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Thursday, July 31, 2014

Report: CIA officers read Senate emails

Report: CIA officers read Senate emails


Report: CIA officers read Senate emails

Posted: 31 Jul 2014 01:30 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — CIA officers improperly accessed Senate computers, read the emails of Senate staff, and exhibited a "lack of candor" when interviewed by agency investigators, according to a declassified CIA inspector general's report.

Debit overdraft fees often exceed cost of purchase

Posted: 31 Jul 2014 01:28 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The fees that banks charge debit-card users who overdraw their accounts usually cost more than the items being bought.

Congress races to finish VA, highway bills

Posted: 31 Jul 2014 01:27 PM PDT

House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio defends the work of the GOP during a brief news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, July 31, 2014, as Congress prepares to leave for a five-week summer recess. The institutional split of a Republican-led House and Democratic-controlled Senate has added up to inaction, especially in a midterm election year with control of the Senate at stake. Lawmakers have struggled to compromise on a handful of bills to deal with the nation's pressing problems amid overwhelming partisanship. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress ran full-tilt into election-year gridlock over immigration Thursday and headed toward a five-week summer break with no agreement in sight on legislation to cope with the influx of young immigrants flocking illegally to the United States.


Obama lavishes praise, attention on Julian Castro

Posted: 31 Jul 2014 01:27 PM PDT

President Barack Obama listens as he is introduced by new Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro, Thursday, July 31, 2014, at the Housing and Urban Development Department in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama says incoming Housing Secretary Julian Castro works every day to live out the values and spirit of hard work that were instilled in him as a child.


Fitch declares Argentina in 'restricted default' 

Posted: 31 Jul 2014 01:26 PM PDT

Argentina's Economy Minister Axel Kicillof speaks during a press conference at the Argentina Consulate in New York, on July 30, 2014Washington (AFP) - Ratings agency Fitch declared Argentina in default on its bonds for the second time in 13 years on Thursday after talks between Buenos Aires and hedge fund creditors ended with no deal.


Two Egyptians shot dead in Libya-Tunisia border clash: state media

Posted: 31 Jul 2014 01:26 PM PDT

By Mohamed Argoubi TUNIS (Reuters) - Two people were shot dead when Libyan border guards opened fire to disperse hundreds of Egyptians trying to cross into Tunisia to flee Libya's growing chaos, the Tunisian state news agency TAP said on Thursday. Hundreds of Libyan families and foreign workers have fled their homes after two weeks of clashes between rival Libyan militias over Tripoli's airport in the worst violence since the 2011 war to oust Muammar Gaddafi. Most Libyan airports are closed because of deteriorating security in Tripoli and Benghazi, leaving Tunisia's border one of the few routes out for residents and some foreign diplomats fleeing bloodshed in the capital. Hundreds of Egyptians were protesting at the border point of Ras Jdir after the Tunisian border guards closed its gates on Thursday, a Reuters reporter at the site said.

U.S. House to try to pass border funding bill Friday: lawmakers

Posted: 31 Jul 2014 01:25 PM PDT

The U.S. House of Representatives will delay the start of a five-week recess in order to try to pass a funding bill dealing with an immigration crisis on the southwestern border, Republican lawmakers said on Thursday. The decision comes shortly after House Republicans revolted against their own party's $659 million spending bill, causing House Speaker John Boehner to cancel Thursday's scheduled vote on the measure. Republican lawmakers emerged from a closed-door meeting telling reporters of the decision and the goal of passing a bill on Friday.

Ravens' Rice: His actions 'totally inexcusable'

Posted: 31 Jul 2014 01:24 PM PDT

Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice answers question during a news conference after NFL football training camp practice, Thursday, July 31, 2014, in Owings Mills, Md.(AP Photo/Gail Burton)OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — Ray Rice stepped to the microphone, took a deep breath and spoke for 17 minutes about what he called "the biggest mistake of his life."


$100 million for firm without offices, 1 agent?

Posted: 31 Jul 2014 01:23 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Companies overseeing millions of mortgage loans appear to be skirting new federal regulations and legal settlements intended to stop them profiteering at the expense of troubled homeowners.

Libya Islamic militias declare control of Benghazi

Posted: 31 Jul 2014 01:23 PM PDT

Tunisian custom officers check the luggage of a man fleeing from Libya at the Ras Ajdir border post between Libya and Tunisia, southern Tunisia, Thursday, July 31, 2014. Up to 6,000 people a day have fled Libya into neighboring Tunisia this week, the Tunisian foreign minister said Wednesday, the biggest influx since Libya's 2011 civil war in a sign of the spiraling turmoil as rival militias battle over control of the airport in the capital Tripoli. (AP Photo/Ali Manssour)BENGHAZI, Libya (AP) — Islamic hard-line militias, including the group accused by the United States in a 2012 attack that killed the ambassador and three other Americans, claimed control of Libya's second largest city, Benghazi, after overrunning army barracks and seizing heavy weapons.


Lawsuit alleges Muslim citizenship denials, delays

Posted: 31 Jul 2014 01:23 PM PDT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Five people sued the federal government Thursday alleging that an expanded national security screen targeting Muslims has led to lengthy delays and denials in their citizenship and green card applications.

