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'Complete panic' as 245 killed in Brazil nightclub fire - USA TODAY Posted: 27 Jan 2013 08:59 AM PST Relatives of victims gather at the scene of a nightclub fire in Santa Maria, Brazil, on Sunday.(Photo: Lauro Alves, AFP/Getty Images) Story Highlights Club had 1,000 to 2,000 partygoers inside Witnesses describe panic to escape There may have been no emergency exit A blaze at a Brazilian nightclub left 232 dead early Sunday morning, in what appears to be the world's deadliest nightclub fire in more than a decade. More than 100 were injured when the fire broke out at 2 a.m. in Santa Maria, Brazil, at a nightclub called Kiss, which was hosting an event for a local university. Television images showed smoke pouring out of the nightclub as shirtless, young male partygoers joined firefighters in wielding axes and sledgehammers, pounding at windows and walls to break through to those trapped inside. Teenagers sprinted from the scene desperately trying to find help — others carried injured and burned friends away in their arms. "There was so much smoke and fire, it was complete panic and it took a long time for people to get out, there were so many dead," survivor Luana Santos Silva told the Globo TV network. Rodrigo Moura, identified by the newspaper Diario de Santa Maria as a security guard at the club, said it was at its maximum capacity of between 1,000 and 2,000, and partygoers were pushing and shoving to escape. The fire may have started as a result of faulty pyrotechnics on stage during a live band performance, media outlet G1 reported. Michele Pereira told the Folha de S. Paulo newspaper that she was near the stage and that the fire broke out after band members lit flares. "The band that was onstage began to use flares and, suddenly, they stopped the show and pointed them upward. At that point the ceiling caught fire. It was really weak but in a matter of seconds it spread," Pereira said. Some survivors claimed revelers tried to escape before the fire got out of control, but were held back by security guards because they had not yet paid their bar tab, according to Radio Estadao ESPN. There's also uncertainty if there was an emergency exit and one survivor told G1 that the only exit was the front door. "I don't think there was an emergency exit," Fernanda Bona told G1. Bona, who was at Kiss taking photos for the club when the fire broke out, added, "We didn't know what was happening inside. It all happened in five minutes, not even. Five minutes after I got out, I saw a lot of panic and lots of people trying to get out. " Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff flew back from a summit in Santiago, Chile, because of the blaze. "We are together necessarily. We are going to make it through this tragedy," Rousseff said. Contributing: The Associated Press Relatives of victims react to news of the fire at a nightclub in Santa Maria, Brazil on Sunday.(Photo: Lauro Alves, AFP/Getty Images)

Egypt unrest: Deadly clashes erupt as Port Said mourns - BBC News Posted: 27 Jan 2013 08:36 AM PST 27 January 2013 Last updated at 11:58 ET The mass funeral took place amid widespread anger in Port Said over the death sentences Three people have been killed and 400 injured in the Egyptian city of Port Said at the mass funeral for about 30 people killed in unrest on Saturday. Clashed broke out as the coffins were carried through the streets. Unrest was also reported in the capital, Cairo. Saturday's clashes in Port Said were sparked by death sentences passed on 21 local people over football riots. Supporters of the defendants attacked the prison holding them. Two policemen were also killed in the unrest. Security was stepped up in Port Said in the aftermath of the rioting. The military has been deployed around key buildings. But there were clashes between security forces and mourners during Sunday's mass funeral. Gunfire was heard near the procession as police fired tear gas into the crowd of tens of thousands of angry mourners. Families of those given death sentences were seen weeping and fleeing tear gas outside Port Said jail In Cairo anti-government protesters clashed with security forces near Tahrir Square for a fourth consecutive day. The UK embassy, located near the square, remained closed on Sunday because of the "unfolding turbulence", officials said. Other nearby Western embassies were also closed. Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi is expected to address the nation in a television broadcast later on Sunday. Opposition anger Correspondents say Port Said remains in a state of rage after the 21 defendants were sentenced over riots which killed 74 people after a football game last February. February's violence began when fans of Port Said side al-Masry attacked visiting supporters from Cairo club al-Ahly. Saturday's death sentences sparked celebrations in Cairo but anger in Port Said, where more than 30 people were killed. The violence followed a day of unrest on the second anniversary of the uprising that ousted Hosni Mubarak. At least seven people were killed and more than 450 wounded across Egypt. Friday saw a big anti-government rally in Cairo's Tahrir Square, with opposition supporters clashing with police. The liberal opposition accuses Mr Morsi of being autocratic and driving through a new constitution that does not protect adequately freedom of expression or religion. The government is also being blamed for a deepening economic crisis. President Morsi and his allies have dismissed the claim, saying they have a democratic mandate following recent elections. The constitution, drawn up by an Islamist-dominated body, was approved by a referendum last month. Are you in Port Said? How have you been affected by the violence there? Please send us your comments and pictures using the form below. Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here. Read the terms and conditions

