Obama limits drone strikes in shift from war footing
WASHINGTON - In a speech on Thursday, President Barack Obama shifted the U.S. away from a "boundless global war on terror," restricting deadly U.S. drone strikes abroad and taking steps toward closing the Guantanamo Bay military prison. Full Article | Video
Wall Street sags, but ends off session lows; HP hits 52-week high
NEW YORK - Stocks slipped on Thursday but finished sharply off their session lows as a rally in Hewlett-Packard's shares offset worries about weak Chinese manufacturing data and the prospects of the Federal Reserve reducing its monetary stimulus. | Video
Police arrest two more over London attack
LONDON - British police arrested two more people in a hunt for accomplices of two British men of Nigerian descent, who were accused of hacking a soldier to death on a London street in revenge for wars in Muslim countries. Full Article
Lawmakers intensify fight against military rape
WASHINGTON - Lawmakers introduced fresh legislation seeking to address the problem of sexual assault in the military and summoned the nation's top commanders to testify about the crisis, which has become an embarrassment to the armed forces. Full Article
Apple enjoyed Irish tax holiday from the start
SAN FRANCISCO/DUBLIN - Apple has operated almost tax-free in Ireland since 1980, welcomed by a government keen to bring jobs to what was then one of Europe's poorest countries, former company executives and Irish officials have said. Full Article
Large retailers sue Visa, MasterCard over fees
A group of U.S. retailers including Macy's and Target sued Visa and MasterCard, breaking off from a proposed $7.2 billion settlement reached last year over fees to process credit card transactions. Full Article
Poor planning left Texas firefighters unprepared
WEST, Texas - The fertilizer-plant explosion that killed 14 and injured about 200 others in Texas last month highlights the failings of a U.S. federal law intended to save lives during chemical accidents, a Reuters investigation has found. Full Article | Related Story
Obama limits use of drone strikes, discusses closing Guantanamo
May 23 - President Barack Obama unveiled new guidelines to limit drone strikes against extremists abroad, but said he would have been "derelict" not to authorize the strike that killed militant cleric Anwar al-Awlaki. Rough Cut (no reporter narration).
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Some cracks in the technocrat cult
We are living in the age of the technocrats, but there are sound reasons why not to rely mechanically on technocratic solutions. That’s why it is worth reading a new paper by Daron Acemoglu of MIT and James Robinson of Harvard University. Commentary
Lessons of the London butchers
The cases of the butchers of London and the Boston bombers raise an even more fundamental question: What exactly is terrorism? Since 9/11, the central management of al Qaeda’s operation has been defeated and the duty to continue the Islamist fight has passed to individual jihadists. Commentary
The many interpretations of Ben Bernanke
The reaction to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's tediously familiar statement, and release of the equally repetitive minutes of the last Fed meeting, was some of the wildest gyrations seen in the world’s financial markets for months. Commentary
Civil wars and Syria: lessons from history
Removing Assad would no more end the Syrian conflict than overthrowing Saddam Hussein in 2003 brought stability to Iraq. The U.S. must create a more integrated overall strategy, argue Michael O'Hanlon and Sean Zeigler. Commentary
Prosperity without power
Across the BRIC nations, frustrated members of the middle class are demanding change, but traditional power holders from Russia’s Vladimir Putin to India’s large political parties remain entrenched. Commentary
Apple, hypocrisy and stakeholder tax
Politicians are hypocrites when they complain about the cross-border tax strategies of Apple and other multinationals. But "hypocrisy is the tribute vice pays to virtue." It’s high time that companies admit taxes on profit are fair payments for the help that governments give them. Commentary
The secret to Lenovo's success
The plain-vanilla personal computer industry may be hurting, but Lenovo is raking in the cash. Here's how. Video
















