National
Bhutto’s widower wins Pakistan’s presidency
DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE PRESS SERVICES
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Asif Ali Zardari, the widower of assassinated former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, was elected president of Pakistan on Saturday by a wide margin. - Sunday, September 7, 2008
Plan to take over mortgage giants put in high gear
DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE PRESS SERVICES
The government’s planned takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, expected to be announced as early as this weekend, came together hurriedly after advisers poring over the companies’ books for the Treasury Department concluded that Freddie Mac’s accounting methods had overstated its capital cushion, according to regulatory officials briefed on the matter. - Sunday, September 7, 2008
Lessons of Katrina a help with Gustav
BY AMYJO BROWN
Efforts to help those who fled Hurricane Gustav find shelter in Arkansas and other states were widely viewed as a success by Arkansas officials and community organizers although plans set up to deal with evacuees faltered, they said, when it came time to help people return home. - Sunday, September 7, 2008
Restaurants reshuffle as diners look for deals
BY LAURA STEVENS
Americans are seeking lower-priced options when they eat out. - Sunday, September 7, 2008
Obama, McCain speak to AARP
DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE PRESS SERVICES
Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama criticized Republican John McCain’s approach to Social Security on Saturday, an approach he said would undermine the program. McCain said he would preserve Social Security. - Sunday, September 7, 2008
Lawmakers seek more anthrax-case details
BY SCOTT SHANE AND ERIC LICHTBLAU THE NEW YORK TIMES
WASHINGTON — A month after the FBI declared that an Army scientist was the anthrax killer, leading members of Congress are demanding more information about the seven-year investigation, saying they do not think the bureau has proved its case. - Sunday, September 7, 2008
Swazi king celebrates 40th birthday in style
BY CLARE NULLIS THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MBABANE, Swaziland — The Swazi king, bare-chested and wearing a traditional leopardskin loincloth, celebrated his 40th birthday and his nation’s 40th independence day in lavish style Saturday: hosting an extravaganza that contrasted sharply with the poverty of his subjects. - Sunday, September 7, 2008
Children flock to terror suspect’s shrine
BY ROBERT F. WORTH THE NEW YORK TIMES
NABATIYE, Lebanon — The children crowd forward around the glass case, eager for a glimpse of the militant’s bloodstained clothes. His belt is on display, along with the shoes he died in, scarred with shrapnel. The battered desk where he planned military operations still has his box of pencils on it, his in box, his cell phone. - Sunday, September 7, 2008
Bush faults Congress about offshore drilling
BY DEB RIECHMANN THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — President Bush says that if Congress doesn’t permit offshore drilling to increase U.S. oil supplies and possibly ease gasoline prices, lawmakers should not expect voters to support them in November. - Sunday, September 7, 2008
Partial rings seen at 2 Saturn moons
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
PASADENA, Calif. — The latest images from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft reportedly show faint, partial rings orbiting with two of Saturn’s small inner moons, scientists said. - Sunday, September 7, 2008
Thousands take cover as Ike smacks Turks and Caicos
DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE PRESS SERVICES
KEY WEST, Fla. — Hurricane Ike slammed into the Turks and Caicos on Saturday as a ferocious Category 4 storm, raking the low-lying island chain with shrieking winds as thousands hunkered down at home or in emergency shelters. - Sunday, September 7, 2008
Feedings turn bears into home invaders
BY ANN M. SIMMONS LOS ANGELES TIMES
PINE MOUNTAIN CLUB, Calif. — It’s one of the oldest appeals in the forest: Please don’t feed the bears. But in many communities across California, that’s exactly what’s happening, sometimes with deadly consequences for the bears. - Sunday, September 7, 2008
Fuel prices slow but don’t stop RVs
BY BOB MOEN THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. — In the heart of the park on a recent warm day, all 358 spaces at the Fishing Bridge Recreational Vehicle Park were jammed with RVs and camping equipment. - Sunday, September 7, 2008
Former lawmaker to go on trial in N.J.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MOUNT LAUREL, N.J. — A former New Jersey lawmaker with a national reputation for pushing welfare-policy change is facing charges of using his political clout to land no-work government jobs as a way to boost his income and increase his pension benefits — from $28,000 a year to $81,000. - Sunday, September 7, 2008
Experts: Emissions rule will raise mower prices
BY MEGAN GREENWELL THE WASHINGTON POST
WASHINGTON — Joe Hall was unequivocal about what he expects new emissions standards for lawn mowers will mean for his small lawn-care business. - Sunday, September 7, 2008
Union walks, but Boeing won’t stop work
BY MICHELINE MAYNARD THE NEW YORK TIMES
The Boeing Co., whose order books are bulging with demand for its planes, was hit by its second major strike in three years early Saturday, when the union that represents 27,000 machinists in Washington state, Oregon and Kansas walked off the job. - Sunday, September 7, 2008
Democrats enlist at least 2 million voters since 2006
BY JULIE PACE AND STEPHEN OHLEMACHER THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
