Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Hurricane Isaac hits southeast Louisiana

Hurricane Isaac hits southeast Louisiana

Hurricane Isaac hits southeast Louisiana

Posted: 28 Aug 2012 07:20 PM PDT

The storm surge washes up to Beach Blvd as Hurricane Isaac approaches BiloxiNEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - Hurricane Isaac crashed ashore in southeast Louisiana on Tuesday, bringing high winds and soaking rains that pose the first test for multibillion-dollar flood defenses put in place in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina devastated the U.S. Gulf Coast seven years ago. Flood-control systems and levees failed when Katrina hit in 2005, leaving parts of the New Orleans underwater. Troops and law enforcement officials have been deployed throughout the city this week to prevent a repeat of the chaos and looting that followed in the days and weeks after Katrina. ...

Colorado shooting victims' families blast fundraising charities

Posted: 28 Aug 2012 05:24 PM PDT

People surround a memorial to remember those killed in Aurora, ColoradoAURORA, Colorado (Reuters) - Families of people killed and wounded in a shooting rampage inside a Colorado movie theater in July said on Tuesday they were being denied a voice in how $5 million in donations raised to help them was being dispersed. Tom Teves, whose son Alex was killed, said the first disbursement of funds went to various charities instead of victims and that a committee charged with distributing the money does not have any victims or their families on it. ...

White supremacist who killed six Sikhs committed suicide: report

Posted: 28 Aug 2012 02:54 PM PDT

Undated handout photo of alleged gunman Wade Michael PageMILWAUKEE (Reuters) - A white supremacist who killed six people during a shooting rampage at a Wisconsin Sikh temple earlier this month committed suicide, according to the official report of the county medical examiner released on Tuesday. Michael Wade Page, 40, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head after he killed six worshippers and wounded three others as they prepared for Sunday services at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in Oak Creek on August 5. Investigators initially thought a responding officer killed Page with a gunshot to the stomach. ...

Yosemite: 1,700 may have had exposure to rodent-borne illness

Posted: 28 Aug 2012 02:27 PM PDT

Yosemite Valley is seen at sunset in Yosemite National Park in CaliforniaSAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Yosemite National Park is warning 1,700 people that they may have been exposed to a potentially deadly rodent-borne lung disease while staying in the famous California park, and said that two visitors had died from the illness known as hantavirus. The tourists who died had stayed in Curry Village, a popular camping area tucked below the park's sheer granite walls, a Yosemite spokesman said on Tuesday. A third visitor was sickened by the virus but recovering. ...

Unusual earthquake swarm shakes Southern California

Posted: 28 Aug 2012 06:31 PM PDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - An unusual swarm of hundreds of mostly small earthquakes has struck Southern California over the last three days and shaken the nerves of quake-hardy residents, but scientists say the cluster is not a sign a larger temblor is imminent. The earthquakes, the largest of which measured magnitude 5.5, began on Saturday evening and have been centered near the town of Brawley close to the state's inland Salton Sea, said Jeanne Hardebeck, research seismologist for the U.S. Geological Survey. ...

Court rejects Texas redistricting maps

Posted: 28 Aug 2012 03:40 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. federal court ruled on Tuesday that controversial Texas redistricting maps discriminate against black and Hispanic voters, effectively killing the new districts before they could take effect for the November 6 presidential election. The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued the ruling. The state maps, passed by the Republican-dominated Texas legislature, redrew districts in a way that reduced the influence of minority voters, the court ruled. November's election will likely use interim maps drawn by a federal court in San Antonio instead. ...

California Assembly OKs bill to restrict gay therapy for minors

Posted: 28 Aug 2012 05:57 PM PDT

SACRAMENTO (Reuters) - California's state Assembly approved a bill on Tuesday to restrict a therapy that aims to reverse homosexuality, moving the state closer to becoming the first in the nation to ban the controversial treatment in children and teenagers. The 51-21 vote in the Democratic-controlled Assembly marked a major victory for gay rights advocates who say the therapy has no medical basis because homosexuality is not a disorder. They also say such attempts to change sexual orientation can cause depression and lead to substance abuse and suicide. ...

