Home » November 9th, 2011
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio voters rejected the state’s new collective bargaining law that limits the bargaining abilities of unionized public workers. The state’s new collective bargaining law was defeated Tuesday after an expensive union-backed campaign that pitted firefighters, police officers and teachers against the Republican establishment. In a political blow to GOP Gov. John Kasich, voters handily rejected the law, which would have limited the bargaining abilities of 350,000 unionized public workers. With nearly 95 percent of the votes counted late Tuesday, about 61 percent were to reject the law. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, among the many union leaders who hailed the outcome, said victory was achieved among Democrats and Republicans in urban and rural counties. “Ohio sent a message to every politician out there: Go in and make war on your employees rather than make jobs with your employees, and you do so at your own peril,” he said. Kasich congratulated his opponents and said he would spend time contemplating how best to take the state forward. “I’ve heard their voices, I understand their decision and, frankly, I respect what people have to say in an effort like this,” he said. “And as a result of that, it requires me to take a deep breath, you know, and to spend some time reflecting on what happened here.” Kasich said he has made creating jobs his priority and he’s beginning to see his policies work. In a signal of the issue’s national resonance, White House spokesman Jay Carney issued a statement saying President Barack Obama “congratulates the people of Ohio for standing up for workers and defeating efforts to strip away collective bargaining rights, and commends the teachers, firefighters, nurses, police officers and other workers who took a stand to defend those rights.” Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern, at a celebration at a downtown Columbus hotel, said Republicans and Kasich overreached. “He literally thought he knew more than everyone else,” Redfern said. Asked whether the collective bargaining law, called Issue 2, was a referendum on Kasich, Redfern said, “Absolutely. He was the face of the campaign. John Kasich chose to put his face on this campaign for the last eight weeks. The people of the state pushed back.” Labor and business interests poured more than $30 million into the nationally watched campaign, and turnout was high for an off-year election. Cincinnati great-grandmother Marlene Quinn, who appeared in anti-Issue [...]
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LOS ANGELES (AP & staff) — Dancing is passion and Dancer respects its from the core of his heart. Nancy Grace is done with “Dancing With the Stars.” The attorney and TV personality was dismissed from the ABC ballroom competition Tuesday. Grace came into Tuesday’s episode in last place with 44 points out of a possible 60. Judges’ scores combined with viewer votes determine which contestant is ousted each week. Heading to next week’s semifinals will be reality star Rob Kardashian, actor and Army veteran J.R. Martinez, TV personality Ricki Lake and soccer star Hope Solo.
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LOS ANGELES (AP & staff) — Heavy D, the self-proclaimed “overweight lover” of hip-hop who became one of rap’s top hit-makers with wit, humor and a positive vibe, has died. He was 44. Lt. Mark Rosen of the Beverly Hills police said Heavy D died in a Los Angeles hospital Tuesday after collapsing outside his home. Rosen said Beverly Hills police officers were dispatched to Heavy D’s condominium building Tuesday morning after receiving a report of an unconscious person laying on the walkway of a building. They found Heavy D was conscious and communicative but had difficulty breathing and was transported to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he later died. Rosen said Beverly Hills detectives found no signs of foul play and believe his death is medically related. He said Heavy D “was returning home from shopping. He experienced difficulty breathing while walking into his condominium building. He was being assisted up to his apartment by building personnel when he collapsed in an exterior hallway.” The last tweet from Heavy D, who frequently filled his timeline with positivity, was posted Tuesday morning and read, “BE INSPIRED!” Dwight Arrington Myers, the rapper known as Heavy D of Heavy D and the Boyz, and his crew released their debut album “Living Large” in 1987. Their hits included “Now That We Found Love,” ”Who’s the Man” and “Somebody For Me.” The New York-born rapper was one of the genre’s most integral stars in the last 1980s and early 1990s, as it relied on new voices and star power to fuel its phenomenal growth in the mainstream. The deep-voiced rapper’s earliest hit, “The Overweight Lover’s in the House,” played up his hefty frame. But while that nickname would stick, his weight did not become part of his shtick, like the Fat Boys. What drew people to his music was his singular style, which celebrated an easygoing, party vibe — sometimes humorous, sometimes inspiring and almost always positive. “Most know Heavy D as a rap icon,” said actor-comedian Tommy Davidson. “I considered him a brother who made an indelible mark on me as a performer and a human being. I miss him already.” In the mid-1990s, Heavy D became president of Uptown Records, the label that released most of his albums and was also the home to acts like Mary J. Blige and Jodeci. He also created the theme songs for sketch comedy shows “In Living [...]
