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Thursday, August 2, 2012 12:03 AM PDT

Today's Politics - Bloomberg News Headlines - Yahoo! News: Book reveals softer side of Aaron Burr China scorns U.S. criticism of religious policies Sudan woman shackled with baby, faces death by stoning:activists New Egypt cabinet no quick fix for flailing economy Kenya MPs want minister,cbank governor probed in money printing Congolese hit streets, protest over eastern violence Madagascar to hold presidential election next May Prominent judge to be Egypt's new justice minister AIG looking to buy back large chunk of shares from U.S. government: WSJ Syrian troops kill 35 in Damascus suburb: activists Afghan forces thwart insurgent attack on Kabul University of Montana pledges to protect women after rape charges Psychiatrist warned university about accused Colorado gunman: report Honduras institutes public gun ban for violence-hit region Olympic swimmer Missy Franklin inspires tragedy-hit Colorado Honduran finance minister resigns following wife's arrest Kennedys open up for TV documentary on RFK's widow Two sentenced in plot to smuggle guns to Mexico's Zetas cartel Venezuelan fencer Limardo wins gold, thanks Chavez Tennessee candidates engage in anti-Islam contest Cyclist killed after collision with Olympic shuttle bus New Republican Hispanic star Cruz stresses American story U.S. appeals court blocks Arizona's new late-term abortion ban Union leader strives to ease Obama's "white guy problem" Obama authorized secret support for Syrian rebels Thousands of Florida ex-felons may not know they can vote Congress approves new Iran sanctions on oil, shipping sectors Study projects growing demand for commercial spaceflights Spain faces tough debt auction as ECB jitters grow Canada plans no new steps to cool housing market: finance minister U.S. concerned over Iraqi threats to force Iran dissidents from camp UK ministers eye nationalizing Royal Bank of Scotland: FT Stop-gap spending, tax deals hint at year-end ploy Hamas slams Palestinian visit to "alleged" Holocaust site White House lobbies for cybersecurity bill amid worries it may stall Drought bill offers livestock farmers up to $100,000 each U.S. to mull more bombers, submarines for Pacific House votes to extend tax cuts in symbolic vote Ecuador wants to avoid Assange's extradition to Sweden In Texas, rising Hispanic tide fails to boost number in Congress Book reveals softer side of Aaron Burr Wed,1 Aug 2012 11:04 PM PDT Reuters - TOKYO (Reuters) - Aaron Burr, a lawyer and politician in the early years of the United States, has long had a reputation as a villain, mainly due to his famous killing of political rival Alexander Hamilton in a duel in 1804. But in his book, "The Heartbreak of Aaron Burr," author Henry Brands paints a vastly different picture of a modern, progressive man who believed that women were the intellectual equals of men, and who was devoted to his only daughter, Theodosia. "I knew the story of Aaron Burr as a public figure. ... Full Story Top China scorns U.S. criticism of religious policies Wed,1 Aug 2012 10:52 PM PDT Reuters - BEIJING (Reuters) - China has blasted a U.S. State Department report that criticized its controls on religion, saying on Thursday that the document was prejudiced and an attempt to meddle in domestic affairs. The Chinese Foreign Ministry's condemnation of the International Religious Freedom Report released this week was predictable -- and the latest reminder of how human rights issues remain a chronic irritant between Washington and Beijing. ... Full Story Top Sudan woman shackled with baby, faces death by stoning:activists Wed,1 Aug 2012 10:50 PM PDT Reuters - KHARTOUM (Reuters) - A Sudanese woman accused of adultery has been sentenced to death by stoning and is being held shackled with her six-month-old baby in jail, activists said on Wednesday, in the second such sentence in the past few months in the country. President Omar Hassan al-Bashir said last month that Sudan would adopt a "100 percent" Islamic constitution, prompting concerns the country would apply Islamic law more strictly after the secession of mostly non-Muslim South Sudan a year ago. ... Full Story Top New Egypt cabinet no quick fix for flailing economy Wed,1 Aug 2012 10:48 PM PDT Reuters - CAIRO (Reuters) - As Egypt's first permanent government since the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak took shape on Wednesday, the first names to emerge suggest a continuity that could aid the economy after 17 months of turmoil. Yet the new administration's unclear powers and the scale of