Ellen DeGeneres to host the Oscars

2 August 2013 Last updated at 12:03 ET

US chat show host and comedian Ellen DeGeneres is to host the Oscars for a second time, it has been announced.

"I am so excited to be hosting the Oscars for the second time. You know what they say - the third time's the charm," joked the presenter.

DeGeneres hosted the 79th Academy Awards in 2007, watched by a TV audience of 39.9 million. She also received an Emmy nomination.

The Academy Awards will take place on Sunday, 2 March 2014.

The chat show host also tweeted the news herself:

"It's official: I'm hosting the #Oscars! I'd like to thank @TheAcademy, my wife Portia and, oh dear, there goes the orchestra," she joked.

Producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron said she was the perfect choice as "there are few stars today who have Ellen's gift for comedy, with her great warmth and humanity".

Cheryl Boone Isaacs who was elected to be president of the Academy just days ago said she "agreed immediately that Ellen is the ideal host for this year's show," adding, "We're looking forward to an entertaining, engaging and fun show."

DeGeneres will be seen as a safe pair of hands a year after an edgier performance by Seth McFarlane.

The Family Guy creator came in for a lot of criticism for what Variety called "the most over-analysed three-hour job in Hollywood".

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US employment up by 162,000 in July

2 August 2013 Last updated at 12:48 ET

The US economy added 162,000 new jobs in July, according to the US Labor Department.

The figure - which measures the number of jobs outside the US farming sector - was below economists' expectations of more than 180,000 and the government also cut its previous estimates for hiring in May and June.

Nonetheless, the new jobs helped the unemployment rate to fall to 7.4%.

That was down from 7.6% and is the lowest jobless rate in four years.

The news adds to the picture of a slowly growing US economy and may make its central bank more likely to end its monetary stimulus programme.

The Federal Reserve is currently buying $85bn a month in bonds which helps to keep borrowing costs low.

However, there is much speculation as to when the Fed will start to rein in this stimulus programme.

Its chairman, Ben Bernanke, has said that it might start cutting down the rate of bond buying by the end of the year and stop altogether by the middle of 2014, depending on the strength of the economy.

Continue reading the main story

At first glance, a 7.4 %unemployment rate seems like something to cheer about. That's a point two percent decline from the month before and a far cry from the double digits we saw at the height of the US financial crisis. But a closer look at the labour participation rate tells a different story. The current percentage of working age adults in the United States in the labour force sits at 63.4%. That calls the actual strength of the US economic recovery into question. While the number of people who have a job went up, there are still a number of people who have dropped out of the labour force completely. Couple that with the weak GDP growth and slowing in hiring shows this economy isn't picking up as robustly as some would hope.

Earlier this week, figures showed that the US economy grew at a faster-than-expected annualised pace of 1.7% in the second quarter of the year.

That was up from the growth rate for the first three months of 2013, which was revised lower to 1.1% from 1.8%.

'Grinding along'

Gordon Charlop, of Rosenblatt Securities said the figures were moderately encouraging: "The idea that the unemployment dropped at all, went below 7.6%, is showing that the trend is going the right way.

"We're sort of grinding along here. We're not surging. I don't think there's anything here that will cause the Fed to do anything significant."

Revisions to previous months' data saw May's jobs increase downgraded to 176,000, below the 195,000 previously estimated, while June's increase was lowered to 188,000, from the 195,000 originally reported.

Paul Ashworth, chief US economist at Capital Economics, said despite that, the employment picture was much brighter than last year: "While July itself was a bit disappointing, the Fed will be looking at the cumulative improvement.

"On that score, the unemployment rate has fallen from 8.1% last August, to 7.4% this July, which is a significant improvement.''

Other figures released on Friday confirmed the picture of moderate economic growth.

US consumer spending and inflation both rose in June, with the US Commerce Department saying spending was 0.5% higher and annual inflation running at 1.3% - although that is still well below the US target of 2%.

