Evening Edition

Evening Edition is an Open Thread

From Yahoo News Top Stories

1 WikiLeaks chief Assange fears US charges

by Beatrice Debut, AFP

2 hrs 45 mins ago

BUNGAY, United Kingdom (AFP) – Julian Assange said Friday it was “increasingly likely” the US would try to extradite him on charges related to WikiLeaks, as he spent his first day on bail on an English country estate.

The 39-year-old founder of the whistle-blowing website is fighting extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning over allegations that he sexually assaulted two women, which he denies.

But speaking outside Ellingham Hall, a friend’s mansion in eastern England, where he must live while on bail, Assange said he was more concerned about potential moves from US authorities.

2 WikiLeaks’ Assange vows to clear name as freed on bail

by Alice Ritchie and Danny Kemp, AFP

Thu Dec 16, 7:34 pm ET

LONDON (AFP) – WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange vowed to clear his name of allegations of sexual assault and pursue his work with the whistleblowing website after he was freed on bail by a London court.

“I hope to continue my work and continue to protest my innocence in this matter and to reveal as we get it — which we have not yet — the evidence from these allegations,” Assange said Thursday on the steps of the High Court where he was greeted by a media scrum.

Assange and his lawyers insist that moves to extradite him from Britain to Sweden to face questioning over allegations he sexually assaulted two women are politically motivated.

3 World pressure mounts after Ivory Coast bloodshed

by David Clark, AFP

2 hrs 9 mins ago

ABIDJAN (AFP) – International pressure was mounting Friday on Ivory Coast leader Laurent Gbagbo after his forces launched a deadly crackdown on supporters of a rival claimant on the presidency.

The United States, the European Union and Ivory Coast’s West African allies demanded Gbagbo hand over power to his adversary Alassane Ouattara, after a day of bloodshed on the streets of Abidjan left between 11 and 30 people dead.

Ouattara’s supporters had vowed to return to streets to renew a bid to seize control of state television but, despite reports of sporadic gunfire, the sprawling seaport was eerily quiet following Thursday’s violence.

4 Ivory Coast faces chaos as protesters defy crackdown

by David Youant, AFP

Fri Dec 17, 4:56 am ET

ABIDJAN (AFP) – Ivory Coast stood on the brink of chaos Friday as supporters of one of two declared presidents vowed to march for a second day despite a violent crackdown by heavily-armed security forces.

In the Abidjan suburb of Abobo, crowds gathered shortly after dawn around the bodies of two young men, their skulls shattered by bullets, the latest victims in a battle that has left between 11 and 30 dead.

One lay barefoot in his underpants, his head lolling on a congealed blood trail, the other was spread-eagled by the roadside, his slip-ons cast aside.

5 Euro rescue pledges fail to dispel market unease

by Roddy Thomson, AFP

2 hrs 3 mins ago

BRUSSELS (AFP) – European Union leaders on Friday vowed to defend debt-plagued euro nations with a permanent bailout mechanism, but their pledges made little impression on markets as Ireland was hit with a punishing debt downgrade.

EU President Herman Van Rompuy, speaking at the close of a two-day EU summit, said plans to rewrite a key treaty and to set up the emergency rescue fund from mid-2013 would make the eurozone “more crisis-proof.”

The successor to a temporary, IMF-backed trillion-dollar facility created after a debt crisis rocked Greece, would anchor “a comprehensive response to any challenges, as part of the eurozone’s new economic governance.”

6 Europe throws euro fresh lifeline

by Roddy Thomson, AFP

Thu Dec 16, 5:18 pm ET

BRUSSELS (AFP) – European leaders moved to grant nations a fresh financial lifeline Thursday, ring-fencing their currency in a bid to fend off market vultures once and for all.

With Portugal and possibly even Spain predicted to need financial aid after Greece and Ireland, the European Union said it is “ready to do whatever is required to ensure the stability of the euro area.”

“It’s their way of saying they are prepared to put lots of money on the table,” explained a senior EU diplomat of conclusions being finessed by heads of state and government over dinner at a Brussels summit.

