India will pay oil bills owed to Iran, avoiding cut off

 Iran and India have resolved a payment dispute that was threatening to halt the Islamic state's crude exports to India. The National Iranian Oil Company said the two sides had agreed to settle the bill as soon as possible, state news agencies said.
Iran had threatened to cut off supplies to India if payments were not made by 1 August.
US sanctions on Iran make it difficult to send international bank payments.
"Following bilateral negotiations, the two sides agreed to settle the outstanding bills as soon as possible," Ahmed Qalebani head of the NIOC was quoted as saying by the  
Iran's state-run news agency Irna also reported the deal.
Mr Qalebani indicated that the payments would be made in two parts, with the first being settled in the coming days.
Mohsen Qamsari, head of the NIOC's international department, added that Iran was still shipping oil to India.
About 12% of India's oil demand is met by crude from Iran.
Indian companies have been looking for an alternate way to make payments to Iran after the Reserve Bank of India stopped a clearing mechanism at the end of last year.

China manufacturing slows in July as exports dip

China's economic boom has been built on strong demand for exports

China's manufacturing slowdown has continued in July as demand for exports weakened.

The purchasing managers index (PMI) fell to 50.7 from 50.9 the previous month, the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP) said.
China has been taking steps to cool its overheating economy and bring down the rate of inflation.
In its report the CFLP said the figures showed that "economic development is trending towards a stabilisation".
PMI, measured on a scale of 100, is designed to give a snapshot of industrial production. A PMI reading of below 50 indicates contracting activity.
'Lacklustre demand' The government has been trying to rein in rampant inflation which is at three-year highs.
A number of measures have been employed to slow economic activity to more sustainable levels, including raising interest rates and increasing the amount of money banks need to keep in reserve.
At the same time, external demand for Chinese-made goods has waned as European and US economies have come under pressure amid debt crises and continuing domestic economic problems.
According to Qu Hongbin of HSBC the most recent Chinese PMI figures showed "the slowing growth momentum of the manufacturing sector, against the backdrop of sustained tightening and lacklustre external demand".
The slide was underlined by a separate PMI report, published by HSBC. This showed a contraction in the bank's purchasing managers' index, with it falling below 50 to its lowest level in a year.

Ford to recall 1.1M pickup for gas tank problem

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) -- Ford Motor Co. is recalling 1.1 million pickup trucks because the gas tanks can fall off and cause fires.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Monday on its website that the metal straps holding the tanks can rust, allowing them to fall, rupture and catch fire.
The defect has been blamed for eight fires, three of which spread to the rest of the truck. One person was injured, suffering first- and second-degree burns, Ford spokesman Wes Sherwood said.
The recall affects certain 1997 through 2004 Ford F-150 models, as well as some 1997 through 1999 model year F-250 pickups. Also affected are Lincoln Blackwood pickups from the 2002 and 2003 model years. They were sold in cold-weather states where salt is used to clear roads. The salt corroded straps holding the tanks and they broke, NHTSA said.
The trucks were originally sold or are now registered in Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Washington, D.C.
Sherwood said the company will notify owners in September to bring their trucks to dealers who will replace the straps with new ones that are coated to resist corrosion. Parts to fix the problem, he said, won't be widely available until then.
People with questions should contact their dealer, who can install a cable to hold the tanks in place until the replacement straps arrive, Sherwood said.

Debt and spending deal picks up momentum in Senate

President Barack Obama speaks from the White House briefing room, Sunday, July 31, 2011, in Washington, about a deal being reached to raise the debt limit. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Andrew Taylor, Associated Press, On Monday August 1, 2011, 3:11 pm

