Evening Edition

Evening Edition is an Open Thread

Now with 51 Top Stories.

From Yahoo News Top Stories

1 Kadhafi says West after Libya’s oil as rebels pounded

by Antoine Lambroschini, AFP

1 hr 55 mins ago

TRIPOLI (AFP) – Moamer Kadhafi accused the West on Wednesday of wanting to seize Libya’s oil and warned a no-fly zone would backfire as his forces pounded rebel lines and a top aide jetted into Cairo.

“The colonialist countries are hatching a plot to humiliate the Libyan people, reduce them to slavery and control the oil,” Kadhafi said on state television.

He again accused Al-Qaeda of being behind the insurrection that began on February 15 and called on inhabitants of Benghazi, the rebels’ main base, to “liberate” the eastern city.

AFP

2 Kadhafi defiant as troops pound rebels

by Antoine Lambroschini, AFP

Wed Mar 9, 11:14 am ET

TRIPOLI (AFP) – Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi accused the West on Wednesday of wanting to seize Libya’s oil and warned a no-fly zone would backfire as his forces pounded rebel lines and his top aide jetted into Cairo.

“The colonialist countries are hatching a plot to humiliate the Libyan people, reduce them to slavery and control the oil,” Kadhafi said on state television.

He again accused Al-Qaeda of being behind the insurrection that began on February 15 and called on inhabitants of Benghazi, the rebels’ main base, to “liberate” the eastern city.

3 Egypt government warns of ‘counter-revolution’

by Jailan Zayan, AFP

31 mins ago

CAIRO (AFP) – Egypt’s new government warned on Wednesday of a “counter-revolution” following a series of deadly political and religious clashes blamed on diehards of the former regime.

The government said it “is fully committed to the interests of the people and to implementing the goals of the revolution; and it will stand firm against plans for a counter-revolution,” according to state news agency MENA.

Sectarian clashes killed at least 13 in Cairo, the health ministry said.

4 Ten dead in Egypt religious clashes

by Mona Salem, AFP

Wed Mar 9, 8:08 am ET

CAIRO (AFP) – Ten people have been killed in religious clashes in Cairo, the health ministry said on Wednesday, as Egypt’s new military rulers struggled to steer the post-revolution country through a transition.

The clashes erupted on Tuesday afternoon in the poor working class district of Moqattam, when at least 1,000 Christians gathered there to protest the burning of a church last week.

“The total number of injured received by hospitals after the violence in the areas of Moqattam, the Citadel and Sayeda Aisha is 110, while 10 people were killed,” said Sherif Zamel, head of emergency services at the health ministry, without specifying if they were Christian or Muslim.

5 Afghan civilian deaths hit new high

by Katherine Haddon, AFP

Wed Mar 9, 11:42 am ET

KABUL (AFP) – Last year was the deadliest yet for civilians in the Afghan war with a 15 percent jump in the death toll, the UN said in a report on Wednesday which laid bare the conflict’s impact on ordinary people.

The 2,777 deaths underscore the level of violence in the country as foreign troops prepare to start handing control of security to Afghan forces in some areas from July ahead of a full transition due by 2014.

Insurgents were responsible for 75 percent of all civilian deaths, up 28 percent on 2009, the figures said.

6 Bomb kills 37 at Pakistan funeral

by Lehaz Ali, AFP

Wed Mar 9, 7:59 am ET

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AFP) – A suicide bomber targeting members of an anti-Taliban militia at a funeral in northwestern Pakistan killed 37 people and wounded at least 45 others on Wednesday, police said.

Police and witnesses said the bomber had slipped into the congregation of more than 200 people attending funeral prayers for the wife of a known anti-Taliban militiaman in Adezai village, near Peshawar city.

Television footage showed bearded elderly men wearing bloodstained clothes rushing from the scene in panic. Prayer caps and slippers lay alongside scattered body parts at the prayer site, which was spattered with blood.

7 Veteran US shuttle ends historic spaceflight career

AFP

26 mins ago

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (AFP) – The oldest and most traveled space shuttle, Discovery, landed back on Earth Wednesday after its final space flight and will soon become a museum piece to delight the crowds.

The shuttle cruised onto the Kennedy Space Center runway at 11:57 am (1657 GMT), wrapping up a rich, 27-year career in spaceflight that has traveled further and endured longer than any of the remaining three US shuttles.

“And Houston, Discovery. For the final time, wheelstop,” Commander Steve Lindsey said when the orbiter came to a halt on the runway.

