Npr news in brief

[historylover]

Napolitano Is Top Pick For Homeland Security Post
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97260156


President-elect Barak Obama is expected to offer the top job at the Department of Homeland Security to Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, two officials familiar with Obama's plans told NPR Thursday.

As a longtime official of a U.S.-Mexico border state, Napolitano is knowledgeable about immigration issues. She was a U.S. attorney and Arizona attorney general before she was elected governor. She was re-elected to a second term in 2006.

Napolitano has fought to curb ******* immigration, but she has been skeptical that building a fence along the border will solve the problem. "You build a 50-foot wall, somebody will find a 51-foot ladder," she is quoted as saying.

Arizona has been a key battleground in the immigration debate. Last year, Arizona voters ****** a law that requires all Arizona businesses to use the federal online database, E-Verify, to confirm that newly hired persons are in the country legally, have valid Social Security numbers and are eligible for employment.

Napolitano, 50, is a graduate of Santa Clara University in California and of University of Virginia law school. Although she is familiar with border issues, some critics said she doesn't have counterterrorism experience.

Napolitano was an early Obama supporter. She is the only elected official who is a member of the transition team.

 

[historylover]

Sources: Holder Tapped For Attorney General
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97177239

Eric Holder On Priorities For Next Attorney General

NPR.org, November 18, 2008 · President-elect Barack Obama has decided to nominate Eric Holder as attorney general, according to a source close to the Obama-Biden transition team.

On Tuesday, the source said that Obama recently offered Holder the position, and that he had accepted. No one on the transition team has publicly confirmed the pick, and Holder would still need to undergo a formal "vetting" review by the Obama transition team to finalize the selection.

Holder, 57, was deputy attorney general during the Clinton administration and more recently, he has been a prominent attorney at the Washington, D.C., law firm of Covington and Burling. If confirmed, Holder would be the country's first African-American attorney general.

Holder has been a close friend and prominent adviser to Obama throughout the campaign, helping him to lead the search for a vice presidential candidate.

With more than 55 Democrats in the Senate, Holder's confirmation seems likely, though there may be some concern about the role he played in the 2001 pardon of fugitive Marc Rich by Clinton at the end of his presidency.

Holder helped vet the pardon and said he was "neutral, leaning towards favorable." He later publicly apologized and said had he given the issue more attention, he would have cautioned against a pardon.

 

[historylover]

November 21, 2008
GM Announces Production Cuts

General Motors announced Friday that the company will make additional vehicle production cuts.

GM officials said they're extending a holiday shutdown of some vehicle production plants. Those facilities are normally closed for two weeks around Christmas and New Year's Day.

But some plants will remain closed as late as mid-January as the company looks to get production more in line with dwindling consumer demand. Facilities in Michigan, Ohio, Kansas, and Ontario, Canada, will be among those affected.

GM sales dropped 45 percent in October hurt by falling consumer confidence and tightening credit. Company officials have said GM could run out of cash within a matter of weeks.

Congressional leaders have asked GM, Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC to provide them with information on how a federal loan package would help the automakers survive.

Meanwhile, President Bush urged Congress on Friday to give struggling automakers access
to $25 billion in already appropriated technology funds if they show they want to restructure.

"If the automakers are willing to make the hard decisions needed to become viable, they should be able to receive the funds Congress already allotted to them for other purposes," Bush said in his weekly radio address to be broadcast on Saturday.

Stocks Surge On Geithner Reports

Wall Street ended a volatile week with an unexpected jolt of confidence Friday after reports that President-elect Barack Obama asked New York Federal Reserve President Timothy Geithner to serve as Treasury secretary.

The major indexes jumped more than 5 percent, with the Dow Jones industrials surging nearly 500 points. Stocks erased about half of the losses that came in steep selling Wednesday and Thursday.

Wall Street appeared buoyed by reports that Obama plans to name his economic team on Monday - offering investors some hope of a smooth transition in an uncertain market.

The Dow is ending up 494, or 6.5 percent, at the 8,047 level.

Nebraska Closes Safe-Haven Loophole

Nebraska closed the loophole on it's safe-haven law Friday, which had allowed 35 ******** -- including teens as old as 17 -- to be legally abandoned by their parents at state hospitals.

The law, approved by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Dave Heineman on Friday, goes into effect Saturday. It sets 30 days as the maximum age at which ******** can be dropped off at Nebraska hospitals.

"I think this solves the immediate problem of adolescents being abandoned," said state Sen. Kent Rogert. "These **** are old enough to know they're being dropped off, and that's not good."

The law was intended to prevent newborns from being dumped in trash bins or worse, but it has been used to abandon many preteens or teenagers since it went into effect in July. Hospital officials have described ******** ****** hysterically as they pleaded with their parents not to leave them.

U.S. To Send Ambassador To Libya After 36 Years

The United States will send an ambassador to Libya for the first time since 1972, the State Department announced Friday.

The Senate confirmed the nomination of career diplomat Gene Cretz to the post late Thursday after a yearlong delay.

"We're anxious to get him out there," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said.

Lawmakers led by New Jersey Democrat Frank Lautenberg had been holding up the nomination to pressure Libya to fully compensate families of the victims of the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.

Lautenberg lifted a hold on the nomination after Libya made its final payment into a fund to settle outstanding legal claims.

Cretz was nominated by President Bush in July 2007 to become ambassador to Libya. He has served previously in Israel, Egypt and Syria.


Former Mexican **** Czar Accused Of Cartel Ties

Mexico's former **** czar was accused Friday of taking $450,000 from a powerful cartel, the highest-ranking official implicated so far in a corruption scandal over efforts by **** gangs to buy protection from the government.

Noe Ramirez was detained as part of a sweeping investigation aimed at weeding out officials who allegedly shared police information with violent **** smugglers.

Attorney General Eduardo Medina said Ramirez accepted $450,000 from a member of the Pacific cartel, who offered to pay him monthly for alerting the **** gang to planned police operations. The cartel member, who was not identified, is cooperating with the investigation, Medina said.

Ramirez was named assistant attorney general for organized crime in 2006 when President Felipe Calderon took office, and resigned in July at Medina's request.

Medina said the government is determined "to purge federal security and judicial institutions, identifying people who ... Are involved in criminal activities and have abandoned the principles and values of public service."

With this arrest, five top officials and two federal agents have been detained this year as part of "Operation Clean House," which targets officials who allegedly shared information with the Pacific cartel.


Obama Set On Key Cabinet Nominees

President-elect Barack Obama has settled on nominees for two more cabinet positions, and New York Sen. Hillary Clinton accepted an offer to become secretary of state, a source close to the transition team told NPR Friday.

Obama tapped New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson for U.S. secretary of commerce, and New York Federal Reserve President Timothy Geithner has been asked to serve as treasury secretary, the transition team member told an NPR reporter.

Clinton's name surfaced as a possible secretary of state nominee shortly after the election. NPR confirmed that she accepted the post on Friday, and The New York Times quoted two Clinton associates saying that the former first lady took the offer.

"She's ready," one of the sources told the newspaper, which said Clinton came to her decision after additional discussions with Obama about the nature of her role as the top U.S. diplomat and his plans for foreign policy.

Democratic Party sources have said Clinton was on track to be nominated, with an official announcement expected after the Nov. 27 Thanksgiving holiday.

Richardson, a former United Nations ambassador and energy secretary during President Bill Clinton's administration, had been an early supporter of Obama after dropping his own presidential ambitions.

 

[historylover]

Obama Offers Plan To Revive Economy

by Tamara Keith
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97356028

All Things Considered, November 22, 2008 · President-elect Barack Obama set out plans for an ambitious economic stimulus package Saturday. In a radio and Web address, he said things are likely to get worse before they get better and that he has directed his economic team to come up with a plan to create 2.5 million jobs by January 2011.

"We'll be working out the details in the weeks ahead, but it will be a two-year nationwide effort to jump-start job creation in America and lay the foundation for a strong and growing economy," he said.

Up until now, most talk of an economic stimulus package has had a one-year time frame. Obama describes his longer, two-year approach as a plan big enough to meet the challenges the nation faces. Those challenges, he noted, include 1.2 million jobs lost this year and the risk of millions more next year.

"We'll put people back to work rebuilding our crumbling roads and bridges, modernizing schools that are failing our ********, and building wind farms and solar panels, fuel-efficient cars and the alternative energy technologies that can free us from our dependence on foreign oil and keep our economy competitive in the years ahead," he said.

Business and economics historian John Steele Gordon says the discussion of infrastructure investments and government programs rings familiar.

"That's the standard remedy for this illness," he said. "Now whether it's the best remedy or not is another question."

Gordon argues it isn't. He says the New Deal didn't end the Great Depression, World War II did. He says building bridges and painting schools won't provide a quick fix.

"That's all very good, but you can't start that on Jan. 21 even if Congress agreed," he said. "It's going to take a long while to plan it and decide who gets what and where and how and when."

Economist Lakshman Achuthan agrees that government-funded job creation alone won't solve the problem. Atchuthan is director of the Economic Cycle Research Institute and as he sees it, there are two other elements needed: extending jobless benefits, which Congress just did, and some sort of direct economic stimulus.

"Rebate checks or food stamps or payroll tax holidays or tax breaks for specific businesses — whatever," he said. "The content is less important than the timing."

Case in point: the economic stimulus package ****** by Congress last February.

"$150 billion was spent earlier this year and what we ended up with was a rapidly deteriorating economy and financial market, Atchuthan said. "It didn't help at all."

Achuthan says since the economy was already going down, the money got lost in the economic storm. Instead of buying stuff, most people put their stimulus checks in savings for a rainy day or paid off credit card debt. Congress and Obama should agree on an economic stimulus package, but he says the money shouldn't go out until the economy takes an upward turn.

"It's just like when you're pushing a swing," he said. "You don't push a swing at anytime when it's going back and forth. You push a swing at one time and it's a very smooth ride and a strong swing upwards. And that is ultimately what we will need if we want to create jobs."

Atchuthan says the recoveries from recessions in 1991 and 2001 were soft, so-called "jobless" recoveries. This time, he says, a rapid bounce back is needed and a properly applied push from an economic stimulus could make that happen. The timing can be tricky and, as Atchuthan says, there's a big chance it won't work, but then neither did the last economic stimulus.

