Evening Edition

Evening Edition is an Open Thread

From Yahoo News Top Stories

1 Eurozone crisis could rip EU apart: officials

By Yacine Le Forestier, AFP

6 hrs ago

The eurozone crisis could wreck the European Union, top EU officials warned on Wednesday as the leaders of Germany and France held talks with Greece to avoid a default and widespread chaos.

The pressure rose on all fronts with United States again expressing great concern, with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner saying European states “now recognise they are going to have to do more” to resolve to the crisis.

Highlighting the threat to the global economy, Geithner is to exceptionally attend talks between European Union finance ministers and central bankers in Poland on Friday.

2 French banks downgraded ahead of euro crisis talks

By Charles Onians, AFP

6 hrs ago

Moody’s ratings agency downgraded two top French banks on Wednesday, highlighting the risk of a eurozone domino effect amid warnings the crisis could destroy the European Union.

Moody’s cut the rating for Credit Agricole bank, one of the biggest in Europe, from Aa1 to Aa2 and Societe Generale’s from Aa2 to Aa3 because of fears over their exposure to Greek sovereign debt.

The rating agency left French banking major BNP Paribas on negative watch.

3 Italy austerity plan approved

AFP

2 hrs 30 mins ago

Italy’s Chamber of Deputies on Wednesday formally adopted a 54.2 billion euro ($74 billion) austerity package, the second in three months aimed at pacifying markets amid a European debt crisis.

The package was adopted after deputies voted 314 in favour to 300 against.

A final evening ballot followed an earlier confidence vote aimed at speeding up implementation of the measures after investors’ reluctance to buy Italy’s debt drove interest rates to new highs.

4 Kabul Taliban siege ends with at least 15 dead

By Sardar Ahmad, AFP

4 hrs ago

A brazen Taliban assault on the Afghan capital was quelled Wednesday after raging for 19 hours in a hail of rockets, grenades and suicide blasts that left at least 15 dead and six foreign troops wounded.

Afghan and foreign troops battled insurgents who targeted the US embassy and NATO headquarters, sowing fear and confusion and raising fresh questions over the Kabul government’s ability to secure the country even after a 10-year war.

The standoff ended when troops finally killed the two last insurgents who had held out overnight in a high-rise building under construction just a few hundred metres from the heavily guarded US embassy.

5 Libya’s new leaders bask in Western support

By Mohamed Hasni, AFP

1 hr 35 mins ago

Libya’s new rulers basked in a wave of international support Wednesday, as they awaited a visit by the leaders of Britain and France, and Washington pledged to respect the right of Libyans to decide their own future.

British Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Nicolas Sarkozy are planning to visit Libya on Thursday, sources said in Paris.

Both Cameron’s and Sarkozy’s offices declined to comment when asked about the trip, but the head of Libya’s National Transitional Council (NTC) Mustafa Abdel Jalil confirmed to AFP that Sarkozy would visit.

6 Cameron, Sarkozy plan Libya visit Thursday: sources

AFP

3 hrs ago

Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Nicolas Sarkozy are planning to visit Libya Thursday in a trip that would be the first by foreign leaders since rebels ousted Moamer Kadhafi, sources said.

France and Britain spearheaded the NATO air war against Kadhafi’s forces that helped the rebels slowly fight their way towards Tripoli and install the National Transitional Council (NTC) as the new government there.

The plans for the trip were confirmed by sources close to the NTC but no details were provided.

7 China sentences four to death over Xinjiang unrest

AFP

1 hr 26 mins ago

China has sentenced four people to death over unrest in the ethnically-torn Xinjiang region, state media reported Thursday, after vowing to crack down on “terrorism” in the troubled far-western area.

Two others were jailed for 19 years over a wave of deadly violence in July in the region, where the mainly Muslim Uighur minority has long chafed against Chinese rule, and authorities claim that Pakistan-trained terror cells operate.

The four were handed the death penalty Wednesday after being found guilty a day earlier of masterminding and engaging in terrorist organisations, illegally making explosives, murder and arson, the official Xinhua news agency said, citing the local tianshannet.com website, which is also state-run.

