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| Obamas to meet Mandela family, but not visit hospital: White House Saturday, Jun 29, 2013 12:45 AM PDT  PRETORIA (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama will meet on Saturday with members of the family of South Africa's anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela who is critically ill in hospital, the White House said. "Out of deference to Nelson Mandela's peace and comfort and the family's wishes, they will not be visiting the hospital," the White House added in a statement. (Reporting by Jeff Mason; Writing by Pascal Fletcher; Editing by Ed Stoddard) Full Story | Top |
| Bomb in Thai south kills eight soldiers Friday, Jun 28, 2013 11:12 PM PDT  BANGKOK (Reuters) - Suspected Muslim rebels in southern Thailand killed eight soldiers in a roadside bomb attack on Saturday, days after the government rejected demands for a ceasefire over the Islamic holiday of Ramadan starting next month. Thailand is a predominantly Buddhist country and resistance to central government rule in the Muslim-majority provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat has existed for decades, resurfacing violently in 2004. The 60-kg bomb exploded as the soldiers were travelling in a military truck along a village road in Yala, police said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt violence builds, American among dead Friday, Jun 28, 2013 10:45 PM PDT  By Abdelrahman Youssef and Tom Perry ALEXANDRIA/CAIRO (Reuters) - Two people, one an American student, were killed when protesters stormed an office of Egypt's ruling Muslim Brotherhood in Alexandria, adding to growing tension ahead of mass rallies aimed at unseating the Islamist president. A third man was killed and 10 injured in an explosion during a protest in Port Said, at the mouth of the Suez Canal. Police on Saturday said the cause was unclear but protesters, believing it was a bomb, attacked an Islamist party office in the city. ... Full Story | Top |
| China's troubled Xinjiang hit by more violence: state media Friday, Jun 28, 2013 09:59 PM PDT BEIJING (Reuters) - More than a hundred people, riding motorbikes and wielding knifes, attacked a police station in China's ethnically divided western region of Xinjiang, state media said on Saturday, in the latest unrest to hit the restive region in the past week. The attack in the remote desert city of Hotan, a heavily ethnic Uighur area, comes two days after the region's deadliest unrest in four years that resulted in the deaths of 35 people. China called the incident a "terrorist attack". Xinjiang is home to the mainly Muslim Uighur people who speak a Turkic language. ... Full Story | Top |
| Cambodia bans foreign radio programs in run-up to election Friday, Jun 28, 2013 09:48 PM PDT PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Cambodia has banned local radio stations from broadcasting content from foreign media in the run-up to a general election next month and also told them to stop carrying reports on foreigners playing any role in the campaign. Prime Minister Hun Sen, one of the world's longest-serving leaders, has total control of local television and most radio stations and his Cambodian People's Party (CPP) is expected to win the July 28 election. Radio Free Asia (RFA), one of two U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama pledges to help Africa, pays tribute to Mandela Friday, Jun 28, 2013 09:06 PM PDT  By Mark Felsenthal and Jeff Mason ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama paid tribute to anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela as he flew to South Africa on Friday but played down expectations of a meeting with the ailing black leader during an Africa tour promoting democracy and food security. White House officials hope Obama's three-nation tour of Africa - his first substantial visit to the continent since taking office in 2009 - will compensate for what some view as years of neglect by America's first black president. ... Full Story | Top |
| Kerry steps up shuttle talks with Abbas and Netanyahu Friday, Jun 28, 2013 09:05 PM PDT  By Lesley Wroughton JERUSALEM (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry accelerated his Middle East shuttle diplomacy on Friday in the hope of persuading Israel and the Palestinians to resume direct peace negotiations. After seeing Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Jordan, Kerry flew by helicopter to Jerusalem for evening talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. ... Full Story | Top |
| Kansas judge blocks portions of state's new abortion law Friday, Jun 28, 2013 09:02 PM PDT By Kevin Murphy KANSAS CITY (Reuters) - A Kansas judge on Friday issued a temporary injunction on two parts of the state's new anti-abortion law, while upholding the majority of far-reaching measure that goes into effect Monday. Shawnee County District Judge Rebecca Crotty struck down a part of the law that forbids a waiver of the required 24-hour waiting period to be granted based on the woman's mental health. ... Full Story | Top |