 

[historylover]

Clinton, Obama Need A Unified Front

by Michele Kelemen
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97327779

All Things Considered, November 21, 2008 · On the campaign trail, Sen. Hillary Clinton often found herself defending her foreign policy credentials from attacks by the Obama campaign.

Some of the same people who are likely to be in high-level positions at the White House and State Department questioned her claims that as first lady she worked closely on a peace deal in Northern Ireland and helped refugees from Kosovo make it to Macedonia.

"There is no doubt that I played a major role in many of the foreign policy decisions," Clinton told NPR during an interview on the campaign trail. "I represented our country in more than 80 countries, and I know that people are nitpicking and raising questions. That's fair. That's in a campaign. But compare my experience, even after the nitpicking, with Sen. Obama's. I mean, let's, you know, let's look at this objectively here. And I think my experience is much more preparatory for the job that awaits."

While some still question her experience in foreign policy, Hillary Clinton is widely respected for her role in promoting human rights and for a speech she made in China in 1995, as she recounted in an NPR-hosted primary debate:

"The Chinese didn't want me to come. And they didn't want me to make a speech, and when I made the speech, they blocked it out from being heard within China, where I stood up for human rights and in particular women's rights, because women had been so ******** ****** in many settings in China. And I think you do have to call them on it."

On policy issues, Clinton and President-elect Obama had some memorable clashes over who is more prepared for that 3 a.m. ****-up call during a time of crisis and whether or not it is naive to sit down with the leader of Iran.

But from now on, she will have to learn to keep those disputes private, according to Aaron David Miller, a scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center who has advised six secretaries of state. Miller cites the words of one of the people he advised, Republican James Baker III.

"Baker described himself as the president's man at the State Department, not the State Department's man at the White House," Miller recalls. "[Clinton] needs to look at the situation much the same way for this to work. It doesn't mean she can't push back privately, and she should. [Obama] doesn't need a team of rivals. He needs a team that is prepared to offer him judgment."

Miller says that the most effective secretaries have to be close to the president they serve and they have to be good negotiators. Though he is not sure how Clinton will measure up to those standards, he says the former first lady does have other qualities that will be key, including a strong public persona.

"When a secretary of state walks in a room, you want people on the edge of their seats, and she clearly has that," Miller says. "I mean, she fills up and lights up a room, there's no question about it. And second, I believe she's tough enough."

 

[historylover]

RANDOM TIDBITS

The thin line of cloud that forms behind an aircraft at
high altitudes is called a contrail.

***

In early France the distance a man could walk while smoking
one pipeful of tobacco was called a pipee.

***

The central shaft of a bird's feather which bears the vane
or web of the feather is called a rachis.

***

A building in which silence is enforced, like a library or
school room, is referred to as a silentium.

***

The ear-splitting sound produced by the high notes of a
bagpipe is called a skirl.

***

The tendency of the leaves or petals of certain plants to
assume a different position at night is called nyctitropism.

 

[historylover]

November 24, 2008
Muslim Charity Convicted Of Financing Hamas

A Richardson, Texas-based Muslim charity and five of its former leaders were convicted Monday of funneling millions of dollars to the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

U.S. District Judge Jorge A. Solis announced the 108 guilty verdicts on the eighth day of deliberations in the retrial of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, once the nation's largest Muslim charity. The organization was raided and closed by U.S. agents seven years ago.

Holy Land was accused of giving more than $12 million to support Hamas. The seven-week retrial ran about as long as the original, which ended in October 2007 when a judge declared a mistrial on most charges.

Holy Land wasn't accused of ********; prosecutors said the charity financed schools, hospitals and social welfare programs controlled by Hamas in areas ravaged by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The U.S. designated Hamas a terrorist organization in 1995 and again in 1997, making contributions to the group *******.

Prosecutors labeled Holy Land's beneficiaries as terrorist recruiting pools. The charities, the government argued, spread Hamas' violent ideology and generated loyalty and support among Palestinians.

Holy Land supporters accused the government of politicizing the case as part of its war on terrorism, while attorneys for the foundation said Holy Land's mission was philanthropy and providing aid to the Middle East.

U.S. Stocks Rise On Citi Bailout

U.S. stocks surged Monday after the government announced it would ****** $20 billion into Citigroup in an effort to prevent the bank's collapse.

The cash infusion represented the biggest U.S. bank bailout to date, lifting the prices of major financial stocks. Shares in Citigroup surged nearly 60 percent to $5.95 after plunging last week to the lowest level in 15 years because of the bank's uncertain future.

JPMorgan Chase rose 19 percent to $27.02, and Bank of America jumped 24.1 percent to $14.23 on the bailout news.

The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 396.97 points, or 4.93 percent, to end unofficially at 8,443.39. The Standard & Poor's 500 index jumped 51.76 points, or 6.47 percent, to finish unofficially at 851.79. The Nasdaq composite index surged 87.67 points, or 6.33 percent, to close unofficially at 1,472.02.

The European stock exchanges saw their biggest gains in six weeks. London and Paris rose 8.5 percent and Frankfurt jumped 9.8 percent, as investors welcomed the U.S. government's rescue plan for Citigroup.

Banks were big gainers, but mining, oil-related industries and steel also saw increases. Some saw their value jump as much as 27 percent. A Swiss analyst said Citigroup was too big to be allowed to fail and that the bailout brought some stabilization to the financial sector.

The move had little impact on investor sentiment, however. The latest figures show German business confidence falling to a 15-year low.

Biden Aide Picked To Fill Senate Seat

Delaware Gov. Ruth Ann Minner said Monday that she would appoint Edward "Ted" Kaufman to fill the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Vice President-elect Joe Biden.

Kaufman is a longtime aide to Biden, most recently serving as co-chair of Biden's transition team. He managed all of Biden's campaigns for federal office and was the vice president-elect's chief of staff for 19 years.

"I believe Ted Kaufman meets every test I set for this appointment," said Minner. "He has a proven record of putting the interests of Delaware first."

Speculation about Biden's successor had centered in recent weeks on his *** Beau, the Delaware attorney general. Last week, however, the younger Biden announced that he planned to fulfill his National Guard duties and wouldn't accept an appointment to his ******'s U.S. Senate seat.

Kaufman said he is not interested in running for the job in the special election, which could pave the way for Beau Biden to run for the post in 2010.

Biden has not yet resigned his Senate seat and could remain in the post until Jan. 20, when he is sworn in as vice president. Minner said she expects Kaufman to be sworn in in early to mid-January.


Shippers Want Blockade To Stop Somali Pirates

Representatives of international shipping companies on Monday called for a military blockade along the coast of Somalia in an effort to end attacks by pirates.

The International Association of Independent Tanker Owners — an organization representing the majority of the world's ship owners — also called on the U.N. to draw up new resolutions that would allow foreign navies to intercept pirate vessels heading out to sea.

Peter Swift, managing director of the association, said stronger naval action, including aerial and aviation support, is necessary to battle rampant piracy in the Gulf of Aden near Somalia.

But NATO, which has four warships off the coast of Somalia, rejected a blockade.

About 20 tankers a day sail through the sea lane, but many tanker owners are considering a massive detour around southern Africa to avoid pirates, which will delay delivery and push costs up by 30 percent, Swift said.

NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said he doesn't expect the mission to change.

"Blocking ports is not contemplated by NATO. ... The Security Council resolutions ... do not include these kind of actions," he said.

NATO's role in the Somali waters is limited to escorting U.N. food aid and acting as a deterrent to further attacks.


Olmert Urges Obama To Pursue Mideast Peace

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Monday that achieving a Palestinian statehood deal he and President Bush failed to reach should be a main goal of the Obama administration.

Olmert delivered the message at a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, a senior Israeli official said.

"The prime minister stressed the importance that the Annapolis process be continued by the next U.S. administration and Israeli government," the official said.

Olmert is due to see Bush Monday evening for talks that Israeli officials said would focus on the peace process and Iran's nuclear ambitions. Olmert leaves office after a planned election on Feb. 10; Bush's term ends on Jan. 20, when Barack Obama is sworn in as president.

The United States, Israel and the Palestinians have all acknowledged they will not have a peace accord in place before Bush vacates the White House, missing a target date set at the Annapolis peace conference a year ago this week.

Obama, who visited Israel and the occupied West Bank in July, pledged at the time — in an apparent jab at Bush's last-minute efforts to secure peace — not to "wait a few years into my term or my second term if I'm elected" to press for a deal.

Although Olmert has vowed to pursue peace until his last day in office — a pledge his spokesman said he repeated to Rice — public interest in Israel in the lame-duck leader's policies is waning as the election campaign gathers speed.


Judge Drops 3 Charges Against Bonds, 12 Remain

A federal judge in San Francisco dismissed three charges on Monday against baseball home run king Barry Bonds, but 12 others, stemming from allegations that he lied to a grand jury about taking performance-enhancing *****, remain.

Bonds faced 14 counts of making false declarations to a grand jury and one count of obstruction of justice. His lawyers had asked U.S. District Judge Susan Illston to dismiss 10 of the charges, saying Bonds was asked ambiguous questions in front of the grand jury.

The doping case led to the imprisonment of BALCO laboratory's owner and Bonds' personal trainer for steroid distribution. It also snared other high-profile athletes, including former track-and-field stars Marion Jones and Tim Montgomery.

The U.S. Department of Justice had no comment on Illston's order, said Joshua Eaton, a spokesman for its Northern District of California office in San Francisco, which is prosecuting Bonds.

Bonds, a seven-time National League Most Valuable Player, has pleaded not guilty to federal charges that he lied about past steroid use. His trial is scheduled for early March.

 

[historylover]

November 25, 2008
Dow, S&P Rise On Fed Plan

The Dow and S&P 500 gained on Tuesday on optimism that the Federal Reserve's latest rescue package could revive the sagging housing market and free up consumer lending.

The Dow had its first positive three-day run since late August, while the S&P rose three straight sessions for the first time since mid-September.

