Feds raid Massachusetts lab tied to meningitis outbreak

Feds raid Massachusetts lab tied to meningitis outbreak
Canadian border officer shot at main Washington state crossing
Moderate earthquake strikes Maine, felt in Boston
New York lawyer for Strauss-Kahn accuser eyes run for office
California moves to open probe into San Onofre nuclear shutdown
U.S. Postal Service hits borrowing limit for first time
Former New Orleans mayor's sons go before grand jury
Supreme Court gives Obama camp a win in Ohio early voting tussle
Court upholds city's ban on protests at military funerals
California defends greenhouse gas regulation for fuels
Feds raid Massachusetts lab linked to meningitis outbreak
New call for probe of meningitis-linked company on addictive drugs
Magnitude 4.5 quake strikes Maine, felt in Boston
Feds raid Massachusetts lab linked to meningitis outbreak
Citi's CEO Pandit exits abruptly after board clash
Exclusive: Chelsea Clinton steps up to fight diarrhea deaths in Nigeria
Guantanamo prisoner's opinion of LeBron James treated as top secret
Florida man sues Venezuela over Simon Bolivar's hair, letters
Canadian border officer shot at crossing from Washington state: report
Pro wrestler Hulk Hogan sues gossip site over sex tape
Social Security benefits to rise 1.7 percent next year
Robert S. McNamara's personal archive to be sold at auction
Former Senator Specter eulogized at memorial service
N.Y. Giants' cars burglarized in New Jersey parking lot
Louisiana high court to seat state's first black chief justice
Marijuana supporters try out new court strategy
Daughter of Mexico's most wanted drug lord held in U.S.:report
Bin Laden driver's conviction reversed by U.S. court
Gasoline demand dips as prices rise
GM Cadillac to start making ELR plug-in hybrid late 2013
Feds raid Massachusetts lab tied to meningitis outbreak
Air Force contacts ex-recruits to encourage sex abuse reporting
Canadian border officer shot at main Washington state crossing
California moves to open probe into San Onofre nuclear shutdown
Moderate earthquake strikes Maine, felt in Boston
New York lawyer for Strauss-Kahn accuser eyes run for office
Former New Orleans mayor's sons go before grand jury
California defends greenhouse gas regulation for fuels
Feds raid Massachusetts lab linked to meningitis outbreak
Guantanamo prisoner's opinion of LeBron James treated as top secret

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 07:12 PM PDT

BOSTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Federal agents on Tuesday raided the Massachusetts pharmacy linked to a widespread meningitis outbreak that has killed 16 people and sickened more than 200 others, federal prosecutors said. Agents from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration searched the New England Compounding Center, or NECC, in the Boston suburb of Framingham, with officers from the local police department providing support, Framingham police said. ...

Canadian border officer shot at main Washington state crossing

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 06:53 PM PDT

BLAINE, Washington (Reuters) - A gunman in a van shot and critically wounded a Canadian border officer on Tuesday at the main crossing between Washington state and British Columbia, then immediately killed himself, Canadian authorities said. The shooter, whose vehicle had Washington state license plates, rolled up to a Canadian security booth at the Peace Arch crossing, the busiest in the region, and shot the officer in the neck. ...

Moderate earthquake strikes Maine, felt in Boston

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 06:04 PM PDT

BOSTON (Reuters) - A moderate earthquake struck the northeastern U.S. state of Maine on Tuesday shortly after 7 p.m. (2300 GMT), according to the U.S. Geological Survey. First reported as a 4.5 magnitude quake centered near Lake Arrowhead, the USGS revised the quake's magnitude to 4.6 and finally down to 4.0. It shifted the epicenter to close to Hollis Center, southeast of the original location, and revised the quake's depth from a deep 17 miles to a relatively shallow 3 miles. Hollis Center is about 20 miles west of Portland, Maine's most populous city, and about 100 miles north of Boston. ...

New York lawyer for Strauss-Kahn accuser eyes run for office

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 05:16 PM PDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Kenneth Thompson, who represented the hotel maid who accused former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn of sexual assault, has signaled his intent to run for Brooklyn district attorney next year. The former federal prosecutor filed paperwork with the New York State Board of Elections last week that will enable him to raise money through a campaign committee. He confirmed to The New York Times on Monday that he plans to run. Thompson would be the second challenger to six-term incumbent Charles "Joe" Hynes. ...

