johnhanblog

Bush: Devastation That's Hard To Describe

President Bush toured Enterprise, Ala., this morning, inspecting damage
caused when a tornado ripped through the town's high school, killing
eight students who were huddled inside what was supposed to be the
school's safest place.

# posted by John @ 3/03/2007 04:15:00 PM 0 comments

Stocks finish their worst week in four years, with the Dow ending down
about 120 Friday, or 4.2% for the week.

# posted by John @ 3/02/2007 05:05:00 PM 0 comments

ARMY SECRETARY RESIGNS POST AS THE SERVICE'S TOP CIVILIAN OFFICIAL IN
THE WAKE OF THE WALTER REED HOSPITAL SCANDAL

# posted by John @ 3/02/2007 05:01:00 PM 0 comments

ASTRONAUT LISA NOWAK FORMALLY CHARGED WITH TRYING TO KIDNAP AN ALLEGED
ROMANTIC RIVAL

# posted by John @ 3/02/2007 12:43:00 PM 0 comments

DJIA

12,218

-15.70

S&P

1,398

-4.54

NASDAQ

2,393

-10.75

10Yr

4.53%

-0.026

U.S. stocks fall amid yen, subprime jitters

NEW YORK
U.S. stocks were lower on Friday, sending the Dow Jones Industrial
Average towards its worst week since April 2005, with the Japanese yen's
rally against the dollar and more bad news for mortgage lenders fueling
the same anxiety that has sent stocks sliding all week.

Commodities Corner: Hurricane futures: a new key to gauging energy
risks

SAN FRANCISCO
Energy traders will get a little extra help this month to predict the
moves in their volatile market -- and it'll come in the form of a
hurricane.

Investors react tepidly to weak Dell earnings report

SAN FRANCISCO
Dell Inc. shares got a slight lift in early trading Friday, one day
after the computer maker posted a 33% drop in fourth-quarter profit and
said it faced slow going as it struggles with a decline in sales and
increased competition.

Metals Stocks: Gold prices fall, on pace for an over $30 weekly loss

SAN FRANCISCO
Gold futures fell to their lowest level in a month Friday, on pace for a
fourth-straight losing session and a weekly loss of almost 5% with
investors still rattled by this week's volatility in global stock
markets as they eye demand for the precious metal in Asia.

# posted by John @ 3/02/2007 12:28:00 PM 0 comments

http://www.bloglines.com/blog/johnDispatch

or go to LINKS and click 'John's Journal'

# posted by John @ 3/02/2007 11:54:00 AM 0 comments

Flood watch in effect across the entire area

A flood watch is in effect for the entire area as torrential rain
continues to come down throughout the region. Mass transit is strongly
advised for your commute today.

# posted by John @ 3/02/2007 11:03:00 AM 0 comments

Sunni group claims kidnap of 18 Iraqis
---------------------------------------------
A Sunni Muslim militant group kidnapped 18 Iraqi government employees
in
response to the alleged rape last month of a Sunni woman by Shiite
policemen,
according to a statement and photos posted Friday on the Internet.

Former Taliban defense minister arrested
---------------------------------------------
Pakistan security forces raided a militant hideout and arrested a
former
Taliban defense minister, regarded as a top figure in the Afghan
insurgency,
intelligence officials said Friday.

Roadside bomb kills 3, seriously wounds judge in eastern Pakistan
---------------------------------------------
A bomb rigged to a bicycle exploded near a car carrying a judge in
eastern
Pakistan on Friday, seriously wounding him and killing at least three
people,
police and doctors said.

MONEY

Chip Foose overhaulin' mainstream designs
---------------------------------------------
Chip Foose is coming to a Ford dealership near you. The struggling
manufacturer hopes to radiate some of the Southern California car
designer's
So Cal cool by unveiling a Foose-ified vehicle almost certainly an F-150
truck
at the New York International Automobile Show in April.

S80's stylin', lively and fun
---------------------------------------------
A fair question about the redesigned Volvo S80 sedan is: "What's not to
like?"
The new S80 is gorgeous in the flowing way all recent Volvos have been.
Convenience is a priority. And power, goodness.

