| UK official denies that Cameron threatened to advance EU vote Posted: 01 Jun 2014 01:23 PM PDT  By Andreas Rinke and Andrew Osborn BERLIN/LONDON (Reuters) - A British official on Sunday dismissed a report that Prime Minister David Cameron had threatened at an EU summit last week to bring forward a referendum on British membership of the EU if Jean-Claude Juncker became European Commission president. The German magazine Der Spiegel reported that Cameron had said he would not be able to ensure that Britain stayed in the European Union if Juncker got the job. It said participants understood this to mean that a vote for Juncker could destabilise Cameron's government to the extent that the referendum would have to be brought forward from its planned date of 2017, and that this would make it likely that the British people would vote to leave the EU. Cameron must anyway go to the polls in less than a year.
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| US beats Turkey 2-1 in World Cup warmup Posted: 01 Jun 2014 01:19 PM PDT  HARRISON, N.J. (AP) — Fabian Johnson scored his first international goal, Clint Dempsey doubled the lead off a defensive lapse and the United States beat Turkey 2-1 Sunday in the second of three World Cup warm-up matches for the Americans before they head to Brazil.
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| Mississippi Senate race tops Tuesday's 8 primaries Posted: 01 Jun 2014 01:18 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — Strange, unsavory twists in Mississippi's Senate Republican race are grabbing the most attention of Tuesday's primary elections in eight states.
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| Ex-Pennsylvania Gov. Rendell invited on doomed jet Posted: 01 Jun 2014 01:17 PM PDT  PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell said Sunday that Philadelphia Inquirer co-owner Lewis Katz invited him on the doomed flight that crashed, killing seven.
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| Strange week done, Mickelson works toward US Open Posted: 01 Jun 2014 01:15 PM PDT  DUBLIN, Ohio (AP) — Phil Mickelson ended a peculiar week at the Memorial on Sunday. He had one round under par, one visit from FBI agents and lingering questions about in insider trading investigation that he says he won't discuss until it's over.
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| Philly Inquirer co-owner among 7 dead in jet crash Posted: 01 Jun 2014 01:13 PM PDT  BEDFORD, Mass. (AP) — Philadelphia Inquirer co-owner Lewis Katz was killed along with six other people in a fiery plane crash in Massachusetts, just days after reaching a deal that many hoped would end months of infighting at the newspaper and help restore it to its former glory.
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| Soldier exchange aside, Guantanamo hurdles persist Posted: 01 Jun 2014 01:09 PM PDT MIAMI (AP) — President Obama has edged closer to closing the Guantanamo Bay prison by swapping five Taliban members for a captured American soldier, but the criticism he faced Sunday for the deal underscores the challenges he faces in emptying out the cells at the U.S. base in Cuba. |
| Afghans say Taliban prisoners freed by U.S. will rejoin battle Posted: 01 Jun 2014 01:08 PM PDT By Jessica Donati and Hamid Shalizi KABUL (Reuters) - The release of five Taliban prisoners in exchange for a U.S. soldier has drawn criticism from some Afghans, who say the detainees are dangerous and will rekindle ties with terrorist networks to resume fighting, just as most foreign troops leave. The men had been held at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba since 2002 and were classed by the Pentagon as "high-risk" and "likely to pose a threat". Two are also implicated in the murder of thousands of minority Shi'ite Muslims in Afghanistan, according to the U.S. military. They were released in a swap with U.S. army sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, the sole American prisoner of war held in Afghanistan who was flown to a U.S. military hospital in Germany on Sunday. |
| US defends captive swap with Taliban, critics stir Posted: 01 Jun 2014 12:56 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — Five years a captive from the Afghanistan war, Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl is back in American hands, freed for five Guantanamo terrorism detainees in a swap stirring a sharp debate in Washington over whether the U.S. should have negotiated with the Taliban over a prisoner exchange.
