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| Dead Asiana crash victim was run over by fire truck: police Friday, Jul 12, 2013 11:20 AM PDT  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - One of the two teenage Chinese girls who died in the Asiana plane crash at San Francisco airport on Saturday was run over by a fire truck rushing to the scene, a police department official said on Friday, though it is not known whether she was still alive at the time. "The passenger was underneath the fire retardant foam and when the fire truck repositioned itself to battle the flames aboard the fuselage, the passenger victim was discovered in the tire track of the fire truck," said Albie Esparza, public information officer at the San Francisco Police Department. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pakistan's Malala, shot by Taliban, takes education plea to U.N. Friday, Jul 12, 2013 10:46 AM PDT  By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani girl who was shot in the head by the Taliban last year for demanding education for girls, marked her 16th birthday with a passionate speech at the United Nations on Friday in which she said education could change the world. "Let us pick up our books and pens. They are our most powerful weapons. One child, one teacher, one pen and one book can change the world. Education is the only solution," said Yousafzai, speaking out for the first time since she was attacked. Wearing a pink head scarf, Yousafzai told U.N. ... Full Story | Top |
| Stock price drop takes glow off U.S. consumer sentiment Friday, Jul 12, 2013 09:52 AM PDT  By Jason Lange WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Worries about rising interest rates and falling stock prices dinged U.S. consumer sentiment in early July, while other data showed a firm rise in wholesale prices, which could make the Federal Reserve more comfortable reducing its monetary stimulus. The preliminary reading for the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's index of consumer sentiment edged down to 83.9 from 84.1 in June. The reading, released on Friday, fell short of forecasts although it remained near its highest level in almost six years. ... Full Story | Top |
| Fugitive Snowden to seek temporary asylum in Russia Friday, Jul 12, 2013 12:44 PM PDT  By Lidia Kelly and Maria Tsvetkova MOSCOW (Reuters) - Fugitive former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, camped at a Moscow airport out of the reach of U.S. authorities, said on Friday he was seeking temporary asylum in Russia and had no regrets about spilling U.S. spy secrets. Meeting rights activists summoned to Sheremetyevo airport to hear him break weeks of silence, he assailed Western nations he said had prevented him getting to Latin America and said he hoped to stay in Russia until he has "safe passage" there. The U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Boeing Dreamliner catches fire at Britain's Heathrow airport Friday, Jul 12, 2013 12:48 PM PDT By Rhys Jones LONDON (Reuters) - A Boeing 787 Dreamliner operated by Ethiopian Airlines caught fire at Britain's Heathrow airport on Friday in a fresh blow for the U.S. planemaker which earlier this year was forced to ground the new planes for three months because of overheating batteries. Boeing shares tumbled by as much as 7 percent, wiping $5.4 billion off its market capitalization after television footage showed the Dreamliner surrounded by foam used by firefighters at Heathrow. At 1745 GMT (01.45 p.m. EDT), shares were down 3.2 percent at $103.50. ... Full Story | Top |
| Zimmerman lawyer says Martin lay in wait to attack Friday, Jul 12, 2013 12:56 PM PDT  By Daniel Trotta and Barbara Liston SANFORD, Florida (Reuters) - Trayvon Martin spent four long minutes preparing to attack George Zimmerman, time when he lay in wait before throwing the first punch in a confrontation that ended in his death, Zimmerman's defense lawyer said in closing arguments on Friday. With closing arguments concluded, the case, which has captivated and divided much of the U.S. public, has now gone to the jury. Before the jury began deliberations at 2:30 p.m. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt's bruised Islamists protest after bloody week Friday, Jul 12, 2013 10:50 AM PDT  By Maggie Fick and Yasmine Saleh CAIRO (Reuters) - Islamist supporters of Egypt's ousted president, Mohamed Mursi, protested in Cairo on Friday after a week of violence in which more than 90 people were killed in a bitterly divided nation. Nine days after the army toppled Egypt's first elected leader following a wave of demonstrations against him, Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood is trying to mobilize popular support for his reinstatement, which for now looks like a lost cause. ... Full Story | Top |
