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NEWS SUNDAY, NOVEMBER
23, 2008 NEWS
EARLY EDITION
Bush
Scrambles For North Korea Disarmament Deal
President Bush scrambled allies Saturday to secure a North Korea disarmament
deal before he leaves office, rushing hard for a late, legacy-shaping win.
As Bush engaged in some final diplomacy on the world stage amid a global
economic slide, the White House announced that all nations engaged in the
showdown with North Korea would meet in China in early December.
That nudge in the process alone was a boost to Bush, whose government is
eager to lock in an international agreement on how to accurately verify
North Korea's nuclear capabilities. Fox
News
Cuomo
Favored To Take Hillary Clinton's Senate Seat
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is emerging as the leading contender
to take over the Senate seat of Hillary Clinton, who is poised to head
the State Department after Barack Obama takes offices as President.
Blogs and polls are showing a preference for Cuomo. In a new Marist poll,
43 percent of New York voters said they would like to see Cuomo replace
Clinton, 1 percentage point more than those who said they were not sure
about their preference. A Washington DC blog, examiner.com, predicts
Cuomo will get the nod. Fox
News
Obama
Sees Long Haul Ahead
U.S. President-elect Barack Obama said on Saturday he was crafting
a two-year plan to fight an economic crisis of "historic proportions" and
Chinese leader Hu Jintao said his country was ready to play a big role
in the global effort. Hu, U.S. President George W. Bush and other
leaders at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum called for a global
free trade deal to offset the economic crisis. U.S. automaker General
Motors Corp was considering "all options," including bankruptcy, because
of its liquidity problems, according to The Wall Street Journal. Reuters
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Obama
Names Robert Gibbs As Press Secretary
U.S. President-elect Barack Obama announced on Saturday that close
aide
Robert Gibbs would be White House press secretary and Ellen Moran of women's
organization Emily's List would be director of communications. Obama
said Dan Pfeiffer, who heads the Obama transition team's communications
office, would serve at the White House as deputy director of communications.
Gibbs, an Obama adviser since 2004, served as communications director to
Obama when he was a U.S. senator from Illinois. He held the same
role for the first part of Obama's presidential campaign before becoming
a senior strategist during the general election. Reuters
Chicago, Clinton
Camps Feed Obama's Team
Two main quarries are supplying the building blocks for President-elect
Barack Obama's new administration. Longtime, deeply loyal associates
will dominate the White House inner sanctum. And veterans of Bill Clinton's
presidency will hold vital jobs throughout the government, although a bit
farther from the Oval Office. The structure suggests Obama is confident
enough to hand top posts to former rivals whose loyalty is not guaranteed,
a strategy many presidents have avoided. MSNBC
Immigrant's Death
Shows Tensions In N.Y. Town
The flowers have wilted and the candles are burned out at a makeshift
memorial where an immigrant from Ecuador was stabbed to death in what police
say was a hate crime carried out by marauding teenagers. Marcelo
Lucero's death Nov. 8 has drawn the attention of officials in Ecuador and
forced the Suffolk County executive, the co-founder of a national group
against illegal immigration, to apologize for belittling the importance
of the case. Seven Patchogue-Medford High School students have been
charged,
one of them with murder. MSNBC
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GM:
Bankruptcy Not A Viable Option
General Motors Corp.'s board of directors does not consider bankruptcy
protection a viable option to solve the company's financial troubles, but
it has discussed Chapter 11 because it has a legal duty to do so, a spokesman
said Saturday. Century-old GM, an icon of American manufacturing,
has been battered by a plunge in car sales as American consumers tighten
their belts and shift away from the big moneymaking pickup trucks and SUVS
that have long been the staples of GM's lineup. GM, which has slashed
jobs and closed plants since early in the decade, has warned that it could
run low on cash by the end of the year unless it gets a taxpayer-funded
rescue from the government. CBS
Minn.