7 Euro rescue pledges fail to dispel sickness fears

by Roddy Thomson, AFP

Fri Dec 17, 10:10 am ET

BRUSSELS (AFP) – European leaders wrapped up their final summit of a tumultuous 2010 Friday pledging to defend debt-plagued euro nations to the hilt, but amid stark warnings the sickness is far from cured.

European Union President Herman Van Rompuy said plans for the 27 states to rewrite their treaty and set up a permanent emergency rescue fund from mid-2013 would make the world’s biggest tariff-free trading bloc “more crisis-proof.”

The successor to a temporary, IMF-backed trillion-dollar facility created after the crisis was unleashed in Greece, would anchor “a comprehensive response to any challenges, as part of the eurozone’s new economic governance.”

8 Fresh Spanish public debt, bad loan figures pile on pressure

by Katell Abiven, AFP

Fri Dec 17, 8:51 am ET

MADRID (AFP) – Spain’s public debt rose to a 10-year record and bad debt at its banks struck a 14-year high, central bank figures showed Friday, grim news for a country battling market fears of a looming debt crisis.

The public debt rose 16.3 percent to 611.2 billion euros (808 billion dollars) in the third quarter from the same time last year, and it now the equivalent of 57.7 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), it highest proportion since 2000.

The figure is still below the limit of 60 percent of GDP imposed on European Union members but it is up from the 53.2 percent posted at the end of 2009.

9 Moody’s slashes Ireland credit rating

AFP

Fri Dec 17, 7:00 am ET

DUBLIN (AFP) – Moody’s on Friday slashed its credit rating on debt-stricken Ireland just days after parliament approved a massive international bailout and as the European Union battled to safeguard the euro.

Moody’s Investors Service cut its rating on Ireland by five notches from Aa2 to Baa1, citing increased uncertainties over the country’s economy and public finances. Moody’s added that the Baa1 rating outlook was negative.

Moody’s action makes follows similar but less drastic ratings downgrades by its peers, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch, adding to the pressure as investors demand a higher return to buy Irish government bonds.

10 Japan labels China’s military a global concern

by Shingo Ito, AFP

Fri Dec 17, 6:18 am ET

TOKYO (AFP) – Japan on Friday labelled the military build-up of rival China a global “concern” and said it would strengthen missile defences against the threat from North Korea, as part of a major strategic review.

The changes would also see Tokyo boost its southern forces and submarine fleet and upgrade its fighter jets as part of a shift in its defence focus from the Soviet Cold War threat to southern islands nearer China.

The cabinet of officially pacifist Japan approved the National Defence Programme Guidelines months after a territorial row flared up with China and weeks after North Korea launched a deadly artillery strike against South Korea.

11 US foie gras industry has its ducks lined up

by Paola Messana, AFP

Fri Dec 17, 3:26 am ET

NEW YORK (AFP) – Deliciously decadent or cruel and unhealthy? While the debate over foie gras rages around the world a handful of American farms are busily force-feeding ducks to satisfy growing appetites for the luxury liver pate.

Hudson Valley Foie Gras and neighboring farm La Belle in New York state and California’s Sonoma Foie Gras are the countries’ only three producers of the controversial gastronomic treat, known universally by its French name.

Together they produce 300 tons a year, five times more than output 30 years ago, although, even including 130 tons from Canada, it is a pittance compared to the 19,000 ton annual French avalanche of foie gras.

12 SEC expands mortgage probe: sources

By Matthew Goldstein and Rachelle Younglai, Reuters

34 mins ago

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Securities regulators have broadened their inquiry into the mortgage industry, asking big banks about the early stages of securitizing home loans, two sources familiar with the probe said.

The Securities and Exchange Commission launched the new phase of its investigation by sending out a fresh round of subpoenas last week to big banks including Bank of America Corp, Citigroup Inc, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Wells Fargo & Co, the sources said.