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'Gluten-free' defined in the US

2 August 2013 Last updated at 13:13 ET

After six years' consideration, US food regulators have created a standard for food products labelled "gluten-free".

The rule requires any product with the label to contain less than 20 parts per million of gluten.

That amount will not make most people with coeliac disease sick, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said.

Foods labelled "no gluten", "free of gluten" and "without gluten" will also have to meet the definition. Firms will have a year to comply.

But the FDA urged food manufacturers to meet the definition sooner.

"This standard 'gluten-free' definition will eliminate uncertainty about how food producers label their products," FDA deputy foods commissioner Michael Taylor said in a statement.

Coeliac disease causes abdominal pain, bloating and diarrhoea when sufferers ingest gluten, which is found in wheat, rye and barley and their derivatives.

People with the condition can suffer weight loss, fatigue, rashes and other long-term medical problems.

An estimated three million people in the US have coeliac disease.

US consumers spent more than $4bn (£2.6bn) on gluten-free foods last year, according to the American Celiac Disease Alliance.

Andrea Levario of the group said the federal guidelines would cut down on trial-and-error shopping for those with the disease.

Ms Levario said that wheat must be labelled on food packages, but that barley and rye are often hidden ingredients in food.

The rule was originally proposed during the Bush administration, but was delayed as the agency evaluated whether the standard was correct, according to Mr Taylor.

"We wanted to do a careful scientific assessment of the data and the range of sensitivities," he said.

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Somali pirates face life in prison

2 August 2013 Last updated at 16:49 ET

A US jury has recommended that three Somali pirates be sentenced to life in prison for the 2011 killing of four Americans off the coast of East Africa.

Prosecutors had sought the death penalty for Ahmed Muse Salad, Abukar Osman Beyle and Shani Nurani Shiekh Abrar, who were convicted in July.

They were among 19 men who hijacked the Americans' yacht S/V Quest, hoping to ransom them for millions of dollars.

The Americans were killed as rescue talks with the US Navy broke down.

The three men maintained an armed guard over the Americans and shot and killed them as the US Navy closed in, prosecutors said.

In July they were found guilty of all 26 counts against them, including piracy, murder and kidnapping. Federal Judge Rebecca Beach Smith will formally sentence the men in November in the courtroom in Norfolk, Virginia.

Eleven other men have pleaded guilty to piracy in the case and have been sentenced to life in prison.

The victims, Jean and Scott Adam and their guests Bob Riggle and Phyllis Macay, were the first US citizens killed in a wave of pirate attacks that plagued the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean in recent years.

The Adams had been sailing around the world in their yacht, the S/V Quest. Bob Riggle and Phyllis Macay had joined them for the Indian Ocean leg when the Somalis struck.

After intercepting the hijacked yacht, the Navy offered to let the pirates keep the vessel in exchange for the hostages, according to court records. When the Somali man negotiating with the Navy refused the bargain, he was arrested.

Then, one of the men aboard the S/V Quest fired a rocket-propelled grenade at the Navy warship and the US sailors heard gunfire from the yacht.

Special forces fighters boarded the vessel and found the Americans had been killed, the military said.

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Court heckler: Bulger 'a coward'

2 August 2013 Last updated at 18:28 ET

A courtroom heckler has cried out that James "Whitey" Bulger is a coward, after the accused former mob boss opted not to testify in his own defence.

The outburst came after Bulger, 83, called his mob trial "a sham".

Prosecutors have called him a "hands-on killer" who led Boston's Winter Hill gang in the '70s and '80s.

Bulger, who denies the charges, spent 16 years on the run before his 2011 capture in California. He was one of the FBI's most wanted fugitives.

He faces a total of 19 charges including murder, running crime schemes, and corrupting officials.

'Involuntary' choice

Continue reading the main story

Do what youse want with me"

End Quote James 'Whitey' Bulger

The outburst came as federal Judge Denise Casper questioned Bulger about his decision not to testify, as his defence closed its case on Friday.

