Saturday, June 23, 2012

Firefighters struggle with blazes in Western U.S. states

Firefighters struggle with blazes in Western U.S. states


Firefighters struggle with blazes in Western U.S. states

Posted: 23 Jun 2012 07:12 PM PDT

A telephone pole, damaged from the so-called Dump Fire, smoulders on the ground outside of an explosives plant near Saratoga SpringsSALT LAKE CITY (Reuters) - Firefighters in Utah and Colorado struggled on Saturday to contain raging wildfires stoked by high winds that have burned some 200 dwellings in Colorado, but said they would allow 2,500 people evacuated in Utah to return home for the night. Fanned by winds, the so-called Dump Fire about 35 miles south of Salt Lake City, Utah grew to 6,023 acres on Saturday from 4,000 (1,618) late Friday, and was only about 30 percent contained, Bureau of Land Management spokeswoman Cami Lee said. ...


Penn State moves swiftly on Sandusky sex abuse civil suits

Posted: 23 Jun 2012 04:22 PM PDT

Former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky stands with his lawyers as the jury foreman reads the verdict in this courtroom sketch during Sandusky's child sex abuse trial in BellefonteBELLEFONTE, Pennsylvania (Reuters) - With former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky now behind bars for child sexual abuse, the university has given an unusual signal that it wants to wrap up civil suits as fast as possible, legal observers said on Saturday. Shortly after Sandusky, 68, was convicted late on Friday on 45 counts of sexual abuse, Pennsylvania State University invited victims to try to resolve claims against the school. ...


Former foe of gay marriage in California now favors unions

Posted: 23 Jun 2012 05:58 PM PDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A key witness for lawyers seeking to defend California's ban on same-sex marriage in federal court in 2010 has changed his view on the subject, and pronounced his support for giving gay unions social recognition. David Blankenhorn, founder of the Institute for American Values think tank, wrote in an opinion piece for the New York Times he now believes the time for "denigrating or stigmatizing same-sex relationships is over. ...

Tropical Storm Debby threatens Louisiana, Texas

Posted: 23 Jun 2012 07:01 PM PDT

MIAMI (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Debby formed in the central Gulf of Mexico on Saturday and storm warnings were posted for part of the Louisiana coast, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. Debby covered much of the eastern Gulf and was centered about 220 miles south-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River. The storm had top winds of 50 miles per hour (81 km per hour) and was expected to strengthen slowly, nearing hurricane force by Thursday. Debby was moving slowly north and was expected to turn to the west on Sunday. ...

Clock ticks for Congress over transport, student loans

Posted: 23 Jun 2012 03:18 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With only a week to go until funding expires for federal highway construction and student loan rates soar, negotiators in Congress are working to cut a deal that would defuse two political time bombs ahead of the November general election. "All I can confirm is that work continues through the weekend, the goal being a final agreement that can get wrapped up next week," a House of Representatives Republican aide said on Saturday. Failure would have a direct impact on the economy ahead of the November 6 vote. ...

Cries of cover-up in possible vote on attorney general

Posted: 23 Jun 2012 02:04 PM PDT

Holder testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in WashingtonWASHINGTON (Reuters) - In the classic Washington investigation at the highest levels of power, it is never the original offense that leads to trouble. It is who knew what and who said what that powers the probe and brings forth the cry of cover-up. That script is being followed almost to the letter in the drama that continues this week as the Republican-controlled House of Representatives prepares for a possible vote on contempt of Congress charges against the highest law enforcement official in the country, Attorney General Eric Holder. ...


Obama marks 1972 law lifting education barriers to girls

Posted: 23 Jun 2012 11:46 AM PDT

U.S. President Barack Obama speaks at a campaign event at Hillsborough Community College in TampaWASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama, marking the 40th anniversary of landmark legislation that lifted barriers to girls and women in education and school sports, said on Saturday the law had achieved far-reaching gains in improving equality between the sexes. In an op-ed piece published in Newsweek magazine, Obama said the legislation known as Title IX, signed in 1972 by President Richard Nixon, fostered a spirit of competition that has also helped girls and women succeed off the sports fields. ...


New York Asian-American Congress candidate seeks to make history

Posted: 23 Jun 2012 12:39 PM PDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - All politics is local, but in Queens, New York City's most ethnically diverse borough, local politics can also be international. In a newly drawn congressional district here that is now 40 percent Asian, state Assemblywoman Grace Meng is running to be the first Asian-American member of New York's congressional delegation. Her main rival in the Democratic primary, Assemblyman Rory Lancman, has made support for Israel a central issue. U.S. ...

Firefighters struggle against major blazes in two western U.S. states

Posted: 23 Jun 2012 01:57 PM PDT

SALT LAKE CITY (Reuters) - Firefighters in Utah and Colorado struggled on Saturday to contain raging wildfires stoked by high winds, which have forced the evacuation of more than 2,000 people in Utah and burned some 200 dwellings in Colorado. Fanned by winds, the so-called Dump Fire about 35 miles south of Salt Lake City, Utah grew to 5,600 acres on Saturday from 4,000 late Friday, and was only about 30 percent contained, Bureau of Land Management spokeswoman Cami Lee said. ...

