by obama state of the union speech in late january or early february
there are significant differences we will be discussing these over the next
coming weeks democratic house majority leader steny hoyer said after top house
democrats met behind closed doors ahead of the white house talks
pelosi signaled as she had before that she would likely accept the senate
decision to strip out government backed public option to compete with
private insurers necessity to get the votes for passage
we will have what we need to hold the insurance companies accountable
promised pelosi who steered the measure to passage by razor thin margin in
november and they ll be crying out for public option one of these days
the speaker suggested possible showdown over how to pay for the year one
trillion dollar plan which would extend coverage to at least million of the
million americans who currently lack it
the legislation would shave an estimated billion dollars from the soaring us
budget deficit while aiming to ban abusive health insurance practices and
curbing skyrocketing us medical costs
another potential obstacle is the house bill tougher restrictions on federal
funds subsidizing abortions while pro choice lawmakers denounce the limits
some centrist democrats say they will withhold support without them
republicans remained locked in unyielding opposition to the plan and democrats
were considering skirting the traditional house senate conference to forge
compromise legislation in order to blunt any delaying tactics
we don know what route we will take said pelosi we will do what is
necessary to pass the bill
later pelosi and hoyer were to attend the white house talks in person while
democratic senate majority leader harry reid and his deputy senator dick
durbin were to join by telephone
passage would hand obama and congressional democrats huge victory ahead of
november elections that if history is any guide are likely to result in
sizeable republican gains in congress
democrats say they want final passage before obama state of the union speech
which pelosi has suggested could slide to early february from its typical late
january date
democrats have virtually no margin for error the senate christmas eve vote
rallied exactly the votes needed to pass the bill and some centrists have
said they will oppose any major changes
the united states is the world richest nation but the only industrialized
democracy that does not provide health care coverage to all of its citizens
as nation the united states spends more than double what britain france and
germany do per person on health care
but it lags behind other countries in life expectancy and infant mortality
according to the organization for economic cooperation and development oecd
the house approved its version of the bill on november the senate adopted its
version december
olympics blackmun to take charge of usoc report
chicago illinois jan afp
scott blackmun will be named the new chief executive of the united states
olympic committee the chicago tribune reported on tuesday
the year old blackmun who is expected to be named to the post wednesday
beat out chuck wielgus for the job the newspaper said wielgus is head of usa
swimming
blackmun previously served as acting chief executive of the usoc in
he is partner in the colorado law firm of holme roberts and owens
football stoke claim points as fulham feel the chill
stoke england jan afp
stoke mastered the elements better than visitors fulham to climb back into the
top half of the premier league with win at snow covered britannia
stadium here on tuesday
tony pulis side seized control of the encounter after tuncay sanli had headed
them into an early lead and further strikes from abdoulaye faye and mamady
sidibe gave them commanding three goal advantage by half time
ireland winger damien duff pulled goal back for fulham just after the hour
mark and clint dempsey strike five minutes from time made things frantic at
the end but stoke were able to hold out for win that lifts them to tenth in
the table place and two points behind their visitors
the evening had not started auspiciously for stoke with their danish goalkeeper
thomas sorensen suffering an injury the warm up
but once the action got underway they were quickly into their stride and matt
etherington had the ball in the net after only two minutes only to see his
effort ruled out for offside
the home fans however only had to wait ten more minutes for their side to take
the lead from corner
robert huth flicked etherington inswinging delivery on to the far post and
tuncay was on hand to beat mark schwarzer from close range
fulham came close to an equaliser when zoltan gera effort went just wide from
duff corner but stoke were to double their lead when another excellent cross
from etherington enabled faye to slide in at the far post to score
three minutes later stoke were up after flowing move down their left
involving both tuncay and etherington whose cross was flicked on for sidibe to
score with fine half volley
tuncay limped off with an injury just before the interval to be replaced by
ricardo fuller who had header in first half stoppage time scrambled off the
line and close range shot deflected over by schwarzer
it seemed inconceivable that stoke could surrender their lead but they flirted
with disaster after duff gave fulham lifeline with st minute drive that
beat stand in goalkeeper steve simonsen with the help of deflection off ryan
shawcross
dempsey had provided the pass for duff strike on goal and the american
demonstrated he knows how to finish as well with stunning dipping volley from
over yards that found the net with five minutes left
that ensured nervous finale for the home supporters but their side held on for
