Small quakes continue to rattle Yellowstone

The national park has quakes for a third straight day. Scientists don't know what to think about the unusual occurrence.

Reporting from Cheyenne, Wyo. -- Yellowstone National Park was jostled by small earthquakes for a third straight day Monday, and scientists watched closely to see whether the more than 250 tremors were a sign of something bigger.

Swarms of small earthquakes happen frequently in Yellowstone, but it is unusual for so many quakes to happen over several days, said Robert Smith, a professor of geophysics at the University of Utah.

"They're certainly not normal," Smith said. "We haven't had earthquakes in this energy or extent in many years."

Smith directs the Yellowstone Seismic Network, which operates seismic stations around the park.

He said the quakes ranged in strength from barely detectable to one of magnitude 3.8 on Saturday. A magnitude-4 quake is capable of producing moderate damage.

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Blagojevich Prosecutors Seek Ruling on Tapes

CHICAGO — Federal prosecutors who recorded the telephone conversations of Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich as part of a criminal investigation are asking a judge whether they may turn over four recordings to state lawmakers who are conducting an impeachment inquiry against him.

The recordings, parts of which prosecutors described in an affidavit made public on Dec. 9 when Mr. Blagojevich was arrested on federal corruption charges, have emerged as a focal point in the problems surrounding him.

Read full story New York Times

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Denver crash baffles aviation experts

The co-pilot of the Continental Airlines jet that veered off a Denver runway Saturday has told investigators that the takeoff acceleration was normal until the plane made "a sudden left turn," investigators said Monday.
The unnamed pilot said that he noticed that the Boeing 737-500 jet began to turn away from the center of the runway as it reached about 100 mph, according to Robert Sumwalt, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

Sumwalt revealed new data at an evening briefing in Denver that appeared to rule out several possible causes. Evidence at the charred wreckage and from the data recorder shows the engines and brakes were fine, Sumwalt said. The jet was also properly set for takeoff, he said.

Read full story USA Today

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Terrorism drill to be part of passing torch

WASHINGTON — What would happen if terrorists attacked the United States at the start of Barack Obama's presidency?

The Bush administration doesn't want to wait to find out. It's planning to test the incoming government's readiness next month in a series of tabletop exercises involving top Bush and Obama officials.

Concerned about the first handoff of presidential power since Sept. 11, 2001, the White House also is preparing briefing books and office manuals designed to bring the incoming Obama administration up to speed in a hurry.

"This is the first wartime transition in 40 years, and it's probably the first transition in a couple of centuries in which our homeland itself has been under threat," says White House chief of staff Joshua Bolten, who's supervising the effort. The goal is to "make sure that those who are coming in are as well prepared as they can be to deal with an actual threat here in this country."

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Foreigners gave millions to Clinton foundation

Donor list heavy with international business leaders and billionaires

WASHINGTON - Former President Bill Clinton's foundation has raised at least $46 million from Saudi Arabia and other foreign governments that his wife Hillary Rodham Clinton may end up negotiating with as the next secretary of state.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia gave $10 million to $25 million to the William J. Clinton Foundation, a nonprofit created by the former president to finance his library in Little Rock, Ark., and charitable efforts to reduce poverty and treat AIDS. Other foreign government givers include Norway, Kuwait, Qatar, Brunei, Oman, Italy and Jamaica. The Dutch national lottery gave $5 million to $10 million.

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Fed sets new target range for overnight rate

Rate will range from zero to 0.25 percent for what banks charge each other

WASHINGTON - The Federal Reserve has cut its target for a key interest rate to the lowest level on record and pledged to use “all available tools” to combat a severe financial crisis and prolonged recession.

The central bank on Tuesday said it had reduced the federal funds rate, the interest that banks charge each other, to a range of zero to 0.25 percent. That is down from the 1 percent target rate in effect since the last meeting in October. Many analysts had expected the Fed to make a smaller cut to 0.5 percent.

