News on the Net

Phoenix, kidnap-for-ransom capital

Reporting from Phoenix -- In broad daylight one January afternoon, on a street of ranch-style houses with kidney-shaped swimming pools, Juan Francisco Perez-Torres was kidnapped in front of his wife, daughter and three neighbors.

A sure hope in uncertain times

Depressing would be a profound understatement in describing the leading stories in todays newspapers. One headline reads "Bankruptcy rate soars 50%." Another announces "GM to cut 10,000 salaried jobs." A third says "Housing starts tumble."

Peugeot Citroen job cuts after losses

French car group PSA Peugeot Citroen says it expects to cut 11,000 jobs throughout the world in 2009 after reporting net losses of €343m in 2008.

Wal-Mart Cuts Jobs

BENTONVILLE -- Hundreds of Wal-Mart and Sam's Club corporate office workers lost their jobs Tuesday as the world's largest retailer restructures to cut costs in a dismal economy.

County cuts 27 workers, says state to blame

SAN DIEGO — County officials laid off 27 workers yesterday, blaming state officials for budget problems and redirecting political heat to Sacramento. “The problem is the state is not releasing funding to the county for programs,” said Supervisor Pam Slater-Price.

Global Confidence Weakens as Slump Deepens, Job Losses Mount

Feb. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Confidence in the world economy waned in February as stimulus packages were slow to revive growth and unemployment climbed, a survey of Bloomberg users on six continents showed.

Sex Predator Accusations Shake a Wisconsin Town

NEW BERLIN, Wis. — There were just a few hours left before the Eisenhower High School Lions were to take on their rivals last weekend, and the New Berlin schools superintendent had a case of the jitters having little to do with basketball.

In New Procedure, Artificial Arm Listens to Brain

Amanda Kitts lost her left arm in a car accident three years ago, but these days she plays football with her 12-year-old son, and changes diapers and bearhugs children at the three Kiddie Cottage day care centers she owns in Knoxville, Tenn.

China TV Network Apologizes for Fire

BEIJING — China’s national television network on Tuesday blamed an illegal fireworks display by its employees for igniting a blaze that destroyed a futuristic luxury hotel and theater here.

Lies On The Prize

During the past election, and I'm preaching to the choir, many promises were made to a relatively, politically-ignorant support base that bought the line unconditionally. However there are some people who know how the world operates, and just because Barack Obama claims he can heal the sick, shade us from the Sun, and fix the dollar, they know it don't make it so.

Chase Ends, Bentley Driver Dies at Hospital

The driver of a white Bentley with Illinois license plates who led police on a circuitous slow-speed pursuit on Los Angeles freeways that ended with a lengthy stand-off died later at at St. Joseph's hospital, police officials said Tuesday morning. A source told the LA Times that the driver, identified later as Mustafa Mustafa, had shot himself.

Japan’s Consumer Sentiment Stays Near Record Low on Job Cuts

Japan’s consumer sentiment stayed near its lowest level in at least 26 years in January, indicating households are likely to keep cutting spending.

UBS Plans to Cut Jobs, Return to Profit After Loss

UBS AG, Switzerland’s largest bank, plans to eliminate an additional 2,000 jobs at its securities unit and return to profit in 2009 after a record loss last year.

Husband and Wife Dead in Apparent Murder-Suicide, Police Say

POTTSVILLE, Pa. — An eastern Pennsylvania man and his wife are dead in a domestic shooting. Pottsville police say they were called to the couple's home by the wife just before 8:45 a.m. Sunday.

Church Shooter Sentenced to Life in Prison

An out-of-work truck driver smiled Monday as he pleaded guilty to killing two people and wounding six others at a Tennessee church last summer because he considered the liberal church "a den of un-American vipers."

Harry Potter Star Killed After Prediction ‘Someone Is Going To Die’

Rob Knox, who plays the character Marcus Belby in the forthcoming film Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, was allegedly stabbed five times while trying to protect his younger brother.

Ruin Your Health With the Obama Stimulus Plan

Feb. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Republican Senators are questioning whether President Barack Obama’s stimulus bill contains the right mix of tax breaks and cash infusions to jump-start the economy.

Politicians

All the huffing and puffing about the latest political wunderkind-Michael Ignatieff- who is going to solve all of our problems is enough to make the Gods laugh themselves into a fit. Iggy is even being hailed in some quarters as Canada's answer to Barack Obama.

Collins and Snowe

Senators Collins and Snowe are at it again! Ostensibly unaware of constituent woes — purloined retirement funds, record unemployment and an economy on the rocks — the iconoclastic duo is precariously poised to compromise the values of this great nation one last time. Advocates of laissez-aller bi-partisanship, both moderates appear to be sidling with the libertine wine-and-cheese without borders crowd who champion la cause célèbre of Obama’s oxymoronic S-1 Stimulus Bill. The proposal, of course, is riddled with Democratic paybacks that reek of socialism and fiscal irresponsibility.

Obama’s Middle East Stumble

With every passing day, I am beginning to believe that President Obama lives in his own world, a kind of parallel universe to the real world. Speaking from Obama World, he is convinced that if enough kind and gentle words are spoken, he can personally change the Real World. He can’t.