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Friday, November 20, 2009

National News

World powers weigh new sanctions for Iran (11/20/09)
SEOUL, South Korea -- President Obama said Thursday that the six nations dealing with Iran's nuclear program will develop a package of serious new punitive measures in coming weeks. The European Union said the six would gather immediately to begin consultations...
Hundreds of websites spread al-Qaida's message in English (11/20/09)
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- Increasing numbers of English-language websites are spreading al-Qaida's message to Muslims in the West. They translate writings and sermons once largely out of reach of English readers and often feature charismatic clerics like Anwar al-Awlaki, who exchanged dozens of e-mails with the Army psychiatrist accused of the Fort Hood shootings...
House panel sets fees for big firms, aims to limit Fed (11/20/09)
WASHINGTON -- Taking aim at Wall Street and the nation's central bank, a key House committee voted Thursday to assess upfront fees on large financial firms to pay for the failure of their peers and to require a sweeping congressional audit of the secretive Federal Reserve...
AOL offers buyouts to 2,500, a third of work force (11/20/09)
NEW YORK -- AOL LLC, an Internet company struggling to adapt to an advertising-driven economy, is looking to shed as much as 36 percent of its work force as it prepares to spin off from Time Warner Inc. next month. Major job cuts had been expected, but the magnitude hadn't been known until Thursday. ...
Stock indexes fall about 1 percent (11/20/09)
NEW YORK -- Signs of a subdued economic recovery sent investors out of stocks Thursday and in search of safer assets like the dollar. Major indexes tumbled about 1 percent, including the Dow Jones industrial average, which lost 94 points but ended well off its low. Energy and material stocks logged the biggest losses as a jump in the dollar sent commodity prices tumbling. Meanwhile, an analyst's downgrade of the chip industry pulled technology shares sharply lower...
Nestle: Rain may put pumpkin pie in peril (11/20/09)
PORTLAND, Ore. -- The holidays may not be so sweet this year. Nestle -- which sells nearly all the canned pumpkin in the U.S. -- says poor weather hurt its harvest, creating a potential shortage of its Libby's pumpkin pie products through the holidays...
Fossils of three new ancient crocodile species found (11/20/09)
WASHINGTON -- A 20-foot-long crocodile with three sets of fangs -- like wild boar tusks -- roamed parts of northern Africa millions of years ago, researchers reported Thursday. While this fearsome creature hunted meat, not far away another newly found type of croc with a wide, flat snout like a pancake was fishing for food...
Four men in Florida terrorist plot sentenced to prison (11/20/09)
MIAMI -- Four Miami men described as soldiers in a plot to destroy Chicago's Sears Tower and bomb FBI offices have received sentences far shorter than prosecutors sought. U.S. District Judge Joan Lenard imposed sentences less than 10 years. Prosecutors had sought between 30 and 50 years...
Gripes about swine flu vaccine abound (11/20/09)
ATLANTA -- When the nation's swine flu vaccination program began in early October, health officials predicted it was going to be messy. They were right. The program has been plagued with problems and information gaps: To be fair, health officials say, the government deserves credit for a herculean effort to develop and distribute a safe and effective vaccine against a deadly virus that was first identified only seven months ago...
Katrina ruling could bring deluge of lawsuits (11/20/09)
NEW ORLEANS -- A landmark court ruling blaming the Army Corps of Engineers' "monumental negligence" for some of the worst flooding from Hurricane Katrina could lead to a new deluge: billions of dollars in legal action from thousands of storm victims...
FAA glitch causes delays in air travel across country (11/20/09)
ATLANTA -- Air travelers nationwide scrambled to revise their plans Thursday after an FAA computer glitch caused widespread cancellations and delays for the second time in 15 months. The Federal Aviation Administration said the problem, which lasted about four hours, was fixed around 9 a.m., but it was unclear how long flights would be affected...
Muslim countries seek blasphemy ban (11/20/09)
GENEVA -- Four years after cartoons of the prophet Muhammad set off violent protests across the Muslim world, Islamic nations are mounting a campaign for an international treaty to protect religious symbols and beliefs from mockery -- essentially a ban on blasphemy that would put them on a collision course with free speech laws in the West...
Afghan president sworn in for second five-year term (11/20/09)
KABUL -- President Hamid Karzai was inaugurated Thursday for a second term, pledging that Afghanistan will prosecute corrupt officials and control its own security within five years. As Karzai vowed to make the country safe from an increasingly violent Taliban insurgency, two U.S. ...
U.N. climate chief holds out hope for global pact (11/20/09)
UNITED NATIONS -- The U.N. climate chief has a message for naysayers about the Copenhagen climate conference next month: It will succeed. Yvo De Boer, the U.N. official who is shepherding the talks, sought to assure reporters Thursday that the long-anticipated United Nations-led meeting Dec. ...
U.S. ship repels pirates with guns and sound blasts (11/19/09)
NAIROBI, Kenya -- Guards aboard the Maersk Alabama used guns and a sound blaster Wednesday to repel the second pirate attack in seven months on the U.S. vessel at a time when ships are increasingly hiring armed security teams to thwart hijackings...
Ex-official to head Fort Hood review (11/19/09)
WASHINGTON -- Defense Secretary Robert Gates has tapped a former senior defense official to lead a broad Pentagon review of the circumstances surrounding the Fort Hood shootings, The Associated Press has learned. Gates will announce today that it will be a single, coordinated review, and will call for a quick, short-term report, followed by a longer, more extensive study, according to an administration official...
