Links to the News

Dawn, December 28, 2007 Image from newspaper's Web site

December 28, 2007: A Page One editorial in the Karachi, Pakistan newspaper, DAWN:

EDITORIAL: A dream snuffed out

Benazir Bhutto is dead. She died amidst her supporters who revered her, and her father before her, and from whom she derived her strength, her legitimacy as a leader. She died because the state proved inadequate in protecting her.

She died at the hands of an assassin, a suicide bomber, God knows at whose behest. She epitomised courage and courted death because she said it was important for her to reclaim the political space lost to the extremists by the current government's policies.

Among sinking hearts, an emptiness, and doom and gloom many questions will need to be answered. Did she die because she was a woman politician swimming against the tide of obscurantism? Did she die because she was in the process of staging a comeback after being dismissed twice on charges of corruption and misconduct? Did she die because she represented the aspirations of millions of her supporters -- supporters so committed that they refused to blame the party leadership for many unfulfilled dreams?

The reception accorded to her as she returned home, ending years in exile on October 18, was a demonstration of such selfless dedication by several hundred thousand supporters. More than 150 people, mostly PPP activists, died in the bombing aimed at her that night in Karachi. Her supporters knew very well she was the target and yet thronged each venue she appeared at. Such was their bond.

While we appeal for restraint, the anger and the frustration of PPP supporters is understandable. The sniper's bullet has snatched their dreams from them. Will we ever know who killed her?

She died literally yards from where Liaquat Ali Khan was felled by an assassin's bullet and probably a mile from where her father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, had his life snuffed out by the hangman's noose. We know nothing about Liaquat Ali Khan's murder and very little about Z.A. Bhutto's killing beyond what his supporters say was a judicial murder.

No amount of condemnation will compensate for the sense of loss that fills millions of hearts across the land today. We can't even begin to imagine the grief of her family who have been robbed of the jewel in their crown.

It is a tribute to the tenacity of Ms Bhutto, the politician par excellence, that she kept her father's political legacy alive in a male-dominated society. He had championed the popular cause and had given a sense of dignity to the common man in Pakistan. Benazir Bhutto had the mettle to do the same.

The repercussions of her murder will continue to unfold for months, even years. What is clear is that Pakistan's political landscape will never be the same having lost one of its finest daughters.
_________________________________________________

East Bay Daily News, December 27, 2007 Newseum Image

December 27, 2007: An excerpt from a San Jose Mercury News story that appeared in the Berkeley, California newspaper, the East Bay Daily News:

Questions linger in fatal tiger mauling
Experts express doubt animal could have escaped, side with human error

By JOHN WOOLFOLK, DANA HULL and BARBARA FEDER / Mercury News

Authorities were at a loss Wednesday to explain how a 350-pound Siberian tiger escaped its San Francisco Zoo enclosure on Christmas, killing a San Jose teenager and badly mauling two other men before police shot it to death.

But zoo officials insisted the doorway into the tiger exhibit was locked, raising two disturbing possibilities: either that isn't true, or the precautions in place at the widely respected zoo were insufficient and could force a nationwide rethinking of tiger enclosures.

Zookeepers and tiger experts across the country doubted the animal could have leaped or climbed out of its walled and moated exhibit, a design employed at zoos around the country.

"I think it will come out that it was human error," said Mary Lynn Haven, director of Tiger Haven, a sanctuary in Tennessee that keeps more than 200 tigers, lions and other big cats. "I do not in any way think this animal scaled a 16- to 20-foot wall. I just don't think that's possible."
_______________________________________________

Le Monde, December 26, 2007 Newseum Image

December 26, 2007: The Paris, France newspaper, Le Monde, remembers jazz pianist Oscar Peterson, who passed away earlier this week.

Here is an excerpt from a story on the BBC News Web site:

Tributes paid to Oscar Peterson

Tributes have been paid to jazz pianist and composer Oscar Peterson, after his death of kidney failure at his home in Toronto, at the age of 82.

Canada's Governor General, Michaelle Jean, said he was a "national treasure". Fellow pianist, Diana Krall, said he was "my person I looked up to".

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said he had been a "bright light of jazz".

Peterson was one of jazz's most recorded musicians, and was famous for his fast-playing virtuoso style.

He made more than 200 albums and won eight Grammy awards, including a lifetime achievement honour in 1997.

He released his first single at the age of 19 and performed with greats such as Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Duke Ellington and Nat "King" Cole.
_________________________________________________

The Patriot Ledger, December 24, 2007 Newseum Image

December 24, 2007: An excerpt from a 1897 New York Sun editorial reprinted in the Quincy, Massachusetts newspaper, The Patriot Ledger:

Is There a Santa Claus?

We take pleasure in answering at once and thus prominently the communication below, expressing at the same time our great gratification that its faithful author is numbered among the friends of The Sun:

Dear Editor:

I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says `If you see it in The Sun it's so.' Please tell me the truth: Is there a Santa Claus?

Virginia O'Hanlon.
115 West Ninety-Fifth Street.
New York City

Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal life with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.
_______________________________________________________

Los Angeles Times, December 21, 2007 Newseum Image

December 21, 2007: An excerpt from a story in the Los Angeles Times:

Zell closes deal for The Times
Tycoon plans to give Tribune properties greater local control. The unusual transaction involves heavy debt.

