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BEIJING — An American boss detained nearly a week by his company’s Chinese workers left the Beijing factory Thursday after he and a labor representative said the two sides had reached agreement in a pay dispute.

Chip Starnes, who said he was “saddened” by the experience, told The Associated Press a deal was reached overnight to pay the scores of workers who had demanded severance packages similar to ones given to laid-off co-workers in a phased-out division, even though the company said the remaining workers weren’t being laid off.

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Viewers who turned into CNN on Wednesday night got a taste of the new “Crossfire” returning to airwaves in a few months.

After weeks of reports, the network announced Wednesday that it was indeed resurrecting the political debate show. The show — which was canceled eight years ago and will come back to life this fall — will be hosted by Newt Gingrich, Stephanie Cutter, Van Jones and S.E. Cupp.

The four hosts appeared on “Piers Morgan Live,” where they clashed over the Supreme Court’s historic ruling on gay marriage. Gingrich said he believed marriage should be between a man and a woman, and argued that the court’s decision to dismiss Prop 8 rejected the rights of “eight million Californians” who voted for it.

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An immigration officer has been indicted on charges that she took cash and egg rolls as bribes from immigrants seeking citizenship and green cards.

Federal prosecutors say 47-year-old Mai Nhu Nguyen was indicted Wednesday on three counts of solicitation of a bribe by a public official.

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A new world record for the fastest electric car on the planet has been set by Drayson Racing, who took a Lola B12/69 EV Le Mans race car and topped it out at a quick 204.2mph, beating the previous record of a measly 175mph that was set in 1974 by Battery Box General Electric. Last

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QUITO, June 27 (Reuters) – Ecuador said on Thursday it was waiving preferential rights under a U.S. trade agreement to demonstrate its principled approach to the asylum request of former American spy agency contractor Edward Snowden.

Officials in Quito added that the U.S. fugitive’s case had still not been processed because he had not reached any of its diplomatic premises.

In a deliberately cheeky touch from the leftist government of President Rafael Correa, Ecuador also offered a multimillion donation for human rights training in the United States.

Snowden, 30, is believed to be at Moscow’s international airport.

“The petitioner is not in Ecuadorean territory as the law requires,” government official Betty Tola said at an early morning news conference in Ecuador.

Bristling at suggestions Quito was weighing the pros and cons of Snowden’s case in terms of its own interests, officials also said Ecuador would not base its decision on its desire to renew the Andean Trade Preferences Act with Washington.

“Ecuador gives up, unilaterally and irrevocably, the said customs benefits,” said another official, Fernando Alvarado.

“What’s more, Ecuador offers the United States economic aid of $23 million annually, similar to what we received with the trade benefits, with the intention of providing education about human rights,” Alvarado added.

“Ecuador does not accept pressure or threats from anyone, nor does it trade with principles or submit them to mercantile interests, however important those may be.” (Reporting by Brian Ellsworth and Alexandra Valencia; Writing by Andrew Cawthorne; Editing by Doina Chiacu)

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