Obama and Romney battle over economy at debate

Obama and Romney battle over economy at debate
Lawyers for accused Colorado theater gunman want leaks probed
Florida opens criminal probe into voter registration firm
In North Dakota, hard to tell an oil millionaire from regular Joe
Camera stolen with last photos of young Colorado movie theater victim
Mexican troops arrest two in killing of U.S. border agent: officials
L.A. County Sheriff says will implement jail reforms, won't quit
American Airlines loses bid to block union vote
Father of bodyguard injured in Libya questions State Dept. response
Iowa court accepts Wasendorf's guilty plea
Lawyers for tennis lineswoman say husband's death was accident
Father of bodyguard injured in Libya questions State Dept. response
Authorities eye retirement accounts as possible tax dodges
FBI offers reward for Massachusetts terrorism suspect
Florida opens criminal probe into voter registration firm
American Airlines, pilots resume labor talks amid turmoil
Kleiner partner leaves amid suit, firm says she's still on staff
Texas settles lawsuit over effort to purge dead from voter roll
U.S. breaks up alleged Russian high-tech smuggling network
New Orleans prosecutor arrested after joint falls from his pocket in court
Record $104 million reward boosts whistleblowing on tax cheats
Chicago Mayor Emanuel dumps city ethics board members
L.A.'s richest man ups the ante for city, cancer fight
Supreme Court reviews case on California juror's dismissal
Florida weighs case of illegal immigrant who passed bar exam
Supreme Court weighs federally created floods
American Airlines loses bid to block union vote
U.S. works to shut down tech support scams that have cost millions
Who's the undecided voter? It may be the "Walmart mom"
Online schools face backlash as states question results
Factbox: Quotes from first U.S. presidential debate
Obama and Romney battle over economy at debate
American Airlines loses bid to block union vote
Florida opens criminal probe into voter registration firm
Camera stolen with last photos of young Colorado movie theater victim
L.A. County Sheriff says will implement jail reforms, won't quit
Father of bodyguard injured in Libya questions State Dept. response
Authorities eye retirement accounts as possible tax dodges
American Airlines, pilots resume labor talks amid turmoil
Mexican troops arrest two in killing of U.S. border agent: officials

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 06:47 PM PDT

DENVER (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney battled over economic issues on Wednesday in a presidential debate that could prove to be pivotal in helping voters decide which candidate to support in the November 6 election. Romney needed a victory in the 90-minute encounter to help put his campaign back on a positive footing after a rocky few weeks. ...

Lawyers for accused Colorado theater gunman want leaks probed

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 03:57 PM PDT

DENVER (Reuters) - Attorneys for accused Colorado theater gunman James Holmes are demanding an investigation into the release of a recent booking photo of their client and leaks about a notebook he sent to his psychiatrist, court documents showed on Wednesday. Public defenders complained in the documents that a recent picture of Holmes released to the media violated a gag order imposed by Arapahoe County District Court Judge William Sylvester in the case. ...

Florida opens criminal probe into voter registration firm

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 05:56 PM PDT

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - Authorities in Florida opened a criminal probe on Wednesday into the activities of Strategic Allied Consulting, the firm hired by the Republican Party to register new voters in the crucial swing state ahead of next month's presidential election. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement said there was enough evidence to warrant a full-blown investigation of Strategic Allied, a Virginia-based voter registration company doing work for the Republican National Committee and the Republican Party of Florida. ...

In North Dakota, hard to tell an oil millionaire from regular Joe

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 12:45 PM PDT

STANLEY, North Dakota (Reuters) - The retired men shooting the breeze at Joyce's Cafe in Stanley don't look like oil barons but appearances can be deceptive, especially in North Dakota. Take Robert Western, a farmer who was dressed in rumpled overalls and a baseball cap as he sipped coffee and discussed the oil boom that has transformed this once sleepy town. "Some of the younger people buy a lot more - machinery, vehicles, things like that," said the 75-year-old Western. "The rest of us, I guess it doesn't alter our lifestyle a great deal. I don't have a lot of needs. ...

Camera stolen with last photos of young Colorado movie theater victim

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 05:36 PM PDT

DENVER (Reuters) - The grandfather of a 6-year-old girl killed in July's movie theater massacre in Colorado implored thieves who stole a camera with the last photographs taken of her to return it to the grieving family. Robert Sullivan said the theft of the camera with the pictures of Veronica Moser-Sullivan, the youngest victim of the July 20 mass shootings at a suburban Denver movie theater, had compounded the family's sorrow. "It's been a never-ending nightmare," Sullivan told Reuters on Wednesday. ...

