last month's marathon bombing. Tickets priced between $35 and $285 sold out fast at the 17,500-seat venue, with net proceeds to be donated to The One Fund, a reserve established by Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick that has so far received more than $37 million in donations to compensate victims of the April 15 bombing. ... Full Story | Top |
| After news editor boycott, U.S. attorney general loosens rules Friday, May 31, 2013 03:51 PM PDT  By David Ingram WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder loosened his rules for speaking with media editors on Friday during a second day of meetings with them about his Justice Department's handling of investigations that involve reporters, the editors said. Representatives from Reuters and ABC News met with Holder, the chief U.S. law enforcement officer, and his staff following recent disclosures that federal prosecutors seized records from two other media outlets without advance notice. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama pushes to hold down student loan interest rates Friday, May 31, 2013 03:49 PM PDT  By Elvina Nawaguna WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Friday pushed his plan to tie federal student loan interest rates to the market, and criticized a Republican plan passed by the House of Representatives that he said would cost borrowers more. The mounting burden of student loan debt, now pegged at more than $1 trillion, with an average borrower owing $27,000, is seen as a drag on the economy and a barrier to people getting educations needed for better jobs. Currently students pay the same fixed rate for federal student loans, set by the government at 3. ... Full Story | Top |
| Trade panel delays decision in Apple-Samsung fight Friday, May 31, 2013 03:44 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. International Trade Commission, which hears many patent fights, on Friday extended its deadline for ruling on whether Apple Inc infringes patents owned by Samsung Electronics Co Ltd in making the iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad. The ITC had said it would make a decision on Friday but delayed it until Tuesday, June 4. It gave no reason for the extension. An administrative law judge at the ITC had said in a preliminary ruling in September that Apple was innocent of violating the patents. The next step is for the full commission to weigh in. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egyptian tourist critically injured in Istanbul protests: medics Friday, May 31, 2013 03:21 PM PDT ISTANBUL (Reuters) - An Egyptian tourist is in a critical condition after being hit by a police gas canister in a crackdown on anti-government protests in Istanbul on Friday, a doctors' association said. The 34-year-old woman was undergoing an operation after suffering a brain haemorrhage, Istanbul Medical Chamber board member Huseyin Demirduzen told Reuters. A total of 12 people, including a pro-Kurdish MP, suffered trauma injuries and hundreds suffered respiratory problems due to the effects of tear gas during the clashes around Istanbul's central Taksim Square, Demirduzen said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Portugal union calls strike against government austerity Friday, May 31, 2013 02:46 PM PDT LISBON (Reuters) - Portugal's largest labor union has called a general anti-government strike for June 27 to protest against public sector pay cuts, layoffs and other austerity measures imposed to meet EU/IMF bailout terms. The strike will encompass workers in the country's public and private sectors, CGTP chief Armenio Carlos told reporters on Friday, adding that all other unions were welcome to join. "It is a strike for everyone, it is a strike to promote change of policy, of the government and to call for early elections," he said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Paris, Berlin look to shake up euro zone leadership Friday, May 31, 2013 02:46 PM PDT By Luke Baker BRUSSELS (Reuters) - France and Germany have thrown their weight behind creating a permanent president for economic policy in the euro zone, a role that would mark a fundamental overhaul of how the currency bloc is managed. Their backing calls into question the performance of Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem, who was appointed chairman of the Eurogroup of finance ministers of the 17-nation currency area in January, to serve initially for 2-1/2 years. ... Full Story | Top |
| Record unemployment, low inflation underline Europe's pain Friday, May 31, 2013 02:46 PM PDT  By Robin Emmott and Ingrid Melander BRUSSELS/PARIS (Reuters) - Unemployment has reached a new high in the euro zone and inflation remains well below the European Central Bank's target, stepping up pressure on EU leaders and the ECB for action to revive the bloc's sickly economy. Joblessness in the 17-nation currency area rose to 12.2 percent in April, EU statistics office Eurostat said on Friday, marking a new record since the data series began in 1995. ... Full Story | Top |
