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Friday, October 19, 2012

APNewsBreak: Questions for Medicare in outbreak

APNewsBreak: Questions for Medicare in outbreak

APNewsBreak: Questions for Medicare in outbreak

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 01:23 PM PDT

FILE - In this May 15, 2012 file photo, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius speaks in Bethesda, Md. Medicare, overseen by Sebelius' department, is coming under scrutiny in the meningitis outbreak that has rekindled doubts about the safety of the nation's drug supply. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)Medicare is coming under scrutiny in the meningitis outbreak that has rekindled doubts about the safety of the nation's drug supply.

White House condemns attack in Beirut

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 01:22 PM PDT

The White House is condemning "in the strongest terms" what it calls a terrorist attack in Beirut that killed a top security official and seven others.

Dow down 205 as weak earnings drag market lower

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 01:23 PM PDT

FILE - In this Thursday, Oct. 18, 2012, file photo, traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. World stock markets fell Friday as disappointing U.S. corporate earnings provided a reason to book profits on recent gains while investors waited for a progress report from European leaders concluding a summit on the region's debt crisis. Wall Street also looks set to retreat. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)Poor corporate earnings reports pounded the stock market Friday in a sour end to an otherwise strong week of trading. The Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 200 points for its worst day in four months.

Police say missing Oregon woman's cellphone found

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 01:19 PM PDT

This department of motor vehicles image provided by the City of Gresham, Ore., shows Whitney Heichel. Police said Friday Oct. 19, 2012, that children playing outside an apartment complex have found the cellphone of Heichel, an Oregon woman who vanished three days ago under suspicious circumstances. Authorities said the phone will be examined Friday for clues about what happened to Heichel after she failed to show up for work Tuesday morning.(AP Photo/DMV via City of Gresham)Police say children playing outside an apartment complex have found the cellphone of an Oregon woman who vanished three days ago under suspicious circumstances.

Aggressive ads keep abortion in campaign spotlight

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 01:15 PM PDT

FILE - In this Friday, March 23, 2012 file photo, supporters from both sides of the abortion issue share the sidewalk next to the Planned Parenthhood clinic in West Glenwood, Colo. Numerous polls in the 2012 presidential election indicate that abortion and other hot-button social issues aren't top priorities for most Americans as they worry about jobs and health care. Yet abortion is a visceral subject for some voters - and the extent to which they turn out to vote, and perhaps sway wavering acquaintances, could make a difference in pivotal swing states. (AP Photo/Glenwood Springs Post Independent, Kelley Cox)Though Barack Obama and Mitt Romney rarely tackle the topic of abortion head-on, the void is being filled by rival advocacy groups targeting swing states with ads depicting one or the other candidate as an extremist in his stance on the divisive issue.

Minister Mitchell quits over "pleb" police outburst

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 01:05 PM PDT

Chief Whip Andrew Mitchell leaves 10 Downing Street after a cabinet meeting, in central London(Note: Strong language in Mitchell's resignation letter) LONDON (Reuters) - British minister Andrew Mitchell resigned on Friday after failing to shake off accusations he called police "plebs", an insult laden with snobbery that fuelled perceptions Prime Minister David Cameron's government is out of touch with voters. Mitchell, the "Chief Whip" responsible for keeping discipline among MPs in Cameron's Conservative Party, denied using the offending word but admitted swearing at officers after being told to get off his bicycle as he left Downing Street last month. ...

Banana Boat recalls sunscreen due to fire risk

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 01:03 PM PDT

The maker of Banana Boat sunscreen is recalling some of its spray-on products after reports that a handful of people have caught on fire after applying the lotion and coming in contact with an open flame.

