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| Communist Party expels former executive at China Mobile parent Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 08:01 PM PST A former senior executive at China Mobile Ltd's state-owned parent has been expelled from the Communist Party amid a company-wide probe into suspected corruption. China's new leadership has made fighting graft a priority to assuage rising public anger over the scale of corruption in the world's second-biggest economy. Xu Long, who was general manager of China Mobile Communications Corp's Guangdong office, was expelled from the party due to "severe discipline violations," according to a statement posted on Wednesday on the website of Guangdong province's disciplinary committee. "During Xu Long's posting at China Mobile Communications Corp's Guangdong office, he took advantage of his senior position to seek profits for others," the statement said. Full Story | Top |
| Argentine poet, political critic Gelman dies in Mexico Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 07:53 PM PST  Juan Gelman, the celebrated Argentine poet and fierce critic of the South American nation's "dirty war" against leftists, died Tuesday in Mexico City, Mexico's national art council said. Gelman, who was born in Buenos Aires but lived in the Mexican capital for more than 20 years, died after being hospitalized, the council said in a statement. The poet and political analyst's writings won some of the highest awards given to Spanish writers, including the lifetime achievement Miguel de Cervantes Prize. One of Gelman's own sons was kidnapped and murdered during the so-called "dirty war." (Reporting by Miguel Gutierrez; Full Story | Top |
| China December bank lending, money supply growth miss forecasts Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 07:40 PM PST  China's new bank lending slowed more than expected in December while growth of broad money supply also eased, suggesting the central bank's efforts to tap the brakes on credit expansion to contain debt levels is gaining traction. Chinese banks made 482.5 billion yuan ($79.9 billion) worth of new yuan loans in December, lower than a forecast of 600 billion yuan and lower than the previous month's 624.6 billion yuan, central bank data showed on Wednesday. "The slowing M2 growth in December showed central bank's tightening measures had started to bite," said Jiang Chao, economist at Haitong Securities in Shanghai. We expect there will be no big change in central bank's monetary policy in 2014," Jiang said. Full Story | Top |
| Thai opposition leader's house attacked, politics in deadlock Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 07:17 PM PST  By Apornrath Phoonphongphiphat BANGKOK (Reuters) - A loud blast shook the house of a senior Thai opposition leader overnight, police said on Wednesday, as protesters trying to oust the government remained camped in central Bangkok with no end to the political deadlock in sight. Some hardline protesters have threatened to blockade the stock exchange and an air traffic communications facility on Wednesday if Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra does not step down. But there were no early signs of trouble at either the bourse or at the central Bangkok offices of AeroThai, which is in charge of air traffic control for planes that use Thai air space. No one was hurt in the blast at the residence of Democrat Party leader and former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. Full Story | Top |
| Deutsche suspends trader suspected of forex rigging: paper Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 07:01 PM PST  Deutsche Bank has suspended at least one currency trader on suspicion of manipulating benchmark forex rates, a German paper reported. German daily Die Welt, citing people familiar with the investigations, said the trader worked in New York and traded Argentine pesos. Deutsche Bank said it would not comment on individuals. In a statement, it said it was cooperating with investigations and would take disciplinary measures with regard to individuals if merited. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. Senate panel to criticize State Department over Benghazi response Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 06:56 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A report by the Senate Intelligence Committee to be released on Wednesday was expected to criticize the State Department for inadequate security at the U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya, when it suffered a deadly attack on September 11, 2012. Sources familiar with the findings said the report, which had bipartisan approval, found that in the previous months U.S. intelligence agencies repeatedly warned about possible attacks in Benghazi, but the State Department paid too little attention. The U.S. ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens, and three other U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| NSA carves pathway into international computers: New York Times Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 06:54 PM PST  The U.S. National Security Agency has put software in almost 100,000 computers around the world allowing it to carry out surveillance on those devices and could provide a digital highway for cyberattacks, the New York Times reported on Tuesday. The NSA has planted most of the software through getting access to computer networks, but has also used a secret technology that allows it entry even to computers not connected to the Internet, the Times said, citing U.S. officials, computer experts and documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. The Times said the technology had been in use since at least 2008 and relied on a covert channel of radio waves transmitted from tiny circuit boards and USB cards secretly inserted in the computers. "The radio frequency technology has helped solve one of the biggest problems facing American intelligence agencies for years: getting into computers that adversaries, and some American partners, have tried to make impervious to spying or cyberattack," the newspaper said. Full Story | Top |