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LOS ANGELES (AP & staff) — Brett Ratner resigned Tuesday as producer of next year’s Academy Awards, one day after apologizing for using a gay slur at a screening of his latest film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences confirmed Ratner’s departure. President Tom Sherak said in a statement that the 42-year-old filmmaker “did the right thing for the academy and for himself.” “Brett is a good person, but his comments were unacceptable,” Sherak said. Ratner used a pejorative term for gay men during a question-and-answer session at a screening of his film “Tower Heist.” He also discussed his sexual exploits on a recent episode of “The Howard Stern Show.” Ratner issued a lengthy statement Tuesday apologizing for his behavior and explaining his resignation as producer of the 2012 Oscar telecast. The academy had announced in August that Ratner would produce the show with TV veteran Don Mischer, who helmed the 2011 broadcast. In a letter beginning, “Dear Colleagues,” Ratner apologized for “the hurtful and stupid things I said in a number of recent media appearances.” “As difficult as the last few days have been for me, they cannot compare to the experience of any young man or woman who has been the target of offensive slurs or derogatory comments,” he said. Ratner went on to say that he is “taking real action over the coming weeks and months in an effort to do everything I can both professionally and personally to help stamp out the kind of thoughtless bigotry I’ve so foolishly perpetrated.” The director, whose credits also include the “Rush Hour” films, said that being asked to produce the Oscar show “was the proudest moment of my career,” but he didn’t want to distract from the academy “and the high ideals it represents.” Ratner thanked the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation “for engaging me in a dialogue about what we can do together to increase awareness of the important and troubling issues this episode has raised.” GLAAD said Tuesday that it was working with Ratner to arrange public discussions with those in the entertainment industry about fair portrayals of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in film and television. “Hollywood has the power and responsibility to grow acceptance of all communities,” said GLAAD Acting President Mike Thompson. “We look forward to working with Brett and the industry in promoting positive, culture-changing images of our community [...]
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LOS ANGELES (AP & staff) — Grammy-winning Colombian singer Shakira now has a star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame. During a Tuesday ceremony surrounded by hundreds of screaming, flag-waving fans, Shakira unveiled her sidewalk star in front of the W Hollywood Hotel on Hollywood Boulevard. It’s the 2,454th star dedicated along Hollywood’s avenue of dreams. “This is incredible,” said the singer and activist. “I would like to thank all of you.” Shakira said she remembered being on the boulevard as a tourist when she was 7-years-old, accompanied by her mother who told her, “Shaki, one day you’ll have your own star here.” “If someone had heard that conversation, they would have thought she was insane,” said Shakira, who was flanked by her parents at the ceremony. The ceremony for the 34-year-old singer comes on the eve of her Las Vegas honor as the Latin Grammy person of the year. Born Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll in Barranquilla, Colombia, Shakira was just 14 when she released her first album, “Magia.” Her popularity rose in Latin America and Spain with the 1995 release of “Pies Descalzos” and the 1998 release of her album “Donde Estan los Ladrones?” In 2001, she sold more than 13 million copies worldwide of her first English language album “Laundry Service,” which contained the hit single “Whenever, Whereever.” She won her first Grammy when “MTV Unplugged” was selected as best Latin pop album. “Donde Estan los Ladrones?” won a Grammy as best Latin rock/alternative album. Shakira has also raised millions of dollars to fight poverty and provide education for the poor through her Pies Descalzos Foundation. Shakira dedicated her star to her fans, who “have listened, supported and understood my music all these years,” and to Hispanics in the U.S. whom she praised as “a community that works and dreams, every day, to make this a better country.” A committee selects celebrities eligible for a Walk of Fame star and those who accept pay $30,000 in costs and fees.
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BANGKOK (AP & staff) — Asian stock markets turned higher Wednesday, with investment sentiment on the upswing after Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi promised to resign once his country passes a new budget. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index rose 1 percent to 8,742.32. South Korea’s Kospi was 0.8 percent higher at 1,917.94. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 2.3 percent to 20,122.28. Australia’s S&P ASX 200 rose 1.5 percent to 4,359. Benchmarks in Singapore, Taiwan, mainland China, Malaysia and the Philippines also rose. Italy became a key focus for investors this week after doubts emerged that the country would go through with a tough package of austerity measures. Many investors saw Berlusconi as an obstacle to sweeping economic reforms needed to help Italy avoid sinking into a debt crisis. Unlike Greece, Portugal or Ireland — all of which have received financial lifelines — Italy has too much debt to be rescued by its European neighbors. Another market cue came from China, with the release Wednesday of data showing the country’s stubbornly high inflation fell in October as rapid rises in food costs eased. The decline was seen positively by investors as it gives Beijing more room to stimulate China’s economy. On Wall Street on Tuesday, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.8 percent to close at 12,170.18. The S&P 500 rose 1.2 percent to 1,275.92. The Nasdaq composite rose 1.2 percent to 2,727.49. U.S. stock indexes fell early in the day after Berlusconi narrowly survived a confidence vote. But the market turned higher immediately after news reports said Berlusconi had promised to step down after economic reforms are passed. That is expected to happen next week.
