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Morning headlines brought to you by Carolyn Kay MakeThemAccountable.com Top StoryGroup says Al-Qaida No. 2 mocks Bush
CAIRO, Egypt - Al-Qaida's deputy leader mocked President Bush's plan to send 21,000 more troops to Iraq, challenging him to send "the entire army," according to a new al-Qaida videotape released Monday by a U.S. group that tracks terror messages. Buck Fush
The WorldBomb attacks kill 2, wound 9 in Iraq
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Two bombs struck Shiite targets in Baghdad on Tuesday, killing two people and wounding nine, police said, as the U.S. military announced the deaths of a Marine and a soldier.
Iran bars 38 IAEA nuclear inspectors
TEHRAN, Iran - Iran has barred 38 nuclear inspectors on a United Nations list from entering the country, the foreign minister said Monday in what appeared to be retaliation for the U.N. sanctions imposed last month.
Suicide bomber kills 10 in Afghanistan
A suicide bomber blew himself up outside a U.S. military base in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, killing 10 people and wounding 14 others, an Afghan official said. The bomber approached a group of Afghan men who were waiting outside the base in the city of Khost, in Khost province, before triggering an explosive strapped to his chest, said Jamal Arsalah, the province's governor.
Blasts kill 2 in Sri Lanka
COLOMBO (AFP) - Two roadside bombs exploded in northern Sri Lanka, killing two people and wounding 10, while suspected Tamil Tiger rebels hijacked a truck with six construction workers, police said.
China confirms anti-satellite weapon test, says nothing to fear
BEIJING (AFP) - China has confirmed for the first time that it has tested a satellite-destroying weapon but insisted its space programme was of no threat to the rest of the world.
China says needs 15 years to tackle gender imbalance
BEIJING (Reuters) - It could take up to 15 years for China's gender imbalance to sort itself out, the country's top family planner said on Tuesday, admitting that three decades of strict population policies had contributed to the problem.
North Korea hints at flexibility in nuclear talks
BEIJING (Reuters) - North Korea hinted at flexibility in its position on six-party talks on Tuesday, raising hopes that a new round of negotiations aimed at dismantling its nuclear weapons program could make headway.
Australian PM faces tough re-election fight: poll
SYDNEY (AFP) - Australia's conservative Prime Minister John Howard faces a tough battle to win re-election this year against a resurgent left-of-centre Labor Party, a poll showed.
Nicaragua's Ortega slashes his salary
MANAGUA, Nicaragua - Leftist Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, who took power earlier this month, said Monday that he was slashing his salary and those of Cabinet members.
Outrage over British collusion in N. Ireland killings
BELFAST (AFP) - British police colluded with paramilitaries behind at least 10 murders in Northern Ireland in the 1990s, a damning report said, triggering outrage in Dublin and Belfast and remorse in London.
African Union confirms Sudanese bombings
KHARTOUM, Sudan - The African Union confirmed Monday that Sudan's air force bombed Darfur villages last week, attacks that violated a cease-fire. The NationBush speech to showcase domestic issues
WASHINGTON - Delivering his first State of the Union address to a Democratic-controlled Congress, President Bush hopes to balance a rebuke of his Iraq policy already promised by lawmakers with a high-profile invitation to cooperate on vexing domestic problems.
Democrats frame State of Union response
WASHINGTON - Emboldened congressional Democrats are doing their best to drown out President Bush's State of the Union speech with two themes: Sending more troops to Iraq is not a new strategy, and the president and his Republican allies are no longer solely in charge of national policy.
Bush insurance plan gets cold reception
WASHINGTON - President Bush's proposed tax deduction for health insurance appears to be shaping up as a tough sell in the Democratic Congress.
Millions could see taxes up in Bush health plan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - About 30 million Americans could face a tax hike under President George W. Bush's plan to expand health insurance coverage and address rising health care costs, the White House said on Monday.
AARP, Business Roundtable and SEIU Partner to Spur Action on Health Care, Long-term Financial Security
Three of the nation's leading consumer, business and labor organizations announced that they will work together to urge action from political leaders in a partnership called Divided We Fail. AARP, Business Roundtable and SEIU will use the influence of their over 50 million combined memberships to amplify the message that attaining health and long-term financial security is vital for all Americans and these issues must be included in the national political debate.