| Gay marriages resume in California after five-year hiatus Friday, Jun 28, 2013 08:40 PM PDT  By Dan Levine SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Same-sex couples - some in shorts and jeans, some in their work clothes - rushed to be wed in California on Friday after a court abruptly ended the state's five-year ban on gay marriage in the wake of landmark rulings at the Supreme Court. On a balcony overlooking the grand staircase at San Francisco City Hall, an ornate space that has long been a magnet for weddings, the couple whose case sparked this week's Supreme Court decision exchanged vows. ... Full Story | Top |
| China media warns Philippines of 'counterstrike' in South China Sea Friday, Jun 28, 2013 08:29 PM PDT  BEIJING (Reuters) - China's state media warned on Saturday that a "counterstrike" against the Philippines was inevitable if it continues to provoke Beijing in the South China Sea, potentially Asia's biggest military troublespot. The warning comes as ministers from both countries attend an Association of Southeast Asian Nations meeting in Brunei, starting Saturday, which hopes to reach a legally binding code of conduct to manage maritime conduct in disputed areas. At stake are potentially massive offshore oil reserves. The seas also lie on shipping lanes and fishing grounds. ... Full Story | Top |
| China bank regulator says liquidity ample, debt risks manageable Friday, Jun 28, 2013 08:16 PM PDT  By Gabriel Wildau and Samuel Shen SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China's chief banking regulator said on Saturday that liquidity in China's banking system is sufficient and pledged to control risks from local government debt, real estate and shadow banking. Despite a cash squeeze that sent money-market interest rates soaring over the last two weeks, banks have more than enough reserves to meet settlement needs, Shang Fulin, chairman of the Chinese Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC), said at a financial forum on Saturday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Prosecutors seek forfeiture of homes owned by Jesse Jackson Jr. Friday, Jun 28, 2013 07:26 PM PDT  By Brendan O'Brien (Reuters) - Prosecutors asked a federal judge on Friday to allow two houses owned by disgraced former Illinois Representative Jesse Jackson Jr. and his wife to be subject to forfeiture, ahead of the couple's sentencing next week. Jackson pleaded guilty in February to misusing campaign funds while his wife, Sandi, a former Chicago city council member, pleaded guilty to filing false tax returns that failed to report the campaign money as income. The couple owns houses in Washington and Chicago, according to the forfeiture motion filed in U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Snowden's options appear to narrow in bid to evade U.S. arrest Friday, Jun 28, 2013 07:20 PM PDT  By Matt Spetalnick and Lidia Kelly WASHINGTON/MOSCOW (Reuters) - Nearly a month after Edward Snowden exposed top secret U.S. surveillance programs, the former spy agency contractor looks no closer to winning asylum to evade prosecution at home - and his options appear to be narrowing. Stuck in legal limbo in a Moscow airport transit area and facing uncertainty over whether any of the destinations he is said to be contemplating - Ecuador, Venezuela and Cuba - will let him in, Snowden seems to be at the mercy of geopolitical forces beyond his control. ... Full Story | Top |
| Stockton taxpayers want bigger role in California city's bankruptcy case Friday, Jun 28, 2013 07:03 PM PDT  By Jim Christie SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A group of California taxpayers went to court on Friday to demand a greater role in how the city of Stockton would raise taxes to exit the bankruptcy it filed a year ago. The group asked the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Sacramento for official committee status so its members could see details on Stockton's plan for increasing its sales tax. If granted this status, the group could also participate in talks about the city's plan to adjust its debts. ... Full Story | Top |
| New Jersey's Christie vetoes Medicaid expansion bill Friday, Jun 28, 2013 06:51 PM PDT  (Reuters) - New Jersey Governor Chris Christie on Friday vetoed a bill that attempted to make the state's expansion of Medicaid eligibility permanent under the healthcare law known as Obamacare, his office said on Friday. Christie's office announced he vetoed eight bills that "would add potentially hundreds of millions of dollars to state and local budgets." He also signed a $32.9 billion budget and three other bills, his office said in a statement. Among the bills he vetoed was one dealing with Medicaid expansion under the U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| California woman gets life for chopping off husband's penis Friday, Jun 28, 2013 06:33 PM PDT (Reuters) - A judge sentenced a Southern California woman who cut off her estranged husband's penis and tossed it in the garbage disposal to life in prison with the possibility of parole. Catherine Kieu, 50, was convicted by an Orange County jury in April of aggravated mayhem and torture following the July 2011 assault on her ex-husband. Kieu drugged her former spouse before tying him up and severing his penis with a knife. She then threw it into the garbage disposal unit. ... Full Story | Top |