Mexican troops arrest two in killing of U.S. border agent: officials

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 04:39 PM PDT

MEXICO CITY/PHOENIX (Reuters) - Mexican troops arrested two men on Wednesday suspected of involvement in the killing of a U.S. Border Patrol agent shot dead in Arizona while responding to a tripped ground sensor, Mexican security officials said. The agent who died was among three who were patrolling on foot about 5 miles north of the international border when gunfire erupted well before daybreak on Tuesday. A second agent was also wounded while the third, a woman, was unharmed. ...

L.A. County Sheriff says will implement jail reforms, won't quit

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 05:07 PM PDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, blamed by an investigative commission for failing to stop excessive force in the nation's largest county jail system, said on Wednesday he would implement many of its suggested reforms but has no plans to step down. The changes advocated by the Citizens Commission on Jail Violence last week included revamping how use-of-force cases are investigated and disciplined, better oversight and tracking of inmate complaints and the use of video cameras worn by deputies. ...

American Airlines loses bid to block union vote

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 06:00 PM PDT

(Reuters) - American Airlines, Inc lost a court battle in its effort to block a vote by nearly 10,000 passenger service agents on whether to unionize. Wednesday's decision by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans came amid a separate labor dispute by the airline's 8,000 pilots and its parent company, AMR Corp., which filed for bankruptcy in November. The pilots are expected to authorize a strike later this week, escalating a long-running labor dispute that has already created serious flight delays at the nation's No.3 carrier and a public relations nightmare for AMR Corp. ...

Father of bodyguard injured in Libya questions State Dept. response

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 06:29 PM PDT

(Reuters) - The father of an American bodyguard injured in the deadly attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, said on Wednesday the State Department should own up to what he said were its mistakes and release more information about what occurred. David Ubben, a 31-year-old State Department employee, suffered broken bones and other injuries in the September 11 attack that killed the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans. ...

Iowa court accepts Wasendorf's guilty plea

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 03:59 PM PDT

(Reuters) - A Federal court in Iowa on Wednesday formally accepted the guilty plea of Russell Wasendorf Sr., the chief executive of brokerage Peregrine Financial Group charged with bilking customers of more than $100 million in a 20-year fraud. Chief judge Linda Reade accepted the guilty plea to four charges including lying to regulators, embezzlement and mail fraud, according to court papers. Wasendorf entered the plea in Cedar Rapids, Iowa last month. ...

Lawyers for tennis lineswoman say husband's death was accident

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 04:11 PM PDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Lawyers for a U.S. Open tennis official accused of killing her 80-year-old husband with blows from a coffee mug said on Wednesday they would argue at her trial that his death was an accident, as authorities had initially concluded. Attorneys for Lois Goodman, 70, asked in a hearing in Los Angeles Superior Court that prosecutors in the case turn over police reports that led to that initial determination. ...

Father of bodyguard injured in Libya questions State Dept. response

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 04:50 PM PDT

(Reuters) - The father of an American bodyguard injured in the deadly attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, said on Wednesday the State Department should own up to what he said were its mistakes and release more information about what occurred. David Ubben, 31, suffered broken bones and other injuries in the September 11 attack that killed the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans. ...

Authorities eye retirement accounts as possible tax dodges

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 04:44 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Treasury Department is examining individual retirement accounts as vehicles for potential tax avoidance, a top tax official said in a letter to Democratic lawmakers released on Wednesday. Democratic lawmakers have raised questions about the individual retirement account, or IRA, of Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney and asked the agencies to look into potential tax skirting by IRA holders. Romney has disclosed that his IRA contained up to $101 million, despite annual limits of much smaller amounts. ...

FBI offers reward for Massachusetts terrorism suspect

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 07:48 AM PDT

BOSTON (Reuters) - The FBI in Boston is asking for the public's help to find a former Massachusetts resident wanted on charges of seeking military training abroad with the aim of killing U.S. soldiers. The agency on Wednesday announced a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Ahmad Abousamra, 31, a dual U.S./Syrian citizen from Mansfield, who left the United States in 2006 and is thought to be living in Syria. ...

Florida opens criminal probe into voter registration firm

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 04:24 PM PDT

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - Authorities in Florida said they had opened a criminal probe into the activities of Strategic Allied Consulting, the firm hired by the Republican Party to register new voters in the crucial swing state ahead of next month's presidential election. A spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) said the agency had found enough evidence to warrant a full-blown investigation of Strategic Allied, a Virginia-based voter registration company doing work for the Republican National Committee and the Republican Party of Florida. ...

