Evening Edition

Evening Edition is an Open Thread

From Yahoo News Top Stories

1 Police break fuel blockades in France strike

by Roland Lloyd Parry, AFP

1 hr 7 mins ago

PARIS (AFP) – Police broke blockades at French fuel depots on Wednesday and skirmished with youths as the government warned of economic damage from prolonged strikes against its pensions reform.

More tear gas was fired and cars burned in Lyon and suburbs of Paris in a third day of minor riots, a day after nationwide protests brought a million people into the street.

With a third of France’s filling stations dry, according to the government, queues again formed at pumps as several fuel depots remained blockaded.

2 French police break fuel blockades in pensionstrike

by Roland Lloyd Parry, AFP

Wed Oct 20, 6:53 am ET

PARIS (AFP) – Police cleared protesters blockading French fuel depots on Wednesday as the government warned of economic damage from prolonged strikes against its plan to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62.

A third of France’s filling stations ran dry on Tuesday, the government said, while cars were set alight and police fired tear gas at rioters on the sidelines of protests that brought a million people into the street.

“If it is not stopped quickly, this disorder which is aimed at paralysing the country could have consequences for jobs by damaging the normal running of economic activity,” President Nicolas Sarkozy said in a statement Wednesday.

3 Britain unveils deep spending cuts to tackle record debt

by Danny Kemp and Katherine Haddon, AFP

1 hr 18 mins ago

LONDON (AFP) – Britain’s government unveiled the harshest spending cuts for decades on Wednesday, slashing budgets by around a fifth and taking the axe to the country’s comprehensive welfare system.

Finance minister George Osborne said nearly half a million public sector jobs would go as a result of the austerity measures, and the age at which state pensions are paid to men and women would rise to 66 by 2020.

Osborne insisted that the 83-billion-pound (130-billion-dollar, 95-billion-euro) package — watched around Europe by governments with similar deficit worries — marked “the day that Britain steps back from the brink.”

4 Afghans cancel one quarter of votes in parliament poll

by Waheedullah Massoud, AFP

Wed Oct 20, 12:36 pm ET

KABUL (AFP) – Afghan election authorities on Wednesday threw out 1.3 million votes over suspected fraud in last month’s parliamentary election, nearly a quarter of the 5.6 million cast.

The cancelled votes represent more than 23 percent of the ballots cast on September 18 for Afghanistan’s second parliament since the Taliban regime’s overthrow in a 2001 US-led invasion.

“The total number of ballots poured into the boxes was 5,600,000. The valid vote is 4,265,347 and the invalid vote is around 1,300,000,” said Fazil Ahmad Manawi, head of the Independent Election Commission (IEC).

5 Obama seeks immediate suspension of gay military order

AFP

1 hr 52 mins ago

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) – US President Barack Obama’s administration asked an appeals court Wednesday to immediately suspend a judge’s decision to repeal a ban on gays serving openly in the military.

The US military said Tuesday it was accepting openly gay recruits for the first time in the country’s history, as District Judge Virginia Phillips of California refused to grant the Obama administration a stay on her court order.

The Justice Department urged the appeals court in San Francisco to immediately suspend Phillips’s repeal of the controversial “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy, while it considered a reversal of her stay decision.

6 Pentagon to accept gay recruits after court ruling

AFP

Wed Oct 20, 12:08 pm ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The US military said it is accepting openly gay recruits for the first time in the country’s history, after a judge upheld an order ending a controversial ban on homosexual troops.

But the Pentagon warned that the so-called “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” rule could be reinstated, depending on the outcome of pending court decisions.

“Recruiters have been given guidance, and they will process applications for applicants who admit they are openly gay or lesbian,” spokeswoman Cynthia Smith told AFP, adding that recruiters have been instructed to remind applicants that the court’s decision could be reversed.

