Scott Neuman

Court Rules That Arizona Sheriff Engages In Racial Profiling

Scott Neuman — Fri, 24 May 2013 23:44:00 +0000

A U.S.

Toronto Mayor: 'I Do Not Use Crack Cocaine'

Scott Neuman — Fri, 24 May 2013 22:57:00 +0000

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford says he doesn't smoke crack cocaine and isn't an addict, in response to a video that surfaced recently purporting to show him using the illegal drug.

Last week Ford called the cellphone video obtained by The Toronto Star "ridiculous" and blamed the newspaper for "going after me."

Friday's comments from Ford were more emphatic.

"I do not use crack cocaine, nor am I an addict of crack cocaine," he said at a news conference.

Hedge Fund Manager Apologizes For Comments On Female Traders

Scott Neuman — Fri, 24 May 2013 21:51:00 +0000

Billionaire Paul Tudor Jones is back-peddling from remarks he made at a symposium last month that motherhood causes women to lose the necessary focus to be successful traders.

"As soon as that baby's lips touched that girl's bosom, forget it," Jones told an audience at the University of Virginia on April 26.

"Every single investment idea ... every desire to understand what is going to make this go up or go down is going to be overwhelmed by the most beautiful experience ... which a man will never share, about a mode of connection between that mother and that baby," he said.

Ex-Guatemalan President Extradited To U.S.

Scott Neuman — Fri, 24 May 2013 19:42:00 +0000

Former Guatemalan President Alfonso Portillo has been extradited to the United States, where he faces charges of laundering tens of millions of dollars through U.S. banks.

Portillo, who served as president from 2000 to 2004, was snatched from a hospital bed in Guatemala City, where he was recovering from liver surgery. He was placed on an airplane bound for New York, according to his lawyer, Mauricio Berreondo.

The former president is accused of laundering $70 million in Guatemalan funds through U.S. banks.

News Corp. Board Approves Company Split

Scott Neuman — Fri, 24 May 2013 18:12:00 +0000

Media empire News Corp., parent of Fox and The Wall Street Journal, will be cleaved into two businesses starting June 28: a publishing arm and one for entertainment.

The plan was first announced a year ago. As we reported at the time:

"News Corp.

Boy Scouts Vote To Admit Openly Gay Members

Scott Neuman — Thu, 23 May 2013 23:35:00 +0000

The Boy Scouts of America has agreed for the first time to allow openly gay boys as members, but a vote of the organization's National Council left in place a ban on gay Scout leaders.

The Associated Press reports that of the local Scout leaders voting at their annual meeting in Texas, more than 60 percent supported the proposal. The policy change approved by the 1,400-member National Council would take effect Jan.

Head Of IRS Tax-Exempt Division Reportedly Placed On Leave

Scott Neuman — Thu, 23 May 2013 22:12:00 +0000

Lois Lerner, the IRS official who oversees the branch of the agency that targeted conservative groups, has been placed on administrative leave a day after she refused to answer questions in a congressional probe of the scandal.

Lerner, who invoked the Fifth Amendment in refusing to testify at a House hearing on Wednesday, is effectively suspended from her job as head of the exempt organizations division, according to a congressional aide who spoke to The Associated Pres

Alabama Republican Jo Bonner Says He's Leaving Congress

Scott Neuman — Thu, 23 May 2013 22:08:00 +0000

Rep. Jo Bonner, R-Ala., says he will leave Congress effective in August to take a senior position at the University of Alabama.

Bonner, who has represented Alabama's 1st District for six terms since 2003, will become vice chancellor of government relations and economic development at Alabama.

NOAA Predicts Above-Average Hurricane Season

Scott Neuman — Thu, 23 May 2013 20:10:00 +0000

With memories of last year's Superstorm Sandy still fresh, NOAA is warning East Coasters and those farther inland to brace for another active Atlantic season, predicting that as many as six major storms will develop between the beginning of June and the end of November.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration believes that this year, there is a 70 percent chance of 13 to 20 named storms, with winds of 39 mp

Obama To Limit Drone Strikes, Renew Effort To Close Guantanamo

Scott Neuman — Thu, 23 May 2013 18:07:00 +0000

President Obama on Thursday unveiled a major pivot in White House counterterrorism policy, calling for a limiting of CIA drones strikes and for a renewed effort to close the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Speaking at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C., the president said the death of Osama bin Laden and most of his top lieutenants, and the fact that there have been no large-scale terrorist attacks on the U.S.

