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Early political spats suggest nothing off-limits
The early border skirmishes of Campaign 2012 are reviving questions about one candidate's former pastor and shining a spotlight on the other's high school hijinks. Can a fresh round of questions about President Barack Obama's birth certificate be far behind?
Romney releases first general election TV ad
Mitt Romney's first general-election TV commercial promises he would introduce tax cuts and approve the Keystone XL oil pipeline on Day One of his presidency.
Romney denounces idea of Obama-Wright campaign ads
Mitt Romney swiftly and firmly distanced himself Thursday from a group exploring plans to target President Barack Obama's relationship with a controversial former pastor. But the revival of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright as a campaign issue momentarily placed race at the center of the presidential contest and showcased the independent groups playing a new role this year with big-money TV ads.
U.S. test flight seen as "giant leap" for commercial space
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - An Obama administration plan to cut the cost of spaceflight services faces a key test on Saturday when a privately owned rocket lifts off for a practice run to the International Space Station. If successful, Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, would become the first private company to reach the $100 billion outpost, which flies about 240 miles above Earth. ...
Spat with Iraq bares Turk plunge into regional power game
ANKARA (Reuters) - A bitter rift with Iraq has exposed Turkey's role in a wider Middle East power struggle, with Ankara acting to protect its stability and prosperity from an Iranian-Iraqi "Shi'ite axis" it fears in the wake of the U.S. military withdrawal from Iraq. Turkey, a Sunni Muslim but secular regional power bordering Iraq, Iran and Syria, long tried to play regional mediator as Shi'ite Muslim giant Iran and Sunni powerhouse Saudi Arabia jostled for sway in a region now undergoing political upheaval. But the fall-out wrought by Arab Spring uprisings and the U.S. ...
Jury begins deliberations on 6 criminal counts in John Edwards' campaign corruption case.
In India, muddled leadership leaves economy adrift
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - "Dear God," wrote economist Rajeev Malik as he called on the Almighty to help India's "rudderless" government in a biting critique that underscored a growing frustration at home and abroad with the stewardship of Asia's third-largest economy. Writing in the Business Standard newspaper, the well-respected Malik echoed the exasperation of Indian and foreign business groups pressing for the government to swiftly implement major economic reforms and formulate a coherent strategy to deal with its mounting problems. ...
House OKs indefinite definition of terror suspects
The House has backed indefinite detention without trial of terrorist suspects, even for U.S. citizens seized on American soil.
FAA to reopen fatigue rules for cargo pilots
The Federal Aviation Administration says it made "errors" by exempting cargo airlines from rules to prevent pilot fatigue and will revisit the issue.
Analysis: In India, muddled leadership leaves economy adrift
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - "Dear God," wrote economist Rajeev Malik as he called on the Almighty to help India's "rudderless" government in a biting critique that underscored a growing frustration at home and abroad with the stewardship of Asia's third-largest economy. Writing in India's Business Standard newspaper, the well-respected Malik echoed the exasperation of Indian and foreign business groups pressing for the government to swiftly implement major economic reforms and formulate a coherent strategy to deal with its mounting problems. ...
Small-town don makes awkward ally for Serb liberals
JAGODINA, Serbia (Reuters) - There's a fluffy toy tiger in the office of Jagodina's mayor, another cast in gold on his desk, and at least one more in his trophy cabinet. When Dragan Markovic, known by his nickname Palma (palm tree), opened a zoo five years ago in the central Serbian town he runs, he called it Tiger Zoo, a bit like his kick-boxing club, Palma's Tigers. ...
Veep Beat: Rubio's Family Life, Pawlenty Hush-Hush
‘MEET THE RUBIOS’ In her first extended interview, Jeanette Rubio joined her husband Marco Rubio to discuss their family life with Politico and said that she is prepared for whatever scrutiny the couple may undergo as his national profile begins to rise. “I’m prepared for...
