Top Sen. Republican: deal very close on default

WASHINGTON (AP) — The top Republican in the Senate said Congress and the White House were very close to a deal on raising the limit on U.S. borrowing that would avert an unprecedented default on America's debt, ending one of the nastiest partisan fights in recent memory.

Senate Majority Leader Mitchell McConnell said he was nearing a recommendation of the tentative agreement to Republicans in the upper chamber. It would, he said, likely extend U.S. borrowing authority, which expires on Tuesday, beyond the 2012 presidential and congressional elections, a fundamental demand of President Barack Obama.

At the same time, the agreement would include none of the tax increases Obama has sought and Republicans had steadfastly rejected. It also includes, he said, the requirement that both houses of Congress vote on a constitutional amendment to balance the budget. That outcome of that vote, however, would have no effect on raising the debt limit.

Senior White House adviser David Plouffe said that both sides are generally in agreement on an emerging package that would cut the deficit in two stages, with key details still being worked out.

Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer said there still was no deal and talks on many issues still needed to be settled. Although he said there was "relief" in Congress and the White House because serious negotiations were now making headway.

The deal, negotiated late Saturday night, would raise the nation's debt limit would rise in two steps by about $2.4 trillion and spending would be cut by a slightly larger amount, according to officials close to the talks. The first stage — about $1 trillion — would take place immediately and the second later in the year.

The officials who described the talks did so on condition of anonymity, citing their sensitive nature.

Obama is seeking legislation to raise the government's $14.3 trillion debt limit by enough to tide the Treasury over until after the 2012 elections. He has threatened to veto any legislation that would allow a recurrence of the current crisis next year but has agreed to Republican demands that deficits be cut — without tax increases — in exchange for additional U.S. borrowing authority.

Without a compromise in place by Tuesday, administration officials say the Treasury will run out of funds to pay all the nation's bills. The subsequent default could prove catastrophic for the U.S. economy by causing interest rates to rise and financial markets to sink, sending shockwaves around the world, they say. With financial markets closed for the weekend, lawmakers had a little breathing room, but not much. Asian markets begin opening for the new work week when it is late Sunday afternoon in the U.S. capital.

"There is very little time" Obama said Saturday in his weekly radio and Internet address. He called for an end to political gamesmanship, saying "the time for compromise on behalf of the American people is now."

One official commenting on the late night negotiations said the two sides had settled on general concepts, but added there were numerous details to be worked out — and no assurance of a final agreement.

Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid postponed until Sunday a test vote on a his own debt limit proposal that had been scheduled for shortly after midnight to give negotiators time to work out an agreement.

"There are many elements to be finalized," he cautioned. "There is still a distance to go."

With a deal in the works, McConnell said at a joint news conference with House Speaker John Boehner on Saturday that he was confident a deal could be reached "in the very near future and resolve this crisis in the best interests of the American people."

Reid, after a meeting at the White House with Obama and House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, had initially disagreed with that optimistic assessment.

Obama needs Congress to approve an increase in the government's borrowing authority, in the past increases have been routine, but Republicans, citing the giant U.S. deficit, have demanded huge spending cuts as a condition for approving the increase.

Twenty six political groups will halt Tahrir sit-in during Ramadan

A group of 26 political parties and movements have announced that they will temporarily suspend their Tahrir Square sit-in during the holy month of Ramadan, which commences on 1 August.

The group released a joint statement at 1:00am on Sunday, that read that they will end the sit-in during the month of fasting, but will use “diverse methods to put pressure towards achieving the rest of the goals [of the revolution], starting with the demands of the families of the martyrs and the civilians who are put on military trials.”
However, it is believed that the square will not be completely emptied, since the families of martyrs and several small political groups calling to an end to military trials for civilians have announced that they plan to remain during Ramadan.
Witnesses in Tahrir Square have reported that the tents erected by the protesters in the grassy islands in the square are being moved towards the one in front of Mogamaa, the huge administration building on the edge of the square, signalling that the square may be finally opened for traffic after protesters have blocked it for weeks.
The square has been occupied by protesters since 8 July “Friday of Determination,” mass protests after families of martyrs clashed with police forces in front of the ministry of interior headquarters and the Balloon Theatre in Aguza on 28 June. The protest continued into a three-week tent-city sit-in reminiscent of the initial 18 days of Egypt’s revolution, although the number of protesters since then has fluctuated.
Those protesters will likely face difficulties during the month-long Ramadan, especially since the temperature in Cairo is debilitating and many may struggle if they withhold from drinking water and eating, as the Islamic fast stipulates. There was even talk that mass taraweeh prayers (special prayers held in Ramadan) will be held in the square. But, now, with one day to go before the first post-Mubarak Ramadan begins, many political parties have decided to back away for the time being.
“Indeed we have not fulfilled all of our demands, which made us stage this sit-in,” the group said in the statement. “But because we believe that the sit-in is a tool, not an aim, and with the advent of the holy month of Ramadan...all political parties and youth movements have decided to temporarily suspend the sit-in during all of Ramadan.”
In the statement released the group kept the morale of the revolution, pointing out that many goals have been reached during the second wave of the revolution, which was launched on 8 July.

