The 30-year-old Russian's decision to retire from the NHL came as a surprise since he will be leaving behind a reported $77 million from the $100 million contract he signed in 2010.

"After many conversations with Ilya over the past year on his desire to retire from the National Hockey League, Ilya's decision became official today," Devils General Manager Lou Lamoriello said in a statement.

"On behalf of the entire organization, I wish Ilya and his family all the best in their future endeavors."

Taken with the first pick in the 2001 draft by the Atlanta Thrashers, Kovalchuk quickly established himself has one of the league's top scoring threats. He twice topped 50 goals in a season and on four other occasions potted more than 40.

Over 11 NHL seasons with Atlanta and New Jersey, the three time All-Star collected 816 points (417 goals, 399 assists) in 816 games.

Kovalchuk claimed the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy as the NHL's leading goal scorer with 41 tallies in the 2003-04 season but never won a Stanley Cup.

He spent part of last season in Russia playing in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) while NHL owners and players battled over a new collective bargaining agreement.

When a new deal was in place Kovalchuk returned to the Devils for the shortened season but had expressed interest in returning to play in Russia.

It is speculated that Kovalchuk will sign with a KHL club and he is expected to be a member of the Russian Olympic team at next year's Sochi Winter Games.

"This decision was something I have thought about for a long time going back to the lockout and spending the year in Russia," Kovalchuk, who has played in three Olympics for Russia and eight world championships, said in a statement.

"Though I decided to return this past season, Lou was aware of my desire to go back home and have my family there with me.

"The most difficult thing for me is to leave the New Jersey Devils, a great organization that I have a lot of respect for and our fans that have been great to me." (Reporting by Steve Keating in Toronto; Editing by Frank Pingue)

SEOUL (Reuters) - Smartphone leader Samsung Electronics Co Ltd is set to report a record $8.9 billion quarterly profit on Friday, even as growth in sales of its blockbuster Galaxy series begins to wane and new rivals emerge to eat away at its market share.

The Galaxy S, powered by Google's free Android platform, propelled the South Korean firm into the top rank of smartphone makers in 2012, overtaking Apple Inc whose iPhone had set an industry standard five years earlier.

But the South Korean firm, which posted five consecutive record quarterly profits until the first quarter of 2013, now faces questions about how it will deal with narrowing margins as rivals flood the market with cheaper, simpler smartphones.

"Earnings could improve further from here as Samsung could cut prices of the S4 to boost overall shipments to a level that offsets any decrease in selling prices," said Brian Park, an analyst at Tong Yang Securities.

"But the bigger issue is that there's not much clarity about its future product lineups, and smartphones are increasingly commoditized ... It's inevitable that Samsung's stellar profit growth will come to an end and stagnate starting from next year."

Shares in the $185 billion company have dropped 15 percent since early June, hit by a series of brokerages downgrades. The share price reflects concerns about handset margins, with its mobile business generating 70 percent of the tech giant's total profit.

Its share price woes equate to a fall in market value of 33 trillion won ($29 billion), almost equal to the combined market capitalisation of Sony Corp and LG Electronics Inc.

To be sure, Samsung is by far the world's top smartphone maker with 33.1 percent of the market compared with Apple's 17.9 percent in the first quarter, according to research firm Strategy Analytics. Its rich product portfolio spans both the high and cheap-and-cheerful end of the market.

But competition is getting intense with Chinese manufacturers such as Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and ZTE Corp making ground in the popular mid- to low-end market, especially in China, the world's biggest mobile market.

Underscoring the growing focus on cheaper devices, Nokia Oyj, once the handset king, unveiled two stripped-down 3G phones this week. They allow access to popular applications such as Facebook and Twitter, and sell for just $68.

Mozilla also said this week that first smartphones running on open-source software Firefox will be available through Deutsche Telekom and Telefonica. Priced at less than $100, the models are manufactured by TCL Communication and ZTE and allow developers to easily create apps, as the software is based on HTML-5.

Samsung, due to release its April-June earnings guidance on Friday, likely increased quarterly operating profit to a record 10.16 trillion won ($8.9 billion), according to a survey of 43 analysts by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

That would be up 57 percent from a year ago and 15 percent higher than the previous quarter, reflecting the launch of its flagship Galaxy S4 in late April.