8 India on verge of W. Cup quarters, Kamran faces axe

by Dave James, AFP

Wed Mar 9, 11:41 am ET

NEW DELHI (AFP) – India virtually wrapped a World Cup quarter-final place on Wednesday as calamity keeper Kamran Akmal faced being deposed by his own brother as Pakistan’s top gloveman.

Yuvraj Singh scored a match-winning 51 not out, his third successive half century, as India pulled off a five-wicket win against the Netherlands after making heavy weather of chasing a 190 target at Delhi’s Feroz Shah Kotla.

India were reeling at 99-4 after a three-wicket burst by left-arm spinner Pieter Seelaar but scraped through with 81 balls remaining.

9 More Ivory Coast bloodshed as Gbagbo snubs mediation

by Christophe Koffi, AFP

Tue Mar 8, 4:30 pm ET

ABIDJAN (AFP) – More deadly violence erupted in Ivory Coast Tuesday after a rally by followers of the internationally recognised president, as his defiant rival Laurent Gbagbo snubbed an African Union mediation bid.

At least three men and a woman were the latest victims of an increasingly bloody post-electoral crisis, which the UN fears could become a full-blown civil war, when they were shot dead in Abidjan’s Treichville neighbourhood.

According to medics and AFP correspondents at the scene, the four were killed in violence which flared following a rally by hundreds of supporters of Alassane Ouattara, who was Gbagbo’s challenger in November’s run-off.

10 Women march for better life on International Women’s Day

AFP

Tue Mar 8, 6:22 pm ET

PARIS (AFP) – Women took to the streets worldwide Tuesday to mark the 100th International Women’s Day, with protests against honour killings, their objectification in Italy and killings in Ivory Coast.

Drawing inspiration from the boardrooms of Finland and the toppling of autocratic regimes in Tunisia and Egypt, demonstrators staked their claim for equality, education and a better life.

A month before Silvio Berlusconi goes on trial over allegations he paid an underage prostitute for sex, hundreds of Italian women rallied in Rome.

11 Biden backs Russia’s modernisation drive

by Maria Antonova, AFP

Wed Mar 9, 12:37 pm ET

MOSCOW (AFP) – US Vice President Joe Biden delivered emphatic support Wednesday for President Dmitry Medvedev’s modernisation effort in a visit that aimed to build on the “reset” that has revived ties with Russia.

Biden held his first one-on-one meeting with the Russian president at his suburban Moscow residency during a visit that will also see him hold talks Thursday with the country’s strongman Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

US and Russian officials have rubbished Russian reports suggesting that Biden would be using the visit to urge Medvedev to stand for re-election next year — a vote that could also be contested by Putin.

12 Toyota targets strong sales in emerging markets

by David Watkins, AFP

Wed Mar 9, 7:42 am ET

TOKYO (AFP) – Toyota Motor said Wednesday it aimed to make half its global sales in emerging markets by 2015, as it sought to begin a new chapter after being hit by millions of recalls and the financial crisis.

The firm said it aimed to double operating profit to 1 trillion yen ($12 billion) from estimated levels this year “as soon as possible” and would slash its board of directors to 11 from 27 “to improve decision making”.

Toyota’s “Global Vision” aims to implement lessons learned from the global financial crisis that plunged the automaker into the red, and from the millions of recalls that tarnished its once stellar image for quality.

Reuters

13 Fierce fighting across Libya as government sends envoys

By Maria Golovnina and Michael Georgy, Reuters

52 mins ago

TRIPOLI (Reuters) – A Libyan fighter said rebels had retaken the heart of the closest city to the capital from forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi on Wednesday evening in some of the fiercest fighting in almost three weeks of clashes.

Zawiya appeared to change hands twice during the day as Gaddafi tried to crush the uprising against him by bombarding the western town and a series of oil towns in the rebel-held east.

“Thanks to Allah we are sitting in the square now,” the fighter, who gave his name as Ibrahim, said by telephone after earlier reporting his forces had pulled back from the square.

14 Fighter says rebels retake Zawiyah main square

By Mariam Karouny, Reuters

55 mins ago

RAS JDIR, Tunisia (Reuters) – A fighter in Zawiyah said rebels had retaken the main square of the western city on Wednesday after pro-Gaddafi forces took control of it earlier in the day but later pulled back following a rebel counter-attack.

The fighter named Ibrahim told Reuters the government had brought in supporters of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi for a rally there and they were now on the main road.