American Airlines, pilots resume labor talks amid turmoil

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 04:45 PM PDT

(Reuters) - American Airlines and its pilots union resumed contract talks Wednesday, but other problems continued to beset the bankrupt airline. A cockpit warning light caused an American flight to return to an airport shortly after takeoff Tuesday, a court said a union organizing drive at the airline could go forward and flight delays brought more customer complaints. "I will never ride on American Airlines ever again," said Tony Palm, who was stranded when a connecting flight on American from Chicago to New York's LaGuardia airport was canceled last month. ...

Kleiner partner leaves amid suit, firm says she's still on staff

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 03:34 PM PDT

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A sexual harassment lawsuit that rocked Silicon Valley has taken another turn, with the Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers partner who filed the suit saying the firm told her on Monday to "leave and not come back." The venture-capital firm, however, said she was still an employee. "I have been terminated from my job at KPCB," Ellen Pao wrote in a post on the question-and-answer site Quora late Tuesday. "On Monday afternoon, senior management told me to clean out my office, leave, and not come back." (http://tinyurl. ...

Texas settles lawsuit over effort to purge dead from voter roll

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 03:56 PM PDT

AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Texas officials on Wednesday reminded voter registrars that they are expected to review records of voters who may be dead and should update the rolls when they confirm that a voter "is actually deceased." The clarification memo was part of a settlement of a lawsuit over the state's effort to remove dead people from the voter registration rolls. "We are pleased to put this matter behind us and move forward in this process," Texas Secretary of State Hope Andrade said in a statement. ...

U.S. breaks up alleged Russian high-tech smuggling network

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 03:31 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Justice Department said on Wednesday it had broken up an elaborate network aimed at illegally acquiring U.S.-made microelectronic components for Russian military and spy agencies. Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn, New York unsealed an indictment charging 11 alleged participants in the network, as well as companies based in Houston, Texas, and Moscow, with illegally exporting high-tech components from the United States to Russian security agencies. U.S. officials did not identify the American companies from whom the components were bought. ...

New Orleans prosecutor arrested after joint falls from his pocket in court

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 03:05 PM PDT

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - A New Orleans city attorney was arrested for possession of marijuana and suspended from his job after a joint tumbled from his pocket in front of police in court. Jason Cantrell, 43, assistant city attorney, was issued a summons for simple possession of marijuana on Monday afternoon after a marijuana cigarette fell to the floor in Orleans Parish magistrate court, New Orleans Police spokesman Frank Robertson said. "Jason Cantrell is suspended without pay pending further investigation," Ryan Berni, a spokesman for New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, said on Wednesday. ...

Record $104 million reward boosts whistleblowing on tax cheats

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 01:50 PM PDT

(Reuters) - Whistleblower Bradley Birkenfeld, whose $104 million reward from the Internal Revenue Service set a record three weeks ago, has helped set off a rush of would-be imitators hoping to cash in on a government program to catch tax cheats. Birkenfeld, now living in New Hampshire, helped lead the IRS to collect hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. taxes owed on money stashed in Swiss bank UBS AG, where he once worked. ...

Chicago Mayor Emanuel dumps city ethics board members

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 02:27 PM PDT

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced Wednesday the replacement of the city's entire ethics board with seven new members, saying the new board will have the professionalism to do the job in a city notorious for corruption. "These nominees will ensure that everyone in public office understands exactly where they stand and who they serve," said Emanuel in a statement. ...

L.A.'s richest man ups the ante for city, cancer fight

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 01:19 PM PDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - As owner of 5 percent of the Los Angeles Lakers, Patrick Soon-Shiong could walk into the locker room of the storied basketball franchise any time for a chat with stars like Kobe Bryant. But the richest man in Los Angeles chooses to sit with the rest of his team's fans. "He's not one of those owners who wants to be seen everywhere. He's just one of the fans," said Bryant. The NBA star gives his owner a hug before every game for luck "and maybe some of the success" of the slender Los Angles surgeon who built a fortune exceeding $7 billion as a biotechnology entrepreneur. ...

Supreme Court reviews case on California juror's dismissal

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 12:35 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Supreme Court on Wednesday considered whether it was proper to overturn the murder conviction of a woman after the state trial judge dismissed a juror who stood in the way of a guilty verdict against her. Tara Sheneva Williams had been sentenced to life in prison in the 1993 murder of a Long Beach, California liquor store owner. Prosecutors said she had driven two men to and from the store, where one of the men killed the owner, Hung Mun Kim, during the course of a robbery. ...