Feds charge 13 with insider trading
---------------------------------------------
Federal prosecutors announced criminal charges Thursday against 13
people,
accusing them of participating in the biggest network of inside trading
on
Wall Street since the days of Ivan Boesky. The criminal charges allege
that
traders from a handful of hedge funds and brokerages, acting on illegal
inside
information from some of Wall Street's biggest firms, netted $8 million
in
tainted gains from December 2001 to August 2006.

# posted by John @ 3/02/2007 09:25:00 AM 0 comments

ENTERPRISE, Ala. - Apparent tornadoes killed at least 13 people in
Alabama on
Thursday, including eight at a high school where students were trapped
under a
collapsed roof, state officials said. More than 40 people were brought
in to
an Enterprise hospital as a violent storm front crossed the state. The
same
system was blamed for a tornado that killed a 7-year-old girl in
Missouri.

# posted by John @ 3/01/2007 06:43:00 PM 0 comments

Dow industrials shed losses, flirt with move back into positive
territory.

# posted by John @ 3/01/2007 02:18:00 PM 0 comments

COMMANDING GENERAL AT WALTER REED ARMY MEDICAL CENTER FIRED AFTER
REPORTS OF SUBSTANDARD CARE AND LIVING CONDITIONS

# posted by John @ 3/01/2007 02:12:00 PM 0 comments

March 1, 2007

Breaking News: Lenovo recalls 100,000 notebook batteries

Computer maker Lenovo Inc. recalled about 100,000 lithium-ion batteries
Thursday after receiving four reports of the Sanyo-built batteries
overheating.

# posted by John @ 3/01/2007 12:43:00 PM 0 comments

ISM manufacturing index back in expansion at 52.3, above estimates.
Construction spending down 0.8% in January.

# posted by John @ 3/01/2007 10:41:00 AM 0 comments

NEWS

Saddam ammo caches deadly
---------------------------------------------
Four years after the Iraq war began, the country remains awash in
Saddam-era
munitions that provide key ingredients for homemade bombs used against
U.S.
troops, according to administration documents and military officials.

Luxury brands take beating in auto-reliability survey
---------------------------------------------
Toyota's vaunted Lexus luxury brand has fallen from first to fifth in
Consumer
Reports magazine's annual predicted reliability survey, and it's not the
only
luxury brand taking a drubbing.

Diplomacy could define end of Bush's term
---------------------------------------------
With less than two years left in office, President Bush is talking to
countries he once shunned. This week, the administration agreed to sit
down
with Iran and Syria. Two weeks ago, Bush agreed to provide aid to North
Korea.
The administration has "come to the conclusion that there are limits to
military power ..." says Richard Armitage, deputy secretary of State
during
Bush's first term.

MONEY

Major Asian markets see more losses
---------------------------------------------
Major Asian stock markets chalked more losses Thursday, sliding for a
third
straight session amid persistent unease about the global economy despite
an
overnight rebound on Wall Street that was buttressed by upbeat comments
from
U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.

Verizon's army toils at daunting upgrade
---------------------------------------------
One of Verizon's major weapons in its ongoing war against cable TV
companies
isn't fancy new technology. Or its familiar brand name.

# posted by John @ 3/01/2007 09:49:00 AM 0 comments

Stocks tumble at open, Dow down 175, Nasdaq off 2 percent.

# posted by John @ 3/01/2007 09:41:00 AM 0 comments

House Democrats Reworking Anti-War Plan

House Democrats are trying to come up with a reworked proposal for a
resolution critical of President Bush's leadership in the war in Iraq.
Their challenge: make it strong enough to appease Mr. Bush's adamant
critics, but leave troop funding intact. 

# posted by John @ 3/01/2007 09:28:00 AM 0 comments

IN A TAPING OF TONIGHT'S EPISODE OF THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN,
JOHN MCCAIN ANNOUNCES HIS BID FOR THE WHITE HOUSE

# posted by John @ 2/28/2007 08:38:00 PM 0 comments

The Dow ends up about 50 after Fed Chairman Bernanke reassures investors
after Tuesday's meltdown.

