Friday, November 23, 2012

Shoppers welcome early start to "Black Friday"

Shoppers welcome early start to "Black Friday"

Shoppers welcome early start to "Black Friday"

Posted: 23 Nov 2012 03:45 PM PST

People carry shopping bags as they walk through Herald Square in New YorkNEW YORK/BLOOMINGTON, Minnesota (Reuters) - Retailers declared their experiment with earlier store openings to kick off the holiday shopping season a success on Friday, with those new hours expected to be a Thanksgiving night staple for more retailers next year. Stores such as Target Corp opened hours before midnight on Thursday to try to capture a bigger piece of the retail pie. The move seemed to bring out a different type of shopper than the usual one who grabs the "Black Friday" deals, analysts said. That meant by Friday morning, some shoppers, like Christian Alcantara, 18, at a J.C. ...

NJ Governor estimates Sandy will cost state at least $29.4 billion

Posted: 23 Nov 2012 05:41 PM PST

The extensive damage to an amusement park roller coaster in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy is seen in Seaside HeightsNEW YORK (Reuters) - Superstorm Sandy caused at least $29.4 billion in overall damage in New Jersey, according to a preliminary analysis released by Governor Chris Christie's office Friday. The estimate of the damage caused by the storm, which ravaged the Northeastern U.S. coastline late last month, includes personal property, business, infrastructure and utility damage, Christie said in a statement. ...

Gas explosion in Springfield, Massachusetts levels building, injures eight

Posted: 23 Nov 2012 04:39 PM PST

(Reuters) - An explosion triggered by a gas leak destroyed a building in downtown Springfield, Massachusetts, on Friday, injuring at least eight people although none seriously, police said. Springfield Police Captain William Collins said the building, a gentleman's club, exploded at about 5:25 p.m. as the gas company was looking for a leak under the road. "The whole building is completely gone," Collins told Reuters by telephone. "The building was leveled ... there was extensive damage to a building across the street. ...

New York triple-murder suspect posed as retired cop: neighbors

Posted: 23 Nov 2012 05:05 PM PST

Booking photo of Salvatore PerroneNEW YORK (Reuters) - Neighbors of the man charged with murdering three New York shopkeepers of Middle Eastern descent described him on Friday as a self-styled "tough guy" who affected a fake Italian accent and claimed to be retired detective. "He was the kind of guy who you could tell had watched 'The Godfather' too many times,'' said Ben Elchonen, who lives in the same Queens apartment building where murder suspect Salvatore Perrone, 64, often stayed with a girlfriend. ...

Ranbaxy recalls generic Lipitor in United States

Posted: 23 Nov 2012 03:50 PM PST

Ranbaxy Chairman Une speaks during a news conference in New DelhiMUMBAI (Reuters) - Indian drugmaker Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd has recalled its generic version of Pfizer Inc's cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor in the United States after certain batches were found to contain glass particles. Ranbaxy's U.S. subsidiary, Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals Inc, said the recall affects certain lots of 10-, 20- and 40-milligram doses of the drug, known generically as atorvastatin calcium. The 80-milligram dosage is not affected. The company is conducting an investigation which it expects will take two weeks. ...

New York City to end fuel rationing on Saturday

Posted: 23 Nov 2012 02:32 PM PST

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York City will end gas rationing at dawn on Saturday, nearly four weeks after superstorm Sandy led to a regional fuel shortage, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said on Friday. The odd-even system based on license plate numbers, was launched on November 9 to help cope with fuel shortages and long lines at gas stations after the storm. As of Friday, more than 85 percent of the city's gas stations were operational, the mayor said in a statement. ...

Boxer Hector "Macho" Camacho remains on life support

Posted: 23 Nov 2012 01:49 PM PST

Torres gives a news conference on the condition of former welterweight boxing champion Hector "Macho" Camacho in San JuanSAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (Reuters) - Relatives of Hector "Macho" Camacho, who has been declared brain dead after being shot in the face, are still hoping for a miracle and said they would not remove the three-time world boxing champion from life support. Doctors at the Rio Piedras Medical Center in San Juan declared Camacho, 50, brain dead on Thursday, two days after he was struck in a drive-by shooting. "Macho is a fighter, and he's going to keep fighting until the last bell," his son Hector "Machito" Camacho told reporters on Friday after visiting his father. "He's still alive. ...