Florida weighs case of illegal immigrant who passed bar exam

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 02:55 PM PDT

TAMPA, Florida (Reuters) - Florida's Supreme Court on Tuesday grilled attorneys on the implications of issuing a law license to an undocumented immigrant and law school graduate who passed the Florida Bar exam after disclosing he was in the United States illegally. As 26-year-old Jose Manuel Godinez-Samperio of Mexico watched the proceedings from the gallery, one judge accused the Florida Board of Bar Examiners of putting the state in an awkward situation. "It seems very strange," Justice R. ...

Supreme Court weighs federally created floods

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 11:42 AM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Wednesday in a case about the degree to which the federal government must pay damages when it releases water from a dam that causes temporary flooding for a property owner downstream. The case, involving damage to an Arkansas wildlife preserve, addressed the politically charged issue of when government activity that affects private property constitutes a "taking" that requires payment to a landowner. Under the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. ...

American Airlines loses bid to block union vote

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 01:37 PM PDT

(Reuters) - American Airlines, Inc lost a court battle in its effort to block a union election vote by nearly 10,000 passenger service agents. Wednesday's decision by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans came amid a separate labor dispute the airline's 8,000 pilots and its parent company, AMR Corp., which filed for bankruptcy in November. The pilots are expected to authorize a strike later this week. The appeals court ruling reverses an earlier decision by District Judge Terry Means in Fort Worth, Texas that blocked the agents' union election from going forward. ...

U.S. works to shut down tech support scams that have cost millions

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 11:44 AM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has taken steps to shut down several fake tech support scams that have cost consumers tens of millions of dollars, the Federal Trade Commission said on Wednesday. In the scheme, six separate rings of scam artists, most in India, call people in the United States, Canada, Australia and elsewhere, identify themselves as working for reputable companies and ask the victim to check his or her computer. The consumers are then told their computer has a virus that can be removed for a fee of $49 to $450. ...

Who's the undecided voter? It may be the "Walmart mom"

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 07:11 AM PDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Meet the undecided voter. Sometimes seen as the great prize of U.S. electoral politics, this elusive citizen is more likely to be female, white, lacking a college education and earning less than $25,000, according Reuters/Ipsos polling data accumulated over the course of 2012. The "undecideds" make up roughly 6 percent of the electorate, with a slightly higher concentration in an Upper Midwest region including Ohio and Wisconsin, swing states that could determine the outcome of a close election. ...

Online schools face backlash as states question results

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 04:55 AM PDT

(Reuters) - Virtual public schools, which allow students to take all their classes online, have exploded in popularity across the United States, offering what supporters view as innovative and affordable alternatives to the conventional classroom. Now a backlash is building among public officials and educators who question whether the cyber-schools are truly making the grade. ...

Factbox: Quotes from first U.S. presidential debate

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 06:47 PM PDT

(Reuters) - President Barack Obama and Republican candidate Mitt Romney on Wednesday faced off in Denver in the first of three debates ahead of the November 6 election. Below are some highlights of what the two candidates said. FORMER MASSACHUSETTS GOVERNOR MITT ROMNEY On Obama's economic plan: "I'm concerned that we're on the path that's just been unsuccessful. The president has a view very similar to the one he had when he ran for office four years ago, that spending more, taxing more, regulating more, if you will, trickle-down government would work. That's not the right answer for America. ...

Obama and Romney battle over economy at debate

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 06:47 PM PDT

American Airlines loses bid to block union vote

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 06:00 PM PDT

Florida opens criminal probe into voter registration firm

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 05:56 PM PDT

Camera stolen with last photos of young Colorado movie theater victim

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 05:36 PM PDT

L.A. County Sheriff says will implement jail reforms, won't quit

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 05:07 PM PDT

Father of bodyguard injured in Libya questions State Dept. response

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 04:50 PM PDT

(Reuters) - The father of an American bodyguard injured in the deadly attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, said on Wednesday the State Department should own up to what he said were its mistakes and release more information about what occurred. David Ubben, 31, suffered broken bones and other injuries in the September 11 attack that killed the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans. ...

Authorities eye retirement accounts as possible tax dodges

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 04:44 PM PDT

American Airlines, pilots resume labor talks amid turmoil

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 04:45 PM PDT

Mexican troops arrest two in killing of U.S. border agent: officials

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 04:39 PM PDT