8 Spanish court reopens rape case against Saudi prince

AFP

1 hr 46 mins ago

A Spanish court has reopened a probe into allegations a Saudi billionaire prince raped a model on a yacht in the Mediterranean three years ago, according to a ruling seen by AFP Wednesday.

The case concerns Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, a nephew of King Abdullah and one of world’s richest men, who is being asked to respond to a complaint of sexual assault against him in August 2008 by a model who was 20 at the time.

In a statement, Alwaleed’s Kingdom Holding Company denied the allegations and said he only heard of them on Tuesday.

9 Republican snatches NY Democrat bastion

By Sebastian Smith, AFP

47 mins ago

Republicans on Wednesday claimed a blow against President Barack Obama’s reelection hopes after snatching a longtime Democrat Congressional seat in a special election upset in New York City.

“New Yorkers have delivered a strong warning to the Democrats who control the levers of power in our federal government,” House Speaker John Boehner said after a stunning win for Republican businessman Bob Turner against Democratic city legislator Dave Weprin in the 9th Congressional District.

Republicans have not held the district, home to many Orthodox Jews, since 1923 and they are outnumbered 3:1 there by registered Democrats. The seat came up when popular Democrat incumbent Anthony Weiner resigned over a sex scandal.

10 US report spreads blame for BP oil spill

AFP

1 hr 25 mins ago

A key US government report spreads the blame for the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico Wednesday, citing a bad cement job, poor management by BP and its subcontractors and risky shortcuts. The findings by the agency that regulates offshore drilling are largely in line with other investigations into the 2010 disaster, but offer the most detailed analysis to date.

The report is expected to influence a criminal investigation being conducted by the US Justice Department and impact fines imposed upon the British energy giant. Regulators said they planned to issue seven new citations based upon the report’s conclusions.

It could also strengthen BP’s legal case for recovering some of the massive multi-billion dollar costs of the spill from Halliburton, which performed the cement job, rig owner Transocean and parts manufacturer Cameron, which supplied the faulty blowout preventer.

11 NASA unveils new launcher design for Mars missions

By Jean-Louis Santini, AFP

1 hr 49 mins ago

NASA unveiled its plans Wednesday for a massive new launcher capable of powering manned space flights well beyond low-Earth orbit and ultimately to Mars.

NASA chief Charles Bolden made the announcement of the design for the new Space Launch System, which the space agency touted as the most powerful rocket since the Saturn V rocket put US astronauts on the moon.

“The next chapter of America’s space exploration story is being written today,” said Bolden.

12 World Cup forces retired Elissalde back to rugby pitch

AFP

2 hrs 3 mins ago

Retired Toulouse scrum-half Jean-Baptiste Elissalde is being forced to ditch his coaching duties with the French club and kit up for the first time in 15 months because of the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.

Former France international Elissalde has not played competitive rugby since June 2010, however the 33-year-old — now a coach with the southern club — has been called in to replace Jean-Marc Doussain.

Doussain has been called into the France squad, currently involved in the World Cup, to replace the injured David Skrela. With Toulouse’s two other scrum halves also in New Zealand, the club have been left with no choice.

13 EU warned of credit crunch threat, French banks hit

By John O’Donnell and Lionel Laurent, Reuters

4 hrs ago

WROCLAW,Poland/PARIS (Reuters) – European finance ministers have been warned confidentially of the danger of a renewed credit crunch as a “systemic” crisis in euro zone sovereign debt spills over to banks, according to documents obtained by Reuters on Wednesday.

In a report prepared for ministers meeting in Poland on Friday and Saturday, senior EU officials said the 17-nation currency area faces a “risk of a vicious circle between sovereign debt, bank funding and negative growth.”

“While tensions in sovereign debt markets have intensified and bank funding risks have increased over the summer, contagion has spread across markets and countries and the crisis has become systemic,” the influential Economic and Financial Committee said.

