Showing posts with label US. Show all posts
Tuesday, 30 December 2014
Wall St. recedes from record levels in broad decline
U.S. stocks edged lower on Tuesday, with major indexes pulling back from record levels as the recent trend of modest moves and low volume continued in the next-to-last trading day of the year.
The day's losses were broad if not especially deep. All ten primary S&P 500 sectors were lower on the day, with utilities .SPLRCU - 2014's best sector performer - leading the
decline with a drop of 0.9 percent, followed by telecom .SPLRCL, which fell 0.4 percent. Both sectors are considered defensive groups.
Equities have been trending to the upside recently, buoyed by strong economic data and the U.S. Federal Reserve's commitment to be "patient" about raising interest rates. After the S&P 500 gained nearly 6 percent over the prior eight sessions, it notched its 53rd record close of the year on Monday, while the Dow just missed extending its streak of positive sessions to eight.
The speed and scale of the rally could push traders to take profits, and volatility could be amplified with many market participants out for the holiday, which depresses volume. The stock market will be closed on Thursday for the New Year's holiday.
"I still like equities, but we’re at a point where valuations are no longer really cheap. I don’t see much that looks inexpensive," said James Liu, global market strategist for JPMorgan Funds in Chicago.
Liu said that investors would typically buy defensive sectors in an environment like the current one, "but those are actually the most expensive. The standard playbook has been turned on its head." He added that he preferred cyclical sectors in 2015.
In the latest economic data, consumer confidence rose slightly less than expected in December, while U.S. single-family home price appreciation slowed less than forecast in October.
NeuroDerm Ltd (NDRM.O) soared 60 percent to $9.88 on heavy volume after it said data from a mid-stage study suggested that a higher dose of its Parkinson's drug could provide an alternative to treatments that require surgery.
Civeo Corp (CVEO.N), which provides temporary housing for oilfield workers and miners, said late Monday it slashed its workforce and forecast revenue could fall by one-third as slumping crude prices force oil producers to cut costs. The stock plunged 51 percent to $4.07 on volume of about 27.4 million shares, making for the most active day in its history.
At 11:00 a.m. the Dow Jones industrial average .DJI fell 48.06 points, or 0.27 percent, to 17,990.17, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 5.28 points, or 0.25 percent, to 2,085.29 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 14.25 points, or 0.3 percent, to 4,792.67.
Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by 1,677 to 1,235, for a 1.36-to-1 ratio; on the Nasdaq, 1,451 issues fell and 1,090 advanced for a 1.33-to-1 ratio .
The S&P 500 was posting 19 new 52-week highs and 5 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite was recording 69 new highs and 29 new lows.
Reuters
Reuters
U.S. consumer confidence rises in December
U.S. consumer confidence increased in December, bolstered by a brightening jobs situation that left perceptions about economic conditions at a high last seen in February 2008, according to a private sector report released on Tuesday.
The Conference Board, an industry group, said its index of consumer attitudes rose to 92.6 from an upwardly revised 91.0 the month
before. Economists expected a reading of 93.0 for December, according to a Reuters poll.
November was originally reported as 88.7.
"Consumer confidence rebounded modestly in December, propelled by a considerably more favorable assessment of current economic and labor market conditions," Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at The Conference Board, said in a statement. "... They are more confident at year-end than they were at the beginning of the year."
The expectations index in December was 88.5 versus November's revised 89.3, and the present situation index rose to 98.6 from a revised 93.7 in November. The present situation index is now at its highest level since February 2008.
The "jobs hard to get" index was 27.7 in December, versus a revised 28.7 the month before.
Reuters
After guilty plea, NY congressman says he'll resign Jan. 5
A New York congressman who pleaded guilty to tax evasion just days ago has announced he'll resign from office next week because he would not be able to give the job his full attention anymore.
Republican Rep. Michael Grimm issued a statement late Monday saying he will resign effective Jan. 5.
"The events which led to this day did not break my spirit, nor the will of the voters," he said. "However, I do not believe that I can continue to be 100% effective in the next Congress, and therefore, out of respect for the office and the people I so proudly represent, it is time for me to start the next chapter of my life."
Grimm's guilty plea last week to aiding in the filing of a false tax return came after he was re-elected to his Staten Island seat in November, even though he was under indictment.