Trial of Amish accused of hair-cutting attacks starts in Ohio

Posted: 28 Aug 2012 05:00 PM PDT

CLEVELAND (Reuters) - The Ohio trial of an Amish sect leader and 15 of his followers who face federal hate crime charges from forcibly cutting the beards and hair of nine people, some of whom were their parents, got underway on Tuesday. "In the Amish faith a man's beard and a women's hair are sacred religious symbols," Bridget M. Brennan, an assistant U.S. attorney, said in her opening statement. "The beard and the hair are symbols of Amish righteousness, religious symbols that God is present in their lives." Amish women do not cut their hair and the men do not cut their beards after marriage. ...

California leaders strike public pension reform deal

Posted: 28 Aug 2012 03:11 PM PDT

Brown speaks at a news conference to announce the Public Employee Pension Reform Act of 2012 at Ronald Reagan State Building in Los AngelesLOS ANGELES (Reuters) - California Governor Jerry Brown and lawmakers have reached a deal to raise public employees' retirement ages, have them pay more into their pension accounts, and cap retirement payments in a vast overhaul of the state's pension system that he says will save $30 billion. Union leaders panned the deal between Brown and fellow Democrats who control the legislature and hope to drum up support for his tax measure on the November ballot by showing voters they can tackle big challenges. ...

Boy charged with attempted murder in Baltimore school shooting

Posted: 28 Aug 2012 03:08 PM PDT

(Reuters) - A 15-year-old boy suspected of shooting a fellow student on the first day of classes at a Baltimore-area high school has been charged with first-degree attempted murder, but police say they do not know the motive for what apparently was a well-planned attack. Robert Wayne Gladden Jr. also left an ominous message on his Facebook page before heading off to Perry Hall High School in Baltimore's northeast suburbs on Monday morning. "First day of school, last day of my life," the posting read. It concluded: "fuck the world. ...

Farmers want new Farm Bill, but time is running out

Posted: 28 Aug 2012 03:59 PM PDT

A farmer poses with a handful of corn kernels in DeWittKANSAS CITY/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Congress needs to pass a new Farm Bill and fast or risk putting U.S. farmers in financial jeopardy as they need to decide on how much winter wheat to plant and how much to spend on corn and soybean seeds, plus make other decisions critical to American food production, a number of farming experts said this week. With the current package of Farm Bill programs due to expire September 30, the chorus of voices from the countryside demanding action by lawmakers is growing louder. ...

U.S. Marines remain focused on preventing suicides: general

Posted: 28 Aug 2012 01:58 PM PDT

A U.S. Marine from India Company, 3rd Battalion 4th Marines, patrols at Delaram district in Nimroz provinceWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Marine Corps is using interactive videos and other measures to reduce the number of suicides in its ranks, but it expects 2012 to be another "tough year" for the entire U.S. military, the service's top general said on Tuesday. Marine Corps Commandant General James Amos said concerted efforts had helped reduce the number of suicides in the Marine Corps to 32 in 2011 from a record high of 52 in 2009, but the trend looked worse for this year. ...

Colorado shooting victims' families blast fundraising charities

Posted: 28 Aug 2012 04:20 PM PDT

AURORA, Colorado (Reuters) - Families of people killed and wounded in a shooting rampage inside a Colorado movie theater in July said on Tuesday they were being denied a voice in how $5 million in donations raised to help them was being dispersed. Tom Teves, whose son Alex was killed, said the first disbursement of funds went to various charities instead of victims and that a committee charged with distributing the money does not have any victims or their families on it. ...

United Continental says network outage resolved

Posted: 28 Aug 2012 03:32 PM PDT

(Reuters) - United Continental Holdings said it was resuming normal operations on Tuesday after a temporary network outage hampered its website and airport functions. The airline said in a statement that the outage caused flight delays and cancellations. As a result, United said it was allowing passengers affected by the incident to cancel and rebook flights without penalty. The airline's website was also back up and operating after the earlier outage. United bought Continental in a $3.17 billion stock deal in 2010, creating the world's largest air carrier. ...

Accused Amish targeted for hair cutting, not beliefs: prosecutor

Posted: 28 Aug 2012 12:10 PM PDT

CLEVELAND (Reuters) - A prosecutor in the Ohio trial of Amish sect leader and 15 others told jurors on Tuesday that the group have been charged for forcibly cutting the hair of victims - not for their religious beliefs. The 16 Amish are all charged with a federal hate crime for forcibly cutting the hair and beards of nine men and women in attacks last fall. Some of the victims are the parents of those accused. Amish women do not cut their hair and Amish men do not cut their beards after marriage for biblical reasons. ...

