Tech delegation pressing NKorea Internet openness

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — A private delegation including Google's Eric Schmidt is urging North Korea to allow more open Internet access and cellphones to benefit its citizens, the mission's leader said in the country with some of the world's tightest controls on information.Former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson also said his nine-member group called on North Korea to put a moratorium on missile...

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PM Note: NRA to Meet Joe Biden, Diane Sawyer and Gabbrielle Giffords, Remembering Richard Ben Cramer

Remembering Richard Ben Cramer, Chronicler of Political Candidates- Indulge Amy Walter, please, as she joins many of her political colleagues in paying tribute to Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Richard Ben Cramer, who died Monday at age 62. http://abcn.ws/UGXMWH (Amy Walter)Exclusive - Sawyer and Giffords - See Diane Sawyer's Interview with Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly - http://abcn.ws/ZnErq3From...

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Government launches review of Shell Arctic drill program

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Interior Department said on Tuesday it will review Royal Dutch Shell's 2012 Arctic oil drilling program to assess the challenges the company faced and to help guide future permitting in the region.The announcement follows the grounding of one of Shell's rigs off the coast of Alaska last week, the latest in a series of mishaps the company has encountered as it undertakes...

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Supreme Court narrows avenue for death row appeals

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two death row inmates were not entitled to a delay of their federal appeals on the grounds that they were incompetent to assist their lawyers, the Supreme Court said on Tuesday.In a unanimous ruling against inmates Ernest Valencia Gonzales and Sean Carter, the court also said federal judges cannot indefinitely delay appeals of state criminal convictions in the hope that the...

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Drilling barge pulled from rocks off Alaska island

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A large floating drill rig that ran aground a week ago on a remote Alaska island arrived as planned Monday in the shelter of a Kodiak Island bay after being towed about 45 miles through swells as high as 15 feet, officials said.The Royal Dutch Shell PLC vessel was lifted off rocks late Sunday and towed away from the southeast side of Sitkalidak Island, where it sat exposed...

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New York can't object to $115 million AIG shareholder deal: judge

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman cannot stop a $115 million settlement between American International Group Inc shareholders and the insurer's former chief executive and others, a U.S. judge ruled on Monday.The New York Attorney General lacks standing to object to the settlement, U.S. District Court Judge Deborah Batts in Manhattan wrote in her decision. She also denied...

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Insight: In "fiscal cliff" bill, White House was key to corporate tax breaks

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As the Congress rushed last week to approve a "fiscal cliff" tax bill that raised income taxes on the wealthy, Washington lobbyists were fretting over a drama that was playing out within the negotiations: whether the bill would include about $64 billion in tax breaks for businesses.The bill extended several tax breaks backed by both parties, including $14.3 billion in credits...

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Palestinians change their name following UN bid

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — The Palestinian president has ordered his government to officially change the name of the Palestinian Authority to "State of Palestine."The move follows the November decision by the United Nations to upgrade the Palestinians' status to that of a "non-member observer state."President Mahmoud Abbas said Sunday that all official Palestinian stamps, stationery and documents...

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Assad calls on Syrians to defend the country

BEIRUT (AP) — President Bashar Assad called on Syrians to defend their country against Islamic extremists seeking to destroy the nation, dismissing any prospect of dialogue with the "murderous criminals" he says are behind the uprising even as he outlined his vision for a peaceful settlement to the civil war.In a one-hour speech to the nation in which he appeared confident and relaxed, Assad struck...

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AP Interview: Palestinian PM blasts Arab donors

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — The Palestinian self-rule government is close to being "completely incapacitated," largely because Arab countries haven't delivered hundreds of millions of dollars in promised aid, the Palestinian prime minister said in an interview Sunday.If allowed to continue, the Palestinian Authority's unprecedented financial crisis will quickly double the number of Palestinian poor...

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