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What if my car dealership shuts down?

Your warranty is still valid, but you may have to find a new mechanic

msnbc.com
May 14, 2009

DETROIT - So your local Chrysler dealer is slated to close, and a nearby General Motors dealer could get the ax too. What happens if you need service on your car?

It's a natural question in the changing automotive landscape, as those two U.S. automakers attempt to restructure in and out of bankruptcy court.

In bankruptcy court filings, Chrysler said Thursday it would shutter 789 of its dealerships — about 25 percent of them — across the country. GM dealers are awaiting word on which 1,100 of them will not see their contracts renewed when they expire at the end of September 2010.   more ...

Pelosi Moves to the Fore

The Washington Post
May 14, 2009
By Dan Balz

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's extraordinary accusation that the Bush administration lied to Congress about the use of harsh interrogation techniques dramatically raised the stakes on the growing debate over the Bush administration's anti-terror policies even as it brought troubling new questions about the speaker's credibility.

Pelosi's performance in the Capitol was either a calculated escalation of a long-running feud with the Bush administration or a reckless act by a politician whose word had been called into question. Perhaps it was both.   more ...

Some states try to protect rights from federal government

USA TODAY
May 14, 2009
By Kathy Kiely

WASHINGTON — For some states, the message to the federal government is clear: Back off.

Legislatures in Alaska, Idaho, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota this year have approved resolutions asserting sovereignty under the 10th Amendment of the Constitution and suggesting that Uncle Sam "cease and desist" from interfering in their business.

The largely Republican backers say the federal government has overstepped its constitutional bounds by meddling in local matters ranging from education to drunken driving. "It's telling the federal government, 'Guys, you really need to back off,' " said Judy Burges, a GOP state representative who is sponsoring a sovereignty resolution in Arizona.

Oklahoma's Senate on Wednesday gave final approval to a sovereignty resolution, in defiance of a veto from the state's Democratic governor, Brad Henry, on a similar measure. The resolution already passed the Oklahoma House twice.    more ...

DOD: U.S. soldier who opened fire at Iraq base in custody

USA Today
May 11, 2009
From staff and wire reports

BAGHDAD — A U.S. soldier opened fire at a counseling center on a U.S. base Monday, killing five fellow soldiers before being taken into custody.

The shooting occurred at Camp Liberty, a sprawling U.S. base on the western edge of Baghdad near the city's international airport and adjacent to another facility where President Obama visited last month.

MORE: Obama shocked by shooting on Iraqi base

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Monday that the shooting was a "terrible tragedy" and Obama plans to meet with Defense Secretary Gates later Monday to discuss the matter. Gibbs said the president's heart goes out to the victims' families.

At the Pentagon, Gates called the incident shocking and said that "we're still in the process of gathering information on exactly what happened."
FIND MORE STORIES IN: United States | Washington | Barack Obama | Afghanistan | Iraq | Baghdad | Kuwait | Vietnam War | Mosul | Basra | Liberty | Tikrit | Baghdad International Airport | 2003 invasion of Iraq | Hasan Akbar

The shooting happened at a stress clinic where troops can go for help with the stress of combat or personal issues.

It was unclear whether those killed were workers at the clinic or were there for counseling. No details were released about the gunman or what might have provoked the shooting.

"Anytime we lose one of our own, it affects us all," U.S. military spokesman Col. John Robinson said in Baghdad. "Our hearts go out to the families and friends of all the servicemembers involved in this terrible tragedy."   more ...

U.S. replaces general in Afghanistan

Move comes as Obama approves new strategy for fighting militants

Associated Press
May 11, 2009

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama fired the top U.S. general in Afghanistan on Monday, replacing him with a former special forces commander in a quest for a more agile, unconventional approach in a war that has gone quickly downhill.

With the Taliban resurgent, Obama's switch from Gen. David McKiernan to Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal suggests the new commander in chief wants major changes in addition to the additional troops he's ordering into Afghanistan to shore up the war effort.

McKiernan, on the job for less than a year, has repeatedly pressed for more forces. Although Obama has approved more than 21,000 additional troops this year, he has warned that the war will not be won by military means.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates echoed that view at a grim Pentagon news conference announcing the leadership overhaul. "As I have said many times before, very few of these problems can be solved by military means alone," he said. "And yet, from the military perspective, we can and must do better."

"It's time for new leadership and fresh eyes."    more ...

Obama Hails the Industry's Promise to Cut Costs by $2 trillion in Next Decade

Obama's Meeting with Health Care Industry Heavyweights Draws Mixed Reaction, Some Skeptical, Others Elated

abcnews.com
By JAKE TAPPER and HUMA KHAN
May 11, 2009

President Obama called today's meeting with healthcare industry heavyweights "historic" and "a watershed event in the long and elusive quest for healthcare reform," despite the muted reaction outside the White House as proponents and critics wait to see how the plan actually develops.
Health care industry leaders pledge to dramatically reduce health care costs.

The president, echoing his past remarks, emphasized today that healthcare reform is a central component of fixing the economy and the lives of the American people.

He told healthcare players at the meeting, "You've made a commitment. We expect you to keep it," according to White House press secretary Robert Gibbs.

"We cannot continue down the same dangerous road we've been traveling for so many years, with costs that are out of control, because reform is not a luxury that can be postponed, but a necessity that cannot wait," the president said in a speech following the meeting.    more ...

Shuttle lifts off for last Hubble repair job

NASA’s last visit to orbiting telescope comes with higher risk than usual

msnbc.com
May 11, 2009
msnbc.com staff and news service reports

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The space shuttle Atlantis and a crew of seven thundered away Monday on one last flight to the Hubble Space Telescope, setting off on an extraordinarily ambitious repair mission that NASA hopes will lift the celebrated observatory to new scientific heights.

Atlantis rose from its seaside pad just after 2 p.m. ET and arced out over the Atlantic, ducking through clouds. Hubble was directly overhead, 350 miles up (560 kilometers up).

For the first time ever, another shuttle was on a nearby launch pad, primed for a rescue mission if one is needed because of a debris strike.
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After seven months of delay, the astronauts were anxious to get started on the complicated, riskier-than-usual job at Hubble. They were two weeks away from launching last fall when a critical data-processing device on the telescope failed and picture-taking ceased. NASA decided it wanted to take up a spare to replace the broken unit, and it took months to get it ready.

"At last our launch has come along," commander Scott Altman told mission controllers just minutes before blastoff. "It's been a long time coming. ... At this point, all I've got left to say is, 'Let's launch Atlantis.'"

“Enjoy the ride, pal,” launch director Mike Leinbach replied.