Ms Casper asked whether Bulger had made the decision "voluntarily and freely".

"I'm making the choice involuntarily because I don't feel - I feel that I've been choked off from having an opportunity to give an adequate defence and explain about my conversation with Jeremiah O'Sullivan," Bulger said in response.

He was referring to Ms Casper's decision earlier in the trial to bar Bulger from invoking an immunity deal he said he had with O'Sullivan, a deceased anti-Mafia prosecutor in Boston.

Bulger has claimed the prosecutor offered him immunity from prosecution in return for protection from other mobsters.

Ms Casper granted that Bulger disagreed with her ruling. He replied, "As far as I'm concerned, I didn't get a fair trial, and this is a sham."

"You're a coward," someone shouted from the court gallery.

After calling for order in the court, Ms Casper confirmed Bulger would not be testifying.

Continue reading the main story

On Monday, lawyers for both sides are scheduled to present closing arguments in the case, and the jury is expected to begin deliberations on Tuesday.

Outside the courthouse later, Bulger's lawyer JW Carney said his client was "at peace" with his decision not to testify.

"He was very calm and very pleased that he made the decision that he did, because he feels it was the right one," Mr Carney said.

Over the course of the trial, Bulger's former associates have testified he strangled women, gunned down those threatening to expose his crime syndicate, and threatened others with pistols and machine guns to force them to hand over cash.

In addition, prosecutors say Bulger regularly met with a corrupt FBI official who turned a blind eye to the Winter Hill gang's activities in return for information on the Italian Mafia.

Bulger denies the violence and denied being an informant or "rat", insisting through his lawyer that he paid for information but offered none of his own.

His defence sought to portray the FBI office that led the investigation into his alleged crimes as corrupt, and has argued the witnesses who testified against him were former criminals.

His defence has also introduced an album of photos of Bulger in an attempt to soften his image.

Separately, a local prosecutor has said the death last month of a potential witness in Bulger's trial was not connected with the proceedings.

Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said on Friday that police had arrested one of Steven Rakes's business partners, William Camuti, on charges that he gave Rakes a coffee laced with cyanide.

A spokeswoman for Ms Ryan, Stephanie Guyotte, said prosecutors believe Mr Camuti "acted alone".

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US issues worldwide travel alert

3 August 2013 Last updated at 02:44 ET

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The US alert said the risk was particularly great in the Middle East and North Africa

The US state department has issued a global travel alert because of fears of an unspecified al-Qaeda attack.

The department said the potential for an attack was particularly strong in the Middle East and North Africa.

The US intercepted electronic communications between senior al-Qaeda figures, according to officials quoted by the New York Times.

The alert comes shortly after the US announced nearly two dozen embassies and consulates would be shut on Sunday.

The US state department said the alert expires on 31 August 2013 and it recommended US citizens travelling abroad be vigilant.

"Current information suggests that al-Qaeda and affiliated organisations continue to plan terrorist attacks both in the region and beyond, and that they may focus efforts to conduct attacks in the period between now and the end of August," the statement said.

The alert warned of "the potential for terrorists to attack public transportation systems and other tourist infrastructure".

In its report, the New York Times says high-level intercepts were collected and analysed this week and that the CIA, state department and White House immediately recognised their significance.

Meanwhile, the UK Foreign Office has confirmed that the British embassy in Yemen is to be closed on Sunday and Monday as "a precautionary measure".

'Not chit chat'

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It's not unusual for the state department to issue travel warnings, ranging from a caution to an alert. But this one is both wide-ranging and somewhat specific, as it comes after the announcement that 21 US embassies and consulates will be closed in the Middle East and North Africa.

The alert is based on intelligence that goes beyond the usual chatter, according to lawmakers, but the state department is also acting out of an abundance of caution.

