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| U.S. athletes still reluctant to admit head injuries -report Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 08:54 PM PDT By Susan Heavey WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Many young athletes still do not admit when they have suffered a head injury despite increased awareness about the risks of concussions in children and teenagers, U.S. health advisers said on Wednesday, urging sports leagues and government agencies to take more action. Various groups have tried to raise awareness about the seriousness of brain injuries, and sports leagues have implemented rule changes aimed at preventing them. Professional leagues, including the National Football League, are also wrestling with the issue amid complaints from some players about long-term impacts on the brain. But there is still not enough data on how to prevent and treat them, the experts said in an analysis of sports-related concussions in young athletes from the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council. Full Story | Top |
| 'Magnificent Delusions' of U.S.-Pakistan relations Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 08:51 PM PDT  By Maria Golovnina ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Even as Pakistan's ambassador to the United States, Husain Haqqani was one of the most eloquent critics of Pakistan's military, the nuclear-armed country's most powerful institution. Haqqani resigned in November 2011 and left Pakistan after becoming involved in a scandal surrounding a secret memo that accused the army of plotting a coup and sought help from the United States to rein in the military. Haqqani, who has denied any connection to the memo, spoke to Reuters by telephone from the United States about his book and his views on U.S.-Pakistan relations. Q: Why do you believe Pakistan supports militant groups? Full Story | Top |
| Mexico plan to beef up tax revenues nears final Senate approval Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 08:49 PM PDT By Michael O'Boyle, Miguel Gutierrez and Dave Graham MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's Senate on Wednesday was close to passing a package of measures to bolster the country's weak tax revenues, including higher taxes for the rich, levies on sugary drinks and junk food, as well as a charge on stock market gains. After giving general approval to the fiscal bill late on Tuesday, the Senate must still vote on divisive sections that lawmakers want to repeal or amend, a process which has been held up by opposition from conservatives. The fiscal reform is one the main planks of President Enrique Pena Nieto's economic agenda, and although it will not raise as much new revenue as had originally been hoped, it has prompted vigorous attacks from opponents and lobbyists. Disputes over the bill, which aims to introduce a new top income tax rate of 35 percent, risk complicating negotiations over other reforms sought by the Revolutionary Institutional Party, which lacks a majority in Congress. Full Story | Top |
| China's state media calls for strong action on Tiananmen attack Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 08:43 PM PDT  By Michael Martina TURPAN, China (Reuters) - Chinese state media demanded severe punishment on Thursday after the government blamed militants from restive Xinjiang for an attack in Tiananmen Square, as the exiled leader of the region's Uighur minority called for an independent probe. An SUV burst into flames on Monday after being driven into a crowd in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, the symbolic centre of China's power structure and one of the country's most closely guarded areas. Police said it was a "terrorist attack" carried out by people from Xinjiang, home to the Muslim Uighur people, and announced they had caught five accomplices who were planning holy war. "Maintaining the capital's security and stability is a responsibility of utmost importance." The English-language China Daily said the perpetrators will "go down in history as murderers not heroes". Full Story | Top |
| China suspects Tiananmen car incident was 'terrorist attack' Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 08:43 PM PDT BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese police suspect that a car crash and fire on Beijing's Tiananmen Square was a "terrorist attack" and five suspects linked to the incident have been captured, state media reported on Wednesday. The three people who died in the sport utility vehicle were a man, his mother and his wife, the official Xinhua news agency said, giving names which appeared to identify them as ethnic Uighurs, a Muslim people who come from China's restive far western region of Xinjiang. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Jason Subler) Full Story | Top |
| Fatal plane crash in Nashville may have gone unnoticed for hours Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 08:38 PM PDT (Reuters) - A fatal plane crash at Nashville International Airport earlier this week may have gone unnoticed for hours, the Nashville Tennessean newspaper reported on Wednesday. A single-engine Cessna crashed at the airport some time after 2 a.m. on Tuesday, killing the pilot, but the wreckage was not discovered until about 8:45 a.m., said Jay Neylon, an investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board, during a press conference aired on NewsChannel5.com. The exact timing of the crash is unknown, Neylon said. The Canadian pilot, Michael Callan, 45 of Windsor, Ontario, was killed in the crash, the Tennessean reported. Full Story | Top |