the points
urgent obama makes new vow to close guantanamo
washington jan afp
us president barack obama on tuesday renewed his vow to close the guantanamo bay
jail despite deciding to suspend transfers of prisoners of yemen following the
christmas day airliner attack
learjet registered to cargo company crashes in chicago
chicago jan afp
learjet registered to michigan cargo company crashed tuesday as it was
approaching chicago executive airport official said
the aircraft had both pilot and copilot but the federal aviation
administration said it did not yet know their condition or whether there were
any other passengers on board
it crashed into river about mile south of the airport as it was making its
final approach at about pm gmt said faa spokeswoman elizabeth isham
cory
the faa is still gathering information about the departure point and the exact
number of people on board she added
the learjet was built in and registered to royal air freight inc of
waterford michigan
urgent us intelligence missed more red flags on attack obama
washington jan afp
us president barack obama said tuesday us intelligence missed other red flags
before the christmas day airliner attack and demanded immediate reforms to
correct them
alert
obama vows he will close guantanamo bay despite new delays
alert
obama demands immediate reforms to fix intelligence errors
vivendi denies hiding risks as ny trial nears end
new york jan afp
french media giant vivendi denied tuesday that it hid risks from investors
decade ago as trial brought by shareholders entered the final stage
vivendi and its former chief executive jean marie messier are accused of making
false statements about company finances between and the class action
plaintiffs are seeking billions of dollars in damages
in closing arguments lawyer for vivendi which was formally known as vivendi
universal said that the company acted correctly in the midst of rapid
expansion
warnings were made we told the shareholders about the risk risk taking
company is not bad company look at microsoft and disney at their
beginnings attorney james quinn told the jury
we announced our objective of growth in but we used the cautionary
language we said it was risky we said it may not work so well he said
every single company stocks dropped at that period of time because of
and the internet bubble
verdict is not expected in the case until mid january with vivendi likely to
appeal if found guilty
alert
us intelligence missed more red flags before christmas attack obama
football english premier league result
london jan afp
english premier league result on tuesday
stoke tuncay faye sidibe fulham duff dempsey
sport wada mourns epo test pioneer de ceaurriz
paris jan afp
world anti doping agency chiefs offered their condolences tuesday following the
death of jacques de ceaurriz leading light in the fight against doping in
sport
the head of the chatenay malabry laboratory near paris de ceaurriz death at
the age of on tuesday was announced by france national anti doping agency
the afld
among his numerous scientific achievements de ceaurriz notably helped pioneer in
test to detect the performance boosting hormone epo erythyropoietin
it proved pivotal moment in the fight against doping helping to snare many
cheats across range of sports and almost as importantly providing major
deterrent for would be cheats
the fight against doping in sport has lost one of its most eminent scientists
read statement from wada chief john fahey
jacques de ceaurriz was not only skilled researcher but also man willing
to share his scientific knowledge with the anti doping community to help advance
the greater cause of the fight against doping in sport
chemist by profession de ceaurriz worked as researcher in the
pharmaceutical industry and as professor at top paris university before
being appointed head of the chatenay malabry laboratory in
it was during his time in charge that he helped snare many drugs cheats from the
sports of tennis athletics and cycling
american floyd landis the winner of the tour de france was stripped of
his crown for testing positive for testosterone after samples taken during the
race were tested at the paris laboratory
landis and his countryman lance armstrong the winner of record seven tour
de france yellow jerseys was highly critical of the laboratory techniques
and tried in vain to clear his name in court
year earlier in armstrong hit out at de ceaurriz lab which had
supposedly for research purposes re tested samples from the edition of the
race
it led to allegations by equipe newspaper that several samples belonging to
the american from the edition contained epo splashing the story on the
front page only days after armstrong record seventh tour triumph
despite the attacks de ceaurriz always claimed he did not know the identity of
the athletes whose samples he was testing
wall street mixed after big rally
new york jan afp
wall street shares wobbled to mixed finish tuesday as traders paused after an
opening new year rally and awaited data offering clues on the pace of economic
recovery
the dow jones industrial average lost points percent to close at
day after jump of percent to kick off trading
the technology heavy nasdaq composite eked out gain of points
percent to and the broad market standard amp poor index edged
up points percent to
analysts said traders were digesting the big rally monday which often occurs as
investors put cash to work at the start of new year
there was widespread buying on monday so rest today doesn seem too
ominous said nick perry at schaeffer investment research
christine li at moody economy com said that after huge global rally monday
investors sold off shares today on concerns that stock prices have recently