| More severe weather and tornadoes forecast for Oklahoma Friday, May 31, 2013 02:46 PM PDT  By Suzi Parker LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas (Reuters) - The National Weather Service issued a tornado watch for parts of Oklahoma on Friday, describing weather conditions as "particularly dangerous" a day after more than a dozen reported twisters ripped through the region. Forecasters said several intense tornadoes were likely, along with storms bringing up to 4-inch hail and damaging wind gusts that could reach 80 miles per hour. "An extremely unstable air mass has developed across much of Central (and) Eastern Oklahoma," the weather service said in an advisory. ... Full Story | Top |
| RBS gives up fight, will hand over Libor documents to Canada Friday, May 31, 2013 02:41 PM PDT  OTTAWA (Reuters) - The Royal Bank of Scotland Group has agreed to hand over documents demanded by Canada in its probe into whether the bank was involved in a global interest rate-rigging scandal, Canada's Competition Bureau said on Friday. The move marked a reversal for RBS, which had launched a legal challenge against the bureau's demand for internal documents. The Competition Bureau is trying to determine whether RBS and several other banks sought to manipulate the London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor). ... Full Story | Top |
| Man in California dog mauling murder case held on more than $1 million bail Friday, May 31, 2013 02:34 PM PDT By Dana Feldman LANCASTER, California (Reuters) - A Southern California dog-owner arrested after four pit bulls attacked and killed a woman near her home was ordered held on $1.05 million bail on Friday after being charged with second-degree murder. Alex Donald Jackson, 29, was charged on Thursday in what legal experts said was an unusual instance of prosecutors accusing a dog owner of murder in a fatal mauling, especially when the owner may not have been present during the attack. ... Full Story | Top |
| Oprah must face lawsuit over 'Own Your Power': appeals court Friday, May 31, 2013 02:32 PM PDT  By Erin Geiger Smith NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oprah Winfrey will have to defend in court her use of the phrase "Own Your Power" in her magazine and on her website, a U.S. appeals court said on Friday. Overturning a lower court ruling, the 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals revived claims brought by Simone Kelly-Brown, owner of a motivational services business, Own Your Power Communications Inc, who says she owns a trademark on the phrase. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. military reveals timing of future F-35 fighter's use to Congress Friday, May 31, 2013 02:29 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - America's newest warplane, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, will reach operational milestones in 2015 for the Marine Corps, 2016 for the Air Force and 2019 for the Navy, according to details formally provided to the U.S. Congress on Friday. Those are the dates that Lockheed Martin's F-35 will achieve initial operational capability - the point when the services have enough planes on hand to go to war if needed. Actual deployments usually lag initial operational capability (IOC) dates by about a year. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bills to legalize online poker will be introduced in Congress Friday, May 31, 2013 02:27 PM PDT By Sue Zeidler LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Legislation to allow online poker gambling in the United States will be introduced in Congress that would give casinos a larger market than the current few states which allow it, like New Jersey and Nevada. Online poker would generate $10 billion in added revenues by 2017 if allowed by federal statute, according to the American Gaming Association. About $4 billion is now being spent for illegal sites, the AGA said. U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S., Germany urge Russia not to hurt Syria peace effort Friday, May 31, 2013 02:24 PM PDT By Lesley Wroughton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and Germany told Russia on Friday that arming President Bashar al-Assad's forces could jeopardize international efforts for a peace conference on Syria. Secretary of State John Kerry, speaking after talks with his German counterpart, Guido Westerwelle, said Russia's plans to deliver S-300 missiles to Syria were "not helpful" while trying to organize a peace conference to end the conflict. The missile shipment also posed a threat to Israel's security, he added. ... Full Story | Top |
