Correction: Ann Rule-Defamation story

SEATTLE — In a story July 23 about true-crime author Ann Rule's defamation lawsuit against the Seattle Weekly newspaper, The Associated Press misstated the title of Rule's book about serial killer Ted Bundy. It is "The Stranger Beside Me," not "The Killer Beside Me."

A corrected version of the story is below:

True-crime writer Ann Rule sues Seattle newspaper

True-crime writer Ann Rule sues Seattle newspaper, claims 2011 article hurt her reputation

By GENE JOHNSON

Associated Press

SEATTLE (AP) — True-crime author Ann Rule is suing a weekly Seattle newspaper, saying she was defamed in 2011 when the fiance of a convicted killer wrote a lengthy article accusing her of "sloppy storytelling."

The lawsuit, filed in King County Superior Court last week, is the latest twist in a long-running feud precipitated by Rule's book about Liysa Northon, an Oregon woman who served 12 years in prison after killing her husband in 2000.

Northon argued she was a battered spouse and said she shot her husband, pilot Chris Northon, during a camping trip in eastern Oregon to protect herself and her children. But Rule's book "Heart Full of Lies" laid out a different theory: that Liysa Northon had long planned the killing and faked evidence of abuse to cover up her real motive, collecting insurance money and other benefits.

Liysa Northon pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was released from prison last fall. She sued Rule for defamation — a case that was dismissed by a federal judge in 2007, with Liysa Northon and her father ultimately being ordered to pay more than $60,000 for Rule's legal fees after an unsuccessful appeal.

In 2011, the Seattle Weekly ran an article about the Chris Northon case by Rick Swart, a freelance writer who previously served as the editor and publisher of a small Oregon newspaper, the Wallowa County Chieftain. The article accused Rule of making numerous mistakes in her book and ignoring important facts beneficial to Liysa Northon's case.

The Seattle Weekly's then-editor, Caleb Hannan, has said he didn't learn until after the article was published that Swart and Northon were engaged. The couple got married in prison later that year.

In a lengthy editor's note days after the piece ran, Hannan explained the omission and said he had uncovered several minor mistakes in Swart's reporting.

Rule argues in her lawsuit that the damage had been done because to sell her books, she relies on her reputation for accuracy and attention to detail.

"The article contained innumerable inaccuracies and untruths concerning the testimony and evidence in the trial of Liysa Northon and also included various unfounded personal attacks on Rule," her lawyer, Anne Bremner, wrote in the complaint. "At the time ... Swart and Northon were engaged, and any meaningful inquiry by Seattle Weekly or Hannan should have discovered this significant source of bias."

Hannan and Swart, who are also named as defendants, did not immediately return messages seeking comment.

"The article in question was published prior to our ownership," Sound Publishing President Gloria Fletcher said in an email. "At the time, Seattle Weekly was owned by New Times Media. Sound Publishing has not been served with any complaint."

The lawsuit seeks "reasonable damages."

Rule has written dozens of books. Her first, "The Stranger Beside Me," came out in 1980 and detailed her time working on a crisis hotline with serial killer Ted Bundy.

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Johnson can be reached at https://twitter.com/GeneAPseattle

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La. flood board sues oil companies over erosion

NEW ORLEANS — The oil and gas industry has cost Louisiana hundreds of acres of coastal land that serve as a natural buffer against flooding from hurricanes, officials in charge of New Orleans-area flood protection say in a lawsuit seeking to hold dozens of companies responsible.

Corrosive saltwater from a network of oil and gas access and pipeline canals has killed vegetation and swept away mountains of soil, the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East's board of commissioners claims in the lawsuit, which it filed Wednesday in Orleans Parish Civil District Court. The wetlands are considered a crucial buffer against hurricanes because they can help keep floodwaters from storm surge at bay.

"What remains of these coastal lands is so seriously diseased that if nothing is done, it will slip into the Gulf of Mexico by the end of this century, if not sooner," the lawsuit says.

The board says it will have to bear many of the costs associated with the need for increased flood protection. The lawsuit, a draft of which was provided to The Associated Press before it was filed, seeks unspecified damages.

"Even the industry recognizes they are responsible for some of the land lost, and it's not an insignificant amount," said board vice president John Barry, author of "Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America."

About 100 companies are named as defendants in the lawsuit, including Apache Corp., BP America Production Co., Chevron USA Inc., ConocoPhillips Co., Exxon Mobil Corp., Shell Oil Co. and The Pickens Co. Inc.

Officials in the oil and gas industry said they will vigorously defend against the lawsuit.