Correction: FBI Headquarters story

Posted: 31 Jul 2014 01:21 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — In a story July 29 about the search for a new FBI headquarters, The Associated Press reported erroneously that the warehouse under consideration as a potential site was located in Franconia, Virginia. The warehouse is actually in the neighboring community of Springfield, near the intersection of Interstate 95 and Franconia Road.

Russia's Sberbank says can fulfill obligations despite EU sanctions

Posted: 31 Jul 2014 01:20 PM PDT

Russia's largest lender Sberbank assured clients and partners on Thursday it would continue to fulfill all obligations despite inclusion in the latest round of EU sanctions against Russia for Moscow's role in the Ukraine crisis. "Sberbank of Russia has all the necessary resources, management experience and expertise to continue to operate successfully under the circumstances and unconditionally fulfill all of its obligations in full to Russian and international clients and partners," the bank said in a statement.

US stocks plunge, wiping out July's gains

Posted: 31 Jul 2014 01:18 PM PDT

FILE - This April 22, 2010, file photo, shows a Wall Street sign in front of the New York Stock Exchange. U.S. stocks slumped Thursday, July 31, 2014, as investors reacted to disappointing corporate earnings reports and assessed the implications of the approaching end to economic stimulus from the Federal Reserve. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks had their worst one-day drop since February as traders worried about weak corporate earnings and the looming end of economic stimulus from the Federal Reserve.


A's get Lester, Gomes from Red Sox for Cespedes

Posted: 31 Jul 2014 01:16 PM PDT

Boston Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester, left, chats with catcher David Ross during a baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Fenway Park in Boston, Tuesday, July 29, 2014. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — The Oakland Athletics won the Jon Lester sweepstakes, acquiring the left-hander and outfielder Jonny Gomes from the Boston Red Sox for slugging outfielder Yoenis Cespedes before Thursday's trade deadline.


US stocks tumble 2% in broad sell-off

Posted: 31 Jul 2014 01:12 PM PDT

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on July 25, 2014New York (AFP) - US stocks Thursday plummeted about two percent in a broad sell-off attributed to a range of factors, including weak eurozone data, the Argentine debt default and disappointing US corporate earnings.


Rolex passed among jurors in ex-Va. gov trial

Posted: 31 Jul 2014 01:10 PM PDT

Jonnie Williams leaves the federal courthouse in Richmond, Va., after testifying on the third day of former Governor Bob McDonnell and his wife Maureen's corruption trial, Wednesday, July 30, 2014. (AP Photo/Richmond Times-Dispatch, Alexa Welch Edlund)RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A former CEO testified Thursday that his cozy relationship with Virginia's first family was a poor business decision, not friendship.


Dustin Johnson takes leave of absence from golf

Posted: 31 Jul 2014 01:10 PM PDT

AKRON, Ohio (AP) — Dustin Johnson is taking a leave of absence from golf to seek help for what he said were "personal challenges."

Amos stuns Olympic king Rudisha in Glasgow

Posted: 31 Jul 2014 01:06 PM PDT

Botswana's Nijel Amos (C) celebrates winning ahead of Kenya's David Rudisha (R) and South Africa's Andre Olivier (L) in the final of the men's 800m athletics event at Hampden Park during theCommonwealth Games in Glasgow on July 31, 2014Olympic champion and world record holder David Rudisha was beaten into second place by arch-rival Nijel Amos of Botswana in the Commonwealth Games 800m final on Thursday. Kenyan star Rudisha, who missed most of the 2013 season with a knee injury, was caught over the last 100m by Botswana's Amos who won in 1min 45.18sec at Hampden Park. Rudisha claimed silver in 1:45.48 with South Africa's Andre Olivier taking bronze in 1:46.03. In the absence of double world and Olympic champion Usain Bolt, Weir, who won bronze behind Bolt and Yohan Blake at the 2012 London Olympics, timed 20.48sec in his semi-final.


PUBLISHERS WEEKLY BEST-SELLERS

Posted: 31 Jul 2014 01:05 PM PDT

Copyright 5/8/2013 Publishers Weekly. Week ending 7/27/2014, powered by Nielsen Bookscan 5/8/2013 The Nielsen Company.

'Sharknado 2' whipped up storm of viewers, tweets

Posted: 31 Jul 2014 01:05 PM PDT

NEW YORK (AP) — Syfy says its sequel to the horror spoof "Sharknado" snapped up 3.9 million viewers Wednesday night.

Twitter: Govt. requests for user data increased

Posted: 31 Jul 2014 01:04 PM PDT

NEW YORK (AP) — Twitter said government requests for user data grew sharply in the past six months as more countries asked for a greater amount of information about users.

Israel may be required to help displaced Gaza Palestinians: U.N. envoy

Posted: 31 Jul 2014 01:03 PM PDT

By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Israel will be required under international law to take responsibility for helping Palestinian civilians if there are any further large-scale displacements from the fighting in Gaza, a top U.N. envoy told the United Nations Security Council on Thursday. The United Nations is struggling to cope with a flood of some 220,000 Palestinian civilians into shelters. They have come under fire during three weeks of fighting between Israel and Islamist Hamas militants who dominate Gaza. Pierre Krähenbühl, the Swiss-born chief of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), said the impoverished enclave of 1.8 million Palestinians was facing a precipice, and added that he was alarmed to hear that Israel had warned more neighborhoods in Gaza to evacuate ahead of military action.