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ATHENS, Greece (AP & Staff) — A new Greek interim government will be announced Wednesday afternoon, a government official said, after critical power-sharing talks between the country’s two parties dragged into a third day despite intense European pressure. Negotiations between Prime Minister George Papandreou and opposition leader Antonis Samaras began Monday in an effort to resolve a political crisis that has threatened to leave Greece without its vital bailout loans and raised the possibility of the country leaving the euro. The two reached a historic weekend agreement to forge an interim government that will shepherd the country’s new euro130 billion ($179 billion) European rescue package through Parliament and end an intense political crisis that threatened Greece’s solvency and membership of the euro. Papandreou has agreed to step aside once a deal is reached. His surprise announcement last week that he would put the new debt deal to a referendum sparked the latest political crisis, leading to an angry backlash from European leaders who had hammered out the agreement barely a week before, and a revolt from Papandreou’s own Socialist lawmakers. He withdrew the plan after Samaras indicated he would back the debt deal. As coalition talks spilled into a third day without any public announcement of who will take over as interim premier, a government official said Papandreou would visit the country’s president by around midday. The official said the makeup of the new Cabinet would be announced in the afternoon following a meeting between party leaders. According to protocol, government changes must be announced to the president, who holds a largely ceremonial post. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the record. By Tuesday night, officials on both the governing Socialists’ side and the opposition conservatives said the most likely candidate to replace Papandreou was former European Central Bank vice president Lucas Papademos. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity as no candidates’ names were being made public.
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VIENNA (AP & staff) — The U.N. atomic agency said for the first time Tuesday that Iran is suspected of conducting secret experiments whose sole purpose is the development of nuclear arms, an assessment that draws on 1,000 pages of intelligence and nearly a decade of research. The report by the International Atomic Energy Agency is its most unequivocal yet suggesting that Iran is using the cover of a peaceful nuclear program to produce atomic weaponry. Based on years of trying to probe Tehran’s secretive activities, its release will stoke debate on whether it’s time to jettison failed diplomatic efforts to end Iran’s nuclear defiance and replace them with force. The 13-page annex to the IAEA’s regularly scheduled report on Iran included evidence that suggests the Islamic republic is working on the clandestine procurement of equipment and designs to make nuclear arms. “While some of the activities identified in the annex have civilian as well as military applications, others are specific to nuclear weapons,” the report said. Among these were indications that Iran has conducted high explosives testing and detonator development to set off a nuclear charge, as well as computer modeling of a core of a nuclear warhead. The report also cited preparatory work for a nuclear weapons test, and development of a nuclear payload for Iran’s Shahab 3 intermediate range missile — a weapon that can reach Israel. In Washington, officials said the report confirms U.S. suspicions about the military nature of Iran’s program, and the Obama administration was readying a range of sanctions and other measures against Iran should the Islamic republic fail to answer questions raised about its nuclear ambitions. Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev said there was a government directive not to comment until Israel has studied the findings in depth. But before the report’s release, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak warned of a possible Israeli military strike against Iran’s nuclear program. “We continue to recommend to our friends in the world and to ourselves, not to take any option off the table,” he told Israel radio. That phrase is often used by Israeli politicians to mean a military assault. Israeli leaders have engaged in increased saber rattling recently, suggesting that an attack was likely a more effective way to stop Iran’s nuclear program than continued diplomacy. Iran is under U.N. sanctions for refusing to stop uranium enrichment — which can produce both nuclear fuel [...]
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NEW ORLEANS (AP & staff) — The U.S. Coast Guard has approved a plan to end the cleanup along the Gulf Coast from the BP oil spill, a move officials said opens a new phase of work for BP — restoring areas damaged by the largest offshore spill in U.S. history. According to the document obtained by The Associated Press on Tuesday, the plan “provides the mechanisms for ceasing active clean-up operations.” In it, the Coast Guard spells out protocol for ending the cleanup. It has been going on since April 20, 2010, when the Deepwater Horizon exploded off the Louisiana coast. Coast Guard spokeswoman Lt. Suzanne Kerver says the shoreline plan outlines “the standard for clean.” She said about 10 percent of the Gulf Coast fouled by the BP spill remains to be cleaned.
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FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP & staff) — Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear has been re-elected, becoming the second Democrat to win a U.S. gubernatorial race this year amid lingering economic uncertainty that’s already proving worrisome to President Barack Obama’s 2012 effort. Beshear easily overcame challenges from Republican David Williams and independent Gatewood Galbraith, in a conservative state where voters routinely elect Republicans in national races. With 50 percent of precincts reporting, Beshear had 241,211 votes or 58 percent, to 131,319 votes for Williams or 31 percent. Galbraith had 44,893 votes or 11 percent. Williams, the state Senate president, and Galbraith, an attorney in his fifth run for governor, campaigned on claims Beshear didn’t do enough to create jobs in a state where one in 10 workers is unemployed. Beshear said Kentucky was emerging stronger from the downturn.
