CONGRESSIONAL AND WHITE HOUSE NEGOTIATORS WORKING INTO THE NIGHT ON A $15-BILLION DOLLAR BAILOUT LOAN FOR THE U.S. AUTO INDUSTRY. Chrysler, Ford, and GMC were asking for $34 billion dollars.The latest bailout package requires the automakers to present restructuring plans by March. A so-called "Car Czar" will supervise how the auto makers are spending the loan money.
The self-described mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his four co-defendants have asked a judge at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to allow them to make immediate confessions. Each defendant is facing the death penalty. www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97948707
Electronics maker Sony will cut 8,000 jobs. The worldwide layoffs should be completed by the end of March 20-10.
www.myfoxwghp.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=8030572&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.1.1
More layoffs at Petty Enterprises: The struggling race team released at least three dozen additional employees on Monday…making the total number of job cuts close to 70. SportsIllustrated.com reporting that Petty Enterprises is talking with Gillett-Evernham Motorsports in a possible merger. www.digtriad.com/news/features/article.aspx?storyid=115467&catid=216
THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT HAS FILED MANSLAUGHTER CHARGES AGAINST FIVE AMERICAN EMPLOYEES WITH THE BLACKWATER SECURITY FIRM. Prosecutors saying that Blackwater employees shot 14 unarmed Iraqi civilians and wounded 20 others in Baghdad in September of 2007.
THE CRASH OF A U.S. FIGHTER JET INTO A SAN DIEGO NEIGHBORHOOD HAS CLAIMED AT LEAST THREE LIVES. The pilot of the F-18 Hornet ejected safely before the plane went down, destroying two houses and damaging three others. The incident is under investigation.
Spare the grin? The British Government announced another extraordinary move in the name of security…no-one can be shown smiling in their passport photograph. Starting this week, all passports issued from today must show the bearer "looking straight at the camera, with a neutral expression, with their mouth closed". The Home Office said the move was essential to fight fraud and keep terrorists out of the country.
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-12393989-details/Smiles+banned+from+passports/article.do
Encompass Insurance, an insurance company linked to Allstate will no longer write new homeowner policies in North Carolina over concerns about a state-sanctioned program for coastal insurance called the ‘Beach Plan’. The plan insures properties in 18 counties. It could require insurance companies to pay hundreds of millions of dollars should a major hurricane hit North Carolina. www.wxii12.com/news/18233576/detail.html
The economy still good for renting nativity animals. Farmers in Frankville, Wisconsin who rent animals for Nativity scenes say business is holding steady, although some organizers are swapping camels for cheaper livestock amid the recession. Renting a camel can cost $500 to $700 dollars per day, including a handler and liability insurance.
The cost of two or three sheep, a couple of goats and a handler…$250 per night.
www.jsonline.com http://apnews.myway.com/article/20081208/D94UPT8O0.html
Monday Night Football: Carolina Panthers running all over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers…38 – 23