Senate Race Tightens In Recount
The weekend isn't bringing any respite in the Minnesota Senate recount.
Ballots in the ultra-close race between Republican Norm Coleman and Democrat
Al Franken are being counted in at least three counties Saturday.
Fifty-three counties have reported complete results to the secretary of
state, meaning fewer than three dozen remain. As of Friday night, at least
60 percent of the estimated 2.9 million ballots had gotten a second look.
Coleman entered the recount with a 215-vote edge over Franken. That lead
has dropped to 115 votes when comparing totals in precincts where the new
count is complete. CBS
Economic
Tough Times Hit Nevada Brothel
A woman who had just scored a precious high-paying job in the midst
of a disastrous economy was willing to fly in from out of town to take
it. Desperate women turn to world's oldest profession during economic
downturn. Her new boss, Susan Austin, had spared no expense and the
woman was quickly whisked into a waiting limo at the Reno, Nev., airport.
For the sake of privacy, we're calling the woman "Kimberly," and the coveted
job she got was as a prostitute at one of the few places in America where
it's legal -- the self-proclaimed "world famous" Mustang Ranch.
ABC
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Summers
To Be Top White House Economic Adviser At NEC
ABC News has learned that President-elect Obama has decided to name
former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers the director of the National Economic
Council, essentially the president's senior economic adviser. Part
of the Executive Office of the President, the NEC was created for the purpose
of advising the President on matters related to U.S. and global economic
policy. The NEC has four functions, by executive order: ensuring that programs
and policy decisions are consistent with the President's economic goals,
monitoring the implementation of the President's economic policy agenda,
coordinating
policy-making for domestic and international economic issues, and coordinating
economic policy advice for the President. ABC
VOA VIEW: Another insider, no change.
Segway
Inventor Touts Island As An Energy Model
Energy independence is still only a hypothetical goal for the U.S.,
but the owner of a tiny island off the coast of Connecticut says he has
already achieved that feat and is offering his work as a model. Dean
Kamen, inventor of the Segway and numerous medical devices, jokingly refers
to his North Dumpling Island as an independent nation and himself as Lord
Dumpling. Kamen claims to have his own currency and offers visas to visitors
to the tiny island a few miles from Mystic, where he is the only resident.
But Kamen, who bought the three-acre island in the 1980s as a retreat,
is serious about energy independence and the lessons it offers at a time
of volatile gas prices and fears about global warming. Las
Vegas Sun
Astronauts
Step Out For Longest, Hardest Spacewalk
Astronauts are spacewalking again in hopes of wrapping up greasy repair
work on a gummed-up joint at the international space station. Saturday's
spacewalk by Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper (stef-uh-NIH-shun PIE-pur) and
Stephen Bowen is expected to be the longest and hardest one of the mission.
It's the third spacewalk of this mission, and should last more than seven
hours. Inside the space station, meanwhile, a machine that is supposed
to convert astronauts' urine into drinking water shut down again Saturday.
Las
Vegas Sun
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Americans’
’Hypocrisy’ In Auto Rescue Spurs Me-Too Trading Ire
A U.S.-triggered spate of global carmaker-bailout proposals may spark
trade disputes over whether the Americans are unfairly trying to subsidize
their industry or just making up for state aid that foreign rivals already
enjoy. As the U.S. considers a lifeline for its auto companies, officials
in Europe, Canada and Asia are considering their own aid packages -- even
as the European Union threatens to lodge a complaint against any U.S. bailout
to protect manufacturers from Renault SA in France to Fiat SpA in Italy.
China also may complain, though the government is considering helping SAIC
Motor
Corp. and Guangzhou Automobile Group Co. Bloomberg
Vegas
Bids To Cash In With Plan For $50M Mob Museum
Las Vegas, the desert city with an insatiable thirst for reinvention,
is turning to some old friends to reboot its faltering economy: the Mob.
