Friday, December 7, 2012

US Air makes merger offer, AMR pilots approve labor deal

US Air makes merger offer, AMR pilots approve labor deal


US Air makes merger offer, AMR pilots approve labor deal

Posted: 07 Dec 2012 03:34 PM PST

A US Airways plane passes American Airlines planes at Ronald Reagan National Airport in WashingtonNEW YORK (Reuters) - US Airways Group Inc has made a formal merger proposal to American Airlines parent AMR Corp and its creditors that could value the combined airline at around $8.5 billion, two people familiar with the matter said on Friday. Details of the proposal emerged as American Airlines pilots voted to ratify a new union contract on Friday, ending a years-long labor dispute and stabilizing the carrier as it tries to emerge from bankruptcy. ...


Supreme Court takes up same-sex marriage for first time

Posted: 07 Dec 2012 04:45 PM PST

Same-sex couple Hata and Cadena walk a hallway after their wedding ceremony in San FranciscoWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Supreme Court stepped into the gay marriage debate for the first time on Friday by agreeing to review two challenges to federal and state laws that define marriage as a union between a man and a woman. The high court agreed to review a case against a federal law that denies married same-sex couples the federal benefits heterosexual couples receive. It also unexpectedly took up a challenge to California's ban on gay marriage, known as Proposition 8, which voters narrowly approved in 2008. ...


Former aide to Wisconsin governor sentenced in embezzlement case

Posted: 07 Dec 2012 06:18 PM PST

MILWAUKEE (Reuters) - A former aide to Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker was sentenced to two years in prison on Friday for embezzling tens of thousands of dollar from a fund for families of U.S. soldiers who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan. The aide, Kevin Kavanaugh, was also sentenced to two years of extended supervision and ordered to pay back the $51,200 he embezzled from Operation Freedom, a military appreciation event held each year at the Milwaukee County Zoo. ...

After scandals, Pentagon brass looks at staffing for generals

Posted: 07 Dec 2012 03:24 PM PST

U.S. Capitol Police guard a door to the restricted area where former CIA Director Petraeus is testifying, at Capitol Hill in WashingtonWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon's top military officers have decided to review the kind of staff support provided to senior generals and admirals after several high-profile scandals raised concerns about the inappropriate use of personnel and equipment for personal gain. The decision, announced on Friday, to take a closer look at support given to senior military leaders was one of two initial recommendations to come from a review of ethics training requested by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta three weeks ago. ...


Supreme Court to hear "pay-for-delay" drug case

Posted: 07 Dec 2012 03:18 PM PST

(Reuters) - The Supreme Court agreed on Friday to decide whether brand-name drug companies may pay money to generic drug rivals to keep their lower-priced products off the market, a practice estimated to cost consumers and the government billions of dollars each year. The arrangements, known as "pay-for-delay" or "reverse payments," have for more than a decade vexed antitrust enforcers, including the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which have been stung until recently by a series of court decisions allowing such practices. ...

Motorcycle gang members convicted of racketeering, murder

Posted: 07 Dec 2012 05:24 PM PST

KANSAS CITY, Mo (Reuters) - A federal jury in Missouri convicted motorcycle gang members on Friday of racketeering, murder and other crimes as part of a broad crackdown on motorcycle gang activity. The convictions in St. Louis, following a month-long trial, come on the heels of indictments and arrests of members of other motorcycle gangs in Indiana, Michigan and California earlier this year. An indictment unsealed in June said some members of the Wheels of Soul Outlaw Motorcycle Club murdered a rival in St. ...

Once prominent Miami businessman arrested on fraud charges

Posted: 07 Dec 2012 04:11 PM PST

MIAMI (Reuters) - A Miami businessman once named "Entrepreneur of the Year" by tax and consulting firm Ernst & Young was arrested on Friday and accused of leading a $40 million investment fraud linked to a company he owned that promoted a cutting-edge design to build low-cost houses. Claudio Osorio, 54, the former president of InnoVida Holdings, and the firm's former chief financial officer were indicted on two counts of wire fraud and one count of major fraud, among other charges, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Miami said in a statement. They also face fraud charges by the U.S. ...

Rapper Notorious B.I.G.'s autopsy released 15 years after murder

Posted: 07 Dec 2012 06:14 PM PST

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The autopsy report on murdered hip hop star Notorious B.I.G. has been released by the Los Angeles County Coroner, more than 15 years after his shooting. Notorious B.I.G was gunned down at the age of 24 in Los Angeles in the early morning on March 9, 1997, in a drive-by shooting. The rapper was sitting in the passenger seat of a sport-utility vehicle after a party when he was killed. The report, released quietly last week and obtained by Reuters on Friday, indicates Notorious B.I.G., whose real name was Christopher Wallace, was struck in his arm, back, thigh and abdomen. ...