By THOMAS S. MULLIGAN and JAMES RAINEY 

CHICAGO -- For the second time in eight years, control of the Los Angeles Times changed hands Thursday, passing from a staid Chicago conglomerate to a private company headed by an unpredictable and colorful billionaire, in a debt-heavy deal that creates tremendous opportunities and risks for one of America's top newspapers.

New Chairman and Chief Executive Sam Zell took the reins of Tribune Co. and promised a broad shake-up that would decentralize power to The Times and other local business units, which include KTLA-TV Channel 5, the Chicago Tribune and nearly 30 other newspapers and television stations. Employees and civic leaders in L.A. greeted completion of the $8.2-billion transaction and the promise of local control with cautious optimism. Zell's verve and professed confidence in the news business charmed them, even as they worried that the company's onerous financial obligations might force staff cuts that would diminish The Times.

The unusual deal gives Tribune's 20,000 employees the lion's share of the newly private company's stock while pushing further into the rear-view mirror the nearly 120-year ownership of The Times by the Chandler family, who turned the newspaper into a political, economic and journalistic powerhouse.
___________________________________________________

Denik, December 20, 2007 Newseum Image

December 20, 2007: The Prague, Czech Republic newspaper, Denik, reports on the naming of Russian President Vladimir Putin as Time magazine's Person of the Year.

Here is an excerpt from a BBC News report:
Putin named 'Person of the Year'

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been named as Time Magazine's "Person of the Year".

The title was awarded to Mr Putin for his "extraordinary feat of leadership" in bringing stability to Russia, said Time's managing editor.

Former US Vice President Al Gore and Harry Potter author JK Rowling were runners-up for the title.

Last year the award was given to all members of the public who had created or downloaded content on the internet.

'Not an honour'

The magazine has given out its Person of the Year award every year since 1927.

Previous recipients have included US Presidents George W Bush and Bill Clinton, and Microsoft founder Bill Gates.

The title is "not an honour", but is given as "a clear-eyed recognition of the world as it is and of the most powerful individuals and forces shaping that world -- for better or for worse", according to the magazine.

Controversial recipients in the past have included Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin and Ayatollah Khomeini.
____________________________________________________

The New York Times, December 19, 2007 Newseum Image

December 19, 2007: An excerpt from a story in The New York Times:

F.C.C. Reshapes Rules Limiting Media Industry

By STEPHEN LABATON

WASHINGTON -- The Federal Communications Commission approved two new rules on Tuesday that are likely to reshape the nation's media landscape by setting new parameters for the size and scope of the largest news and cable companies.

One rule would tighten the reins on the cable television industry. By stipulating that no one company can control more than 30 percent of the market, the rule introduces fresh regulation to an industry where there has been little of it, angering both the cable industry and Republican commissioners, who favor a free-market approach.

The other rule, which gives owners of newspapers more leeway to buy radio and television stations in the largest cities, is a step in the direction of deregulation. It is intended to help the newspaper industry, which is suffering from dwindling advertising revenue, and to recognize that the historical conditions that gave rise to cross-ownership restrictions have changed, now that more news sources are available on the Internet and cable television.

But the change drew criticism from newspaper executives, who said it was too modest to be meaningful, and from prominent lawmakers and commission Democrats, who called it a Christmas present to the nation's largest conglomerates.
______________________________________________

OC Post, December 18, 2007 Newseum Image

December 18, 2007: An excerpt from a story in the Santa Ana, California newspaper, the OC Post:

Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien will return to taping new episodes without writers

By DAVID BAUDER
The Associated Press

Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien will return to late-night TV with fresh episodes on Jan. 2, two months after the writers' strike sent them into repeats, the network said Monday.

The "Tonight" show and "Late Night" will return without writers supplying jokes. NBC said the decision was similar to what happened in 1988, when Johnny Carson brought back the "Tonight" show two months into a writers' strike.

A similar return -- with writers -- appears in the works for David Letterman. The union representing striking writers said over the weekend that it was willing to negotiate deals with individual production companies, including Letterman's Worldwide Pants.

The strike left the nation bereft of fresh late-night laughs for two months as the presidential race heated up. Jon Stewart's "The Daily Show" on Comedy Central has also been shut down during the strike.
________________________________________________

The Sun, December 17, 2007 Newseum Image

December 17, 2007: An excerpt from a story in the San Bernardino, California newspaper, The Sun:

Want a Wii under the tree?
Shortage of consoles drives frenzy

By JOE NELSON 

Luis Bravo had spent 26 days searching for the elusive Nintendo Wii video-game system as a Christmas present for his 8-year-old grandson.

As of Friday, he was still searching.

"On eBay, they're going for $1,200 to $1,400, and there'll probably be even more by Christmas," said Bravo, 64, of Fontana, as he stood in an aisle at the San Bernardino Best Buy. "I got a list of phone numbers in my truck. I've called everyone: Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Circuit City, Target, Radio Shack. From here, I go to Costco."

Like many consumers across the Inland Empire, the country and around the globe, Bravo's search for the most in-demand gift this holiday season has been met with continual failure.

Supply for the popular gaming console is low and demand excessively high, leaving many gaming aficionados to speculate Nintendo is intentionally creating a supply shortage to hype a product launched more than a year ago.

