Evening Edition

Evening Edition is an Open Thread

From Yahoo News Top Stories

1 Phone hacking inquiry opens as scandal spreads again

By Danny Kemp, AFP

3 hrs ago

A judge opened Britain’s phone-hacking inquiry Thursday with a vow that he will order witnesses to testify, as new claims emerged in a scandal that has tarnished the media, police and politicians.

Lord Justice Brian Leveson, the judge appointed by Prime Minister David Cameron to lead the probe, said the inquiry would start by looking at media ethics and press regulation.

The first public hearings would be held in September, he announced.

2 James Murdoch gets ‘unanimous support’ of BSkyB board

AFP

2 hrs 52 mins ago

The board of BSkyB gave chairman James Murdoch its “unanimous support” on Thursday, a source close to the British satellite broadcaster said, despite the furore over the phone-hacking scandal.

The 38-year-old son and heir apparent of News Corporation boss Rupert Murdoch had faced calls from some shareholders to resign over the crisis surrounding alleged wrongdoing at his father’s now defunct News of the World newspaper.

“The role of the chairman was discussed at some length today and ultimately James Murdoch received the unanimous support of the board,” the source told AFP after a BSkyB board meeting.

3 BBC reporter among 19 killed in Afghan suicide strikes

By Mamoon Durrani, AFP

6 hrs ago

Triple suicide blasts and shootings killed 19 people including a local BBC reporter in an ongoing attack on Uruzgan province Thursday that was the deadliest to hit Afghanistan in more than a month.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the coordinated assault that began with suicide bombings on official buildings in the local capital Trinkot and the base of a militia commander who provides security to NATO convoys heading towards the country’s besieged south.

The latest unrest comes at a critical juncture in the nearly 10-year war on Taliban-led insurgents, as thousands of US surge troops prepare to go home and other Western nations announce limited withdrawals of soldiers.

4 EU terror experts to meet as Norway probes killings

By Charles Onians, AFP

17 hrs ago

Norway’s prime minister announced an independent review into last week’s massacre, as European anti-terror experts were to meet Thursday to examine ways of preventing a repeat of an Oslo-style massacre.

Amid growing criticism that it took officers too long to halt a killing spree by Anders Behring Breivik that left 76 dead, Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg vowed that a commission of inquiry would get to the truth.

European Union experts were meanwhile set to talk to Norwegian counterparts in Brussels to discuss measures in hand to prevent another bloodbath, a diplomat told AFP, adding it would be an “exchange of information”.

5 US braces for debt deal vote amid default jitters

By Emmanuel Parisse, AFP

22 mins ago

Republican lawmakers Thursday challenged Democratic foes to vote for their debt plan or risk a calamitous US default, in an acrimonious, lengthy showdown now threatening the world’s fragile economy.

The House of Representatives was to vote later Thursday on a two-step plan forged by Speaker John Boehner to raise the nation’s $14.3 trillion debt limit even though a majority of senators have vowed to block it and the White House has said it will veto the bill.

With only five days to go before an August 2 deadline when the US Treasury says it will no longer be able to borrow funds to pay its bills, stock markets remained nervous that a fragile economic recovery after the 2008 global financial crisis could be at risk.

6 Search for bodies on Norwegian island ends

By Walter Gibbs and Wojciech Moskwa, Reuters

1 hr 10 mins ago

OSLO (Reuters) – Norwegian police on Thursday ended a six-day search for bodies on the island where Anders Behring Breivik shot dead 68 people, and said they were increasingly certain he acted alone.

Breivik, 32, killed a total of 76 people, in a bomb attack in central Oslo and then in the shooting rampage at the island summer camp for the ruling Labour Party’s youth wing.

“The search at Utoeya (island) has been completed,” police Chief of Staff Johan Fredriksen told a news conference.

7 Norway attacks boost political parties’ membership

By Mohammed Abbas, Reuters

1 hr 48 mins ago

OSLO (Reuters) – Membership of Norway’s political parties has surged in response to calls to counter last week’s massacre with more democracy and political participation, and some warn that the debate must shed traces of xenophobia.

All of Norway’s main parties say they have seen a jump in membership since Norwegian Anders Behring Breivik killed 76 people last Friday in a bombing and shooting attack he saw as a “crusade” against Islam and multiculturalism.

An emotional Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg has since then urged Norwegians to respond to the violence, in which Breivik gunned down youth members of his ruling Labor Party at a summer camp and planted a bomb outside Stoltenberg’s offices, with more of what he says Norway does best — openness and democracy.