But its earnings estimates have been cut by 3 percent over the past 30 days, and analysts are warning that the days of thumping record profits may be coming to an end.

Citi analyst Henry Kim estimates Samsung's telecom profit margin would decline by 4 percent next year and 3 percent the following year on high-end market saturation and increasing sales of cheaper phones.

Samsung is widely expected to have sold between 72 million and 75 million smartphones in the second quarter, including some 20 million Galaxy S4. That's only marginally better than first-quarter smartphone sales of 69.4 million.

Solid recovery in memory chip prices is likely to offset the easing pace of growth in telecoms business, analysts said.

Prices of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips, used mainly in computers, have jumped nearly 90 percent so far this year. NAND chips, which are used in mobile devices to store data, are also widely expected to be in short supply.

Samsung is the world's top maker of televisions, handsets and memory chips, competing with Sony and LG in televisions and with Toshiba Corp and SK Hynix in memory chips.

(Reporting by Miyoung Kim; Editing by Stephen Coates)

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stung by leftover inventory because of a wet, cold spring and unsure about consumer spending, many retailers are ordering conservatively for the second busiest selling season of the year behind the end of the year holiday period, according to executives in shipping, banking and manufacturing.

"I don't think this is going to be a blowout year. I think this is going to be a little bit of a tough year," John Barbour, CEO of educational products maker LeapFrog Enterprises Inc said about the rest of 2013. "People have less money in their pockets."

While the U.S. economy has recovered modestly since the financial crisis, median household income is still below where it was before the 2007-2009 recession began, a recent report from Sentier Research showed. (For a related graphic, click http://link.reuters.com/taf69t)

Better inventory tracking tools also enable retailers to wait longer than usual to place back-to-school orders. That could mean higher profit margins in the back half of the year as retailers will likely not have to offer as many discounts to get rid of excess inventory. But they also risk not having enough stock if consumers spend more than anticipated.

"From their perspective, it is better to have missed sales than to end up having too much inventory, which you have to mark down," BB&T Capital Markets analyst Anthony Chukumba said.

Market research firm NPD Group expects consumers to start shopping later but spend more this year, especially online. NPD sees a 3 percent rise in back-to-school sales from last year.

Many retailers declined to provide details of the size and timing of back-to-school orders. But figures on shipments, factory orders and credit are down or flat with last year.

Data from China, where U.S. retailers get electronics, garments, toys and many other products made, showed new export orders shrinking in June at their fastest pace since September 2012.

United Parcel Service Inc, the world's No. 1 package delivery company, on Friday forecast second-quarter profit below Wall Street expectations, saying customers were selecting slower but cheaper shipping services in a weak economy.

Import volume at the major container ports is expected to rise 1.1 percent in July, versus 3.3 percent for the same period last year, according to a report from the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.

Those ports handled 1.38 million TEU in May, up 0.6 percent from May 2012. A TEU is one 20-foot cargo container or its equivalent. June was estimated at 1.37 million TEU, down 0.7 percent from a year ago.

A ho-hum first half "has brought some caution in for sure," said Craig Errington, vice president of marketing at Wrangler, a unit of VF Corp. He declined to comment on the size of orders for the upcoming season.

SAFE INVENTORY

Working capital lines of credit that stores tap to buy inventory are "at historically low levels" and not showing the usual peak before the back-to-school season, said Keith Vercauteren, who works in the capital finance arm of Wells Fargo, which has many retail clients.

Vercauteren said utilization on its lines of credit averaged about 17 percent for the first quarter. Its lines of credit have averaged more than about 30 percent utilization before 2008.

Unlike years past, when retailers would buy 15 to 20 percent more than what they sold the previous season, they played safe this time and bought the same amount of backpacks and school supplies as they sold last year, said Steve Russo, owner of FAB Starpoint, which makes "Hello Kitty" and other licensed goods.

"Although weather played a big factor this quarter, the economic backdrop remains very challenging for our customer," Michael Bloom, president and chief operating officer at discount chain Family Dollar Stores Inc said on an earnings conference call. "She is stretching her budget and forced to make choices."

June sales reports from other retailers such as lingerie chain Victoria's Secret parent L Brands Inc and Cato Corp also showed that shoppers were holding back on nonessential purchases.

Some retailers said they can order less or later because they are able to manage inventory better with the help of smarter tracking tools and buying strategies.