| Japan self-defense ship, fishing boat collide; two in critical condition Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 06:52 PM PST A Japanese Self-Defence Force ship and a leisure fishing boat collided off the coast of Hiroshima in western Japan, leaving two of the fishing boat's crew in critical condition, the country's defence minister said on Wednesday. The cause of the collision is still being investigated, the Japanese Coast Guard said. "This accident is very regrettable," Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera told an emergency news conference after the accident, pledging full cooperation and help with the probe. Japan calls the islands the Senkaku and China calls them the Diaoyu. Full Story | Top |
| U.N. says South Sudan army, rebels stealing humanitarian aid Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 06:42 PM PST  U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday accused South Sudan's army and rebels led by former Vice President Riek Machar of stealing food aid and vehicles used to deliver humanitarian relief as the country teeters on the brink of civil war. "(Ban) is alarmed by the rising number of fatalities resulting from the continuing fighting in South Sudan, including reports received on 14 January about the deaths of 200 civilians who drowned in the River Nile while fleeing hostilities in Malakal," the U.N. press office said. The statement said Ban was also deeply concerned about the rising number of displaced people in South Sudan, which he said surpassed 400,000 this week. The crisis erupted after South Sudan President Salva Kiir fired Machar and other ministers earlier this year. Full Story | Top |
| U.S., India meet to get ties back on track after dispute Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 06:40 PM PST  By David Brunnstrom and Lesley Wroughton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A senior U.S. diplomat met India's ambassador to the United States on Tuesday with the aim of getting bilateral ties back on track after the arrest and strip search of a female Indian diplomat and tit-for-tat expulsions. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns hosted a "productive" lunch meeting with Indian Ambassador S. Jaishankar and both sides affirmed the importance of the U.S.-India strategic partnership and "discussed initial preparations for a range of upcoming bilateral meetings and exchanges," a statement from the U.S. State Department said. The two officials also discussed matters raised by India's Foreign Ministry during the dispute, including alleged issues with the American Embassy School, the statement said. Burns said Washington took the concerns "very seriously and will continue to address them via appropriate diplomatic channels." The statement said both Burns and Jaishankar "affirmed our shared commitment to continue joint U.S.-India work on issues such as clean energy and climate change, defense, economic and trade engagement, counterterrorism, and civil nuclear development." On Saturday, India blamed the United States for what it called a "mini crisis" over the arrest and strip search of its deputy consul general in New York last month and said more work was needed to repair ties. Full Story | Top |
| Target data breach could be costly for payment partners Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 06:33 PM PST  By Ross Kerber BOSTON (Reuters) - Companies that help Target Corp process payments could face millions of dollars in fines and costs resulting from the unprecedented data breach that struck the retailer over the holiday shopping season. Investigators are still sorting through just how thieves compromised about 40 million payment cards and the information of about 70 million Target customers. But people who have reviewed past data breaches believe Target's partners could face consumer lawsuits and fines that payment networks such as Visa Inc and MasterCard Inc often levy after cyber security incidents. Target's partners "have deep pockets and are intimately involved in certain aspects of how Target gets paid," said Jamie Pole, a cyber security consultant in Asheboro, North Carolina, who works for government agencies and the financial industry. Full Story | Top |
| FBI to revisit fatal beating of California transient after police cleared Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 06:32 PM PST  By Dan Whitcomb and Dana Feldman LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The FBI plans to re-examine the beating death of a mentally ill California transient after a jury acquitted two ex-policemen of all charges in connection with the fatal confrontation, which touched off protests and political upheaval in the city of Fullerton. Meanwhile, a lawyer for Jay Cicinelli, one of the two former officers at the center of the case, said his client would seek to be rehired by the Fullerton Police Department now that he had been cleared of involuntary manslaughter and use of excessive force charges in the 2011 death of 37-year-old Kelly Thomas. Defense lawyers won acquittals for Cicinelli and co-defendant Manuel Ramos in the case by arguing at trial that Thomas was dangerous and that the officers responded according to their training. "In 2011, the FBI opened an investigation to determine if Mr. Thomas' civil rights were violated during an altercation with Fullerton police officers," FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said in a statement on Tuesday. Full Story | Top |
