Frustration sets in over "fiscal cliff" talks

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• Frustration sets in over "fiscal cliff" talks
• Rice withdraws as secretary of state candidate, citing tough Senate battle
• Iran, UN nuclear agency end talks; no word on site visit
• Venezuela's Chavez suffers complications after surgery
• Obama to meet Boehner on Thursday around 5:00 p.m.: official
• Boehner: White House willing to "slow-walk" up to "fiscal cliff"
• Ransom deadline passes for Ukrainian reporter held in Syria
• U.S. says Russia "waking up to reality" on Syria
• Bomber kills American near Afghan base after Panetta visit
• Iran says progress made in U.N. nuclear talks
• Russia says Syrian rebels might win
• Russia says Syrian opposition could defeat government
• Boehner plans to leave Washington amid "fiscal cliff" stalemate
• Republicans losing public opinion wars in "fiscal cliff" talks
• White House says Republicans not budging on tax rate hikes
• EU close to deal on bank capital rules, curbing bonuses
• Banking deal boosts EU leaders in fighting crisis
• Britain lifts shale gas ban, imposes tighter rules
• U.S. lawmaker says Syria's chemical weapons are ready to use
• Labor market brightens, consumers step up spending
• HMV faces 12 critical days to avoid banking breach
• Adele, Carly Rae top music; Birds rule 2012 apps
• Smartphones can soon be used to 'e-hail' NYC taxis
• Europe's bank supervision deal raises firewall hopes
• Witnesses: 3 dead, others raped by Guinea army
• Market enthusiasm over Fed stimulus fades
• Lawyer: Killed Kremlin critic worked for UK spies
• Carter Center says it won't monitor Egypt's vote
• McAfee in Miami after deportation from Guatemala
• Officials: Libyan government slows investigation
• Mali gets new prime minister after military ouster
• Study: People worldwide living longer, but sicker
• Senate leader says Boehner should yield to public on tax hikes
• US library to honor Carole King with music prize
• Inquest: Nurse in British royal hoax found hanging
• Hamas stages first West Bank march since 2007
• Chabon ties it all together in 'Telegraph Avenue'
• Congo rebel group demands president's resignation
• Documents: Prisoner plotted to kill Justin Bieber
• Financial crisis explained to Queen Elizabeth II

Frustration sets in over "fiscal cliff" talks Posted: 13 Dec 2012 01:17 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Negotiations between congressional Republicans and the White House hit a wall on Thursday, with both sides voicing frustration at the lack of progress on averting the "fiscal cliff" of steep tax hikes and spending cuts. With an end-of-year deadline looming, U.S. House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner and President Barack Obama planned a meeting at the White House about 5 p.m. EST (2200 GMT) to discuss the fiscal cliff, a White House official said. ...

Rice withdraws as secretary of state candidate, citing tough Senate battle Posted: 13 Dec 2012 01:10 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Susan Rice withdrew her name from consideration as U.S. secretary of state on Thursday in the face of what promised to be a difficult Senate confirmation battle. Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and a close confidante of President Barack Obama, said she was withdrawing from the process to avoid a lengthy, costly and disruptive confirmation battle. "That trade-off is simply not worth it to our country," she wrote in a letter to Obama. Rice has faced questions about comments she made days after the September 11 assault on the U.S. ...

Iran, UN nuclear agency end talks; no word on site visit Posted: 13 Dec 2012 01:05 PM PST DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran said progress was made in Thursday's talks in Tehran with senior U.N. nuclear inspectors but gave no details other than they would meet again in mid-January. There was no immediate comment from the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) about the one-day meeting over Iran's disputed nuclear program, and no sign its inspectors would gain access to the Parchin military complex as requested. ...

Venezuela's Chavez suffers complications after surgery Posted: 13 Dec 2012 01:04 PM PST CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's Hugo Chavez suffered bleeding after a six-hour cancer operation in Cuba, the government said on Thursday, adding to a stream of somber news about the ailing president's condition. Chavez's health has worsened dramatically since he won re-election two months ago, casting doubt on the future of his "21st century socialism" project, which won him huge support among the poor but infuriated adversaries who call him a fledgling dictator. ...