# posted by John @ 2/28/2007 05:16:00 PM 0 comments

APPEALS COURT UPHOLDS JUDGE'S RULING ALLOWING ANNA NICOLE SMITH'S BODY
TO BE BURIED IN THE BAHAMAS

# posted by John @ 2/28/2007 05:10:00 PM 0 comments

http://www.bloglines.com/blog/johnDispatch

or go to LINKS and click 'John's Journal'

# posted by John @ 2/28/2007 01:16:00 PM 0 comments

Bernanke tells House panel that markets are working well; Oil lower
after inventory report.

# posted by John @ 2/28/2007 11:02:00 AM 0 comments

Cheney, Karzai discuss 'problems from Pakistan'
---------------------------------------------
Vice President Cheney left Afghanistan on Tuesday after talks on how to
crush
the threat posed by Islamic militants, a danger dramatized by a suicide
bombing outside the U.S. air base Cheney was visiting.

It's a hard sell for some, Big Easy for others
---------------------------------------------
People are coming and buying stakes in a New Orleans, a city that still
has
less than half the population it had before Hurricane Katrina. People
continue
to move out, some after returning here and becoming overwhelmed by the
neighborhoods of empty houses, a crime wave and a general uncertainty
about
the future. Despite all that, New Orleans is finding a way to hold
steady.

HUD gets new view of who's homeless
---------------------------------------------
A groundbreaking survey of homelessness being released today found that
704,000 people nationwide sought shelter at least once in a three-month
period. Families with children accounted for one-third of those seeking
emergency shelter or transitional housing between February and April
2005

MONEY

Most Asian markets plunge, but Chinese stocks regain footing
---------------------------------------------
Chinese stocks bounced back Wednesday after their biggest drop in a
decade,
but stock markets across Asia plunged amid jitters about possible
slowdowns in
the Chinese and U.S. economies.

Prince Charles says ban McDonald's food
---------------------------------------------
Prince Charles suggested Tuesday on a visit to the United Arab Emirates
that
banning McDonald's fast food was crucial for improving people's diets,
a
British news agency reported.

Chinese carmaker, Chrysler near deal
---------------------------------------------
Chrysler Group moved a step closer Tuesday to becoming first to bring
Chinese-
made cars to the USA. German parent DaimlerChrysler approved a deal to
team
with Chinese carmaking phenomenon Chery Motor to develop small cars that
could
be sold in the USA and Europe.

# posted by John @ 2/28/2007 09:16:00 AM 0 comments

Worldwide Stock Jitters Continue

Chinese stocks bounced back after their biggest decline in a decade, but
stock markets in Asia and Europe fell for a second day amid investor
jitters about possible slowdowns in the Chinese and U.S. economies. 

# posted by John @ 2/28/2007 08:55:00 AM 0 comments

NEW YORK - Stocks fell sharply Tuesday, joining a global stock decline
sparked
by growing concerns that the U.S. and Chinese economies are cooling and
that
U.S. stocks are about to embark on a major correction. At the close of
trading, the Dow Jones industrial average was off 415.30 or 3.3% at
12,216.96.

# posted by John @ 2/27/2007 04:45:00 PM 0 comments

DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE HAS FALLEN MORE THAN 500 POINTS

# posted by John @ 2/27/2007 03:18:00 PM 0 comments

Dow tumbles 450 points as Wall Street selloff accelerates.

# posted by John @ 2/27/2007 03:13:00 PM 0 comments

http://www.bloglines.com/blog/johnDispatch

# posted by John @ 2/26/2007 08:50:00 PM 0 comments

A federal judge has dimissed a juror in the case against former White
House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, The Associated Press reports.

# posted by John @ 2/26/2007 01:45:00 PM 0 comments

A federal judge has dimissed a juror in the case against former White
House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, The Associated Press reports.

# posted by John @ 2/26/2007 01:28:00 PM 0 comments

A federal judge has dimissed a juror in the case against former White
House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, The Associated Press reports.

# posted by John @ 2/26/2007 12:33:00 PM 0 comments

"The Departed" won Best Picture at the Academy Awards and its director
Martin Scorsese walked off with his first Oscar for Best Director after
five losses. The other big winners included Helen Mirren, Forest
Whitaker, Alan Arkin and Jennifer Hudson. 

# posted by John @ 2/26/2007 09:11:00 AM 0 comments

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani has had a stroke and is en route to
Jordan for treatment..

# posted by John @ 2/25/2007 03:42:00 PM 0 comments