But the Nasdaq slid as technology stocks fell on more immediate concerns that demand may be weakening after bellwether Cisco Systems said it will close most of its operations in the United States and Canada for five days in an effort to cut costs.

Under the Fed's latest plan, the U.S. central bank will buy billions of dollars worth of debt and mortgage-backed securities to increase the flow of credit for mortgages, student loans, car loans and credit cards.

The Fed's move to generate consumer lending lifted financial stocks, with JPMorgan up nearly 8 percent at $29.77, and those of retailers, with Wal-Mart Stores up 3.6 percent at $54.68.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 36.08 points, or 0.43 percent, to 8,479.47. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 5.58 points, or 0.66 percent, to 857.39. But the Nasdaq Composite Index shed 7.29 points, or 0.50 percent, to 1,464.73.

In spite of the optimism stirred by the Fed's plan, the date continued to paint a poor picture of the economic climate.

A government report showed the U.S. economy contracted at a faster rate in the third quarter than originally estimated as consumer spending fell at the sharpest rate in 28 years.

Researchers See Dip In New Cancer Rate

The nation's rate of new cancers is going down among both men and women for the first time, according to the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

The cancer death rate has declined in recent years, but experts weren't sure if the rate of new cancer cases would go down too.

The report shows the overall rate of new cancers is declining. That's largely due to fewer cases of lung, colorectal and prostate cancer among men and breast and colorectal cancers among women.

Experts said that's because fewer Americans are smoking and more are getting colonoscopies and mammograms.

But Robert Croyle of the National Cancer Institute said researchers are concerned about cancers related to obesity.

The one concerning area, in terms of cancer rates as a whole, concerns obesity. We're seeing upticks in some of the obesity-related cancers," he said. The study showed thyroid cancer rates are going up by up to 7 percent a year.


Miami Judge Rules Against Fla. Gay Adoption Ban

A juvenile court judge in Miami on Monday allowed a gay couple to adopt two ******** who had been in their ****** care, ruling that a Florida law banning gay couples from adopting is unconstitutional.

Miami Dade Circuit Judge Cindy Lederman ruled Tuesday there was "no rational basis" for prohibiting gays from adopting ********.

The ruling will allow Martin Gill to adopt two young brothers he has cared for as ****** ******** since 2004. Gill said when he and his partner agreed to act as ****** parents to the boys, he expected it would be for just a few months.

As time went on and it became clear that the boys would not be returning to their ******, Gill said he knew he'd have to challenge the state law.

Some other states have similar laws on the books, but Florida's law is the strictest in the nation banning adoptions because of sexual orientation.

In granting the adoption, Lederman said there is a consensus among researchers that there is no reason to prohibit adoptions by gay couples.

Lawyers representing Florida's Department of ******** & Families said they will appeal the decision.


Consumer Confidence Sees Moderate Rise

Consumer confidence rose moderately in November from a record low in October, but Americans' views on the economy remain the gloomiest in decades as they grapple with massive layoffs, slumping home prices and dwindling retirement funds.

The New York-based Conference Board said Tuesday its Consumer Confidence Index now stands at 44.9, up from a revised 38.8 in October. Last month's reading was the lowest since the research group started tracking the index in 1967.

Lynn Franco, the director of consumer research center at the Conference Board, said consumer confidence is still at recession levels.

"Despite the improvement, they remain extremely pessimistic; and, in all likelihood, we're not going to see an improvement in growth in the first half of 200," she said.

Franco said the slight up-tick wasn't surprising. She said the shock from October's dramatic declines in the financial market are starting to level off.

Meanwhile, the U.S. economy shrank by 0.5 percent in the third quarter, more than first thought, the Commerce Department said Tuesday.

The department revised the gross domestic product figure for July through September after reporting last month that the economy shrank by just 0.3 percent for the period.

The latest GDP numbers underscore a painful downturn that has clobbered corporate profits and ****** consumers to cut back at a rate not seen in decades. If the economy continues to shrink in the final three months of the year, it will meet the classic definition for a recession.

The revised report shows Americans' disposable income fell at an annual rate of more than 9 percent in the third quarter, the largest quarterly drop on records dating back to 1947.

 

[historylover]

December 1, 2008
Oil Prices Plunge 9 Percent

Oil plunged more than 9 percent to $49 a barrel on Monday after OPEC deferred a decision on new supply cuts at a weekend meeting.

The producer group delayed a decision on output until later this month as Saudi Arabia and other Gulf members called for greater compliance with existing cuts to help stem oil's fall from highs over $147 a barrel struck in July.

U.S. crude settled down $5.15 at $49.28 a barrel, the lowest settlement since May 2005. London Brent crude fell $5.52 to settle at $47.97 a barrel.

The drop in crude oil prices has led to deep discounting at the gas pump.

Gasoline was selling for less than $2 a gallon a numerous places around the country, and prices in the Midwest have fallen to nearly $1.70 a gallon.

A weekly snapshot from the Energy Department showed that gasoline prices fell by more than 8 cents a gallon nationwide, and some areas saw prices fall nearly twice that much.

Prices have fallen by more than 40 percent from this time last year.


India Demands Action From Pakistan For Attacks

Indian officials on Monday asked Pakistan's government to take swift action against those responsible the ****** attacks in Mumbai that ****** more than 170 people last week, saying the terrorists were trained in neighboring Pakistan.

The only known surviving attacker told police that his group trained for months in camps operated by a ****** Pakistani militant group, learning close-combat techniques, explosives training and other tactics for their three-day siege.

Indian investigators have said 10 gunmen opened fire on civilians with automatic weapons, taking over two luxury hotels, a restaurant, a train station and other sites in the coordinated atacks. At least 172 people were ****** and 239 wounded.

Pakistan's President, Asif Ali Zardari has described the attackers as "non-state actors" who have no links to any government, but have the ability to sow tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.

U.S. officials said the two countries must unite against a common enemy. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is due to visit India later this week.

Pakistan has repeatedly insisted it was not behind the attacks. Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari said Monday the gunmen were "non-state actors," and warned against letting their actions lead to greater regional enmity.

"Such a tragic incident must bring opportunity rather than the defeat of a nation," Zardari told Arj television. "We don't think the world's great nations and countries can be held hostage by non-state actors."

Pakistan said its foreign secretary condemned the "barbaric attacks" and pledged his country's cooperation during a meeting Monday with India's high commissioner in Islamabad.


Stocks Fall Sharply On Economy Worries

U.S. stocks plummeted nearly 700 points on Monday amid increased concerns about the slumping global economy.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 679.95 points, or 7.70 percent, to end unofficially at 8,149.09, based on the latest data. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 80.05 points, or 8.93 percent, to finish unofficially at 816.19. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 137.50 points, or 8.95 percent, to close unofficially at 1,398.07.

Financial services companies and retailers were among Wall Street's biggest losers, with Wal-Mart Stores, Macy's Inc., Sears, Citigroup and Bank of America sliding.

Meanwhile, the National Bureau of Economic Research said the United States entered recession in December 2007, ending 73 months of economic expansion.

Energy companies' shares also showed weakness as oil prices dropped on concerns that the economic slump will curb demand. U.S. front-month crude fell $5.15, or 9.5 percent, to settle at $49.28 a barrel.

Major oil producer Exxon Mobil lost 3.9 percent to $77.05, while rival Chevron slid 5 percent to $75.11.


Bush Recognizes Progress In Fight Against AIDS


President Bush said Monday that his presidential initiative to combat AIDS has met its goal of treating two million people in sub-Saharan Africa.

When the administration launched the President's Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief in 2003, the goal was to support 2 million people with lifesaving antiretroviral treatment in five years.

"I'm pleased to announce that we have exceeded that goal early," Bush said in an address marking World AIDS Day.

Researchers said thousands of people who might have died of AIDS are still healthy because of the initiative, and 200,000 babies who might have been born with HIV are free of the disease.

When the program began, only 50,000 people living with HIV in all of sub-Sahara Africa were receiving antiretroviral treatment, he said.

In addition, the U.S. has supported care for more than 10 million people around the world who are affected by HIV, including more than 4 million orphans and vulnerable ********.


Schwarzenegger Declares Fiscal Emergency

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday declared a fiscal emergency and called lawmakers into a special session to address the state's $11.2 billion budget deficit.

Unless budget corrections are made quickly, the state is likely to run out of cash in February and see its revenue gap widen to $28 billion over the next 19 months.

"Without immediate action, our state is headed for a fiscal disaster, and that is why with more than two dozen new legislators sworn in today, I am wasting no time in calling a fiscal emergency special session," Schwarzenegger said in prepared remarks.

The Republican governor and Democrats in the Legislature have proposed a combination of tax hikes and spending cuts, but Republican lawmakers have remained steadfast in their refusal to raise taxes.

Lawmakers failed to reach a compromise during the special session Schwarzenegger declared last month, pushing the problem to the new Legislature that was sworn in Monday.

There appeared to be little reason to believe that Republican lawmakers are any more likely to support Schwarzenegger's compromise appeal for program cuts and tax increases than they were when they rejected a Democratic proposal to do that last week.

"If anything, I think our resolve (against raising taxes) is deeper than it has ever been because of the economic realities," Senate Minority Leader Dave Cogdill said Monday.

Democrats were expected to gain three seats in the state Assembly, but failed in the November elections to win a two-thirds majority in either house, which is needed to pass tax increases or a state budget.

Democrats proposed $8.2 billion in spending cuts and $8.2 billion in tax increases during the special session Schwarzenegger called last month, but Republicans rejected the package because of the taxes. Instead, they seek an economic stimulus program to kick-start the economy.

Schwarzenegger's proposal includes raising the state sales tax by 1.5 percentage points - or 1?? pennies on the dollar - for three years, generating $3.5 billion in the current fiscal year. He also seeks to increase the annual fee for registering vehicles.

 

[historylover]

December 2, 2008
Obama Pledges To Help States Through Recession

President-elect Barack Obama on Tuesday pledged to help state governors craft a massive stimulus package to create jobs and tackle the crumbling economy.

Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden met in Philadelphia with the governors of 41 states to discuss the hardships that are facing states because of the recession.

The governors asked for $136 billion for infrastructure projects to stimulate their economies, and Obama assured them that his administration will work quickly on an economic recovery plan.