Obama to meet Boehner on Thursday around 5:00 p.m.: official Posted: 13 Dec 2012 12:50 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will meet Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives John Boehner at the White House around 5 p.m. EST on Thursday to discuss the "fiscal cliff," a White House official told Reuters. (Reporting by Jeff Mason; Editing by Will Dunham)

Boehner: White House willing to "slow-walk" up to "fiscal cliff" Posted: 13 Dec 2012 12:50 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives John Boehner on Thursday again rejected President Barack Obama's demand for increased power to raise the U.S. debt and charged that the White House seems willing to "slow-walk our economy right up to the 'fiscal cliff.'" The White House and Congress face a year-end deadline to avert the so-called fiscal cliff of automatic tax hikes and budget cuts that experts fear could plunge the nation into another recession. "The president wants to pretend spending isn't the problem. That's why we don't have an agreement" to reduce the ...

Ransom deadline passes for Ukrainian reporter held in Syria Posted: 13 Dec 2012 12:42 PM PST PARIS (Reuters) - Media freedom group Reporters Sans Frontieres said on Thursday it was extremely concerned for a Ukrainian journalist kidnapped in Syria, as the deadline passed for a huge ransom demand from a group threatening to kill her. Anhar Kochneva, who had been reporting for Russian media outlets in Syria, was taken hostage in October near Homs. ...

U.S. says Russia "waking up to reality" on Syria Posted: 13 Dec 2012 12:11 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States welcomed on Thursday a Russian admission that Syria's rebels may succeed in their drive to topple President Bashar al-Assad and called on Moscow to join efforts to manage a peaceful political transition. "We want to commend the Russian government for finally waking up to the reality and acknowledging that the regime's days are numbered," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told a news briefing. ...

Bomber kills American near Afghan base after Panetta visit Posted: 13 Dec 2012 12:11 PM PST KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) - A suicide bomber killed one American service member and wounded three other U.S. troops outside a base in southern Afghanistan on Thursday shortly after a visit there by U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, officials said. Panetta dismissed the attack as a desperate and futile attempt by insurgents to sow chaos in Afghanistan. He announced that Afghan President Hamid Karzai would head to the United States in the week of Jan 7. for talks with President Barack Obama on the future the U.S. presence in Afghanistan after the NATO-led mission ends in 2014. ...

Iran says progress made in U.N. nuclear talks Posted: 13 Dec 2012 11:50 AM PST VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran said on Thursday progress was made in talks with the U.N. nuclear agency and the two sides will meet again in Tehran in mid-January, local media reported after the one-day meeting ended in the Iranian capital. There was no immediate comment from the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). There was also no indication that the U.N. agency would gain access to the Parchin military complex as it has repeatedly requested. According to state Press TV, Iran's ambassador to the IAEA, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, said the talks were constructive and good progress had been ...

Russia says Syrian rebels might win Posted: 13 Dec 2012 11:32 AM PST MOSCOW/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian rebels are gaining ground and might win, Russia's Middle East envoy said on Thursday, in the starkest such admission from a major ally of President Bashar al-Assad in 20 months of conflict. "One must look the facts in the face," Russia's state-run RIA quoted Mikhail Bogdanov as saying. "Unfortunately, the victory of the Syrian opposition cannot be ruled out. ...

Russia says Syrian opposition could defeat government Posted: 13 Dec 2012 11:32 AM PST MOSCOW (Reuters) - Rebel forces are gaining ground against the Syrian government and could win the war against President Bashar al-Assad, the Kremlin's envoy for Middle East affairs said on Thursday. Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said Russia was working on plans to evacuate Russians from Syria if necessary. "One must look the facts in the face. The regime and government in Syria is losing control of more and more territory," state-run Russian news agency RIA quoted him as saying. "Unfortunately, a victory of the Syrian opposition cannot be ruled out," he said. ...

Boehner plans to leave Washington amid "fiscal cliff" stalemate Posted: 13 Dec 2012 11:13 AM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Speaker of the House of Representatives John Boehner plans to go home to Ohio on Friday, his office said, in a sign that there is no deal in sight to avert the looming "fiscal cliff." Spokesman Michael Steel added, however, that should President Barack Obama decide he needs to talk or meet with Boehner again, "Ohio has both cell phone service and airports - so ... it won't be a problem." Steel said Boehner - the top Republican in Congress - will likely return to Washington on Monday when the House completes a three-day recess. ...

Republicans losing public opinion wars in "fiscal cliff" talks Posted: 13 Dec 2012 11:12 AM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Negotiations are expected to continue Thursday on the "fiscal cliff" with Republicans at a growing public opinion disadvantage and approval ratings for President Barack Obama rising to levels not seen since the killing of Osama bin Laden. Senior Democratic Senator Kent Conrad of North Dakota said on MSNBC late Wednesday that he thought Obama and House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner were edging closer to a deal. He added that he hoped something will be announced next week to avert the steep tax hikes and budget cuts set for the start of 2013. ...