| Fire at Chinese shoe factory kills 16: Xinhua Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 06:15 PM PST  A fire at a shoe factory in eastern China killed 16 people and injured five, state media reported, the latest disaster to highlight China's poor workplace safety record. The fire broke out at the factory in Wenling in the wealthy coastal province of Zhejiang on Tuesday, the official Xinhua news agency said. China, the world's second-largest economy, has a bad record on workplace safety. Full Story | Top |
| Costa Rica ruling party leads in presidential poll Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 06:12 PM PST Costa Rica's ruling party presidential candidate bolstered his lead over a left wing challenger in a poll ahead of a February 2 election, local media reported on Tuesday, but a tight run-off vote seemed likely. National Liberation Party candidate Johnny Araya is favored by 29 percent of voters, up from 27 percent in a December poll, according to a new CID-Gallup poll cited by Repretel News. CID-Gallup confirmed the report, which is set for official release on Wednesday. Growing dissatisfaction with alleged government corruption under President Laura Chinchilla's administration has helped fuel the rise of a once obscure leftist party that has become a contender to break conservatives' grip on power. Full Story | Top |
| Republicans vote in special primary in bellwether Florida district Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 06:11 PM PST By Barbara Liston ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - In a race watched as a potential bellwether for this year's mid-term congressional elections, lobbyist David Jolly won a special Republican primary election on Tuesday in a key Florida swing district. The vote in the state's 13th Congressional District was to fill the vacancy left by the death in October of U.S. Representative Bill Young, a moderate Republican who had held the seat for 42 years. Once reliably Republican, the district along Florida's Gulf coast has backed the party's presidential nominee only once since 1988. Former President George W. Bush, a Republican, won 51 percent of the district's votes in 2004, but it went for President Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012. Full Story | Top |
| Wall Street regulators face budget crunch under new spending deal Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 06:09 PM PST  By Sarah N. Lynch WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two of Wall Street's top regulators are due to receive much smaller increases in their budgets than they requested, potentially hobbling their ability to police the markets for wrongdoing. The $1.1 trillion spending bill unveiled by the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate would allot the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission $1.35 billion for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2014, a figure the agency said "falls far short of what we need to fulfill our responsibilities." The Commodity Futures Trading Commission would get $215 million for the remainder of the fiscal year. Both budget numbers are well below the funding levels requested by President Barack Obama, and represent very small increases to their current spending levels, despite the new responsibilities each have taken on after the financial crisis. As a result of sequestration, the SEC's fiscal year 2013 appropriation of $1.321 billion was slashed by $66 million to $1.255 billion, and the CFTC's $205 million budget was cut to $194.6 million. Full Story | Top |
| Silicon Valley workers may pursue collusion case as group: court Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 06:01 PM PST Roughly 60,000 Silicon Valley workers won clearance to pursue a lawsuit accusing Apple Inc, Google Inc and other companies of conspiring to drive down pay by not poaching each other's staff, after a federal appeals court refused to let the defendants appeal a class certification order. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals late on Tuesday let stand an order by U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, California to let the workers sue as a group, and pursue what the defendants said could exceed $9 billion of damages. The case began in 2011 when five software engineers sued Apple, Google, Adobe Systems Inc, Intel Corp and others over an alleged "overarching conspiracy" to suppress pay by agreeing not to recruit or hire each other's employees. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. judge rules Oklahoma gay marriage ban unconstitutional Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 05:46 PM PST  By Heide Brandes OKLAHOMA CITY (Reuters) - A federal judge overturned Oklahoma's ban on same-sex marriage on Tuesday, the latest in a series of rulings by judges in federal and state courts to find that such exclusions violate the U.S. Constitution. Same-sex couples will not be able to marry immediately in Oklahoma under the ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Terence Kern, who said his decision would be put on hold, pending an appeal of a nearly identical case in Utah. Therefore, the majority view in Oklahoma must give way to individual constitutional rights." Seventeen U.S. states plus the District of Columbia now recognize same-sex marriage, and federal court rulings would add Utah and Oklahoma to that group if the decisions are upheld. Even as an increasing number of U.S. states recognize gay marriage, 33 states ban such unions through state constitutional amendment, statute, or both. Full Story | Top |
