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Nearly 200 Palestinians died in a massive rocket attack launched by the Israeli Air Force against Hamas forces in Gaza Saturday. Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak claimed most of those killed were Hamas fighters. "The operation will go on and be intensified as long as necessary," he declared. "The battle will be long and difficult, but the time has come to act and to fight." The attacks are in response to several days of rocket and mortar attacks on Israeli lands that terrorized the populace. Hamas leaders, expecting retaliation, had already gone into hiding. The Air Force attacks destroyed Hamas security headquarters, training facilities and weapons storage areas.
The next group lining up for a big government bailout? Local government. The Washington Post reports that Ohio is one of many states around the nation looking to the federal government to help fill the gaps in local budgets. Without help, they fear massive job losses that could further weaken the economy. "We're not crying wolf. This is real," said Gov. Ted Strickland of Ohio, which has already shed 100,000 jobs in the past year. Revenue shortfalls are projected to be as high as 25% over the next two years. Strickland recently left a message on the answering machine of incoming White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel: "Rahm, it's Ted. You've never failed me and I need $5 billion." President-elect Obama has promised help, arguing that the far reaching need for aid is a good cause for expanding the already record federal deficit.
Someone call the Geek Squad: the National Archives needs an upgrade. Their new $144 million computer system can barely handle the influx of data expected when the Bush administration comes to its official end. The electronic footprint of the last eight years—including 20-24 terabytes of email alone—is 50 times as large as that of the Clinton administration. "The collection will include top-secret e-mail tracing plans for the Iraq war as well as scenes from the likes of Barney Cam 2008, a White House video featuring the first pet," the New York Times reports. It's no joke for the National Archives, which is now on an emergency plan to manage the data swarm. It could be months before everything is indexed and organized.
Yesterday was Caroline Kennedy's coming out party. The NY Post reports that after two weeks of holding back Kennedy spent Friday launching a full media assault, sitting for half hour interviews with the Associated Press and television station New York 1. "I would be an unconventional choice," Kennedy acknowledged. "I haven't followed a traditional path, but I think I bring a lifetime of experience to this." She cited the 9/11 attack and her work for the campaign of President-elect Obama as factors which influenced her to ask Governor Patterson to consider her for Hillary Clinton’s Senate seat. She made no excuses for missing more than a dozen elections over the last ten years, but insisted that if not for her famous name, she might have run for office earlier. Kennedy spoke highly of Clinton and said she had encouraged her to run. "Many people remember that spirit that President Kennedy summoned forth," she said. "I'm not saying that I am anything like him, I'm just saying there's a spirit that I think I've grown up with that is something that means a tremendous amount to me."
One bright spot for struggling Americans this holiday: gas prices hit a five year low yesterday. "We're paying about a billion dollars per day less than we were in July" for gasoline one analyst. "We could probably bail out some banks and maybe even some of the auto companies with the savings." The news isn't all good. Pump prices have fallen in part because more families are staying home, driving nine billion fewer miles in October. Pump prices are now down to a national average of $1.64 a gallon, a far cry from the $2.98 average a year ago. Oil producing countries responded immediately with plans for more production cuts.
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari moved to calm rising tensions with India after thousands of Pakistani troops were redeployed from the Afghan border to the Indian border. "We ourselves have accepted that we have a cancer," he said in a televised speech Saturday, referring to terrorism. "They are forcing their agenda on us." Anxiety rose after the redeployment and the announcement that military leave options were canceled. Some analysts believed Pakistan was preparing for a conflict with India but Pakistan has again reassured India that war is not its goal. India has been on edge since the Mumbai terrorist attacks last month that killed 164. "I appeal to Pakistan and Pakistani leaders, do not unnecessarily try to create tension," the Indian Foreign Minister said Saturday of the "war hysteria."
Yesterday Democrats raised a stink when Chip Saltsman, a candidate to be the new RNC chair, distributed a CD with a song called "Barack the Magic Negro." Today, Republicans are joining in. Current RNC chair Mike Duncan issued a statement today distancing party leadership from Saltsman. The full statement read: "The 2008 election was a wake-up call for Republicans to reach out and bring more people into our party. I am shocked and appalled that anyone would think this is appropriate as it clearly does not move us in the right direction." The song, which first appeared on Rush Limbaugh's radio show, was written by conservative satirist Paul Shanklin, who also wrote the other 40 tracks on the parody album We Hate the USA. Duncan is vying for reelection to head the RNC and Saltsman, Mike Huckabee's former campaign manager and on the GOP's best known operatives, was considered a strong opponent.