Following the plea, Grimm said he would stay in Congress as long as he could.
Grimm reportedly talked with House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, before deciding to step down. Boehner has forced other lawmakers to resign for lesser offenses.
Boehner has not discussed Grimm's future publicly. Boehner spokesman Michael Steel said in an email, "We do not discuss private conversations the speaker has with members."
The new Congress is scheduled to open Jan. 6, and Grimm's presence would have been a distraction for Republicans who will control both the House and the Senate.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and the Democratic National Committee had called on Grimm to resign.
A former Marine and FBI agent with support from former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, Grimm was elected to Congress in 2010, scoring an upset win over first-term Democratic Rep. Michael McMahon.
According to an indictment, the tax fraud began in 2007 after Grimm retired from the FBI and began investing in a small Manhattan restaurant called Healthalicious.
The indictment accused him of underreporting more than $1 million in wages and receipts to evade payroll, income and sales taxes, partly by paying immigrant workers, some of them in the country illegally, in cash.
Sentencing was scheduled for June 8. Prosecutors said a range of 24 to 30 months in prison would be appropriate, while the defense estimated the appropriate sentence as between 12 and 18 months.
After his court appearance, Grimm said he planned to stay in Congress. "As long as I'm able to serve, I'm going to serve," he said.
He also apologized for his actions. "I should not have done it and I am truly sorry for it," he said.
But in his statement Monday, Grimm said he made his "very difficult decision ... with a heavy heart" after much thought and prayer.
The New York Daily News first reported Grimm's plans to give up his seat.
AP
No health insurance? Penalties to rise in 2015
The cost of being uninsured in America is going up significantly next year for millions of people.
It's the first year all taxpayers have to report to the Internal Revenue Service whether they had health insurance for the previous year, as required under President Barack Obama's law. Those who were uninsured
face fines, unless they qualify for one of about 30 exemptions, most of which involve financial hardships.
Dayna Dayson of Phoenix estimates that she'll have to pay the tax man $290 when she files her federal return. Dayson, who's in her early 30s, works in marketing and doesn't have a lot left over each month after housing, transportation and other fixed costs. She'd like health insurance but she couldn't afford it in 2014, as required by the law.
"It's touted as this amazing thing, but right now, for me, it doesn't fit into my budget," she said.
Ryan Moon of Des Moines, Iowa, graduated from college in 2013 with a bachelor's degree in political science and is still hunting for a permanent job with benefits. He expects to pay a fine of $95. A supporter of the health care law, he feels conflicted about its insurance mandate and fines.
"I hate the idea that you have to pay a penalty, but at the same time, it helps other people," said Moon, who's in his early 20s. "It really helps society, but society has to be forced to help society."
Going without health insurance has always involved financial risks. You could have an accident and end up with thousands of dollars in medical bills. Now, you may also get fined. In a decision that allowed Obama's law to advance, the Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that the coverage requirement and its accompanying fines were a constitutionally valid exercise of Congress' authority to tax.
In 2015, all taxpayers have to report to the IRS on their health insurance status the previous year. Most will check a box. It's also when the IRS starts collecting fines from some uninsured people, and deciding if others qualify for exemptions.
What many people don't realize is that the penalties go up significantly in 2015. Only 3 percent of uninsured people know what the fine for 2015 will be, according to a recent poll by the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation.
Figuring out your potential exposure if you're uninsured isn't simple.
For 2014, the fine is the greater of $95 per person or 1 percent of household income above the threshold for filing taxes. It will jump in 2015 to the greater of 2 percent of income or $325. By 2016, the average fine will be about $1,100, based on government figures.
People can get a sense of the potential hit by going online and using the Tax Policy Center's Affordable Care Act penalty calculator.
Many taxpayers may be able to get a pass. Based on congressional analysis, tax preparation giant H&R Block says roughly 4 million uninsured people will pay penalties and 26 million will qualify for exemptions from the list of more than 30 waivers.
But it's unclear whether taxpayers are aware of the exemptions.
Deciding what kind of waiver to seek could be crucial. Some can be claimed directly on a tax return, but others involve mailing paperwork to the Health and Human Services Department. Tax preparation companies say the IRS has told them it's taking steps to make sure taxpayers' returns don't languish in bureaucratic limbo while HHS rules on their waivers.