| Reader's Digest publisher expects to emerge from bankruptcy by end: July Friday, Jun 28, 2013 05:35 PM PDT (Reuters) - The publisher of the Reader's Digest magazine said it expects to emerge from bankruptcy by the end of July after the bankruptcy court for the Southern District of New York approved its reorganization plan. The Reader's Digest Association Inc and its affiliates filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for the second time in less than four years in February, citing a greater-than-expected decline in the media industry. ... Full Story | Top |
| Snowden needs legal guarantees to return to U.S., father says Friday, Jun 28, 2013 05:16 PM PDT  By Susan Heavey WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden might voluntarily return to the United States if given assurances of his constitutional rights, his father said in a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder. Lonnie Snowden was "reasonably confident" his son, who faces espionage charges in the United States for alleged leaking of secret surveillance information, would return if certain conditions were met, the June 27 letter said. It was written by a lawyer on Snowden's behalf, and was obtained by Reuters. ... Full Story | Top |
| Who makes the most in Obama's White House? Friday, Jun 28, 2013 04:59 PM PDT  By Roberta Rampton and Margaret Chadbourn WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Twenty-two of President Barack Obama's top advisers make the top White House salary of $172,200 per year - but there is one official who earns 30 percent more. It's not Chief of Staff Denis McDonough. Not Obama's senior adviser and close friend Valerie Jarrett. Not Cecilia Munoz, who is overseeing White House efforts on immigration reform, nor Lisa Monaco, who advises Obama on homeland security and counterterrorism. ... Full Story | Top |
| Probe finds law officers harassed African-Americans in LA suburbs Friday, Jun 28, 2013 04:34 PM PDT By Sharon Bernstein LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Law enforcement officers in suburbs north of Los Angeles illegally subjected black and Latino residents to traffic stops, searches, property seizures and excessive force, a U.S. Justice Department probe found on Friday, although the agencies involved deny discrimination. The two-year probe looked at alleged harassment of minority residents in Antelope Valley communities by Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department deputies and Housing Administration investigators. ... Full Story | Top |
| Court lifts ban on gay marriage in California Friday, Jun 28, 2013 04:23 PM PDT SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Same-sex marriages were set to resume in California on Friday, after the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a surprise order lifting an injunction preventing the unions. The order came in response to an opinion released Wednesday by the U.S. Supreme Court that effectively killed a voter-approved ban on same-sex marriages in the state. Within moments of the ruling, couples, officials and activists began to converge on San Francisco City Hall, where unions were due to resume immediately. "On my way to S.F. City Hall," tweeted the state's attorney general, Kamala ... Full Story | Top |
| Senate Republicans warn NFL, other leagues about Obamacare Friday, Jun 28, 2013 04:19 PM PDT  By David Morgan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell is urging the National Football League and other professional sports leagues not to support President Barack Obama's healthcare reform law, calling Obamacare divisive and unpopular. In a June 27 letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, McConnell and fellow Republican Senator John Cornyn accused the Obama administration of drawing the league into "one of the most divisive and polarizing issues of our day" by trying to enlist its help in promoting subsidized health coverage for millions of uninsured Americans. ... Full Story | Top |
| Eyewitness describes Trayvon Martin's fatal struggle to Florida jury Friday, Jun 28, 2013 04:16 PM PDT  By Barbara Liston SANFORD, Florida (Reuters) - A witness in the murder trial of neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman testified on Friday that he saw Trayvon Martin on top of Zimmerman during a struggle that led to the unarmed black teenager's shooting death in a central Florida gated community last year. But Jonathan Good, a former resident at the townhouse complex, told the jury in Seminole County criminal court that he never saw Martin slam Zimmerman's head into the concrete sidewalk, undermining a key element in Zimmerman's defense. ... Full Story | Top |
| Two plaintiffs in gay marriage challenge to wed in Los Angeles Friday, Jun 28, 2013 04:06 PM PDT  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Two of the plaintiffs who challenged California's ban on gay marriage will wed on Friday in Los Angeles, representatives said. Paul Katami and Jeff Zarrillo of Burbank, California, were among the plaintiffs in the case Hollingsworth v. Perry that went before the U.S. Supreme Court this year. The Supreme Court earlier this week sent the case back to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which on Friday lifted a stay on its order striking down the California gay marriage ban. The couple will wed at Los Angeles City Hall at 6:15 p.m. ... Full Story | Top |
