Evening Edition

During a four-and-a-half hour hearing, he also criticised US President Barack Obama’s soft approach to Iran and urged the West to use force if necessary to curb the Islamic republic’s nuclear ambitions.

Making his second appearance before the inquiry, an emotional Blair addressed the condemnation he faced following his first hearing last January when he said he had “no regret” about removing Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

The former British prime minister was recalled to the inquiry in London to explain discrepancies in the evidence he gave one year ago when he first testified about the decision to go into Iraq in 2003.

Around 30 protesters holding up signs saying “Bliar” rallied outside the London conference centre where the inquiry is being held as the ex-premier arrived amid heavy security and a large police presence.

“We welcome with satisfaction the beginning of investigations on crimes against humanity,” Gerardo Ducos, Haiti researcher for Amnesty International, told a press conference in Port-au-Prince.

“It’s an important moment for fighting impunity.”

Susan Rice, the US ambassador to the United Nations, said Haiti must carry out the recommendations of international monitors, who on Wednesday called for Preval’s protege Jude Celestin to be eliminated from the delayed second round of the presidential elections.

The US move, backed by Britain and France, came as the shock return of notorious former dictator Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier threatened to muddy the political waters in the quake-hit and cholera-riddled Caribbean nation.

“I hereby … confirm my party’s position by the side of Syria and the resistance (Hezbollah),” Jumblatt told a press conference, referring to his once arch foes.

His announcement marked a striking shift of alliance for a man who once staunchly backed Lebanon’s embattled caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri against the Iranian- and Syrian-backed Hezbollah.

Caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Thursday set the tone for the battle ahead after defiantly saying he would stand for another term despite Hezbollah’s campaign to discredit him.

“We will go to the parliamentary consultations organised by the president on Monday and I remain committed as a candidate, in line with my parliamentary bloc’s decision,” Hariri said.

His announcement came after his coalition partners threatened to withdraw their support over his plan to replace five ministers who resigned in the space of 24 hours with rising stars from his Fianna Fail party.

The centrist party now faces a drubbing from voters angry that the former “Celtic Tiger” economy has been forced to seek a bailout from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund on Cowen’s watch.

For the three weekends in January, revelers at the open air party dance to Techno music on Montreal’s old waterfront, usually in temperatures well below freezing.

“Montrealers love the cold and have a festive nature,” explained Nicolas Cournoyer, director of operations and co-founder of the annual event, which now is in its fifth year.

Tunisia’s interim government, which took over after Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia last week in the face of widespread popular unrest, has faced continued protests by crowds angry that members of the old guard are still in the cabinet.

Hundreds protested peacefully in central Tunis on Friday and outside the headquarters of the state-owned Tunisian Transport Company, demanding the removal of senior officials from Ben Ali’s era.

Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch businesses — including retail brokerage and investment banking — were profitable but did not make enough money to overcome the bank’s massive losses from mortgages.

As the financial crisis was ramping up, then Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis bought Countrywide Financial Inc for $4.2 billion. Current CEO Brian Moynihan is still coping with the aftermath.

After the pomp and summit-level meetings of Washington, where he was pressed on North Korea, human rights and currency policy, Hu took his roadshow to Chicago and was feted at a gala dinner in U.S. President Barack Obama’s hometown.

The Chinese leader ended his four-day state visit with stops at a Chicago school and a business exhibition.

But the stakes will be high on Tuesday when President Barack Obama tries to convince Americans he has a plan to tackle the economy, joblessness and deficits all at once — a daunting challenge crucial to his 2012 re-election chances.

Obama’s State of the Union address will be a chance not only to set the tone for the second half of his term but also to reinforce his shift to the center since his Democrats were routed in the November congressional elections.

Shares of Google, which gained 2 percent following Thursday’s better-than-expected quarterly results and the news that Page would replace Eric Schmidt as chief executive, were down $1.08 at $625.69 in midday trading on Friday.

“What’s going to change under Larry?” said BGC Partners analyst Colin Gillis, asking the question on the minds of executives from the tech capital of Silicon Valley to media-centric New York.

U.S. President Barack Obama tapped GE Chief Executive Jeffrey Immelt on Friday to head a new economic advisory panel in a strong sign of how investor and public opinion has changed about a company that became one of the dogs of Wall Street during the recession.

Shares of the world’s largest maker of jet engines and electric turbines rose 7 percent on Friday, hitting their highest level since the thick of the financial crisis in November 2008, and making GE the biggest lift to the blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average.

“The tree is rotten, you cut it down. If we can’t cut it down and succeed doing that all at once, we’ll prune it branch by branch,” said House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp.