TurboTax has created a free online tool called "Exemption Check" for people to see if they may qualify for a waiver. Charges apply later if the taxpayer files through TurboTax.
Timing will be critical for uninsured people who want to avoid the rising penalties for 2015.
That's because Feb. 15 is the last day of open enrollment under the health law. After that, only people with special circumstances can sign up. But just 5 percent of uninsured people know the correct deadline, according to the Kaiser poll.
"We could be looking at a real train wreck after Feb. 15," said Stan Dorn, a health policy expert at the nonpartisan Urban Institute. "People will file their tax returns and learn they are subject to a much larger penalty for 2015, and they can do absolutely nothing to avoid that."
The insurance requirement and penalties remain the most unpopular part of the health care law. They were intended to serve a broader purpose by nudging healthy people into the insurance pool, helping to keep premiums more affordable.
Sensitive to political backlash, supporters of the health care law have played down the penalties in their sign-up campaigns. But stressing the positive — such as the availability of financial help and the fact that insurers can no longer turn away people with health problems — may be contributing to the information gap about the penalties.
Dayson, the Phoenix resident, says she's hoping her employer will offer a health plan she can fit into her budget, allowing her to avoid higher fines for 2015.
In Des Moines, recent college graduate Moon has held a succession of temporary local and state government jobs that don't provide affordable coverage. The penalties are on his mind.
"When it gets up to $325, I hope I have a career that actually offers me a good health care plan," he said.
AP
Thursday, 25 December 2014
CDC worker monitored for possible Ebola exposure in lab error
A laboratory technician for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been placed under observation for possible exposure to the deadly Ebola virus due to an apparent mix-up in lab specimens, the Atlanta-based agency said on Wednesday.
The technician, who was working on Monday with Ebola specimens that were supposed to have been inactivated but which may instead
have contained live virus, will be monitored for signs of infection for 21 days, the disease's incubation period, CDC officials said.
The error follows two high-profile cases of mishandled samples of anthrax and avian influenza at the CDC earlier this year that called into question safety practices at the highly respected research institute and drew criticism from Capitol Hill.
CDC spokeswoman Barbara Reynolds told Reuters the technician's risk of exposure to Ebola, even if the virus were active, was believed to be low and that the worker was not being quarantined while under observation.
She said a small number of other CDC employees who entered the lab where the samples in question were handled also "were assessed and none require monitoring."
"There was no possible exposure outside the secure laboratory at CDC and no exposure or risk to the public," the agency said in a statement. Lab scientists discovered on Tuesday what had transpired, and reported it to superiors within an hour, it said.
The problem occurred when active Ebola virus samples were believed to have been mixed up with specimens that had been rendered inactive for further testing in a lower-security lab down the hall, Reynolds said.
When inactivated specimens turned up the next day in storage, lab personnel realized that they apparently had transferred the wrong samples, ones that had contained active virus material, out of the higher-security lab, Reynolds said.
CDC officials could not be certain because the material in question had by then been destroyed and the lower-security lab decontaminated under routine safety procedures, she said.
The technician who handled the samples had worn protective gloves and a gown but not a face mask, she said. Ebola virus is not airborne. In a lab environment, it could be transmitted from a contaminated surface through physical contact that spreads the virus to the eyes, nose or mouth of an individual.
ANTHRAX INCIDENT
The mishap resembled the anthrax incident, in which researchers mistakenly believed they had transferred an inactivated sample of bacteria to a lower-security lab where workers wear less-protective gear. No illnesses resulted from that breach.
Then as now, the CDC temporarily halted the transfer of samples at its high-security labs while it reviewed its protocols.
In July an agency scientist, Dr. Michael Bell, was appointed to a new role overseeing lab safety and a panel of independent experts was formed to advise the institute on such issues.
Bell has since returned to his previous post, Reynolds told Reuters, though she did not say whether anyone else had assumed the lead role for lab safety.
"I am troubled by this incident in our Ebola research laboratory in Atlanta," the CDC director, Dr. Tom Frieden, said of the latest error. "Thousands of laboratory scientists in more than 150 labs throughout CDC have taken extraordinary steps in recent months to improve safety."
