All posts published in July 2015
NEW YORK A U.S. judge ruled on Thursday that online television service FilmOn X LLC should be treated like a traditional cable system in order to transmit the programs of the nation’s broadcasters over the Internet. The ruling, coming as consumer TV-watching h... More »
WASHINGTON If you feel like a human scream jolts the deep recesses of your brain, there’s a good reason for it. That is precisely what is happening, scientists say. Researchers who explored how the brain handles a scream said on Thursday the loud, high-pitched... More »
WASHINGTON Polar bears are the kings of the ice surface covering the top of the globe, but the ongoing loss of the Arctic sea ice on which they hunt seals is causing summer food deprivation that threatens these imposing white-furred predators. Some experts had... More »
LOS ANGELES Cable television channel TLC canceled its reality show “19 Kids and Counting” on Thursday, citing controversy surrounding the disclosure of child molestation in the Duggar family at the heart of the series. But the network said it planned to work w... More »
LONDON Britain’s newly elected Conservative government signalled on Thursday it would cut back the BBC, the opening salvo in a battle over the future of the world’s biggest public service broadcaster. Any attempt to change the 92-year-old broadcaster provokes ... More »
LONDON Britain’s telecoms regulator is seriously considering a break up of dominant provider BT, after rivals accused it of abusing its market position and failing to invest in the broadband networks they rely on. Ofcom floated the idea of a forced separation ... More »
CHICAGO It was an image that shocked and angered many: a dead, black 18- year-old left face-down for hours in the middle of a street after being shot multiple times by a white police officer, his red Cardinals baseball cap knocked from his head by the fall. No... More »
ORLANDO, Fla. In a growing trend that seeks to blend art with environmental restoration, a water filtration project was unveiled on Tuesday along a 575-foot sea-walled stretch of the intracoastal waterway in South Florida. The new Living Shoreline, designed by... More »
NEW YORK Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s campaign on Tuesday inadvertently tweeted a promotional photo featuring what appeared to be Nazi German soldiers superimposed on the U.S. flag alongside the controversial real estate magnate’s face. The... More »
KANSAS CITY, Mo. Rarely is a trophy fish so easy to land. An animal control officer in Olathe, Kansas, recently hauled in a 60-pound (27-kg) carp that was lying in a drainage ditch. A man out for a walk last week spotted the fish and called police, city animal... More »
MONROEVILLE, Alabama In the southern hometown of author Harper Lee, a freight truck unloaded the first of 7,000 copies of “Go Set a Watchman” at a small bookshop just ahead of midnight, minutes before Tuesday’s release of Lee’s first published novel in 55 year... More »
DETROIT Street artist Shepard Fairey, who created the “Hope” poster of Barack Obama in 2008, turned himself into Detroit police on Tuesday on charges he defaced several properties in the city, authorities said. Fairey is scheduled to be arraigned on Tuesday, D... More »
SYDNEY A space tracking station surrounded by cows in an Australian valley will on Tuesday become the first place in the world to get close-up images of Pluto, the most distant planetary body ever explored. After nine-and-half years of traveling 5.3 billion km... More »
PORTLAND, Ore. Hundreds of phallic sex toys have been seen hanging in recent days from power lines across Portland, Oregon, provoking laughter, blushing and lots of photos. The large white and bright orange dildos appear to have been strung together in pairs, ... More »
LONDON A quarter of dogs competing in the world’s biggest dog show are overweight, scientists said on Monday. An analysis of canines at Britain’s Crufts show – held annually since the reign of Queen Victoria – found 74 percent were in ideal condition but 26 pe... More »
SIEM REAP, Cambodia Pit, only two and with just one eye, needed only 11 minutes before he detected a deadly mine buried in a Cambodian field, work that humans with metal detectors could have taken up to five days to investigate. But Pit is not human. He is par... More »
BRUSSELS Euro zone leaders clinched a deal with Greece on Monday to negotiate a third bailout to keep the near-bankrupt country in the euro zone after a whole night of haggling at an emergency summit. “Euro summit has unanimously reached agreement. All ready t... More »
VIENNA A senior Iranian negotiator voiced hope on Monday that a nuclear deal with six major powers would be completed but cautioned that there was work to be done and he could not promise the talks would finish by Tuesday night, Iranian media reported. “I cann... More »