Illinois governor vetoes gambling-expansion bill

Posted: 28 Aug 2012 11:44 AM PDT

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn delivers his State of the State address in SpringfieldCHICAGO (Reuters) - Illinois Governor Pat Quinn vetoed a bill that would have expanded gambling and increased the number of casinos in the state, saying the measure fell short on ethical standards and oversight. "Illinois should never settle for a gaming bill that includes loopholes for mobsters," the Democratic governor said on Tuesday in his veto message to the legislature. ...

Former Senator Arlen Specter diagnosed with cancer again

Posted: 28 Aug 2012 03:46 PM PDT

Sen. Specter fields media questions during a news conference at his campaign reception hall in PhiladelphiaPHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Former Senator Arlen Specter, a major political figure in Pennsylvania and Washington for more than four decades, is once again fighting cancer, his office said Tuesday. A statement issued by Specter's office did not specify the type of cancer he is fighting, and a spokesman declined to elaborate. Specter, 82, survived Hodgkin's lymphoma, or cancer of the lymphatic system, in 2005. His office also declined to comment on local media reports that Specter has been hospitalized. "I'm battling cancer," Specter said in the statement. "It's another battle I intend to win. ...

In bipartisan move, U.S. archbishop to pray for Democrats, too

Posted: 28 Aug 2012 08:49 AM PDT

Archbishop Dolan holds up a foam finger promoting "A Fortnight for Freedom" conference sponsored by the Catholic church, following a afternoon session during the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Annual Spring Assembly in AtlantaNEW YORK (Reuters) - Roman Catholic Cardinal Timothy Dolan will deliver the closing prayer at the Democratic National Convention as well as this week's Republican meeting, in a sign of bipartisanship after Dolan had taken a role opposing the White House on policy matters. Dolan, the archbishop of New York and president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, last week accepted an invitation to deliver the closing prayer at the Republican National Convention on Thursday in Tampa, Florida. ...

Energy drink makers face NY state probe

Posted: 28 Aug 2012 01:09 PM PDT

A variety of soft drinks produced by Pepsico are seen on a kitchen counter in Golden(Reuters) - The New York State Attorney General issued subpoenas in July to three firms that make energy drinks, including PepsiCo Inc, seeking information on the companies' marketing and advertising practices, a person familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. Besides Pepsi, maker of AMP, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman also sent subpoenas to Monster Beverage Corp and Living Essentials LLC, maker of the 5-Hour Energy drink, said the source, who declined to be identified, citing lack of authorization to speak to the media. A spokeswoman for Schneiderman declined to comment, as did PepsiCo. ...

U.S. grain markets atwitter as crop tour tweets fuel rally

Posted: 28 Aug 2012 11:50 AM PDT

A farmer poses with a handful of corn kernels in DeWitt(Reuters) - When U.S. grain markets suddenly began moving higher last Monday morning, traders pointed to tweets from an annual crop tour that detailed the damage, both in words and pictures, of the worst drought to hit the United States in 56 years. Tweets from the southeast corner of South Dakota, where few traders ever venture, were particularly telling. The drought, which has devastated corn and soybeans in the Midwest farm belt, was not thought to have caused as much damage there. Tour participants used Twitter to tell their followers how wrong they were. ...

Indiana sex offender list violates due process: court

Posted: 28 Aug 2012 10:43 AM PDT

(Reuters) - A federal appeals court said Indiana's sex and violent offender registry unconstitutionally violated the due process rights of thousands of registrants because it did not give them a chance to fix mistakes. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago rejected arguments by the Indiana Department of Correction that it was not directly responsible for errors in the registry, which contains about 24,000 names, and that registrants had other procedures to challenge mistakes. ...

Poultry companies worry, prepare for Hurricane Isaac

Posted: 28 Aug 2012 10:05 AM PDT

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Poultry producers across the South are stockpiling fuel, testing generators and making other preparations in a bid to make sure their chicken houses and poultry processing plants can continue operations in the wake of Hurricane Isaac. Such precaution by chicken producers Sanderson Farms and Tyson Foods Inc come amid a growing sense of caution by the chicken industry, which was hard hit by Hurricane Katrina seven years ago. Back then, storm-related damages to agricultural industries topped $2 billion. ...

