Evening Edition

Evening Edition is an Open Thread

From Yahoo News Top Stories

1 Evans makes Tour de France history for Australia

By Justin Davis, AFP

3 hrs ago

Cadel Evans is set to become the first Australian winner of the Tour de France after overcoming his overnight deficit to Andy Schleck in the penultimate stage time trial Saturday.

BMC leader Evans started the 42.5 km race against the clock with a 57sec deficit to Schleck in the overall standings but easily erased that on his way to second place behind stage winner Tony Martin of Germany.

It means Evans will go into Sunday’s final stage, a 95 km run from Creteil to Paris which is traditionally not disputed by the overall contenders, as the new race champion.

2 Bloody clashes in Egypt despite democracy pledge

By Samer al-Atrush, AFP

1 hr 22 mins ago

Bloody clashes erupted in Cairo on Saturday between protesters demanding political change and loyalists of the ruling military council, hours after the military ruler pledged democracy.

Riot police fired tear gas at protesters who were being pelted with rocks and bottles by loyalists in the Abasseya district near the headquarters of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces which took power when president Hosni Mubarak was ousted in February.

One petrol bomb landed near a protester, setting his clothes on fire, and dozens of injured were treated by ambulance crews on the scene, an AFP correspondent said.

3 More British papers dragged into hacking row

By Danny Kemp, AFP

2 hrs 48 mins ago

Phone-hacking allegations spread beyond the felled News of the World to other tabloids on Saturday as media heir James Murdoch faced pressure over the extent of his knowledge of the scandal.

Former journalists at the Daily Mirror and Sunday Mirror — the main tabloid competitors to Rupert Murdoch’s British stable — reportedly said the illegal hacking of voicemails was widespread at their papers too.

The scandal has also rocked the British police and even given Prime Minister David Cameron a rough ride, but has so far largely been limited to the News of the World, which Murdoch shut on July 7 amid public outrage.

4 Obama, lawmakers seek debt deal by Sunday

By Olivier Knox, AFP

15 mins ago

President Barack Obama and top lawmakers held crisis talks Saturday to avert a disastrous US debt default, just 10 days away, that could send shockwaves through the fragile global economy.

After a 50-minute summit at the White House, House Speaker John Boehner told fellow Republicans on a conference call that he hoped for a deal with Democrats within 24 hours, a participant told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Such a breakthrough could reassure jittery world markets that cash-strapped Washington will be able to pay its bills after an August 2 deadline, with Asian traders first in line to render judgment on the stalemate as early as Sunday.

5 Norway death toll may rise to 98, police say

By Gwladys Fouche, Reuters

4 hrs ago

SUNDVOLLEN, Norway (Reuters) – Norwegian police searched for more victims and a possible second gunman on Saturday after a suspected right-wing zealot killed up to 98 people in a shooting spree and bomb attack that have traumatised a once-placid country.

The 32-year-old Norwegian named Anders Behring Breivik was arrested after Friday’s massacre of young people on a tiny forested holiday island that was hosting the annual summer camp for the youth wing of Norway’s ruling Labour party.

Breivik was also charged for the bombing of Oslo’s government district that killed seven people hours earlier.

6 Fitch calls default, Greece pledges no let-up on debt

By Ingrid Melander and Patrick Graham, Reuters

12 hrs ago

ATHENS/LONDON (Reuters) – Fitch ratings agency declared Greece would be in temporary default as the result of a second bailout, which Athens said had bought it breathing space.

But the agency pledged to give Greece a higher, “low speculative grade” after its bonds had been exchanged and said Athens now had some hope of tackling its debt mountain, which most economists still expect to force a deeper restructuring in the future.

An emergency summit of leaders of the 17-nation currency area agreed a second rescue package on Thursday with an extra 109 billion euros ($157 billion) of government money, plus a contribution by private sector bondholders estimated to total as much as 50 billion euros by mid-2014.

7 Libya wants more talks as NATO strikes hit capital

By Missy Ryan, Reuters

6 hrs ago

TRIPOLI, Libya (Reuters) – Libya is ready to hold more talks with the United States and with rebels trying to overthrow Muammar Gaddafi, but the Libyan leader will not bow to demands he quit, a government spokesman said.

Moussa Ibrahim said Libyan officials had a “productive dialogue” with U.S. counterparts last week in a rare meeting that followed American recognition of the rebel government that hopes to end Gaddafi’s 41-year rule.