BRUSSELS Greece has secured debt restructuring and medium-term financing in a growth package worth 35 billion euros in a deal with its creditors that will allow the country to stay in the euro, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said in Brussels on Monday. He said ... More »
LONDON Oil prices tumbled on Monday as Iran and six world powers closed in on a final nuclear deal that would end sanctions on the Islamic Republic and let more Iranian oil on to world markets. News of a unanimous agreement by European leaders on a bailout loa... More »
ATHENS The Greek opposition party To Potami will not enter a national unity government with the ruling Syriza party, but will support a solution for the nation’s interests, a party official said on Monday. Euro zone leaders argued late into the night with near... More »
BEIJING China’s export sales unexpectedly rose for the first time in four months in June and imports fell again but posted their best performance this year, causing some optimism tepid trade flows are picking up. Yet hopes were offset by a realization that Chi... More »
NEW DELHI General Motors Co (GM.N) will recall 155,000 vehicles in India, its largest such exercise to date in the country, in order to fix wiring problems linked to a remote keyless entry accessory. The recall, also one of India’s biggest, follows a move in 2... More »
PARIS There is a “shared desire” among euro zone heads of state to keep Greece in the single currency, EU Economic Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici said on Monday. He spoke after euro zone leaders argued late into the night with near-bankrupt Greece at an... More »
TOKYO Nintendo Co Ltd (7974.T) Chief Executive Satoru Iwata died after a long illness, the company said on Monday, months after he led the Japanese video-game maker’s belated entry into mobile gaming following years of declining sales. He was 55. The hands-on ... More »
NEW YORK Presidential contender Hillary Clinton will pledge to “reform” capital gains taxation in coming weeks as part of her plan to fight an excessive focus on quick profits in capital markets, according to a campaign talking points document seen by Reuters.... More »
LANCASTER, Pennsylvania Young South Korean Chun In-gee showed championship maturity on Sunday as she won the U.S. Women’s Open in a thrilling finish at Lancaster Country Club on Sunday for her first major title. The 20-year-old Chun, a seven-times career winne... More »
WASHINGTON Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton will put the fight for higher wages for “everyday Americans” at the heart of her economic agenda on Monday, when she makes the first major policy speech in her White House bid. Clinton will argue that ensuring ... More »
MILWAUKEE Scott Walker jumps into the race for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination on Monday, needing to prove he has learned from early missteps and can appeal to voters beyond the conservatives who dominate the first nominating contest in Iowa. The W... More »
TORONTO Canada swept the Pan American Games gold medals in both the men’s and women’s rugby sevens and mountain bike events on Sunday, to fight off a challenge from the mighty Americans at the top of the medal table. The hosts have enjoyed a stunning start to ... More »
TORONTO Canada’s Jennifer Abel and Mexico’s Ivan Garcia won gold medals in their diving events at the Pan American Games on Sunday to earn automatic qualifying spots for the 2016 Rio Olympics. Abel, who won a bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics, led the w... More »
TORONTO When Courtney Donovan arrived for her Pan American Games roller figure skating short program and saw people in the stands an hour before the competition she was sure they were lost. It was an understandable reaction for an athlete who has spent her ent... More »
WASHINGTON Media baron Rupert Murdoch took issue on Sunday with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s comments that many illegal immigrants from Mexico are bringing crime to the United States, tweeting: “Trump wrong.” Trump, a billionaire real estat... More »
BRUSSELS Euro zone leaders at a summit in Brussels were reviewing a draft proposal from their finance ministers that sets out conditions for Greece to open negotiations on a bailout. The following is a summary of the paper, seen by Reuters. * Greece to pass by... More »
LOS ANGELES, (Variety.com) – “Minions” ruled the weekend box office, racking up a massive $115.2 million in North America, for the second biggest animated film opening in history. The Universal and Illumination Entertainment spin-off to “Despicable Me” just mi... More »