Presidential penis portrait riles S.Africa's ANC
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's ruling ANC threatened to take legal action against a Johannesburg gallery for displaying art which lampoons President Jacob Zuma and accuses the party of corruption. The African National Congress wants the Goodman Gallery to remove a painting of Zuma called "The Spear", which depicts the president with his genitals exposed, and another work that has a "For Sale" sign superimposed over the party logo. The picture of Zuma is a facsimile of a famous poster of communist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin. ...
Key witness in baseball's Clemens trial in last day on stand
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The key witness in ex-baseball pitching ace Roger Clemens' federal perjury trial faces a last day of marathon testimony on Friday, with the defense likely to hammer anew on his shifting story.
ECB says won't speculate on Greek euro exit
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The European Central Bank said on Friday it would not participate in any speculation regarding a Greek euro exit, adding that its strong preference is for the country to remain in the common currency bloc. The ECB statement came after EU trade commissioner Karel de Gucht said the European Commission and the ECB were working on scenarios in case Greece had to leave the euro zone. "We do not engage in any speculation about any emergency plans or possible scenarios and therefore do not comment on Commissioner de Gucht's statement," an ECB spokesman said. ...
Baghdad market bombs kill at least four
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Three roadside bombs ripped through a Baghdad marketplace on Friday, killing at least four people and injuring at least 30 more near one of the capital's main Shi'ite neighborhoods, police and hospital sources said. The almost simultaneous blasts in Ma'amil, near the Sadr City district in eastern Baghdad, occurred in the early morning when there were few people attending the outdoor market that sells birds, witnesses said. "The three bombs exploded almost at the same time. ...
Census shows whites lose US majority among babies
For the first time, racial and ethnic minorities make up more than half the children born in the U.S., capping decades of heady immigration growth that is now slowing.
U.N. chief calls for end to fighting in Myanmar
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon called for an end to attacks by all parties in Myanmar on Thursday after receiving a letter from a rebel independence group in the country's Kachin State asking the United Nations to help end its conflict with the government. Ban's spokesman Martin Nesirky said the secretary-general had received a letter from the Kachin Independence Organization, the political wing of the Kachin Independence Army. The Kachin conflict resurfaced in June 2011, scuttling a 16-year truce and displacing an estimated 50,000 people. ...
Exclusive: Drugmakers weigh emergency supply plan for Greece
LONDON (Reuters) - International drugmakers are working with European authorities on emergency plans to keep medicines flowing into Greece if the country crashes out of the euro. Discussions have intensified in recent days, according to industry sources, and manufacturers are looking closely at the experience of Argentina's collapse in 2002, when some firms agreed to continue to supply medicines without payment for a period of time. ...
Defining Moment (The Note)
By MICHAEL FALCONE (@michaelpfalcone) and AMY WALTER (@amyewalter) NOTABLES: DEFINE OR BE DEFINED: With Democrats trashing Mitt Romney’s business record at Bain Capital, the presumptive Republican nominee is attempting to wage the presidential campaign on his terms. He released his first general election television ad...
Putin gives top job to tank factory worker
President Vladimir Putin on Friday gave a senior government post to a tank factory worker who had offered to come to Moscow with fellow laborers to disperse opposition protests.
EU, ECB working on Greece exit contingency: trade commissioner
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission and the European Central Bank are working on scenarios in case Greece has to leave the euro zone, EU trade commissioner Karel De Gucht has said. Speculation about such planning has been rife, but the comments in a newspaper interview, confirmed by a person close to De Gucht, appear to be the first time an EU official has acknowledged the existence of contingency plans being drawn up in case Greece has to drop out of the currency bloc. ...
Poll shows Greece electing pro-bailout government
ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek voters are returning to the establishment parties that negotiated its bailout, a poll showed on Thursday, offering potential salvation for European leaders who say a snap Greek election next month will decide whether it must quit the euro. The poll, the first conducted since talks to form a government collapsed and a new election was called for June 17, showed the conservative New Democracy party in first place, several points ahead of the radical leftist SYRIZA which has pledged to tear up the bailout. ...