Months ago, the SEC began looking into the banks’ foreclosure practices following allegations that mortgage servicers were using shoddy paperwork to evict delinquent borrowers from their homes.

13 Irish debt downgraded as EU eschews crisis

By Padraic Halpin and Jan Strupczewski, Reuters

Fri Dec 17, 9:25 am ET

DUBLIN/BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Ratings agency Moody’s gave an emphatic thumbs-down on Friday to Europe’s efforts to resolve a debt crisis, slashing Ireland’s credit rating as EU leaders took no new action to prevent market turmoil spreading.

Moody’s cut Ireland’s rating by a stunning five notches during a European Union summit meant to restore confidence in the euro zone by creating a permanent financial safety net from 2013 and vowing to do whatever it takes to protect the euro.

Moody’s cut Ireland’s rating to Baa1, three notches above junk, with a negative outlook from Aa2 and warned further downgrades could follow if Dublin was unable to stabilize its debt situation, caused by a banking crash after a decade-long property bubble burst.

14 WikiLeaks’ Assange says fears U.S. extradition

By Avril Ormsby, Reuters

Fri Dec 17, 12:46 pm ET

ELLINGHAM, England (Reuters) – WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said on Friday that he was the target of an aggressive U.S. investigation and feared extradition to the United States was “increasingly likely.”

The 39-year-old Australian computer expert, whom Swedish authorities want to question over alleged sexual offences, has angered the United States by releasing secret diplomatic cables on his website and teaming up with newspapers around the globe to amplify the impact of the disclosures.

Speaking to reporters from the grounds of the English country house where he was sent after his release on bail this week, Assange gave no hint of what charge he might face.

15 Exile or sanctions, Ivory Coast’s Gbagbo told

By Tim Cocks and Andrew Quinn, Reuters

1 hr 39 mins ago

ABIDJAN/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – African nations have promised Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo a “soft landing” in exile, a senior U.S. official said on Friday as pressure grew on him to concede last month’s disputed election.

The West African state has been in turmoil since the November 28 vote in which Gbagbo claimed victory with backing from the nation’s top legal body, rejecting as fraudulent results showing he lost by a near 8 percent margin to rival Alassane Ouattara.

Rebels loyal to Ouattara exchanged fire with the army in Abidjan and elsewhere on Thursday while protests in Abidjan left at least 20 dead, raising worries of a return to all-out conflict in a country still split after a 2002-03 civil war.

16 Kabul silent over Obama’s Afghan war review

By Jonathon Burch, Reuters

Fri Dec 17, 9:14 am ET

KABUL (Reuters) – Afghanistan’s leaders, overlooked in the summary of a “brutally honest” U.S. war strategy review, did not offer any response to the long-awaited report on Friday in a sign of the often uneasy ties between Kabul and Washington.

The five-page summary of the two-month review, which did not mention Afghan President Hamid Karzai at all, was released on Thursday but has been criticized by Afghans and aid groups as overly optimistic.

U.S. President Barack Obama’s review found NATO-led forces were making headway against the Taliban but serious challenges remained. It said the insurgents’ momentum had been arrested in much of Afghanistan and reversed in some areas.

17 Special Report: For Wall Street, dumb money pays

By Jonathan Spicer, Reuters

Fri Dec 17, 8:12 am ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Yan Qin is a freelance consultant and do-it-yourself stock trader who works out of her apartment in Queens, New York. From the comfort of her living room, she keeps one eye on the business TV network CNBC, the other on a laptop computer, where her E*Trade account shows the best prices down to the penny, flickering moment to moment.

She presses a button and the trade is done in less than a second, costing her only $9.99 — a mark of the easiest and cheapest era yet for individuals to participate in U.S. capital markets.

Qin, 40, who describes her strategy as “impulsive,” said she recently purchased 300 shares of Bank of America. Though she didn’t realize it at the time, the amateur trader likely got a tad better deal on the stock than even the most sophisticated Wall Street traders.