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Obama expected to discuss Illinois scandal

Gov. Blagojevich has ignored president-elect's call for him to resign

CHICAGO - President-elect Barack Obama on Thursday was expected to address the corruption charges against Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a day after Blagojevich refused to heed the advice of Obama and others that he resign.

Blagojevich is clinging defiantly to power despite his arrest on accusations he tried to sell Obama's vacant Senate seat.

Obama was expected to take questions about the scandal at a press conference to announce his pick for health secretary, former Sen. Tom Daschle.

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Doctors call emergency care ‘national disgrace’

90 percent of states get poor, near-failing grades in nationwide report card

The nation’s emergency care system is “a ticking time bomb,” with demand far outstripping the capacity of hospital emergency departments already crippled by a widespread shortage of doctors and nurses, according to a national report on the state of emergency medicine.

The annual report card by the American College of Emergency Physicians gave the nation a D- grade for Americans’ access to emergency care, saying the emergency care system was “fraught with significant challenges and under more stress than ever before.”

That stress is likely to worsen as the weakening economy forces public officials and health administrators to cut back even further on costs, the report said.

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Retailers saw sales drop in dreary November

Wal-Mart was among few bright spots, said its sales beat estimates

NEW YORK - Retailers — with Wal-Mart the notable exception — limped through a miserable November that even a surge of shopping after Thanksgiving couldn’t save, marking the weakest month since at least 1969 and deepening fears that the critical holiday period could be the most dismal in decades.

As merchants announced their November sales figures Thursday, the deep malaise cut across all sectors as shoppers worried about layoffs and shrinking retirement funds focus on necessities. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., though, posted sales gains that surpassed Wall Street estimates and has seen more customers and higher average transactions as it benefits from what could be a deep and prolonged recession.

However, Costco Wholesale Corp., usually a strong performer, reported a bigger-than expected sales decline. And most mall-based chains and department stores such as teen stalwart Abercrombie & Fitch Co., Kohl’s Corp. and Macy’s Inc. fared much worse, reporting percentage declines of over 10 percent.

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2 teen girls charged in nursing resident abuse

They allegedly taunted, spat on, groped residents with dementia disorders

ALBERT LEA, Minn. - Two teenage girls who worked at a nursing home have been charged with abuse, accused of taunting, spitting on and groping the breasts and genitals of residents who suffered from Alzheimer's disease and other dementia disorders.

According to the criminal complaint, filed Monday, 19-year-old Brianna Broitzman and 18-year-old Ashton Larson laughed earlier this year as they spat in residents' mouths, poked and grabbed them, and at times mocked them until they screamed.

Broitzman and Larson, who worked as part-time aides at the home, have been charged as adults.

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Obama warns economy likely to get worse

President-elect unveils economic team with Geithner as treasury secretary

CHICAGO - President-elect Barack Obama on Monday unveiled his economic team and warned that "the economy is likely to get worse before it gets better."

"I've sought leaders who could offer both sound judgment and fresh thinking, both a depth of experience and a wealth of bold new ideas — and most of all, who share my fundamental belief that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers," Obama told reporters.

Obama said that recent news "has made it even more clear that we are facing an economic crisis of historic proportions." Offering a grim prediction, he added, that "most experts now believe that we could lose millions of jobs next year."

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Obama makes key Cabinet picks

WASHINGTON - Just over two weeks after Barack Obama won the presidential election, his new Cabinet and economic team are starting to take shape.

Several key appointments, including State and Treasury Department secretaries, appear to be nearly done deals, with Democratic officials confirming Obama's intended nominees.

Hillary Clinton will give up her Senate seat and accept the nomination for secretary of state, The New York Times reported Friday.

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U.S. launches new mortgage aid program

Plan speeds up process of modifying loans held by Fannie, Freddie

NEW YORK - The government and the mortgage industry are launching the most sweeping effort yet to help troubled homeowners by speeding up the process for renegotiating hundreds of thousands of delinquent loans held by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency, which seized control of the two mortgage finance companies in September, announced the plan Tuesday along with other government and industry officials, including Hope Now, an alliance of mortgage companies organized by the Bush administration last year.