7 Ancient galaxy is more than 13 billion light years away

AFP

2 hrs 23 mins ago

PARIS (AFP) – European astronomers on Wednesday said a galaxy born in the childhood of the Universe lies at least 13 billion light years away, making it the remotest object ever observed.

Light from the galaxy UDFy-38135539 that reaches Earth today was emitted when the cosmos was only 600 million years old and mired in a primordial “fog” of hydrogen atoms, they said.

It has taken 13.1 billion years, travelling at 300,000 kilometres (186,000 miles) per second, for this smudge of infant light to arrive.

8 Russia unveils 60 billion dollar privatisation drive

by Stuart Williams, AFP

Wed Oct 20, 1:09 pm ET

MOSCOW (AFP) – Russia on Wednesday agreed a huge 5-year privatisation drive worth 60 billion dollars in a dramatic return to sell-offs after a decade that saw the government increase control over key assets.

First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov announced that the government had taken its final decision and the plan only now required the approval of President Dmitry Medvedev.

“According to initial estimates, the state could receive 1.8 trillion rubles (58.5 billion dollars) from a full realisation of the privatisation plans,” he said in comments on state television, adding that 900 firms were slated for privatisation.

9 ECB official gives cool reaction to eurozone reforms

by William Ickes, AFP

Wed Oct 20, 12:29 pm ET

FRANKFURT (AFP) – European Central Bank chief economist Juergen Stark replied cautiously Wednesday to a European Union deal hailed as the eurozone’s “biggest reform” ever, saying that remained to be seen.

An agreement unveiled Tuesday would make it easier to sanction EU states that blow their budgets and create a permanent, Greek-style safety net for those that cannot cope.

This “was celebrated as a great day for Europe,” Stark noted on the sidelines of an ECB conference in Frankfurt.

10 Boeing swings to profit, hikes 2010 earnings outlook

AFP

Wed Oct 20, 12:28 pm ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) – US aerospace giant Boeing on Wednesday posted a quarterly profit that beat expectations and boosted its full-year earnings forecast as it delivered more jetliners.

The commercial plane maker and defense contractor said it swung into profit of 837 million dollars in the third quarter, compared with a 1.6-billion-dollar loss a year ago due to problems with its new 787 Dreamliner program.

Revenue topped expectations at 16.97 billion dollars, up from 16.69 billion a year ago.

11 Hormone therapy linked to increased cancer risk

AFP

Wed Oct 20, 7:00 am ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Menopausal women taking combined hormone therapy have an elevated risk of being diagnosed with a more advanced stage of breast cancer and dying from it, according to a new US study.

Researchers conducted a new analysis of a landmark, federally funded clinical trial known as the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI), which was halted in 2002 after data suggested women who took a combination of estrogen and progestin hormones faced a higher risk of breast cancer.

The study, published in this week’s edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association, also found that women who previously used hormone therapy and discontinued it after the WHI was terminated still faced a slightly higher breast cancer mortality rate than women not taking hormones.

12 Shots, tear gas fired at Indonesia protests

by Presi Mandari, AFP

Wed Oct 20, 6:11 am ET

JAKARTA (AFP) – Hundreds of protesters hurled stones and sticks at police who responded with tear gas Wednesday on the first anniversary of the swearing in of Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Chaotic skirmishes broke out between riot police and about 2,000 mainly student protesters outside the presidential palace in Jakarta, where the air filled with acrid gas.

Similar clashes erupted elsewhere in Jakarta and other towns on the main island of Java, as well as the South Sulawesi capital of Makassar where about 1,000 protesters set fire to cars and briefly detained a police officer.

13 France clears fuel blockades before pension vote

By Nick Vinocur, Reuters

27 mins ago

PARIS (Reuters) – President Nicolas Sarkozy sent in police to clear access to barricaded French fuel depots and restore supply as trade unions kept up their resistance on Wednesday to a pension reform due for a final vote this week.

