US economy: GDP growth much weaker than thought

 

 

US economic growth is much weaker than first thought, government figures show.

The economy grew at an annualised rate of 1.3% in the second quarter, the Commerce Department said. Economists had forecast growth of 1.8%.
And in a surprise move, first-quarter growth was revised down sharply from 1.9% to 0.4%.
This evidence of economic weakness increases the pressure on the government as it attempts to increase its borrowing limit.
Slow growth makes it more difficult for the US to tackle its deficit.
If Congress does not raise the debt limit by 2 August, the US government could face funding shortfalls that it cannot meet by extra borrowing.

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Businesses can't hire until consumers start spending, but people won't spend unless they're sure they have jobs” 

President Barack Obama urged Democrats and Republicans in the Senate "to find common ground" on a plan to address the debt crisis.

"There are plenty of ways out of this mess. But we are almost out of time.
"If we don't come to an agreement, we could lose our country's triple A credit rating," he said. "That is inexcusable."
"On a day when we've already been reminded how delicate the economy is, we can end [this crisis] ourselves."
US markets opened lower, with the Dow Jones, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq all falling 1% in early trade.
European markets, which were already in negative territory, saw further falls after the figures were released.
'Shocking' After the revision, the US growth figures now correspond to a quarterly increase of just 0.1% in the first three months of 2011, followed by a 0.3% rise in the second quarter.
Economists had expected steady growth in the second quarter, now that supply constraints from Japan after the earthquake and tsunami are easing.

The main reason for the lower-than-expected second-quarter figure was that consumer spending virtually ground to a halt, growing by just 0.1%, compared with 2.1% growth in the first quarter.

The large downward revision to the first quarter's growth figure was made as a result of lower capital investment and higher imports than first thought, and adjusting how seasonal factors are taken into account.
In addition, growth for the fourth quarter of 2010 was revised down from 3.1% to 2.3%, indicating that the economy had already started slowing before the end of last year.
Tim Ghriskey, chief investment officer at Solaris Asset Management, said the figures were "shocking".
"Clearly this is evidence of a mid-cycle slowdown. The only question now is do we see a pick-up in the second half and so far the economic data to date doesn't suggest that.
"You might have some analysts come out and talk recession, talk about a double dip. Right now none of the forecasts even come close to that but this is weak data."
Worse recession The Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis makes annual revisions to its GDP estimates every July, incorporating more complete and detailed data.
It now says that the US recession of 2007-2009 was more severe than previously reported, with the economy shrinking by 5.1% over that period, rather than 4.1%.
But it also says that growth in 2010 was a bit stronger than it had first estimated.
It now puts 2010 growth at 3%, up from the previous 2.9%.

Moody's warns it may downgrade its Spanish bond rating

  Spain is continuing to see a number of protests about spending cuts and high unemployment Moody's has warned it may downgrade the credit rating of Spanish government bonds, saying last week's second rescue package for Greece had done little to ease debt concerns in the eurozone. The rating agency said it was reviewing Spain's current Aa2 grade, adding that if it was downgraded, it would probably be by just one level, to Aa3.
Moody's added that the Spanish economy remained "subdued".
The Spanish government has now called an early general election.
The announcement was made just hours after Moody's made its credit rating warning, and will see Spain go to the polls on 20 November.
Explaining the decision, Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said he wished to "project political and economic certainty" over the months ahead.
However, it could be benefit the opposition conservative Popular Party, as it is ahead of the ruling Socialist Party in the polls.
The government could have waited until March of next year to hold the general election.
'Bond precedent' In explaining why it was reviewing Spain's credit rating, Moody's highlighted the fact that as part of the second bail-out deal for Greece, private bondholders were being invited to participate.

This is another blow to Spain - anxious to convince investors it won't need a Greek-style bailout. But Moody's still has concerns, so it has put Spain on review, for what's likely to be a one-notch downgrade of its government debt.
The ratings agency points to the slow pace of economic growth here, and the high levels of debt in Spain's autonomous regions. They account for almost half of state spending and several warn they'll overshoot the budget deficit target set by Madrid.
The Prime Minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, has insisted that won't affect his target of cutting Spain's overall deficit to 6% by the end of the year. But investor doubts, coupled with concern over the details of the latest bailout for Greece, has already pushed Spain's borrowing costs higher and higher.
The Prime Minister has now announced an early general election for November; the main opposition party has long insisted a change of government is the only way to recover confidence in this economy.

The private bondholders, such as banks, are being asked to exchange their current Greek bonds for ones which pay a lower rate of interest over a longer term.

Moody's said this set a "precedent", adding that it had "signalled a clear shift in risk for bondholders of countries with high debt burdens or large budget deficits".
However, if Spain is downgraded to Aa3, this remains a healthy investment grade.
Moody's also said five Spanish banks could have their credit ratings downgraded because of the same concerns.
These include the largest two lenders, Banco Santander and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA).
'Fiscal slippage' Despite the forthcoming general election campaign, Spain's central government is continuing to enforce cost-cutting efforts to reduce its public deficit.
However, Madrid is hampered by the fact that Spain is a heavily devolved country, and its regional governments, such as those in Catalonia and the Basque region, are not moving as fast or as deep in trimming their spending.
Moody's highlighted this problem, warning of "fiscal slippage" at the regional and local government level.
Spain is also struggling with the eurozone's highest unemployment rate, which now stands at 20.9%.
Spain's main share index was down 0.7% in afternoon trading, after falling as much as 2.4% immediately following Moody's announcement.
The yield on the Spanish government's 10-year bonds rose 10 percentage points to 6.10%.
The euro declined, falling 0.3% against the dollar to $1.4287.
"The trigger is that the [Greek] deal last week has not really rebuilt confidence across the eurozone, so Spain is still on their radar screens with costs rising," said Giada Giani, analyst at Citigroup.

US debt: Obama urges bipartisan compromise on debt plan

US President Barack Obama has said Democrats and Republicans must compromise to cut the US budget deficit and raise the debt limit.

He warned time had almost run out, as Republican leaders scrambled to save their deficit-cutting bill amid a House of Representatives conservative revolt.
The Democrats meanwhile announced they would put their plan to the Senate.
The fiscal fiasco leaves the US inching closer to a potentially catastrophic default on federal debt next Tuesday.
The US government will start running out of money to pay all its bills unless a $14.3tn (£8.7tn) borrowing limit is increased by 2 August.
'Last train leaving' At the White House, Mr Obama accused House Republicans of pursuing a partisan bill that would force Washington into another debt limit fight within months.

He said: "There are plenty of ways out of this mess, but we are almost out of time."

"The time for putting party first is over," he added. "The time for compromise on behalf of the American people is now."
In Congress, the arm-twisting continued on Friday.
House Speaker John Boehner and his lieutenants were working to whip Republicans into line behind their budget cuts and debt limit plan.
A vote on that bill was called off on Thursday night when it became clear Mr Boehner lacked support within his own party.
Senate Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid told the upper chamber he would bring his own bill to a vote later on Friday, and invited Republican Leader Mitch McConnell for compromise talks.
"Too much is at stake to waste even one more minute - the last train is leaving the station," Mr Reid said.
But Mr McConnell accused Democrats of wasting precious time and obstructing a deal by vowing to block Mr Boehner's bill, should it be passed in the House.
"Republicans have been doing the hard work of governing this week," he said.
Meanwhile, Mr Boehner convened a closed meeting of all 240 House Republicans on Friday morning to outline tweaks he has made overnight to the legislation.
Mr Boehner and other Republican leaders spent all day Thursday arm-twisting dissident lawmakers, but they were unable to win over enough conservative Republicans.
Some Republicans - including Tea Party supporters who won House seats last year and oppose raising the debt limit under any circumstance - feel the Boehner bill would not cut enough from the US budget.
Mr Boehner's plan faces certain rejection by the Democratic-controlled Senate, as well as a White House veto threat, but could form the basis of an eventual compromise.
Brinkmanship It would reduce spending by about $900bn and raise the debt limit by nearly the same amount.

