In the News: Feb-13

Report: Over 100,000 deportees had US children - 13 Feb 2009 at 2:23pm - WASHINGTON -- A new report says immigration officials deported more than 100,000 parents of U.S. citizen children over a decade.

Blackwater ditches tarnished brand name - 13 Feb 2009 at 11:26am - Blackwater Worldwide is abandoning its tarnished brand name as it tries to shake a reputation battered by oft-criticized work in Iraq, renaming its family of two dozen businesses under the name Xe. The parent company's new name is pronounced "zee." Blackwater Lodge & Training Center — the subsidiary that conducts much of the company's overseas operations and domestic training — has been renamed U.S. Training Center Inc., the company said Friday.

5 states challenge employer credit checks - 13 Feb 2009 at 10:15am - Amid skyrocketing layoffs and mortgage foreclosures, several states and the federal government are pushing new rules to stop employers from unfairly screening out job applicants who can't pass a credit check. Five states are considering laws that would restrict credit checks by employers. Stuart Ishimaru, President Obama's acting chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), is a vocal critic of the checks and has called for the agency to begin issuing guidelines on how such checks should be carried out.

Obama seen likely to hedge on missile defense - 13 Feb 2009 at 8:28am - WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama's go-slow approach to missile defenses in Europe is stirring speculation that he is planning either to deep-freeze the costly project he inherited from the Bush administration or use it as a bargaining chip in broader security talks with Russia.

Report: Turkish bombs kill 13 Kurdish rebels in Iraq - 13 Feb 2009 at 7:44am - Turkey's state-run news agency said Friday that 13 Kurdish rebels were killed in northern Iraq during Turkish bombing last week.

Thought for the day:
Somebody has to do something, and it's just incredibly pathetic that it has to be us. -Jerry Garcia