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Older News Archivescom0116
NEWS FRIDAY, MAY
16 , 2008 NEWS
White
House Denies Bush Targeted Obama In Speech To Israeli Knesset
The White House denied Thursday that President Bush was focusing on
Barack Obama when, during a speech to the Israeli parliament, he criticized
politicians who would speak to terrorists and their backers. In his speech
to the Knesset on the 60th anniversary of the founding of the state of
Israel, Bush said anyone who claims that talking with terrorists will result
in peace is experiencing a “foolish delusion.” Fox
News
McCain
Urges Sudan Divestment After Wife Dumps Her Holdings
Republican presidential hopeful John McCain urged Americans to sell
off any investments they have in Sudan, after media reports revealed his
wife had millions invested in funds owning stock in firms which reportedly
did business with Sudan. Cindy McCain has sold off those holdings, McCain
confirmed, and said he and his wife had not known the funds had ties to
the Sudanese regime, which has armed and supported militias considered
responsible for killing, raping and torturing hundreds of thousands of
civilians in the country's Darfur region. ABC
News
Uptick
Splits Economic Forecasters
A slight improvement in the economy in the past month has touched off
a raging debate among titans of the economic world over whether the worst
of the housing and mortgage crisis is over. Treasury Secretary Henry M.
Paulson Jr. started the debate by declaring last week that a month of relative
calm in financial markets suggested that the credit crisis has reached
its peak and that Americans can look forward to an improving economy for
the rest of the year. Other administration officials and many Republicans
in Congress echo his assessment, as do many on Wall Street. Washington
Times
Polar
Bear Population Listed As Threatened
Even though polar bears have more than doubled in number in recent
decades, the federal government has decided to list the bears as a "threatened"
species under the Endangered Species Act, Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne
said at a press conference. The listing means the government believes the
polar bear population is in danger of diminishing to such a small number
in the foreseeable future that it could be in danger of extinction. CNS
Obama
Warns Republicans About Critical Ads
Perhaps no one took greater comfort in the Republican Party's third
straight loss of a long-held House seat this week than Barack Obama, who
says the results point to clear limits in the effectiveness of attack ads
he expects this fall. The Democratic presidential candidate played a prominent
role in all three special elections to fill vacant GOP seats, and he landed
on the winning side each time. Sun-Sentinel
House
Rips Pentagon Insurance Contracts
A poorly run Pentagon program for providing workman's compensation
for civilian employees in Iraq and Afghanistan has allowed defense contractors
and insurance companies to gouge U.S. taxpayers, a House of Representatives
oversight committee said. Insurance companies alone have pocketed $600
million in excessive profits over the past five years, says a staff report
from the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, but the Defense
Department refuses to adjust its approach for managing the program. According
to the committee, the Pentagon allows its contractors to negotiate their
own insurance contracts. CBS
News
IRS
Says Up To 350,000 dDdn't Get Child Credit
Up to 350,000 households aren't getting the $300 per child owed them
as part of their economic stimulus rebate payments, the Internal Revenue
Service said Thursday. The tax agency says taxpayer human error and computer
glitches were responsible for the problem affecting a tiny percentage of
the 130 million taxpayers expected to benefit from the refunds the government
began sending out last month. IRS spokesman Terry Lemons said the agency
was confident it had identified all the people affected by the mistake.
Houston
Chronicle
McCain
Predicts Iraq War Over By 2013
Sen. John McCain envisions that by 2013, the Iraq War will be won but
the threat from the Taliban in Afghanistan won't yet be eliminated, even
though Osama bin Laden will have been captured or killed. Sen. John McCain
envisions his first-term achievements during a speech in Columbus, Ohio.
The presumptive Republican presidential nominee made both statements in
a speech in which he envisions the state of affairs at the end of his first
term if he is elected president. McCain's speech was unusual, and somewhat
risky, in that it laid out benchmarks on which he could be judged. CNN
Schwarzenegger
Gives Up On Balancing Budget
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has now abandoned his goal of fixing the
problem that led to his historic election in 2003. With the revised budget
proposal he released Wednesday, the governor has effectively conceded that
California's era of perpetual budget deficits will not end on his watch.