| Nebraska town can bar housing to illegal immigrants, court rules Friday, Jun 28, 2013 03:59 PM PDT By Brendan O'Brien (Reuters) - A Nebraska town can prohibit landlords and employers from hiring or renting to illegal immigrants, a federal appeals court ruled on Friday. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit said an ordinance by the town of Fremont, Nebraska, does not discriminate against Latinos and is not contrary to federal immigration and housing laws. The three-judge panel said in its ruling the ordinance does not have an "impermissible effect by removing a class of aliens from the city" or intrude on federal immigration and anti-harboring laws. ... Full Story | Top |
| Judge scrutinizes Facebook deal to end privacy lawsuit over ads Friday, Jun 28, 2013 03:55 PM PDT  By Dan Levine SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Child rights advocates tried to convince a U.S. judge on Friday that a Facebook legal settlement did not go far enough to keep content created by minors out of the hands of advertisers. Five plaintiffs filed a proposed class action against Facebook in 2011, saying the social networking giant's "Sponsored Stories" program shared user's "likes" of certain advertisers without paying them or allowing them to opt out. The case has highlighted tension between privacy concerns and Facebook's drive to monetize user content. ... Full Story | Top |
| Fed's Stein puts focus on September as time to assess QE3 Friday, Jun 28, 2013 03:54 PM PDT  By Jonathan Spicer and Alister Bull NEW YORK/WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, West Virginia (Reuters) - September could be an opportune time for the Federal Reserve to consider scaling back its assets purchase, an influential official of the U.S. central bank said on Friday, as he stressed that the Fed must take a long view of economic progress and not be blinded by the most recent data. ... Full Story | Top |
| Former Swiss banker pleads guilty to U.S. tax evasion Friday, Jun 28, 2013 03:48 PM PDT By Douwe Miedema WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A former Swiss banker faces up to five years in jail after pleading guilty to dodging U.S. taxes and paying a $1.5 million fine before being sentenced, the U.S. Department of Justice said on Friday. Pius Kampfen, who worked for Switzerland's Julius Baer for 40 years and worked in California as the bank's senior West Coast representative of San Francisco, kept accounts at a number of Swiss-based banks until long after he retired in 2001, but failed to report those on his U.S. tax returns. ... Full Story | Top |
| Fitch affirms U.S. AAA rating but outlook still negative Friday, Jun 28, 2013 03:35 PM PDT By Daniel Bases NEW YORK (Reuters) - Fitch Ratings on Friday affirmed the United States' top level credit rating at AAA but held the outlook at negative, saying still-elevated debt levels leave the country vulnerable to shocks without more deficit reduction. The affirmation reflects strong economic and credit fundamentals, the firm said in a statement. In addition, Fitch cited the decline in the federal budget deficit to levels "consistent with debt stabilization." U.S. market reaction was muted by the late hour of the announcement. Benchmark 10-year U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Reuters/Ipsos poll: Views on gay marriage still divided after court ruling Friday, Jun 28, 2013 03:18 PM PDT  By Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As the dust settled on two major Supreme Court rulings this week that advanced gay marriage, a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll showed that while about a third of Americans oppose the decisions, a majority are either in favor or had no strong opinion. Forty-three percent of those surveyed agreed or strongly agreed with the court's decision to strike down the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which limited federal recognition of marriage to that between a man and a woman. ... Full Story | Top |
| Rhode Island debt payment, budget before governor Friday, Jun 28, 2013 03:09 PM PDT  (Reuters) - Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee is expected to approve a $2.5 million debt service payment on bonds used to lure former Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling's now bankrupt videogame company to the state. However the payment is part of the $8.2 billion budget for fiscal 2014, which Chafee is still reviewing, his office said on Friday. He has seven days to sign it. The state legislature sent its spending plan to Chafee on Thursday. The inclusion of the $2.5 million payment ends a controversial debate on the state's willingness to pay its debt. ... Full Story | Top |
| House Republicans mull ways to advance immigration bill Friday, Jun 28, 2013 03:08 PM PDT  By Richard Cowan and Rachelle Younglai WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Prospects for congressional passage of a U.S. immigration overhaul looked bleak on Friday, but some House Republicans signaled they would offer a way for the 11 million illegal immigrants already in the country to get legal status that could be portrayed as something other than a pathway to citizenship. The Democratic-controlled Senate on Thursday approved a bipartisan immigration bill backed by President Barack Obama, but leaders of the Republican-controlled House of Representatives are not expected to take action on the measure. ... Full Story | Top |
