Detroit’s Plea for Financial Aid Fails in Congress
Democratic congressional leaders on Thursday said that the executives of America’s foundering automakers had failed miserably in persuading Congress or the public that $25 billion in aid from the government would be well spent, and they gave industry leaders 12 days to come back with plans showing otherwise.
Ex-President Poses Hurdles for His Wife
Over the weekend, former President Bill Clinton enthusiastically endorsed the prospect that his wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, might join the Obama administration as secretary of state. “If he decided to ask her and they did it together,” the former president said, “I think she’ll be really great as a secretary of state.”
Shorts (left)
Over the last two years, some of this city’s darkest secrets have been dragged into the light — city officials with conflicts of interest and hidden pay raises, affordable housing that was not affordable, misleading crime statistics.
Shorts (right)
A last-minute Bush administration plan to grant sweeping new protections to health care providers who oppose abortion and other procedures on religious or moral grounds has provoked a torrent of objections, including a strenuous protest from the government agency that enforces job-discrimination laws.
Chief Fights for GM’s Future, and His
Rick Wagoner cannot afford to leave Washington this week without at least $10 billion in federal aid to keep General Motors in business.
Firefighters Get Edge on Wildfires as Wind Eases
Firefighters gained the upper hand against three blazes raging over a 130-mile stretch of Southern California on Monday, as scores of residents picked over the charred remains of their homes and state officials took a new look at how to prevent a recurrence of the destruction.
Al-Maliki Dismisses Fraud Monitors in Secret Moves
The government of Prime Minister Nouri Kamal al-Maliki is systematically dismissing Iraqi oversight officials, who were installed to fight corruption in Iraqi ministries by order of the American occupation administration, which had hoped to bring Western standards of accountability to the notoriously opaque and graft-ridden bureaucracy here.
Prepare for a Deep Freeze
High temperatures this week will struggle to get to 40°F, as a cold pattern dominates our weather this week. Lows will reach the mid 20s°F. While these temperatures are 10 degrees below normal, perhaps “deep freeze” is too strong a word, since in February we will look upon this month and remember how warm it was. Luckily (unluckily for snow sports enthusiasts), no snow is forecasted for this week.
World Leaders Start to Press Obama on Policies
The Russians want him to hold off installation of a missile defense shield in Poland. The Europeans want him to renounce the idea of “regime change” for Iran, while the Israelis want to be sure he does not give Iran a pass when it comes to nuclear weapons.
Shorts (left)
Wang Denggui, father of three, arrived more than a year ago in the palm-lined streets of this southern town with a single goal: toil in a factory to save for his children’s school tuition.
Shorts (right)
Candy, snacks, bakery products, pet food and other Chinese products that contain milk will be detained at the border until tests prove that they are not contaminated, the federal government announced Thursday.
U.N. Report Points to Peril From Noxious ‘Brown Clouds’ Over Asia
A noxious cocktail of soot, smog and toxic chemicals is blotting out the sun, fouling the lungs of millions of people and altering weather patterns in large parts of Asia, according to a report released Thursday by the United Nations.
Hopes Dim for U.S. Car Manufacturer Bailout
The prospects of a government rescue for the nation’s foundering automakers dwindled Thursday as Democratic congressional leaders conceded that they would face potentially insurmountable Republican opposition during a lame-duck legislative session next week.
Iraqi Militants Turn to Small Bombs in Attacks
They are usually no bigger than a man’s fist and attached to a magnet or a strip of gummy adhesive — thus the name “obwah lasica” in Arabic, or “sticky bomb.”
Quantum of Tempest
One doesn’t have to be in New England very long to realize that the weather gets crazier as we approach the winter solstice. While the polar regions cool off quickly, the tropics remain relatively constant producing a large equator to pole temperature difference and a strong jet stream. The consequence of this is increased storminess that throws the area in to a weather roller coaster yielding huge swings in temperature and a whole gamut of precipitation. It’s Mother Nature’s way of trying to restore equilibrium, but at the cost of a wet pair of pants and shoes from time to time.
In Washington, Car Companies Plead for Bailout
Executives of Detroit’s Big Three automakers traveled to Washington on Thursday to press their case for more financial aid from the federal government because of the bleak prospects for their industry.
Just Before Holiday Season, Retail Sales Decline Sharply
Just ahead of the crucial holiday shopping season, most of the nation’s retailers reported double-digit declines in October sales on Thursday, underscoring how the financial turmoil has touched all stores, be they discount or luxury.
Three European Central Banks Cut Interest Rates Sharply
The top three European central banks cut interest rates on Thursday in the face of increasingly dire evidence that much of Europe was moving into a serious recession.
Bush Warns of Vulnerability In Transition to Obama
President Bush, warning that terrorists “would like nothing more than to exploit this period of change,” said Thursday that he intends to talk to President-elect Barack Obama on Monday about issues that will face his administration, including the turmoil in the financial markets and the war in Iraq.
Shorts (left)
In another sign of the economy’s toll on the nation’s health care system, some hospitals say they are seeing fewer paying patients even as greater numbers of people are showing up at emergency rooms unable to pay their bills.