United States

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Bush Leaves Customary Oval Office Note for Obama

Continuing a tradition begun by Reagan, Bush pens encouragement to his successor

(Newser) - Continuing a White House ritual begun by Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush left a note in the Oval Office for President-elect Barack Obama, wishing him well as he takes the reins of the executive branch. The White House declined to provide specific details of the message, saying only that Bush...

North Korea Threatens to 'Shatter' South

Pyongyang claims to have plutonium for 4 nuclear bombs

(Newser) - North Korea threatened to “shatter” South Korea today as reports surfaced that Pyongyang may have enough plutonium stocks to produce at least four nuclear bombs, the Guardian reports. The North said rising hostilities with Seoul compelled it to take “an all-out confrontational posture” over a disputed maritime border...

Knox Murder Trial Begins Tomorrow
Knox Murder Trial Begins Tomorrow
Jan 15, 2009 12:03 PM CST

Knox Murder Trial Begins Tomorrow

Italian police still have little evidence in death of British roomie

(Newser) - The murder trial of 21-year-old American Amanda Knox begins in Italy tomorrow, though police have gathered little more than her roommate Meredith Kercher’s dead body as evidence since the 2007 murder, Der Spiegel reports. The sexual crime involving two promising college students and several shady Italian men has the...

US Inaugurates $700M Embassy in Baghdad

Buildings symbolize desire to 'continue the tradition of friendship'

(Newser) - The United States inaugurated its largest embassy yet in the heart of the Green Zone today, officially opening the fortress-like compound that was intended to stand as a testament to America's commitment to Iraq. Addressing an inauguration ceremony under tight security, Ambassador Ryan Crocker said the $700 million embassy was...

Watch Out World, You're Going Gray
 Watch Out World, 
 You're Going Gray 
Analysis
Jan 4, 2009 11:38 AM CST

Watch Out World, You're Going Gray

Aging, population decline mark next decades

(Newser) - Wall Street's a wreck and terrorists are clamoring for WMDs, but the world's real crisis is far worse: It's getting old, Neil Howe and Richard Jackson write in the Washington Post. By the 2020s, baby boomers will push the median age in Western Europe and Japan to near 50,...

US Blocks UN Call for Gaza Truce
US Blocks UN Call
for Gaza Truce
Jan 4, 2009 7:04 AM CST

US Blocks UN Call for Gaza Truce

Americans want Hamas labeled 'terrorist'

(Newser) - The US has blocked Libya’s push to issue a UN Security Council call for a Gaza ceasefire, Reuters reports. Libya, the only Arab member of the council, had circulated a draft statement expressing "serious concern"  and urging all parties to "observe an immediate ceasefire." American...

Suicide Bomber in Iraq Kills 30
Suicide
Bomber in
Iraq Kills 30
Jan 2, 2009 9:45 AM CST

Suicide Bomber in Iraq Kills 30

Blast south of Baghdad takes place during tribal gathering

(Newser) - A suicide bomber sneaked into a luncheon gathering called by the leader of a local tribe, killing 30 people and wounding 110 today, police said. The blast in Youssifiyah in the Sunni-dominated region south of Baghdad comes less than a month after a suicide bomber killed 55 people at a...

For Refugees, New Year Means New Way of Life

(Newser) - It's no coincidence that 15% of recent Somali refugees to the US share a birthday today. Aid workers often assign Jan. 1 when a birth date is unavailable, as is often the case in war-ravaged and disaster-ridden countries or cultures that don't celebrate birthdays. American rituals seem especially peculiar to...

Consumer Confidence Hits All-Time Low

Economists expected a rise this month after dreary November

(Newser) - US consumer confidence hit an all-time low this month, dropping unexpectedly in the face of layoffs and deteriorating investment markets. The Consumer Confidence Index, expected to rise incrementally to 45, fell to 38 in December from a revised 44.7 last month. The Present Situation index, which measures how respondents...

