News For Wednesday Nov 19, 2008 News For Wednesday Nov 19, 2008

U.S. U.S.

Florence Wald, leader in US hospice, dies at 91 - Added 2 days ago

Florence Wald, a former Yale nursing dean whose interest in compassionate care led her to launch the first U.S. hospice program, has died. She was 91. Her daughter, Shari Vogler, said Saturday that Wald died Nov. 8 of...

Smoke is in the air again at Atlantic City casinos - Added 2 days ago

!!-- pobj:TN301-1006081439 -->After a month of fresh air, smoking is once again allowed inside Atlantic City's 11 casinos. The City Council had passed a total smoking ban in April, but then the financial meltdown...

Obama election spurs race crimes around country - Added 2 days ago

Cross burnings. Schoolchildren chanting "Assassinate Obama." Black figures hung from nooses. Racial epithets scrawled on homes and cars. Incidents around the country referring to President-elect Barack Obama are...

Econ summit vows action _ takes few concrete steps - Added 3 days ago

President George W. Bush underscored how dire the economic crisis has become when he told world leaders that he had agreed to a $700 billion rescue plan for financial institutions only after he'd learned the U.S. was at...

Gay advocates protest marriage ban across nation - Added 3 days ago

Gay rights supporters waving rainbow colors marched, chanted and danced in cities coast to coast Saturday to protest the vote that banned gay marriage in California and to urge supporters not to quit the fight for the...

After 1-month break, smoking is back in AC casinos - Added 3 days ago

After a month of fresh air, smoking is once again allowed inside Atlantic City's 11 casinos. The City Council had passed a total smoking ban in April, but then the financial meltdown rocked the economy and led to even...

Times Square getting its first 'green' billboard - Added 3 days ago

This winter, New Year's Eve revelers will have a close-up view of Times Square's first environmentally friendly billboard powered entirely by wind and sun. But the billboard might not be quite as dazzling as some of...

Today in History - Nov. 16 - Added 3 days ago

Today is Sunday, Nov. 16, the 321st day of 2008. There are 45 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Nov. 16, 1908, conductor Arturo Toscanini made his debut with the New York Metropolitan Opera as he...

Russia's Medvedev calls for talks with Obama - Added 3 days ago

The Dmitry Medvedev that made his first appearance in the U.S. capital as Russia's president was not the same man Russians usually see at home. He was confident, even charming, in reaching out Saturday in a spirit of...

Gunfire, mayhem erupt in lobby of Waldorf-Astoria - Added 3 days ago

!!-- pobj:NYNYD501-1115081746 -->Gunfire erupted in the storied Waldorf-Astoria hotel during a brazen robbery attempt Saturday at a lobby jewelry store, wounding a security guard and sending guests diving for cover. ...

Obituaries in the news - Added 3 days ago

Christel Goltz VIENNA, Austria (AP) _ Soprano Christel Goltz, a stalwart of the Vienna State Opera who performed in German-language roles across the world in the 1950s, died Saturday. She was 96. The Opera announced...

Florence Wald, leader in US hospice, dies at 91 - Added 3 days ago

Florence Wald, a former Yale nursing dean whose interest in compassionate care led her to launch the first U.S. hospice program, has died. She was 91. Her daughter, Shari Vogler, said Saturday that Wald died Nov. 8 of...

Mobile home park is ground zero of Calif. wildfire - Added 3 days ago

Fire Capt. Andrew Ruiz and his crew tried to save scores of mobile homes at Oakridge Mobile Home Park early Saturday morning. By daybreak, just one home was standing in the section of the park where they had fought...

North Carolina storm kills 2, destroys homes - Added 3 days ago

As a tornado ripped through his North Carolina neighborhood, Curt Jernigan huddled in his bathroom, praying for the raging winds to spare him. When Jernigan emerged from the home, he met a neighbor, his face covered in...

Sarkozy backs down from missile defense criticism - Added 3 days ago

French President Nicolas Sarkozy is backing down from comments critical of a planned U.S. missile defense system in Europe. At a summit with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Friday, Sarkozy said the missile shield...

Key points in financial action plan - Added 3 days ago

The leaders of the Group of 20 nations, including the world's richest countries and such major developing economies as China, Brazil, India and Russia, issued a joint statement and detailed action plan after their...