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The White House and congressional leaders worked Monday to align lawmakers from both parties behind their formula for averting a financial meltdown and halting the government's prolific spending habits. Despite resistance from both liberals and conservatives, momentum appeared to be building in support of the compromise deficit-reduction plan.
In an apparent show of confidence, leaders in the House said they planned to bring the plan to the floor for a vote Monday afternoon. Rules Committee Chairman David Dreier, R-Calif., said there would be an hour of debate before moving to a vote.
In the Senate, where one senator can hold up action, Majority Leader Harry Reid said he was hoping to get agreement to allow a vote Monday evening. "We need to send this to President Obama as soon as we can."
A member of the Republican leadership in the Senate predicted at least 30 GOP votes. "Maybe 35 will support it in the end. There will be some who will pull back," Sen. Mike Crapo, the deputy Republican whip, told reporters, as climactic votes approached in both the House and Senate on the long-sought spending plan.
Leaders in both chambers were meeting with their rank-and-file to promote the package, and President Barack Obama sent out a video message to sell Democrats on the plan. "This has been a long and messy process," he said. "As with any compromise, the outcome is far from satisfying."
Obama was also doing debt-related tweeting. "The debt agreement makes a significant down payment to reduce the deficit -- finding savings in both defense and domestic spending," he said in one.
"We'll know over the next two to three hours," said House freshman Rep. Tom Reed, R-N.Y., when asked if House Speaker John Boehner had the votes in the House, where conservatives have been more resistant to the compromise.
Reid opened the day's session in the Senate by declaring the deal shows that the often-dysfunctional Senate can come together when it counts. "People on the right are upset, people on the left are upset, people in the middle are upset," he said. "It was a compromise."
Crapo's assessment came as Vice President Joe Biden, who played an instrumental role in successful weekend efforts to hammer out an accord, went to Capitol Hill to sell the plan in separate meetings with House and Senate Democrats.
Relief around the world was indisputable, with Asian shares on Monday enjoying one of the best sessions in weeks. The advance continued in Europe. Wall Street opened higher, but faltered on a report that a key manufacturing index had dropped sharply in July.
Whatever momentum could be claimed for the deficit-reduction plan, Congress still has precious little time to avert a potentially devastating default on U.S. obligations. And there was little dispute that the endgame product contained plenty to offend lawmakers of both parties, and tea party sympathizers as well.
Sen. John McCain conceded as much, saying he'd have to "swallow hard" to vote for it because of cuts in defense spending. But the Arizona Republican said lawmakers had little choice in the face of the specter of default.
Fellow Republican Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said he was a no vote. "Simply stated, it locks us into more debt, bigger government and most devastating of all, a weakened defense infrastructure at a time when we face growing threats."
Another House Republican, Michael Turner of Ohio said he was not ready to endorse the package as he left a closed-door meeting of House GOP lawmakers. Turner is a member of the House Armed Services Committee, and potential cuts to defense spending could be an issue among some Republicans.
Sen. Susan Collins, a moderate Republican from Maine, said she was undecided because of concerns about cuts to rural hospitals and home health care as well as defense. "I want to avoid the kind of hollowed-out military we saw after Vietnam," she said.
The compromise plan agreed to late Sunday would mix a record increase in the government's borrowing cap with the promise of more than $2 trillion in spending cuts.
Democratic votes are certain to be needed to pass the measure in the Republican-dominated House, just as Republicans will be needed to clear the measure through the Democratic Senate. Liberal Democrats were already complaining that Obama had given away too much to GOP leaders.
Rep. Elliot Engel, a liberal Democrat from New York, said he was leaning no because the plan could lead to cuts to Medicare and other benefit programs. Boehner should get the votes from his majority Republicans, Engel said. "I don't think we're under any obligation to support this package."
"Now, is this the deal I would have preferred? No," Obama said. "But this compromise does make a serious down payment on the deficit reduction we need, and gives each party a strong incentive to get a balanced plan done before the end of the year."
The legislation would slice more than $2 trillion from federal spending over a decade and permit the nation's $14.3 trillion borrowing cap to rise by up to $2.4 trillion, enough to keep the government afloat through the 2012 elections -- a key objective for Obama, whose poll numbers have sagged as the summertime crisis dragged on.
John Boehner, R-Ohio, telephoned Obama at mid-evening to say the agreement had been struck, then immediately began pitching the deal to his fractious rank and file.
"It isn't the greatest deal in the world, but it shows how much we've changed the terms of the debate in this town," he said on a conference call, according to GOP officials. He added the agreement was "all spending cuts. The White House bid to raise taxes has been shut down."
House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., was publicly noncommittal. "I look forward to reviewing the legislation with my caucus to see what level of support we can provide," Pelosi said in a written statement. But Democratic officials said she was unlikely to do anything to try to scuttle the package.
"This deal trades people's livelihoods for the votes of a few unappeasable right-wing radicals, and I will not support it," said Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz.
Tea party favorite and presidential candidate Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., countered that the deal "spends too much and doesn't cut enough. ... Someone has to say no. I will."
The government presently borrows more than 40 cents of every dollar it spends, and without an infusion of borrowing authority, the government would face an unprecedented default on U.S. loans and obligations -- like $23 billion worth of Social Security pension payments to retirees due Aug. 3.
The increased borrowing authority includes $400 billion that would take effect immediately and $500 billion that Obama could order unless specifically denied by Congress. That $900 billion increase in the debt cap would be matched by savings produced over the coming decade by capping spending on day-to-day agency budgets passed by Congress each year.
A special bipartisan committee would be established to find up to $1.5 trillion in deficit cuts, probably taken from benefit programs like farm subsidies, Medicare and the Medicaid health care program for the poor and disabled. Republicans dismissed the idea that the panel would approve tax increases.
Any agreement by the panel would be voted on by both House and Senate -- and if the panel deadlocked, automatic spending cuts would slash across much of the federal budget. Social Security, Medicaid and food stamps would be exempt from the automatic cuts, but payments to doctors, nursing homes and other Medicare providers could be trimmed, as could subsidies to insurance companies that offer an alternative to government-run Medicare.
Top Obama aide Plouffe said in a morning network television interview that the administration wasn't giving up on pushing for new tax revenues down the road.
"The only way to really reduce the deficits significantly in a smart way is to make sure there is smart entitlement reform and closing of loopholes and tax reform," he said.
But Republicans set the parameters of the debate, with Boehner successfully winning spending cuts equaling the amount of the debt increase -- though the cuts phase in over time and future Congresses will have ample temptation to find ways around stringent spending caps called for in the pact.
Obama said such appropriated accounts would be left with the lowest levels of spending as a percentage of the overall economy in more than a half-century.
In the end, the deal was a split-the-differences compromise, with plenty for both sides to dislike. House GOP defense hawks came out on the losing end. So too did Democratic liberals seeking tax increases.
Plouffe was interviewed on ABC's "Good Morning America," CBS's "The Early Show" and NBC's "Today" show. McCain appeared on CBS.