Nintendo officials say that couldn't be further from the truth, and they, more than anybody, want to see the coveted consoles in the hands of as many people as possible.

____________________________________________________

Newsday, December 14, 2007 Newseum Image

December 14, 2007:
We have created a separate "Page One Today" about the Mitchell Report on baseball and steroids.

_____________________________________________________

Tulsa World, December 13, 2007 Newseum Image

December 13, 2007: An excerpt from a story in the Oklahoma newspaper, the Tulsa World:

All across town, people are coping

By RHETT MORGAN and GINNIE GRAHAM

North, south, east and west, the problems were the same across Tulsa on Wednesday: No power and cold temperatures.

But a check with neighborhoods in every part of the city also showed that the spirit was also universal: The challenge was surmountable with determination, good humor, self-reliance and cooperation.

Here's a look at how people in some Tulsa neighborhoods were dealing with this week's ice storm disaster.

Stacy Lynn: Amid a backyard cluttered with the remnants of a fallen oak tree, Bob Helton and son-in-law Ben McBroom stood strong, a pair of military brothers-in-arms.

"Ex-Marine, ex-Ranger, we're not worried," Helton, a Vietnam War veteran and former U.S. Army Ranger, said of the worst power outage in Oklahoma history.
___________________________________________________

Lawrence Journal-World, December 12, 2007 Newseum Image

December 12, 2007: An excerpt from a story in the Kansas newspaper, the Lawrence Journal-World:

Storm ices Midwest

By MIKE BELT and SOPHIA MAINES 

Lawrence got lucky.

The storm that knocked out power for thousands of Kansans and spurred Gov. Kathleen Sebelius on Monday to declare a state of emergency for all counties passed through the city without the mayhem that many had braced for.

"I think it was a minimal storm compared to what it could have been," said Jennifer Schack, 6News meteorologist.

The nearby school districts of Baldwin City, Eudora, Tonganoxie, McLouth, Oskaloosa, Basehor-Linwood and Perry-Lecompton canceled classes today, the second day in a row.

Lawrence public schools are in session today. Lawrence School Superintendent Randy Weseman informed the Journal-World of the decision to hold classes on Wednesday just after 5 a.m.

"We have driven all the bus routes, and all the parking lots and sidewalks have been treated so we are in really good shape," Weseman said.
__________________________________________________

The Daily Telegraph, December 11, 2007 Newseum Image

December 11, 2007: An excerpt from a story in the London, England newspaper, The Daily Telegraph:

Conrad Black jailed for six years

By JAMES QUINN and ANDREW PIERCE 

Lord Black of Crossharbour, once one of the world's most powerful media tycoons, was sentenced to six and a half years in an American jail yesterday for criminal fraud and obstructing justice.

Black, 63, who continues to profess his innocence, showed no emotion as Judge Amy St Eve passed sentence in a Chicago court, under guidelines that could have seen him serve up to eight years. He will also pay a fine of $125,000 (£61,000).

Prosecutors had asked for a jail term of between 15 and 30 years, which could have led to Black dying in prison.

Judge St Eve told Black: "No one is above the law in the United States. I frankly cannot understand how someone of your stature ... could engage in the conduct you engaged in."

The Canadian-born peer and three co-defendants were found to have defrauded Hollinger International, of which Black was chairman and chief executive, of $6.1 million (£2.9 million) by skimming money from the sale of hundreds of newspaper companies.
________________________________________________

Rocky Mountain News, December 10, 2007 Newseum Image

December 10, 2007: An excerpt from a story in the Denver newspaper, the Rocky Mountain News:

Danger and death in Arvada
Missionaries were training to serve in violent regions

By JEAN TORKELSON 

The annual Christmas banquet had ended a few hours before, and the exuberant young missionaries had scattered around the dormitory to watch a movie, chat a bit, or turn in for the night.

About 12:30 a.m. Sunday, a young man appeared on the doorstep of the local chapter of Youth With a Mission, 12750 W. 63rd Ave. The missionary outreach, pronounced "Y-WAM," is part of a Hawaii-based network of 1,100 global missionary training centers for young Christians.

The late night visitor wasn't exactly a stranger. Some of the students recognized him as the fellow who had stopped by earlier in the day to hang out with them.

"He looked like a regular kid," YWAM's Denver director, Peter Warren, said he was told by his students. Witnesses told police that the gunman was a 20-year-old white male, wearing a dark jacket and beanie. He may have glasses or a beard.

The young man spent 30 minutes in the building before the shooting, Arvada police Chief Don Wick said.

At one point he asked to use the restroom. Finally, he asked if he could stay the night.

When the answer was no, he pulled a handgun and killed two young staffers and wounded two others.
__________________________________________________

The Denver Post, December 10, 2007 Newseum Image

December 10, 2007: An excerpt from a story in The Denver Post:

Deadly attacks at mission, church may be linked
"Reason to believe" in connection

By ALLISON SHERRY 

Arvada police said Sunday they have "reason to believe" that deadly attacks at two religious institutions 70 miles apart that left five dead and six injured are probably linked.