| Man linked to N.Y. 'cannibal cop' case seen pleading guilty Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 05:46 PM PST By Joseph Ax NEW YORK (Reuters) - A Massachusetts hospital police official charged with conspiring to kidnap, torture and kill women as part of the so-called "cannibal cop" case is expected to plead guilty in New York this week, a court filing on Tuesday showed. Richard Meltz, 65, of Nashua, New Hampshire, is set to enter a plea on Thursday, just weeks before he and two other accused co-conspirators are scheduled to go on trial. The case grew out of an investigation into New York police officer Gilberto Valle, who was convicted last year of a plot to kidnap, cook and eat women, and earned the tabloid moniker "Cannibal Cop". "After considering his options, Mr. Meltz has decided to accept responsibility for his role in this case and with his plea to conspiracy charges hopes to put this massive error in judgment behind him and return to his wife and family," his lawyer Peter Brill said. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. senators slam 'glamorization' of e-cigarettes at Golden Globes Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 05:28 PM PST  A group of U.S. senators is taking the Golden Globes to task for showing celebrities puffing on electronic cigarettes at this year's awards show, complaining such depictions glamorize smoking. "The Golden Globes celebrates entertainers who are an influence on young fans," the four Democratic senators wrote on Tuesday. "We ask the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and NBC Universal to take actions to ensure that future broadcasts of the Golden Globes do not intentionally feature images of e-cigarettes." "Such action would help to avoid the glamorization of smoking and protect the health of young fans," said the letter signed by Dick Durbin of Illinois, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Edward Markey of Massachusetts." The Golden Globes ceremony that aired on Comcast Corp-owned NBC on Sunday night showed actor Leonardo DiCaprio smoking an e-cigarette during the broadcast, as well as nominee Julia Louis-Dreyfus puffing on one as part of an opening skit. Full Story | Top |
| Syrian government forces advance as rebel infighting rages Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 05:21 PM PST  By Oliver Holmes BEIRUT (Reuters) - The Syrian government has retaken territory around the northern city of Aleppo, the military said on Tuesday, after two weeks of rebel infighting that has weakened the insurgency against President Bashar al-Assad. The internecine conflict among various rebel groups will allow Assad to portray himself as the only secular alternative in Syria to a radical Islamist regime when peace talks begin in Switzerland on January 22. His military advances will give the Syrian government delegation greater leverage at the negotiating table. An army statement said government forces had pushed out from their base at Aleppo's international airport, southeast of the city, and were moving towards an industrial complex used as a rebel base and the al-Bab road, needed by insurgents to supply the half of Aleppo under their control. Full Story | Top |
| Effort to extend jobless benefits stalls in Senate Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 05:15 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Efforts to renew emergency federal jobless benefits for 1.5 million Americans stalled in the Senate on Tuesday when Democrats and Republicans rejected each other's proposals. Both sides vowed to keep looking for a compromise, but it appeared unlikely they would find one before next week's Senate recess. "It is extremely important that we act, and today we failed to act," said Democratic Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island. "It is not over," said Republican Senator Rob Portman of Ohio. "We are not going to give up. ... Full Story | Top |
| Netherlands is country with most plentiful, healthy food: Oxfam Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 05:14 PM PST  By Patricia Reaney NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Netherlands nudged past France and Switzerland as the country with the most nutritious, plentiful and healthy food, while the United States and Japan failed to make it into the top 20, a new ranking released by Oxfam on Tuesday showed. Chad came in last on the list of 125 nations, behind Ethiopia and Angola, in the food index from the international relief and development organization. "The Netherlands have created a good market that enables people to get enough to eat. Prices are relatively low and stable and the type of food people are eating is balanced," Deborah Hardoon, a senior researcher at Oxfam who compiled the results, said in an interview. Full Story | Top |