Judge rejects bid to block Washington state "stoned driving" rules

Posted: 07 Dec 2012 03:43 PM PST

Marijuana is seen in the hand of a person after the law legalizing the recreational use of marijuana went into effect in Seattle, WashingtonOLYMPIA, Washington (Reuters) - A judge on Friday rejected a request by a medical marijuana user to block Washington state from enforcing tougher "stoned driving" rules after it became one of the first U.S. states to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. Washington state voters last month approved marijuana legalization by a margin of 56 percent to 44 percent, making the state, along with Colorado, the first in the country to legalize recreational pot use. ...


Obama seeks $60.4 billion for Sandy repairs, states want more

Posted: 07 Dec 2012 05:27 PM PST

Debris of a home damaged by Superstorm Sandy is seen one month after the disaster in Union BeachNEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama asked Congress on Friday to approve a $60.4 billion aid package to help East Coast states rebuild after Superstorm Sandy, well short of their initial requests. Officials from storm-battered New York, New Jersey and Connecticut had said they needed at least $82 billion combined to make emergency repairs and upgrade infrastructure. New York and New Jersey lawmakers said they expect Obama will seek more aid as the extent of Sandy's damage becomes clearer. ...


Arizona man claims half of $587.5 million Powerball jackpot

Posted: 07 Dec 2012 05:07 PM PST

PHOENIX (Reuters) - A married Phoenix-area man in his thirties has come forward to claim half of a record $587.5 million Powerball lottery jackpot but wants to remain anonymous, Arizona lottery officials said on Friday. The ticket holder - who moved to Arizona a year ago from Pennsylvania - splits the huge prize in the November 28 drawing with a Missouri couple, Mark and Cindy Hill, who claimed their share a week ago. ...

Police probing jewelry theft at home of congressman

Posted: 07 Dec 2012 03:42 PM PST

Congressman Issa speaks during "The Security Failures of Benghazi" hearing on Capitol HillSAN DIEGO (Reuters) - The San Diego-area home of Representative Darrell Issa was broken into last week by a burglar who stole jewelry, and police were investigating several leads into the crime, the San Diego County Sheriff's Department said on Friday. A spokesman for Issa, the Republican chairman of the House of Representatives Oversight and Government Reform Committee, confirmed the burglary but directed further inquiries to local authorities. ...


Secret Service probed over lost computer files

Posted: 07 Dec 2012 04:16 PM PST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Secret Service said on Friday it is under investigation by the Department of Homeland Security over the loss of computer files on the Washington Metro system. In 2008, a contract employee lost two computer tapes on the Metro while transporting them from one facility to another, Secret Service spokesman Edwin Donovan said. The investigation was first reported by CNN and Fox News. The Secret Service notified transit police and the Department of Homeland Security, but were unable to locate the tapes. ...

NJ residents go home after toxic chemicals cleared

Posted: 07 Dec 2012 02:45 PM PST

File photo of derailed freight train cars in PaulsboroPAULSBORO, New Jersey (Reuters) - Residents of New Jersey evacuated after a freight train derailment last week spewed toxic vinyl chloride began returning home on Friday as tests of the air came back clean, a Coast Guard official said. Exactly one week after a bridge collapsed, derailing seven of the 82 Conrail freight-train cars crossing the Mantua Creek in southern New Jersey, residents who were ordered out of more than 200 homes nearest the wreck were allowed back into their homes on Friday afternoon. ...


Supreme Court takes up same-sex marriage for first time

Posted: 07 Dec 2012 03:12 PM PST

Same-sex couple Hata and Cadena walk a hallway after their wedding ceremony in San FranciscoWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Supreme Court stepped into the gay marriage debate for the first time on Friday by agreeing to review two challenges to federal and state laws that define marriage as a union between a man and a woman. The high court agreed to review a case against a federal law that denies married same-sex couples the federal benefits heterosexual couples receive. It also took up a challenge to California's ban on gay marriage, known as Proposition 8, which voters narrowly approved in 2008. ...


Obama to ask Congress for more than $60 billion for storm repairs

Posted: 07 Dec 2012 02:37 PM PST

Debris of a home damaged by Superstorm Sandy is seen one month after the disaster in Union Beach(Reuters) - President Barack Obama's administration will ask U.S. lawmakers to approve more than $60 billion in funding for East Coast states to rebuild after Superstorm Sandy. Officials from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, which were hit hard by the storm, had asked for much more, saying they needed at least $82 billion altogether to make emergency repairs and upgrade infrastructure to prevent similar damage from future storms. ...