| Fed's Williams: markets may have had froth, rise in rates 'healthy' Friday, Jun 28, 2013 02:56 PM PDT By Ann Saphir ROHNERT PARK, California (Reuters) - The sudden rise in long-term borrowing costs in recent weeks suggests that the Federal Reserve's policy of keeping rates low for so long may have led to some excessive risk-taking in financial markets, a top Fed official said on Friday. Rates rose after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said last week the U.S. central bank could start trimming its massive bond-buying program later this year. ... Full Story | Top |
| Third man held in ex-NFL player Hernandez murder case Friday, Jun 28, 2013 02:56 PM PDT (Repeats to widen distribution) By Tim McLaughlin and Richard Valdmanis BOSTON, June 28 (Reuters) - A man wanted by Massachusetts in connection with a murder case against former professional football player Aaron Hernandez has surrendered in Miramar, Florida, police said on Friday. Ernest Wallace, who is suspected of being an "accessory after the fact" in the killing of Odin Lloyd, 27, a semi-pro football player, turned himself in to police in Miramar, Florida, a local police official said. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. sets birth control rule for employers with religious ties Friday, Jun 28, 2013 02:49 PM PDT By David Morgan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration on Friday made it final that employees of religiously affiliated, nonprofit institutions would receive insurance coverage for birth control amid mounting legal challenges to a rule in the recent healthcare law. The White House proposed in early 2012 an arrangement that allows universities, hospitals and other employers with a religious affiliation to avoid paying directly for contraceptives. Instead, insurance companies provide coverage and foot the bill under the law. ... Full Story | Top |
| Judge orders injunction against New Jersey compounding pharmacy Friday, Jun 28, 2013 02:48 PM PDT By Jessica Dye NEW YORK (Reuters) - A federal judge has entered a consent decree and permanent injunction against a New Jersey compounding pharmacy after it was discovered that some of its products might be contaminated, the Food and Drug Administration said Friday. Med Line Prep Consulting Inc compounded and distributed drugs for hospital and healthcare facilities. It ceased operations in March following a voluntary recall of products compounded at its facility in New Jersey. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mexican ex-governor gets 11 years in U.S. for money laundering Friday, Jun 28, 2013 02:47 PM PDT  By Bernard Vaughan NEW YORK (Reuters) - A former Mexican state governor was sentenced to 11 years in prison in the United States on Friday after pleading guilty to conspiring to launder millions of dollars in bribes from a notorious drug cartel. With credit for time served and good behavior, Mario Villanueva, 64, could be released from U.S. custody in two to three years, his lawyer, Richard Lind, said after the hearing. He faces another 23 years in prison in Mexico stemming from similar charges, Lind said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pennsylvania girl gets second lung transplant after first failed Friday, Jun 28, 2013 02:36 PM PDT By Francesca Trianni NEW YORK (Reuters) - A 10-year-old Pennsylvania girl who sparked a national debate about child access to organ donation took her first independent breath this week on a second set of donor lungs after her first transplant failed, the girl's family said on Friday. Sarah Murnaghan, who had cystic fibrosis and needed a lung transplant, had been kept off an adult organ transplant list due to an age restriction. She became eligible for an adult pair of lungs only after a judge's order. ... Full Story | Top |
| Russian tycoon bids for control of Swiss steelmaker Friday, Jun 28, 2013 02:32 PM PDT  LUCERNE, Switzerland (Reuters) - Russian tycoon Viktor Vekselberg has launched a bid to control Swiss steelmaker Schmolz+Bickenbach after he failed to win support from shareholders to raise more capital and install his preferred candidate on the company's board. On Friday, Vekselberg's investment vehicle, Renova, agreed to pay a group of long-time shareholders about 58 million Swiss francs for a 20.46 percent stake in the Swiss firm. The group, Schmolz+Bickenbach GmbH & Co KG (S+B KG), descendents of the company's founders, retains a similar stake. ... Full Story | Top |
| Judge blocks Michigan ban on benefits for same-sex public workers Friday, Jun 28, 2013 02:30 PM PDT (Reuters) - In a victory for supporters of gay rights, public employers in Michigan can offer benefits such as health coverage to same-sex domestic partners after a federal judge ruled Friday that a state law banning the practice is unconstitutional. U.S. District Court Judge David Lawson found that a Michigan law clearly deprived same-sex couples of benefits in violation of equal protection rights in the U.S. Constitution, and he blocked the law. The ruling, which cited in part the U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
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