Politics and Fiscal Agendas Mix in Voting on Capitol Hill
The House passed a $3 trillion Democratic spending plan on Thursday as Congress engaged in a day of budget theater that had as much to do with the political bottom line as federal fiscal policy.
Small Businesses Struggle With Cut In Immigrant Work Force
For years, William Zammer Jr. has relied on 100 seasonal foreign employees to turn down beds, boil lobsters and serve cocktails at the restaurants, golf course and inn he owns on Cape Cod and in nearby Plymouth.
Policymakers Propose Stronger Mortgage Rules
The nation’s top economic policymakers, hoping to prevent a repeat of the excesses that led to the mortgage bubble and bust, on Thursday proposed a broad series of reforms aimed at tightening oversight of financial institutions.
Marching Storms
As if stepping to a drumbeat, storms keep catching us on the weekend. The jet stream is currently situated like a welcome mat from sea to shining sea allowing storms to quickly traverse across the country. This flow, which is known as a progressive pattern, is characterized by quick hitting but frequent storms. The first in a series of storms will come through Saturday morning giving us a light bout of rain, which will quickly clear out in the afternoon.
Shorts (left)
Jerome Kerviel, the former trader at the bank Societe Generale, has told French investigators that an assistant on his desk conducted at least one large fictitious transaction last spring on their boss’ computer — as the boss looked on, according to a court document obtained Thursday by The International Herald Tribune.
Shorts (right)
With sorrow, seriousness and a dollop of humor, Lt. Gov. David A. Paterson opened his first full day as governor-in-waiting on Thursday, pledging his continued commitment to Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s agenda but breaking markedly with the governor’s style.
House Democrats Steer Their Own Path on Warrantless Wiretaps
In continued defiance of the White House, House Democratic leaders are readying a proposal that would reject giving legal protection to the phone companies that helped in the National Security Agency’s warrantless wiretapping program after the Sept. 11 attacks, congressional officials said Monday.
Bomber Kills 5 U.S. Soldiers On Patrol in Iraq’s Capital
A man walked up to a group of American soldiers on foot patrol in an upscale shopping district in central Baghdad on Monday and blew up the explosives-filled vest he was wearing, killing four of the soldiers and wounding three others and an Iraqi interpreter who accompanied them. A fifth soldier died later of his wounds.
Talks, But No Truce, Accompany Lull in Gaza Violence
A senior Israeli official and leaders of Gaza militant groups have held talks with Egyptian officials in recent days, but Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel denied on Monday that Israel was engaged in talks to broker a truce, despite several days of relative quiet near the Gaza border.
Spitzer Hired High-Priced Prostitutes, Apologizes
Gov. Eliot Spitzer was a client of a high-end prostitution ring broken up last week by federal authorities, according to law enforcement officials, a development that threatened to end the governor’s career and turned the state’s political world upside down.
Shorts (right)
Celebrated buyout firms like the Blackstone Group and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., hailed only a year ago for their dealmaking prowess, are seeing their profits collapse as the credit crisis spreads through the financial markets.
Powered by Ocean Waves, Boat To Sail From Hawaii to Japan
On Sunday, a boat will sail from Honolulu on a planned voyage of 3,780 nautical miles, powered just by the wave action of the sea.
Trust Me, I’m a Meteorologist
Given all the sources of weather forecasts online and in the media these days, you might wonder, who should you trust: The Weather Channel, your favorite weather character on TV, or your friendly neighborhood staff meteorologist at <i>The Tech</i>? This is actually a much harder question to answer than by simply pointing a finger at myself and humbly saying, “I’m the best!” Perhaps a better question to ask is: how far out can you trust any weather forecast?
Democrats Seek Compromise To Seat Disputed Delegates
With the two Democratic presidential candidates in near-deadlock and battling for every delegate, party leaders and the rival campaigns started searching in earnest on Thursday for a way to seat delegations from Florida and Michigan. But they remained deeply divided over how to do so.
Credit Crisis Grows As Investors Become More Risk-Averse
The credit markets came under renewed stress on Thursday as investors sought absolute safety and even moved away from debt issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored mortgage lending enterprises.
Notorious Russian Arms Dealer Arrested in American-Led Sting
A Russian businessman regarded by the United States as one of the world’s most notorious arms dealers was arrested in Thailand on Thursday as part of an American-led sting operation. He was promptly charged in the United States with conspiracy for attempting to smuggle missiles and rocket launchers to rebels in Colombia.
Blasts Kill at Least Fifty-Four In Baghdad Shopping District
Two bombs struck a bustling shopping district in the heart of Baghdad on Thursday evening, turning display windows and cabinets and glass shelves into deadly shrapnel and killing 54 people and wounding 123 more, the Iraqi authorities said.
Shorts (right)
Reeling from the high cost of fighting wildfires, federal land agencies have been imposing new fees and increasing existing ones at recreation sites across the West in an effort to raise tens of millions of dollars.
Gunman Kills Eight in Attack on Famous Seminary in Jerusalem
A gunman entered a famous Jewish seminary in the heart of Jerusalem on Thursday night, killing at least eight students and wounding at least nine others, three of them seriously, the Israeli police said.