North Korean Sends Special Envoy To China Amid Tensions

Scott Neuman — Wed, 22 May 2013 23:15:00 +0000

North Korea has sent a special envoy to China, hoping to patch up relations between the two countries that have been on rocky ground over Pyongyang's nuclear program and its recent seizure of a crew of Chinese fishermen.

North Korea's Vice Marshal Choe Ryong Hae, the head of the army's political bureau, is reportedly in Beijing.

Costa Concordia Captain To Face Manslaughter Charges

Scott Neuman — Wed, 22 May 2013 20:14:00 +0000

A judge in Italy on Wednesday ordered the captain of the ill-fated Costa Concordia cruise ship that ran aground off the coast of Tuscany last year, killing 32 people, to face charges of manslaughter.

Francesco Schettino, 52, is accused of negligence that led to the grounding of the ship and for abandoning the vessel while a rescue of the 4,200 passengers and crew was still underway.

hundreds of thousands of dollars at auction.

A pair of sandals, a shawl, a drinking cup, Gandhi's will and various other documents associated with the leader are all up for auction. Guide prices range from £200 for "a rare British Parliament paper declaring Gandhi a terrorist" dating from 1932, to £40,000 for his will.

Court Backs Withholding Of 'Potent' Images Of Bin Laden's Body

Scott Neuman — Tue, 21 May 2013 18:19:00 +0000

A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday in favor of the government's decision to keep photos and video of the May 2011 raid that killed Osama bin Laden a secret, rebuffing a conservative watchdog group that had sought their release.

A three-judge panel of the U.S.

A Brief History Of Oklahoma Tornadoes

Scott Neuman — Mon, 20 May 2013 23:14:00 +0000

Although Oklahoma is a state where tornadoes are a fact of life, few days stand out like May 3, 1999.

That was when some 70 tornadoes touched down over a 21-hour period, cutting paths of destruction like deep cuts of a knife blade in and around Oklahoma City.

British Aircraft Carrier HMS Ark Royal Heads For Scrap Yard

Scott Neuman — Mon, 20 May 2013 19:46:00 +0000

The people of Portsmouth, England, on Monday turned out to bid farewell to the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, destined for a Turkish scrap yard after its decommissioning two years ago.

The Invincible class carrier was a victim of a 2010 defense review that recommended scrapping the vessel and selling its Harrier jump jets (they were subsequently sold to the U.S.).

Beijing Angry Over North Korea's Seizure Of Chinese Fishermen

Scott Neuman — Mon, 20 May 2013 18:21:00 +0000

Beijing has long been about the closest thing to an ally that Pyongyang enjoys, but the seizure of a Chinese fishing boat by unidentified North Koreans has threatened to put an already tenuous relationship on even shakier ground.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei was quoted by The New York Times as making it fairly clear that his government was not happy about the development.

China, he said, is "demanding that it properly deal with the matter as quickly as possib

Injuries Reported In 'Major' Train Derailment In Connecticut

Scott Neuman — Fri, 17 May 2013 23:25:00 +0000

Two Metro-North Railroad trains have collided on a stretch of track near Fairfield, Conn., causing a "major derailment" and "preliminary reports of injuries," according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

[Update at 8:55 p.m.

Need A Tattoo Translated? Forget The British Foreign Office

Scott Neuman — Fri, 17 May 2013 22:16:00 +0000
The British Foreign Office is happy to assist its citizens, but officials want to make clear that there are some requests they won't fulfill.
Such as supplying Olympic tickets or doing a background check on that Swedish woman you met online.
Those are just a few of the "often good natured" but distracting requests that the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) says it received over the past year, according to a press release issued Thursday.
Some others that no doubt provided stodgy Briti

America's Cup Death Raises Concerns Over High-Tech Race Boats

Scott Neuman — Fri, 17 May 2013 21:35:00 +0000
America's Cup, the oldest and most prestigious sailing competition, has hit some choppy water.
The death last week of British sailor and gold medal Olympian Andrew "Bart" Simpson when the boat he was crewing capsized and broke up during a practice run off San Francisco, has prompted tough questions about safety.
Simpson reportedly drowned after being trapped for 10 minutes underneath the stricken boat belonging to Sweden'

Illinois Lawmakers Send Medical Marijuana Bill To Governor

Scott Neuman — Fri, 17 May 2013 19:19:00 +0000
The Illinois Senate has approved a measure to legalize the use of marijuana for medical purposes, sending the bill to the governor for his signature.
The bill would be the strictest in the nation. According to The Chicago Tribune:
"The proposal would create a four-year trial program in which doctors could prescribe patients no more than 2.5 ounces of marijuana every two weeks.

