NEWS BRIEFS
World News
United Nations Secretary-General Urges Syrian President to End Killing Protesters
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on President Assad to end the killing of anti-government protesters. Secretary-General Ban said the protests are not likely to stop and the one-man rule and family dynasties are likely to end.
Taiwan Reelects President Ma
Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou won reelction by winning 51% of the votes cast compared to 46% won by his chief rival. In a victory speech after the election, President Ma vowed more trade and economic ties with its mainland foe, People's Republic of China.
Russian President Medvedev Offers Reforms
Russidan President Dmitry Medvedev promised political reforms that would "offer all active citizens a legitimate possibility to take part in political life." Among the changes proposed are restoring direct election of the governors, a reduction of number of petition signatures required to register a presidential candidate, from 2 million to 300,000, proportional representation of provinces in the parliament, and creation of an independent public television network.
Russian Billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov To Oppose Putin
Russina Billionaire, and owner of the NBA's New Jersey Nets, Mikhail Prokhorov announced he is running for President of Russia against Prime Minister and former President Vladimir Putin next year.
A 6.7 Quake Shook Mexico City
A strong earthquake shook Mexico City and central Mexico. Cell phone service and electricity were out in some neighborhoods but no major damages were reported.
Former Panama Dictator Noriega's Return To Panama Approved
A French court approved extradition of Manuel Noriega who ruled the Central American country from 1983 to 1989 to Panama after he was in prison for more than two decades in the United States and France. He is expected to face further charges and possibly more time in prison.
President of Yemen Agrees To Resign
Ali Abdullah Saleh, President of Yemen, agreed to step down and turn over the power to the vice president within 30 days. Yemen will hold a presidential election within 90 days.
Egypt Armed Forces Will Turn Over Power By July 1, 2012
Egypt's military chief Field Marshal Mohammed Hussein Tantawi announced that the military will hand over the control of the government by July 1, 2012, earlier than expected.
Conservative Popular Party Wins Parliamentary Election In Spain
The Popular Party won the majority in the Spanish Parliament with 186 seats in the 350 seat chamber in the Sunday's election paving the way for its leader Mariano Rajoy to become the Prime Minister. The ruling Socialist Party won 110 seat.
United States
Natalee Holloway Legally Dead
At the request of her father, an Alabama Judge signed an order declaring Natalee Holloway, who disappeared while on a high school graduation trip to Aruba in 2005, as legally dead.
9th Circuit Court Dismisses "Birther" Lawsuit
The 9th Circuit Appeals Court dismissed a lawsuit challenging the birthplace of Barack Obama and his eligibility to run for the President of the United States. The court reasoned that the none of the plaintiffs can show that they suffered any harm from the Obama presidency that would give them the right to sue him.
No Plans for European Aid from Federal Reserve
Ben Bernanke, Chairman of Federal Reserve, told Republican Senators that the Federal Reserve doesn't have the intention or authority to bail out European nations or banks.
Health Care Reform Law Insures Additional 2.5 Million Young Adults
A report published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services credits the health care overhaul law that took effect last year for insuring additional 2.5 million young adults ages 19 - 25.
U.S. Supreme Court Will Review Arizona's Immigration Law
On an appeal by the State of Arizona from the U.S. Court of Appeals, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to decide the legality of the controversial Arizona's law against illegal immigrants, SB 1070. Justice Elena Kagan will sit out the argument due to her work as the Obama administration's Solicitor General.
Rep. Barney Frank To Retire From Congress
Rep. Barney Frank, openly gay member of Congress, will announce his decision not to seek reelection in 2012. A Democrat from Massachusetts is the ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee and as its chairman co-authored legislation reforming the banking and financial services industries following near their collapse in 2008.
Obama Signs Bill to Help Jobless Veterans
President Obama signed into law a legislation that creates tax credits for companies hiring jobless veterans. The credits would be up to $9,600 for companies hiring disabled veterans who were unemployed for more than six months. The size of the credit would depend on the salary of the employee and how long the employee was unemployed.