Speaker John Boehner's plan cannot pass the Democratic-controlled Senate

The Reid plan - which Mr Obama supports - would cut $2.2tn from deficits, and raise the debt ceiling by $2.7tn.
Analysts say that if Republicans cannot pass a bill, the Senate could pass legislation first, which would increase the president's leverage.
One possible scenario is that Mr Obama and Senate Democrats could shape a bill to their liking, then dare divided House Republicans to plunge the nation into default by rejecting it.
The Boehner and Reid plans overlap in key ways, such as trimming spending over 10 years and shunning President Obama's call for tax increases on the wealthy and corporations.
But Mr Boehner's approach would force another debt-limit showdown during next year's presidential campaign, something Mr Obama has fiercely opposed.
Mr Reid's plan would see the ceiling lifted until after the November 2012 elections.
Analysts predict a last-minute scramble for a compromise and razor-edge votes in both chambers, with the high-stakes game of legislative brinkmanship expected to continue all weekend.
Washington hit its debt ceiling in May, but has used accounting adjustments, as well as higher-than-expected tax receipts, to continue operating.
In recent decades, the US Congress has increased the government's borrowing authority dozens of times as a matter of routine.
But this year newly elected conservative Republicans have demanded steep cuts to the budget deficit as the price of an increase.

US debt: Obama urges bipartisan compromise on debt plan

US President Barack Obama has said Democrats and Republicans must compromise to cut the US budget deficit and raise the debt limit.

He warned time had almost run out, as Republican leaders scrambled to save their deficit-cutting bill amid a House of Representatives conservative revolt.
The Democrats meanwhile announced they would put their plan to the Senate.
The fiscal fiasco leaves the US inching closer to a potentially catastrophic default on federal debt next Tuesday.
The US government will start running out of money to pay all its bills unless a $14.3tn (£8.7tn) borrowing limit is increased by 2 August.
'Last train leaving' At the White House, Mr Obama accused House Republicans of pursuing a partisan bill that would force Washington into another debt limit fight within months.

He said: "There are plenty of ways out of this mess, but we are almost out of time."

"The time for putting party first is over," he added. "The time for compromise on behalf of the American people is now."
In Congress, the arm-twisting continued on Friday.
House Speaker John Boehner and his lieutenants were working to whip Republicans into line behind their budget cuts and debt limit plan.
A vote on that bill was called off on Thursday night when it became clear Mr Boehner lacked support within his own party.
Senate Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid told the upper chamber he would bring his own bill to a vote later on Friday, and invited Republican Leader Mitch McConnell for compromise talks.
"Too much is at stake to waste even one more minute - the last train is leaving the station," Mr Reid said.
But Mr McConnell accused Democrats of wasting precious time and obstructing a deal by vowing to block Mr Boehner's bill, should it be passed in the House.
"Republicans have been doing the hard work of governing this week," he said.
Meanwhile, Mr Boehner convened a closed meeting of all 240 House Republicans on Friday morning to outline tweaks he has made overnight to the legislation.
Mr Boehner and other Republican leaders spent all day Thursday arm-twisting dissident lawmakers, but they were unable to win over enough conservative Republicans.
Some Republicans - including Tea Party supporters who won House seats last year and oppose raising the debt limit under any circumstance - feel the Boehner bill would not cut enough from the US budget.
Mr Boehner's plan faces certain rejection by the Democratic-controlled Senate, as well as a White House veto threat, but could form the basis of an eventual compromise.
Brinkmanship It would reduce spending by about $900bn and raise the debt limit by nearly the same amount.

Speaker John Boehner's plan cannot pass the Democratic-controlled Senate

The Reid plan - which Mr Obama supports - would cut $2.2tn from deficits, and raise the debt ceiling by $2.7tn.
Analysts say that if Republicans cannot pass a bill, the Senate could pass legislation first, which would increase the president's leverage.
One possible scenario is that Mr Obama and Senate Democrats could shape a bill to their liking, then dare divided House Republicans to plunge the nation into default by rejecting it.
The Boehner and Reid plans overlap in key ways, such as trimming spending over 10 years and shunning President Obama's call for tax increases on the wealthy and corporations.
But Mr Boehner's approach would force another debt-limit showdown during next year's presidential campaign, something Mr Obama has fiercely opposed.
Mr Reid's plan would see the ceiling lifted until after the November 2012 elections.
Analysts predict a last-minute scramble for a compromise and razor-edge votes in both chambers, with the high-stakes game of legislative brinkmanship expected to continue all weekend.
Washington hit its debt ceiling in May, but has used accounting adjustments, as well as higher-than-expected tax receipts, to continue operating.
In recent decades, the US Congress has increased the government's borrowing authority dozens of times as a matter of routine.
But this year newly elected conservative Republicans have demanded steep cuts to the budget deficit as the price of an increase.

Norway shooting: Funerals for Breivik victims

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Many of those killed on 22 July were members of the ruling Labour Party 

The first funerals for victims of Norway's gun and bomb attacks are being held, a week after 77 people were killed in Oslo and on a nearby island.

Norwegian leaders joined relatives for a service held in Oslo by the youth wing of the Labour Party - the target of the shootings on Utoeya island.
It came as killer Anders Behring Breivik was questioned again by police.
Meanwhile police released the names of the remaining victims, 36 in total. Most of the dead are teenagers.
Red roses The first funerals are those of Bano Rashid, 18, who was buried near Oslo on Friday, and of Ismail Haji Ahmed, 19, whose burial was to be held in the south-western town of Hamar.
Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere attended the funeral of Ms Rashid, a Kurdish immigrant from Iraq, in the Nesodden peninsula.
Both victims were among the 68 people - mostly members of the Labour Party youth movement - who were shot dead on Utoeya last Friday.
Another eight people died when a massive bomb hit central Oslo earlier that day.
Mr Stoltenberg attended the memorial service in Oslo, along with most of his cabinet.

Bano Rashid, 18, was a Kurdish immigrant from Iraq

"Today it is one week since Norway was hit by evil," he said from a stage covered with red roses, the symbol of his governing Labour Party.
"We are not going to be shocked and intimidated into silence," he added. "The bravery that these young people have shown is catching. We're going to answer hatred with love. We're going to honour our heroes forever."
Later, Mr Stoltenberg visited a mosque to stress national unity.
Police have now identified all the dead and released the names of 36 more victims. Forty-one were released previously.
The process has taken days because the authorities are scrupulously following a procedure of contacting relatives when they have positively identified victims.
The youngest of those named so far was Sharidyn Svebakk-Boehn, who turned 14 just five days before the massacre.
Calm and cooperative Mr Breivik, who says he carried out both the Oslo bombing and the Utoeya massacre, is being questioned by police for the second time.
He has claimed he acted to stem what he called the Islamisation of western Europe, blaming the Norwegian government for allowing it to happen.
His current interrogation is focusing on whether there is "any more danger", according to police attorney Paal-Fredrik Hjort Kraby.

The names of all the victims are to be released later on Friday

Detectives wanted to question Mr Breivik on "information received over the last few days - which is a lot," said Mr Kraby.
Police said he was calm and cooperative.
Two psychiatrists have been appointed to assess his mental health and will report to prosecutors by 1 November.
After the hearing on Monday, which was closed to the public, the presiding judge said Mr Breivik had claimed there were two other cells working with him.
Despite the fears, Norwegian authorities have said they believe Mr Breivik acted alone.
Norwegian domestic intelligence chief Janne Kristiansen said no evidence had so far been found linking Mr Breivik with far-right extremists in Norway or elsewhere.
Norway's chief prosecutor has said he expects the indictment will not be ready before the end of the year.
Tor Aksel Busch said he hoped the trial could be held next year.

Greece credit rating cut by S&P on 'likely default'

Ratings agency Standard & Poor's has cut Greece's credit rating, saying that eurozone plans to restructure the country's debts would constitute a "selective default".

Under the plans, Greece would be given longer to repay its debts and private investors would take a hit.
S&P said it had cut Greece's rating to CC from CCC.
Earlier this week, Moody's rating agency also downgraded Greece, while Fitch has indicated it may follow suit.
S&P said that having studied the eurozone proposals for resolving the Greek debt crisis, which were agreed last week, it had concluded that the debt restructuring "would amount to a selective default under our ratings methodology".
"We view the proposed restructuring as a 'distressed exchange' because, based on public statements by European policymakers, it is likely to result in losses for commercial creditors."
Undermine confidence The aid package agreed last week by eurozone leaders included 109bn euros ($156bn; £96bn) in new loans to Greece, various options to extend the country's repayment terms and reduce the amount it repays on existing loans, and voluntary private sector participation, so that banks share taxpayers' burden.
S&P said: "In our opinion, the terms of both the exchange and rollover options appear unfavourable to investors."
Citing the Institute of International Finance - a trade body representing global banks and other major lenders - the agency said the deal would cost private sector creditors about 20% of the value of the Greek debts they held.
Eurozone leaders were keen to reach an agreement that did not result in the credit ratings agencies declaring a default, which they feared could undermine confidence in both the eurozone economy and its banks.
France and the European Central Bank in particular argued against private sector involvement, but Germany insisted upon it.