surged higher than fundamentals would warrant
the market showed little reaction to the day economic releases which were
mixed one report showed us factory orders up stronger than expected
percent in november while separate report showed sharp percent drop in
pending us home sales largely due to an anticipated end to tax incentives
some said the market was awaiting friday report on us payrolls and
unemployment for better sense of the economic recovery few analysts predict
the report for december will show the first job growth in two years
the major report this week is friday release on employment said gregory
drahuschak at janney montgomery scott
although good jobs report will be welcome expectations for much improved
job picture have been around since before the holidays which might mean the
market will not have as much of positive reaction as good data might suggest
would be true
among stocks in focus kraft foods rose percent to dollars as it
agreed to sell its north american pizza operations for billion dollars
billion euros to swiss based nestle to get cash for its hostile bid for
britain cadbury
the deal remained in doubt however as kraft largest shareholder warren
buffett berkshire hathaway said it would oppose issuing new shares for
cadbury takeover
the tech sector benefited from positive broker comments with palm up
percent at dollars and qualcomm rising percent to but research
in motion failed to hold early gains and fell percent to dollars
also in the sector google fell percent to dollars after unveiling
its nexus one smartphone in direct challenge to heavyweight apple iphone
handsets
bonds firmed the yield on the year treasury bond dipped to percent
from percent monday while that on the year bond eased to percent
against percent bond yields and prices move in opposite directions
some million german bank cards hit by bug banks
frankfurt jan afp
around million high tech german bank cards could leave owners high and dry
bank associations warned tuesday as the feared computer bug cropped up
years later than expected
the problem that hit cardholders trying to use cash machines or make payments
throughout germany and abroad stems from computer chips unable to recognise the
year and could take up to week to resolve the dsgv savings and regional
banking association said in statement
global alert had gone out years ago amid widespread fears of similar
problem dubbed for the year
more recent cards that contain computer chip designed to provide extra
security have been affected while older ones with just magnetic strip on the
back appear to work normally
dsgv said around million electronic cash ec cards also known as
girocards and million classic credit cards issued by its members had been
affected
ec cards are direct debit instruments which do not allow owners to buy on
credit
the world biggest chip card maker the french group gemalto is the cause of
the problem two german newspapers handelsblatt and the koelner stadt anzeiger
reported in their editions to appear wednesday
according to handelsblatt gemalto knows it issued defective cards the problem
also surfaced with our cards christoph siegelin gemalto marketing director
told the paper
the private bank association bdb said some million of its cards had been
hit and the bvr association added that four million cards issued by germany
cooperative banks had also been partially touched by the problem
around million ec cards currently circulate in germany where cash is also
widely used form of payment
among the country private banks commerzbank spokeswoman said just some of
its cards had been affected and that many of its machines had already been
adapted to accept those in question but did not provide detailed figures
postbank which has the biggest retail banking network in germany declined to
say to what extent it had been hit
deutsche bank clients do not have problem spokeswoman for the biggest
german bank told afp
dsgv said that the bug which it termed delayed year problem should be
completely eliminated by next monday but that withdrawal restrictions on
some credit cards were still possible until then
the use of ec cards and not credit cards is recommended at cash machines until
further notice the dsgv said adding that it was working intensively to
resolve the problem
around of its machines have been repaired dsgv said but roughly one
third of all payment terminals in the country were reportedly still affected on
tuesday
german stores are equipped with around such terminals
payment problems were also reported meanwhile by germans who were on holiday
outside the country
europe took its latest step towards harmonised electronic payment system in
november with the single euro payments area sepa direct debit network that
covers countries
rallying dakar rally results
copiapo chile jan afp
dakar rally results on tuesday in the km fourth stage from fiambala in
argentina to copiapo km of which is timed
stage four
cars
robby gordon usa hummer hr min sec stephane peterhansel fra bmw
at sec nasser al attiyah qat volkswagen carlos sainz
esp volkswagen giniel de villiers rsa volkswagen mark
miller usa volkswagen orlando terranova arg stradale
robert baldwin usa hummer leonid novitskiy rus bmw
mauricio neves bra volkswagen
overall standings
stephane peterhansel fra bmw carlos sainz esp volkswagen at
nasser al attiyah qat volkswagen mark miller
usa volkswagen andrew cox rsa nissan krzysztof holowczyc
pol nissan carlos sousa por stradale robby gordon
usa hummer guilherme spinelli bra stradale mauricio
neves bra volkswagen
motorbikes
marc coma esp ktm hr min sec david casteu fra sherco at
cyril despres fra ktm francisco lopez chi aprilia paulo
gon alves por bmw luca manca ita ktm jakub przygonski