14 World Bank chief says world economy in danger zone

By Lesley Wroughton, Reuters

3 hrs ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – World Bank President Robert Zoellick said on Wednesday the world had entered a new economic danger zone and Europe, Japan and the United States all needed to make hard decisions to avoid dragging down the global economy.

“Unless Europe, Japan, and the United states can also face up to responsibilities they will drag down not only themselves, but the global economy,” Zoellick said in speech at George Washington University.

“They have procrastinated for too long on taking the difficult decisions, narrowing what choices are now left to a painful few,” he said ahead of meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund next week.

15 IIF urges withdrawal of bank capital surcharges

By David Lawder, Reuters

4 hrs ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A global finance industry group on Wednesday urged regulators to withdraw plans for a capital surcharge on the world’s largest banks, saying it would put economic recovery at risk.

The Institute of International Finance said a forced recapitalization of European banks was not necessary and that policymakers need to balance the needs of growth with those of safety and soundness in the banking system.

“Deleveraging was absolutely essential coming into this crisis, but we have to recognize when the time comes to say ‘Enough for now,'” IIF Managing Director Charles Dallara told a news conference to review policy recommendations ahead of next week’s Group of 20 finance ministers meeting in Washington.

16 French downgrade "very small," well capitalised: Noyer

By Daniel Flynn and Vicky Buffery, Reuters

4 hrs ago

PARIS (Reuters) – Bank of France Governor Christian Noyer played down Moody’s downgrade of Credit Agricole and Societe Generale on Wednesday, saying it was “very small” and the banks had enough capital to cover any losses.

Noyer, who is in charge of regulating the French banking system, said the downgrade left French banks with a similar credit rating to their European peers and he said even a Greek default would not drive French banks into full-year losses.

“French banks have an excellent rating, the same level as other major European banks, HSBC, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse,” he told RTL radio.

17 Exclusive: French banks dial down Asian oil derivatives

By Florence Tan, Reuters

4 hrs ago

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – French banks have scaled back activity in the Asian oil swaps market this week, mainly in crude, traders said on Wednesday.

Counterparties and trading partners of Societe Generale, Credit Agricole and BNP Paribas told Reuters they were “watching developments” after credit downgrades for two of the banks and a negative outlook for the third.

In the Asian over-the-counter crude swaps market, SocGen and Credit Agricole have reduced activity levels this week compared to last week, having been active in that market for much of this year, the sources, who declined to be named, said.

18 Flat retail sales keep U.S. on recession watch

By Jason Lange, Reuters

3 hrs ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Growth in U.S. retail sales stalled in August after a spending battle in Congress crushed consumer sentiment, leaving the economy perched uncomfortably close to recession.

The weak data puts more pressure on the Federal Reserve to try to boost growth, while a report showing flat wholesale prices in August could support arguments within the central bank to take action.

“The slowdown in the economy is real,” said Steven Ricchiuto, chief economist at Mizuho Securities in New York. “It’s a broad-based slowdown, and that’s pivotal.”

19 Deficit panel must confront alternate realities

By Richard Cowan, Reuters

1 hr 56 mins ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A slew of challenging choices confronts a special deficit-reduction committee in Congress, but one of the most significant yet least understood question is what is the starting point.

In budget parlance, it is a matter of which “baseline” or measuring stick the 12-member “super committee” will use to assess just how much deficit reduction it is achieving.

The question may be a bit arcane for the average person but the answer does not just matter to bean counters. It could significantly alter the amount of spending cuts or tax increases required for any deal.

20 Contractors appeal for no more military cuts

By John Crawley, Reuters

4 hrs ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Defense contractors launched a new lobbying campaign on Wednesday to drum up public support for holding the line on U.S. military spending cuts.

Alarmed at the prospect of Congress dictating steep new reductions on top of more than $350 billion in cuts already in the pipeline from Pentagon streamlining, contractors based their urgent appeal on economic as well as national security grounds.

The industry is enlisting small business to spread the word and asking the general public to contact lawmakers directly in support of its position.