New coalition aims to keep Dems in check
WASHINGTON - Democratic lawmakers who stray too far from the party line could find themselves facing primary opponents financed by unions, trial lawyers and political activists eager to put the new congressional majority to the test. The coalition has organized two entities — a lobbying wing called They Work For Us and a campaign arm called Working for Us PAC — that will target lawmakers who don't support their agenda of raising wages, increasing jobs, providing more affordable health care and preventing job losses to foreign countries.
GOP opposition to troop increase grows
WASHINGTON - President Bush's decision to send more troops to Iraq evoked increasing Republican opposition as a Democratic-led Senate panel prepared tough questioning for the man who would carry out the plan as the new war commander.
Rockefeller: Iraq drains security funds
WASHINGTON - The new chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee said he fears the government will not have enough money for homeland security and other domestic priorities because of President Bush's "Iraq adventure."
High court rejects Calif. sentencing law
WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court, its new chief justice joining the majority, made clear Monday that juries, not judges, must determine facts that justify harsher prison sentences.
Court eases restrictions on inmate suits
WASHINGTON - A unanimous Supreme Court signaled Monday that some courts are going too far in barring lawsuits by inmates complaining about their treatment.
Supreme Court passes in corruption case
WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court said Monday it would not review the public corruption conviction of a Los Angeles-area congresswoman's son, who argued that prosecutors put him on trial in a neighboring county to keep blacks off the jury.
Justice report faults FBI for not initially investigating Foley
The FBI should have acted to protect teenage House pages when it initially learned last July that ex-Rep. Mark Foley had sent disturbing e-mails to a former male page, an internal Justice Department report concluded Monday. Economy & BusinessIndices fall on tech view
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks slid on Monday as investors sold off shares of technology firms on worries about their earnings outlook, while a brokerage downgrade hurt shares of aircraft maker Boeing Co. , pushing the blue-chip Dow average down to record its steepest one-day drop in two months.
US productivity growth lowest for a decade
The US economy last year recorded its lowest rate of labour productivity growth in more than a decade, with growth in output per hour worked falling behind the EU and Japan. The fall casts further doubt on the ability of the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates as the US economy slows. MediaNature, Crime, and Politics Challenge Iraq for News Dominance: Jan. 14 - 19, 2007
The continuing debate over the president’s strategy for Iraq kept that subject atop PEJ’s News Coverage Index for the week of January 14-19. But the tale of kidnapped Missouri boys, a nasty blast of winter, and the Barack Obama bandwagon also generated major coverage in a busy and varied news week.
Campaign Allegation A Source of Vexation
Insight, a magazine owned by the Washington Times, cited unnamed sources in saying that young Barack attended a madrassah, or Muslim religious school, in Indonesia. The magazine, citing only unnamed sources, said that researchers "connected" to the New York senator were allegedly spreading the information about her rival for the Democratic presidential nomination. Thus, in the first media controversy of the 2008 campaign, two of the leading candidates find themselves forced to respond to allegations lacking a single named source.
Forget America, is Journalism Ready for a Black President?
"Is America Ready for a Black President?" It's a question that many media outlets have posed recently ahead of a possible presidential run by Senator Barack Obama. But instead of asking if the country is prepared, the press would do well to ask itself, "Is Journalism Ready?" Not necessarily, say political scientists studying media coverage of minority candidates.
My Kingdom For A Storyline
As we've seen so often in horse race political coverage, once the press sinks its teeth into a certain storyline it's nearly impossible to get it to see beyond that storyline, however flawed. Case in point is a Wall Street Journal piece this morning by Jackie Calmes which, 22 months away from he next presidential election, paints the race as a showdown between two candidates -- Hillary Clinton and John McCain. Funny, based on polls we've been looking at since back in 2004, the real Republican front-runner is -- if the voice of the American people counts for anything -- Rudy Giuliani.
Libby Trial to Display Changed Reporter-Source Relations
WASHINGTON, Jan. 21 — As the perjury and obstruction of justice trial of I. Lewis Libby Jr. unfolds over the next few weeks, the ways in which the case has vastly reshaped relations between reporters and high government officials will be on vivid display. Most striking, a handful of reporters for major news organizations will testify for the prosecution.