Did Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez break up?

Are Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez totally over? Honestly, we don't think so. But the Internet being what it is, a rumor that the teen popster, 17, and Disney darling/cougar girlfriend, 19, have called it quits is spreading like wildfire.

Pretending for the sake of argument that there's any truth to this thing, what supposedly cause the rift?

Selena, rumor has it, was apparently miffed when she discovered Justin texting his ex-girlfriend, Jasmine Villegas. Villegas is yet another 17-year-old pop singer who joined the second leg of the Bieb's 2010 tour as his opening act. [Insert raised eyebrow here.]

But, with apologies to Justin's many admirers, we were only able to trace the rumor back as far as this YouTube video by some guy who needs to make his bed and have his mouth washed out with soap.

Could Justin and Selena's May-December romance really be on the rocks and, if so, would some random dude with a webcam and Target art really have the scoop?

Kings of Leon vow to redo 'too hot' Dallas show

 The Kings of Leon are promising a redo for their Dallas fans after canceling a show because their lead singer complained it was too hot to perform, leading other members to profusely apologize to the audience.

In a statement, the family rock band, known for hits including the Grammy Award-winning anthem "Use Somebody," announced plans to return to Dallas on Sept. 21 to make up for Friday's mid-show cancellation, which drummer Nathan Followill called a "fiasco" on Twitter.

"The Kings of Leon apologize to their fans for the inconvenience this may have caused and look forward to seeing their fans again in September," read a statement sent by their publicist on Sunday.

On Friday, lead singer Caleb Followill repeatedly complained that it was too hot and that his voice was suffering because of it.

"My voice is completely 100 percent gone," he said.

After a few more songs, he announced to the audience: "I'm gonna go back stage for a second, I'm gonna vomit, I'm gonna drink a beer and I'm gonna come back out and play three more songs."

