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Thursday, March 1, 2012 12:04 AM PST

Today's Reuters News Headlines - Yahoo! News: At least 12 killed as tornadoes strike Midwest James Murdoch gives up News International role North Korea-U.S. deal revives hopes of nuclear disarmament talks China's big factories rebound as smaller firms lag Senate heads for showdown over contraceptives Romney appeals for working-class votes in Ohio Obama to talk energy in backyard of Republican rival Factory, income data support growth outlook Elite forces try to close in on Syria's Homs Stanford swindle among history's worst: prosecutor Bernanke warns of slow progress ahead on jobs Japan says may cancel Lockheed F-35 if price rises "Pray for us" say Syria rebels as army closes in Goldman manager investigated in insider trade case: source North Korea agrees to nuclear moratorium, IAEA inspections Egypt to lift travel ban on U.S. democracy activists "Follow the money," prosecutor tells Stanford jury Former top Citigroup executive Terri Dial dies Shanksville 9/11 remains not dealt with by Dover: general Clinton: Japan, EU working to comply with Iran sanctions Exclusive: U.S. conducting criminal Libor probe Banks gorge on 530 billion euros of ECB funds Suspect told police he killed randomly in Ohio school Mortgage purchase applications jumped last week: MBA Some September 11 dead's remains ended in landfill Yahoo threatens Facebook as patent war looms Exclusive: U.S. conducting criminal Libor probe Factory, confidence data cloud view on recovery Venezuela says Chavez fine after Cuba surgery Irish vote, German court add euro zone uncertainty Irish vote, German court add euro zone uncertainty Irish vote, German court add euro zone uncertainty Boeing delivers biggest 747 to secret VIP buyer Syria civilian death toll "well over 7,500": U.N. Day of reckoning, "dirty tricks" as Michigan votes Some September 11 victims' remains ended in landfill BP seeks settlement with oil spill plaintiffs group Ohio school shooter confesses as death toll climbs Supreme Court hears corporate human rights case Internal Murdoch inquiry covers four UK newspapers At least 12 killed as tornadoes strike Midwest Wed,29 Feb 2012 11:42 PM PST Reuters - NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Reuters) - Powerful storms that spawned tornadoes ripped through the U.S. Midwest on Wednesday, killing at least 12 people, including six in Illinois who were crushed when a house was lifted up and fell on them, authorities said. The violent weather that hit six Midwest states starting in Kansas and Missouri overnight swept into middle Tennessee and slammed the Cumberland Plateau region, about an hour east of Nashville, killing two women in Cumberland County and one person in DeKalb County, according to emergency agency officials. ... Full Story Top James Murdoch gives up News International role Wed,29 Feb 2012 12:59 PM PST Reuters - (Reuters) - James Murdoch resigned as executive chairman of News International on Wednesday, raising new doubts he can succeed his father Rupert as CEO of parent company News Corp in the wake of a phone hacking scandal at the unit he oversaw. It also raises the possibility that one of his older siblings -- Elisabeth or Lachlan -- could emerge as an eventual contender for the top job, according to people familiar with the matter. ... Full Story Top North Korea-U.S. deal revives hopes of nuclear disarmament talks Wed,29 Feb 2012 09:25 PM PST Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - North Korea has agreed with the United States to suspend major elements of its atomic weapons program in a surprise breakthrough that could pave the way for the resumption of long-stalled nuclear disarmament talks with the secretive state. But the announcement, made simultaneously on Wednesday in Pyongyang and Washington and accompanied by pledges of U.S. food aid, was met with very guarded optimism by analysts and diplomats who noted that efforts to defuse tensions on the divided Korean peninsula had seen many false dawns. ... Full Story Top China's big factories rebound as smaller firms lag Wed,29 Feb 2012 11:44 PM PST Reuters - BEIJING (Reuters) - China's factories grew more than expected in February as new export orders for big firms bounced back, a government survey showed, while a private-sector report portrayed a different picture of smaller companies lagging behind the rebound. China's official purchasing managers' index (PMI) rose to 51.0, above expectations of 50.7 and higher than 50.5 in January, while the final reading of