Stories 1 to 9 of 9
3/12/2010 OBAMA DELAYS ASIA-PACIFIC TREK >>Obama Delays Asia-Pacific Trek (Washington, DC) -- President Obama is delaying an Asia-Pacific trip originally set for next week to put his shoulder to the wheel on the healthcare reform push. The presidential departure has been moved from March 18th to March 21st. Democrats have been pressuring the President to put off his planned trip to Indonesia and Australia to help push healthcare reform over the finish line. Meanwhile, Michelle Obama heads to Mexico next month for her first solo trip outside the U.S. as First Lady. Read More...
3/12/2010 HEALTHCARE REFORM WORK INTENSIFIED (Washington, DC) -- Work on finalizing a healthcare reform measure is intensifying. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporter the Dems will take "whatever time is required" to get it finished. The White House put a March 18th deadline on completion of healthcare reform legislation but met resistance from Congressional Democratic leaders. The deadline has since been softened. Healthcare reform stalled after earlier passage of different bills in the House and Senate. Republicans are expected to continue unanimous opposition. Read More...
3/12/2010 ALASKA TROOPERS SAYS WOLF ATTACK LIKELY KILLED TEACHER (Undated) -- Alaska State Troopers say a teacher whose body was found earlier this week was likely mauled to death by wolves. They say it appears 32-year-old Candice Berner was killed Monday evening when she went for a run along a remote road outside a community on the Alaska Peninsula. Investigators found many wolf paw prints around Berner's body and bloody drag marks in the snow. She had animal bite marks on her throat. Read More...
3/12/2010 CALIFORNIA'S ORANGE COUNTY FILES SUIT AGAINST TOYOTA >>California's Orange County Files Lawsuit Against Toyota (Los Angeles, CA) -- Toyota's woes continue, as the Orange County District Attorney's Office in Southern California files a lawsuit against the company. Prosecutors say the suit was filed to forbid the automaker from endangering the public by selling defective vehicles and doing so through deceptive business practices. Toyota has recalled more than eight-million of its vehicles worldwide due to faulty accelerator pedals. Unintended acceleration in Toyota and Lexus vehicles has been tied to at least five crash deaths in the U.S. since 2007. Read More...
3/12/2010 SETTLEMENT REACHED WITH INJURED 9-11 RESPONDERS (New York, NY) -- An insurance company created by New York City to handle September 11th claims has reached a settlement with 9-11 responders. The WTC Captive Insurance Company plans to pay out more than 650-million dollars to thousands of firefighters, police and other contractors who reported health problems after working at Ground Zero. Individual payments will be based on the severity of each worker's injuries. The parties will ask a U.S. district judge for preliminary approval of the deal later today. Read More...
3/12/2010 WOLF SUSPECTED IN TEACHER'S DEATH (Anchorage, AK) -- Authorities say a rare wolf attack may have led to the death of an Alaska school teacher. The mutilated body of 32-year-old Candice Berner was discovered Monday along a road near a remote village roughly 500 miles southwest of Anchorage. Alaska State Troopers said Thursday that the snowmobilers who found the body also noticed wolf tracks in the snow. Wild wolf attacks are extremely rare, and officials say Berner's death could mark the first fatal wolf mauling in the U.S. in more than five decades. Read More...
3/12/2010 YEMAN HOLDING SUSPECTED AMERICAN AL-QAEDA MEMBER >>Yemen Holding Suspected American Al-Qaeda Member (Undated) -- A suspected American al-Qaeda member is being held in Yemen. Authorities there claim 26-year-old Sharif Mobley killed a security guard and injured at least one other in a bid to escape from a hospital over the weekend. Mobley is described as a Somali-American who grew up in New Jersey. Officials say he moved to Yemen a few years ago to learn Arabic and study Islam. Prior to moving, Mobley worked for a number of contractors at three different nuclear power plants in New Jersey. He is said to have successfully passed a federal background check as recently as 2008. Read More...
3/12/2010 SNACK FOOD MAKER STEAMED OVER ROETHLISBERGER ALLEGATIONS (Pittsburgh, PA) -- The maker of "Big Ben's Beef Jerky" is angry about the latest round of sex assault allegations surrounding the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback. PLB Sports has an contract with Ben Roethlisberger [[ ROTH-lis-ber-ger ]]. PLB president Ty Ballou says Roethlisberger is "falling short" of the standards athletes need to uphold when endorsing his products. Ballou says he will wait for the result of the investigation into allegations the football star assaulted a college student in Georgia before he decides what to do with Big Ben's contract. Read More...
3/12/2010 L.A. TEACHERS RE-ASSIGNED AFTER BLACK HISTORY MONTH PRANK >>L.A. Teachers Re-Assigned After Black History Month Prank (Los Angeles, CA) -- Three Los Angeles elementary school teachers are being re-assigned after they gave children pictures of OJ Simpson, Dennis Rodman and drag queen RuPaul to carry in a Black History Month parade. The "Los Angeles Times" reports the unidentified Wadsworth Elementary School teachers have been on suspension during a school district investigation. On Thursday, Superintendent Ramon Cortines [[ core-TEA-nez ]] said there's no evidence to suggest the prank was racially motivated, but that it was, quote, "an exercise of very poor judgment." Read More...