“We have pushed (pro-Gaddafi forces) out and we are back in the square now,” Ibrahim said by telephone. “They are one km away now. Thanks to Allah we are sitting in the square now.”

15 White House defends Libya stance, debates options

By Ross Colvin and Andrew Quinn, Reuters

1 hr 11 mins ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House on Wednesday strongly defended its response to the turmoil in Libya, insisting it has taken “dramatic action” and rebutting criticism its consensus-based approach is too cautious.

As President Barack Obama’s top advisers met to debate what to do next, Muammar Gaddafi’s forces halted a rebel advance in the east of the oil-producing North African country and made gains against others in western areas.

A range of options are on the table in the White House situation room, U.S. officials said, including a “no-fly” zone to ground Gaddafi’s warplanes. But White House spokesman Jay Carney cautioned that no decision on firm action was expected to emerge from the meeting.

16 Libya rebels, government trade blame on oil blast

By Mohammed Abbas, Reuters

Wed Mar 9, 10:59 am ET

NEAR ES SIDER, Libya (Reuters) – The Libyan government and rebels fighting it accused each other of blowing up oil facilities in the east of the country on Wednesday.

The rebels said Muammar Gaddafi’s forces had hit an oil pipeline leading to Es Sider and dropped bombs on storage tanks in the Ras Lanuf oil terminal area at the front line in the east of this oil-producing desert state.

Libyan state television blamed the explosion on “al Qaeda-backed” armed elements who had blown up an oil storage tank as pro-Gaddafi forces advanced into Ras Lanuf. The Libyan leader has blamed the revolt on al Qaeda and drug addled youths.

17 Obama and Cameron weigh no-fly zone for Libya

By Caren Bohan and Phil Stewart, Reuters

Tue Mar 8, 7:07 pm ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron discussed a potential no-fly zone for Libya on Tuesday, but both countries insisted that any intervention must have broad international support.

As Obama faces growing calls at home to help Libyan rebels seeking to end Muammar Gaddafi’s 41-year rule, he and Cameron discussed a “full spectrum of possible responses” during their telephone call, the White House said in a statement.

Forces loyal to Gaddafi attacked rebels with rockets, tanks and planes in western and eastern Libya, intensifying efforts to crush the revolt and raising pressure on foreign governments to avert a humanitarian crisis in the oil-producing North African country.

18 Firms to stop dividends, repayments in Libya freeze

By Natsuko Waki, Reuters

Tue Mar 8, 3:58 pm ET

LONDON (Reuters) – Companies affected by sanctions on Libya’s investment vehicle are scrambling to find ways to comply that could involve blocking dividends, freezing deposits and suspending repayment on loans.

European Union member states agreed to extend sanctions on Libya to include the secretive $70 billion Libyan Investment Authority, which holds stakes in Western bluechips such as Pearson and UniCredit.

The latest sanctions, designed to punish the regime of Muammar Gaddafi, are also likely to hit companies in sectors ranging from banks to construction, part of the $1.5 billion in publicly listed equities globally that LIA controls, according to Thomson Reuters data.

19 Americans see U.S. on wrong track: Reuters/Ipsos poll

By Steve Holland, Reuters

Wed Mar 9, 1:46 pm ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Americans’ confidence in the way the country is going has slumped to a two-year low in the last month, and one pollster blamed soaring gas prices.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll showed on Wednesday the proportion of people who believe the United States is on the wrong track rose seven points to 64 percent from February, in a fresh challenge to President Barack Obama.

It was the highest number of people in an Ipsos poll who think the country on the wrong track since Obama took office in January 2009. The survey comes as many indicators show an improving U.S. economy.

20 Idaho passes Republican bill to curb union rights

By Mary Wisniewski, Reuters

Wed Mar 9, 8:03 am ET

CHICAGO (Reuters) – The Idaho state legislature approved a bill on Tuesday to strip public school teachers of many of their collective bargaining rights while protesters in six states rallied against Republican efforts to curb union power.

The Idaho bill, which excludes issues like class size and workloads from negotiations for the state’s 12,000 unionized teachers, was given final approval by the Republican-led House and is expected to be signed by Republican Governor Butch Otter.

The bill also eliminates teacher tenure, limits the duration of teacher labor contracts to one year and removes seniority as a factor in determining the order of layoffs.

21 Greed drove Rajaratnam’s network: prosecutor

By Grant McCool and Basil Katz, Reuters

1 hr 33 mins ago

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A U.S. prosecutor told a jury that greed drove hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam to establish a corrupt network of people to trade on inside information and make millions in illegal profits, as the trial got under way in the biggest Wall Street insider trading case in a generation.