Anti-racists and far-right youths battle in streets of Moscow (11/19/09)
MOSCOW -- A simmering confrontation between far-right youths and anti-racist activists has erupted into Moscow's streets after the fatal shooting of an anti-racist activist known as the Bonebreaker. The violence stems from deep animus between two aggressive camps with starkly different visions of Russia's future -- neo-Nazi skinheads who rank in the tens of thousands and militant antiracist groups that call themselves Antifa, short for antifascist...
Leggo my Eggo! Kellogg fights waffle shortage (11/19/09)
ATLANTA -- Dear Kellogg: Leggo my Eggo! Kellogg Co. says there will be a nationwide shortage of its popular Eggo frozen waffles until next summer because of interruptions in production at two of the four plants that make them. The company's Atlanta plant was shut down for an undisclosed period by a September storm that dumped historic amounts of rain in the area. ...
Stocks slip on technology, housing construction (11/19/09)
NEW YORK -- Disappointing forecasts from technology companies and an unexpected drop in home construction added to worries about the economy and sent stocks modestly lower. The drop Wednesday came a day after major stock indicators closed at 13-month highs. The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 11 points after having risen in nine of the past 11 days. A drop in technology stocks weighed on the Nasdaq composite index...
Jobless benefits could end for many in Jan. (11/19/09)
WASHINGTON -- More than 1 million people will run out of unemployment benefits in January unless Congress quickly extends federal emergency aid, a not-for-profit group said Wednesday. States typically provide 26 weeks of unemployment insurance for those who lose their jobs through no fault of their own, with weekly checks averaging about $300. ...
Federal judge: Two online sites selling Beatles songs to remain shut down (11/19/09)
LOS ANGELES -- Two websites that sold songs by The Beatles for 25 cents apiece should remain shut down indefinitely, a federal judge ruled Wednesday. U.S. District Judge John F. Walter issued a preliminary injunction against BlueBeat.com and Basebeat.com at the request of music company EMI Group. The injunction prohibits the sites and their owner, Hank Risan, from streaming or selling songs by the Fab Four and other popular artists, including Lily Allen and Coldplay...
Reid sets markers for health care debate (11/19/09)
WASHINGTON -- Setting up a historic year-end health care debate, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid unveiled long-awaited legislation Wednesday night to extend coverage to all but 6 percent of eligible Americans and bar private industry from denying insurance because of pre-existing medical conditions...
Iran rejects deal to ship uranium abroad (11/19/09)
TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran will not ship its low-enriched uranium out of the country for processing, its foreign minister said Wednesday, once again rejecting a U.N. plan aimed at thwarting any attempt by Tehran to make nuclear weapons. Instead, Foreign Minister Manochehr Mottaki countered with a proposal certain to fall short of Western demands...
President Obama, South Korean leader accentuate the positive (11/19/09)
SEOUL, South Korea -- America's relations with South Korea, a crucial Asian ally, are on an upswing as President Barack Obama meets with President Lee Myung-bak today, though a stalled trade agreement is still a concern for the economic powerhouses...
Judge: Army Corps of Engineers' negligence caused Katrina flooding (11/19/09)
NEW ORLEANS -- A federal judge ruled Wednesday that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' failure to properly maintain a navigation channel led to massive flooding during Hurricane Katrina. U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval sided with five residents and one business who argued the Army Corps' shoddy oversight of the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet led to the flooding of New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward and neighboring St. ...
Latest headlines
  • Winfrey: Prayer, careful thought influenced exit
    CHICAGO (AP) -- Holding back tears, Oprah Winfrey told her studio audience Friday that she would end her show in 2011 after a quarter-century on the air, saying prayer and careful thought led her to her decision.
  • U. of Neb. board votes down stem-cell rule changes
    LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -- The University of Nebraska's governing board on Friday voted down a proposal to restrict the school's rules governing embryonic stem-cell research beyond what the federal government allows.
  • SC lawmakers to take up impeachment of governor
    COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- South Carolina lawmakers plan to formally consider impeaching Gov. Mark Sanford for the first time next week, the chairman of the committee beginning that work said Friday.
  • Atty seeks psych care for Mo. teen murder suspect
    JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- A teenager accused of killing a 9-year-old neighbor should be sent to a psychiatric hospital because she shows signs of severe depression and anxiety, her attorney said.
  • Tamiflu-resistant swine flu cluster reported in NC
    ATLANTA (AP) -- Four North Carolina patients at a single hospital tested positive for a type of swine flu that is resistant to Tamiflu, health officials said Friday.
  • Giuliani back in spotlight _ but what's the show?
    NEW YORK (AP) -- Whether he's planning another run for the White House or a bid for senator or governor, or he just misses the spotlight, Rudy Giuliani is suddenly back and talking about the topic that made him a national star -- Sept. 11.
  • Police: NC girl raped, killed on day she was taken
    FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (AP) -- A 5-year-old North Carolina girl was raped and killed the same day she was taken from her home, according to an arrest warrant released Friday.
  • Diocese: Pedophile priests should get benefits
    WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) -- The Catholic Diocese of Wilmington is obligated to pay retirement benefits to six priests who are confirmed pedophiles, church officials argued in a bankruptcy court filing seeking permission to keep making the payments.
  • Pa. university students must pass fitness class
    PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- A Pennsylvania university's requirement that overweight students take a fitness course to graduate has raised the hackles of students and the eyebrows of health and legal experts.
  • Teen pleads guilty in violent Border Patrol murder
    SAN DIEGO (AP) -- A 17-year-old pleaded guilty Friday to murdering a Border Patrol agent who was shot eight times in head, neck and torso in the mountains east of San Diego.