the challenges it must face dispel any optimism that Thursday's cabinet unveiling will begin a new era of stability. ... Full Story Top Kenya MPs want minister,cbank governor probed in money printing Wed,1 Aug 2012 10:46 PM PDT Reuters - NAIROBI (Reuters) - A Kenyan parliamentary committee has asked that a cabinet minister and the central bank governor be removed from office and be investigated over the loss of money it says was lost in a currency printing deal. The powerful parliamentary committee, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), also wants the country's anti-corruption watchdog to investigate the two government officials and take legal action to recover the lost money from them. ... Full Story Top Congolese hit streets, protest over eastern violence Wed,1 Aug 2012 10:42 PM PDT Reuters - KINSHASA (Reuters) - Thousands of protesters took to the streets across Democratic Republic of Congo on Wednesday to call for an end to violence in the east of the country, where government troops and United Nations peacekeepers are struggling to halt advancing rebels. The four-month-old uprising by the M23 rebel group has displaced some 470,000 civilians in the mineral-rich North Kivu province on the border with Uganda and Rwanda. A U.N. ... Full Story Top Madagascar to hold presidential election next May Wed,1 Aug 2012 10:32 PM PDT Reuters - ANTANANARIVO (Reuters) - Madagascar will hold presidential elections on May 8 next year, officials said on Wednesday, as the Indian Ocean island follows a political road map aimed at ending three years of unrest. Madagascar has been in crisis since 2009 when then-opposition leader Andry Rajoelina ousted President Marc Ravalomanana with the support of the army after opposition protests. Ravalomanana was sentenced in absentia to life in prison for the killings of demonstrators by elite troops in the coup. ... Full Story Top Prominent judge to be Egypt's new justice minister Wed,1 Aug 2012 10:29 PM PDT Reuters - CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian appeals court judge Ahmed Mekky said he has accepted the post of justice minister in Egypt's first cabinet in the government of newly elected President Mohamed Mursi, and is to be sworn in with other cabinet officers on Thursday. Prime Minister Hisham Kandil, who had himself been a little known technocrat in the irrigation ministry until tapped by Mursi, formed the cabinet with career bureaucrats and at least three Islamist politicians, including the education minister. ... Full Story Top AIG looking to buy back large chunk of shares from U.S. government: WSJ Wed,1 Aug 2012 10:22 PM PDT Reuters - (Reuters) - American International Group is looking to buy back a large chunk of its shares from the U.S. government, whose stake in the bailed-out insurer could subsequently go below 50 percent by this fall, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the company's thinking. The buybacks are likely to be accompanied by one or more public share offerings of AIG stock by the U.S. Treasury, the WSJ said. The timing and scale of future offerings and repurchases are not clear, the Journal said. ... Full Story Top Syrian troops kill 35 in Damascus suburb: activists Wed,1 Aug 2012 10:12 PM PDT Reuters - AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian troops killed at least 35 people on Wednesday, mostly unarmed civilians, when they shelled and overran a suburb of the capital Damascus, residents and activist organizations said. "The tanks and troops left around 4 p.m. When the streets were clear we found the bodies of at least 35 men," a resident, who gave his name as Fares, said by phone from Jdeidet Artouz, southwest of Damascus. ... Full Story Top Afghan forces thwart insurgent attack on Kabul Wed,1 Aug 2012 09:50 PM PDT Reuters - KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan security forces killed at least eight insurgents during an early morning raid in Kabul on Thursday, with authorities saying they had thwarted a Taliban mass attack on the capital after a seven-hour gun battle. Soldiers from Afghanistan's intelligence agency, the National Directorate of Security (NDS), launched the raid in darkness, entering a building about an hour after midnight in Kabul's Pul-e Charkhi district which the insurgents were using as a base. "We have already killed eight insurgents and also seized explosives. ... Full Story Top University of Montana pledges to protect women after rape charges Wed,1 Aug 2012 09:22 PM PDT Reuters - (Reuters) - The University of Montana pledged to ensure the safety of women on the 15,600-student campus