Two dead in Legionnaires' outbreak tied to Chicago hotel

Posted: 28 Aug 2012 08:51 AM PDT

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Two people died and six others became ill after contracting Legionnaires' disease in an outbreak linked to a Chicago Marriott hotel this summer, city health officials said. The eight cases were among 8,500 people staying at the JW Marriott between July 16 and August 16. Marriott officials said Tuesday they have been able to contact 80 percent of the guests who stayed at the downtown hotel during that time to alert them of the possible risk. There is "no ongoing health threat at the hotel," according to Dr. ...

Isaac a blessing and a curse for U.S. farmers

Posted: 28 Aug 2012 05:54 AM PDT

Waves crash against Havana's seafront boulevard 'El Malecon' as tourists take picturesCHICAGO (Reuters) - Torrential rain and flooding from Tropical Storm Isaac will bring relief to a large chunk of drought-stricken cropland but will stall early harvest of corn, soybeans and rice, an agricultural meteorologist said on Tuesday. Isaac was near hurricane force as it bore down on the northern U.S. Gulf Coast. It was expected to make landfall in the New Orleans area, seven years after the city was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. ...

Alaska couple admits to plot to kill federal judge and others

Posted: 27 Aug 2012 09:00 PM PDT

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - An Alaska couple pleaded guilty on Monday to charges of conspiring to kill a federal judge in what prosecutors said was a revenge plot over income-tax rulings against them. Lonnie and Karen Vernon, followers of jailed Alaska militia leader Schaeffer Cox, reached a deal with prosecutors to avoid the need for a trial that had been set to begin next month. The Vernons and Cox were active in the "sovereign citizen" movement, whose adherents believe individuals are sovereign nations and federal, state and local laws do not apply to them. ...

Ethanol output to drop 10 percent as price rises:Think tank

Posted: 28 Aug 2012 11:20 AM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. ethanol production will fall by 10 percent in the coming year as rising prices from the drought cut exports in half, a University of Missouri think tank forecast on Tuesday. The Obama administration is weighing whether to relax a requirement to use corn-based ethanol in gasoline as meat and dairy farmers complain that demand for corn-based biofuels is driving up the cost of food. ...

White House: tapping oil reserves still an option

Posted: 28 Aug 2012 10:25 AM PDT

ON BOARD AIR FORCE ONE (Reuters) - The White House said on Tuesday that tapping strategic oil reserves remained an option but it had nothing to announce on the subject despite concerns about supply disruptions resulting from Hurricane Isaac. "That option has been on the table for some time, and remains on the table, but we have no announcements to make today," White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters traveling to Iowa with President Barack Obama on Air Force One. (Reporting by Margaret Chadbourn, writing by Jeff Mason; Editing by Sandra Maler)

Attempted murder charge for teen suspect in school shooting

Posted: 28 Aug 2012 06:10 AM PDT

(Reuters) - A 15-year-old boy suspected of shooting and critically wounding a fellow student on the first day of classes at a Baltimore high school has been charged with first-degree attempted murder, police said Tuesday. Robert Wayne Gladden Jr. is being charged as an adult and also faces a first-degree assault charge stemming from Monday's shooting, according to Baltimore County Police Department spokeswoman Susan Hunt. Hunt said Gladden, who is being held without bail, is cooperating with authorities. A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for September 7. ...

Isaac strengthens into a hurricane: NHC

Posted: 28 Aug 2012 09:31 AM PDT

Water floods an area outside the levee system along the shore of Lake Pontchartrain as tropical storm Isaac approaches New Orleans(Reuters) - Storm Isaac strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane on Tuesday as it approached the northern Gulf coast, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in its latest bulletin. "Reports from an Air Force Reserve hurricane hunter aircraft indicate that maximum winds associated with Isaac have increased to 75 miles per hour (120 kms per hour)," the NHC said. (Reporting by Soma Das in Bangalore; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)

Unusual earthquake swarm shakes Southern California

Posted: 28 Aug 2012 06:31 PM PDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - An unusual swarm of hundreds of mostly small earthquakes has struck Southern California over the last three days and shaken the nerves of quake-hardy residents, but scientists say the cluster is not a sign a larger temblor is imminent. The earthquakes, the largest of which measured magnitude 5.5, began on Saturday evening and have been centered near the town of Brawley close to the state's inland Salton Sea, said Jeanne Hardebeck, research seismologist for the U.S. Geological Survey. ...