The CDC also was criticized by some for not doing more to prepare the U.S. medical establishment to deal with Ebola when a Liberian man visiting Dallas in October was diagnosed with the disease after initially being turned away from a hospital emergency room there.
Two nurses who treated that patient before he died ended up contracting the virus but survived. They are the only two people known to have been infected on U.S. soil during the current Ebola epidemic, which has killed more than 7,500 people, most of them in West Africa.
Reuters
Subaru scraps plan to shift Crosstrek production to U.S.: source
Fuji Heavy Industries (7270.T), the maker of Subaru brand cars and SUVs, has scrapped a plan to shift production of the new XV Crosstrek to its U.S. plant and will instead make the SUV in Japan, a source familiar with the company's production plans said.
Fuji Heavy, which has a policy of making cars in markets where they are sold, decided to make the new vehicle in Japan because of
capacity constraints in Indiana and the relatively high sales price of the crossover SUV, which makes domestic production more viable, the source said.
Pricing for the Crosstrek starts at just under $25,000 for the limited edition and just under $30,000 for the hybrid version.
The company had originally planned to make about 65,000 XV Crosstrek vehicles a year in Lafayette, Indiana, but will instead assemble them at its plant in Gunma prefecture, northwest of Tokyo, according to production plans reviewed by Reuters and a person with knowledge of the situation, who asked not to be named.
The automaker has achieved record-breaking sales in the United States, with a 21 percent surge in the year through November compared with a year earlier.
A Fuji Heavy spokesman said he could not comment on production plans for individual vehicles but said there was no change to the company's overall strategy of localizing production.
Fuji Heavy's decision to keep Crosstrek production in Japan follows moves by other Japanese automakers to shift some production back home as the yen weakens.
Since mid-October, the yen has lost about 11 percent against the U.S. dollar and now trades above 120 per dollar, its lowest since 2007.
Fuji Heavy is planning to begin manufacturing the Crosstrek in Japan around April 2017, the source said.
Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) announced in late 2013 that it would end its arrangement with Fuji Heavy for producing Camry sedans at the Indiana plant, freeing up capacity for Subaru models.
Toyota is considering moving production of some new Camrys from its Kentucky plant to Japan, sources familiar with the situation told Reuters this week.
Nissan Motor Co (7201.T) CEO Carlos Ghosn told reporters last week that the automaker would take advantage of the weakened yen to return production of its popular Rogue SUV to a Japanese plant for export to the United States.
Reuters
Obama personal chef to hang up apron after 6 years
Political advisers, chiefs of staff, press secretaries and national security advisers have come and gone in the nearly six years Barack Obama has been president. Now, the White House chef is also waving goodbye.
Sam Kass has been a fixture at the executive mansion, serving up nutrition policy as well as meals for Obama, his wife, Michelle, and daughters Malia and Sasha. He was not only their personal chef but also senior adviser for nutrition policy, giving him a seat at the table where administration officials hashed out everything from updated food labels to new requirements for healthier school lunches.
Kass, a newlywed, is leaving the White House at the end of the month, but don't ask him what the Obamas like or don't like to eat. "Top secret," he said.
"I love this family and believe in everything the president and first lady are doing and this has been the greatest job of my life and I assume will be the greatest job of my life," the 34-year-old said in an interview. "But I'm going to be with my wife. Once you're married you kind of need to be together."
Kass' wife, MSNBC host Alex Wagner, is based in New York City.
Kass' relationship with the Obamas started when they hired him to cook healthier meals for the family in Chicago before the 2008 elections. Michelle Obama was a vice president at the University of Chicago Medical Center and caring for young daughters, while Obama was a U.S. senator spending most of his time in Washington.
But the relationship sprouted well beyond the professional. Besides Kass' tireless work for Mrs. Obama, for whom he wore a third hat as executive director of her anti-childhood obesity campaign, Kass sometimes traveled with Obama and joined his weekend or vacation golf outings. Obama, in turn, blocked out several hours on his busy schedule to attend Kass' late-August wedding.
Obama said Kass "has grown from a close friend to a critical member of my team" and has left "an indelible mark on the White House." Mrs. Obama praised Kass' "extraordinary legacy of progress," which she said includes healthier food options in groceries, more nutritious school lunches and initiatives to improve how food is marketed to kids.