Arvada Police Chief Don Wick said his agency sent officers to share notes with Colorado Springs police. And late Sunday, authorities from both agencies were searching a home in southeastern Arapahoe County they say could be related to the case.

"We have reason to believe that the two may be related," Wick said at a news briefing.

Two people were fatally shot at a housing complex for missionaries in training at 12:30 a.m. Sunday in Arvada. Thirteen hours later, at Colorado Springs' evangelical New Life Church, a parishioner was killed and four people were injured before the shooter was shot dead by a New Life security guard.
___________________________________________________

The Gazette, December 10, 2007 Newseum Image

December 10, 2007: An excerpt from a story in the Colorado Springs newspaper, The Gazette: 

Death at New Life
Attacks in Springs and Arvada

By TOM ROEDER

About 7,000 New Life Church members were spilling into the parking lot after Sunday services when a gunman fired into the crowd, killing two and wounding three, in a crime that police linked to an attack on a missionary dormitory near Denver.

The gunman was killed by an armed security guard at the church.

The Colorado Springs shooting happened hours after two people were killed and two wounded at a dormitory for Youth With a Mission in Arvada, a Denver suburb. The missionary group has an office at New Life's World Prayer Center, and the Arvada police chief said "there's reason to believe" the two incidents were related.

A police dispatcher in Arvada said Sunday night that detectives from his agency and Colorado Springs were executing a search warrant at a house in Arapahoe County that could relate to both incidents. _____________________________________________________

Lincoln Journal Star, December 7, 2007 Newseum Image

December 7, 2007: An excerpt from a story in the Nebraska newspaper, the Lincoln Journal Star:

Lincoln's Scharf was 'concerned, genuine'

By CINDY LANGE-KUBICK 

At 7:30 Wednesday morning, Gary Scharf stuck a letter in his mailbox at the end of his driveway on South 35th Street.

Two doors down, Brian Petersen was doing the same.

Petersen and his family moved into Pine Lake Heights in 2005, and Gary was never a stranger.

Once, when a thunderstorm rolled through, the ag sales manager offered his garage for Petersen's car.

And when Petersen was deployed with the Army National Guard, Scharf kept an eye out for his wife and children.

When Scharf's son, Steven, graduated from high school, he gave his neighbor the boy's basketball hoop for his own youngsters.

"Concerned and genuine, that was Gary," said Petersen.

Wednesday morning, both men were running behind schedule.

They called to each other from their mailboxes.

Haven't seen you for a while, Petersen said.

Been busy, Scharf answered.

Six hours later, a 19-year-old walked into Von Maur at Westroads Mall in Omaha with a semi-automatic rifle.

Nine people died: six employees, the shooter, two shoppers.

Scharf, 48, was one of them.
_____________________________________________________

Omaha World-Herald, December 6, 2007 Newseum Image

December 6, 2007: An excerpt from a story in the Nebraska newspaper, the Omaha World-Herald:

Troubled teen wanted to die with notoriety

By KARYN SPENCER

Robert A. Hawkins made his wish come true Wednesday.

"I'm going to be famous now," the 19-year-old wrote in a suicide note before killing eight, wounding five and killing himself Wednesday afternoon at the Von Maur department store at Westroads Mall.

The shooting was the worst single day of violence in state history.

Hawkins, known as Robbie, was an emotionally troubled high school dropout who lost his job Wednesday and his girlfriend in the last two weeks, friends said.

The family he lived with said they saw no signs that he would hurt anyone other than himself.

Hawkins, 5-foot-7 and 128 pounds, moved in with his friend Will's family last year in the Quail Creek subdivision in Bellevue, said Will's mother, Debora Maruca.

The boys liked to target-and skeet-shoot at her family's cabin.

The night before the shooting, Hawkins and her sons showed Maruca an SKS semiautomatic Russian military rifle. She said she thinks the gun belonged to a member of Hawkins' family.

She didn't think much of it - it looked too old to work.

Hawkins took the weapon to the mall Wednesday afternoon, where he killed eight people and himself.
____________________________________________________

The Seattle Times, December 5, 2007 Newseum Image

December 5, 2007: An excerpt from a story in the Seattle, Washington newspaper, The Seattle Times:

Pilots fly into the face of storm danger

By SARA JEAN GREEN

On a nerve-racking flight from the Navy's Whidbey Island air station to Chehalis, helicopter pilot Lt. James Udall considered turning back more than once because of the wicked weather and lousy visibility.

But during the height of Monday's storm, Udall and his crew pressed on.

"Every aircraft that was down there took a risk just to get there," he said of the helicopters sent in by the Navy, Coast Guard and the King County Sheriff's Office. "No reasonable person would fly there unless people were really in distress."

When Udall's MH-60 Knighthawk touched down at the tiny airport in Chehalis about noon Monday, a Lewis County sheriff's deputy climbed aboard -- and provided critical knowledge about the area that helped speed the crew's rescue mission.

From the air, flood-stricken Lewis County "looked like a small-scale Katrina," said Udall, who flew rescue missions after the famous hurricane slammed the Gulf Coast in 2005.
_______________________________________________

Seattle Post-Intelligencer, December 5, 2007 Newseum Image

December 5, 2007: An excerpt from a story in the Seattle, Washington newspaper, the Seattle Post Intelligencer:

At least 5 dead in storm; mudslides, avalanches follow deluge
Copters rescue more than 150 people from flooded areas

By CHRIS McGANN

CENTRALIA -- South of here, just past the Skookumchuck River, Interstate 5 ends. In place of Western Washington's main freeway lies a vast expanse of muddy water.