He never did come back out, leaving the rest of the band to announce the abrupt end of the show to a booing audience. The other members, including guitarist Matthew Followill and bassist Jared Followill, were apologetic and later took to Twitter to let out their frustrations.

"Not so good morning 4 me today," Nathan Followill tweeted. "Ashamed & embarrassed by last night's fiasco. Can't apologize enough, utterly gutted. A million I'm sorrys."

Jared Followill tweeted: "Dallas, I cannot begin to tell you how sorry I am. There are internal sicknesses & problems that have needed to be addressed. No words."

He added: "I love our fans so much. I know you guys aren't stupid. There are problems in our band bigger than not drinking enough Gatorade."

However, the statement released by the band did not address other troubles, and it said Caleb "suffered from heat exhaustion and dehydration ... causing his vocal chords to seize

Dow Jones average down more than 90 points after US manufacturing slows in July

The debt deal rally lasted all of 30 minutes.
After gaining 139 points minutes after the market opened Monday, the Dow Jones industrial average sharply reversed course, shedding all of those gains after a key manufacturing index tumbled in July.
The Dow was down as many as 145 points after the Institute of Supply Management said its manufacturing index was barely above the 50 point figure that indicates growth. Economists, who believed the U.S. economy would strengthen in the second half of the year, had been expecting a much higher reading.
"This was a shock to the market," said Phil Orlando, chief strategist at Federated Investors. "It clearly offset the emotional strength that we saw in the open from this tentative budget compromise."
Many investors had expected the stock market to rally because President Barack Obama and Congressional leaders announced Sunday that they had agreed on a deal to raise the nation's borrowing limit ahead of Tuesday's deadline. Asian stock markets, which closed before the manufacturing report was released, rose broadly overnight following the deal breakthrough.
The Dow Jones industrial average was down 91 points, or 0.8 per cent, to 12,052 by 1 p.m. It is the seventh day of declines for the Dow.
The broader Standard and Poor's 500 index lost 13, or 1 per cent, to 1,279. The Nasdaq composite lost 31 or 1.1 per cent, to 2,725.
Monday's losses brought the S&P index below its 200-day moving average of 1,280. Anytime the market falls below the long-term moving average, it often fuels additional losses. Orlando said the S&P could fall to 1,250 or lower over the next few days as investors begin to doubt the strength of the economy.
Health care stocks, which lost 2.6 per cent, were the S&P index's worst performers by midday Monday. Merck & Co., Home Depot Inc., and Pfizer Inc. led the Dow lower with losses of 2 per cent or more.
Bond yields fell to the lowest level of the year as investors moved into safer assets. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.73 per cent from 2.80 per cent late Friday. Oil futures dropped 1 per cent to just below $95 a barrel.
The manufacturing report led to a worldwide pullback from riskier assets. The Euro Stoxx 50, an index that tracks blue chip companies in countries that use the euro, fell nearly 3 per cent. Oil futures dropped 1 per cent to just below $95 a barrel. And gold made up its early losses to remain near $1,630 an ounce.
The sell-off comes after other signs the economy has slowed. On Friday, the government said that so far this year the economy has grown at its slowest pace since the recession ended in June 2009. A debt deal that contains reductions in short-term government spending could further weaken the economy, analysts say.
The latest signs of weakness in the U.S. economy pushed the dollar lower against the Japanese yen and the Swiss franc, two currencies that traders see as relatively safe bets. The dollar touched another record low against the franc, and reached a post-World War II low against the yen.
Before the ISM report was released, stocks rose sharply largely because President Barack Obama and Congressional leaders announced Sunday that they had agreed on a deal to raise the nation's borrowing limit ahead of Tuesday's deadline. Investors have been worried that the U.S. might default if a deal wasn't reached. The federal government would be unable to pay all of its bills after Tuesday if a law is not signed. Among them: interest payments on Treasury bonds, salaries of federal employees and Social Security checks to retirees.
The debt agreement would raise the U.S. debt limit by $2.1 trillion. It would also cut at least $2.4 trillion in federal spending over 10 years. Under the bill, a new joint committee of Congress would recommend deficit reductions by the end of November that would be put to a vote by Congress by year's end.
The fact that Congress hadn't yet passed the bill and that many important details were to be decided by the new committee left some investors skeptical about its impact.
"The debt agreement was a step in the right direction but probably a small step," said Bob Gelfond, the head of MQS Asset Management, a hedge fund based in New York City.
Others remained concerned that the bill would cut the deficit enough to prevent a downgrade to the U.S. government's stellar credit rating. Credit ratings Standard and Poor's and Moody's declined to comment on the bill.
"This agreement didn't resolve any of the fundamental differences in the direction of spending and revenues that would address our long-term issues," said Kate Warne, the investment strategist at Edward Jones.