Greece credit rating cut by S&P on 'likely default'

Ratings agency Standard & Poor's has cut Greece's credit rating, saying that eurozone plans to restructure the country's debts would constitute a "selective default".

Under the plans, Greece would be given longer to repay its debts and private investors would take a hit.
S&P said it had cut Greece's rating to CC from CCC.
Earlier this week, Moody's rating agency also downgraded Greece, while Fitch has indicated it may follow suit.
S&P said that having studied the eurozone proposals for resolving the Greek debt crisis, which were agreed last week, it had concluded that the debt restructuring "would amount to a selective default under our ratings methodology".
"We view the proposed restructuring as a 'distressed exchange' because, based on public statements by European policymakers, it is likely to result in losses for commercial creditors."
Undermine confidence The aid package agreed last week by eurozone leaders included 109bn euros ($156bn; £96bn) in new loans to Greece, various options to extend the country's repayment terms and reduce the amount it repays on existing loans, and voluntary private sector participation, so that banks share taxpayers' burden.
S&P said: "In our opinion, the terms of both the exchange and rollover options appear unfavourable to investors."
Citing the Institute of International Finance - a trade body representing global banks and other major lenders - the agency said the deal would cost private sector creditors about 20% of the value of the Greek debts they held.
Eurozone leaders were keen to reach an agreement that did not result in the credit ratings agencies declaring a default, which they feared could undermine confidence in both the eurozone economy and its banks.
France and the European Central Bank in particular argued against private sector involvement, but Germany insisted upon it.

Boehner and Reid rush to tweak their budget plans

Top Republican John Boehner and leading Democrat Harry Reid are tweaking their budget plans after nonpartisan analysts said their sums did not add up.

The US Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said neither Mr Boehner's plan nor Mr Reid's would cut the deficit by as much as they had both estimated.

House Republicans have been meeting behind closed doors to discuss the Boehner plan.

Mr Reid said Mr Boehner's proposal could not pass the Senate.

The US runs a budget deficit that topped $1.5tn (£920bn) this year, and has amassed a national debt of $14.3tn.

Lawmakers have been locked in weeks of bitter negotiations over raising the US borrowing limit by the deadline of 2 August.

The US treasury department has said it will no longer be able to borrow money on that date, and analysts say soon after that it will be unable to pay all of its bills.

In recent decades, the US Congress has increased the government's borrowing authority dozens of times as a matter of routine, but this year, conservative Republicans have demanded steep cuts to the budget deficit as the price of an increase.

The bill proposed by Mr Boehner was being rewritten on Wednesday after the CBO's analysis found it would cut spending less than had been advertised - about $850bn over 10 years, rather than $1.2tn.

His plan would also raise the debt limit only for a short term, ensuring another debt limit fight between now and the 2012 elections.

Republicans planned a House vote for Thursday on the reworked plan.

Mr Reid's office told the BBC the Senate majority leader was also revising his plan after the CBO said the proposal would cut $2.2tn from deficits over the next decade, about $500bn less than had been claimed.
No 'off-ramps'

His bill would raise the debt ceiling by $2.7tn.

Mr Reid has not said when his bill may reach the Senate for a vote.

The White House warned on Wednesday that time was quickly running out to reach a compromise on the US debt limit.

"That deadline is hard and fast," White House spokesman Jay Carney said of next Tuesday's expiry date on the debt ceiling.

"People keep looking for off-ramps. They don't exist," he added.

Reports suggested Republicans were beginning to coalesce around Mr Boehner's plan, even though the Democrats who control the Senate have rejected it and the White House has said President Barack Obama's senior advisers would recommend he veto it.

Mr Reid said the Boehner plan was "a big wet kiss for the right wing", and Mr Obama has said he will not sign a short-term deal.
Budget demand 'bizarro'

Mr Carney criticised Mr Boehner for scheduling a Thursday vote on his plan despite the White House's express rejection.

"Why are we voting on measures that have no chance of becoming law?" he asked during a news conference.

Also, in a new twist that analysts say illustrates the discord among the Republican party, Republican Senator John McCain, the party's 2008 presidential nominee, took to the Senate floor to criticise House Republicans who continue to push for a balanced budget amendment to the US constitution as the price of raising the debt ceiling.

A balanced budget amendment - which would require the US government to hold down spending to a certain percentage of gross domestic product and run in the black - was already rejected by the Senate and by Mr Obama.

Mr McCain called the demands "foolish" and "bizarro" and said they were "deceiving many of our constituents" and blamed them on newly elected House members' inexperience.

Lea Michele, Chris Colfer, Cory Monteith Will Not Leave "Glee"; Chord Overstreet Declines Role

Producer Brad Falchuk announced that although Lea Michele, Chris Colfer and Cory Monteith, stars of the Fox hit series "Glee," will graduate at the conclusion of the series' third season, they will not be leaving the show, according to Deadline.com.

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Michele, Colfer and Monteith, who play Rachel Berry, Kurt Hummel and Finn Hudson, respectively, started as sophomores on "Glee" when the series debuted in 2009. Producer Ryan Murphy recently announced that they would graduate from McKinley High in realistic time.
"Here’s the exact thing: They're seniors. They're graduating. But that doesn't mean they're leaving the show," said Falchuk, the series' co-creator and executive producer, at the "Glee" Comic-Con panel in San Diego. "It was never our intention or plan to let these people go... They are not done with the show after this season.”
Falchuk also explained that a "Glee" spin-off depicting the three graduates in New York, trying to start careers on Broadway, was discussed but is unlikely.
Although the trio of stars will not be leaving the hit series, Chord Overstreet, who plays Sam Evans and was not picked up as a series regular, has declined his guest role. The actor was offered a deal to return for ten episodes with a possibility to become a regular at midseason, but turned down the offer.
“We wanted him back because we like Chord personally and had some good stories planned for him and with Mercedes (Amber Riley)," said Falchuk. "He decided he would have opportunities elsewhere that he would like to pursue, and we can’t force him to work. We told him to go with God.”
Since Overstreet won't return to McKinley High, Riley's character, Mercedes, will introduce her new supportive boyfriend, whom she met over the summer. Also, in the upcoming season, there will be a major tribute episode, viewers will meet Mike Chang’s (Harry Shum) parents and the relationship between Kurt and Blaine  will have moved past the "honeymoon phase."
The New Directions from McKinley High School will be back Sept. 20 when "Glee" returns to its Tuesday-night slot at 8 PM ET on Fox.

Lea Michele

US invites North Korea to talks on nuclear impasse

US invites North Korea to talks on nuclear impasse
A video shows the launch in 2009 of a North Korean Unha-2 rocket on a screen inside a hall in Pyongyang, 18 April 2011 North Korea's missile and nuclear programme remains a concern for the West
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Inside North Korea

Profile: Kim Jong-un
Secretive 'first family'
Kim Jong-un's remarkable rise
North Koreans 'living like dogs'

A North Korean envoy has been invited to the US this week for exploratory talks on resuming international nuclear negotiations, Washington has said.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said an invitation had been extended to Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan to visit New York.

There was no immediate comment from the North on the talks offer.

This week North and South Korea's nuclear envoys and foreign ministers held unexpected talks.

The North abandoned the talks on its nuclear programme in 2008.

The secretive communist state, which has technically been at war with the South since the war which split Korea in the 1950s, is gripped by a food crisis and labouring under UN sanctions.
'At the crossroads'

Mrs Clinton stressed that any negotiations must be meaningful.

"We do not intend to reward the North just for returning to the table," she said.

"We will not give them anything new for actions they have already agreed to take. And we have no appetite for pursuing protracted negotiations that will only lead us right back to where we have already been."

The North's Foreign Minister, Pak Ui-chun, said in comments released on Sunday that the Korean peninsula now stood at "the crossroads of detente and the vicious cycle of escalating tension".

The countries involved, he added, must "make the best use of [the] opportunity of dialogue and make a bold decision to settle the fundamental issue".

South Korea's nuclear envoy said last week he had had "constructive" talks with his North Korean counterpart on the sidelines of the Asean summit in Bali.

Hillary Clinton 'confident' over US debt deal

The US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, has said she is "confident" the president and Congress will reach a deal to raise the US debt ceiling.