His is one of four committees tasked on Thursday with rewriting the healthcare law.

HP’s board had for years come under fire from shareholders and business leaders such as Oracle’s Larry Ellison, most recently after it forced out Mark Hurd as CEO in controversial fashion.

The new directors will bring fresh thinking to the world’s largest technology company by revenue, including much-needed expertise in areas such as telecommunications and international experience, the company said.

“I am so proud and pleased that Jeff has agreed to chair this panel, my council on jobs and competitiveness, because we think GE has something to teach businesses all across America,” Obama told workers at a GE plant as he announced the pick.

The appointment was welcomed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, with which Obama is trying to thaw relations that chilled over his healthcare and financial regulatory reforms. But manufacturers who blame GE for outsourcing U.S. jobs criticized the choice.

The round-faced 39-year old is the founder of one of the hottest prospects in the mobile space, Layar. The Dutch company wants nothing less than to become the platform of choice for the burgeoning new medium of Augmented Reality (AR). Running on smartphones and tablet computers, AR overlays digital information – text, graphics, games — on images of the world around us.

Some executives in the mobile industry think AR will be huge. While revenues from AR alone amount to no more than a few tens of millions of dollars, that number is set to double annually to reach $350 million in 2014, according to New York-based ABI Research. The impact across the broader mobile and computer industry could be much bigger, convincing consumers to use their mobile devices even more than they already do.

Cowen’s unexpected bid to promote new faces to a government in its final days was the last straw for his junior coalition partners the Greens who said it was “the final insult” and threatened to withdraw support unless he ditched the plan and named a date for a parliamentary poll.

“The government will continue to do its job … and then we will have an election on the 11th of March,” Cowen told the lower chamber.

“We in Chicago, we in the region, we in the Midwest want to act as a gateway for Chinese business investment into America, and at the same time we want to make sure that our businesses are a gateway into China as well,” Daley said after squiring Hu to the expo where about a dozen Chinese businesses with operations in the Midwest had set up exhibits to show off their companies.

Hu was apparently impressed.

The Associated Press-GfK poll underscored the selling job that confronts the president as he prepares to seek a second term: People like Obama personally, but just 35 percent say the economy’s gotten better during his tenure.

Appearing in Schenectady, N.Y., on Friday, Obama announced that he was naming GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt as the head of a Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, his latest move to court a business community that he’s clashed with amid continued high unemployment. Addressing workers at a General Electric plant, Obama recommitted himself to spending the next two years trying to speed up the economic recovery. His success or failure there is likely to be the central issue of the coming 2012 presidential campaign.

An overwhelming majority of Americans like Obama, but most say he hasn’t accomplished much on two top goals – fixing the sluggish economy and changing how Washington works, according to a new Associated Press-GfK poll midway through the first term of his presidency.

Half of those surveyed say he deserves a second term, and independents, whose support will be critical in 2012, are evenly divided on that question. Obama is getting the benefit of the doubt despite concerns about his policies, a reflection based in large part on his likability.

The 57-year-old Blair, making a second appearance before the panel to clarify evidence he gave to the same panel a year ago, also urged Western leaders to confront a growing threat posed by Iran.

Addressing the five-member panel scrutinizing Britain’s role in the unpopular war, Blair acknowledged that in phone calls and messages in 2002 – months before Parliament approved Britain’s role in the conflict – he reassured U.S. President George W. Bush and told him: “You can count on us.”

Although their commitment to work together until 2024 hasn’t changed, Google CEO Eric Schmidt and company co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin are being reassigned in an attempt to recapture the free-wheeling spirit of the company’s youth.

The surprise shake-up announced late Thursday will return Page, 37, to the CEO job he filled in Google’s early days. The move ends Schmidt’s decade-long reign in a position that also stamped him as the “adult supervisor” of a company that once seemed like a romper room filled with technological wunderkinds.

Lawyers for Bonds argued at a hearing before U.S. District Court Judge Susan Illston that the players should be excluded because of their ties to Bonds’ former trainer Greg Anderson, who is refusing to testify against the slugger.

Illston previously barred much of the evidence relating to Anderson because of his willingness to go to prison on contempt charges rather than testify at the trial set to start March 21.

The shake-up announced Thursday is the first sweeping leadership change under HP’s new CEO Leo Apotheker and Chairman Ray Lane.

They were hired three months ago to draw up fresh battle plans for the world’s biggest technology company by revenue. HP was roiled by the abrupt ouster of former CEO Mark Hurd and is trying to find its bearings in new markets far afield from its mainstay computer and printer businesses.