| Dogged on disarmament, actor Michael Douglas earns UNICEF award Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 05:09 PM PST  By Mary Milliken BEVERLY HILLS, California (Reuters) - Oscar-winning actor Michael Douglas says his main philanthropic cause - nuclear disarmament - is not exactly the kind of "touchy-feely" issue that celebrities and their fans covet, and it can be awfully frustrating when it comes to progress. It's one, however, he has stuck with for years as a United Nations Messenger of Peace since 1998, and for that persistence he will be recognized on Tuesday night with the Danny Kaye Humanitarian Peace Award from the U.S. fund for UNICEF, the U.N. branch for children. "I was born in 1944, one year before the first bomb went off, and I hope in my lifetime to see the elimination of the weapons," Douglas told Reuters ahead of UNICEF's Beverly Hills ball, with childhood friend Dena Kaye, the only daughter of the late comic actor and UNICEF's first ambassador, by his side. That he is being honored with the Danny Kaye award is especially meaningful, he said, because he knew Kaye as a child, admired his impact on children and can still recite rhymes from his films. Full Story | Top |
| World Bank sees stronger growth as rich economies expand Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 05:02 PM PST  By Anna Yukhananov WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The World Bank on Tuesday raised its forecast for global growth for the first time in three years as advanced economies started to pick up pace, led by the United States. The rosier outlook suggests the world economy is finally breaking free from a long and sluggish recovery after the global financial crisis. The poverty-fighting institution predicted global gross domestic product will expand 3.2 percent this year, from 2.4 percent in 2013, according to its twice-yearly "Global Economic Prospects." In the bank's last forecast in June, it expected global growth to reach 3 percent in 2014. The bank said the global economy had come to a "turning point," as fiscal austerity and policy uncertainty no longer weighed as heavily on most richer economies. Full Story | Top |
| N.J.'s Christie uses address to apologize again, look ahead Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 04:19 PM PST  By Edith Honan TRENTON, New Jersey (Reuters) - New Jersey Governor Chris Christie offered a fresh apology and vowed to cooperate with an investigation into a traffic scandal rocking his administration, but mostly touted the state's bipartisan cooperation during a key speech on Tuesday. Christie, a charismatic conservative and an early favorite in the Republican bid for the White House in 2016, used his State of the State address to list his conservative policy prescriptions, trying to leave two scandals behind. "The last week has certainly tested this administration. Mistakes were clearly ... Full Story | Top |
| No charges filed in shooting death of North Carolina teen in police custody Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 04:11 PM PST RALEIGH, North Carolina (Reuters) - No criminal charges will be filed in the case of a North Carolina teen who authorities say fatally shot himself in the head while handcuffed in the back of a police cruiser, an official said on Tuesday. Jesus Huerta, 17, died on November 19 in Durham, North Carolina, after he was arrested on an outstanding warrant for trespassing. Officer Samuel Duncan will not face any charges for failing to find the gun Huerta used to kill himself when he searched the teenager, according to a statement from District Attorney Leon Stanback. ... Full Story | Top |
| Briton jailed 27 years for Florida murders seeks to reopen case Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 04:03 PM PST  By David Adams MIAMI (Reuters) - Lawyers for a British man convicted in Florida for a 1986 double homicide sought to reopen the case on Tuesday, claiming that three Colombian drug traffickers were the real killers. Krishna Maharaj's lawyers have contended for years that Colombian cartels were responsible for the shooting deaths of Derrick and Duane Moo Young, but the defense motion filed in state court represents the first time the lawyers were specific in their allegations. Lawyers for Maharaj mounted a private investigation in Colombia that they say resulted in three Colombian drug traffickers coming forward to claim the killings were done "at the behest of Pablo Escobar," the former head of the Medellin cartel gunned down by police in 1993. "Krishna Maharaj was not involved in the murder of the Moo Youngs, and they had to be eliminated because they had lost Colombian drug money," according to one of the drug traffickers quoted in the defense motion. Full Story | Top |
| Emergency calls show ambulance delay in fatal NJ carjacking: report Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 03:55 PM PST  My husband has been shot," Jamie Schare Friedland told a 911 dispatcher in recordings of the calls obtained by New Jersey's Star-Ledger newspaper. Dustin Friedland was shot December 15 by four men who stole the couple's luxury SUV in the parking deck of the Mall at Short Hills in Millburn, New Jersey, about 21 miles west of New York. Schare Friedland placed the call requesting help 18 minutes after the attack, Millburn Police Chief Gregory Weber told the newspaper. In the call, Schare Friedland asked the dispatcher: "We called an ambulance a half an hour ago. Full Story | Top |