21 U.S. blames BP for Gulf spill

By Ayesha Rascoe and Anna Driver, Reuters

1 hr 31 mins ago

WASHINGTON/HOUSTON (Reuters) – The United States heaped the lion’s share of blame for the country’s biggest ever offshore oil spill on BP on Wednesday as the government issued its final assessment of last year’s Gulf disaster.

In a report that may be pivotal in the multibillion-dollar legal battles to come and could set the stage for criminal charges, the Coast Guard and the offshore oil regulator said BP was solely to blame for 21 of 35 contributing causes to the Macondo well blow-out that led to the leak, and shared blame for eight more.

After the most definitive look yet at the disaster, investigators said BP focused excessively on containing costs and speeding up operations, and made a series of decisions that complicated cementing operations, which they said were the central cause of the disaster.

22 3 years on, Lehman on path to exit bankruptcy

By Nick Brown, Reuters

4 hrs ago

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Three years after its collapse, Lehman Brothers is still stuck in bankruptcy court — but three years is not as long as it sounds, says the failed investment bank’s lead bankruptcy lawyer.

“For the largest bankruptcy case in the world? Three years is not a particularly long period,” attorney Harvey Miller said in an interview with Reuters.

Lehman filed for bankruptcy with $639 billion in assets three years ago on Thursday. Its Chapter 11 drama may soon be drawing to a close. The company received court permission on August 30 to let creditors vote on its $65 billion payback plan, and it hopes to get the plan approved by a Manhattan federal bankruptcy court in December.

23 Obama hardens tone in push for his jobs bill

By Steve Holland, Reuters

2 hrs 24 mins ago

RALEIGH, North Carolina (Reuters) – President Barack Obama sharpened his rhetoric on Wednesday in a push for his $447 billion jobs package, even as polls showed Americans skeptical of the plan and Democrats’ loss of a congressional seat raised new questions about his political strength.

In the latest stop on what has become a “pass this bill” tour, Obama used a campaign-style rally to press his warning to Republicans not to let election politics delay action on his proposals to reduce chronically high U.S. unemployment.

“You need leaders who will put country before party,” Obama told a cheering crowd at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. “The time for gridlock and games is over. The time for action is now.”

24 Analysis: Republican leaders fight for control of party

By Tim Reid, Reuters

3 hrs ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Republican Party’s traditional kingmakers are losing a battle with anti-government Tea Party populists to choose the candidate who will challenge President Barack Obama in the November 2012 election.

For the first time in almost 50 years, the party’s leaders fear they do not have the power to anoint the candidate they believe has the best odds of beating the Democratic opponent, according to senior strategists, former Republican lawmakers and analysts.

Instead, the Tea Party wing of the Republican Party is driving the debate and ultimately the decision, they said, which could have consequences that reach far beyond 2012.

25 Big Republican donors wait on Perry-Romney duel

By Kim Dixon, Reuters

4 hrs ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Big Republican donors are still undecided on Rick Perry or Mitt Romney as their party’s best chance to defeat President Barack Obama in the November 2012 presidential election.

Only about a third of the Republican campaign cash raised four years ago has been committed so far for the upcoming election — a sluggish pace that is unlikely to pick up before next year.

“I haven’t seen any sort of huge swell of traditional Bush supporters going anywhere yet,” said Jan Baran, former general counsel to the Republican National Committee who advised President George H.W. Bush.

26 Republican wins in New York Democratic stronghold

By Daniel Trotta, Reuters

4 hrs ago

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A Republican upset in a historically Democratic congressional district of New York City rattled Democrats and a besieged President Barack Obama going into November 2012 elections.

“We are not going to sugar coat it, this was a tough loss,” the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee wrote in an open memo on Wednesday, a day after Republican Bob Turner scored an 8-point victory over Democrat David Weprin.

Turner, a retired media executive, won 54 percent of the vote to Weprin’s 46 percent, handing the seat to Republicans for the first time since the 1920s in a heavily Jewish district where Democrats outnumber Republicans 3 to 1.

