| Stocks await Bernanke
Investors shrugged off a string of bad economic news on Tuesday, including a surge in wholesale prices and a weak reading on consumer confidence, to finish that session higher. But they appeared less upbeat on Wednesday, as the dollar sank to an all-time low against the euro and crude prices kept up their record run. All eyes are on Bernanke, who is due to testify before the House Financial Services Committee. Investors will be looking for clues about what the Fed plans to do with interest rates. They'll also scrutinize comments any comments he makes about the economy and credit problems. Also, two economic reports are expected today. Durable orders are expected to show decline of 4% in January, according to economists surveyed by Briefing.com. In December, durable goods orders fell 5.2%.
Autistic teen reported missing in Vancouver calls, returns home
Anthony K. Abruzzini, a 13-year-old described as mildly autistic, was reported missing by his parents this evening but was found hours later. Anthony phoned his parents about 10 p.m. from a local AM/PM store, where he was located by Clark County Sheriff's Office deputies, said Sgt. C. Rothenberger, a sheriff's spokesman. He was returned home safely. Anthony had last been seen about 9:30 a.m. at the Vancouver School of the Arts and Academics, the sheriff's office said. He did not attend any of his classes there today. His parents discovered a two-page note in which Anthony wrote that he met someone named "Frank" online and planned to live with and work for him. Nothing further was known about "Frank," Rothenberger said. Anthony's friends said that in the past month he had talked about going to Seaside, Ore., to start a new life.
Train woes ease in snow-wary China
A young boy holds his father's hand as they wait to buy tickets at the railway station in Beijing Sunday Feb. 3, 2007. Millions of Chinese are attempting to return home to their families in time for Chinese New Year celebrations in the coming week, but many have been stranded after snow storms disrupted transport networks in the central and southern parts of the country. (AP Photo/Greg Baker) .
Chris Matthews: Defeat Means Troops Still in Iraq--What About WWII?
Did you know that the US is still at war with Korea, Germany, Japan, Bosnia and Kosovo? Based on “Hardball" host Chris Matthews' recent claims, we are still at war with those countries and will be until our troops leave their soil. (h/t Weasel Zippers) On his November 28 show (transcript here), MSNBC's Matthews discussed Iraq with Washington Post columnist David Ignatius, wondering when “will we be able to come home." In the process, the former Carter speechwriter said, “If we can't ever come home, we can't ever say we won." Silly me, I thought WWII, the Korean War, the Bosnian War and the Kosovo War were over. I guess the US troops still stationed in those countries prove otherwise (bold mine throughout): .
The Slow Traveller
In Brisbane we swapped our gargantuan cargo ship for an aged panel van, vaguely fitted out as a camping vehicle and sporting a graffiti-inspired paint job of dubious taste. The 'Flames of Hell' motif on one side was hardly going to allow us to blend in sensitively among the foliage of the national parks on our slow journey to Sydney. Unless we wanted to pose as a forest fire, which was probably unwise given the drought-induced tinderbox state much of the countryside was in. We soon learnt that the main hazard on Australian roads is not other drivers but suicidal wildlife. Evolution has given the unique marsupial fauna of the continent many attributes to cope with the harsh environment. However, dealing with speeding hunks of metal while crossing the road isn't one of them. On the dashboard a huge sticker warned us: 'Don't fucking swerve for Kangaroos or you'll roll real bad! Who's going to survive? The Roo, the Emu ...
Patrick Reusse: And returning to the lineup, an oft-wounded QB
There are a couple of things to make clear here, in regards to what Vikings coach Brad Childress had to say about quarterback Tarvaris Jackson during his Monday media session. First, Childress did not say Jackson was a China doll. He merely raised it as a possibility. Second, this was a reference to the historic fragility of China dolls, and not to that country's ongoing efforts to poison the youth of America with imported toys. Jackson will return to the lineup Sunday against Oakland. That means he has recovered from a concussion, Jackson's fourth injury in 1½ seasons with the Purple. Jackson suffered this latest injury Nov. 4 against San Diego. Childress was asked this question Monday: "How much do you factor in that he may be injury-prone when you make a decision if he's your guy?" The coach formulated his answer for a moment, then said: "You ask yourself, 'Is this just one particularly bad year? Is it the fact he is a China doll?' Somewhere you have to have some durability and resilience." Jackson injured a knee in practice before ever playing a game as a rookie in 2006.
Municipal Council reviews steps to ease city traffic woes
The council reviewed the efforts made to alleviate traffic congestion and ensure a breakthrough in a number of areas like closing some sub-roads at certain hours and adding new lanes that lead to some roundabouts. The council also reviewed the progress of work at a number of vital roads and new crossroads like the Southern Express Highway, Middle Corridor, doubling of 18th November Road, in addition to the new roundabouts and making improvements to Stars Cinema and Sheraton crossroads.
The council also reviewed a number of projects that will be designed and implemented like the truck roads, which extends from the Sultan Qaboos Road to connect the Southern Expressway and Hamriya road project in Al Wadi Al Kabir and the soon-to-begin doubling of Ghala/Ansab road. These solutions come as part of a comprehensive plan to finding solutions for traffic congestion.
Boy leaves bike inside store, which sells it for $6.99
SALEM, Ore. (AP) - If it's on the floor at the Goodwill store in Salem, it's for sale. So when Cody Young parked his bicycle in the wrong place, it got sold. Not only that, the bike that cost $232 four years ago went for $6.99 "That was just insulting," the seventh-grader said. Young said he and friends went to the store on Sunday to look at speakers. He didn't have a lock, but his friends told him they'd previously parked inside the store. He left it near other bikes that were for sale. While they were shopping, his black BMX bike was sold. Goodwill officials were unable to immediately identify the bike's purchaser. Goodwill spokeswoman Dale Emanuel said the store doesn't permit bikes inside - to avoid just such mix-ups.
Wheelchair bomber eludes detection, blows himself up inside Iraqi ...
A man in a wheelchair laden with explosives persuaded security guards to push him into an Iraqi operations center, where he blew himself up in an attack that killed the center's deputy commander. The infiltration, along with a U.S. report that insurgents used an adolescent to carry out a suicide attack against a mosque last week, was the latest indication that al-Qaida in Iraq is expanding its tactics to avoid detection before a bombing. The Iraqi military indefinitely banned all motorcycles, bicycles and hand-pushed and horse-drawn carts from Baghdad's streets on Sunday, two days after a bomb hidden under a horse-drawn cart killed three civilians. U.S. Embassy spokesman Philip Reeker said that while al-Qaida in Iraq has been "severely damaged," it remains a "dangerous threat." .
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