BRUSSELS Euro zone leaders told near-bankrupt Greece at an emergency summit on Sunday it must enact key reforms this week to restore trust before they will open talks on a financial rescue to keep it in the European currency area. Leftist Prime Minister Alexis... More »
LOS ANGELES Superhero movies made the biggest splash at San Diego’s Comic-Con this year, but the convention’s 130,000 comic book and pop culture fans were also treated to a smorgasbord of experiences, surprises and scares. As the 35th Comic-Con wrapped up its ... More »
WASHINGTON The top Senate Republican said on Sunday that Congress is likely to block any nominee that President Barack Obama names as ambassador to Cuba and retain broad economic sanctions, even as Obama moves to establish diplomatic and economic ties with the... More »
BRUSSELS Euro zone leaders at a summit in Brussels were reviewing a draft proposal from their finance ministers on Sunday that sets out conditions for Greece to open negotiations on a bailout. Following is the draft of the paper, seen by Reuters. Square bracke... More »
WASHINGTON Key Republicans distanced themselves on Sunday from presidential candidate Donald Trump’s denunciation of illegal immigrants from Mexico as rapists and criminals, saying he has become “a wrecking ball” for the party’s ability to win Hispanic voters.... More »
WASHINGTON The top Republican in the U.S. Senate cast doubt on Sunday on whether President Barack Obama would be able to win approval in Congress for any nuclear deal with Iran, and some Democrats also expressed reservations. “I think it’s going to be a very h... More »
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft is closing fast on an unexpectedly spotted Pluto, the most distant planetary body ever explored. From New Horizon’s position more than 3 billion miles (4.88 billion km) from Earth, radio signals, traveling at ... More »
SAN DIEGO The largest gathering of celebrity superheroes came together on stage with Marvel creator Stan Lee at San Diego’s Comic-Con on Saturday, as Fox harnessed star power for its films, “Fantastic Four,” “Deadpool” and “X-Men.” Fox presented its panel of u... More »
LONDON Britain’s government will ask the BBC’s competitors to scrutinize the broadcaster’s remit and scale, the government said on Sunday, after years of controversy over how it has been funded. The BBC [TBBC.UL], the world’s largest broadcaster, has long been... More »
PHOENIX Boasting of his rising poll numbers, real estate mogul Donald Trump on Saturday railed against his rivals in the 2016 presidential race and criticized companies such as Macy’s that cut ties with him over his inflammatory comments about Mexican immigran... More »
TAIPEI Companies such as electric motor scooter firm Gogoro could hold the key to Taiwan’s economic growth. In just three years, the start-up, which counts Japan’s Panasonic Corp as a strategic partner and Cher Wang, the founder of local smartphone maker HTC C... More »
WASHINGTON Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on Saturday scored a key endorsement from a large teachers union at a time when her chief rival is picking up support from organized labor. By backing Clinton, the American Federation of Teachers, wh... More »
WASHINGTON The federal government could find more cyber intrusions as it takes a close look at its sprawling and sometimes creaky systems in the wake of massive hacks, the nation’s chief information officer told Reuters. “I think it’s a realistic chance, and I... More »
NEW YORK/CHICAGO When Donald Trump described Mexican immigrants as rapists and drug smugglers last month, Latinos took to social media to express their outrage and urge businesses to sever ties with the billionaire presidential candidate. In short order, more ... More »
WASHINGTON/SAN FRANCISCO U.S. government antitrust regulators are looking into claims about whether Apple’s treatment of rival streaming music apps is illegal under antitrust law, according to three industry sources. Apple recently launched a new music streami... More »
UNITED NATIONS Some $3.4 billion in pledges were made at the United Nations on Friday to help Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea stamp out Ebola and begin rebuilding health systems and economies devastated by the worst outbreak on record of the deadly hemorrhagi... More »
WASHINGTON The chief of the U.S. federal hiring office resigned on Friday after massive computer hacks at the agency that put the personal data of more than 22 million Americans at risk, including people seeking sensitive security clearances. The White House s... More »
SAN DIEGO, Calif. Fans hoping to get a glimpse of what HBO’s “Game of Thrones” has in store for its anticipated next season were left in dark at San Diego’s Comic-Con on Friday, as the cast kept tight-lipped on the fate of their characters. “Our cast here, the... More »