| At least six dead as French train derails Friday, Jul 12, 2013 12:49 PM PDT  By Pauline Mevel BRETIGNY-SUR-ORGE, France (Reuters) - At least six people died and 22 were seriously injured when a train derailed and hit the platform at a station in central France on Friday, leaving several carriages torn open and one lying on its side, officials said. Local officials said dozens of other passengers were being treated in nearby hospitals for minor injuries, and Interior Minister Manuel Valls said the death toll could rise. ... Full Story | Top |
| Insight: Fast-growing U.S. craft brewers struggle with worker safety Friday, Jul 12, 2013 11:12 AM PDT  By M.B. Pell NEW YORK (Reuters) - Welder Mark Moynihan crawled down a narrow tube into a space the size of a car interior to seal the crack in the fermentation tank at Calhoun's Bar-B-Q & Brewery in Knoxville, Tennessee. The space was oversaturated with oxygen. He lit his torch, and a flash-fire erupted. His hair and clothing disintegrated instantly. Moynihan, a contractor for the craft brewery, dragged himself up the tube and out of the vat while still on fire, suffering serious burns over much of his body. ... Full Story | Top |
| Quebec town takes small steps to normalcy after train disaster Friday, Jul 12, 2013 11:44 AM PDT  By Richard Valdmanis and Phil Wahba LAC-MEGANTIC, Quebec, July 12 - Shell-shocked residents of Lac-Megantic, Quebec, took small steps on a long path back to normalcy on Friday as they returned to homes and businesses just a short walk from the lakeside town's center, devastated by a fiery rail crash last week. The town's main church, Paroisse de Ste-Agnes, opened its doors to mourners, allowing them to drop off pictures, flowers and notes for the estimated 50 people killed. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. IRS documents show liberal groups vetted like Tea Party: Democrats Friday, Jul 12, 2013 09:08 AM PDT By Kim Dixon WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A top Democrat probing the Internal Revenue Service scrutiny of conservative "Tea Party" groups released documents on Friday suggesting that "Occupy" and other liberal-leaning groups received similar scrutiny. Representative Elijah Cummings, the top Democrat on the House of Representatives' Oversight and Government Reform Committee, released documents from 2010 and 2012 used by IRS staff reviewing tax-exempt applications that suggest the key words "Progressive" and "Occupy" were subjected to added review, in addition to Tea Party applications. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama to speak with Putin on Friday, raise Snowden concerns Friday, Jul 12, 2013 12:13 PM PDT By Steve Holland and Arshad Mohammed WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama planned to raise U.S. concerns directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday about Moscow's handling of former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden, who is wanted in the United States for disclosing secret surveillance programs. White House spokesman Jay Carney said Obama and Putin would speak by phone about Snowden later in the day, a conversation that was set up in recent days as Washington seeks to persuade Moscow to send Snowden back to the United States to face espionage charges. ... Full Story | Top |
| Snowden seeks temporary asylum in Russia: Twitter post Friday, Jul 12, 2013 06:53 AM PDT MOSCOW (Reuters) - Former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden is seeking temporary asylum in Russia and plans to go to Latin America eventually, an organization endorsed by anti-secrecy group Wikileaks said on Twitter on Friday. Wikileaks Press posted the tweet as Snowden met human rights activists at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport and cited a representative of Human Rights watch who attended the meeting. Separately, a Russian official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, confirmed Snowden would apply for asylum in Russia. (Writing by Steve Gutterman, Editing by Thomas Grove) Full Story | Top |
| In rural Syria, a rare peace threatened by sectarian war Friday, Jul 12, 2013 05:40 AM PDT  HOMS COUNTRYSIDE, Syria (Reuters) - For months, the western rural region of Homs was an unusual model of coexistence in Syria's brutal two-year-old civil war. Now, it risks becoming a dark episode in the country's deepening sectarian conflict. Syria's uprising-turned-war has forced most Syrians to take sides in a struggle that has killed more than 100,000. But in this strategic stretch of territory, home to a potentially combustible mix of religious groups with conflicting political loyalties, they had avoided that stark choice. ... Full Story | Top |