Ginobili will not play for Argentina at World Cup

Posted: 31 Jul 2014 01:03 PM PDT

Spurs guard Manu Ginobili participates in an Argentina national basketball team practice, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, July 30, 2014. Ginobili has expressed his intent to play for Argentina at the FIBA World Cup despite a stress fracture of the lower fibula of his right leg. It's unclear when Ginobili was injured. (AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano)Manu Ginobili walked off the court in June an NBA champion.


Israel, Palestinians locked in vicious circle of Gaza wars

Posted: 31 Jul 2014 01:02 PM PDT

By Mark Heinrich LONDON (Reuters) - When Israel ended its 38-year occupation of the Gaza Strip by withdrawing settlers in 2005, then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon hailed it as a "disengagement" from conflict with Palestinians in the densely populated coastal enclave. Israel kept expanding settlements in the West Bank where the Palestinians also seek a state. Hardline Islamists seized control of Gaza in 2007 and periodic U.S. efforts to broker a permanent peace between Israel and the Palestinian Authority under secular President Mahmoud Abbas have proved fruitless. Israel sealed Gaza in an economically choking blockade and the territory's ruling Hamas movement and other militant factions fired rockets with increasing frequency and range, though not accuracy, into the Jewish state.

Netanyahu vows to complete Gaza tunnels destruction

Posted: 31 Jul 2014 01:02 PM PDT

By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Maayan Lubell GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, facing international alarm over a rising civilian death toll in Gaza, said on Thursday he would not accept any ceasefire that stopped Israel completing the destruction of militants' infiltration tunnels. The Israeli military estimated on Wednesday that accomplishing that task would take several more days, extending a four-week-old aerial and ground offensive in the small, densely populated coastal territory. "I wont agree to any proposal that will not enable the Israeli military to finish this important task, for the sake of Israel's security." Leaving open the option of widening its ground campaign in the Islamist Hamas-dominated Gaza Strip, the Israeli military said it had called up an additional 16,000 reservists. Gaza health officials said 34 Palestinians were killed in Israeli assaults on Thursday that included an air strike on a home in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, killing 11 members of the same family.

France's Iliad challenges Sprint for control of T-Mobile

Posted: 31 Jul 2014 01:02 PM PDT

A T-Mobile store sign is seen in Broomfield, ColoradoBy Soyoung Kim and Leila Abboud PARIS/NEW YORK (Reuters) - French telecoms company Iliad SA has made a surprise offer for T-Mobile US Inc , setting up a potential bidding war with rival suitor Sprint Corp , the U.S. mobile carrier now controlled by Japan's Softbank . Iliad, which has shaken up the French mobile and broadband market in the past decade with its cheap, pared-down subscriber plans, bid $15 billion in cash for 56.6 percent of T-Mobile US at $33 per share, it said in a statement on Thursday. The French company said it valued the rest of T-Mobile, the fourth-largest U.S. carrier and 66.67 percent-owned by Deutsche Telekom AG , at $40.50 per share. It expects $10 billion of cost savings from the deal, though it is unclear where it would make those savings as Iliad has no U.S. operations at present.


Colorado woman guilty of kidnapping newborn nephew

Posted: 31 Jul 2014 01:02 PM PDT

FILE - This undated file photo provided by the Tipton, Iowa Sheriff shows Kristen Rose Smith of Aurora, Colo., who is accused of kidnapping her newborn nephew in Wisconsin and abandoning him outside a gas station in Iowa. (AP Photo/Tipton Sheriff, File)MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A jury has convicted a woman of kidnapping her newborn nephew in Wisconsin and abandoning him outside an Iowa gas station in freezing temperatures.


Jury convicts Colorado woman of kidnapping Wisconsin newborn, abandoning him in frigid temps

Posted: 31 Jul 2014 01:01 PM PDT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Jury convicts Colorado woman of kidnapping Wisconsin newborn, abandoning him in frigid temps.

Home owned by Trump holdout auctioned for $530,000

Posted: 31 Jul 2014 01:00 PM PDT

Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino towers over Vera Coking's three story rooming house Wednesday, July 23, 2014, in Atlantic City, N.J. The decrepit boarding home owned by the Atlantic City woman who has been turning down multi-million dollar offers for the building in the shadow of Trump Plaza since the 80's is now up for auction. With a reserve price of only $199,000, the fate of the house has gone down along with the city's casino industry. On July 31, the property, at 127 South Columbia Place, will go up for auction. As recently as eight years ago, Donald Trump was willing to pay at least 10 times that amount so he could expand Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)She once called Donald Trump "a maggot, a cockroach and a crumb." This week, he remembered her as "an impossible person."


Target taps outsider as CEO for needed shakeup

Posted: 31 Jul 2014 01:00 PM PDT

This undated image provided by Target Corp. shows newly named CEO Brian Cornell. The Minneapolis-based company on Thursday, July 31, 2014 said that it named the PepsiCo executive to the top spot, replacing John Mulligan, who had been acting as interim chief executive since May. (AP Photo/Target Corp.)NEW YORK (AP) — Target is bringing in an outsider as its CEO for the first time as the retailer fights to redefine itself to American shoppers.