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Hackers claim attack on Justice Department website - Reuters Posted: 26 Jan 2013 09:35 AM PST WASHINGTON | Sat Jan 26, 2013 12:34pm EST (Reuters) - Hackers sympathetic to the late computer prodigy Aaron Swartz claimed on Saturday to have infiltrated the website of the U.S. Justice Department's Sentencing Commission, and said they planned to release government data. The Sentencing Commission site, www.ussc.gov , was shut down early Saturday. Identifying themselves as Anonymous, a loosely organized group of unknown provenance associated with a range of recent online actions, the hackers voiced outrage over Swartz' suicide on January 11. In a video posted online, the hackers criticized the government's prosecution of Swartz, who had been facing trial on charges that he used the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's computer networks to steal more than 4 million articles from JSTOR, an online archive and journal distribution service. Swartz had faced a maximum sentence of 31 years in prison and fines of up to $1 million. The FBI is investigating the attack, according to Richard McFeely, of the bureau's Criminal, Cyber, Response, and Services Branch. "We were aware as soon as it happened and are handling it as a criminal investigation," McFeely said in an emailed statement. "We are always concerned when someone illegally accesses another person's or government agency's network." (Reporting by Deborah Zabarenko; Editing by Vicki Allen)

Sen. Tom Harkin won't seek re-election in 2014 - DesMoinesRegister.com Posted: 26 Jan 2013 09:16 AM PST Tom Harkin, Iowa's powerful Democratic U.S. senator, won't seek re-election in two years, he told The Des Moines Register this morning. His retirement is expected to leave a huge void for Iowa - he will have been in Congress for four decades by the end of this term - but clears the way for Democrats trying determine their lineup for 2014. The next generation of Democratic candidates depended on whether Harkin, 73, chose to run again, party operatives told the Register for an article published Thursday. 1st District U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley of Waterloo is the favored replacement, Democrats have said. "I have mixed feelings," said Harkin, who was born in Cumming, has currently served in the U.S. Senate for 27 years and in the U.S. House 10 years before that. "You know what, it's somebody else's turn." He added: "To walk away from this position and this power is not an easy thing. But I think it's the right thing. And I have two years left. I'm not passing the torch sitting down, it's a running relay. I intend to be very active over the next two years." Today's news was unexpected: Many leading Democrats and Republicans thought Harkin, a powerful committee chairman, would run again. He and his Republican counterpart U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, 79, are a major force in federal government. And Harkin has been fundraising in earnest, including with a $1,500-a-person event scheduled for Feb. 25 featuring "Poker Face" singer Lady Gaga. Harkin has nearly $3 million in his campaign account, the second most money of any U.S. senator who is up for re-election in the next cycle. Only U.S. Sen. Max Baucus, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, has more. In an interview in Des Moines this morning, Harkin said he made his decision a couple nights ago, after all the grandkids had gone to sleep and he was climbing into bed for the night with his wife, Ruth. He said one of his top reasons for retiring is to give himself more time with Ruth. He intends to take lessons they've been wanting to take for years - "I'm going to learn to dance," he said. "The job I'm in is really very consuming. I love it. I loved every minute of it," he said. "But there are are certain things we wanted to do together and live together in a way that we've not been able to do and we wanted to do it before it's too late. Iowans can relate to that, I hope." Later this morning, Harkin broke the news to the central committee meeting of the Iowa Democratic Party. He said his health is not an issue. He's in great health and so is his wife, he said. And he had no fear that he might lose re-election - he has the support of many Iowans, "including some Republicans," he told the meeting. Harkin is popular in Iowa, according to The Des Moines Register's Iowa Poll. Harkin has regularly earned job approval ratings in the 60 percent range, and 70 percent or higher three times. Asked who he thinks might run to replace him, Harkin said he read the Register's article detailing how Iowa Democrats were waiting for him to make his move before they decide which positions to seek. If Harkin chose to stay in office, Braley might have considered running for governor. Braley has been talking privately with party power brokers about that in the last couple weeks, the Register reported. If Braley runs for a different office besides the 1st Congressional District, Democrats have a posse of good candidates they'd like to field for that job. The race for governor is the most fluid, but decisions on who would run on the Democratic side also hinged on Harkin's decision. "As you so correctly wrote," Harkin said in the interview this morning, "this really opens up a lot of opportunity and it really cascades down. I don't know who. I'm sure very shortly people will be stepping up. I certainly don't want to be in any position of trying to hand-pick my successor. The Democrats will decide that." Harkin said he hopes