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Bonus furor may prompt limits on AIG bailout money (AP) March 17, 2009 at 3:05 am AP - The White House says it's looking at restrictions on some $30 billion in taxpayers' money approved to help American International Group as the administration tries to reclaim or block millions of dollars in bonuses the struggling company awarded executives. Texas jail was an Animal House, authorities say (AP) March 17, 2009 at 12:48 am AP - For months, perhaps longer, the Montague County Jail was "Animal House" meets Mayberry. Inside the small brick building across from the courthouse, inmates had the run of the place, having sex with their jailer girlfriends, bringing in recliners, taking drugs and chatting on cell phones supplied by friends or guards, according to authorities. They also disabled some of the surveillance cameras and made weapons out of nails. NFL players may have died hours after boat toppled (AP) March 17, 2009 at 12:47 am AP - Two NFL players may have died just a few hours after their fishing boat capsized in rough seas and possibly before rescuers were even alerted that they and two others were lost off the west coast of Florida, according to Coast Guard records. Austrian admits incest, pleads innocent to murder (AP) March 17, 2009 at 12:44 am AP - An Austrian who fathered seven children with a daughter he held captive for 24 years refused to even speak to her for years, coming into the squalid cellar only to rape her, often in front of the youngsters, a prosecutor said Monday. US says it shot down Iranian drone last month (AP) March 17, 2009 at 12:43 am AP - U.S. jets shot down an Iranian unmanned surveillance aircraft last month over Iraqi territory about 60 miles northeast of Baghdad, the U.S. military said Monday. A U.S. statement said the Ababil 3 was tracked for about 70 minutes before U.S. jets shot it down "well-inside Iraqi airspace" and that the aircraft's presence over Iraq "was not an accident." Obama berates AIG and vows to try to block bonuses (AP) March 17, 2009 at 12:29 am AP - Joining a wave of public anger, President Barack Obama blistered insurance giant AIG for "recklessness and greed" Monday and pledged to try to block it from handing its executives $165 million in bonuses after taking billions in federal bailout money. "How do they justify this outrage to the taxpayers who are keeping the company afloat?" Obama asked. "This isn't just a matter of dollars and cents. It's about our fundamental values." Treasury to rework AIG aid to recoup bonuses (Reuters) March 16, 2009 at 9:40 pm Reuters - The U.S. government will modify a planned $30 billion capital injection for American International Group Inc to try to recoup hundreds of millions of dollars in controversial bonuses, a Treasury official said on Monday. Madagascar's president vows to resist rebel troops (Reuters) March 16, 2009 at 7:58 pm Reuters - President Marc Ravalomanana of Madagascar has vowed to fight to the death if rebel soldiers try to drive him from power in the Indian Ocean island. UN expert: North Korea commits widespread torture (AP) March 16, 2009 at 7:53 pm AP - A U.N. human rights investigator accused North Korean authorities Monday of committing widespread torture in prisons that he called "death traps." Mexico slaps tariffs on U.S. goods in truck feud (Reuters) March 16, 2009 at 7:51 pm Reuters - Mexico slapped tariffs on 90 American agricultural and manufactured exports on Monday in retaliation for Washington's move to block Mexican trucks from using U.S. highways. Cattle respond to magnetic fields from power lines (AP) March 16, 2009 at 5:21 pm AP - High-voltage power lines mess with animal magnetism. Researchers, who reported last year that most cows and deer tend to orient themselves in a north-south alignment, have now found that power lines can disorient the animals. A Gay-Marriage Solution: End Marriage? (Time.com) March 16, 2009 at 5:20 pm Time.com - Seeking a way out of the marriage-equality conundrum, two Pepperdine professors suggest the Federal Government get out of the business altogether 10 Winners in the Recession (U.S. News & World Report) March 16, 2009 at 5:14 pm U.S. News & World Report - If there are silver linings to the recession, they're not immediately apparent. After all, the national unemployment rate is 8.1 percent, the highest since 1983, and economists predict it will reach 9 percent by 2010. Gross domestic product is forecast to shrink more this year than at any other time since the Great Depression. And across the country, stores are closing, municipal budgets are tightening, and banks are begging for bailouts. Ex-Pa. senator convicted of 137 corruption counts (AP) March 16, 2009 at 4:35 pm AP - Vincent Fumo, once one of the most