University reviews its dealings with accused theater gunman

University reviews its dealings with accused theater gunman
Jackson siblings deny money at root of family dispute
Judge releases nun who broke into U.S. nuclear bomb facility
Japanese minister tries out Osprey plane at Pentagon
Tuna companies to pay $3.3 million to settle skimping claims
Michigan attorney general rejects union bargaining-rights ballot bid
Chick-fil-A hit by "kiss-in" protests in gay marriage flap
Three more bomb threats phoned to Missouri Walmart stores
Peterson's wife predicted he would kill her, sister testifies
U.S. bomb dogs slept in hotel beds in Colombia security scandal: report
U.S. set to start program sparing young illegal immigrants deportation
Panetta orders review of military justice in combat zones
Michigan attorney general knocks unions' bargaining-rights ballot bid
U.S. woman's altruism starts chain of five kidney swaps, extending lives
NY proposes steep toll increases for new Tappan Zee bridge
Judge rules condemned Oregon killer can reject governor's reprieve
Senate confirms top Treasury Department tax official
U.S. submits new request to Swiss on alleged tax cheats
U.S. service sector growth gains modestly in July: ISM
U.S. nuclear bomb facility shut after security breach
Anti-Islam challenge to Tennessee lawmaker fails
Appeals court reinstates Vermont prison forced labor case
Michigan emergency manager law repeal on ballot: court
Thousands to be tested for hepatitis C in New Hampshire
Farmers markets up 10 percent from 2011: USDA
Vermont man arrested after crushing police cruisers with tractor
United Continental, pilots union reach labor pact
U.S. future economic growth gauge falls: ECRI
Czech court frees U.S. singer in fan death case on bail
Chick-fil-A hit by "kiss-in" protests in gay marriage flap
University reviews its dealings with accused theater gunman
Michigan attorney general rejects union bargaining-rights ballot bid
Tuna companies to pay $3.3 million to settle skimping claims
Judge releases nun who broke into U.S. nuclear bomb facility
Three more bomb threats phoned to Missouri Walmart stores
NY proposes steep toll increases for new Tappan Zee bridge
Judge rules condemned Oregon killer can reject governor's reprieve
Peterson's wife predicted he would kill her, sister testifies
Michigan attorney general knocks unions' bargaining-rights ballot bid

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 06:33 PM PDT

DENVER (Reuters) - The University of Colorado has hired a former federal prosecutor to probe its handling of a former graduate student accused of killing 12 people and wounding 58 in a shooting spree at a movie theater in a Denver suburb, the school said on Friday. Robert Miller was retained to conduct an internal review of the university's dealings with accused gunman and former neuroscience graduate student James Holmes, the university said in a written statement. ...

Jackson siblings deny money at root of family dispute

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 06:54 PM PDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Three of Michael Jackson's siblings vowed on Friday to keep up their fight to have the pop star's will thrown out, but denied their efforts were motivated by money. Janet, Randy and Rebbie Jackson said in an attorney's statement issued on their behalf that their aim was only to replace the executors of their brother's multimillion-dollar estate, who they accuse of mismanagement. ...

Judge releases nun who broke into U.S. nuclear bomb facility

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 05:20 PM PDT

KNOXVILLE, Tennessee (Reuters) - A U.S. magistrate judge on Friday ordered the release pending trial of an 82-year-old nun and another anti-nuclear activist charged with breaching security fences at one of the most sensitive U.S. nuclear facilities, in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, where weapons-grade uranium is kept. The security failure was an embarrassment for the National Nuclear Security Administration, or NNSA, the Energy Department branch that operates U.S. ...

Japanese minister tries out Osprey plane at Pentagon

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 04:55 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Japan's defense minister flew from the Pentagon grounds Friday in a revolutionary hybrid aircraft at the heart of a controversy that threatens to strain strong defense ties between the United States and its Asian ally. The minister, Satoshi Morimoto, donned a white flight helmet and goggles before taking the jump-seat, between the pilots, on the flat-gray Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey troop transport. ...

Tuna companies to pay $3.3 million to settle skimping claims

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 05:39 PM PDT

SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - Three of the largest U.S. sellers of canned tuna have agreed to pay $3.3 million collectively to settle civil claims brought by three California counties over complaints the companies put less fish in their cans than represented on their labels. StarKist, Chicken of the Sea and Bumble Bee brands of canned tuna contained more liquid and less tuna than stated on their cans, according to a lawsuit and settlement both filed Thursday by district attorneys for Marin, Riverside and San Diego counties. ...