| Boy, 12, opens fire at New Mexico school, wounds two students Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 03:51 PM PST A 12-year-old boy armed with a shotgun opened fire at a middle school in New Mexico on Tuesday, seriously wounding two students before a staff member persuaded him to put down the firearm, authorities said. The shooting at Berrendo Middle School in Roswell took place in a gym where students had gathered to stay warm from the frigid weather outside before the start of class, Governor Susana Martinez told reporters. The wounded students were taken to a local hospital, where they were stabilized. They were then flown by helicopter to University Medical Center in Lubbock, Texas, about 150 miles east of Roswell, because that facility has a Level 1 trauma center, said hospital spokesman Eric Finley. Full Story | Top |
| Police raid Justin Bieber's home, arrest man for drugs Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 03:39 PM PST  By Eric Kelsey LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A police search of teen pop star Justin Bieber's California home on Tuesday in a vandalism case linked to the singer, resulted in the arrest of a man after drugs were found in the house, the Los Angeles County Sheriff said. Detectives raided Bieber's home at about 8 a.m. after the "Boyfriend" singer was accused of pelting his neighbor's home with eggs in an incident on January 9. Bieber, 19, was detained at his Calabasas home, about 30 miles northwest of Los Angeles while a dozen deputies searched for evidence. "He has not been arrested nor has been exonerated," Sheriff's Lt. David Thompson said at a news conference in nearby Malibu following the search. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. judge rules against government in no-fly challenge Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 03:39 PM PST By Dan Levine SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Tuesday sided with a woman challenging the federal government's no-fly policy and ruled that existing procedures to correct mistakes on that list do not provide adequate due process protections. U.S. District Judge William Alsup in San Francisco ruled on a lawsuit brought by Rahinah Ibrahim, a Malaysian citizen. U.S. Department of Justice spokesman Wyn Hornbuckle said the government is reviewing the ruling and declined to comment further. An attorney for Ibrahim, Elizabeth Pipkin, said: "Justice has finally been done for our client, an innocent woman who was ensnared in the government's flawed watch listing system." The no-fly list is the subject of multiple legal challenges. Full Story | Top |
| Senate panel to criticize State Dept. over Benghazi response Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 03:33 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A report by the Senate Intelligence Committee to be released on Wednesday was expected to criticize the State Department for inadequate security at the U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya, when it suffered a deadly attack on September 11, 2012. Sources familiar with the findings said the report, which had bipartisan approval, found that in the previous months U.S. intelligence agencies repeatedly warned about possible attacks in Benghazi, but the State Department paid too little attention. The U.S. ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens, and three other U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Worried Fed seeks to curb Wall Street banks commodity trade Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 03:27 PM PST  By Anna Louie Sussman and Emily Stephenson NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve on Tuesday took a first formal step toward restricting the role of Wall Street banks in trading physical commodities, citing fears that a multibillion-dollar disaster could bring down a bank and imperil the stability of the financial system. The Fed board voted to publish its concerns and potential remedies following months of growing public and political pressure to check banks' decade-long expansion into the commodities supply chain. The Fed also questioned the initial rationale for allowing them to trade and invest in risky raw materials and lease oil tanks or own power plants. The Fed "expect(s) to engage in additional rulemaking in this area," according to prepared remarks of Michael Gibson, the Fed's director of bank supervision and regulation, to a U.S. Senate banking committee hearing on Wednesday. Full Story | Top |
| Israel minister apologizes to Kerry over scorn for peace drive Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 03:26 PM PST By Dan Williams JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel's hawkish defense minister apologized to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday after a newspaper quoted him scorning the diplomat's quest for Israeli-Palestinian peace as messianic and obsessive. Moshe Yaalon did not deny making the closed-door remarks published on the front page of the best-selling Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, which drew rare condemnation from Washington and added to acrimony over Jewish settlement of occupied West Bank land where the Palestinians seek statehood. Yaalon was initially silent about the report but he moved to calm the furor after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu implicitly rebuked him in a speech. He issued a statement of guarded appreciation for the United States and followed it hours later with another explicitly praising Kerry. Full Story | Top |