18 California gives green light to carbon trade

By Peter Henderson, Reuters

Fri Dec 17, 8:25 am ET

SACRAMENTO (Reuters) – California on Thursday approved rules for a multibillion-dollar carbon market, in what proponents hope and detractors fear will be a turning point for the United States toward building a national program to address global warming.

After Congress failed to pass a climate change law last year, California is the vanguard of the nation’s effort to address global warming and its bid to build alternative energy and related industries.

California has mandated that a third of its electricity come from renewable sources like solar and wind. It is also encouraging “low carbon” auto fuels, like some biofuels and natural gas, and on Thursday approved rules for the carbon market.

19 U.S. arrests 4 in widening insider trading probe

By Matthew Goldstein and Grant McCool, Reuters

Thu Dec 16, 7:28 pm ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Four people were arrested on charges of leaking secrets about technology companies to hedge funds, including details about Apple Inc’s iPad ahead of its launch, in a widening U.S. probe into insider trading.

Authorities said another person, a former employee of Dell Inc, had pleaded guilty on December 10 to charges he had provided inside information about the company from late 2007 to August 2010 to research firms and hedge fund managers.

The case stems from a more than two-year investigation of hedge funds that intensified on November 22 when federal agents raided Loch Capital Management in Boston, Diamondback Capital Management in Stamford, Connecticut and Level Global Investors in New York. All said they were not targets of the probe.

20 Democrats abruptly drop spending fight

By Andy Sullivan, Reuters

38 mins ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Democrats abruptly abandoned a fight over spending on Thursday and said they would instead extend government funding on a temporary basis, a move that gives Republicans a greater chance to enact the deep cuts they have promised.

The surprise agreement looked likely to end a high-stakes game of chicken that could have led to a shutdown of wide swaths of the government if Congress had not agreed on a spending bill by Saturday night.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said nine Republicans had agreed to back the bill but their support evaporated in recent days.

21 Industry embraces CFTC’s swap trading plan

By Ann Saphir and Rachelle Younglai, Reuters

Thu Dec 16, 5:31 pm ET

CHICAGO/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The chief derivatives regulator on Thursday proposed making trading in the most popular swaps as transparent as stock exchanges, while trying to ensure that requirements for less popular swaps do not end up killing them.

Dozens of firms, such as IntercontinentalExchange Inc, hope to qualify as swap trading venues as the opaque swaps market is forced onto the public stage as part of a Wall Street financial overhaul mandated by the U.S. Congress.

How market regulators define these swap execution facilities, or SEFs, will determine who will be allowed to compete in what is expected to be the lucrative business of trading and brokering the swap contracts.

22 CFTC delays tough commodity speculation crack-down

By Christopher Doering and Ayesha Rascoe, Reuters

Thu Dec 16, 4:36 pm ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The futures regulator on Thursday unexpectedly delayed its most aggressive measures yet to prevent speculators from distorting commodity markets after it failed to find enough support for a procedural vote.

A draft proposal to apply position limits across commodity futures and swaps markets ran into objections both from commissioners who want the agency to act quicker to crack down and those who fear moving too fast will damage the market.

The surprise set-back for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s most contentious reform is the latest sign of slowing progress in implementing the sweeping Dodd-Frank bill, the biggest regulatory overhaul since the Great Depression. Republicans have stepped up calls to tap the brakes.

23 Analyst view: CFTC limits speculative commodity positions

Thu Dec 16, 3:59 pm ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Thursday released a long-awaited proposal to set position limits in commodity markets.

The agency took heed of fierce objections raised by Wall Street since it first put forward a plan to cap the influx of investor capital that some blamed for driving oil and grain prices to record highs in 2008.

But the core principle remained unchanged: restricting the number of swaps and futures contracts that speculators can hold in energy, metals and agricultural derivative markets, a rule it estimated could affect nearly 80 agricultural traders and dozens of metals and energy players.

24 WikiLeaks chief says US preparing to indict him

By KIRSTY WIGGLESWORTH and RAPHAEL G. SATTER, Associated Press

1 hr 1 min ago

BUNGAY, England – The founder of WikiLeaks said Friday he fears the United States is preparing to indict him, but insisted that the government secret-spilling site would continue its work despite what he calls a dirty tricks campaign against him.

