Good Morning! - Morning Headlines

[Caro]

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Carolyn Kay
MakeThemAccountable.com

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Bush Orders U.S. Troop Buildup In Iraq
In a prime-time address to the nation, President Bush said he will send more than 20,000 additional U.S. troops to Iraq to quell sectarian fighting. For the first time, he acknowledged he had erred by failing to order a military buildup last year.

Bush's Iraq plan faces defiant Congress
WASHINGTON - President Bush's troop-boosting plan for Iraq was headed straight into a political gale in Congress, with Democrats, some Republicans and an increasingly organized anti-war movement arrayed against the buildup.

Buck Fush

The World

Recent events fuel Arab ire toward U.S.
CAIRO, Egypt - Saddam Hussein's unruly execution, gunbattles in Iraq and U.S. airstrikes on Somalia are increasing hostility toward America in the Arab world and deepening the Shiite-Sunni divide.

Iraqi government welcomes Bush strategy
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq's government welcomed President Bush's new strategy and promised it was committed to making sure it succeeds. But ordinary Iraqis gave it mixed reviews, with many expressing skepticism that an increase in U.S. troops would quell the violence ransacking their country.

Sure, it keeps them in power longer. —Caro

U.S., Iraqi forces kill 50 insurgents
U.S. and Iraqi soldiers, backed by American warplanes, killed 50 suspected insurgents in an hours-long battle Tuesday in central Baghdad, the Iraqi defense ministry said.

Iraq PM cracks down in Shiite militiamen
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq's prime minister has told Shiite militiamen to surrender their weapons or face an all-out assault, part of a commitment U.S. President George W. Bush outlined to bring violence under control with a more aggressive Iraqi Army and 21,500 additional American troops.

NATO: 150 Fighters Killed in Afghanistan
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - NATO on Thursday said as many as 150 insurgents were killed in a battle in eastern Afghanistan after two large groups of fighters crossed the border from Pakistan. The fighters were attacked with ground fire and airstrikes, NATO said.

Indonesian police kill suspected militant after bomb and gun battle
Police raided a house Thursday on Sulawesi Island where several alleged Islamic militants were staying, sparking a fierce gun and bomb battle that left one suspected terrorist dead, a top police chief said Thursday.

Chavez touts socialism in inauguration
CARACAS, Venezuela - Invoking Christ and Castro as his socialist models, President Hugo Chavez began his third term Wednesday by declaring that socialism, not capitalism, is the only way forward for Venezuela and the world.

I respectfully disagree, Mr. Chavez. Socialism has failed wherever it’s been tried, as has pure capitalism. Regulated capitalism has been the most successful for the most people. —Caro

Security Council backs speedy deployment of African troops to Somalia
The U.N. Security Council backed the speedy deployment of African troops to Somalia and strongly supported a dialogue among all political players and humanitarian aid for the country.

The Nation

Bush rhetoric hard to square with facts
WASHINGTON - Winning support among Middle Eastern countries is part of President Bush's revised strategy for Iraq. But he pitched the new plan by leaving out a pertinent fact: Anti-U.S. rhetoric in those nations has grown increasingly hostile since the execution of a man Bush never mentioned — Saddam Hussein.

MTA mediaspeak translator: Bush lied. —Caro

Most in Democratic Field Want Troop Cuts
WASHINGTON (AP) - The growing field of Democratic presidential candidates is almost uniformly in favor of reducing the U.S. troop presence in Iraq - the reverse of President Bush's plan. Most Republicans stand behind Bush.

Minimum wage boost races through House
WASHINGTON - The House voted to raise the federal minimum wage Wednesday for the first time in a decade, to $7.25 an hour, as majority Democrats marched briskly through their 100-hour agenda at the dawn of a new Congress.

Justices express support for limiting use of union fees
The Supreme Court appeared ready Wednesday to uphold a Washington state law that restricts when unions can use fees collected from non-members for political purposes.

High Court rules on railroad negligence
WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court on Wednesday gave Norfolk Southern Railway Co. another opportunity in its effort to reduce a $1.5 million jury award to an injured worker.

Study: 744,000 are homeless in U.S.
WASHINGTON - There were 744,000 homeless people in the United States in 2005, according to the first national estimate in a decade. A little more than half were living in shelters, and nearly a quarter were chronically homeless, according to the report Wednesday by the National Alliance to End Homelessness, an advocacy group.

Economy & Business

Tech optimism lifts indices
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday as investors bet that technology shares would lead gains this year, led by a rally in shares of Apple Inc., and as Alcoa Inc.'s stronger-than-expected profit lifted optimism about fourth-quarter earnings.

Trade deficit dips by 1 percent in Nov.
WASHINGTON - The trade deficit fell for a third straight month as the U.S. bill for foreign oil declined to the lowest level in 16 months and American exports hit an all-time high.

Home loan demand soars in first week of new year
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. mortgage applications skyrocketed during the first week of 2007 as interest rates fell for the first time in five weeks, lending support to the view that the housing market is stabilizing, an industry trade group said on Wednesday.

Refund loans can cut into tax refunds
NEW YORK - Refund anticipation loans offered by tax preparation services may look tempting to the taxpayer who'd rather not wait for a check to arrive from the federal government. But most come with a big price — fees and a steep interest rate that can take a big chunk out of the money a borrower expects to receive.

