No more government contracts for BP

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government banned BP Plc on Wednesday from new federal contracts over its "lack of business integrity" in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, possibly imperiling the company's role as a top U.S. offshore oil and gas producer and the No. 1 military fuel supplier. The suspension, announced by the Environmental Protection Agency, comes on the heels of BP's...

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Rugby-England add flyhalf Burns to squad for All Blacks’ test

LONDON, Nov 27 (Reuters) – England called up uncapped Gloucester flyhalf Freddie Burns on Tuesday to their squad for Saturday’s test against New Zealand in place of the injured Toby Flood.Flood sustained ligament damage to a big toe during the 16-15 loss to South Africa at Twickenham last Saturday.Owen Farrell, whose last start was in the first test in South Africa this year, is set to replace Flood...

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Nintendo Unveils Wii Mini for the Canucks

Nintendo‘s pushing the new $ 299 Wii U console hard (and has already sold 400K units in the process), but in at least one region, the gaming company has a new back-up plan: The $ 99 Nintendo Wii Mini.[More from Mashable: Wii U Sells 400,000 Units in First Week]The new smaller, black box with red trim is a simpler game console. It offers no Internet access and cannot play older GameCube console games....

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Judge bows out of ‘pink slime’ suit over ABC ties

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — A federal judge has recused himself from presiding over a $ 1.2 billion defamation lawsuit against ABC because his daughter-in-law works as a producer on one of the network’s morning shows.Judge Lawrence L. Piersol recused himself from hearing the defamation lawsuit filed by South Dakota-based Beef Products Inc. against ABC because his daughter-in-law works as a producer on...

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GSK and J&J lead rivals in drug access for poor

LONDON (Reuters) – Drugmakers – led by GlaxoSmithKline and Johnson & Johnson – are stepping up efforts to ensure their medicines are available and affordable in poor countries, after being attacked in the past for not doing enough.The Access to Medicines Index, which tracks the actions of the top 20 drugmakers, showed on Wednesday there had been an improvement across the board in the past two...

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Protesters pack Tahrir Square, dispute Morsi

CAIRO (AP) — The same chants used against Hosni Mubarak were turned against his successor Tuesday as more than 200,000 people packed Egypt's Tahrir Square in the biggest challenge yet to Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.The massive, flag-waving throng protesting Morsi's assertion of near-absolute powers rivaled some of the largest crowds that helped drive Mubarak from office last year."The people...

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Dog days in Cuba: from shih tzus to schnauzers

HAVANA (AP) — The Cuban capital has played host to political summits and art festivals, ballet tributes and international baseball competitions. Now dog lovers are getting their chance to take center stage.Hundreds of people from all over Cuba and several other countries came to a scruffy field near Revolution Plaza this past week to preen and fuss over the shih tzus, beagles, schnauzers and cocker...

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Berry’s ex says he was threatened before fight

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Halle Berry‘s ex-boyfriend claims the actress’s fiance threatened to kill him during a Thanksgiving confrontation that left him with a broken rib, bruised face and under arrest.Gabriel Aubry‘s claims are included in court filings that led a judge Monday to grant a restraining order against actor Olivier Martinez, who is engaged to the Oscar-winning actress.Aubry, 37, was arrested...

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FDA suspends peanut butter plant linked to salmonella outbreak

(Reuters) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration suspended operations on Monday at a New Mexico food producer linked to salmonella-tainted peanut butter that has sickened at least 41 people this year, the agency said in a statement.The FDA said it had suspended Sunland Inc‘s food facility registration “in the interest of public health,” following the national outbreak and a history of food safety...

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Sandy cost New York $32 billion

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Top political leaders in New York put their heads together Monday on big requests for federal disaster aid as Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that Superstorm Sandy ran up a bill of $32 billion in the state and the nation's largest city.The cost is for repairs and restoration and does not include an additional accounting of over $9 billion to head off damage in the next disastrous storm,...

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