in Missoula on Wednesday, a day after quarterback Jordan Johnson became the second member of the football team to be charged with rape. The charge came amid a continuing U.S. Justice Department probe into the handling by university and local authorities of 80 rapes reported in Missoula over the past three years, at least 11 involving students, including football players. ... Full Story Top Psychiatrist warned university about accused Colorado gunman: report Wed,1 Aug 2012 08:52 PM PDT Reuters - DENVER (Reuters) - A psychiatrist who treated the former graduate student accused of killing 12 people in a shooting rampage at a movie theater in Colorado warned her university about him more than a month before the massacre, a published report said on Wednesday. Dr Lynne Fenton notified a so-called threat-assessment team at the University of Colorado, Denver, in early June that she was alarmed by the behavior of James Holmes, but no further action was taken, the Denver Post reported, citing an anonymous source. Reuters could not immediately confirm the report. ... Full Story Top Honduras institutes public gun ban for violence-hit region Wed,1 Aug 2012 08:51 PM PDT Reuters - TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - The Honduran Congress approved a law on Wednesday that prohibits the public possession and transportation of guns in a region of the country where drug trafficking and other agrarian conflicts are blamed for the killings of more than 60 people in the past three years. The gun law covers Colon, one of the Central American country's 18 departments, and was advocated by President Porfirio Lobo. ... Full Story Top Olympic swimmer Missy Franklin inspires tragedy-hit Colorado Wed,1 Aug 2012 08:49 PM PDT Reuters - DENVER (Reuters) - For a state that has seen a deadly movie theater shooting and devastating wildfires this summer, the performance of Colorado resident and Olympic gold-medal swimmer Missy Franklin has been one bright spot - in and out of the pool. The 17-year-old Franklin, who has entered seven events in London, said it was "heartbreaking" to learn of the theater shooting in Aurora, where she attends high school, and that her thoughts were back home. ... Full Story Top Honduran finance minister resigns following wife's arrest Wed,1 Aug 2012 07:32 PM PDT Reuters - TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - Honduran Finance Minister Hector Guillen resigned on Wednesday, a day after his wife was arrested with the equivalent of more than $57,600 in her vehicle. Local police stopped Dinora Arambury on Tuesday near Tegucigalpa as she was en route to the city of San Pedro Sula, about 100 miles north of the capital. Arambury was arrested after police found the cash - 1,125,000 Honduran lempiras - a discovery that prompted a media firestorm in the poor Central American country. ... Full Story Top Kennedys open up for TV documentary on RFK's widow Wed,1 Aug 2012 07:24 PM PDT Reuters - LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Kennedys may be America's most famous political dynasty, but it took one of their own to get them to open up about their private lives and their place in U.S. history. Filmmaker Rory Kennedy, 43, the youngest of the 11 children of slain U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and his wife, Ethel, persuaded her mother to give her first extended interview in more than 20 years for an upcoming HBO documentary that is also the first film about the Kennedys to come from within the family. Even so, it wasn't easy. ... Full Story Top Two sentenced in plot to smuggle guns to Mexico's Zetas cartel Wed,1 Aug 2012 07:05 PM PDT Reuters - MCALLEN, Texas (Reuters) - Two men were sentenced to 70 and 80 months in prison on Wednesday in a foiled plot to smuggle 147 assault rifles and thousands of rounds of ammunition to Mexico's Zetas drug cartel, federal officials in Texas said. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents seized the AK-47 rifles, 10,000 rounds of ammunition and 269 ammunition clips during an undercover investigation in May 2010, U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson said in a statement. ... Full Story Top Venezuelan fencer Limardo wins gold, thanks Chavez Wed,1 Aug 2012 06:50 PM PDT Reuters - CARACAS (Reuters) - Fencer Ruben Limardo thanked Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez after breaking the country's 44-year gold medal drought by winning the men's epee fencing competition at the 2012 Olympics on Wednesday, saying the socialist leader helped him achieve his dream. Venezuelans rejoiced in their nation's first fencing