Thursday, August 4, 2011

Nation/world stories under consideration at The Oakland Press

Nation World
NEW & DEVELOPING
— AWOL SOLDIER — Suspect expected in federal court at 2 p.m.
— DEBT SHOWDOWN-PENTAGON — Defense Secretary Leon Panetta’s news conference at 2:45 p.m.
TOP STORIES
WALL STREET
NEW YORK — Stocks are plunging in another broad sell-off as investors grow concerned about an economic slowdown in the U.S. and Europe. The Dow Jones industrial average dove more than 350 points, erasing its gains for the year. By Business Writer David K. Randall.
AP photos.
VIRGINIA TECH-GUNMAN
BLACKSBURG, Va. — Virginia Tech was locked down Thursday when three children attending a summer camp said they saw a man holding what looked like a gun, an alarming report on the campus where a 2007 massacre left 33 people dead. By Zinie Chen Sampson.
AP graphic. AP photos, videos planned.
TAINTED GROUND TURKEY
WASHINGTON — Meat giant Cargill is recalling 36 million pounds of turkey after a government hunt for the source of a salmonella outbreak that has killed one person in California and sickened dozens more. The Agriculture Department says it is one of the largest meat recalls ever. By Mary Clare Jalonick.
AP photos.
KRAFT FOODS-SPLIT
PORTLAND, Ore. — Kraft Foods says it plans to split into two publicly traded companies, with one focusing on its international snack brands like Trident gum and Oreo cookies and the other on its North American groceries business that includes Maxwell House coffee and Oscar Mayer meats. By Food Industry Writer Sarah Skidmore.
AP photo.
SYRIA
BEIRUT — Gunmen in plainclothes are randomly shooting people in the streets of the besieged Syrian city of Hama and families are burying their loved ones in gardens at home for fear of being killed themselves if they venture out to cemeteries, a resident says. By Zeina Karam.
AP photos, video.
FRANCE-IMF CHIEF
PARIS — A French court orders an investigation into new IMF chief Christine Lagarde’s role in a much-criticized $400 million arbitration deal in favor of a controversial tycoon. By Cecile Brisson.
AP photos.
INTERNATIONAL
NORWAY MASSACRE-RETHINKING
OSLO, Norway — Anders Behring Breivik’s massacre of 77 people in a meticulously planned rampage is forcing Norwegian authorities to look at what they could have done to prevent or identify his pattern of purchases and other suspect behavior. By Adam Geller and Ian MacDougall.
AP photos.
— NORWAY-MASSACRE — Prosecutor: Norway killer declining to give info that could determine if he had accomplices. AP photos.
LIBYA-TRIPOLI BRIGADE
NALUT, Libya — The rebel fighters of the Tripoli Brigade have one goal — to be among the first to enter the Libyan capital and kick out Moammar Gadhafi and his cronies. Its 475 fighters, some who came home after years abroad, all have links to Tripoli and are trying to fight their way there from the country’s western mountains. By Karin Laub.
AP photos.
TAIWAN-OLD SOLDIER
TAIPEI, Taiwan — As Taiwan marks the centenary of the Republic of China this year, 97-year-old Wei Hsien-wen can reflect on what was — and what might have been. When he was born, the republic was in its infancy, poised to build a new China after toppling the last imperial dynasty in 1911. Today, having lost the battle for China to the communists in 1949, it governs only the island of Taiwan and its 23 million people. By Annie Huang.
— EGYPT-MUBARAK TRIAL — After start of historic Mubarak trial, his security chief and six police officials back in court. AP photos.
— AUSTRALIA-SUSPICIOUS DEVICE — Australian police say fake bomb was attached to Sydney teen’s neck in an extortion attempt. AP photos.
— TROPICAL WEATHER — Tropical Storm Emily hovers off southern Haiti, bringing heavy rain, isolated floods. AP photos.
— EAST AFRICA-FAMINE — U.S. says Somalia famine has killed more than 29,000 children under age 5 in last 90 days. AP photos.
— NIGERIA-OIL SPILLS — UN: Oil spills leave widespread ecological damage in a region of Nigeria’s crude-rich delta.
NATIONAL
DB COOPER
OKLAHOMA CITY — The distant memories of an 8-year-old girl have prompted the FBI to take a closer look at the nearly 40-year-old mystery of the nation’s only unsolved skyjacking. Marla Cooper, now 48, believes her late uncle Lynn Doyle Cooper is the notorious D.B. Cooper, who hijacked a plane in 1971 and parachuted away with $200,000 in ransom cash into a rainy night over the Pacific Northwest. By Sean Murphy.
AP photos.
— POLICE-HOMELESS DEATH — Schizophrenic homeless man’s death after police confrontation outrages father. AP photos.
WASHINGTON
AVIATION SHUTDOWN
WASHINGTON — On the surface, the partial shutdown of the Federal Aviation Administration is about whether to cut $16 million in air service subsidies, a pretty small amount in this town. Underneath are layers upon layers of political gamesmanship that, at its heart, is about whether Democrats or Republicans get to call the shots in Congress. By Joan Lowy.
AP photos.
OBAMA-FUNDRAISING
CHICAGO — Trying to make up for lost time, President Barack Obama plunges back into his re-election campaign, urging supporters not to be discouraged by the frustrating debt negotiations that consumed Washington and kept him from raising money for his 2012 bid. By Julie Pace and Ken Thomas.
AP photos.
— OBAMA — President celebrates 50th birthday at White House with senior staff, family and friends.
— HEALTH OVERHAUL-LOOPHOLE — Massachusetts hospitals reap $275 million a year from health law loophole as other states pay for it.
BUSINESS
RETAIL SALES
NEW YORK — Many retailers posted solid sales during the kickoff to the back-to-school season as deep discounts and sweltering heat in July drove shoppers to air conditioned malls. But merchants worry that momentum won’t continue throughout the remainder of the second-biggest shopping period of the year. By Retail Writer Anne D’Innocenzio.
AP photos.
EARNS-GM
DETROIT — After years of big discounts, GM is finally getting a good price for its cars and trucks, and it’s helping the company’s bottom line. By Auto Writer Dee-Ann Durbin.
AP photo.
— UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS — Slightly fewer people seek unemployment benefits last week, lowering applications to 400,000. AP photos.
— MORTGAGE RATES — Average rate on 15-year fixed loan falls to 3.54 percent; 30-year fixed loan drops to 4.39 percent.
— EUROPE-INTEREST RATES — ECB’s Trichet says bond purchase program has not been shelved; bank leaves rates unchanged. AP photo.
HEALTH
EXPENSIVE DIET
SEATTLE — A healthy diet is expensive and could make it difficult for Americans to meet new U.S. nutritional guidelines, according to a study published Thursday that says the government should do more to help consumers eat healthier. By Donna Gordon Blankinship.
GETTING ATTENTION
— JERRY LEWIS-MDA — Jerry Lewis is no longer serving as the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s national chairman and won’t be appearing on this year’s Labor Day telethon, the nonprofit agency announces.
— YANKEES-RODRIGUEZ POKER — Publicist criticizes report, says Alex Rodriguez looks forward to cooperating with baseball’s poker probe. AP photos.
— BRITAIN-PHONE HACKING — British lawmakers call on CNN host Piers Morgan to answer questions over tabloid phone hacking scandal. AP photo.
— DANCING WHALE — Whale seen “dancing” on video from wedding at Connecticut aquarium; trainers doubt it was boogying.
— NEW ZEALAND-EMPEROR PENGUIN — Wayward penguin recovering in New Zealand joins Internet age with 120,000 online fans. AP photos.

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