A statement from Chris John, president of the Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association, said the industry has been involved in trying to fight coastal erosion, a phenomenon he said involves "both natural changes and many man-made activities."

John said the industry would vigorously defend itself against the lawsuit, calling it "a contingency lawsuit where the plaintiff attorneys stand to gain millions of dollars."

The board covers most of the New Orleans area, governing the Orleans Levee District, the Lake Borgne Basin Levee District and the East Jefferson Levee District.

"I think this is the first time that an entity like the authority has brought a suit like this," said Gladstone Jones, an attorney representing the board.

A protective buffer that took 6,000 years to form "has been brought to the brink of destruction over the course of a single human lifetime," the draft of the suit alleges.

"Unless immediate action is taken to reverse these losses and restore the region's natural defense, many of Louisiana's coastal communities will vanish into the sea," it says. "Meanwhile, inland cities and towns that once were well insulated from the sea will be left to face the ever-rising tide at their doorsteps."

The suit says the U.S. Geological Survey has determined that "altered hydrology" associated with oil and gas activities is one of the primary causes of coastal land loss.

"The increased storm surge risk resulting from the extensive and continuing land loss in southeast Louisiana ... has required, and will continue to require, increased flood protection at increasingly high cost," the suit says.

Local levee districts will bear increasing responsibility for the operation and maintenance of the multibillion-dollar system of gates, walls and armored levees that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has built following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, according to the suit.

"The reality is that despite the new system, New Orleans is going to be increasingly vulnerable as the coast continues to erode," Barry said. "You cannot build levees high enough to protect against the storms that are coming."

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Biden calls for stronger US-India business ties

MUMBAI, India — U.S. Vice President Joe Biden told Indian business leaders Wednesday that commercial ties between their two countries should be strengthened and trade should expand exponentially.

Biden spoke to top business officials at the Bombay Stock Exchange in India's financial hub of Mumbai during a four-day trip to India aimed at strengthening ties between the two countries.

"Imagine what our two countries can achieve together in this 21st century, not only for one another, but for economic stability of the region as well as the world," he said in his speech.

Biden called for an "open and fair" trade and investment policy, emphasizing a need for India to respect intellectual property rights, lift barriers to foreign investment and market access and end confusing and inconsistent tax rules.

"These are tough problems. But we all know they have to be negotiated and worked through in order to meet the potential of this relationship. Not just with us, but with other countries as well," he said.

Biden's speech came a day after he held talks with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as part of an effort to upgrade bilateral relations as the U.S. puts more foreign policy emphasis on the Asia-Pacific region. Biden's trip also laid the groundwork for a summit meeting between Singh and President Barack Obama in Washington in September.

The two discussed regional security, especially in war-torn Afghanistan, and New Delhi's concerns about the possibility of the Taliban returning to power in Kabul post-2014. They also talked about ways to boost trade and reduce red tape keeping U.S. companies out of India.

In his speech Wednesday, Biden called India "an indispensable part of our rebalance toward the Asia-Pacific," a policy widely seen as a U.S. effort to counter China's rising power in the region and the world.

Biden also proposed starting three-way talks between the U.S, India and China.

"All three of us and the entire region would benefit if we coordinated more closely," he said.

Biden also called for a strengthened security partnership with India and appealed to India to work to reduce emissions from its rising energy needs.

After his speech Wednesday, Biden met a small group of India's top business leaders, including former Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata and Azim Premji, head of Information Technology giant Wipro.

"There was an honest discussion about how both governments — the Indian government as well — could be productive in reducing trade barriers that have an impact on trade and commerce," Biden said after the meeting, according to a pool report.

"We mean what we say when we say that the relationship between India and the US has unlimited potential and there is no reason why trade, commerce and intercourse between our countries can't increase exponentially over time," he said.

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Delta posts 2Q profit on lower fuel spending

ATLANTA — Delta is spending less on fuel these days, and that's helping the airline make money even though passengers aren't doing much more flying.

Delta officials said Wednesday that summer bookings were strong, with passengers paying 2 percent more per mile so far in July, a performance they expect to repeat in August.

Business travel is healthy, with particular demand from people in the banking and finance sector, they said.

"We expect 2013 will be one of Delta's most profitable years ever," CEO Richard Anderson said on a conference call with analysts.

Shares of Delta rose 57 cents, or 2.8 percent, to $21.02 in afternoon trading.

Delta Air Lines Inc. reported that net income in the second quarter was $685 million, or 80 cents per share. That compares with a $168 million loss a year earlier, when the world's second-biggest airline was weighed down by accounting losses tied to bets on fuel prices.