Schwarzenegger long ago began losing his chance to fulfill his administration's
original reason for being. The latest wrinkle just makes it official. His
trouble started early, when he proposed spending cuts that were politically
unpalatable while failing to follow through on a fundamental, top-to-bottom
rethinking of the way the state does business. SHNS
Bush
Seeking Saudis' Help On Oil Prices
In April 1986, Vice President George H.W. Bush
traveled to Saudi Arabia with a stern warning. Record low oil prices of
$10 a barrel threatened the U.S. oil industry and U.S. national security.
If prices don't rise, he warned, perhaps a U.S. tariff on imported oil
would do the job. More than 22 years later, his son George W. Bush is on
a similar mission, but with the opposite goal in mind. President Bush meets
today with Saudi King Abdullah and will lobby for help in bringing down
world oil prices, which have raced past $125 a barrel. Seattle
Times
LA
Jury Convicts Hollywood Private Eye
A Hollywood private investigator was convicted on charges that he schemed
to dig up dirt for his well-heeled clients to use in lawsuits, divorces
and contract disputes against the rich and famous. Anthony Pellicano, 64,
was accused of wiretapping stars, and running the names of others, through
law enforcement databases to help clients in legal and other disputes.
Pellicano was convicted of racketeering and racketeering conspiracy counts.
Verdicts on dozens of other counts were still being announced in court.
Newsday
ID
Chips In Credit Cards
Don't take a hammer to your new U.S. passport. And don't drill a hole
in that credit card or zap it in the microwave. Experts say these measures
-- recommended on some Web sites as ways to safeguard privacy and security
-- aren't necessary for people concerned about the growing prevalence of
Radio Frequency Identification tags. The tiny silicon chips are embedded
in credit cards, passports and other everyday items and can transmit data
about where you go, what you buy and who you are. The devices include "smart"
car keys, no-swipe credit cards, prescription bottles, even shirts and
shoes. The technology -- originally designed to track cattle -- speeds
up retail transactions, helps authorities confiscate pirated merchandise,
identifies company employees, opens electronic locks and tracks shipments
of goods through warehouses and stores. Detroit
News
House
Nixes $163 billion To Fund Wars
The House has rejected a $163 billion to fund military operations in
Iraq and Afghanistan into next year. The 149-141 vote came after Republicans
withheld support for the funding measure in protest of Democratic tactics.
Some 132 Republicans voted "present." That kills the war funding for now,
but it'll be revived next week in the Senate. Funding the bill by adding
to it a big increase in education benefits for troops returning from war,
additional unemployment insurance for those whose benefits have run out,
and a surcharge on wealthy taxpayers. Las
Vegas Sun
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Memorial Day Travel
Hit By High Fuel Costs
High fuel prices are prompting many Americans to reconsider their Memorial
Day travel plans, AAA says. The automobile club released a survey projecting
that the number of Americans traveling more than 50 miles from home over
the long holiday weekend will fall nearly 1 percent from last year. About
31.7 million Americans plan to travel via car over Memorial Day weekend,
a 1 percent decline from 32 million last year. About 4.35 million will
travel via plane, a decline of about half a percent from the 4.37 million
who flew last year. Another 1.8 million will travel via train, bus or other
type of transportation. MSNBC
Manufacturing
Weak As Expansion Falters
The slump in U.S. manufacturing deepened while the economy skirted
recession, reports today showed. Industrial production declined 0.7 percent
in April, the Federal Reserve said in Washington today, more than twice
the drop forecast by economists. Separate figures from the New York and
Philadelphia branches of the central bank indicated the slide may continue
this month. Only exports and consumer spending, the largest part of the
economy, are keeping the six-year expansion alive as housing shows no sign
of a rebound and factories retrench. Bloomberg
CDC
Recommends Shingles Vaccine For Age 60 And Up
U.S. health officials recommended that people 60 and older get Merck
& Co Inc's vaccine Zostavax to protect against shingles, a viral infection
that causes a painful, blistering rash. The risk of getting shingles, caused
by the same varicella-zoster virus responsible for the common childhood
illness chicken pox -- rises with age starting at around age 50, and is
highest among the elderly. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
said it is recommending a single dose of Zostavax, the only vaccine to
prevent shingles, for people age 60 and older, even if they have had a
prior episode of shingles. Reuters
Edwards
Endorsement Leads To More Delegates For Obama
Barack Obama collected the support of four of John Edwards’ Democratic
National Convention delegates on Thursday, then gained the backing of four
superdelegates and a large labor union as he marched steadily toward the
party’s presidential nomination. The fresh support brought Obama’s overall
delegate total to 1,895, compared to 1,718 for his rival, Hillary Rodham
Clinton. It takes 2,026 to clinch the nomination at the party convention
in Denver this summer.