Unlike any White House chef before him, Kass helped make decisions with far greater potential consequences than whether the president's veggies, which Kass often plucked from the first lady's garden on the South Lawn, should be steamed or sautéed.
The school lunch changes have led Mrs. Obama into a public spat with the School Nutrition Association, an industry-backed group that represents school cafeteria workers and food companies that sell to schools. The group has lobbied Congress to weaken the standards, arguing they are a burden on financially pinched districts and a big reason why kids are throwing their lunches into the garbage.
A House Republican-led effort to allow some districts to ignore the new lunch standards altogether failed to advance in Congress, but requirements for more whole grains in school foods will be eased instead. The fight over the broader standards is expected to heat up again next year when Republicans, who are sympathetic to the association's arguments, will control both houses of Congress.
Nutrition advocates say anyone who hopes these issues will disappear with Kass will be disappointed.
"This administration is very committed to nutrition and obesity prevention. That commitment runs very deep," said Margo Wootan, a nutrition lobbyist for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, who has pushed for healthier school meals.
Despite her group's issues with the lunch standards, Patricia Montague, the School Nutrition Association's chief executive, said Kass and "Let's Move" played "an important role in promoting healthier lifestyles for children both at school and at home."
Kass will stay involved with "Let's Move," Mrs. Obama's anti-childhood obesity initiative, along with broader efforts to improve childhood nutrition, the White House said.
Testifying to Kass' commitment, former colleague Kristina Schake said Kass spent weekends living the work he did at the White House, including visiting farms, farmers markets and food purveyors. "He can talk about different types of lettuce the way other men talk about sports teams," she said.
Kass said his big plan after leaving the White House is to get some sleep, and "I guess I'll also be the chef for my wife."
While some former White House chefs welcomed Kass' extra-culinary activities, one said Kass was an unnecessary staff addition.
"There is no need for two chefs in the White House. One is enough," said Roland Mesnier, who spent 25 years there as executive pastry chef. He was referring to executive chef Cristeta Comerford, who likely would have prepared Obama's meals had Kass not come along. She handles menus for official White House entertaining, such as state dinners.
AP
Tuesday, 23 December 2014
Dow tops 18,000 on GDP report
U.S. stocks rose for a fifth straight session on Tuesday, with the Dow climbing above 18,000 for the first time ever after an unexpectedly strong report on economic growth.
Both the Dow and S&P 500 hit intraday records, and the S&P is on track for its 51st record close of 2014. The gains pushed the Dow as high as 18,051.14, and the blue-chip index is now up about 175 percent from a 12-year low hit on March 9, 2009.
The final estimate for third-quarter U.S. economic growth was revised up to a 5 percent annual pace, its quickest in 11 years and easily topping expectations calling for growth of 4.3 percent.
"Everyone is surprised, and I'm definitely pleased," said Wayne Kaufman, chief market analyst at Phoenix Financial Services in New York. "How can inflation be so low when GDP is so high? Either this is just a one-off and GDP will fall back dramatically, or we'll see a pickup in inflation, which could put more pressure on the Fed."
The report spurred a broad rally, with nine of the ten primary S&P 500 sectors higher on the day. The only group to fall was healthcare .SPXHC, down 2.5 percent alongside a massive drop in biotech stocks.
The Nasdaq biotech index .NBI fell 5.4 percent, its biggest one-day decline since April 10. Components of the index made up the top six percentage decliners on the S&P; Celgene Corp (CELG.O) fell 8 percent to $104.49 while Biogen (BIIB.O) lost 6.6 percent to $329.14 and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN.O) lost 6 percent to $388.
Gilead Pharmaceuticals (GILD.O) fell 4.5 percent to $88.70, extending Monday's drop of 14 percent, which came after Express Scripts (ESRX.O) said it would abandon covering Gilead's hepatitis C treatment in favor of a cheaper option.
"This is just a kneejerk reaction, based on a bear thesis that Express Scripts will start to dictate prices," said Kaufman. "I don't see how this is any different than any other company in another sector getting more competition. Soon people will go through the stocks one-by-one to see which got oversold."
At 1:10 p.m. (1810 GMT) the Dow Jones industrial average .DJI rose 99.21 points, or 0.55 percent, to 18,058.65, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 5.72 points, or 0.28 percent, to 2,084.26 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 12.25 points, or 0.26 percent, to 4,769.17.