Mexico Halts Shipments From Top US Meat Plants

Move is seen as retaliation for country-of-origin labeling initiative

(Newser) - Mexico has temporarily banned meat from 30 US plants run by some of the largest American meat companies, Reuters reports. The Mexican government says violations in standards of packaging, labeling, and transport conditions occasioned the ban, but many US analysts suspect Mexico is registering its dissatisfaction with an American law...

Guinea Coup Chiefs Promise Elections

US, Europe condemn coup

(Newser) - Rebel army officers who led a revolt in the West African nation of Guinea will meet with foreign diplomats tomorrow to reassure the international community about their future plans, reports BBC. A military junta seized control hours after the death of despotic ruler Lansana Conte. The US, European Union and...

Despite Reforms, Russian Firms Most Likely to Bribe

Survey names Belgium, Canada most graft-free nations

(Newser) - Russian and Chinese companies are most likely to mix business with bribes when traveling abroad, a corruption watchdog found, despite promises from their governments to root out graft. Transparency International, which said the kickback trend points to firms from emerging economic powers, cited the practice’s “damaging impact on...

9/11 Suspects Withdraw Plea Offers in Fight for Death

Confessions could block death penalty for suspects seeking 'martrydom'

(Newser) - Five  9/11 suspects yesterday withdrew offers to plead guilty when a military judge warned them that confessions could foil their plans to get the death penalty. A death order may require a military jury conviction, he said. The men want the death penalty so they can die as martyrs. "...

9/11 Suspects Ask to Confess
 9/11 Suspects Ask to Confess 
Dec 8, 2008 11:08 AM CST

9/11 Suspects Ask to Confess

Alleged plotters drop attempts at legal defense, face execution

(Newser) - Five men charged with plotting the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks told a military judge today they want to immediately confess at their war-crimes tribunal at Guantanamo Bay, setting up likely guilty pleas and their possible executions. The five said they decided to abandon all efforts to defend themselves against the...

Putin Sees Warmer Relations With US

(Newser) - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said the "positive signals" coming from Barack Obama's camp could lead to warmer relations between the two countries, Reuters reports. “If these are not just words, if they get transformed into a practical policy, then of course our reaction will be adequate and...

Pakistan Pressures West to Rein in India

Vows to end Afghan operations if India builds troops along border after Mumbai

(Newser) - In a thinly veiled message to the US, Pakistan officials have threatened to withdraw troops fighting Islamists along Afghanistan if India builds up forces along the border it shares with Pakistan. Furious Indian officials have linked the deadly Mumbai terror operation to Pakistan. "If something happens on that front,...

Fisticuffs Over Security Deal End Session of Iraqi Parliament

Sadr ally allegedly shoves speaker

(Newser) - Discussion of the security deal between the US and Iraq deteriorated into a shouting match between members of the Iraqi parliament today, the New York Times reports. Parliament is scheduled to vote on the measure next week, but could not get through a reading of the agreement today before an...

Global Economic Crisis Threatens US Security

(Newser) - The global economic crisis is raising the threat to national security, the Washington Post reports. Experts and intelligence officials worry that mounting inflation and unemployment in Third World countries could spark radical movements and destabilize friendly governments. What’s more, strained budgets in the West mean less money to spend...

Please Kill Our Hopes 'Gently,' Obama
 Please Kill Our 
 Hopes 'Gently,' Obama 
OPINION
Nov 8, 2008 7:40 PM CST

Please Kill Our Hopes 'Gently,' Obama

(Newser) - People the world over are investing their hopes in Barack Obama's warm, intelligent persona, but the president-elect is destined to disappoint, Matthew Parris writes in the London Times. Like any pop star or religious icon, he represents more myth than reality. The turning point will come when "Yes we...

Russia Will Move Missiles Near Poland

Installation would 'neutralize' US shield in Central Europe

(Newser) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev delivered an aggressive speech against the US today, threatening to deploy short-range missiles and perhaps its navy to “neutralize” US plans for an anti-missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic. Moscow perceives the American defense system—which Washington says is intended to deter “...

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