In the News: Dec-30

GM, GMAC seek to jump-start car loans after bailout - 30 Dec 2008 at 3:16pm - WASHINGTON (AFP) - Auto finance giant GMAC and its former parent General Motors unveiled plans Tuesday to expand lending to jump-start the sputtering auto sector a day after a six-billion-dollar US government rescue.

Ill. governor names Burris to replace Obama - 30 Dec 2008 at 3:13pm - CHICAGO -- Gov. Rod Blagojevich has defied U.S. Senate leaders and his own state's lawmakers by appointing former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris to replace President-elect Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate. Blagojevich announced his decision in Chicago on Tuesday with the 71-year-old Burris at his side.

Group sues to reinstate firearms ban - 30 Dec 2008 at 12:34pm - WASHINGTON -- The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence is suing to stop a last-second Bush administration change that would allow people to carry concealed, loaded guns in most national parks and wildlife refuges.

U.S. backs plan for engaging Afghan tribes - 30 Dec 2008 at 8:10am - KABUL (Reuters) - The United States backs a proposed Afghan government plan to engage tribal elders in the war against the resurgent Taliban, a move seen by critics as reviving militias, its top envoy said on Tuesday.

Bonuses, elite rep help boost Marine numbers - 30 Dec 2008 at 8:09am - WASHINGTON -- Buoyed by more recruiters, bigger bonuses and an elite reputation, the Marine Corps has grown by nearly 27,000 members in a little more than two years - half the time that military officials believed it would take.

U.S. Agrees to a Stake in GMAC - 30 Dec 2008 at 7:36am - The Treasury Department took a stake of $5 billion in GMAC and agreed to lend $1 billion to to help it reorganize itself as a bank holding company.

Israel turns back aid workers en route to Gaza - 30 Dec 2008 at 7:21am - Israel's navy clashed with a small boat carrying aid to Gaza on Tuesday, despite world leaders calling on the country to keep corridors open for the transportation of humanitarian supplies.

Trial delayed for Iraqi who threw shoes at Bush - 30 Dec 2008 at 7:11am - BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The trial of an Iraqi reporter who threw his shoes at U.S. President George W. Bush in Baghdad has been postponed pending an appeal over whether the incident amounted to an assault, his lawyer said on Wednesday.

Ex-Bush aides say he never recovered from Katrina - 30 Dec 2008 at 6:59am - WASHINGTON -- Hurricane Katrina not only pulverized the Gulf Coast in 2005, it knocked the bully pulpit out from under President George W. Bush, according to two former advisers who spoke candidly about the political impact of the government's poor handling of the natural disaster.

Thought for the day:
I believe in equality for everyone, except reporters and photographers. -Mahatma Gandhi (1869 - 1948)