In one of the most electric moments since the IRS controversy erupted nearly two weeks ago, Lois Lerner unwaveringly but briefly defended herself before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. But she would say no more, citing legal advice in the face of a federal investigation.

Members of Congress have angrily complained that Lerner and other high-ranking IRS officials did not inform them that conservative groups were singled out, even though lawmakers repeatedly asked the IRS about it after hearing complaints from local tea party groups.

The Justice Department has launched a criminal probe of the murky events over the 2010 and 2012 election campaigns, saying it is looking into potential civil rights violations. Top IRS officials say Lerner didn't tell them for nearly a year after she learned that agents working under her had improperly singled out conservative groups for additional scrutiny when they applied for tax-exempt status.

Under unrelenting criticism most forcefully from Republicans but also from Democrats and people outside politics administration officials from President Barack Obama on down have denounced the targeting as inappropriate and inexcusable.

Lerner, who heads the IRS division that handles applications for tax-exempt status and first disclosed the targeting at a legal conference, has said the same. But she also spoke up for herself Wednesday, sitting stern-faced at the committee witness table.

"I have not done anything wrong," she said. "I have not broken any laws, I have not violated any IRS rules or regulations, and I have not provided false information to this or any other congressional committee."

By one lawmaker's count, Lerner was asked 14 times by members of Congress or their staffs without revealing that the groups had been targeted. On Wednesday, lawmakers didn't get a chance to ask Lerner again.

Nine minutes after she began speaking, Lerner was excused, though committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., said he might recall her. He and other Republicans say they believe she forfeited her Fifth Amendment privilege not to testify by giving an opening statement in which she proclaimed her innocence, but several law professors were skeptical they could make that stick.

Issa later said he would consult with others including her lawyer and House attorneys before determining whether to summon her again, hopefully deciding by the time Congress returns from an upcoming recess early next month.

"She's a fact witness with a tremendous amount that she could tell us," Issa said.

By leaving early, Lerner missed out on a six-hour grilling that three other witnesses endured.

The hearing was Congress' third on the IRS controversy in the past week. Taken together, testimony by current and former officials indicates that Lerner's actions were consistent with theirs: Once officials learned that conservative groups were being targeted, they say they made sure the practice was stopped, but they were slow to tell superiors, if they did so at all.

They also didn't tell Congress, until Lerner herself made it public at a May 10 legal conference.

"Think about it. For more than a year, the IRS knew that it had inappropriately targeted groups of Americans based on their political beliefs without mentioning it," Issa said. "There seemed to be a culture of insulation that puts higher priority on deniability than addressing blatant wrongdoing."

The hearings have been notable for what they have not shown as well as what they have. No evidence has emerged that anyone outside the IRS, including the White House, directed agents to go after conservative groups. And there has been no evidence that anyone outside the IRS was made aware that the groups were being targeted until a few weeks before the inspector general released his report on the situation last week.

Still, Obama's top spokesman said Wednesday the White House is facing "legitimate criticisms" for its shifting accounts about who knew what, and when they knew it.

Press secretary Jay Carney first said only Obama's top lawyer knew the IRS was being investigated in the weeks before the inspector general's report was released. Later, he said the chief of staff and other top officials also knew.

"There have been some legitimate criticisms about how we're handling this," Carney said. "And I say 'legitimate' because I mean it."

The report said IRS agents in a Cincinnati office started targeting tea party and other conservative groups for additional scrutiny in March or April of 2010. By August 2010, "tea party" became part of a "be on the lookout," or "BOLO" list of terms to flag for additional screening.

Lerner learned in June 2011 that agents in her division were singling out groups with "Tea Party" and "Patriots" in their applications for tax-exempt status, the report said. She ordered agents to scrap the criteria immediately, but later it evolved to include groups that promoted the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

"After that date, Ms. Lerner had 14 opportunities in direct and distinct interactions with the Ways & Means Committee and with this committee 14 different occasions where she could have set the record straight, and she chose not to do it," said Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio.

Lerner, 62, is an attorney who joined the IRS in 2001. She expressed pride in her 34-year career in federal government, which has included work at the Justice Department and Federal Election Commission, and she said she currently oversees 900 workers and a budget approaching $100 million.

She has faced no discipline for her actions, IRS officials said. A new acting commissioner is conducting a 30-day review of the division.

J. Russell George, the Treasury Department inspector general for tax administration, has blamed ineffective management for allowing agents to improperly target conservative groups for more than 18 months.

On Wednesday, he hinted that there may be more revelations to come. He told the oversight committee that his office has since uncovered other questionable criteria used by agents to screen applications for tax-exempt status. But he refused to elaborate.