Houston Zoo mourns death of popular Asian elephant - Added 3 days ago

An inquisitive Asian elephant known for being the largest of its kind born in captivity in the United States died at the Houston Zoo this week after suddenly contracting an incurable disease. The zoo held a memorial...

Developing economies get to sit with the big boys - Added 3 days ago

There were new faces at Saturday's emergency economic summit, nations whose smaller and historically weaker economies mean they rarely get a seat at the global financial table. China, India, Brazil, Argentina and...

Wildfire chases patients from LA hospital - Added 3 days ago

Most of the 200 patients were asleep when Santa Ana winds that had swept down from the high desert circled the Olive View-UCLA Medical Center in fire. Nearby office bungalows went up in flames in the Los Angeles...

What course for McCain, now back in the Senate? - Added 3 days ago

His hopes for the presidency dashed yet again, John McCain returns to the Senate as the Republican iconoclast his GOP colleagues find hard to embrace and one his Democratic peers would love to win over. Hard feelings...

- Added 3 days ago

Police arrest alleged gunman in Calif. office slayings that left three dead. ...

Pelosi outlines aid package for US automakers - Added 3 days ago

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Saturday the House would provide aid to the ailing U.S. auto industry, requiring that the industry meet new fuel-efficiency standards, produce advanced vehicles and restructure "to ensure...

Nebraska lawmakers may ask for more than age limit - Added 3 days ago

A Nebraska lawmaker with an important role in changing the state's safe-haven statute says the Legislature might be asked to do more than put an age limit in the law that has led to the abandonment of nearly three dozen...

Text of Bush's remarks on economic summit - Added 3 days ago

Text of President George W. Bush's remarks Saturday after meeting with world leaders about the economic crisis, as provided by the White House: ___ BUSH: Welcome. Good afternoon. We just had a very productive summit...

Bush says summit leaders agree to cooperate better - Added 3 days ago

President George W. Bush, closing an emergency economic summit, said Saturday that decisive action had been required in recent weeks to save the United States from possibly falling into "a depression greater than the...

New Calif. wildfire breaks out in Orange County - Added 3 days ago

Fire officials in Southern California say a wildfire has broken out in Orange County and high wind is pushing flames toward a subdivision. Television footage shows at least three houses on fire in the area of Corona...

Declaration issued after meltdown summit - Added 3 days ago

Declaration issued after the economic summit in Washington, as released Saturday by the White House: 1. We, the leaders of the Group of 20, held an initial meeting in Washington on Nov. 15, 2008, amid serious...

Horse advocates decry government euthanasia option - Added 3 days ago

A stampede of opposition is growing over a proposal by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to kill or allow unrestricted sale of wild horses captured from western public land because of budget constraints. Tens of...

Guests for the Sunday TV news shows - Added 3 days ago

Guest lineup for the Sunday TV news shows: ___ ABC's "This Week" _ Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, R-Calif. ___ CBS' "Face the Nation" _ Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass.; Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala.; Gov. Bobby Jindal, R-La.;...

Small La. community gets new ZIP code _ finally - Added 3 days ago

It's no 90210, but residents of a small, rural community in southern Louisiana are just happy to have any five-digit ZIP code. For four decades, folks in Larose have had to go to neighboring towns' post offices to...

30 years after, the legacy of Jonestown - Added 3 days ago

!!-- pobj:NY401-0420061914 -->!!-- pobj:NY404-1107081432 -->!!-- pobj:NY402-1107081432 -->!!-- pobj:NY403-1120781505 -->!!-- pobj:NY406-1107081505 -->!!-- pobj:NY408-1118780800 -->!!-- pobj:NY407-0908081657 -->!!--...

Guilty plea in killings of mom, fetus and toddler - Added 3 days ago

Prosecutors in Kansas are seeking a life sentence for a man who killed his pregnant ex-wife, her unborn child and the woman's 8-month-old daughter. Andrew Anthony Guerrero avoided a possible death sentence by pleading...

Campaigns over, John Edwards returns to stage - Added 3 days ago

Scarred by an extramarital affair and weakened by two failed presidential campaigns, Democrat John Edwards is pushing to return to the national political stage by championing an issue he once owned: a crusade to end...