CLAIRTON, Pa. — Five days a week, Linda Graham trolls tattered neighborhoods of this once-thriving steel city outside Pittsburgh for unregistered voters she can sign up as Democrats — one of thousands of unknown volunteers whose work outside the limelight has already altered the basic arithmetic of the November election. - Sunday, September 7, 2008
Nuclear supply group OKs U.S.-India deal
BY WILLIAM J. KOLE THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
VIENNA, Austria — The U.S. gained key international backing Saturday for a plan to sell peaceful nuclear technology to India, a South Asia powerhouse that has tested atomic weapons but has refused to sign global nonproliferation accords. - Sunday, September 7, 2008
Medvedev: Russia more forceful after war with Georgia
BY MIKE ECKEL THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MOSCOW — President Dmitry Medvedev again put the West on notice that Moscow will exert its military and economic might with new determination, saying Saturday that “Russia is a nation to be reckoned with” after its war with Georgia. - Sunday, September 7, 2008
Rock slide kills 24 in Cairo outskirts At least 35 injured; rescue officials fear many more are trapped
BY MAGGIE MICHAEL THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
CAIRO, Egypt — Massive boulders crashed down on an Egyptian shantytown Saturday on the outskirts of the capital, killing at least 24 people, authorities said. Rescuers were digging by hand to reach any survivors. - Sunday, September 7, 2008
Way to end N. Korea impasse seen
BY AUDRA ANG THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BEIJING — The United States will move quickly to take North Korea off its list of state sponsors of terrorism if nuclear negotiators can cobble together rules to verify the regime’s nuclear programs, America’s top nuclear envoy said Saturday. - Sunday, September 7, 2008
Body found in hotel curled in a suitcase
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
TOKYO — The dead body of an unidentified woman was found curled up in a suitcase in a Tokyo hotel room, a day after the foul smell of her body prompted the evacuation of dozens of guests, police said Saturday. - Sunday, September 7, 2008
Car bomber’s blast kills 6, injures 54 at Iraqi market
BY ROBERT H. REID THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BAGHDAD — A suicide car bomber blasted an outdoor market Saturday in a northern Iraqi city, killing six people and wounding 54, police and hospital authorities said. - Sunday, September 7, 2008
The world in brief
— COMPILED FROM PRESS SERVICES
QUOTE OF THE DAY “To those who would say that the People’s Party or the presidency would be controversial under our guardianship, under our stewardship, I would say, listen to democracy.” Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistani presidentelect, at a dinner with supporters Saturday at the prime minister’s residence Article, 1A Visit to Armenia historic for Turk ISTANBUL, Turkey — Turkey’s president arrived in Armenia on Saturday, the first visit by a Turkish leader in the two nations’ history. - Sunday, September 7, 2008
Names and faces
DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE PRESS SERVICES
Lindsay Lohan and Samantha Ronson sat in the front row for the Saturday morning presentation of Ronson’s sister Charlotte’s spring collection at New York Fashion Week, where they were immediately swarmed by photographers who brushed past other famous folks like Sean Lennon to get shots of the actress and DJ. - Sunday, September 7, 2008
The nation in brief
— COMPILED FROM PRESS SERVICES
QUOTE OF THE DAY “We have to remain vigilant. We have to remain focused.” Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, issuing a state of emergency in advance of Hurricane Ike, expected to reach the state Tuesday Article, 5A Teen hits police car; officer dies PHILADELPHIA — A teenager suspected of driving intoxicated smashed his sport utility vehicle into a police car during a chase, killing one of two officers in the cruiser, authorities said Saturday. - Sunday, September 7, 2008
TV news shows
— The Associated Press
Lineup of guests for today’s TV news shows: ABC’s This Week — Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama. 9 a.m., KHBS/KHOG, Channel 40/29, Fort Smith/Fayetteville. - Sunday, September 7, 2008
In the news
Darren Aronofsky saw his film The Wrestler, about an athlete forced into retirement, take the 65th Venice Film Festival’s top award, the Golden Lion, with the director dedicating the prize to wrestlers “who just want to entertain and are willing to sacrifice their bodies and their souls for it.” Sir Richard Branson, the British billionaire and Virgin Group chairman, plans to chase the record for a trans-Atlantic crossing in a single-hulled sailboat, calling the current top time of six days, 17 hours, 52 minutes and 39 seconds “the greatest sailing record of all.” Bob Brower, president of Point Loma Nazarene University, said a dormitory director at the Southern California school has been fired after protests over a hazing incident in which male students were forcibly marched to the ocean for a 2 a.m. swim, noting that state and federal law ban such “coercive behavior.” Umaru Yar’Adua, Nigeria’s president, returned to the West African country after more than two weeks in Saudi Arabia, where he reportedly underw - Sunday, September 7, 2008
At 6.1%, rate of joblessness a 5-year high
DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE PRESS SERVICES
The unemployment rate jumped to 6.1 percent in August, its highest level in five years, as the erosion of the job market accelerated over the summer, the government reported Friday. - Saturday, September 6, 2008
New foreclosures set hottest pace
DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
Foreclosures accelerated in the second quarter to the fastest pace in nearly three decades as interest rates increased and home values fell, prompting more Americans to walk away from homes they couldn’t refinance or sell. - Saturday, September 6, 2008
