Baucus Reportedly Gave $14000 Raise to Staffer Girlfriend

FOXNewsSen. Max Baucus gave a $14,000 raise last year to the female staffer he was dating and took her on a government-funded trip to Asia and the Middle East, Politico.com reported Friday.The Montana senator and chairman of the Senate Finance Committee acknowledged a week ago that he was in a relationship with Melodee Hanes when he nominated her for U.S. attorney. Hanes withdrew her nomination… Read more

Utah Mom’s Disappearance ‘Suspicious,’ Police Say

FOXNewsThe disappearance of a missing Utah stockbroker and mother of two has turned “suspicious,” police say.West Valley City Police Capt. Tom McLachlan said Thursday that no one will reveal where 28-year-old Susan Powell is and “she has not contacted us or anyone else we know about.”Powell failed to show up at her job at Wells Fargo Financial on Monday. Her purse, cell phone and car all were… Read more

Week 14 NFL Matchups

New York TimesChargers (9-3) at Cowboys (8-4)The Cowboys don’t want to hear about their 15-27 record in December over the past decade. They’ve been interrogated in news conferences and on talk radio. They’ve been criticized by everyone from their own stars of yesteryear — some of whom raised off-field distractions to an art form — to citizen bloggers who equate December toughness with… Read more

Mugabe opens Zanu-PF congress

Al Jazeera EnglishRobert Mugabe, Zimbabwe’s president, has condemned splits within Zanu-PF, saying internal fighting is tearing the party apart and emboldening its rivals.Mugabe opened the party’s congress in the capital, Harare, on Friday, and addressed the party for the first time since it lost absolute grip of power and entered a unity government.”The reason why we lost last year was because… Read more

Brown Defends Deficit Reduction Plan

Wall Street JournalLONDON — The U.K.’s deficit reduction plan is more “detailed” than those of most other countries, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Friday.Speaking at a press conference at the end of a European Council meeting in Brussels, Mr. Brown said he believes the markets understand that the U.K. must get the economy back to growth, as well as drive down its deficit over time.”I… Read more

State officials unveil Health Improvement Plan

ForbesOKLAHOMA CITY — Improving children’s health and reducing obesity and tobacco use are the focus of a plan released Thursday for improving the health outcomes of Oklahoma residents, who officials said have higher rates of disease and mortality than almost every other state.Oklahoma ranks 49th in the nation in the health outcomes of its citizens – ahead of only Mississippi – and 5,320 lives… Read more

EU offers 7.2 bln euros in climate aid

Yahoo! NewsBRUSSELS (AFP) – European Union nations have agreed to give 7.2 billion euros (10.6 billion dollars) to help developing nations tackle climate change, the Swedish EU presidency announced on Friday."The EU total is equal to 2.4 billion euros per year," over the next three years, with voluntary pledges coming in from all 27 EU member states, Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik… Read more

Live chat: Tony Grossi analyzes beating the Steelers at noon

clevelandChat live with Tony Grossi today at noon.How did the Browns beat the defending Super Bowl champion Steelers for the first time in 13 games last night? Does Eric Mangini deserve another year solely based on beating Pittsburgh? What does this win mean for the rest of the season?Tony Grossi will be online for a special live Friday chat at noon to provide the answers and field your questions… Read more

EU vows climate aid to poor nations

Al Jazeera EnglishEuropean leaders have agreed to give $10.6bn to developing countries over the next three years in a bid to help them tackle climate change.The funding, agreed by all 27 member states at a meeting in Brussels on Friday, is also an attempt to encourage poorer nations to sign up to a deal at the UN climate summit in Copenhagen.Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, said the offer… Read more

China’s Consumer Prices Rise 0.6% Amid Recovery

Wall Street JournalBEIJING — China is moving out of deflation after nearly a year of falling consumer prices, a turnaround driven in part by changes in government policies that kept costs of oil, water and electricity artificially low.China’s consumer price index climbed 0.6% from a year earlier in November, the National Bureau of Statistics said Friday, after declining every month since… Read more

Next Page »