Media

Roger Ailes To Be Honored For Contributions To Press Freedom
The Radio and Television News Directors Foundation is set to honor Fox News chief Roger Ailes along with Philip Balboni of New England Cable News and a pair of journalists — Kimberly Dozier of CBS News and Bob Woodruff of ABC News — wounded in Iraq for "their work on behalf of press freedom" at the 17th Annual First Amendment Awards Dinner on March 8 in Washington.

Broadcast networks ignored Democratic response to Bush's address
ABC, NBC, and CBS all returned to regular programming. Fox held a post-speech discussion with National Review editor Rich Lowry and Democratic strategist Kirsten Powers, followed by an interview with Fox News military analyst retired Lt. Gen. Thomas McInerney, instead of cutting to Sen. Durbin. PBS and cable news networks CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News all aired Durbin's response.

CBS mischaracterized own poll to declare Americans are "split on troop 'surge' "
A CBSNews.com article misrepresented the findings of the network's own poll to claim that "45 percent are in favor of the so-called troop 'surge,' while 48 percent are opposed." The poll question resulting in the 45 percent-48 percent split did not address President Bush's expected proposal for an increase of U.S. troops in Iraq.

Conservatives will blame MSM if US loses in Iraq, says Boot
But if the United States military fails to achieve its goals in Iraq, "it won't be the fault of the ink-stained wretches or even their blow-dried TV counterparts," says Max Boot. "To argue otherwise deflects blame from those who deserve it, in the upper echelons of the administration and the armed forces."

But I thought it was the Democrats who caused the failures in Iraq. That’s what Hannity and Colmes want you to believe. —Caro

Hannity And FOX News Post “Ticking Clock” For Democratic Plan For Iraq, Overlook The Ones Already Put Forth
Sean Hannity and the rest of the FOX News staff at Hannity & Colmes are either the world’s most ill-informed members of the press or the world’s most untruthful. After President Bush’s speech last night, Hannity announced, “We’re gonna count the time since the president’s speech and we’ll wait for a Democratic alternative… Our clock is officially ticking on the new Democratic leadership and their rhetoric. It’s time to put up.” He grinned smugly as a “ticking” clock appeared in a box with the words “Where’s their plan?” Actually, their plan is right on their websites, easy to find had anyone bothered to look.

SNL Vet Miller to Host Westwood Talker
Dennis Miller is coming to radio. The five-time Emmy award-winner and four-time Writers' Guild award winner has signed with Westwood One to host a three-hour daily talk show, Westwood announced Wednesday.

The Minimum Wage: Which Economists Does the Post Talk to?
The economic reporting critic debunks a sweeping Washington Post assertion that "most economists agree would cause a modest increase in national unemployment." I'm not sure how they have determined the views of most economists. There is a large body of recent research that indicates that modest increases in the minimum wage, like that being considered, have no measurable effect on unemployment.

When the Weatherman Plays Dumb
A collection of on-air exclamations over extremely unusual winter weather—"downright weird," "unbelievable," "beautiful," "mind-boggling"—illustrates the conscious superficiality of television meteorologists who refuse to address viewers' "worr about global warming or climate change." Collins explains why we shouldn't "expect an explanation beyond the astonishing qualifiers."

William Morris to Hold Power Retreat on Media Future
Hollywood talent agency William Morris is coaxing big moguls to its retreat in Palm Springs to pontificate about the future of the entertainment business. The program, modeled after the Allen & Co. media/tech retreat, includes Disney's Bob Iger and MySpace's Chris DeWolfe.

Science & Technology

Cisco sues Apple over use of iPhone name
SAN FRANCISCO - Apple Inc.'s much-ballyhooed iPhone was unveiled this week after 30 months and millions of dollars in top-secret development. But the sleek new iPod-cellular phone combination could wind up costing the company a lot more.

I don’t understand this at all. It was no secret that Cisco owned the name iPhone. —Caro

Skype says time is not ripe for cellphone version
LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - EBay Inc's Skype believes the cell phone world is not ready for a version of its Internet telephone service that can be downloaded on any mobile phone, because of high carrier charges, the company's hardware and software business development chief said on Wednesday.

Give a child a video game -- and maybe a job
LOS ANGELES, Jan 11 (Reuters Life!) - Mathematics, science and video games? A U.S. university professor is urging schools to consider using video games as tools to better prepare children for the work force.

Human error may have doomed Mars probe
LOS ANGELES - NASA is investigating whether incorrect software commands may have doomed the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft, which abruptly fell silent last year after a decade of meticulously mapping the Red Planet.

A meteorite lands in a N.J. bathroom
FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP, N.J. - A hole in the roof, a bathroom full of debris and a strange, silvery rock near the toilet — the Nageswaran family soon realized they needed an astronomer, not a contractor, to fully explain what damaged their house.

New Comet is Brightest in 30 Years
A newfound comet has backyard skywatchers buzzing about its incredible brightness even though it is a challenge to spot.

Black hole triplets spotted
The discovery of three distant supermassive black holes in close proximity to each other is giving astronomers a glimpse into the chaotic early years of the universe. Known as quasars, these incredibly bright objects are smaller than our solar system, but a single quasar can outshine an entire galaxy of a hundred billion stars.

Cartoons with faces to help autistic children
LONDON (AFP) - British autism experts launched an innovative new way of helping children with the condition to recognize emotions, using youngster-friendly animated videos.

Fish follow their noses back home
Baby tropical fish, drifting at the mercy of ocean currents, probably follow their noses back to their home reefs when they grow large enough to swim.