White House says Republicans not budging on tax rate hikes Posted: 13 Dec 2012 11:12 AM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said on Thursday congressional Republicans have not budged on a key sticking point in negotiations to avert the looming "fiscal cliff" - the issue of raising tax rates on the top 2 percent of U.S. earners. "What we have not seen from the Republicans is any movement at all on the fundamental issue," White House spokesman Jay Carney said at a briefing. ...

EU close to deal on bank capital rules, curbing bonuses Posted: 13 Dec 2012 10:58 AM PST LONDON/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union is close to a deal over tougher capital rules for banks after officials struck a series of preliminary agreements, including to introduce the rules in January 2014 and to cap bankers' bonuses. EU states and the European Parliament met in Strasbourg, France, on Thursday and failed to agree an overall deal on a law to implement so-called Basel III rules, which require banks to hold more capital as a buffer against business setbacks. ...

Banking deal boosts EU leaders in fighting crisis Posted: 13 Dec 2012 10:44 AM PST BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European governments clinched a landmark deal on bank supervision and approved long-delayed aid to Greece on Thursday, trumpeting the agreements as signs the bloc is getting a grip on its problems after three years of deep crisis. Leaders meeting in Brussels for their sixth and final summit of 2012 faced warnings about complacency however, as they gear up for a tough new year that will see Italian and German voters go to the polls, and may bring a full bailout of Spain. ...

Britain lifts shale gas ban, imposes tighter rules Posted: 13 Dec 2012 10:34 AM PST LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will allow shale gas exploration to resume but under tighter rules, the government announced on Thursday, a year and a half after tremors set off by the hydraulic fracturing used triggered a ban on the work. Shale gas has helped transform the U.S. energy market, lowering gas and coal prices, and offers Britain, Europe's biggest gas user, a means of switching to greener energy while bolstering its falling natural gas production. ...

U.S. lawmaker says Syria's chemical weapons are ready to use Posted: 13 Dec 2012 10:28 AM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Syria's chemical weapons could be used at "a moment's notice" and the international community should not accept any assurances from Syrian officials that they will not be used, U.S. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers said on Wednesday. U.S. and other Western officials recently issued sharp warnings to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad not to deploy chemical weapons. Syria called those warnings a "pretext for intervention" in the civil war. ...

Labor market brightens, consumers step up spending Posted: 13 Dec 2012 10:16 AM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits fell sharply last week to a near four-year low and retail sales rebounded in November, hopeful signs for the struggling economic recovery. Initial claims for state unemployment aid fell for a fourth straight week, dropping 29,000 to a seasonally adjusted 343,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday. They are now at their lowest level since early October, and within a hair of territory last seen in early 2008. ...

HMV faces 12 critical days to avoid banking breach Posted: 13 Dec 2012 10:13 AM PST LONDON (Reuters) - HMV has "12 critical days" to pull in Christmas sales and help avoid a likely breach of its banking agreements at the end of January, the British entertainment retailer said. The 91-year-old company said weak market conditions had created "material uncertainties" for the business, exacerbated by a worse than expected start to Christmas trading period in which the firm makes 60 percent of its sales for the whole year. ...

Adele, Carly Rae top music; Birds rule 2012 apps Posted: 13 Dec 2012 10:01 AM PST It may be 2012, but it's a repeat of 2011 for Adele: Once again, she has the year's top-selling album on iTunes.

Smartphones can soon be used to 'e-hail' NYC taxis Posted: 13 Dec 2012 09:59 AM PST New York City's Taxi and Limousine Commission has approved a plan that will let riders use their smartphones to "e-hail" yellow cabs.

Europe's bank supervision deal raises firewall hopes Posted: 13 Dec 2012 09:59 AM PST DUBLIN (Reuters) - Europe is still some way from severing the vicious link between troubled banks and states despite a landmark deal anointing the European Central Bank as supervisor-in-chief. Persuading national governments to cede responsibility for their biggest lenders to Frankfurt was a major first step towards banking union but it was arguably the easiest bit. ...