| New Jersey's Christie in address again apologizes, looks ahead Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 03:24 PM PST "Without a doubt, we will cooperate with all appropriate inquiries to ensure that this breach of trust does not happen again." Two sets of emails last week appeared to show that Christie's aides had orchestrated lane closures for several days last September on a stretch of highway leading to the George Washington Bridge, which spans the Hudson River between New Jersey and Manhattan, and then lied about it. Christie has denied any knowledge of the apparent orchestration to snarl traffic at the bridge as political payback against the Democratic mayor of the nearby city of Fort Lee, New Jersey, for his refusal to endorse Christie's gubernatorial bid. But the governor's speech mostly addressed the "Jersey Comeback," which Christie has long claimed has resulted in private sector jobs and secured public-private investment in the Garden State, and his cooperation with the Democrat-controlled state legislature. "No state in this country has shown more bipartisan cooperation and governance over the last four years than New Jersey and our people are proud of it. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. courts oppose reform proposals for secret surveillance court Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 03:20 PM PST  By Mark Hosenball WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. federal court system objects to key proposals by a presidential review panel to reform the secret court that supervises the classified electronic eavesdropping activities of the U.S. National Security Agency, a former chief judge of that court said on Tuesday. Judge John Bates, the former head of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance (FISA) Court, sent the objections in a letter to Sen. Dianne Feinstein, chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. He said he submitted it on behalf of the federal judicial system as a whole, through an entity called the Judicial Conference of the United States, of which he is secretary. Bates, who is director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. courts, said that Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts had asked him to represent the federal judiciary on matters concerning the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, under which the secret court operates. Full Story | Top |
| Mexico vigilantes refuse to lay down arms in troubled state Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 03:01 PM PST  By Simon Gardner APATZINGAN, Mexico (Reuters) - Vigilante groups battling a powerful drug cartel in a troubled region of Mexico on Tuesday rejected a government call to lay down their arms, raising the risk of a serious security challenge to President Enrique Pena Nieto. On Monday, Mexico's interior ministry ordered the heavily armed vigilantes to stop fighting the Knights Templar drug gang in the western state of Michoacan, where violent confrontations have converged on the city of Apatzingan in the last few days. Apatzingan is considered a stronghold of the Knights Templar, and over the past week, so-called self-defense groups have pushed to take control of surrounding towns and villages. Full Story | Top |
| Fannie, Freddie watchdog in probe of alleged Wall Street front running Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 02:51 PM PST  By Aruna Viswanatha WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. government watchdog is involved in an investigation of whether bank traders manipulated markets and engaged in front running of orders from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the interest-rate swaps market, according to an FBI intelligence bulletin reviewed by Reuters. Reuters reported on Monday that the FBI had warned regulators and security officers at financial services firms about potential abuse by traders with advance knowledge of large orders submitted by the U.S. government-owned mortgage giants. The FBI attributes some of the information to its own interviews with former and current employees at a U.S. bank and a Canadian bank, but also cites information from the inspector general's office of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. According to a footnote to the bulletin, the source for some of the information was an employee at the U.S. bank in an interview conducted by a special agent with the FHFA, the regulator of Fannie and Freddie. Full Story | Top |
| No sign yet Iran sanctions bill will come to U.S. Senate vote Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 02:51 PM PST  By Patricia Zengerle and Timothy Gardner WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid made clear on Tuesday he has no immediate plan to allow a vote on a bill that would slap new sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, even as backers promised to keep up their efforts to win more support. Fifty-nine of the 100 senators - including 16 of President Barack Obama's fellow Democrats - support the bill, despite Obama's warning that its passage could jeopardize delicate international negotiations to curb Iran's nuclear program. New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is a lead sponsor of the measure, which has caused friction between the White House and some Democrats in Congress. Iran warned that it would back away from the negotiations if any new sanctions were passed. Full Story | Top |
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