Her comments follow similar remarks by US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.
On Sunday, Mr Geithner told ABC News the process to ratify a deal needed to be underway in Congress by Monday night in order to reach a 2 August deadline.
The US risks default on its $14.3tn (£8.7tn) debt without a deal to raise the borrowing limit.
Weekend talks between President Barack Obama and Congressional leaders failed to reach agreement.
If the ceiling is not raised, the US Treasury could run out of money to pay all of its bills - which could lead to interest rate rises, threaten the US economic recovery and in turn the global recovery.
Prices of advance contracts to buy shares on the US benchmark Dow Jones index fell by more than 0.5% in advance of the market opening on Monday.
Debt law "Let me assure you we understand the stakes. We know how important this is for us and how important it is for you," Mrs Clinton told Hong Kong business leaders.
"I'm confident Congress will do the right thing and secure a deal on the debt ceiling," she said.
Mrs Clinton said US spending would be cut and called on Asian countries to make changes of their own in order to make it easier for the US to export to the region.
The US federal government is running a large budget deficit - equal to $1.3tn, or more than $4,000 per person, during the 12 months to June this year.
The borrowing is required to meet the government's agreed spending plans and because its ability to raise taxes is limited under current laws.
But the government must also comply with a law that limits the total amount of debt it can take on - the debt ceiling.
President Barack Obama and fellow Democrats have been seeking to hammer out a deal with Republicans who control the House of Representatives to cut the annual budget deficit in return for a rise in the total debt ceiling.

Who owns the $14.3tn debt?

• US government owes itself $4.6tn
• Remaining $9.7tn owed to investors
• They include banks, pension funds, individual investors, and state/local/foreign governments
• China: $1.16tn, Japan: $0.91tn, UK: $0.35tn
• Deficit is annual difference between spending and revenue, $1.29tn in 2010
• Congress has voted to raise the US debt limit 10 times since 2001

Source: US Treasury, May 2011, Congressional Research Service, Congressional Budget Office

In weekend television interviews. Mr Geithner said that a Republican proposal to first raise the debt limit, and then negotiate spending cuts, was "irresponsible" and would not be agreed by Democrats.

The failure to reach a deal has led to concerns amongst investors that the US may not be able to cut its deficit over time.
"I think it's the concerns about whether there is the political will to actually deal with these issues," said Randall Kroszner a former governor of the US Federal Reserve and a professor of economics at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
'Reckless games' The sticking point is the issue of taxation.
President Obama wants the debt reduction deal to include a combination of spending cuts and tax rises, but Republicans in both houses of Congress are strongly opposed to the latter.
Mr Obama was joined at the negotiating table on Saturday by his Vice-President Joe Biden, Republican House Speaker John Boehner, Democratic House Minority leader Nancy Pelosi, Democratic Senate Majority leader Harry Reid and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell.
Following the meeting, the White House urged Congress to "refrain from playing reckless political games with our economy... and do its job, avoiding default and cutting the deficit".
Both Mr McConnell and Mr Boehner issued statements saying they intended "to find a bipartisan solution to significantly reduce Washington spending and preserve the full faith and credit of the United States".
Aides said they expected to work through the weekend to come up with a bill that would be acceptable to both sides for Monday.
On Friday, Mr Boehner accused the president of moving "the goal posts", saying they had been close to a deal until Mr Obama demanded $400bn in tax increases on top of about $800bn in revenues that would have been reaped through a comprehensive rewrite of the tax code.
Mr Obama had declared his deal "extraordinarily fair", offering to cut $650bn from Medicare, Medicaid and other entitlements, as well as slashing $1tn in discretionary spending.
While Republicans in Congress are unwilling to consider raising new taxes, their Democrat counterparts are opposed to cutting popular healthcare and welfare programmes for pensioners and the poor.

Gay couples wed across New York after change in law

 

Phyllis Siegel (R) embraced her wife Connie Kopelov in Manhattan New York 

Hundreds of gay couples have wed in New York after it became the sixth and most populous state in the US to recognise same-sex unions as legal.

Newly-weds brandished their marriage certificates as ceremonies were held from Manhattan to Niagara Falls.
Civil rights activists argue the US Congress should now repeal a federal law defining marriage as only existing between a man and a woman.
But thousands of people condemned the weddings at rallies in the state.
Just after midnight, Kitty Lambert, 54, and Cheryle Rudd, 53, from Buffalo, New York, were married at Luna Island, making it the state's first same-sex union.
Luna Island, at the foot of Niagara Falls, is a traditional wedding destination.

The city clerk's office in Manhattan has never seen a day quite like it.
Elise Barcolas and her partner Jenna Glazer stood patiently on line, Elise in a magenta satin dress and Jenna in a purple floral print, hoping for a day of double firsts.
Jenna's brother Eric and his partner Michael stood right behind them, dressed identically in white linen shirts and wrap-around sunglasses.
"We might be the first same-sex sibling double wedding in New York state," said Elise excitedly. 

"We're achieving that real American dream to be treated like everybody else and be protected under all those laws," Ms Lambert said after a ceremony held to the beat of pop star Lady Gaga's The Edge of Glory.

'Finally legal' In Manhattan, the first couple to marry were Phyllis Siegel, 77, and Connie Kopelov, 85, who have been together for 23 years.
Ms Kopelov arrived in a wheelchair and stood with the assistance of a walker.
"I am breathless, I almost couldn't breathe," Ms Siegel said later.
"It's mind-boggling. The fact that's it's happening to us - that we are finally legal and can do this like everyone else."
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who had pushed for the gay marriage law to be adopted, was officiating at the marriage of two male colleagues in his official mayoral residence.

Male and female couples got wed

He told ABC television he thought gay marriage would take off across the US "simply because of the economics and the young people" who would gain more influence on politics in years to come.
"Nothing is ever 100% but this is a trend that's going, and it's going to grow very rapidly, partially because New York is such a bellwether and so visible."
'God cannot be mocked' New York recognised same-sex weddings in a close state Senate vote on 24 June after strong lobbying by Governor Andrew Cuomo and activists.
The National Organization for Marriage held rallies in New York City, Albany, Rochester and Buffalo on Sunday, accusing Mr Cuomo and lawmakers of redefining marriage without consulting voters.
Protesters chanted "Let the People Vote!" at the rallies.

Some protesters in New York city brandished Bibles

A gathering in New York City that started with several hundred people opposite Mr Cuomo's Manhattan office quickly swelled to thousands.
They waved signs saying "Excommunicate Cuomo" and "God cannot be mocked".
"I'm worried that the younger generations will think this is normal, and it's not," said Gloria Sanchez, 35, of Brooklyn. "It's wrong. It's a sin."
Outside the capitol in Albany, about 400 people gathered in a park under a banner reading "Marriage(equals)Man and Woman", topped with a "Don't Tread on Me" flag.
Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and the District of Columbia all legalised gay weddings earlier, while Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois and New Jersey have approved gay civil unions.
But gay marriage is specifically banned in 39 states.
The federal Defense of Marriage Act signed into law in 1996 by former President Bill Clinton prohibits same-sex couples from receiving marriage-based federal benefits such as social security survivor benefits, health benefits and the right to file taxes jointly.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn accuser gives first interview

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Nafissatou Diallo appeared on ABC's breakfast TV show, Good Morning America

 

The New York hotel maid who accuses former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn of attempting to rape her in a hotel suite has given her first interview.

Nafissatou Diallo told Newsweek magazine that she has told the truth about the incident on 14 May.

The move comes as authorities consider whether to drop charges against him amid doubts over her credibility.The French politician, 62, who resigned as head of the IMF to defend himself, vigorously denies all the charges.
He has said that what happened with Ms Diallo was consensual, and his lawyers have described the maid's interview as "unseemly".
Media campaign? Ms Diallo told Newsweek magazine: "I want him to go to jail. I want him to know there are some places you cannot use your power, you cannot use your money."

Nafissatou Diallo has appeared on ABC's breakfast TV show, Good Morning America

The 32-year-old immigrant from Guinea told the magazine that she was scared about losing her job when she eventually ran from the room where the incident allegedly took place.
But Mr Strauss-Kahn's representatives accused her of conducting a "media campaign" to persuade prosecutors to pursue charges against the former IMF chief, Reuters news agency reported.
He is charged with seven counts including four more serious felony charges - two of criminal sexual acts, one of attempted rape and one of sexual abuse - plus three misdemeanour offences, including unlawful imprisonment.