Rajaratnam, sitting impassively as prosecutor Jonathan Streeter spoke, went on trial in New York on Wednesday in a high-stakes clash with the government. The U.S. Justice Department has made insider trading probes into the secretive hedge fund industry a priority, and the Rajaratnam prosecution is its signature case.

“Greed and corruption. This is a case about that man right there, Raj Rajaratnam, using stolen business information to make tens of millions of dollars,” Streeter, an assistant U.S. attorney, told the jury, gesturing toward Rajaratnam.

22 House panel to examine Muslim radicalization

By Jeremy Pelofsky, Reuters

Wed Mar 9, 10:28 am ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The House of Representatives will investigate radicalization in the American-Muslim community, sparking outrage that the probe is a witch hunt akin to the 1950s anti-Communist campaign.

With al Qaeda and its affiliates openly trying to recruit Americans and Muslims inside the United States for attacks, House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Peter King called congressional hearings on the subject “absolutely essential”.

“I am facing reality, my critics are not,” King said on MSNBC. “Al Qaeda is changing its tactics, they realize that it’s very difficult to attack from the outside, they’re recruiting from within.”

23 Toyota bets on emerging markets

By Chang-Ran Kim, Asia Autos Correspondent, Reuters

Wed Mar 9, 9:17 am ET

TOKYO (Reuters) – Toyota Motor Corp will rely more on emerging markets for sales and launch about 10 new hybrid models under a long-term strategy aimed at nearly doubling profits before 2015, its president said on Wednesday.

The world’s largest car maker, trying to move on from a massive global recall of vehicles a year ago, will cut its board to 11 members by June from the current 27 to speed up decision-making as part of the blueprint.

Outlining his “Global Vision,” Toyota President Akio Toyoda said the company would also eliminate one layer of management, while giving each geographic region a bigger role to bring the automaker closer to its customers after a recall of nearly 20 million cars since 2009 dented its reputation for quality.

24 U.S. seeks surge success from lethal Afghan outpost

By Missy Ryan, Reuters

Wed Mar 9, 8:27 am ET

SANGIN, Afghanistan (Reuters) – Five months ago, when U.S. Marines took over this sandbagged outpost in Sangin, deep in southern Afghanistan’s Taliban country, they were pounded by insurgent fire every time they stepped foot off base.

Since Colonel Jason Morris’s Marines replaced British soldiers at Forward Operating Base Sabit Qadam last fall, 29 of his men from the Marine 3rd Battalion, 5th Regiment, have been killed.

Another 175 have been wounded, giving the unit the dubious record of suffering the most casualties in the Afghan war.

25 Shuttle Discovery prepares for last landing

By Irene Klotz, Reuters

Tue Mar 8, 3:18 pm ET

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) – Astronauts aboard the space shuttle Discovery prepared on Tuesday to bring NASA’s most-traveled spacecraft back to Earth, wrapping up its 39th and final mission.

Touchdown at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida is scheduled for 11:57 a.m. EST (1657 GMT) on Wednesday, with a backup landing opportunity available at 1:34 p.m. (1834 GMT)Meteorologists expect the weather will be suitable for landing.

Discovery blasted off on February 24 to deliver supplies, a storage room and an outdoor platform to hold spare parts for the International Space Station, a $100 billion project of 16 nations that has been under construction 220 miles above Earth since 1998.

AP

26 Oil installations ablaze in Libya as battles rage

By PAUL SCHEMM and MAGGIE MICHAEL, Associated Press

5 mins ago

RAS LANOUF, Libya – A giant yellow fireball shot into the sky, trailed by thick plumes of black smoke Wednesday after fighting between rebels and forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi set two oil installations ablaze and inflicted yet more damage on Libya’s crippled energy industry.

In the west, Gadhafi claimed victory in recapturing Zawiya, the city closest to the capital that had fallen into opposition hands. The claim could not immediately be verified; phone lines there have not been working during a deadly, six-day siege.

State TV showed a crowd of hundreds, purportedly in Zawiya’s main square, shouting “The people want Colonel Gadhafi!”

27 White House not at ‘decision point’ on Libya

By BEN FELLER, AP White House Correspondent

51 mins ago

WASHINGTON – Searching for answers as Libya’s fighting raged on, President Barack Obama’s national security team on Wednesday weighed how to force Moammar Gadhafi from power and halt his brutal crackdown on those rebelling against his regime. But the White House declared no action was imminent and set no timeline as attention shifted to a pivotal NATO session in Brussels.

