Newsletter BOX: Morning Digest: Russia gives Snowden asylum, Obama-Putin summit in doubt

08/2/2013

Reuters Election 2012 Daily round-up of the day's top news from the campaign trail, the White House and all the politics in between

Russia gives Snowden asylum, Obama-Putin summit in doubt

MOSCOW/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Russia rejected U.S. pleas and granted American fugitive Edward Snowden a year's asylum on Thursday, letting the former spy agency contractor slip out of a Moscow airport after more than five weeks in limbo while angering the United States and putting in doubt a planned summit between the two nations' presidents..

Berlusconi conviction leaves Italian government hanging

ROME (Reuters) - A supreme court ruling upholding a tax fraud conviction against former center-right leader Silvio Berlusconi has left the fate of Italy's fragile ruling coalition in the balance, although his supporters said the government would not be brought down..

U.S. jobs data may show strength, prompt stimulus end

LONDON (Reuters) - Investors positioned for a strong U.S. jobs report on Friday, balancing the likelihood it will confirm the economy is recovering with wariness it might prompt the Federal Reserve to end its stimulus earlier..

Cowell says new 'X Factor' panel reflects music's 'girl's world'

BEVERLY HILLS, California (Reuters) - After lackluster viewership ratings, Fox's reality singing contest "The X Factor" will enter season three with a revamped panel dominated by women that creator Simon Cowell says will reflect female artists' dominance in the music charts..

Florida clinic in baseball scandal subject of U.S. probe: lawyer

MIAMI (Reuters) - The Florida anti-aging clinic at the center of a doping scandal involving Major League Baseball players, including New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez, is under federal investigation for selling controlled substances to high school students and other athletes, according to the lawyer for a whistleblower in the case..

H&M joins battle for U.S. e-shoppers

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Budget fashion retailer Hennes & Mauritz launched an e-commerce operation in the United States on Thursday, taking on rivals in the world's biggest online market..

Mothballed NASA telescope may get new life as asteroid hunter

(Reuters) - NASA is considering re-activating a mothballed space telescope to help find asteroids that could be on a collision course with Earth, according to a senior U.S. space agency official..

World's largest geyser puts on rare show at Yellowstone

(Reuters) - The world's largest geyser has exploded to life at Yellowstone National Park for the first time in eight years, sending a high-pressure burst of steamy water 300 feet into the air, a park official said on Thursday..