Shorts (left)
Herman Cain became badly flustered on Monday when asked to assess President Barack Obama’s policy toward Libya, raising new questions about his command of foreign policy as he lurched over five minutes from awkward pauses to halting attempts to address the issue.
Italy’s new leader is qualified but faces uphill fight
ROME — In the news media he is known simply as “Super Mario.” But Mario Monti, the new leader of Italy’s new government, which is being formed amid a crisis that threatens the European monetary union itself, will face a strong challenge in living up to his admiring nickname as he tries to steer his country from the brink of economic turmoil and through the machinations of Italian politics.
Congress turns to spending bills, deficit panel negotiates
WASHINGTON — As members of the congressional deficit reduction panel retreated to conference rooms Monday to continue negotiations, House Republicans and Senate Democrats were putting their final touches on a series of spending bills that they hope will avert another showdown over short-term financing of the government.
Taliban spokesman denies reports of his arrest on Monday
KHOST, Afghanistan — A Taliban spokesman whose provocative and taunting media reports have often infuriated Afghan and Western officials firmly denied that he had been captured Monday.
Shorts (right)
At a special session of the Nebraska Legislature, a state senator announced Monday that TransCanada had agreed to adjust its intended route of the Keystone XL oil pipeline to avoid the environmentally sensitive Sand Hills region of the state.
Clouds and showers lingering through Thursday
The bright sunny weather from last week is giving way to more unsettled weather. Gloomy skies, typical of impending fall storms, will sweep across our area through Thursday. Any time from now until then, showers will be possible and you shouldn’t stow away the umbrella. The highest probability of rain should arrive on Tuesday night into Wednesday. These increased chances will come from two developing low pressure centers across the southeastern U.S. These lows will meander northeastward toward New England, and should dissipate just off Cape Cod by late Thursday. Any rainfall in our area should be light however, since the systems are quite weak.
King of Jordan calls for Syria’s leader to step down
James Kanter contributed reporting from Brussels, and Neil MacFarquhar from Cairo.
Political turmoil further sinks Greece and Italy
ROME — With political turmoil still plaguing Greece and descending upon the much larger economy of Italy on Monday, the fate of the euro and market stability worldwide hinged on whether two of Europe’s most tangled and unresponsive political cultures could deal with their tightening fiscal gridlock.
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WASHINGTON — Republican members of a congressional panel seeking ways to cut the federal budget deficit indicated Monday that they might allow some additional tax revenue as part of a deal with Democrats.
Syria unleashes assault to take an unbowed city
BEIRUT — The Syrian government has launched a bloody assault to retake Homs, the country’s third-largest city, facing armed defectors who have prevented the government’s forces from seizing it as they did other restive locales this summer, in what may stand as one of the most violent episodes in an eight-month uprising.
Shorts (right)
WASHINGTON — The State Department’s inspector general will conduct a special investigation of the handling of the pending decision on the proposed Keystone XL pipeline in response to reports of improper pressure on policy makers and possible conflicts of interest, according to documents released Monday.
Wall Street bonuses are projected to drop up to 30%
Wall Street bonuses are set to fall by an average of 20 to 30 percent this year from a year ago, according to a closely watched compensation survey — the weakest bonus season since the financial crisis and a reflection of the leaner times confronting the industry.
Unseasonably warm in first half of week
A high pressure system is in control for the first half of the week, bringing beautiful weather conditions to the Boston area. Similar to yesterday, today and tomorrow should be sunny with unseasonably warm temperatures. Normal high temperatures for this time of year are around 55°F, but we may experience temperatures over 10°F higher than that. Enjoy the nice weather while at lasts, because a coastal low will approach the region on Thursday. With plenty of moisture associated with that system, there is a potential for heavy rain Thursday afternoon and evening. The low will exit Friday morning, with clouds dissipating as a high pressure moves in from the southwest. The temperatures on Friday will be more seasonal, as northwest winds behind the exiting low advect colder air into the region.
Europe, US market anxiety grows over Italy
When Italy issued 3 billion euros in bonds last week at an interest rate of more than 6 percent, it was about 1.5 percentage points higher than it had to pay as recently as last summer — and the most expensive 10-year money it had borrowed since joining the euro a decade ago.
Shorts (left)
WASHINGTON — One of the women who accused Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain of sexual harassment while working for him at the National Restaurant Association in the late 1990s said that the workplace turned hostile after she complained about advances he made toward her, several people familiar with her account at the time said in interviews.
Study finds big spike in poorest in the US
WASHINGTON — The number of people living in neighborhoods of extreme poverty grew substantially, by one third, over the past decade, according to a new report, erasing most of the gains from the 1990s when concentrated poverty declined. More than 10 percent of America’s poor now live in such neighborhoods, up from 9.1 percent in the beginning of the decade, an addition of more than 2 million people, according to the report by the Brookings Institution, an independent research group.
Shorts (right)
SAN FRANCISCO — Acknowledging that some searches were giving people stale results, Google revised its methods Thursday to make the answers timelier. It is one of the biggest tweaks ever to Google’s search algorithm, affecting about 35 percent of all searches.
Greek leader calls off referendum on bailout plan
ATHENS, Greece — In a tumultuous day of political gamesmanship, Prime Minister George A. Papandreou on Thursday called off a referendum on Greece’s new debt deal with the eurozone after winning a measure of support from his opposition and managed to repair, at least for a day, a major rupture in relations with Europe.
FDA officials point to increased drug approvals
Federal drug officials Thursday claimed credit for an increase in the approval of new drugs and argued that the results demonstrated the need for legislation to continue financing the current drug approval system.
Palestinians’ UN bid moves closer to rejection
The Palestinian bid for membership at the United Nations, which was doomed from the start by the threat of a U.S. veto, moved another notch closer to rejection on Thursday at the Security Council, diplomats said.