"Foreclosures hurt families, their neighbors, whole communities and the overall housing market," said James Lockhart, the housing finance agency's director. "We need to stop this downward spiral."

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Employers slashed 240,000 jobs in October

Nation’s unemployment rate jumps to a 14-year high of 6.5 percent

WASHINGTON - The nation’s unemployment rate bolted to a 14-year high of 6.5 percent in October as another 240,000 jobs were cut, far worse than economists expected and stark proof the economy is deteriorating at an alarmingly rapid pace.

The new snapshot, released Friday by the Labor Department, showed the crucial jobs market quickly eroding. The jobless rate zoomed to 6.5 percent in October from 6.1 percent in September, matching the rate in March 1994.

Unemployment has now surpassed the high seen after the last recession in 2001. The jobless rate peaked at 6.3 percent in June 2003.

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N.Y. faces crushing crisis, governor warns

Economic downturn, Wall Street meltdown could mean $47 billion deficit

NEW YORK - Calling the impact of the national economic crisis and the Wall Street meltdown worse than the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Gov. David Paterson said Tuesday that New York faced a mammoth budget deficit of $47 billion over the next four years that may require a 25 percent across-the-board spending cut.

“New York is at the epicenter of an extraordinary financial crisis on Wall Street,” Paterson said at a news conference where he released the state’s mid-year financial reports. “We will have no choice but to take bold and aggressive action to reduce state spending.”

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200 sex assault cases pass prosecution deadline before LAPD tested DNA kits

The cases are part of a backlog of 7,000 DNA kits that the department has not tested, according to an audit by City Controller Laura Chick. Police say they don't have enough money.

As many as 200 potential sexual assault cases have gone without prosecution because Los Angeles police officials failed to meet legal deadlines to test DNA evidence that might have identified a suspect, according to a city audit released Monday.

The audit was the second critical assessment of LAPD forensic work in as many weeks. A confidential report obtained by The Times last week disclosed shoddy work by the department's fingerprint experts that had falsely implicated people in crimes.

Read full story Los Angeles Times

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Nebraska to rewrite 'safe haven' law

Lawmakers agree to cap child's drop-off age to no more than 3 days old

LINCOLN, Neb. - Stung by the abandonment of children as old as 17 at Nebraska hospitals, the governor and lawmakers struck a deal Monday to rewrite the state's "safe haven" law so it applies only to infants up to three days old.

A rash of drop-offs in recent months, particularly those of teenagers and from out of state, thrust the state into the national spotlight. The law was ridiculed on an episode of "Saturday Night Live" this past weekend.

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Falling oil prices give consumers a break

It might not prompt Americans to spend, but the drop in oil prices -- now below $70 a barrel -- could help many stay afloat.

Oil prices coughed up all of their 2008 gains and then some Thursday, stopping only after crashing below the $70-a-barrel barrier, a level not seen since the summer of 2007.

The betting money is that oil still has much further to fall, perhaps as low as $50 a barrel before the end of the year.

Economists say that would give beleaguered U.S. consumers the rough equivalent of a new economic stimulus package, dragging retail gasoline prices back down as low as $2.20 a gallon nationally. Natural gas and heating oil prices also are cratering, which would help with winter heating bills.

Read full story Los Angeles Times

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Home construction falls sharply in September

WASHINGTON -- Construction of new homes plunged by a bigger-than-expected amount in September as builders slashed production to the slowest pace since early 1991, when the country was in a deep recession.

A barometer of future building also dropped to the weakest level in more than 25 years.The building industry is on pace to construct the fewest new homes and apartments this year since the end of World War II.

The Commerce Department reported today that construction of new homes and apartments dropped by 6.3 percent last month, a much bigger decline than the 1.6 percent decrease that had been expected. It pushed total production to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 817,000 units. That's the slowest pace since January 1991, when the U.S. was in a recession and going through a similar painful housing correction.