AP NewsAlert

Posted: 31 Jul 2014 12:59 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — CIA report: CIA officers read Senate emails, showed 'lack of candor' to investigators.

See-through mice reveal details of inner anatomy

Posted: 31 Jul 2014 12:57 PM PDT

This undated photo combo provided by the journal Cell and taken with a bright field camera, shows a mouse with its skin removed during various stages of examination. In a study released by the journal Cell on Thursday, July 31, 2014, researchers describe a way to make see-through mice and rats, a step that should help them study fine details of anatomy for basic research. The center image shows the mouse after one week of the process. The image at right shows the latter stage, showing the brain of the mouse with it's skull removed. (AP Photo/Cell, Yang et al)NEW YORK (AP) — Researchers have found a way to make see-through mice, but you won't find these critters scampering in your kitchen.


Sky's Delle Donne returns to lineup vs New York

Posted: 31 Jul 2014 12:56 PM PDT

It's been a frustrating month for Elena Delle Donne.

AP PHOTOS: Mansion or shack? It's the $1M question

Posted: 31 Jul 2014 12:56 PM PDT

A sale balloon for a nearby store is shown next to a property in the Noe Valley neighborhood just sold for $1.8 million in cash, $600,000 more than its asking price, in San Francisco, Wednesday, July 30, 2014. In the souped-up world of San Francisco real estate, where the median selling price for homes and condominiums hit seven figures for the first time last month, the cool million that would fetch a mansion on a few acres elsewhere will now barely cover the cost of an 800-square-foot starter home. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Swimming pool with a hot tub. Four bedrooms and four-car garage. Granite countertops and stainless-steel appliances. That's what $ 1 million will buy you in the Phoenix suburb of Mesa.


'Godfather of Makeup' Dick Smith dead at 92

Posted: 31 Jul 2014 12:53 PM PDT

In this publicity image released by Warner Bros. Entertainment, Linda Blair portrays a possessed Regan MacNeil in a scene from, "The Exorcist." Dick Smith, the Oscar-winning make-up artist who amused, fascinated and terrified moviegoers by devising unforgettable transformations for Marlon Brando in "The Godfather" and Linda Blair in "The Exorcist," died Wednesday, July 30, 2014 in California of natural causes. He was 92. (AP Photo/Warner Bros. Entertainment)NEW YORK (AP) — Dick Smith, the Oscar-winning "Godfather of Makeup" who amused, fascinated and terrified moviegoers by devising unforgettable transformations for Marlon Brando in "The Godfather" and Linda Blair in "The Exorcist" among many others, has died. He was 92.


U.S. warns against traveling to Ebola-hit countries

Posted: 31 Jul 2014 12:52 PM PDT

U.S. health officials are warning Americans not to travel to the three African countries hit by an outbreak of Ebola.

'Experimental serum' is offered to US Ebola patients

Posted: 31 Jul 2014 12:49 PM PDT

This undated photo obtained July 30, 2014 from Samaritan's Purse shows Dr. Kent Brantly near Monrovia, LiberiaA US doctor stricken with Ebola in Liberia was offered an experimental serum but insisted that his colleague receive it instead, a Christian aid agency said Thursday. There is no known cure for Ebola, which has killed 729 people in Sierra Leone, Guinea, Nigeria and Liberia since March as West Africa faces the largest outbreak in history. Two Americans are among those battling the often fatal fever -- doctor Kent Brantly and healthcare worker Nancy Writebol. They "are in stable but grave condition," said a statement from Samaritan's Purse, noting that "Brantly took a slight turn for the worse overnight."


Gas explosions kill 15, injure 228 in Taiwan

Posted: 31 Jul 2014 12:46 PM PDT

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan's National Fire Agency says 15 people were killed and 228 were injured a series of gas leak explosions in a southwestern city.

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

US stocks mixed after Fed keeps interest rates low

US stocks mixed after Fed keeps interest rates low


US stocks mixed after Fed keeps interest rates low

Posted: 30 Jul 2014 01:11 PM PDT

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on July 14, 2014 in New York CityNew York (AFP) - Wall Street stocks Wednesday finished mixed after the US Federal Reserve kept interest rates near zero and government data showed surprisingly strong second-quarter US economic growth.


Sanctions will damage Russia if not lifted quickly

Posted: 30 Jul 2014 01:11 PM PDT

Russian President Vladimir Putin heads the Cabinet meeting in the Novo-Ogaryovo residence, outside Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, July 30, 2014. The meeting focused on measures to encourage Russian companies to pull their assets back from offshores. The United States and the European Union on Tuesday announced a raft of new sanctions against Russian companies and banks over Moscow's support for separatists in Ukraine. (AP Photo/RIA Novosti, Alexei Nikolsky, Presidential Press Service)MOSCOW (AP) — U.S. and European sanctions against Russia's energy and finance sectors are strong enough to cause deep, long-lasting damage within months unless Moscow persuades the West to repeal them by withdrawing support for Ukrainian insurgents.