SAN FRANCISCO Ellen Pao resigned as acting chief executive of Reddit Friday in the latest sign of turmoil at the site, recently roiled by the firing of a popular employee and ongoing tensions over the limits of free speech on its social-news platform. Reddit c... More »
MEXICO CITY Mexico City could become the first city in the world to limit the number of Uber cars, according to draft regulation that the company said on Friday also threatens to wipe out its most popular service in the giant metropolis. Aside from the fleet l... More »
WASHINGTON White House state dinners are not normally known for centerpieces made of brussels sprouts, green smoothies and eating with your fingers. But when your guests are 55 students who won a nationwide healthy recipe contest, it is a fitting feast to prom... More »
CARACAS Origami-like boats made from Venezuela’s rapidly depreciating bolivar bills sit on the cash register of a small fruit and vegetable store in Caracas. Cashier Marisol Garcia makes the bolivar boats to illustrate roaring inflation and the currency’s tumb... More »
PARIS An attempt by Airbus to make history by crossing the English Channel in an electric plane ended in wounded pride on Friday after a French pilot claimed to have beaten it by hours. In a further twist, a Slovenian businessman said he might have beaten both... More »
(Editor’s Note: Please be advised that paragraph 2 contains language that some readers may find offensive) By Ben Klayman More »
TORONTO BlackBerry Ltd (BB.TO), which has been coy about its ambitions to make a mainstream Android smartphone, fueled more speculation about its plans this week when it scooped up two Android-related domain names. Several blog posts in the last two days have ... More »
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft is poised to become the first probe to visit distant Pluto, capping a reconnaissance of the solar system that began more than 50 years ago. The 3 billion-mile (5 billion-km) journey to Pluto, an unexpectedly p... More »
NEW YORK “Go Set a Watchman,” the much-anticipated second novel by “To Kill a Mockingbird” author Harper Lee, is the most pre-ordered print title on Amazon.com since the last book in the “Harry Potter” series, Amazon said on Thursday. The online retailer said ... More »
WASHINGTON Global warming is shrinking the terrain where bumblebees live in North America and Europe, with these vital pollinators departing the southernmost and hottest parts of their ranges while failing to move north into cooler climes, scientists say. Thei... More »
DETROIT Barclay Oudersluys had competed in triathlons and ultramarathons but he wanted to do something bigger, so the Michigan native took a cue from his favorite movie. Inspired by Forrest Gump, the simple but well-intentioned man played by actor Tom Hanks in... More »
WASHINGTON Giant pandas eat vegetables even though their bodies are better equipped to eat meat. So how do these black-and-white bears from the remote, misty mountains of central China survive on a diet almost exclusively of a low-nutrient food like bamboo? Sc... More »
NEW YORK Which would you prefer: Naked pictures of yourself circulating on the Internet or a breach of your financial data? According to a new survey from Mastercard, 62 percent of Millennials would rather have their nude photos leaked online than have their f... More »
ATHENS With banks shut and the economy seizing up, some Greek newspapers like the Empros daily on the island of Lesvos are running out of paper and could be forced to stop sales altogether until the banks open again. The island’s biggest selling newssheet, Emp... More »
MILAN British mobile phone giant Vodafone has reached an agreement with Mediaset to offer pay-TV content of the Italian broadcaster to its customers in the southern European country, the two companies said in a joint statement on Thursday. The offer, which bun... More »
NEW YORK From rubber-soled footwear in the 1830s to a spike running shoe in the 1860s and luxury creations by designers Christian Louboutin and Prada, a new exhibit traces the history of sneakers from their humble beginnings to iconic status. “The Rise of Snea... More »
WASHINGTON A Falcon 9 rocket accident last month should not eliminate SpaceX from the competition to launch a new GPS satellite, U.S. Air Force Secretary Deborah James said on Wednesday, since there would be “plenty of time” to test the rocket before any futur... More »
LONDON Gene therapy for deafness is moving closer to reality, with new research on Wednesday showing the technique for fixing faulty DNA can improve responses in mice with genetic hearing loss. Separately, a clinical trial backed by Novartis is under way to he... More »