"We are getting smarter at supply chain. So what the vendor might perceive as being cautious may also just be (us) being smarter at how we use supply chain, how we use forecasts," said Ron Boire, merchandising chief at Sears Holdings Corp, owner of Sears department stores and the Kmart discount chain.

For example, the stores are buying denim in bulk instead of finished denim products so that it can get them made according to demand.

"The time it takes from concept to shelf has been reduced," said Simon Atkins, the head of Adidas Sport Style US. While it used to be as much as two years, the German sportswear maker is now testing "in-season replenishment."

Ordering closer or during the season also lets stores react faster when they see a product becoming popular.

"If you are ordering 15 months in advance, you might have tied up some of your cash," and not have the ability to do that, said Curt Andrews, vice president of marketing operations at consumer electronics store chain RadioShack Corp.

(Reporting By Dhanya Skariachan; Editing by Martin Howell, Bernard Orr)

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - After earning an Oscar nomination for his lead performance as an undocumented immigrant in the 2011 drama "A Better Life," Mexican star Demian Bichir found himself in high demand on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. He straddles both worlds in FX's new series "The Bridge," which debuts Wednesday night at 10 p.m., and co-stars Diane Kruger.

Bichir plays Marco Ruiz, a detective with Mexico's Chihuahua State Police investigating the gruesome murder of an American judge whose body (well, half of it) is found on the bridge connecting El Paso, Texas, to Juarez, Mexico. Ruiz teams up with El Paso PD detective Sonya Cross (Kruger) to catch a serial killer operating on both sides of the border.

Together, they must navigate the slippery politics of Mexican law enforcement, which is already consumed with illegal immigration, drug trafficking, violence and prostitution. In advance of the series premiere, TheWrap spoke with Bichir on topics ranging from bilingual TV programming to Hollywood's often negative depiction of Mexico.

TheWrap: How did you first get involved with "The Bridge"

Demian Bichir: I got an invitation from Elwood and Meredith and I was excited because I liked what I'd read. The pilot was really well-written and I liked the character on paper. But you never know what's going to happen next because all you have is the pilot. When they threw out Diane Kruger's name, that helped me make my decision.

Do you feel like your Oscar nomination for "A Better Life" opened doors for you in Hollywood and helped get you this show?

The way I see life and my work is that every project - every film, every play or anything I do - will potentially be my passport to something better, if you're lucky enough to get a good final product. After "A Better Life," a lot more people knew about me and we got a lot more attention. I'm just happy that it happened with "A Better Life" because it's a film I love very much and I'm emotionally attached to in many ways. I'll be forever grateful to Chris Weitz because he put all he had on my name and he won. You don't find too many people who really bet on you blindly, so that was without a doubt why I'm doing this.

Did you watch the original Scandinavian series "Bron" that "The Bridge" is based on?

I didn't want to see the original series because I'd heard so many great things about it and I didn't want to bring anything to my character. I wanted to go from scratch and make this a brand new project, at least for me.

Marco Ruiz is billed as one of the only honest cops on the Mexican police force. Is that suggestion, that most Mexican cops are corrupt, a cliched stereotype in Hollywood?

There are many other stereotypes and cliches but with the way corruption works, the fact that Marco is an honest man in a difficult world is not a very common type of situation. There are many cops like Marco Ruiz who go out there and risk their lives for a very low salary. What's sad is that the vast majority of cops are not like Marco Ruiz. There are some, but he's one of the few. There is corruption on both sides of the border. Violence affects both sides. Immigration is an issue that affects both countries and we talk about all of that on "The Bridge." I haven't seen any series that talks about that and about Mexico in such an important way.

How do you feel about the show's depiction of Juarez and how it deals with preconceptions and prejudices that Americans may have about Mexico?

It's hard to change those because there's a way Mexico has been perceived throughout the years. If you change it, or show Mexico as a beautiful place, which is the way it is, maybe the audience won't buy it, so they throw in a little filth. I don't think that's fair, its just the way Hollywood works.

What are your thoughts on bilingual programming? Do you feel like the Spanish-language scenes add to the authenticity of "The Bridge"?

