15 Jan 10
Billions more for banking bailout
The second banking bailout isn't getting the attention it deserves because Democrats don't want to talk about the disaster at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The Obama administration waited until Christmas Eve to announce it was lifting the $400 billion cap for funds available to cover Fannie's and Freddie's financial losses. The Treasury Department admitted that taxpayer losses well surpassed that fortune, so taxpayers are on the hook for an unlimited amount more for these two losers.
Freeze may have damaged 30% of crops
Thirty percent of Florida's crops may have been lost in the cold snap, Florida's agriculture commission says, but for now it appears that the Bay area's strawberries avoided catastrophe. Overall, certain crops in Florida were whacked hard by the sub-freezing temperatures, while others lucked out. Still, Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles Bronson said the crop losses probably run into the hundreds of millions of dollars.
December retail sales drop 0.3 percent
Retail sales fell in December as demand for autos, clothing and appliances all slipped, a disappointing finish to a year in which sales had the largest drop on record. The weakness in consumer demand highlighted the formidable hurdles facing the economy as it struggles to recover from the deepest recession in seven decades.
U.S. military mobilizes thousands for Haiti relief
The U.S. military is mobilizing thousands of soldiers, sailors and Marines along with members of the Air Force and Coast Guard for relief efforts in Haiti. The vast majority of the forces announced for Haiti have not yet arrived, but the military has flown in hundreds of rescuers and has advance teams and assessment teams on the ground. Air Force special forces were among the first military relief workers to arrive.
Russia MPs back human rights reform
Russia's lower house of parliament has backed a long-delayed reform to the European Court of Human Rights. Before Friday's vote Russia was the only one of the Council of Europe's 47 member states that had not ratified Protocol 14. The court based in Strasbourg, eastern France, has a huge backlog of cases.
EU foreign relations chief tests new powers in earthquake response
The EU's response to the earthquake in Haiti has given a first glimpse into how the bloc's new foreign relations set-up is to work in practice. Ms Ashton chaired a meeting in Brussels...The meeting agreed to trigger 3 million Euros in emergency aid, signed off by development commissioner Karel de Gucht, and to look into further financial assistance, such as advance payments from the commission's 28 million Euro annual development budget for Haiti.
'Noncompliance will have consequences'
US Undersecretary of State William Burns is warning Iran of consequences if it does not comply with international solutions to limit its uranium enrichment program. ...He said in an interview with the independent Gazeta.ru portal on Thursday that "we will ... need to begin to look at ways in which we can make clear the consequences of not responding constructively" to proposals on how Teheran can develop a peaceful nuclear program.
Aid groups struggle to get food, water to Haitians
Aid workers hoping to distribute food, water and other supplies to a shattered Port-au-Prince are warning their efforts may need more security Friday as Haitians grow increasingly desperate and impatient for help. United Nations peacekeepers patrolling the capital said people's anger is rising that aid hasn't been distributed quickly, and the Brazilian military warned aid convoys to add security to guard against looting.
Erasing Ezekiel's Jewish identity
For centuries Jews, Christians and Muslims came to Al-Kifl, a small town south of Baghdad, to visit the tomb of the Prophet Ezekiel and pray. The distinctive Jewish character of the Al-Kifl shrine, namely the Hebrew inscriptions and the Torah Ark, never bothered the gentile worshipers... The vast majority of Iraq's Jewish community left some 60 years ago, but Shi'ites took good care of the holy site.
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