8 Italy borrowing costs soar in volatile euro markets

By Valentina Za and Marius Zaharia, Reuters

2 hrs 20 mins ago

MILAN/LONDON (Reuters) – Italy’s borrowing costs soared at a closely watched bond auction on Thursday as investors worried by the euro zone debt crisis and an impasse over the U.S. debt ceiling exacted a high risk premium.

The 8 billion euro ($11.4 billion) auction was conducted in volatile markets made more feverish by rumors, denied by Italian politicians, that Economy Minister Giulio Tremonti was preparing to resign.

The pressure on Italian stocks and bonds reflected both concern about Rome’s ability to cut its sovereign debt — second only to Greece’s in Europe at 120 percent of annual output — and doubts over whether last week’s summit of euro zone leaders found a durable solution to the Greek debt crisis.

9 James Murdoch confirmed as BSkyB chairman

By Georgina Prodhan, Reuters

2 hrs 26 mins ago

LONDON (Reuters) – James Murdoch was unanimously confirmed as chairman by BSkyB’s board, winning a reprieve from a phone-hacking scandal that threatens to draw him into multiple investigations, two sources briefed on the board meeting told Reuters.

Thursday’s meeting of the BSkyB board was its first since the crisis forced News Corp to close the News of the World newspaper, drop a $12 billion bid for BSkyB and offer up James and his father Rupert to answer questions in the UK parliament.

Several shareholders had demanded he step down to avoid conflicts of interest, fearing contamination from the scandal that acquired new dimensions earlier this month when it was revealed that a murdered schoolgirl had had her phone hacked.

10 Two Fed officials see growth but divided on stimulus

By Ann Saphir in Salt Lake City and Pedro Nicolaci da Costa in Chantilly, Virginia, Reuters

14 mins ago

SALT LAKE CITY (Reuters) – Two top Federal Reserve officials diverged on the possible need for further stimulus on Thursday, even as they both forecast a pick-up in growth this year.

The divergent views, from San Francisco Fed President John Williams and Jeffrey Lacker, the Richmond Fed president who is known for his hawkish views on the need to ward off inflation, underscore the deep divides among policy makers at the central bank as they prepare for their next meeting August 9.

The Fed has kept short-term interest rates near zero for two and a half years and has bought $2.3 trillion in long-term securities to boost the economy further, including a round of bond-buying that ended at the close of June.

11 Exxon profit up 41 percent, misses Street

By Anna Driver, Reuters

39 mins ago

HOUSTON (Reuters) – Exxon Mobil Corp reported a higher quarterly profit that missed Wall Street estimates as maintenance slowed its international refining and production, and its shares closed down 2 percent.

Some of Exxon’s refineries in Asia-Pacific and its international oil and natural gas production — including from its liquefied natural gas project in Qatar — were affected by downtime, the world’s largest publicly traded oil company said.

“The second quarter was a big maintenance and turnaround quarter for us in general across the regions,” David Rosenthal, an investor relations executive, told analysts on a conference call.

12 Debt bill set for vote as White House urges compromise

By Andy Sullivan and Caren Bohan, Reuters

1 hr 11 mins ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A Republican deficit reduction plan headed for two major votes in the U.S. Congress on Thursday and its expected demise could force a bipartisan compromise to avert an unprecedented debt default.

The maneuvers in the divided Congress signaled no immediate end to the feuding that has brought the United States to the brink of an economic crisis. There were still hopes a compromise could be hammered out five days before an August 2 deadline to raise the U.S. government borrowing limit.

World markets, unnerved by the risk of a U.S. default and a credit downgrade, were watching anxiously. Top U.S. financial executives added their voices to a chorus of calls from the business community for Congress to make a deal that would banish the specter of default.

13 Norway’s ‘lone-wolf’ attacks stir angst in Europe

By DON MELVIN, KARL RITTER, Associated Press

25 mins ago

OSLO, Norway (AP) – Norway cast it as the isolated act of a lone-wolf terrorist, whose boasts of a far-flung network of anti-Muslim warriors were the fantasies of a deranged mind.

European officials at an emergency counter-terror meeting see a continent-wide threat from right-wing extremists amid mounting Islamophobia – and warn of possible copycats.

Two visions of the Norway atrocity emerged Thursday, as Europe gropes for answers following a tragedy that claimed the lives of 78 people.