Liberia shuts schools, quarantines communities in bid to halt Ebola

Posted: 30 Jul 2014 01:10 PM PDT

Liberia announced on Wednesday the quarantine of a number of communities and the closure of schools across the country, the toughest measures yet imposed by a West African government in a bid to halt the worst Ebola outbreak on record. Security forces in Liberia were ordered to enforce the measures, part of an action plan that included placing all non-essential government workers on 30-day compulsory leave. As of July 23, 672 deaths have been blamed on Ebola in Liberia, neighboring Guinea and Sierra Leone, according to World Health Organisation figures. Liberia accounted for just under one-fifth of those deaths.

Tea-party challenger confronts Roberts in Kansas

Posted: 30 Jul 2014 01:09 PM PDT

Tea party challenger Milton Wolf, left, confronts U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts, right, during a walking tour of downtown Emporia on Wednesday, July 30,2 014, interrupting the Roberts's campaign stop to call attention to his refusal to have debates ahead of the Republican primary in Kansas. Roberts remains favored to win the Aug. 5 election and a fourth, six-year term in the November general election, but Wolf, a Leawood radiologist, contends he's closing the gap between them.(AP Photo/Emporia Gazette, Dustin Michelson)EMPORIA, Kan. (AP) — Tea-party challenger Milton Wolf confronted U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts during a walking tour of downtown Emporia on Wednesday, interrupting the senator's campaign stop to call attention to his refusal to have debates ahead of the Republican primary in Kansas.


Clashes prevent experts from reaching bodies

Posted: 30 Jul 2014 01:09 PM PDT

Alexander Hug, deputy head of the OSCE mission to Ukraine, left, his colleagues and a pro-Russian rebel, 2nd left, examine a map as they try to estimate security conditions outside the city of Donetsk, eastern Ukraine Wednesday, July 30, 2014. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky)DONETSK, Ukraine (AP) — Almost two weeks after Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was blown out of the sky, the remains of some passengers are feared rotting in the 90-degree (32-degree Celsius) midsummer heat, deepening the frustration of relatives desperate to recover the bodies of their loved ones.


First lady asks leaders to change gender attitudes

Posted: 30 Jul 2014 01:08 PM PDT

First lady Michelle Obama speaks to selected participants of the Presidential Summit for the Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders in Washington, Wednesday, July 30, 2014, during a roundtable discussion. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)WASHINGTON (AP) — Michelle Obama called on young African leaders to change traditional attitudes and beliefs that harm girls and women, adding that educating and making women financially literate is not enough.


Rains, smugglers damage US-Mexico border fence

Posted: 30 Jul 2014 01:07 PM PDT

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — U.S. Border Patrol officials said Wednesday that agents discovered a garage-sized hole through a steel fence that divides the United States and Mexico just east of Nogales, Arizona.

Processing issue delays bar exam submissions

Posted: 30 Jul 2014 01:05 PM PDT

Law school graduates taking the bar exam gather outside the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center in Buffalo, N.Y., Wednesday, July 30, 2014, during a break in the second and final day of testing. Test takers in several states experienced stressful delays when trying to upload answers from their computers following Tuesday's daylong session. Software provider ExamSoft Worldwide Inc. blamed a BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Law school graduates sweated their way through the second and final day of their bar exams Wednesday, some relieved to see paper and pencil after running into a technical glitch that kept test takers in several states from uploading the first day's answers from their computers.


US growth rebounds strongly but Fed sticks to policy

Posted: 30 Jul 2014 01:04 PM PDT

Dan Fortune installs a door install on a Ford F-150 truck on the assembly line at the Ford Dearborn Truck Plant June 13, 2014The US economy rebounded vigorously in the second quarter, growing at a peppy 4.0 percent pace that erased the impact of the sharp winter contraction, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. The initial estimate of second-quarter growth was far better than expected and showed solid recovery in private investment and consumer spending, especially on durable goods like cars and appliances. The Commerce Department said the January-March contraction was only 2.1 percent, compared to the more severe 2.9 drop percent previously reported, and it upped its estimate of growth in 2013 to 2.2 percent from 1.9 percent, due to a much stronger second half. - Fed still sees weakness -


Chiefs' Murray says bro, 'Bachelorette' very happy

Posted: 30 Jul 2014 01:03 PM PDT

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Aaron Murray hands off the ball during an NFL football training camp Monday, July 28, 2014, on the Missouri Western State University campus in St. Joseph, Mo. (AP Photo/The St. Joseph News-Press, Todd Weddle)ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) — Chiefs rookie Aaron Murray was tied up in meetings Monday night, at the same time millions of people were tuning into ABC to see whether his brother would be popping the question.


Argentina in 11th-hour talks as default looms

Posted: 30 Jul 2014 12:58 PM PDT

Argentine Economy Minister Axel Kicillof arrives at the office building of mediator Daniel Pollack on July 30, 2014 in New YorkArgentina was locked in 11th-hour talks on Wednesday to seek a deal with "holdout" creditors and stave off a crippling new default -- the second in 13 years -- at day's end. Buenos Aires had until midnight to resolve its dispute with two US hedge funds whose refusal to accept a write-down on debt it defaulted on in 2001 has pushed Latin America's third-largest economy to the brink of a new crisis. Argentina is due to make a $539 million payment on its restructured debt by Wednesday, the end of a 30-day grace period. Argentine Economy Minister Axel Kicillof and his team made no statement as they arrived Wednesday morning at the offices of the US court-appointed mediator tasked with breaking the impasse.


