TimesLeader.com

Obama trumpets Asia trip as boost to US economy - 11/21/2009
President Barack Obama's eight-day trip to Asia produced no tangible wins for the United States, though he is citing talks with Asian allies that he says could help create thousands of job and open new markets for American goods in the future. Citing progress on a trip that took him from Tokyo to Seoul, Obama noted that "Asia is

Senate vote under way on 1st test of health care - 11/21/2009
The Senate has begun voting on whether to move ahead on a sweeping health care bill. The roll call began with many of the 100 members seated in their chairs and rising to vote. Such formal voting is common with Supreme Court nominations. Hours earlier, Democratic leaders had sealed the 60 votes necessary to proceed on the l

More Americans expected to travel for Thanksgiving - 11/21/2009
The number of Americans traveling away from home for Thanksgiving will be up only slightly this year from 2008, according to a report from the AAA auto club. The group, which surveyed 1,350 households, said there will be about 33.2 million people traveling by car this year _ a 2.1 percent increase from last year. But there

EPA: Uranium from polluted mine in Nev. wells - 11/21/2009
Peggy Pauly lives in a robin-egg blue, two-story house not far from acres of onion fields that make the northern Nevada air smell sweet at harvest time. But she can look through the window from her kitchen table, just past her backyard with its swingset and pet llama, and see an ominous sign on a neighboring fence: "Danger: Urani

Dems snare 60 votes to move ahead on health care - 11/21/2009
Democratic leaders secured the last two votes to move ahead on historic health care legislation, clearing the way for a Saturday night showdown on President Barack Obama's top domestic initiative. In long-awaited speeches, centrist Sens. Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas and Mary Landrieu of Louisiana said they would stand with their party

Comparison of Democratic health care bills - 11/21/2009
A comparison of the health care bills before Congress: ___ The Senate Democratic bill (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act): WHO'S COVERED: About 94 percent of legal residents under age 65 _ compared with 83 percent now. Government subsidies to help buy coverage start in 2014. Illegal immigrants would not

LyondellBasell gets buyout offer from Reliance - 11/21/2009
LyondellBasell Industries said Saturday Reliance Industries offered to acquire a controlling interest in the beleaguered chemical company, which is under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. LyondellBasell declined to disclose the value of the cash offer. India-based Reliance did not immediately respond to requests for comment. <

Hawaii anxiously watching year-end tuna supply - 11/21/2009
On New Year's Eve each year, thousands line up at fish counters across Hawaii to buy blocks of raw tuna, hoping that eating it will bring good luck and prosperity in the new year. This year, the long tradition may get a little more difficult to observe. For the first time, federal regulators are expected to prohibit the catching of bi

GOP: Health test recommendations could affect care - 11/21/2009
Republicans are seizing on this week's recommendations for fewer Pap smears and mammograms to fuel concern about government-rationed medical care _ and to try to chip away support by women for President Barack Obama's proposed health care overhaul. "This is how rationing starts," declared Jon Kyl of Arizona, the party's seco

Russia president criticizes ruling party over vote - 11/21/2009
Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev on Saturday sharply criticized officials in the ruling Kremlin-backed party for manipulating recent regional votes, saying it must learn to win fairly. Medvedev's statement marked a rare criticism of the United Russia party led by his predecessor and mentor, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. United Russ

Texas high court agrees to rehear Exxon case - 11/20/2009
The Texas Supreme Court on Friday said it will again hear arguments in the nearly 15-year legal battle over accusations that Exxon Mobil Corp. loaded abandoned wells with junk, sludge and even explosives to keep other companies from drilling there. A small drilling company that tried to enter the wells near Corpus Christi, and the lan

13 charged in $19M Central Oregon bank fraud - 11/20/2009
The collapse of a Bend real estate development company has resulted in charges against 13 people in what prosecutors say is the largest Oregon fraud case to emerge from the national real estate boom and bust. A federal grand jury in Eugene returned five separate indictments on Thursday that charged the principals in Desert Sun Develop

Pa. residents sue gas driller over polluted wells - 11/20/2009
Pat Farnelli says there's something in the water at her house. The last time she drank it, she says she vomited four times. It's made her children sick, too. Like her neighbors in this rural community 15 miles south of the New York border, Farnelli signed a lease with a major natural gas driller to explore a potentially lucrative form

Publisher says buyer emerges for Ariz. paper - 11/20/2009
The publisher of the East Valley Tribune in the Phoenix suburb of Mesa said Friday that a buyer has made an offer that would keep the paper and its Web site in business. Publisher Julie Moreno told Tribune staffers that Irvine, Calif.-based Freedom Communications received a letter of intent to purchase the paper, which Freedom planned

More ethics rules issued for NC treasurer workers - 11/20/2009
State Treasurer Janet Cowell unveiled new rules Friday banning employees from taking gifts from companies that do substantial business with the agency and setting a limit on charitable solicitations. The rules come after former chief investment officer Patricia Gerrick said she was offered favors from investment firms while employed u

Ex-Vivendi CEO: I made mistakes but never misled - 11/20/2009
Former Vivendi CEO Jean-Marie Messier told a jury Friday he made mistakes in his troubled bid to turn the French water company into a global media giant, but he never misled shareholders about the risks. Messier said he strove in good faith to build the company, but he didn't foresee technological limitations and worldwide financial p

Monsanto aims to stop leaks at Idaho mine dump - 11/20/2009
Monsanto Co. is installing a water management system at an Idaho phosphate mine the company depends on to make its Roundup weedkiller to stop the leakage of selenium and heavy metals into a tributary of the Blackfoot River. The company hopes capturing runoff and underground water will remedy problems at the waste rock dump below its S

Moody's downgrades Liberty Media LLC ratings - 11/20/2009
Moody's Investors Service downgraded ratings for Liberty Media Corp. subsidiary Liberty Media LLC on Friday. The changes come shortly after shareholders approved the formation of a new company out of DirecTV Group Inc. and some of Liberty's entertainment businesses. Moody's lowered Liberty's corporate family rating to "B1" f

"Going Rogue" is going big - 11/20/2009
"Going Rogue" is going big. Publisher HarperCollins said Friday that Sarah Palin's memoir sold 300,000 copies its first day, among the best openings ever for a nonfiction book. In 2004, Bill Clinton's "My Life" debuted with sales of 400,000 copies. The year before, Hillary Rodham Clinton's "Living History"

More ethics rules issued for NC treasurer workers - 11/20/2009
North Carolina's state treasurer has unveiled rules banning employees from taking gifts from companies that do substantial business with the agency. Treasurer Janet Cowell also announced Friday her top-level staff can't solicit charitable donations of more than $150 from contractors doing more than $10,000 worth of business a year wit