| Tehran says U.S., not Iran, sponsors terrorism Friday, May 31, 2013 01:58 PM PDT By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Iran on Friday rejected a U.S. State Department report that accused Tehran of increasing its support for terrorism overseas to levels not seen for two decades, saying it is the United States that backs terrorists in the Middle East. "Iran itself has been the victim of state-sponsored terrorism, which has claimed the lives of thousands of innocent Iranian people," said Alireza Miryousefi, spokesman for Iran's U.N. mission. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. imposes sanctions on Iran's petrochemical industry Friday, May 31, 2013 01:54 PM PDT  By Timothy Gardner WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States blacklisted on Friday eight companies in Iran's petrochemical industry, sending a warning to the Islamic Republic's global customers as Washington strives to cut off funds to the country's nuclear program. Petrochemical companies owned or controlled by the Iranian government that are on the Treasury Department list include Bandar Imam Petrochemical Co, Bou Ali Sina Petrochemical Co and Mobin Petrochemical Co. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. Naval Academy football players investigated for sexual assault Friday, May 31, 2013 01:50 PM PDT  By Phil Stewart WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Three members of the U.S. Naval Academy football team are being investigated for the alleged sexual assault of a female student, the Pentagon said on Friday, the latest in a string of scandals that have thrown a spotlight on sex crimes in the military. The alleged incident took place in April 2012, when the student attended a party at the off-campus "football house" in Annapolis, Maryland and became intoxicated, her attorney, Susan Burke, said in a statement. "She woke up at the football house the next morning with little recall of what had occurred. ... Full Story | Top |
| Soccer-Blatter to help solve Palestinian soccer problem Friday, May 31, 2013 01:30 PM PDT (Adds Israeli FA chief comment, background) PORT LOUIS, Mauritius, May 31 (Reuters) - FIFA President Sepp Blatter told the Palestine FA on Friday that he would personally intervene to try to end their long-running sporting problems with Israel. The head of soccer's world governing body said he would go to the region in July to speak to politicians and sporting authorities to find a solution to Israeli travel restrictions on Palestinian players and visitors to the West Bank. ... Full Story | Top |
| Apple joins other foreign brands in raising prices in Japan Friday, May 31, 2013 01:04 PM PDT  TOKYO (Reuters) - Apple Inc raised prices of iPads and iPods in Japan on Friday, becoming the highest-profile brand to join a growing list of foreign firms asking Japanese consumers to pay more as a weakening yen squeezes profit. Some U.S. companies have inoculated themselves at least temporarily against the yen's fall through financial hedging instruments, while others are charging customers more. The yen has fallen more than 20 percent against the U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Sudanese rebels say shoot down army helicopter in oil area Friday, May 31, 2013 01:00 PM PDT KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudanese insurgents said they brought down a military helicopter and attacked a government convoy when the army's chief of staff visited a flashpoint in Sudan's main oil region on Friday, rebels said. A witness also reported seeing clashes, but the government denied a helicopter had been brought down, or that there had been any fighting. Gibril Adam, spokesman for the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), one of the biggest rebel groups, said its fighters had attacked a government convoy carrying Sudan's army chief of staff, Ismat Abdelrahman, just outside Abu Kershola. ... Full Story | Top |
| Colombia's Santos calls Venezuela plot accusations "crazy" Friday, May 31, 2013 12:55 PM PDT  By Eduardo Garcia BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos on Friday dismissed as "crazy" accusations made by his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro that Santos is involved in a plot to overthrow him, and called for a diplomatic solution to the dispute. Santos met with Venezuelan opposition leader Henrique Capriles earlier this week, triggering a furious reaction from Maduro, who accused Santos of "betrayal" and said he was in cahoots with Capriles to plot against him. ... Full Story | Top |
| Some U.S. churches cut ties as Boy Scouts drops ban on gay youth Friday, May 31, 2013 12:53 PM PDT  By Colleen Jenkins WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina (Reuters) - Some U.S. religious leaders are cutting ties with the Boy Scouts of America, saying they will no longer permit local troops to meet at their churches in reaction to the group's decision to allow openly gay youth members. The swift withdrawal of support by some conservative churches in states such as Alabama, Georgia and Kentucky comes after the May 23 vote by the group to end the century-old ban, effective January 1. ... Full Story | Top |
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