The president-elect said he wants to see a plan that will include tax cuts and create or preserve 2.5 million jobs. Democratic lawmakers have been working with Obama to craft a $500 billion economic recovery package that would contain some help for states facing falling revenues.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was among the governors at the meeting. After the meeting, she said that she was optimistic about Obama's bipartisan effort, although she said she is opposed to deficit spending.

But Obama told the governors that there's unanimity -- even among conservatives -- that it's necessary to increase the debt to pull the country out of a recession.


Wall Street Higher On Good News From Ford, GE

U.S. stocks rebounded Tuesday after the previous day's sell-off after investors got encouraging news from Ford Motor Co. and General Electric Co.

The Dow Jones industrials closed up 270 points, or 3.31 percent, at 8,419.09 and the Standard & Poor's 500 Index leapt 32.60 points, or 3.99 percent, at 848.81. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 51.73 points, or 3.70 percent, at 1,449.80.

Investors wary about the economy drew solace from Ford Motor Co. Chief Executive Alan Mulally, who said the automaker has enough cash to make it through 2009 and might not need government help.

Rival General Motors Corp. said late in the day that it needs $12 billion in government loans to continue operating; the news briefly shook the market, but stocks rebounded before the close.

Meanwhile, the market was encouraged after General Electric Co. said it expects to pay a dividend despite projections that fourth-quarter results will near the low end of its previous guidance.


Nov. Auto Sales Plunge; Automakers Seek Bailout

November U.S. vehicle sales at General Motors and Chrysler plunged more than 40 percent, while Ford's sales dropped 31 percent, as U.S. automakers unveiled strategic plans for their companies in a bid for a $25 billion government bailout.

GM's sales fell 41 percent, while Chrysler's dropped 47 percent. Their overseas rivals posted abysmal results Tuesday as well. Toyota's November U.S. sales tumbled 34 percent, and Honda's fell 32 percent.

October's seasonally adjusted annual sales rate of 10.6 million vehicles was worst in more than 25 years and far below the rate of 16 million a year earlier, according to Autodata Corp.

Ford Motor Co. asked Congress Tuesday for a line of credit of up to $9 billion, but said the company does not expect to tap it and will likely break even or make money in 2011.

Ford CEO Alan Mulally said he'd work for $1 per year if his firm had to take any government loan money. The company's plan also said it will cancel all 2009 bonuses for management employees, scrap 2009 merit increases for North American salaried employees, and sell its five corporate aircraft.

General Motors Corp. asked the U.S. government to save it from failure by extending $12 billion in loans and another $6 billion in credit as part of an unprecedented federal intervention into the struggling auto industry.

GM said it needs Congress to extend $4 billion in financing this month and provide the rest of the $12 billion by March. The remaining $6 billion would be available if a year-long recession in U.S. auto sales drops beyond GM's now-lowered expectations

"The first $4 billion is crucial," GM Chief Operating Officer Fritz Henderson said, adding, "There is no Plan B."

Ford, GM and Chrysler LLC on were scheduled to presented Congress with plans to restructure their companies by Tuesday in a bid to get government aid.

The unions also prepared to make sacrifices, with UAW leaders summoning local union leaders from across the country to an emergency meeting in Detroit Wednesday.

Without the immediate $4 billion cash infusion, the top U.S. automaker faces the risk of failure, a senior executive said.

Many analysts had expected November sales to come in slightly better, noting that aggressive incentive spending and the plunge in gasoline prices may have put a floor under sales. But GM, Ford, Chrysler, Toyota and Honda Motor Co. all posted month-over-month sales declines, pointing to a potential industrywide drop.

Chrysler LLC said its November sales decline included a 59 percent decrease in demand for cars and a 42 percent decline in truck sales.

Officials said the drops were partially a result of a 63 percent decline in fleet sales. Excluding such sales, the Auburn Hills, Mich.-based automaker said its November sales fell 36 percent.

Detroit-based General Motors Corp. reported a 44 percent drop in demand for cars, while light truck sales dropped 39 percent.

Mike DiGiovanni, GM's executive director of global market analysis, blamed GM's sharp sales decline on the global economic crisis and the credit squeeze.

"What we are facing is not a General Motors problem; what we are facing is an industry problem," DiGiovanni said in a conference call. "We are seeing further deterioration in the
industry into November."

Jim Farley, Ford Motor Co.'s group vice president of marketing, said he expects the industry to post continued year-over-year declines in auto sales until at least the second half of 2009.

"We could see some strengthening in the second half of next year, or at least some stabilization, albeit at a much lower level," Farley said in a conference call with analysts and reporters.


NATO Moves To Resume Contacts With Russia

NATO agreed on Tuesday to gradually resume contacts with Russia that were suspended after Moscow's intervention in Georgia, and put off a decision on putting Ukraine and Georgia on formal membership tracks.

Meeting in Brussels, the allies reaffirmed a pledge that Georgia and Ukraine would one day join the alliance and agreed to help them in that process.

Going into her last NATO meeting, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice dodged confrontation with allies by dropping previous U.S. resistance to restarting talks with Russia, and reached a compromise in a squabble with Germany over how to manage the entry ambitions of Ukraine and Georgia.

The outcome leaves any real decisions on closer alliance ties with Russia, Georgia and Ukraine to the incoming President-elect Barack Obama.

NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said the 26 NATO states had asked him to see what political contacts would be possible with Moscow and said the suspended ambassador-level NATO-Russia Council would meet again on an informal basis.

"Allies agreed on what I would qualify as a conditional and graduated re-engagement with Russia," he told a news conference.

Cholera Death Toll Climbs In Zimbabwe

The death toll from Zimbabwe's worst recorded cholera epidemic has risen to nearly 500, the
World Health Organization said on Tuesday.

The WHO said most regions of Zimbabwe were reporting infections, with the fatality rate reaching up to 50 percent in some areas. It reported 473 deaths and 11,700 total infections.

"Cholera outbreaks in Zimbabwe have occurred annually since 1998, but previous epidemics never reached today's proportions. The last large outbreak was in 1992 with 3,000 cases recorded," the WHO said in a report.

Zimbabwean rights groups estimate that up to 1,000 people have died from the disease. The water delivery system has broken down in Harare and other cities, ******* residents to ***** from contaminated wells and streams.

The spread of cholera, which is normally a preventable and treatable disease, highlighted a collapse in the African nation, where President Robert Mugabe and the opposition party have been arguing for months over how to implement a power-sharing agreement.


Barbara Bush Released From Hospital


Former first lady Barbara Bush was released from a Houston hospital on Tuesday after having surgery for a perforated ulcer.

Bush, 83, underwent laparoscopic surgery on Nov. 25 at Methodist Hospital after complaining of abdominal pain.

Pat Reardon, the surgeon who performed the procedure, said Bush is in excellent condition and on a liquid diet while she recovers.

During the procedure, surgeons cleaned her abdominal area, then patched and closed a dime-sized hole in her stomach caused by the ulcer.

"I can report that Barb is feeling much, much better, and I'll be glad to get her home and she is doing well," said her husband, former President George H.W. Bush.

 

[historylover]

December 3, 2008
Former WorldCom Chief Seeks Clemency From Bush

Imprisoned former WorldCom Inc. chief Bernard Ebbers is among the high-profile corporate prisoners petitioning for clemency in the final days of President Bush's terms.

Ebbers, convicted of orchestrating an $11 billion accounting fraud, joins former publishing mogul Conrad Black and 1980s-era financier Michael Milken in seeking clemency.

The Justice Department said Wednesday that Ebbers has submitted a petition for commutation of his 25-year sentence to the Office of the Pardon Attorney. The petition is under review, Justice Department spokeswoman Laura Sweeney said.

Black is also seeking commutation of his prison sentence, while Milken is petitioning for a presidential pardon.

The U.S. Constitution gives the president power to grant pardons that erase convictions and shorten prison sentences. With Bush to leave office on Jan. 20, prominent and not-so prominent criminals are making their cases for clemency.

Bush last week granted 14 pardons and commuted two sentences in low-profile cases. He has granted far fewer clemency requests than his predecessor, former President Clinton.

Clinton, on his way out of office, sparked a controversy with the last-minute 2001 pardon of fugitive financier Marc Rich, whose ex-wife was a major donor to Clinton and the Democratic Party.

Among notable white-collar convicts who have not asked for pardons are homemaking guru Martha Stewart, former Enron Chief Executive Jeffrey Skilling, and former Adelphia cable company executives John Rigas and his ***, Timothy Rigas.


92 Nations Sign On To Cluster Bomb Ban

More than 90 nations signed a treaty on Wednesday to ban cluster bombs that have ****** and maimed thousands of people, though powerful arms producers including the United States, Russia and China did not.

Eighteen of 26 NATO members -- including Britain, France and Germany -- signed the pact, which many hailed as a humanitarian achievement.

Estimates of those ****** and injured by cluster bombs over the decades range from tens of thousands to 100,000 and more, though campaigners say the real numbers will never be known.

Cluster bombs contain scores or even hundreds of submunitions -- or "bomblets" -- that blanket wide areas. Since not all of them explode on impact, they pose lethal danger to civilians, particularly ********, ******* and maiming decades after being used in combat.

"Today we confirm that cluster munitions are ****** forever," said Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, the first to sign in a process that will extend over two days.

By the end of Wednesday's session, 92 states out of 125 at the conference had signed the treaty at Oslo's ornate City Hall, site of the annual Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony.

Though not all will sign, officials said they hoped to have 100 or more signatures by the end of Thursday's signing session.

The U.S. State Department repeated Washington's position this week, saying that while it has similar humanitarian concerns it will not sign because a general ban "will put the lives of our military men and women, and those of our coalition partners, at risk."

But British and German officials pressured the U.S. And others to sign on to the pact.

"I call on those states that have not yet signed to follow our example and renounce cluster munitions in the future," said German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

Afghanistan announced to the conference that President Hamid Karzai had given a green light to join ban.


Holiday Shopping Season Gets Mixed Start

New data released Wednesday showed that the holiday shopping season got off to a mixed start.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping days both showed solid gains over last year, but the picture wasn't over the weekend.

