This newspaper is generated daily by my (un)intelligent agent. For
more information on the newspaper's generation or if you have
questions/comments, please consult the Newspaper
Frequently Asked Questions list.
-Thanks, Aaron, proprietor of the Last
Homely House
This edition was generated on Fri Jan 11 08:45:01 EST 2008
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Bank of America Corp. said Friday it has agreed to buy Countrywide Financial for $4 billion in stock, a deal that both rescues the country's biggest mortgage lender and expands the financial services empire of the nation's largest consumer bank.
NEW YORK - A company that sells Internet domain names is facing criticisms for holding some in reserve as a consumer-protection measure, a move that also prevents interested parties from shopping around for better prices.
LAS VEGAS - It probably goes without saying that no one actually needs a dancing MP3 player or a music-playing Taser holster or a drink cooler that can be ridden like a scooter.
LOS ANGELES - What do Jessica Alba, Katie Holmes and Rosario Dawson have in common? All are A-list actresses, and all support V-Day, a global effort to end violence against women and girls.
PASADENA, Calif. - The possibility of a collision between Mars and an approaching asteroid has been effectively ruled out, according to scientists watching the space rock.
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. - Disgraced Olympian Marion Jones is asking a federal judge to keep her out of prison, but the only real question may be how much time she gets. Jones, who apologized, retired and gave up her five Olympic medals after admitting she lied about steroids and a check-fraud scheme, was to be sentenced Friday by U.S. District Judge Kenneth Karas in White Plains.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp on Friday said it agreed to acquire struggling mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp for about $4 billion (2.04 billion pounds) in stock, a move that could help avert one of the biggest collapses in the U.S. housing crisis.
TEL AVIV (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush wrapped up his mission to Israel and the occupied West Bank on Friday, emboldened enough to have predicted a peace treaty within a year but with no major breakthroughs for his efforts.
MYRTLE BEACH, South Carolina (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidates said on Thursday the U.S. economy was going through a difficult slowdown but an election-year recession could be avoided with the right mix of policies.
WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand's Sir Edmund Hillary, who along with Nepal's Tenzing Norgay Sherpa became the first to conquer Mount Everest, died in hospital on Friday.
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan rejected on Friday a call by U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid for President George W. Bush to consider cutting Pakistani aid unless it restores full civil rights and does more to fight terrorism.
TEHRAN (Reuters) - U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei sought clarity from Iran on Friday about an atomic program the West fears may ultimately yield warheads.
LOS ANGELES/NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - Here is the cold, hard reality of the 65th annual Golden Globe Awards that will be handed out Sunday at the Beverly Hilton: A lot of people are going to lose a lot of money.
SAN JOSE DEL GUAVIARE, Colombia (Reuters) - With tears, smiles and long hugs, two women hostages were freed by Colombia's Marxist rebels on Thursday after years in the jungle, raising hopes for dozens more languishing in secret camps.
TEL AVIV (AFP) - US President George W. Bush wrapped up a trip to the Holy Land on Friday after predicting that a peace treaty would be signed within a year to end the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
NAIROBI (AFP) - Kenya's opposition on Friday called a mass rally for next week after intense diplomacy failed to resolve the political showdown between President Mwai Kibaki and his rival Raila Odinga that has left hundreds dead.
WELLINGTON (AFP) - Edmund Hillary, the modest New Zealand beekeeper who shot to global fame as the first person to climb Mount Everest, died Friday at age 88.
TEHRAN (AFP) - UN nuclear watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei was holding talks in Tehran on Friday, seeking answers over Iran's contested nuclear drive in his first visit to the country in over one-and-a-half years.
TOKYO (AFP) - Japan voted Friday to return to the US-led "war on terror" after a two-month gap as the government took the drastic step of overriding a rejection in parliament for the first time in the modern era.
LONDON (AFP) - Stricken British bank Northern Rock said Friday it had sold part of its mortgage book to US investment bank JP Morgan for 2.25 billion pounds (4.39 billion euros, 2.97 billion dollars) in cash.
SEOUL (AFP) - The chairman of Lone Star on Friday rejected allegations that colleagues of the US equity fund had conspired to manipulate a share price to acquire a South Korean credit card company on the cheap.
ATLANTA - After three years showing houses in Atlanta's hilly suburbs, Dee McMahon is finished with real estate.
PARIS - Behold, with a microscope if necessary, the Smart car. The Mercedes-built European two-seater turns on half a dime, loves to park where even MINIs fear to fit, and is counterintuitively comfortable.
BERLIN (AFP) - The German media on Thursday predicted a bright future for a female polar bear cub separated from its disturbed mother at a zoo in Nuremburg.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former British prime minister Tony Blair is expected on Thursday to join U.S. bank JPMorgan Chase & Co Inc as a senior adviser, according to a person familiar with the situation.
CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Eight passengers and two crew members were injured on Thursday after an Air Canada jet bucked in midair on a flight across Canada, forcing the pilots to make an emergency landing in Calgary.
GREEN BAY, Wis. - If Brett Favre is leaning toward returning for another season with the Green Bay Packers, he hasn't discussed it yet with his coach.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Bank of America Corp. said Friday it has agreed to buy Countrywide Financial for $4 billion in stock, a deal that both rescues the country's biggest mortgage lender and expands the financial services empire of the nation's largest consumer bank.