medal, and their first of the 2012 Olympics, after Limardo beat Seth Kelsey of the United States and Norway's Bartosz Piasecki. ... Full Story Top Tennessee candidates engage in anti-Islam contest Wed,1 Aug 2012 06:42 PM PDT Reuters - NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Reuters) - An argument over who is more opposed to the Islamic faith and the construction of a mosque near Nashville has become an unlikely issue in a nasty Tennessee Republican congressional primary to be decided on Thursday. Freshman Republican Representative Diane Black is challenged by Lou Ann Zelenik, who lost to Black in a primary to represent the rural district two years ago by less than 300 votes. ... Full Story Top Cyclist killed after collision with Olympic shuttle bus Wed,1 Aug 2012 06:33 PM PDT Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - A cyclist was killed after a collision with an Olympic media shuttle bus in east London on Wednesday evening, Scotland Yard said. The 28-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident which occurred at about 1945 local time (2.45 p.m. EDT) in Hackney. Police arrested a man, aged in his mid-60s, on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving. Shuttle buses have been transporting thousands of journalists covering the Games between the Olympic Park in Stratford and central London. ... Full Story Top New Republican Hispanic star Cruz stresses American story Wed,1 Aug 2012 06:29 PM PDT Reuters - AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - As Tea Party favorite Ted Cruz hit the campaign trail before his victory on Tuesday in a Republican U.S. Senate primary runoff, he often told the story of his father fleeing Cuba and coming to Texas with just $100 sewn into his underwear. But the 41-year-old lawyer who became a national Republican star by beating the Texas Republican establishment pick, Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst, also talks about how every American family has a story like his father's. ... Full Story Top U.S. appeals court blocks Arizona's new late-term abortion ban Wed,1 Aug 2012 06:24 PM PDT Reuters - PHOENIX (Reuters) - A federal appeals court blocked Arizona on Wednesday from enforcing a new state ban on most late-term abortions that opponents say is the toughest in the nation, and agreed to an expedited review of the controversial measure. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued the injunction two days after a federal judge upheld the ban and threw out a lawsuit brought against the Republican-backed law, which was due to go into effect on Thursday. ... Full Story Top Union leader strives to ease Obama's "white guy problem" Wed,1 Aug 2012 06:12 PM PDT Reuters - LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - President Barack Obama made history in his 2008 election victory as the first black U.S. president, but he risks achieving another, less welcome, first if he wins again in November. Obama is on course to become the candidate with the lowest support from white male working class voters to win a U.S. election if he triumphs over Republican Mitt Romney on November 6. Polls show support for Obama from white males without college degrees at under 30 percent, well below the 39 percent he had when he defeated Republican John McCain four years ago. ... Full Story Top Obama authorized secret support for Syrian rebels Wed,1 Aug 2012 06:04 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama has signed a secret order authorizing U.S. support for rebels seeking to depose Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his government, sources familiar with the matter said. Obama's order, approved earlier this year and known as an intelligence "finding," broadly permits the CIA and other U.S. agencies to provide support that could help the rebels oust Assad. This and other developments signal a shift toward growing, albeit still circumscribed, support for Assad's armed opponents - a shift that intensified following last month's failure of the U.N. ... Full Story Top Thousands of Florida ex-felons may not know they can vote Wed,1 Aug 2012 06:00 PM PDT Reuters - TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - More than 13,000 ex-felons may be eligible to vote in Florida but don't know it because the notices the parole board mailed to them were returned as undeliverable, the American Civil Liberties Union said Wednesday. The civil rights group raised the concern after analyzing more than 17,000 names of ex-felons who had their voting rights automatically restored by the Florida Parole Commission. ... Full Story