In addition to the GDP report, data showed a solid rise in consumer spending while consumer sentiment hit its highest level in nearly eight years. Separately, durable goods orders unexpectedly fell in November while new home sales fell for a second straight month.
Trading volume is expected to be light this week due to the Christmas holiday, which could increase volatility. U.S. equity markets will open for an abbreviated session Wednesday and be closed on Thursday.
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by 2,086 to 932, for a 2.24-to-1 ratio on the upside; on the Nasdaq, 1,463 issues rose and 1,222 fell for a 1.20-to-1 ratio favoring advancers.
The benchmark S&P 500 index was posting 113 new 52-week highs and 5 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite was recording 164 new highs and 42 new lows.
Reuters
NY police union leader well known for his bite
Standing outside a Brooklyn hospital after the bodies of two slain police officers were taken away, the head of the nation's largest police union railed against Mayor Bill de Blasio for failing to support the rank-and-file, enabling protesters and creating a climate of mistrust that allowed the tragedy to happen.
"That blood on the hands starts at the steps of City Hall, in the office of the mayor," Lynch said. "After the funerals, those responsible will be called on the carpet and held accountable."
Such theatrics aren't new for the excitable, amped-up Lynch. But his ongoing war of words with the mayor in recent weeks is a notch up even for him.
Just days before Officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos were shot to death in their car, Lynch had suggested officers sign a petition barring the mayor from attending their funerals should they die on the job.
And after a grand jury's decision not to indict a white police officer in the chokehold death of Eric Garner, an unarmed black man whose confrontation with police was videotaped, Lynch was incensed when the mayor mentioned how he often fears for the safety of his biracial son in his interactions with police.
"Police officers," Lynch said, "feel like they are being thrown under the bus."
Lynch is the face — and the mouth — of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, representing 24,000 officers. He's stood at podiums across the city since 1999 to defend officers accused of brutality, abuse of authority and deaths in custody. He uses words like "mopes," ''mutts" and "skells" to describe those who attack police. He shakes the hand of every officer he sees. And right now, he says, the police are feeling terrible.
"It is an odd time, and it's a very difficult time, because it seems like here in New York that the problems people believe society has are being laid at the feet of New York City police officers," he said in an interview shortly before the shootings.
De Blasio, a Democrat serving his first term as mayor, said flatly Monday he thought Lynch's recent comments were wrong and divisive and he did not believe all officers agreed with them. The mayor said he has a long record of support for the police and was trying to transcend the sniping and strike a unifying tone.
Lynch's recent remarks have set off a hail of criticism online and in the streets, where people say he's adding to the problem. But the way Lynch sees it, the all-time lows in crime in the city now give residents the luxury to criticize the police.
"People are forgetting how dangerous it was, the risks we took to make the city safe," he said.
It wasn't like that when he came on the job in 1984 as a patrolman in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, then a wasteland of warehouses and drug dens but now among the trendiest parts of the city, with giant condominiums, glitzy clubs and expensive restaurants.
Lynch, 51, was born and raised in a traditional Irish-Catholic family in the Bayside neighborhood in Queens, the youngest of seven children. He went to Monsignor Scanlan High School, where he met his wife, with whom he has two grown sons, both police officers.
Lynch's father was a motorman with the city's Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and he initially worked there before joining the NYPD. He became a union delegate and eventually ran for president. He is up for re-election for a fifth time next year. His mother died around the time of the grand jury's decision — he left a news conference to go to her wake.
His public battle with de Blasio, with volleys coming from both sides, is unprecedented, he says, because the mayor isn't giving police support publicly or in continued contract negotiations. Other mayors may have criticized police or been stingy with salaries, he says, but not both at the same time. The city and police are currently in binding arbitration.
Some of Lynch's supporters have said the rhetoric must be toned down.
Before the shooting, NYPD Commissioner William Bratton said he knows and respects Lynch but accused him and other leaders of taking "cheap shots" at the mayor to advance their own agendas. But after the shooting, police at the hospital turned their backs on the mayor — a stunning display of defiance — and Bratton conceded de Blasio was losing support among some officers.