The Atlanta-based company said that excluding special items, it would have earned 98 cents per share, which beat analysts' forecast of 95 cents per share.

Delta is beefing up its presence in New York, including buying 49 percent of Virgin Atlantic airlines to bolster its position on the New York-London route. Last week, Delta said that it planned to hire 300 more pilots starting in November.

The airline recently announced that it would begin paying a quarterly dividend in September, and it authorized a $500 million program to buy back stock to make remaining shares more valuable.

Second-quarter revenue was about flat at $9.71 billion — $300 million less than analysts expected, according to a survey by FactSet — as traffic rose only 0.5 percent.

Delta increased passenger-carrying capacity less than 1 percent, and 84.8 percent of seats were filled on the average flight. While that was slightly below the year-ago figure of 85.1 percent, it was still very high by historical standards.

Delta's fuel bill was $2.6 billion, or $710 million less than a year ago, when it took a $561 million fuel-hedging loss. Excluding the 2012 hedging loss, Delta still spent $288 million less on fuel. Costs other than fuel rose 2.5 percent, less than Delta originally forecast. Overall, operating costs declined 8 percent.

The company ended the quarter on June 30 with 908 aircraft, including 181 smaller planes used by regional affiliates, and nearly 80,000 employees.

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Authorities see no sheen near burning Gulf rig

NEW ORLEANS — An out-of-control natural gas well burned Wednesday off Louisiana hours after it ignited following a blowout, though authorities said there was no sign of a slick on the surface of the water.

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement says it saw no sheens near the well during flyovers Wednesday morning. The lack of sheen indicates the gas is burning off without releasing oil or other hydrocarbons — which are sometimes found in gas wells — into the water.

The fire broke out late Tuesday following a blowout in the morning, authorities said. Forty-four workers were evacuated from the drilling rig, and no injuries were reported.

Officials stressed that the blowout wouldn't be nearly as damaging as the 2010 BP oil spill. That disaster included an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling that killed 11 workers and the release of millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.

Natural gas generally poses much less of an environmental risk to the Gulf than crude oil, said several scientists contacted about Tuesday's blowout.

"Gas being discharged now would not necessarily affect the water system of the Gulf proper," said Donald Boesch, president of the University of Maryland's Center for Environmental Science and a member of the federal panel that investigated the BP oil spill. That's because it's likely most of the gas is venting directly into the atmosphere given the fire and shallow depth of the well, he said.

Also, by nature natural gas — mostly methane — is far more soluble than oil, meaning it more easily dissolves, dilutes and disperses than crude oil, Boesch said. And that means concentrations that are far less lethal to the marine environment, he said.

The federal authorities said in a news release that well owner Walter Oil & Gas was preparing to move equipment to the area in case it needs to drill a relief well. The owner of the blown rig, Hercules Offshore Inc., said the relief well was among options being considered.

Two firefighting vessels had to be moved away to a safe distance from the fire, according to the federal news release. A third was being brought to the area.

The gas blowout was reported Tuesday morning.

The Coast Guard kept nautical traffic out of an area within 500 meters of the site throughout the day. The Federal Aviation Administration restricted aircraft up to 2,000 feet above the area.

On Tuesday before the fire broke out, a light sheen had been spotted by federal inspectors.

Earlier this month, a gas well off the Louisiana coast flowed for several days before being sealed.

Chris Roberts, a member of the Jefferson Parish Council in south Louisiana, said the travel restrictions might pose an inconvenience for participants in an upcoming deep sea fishing tournament.

"It could change some plans as to where some people plan to fish," he said.

Tuesday's blowout occurred near an unmanned offshore gas platform that was not currently producing natural gas. The workers were aboard a portable drilling rig known as a jackup rig, owned by Hercules Offshore Inc., which was a contractor for exploration and production company Walter Oil & Gas Corp.

Walter Oil & Gas reported to the BSEE that the rig was completing a "sidetrack well" — a means of re-entering the original well bore, Angelico said.

The purpose of the sidetrack well in this instance was not immediately clear. A spokesman for the corporation did not have the information Tuesday night. Industry websites say sidetrack wells are sometimes drilled to remedy a problem with the existing well bore.

"It's a way to overcome an engineering problem with the original well," Ken Medlock, an energy expert at Rice University's Baker Institute said. "They're not drilled all the time, but it's not new."

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Associated Press writers Ramit Plushnick-Masti in Houston and Seth Borenstein in Washington contributed to this story.

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IMF won't file brief for Argentina in debt case

The International Monetary Fund says it will not file a brief backing Argentina in its legal battle with investors who refused to take losses on debts after the $100 billion default in 2001.

