Phone-hacking probe was bungled
LONDON, July 10 (UPI) -- A Scotland Yard assistant commissioner says he underestimated allegations News of the World staff were hacking into private phones six years ago.
In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, John Yates said he regretted his 2009 decision not to reopen a 2005 investigation into the newspaper's practices.
"I have regrettably said the initial [2005] inquiry was a success. Clearly now, that looks very different," he told the newspaper.
The 168-year-old newspaper, which published its last edition on Sunday, is owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. When allegations emerged days ago about the News of the World paying police for information and employing people to hack into the voice-mail accounts of murder victims and dead soldiers, Murdoch ordered the tabloid shut down.
Yates said when new evidence came to light of improprieties in 2009, he spent only a day considering if a full investigation was warranted.
"I am accountable and it happened on my watch and it's clear I could have done more," he said.
Three people have been arrested so far and more arrests are expected, the report said.
Australia to institute a carbon tax
CANBERRA, Australia, July 10 (UPI) -- Australia's plan to start taxing manufacturers for their production of carbon will increase consumer prices about 1 percent, officials said.
Under the carbon tax plan proposed by Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard Sunday, a household's cost of living will jump by about $10 weekly, with electricity prices climbing about 10 percent, or $3.30 weekly, The Australian reported.
"It's socialism masquerading as environmentalism," Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said.
Under Gillard's plan, Australia would reduce its carbon emissions by 159 million tons annually from the atmosphere by 2020.
"That is the equivalent of taking over 45 million cars off the road," Gillard said.
The BBC said carbon dioxide emissions would be taxed at $25 per ton, starting in 2012. Australia is one of the world's worst emitters of greenhouse gas per person.
The burning of coal generates about 80 percent of Australia's electricity.
"As a nation, we need to put a price on carbon and create a clean energy future," Gillard said at a news conference in Canberra. "Australian's want to do the right thing by the environment."
Japan quake produces tiny tsunamis
TOKYO, July 10 (UPI) -- A strong earthquake that rumbled off the coast of northeastern Japan Sunday produced tsunamis only 6 inches high, officials said.
The Japan Meteorological Agency measured the quake at a magnitude of 7.3, up from an initial 7.1, Kyodo News reported. The U.S. Geological Survey put it at a magnitude of 7.
The temblor occurred off the east coast of Honshu, Japan's largest island, just before 10 a.m. local time at a depth of 21.7 miles. It was centered 131 miles east off Sendai, 148 miles east-northeast of Iwaki, 155 miles east of Fukushima and 254 miles northeast of Tokyo, the quake-monitoring agency said.
The small tsunamis were observed at Ofunato port in Iwate at 10:44 a.m., Soma Port in Fukushima at 11:11 a.m. and Ofunato port again at 11:20 a.m., Kyodo said.
The tsunami warning, which had called for surges of up to 30 inches, was lifted at 11:45 a.m.
No damage or injuries were reported as a result of the quake or tsunamis. No abnormalities were reported by Tokyo Electric Power Co. at its nuclear power plants.
The region had been decimated by the March 11 9-magnitude quake and subsequent tsunami that claimed more than 15,500 lives and left nearly 5,400 people missing. That disaster also caused severe damage to Tepco's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
Betty Ford's funeral details announced
PALM DESERT, Calif., July 10 (UPI) -- The family of former U.S. first lady Betty Ford said her California memorial service Tuesday would be private, although the public was welcome afterward.
The 93-year-old wife of former President Gerald Ford died Friday at Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage of natural causes with family members at her side, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Family spokesman Greg Willard, the Fords' longtime attorney, said in a statement a private memorial at St. Margaret's Episcopal Church in Palm Desert would begin at 11:20 a.m. Tuesday. Eulogies will be given by former first lady Rosalynn Carter, news commentator Cokie Roberts and the director of the Betty Ford Center for addictions, Geoffrey Mason.
Public visitation at the church was scheduled to begin at 3 p.m., Willard said.
Ford's remains will be flown to Grand Rapids, Mich., for burial beside her husband, who died in 2006.
The wife of the 38th president used her status to raise awareness of women's healthcare and substance abuse treatment. She underwent a mastectomy and overcame addictions to alcohol and painkillers, leading to the founding of the clinic named for her in Rancho Mirage, Calif.
The heat is on for much of U.S.
TOPEKA, Kan., July 10 (UPI) -- People in northeastern Kansas are bracing for a heatwave forecasters say will hit triple digits and expand over a large swath of the nation through the week.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the National Weather Service issued a heat advisory for Sunday and Monday for much of the state's northeast. Temperatures of about 101 with high humidity levels are expected to push the heat index to 107 degrees, the newspaper said.
Temperatures are to be in the 90s Tuesday through Thursday, then returning above the century mark Friday, the weather service said.
Thunderstorms were expected across the northern Plains states Sunday.
Accuweather.com said expanding high pressure over the middle of the country will be to blame for the coming sweltering heat that will make it unpleasant for millions and even life-threatening for some.
Accuweather.com said two high pressure areas -- one off the Atlantic Coast and other over the southern Plains -- are merging into one system over the middle Mississippi Valley. With the jet stream bulging northward, it means tens of thousands of square miles of the United States will experience temperatures in the 90s for days.
Temperatures could hit 100 degrees from Kansas City to Cincinnati, Accuweather says, adding urban areas will bear the brunt of it since pavement and concrete-and-brick structures give off the heat they absorb.
Meanwhile, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said Saturday night Tropical Storm Calvin had dissipated into a post-tropical remnant low about 400 miles south-southwest of the southern tip of Mexico's Baja California. It was moving to the west-northwest at 10 mph with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph.
Severe thunderstorms in the Washington, D.C., area Friday caused street flooding and may have contributed to a fatal car crash in Prince George's County, Md.
Thousands of homes lost power for a time in the region.
