SPB News for Thursday.

Defense lawyers for former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick asked the Wayne County Prosecutor to destroy thousands of text messages between himself and an aide, with whom he was having an affair, from the case that had not yet been released to the public, according to prosecutor Kym Worthy. This revelation comes a day after the former aide to Kilpatrick was sentenced to 120 days in jail for obstruction of justice. Christine Beatty and Kilpatrick lied under oath about their relationship during a 2007 civil suit. Beatty will also pay a $100,000 fine and will not be able to attend law school during her five year probation. (Detroit Free Press, Associated Press)

Chris Matthews decided against running for the Senate.

SIPC: Some Madoff Investors May Recover Funds In Coming Months

McCain hoax girl begins probation

Israel May Face Charges for War Crimes Israel has committed war crimes and should be prosecuted in an international court, says Raji Sourani, head of the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) in Gaza. "The repeated bombing of clearly marked civilian buildings, where civilians were sheltering, crosses several red lines in regard to international law," Sourani told IPS. Palestinian Authority (PA) delegate to Britain Professor Manuel Hassassian has said the PA will launch legal proceedings against Israeli leaders it says are responsible for war crimes in Gaza, according to a Palestinian news report.

Iraq's Sadr urges reprisals against US over Gaza raids The Shia radical movement of Moqtada al-Sadr, which fought two wars with US troops in 2004, threatened on Wednesday to resume attacks on American targets inside Iraq over Washington’s support for the Israeli assault on Gaza. 'I ask the Iraqi resistance to engage in revenge operations against the United States, the biggest parter of the Zionist enemy,' Sadr said in a statement issued by his office in the central shrine city of Najaf.

Security firms in Iraq keen to recruit Filipinos Foreign security services are trying to illegally recruit active police and military men for deployment in the security services in Iraq. Their offer is an initial payment of 20,000 pesos (Dh1,666). The rest of their salary is to be negotiated when they reach Baghdad, a source told Gulf News. Members of US-led allied forces in Iraq have been hiring mercenaries and drivers from the Philippines.

Gates Urges $69.7 Billion More in 2009 for Iraq War The Pentagon needs at least $69.7 billion more to cover war costs in Iraq through the end of this fiscal year, according to Defense Secretary Robert Gates. That amount includes $600 million to buy four additional Lockheed Martin Corp. F-22 fighters, Gates wrote Dec. 31 to Representative John Murtha, chairman of a House appropriations subcommittee on military spending.

First U.S. female soldier to flee Iraq war for Canada ordered to leave by Jan. 27 The first woman soldier to flee the U.S. military to avoid the Iraq war has been ordered deported along with her husband and their young children. Kimberly Rivera said her risk assessment application and request to stay in Canada on humanitarian and compassionate grounds were rejected Wednesday.

Blagojevich Objects to Release of Wiretaps to Impeachment Panel Lawyers for embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich told a federal court Wednesday that he objects to the release of federal wiretaps to a legislative committee studying whether to impeach him. The lawyers' statement, filed with the U.S. District Court here, raises the likelihood that the Illinois House impeachment panel will move forward on whether to recommend impeachment to the full House without access to the tapes.

Bayer Knowingly Sold HIV-Contaminated Vaccines, Say Internal Documents By Mike Adams Here's a little-known truth about Bayer that needs to be revisited. In 2006, it was discovered that Bayer found out a vaccine it was selling in the United States was accidentally contaminated with HIV. In order to cover its tracks, say the journalists in this video, Bayer pulled the vaccines off the market and sold them to consumers in Japan, France, Spain and other countries, where hemophiliacs were then contaminated with HIV due to the vaccine.

Obama Is Reported Set to Revise Counterterrorism Efforts — WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama is preparing to scrap the way President Bush oversaw domestic security in the White House and name a former Central Intelligence Agency official to coordinate counterterrorism, people close to the transition said Wednesday.