Managing Director Christine Lagarde had been expected to recommend the IMF executive board file a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court. That brief would have supported Argentina's petition to reverse lower court rulings seeking to force Argentina to pay more than $1.4 billion owed to investment funds trying to collect on bonds rendered nearly worthless in the default.

The IMF is concerned the case will set a precedent that could make it harder for other countries to obtain debt relief. The IMF says Lagarde reversed her decision after the U.S. said it would not support the filing.

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Insurer WellPoint's 2Q profit soars 24 percent

INDIANAPOLIS — Shares of WellPoint Inc. hit an all-time high Wednesday, after the nation's second-largest health insurer trounced second-quarter earnings expectations and detailed how it expects to benefit from the health care overhaul and other growth opportunities over the next few years.

The Indianapolis company's stock had already climbed 44 percent so far this year as of Tuesday, as investors have grown more comfortable with both the insurer's current performance and how the overhaul will affect it.

The federal law aims to expand insurance coverage to millions of people over the next few years. Much of that growth starts next year, when the state and federally funded Medicaid program for the poor and disabled people expands and customers start using income-based subsidies to buy individual coverage through insurance exchanges.

That represents a wave of new business for WellPoint and other health insurers, but investors have been wary of how fees and coverage restrictions imposed by the massive law will affect the sector.

CEO Joseph Swedish told analysts Wednesday morning that the exchanges and the expansion of Medicaid, among other factors, present growth opportunities that are "more compelling than we have seen in several years."

He said the company's annual operating revenue, which excludes investment gains or losses, could reach around $90 billion by 2016 compared to the $71 billion WellPoint expects this year. He expects that growth to help the company's profitability, although WellPoint officials decline to offer specifics on that.

Investors are starting to gain a clearer understanding of how the law will affect health insurers, and they also are heartened by the fact that it won't trigger a dramatic business shift next year, said Ana Gupte, an analyst who covers the sector for the investment research firm Dowling & Partners. She noted that the changes will instead develop over a couple years as people and businesses adjust to the law and shopping for coverage on the exchanges.

In WellPoint's case, investors also like how the company has done so far this year, Gupte said.

"There's more comfort with their execution at this point this year than last year," the analyst said.

The Indianapolis company topped expectations in the first quarter and then said Wednesday that it earned $800.1 million, or $2.64 per share, in the three months that ended June 30. That's up about 24 percent from $643.6 million, or $1.94 per share, a year ago.

Operating revenue soared 16 percent to $17.6 billion, and adjusted earnings were $2.60 per share.

Analysts expected adjusted earnings of $2.08 per share on $17.81 billion in revenue, according to FactSet.

WellPoint said a lower-than-expected increase in medical costs, spurred by provider rate negotiations and slower health care use, helped its performance.

The insurer's enrollment rose more than 6 percent to about 35.7 million people compared to the 2012 quarter, thanks to last year's $4.46 billion acquisition of Medicaid coverage provider Amerigroup Corp. That helped increase revenue.

WellPoint now expects full-year earnings of at least $8 per share, not counting one-time items like investment gains or losses. That's up from its previous forecast for $7.80 per share.

Analysts expect, on average, earnings of $8.03 per share.

In last year's quarter, the insurer reported an 8 percent drop in earnings and cut its forecast for 2012. A month later, former CEO Angela Braly resigned. Her replacement, Swedish, started at the end of this year's first quarter.

WellPoint ranks second in size to UnitedHealth Group Inc., which also reported enrollment gains and a better-than-expected second-quarter performance last week.

WellPoint shares rose as high as $90 in Wednesday morning trading for the first time since January 2008. The shares then retreated, falling a penny to $87.50 by midday as broader indexes slipped.

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Investors who sued Massey Energy accept mediation

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Shareholders who say the former Massey Energy Co. lied about its safety record to inflate stock prices before the Upper Big Branch mine disaster have narrowed their settlement demands enough to enter mediation with the company.

U.S. District Judge Irene Berger signed an order last week that puts the long-running civil lawsuit on hold for six months to let those negotiations proceed with outside help.

In court filings, both parties say they've been working to settle the case since December 2011 with face-to-face meetings and written communications including "a series of demands and counter-offers that have narrowed the extent of the disagreement."

The joint motion says the talks have reached a point where mediation would help.

Investors led by the Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment say Massey repeatedly lied about its record, artificially inflating stock prices between 2008 and 2010. They say shareholders had no knowledge of the long history of violations until after the southern West Virginia mine exploded in April 2010, killing 29 men.