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NEW YORK (AP & staff) — Demonstrators have been making their voices heard in U.S. town squares since September, and the spirit of protest has remained paramount. Occupy Wall Street demonstrations in New York City went old school on Tuesday as activist musicians David Crosby and Graham Nash delivered a touch of Woodstock, plans for a march to Washington were announced and some participants practiced another kind of democracy — voting. At Zuccotti Park, the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young stars were the latest entertainers to lend their talents to the cause. The white-haired duo led a chant of “No More War!” and played a 20-minute acoustic performance for about 1,000 protesters and onlookers who spilled out of the park onto nearby streets. An air of nostalgia — and the smell of marijuana — wafted over the crowd as the pair had fans humming along to hits like “Teach Your Children Well.” “These relics of Woodstock came and supported our movement,” said 19-year-old Tyler Westcott, a college student, his voice rising with excitement. “It’s wild, how things line up. What you have here is the New Left from the Vietnam era — and the new left here now.” Last month, folk music legend Pete Seeger and ’60s folk singer Arlo Guthrie joined Occupy Wall Street demonstrators in their campaign against corporate greed. Recently, rappers Talib Kweli, Kanye West and Lupe Fiasco visited protesters in the park. In California, hip hop heavyweights MC Hammer, Raymond “Boots” Riley of hip hop group The Coup and local rapper Mistah FAB have stopped by encampments. Taking the Occupy protest on the road was also on the agenda Tuesday. A small group of Occupy Wall Street activists will start a march Wednesday with the hope of arriving in Washington on Nov. 23, the deadline for a congressional committee to decide whether to keep President Barack Obama’s extension of Bush-era tax cuts. Protesters say the cuts benefit only rich Americans. Kelley Brannon is organizing the 240-mile (386-kilometer) march with a core group of a dozen activists. They hope to pick up other marchers along the way. Brannon likened the effort to the long-distance marches led by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., during the civil rights era. “I mean, I’m not comparing us to Martin Luther King,” said Brannon. Three marches King led in 1965 from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, ranged in size from 600 to 8,000 people. [...]
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COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP & staff) — Immigraton law, regarding foreign citizens, is related to nationality law, which governs the legal status of people, in matters such as citizenship. Sixteen Latin American and Caribbean nations have asked to join in the U.S. Department of Justice’s lawsuit against South Carolina’s new illegal immigration law, citing concerns for their citizens. Mexico, Honduras, Brazil, Ecuador and Chile and other countries filed papers Tuesday, asking to join the Justice Department’s litigation in Charleston. The law would require law officers who make a traffic stop to call federal immigration officials if they suspect someone is in the country illegally. Opponents say the measure would encourage racial profiling. The 16 nations state in their filings that the law would lead to state-sanctioned discrimination against their citizens. Justice Department lawyers are asking the court to stop the law from taking effect in January, saying immigration policy is solely the domain of the U.S. government.
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ROME (AP and Staff) — Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said he’s ready to resign from his post in the midst of fiscal problem in Europe. Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi conceded Tuesday he no longer had the support to govern and announced he would resign like his Greek counterpart, becoming the biggest political casualty yet of the European debt crisis. Berlusconi promised to leave office after Parliament passes economic reforms demanded by the European Union to keep Italy from sinking into Europe’s debt mess. He came to the decision hours after a vote on a routine piece of legislation made it clear he no longer commanded a majority in the lower Chamber of Deputies. A vote on the reform measures is planned for next week, giving Berlusconi a few more days before his turbulent 17 years in public life — and a political era in Italy — draw to a close. Over the years, Italy’s political establishment watched as the media mogul survived sex scandals and corruption charges while branding his opponents communists, traitors and terrorists. Both Italy and Greece are under heavy pressure to reassure financial markets that the 17-country eurozone is moving quickly to reduce crippling government debts before they break apart the monetary union and plunge the world into a new recession. In Greece, critical power-sharing talks between Prime Minister George Papandreou and opposition leader Antonis Samaras dragged on Tuesday without the expected announcement of who will lead an interim government. The two have agreed the new government will shepherd the country’s new euro130 billion ($179 billion) European rescue package through Parliament and end a political crisis that threatened Greece’s solvency and membership in the eurozone. Papandreou, the son and grandson of Greek prime ministers, will not lead it. Wealthier European countries including Germany and France have already bailed out Greece, Ireland and Portugal, and Greece will get an additional euro100 billion ($138 billion) of debt relief as soon as it resolves its political crisis. But as the eurozone’s third-largest economy, Italy, with debts of around euro1.9 trillion ($2.6 trillion), is considered far too big for Europe to bail out, putting even greater pressure on the country’s leaders to reassure markets that Italy is willing and able to get its financial house in order. Italy’s borrowing rates spiked Tuesday to their highest level since the euro was established in 1999. The yield on Italy’s 10-year bonds was [...]