the HSBC PMI stood at 49.6, a shade higher than January's reading of 48.8, but still under the 50-point threshold demarcating expansion from contraction. ... Full Story Top Senate heads for showdown over contraceptives Wed,29 Feb 2012 09:48 PM PST Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Democratic-led U.S. Senate is expected on Thursday to defeat a largely symbolic measure that would exempt employers such as Roman Catholic hospitals, universities and charities from a controversial White House rule requiring free birth control coverage. Debate on the Republican proposal, introduced by Missouri Senator Roy Blunt as an amendment to an unrelated highway bill, began on Wednesday and both parties seized the opportunity to play to voting constituencies considered crucial in November's election. ... Full Story Top Romney appeals for working-class votes in Ohio Wed,29 Feb 2012 03:18 PM PST Reuters - BEXLEY, Ohio (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney appealed for the support of working-class Americans in industrial Ohio on Wednesday, a day after narrowly averting a humiliating defeat by rival Rick Santorum in Romney's home state of Michigan. Romney focused almost exclusively on the U.S. economy, China and stiff criticism of President Barack Obama's leadership at his first campaign events after Tuesday's Michigan primary. ... Full Story Top Obama to talk energy in backyard of Republican rival Wed,29 Feb 2012 10:13 PM PST Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama travels to New Hampshire on Thursday to talk about energy, swooping into Republican front-runner Mitt Romney's backyard to discuss an issue that his opponents hope they can use to deny him a second White House term. Slammed for energy policies that Republicans say have contributed to rising gasoline prices, Democrat Obama is expected to push back hard over opponents' claims that there are simple fixes to pain at the pump. With the U.S. ... Full Story Top Factory, income data support growth outlook Wed,29 Feb 2012 02:23 PM PST Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The economy grew slightly faster than initially thought in the fourth quarter and a gauge of factory activity in the Midwest hit a 10 month-high in February, pointing to underlying strength in the economy. Gross domestic product expanded at a 3 percent annual rate, the quickest pace since the second quarter of 2010, the Commerce Department said on Wednesday in its second estimate. The reading, which was up from the 2. ... Full Story Top Elite forces try to close in on Syria's Homs Wed,29 Feb 2012 06:55 PM PST Reuters - AMMAN (Reuters) - Elite forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad pounded a rebel bastion in Homs on Thursday in what appeared to be a final push on the opposition stronghold after more than three weeks of siege and bombardment, activists said. A senior official in the rebel Free Syrian Army told Reuters rebels in the district of Baba Amro were fending off more than 7,000 government troops. Opposition forces had promised to step up attacks elsewhere in Syria to try to relieve the pressure. ... Full Story Top Stanford swindle among history's worst: prosecutor Wed,29 Feb 2012 04:12 PM PST Reuters - HOUSTON (Reuters) - Allen Stanford perpetrated one of the biggest thefts in history, a U.S. prosecutor said on Wednesday as the former financier's trial neared its end. Stanford, 61, is on trial in federal court in Houston, accused of running a $7 billion Ponzi scheme. Jurors began deliberations after hearing final arguments from prosecutors and defense attorneys. "It was one of the greatest thefts in history. Billions of dollars," prosecutor Gregg Costa said as he summed up the government's case. "Fraud is just theft wearing a business suit," he said. ... Full Story Top Bernanke warns of slow progress ahead on jobs Wed,29 Feb 2012 01:46 PM PST Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Wednesday offered a tempered view of the U.S. economy, pouring cold water on the notion that recent upbeat signs herald a stronger recovery. Bernanke told Congress that unless growth accelerated, the unacceptably high U.S. unemployment rate would not keep dropping. But he stopped short of signaling further Fed bond purchases, dashing the hopes of some traders in financial markets who were betting on more monetary stimulus. "The job market is far from normal," Bernanke said. "Continued improvement ... ... Full Story Top Japan says may cancel Lockheed F-35 if price rises Wed,29 Feb 2012 04:13 PM PST Reuters - TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan may cancel orders for Lockheed Martin Corp's F-35 fighter jets if the price rises or deliveries are delayed, Defense Minister Naoki Tanaka said on Wednesday, casting doubt on Tokyo's choice of next-generation combat aircraft. Tokyo has warned Washington against increasing the price, but this was the first time Tanaka publicly raised the possibility of cancelling the order. The Pentagon this month confirmed plans to put off its own orders for 179 F-35s over the next five years to save $15. ... Full Story Top "Pray for us" say Syria rebels as army closes in Wed,29 Feb 2012 01:01 PM PST Reuters - AMMAN (Reuters) - Heavy fighting raged near Baba Amro in Homs on Wednesday after elite Syrian troops attacked the rebel-held bastion that has endured 25 days of siege and fierce bombardment, activists said. "Pray for the Free Syrian Army. Do not be miserly in your prayers for them," opponents of President Bashar al-Assad said in a statement, as diplomats spoke of his brother's feared 4th Armoured Division mounting a drive to "finish off" the rebels. ... Full Story Top Goldman manager investigated in insider trade case: source Wed,29 Feb 2012 02:02 PM PST Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors are investigating David Loeb, a managing director of Goldman Sachs Group Inc, as part of an insider-trading probe focusing on the company's hedge-fund clients, a person familiar with the case said on Wednesday. Loeb works with technology hedge-fund employees, including an Asia-based analyst, Henry King, who is also under investigation, according to another source briefed on the case. The sources declined to be identified because the matter is not public. ... Full Story Top North Korea agrees to nuclear moratorium, IAEA inspections Wed,29 Feb 2012 12:10 PM PST Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - North Korea agreed on Wednesday to stop nuclear tests, uranium enrichment and long-range missile launches, and to allow checks by nuclear inspectors, in an apparent policy shift that paves the way for resuming long-stalled disarmament talks. The surprise breakthrough, announced simultaneously by the U.S. State Department and North Korea's official news agency, makes possible the resumption of six-nation nuclear negotiations with Pyongyang. It followed talks between U.S. and North Korean diplomats in Beijing last week. ... Full Story Top Egypt to lift travel ban on U.S. democracy activists Wed,29 Feb 2012 01:50 PM PST Reuters - CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt has decided to lift a travel ban preventing American pro-democracy activists from leaving the country, judicial sources said on Wednesday, a move that is likely to defuse a standoff that has plunged U.S.-Egyptian ties into a crisis. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she had no confirmation that the travel ban was lifted but also said she expected the row over the activities of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to be resolved "in the very near future." U.S. officials have said $1.3 billion in annual military aid has been put at risk by the case. ... Full Story Top "Follow the money," prosecutor tells Stanford jury Wed,29 Feb 2012 02:24 PM PST Reuters - HOUSTON (Reuters) - Allen Stanford lied to his investors and stole their money to spend on himself, a U.S. prosecutor said on Wednesday, near the end of the former financier's five-week trial on charges of criminal fraud. "If you follow the money, that path, that road, leads straight to Allen Stanford," prosecutor William Stellmach said as he summed up the government's case against Stanford in federal court in Houston. Stanford is accused of using the deposits of investors in his bank in Antigua to finance a playboy lifestyle. ... Full Story Top Former top Citigroup executive Terri Dial dies Wed,29 Feb 2012 02:25 PM PST Reuters - (Reuters) - Terri Dial, a former senior executive of some of the world's largest banks and one of the leaders of Citigroup's post-crisis restructuring, has died. Dial, 62, died Tuesday of pancreatic cancer, according to media reports. Citi Chief Executive Vikram Pandit sent a message to the bank's staff Wednesday confirming her passing. "Starting as a teller, she rose to become one of the most influential bankers of her generation -- and by any measure, one of the most powerful women in our industry," Pandit said. ... Full Story Top Shanksville 9/11 remains not dealt with by Dover: general Wed,29 Feb 2012 03:59 PM PST Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Unidentified