You don't find too many shows with full scenes in Spanish with subtitles. That makes it more real. When the Mexican characters are in Mexico, they speak Spanish. Sometimes we speak Spanglish, too. I have family in Pasadena and San Jose and we talk in Spanglish sometimes, going back and forth. Even though it's a risk because some people may lose their concentration when they have to read, I think it works. They're not stepping into another world or another planet, it's just part of reality.

Episodes of "The Bridge" will be dubbed in Spanish on FX's Spanish-language network MundoFox. Do you feel like TV networks and cable companies are paying more attention to serving the growing Latino audience?

Maybe, because they just found out how important we are, economically speaking. Hispanics spend a lot of money and the networks need to pay attention to us so they can make more off advertising on our shows.

What are your thoughts on how the series handles Diane Kruger's character having Asperger's syndrome?

That's one of the things that I found really attractive. This is not a common way of approaching two lead characters. They usually want to make them perfect. Marco is far from perfect and Sonya Cross has her own issues. The fact that these two characters have to deal with each other's differences speaks to how Mexico and the United States work. Sonya and Marco couldn't be more different but they still have to work together and get to know each other as fast as possible because they have to have each other's back and rely on each other while working on the same task force. They need each other and that's how the U.S. and Mexico should be instead of pointing fingers at each other. We share many problems and need to work on them together. Diane has the hardest role on the series and it's amazing to watch her handle it with precision and grace.

I read that you asked Jude Law if you should commit to "The Bridge." Is that true?

We were shooting a film called "Dom Hemingway" with director Richard Shepard in the south of France and we were chatting about what was next. I told him I got the call to do "The Bridge" and he said 'Wow, wait a minute! I know that series and it's fantastic.' I had a great time doing that film with those guys.

You starred on Showtime's "Weeds," so "The Bridge" is your second cable series. Do you find that cable gives you more freedom than network TV?

You can find freedom anywhere, it's about who your creative team is and what you can actually show and talk about. When you work in cable, there's a wider variety of things you can talk about. There are many things you can show that make the whole thing more fun but the freedom to create something interesting.

Most people know you as the corrupt Tijuana mayor on "Weeds" or as the lawyer working for Salma Hayek's cartel in Oliver Stone's "Savages." Between "The Bridge" and your role as an FBI director in "The Heat," is it nice being on the other side of the law for a change?

My character in "Savages" is the only one who's not violent. He's really well-educated and his biggest sin is that he's a fantastic lawyer working for the wrong people. That's what I loved about that character. He was the only person in that organization not hurting anybody. Now Marco isn't an angel or a perfect human being. He's just like any of us. He's a human being and he has that duality. We can be an angel or a demon depending on the circumstances we're living in. That's what I like about Marco Ruiz. He can walk on fire and never get burned by it, but he's no angel. He has a side that makes him human.

I laughed a lot while watching "The Heat," in which you play Sandra Bullock's hard-ass boss. How was it working with her and Melissa McCarthy, and would you like to do more comedy in the future?

I've done a lot of comedy in my life in films and theater. Not too much in English or in the U.S. but it's a genre that I like very much. The way Paul Feig made "The Heat" is just incredible. After every take there's a new way to approach the scene and he throws in new lines and different ways to go. It was a really cool exercise because I'd been a big fan of their work. I was actually talking about how well it's working this morning. You would have to make a sequel out of every Sandy Bullock movie because every movie she touches is gold. Who knows, maybe my character would be Sandra or Melissa's lover in a sequel. Imagine spanking them!

Should "The Bridge" find an audience and prove to be a hit, are you looking forward to returning for a second season?

For me, "The Bridge" was about that month doing the pilot, and I was happy just doing that. It's hard to control the future or know what people or networks want. When we got the greenlight to do the series, I was even happier. But the way it works, this is it for me. I'm putting all my energy and everything I have into these 13 episodes. We'll know soon whether I'll be back in January or February.

In addition to "Dom Hemingway," Bichir will soon be seen in Robert Rodriguez's "Machete Kills," which hits theaters October 4. He's also planning to direct his first feature film "Refugio," which he also wrote.

WATERLOO, Ontario (Reuters) - BlackBerry Ltd signaled on Tuesday that a licensing deal, or even an outright sale of the company, was still a possibility, pleasing shareholders still reeling from the disappointing debut for its new line of smartphones.