27 U.S. shows flag in Tripoli, pledges support

By Joseph Logan and Alexander Dziadosz, Reuters

3 hrs ago

TRIPOLI (Reuters) – The United States gave Libya’s new rulers a very visible show of support on Wednesday when a senior envoy visited the capital and praised their efforts to assert control of armed groups three weeks after Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown.

Washington has taken a back seat to France and Britain in NATO-led air strikes that helped the ragtag rebel coalition take Tripoli last month. And, wary of a backlash after their military takeovers in Iraq and Afghanistan, U.S. officials are at pains to avoid seeming to take control of oil-rich Libya.

But the visit of Jeffrey Feltman put an American accent firmly in the center of a Tripoli recovering from six months of civil war. The State Department’s top Middle East diplomat assured interim leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil of continued NATO support and played down fears of a hostile Islamist takeover.

28 Smokers don’t make better lovers

By Genevra Pittman, Reuters

4 hrs ago

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Lighting up could be slowing you down in the bedroom, suggests a new study.

Men who successfully stopped smoking improved on lab measurements of sexual health more than those who relapsed after a quit-smoking program. The findings show that smoking may be affecting the sexual health of men who consider themselves perfectly alright in the bedroom — and not just those with impotence, researchers say.

“With younger men, the risks of smoking in that population appear more far off. They think, ‘I don’t really need to worry about this until much farther down the road,'” said study author Christopher Harte, from the VA Boston Healthcare System.

29 Longer supply may help women stick with the Pill

By Amy Norton, Reuters

4 hrs ago

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Women who get several months’ worth of birth control pills at once are more likely to stick with the contraceptive than those who get a shorter-term supply, a new clinical trial suggests.

As it stands, private and public health insurance plans in the U.S. generally limit how many months’ worth of birth control pills can be prescribed at a time. The practice was established years ago, when there were concerns about the Pill causing certain health problems, including high blood pressure.

The idea was that having women make more doctor visits could help in catching any ill effects.

30 Pressure already on teams off to surprisingly slow starts

By Simon Evans, Reuters

3 hrs ago

MIAMI (Reuters) – The mantra after the first game in most professional sports leagues is that the season is long, but in the National Football League (NFL) one week is enough to mount up the pressure on teams who stumble out of the gate.

While a 16-game regular season offers plenty of time for a recovery, an 0-2 start can ratchet up levels of fan discontent and media scrutiny to uncomfortable levels — and there are some surprisingly top teams and big-name quarterbacks among those in need of a win in Week Two.

The Super Bowl runner-up Pittsburgh Steelers were crushed by divisional rivals the Baltimore Ravens in their opening game with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger having a shaky start with three interceptions and two fumbles.

31 French, Greek, German leaders discuss Greek crisis

By ELENA BECATOROS, Associated Press

5 hrs ago

ATHENS, Greece (AP) – Greece is an “integral” part of the eurozone, the leaders of Greece, France and Germany said in an emergency teleconference Wednesday night that aimed to calm markets and temper talk of an imminent default by Greece.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy also stressed to Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou “that it is more indispensable than ever to fully implement the decisions adopted July 21” by the eurozone leaders “to ensure the stability of the eurozone,” the French president’s office said in a statement.

Fears that Greece was heading rapidly towards a chaotic default – and the idea that it should potentially leave the euro and return to its own currency – have roiled markets for days, both across the 17-nation eurozone and globally.

32 Agent defends not reading rights to attack suspect

By ED WHITE, Associated Press

5 hrs ago

DETROIT (AP) – Investigators interviewing a Nigerian man accused of trying to blow up a Detroit-bound flight didn’t read him his rights because they wanted to know if other suicide bombers were in the air and didn’t want to lose his cooperation, an FBI agent testified Wednesday.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab is asking a judge to suppress his statements to agents at the University of Michigan hospital where he was being treated for second-degree burns to his groin on Christmas 2009. The government, however, said the right to stay silent doesn’t apply if authorities believe there could be an imminent threat to safety.