db cooper

Is the mystery of DB Cooper about to be solved? FBI reveals it has new suspect 40 years after America’s most elusive fugitive parachuted from a hijacked plane

The FBI today revealed that it believes it has America's most elusive fugitive finally in its sights 40 years after famed hijacker DB Cooper disappeared when he jumped out of a plane over Washington.
Investigators said that they are testing the fingerprints of a new suspect after what they said is the 'most promising' lead to date in its bid to crack America's only unsolved hijacking.
A mystery hijacker calling himself Dan Cooper, also known as DB Cooper, boarded a Northwest flight in Portland for a flight to Seattle on the night of November 24 1971, and commandeered the plane, claiming he had dynamite.

Close to be caught? Artists sketches of America's most elusive fugitive DB Cooper who hijacked an aeroplane and extorted $200,000 from the FBI before escaping by parachute in 1971

In Seattle, he demanded and got $200,000 and four parachutes and demanded to be flown to Mexico.
Somewhere over southwestern Washington, he jumped out the plane's tail exit with two of the chutes, and was never seen or heard from again.
The FBI today announced that it has a new suspect in the case who they are hoping to link to a tie Cooper left on the plane and cigarette butts in an ashtray using DNA testing and fingerprints.
There have been more than 1,000 suspects over the past four decades, but the FBI have described the new lead as 'looking like our most promising one to date'.
'We do actually have a new suspect we're looking at,' said FBI spokesman Ayn Dietrich as she revealed the twist in the investigation.
'It comes from a credible lead who came to our attention recently via a law enforcement colleague,' she said.

Map: Locations in Washington where Cooper was originally thought to have landed and where some of the ransom money was found in 1980

'The credible lead is somebody whose possible connection to the hijacker is strong,' she told the Daily Telegraph. 'And the suspect is not a name that's come up before.'
The FBI said that an item belonging to the suspect has been sent for testing at a forensics lab in Quantico, Virginia.
'We're hoping there are fingerprints they can take off of it,' she said. 'It would be a significant lead. 
And this is looking like our most promising one to date.'
The FBI has refused to reveal if the suspect is still alive. 'Generally the large majority of subjects we look into now are already deceased based on the timing,' said Ms Dietrich.
It could be some time before the FBI gets the results back from the tests.

Plot: A hijacked Northwest Airlines jetliner 727 sits on a runway for refuelling at Tacoma International Airport on November 25 1971

The mysterious hijacking has intrigued federal agents and amateur sleuths since it took place in November 1971.
A man calling himself Dan Cooper boarded the Northwest flight after buying a $20 one-way ticket to Seattle.
After getting on the plane wearing sunglasses, he ordered whisky and lit a cigarette before passing a flight attendant a note that read: 'I HAVE A BOMB IN MY BRIEFCASE. I WILL USE IT IF NECESSARY. I WANT YOU TO SIT NEXT TO ME. YOU ARE BING HIJACKED.'
Cooper told the captain that in return for $200,000 and four parachutes, he would allow 36 people to leave the plane when it landed in Seattle.
The FBI agreed to the swap and the plane took off again under Cooper's orders to fly towards Mexico at an altitude of under 10,000 feet.
Somewhere over the lower Cascade mountains in southwestern Washington, Cooper stepped out of the plane with a parachute strapped to his back.