Romney releases first general election TV ad
Mitt Romney's first general-election TV commercial promises he would introduce tax cuts and approve the Keystone XL oil pipeline on Day One of his presidency.
Italy to keep debt profile outside riskier area
MILAN (Reuters) - The average lifespan of Italian debt, which has fallen during the euro zone crisis as investors favor safer short-term issues, should still be close to the current level of 6.8 years at the end of 2012, a top Italian debt official said. As the average maturity of a country's debts falls, the amount of bonds it has to sell each year rises. This makes it more exposed to a worsening in market sentiment that could push borrowing costs higher, even to unaffordable levels. ...
"Homeland" heroine turns Mideast sleuth in season 2
TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Though booted from the CIA as psychologically unfit, the heroine of the hit TV thriller "Homeland" will return for the second season pursuing leads in the Middle East, the show's producer said on Friday. During a Tel Aviv visit to shoot new scenes and pay homage to the Israeli hostage drama on which Homeland is based, Howard Gordon drew links with "24", another U.S. television series of his about a renegade counter-terrorist. "You'll remember Jack Bauer was usually out for one reason or another. ...
Anti-war protesters march at Obama campaign headquarters
CHICAGO (Reuters) - A small group of anti-war demonstrators staged a peaceful "die in" on Thursday at President Barack Obama's election campaign headquarters in Chicago to demand an end to the war in Afghanistan and unmanned drone aircraft attacks overseas. Despite calling ahead, some of the roughly 50 protesters said they were unable to deliver a letter to the Obama campaign calling for the United States to leave NATO and its "violent mission of protecting the 1 percent in the global economy who represent 99 percent of corporate wealth in the world. ...
Pentagon sees Chinese military expanding its reach
The Pentagon is telling Congress that China's increasingly sophisticated military is pursuing "new historic missions" that go beyond its traditional role of defending the homeland.
Iran may seek "tactical gain" with U.N. nuclear deal
VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran and the U.N. nuclear watchdog are making headway towards a framework deal on how to tackle concerns about its atomic activity, diplomats say, a potential bargaining chip for Tehran in next week's negotiations with world powers. Iran says such an agreement is needed before it can consider a request by U.N. inspectors to visit the Parchin military site where they believe explosives tests relevant for developing nuclear weapons may have been carried out. ...
JPMorgan's Dimon says will testify before Congress
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co Chief Executive Jamie Dimon has agreed to testify before Congress over the bank's recent trading losses, which have ignited a political debate over whether large U.S. banks need to be reined in by regulators or new laws. U.S. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Johnson said in a statement on Thursday that his panel will invite Dimon to appear before Congress. ...
Candidates fight for "change" vote in Dominican election
SANTO DOMINGO (Reuters) - Voters in the Dominican Republic's presidential election on Sunday will choose between two candidates vying to be seen as agents of change, even though one represents the ruling party and the other is a former president. Making the choice even harder, both candidates represent center-left political parties in a race devoid of major ideological differences and lacking a conservative option. ...
Greece needs growth as well as debt cuts: French PM
PARIS (Reuters) - Greece's European partners took too long to help the country and the goal must now be to spur economic growth as well as cutting the debts of the euro zone country, French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said on Friday. "Greece needs to revive its economy. There are unused (EU) structural funds and what's needed now is help to secure that revival alongside putting its accounts back in shape," he told France Inter radio. "We waited too long before helping Greece. This has been going on for two years now and only gets worse," he said. ...
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EU, ECB working on Greece exit contingency: trade commissioner BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission and the European Central Bank are working on scenarios in case Greece has to leave the euro zone, EU trade commissioner Karel De Gucht has said. Speculation about such planning has been rife, but the comments in a newspaper interview, confirmed by a person close to De Gucht, appear to be the first time an EU official has acknowledged the existence of contingency plans being drawn up in case Greece has to drop out of the currency bloc. ...