• 2006: Publication of Sexus Politicus, book by Christophe Deloire and Christophe Dubois, with chapter on Mr Strauss-Kahn and his tendency of "seduction to the point of obsession"
• 2008: Mr Strauss-Kahn admits an affair with IMF colleague; he admits an "error of judgement"
• 2011: Mr Strauss-Kahn arrested on 14 May in New York, accused of sexually assaulting a hotel maid
• 16 May: Writer Tristane Banon comes forward to say Mr Strauss-Kahn tried to assault her in an interview nearly a decade before
• 1 July: Mr Strauss-Kahn freed without bail from New York house arrest

But some US media reports say the case is close to collapse. Court prosecutors have said that the maid gave false testimony to a grand jury, citing inconsistencies in her account of the sequence of events on the day.

Mr Strauss-Kahn was released from house arrest on 1 July and had his $6m (£3.7m) cash bail and bond returned.
Meanwhile, French authorities are investigating allegations that Mr Strauss-Kahn attempted to rape French writer Tristane Banon a decade earlier.
Mr Strauss-Kahn denies any wrongdoing, and has launched a counter-claim, suing Ms Banon for making false statements.
Ms Diallo has also granted an interview to the ABC news network, excerpts of which are due to be broadcast on Monday.
Until she came forward for interview, her name had not been reported by media outlets which normally protect the identities of people who say they have been sexually assaulted.

Partisan dispute to partially shut down FAA

 WASHINGTON (AP) -- Efforts to avert a shutdown of the Federal Aviation Administration failed Friday amid a disagreement over a $16.5 million cut in subsidies to 13 rural communities, ensuring that nearly 4,000 people will be temporarily out of work and federal airline ticket taxes will be suspended.
Lawmakers were unable to resolve a partisan dispute over an extension of the agency's operating authority, which expired at midnight Friday.
The subsidy cut was included by Republicans in a House bill extending operating authority for the FAA, which has a $16 billion budget. Senate Democrats refused to accept the House bill with the cuts, and Republican senators refused to accept a Democratic bill without it. Lawmakers then adjourned for the weekend.
But underlying the dispute on rural air service subsidies was a standoff between the GOP-controlled House and the Democratic-controlled Senate over a provision in long-term funding legislation for the FAA that would make it more difficult for airline and railroad workers to unionize.
Obama administration officials have said the shutdown will not affect air safety. Air traffic controllers will remain on the job. But airlines will lose the authority to collect about $200 million a week in ticket taxes that go into a trust fund that pays for FAA programs.
FAA employees whose jobs are paid for with trust fund money will be furloughed, including nearly 1,000 workers at the agency's headquarters in Washington, 647 workers at FAA's technology and research center in Atlantic City, N.J., and 124 workers at the agency's training center in Oklahoma City.
"These are real people with families who do not deserve to be put out of work during these tough economic times," FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt said in a statement.
Airline passengers could see a big savings on their airfares, but the situation is complicated. Federal taxes on a $300 round-trip airfare are about $61, but about half that comes from airport and security fees that will continue to be collected, according to the Air Transport Association.
Airlines, alerted earlier this week that FAA authority could expire, have been making adjustments to their computer systems and websites so that at midnight, taxes would no longer be added to airfares, the association said.
One airline, U.S. Airways, was already raising its fares. Other airlines may try to reap a windfall profit from the tax holiday.
Passengers who bought their tickets before the shutdown, but who travel during the shutdown, may wind up due a refund, Treasury Department spokeswoman Sandra Salstrom said. That's because it's not clear whether the government can keep taxes for travel that takes place during a period when the government doesn't have authority to collect taxes, she said.
Likewise, it wasn't clear if passengers who buy tickets after midnight with no taxes included would wind up owing taxes if their travel took place after FAA's operating authority is restored, she said.
The IRS will probably issue guidance later to clarify the situation, Salstrom said.
Long-term funding authority for the FAA expired in 2007. Unable to agree on new long-term funding legislation for the agency, Congress has kept the FAA operating through a series of 20 short-term extension bills. The extensions had been routine until this week.
The Senate passed a long-term bill in February and the House a different version in April. Lawmakers have resolved most of the differences between the bills, but no progress has been made on a half dozen or more controversial issues.
Republicans say Senate Majority leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., is insisting that a labor provision in the House bill sought by the airline industry must be dropped before negotiations can go forward.
The labor provision would overturn a National Mediation Board rule approved last year that allows airline and railroad employees to form a union by a simple majority of those voting. Under the old rule, workers who didn't vote were treated as "no" votes.
Republicans complain that the new rule reverses 75 years of precedent to favor labor unions. Democrats and union officials say the change puts airline and railroad elections under the same democratic rules required for unionizing all other companies.
The White House warned in March that President Barack Obama might veto the bill if the labor provision is retained.
Just before he blocked the Democrats' extension bill, Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said he shared House Republicans' frustration "that favors to organized labor have overshadowed the prospects for long-term FAA" funding.
Another unresolved issue involves about $200 million in air services subsidies to rural communities. The program was created when airlines were deregulated in 1978 to ensure continued air service on less profitable routes to isolated communities. The House long-term FAA bill would eliminate the program except for airports in Alaska.
The Senate bill would eliminate service to 13 communities that are either less than 90 miles from a hub airport or where subsidies total more than $1,000 per passenger. That's the language House Republicans added to their extension bill.
But one of the biggest defenders of the program is Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., chairman of the Senate committee with jurisdiction over FAA legislation. One of the airports that would lose subsidies is in Morgantown, W.Va.

Comic-Con: Adam West, Burt Ward and Julie Newmar Reunite for 'Batman' Panel

Adam West, Burt Ward, and Julie Newmar

The Hub/Discovery

As far as Adam West is concerned, there's no reason for him to worry about where he fits into the Batman legacy, because when it comes to the numerous actors who've played the Caped Crusader, he knows he's in a league of his own.
"My Batman, I think of it as the Bright Knight; the others are the Dark Knight," West offered during the panel honoring the 45th anniversary of the "Batman" TV series on Friday at Comic-Con 2011. "It's just a different ball game, that's all -- not that I wouldn't love to play the Dark Knight's father."
 
West was joined by his former co-stars Burt Ward (who played his trusty sidekick, Robin) and Julie Newmar (who played Catwoman). The panel, sponsored by television network The Hub, packed the hall with rabid fans of the campy superhero series, many of whom had clearly not been born yet when the series debuted in 1966.
During the panel, West discussed how he scored the role -- "I was hired to play Batman because they saw a commercial I'd done for Nestle's Quik," West recalled, "and they said, 'This is the turkey to play him" -- as well as the specific appeal that the series held for him.
"It was such a harmless show, and it was so much fun -- absurd," West offered. "I enjoy it so much more than any other series or movie I've done since."
Ward, meanwhile, discussed how he was injured while filming the series' famous scene when the Batmobile comes roaring out of the Batcave exit and hangs a sharp left. "On one of the takes, my door flew open; I grabbed the gear shift and broke my pinkie finger," Ward revealed. "They said, 'We have to get you to the hospital... but we have to get the shot first."
That wasn't the only discomfort that Ward experienced while shooting the program: There were also the infamous green tights. "I called them my python pants because they strangle you in every way," Ward noted.
Newmar, however (the first of three actresses to play Catwoman on the series), was considerably more satisfied with her Catwoman costume. "Well, if you wear black, it takes 15 pounds of your body," Newmar offered. "When you put on the heels, which were four inches, it takes what -- five pounds per inch off of your body?"
While the trio was quick to note how much they enjoyed filming the series together, West did hint at some degree of tension with one of the series' numerous guest stars. "Oh my God, there were so many of them -- about 120 -- and I enjoyed working with all of them except one."
Despite heavy prodding from the crowd, West declined to identify the object of his ire. Apparently, that's one for the Riddler to puzzle over.

Amy Winehouse Lost Her Battle with Drug and Alcohol Addiction

Amy Winehouse was found dead in her apartment today. The death is listed as unexplained. In the end, Winehouse was better known for her brushes with the law and drug addiction than she was for her talent, and she was talented. She had a wonderful voice and a great musical style.

Winehouse had the ability to bring soul music back to the mainstream, and for awhile, she did. "Back to Black" was a massive hit. The album won the singer five Grammies and propelled her into stardom. Her success as a singer was short lived.

Within a matter of a few months, her drug addled tabloid lifestyle would take center stage. Her fans watched as she was arrested for assault, warned and featured doing drugs in a home video.

Her spiral continued until 2008, when she was hospitalized with lung disease and covered in nicotine patches in order to break her from the worst of her addictions. We hoped she'd recover. We hoped to see another album just as good as "Back to Black," but more importantly, we wanted to see her beat her addiction and survive. We wanted Winehouse to divorce Blake Feder-Civil and become a success story.