Chief Executive Thorsten Heins, responding to a question about whether he was looking into strategic alternatives, said he is open to all options that create value for shareholders. He emphasized that the company has so far focused on creating value through the launch of its new devices powered by an all-new BlackBerry 10 operating system.

"This is a long-term transition for the company, but I can assure you that we're pushing very hard," Heins said at the company's annual shareholder meeting. "BlackBerry will pursue every opportunity to create value for shareholders."

His remarks that BlackBerry was also open to any and all licensing opportunities, sent shares higher in morning trading.

John Goldsmith, deputy head of equities at Montrusco Bolton, which owns more than 1.5 million BlackBerry shares, believes that BlackBerry may well be pressed into striking such a deal.

"I think they're on a very short leash," said Goldsmith, referring to BlackBerry's management. "I wouldn't be surprised if within the next two quarters there is a definitive announcement with regard to other options that this company could be looking at whether that's putting itself for sale or some other option."

The company's stock had dropped more than 30 percent after it posted disappointing second-quarter results in late June and forecast an operating loss in the current quarter.

A bigger concern for investors, was the fact that it sold fewer-than-expected BlackBerry 10 devices in their first full quarter on the market, offering little evidence that it could quickly win back market share from Apple Inc's iPhone, Samsung's Galaxy devices, and other phones powered by Google's Android operating system.

Even so, some investors believe many other companies would relish the prospect of getting their hands on the new platform.

"I can see why this guy is confident," said Ross Healy, a portfolio manager with MacNicol & Associates, whose clients own BlackBerry shares. "He is talking about partnerships and being open to talks and I don't think you say that unless you've really had a talk or two with interested parties - and that gives you some confidence."

At the meeting, held at BlackBerry's home base in Waterloo, Ontario, Heins conceded that BlackBerry has a tough road ahead as it attempts to turn around its fortunes, but he insisted it was on the right track.

Heins said BlackBerry was already seeing small signs of market-share gains in the top-end of the ultra-competitive smartphone market.

"Before you go into any strategic option, I think you have to create value. And the value of the company 15 months ago was way less than what it is today," he said.

CLOCK TICKING

Despite the company's confident tone, many investors agree that the clock is ticking for BlackBerry, which is caught in a squeeze on both the high- and low-ends of the smartphone market.

BlackBerry 10 devices hit store shelves this year just as the high-end smartphone segment had begun to show some signs of saturation. Last week, Samsung reported results that fell shy of expectations, while Apple earlier this year reported its first quarterly profit decline in more than a decade.

On the mid- to low end, competition is growing intense, with Chinese manufacturers such as Huawei Technologies and ZTE gaining ground.

Even so, BlackBerry said it remains determined to stick to its plan and is not re-thinking its strategy in any manner.

"We as a board remain completely supportive of management," said the company's chair, Barbara Stymiest, adding that she was confident the turnaround plan would succeed.

Shareholders voted on Tuesday to elect all the company's director nominees to its board. They also approved the plan to change the company's name to BlackBerry Ltd from Research In Motion Ltd, a move that had been announced in January.

BlackBerry shares closed almost 1 percent higher at $9.64 on the Nasdaq on Tuesday.

(Reporting by Euan Rocha, additional reporting by Peter Henderson; Writing by Cameron French; editing by Frank McGurty and Gunna Dickson)

[More from BGR: ]

This article was

NEW YORK/ST. LOUIS (Reuters) - These are unsettling times for digital currency businesses and the venture capitalists backing them.

On Tuesday, authorities in Spain, Costa Rica and New York arrested five people at the digital currency firm Liberty Reserve, including its founder Arthur Budovsky, and seized related bank accounts and Internet domains.

It was a further wake-up call for those involved in digital currencies, such as the most prominent, Bitcoin, that they need to comply with anti-money laundering rules or risk facing a crackdown.

They had already been put on notice - first by an April 2012 report from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation that explained how Bitcoin was being used by criminals to secretly transfer money around the world, and then this March by the U.S. Treasury Department. Its anti-money laundering arm, the Financial Crimes and Enforcement Network (FinCEN) stated that digital currency firms needed to comply with the same anti-money laundering rules as other financial institutions, including monitoring customers and reporting suspicious activity to the government.

As regulators tighten the screws, businesses built around digital currencies are trying to satisfy new monitoring requirements without letting public enthusiasm for the technology-based concept slip away.