According to the group ShopperTrak, sales the day after Thanksgiving were up 3 percent from 2007; however, sales decreased on Saturday and Sunday after the best sales had expired.

In the online world, comScore reports e-commerce spending jumped 13 percent during the four-day period starting last Friday and continuing through Monday. On Monday, shoppers spent $846 million online.

"I don't think there's any denying that this is a tough season overall for online retail," said Andrew Lipsman, senior analyst at comScore. He said that since Nov. 1 online spending is down 2 percent compared to last year numbers.

"That's the lowest we've seen on record. We've actually never seen negative growth rates for e-commerce compared to the year prior," Lipsman said.


U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions Rise By 1.4 Percent

The U.S. greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming increased by 1.4 percent last year, according to a report released Wednesday by the federal Energy Information Administration.

Most of the increase was from carbon dioxide, and those emissions increased primarily because of a heating and cooling needs during a cold winter and a warm summer, the energy department said.

There was less water behind hydroelectric dams, so utilities had to rely more heavily on fossil fuels to generate electricity, the report said.

The increase contrasts with 2006, when greenhouse gas emissions dropped because of a mild winter and a relatively cool summer.

Overall, U.S. greenhouse gas emissions have increased by more than 16 percent since 1990. Scientists said global emissions ultimately need to drop by more than 80 percent to reduce the risk of a climate catastrophe.


Obama Taps Richardson For Commerce Secretary

President-elect Barack Obama on Wednesday announced the selection of the first Hispanic to serve in his administration, choosing New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson to serve as secretary of commerce.

Richardson, 61, was United Nations ambassador and energy secretary during the Clinton administration, and he is in his second term as New Mexico's governor. He also served seven terms in the House of Representatives.

Obama has also named two women, Hillary Clinton and Janet Napolitano, to serve in his Cabinet.

Richardson was among the challengers to Obama for the Democratic Party presidential nomination earlier this year.

 

[assholebythedoor]

like you really give a **** you self ********* wishful thinker your just trying to line your own pockets. IF you cared you would mind your own business instead of making things worse

 

[historylover]

December 4, 2008
Rice: Pakistan Committed To Finding Terrorists

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Thursday that Pakistan's leaders are committed to finding those connected to last week's attacks in the Indian city of Mumbai that left more than 170 dead.

"I found a Pakistani government that is focused on the threat and that understands its responsibilities to respond to terrorism and extremism wherever it is found," Rice said following sessions with the country's powerful army chief and civilian leaders.

The U.S. wants broader sharing of intelligence and a commitment by Pakistan to root out ****** groups that have found a comfortable haven in the Muslim country. The Bush administration sent Rice and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen to seek Pakistani aid in finding those responsible for the Mumbai attacks that India blames on Pakistani militants.

Rice was in Pakistan after expressing U.S. condolences in India for more than 170 deaths in Mumbai. Mullen met a day earlier with key Pakistani leaders.


Bernanke Urges More Action On Foreclosures

U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Thursday that the government must be more aggressive in trying to halt home foreclosures, which are exacerbating the country's economic problems.

Bernanke told a Fed conference on housing finance that foreclosures remain too high, and have broader consequences for the economy than just hurting homeowners.

He said lenders are on track to initiate 2.25 million foreclosures this year, up from an average annual pace of less than 1 million during the pre-crisis period.

"Weakness in the housing market has proved a serious drag on overall economic activity," he said. "Steps that stabilize the housing market will help stabilize the economy as well."

Bernanke outlined a number of options to reduce preventable foreclosures. Under one plan, Congress would ease the terms of a government program called "Hope for Homeowners," which lets distressed homeowners refinance into more affordable, federally insured mortgages if the lender writes down the amount owed on the mortgage and pays an upfront insurance premium.

Bernanke suggested Congress lower lender's upfront insurance premium as well as reducing the interest rate borrowers pay, which is about 8 percent.


U.S. Stocks Fall; Oil Dips Below $44 A Barrel

U.S. stocks fell Thursday as a sharp decline in oil prices sent the energy sector tumbling and disappointing profit outlooks from some companies raised the specter of a worsening economy.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 215.45 points, or 2.51 percent, at 8,376.24. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index dropped 25.50 points, or 2.93 percent, at 845.24. The Nasdaq Composite Index sank 46.82 points, or 3.14 percent, at 1,445.56

Chevron was among the top drags on the Dow, after oil prices fell nearly 7 percent.

Oil tumbled below $44 a barrel and average gasoline prices slipped under $1.80 a gallon, both four year lows, as unemployment benefit claims hit a 26-year high and major companies announced more job cuts.

Automakers were also in Washington Thursday to again ask lawmakers for government loans.

Security Pact Approved By Iraqi Presidential Council

Iraq's three-member presidential council on Thursday signed off on a pact that extends the U.S. military's presence in the country through the end of 2011.

The approval removes the last legal barrier to an agreement that is scheduled to take effect Jan. 1.

Meanwhile, suicide bombings in Fallujah ****** 15 people Thursday, including 2 U.S. soldiers, Interior Ministry officials said. Officials said more than 100 were wounded.

Gas trucks were used to ****** two police stations, but damaged other nearby buildings, including a school. Police and civilians were among the casualties, security sources said.

Immediately after the bombing, security officials put a curfew on Fallujah and announcements over mosque loudspeakers were used to urge people to stay at home.

Fallujah is located in Anbar province, west of the capital, Baghdad. Security over the region was handed over by the Americans to the Iraqis in September despite worries that the Iraqi security ****** weren't ready to assume control.


Israeli Troops Evict Jewish Settlers In Hebron

Israeli police evicted Jewish settlers from a building in the West Bank city of Hebron on Thursday, igniting a wave of settler ********.

Angry Jewish settlers, some armed, responded by setting fire to Palestinian cars and property near the building. Eight Palestinians were hurt, including three from gunshot wounds, witnesses said. Settler ******** quickly spread to other areas of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Tensions have been especially high in the city since the Israeli High Court on Nov. 16 ordered settlers to vacate the building they have been occupying since March 2007.

Police in riot gear dragged settlers out of the building, some of them kicking and screaming.

Four Hebron settlers later were arrested while more than 20 of their supporters in Jerusalem were taken into custody after briefly blocking a main entrance to the city, police said.

The standoff in Hebron raised fears that ideological friction in Israel could provoke internal ******** before a Feb. 10 parliamentary election to replace outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

Olmert has said a new ultranationalist underground could threaten Israel and its chances of peace with the Palestinians.

"What was put to the test today was the state's ability to enforce the law and its will on its citizens," said Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak.

 

[historylover]

December 5, 2008
Afghanistan, Pakistan Cooperate On Al-Qaida

Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai said his country and Pakistan have agreed to draw up a joint strategy in the battle against al-Qaida.

The pledge came as the leaders of the two nations met Friday for Turkish-sponsored talks aimed at reducing tensions over militant attacks along their lawless border.

Afghanistan has long accused Pakistan of failing to take action against al-Qaida and Taliban insurgents based in that country's tribal region, and even colluding with them.

After meeting with Pakistan's new president, Asif Ali Zardari, in Istanbul on Friday, Karzai said: "We're decided to draw up a joint strategy to fight al-Qaida and other terrorist organizations."


Supreme Court Will Decide Enemy Combatant Case

The Supreme Court agreed Friday to decide if the president can order the indefinite detention of terrorism suspects in the United States without criminal charges.

The Bush administration maintains that the president has the authority to order the military to detain anyone suspected of being an al-Qaida member.

The administration's policy is being challenged by Ali al-Marri, a Qatar native who was detained in the United States and is the only enemy combatant currently being held on U.S. soil. The government maintains al-Marri is an al-Qaida sleeper agent.

Al-Marri, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, contends that he cannot be imprisoned without charge or trial.

He was arrested in Peoria, Ill. Al-Marri has been held in virtual isolation in a Navy brig near
Charleston, S.C., for nearly 5 1/2 years.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., said that al-Marri must be given the chance to persuade a federal judge that he is not an enemy combatant.

The administration argued that al-Marri's case should first go to federal district court in South Carolina, instead of to the Supreme Court.

Al-Marri's attorneys successfully argued that the case was of such constitutional importance that it should be heard by the high court now.

Bush Pushes For Auto Industry Bailout

President Bush used the word "recession" to describe the economy for the first time Friday and demanded that Congress bailout the auto industry and require car makers to pay back the loans.

"Our economy is in a recession," Bush told reporters on the South Lawn of the White House. Bush supports using $25 billion in Energy Department loans meant to promote the development of fuel efficient automotive technology.

He said it is important for Congress to redirect the Energy Department money next week. He was skeptical about Congress approving new aid and said some of the automakers may not survive.

"I am concerned about the viability of the automobile companies," he told reporters on the South Lawn. "I am concerned about those who work for the automobile companies and their families. And likewise, I am concerned about taxpayer money being provided to these companies that may not survive."


India: Security 'Lapses' Led To Mumbai Attacks

India's top *************** official acknowledged on Friday that there had been security "lapses" in the run up to last week's terrorist attacks on Mumbai.

The assault on India's financial capital left 171 dead and 239 wounded and has sparked public anger with the government over its handling of the crisis.

Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram, only days in the post after the previous minister was ousted after the attacks, made the remarks as new details surfaced that a Pakistani militant group had used an Indian operative as far back as 2007 to scout targets in the Mumbai plot.

"There have been lapses. I would be less than truthful if I said there had been no lapses," Chidambaram told reporters, saying he was seeking to bolster the country's security.

Indian officials have accused Pakistani-based extremists in the Nov. 26-29 attacks, an assertion echoed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday.

"The territory of a neighboring country has been used for perpetrating this crime," Singh said after meeting with visiting Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.


O.J. Simpson Sentenced To Minimum 9 Years

A judge in Las Vegas on Friday sentenced former football star O.J. Simpson to at least 9 years in prison for armed robbery and ********** related to a botched attempt to recover sports memorabilia and personal property.

Clark County District Court Judge Jackie Glass said Simpson was arrogant and ignorant, and the evidence against him was overwhelming.