Wide net cast in search for Alaska serial killer's victims

Posted: 07 Dec 2012 03:07 PM PST

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - The search for victims of a dead U.S. serial killer is wrought with challenges - a wide expanse of territory where his crimes were committed, long stretches of vaguely accounted-for time and no single list of potential targets, officials say. Israel Keyes, 34, who committed suicide in an Alaska jail on Sunday, had admitted to investigators that he killed an 18-year-old Anchorage cafe barista in February as well as a Vermont couple in 2011 and at least five other people in Washington and New York states. ...

Russia set to halt imports of U.S. beef, pork

Posted: 07 Dec 2012 02:53 PM PST

A butcher arranges portions of meat in her display at a market in St. PetersburgCHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. pork and beef exports to Russia could come to a halt on Saturday following Moscow's requirement that the meat be tested and certified free of the feed additive ractopamine, a move analysts said smacked of political retaliation. The move could jeopardize the more than $500 million a year in exports of U.S. beef and pork to Russia, and comes on the heels of U.S. Senate approval of a bill to expand bilateral trade that also sought to punish Russian human rights violators. The United States asked Russia, the sixth-largest market for U.S. ...


Detroit eyes layoffs, other actions to avoid state control

Posted: 07 Dec 2012 02:15 PM PST

Detroit Mayor Dave Bing listens during a news conference at the Chrysler Mack I auto plant in Detroit, MichiganDETROIT (Reuters) - Under pressure by Michigan officials to turn around Detroit's sagging finances, city officials said on Friday they will lay off hundreds of workers in addition to putting some on unpaid leave to stave off increased state oversight. Mayor Dave Bing and top officials outlined plans to lay off 400 to 500 employees over the next two to three months in all non-revenue generating departments, including police and fire, exempting beat officers. He also reiterated plans to put more city workers on unpaid leave. ...


U.S. seeks to require black boxes in all cars

Posted: 07 Dec 2012 02:38 PM PST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Devices that record crash-related data would be required in all new cars and light trucks under a U.S. Department of Transportation proposal made on Friday to broaden their growing use in the United States. The proposed rule, which may stir consumer privacy concerns, would require automakers to put "event data recorders" in light passenger vehicles weighing less than 8,500 pounds, effective September 1, 2014. ...

Supreme Court could limit scope for class arbitration

Posted: 07 Dec 2012 01:59 PM PST

(Reuters) - The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear an appeal that gives the nine justices a chance to limit the ability of consumers and businesses to litigate disputes as a class. At issue was whether doctors could collectively arbitrate a dispute over payments with Oxford Health Plans LLC even though the governing arbitration agreement did not mention class actions. The court has in recent years made it harder for some parties to litigate or arbitrate their claims together, which could boost payouts and lower costs. In the 2010 case Stolt-Nielsen v. ...

Michigan "right-to-work" law exempts existing union contracts

Posted: 07 Dec 2012 02:10 PM PST

LANSING, Michigan (Reuters) - The proposed Michigan "right-to-work" law will not apply to existing union contracts, a leading sponsor of the proposal said on Friday, which may blunt its immediate impact on the state's huge auto industry. Michigan Republicans pushed through the state Legislature on Thursday a law making the payment of union dues voluntary in the private sector. The state Senate also voted to apply that to the public sector, except for police and fire unions. ...

New York bike-sharing program delayed again because of storm

Posted: 07 Dec 2012 02:05 PM PST

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The rollout of New York City's bicycle-sharing program, to be the largest in the United States, will be delayed for two months and initially scaled back because of damage that bikes and docking systems sustained during Superstorm Sandy. The city will push back the debut of Citi Bike, its self-service short-term bike rental program, to May 2013 from March in order to replace and refurbish many of the electrical components that were exposed to floodwater, the New York City Department of Transportation and New York City Bike Share said in a statement on Friday. ...

AIG sees at least $1.3 billion Sandy loss, more than peers

Posted: 07 Dec 2012 01:33 PM PST

Logo on headquarters of American International Group Inc. (AIG) in New York(Reuters) - Insurer American International Group Inc on Friday said it expects after-tax losses of at least $1.3 billion from Superstorm Sandy, a much bigger hit than some of its largest peers have reported. The figure is double what Travelers Cos Inc said it expected to lose from Sandy and 20 percent more than Allstate Corp forecast for its losses. AIG said the loss, which is net of reinsurance recoveries, would be reflected in the fourth quarter. The company will contribute $1 billion from existing funds to its U.S. property insurance subsidiaries to help cover the losses. ...