Last year, the US issued a worldwide warning about potential violence ahead of the anniversary of 11 September 2001 attacks. Violent protests against an anti-Muslim video also erupted in Cairo and Tunis. Then, in Benghazi, on 11 September, the US ambassador to Libya was killed in an attack. In the aftermath, US officials said there was no "actionable" intelligence about an impending attack.

US President Barack Obama has ordered that "all appropriate steps" be taken to protect Americans in response to a threat of an al-Qaeda attack, AFP news agency quoted a White House official as saying.

"The president is being updated on a potential threat occurring in or emanating from the Arabian Peninsula," the official added.

Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic leader in the House of Representatives, said that congressional leaders had been briefed about the alert.

"There is some understanding of the seriousness of the threat," she told reporters.

Republican lawmaker Jason Chaffetz said he understood there was "a very real worldwide threat".

Dutch Ruppersberger, the top Democrat on the House intelligence committee, said the threat was not prompted by "the regular chit chat" gleaned from would-be militants online or elsewhere.

"The most important thing we have to do is protect American lives," he told the Associated Press news agency.

'Abundance of caution'

An unnamed senior US official told NBC the threat may be related to the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which ends next week.

In the Muslim world, Sunday is a work day. In other parts of the world US diplomatic offices are shut on Sunday.

"It is possible we may have additional days of closing as well," a senior state department official told the BBC on Thursday.

The official said the state department had "been apprised of information" leading it to take these "precautionary steps... out of an abundance of caution".

Last year on 11 September, the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya, was attacked, leaving four Americans dead.

Other embassies are routinely targets of protesters.

The US diplomatic missions to be closed on Sunday are in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; Algiers, Algeria; Amman, Jordan; Baghdad, Iraq; Cairo, Egypt; Dhahran, Saudi Arabia; Djibouti, Djibouti; Dhaka, Bangladesh; Doha, Qatar; Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Irbil, Iraq; Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; Kabul, Afghanistan; Khartoum, Sudan; Kuwait City, Kuwait; Manama, Bahrain; Muscat, Oman; Nouakchott, Mauritania; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Sanaa, Yemen and Tripoli, Libya.

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Big markdown in Boston Globe sale

3 August 2013 Last updated at 08:19 ET

The Boston Globe, one of the most prestigious US newspapers, is being sold for a fraction of what it was worth 20 years ago.

The New York Times company bought it for $1.1bn (£700m) in 1993 but has now agreed to sell it for $70m.

Like many US newspapers, the Globe has been hit by a slump in advertising revenue with circulation declining.

The buyer is John W Henry, the main owner of the Boston Red Sox baseball team and Liverpool Football Club.

In a statement in the Globe, Mr Henry praised the paper's journalistic pedigree: "The Boston Globe's award-winning journalism as well as its rich history and tradition of excellence have established it as one of the most well-respected media companies in the country."

Mr Henry, 63, estimated by Forbes to be worth $1.5bn, made his fortune from financial investments.

Recent gains

The sale includes a range of media concerns owned by the New York Times in New England, including the website Boston.com, a direct mail marketing company and a local newspaper in Massachusetts.

The Globe enjoyed a weekday circulation of more than half a million in the early 1990s, but this has fallen off as readers migrated to the internet.

However, the newspaper has reported recent gains, thanks to big increases in digital subscriptions, taking overall weekday circulation to 245,572.

The New York Times company has sought to get rid of assets it sees as non-core to focus more closely on its most high-profile brand.

The newspaper plans to expand its global audience and change the name of the International Herald Tribune to the International New York Times.

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Russia bans rockers over flag stunt

3 August 2013 Last updated at 13:13 ET

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"Don't tell Putin," bass player Jared Hasselhoff said as he grabbed a Russian flag

US rock group Bloodhound Gang has been banned from a Russian music festival after a band member stuffed the Russian flag into his underpants on stage.

Culture Minister Vladimir Medinsky described the band as "idiots" and said they were "packing their suitcases".

Bass player Jared Hasselhoff was seen in a video pushing the flag into the front of his pants and pulling it out of the back.