California moves to open probe into San Onofre nuclear shutdown

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 06:13 PM PDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - California regulators on Tuesday took steps to open a formal probe into the outage at two nuclear reactors at the San Onofre power plant, potentially reducing the burden on rate payers by $1.1 billion until southern California's largest power plant is reopened. The California Public Utilities Commission said it would vote on October 25 to formally open an investigation into the causes of the shutdown in January of the San Onofre Unit 2 and Unit 3 reactors and whether they will be restarted to provide "safe and reasonable service at just and reasonable rates". ...

U.S. Postal Service hits borrowing limit for first time

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 04:59 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The financially struggling United States Postal Service has hit its $15 billion borrowing limit for the first time ever, meaning it will have to rely on revenues from stamps and other products to fund operations. The postal service, which as independent agency of government relies on its own revenue from the sale of stamps and other products rather than taxpayer funds, has lost billions of dollars each quarter as Americans move online to pay bills and communicate. It hit the limit in September, according to USPS spokesman David Partenheimer. ...

Former New Orleans mayor's sons go before grand jury

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 05:03 PM PDT

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - The two sons of former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin have appeared before a federal grand jury in connection with a probe of Nagin's business dealings in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, their lawyer said on Tuesday. The appearance of Jeremy Nagin, 28, and Jarin Nagin, 26, came as federal prosecutors have been investigating the former mayor's dealings with city vendors and other businesses during his time in office, which encompassed the 2005 Hurricane Katrina disaster and its aftermath. ...

Supreme Court gives Obama camp a win in Ohio early voting tussle

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 02:31 PM PDT

(Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday denied Ohio's request to curtail early voting in the state, a victory for President Barack Obama's re-election campaign which had battled Republican efforts to scale back in-person balloting in the days leading up to Election Day. Ohio, critical to the election hopes of Obama and his Republican challenger Mitt Romney, began early in-person voting earlier this month but planned to cut it off on November 2, the Friday before the election, except for members of the military. ...

Court upholds city's ban on protests at military funerals

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 03:44 PM PDT

(Reuters) - A St. Louis suburb's law that restricts protests around funerals does not violate the free-speech rights of a church known for holding anti-gay demonstrations at military funerals, a federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the ordinance passed by the city of Manchester, Missouri, to curb picketing at funerals by members of the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas. ...

California defends greenhouse gas regulation for fuels

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 04:37 PM PDT

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 16 (Reuters Point Carbon) - California attorneys advocating for a program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from fuels came under stern questioning from a three-judge panel on Tuesday, in a case that threatens a key component of the state's ambitious effort to combat climate change. ...

Feds raid Massachusetts lab linked to meningitis outbreak

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 05:19 PM PDT

(Reuters) - The top federal prosecutor in Massachusetts on Tuesday said federal agents raided the New England Compounding Center, the pharmacy linked to a meningitis outbreak that has killed 15 people and sickened more than 200 others. U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz said: "I can confirm that this office and our law enforcement partners are investigating allegations concerning the New England Compounding Center." On Tuesday afternoon, agents from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration searched the NECC facility in Framingham, Mass., while local police provided support, local police said. ...

New call for probe of meningitis-linked company on addictive drugs

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 01:37 PM PDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A leading U.S. lawmaker called on Tuesday for an investigation of whether the company at the center of the deadly meningitis outbreak violated federal laws covering potentially addictive drugs, a day after the health scare widened to new medications. The U.S. meningitis outbreak continues to grow and has so far killed 15 people and infected 231, according to a tally from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday. "We're nowhere near the end of this problem. And we will see more patients reporting in ill and we'll have to treat many more going forward," Dr. ...

Magnitude 4.5 quake strikes Maine, felt in Boston

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 04:47 PM PDT

BOSTON (Reuters) - A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck the northeastern U.S. state of Maine on Tuesday at 7:12 p.m. ET, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The quake's epicenter was located 3.7 miles from Lake Arrowhead, which is about 30 miles west of Portland, Maine's most populous city, and about 100 miles north of Boston. Eyewitnesses across the Boston area reported feeling the quake for up to 20 to 30 seconds. The tremblor was felt in much of southern New England. There were no immediate reports of damage. (Reporting By Ros Krasny)

Feds raid Massachusetts lab linked to meningitis outbreak

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 04:27 PM PDT

Citi's CEO Pandit exits abruptly after board clash

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 03:50 PM PDT

(Reuters) - Citigroup Inc's Vikram Pandit quit as chief executive on Tuesday after months of simmering tensions with the board - an abrupt change that surprised investors and employees of the third-largest U.S. bank. The bank's board of directors named Michael Corbat as Citigroup's new CEO. Pandit told Reuters the decision to leave was his own and that he had been contemplating the move for some time. ...