Fuel imports hit a record high on Tuesday, the government said, as it tried to get round a 24-day blockade of France’s largest oil port, near Marseille, where 51 oil tankers lay idle in the Mediterranean, unable to dock.

With more than 3,000 service stations out of nearly 12,500 in France out of fuel, police could also be deployed to clear access to striking oil refineries, according to Sarkozy’s order.

14 Morgan Stanley falls further behind Goldman

By Steve Eder, Reuters

1 hr 5 mins ago

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Morgan Stanley reported a surprising third-quarter loss, suggesting the bank is losing hard-won ground in the battle with Goldman Sachs for Wall Street supremacy.

The firm’s $91 million loss, on weak volumes during one of the most difficult trading quarters in recent memory, came a day after Goldman overcame those same conditions to beat Street estimates with a $1.9 billion profit.

Despite results that could have spooked Wall Street a few quarters ago, Morgan Stanley shares were just fractionally lower in afternoon trading and the broader market was higher, the latest sign of a decoupling of banks from wider investment sentiment.

15 Mortgage applications slump as rates rise from lows

By Julie Haviv, Reuters

2 hrs 14 mins ago

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Mortgage applications slumped last week as interest rates on 15- and 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rose for the first time in six weeks, data from an industry group showed on Wednesday.

Interest rates, however, are not far from record lows and the drop in demand does not bode well for the housing market, which has been showing signs of improvement but remains highly vulnerable to setbacks.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage applications, which includes both purchase and refinance loans, for the week ended October 15 decreased 10.5 percent. The four-week moving average of mortgage applications, which smooths the volatile weekly figures, was up 0.4 percent.

16 Fight over gays in US military moves to appeals court

By Peter Henderson, Reuters

11 mins ago

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – A landmark legal battle that forced the U.S. military to welcome openly gay recruits moved on Wednesday to a federal appeals court, where the Obama administration pressed its case to reinstate the policy known as “don’t ask, don’t tell.”

The administration asked the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to let the Pentagon resume its longtime prohibition on openly gay men and women in uniform while it appeals a lower-court ruling that struck down the ban.

The request for an emergency stay was filed with the three-judge panel in San Francisco even as some gay veterans expelled under the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy have sought to reenlist in a test of the lower-court decision.

17 U.S.-Pakistan dialogue faces prickly issues

By David Alexander, Reuters

Wed Oct 20, 7:25 am ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. and Pakistani officials on Wednesday begin a third round of wide-ranging talks to broaden relations beyond the war against Islamist insurgents, but analysts expected little headway because of differing strategic interests.

Officials plan to discuss everything from water to energy, but the three-day U.S.-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue will be overshadowed by the ongoing counterinsurgency campaigns in the Afghan-Pakistan border region and the strain the conflict has put on bilateral relations.

“Pakistani-U.S. relations have taken a hit in the past few weeks,” said Mark Quarterman, an analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “It’s actually very timely that the U.S.-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue is occurring after this period so they can sit down and clear the air.”

18 Afghan leader sees hope for peace, reconciliation

By Hamid Shalizi, Reuters

Wed Oct 20, 12:43 pm ET

KABUL (Reuters) – Afghan President Hamid Karzai said on Wednesday hopes for peace and reconciliation after almost 10 years of war had increased.

But Karzai, in a long address at his presidential palace, made no direct reference to peace talks between his government and the Taliban and other insurgents.

He said Afghanistan and its allies were all working toward a settlement and that he hoped significant improvements would be achieved within one or two years.

19 Pentagon tells recruiters: You must accept gays

By Phil Stewart, Reuters

Tue Oct 19, 9:48 pm ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Pentagon said on Tuesday it had told U.S. military recruiters to allow gays and lesbians to apply for service, as gay veterans tested a court order striking down the military’s ban on openly serving homosexuals.

California-based U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips ordered the military a week ago to stop enforcing the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy and on Monday tentatively refused a Pentagon request to re-instate the 17-year-old ban.