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| Dunkin' Donuts patron sounds carbon monoxide alarm Posted: 01 Jun 2014 12:53 PM PDT CARLE PLACE, N.Y. (AP) — A Dunkin' Donuts customer looking for a morning cup of coffee was in the right place at the right time with the right equipment. |
| U.S. soldier freed from captivity in Afghanistan needs to decompress: family Posted: 01 Jun 2014 12:48 PM PDT (Reuters) - The U.S. soldier freed from nearly five years in captivity in Afghanistan, Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, needs time to "decompress", his parents told a news conference on Sunday. Bob and Jani Bergdahl also said they have not yet spoken to their son and cannot wait to welcome him home. (Reporting by Jon Herskovitz) |
| Philadelphia Inquirer co-owner, six others die in US plane crash Posted: 01 Jun 2014 12:47 PM PDT  A co-owner of The Philadelphia Inquirer and six other people were killed when a private business jet crashed during takeoff from an airfield outside Boston. The Gulfstream IV jet burst into a fireball upon crashing late Saturday at LG Hanscom Field, located just northwest of Boston, killing all aboard. Among the victims was Lewis Katz, 72, who had joined with another businessman Tuesday in buying out the other owners of the Inquirer and two local publications, the newspaper said. On Saturday, Katz had attended an education-related event hosted by historian Doris Kearns Goodwin and her husband at their home in Concord, Massachusetts.
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| Netanyahu urges world not to recognise Palestinian unity government Posted: 01 Jun 2014 12:45 PM PDT  By Jeffrey Heller JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday warned against any international rush to recognise a Palestinian government due to be announced under a unity pact between the Fatah and Hamas Islamist groups. Israel and the West classify Hamas as a terrorist organisation and have no official dealings with the movement, which advocates the destruction of the Jewish state. But Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whose Fatah party signed a reconciliation deal with Hamas in April, said a unity government due to be announced on Monday would be comprised of ministers without political affiliation, a status that could ease the way for Western engagement. "I call on all responsible elements in the international community not to rush to recognise a Palestinian government which has Hamas as part of it and which is dependent on Hamas," Netanyahu, who has said such an administration would be a front for the Islamist group, told his cabinet.
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| Federer loses to Gulbis in French Open's 4th round Posted: 01 Jun 2014 12:45 PM PDT  PARIS (AP) — Everything appeared to be under control for Roger Federer, just like in the old days at Grand Slam tournaments.
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| Ex-Pennsylvania Gov. Rendell passed on doomed jet Posted: 01 Jun 2014 12:43 PM PDT PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell says Philadelphia Inquirer co-owner Lewis Katz invited him on the doomed flight that crashed, killing seven. |
| Senate to take up new VA bill after scandal Posted: 01 Jun 2014 12:39 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — Details of a refashioned bill to address the problems plaguing the federally run veterans' health care system were released Sunday by its sponsor, the chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee.
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| 1 dead after boat capsizes on Lake Michigan Posted: 01 Jun 2014 12:38 PM PDT  CHICAGO (AP) — A woman on a boat that capsized miles from Chicago's shoreline died Sunday after being pulled from Lake Michigan, and the U.S. Coast Guard said crews were conducting an air and water search for as many as four other people.
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| NASCAR race at Dover stopped because of potholes Posted: 01 Jun 2014 12:34 PM PDT DOVER, Del. (AP) — The NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Dover International Speedway has resumed after it was red flagged for 22 minutes because of potholes in the concrete track. |
| Freed US soldier celebrated Xmas, played badminton with captors Posted: 01 Jun 2014 12:32 PM PDT  Miranshah (Pakistan) (AFP) - Freed US soldier Bowe Bergdahl developed a love for Afghan green tea, taught his captors badminton, and even celebrated Christmas and Easter with the hardline Islamists, a Pakistani militant commander told AFP Sunday. Bergdahl, the only US soldier detained in Afghanistan since war began in 2001, was released Saturday in exchange for the freeing of five senior Taliban figures held at Guantanamo Bay, in a dramatic deal brokered by Qatar. The army sergeant's almost five years in captivity saw him transferred between various militant factions along the volatile Afghanistan-Pakistan border, finally ending up in Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal district, according to militant sources. A commander of the Haqqani network, a militant outfit allied with the Taliban with ties to Al-Qaeda, on Sunday painted a picture of a man who adjusted to his new life by engaging with his captors while clinging to aspects of his own identity.