| University of California to spend $5 million to help undocumented students Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 08:33 PM PDT By Sharon Bernstein SACRAMENTO, California (Reuters) - Undocumented immigrants admitted to the University of California will be eligible for $5 million in services under a program announced on Wednesday, the latest in a series of moves to expand immigrant rights in the country's most populous state. Former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, now president of the 10-campus U.C. system, set aside the funding as one of her first acts in her new job, calling it a down payment on the state's commitment to all of its residents. "U.C. will continue to be a vehicle for social mobility," Napolitano told the San Francisco Commonwealth Club in her first major address since taking the helm of the university last month. The funding is part of a broader effort to expand immigrant rights in strongly Democratic California, where 2.6 million people - most of them Latino - lack legal status, according to a recent study by the University of Southern California. Full Story | Top |
| UK consumer morale dips for first time in six months - GfK Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 08:25 PM PDT  British consumer confidence fell in October for the first time in six months, a survey showed on Thursday. The drop, only the second this year, followed news that British households face a sharp jump in gas and electricity bills. Market research company GfK's monthly consumer confidence index dipped to -11 from -10 in September, wrong-footing analysts who had expected a rise to -8. Full Story | Top |
| California town sues hot sauce company over chili odors Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 08:18 PM PDT By Dana Feldman and Steve Gorman LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A small Southern California city has sued the makers of the popular Sriracha-brand hot pepper sauce, saying tear-inducing odors emanating from its chili processing plant in town are creating a public nuisance. Irwindale officials said they plan to ask a Los Angeles County judge on Thursday for a court order forcing Huy Fong Foods to immediately halt production of Sriracha (pronounced sir-RAH-chah) at its chili factory while review of the case continues. The lawsuit, filed on Monday, says the company has denied a problem exists and refused to take action to abate fumes powerful enough to prompt some "residents to move outdoor activities indoors and even to vacate their residences temporarily to seek relief." Since mid-September, Irwindale, about 20 miles east of Los Angeles, has received numerous reports from residents complaining of "strong, offensive chili odors" that cause eye and throat irritation and headaches, the suit says. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. food group faces legal trouble in fight over GMO labeling Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 07:44 PM PDT A lobbying group for major U.S. food manufacturers continues to run afoul of campaign finance laws in the way that it has contributed funds to block a measure that would require labeling of genetically modified foods in Washington state, according to a statement issued Wednesday by the state's attorney general. State Attorney General Bob Ferguson said he will amend a lawsuit filed October 16 to raise the total amount he alleges the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) illegally concealed to $11 million, from the $7.2 million in the original complaint. GMA represents some of the world's largest food and beverage companies and is lobbying heavily against the measure known as I-522 that is set for a public vote in Washington state on November 5. GMA is the largest contributor to the "No on 522" campaign. Full Story | Top |
| Marvin Gaye's family sues 'Blurred Lines' composers Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 07:31 PM PDT  Family of late soul singer Marvin Gaye sued R&B recording artists Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams for copyright infringement on Wednesday, accusing them of stealing from the Motown legend's musical composition for the hit single "Blurred Lines." The suit was filed as a counter-claim to a case brought preemptively by Thicke and Williams in August seeking a court ruling to establish that "Blurred Lines" did not infringe on Gaye's rights to his 1977 hit, "Got to Give it Up," as members of his family had said publicly. The suit by three of Gaye's children cited excerpts of magazine interviews given by Thicke to support their contention that he had admitted to drawing on "Got to Give it Up" when producing and recording "Blurred Lines." Thicke sang the raunchy, percussive R&B song, which topped song charts around the world this year and ranked as the biggest U.S. pop hit of the summer, at this year's MTV Video Music Awards in a provocative performance featuring pop singer Miley Cyrus. Full Story | Top |