"I've lived here 26 years, and I've never run a jet boat down I-5 before," said Adam Boehm, a volunteer who is helping get supplies to people who need them. "It's pretty unbelievable."

Trees, trash bins and shipping containers bobbed on the brown water as volunteers in boats helped ferry food and other items from a local Wal-Mart to people cut off by flooding.

Department of Transportation officials said the highway -- which is under as much as 10 feet of water along a three-mile stretch -- would not reopen until Thursday or Friday and only then if the road is not seriously damaged.

The lake that I-5 became is the most visible example of the mess that remains throughout Western Washington because of flooding from this week's storm.
________________________________________________

Kitsap Sun, December 4, 2007 Newseum Image

December 4, 2007: An excerpt from a story in the Bremerton, Washington newspaper, the Kitsap Sun:

Washed Away
Records fell. Floodwaters rose. Roadways were ravaged. And the effects of epic rainfall may be felt around Kitsap and North Mason counties for months.

By KITSAP SUN STAFF

Unprecedented rainfall pelted Kitsap County on Monday, closing roads, washing out bridges, and flooding homes and businesses.

A record 7.5 inches fell on the area during the 24-hour period ending at 8:30 a.m. Monday, and it kept dumping throughout the day.

"It's huge. I've been here almost 30 years, and I've never seen anything like this," said Lt. Charlie Rinard of Bremerton Fire Station 2, which has tracked rainfall in the county for the past 50 years.
________________________________________________

Kleine Zeitung, December 3, 2007 Newseum Image

December 3, 2007:
The Graz, Austria newspaper, Kleine Zeitung, reports on the recent elections in Russia and President Vladimir Putin's United Russia party.



__________________________________________________

Vanguardin Liberal, December 3, 2007 Newseum Image

December 3, 2007:
Page One news from the Columbia newspaper, Vanguardia Liberal, about the defeat of a Venezuelan referendum that would have given more constitutional power to President Hugo Chavez.



___________________________________________________

Philippine Daily Inquirer, November 30, 2007 Newseum Image

November 30, 2007: An excerpt from a story in the Makati, Philippines newspaper, the Philippine Daily Inquirer:

Trillanes revolt crushed

By VOLT CONTRERAS, GIL C. CABACUNGAN JR., DJ YAP and JULIE AURELIO

For the second time in the presidency of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the country's financial district came close to becoming a battle zone.

After a daring courtroom walkout that went unchecked by their security escorts, renegade officers on trial for the 2003 Oakwood mutiny -- led by Navy lieutenant and now Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV -- again sought to seize a posh Makati City hotel.

They expected civilian support and military defections for a people power uprising in a renewed call for the overthrow of the Arroyo administration.

But this time, government negotiators were not as patient, gave a shorter deadline, and -- with a swift tear gas attack -- forced the surrender of the rebel soldiers and a handful of allies from religious and leftist groups.
_______________________________________________

St. Petersburg Times, November 29, 2007 Newseum Image

November 29, 2007: An excerpt from a story in the St. Petersburg Times:

Stretch run starts here

By WES ALLISON

Never mind the niceties.

Barely five minutes into the Republican presidential debate Wednesday night in St. Petersburg, Rudy Giuliani and his self-appointed foil, Mitt Romney, were tussling over which of them coddled illegal immigrants more.

Then Romney got into it with Mike Huckabee, suggesting he was even worse for trying to help the children of illegal immigrants go to college.

And during the segment when candidates aired their own campaign commercials, Fred Thompson's spot said nothing about Fred Thompson: Instead, it hit Romney for once supporting abortion rights and Huckabee for raising taxes when he was governor of Arkansas.

"What's up with that?" moderator Anderson Cooper asked Thompson.

Thompson shrugged innocently.

"I wanted to give my buddies here a little extra air time," Thompson drawled. "What do you mean, What's up with it? These are their words."

And that was all before the first commercial break.
_______________________________________________

The Washington Post, November 28, 2007 Newseum Image

November 28, 2007: An excerpt from a story in The Washington Post:

Probe Begins in Taylor's Death

By AMY SHIPLEY and PETER WHORISKEY 

MIAMI, Nov. 27 -- Miami-Dade police launched a wide-ranging homicide investigation Tuesday into the death of Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor, who died at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami early in the morning after being shot in the upper thigh while confronting an intruder in his home.

Police said they were trying to determine whether a burglary at Taylor's house just over a week ago was related to what they described as a possible home invasion Monday, and whether Taylor was a random victim or targeted by the shooter.

"We're going to look at everything," Miami-Dade police spokesman Robert Williams said.

Taylor, 24, died at 3:30 a.m. after undergoing seven hours of surgery Monday. An autopsy was performed Tuesday afternoon, according to a spokesman in the Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner Department who declined to release further information.
______________________________________________

The Sun, November 28, 2007 Newseum Image

November 28, 2007: An excerpt from a story in the Baltimore newspaper, The Sun:

More talks pledged
Olmert, Abbas agree to aim for comprehensive settlement by end of next year

By DAVID NITKIN and DAVID WOOD 

The leaders of Israel and the Palestinian Authority agreed yesterday at a U.S.-sponsored conference in Annapolis to begin "vigorous, ongoing and continuous" negotiations to try to reach a comprehensive peace settlement by the end of next year.