Minor nuisances cropped up during the final countdown and the ascent: The launch pad team had to take a close look at ice buildup on one of Atlantis' fuel lines, and for a time, forecasters worried about weather at one of the shuttle's emergency landing sites in Spain. But those concerns didn't hold up the launch.

As Atlantis headed for orbit, one of its flight control feedback systems suffered a power failure, and one of its engine indicators experienced a glitch, NASA managers said. But they said those problems were nothing serious. They said a few pieces of debris came off the external fuel tank during the first few minutes of flight, but nothing appeared to hit Atlantis.

Over the next day or so, engineers on the ground will review imagery captured during the ascent, and Atlantis' crew will give the shuttle's protective skin a thorough inspection — just to make sure that no significant damage was done.

Atlantis should reach the orbiting telescope Wednesday.   more ...

Ten of the largest U.S. banks need $75 billion

Results of the ‘stress tests’ show financial system is on the mend, though

msnbc.com
May 7, 2009

WASHINGTON - The government’s long-awaited “stress-test” results show the financial system, like the overall economy, is healing but not yet healed.

Ten of the nation’s 19 largest banks need a total of about $75 billion in new capital to withstand losses in case the recession gets worse, according to the Federal Reserve’s findings, released Thursday.

Some of the largest banks are stable, the tests found. Others need billions more in capital. Government officials have said a stronger banking system is needed for an economic rebound.   more ...

Manny tests positive, is suspended 50 games

Star reportedly used women’s fertility drug, commonly used by steroid users

NBCSports.com
May 7, 2009

NEW YORK - Manny Ramirez joined a growing lineup of All-Stars linked to drugs Thursday, with the dreadlocked slugger banished for 50 games by a sport that cannot shake free from scandal.

The Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder was suspended by Major League Baseball, adding a further stamp to what will forever be known as the Steroids Era.

Ramirez said he did not take steroids and was given medication by a doctor that contained a banned substance. A person familiar with the details of the suspension said Ramirez used the female fertility drug HCG, or human chorionic gonadotropin. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the banned substance wasn’t announced.    more ...

Former US congressman Kemp dies

Former US Congressman and football star Jack Kemp has died at the age of 73, after suffering from cancer, his spokeswoman has announced.

BBC News
Sunday, 3 May 2009 07:39 UK

He was a tax-cutting Republican who described himself as a "bleeding-heart conservative".

He represented western New York for nine terms in Congress, then failed in a presidential bid in 1988.

He became housing secretary under the first President Bush, but also failed in a bid for vice-president in 1996.

In that campaign, he was Bob Dole's running-mate - a surprise combination as they were not close and clashed on policy.

Mr Kemp advocated tax cuts as the way to promote growth, while Mr Dole was opposed to them.

His spokeswoman Bona Park said he died at his home in Washington.    more ...

Confirmed cases of H1N1 virus now at 787, WHO says

CNN.com
April 3, 2009

GENEVA, Switzerland (CNN) -- The number of H1N1 cases worldwide now stands at 787 with two additional deaths reported in Mexico, the World Health Organization announced early Sunday.
An employee at Beijing hotel that is under quarantine receives supplies from her husband Sunday.

The organization said the virus, more commonly known as swine flu, has been confirmed in 17 countries.

The higher number of cases is a result of ongoing tests on previously collected samples; not newly reported and confirmed infections, the WHO said.

Several other countries reported additional cases that have not yet been added to the WHO tally.

While the new virus strain in the recent outbreak has affected humans, Canadian officials said it has shown up at a pig farm in Alberta.

Officials said the pigs may have been infected by a Canadian farmer who recently returned from a trip to Mexico, the epicenter of the outbreak. The pigs have since been quarantined.

"We have determined that the virus H1N1, found in these pigs, is the virus which is being tracked in the human population," said Dr. Brian Evans of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

Evans and other officials said it is not uncommon for flu viruses to jump from humans to animals, and that it does not pose a risk for consuming pork. The number of pigs infected was not disclosed.

The infected farmer had flu-like symptoms, but he is recovering, Evans said.

Mexico has the largest number of confirmed cases with 506, followed by the United States at 160. So far, 19 people in Mexico and a toddler in the United States have died from the virus. Learn about the virus »

The WHO has confirmed cases in 15 other countries: Canada, with 70; the United Kingdom with 15; Spain with 13; Germany with six; New Zealand with four; Israel with three; France, with two; and Ireland, Austria, China, South Korea, Denmark, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Costa Rica, each have one.    more ...

Pain Spreads as Credit Vise Grows Tighter

New York Times
Published: September 18, 2008
By LOUIS UCHITELLE

The latest outgrowth of the housing crisis, the breakdown on Wall Street, threatens to gradually corrode economic activity on Main Street, mainly by disabling the credit on which so many everyday transactions depend — but also by frightening people.

A shopper browsing at a Harley-Davidson dealership in Texas. Harley-Davidson is now issuing bonds at slightly higher rates.
Lenders of all types had already been raising the bar for borrowers, turning away all but the best customers. This week, they became even less willing to part with their money, further crimping budgets and family spending.

An economy propelled by easy credit for more than a decade is fraying as credit disappears. American Express, to take one striking example, is reducing the maximum credit limit for half of its tens of millions of cardholders.    more ...

Can Marchionne’s magic work at Chrysler?

Some say automakers good match; others call it reckless gamble

msnbc.com
April 30, 2009
By Roland Jones

Fiat chief executive Sergio Marchionne is not one to shirk a challenge. He made his name as a corporate whiz in June 2004 when he stepped in to take the wheel of Italy’s then-dying automaker, driving through a swift and vigorous turnaround that returned it to profitability by 2006.

Now Marchionne is about to attempt to do the same for Chrysler, the smallest of Detroit’s “Big Three” and North America’s most sickly automaker.    more ...

WHO raises swine flu alert leve

BBC News
Monday, 27 April 2009 23:07 UK

The World Health Organization (WHO) has raised its alert level over swine flu from three to four - two steps short of declaring a full pandemic.

WHO Assistant Director General Dr Keiji Fukuda said it signalled a "significant step towards pandemic influenza", but added "we are not there yet".

Mexico earlier said it believed 149 people had now died from the swine flu outbreak - only 20 cases are confirmed.

Other, milder, cases are confirmed in the US, Canada, Spain and Britain.

The WHO's decision to raise the alert level to four came after an emergency meeting of experts, brought forward by a day because of concerns over the outbreak.

WHO PANDEMIC ALERT PHASES
Phase 1: No viruses circulating among animals causing infections in humans
Phase 2: Animal influenza virus causes infection in humans, and is considered potential pandemic threat
Phase 3: Influenza causes sporadic cases in people, but no significant human-to-human transmission
Phase 4: Verified human-to-human transmission able to cause community-level outbreaks. Significant increase in risk of a pandemic
Phase 5: Human-to-human transmission in at least two countries. Strong signal pandemic imminent
Phase 6: Virus spreads to another country in a different region. Global pandemic under way

Level four means the virus is showing a sustained ability to pass from human to human, and is able to cause community-level outbreaks.

