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| Factbox: Quotes from President Obama's State of the Union address Tuesday, Jan 28, 2014 07:30 PM PST Selected quotes from U.S. President Barack Obama's State of the Union address on Tuesday: * "After five years of grit and determined effort, the United States is better positioned for the 21st century than any other nation on Earth." * "Let's make this a year of action. That's what most Americans want - for all of us in this chamber to focus on their lives, their hopes, their aspirations." * "... America does not stand still - and neither will I. So wherever and whenever I can take steps without legislation to expand opportunity for more American families, that's what I'm going to do." * "... I will act on my own to slash bureaucracy and streamline the permitting process for key projects, so we can get more construction workers on the job as fast as possible." * "We need to work together on tools like bipartisan trade promotion authority to protect our workers, protect our environment, and open new markets to new goods stamped 'Made in the USA.' China and Europe aren't standing on the sidelines. Full Story | Top |
| Obama lays out go-it-alone approach in State of Union speech Tuesday, Jan 28, 2014 07:17 PM PST  By Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama vowed on Tuesday to bypass a divided Congress and take action on his own to bolster America's middle class in a State of the Union speech that he used to try to breathe new life into his second term after a troubled year. Standing in the House of Representatives chamber before lawmakers, Supreme Court justices and VIP guests, Obama declared his independence from Congress by issuing a raft of executive orders - a move likely to inflame already tense relations between the Democratic president and Republicans. Obama's actions, while relatively modest, collectively amounted to an outpouring of frustration at the pace of legislative action with Republicans in control of the House of Representatives and able to slow the president's agenda. Full Story | Top |
| Obama to vow concrete steps to address inequality in State of Union: excerpts Tuesday, Jan 28, 2014 06:26 PM PST President Barack Obama is set to pledge on Tuesday a set of "concrete, practical proposals" in his annual State of the Union address to address the gap between rich and poor in America, the White House said. "Today, after four years of economic growth, corporate profits and stock prices have rarely been higher, and those at the top have never done better," Obama was to say, according to excerpts from the speech released by the White House. Full Story | Top |
| Cuba challenges neighbors on poverty, then faces own critics Tuesday, Jan 28, 2014 05:51 PM PST  By Daniel Trotta HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuban President Raul Castro challenged Latin American leaders to show the political will to improve health care and education, then heard from his own critics after Cuban authorities stifled a protest outside the confines of a regional summit. Castro's speech also listed a series of Latin American grievances that directly or indirectly involve the United States, attempting to unify the 33 countries at the summit against their neighbor to the north, which was not invited. "We have every possibility to abolish illiteracy," Castro told leaders of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC). "We should have the political will to do it." While Castro advised fellow leaders on how to manage their economies, Cuban dissidents and the United States admonished the Cubans for thwarting a protest. Full Story | Top |
| Republicans respond and respond to Obama State of Union Tuesday, Jan 28, 2014 05:47 PM PST  By Richard Cowan and Thomas Ferraro WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans in the U.S. Congress responded in competing voices on Tuesday to President Barack Obama's annual State of the Union address as various wings of the party vied to advance their prescriptions for the country's best way forward. Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers, who was set to deliver the sanctioned Republican response to Obama, will queue up long-held party doctrine that "champions free markets and trusts people to make their own decisions, not a government that decides for you." In excerpts of the speech to be delivered by the five-term congresswoman from Washington state, McMorris Rodgers took a broad swipe at "Obamacare," the 2010 landmark healthcare law that Republicans have tried to repeal, delay or significantly alter nearly 50 times since its enactment. "We've all talked to too many people who have received cancellation notices they didn't expect or who can no longer see the doctors they always have," McMorris Rodgers said of the Affordable Care Act, which got off to a troubled start. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. rests its case in insider trading trial of SAC's Martoma Tuesday, Jan 28, 2014 05:10 PM PST  By Nate Raymond NEW YORK (Reuters) - Steven A. Cohen tried to sell stock as quietly as possible as SAC Capital Advisors unwound positions at the center of an insider trading trial, the hedge fund's head trader said on Thursday. The testimony came as the government called its final witnesses in the trial of former portfolio manager Mathew Martoma, putting the case within days of its conclusion. Martoma, 39, is accused of using inside information about a drug trial to trade in the stock of Elan Corp Plc and Wyeth that helped SAC Capital make profits and avoid losses of $276 million. Full Story | Top |
| GMO critics protest at Monsanto meeting; resolutions fail Tuesday, Jan 28, 2014 05:00 PM PST  Critics of genetically modified crops protested at Monsanto Co's annual shareholders meeting on Tuesday, calling for the world's largest seed company to provide a report on contamination in non-GMO crops and to stop fighting mandatory labels on foods containing GMO ingredients. The requests came in the form of two shareholder resolutions that were backed by environmental, food safety and consumer activist groups. The resolutions come at a time of heightened debate over the spread of genetically modified crops. Outside the meeting at Monsanto's headquarters in suburban St. Louis, Missouri, about two dozen protesters waved signs criticizing the $15 billion agrichemical and seed company, and 10 people were arrested as they attempted to disrupt traffic. Full Story | Top |