Addressing the court before the sentence was read, Simpson was apologetic. "I didn't want to steal anything from anyone ... I'm sorry, sorry," he said.

Simpson, 61, was convicted of 12 counts related to a Sept. 13, 2007, confrontation at the Palace Station casino hotel. Jurors said after the verdict that they were convinced of Simpson's guilt because of audio recordings middleman Thomas Riccio secretly made of Simpson's exchange with sports memorabilia brokers Alfred Beardsley and Bruce Fromong.

Simpson, infamous for being acquitted of the 1994 slayings of his ex-wife and her friend in Los Angeles, could serve up to 33 years in prison.

Simpson's co-defendant, Clarence "C.J. Stewart, was sentenced.to a minimum of 7-1/2 years in prison and a maximum of 27 years.


Massive Job Cuts Send Unemployment Rate Soaring

U.S. employers cut payrolls by a massive 533,000 jobs in November -- the most in 34 years as the nation faces a deepening recession, Labor Department said Friday.

The latest data shows the unemployment rate last month rose to 6.7 percent, its highest reading since 1993; it follows October's 6.5 percent rate amid broad based losses across industry sectors.

The job losses in November were the steepest since December 1974, when 602,000 jobs were shed, and was much worse than many analysts had forecast.

In addition, October's job losses were revised upward to show a cut of 320,000, instead of the previously reported 240,000, while September's losses were revised to a loss of 403,000 from 284,000 lost.

That brings the total reduction in U.S. nonfarm payrolls for last three months to 1.256 million, with almost 2 million jobs shed in the year so far.

The length of the workweek also fell to just 33.5 hours, the shortest since records began in 1964, a Labor Department official said, reflecting a reduction in worker hours.

 

[historylover]

December 8, 2008
Prosecutors Sue For Gang Members' Assets

The city of Los Angeles on Monday filed the state's first lawsuit against gang members in an effort to seize members' homes, businesses and other assets and cripple the criminal enterprises.

The suit was made possible by a new state law that allows city prosecutors to file civil nuisance lawsuits against gang members in lieu of individual victims who might be afraid to come forward.

The gang members named in the suit are all leaders of the notorious 18th Street gang, which has terrorized poor, immigrant neighborhoods west of downtown.

The nine defendants are in prison, but Los Angeles City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo said that doesn't mean they don't have assets.

"With their ill gotten gains, they buy cars, homes, nightclubs, tattoo parlors and auto body shops -- anything they can get their hands on," he said.

The law requires that any money awarded to the city be spent on projects to help the community victimized by the gangs.

Authorities said as many as 35,000 people statewide claim to be members of the 18th Street gang.


U.S., Foreign Markets Begin Week With Rally

Stocks began the week with a strong rally on Monday, as investors anticipated increased infrastructure spending under President-elect Barack Obama.

The rally began overseas, where President-elect Obama's plan for massive public works projects . In the U.S., pending bailout of U.S. auto companies gave investors hope that an American recovery will boost their interlocked economies.

On Wall Street, prospects for increased deficit spending on roads and bridges drove the shares of construction equipment maker Caterpillar up nearly 11 percent. Energy shares gained as oil rose $2.90 per barrel.

More than three stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange in heavy trading.

The Dow was up about 299 points to 8,934. The S&P 500 rose 33 points to 909, and the Nasdaq composite surged 62 points to 1,571.


Researchers Say Malaria Vaccine Shows Promise

Researchers said Monday that an experimental vaccine to prevent malaria has shown promising results in protecting ******** in Africa.

The GlaxoSmithKline vaccine was most effective in ******* under 1 year of age in Mozambique who got three doses of a vaccine. A similar but slightly different vaccine given to ******** aged 5-to-17 months also generated a strong immune response in half of the 800 ******** in the study.

More extensive testing is expected to begin early next year.

The results "add to our confidence that we are closer than ever before" to a malaria vaccine for African ********, Dr. Christian Loucq, director of the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative, said during a teleconference from New Orleans.

The vaccine reduced cases of clinical infections in ******* who were followed over a 6-month period. The researchers also found that the vaccine could be administered safely along with other ********* vaccines.

The World Health Organization estimates malaria ****** 881,000 people and infected 247 million worldwide in 2006.


Dow Chemical To Cut 11 Percent Of Workforce

Dow Chemical Co., the largest U.S. chemical maker, announced Monday it will cut 5,000 full-time jobs and close 20 plants because of the downturn in the world economy.

The cuts amount to 11 percent of the company's global workforce and are part of a strategy that includes selling some businesses to save the company $700 million by 2010.

"We are accelerating the implementation of these measures as the current world economy has deteriorated sharply, and we must adjust ourselves to the severity of this downturn," chief executive Andrew Liveris said in a statement.

Beginning in January, Liveris said the company will consolidate while shedding high-cost operations. In addition, the world's second largest chemical company will idle 180-plants and cut about 6,000 contractors or about 30 percent of its global contract workforce.

Liveris said Dow officials are constantly evaluating which market segments are selling and which ones are not and chose the facilities that have the least impact on the businesses that are doing well.


Indicted Blackwater Guards Surrender In Utah

Five American security guards were officially charged on Monday in connection with the shooting deaths of 17 civilians in Baghdad last year after the men surrendered to federal agents in Utah.

The Justice Department, which unsealed the indictments on Monday, said the five Blackwater Worldwide guards fired a grenade into a girls' school, shot an unarmed civilian point-blank as he held his hands up, and used machine guns on bystanders.

The five guards, who were contracted by the U.S. to protect State Department personnel, surrendered Monday and were due to ask a federal judge in Utah for bail. A sixth Blackwater guard has already pleaded guilty.

The five face charges including 14 counts of manslaughter and 20 counts of attempted manslaughter. They are also charged with using a machine *** to commit a crime of ********, a charge that carries a 30-year minimum sentence.

The incident occurred last year in a busy Baghdad intersection known as Nisoor Square. At the time, witnesses said the security guards opened fire unprovoked. Women and ******** were among the victims and the shooting left the square littered with blown-out cars.

The guards who surrendered in Salt Lake City were reportedly hoping to get the case moved to Utah, where they think they'll find sympathetic jurors.

Alleged Sept. 11 Conspirators Want To "Confess"

The self-described mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks and his four co-defendants have asked a judge at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to curtail efforts by defense attorneys and allow them to make immediate confessions, the judge revealed Monday.

U.S. Army Col. Stephen Henley said he received a written letter from the five men saying they planned to discontinue filing motions to the court and wanted, instead, to be allowed to make full confessions.

Henley proceeded to speak to Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who has said he planned the Sept. 11 attacks, and the other defendants to see if they understand the potential impact of their request. Each defendant is facing the death penalty.

Mohammed and three of his co-defendants said they agreed with the letter. The last defendant was awaiting questioning by the judge.

Henley, who took over the case in November, read the letter during what had been expected to be a routine hearing.

"We all five have reached an agreement to request from the commission an immediate hearing session in order to announce our confessions ... with our earnest desire in this regard without being under any kind of pressure, threat, intimidations or promise from any party," Henley read from the letter.

Henley said he is not certain if the law governing the military tribunals would allow him to accept guilty pleas in a capital case. Hearings will continue this week.

 

[historylover]

December 9, 2008
Oil Prices Fall To $42 A Barrel

Oil prices fell nearly 4 percent on Tuesday after the U.S. government forecast the world economic slowdown would shrink global oil consumption this year for the first time since the early 1980s.

U.S. crude fell $1.64, or 3.75 percent, to settle at $42.07 a barrel, after hitting a session low of $41.83. London Brent fell $1.89 to $41.53 a barrel.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its monthly energy outlook it expected global oil demand to fall by 50,000 barrels per day in 2008 and 450,000 bpd in 2009 --
marking the first time since 1983 that year-to-year world oil demand has dropped.

The lower forecast came as the EIA revised its 2009 world GDP growth estimate to 0.5 percent, down from last month's estimate of 1.8 percent. The EIA estimates 2008 GDP growth will end up at 2.7 percent.

"The EIA forecast is overly optimistic. I expect a significant contraction in demand, given the current state of the global economy," said Tom Knight, a trader at Truman Arnold.

The global economic crisis has sent oil prices spiraling down from record peaks above $147 a barrel in July, raising concern among members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

Analysts expect the group to reduce output by at least 1 million barrels per day when it meets next Wednesday in Algeria.


U.S. Stocks Fall After 2-Day Rally

U.S. stocks fell Tuesday as profit warnings from FedEx Corp and others prompted investors to retrench after two days of big gains, while unprecedented demand for the safety of government securities signaled that fear remains a dominant ***** in the market.

Based on the latest available data, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 242.85 points, or 2.72 percent, to end unofficially at 8,691.33. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index shed 21.05 points, or 2.31 percent, to close unofficially at 888.65. The Nasdaq Composite Index declined 24.40 points, or 1.55 percent, to end unofficially at 1,547.34.

Meanwhile, there was some encouraging news on the housing market.

The National Association of Realtors said pending sales of existing home were not as weak as expected. The NAR's pending home sales index -- a gauge of future home sales -- 0.7 percent. Wall Street economists had expected a larger drop following a big September dip.

Pending sales were up 7.8 percent in the South and up more modestly in the Northeast, but where down by 4.3 percent in the Midwest and 8.7 percent in the West.

Home sales are "pending" when buyer and seller have signed a contract, but not yet gone to closing. Looking to next year, NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said existing home sales will rebound, but he predicted new home sales and housing starts will fall further.


Wal-Mart To Pay $54 Million To Settle Wage Suit

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. agreed Tuesday to settle a class-action lawsuit filed by workers in Minnesota for up to $54.25 million.

The workers had alleged the company failed to give them rest breaks and required them to work off-the-clock.

The case involved about 100,000 current and former hourly employees who worked in Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores in Minnesota over the last decade.

As part of the settlement, Wal-Mart agreed to maintain electronic systems, surveys, and notices to comply with wage and hour policies and Minnesota laws.

Earlier this year, a state judge ruled that the Wal-Mart ******** wage rules and owed the workers more than $6 million.