"What this can really be interpreted as is a significant step towards pandemic influenza. But also, it is a phase that says we are not there yet," Mr Fukuda said.

"In other words, at this time we think we have taken a step in that direction, but a pandemic is not considered inevitable."

He said the virus had become too widespread to make containment a feasible option, and said countries must focus on trying to put measures in place to protect the population.

He also stressed that the experts did not recommend closing borders or restricting travel. "With the virus being widespread... closing borders or restricting travel really has very little effects in stopping the movement of this virus," he said.

The first batches of a swine flu vaccine could be ready between four to six months, but it will take several more months to produce large quantities of it, Mr Fukuda said.

Health experts say the virus comes from the same strain that causes seasonal outbreaks in humans. But they say this newly-detected version contains genetic material from versions of flu which usually affect pigs and birds.   more ...

U.S. swine flu cases rise, more expected

Reuters
4/27/2009
By Andrew Quinn

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Up to 41 people in five states have been sickened by new strain of swine flu that doctors fear may cause a pandemic, U.S. officials said on Monday, promising more cases to come.

Nervous investors sent U.S. stock prices tumbling on expectations that the flu outbreak could further undermine the economy, which is struggling in recession.

President Barack Obama told Americans he was monitoring the situation amid more bad news from southern neighbor Mexico, where up to 149 people have died and more than 1,600 have been infected by the never-before-seen virus.

The U.S. government declared the flu strain a public health emergency on Sunday.   more ...

Global race is on to contain swine flu outbreak

U.S. declares state of emergency as 20 cases confirmed; 86 dead in Mexico

msnbc.com
April 26, 2009

WASHINGTON - The world’s governments raced to avoid both a pandemic and global hysteria Sunday as more possible swine flu cases surfaced from Canada to New Zealand and the United States declared a public health emergency. “It’s not a time to panic,” the White House said.

Mexico, the outbreak’s epicenter with up to 86 suspected deaths, canceled some church services and closed markets and restaurants. Few people ventured onto the streets, and some wore face masks. Canada became the third country to confirm cases, in six people, including some students who — like some New York City spring-breakers — got mildly ill in Mexico. Countries across Asia promised to quarantine feverish travelers returning from flu-affected areas.

The U.S. declared the health emergency so it could ship roughly 12 million doses of flu-fighting medications from a federal stockpile to states in case they eventually need them — although, with 20 confirmed cases in five states recovering easily, they don’t appear to for now.    more ...

Mexico City locks itself in amid swine flu fears

Mass, concerts, sports matches were canceled in country's capitol on Sunday

msnbc.com
April 26, 2009

MEXICO CITY - The cardinal said Mass in a shuttered cathedral. Soccer teams played to empty stadiums. Mexico's overcrowded capital locked itself indoors Sunday, terrified by a new strain of swine flu that was quickly spreading around the world.

Mexico City residents — chilangos, they're called — are accustomed to living in public view. They eat greasy tacos at stands along smog-choked avenues, play pickup soccer games on potholed streets and snuggle with sweethearts on benches in tree-lined parks.

But on Sunday even the enormous Zocalo plaza, where throngs of families congregate for street performances and open-air concerts, was all but empty. A handful of women wearing surgical masks knelt on the plaza's stones and prayed, their arms reaching upward in a lonely vigil.   more ...

Swine flu cases confirmed in NYC

USA Today
April 26, 2009
Staff and wire reports

NEW YORK — A swine flu outbreak continued to spread Sunday with several cases confirmed in New York City, adding to others confirmed in southern California and Kansas earlier in the weekend.

In New York, tests confirmed that eight students at a private Catholic high school had contracted swine flu. Some of the school's students had visited Mexico on a spring break trip two weeks ago.   more ...

Susan Boyle focused on BGT rehearsals as singing star's fame continues to grow

dailyrecord.co.uk
Apr 23 2009

THE rise and rise of Britain’s Got Talent star Susan Boyle continued yesterday as the Scots singer was acclaimed by showbusiness royalty, foreign media and fans.

She even seemed to have been taking style tips from fashion icon Kate Moss. The 47-year-old appearead at her door in black trousers, an 80s inspired black jacket and a white blouse – classic Moss.

Yet again, stacks of mail was delivered to her home in Blackburn, West Lothian, by postie Lewie Adamson.

And she was handed a note from a public relations adviser for US chat show queen Oprah Winfrey, asking her to phone.

It is estimated 200 items a day are pouring through the Royal Mail sorting office for Susan – some addressed to “The Lady From Britain’s Got Talent”.

They include letters with postmarks from across Europe, Australia, New Zealand and America.

Two star-struck Croatian fans even ditched the London premiere of the Russell Crowe movie State Of Play for the chance to meet Susan. Fani Stipkovic and Milan Bajic, of Croatian TV channel Nova, snubbed Aussie hunk Crowe to travel to Scotland Former model Fani, 27, said: “We decided at the last minute to fly up in an effort to meet Susan and to tell her how much the Croatian people love her.

“She proves that the dream can come true. It is never too late to shine.

“Susan proves that talent is the only thing that matters and it’s great to see someone with real talent make the
breakthrough.”   more ...  

Obama pledges to support protections for credit card borrowers

April 23, 2009
By Kathy Chu, USA TODAY

President Obama pledged Thursday to support legislation to protect credit card borrowers from unfair rate increases and abusive fees, and to crack down on issuers who engage in deceptive lending practices.

Obama met Thursday with 14 leading credit card executives to discuss the impact of issuers' practices on consumers and the economy. The President was joined at the White House meeting by economic adviser Lawrence Summers, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and senior adviser Valerie Jarrett.

The administration said it also wants credit card companies to use clear language in disclosures to consumers, and to provide adequate information so consumers can compare products online.

"I trust that those in the industry who want to act responsibly will engage with us in a constructive fashion, and that we're going to get this done in short order," Obama said after the meeting.   more ...

Chrysler could file bankruptcy next week

Alliance with Italian automaker Fiat would happen under protection

The New York Times via msnbc.com
April 23, 2009

DETROIT - The Treasury Department is preparing a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing for Chrysler that could come as soon as next week, people with direct knowledge of the action said Thursday.

The Treasury has an agreement in principle with the United Automobile Workers union, whose members’ pensions and retiree health care benefits would be protected as a condition of the bankruptcy filing, said these people, who asked for anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case.

Moreover, Fiat of Italy would complete its alliance with Chrysler while the company is under bankruptcy protection.   more ...