“We’re not at a decision point,” Obama’s spokesman, Jay Carney, said as the White House sought hard to inject perspective into a fast-changing conflict. Gadhafi’s forces pounded rebels with artillery and gunfire in at least two major cities on Wednesday, adding more pressure on nations and international bodies to figure out what to do – and whether they can agree.

The NATO alliance said it was planning for any eventuality in the Libyan crisis. But with Defense Secretary Robert Gates preparing to join a meeting of alliance defense chiefs to discuss military options on Thursday, there was little sign they would agree to set up a no-fly zone over the North African country.

28 Fighting raises concerns about Libyan scientists

By DOUGLAS BIRCH, Associated Press

1 hr 4 mins ago

WASHINGTON – The fighting in Libya has disrupted a sensitive U.S. government program to keep about 700 former nuclear and chemical weapons experts busy on civilian projects in the medical and petroleum industries there and prevent them from selling their dangerous knowledge in other countries, The Associated Press has learned.

After Libya agreed to give up its weapons of mass destruction in 2003, the U.S. has been spending about $2 million a year to steer weapons scientists and technicians into other fields, including medicine, green technology and the oil and gas industry, current and former U.S. officials told the AP. Efforts by the U.S. and by Britain, which also is involved in the program, have helped build a seawater desalination plant, a water quality lab and a telemedicine facility at the Tripoli Medical Center.

About 200 nuclear specialists and 500 others who worked with chemical weapons and missile technology could be driven to leave Libya by the fighting, including key figures in the nuclear weapons programs.

29 Chaos deepens as clashes in Egypt kill 13

By HAMZA HENDAWI, Associated Press

15 mins ago

CAIRO – Clashes between Muslims and Christians in Egypt left 13 dead and 140 wounded, deepening a sense of chaos as the police and ruling military struggled to maintain order barely a month after a popular uprising ousted longtime leader Hosni Mubarak.

In a sign of how much security has broken down, the pitched battles – the deadliest in years – went on for nearly four hours Tuesday night as both sides fought with guns, knives and clubs. Army troops fired in the air to disperse the crowds to no avail.

The new Cabinet sought to reassure Egyptians on Wednesday night, ordering police to immediately take back the streets.

30 NPR chief executive quits over hidden camera video

By BEN NUCKOLS, Associated Press

53 mins ago

WASHINGTON – NPR president and CEO Vivian Schiller resigned Wednesday under pressure, a day after an undercover video showed one of her executives on a hidden camera calling the tea party racist and saying the news organization would be better off without taxpayer money.

The shake-up comes at a critical time. Conservative politicians are again pressing to end congressional funding for NPR, money the organization said it needs to keep operating public radio and television stations in some of the nation’s smallest communities. The White House defended the funding, saying there remains a need for public broadcasting.

Vivian Schiller also faced criticism for her firing of analyst Juan Williams over comments he made about Muslims. She told The Associated Press that the recent remarks made by her fellow executive Ron Schiller were outrageous and unfortunate, and her staying on would only hurt NPR’s fight for federal money.

31 Senate rejects rival GOP, Democratic budgets

By ANDREW TAYLOR, Associated Press

23 mins ago

WASHINGTON – The Democratic-led Senate on Wednesday emphatically rejected a budget-slashing House spending bill as too draconian. It then immediately killed a rival Democratic plan that was derided by moderate Democrats as too timid in its drive to cut day-to-day agency budgets.

The votes to scuttle the competing measures were designed, ironically, to prompt progress. The idea was to show tea party-backed GOP conservatives in the House that they need to pare back their budget-cutting ambitions while at the same time demonstrating to Democratic liberals that they need to budge, too.

“It isn’t often that two failed votes in the Senate could be called a breakthrough,” Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a speech at the liberal Center for American Progress think tank. “Once it is plain that both party’s opening bids in this budget debate are non-starters, we can finally get serious about sitting down and narrowing the huge gap that exists between the two sides.”

32 Shuttle Discovery ends flying career, museum next

By MARCIA DUNN, AP Aerospace Writer

56 mins ago

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Discovery ended its career as the world’s most flown spaceship Wednesday, returning from orbit for the last time and taking off in a new direction as a museum piece.

After a flawless trip to the International Space Station, NASA’s oldest shuttle swooped through a few wispy clouds on its way to its final touchdown.

