Oakland burglaries barely investigated. The Oakland Police Department has been so ineffectively structured that only one part-time investigator was assigned to handle 10,000 reported burglaries last year, a stunning deficiency revealed Thursday by police consultants hired by the city to develop a crime-fighting plan. "Given the way the organization was structured, burglary was not being investigated," said William Andrews , one of the consultants working on a team hired by Oakland Mayor Jean Quan and the City Council to help police reduce the crime problem. "Burglaries have gone through the roof," Andrews said. The revelation came one day after Howard Jordan abruptly stepped down as Oakland's police chief, citing long-term medical reasons, and as the consultants and city officials released a brief six-page summary of the consultants' crime plan.
City officials refused to release the full plan Thursday, saying they needed to review it before releasing it on Friday. But sources said the plan had been given to Jordan on Sunday. I-5 Bridge Collapses In Mt. Vernon; People, Cars Fall In Skagit River. James Rosen case prompts frank discuss about balance between First Amendment, national security. U.S. unemployment rate remains stuck amid fierce election fight. WASHINGTON, July 6 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. unemployment rate remained steady at 8.2 percent in June and the nonfarm employers added a meager number of 80,000 jobs, triggering starkly opposing views on the U.S. economic recovery from Democrats and Republicans.
In June, U.S. private employers added 84,000 jobs while governments at all levels cut 4,000 jobs, the latest job report from the U.S. Labor Department revealed Friday. The job growth fell short of investors' forecasts. U.S. stocks opened lower Friday on the weak job report. Professional and business services added 47,000 jobs in June, with temporary help services accounting for 25,200 of the increase.
Serious Fraud Office launches Libor investigation. 6 July 2012Last updated at 12:00 ET A number of financial institutions are being investigated by regulators and criminal prosecutors The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has confirmed that it has formally launched an investigation into the rigging of inter-bank lending rates.
The case could lead to criminal charges being brought against individuals. Its involvement follows an investigation by US and UK regulators into the manipulation of Libor, which resulted in a record fine for Barclays. US jobs data triggers share price slip. 6 July 2012Last updated at 13:49 ET President Obama said the figures were a step in the right direction US shares have fallen after official data showed firms had created only 80,000 new jobs in June, leaving the jobless rate unchanged at 8.2%.
Job creation remains below the 100,000 judged necessary by the Federal Reserve for a stable job market, according to the US Labor Department. Shares slipped after the news, with the opening Dow Jones index falling 1%. President Barack Obama said the rise in employment was "a step in the right direction". Campaigning in the swing state of Ohio on Friday, President Obama acknowledged that "it's still tough out there" for ordinary Americans. Ohio diner owner dead hours after serving Barack Obama. 6 July 2012Last updated at 22:06 GMT Josephine Harris restaurant was Mr Obama's first stop of the day A restaurant owner who served US President Barack Obama breakfast on a campaign stop has died hours later.
Josephine Harris, 70, who owned Ann's Place in Akron, Ohio, was taken to hospital after complaining of fatigue and a tingling feeling. She went into cardiac arrest en route and was pronounced dead shortly after 11:00 EST (15:00 GMT). Mr Obama arrived at the restaurant at about 08:30, ordering two eggs "over easy", bacon and wheat toast. The Summit County medical examiner's office said Josephine Harris had died of natural causes and there would be no autopsy. In a statement, White House press secretary Jay Carney said Mr Obama called her daughter from Air Force One to express "his sorrow and his condolences".
Jack Abramoff on CNN: Why does US TV book bad guys? 7 July 2012Last updated at 20:30 ET By Daniel Nasaw BBC News Magazine, Washington Abramoff, shown here after his 2006 guilty plea, owes millions in restitution Jack Abramoff, a former lobbyist imprisoned for his role in a wide-ranging Washington corruption scandal, has appeared as a pundit on CNN.
Why have US television networks turned into comeback springboards for disgraced public figures? On Thursday, Abramoff joined presenter Soledad O'Brien, New Yorker writer Ryan Lizza and others to analyse the recent US Supreme Court decision ratifying President Barack Obama's healthcare reform law. World media representatives discuss challenges of social media in Moscow. MOSCOW, July 5 (Xinhua) -- Social media is challenging the traditional way of news publishing, though sometimes the information disseminated on social networks has been proved a fake, world media representatives said Thursday at the second World Media Summit (WMS) here.
In section sessions of the WMS, Vice President of The Associated Press (AP) John Daniszewski told Xinhua that the world is entering a new age, which raises many profound questions for traditional mass media.