Wall St. Partially Recovers From Sell-Off

Wall St. Partially Recovers From Sell-Off

 

Wall Street mounted a modest recovery on Tuesday, gaining back nearly half of the enormous collapse that had seemed to bode badly for this week.

G.M. Asks for $18 Billion as It Tries to Avoid Collapse

WASHINGTON — General Motors will drastically cut jobs, factories, brands and executive pay in a desperate attempt to persuade Congress to give it $12 billion in loans to stave off a financial collapse.

In an unabashed plea for an emergency government rescue, G.M. said Tuesday that it needed $4 billion in immediate loans to stay in business after December, and another $8 billion to carry it through the first part of next year.

Without help, the nation’s largest automaker could topple into insolvency within weeks and drag down the other two members of Detroit’s troubled Big Three. The company said it needed $10 billion in federal loans to keep running through March, another $2 billion for the balance of 2009, and a $6 billion line of credit in additional support beyond that.

Court Sets Plaxico Burress’ Bail at $100,000

Dec. 1, 2008: New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress arrives in Mahattan Supreme Court in handcuffs.

NEW YORK —  Taken to court in handcuffs, Plaxico Burress posted $100,000 bail on weapons possession charges Monday as a frenzy grew around the case of the Giants star receiver who accidentally shot himself in a nightclub.

Authorities said teammate Antonio Pierce was being investigated over his role in the shooting, while the Super Bowl-champion Giants weren’t sure what action they would take against Burress.

Hand over militants, India tells Pakistan

(CNN) — India has blamed “elements from Pakistan” for the attacks that killed 179 people in Mumbai and renewed demands for its neighbor to hand over wanted militant leaders.

External Affairs Minister Sri Pranab Mukherjee said Pakistan was originally given the names of those leaders after a 2001 attack on India’s parliament that brought the South Asian nuclear rivals to the brink of war.

“We will await the response of Pakistan,” he told reporters Tuesday.

Hudson Triple Murder Charge Due

Jennifer Hudson’s brother-in-law is set to be charged over the murders of the actress’ nephew, brother and mother, Chicago police have said.

From left: Jennifer Hudson, her mum Darnell, her nephew julian and brother JasonWilliam Balfour, estranged from Hudson's older sister Julia, was quizzed on the day relatives of the Oscar-winning star were found dead in their home.He was sent to a correctional centre for a parole violation, where on Monday he was arrested and transferred to Chicago police custody.The 27-year-old is the prime suspect in the deaths of his seven-year-old stepson Julian King, Jennifer Hudson's brother Jason and her mother Darnell Donerson. Suspect: William Balfour

Suspect: William Balfour

 

Balfour, who has convictions for attempted murder, vehicular hijacking and possession of a stolen motor vehicle, is facing three charges of murder.

A police spokeswoman did not say what evidence the arrest warrant was based on.

But the Chicago Tribune reported that a gun belonging to Balfour matched the weapon used in the triple murder.

When Hell Cooled Down

A New Picture of the Early Earth:

Geologists now think Earth quickly became a cool place of land, seas and perhaps even life.

The first 700 million years of Earth’s 4.5-billion-year existence are known as the Hadean period, after Hades, or, to shed the ancient Greek name, Hell.

Parents of slain Arkansas anchorwoman say she was sexually assaulted

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The parents of a television anchorwoman beaten to death at her home said Monday their daughter was sexually assaulted during the attack, and an arrest warrant released by police says DNA evidence linked an eastern Arkansas man to the crime “with all scientific certainty.”

In a television interview, Guy and Patti Cannady said Anne Pressly, 26, was beaten so severely that a portion of her jaw bone was broken away. The couple said their daughter also broke her left hand while trying to defend herself.

Speaking with NBC “Today” show host Matt Lauer, the Cannadys answered “yes” when asked if their daughter had been sexual assaulted during the Oct. 20 attack at her home.

“This monster stole my daughter’s innocence,” Patti Cannady said. “He took her life. He took her identity. He took our lives.”

For the holidays, time is the gift

 Consumers are spooked by the soured job market and spending less. University of Michigan researchers who study consumer sentiment predict the toughest holiday for retailers in nearly 30 years. Some retailers are calling the current climate unprecedented.

Nevertheless, deep discounts lured many shoppers Friday. For others, tradition dictated a turnout, even if the trip was more browsing and less buying. The Wall Street Journal reported some 5,000 individuals —coupons in hand — lined up at the Mall of America before 6 a.m. Friday. Appallingly, the death of a Wal-Mart employee in New York didn’t cause pause for deal-hungry consumers as they surged the store doors Friday morning. And the Journal reported this: “On average, shoppers planned to spend $400 on Black Friday alone,” according to a survey by mall developer Taubman Centers Inc.