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| Philadelphia Inquirer co-owner Katz dies at 72 Posted: 01 Jun 2014 12:22 PM PDT  PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Lewis Katz, a self-made man who built his fortune in New York parking lots, billboards and cable TV, and went on to buy the NBA's New Jersey Nets, NHL's New Jersey Devils and The Philadelphia Inquirer, died in a weekend plane crash. He was 72.
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| Cousteau grandson begins undersea odyssey to set new record Posted: 01 Jun 2014 12:21 PM PDT  The grandson of famed French oceanographer Jacques Cousteau began a potentially record-breaking 31-day underwater stint off the US coast Sunday, with his mission declaring "splashdown!!!" as the expedition got underway. Fabien Cousteau, 46, and crew dove off the state of Florida's Key Largo coast, where they will conduct experiments in a bus-sized lab named Aquarius some 65 feet (20 meters) underwater and work with documentary filmmakers. Cousteau and crew could be seen via live images transmitted online only minutes after they began their descent, when they declared "mission 31 splashdown!!!" just before noon (1600 GMT) on Twitter. On the eve of his dive, Fabien Cousteau told AFP that if he makes it to his target date, he will break his grandfather's record to "honor" his legacy and "his aquanauts and all the previous aquanauts who have done such fantastic work."
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| 'Maleficent' spooks box office with $70M debut Posted: 01 Jun 2014 12:20 PM PDT  NEW YORK (AP) — The biggest box-office debut of Angelina Jolie's career propelled Disney's twisted fairy tale "Maleficent" to a scary-good $70 million opening.
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| 1 dead, more missing in Lake Michigan off Chicago Posted: 01 Jun 2014 12:10 PM PDT CHICAGO (AP) — A woman on a boat that capsized miles from Chicago's shoreline died Sunday after being pulled from Lake Michigan, and the U.S. Coast Guard said crews were conducting an air and water search for as many as four other people. |
| Las Vegas casino strike averted with agreements Posted: 01 Jun 2014 12:06 PM PDT A strike at downtown Las Vegas casinos was averted as union negotiators reached settlements with several properties only hours before workers were scheduled to walk off their jobs. |
| Duncan, James set to break their Finals tie Posted: 01 Jun 2014 11:59 AM PDT  MIAMI (AP) — Over the last 10 seasons, only one NBA player has been part of more wins than LeBron James.
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| Wreck ends Busch bid for triple sweep at Dover Posted: 01 Jun 2014 11:41 AM PDT DOVER, Del. (AP) — Kyle Busch's bid for a tripleheader sweep at Dover ended with a wreck in Sunday's Sprint Cup race. |
| Treatment extends life for men with prostate cancer Posted: 01 Jun 2014 11:38 AM PDT  A new treatment has been shown to extend the lifespans of men with advanced prostate cancer by as much as one year, researchers said Sunday. The study involved 790 men who were diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer, meaning the disease had spread beyond the prostate. By adding the chemotherapy drug docetaxel to standard hormone therapy, known as androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), fewer patients died and many lived longer. After 29 months, 136 men had died in the ADT alone group and 101 in the combination group.
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| Official: 6 climbers likely died in mountain fall Posted: 01 Jun 2014 11:27 AM PDT  MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK, Wash. (AP) — Citing dangerous conditions, Mount Rainier National Park officials said Sunday that there are no immediate plans to recover the bodies of six climbers who likely fell thousands of feet to their deaths in the worst alpine accident on the mountain in decades.
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| NSA scoops up images for facial recognition programs Posted: 01 Jun 2014 11:23 AM PDT  The US National Security Agency is scooping up large quantities of images of people for use in facial recognition programs, the New York Times reported Sunday, citing top secret documents. The Times said documents, which were obtained from fugitive former US intelligence analyst Edward Snowden, show a significant increase in reliance on facial recognition technology at the agency over the past four years. The report said the NSA was using new software to exploit a flood of images included in intercepted emails, text messages, social media posts, video conferences and other communications. It cited leaked 2011 documents as saying the NSA intercepts "millions of images per day," including 55,000 "facial recognition quality images."
