Thursday, June 13, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama has authorized sending weapons to Syrian rebels for the first time, U.S. officials said Thursday, after the White House disclosed that the United States has conclusive evidence President Bashar Assad’s government used chemical weapons against opposition forces trying to overthrow him.

Obama has repeatedly said the use of chemical weapons would cross a “red line” triggering greater American intervention in the two-year crisis.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., one of the strongest proponents of U.S. military action in Syria, said he was told Thursday that Obama had decided to “provide arms to the rebels,” a decision confirmed by three U.S. officials. The officials cautioned that no decisions had been made on the specific type of weaponry or when it would reach the Syrian rebels, who are under increasing assault from Assad’s forces.

Still, the White House signaled that Obama did plan to step up U.S. involvement in the Syrian crisis in response to the chemical weapons disclosure.

“This is going to be different in both scope and scale in terms of what we are providing,” said Ben Rhodes, Obama’s deputy national security adviser.

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Top Republicans say those who want to harm US change tactics after NSA leaks

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two senior Republican lawmakers said Thursday that terrorists are already changing their behavior after leaks about classified U.S. data gathering programs, but they offered no details.

Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., said it’s part of the damage from disclosures by National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden of two NSA programs, which collect millions of telephone records and track foreign Internet activity on U.S. networks. Snowden fled to Hong Kong in May and has granted some interviews since then, saying he hopes to stay there and fight any charges that may yet be filed against him.

Rogers said there are “changes we can already see being made by the folks who wish to do us harm, and our allies harm” and that the revelations might also “make it harder to track bad guys trying to harm U.S. citizens in the United States.”

Later Thursday, Sen. Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, the ranking Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, used similar language in criticizing Snowden.

“The bad guys are now changing their methods of operation,” Chambliss said. “His disclosures are ultimately going to lead to us being less safe in America because bad guys will be able to figure out a way around some of the methods we use, and it’s likely to cost lives down the road.”

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Supreme Court says isolated human genes cannot be patented

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously threw out attempts to patent human genes, siding with advocates who say the multibillion-dollar biotechnology industry should not have exclusive control over genetic information found inside the human body.

But the high court also approved for the first time the patenting of synthetic DNA, handing a victory to researchers and companies looking to come up with ways to fight — and profit — from medical breakthroughs that could reverse life-threatening diseases such as breast or ovarian cancer.

The decision “sets a fair and level playing field for open and responsible use of genetic information,” said Dr. Robert B. Darnell, president and scientific director of the New York Genome Center. “At the same time, it does not preclude the opportunity for innovation in the genetic world, and should be seen as an important clarifying moment for research and the healthcare industry.”

The high court’s judgment, written by Justice Clarence Thomas, reverses three decades of patent awards by government officials and throws out patents held by Salt Lake City-based Myriad Genetics Inc. involving a breast cancer test brought into the public eye recently by actress Angelina Jolie’s revelation that she had a double mastectomy.

Jolie said she carries a defective BRCA1 gene that puts her at high risk of developing breast and ovarian cancers, and her doctor said the test that turned up the faulty gene link led Jolie to have both of her healthy breasts removed. Jolie’s mother died of ovarian cancer and her maternal grandmother also had the disease.

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Court ruling against gene patents may open BRCA breast cancer tests to more women, experts say

A ruling by the Supreme Court that human genes can’t be patented is expected to increase access and drop the cost for tests for gene mutations that greatly raise the risk of developing breast or ovarian cancer.

In a bit of a mixed message, the court unanimously decided that certain types of gene tests may still be protected by patents, yet it struck down patents that a company has long held for BRCA genes. The company makes the only test for two of those breast cancer genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2.

“It appears that it will allow the market to open up so that other laboratories can offer the test,” said Rebecca Nagy, a genetics counselor at Ohio State University and president of the National Society of Genetic Counselors. And that should make the tests cheaper and available to more women, she said.

Hours after the ruling, one company — DNATraits, part of Houston-based Gene By Gene, Ltd. — said it would offer BRCA gene testing in the United States for $995 — less than a third of the current price.

A primer on the case:

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2 found dead in area burned by out-of-control Colo. wildfire that destroyed at least 360 homes

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — A voracious wildfire driven in all directions by shifting winds has killed two people and destroyed at least 360 homes — a number that was likely to climb as the most destructive blaze in Colorado history burned for a third day through miles of tinder-dry woods, a sheriff said Thursday.

The destruction northeast of Colorado Springs has surpassed last June’s Waldo Canyon fire, which burned 347 homes, killed two people and caused $353 million in insurance claims just 15 miles to the southwest. The heavy losses were blamed in part on explosive population growth in areas with historically high fire risk.

“I never in my wildest dreams imagined we’d be dealing a year later with a very similar circumstance,” said El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa, who drew audible gasps as he announced the number of homes lost to the blaze in Black Forest. The fire was 5 percent contained.

Maketa said one person who was reported missing Wednesday was found safe, but crews on Thursday found the remains of two other people who appeared to be trying to flee. The victims were found in a garage in Black Forest. “The car doors were open as if they were loading or grabbing last-minute things,” Maketa said.