Democrats select a nominee who is "smart, savvy, knows how to put together a winning campaign and is a good pragmatic progressive." Asked about Braley, Harkin answered: "Certainly he is one of the most talked about that I hear about from my fellow Democrats. … Let's take a little breath and see what happens in the next week or so and see what emerges." Harkin is a big voice on social issues, and he has the ear of party leaders. Since Democrats control his chamber, he can move bills and tuck in an amendment here or there. He has left a thumbprint on agriculture, improvements for people with disabilities, health care and various progressive causes for decades. Harkin shoulders an important assignment in the Senate: He's chairman of the HELP committee, which stands for Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, a huge jurisdiction. The No Child Left Behind education law and the 2010 health care reform law — the Affordable Care Act, derisively called Obamacare — originated there. Those assigned to this powerful committee generally aren't supposed to serve on other committees, but Harkin has taken on three others: agriculture, appropriations and small business. Iowa Democrats reacted with strong emotion. "I'm flabbergasted," said Scott Brennan, a former Iowa Democratic Party chairman. "But he'd never committed to running, which surprised me a little." Harkin has been a mainstay in Iowa politics since 1975. "There were years it didn't seem like there was a single elected Democrat in the state of Iowa, but Tom Harkin was the constant," Brennan said. "If anyone deserves to go out on top, it's Tom Harkin." "I'm weepy," said Araceli Goode, a member of the Iowa Democratic Party central committee. "It's hard to accept the truth that he's going to be stepping down." Iowa politics will experience a void, she said. "In a way, until we see who's going to be moving up," Good said. "It's going to be a challenge to meet those standards that he has set."

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Strong earnings propel US stocks higher Posted: 25 Jan 2013 05:02 PM PST NEW YORK: Strong earnings reports from Procter and Gamble, Halliburton and other equities propelled US markets higher Friday, pushing the much-watched S&P 500 past the 1,500 mark for the first time in five years. Apple shares lost another 2.4 per cent and ceded its position as the world's largest company by market value to ExxonMobil, but that had little impact on overall bullishness. At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 70.65 (0.51 per cent) to 13,895.98, its best level since October 2007. The broad-based S&P 500 continued its streak of gains, adding 8.14 (0.54 per cent) to 1,502.96; the last time it topped the 1,500 level was December 10, 2007. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 19.33 (0.62 per cent) to 3,149.71. Friday's better-than-expected earnings reports were "boosting sentiment," according to a note from Charles Schwab & Co. The markets largely overlooked a surprising slide in US new home sales in December and a larger than expected contraction in UK growth, Schwab said. Instead, markets fixated on the earnings and positive news from Europe. Germany's business confidence rose to its highest level in seven months, according to the Ifo institute index; and the European Central Bank said that 278 eurozone banks will repay early 137 billion euros of loans made available in emergency liquidity measures. Among the companies reporting earnings Friday, Procter and Gamble rose 4 per cent after besting forecasts by a wide margin and giving an improved outlook for 2013. Halliburton soared 5.1 per cent higher after beating analyst forecasts on the strength of its international operations. Among other companies reporting earnings, AT&T gained 0.8 per cent, Starbucks rose 4.1 per cent, and Honeywell added 0.1 per cent. Microsoft rose 0.9 per cent one day after reporting earnings slightly above expectations. Other technology issuers also flourished. Netflix jumped 15.5 pe rcent, Priceline.com rose 5.8 per cent and book retailer Amazon.com advanced by 3.8 per cent. - AFP

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Appeals court panel rules Obama recess appointments to labor board are ... - Washington Post Posted: 25 Jan 2013 09:29 AM PST WASHINGTON — In an embarrassing setback for President Barack Obama, a federal appeals court panel ruled Friday that he violated the Constitution in making certain recess appointments and moved to curtail a chief executive's ability in the future to circumvent the Senate in such scenarios. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit said that Obama did not have the power to make three recess appointments last year to the National Labor Relations Board because the Senate was officially in session — and not in recess — at the time. If the decision stands, it could invalidate hundreds of board decisions. The court said the president could only fill vacancies with the recess appointment procedure if the openings arise when the Senate is in an official recess, which it defined as the break between sessions of Congress. The ruling threw into question Obama's recess appointment of Richard Cordray to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Cordray's appointment, also made at the same time, has been challenged in a separate case. The White House had no immediate comment. Obama made the recess appointments on Jan. 4, 2012, after Senate Republicans spent months blocking his choices for an agency they contended was biased in favor of unions. Obama claims he acted properly because the Senate was away for the holidays on a 20-day recess. The Constitution allows for such appointments without Senate approval when Congress is in recess. But