President Bush read a joint agreement by the two sides at the start of a daylong gathering at the U.S. Naval Academy that illustrated both the promise and pitfalls that lie ahead. Middle East analysts said the agreement fell short of a breakthrough, and Bush emphasized that the pact was only a beginning to further negotiations.
______________________________________________

The Christian Science Monitor, Nov. 26, 2007 Newseum Image

November 26, 2007: An excerpt from a story in The Christian Science Monitor:

Pakistan: a new Sharif in town
The former prime minister's return on Sunday could fill the opposition's leadership void.

By SHAHAN MUFTI   

Islamabad, Pakistan -- The return Sunday of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who ended eight years of exile just one day before the deadline to register for parliamentary elections, adds a powerful wild card that could bring either political stability or continued discord to Pakistan in the run-up to the January vote, analysts say.

If Mr. Sharif decides to run in the elections, he is likely to pull in the rest of the political opposition -- including former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto -- with him. His candidacy could provide a much-needed sheen of legitimacy to the process. But if the two-time ex-premier heeds what many in his camp are suggesting and boycotts the election, remaining outside the political process, he could find himself leading a street movement.
_____________________________________________

Omaha World-Herald, November 21, 2007 Newseum Image

November 21, 2007: An excerpt from a story in the Omaha World-Herald:

With Many Thanks

By VERONICA STICKNEY

Daisy Friedman stretches her arms as far as they go and details the list.

Between her right hand and her left is an imaginary sheet of paper that holds her dreams for the future. She reads from it.

"I want to make desserts," she said. And ice cream and candy.

Her favorite food is chocolate, she said, and her favorite show is anything about cooking.

Her obsession with food is no mystery.

Daisy, 4, has been eating -- actually putting food in her mouth to chew, taste and swallow -- for only a little less than a year. For the first three years of her life, she relied on liquid food pumped directly into her stomach for nutrition.

In July 2006, she received a small bowel and liver transplant at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

Now, the world is before her. And Daisy seems to know it.
____________________________________________

El Nuevo Herald, November 20, 2007 Newseum Image

November 20, 2007:
A story about the devastating Bangladesh cyclone is featured on Page One of the Miami newspaper, El Nuevo Herald.





_____________________________________________

Blik, November 19, 2007 Newseum Image

November 19, 2007: The Kiev newspaper, Blik, reports on a recent Ukraine coal mine blast. Here is an excerpt from a story on the BBC Web site:

Fears grow for Ukrainian miners

Rescuers are searching for some 30 Ukrainian miners trapped deep underground after a blast that killed at least 70 others, officials say.

But fires are hindering rescue efforts in the Zasyadko mine in the eastern Donetsk region.

A mine union chief has played down the chances of finding many miners alive.

Sunday's blast, caused by a build-up of methane gas, occurred more than 1,000m (3,280ft) below ground in what was one of Ukraine's worst accidents in years.

Hundreds of desperate relatives rushed to the mine after hearing the news.

As grim-faced mine officials later emerged to announce the names of the victims, many in the crowd began weeping and several fainted.

Local authorities have now declared three days of mourning for the blast's victims.
____________________________________________

San Francisco Chronicle, November 16, 2007 Newseum Image

November 16, 2007: An excerpt from a story in the San Francisco Chronicle:

Barry Bonds indicted on 4 perjury counts, obstruction of justice

By LANCE WILLIAMS 

The perjury case against former Giants star Barry Bonds is built on documents seized in a federal raid on a Burlingame steroids lab and positive drug test results indicating that baseball's all-time home run king used steroids, court records show.

Bonds, perhaps the greatest hitter of his generation, was indicted Thursday on four counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice. He is accused of lying under oath in December 2003 when he told the grand jury that investigated the BALCO steroid ring that he had never used banned drugs.

The 43-year-old free-agent outfielder faces arraignment Dec. 7 in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, months of legal proceedings -- and a federal prison term of about 30 months if he is convicted at trial, legal experts said.

In the indictment, federal prosecutors said Bonds lied when he denied using a long list of banned drugs, including steroids, testosterone, human growth hormone and "the clear," the undetectable designer steroid marketed by BALCO.

Bonds also lied when he testified that his longtime personal trainer, Greg Anderson, had never injected him with drugs, the government contended. The trainer, who was imprisoned for contempt of court after he refused to testify against Bonds, was freed Thursday night, hours after Bonds' indictment was unsealed.
____________________________________________

El Mercurio, November 15, 2007 Newseum Image

November 15, 2007:
The Santiago, Chile newspaper, El Mercurio, describes the powerful earthquake that hit northern Chile.





______________________________________________

Las Vegas Sun, November 14, 2007 Newseum Image

November 14, 2007:
The Las Vegas Sun reports on the upcoming CNN Democratic presidential debate that will take place Thursday night in Las Vegas.


