Pro-SOPA industry giants urged the White House in secretive international trade talks to adopt stronger intellectual property protections. Critics say the negotiations could usher in “draconian” provisions capable of strangling Internet freedom.

Scores of SOPA supporters wrote President Obama this past Tuesday urging that “the United States redouble its efforts to ensure that the final TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership) agreement is comprehensive and commercially meaningful and incorporates high standards for …

ADEN, Yemen, May 12 (Xinhua) — A U.S. drone raided an al-Qaida convoy in Yemen’s southeastern province of Shabwa on Saturday evening, killing at least seven al-Qaida militants, a security official told Xinhua.

The U.S. drone fired about three rockets on the al-Qaida convoy composed of three pick-up trucks travelling on a desert road in Hareeb area in Shabwa province, leaving at least seven militants killed, the local security …

NEW YORK, May 12 (Xinhua) — Fitch Ratings downgraded JPMorgan Chase’s long term debt rating to A+ from AA- on Friday after the bank reveals a stunning trading loss, citing reputational risk and risk governance deficiencies.

Meanwhile, the rating firm also placed the bank’s all parent and subsidiary long-term ratings on negative watch.
The rating actions came one day after JPM’s disclosure of a 2- billion-dollar trading loss on its …

DAMASCUS, May 12 (Xinhua) — Amid the sobbing and wailing of relatives, funeral procession was held Saturday for 55 people, who were killed two days ago in twin suicide bombings that stuck an intelligence compound in the Syrian capital of Damascus, as government pledges to hit back hard at terrorism.

Hundreds of the victims’ family members and friends assembled at al-Othman Mosque in al-Maysat neighborhood for prayers to honor the victims in an atmosphere thick with grief and tears.

Some were groaning …

WASHINGTON, May 12 (Xinhua) — U.S. President Barack Obama on Saturday honored the nation’s top police officers for their sacrifice at a ceremony held at the White House.

Joined by Vice President Joe Biden, Obama commended 34 winners of the 2012 National Association of Police Organizations Top Cops Award for their service and courage.

They were “representative of the sacrifices and that quiet courage that exists among law enforcement officers …

President Obama’s re-election campaign roped in millions of dollars in donations this week after the incumbent formally endorsed same-sex marriage for Americans. According to the latest polling, though, that might not be enough to cinch another term.

The results of Rasmussen Reports’ most recent presidential tracking poll reveal that US President Barack Obama is behind Republican Party frontrunner Mitt Romney by as much as seven percentage points. The research group’s latest …

NEW DELHI, May 11 (Xinhua) — An earthquake of 5.3 degrees on Richter scale hit the northeast Indian state Friday evening, causing minor injuries, said local TV reports.

The neighboring states of West Bengal, including its capital Kolkata, and Meghalaya, also fet the tremor which lasted 10-15 seconds as the quake hit Assam with its epicenter at Tezpur district of the state at 18: 15 p.m. local time (1545 GMT), said TV channel Times Now.

The quake caused the collapse of a …

The Justice Department announced today that it will monitor municipal elections on May 12, 2012, in Dallas, Galveston, and Jasper Counties in Texas to ensure compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The Voting Rights Act prohibits discrimination in the election process on the basis of race, color or membership in a minority language group.

Under the Voting Rights Act, the Justice Department is authorized to ask …

SAN FRANCISCO, Today President Obama made history by declaring his support of same-sex marriage, becoming the first sitting president to take such a position, and moving the nation closer to creating the AIDS-free generation he so boldly envisions.

“The president’s actions are not only important to matters of justice and equality, they are also vitally important to our work in the fight against HIV/AIDS,” said Neil Giuliano, CEO of San Francisco AIDS Foundation. “When people feel affirmed, respected, and valued, they are …

WASHINGTON, – Today, Veda Shook, International President of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA), sent a letter to President Obama commending him for his support of marriage equality. AFA has been a longstanding supporter of equal rights for all, as evidenced in 1976 when the union’s Board of Directors amended its by-laws to include the following objective: “To unite all Flight Cabin Crew members regardless of race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation or nationality.” In addition, in 2006, the AFA Board of …