Julian Assange spoke from snowbound Ellingham Hall, a supporter’s 10-bedroom country mansion where he is confined on bail as he fights Sweden’s attempt to extradite him on allegations of rape and molestation.

He insisted to television interviewers that he was being subjected to a smear campaign and “what appears to be a secret grand jury investigation against me or our organization.”

25 What will the big new tax law mean for you?

By STEPHEN OHLEMACHER, Associated Press

21 mins ago

WASHINGTON – It’s the most significant new tax law in a decade, but what does it mean for you? Big savings for millions of taxpayers, more if you have young children or attend college, a lot more if you’re wealthy.

The package, signed Friday by President Barack Obama, will save taxpayers, on average, about $3,000 next year.

But many families will be able to save much more by taking advantage of tax breaks for being married, having children, paying for child care, going to college or investing in securities. There are even tax breaks for paying local sales taxes and using mass transit, and a new Social Security tax cut for nearly every worker who earns a wage.

26 Fancy ATM skips the folding cash, spits out gold

By KELLI KENNEDY, Associated Press

15 mins ago

BOCA RATON, Fla. – Shoppers who are looking for something sparkly to put under the Christmas tree can skip the jewelry and go straight to the source: an ATM that dispenses shiny 24-carat gold bars and coins.

A German company installed the machine Friday at an upscale mall in Boca Raton, a South Florida paradise of palm trees, pink buildings and wealthy retirees.

Thomas Geissler, CEO of Ex Oriente Lux and inventor of the Gold To Go machines, says the majority of buyers will be walk-ups enamored by the novelty. But he says they’re also convenient for more serious investors looking to bypass the hassle of buying gold at pawn shops and over the Internet.

27 Lab scans bones that may belong to Amelia Earhart

By SEAN MURPHY, Associated Press

15 mins ago

NORMAN, Okla. – Three bone fragments found on a deserted South Pacific island are being analyzed to determine if they belong to Amelia Earhart – tests that could finally prove she died as a castaway after failing in her 1937 quest to become the first woman to fly around the world.

Scientists at the University of Oklahoma hope to extract DNA from the bones, which were found earlier this year by a Delaware group dedicated to the recovery of historic aircraft.

“There’s no guarantee,” said Ric Gillespie, director of the International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery in Delaware. “You only have to say you have a bone that may be human and may be linked to Earhart and people get excited. But it is true that, if they can get DNA, and if they can match it to Amelia Earhart’s DNA, that’s pretty good.”

28 Congress rushes to finish bills before holidays

By DONNA CASSATA and ANDREW TAYLOR, Associated Press

30 mins ago

WASHINGTON – Rushing to finish by Christmas, congressional Democrats worked Friday to secure Senate ratification of a new arms control treaty and to end the military’s ban on openly gay service members as they neared the end of two tumultuous years of single-party government.

Legislation to keep the federal government running until mid- to late February was also on the agenda, a matter for negotiations with emboldened Republicans who will take control of the House and add to their numbers in the Senate come January.

President Barack Obama seized one legislative triumph in the lame-duck session as Congress voted early Friday to extend tax cuts and unemployment benefits. He was looking for several more on his wish list – the arms control treaty and repeal of the military gay ban – to close out a politically tough year.

29 Global pressure grows to end Ivory Coast impasse

By MARCO CHOWN OVED, Associated Press

57 mins ago

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast – Police and troops loyal to the man widely recognized as the loser of last month’s presidential election filled the streets of Abidjan on Friday and prevented his rival’s supporters from marching on government buildings.

The show of force by backers of President Laurent Gbagbo came a day after they clashed with supporters of opposition figure Alassane Ouattara, who is recognized by the U.S., the U.N., France and the African Union as the legitimate winner of the disputed Nov. 28 runoff balloting. Thursday’s street fighting left up to 30 dead.