_______________________________________________

The Daily Telegraph, November 13, 2007 Newseum Image

November 13, 2007: An excerpt from an earlier Web site report from the London, England newspaper, The Daily Telegraph:

Huge fire at Olympic site in east London

By DUNCAN GARDHAM 

A huge fire broke out on the site of the London Olympics today sending a plume of black smoke into the air across central London.

Readers' photos | Email or text us your pictures or video

Fifteen fire engines and around 75 firefighters were called to the blaze at 12.06pm.

London Fire Brigade said the fire was at a single storey warehouse on Waterden Road, in Stratford, East London. A spokesman for Scotland Yard said they had no reports of explosions and the fire is not being treated as a terrorist incident.

Flickr photos of the fire
Google map: The east London fire
East London fire: Transport update

The London Ambulance Service said thay had sent two ambulances, a fast response car and an officer to the scene but there were no reports of casualties.

A spokesman for the Health Protection Agency said: "Our staff are liaising with the fire brigade but it is still unclear what was inside the warehouse. As in any large fire of this type, we advise people close by to stay indoors and keep their windows closed."
____________________________________________

Stars and Stripes, November 12, 2007 Newseum Image

November 12, 2007: An excerpt from a story in the European edition of Stars and Stripes:

Thousands mark 25th anniversary of Vietnam Veterans Memorial

By PATRICK THORNTON 

America's most controversial war gave way to its most memorable war memorial.

The polished black granite of the Vietnam War Memorial is engraved with 58,256 names of fallen soldiers, but its impact has gone far beyond those who died in Vietnam, their family members and Vietnam veterans. Veterans from ongoing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have come to the wall to help heal their wounds, and many Americans with no connections to recent wars visit the memorial.

On Veterans Day, 25 years after the Vietnam War Memorial was completed, thousands of veterans, their family members and others came to pay tribute to a memorial that has transcended generations and American culture. Vietnam veteran and retired Army Gen. Colin Powell gave the keynote address at the 25th anniversary ceremonies, which was led by Jan Scruggs, founder and President of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund.

Few, if any, ever imagined that two 75-foot pieces of rock that carve into the Earth could have ever meant this much to a nation or have been so cathartic to a generation of soldiers who fought in a tense, bloody and unpopular war.
_____________________________________________

Cape Cod Times, November 11, 2007 Newseum Image

November 11, 2007: An excerpt from a story in the Hyannis, Massachusetts newspaper, the Cape Cod Times:

A loss beyond words

By K.C. MYERS

Known throughout the world as a pugnacious, fast-living literary genius, those in Provincetown knew Norman Mailer as an exciting conversationalist and a generous friend.

"Every time we had dinner with Norman, it was a feast, a mind-feast," Fred Ambrose, a longtime friend, said yesterday.

"Norman was like a boy with a watch. He always wanted to take it apart and put it back together again. He was always trying to figure out what made mankind tick."

Mailer, who wrote many of his famous novels from a third-floor study overlooking Provincetown's East End, died at 4:30 yesterday morning of renal failure at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York City, said Dwayne Prickett, his editorial assistant.

He was 84.

Mailer authored more than 30 books, which earned him two Pulitzer Prizes and the National Book Award. A literary celebrity for six decades, Mailer built and nurtured an image over the years as street-wise and high-living.

He drank, fought, smoked pot, married six times and stabbed his second wife, almost fatally, during a drunken party.

He had nine children, made a quixotic bid to become mayor of New York, produced five forgettable films, dabbled in journalism, flew gliders, challenged professional boxers, was banned from a Manhattan Young Women's Hebrew Association for reciting obscene poetry, feuded publicly with writer Gore Vidal, and crusaded against women's liberation.

Still, his friends in Provincetown, where he lived for 20 years in a brick house on the waterfront, remember mostly how he served up unforgettable conservation during dinner parties, agreed to do countless readings to raise money for local causes, and nurtured a softer image as generous, open and accessible.
__________________________________________________

San Francisco Chronicle, November 9, 2007 Newseum Image

November 9, 2007: An excerpt from a story in the San Francisco Chronicle:

Spill closes bay beaches as oil spreads, kills wildlife

By JONATHAN CURIEL, JAN KAY, KEVIN FAGAN 

SAN FRANCISCO -- Heavy-duty bunker fuel oil has washed up on beaches throughout the San Francisco and Marin coastlines all day, leaving purplish sheens on the water, ugly black blobs in the sand, and hundreds of injured or dead birds.

Some 9,500 gallons of oil have been contained since a container ship rammed the Bay Bridge and spilled 58,000 gallons of its fuel Wednesday morning, U.S. Coast Guard Capt. William Uberti said this afternoon. But as he spoke, questions were swirling about why it took so long for emergency officials to contain the mess - and who will be to blame for the environmental disaster building by the hour.

Oil began leaking into the water after the Cosco Busan, an 810-foot container ship that weighs 65,131 tons, crashed into a tower of the Bay Bridge's western span in heavy fog at about 8:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Within an hour, six emergency vessels from the Coast Guard and Marine Spill Response Corp. were on the scene, officials said. Yet even by 4 p.m. Wednesday, officials apparently believed only 140 gallons of oil had leaked into the water.

They later learned that the actual spill amount was 58,000 gallons, Uberti said. The new total was not announced to the public until 9 p.m.