Victims' Panties Found in Craigslist Suspect's Home

Police Sources Say Philip Markoff Collected Souveniers from Alleged Victims; May Be More Victims

ABC News
April 22, 2009
By LAUREN PEARLE, LISA FLETCHER, MICHELE MCPHEE and SARAH NETTER

Investigators searching the apartment of Philip Markoff, the accused murderer now known as the "Craigslist Killer," found a handgun and panties belonging to the two victims hidden in a hollowed-out copy of the textbook Gray's Anatomy of the Human Body, two law enforcement sources told ABC News.
Trisha Leffler describes her encounter with Philip Markoff at a Boston hotel.

Markoff appeared to be collecting women's panties, which investigators believe were "souvenirs" from his alleged victims, two law enforcement sources said.

Police have asked anyone who may have been contacted by Markoff via Craigslist to come forward, and law enforcement sources told ABC News that detectives investigating the case are now fielding calls from other potential victims.

"There could be none, there could be others," Suffolk County District Attorney Dan Conley told "Good Morning America." "We're not interested in prosecuting them for massage services."    more ...

Police Found Freddie Mac CFO Dead by Hanging

Police believe David Kellermann, 41, Killed Himself in HIs Virginia Home

ABC News
April 22, 2009
By RUSSELL GOLDMAN, JACK DATE and ANN COMPTON

Law enforcement sources said David Kellermann, acting chief financial officer of mortgage company Freddie Mac, was found hanging in the basement of his Vienna, Va., home, dead from an apparent suicide early this morning.
David Kellerman, CFO of Freddie Mac, was found dead by hanging in his home.

The death was "an active investigation" and there were "no signs of foul play," Fairfax County police officer Sabrina Ruck said.

Local police said they were called to Kellermann's home at 4:48 a.m., but would not say who'd placed the call to 911.

Kellermann, 41, and a 16-year veteran of Freddie Mac, had been the company's CFO since September, after a government takeover of the company following the housing crisis. County records show the large home in Hunter Mill Estates was worth about $900,000.

Click Here for the Latest Business Stories From ABC News

Neighbors said they were shocked to learn of the man's death.   more ...

Momentum builds against Taliban in Pakistan

USA TODAY
By Paul Wiseman and Zafar M. Sheikh,
March 22, 2009

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — A public backlash is building against the Pakistani Taliban, who looked triumphant after gaining control of the northern Swat region last week.

Since Pakistan's parliament approved a peace deal turning Swat over to militants on April 13, their leader Sufi Muhammad has moved forces into a neighboring district, rejected the legitimacy of the country's elected leaders, vowed to spread Islamic law across the country, and offered sanctuary to Osama bin Laden and other foreign terrorists.

These moves have turned hopes for peace in a strife-torn area into fears that the entire country will fall into the hands of militants, said Shoaib Bhutta, a journalist and confidant of Pakistan's president.

CLINTON: Pakistan 'abdicating to the extremists'
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Taliban tightens grip on Pakistan's northwest
OPPOSITION LEADER: Sharif urges dialogue to quell insurgency

Muhammad is overreaching and that "may deprive him of the fruit of his life-time achievement," prominent political commentator Ansar Abbasi wrote Wednesday on the front page of The News International.
FIND MORE STORIES IN: Washington | Hillary Rodham Clinton | Osama bin Laden | Interior Ministry | Swat | Pakistani Taliban | Sufi Muhammad | Awami National Party | News International

"If there is no peace, the government will use force," Rehman Malik, head of the Interior Ministry, told parliament Wednesday.   more ...

Reverse discrimination? Justices weigh case

City threw out promotion test for firefighters after few minorities passed

msnbc.com
updated 2:42 p.m. ET, Wed., April 22, 2009

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court appeared divided Wednesday over whether a Connecticut city's decision to scrap a promotion exam for firefighters because too few minorities passed violates the civil rights of top-scoring white applicants.

As is often the case with closely fought social issues at the court, Justice Anthony Kennedy appeared to hold the key to the outcome. He seemed concerned that New Haven, Conn., scuttled the test after it learned that no African Americans and only two Hispanic firefighters were likely to be promoted based on the results.

"It looked at the results and classified successful and unsuccessful applicants by race," said Kennedy, who often frowns on racial classifications, yet is not as opposed to drawing distinctions on the basis of race as his more conservative colleagues.   more ...

GM May Idle Many Of Its Factories This Summer

NPR.org
The Associated Press
April 22, 2009

General Motors Corp. is planning to temporarily close most of its U.S. factories for up to nine weeks this summer because of slumping sales and growing inventories of unsold vehicles, two people briefed on the plan said Wednesday.

The exact dates of the closures were not known, but both people said they will occur around the normal two-week shutdown in July to change from one model year to the next. Neither person wanted to be identified because workers have not been told of the shutdowns.

GM spokesman Chris Lee would not comment other than to say the company notifies employees before making any production cuts public.

The automaker is living on $13.4 billion in government loans and faces a June 1 deadline to cut its debt, reduce labor costs and take other restructuring steps. If it doesn't meet the deadline, the company's CEO has said it will enter Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.   more ...

Craigslist murder suspect held without bail

Gun found at medical student's home; motive might have been robbery

NBC News and news services
Marc 21, 2009

BOSTON - A Boston medical student accused of targeting women who advertised exotic services on Craigslist was ordered held without bail Tuesday on charges that he sought to rob a masseuse, but bashed her in the head and shot her through the heart when she fought back.

Philip Markoff, 22, a second-year medical student at Boston University, said nothing during a brief appearance Tuesday in Boston Municipal Court where he was ordered held on charges including murder, armed robbery and kidnapping.  more ...

Obama open to some interrogation prosecution
But president concerned about the impact of hearings

NBC News and news services
Marc 21, 2009

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama left the door open Tuesday to prosecuting Bush administration officials who devised the legal authority for gruesome terrorism-suspect interrogations, saying the United States lost "our moral bearings" with use of the tactics.

The question of whether to bring charges against those who devised justification for the methods "is going to be more of a decision for the attorney general within the parameters of various laws and I don't want to prejudge that," Obama said.   more ...

Mystery surrounds Somali teen pirate

USAToday
March 21, 2009

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — At home in central Somalia, Abdiwali Abdiqadir Muse studied English, frequented a dusty, outdoor cinema after school where he watched Bollywood films dubbed into his native Somali and, his mother says, "was wise beyond his years."

The neighborhood where he grew up in the town of Galkayo is one of small homes with corrugated iron roofs, and no running water or electricity.

Now Muse — the sole surviving Somali pirate from the hostage-taking of an American ship captain — is a world away in New York City to face what are believed to be the first piracy charges in the United States in more than a century. He smiled but said nothing Tuesday as he was led into a federal building under heavy guard.   more ...