In order to give his daughters some personal time at the water park, President-elect Barack Obama had to ditch the pool. The press pool that is. For the first time since his vacation in Hawaii began, Obama ditched reporters in order to take Sasha and Malia to Sea Life Park, a marine amusement park in the sparsely populated and scenic Waimanalo area. The Obamas watched a dolphin show and then picked up shave ice, a local treat. Obama ate a tuna melt, saying he wanted to set an example for his daughters by eating lunch before dessert.
The Chinese Navy is about to get some serious on-the-job training. In its first deployment of battle-ready warships beyond the Pacific, China will send a supply ship and two destroyers to the Gulf of Aden to protect Chinese merchant ships that pass through the pirate-heavy waterway. Perhaps more important than protecting its ships, the deployment will give the adolescent Navy a chance to mix it up with the big boys. The Navy can also use the opportunity to closely watch NATO warships, pick up communication techniques, learn about logistics and experience combat against seaborne opponents.
At least 28 people were killed and 55 were wounded by a car bomb that exploded in Baghdad Saturday afternoon. The blast, which occurred in al-Zahra square, in the northern Baghdad Shiite neighborhood of Kazimiyah, was initially believed to be a mortar round. Another car bomb exploded 60 miles south, killing an Iraqi soldier and two others. Violence has dropped by more than 80% around Iraq, but sporadic incidents continue. This was the second major bombing in ten days, following a blast on December 17 that killed 18 and wounded 52 others.
The Fox network isn’t doing so hot in the ratings right now, which is why executives can’t wait for the return of American Idol in January. Not only has Fox retooled its schedule so Idol viewers are exposed to their fresh shows Lie to Me and Fringe, execs are also aware it can knock out the competition. “Much like a pack of lions, Idol preys on the weak,” said an exec at another network. Even top-rated CBS is weary of Idol, which will debut a fourth judge this season after viewership slid 9 percent last season.
Looking for inspiration for New Year's resolutions? Or perhaps just a curious how Mitt Romney and others see '09 as a year for change? The Wall Street Journal has compiled dozens of words of wisdom from a range of influencers like wirewalker Philippe Petit (Daydreaming, romance, etc) and Martha Stewart (Help publishers "leap from print to digital"). So what was Romney's? "Stop wearing a suit and tie to bed."
Brenda Peterson drove over 30 miles to make it to a J.C. Penney in North Carolina before it opened at 5:30 a.m. But after failing to find the toy she wanted, Peterson left empty handed. It's one of many tales that is flummoxing stores after they slashed prices by as much as 60% to attract bargain hunters. Well, to attract anyone at this point. Holiday shopping, which typically accounts for between 30-50% of retail stores annual sales, has fallen nearly 8% by some estimates. Those shoppers who did hit the malls on Black Friday were mostly there to make returns to scour for deep discounts, hardly a help for weakened retailers.
Over 150,000 Pakistanis traveled to the grave of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto on Saturday to mark the one-year anniversary of her assassination. Some even walked hundreds of miles; many shouted "BB we are ashamed that your killers are alive!" Her husband, President Asif Ali Zardari, said Bhutto Zardari "gave voice to the voiceless, strength to the weak and motivation to the people to strive for a goal higher than life." At the United Nations, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon pledged to open a commission into her death.
So this is what happens when moviegoers don’t heed the pre-feature advice to silence cell phones and pipe down. A man became so angry with the talkative family sitting in front of him that he shot the father in the arm during a screening, reports CNN. James Joseph Cialella reportedly told the group watching The Curious Case of Benjamin Button to stop talking, then threw popcorn at the son, walked into the aisle, and shot the father with a .380-caliber handgun that was clipped inside his sweatpants (how classy). The victim was taken to a Philadelphia hospital with a gunshot wound to his arm and Cialella was charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault and weapons violations. Someone takes his short story adaptations very, very seriously.
Are fans rethinking the dismissal of Tom Cruise? While it’s no certain comeback, his Nazi thriller Valkyrie did hold its own at a very competitive Christmas box office, taking in an estimated $8.5 million on Thursday despite mixed reviews and a subject devoid of sex appeal. “Valkyrie did just fine,” said one box office tracker, considering it was up against ticket record-setters Marley & Me ($14.6 million) and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button ($11.8 million). Even discounting Cruise’s unpopular antics, Valkyrie may be the little film that could. After premiere-date switches, production drama, and a year of being the punch line of jokes, it fared better than Cruise’s last feature, Lions for Lambs, which costarred Robert Redford and Meryl Streep.
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