Fighting Sandy debris-removal crooks: There's an app for that

Posted: 23 Nov 2012 11:37 AM PST

A worker removes the debris of a home destroyed by Hurricane Sandy in Union BeachNEW YORK (Reuters) - A devastating storm like Sandy can bring out the crooks - and not just opportunistic looters and burglars. Officials dealing with the destruction in the U.S. Northeast say one of their biggest headaches is debris-removal fraud committed by greedy contractors who inflate their share of the millions in cleanup funds doled out by federal agencies. ...

Nine arrests in Walmart protest, business still brisk

Posted: 23 Nov 2012 03:32 PM PST

Walmart customers leave the store as they are greeted by striking Walmart workers and supporters on Black Friday in ParamountCHICAGO (Reuters) - Nine people were arrested near a Walmart store in California on Friday as part of national protests for the rights of hourly workers, even as the world's largest retailer enjoyed what it said was its best ever start to the holiday shopping rush. Hundreds of protesters, including some Walmart workers who skipped their shifts on the retail industry's busiest day, spoke, chanted and sang outside of Walmart stores around the United States, making pleas for higher wages and better healthcare for Walmart hourly workers. ...

Oil rig worker dies of injuries from Black Elk explosion in Gulf

Posted: 23 Nov 2012 01:21 PM PST

(Reuters) - One of the men burned last week in an explosion and fire on an oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico died on Friday of his injuries, an official said, bringing the confirmed death toll from the accident to two. Avelino Tajonera, 49, a welder from the Philippines working on the Black Elk Energy rig, died in a New Orleans hospital on Friday morning, according to a statement from the Philippine Ambassador to the United States. He died shortly after his wife and three children arrived from Manila. ...

Enbridge pipeline shut briefly after Illinois leak

Posted: 23 Nov 2012 10:37 AM PST

(Reuters) - About 900 barrels of crude oil leaked from an Enbridge Inc facility near Chicago this week forcing the shut-down of one of its pipelines, but the spill was contained and line restarted the same day, the company said on Friday. The leak occurred Tuesday at a tank farm at Mokena, Illinois, near Chicago. Enbridge's Line 14, a 318,000 barrel a day conduit that carries crude to Mokena from Superior, Wisconsin, was down following the detection of the spill, the company and regulators said. Enbridge spokesman Graham White said there was little environmental or operational impact. ...

Supreme Court to consider workplace harassment rules

Posted: 23 Nov 2012 09:41 AM PST

People line up for admission at the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington(Reuters) - The Supreme Court on Monday will hear arguments in a case that could determine when a company is liable for harassment by its employees. The case turns on the definition of a single word - "supervisor" - under a federal civil rights law that prohibits racial, religious or sexual harassment in the workplace. Under previous Supreme Court rulings, an employer is automatically responsible if a supervisor harasses a subordinate. The employer is not liable if the harassment is between two equal coworkers, unless it was negligent in allowing the abuse. ...

Mexico arrests suspected murderer on FBI most wanted list

Posted: 23 Nov 2012 03:49 PM PST

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican federal police have captured suspected murderer, rapist and drug gang member Joe Luis Saenz, one of the 10 most wanted fugitives on the FBI's list, the government said on Friday. Saenz, a U.S. citizen, was arrested in the city of Guadalajara in western Mexico on Thursday following an investigation carried out by the federal police in conjunction with the FBI, the government said in a statement. According to the FBI, Saenz is suspected of shooting and killing two rival gang members in Los Angeles in July 1998. For the FBI's most wanted list, see: www.fbi. ...

PCS eyeing $11 billion Sandy loss estimate

Posted: 23 Nov 2012 04:22 AM PST

Homes destroyed by a fire during Hurricane Sandy are seen in the Breezy Point neighborhood of QueensLONDON (Reuters) - Data aggregator Property Claims Service (PCS) is putting insured losses from superstorm Sandy at $11 billion, which currently leaves catastrophe bond investors safe from losses - but experts say the figure is likely to rise. PCS has not formally released its loss review yet, but an initial estimate based on its first survey has been seen by cat bond funds and traders. PCS is an industry loss compilation service used by the majority of cat bonds to define whether an insurance event qualifies for a payout under the terms of the deal. ...
Posted by Harshad at 7:36 PM

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