Hasselhoff later apologised for the stunt, local media reported.

The incident took place in a 31 July concert in the Ukrainian city of Odessa.

"Don't tell Putin," Hasselhoff said to applause as he grabbed a Russian flag from the wall behind and performed the stunt.

'Idiots'

The band had been expected to play at the Kubana festival, held in the first week in August in Russia's southern Krasnodar region, also known as Kuban.

But their performance billed for Friday was cancelled.

"I spoke to the Krasnodar region authorities. Bloodhound Gang is packing their suitcases," Mr Medinsky said on Twitter.

"These idiots will not perform in Kuban."

Festival organiser Ilya Ostrovsky told gazeta.ru: "We're here to make friends or listen to music. We will not allow anyone to insult the inhabitants of any country."

Local media reports later said that Hasselhoff had been questioned by police.

The head of Russia's Investigations Committee, Vladimir Markin, said his department was prepared to pursue criminal charges against "all those involved" if prosecutors decided there was a case.

The band is still in Russia but has left Anapa, the town where the festival is being held.

Bloodhound Gang formed in the 1990s and are known for their provocative and sexually explicit lyrics.

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Apple iPhone patent ban overturned

4 August 2013 Last updated at 06:47 ET

A ban on sales of older models of Apple's iPad and iPhone in the US has been overturned by the Obama administration.

In June, the US International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled that Apple infringed a patent of rival Samsung.

President Barack Obama's trade representative has now vetoed that decision because of its "effect on competitive conditions in the US economy".

Such a veto is a relatively rare event.

The patent related to 3G wireless technology and the ability to transmit multiple services correctly and at the same time. The ITC ordered a halt on all imports and sales on AT&T-sold models of the iPhone 4, iPhone 3, iPhone 3GS as well as the iPad 3G and iPad 2 3G. Some of those devices are no longer on sale in the US.

Such patents are called "standard essential patents" and they cover technology that must be used to comply with standards set by the industry as a whole.

Import-ban orders from the ITC are subject to review by Mr Obama, and he had 60 days to veto the decision.

His trade representative, Michael Froman, said that the administration was concerned about the use of essential patents in litigation.

Apple welcomed the news and applauded Mr Obama "for standing up for innovation". It added: "Samsung was wrong to abuse the patent system in this way."

Korea's Samsung responded: "The ITC's decision correctly recognised that Samsung has been negotiating in good faith and that Apple remains unwilling to take a licence."

Apple and Samsung are in the midst of a global patent war. Last year, a court ruled that Samsung owed Apple $1bn in damages for infringing Apple patents, an award that was later slashed to $598.9m.

An appeal in that case is due to be heard soon.

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Newsweek sold to digital news firm

4 August 2013 Last updated at 07:50 ET

The former US current affairs magazine Newsweek has been sold to a US digital news company.

IBT Media will buy what is left of the magazine, which published its last ever print edition in December, from owner IAC for an undisclosed price.

After 80 years, Newsweek became a digital-only publication amid falling ad revenues as audiences moved online.

It was last sold by the Washington Post for $1 in 2010 and merged with the Daily Beast website.

The Daily Beast, a news website co-founded by Tina Brown in 2008, will not be sold to IBT Media as part of the deal.

The newsweek.com web address will be revived in the coming weeks, IBT Media said.

Newsweek's first edition was published on 17 February 1933. At its height, it had a circulation of three million, but declining readership and advertising revenue saw it fall into losses like many of its publishing peers.

"We believe in the Newsweek brand and look forward to growing it, fully transformed to the digital age," said Etienne Uzac, co-founder and chief executive of IBT Media.

"We respect the brand's long history of delivering high-quality, impactful journalism and believe this aligns well with IBT Media's culture and mission. We look forward to working together to create a profitable and successful enterprise."

IBT was set up in 2006 and publishes International Business Times, Medical Daily, Latin Times and iDigitalTimes, giving content in seven languages in 235 countries.

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