Phillips issued a final decision late on Tuesday affirming her order.

20 U.N. study highlights price of nature to mankind

By Chisa Fujioka, Reuters

Wed Oct 20, 7:01 am ET

NAGOYA, Japan (Reuters) – Governments and businesses need an overhaul of policies and strategies to respond to the rapid loss of nature’s riches, worth trillions of dollars but long taken for granted, a U.N.-backed study said on Wednesday.

Damage to natural capital including forests, wetlands and grasslands is valued at $2-4.5 trillion annually, the United Nations estimates, but the figure is not included in economic data such as GDP, nor in corporate accounts.

That “invisibility” needs to change so steps can be taken to save ecosystems that are a vital source of food, water and income, said Pavan Sukhdev, study leader for The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB), a U.N.-backed initiative.

21 Almost quarter of votes in Afghan election invalid: IEC

By Jonathon Burch, Reuters

Wed Oct 20, 1:23 pm ET

KABUL (Reuters) – Almost a quarter of the votes cast in Afghanistan’s parliamentary election last month were invalid, officials said on Wednesday, but they hailed the poll a success despite low turnout and thousands of complaints.

The top U.N. envoy in Afghanistan applauded the election body for its handling of the counting process, but said “considerable fraud” had been carried out on polling day and called for those responsible to be held accountable.

While announcing preliminary results, Afghanistan’s Independent Election Commission (IEC) said 5.6 million votes had been cast — more than a million above earlier estimates — but that it had thrown out 1.3 million of them for various reasons.

22 Investors and White House press banks over mortgages

By Al Yoon and Jeff Mason, Reuters

Wed Oct 20, 5:19 am ET

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Investors threatened to seek redress over questionable mortgage bonds and the White House warned it would hold lenders accountable for any illegal foreclosure practices, sending the shares of major banks lower on Tuesday.

A group of eight investors accused Bank of America of inappropriately bundling some mortgages into more than $47 billion of bonds. The bank said it would fight being held responsible for the investors’ losses.

With pressure mounting for a tougher response by the Obama administration just two weeks before congressional elections, a top Justice Department official was due to meet with housing industry regulators on Wednesday.

23 Consumer attorneys see flaws in foreclosure reboot

By Dan Levine, Reuters

Tue Oct 19, 6:53 pm ET

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Consumer attorneys say there are fresh examples of documentation problems in U.S. home foreclosure cases, even as major banks resume legal proceedings against delinquent borrowers.

Bank of America and GMAC Mortgage, two of the largest servicers of U.S. residential loans, have spent a few weeks poring over their foreclosure procedures after allegations surfaced that for years banks have not reviewed documents properly or have submitted false statements to evict delinquent borrowers.

Consumer attorneys doubt the banks have cured the problems, noting that the speed of the announcement that foreclosure proceedings were to resume would have necessitated huge resources devoted to document review.

24 Yahoo disappoints on revenue forecast

By Alexei Oreskovic, Reuters

Wed Oct 20, 3:07 am ET

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Yahoo’s uninspiring quarterly sales forecast disappointed Wall Street and underscored how the one-time Internet leader is struggling to keep up with Google and Facebook.

Investors have pressured Yahoo, the leader in display advertising, and Chief Executive Carol Bartz to deliver growth and revive its stock price, amid talk that private equity firms are exploring a buyout of the $20 billion company.

“She was already on the hotseat. I don’t think she’s off the hotseat. The results have not shown any kind of real improvements,” analyst Yun Kim of Gleacher & Co said of Bartz.

25 Republican lead narrows in Colorado race: Reuters/Ipsos poll

By John Whitesides, Reuters

Tue Oct 19, 9:44 pm ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republican Ken Buck has a dwindling lead over Democratic incumbent Michael Bennet, who has gained ground in Colorado’s U.S. Senate race since August, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Tuesday.

