Scott Neuman

Toronto Mayor: 'I Do Not Use Crack Cocaine'

Scott Neuman — Fri, 24 May 2013 23:25:00 +0000

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford says he doesn't smoke crack cocaine and isn't an addict, in response to a video that surfaced recently purporting to show him using the illegal drug.

Last week Ford called the cellphone video obtained by The Toronto Star "ridiculous" and blamed the newspaper for "going after me."

Friday's comments from Ford were more emphatic.

"I do not use crack cocaine, nor am I an addict of crack cocaine," he said at a news conference.

Hedge Fund Manager Apologizes For Comments On Female Traders

Scott Neuman — Fri, 24 May 2013 21:51:00 +0000

Billionaire Paul Tudor Jones is back-peddling from remarks he made at a symposium last month that motherhood causes women to lose the necessary focus to be successful traders.

"As soon as that baby's lips touched that girl's bosom, forget it," Jones told an audience at the University of Virginia on April 26.

"Every single investment idea ... every desire to understand what is going to make this go up or go down is going to be overwhelmed by the most beautiful experience ... which a man will never share, about a mode of connection between that mother and that baby," he said.

Ex-Guatemalan President Extradited To U.S.

Scott Neuman — Fri, 24 May 2013 19:23:00 +0000

Former Guatemalan President Alfonso Portillo has been extradited to the United States, where he faces charges of laundering tens of millions of dollars through U.S. banks.

Portillo, who served as president from 2000 to 2004, was snatched from a hospital bed in Guatemala City, where he was recovering from liver surgery. He was placed on an airplane bound for New York, according to his lawyer, Mauricio Berreondo.

The former president is accused of laundering $70 million in Guatemalan funds through U.S. banks.

News Corp. Board Approves Company Split

Scott Neuman — Fri, 24 May 2013 18:12:00 +0000

Media empire News Corp., parent of Fox and The Wall Street Journal, will be cleaved into two businesses starting June 28: a publishing arm and one for entertainment.

The plan was first announced a year ago. As we reported at the time:

"News Corp.

Head Of IRS Tax-Exempt Division Reportedly Placed On Leave

Scott Neuman — Thu, 23 May 2013 22:45:00 +0000

Lois Lerner, the IRS official who oversees the branch of the agency that targeted conservative groups, has been placed on administrative leave a day after she refused to answer questions in a congressional probe of the scandal.

Lerner, who invoked the Fifth Amendment in refusing to testify at a House hearing on Wednesday, is effectively suspended from her job as head of the exempt organizations division, according to a congressional aide who spoke to The Associated Pres

Boy Scouts Vote To Admit Openly Gay Members

Scott Neuman — Thu, 23 May 2013 22:43:00 +0000

The Boy Scouts of America has agreed for the first time to allow openly gay boys as members, but a vote of the organization's National Council left in place a ban on gay Scout leaders.

The Associated Press reports that of the local Scout leaders voting at their annual meeting in Texas, more than 60 percent supported the proposal. The policy change approved by the 1,400-member National Council would take effect Jan.

Alabama Republican Jo Bonner Says He's Leaving Congress

Scott Neuman — Thu, 23 May 2013 22:08:00 +0000

Rep. Jo Bonner, R-Ala., says he will leave Congress effective in August to take a senior position at the University of Alabama.

Bonner, who has represented Alabama's 1st District for six terms since 2003, will become vice chancellor of government relations and economic development at Alabama.

NOAA Predicts Above-Average Hurricane Season

Scott Neuman — Thu, 23 May 2013 20:10:00 +0000

With memories of last year's Superstorm Sandy still fresh, NOAA is warning East Coasters and those farther inland to brace for another active Atlantic season, predicting that as many as six major storms will develop between the beginning of June and the end of November.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration believes that this year, there is a 70 percent chance of 13 to 20 named storms, with winds of 39 mp

London Attack Deemed Likely Terrorist Incident

Scott Neuman — Wed, 22 May 2013 20:55:00 +0000

A man has been killed in what reports described as a machete attack in London, and police have shot two suspects in what British Prime Minister David Cameron says is likely a terrorist incident.

The Associated Press says the incident occurred Wednesday when the suspects attacked the man near a London military barracks.

Costa Concordia Captain To Face Manslaughter Charges

Scott Neuman — Wed, 22 May 2013 20:14:00 +0000

A judge in Italy on Wednesday ordered the captain of the ill-fated Costa Concordia cruise ship that ran aground off the coast of Tuscany last year, killing 32 people, to face charges of manslaughter.

Francesco Schettino, 52, is accused of negligence that led to the grounding of the ship and for abandoning the vessel while a rescue of the 4,200 passengers and crew was still underway.