Massey was later bought by Virginia-based Alpha Natural Resources.

The shareholders' case has been on hold because the judge is shielding evidence the plaintiffs want to use from an ongoing criminal investigation.

Four investigations found the blast was sparked by worn and broken equipment, fueled by accumulations of methane gas and coal dust, and allowed to spread because of clogged and broken water sprayers.

Investigators also found "systematic, intentional and aggressive efforts" to hide problems and throw off inspectors, including the falsification of safety records.

Former superintendent Gary May and security chief Hughie Elbert Stover are behind bars for their actions at the mine.

A former president of another Massey subsidiary, meanwhile, is awaiting sentencing for conspiracy. David Hughart is cooperating with prosecutors and is set to appear Aug. 1 in Beckley.

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Dell's founder boosts offer to buy the company

NEW YORK — A group led by Dell's founder raised its offer for the struggling computer maker Wednesday in hopes of attracting more shareholder support for its plan to take the company private.

The 10-cent per share increase came just hours before Dell's shareholders were scheduled to vote on the previous $13.65 per share offer from Michael Dell and investment firm Silver Lake Partners.

But the extra money comes with a catch, a stipulation that the offer's fate be decided by the will of the shareholders who choose to vote in favor of the plan or against it, leaving out those who don't vote at all. Previously, non-voting shareholders were counted as opponents of the proposal.

The Round Rock, Texas, company delayed its shareholder meeting for the second time in two weeks, moving it to Aug. 2 to give the special committee of its board time to consider the offer. The meeting had been set for Wednesday, after being delayed the week before in a sign that the offer didn't have enough shareholder support.

Michael Dell and Silver Lake said Wednesday that the new offer represents their "best and final proposal" and increases the total amount they are willing to pay shareholders by about $150 million, valuing the company at more than $24 billion.

The group wants to change the conditions for approval to require that a majority of the shares voted, excluding Michael Dell's stake, be in favor of the proposal. Under the current terms, the group needs a majority of all the company's outstanding shares, whether they are voted or not, excluding Michael Dell's stake, to vote in favor of it.

The group also wants a quick answer to its new offer. It has given the company until 6 p.m. EDT Wednesday to respond.

Dell's stock fell 3 cents to $12.85 in afternoon trading, after a morning where the stock's trading volume was more than triple its daily average.

In their letter to Dell shareholders, Michael Dell and Silver Lake said they believe the change is "fair and reasonable" to the company's other shareholders, especially given the new offer's additional 10 cents per share for the stakeholders.

Late Wednesday morning, the group said in a statement that according to their last count about 27 percent of the company's shares, excluding Michael Dell's stake, have yet to be voted. For those shares to be treated as if they had voted against the deal is "patently unfair," the group argued.

Two major Dell Inc. shareholders, billionaire Carl Icahn and investment firm Southeastern Asset Management, have been spearheading an effort to defeat the deal. They depict the proposal as an attempt by Michael Dell to seize control of the company at a sharp discount to its long-term value.

Icahn and Southeastern have offered a more complicated alternative, but they first need to block the deal with Michael Dell and then replace the company's board in a follow-up battle.

Icahn used Twitter to send a message to followers Wednesday morning that said "all would be swell at Dell if Michael and the board bid farewell."

In a letter on Tuesday, Icahn and Southeastern ridiculed the four-member special committee for its stalling tactics. "Do not move election day again," they wrote. "This is not a banana republic."

Michael Dell believes he can turn around the company by spending heavily to build better tablets while also diversifying into more profitable areas of technology, such as business software, data storage and consulting. But making those changes are likely to be tumultuous and temporarily lower Dell's earnings, an upheaval that Michael Dell contends will be more tolerable if the company no longer has to answer to other shareholders.

Dell's board says it want to sell to Michael Dell because it believes waiting for an uncertain turnaround is too risky. If the current deal unravels, analysts believe Dell's stock could plunge below $9, reverting back to its levels of late last year.

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Obama: Washington took its eye off economic ball

GALESBURG, Ill. — President Barack Obama is accusing Washington of taking "its eye off the ball" and getting distracted from the economy.

The president is trying to refocus debate on pocketbook concerns after months that have been dominated by what he calls "phony scandals" and "stale debates."

Obama's remarks come in a speech he's giving Illinois' Knox College. That school was the site of his first major economic address as a U.S. senator eight years ago.

Wednesday's speech includes no new policy initiatives, but Obama is declaring that reversing bad economic trends should be Washington's highest priority.

Obama is promising to fight for the middle class with policies to promote jobs, educational opportunities, homeownership, secure retirement and health care.

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