Tuesday, December 30, 2008

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.

Read full story Los Angeles Times

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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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Tuesday, December 23, 2008

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."

Read full story USA Today

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Thursday, December 18, 2008

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.

Read full story MSNBC

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Tuesday, December 16, 2008

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.

Read full story MSNBC

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Thursday, December 11, 2008

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.

Read full story MSNBC

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Wednesday, December 10, 2008

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.

Read full story MSNBC

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Thursday, December 4, 2008

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.

Read full story MSNBC

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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.

Read full story MSNBC

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