Obama, McCain to appear at Ground Zero on 9/11

TERRE HAUTE, Indiana, Sep. 6, 2008 — Presidential nominees John McCain and Barack Obama will appear together on Sept. 11 in New York at the site where the World Trade Center collapsed after being hit by hijacked planes in 2001. "All of us came together on 9/11 -- not as Democrats or Republicans -- but as Americans. In smoke-filled corridors and on the steps of the Capitol; at blood banks and at vigils -- we were united as one American family," the two senators said in a joint statement issued on Saturday. "On Thursday, we will put aside politics and come together to renew that unity, to honor the memory of each and every American who died, and to grieve with the families and friends who lost loved ones."

Boeing machinists to strike as contract talks fail

NEW YORK/EVERETT, Washington, Sep. 6, 2008 — Boeing Co's 27,000-strong machinists' union walked off the job on Saturday after the plane maker failed to improve its contract offer following two days of emergency talks. "Despite meeting late into the night and throughout the day, continued contract talks with the Boeing Company did not address our issues," Tom Wroblewski, the international union's Seattle-area president, said in a letter to members. "The strike is on." The walkout means there will be no further production of Boeing's 737, 747, 767 and 777 planes, and that its already delayed 787 Dreamliner will fall even further behind schedule.

Government plan for Fannie, Freddie to hit shareholders

WASHINGTON, Sep. 6, 2008 — The U.S. government plans to take over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and all shareholders of the two mortgage giants will take a hit, an influential lawmaker said on Saturday. The move to take control of the two companies, expected to be announced on Sunday, could amount to the largest financial bailout in the nation's history, and is a bid to ward off further damage to a housing market in its deepest downturn since the Great Depression. "I think all shareholders will be disadvantaged," Rep. Barney Frank, chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee. "The government will act as the new management," implying the chief executives would be ousted, according to Frank, who spoke to U.S. Treasury Secretary Paulson on Friday about the plan to put the companies into federal conservatorship to protect the interest of all parties.

Safety compliance gaps noted for some U.S. airlines

WASHINGTON, Sep. 5, 2008 (Reuters) — Three major airlines were among 11 U.S. airlines that failed during an unprecedented industry review to demonstrate full compliance with government safety directives, regulators said on Friday

Microsoft Deploying Service Reps Into Stores

NEW YORK ― As part of its new $300 million marketing campaign and image makeover, Microsoft Corp. plans to deploy its own customer-service representatives at retailers like Best Buy and Circuit City to help people with their PC purchases. The world's largest software company plans to have 155 "Microsoft Gurus" in U.S. stores by the end of the year, and expand based on the project's success, Microsoft's general manager of corporate communications, Tom Pilla, said Friday. These gurus will be answering questions about PCs and Microsoft products, as well as giving demos of how the company's products work together -- help designed to get them thinking Microsoft.

Could Florida Survive the Big One?

September 06, 2008---As Hurricane Ike barrels toward South Florida, Americans can be sure they won't have to endure another catastrophic failure of a hurricane protection system. That's because South Florida doesn't have a hurricane protection system. As South Floridians like to say: Ay dios mio! Ike is now scheduled to pass just south of Miami as a Category 4 storm; National Hurricane Center researchers recently concluded that a Cat 4 hitting Miami could cause $70 billion in damage. To use another South Florida-ism: Oy vey!Watch the latest hurricane forecast.

Jobless rate at 5-year high

WASHINGTON, Sep. 5, 2008 — An unexpectedly steep 84,000 U.S. jobs were lost in August and the unemployment rate hit a five-year high of 6.1 percent, fanning worry ahead of November's presidential vote that the economy was near recession. The eighth straight month of job cuts underlined the weakening state of labor markets and prompted back-and-forth jibes by Democratic presidential contender Sen. Barack Obama and Republican nominee Sen. John McCain about how to help. McCain called for more job training while Obama said tax cuts for working families and aid for states was needed. The Bush administration insisted the economy was "fundamentally sound" and that an additional stimulus program was not needed. A total 605,000 employees have been slashed from payrolls so far this year -- nearly a quarter million in the last three months alone -- which private-sector analysts said clearly implies a heightened risk of an economic contraction

Rice meets Gaddafi on historic Libya visit

TRIPOLI, Sep. 5, 2008 — U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi -- once reviled as a "mad dog" by a U.S. president -- on Friday on a historic visit which she said proved that Washington had no permanent enemies. Rice's trip, the first by a U.S. secretary of state to the North African country in 55 years, is intended to end decades of enmity, five years after Libya gave up its weapons of mass destruction program.

Iraq eyes Lockheed F-16 fighter aircraft purchase

WASHINGTON, Sep. 5, 2008 (Reuters) — The Iraqi government has asked for information about buying 36 F-16 fighter aircraft built by Lockheed Martin Corp, the U.S. Defense Department said on Friday. The request, received August 27, is being reviewed "in the normal course of business" as part of the U.S. government-to-government arms sale process, said Air Force Lt. Col. Patrick Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman. Updated F-16s are among the world's most advanced multirole fighters and a powerful symbol of military ties to the United States. Iraq's interest in the fighter jet, reported first by The Wall Street Journal, could spark concerns among neighbors worried about advanced arms in the hands of a country still facing major internal challenges.