U.S. judge orders Madoff assets secured for seizure

Reuters
Mon Apr 20, 2009
By Grant McCool

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. judge blocked the transfer of the personal wealth of swindler Bernard Madoff and his wife because it could be subject to forfeiture as various parties compete to lock down the assets for distribution to defrauded investors.

The order on Monday by Judge Denny Chin, who oversees the criminal case against Madoff, came on the same day a bankruptcy court judge approved the appointment of an interim trustee to coordinate efforts to recover the former investment adviser's property and money.

Madoff pleaded guilty in March to running the biggest investment fraud in Wall Street history.

U.S. prosecutors said in court papers on Friday that Chin should restrain the Madoff assets so they are not part of any proceeding in bankruptcy court.   more ...

Motor show gears up in Shanghai

BBC News
Monday, 20 April 2009 06:08 UK

The Shanghai motor show has got under way in China, one of the few countries in the world where the automobile market is growing.

The show once seen by the industry as marginal on the international circuit is expected to see carmakers unveil an unprecedented 13 new models.

China has just overtaken the US as the world's largest car market, with buyers spurred on by government incentives.

US and European car sales are sharply down in the global recession.

Porsche kicked off the show on Sunday night by unveiling the Panamera, the German luxury carmaker's first foray into the sedan segment.

"We wanted to give a sign how important the Chinese market for us, is," said a Porsche official of the company's first launch of a new model series outside Europe or the US.    more ...

GM cutting 1,600 U.S. salaried positions

Reuters
Mon Apr 20, 2009

DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Corp said on Monday it is telling about 1,600 salaried U.S. employees this week to leave by May 1 as it scrambles to reduce costs under a restructuring mandated by the U.S. government.

The reductions are part of GM's plan to slash its global salaried work force this year by about 10,000, or 14 percent. GM also aims to cut 37,000 hourly jobs worldwide by the end of the year.   more ...

Man arrested in Boston Craigslist slaying
Victim had advertised massage services; 2 other crimes may be linked

msnbc.com
March 20, 2009

BOSTON - A man was arrested Monday in connection with the death last week in a luxury hotel of a woman who advertised massage services on Craigslist, Boston police said.

Boston police spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll did not immediately provide any other information about the man Monday.

Suffolk District Attorney spokesman Jake Wark said he did not know of any charges filed in the case. A police source told NBC News: "We expect him to be booked and charged shortly."    more ...

Obama thanks CIA for securing America

USAToday
March 20, 2009

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama on Monday defended before his most skeptical audience his decision to release Bush-era memos outlining interrogation techniques, telling CIA employees it will make the country more safe, not less.

"I know that the last few days have been difficult," Obama said during brief remarks in the lobby of CIA headquarters at Langley, Va. He also met privately with senior CIA officials.

The Obama administration released on Thursday a series of key legal opinions that amount to the government's fullest accounting yet of the harshest techniques authorized under President George W. Bush and used to question suspected terrorists in the early stages of the anti-terror war. Obama has said he will not seek charges against CIA officers who carried out interrogations that many critics contend amounted to torture.   more ...

New hijack raises stakes as U.S. warships converge

USA Today
April 10, 2009

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Cheering and guarded by Navy Seals, the crew of an American ship reached a Kenyan port Saturday evening without their captain, still held hostage by Somali pirates in a lifeboat hundreds of miles from shore.

Capt. Richard Phillips, 53, of Underhill, Vermont, was seized Wednesday when he thwarted the takeover of the 17,000-ton U.S.-flagged Maersk Alabama, which was carrying food aid for hungry people in Somalia, Rwanda and Uganda. He told his crew to lock themselves in a cabin and surrendered himself to safeguard his men, crewmembers told stateside relatives.

"He saved our lives!" second mate Ken Quinn, of Bradenton, Florida, declared after he walked off the ship in the resort and port city of Mombasa. "He's a hero!"

The crew later overpowered some of the pirates but the Somalis fled with the captain to an enclosed lifeboat, the relatives said.

Quinn told reporters the experience was "terrifying and exciting at the same time."   more ...

Tenn. twister kills 2, flattens homes

System pounded much of Southeast with hail, rain; earlier tornado killed 3

msnbc.com
April 10, 2009

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - A tornado ripped through this city Friday afternoon, killing at least two people, injuring 30 and flattening homes. The twister was one of several over the previous 24 hours, including one in Arkansas that killed three people.

In Murfreesboro, about 30 miles southeast of Nashville, emergency officials said the area was "heavily impacted" after reports of a tornado touching down.

Officials said at least two people were killed and 30 hurt, two of them critically. One of the injured was a woman whose car was flipped over.
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Search teams fanned out across Murfreesboro, which has about 100,500 residents, looking for anyone trapped in homes. A police spokesman said he believed the twister had touched down three to five times.

A grocery store evacuated customers into a cooler until the storm passed.

At least a dozen homes had their roofs ripped away, and some trees were blown down. Thousands were without power.

Brian Smith, manager of a restaurant along Interstate 24, said he saw a "pretty wide" tornado with "debris in the air from the rotation."    more ...

Obama sees 'hope' for US economy

US President Barack Obama has said he sees "glimmers of hope" in the economy, but warned that the system remained under "severe strain".

BBC News
Friday, 10 April 2009 18:05 UK

Speaking after a meeting with his top economic advisers, he said there was still "a lot of work to do".

Mr Obama promised more action on the economy in the coming weeks.

He said he and his team had discussed the stability of the financial system, the housing market and plans to help banks clear their books of bad assets.

'A lot of hardship'

Mr Obama was speaking after a meeting at the White House with top strategists including Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke.    more ...

Navy, FBI work to rescue ship captain

USA Today
April 10, 2009
By Jim Michaels and Ken Dilanian, USA TODAY

The U.S. Navy and the FBI worked Thursday to rescue a merchant ship captain being held by pirates off Somalia's coast. The military consulted with FBI negotiators as surveillance aircraft and a destroyer moved into the area to monitor the situation.

Capt. Richard Phillips' ship, the Maersk Alabama, began sailing Thursday toward the Kenyan port of Mombasa — its original destination — and was expected to arrive Saturday night, said Joseph Murphy, a professor at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy. His son, Shane Murphy, is second in command of the vessel.

A Navy team of armed guards was aboard the Alabama, the Associated Press reported.   more ...

Taliban Flog Teenage Girl in Public

Here we see the people that Hillary Clinton thinks should be offered an “honorable form of reconciliation,” the Taliban, brutally whipping a teenaged girl because she left her house in the company of her father-in-law.  Warning: it’s a disturbing video.