"I think the whole ecosystem is maturing very quickly and we have young companies that are just beginning to understand how to navigate the regulatory issues," said David A. Johnston, co-founder and executive director of BitAngels, a new venture which only this week announced it had raised $6.7 million to fund startups tied to Bitcoin.

Digital currency is electronic money that can be passed between individuals without the use of the traditional banking or money transfer system.

Different currencies are structured in different ways. Some, like Liberty Reserve's "LR" digital currency, use units of value that are tied to an existing hard currency, such as the U.S. dollar. By contrast, the value of Bitcoin, the best known virtual currency, fluctuates according to supply and demand.

Bitcoin, which has been embraced by a number of venture capitalists in Silicon Valley, exists through an open-source software program that any users with enough skill and computing power can access. It is not managed by a single company or government. Users can buy bitcoins through exchanges that convert real money into the virtual currency.

Liberty Reserve, which was closed last week, however, was a firm that U.S. prosecutors said created a platform that enabled criminal gangs to launder more than $6 billion.

Bitcoin's supporters cite a host of legitimate reasons for using a digital currency: It can be transferred using less infrastructure than traditional currencies, and with fewer service fees. A virtual currency could also be safer than using a regular credit card for online purchases, because it is not attached directly to any bank account.

But law enforcement officials see Bitcoin as another vehicle for criminals to anonymously transfer money.

FinCEN's statement in March set off a rush inside the community to learn about anti-money laundering rules and figure out how to comply with them. At the 2013 Bitcoin Conference in San Jose, California two weeks ago, discussion focused heavily on regulatory compliance - its intricacies and its costs.

"That was a big theme of the whole conference," said Jerry Brito, director of the technology policy program at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. Brito said businesses exchanging Bitcoins were coming to terms with the fact that they would now need to get licensed as money transmitters in 48 U.S. states, a process requiring in-person interviews in each state, thanks to FinCEN's guidance.

"Everything I'm telling you, I've learned over the past couple of months as I'm racing to learn," said Brito, who attended the Bitcoin Conference in San Jose. "I think that's what the Bitcoin community is doing too."

Charlie Shrem, chief executive of Bitcoin transfer firm BitInstant.com, told the conference about the importance of complying with the new rules.

"You have to know your customer," he told the audience, according to a video posted on the Internet. "Whether or not you agree with the laws or not, you've got to follow them."

The FinCEN statement means companies that exchange Bitcoins for hard currency must now hire full-time compliance officers to verify the identities of users, especially those looking to transfer Bitcoins out of the digital world and back into dollars or other hard currencies. Estimates vary on how much it costs to get compliant, but licensing and registration fees alone can total in the tens of thousands of dollars, an added heavy cost for small startup businesses.

Brito said the Bitcoin community is also trying to increase its contact with law enforcement and regulators. The Bitcoin Foundation, a Bitcoin advocacy group made up of Bitcoin-related business owners and software programmers, is looking to hire a full-time lawyer based in Washington to make its case to regulators and lawmakers.

Some members of the community are declining to discuss regulation. Jon Matonis, the Bitcoin Foundation's secretary who is identified on the group's website as one of two spokesmen for press inquiries, told Reuters: "I am electing to take a brief break from commenting on issues such as this."

U.S. law enforcement officials are looking first and foremost to unmask criminals operating in cyberspace and arrest them, wherever they may be in the world, and they're looking to digital currency businesses to help.

Ed Lowery, special agent in charge of the U.S. Secret Service's criminal investigative division, said the agency is working "aggressively with our international partners" to pursue cyber crime and the companies that permit the misuse of digital currencies. He declined to comment specifically on Bitcoin.

Liberty Reserve has not been the only recent target for the authorities. The Tokyo-based firm Mt. Gox, the world's largest exchanger of U.S. dollars with Bitcoins, had two accounts held by its U.S. subsidiary seized this month by agents from the Department of Homeland Security on the grounds that it was operating a money transmitting business without a license.

Mt. Gox on Thursday announced it would require all of its users accounts to be verified before allowing them to perform any more deposits or withdrawals. Its founder declined to comment for this story.

Other companies are simply trying to avoid having to comply with U.S. rules by keeping away from the country. Following FinCEN's statement, two digital currency firms structured similarly to Liberty Reserve - Russia-based WebMoney and Panama-based Perfect Money - restricted access to their services from inside the United States.