In a luncheon speech to American business executives, Hu also urged the U.S. to continue to recognize China’s sovereignty over Taiwan and Tibet.

“China-U.S. relations will enjoy smooth and steady growth when the two countries handle well issues involving each other’s major interests. Otherwise, our relations will suffer constant trouble or even tension,” Hu said as he wrapped up his state visit to Washington.

The nation’s largest grocer said Thursday it will reformulate thousands of store-brand products to reduce sodium and sugar and push its suppliers to do the same.

It also promises to reduce prices on produce and build stores in poor areas that don’t already have grocery stores.

The civilian attorney for Army Pfc. Bradley Manning said he has filed a complaint with the commander of the Quantico, Va., Marine base that includes the brig, the latest in a series of administrative moves seeking to improve jail conditions for Manning. The new complaint asks base commander Col. Daniel Choike to order Manning’s pretrial custody status changed from maximum- to medium-security.

If this step fails, attorney David E. Coombs said he’ll take the Marines to military court over Manning’s confinement.

While lawmakers have been banning drivers from texting or using cell phones, many motorists are riding around with another dangerous risk – their dogs.

Experts say an unrestrained dog – whether curled up on a lap, hanging out the window or resting its paws on the steering wheel – can be deadly. Tens of thousands of car accidents are believed caused every year by unrestrained pets, though no one has solid numbers.

James Jablon with Wildlife Rehabilitation of Hernando County, a semi-rural area about an hour north of Tampa, is halfway through his month of eating, sleeping and otherwise hanging out with the carnivorous cats. Wearing a microphone, he talks with people who watch streaming video of his “captivity” online and post comments.

He maintains his unusual idea is a harmless way to raise $150,000 to keep the center – home to 100 animals of all types – running for the next two years. It is unclear how much money he has raised so far.

Over the past several months, a growing shortage of the drug, sodium thiopental, has forced some states to put executions on hold. And the problem is likely to get worse with the announcement from Hospira Inc. of Lake Forest, Ill.

Hospira said it decided in recent months to switch manufacturing from its North Carolina plant to a more modern Hospira factory in Liscate, Italy. But Italian authorities demanded a guarantee the drug would not be used to put inmates to death – an assurance the company said it was not willing to give.

Bachmann will be the keynote speaker at a reception in Des Moines by Iowans for Tax Relief, joining prominent Iowa Republicans including Rep. Steve King. The event comes just weeks after Bachmann acknowledged she was considering seeking the Republican presidential nomination, a process that begins with the Iowa caucuses in February 2012.

Ed Failor Jr., president of Iowans for Tax Relief, noted the group wasn’t endorsing any potential presidential candidate, but he was excited about hosting Bachmann.

The agency said that 15 percent ethanol blended with gasoline is safe for cars and light-duty trucks manufactured between 2001 and 2006, expanding an October decision that the higher blend is safe for cars built since 2007.The maximum gasoline blend has been 10 percent ethanol.

The fuel is popular in farm country because most ethanol comes from corn and other grains. It faces strong opposition, however, from the auto industry, environmentalists, cattle ranchers, food companies and others. Those groups say that using corn to make ethanol makes animal feed more expensive, raises prices at the grocery store and tears up the land. There have already been several lawsuits filed against the EPA – including one filed by automakers, boat manufacturers and outdoor power equipment manufacturers – since the agency decided to allow the higher blends for newer cars in October.

Foes of abortion gained strength in Congress, among state governors and in many legislatures, raising hopes among social conservatives for a broad surge of anti-abortion bills.

“We are seeing a cultural shift toward protecting life and rolling back the tide of unrestricted abortions, said Charmaine Yoest, president of Americans United for Life, in a statement ahead of Saturday’s anniversary of the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

A citizen’s complaint had prompted the American Civil Liberties Union last summer to send the Senate a letter noting that its invocations often referenced Jesus Christ, contravening the separation of church and state.

That prompted the state attorney general’s office to advise the Senate that their handling of prayers – by inviting speakers from various religions to preach before every session – wouldn’t survive a likely court challenge, said Democratic Majority Leader Brickwood Galuteria.

U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan rejected as “deeply flawed” the arguments by defense lawyers, who said the verdict against Ahmed Ghailani should be tossed because it was inconsistent for the jury to convict him on a single count involving the attacks and exonerate him on 284 other counts. The twin bombings killed 224 people, including 12 Americans.

“The evidence of Ghailani’s culpable mental state and intent was plentiful,” the judge wrote. “Thus, if there was any injustice in the jury’s verdict, the victims were the United States and those killed, injured and otherwise devastated by these barbaric acts of terror, not Ghailani.”

