SPB News for Thursday.

Kerry: Syria's Assad Ready For Talks On Israel

Hillary: U.S. May Talk Afghanistan With Iran

Obama To Name Florida Official To Be FEMA Chief

In sour economy, US teens shun business careers

Letterman: Limbaugh 'bonehead,' 'gangster'

Just 11% of Republicans Say Limbaugh Is Their Party's Leader — Despite efforts by the Obama political team and its surrogates to link Rush Limbaugh to the Republican Party, just 11% of GOP voters say the conservative radio commentator is the party's leader.

Ex-First Lady Barbara Bush Has Heart Surgery — Bush Aide Says the Former First Lady Was ‘Alert and Funny’ After Surgery — Former first lady Barbara Bush had open-heart surgery Wednesday and is resting comfortably at a Houston hospital with her husband, former President George H.W. Bush …

US Treasury secretary attacks oil, gas tax breaks — U.S. oil and natural gas producing companies should not receive federal subsidies in the form of tax breaks because their businesses contribute to global warming, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told Congress on Wednesday.

Whitehouse: ‘Blanket immunity’ that prevents prosecution of Bush officials is a ‘mistake.’ — Yesterday, the Senate Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing on the creation of a “truth commission” to investigate Bush administration wrongdoings. Sen. Pat Leahy (D-VT) has suggested that the commission may grant …

Hidden Pension Fiasco May Foment Another $1 Trillion Bailout — The Chicago Transit Authority retirement plan had a $1.5 billion hole in its stash of assets in 2007. At the height of a four-year bull market, it didn't have enough cash on hand to pay its retirees through 2013, meaning it was underfunded to the tune of 62 percent.

Ex-Bush lawyer talks about torture memos — Visiting Chapman professor wrote opinions on interrogation methods. — Recommend — ORANGE - John Yoo has brought attention to the Chapman University School of Law, where he is a distinguished visiting professor, with his experiences in the Office …

Merrill's $10 Million Men — Top 10 Earners Made $209 Million in 2008 as Firm Foundered — As bad as 2008 was for Merrill Lynch & Co., it was very good for Andrea Orcel, the firm's top investment banker. Although Merrill's net loss ballooned to $27.6 billion last year, Mr. Orcel …

UK mulls lifting ban on Hezbollah

Cincinnati Reds Invite Obama To Civil Rights Game In June

Education Secretary Says DC Kids Should Keep Vouchers

Merrill Lynch execs subpoenaed

Orcel, Montaug, Kraus each paid $10m in cash and stocks before bailout.

Top U.N. Official Accuses U.S. of Inhuman 'Atrocities' in Iraq, Afghanistan --Says U.S. actions directly led to more than a million Iraqi civilian deaths since 2003 A top U.N. official accused the United States of committing inhuman "atrocities" in Iraq and Afghanistan during a speech Wednesday to the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva. "The aggressions against Iraq and Afghanistan and their occupations constitute atrocities that must be condemned and repudiated by all who believe in the rule of law in international relations," said U.N. General Assembly President Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann.

Iran Plans War Crimes Trials for Israelis Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, opened an international conference in Tehran that will press Interpol to help Iranian prosecutors arrest 15 Israeli leaders on war crimes charges related to the recent war in Gaza. Meanwhile, discussions are reportedly continuing in The Hague on the question of the international court’s authority to open an investigation of its own into actions carried out in Gaza, since the territory is not part of any internationally recognized state.

Poor KBR wiring endangers troops in Afghanistan, contractors say --Electricians who worked for KBR say supervisors ignored their warnings Faulty KBR electrical wiring is already suspected in the deaths of several U.S. troops in Iraq. Contractors who worked in Afghanistan are reporting similar problems at American bases there. "In general, the electrical power systems in the camp can be described as a disaster waiting to happen," electrician Noris Rogers wrote to his bosses at military contractor KBR about conditions at one base in 2005. The letter warned of "extreme dangers" of electrical shock and fire hazards at the facility. Rogers, who left Afghanistan shortly after writing that letter, told CNN that the work done by KBR at one U.S. base in Kabul was "by far" the worst he has seen in 20-plus years in the trade.

Judge tosses ex-sailor's terror-support conviction A federal judge on Wednesday threw out one conviction against a former Navy sailor accused of passing along information about ship movements, dealing a post-mortem blow to a Bush administration that had praised the case as a success. U.S. District Judge Mark Kravitz overturned last year's conviction of Hassan Abu-Jihaad, of Phoenix, on a charge of providing material support to terrorists, citing the language of the law. He upheld his conviction for disclosing classified national defense information.

US sanctions 11 firms tied to Iran bank The Obama administration on Tuesday imposed sanctions on 11 companies tied to an Iranian bank that the United States and others say is helping to fund Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs. The penalties announced by the Treasury bar any transactions between the firms, which are either owned by or linked to Iran's Bank Melli or its subsidiaries, and US citizens and freeze any assets the firms may have in US jurisdictions.

Soldier's family suing KBR says it violated confidentiality order The parents of a soldier electrocuted [by KBR] in the shower in Iraq claim that the military contractor they are suing for wrongful death violated a confidentiality order it pushed for by releasing information to the media. Yesterday, lawyers for the family of Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth argued that attorneys for KBR Inc. should face sanctions for their behavior.

Unopened claims letters hidden at VA offices --In New York, 16,000 pieces of unprocessed mail and 717 documents emerged in December. A new report about Veterans Affairs Department employees squirreling away tens of thousands of unopened letters related to benefits claims is sparking fresh concerns that veterans and their survivors are being cheated out of money. VA officials acknowledge further credibility problems based on a new report of a previously undisclosed 2007 incident in which workers at a Detroit regional office turned in 16,000 pieces of unprocessed mail and 717 documents turned up in New York in December during amnesty periods in which workers were promised no one would be penalized.

Brown says U.S. should lead world out of recession The United States should seize the moment and lead the world out of recession but other countries need to play their part too, Prime Minister Gordon Brown told U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday. In a speech to the U.S. Congress, Brown urged America to resist protectionism, fight climate change and take advantage of the huge goodwill towards it after the election of President Barack Obama.

Bid to Undo Bush Memo on Threats to Species A few weeks before he left office, President [sic] George W. Bush told federal officials that, in effect, they did not have to bother getting the advice of wildlife experts before taking actions that might harm plants or animals protected by the Endangered Species Act. On Tuesday, President Obama said that, in effect, they did.