National News
Embattled U.N. rethinking its Afghan-Pakistan role
(11/06/09)
KABUL -- The United Nations is sending about 600 foreign staff out of the country or into secure compounds because of the deadly Taliban attack on U.N. workers, warning the Afghan government Thursday that international support will wane unless it cracks down on corruption fueling the insurgency...
Army: 12 dead, 31 hurt in attack at Fort Hood
(11/06/09)
FORT HOOD, Texas -- An Army psychiatrist set to be shipped overseas opened fire at the Fort Hood Army post Thursday, authorities said, a rampage that killed 12 people and left 31 wounded in the worst mass shooting ever at a military base in the United States...
House votes to expand homebuyer tax credit; Obama to sign it today
(11/06/09)
WASHINGTON -- Missed out on Cash for Clunkers? Congress has another deal for you: Buy a home before May 1 and collect up to $6,500 from the government. If you're a first-time homebuyer, get up to $8,000. As part of the government's efforts to encourage people to spend money to help revive the economy, the House voted 403-12 Thursday to expand a popular tax credit for homebuyers. ...
Oklahoma couple sideswipes elephant on drive home from church
(11/06/09)
OKLAHOMA CITY -- It's not unusual to see a deer or a cow crossing Oklahoma's rural highways. But an elephant? A couple driving home from church nearly slammed into a pachyderm that had escaped from a nearby circus late Wednesday. "Didn't have time to hit the brakes. The elephant blended in with the road," driver Bill Carpenter said Thursday. "At the very last second I said 'Elephant!'"...
Oil rises above $80 amid stock market surge
(11/06/09)
SINGAPORE -- Oil prices rose above $80 a barrel Friday in Asia as crude investors eyed a surge in global stock markets. Benchmark crude for December delivery was up 47 cents to $80.09 a barrel at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 78 cents to settle at $79.62 on Thursday...
College students need lessons in failure
(11/06/09)
Disgraced ex-New York Times reporter Jayson Blair talking to college students about ethics? What's next? The former head of Lehman Brothers on financial risk management? Such was the blogosphere's snarky tone last week when Washington & Lee University in Virginia announced Blair would speak today at a journalism conference there...
Oct. sales offer relief to merchants
(11/06/09)
NEW YORK -- October's retail sales results, the best performance since April 2008, show that Americans are spending a little more. But will they be willing to pay full price this holiday season? Stores are heading into the period with slashed inventories, determined not to have the fire sales that characterized last Christmas. ...
Goldman Sachs and Citigroup got swine flu vaccine
(11/06/09)
NEW YORK -- Some of New York's biggest companies, including Wall Street giants Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, received doses of swine flu vaccine for at-risk employees, drawing criticism that the hard-to-find vaccine is going first to the privileged...
House votes to expand homebuyer tax credit
(11/05/09)
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Buying a home is about to get cheaper for a whole new crop of homebuyers -- $6,500 cheaper. First-time homebuyers have been getting tax credits of up to $8,000 since January as part of the economic stimulus package enacted earlier this year. ...
Obama offers schools money for backing initiatives
(11/05/09)
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Pushing for a link between student test scores and teacher pay, President Barack Obama on Wednesday dangled $5 billion in federal grants to states willing to undertake a top-to-bottom overhaul of their schools in support of White House priorities...
Italian judge convicts 23 in CIA kidnapping case
(11/05/09)
MILAN -- An Italian judge found 23 Americans and two Italians guilty Wednesday in the kidnapping of an Egyptian terror suspect, delivering the first legal convictions anywhere in the world against people involved in the CIA's extraordinary rendition program...
Gay leaders blame television ads, Obama for loss in Maine
(11/05/09)
SAN FRANCISCO -- National gay rights leaders Wednesday blamed scaremongering ads -- and President Barack Obama's lack of engagement -- for an election setback in Maine that could alter the dynamics for both sides in the gay-marriage debate...
British deaths raise questions about Afghan police
(11/05/09)
KABUL -- The killing of five British troops by a rogue Afghan policeman underlines concerns about training and discipline within the ranks and possible insurgent infiltration of a police force that the U.S. hopes will be its ticket out of Afghanistan someday...