Read full story Los Angeles Times

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Killer who claimed he was too fat is executed

Supreme Court rejected appeal that Ohio man could not be killed humanely

CINCINNATI - Ohio executed a 5-foot-7, 267-pound double murderer who argued his obesity made death by lethal injection inhumane.

Richard Cooey, 41, died at 10:28 a.m. Tuesday at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville, said Jim Gravelle, a spokesman with state attorney general's office.

There were no immediate reports of difficulties finding suitable veins to deliver the deadly chemicals, a problem that has delayed previous executions in the state.

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Point blank

Shooting of a soldier in Iraq by a member of his own unit raises questions

It was a cool, clear night at Q-West base in northern Iraq, and Army Sgt. Dwayne Cole was restless. On his second tour of duty in Iraq, Sgt. Cole was counting the days — 37 — until he could return home to Brooklyn. He finished a late gym workout and was heading back to his bunk around 1 a.m. when he noticed some friends were still up in another combat housing unit (CHU).

Cole, a solidly built 28-year-old with an easy smile, stopped in to visit. His friends, two privates and another sergeant, were watching re-runs of CSI on television in the two-cot room. Cole picked up a car magazine and thumbed through it.

He began to relax, no easy feat given that he had survived two roadside bomb attacks on this tour alone. But the feeling was fleeting. Within minutes, Cole was on the floor with blood gushing from his neck. He had been shot — not by enemy fire, but at point-blank range by a member of his own unit.

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Thousands flee wind-whipped Calif. wildfires

Deadly blazes prompt evacuations but expert says gusts weaken

LOS ANGELES - Powerful winds stoked three major wildfires on Tuesday morning after destroying dozens of homes, forcing thousands to flee and leaving two people dead.

The fires have charred nearly 13,000 acres in suburban Los Angeles and northern San Diego County in three days, with the fiercest blazes burning in the San Fernando Valley.

More than 2,000 firefighters and a fleet of water- and retardant-dropping aircraft battled the 5,000 acre Sesnon Fire, which was burning brightly and sending flames skyward Tuesday in canyons on the west end of the valley, and the 5,300-acre Marek Fire at the northeast end. Combined, more than 15 square miles had burned.

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Lehman Swaps Settling for Pennies on Dollar

The auction currently underway to settle credit default swaps backed by bankrupt Lehman Brothers looks like it's going to end with massive losses for the banks and hedge funds that sold protection on Lehman's debt.

Credit default swaps, or CDSs, are -- along with mortgage-backed securities -- at the heart of the current financial crisis.

The CDS is an insurance policy against a default. Problem is, the CDS market was totally unregulated and buyers could swap them around with no one ending up holding responsibility if the debts went south.

Read full story Washington Post

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California may require more space for hens

Ranchers would need to make sure animals can stand up, turn, or stretch

ATWATER, Calif. - At the J.S. West and Cos. poultry farm, half a million chickens are squeezed six at a time into wire cages where they must share 2 square feet of space.

Beneath them, conveyor belts whisk away excrement while 1.2 million eggs travel from hen to carton each day without touching a human hand.

California voters will decide next month whether this kind of operation is an example of factory farming at its most efficient — or the cruel farming practices of producers concerned only about the bottom line.

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Government considers taking stakes in banks

Markets initially calm on news, but Dow ends day below 9,000 level

WASHINGTON - Calm gave way to fear in financial markets Thursday, turning a relatively steady day into a rout that pushed the Dow Jones industrials below 9,000 for the first time in five years.

Investors, who had begun the day somewhat optimistic that the government was taking extraordinary steps to contain the financial crisis, turned gloomy under an onslaught of worries about the economy and corporations.

Shares of General Motors Corp., one of the 30 stocks that make up the Dow, tumbled 28 percent to their lowest since 1950. The Dow itself shed almost 7 percent, or more than 600 points, to 8618.69. Broader indexes also fell.

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House passes bailout

After a week of wrangling, lawmakers give final approval to historic $700 billion bailout.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The House on Friday passed a far-reaching and historic plan to bail out the nation's financial system.