Shortly after her hospitalization, Winehouse did divorce Blake Feder-Civil and the news stopped. There were no more tabloids pictures of a disoriented, bloody or beaten Winehouse. Was she getting better? Creating another album? We hoped.

News arrived in June. Winehouse underwent a brief stint in rehab to prepare her for an upcoming comeback tour. She even performed an impromptu concert in London at the 100 Club. She was sober. She talked to the fans, and everyone cheered. It looked like the old Amy was back.

She appeared well prepared for her concert in Belgrade. She wasn't. It was a disgrace. The singer stumbled, muttered and forgot the lyrics to her own songs. She went home. We wondered what happened between the 100 Club and Belgrade. The tour spent about a day in limbo before the remaining dates were canceled.

We, again, hoped Winehouse would recover; that this was just a brief bump on her road to becoming drug free. Unfortunately, that bump in the road turned out to be a mountain, and Winehouse was too sick to climb it. She was found dead in her apartment earlier today. The cause of death is unknown.

Norway mourns victims of anti-Islam "Crusader"

 

Click image to view more photos. (AP/Emilio Morenatti)

SUNDVOLLEN, Norway (Reuters) - Norway mourned on Sunday 93 people killed in a shooting spree and car bombing by a Norwegian who saw his attacks as "atrocious, but necessary" to defeat liberal immigration policies and the spread of Islam.
In his first comment via a lawyer since his arrest, Anders Behring Breivik, 32, said he wanted to explain himself at a court hearing on Monday about extending his custody.
"He has said that he believed the actions were atrocious, but that in his head they were necessary," Geir Lippestad said.
The lawyer said Breivik had admitted to Friday's shootings at a Labour party youth camp and the bombing that killed seven people in Oslo's government district a few hours earlier.
However, "he feels that what he has done does not deserve punishment," Lippestad told NRK public television.

"What he has said is that he wants a change in society and in his understanding, in his head, there must be a revolution." Oslo's acting police chief Sveinung Sponheim confirmed to reporters that Breivik would be able to speak to the court. It was not clear whether the hearing would be closed or in public.
"He has admitted to the facts of both the bombing and the shooting, although he's not admitting criminal guilt," Sponheim said, adding that Breivik had said he acted alone.
Police were checking this because some witness statements from the island spoke of more than one gunman, Sponheim said.
NATIONAL TRAGEDY
The violence, Norway's worst since World War Two, has profoundly shocked the usually peaceful nation of 4.8 million.
King Harald and Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg were among mourners at a service in Oslo cathedral, where the premier spoke emotionally about the victims, some of whom he knew.
"This represents a national tragedy," he declared.
Tearful people placed flowers and candles outside the cathedral. Soldiers with guns and wearing bullet-proof vests blocked streets leading to the government district.
Police said Breivik surrendered when they arrived on the small island of Utoeya in a lake northwest of Oslo after he had shot dead at least 85 people, mostly young people attending a summer camp of the youth wing of Norway's ruling Labour Party.
About 650 people were on the island when Breivik, wearing a police uniform, opened fire. Police said it took them an hour from when they were first alerted to stop the massacre, the worst by a single gunman in modern times.
An inadequate boat and a decision to await a special armed unit from Oslo, 45 km (28 miles) away, delayed the response.
"When so many people and equipment were put into it, the boat started to take on water, so that the motor stopped," said Erik Berga, police operations chief in Buskerud County.
A person wounded in the shooting died in hospital, raising the death toll to 93, Norway's NRK television said. Police say some people remain missing. Ninety-seven people were wounded.
ANTI-ISLAM MANIFESTO
Breivik posted a 1,500-page anti-Islamic manifesto, written in English, on Friday, describing his violent philosophy and how he planned his onslaught and made explosives.
The killings would draw attention to the manifesto entitled "2083-A European Declaration of Independence," Breivik wrote.
"Once you decide to strike, it is better to kill too many than not enough, or you risk reducing the desired ideological impact of the strike," he added.
The manifesto posted by Breivik, a self-styled founder member of a modern Knights Templar organization, hints at a wider conspiracy of self-appointed crusaders and shows a mind influenced by the fantasy imagery of online gaming.
"The order is to serve as an armed Indigenous Rights Organization and as a Crusader Movement (anti-Jihad movement)," he writes in the document, chunks of which are cut and pasted from other far-right, anti-Islam documents on the Internet.
Breivik says he is not against immigrants who integrate and reserves a lot of his fury for a liberal European political establishment he views as promoting Europe's destruction.
He hints at a wider conspiracy in the document, saying that the Knights Templar, a medieval order of crusading warrior monks, had been reconstituted in London in 2002.
Breivik attacks the "Islamic colonisation and Islamisation of Western Europe" and the "rise of cultural Marxism/multiculturalism."
A video posted on YouTube called "Knights Templar 2083" showed pictures of Breivik, including one of him in a scuba diving outfit pointing an automatic weapon.
Parliament, in recess until October, is to be recalled for a memorial service. Party leaders will discuss how the attacks would affect campaigning for local elections in September.
"We will have an election, we will have a political debate," said Stoltenberg, premier and Labour Party leader.
"But I believe everyone understands that we have to discuss the form of the debate...to avoid a conflict between the political debate and the need to show dignity and compassion."
Erna Solberg, head of the main opposition Conservative Party, said: "We have to agree the rules of the game."
IMMIGRATION
Norway has long been open to immigration, which has been criticised by the populist Progress Party, to which Breivik once belonged. Labour, whose youth camp he attacked, backs multi-culturalism to accommodate different ethnic communities.
"Norway will keep going. But there will be a Norway before and after the dramatic attacks on Friday," Stoltenberg said.
"But I am quite sure that you will also recognize Norway afterwards -- it will be an open Norway, a democratic Norway and a Norway where we take care of each other."
The attacks have prompted soul-searching in Norway.
At Oslo cathedral, Britt Aanes, a priest aged 42 said the fact that Breivik was Norwegian had affected people deeply.
"In one way, I think it was good that it was not a Muslim terrorist group behind this," she said. It pointed up the complexity of immigration and inter-religious issues for Norwegians, "a small and privileged people," she said.
"We must open our eyes and not simply think that we can keep all this wealth to ourselves."
Some analysts questioned whether Norway, focused on al Qaeda-type militancy, had overlooked domestic threats.
"While the main terrorist threat to democratic societies around the world still comes from Islamist extremists, the horrific events in Norway are a reminder that white far-right extremism is also a major and possibly growing threat," said James Brandon, research head at London's Quilliam think-tank.
Home-grown anti-government figures have struck elsewhere, notably in the United States, where Timothy McVeigh killed 168 people with a truck bomb in Oklahoma City in 1995.
Grief was still raw for survivors and relatives clustered at a hotel in Sundvollen near Utoeya island. They huddled together, many with bloodshot eyes, at terrace tables.
Inside, a board gave contact details for priests and imams. Pinned to the board was a poem that begins: "Today, today it's not the same. Our shining lights snuffed in out in shame."
(Additional reporting by Walter Gibbs, Anna Ringstrom, Henrik Stoelen, Terje Solsvik, Patrick Lannin, Johan Ahlander, Wojciech Moskwa, John Acher and Ole Petter Skonnord in Oslo, William Maclean in London; Writing by Alistair Lyon; Editing by Jon Boyle)

Jenny McCarthy At 211 Pounds Is Baby Bump Seen Around The World

 Jenny McCarthy's decision to post a photo of herself weighing 211 lbs. during her 2002 pregnancy has reverberated around the world.

After RadarOnline.com published the stunning photo on Friday, it became the talk of the social and mainstream media world.

The actress posted the photo because after she told Shape that she'd ballooned to 211 during her 2002 pregnancy with son Evan, many fans doubted she could ever have weighed that much.

Jenny proved them wrong by going public with the amazing photo.

McCarthy has long been back to bikini shape, after losing 90 lbs. and we give the girl major props for not being afraid to show off one of the biggest baby bumps ever.

Republican House Speaker John Boehner quits debt talks

 

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Barack Obama: "Republicans are puzzled as to why it couldn't get done" 

Republican House Speaker John Boehner has walked away from crunch debt ceiling talks at the White House with US President Barack Obama.

Mr Obama said Mr Boehner had rejected an "extraordinarily fair deal" that would have included $650bn (£400bn) of cuts to entitlement programmes.
The president said he had been willing to take "a lot of heat" from his party.
Mr Boehner told a news conference afterwards that Mr Obama had "moved the goal posts" by demanding a tax hike.
President Obama said he wanted a meeting with congressional leaders, including Mr Boehner, at the White House at 1100 (1500 GMT) on Saturday.
'Left at the altar' The negotiations are aimed at avoiding what analysts say would be an economically catastrophic US debt default on 2 August.
"It is hard to understand why Speaker Boehner would walk away from this kind of deal," President Obama said at a news conference on Friday evening.

