Tuesday, September 18, 2012

China's Alibaba buys back half of Yahoo's stake

China's Alibaba buys back half of Yahoo's stake

China's Alibaba buys back half of Yahoo's stake

Posted: 18 Sep 2012 01:02 PM PDT

An employee walks past a wall painted with logo of Alibaba (China) Technology Co. Ltd at its headquarters office on the outskirts of Hangzhou(Reuters) - China's Alibaba Group said it bought back half the stake Yahoo Inc owned in the company for about $7.6 billion, moving closer to an initial public offering. Alibaba said it paid Yahoo about $6.3 billion in cash and $800 million in preferred shares in Alibaba Group. It also made a one-time cash payment of $550 million in connection with an amendment to the two companies' intellectual property license agreement. Separately, Yahoo said it will return to shareholders $3 billion of the $4.3 billion of after-tax proceeds from the sale. ...

Analysis: Prophet film diverts gaze from Syria

Posted: 18 Sep 2012 01:02 PM PDT

FILE - In this file Friday, Sept. 14, 2012 photo, Pro-Assad supporters chant slogans during a demonstration in Damascus, Syria, as part of widespread anger across the Muslim world about a film ridiculing Islam's Prophet Muhammad. For the embattled Syrian regime, the crudely produced film mocking Islam that has unleashed fury across the Muslim world could not have come at a better time. Arabic on the poster reads, "anyone but God's prophet." (AP Photo/Muzaffar Salman, File)For the embattled Syrian regime, the crudely produced film mocking Islam that has unleashed fury across the Muslim world could not have come at a better time.

Alaskans to get $878 in yearly oil wealth payout

Posted: 18 Sep 2012 01:01 PM PDT

Sean Irvin browses phones at a Best Buy store Monday, Sept. 17, 2012, in Anchorage, Alaska. It's one of the ways Irvin plans to spend his yearly Alaska Permanent Fund dividend, whose amount was being announced Tuesday. (AP Photo/Rachel D'Oro)Buy an iPhone 5 or replace the leaky rain gutters? Splurge or save? Ah, the tough choices that befall Alaskans every year, when they get their dividend checks from the state's oil savings account just for living here.

Romney struggles to steady campaign after secret videos

Posted: 18 Sep 2012 12:53 PM PDT

U.S. Republican presidential nominee and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney addresses the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in Los Angeles, CaliforniaWASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican Mitt Romney struggled on Tuesday to stabilize his reeling presidential campaign after a secretly recorded video showed him belittling President Barack Obama's supporters as victims who are too dependent on government. The video from a closed-door fundraiser in Florida in May sparked another wave of criticism of Romney's gaffe-plagued campaign and raised fresh questions about his ability to come from behind in the polls and win the White House in November. ...

Egypt to try 7 Copts, US pastor over Prophet film

Posted: 18 Sep 2012 12:52 PM PDT

Egyptian protesters hurl stones at riot police in downtown Cairo, Egypt, early Saturday, Sept. 15, 2012, before police cleared the area after days of protests against a film ridiculing the Prophet Muhammad. Egyptian police on Saturday cleared out protesters who have been clashing with security forces for the past four days near the U.S. Embassy as most cities around the Muslim world reported calm a day after at least six people were killed in a wave of angry protests over an anti-Islam film.(AP Photo)Egypt's general prosecutor issued arrest warrants Tuesday for seven Egyptian Coptic Christians and a Florida-based American pastor and referred them to trial on charges linked to an anti-Islam film that has sparked riots across the Muslim world.

Romney tries to stem damage from new controversy

Posted: 18 Sep 2012 12:48 PM PDT

Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney greets boy scouts as he arrives in Salt Lake City, Utah, Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)His campaign at a crossroads, Mitt Romney struggled Tuesday to limit political fallout from his dismissive comments about nearly half of all Americans while Republican officials debated the impact of serial controversies on the party's hopes of capturing the White House.

Fiat to meet gov't on strategy amid closure fears

Posted: 18 Sep 2012 12:47 PM PDT

Fiat and Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne will meet Saturday with Italian Premier Mario Monti to discuss the automaker's "strategic prospects" amid increasing fears about possible plant closures in Italy.

Group: More than half in 39 states will be obese

Posted: 18 Sep 2012 12:47 PM PDT

Graphic shows projected obesity rates in states across the nationWe Americans already know how fat we are. Can it get much worse?

