Cut to the News . . . Your Daily News Briefing
Saturday, March 21, 2009 Make us your homepage
Leading the News
Iran Dismisses Obama's Overtures Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Tehran doesn't see any change in American policy. New York Times
CBO Predicts Tons More Red Ink Nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office forecasts ten-year deficit $2.3 trillion higher than Obama predicts. Los Angeles Times
Treasury to Soon Unveil Toxic Asset Plan . . . Provides low interest loans to coax investors to buy as much as $1 trillion in troubled mortgages and related assets. New York Times
Politics
Obama Wants To Soften AIG Legislation . . . Aides seek to take some sting out of measures taxing bonuses, but lawmakers fear repercussions. Wall Street Journal
Bankers Battle Back . . . Industry tells Washington severe pay restrictions would punish many for the sins of a few and hurt broader economy. Washington Post
Republicans Tout Funds They Opposed . . . Some in GOP rail against Democratic spending but then trumpet cash they got for their own districts. Wall Street Journal
Andrew Cuomo's Moment . . . New York prosecutor voices disgust for financial mess - and helps secure his own political future.
New York Times
Palin Jumps Into Obama Furor . . . Calls Special Olympics comment a "degrading remark about our world's most precious and unique people."
New York Daily News
National Security
NATO Commander: 'I'm Out of Troops' . . . Says allies control only 60 percent of southern Afghanistan. More soldiers are on the way.
Washington Post
Blast Kills Four Soldiers in Afghanistan . . . Operation was billed as Canada's largest since WWII. Globe and Mail
Afghanistan on the Brink of Chaos . . . Elected government can no longer compete with the Taliban. Der Spiegel
Business
AIG Execs Living in Fear . . . Longtime pillars of communities slink behind locked gates as outrage mounts over their bonuses.
Associated Press
Ponzimania Strikes . . . In wake of Madoff scandal, officials investigating “hundreds” of possible scams. Financial Times
AIG Paid Workers Well as Rivals Slashed . . . Granted lavish million-dollar pay packages, including retention bonuses, even as competitors had to tighten their belts. Reuters
GM, Chrysler May Need Much More . . . The $21.6 billion in aid they requested from government was based on optimistic recovery plans.
Bloomberg
International
Israeli Soldier Calls Order 'Murder' . . . New details of what happened during Gaza offensive, including killings of an elderly woman and a mother and her two children. Los Angeles Times
Soldiers: Army Rabbis Made Gaza a Religious War . . . Urged troops heading into Gaza to reclaim what they said was God-given land and "get rid of the gentiles." McClatchy Newspapers
North Korea Admits It has Two U.S. Reporters . . .Detained two Americans for illegally crossing its border and is investigating them, it says. Associated Press
Hungarian PM Resigns . . . Ferenc Gyurcsany says he will quit because he is an obstacle to the country's economic recovery. BBC
Also Today. . .
The Mouse That Can Eat All it Wants . . . Researchers discover that knocking out a key gene prevents weight gain from carbs. Is help on the way?
Los Angeles Times
Deported Nazi Guard a Free Man . . . Joseph Kumpf was sent to Austria, which says it can't prosecute him. Austrians say U.S. knew they would have to free him. Reuters
Sugar Makes a Comeback . . . Popular again as U.S. food manufacturers drop high-fructose corn syrup, blamed for obesity. New York Times
Vanessa Sang a Last Lullaby for Natasha . . . Stroked the face of her dying daughter and sang her a sweet lullaby from "The Sound of Music" before she passed away. New York Daily News
Today's Video
U.S. Naval Standoff With China . . . CNN
