United States

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Crocker: Speed Up Iraqi Refugee Policy

Ambassador says 10,000 expats could take 2 years to admit

(Newser) - Ambassador Ryan Crocker says the US needs to get moving on admitting Iraqi refugees. In a State Department memo titled "Iraqi Refugee Processing: Can We Speed It Up?", Crocker writes that thousands of desperate Iraqis are facing bottlenecks to their resettlement, and that at the present rate it would...

Big Brother Making Strides in Technology

America's top minds are devoted to 'gait DNA' and new spy drones

(Newser) - Top researchers are developing new surveillance technology, the BBC reports - including "gait DNA" to identify a person by their walk and advanced spy drones that can fly overhead for years. The Pentagon plans to continue its tech supremacy, which includes inventing the Internet in the 1970s and satellite...

Putin Praises Zubkov, Ribs Bush
Putin Praises Zubkov,
Ribs Bush

Putin Praises Zubkov, Ribs Bush

Russian president won't try for third term—at least now

(Newser) - Vladimir Putin heaped praise upon Viktor Zubkov, the obscure bureaucrat he appointed this week as Russia's new prime minister, at a meeting with foreign journalists yesterday, the Guardian reports. The choice of Zubkov as PM over other highly ranked favorites for the post has created suspicion that he may want...

These Streets Are Paved in Gold
These Streets Are Paved in Gold

These Streets Are Paved in Gold

Forbes publishes list of most expensive US city blocks

(Newser) - Forbes has compiled a list of the most expensive real estate blocks in 10 major cities.  It teamed up with date provider Reply! to compile an index of the 'billionaire rows' of the US. In New York, the block between Fifth Avenue, Madison, 69th and 70th Sts. takes the...

US Freeing Iraqi Detainees for Ramadan

50-80 Sunnis and Shiites will be released each day of holy month

(Newser) - As Ramadan began, the US military today began freeing some of its 23,000 Iraqi detainees—between 50 and 80 will be released each day of Islam's holy month, Reuters reports. Military brass stress that Sunnis and Shiites alike will be considered for release. "This will be a completely...

Agreement on Key Iraq Oil Law Hits the Skids

Sectarian schism again undermines top political objective

(Newser) - Agreements forged in February over a law regulating the distribution of revenue from Iraq's oil fields are dissolving, the New York Times reports. Hussain al-Shahristani, oil minister for the Shiite-controlled federal government, held meetings yesterday to try to save the compromise, but the northern Kurdish areas have already made deals...

Supply Worries Send Oil Near $80 a Barrel

US inventory drops, and OPEC production boost won't cover shortfall

(Newser) - Crude oil hit nearly $80 a barrel today—its highest price ever—thanks to dwindling supply. US inventories fell by 7M barrels last week, much more than the 2.7M analysts predicted. OPEC announced a production increase of only 500K barrels, which Bloomberg reports will not meet seasonal demand increases....

Trade Gap Dips to Lowest Level in 3 Years

Weak dollar, stronger world economies fuel rise in US exports

(Newser) - The US trade gap—the difference in total value between imports and exports—dropped to a 3-year low in July as exports jumped on a weak dollar and growing overseas demand. The figure fell 0.3% to $59.2 billion, roughly on par with the estimate economists surveyed by Bloomberg...

Europe Yawns Over US Election
Europe Yawns Over US Election

Europe Yawns Over US Election

Not convinced trans-Atlantic ties will improve

(Newser) - The next occupant of the Oval Office will not improve damaged US-European relationships, said almost half of Europeans in a recent poll. In an opinion not reflected by leaders like Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy, only 35% said relations would improve, while 46% said they would not. A study sponsor...

US Lost Jobs for First Time in 4 Years

August payroll drop shows subprime crisis affecting economy

(Newser) - In the first drop since 2003, the US lost 4,000 jobs in August, surprising experts and putting more pressure on the Fed to reduce rates at its upcoming meeting. Economists had predicted an increase of 100,000 or more jobs. The decline in employment is the clearest signal to...