The settlement comes about a month before the punitive phase of the case was to begin, where Wal-Mart could have faced more than $2 billion in fines for the 2 million violations the judge found.

The settlement must still be approved by the court. A hearing is set for January 14th.


Pakistan Army Intensifies Crackdown On Militants

Pakistan's military has reportedly stepped up raids against Kashmir-based militants suspected of involvement in last month's terrorist attacks in neighboring India.

The army issued a vague statement on Monday saying that it had made some arrests as part of an intelligence-led operation to crackdown on ****** militant groups. However, several Pakistani newspapers reported Tuesday that the offices of a front group for Lashkar-e-Taiba -- a group blamed in the Mumbai, India, attacks that ****** at least 171 people -- were a main target of the raids.

The United States is pressing Pakistan to help catch those behind the Mumbai ****** to help avert a crisis between the nuclear-armed neighbors.

A senior Pakistani security official told The Associated Press that troops raided at least
five offices of Lashkar-e-Taiba in Pakistan's portion of the disputed Kashmir region.

Security ****** were acting on information gleaned from Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, an alleged mastermind of the attacks who was arrested over the weekend.


Craig Loses Latest Bid To Withdraw Guilty Plea

Idaho Sen. Larry Craig on Tuesday lost his latest attempt to reverse a guilty plea relating to an allegation that he solicited sex from an undercover policeman in a Minneapolis airport men's room in June 2007.

A three-judge panel of the Minnesota Court of Appeals on Tuesday rejected the Republican's bid to toss out a disorderly conduct conviction.

Craig was arrested last summer. He pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charge and agreed to pay a fine. But when the incident became public months later, the senator denied he had been soliciting sex and vowed to clear his name.

Craig's attorney argued before the appeals court this September that there was insufficient evidence for any judge to find him guilty. Prosecutors said his guilty plea should stand.


Sony To Cut 8,000 Jobs Worldwide

Sony Corp. said Tuesday it will slash 8,000 jobs -- about 5 percent of its electronics work ***** -- over the next 15 months in hopes of saving more than $1 billion amid a global economic contraction.

Management at the Japanese electronics giant said it would shut down about 10 percent of its 57 electronics manufacturing sites, including a French plant that makes cassette tapes. It will also postpone a slated investment to make more flat panel televisions in Slovakia and cut back its investment in semi-conductors.

"Now we are all facing a recession together. It is impossible to predict how much longer the situation will last," the company's senior vice president, Naofumi Hara Hara, said at a briefing.

Sony, the maker of the Walkman portable player and PlayStation 3 game console, did not give a breakdown by country of the layoffs, but said the cuts would represent a 5% reduction of its 185,000-strong electronics work ***** by March 2010.

The company has already cut production and reduced inventories in response to sagging demand and currency fluctuations.

 

[historylover]

December 10, 2008
Obama To Nominate Nobel Laureate For Energy Post

President-elect Barack Obama moved closer to filling key Cabinet positions Wednesday, choosing Nobel Prize-winning physicist Steven Chu to serve as energy secretary, Democratic officials said.

A Democratic aide also said Obama has settled on Carol Browner for a new position coordinating White House policy on energy, climate and environmental issues.

Chu was one of three scientists who shared the Nobel Prize for physics in 1997 for work in cooling and trapping atoms with laser light. He is a professor of physics and molecular and cell biology at the University of California, Berkeley, and has been the director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory since 2004.

Browner, who served as Environmental Protection Agency chief for eight years under former President Bill Clinton, will become Obama's person in the White House overseeing energy issues.

Obama has said energy and environment matters would be important to his administration. He said he wants to spend billions of dollars to promote alternative energy sources and create millions of green-energy jobs.

Obama is also expected to announce that former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, a South Dakota Democrat, is his choice for secretary of health and human services. Daschle's nomination has been expected for weeks.

Obama is expected to make the announcements at a news conference in Chicago on Thursday.


U.S. Stocks Rebound Following Sell-Off

Stocks rebounded Wednesday to record modest gains following the sell-off a day earlier.

Wall Street bounced in and out of positive territory, as investors continue to track the fate of the auto bailout.

The Dow rose 70 points to 8,761; the S&P gained 10.5 points to 899. The Nasdaq surged 18 points to 1,565.

Volume on the New York Stock Exchange came to 5 billion shares, while 2 billion shares traded on the Nasdaq exchange.

Shares of construction equipment makers showed strength in expectation of major spending on public works projects by the incoming Obama administration, but financial and auto shares lost ground.

Many investors stayed sidelined in safe havens such as Treasury securities. Gold jumped more than $35 to roughly $810 per ounce.


Greek Court Jails 2 Policemen Charged In Death

A court has ordered two policemen to be held in jail pending trial for a teenager's fatal shooting, which has sparked five days of rioting in Greek cities.

One officer has been charged with ****** for allegedly shooting dead 15-year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulos. The other has been charged as an accomplice to ******. No trial date has been set.

A defense lawyer says the fatal bullet ricocheted off a wall before striking the schoolboy in the heart.

Earlier Wednesday, protesters attacked Athens' main courthouse with firebombs during a hearing for the two officers. Riot police fired tear gas, and at least two people were hurt.

Riot police and youths also clashed in the city center during a protest by more than 10,000 people against government economic policies.


Federal Deficit Totals $164 Billion In November

The federal government registered a record budget deficit for the month of November, reflecting the impact of a recession on tax receipts and the mounting costs of the $700 billion financial rescue program.

The Treasury Department says the gap between the government's revenue collections and what it paid out last month totaled $164.4 billion, the largest deficit ever recorded for the month of November.

In just the first two months of this budget year, the deficit now totals more than $401 billion, putting the country on track to hit a record $1 trillion deficit for the entire year — more than double the previous all-time high.


Wholesale Prices, Inventories Plummet In October

Wholesalers slashed inventories in October by more than at any time since immediately after the 2001 terrorist attacks as sales also experienced a record drop, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.

Companies in the supply chain between manufacturers and retailers reduced their inventories by 1.1 percent in October, the biggest cutback since a similar drop in November 2001.

The inventory decline was much bigger than the 0.2 percent decrease economists expected.

Sales at the wholesale level plunged by 4.1 percent in October, the largest decline on record.

The huge declines in inventories and sales provided further evidence that the economy is in a steep recession.


Peru Sues Yale For Return Of Machu Picchu Relics

Peru has filed suit against Yale University seeking the return of a collection of artifacts from the ancient Incan site of Machu Picchu.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., calls for the immediate return of about 40,000 relics taken from the mountaintop ruins. The lawsuit was filed Dec. 5 and claims that the artifacts are central to the history and heritage of Peru.

The court document alleges that Yale is wrongfully, improperly and fraudulently detaining the items.

In a written statement, Yale spokesman Tom Conroy said the claims are "barred by the statute of limitations and would have been without merit even if they had been filed within the legal time period."

Explorer Hiram Bingham shipped the artifacts from Machu Picchu to the university in New Haven, Conn., nearly 100 years ago.

In 2006, Peru sought to reclaim the relics, and the university later announced a tentative agreement to share them. That deal was never finalized.

 

[historylover]

December 12, 2008
Zimbabwe Needs Help To Fight Cholera

A huge international aid effort is needed to help Zimbabwe combat a cholera outbreak that has ****** hundreds, the government said on Friday, even though President Robert Mugabe has said it is now contained.

"We need all the support we can get from peace-loving nations," information minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu told reporters.

The main opposition MDC also called for more help in fighting the epidemic.

Mugabe, under Western pressure to step down as Zimbabwe's economy and health system collapse, had said on Thursday that "we have arrested cholera".

But the United Nations said the death toll, now nearly 800, was rising.

Ndlovu said the media had misrepresented Mugabe's comments, and presidential spokesman George Charamba said they were taken out of context.

The outbreak follows months of ******** and political turmoil in Zimbabwe. Coupled with chronic food shortages, it has highlighted the economic collapse of the southern African country.


GM Cuts North American Production

General Motors Corp. announced Friday that it will cut first quarter vehicle production by 250,000 units.

GM officials said the global financial crisis, falling consumer confidence and tightening credit markets have hurt demand for new cars and trucks.

GM sales fell 41 percent in November and 45 percent in October compared to 2007 figures.

The Detroit automaker is temporarily shutting production lines at 20 plants in the U.S. and Canada.

"Plants will take various numbers of down weeks throughout the quarter and as a result in North America and on average our plants will be down approximately 30 percent of the first quarter in 2009," said GM spokesperson Chris Lee.

The announcement of the production cuts was made just hours after the U.S. Senate rejected a $14 billion federal loan plan for Detroit's automakers.


U.S. Stocks Rebound On Hopes For Automakers

Wall Street closed higher Friday on hopes that a deal for U.S. automakers could still materialize.

In the latest in the U.S. automakers' attempt to secure a financial rescue, the White House said it could be willing to provide emergency funding to the struggling auto industry, the day after Congress failed to approve a deal.

The market recovered from the heavy selling at the start of the session following the Treasury Department's announcement it is prepared to funnel cash to the nation's Big Three automakers.

Wall Street has in recent weeks managed to react coolly to troubling economic and corporate news, and Friday was another instance of its resilence.

The Dow Jones industrials are ending up 64, or 0.75 percent, at 8,629. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index is ending with steeper gains.


Wholesale, Retail Prices Drop In November

Consumer spending plunged for a record fifth consecutive month in November, falling nearly 2 percent amid a deepening recession, the Commerce Department said Friday.

Retail sales dropped by 1.8 percent last month, the Department said.

The weakness was led by a 2.8 percent fall in auto sales, a decline that was expected given that automakers already had reported November was their worst month in more than a quarter-century.

Wholesale prices also sank in November for the fourth month in a row, raising fears of deflation.

The Producer Price Index, which tracks costs of goods before they reach consumers, fell 2.2 percent last month as prices for gasoline and other energy prices retreated, the Labor Department reported Friday.

Former Taiwan President Indicted For Corruption

Taiwan's former President Chen Shui-bian was indicted on graft charges Friday.

Prosecutor Lin Che-hui said the former leader -- who served more than eight years after promising to end corruption -- could be given a life sentence if found guilty on all charges.