A video showing a teenage girl being flogged by Taliban fighters has emerged from the Swat Valley in Pakistan, offering a shocking glimpse of militant brutality in the once-peaceful district, and a sign of Taliban influence spreading deeper into the country.

The two-minute video, shot using a mobile phone, shows a burka-clad woman face down on the ground. Two men hold her arms and feet while a third, a black-turbaned fighter with a flowing beard, whips her repeatedly.

“Please stop it,” she begs, alternately whimpering or screaming in pain with each blow to the backside. “Either kill me or stop it now.”

A crowd of men stands by, watching silently. Off camera a voice issues instructions. “Hold her legs tightly,” he says as she squirms and yelps.

After 34 lashes the punishment stops and the wailing woman is led into a stone building, trailed by a Kalashnikov-carrying militant.

Apple Sued Over Touch-Screen Rights

New York Times
By JONATHAN ADAMS
Published: April 8, 2009

TAIPEI — The Taiwanese company Elan Microelectronics has sued Apple, alleging infringement of two of its touch screen patents, an Elan spokesman said Wednesday.

The suit was filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, Dennis Liu, an Elan spokesman, said by telephone from the headquarters of the chip design company in Hsinchu, Taiwan.

“We couldn’t find a common viewpoint with Apple, so we decided we had to take action,” he said, adding that the companies had been in licensing talks for about two years.

Apple is based in Cupertino, California.

The lawsuit alleges that Apple products — including its MacBook computer, iPhone and iPod Touch — use technology that infringes on two of Elan’s patents, Elan said.    more ...

China prepares for the rise of the yuan

Monday, April 6, 2009
TWN, By Don Lee, Los Angeles Times

SHANGHAI, China -- Could the world's currency of choice have the face of Mao Tse-tung on it, not George Washington's?

Quixotic or not, the Chinese are preparing for that day. In a series of what might be called baby steps, Chinese officials recently have moved to globalize the yuan and promote its influence overseas, with Shanghai designated as command central.

Since last December, China has signed deals with six countries, including South Korea, Malaysia and most recently Argentina, for currency swaps that would inject Chinese money into foreign banking systems. That would allow foreign companies to make payments for Chinese exports in yuan, bypassing the dollar — the currency that dominates international trade and finance, including foreign exchange reserves. Beijing is also taking initiatives to use the yuan, also known as the renminbi, to settle trade accounts between some Chinese provinces and neighboring states, starting with Hong Kong.

“The central bank has set promoting the renminbi for payment settlements as the main task for this year's work,” said Shi Lei, an analyst in the global financial markets section at Bank of China in Beijing.   more ...

Capturing Burma's protests on film

By Philippa Fogarty
BBC News
Monday, 6 April 2009 00:13 UK

A monk looks into a camera at a monastery in Rangoon. His face is bruised and swollen.

Troops came during the night, he says. They beat the monks and took dozens of them away. He doesn't know where they are.

Outside, the camera records pools of blood on the floor, shards of glass and rubble.

The date was 27 September 2007 and the man behind the camera was Aung Htun.

He was one of a network of people working as undercover reporters for an Oslo-based NGO and opposition broadcaster, the Democratic Voice of Burma, when a fuel price hike triggered anti-government protests.

The protests spread from activists to monks and students, and became an uprising - the most significant challenge to Burma's generals in almost two decades.

Most foreign journalists are banned from Burma and the military government censors all media.

But the undercover reporters used small hand-held cameras to record what was happening. Even as troops brutally suppressed the unrest, they took enormous risks to send the pictures out of the country.

Media organisations used them to report on the unfolding crisis and the footage was broadcast around the world, defying government efforts to hide events from international eyes.   more ...

GM, Chrysler may be in fast lane to bankruptcy
Experts say a managed reorganization may now be only possible option

March 31, 2009
By Roland Jones
msnbc.com

Executives at General Motors and Chrysler are speeding to put in place workable plans to restore their faltering businesses. But this may be one race they are unlikely to win.

On Monday, President Obama said the turnaround plans that the two automakers presented to Congress earlier this year hadn’t gone far enough. He gave them one last chance to turn their operations around, raising the threat that he might force GM into a quick, managed bankruptcy if that proves to be the fastest way to restore it to health.

Obama’s measures were drastic. Chrysler received financing for 30 days to complete a partnership with Italian automaker Fiat, after which the government will no longer continue to fund it. GM got 60 days worth of funds to revise its turnaround plan. Despite the tough deadlines, some form of managed bankruptcy now looks like the most probable option for GM, analysts say. And it’s a move that could have a slew of side effects, not least of which would be lower confidence in GM’s products.  more ...

China denies spying allegations

China has denied involvement in the electronic spy network which researchers say infiltrated computers in government offices around the world.

BBC News
Monday, 30 March 2009 16:33 UK

The spokesman of the Chinese embassy in London said that there was no evidence to show Beijing was involved.

He suggested the findings were part of a "propaganda campaign" by the Tibetan government in exile.

The research was commissioned by the Dalai Lama's office alarmed by possible breaches of security.

'Pieced together'

In an official statement, Liu Weimin writes that the report by Canadian researchers at the Information Warfare Monitor is "just some video footage pieced together from different sources to attack China".

Mr Liu stresses that in China "it is against the law to hack into the computers of others". Cyber attacks, he says, are "a global challenge" requiring global co-operation.

"China is an active participant in such co-operation in the world."

The report said that the electronic network had infiltrated 1,295 computers in 103 countries, including computers belonging to foreign ministries and embassies.  more ...

Presidents looking for answers

Asia Times
Mar 28, 2009
By Shen Dingli

SHANGHAI - While the world is focused on the Group of 20 (G20) summit in London early next month, it will also watch closely the meeting on the sidelines between Chinese President Hu Jintao and his US counterpart Barack Obama. The first Sino-US summit since Obama was sworn in more than two month ago will not only address bilateral relations and mutual concerns, but also provide an opportunity for the leaders to build personal trust and upgrade the countries' strategic dialogue.

A number of issues of mutual interest are likely to be addressed at the Hu-Obama meeting.

To foster closer cooperation on bilateral and international affairs, the leaders are likely to endorse the establishment of a mechanism of Strategic and Economic Dialogue, an upgrade from the current level of dialogue between the countries. This has been indicated by meetings held between US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Yang Jiechi in each nation's capital before the summit.

Days after the Sino-US naval standoff on South China Sea this month, Obama told Yang during an Oval Office meeting that it was crucial to raise the level of military-to-military talks "in order to avoid future incidents". The meeting between Hu and Obama, both commanders-in-chief of their armed forces
, will decide whether the two militaries are truly ready to enhance links.    more ...