FBI agent Timothy Waters said al-Qaida often stages coordinated attacks, and Abdulmutallab had already succeeded at getting past airport security in Amsterdam.

33 A referendum on Obama? GOP celebrates its NY win

By DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondent

4 hrs ago

WASHINGTON (AP) – Savoring the unlikeliest of victories, Republicans called their triumph in a New York City congressional race a repudiation of President Barack Obama’s policies on the economy and Israel on Wednesday as public and private polls showed his approval ratings plummeting in a district he carried handily in 2008.

“We’re not going to sugarcoat it, it was a tough loss,” conceded the House Democratic Campaign Committee. Yet party officials and the White House insisted the race was not a referendum on the president as he seeks re-election with the economy stagnant and unemployment stuck at 9.1 percent.

In New York, Rep.-elect Bob Turner, outpolled state Assemblyman David Weprin in a light-turnout election. He will replace former Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner, who resigned in disgrace earlier this year in a sexting scandal. Represented by Democrats since the 1920s, the district includes portions of Brooklyn and Queens, is home to three times as many registered Democrats as Republicans and is nearly 40 percent Jewish.

34 Senate procedural snarl could shutdown FAA again

By JOAN LOWY, Associated Press

3 hrs ago

WASHINGTON (AP) – A single Republican senator’s objections plus a procedural snarl could force another partial shutdown of the Federal Aviation Administration at the end of this week, potentially putting thousands of workers out of jobs and depriving the government of $30 million a day in uncollected airline ticket taxes.

Senate rules don’t allow lawmakers to shift from the bill they’re currently working on, a disaster aid bill, to a stop-gap funding measure for the FAA and highway programs without the consent of all lawmakers, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Wednesday.

Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., is refusing to give his consent. Coburn wants to change the highway portion of the stopgap transportation bill that the House passed on Tuesday by eliminating a requirement that states spend 10 percent of their highway program dollars on “transportation enhancements” like bike and walking paths and projects aimed at drawing tourists.

35 AP Exclusive: Long-term care plan alarms ignored

By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR, Associated Press

5 hrs ago

WASHINGTON (AP) – Even as leading Democrats offered assurances to the contrary, government experts repeatedly warned that a new long-term care insurance plan could go belly up, saddling taxpayers with another underfunded benefit program, according to emails disclosed by congressional investigators.

Part of President Barack Obama’s health care law, the program is in limbo as a congressional debt panel searches for budget savings and behind the scenes, administration officials scramble to find a viable financing formula.

A longstanding priority of the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports program, or CLASS, was spliced into the health care law despite nagging budget worries. Administration emails and documents reveal that alarms were sounded earlier and more widely than previously thought. Congressional Republicans seeking repeal of the program provided the materials to The Associated Press.

36 Judge blocks Fla. law restricting doctor gun talk

By CURT ANDERSON, AP Legal Affairs Writer

4 hrs ago

MIAMI (AP) – A federal judge on Wednesday blocked enforcement of a first-in-the-nation law that restricted what Florida physicians can say about guns to their patients, ruling the law violates the U.S. Constitution’s free speech guarantees and does not trample gun rights.

U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke said it was important to emphasize “the free flow of truthful, non-misleading information within the doctor-patient relationship.”

“This case concerns one of our Constitution’s most precious rights – the freedom of speech,” said Cooke, appointed to the bench by Republican President George W. Bush. “A practitioner who counsels a patient on firearm safety, even when entirely irrelevant to medical care or safety, does not affect or interfere with the patient’s right to continue to own, possess or use firearms.”

37 Lawmakers probe how solar company got $528M loan

By JACK GILLUM, KEVIN FREKING, Associated Press

5 hrs ago

WASHINGTON (AP) – House Republicans questioned Wednesday whether the White House rushed approval of a half-billion-dollar loan guarantee for a now-bankrupt solar panel manufacturer once cited as the kind of renewable energy company worthy of federal stimulus money.