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John Boehner: "Dealing with the White House is like dealing with a bowl of Jell-O"

"There are a lot of Republicans who are puzzled as to why it couldn't get done."
As well as cutting $650bn from Medicare, Medicaid and other entitlements, the president said he was offering to slash $1tr in discretionary spending, while seeking $1.2tr in revenues, which could have been achieved by raising income tax rates.
In a rebuttal news conference later on Friday evening, Mr Boehner said they had been close to a deal until Mr Obama had demanded $400bn in tax increases on top of about $800bn in revenues that would have been reaped through a comprehensive rewrite of the tax code.
"Dealing with the White House is like dealing with a bowl of Jell-O," Mr Boehner said.
He told reporters he did not think his relationship with Mr Obama had been "irreparably damaged", and that he would attend Saturday's meeting.
White House correspondents said Mr Obama looked visibly angry as he told reporters he, too, thought a deal had been close until Mr Boehner did not return a phone call made by the president earlier on Friday.
"I've been left at the altar now a couple of times," Mr Obama said of the talks with Mr Boehner.
For the first time, Mr Obama publicly countenanced the possibility of the US not meeting its financial obligations.
"If we default, then we're going to have to make adjustments," he said.
Moments later, the president added he remained confident the $14.3tn limit on US borrowing would be raised by the 2 August deadline.
Mr Obama also said he was "fed up" with political posturing.
'We couldn't connect' In a letter to the Republican rank and file, Mr Boehner said: "A deal was never reached, and was never really close.

Who owns the $14.3tn debt?

• US government owes itself $4.6tn
• Remaining $9.7tn owed to investors
• They include banks, pension funds, individual investors, and state/local/foreign governments
• China: $1.16tn, Japan: $0.91tn, UK: $0.35tn
• Deficit is annual difference between spending and revenue, $1.29tn in 2010
• Congress has voted to raise the US debt limit 10 times since 2001

Source: US Treasury, May 2011, Congressional Research Service, Congressional Budget Office

"In the end, we couldn't connect. Not because of different personalities, but because of different visions for our country."

He wrote: "I have decided to end discussions with the White House and begin conversations with the leaders of the Senate in an effort to find a path forward."
With the clock ticking down toward a national default after weeks of deadlocked negotiations, former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, a Republican, told reporters on Friday that inaction would result in dire consequences.
"Failing to raise the debt ceiling would do irreparable harm to our credit standing, would undermine our ability to lead on global economic issues and would damage our economy," he said.

Meanwhile, the Democratic-led US Senate rejected a "cut, cap and balance" bill passed by the Republican-led House, which would have severely cut public spending and forced the government to balance its budget.Republicans have been unwilling to consider raising new taxes to counter the growing budget deficits.
The Democrats have been opposed to cutting popular healthcare and welfare programmes for pensioners and the poor.

Va. union drive puts IKEA's global image to a test

 Union drive at IKEA plant in US takes aim at Swedish furniture giant's worker-friendly rep 

Steve Szkotak, Associated Press, On Saturday July 23, 2011, 1:36 pm EDT

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- The union attempting to represent workers at IKEA's only U.S. plant is challenging the Swedish furniture giant's vaunted corporate ethos, accusing the retailer of paying its American workers low wages and tolerating unsafe working conditions.
Approximately 320 workers at IKEA's Swedwood Danville plant will vote Wednesday whether to join the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.
The machinists union has put IKEA's reputation as a labor- and environment-friendly Swedish employer at the forefront of its organizing drive as it attempts to organize workers at the company's subsidiary, Swedwood. They assemble the sleek, low-cost bookshelves and coffee tables that the big-box retailer sells in its distinctive, cheery, blue-and-yellow stores.
IKEA's corporate conduct is guided by its so-called IWAY Standard, which outlines environmental, social and working rules -- an 18-page document governing everything from drinking water supplied to workers to lighting levels to a ban on child labor. The company says the standards follow a directive that "the IKEA business shall have an overall positive impact on people and the environment."
Many of the company's high corporate standards stop at the U.S. border, the machinists' lead organizer said. The union said workers are grossly underpaid compared to their Swedish counterparts, suffer high injury rates, are forced to work overtime, and demoted or fired for expressing union sympathies.
The IWAY standards say overtime must be voluntary and ban employers from preventing workers from associating freely and collective bargaining. They also require workers be protected from "exposure to severe safety hazards."
"You should not be able to reap the economic benefits of an image if that image is not true," said Bill Street, director of the woodworkers department of the machinists international. "When you walk into an IKEA store, you're walking into a little bit of Sweden."
The Associated Press was not able to talk directly with workers involved with Street in organizing the Danville plant. He said workers feared retaliation.
An IKEA spokeswoman denied the union allegations that the Virginia plant operates in conflict with IKEA's principles, saying the Danville operation has consistently measured up to its own internal and third-party audits.
"Swedwood Danville operates according to the same principles as all Swedwood plants," Ingrid Steen said in an e-mail.
Steen also said IKEA will honor the union vote. "Swedwood respects the right of co-workers to join, form or not to join a co-worker association of their choice," she wrote.
IKEA's selection of Danville for its first U.S. factory came with $12 million in incentive grants and the goal of ultimately hiring 780 people in Southside Virginia near the North Carolina line. The region has one of the bleakest economic landscapes in a state that traditionally has an unemployment rate a couple notches below the national rate.
The last capital of the Confederacy, the city of approximately 43,000 has struggled as tobacco and textiles declined. The jobless rate has hovered around 10 percent in recent years.
IKEA, which has 26 Swedwood plants in Europe and saw profits rise 6 percent in 2010, was welcomed by accolades from the Capitol in Richmond to local economic officials, none of whom would publicly discuss the union drive with the AP.
Street, who brought in a union official from Sweden to talk to Danville workers this year, said he quietly began his organizing at Swedwood three years ago mindful of IKEA's reputation for paying and treating its workers fairly.
"We thought to ourselves this was going to be a very simple, straightforward campaign," he said in an interview amid one of his many trips to Danville from his home in Oregon. "After all, this was IKEA."
Ultimately, he said, he concluded the message from IKEA was "Sure, no problem. As soon you get 51 percent of the workers, we'll come back and bargain."
Street was able to get the necessary 30 percent of the workers to support a union vote, and the National Labor Relations Board scheduled the balloting at the plant.
One of the union's complaints is that starting pay at Danville of $8 an hour is approximately half of what their Swedish counterparts earn.
"We know in terms of safety, in terms of health care, in terms of pension, their European counterparts are treated vastly superior than the workers in Danville," Street said.
IKEA's Steen described the pay and benefits of Danville workers as "very competitive in the region." She said many of IKEA's 16,000 workers worldwide are members of unions or worker associations, adding it's difficult to compare U.S. workers with workers in Europe.
"Conditions of different countries are very complex questions," she wrote. "It is difficult to compare different national systems (such as) taxes, cost of living, systems of social insurances, etc."
Street and the machinists union face an uphill battle in a right-to-work state and amid a period of some of the lowest private-sector union membership in the United States. Union membership fell to 7 percent in 2010, the lowest in decades, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Arthur B. Shostak, professor emeritus at Drexel University and an expert on the American work force, said the union is smart to target IKEA's image to make its case, which has received the attention of international union organizers. He said young, hip shoppers might not be inclined to shop at IKEA if they were aware of the union allegations in Danville.
"Ikea has a big stake in protecting its brand," Shostak said. "Brand protection is very, very important. This is a mess, and not for the union."
Paul A. Argenti, a professor of corporate communication at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, said it's a reach to compare workers in Danville's rural economy with highly industrialized workers in Europe.
"We're a developing nation to them," he said. "Sweden is ridiculously expensive."
While the union claims have some basis in fact, he said, the machinists are attempting to "paint IKEA as a monster."
Street said he's confident, despite declining union numbers and concessions by public sector workers.
"It's been one of the best times to organize because employers have been overreaching. It's kick `em when they're down," he said.

Norway mourns twin attack victims

Adrian Pracon says he played dead to try to avoid the gunman on Utoeya 

Norwegians are mourning the victims of a massacre at an island youth camp and a bombing in the capital Oslo.