“Other meetings in the future … will help solve Libyan problems,” the spokesman told reporters in Tripoli late on Friday. “We are willing to talk to the Americans more.”

8 Obama, lawmakers scramble to salvage debt deal

By Alister Bull and Richard Cowan, Reuters

12 mins ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Scolded by President Barack Obama, Congress scrambled on Saturday to produce a deficit plan within 48 hours that keeps the United States from a catastrophic debt default now days away.

A day after talks collapsed in finger-pointing acrimony, Obama held an emergency meeting with congressional leaders at the White House and told them to find areas of agreement in the bitter dispute over budget spending cuts and taxes.

A Republican leadership aide said lawmakers are working on a plan for $3 trillion to $4 trillion in savings over 10 years, but another high-ranking Republican official said no numbers had been settled. Republican leaders want “to show progress” by 4 p.m. EDT on Sunday, the aide said.

9 Norway police arrive 90 minutes after firing began

By IAN MacDOUGALL, LOUISE NORDSTROM, Associated Press

27 mins ago

OSLO, Norway (AP) – Police arrived at an island massacre about an hour and a half after a gunman first opened fire, slowed because they didn’t have quick access to a helicopter and then couldn’t find a boat to make their way to the scene just several hundred yards (meters) offshore. The assailant surrendered when police finally reached him, but 82 people died before that.

Survivors of the shooting spree have described hiding and fleeing into the water to escape the gunman, but a police briefing Saturday detailed for the first time how long the terror lasted – and how long victims waited for help.

The shooting came on the heels of what police told The Associated Press was an “Oklahoma city-type” bombing in Oslo’s downtown: It targeted a government building, was allegedly perpetrated by a homegrown assailant and used the same mix of fertilizer and fuel that blew up a federal building in the U.S. in 1995.

10 Cadel Evans set to become 1st Aussie to win Tour

By JAMEY KEATEN, Associated Press

1 hr 46 mins ago

GRENOBLE, France (AP) – Cadel Evans seized the Tour de France yellow jersey in the next-to-last stage Saturday, all but giving Australia its first victory in cycling’s showpiece event and capping one of the most dramatic races in years.

The two-time runner-up took the overall lead by overcoming a 57-second deficit to Andy Schleck of Luxembourg in the time trial.

A red-eyed Evans choked up on the victory podium, holding back tears before hurling the winner’s bouquet into the crowd.

11 Some flyers may not see savings from expired taxes

By DAVID KOENIG, AP Airlines Writer

1 hr 54 mins ago

DALLAS (AP) – Some airline customers won’t see savings this weekend even though several federal taxes on tickets have expired.

US Airways and American Airlines raised fares to offset the tax savings.

That means instead of passing along the savings from expired taxes, the carriers are pocketing the money while customers pay the same amount as before.

12 Walter Reed to close after more than a century

By KIMBERLY HEFLING, Associated Press

7 hrs ago

WASHINGTON (AP) – Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the Army’s flagship hospital where privates to presidents have gone for care, is closing its doors after more than a century.

Hundreds of thousands of the nation’s war wounded from World War I to today have received treatment at Walter Reed, including 18,000 troops who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

President Dwight Eisenhower died there. So did Gens. John J. Pershing and Douglas MacArthur.

13 Debt crisis: Deal sought to head off stock plunge

By DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondent

6 mins ago

WASHINGTON (AP) – Precariously short of time, congressional leaders struggled in urgent, weekend-long talks to avert an unprecedented government default, desperate to show enough progress to head off a plunge in stock prices when Asian markets open ahead of the U.S. workweek.

President Barack Obama met Saturday with Republican and Democratic leaders – but only briefly- the day after House Speaker John Boehner abruptly broke off his own once-promising compromise talks with the White House. Staff members kept up detailed efforts.

The goal now is to produce at least a framework agreement to raise the nation’s debt limit by Monday, congressional officials said. Even that would allow scarcely enough time for the House and Senate to clear legislation in time for Obama’s signature by the Aug. 2 deadline, a week from Tuesday.

14 Reagan looms over debt debate inspiring both sides

By TOM RAUM, Associated Press

5 hrs ago

WASHINGTON (AP) – Ronald Reagan might as well be sitting in on the troubled debt talks, so frequently is his memory invoked by both sides.

But for vastly different reasons.

Conservative Republicans praise the 40th president’s steely advocacy for smaller government and lower taxes.

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