“To the ship that has led the way time and time again, we say, ‘Farewell Discovery,'” declared Mission Control commentator Josh Byerly.

33 Illinois abolishes death penalty, clears death row

By CHRISTOPHER WILLS, Associated Press

43 mins ago

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Illinois abolished the death penalty Wednesday, more than a decade after the state imposed a moratorium on executions out of concern that innocent people could be put to death by a justice system that had wrongly condemned 13 men.

Gov. Pat Quinn also commuted the sentences of all 15 inmates remaining on death row. They will now serve life in prison with no hope of parole.

State lawmakers voted in January to abandon capital punishment, and Quinn spent two months reflecting on the issue, speaking with prosecutors, crime victims’ families, death penalty opponents and religious leaders. He called it the “most difficult decision” he has made as governor.

34 Union asked NFL for full financial data in 2009

By HOWARD FENDRICH, AP Pro Football Writer

26 mins ago

WASHINGTON – The financial information the NFL has offered to turn over during labor negotiations doesn’t include the data requested nearly two years ago by the players’ union.

In a letter dated May 18, 2009 – a copy of which was obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press – NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith asked Commissioner Roger Goodell to “provide audited financial statements concerning the operations of the 32 clubs and the league.”



The NFL proposed this week to provide new financial data, but the union said it wasn’t enough to satisfy the players’ call for full disclosure.

35 If NFL stops, ‘innocent bystanders’ to take hit

By JAIME ARON, AP Pro Football Writer

Wed Mar 9, 10:56 am ET

Beyond the rich players and even wealthier team owners arguing over how to divvy up $9 billion in revenue a year, the people who would suffer most if there’s no NFL season this year are those whose jobs, businesses and even charity work depend on games.

It’s the 2,500 ticket-takers, janitors and other game-day employees at the Superdome in New Orleans, and the suburban dry cleaner who washes all their uniforms.

It’s the receptionists and accountants for the New York Jets, and the high school band booster club that sells burgers and beer at Carolina Panthers games.

36 Preemie birth preventive spikes from $10 to $1,500

By MIKE STOBBE, AP Medical Writer

1 hr 5 mins ago

ATLANTA – The price of preventing preterm labor is about to go through the roof.

A drug for high-risk pregnant women has cost about $10 to $20 per injection. Next week, the price shoots up to $1,500 a dose, meaning the total cost during a pregnancy could be as much as $30,000.

That’s because the drug, a form of progesterone given as a weekly shot, has been made cheaply for years, mixed in special pharmacies that custom-compound treatments that are not federally approved.

Thank you again Barack Hussein Obama.  For nothing.

37 ‘Rainy day’ funds sit unused in handful of states

By MELINDA DESLATTE, Associated Press

2 hrs 50 mins ago

BATON ROUGE, La. – While budget deficits threaten to cripple government services across the country, a handful of states with billions of dollars socked away in “rainy day” funds for troubled financial times are discovering they can’t use that money to offset their cuts.

Amid the worst financial crisis facing states in decades, stringent rules governing the use of reserve funds have tied the hands of lawmakers in nearly a dozen states even as they consider raising taxes, slashing health and social services and shuttering education programs.

About three-fourths of states have used rainy day funds in the past three years to alleviate budget cuts, but some have had difficulty accessing the money or have shied away from doing so. They would have to repay it quickly or were worried it would hurt their bond ratings.

38 ‘Spider-Man’ to shut down for weeks? Producers mum

By JOCELYN NOVECK, AP National Writer

2 hrs 17 mins ago

NEW YORK – Theatergoers packed into a matinee of Broadway’s “Spider-Man” musical on Wednesday, many of them unaware of reports that the troubled show would soon shut down for a few weeks and push back its opening for months.

Officially, producers were still saying the show is scheduled to open next week.

“We are not confirming or commenting on the recent reports” of the brief hiatus and new opening, said Rick Miramontez, spokesman for “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark.” The $65 million show, he said, is still scheduled to open March 15.

39 Suicide bomber kills 36 at funeral in NW Pakistan

By RIAZ KHAN, Associated Press

Wed Mar 9, 9:44 am ET

PESHAWAR, Pakistan – A suicide bomber struck a funeral attended by anti-Taliban militiamen in northwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, killing at least 36 mourners and wounding more than 100 in the deadliest militant attack in the country this year. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility.