powerful figures in Pennsylvania politics, was convicted Monday of more than 130 counts of corruption for schemes that defrauded the state Senate and others of more than $3.5 million and helped pay for his lavish lifestyle. Egypt to open inner chambers of 'bent' pyramid (AP) March 16, 2009 at 4:26 pm AP - Travelers to Egypt will soon be able to explore the inner chambers of the 4,500-year-old "bent" pyramid, known for its oddly shaped profile, and other nearby ancient tombs, Egypt's antiquities chief announced Monday. Don Imus says he has prostate cancer (AP) March 16, 2009 at 4:25 pm AP - Don Imus has prostate cancer — and confidence in a full recovery. Fossil sea monster's bite makes T-Rex look feeble (Reuters) March 16, 2009 at 4:13 pm Reuters - A giant fossil sea monster found in the Arctic and known as "Predator X" had a bite that would make T-Rex look feeble, scientists said Monday. Texas jail was an Animal House, authorities say (AP) March 16, 2009 at 4:02 pm AP - For months, perhaps longer, the Montague County Jail was "Animal House" meets Mayberry. Inside the small brick building across from the courthouse, inmates had the run of the place, having sex with their jailer girlfriends, bringing in recliners, taking drugs and chatting on cell phones supplied by friends or guards, according to authorities. They also disabled some of the surveillance cameras and made weapons out of nails. US military shot down Iranian drone last month (AP) March 16, 2009 at 4:00 pm AP - U.S. jets shot down an Iranian unmanned surveillance aircraft last month over Iraqi territory about 60 miles northeast of Baghdad, the U.S. military said Monday. A U.S. statement said the Ababil 3 was tracked for about 70 minutes before U.S. jets shot it down "well-inside Iraqi airspace" and that the aircraft's presence over Iraq "was not an accident." Obama rejects SC gov's bid to use stimulus on debt (AP) March 16, 2009 at 3:55 pm AP - The Obama administration on Monday rejected South Carolina Gov. US firm to close branch due to lack of employees (AFP) March 16, 2009 at 3:06 pm AFP - A Florida-based firm will soon close one of its North Dakota offices for a reason that seems unfathomable during the deepening US recession: it can't find enough employees to hire. Nigerian student gets 19 years' jail for love scam (Reuters) March 16, 2009 at 1:59 pm Reuters - A Nigerian undergraduate has been sentenced to 19 years in prison for obtaining $47,000 (33,382 pounds) from an Australian woman by convincing her over the Internet that he was 57 years old, white, and madly in love with her. New test can detect early Alzheimer's: study (Reuters) March 16, 2009 at 1:53 pm Reuters - A new test can accurately detect Alzheimer's disease in its earliest stages, before dementia symptoms surface and widespread damage occurs, U.S. researchers said on Monday. Scholar Claims Dead Sea Scrolls 'Authors' Never Existed (Time.com) March 16, 2009 at 1:40 pm Time.com - A scholar has rocked the world of biblical study with her claim that the Essenes, long attributed as the authors of the Dead Sea Scrolls, never existed Prosecutors will seek Madoff's wife's money too (AP) March 16, 2009 at 12:53 pm AP - Bernard Madoff's wife could theoretically claim more than $100 million in assets — and should forfeit it all, according to federal prosecutors. Trend: Daughters Follow Dads' Footsteps (LiveScience.com) March 16, 2009 at 12:35 pm LiveScience.com - Women nowadays are three times more likely than those born a century ago to do what men have done for millennia - follow their father's footsteps into his line of work, a newly announced study finds. After Dora uproar, Nick and Mattel soothe moms (AP) March 16, 2009 at 12:18 pm AP - When toy maker Mattel, working with Nickelodeon, announced earlier this month that a "tween" version of Nick's beloved "Dora the Explorer" cartoon character would be unveiled in the fall, the response was overwhelming ... overwhelmingly negative. Swiss spider-smuggler seized on German border (AFP) March 16, 2009 at 10:57 am AFP - German customs officials inspecting a Swiss car got a nasty shock when they discovered 164 large spiders and 45 boxes of cockroaches -- the arachnids' food for the journey, a spokesman said Monday. Walking, talking female robot to hit Japan catwalk (AP) March 16, 2009 at 10:14 am AP - A new walking, talking robot from Japan has a female face that can smile and has trimmed down to 43 kilograms (95 pounds) to make a debut at a fashion show. But it still hasn't cleared safety standards required to share the catwalk with human models. Salvadoran leftist president promises moderation (AP) March 16, 2009 at 10:13 am AP - A leftist television journalist ushered a party of former guerrillas into power, ending two decades of conservative