Escobar suspended 3 games for slur on eye-black

Posted: 18 Sep 2012 12:45 PM PDT

FILE - This March 24, 2012 file photo, shows Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Yunel Escobar warming up before a spring training baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, in Dunedin, Fla. Major League Baseball is checking reports that Escobar played Saturday's, Sept. 15, 2012 game against Boston wearing eye-black displaying a homophobic slur written in Spanish. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens, File)Yunel Escobar was suspended for three games Tuesday by the Toronto Blue Jays for wearing eye-black displaying a homophobic slur written in Spanish during last Saturday's game against the Boston Red Sox.

After a surprise panda birth in DC, anxiety awaits

Posted: 18 Sep 2012 12:40 PM PDT

FILE - In this file photo taken Wednesday, July 11, 2012, a hand holds the younger of a pair of twin giant panda cubs born at the panda research center in Wolong in southwest China's Sichuan province. The birth of a panda cub this weekend at Washington's zoo was cause for celebration. But behind the joy there's also concern. Panda cubs are born hairless and helpless, about the size of a stick of butter. The tiny cubs are susceptible to infection and so small that it's not unheard of for panda moms to accidentally crush their young. For the National Zoo, which has only had one panda cub survive, the memories of past tragedies are real.  (AP Photo) CHINA OUTThe birth of a panda cub this weekend at Washington's zoo was cause for a party, but behind the excitement there's also some nail-biting.

Calif. man arrested for ESPN post on killing kids

Posted: 18 Sep 2012 12:39 PM PDT

A California man accused of posting comments on ESPN's website that said he was watching kids and wouldn't mind killing them was being held Tuesday on $2 million bail after he was arrested for investigation of making terrorist threats, authorities said.

O'Reilly, Stewart to debate on presidential race

Posted: 18 Sep 2012 12:39 PM PDT

FILE - This Sept. 22, 2010 file photo shows Comedy Central's Jon Stewart from "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," left, and and political pundit Bill O'Reilly during an interview for "The O'Reilly Factor" on FOX News Channel, in New York. O'Reilly and Jon Stewart face off for a special 90-minute debate about the 2012 presidential race. The live debate will be streamed online on Oct. 6, 2012 from George Washington University in Washington, D.C. The price is $4.95, with one-half of the profits donated to a number of unspecified charities. (AP Photo/Peter Kramer, file)Pick your pundit when Bill O'Reilly and Jon Stewart face off for a special 90-minute debate about the 2012 presidential race.

Olympic medalist's latest setback is bankruptcy

Posted: 18 Sep 2012 12:34 PM PDT

FILE - In this Feb. 27, 2007, file photo, Rulon Gardner holdslding his gold and his bronze Olympic medals after giving a motivational talk to students and faculty at the Middlesex School in Concord, Mass. In yet another setback for Gardner once lauded as the most decorated athlete in the history of American Greco-Roman wrestling, the Olympic gold medalist has filed for bankruptcy. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)In another setback for one of the world's most decorated wrestlers, Olympic gold medalist Rulon Gardner filed for bankruptcy.

Navy: Sub commander faked death to end affair

Posted: 18 Sep 2012 12:28 PM PDT

In this Aug. 3, 2012 photo provided by the U.S. Navy, Cmdr. Michael P. Ward II, center, is saluted during the change-of-command ceremony for the nuclear submarine, USS Pittsburgh, at the Naval Submarine Base New London, in Groton, Conn. Ward was relieved of his command later that month. A report obtained Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2012 by The Associated Press, through a Freedom of Information Act request, said Ward faked his own death to end an affair with a woman. (AP Photo/U.S. Navy, Jason J. Perry via The Day of New London)A Navy officer who was dismissed last month as commander of a Connecticut-based nuclear submarine faked his own death to end an affair he was carrying on with a mistress, investigation documents show.

Topless photos ruling: 1st battle in privacy war

Posted: 18 Sep 2012 12:28 PM PDT

Copies of the Italian magazine Chi are displayed at a newstands in Rome, Monday, Sept. 17, 2012. An Italian gossip magazine owned by former Premier Silvio Berlusconi published a 26-page spread of topless photos of Prince William's wife Kate on Monday despite legal action in France against the French magazine that published them first. Chi hit newsstands on Monday, featuring a montage of photos taken while the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were on vacation at a relative's home in the south of France last month. They included the 14 pictures published by the popular French magazine Closer, which like Chi is owned by Berlusconi's Mondadori publishing house. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)Prince William and Kate Middleton's aggressive legal strategy over topless photos of Britain's likely future queen is the first salvo in what could be a decades-long tug-of-war over their family's privacy.