“This protest was successful in it's gains, which pushed the Egyptian revolution forward in efforts to complete its full journey and achieve the rest of its goals,” the statement said. “This second wave has proven the ability of the revolutionary masses to return at any time and stage a sit-in.”
The second wave, the statement read, has also succeeded in pushing the ruling military council and the interim government to announce which courts will try the corrupt members of the old regime and those who killed the protesters in public and expedite the trials.
However, the groups stressed that they plan to resume the sit-in following Eid (the celebration day that ends Ramadan). During Ramadan however, they will continue to press for their demands through other means, such as holding the “Daily Revolutionary Awareness Ramadan,” gatherings which will raise awareness about the rights of the families of martyrs.
Another technique they plan to employ during Ramadan is a campaign called “We will get them,” in which political activists will work to expose and shame the police officers responsible for killing protesters during the revolution in the suburbs where they live and in front of the police stations where they work.
They will also create a national front made up of volunteer lawyers to give legal aid to the families of the martyrs who have pending lawsuits.
In line with that, the coalitions will launch a campaign to compile data about all the civilians who have been put on military trials and fight for their release along with their families. It’s also a move to call for an end to military trials and retry all civilians who have already appeared before military courts.
The group plans to have Ramadan iftar (the meal that breaks the fast) events throughout the month.
Among those who signed the statement are the Revolutionary Youth Coalition, the Egyptian Social Democratic Party, El Karama Party, Free Egyptians Party, the Democratic Front Party, Freedom Egypt Party, El Tagammu Party, the Popular Alliance Party, the Independent Campaign to Support ElBaradei and the 6th of April Movement.

Netanyahu forms committee to address Israelis' economic burden

JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he will form a ministerial committee to address the country's economic challenges.


In the wake of massive protests across Israel, Netanyahu on Sunday said he would appoint a special team of ministers and experts to listen to representatives of the protesters and to submit a plan "to alleviate Israelis' economic burden."


"We are all aware of the genuine hardship of the cost of living in Israel," Netanyahu said Sunday at the start of the regular weekly Cabinet meeting. "This affects many areas. Some of the claims that are being heard are justified and some are not. Indeed, we must deal with the genuine distress, seriously and responsibly. This, without a doubt, compels us to change our list of priorities."


The prime minister also said that "We must avoid irresponsible, hasty and populist steps that are liable to cause the country to deteriorate into the situation of certain European countries, which are on the verge of bankruptcy and large-scale unemployment."


The announcement came hours after the resignation of the Finance Ministry's director general, Haim Shani, who cited a "fundamental difference of opinion" with Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz. It is rumored that Steinitz could lose his job over the protests that are sweeping the country.


On Saturday night, more than 100,000 Israelis protested against the high cost of living in cities across Israel, with the largest demonstrations in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Beersheba and Haifa. It was the largest turnout for the populist protests since they began about two weeks ago.

Jets sign WR Plaxico Burress

The New York Jets took a page out of the Philadelphia Eagles playbook in signing WR Plaxico Burress Sunday.

The Jets confirmed Sunday morning that they had an agreement in principle with the former Super Bowl star with the New York Giants, who was released in June after 20 months in prison.

MORE:  Sunday's NFL moves

On Friday evening, after days of hearing themselves declared the frontrunners to sign Nnamdi Asomugha, the Jets saw the Eagles swoop in and steal the superstar cornerback. On Sunday it was their turn.

CAPTIONBy Joe Corrigan, Getty Images

Over the last few days, all of the talk concerning Burress, 33, surrounded the Giants and Steelers, his two former teams.

Burress met Friday evening with coach Tom Coughlin to discuss a possible return to the Giants. After playing the first five years of his career in Pittsburgh (2000-2004), Burress signed with New York as a free agent. In Super Bowl XLII in the 2007 season, he caught the winning touchdown pass with 35 seconds left in the Giants' 17-14 victory vs. the New England Patriots.

On Saturday, Burress visited the Steelers training camp in Latrobe, Pa. He had breakfast with the coach Mike Tomlin, Director of Football Operations Kevin Colbert and team President Art Rooney II. He later had lunch in the team cafeteria with veteran Steelers Hines Ward and James Farrior.

Now, according to ESPN's Adam Shefter, Burress will sign a one-year contract for about $3 million, guaranteed.

On June 6, Burress was released from the Oneida Correctional Facility, a medium security prison in Rome, N.Y. He had served 20 months of a two-year sentence with time off for good behavior.

He received the prison sentence after pleading guilty to weapons charges in connection with accidentally shooting himself in the leg in a New York night club in November of 2008.

Can Microsoft Make You 'Bing'?

MIKE NICHOLS has a poster on his office wall. It shows the young Muhammad Ali glaring down at a fallen Sonny Liston, the bruising heavyweight who had seemed invincible — until Ali beat him, in 1964, in one of the biggest upsets in sports history, and then beat him again a year later.

“The triumphant underdog,” Mr. Nichols says, nodding toward the wall.

The inspirational fight poster is fitting, because Mr. Nichols, a general manager at Microsoft, is a lieutenant in an underdog corporate army here. Its daunting mission is to take on the Google juggernaut.