International pressure is growing on Gbagbo to give up his claim to power in this West African nation that was once an economic hub because of its role as the world’s top cocoa producer. A 2002-03 civil war split Ivory Coast in two, and many had hoped that the election would help reunite the country.

30 Senate leaders drops $1.3 trillion spending bill

By ANDREW TAYLOR, Associated Press

Fri Dec 17, 12:58 pm ET

WASHINGTON – After wrestling with – and finally abandoning – a 1,900-page catchall spending bill stuffed with more than $8 billion in home-state projects known as earmarks in Washington and pork in the rest of the country, Senate leaders turned Friday to devising a measure to keep the federal government running into early next year.

Nearly $1.3 trillion in unfinished budget work needed to keep the government running was packed into the spending measure, including $158 billion for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid gave up on the bill Thursday after several Republicans who had been thinking of voting for it pulled back their support.

Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky had thrown his weight against the bill in recent days, saying it was “unbelievable” that Democrats would try to muscle through in the days before Christmas legislation that usually takes months to debate.

31 Arizona, Nevada sue BofA over loan modifications

By BOB CHRISTIE, Associated Press

42 mins ago

PHOENIX – Attorneys general in Arizona and Nevada have filed civil lawsuits against Bank of America Corp., alleging that the lender is misleading and deceiving homeowners who have tried to modify their mortgages so they can stay in their homes.

Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto says the state filed its lawsuit Friday in Clark County District Court as a last resort to try to get the bank to change its ways.

Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard filed a similar lawsuit. He says settlement talks with Bank of America collapsed Thursday.

32 Musical ‘Spider-Man’ on Broadway delayed again

By MARK KENNEDY, AP Drama Writer

Fri Dec 17, 12:01 pm ET

NEW YORK – Producers have once again delayed the opening of the troubled new Broadway musical “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark,” the fourth major delay in performances this year for the much-mocked show.

The official opening was pushed back 27 days, from Jan. 11 to Feb. 7, because a key actor has missed several previews due to injury and after producers decided that the creative team needs to work out more kinks before allowing critics to weigh in.

“Due to some unforeseeable setbacks, most notably the injury of a principal cast member, it has become clear that we need to give the team more time to fully execute their vision,” lead producer Michael Cohl said in a statement Friday. “I have no intention of cutting a single corner in getting to the finish line.”

33 ‘Ratlines’ threaten White House Afghan war plans

By ANNE GEARAN, AP National Security Writer

Fri Dec 17, 6:10 am ET

CAMP HANSEN, Afghanistan – A major threat to the success of President Barack Obama’s Afghan war strategy is the clandestine traffic that snakes along the rough roads of the country’s East and South, providing insurgents with weapons and other supplies from neighboring Pakistan.

The farm towns of the central Helmand River Valley are safer, the Taliban are less intimidating and less capable nearly a year after the region became a test case for a revised U.S. war strategy for Afghanistan, commanders there said Thursday.

But those gains are undercut by the ease with which militants exploit the fluid border with Pakistan.

34 Accountants on edge waiting for tax-cut changes

By JEANNINE AVERSA, AP Economics Writer

Fri Dec 17, 12:19 pm ET

WASHINGTON – The year’s end is always a frantic time for tax preparers. This year, it’s more frenetic than usual.

The tax-cut bill that gained final approval in Congress late Thursday, coming so late in the year, has whipped up a mild panic for accountants, payroll staffs and anyone else who handles taxes.

The Internal Revenue Service released new tax-withholding tables Friday, a little more than two weeks before the new year begins. But payroll processors say the delay in the withholding schedules means the wrong amounts may be taken out of many workers’ paychecks in the first few weeks of January.

35 Typewriter fans descending on Philly for ‘Type-In’

By JOANN LOVIGLIO, Associated Press

27 mins ago

PHILADELPHIA – In an age of multitasking tech gadgets whose march toward obsolescence begins the minute they roll off the assembly line, a group is celebrating a mechanical one-trick pony built to last for decades: the manual typewriter.

