SPB News for Tuesday.

Sen. Dole Won't Attend GOP Convention

McCain Has Small Mole-Like Growth Removed From Face

Singapore firm takes $3.4B of Merrill
State investor Temasek Holdings comes to the aid of ailing US bank.


LA Times: Study proves media harder on Obama than McCain
LATimes:
The Center for Media and Public Affairs at George Mason University, where researchers have tracked network news content for two decades, found that ABC, NBC and CBS were tougher on Obama than on Republican John McCain during the first six weeks of the general-election campaign.





Police: Man shot churchgoers over liberal views An unemployed man [Jim D. Adkisson] accused of opening fire with a shotgun and killing two people at a Unitarian Universalist church apparently targeted the congregation out of hatred for its support of liberal social policies, police said Monday.




Bush administration projects record 2009 deficit --Bush 2009 deficit will reach $482 billion, record driven by [his] sagging economy The next [sic] president will inherit a record budget deficit of $482 billion, according to a new Bush administration estimate released Monday. But the numbers could go even higher if the economy performs worse than the White House predicts.



N.Y Governor Warning of Worst Economy in Decades Governor Paterson, convinced the state faces its worst fiscal crisis since the mid-1970s, will deliver the grim news in an unprecedented special address to New Yorkers as soon as tomorrow night, The Post has learned. The governor's address will say that plunging state revenues will force painful cuts in state services, necessitate a reduction in the state work force, possibly through layoffs, and require other difficult economic measures, source said.


Judge tosses Savage's suit against Islamic group A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by conservative radio talk show host Michael Savage against an Islamic civil rights group over its use of a portion of his show in which he called the Quran a "book of hate." Savage sued the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, for copyright infringement and racketeering lawsuit late last year, claiming the group violated his rights by using a segment of his "Savage Nation" show in a letter-writing campaign to get advertisers to boycott the program. In her ruling Friday, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston said people who listen to a public broadcast are entitled to use excerpts for purposes of comment and criticism.





Bush approves execution of soldier, first in 47 years
WASHINGTON — For the first time in nearly half a century, a president has approved the execution of a member of the armed services





U.S. Headed for 'Heightened Alert' Stage --Major Events on the Horizon Prompt a Surge in Anti-Terror Efforts 28 Jul 2008 Government officials have been quietly stepping up counterterror efforts out of a growing concern that al Qaeda or similar organizations might try to capitalize on the spate of extremely high-profile events in the coming months, sources tell ABC News. Anti-terror officials in the U.S. cite this summer and fall's lineup of two major political parties' conventions, November's general 'election' and months of transition into a new presidential administration as cause for heightened awareness and action. This is what the Department of Homeland Security is quietly declaring a Period of Heightened Alert, or POHA , a time frame when terrorists may have more incentive to attack.

Report: Empty prison in Iraq a $40M 'failure' --As of this spring, Parsons had been paid $333 million. More than $142 million of that was for projects that were terminated or canceled. 28 Jul 2008 In the flatlands north of Baghdad sits a prison with no prisoners. It holds something else: a chronicle of U.S. government waste, misguided planning and construction shortcuts costing $40 million [to Parsons] and stretching back to the American overseers who replaced Saddam Hussein. Stuart Bowen, the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction, estimated up to 20 percent "waste" - or more than $4 billion - from the $21 billion spent so far in the U.S.-bankrolled Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Fund.




U.S. Military Says Soldiers Fired on Civilians The American military admitted Sunday night that a platoon of soldiers raked a car of innocent Iraqi civilians with hundreds of rounds of gunfire and that the military then issued a news release larded with misstatements [lies], asserting that the victims were criminals who had fired on the troops. The attack on June 25 killed three people, a man and two women, as they drove to work at a bank at Baghdad’s airport. The attack infuriated Iraqi officials and even prompted the Iraqi armed forces general command to call the shooting cold-blooded murder.

Suicide hot line got calls from 22,000 veterans More than 22,000 veterans have sought help from a special suicide hot line in its first year, and 1,221 suicides have been averted, the government says. According to a recent RAND Corp. study, roughly one in five soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan displays symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, putting them at a higher risk for suicide.



Paul: US would back Israeli strike on Iran Former US presidential candidate Ron Paul says should there be an Israeli strike on Iran over its nuclear work, it would not be unilateral. The Texas congressman told Press TV that there is no 'such thing as independent Israel doing anything', dismissing speculation that the world may witness unilateral Israeli bombardments of Iranian nuclear sites. "No matter what they do, it is our money, it is our weapons, and they are not going to do it without us approving it," said the Republican.



Iran Not Manufacturing Nuclear Bomb, Ahmadinejad Tells NBC News Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told NBC News that Iran isn't developing nuclear weapons, the network reported. "We are not working to manufacture a bomb," NBC's Brian Williams quoted Ahmadinejad as saying following an interview with the president in Tehran. "Nuclear weapons are so 20th Century."



Brown hit by call for resignation and bad poll ratings Gordon Brown's standing was further undermined today as a Labour MP urged him to resign, new poll figures cast doubt on his performance. Gordon Prentice, the MP for Pendle, said that Brown ought to stand down because he did not have the skills to lead Labour to victory at the next election.



Pakistani journalist in US jail on terrorism charges Nayyar Zaidi, the well-known US-based Pakistani-American journalist who has been a citizen of the United States for more than 30 years, has been in US custody for the last four months on what are said to be terrorism-related charges. According to one report, Zaidi is being held on the charge of "obstruction of justice", a very serious offence. He is also said to be awaiting a trial. The Homeland Security Department or the FBI have made no announcement about his arrest or incarceration.


FBI, IRS Raid County Offices, Homes, Businesses --Agents At Homes of Commissioner Jimmy Dimora, Auditor Frank Russo (OH) The FBI and the IRS launched a joint investigation into the Cuyahoga County government. Search warrants were being served Monday at 10 locations, including the Cuyahoga County Administration Building, homes and businesses, NewsChannel5 reported. About 200 FBI agents raided the county administration building. Agents were going through files and stopping employees showing up for work downtown Monday. The third and fourth floors of the county building were closed.