The vote for passage of the Senate-amended bill - 263 to 171 - was the result of strong lobbying on the part of the White House and other supporters of the bill all week, following the House defeat of a similar measure on Monday - a defeat that shocked the markets and congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle.

According to preliminary numbers, 172 Democrats voted in favor of the bill while 62 opposed it; and 91 Republicans voted for it and 108 voted against it.

Read full story CNN

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Schwarzenegger: Calif. may need $7 billion loan

Report: Governor sent letter to Treasury Secretary Paulson to ask for help

California may need an emergency loan of up to $7 billion from the federal government within weeks, the Los Angeles Times on Friday quoted Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger as saying in a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.

In the letter dated October 2, Schwarzenegger called for the passage of the $700 billion financial industry bailout plan which the U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote on Friday, the Times said.

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Candidates push for bipartisan financial rescue

Both support raising the deposit insurance limit from $100,000 to $250,000

WASHINGTON - Presidential rivals Barack Obama and John McCain on Tuesday appealed for bipartisanship on a plan to save America's collapsing financial sector at the same time they accused each other of supporting policies that would make a bad situation worse.

Both avoided calling the plan a bailout a day after the stock market chalked up a record one-day point decline as Congress rejected the $700 billion rescue effort. They separately proposed that the government insure consumers' bank deposits up to $250,000, over the current $100,000 limit, to boost Americans' faith in weakened banks.

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Financial crisis blows holes in state budgets

‘We’re keeping our seat belts on pretty tight as the roller coaster continues’

ALBANY, N.Y. - The crisis in the financial system will almost surely blow gaping holes in the already tattered budgets of New York, Connecticut, New Jersey and other states that rely heavily on tax revenue from investment banks and the big salaries and million-dollar bonuses doled out to Wall Street professionals.

The downfall of such giants as Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch and Washington Mutual, and the turmoil at other financial institutions, could mean tens of thousands of layoffs of investment bankers, stockbrokers, traders, analysts and other employees.

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The Debate is On — And So is the Strategizing

Like so much in this election cycle, tonight's scheduled presidential debate in Oxford, Miss., is historic: never in the 48-year history of televised debates has a presidential face-off been so much in doubt mere hours before it was supposed to commence. Such is the depth of the nation's financial crisis and the creativity — selfless or craven, depending on your point of view — that until this morning, we didn't know if Jim Lehrer would have anyone to pose questions to.

But now that John McCain has committed to turning up, he and Barack Obama will take the stage tonight with their rhetoric and demeanor set to a specific temperature. "Do you want a hot debate or a cold debate?" asks Stuart Stevens, a Republican media consultant, author and screenwriter who helped prep George W. Bush for his encounters with Al Gore in 2000. "You have to decide."

Read full story TIME

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Treasury to Temporarily Guarantee Money Market Funds

The U.S. Treasury this morning offered temporary insurance for money-market funds, attempting to restore confidence in one of the economy's important safe-haven investments.

At a morning news conference, Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. described the move as one of a number of "powerful tactical steps to increase confidence in the system." In addition to Treasury's action, the Securities and Exchange Commission placed a two-week ban on short selling the stocks of 799 financial companies, and the Federal Reserve announced it would expand take further steps to increase the flow of money to banks and financial firms.

Read full story: Washington Post Treasury to Temporarily Guarantee Money Market Funds

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Ike victims wait in line for food, water and gas

HOUSTON - Thousands of victims of Hurricane Ike settled in at shelters for what could be weeks, and others waited wearily in line for food, water, ice and gasoline Monday as it became increasingly clear the disaster along the Texas coast would be measured not by its death toll but by the misery it spread.

Almost three days after the storm steamrolled the coast, the extent of the damage was still coming into focus, with rescue teams finally reaching some of the hardest-hit and most inaccessible places, including Bolivar Peninsula, a resort on Galveston Bay where entire neighborhoods were obliterated. Homes were wiped from foundations and stilts jutted up from the sand — but their occupants were living, buoying the spirits of rescue crews.

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