johnhanblog

March 10, 2007

7-year-old girl dies, becomes 10th Bronx fire victim

A 7-year-old girl died Saturday after a three-day battle for her life,
becoming the 10th victim of a devastating Bronx fire that claimed eight
other children and one adult.

# posted by John @ 3/10/2007 02:44:00 PM 0 comments

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

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

# posted by John @ 3/09/2007 12:59:00 PM 0 comments

March 9, 2007

Audit Slams FBI Use Of Patriot Act

A blistering Justice Department report accuses the FBI of underreporting
its use of the Patriot Act to force businesses to turn over customer
information in terrorism cases, according to officials familiar with its
findings. 

# posted by John @ 3/09/2007 11:14:00 AM 0 comments

U.S. payrolls up 97,000 in February, unemployment rate eases to 4.5%,
Reuters reports.

# posted by John @ 3/09/2007 11:11:00 AM 0 comments

NEWS

Justice, SEC questioned on pace of probes
---------------------------------------------
As the Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission
investigate
more than 100 stock-option backdating cases, they face criticism on the
pace
of the probes and hard choices about which ones to pursue charges on.

Gasoline prices getting pumped up again
---------------------------------------------
Gasoline prices have jumped above $3 a gallon in some parts of
California and
Hawaii, and may hit that level in other parts of the country when the
busy
summer driving season approaches.

Bush creeps up from all-time low in poll
---------------------------------------------
President Bush, in a bitter showdown with Congress over Iraq, has crept
up a
speck from an all-time low in his job approval rating. But his standing
is the
weakest of any second-term president at this point in 56 years.

# posted by John @ 3/09/2007 09:46:00 AM 0 comments

Democrats in the House of Representatives announced Thursday that they
will push legislation setting a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S.
combat troops from Iraq.

# posted by John @ 3/08/2007 01:42:00 PM 0 comments

NEWS

Bomber kills 30 people at Iraqi cafe
---------------------------------------------
A suicide bomber killed more than 30 people Wednesday in a cafe
northeast of
Baghdad, and three American soldiers died when a roadside bomb exploded
northwest of the capital, authorities said.

Japan, N.Korea talks on normalizing ties end abruptly, without a
breakthrough
---------------------------------------------
Talks between Japan and North Korea on normalizing ties ended after just
45
minutes on Thursday, leaving wide gaps as their top envoys blamed each
other
for the lack of agreement on key issues.

New York Fire Department: 8 children and 1 adult die, several hurt in
Bronx
blaze
---------------------------------------------
Eight children and an adult died and several others were injured in a
devastating fire in a three-story home in the Bronx, said authorities
who
called it one of New York's deadliest blazes in recent memory.

MONEY

Most investors say they'll stick with foreign stocks
---------------------------------------------
You'd think the global stock sell-off over the past few weeks would
have
soured U.S. investors' insatiable appetite for foreign stock
investments. It
hasn't.

# posted by John @ 3/08/2007 09:13:00 AM 0 comments

Eight children, including an infant, and one adult were killed when
their Bronx home caught fire. Witnesses say a woman threw some of the
children through broken windows in an attempt to save their lives. Ten
others are injured, five seriously. 

# posted by John @ 3/08/2007 08:59:00 AM 0 comments

A FORMER U.S. NAVY SAILOR HAS BEEN CHARGED WITH PASSING MILITARY SECRETS
TO AL QAEDA-RELATED WEB SITES IN 2001

# posted by John @ 3/07/2007 08:24:00 PM 0 comments

FLORIDA JURY FINDS MAN ACCUSED OF MURDERING 9-YEAR-OLD JESSICA LUNSFORD
GUILTY

# posted by John @ 3/07/2007 04:27:00 PM 0 comments

Credit Card Hearings:
The average American family has eight credit cards -- pieces of plastic
that have become essential to the American economy. The companies that
provide those credit cards are hugely profitable, and today, lawmakers
are accusing them of unfair charges that are pushing their customers
into debt.

# posted by John @ 3/07/2007 02:46:00 PM 0 comments

2nd-alarm fire erupts in Mt. Sinai Medical Ctr.

A second-alarm fire burned through a doctor's office on the seventh
floor of an Upper East Side hospital.

# posted by John @ 3/07/2007 12:06:00 PM 0 comments

Verdict about Libby, GOP says; Democrats say it's bigger
---------------------------------------------
A federal jury today convicted former vice presidential aide Lewis
"Scooter"
Libby of lying to FBI agents and grand jurors investigating how a CIA
officer's identity was leaked to reporters in 2003.

Al-Qaeda bomb expert, 5 terror suspects arrested in Afghanistan
---------------------------------------------
Afghan and U.S.-led coalition forces arrested a suspected al-Qaeda bomb
expert
and five other terrorist suspects Wednesday in eastern Afghanistan, as
NATO
forces in the south fought Taliban militants in the second day of the
alliance's largest-ever offensive in Afghanistan.

Senate probing credit card fees that hit unwary users hard
---------------------------------------------
A Senate panel is examining complex billing and interest-rate practices
for
credit cards that critics say confuse consumers and can push them deeper
into
debt.

MONEY

Dow's bounce may not signal recovery
---------------------------------------------
A 157-point Dow gain is normally a sign of a healthy stock market. But
when a big up day like Tuesday follows a 736-point drop in the previous
nine sessions, the rally comes with its fair share of caveats and
question marks.