Romney questions Palestinian commitment to peace

Posted: 18 Sep 2012 12:26 PM PDT

FILE - In this Sept. 11, 2012, photo, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks in Jerusalem. Sometimes it seems as if Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney has two running mates. There's Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan to help him out on budgets, deficits and other domestic matters. And then there's Netanyahu on foreign policy. Netanyahu has been injecting himself into the U.S. presidential race big time. It's extremely rare, almost unheard of, for a foreign leader to do that. Most, in fact, try their hardest to run the other way. (AP Photo/Gali Tibbon, Pool)Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney's comments expressing doubt about Palestinians' commitment to peace again highlight the closeness of his position to that of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Annie Lennox marries American doctor in London

Posted: 18 Sep 2012 12:24 PM PDT

FILE - This Feb. 21, 2009 file photo shows British musician Annie Lennox during the "Festival di Sanremo" Italian song contes in San Remo, Italy. Lennox has married for a third time. The singer's publicist confirms Lennox married Mitch Besser in a private ceremony Saturday, Sept. 15, 2012, in London. Lennox, best known as The Eurythmics singer, and Besser, an American doctor and founder of the charity mothers2mothers, are both 57. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni, file)Annie Lennox has married for a third time.

UK R&B singer Emeli Sande marries boyfriend

Posted: 18 Sep 2012 12:23 PM PDT

In this April 25, 2012 file photo, Scottish soul and R&B recording artist Emeli Sandé poses for a portrait in New York. Sande has married boyfriend Adam Gouragine. Sande's U.S. representative confirmed that the R&B singer tied the knot with her longtime beau. No more details were provided. The 25-year-old released her debut, U.K. singer Emeli Sande has married boyfriend Adam Gouragine.

Replacement officials taking heat

Posted: 18 Sep 2012 12:21 PM PDT

Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett has words with an official in the first half of an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, Sept. 16, 2012, in Seattle. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)One official was pulled from duty because he's a fan. Another negated a touchdown without ever throwing a penalty flag. Several others had difficulty with basic rules.

Fed's focus on jobs will not waver, officials say

Posted: 18 Sep 2012 12:21 PM PDT

A view shows the Federal Reserve building in WashingtonANN ARBOR, Mich./FLORHAM PARK, New Jersey (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve will not waver from its aggressive policy stance when one of its two bond-buying programs expires at year end, and it is prepared to do even more to get Americans back to work, two Fed officials said on Tuesday. The U.S. central bank, which last week launched a potentially massive policy-easing effort with no set end date, will closely watch the ailing labor market for meaningful signs of improvement, the Fed policymakers said. ...

AP photographer beaten, detained in Belarus

Posted: 18 Sep 2012 12:20 PM PDT

The Associated Press photographer Sergei Grits speaks on the phone, with injuries seen on his face after he was released in Minsk, Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2012. Grits was beaten and briefly detained by plainclothes security officers in the Belarusian capital. Sergei Grits says he was among eight journalists covering a protest by four opposition activists calling for a boycott of this weekend's parliamentary elections when plainclothes security officers attacked them in downtown Minsk. (AP Photo/Vasily Fedosenko, pool)An Associated Press photographer was beaten and briefly detained Tuesday by plainclothes security officers in the Belarusian capital.

Oil falls below $96 on economic worries

Posted: 18 Sep 2012 12:18 PM PDT

The price of oil fell for a second day, as a major shipping company gave investors reason to question the strength of oil demand.

Swedish doctors claim pioneering uterus transplant

Posted: 18 Sep 2012 12:17 PM PDT

From left specialist surgeons Andreas G Tzakis, Pernilla Dahm-Kähler, Mats Brannstrom, Michael Olausson and Liza Johannesson attend a news conference Tuesday Sept. 18, 2012 at Sahlgrenska hospital in Goteborg Sweden. Two Swedish women are carrying the wombs of their mothers after what doctors called the world's first mother-to-daughter uterus transplants. The specialists at the University of Goteborg completed the surgery over the weekend without complications, but say they won't consider the procedures successful unless the women achieve pregnancy after their observation period ends a year from now. (AP Photo/Adam Ihse) SWEDEN OUTTwo Swedish women are hoping to get pregnant after undergoing what doctors are calling the world's first mother-to-daughter uterus transplants.