| New York protesters target Barneys after black shoppers claim bias Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 07:04 PM PDT  By Chris Francescani and Curtis Skinner NEW YORK (Reuters) - A small group of demonstrators shouting "no shop and frisk" gathered at the Manhattan storefront of Barneys New York Inc on Wednesday to express outrage over black customers' complaints they were stopped by police after making luxury purchases. The protest, organized by Brooklyn pastor Clinton Miller, coincided with an investigation by the state attorney general into security practices at Barneys and fellow retailer Macy's Inc. Four black shoppers have said they were detained in separate incidents at the two stores and later released without charges, touching off the latest racial controversy in a largely integrated city that nonetheless experiences frequent debates about prejudice and equality. Fewer than two dozen demonstrators, some carrying signs, converged on the upscale department store. They wanted to deliver a letter Barneys Chief Executive Officer Mark Lee, who did not meet them. Full Story | Top |
| New Jersey man admits stealing $2.5 million in food stamp benefits Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 06:19 PM PDT A New Jersey grocery store manager pleaded guilty in federal court on Wednesday to stealing more than $2.5 million from the government in food stamp benefits, federal prosecutors said. Alexander Vargas, 34, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joseph Rodriguez in Camden to a scheme in which he overcharged the Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance Program (SNAP) for purchases and split the proceeds with customers, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey said. SNAP, also known as food stamps, works by allowing recipients to purchase food with an electronic benefits transfer card, similar to a debit card. Full Story | Top |
| Robert Gates, ex-U.S. Secretary of Defense, to lead Boy Scouts Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 06:03 PM PDT  The Boy Scouts of America on Wednesday chose former U.S. Secretary of Defense and CIA director Robert Gates as its next president, who will face the task of repairing divisions in the organization from a heated debate over accepting gay scouts. As Defense Secretary, Gates supported President Barack Obama's withdrawal of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy that prevented gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military. While a Boy Scout, Gates achieved the highest honor of Eagle Scout. The ban on gay scouts will officially end on January 1, 2014. Full Story | Top |
| US Airways, American consider merger settlement: sources Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 05:42 PM PDT  and American Airlines are considering giving up takeoff and landing slots at Washington's Ronald Reagan National Airport to win regulator approval of their $11 billion merger, two people familiar with the matter said. The airlines are hoping to reach a settlement with the U.S. Justice Department before the trial, due to begin November 25, paving the way for a deal that would create the world's largest air carrier, the sources said. The companies' stock prices have climbed in anticipation of a deal, and they rose further on Wednesday after a Dow Jones report on a potential proposal to overcome regulatory concerns. closed up 4.3 percent at $7.30 and US Airways Group Inc ended 0.94 percent higher at $22.58. Full Story | Top |
| St. Louis man charged with posting bomb threats before World Series Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 05:37 PM PDT Prosecutors have charged a St. Louis man with a misdemeanor for posting bomb threats on Twitter as the city prepared to host World Series baseball games, officials said on Wednesday. Robert Metzinger, 30, is accused of making threatening references to the fatal bombing at the Boston Marathon last April and the use of a pressure cooker in that explosion, said a probable cause statement issued by St. Louis police on Wednesday. "In one tweet, the defendant made an implied threat to use an explosive device in or around the area of Busch Stadium during the upcoming World Series," said a statement posted on Wednesday on the St. Louis circuit attorney's website. Police spokeswoman Schron Jackson said, "At no time during our investigation were fans and visitors in the region at risk of harm." The St. Louis Cardinals hosted the Boston Red Sox in World Series games on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Full Story | Top |
| Fed maintains strong stimulus as U.S. growth stumbles Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 05:37 PM PDT  By Pedro da Costa and Alister Bull WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve extended its support for a soft U.S. economy on Wednesday, sounding a bit less optimistic about growth as it announced plans to keep buying $85 billion in bonds per month. In announcing the decision, the Fed nodded to weaker economic signals that have been due in part to a fiscal fight in Washington that shuttered much of the government for 16 days earlier this month. The central bank noted that the recovery in the housing market had lost some steam and suggested some frustration at how slowly the labor market was healing. However, it also dropped a phrase expressing concern about a run-up in borrowing costs, suggesting greater comfort with the current level of interest rates. Full Story | Top |