Positive workplace drug tests at 18-year low
---------------------------------------------
Drug use by employees and job applicants tested in 2006 declined to the
lowest
level in 18 years, according to data to be released today by Quest
Diagnostics, the nation's largest provider of employment drug testing.

Planting halted after genetically altered trait found in rice
---------------------------------------------
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is telling farmers not to plant a
popular
long-grain rice variety after the discovery of unapproved genetically
engineered traits in what's supposed to be conventional rice.

# posted by John @ 3/07/2007 10:14:00 AM 0 comments

A Boeing 737 carrying 140 people burst into flames as it overshot an
airport runway on Java in Indonesia. At least 21 deaths have been
confirmed and authorities and witnesses believe more than 100 people
survived. 

# posted by John @ 3/07/2007 09:43:00 AM 0 comments

A second-alarm fire is burning on the seventh floor of an Upper East
Side hospital.

# posted by John @ 3/07/2007 09:39:00 AM 0 comments

A Boeing 757 airliner burst into flames on landing at Yogyakarta airport
in Indonesian, witnesses say.

# posted by John @ 3/06/2007 08:45:00 PM 0 comments

A Boeing 757 airliner burst into flames on landing at Yogyakarta airport
in Indonesian, witnesses say.

# posted by John @ 3/06/2007 08:45:00 PM 0 comments

Former White House aide Lewis "Scooter" Libby has been found guilty on
multiple counts in the CIA leak case.

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

Two suicide bombers struck a crowd of Shiite pilgrims today in Hilla,
Iraq, killing at least 47 people and wounding at least 117.

# posted by John @ 3/06/2007 11:00:00 AM 0 comments

The death count has jumped to more than 90 people killed in a suicide
attack on Shiite pilgrims in Hillah.

# posted by John @ 3/06/2007 10:11:00 AM 0 comments

BUSH APPOINTS FORMER HHS SEC'Y DONNA SHALALA AND FORMER SEN. BOB DOLE TO
HEAD COMMISSION TO REVIEW VETERANS FACILITIES NATIONWIDE

# posted by John @ 3/06/2007 10:05:00 AM 0 comments

Breaking News:

BUSH APPOINTS FORMER HHS SEC'Y DONNA SHALALA AND FORMER SEN. BOB DOLE TO
HEAD COMMISSION TO REVIEW VETERANS FACILITIES NATIONWIDE

# posted by John @ 3/06/2007 10:02:00 AM 0 comments

Tests reveal blood clot in Cheney's leg
---------------------------------------------
Doctors discovered a blood clot in Vice President Dick Cheney's left
leg
Monday, a condition that could be fatal if left untreated.

NASA astronaut Lisa Nowak may have stumbled across steamy e-mails sent
by rival
---------------------------------------------
NASA astronaut Lisa Nowak's bizarre 900-mile road trip to confront a
romantic
rival may have been sparked when she uncovered steamy e-mails sent to
her
boyfriend by the other woman, documents released Monday showed.

9 U.S. Soldiers killed in Iraq bombing
---------------------------------------------
Nine U.S. soldiers died in two separate incidents north of Baghdad, the
military said Tuesday.

# posted by John @ 3/06/2007 09:50:00 AM 0 comments

The U.S. military says nine soldiers were killed and four were wounded
in separate incidents north of Baghdad. On the same day in separate
attacks, 38 people were killed by a blast at a book market and seven
Shiite pilgrims were shot to death.

# posted by John @ 3/06/2007 09:32:00 AM 0 comments

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

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

# posted by John @ 3/05/2007 01:23:00 PM 0 comments

Congress Vows Swift Action On Walter Reed

Congress opened hearings into the scandal over substandard conditions
for wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The head of the
House oversight committee said "serious reforms need to happen...
immediately."

# posted by John @ 3/05/2007 11:47:00 AM 0 comments

NATO airstrike in Afghanistan kills 9
---------------------------------------------
A NATO airstrike hit a house during a firefight between Western troops
and
militants, killing nine Afghans who lived there, Afghan officials said
Monday.

U.N. nuclear watchdog meeting to focus on problems with Iran, progress
on
N.Korea
---------------------------------------------
Key members of the U.N. atomic watchdog agency gathered Monday for a
session
on approving the suspension of dozens of technical aid programs to Iran
as
part of Security Council sanctions meant to punish Tehran for its
nuclear
defiance.

26 killed in Baghdad suicide bombing
---------------------------------------------
A suicide car bomber struck a busy commercial district Monday, killing
at
least 26 people and injuring more than 50, police said

MONEY

Homeowners stuck as lenders cinch standards
---------------------------------------------
Edward Booker is one of nearly 3 million homeowners with
adjustable-rate
mortgages who've had trouble paying their bills. And, like Booker, many
of
them won't be able to refinance their loans once the interest rates
start
rising. At that point, they'll have to tighten their belts, sell their
homes
or lose them through foreclosure.

HD Radio gets big boost from Wal-Mart
---------------------------------------------
Radio stations eager to promote their growing array of free digital
broadcasts
get a potent new ally Monday as Wal-Mart (WMT) starts selling receivers
for
the technology known as HD Radio.

Restaurants tighten credit card security
---------------------------------------------
Restaurant chains under mounting pressure are serving up new ways to
shield
customers from credit card fraud.

# posted by John @ 3/05/2007 10:46:00 AM 0 comments