Buck, a favorite of the conservative Tea Party movement, leads Bennet among likely voters by 48 percent to 45 percent. Buck led by 9 percentage points in August shortly after winning the Republican Senate nomination in a bitter primary fight.

More than half of Colorado voters say the struggling economy is the top issue and the state is on the wrong track, but Buck, a former prosecutor, has been unable to make political headway despite the sour voter mood.

26 Rebels stage suicide attack on Chechen parliament

Reuters

Tue Oct 19, 12:35 pm ET

GROZNY, Russia (Reuters) – Islamist rebels killed at least three people on Tuesday as they tried to seize Chechnya’s parliament in a brazen suicide attack that showed Russia is failing to quell the insurgency on its southern flank.

Chechnya’s Kremlin-backed leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, was not in the parliamentary compound in the Chechen capital Grozny when three rebels burst in at 8:45 a.m. (12:45 a.m. EDT), as deputies arrived for work.

One blew himself up and two others went on the rampage inside, spraying bullets and screaming “Allahu Akbar” (“God is Greatest”), a witness at the parliament building said.

27 Rioters rampage, protesters block French airports

By GREG KELLER, Associated Press Writer

54 mins ago

PARIS – Workers opposed to a higher retirement age blocked roads to airports around France on Wednesday, leaving passengers in Paris dragging suitcases on foot along an emergency breakdown lane.

Outside the capital, hooded youths smashed store windows amid clouds of tear gas.

Riot police in black body armor forced striking workers away from blocked fuel depots in western France, restoring gasoline to areas where pumps were dry after weeks of protests over the government proposal raising the age from 60 to 62.

28 AP-GfK Poll: Likely voters ready to embrace GOP

By LIZ “Sprinkles” SIDOTI, AP National Political Writer

34 mins ago

WASHINGTON – All signs point to huge Republican victories in two weeks, with the GOP now leading Democrats on virtually every measure in an Associated Press-GfK poll of people likely to vote in the first major elections of Barack Obama’s presidency.

In the final survey before Election Day, likely voters say the GOP would do a better job than Democrats on handling the economy, creating jobs and running the government.

Most also think the country’s headed in the wrong direction. More than half disapprove of Obama’s job performance. And even more don’t like the Democratic-controlled Congress.

29 Favre not disclosing details on meeting with NFL

By DAVE CAMPBELL, AP Sports Writer

14 mins ago

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. – Brett Favre isn’t talking about his meeting with an NFL official regarding the allegations he sent suggestive messages and lewd photos two years ago to a woman who worked for the New York Jets.

Speaking on a conference call with reporters in Green Bay ahead of Sunday night’s Vikings-Packers game, Favre called the NFL’s investigation into his alleged behavior a “league matter.” Minutes later, he also declined to answer a series of questions about the situation in his weekly Wednesday news conference with Minnesota media.

“That’s a league issue,” Favre said, “that I just have to leave at that.”

30 Thomas’ wife seeks apology from accuser Anita Hill

Associated Press

49 mins ago

WASHINGTON – Anita Hill is refusing to apologize for accusing then-Supreme Court justice nominee Clarence Thomas of sexually harassing her, in an issue that Thomas’ wife has reopened 19 years after his confirmation hearings.

“I have no intention of apologizing because I testified truthfully about my experience and I stand by that testimony,” Hill, now a Brandeis University professor, said in a statement released Tuesday night.

Thomas’ wife, Virginia, had left a voicemail message on Hill’s phone on Oct. 9 asking her to say she was sorry for the allegations that surfaced at Thomas’ confirmation hearings for a seat on the high court bench in 1991.

31 Afghan govt throws out nearly a quarter of ballots

By HEIDI VOGT, Associated Press Writer

53 mins ago

KABUL, Afghanistan – Afghanistan has thrown out nearly a quarter of ballots cast in last month’s parliamentary elections because of fraud, but it is still far from clear whether the public will accept the results as fair.

