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.”
Read full story MSNBC
Postd by Auto Accident Lawyers in Phoenix, Arizona
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
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
Posted by Personal Injury Lawyers in Phoenix, Arizona
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
Posted by Personal Injury Lawyers in Phoenix, Arizona
Monday, October 20, 2008
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.
Read full story MSNBC
Posted by Criminal Defense and DUI Lawyers in Phoenix, AZ
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.
Read full story MSNBC
Posted by Criminal Defense and DUI Lawyers in Phoenix, AZ
Friday, October 17, 2008
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
Posted by Personal Injury Lawyers in Phoenix, Arizona
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
Posted by Personal Injury Lawyers in Phoenix, Arizona
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
Posted by DUI Lawyers in Phoenix, Arizona
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
Posted by DUI Lawyers in Phoenix, Arizona
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
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.
Read full story MSNBC
Posted by Personal Injury Lawyers in Phoenix, AZ
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.
Read full story MSNBC
Posted by Personal Injury Lawyers in Phoenix, AZ
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.
Read full story MSNBC
Posted by Auto Accidnet Lawyers in Phoenix, AZ
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.
Read full story MSNBC
Posted by Auto Accidnet Lawyers in Phoenix, AZ
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.
Read full story MSNBC
Posted by Personal Injury Lawyers in Phoenix, AZ
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.
Read full story MSNBC
Posted by Personal Injury Lawyers in Phoenix, AZ
Friday, October 10, 2008
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
Posted by Personal Injury Lawyers in Phoenix, AZ
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
Posted by Personal Injury Lawyers in Phoenix, AZ
Thursday, October 9, 2008
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.
Read full story MSNBC
Posted by Auto Accident Lawyers in Phoenix, Arizona
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.
Read full story MSNBC
Posted by Auto Accident Lawyers in Phoenix, Arizona
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.
Read full story MSNBC
Posted by Phoenix, Arizona Personal Injury Lawyers
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.
Read full story MSNBC
Posted by Phoenix, Arizona Personal Injury Lawyers
Friday, October 3, 2008
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
Posted by Phoenix Arizona Personal Injury Lawyers
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
Posted by Phoenix Arizona Personal Injury Lawyers
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.
Read full story MSNBC
Posted by Phoenix Personal Injury Lawyers
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.
Read full story MSNBC
Posted by Phoenix Personal Injury Lawyers
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