Stories Making Headlines Right Now

OBAMA-ECONOMY-SHELBY
    Shelby assails Geithner’s handling of AIG bonuses

The top Republican on the Senate Banking
Committee is questioning whether Treasury Secretary Timothy
Geithner responded appropriately to American Insurance Group’s
payment of millions in executive bonuses.
    Sen. Richard Shelby says that $165 million in bonuses have
already been paid out by AIG and asks, “Will we ever get the money
back.“
    The Alabama Republican, interviewed Tuesday on CBS’s “The Early
Show,“ stopped short of calling for Geithner’s
resignation. But he did say: “What I want to ask, where was the
secretary of the Treasury? Where was Treasury before this money was
paid out? Why did not Treasury step in and let the American people
know, just try to block it.“

ECONOMY
    NEW: Wholesale prices edge up

The Labor Department reports wholesale prices
edged up a tiny 0.1 percent in February as a big decline in food
prices offset a second monthly increase in energy costs.
    The increase was much lower than the 0.8 percent surge in
January and smaller than the 0.4 percent increase economists had
expected.
    Compared with a year ago, wholesale prices are actually down 1.3
percent.

HOUSING STARTS
    NEW: New-home construction logs unexpected gain

The government says construction of new homes
rose sharply in February, defying economists’ forecasts for yet
another drop in activity.
    The Commerce Department reported Tuesday that contruction of new
homes and apartments jumped 22.2 percent from January to a
seasonally adjusted annual rate of 583,000 units. Economists were
expecting construction to drop to a pace of around 450,000 units.
    Revised figures show construction activity fell to a pace of
477,000 units in January. That was a little higher than first
reported but still marked a record monthly low.

EU-ECONOMY
    NEW: Krugman tells EU that stimulus is disappointing

Nobel laureate economist Paul Krugman has told
the European Union that its effort to spend its way out of
recession “really is disappointing.“
    He estimates that the 27-nation EU is “doing a bit less than
half than half as much as the United States.“
    The EU’s industry chief spoke to reporters at the same press
conference and defended Europe’s stimulus program.
    EU Industry Commissioner Guenter Verheugen says that “we are
not sure it would help just to inject more money in the real
economy.“
    EU leaders meet Thursday to seek ways to boost the economy as
output plummets and unemployment soars. Verheugen said that he
could not see the leaders agreeing to a new stimulus package.

IRELAND-ST PATRICK’S DAY
    Crowds gather for Dublin parade

An estimated 500,000 people are lining the St.
Patrick’s Day parade route in Dublin today.
    But this year’s celebration is being dimmed by both economic
recession and rising violence.
    On the economic front, unemployment has soared to more than 10
percent and the government is imposing severe tax increases and
budget cuts to offset its deficit.
    During recent economic boom years, Ireland began attracting
immigrants, but now emigration is on the rise. And Dublin’s mayor
warns that the city faces a growing threat of racist violence, as
many natives view the more than 100,000 Eastern Europeans, Asians
and Africans in the city with resentment.
    Meanwhile, cardinals and bishops are emphasizing that the
island’s 4 million Catholics must pray for an end to Irish
Republican Army dissident attacks that have claimed three lives
this month in the British territory of Northern Ireland. They are
also calling for an end to feuds among drug gangs in Dublin that
have left eight dead this year.

CIA INTERROGATION
    NEW: Red Cross report: CIA tortured terror suspects

An internal report by the International
Committee of the Red Cross concludes that the CIA’s secret
interrogation program amounted to torture for some of the 14
“high-value detainees” held by the agency.
    The neutral ICRC is designated by the Geneva Conventions to
visit prisoners of war and other people detained by an occupying
power, to ensure countries respect their obligations under the 1949
accords.
    ICRC officials are not confirming details of the report. It says
observations and concerns related to the detentions are “part of a
confidential dialogue with U.S. authorities.“
    A U.S. official familiar with the ICRC report noted that the
claims of abuse were made by the alleged terrorists themselves.
    The report was obtained by Mark Danner, a journalist and
professor at the University of California at Berkeley. Excerpts are
in the April 9 issue of the New York Review of Books.

POPE-AFRICA
    Pope leaves for Africa; first stop Cameroon

Pope Benedict XVI says the
distribution of condoms is not the answer in the fight against
AIDS.
    Benedict insisted that the church is in the forefront of the
battle against AIDS in Africa. He spoke Tuesday aboard the papal
plane on his way to Africa, his first trip to the continent as
pontiff.
    Benedict said “you can’t resolve it with the distribution of
condoms.“ He said that “on the contrary it increases the
problem.“
    The Vatican encourages sexual abstinence to fight the spread of
disease.
    The pope departed earlier Tuesday from a Rome airport. The
seven-day pilgrimage will take him to Cameroon and Angola.

FRANCE-NATO
    French government faces no-confidence vote over NATO

French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s
government is facing a no-confidence vote in parliament.
    The vote is being prompted by the government’s plans to rejoin
NATO’s military command. Lawmakers on the both the left and right
of French politics are voicing fears that the move would compromise
France’s independence.
    France has remained a member of the organization and, actually
increased its involvement in recent years. It has a large force in
Afghanistan.
    Sarkozy argues that it’s time for France to climb back into
NATO’s control room. He says the Cold War and cross-border threats
such as terrorism have heightened the need for international
military cooperation.
    While a few dozen ruling party lawmakers oppose the move, it’s
thought that Sarkozy’s conservative government is likely to survive
the vote because those members don’t want to see their government
collapse.
    Sarkozy does not need parliamentary approval to rejoin the NATO
military command.

NATASHA RICHARDSON
    Reports: Actress Natasha Richardson in critical condition after
ski accident

A family member is confirming that British-born
actress Natasha Richardson has been in a skiing accident.
    People.com and IrishCentral.com are reporting that the Tony
award-winning actress is in critical condition in a Montreal
hospital after suffering a head injury.
    Kika Markham is married to Richardson’s uncle. She says the
family knows Richardson had an accident, but doesn’t have any more
details. She says they “are very concerned.“
    Richardson is the elder daughter of Oscar-winning actress
Vanessa Redgrave and the late director Tony Richardson. She’s
married to actor Liam Neeson. The couple has two sons.
    Her films include “Gothic,“ “A Month in the Country,“ and
“Nell” - in which she appeared with her future husband. She’s
also appeared in the “The Parent Trap,“ “Maid in Manhattan” and
“The Handmaid’s Tale.“
    She won her Tony in 1998 for playing Sally Bowles in
“Cabaret.“

AMY WINEHOUSE
    NEW: Amy Winehouse pleads not guilty to assault

Singer Amy Winehouse has pleaded not guilty to
assaulting a fan at a party last year.
    The headline-grabbing diva attended a hearing at a London court
on Tuesday.
    Winehouse posed for photographers before entering City of
Westminster Magistrates’ Court. During a brief hearing inside she
pleaded not guilty to a charge of common assault.
    The 25-year-old is accused of attacking a fan who tried to take
her picture at a charity ball in London on Sept. 26.
    Judge Timothy Workman ordered Winehouse to stand trial in July.
She was released on unconditional bail.