Building projects have stalled up and down the Strip, unheard of in a town
where the sound of explosions on worn-out casino sites was as commonplace
as
gunfire, when the old constantly made way for the new. Now, as credit and
the gambling nerve of the hotel bosses dry up simultaneously, the town
invented by Bugsy Siegel in the Forties is going back to its dubious past
for inspiration. Guardian
Obama
Enjoying Time As Chicago Homebody
U.S. President-elect Barack Obama is enjoying a few weeks of normal
life -- if normal includes a Secret Service detail -- after months on the
campaign trail. The period between the election and inauguration
is actually one of the longest Obama has had at home in Chicago with his
wife and daughters since he ran for the U.S. Senate five years ago, the
Chicago Tribune reported Saturday. Most days, life includes a morning workout,
a trip to the office and dinner at home. Recently, when he and his
wife Michelle enjoyed a leisurely dinner at a favorite Italian restaurant,
the other diners were scanned by portable metal detectors. UPI
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Nintendo’s
Wii Is The Most Eco-Friendly Console
New research from the U.S. Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
finds that the use of video game consoles nationwide consumes about as
much electricity in a year as every home in San Diego combined. The
consoles also significantly contribute to consumers’ electric bills.
Much of the energy is consumed by machines that are left on, but not in
use, the report said. The NRDC looked at the “big three” video game
consoles – Sony Playstation 3, Microsoft XBox360 and Nintendo’s Wii – and
measured the amount of power they consume when they are active, idle and
turned off. Foreign
Wire
Vatican
Forgives Lennon's Controversial Jesus Slam
Better late than never. The Vatican's official newspaper L'Osservatore
Romano finally forgave John Lennon's infamous 1966 claim that his band
was "more popular than Jesus." And, yea, it was all good. In a curious
twist, the way-past-due change of heart and mind came on the 40th anniversary
of The White Album's 1968 release. Look Vatican, we don't want to tell
you how to do your job, but you might have wanted to forgive Lennon's statement
in 2007, the 40th anniversary of The Beatles' epochal Sgt. Pepper's Lonely
Hearts Club Band. Wired
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Saudi
Royals' Mayo Clinic Trip Buoys Local Economy
Members of Saudi Arabia's royal family spent enough during a visit
to the Mayo Clinic to give the area's economy a shot in the arm, according
to Rochester, Minnesota, officials. Saudi Arabian King Abdullah bin
Abdulaziz and his entourage's visit brought riches to Rochester, Minnesota.
Rochester officials say Saudi Arabian King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz arrived
on November 15 for a checkup at the Mayo Clinic and was accompanied by
at least five princes and hundreds of others. CNN
Zimbabwe
Denies Bar On Annan Team
The Zimbabwean government has denied refusing entry to a team led by
former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and former US President Jimmy Carter.
The two men, and Nelson Mandela's wife, Graca Machel, had wanted to assess
the humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe. But they said the government
had
not granted them visas, making their two-day visit impossible. A
Zimbabwean official said the team had been advised to reschedule the trip
to "a mutually agreed date in the future". BBC
DR Congo
Rebel Rallies Support
Rebel DR Congo general Laurent Nkunda has held a rally in the newly
captured town of Rutshuru, in a show of strength and defiance by his forces.
Hundreds of local people attended the event in a football stadium in the
town, 70km (45 miles) north of the regional capital, Goma. General
Nkunda criticised the planned deployment of 3,000 extra UN troops, saying
they would not bring peace. There has been no fighting in the area
for two days, as a ceasefire holds. The BBC's Thomas Fessy, who was
at the rally, says General Nkunda was welcomed by songs and dances when
he entered the stadium, and used the occasion to dance with a child.
