WASHINGTON, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) — The U.S. State Department Monday said that it will conduct a special review of an environmentally controversial project to build an oil pipeline from western Canada to the southern U.S. state of Texas.

The State Department’s Inspector General Harold Geisel said that the review will focus on whether the department has followed all federal laws and regulations in evaluating the Keystone XL oil pipeline project, which will cost 7 billion U.S. dollars. Continue Reading

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) — A Los Angeles Superior Court jury on Monday found pop superstar Michael Jackson’s personal physician Conrad Murray guilty in the singer’s Propofol-induced death, while the trial wrapped up on Monday afternoon.

Murray, who was little bit shocked by the decision, was handcuffed after the verdict was read and was immediately remanded to custody in county jail.

Murray has been ordered jailed without bail pending his sentencing on Nov. 29. Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) — U.S. President Barack Obama and his most formidable Republican presidential challenger Mitt Romney are almost tied up in a dozen swing states, where voters are strongly dissatisfied with the economy and the country’s direction, according to a Gallup poll released Friday.

In 12 swing states including Michigan, Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Iowa, Ohio, Wisconsin, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania, Obama trails the former Massachusetts governor by 46 percent to 47 percent in a hypothetical matchup. Continue Reading

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) — Dozens of protesters were arrested early Thursday in the U.S. west coast city of Oakland after a largely peaceful strike called by the Occupy Oakland group on Wednesday went into chaos midnight.

According to local TV reports, police dispersed crowds with tear gas and flash grenades after some people, mostly wearing black and covering their faces with bandannas, smashed windows, set fires and defaced downtown businesses with graffiti. Continue Reading

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) — Thousands of protesters took to the streets in the West Coast city of Oakland and forced its port to shut down Wednesday in a general strike called by the Occupy Oakland group.

The strike, which drew people from all walks of life, including workers, teachers and students, is the first of its kind in the city since 1946, according to The Oakland Tribune, a local newspaper.

The demonstrators marched along downtown streets and held rallies, with some of them pounding on doors of downtown banks and defacing ATMs with graffiti. Continue Reading

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) — Michael Jackson’s personal doctor Conrad Murray, who is charged with involuntary manslaughter for the pop star’s 2009 death, refused to testify in his own defense Tuesday.

The 58-year-old cardiologist told Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael E. Pastor his decision not to testify and resign his fate to a jury instead. Edward Chernoff, the defense attorney, also told the judge that they had discussed the matter many times before. Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) — Dorothy Howell Rodham, mother of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, passed away due to illness on Tuesday at age 92, her family said.

Hillary Clinton cancelled a planned trip to London and Istanbul in order to be at her mother’s side at a Washington hospital. In a statement, the Clinton family praised Rodham as a woman who ” overcame abandonment and hardship as a young girl to become the remarkable woman she was – a warm, generous and strong woman; an intellectual; a woman who told a great joke and always got the joke; an extraordinary friend and, most of all, a loving wife, mother and grandmother.” Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) — U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday signed an executive order directing the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to take action to help prevent and reduce prescription drug shortages, protect consumers and prevent price gouging.

The order directed the FDA to broaden reporting of potential shortages of certain prescription drugs and to further expedite regulatory reviews that can help prevent or respond to shortages, the White House said in a statement. Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) — The U.S. government announced on Monday it has halted making financial contributions to United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) after the latter admitted the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) as a full member.

“We were to have made a 60-million-dollar payment to UNESCO in November and we will not be making that payment,” U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said at the daily news briefing.

Nuland made the remarks in response to the vote at the 193- member UNESCO’s general conference in Paris, France, which accepts the PNA as a full member. The PNA gained 107 votes for its membership bid to join the UNESCO, while 14 countries voted against and 52 others abstained, the UNESCO said after the vote. Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) — The White House on Friday confirmed the existence of U.S. drones in Ethiopia, but said they are not conducting strike missions.

“The UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) are not conducting any strike missions from Ethiopia,” White House press secretary Jay Carney told reporters at his daily briefing, stressing the aircraft were deployed in the East African country to counter terrorism and to promote stability in the Horn of Africa. Continue Reading

HOUSTON, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) — U.S. regulators Wednesday decided to allow BP to drill a new deepwater well in the Gulf of Mexico, first such permit the British oil giant obtained since last year’s devastating oil spill.

“BP has met all of the enhanced safety requirements that we have implemented and applied consistently over the past year,” said Michael Bromwich, director of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement. Continue Reading

WASHINGTON, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) — U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday unveiled a plan that would help relieve the burden of Americans who are struggling to pay their student loans.

“We should be doing everything we can to put a college education within reach for every American,” Obama said at the University of Colorado in Denver. “It’s never been more important, but, let’s face it, it’s also never been more expensive.” Continue Reading