Microsoft’s assault on Google in Internet search and search advertising may be the steepest competitive challenge in business today. It is certainly among the most costly. Trying to go head-to-head with Google costs Microsoft upward of $5 billion a year, industry executives and analysts estimate.

As the overwhelming search leader, Google has advantages that tend to reinforce one another. It has the most people typing in searches — billions a day — and that generates more data for Google’s algorithms to mine to improve its search results. All those users attract advertisers. And there is the huge behavioral advantage: “Google” is synonymous with search, the habitual choice.

Once it starts, this cycle of prosperity snowballs — more users, more data, and more ad dollars. Economists call the phenomenon “network effects”; business executives just call it momentum. In search, Google has it in spades, and Microsoft, against the odds, wants to reverse it.

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Microsoft has gained some ground. Its Bing search site has steadily picked up traffic sinceits introduction two years ago, accounting for more than 14 percent of searches in the American market, according to comScore. Add the searches that Microsoft handles for Yahoo, in a partnership begun last year, and Microsoft’s search technology fields 30 percent of the total.

Yet those gains have not come at the expense of Google. Its two-thirds share of the market in the United States — Google claims an even higher share in many foreign markets — has remained unchanged in the last two years. The share losers have been Yahoo and smaller search players.

The costs for Microsoft, meanwhile, keep mounting. In the latest fiscal year, ended in June, the online services division — mainly the search business — lost $2.56 billion. The unit’s revenue rose 15 percent, to $2.53 billion, but the losses still exceeded the revenue.

Microsoft is a big, rich company. But investors are growing restless at the cost of its search campaign. In May, when David Einhorn, the hedge fund manager, called for Steven A. Ballmer, Microsoft’s C.E.O., to be replaced, he pointed to the online unit as a particular sore spot.

Qi Lu, president of Microsoft’s online services division, sees the situation this way: “To break through, we have to change the game. But this is a long-term journey.”

MR. LU, 49, knows about long journeys — and persistence. His grandparents raised him in rural China, in a home without running water or electricity. A bright student, he won a scholarship to the doctoral program at Carnegie Mellon.

After stints at the Almaden Research Center of I.B.M. and at Yahoo, where he was in charge of its search and search ad technology, he joined Microsoft at the end of 2008. He was recruited by Mr. Ballmer, who assured him that Microsoft was committed to search and competing with Google for the long haul.

Paul Yiu came from Yahoo two years ago, impressed by Microsoft’s approach to competing in search. A business and product manager, Mr. Yiu had spent most of his career in Silicon Valley, often working for Microsoft adversaries like Netscape and Oracle.

He explains that in the valley, with its job-hopping and start-up culture, there is a “renters’ mentality”: if things aren’t working out, just move on. At Microsoft, he says, there is a “homeowners’ mentality”: a dedication to making things work.

“If you’re in the expensive search game, you need to have a homeowners’ mentality,” Mr. Yiu says.

Microsoft’s leadership knew years ago that becoming a real competitor to Google would take patience as well as dollars. In 2007, Mr. Ballmer met with Harry Shum, a computer scientist who led Microsoft’s research lab in Beijing at the time. Mr. Ballmer, as Mr. Shum recalls, told him that the company wanted to make a concerted push in search and bring in leading technical experts and business managers.

Google Buys IBM Patents

Google Inc. said Friday that it has purchased technology patents from International Business Machines Corp. as the Web-search giant stocks up on intellectual property to defend itself against lawsuits.

"Like many tech companies, at times we'll acquire patents that are relevant to our business," a Google spokesman said in a statement.

The purchase was reported earlier by the blog SEO by the Sea, which said Google in mid-July recorded the acquisition of more than 1,000 patents with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

The patents involve the "fabrication and architecture of memory and microprocessing chips," computer architecture including servers and routers and online search engines, among other things. SEO stands for search engine optimization, or the practice of structuring websites and content so they rank well on search engines like Google.

The Google spokesman declined to comment on the purchase price. It wasn't immediately clear which of the patents might be useful to Google to shield against lawsuits.

Google faces patent lawsuits for many of its services, including its Android mobile-device operating system, which has become a bigger target as its world-wide popularity has risen. It is unclear whether any current lawsuits pose a threat to future revenue generated by Google's new technologies.

Google's general counsel, Kent Walker, recently argued that patent-infringement litigation was stifling innovation and being used by companies that want to "block competing products or profit from the success of a rival's new technology." He said Google's only recourse was to try to purchase a large number of patents for itself, as it was a younger company with a thinner patent load than many of its competitors.

Google has nearly $40 billion in cash, giving it the flexibility to make purchases. But it was outbid earlier this month when a coalition of companies that compete with Android, including Apple Inc., and Microsoft Corp., agreed to buy a portfolio of some 6,000 patents owned by Nortel Networks Corp. for $4.5 billion. That price was five times the $900 million Google had initially offered in an early bid for the patents.

Google, of Mountain View, Calif., has been in talks to buy InterDigital Inc., a company that owns thousands of patents and licenses them but doesn't create products, people familiar with the matter have said. Such an acquisition would cost several billion dollars.