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| Rays place OF Myers (right wrist sprain) on DL Posted: 01 Jun 2014 11:13 AM PDT  BOSTON (AP) — The Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday placed right fielder Wil Myers on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained his right wrist.
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| 'We needed to get him out': Hagel defends Bergdahl operation Posted: 01 Jun 2014 11:06 AM PDT  US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Sunday an operation to free soldier Bowe Bergdahl in exchange for Taliban prisoners was undertaken to save his life, as the insurgents' leader hailed the swap as a "big victory". Bergdahl, the only US soldier captured by the Taliban since the war began in 2001, was freed after almost five years in captivity in exchange for five senior insurgents who had been detained at the US military prison in Guantanamo Bay. Hagel even suggested it could provide a breakthrough for peace in Afghanistan. But the swap was criticised by several Republican lawmakers, who demanded to know whether the Taliban prisoners would return to fighting the United States.
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| Police: Driver flees traffic stop with cop in car Posted: 01 Jun 2014 11:06 AM PDT FLORENCE, N.J. (AP) — A man who allegedly fled from a traffic stop in southern New Jersey with a police officer inside his car in facing numerous charges. |
| Turkish police fire tear gas at defiant protesters Posted: 01 Jun 2014 11:00 AM PDT  Turkish police on Sunday fired tear gas and water cannon at hundreds of protesters in Ankara a day after violent clashes on the one-year anniversary of the country's largest anti-government demonstrations in decades. Police stepped in to disperse around 500 people from Ankara's downtown Kizilay Square who wanted to stage a demonstration at the site where a 26-year-old protester was shot and killed by police the same day last year, an AFP photographer said. "Ethem's murderer is the AKP police," protesters shouted in Ankara, referring to the ruling Justice and Development Party.
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| Israel PM wants Palestinian government isolated Posted: 01 Jun 2014 10:56 AM PDT  JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's prime minister on Sunday urged the world to shun the emerging Palestinian unity government due to its ties to the Hamas militant group, rejecting Palestinian pledges that it will be a government of technocrats that will accept peace agreements with Israel and eschew violence.
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| Shirley MacLaine tells New Mexico grads to imagine Posted: 01 Jun 2014 10:50 AM PDT SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Shirley MacLaine wants the New Mexico School for the Arts' first graduating class to remember that there is nothing more important than imagination. |
| Egypt stock market plunges on reports of new taxes Posted: 01 Jun 2014 10:46 AM PDT  CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's stock market witnessed a sharp plunge Sunday that forced a temporary suspension of trading after reports of a newly proposed government tax on capital gains which experts said was hardly explained to investors.
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| Suspect in Jewish museum killings went to Syria Posted: 01 Jun 2014 10:36 AM PDT  PARIS (AP) — A suspected French jihadist who spent time in Syria is in custody over the shooting deaths of three people at a Belgian Jewish museum, prosecutors said Sunday, crystalizing fears that European radicals will parlay their experiences in Syria into terrorism back home.
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| Philadelphia Inquirer co-owner dies in plane crash Posted: 01 Jun 2014 10:30 AM PDT PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia Inquirer co-owner Lewis Katz was killed along with six other people in a fiery plane crash in Massachusetts, his business partner said Sunday. |
| Slavyansk families find shelter in Ukraine monastery Posted: 01 Jun 2014 10:25 AM PDT  Svyatogirsk (Ukraine) (AFP) - Elena and her four-year-old son arrived at the monastery doors clutching two travel bags and a teddy bear, as they sought shelter from the violence engulfing their hometown of Slavyansk. More than a month into Kiev's "counter-terrorism" operation against insurgents in eastern Ukraine, the town of 110,000 people has become the epicentre of the conflict. A few days ago the Orthodox monastery in Svyatogirsk, 25 kilometres (12 miles) from Slavyansk, made it known it was able to provide shelter for refugees, as the civilian death toll continues to rise according to reporters in the besieged town. "But the children find it very upsetting to have to shelter in the basement from the bombing, and the constant sound of explosions.
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