Stories Making Headlines Right Now

CONGRESS-STIMULUS
    Economic stimulus package on track for final votes

The big economic stimulus package agreed to by
house and Senate negotiators is on track for final action with a
House vote possible today or tomorrow.
    The agreement on tax cuts and spending that started out at more
than $800 billion has been pared to $789 billion.
    President Barack Obama, who has campaigned energetically for the
legislation, says it will “save or create more than 3.5 million
jobs and get” the economy back on track.
    Lower and middle-income taxpayers will see a bit more in their
paychecks from a credit of $400 per individual and $800 per couple.
    There’s also a subsidy for health care for the unemployed and
billions for transportation projects and states.
    Staff aides worked into the night drafting and double-checking
the measure in hopes of officially unveiling it today.

WORLD MARKETS
    NEW: World stocks down amid pessimism over US plans

Investor doubts about the ability of the
stimulus package to jump start the world’s largest economy took
international stock markets into negative territory today.
    All markets in Asia, except Australia, lost ground with Tokyo’s
exchange losing 3 percent. European markets fell in early trade.
    Investors seemed more wary than relieved after U.S. lawmakers
finally agreed overnight to a $790 billion stimulus bill.
    With economies in the U.S. and elsewhere still showing signs of
stress, investors are increasingly pessimistic about the ability of
governments to turn around the global economy anytime soon.
    U.S. futures were down, suggesting a lower open on Wall Street.

IRAQ
    Police: Car bomb kills 4 in northern Iraq

A police official says a car bomb has killed four
policemen and wounded three others in northern Iraq.
    The official says Thursday’s attack targeted a police patrol in
the city of Mosul and the wounded included one policeman and two
civilians.
    The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not
authorized to talk to the media.
    Mosul has experienced a string of attacks in recent days,
including a suicide car bombing on Monday that killed four U.S.
soldiers.
    Mosul is Iraq’s third largest city and the last major urban
battleground in the war against al-Qaida and other Sunni
insurgents.

AFGHANISTAN
    Troops throng Afghan capital after Taliban attacks

Afghanistan’s capital is brimming with government
troops ahead of a visit from the new U.S. envoy to the region.
    Troops armed with machine guns have swarmed Kabul after
yesterday’s Taliban assault on three government buildings left 20
dead. The militants stormed through barricades at the Justice
Ministry armed with guns, explosives and suicide vests. Nearly 60
people were wounded.
    A police official says “Security measures have been increased
100 percent.“
    Richard Holbrooke, President Barack Obama’s recently appointed
envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, is expected today for his first
to the country.
    Holbrooke is helping the Obama administration chart a new
strategy to beat Taliban insurgencies in both Afghanistan and
Pakistan.
    The new administration has promised up to 30,000 new troops in
Afghanistan.

SEVERE WEATHER
    UPDATE: Searches and cleanup continue in Oklahoma

One survivor of this week’s tornado in
Lone Grove, Okla., says she and her family “just prayed.“
    Sue Rose’s home was heavily damaged and dozens more were
destroyed after the tornado with winds estimated at 170 mph ripped
through Lone Grove just after dark Tuesday night. At least nine
deaths are blamed on the twister.
    Search and rescue crews are expected today to resume the task of
sifting through scattered bricks and beams to find any remaining
victims.
    The White House says President Barack Obama spoke to Oklahoma
Gov. Brad Henry and Sens. Jim Inhofe and Tom Coburn. Press
secretary Robert Gibbs says Obama “passed along his condolences
and best wishes to the victims.“
    Authorities say between 100 and 150 homes were destroyed in Lone
Grove, located about 100 miles south of Oklahoma City.

AUSTRALIA-WILDFIRES
    Police detain 2 about wildfires

Australian police have arrested two
people they say were acting suspiciously in an area burned out by
last weekend’s wildfires.
    It’s not clear if authorities suspect them of intentionally
starting any of the fires that killed at least 181 people.
Officials say the death toll could climb past 200.
    Deputy Police Commissioner Simon Overland told Australian
Broadcasting Corp. radio it will take authorities time to work out
what happened. The men were picked up north of Marysville, a town
gutted by the inferno.
    Arson investigators suspect the Marysville fire was
intentionally set.
    Rain Wednesday night has eased several fire alerts, but fire
officials are warning residents in some areas to remain vigilant as
large fires continue to rage.

AUSTRALIA-WILDFIRES-KOALA RESCUED
    NEW: Koala saved from Australia’s wildfires doing well

Plucked from a charred forest during Australia’s
worst-ever wildfires, “Sam” the koala is recuperating under the
watchful eye of an admirer.
    Sam won worldwide attention after she was photographed drinking
from a firefighter’s water bottle.
    A caretaker at the rescue shelter that took her in says the
furry survivor has won the affection of “Bob,“ another koala
whose paws were also scorched in the weekend’s inferno.
    Lynn Raymond says Bob is Sam’s protector and that “it really
looks like he’s making sure she’s OK.“
    Sam and her rescuer, David Tree, were reunited at the shelter
yesterday, a meeting that left the 44-year-old firefighter fighting
back tears.
    Neither koala is likely to be healthy enough for release for at
least four months.

OBAMA-LINCOLN
    NEW: President observing Abraham Lincoln’s 200th birthday

President Barack Obama, who has made no secret
of his admiration for President Abraham Lincoln, is presiding over
a number of ceremonies honoring the nation’s 16th president today.
    There’s a Lincoln bicentennial celebration planned this morning
at the Capitol Rotunda. Later, Obama flies to Lincoln’s birthplace
of Springfield, Ill., for the Abraham Lincoln Association’s annual
banquet.
    Last night, the president honored Lincoln at a gala celebration
at Ford’s Theatre, the venue where Lincoln was fatally shot in
1865.
    President Barack Obama, who evoked Lincoln’s legacy throughout
his campaign, echoed some of his words for the recent inauguration,
and used the same Bible to take the oath of office.

LINCOLN’S BIRTHDAY-PENNY
    New penny chronicles Lincoln’s humble beginnings
   
The first of four new pennies
chronicling Abraham Lincoln’s rise from a small Kentucky cabin will
be put into circulation Thursday to honor the 16th president’s
200th birthday.
    The coin’s front is unchanged, but the reverse depicts a tiny
log cabin, representing the one-room dwelling where Lincoln was
born near Hodgenville, Kentucky.
    The new one-cent piece is being unveiled by the U.S. Mint as
part of Lincoln’s bicentennial celebration, being held Thursday
morning near his birthplace.
    The remaining coins, set for release later this year, show other
phases of Honest Abe’s life: a young man reading while sitting on a
log during his formative years in Indiana; Lincoln the state
legislator speaking in front of the Illinois capitol; and the
unfinished dome of the U.S. Capitol.

BRITAIN-PRINCE HARRY
    Reports: Prince Harry to attend equality course

British media are reporting that Prince Harry is
being sent on an “equality and diversity” course after making
racist remarks.
    The BBC and the Daily Mirror say the 24-year-old prince will
attend a course designed to press home how offensive racist
language is.
    Last month a newspaper released video of the prince using racial
epithets about two fellow soldiers in 2006.
    The prince’s office said Thursday that Harry was sorry and had
been dealt with according to normal army disciplinary procedures.
The army said Harry had received “a dressing down” from his
commanding officer.
    Harry is a lieutenant in the Household Cavalry regiment and is
training to be a helicopter pilot.