The blast near the city of Peshawar was not far from the tribally administered regions bordering Afghanistan where militants are at their strongest. The area struck is home to several tribal armies that battle the Pakistani branches of the Taliban with the government’s encouragement.

Police officer Zahid Khan said about 300 people were attending the funeral for the wife of a militiaman in the Matani area when the bomber struck. TV footage showed men picking up bloodied sandals and caps from a dusty, open space where mourners had gathered.

40 Biden in Moscow for 2 days of talks

By JIM HEINTZ, Associated Press

Wed Mar 9, 6:27 am ET

MOSCOW – Two years after he introduced the phrase “push the reset button” for America’s relations with Russia, Vice President Joe Biden is in Moscow to see what sort of fine-tuning is needed.

Biden plans two days of meetings Wednesday and Thursday, including with President Dmitry Medvedev, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and representatives of Russia’s beleaguered opposition groups. He is to cap the trip with an address at Moscow State University that is expected to lay out the White House’s vision for U.S.-Russian relations in the last half of President Barack Obama’s term.

“This trip for the vice president is an opportunity to take stock of the reset and what we’ve achieved and where we hope to go next,” said Biden’s national security adviser Tony Blinken.

41 Vt. gov., back from Caribbean, defends secrecy

By JOHN CURRAN, Associated Press

8 mins ago

MONTPELIER, Vt. – Sun-kissed and amused by the brouhaha, Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin returned from a Caribbean getaway with no apologies for keeping his vacation destination a secret or for going there without his security detail.

The first-term Democrat’s whereabouts became the subject of speculation and news reports after staff members said they either didn’t know where he was or wouldn’t say after he left Thursday.

Adding to the public interest in his whereabouts, Vermont got walloped by its biggest-ever March snowstorm, which dumped more than two feet of snow in places and closed schools and some state government offices.

Another stupid, privileged asshole who thinks a D next to his name makes him a “man of the people.”  Just another jerk.

42 Philly cardinal asks faithful to pray for healing

By JOANN LOVIGLIO, Associated Press

12 mins ago

PHILADELPHIA – A day after suspending 21 priests named by a grand jury as child molestation suspects, Cardinal Justin Rigali on Wednesday called on the faithful to pray for healing in the church and for sexual abuse victims.

Rigali spoke to several hundred Roman Catholics packing the pews and aisles for a noon Mass at the city’s grand basilica on Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of the Lenten season of penance.

Outside, about a dozen protesters carried placards and signs criticizing Rigali and Monsignor William Lynn, a former church official charged last month with endangering children and covering up the crimes by knowingly shifting priests suspected of molestation from parish to parish.

A church of perverts and pederasts.

43 House Republicans say federal workers are overpaid

By LARRY MARGASAK, Associated Press

19 mins ago

WASHINGTON – While conservative GOP governors are demanding concessions from state workers, House Republicans are making federal employees the next target.

Republicans at a House hearing on Wednesday complained that the 2.1 million-strong federal work force is overpaid compared with workers holding similar jobs in the private sector.

The personnel chief for federal workers cried foul. He said many federal employees earn too little.

44 GOP imposes $100 fines on Wis.’s AWOL Democrats

By SCOTT BAUER, Associated Press

31 mins ago

MADISON, Wis. – Republicans in the Wisconsin Senate voted Wednesday to fine the chamber’s AWOL Democrats $100 for each day they miss of the legislative session, and the governor said the GOP remains committed to his plan to strip most public workers of their collective bargaining rights.

Gov. Scott Walker met with GOP senators in a closed-door meeting a day after releasing details about concessions he’s offered to Democrats, saying he had the backing of his fellow Republicans.

“They’re firm,” Walker said after dashing out of the meeting and into an elevator at the Capitol.

45 Obama nominates Locke to be ambassador to China

By JULIE PACE, Associated Press

37 mins ago

WASHINGTON – Hoping to make China more friendly to American business, President Barack Obama on Wednesday nominated as his top envoy to Beijing Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, the first Chinese-American to serve in that diplomatically and commercially important assignment.

Locke is well-versed in the Chinese trade policies that have frustrated American businesses trying to sell their products in the huge and growing Asian power. He’s led delegations of U.S. companies on dozens of trade missions abroad, including to China, where U.S. exports were up 34 percent last year.

“When he’s in Beijing, I know that American companies will be able to count on him to represent their interests in front of China’s top leaders,” Obama said as he announced Locke’s nomination.