Beijing Largest U.S. Bond Holder

Epoch Times Staff Mar 27, 2009
The National Debt Clock. (Wen Zhong/The Epoch Times)

Recently, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao expressed his concern over the security of American bonds that China holds. However, only 10 days later, during a press conference on March 23, the Chinese Central Bank Deputy Governor Hu Xiaolian announced that China will continue buying U.S. Treasury bonds as an important investment of China’s foreign exchange reserves.

According to the U.S. Treasury Department, the United States experienced a record high net capital outflow of US$148.9 billion in January. However, China increased its U.S. treasury purchases by $12.2 billion in January reaching $739.6 billion, nearly a quarter of the total. In addition to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac stock, as well as other U.S. government bills and bonds, China surpassed Japan, becoming the largest owner, holding more than $1 trillion.

Observers believe, while other countries are reducing their holdings of U.S. interests, Beijing’s move is based on a political motive.

When Hu announced the decision on Monday, he also emphasized the significance of the first meeting between regime leader Hu Jintao and U.S. President B. Obama scheduled on April 2 during the G-20 London Summit.　　

Editor-in-chief of Chinese Global Finance magazine holds a negative view about the regime’s move. He said, “The whole world is worried about how the United States is going to control and reduce its deficit in the future, in order to prevent the price landslide of its treasury bonds. Mainstream Chinese scholars believe China will definitely suffer losses in this investment, currently, it is a question of how to minimize the loss.”  more ...

Pentagon report: China's military expanding its capabilities

CNN
March 25, 2009
By Mike Mount
CNN Senior Pentagon Producer

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- China's military is developing longer-range ballistic and anti-ship missiles that are "shifting the balance of power in the region" and could help Beijing secure resources or settle territorial disputes, a report released by the Pentagon said Wednesday.
U.S. and Chinese militaries need "resumption of dialogue," Adm. Timothy Keating told Congress.

China also continues to build up short-range missiles and increase its "coercive capabilities" against Taiwan. The report suggests such moves constitute an effort to pressure Taiwan into settling the cross-strait dispute in favor of China, though tensions between the two countries have receded over the past year.

The report, called the "Military Power of the People's Republic of China," is the Pentagon's annual briefing to Congress on the status of the communist country's military might.

While China continues to proclaim that its military buildup is for defense purposes to protect its interests, the report says the country's lack of transparency is worrisome and could lead to an unintended conflict.

"The limited transparency in China's military and security affairs poses risks to stability by creating uncertainty and increasing the potential for misunderstanding and miscalculation," according to the report. "Much uncertainty surrounds China's future course, particularly regarding how its expanding military power might be used."

The lack of transparency causes Washington "to speculate to some degree on what their intentions are," Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell told reporters at a Wednesday briefing.

According to Adm. Timothy Keating, the head of the U.S. Pacific Command, some of that uncertainty is due to the cessation of talks between the Chinese and U.S. militaries. more ...

Lockheed Martin gets $665.6 Mln Taiwan Navy contract

RTT News
3/19/2009 10:23 AM ET

(RTTNews) - Thursday, defense contractor Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT: News ) said it secured a $665.6 million contract from Taiwan Navy to modernize its twelve P-3C maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft by fitting them with state-of-the-art equipments. The first upgraded P-3C aircraft will be delivered in 2012. more ...

US admiral condemns China's 'aggressive' actions

March 18, 2009
By FOSTER KLUG – 7 hours ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — A top U.S. commander says China's "aggressive and troublesome" run-in with an unarmed American ship shows that Beijing won't behave acceptably.

Adm. Timothy Keating told senators that Beijing's suspension of military contact last year because of U.S. arms sales to Taiwan and the South China Sea confrontation are "vivid reminders" that it has yet to become a "responsible stakeholder."

The U.S. has pushed for more frequent and intense communications with China to avoid military confrontations that could upset a relationship crucial to solving global crises. But Keating, who heads the Pacific Command, said the bilateral military relationship "certainly isn't where we want it to be." more ...

China’s Leader Says He Is ‘Worried’ Over U.S. Treasuries

New York Times
By MICHAEL WINES
Published: March 13, 2009

BEIJING — The Chinese premier Wen Jiabao expressed concern on Friday about the safety of China’s $1 trillion investment in American government debt, the world’s largest such holding, and urged the Obama administration to provide assurances that its investment would keep its value in the face of a global financial crisis.

The Chinese premier Wen Jiabao spoke at a news conference on Thursday at the end of the Chinese parliament’s annual session.

Speaking at a news conference at the end of the Chinese parliament’s annual session, Mr. Wen said he was “worried” about China’s holdings of Treasury bonds and other debt, and that China was watching United States economic developments closely.

“President Obama and his new government have adopted a series of measures to deal with the financial crisis. We have expectations as to the effects of these measures,” Mr. Wen said. “We have lent a huge amount of money to the U.S. Of course we are concerned about the safety of our assets. To be honest, I am definitely a little worried.”

He called on the United States to “maintain its good credit, to honor its promises and to guarantee the safety of China’s assets.” more ...

 

Madoff fraud investigation widens

BBC News
Friday, 13 March 2009

With disgraced US financier Bernard Madoff now behind bars, attention has turned to whether others were involved in his estimated $50bn (£35bn) fraud.

While Madoff insists he acted alone, prosecutor Lev Dassin said he was investigating if others had joined in the crime.

Investigators are also continuing work to see how much of the stolen funds can be recovered.

Madoff has been remanded in jail ahead of his sentencing in June.

This has seen him swap his wife's luxury Manhattan apartment for a small cell in New York's Metropolitan Correctional Centre, just a few miles away.

No plea deal

"We are continuing to investigate the fraud and will bring additional charges against anyone, including Mr Madoff, as warranted," said Mr Dassin.

He also rejected speculation that Madoff had agreed to plead guilty in exchange for leniency to help any others who may have been involved in the crime. "There is no agreement whatsoever," he said. more ...

China may spend more to get growth, worries over U.S.

Fri Mar 13, 2009 6:56am EDT
Reuters
By Jason Subler

BEIJING (Reuters) - Premier Wen Jiabao held out the prospect of extra stimulus spending if needed to hit China's 8 percent growth goal this year and called on Washington to ease worries Beijing has about the safety of its vast U.S. assets.

In his annual news conference ending the nine-day session of China's ceremonial parliament, Wen on Friday reaffirmed China's commitment to keeping the yuan broadly steady and noted that the currency, far from having depreciated, had been rising in value.

Wen, who fielded questions for well over two hours, said the 8 percent growth target was a measure of his government's confidence and a reflection of its commitment to keep raising living standards. But he said the task was not easy.

"I believe that there is indeed some difficulty in reaching this goal. But with effort it is possible," Wen said.