"As we continue our review of this matter, we have recently identified some other BOLOs that raised concerns about political factors," George said. "I can't get into more detail at this time as to the information that is there because it's still incomplete.

Lerner's supervisors said they, too, were kept in the dark for nearly a year. One of those supervisors was Deputy IRS Commissioner Steven Miller, who later became acting head of the agency. He was forced last week to resign.

Miller said he first learned in May 2012 that conservative groups had been singled out. He promptly told his boss, IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman.

But for the second straight day, Shulman testified that he didn't tell anyone in the Treasury Department or the White House because he was awaiting the results of an audit by the agency's inspector general. The IRS is part of the Treasury Department.

Shulman stood by that Wednesday, and was pressed once again by lawmakers about why he didn't say anything.

"At the time I learned about this list, I felt I was taking the appropriate actions and that my course was the proper one, and I still feel that way today," Shulman said.

Shulman, who was appointed by President George W. Bush, left in November when his five-year term expired. Miller became acting commissioner when Shulman left.

In the spring of 2012, George told a top Treasury official that the inspector general's office was investigating complaints by conservative groups. George, however, did not reveal any details about what he had uncovered, said Deputy Treasury Secretary Neal Wolin, who also testified Wednesday.

"He told me only of the fact that he had undertaken such an audit, and he did not provide any findings," Wolin testified. "I told him that he should follow the facts wherever they lead. I told him that our job is to stay out of the way and let him do his work."

Wolin said he didn't tell any of his superiors at Treasury or the White House about the investigation.

___

AP White House Correspondent Julie Pace contributed to this report.

___

Follow Stephen Ohlemacher on Twitter: http://twitter.com/stephenatap

"I think it's harder, there's no doubt about it," Obama told reporters on Tuesday. "It puts more of a burden on us."

The state-based exchanges, created under the 2010 healthcare law, were designed to offer individuals a centralized place to buy health insurance policies for 2014. But a number of mostly Republican-led states have opted out, pushing individuals to the back-up federally run exchange.

(Reporting by Susan Heavey; editing by Jackie Frank)

(This story was refiled to add dropped words to quote in the second paragraph.)

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For years now the Xbox has been the MVP of Microsofts consumer electronics division. While the company has badly lagged behind in both the smartphone and tablet realms, it has stayed strong in the gaming arena where both the Xbox and personal computers have remained crucial platforms for popular games. As the years have gone by, Microsoft has shrewdly added key entertainment applications to the Xbox, including Netflix and Hulu, that have helped make it much more of an all-purpose entertainment hub and not just a prized toy for gamers.

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With the , Microsoft has taken its concept of the console as an entertainment system several steps further. It has embedded three different operating systems into the device that specialize in delivering gaming and web-based entertainment in a way thats much more integrated and seamless than anything the Xbox 360 ever tried. Its added voice and gesture recognition technology to make flipping through content on the Xbox simpler. And its even added the ability to make Skype calls through your television set to give TV watching a more social aspect than what the current Xbox offers.

But all these features are nothing compared to Microsofts content delivery system. The new Xbox Live service will be backed by a whopping 300,000 servers, which should not only prevent the Xbox from experiencing anybut will also ensure that Xbox users will have access to vastly more content and applications over the web than anything else theyve ever experienced over their televisions.

In all, todays press event for thewasnt just a coming-out party for a new gaming console but a coming-out party for a bold new strategy to make sure that Microsoft software becomes the go-to software for web-enhanced television. Whether this plan bears fruit is hard to say but for the time being its tough to imagine either Sony or Nintendo or Apple or Google, for that matter offering anything comparable.

This article was

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This article was

Emmanuel Nteziryayo, Charles Munyaneza, Celestin Ugirashebuja, Vincent Bajinya and Celestin Mutabaruka appeared at a London court under extradition warrants alleging genocide and murder, a police spokesman said.

Four of the five were freed by the High Court in 2009, overturning a ministerial extradition order because of fears they would not get a fair trial in Rwanda. They had been in custody since 2006.

During 100 days of slaughter in 1994, 800,000 minority Tutsis and politically moderate Hutus were killed.

Rwandan prosecutor general Martin Ngoga welcomed the arrests, which took place early on Thursday, and said he hoped London would follow the example of other jurisdictions that had extradited suspects.

"They are all suspects of genocide against Tutsis and crimes against humanity committed in Rwanda in 1994 ... Rwanda has made significant progress since 2009 when the British Courts rejected the extradition requests to Rwanda," he said.

The five men are due to appear at Westminster Magistrates court again on June 5.

(Reporting by Stephen Addison, Shadia Nasralla in London and Jenny Clover in Rwanda; Editing by Alison Williams)

Seventy-eight players have now qualified for the 156-man field for the June 13-16 event at Merion Golf Club outside Philadelphia ahead of final sectional qualifying on June 3.