Fox
News
PLAYBOY
TO LAUNCH 'GAYBOY'
The world's most famous bunny is bouncing both ways. Playboy Enterprises,
the parent company behind the famous girlie magazine for men, confirmed
they are launching a gay-porn cable station that could start operating
as soon as next month. The new station will feature 20 hours of on-demand
softcore videos. A spokeswoman with Time Warner Cable said it plans to
test the new gay movies in a few markets, including Los Angeles and New
York. NY
Post
New
Raid On Al-Qaeda In Iraq
U.S. and Iraqi troops moved against al-Qaeda
in Iraq on two fronts yesterday, with house-to-house searches in Mosul
and an operation in the desert to stanch the flow of insurgents and weapons
to that northern city. With the new sweep, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki
is aiming to put down Sunni extremists after launching two other major
offensives elsewhere in the last two months targeting Shiite militants.
Mosul, a key transport crossroads between Baghdad, Syria and other points,
is considered the last major urban base of al-Qaeda in Iraq after the group
lost strongholds in western Anbar province. Philadelphia
Inquirer
Obama
Helped Supporters Get Millions In Illinois State Business
In a speech to the Urban League last July, Sen. Barack Obama, boasted
of his efforts in 2001 to help a handful of African American-owned investment
firms in Chicago get a larger share of business with Illinois state pension
funds. "And in six months, they got about a half-billion dollars' worth
of business simply on their excellence," Obama said. What he did not say
in his speech was that the owner of one of the investment firms, John Rogers
of Ariel Capital, is a principal campaign fundraiser. Nor did he reveal
that employees of the firms he helped have since contributed to or helped
to raise more than $765,000 for his campaigns, according to campaign documents.
Nor did he mention that two of the firms have allowed him to use their
private jets. Nor did he mention that two of the firms have since been
dismissed by the state pension fund for "underperformance." ABC
News
Clinton
Scolds McCain For Opposing Farm Bill
Hillary Rodham Clinton scolded John McCain for his opposition to the
farm bill, attempting to maintain the sense that she is already competing
against the certain Republican presidential nominee even as her chances
for winning the Democratic nomination dim. As she chatted up rural South
Dakotans, Clinton largely ignored Democratic rival Barack Obama, who continued
to gain ground in delegates needed to clinch the nomination and who picked
up a sought-after endorsement from former Sen. John Edwards. Clinton noted
that President Bush has said he will veto the farm bill, which Congress
passed, and McCain has also said he would veto the bill if he were president.
"They're like two sides of the same coin, and it doesn't amount to much
change, does it?" the New York senator said. "I believe saying no to the
farm bill is saying no to rural America." Newsday
U.S.
