Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) speaks to the crowd at Ohio Republican Sen. candidate Josh Mandel's election night rally in Columbus, Ohio, November 6, 2012.

WASHINGTON/CLEVELAND | Fri Mar 15, 2013 3:45pm EDT

WASHINGTON/CLEVELAND (Reuters) - Senator Rob Portman became the most prominent Republican lawmaker to back gay rights when he reversed his opposition to same-sex marriage on Friday, two years after his son told him he was gay.

In a newspaper opinion piece on Friday, shortly before the Supreme Court is to hear arguments in two key cases on the issue, the Ohio senator said he now supports gay marriage.

"I have come to believe that if two people are prepared to make a lifetime commitment to love and care for each other in good times and in bad, the government shouldn't deny them the opportunity to get married," Portman wrote in an op-ed piece in Ohio's Columbus Dispatch.

"That isn't how I've always felt. As a Congressman, and more recently as a Senator, I opposed marriage for same-sex couples. Then, something happened that led me to think through my position in a much deeper way."

Portman's 21-year-old son, Will, told the senator and his wife in February 2011 that he was gay and had been "since he could remember."

It was the latest show of public support for gay rights. President Barack Obama announced last year that he approved of gay marriage, and in his inaugural speech in January, he equated gay rights with civil rights.

The Supreme Court hears oral arguments later this month in two cases related to gay marriage. One challenges the 1996 federal Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman. In a related case, the court will also hear arguments that question a California law, known as Proposition 8, banning gay marriage.

Portman was quoted by the Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper as saying he now believes same-sex couples who marry in states where it is legal should be eligible for the same federal benefits granted to heterosexual couples.

Portman served as trade representative and then White House budget director under former President George W. Bush.

He was among the front-runners to be Mitt Romney's vice presidential pick during the 2012 election, but budget hawk Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin eventually got the nod.

PARTY SPLIT

The Republican Party has become increasingly split on the gay marriage issue, with some arguing that socially conservative positions such as opposition to same-sex marriage are contributing to the party's election losses.

An early Republican favorite for the 2016 presidential race, Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, staged a defense of traditional marriage in a high-profile speech to a conservative conference on Thursday.

"Just because I believe that states should have the right to define marriage in the traditional way does not make me a bigot," the 41-year-old Cuban-American told the Conservative Political Action Conference.

But Republican strategist John Feehery said Portman's announcement could change attitudes in the party.

"I think so. The fact of the matter is Dick Cheney has been out there on this. Ted Olson, Rob Portman. And what's becoming clear is if you know somebody who happens to be gay, you feel much differently about this issue. The fact is we all know somebody who is gay. So I think this is going to be another indication that times are changing on this issue." he said.

In his op-ed piece, Portman wrote of how he has "wrestled" with reconciling his Christian faith with the desire for his son to have the same opportunities as his siblings.

"Ultimately, for me, it came down to the Bible's overarching themes of love and compassion and my belief that we are all children of God," he said.

Keith Cottrell, 40, an IT professional who lives in Cleveland, said he didn't "see much nobility" in Portman's decision because he only lined up behind gay rights after learning of his son's sexuality.

"I mean I'll gladly take his vote but would we applaud someone who constantly voted against women's rights if they changed their mind after having a daughter?" Cottrell said.

Portman said he consulted clergy members and friends including former Vice President Dick Cheney. Cheney, who has an openly gay daughter, has reiterated his support for gay marriage over the past several years, despite his deeply conservative views on many issues.

Bob Vander Plaats, president of the Family Leader, an influential group of social conservatives in Iowa, said Portman had been "short-sighted" for changing his views.

"I don't see the Republican Party any time soon abandoning his stance on marriage. I see more than anything it is emboldened in their stance on marriage," he said. "The last time I checked, God's word was the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow," he said.

Portman's new position was supported by former opponent David Axelrod, who was Obama's senior campaign advisor.

"Courageous decision by Rob Portman to endorse same-sex marriage, guided by the love of a parent rather than by party ideology," Axelrod tweeted.