A local business owner and enthusiast of everything analog has put out a call for typewriter enthusiasts to bring their working Underwoods and Olivettis to a city pub Saturday for what has been dubbed “Type-In: A Pleasant Afternoon of Manual Typewriting.”

“Against a backdrop of ringtones and whiny hard drives, the analog typewriter, which puts thoughts onto paper in a single step and waits silently while you’re thinking, gains charm by the minute,” said Type-In organizer Michael McGettigan.

36 Think tank plans study of how US treats detainees

By LARRY NEUMEISTER, Associated Press

1 hr 15 mins ago

NEW YORK – A nonpartisan legal think tank plans to study U.S. treatment of terrorism detainees, partly out of concern that the country’s policies lack clarity and can be manipulated to permit abuse or torture in dangerous times, members of a task force appointed to conduct the study said Friday.

Eleanor J. Hill, one of three chairpersons on The Constitution Project’s new panel, said events after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks such as the abuse by American troops of inmates at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and complaints of detainee torture will be one focus of the study.

She said it was important in fighting terrorism to project an image of the United States that is consistent with the principles the country was founded upon so that terrorists are not viewed more favorably than Americans in some parts of the world.

37 Iowa GOP lawmakers vow to try to oust 4 justices

By MIKE GLOVER, Associated Press

1 hr 22 mins ago

DES MOINES, Iowa – Several Republican state lawmakers said Friday that they will try to impeach four Iowa Supreme Court justices who joined in a unanimous 2009 ruling that legalized gay marriage in the state.

The effort, led by newly elected House member Kim Pearson of Des Moines, comes about six weeks after voters removed three other justices from the seven-member court after a campaign that focused on the gay marriage ruling. Those three justices were up for retention elections, in which voters have the option of ousting judges near the end of their terms.

Pearson said the remaining justices should be impeached because they overstepped their authority and violated the state constitution when they overturned a state law that defined marriage as being between one man and one woman. She claimed the court ruling infringed on the Legislature’s role in making laws.

38 South Beach food festival maestro keeps heat up

By MICHAEL HILL, Associated Press

Fri Dec 17, 1:57 pm ET

NEW YORK – Lee Brian Schrager is preparing for another food and wine festival – one of his signature events that draw thousands and feature big names like Bobby Flay and Rachael Ray.

One big concern: He’s looking for locations to hold it.

With the fourth annual New York City Wine & Food Festival looming in nine months, Schrager and his assistants scout an old industrial building on a Hudson River pier. It’s old and rundown, but Schrager pictures it painted and open to the river.

39 RSV-Passe? Custom’s decline spells hosts’ vexation

BY JENNIFER PELTZ, Associated Press

Fri Dec 17, 12:17 pm ET

NEW YORK – It’s become an acronym for a host’s frustration: RSVP.

Really, Seriously Very Peeved.

From casual get-togethers to catered affairs, the once-common act of replying to invitations has become an often lost and much lamented cause.

40 Officials: CIA gave waterboarders $5M legal shield

By ADAM GOLDMAN and MATT APUZZO, Associated Press

Fri Dec 17, 6:30 am ET

WASHINGTON – The CIA agreed to cover at least $5 million in legal fees for two contractors who were the architects of the agency’s interrogation program and personally conducted dozens of waterboarding sessions on terror detainees, former U.S. officials said.

The secret agreement means taxpayers are paying to defend the men in a federal investigation over an interrogation tactic the U.S. now says is torture. The deal is even more generous than the protections the agency typically provides its own officers, giving the two men access to more money to finance their defense.

It has long been known that psychologists Jim Mitchell and Bruce Jessen created the CIA’s interrogation program. But former U.S. intelligence officials said Mitchell and Jessen also repeatedly subjected terror suspects inside CIA-run secret prisons to waterboarding, a simulated drowning tactic.