Chen, 57, has been held in a suburban Taipei jail since Nov. 12 pending the results of an investigation into allegations he engaged in money laundering and other offenses during his recently concluded time in office.

Indicted together with Chen were his wife, Wu Shu-chen, his *** and ********-in-law, three of his former aides in the presidential office, and eight other associates and ****** members.

Prosecution spokesman Chen Yun-nan said the former president and his wife together embezzled $3.12 million from a special presidential fund, and received bribes worth $9 million in connection with a government land procurement deal.

He said Wu alone took another bribe of $2.73 million from a government construction project.

 

[historylover]

December 15, 2008
Illinois Legislature Moves Toward Impeachment

The Illinois legislature moved toward impeaching Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Monday, nearly a week after the state's chief executive was arrested on federal public corruption charges.

Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan said he appointed a 21-person committee to prepare a report detailing grounds for impeachment. They will begin meeting immediately, he said.

Meanwhile, President-elect Barack Obama's transition team said an internal review showed there were no inappropriate discussions between Obama's staff and Blagojevich, or the the governor's staff.

Federal prosecutors had alleged the governor was scheming to trade the Senate appointment for money, contributions or a lucrative job. They said the president-elect was not implicated in any wrong-doing; Obama reiterated that last week, even as he ordered the internal review of contacts with the governor's office.

"That review affirmed the public statements of the President-elect that he had no contact with the governor or his staff, and that the President-elect's staff was not involved in inappropriate discussions with the governor or his staff over the selection of his successor as U.S. Senator," said the transition team statement.

Obama transition team spokesman Dan Pfeiffer said prosecutors asked the Obama team not to release the review until the week of Dec. 22, so the federal investigation would not be hampered.

Despite intense publicity, Blagojevich has tried to carry on as usual since the charges were announced. On Monday, he was expected to sign a bill giving tax credits to the film industry.

Blagojevich has maintained he is not guilty of wrongdoing.

Madigan said the committee would begin its work on the possible impeachment on Tuesday and continue through the end of year. They will not meet Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.

Blagojevich or his representative will have the opportunity to appear before the committee, Madigan said. After the committee makes a recommendation, the Illinois House will decide whether to file impeachment charges. The Senate would then rule on the charges.

Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn called on Blagojevich to resign. If that doesn't happen, Quinn said the impeachment process could be completed by Jan. 14 when the new General Assembly begins.

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, the House speaker's ********, has asked the state Supreme Court to remove Blagojevich from office, saying the charges have, in essence, left the governor "disabled" and unable to fulfill his duties.

Lisa Madigan is considered a leading contender for the governor's job in 2010.

U.S. Stocks Fall On Hedge Fund Scheme


U.S. stocks tumbled on Monday, roiled by worries about how big a bite the global financial crisis has taken from banks' profits and fallout from a massive hedge fund fraud scheme.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 65.15 points, or 0.75 percent, to end unofficially at 8,564.53. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index slipped 11.14 points, or 1.27 percent, to close unofficially at 868.59. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 32.38 points, or 2.10 percent, to finish unofficially at 1,508.34.

The financial sector fell on concern over exposure to funds managed by Bernard Madoff, an investment manager accused by U.S. authorities of masterminding a $50 billion fraud.

JPMorgan Chase & Co was the biggest drag on the Dow after Merrill Lynch cut the stock to an "underperform" rating and forecast a loss for the bank's fourth quarter.

Reports: Caroline Kennedy Wants Senate Seat

Caroline Kennedy, ******** of President John F. Kennedy, is interested in the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Hillary Rodham Clinton, media reports said Monday.

The New York Times, the Associated Press and Reuters quoted different sources as saying Kennedy wanted the job.

New York Gov. David Paterson and civil rights activist Al Sharpton reportedly said that Kennedy discussed her interest in the job with them on Monday.

Paterson, a Democrat, will choose Clinton's replacement.

Clinton was selected by President-elect Barack Obama to serve as secretary of state.


Supreme Court Allows Suits Over 'Light' Cigarettes

Tobacco firms can be sued under state law for deceptive advertising of "light" cigarettes, the
U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Monday in a decision that could affect some 40 suits around the country seeking billions of dollars.

By a 5-4 vote, the high court ruled against Altria Group Inc.'s Philip Morris USA unit and held the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act does not bar or preempt such state court lawsuits.

The case involved three longtime smokers from Maine who wanted to proceed with their suit against the largest U.S. cigarette maker. The justices upheld a U.S. appeals court ruling that allowed the lawsuit to go forward.

The class-action lawsuit claimed Philip Morris engaged in unfair and deceptive acts or practices in its representations that certain brands of its cigarettes are "light" or have "lowered tar and nicotine."

The lawsuit said cigarettes like Marlboro and Cambridge Lights are deceptively designed and marketed, and that a smoker of those brands consumes the same amounts of tar and nicotine as a smoker of regular cigarettes.

Lawyers for Philip Morris argued Congress in adopting the federal law in the 1960s wanted one national source of regulation for advertising of cigarettes and health claims.

But lawyers for the smokers said Congress did not intend to give cigarette makers immunity for false statements.

Justice John Paul Stevens, joined by Justices Anthony Kennedy, David Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer, said in the court's majority opinion the lawsuit can proceed.

Stevens said neither the Federal Cigarette Labeling Act nor the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's action in this area preempted the fraud claim under state law.

Stevens said the court only ruled on whether the lawsuit can proceed, not on the merits of the claims. The smokers still must prove the company's use of "light" and "lowered tar" ******** the state deceptive practices law, he said.


Cholera Outbreak ***** 1,000 In Zimbabwe

United Nations officials said Monday that a cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe has ****** nearly 1,000 people.

The outbreak began in August, ut the death toll has risen quickly in recent weeks. Over the weekend, U.N. officials added nearly 200 new deaths.

Cholera has spread most intensely in a suburb of Harare, Zimbabwe's capital. The disease is caused by bacteria in ******** water that causes intense diarrhea.

Public health officials link the current outbreak to the collapse of Zimbabwe's water and sewer systems, which have fallen into disrepair during the 40-year presidency of Robert Mugabe.

People have been ****** to ***** water from shallow wells or rivers, which have become contaminated as the outbreak has spread.

So far, more than 18,000 people have become ill, and the World Health Organization predicted that the number could rise to 60,000.


Electoral College Casts Votes For Obama


The electoral college formally elected Barack Obama the nation's 44th president on Monday.

Electors gathered state capitols across the country pushed Obama above the 270 electoral votes needed to win. Obama takes office Jan. 20, becoming the nation's first black president. Obama's election will be complete when Congress tallies the outcome at a joint session scheduled for Jan. 6.

Monday's vote was a ceremonial procedure, but one mandated by the Constitution. Obama defeated Republican Sen. John McCain in the Nov. 4 election.

More than 131 million voters cast ballots - the most ever in a presidential election.

 

[historylover]

December 16, 2008
Stocks Rally On Fed Rate Cut

U.S. stocks rallied Tuesday after the Federal Reserve cut its target for overnight interest rates to the lowest level on record and promised to do everything possible to bring the country out of the recession.

The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 359.61 points, or 4.20 percent, to end unofficially at 8,924.14. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index jumped 44.59 points, or 5.13 percent, to finish unofficially at 913.16. The Nasdaq Composite Index shot up 81.55 points, or 5.41 percent, to close unofficially at 1,589.89.

The Fed cut its target for overnight interest rates to zero to 0.25 percent. The rate is down from the 1 percent target rate in effect since the last meeting in October.

In a statement released Tuesday afternoon, the Fed said the U.S. economy has experienced declines in consumer spending, business investment and industrial production, as well as a deterioration in the job market since their October meeting.

The Fed also vowed to do everything possible to promote a resumption of economic growth and stabilize prices.

"The Federal Reserve will employ all available tools to promote the resumption of sustainable economic growth and to preserve price stability," the statement said.

The Federal Open Market Committee predicted that weak economic conditions would make it necessary for the federal funds rate to remain low for some time.


Oil Prices Fall As OPEC Considers Production Cut

Oil prices fell Tuesday on expectations that OPEC will cut production by 2 million barrels per day to stem declining crude prices.

Oil ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries are scheduled to meet in Algeria on Wednesday, and many members have called for output to be cut

U.S. crude settled down 91 cents at $43.60 a barrel, while London Brent crude fell 4 cents to settle at $44.56 a barrel.

Oil prices are drifting just above a four-year trough of $40.50 a barrel that was hit Dec. 5. Prices remain down more than $100 from the July record above $147 a barrel as a financial crisis deminishes fuel consumption.

The market slump has raised alarm bells for OPEC nations and other big producer countries that depend on revenues from energy exports.

Guantanamo Detainees Sent Home To Bosnia

Three Algerian-born detainees at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, were returned to their homes in Bosnia on Tuesday, one of their lawyers said.

Mustafa Ait Idir, Mohamed Nechla and Hadj Boudella were flown to Sarajevo, attorney Stephen Oleskey said. Local police said the men were released to their families.

"It has a very happy ending," he said. "We are absolutely thrilled."

A federal judge in Washington ordered five Algerian-born Bosnian residents released from prison last month, ruling that there was not enough evidence to detain them. They had been held at Guantanamo nearly seven years.

The three sent home on Tuesday were Bosnian citizens, Oleskey said. It was unclear when the other two might be released.

U.S. Housing Starts Drop 19 Percent

Housing starts dropped 18.9 percent to an annual rate of 625,000 units from 771,000 units in October, the lowest since the department started collecting monthly starts data in 1959, the Commerce Department said Tuesday.

"The housing starts data is another bad sign for the overall U.S. outlook," said Brian Dolan, chief currency strategist for Forex.com in Bedminster, New Jersey. "there's zero sign of any stabilization, dashing what had been some optimism that we were perhaps bottoming out."

Soaring foreclosures and a drop in home building already has helped produce the worst financial crisis in decades and tipped the economy into recession last December. Many economists think the downturn is worsening steeply as 2008 ends and any recovery will be delayed past mid-2009.

The prices report showed that, on a year-over-year basis, consumer prices gained just 1.1 percent after a 3.7 percent increase in October. It was the smallest rise since mid-2002.