Syrian opposition group votes to attend peace talks
BEIRUT — During the fractious weekend debates that ended with the main Syrian exile opposition coalition yielding to international pressure by dropping its refusal to hold peace talks with President Bashar Assad’s government, tensions ran so high that one prominent coalition member slapped another in the face, participants in the gathering said.
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GENEVA — As Secretary of State John Kerry and foreign ministers from other world powers sought to work out an interim agreement to constrain Iran’s nuclear program, the Iranian government’s insistence on formal recognition of its “right” to enrich uranium emerged as a major obstacle, diplomats said Sunday.
Supreme Court takes up challenges to union practices
Labor leaders and businesses are closely watching a Supreme Court case to be argued Wednesday that involves a popular strategy used by unions to successfully organize hundreds of thousands of workers.
US signals flexibility as Iran nuclear talks resume
GENEVA — Negotiators from Iran and six world powers convened Thursday as U.S. officials signaled that the United States is prepared to offer Iran limited relief from economic sanctions if Tehran agrees to halt its nuclear program and reverse part of it.
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WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama bowed Thursday night to mounting criticism that he misled the American people about the health care law, apologizing to people who were forced off their health insurance plans by the Affordable Care Act despite “assurances from me.”
British intelligence chiefs say Snowden leaks hurt safety
LONDON — Britain’s intelligence chiefs, in unprecedented public testimony before Parliament, said Thursday that the published leaks of secret documents stolen by Edward J. Snowden, the former U.S. intelligence analyst, had damaged their ability to keep Britain safe.
Records cite lavish gifts in Navy bribery case
After a ship-servicing contractor promised to arrange prostitutes for a Navy commander and his buddies in Malaysia and Singapore in 2009, according to court records, the officer, Cmdr. Jose Luis Sanchez, shot back a Facebook message saying, “Yummy … daddy like.”
Greek police raid occupied broadcasting station
ATHENS, Greece — Greek riot police officers raided the headquarters of the country’s former state broadcaster, ERT, on Thursday, forcibly removing dozens of staff members who had been occupying the building since June when authorities abruptly shut down the organization, citing wasteful spending.
Super typhoon in Pacific and quiet weather here
A high pressure system moving into our region today will keep the long weekend mostly dry, with temperatures in the upper 40°Fs to low 50°Fs. There is a slight chance for a few showers on Saturday night as a weak clipper system passes by, but it is more likely we will just see increased clouds. Monday looks to be a pleasant Veterans Day before a cold front moves in Monday night, ushering in much colder temperatures for the middle of next week.
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WASHINGTON — Lost work: 6.6 million days. Back-pay costs: $2 billion. Private-sector jobs lost: 120,000.
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RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazil’s government acknowledged Monday that its top intelligence agency had spied on diplomatic targets from countries including the United States, Iran and Russia, putting Brazilian authorities in the uncomfortable position of defending their own surveillance practices after repeatedly criticizing U.S. spying operations.
Morsi calls trials ‘illegitimate,’ and case in Egypt is delayed
CAIRO — As Egypt’s new military-led government consolidates its power, Mohammed Morsi, the deposed president, went on trial Monday, facing charges of inciting the murder of protesters, but he rejected the court’s authority and proclaimed himself to be the country’s legitimate ruler.
As US weighs spying changes, officials want data sweeps to go on
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration has told allies and lawmakers it is considering reining in a variety of National Security Agency practices overseas, including holding White House reviews of the world leaders the agency is monitoring, forging a new accord with Germany for a closer intelligence relationship and minimizing collection on some foreigners.
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BERLIN — The German government said Monday that it had been informed months ago about a valuable trove of art discovered in a Munich apartment, which a German magazine describes as a collection of hundreds of works confiscated by the Nazis or sold cheaply by people desperate to leave Germany.
Bill on workplace bias clears Senate hurdle
WASHINGTON — A measure that would outlaw workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity overcame a significant obstacle in the Senate on Monday as seven Republicans crossed party lines and voted to begin debate on the bill.
SAC Capital agrees to plead guilty to insider trading
SAC Capital Advisors has agreed to plead guilty to insider trading violations and pay a record $1.2 billion penalty, becoming the first large Wall Street firm in a generation to confess to criminal conduct. The move caps a decade-long investigation that turned a once mighty hedge fund into a symbol of financial wrongdoing.
Warm week is a pause in approach of winter
We have entered November and thus have started to notice below-freezing temperatures popping up now and then in the mornings. At this time last year, we were receiving snow from Sandy’s Nor’easter encore. This year, to the contrary, we will be seeing local temperatures on the rise, until in fact seeing mid to upper 60s°F in the afternoon of Nov. 7.
Contrite White House spurns health law’s critics
BOSTON — The White House on Wednesday blended expressions of contrition for the troubled rollout of its health care law with an aggressive rejection of Republican criticism of it, as the administration sought a political strategy to blunt the fallout from weeks of technical failures and negative coverage.
Red Sox clinch first title at Fenway since 1918
BOSTON — For much of the 20th century, the Boston Red Sox were a symbol of frustration and pain for an entire region. As popular as they were in their corner of the nation, either they were good enough to lose in agonizing fashion on baseball’s grandest stage or they were just plain bad.
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WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives, with bipartisan support, passed legislation Wednesday that would roll back a major element of the 2010 law intended to strengthen the nation’s financial regulations by allowing big banks like Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase to continue to handle most types of derivatives trades in house. The bill, which passed by a 292-122 vote, would repeal a requirement in the Dodd-Frank law that big banks “push out” some derivatives trading into separate units that are not backed by the government’s insurance fund.