U.N. Security Council plans sanctions on Congo rebels, others

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 01:01 PM PDT

Boy sells Cassava leaves at market in Democratic Republic of Congo town of BunaganaUNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council intends to impose sanctions on the leaders of the Democratic Republic of Congo's M23 rebels and others violating an arms embargo on the country, according to a draft statement to be formally adopted later on Friday. Rwandan Defense Minister James Kabarebe is commanding the insurgency in eastern Congo that is being armed by Rwanda and Uganda, both of which also sent troops to aid deadly attacks, according to a U.N. experts' confidential report seen by Reuters on Tuesday. ...

In food-crazy New Orleans, food 'deserts' persist

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 01:00 PM PDT

Dwayne Boudreaux poses outside his Circle Food Store, which was destroyed in Hurricane Katrina, as renovations begin for the stores' reopening, in New Orleans, Friday, Oct. 19, 2012. Circle's barren insides are emblematic of a problem that neighborhood activists say was exacerbated by the catastrophe: In a city known for food, fresh produce and affordable groceries have long been hard to come by for some. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)Dwayne Boudreaux's memories of the Circle Food Store in New Orleans 7th Ward neighborhood are so vivid he can walk through its colonnade of arches into the dark and empty shell and give a guided tour of how it was before Hurricane Katrina.

Draft order would give companies cyberthreat info

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 12:59 PM PDT

FILE In this Oct. 10, 2012 file photo, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta speaks at NATO headquarters in Brussels. The military is ready to retaliate if the nation is hit by cyber weapons, according to Panetta, as an executive order is being prepared for President Barack Obama's signature directing U.S. spy agencies to share the latest intelligence about cyber threats with the companies operating electric grids, water plants, railroads and other vital industries to help protect them from electronic attacks. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo, File)A new White House executive order would direct U.S. spy agencies to share the latest intelligence about cyberthreats with companies operating electric grids, water plants, railroads and other vital industries to help protect them from electronic attacks, according to a copy obtained by The Associated Press.

Fire destroys State Fair of Texas icon Big Tex

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 12:58 PM PDT

The burned remains of Big Tex stand at the State Fair of Texas Friday, Oct. 19, 2012, in Dallas. Fire destroyed Big Tex on Friday, leaving behind little more than the metal frame of the 52-foot-tall metal-and-fabric cowboy that is an icon of the State Fair of Texas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)Big Tex, the metal cowboy whose slow drawl of "Howdy, folks!" made him an icon of the State Fair of Texas for 60 years, was destroyed Friday when flames engulfed his 52-foot-tall frame.

Peace envoy Brahimi pushes in Syria for ceasefire

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 12:56 PM PDT

UN-Arab League peace envoy for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi arrives for a joint news conference in AmmanDAMASCUS (Reuters) - Mediator Lakhdar Brahimi will meet Syrian officials over the next few days in an effort to secure a brief ceasefire in the worsening war between President Bashar al-Assad's government and rebel forces. Brahimi, who arrived in the capital Damascus on Friday afternoon, will meet Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem on Saturday morning, the U.N. spokesman in Damascus, Khaled al-Masri, said. He did not say whether the envoy would meet Assad. "We will talk about the ceasefire and the Syrian issue in general. ...

Analysis: Complaints rise over complex U.S. stock orders

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 12:53 PM PDT

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock ExchangeNEW YORK (Reuters) - Allegations of abuse over how a stock trade is executed may soon bring a new black eye to Wall Street or amount to little more than another warning about high-frequency trading. The numerous order types - the instructions that govern price and other variables in a trade - and their use by high-frequency traders have sparked a growing debate over the structure of the U.S. marketplace. Order types can reach an estimated 2,000 variations as a fully electronic market and more than 50 trading venues have multiplied the possibilities of how, when and with whom to trade. ...

Member of 'Bling Ring' pleads no contest

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 12:53 PM PDT

A 22-year-old woman pleaded no contest Friday to a burglary charge for stealing from the home of Lindsay Lohan as part of a group known as the "Bling Ring."