Earlier in the day, residents were ordered to leave 1,000 homes in Colorado Springs. Thursday’s evacuation was the first within the city limits. About 38,000 other people living across roughly 70 square miles were already under orders to get out.

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Grocers say potato group illegally boosted spud prices, spied on farmers to enforce limits

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A battle between grocers and potato growers has been silently hitting shoppers’ pocketbooks, according to a U.S. wholesaler accusing America’s spud farmers of driving up prices while spying on farmers with satellites and aircraft fly-overs to enforce strict limits on how many tubers they can grow.

Associated Wholesale Grocers’ lawsuit against United Potato Growers of America and two dozen other defendants was shifted this week to U.S. District Court in Idaho, America’s top potato-producing state with 30 percent of the nation’s supply.

It’s unclear how much the alleged price-fixing has bumped up the cost of frozen french fries or a steaming spud served with a steak, but the case isn’t small potatoes: They’re America’s most popular vegetable, worth billions in sales each year, and their journey from the field to the table is complex. Farmers trying to make a profit dependent on weather, water and fuel costs are pitted against grocers who worry they’re getting gouged.

And while the U.S. Department of Justice hasn’t joined this case, its lawyers have been examining how large, modern agricultural cooperatives like the United Potato Growers are employing nearly century-old antitrust exemptions to strengthen their hands.

In this lawsuit, the Kansas-based grocers association, a cooperative supplying more than 2,000 stores including IGA, Thriftway and Price Chopper in 24 states, contends potato growers have banded together for a decade to illegally inflate prices in a scheme akin to the petroleum-producing OPEC cartel, reducing planting acreages and destroying potatoes to restrict what is available for sale.

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Mumford & Sons cancels Bonnaroo performance; bassist Dwane recovering from brain blood clot

MANCHESTER, Tenn. (AP) — Mumford & Sons has canceled its headlining performance at Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Tennessee.

The decision comes after bassist Ted Dwane received treatment this week for a blood clot on his brain.

The band made the announcement on its Facebook page.

The band postponed three shows earlier this week after the blood clot was discovered, but hoped to play Bonnaroo on Saturday night.

There is no word on what act will replace Mumford & Sons in the headlining slot in front of 80,000 fans.

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Juggling family and golf, Mickelson flies cross-country, takes lead during 1st rd of US Open

ARDMORE, Pa. (AP) — So much for getting a good night’s sleep.

Phil Mickelson arrived at Merion Golf Club about four hours before his 7:11 a.m. tee time and still managed to shoot a 3-under 67 for the clubhouse lead at Thursday’s opening round of the U.S. Open.

“I might have used just a little caffeine booster at the turn just to keep me sharp,” Mickelson said. “But that was our ninth hole or so, and I just wanted to make sure I had enough energy.”

Mickelson flew overnight from San Diego after watching his oldest daughter’s eighth-grade graduation, where she was one of the featured speakers. At first, he was a little shaky. But after rolling a birdie putt 8 feet past his first hole and putting his tee shot in the rough at his second, he settled himself —helped by a little more sleep during a rain delay.

It was his lowest opening round since 1999 in a championship he’s never won, even though he keeps coming close. He’s been runner-up a record five times.

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1 dead, 77 injured in explosion at Louisiana chemical plant; cause unknown

GEISMAR, La. (AP) — A ground-rattling explosion Thursday at a chemical plant in Louisiana ignited a blaze that killed one person and injured dozens of others, authorities said. Witnesses described a chaotic scene of towering flames and workers scrambling over gates to escape the plant.

“There was fire in excess of 100 to 200 feet in the air,” said state Sen. Troy Brown, who felt the blast at his house, less than five miles away. “It was scary to see.”

A thick plume of black smoke rose from the plant after the blast even after the fire was extinguished. At a roadblock several miles away where family members waited anxiously to hear about loved ones, flames were still easily visible above the trees even hours later.

Louisiana’s health department said 77 people were treated at hospitals, with 51 being released by the evening. Hospitals reported that workers mostly had burns, cardiac and respiratory issues and bruises, health department spokeswoman Christina Stephens said in a news release.

A body was found by hazardous materials crews going through the aftermath of the blast at the facility, state police Capt. Doug Cain said. Police identified the man killed as 29-year-old Zachary C. Green, of Hammond.

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Police say man shot 3 others before killing self after argument at small St. Louis business

ST. LOUIS (AP) — An argument inside a St. Louis home health care business escalated into gun violence Thursday when a man shot three other people before turning the gun on himself, police said.

The shooting occurred at AK Home Health Care LLC, one several small businesses inside the Cherokee Place Business Incubator south of downtown St. Louis. The shooter gunned down another man and two women before turning his semi-automatic handgun on himself, Police Capt. Michael Sack said.

Authorities said the shooter either owned or was a co-owner of the small business and his three victims were employees.

“We don’t know if this was a thing that carried over into today or was initiated today,” Sack told reporters.

Police said surveillance video showed what appeared to be a verbal dispute, followed a short time later by gunshots penetrating an inside wall. The video showed that no one else had gone into the building other than the four people who were killed, the St. Louis Police Department said in details posted on its official Twitter account.