The full preliminary results from the Sept. 18 poll were released Wednesday after multiple delays as election officials struggled to weed out results from polling stations that never opened, along with bunches of ballots all cast for one candidate, or suspiciously split 50-50 between two people.

After last year’s fraud-marred presidential election, the government wanted to prove to the Afghan people and international allies that it is not mired in corruption but making strides for reform.

32 Obama’s 4-day campaign swing is his longest yet

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE, Associated Press Writer

Wed Oct 20, 1:48 pm ET

WASHINGTON – Two years ago, presidential candidate Barack Obama drew 60,000 people to a riverfront park rally in Portland, Ore. Another 15,000 couldn’t get in.

But political organizers don’t expect huge crowds when now-President Obama returns to Portland on Wednesday for the first time since that campaign heyday. Instead, the goal is for a far more modest showing of 5,000 people at a rally for Democratic gubernatorial candidate John Kitzhaber at the convention center.

It’s the mark of a presidency weighed down by a sluggish economy, high unemployment, a poor housing market, two wars and a public that largely disapproves of Obama’s performance in office.

33 Fed survey points to uneven growth across US

By JEANNINE AVERSA, AP Economics Writer

53 mins ago

WASHINGTON – The U.S. economy grew unevenly in early fall, with more than half the regions of the country expanding modestly while others struggled to grow.

A survey by the Federal Reserve released Wednesday found that seven of the Fed’s 12 regions reported moderate improvements in business activity. Three regions – Philadelphia, Richmond and Cleveland – described economic activity as mixed or steady. Only two regions – Atlanta and Dallas – suggested economic growth was slow.

The survey indicated that the economy isn’t weakening but is growing too sluggishly to drive down high unemployment, now at 9.6 percent. The jobless rate has been at or above 9.5 percent for more than a year.

34 Saudi prince in lurid murder case sentenced

By GREGORY KATZ, Associated Press Writer

Wed Oct 20, 12:03 pm ET

LONDON – Life in prison, with parole possible after 20 years. That was the sentence handed down Wednesday to a Saudi prince convicted of a killing so lurid it has shocked even London, with its long history of tawdry sex crimes dating back to Jack the Ripper.

The victim, Bandar Abdulaziz, had so many internal injuries, including bleeding on the brain and a fractured larynx, that pathologists could not pinpoint the precise cause of death after his body was found in the posh Landmark Hotel.

The killer was a Saudi prince who tried in vain to hide his homosexuality from the court and had been filmed on a closed-circuit camera mercilessly beating the victim – his paid manservant – in the hotel elevator.

35 Stimulus spending looms large in midterm contests

By KRISTEN WYATT, Associated Press Writer

Wed Oct 20, 12:29 pm ET

DENVER – A photo of President Barack Obama hangs on the wall in CoraFaye’s Cafe, a short walk from the Denver museum where Obama signed into law the most sweeping U.S. economic package in decades in an attempt to put people back to work and end the worst downturn since the Great Depression.

But the folks tucking into fried chicken and cornbread at CoraFaye’s roll their eyes when asked whether the 2009 stimulus made a difference.

“Are you kidding?” said Donn Headley Sr., a 61-year-old whose heating and air conditioning company closed last year because of slow business.

36 Troops discharged for being gay try to re-enlist

By ANNE FLAHERTY and JULIE WATSON, Associated Press Writers

Wed Oct 20, 9:49 am ET

SAN DIEGO – At least three service members discharged for being gay have begun the process to re-enlist after the Pentagon directed the military to accept openly gay recruits for the first time in the nation’s history.

The top-level guidance issued to recruiting commands last week and announced Tuesday marked a significant change in an institution long resistant and sometimes hostile to gays.

“Gay people have been fighting for equality in the military since the 1960s,” said Aaron Belkin, executive director of the Palm Center, a think tank on gays and the military at the University of California Santa Barbara. “It took a lot to get to this day.”

