Cut to the News . . . Your Daily News Briefing
Saturday, March 14, 2009 Make us your homepage
Leading the News
Cuba, Venezuela May Host Russian Bombers . . . Russian air force chief says Venezuelan President Chavez made an offer. Kremlin downplays. Associated Press
Signs of Stability Drive Up Stocks Market has best week since November as bits of good news from shopping malls to metals markets gave hint of a bottom.
Wall Street Journal
Madoff Lists $826M in Assets . . . Bulk is ownership in his business. Many property assets held in wife's name. Seeks to be freed until sentencing. Wall Street Journal
Politics
Obama Meeting today With Brazil's Lula . . . They'll discuss trade, energy and global warming. But Lula's offer to help with Venezuela's Chavez is met coolly. Los Angeles Times
Obama Mortgage Plan Gets Pushback . . . Realtors and allies opposing move to reduce mortgage deduction for households earning more than $250,000 per year. Los Angeles Times
Obama Toughens Up on Food Safety . . . Points to outdated laws and regulations, inadequate food inspections and lack of resources at "demoralized" FDA. Wall Street Journal
Mortgage Cramdown Hits Senate Turbulence . . . Plan to let judges rewrite some mortgages passed house, but some in Senate say it penalizes good behavior. Wall Street Journal
Ginsburg Hints at New Supreme Court Justice . . . "We haven't had any of those for some time, but surely we will soon," she says, without clarifying. Associated Press
National Security
Just Don't Call Them 'Enemy Combatants' . . . Obama administration drops term that's been used to describe Gitmo prisoners. New York Times
White House Will Unveil Border Security Plan . . . Effort to deal with violence along the Mexican border and stem the flow of cash and guns.
Wall Street Journal
Obama Defends Iraq Ambassador Nominee . . . Republicans charge Chris Hill lacks Middle East experience and was too eager to strike a deal with North Korea. Associated Press
Mexican Drug Gangs Have Cops Outgunned . . . Bad guys acquiring firepower more appropriate to an army - including grenade launchers and anti-tank rockets. Los Angeles Times
Business
Banks Scramble to Return Bailout Funds . . . They now feel tainted by having accepted them. Want to distance themselves from bad publicity and unwieldy rules. Los Angeles Times
G-20 Won't Make Joint Call for Stimulus . . . A rebuff to Obama will cap two-day meeting. Wall Street Journal
U.S. Reassures China on Investment . . . China has voiced concern about holdings of Treasuries. BBC
Summers Defends Deficit Spending . . . Says it's needed to restore economic health. Problems stem from an unsustainable financial model, he asserts. McClatchy Newspapers
International
Netanyahu, Livni Still Flirting . . . Likud and Kadima officials holding back-channel talks re-examining the possibility of coalition. Haaretz
Power Struggle In Madagascar . . . Opposition leader threatens to topple President Marc Ravalomanana if he does not resign. BBC
Massive Australian Oil Spill . . . Problem ten times worse than originally thought, Australian authorities say. BBC
Tibetan Anniversary Passes Quietly . . . Chinese lockdown succeeds in preventing unrest on one-year anniversary of violent protests.
Associated Press
Have 'The Troubles' Returned? . . . With three recent murders, fear grows that war between Protestants and Catholics will revive.
Wall Street Journal
Also Today. . .
Carcinogens Found in Kids Products . . . Many children's bath products have trace amounts of chemicals that may cause cancer and skin allergies. USA Today
South Africa Ignores Rapes of Lesbians . . . Government and culture failing to punish brutal assaults by male gangs who inflict "corrective rape" as a "cure lesbianism. The Guardian
Hope Ends for Missing in Canada Chopper Crash . . . A search for closure in Newfoundland as rescuers give up on those still missing. Seventeen perished. Globe and Mail
On Meds and Off to the Fridge . . . Studies show patients undermining heart medicine by chowing down and smoking. Associated Press
Electric Cars on the Way . . . At least nine major car companies promise plug-in vehicles by 2013. Christian Science Monitor
Today's Video
Jon Stewart Vs. Jim Cramer, Part I . . . Comedy Central
Stewart Vs. Cramer, Part II) . . . YouTube
Stewart Vs. Cramer, Part III . . . YouTube