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JACKSON, Miss. (AP & staff) — Voting is the time when people have the right to vote, to choose there leader and to change the situation in their favor or to make it unfavorable because everything depends on results. Mississippi voters were asked Tuesday whether life begins at conception, a state constitutional amendment with a chance of becoming the first victory for the so-called personhood movement that aims to make abortion illegal. If approved, the initiative will almost certainly bring legal challenges because it is at odds with the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark Roe v. Wade decision that gave women the right to an abortion. The measure divided the medical and religious communities in this Bible Belt state and caused some of the most ardent abortion opponents, including Republican Gov. Haley Barbour, to waver with their support. Opponents said the measure could make birth control, such as the morning-after pill or the intrauterine device, illegal. It could also deter physicians from performing in vitro fertilization because they would fear criminal charges if an embryo doesn’t survive. Supporters were trying to impose their religious beliefs on others by forcing women to carry unwanted pregnancies, including those caused by rape or incest, opponents said. Amy Brunson voted against the measure, in part because she has been raped. She also has friends and family that had children through in vitro fertilization and she was worried this would end that process. “The lines are so unclear on what may or may not happen. I think there are circumstances beyond everybody’s control that can’t be regulated through an amendment,” said Brunson, a 36-year-old dog trainer and theater production assistant from Jackson. Hubert Hoover, a cabinet maker and construction worker, voted for the amendment. “I figure you can’t be half for something, so if you’re against abortion you should be for this. You’ve either got to be wholly for something or wholly against it,” said Hoover, 71, who lives in a Jackson suburb. Mississippi already has tough abortion regulations and only one clinic where the procedures are performed, making it a fitting venue for a national movement to get abortion bans into state constitutions. Keith Mason, co-founder of the group Personhood USA, which pushed the Mississippi ballot measure, has said a win would send shockwaves around the country. The Colorado-based group is trying to put similar initiatives on 2012 ballots in Florida, Montana, Ohio and Oregon. Voters in [...]
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LOS ANGELES (AP & staff) — We still remember the legendary part who was one of us and now its his memories & songs which can be used to recognize him. The truth is that we loved Michael Jackson and now we have no other option to miss him. Michael Jackson’s doctor is guaranteed to spend the next three weeks in jail awaiting sentencing for the pop star’s death. But the amount of time he serves after that could be shortened because of the overcrowded prison system in California. A recently enacted realignment plan diverts nonviolent offenders such as Murray from state prisons to county jails to save money and reduce the state prison population to obey a federal court order. However, law enforcement authorities have said nonviolent offenders could be released earlier to make room for more serious offenders in county lockups. Jail overcrowding led to Lindsay Lohan walking out of county jail Monday after spending less than five hours of a 30-day sentence behind bars for a probation violation. A judge could sentence Murray to a maximum sentence of four years, but it would fall to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department to decide just how long he actually spends in county jail, based on time served, good behavior and other factors. Even without realignment, a four-year sentence could be cut in half if Murray stays out of trouble in jail. Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley has blasted the realignment plan, saying already overburdened counties can’t handle additional inmates. In post-verdict comments, Cooley called the new law a “fool’s errand” and said Murray “is probably the first of many, many, many poster-children cases that will reveal how (the law) is potentially a complete failure, a criminal justice disaster and it will impact public safety.” Terry Thornton, a spokeswoman with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, declined to comment on how the realignment might affect Murray. Steve Whitmore, a spokesman for the Sheriff’s Department, also declined comment. Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter for supplying an insomnia-plagued Jackson with a powerful operating-room anesthetic to help him sleep as he rehearsed for his big comeback. Murray, 58, sat stone-faced as he heard the verdict that could send him to prison and cost him his license to practice medicine. He was handcuffed and immediately led off to jail without bail to await sentencing Nov. 29. Superior Court Judge [...]
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VIENNA (AP and Staff) — The United Nations confirmed Tuesday of their suspicion that Iran is developing nuclear weapons. The U.N. atomic agency said for the first time Tuesday that Iran is suspected of conducting secret experiments whose sole purpose is the development of nuclear arms, an assessment that draws on 1,000 pages of intelligence and nearly a decade of research. The report by the International Atomic Energy Agency is its most unequivocal yet suggesting that Iran is using the cover of a peaceful nuclear program to produce atomic weaponry. Based on years of trying to probe Tehran’s secretive activities, its release will stoke debate on whether it’s time to jettison failed diplomatic efforts to end Iran’s nuclear defiance and replace them with force. The 13-page annex to the IAEA’s regularly scheduled report on Iran included evidence that suggests the Islamic republic is working on the clandestine procurement of equipment and designs to make nuclear arms. “While some of the activities identified in the annex have civilian as well as military applications, others are specific to nuclear weapons,” the report said. Among these were indications that Iran has conducted high explosives testing and detonator development to set off a nuclear charge, as well as computer modeling of a core of a nuclear warhead. The report also cited preparatory work for a nuclear weapons test, and development of a nuclear payload for Iran’s Shahab 3 intermediate range missile — a weapon that can reach Israel. In Washington, officials said the report confirms U.S. suspicions about the military nature of Iran’s program, and the Obama administration was readying a range of sanctions and other measures against Iran should the Islamic republic fail to answer questions raised about its nuclear ambitions. Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev said there was a government directive not to comment until Israel has studied the findings in depth. But before the report’s release, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak warned of a possible Israeli military strike against Iran’s nuclear program. “We continue to recommend to our friends in the world and to ourselves, not to take any option off the table,” he told Israel radio. That phrase is often used by Israeli politicians to mean a military assault. Israeli leaders have engaged in increased saber rattling recently, suggesting that an attack was likely a more effective way to stop Iran’s nuclear program than continued diplomacy. Iran is under U.N. [...]