Witnesses: 3 dead, others raped by Guinea army Posted: 13 Dec 2012 09:57 AM PST Witnesses say three people were killed, dozens wounded and at least three women raped in an army crackdown on protesters in the town of Gueckedou, located 700 kilometers (430 miles) southeast of Guinea's capital, Conakry.

Market enthusiasm over Fed stimulus fades Posted: 13 Dec 2012 09:56 AM PST Upbeat U.S. economic figures failed to restore strength to stock markets Thursday as investors monitored the progress of budget discussions in the U.S.

Lawyer: Killed Kremlin critic worked for UK spies Posted: 13 Dec 2012 09:54 AM PST Alexander Litvinenko, the former Russian agent-turned-Kremlin critic, was a "registered and paid" agent working for Britain's foreign intelligence agency when he died after being mysteriously poisoned, a lawyer representing his widow told an official hearing Thursday. Another lawyer said the U.K. has evidence the Russian government was behind Litvinenko's death.

Carter Center says it won't monitor Egypt's vote Posted: 13 Dec 2012 09:53 AM PST Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter's center said Thursday it will not deploy monitors for Egypt's constitutional referendum, amid deepening polarization over the process of adopting a document guiding how the country is to be governed following its 2011 revolution.

McAfee in Miami after deportation from Guatemala Posted: 13 Dec 2012 09:51 AM PST Anti-virus software founder John McAfee said U.S. authorities have made no efforts to question him since he arrived in Miami on Wednesday night after weeks of evading Belizean authorities who want to ask him about the death of his neighbor.

Officials: Libyan government slows investigation Posted: 13 Dec 2012 09:49 AM PST U.S. counterterrorism officials say the search for suspects in the death of the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans in Libya on Sept. 11 is being slowed by uncooperative or less-than-capable local law enforcement in Libya, Egypt and Tunisia.

Mali gets new prime minister after military ouster Posted: 13 Dec 2012 09:49 AM PST The troubled nation of Mali swore in a new interim prime minister on Thursday, just days after soldiers behind this year's military coup arrested his predecessor and forced his resignation.

Study: People worldwide living longer, but sicker Posted: 13 Dec 2012 09:47 AM PST Nearly everywhere around the world, people are living longer and fewer children are dying. But increasingly, people are grappling with the diseases and disabilities of modern life, according to the most expansive global look so far at life expectancy and the biggest health threats.

Senate leader says Boehner should yield to public on tax hikes Posted: 13 Dec 2012 09:47 AM PST WASHINGTON, Dec 13 - The top Republican in Congress should yield to public opinion and permit an increase in tax rates on the wealthiest Americans, Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid said on Thursday. House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner "can't ignore the American people forever," Reid told a Capitol Hill news conference. He cited polls showing that most Americans favor raising taxes on the rich while extending tax cuts for the middle class as part of a possible deal to avert "the fiscal cliff," automatic tax hikes and budget cuts set to begin in 2013. ...

US library to honor Carole King with music prize Posted: 13 Dec 2012 09:47 AM PST Carole King has a friend in the Library of Congress. She's the first woman to win the library's Gershwin Prize for Popular Song.

Inquest: Nurse in British royal hoax found hanging Posted: 13 Dec 2012 09:46 AM PST A nurse was found hanging in her room three days after she had been duped by a hoax call from Australian DJs about the pregnant Duchess of Cambridge, a U.K. inquest was told Thursday. The case is being treated as an apparent suicide.

Hamas stages first West Bank march since 2007 Posted: 13 Dec 2012 09:43 AM PST The Islamic militant group Hamas staged on Thursday its first public demonstration in the West Bank since 2007, illustrating its improving ties with the rival Fatah movement after a five-year rift.

Chabon ties it all together in 'Telegraph Avenue' Posted: 13 Dec 2012 09:42 AM PST The way Michael Chabon sees it, he took the cowardly way out early in his career.

Congo rebel group demands president's resignation Posted: 13 Dec 2012 09:41 AM PST The rebel group starting negotiations with the Congolese government wants the country's president to resign, according to a rebel document.

Documents: Prisoner plotted to kill Justin Bieber Posted: 13 Dec 2012 09:38 AM PST An imprisoned man whose infatuation with Justin Bieber included a tattoo of the pop star on his leg has told investigators in New Mexico he hatched a plot to kill him.

Financial crisis explained to Queen Elizabeth II Posted: 13 Dec 2012 09:32 AM PST In 2008, Queen Elizabeth II asked academics why no one saw the financial crisis coming. On Thursday, she finally got an answer.

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