UN envoy arrives in Syria amid calls for truce

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 12:51 PM PDT

In this Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2012 photo, citizen journalism image provided by Edlib News Network, ENN, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, Syrians rescue people from under the rubble of a destroyed building that was attacked by a Syrian force airstrike, at Kfar Nebel town, in Idlib province, northern Syria. (AP Photo/Idlib News Network ENN)Turkey and Germany on Friday threw their weight behind calls for a Syrian cease-fire during a Muslim holiday next week as the international envoy for the conflict arrived in Damascus to push for the plan.

Beirut car bomb kills top official, 7 others

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 12:51 PM PDT

An injured woman is carried away by civilians from the scene of an explosion in the mostly Christian neighborhood of Achrafiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Friday Oct. 19, 2012. Lebanese Red Cross and security officials say a car bomb in east Beirut has killed at least eight people and wounded dozens in the worst blast the city has seen in years, coming at a time when Lebanon has seen a rise in tension and eruptions of clashes stemming from the civil war in neighboring Syria. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)A car bomb ripped through Beirut on Friday, killing a top security official and seven others, shearing the balconies off apartment buildings and sending bloodied residents staggering into the streets in the most serious blast the Lebanese capital has seen in four years.

GOP pounces after news of CIA cable on Libya raid

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 12:48 PM PDT

FILE - In this Sept. 13, 2012 file photo, a Libyan man investigates the inside of the U.S. Consulate, after an attack that killed four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens on the night of Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2012, in Benghazi, Libya. U.S. officials tell The Associated Press that the CIA station chief in Libya reported to Washington within 24 hours of last month's deadly attack on the U.S. Consulate that there was evidence it was carried out by militants, not a mob upset about an American-made, anti-Muslim movie. It is unclear whether anyone outside the CIA saw the cable at that point or how high up in the CIA the information went. (AP Photo/Mohammad Hannon, File)Sensing a moment of political vulnerability on national security, Republicans pounced Friday on disclosures that President Barack Obama's administration could have known early on that militants, not angry protesters, launched the attack on U.S. diplomats in Libya.

Ailes re-ups as Fox News chief for 4 more years

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 12:47 PM PDT

News Corp. said Friday that Fox News chief executive Roger Ailes has signed a new four-year contract.

If elected, Romney wants a say in 'fiscal cliff'

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 12:45 PM PDT

Mitt Romney's transition team is quietly talking with government officials and Capitol Hill to develop a plan, if he's elected, to prevent massive cuts to the defense budget and extend tax cuts first passed under President George W. Bush.

Suit: Sheriff denied bail to inmates on ICE holds

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 12:42 PM PDT

Arrestees who say they were denied bail because they had federal immigration holds have sued the Los Angeles County sheriff alleging they were illegally detained for days or months at a time.

Unemployment rates fall in 7 US swing states

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 12:40 PM PDT

Unemployment rates fell or held steady last month in nine key swing states at the center of this year's presidential election.

After lawsuit threat, Twitter to pull racist posts

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 12:39 PM PDT

Twitter agreed to pull racist and anti-Semitic tweets under a pair of French hash tags after a Jewish group threatened to sue the social network for running afoul of national laws against hate speech, the organization said. The decision came a day after Twitter bowed to German law and blocked an account of a banned neo-Nazi group there.

Analysis: Mortgage demand too much for U.S. banks, who respond slowly

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 12:38 PM PDT

A man walks past a Citibank branch in lower Manhattan, New York(Reuters) - Big U.S. banks are hiring mortgage bankers to meet a surge in demand for home loans and refinancings, but they are still struggling to process applications, which could undermine the Federal Reserve's attempts to stimulate the economy. Since the Fed announced its plan in September to buy up to $40 billion of mortgages a month, consumer mortgage rates have fallen more slowly and by less than they would have done in more normal times. On average, 30-year home loan rates are down just 0. ...

