Wednesday, October 21, 2009

SPB News fo Wednesday



Reid offers deal to doctors; health care bill language now online

Biden Takes Trip To Central Europe

CA Sues State Street Over Pension Funds

Miss California USA sued over implants

Byrd Returns To Senate To Manage Bill

Democrats lock Republicans out of committee room — Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.) locked Republicans out of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee room to keep them from meeting when Democrats aren't present. — Towns' action came after repeated public ridicule from the leading Republican …

Iraq lawmakers warn next govt may alter oil deals International oil companies signing deals with Iraq are taking a big risk as the next government, to be elected in January, may revise or cancel those contracts, senior lawmakers said on Monday. The warnings from lawmakers and uncertainty about who will win the Jan. 16 election mean that firms striking a spree of deals, which could rock the balance of power among oil states, are unlikely to invest heavily before the vote, analysts said.

US Republicans side with Halliburton/KBR against gang-raped woman --American woman gang-raped by fellow US contactors in Iraq wins rights despite Republican opposition. A federal appeals court has ruled a woman who says she was gang-raped by co-workers of the war contractor KBR can pursue her case in open court. The three-judge panel rejected KBR’s attempt to have the case handled in private arbitration instead of a courtroom... This year, Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) proposed an amendment that would deny defense contracts to companies that ask employees to sign away the right to sue. It passed, but the amendment received 30 nay votes, all from Republicans.

Bankers set to pocket £6bn as bonuses soar by 50% City financiers will together pocket New Year bonuses of more than £6 billion - 50 per cent more than a year ago - as the rest of the country faces growing unemployment and public-service cutbacks, according to research published today. Seven-figure pay-outs will be among the bonuses awarded to many of the top financiers of the major banks and financial institutions this Christmas, following months of bumper profits.

FAA investigating 'balloon boy' incident The Federal Aviation Administration has opened an investigation into last week's "balloon boy" incident to determine if the experimental balloon's launch violated agency regulations. Richard and Mayumi Heene of Fort Collins, Colo., already face the possibility of criminal charges for the release of an experimental balloon from their backyard... The FAA will investigate how it was informed of the balloon launch, how it responded to the incident and whether the launch violated FAA regulations that prohibit the release of large unmanned balloons that could interfere with other aircraft near airports, spokeswoman Laura Brown said.

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