US, China Grow Closer Despite Touchy Issues

Bush accepts Olympics invitation; talks recalls, environment with Hu

(Newser) - President Bush accepted an invitation today from China’s president to attend next summer’s Olympics, a gesture that will likely anger human rights activists but may increase pressure on Beijing, the Times reports. In a 90-minute meeting in the eve of the APEC summit, Hu Jintao and Bush also...

US Laborers Work Hard for the Money

New UN report says Americans more productive than peers

(Newser) - Labor Day is a well-deserved rest for Americans, as a new UN report shows US laborers work longer, harder, and get more done than their counterparts worldwide. The average US worker produces the most wealth, raking in $63,885 yearly, followed by Irish laborers at $55,986. Only Norway beat...

N. Korea Agrees to Ban Nukes
N. Korea Agrees to Ban Nukes

N. Korea Agrees to Ban Nukes

Move could lead to friendlier relations with US

(Newser) - North Korea has promised to disable all of its nuclear facilities by the end of this year, the BBC reports, possibly paving the way for warmer relations between the US and a country it now lists as a supporter of terror. After meeting with representatives from the North, US negotiator...

US May Take North Korea Off Terror List

Status change could come before nukes are dismantled

(Newser) - The US may be willing to remove North Korea from the list of state sponsors of terrorism, qualifying the country for American aid and World Bank loans, before Pyongyang has dismantled its nuclear weapons program. In the run-up to talks with North Korean officials in Geneva this weekend, the lead...

Iraqis Fleeing to US Hindered
Iraqis Fleeing to US Hindered

Iraqis Fleeing to US Hindered

Workers' lives are in danger, but exit routes are clogged

(Newser) - Iraqis who have worked with the occupation forces, endangering their own lives, face overwhelming obstacles if they want to enter the US as refugees. Tens of thousands of locals work for contractors, but because they're not directly employed by the US government, they're not eligible for special immigration status. The...

France Eyes Diplomatic Role in Iraq
France Eyes Diplomatic
Role in Iraq

France Eyes Diplomatic Role in Iraq

New foreign minister may take on peace conference

(Newser) - "Everyone knows the Americans will not be able to get this country out of difficulty alone," the new French foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner, told a French radio station on his way out of Iraq yesterday. Kouchner 's 3-day visit confirmed that the French see a role for themselves...

Sarkozy: Short, Hyper, and Still Very European

The new Napoleon may signal a world turning away from America

(Newser) - A New Yorker profile compares Nicolas Sarkozy to Napoleon: He's not just short, but he's both more Euro-centric and less of a reactionary than most Americans think. In fact, Adam Gopnik, who dubs the brazen, mercurial Sarko a "human bomb," writes than the nouveau regime may signal "...

Hurricane Dean Hastens 'Three Amigos' Summit

Bush meets neighbors, Calderon leaves early, protests turn violent

(Newser) - President Bush met with his counterparts from north and south yesterday at a Canadian summit overshadowed by Hurricane Dean and greeted with violent protests. The so-called "Three Amigos" met in a Quebec château ringed by a huge security wall, outside which police used tear gas and rubber bullets...

French Minister Visits Iraq, Forges US Bond

First visit to war-torn country is 'message of solidarity' with Iraqis

(Newser) - France tipped a symbolic hat to the US today by sending its foreign minister on a visit to Baghdad. Bernard Kouchner is the first French minister to visit Iraq since the US invasion of 2003 and comes at a time when analysts say that US-French relations are warming. Kouchner, who...

US Presses Musharraf to Share Power With Rival

Bhutto as PM would signal change

(Newser) - To strengthen Gen. Pervez Musharraf 's shaky hold on crisis-rocked Pakistan, the US is pressing him to share power with his biggest rival, the New York Times reports. Musharraf is deeply unpopular, and the White House thinks his best chance of remaining president is to join forces with former PM...

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