rule but promising Monday to unite the country after a bitter presidential campaign. Obama plans small-business lending boost (AP) March 16, 2009 at 10:01 am AP - Seeking to counter a chorus of unhappy Republicans and nervous Wall Street investors, President Barack Obama and his economic team are taking a cheerier tone while making billions in federal loans available to the nation's struggling small businesses. Austrian incest father pleads not guilty to murder (AP) March 16, 2009 at 9:44 am AP - An Austrian man accused of fathering his daughter's seven children as he locked her in a basement for decades pleaded guilty to incest but insisted he was innocent of murder and enslavement charges as his trial opened Monday. Shoppers will know more about origins of food (AP) March 16, 2009 at 9:02 am AP - Shoppers will have more information about where their food comes from under a new policy starting Monday. Possible therapy takes bite out of peanut allergy (AP) March 16, 2009 at 7:53 am AP - A handful of children once severely allergic to peanuts now can munch them without worry. Scientists retrained their bodies to tolerate peanuts by feeding them tiny amounts of the very food that endangered them. Chaos erupts in crowd at NYC 'Top Model' auditions (AP) March 16, 2009 at 7:28 am AP - Three people were arrested and six others hurt after bedlam broke out while they waited to audition for "America's Next Top Model," police said. Bernanke says recession could end in 2009 (AP) March 16, 2009 at 7:24 am AP - America's recession "probably" will end this year if the government succeeds in bolstering the banking system, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Sunday in a rare television interview. Report says 3 percent in DC have HIV or AIDS (AP) March 16, 2009 at 7:21 am AP - A new report by D.C. health officials says that at least 3 percent of residents in the nation's capital are living with HIV or AIDS and every mode of transmission is on the rise. Fewer teens sniffing inhalants to get high (AP) March 16, 2009 at 6:05 am AP - Fewer teens are sniffing glue, lighter fluid, spray paint, shoe polish and other easy-to-find substances, a government study said Monday. Gridiron singed by Obama no-show (Politico) March 16, 2009 at 5:25 am Politico - No offense intended, says the Obama White House. Calif. fight over inmate care may go to high court (AP) March 16, 2009 at 5:21 am AP - When the quality of health care in California's sprawling prison system was first challenged in court, it seemed only a matter of time before major reforms would take hold. Alaska's Mount Redoubt rumbles once again (AP) March 16, 2009 at 4:31 am AP - Alaska's Mount Redoubt is rumbling again and geologists at the Alaska Volcano Observatory increased the official alert level to orange, the stage just before eruption. IRS seeks $227 million in back taxes from Stanford (Reuters) March 16, 2009 at 4:02 am Reuters - The U.S. Internal Revenue Service has asked a judge to let it to continue to seek unpaid back taxes from Allen Stanford, the billionaire Texan accused of an $8 billion fraud by U.S. regulators, court documents show. Red Cross report describes "torture" at CIA jails (Reuters) March 16, 2009 at 12:43 am Reuters - The International Committee of the Red Cross concludes in a secret report that the Bush administration's treatment of al-Qaeda captives in CIA prisons "constituted torture," The Washington Post reported on Monday, citing newly published excerpts from the 2007 document. AIG says emergency aid used to pay other banks (AP) March 16, 2009 at 12:14 am AP - American International Group Inc. used more than $90 billion in federal aid to pay out foreign and domestic banks, some of whom had received their own multibillion-dollar U.S. government bailouts. Obama, Geithner to Unveil Plan to Boost Small-Business Lending (Bloomberg) March 16, 2009 at 12:09 am Bloomberg - March 16 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama will use more than half the $730 million set aside by Congress to help small businesses on his plan to boost lending and resuscitate stagnant credit markets, people familiar with the matter said. Actor Ron Silver dies in NYC at age 62 of cancer (AP) March 15, 2009 at 10:53 pm AP - Actor Ron Silver, who won a Tony Award as a take-no-prisoners Hollywood producer in David Mamet's "Speed-the-Plow" and did a political about-face from loyal Democrat to Republican activist after the Sept. 11 attacks, died Sunday at the age of 62. AIG payments to banks stoke bailout rage (Reuters) March 15, 2009 at 10:15 pm Reuters - Goldman Sachs Group Inc and a parade of European banks were the major beneficiaries of $93 billion in payments from AIG -- more than half of the U.S. taxpayer money spent to rescue the massive insurer.