Copyright lawsuit targets cover songs on YouTube
In the latest sign of friction over the licensing of online music, a group of music publishers has sued Fullscreen, one of the largest suppliers of videos to YouTube, saying that many of Fullscreen’s videos
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Former President George W. Bush underwent a surgical procedure Tuesday morning in which doctors inserted a stent to open a blocked artery, aides said.
Taliban leader says it will sit out Afghan elections
KABUL, Afghanistan - Despite efforts to broker a peace deal between the Afghan government and the Taliban, the insurgent group will not participate in presidential elections next year, its leader said in a statement Tuesday.
Bloomberg warns labor costs could increase under his successor
NEW YORK — Warning of the fiscal danger if New York City fails to rein in its spiraling pension and health care costs, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg on Tuesday challenged his would-be successors to take a tough line in negotiations with the city’s unions, while worrying aloud that whoever is elected will be too beholden to labor.
Utilities need to spend to beat cyberattacks, leaders say
WASHINGTON — To counter the growing threat of cyberattacks, power utilities must harness the same manpower, money and other resources that they throw at natural disasters, industry leaders said Tuesday.
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The Justice Department sued Bank of America on Tuesday, accusing the bank of defrauding investors by vastly underestimating the quality of mortgage-backed securities.
Separatists kill 13 in southwestern Pakistan
ISLAMABAD — Baluch separatists on Tuesday claimed responsibility for the killing of 13 people who had been abducted a day earlier in a remote area of southwestern Pakistan.
Extreme heat subsides
The beginning of this week has seen a welcome respite from the scorching heat that has been recurrent during the first part of this summer season. While there were nine days with high temperatures of 90°F or higher in July, the temperature has struggled to breach 80°F so far this August. In fact, on Tuesday morning, the temperature in Boston dipped below 60°F for the first time since summer began— a streak of 47 days in total.
Supreme Court rulings bolster same-sex marriage
WASHINGTON — In a pair of major victories for the gay rights movement, the Supreme Court ruled last Wednesday that married same-sex couples were entitled to federal benefits and, by declining to decide a case from California, effectively allowed same-sex marriages there.
Wet, Hot Boston Summer
A broad high pressure system located off the East Coast has brought warm, moist conditions to much of the Eastern United States for the past few days. The southwesterly flow associated with this system has created a train of showers and thunderstorms stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to New England. Here at the Institute, this has resulted in a pattern of hot, partly cloudy days punctuated by the occasional passing shower or thunderstorm. Fortunately for those who like this kind of weather, the strong Atlantic high pressure system is expected to persist for the foreseeable future, meaning the pattern of heat and storms will continue at least through the beginning of next week.
Obama administration to delay health law requirement until 2015
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration announced Tuesday that it would delay for a year, until 2015, the Affordable Care Act mandate that employers provide coverage for their workers or pay penalties, responding to business complaints and postponing the effective date beyond next year’s midterm elections.
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BEIJING — They are exemplars from folklore that are familiar to Chinese schoolchildren. There is the Confucian disciple who subsisted on wild grass while traveling with sacks of rice to give to his parents. There is the man who worshipped wooden effigies of his parents.
Snowden said to claim US is attempting intimidation
Edward J. Snowden, the fugitive former U.S. security contractor, appeared to break his silence Monday for the first time since he flew to Moscow eight days ago. WikiLeaks, the anti-secrecy group, issued a statement attributed to Snowden that denounced President Barack Obama for revoking his passport, opposing his asylum requests and leaving him a “stateless person.”
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MOSCOW — An unmanned rocket carrying Russian satellites veered off course and crashed a few seconds after liftoff early Tuesday, sending a cloud of highly toxic orange fumes toward the Kazakh city of Baikonur only 50 miles away.
Kerry, meeting with Russian counterpart, seeks Syria talks soon
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Brunei — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Tuesday that the United States and Russia were still working toward holding an international peace conference on Syria and agreed that it should take place “sooner rather than later.”
Beijing increases security in Xinjiang after two clashes last week
BEIJING — Chinese authorities tightened their grip Tuesday on the far western region of Xinjiang, where two clashes left dozens dead last week, by confiscating knives and offering rewards for information about possible separatist attacks, according to state media.
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NEW YORK - Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg proposed major changes to New York City’s building code on Thursday, saying Hurricane Sandy showed that both commercial and residential properties needed additional safeguards to withstand severe weather.
A rare June Nor’easter
A Nor’easter, the type of weather system that usually brings snowstorms to New England in the wintertime, will make a rare June appearance today, creating breezy conditions and drenching rain. This is the same storm system that brought severe weather, including a large complex of thunderstorms known as a derecho, to the Midwest on Wednesday evening. Having moved through the Mid-Atlantic states on Thursday, the storm system moved offshore overnight and underwent a process called cyclogenesis, forming a strong low pressure center. That low will move northeastward (hence the name) past the tip of Cape Cod today, bringing the aforementioned rain and wind to our area.
Greek state broadcaster shut down, prompting worker strikes in protest
ATHENS, Greece - Thousands of Greeks walked off the job Thursday in the third general strike of the year, this time called by labor unions to protest a surprise decision by the conservative-led government to close the state broadcaster and put about 2,900 employees out of work.
NSA chief to release details on surveillance program
WASHINGTON - The director of the National Security Agency said Thursday that he would release more information about the top secret programs that sweep up vast quantities of communications data on people here and abroad, and vowed to clear up what he said were inaccuracies and misperceptions about how the programs work.