High pay a costly legacy of Calif. prison receiver

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 12:38 PM PDT

In this photo taken Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2012, Dr. Davis Mathis, visits with an inmate in the hospital unit at the California Medical Facility in Vacaville, Calif. Mathis, a board certified physician, was the highest paid prison doctor last year, earning a base salary of $239,572 and an additional $169,548 for working overnight shifts, weekends and holidays. Prison doctors say they are worth the higher pay because they face the constant threat of assault from inmates. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)A doctor at California Medical Facility was paid more than $410,000 last year, while a registered nurse at High Desert State Prison made nearly $236,000 — more than twice the statewide average in both cases.

Unemployment rates fall in most election swing states

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 12:33 PM PDT

People wait in line to meet with job counselor during a job fair at Workforce1 in New YorkNEW YORK (Reuters) - The unemployment rate fell last month in most states, including those considered undecided in the presidential election, data from the Labor Department showed on Friday. Stubbornly high unemployment is a key issue in the November 6 election. The contest between President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney is heating up in states where polls suggest voters are undecided. Overall, regional and state unemployment rates were generally lower in September. ...

Man in court on Hines Ward extortion charges

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 12:31 PM PDT

FILE - In a Tuesday, March 20, 2012 file photo, former Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Hines Ward answers a question after announcing his retirement from the NFL at the Steeler's offices in Pittsburgh. Joshua Van Auker, 26, of Pittsburgh, who claims his girlfriend once had a A man who claims his girlfriend had a "physical relationship" with retired Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward was in custody Friday, accused of trying to extort $15,000 by threatening to release evidence that Ward had paid for sex.

Labor tries new tactic after setbacks in Michigan

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 12:31 PM PDT

FILE - In a Tuesday, March 8, 2011 file photo, potestors stand outside the state Capitol in Lansing, Mich. objecting to proposed legislation that would authorize emergency financial managers to throw out union contracts. Unions are supporting a 2012 ballot initiative that would put collective bargaining rights in the state constitution. (AP Photo/The Detroit News, David Coates, File) MANDATORY CREDITIt's hardly a return to the Depression era, when company guards roughed up labor organizers at auto plants.  But times are tough for unions in the Rust Belt, even in a longtime bastion like Michigan. Here, emergency managers have been given the power to throw out union contracts in financially struggling cities.  Neighboring Wisconsin has stripped public employees of collective bargaining rights and Indiana has approved "right-to-work" legislation.

WA apple farmers may see boon from bad weather

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 12:30 PM PDT

First, warm spring weather in the Northeast and Midwest tricked apple trees into budding earlier. Then an untimely frost damaged the delicate blossoms.

APNewsBreak: Tenn.'s meningitis has likely peaked

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 12:29 PM PDT

Tennessee's chief medical officer says the rate of new infections from a deadly fungal meningitis outbreak appears to be declining in the state where it was first discovered.

Feds: Steelers ex-doc prescribed illegal steroids

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 12:26 PM PDT

A former Pittsburgh Steelers doctor who left the team after investigators questioned his bulk purchase of anabolic steroids has been indicted for illegally prescribing the muscle-building aids and other drugs.

44 TSA workers at Newark face firing or suspension

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 12:26 PM PDT

The Transportation Security Administration on Friday moved to fire 25 employees at Newark Liberty International Airport and suspend 19 others for what it said was improper screening of checked luggage, the latest in a series of sanctions at one of the country's busiest airports.

Early look at Windows 8 baffles consumers

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 12:25 PM PDT

FILE - In this Thursday, Aug. 23, 2012, file photo, the new Microsoft logo is seen above the entrance to a company store in Seattle. Microsoft Corp.'s net income fell 22 percent in the latest quarter as it deferred revenue from the sale of its upcoming Windows 8 operating system to PC makers, and as PC sales in general took a dive. The software company's net income was $4.47 billion, or 53 cents per share. That was down from $5.7 billion, or 68 cents per share, a year ago, and exceeded analyst estimates, which had been in the 50-52 cent range. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)The release of Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system is a week away, and consumers are in for a shock. Windows, used in one form or another for a generation, is getting a completely different look that will force users to learn new ways to get things done.