Residents go home after toxic chemicals cleared in NJ train wreck

Posted: 07 Dec 2012 12:59 PM PST

Derailed freight train cars sit semi-submerged in the waters of Mantua Creek after a train crash in PaulsboroPAULSBORO, New Jersey (Reuters) - Residents evacuated after last week's freight train derailment spewed toxic vinyl chloride began returning home on Friday as tests of the air came back clean, a Coast Guard official said. Exactly one week after a bridge collapsed, derailing seven of the 82 Conrail freight-train cars crossing the Mantua Creek, residents who were ordered out of 148 homes nearest the wreck were allowed back into their homes on Friday afternoon. ...


Rolling Stones, DiCaprio to join N.Y. Sandy benefit concert

Posted: 07 Dec 2012 12:49 PM PST

(Reuters) - Legendary rock band The Rolling Stones, "Twilight" star Kristen Stewart and actor Leonardo DiCaprio have joined the line-up for a fundraising concert in New York next week for victims of Hurricane Sandy, organizers said on Friday. The Stones, who last week launched a five-concert celebration of their 50th anniversary as a band, will take the stage with previously announced stars Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, Kanye West, Bon Jovi, Billy Joel, The Who and others at the December 12 concert in New York City's Madison Square Garden. ...

Pfizer's gold dust vanishes in Missouri

Posted: 07 Dec 2012 01:58 PM PST

(Reuters) - A cache of gold dust has gone missing from a Pfizer Inc laboratory in suburban St. Louis, and police say they are investigating whether it was lost or stolen. Police in Chesterfield, Missouri said they began an investigation a week ago after an employee of the drugmaker conducted inventory at the laboratory and could not find the precious metal bought for $700,000 last year. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch first reported the news on Friday. "They went to check on it and found out there was a quantity missing," Capt. Steven Lewis of the Chesterfield, Mo. police department told Reuters. ...

Bus driver cleared of manslaughter in deadly NY crash

Posted: 07 Dec 2012 11:42 AM PST

A Virginia State Patrol cruiser sits in front of the aftermath of an early-morning bus crash that killed four people, in the northbound lanes of Interstate 95 in Carmel Church, VirginiaNEW YORK (Reuters) - A Bronx jury on Friday cleared bus driver Ophadell Williams of all counts except unlicensed driving in a crash that killed 15 passengers returning to New York's Chinatown from a Connecticut gambling outing. Jurors rejected 53 counts against Williams, including manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and assault. He was convicted of a single count of third-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle. ...


Arizona winner claims half of $587.5 million Powerball jackpot

Posted: 07 Dec 2012 01:37 PM PST

PHOENIX (Reuters) - The holder of a winning lottery ticket bought in Arizona has come forward to claim half of a record $587.5 million Powerball lottery jackpot, the Arizona lottery said on Friday. The ticket holder, who has not been identified, shares the huge prize in the November 29 draw with a Missouri couple, Mark and Cindy Hill, who claimed their prize a week ago. ...

Rhode Island asks court to dismiss suit challenging pension law

Posted: 07 Dec 2012 12:21 PM PST

PROVIDENCE (Reuters) - A high-stakes legal battle over pension reform in Rhode Island moved ahead on Friday when attorneys for the state and its retirement system asked a judge to dismiss a lawsuit by labor unions that seeks to overturn last year's pension law. John Tarantino, the lead attorney for the state's retirement system, argued that the case should be dismissed because the pension law does not amount to a contract, as the unions seeking to overturn the reforms argue it is. ...

Railroad will allow track, signal tests in Texas crash probe

Posted: 07 Dec 2012 06:57 PM PST

SAN ANGELO, Texas (Reuters) - The Union Pacific Railroad will allow attorneys representing victims of a train crash that killed four wounded U.S. military veterans in Texas to conduct their own tests of tracks, signals and a locomotive horn, a lawyer for the victims said on Friday. "They gave us what we asked for without the necessity of the court ordering," attorney Kevin Glasheen said. Four veterans were killed and at least 14 people were injured when a Union Pacific freight train slammed into a parade float at a railroad crossing in Midland, Texas, last month. ...

California gay couples hoped Supreme Court would avoid same-sex marriage case

Posted: 07 Dec 2012 04:42 PM PST

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The Supreme Court's decision on Friday to review California's same-sex marriage ban disappointed some Golden State gay couples who would have been able to wed if the court refused to hear the case. If the court had not taken the case, a federal appeals court ruling that had overturned the ban would have been the law of the state, opening the way to same-sex marriages in California and leaving the nation unchanged. Now the Supreme Court could decide whether -- or not -- the U.S. Constitutional guarantees gays the right to marry. ...

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