Solyndra Inc. was a major presence in Washington and spent millions of dollars on lobbying there, particularly about the Energy Department’s loan guarantee program. And its executives raised thousands of dollars for Obama and Democrats in Congress.

The collapse of the Fremont, Calif.-based company once touted by President Barack Obama ultimately left taxpayers on the hook for $528 million, raising questions if the loan was rushed to accommodate a company event in September 2009 that featured Vice President Joe Biden.

38 Kucinich to face Dem primary in new Ohio district

By THOMAS J. SHEERAN, Associated Press

3 hrs ago

CLEVELAND (AP) – U.S. Reps. Dennis Kucinich and Marcy Kaptur jumped into re-election campaigns in the same newly redrawn congressional district across northern Ohio on Wednesday, setting up a primary fight next year between two veteran Democratic incumbents.

The district stretches alongside Lake Erie from Kucinich’s hometown of Cleveland to Kaptur’s political base in Toledo.

The eight-term Kucinich announced his move in an email asking supporters to help his campaign in the new district, which he says favors him because 57 percent of registered Democrats come from his old district. Kucinich had toyed with the idea of running in Washington state.

39 Obama touts jobs bill benefits for small business

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE, Associated Press

6 hrs ago

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – President Barack Obama urged enthusiastic college students Wednesday to join him in his fight to get Congress to act on his new jobs bill. “Every single one of you can help make this bill a reality,” the president called out at a hot and noisy rally at North Carolina State University.

Someone in the crowd yelled out, “I love you!”

“If you love me you got to help me pass this bill,” the president responded.

40 Future NASA rocket to be most powerful ever built

By SETH BORENSTEIN, AP Science Writer

4 hrs ago

WASHINGTON (AP) – To soar far away from Earth and even on to Mars, NASA has dreamed up the world’s most powerful rocket, a behemoth that borrows from the workhorse liquid-fuel rockets that sent Apollo missions into space four decades ago.

But with a price tag that some estimate at $35 billion, it may not fly with Congress.

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and several members of Congress on Wednesday unveiled the Obama administration’s much-delayed general plans for its rocket design, called the Space Launch System. The multibillion-dollar program would carry astronauts in a capsule on top, and the first mission would be 10 years off if all goes as planned. Unmanned test launches are expected from Cape Canaveral, Fla., in six years.

41 After talks setback, what’s next for NBA players?

By BRIAN MAHONEY, AP Basketball Writer

4 hrs ago

NEW YORK (AP) – Billy Hunter hoped to deliver good news when he meets with NBA players on Thursday in Las Vegas.

Instead, the executive director of the players’ association isn’t even sure how he will answer all their questions.

No progress was made toward ending the 2½-month lockout during a meeting with owners Tuesday, and Hunter might have to tell players to look elsewhere if they want to be paid to play basketball anytime soon.

42 College football teams making fashion statements

By RALPH D. RUSSO, AP College Football Writer

4 hrs ago

Flip on a college football game and the first reaction could be: “What in the world are they wearing?”

Maryland’s outfits look like somebody tore up the state flag and glued the pieces on a practice uniform.

Boise State’s gear could have been borrowed from “Power Rangers.”

43 Japan out to atone for NZ thrashing at 1995 RWC

By FOSTER NIUMATA, AP Sports Writer

1 hr 59 mins ag

HAMILTON, New Zealand (AP) – It’s a number Japan wishes was a postal code: 145-17.

Instead, it’s the worst scoreline for the Japanese in test rugby, the most points conceded in any World Cup match, and the equivalent of an anchor around their necks because that 1995 match in Bloemfontein has been the only official test they’ve played against New Zealand with no chance to make amends.

Until now.

2 comments

    • on 09/15/2011 at 00:15
      Author
    • on 09/15/2011 at 00:23

    Conversations in between meetings, was all about how Germany can’t let the Eurozone/Euro go under becasue the Deutchmark would be so strong that they wouldn’t be able to export any goods

Comments have been disabled.