| Obama blames 'bad apple' insurers for canceled coverage Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 05:31 PM PDT  By Roberta Rampton and David Morgan BOSTON/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Wednesday that "bad apple" insurance companies, not his signature healthcare law, are to blame for hundreds of thousands of people losing their coverage in the past few weeks. As administration officials scrambled to fix technical problems on an online insurance marketplace that is central to the success of the Affordable Care Act, Obama blamed private insurers for a separate problem that has critics questioning his honesty. The president has repeatedly promised that people who are happy with their health plans would not have to change coverage because of the law, known as Obamacare. But the termination of individual policies has given his Republican opponents additional ammunition to criticize the program they have tried to stop since its inception in Obama's first term. Full Story | Top |
| Asian markets take glancing blow from Fed Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 05:22 PM PDT  By Wayne Cole SYDNEY (Reuters) - Asian markets suffered a glancing blow on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve's latest policy outlook was deemed less dovish than some had wagered on, lifting both bond yields and the dollar. Yet the losses were modest with MSCI's index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan off just 0.2 percent. Shares in Australia lost a tenth of a percent while Japan's Nikkei eased 0.3 percent. Helping sentiment were expectations the Bank of Japan's policy meeting on Thursday would see it carry on with a massive stimulus program that has shown tentative signs of breaking the grip of deflation. Full Story | Top |
| White House concerned over Senate vote on mortgage regulator Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 05:13 PM PDT  The Obama administration expressed concern on Wednesday that Republicans may block a vote in the U.S. Senate on the nomination of the president's choice to regulate mortgage finance firms Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The Senate scheduled a procedural vote on the nomination of Representative Mel Watt to head the Federal Housing Finance Agency, for early afternoon on Thursday. Watt is expected to win the support of all Democrats and the two independents who vote with them, a total of 55, assuming New Jersey Senator-elect Cory Booker is sworn in by then, which is expected to happen. The North Carolina Democrat needs to attract at least 60 votes in the 100-seat chamber to win the procedural vote and move to a final up-or-down vote. Full Story | Top |
| Uighur leader questions China's account of Tiananmen attack Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 05:12 PM PDT  By Paul Eckert WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The exiled leader of China's Uighur ethnic minority community called on Wednesday for an international investigation into an incident in which a car ploughed into pedestrians in Beijing, after Chinese authorities arrested five suspected Uighurs over the attack. The SUV vehicle burst into flames after being driven into a crowd on Tiananmen Square on Monday. Rebiya Kadeer, president of the Munich-based World Uighur Congress, called the attack tragic but was equivocal on whether Uighurs - a Muslim people from China's far western region of Xinjiang - had carried it out. Kadeer, who lives in the Washington area, warned against accepting at face value China's account of the incident. Full Story | Top |
| Israel pushes plans for 3,500 settler homes after prisoners freed Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 05:05 PM PDT  By Mohammed Abu Ganeyeh BETHLEHEM, West Bank (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered officials on Wednesday to press ahead with plans to build 3,500 more homes for Jewish settlers, hours after Israel freed 26 Palestinian prisoners as part of U.S.-brokered peace efforts. Netanyahu's step was seen as a way to placate hardliners who criticized him as the inmates, convicted of killing Israelis, basked in a heroes' welcome from hundreds of relatives and well-wishers in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Israel's Interior Ministry announced earlier in the day that the 1,500 units would be built in Ramat Shlomo, a settlement in an area of the occupied West Bank that Israel considers part of Jerusalem. Those plans were first announced in 2010, clouding a visit to Israel at the time by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, who condemned the project, which was subsequently shelved. Full Story | Top |