Despite a painful economic downturn, the charter school movement is expanding rapidly across the country with support from the Obama administration, wealthy donors such as Bill Gates and Oprah Winfrey, and the highly publicized documentary “Waiting for Superman.”

Charter schools typically receive a mixture of public and private money and operate free of many regulations that govern traditional public schools in exchange for achieving promised results.

The big harvest comes amid strong worldwide demand and relatively high prices. Exports to China have increased eight times in the past five years, and India and Pakistan doubled their almond consumption in that time. Even with a record harvest, there’s no risk California, the world’s No. 1 almond producer, will saturate the market, industry experts said.

The Golden State has seen a big growth in almond orchards in the past five years as farmers shifted from less profitable vegetables to lucrative nuts. California now has 810,000 acres planted in almonds – a 25 percent increase from a decade ago – and produces 80 percent of the world’s supply. Spain is the second-biggest producer, but its harvest is only a fraction of California’s.

Caroline Kennedy told The Associated Press that she has been thinking over her father’s oft-quoted inaugural speech on Jan 20, 1961, when he proclaimed that Americans “shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and the success of liberty.”

“I think he really expanded and redefined our idea of what it means to be a citizen – that everybody has something to contribute and everybody has something to give back to this country that’s given us so much,” Caroline Kennedy said. “It’s not just an obligation, but it’s really a rewarding experience and really a belief in government and politics as a noble profession.”

Lawmakers in six other states – Maine, Montana, Oregon, Nebraska, Texas and Wyoming – are also mulling “nullification” bills, which contend states, not the U.S. Supreme Court, are the ultimate arbiter of when Congress and the president run amok.

It’s a concept that’s won favor among many tea party adherents who believe Washington, D.C., is out of control.

As a sheer physical act, it was almost Olympian in the strength, dexterity and concentration required.

It was also completely ridiculous.

Before a crowd of 3,500 people, including Gulf War veterans, Bush and key members of his national security team gathered at Texas A&M University to discuss the 20th anniversary of the conflict, which began on Jan. 17, 1991. The war was prompted by Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in August 1990 under then-President Saddam Hussein.

Bush said helping to liberate Kuwait and guiding as commander in chief of the U.S.-led coalition troops was one of the great honors of his life.

Fred and Kathy Santos spoke after filing a lawsuit in Sacramento County Superior Court asking a judge to restore a 16-year sentence for Esteban Nunez, the son of former Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez.

“Arnold Schwarzenegger underestimated us,” Kathy Santos said outside the courthouse. “I think he believed he could get away with this despicable commutation. He messed with the wrong family.”

As pronghorn antelope and mule deer scattered to avoid the procession, park employees and state livestock agents on horseback pushed the 25 bison about 10 miles down the Yellowstone River valley. It took about three hours to reach an open meadow in the Gallatin National Forest, where the animals will be allowed to remain until spring.

The move could provide at least some relief from government-sponsored mass slaughters of the iconic Western animals, often called buffalo. Past winter journeys by bison seeking to graze at lower elevations have been blocked over fears that a disease carried by some could infect cattle.

Wayne Clough didn’t publicly defend his decision until earlier this week when he told The Associated Press he pulled the video because the controversy had overshadowed the exhibition and threatened to spiral beyond control into a debate on religious desecration.

On Thursday, he used the Internet, a Town Hall Los Angeles luncheon and a brief news conference to say he would make the same decision over again – but he would handle it better.

American Ambassador Susan Rice said that Haiti has to sponsor a credible election if it wants to retain the support of the United States and the international community.

The OAS, a regional political grouping in the Americas, has called for government construction official Jude Celestin – who is backed by Preval – to be dropped to third place in the preliminary tally because of widespread election fraud.

Even so, some of his brothers and sisters thought he could have found a nicer way to say it.

It’s unlikely that Republican Gov. Robert Bentley will suffer politically from his inauguration day remarks, which he made from a church pulpit at a Martin Luther King Jr. holiday service Monday.

A proposal unveiled by the Republican Study Committee, whose conservative members make up about three-fourths of the House GOP conference, called for bringing domestic agency budgets down to the 2006 levels in place when Republicans last controlled Congress. That’s about a $175 billion cut from current levels and roughly $90 billion more than the cuts promised by Republicans last fall.

Behind the scenes, conservatives are pressuring GOP leaders to deliver on a promise to immediately pass legislation cutting Cabinet budgets by $100 billion this fiscal year, which began Oct. 1 and is already one-third over. Agencies have been operating at 2010 rates and will at least until a stopgap spending bill expires March 4.