Cut to the News . . . Your Daily News Briefing
Sunday, March 15, 20099 Make us your homepage
Leading the News
AIG Planning Huge Bonuses . . . Will pay $165M to unit that screwed up. Received $170M from taxpayers. Company lawyers say they're obligated by contract to pay. New York Times
Russia Tugs at Central Asia . . . Countries can't afford to say no to Kremlin. Region crucial to U.S. war in Afghanistan. Chicago Tribune
Obama Open to Taxing Health Benefits . . . Reversal from campaign positions. Money would be used to pay for overhaul. New York Times
Politics
Rep. Maxine Waters Defends Bank Ties . . . Says in written statement she didn't do anything improper in advocating on its behalf. Wall Street Journal
Obama Meets Brazil's Lula . . . They admire each other. Discuss energy, the economy, and the environment. Associated Press
Obama to Announce Small Business Measures . . . Broad Package to include provisions to ease credit. Associated Press
Is Obama Taking On Too Much? . . . Tackles health care, carbon taxes, alternative energy, tax code changes, education, etc. Does it distract from the economy? McClatchy Newspapers
Obama Vows Support for Free Markets . . . Told execs he believes in capitalist risk-taking, wealth creation and possibly lower corporate taxes, terms he rarely uses. Washington Times
National Security
Cuba Embargo Weakened . . . Cuban Americans may visit extended relatives as well as close family members once a year and spend as much as $179 a day. Los Angeles Times
Pentagon Rethinks Two War Doctrine . . . It occurs to planners, "Hey, we already got two." Review also focuses on preparation for conventional vs. counterinsurgency. New York Times
Five Killed by U.S. Forces in Afghan Operation . . . Afghans claim they were civilians, but U.S. says they were targeting bomb maker and got fired at. Associated Press
Bin Laden: Israel Gaza Offensive a 'Holocaust' . . . Well, he knows what buttons to push. Also slams Arab governments in new tape.
Associated Press
Business
OPEC Calls for End to Overproduction . . . Members want to slice nearly a million barrels a day and boost prices - but without shocking the global economy. Associated Press
G20 Commits to Recovery Measures . . . But stops short of making specific commitments to stimulus spending. Wall Street Journal
Treasury Will Soon Detail Toxic Assets Plan . . . Will say this week how proposed public-private partnerships to take bad assets off banks' books will work. Reuters
International
Pakistan's Sharif Defies Arrest . . . Opposition leader was put under house arrest, but he simply gets up and leaves. Fierce clashes with protestors. BBC
Irish Dissidents Said to Number 300 . . . Police believe there are 300 involved in campaign to destroy the Northern Ireland peace process.
Daily Telegraph
Kyrgyz Opposition Figure Dies in Auto Wreck . . . Allies say it's an assassination. He had described Russian pressure to evict U.S. from base.
Wall Street Journal
Three Aid Workers Freed in Darfur . . . Capture at gunpoint leads aid groups to question how they can continue to work in the area.
Associated Press
Iraqi President Talibani to Retire . . . "He wants to take a rest." Underwent heart surgery in U.S. last year. Will remain active among Kurds. Reuters
Also Today. . .
DC HIV, AIDS Rate Up 22 Percent Since 2006 . . . At least 3 percent of residents have disease, a "severe" epidemic. Every mode of transmission increasing. Washington Post
Trial Set for Late-Term Abortion Provider . . . Kansas case latest flashpoint in battle between those who favor allowing abortion and those who don't. Associated Press
Mastery is Just 10,000 Hours Away . . . Super-high achievers are not fundamentally different from you and me, they just work harder and smarter. Wall Street Journal
Girls Can Lower Risk of Breast Cancer . . . Analysis of girls from birth to age 13 links obesity and lack of exercise to an increased risk of the disease. Daily Telegraph
NFL Player Kills Man With His Bentley . . . Cleveland Browns' Donté Stallworth questioned by Miami Beach police after his car struck and killed a crane operator. Miami Herald
Archaeologists Find Sister Cleopatra Murdered . . . Believe they have skeleton of Cleopatra’s younger sister, killed more than 2,000 years ago on Egyptian queen's orders. Times (UK)
Today's Video
Meet the Rapping Flight Attendant . . . CNN
