itsjohntime

Date: Wed, 24 Dec 2008 05:02:19 -0500

MADOFF INVESTOR FOUND DEAD IN APPARENT SUICIDE
Thierry de la Villehuchet, a hedge fund adviser and investor
whose firm said he lost $1.5 billion investing with Wall Street
adviser Bernard Madoff, has been found dead in his office in an
apparent suicide.

HAMAS MILITANTS LAUNCH MORE ROCKETS INTO ISRAEL
Palestinian militants fired more rockets and mortars from Gaza
into Israel on Wednesday days after Israeli Prime Minister Ehud
Olmert threatened to respond to the ongoing attacks.

FEARS OF TUMULT AFTER GUINEA PRESIDENT DIES
The African country of Guinea, reeling after the death of its
leader, is staring at the prospect of political instability. A
journalist in Conakry said the Guinean military had staged an
apparent coup, and were holding talks to determine who will
succeed Lansana Conte, who ruled the country for nearly 25
years.

POLL: MOST SUPPORT OBAMA'S $800B STIMULUS PLAN
A new national poll suggests most Americans favor an economic
stimulus package even if it comes with an $800 billion price
tag, although that support doesn't indicate the public wants to
see a new era of big government.

SRINAGAR TENSE AHEAD OF FINAL ELECTIONS
Authorities have imposed curfew-like restrictions in Srinagar in
a bid to thwart separatist anti-vote protests in the capital of
Indian-administered Kashmir during the final phase of state
assembly elections on Wednesday.

CAR BOMB IN PAKISTAN KILLS WOMAN
A woman was killed and four others were injured after a car bomb
exploded Wednesday in the Pakistani city of Lahore.

SATELLITES UNEARTH ANCIENT EGYPTIAN RUINS
Archaeologists believe they have unearthed only a small fraction
of Egypt's ancient ruins, but they're making new discoveries
with help from high-tech allies -- satellites that peer into the
past from the distance of space.

BUSINESS

OBAMA TEAM HAMMERS OUT STIMULUS
U.S. President-elect Barack Obama's economic team and
congressional staffers were close to finalizing a massive
recovery proposal but were still hammering out details, Vice
President-elect Joe Biden and economic adviser Larry Summers
said.

JAPAN'S CABINET APPROVES RECORD BUDGET
Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso's Cabinet on Wednesday approved
a record budget, including an emergency economic stimulus
package, for the 2009 fiscal year.