Top Congress approves new Iran sanctions on oil, shipping sectors Wed,1 Aug 2012 05:40 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Congress overwhelmingly passed a new package of sanctions against Iran on Wednesday that aims to punish banks, insurance companies and shippers that help Tehran sell its oil. The legislation, agreed to by senior lawmakers of both parties, "seeks to tighten the chokehold on the regime beyond anything that has been done before," said Republican Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The bill now heads to the White House for President Barack Obama's signature. ... Full Story Top Study projects growing demand for commercial spaceflights Wed,1 Aug 2012 05:20 PM PDT Reuters - CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Commercial suborbital spaceflights should bring in between $600 million and $1.6 billion in revenue in their first decade of operations, according to a study commissioned by the U.S. and Florida governments and released on Wednesday. Tourism drives about 80 percent of the demand for suborbital flights, which reach about 63 miles above the planet's surface before plunging back through the atmosphere. The thrill ride gives fliers a few minutes to float in microgravity and a view of the Earth set against the blackness of space. ... Full Story Top Spain faces tough debt auction as ECB jitters grow Wed,1 Aug 2012 05:08 PM PDT Reuters - MADRID (Reuters) - Spain faces yet steeper borrowing costs at a bond auction on Thursday as investors worry that the European Central Bank might disappoint their high hopes of help for struggling euro zone economies later in the day. Spanish bond yields, which had hit euro-era highs due to the possibility that Madrid will have to be bailed out, fell last week after President Mario Draghi said the ECB would do whatever it takes to save the common currency, within its mandate. ... Full Story Top Canada plans no new steps to cool housing market: finance minister Wed,1 Aug 2012 05:04 PM PDT Reuters - SUNNYVALE, California (Reuters) - Canada does not expect to have to tighten mortgage rules further as the real estate market has softened in the wake of government measures to cool it down, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said in an interview on Wednesday. Home prices hit a third straight record high in June, extending a steady climb that had triggered fears of a property bubble. But a slowdown in the pace of price increases suggested to economists the red-hot housing market is cooling. "We always monitor the housing market. ... Full Story Top U.S. concerned over Iraqi threats to force Iran dissidents from camp Wed,1 Aug 2012 05:01 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States expressed concern on Wednesday over Iraqi threats to force an Iranian dissident group out of a camp in Iraq, but it also urged members of the group to relocate voluntarily to a large former U.S. military base in Baghdad. The United Nations also voiced concerns and urged both the Iraqi government and the Iranian dissidents to avoid violence. Iraqi authorities have been locked in a protracted dispute with the Mujahadin-e Khalq (MEK) over plans to move 3,000 MEK members from Camp Ashraf, where they have lived for years, to a former U.S. ... Full Story Top UK ministers eye nationalizing Royal Bank of Scotland: FT Wed,1 Aug 2012 05:01 PM PDT Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - Senior British government figures are discussing the possibility of buying out private investors in Royal Bank of Scotland , the Financial Times reported on Thursday. Ministers are discussing a potential full nationalization of RBS, which is already 82 percent owned by the government, to help boost business lending to companies. The remaining 18 percent of the bank is owned by private investors and it would cost the government around 5 billion pounds ($7.79 billion) to buy them out, the FT said. ... Full Story Top Stop-gap spending, tax deals hint at year-end ploy Wed,1 Aug 2012 04:43 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A pair of deals struck this week by influential lawmakers, combined with a new pragmatism among Tea Party conservatives, provides clues how the "fiscal cliff" could be avoided by extending all current budget and tax policies until the new president and Congress take office in January. In sharp contrast to the budget wars they waged last year, Tea Party activists in Congress are so far going along with the script that is now developing. ... Full Story Top Hamas slams Palestinian visit to "alleged" Holocaust site Wed,1 Aug 2012 04:39 