37 Karachi violence death toll rises to 52 in 4 days

By MOHAMMAD FAROOQ, Associated Press Writer

Wed Oct 20, 11:47 am ET

KARACHI, Pakistan – The death toll from four days of violence sparked by a contentious local election in Pakistan’s largest city rose to 52 on Wednesday when at least one person was shot and killed despite efforts to restore order.

Security forces patrolled the southern city of Karachi to prevent fresh violence and in many neighborhoods, businesses shut down while public transportation was scarce.

“The atmosphere of terror is everywhere,” said local resident Mohammad Sadiq. “People are scared to come out of their houses.”

38 Alarms over radiation from thyroid cancer patients

By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR, Associated Press Writer

Wed Oct 20, 3:45 am ET

WASHINGTON – Cancer patients sent home after treatment with radioactive iodine have contaminated hotel rooms and set off alarms on public transportation, a congressional investigation has found.

They’ve come into close contact with vulnerable people, including pregnant women and children, and the household trash from their homes has triggered radiation detectors at landfills.

Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., says the problem stems from a decision years ago by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to ease requirements that thyroid cancer patients remain in the hospital a few days after swallowing doses of radioactive iodine to shrink their tumors.

39 Ignored warnings, lax security led to 7 CIA deaths

By KIMBERLY DOZIER and ADAM GOLDMAN, Associated Press Writers

Wed Oct 20, 8:45 am ET

WASHINGTON – Warnings were ignored, security was lax and good judgment was lacking, leading to one of the worst tragedies in CIA history, when a double-agent suicide bomber killed seven CIA employees in Afghanistan last December.

That’s the view from the CIA director himself, speaking to reporters Tuesday, after a six-month internal review of the attack.

Yet Leon Panetta said no one will be disciplined or fired. He blamed the bombing on what he called “systemic failures,” which meant Jordanian intelligence warnings about the bomber weren’t shared and sufficient security measures weren’t taken.

40 Afghan-Taliban peace process may be overstated

By DEB RIECHMANN and KATHY GANNON, Associated Press Writers

35 mins ago

KABUL, Afghanistan – Over the past week, U.S. and Afghan officials have been revealing tantalizing tidbits about talks with Taliban leaders, raising hopes for a peaceful resolution to a war in its 10th year.

“The international community, our neighbors and our people are marching toward it with full strength,” President Hamid Karzai said in a speech Wednesday. “The rumors we are hearing from the Taliban and our other brothers say a lot of people are hopeful about this peace process.”

But some coalition officials, Afghans and people familiar with insurgent leaders say contacts with militants are nothing new and have been overstated – perhaps to split the ranks of fighters or create the impression in the West of progress in resolving the unpopular war.

41 Students allege police brutality after NY shooting

By JIM FITZGERALD, Associated Press Writer

2 hrs 26 mins ago

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. – Three college football players who saw a teammate get fatally shot by police outside a suburban bar were brutalized by officers and arrested when they tried to help their mortally wounded friend, their lawyer said Wednesday.

One player knows CPR and begged the police to let him try to save Danroy Henry, but instead “they put a gun to his ribs and they told him to back … up or he would be next,” attorney Bonita Zelman told The Associated Press.

She said the other two teammates were zapped with stun guns when they tried to intervene. They said Henry, “was on the pavement, handcuffed and dying, and no one was helping him,” she said.

42 Nevada Senate race turns uglier with Hispanic ad

By CRISTINA SILVA, Associated Press Writer

Wed Oct 20, 3:36 am ET

LAS VEGAS – A Republican campaign urging Latinos not to vote has been yanked from the airwaves amid an outcry from Democrats that it was a dirty trick against Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in his hotly contested race against Republican Sharron Angle.