during that time, GOP lawmakers argued, the Senate technically had stayed in session because it was gaveled in and out every few days for so-called "pro forma" sessions. GOP lawmakers used the tactic — as Democrats had done in the past — specifically to prevent the president from using his recess power to install members to the labor board. They had also vigorously opposed the nomination of Cordray. The White House argued that the pro forma sessions — some lasting less than a minute — were a sham. The three-judge panel, all appointed by Republican presidents, ruled that during one of those pro forma sessions on Jan. 3, the Senate officially convened its second session of the 112th Congress, as required by the Constitution. "Either the Senate is in session, or it is in recess," Chief Judge David Sentelle wrote in the 46-page ruling. "If it has broken for three days within an ongoing session, it is not in "the Recess" described in the Constitution." Simply taking a break of an evening or a weekend during a regular working session cannot count, he said. Sentelle said that otherwise "the president could make appointments any time the Senate so much as broke for lunch." The judge rejected arguments from the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, which claimed the president has discretion to decide that the Senate is unavailable to perform its advice and consent function. "Allowing the president to define the scope of his own appointment power would eviscerate the Constitution's separation of powers," Sentelle wrote. Sentelle was joined in the ruling by Judge Thomas Griffith, appointed to the court by President George W. Bush, and Karen LeCraft Henderson, who was appointed by President George H.W. Bush. The Obama administration is expected to appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court. But if the ruling stands, it means that hundreds of decisions issued by the board over more than a year would be invalid. It also would leave the five-member labor board with just one validly appointed member, effectively shutting it down. The board is allowed to issue decisions only when it has at least three sitting members. Obama used the recess appointment to appoint Deputy Labor Secretary Sharon Block, union lawyer Richard Griffin and NLRB counsel Terence Flynn to fill vacancies on the NLRB, giving it a full contingent for the first time in more than a year. Block and Griffin are Democrats, while Flynn is a Republican. Flynn stepped down from the board last year. The court's decision is a victory for Republicans and business groups that have been attacking the labor board for issuing a series of decisions and rules that make it easier for the nation's labor unions to organize new members. ___ Follow Sam Hananel on Twitter: http://twitter.com/SamHananelAP Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Obama Shakes Up White House as He Names Chief of Staff - New York Times Posted: 25 Jan 2013 09:28 AM PST By PETER BAKER Published: January 25, 2013 WASHINGTON — President Obama shook up his White House staff on Friday, installing a new team largely made up of familiar faces moved to different positions as he gears up for an intense push on sweeping legislation early in his second term. Mr. Obama named Denis R. McDonough, a longtime aide and currently the principal deputy national security adviser, as his new White House chief of staff, and he will shuffle around a series of other officials in the West Wing. The president made his announcement in the East Room in the early afternoon. Moving up to deputy chief of staff will be Rob Nabors, currently the president's legislative affairs chief, and replacing Mr. McDonough at the National Security Council will be Tony Blinken, the national security adviser to Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. Dan Pfeiffer, the White House communications director and another early Obama aide, will move up to senior adviser, replacing David Plouffe, who is departing this week. Replacing Mr. Pfeiffer as communications chief will be his deputy, Jennifer Palmieri, a veteran of Bill Clinton's White House. Serving as deputy senior adviser for communications and strategy will be David Simas, a former White House aide who served as head of polling and focus-group research for the president's re-election campaign. Replacing Mr. Nabors running the legislative affairs office will be Miguel Rodriguez, a former aide to departing Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and more recently Senate liaison for the Obama White House. Lisa Monaco, currently the assistant attorney general for national security, will move over to the White House to replace John O. Brennan, the president's adviser for homeland security and counterterrorism, who has been tapped to take over as director of the Central Intelligence Agency if confirmed by the Senate. The White House announced separately Friday that Christopher P. Lu, one of Mr. Obama's early aides dating back to his Senate days, will be leaving as White House cabinet secretary, the liaison to the various government departments. Replacing him will be Danielle Gray, the deputy director of the White House National Economic Council. Katy Kale will become the president's assistant for management and administration, moving up from deputy. Mr. Obama released a statement praising Mr. Lu and his "dedication and tireless efforts." The president made clear that he does not accept Mr. Lu's departure, saying he has asked him to return in another capacity. "After he enjoys some time off, I hope he will consider those opportunities," Mr. Obama said. In a separate move, the first lady's deputy communications director, Semonti Stephens, announced Thursday that she was leaving to move to San Francisco.

