In the News: Dec-18

Rice flies to Iraq as Turkish troops cross border - 18 Dec 2007 at 9:29am - KIRKUK, Iraq (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged Iraqi leaders on Tuesday to speed up national reconciliation on a trip overshadowed by an incursion by several hundred Turkish troops into northern Iraq.

Judge orders hearing on destroyed CIA videos - 18 Dec 2007 at 12:48pm - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A judge on Tuesday scheduled a hearing into whether the CIA violated a court order by destroying videotapes of the harsh interrogations of two terrorism suspects.

Congress requires better car, SUV mileage - 18 Dec 2007 at 2:09pm - WASHINGTON -- Congress by a wide margin approved the first increase in automobile fuel economy in 32 years Tuesday, and President Bush has signaled he will accept the mandates on the auto industry.

New York Times in Iraq: "Blackwater shot our dog" - 18 Dec 2007 at 2:05pm - BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The U.S. embassy in Iraq is investigating another deadly shooting incident involving its Blackwater bodyguards -- this time of the New York Times's dog.

FCC Approves New Media Ownership Rule - 18 Dec 2007 at 2:05pm - The Federal Communications Commission, overturning a 32-year-old ban, voted Tuesday to allow broadcasters in the nation's 20 largest media markets to also own a newspaper.

Congress moves to ease access to records - 18 Dec 2007 at 1:51pm - WASHINGTON -- Congress is moving to reverse one area of the Bush administration's trend toward secrecy since the 2001 terrorist attacks by expanding the Freedom of Information Act, increasing penalties for noncompliance and making records held by government contractors subject to the law.

Thought for the day:
If you tell the truth you don't have to remember anything. -Mark Twain (1835 - 1910)