Asked why they didn't release the higher spill count until five hours after they learned about it, Uberti said, "We were kind of busy...we were busy figuring this stuff out."
_________________________________________________

Iltalehti, November 8, 2007 Newseum Image

November 8, 2007: The Helsinki, Finland newspaper, Iltalehti, reports on the school shooting at Jokela High School. Here is an excerpt from a story on the BBC Web site:

Finland mourns shooting victims

A national day of mourning is being held in Finland after an 18-year-old man went on a gun rampage at his school and killed seven pupils and a teacher.

The gunman, reportedly identified as Pekka-Eric Auvinen, shot himself in the head and later died in hospital.

The shooting happened in Tuusula, some 50km (30 miles) north of Helsinki, and officials have set up a crisis centre to help those affected by the tragedy.

The gunman gave a warning of the attack in a video posted on the internet.

The home-made film called "Jokela High School massacre 11/7/2007" shows a young man pointing a gun and declaring himself a "social Darwinist" who would "eliminate all who I see unfit".

Correspondents say the video is similar to the one made by Cho Seung Hui, who sent a recording of himself to the US NBC television network before killing 32 students at Virginia Tech University in April.

Announcing a national day of mourning on Thursday, Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen described Wednesday's shooting in Tuusula as a "great tragedy".
__________________________________________________

International Herald Tribune, November 7, 2007 Newseum Image

November 7, 2007: An excerpt from a story in the Paris, France newspaper, the International Herald Tribune:

Bhutto calls for protest, raises tensions

By DAVID ROHDE and JANE PERLEZ   

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Dramatically escalating political tensions in Pakistan, the opposition leader, Benazir Bhutto, announced Wednesday that her party would carry out a mass demonstration on Friday and a protest march next week if the president, General Pervez Musharraf, refuses to end a state of emergency and hold elections in January.

Bhutto's statements set up an immediate confrontation with Musharraf, who has declared a state of emergency since Saturday, suspending the country's Constitution, and shutting down independent television news outlets. Under Musharraf's decree, all public protests are banned.

"We are going ahead with the protest on the ninth," Bhutto announced at a press conference after meeting with other opposition parties in Islamabad. "I understand my liberty might be at stake."

The threat from Bhutto, the most powerful opposition politician in the country, represents a sweeping increase in the opposition to Musharraf. Until now, Pakistani lawyers have led the opposition, carrying out small protests, but Bhutto's party is widely seen as the only force capable of bring large numbers of protesters to the streets.
______________________________________________

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, November 5, 2007 Newseum Image

November 5, 2007: An excerpt from a story in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

Meet the Boy King

King Tut -- the youngest and most famous pharaoh to rule ancient Egypt -- shows his face to the world yesterday in Luxor, Egypt, more than 3,000 years after he was shrouded in linen and buried in his golden underground tomb.

Archaeologists carefully lifted the fragile mummy out of a quartz sarcophagus, momentarily pulling aside a beige covering to reveal a leathery black body.

The mystery surrounding King Tutankhamun -- who ascended to the throne at age 8 is shown at right in a 2005 forensic reconstruction -- has entranced fans of ancient Egypt since Howard Carter first discovered Tut's hidden tomb on Nov. 4, 1922.
_______________________________________________

The Telegraph, November 2, 2007 Newseum Image

November 2, 2007: An excerpt from a story in the Alton, Illinois newspaper, The Telegraph:

Pilot who dropped first A-bomb dies
Paul Tibbets was 92; attended military school in Alton

STAFF AND WIRE REPORT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Paul Tibbets, who piloted the B-29 bomber Enola Gay that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, died Thursday. He was 92 and insisted for six decades after the war that he had no regrets about the mission and slept just fine at night.

Tibbets died at his Columbus home, said Gerry Newhouse, a longtime friend. He suffered from a variety of health problems and had been in decline for two months.

Tibbets attended the former Western Military Academy in Alton, graduating in 1933. Friends who attended the school with him said Tibbets was a top cadet and an outstanding athlete.
_________________________________________________

Sun Herald, November 1, 2007 Newseum Image

November 1, 2007: An excerpt from a column in the Biloxi, Mississippi newspaper, the Sun Herald:

So much more than a bridge

 

By STAN TINER

 

It's just a bridge, isn't it?

 

Like any other bridge, a man-made physical structure. Conceived in someone's mind, put on paper with specifications, renderings and the like, beginning at point A and ending at point B.

 

Oh, you may speak of the blood, the toil and the tears that are a part of the alchemy of such a thing, but in the end it is a man-made object intended to transport cars and trucks and motorcycles and the people who drive them, and their passengers, over a particular body of water to destinations they have chosen. That is the way of humankind; we are captains of our universe, determined to overcome the impediments to our own inconvenience in such ways as the bridge provides.

 

We enjoy the sense of dominion these edifices provide.

 

So for all of those years before Katrina we drove across the bridge that spanned Biloxi Bay almost oblivious, even indifferent, to its physical presence, noticing it only occasionally when it opened its jaws wide to allow a boat to pass, slowing the rush of life to a standstill, requiring us to stop and to rest above the tranquil bay, perhaps to spy a gull or a fisherman and to envy their freedom.

 

Until Katrina. Until August 29, 2005.