| Portugal junior coalition head says crisis can be overcome Friday, Jul 12, 2013 06:13 AM PDT  LISBON (Reuters) - The head of Portugal's junior coalition party said on Friday the government wants to overcome the current political crisis in order to conclude the country's bailout plan in June 2014 and urged negotiations with all political parties. "All complex political situations can have a solution, as long as everybody does their part," Paulo Portas told parliament. "The main priority is to regain (financial) independence and conclude, without delay, the period of financial assistance." (Reporting By Axel Bugge) Full Story | Top |
| Portugal opposition wants bailout renegotiation Friday, Jul 12, 2013 07:10 AM PDT  By Shrikesh Laxmidas and Axel Bugge LISBON (Reuters) - The opposition Socialists demanded a renegotiation of Portugal's bailout terms on Friday, raising a hurdle to a cross-party pact the president says is needed to end the euro zone country's dependence on international funding next year. Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho and Socialist leader Antonio Jose Seguro said they are ready to discuss a deal, but analysts say their divergence on painful austerity policies linked to the bailout could make it hard to resolve the crisis. "We have to abandon austerity politics. ... Full Story | Top |
| New front opens in Syria as rebels say al Qaeda attack means war Friday, Jul 12, 2013 05:23 AM PDT  By Mariam Karouny and Oliver Holmes BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian rebels said on Friday the assassination of one of their top commanders by al Qaeda-linked militants was tantamount to a declaration of war, opening a new front for the Western-backed fighters struggling against President Bashar al-Assad's forces. Rivalries have been growing between the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and the Islamists, whose smaller but more effective forces control most of the rebel-held parts of northern Syria more than two years after pro-democracy protests became an uprising. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bomb, gun attacks across Iraq kill at least 44 Thursday, Jul 11, 2013 01:40 PM PDT  BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Bombers and gunmen attacked policemen and a wake in Iraq among other targets, killing at least 44 people across the country on Thursday, in the latest burst of violence that has raised concerns about a return to civil strife. Gunmen opened fire on two checkpoints guarding oil installations on the road between Haditha and Baiji, 180 km (111 miles) north of the capital, killing 11 people, police said. In the town of Muqdadiya, 80 km northeast of Baghdad, a further 11 people were killed when a car bomb exploded at a wake. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Experts advise Snowden: fly commercial Friday, Jul 12, 2013 02:58 AM PDT  By Timothy Heritage MOSCOW (Reuters) - When an Aeroflot plane from Moscow took an unusually southerly course to Havana on Thursday, it quickly triggered speculation that American fugitive Edward Snowden could be on board. But the plane was probably just avoiding turbulence, like other aircraft that crossed the Atlantic yesterday. There was no sign of Snowden on arrival - he remained at Sheremetyevo airport in Moscow, where he was to meet human rights groups on Friday. Still, aviation experts said such speculation is not without merit. ... Full Story | Top |
| Venezuela says Snowden has still not formally responded to asylum offer Thursday, Jul 11, 2013 11:40 PM PDT  MONTEVIDEO (Reuters) - Venezuela has still not received a formal response to its offer of asylum to former U.S. spy contractor Edward Snowden, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Elias Jaua told Reuters on Thursday. "We communicated last week, we made an offer and so far we haven't received a reply," Jaua said on the sidelines of a regional foreign ministers' meeting in Montevideo, Uruguay. Venezuela along with leftist allies Bolivia and Nicaragua have offered asylum to Snowden, who is wanted by Washington on espionage charges for divulging details of extensive, secret U.S. surveillance programs. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: 911 calls highlight emergency response challenges in Asiana crash Thursday, Jul 11, 2013 10:40 PM PDT  By Sarah McBride and Kristina Cooke SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Tapes of 911 emergency calls made moments after an Asiana Airlines jet crashed at San Francisco airport last Saturday reveal panic and confusion, and highlight some possible problems as emergency services raced to the scene. The crash of the Boeing 777 killed two and injured more than 180. The first police and fire personnel arrived at the crash scene in about two minutes, and local officials said brave rescue efforts and effective triage of the many wounded likely saved lives. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S., China agree to restart investment treaty talks Thursday, Jul 11, 2013 09:28 PM PDT  By Paul Eckert and Anna Yukhananov WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and China agreed on Thursday to restart stalled negotiations on an investment treaty, with Beijing dropping previous efforts to protect certain sectors of its economy from the start. The agreement to resume negotiations was welcomed by the U.S. business community as a major advance during annual Strategic and Economic Dialogue talks in Washington, which have often produced few agreements of substance. ... Full Story | Top |
| No sign automatic equipment failed in San Francisco crash: NTSB Thursday, Jul 11, 2013 05:54 PM PDT  By Gerry Shih SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - There are no signs of failure of the autopilot or other key automatic flight equipment on the Asiana plane that crashed in San Francisco last week, the head of National Transportation Safety Board said on Thursday. "There is no anomalous behavior of the autopilot, of the flight director, and of the auto-throttles, based on the FDR (flight data recorder) data reviewed to date," NTSB Chairwoman Deborah Hersman told a news conference, referring to the flight data recorder from the Boeing 777. ... Full Story | Top |
| Zimmerman called 'wannabe cop' whose errors got Martin killed Thursday, Jul 11, 2013 07:24 PM PDT  By Daniel Trotta and Barbara Liston SANFORD, Florida (Reuters) - "Wannabe cop" George Zimmerman wrongly profiled Trayvon Martin as a criminal, followed him with a gun and provoked him into a fight that resulted in the shooting death of the unarmed black teenager, a prosecutor said on Thursday. "A teenager is dead," Florida state prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda told the jury in closing arguments of Zimmerman's second-degree murder trial. "He is dead through no fault of his own. He is dead because another man made assumptions. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama cautious on his role in Congress immigration debate Thursday, Jul 11, 2013 03:30 PM PDT  By Steve Holland and Caren Bohan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama is treading carefully in deciding how visible a role he should play during perhaps the most delicate stage in the effort to overhaul U.S. immigration laws. The Democratic president, having fought with conservatives in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives over everything from budget cuts and tax hikes to healthcare reform and environmental policy, is aware they are in no mood to compromise or be lectured. ... Full Story | Top |
| Senate heads toward showdown on Obama nominees Thursday, Jul 11, 2013 01:37 PM PDT  By Thomas Ferraro WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Thursday scheduled votes next week on seven of President Barack Obama's embattled executive-branch nominees, setting up a showdown with Republicans over rules used to block confirmations. Unless Republicans allow all seven to be confirmed, Reid told reporters, "I'm going to do what I need to do," adding, "This place doesn't work" under the current rules. ... Full Story | Top |
| Families of Connecticut shooting victims may each get $281,000 Thursday, Jul 11, 2013 08:49 PM PDT  By Richard Weizel NEWTOWN, Connecticut (Reuters) - The families of the 20 children and six adults who were killed when a gunman opened fire at a Connecticut elementary school in December should each get $281,000 from donations that poured in after the shooting, a committee recommended on Thursday. The families of the 12 children who witnessed and survived the attack at Sandy Hook Elementary School would each get $20,000 and two teachers who were injured would get a combined $150,000. The remaining $3.7 million of the $11. ... Full Story | Top |
