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New York state announces plan for board to help cash-strapped cities
NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York state lawmakers on Tuesday announced plans to create a financial restructuring board and binding arbitration process to help struggling municipalities manage their finances. Full Story

Empire State Building gets 'left-field' $2 billion offer to sell
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New York City real estate company offered to buy the Empire State Building for $2 billion, a written offer showed, significantly below the skyscraper's appraisal price and about three weeks after investors in the iconic building approved a plan to take the tower public in a real-estate investment trust. Full Story

California judge irked by accused killer acting as own lawyer
SAN RAFAEL, California (Reuters) - An accused California serial killer representing himself at his own murder trial drew a series of rebukes from the judge on the first day of testimony and was warned to obey procedural rules in court or risk losing the right to serve as his own attorney. Full Story

U.S. says surveillance thwarted NYSE attack, Somali funding
(Reuters) WASHINGTON - U.S. intelligence officials on Tuesday identified two of the more than 50 classified cases in which they say National Security Agency eavesdropping helped thwart terrorist plots including a planned attack on the New York Stock Exchange. Full Story

Rousseff salutes Brazil protests, cities cut bus fares
SAO PAULO (Reuters) - President Dilma Rousseff on Tuesday sought to defuse a massive protest movement sweeping Brazil, acknowledging the need for better public services and more responsive governance as demonstrations continued in some cities around the country. Full Story

U.N. recommends bringing Iraq closer to ending 1990s sanctions
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday recommended bringing Iraq one step closer to ending all U.N. sanctions imposed on Baghdad more than two decades ago after former leader Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait In 1990. Full Story

Obama to prod West to take on global challenges in Berlin speech
BERLIN (Reuters) - In the city where John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan gave defiant Cold War speeches, President Barack Obama will call on Wednesday for a renewed spirit of activism by the West in tackling 21st century challenges from nuclear proliferation to climate change. Full Story

Russia's Putin torpedoes G8 efforts to oust Assad
ENNISKILLEN, Northern Ireland (Reuters) - Russia's Vladimir Putin derailed Barack Obama's efforts to win backing for the downfall of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad at a G8 summit on Tuesday, warning the West that arms supplied to the rebels could be used for attacks on European soil. Full Story