remains from the September 11, 2001, crash site in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, do not appear to have been handled by the military's main mortuary, as suggested in an independent report, the top U.S. Air Force general said on Wednesday. U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff General Norton Schwartz said Air Force officials were still trying to confirm much of the information in the report, which said partial remains from some people killed in the attack ended up in a landfill. ... Full Story Top Clinton: Japan, EU working to comply with Iran sanctions Wed,29 Feb 2012 11:14 AM PST Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday pledged to aggressively implement new U.S. sanctions on Iran but noted that some allies such as Japan face "unique situations" as they seek to reduce Iranian oil imports. President Barack Obama on December 31 signed into law the harshest in a series of U.S. sanctions on Tehran over its nuclear program, targeting foreign financial institutions that do business with Iran's central bank or other blacklisted Iranian financial entities. The new U.S. ... Full Story Top Exclusive: U.S. conducting criminal Libor probe Wed,29 Feb 2012 08:24 AM PST Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department is conducting a criminal probe into whether the world's biggest banks manipulated a global benchmark rate that is at the heart of a wide range of loans and derivatives, from trillions of dollars of mortgages and bonds to interest rate swaps, a person familiar with the matter said. While the Justice Department's inquiry into the setting of the London interbank offered rate, or Libor, was known, the criminal aspect of the probe was not. ... Full Story Top Banks gorge on 530 billion euros of ECB funds Wed,29 Feb 2012 05:00 AM PST Reuters - FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Banks grabbed 530 billion euros at the European Central Bank's second offering of cheap three-year funds on Wednesday, fuelling expectations that credit will flow to businesses and borrowing costs will ease for governments hit by the euro zone crisis. In the space of two months, the ECB has now injected more than a trillion euros into the financial system, banishing the threat of a credit crunch. ... Full Story Top Suspect told police he killed randomly in Ohio school Wed,29 Feb 2012 08:58 AM PST Reuters - CHARDON, Ohio (Reuters) - A 17-year-old student suspected of a shooting rampage at an Ohio high school that killed three teenagers and wounded two others has confessed to opening fire on students he chose at random, prosecutors said Tuesday. The student, identified by authorities as T.J. Lane, appeared in Geauga County, Ohio Juvenile Court, where he was ordered detained following Monday's shooting at Chardon High School. Lane has confessed to police to taking a knife and a .22-caliber pistol into the high school cafeteria and firing 10 rounds at randomly selected students, prosecutors said. ... Full Story Top Mortgage purchase applications jumped last week: MBA Wed,29 Feb 2012 04:29 AM PST Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters) - Applications for home mortgage purchases jumped last week as interest rates dipped, though demand for refinancing waned, an industry group said on Wednesday. The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity, which includes both refinancing and home purchase demand, dipped 0.3 percent in the week ended Feb 24. The MBA's seasonally adjusted index of refinancing applications was off 2.2 percent, but the gauge of loan requests for home purchases shot up 8.2 percent. ... Full Story Top Some September 11 dead's remains ended in landfill Tue,28 Feb 2012 05:53 PM PST Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Partial remains from some people killed in the September 11 attacks in 2001 ended up in a landfill, according to a Pentagon-commissioned report released on Tuesday that revealed previously undisclosed blunders at the U.S. military's main mortuary. The unidentified remains came from two of the three sites of the September 11 attacks: the Pentagon and the Shanksville, Pennsylvania crash site of one of the hijacked airliners. The World Trade Center in New York City, which was leveled in the attacks, was not cited. ... Full Story Top Yahoo threatens Facebook as patent war looms Tue,28 Feb 2012 02:41 PM PST Reuters - SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Yahoo has demanded licensing fees from Facebook for use of its technology, the companies said on Monday, potentially engulfing