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RAM reaffirms Kesas AA3 rating Posted: 24 Jan 2013 07:03 PM PST Malaysia's RAM Ratings has reaffirmed the AA3 long-term rating of Kesas Sdn Bhd's (Kesas or "the Company") RM800 million Al-Bai' Bithaman Ajil Islamic Debt Securities (BaIDS) (2002/2014) while revising its rating outlook to stable from negative. Kesas is the toll concessionaire for the 35-km Shah Alam Expressway ("the Highway") under a concession agreement dated 19 November 1993. RAM's rating action follows the Government's recent announcement that Kesas will receive an RM86 million cash compensation for non-revision of its toll rates in 2012. At the same time, toll rates for the Highway would be reduced effective 15 January 2013 while tariffs would not be raised until 2016 (the toll rate for Class 1 vehicles has already been lowered from RM2.20 to RM2.00). Despite the loss of monthly revenue from the reduced tariffs, the one-off cash compensation is expected to boost the Company's cash coffers while improving its debt coverage. Moving forward, Kesas is expected to register respective minimum and average finance service coverage ratios of 1.4 times and 1.9 times (with cash balances, calculated on debt-repayment dates) throughout the remaining tenure of its BaIDS, compared to 1.2 times and 1.8 times expected during the rating review in October last year. Further to that, RAM has been made to understand that the compensation is expected to be received before the Company's lumpy RM264 million repayment on the BaIDS in October 2013. In this regard, we expect Kesas to prioritise its debt obligations ahead of any distributions to its shareholders as this is imperative to preserving its debt-servicing ability. Any deviations from our current expectations will be reassessed for credit implications. -- Reuters

KL shares open higher Posted: 24 Jan 2013 06:25 PM PST Share prices on Bursa Malaysia extended Wednesday's gains to open higher Friday on continued buying interest, mostly seen in the palm oil counters, dealers said. As at 9.29 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was 5.97 points better at 1,641.22 after opening 7.94 points higher at 1,643.19. The local bourse was closed yesterday for the Maulidur Rasul public holiday. HwangDBS Vickers Research said as the local bourse took a break yesterday, its regional peers ended broadly mixed, with Japan and Thailand rising, while South Korea and Taiwan were down. "Over on Wall Street, major US equity indices closed between -0.7 per cent and +0.3 per cent last night amid news of lower jobless claims and better corporate earnings outlook. "This could pave the way for our Malaysian stock market to extend its gradual recovery," it said in a research note today. From a technical perspective, HwangDBS said the benchmark FBM KLCI may be eager to cross and pull away from 1,635 towards the next resistance line of 1,655. The Finance Index rose 31.21 points to 14,899.22, the Industrial Index added 16.04 points to 2,756.05 and the Plantation Index gained 54.04 points to 8,061.84. The FBM Emas Index jumped 42.36 points to 11,162.08, the FBMT100 picked up 42.09 points to 11,012.31, the FBM Mid 70 Index strengthened 55.97 points to 12,151.88 and the FBM Ace Index was 9.37 points higher at 4,144.48. Gainers led losers 170 to 83 with 138 counters unchanged, 1,268 untraded and 28 others were suspended. Volume stood at 109.81 million shares worth RM176.6 million. Actives, The Media Shoppe added one sen to 10 sen, Tenaga Nasional earned nine sen to RM7.05, D.B.E. Gurney rose half a sen to 8.5 sen but Patimas Computers eased half a sen to 10.5 sen. Heavyweights, Maybank and CIMB rose one sen each to RM8.91 and RM7.25, respectively, Sime Darby jumped 14 sen to RM9.39 and Axiata Group added two sen to RM6.45. -- Bernama

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North Korea vows more nuclear testing, threatens US as 'sworn enemy' - MSNBC Posted: 24 Jan 2013 08:43 AM PST North Korea is using its most aggressive rhetoric against the U.S. since Kim Jong-un took power. (David Guttenfelder/AP/dapd) Two days into President Obama's second term and with a transition of power on tap at the State Department, the North Korean military is using its most aggressive rhetoric toward the United States since Kim Jong-un took power–including a pledge to build up its arsenal and further nuclear testing. In a lengthy statement, released on Thursday by its National Defense Commission through state-run media, North Korea wagged a finger in the face of the U.N. Security Council, and repeatedly challenged the U.S. role in pushing sanctions aimed at neutralizing the goading nuclear state. The defiant moves comes after the Security Council on Tuesday unanimously adopted a resolution that tightened sanctions against the country and condemned the Dec. 12 North Korea rocket launch as a violation of an existing resolution. China, one of North Korea's few international allies, joined the U.S. and other countries in support. "The U.S. is taking the lead in encroaching upon the sovereignty of the DPRK, its allies are siding with it and the U.N. Security Council has been reduced into an organization bereft of impartiality and balance," the defense commission's statement reads. The most hostile language is aimed directly at the United States. "We do not hide that a variety of satellites and long-range rockets which will be launched by the DPRK one after another and a nuclear test of higher level which will be carried out by it in the upcoming all-out action, a new phase