"Only when we have confidence can we have courage and strength, and only when we have courage and strength can we overcome difficulties," the avuncular Wen, 67, said.

The premier said Beijing expected to see results from President Barack Obama's economic recovery plan but expressed concern that massive U.S. deficit spending and near-zero interest rates would erode the value of China's huge U.S. bond holdings. more ...

Americans lost wealth at staggering rate in '08

New statistics underline how Americans college funds, nest eggs vanished

MSNBC
By Annys Shin
updated 4:11 a.m. ET, Fri., March. 13, 2009

Meager signs of life in the economy sparked another rally on Wall Street yesterday, but new data showed that markets have a long way to go to replace the vast wealth lost by Americans in recent months.

The second major rally of the week came after General Motors dropped its request for an additional $2 billion in government assistance for March, saying that its cost-cutting measures were working. Bank of America, meanwhile, said it had made money during the first two months of the year.

Investors were even encouraged by Standard & Poor's decision to cut the long-term credit rating of General Electric by one notch. They had expected worse.

The S&P 500-stock index gained more than 4 percent yesterday, with every major sector closing higher. Still, the S&P is off nearly 17 percent on the year.

Falling stock and home prices have wiped out four years of gains in Americans' net worth since the start of 2008, according to new data from the Federal Reserve. Nearly half of those losses occurred over the last three months of the year, the biggest quarterly decline since recordkeeping began in 1952.

The new data underlined just how quickly wealth created during the biggest credit bubble in history has vanished, leaving Americans without the college funds, nest eggs and other reserves they had set aside. more ...

China dissident's family flee to U.S.

Reuters
Fri Mar 13, 2009 8:30am EDT

BEIJING (Reuters) - The wife and two children of one of China's most prominent dissidents have fled to the United States and the wife said on Friday that police pressure had made life in Beijing unbearable.

The family's escape may become another irritant between Beijing and Washington as they wrestle with the financial crisis and try to set aside a recent squabble over a confrontation between a U.S. and Chinese naval vessels off the Chinese coast.

Gao Zhisheng, an outspoken lawyer who took on sensitive cases that riled China's ruling Communist Party, was sentenced to four years in jail for subversion in 2006 but won a good behavior reprieve. Since then, however, he has been under constant police watch and periods of secretive detention, said his wife, Geng He.

Geng said she and their teenage daughter and 5-year-old son had fled to the United States, arriving a few days ago after a clandestine trip to Thailand.

She did not have the heart to tell Gao they were leaving and so had left him a note saying not to expect their return, she told Reuters by telephone.

"I couldn't bring myself to tell him, because I was scared our plan might come out or that he couldn't handle the news," she said from Phoenix, Arizona, where she said supporters were helping them settle in.

"I felt we had to leave, because the pressure on the children was ruining their lives ... They were followed and harassed so much that they've become very sensitive and down on themselves."

Geng said she had not contacted her husband since arriving in the United States. more ...

Ex-financier Madoff pleads guilty to all charges

Disgraced investor jailed until sentencing, says ‘deeply sorry,’ ‘ashamed’

MSNBC
March 12, 2009

NEW YORK - Saying he was “deeply sorry and ashamed,” Bernard Madoff pleaded guilty Thursday to pulling off perhaps the biggest swindle in Wall Street history and was immediately led off to jail in handcuffs to the delight of his seething victims.

Madoff, 70, could get up to 150 years in prison when he is sentenced in June.

In refusing to let the disgraced financier remain free on bail until then, U.S. District Judge Denny Chin noted that Madoff had the means to flee and an incentive to do so. more ...

U.S. jobless seen nearing 10 percent

Reuters
March 12, 2009
By Pedro Nicolaci da Costa

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. unemployment will approach 10 percent as the country endures its worst recession since World War Two, leaving more than 13 million Americans jobless, according to a Reuters poll of economists.

The economy will level out in the third quarter, the results showed, but the poll painted a bleaker picture than a survey conducted just a month ago.

Median forecasts now assume gross domestic product will shrink an annualized 5.3 percent this quarter, following a brutal 6.2 percent decline at the end of 2008.

The recession will continue into the second quarter, moderating to a 2 percent drop, stabilizing sometime this summer. GDP should turn the corner, albeit hesitantly, by autumn. more ...

Earth warming faster than thought

The worst-case scenarios on climate change envisaged by the UN are already being realised, say scientists at an international meeting in Copenhagen.

BBC News
By Matt McGrath
BBC environment reporter, Copenhagen

In a statement outlining their six key messages to political leaders, they say there is an increasing risk of abrupt or irreversible climate shifts.

Even modest temperatures rises will affect millions of people, particularly in the developing world, they warn.

But most tools needed to cut global carbon dioxide emissions already exist.

More than 2,500 researchers and economists attended this meeting designed to update the world on the state of climate research ahead of key political negotiations set for December this year.

New data was presented in Copenhagen on sea level rise, which indicated that the best estimates of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) made two years ago were woefully out of date.

Scientists heard that waters could rise by over a metre across the world with huge impacts for hundreds of millions of people. more ...

Some denounce Obama's homeowner rescue as unfair

yahoo.com
By STEVENSON JACOBS and ALAN ZIBEL, AP Business Writers
February 20, 2009

NEW YORK – Banks got bailed out. So did automakers. So why not struggling homeowners? The question has struck a raw nerve across the country, with critics saying the Obama administration's latest housing rescue rewards people who bought homes they couldn't afford. Others counter that the taxpayer-financed plan will slow spiraling home prices and avert a deeper economic disaster.

The debate captures the strong emotions stirred up over who benefits as the government tries to fix the financial crisis. It's likely to remain on the front burner for months as lawmakers consider other contentious issues — like whether bankruptcy judges should be given the power to impose changes on borrowers' home loans.

"I feel like I'm doing the right thing paying my mortgage, and now apparently I have to pay my neighbor's mortgage, too. People are really angry," said Kim Guymon, a stay-at-home mom who bought a three-bedroom home with her husband in suburban Seattle in 2001 and has watched it drop $150,000 in value since last summer. more ...

Obama nixes plan to tax motorists on mileage

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama will not adopt a policy to tax motorists based on how many miles they drive instead of how much gasoline they buy, his chief spokesman said Friday. Press secretary Robert Gibbs commented after Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told The Associated Press that he wants to consider the idea, which has been proposed in some states but has angered many drivers.

"It is not and will not be the policy of the Obama administration," Gibbs told reporters, when asked for the president's thoughts about the policy and LaHood's remarks.

Gasoline taxes that for nearly half a century have paid for the federal share of highway and bridge construction can no longer be counted on to raise enough money to keep the nation's transportation system moving, LaHood told the AP in an interview Thursday. more ...