| Georgia bill would seek limited access to medical marijuana strain Tuesday, Jan 28, 2014 04:20 PM PST  By David Beasley ATLANTA (Reuters) - Georgia state representative Allen Peake introduced a bill on Tuesday that would legalize a non-psychoactive strain of marijuana strictly limited to patients with severe seizure disorders. The Republican lawmaker's proposal is similar to legislation introduced recently in Florida and Alabama, while limiting its availability to a handful of medical research facilities. Peake's interest in the issue was prompted by a constituent's 4-year-old daughter, who suffers from a seizure disorder. "It made me realize that if this was my child or my grandchild, I'd be moving heaven and earth to get this legislation passed to provide some hope and relief to these families." Medical marijuana in various forms is currently legal in 20 states, and at least 10 other states are considering legalizing it, including Florida, Alabama, Kentucky and Tennessee, said Erik Altieri, spokesman for the Washington-based pro-marijuana group, NORML. Full Story | Top |
| Study finds feeling short makes people prone to paranoia Tuesday, Jan 28, 2014 04:02 PM PST People who experience social situations from a lower height - in other words short people - are more prone to feelings of paranoia, inferiority and excessive mistrust, according to research published on Wednesday. In a study in the journal Psychiatry Research, scientists showed that making a person's virtual height lower than it actually is can make them feel worse about themselves and more fearful that others are trying to harm them. The research shows how low self-esteem can lead to paranoid thinking, the scientists said, and will be used to develop more effective psychological treatments for severe paranoia, a serious mental health problem. Height is taken to convey authority and we feel taller when we feel more powerful," said Daniel Freeman of Britain's University of Oxford, who led the study. Full Story | Top |
| Delaware doctor accused of waterboarding stepdaughter as trial opens Tuesday, Jan 28, 2014 03:57 PM PST  By Lacey Johnson GEORGETOWN, Delaware (Reuters) - A well-known Delaware pediatrician force-fed his 11-year-old stepdaughter, forbade her from using the bathroom and used "waterboarding" to discipline her, a prosecutor said on Tuesday at the opening of the doctor's trial. Dr. Melvin Morse, a best-selling author on near-death experiences, faces charges of endangering the welfare of a child, reckless endangerment and conspiracy. Morse, 60, held the girl face-up under a running kitchen faucet until she was unable to breathe and "called it waterboarding," the prosecutor, Melanie Withers, told jurors. Morse's defense lawyer, Joe Hurley, responded that his client was joking when he used the term "waterboarding" and that the incidents had been attempts to wash the girl's hair, an activity she hated. Full Story | Top |
| Wall Street rebounds; futures fly on Turkey's rate hike Tuesday, Jan 28, 2014 03:48 PM PST  By Caroline Valetkevitch NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks bounced back on Tuesday after Pfizer's upbeat results gave investors some relief from the pain of the Dow's five-day losing streak, and the market's focus turned to the Federal Reserve's next move on stimulus. The market's advance, which also broke the S&P 500's three-day slide, came after heavy losses tied to concerns about the withdrawal of U.S. monetary stimulus as well as worries about emerging markets, including a slowdown in China's growth and political turmoil from Turkey to Thailand. After the close, U.S. stock index futures rallied on the news that Turkey's central bank had sharply raised its interest rates. "We had India's central bank increase rates, and now we see Turkey, both bigger moves from what anyone was anticipating. Full Story | Top |
| Obama to lay out go-it-alone approach in State of Union speech Tuesday, Jan 28, 2014 03:31 PM PST  By Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will lay out his strategy for getting around a divided Congress starting with a wage hike for federal contract workers in a State of the Union speech on Tuesday that reflects scaled-back legislative ambitions after a tough year. Obama will make clear in his 9 p.m. EST (0200 GMT Wednesday) address that he is willing to bypass U.S. lawmakers and go it alone in some areas by announcing a series of executive actions aimed at boosting the middle class, many that do not require congressional approval. Obama will tell Congress he is eager to work with lawmakers, "but America does not stand still - and neither will I." "So wherever and whenever I can take steps without legislation to expand opportunity for more American families, that's what I'm going to do," Obama will say, according to speech excerpts released by the White House. The White House said Obama would announce that he is issuing an executive order to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour for federal contract workers with new contracts. Full Story | Top |
| Colorado farmers get home detention for 2011 listeria outbreak Tuesday, Jan 28, 2014 03:13 PM PST By Robert Boczkiewicz DENVER (Reuters) - A federal court judge sentenced two Colorado farmers on Tuesday to six months of home detention and five years probation for their role in a deadly 2011 listeria outbreak linked to contaminated cantaloupes. Eric and Ryan Jensen, brothers who are former owners of Colorado-based Jensen Farms, pleaded guilty in October to six counts of adulteration of a food and aiding and abetting linked to one of the deadliest U.S. outbreaks of food-borne illness. "I must deliver both justice and mercy at the same time," U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Hegarty said during a hearing in Denver. Prosecutors said they recommended probation in the case because of the brothers' demonstration of remorse and their cooperation with authorities investigating the outbreak. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. hospitals hit with shortage of intravenous saline Tuesday, Jan 28, 2014 02:34 PM PST The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Tuesday it is working with the three manufacturers of intravenous saline solutions commonly used to hydrate hospital patients to address a shortage caused by a spike in demand. Healthcare providers are reserving supplies of the fluids for their most seriously ill patients, and the product manufacturers - Baxter International Inc, Hospira Inc and B. Braun Medical Inc - have stepped up production in response, said Valerie Jensen, FDA's associate director for drug shortages. Manufacturers first notified FDA late last year that they expected delays in filling orders, but an increase in hospitalizations two weeks ago partly due to rising numbers of flu cases exacerbated the problem, she said. Full Story | Top |
| Saving accounts for kids tied to development: study Tuesday, Jan 28, 2014 02:05 PM PST By Andrew M. Seaman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Creating government savings accounts for children's future education when they're young may improve their development, according to a new study. Researchers found that young Oklahomans who had $1,000 deposited for them in a special education savings account scored better on measures of social and emotional behavior by age 4, compared to those who didn't get an account. Full Story | Top |
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