U.S. lawmaker who replaced Giffords holds Tucson event

Posted: 23 Jun 2012 07:12 PM PDT

Ron Barber is seen at a voting center at St. Cyril's Catholic Church in TucsonTUCSON, Arizona (Reuters) - The former aide who took Gabrielle Giffords' seat in Congress held his first meet-and-greet event similar to the one where they were both wounded last year in Arizona, a step he said was tough but necessary. Newly elected U.S. Representative Ron Barber drew around 300 people to the "Congress on Your Corner" at a Tucson supermarket, where a line stretched across the storefront. "It was challenging but I felt that it was essential to do this," Barber said after the event. ...


New Jersey Mayor Booker again comes to aid of victim

Posted: 23 Jun 2012 11:14 AM PDT

Newark Mayor Cory Booker speaks to the media outside a burned house in Newark, New Jersey(Reuters) - Newark, New Jersey, Mayor Cory Booker, who was hailed as a hero after rescuing a woman from a burning home in April, was among a group of people who came to the aid of a pedestrian hit by a car on Friday. City officials could not immediately be reached for comment on Saturday but Booker described the accident in Newark via Twitter. "God bless my residents. Pulled up on pedestrian/vehicle accident. We got man stabilized & into ambulance. He'll be OK. Thanx 2 all who helped," the mayor tweeted. He said the man had run into traffic and the driver stayed on the scene to help. ...


Former foe of gay marriage in California now favors unions

Posted: 23 Jun 2012 04:40 PM PDT

(Reuters) - A key witness for lawyers seeking to defend California's ban on same-sex marriage in federal court in 2010 has changed his view on the subject, and pronounced his support for giving gay unions social recognition. David Blankenhorn, founder of the conservative Institute for American Values think tank, wrote in an opinion piece for the New York Times that he now believes the time for "denigrating or stigmatizing same-sex relationships is over. ...

Tropical Storm Debby threatens Louisiana, Texas

Posted: 23 Jun 2012 02:59 PM PDT

MIAMI (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Debby formed in the central Gulf of Mexico on Saturday and storm warnings were posted for part of the Louisiana coast, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. Debby covered much of the eastern Gulf and was centered about 220 miles south-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River. The storm had top winds of 50 miles per hour (81 km per hour) and was expected to strengthen slowly, nearing hurricane force by Thursday. Debby was moving slowly north and was expected to turn to the west on Sunday. ...

Tropical Storm Debby forms in central Gulf of Mexico

Posted: 23 Jun 2012 02:06 PM PDT

MIAMI (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Debby formed in the central Gulf of Mexico on Saturday and storm warnings were posted for part of the Louisiana coast, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. Debby was centered about 220 miles south-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River and was moving slowly north, forecasters said. The storm had top winds of 50 miles per hour (81 km per hour) and was expected to strengthen slowly over the next two days. (Reporting by Jane Sutton; Editing by Paul Simao)

Two bodies found at hotel where Whitney Houston died

Posted: 23 Jun 2012 10:54 AM PDT

Beverly Hilton Hotel is seen from one of the adjacent rooms in Los Angeles(Reuters) - Two bodies discovered at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, where singer Whitney Houston died in February and where the Emmy awards for Daytime television will take place later on Saturday, were believed to be the victims of a murder-suicide, police said. Beverly Hills police said in a statement on Saturday that they responded to a call late on Friday night and found the bodies of an elderly man and woman at the hotel. "Investigators believe they are the victims of a murder-suicide," said police spokesman Mark Rosen. ...


School's end clears up New York students' mystery twitching

Posted: 23 Jun 2012 08:19 AM PDT

LE ROY, New York (Reuters) - Students whose mysterious twitches drew a national spotlight will accept their high school diplomas on Sunday, with most of them back to normal after a controversial diagnosis that the actions were caused by attention from social and news media. A total of 20 patients - almost all of them girls enrolled at Le Roy Junior/Senior High School - first began exhibiting involuntary movements in October 2011 in this working class town about 50 miles east of Buffalo. ...

U.S. public workers say organized labor at a turning point

Posted: 22 Jun 2012 09:57 PM PDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - As America's biggest state and local government employees' union gathered here this week, it faced obstacles like never before. After a big defeat in Wisconsin, and under pressure to accept cuts in jobs, pay, pensions and benefits, it needed to give convincing answers. Lee Saunders, who became the union's first African American president on Friday, said the fight was "just getting started." He said the mission for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees was to save nothing less than organized labor itself. ...

U.S. lawmaker who replaced Giffords holds Tucson event

Posted: 23 Jun 2012 07:12 PM PDT

Ron Barber is seen at a voting center at St. Cyril's Catholic Church in TucsonTUCSON, Arizona (Reuters) - The former aide who took Gabrielle Giffords' seat in Congress held his first meet-and-greet event similar to the one where they were both wounded last year in Arizona, a step he said was tough but necessary. Newly elected U.S. Representative Ron Barber drew around 300 people to the "Congress on Your Corner" at a Tucson supermarket, where a line stretched across the storefront. "It was challenging but I felt that it was essential to do this," Barber said after the event. ...