Cop once drew gun on squirrel-hunting QB Winston

Posted: 30 Jul 2014 12:57 PM PDT

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Police say Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston and Florida State teammate Chris Casher were held at gunpoint by campus police nearly two years ago while hunting squirrels with a pellet gun.

UCLA's Pauley Pavilion drenched in hoops history

Posted: 30 Jul 2014 12:55 PM PDT

Water covers the playing floor of Pauley Pavilion, home of UCLA basketball, after a 30-inch water main burst on nearby Sunset Boulevard on the campus in the Westwood district of Los Angeles Tuesday, July 29, 2014. (AP Photo/Matt Hamilton)LOS ANGELES (AP) — The House That Wooden Built is waterlogged.


Justice Dept. weighs in on OH, WI voting cases

Posted: 30 Jul 2014 12:55 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department on Wednesday sided with challengers of voting laws in Wisconsin and Ohio, saying in court filings that measures in those states unfairly affect minority voters.

White House threatens to veto House border bill

Posted: 30 Jul 2014 12:52 PM PDT

Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, arrives for a meeting of the Republican Conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, July 29, 2014. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is threatening to veto a spending bill drafted by House Republicans to deal with the influx of Central American minors at the U.S. border.


US imposes visa ban on Venezuelan officials

Posted: 30 Jul 2014 12:50 PM PDT

Venezuela's ex-military intelligence chief, Hugo Carvajal, arrives at the Queen Beatrix International Airport after he was released by authorities, in Oranjestad, Aruba, Sunday, July 27, 2014. Carvajal, who was designated to be Venezuela's consul to Aruba, was detained at the Caribbean island's airport on a request from U.S. prosecutors. U.S. authorities alleged Carvajal is one of several high-ranking Venezuelan military and law enforcement officials who provided haven to drug traffickers from neighboring Colombia and helped them move U.S.-bound cocaine through Venezuela. (AP Photo/Pedro Famous Diaz)CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Amid escalating tensions with Venezuela, the U.S. State Department on Wednesday announced a travel ban for officials of the socialist government it said committed human rights abuses during a crackdown on opposition protests.


Portland, Oregon, council OKs short-term rentals

Posted: 30 Jul 2014 12:48 PM PDT

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The Portland, Oregon, City Council has voted to legalize short-term rentals in single-family homes, giving added legitimacy to rental websites such as Airbnb.

Israeli strikes hit UN school, Gaza shopping area

Posted: 30 Jul 2014 12:47 PM PDT

Palestinians help carry injured men following an Israeli Strike in Shijaiyah neighborhood, eastern Gaza City, Wednesday, July 30, 2014. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli strikes hit a crowded shopping area in Gaza City Wednesday, hours after tank shells tore through the walls of a U.N. school crowded with war refugees in the deadliest of a series of air and artillery attacks that pushed the Palestinian death toll above 1,300 in more than three weeks of fighting.


Factbox: Google under European regulatory spotlight

Posted: 30 Jul 2014 12:47 PM PDT

(Reuters) - Google Inc faces a variety of challenges from European Commission regulators, in contrast to its experience in the United States where the Internet search company has largely mitigated regulatory threats. The following are some of the regulatory issues that Google is contending with in Europe: *Android - EC regulators have stepped up inquiries into Google's policies regarding its Android mobile operating system, which is used in 80 percent of the world's mobile phones. Regulators appear to be focused on whether Google's mobile policies impede rivals. *Search - An EC investigation that began in 2010 seeks to address complaints that Google manipulated its search results to rank its own services higher than competitors.

European regulators training sights on Google's mobile software

Posted: 30 Jul 2014 12:45 PM PDT

File photo of Google Chairman Eric Schmidt speaking at a Motorola phone launch event in New YorkBy Foo Yun Chee and Alexei Oreskovic BRUSSELS/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - European regulators are preparing what could be a stern challenge to Google Inc's mobile software business in the coming months after a nearly four-year investigation into the company's Web search practices left rivals and European politicians dissatisfied. Two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said that with a new antitrust chief taking over in November, European regulators are laying the groundwork for a case centered on whether Google abuses the 80 percent market share of its Android mobile operating system to promote services from maps to search. The Commission has stepped up inquiries just in recent weeks, sending companies questionnaires that seek far more details than previous queries on the matter in 2011 and 2013. In one questionnaire seen by Reuters, respondents were asked whether there was a requirement set by Google, written or unwritten, that they not pre-install apps, products or services on mobile devices that compete with Google software like its search engine, app store and maps.


AP ANALYSIS: Amid war, endgames in Gaza emerge

Posted: 30 Jul 2014 12:44 PM PDT

Smoke rises in the skyline from Israeli strikes in eastern Gaza City, early Wednesday, July 30, 2014, amid Israel's heaviest air and artillery assault in more than three weeks of Israel-Hamas fighting. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The savage fighting between Israel and Hamas is escalating in Gaza, cease-fire efforts take on elements of farce, and bravado rules the public discourse. But even through the fog of war, a few endgame scenarios can nonetheless be glimpsed.