of the anti-U.S. struggle that has lasted century after century, will target against the U.S., the sworn enemy of the Korean people," the statement reads. "Settling accounts with the U.S. needs to be done with force, not with words as it regards jungle law as the rule of its survival." The statement goes on to challenge a "more dangerous phase" in the U.S. policy toward North Korea and insists that only the "denuclearization" of the United States and rest of the world will stop the country from pursuing its own nuclear ambitions. Glyn Davies, special envoy on North Korea, reacted to the statement–and the possibility of further North Korean nuclear testing–during a visit in South Korea. "We think that would be a mistake obviously," Davies told reporters. "We call on North Korea as does the entire international community not to engage in any further provocations." Davies put the onus on North Korea to comply with the Security Council. "This unanimous action by the Security Council makes clear that the international community is sending as strong signal to North Korea," he said. The provocation comes as Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., testifies before his colleagues as nominee to replace Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Obama to tap former federal prosecutor to head SEC - Reuters Posted: 24 Jan 2013 08:40 AM PST Mary Jo White, Partner Debevoise & Plimpton and former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, speaks during the Reuters Finanacial Regulation Summit in New York, April 24, 2009. Credit: Reuters/Brendan McDermid By Aruna Viswanatha and Sarah N. Lynch WASHINGTON | Thu Jan 24, 2013 11:39am EST (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will nominate former federal prosecutor Mary Jo White to head the Securities and Exchange Commission, the White House said on Thursday, showing a desire to have a tough cop policing Wall Street. White, the former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York who was known for prosecuting terrorists and mob figures, would become the third consecutive woman to hold the powerful post. She would succeed current SEC Chairman Elisse Walter, who took over in December after predecessor Mary Schapiro stepped down. The president also plans to renominate Richard Cordray to continue as head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the U.S. watchdog for consumer products such as mortgages and student loans, said White House spokesman Jay Carney. The formal personnel announcements are expected at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday. White is a relatively uncontroversial pick, though she does not have a deep securities policy background and she has spent her recent private practice work defending Wall Street figures, including former Bank of America Chief Executive Ken Lewis. A swift confirmation for White could help the SEC speed up its implementation of the dozens of unfinished rules required by the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law. The SEC is currently divided between two Democrats and two Republicans after Schapiro, a political independent, departed in December. Many SEC observers say the lack of a full five-person commission could make it nearly impossible to complete more controversial rules, such as the Volcker Rule, which bans banks from proprietary trading. HIGH-PROFILE CASES White, now a respected white-collar defense attorney with the law firm Debevoise and Plimpton, was the only woman in the 200-year history of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York to serve in the top spot there. She was in office from 1993 through to 2002, during a tumultuous time starting with the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center and then later, the infamous September 11, 2001 attacks. Under her watch, the U.S. Attorney's office won about 35 convictions of militant Muslims charged with plotting against Americans. "I view her as an incredibly well-regarded lawyer who has spent a significant amount of time as a partner at Debevoise representing companies and individuals in high-profile securities related matters," said Cheryl Scarboro, the former head of the SEC's Foreign Corrupt Practices Act unit and now a partner with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett. Like Schapiro, White has previously been identified as a political independent. Unlike Schapiro, White has not worked as a Wall Street regulator. However, White's husband, John White, served as the director of the SEC's Corporation Finance division, which oversees public company disclosures, from 2006 to 2008. As a defense attorney, White has been involved in some high-profile SEC and Justice Department cases. She represented healthcare provider HCA Holdings in an insider-trading investigation, according to her online biography. She has also represented JPMorgan Chase & Co in its portion of the $25 billion multi-bank settlement to resolve allegations of mortgage servicing abuses, as well as former Bank of America CEO Lewis over a civil lawsuit in connection with Bank of America's acquisition of Merrill Lynch. "I have met Mary Jo White, and anyone who knows her at all - extremely capable, competent, bright, tough, and a perfect choice," JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said in an interview on Thursday with Fox Business News from Davos. It is unclear whether her defense of Wall Street clients could prove troublesome for her during the U.S. Senate confirmation process. So far, the reaction from liberal-leaning groups has been