41 Farms find holiday sales important revenue source

By LISA RATHKE, Associated Press

Fri Dec 17, 3:29 am ET

POMFRET, Vt. – This time of year, the owners of On The Edge Farm hope to draw in holiday shoppers to buy gifts from the farm rather than the mall. A roadside sign even offers suggestions: “A cooler full of meat and a partridge in a pear tree.”

The festive farm store is filled with jars of homemade pickles and jams, gift baskets, pies and frozen meats and sausages from the farm. Christmas trees and wreaths line the porch, and they’ve stocked cheeses and maple syrup from other Vermont producers.

Around the country, the holiday shopping season is providing an important winter revenue stream for a number of small farms as they try to diversify. Farms are finding local foods like maple syrup and jam are popular gifts, and some are bringing in money with sales of pies, hams and other dishes for holiday tables.

42 Almost no oil recovered from sand berms

By CAIN BURDEAU and HARRY R. WEBER, Associated Press

Fri Dec 17, 2:05 am ET

NEW ORLEANS – The big set of sand barriers erected by Louisiana’s governor to protect the coastline at the height of the Gulf oil spill was criticized by a presidential commission Thursday as a colossal, $200 million waste of BP’s money so far.

Precious little oil ever washed up on the berms, according to the commission – a finding corroborated by a log of oil sightings and other government documents obtained by The Associated Press through a public records request.

Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal ordered the berms built over the objections of scientists and federal agencies – and secured money from BP to do it – out of frustration over what he saw as inaction by the Obama administration. During the crisis, Jindal boasted that the sand walls were stopping oil from coming ashore, and the idea proved popular in Louisiana.

43 Calif. regulators OK major greenhouse gas rules

By JASON DEAREN, Associated Press

Thu Dec 16, 11:49 pm ET

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – California regulators on Thursday approved the first system in the nation to give polluting companies such as utilities and refineries financial incentives to emit fewer greenhouse gases.

The Air Resources Board voted 9-1 to pass the key piece of California’s 2006 climate law – called AB32 – with the hope that other states will follow the lead of the world’s eighth largest economy. State officials also are discussing plans to link the new system with similar ones under way or being planned in Canada, Europe and Asia.

California is launching into a “historic adventure,” said Mary Nichols, chairwoman of the state’s air quality board.

44 Military jury: Prison, dismissal for Army birther

By JESSICA GRESKO, Associated Press

Thu Dec 16, 11:07 pm ET

FORT MEADE, Md. – An Army doctor who disobeyed orders to deploy to Afghanistan because he questioned President Barack Obama’s eligibility to be commander in chief was sentenced by a jury Thursday to six months in a military prison and dismissal from the Army.

The military jury spent nearly five hours deliberating punishment for Lt. Col. Terrence Lakin on Thursday after three days of court martial proceedings at Fort Meade, outside Baltimore.

Lakin was convicted of disobeying orders – he had pleaded guilty to that count – and missing a flight that would have gotten him to his eventual deployment. An Army commander, Maj. Gen. Karl Horst, still has to approve the sentence returned by the jury. Upon approval of the sentence, Lakin is granted an automatic appeal that would be considered by the Army Court of Criminal Appeals. He was to begin serving his sentence immediately.

45 Witness: Emanuel’s renter wanted $100K to move out

By DEANNA BELLANDI and DON BABWIN, Associated Press

Thu Dec 16, 9:04 pm ET

CHICAGO – A family renting Rahm Emanuel’s Chicago home wanted $100,000 to move out when the former White House chief of staff decided to come back to run for the city’s mayor, a friend of Emanuel testified Thursday during a hearing on residency challenges to his candidacy.

The Chicago Board of Election Commissioners hearing ended Thursday night with closing arguments after nearly 30 hours of testimony spanning three days. A hearing officer is expected to decide before next Thursday’s meeting whether Emanuel’s name should be listed on the ballot.

Residency has taken center stage in Emanuel’s bid to get on the Feb. 22 ballot. Some two dozen opponents say he doesn’t have a legal right to run because he doesn’t meet the one-year residency requirement. Emanuel lived for nearly two years in Washington working for Obama.

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