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SAN FRANCISCO (AP and Staff) — Software giant Microsoft has made a pact with internet empire Yahoo and AOL in their effort to sell more internet advertisements and topple Google and Facebook in the hierarchy of online marketing. The alliance, announced Tuesday, is designed to sell some of the less-prized ad space that Microsoft Corp. Yahoo Inc. and AOL Inc. have had trouble filling on their own. Even as they share some resources, the three companies vowed to retain their independence and compete against each other with separate sales teams. For that reason, they said they don’t expect U.S. antitrust regulators to object to the nonexclusive partnership before they begin selling ads together in January. Ross Levinsohn, a Yahoo executive vice president, hailed the alliance as a “fundamental rethinking” of the Internet ad market. That statement also could be interpreted as a bit of wishful thinking. Microsoft, Yahoo and AOL all need to change the direction of an online ad market that has been increasingly tilting in the direction of Google and Facebook. Having already built a money-making machine in its dominant search engine, Google has become even more powerful in Internet marketing since it bought DoubleClick’s ad service for $3.2 billion in 2008. That deal provided Google with a springboard to leap from text ads that appear next to search results into the graphical messages known as display advertising. Facebook attracts more advertising as it becomes established as the Internet’s most popular hangout. The company accumulates valuable insights into people’s interests as its 800 million users share their passions. That advantage has helped Facebook become the leader in U.S. display advertising with a 16 percent share of the online ad market, according to the research firm eMarketer Inc. Yahoo, the former leader, has seen its share fall from 18 percent in 2008 to 13 percent this year. Google’s share of the display market from 2 percent in 2008 to 9 percent. Microsoft stands at 5 percent and AOL is hovering around 4 percent, according to eMarketer. As it has fallen further behind in Internet advertising, Microsoft’s online division has piled up operating losses of $7 billion since June 2008. Revenue at both Yahoo and AOL is steadily falling. Yahoo has been struggling so much that its board is mulling whether to sell all or part of the company. By tapping into each other’s technology, Yahoo, and AOL are betting they can [...]
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LOS ANGELES (AP and Staff) — 2005 YU55, the biggest asteroid discovered in the last 35 years, made a close approach to Earth Tuesday. An asteroid as big as an aircraft carrier zipped by Earth on Tuesday in the closest encounter by such a massive space rock in more than three decades. Scientists ruled out any chance of a collision but turned their telescopes skyward to learn more about the object known as 2005 YU55. Its closest approach to Earth was pegged at a distance of 202,000 miles at 6:28 p.m. EST. That’s just inside the moon’s orbit; the average distance between Earth and the moon is 239,000 miles. The last time a large cosmic interloper came that close to Earth was in 1976, and experts say it won’t happen again until 2028. Scientists at NASA’s Deep Space Network in the California desert have tracked the quarter-mile-wide asteroid since last week as it approached from the direction of the sun at 29,000 mph. Astronomers and amateur skygazers around the world kept watch, too. The Clay Center Observatory in Brookline, Mass., planned an all-night viewing party so children and parents could peer through research-grade telescopes and listen to lectures. The asteroid can’t be detected with the naked eye. For those without a telescope, the observatory streamed video of the flyby live on Ustream, attracting several thousand viewers. The asteroid appeared as a white dot against a backdrop of stars. “It’s a fantastic opportunity to educate the public that there are things out in space that we need to be aware of,” including this latest flyby, said observatory director Ron Dantowitz. Dantowitz added: “It will miss the Earth. We try to mention that in every breath.” If an asteroid that size would hit the planet, Purdue University professor Jay Melosh calculated the consequences. The impact would carve a crater four miles across and 1,700 feet deep. And if it slammed into the ocean, it would trigger 70-foot-high tsunami waves. Since its discovery six years ago, scientists have been monitoring the spherical, coal-colored asteroid as it slowly spins through space and were confident it posed no danger. Asteroids are leftovers from the formation of the solar system some 4.5 billion years ago. Scientists believe their growth was stunted by Jupiter’s gravitational pull and never had the chance to become full-fledged planets. Pieces of asteroids periodically break off and make fiery plunges through the [...]