BBC
Prime
Minister Off To Washington To Ensure Continuity Of US Commitments
Seeking to ensure that President George W. Bush's promises to Israel
are transferred to the new US administration, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
left for Washington on Saturday night for his final meeting with the outgoing
American leader. "I'm sure that Prime Minister Olmert will want to
talk about old times, but also [about] what the future holds," White House
Press Secretary Dana Perino said. These are two leaders "who love
their
countries very much and have been victims of terrorism and share a lot
of solidarity in trying to improve the world and bring peace to the Middle
East," she said. Jerusalem
Post
New
Radar To Become Operational In Dec.
An advanced US radar deployed in Israel in September to help protect
the country against Iranian missile attacks will become operational in
the coming weeks, a US military spokesman said over the weekend.
The X-Band radar, located near the Egyptian border in southern Israel,
is reported to be capable of tracking targets the size of a baseball from
distances of close to 4,800 kilometers and will be linked up to Israel's
Arrow 2 ballistic missile defense system. US Army Maj. Bryan Woods,
a spokesman for the military team in Israel, said the radar should be operational
by mid-December. Jerusalem
Post
Gang
Wars Turn Caracas Into A Murder Capital
The building is painted peach and there are palm trees in front, but
there is nothing cheerful about Plaza Auyantepuy. It is a place of death.
In the basement, a dungeon-like warren, men in rubber boots and surgical
masks swing through the double door every few hours and wheel in another
corpse. The earlier arrivals lie on trolleys, turning yellow. This
is the national forensic science laboratory in Caracas, the capital of
Venezuela, and it is the epicentre of a murder epidemic. In the past
few years Caracas has become one of the most violent cities on the planet.
Guardian
Conservationists
Plan To Reintroduce Sea Eagles To England
The long-vanished sea eagle could soon be soaring in the skies above
England
again under plans drawn up by conservationists. The UK's largest
bird of prey - known as "flying barn doors" because of its size
- could
be reintroduced into Norfolk next summer if the scheme gets the go-ahead.
The Government's conservation agency Natural England, the RSPB and Anglian
Water are hoping to bring back the species, which was driven to extinction
in England more than 200 years ago and disappeared from the UK entirely
by 1918. Plans for the reintroduction in England come after the sea
eagle, also known as the white-tailed eagle, was brought back to western
Scotland in a project that began in 1975. Independent
Nasir,
1st Maldivean President, Dies
Ibrahim Nasir, who guided the Maldives to independence and then served
as the new state's first president, died Saturday at 82. Mohamed
Hussain Shareef, an aide, said Nasir died at a hospital in Singapore after
a long illness. Nasir, whose ancestors had been sultans in the island
country, served as prime minister in the last days of the British protectorate.
He served as president from 1968 to 1978. After resigning from office,
he spent the last decades of his life in Singapore. The Maldives,
in the Indian Ocean, include almost 1,200 small islands, 250 of them inhabited,
split among 26 atolls. With about 300,000 residents, it is the smallest
country in Asia in both population
and area.
UPI
Gang
Fight Kills 7 In Guatemala Prison
A prison fight in Guatemala has left seven inmates dead, including
five who were decapitated. National prisons systems spokesman Rudy
Esquivel says authorities found the five heads after the fight in the Pavoncito
prison in Guatemala City. He says two other inmates died in a hospital
of gunshot wounds. Reporters saw a group of prisoners standing behind
four heads lined up on piles of rocks in a yard. The fifth head was on
a wooden stake. At one point, a prisoner masking his face with a red T-shirt
lifted up one of the heads in triumph. Newsday
Merck,
Glaxo Vaccines May Be Recommended By WHO For Global Use
Vaccines against rotavirus, the main cause of severe diarrhea in preschoolers,
may win recommendation for global use by the World Health Organization,
potentially boosting sales for producers Merck & Co. and GlaxoSmithKline
Plc. Rotateq, produced by Whitehouse Station, New Jersey-based Merck
and Rotarix, sold by London-based Glaxo, had combined sales of $707 million
last year. Results of trials gauging the efficacy of the vaccines in developing
countries may be completed as early as next year, WHO said. Bloomberg
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