NFL Films President Steve Sabol dies at 69

Posted: 18 Sep 2012 12:16 PM PDT

FILE - This Feb. 5, 2011 file photo shows Steve Sabol during an interview in Dallas. NFL Films President Steve Sabol has died from brain cancer. He was 69. The NFL said Sabol died Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2012, 18 months after he was diagnosed with a tumor on the left side of his brain. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File)NFL Films President Steve Sabol, half of the father-son team that revolutionized sports broadcasting and mythologized pro football into the country's favorite sport, died Tuesday from brain cancer. He was 69.

Shaun White: 'Truly sorry for my poor behavior'

Posted: 18 Sep 2012 12:16 PM PDT

This photo provided by the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department shows Shaun White. A police report says the two-time Olympic gold medalist snowboarder was charged with vandalism after an employee at a Nashville hotel saw him break a phone there. He is charged with vandalism of $500 or less. (AP Photo/Metropolitan Nashville, Tenn., Police Dept.)Olympic snowboard champion Shaun White apologized Tuesday for "unwise choices," saying he got "carried away" after police accused him of pulling a hotel fire alarm that forced guests to evacuate.

Russia may block YouTube over anti-Islam film

Posted: 18 Sep 2012 12:15 PM PDT

A Russian Cabinet minister says authorities will block access to YouTube if it refuses to take down an anti-Islam film that has sparked violence around the world.

British fugitive shoots dead two unarmed policewomen

Posted: 18 Sep 2012 12:10 PM PDT

Police and ambulance vehicles are seen at the scene where two female police officers were killed in Hattersley near ManchesterLONDON (Reuters) - One of Britain's most wanted fugitives killed two unarmed policewomen on Tuesday in a gun and grenade ambush, police said, killings which are likely to reignite a long-running debate over whether British officers should carry guns. Police constables Fiona Bone, 32, and Nicola Hughes, 23, were gunned down in a hail of bullets after responding to a hoax call about a burglary in the northern English city of Manchester. ...

Syrian forces, rebels clash near Turkey

Posted: 18 Sep 2012 12:06 PM PDT

A Syrian boy, who fled his home with his family due to fighting between rebels and government forces, draws a military tank with the Syrian flag, at the UNHCR nursery, in Baalbek, east of Lebanon, Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2012. There are more than 65,000 Syrian refugees in Lebanon living mostly in northern Lebanon and in the country's eastern Bekaa region. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)Fierce clashes broke out Tuesday between Syrian rebels and regime forces battling for control of a border crossing on the frontier with Turkey, and Turkish authorities told residents to evacuate the area.

Yahoo closes $7.6 billion deal with Alibaba Group

Posted: 18 Sep 2012 12:04 PM PDT

FILE- In this Monday, April 19, 2010 file photo, Google vice president of search products and user experience, Marissa Mayer, attends the 2010 Matrix Awards presented by the New York Women in Communications at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York. Yahoo has closed a $7.6 billion deal that includes selling half its stake in rapidly growing Chinese company Alibaba Group. The resolution announced Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2012 comes four months after Yahoo Inc. and Alibaba outlined the details of the complex deal. Back in May, Yahoo pledged to distribute most of the Alibaba windfall to its shareholders. But after making that promise Yahoo hired longtime Google Inc. executive Marissa Mayer to its CEO. Last month, Yahoo revealed Mayer is considering holding on to the money. (AP Photo/Evan Agostini, File)Yahoo will live up to its promise to pay its shareholders most of the money from a $7.6 billion deal with the Chinese Internet company Alibaba Group.

Chicago teachers await vote that could end strike

Posted: 18 Sep 2012 12:02 PM PDT

Smaller, more subdued groups of teachers picket outside Morgan Park High School in Chicago, Monday, Sept. 17, 2012, as a strike by Chicago Teachers Union members heads into its second week. Mayor Rahm Emanuel said he will seek a court order to force the city's teachers back into the classroom. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)As they prepared for a vote that could end Chicago's first teachers strike in 25 years, teachers were balancing their desire to get back to class with lingering doubts and questions about a proposed contract that could mean major changes to their pay and job security.

Kremlin halts USAID work in Russia

Posted: 18 Sep 2012 12:01 PM PDT

The United States said Tuesday it is ending the U.S. Agency for International Development's operations in Russia after a Kremlin demand that the aid organization leave the country, dealing a blow to President Barack Obama's policy of "resetting" relations between Washington and Moscow.

Chicago teachers to vote on ending strike

Posted: 18 Sep 2012 11:59 AM PDT

Chicago Teachers Union members strike outside the Chicago Public Schools headquarters in ChicagoCHICAGO (Reuters) - Chicago Teachers Union leaders will meet on Tuesday to decide whether to end a strike that has closed the nation's third-largest school district for more than a week and focused national attention on how to reform failing urban schools. Some 800 union delegates representing the 29,000 teachers and support staff in Chicago Public Schools will meet at 3 p.m. (2000 GMT) in a second attempt to try to get approval from delegates for a proposed new contract negotiated with Mayor Rahm Emanuel. ...