Michigan attorney general rejects union bargaining-rights ballot bid

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 05:48 PM PDT

(Reuters) - A proposed referendum that would enshrine the right to collective bargaining in Michigan's state constitution is too complicated for the ballot, the state's top legal official said, dealing a major blow to the labor movement's campaign for the measure. Attorney General Bill Schuette, a Republican, said in a legal analysis obtained by the Detroit Free Press and published on Friday that Michigan ballot measures are limited to 100 words and the implications of the proposed measure are so numerous that it would be impossible to communicate them. ...

Chick-fil-A hit by "kiss-in" protests in gay marriage flap

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 03:29 PM PDT

FAIRVIEW PARK, Ohio (Reuters) - Gay rights activists and backers of same-sex marriage held "kiss-ins" at Chick-fil-A restaurants across the United States on Friday to protest the fast-food chain president's opposition to homosexual unions. Same Sex Kiss Day is a reaction to comments last month from Dan Cathy, who said he supported "the biblical definition of the family unit" and put his chain of roughly 1,600 restaurants smack in the middle of a cultural debate. ...

Three more bomb threats phoned to Missouri Walmart stores

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 04:30 PM PDT

KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Reuters) - Telephone bomb threats were received at three Walmart stores in the Kansas City area on Friday, the latest in a spate of such threats in Missouri and Kansas, according to an FBI spokeswoman. Threats were made to stores in Kansas City, Missouri, the suburb of Raytown, Missouri, and in Kansas City, Kansas, said Bridget Patton of the FBI. Local television reports showed the stores were evacuated, but Patton said no dangerous items were found. Last Friday and Sunday, there were 11 reported bomb threats to Walmart stores in Missouri and Kansas. ...

Peterson's wife predicted he would kill her, sister testifies

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 03:43 PM PDT

JOLIET, Illinois (Reuters) - Kathleen Savio predicted her own death at the hands of her husband, former suburban Chicago police officer Drew Peterson, her sister testified on Friday at Peterson's murder trial. Savio, Peterson's third wife, was found dead in a bathtub in 2004 and the death was initially considered an accidental drowning. But suspicions were raised when Peterson's fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, disappeared in 2007. Savio's body was exhumed and reexamined and Peterson was charged with murder. Savio died while she and Peterson were in the middle of a contentious divorce. ...

U.S. bomb dogs slept in hotel beds in Colombia security scandal: report

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 02:26 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Security personnel entangled in a prostitution scandal in Colombia in April irritated hotel staff by letting bomb detection dogs sleep in hotel beds and soil the linens, a U.S. military report released on Friday said. Hotel guests "thought to be American" were "bothering and propositioning" college-age female greeters working at the hotel for the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the report by the U.S. military's Southern Command. The report gave details of how unhappy hotel staff contacted U.S. ...

U.S. set to start program sparing young illegal immigrants deportation

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 02:15 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Young illegal immigrants - many of whom have spent much of their lives attending schools in the United States - will be able to begin emerging from their uncertain status on August 15 when the Obama administration begins letting them apply to stay temporarily. An estimated 800,000 young undocumented residents could qualify for the program that would grant deportation deferrals of at least two years for those who are approved. ...

Panetta orders review of military justice in combat zones

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 02:19 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has directed a panel of experts to assess whether reforms are needed in the way the military justice system handles crimes committed by U.S. forces against civilians in combat zones, the Pentagon said on Friday. While the Pentagon said the decision was not linked to any specific case, it follows a spate of incidents in Afghanistan that have outraged the local population, including one in which a soldier is suspected of killing 16 villagers in a shooting rampage. ...

Michigan attorney general knocks unions' bargaining-rights ballot bid

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 02:38 PM PDT

(Reuters) - A proposed referendum that would enshrine the right to collective bargaining in the Michigan state constitution is too complicated for the ballot, the state's top legal official said, dealing a major blow to the labor movement's campaign for the measure. Attorney General Bill Schuette, a Republican, said in a legal analysis obtained by the Detroit Free Press and published on Friday that Michigan ballot measures are limited to 100 words and the implications of the proposed measure are so numerous that it would be impossible to communicate them. ...

