PRESS DIGEST - Wall Street Journal - Aug 19

Aug 19 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories in the Wall Street Journal. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

- The Obama administration said for the first time on Thursday that its $400 million cash payment to Iran in January was used as "leverage" to gain the release of American prisoners, fueling criticism that the exchange amounted to the U.S. paying ransom. http://on.wsj.com/2bgV1bC

- Viacom Inc Chief Executive Philippe Dauman would relinquish his position as part of a settlement the company is completing with Redstone's National Amusements Inc, a deal that would end a leadership crisis that has engulfed the media giant. http://on.wsj.com/2b331Jt

- Big companies are handing more of their profits to shareholders than at any time since the financial crisis. In the second quarter, 44 S&P 500 companies paid an annual dividend that exceeded their latest 12 months of net income, according to data from FactSet. http://on.wsj.com/2b7NAlr

- Former U.S. President Bill Clinton and his daughter, Chelsea, plan to stop raising money for the Clinton Foundation and turn over operations to independent parties if Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton is elected president. http://on.wsj.com/2b4HAuW

- Uber Technologies Inc will begin using self-driving taxis to ferry customers around Pittsburgh as soon as this month, a first for the industry in a race among automobile and technology companies to make driverless cars commercially available. http://on.wsj.com/2b3BcnJ

- "Warcraft," the big-budget summer-movie flop that partially offset dismal receipts in the U.S. by becoming a hit with Chinese audiences, secured a streaming-rights deal in China that some in Hollywood think could signal the start of a new revenue opportunity. http://on.wsj.com/2bwrMiG

- U.S. star swimmer Ryan Lochte's account of being robbed at gunpoint unraveled on Thursday night as Rio police, his teammates and the U.S. Olympic Committee broke from his narrative. Rio police said Lochte's account had been disproved by witnesses and surveillance-camera footage. http://on.wsj.com/2bEMsbG

- Abu Dhabi authorities have arrested Khadem Al Qubaisi, who authorities say is a key figure in an alleged multibillion-dollar fraud related to a Malaysian sovereign-wealth fund. The arrest last week was made in relation to an Abu Dhabi investigation into fraud and corruption, which includes Qubaisi's alleged role in the 1Malaysia Development Bhd affair. http://on.wsj.com/2b5x5Vg

- Wal Mart Stores, previously the poster child of staid retailers, reported strong second-quarter results on Thursday, with sales at established stores up for the eighth consecutive quarter and more shoppers visiting for the seventh period in a row. http://on.wsj.com/2b1wNOR

- T-Mobile US Inc and Sprint Corp have brought unlimited data plans back from extinction. T-Mobile said it would stop selling monthly data packages, while Sprint dropped prices for its unlimited service. http://on.wsj.com/2b3Lm7F

(Compiled by Shivam Srivastava in Bengaluru)