positive. "Mary Jo White was a tough, smart, no nonsense, broadly experienced and highly accomplished prosecutor. She knew who the bad guys were, went after them and put them in prison when they broke the law," said Dennis Kelleher, the president of the non-profit organization Better Markets. As for Cordray, he has already faced some uphill battles with Republicans in Congress. Cordray, a former Ohio attorney general, was appointed in January 2012 while Congress was in recess after Republicans who were wary of the CFPB's independence blocked his nomination. The controversial appointment limited the amount of time Cordray could serve without going through a full confirmation process. The CFPB has drawn criticism from Republicans and business groups, who say it is virtually unchecked and will hurt lending and put small banks out of business. Asked whether the White House foresees any problems getting Cordray confirmed, Carney said he did not expect any objections to him "on substance." "He is absolutely the right person for the job," Carney said. He said earlier obstacles to Cordray's nomination had been based on "political considerations" from lawmakers who had opposed the creation of the financial protection board. (Reporting by Aruna Viswanatha, Emily Stephenson, Sarah N. Lynch and Matt Spetalnick, with additional reporting by Douwe Miedema and David Henry; Editing by Karey Wutkowski, Vicki Allen, John Wallace and Tim Dobbyn)

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Clinton angrily defends handling of Benghazi attack - Reuters Posted: 23 Jan 2013 09:27 AM PST By Tabassum Zakaria and Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON | Wed Jan 23, 2013 12:22pm EST (Reuters) - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday angrily defended her handling of the September 11 attack on the U.S. mission in the Libyan city of Benghazi and denied any effort to mislead people. The attack by armed militants that killed U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans threatens to stain Clinton's legacy as secretary of state. It also may dent any hopes that Clinton, who mounted an unsuccessful presidential campaign in 2008, may run for the White House again in 2016. By turns emotional and fierce, Clinton choked up as she spoke of comforting the victims' families and grew angry when a Republican senator accused the Obama administration of misleading the country over whether the Benghazi incident stemmed from a protest. "With all due respect, the fact is that we had four dead Americans," Clinton shot back as she testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, an appearance delayed more than a month because of her ill health. "Was it because of a protest or was it because of guys out for a walk one night who decided they'd go kill some Americans? What difference, at this point, does it make?" she said, making chopping motions with her hands for emphasis. Clinton cast the incident as part of a long history of such violence as well as the result of regional instability since the Arab Spring of popular revolutions began in 2011. Clinton is expected to step down in the coming days once her designated successor, Senator John Kerry, is confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Republicans harshly criticized her, and President Barack Obama's administration more generally, with one saying the Benghazi attack and the U.S. response displayed "woeful unpreparedness" for the events sweeping the region and another saying Clinton should have been fired. Militants attacked and overwhelmed the U.S. diplomatic facility in Benghazi, Libya, on September 11 in a sustained assault. An official U.S. inquiry concluded that the State Department was completely unprepared to deal with the attack, citing "leadership and management" deficiencies, poor coordination and unclear lines of authority in Washington. Four lower-level U.S. officials were placed on administrative leave following the release of the inquiry, which did not find Clinton personally at fault. A separate Senate committee report said the State Department made a "grievous mistake" in keeping the Benghazi mission open despite inadequate security and increasingly alarming threat assessments in the weeks before the attack. Clinton was originally due to testify on December 20 but had to cancel after she suffered a concussion when she fainted due to dehydration. Doctors later found she had a blood clot in her head and hospitalized her for several days. Several senators, noting the ferocity of Clinton's defense, said she appeared to have fully recovered. While many senators praised her four-year tenure as secretary of state, some Republicans were unsparing in their criticism. Clinton at one point said that she had not seen requests from U.S. officials in Libya seeking additional security. "Had I been president at the time and I found that you did not read the cables ... I would have relieved you of your post. I think it's inexcusable," Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky told Clinton. 