Super Committee Gives Up: No Deal On Deficit Reduction
Two days before the Wednesday's deadline, the Super Committee co-chairs admitted that there is no deal for a $1.2 trillion decifit reduction agreement. The failure to come up with a plan triggers an automatic cuts across the board of federal programs including the Defense Department budget starting the fiscal year 2013.
John Boehner Backs Tax Increases To Reduce Federal Budget Deficit
The Speaker John Boehner public announced his support for a proposal that would eliminate some tax deductions for rich and raise about $250 million in additional revenue as a part of Congressional supercommittee's goal of reducing federal budget deficit by $1.2 trillion over 10 years.
Ohio Voters Overturned Anti-Union Law
Ohio Voters overturned the state's new anti-labor law that limited collective bargaining rights of public employees. The law was supported and enacted by Republican Governor John Kasich and newly elected Republican state legislators.
Mississippi Rejected Life At Fertilization Initiative
Mississippi voters defeated a controversial ballot measure that would have defined every human being as a person "from the moment of fertilization, cloning or the equivalent thereof".
Bank of America Cancels Monthly Debit Card Fee
After nationwide complaints by its customers and politicians and the decisions by its rivals, including JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo Bank, not to follow its lead, Bank of America cancelled the plan to charge monthly debit card fee starting next year.
U.S. Economy Grew 2.5% In Q3
The Commerce Department announced that the U.S. economy grew at an anuual rate of 2.5 percent in the three month ending on September 30. The growth was fueled by increased consumer spending which grew by 2.4% compared to 0.7% in the second quarter.
Business
U.S. Trade Deficit Down For Four Consecutive Months
U.S. Commerce Department reported that the U.S. trade deficit fell to $43.5 billion in October as imports fell 1.6% vs. O.8% for exports. The decline began in July as consumers bought less foreign cars and imported less foreign oil.
Ford Reinstates Quarterly Dividend
Yet another sign of the U.S. auto industry recovering from the brink of collapse, Ford Motor Co. announced it will pay first quarterly dividend to class B stockholders in five years. The dividend will be 5 cents per share to stockholders of record as of January 31, 2012 and payable on March 1, 2012.
Parent Company of American Airlines Files Bankruptcy
AMR Corp., the parent of American Airlines, filed chapter 11 bankruptcy to reduce its debt load and expenses including labor costs. The court filings reveal that the company had $24.7 billion in assets and $29.6 billion in debt as of Sept. 30.
European Central Bank Cuts Its Interest Rate
Mario Draghi, the president of the European Central Bank, cut the bank's benchmark interest rate to 1.25% from 1.5% to address a looming recession and tension caused by sovereign debt crisis.
Motorola Introduces Cheaper Tablet "Xoom"
Motorola Mobility is introducing "family edition" Xoom tablet computer to be sold exclusively at Best Buy. The cheaper version of Xoom comes with 16GB memory and will be sold initially for $379.
Wireless Carriers To Warn Consumers When Reaching Monthly Limits
In a deal reached by the Federal Communications Commission and the wireless carriers reaching 97% of the consumers in the U.S., the wireless carriers will alert their customers when they reach monthly limits on voice, text, and data and when they will incur international roaming fees. The program is to be implemented by April 17, 2013.
Hedge Fund Billionaire Sentenced 11 Years For Insider Trading
Raj Rajaratnam, head of Galleon Management, was sentenced to 11 years in prison following the conviction in May for 14 counts of conspiracy and securities fraud for using inside information to trade stocks for gains or avoidance of losses of $72 million.
Sports
Super Agent Leigh Steinberg Files Bankruptcy Petition
Sport agent Leigh Steinberg who represented many prominent football players including Troy Aikman, Warren Moon and Steve Young and was an inspiration for Tom Cruise starred movie "Jerry Maguire" filed for bankruptcy protection in Santa Ana, California.
Barry Bonds Sentenced to House Arrest
Former Major League Baseball slugger Barry Bonds was sentenced to 30 days of house arrest, 2 years probation, 250 hours of community service and a fine of $4,000 for obstruction of justice conviction. The sentence was stayed pending an appeal of the conviction.