(Additional reporting by Alistair Bell and Samuel P. Jacobs; Editing by Vicki Allen and Bernadette Baum)

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A plug is seen coming from the Chevrolet Volt electric car during the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan January 13, 2009.

WASHINGTON/DETROIT | Thu Jan 31, 2013 4:28pm EST

WASHINGTON/DETROIT (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Energy on Thursday eased off President Barack Obama's stated goal of putting 1 million electric cars on the road by 2015, and laid out what experts called a more realistic strategy of promoting advanced-drive vehicles and lowering their cost over the next nine years.

Since Obama announced the goal in his 2011 State of the Union speech, auto analysts and executives have doubted American consumers would buy a million electric vehicles by 2015.

"Whether we meet that goal in 2015 or 2016, that's less important than that we're on the right path to get many millions of these vehicles on the road," an Energy Department official said, in advance of remarks by Energy Secretary Steven Chu in a speech at the Washington D.C. auto show.

The proposal to lower electric vehicle costs represents the first look at how U.S. auto policy may take shape during Obama's next four years. His first term saw a flurry of initiatives related to the auto industry, beginning with government rescues of General Motors Co and Chrysler Group LLC.

Chu told reporters after his speech that he was excited by the advances in vehicle technology.

Asked about the 1 million electric vehicles goal, Chu said: "It's ambitious, but we'll see what happens."

Promoting plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles has been another long-running focus for the White House, which has also pushed for more stringent standards on fuel economy. Overall, U.S. federal policies to promote electric vehicles will cost $7.5 billion through 2019, the Congressional Budget Office said in September.

That includes $2.4 billion in grants to lithium-ion battery makers and projects to promote electric vehicles as well as $3.1 billion in loans to auto companies, intended to spur production of fuel-efficient vehicles.

But demand for hybrids and electric vehicles has been weaker than expected. Last year, nearly 488,000 hybrids, plug-in hybrids and electric cars were sold in the United States, accounting for 3.3 percent of the overall auto market, according to green-car website Hybridcars.com.

For the administration to meet its 2015 goal, electrified vehicles would have double their market share to roughly 6 percent of the U.S. auto market, which automotive consulting firm Polk estimates will reach 16.2 million vehicles that year.

Poor demand has hurt lithium-ion battery makers, pushing two DOE grant recipients, A123 Systems Inc and EnerDel, to file for bankruptcy protection.

Dow Chemical Co took a $1.1 billion charge last year, related in part to a writedown of its lithium-ion battery business, Dow-Kokam LLC.

Under the new strategy outlined on Thursday, the DOE is supporting research into new battery technologies and manufacturing methods that would lower the cost of lightweight materials and improve vehicles' fuel-efficiency.

Chu stressed that it was important to set high goals for electric car technology, because advanced vehicles will eventually be competing with internal combustion vehicles that get 45 miles per gallon fuel economy.

The DOE also confirmed its goal to lower the cost of lithium-ion batteries to $300 per kilowatt hour by 2015 from the present $650. The department eventually hopes to get the cost down $125 per kilowatt hour.

Ultimately, the department's goal is to have about 500 companies offer workplace charging over the next five years. Several companies are already on board, including Google Inc, Verizon and General Electric Co.

(Editing by Matthew Lewis and David Gregorio)

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n">Aug 9 (Reuters) - Research in Motion Ltd said a U.S. judge had ruled the company had not infringed on Mformation Technologies Inc's patent and overturned an award of $147.2 million that a jury said the Canadian firm should pay.

The verdict is a minor boost for RIM, whose stock has fallen more than 70 percent in the past year as customers abandon the BlackBerry in favor of Apple's iPhone and a slew of devices using Google Inc's Android software.

Mformation sued RIM in 2008, bringing claims on a patent for a process that remotely manages a wireless device over a wireless network, a court filing says.