House Sets Iraq Troop Pullout Goal For End-2009
The U.S. House of Representatives defied President George W. Bush by
passing legislation that would set the end of 2009 as the goal for withdrawing
U.S. troops from Iraq. By a vote of 227-196, the Democrat-controlled House
approved the measure that would start the pullout of U.S. combat troops
from Iraq within 30 days of enactment. The legislation, likely to be blocked
by Republicans in the Senate, has drawn a veto threat from the White House.
Reuters
Bin
Laden Releases New Audio File
Osama bin Laden says in a new audio statement
that al-Qaeda will continue its holy war against Israel and its allies
until it liberates Palestine. Today's message comes as President Bush wraps
up his visit to Israel to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Jewish
state. Bin Laden says the fight for the Palestinian cause is the most important
factor driving al-Qaeda's war with the West and fueled the Sept. 11 attacks.The
authenticity of the close to 10 minute audio statement could not be verified,
but it was posted on a website commonly used by al-Qaeda. USA
Today
Alaska
Is First State With Average Gasoline Price Above $4
The average price for regular unleaded gasoline in Alaska rose above
$4 a gallon Wednesday, making it the first state in the nation to pass
that mark. According to the American Automobile Association's Web site,
the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded rose to $4.022, making
Alaska the only state in the nation with an average price above $4. The
price had been $3.98 the day before. McClatchy
Military
Cracks Down On Munitions Scavengers Near Bases
Hundreds of Marines were conducting a combat training mission in the
Mojave Desert when an air patrol spotted something kicking up dust: A civilian
pickup truck speeding across the barren landscape. Behind the wheel was
a suspected scrap metal thief who had been combing the Marine Corps Air
Ground Combat Center for spent brass shell casings. His intrusion onto
the base was the 12th time in six months that scavengers had inadvertently
halted combat exercises. Bombing ranges have become prime hunting grounds
for so-called "scrappers," who are motivated by soaring commodity prices
to take greater risks in their quest for brass, copper, and aluminum. Boston
Globe
California
Ban On Same-Sex Marriage Struck Down
In a much-anticipated 4-3 ruling issued, the California Supreme Court
struck down the state's ban on same-sex marriage as unconstitutional. The
ruling clears the way for the state to become the second to legalize same-sex
marriage. Several gay and lesbian couples, along with the city of San Francisco
and gay rights groups had sued, saying they were victims of unlawful discrimination.
A lower court ruled San Francisco acted unlawfully in issuing marriage
licenses to same-sex couples, but Thursday's ruling overturned that decision.
CNN
Some
Tax Rebates Run Into Obstacles
To help boost the economy, the Bush administration has tried to put
tax rebates in consumers' hands as fast as possible. Yet, hundreds of thousands
of taxpayers who thought they would have their checks by now are still
waiting for their money. To date, the IRS has issued nearly 30 million
stimulus checks, totaling more than $27 billion. The rebates range from
$300 to $600 a person, or $1,200 for a married couple. Parents with dependent
children are eligible for an additional $300 per child. USA
Today
CBS
To Buy CNet Networks For $1.8B
Media and entertainment company CBS Corp. is buying CNet Networks Inc.,
an online news and information provider, for $1.8 billion in cash in its
latest bid to expand its reach on the Internet, the companies announced.