social media in the patent battles and lawsuits raging across much of the tech sector. Yahoo has asserted claims on patents that include the technical mechanisms in the Facebook's ads, privacy controls, news feed and messaging service, according to a source briefed on the matter. ... Full Story Top Exclusive: U.S. conducting criminal Libor probe Tue,28 Feb 2012 03:56 PM PST Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Justice Department is conducting a criminal probe into whether the world's biggest banks manipulated a global benchmark rate that is at the heart of a wide range of loans and derivatives, from trillions of dollars of mortgages and bonds to interest rate swaps, a person familiar with the matter said. While the Justice Department's inquiry into the setting of the London interbank offered rate, or Libor, was known, the criminal aspect of the probe was not. ... Full Story Top Factory, confidence data cloud view on recovery Tue,28 Feb 2012 02:41 PM PST Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A strengthening jobs market helped lift U.S. consumer confidence to a one-year high this month, but a surprisingly large plunge in orders for some factory goods cast a cloud over signs of increased economic momentum. Other data on Tuesday showed home prices fell in December, a reminder of the uphill climb faced by the housing market. A recent slew of positive data had allayed fears economic growth could slow sharply early in the year. Other gauges of manufacturing activity have been solid, and the unemployment rate sank to a three-year low last month. ... Full Story Top Venezuela says Chavez fine after Cuba surgery Tue,28 Feb 2012 02:42 PM PST Reuters - CARACAS (Reuters) - Surgeons removed a lesion from Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's pelvis and the socialist leader is in "good physical condition" after the operation, his vice president said on Tuesday. Chavez, 57, had new surgery in Cuba despite his previous insistence that he had been cured of cancer after two procedures by doctors in Havana last year. The latest health setback has fueled fresh doubts about Chavez's health, his ability to campaign for re-election in October and his fitness to govern the South American nation for another six-year term if he wins. ... Full Story Top Irish vote, German court add euro zone uncertainty Wed,29 Feb 2012 05:29 AM PST Reuters - DUBLIN/KARLSRUHE, Germany (Reuters) - A planned referendum in Ireland and a German court ruling cast new uncertainty on Tuesday over efforts to overcome the euro zone's debt crisis, just when a flood of central bank money appeared to be calming financial markets. Ireland's prickly electorate, which has twice voted "No" to European Union treaties before reversing itself, will get another chance to keep Europe on tenterhooks with a referendum on a fiscal compact on budget discipline agreed last month. ... Full Story Top Irish vote, German court add euro zone uncertainty Wed,29 Feb 2012 01:33 AM PST Reuters - DUBLIN/KARLSRUHE, Germany (Reuters) - A planned referendum in Ireland and a German court ruling cast new uncertainty on Tuesday over efforts to overcome the euro zone's debt crisis, just when a flood of central bank money appeared to be calming financial markets. Ireland's prickly electorate, which has twice voted "No" to European Union treaties before reversing itself, will get another chance to keep Europe on tenterhooks with a referendum on a fiscal compact on budget discipline agreed last month. ... Full Story Top Irish vote, German court add euro zone uncertainty Tue,28 Feb 2012 03:35 PM PST Reuters - DUBLIN/KARLSRUHE, Germany (Reuters) - A planned referendum in Ireland and a German court ruling cast new uncertainty on Tuesday over efforts to overcome the euro zone's debt crisis, just when a flood of central bank money appeared to be calming financial markets. Ireland's prickly electorate, which has twice voted "No" to European Union treaties before reversing itself, will get another chance to keep Europe on tenterhooks with a referendum on a fiscal compact on budget discipline agreed last month. ... Full Story Top Boeing delivers biggest 747 to secret VIP buyer Tue,28 Feb 2012 04:12 PM PST Reuters - SEATTLE (Reuters) - Boeing Co handed over the first passenger version of its upgraded and extended 747 to a secret VIP customer, who sent the gleaming, all-white plane along to a modification center to transform it into the "jewel of the sky." The delivery of the 747-8 Intercontinental - Boeing's largest and most recognizable commercial airplane - caps