California Assembly OKs bill to restrict gay therapy for minors

Posted: 28 Aug 2012 05:57 PM PDT

SACRAMENTO (Reuters) - California's state Assembly approved a bill on Tuesday to restrict a therapy that aims to reverse homosexuality, moving the state closer to becoming the first in the nation to ban the controversial treatment in children and teenagers. The 51-21 vote in the Democratic-controlled Assembly marked a major victory for gay rights advocates who say the therapy has no medical basis because homosexuality is not a disorder. They also say such attempts to change sexual orientation can cause depression and lead to substance abuse and suicide. ...

Colorado shooting victims' families blast fundraising charities

Posted: 28 Aug 2012 05:24 PM PDT

People surround a memorial to remember those killed in Aurora, ColoradoAURORA, Colorado (Reuters) - Families of people killed and wounded in a shooting rampage inside a Colorado movie theater in July said on Tuesday they were being denied a voice in how $5 million in donations raised to help them was being dispersed. Tom Teves, whose son Alex was killed, said the first disbursement of funds went to various charities instead of victims and that a committee charged with distributing the money does not have any victims or their families on it. ...

Trial of Amish accused of hair-cutting attacks starts in Ohio

Posted: 28 Aug 2012 05:00 PM PDT

CLEVELAND (Reuters) - The Ohio trial of an Amish sect leader and 15 of his followers who face federal hate crime charges from forcibly cutting the beards and hair of nine people, some of whom were their parents, got underway on Tuesday. "In the Amish faith a man's beard and a women's hair are sacred religious symbols," Bridget M. Brennan, an assistant U.S. attorney, said in her opening statement. "The beard and the hair are symbols of Amish righteousness, religious symbols that God is present in their lives." Amish women do not cut their hair and the men do not cut their beards after marriage. ...

Farmers want new Farm Bill, but time is running out

Posted: 28 Aug 2012 03:59 PM PDT

A farmer poses with a handful of corn kernels in DeWittKANSAS CITY/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Congress needs to pass a new Farm Bill and fast or risk putting U.S. farmers in financial jeopardy as they need to decide on how much winter wheat to plant and how much to spend on corn and soybean seeds, plus make other decisions critical to American food production, a number of farming experts said this week. With the current package of Farm Bill programs due to expire September 30, the chorus of voices from the countryside demanding action by lawmakers is growing louder. ...

Exelon drops Texas reactor plan, cites cheap natgas

Posted: 28 Aug 2012 03:55 PM PDT

(Reuters) - Exelon Corp will halt efforts to gain regulatory approval to build a new nuclear plant in southeast Texas, the company said on Tuesday. Chicago-based Exelon, the nation's largest nuclear operator, said it notified the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission that it will withdraw its application for an early site permit for land near Victoria in southeast Texas. ...

Court rejects Texas redistricting maps

Posted: 28 Aug 2012 03:40 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. federal court ruled on Tuesday that controversial Texas redistricting maps discriminate against black and Hispanic voters, effectively killing the new districts before they could take effect for the November 6 presidential election. The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued the ruling. The state maps, passed by the Republican-dominated Texas legislature, redrew districts in a way that reduced the influence of minority voters, the court ruled. November's election will likely use interim maps drawn by a federal court in San Antonio instead. ...

United Continental says network outage resolved

Posted: 28 Aug 2012 03:32 PM PDT

(Reuters) - United Continental Holdings said it was resuming normal operations on Tuesday after a temporary network outage hampered its website and airport functions. The airline said in a statement that the outage caused flight delays and cancellations. As a result, United said it was allowing passengers affected by the incident to cancel and rebook flights without penalty. The airline's website was also back up and operating after the earlier outage. United bought Continental in a $3.17 billion stock deal in 2010, creating the world's largest air carrier. ...

California leaders strike public pension reform deal

Posted: 28 Aug 2012 03:11 PM PDT

Brown speaks at a news conference to announce the Public Employee Pension Reform Act of 2012 at Ronald Reagan State Building in Los AngelesLOS ANGELES (Reuters) - California Governor Jerry Brown and lawmakers have reached a deal to raise public employees' retirement ages, have them pay more into their pension accounts, and cap retirement payments in a vast overhaul of the state's pension system that he says will save $30 billion. Union leaders panned the deal between Brown and fellow Democrats who control the legislature and hope to drum up support for his tax measure on the November ballot by showing voters they can tackle big challenges. ...
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