No Changes Planned at CBS Evening News with Katie Couric
"There was talk in the beginning about the nature of the show and it being a little soft, and we may have started off a little soft," says CBS News and Sports President Sean McManus. "But if you look at the show now, the mix is where it should be and it is as hard as any other newscast at 6:30."
Air America Nears Sale to Group Led by French Family
Air America radio's parent company may have found a new rescuer: the French family of Westchester County, N.Y., which owns New York City-area television concern WRNN. A consortium of investors led by the French family is on the verge of signing a deal to purchase the assets of Piquant LLC, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in New York in October, according to people familiar with the situation. An agreement could be announced as early as today, these people said
Lucrative Satellite Radio Deals Vanishing
If any more money from Sirius Satellite Radio comes Howard Stern's way, he should take it. So should Martha Stewart, Oprah Winfrey, the major sports leagues and any other content provider that has a deal with Sirius or XM Satellite Radio. That's because the lucrative contracts Sirius and XM have been doling out for programming are drying up. Fast.
BBC in Talks on Google Link-Up
The BBC is in advanced negotiations with Google to make programming available via a branded channel on the search giant's video-sharing site, MediaGuardian.co.uk can reveal. It is understood that BBC executives are keen that the deal, which involves BBC Worldwide and the BBC, is eventually expanded to include putting content on Google-owned YouTube.
Us Weekly, Veoh to Launch Celebrity Channel
Us Weekly has signed a deal with Veoh Networks to launch a branded entertainment channel on both Usmagazine.com and the Web video repository Veoh.com. The new Celebrity Channel, which goes live sometime in February, will feature a variety of Us-produced video footage culled together from various celebrity-filled occasions, ranging from parties to news events. Users will also be able to submit their own celeb-themed clips to either site – much in the same way that user-shot celebrity videos populate the increasingly popular TMZ.com.
Washington May Take Up TV Violence
With a fresh Congress sworn in and a major federal report expected soon on TV gore, pressure is likely to mount to more aggressively stem graphic and gratuitous scenes in shows. One proposal would give regulators powers similar to those they have now to punish indecency and coarse language over the airwaves. Science & TechnologyCEOs plead for mandatory emissions caps
WASHINGTON - Chief executives of 10 major corporations urged Congress on Monday to require limits on greenhouse gases this year, contending voluntary efforts to combat climate change are inadequate.
Experts: Alps Glaciers Will Melt by 2050
VIENNA, Austria (AP) - Glaciers will all but disappear from the Alps by 2050, scientists warned Monday, basing their bleak outlook on mounting evidence of slow but steady melting of the continental ice sheets.
Hot New Study: Earth's Heat Can Power Our Future
The extraordinary amount of heat seething below Earth's hard rocky crust could help supply the United States with a significant fraction of the electricity it will need in the future, probably at competitive prices and with minimal environmental impact, scientists now claim. Geothermal plants essentially mine heat by using wells at times a mile or more deep. These wells tap into hot rock and connect them with flowing water, producing large amounts of steam and super-hot water that can drive turbines and run electricity generators at the surface.
Students' new best friend: 'MoSoSo'
College students are using what many observers call the next big consumer technology shift: Mobile Social Networking Software, or Mososo. The sophisticated reach of cyber-social networks, combined with the military precision of GPS, is putting enough power in these students' pockets to run a small country.
MySpace to Distribute Amber Alerts
LOS ANGELES (AP) - The social-networking Web site MySpace.com will now distribute Amber alerts to members notifying them of missing children in their communities. MySpace, a News Corp. unit, is teaming with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children to distribute the alerts, which are triggered by law-enforcement officials.
White Doctors, Black Subjects: Abuse Disguised as Research
Harriet A. Washington has unearthed an enormous amount of shocking information and shaped it into a riveting, carefully documented book.
Do You Believe in Magic?
Scientists are trying to figure out why even the skeptics among us cling to lucky numbers, special game-day clothing and other odd rituals.
Missing Link Found in Ancient Embryos
They look like baseballs and soccer balls. But they could reveal how the earliest known egg-laying organism developed from embryo to adulthood. |
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