Vyacheslav Andryushchenko, a spokesman for WebMoney in Russia, said each of the company's 20 million users had to agree to prohibitions against money laundering and illegal trade when signing up for an account. Users who violate the rules are cut off, and all actions inside WebMoney's system are recorded, the spokesman said. A user is blocked if there are any suspicions of anything illegal. In addition, the less personal information the user provides, the fewer services are available to him or her, the spokesman said.

Several messages on the listed number on Perfect Money's website were not returned. The company's address is an empty suite in an office block on the northwestern side of Panama City. A secretary in a neighboring office said she had never seen anyone go in or out.

(Reporting by Emily Flitter in New York and Brett Wolf in St. Louis; Additional reporting by Maria Kiselyova in Moscow and Lomi Kriel in Panama City; Editing by Martin Howell and Richard Chang)

RELATED:

Texas women in the lower Rio Grande Valley have been illegally purchasing Cytotec, a stomach ulcer drug that can also induce a miscarriage, at an open-air bazaar in McAllen, Texas. Cost is the main motivator for using the drug. Women can buy Cytotec for about , while a pharmaceutical abortion at the nearest clinic costs $550. Texas's 24-hour waiting period for an abortion prices many women out of traveling to a clinic. The state's decreased funding for birth control (as of 2011) has also contributed to the prevalence of the drug. 

RELATED:

Erlinda Dasquez is a mother of four who has taken Cytotec before. SheBloomberg News, 

"You’d be amazed at how many people, young people, are taking those pills. I probably know 12 to 20 people who have done this. My cousin just went to the flea market a few months ago."

Cytotec is not always effective in inducing an miscarriage. Often, women can't stop bleeding after taking the pills. . William West, a doctor at a McAllen health clinic, says he sees women daily who have taken Cytotec or something like it. Many are still pregnant. 

RELATED:

If the Texas abortion bill passes, only five clinics will be left in the state. Many more women will be unable to afford legal abortions due to travel — the expense, not to mention time away from work and family, is more than a little hindrance. Cytotec may become the only feasible option.

RELATED:

And that's not just true for Texas women. Mexico has few abortion clinics, because abortion is only legal in Mexico City, which is a far and expensive trip for most. And that's why Mexican women, too, depend on abortion clinics in Texas. An El Paso clinic that would close if the abortion bill passes currently getsfrom Mexico.

RELATED:

The pro-choice movement has long argued that abortion restriction only leads to illegal, unsafe abortions. The Texas legislature may prove them right. But some illegal, unsafe abortions are already happening now.

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Exploitation of underage girls is rampant on primetime, a new study by the Parents Television Council concludes.

The advocacy group's research monitored more than 200 episodes of broadcast television shows during two-week network sweeps periods in 2011 and in 2012 and found that 63 percent of those episodes contained sexual content involving women.

The group claims that 33 percent of that content involved sexual exploitation. The PTC said it used the United Nations Security General's definition of "sexual exploitation" to determine what content was objectionable. A 2003 report cites abuses of power and position in which someone profits "monetarily, socially or politically" from sexually exploiting another person.

The PTC maintains that scenes of exploitation were more likely to be humorous in nature when they involved underage girls (43 percent) compared to adult women (33 percent). The group said that child molestation, sex trafficking, sexual harassment, pornography and stripping were among the topics that served as fodder for jokes.

"When is it appropriate to laugh at the sexual exploitation of a child?" PTC President Tim Winter said on a conference call with reporters. "We hope this report stirs an urgent dialogue on this question."

The examples the group cites as evidence of a jokey approach to exploitation range in shock value from a strip poker scene in "Glee" to a sex-slave auction involving the teenage daughter on "Family Guy." Serious material that the PTC claims puts young adult characters in compromising positions could be found on programs like "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" and now-canceled shows like "Private Practice" and "Gossip Girls."

Obviously, shows like "Law & Order" feature characters trying to stop sexual exploitation, not condoning it.

Winter said the group intended to release its findings last winter, but shelved those plans after the mass killings in Newtown, Conn. The PTC chief said the organization chose to focus on the issue of violence in the media in the aftermath of the shootings.