Myanmar's Suu Kyi supports easing of US sanctions

Posted: 18 Sep 2012 11:41 AM PDT

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, right, meets with Myanmar democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi at the State Department on Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2012 in Washington. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)Myanmar democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi began her landmark visit to Washington by declaring Tuesday that she supports the easing of the remaining U.S. economic sanctions on her country.

Furyk says McIlroy a 'marked man' at Ryder Cup

Posted: 18 Sep 2012 11:40 AM PDT

FILE - In t his June 2, 2010, file photo, Rory McIlroy, left, from Northern Ireland, , Jim Furyk, center, and Tiger Woods walk down the 13th fairway during the skins game at the Memorial golf tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio. McIlroy is No. 1 in the world, an Furyk says that makes him a marked man at the Ryder Cup. He said the 23-year-old from Northern Ireland is a "present day Tiger Woods," and that everyone wants to see McIlroy and Woods in Sunday singles. The Ryder Cup is next week at Medinah, outside of Chicago. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak, File)Rory McIlroy is No. 1 in the world, and Jim Fury says that makes him a marked man at the Ryder Cup.

Latest developments in protest of anti-Islam film

Posted: 18 Sep 2012 11:39 AM PDT

A Kashmiri Muslim protester jumps over a burning tire set up as a road block during a protest in Srinagar, India, Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2012, as part of widespread anger across the Muslim world about a film ridiculing Islam's Prophet Muhammad. (AP Photo/ Dar Yasin)A look at protests and events across the world on Tuesday responding to an anti-Muslim film, nearly a week after angry crowds began assaulting a string of U.S. embassies in the Mideast.

A Benghazi power, Libya militia eyed in attack

Posted: 18 Sep 2012 11:37 AM PDT

FILE - In this Friday, Sept. 14, 2012 file photo, A Libyan follower of Ansar al-Shariah Brigades chants anti-U.S. slogans during a protest in front of the Tibesti Hotel, in Benghazi, Libya, as part of widespread anger across the Muslim world about a film ridiculing Islam's Prophet Muhammad. Ansar al-Shariah is among the most powerful of the heavily armed militias that the government relies on to keep security in Benghazi. Suspicion in last week's deadly attack that killed the American ambassador to Libya has focused on members of a hardcore Islamist militia known for its sympathies to al-Qaida, its fierce animosity to the U.S. and its intimidation of Muslims who don't conform to its strident ideology. (AP Photo/Mohammad Hannon, File)Suspicion in last week's attack that killed the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans has focused on members of a hardcore Islamist militia known for its sympathies to al-Qaida, its fierce animosity to the U.S. and its intimidation of other Muslims who don't conform to its harsh ideology.

Customers reporting BofA website problems

Posted: 18 Sep 2012 11:36 AM PDT

(Reuters) - Some Bank of America Corp customers in the United States said on Tuesday they were having trouble logging into its online banking website, reviving memories of a serious outage last fall. The scope of the problem could not immediately be learned, and a Bank of America spokesman did not have immediate comment. Financial advisers reached by Reuters in New York, Georgia and Michigan said they could not access the site. Reuters reporters in several locations had similar results. Last year, the No. 2 U.S. ...

Syrian war looms over UN meeting of world leaders

Posted: 18 Sep 2012 11:34 AM PDT

Hovering over this month's annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations is the international community's failure to end the escalating war in Syria that is starting to spill over into a fragile and divided region.

FDA issues warning over-the-counter diarrhea drug

Posted: 18 Sep 2012 11:32 AM PDT

The Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers not to use an over-the-counter drug called Intestinomicina because the anti-diarrhea treatment contains a drug linked to life-threatening injuries.

Al-Qaida threatens attacks on US diplomats

Posted: 18 Sep 2012 11:28 AM PDT

An Indian policeman aims a tear gas gun towards a masked Kashmiri Muslim protester during a protest in Srinagar, India, Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2012, as part of widespread anger across the Muslim world about a film ridiculing Islam's Prophet Muhammad.(AP Photo/ Dar Yasin)Al-Qaida's branch in North Africa on Tuesday called for attacks on U.S. diplomats and an escalation of protests against an anti-Islam video that was produced in the United States and triggered a wave of demonstrations and riots in the Middle East and beyond.
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