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WASHINGTON (AP & staff) — Officials said on Tuesday that “The Air Force mortuary that receives America’s war dead and prepares them for burial lost portions of human remains twice in 2009, prompting the Air Force to discipline three officials for “gross mismanagement”. They have also reviewed a claim. A year-long Air Force investigation reviewed 14 sets of allegations of improper handling of war remains as reported by three whistleblower workers at Dover Air Force Base, Del. That is where all war dead are received from foreign battlefields to be formally identified, autopsied and prepared for transfer to their families. The Air Force inspector general found no violations of law or regulation in any of the 14 cases, but he cited a series of failures by top officials that seriously undermined the mortuary work of the Air Force, which views the Dover mission as one of its most important duties to military members and their families. A parallel probe by the Office of Special Counsel, an independent federal investigative agency, took issue in some cases with the Air Force’s conclusions that no law or regulation had been violated. The special counsel’s conclusions were transmitted to the White House on Tuesday. Both investigations focused on several main allegations. In addition to the two cases in which portions of human remains went missing during processing at Dover, one worker complained about the handling of the remains of a Marine killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan in January 2010. The Air Force reviewed a claim that mortuary officials acted improperly in sawing off an arm bone that protruded from the body of the Marine in a way that prevented his body from being placed in his uniform for viewing before burial. The Marine’s family had requested seeing him in his uniform but was not consulted about — or told of — the decision to remove the bone. In a preliminary communication with the Air Force, the Office of Special Counsel disputed the Air Force’s conclusion that it was not necessary to get specific permission from the Marine’s family in advance. Another case involved a dispute about the handling of fetal remains shipped to Dover from U.S. military families in Germany. The allegation was that it was disrespectful and a violation of regulations to ship these remains in cardboard boxes rather than in studier containers. The Air Force determined that the use of [...]
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BILLINGS, Mont. (AP & staff) — With more than 150 wolves shot so far this year by hunters in the Northern Rockies, a panel of federal judges on Tuesday seeking an injunction to stop gray wolf hunts already well under way. Federal biologists say the wolf population is healthy enough to support the hunts in Idaho and Montana. The two states want to drive down the predators’ numbers to curb their attacks on livestock and big game herds. But wildlife advocates say too many wolves are being shot too quickly, threatening to unravel the species’ decades-long recovery and killing animals closely followed by wolf watchers. More than 150 wolves have been shot since hunting began in late August. Tuesday’s hearing is before a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Pasadena, Calif. The hunts were allowed after Congress last spring took the unprecedented step of stripping endangered species protections from more than 1,300 wolves. That prompted a lawsuit from wildlife advocates who say Congress overstepped its bounds by effectively reversing prior court rulings that favored protections for the animals. The 9th Circuit has agreed to hear the case on an expedited basis. But several groups involved in the lawsuit requested an injunction to stop the killing of wolves while the case is pending. “We perceive a continuing threat not just to the population in total but to particular individual wolves. Even if the court is going to delay another three months, we would like them to stop the hunt while they consider the case,” said attorney Jay Tutchton with plaintiff WildEarth Guardians. Two previous injunction requests were denied. Tuesday’s hearing marks the latest in two decades of courtroom battles over wolves. Prior lawsuits resulted first in the animals’ reintroduction to the region and then later kept them on the endangered list for a decade after the species had reached the government’s original recovery goal. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is monitoring the hunts, but agency officials said they have no plans to intervene because wolves have recovered in the region and the states have promised to manage them responsibly. Montana’s quota was set with the goal of reducing wolf numbers by 25 percent compared with last year, to 425 animals. Idaho officials have said only that they plan to maintain at least 150 wolves, out of a current population of at least 700 animals. So far [...]
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INDIANAPOLIS (AP & Staff ) —Jennifer Nettles says in an interview to air Tuesday night on ABC’s “In The Spotlight With Robin Roberts” that she didn’t see the stage rigging be blown onto fans awaiting the Aug. 13 concert because band members were still underneath the stage. Country duo Sugarland’s lead singer says she wept after the deadly stage collapse at the Indiana State Fair this summer and that she’ll always be connected with the people who were there. WRTV reports that Nettles says she has no words for the tragedy and “power of nature” that she first saw from news coverage that night. Seven people were killed and dozens injured in the collapse. Sugarland returned to Indianapolis last month for a benefit concert.