At least 85 people died when a gunman opened fire at the Utoeya camp on Friday, hours after a blast in the government quarter killed seven. Another four are missing on the island.
A 32-year-old Norwegian man was charged over both attacks, but police say it is possible another person was involved.
The suspect surrendered immediately and admitted using a weapon, police said.

Police chief Sveinung Sponheim said officers took 45 minutes to reach the island, and the gunman was apprehended 45 minutes after that.

Mr Sponheim added that there were still bodies or body parts in buildings damaged by the Oslo blast, which he confirmed was caused by a car bomb.
However, the buildings were currently too fragile and dangerous to search, and there were still undetonated explosives there, the police chief said.
It was possible the total death toll from the two attacks could rise to 98, he said.
Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg comforted victims and relatives alongside King Harald, Queen Sonja and Crown Prince Haakon in the town of Sundvollen near the island.
Mr Stoltenberg said he was "deeply touched" by the meetings.
"We will do whatever we can to give them as much support as possible," he said.

Thousands of people have come to the perimeter of the government quarter in downtown Oslo where the bomb went off on Friday. They have come to have a look at the destruction, lay flowers and many are just standing in silence. Churches across the city and the entire country have opened their doors and many are packed.
The area is still cordoned off and the army is manning many checkpoints - a sight never seen before in this normally peaceful city.
The downtown square which is overlooked by the now ruined building housing the PM's office would normally be crowded with people enjoying a drink and the sunshine - instead it is blocked off and the only people here are soldiers, police and those clearing the broken glass and rubble. It will be some time before this city gets back to some sort of normality.

King Harald said: "It's now important that we stand together and we support each other and we do not let fear conquer us."

Fertiliser used? The suspect is reported by local media to have had links with right-wing extremists.
He has been named as Anders Behring Breivik. Police searched his Oslo apartment overnight and are questioning him.
The BBC's Richard Galpin, near the island which is currently cordoned off by police, says that Norway has had problems with neo-Nazi groups in the past but the assumption was that such groups had been largely eliminated and did not pose a significant threat.
Meanwhile a farm supply firm has confirmed selling six tonnes of fertiliser to Mr Breivik, who is reported to have run a farming company. Speculation has been rife that fertiliser could have been used in the Oslo bomb.
The number killed in the island shooting spree, which is among the world's most deadly, had been put at 10 on Friday - but soared overnight. Hundreds of young people had been attending the summer camp organised by the governing Labour Party on Utoeya island.
Eyewitnesses described how a tall, blond man dressed as a policeman opened fire indiscriminately, prompting camp attendees to jump into the water to try to escape the hail of bullets.

Island shooting suspect

• Describes himself as a Christian and conservative on Facebook page attributed to him
• Grew up in Oslo and attended Oslo School of Management
• Set up farm through which he would have had access to fertiliser - which can also be used to make a bomb 

Some of the teenagers were shot at as they tried to swim to safety.

Armed police were deployed to the island but details of the operation to capture the suspect remain unclear. After his arrest he was charged with committing acts of terrorism.
Police say they discovered many more victims after searching the area around the island. They have warned the death toll may rise further as rescue teams continue to scour the waters.
The gunman is reported to have been armed with two weapons, one of them an automatic rifle.
NRK journalist Ole Torp told the BBC the suspect went to the island dressed in a police uniform, asked people to gather round and then started shooting.
The attacks sparked strong international condemnation, with US President Barack Obama expressing his condolences and offering support.
Britain's Queen Elizabeth spoke of her shock and sadness in a letter to King Harald.
The BBC's John Sopel in Oslo says the city is strangely quiet and there is a heavy military presence, with checkpoints around the government quarter.
Officials have urged people to stay at home and avoid central areas of the city.

UK singer Amy Winehouse found dead

British singer Amy Winehouse drinks while performing during the 2008 "Rock in Rio" music festival in Lisbon [Reuters] Troubled British singer Amy Winehouse has been found dead at her home in north London, police said. The Grammy award-winning soul singer struggled with well-documented alcohol and drug addictions but her death is being treated as unexplained. "Police were called by London Ambulance Service to an address in Camden Square shortly before 4:05 pm (1505 GMT) today, Saturday 23 July, following reports of a woman found deceased," a police statement said. "On arrival officers found the body of a 27-year-old female who was pronounced dead at the scene ... Enquiries continue into the circumstances of the death." London Ambulance Service had been called to the flat at 3:54 pm (1454 GMT) and sent two ambulances. Winehouse rocketed to fame after winning five Grammy awards off the back of her 2006 second album "Back to Black" and the hit single "Rehab". In the run-up to her live return, Winehouse spent a week at an addiction treatment clinic in London, reportedly at the suggestion of her father, Mitch, over concerns that she was drinking too much before her shows. But Winehouse pulled out of her European comeback tour following a disastrous opening performance in Serbia on June 18. She was booed at the performance in Belgrade, as she appeared to be too drunk to sing. Some 20,000 people gathered for the highly-promoted concert at the sixth-century Kalemegdan fortress, but many soon left. During the concert, which lasted about 90 minutes, Winehouse could only mumble some of the lyrics, failing to follow her band. Winehouse left the stage twice, with many fans showing their displeasure despite her band's attempts to calm the crowd. She had also been scheduled to perform in Istanbul, Athens, Bilbao in Spain, Locarno in Switzerland, Italy's Lucca festival, Switzerland's Paleo Festival in Nyon, Nova Jazz and Blues Night in Wiesen, Austria, and Poland's Bydgoszcz Artpop Festival. 'Jewish Salt 'n' Pepa' With her black beehive hairdo and old-fashioned sailor tattoos, Winehouse was one of pop music's most recognisable stars. Born in 1983 to taxi driver Mitch Winehouse and his pharmacist wife Janis, Winehouse grew up in the north London suburbs, and was set on a show business career from an early age. When she was 10, she and a friend formed a rap group, Sweet 'n' Sour - Winehouse was Sour - that she later described as "the little white Jewish Salt 'n' Pepa". She attended the Sylvia Young Theatre School, a factory for British music and acting moppets, later went to the Brit School, a performing arts academy in the "Fame" mold, and was originally signed to Simon Fuller's 19 Management "Pop Idol". But Winehouse was never a packaged teen star, and always resisted being pigeonholed. Her jazz-influenced 2003 debut album, "Frank", was critically praised and sold well in Britain. Winehouse soon expressed dissatisfaction with the disc, saying she was "only 80 per cent behind" the album and self-destructive habits began to overshadow her distinctive musical talent. In the end, the music was overshadowed by fame, and by Winehouse's demons. Tabloids lapped up the erratic stage appearances, drunken fights, stints in hospital and rehab clinics. 'Just a musician' Performances became shambling, stumbling train wrecks, watched around the world on the internet. "Frank" was followed by a slump during which Winehouse broke up with her boyfriend, suffered a long period of writer's block and, she later said, smoked a lot of marijuana. "At one point it had been two years since the last record and (the record company) actually said to me, 'Do you even want to make another record?' I was like, 'I swear it's coming.' I said to them, 'Once I start writing I will write and write and write. But I just have to start it'." The album she eventually produced was a sensation. "I didn't go out looking to be famous," Winehouse told the Associated Press news agency after her most successful album was released in 2006. "I'm just a musician." Working with producers Mark Ronson and Salaam Remi and soul-funk group the Dap-Kings, Winehouse fused soul, jazz, doo-wop and, above all, a love of the girl-groups of the early 1960s with lyrical tales of romantic obsession and emotional excess. Increasingly, her personal life began to overshadow her career and she acknowledged struggling with eating disorders and told a newspaper that she had been diagnosed as manic depressive but refused to take medication. In May 2007 in Miami, she married music industry hanger-on Blake Fielder-Civil, but the honeymoon was brief. That November, Fielder-Civil was arrested for an attack on a pub manager the year before but British newspapers reported extramarital affairs while Fielder-Civil was behind bars. They divorced in 2009. Tragic '27 Club' Winehouse's health often appeared fragile. In June 2008 and again in April 2010, she was taken to hospital and treated for injuries after fainting and falling at home. Her father said she had developed the lung disease emphysema from smoking cigarettes and crack, although her spokeswoman later said Winehouse only had "early signs of what could lead to emphysema". Music historians will note that has now become part of the tragic "27 club" of musicians who have died at that age - a roster that includes Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, The Doors singer Jim Morrison and Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain. Mark Ronson, the disc jockey who produced more than half of the songs on "Black to Black", once said Winehouse was a refreshing antidote to bland pop. "Amy is bringing a rebellious rock and roll spirit back to popular music," he said.