14 Security chief: Norway attacks work of lone man

By DON MELVIN, KARL RITTER, Associated Press

3 hrs ago

OSLO, Norway (AP) – The man who admitted killing 76 people in a bombing and youth camp massacre last week is a sociopath who acted without accomplices or a network of like-minded right-wing extremists, and kept his plans to himself for more than a decade, Norway’s top police official said Thursday.

Levels of right-wing violence across Europe have been generally low and there are no clear indications of imminent danger from networks of extremists, security officials said. But they expressed concern that Norway attacker Anders Behring Breivik could inspire imitators among the continent’s extremist, anti-immigrant fringe. Particularly worrying are similar loners who give no clues of their intentions to others before acting, officials said.

European Union counterterrorism officials held a special meeting with Norwegian representatives Thursday dedicated to preventing future extreme-right attacks, saying they would try to share information faster and better understand what triggers the rare radical to turn to violence.

15 APNewsBreak: Arctic scientist under investigation

By BECKY BOHRER, Associated Press

1 hr 1 min ago

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – A federal wildlife biologist whose observation that polar bears likely drowned in the Arctic helped galvanize the global warming movement during the last decade was placed on administrative leave while officials investigate scientific misconduct allegations.

While it wasn’t clear what the exact allegations are, a government watchdog group representing Anchorage-based scientist Charles Monnett said investigators have focused on his 2006 journal article about the bears that garnered worldwide attention.

The group, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, filed a complaint on Monnett’s behalf Thursday with the agency, the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement.

16 US accuses Iran of ‘secret deal’ with al-Qaida

By BRADLEY KLAPPER, MATTHEW LEE, The Associated Press

1 hr 7 mins ago

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Obama administration accused Iran on Thursday of entering into a “secret deal” with an al-Qaida offshoot that provides money and recruits for attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Treasury Department designated six members of the unit as terrorists subject to U.S. sanctions.

The announcement was made despite disagreements in the U.S. intelligence community about the extent of direct links between the Iranian government and al-Qaida, officials said. Most analysts agree there is a murky relationship between the two and at least some cooperation.

But Thursday’s allegations go further. Treasury said its exposure of the clandestine agreement would disrupt al-Qaida operations by shedding light on Iran’s role as a “critical transit point” for money and extremists reaching Pakistan and Afghanistan.

17 Judge says polygamist leader can represent himself

By WILL WEISSERT, Associated Press

10 mins ago

SAN ANGELO, Texas (AP) – Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs dismissed his high-powered defense team and began representing himself Thursday in a last-ditch attempt to delay the start of his sexual assault trial.

With opening statements set to begin, the 55-year-old ecclesiastical head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints said he had spent extensive time training his lawyers, but they weren’t able to present “a pure defense.” He then pleaded for more time to prepare the case by himself.

Jeffs burned through seven attorneys in six months and prosecutors had complained his frequent switching of counsel was a delay tactic. But special prosecutor Eric Nichols, representing the Texas attorney general’s office, said he’d be willing to stop the trial until Monday if Jeffs represented himself.

18 J&J cuts maximum Tylenol dose to prevent overdoses

By LINDA A. JOHNSON, AP Business Writer

37 mins ago

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) – Johnson & Johnson said Thursday that it’s reducing the maximum daily dose of its Extra Strength Tylenol pain reliever to lower risk of accidental overdose from acetaminophen, its active ingredient and the top cause of liver failure.

The company’s McNeil Consumer Healthcare Division said the change affects Extra Strength Tylenol sold in the U.S. – one of many products in short supply in stores due to a string of recalls.

Starting sometime this fall, labels on Extra Strength Tylenol packages will now list the maximum daily dose as six pills, or a total of 3,000 milligrams, down from eight pills a day, or 4,000 milligrams. Beginning next year, McNeil will also reduce the maximum daily dose for its Regular Strength Tylenol and other adult pain relievers containing acetaminophen, the most widely used pain killer in the country.

3 comments

  1. To reach that level, you don’t have to take it all at once either. The other problem is that acetaminophen is in many over the counter (OTC) cough syrups and flu remedies. People do not read labels and many think more is better.

    Acetaminophen is cleared by the liver. Liver function declines with age and other factors like infection and alcohol abuse. It is easy to reach toxic levels, even in small children. There are no initial symptoms. Once the symptoms do manifest, its too late. The liver has stopped functioning. The only “cure” is a liver transplant.

    I think this is one of the most over hyped medications ever to hit the market world wide. It isn’t even that effective as an anti-inflammatory.

  2. from a vote tonight.  

Comments have been disabled.