Stocks give up gains in last hour of trading
(11/05/09)
NEW YORK -- A late-day slump left stocks mixed Wednesday as investors couldn't hold on to their optimism after the Federal Reserve gave an encouraging assessment of the economy. The Dow Jones industrial average, up more than 150 points after the Fed described the economy as showing more signs of recovery, closed up 30. The broader indexes were narrowly mixed...
October sales promise a bit of relief to stores
(11/05/09)
NEW YORK -- October sales reports from major retailers ranging from Target Corp. to Macy's Inc. are expected to offer more evidence of a spending recovery when they're released today. That's helping to lift hopes for a slightly merrier holiday season and for the health of the overall economy...
Democrats' plan to help 'uninsurables' questioned
(11/05/09)
WASHINGTON -- You're afraid your cancer is back, and a health insurance company just turned you down. Under the health care bills in Congress, you could apply for coverage through a new high-risk pool that President Barack Obama promises would immediately start serving patients with pre-existing medical problems...
Review: Cash for Clunkers pickups traded for new pickups
(11/05/09)
WASHINGTON -- The most common deals under the government's $3 billion Cash for Clunkers program, aimed at putting more fuel-efficient cars on the road, replaced old Ford or Chevrolet pickups with new ones that got only marginally better gas mileage, according to an analysis of new federal data by The Associated Press...
Election lessons will shape 2010 campaign
(11/05/09)
WASHINGTON -- What we learned from the off-year elections: The president's influence is limited, independents rule, incumbents beware, issues trump ideology and, once more, "It's the economy, stupid." Also: Republicans can win -- even if they lack a leader and their base is cracked. And this certainly isn't the Democratic-friendly political environment of 2006 and 2008 when the party captured control of Congress and the White House...
Tokyo train stations use lights to stem suicides
(11/05/09)
TOKYO -- Alarmed by a rise in people jumping to their deaths in front of trains, some Japanese railway operators are installing special blue lights above station platforms they hope will have a soothing effect and reduce suicides. As of November, East Japan Railway Co. has put blue light-emitting diode, or LED, lights in all 29 stations on Tokyo's central train loop, the Yamanote Line, used by 8 million passengers each day...
Israel: Commandos seize huge Iranian arms shipment
(11/05/09)
JERUSALEM -- Open crates from a cargo ship seized Wednesday by Israel revealed dark green missiles inside. Containers from the vessel bore writing in English that said "I.R. Iranian Shipping Lines Group." Israel alleged that the shipment of hundreds of tons of rockets, missiles, mortars, grenades and anti-tank weapons -- the largest it ever seized -- was headed for Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon...
Judge puts restraining order on Illinois law on parental notification for abortion
(11/05/09)
CHICAGO -- Just hours after a state board voted Wednesday to allow the enforcement of a long-debated Illinois law requiring a teenage girl's parents be notified before she has an abortion, a judge issued a temporary restraining order putting the measure back on hold...
Commercial pigs in Indiana test positive for H1N1 virus
(11/05/09)
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture said pigs in a commercial herd in Indiana have tested positive for the swine flu virus. This is the first instance of swine flu in a commercial herd in the United States. The USDA said it discovered four tissue samples that tested positive for the virus using its swine surveillance program...
H1N1 flu confirmed in Iowa cat
(11/05/09)
DES MOINES, Iowa -- A 13-year-old Iowa cat has been infected with swine flu, veterinary and federal officials said Wednesday, and it is believed to be the first case of the H1N1 virus in a feline. The domestic shorthaired cat was treated last week at Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine in Ames and has recovered, officials said. The virus also has been confirmed in two ferrets -- one in Oregon and the other in Nebraska -- but they died...
S&P may downgrade rating for Berkshire
(11/05/09)
NEW YORK -- Standard & Poor's warned Wednesday that Warren Buffett's bid for Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. could sap the liquidity and capital position of the legendary investor's insurance operations at Berkshire Hathaway Inc., jeopardizing the company's AAA rating...
Fed again pledges to hold rates low
(11/05/09)
WASHINGTON -- The Federal Reserve pledged Wednesday to keep a key interest rate at a record low for an "extended period," signaling that the weak economy remains dependent on government help to grow. The Fed said economic activity has "continued to pick up" and that the housing market has strengthened -- a key ingredient for a sustained recovery...
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