46 Boys, men charged in sex assaults Texas girl, 11

By JUAN A. LOZANO, Associated Press

35 mins ago

CLEVELAND, Texas – On a cell phone video passed among an 11-year-old girl’s classmates, authorities say adolescent boys and men in their 20s could be seen sexually assaulting the girl inside a dingy abandoned trailer.

A friend went to a teacher, investigators went to the girl and her mother, and authorities say they learned the disturbing images depicted just one of several attacks on the girl last year.

Now 18 people – including two of Cleveland’s star high school athletes and adults with criminal records – face assault and abuse charges that have horrified and divided their small Texas town.

I’m sure they are all proud upstanding Texass ‘Murikans.

47 Auto industry guards against hacking

By KEN THOMAS, Associated Press

1 hr 23 mins ago

WASHINGTON – Could modern cars operating with the help of internal computers be vulnerable to hackers? Could someone tamper with your software-controlled brakes or stop the engine from afar?

The familiar problem for personal computers is being studied in automobiles as internal computer networks become as critical to vehicles as tires and engines, and as auto companies push to bring the Internet to motorists.

Two researchers demonstrated the ability last year to hack into the internal networks that operate a car’s brakes and engines. While there is no evidence that anyone has hacked into auto computer systems to compromise safety or steal vehicles, industry groups are studying the issue in hopes of getting ahead of future cyber-attacks.

48 Erin Brockovich back in Hinkley testing water

By NOAKI SCHWARTZ, Associated Press

2 hrs 10 mins ago

HINKLEY, Calif. – At the end of “Erin Brockovich,” a housewife sick from toxic chromium weeps with joy as she’s handed her portion of a historic $333 million settlement between residents of this small desert town and the utility that poisoned their drinking water.

In real life, that woman is Roberta Walker. She still lives in Hinkley, using her share to buy a new home in what she thought would be a safe four-mile distance from the toxic plume of chromium.

Earlier this year, she and other residents learned that the pollution, which Pacific Gas & Electric was required to clean up, was once again moving and had seeped into their groundwater.

49 Erin Brockovich back in Hinkley testing water

By NOAKI SCHWARTZ, Associated Press

2 mins ago

HINKLEY, Calif. – At the end of “Erin Brockovich,” a housewife sick from toxic chromium weeps with joy as she’s handed her portion of a historic $333 million settlement between residents of this small desert town and the utility that poisoned their drinking water.

In real life, that woman is Roberta Walker. She still lives in Hinkley, using her share to buy a new home in what she thought would be a safe four-mile distance from the toxic plume of chromium.

Earlier this year, she and other residents learned that the pollution, which Pacific Gas & Electric was required to clean up, was once again moving and had seeped into their groundwater.

50 Covered bridge preservation program endangered

By JOAN LOWY, Associated Press

Wed Mar 9, 2:35 pm ET

WASHINGTON – A truck driver forced his oversized tractor-trailer rig through the historic Mt. Orne covered bridge in Lancaster, N.H., last year, causing extensive damage to the wood span. A tornado tossed the beloved 1886 covered bridge in Moscow, Ind,. into the Big Flatrock River three years ago.

Only six of the 19 original covered bridges in Madison County, Iowa – made famous by the love story “The Bridges of Madison County” – remain.

Floods, vandalism, arson and neglect are also taking a toll. About 750 of the 15,000 covered bridges that dotted the United States in the 19th century are still standing.

51 Ford has another car with 40 mpg

By ANN M. JOB, For The Associated Press

Wed Mar 9, 10:49 am ET

Just in time for $4-a-gallon gasoline prices, the 2012 Ford Focus compact arrives as a handsome new model with head-turning fuel mileage, comfortable ride and luxury options not usually found in small cars.

The early-introduction Focus, available as a sedan and five-door hatchback, is rated at 28 miles a gallon in city driving and 40 mpg on the highway as a sedan with automatic transmission and an extra-cost Special Fuel Economy (SFE) package. Ford’s Fiesta small car also has a 40-mpg highway rating.

The $495 SFE package on the Focus swaps out standard tires for low rolling resistance rubber, adds special wheel covers that are more aerodynamic than the regular ones and a spoiler at the sedan’s trunk lid and puts a newfangled grille in front that can adjust air flow. All this boosts the mileage rating above that of the regular Focus sedan with automatic transmission mileage of 28/38-mpg.

3 comments

    • on 03/09/2011 at 22:22
      Author
    • on 03/10/2011 at 01:17

    they separated the collective bargaining from budget, made a separate bill & were to vote on it at 6pm central

    h/t taibbi on cenk

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