pol ktm olivier pain fra yamaha helder rodrigues
por yamaha pal ullevalseter nor ktm david fretigne
fra yamaha
overall standings
cyril despres fra ktm david casteu fra sherco at
helder rodrigues por yamaha luca manca ita ktm alain
duclos fra ktm marc coma esp ktm francisco lopez
chi aprilia jonah street usa ktm pal ullevalseter
nor ktm paulo goncalves por bmw
us revoking additional visas after plane plot
washington jan afp
the united states said tuesday it has revoked additional visas since the
christmas day plane plot amid continuing fears of terror attacks
the information was disclosed as president barack obama prepared to unveil new
measures aimed at thwarting future airborne terror attacks
we have been scrubbing databases since the december plot state department
spokesman pj crowley told reporters
and as result of that action additional visas have been revoked for people
that we believe have suspected ties to terrorism crowley said
it based on our assessment of the risk associated with specific
individuals on information that we have you know from various sources
crowley said
but he declined to say how many visas have been revoked or which countries the
people affected were from asked if the revocations of visas concerned
particular countries or regions he replied it global
the obama administration tightened security procedures for passengers flying to
the united states after year old nigerian umar farouk abdulmutallab
allegedly tried to bring down northwest airlines jet
crowley confirmed that one of the revoked visas was abdulmutallab
us prosecutors charged that abdulmutallab tried to blow up flight using
device containing the explosive petn also known as pentaerythritol but was
overpowered by passengers
allegedly stitched into his underwear the explosives were not spotted by the
traditional metal detectors it failed to go off properly but sparked an on
board fire that was swiftly put out
president obama administration has had to fend off criticism of lax safety and
intelligence procedures exposed by the foiled bombing attempt
us officials said last week there had been insufficient evidence to revoke
abdulmutallab visa even though his father visited the us embassy in abuja on
november to express fears that radicals might be influencing his son
ian kelly said the embassy relayed those concerns the following day in
diplomatic cable to the state department and the national counterterrorism
center which coordinates intelligence among various government agencies
kelly who has completed stint as state department spokesman said the cable
did not say nor was it required to say that abdulmutallab received two
year multiple entry standard tourist visa from the us embassy in london
the cable contained basic biographical data plus the concerns mentioned by his
father he said
on monday kelly said the state department has now asked all us missions to
provides not just biographical information but also to proactively state in
the cable that the subject holds certain kind of visa
israeli airstrike kills one wounds three in gaza medics
gaza city jan afp
an israeli airstrike hit group of palestinian militants in the hamas run gaza
strip on tuesday killing one person and wounding three others palestinian
officials said
the israeli military confirmed the attack which hit near the southern town of
khan yunis but provided no further details
the nasser brigades the armed wing of the popular resistance committees issued
statement announcing the martyrdom of jihad sumeri senior member of the
group
one of the wounded was in critical condition said muawiya hassanein the head
of gaza emergency services
the attack marked the latest violence along gaza border which has been mostly
quiet since war israel launched on the islamist hamas in gaza on december
in response to rocket fire ended with mutual ceasefires on january
the ceasefires have largely held despite violations by both sides
wall street mixed after big rally
new york jan afp
wall street shares wobbled to mixed finish tuesday as traders paused after an
opening new year rally and awaited data offering clues on the pace of economic
recovery
the dow jones industrial average lost points percent to
at the closing bell day after jump of percent to kick off trading
the technology heavy nasdaq composite eked out gain of points
percent to and the broad market standard amp poor index edged
up points percent to preliminary close of
analysts said traders were digesting the big rally monday which often occurs as
investors put cash to work at the start of new year
there was widespread buying on monday so rest today doesn seem too
ominous said nick perry at schaeffer investment research
some said the market was awaiting friday report on us payrolls and
unemployment for better sense of the economic recovery few analysts predict
the report for december will show the first job growth in two years
the major report this week is friday release on employment said gregory
drahuschak at janney montgomery scott
nonfarm payrolls are expected to show no job losses some estimates even
suggest there could be modest job growth
guinea unions threaten strikes against junta
conakry jan afp
guinea main unions tuesday issued new threat to stage nationwide strikes if
the ruling junta failed to meet their demands for resolving the west african
country political crisis
the unions and civil society groups had first threatened last month to unleash
peaceful protest actions from january if the authorities did not implement
rapid and peaceful way out of the crisis
if our demands are not satisfied we are going to launch actions ranging from
strikes to dead city days union leader ibrahima fofana told afp