The price of $11.50 per share represents a massive premium of 45 percent
over CNet's closing stock price, and appears to get CNet out of a nasty
battle with one of its largest shareholders, which had been agitating for
a shakeup at the company after its stock slumped. CNet shares jumped $3.48,
or 44 percent, to $11.43 in morning trading Thursday. CBS
News
Senators
Near Housing Deal
Key senators say they're nearing a deal on a homeowner rescue package
that could help half a million strapped borrowers get government-backed
mortgages. Banking Committee Chairman Christopher J. Dodd postponed a meeting
to vote on the plan in anticipation of reaching a compromise with the panel's
senior Republican, Sen. Richard C. Shelby. The measure also would tighten
regulation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored companies
that finance mortgages.The House passed similar measures last week, but
President Bush has threatened to veto the package. He says it's a burdensome
bailout that puts taxpayers at risk. Las
Vegas Sun
Clean-Air
Rules Protecting Parks Set To Be Eased
The Bush administration is on the verge of implementing new air quality
rules that will make it easier to build power plants near national parks
and wilderness areas, according to rank-and-file agency scientists and
park managers who oppose the plan. The new regulations, which are likely
to be finalized this summer, rewrite a provision of the Clean Air Act that
applies to "Class 1 areas," federal lands that currently have the highest
level of protection under the law. Opponents predict the changes will worsen
visibility at many of the nation's most prized tourist destinations, including
Virginia's Shenandoah, Colorado's Mesa Verde and North Dakota's Theodore
Roosevelt national parks. Washington
Post
Congress Passes Farm
Bill, Defying Bush
With veto-proof margins, Congress on Thursday sent President Bush a
bill boosting farm subsidies and money for food stamps to help the poor
deal with rising grocery prices. Bush has threatened to veto the $290 billion
bill, saying it is fiscally irresponsible and too generous to wealthy corporate
farmers in a time of record crop prices. But Congress disagreed, with both
chambers passing the measure by well more than the two-thirds majority
needed to override a veto. The Senate voted 81-15, a day after the House
approved it with 318 "yes" votes. MSNBC
Passport
Cards Called Security Vulnerability
The State Department will soon begin production of an electronic passport
card that security specialists and members of Congress fear will be vulnerable
to alteration or counterfeiting. The agency has contracted with L-1 Identity
Solutions Inc. to produce electronic-passport cards as a substitute for
booklet passports for use by Americans who travel frequently by road or
sea to Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. About the size of a credit card,
the electronic-passport card displays a photo of the user and a radio frequency
identification (RFID) chip containing data about the user. Washington
Times
World Economy
To Grow By 1.8 Percent In 2008
The world economy is "teetering on the brink" of a severe downturn
and is expected to grow only 1.8 percent in 2008, the United Nations said
in its mid-year economic projections Thursday. That's down from a global
growth rate of 3.8 percent in 2007, and the downturn is expected to continue
with only a slightly higher growth of 2.1 percent in 2009, the U.N. report
said. The mid-year update of the U.N. World Economic Situation and Prospects
2008 blamed the downturn on further deterioration in the U.S. housing and
financial sectors in the first quarter, which is expected to "continue
to be a major drag for the world economy extending into 2009." Kansas
City Star
Cheney's
Assets Nearly Triple Bush's
The millions of dollars in assets reported by Vice President Dick Cheney
and his wife, Lynn, nearly triple those held by President Bush and the
first lady, Laura Bush, according to newly released financial disclosure
forms. The reports show that the assets of the president and his wife totaled
at least $7.2 million, including the 1,583-acre ranch in Crawford, Texas,
valued at $1 million to $5 million. The previous year, the assets of the
president and his wife, Laura, were worth at least $7.5 million. Atlanta
Journal
Feinstein,
Lofgren Push For Immigrant Workers
Two of California's most immigrant-dependent industries - agriculture
and Silicon Valley - are pushing narrow measures through Congress in an
effort to employ foreign workers at opposite ends of the labor market,
people who pick vegetables and the postgraduate engineers and scientists
of Silicon Valley. Sen. Dianne Feinstein attached a farm guest-worker program
to the giant Iraq spending bill Thursday in a last-ditch effort to remedy
a shortage of workers in California's produce fields as the federal government
continues to crack down on illegal immigration and the political climate
proves hostile to more sweeping measures. SF
Gate
Study
Links Rise In Mastectomies To M.R.I. Detection
The study found that at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., the percentage
of women opting for mastectomy rather than lumpectomy began rising sharply
after 2003, in reversal of a previously downward trend. It is not clear
that the experience at the clinic reflects that of the entire nation, though
there is some evidence pointing to a wider tendency. And one possible explanation
is that magnetic resonance imaging, which is relatively new, detects more
possibly cancerous growths than does mammography. That could be causing
patients and doctors to conclude that a lumpectomy, which removes just
the part of the breast containing the primary tumor, may not be sufficient.