Exclusive: Chelsea Clinton steps up to fight diarrhea deaths in Nigeria

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 03:46 PM PDT

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Chelsea Clinton is taking on the discomforting issue of diarrhea, throwing her family's philanthropic heft behind a sweeping effort in Nigeria to prevent the deaths of 1 million mothers and children each year from preventable causes, including 100,000 deaths from diarrhea. ...

Guantanamo prisoner's opinion of LeBron James treated as top secret

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 04:25 PM PDT

GUANTANAMO BAY U.S. NAVAL BASE, Cuba (Reuters) - U.S. security restrictions governing the statements of former CIA captives held at Guantanamo are so stringent that one prisoner's assessment of basketball star LeBron James was treated as a top national secret for two months, a military defense lawyer said on Tuesday. The incident was disclosed by Navy Lieutenant Commander Kevin Bogucki, a defense lawyer for Yemeni defendant Ramzi Binalshibh, one of five prisoners charged with orchestrating the September 11 plot to crash hijacked commercial planes into U.S. buildings. ...

Florida man sues Venezuela over Simon Bolivar's hair, letters

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 02:49 PM PDT

MIAMI (Reuters) - A Florida man has filed a lawsuit against Venezuela's government demanding the return of artifacts that once belonged to Simon Bolivar, including a lock of the 19th-century independence hero's hair. The lawsuit, filed in a Miami federal court, alleges the Venezuelan government borrowed the items from Ricardo Devengoechea five years ago but has repeatedly ignored his requests to give them back. ...

Canadian border officer shot at crossing from Washington state: report

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 04:46 PM PDT

SEATTLE (Reuters) - A Canadian border officer was shot and wounded on Tuesday at a border crossing between Seattle and Vancouver, Canadian television station CTV reported. Jennifer Bourque, a spokeswoman with the Canada Border Services Agency confirmed an incident took place at the Douglas Crossing and that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police has responded, but declined to release further details. The Canadian network CTV reported an officer was shot but said the extent of the officer's injuries were unknown. ...

Pro wrestler Hulk Hogan sues gossip site over sex tape

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 03:16 PM PDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Professional wrestler Hulk Hogan has sued gossip website Gawker for $100 million for posting excerpts of a sex tape featuring Hogan and the wife of his best friend. Hogan, whose real name is Terry Bollea, has also filed a lawsuit against the woman, Heather Clem, and her ex-husband, radio shock jock Bubba the Love Sponge, claiming they videotaped him without his knowledge. ...

Social Security benefits to rise 1.7 percent next year

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 11:33 AM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Social Security retirement benefits for nearly 62 million Americans will go up 1.7 percent next year, the Social Security Administration said on Tuesday, a small increase that may not cover rising premiums for the Medicare elderly health insurance program. The average Social Security benefit will rise about $21 a month to a total of $1,261 per month, starting in January 2013 the Social Security administrator said. That amounts to $15,132 per year. ...

Robert S. McNamara's personal archive to be sold at auction

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 03:20 PM PDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The personal archive of former Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, who served under President John F. Kennedy during the Cuban Missile Crisis 50 years ago, will be sold at auction later this month, Sotheby's said on Tuesday. The sale, which will include personal papers, letters, furniture and memorabilia, will be held on October 23 and mark the half century anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis, which brought the United States and the Soviet Union to the brink of nuclear war. ...

Former Senator Specter eulogized at memorial service

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 03:04 PM PDT

LOWER MERION, Pennsylvania (Reuters) - More than 1,000 people bid farewell on Tuesday to former U.S. Senator Arlen Specter at a service featuring tributes by family and dignitaries and concluding with Frank Sinatra's "My Way." Specter died at his Philadelphia home on Sunday after battling non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. He was 82. U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell were among the mourners. In Washington, U.S. President Barack Obama ordered flags to be flown at half-staff at federal installations and facilities across the nation. ...

N.Y. Giants' cars burglarized in New Jersey parking lot

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 02:56 PM PDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A celebration was cut short for a handful of New York Giants players this weekend when they returned home after a decisive win over the San Francisco 49ers only to find their cars had been burglarized. "Only in Jersey can someone be heartless enough to break into my car while we are in Cali making fans proud," offensive lineman James Brewer said in a Twitter post after his team returned home from routing the San Francisco 49ers 26-3 in Sunday's National Football League game. "Geez, get your life right in 2012. ...