guinea has been plunged into chaos with the attempted assassination of the junta
leader and bloody crackdown on the opposition on september when soldiers
killed at least people during peaceful rally in conakry stadium
on tuesday the unions and civil groups held meeting in conakry to inform their
supporters of the latest developments
the country military government is expected to consider their demands at
ministers meeting wednesday
one demand is to know the state of health of the wounded junta leader and self
proclaimed president moussa dadis camara who remains in hospital in morocco
following surgery for gunshot wound to the head
since december the date on which president moussa dadis camara was evacuated
to morocco after an assassination bid the guinean people have received no
reliable information on his state of health the guinean social movement msg
said in an open letter
the umbrella union group added that camara health was major preoccupation
which must not be hidden by erroneous statements
meanwhile guinea interim leader general sekouba konate left rabat tuesday
to return to conakry after spending week visiting the wounded camara
diplomatic source in morocco told afp
last week source in rabat close to the junta said that konate has said that
camara was not conscious of what was going on around him and that you can
get anything out of him
junta spokesmen have said that camara is recovering and would return to the
country as soon as possible
camara seized power in december immediately following the death of the
country longtime strongman lansana conte who had ruled guinea since
avatar hurt locker nominated in key oscars indicator
los angeles jan afp
science fiction blockbuster avatar was named among the nominees for the
producers guild of america awards top honor tuesday regarded as key
indicator of likely oscars contenders
james cameron groundbreaking spectacular which has become the fourth
highest grossing film in history since it release last month was among
films nominated for the january awards show
the pga awards producer of the year honor is regarded as gauge of which
films may ultimately challenge for the coveted best picture prize at the oscars
which are held on march this year
last year pga award winner slumdog millionaire eventually went on to win
the oscars coveted best picture award as did the victor no country for
old men
joining avatar on the nominees list this year were the producers of iraq war
drama the hurt locker as well as the producers of science fiction hits
district and star trek
other nominees included british drama an education disney pixar animated
hit up and jason reitman recession era dramedy up in the air starring
george clooney
the field was completed by quentin tarantino inglourious basterds clint
eastwood invictus and precious
ford posts first annual market share gain since
chicago jan afp
ford motor co posted its first full year us market share gain since even
as industry sales fell to levels not seen in nearly years the automaker said
tuesday
it was challenging and very volatile year said ken czubay ford vice
president for us marketing sales and service
we had to deal with near depression economy there were bankruptcies
bailouts discontinued brands distressed pricing government stimulus
program that resulted in huge shifts in demand from one month to the next
czubay attributed ford success to the processes and disciplines established
with restructuring plan which got underway in
for leaving my seatbelt on because think that volatility is still
an element of the new norm czubay said in conference call discussing ford
december sales results
ford estimated that its full year market share would be about percent
full percentage point higher than in
december marked the th time in months that the second largest us automaker
increased its retail share
december sales rose percent to vehicles from year earlier
total sales for were down percent to million vehicles
ford estimated that total us auto sales would be down percent to million
vehicles in that would be the lowest level since
we made very good progress in in very difficult business environment
czubay said
ford expects global vehicle sales to resume growth this year after two
consecutive years of decline
it estimates that global vehicle sales will fall to million units in
down about percent from the peak of million
it offered preliminary prediction that global sales will rise to between
and million units and that us sales will range from to million
units
we look forward to with optimism and we begin the year with more forward
momentum than ever czubay said promising sharp focus on developing new
products and vowing that we will not count on momentum to carry the ford day
unlike rivals general motors and chrysler ford managed to cope with the
collapse of auto sales last year without resorting to bankruptcy protection or
the need for billions of dollars in government aid
ford posted surprise earnings of nearly billion dollars in the third quarter
and said it was on track to become solidly profitable by after years of
painful losses cost cutting and major revamp of its product offerings
sales at ford three key brands ford lincoln and mercury were up
percent at in december and down percent in at million
sales at volvo which ford is in the midst of selling to china geely were
up percent in december at and down percent in at
ford said it had posted higher sales in every product category and for every
brand in december with car sales up percent trucks up percent
crossovers up percent and larger sport utility vehicles up percent
canada to introduce body scanners at airports
ottawa jan afp
body scanners will be introduced at all major canadian airports in bid to