NY
Times
Peace
With The Palestinians
The creation of a Palestinian state should bring an end to the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict, said Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni with the establishment of the
Palestinian state, we want to see an end to the conflict, The Palestinians
will be able to celebrate [their own] Independence Day on the same day
they delete the word Nakba from their lexicon," she continued, referring
to Palestinian demonstrations in east Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza
Thursday marking 60 years since the establishment of Israel, which Palestinians
call the Nakba or catastrophe. Jerusalem
Post
Global
Food Prices Fall
World food prices fell in April for the first time in 15 months, according
to figures from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation. Its
food price index fell to 216.7 from 217.0 in March, having surged from
last April's figure of 141.7. The FAO said it was important to be cautious
about the figure, but that it was time to be a little bit optimistic. But
other analysts warned that many of the factors that have boosted food prices
had not gone away. BBC
Alarm
As Cracks Appear In Earthquake Dams
The death toll from China's strongest earthquake in more than half
a century rose to nearly 20,000 today, as thousands of Chinese troops rushed
to shore up "extremely dangerous" cracks in a dam strained to bursting
point. Many of the dead are buried beneath what remains of Hanwang in the
Mianyang area of Sichuan Province. There are bodies wherever you turn,
some wrapped in blue plastic, some carried on the back of tricycles, some
lying unclaimed until there is time to deal with them. Independent
News
China
Appeals For Heavy Lifting Equipment
The Chinese government made an emergency appeal for cranes and heavy
lifting equipment today amid warnings that time is running out to rescue
survivors from Monday's huge earthquake. As the state media raised estimates
of the final death toll to 50,000, troops, emergency personnel and volunteers
continued to find people alive, trapped under collapsed buildings. Guardian
Feuding
Lebanese Factions To Hold Talks
The Hizbullah-led opposition and US-backed Lebanese government agreed
Thursday to hold political talks that will lead to the election of Lebanon's
army chief as the compromise presidential candidate, an Arab mediator said.
The feuding factions reached the deal one day after the Cabinet reversed
measures aimed at reining in Iranian-backed Hizbullah. In return, the opposition
removed a roadblock that had shut down the country's international airport
for a week. Jerusalem
Post
Lagos Pipeline
Blast 'Kills 100'
At least 100 people have been killed in an oil pipeline explosion in
Nigeria's commercial capital Lagos, the local Red Cross says. The explosion
tore through the Ijegun suburb, engulfing schools and homes after a bulldozer
burst the pipeline. Red Cross officials said many injured people had been
taken to hospital and rescue attempts were still on. BBC
UN
To Hold Emergency Summit On Burma Aid
The United Nations will hold an emergency summit in Asia to coordinate
the global effort to get aid to the cyclone victims in Burma, Gordon Brown
said today, as international pressure on the country's ruling junta intensified.
The prime minister said the planned meeting represented "great progress",
but gave no further details on when it might take place. Hopes of a diplomatic
breakthrough on aid for the millions left homeless by Cyclone Nargis have
floundered in the past 24 hours. Several countries have called on the UN
to bypass the junta and deliver aid without approval under its "responsibility
to act" resolution. Guardian
Afghan
Death Squads 'Acting On Foreign Orders'
Secret Afghan death squads are acting on the orders of foreign spies
and killing civilians inside Afghanistan with impunity, a senior UN envoy
has claimed. Professor Philip Alston, the UN special rapporteur on illegal
killings, said "foreign intelligence agencies" had used illegal groups
of heavily armed Afghans in raids against suspected insurgents. At the
end of a 12-day fact-finding mission to there have been a large number
of raids for which no state or military appears to take responsibility.
Speaking with a large number of people in relation to the operation of
foreign intelligence units. These forces operate with what appears to be
impunity. Independent
News
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