| Britain pledges public access to tax evasion-busting database Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 05:04 PM PDT  By William James LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister David Cameron is set to announce on Thursday that he will make public a new database of company ownership details designed to expose international money laundering and tax evasion schemes. The plan advances Cameron's efforts to push money laundering and tax evasion to the top of the global agenda, and follows up on a debate at a summit of eight of the world's wealthiest states (G8) in June. The "beneficial ownership register" goes beyond the current registration of corporations and shareholders by untangling deliberately opaque ownership structures to help tax authorities track down those who are using low-tax regimes overseas to illegally reduce their tax bills. Full Story | Top |
| Sins of past, present and future haunt banks Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 05:02 PM PDT  Bankers fear that paying for the sins of the past and preventing future misdemeanors could be the biggest headache yet for an industry still trying to bulk up on capital and liquidity reserves in the wake of the 2007-09 financial crisis. "This is a new world of regulation that has emerged post the financial crisis and I think the whole industry is struggling to catch up with it," Mike Rees, head of wholesale banking at Standard Chartered "Everyone has focused on the liquidity standards and the capital standards, but I think the bigger cost for the industry will be about meeting the standards being required of us in terms of the code of conduct." JPMorgan - which had emerged from the financial crisis as the poster child for good risk management - is close to a record $13 billion settlement with U.S. authorities over the mis-selling of mortgage-backed bonds. Full Story | Top |
| Off-duty pilot charged with fondling 14-year-old girl on flight to Utah Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 05:00 PM PDT An off-duty Delta Airlines pilot has been charged with fondling a 14-year-old girl seated next to him on a Salt Lake City-bound flight, but he contends he was sleeping at the time, authorities said on Wednesday. Michael Pascal, 45, was returning to his home in Utah on Saturday after piloting an early-morning flight from Salt Lake City to Detroit when the alleged incident occurred. Pascal plans to plead not guilty to a federal charge of abusive sexual contact with a minor, said his lawyer, Rhome Zabriskie. The pilot's initial court appearance is scheduled for Thursday in federal court in Salt Lake City. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. spy agency's defense: Europeans did it too Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 04:53 PM PDT  By Tabassum Zakaria and Mark Hosenball WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The political uproar over alleged U.S. eavesdropping on close European allies has produced an unusual defense from the National Security Agency: NSA says it was the Europeans themselves who did the spying, and then handed data to the Americans. It is rare for intelligence officials to speak in any public detail about liaison arrangements with foreign spy agencies because such relationships are so sensitive. But that is what NSA Director General Keith Alexander did at a public congressional hearing on Tuesday when, attempting to counter international complaints about the agency's alleged excesses, he said its sources for foreign telecommunications information included "data provided to NSA by foreign partners." Alexander's disclosure marked yet another milestone in NSA's emergence from the shadows to defend its electronic surveillance mission in the wake of damaging revelations by former agency contractor Edward Snowden. "It is true that in general we stay close-mouthed about intelligence liaison relationships and we only speak in the most general terms about sharing things with our friends and allies," said Paul Pillar, a former senior CIA analyst. Full Story | Top |
| NSA intercepts Google, Yahoo traffic overseas: report Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 04:45 PM PDT  By Joseph Menn SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The National Security Agency has tapped directly into communications links used by Google and Yahoo to move huge amounts of email and other user information among overseas data centers, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday. The report, based on secret NSA documents leaked by former contractor Edward Snowden, appears to show the agency has used weak restrictions on its overseas activities to exploit major U.S. companies' data to a far greater extent than realized. Previously reported programs included those that allowed easy searches of Google's, Yahoo's and other Internet giants' material based on court orders. "We are outraged at the lengths to which the government seems to have gone to intercept data from our private fiber networks, and it underscores the need for urgent reform," said Google chief legal officer David Drummond. Full Story | Top |