Louisiana high court to seat state's first black chief justice

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 12:10 PM PDT

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - The Louisiana Supreme Court said Tuesday it will seat its first black chief justice next year, concluding a high-profile dispute that divided the court's membership and prompted the reopening of a 20-year-old federal civil rights lawsuit. Justice Bernette Johnson, the only African American justice on the seven-member court, will succeed current Chief Justice Catherine "Kitty" Kimball when Kimball retires in January, the state's high court said in an opinion Tuesday. ...

Marijuana supporters try out new court strategy

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 12:47 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Supporters of marijuana rights asked a federal appeals court on Tuesday to do what Congress and U.S. presidents have resisted for decades and help ease the level of regulation surrounding the popular recreational drug. Oakland, Calif.-based Americans for Safe Access said there was no reason for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to control marijuana as tightly as it does heroin. The argument is a new tack for marijuana supporters who have already won local approval for medical use in 16 states and Washington, D.C. ...

Daughter of Mexico's most wanted drug lord held in U.S.:report

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 12:27 PM PDT

(Reuters) - The daughter of Mexico's most powerful drug lord, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, has been arrested trying to cross the border into the United States using falsified identification papers, the Los Angeles Times reported on Tuesday. Court documents provided to Reuters showed that Alejandrina Gisselle Guzman-Salazar was detained on Friday at the San Ysidro port of entry after border patrol officers discovered she was using a counterfeit visa and a false name in an attempt to cross the border on foot from Tijuana, Mexico. ...

Bin Laden driver's conviction reversed by U.S. court

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 03:37 PM PDT

(Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday overturned the conviction of Osama bin Laden's former driver and bodyguard, Salim Hamdan, on charges of supporting terrorism, in a long-running case emerging from the American military trials at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit concluded that providing support for terrorism was not a war crime at the time of Hamdan's alleged conduct from 1996 to 2001 and therefore could not support a conviction. Human rights activists hailed the ruling as a blow to the legitimacy of the U.S. ...

Gasoline demand dips as prices rise

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 11:52 AM PDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. gasoline demand fell last week, compared with a year earlier, as a sharp uptick in southern California gasoline prices raised the average price motorists paid across the nation, a biweekly report from MasterCard showed on Tuesday. Gasoline demand last week fell 3.9 percent from a year earlier, on top of its 2.4 percent decline, year-over-year, in the previous week, MasterCard's report showed. On average, demand over the two weeks ending October 12 fell 3.1 percent lower than a year ago. The average price of a gallon rose 4.00 cents-a-gallon to $3.82, 11. ...

GM Cadillac to start making ELR plug-in hybrid late 2013

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 11:25 AM PDT

DETROIT (Reuters) - The production of the Cadillac ELR, the first luxury plug-in hybrid electric vehicle from General Motors Co, is to begin in late 2013 at the same plant that makes the Chevrolet Volt, a top GM official said on Tuesday. The ELR will be introduced to the U.S. market shortly after the start of production, said Mark Reuss, GM's North American president, who announced plans for the ELR at an industry conference in Detroit. The ELR is the production version of the concept Cadillac Converj introduced at the Detroit auto show in 2009. ...

Feds raid Massachusetts lab tied to meningitis outbreak

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 07:12 PM PDT

Air Force contacts ex-recruits to encourage sex abuse reporting

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 06:56 PM PDT

SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - The U.S. Air Force on Tuesday sent an email to every recruit who attended basic or technical training at a Texas base over the past decade to encourage them to report sexual misconduct, following the worst sex scandal within the military in years. An Air Force official, who asked not to be identified, confirmed the email was sent to some 300,000 active-duty and former Air Force personnel urging them to report "sexual assaults, sexual misconduct or unprofessional relationships." Reuters received copies of the email from two sources. ...

Canadian border officer shot at main Washington state crossing

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 06:53 PM PDT

California moves to open probe into San Onofre nuclear shutdown

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 06:13 PM PDT

Moderate earthquake strikes Maine, felt in Boston

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 06:04 PM PDT

New York lawyer for Strauss-Kahn accuser eyes run for office

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 05:16 PM PDT

Former New Orleans mayor's sons go before grand jury

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 05:03 PM PDT

California defends greenhouse gas regulation for fuels

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 04:37 PM PDT