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NEW YORK (AP & Staff) —MSNBC says Murray, who did not take the stand at his trial, breaks his silence in the program, “Michael Jackson and the Doctor,” which has been two years in the making. Murray reveals personal details of his relationship with the King of Pop, as well as untold events that led to Jackson’s death on June 25, 2009. Just days after the guilty verdict for Conrad Murray, MSNBC will broadcast a documentary that promises to give the inside story of Michael Jackson’s doctor. The network announced the film will have its U.S. premiere on Friday at 10 p.m. Eastern time. It will be repeated on Sunday at 9 p.m. Eastern time. Murray was found guilty Monday of involuntary manslaughter for supplying Jackson with a drug he
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ROME (AP & Staff) —Berlusconi did not immediately respond to the demand, but he has repeatedly resisted all calls for his resignation before his term ends in 2013. Premier Silvio Berlusconi geared up for one of the most critical votes of his long political career Tuesday, as his main ally urged him to resign and Italy’s political uncertainty rocked financial markets for yet another day. Berlusconi’s government is under intense pressure to enact quick reforms to shore up Italy’s defenses against Europe’s raging debt crisis. However, a weak coalition and doubts over Berlusconi’s leadership have ignited market fears of a looming Italian financial disaster that could bring down the 17-nation eurozone and shock the global economy. “We asked him to step aside, take a step to the side,” Northern League leader Umberto Bossi told reporters ahead of a key vote in Parliament that could force Berlusconi’s resignation. Bossi is the volatile ally who also brought down Berlusconi’s first conservative government in 1994. On the face of it, Tuesday’s vote is just a routine measure to approve 2010 state finances, but it has now become a test of Berlusconi’s political strength. Italy’s center-left opposition said it would abstain in Tuesday’s voting, to make it clear just how fragile Berlusconi’s forces in Parliament are. If he is backed by fewer than 316 deputies — or less than half of the 630-member chamber — it would show the prime minister can no longer count on a majority in the lower house of Parliament, even though the government could still mathematically win the vote. Bossi said the man Berlusconi has already picked as his successor, former Justice Minister Angelino Alfano, should now lead the government. But it would be up to the Italian president, Giorgio Napolitano, to decide whether to appoint a new leader or dissolve parliament and call early elections. He would likely sound out political leaders before deciding. Added Bossi: “Today, nothing will happen.” Italy is the eurozone’s third-largest economy, with debts of around euro1.9 trillion ($2.6 trillion). Representing 17 percent of the eurozone’s gross domestic product, it is considered too big for Europe to bail out like the continent already has done for Greece, Portugal and Ireland. Even worse, a substantial part of Italy’s debt needs to be rolled over in the next few years — the nation needs to raise euro300 billion ($412 billion) in 2012 alone — just as [...]
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PARIS (AP & Staff) —The conversation between Sarkozy and Obama was overheard by reporters last week at the Group of 20 summit in southern France, via headsets that were to be used for simultaneous translation of an upcoming news conference. French President Sarkozy, who has labored to improve French relations with Israel, said he “can’t stand” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and called him a liar in a chat with President Barack Obama. Obama, whose remarks were heard via a French translation, was not heard objecting to Sarkozy’s characterization of Netanyahu. Through the interpreter, Obama was heard asking Sarkozy to help persuade the Palestinians to stop their efforts to gain U.N. recognition of a Palestinian state. In Israel, the frank assessment elicited shock from some viewers — and chuckles and agreement from others. Several French-speaking journalists, including one from The Associated Press, overheard the comments but did not initially report them because Sarkozy’s office had asked the journalists not to turn on the headsets until the press conference began, and the comments were deemed private under French media traditions. A French website that analyzes media coverage of current affairs, Arret sur images, reported the fragments Tuesday. Sarkozy’s office would not comment Tuesday on the remarks, or on France’s relations with Israel. The White House and Netanyahu’s spokesman also said they had no comment. In the remarks Thursday in Cannes, Sarkozy said: “Netanyahu, I can’t stand him. He’s a liar.” According to the French interpreter, Obama responded, “You are sick of him, but I have to work with him every day.” The journalists heard only fragments of the leaders’ conversation. Since becoming president in 2007, Sarkozy has strengthened French ties with Israel while also seeking to use France’s traditional good relations with Arab allies to encourage peace talks. His latest comments reflect his increasing frustration with Netanyahu, and may complicate French efforts toward Mideast peace. France’s government has not said so officially but appears to see Netanyahu as partially responsible for the deadlock in peace talks. France has repeatedly urged Netanyahu to stop building Jewish settlements in the West Bank and come to the negotiating table, to little avail. “I think all this must not make us lose sight of the basics — which is to say there’s not a minute to lose to continue to work on the Israeli-Palestinian issue,” French Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero told reporters Tuesday. “In [...]
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FULTON, N.Y. (AP & Staff) — When Jay Wornick’s wife said they both should lose some weight as a New Year’s resolution, he took up the challenge. Ten months later, he’s 200 pounds lighter. Wornick tells the Post-Standard of Syracuse that he weighed 366 pounds on Jan. 1, when his wife issued the challenge. As of Monday, he was down to 168 pounds. That’s a 198-pound weight loss in a little more than 10 months. The 30-year-old father of three says his typical daily meals used to include a 20-ounce steak and three potatoes washed down with a 12-pack of soda. Now he eats fruits, vegetables and lean meats, drinks water and works out six days a week at the YMCA near the family’s home in Fulton in central New York.
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