2 women survive ordeal along Indiana rail bridge

Posted: 30 Jul 2014 12:43 PM PDT

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — A video camera captured the terrifying plight of two women as a freight train bore down on them as they walked along an 80-foot-high railroad bridge in Indiana.

Text of Lois Lerner's email exchange

Posted: 30 Jul 2014 12:41 PM PDT

Former IRS official Lois Lerner had the following email exchange with a personal associate on Nov. 9, 2012. At the time, Lerner directed the IRS division that processed applications for tax-exempt status. She has since retired.

Colorado man dies when trailer collapses in wind

Posted: 30 Jul 2014 12:39 PM PDT

Lyons volunteer coordinators Lucy Banta, right, and Ed Kean help sandbag a neighborhood while steady rains fell over Lyons, Colo., which was hit hard in the previous year's flooding, Wednesday, July 30, 2014. High and low pressure systems, combined with typical summer monsoon weather, drew the abundant moisture to Colorado. More rain is forecast Wednesday. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)DENVER (AP) — A storm system in Colorado that flooded streets and stranded drivers up and down the Front Range is being blamed for the death of a man on the southeastern plains.


Africa summit to proceed despite Ebola outbreak

Posted: 30 Jul 2014 12:38 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says there are no plans to change or cancel an upcoming summit of African leaders in the U.S. despite an Ebola outbreak in Liberia.

Man finds calico lobster, gives it to aquarium

Posted: 30 Jul 2014 12:37 PM PDT

This July 29, 2014 photo shows a calico lobster at the Explore the Ocean World Oceanarium in Hampton, N.H. Captain Josiah Beringer, of the fishing vessel Patricia Lynn, caught the lobster in one of his traps and donated the 1 ½-pound, 5-year-old male lobster to the aquarium. Ellen Goethel, a marine biologist and owner of the Oceanarium said calico lobsters are the "second most rare lobster" in the world, after albino lobsters. (AP Photo/Portsmouth Herald, Deb Cram)HAMPTON, N.H. (AP) — A fisherman has caught a rare lobster that's bright orange with dark blue spots.


Argentina officials stage 11th-hour talks in NYC

Posted: 30 Jul 2014 12:35 PM PDT

NEW YORK (AP) — Argentina's economy minister led a last-gasp effort Wednesday to strike a deal with U.S. creditors that would prevent the South American country from slipping into default.

Bloody mayhem at Gaza market as Israel observes 'lull'

Posted: 30 Jul 2014 12:34 PM PDT

Palestinian youths inspect destruction at a mosque in Gaza City, on July 30, 2014At least 17 people were killed in an Israeli strike on a packed Gaza market Wednesday in a deadly raid that came as Israel was observing a four-hour humanitarian lull. It was supposed to have been a rare pause for Gaza's battered population of 1.8 million to go out in safety to stock up on goods, and for medics to evacuate the dead and wounded. Instead, there was further bloody mayhem with more than 30 people killed across Gaza in the first three hours of the lull alone. Israel had said its truce, which began at 1200 GMT, would not apply in places were troops were "currently operating", hours after the army made what it called a "significant advance" into the narrow coastal strip.


Probe exposes flaws behind HealthCare.gov rollout

Posted: 30 Jul 2014 12:34 PM PDT

This Nov. 29, 2013, file photo shows a part of the HealthCare.gov website, photographed in Washington. If you have health insurance on your job, you probably don't give much thought to each year's renewal. But make the same assumption in one of the new health law plans, and it could lead to costly surprises. Insurance exchange customers who opt for convenience by automatically renewing their coverage for 2015 are likely to receive dated and inaccurate financial aid amounts from the government, say industry officials, advocates and other experts. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick, File)Officials tell The Associated Press that a nonpartisan investigative report concludes that management failures by the Obama administration set the stage for the computer problems that paralyzed the HealthCare.gov website last fall.


Suspect in Las Vegas crime spree describes mayhem

Posted: 30 Jul 2014 12:32 PM PDT

Las Vegas police Sgt. John Sheahan speaks to the media at the scene of a home invasion and shooting in Las Vegas on Tuesday, July 29, 2014. Police say a suspect is dead and multiple people were wounded in a Las Vegas crime spree that included a carjacking and two home invasions. (AP Photo/Las Vegas Review-Journal, Erik Verduzco)LAS VEGAS (AP) — A woman accused in a Las Vegas crime spree described to police how she stabbed a woman with a screwdriver during a violent string of mayhem that ended in the death of her partner and a homeowner.


3 Putin allies among 8 hit with new EU sanctions

Posted: 30 Jul 2014 12:31 PM PDT

BRUSSELS (AP) — Three long-time Putin associates are among eight people who have been hit with new European Union sanctions, an official EU document showed Wednesday.

More than 150 feared dead in India monsoon landslide

Posted: 30 Jul 2014 12:30 PM PDT

A mudslide surrounds a building in MalinThe death toll from a major landslide Wednesday in western India was expected to exceed 150, a health official said, after heavy monsoon rains sent mud and rocks tumbling onto homes. "The majority of deaths are due to the crush-load of rubble which has buried the village," Chavan told AFP in Ghodegaon, a neighbouring village that has become a nerve centre for the rescue operation. The National Disaster Response Force said it had mobilised nine teams with a strength of 378 trained personnel to help with the rescue effort, although ongoing rains have been hampering operations. Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the loss of life as "saddening" on Twitter, while footage showed workers carrying a victim on a stretcher towards vehicles as a crowd watched.