SUMMIT NOTEBOOK: Double take on leaders' photo - Added 3 days ago

Lights. Cameras. Say `Cheese." Find missing leader. Do it all again. President George W. Bush can only hope that the plan developed Saturday in response to the global economic crisis is better executed than group photo...

Oldest private black university in US cuts jobs - Added 3 days ago

The nation's oldest private, historically black university is cutting jobs and reducing salaries to close a $2.8 million budget shortfall. Wilberforce University interim president Patricia Hardaway says private...

Bush's remarks upon arrival at summit - Added 3 days ago

President Bush's remarks Saturday upon arriving at the economic summit in Washington: Good morning. We had a good dinner last night. I am pleased with the progress we're making on _ to one, address the current crisis....

Jury gets case in ex-soldier's Colo. murder trial - Added 3 days ago

Jurors are deliberating the case of a former Fort Carson soldier accused in the alcohol-fueled slaying of a fellow Iraq war veteran. Louis Bressler, 24, is charged with first-degree murder in the Dec. 1, 2007, death of...

More trouble for runaway boy who boarded airplane - Added 3 days ago

A boy who ran away at age 9 and talked his way onto airplane flights to Texas has blown too many chances to clean up his act and must live with a felony record for a prior car theft, a judge has decided. Since his...

Cities wrestle with economic bailout request - Added 3 days ago

As three major U.S. cities asked the federal government for a slice of the $700 billion bailout plan, other cities were considering whether that was the right move for them. Illustrating the complexity of the...

Audit: Sharpton campaign owes US nearly $500,000 - Added 4 days ago

Federal auditors have concluded the Rev. Al Sharpton's 2004 campaign owes the government nearly $500,000 for illegal donations and other financial improprieties. Sharpton has been feuding with the Federal Election...

Auto bailout backers offer to cut $25 billion size - Added 4 days ago

Facing an uphill battle in Congress and stiff opposition from President George W. Bush, supporters of a government bailout for the sinking U.S. auto industry are offering to reduce its $25 billion size. General Motors...

Guests for the Sunday TV news shows - Added 4 days ago

Guest lineup for the Sunday TV news shows: ___ ABC's "This Week" _ Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, R-Calif. ___ CBS' "Face the Nation" _ Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass.; Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala.; Gov. Bobby Jindal, R-La.;...

What world leaders want from Washington summit - Added 4 days ago

World leaders assembled in Washington to grapple with the global financial crisis. There are conflicting ideas about how to deal with the problem, what reforms are needed and what should fall under global regulations. A...

Barack Obama's late grandmother remembered - Added 4 days ago

The late grandmother of President-elect Barack Obama was eulogized Friday as a strong, vibrant woman who was dedicated to her profession and her family. About 150 friends, former co-workers and others gathered to pay...

Hawaii island bans genetically modified coffee - Added 4 days ago

The Hawaii County Council has overriden a veto by the Big Island's mayor to ban genetically modified taro and coffee. The council voted unanimously Thursday to override the veto of Mayor Harry Kim, who argued Hawaii...

Lucky man survives after being run over by train - Added 4 days ago

Talk about being lucky _ a north Alabama man is alive after being run over by a train on Thursday afternoon. Huntsville Fire and Rescue officials said a train engineer spotted 61-year-old Arnold Romine lying across...

Neb. starts work on fixing child abandonment law - Added 4 days ago

Nebraska lawmakers got to work Friday in a rare special legislative session designed to repair a unique "safe haven" law that has unintentionally allowed parents to abandon nearly three dozen children as old as 17. ...

Mormon church condemns gay activists for 'attacks' - Added 4 days ago

A day after it received hoax mailings containing a white powder, the Mormon church on Friday blamed opponents of California's gay marriage ban for recent "attacks" while an allied group condemned "acts of domestic...

Today in History - Nov. 15 - Added 4 days ago

Today is Saturday, Nov. 15, the 320th day of 2008. There are 46 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Nov. 15, 1806, explorer Zebulon Pike sighted the mountaintop now known as Pikes Peak in...

Hostage standoff at Mo. clinic ends with 2 dead - Added 4 days ago

A gunman took his ex-girlfriend hostage Friday at a health clinic where she worked, allowed her to make a goodbye call to her family and killed her before police gunned him down, authorities said. The shootings took...