WASHINGTON It’s not every day a dinosaur gets named after you, so Canadian fossil hunter Wendy Sloboda celebrated in a unique way. “I got a new tattoo of my dinosaur recently to show it off. It is pretty exciting for me,” said Sloboda, who first spotted the fo... More »
AMIENS, France After a three-year hiatus live coverage of the Tour de France is again being broadcast on public television in Germany and is enjoying increased attention buoyed by the success of their riders. German TV has had a troubled relationship with the ... More »
NEW YORK Many people dislike receiving robocalls. Araceli King disliked receiving 153 of them from a single company. Time Warner Cable Inc must pay the insurance claims specialist $229,500 for placing 153 automated calls meant for someone else to her cellphone... More »
KUALA LUMPUR Malaysian police raided the office of troubled state investment fund 1MDB on Wednesday, following a report that claimed investigators looking into the firm found nearly $700 million had been transferred to Prime Minister Najib Razak’s bank account... More »
ZIONSVILLE, Ind. Authorities conducted a day-long search inside the Indiana home of Subway sandwich chain pitchman Jared Fogle on Tuesday, two months after the executive director of Fogle’s foundation was arrested on federal child pornography charges. As autho... More »
GUATEMALA CITY Guatemala’s forensic authority declared on Tuesday that ex-dictator Efrain Rios Montt is mentally unfit to be tried again on genocide charges, two years after a historic conviction of the former strongman was thrown out on a technicality. The Na... More »
LONDON Andy Murray goes to the dogs, or more precisely the puppies, in a video released on Tuesday which shows him playing at Wimbledon with five cocker spaniels being trained to become sniffer dogs. The six-week-old puppies are being raised by the Metropolita... More »
SYDNEY Nick Kyrgios has accused Olympic great Dawn Fraser of being a “blatant racist” after she said tennis players should “go back to where their parents came from” if they did not set a better example to Australian youth. The former champion swimmer, after i... More »
SINGAPORE Crude oil prices steadied on Tuesday, after posting one of their biggest selloffs this year in the previous session over Greece’s rejection of debt bailout terms and China’s ongoing stock market woes. Front-month U.S. crude futures CLc1 were trading ... More »
TOKYO Tokyo prosecutors plan to release former Toyota Motor Corp executive Julie Hamp from custody after she was arrested last month on suspicion of illegally importing the painkiller Oxycodone into Japan, Kyodo News reported on Tuesday. Japan’s daily Yomiuri ... More »
BRUSSELS/ATHENS Greece faces a last chance to stay in the euro zone on Tuesday when Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras puts proposals to an emergency euro zone summit after Greek voters resoundingly rejected the austerity terms of a defunct bailout. With Greek bank... More »
SHANGHAI Chinese stocks fell on Tuesday, taking little comfort from a slew of support measures unleashed by Beijing in recent days, and unnerved by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s failure to mention the market chaos in a statement on the economy. Before the marke... More »
ATHENS Euclid Tsakalotos, the mild-tempered professor who was appointed as Greece’s new finance minister on Monday, is a clear change in style from his combative predecessor Yanis Varoufakis. The 55-year-old Tsakalotos studied at prestigious private London sch... More »
TOKYO Most Asian stocks drooped on Tuesday as Chinese equity markets went into a fresh tailspin, fraying investor nerves already strained by uncertainty hanging over the future of Greece and the European currency union. Chinese shares fell more than 5 percent ... More »
VANCOUVER With the Women’s World Cup party over it was back to reality for many of the players who headed home on Monday to resume 9-to-5 jobs, school studies and raising families. Women’s soccer basked in the spotlight during the month-long tournament, delive... More »
WILLIAMSON, WV With coal trains chugging past in the distance, Jack Perry watches as his wife, Margie, plants row upon row of Hungarian pepper seedlings in the community garden that residents of this West Virginia coal town call the “Garden of Eatin’.” “Th... More »
CHICAGO Presidential candidate Marco Rubio will deliver an economic speech in Chicago on Tuesday with the goal of separating himself from the packed field of Republican candidates and kick-starting his campaign into a more active, visible phase. Rubio, a senat... More »
SAN FRANCISCO When it comes to dashboard displays that are more like smart phones, two things are clear: Customers want them, and automakers are intent on supplying them. But are they really a good idea? Car companies answer with an emphatic yes. They say outs... More »