U.S. woman's altruism starts chain of five kidney swaps, extending lives

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 11:20 AM PDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A soon-to-be wed gay couple, a retired teacher and his wife, and two pairs of fathers and sons were among those whose lives were changed one extraordinary day this week when a 35-year-old single mother of four from North Carolina donated a kidney to a stranger in New York. "I'm not losing nothing," Honica Brittman said this week, sitting in a blue and white hospital gown before surgery in which she would give, for free, the initial kidney in a chain of five kidney transplants at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center. ...

NY proposes steep toll increases for new Tappan Zee bridge

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 04:26 PM PDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Replacing New York's aging Tappan Zee Bridge would result in raising the cash toll to $14 from the current $5, state officials estimated on Friday. The existing bridge, which spans the Hudson River and links Westchester County on the east side to Rockland County on the west, was built only to last around 50 years. The bridge opened in 1955. Fixing the bridge would cost $3 billion to $4 billion and only add another 20 to 25 years to its life, state officials said on a telephone conference call. ...

Judge rules condemned Oregon killer can reject governor's reprieve

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 04:11 PM PDT

PORTLAND, Oregon (Reuters) - A condemned murderer, who was spared lethal injection when Oregon's anti-death penalty governor stopped all executions in the state last year, can reject that reprieve and seek his own death warrant, a judge ruled on Friday. Senior Circuit Judge Timothy Alexander wrote that Gary Haugen, who has dropped all appeals and asked that his death sentence be carried out to avoid living in limbo under an indefinite but impermanent reprieve, was not required to accept the blanket stay. ...

Senate confirms top Treasury Department tax official

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 12:42 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate has confirmed Mark Mazur as the Treasury Department's assistant secretary for tax policy, making him a top tax official in the Obama administration as major tax policy decisions lie ahead. Nominated for the post in November by President Barack Obama, Mazur had been deputy assistant secretary for tax analysis. In his new job, he is likely to play a key role in tackling the "fiscal cliff" at the end of 2012 and possibly in renewed efforts to revamp the tax code in 2013. Mazur takes on his new role as two other key tax players head out the door. ...

U.S. submits new request to Swiss on alleged tax cheats

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 08:34 AM PDT

ZURICH (Reuters) - The United States has submitted a fresh request to Switzerland for information on former clients of Credit Suisse suspected of cheating on their U.S. taxes, after an earlier attempt was blocked by a Swiss court, the bank said on Friday. The two countries have for years been locked in a conflict over the fact that wealthy Americans are dodging taxes by hiding money in Swiss accounts. Washington is pressuring banks in Switzerland to divulge their names and financial details. ...

U.S. service sector growth gains modestly in July: ISM

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 08:17 AM PDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The pace of growth in the vast services sector edged up in July as new orders gained, but employment fell to its lowest level in nearly a year, according to an industry report released on Friday. The Institute for Supply Management said its services index rose to 52.6 last month from 52.1 in June, topping economists' forecasts for 52. A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the sector. "This is in line with the idea that longer term, we're still seeing slow but steady growth," said Mike Shea, a managing partner and trader at Direct Access Partners LLC in New York. ...

U.S. nuclear bomb facility shut after security breach

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 01:48 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government's only facility for handling, processing and storing weapons-grade uranium has been temporarily shut after anti-nuclear activists, including an 82-year-old nun, breached security fences, government officials said on Thursday. WSI Oak Ridge, the contractor responsible for protecting the facility at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, is owned by the international security firm G4S, which was at the center of a dispute over security at the London Olympic Games. ...

Anti-Islam challenge to Tennessee lawmaker fails

Posted: 02 Aug 2012 10:44 PM PDT

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Reuters) - A Tennessee Republican congresswoman survived a spirited primary election challenge on Thursday from an opponent whose campaign was based on opposition to Islam and to a new mosque built near Nashville. U.S. Representative Diane Black won the primary election by a comfortable margin over Lou Ann Zelenik, noted for her fierce opposition to the Islamic Center built in Murfreesboro, about 30 miles south of Nashville, although it was outside the congressional district she sought to represent. ...

Appeals court reinstates Vermont prison forced labor case

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 01:10 PM PDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A man who claimed he was forced to do manual labor while detained pending trial can proceed with claims against the state of Vermont under the 13th Amendment, which prohibits slavery and involuntary servitude. In an opinion on Friday, a three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that a lower court wrongly denied Finbar McGarry a chance to argue that he was forced, against his will and under threat, to work in a prison laundry. McGarry was a PhD student in chemistry at the University of Vermont at the time of his arrest in December 2008. ...