a development delay of more than a year. ... Full Story Top Syria civilian death toll "well over 7,500": U.N. Tue,28 Feb 2012 03:35 PM PST Reuters - AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad can be classified as a war criminal, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said as the United Nations announced more than 7,500 civilians had been killed by his forces since the start of the revolt. At least 25 people were killed in the shelling of opposition strongholds by Syrian forces on Tuesday, activists said. In Homs alone, opposition groups said hundreds of civilians had been killed or wounded in the 24-day-old assault. ... Full Story Top Day of reckoning, "dirty tricks" as Michigan votes Tue,28 Feb 2012 02:28 PM PST Reuters - SOUTHFIELD/GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan (Reuters) - Mitt Romney condemned rival Rick Santorum for urging Democrats to vote against him and "kidnap" the Michigan Republican presidential primary on Tuesday, as voters determined whether Romney would get a big win or a humiliating defeat. Santorum, running neck-and-neck with Romney in opinion polls, is trying to snatch an upset win in his rival's home state, where the Republican primary is open to both parties. ... Full Story Top Some September 11 victims' remains ended in landfill Tue,28 Feb 2012 02:27 PM PST Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Partial remains from some victims of the September 11 attacks in 2001 ended up in a landfill, according to a Pentagon-commissioned report released on Tuesday that revealed previously undisclosed blunders at the U.S. military's main mortuary. The remains came from two of the three sites of the September 11 attacks: the Pentagon and the Shanksville, Pennsylvania crash site of one of the hijacked airliners. The World Trade Center in New York City, which was leveled in the attacks, was not cited. ... Full Story Top BP seeks settlement with oil spill plaintiffs group Tue,28 Feb 2012 02:42 PM PST Reuters - NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - BP Plc is seeking to settle a lawsuit over the massive 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill by tapping a $14 billion fund it set aside to compensate fishermen and businesses harmed by the disaster, lawyers familiar with the talks said. In exchange, the claimants, represented by a group called the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee, would drop their lawsuit in a court case scheduled to start in New Orleans on March 5. U.S. ... Full Story Top Ohio school shooter confesses as death toll climbs Tue,28 Feb 2012 03:01 PM PST Reuters - CHARDON, Ohio (Reuters) - The 17-year-old boy held in a shooting rampage at an Ohio high school has confessed to opening fire on fellow students he picked at random, prosecutors said on Tuesday, as two more teenagers died, bringing the death toll to three. Prosecutors identified the shooter as T.J. Lane and said he has admitted to taking a knife and a .22-caliber pistol into the cafeteria at Chardon High School in a town 35 miles east of Cleveland on Monday and firing 10 rounds. Students Demetrius Hewlin and Russell King Jr. ... Full Story Top Supreme Court hears corporate human rights case Tue,28 Feb 2012 11:15 AM PST Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A number of Supreme Court justices expressed skepticism on Tuesday that corporations can be sued in the United States for alleged complicity in human rights abuses abroad, a case with important financial, legal and international implications. The high court during arguments considered limiting the reach of a 1789 U.S. law that was largely dormant for nearly two centuries, but used in the past 20 years by foreign victims to sue multinational corporations for abuses committed overseas. ... Full Story Top Internal Murdoch inquiry covers four UK newspapers Tue,28 Feb 2012 09:50 AM PST Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - A massive email cache that a corporate clean-up team has assembled as part of its effort to cooperate with British police contains message traffic generated by journalists at all four British newspapers once published by Rupert Murdoch, sources familiar with the unit's work said. The clean-up team, known as the Management and Standards Committee (MSC) of Murdoch's US-based News Corp, is investigating reporting practices across all Murdoch's current and former UK properties, said one of the sources familiar with the company's internal investigations. ... Full Story Top

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