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Last Updated: Dec 5th, 2008 - 12:59:31 |
Secret Service: Palin Comments Led to Spike in Obama Threats
The Secret Service has disclosed Republican attacks led to a spike in death threats against Barack Obama during the final weeks of the presidential campaign. According to Newsweek magazine, threats on Obama’s life peaked after then-Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin accused him of “palling around with terrorists.” Palin was referring to Obama’s tenuous ties to William Ayers, who once hosted a gathering for Obama during his first run for office.
South African Singer Miriam Makeba Dies at 76
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| Miriam Makeba |
The South African singer Miriam Makeba has died at the age of seventy-six. She was as a leading symbol in the struggle against apartheid. She died just after a concert in Italy.
Rescue Efforts End at Collapsed Haiti School
In Haiti, rescue efforts have ended at a school that collapsed on Saturday, killing ninety-three people inside, most of them children. Another 150 were injured by the force of the falling cement and steel. The school is set to be demolished.
Studies: Global Warming Marks Greatest Climate Shift in 5,000 Years
In environmental news, a new round of studies shows the recent rise in global temperatures marks the most dramatic climate change since the onset of human civilization 5,000 years ago. Researchers at Cornell University studied fresh water levels from glacial melting, oceanic circulation and range migration in the Arctic and North Atlantic. The study found what it calls a “major ecosystem reorganization” or “regime shift” unprecedented in human history.
US Loses 240,000 Jobs; Highest Jobless Rate Since 1994
Back in the United States, the national unemployment rate has reached a fourteen-year high. New figures from the Labor Department show the jobless rate hit 6.5 percent last month, as the economy shed 240,000 jobs. More than 1.2 million jobs have been lost so far this year.
Bailout Includes Secretive, Possibly Illegal $140B Windfall for Banks
The Washington Post has revealed the recent $700 billion taxpayer bailout of Wall Street contains a possibly illegal provision that stands to give American banks a massive windfall. As part of the bailout, lawmakers changed tax code Section 382, which limits the kinds of tax shelters companies can use during corporate mergers. It was created to stop companies who avoid paying taxes by acquiring shell companies valued by the losses on their stocks. The companies would then write off the losses and avoid paying taxes on their own profits. Taxpayers stand to lose some $140 billion from the move. Experts say the Treasury had no legal authority to eliminate the tax measure. Republicans have been trying to overhaul or eliminate it since its introduction in 1986. Congressional aides admitted lawmakers agreed to keep the change hidden to avoid public outrage. Staffers with Senate Finance Committee chair, Max Baucus, a Democrat, reportedly asked that an administration briefing on the tax code change be kept secret. One congressional aide said, “We’re all nervous about saying that this was illegal because of our fears about the marketplace. To the extent we want to try to publicly stop this, we’re going to be gumming up some important deals.”
Aides: Obama to Seek Tax Cuts, Reverse Bush Exec Orders
Aides to President-elect Barack Obama have begun to outline his top priorities upon taking office. On Sunday, incoming chief of staff Rahm Emanuel said Obama would push ahead with a middle-class tax cut and a tax increase for higher-income Americans. Obama has pledged to undo the Bush administration tax cut for Americans making more than $250,000 a year. Emanuel also said Obama would move to expand healthcare access, but didn’t give details. Meanwhile, Obama’s transition team says it’s reviewing hundreds of actions taken by President Bush using executive authority. The Obama camp says it might overturn a wide variety of executive orders, including limits on stem cell research, abortion funding and the expansion of oil and gas drilling.
Amnesty: Obama Should End Cuban Embargo, Renounce Torture
Amnesty International is calling on the incoming Obama administration to lift the US embargo on Cuba and renounce the use of torture. Amnesty International Secretary General Irene Khan spoke Friday in Chile.
Irene Khan: "We feel that Obama should restore the moral leadership of the US by taking a number of very concrete measures related largely to the actions of the Bush administration and the way in which the Bush administration undermined fundamental human rights principles. Obama should close Guantanamo. Obama should make a public statement confirming the prohibition of—against torture and ill treatment. And most importantly, Obama should ensure that there is an independent investigation and inquiry into all that has gone on under the name of the war on terror to abuse and undermine human rights.”
Obama Won’t Commit to Bush Admin Missile Shield
Obama has announced he won’t commit to continuing the Bush administration’s controversial missile shield in eastern Europe. A spokesperson clarified Obama’s stance after Polish President Lech Kaczynski said Obama had told him the program would continue under the new administration. The program has been widely derided as bellicose, expensive and useless to its stated goals of protecting national security. Poland would host ten ballistic missiles along with a radar site in the Czech Republic. The Bush administration says the missile system would protect Europe from Iranian missiles, but it’s widely seen as a first-strike weapon.
China Launches $586B Economic Stimulus
China has announced a new $586 billion economic stimulus package, the largest in its history. The Chinese government says it will use the money to relax credit restrictions, expand social welfare services and start new infrastructure programs.
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