| Murdoch editors must have known of phone hacking, court hears Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 04:39 PM PDT  By Michael Holden and Kate Holton LONDON (Reuters) - Rebekah Brooks, a former top editor, and Andy Coulson, Prime Minister David Cameron's ex-media chief, oversaw a system of phone-hacking and illegal payments when they ran Rupert Murdoch's British tabloids, a London court heard at the start of their trial on Wednesday. Setting out the prosecution case, Andrew Edis said Brooks was linked to both phone-hacking that ruined the tabloid News of the World and the practice of paying public officials for stories at its sister newspaper, the Sun. Brooks, 45, later ran Murdoch's British newspaper division from 2009 to 2011. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. attorney wants DOJ to take civil action against BofA: filing Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 04:38 PM PDT  Staff of a U.S. Attorney's office recently told Bank of America Corp that they plan to recommend the U.S. Department of Justice file a civil action against the bank related to securitization of mortgages, according to a regulatory filing on Wednesday. Bank of America also lifted its estimate for possible losses above what it has already set aside to cover litigation expenses, according to its 10-Q filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Bank of America now estimates its litigation losses may exceed reserves by up to $5.1 billion, up from a prior estimate of $2.8 billion. Full Story | Top |
| New York City Council votes to raise tobacco purchasing age to 21 Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 04:31 PM PDT By Curtis Skinner NEW YORK (Reuters) - The New York City Council voted to raise the minimum age for buying tobacco to 21, the highest in the country, in hopes of reducing smoking among the city's young adults. Mayor Michael Bloomberg, an anti-smoking crusader, was expected to sign the bill, which would become law 180 days later. Full Story | Top |
| Batista's OGX files for bankruptcy protection in Brazil Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 04:21 PM PDT  By Sabrina Lorenzi and Jeb Blount RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - OGX Petróleo e Gas Participações SA, the Brazilian oil company controlled by former billionaire Eike Batista, sought court protection from creditors on Wednesday in Latin America's largest-ever corporate bankruptcy filing. The bankruptcy protection request, filed in a Rio de Janeiro court, came after OGX failed to reach an agreement with creditors to renegotiate part of its $5.1 billion debt load. The request marks another chapter in the unraveling of Batista's once high-flying industrial empire, which he has been dismantling in recent months after disappointing output from offshore OGX wells set off a crisis of investor confidence. If the court approves the request, OGX will have 60 days to come up with a restructuring plan. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. F-35 fighter drops first guided bomb against ground target Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 04:16 PM PDT  By Andrea Shalal-Esa WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 fighter jet dropped a 500-pound bomb this week, hitting a tank at Edwards Air Force Base in California and marking the first time the new warplane has fired a laser-guided weapon, the Pentagon said Wednesday. An F-35 B-model jet released the Guided Bomb Unit-12 (GBU-12) Paveway II bomb from its internal weapons bay while flying at around 25,000 feet, successfully smashing into a tank parked on the ground, the Pentagon's F-35 program office said in a statement. It took 35 seconds to hit the target. "This guided weapons delivery test of a GBU-12 marks the first time the F-35 truly became a weapon system," said Marine Corps Major Richard Rusnok, the pilot who flew the plane during the weapons test Tuesday. Full Story | Top |
| White House faces tough sell in Congress on delay of Iran sanctions Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 04:10 PM PDT  By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Top Obama administration officials have been pushing U.S. lawmakers hard to hold off on new sanctions over Iran's nuclear program, but some key lawmakers said on Wednesday they had not yet been convinced to support a delay. Senator Bob Corker, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a member of the Senate Banking Committee, which is considering the sanctions package, said lawmakers were skeptical because they felt they had to push the White House to back strict sanctions on Tehran. "I think ... because Congress had to push the administration into the sanctions regime in the first place, there is a degree of skepticism. Corker had a breakfast meeting on Wednesday with Secretary of State John Kerry. Full Story | Top |
| Billionaire candy heiress set for trial stemming from fatal crash Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 04:07 PM PDT Billionaire candy heiress Jacqueline Badger Mars faces trial on a charge of reckless driving in an accident that killed an elderly woman, authorities said on Wednesday. Mars, 74, was driving a Porsche SUV on October 4 when it crossed into an oncoming lane of traffic and struck a minivan in Aldie, Virginia, according to the Loudoun County sheriff. A passenger in the backseat of the minivan, Irene Ellisor, 86, died at the scene. The people in the minivan were visiting from Texas and in Virginia for a wedding. Full Story | Top |