PM PDT Reuters - GAZA (Reuters) - The Hamas Islamist group in charge of the Gaza Strip on Wednesday denounced a Palestinian official's visit to the site of a Nazi death camp in Poland, and called the Holocaust in which 6 million European Jews perished an "alleged tragedy." Ziad al-Bandak, an adviser to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas who governs in the occupied West Bank, had made a rare visit by a Palestinian official to the site of the Auschwitz death camp late last month. "It was an unjustified and unhelpful visit that served only the Zionist occupation," said Fawzi Barhoum, a spokesman for Hamas. ... Full Story Top White House lobbies for cybersecurity bill amid worries it may stall Wed,1 Aug 2012 04:35 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration prodded Congress on Wednesday to pass cybersecurity legislation, but the bill looked increasingly likely to languish until next year as opposition from business and privacy concerns bogged down Senate debate. The Democratic-led Senate this week has been debating a bill that would allow information sharing and create a set of voluntary cybersecurity standards for companies in charge of U.S. energy, water, transportation and other critical infrastructure. ... Full Story Top Drought bill offers livestock farmers up to $100,000 each Wed,1 Aug 2012 04:33 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Livestock producers hit by the worst drought in half a century could get up to $100,000 each to offset high feed costs and death of animals under a bill expected to pass the House of Representatives as early as Thursday. Republican leaders indicated they would fast-track a vote on the $383 million bill before Congress leaves on Friday for a five-week vacation. There would be little time left for the Senate to act, so it could be fall before the plan becomes law. ... Full Story Top U.S. to mull more bombers, submarines for Pacific Wed,1 Aug 2012 04:24 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Pentagon planners will consider adding bombers and attack submarines as part of a growing U.S. focus on security challenges in the Asia-Pacific, a senior Defense Department official said on Wednesday. "We will take another look" at sending more such muscle to the strategic hub of Guam in the western Pacific, now that this has been recommended by an independent review of U.S. regional military plans, Robert Scher, deputy assistant secretary of defense for plans, told lawmakers. U.S. ... Full Story Top House votes to extend tax cuts in symbolic vote Wed,1 Aug 2012 04:13 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Republican-controlled House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a largely symbolic plan to extend all expiring individual income tax cuts, leaving a deep rift over tax policy unresolved until after November's elections. The Republican measure, passed largely along party lines but with the help of 19 Democrats, would extend all current low individual tax rates set to lapse at year-end, a contrast to a rival Democratic bill passed by the Senate that would raise some tax rates on the wealthiest. ... Full Story Top Ecuador wants to avoid Assange's extradition to Sweden Wed,1 Aug 2012 04:05 PM PDT Reuters - QUITO (Reuters) - Ecuador wants to prevent Julian Assange's extradition to Sweden because it is disappointed that the Scandinavian country has turned down an offer to question the WikiLeaks founder in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London, a minister said on Wednesday. Assange has been holed up in Ecuador's Embassy in London for six weeks as he awaits a decision on his asylum request by the leftist government of Rafael Correa. The Australian anti-secrecy campaigner, who angered Washington in 2010 when his WikiLeaks website published secret U.S. ... Full Story Top In Texas, rising Hispanic tide fails to boost number in Congress Wed,1 Aug 2012 03:59 PM PDT Reuters - DALLAS (Reuters) - Hispanic population growth in Texas will not boost the number representing the state in Washington after November's election, because many Latinos do not vote, and Republicans have redrawn districts to limit their clout, an analysis of voting results suggests. Texas added four congressional seats after the 2010 U.S. Census, more than any other state. These four seats, plus the fact that Hispanics accounted for 65 percent of the Texas population growth in the last decade, had raised hopes that 2012 would be a breakout political year for Hispanics in the state. ... Full Story Top

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