Former Argentine Dictator Who Oversaw Death Squads Dies At 87

Scott Neuman — Fri, 17 May 2013 18:24:00 +0000
Jorge Rafael Videla, an ambitious Army chief who seized power in Argentina in 1976 and orchestrated a campaign of terror against his opponents, has died in prison at age 87.
Videla, whose "Dirty War" killed at least 15,000 people, perhaps twice as many, died of natural causes in Argentina's Marcos Paz prison, where he was serving multiple life sentences for crimes against humanity, officials said.
After leading a bloodless coup that toppled President Isabel Martinez de Peron on March 24, 1976, Videla became the head of a junta.

Federal Prosecutors Arrest Uzbekistan National On Terrorism Charges

Scott Neuman — Thu, 16 May 2013 22:24:00 +0000
Authorities in Idaho have arrested an Uzbekistan national on federal terrorism charges, the Justice Department announced Thursday evening.
Fazliddin Kurbanov, 30, was arrested in Boise on Wednesday, prosecutors say.

There's No Ignoring This 800-Pound Gator

Scott Neuman — Thu, 16 May 2013 22:22:00 +0000
You've heard of the 800-pound gorilla in the room that everyone ignores? Well, here's an 800-pound alligator that's getting some attention.
The 14-foot beast, the heaviest ever recorded in Texas, was bagged by a Houston-area high school student last week at a wildlife management area near Choke Canyon State Park, about 90 miles south of San Antonio.
Braxton Bielski, 18, is credited with the kill.

Report: Problems At Justice Allowed Terrorist Suspects To Fly

Scott Neuman — Thu, 16 May 2013 20:55:00 +0000
Officials at the Department of Justice didn't share crucial information on some terrorist suspects in the federal witness protection program with the agency that maintains the "no fly" list, allowing an unknown number of them to board commercial flights, a new report says.
"We found that the department was not authorizing the disclosure to the Terrorist Screening Center of the new identities provided to known or suspected terrorists" in the federal Witness Security Program, known officially as WitSec, the report by the Justice Department's inspector general, Michael Horowitz, says.
Until t

Pope Francis Denounces 'Cult Of Money'

Scott Neuman — Thu, 16 May 2013 19:40:00 +0000
Pope Francis has demanded that financial and political leaders reform the global money system to make it more equitable.
"Money has to serve, not to rule!" the pontiff declared.
As The Associated Press writes:
"It's a message Francis delivered on many occasions when he was archbishop of Buenos Aires, and it's one that was frequently stressed by retired Pope Benedict XVI.
"Francis, who has made clear the poor are his priority, made the comments as he greeted his first group of new ambassadors accredited to the Holy See."
It also occurs amid the Vatican's

Obama Announces Resignation Of Acting IRS Commissioner

Scott Neuman — Wed, 15 May 2013 23:15:00 +0000
President Obama announced late Wednesday that the acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, Steve Miller, has resigned in the wake of a report that employees at the agency engaged in partisan scrutiny of conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status.
The president, appearing for a brief statement at the White House, said he had directed Treasury Secretary Jack Lew "to accept the resignation of the acting commissioner of the IRS."
He said it was part of a larger effort to "make sure noth

NASA Says Kepler's Planet-Searching Days May Be Numbered

Scott Neuman — Wed, 15 May 2013 22:16:00 +0000
The planet-hunting career of NASA's Kepler spacecraft might be near its end.
Astronomers said Wednesday that a reaction wheel that keeps the orbiting telescope pointed at tiny, distant patches of sky to look for Earth-like planets has failed.

Leaks, Bombs And Double-Agents: More On That AP Story

Scott Neuman — Wed, 15 May 2013 21:26:00 +0000
The Justice Department's subpoena of Associated Press phone records as part of an investigation into what Attorney General Eric Holder has called "a very grave leak" to the news agency has set off a political firestorm on Capitol Hill, but there's a lot to the AP story published a year ago that started it all.
You can read it yourself here. The May 7, 2012, story cites unnamed sources who told the news agency that the CIA had thwarted a plan by a Yemeni affiliate of al-Qaida to destroy a U.S.-bound airliner.