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Bush?s last rule-making hurrah
(The Yahoo! Newsroom)
The Yahoo! Newsroom - In recent days, the Bush administration announced new rules to speed oil shale development across 2 million rocky acres in the West. It scheduled an auction for drilling rights alongside three national parks. It has also set in motion processes to finalize major changes in endangered species protection, allow more mining waste to flow into rivers and streams, and exempt factory farms from air pollution reporting.
Geithner likely treasury pick; Clinton 'on track'
(AP)
AP - President-elect Barack Obama intends to name Timothy Geithner, president of the New York Federal Reserve, as his treasury secretary to confront the nation's intense economic turmoil, senior Democratic officials said Friday.
Mukasey returns to work after collapse
(AP)
AP - With briefcase in hand and a smile on his face, Attorney General Michael Mukasey returned to work Friday after collapsing during a speech the night before and spurring a 14-hour scare about his health.
Fla. teen commits suicide with live Web audience
(AP)
AP - A college student committed suicide by taking a drug overdose in front of a live webcam as some computer users egged him on, others tried to talk him out of it, and another messaged OMG in horror when it became clear it was no joke. Some watchers contacted the Web site to notify police, but by the time officers entered Abraham Biggs' home — a scene also captured on the Internet — it was too late.
4 Marines plead not guilty to murdering colleague
(AP)
AP - Four Camp Pendleton-based Marines, including one known as "Psycho," have pleaded not guilty in the execution-style slayings of a fellow Marine and his wife.
GM to return two leased jets amid criticism
(Reuters)
Reuters - General Motors Corp will return two of its leased corporate jets amid intense criticism in Washington this week on the luxury travel arrangements of its chief executive even as the company pleads for federal aid.
Amsterdam moves to close a fifth of 'coffee shops'
(AP)
AP - Amsterdam will close almost a fifth of its marijuana cafes to comply with a national ban on having them near schools, the mayor said Friday.
Clinton accepts Obama secretary of state offer: NY Times
(Reuters)
Reuters - New York Sen. Hillary Clinton has accepted an offer from President-elect Barack Obama to become U.S. secretary of state, joining her former Democratic rival to help guide U.S. foreign policy, the New York Times said on Friday.
Iraqi Shiites burn Bush effigy in anti-US protest
(AP)
AP - Chanting "no to America," supporters of a radical Shiite cleric burned an effigy of President George W. Bush Friday in a protest demanding parliament scuttle a U.S.-Iraqi security pact and American troops begin withdrawing from Iraq immediately.
Prosecutor who had Cheney indicted yells at judge
(AP)
AP - A county prosecutor who brought indictments this week against Vice President Dick Cheney and others pounded his fist and shouted at the judge Friday during a routine hearing. Willacy County District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra asked Presiding Judge Manuel Banales to recuse himself from the case, which alleges abuse at federally run prisons.
Model Karolina Kurkova voted world's sexiest woman
(Reuters)
Reuters - Lingerie model Karolina Kurkova has been voted the world's sexiest woman by E! entertainment television, beating sultry actresses Angelina Jolie and Scarlett Johansson for the honor.
Daughter defends mother in Internet hoax trial
(AP)
AP - A Missouri woman's daughter says her mother had wanted an Internet account shut down even before cruel messages were sent from it to a teenage neighbor who later committed suicide.
Neb. lawmakers OK age limit for safe-haven law
(AP)
AP - Gov. Dave Heineman signed into law Friday a bill adding a 30-day age limit to a safe-haven law that allowed 35 children — including teenagers as old as 17 — to be abandoned at state hospitals. The law, approved hours earlier by the Legislature in a 45-3 vote, goes into effect Saturday, and makes Nebraska the 14th state with a 30-day age cap. It had been the only state with a safe-haven law without an age limit.
Myanmar court hands comedian 45-year prison term
(AP)
AP - Myanmar's courts continued a crackdown on activists Friday, handing out a 45-year prison sentence to a comedian who went to the delta to help cyclone victims and criticized the junta's slow relief response.
Bulgarian archaeologists unearth ancient chariot
(AP)
AP - Archaeologists have unearthed an elaborately decorated 1,800-year-old chariot sheathed in bronze at an ancient Thracian tomb in southeastern Bulgaria, the head of the excavation said Friday. "The lavishly ornamented four-wheel chariot dates back to the end of the second century A.D.," Veselin Ignatov told The Associated Press in a telephone interview from the site, near the southeastern village of Karanovo.
Would-be Japanese space tourist wants $21M back
(AP)
AP - Japanese millionaire Daisuke Enomoto had planned to dress up as his favorite cartoon character in outer space and spent $21 million to make it happen. Now he claims the company that was supposed make his dream come true brushed him aside with little more than a "sorry, no refunds."
Where Would You Relocate for a Job?
(BusinessWeek Online)
BusinessWeek Online - Imagine you were offered a dream job that required you to relocate to your favorite city. Which city would it be? And why?
China: 19,000 victims identified from May quake
(AP)
AP - A little over a quarter of the 70,000 people who died in a massive earthquake that struck Sichuan province in May have been identified, a Chinese official said Friday, as authorities rushed to prepare stricken areas for the coming winter.
Economy Hitting Women Hardest, Say Experts
(OneWorld.net)
OneWorld.net - WASHINGTON, Nov 20 (OneWorld) - Women are being disproportionately affected by the U.S. mortgage crisis and economic plunge, said a panel of women leaders Wednesday, urging a strong woman-focused response from the federal government.
Buffett says automakers need bailout or bankruptcy
(AP)
AP - Billionaire investor Warren Buffett says U.S. automakers need a new business model to better compete, whether it takes bankruptcy or a government bailout to achieve.