In an op-ed piece in the Daily News, Cardinal Timothy Dolan called it "unfair and counterproductive to dismiss our mayor and other leaders as enemies of the police." And activists denounced any effort to derail the protests or blame demonstrations for the shooting deaths.
"This weekend, Patrick Lynch used his role as the president of the largest police union in New York to essentially declare war on black communities," said a statement by a dozen groups. "This is unacceptable and should be condemned."
But Lynch said he's speaking out for the rank-and-file, whose morale was low and has only plummeted.
"These ideas and issues aren't created at PBA headquarters," Lynch said. "They come from the ground up. The anger is palatable."
AP
Cuban dissidents shaken by U.S. rapprochement, seek new tactics
President Barack Obama's decision to end five decades of enmity with Cuba has shaken the island's political dissidents, dividing their ranks and forcing them to rethink tactics.
Throughout the Cold War and beyond, the United States relied on the small dissident movement to lead domestic opposition to Cuba's communist government and keep track of human rights abuses.
So after Obama last week tore up the tough, decades-old policy aimed at crippling Cuba, some dissidents feel betrayed and unsure of their movement, which infuriates the government and has limited public support.
The United States will still encourage Cubans to push for more political rights but it now has its own direct channel to President Raul Castro's government, raising uncertainty about the dissidents' future value to the Americans.
While some dissident leaders welcomed the policy shift for stripping Cuba's government of excuses for economic shortages and strict political control, others complained the deal was negotiated without their knowledge and against their will.
"President Obama has made a mistake," said Berta Soler, leader of the Ladies in White, a largely Roman Catholic group that has protest marches each Sunday. "This is going to benefit the Cuban government, strengthening and equipping its repressive machine."
While her group was marching on the streets, enduring harassment and detention, the U.S. government was engaged in secret talks with Havana over the past 18 months.
Guillermo Fariñas, who was detained like clockwork at 38 consecutive weekly protests outside his home this year in the city of Santa Clara, was even more blunt.
"I feel betrayed," said Fariñas, who was bothered by the secrecy of the talks and said the views of dissidents were discounted. "I know some people are offended by that word, but I use it on purpose."
Fariñas was in the minority during a landmark meeting of 29 dissidents from across Cuba who gathered for 10 hours on Monday at the office of 14ymedio, the news and opinion website of prominent blogger Yoani Sanchez.
Soler did not attend. Other senior dissident leaders either welcomed Obama's policy shift or accepted it as a reality beyond their control.
In a joint statement, they applauded the prisoner swap that allowed the release of U.S. foreign aid worker Alan Gross and more than 50 unidentified Cuban prisoners.
A U.S. official described the freed Cubans as political prisoners, but the dissidents have yet to confirm any of their people were released, leaving them wondering who exactly the United States fought to get free.
SEEKING UNITY
Participants in the meeting said they aired their differences inside but then agreed to present a united front. Reporters and diplomats were banned and all 29 dissidents placed their cell phones in a basket for the entire 10 hours.
Veteran leader Elizardo Sanchez declined to define the sharpest points of disagreement, but said they all recognized that Obama's move required a new approach to pressuring the government and seeking popular support.
"With this change, the discourse of the government has to change, and so does ours ... Now is the time for us to readjust our tactics due to the changing political scene," Sanchez said.
They have only just started thinking about what those tactics might be.
Cuba's government routinely accuses dissidents of being "mercenaries" of the U.S. government and many Cubans are skeptical about their motives, believing they are driven by the modest economic aide afforded by foreign groups.
Still, Jose Daniel Ferrer, leader of the Patriotic Union of Cuba, said he was optimistic. "There's a new dynamic and we think it will be very positive for the future of Cuba."
The 29 reaffirmed their demands for multiparty elections, the release of all political prisoners and respect for the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
But the discord from the Ladies in White was notable.
Images of Cuban police roughing up the Ladies in White at demonstrations have raised their profile, placing them among the most celebrated dissidents in the United States, along with Yoani Sanchez.
She has yet to offer strong opinions about the U.S. policy change, but other young dissidents have decided to embrace it.
"The worst thing we can do is cry about what happened," said Eliecer Avila, 29, the leader of Somos Mas (We Are More). "We should take Raul and Obama at their word. There was never a better opportunity than now for us bring our peoples together, and this is an opportunity we should not pass up."
Reuters
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