Clues: Three packets of ransom money, totalling $5,800, were found on the Columbia river in February 1980

Several people have claimed to be Cooper over the years but were dismissed on the basis of physical descriptions, parachuting experience and, later, by DNA evidence recovered in 2001 from the cheap tie the skyjacker left on the plane.
Items recovered from the skyjack include $5,800 of the stolen money, in tattered $20 bills and Cooper's tie
Many believe that Cooper was Richard McCoy, a Vietnam War veteran, experienced parachutist and BYU political science student who staged a similar hijacking several months later.
But the FBI has said that McCoy - who was killed in a shoot-out with law enforcement officers after a prison break in 1974 - simply didn't fit the description of Cooper provided by two flight attendants.
In 1980, a boy walking near the Columbia River found $5,800 of the stolen money, in tattered $20 bills.

randy moss

Maybe it's appropriate that I was sitting at Lambeau Field when Randy Moss announced his retirement. No, not because Moss famously pretended to moon the crowd during a playoff game. It's because the Green Bay Packers were the first team to recognize that Moss had fundamentally changed the game.

As a rookie in 1998, Moss caught 13 passes for 343 yards and three touchdowns for the Minnesota Vikings in two games against the Packers.

In 1999, the Packers responded with the most transparent draft strategy imaginable: They selected a cornerback with each of their first three picks. Two of them, Antuan Edwards and Mike McKenzie, were over six feet tall. They landed in Green Bay with the specific hope of matching up against Moss, who at 6-foot-4 had dominated smaller cornerbacks throughout his rookie season.

As his career went on, opponents devised new coverages and exotic lineups in an attempt to slow down a unique physical specimen who referred to himself as "The Freak." Vikings offensive coaches often considered it a waste of time to scout their opponents' previous games because they never used traditional schemes against the Vikings when Moss was in the lineup.

These days, it's common to hear football people refer to having a safety "over the top" to cover the deep part of the field in case a receiver runs past the cornerback. It can also be known as a "bracket." These coverages were popularized because of Moss, whose combination of height and 4.35 speed made uncoverable by one defender.

Rare is the player who single-handedly forces schematic innovations, and to me that will be Moss' greatest legacy. If his career is in fact finished -- and somehow I believe Moss more than, say, one of the quarterbacks he played with last season -- he should go down as one of the best receivers ever to play the game.

As it stands, Moss is tied for second for the NFL's all-time list of touchdown receptions (153). He has the fifth-most yards (14,858) and eight-most receptions (954).

History, of course, will intertwine Moss' football success with his personal failings. He wasn't an enigma, which most people associate with "unique." Moss was a flat-out mystery, and anyone that tried to figure him out was wasting their psychological brain cells.

On the 10th anniversary of Korey Stringer's death, I'm reminded of Moss sobbing hysterically at a nationally-televised news conference. At the same time, I'm reminded that he once lost his temper in downtown Minneapolis traffic and felt compelled to nudge a traffic officer with his car.

I recall him tossing NFL awards in the locker room trash can. I can't avoid the conclusion that he undermined every coach he played for in Minnesota, including Dennis Green -- the man who put his own reputation on the line by drafting him in 1998. Moss' verbal harangue at a group of corporate sponsors on the Vikings' team bus enraged then-owner Red McCombs and played a role in Green's ultimate departure from the organization in 2001.

I will remember some hilarious interview moments, including the time Moss detailed how he taunted then-coach Mike Tice with words from a boyhood bully that once, in Moss' words, "broke Tice's face." In truth, Moss had no respect for authority and resented its existence.

His respect for the game was circumspect as well. Pro Football Hall of Fame voters shouldn't consider his off-field issues when discussing his candidacy, but they absolutely note how often Moss loafed on plays that weren't designed for him and how, early in his career, he walked off the field before its conclusion in several instances.

Moss won't, and shouldn't, be elected to sainthood. There is no way to sweep away his stunning lack of personal decorum. In all ways -- on the field and off -- Moss was one of a kind.

I think he will be elected to the Hall of Fame. But even that day will be wrapped in mystery. I used to joke with some colleagues that Moss would probably skip his enshrinement ceremony into the Hall of Fame. I don't actually think he will. But if there is anyone who would ...