| Treasury Secretary says China to hand audit work to SEC Thursday, Jul 11, 2013 07:51 PM PDT  By Sarah N. Lynch and Anna Yukhananov WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Chinese regulators will hand over some audit documents of U.S.-listed Chinese companies to U.S. securities regulators, U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said on Thursday, a move that may thaw a dispute over multiple accounting scandals. Washington wants greater oversight after alleged misconduct at U.S.-listed firms based in China led to billions in losses, but investigations into possible fraud have been stymied as auditors have refused to turn over papers for fear of violating Chinese secrecy laws. A U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Arizona serial killer died of anti-depressant overdose: medical examiner Thursday, Jul 11, 2013 07:35 PM PDT  PHOENIX (Reuters) - An Arizona serial killer sent to death row for murdering six people during a 14-month shooting spree committed suicide last month by overdosing on an anti-depressant, a medical examiner ruled on Thursday. Dale Hausner, the so-called "Serial Shooter" who asked the state Supreme Court for a speedy execution, was found to have died from "amitriptyline intoxication," according to the Pinal County Medical Examiner's Office. ... Full Story | Top |
| Microsoft aims to power mobile effort in major overhaul Thursday, Jul 11, 2013 04:52 PM PDT  By Alexei Oreskovic SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp launched its biggest internal overhaul in five years to streamline the development of products from Windows to tablets, hoping to catch nimbler rivals in mobile and cloud computing. Lack of coordination and infighting have hurt innovation within the $74 billion revenue, 98,000-employee organization, which hopes to accelerate the design of products that appeal to a new generation of users more accustomed to smartphones and tablets than laptops or desktop PCs. ... Full Story | Top |
| House Republicans eye winding down Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Thursday, Jul 11, 2013 02:32 PM PDT  By Margaret Chadbourn WASHINGTON (Reuters) - House Republicans on Thursday unveiled draft legislation that would wind down housing finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac over a five-year period and sharply reduce the government's role in the mortgage market. The sweeping proposal aims to establish a new framework for the housing finance system, a group of Republicans on the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee told reporters. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ballmer tightens grip on Microsoft with major revamp Thursday, Jul 11, 2013 11:57 PM PDT  By Alexei Oreskovic SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp's sweeping re-organization on Thursday creates a company that, more than ever, bears the stamp of Chief Executive Steve Ballmer. The face of Microsoft since he took the reins from co-founder Bill Gates in 2000, Ballmer stressed the importance of improving internal collaboration and eliminating redundancies when he released the company's new organizational blueprint. ... Full Story | Top |
| Microsoft helped NSA, FBI access user info: Guardian Thursday, Jul 11, 2013 02:37 PM PDT  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp worked closely with U.S. intelligence services to help them intercept users' communications, including letting the National Security Agency circumvent email encryption, the Guardian reported on Thursday. Citing top-secret documents provided by former U.S. spy contractor Edward Snowden, the UK newspaper said Microsoft worked with the Federal Bureau of Investigations and the NSA to ease access via Prism - an intelligence-gathering program uncovered by the Guardian last month - to cloud storage service SkyDrive. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt welcomes U.S. remarks on Mursi; food stocks dwindle Thursday, Jul 11, 2013 01:11 PM PDT  By Yasmine Saleh and Sarah McFarlane CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's interim rulers welcomed on Thursday remarks from the U.S. State Department describing the rule of toppled leader Mohamed Mursi as undemocratic, read in Cairo as a signal that Washington will not cut off its $1.5 billion in annual aid. In a stark illustration of the desperate state of Egypt's economy, a former minister from Mursi's ousted government said Egypt had less than two months' supply left of imported wheat, revealing a far worse shortage than previously disclosed. ... Full Story | Top |
| Trayvon Martin died due to wrong assumptions: prosecutor Thursday, Jul 11, 2013 04:33 PM PDT  By Barbara Liston SANFORD, Florida (Reuters) - "Wannabe cop" George Zimmerman wrongly profiled Trayvon Martin as a criminal, followed him with a gun and provoked him into a fight that resulted in the shooting death of the unarmed black teenager, a prosecutor said on Thursday. "A teenager is dead," Florida state prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda told the jury in closing arguments of the murder trial. "He is dead through no fault of his own. He is dead because another man made assumptions. Because his assumptions were wrong, Trayvon Benjamin Martin will no longer walk on this Earth. ... Full Story | Top |
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