The PTC said it is hoping to educate parents and viewers about the level of sexually exploitative material on the small screen because it believes that television can have a deleterious impact on younger audience members.

"The very premise of broadcasting as a business is influencing the behavior of a viewer," Winter said.

For George Zimmerman's defense has proven, beyond a reasonable doubt, that he shot Trayvon Martin not out of malice, rage or hate — but in a desperate act of self-defense.

Zimmerman was being beaten "ground-and-pound," mixed martial arts style. His head was being banged on the cement. Screaming again and again for help, he pulled out his gun and fired.

Even the prosecution is now conceding Trayvon might have been on top, and is now scrambling for a compromise verdict on a lesser charge than second-degree murder, a charge that never should have been brought. Indeed, this trial should never have been held.

What we have witnessed in Sanford, Fla., is the prosecution of an innocent man for murder because the politically and socially powerful demanded it.

That Trayvon is dead is a tragedy, and an avoidable tragedy. But it was not murder. And it does not justify railroading a man who, whatever his mistakes that night — and George Zimmerman made them — committed no crime.

The case comes down to four questions. And the answers, supported by the evidence, testimony and common sense, point straight to an acquittal.

First, who was the aggressor?

All agree it would have been better if Zimmerman had never left his car or followed Trayvon that night.

Yet, ask yourself:

Would a pudgy, out-of-shape 28-year-old with a gun, facing a 17-year-old athletic kid, 4 inches taller, with a longer reach, throw a punch and start a fistfight with him?

If Zimmerman threw the first punch, what would be his motive? If you have a gun and your adversary does not, is not the sensible stance to keep your distance so you can be free to pull the gun? Who armed with a pistol starts a fistfight with a suspicious stranger?

Moreover, Trayvon's body showed no signs of having ever been punched, while George's nose looks like he was sucker-punched.

Second, who was on top in those final moments of the fight?

If Zimmerman was on top and Trayvon was on his back, Trayvon would have been found on his back. He was found dead on his stomach.

If Zimmerman was on top and Trayvon was on his stomach, he would have been shot in the back. He was shot in the chest.

How could Trayvon have been found lying on his face, with a bullet hole in his chest, if Zimmerman was sitting on top of him? Only if George Zimmerman, after shooting Trayvon, would have turned him over as he lay dying. No one has even suggested that.

Why was the back of Zimmerman's jacket soaking wet, and the back of Trayvon's dry, if Trayvon was on the bottom? Why were the knees of Trayvon's pants wet, if he was on the bottom?

Third, who was screaming for help?

His mother, brother and father say it was Trayvon. George's mother, father and half a dozen friends say it is George's voice on the tape, screaming for help.

Trayvon's father and brother apparently told investigators initially that the voice was not Trayvon's, or they did not know. And the eyewitness John Good says the guy on the bottom in the red jacket, George Zimmerman, was the one screaming.

But, again, let us assume it was Trayvon screaming.

Why would he be screaming? If he was being beaten up martial arts style on the ground, would Trayvon not have had cuts and bruises?

What, exactly, was George Zimmerman doing to this 17-year-old football player that he should be screaming for help?

Where is the physical evidence that Trayvon had been hurt in any way before he was shot? Is screaming how a tough 17-year-old male reacts in a fistfight, even one he is losing?

Trayvon was a stranger in that neighborhood, and George was the neighborhood watch guy. Which of the two is more likely to be yelling for help from the neighbors?

Fourth, was the use of a firearm justified, even if Zimmerman was losing the fight and being beaten up?

Were his injuries that serious? Was he really is danger of grave bodily harm?

Experts disagree. But the real question is: What did Zimmerman think at the time? And judging by those piercing screams, was not that screaming man frightened, even terrified?

Trayvon's parents think these were the desperate cries for help of a son about to be killed. But if they were Zimmerman's cries, could George not have had those same thoughts?

George Zimmerman should have informed Trayvon he was the neighborhood watch. Trayvon should not have pummeled him. Both made mistakes. One is dead. To send the other to prison for what happened that night would be an act of vengeance, not justice, an invocation of the old lex talionis — an eye for an eye.

That's not what America is supposed to be about.

Patrick J. Buchanan is the author of "Suicide of a Superpower: Will America Survive to 2025?" To find out more about Patrick Buchanan and read features by other Creators writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators webpage at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2013 CREATORS.COM