Day, the 2011 U.S. Open runner-up to Rory McIlroy, and Weekley were among 25 players to join the field by being within the top 60 in world golf rankings.

Weekley vaulted 56 positions in the world rankings to No. 55 by winning the PGA Tour's Colonial Invitational on Sunday, while Day was safely in with his ranking at 25.

Manassero became exempt for the U.S. Open with his victory in Sunday's four-hole playoff at the European Tour PGA Championship.

Others qualifying through the rankings included Tim Clark of South Africa, Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts, Scotland's Martin Laird and Paul Lawrie, Englishman Ian Poulter, Australian Marc Leishman, Swede Henrik Stenson and Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand.

(Reporting by Larry Fine in New York; Editing by Julian Linden)

LONDON (Reuters) - The U.S. government has signed an antibiotics development deal worth up to $200 million with GlaxoSmithKline to tackle the dual threats of drug resistance and bioterrorism.

The collaboration, the first of its kind between Washington and a drug company, will allow funding to move around GSK's antibiotics portfolio rather than focusing on a single drug candidate.

The rise of antibiotic resistance is causing alarm among governments worldwide, leading to warnings from officials such as England's chief medical officer Sally Davies that the issue is a "ticking time bomb" threatening public health.

Thomas Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, recently called for an urgent fight-back against "nightmare bacteria".

At the same time, there is concern about the potential threat from terrorists who might use infectious agents such as anthrax and plague as bioweapons.

The collaboration between GSK and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, will study potential new drugs to treat conventional pathogens and those that could be developed into weapons.

Britain's biggest drugmaker said on Wednesday it would receive $40 million for an initial 18 months and up to a total of $200 million if the agreement is renewed over five years.

The problem of antibiotic resistance and the rise of so-called "superbugs" that cannot be treated with traditional medicines has been growing for years, but drug companies have been reluctant to invest in new medicines because of poor returns.

Patients tend to take antibiotics for only a short period, prices are traditionally low and any new antibiotics are likely to be reserved for serious infections - once again minimizing the sales opportunity.

COST SHARING

David Payne, head of GSK's antibacterial discovery unit, said public-private partnerships, like the one with BARDA, were a key part to solving the problem.

GSK is one of relatively few large pharmaceutical companies still pursuing research into new antibiotics - but its scientists still have to put forward a viable business case internally for their research.

The financial support from BARDA is therefore a big help and will mean that experimental compounds are developed faster than would otherwise have been the case.

"This is a significant step forward because it enables us to share the cost of developing antibacterials," Payne said in an interview.

The compounds covered by the BARDA deal are still in initial Phase I testing, which means it will be several years before they are approved for use - assuming they succeed in later clinical trials.

A joint oversight committee, including representatives of both BARDA and GSK, will monitor progress of the experimental medicines, make decisions on allocating funds and decide whether compounds should be added or removed from the program.

GSK, along with other drugmakers, already has separate contracts with BARDA for other specific drugs and vaccines.

The decision to adopt a "portfolio approach" this time, however, makes the arrangement much more flexible, since it means work can move swiftly to other molecules if a particular drug candidate fails in tests, as often happens.

"It reflects the reality of what goes on in drug discovery ... you want to be able to easily move money from one molecule to another," Payne said.

(Editing by Helen Massy-Beresford)

Freddie Mac said Thursday that the rate on the 30-year loan ticked up to 4 percent from 3.99 percent. Six weeks ago, it dropped to a record low of 3.94 percent, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research.

The average rate on the 15-year fixed mortgage rose to 3.31 percent from 3.30 percent. Six weeks ago, it hit a record low of 3.26 percent.

Rates have been below 5 percent for all but two weeks this year. Yet this year could be the worst for home sales in 14 years.

Mortgage applications fell 10 percent this week from the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

High unemployment and scant wage gains have made it harder for many people to qualify for loans. Many Americans don't want to sink money into a home that could lose value over the next three to four years. And most homeowners who can afford to refinance already have.

The low rates have caused a modest boom in refinancing, but that benefit might be wearing off. Most people who can afford to refinance have already locked in rates below 5 percent. Refinancing fell 12.2 percent last week, according to the mortgage bankers group.

The average rates don't include extra fees, known as points, which most borrowers must pay to get the lowest rates. One point equals 1 percent of the loan amount.

The average fees for the 30-year and 15-year fixed mortgages were unchanged at 0.7.

The average rate on the five-year adjustable loan fell to 2.97 percent from 2.98 percent. The average rate on the one-year adjustable loan increased to 2.98 percent from 2.95 percent.

The average fees on the five-year and one-year adjustable loans were both unchanged at 0.6.