Michigan emergency manager law repeal on ballot: court

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 03:05 PM PDT

(Reuters) - Michigan voters in November will decide the fate of a law that gave the state more control over struggling local governments after a court on Friday gave them the chance to repeal it. Michigan officials said that once the measure is officially certified for the November 6 state-wide ballot as directed by the state supreme court, the 2011 law known as Public Act 4 will be suspended and a former, weaker, emergency manager law will replace it in the interim. ...

Thousands to be tested for hepatitis C in New Hampshire

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 01:37 PM PDT

BOSTON (Reuters) - Thousands of former patients at a New Hampshire hospital have been given permission to be tested to discover whether they were infected with the hepatitis C virus by a medical technician charged with stealing drugs and contaminating needles. The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services on Friday announced plans for testing about 3,300 former patients of Exeter Hospital who may have been infected. Any patient treated in the hospital's main operating rooms or intensive care unit between April 1, 2011 and May 25, 2012 may be at risk of infection. ...

Farmers markets up 10 percent from 2011: USDA

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 12:56 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of farmers markets listed by the U.S. Agriculture Department (USDA) is up 9.6 percent from last year to 7,864, with almost half in 10 states, the department said on Friday. Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan said growth of the markets, which allow local growers to sell produce directly to consumers, reflected in part a desire for Americans to reconnect with farmers. "Close to 10 percent is amazing growth," she said in a conference call. The severe drought underscored the need for consumers to support local growers, Merrigan said. ...

Vermont man arrested after crushing police cruisers with tractor

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 11:37 AM PDT

LITTLETON, New Hampshire (Reuters) - A Vermont man was arrested after allegedly running over seven police cruisers with a tractor, police said on Friday. Roger Pion, 34, of Newport, Vermont now faces seven counts of unlawful mischief and three other charges after being arrested by state police for crushing cruisers belonging to the Orleans County Sheriff's Department in the town of Derby on Thursday. "I felt like I was in a monster jam rally or something," said Rene Morris, an eyewitness told local television station WCAX. ...

United Continental, pilots union reach labor pact

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 09:56 AM PDT

(Reuters) - United Continental Holdings Inc said on Friday it has reached an agreement in principle with its pilots union, advancing the carrier's effort to integrate its staff after the 2010 merger creating the company. The agreement, with the Air Line Pilots Association, which represents pilots at the United and Continental subsidiaries, is subject to approval by union leaders and ratification by rank-and-file pilots once it is finalized. ...

U.S. future economic growth gauge falls: ECRI

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 07:44 AM PDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A measure of future economic growth fell in the latest week, while the annualized growth rate rose, a research group said on Friday. The Economic Cycle Research Institute, a New York-based independent forecasting group, said its Weekly Leading Index fell to 122.2 in the week ended July 27 from 122.7 the previous week. That was originally reported as 122.8. The index's annualized growth rate rose to a nine-week high of minus 1.3 percent from minus 1.7 percent a week earlier. That was originally reported as minus 1.6 percent. ...

Czech court frees U.S. singer in fan death case on bail

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 01:00 PM PDT

PRAGUE (Reuters) - The frontman of a U.S. heavy metal band detained on suspicion of causing the death of a fan has being released from jail in the Czech Republic after posting bail, a court spokeswoman said on Friday. Czech police detained Randy Blythe, 41, a member of the Lamb of God band, in Prague in June saying they suspected he had pushed a fan off the stage during the band's gig in the country two years ago. The fan later died due to head injuries. But on Friday, a court spokeswoman said Blythe had posted bail to the tune of 8 million crowns ($384,300) and had been released. ...

Chick-fil-A hit by "kiss-in" protests in gay marriage flap

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 03:29 PM PDT

University reviews its dealings with accused theater gunman

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 06:33 PM PDT

Michigan attorney general rejects union bargaining-rights ballot bid

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 05:48 PM PDT

Tuna companies to pay $3.3 million to settle skimping claims

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 05:39 PM PDT

Judge releases nun who broke into U.S. nuclear bomb facility

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 05:20 PM PDT

Three more bomb threats phoned to Missouri Walmart stores

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 04:30 PM PDT