Update 6:30am:  Stories Making Headlines Right Now

CLINTON-ASIA
    UPDATE: Clinton now in Japan

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has
arrived in Tokyo on her first trip abroad as President Barack
Obama’s chief diplomat with a warning to North Korea that it needs
to live up to its commitments to dismantle its nuclear programs.
    Clinton says “The North Koreans have already agreed to
dismantling” and “We expect them to fulfill the obligations that
they entered into.“
    During the now-stalled “six-party talks,“ Pyongyang agreed to
stop its weapons work in exchange for economic and other
incentives.
    Clinton made the comments en route to Asia for meetings with
leaders of Japan, China, South Korea and Indonesia.

OBAMA
    Obama to appoint panel for auto recovery

President Barack Obama has decided it will
take more than one “car czar” to help get the embattled American
auto industry back on track.
    A senior administration official says a presidential task force
will direct the restructuring of General Motors and Chrysler.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and National Economic Council
Director Lawrence Summers will lead the panel.
    Tomorrow is the deadline for GM and Chrysler to show how they
can repay billions in loans and become viable despite a huge drop
in sales.
    The task force is just one part of Obama’s plan to revive the
flailing economy. Tomorrow, he heads to Denver to sign the $787
billion economic stimulus bill into law.
    Obama’s focus Wednesday will shift to the housing crisis. He’ll
go to Phoenix, where it’s expected he’ll offer help to homeowners
on the brink of foreclosure.

STIMULUS-STATES
    NEW: States face competing priorities for stimulus cash

President Barack Obama is about to sign the
stimulus bill and state officials are doing some hand-wringing
about priorities for limited funding.
    State officials have to juggle competing pressures from
communities, watchdog groups and federal regulators.
    Under the plan, states will divide $27 billion. That is less
than half the $64 billion they say they could use.
    The law also requires that half the money be spent on projects
that have been vetted by the federal government as a way to jolt
the economy and create jobs.
    While many states have made their lists of “ready-to-go”
projects available for public review, others have resisted. Only a
fraction of the projects will receive money and watchdog groups say
some state officials fear angering constituents if a project
appears on a wish list and gets scratched.

BANK RESCUE
    NEW: Administration pushing ahead with bank rescue

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner (GYT’-nur)
has received a better response from America’s allies than Wall
Street to his bank rescue plan.
    The secretary spent the weekend explaining the plan to the Group
of Seven major industrial countries.
    Investors sent stocks plunging last week because of their
unhappiness over aspects of the program that were left out. They
also criticized a lack of details over a plan to deal with toxic
loans.
    But Geithner provided enough specifics to the G-7 that they came
away expressing support for the program where many had voiced doubt
before the meetings.
    Administration officials are promising more details quickly,
starting with an expected rollout on Wednesday of a $50 billion
program to combat mortgage foreclosures.

WORLD MARKETS
    Most Asian markets slip

More bad economic news sent most Asian stock
markets lower today.
    New figures showed Japan’s economy contracted at its quickest
pace in 35 years and Group of Seven finance ministers warned the
global slump will drag on through most of the year.
    In the fourth quarter, the world’s second-biggest economy shrank
3.3 percent from the previous quarter, or at an annual pace of 12.7
percent.
    Japan’s Nikkei index was off 0.4 percent. India’s benchmark fell
more than 3 percent. Shanghai’s main index was the only one in Asia
that ended the day in positive territory.
    U.S. markets are closed for Presidents Day.

PLANE INTO HOME
    NY town seeks comfort after air disaster

A woman in Clarence, New York, says for
people in the town, the crash of Flight 3407 “is like a dream we
can’t wake up from.“
    People gathered at Clarence United Methodist Church Sunday to
pray for the victims, their families and the army of workers
sifting through the plane wreckage.
    At Emmanuel Baptist Church, the Rev. Terry Bowman led prayers
for the victims and their families. He says the town is “in shock
but coming together in prayer.“
    Fifty people died Thursday night when the Continental Connection
turboprop fell from the sky onto a house.
    A federal investigator says the plane was on autopilot until
just before it went down in icy weather. The pilot may have
violated federal safety recommendations and the airline’s own
policy for flying on autopilot in such conditions.

FALLING DEBRIS
    Military says reports unconnected to satellite collision

Authorities there’s no connection between reports
of a mysterious fireball over Texas and a recent collision of
commercial satellites.
    People reported seeing falling debris across the Texas sky early
Sunday. A county sheriff’s office launched a helicopter search
after callers said they thought a plane had crashed. But the search
turned up nothing.
    The U.S. Strategic Command says the reported sightings are not
connected to Tuesday’s crash of U.S. and Russian satellites.
    A Federal Aviation Administration spokesman just says, “We
don’t know what it was.“

PAKISTAN-MISSILE
    Witness says missile strike killed 30

A witness says 20 more bodies have
been found at the site of a suspected U.S. missile strike in
northwest Pakistan, bringing the death toll to 30.
    Rehman Ullah was at the scene of the strike in Kurram tribal
region. The missiles are believed to have destroyed a house used by
a local Taliban commander.
    The U.S. has launched a barrage of similar attacks against
suspected militants in the border region using unmanned drones.
    Pakistan has protested the strikes, saying they undercut
civilian support for the fight against militants.
    Ullah, a resident of the targeted village of Baggan, said drones
were seen in the sky before the attack.

PAKISTAN-KIDNAPPING
    Pakistan says kidnappers extend deadline on US captive

A spokesman for kidnappers holding an
American captive in Pakistan says the deadline to negotiate for his
life has been extended a “few days.“
    U.N. official John Solecki was abducted on Feb. 2 in Quetta, a
major city in the southwest near the Afghan border.
    On Friday, his kidnappers threatened to kill him within 72 hours
and issued a 20-second video of the blindfolded hostage.
    Shahak Baluch, who claims to speak for the little-known Baluch
United Liberation Front, said in a call to the Quetta Press Club
that the deadline has been extended after appeals from “some
international organizations.“

BURRIS-BLAGOJEVICH DONATION
    Calls for Burris to resign

It’s only been a month since he was sworn in to
the U.S. Senate—but Roland Burris of Illinois already is hearing
calls for his resignation.
    Republican lawmakers in Illinois want an investigation of Burris
for possible perjury. That, after the senator released a Feb. 5
affidavit that contradicts statements he made last month to a panel
investigating former Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
    According to the affidavit, Blagojevich’s brother, Robert,
called Burris three times—once in October and twice after the
November election—to seek his fundraising assistance.
    Burris says he didn’t mislead anyone. He says he never got a
chance to answer a direct question about Blagojevich’s brother, and
submitted the affidavit to clarify.
    Illinois Governor Pat Quinn says Burris owes the people of
Illinois an explanation.