In July, a northern California jury directed RIM to pay an $8 royalty for every BlackBerry device connected to RIM's enterprise server software, bringing the total award to $147.2 million.

RIM had argued that Mformation's patent claims were invalid because the processes were already being used when Mformation filed its patent application.

Judge James Ware said Mformation failed to establish that RIM had infringed on the company's patent and subsequently overturned the jury award, according to court papers.

"We appreciate the judge's careful consideration of this case. RIM did not infringe on Mformation's patent and we are pleased with this victory," Steve Zipperstein, RIM's Chief Legal Officer, said in a statement on Thursday.

Mformation has the right to appeal the ruling. However, if Mformation successfully appeals the ruling, the jury verdict would not be reinstated and instead a new trial would be conducted.

The case in U.S. District Court, Northern District of California is Mformation Technologies Inc vs. Research in Motion Ltd et al, 08-04990.

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(Company corrects comments on Olympic corporate ticket packages in final paragraphs having originally said that it had a third of the packages left unsold and that about 95 percent of the tickets repackaged for sale to the public had now been sold.)

* Harriet Green says will tap on technology expertise

* Q3 operating loss 26.5 mln stg vs 20.1 mln stg profit yoy

* Says rainy weather boosted foreign holiday bookings

* Sees full-year results broadly in line with expectations

By Brenda Goh

LONDON, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Thomas Cook's new chief executive said technology would be the salvation of the struggling British tour operator and gave herself nine months to deliver a turnaround plan to end over a year of poor performance.

The company posted an underlying operating loss of 26.5 million pounds ($41.3 million) in the three months ended June, versus a profit of 20.1 million pounds in the same period last year despite a lift in foreign bookings from Britons exasperated with rainy weather at home.

Harriet Green, who joined the 171-year-old company from electronic parts distributor Premier Farrell in July, told reporters on Thursday she would be able to "bring a fresh pair of eyes" to existing industry problems.

"I don't think moving from one industry (to another) is so much of a challenge ... There are many things that are actually very similar and in my view of business, all roads ultimately lead to technology," she said.

Thomas Cook has been hit hard by tough trading conditions, particularly in Britain where its core customer base of families with young children is suffering in the economic downturn. It has also been affected by unrest in popular destinations such as Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco.

In May it reported half-year pretax loss of 328.3 million pounds and completed the sale and leaseback of 19 of its planes as it struggled to find cash.

"In our view they (new management) face a very difficult turnaround task. We expect early views from the new team in November and a detailed plan to be announced in the Spring," Numis analysts said.

Thomas Cook said foreign holiday bookings had picked up in recent weeks after subdued demand in April and May, as the sodden European summer drove rain-weary Britons, Germans and Russians to seek the sun in Greece and Tunisia.

UK bookings as of July 29 were flat versus the same time last year, while bookings in central Europe were 1 percent higher, boosted by demand from Germany.

In comparison, bookings in west Europe were down 9 percent compared with the same time last year, as trading, particularly in France, stayed tough.

Net debt at June 30 was 1.01 billion pounds, versus 902.5 million pounds at the same time last year. It has striven to pay down its debt through selling its Spanish hotel chain Hotels Y Clubs De Vacaciones and expects to complete the 87 million pound sale of its Indian unit by Aug. 22.

While the outlook remained challenging, the company said its quarterly financial trend was improving and it expects to post a full-year result broadly in line with expectations.

At 0943 GMT shares in Thomas Cook, which have fallen more than 70 percent over the past year, were down 1.5 percent to 16.32 pence, valuing the company at around 148 million pounds.

It also said plans to cash in on the Olympics by selling packages to corporate clients had not gone as well as expected after the implementation of the UK bribery act made corporates nervous about offering or accepting corporate hospitality.

It had originally allocated 25 percent of its tickets to corporate packages but has since repackaged more than half of these to sell to the public a nd said it has now so ld 99 percent of its Olympic tickets. ($1=0.6415 British pounds) (Reporting by Brenda Goh; Editing by Mark Potter and David Cowell)

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