Firefighters struggle with blazes in Western U.S. states

Posted: 23 Jun 2012 07:12 PM PDT

A telephone pole, damaged from the so-called Dump Fire, smoulders on the ground outside of an explosives plant near Saratoga SpringsSALT LAKE CITY (Reuters) - Firefighters in Utah and Colorado struggled on Saturday to contain raging wildfires stoked by high winds that have burned some 200 dwellings in Colorado, but said they would allow 2,500 people evacuated in Utah to return home for the night. Fanned by winds, the so-called Dump Fire about 35 miles south of Salt Lake City, Utah grew to 6,023 acres on Saturday from 4,000 (1,618) late Friday, and was only about 30 percent contained, Bureau of Land Management spokeswoman Cami Lee said. ...


Factbox: Gulf of Mexico oil, gas operations affected by Debby

Posted: 23 Jun 2012 07:01 PM PDT

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Some U.S. oil and gas producers in the Gulf of Mexico shut down production and evacuated their energy infrastructure on Saturday as the first named storm of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season to disrupt operations, Tropical Storm Debby, churned in the basin. The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said on Saturday that 7.8 percent, or 107,602 barrels per day, of the Gulf's oil output and 8.16 percent, or 367 million cubic feet of natgas production per day was shut in. The Gulf of Mexico accounts for a little more than 20 percent of U.S. ...

Tropical Storm Debby threatens Louisiana, Texas

Posted: 23 Jun 2012 07:01 PM PDT

MIAMI (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Debby formed in the central Gulf of Mexico on Saturday and storm warnings were posted for part of the Louisiana coast, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. Debby covered much of the eastern Gulf and was centered about 220 miles south-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River. The storm had top winds of 50 miles per hour (81 km per hour) and was expected to strengthen slowly, nearing hurricane force by Thursday. Debby was moving slowly north and was expected to turn to the west on Sunday. ...

Tropical storm threat shuts some U.S. Gulf oil output

Posted: 23 Jun 2012 07:01 PM PDT

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Oil and gas producers ramped up production shutdowns and evacuated workers in the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday as Tropical Storm Debby became the first named storm of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season to disrupt operations in the prolific basin. BP Plc said late on Saturday that it had issued instructions to shut down oil and gas production at its seven platforms in the Gulf and stepped up worker evacuations as weather conditions worsened. "Those unable to evacuate will shelter in place for the tropical storm," BP said. ...

Former foe of gay marriage in California now favors unions

Posted: 23 Jun 2012 05:58 PM PDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A key witness for lawyers seeking to defend California's ban on same-sex marriage in federal court in 2010 has changed his view on the subject, and pronounced his support for giving gay unions social recognition. David Blankenhorn, founder of the Institute for American Values think tank, wrote in an opinion piece for the New York Times he now believes the time for "denigrating or stigmatizing same-sex relationships is over. ...

BP shuts down production, evacuates workers due to Tropical Storm Debby

Posted: 23 Jun 2012 04:58 PM PDT

HOUSTON (Reuters) - BP Plc said on Saturday the company was shutting down Gulf of Mexico oil and gas production and stepping up worker evacuations as Tropical Storm Debby churned in the basin. BP, the largest oil producer in the Gulf, said instructions had been given "to secure wells currently being drilled and to shut-in oil and gas production at BP-operated platforms until this work can be safely resumed." The company had begun evacuating workers not essential to production earlier on Saturday. BP said more evacuations would continue as long as weather permits. ...

Penn State moves swiftly on Sandusky sex abuse civil suits

Posted: 23 Jun 2012 04:22 PM PDT

Former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky stands with his lawyers as the jury foreman reads the verdict in this courtroom sketch during Sandusky's child sex abuse trial in BellefonteBELLEFONTE, Pennsylvania (Reuters) - With former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky now behind bars for child sexual abuse, the university has given an unusual signal that it wants to wrap up civil suits as fast as possible, legal observers said on Saturday. Shortly after Sandusky, 68, was convicted late on Friday on 45 counts of sexual abuse, Pennsylvania State University invited victims to try to resolve claims against the school. ...


Clock ticks for Congress over transport, student loans

Posted: 23 Jun 2012 03:18 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With only a week to go until funding expires for federal highway construction and student loan rates soar, negotiators in Congress are working to cut a deal that would defuse two political time bombs ahead of the November general election. "All I can confirm is that work continues through the weekend, the goal being a final agreement that can get wrapped up next week," a House of Representatives Republican aide said on Saturday. Failure would have a direct impact on the economy ahead of the November 6 vote. ...

Tropical Storm Debby forms in central Gulf of Mexico

Posted: 23 Jun 2012 02:06 PM PDT

MIAMI (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Debby formed in the central Gulf of Mexico on Saturday and storm warnings were posted for part of the Louisiana coast, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. Debby was centered about 220 miles south-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River and was moving slowly north, forecasters said. The storm had top winds of 50 miles per hour (81 km per hour) and was expected to strengthen slowly over the next two days. (Reporting by Jane Sutton; Editing by Paul Simao)

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