To calculate average mortgage rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country Monday through Wednesday of each week.

MIAMI (Reuters) - San Francisco is favored to be named the host city for the 50th Super Bowl when National Football League (NFL) owners vote Tuesday on the site of the 2016 championship game.

The Californian city, home to the NFL's 49ers, is up against South Florida (Miami) while Houston will compete with the losing bid for the 2017 game, which will also be decided on Tuesday.

All the focus, however, is on the prestige of hosting the 50th anniversary game, which the NFL is promising to make the biggest and best finale ever.

The San Francisco Bay Area has hosted one Super Bowl, in 1985, while the Miami area has enjoyed the economic boost from hosting the NFL's championship game a record-tying 10 times, most recently in 2010.

But that extra experience appears to be the only obvious advantage Miami has.

The NFL has said for several years that they wanted to see upgrades made to the 26-year-old Miami Gardens venue but a bid by Dolphins owner Stephen Ross to get state funding for a major redevelopment failed and the billionaire has made it clear he will not fund the changes alone.

That setback has left the South Florida bid committee talking about a 'Plan B' with the existing stadium but they have been badly damaged by the dropping of the planned upgrade.

"Following the Miami Dolphins' failure to secure public funding for renovations ... San Francisco sits in the driver's seat," Albert Breer wrote on the NFL website on Monday.

While the South Florida bid is now left to focus on downtown events and beachside activities, San Francisco, in contrast, is proudly highlighting the state-of-the-art nature of their $1.2 billion stadium in Santa Clara set to open next year.

The San Francisco bid, which was presented to the NFL's 32 owners on shiny, new iPads, and which has been backed by some of the biggest names in Silicon Valley, such as Apple and Google, promises an unmatched venue.

As well as ultra-luxury suits, Levi's Stadium will feature stadium-wide wifi, streaming video, mobile connectivity, in-seat tablet holders and huge HD video boards measuring over 13,000 square feet.

"I think we will win on our own right," Steve Van Dorn, chief executive of the Santa Clara Chamber of Commerce, told the Silicon Valley Mercury News, "I'm feeling very good about it."

If that confidence proves well-placed, Miami would be left to fight Houston for the 2017 game with the Texas city viewed as favorite in that contest.

Houston's indoor Reliant Stadium hosted the Super Bowl in 2004 and is considered superior to Miami's ageing arena and the setback in getting Florida funds for the stadium was seen as a major boost for Houston.

"Certainly what happened doesn't help Miami's bid. There's no doubt about that," Houston Texans owner Bob McNair said. "But that doesn't say that the owners couldn't decide to still go to Miami."

South Florida will hope that being better provided for the week-long build up of events and parties could yet swing a big game their way.

"We're extremely optimistic that our bid is going to set a new level and they're going to have a tough decision to make," Miami bid chairman Rodney Barreto said recently.

"We've put some new things on the table that are really exciting and are exciting for the South Florida area."

Next year's Super Bowl will be played in East Rutherford, New Jersey, at the shared home of the New York Giants and New York Jets while the 2015 game will be played in Glendale, Arizona, at the home of the Arizona Cardinals.

(Editing by Frank Pingue)

KYOTO, Japan (Reuters) - Japanese author Haruki Murakami made his first public appearance in his homeland in 18 years on Monday, describing his newest novel, which was an instant-best seller, as a story that takes place in the real world, unlike many of his other novels.

"Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage" has attracted positive reviews, with readers spotting familiar Murakami themes such as people bonding through pain.

Publisher Bungeishunju made the rare decision to print 1 million copies within a week of its April release in Japan.

The novel is about a lonely 36-year-old engineer named Tsukuru Tazaki, who embarks on trips in Japan and Finland to overcome his most painful experience - broken friendships.

"Usually things are divided into the real and unreal, but I was wondering how it will be if I bring all of that into the stage of the real world," Murakami told an audience of about 500 fans in Kyoto.

"People get hurt and close their minds, but as time passes, they gradually open up, and they grow as they repeat that. This novel is about growth."

The fans who won a lottery to attend the event were surprised that the 64-year-old, whose fiction is often surreal and who has made a handful of speeches overseas in recent years but none in Japan, was actually speaking to the public.

"I am a fan of his novels but I have never seen him in person nor heard his voice. Is he a normal person?" Hiroko Yamada, 40, asked as she waited for the event to start.

Murakami said he decided to speak in public to honor his friend Hayao Kawai, a psychologist who died in 2007.

"It's not like I get purple dots all over myself when I am in front of many people. I like to go around on the bus and the subway and live a normal life," he joked.

"I want you to think of me like an endangered species - it's fine to look at me from far away, but be careful because I may bite if you come near and talk to me or touch me."

(Editing by Robert Birsel)