Reid sought to link the ad to Angle Tuesday as it drew a harsh rebuke from President Barack Obama, Hispanic leaders and candidates from both parties in Nevada. Angle’s opponents also pounced on the tea party favorite for her comments to Hispanic high school students that “some of you look a little more Asian to me.”

“Listen to her latest, running ads on Hispanic television telling people not to vote,” Reid said. “She is trying to keep people from voting.”

43 Even in liberal bastions, GOP sees election chance

By GLEN JOHNSON and JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS, Associated Press Writers

Wed Oct 20, 3:01 am ET

HYANNIS PORT, Mass. – In the congressional district that’s home to the Kennedy family compound, a Kennedy public skating rink and a Kennedy museum, the heart of liberalism is beating uneasily.

Republican Jeff Perry is making a serious bid to take over a seat held by Democrats for nearly 40 years – and it’s just one of nearly 100 seats across the country that now appear under at least some threat of slipping away from the majority party and giving control of the U.S. House to the GOP.

At least 75 House seats – the vast majority held by Democrats – are at serious risk of changing hands, and roughly 25 more where Democrats were assumed to have the upper hand have tightened in recent weeks, raising the possibility that some could flip to the Republicans as well.

44 State lawmakers preparing citizenship legislation

By PAUL DAVENPORT and AMANDA LEE MYERS, Associated Press Writers

Tue Oct 19, 9:27 pm ET

PHOENIX – The state senator in Arizona who wrote the nation’s toughest law against illegal immigrants said Tuesday he’s collecting support across the country from legislators to challenge automatic U.S. citizenship to the children of illegal immigrants.

Arizona state Sen. Russell Pearce’s target is the 14th Amendment, but it is unclear how the state lawmaker can or will influence a federal statue.

“This is a battle of epic proportions,” Pearce said Tuesday during a news conference at the Arizona Capitol. “We’ve allowed the hijacking of the 14th Amendment.”

45 Founding Fathers’ papers to be accessible online

By ZINIE CHEN SAMPSON, Associated Press Writer

9 mins ago

RICHMOND, Va. – History buffs will soon be able to explore the private thoughts and official writings of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and other Founding Fathers in a public, online clearinghouse of their letters, journals and other documents.

The University of Virginia Press is putting the published papers of Washington, Jefferson, John Adams, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and Benjamin Franklin on a National Archives website that is expected to be accessible to the public in 2012.

When complete, the website will allow users to read, browse and search the text of tens of thousands of documents from the period.

46 Trick or Treat: Chocolate always a Halloween hit

By JENNIFER C. YATES, Associated Press Writer

1 hr 36 mins ago

MCKEESPORT, Pa. – In a block-long warehouse at the McKeesport Candy Co., wooden pallets are piled high with boxes of candy fangs, wax mustaches, peanut butter and chocolate pumpkins, even a bag of “blood” that resembles a hospital IV.

“The grosser the candy, the better it’s going to sell,” says owner Jon H. Prince.

While kids love gore and gimmicks when it comes to Halloween – how can you not love a pair of wax fangs? – experts say children still are drawn to the classics their parents favor when filling the family treat bowl every year.

47 Jeep flagship has refined, luxury feel

By ANN M. JOB, For The Associated Press

Wed Oct 20, 11:22 am ET

Jeep’s flagship Grand Cherokee sport utility vehicle is so improved for 2011, passengers might think they’re riding in a luxury vehicle.

The interior of the new Grand Cherokee is impressively quiet, with supportive seats and well-arranged controls. Exterior styling is more rounded and modern than before, and the new V-6 engine is more robust than its predecessor. Best of all, the vehicle rides in a nearly refined manner on pavement, while still capably handling rugged off-road duty when needed.

But don’t look for a bargain price. With seats for five, Grand Cherokees remain in the $30,000-and-above category, though starting retail price has declined by $499.

2 comments

  1. take to the streets and send Obama a clear message,

    HANDS OFF SOCIAL SECURITY

    IT ISN’T BROKE

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