House takes up VA health care overhaul

Posted: 30 Jul 2014 12:29 PM PDT

House Veterans' Affairs Chairman Jeff Miller, R-Fla., joined by Speaker of the House John Boehner of Ohio, left, and incoming Majority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., right, speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, July 29, 2014, about a compromise bill to help veterans avoid long waits for health care, hire more doctors and nurses to treat them, and make it easier to fire executives at the Veterans Affairs Department. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)WASHINGTON (AP) — With a new Veterans Affairs secretary in place and an August recess looming, Congress is moving quickly to approve a compromise bill to refurbish the VA and improve veterans' health care.


U.S. economy back on track with strong second-quarter rebound

Posted: 30 Jul 2014 12:29 PM PDT

A carpenter works on a new home at a residential construction site in the west side of the Las Vegas Valley in Las VegasBy Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. economy rebounded sharply in the second quarter as consumers stepped up spending and businesses restocked, putting it on course to close out the year on solid footing. Gross domestic product expanded at a 4.0 percent annual rate after shrinking at a revised 2.1 percent pace in the first quarter, the Commerce Department said on Wednesday.


Contract dispute delays 'Big Bang' production

Posted: 30 Jul 2014 12:28 PM PDT

NEW YORK (AP) — Production on a new season of "The Big Bang Theory" is being delayed due to a contract dispute with its top actors.

Ex-IRS official called conservatives 'crazies

Posted: 30 Jul 2014 12:27 PM PDT

FILE - In this May 22, 2013 file photo, Internal Revenue Service official Lois Lerner refuses to answer questions as the House Oversight Committee holds a hearing to investigate the extra scrutiny the IRS gave Tea Party and other conservative groups that applied for tax-exempt status, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Lerner, a former IRS official at the heart of the agency's tea party controversial called Republicans "crazies" and more in newly released emails. Lerner used to head the IRS division that handles applications for tax-exempt status. In a series of emails with a colleague in November 2012, Lerner made two disparaging remarks about members of the GOP, including one remark that was profane. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich., released the emails Wednesday as part of his committee's investigation. Camp says the emails show Lerner's disgust with conservatives. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)WASHINGTON (AP) — A former IRS official at the center of the agency's tea party controversy referred to some right-wing Republicans as "crazies" and more in emails released Wednesday. A key GOP lawmaker says the remarks show that Lois Lerner was biased against conservative groups and targeted them for extra scrutiny.


Fed offers no clearer hint on first rate increase

Posted: 30 Jul 2014 12:25 PM PDT

FILE - In this July 2, 2014, file photo, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen speaks at the International Monetary Fund in Washington. The Federal Reserve is widely expected to make sixth reduction in bond purchases Wednesday, July 30, 2014. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve is further slowing the pace of its bond purchases because it thinks an improving U.S. economy needs less help. But it's offering no clearer hint of when it will start raising its key short-term interest rate.


6 Philadelphia officers charged in corruption case

Posted: 30 Jul 2014 12:24 PM PDT

Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey, left, speaks as FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Edward Hanko, center and United States Attorney Zane David Memeger, right, listen during a news conference Wednesday, July 30, 2014, in Philadelphia. Six Philadelphia narcotics officers have been indicted on charges they spent years shaking down drug dealers, using gangland tactics to rob them of cash and drugs, federal prosecutors announced Wednesday. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Six city narcotics officers used gangland tactics to shake down drug dealers, robbing them of large sums of cash and drugs for years, federal authorities charged in an indictment unsealed Wednesday.


US bars some Venezuela officials from US travel

Posted: 30 Jul 2014 12:22 PM PDT

Venezuela's ex-military intelligence chief, Hugo Carvajal, arrives at the Queen Beatrix International Airport after he was released by authorities, in Oranjestad, Aruba, Sunday, July 27, 2014. Carvajal, who was designated to be Venezuela's consul to Aruba, was detained at the Caribbean island's airport on a request from U.S. prosecutors. U.S. authorities alleged Carvajal is one of several high-ranking Venezuelan military and law enforcement officials who provided haven to drug traffickers from neighboring Colombia and helped them move U.S.-bound cocaine through Venezuela. (AP Photo/Pedro Famous Diaz)CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Amid escalating tensions with socialist Venezuela, the U.S. State Department on Wednesday announced sanctions against officials it said committed human rights abuses during a crackdown on anti-government protests.


House set to take up VA overhaul bill

Posted: 30 Jul 2014 12:21 PM PDT

House Veterans' Affairs Chairman Jeff Miller, R-Fla., joined by Speaker of the House John Boehner of Ohio, left, and incoming Majority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., right, speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, July 29, 2014, about a compromise bill to help veterans avoid long waits for health care, hire more doctors and nurses to treat them, and make it easier to fire executives at the Veterans Affairs Department. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)WASHINGTON (AP) — With a new Veterans Affairs secretary in place and an August recess looming, Congress is likely to move quickly to approve a compromise bill to refurbish the VA and improve veterans' health care.