'AS COMBATIVE AS EVER' "It's wonderful to see you in good health and as combative as ever," Senator John McCain, an Arizona Republican, told Clinton, who responded by laughing. He then went on to say that he categorically rejected one of her answers and found others unsatisfactory. While tarnishing Clinton's tenure at the State Department, the controversy over the Benghazi attack also cost Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, her chance to succeed Clinton as secretary of state. Republicans in Congress harshly criticized Rice for her comments days after the attack in which she said the incident appeared to be the result of a spontaneous demonstration rather than a planned assault. Rice, who has said her comments were based on talking points from the U.S. intelligence community, eventually withdrew her name from consideration for the top U.S. diplomatic job. "We were misled that there were supposedly protests and then something sprang out of that, an assault sprang out of that," Senator Ron Johnson, a Wisconsin Republican, told Clinton, referring to Rice's appearance on Sunday television talk shows. "People have accused Ambassador Rice and the administration of, you know, misleading Americans," Clinton said. "Nothing could be further from the truth." Clinton also appeared to try to subtly distance herself from Rice's comments. "The very next morning, I told the American people that heavily armed militants assaulted our compound, and I vowed to bring them to justice. And I stood with President Obama in the (White House) Rose Garden as he spoke of an act of terror," she said. Clinton's voice cracked as she spoke of comforting families who lost loved ones in the attack, the first since 1988 in which a U.S. ambassador was killed. "For me, this is not just a matter of policy - it's personal," Clinton told the Senate panel on what is likely to be the last day that she will testify before Congress before stepping down as secretary of state. "I stood next to President Obama as the Marines carried those flag-draped caskets off the plane at Andrews," she added, her voice breaking as she described the ceremony at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland when the men's remains were brought home. "I put my arms around the mothers and fathers, the sisters and brothers, the sons and daughters and the wives left alone to raise their children," she said. "I take responsibility," Clinton said, echoing comments she first made in a TV interview on October 15 and stressing that she has accepted all of the recommendations of the independent review panel that held lower-level officials responsible. "Nobody is more committed to getting this right. I am determined to leave the State Department and our country safer, stronger and more secure," she added. Clinton was due to testify later in the day before a House of Representatives committee. (Additional reporting by Andrew Quinn; Writing by Arshad Mohammed; Editing by Will Dunham)

Debt limit extension bill moves to vote in House - Reuters Posted: 23 Jan 2013 08:56 AM PST Italy's Prime Minister Mario Monti speaks during an interview as a guest on the RAI television Porta a Porta (Door to Door) in Rome January 14, 2013. Credit: Reuters/Alessandro Bianchi By David Lawder WASHINGTON | Wed Jan 23, 2013 12:01pm EST (Reuters) - The House of Representatives on Wednesday began considering a Republican measure to extend the U.S. debt limit for nearly four months but many Democrats vowed to oppose the measure, calling it a gimmick that sets up a new "fiscal cliff." A test vote to proceed with debate on the measure showed a nearly strict partisan split, with 234 votes in favor and 190 against. Just six Democrats supported it. The bill, likely to pass both the Republican-controlled House and Democratic-controlled Senate, also was endorsed by the White House on Tuesday. It would avoid an immediate threat of U.S. default by suspending limits on the government's ability to borrow until May 19. The U.S. Treasury is expected to exhaust all remaining capacity under the $16.4 trillion debt limit sometime between mid-February and early March. The bill, a shift in tactics put together by House Republicans at a retreat in southern Virginia last week, buys them time to shift the debate over spending cuts from the highly charged - and politically toxic - debt limit to other fiscal deadlines that they see as more productive. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Wednesday praised the House debt limit measure for not requiring spending cuts and said the Senate would take up the measure upon House passage. The bill aims to draw Senate Democrats into the debate by requiring the chamber to pass a formal budget resolution by April 15. If either the House or Senate fails to meet this deadline, lawmakers' pay is suspended until they pass a budget. "The bill we are passing today, we think, will give us the ability to have a debate that will last a number of months about contrasting visions," House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan told a breakfast for reporters sponsored by the Wall Street Journal. "We see this as a very defining moment for this session of Congress and our caucus on getting a down payment on the debt crisis, on averting it." But Democrats objected, saying it was irresponsible to set short-term debt limit deadlines that would keep a cloud of uncertainty hanging over financial markets, prompting volatility and higher interest rates. "This legislation sets up another fiscal cliff, another financial nightmare, another problem for the American people that we should avoid," said Representative Rob Andrews, a Democrat from New Jersey. I urge all members to vote no." The next fiscal deadlines that Congress must deal with are the March 1 start of automatic spending cuts for military and domestic programs, and the March 27 expiration of funding needed to keep federal agencies and programs operating. (Additional reporting by Thomas Ferraro and Richard Cowan; Editing by Fred Barbash and Bill Trott)

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