| Mosquitoes known to carry dengue, yellow fever seen in California Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 04:02 PM PDT By Steve Gorman LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A tropical mosquito known to carry potentially fatal diseases such as dengue and yellow fever has been detected in California, raising concerns among public health officials and prompting intense efforts to eradicate the insect. No illnesses associated with the mosquito, known by the scientific name Aedes aegypti, have been reported since it first appeared in California's Central Valley in June, and none of the specimens trapped and tested has been found to be infected. "If it gets established, it's going to change the way we live in California," Tim Phillips, manager of the Fresno Mosquito and Vector Control District, which identified some of the first small invaders, said on Wednesday. How Aedes aegypti was introduced to the California remains a mystery. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. spy agency denies that it eavesdropped on Vatican Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 03:34 PM PDT  WASHINGTON/VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The National Security Agency, responsible for U.S. electronic eavesdropping, said on Wednesday that it does not target the Vatican and called an Italian media report that it had done so "not true." Panorama magazine said on Wednesday that the NSA had eavesdropped on Vatican phone calls, possibly including when former Pope Benedict's successor was under discussion. "The National Security Agency does not target the Vatican. Assertions that NSA has targeted the Vatican, published in Italy's Panorama magazine, are not true," NSA spokeswoman Vanee Vines said in a statement. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. National Guard shooting suspect indicted in Tennessee Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 03:33 PM PDT By Tim Ghianni NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Reuters) - A National Guard recruiter accused of wounding three superiors and threatening a fourth after he was relieved of duty was indicted Wednesday on nine federal charges, including attempting to kill U.S. employees. Sergeant First Class Amos Patton, 42, also faces four counts of assault with a deadly weapon and one of using and carrying a 9mm Glock semi-automatic handgun in relation to a crime of violence, prosecutors said. Patton was accused of opening fire at a National Guard recruiting center next to a U.S. Navy base near Memphis on Thursday after he was told he was being relieved of duty due to unspecified misconduct. It had also been recommended that he be reduced in rank and dismissed from the active Guard reserve. Full Story | Top |
| Merkel envoys at White House to sort out U.S.-German tensions Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 03:32 PM PDT  By Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - American and German officials sought to overcome tension between their governments on Wednesday following reports that the U.S. National Security Agency monitored German Chancellor Angela Merkel's mobile phone. A meeting between White House national security adviser Susan Rice and her German counterpart came a week after an infuriated Merkel complained to President Barack Obama about accusations that the United States had for years been eavesdropping on her. German's national security adviser, Christoph Heusgen, and the German chancellery intelligence coordinator, Guenter Heiss, sat down with Rice and Obama's homeland security adviser, Lisa Monaco, at the White House. Full Story | Top |
| S&P 500's rally ends after Fed; Expedia up late Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 03:31 PM PDT  By Ryan Vlastelica NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 snapping a four-day streak of gains after the Federal Reserve said it had a weaker growth outlook for the economy, even as it held steady with its stimulus program for the time being. Trading was volatile following the release of the statement, with the major U.S. stock indexes cutting losses to turn flat and dropping to session lows. Almost 70 percent of stocks on both the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq declined, while all 10 S&P 500 sector indexes fell. While it had been widely expected that the U.S. central bank wouldn't announce any adjustments to its bond-buying program, the statement wasn't enough to extend a rally that has driven both the Dow and the S&P 500 to repeated record highs, including in early trading on Wednesday. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. appeals court revives patent fight over AstraZeneca drug Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 03:27 PM PDT A U.S. appeals court on Wednesday reinstated part of a legal fight by AstraZeneca over a patent protecting its Pulmicort Respules asthma drug, months after the court temporarily halted competitors from distributing generic versions. The ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reverses an earlier decision that generic drugmakers -including Apotex Inc, Sandoz Inc and Watson Laboratories Inc -had not infringed an AstraZeneca patent relating to the drug. Full Story | Top |
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