Senate intelligence leaders question Benghazi judgments

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 12:23 PM PDT

A Libyan government militia guarding the main entrance of the U.S. consulate that was attacked last week, fixes a note written by Libyans against the attack, in BenghaziWASHINGTON (Reuters) - Top Democrats and Republicans on the Senate Intelligence Committee are questioning why U.S. spy agencies and government spokesmen initially played down suspected al Qaeda links to the September 11 attacks on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya. Immediately after the Benghazi attacks, spy agencies produced conflicting reports on who was behind them, U.S. officials said. Most said extremists with possible al Qaeda ties were involved. ...

Dow down 200 as weak earnings drag market lower

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 12:22 PM PDT

FILE - In this Thursday, Oct. 18, 2012, file photo, traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. World stock markets fell Friday as disappointing U.S. corporate earnings provided a reason to book profits on recent gains while investors waited for a progress report from European leaders concluding a summit on the region's debt crisis. Wall Street also looks set to retreat. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)Poor corporate earnings reports pounded the stock market Friday in a sour end to an otherwise strong week of trading. The Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 200 points and was headed for its worst day in four months.

Goodell appoints Tagliabue to hear player appeals

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 12:21 PM PDT

FILE - In this Aug. 8, 2012, Roger Goodell, left, the NFL's chief operating officer, and Paul Tagliabue, NFL commissioner, pose for photos after Goodell was selected to succeed Tagliabue as the league's new commissioner at an NFL meeting in Northbrook, Ill. Goodell appointed Tagliabue on Friday, Oct. 19, 2012, to hear the appeals of four players suspended in the New Orleans Saints bounties scandal.(AP Photo/M. Spencer Green, File)NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell appointed predecessor Paul Tagliabue to hear the appeals of four players suspended in the Saints bounty scandal.

NHL cancels games through Nov. 1

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 12:20 PM PDT

Donald Fehr, left, executive director of the NHL players' association, talks to reporters following collective bargaining talks between the NHLPA and the NHL in Toronto on Thursday, Oct. 18, 2012. Players, from left, Detroit Red Wings' Daniel Cleary, Edmonton Oilers' Shawn Horcoff, Pittsburgh Penguins' Sidney Crosby, Carolina Hurricanes' Eric Staal and Phoenix Coyotes' Shane Doan listen in the background. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Chris Young)The NHL wiped out the third week of the regular season Friday as the lockout dragged on, leaving no more wiggle room if the league hopes to play a full 82-game schedule.

Pakistani ex-army, intel chiefs face legal action

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 12:18 PM PDT

Pakistan's top court recommended Friday that the government launch legal proceedings against a former army chief and head of intelligence for allegedly bankrolling politicians running against the current ruling party in the 1990 election.

Scripps grandson dies; investors eye family sale

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 12:17 PM PDT

Shares of HGTV and Food Network owner Scripps Networks Interactive Inc. rose nearly 6 percent before giving back most of the gains on Friday after the death of a grandson of founder Edward W. Scripps prompted speculation that the family might sell its controlling stake.

Oil prices fall on fresh worries about economy

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 12:17 PM PDT

The price of oil fell 2.2 percent Friday after disappointing U.S. corporate earnings and a drop in existing home sales sparked worries again about the global economy.

Jessica Biel, Justin Timberlake marry in Italy

Posted: 19 Oct 2012 12:12 PM PDT

FILE - In this May 7, 2012, file photo, Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake arrive at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute gala benefit, celebrating Elsa Schiaparelli and Miuccia Prada in New York. The couple released a statement Friday, Oct. 19, 2012, to People magazine confirming their wedding. They said the ceremony was beautiful and it was special to be surrounded by our family and friends. (AP Photo/Evan Agostini, File)Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel got married.
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