Chris Paul Is A Clipper
Chris Paul joins the Los Angeles Clippers after a trade is agreed in principle. The New Orleans Hornets will received guard Eric Gordon, forward Al-Faroup Aminu, center Chris Kaman and a 1st round draft pick in return.
Baylor QB Robert Griffin III Wins Heisman Trophy.
Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III became the 77th Heisman Trophy winner. He received 405 first-place votes and 1,687 total points beating Andrew Luck of Stanford who finished second with 1,407 points.
Lakers Stung By NBA On Chris Paul.
NBA blocks the blockbuster deal that would have sent the Lakers' Lamar Odom to the Hornets and Pau Gasol to Rockets and Chris Paul of the Hornets to the Lakers was denied by NBA which owns New Orleans Hornets.
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Signs Albert Pujols.
Albert Pujols, a three-time National League MVP, who has career batting average of .328 and 445 home runs, signed a free agent contract with Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The agreement reportedly will pay $250 over 10 years.
NBA Tentative Labor Deal Reached
NBA Owners and Players tentatively agreed on a labor deal. If the agreement is approved by the owners and players the lockout will end and a 66 game season will begin on Christmas.
Ryan Braun Wins NL's MVP Award
Left fielder Ryan Braun of Milwaukee Brewers was named the National League's Most Valuable Player. Matt Kemp of Los Angeles Dodgers was second.
Verlander is AL's MVP
Justin Verlander who won the American League's Cy Young Award won the 2011 American League MVP Award. He was the first starting pitcher since Roger Clemens won in 1986 to win the Most Valuable Player Award.
Los Angeles Galaxy is the MLS Champion
Los Angeles Galaxy won its third Major League Soccer Championship by defeating Houston Dynamo in the MLS Cup on Sunday by a score of 1-0.
Science & Technology
Mars Rover On Its Way
Curiosity, the largest and most sophisticated Mars rover yet, was sent off to Mars on an eight-month journey. Once there, Curiosity will search for more evidence of whether Mars is, or ever was, hospitable to life.
Barnes & Noble Introduced $249 Tablet
Barnes & Noble announced new Nook Tablet which will begin shipping on November 17 and will cost $249. The 7-inch tablet will be optimized for reading e-books, streaming movies and surfing the web.
Firefox with Bing Released
The Mozilla Foundation, the nonprofit organization that builds Firefox Web browser, teamed with Microsoft, one of its competitors, and released Firefox with Bing, a customized version, which makes Bing.com its default homepage and sets Bing as its default search engine.
Coffee Cuts Skin Cancer Risks
A new research found that drinking caffeinated coffee reduces risk of basal cell carcinoma by 20% among women and 9% among men who drink three cups of coffee per day compared to people who drink less than a cup a month. No reduction of the cancer risk was found for decaffeinated coffee drinkers.
Ford Cars to Read Text Messages
Ford will install new feature to its voice activated technology, Sync, to sync with phones and alert drivers when a text message is received, read out the message and allow drivers to respond with a pre-written message without taking hands off the wheel. The upgrade is available for new vehicles and vehicles newer than 2010 models. The upgrade for older vehicles will be available in the near future.
Neutrinos Moved Faster Than Speed of Light
Physicists at the European Organization for Nuclear Research, also known as CERN, observed subatomic particles called neutrinos traveling 60 nanoseconds
faster than the speed of light. If confirmed, the observation would defy Einstein's theory that nothing moves faster than the speed of light.
Entertainment
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Announced the Class of 2012 Inductees
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced the Class of 2012 inductees. Guns N' Roses, Donovan, the Beatie Boys, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Laura Nyro and the Small Faces (which later became the Faces) will be inducted at the 27th annual induction ceremony on April 14, 2012 in Cleveland and will be televised on HBO in May.
Health
States to decide new healthcare law benefits
The Obama Administration announced that state governments will define medical benefits insurance companies will be required to offer to consumers seeking to purchase health insurance coverages through state-based insurance exchanges starting in 2014.
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