TGIF

A tough day for young George:

• Shi'ite Objections Delay Iraq Constitution Signing
  Last-minute objections by five Shi'ite leaders forced the indefinite
  postponement of Friday's signing of an interim constitution for Iraq,
  threatening U.S. plans to hand sovereignty back to Iraqis on June 30.
  

  Pens for the signing ceremony lay unused.

  
  

• U.S. Job Growth Anemic in FebruaryThe
  U.S. economy added a paltry 21,000 jobs last month, according to a
  surprisingly weak government report on Friday that turned up the heat
  on President Bush as he seeks re-election.
  Details in the report were as bleak as the headline figure.
  Private-sector employment was actually unchanged in February, while the
  government added 21,000 workers. It also showed job creation in
  December and January was weaker than previously thought. The count of
  job gains for January was revised to 97,000 from 112,000 and for
  December to just 8,000 from 16,000. February's unemployment rate held
  at 5.6 percent, but only because people dropped out of the labor force.
  Employment as measured by a survey of households actually plummeted.
  

  
  

• Victims' Families Press Bush to Pull 9/11 AdsFamilies
  who lost relatives in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks pressed President
  Bush's re-election campaign on Friday to stop running political ads
  that use images of the devastated World Trade Center to show him as a
  strong leader in troubled times.
  "As a firefighter who spent months at Ground Zero, it's deeply
  offensive to see the Bush campaign use these images to capitalize on
  the greatest American tragedy of our time," New York firefighter Tom
  Ryan said at a news conference.
  
• Oil Prices Rise, Supply Falls During Bush YearsThree
  years ago, President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney were seen as
  the U.S. oil industry's dream team and most capable of tackling
  America's energy problems, as both were former oil executives.
  However, with nationwide gasoline prices expected this month to top a
  record $1.75 per gallon, government energy data shows many problems
  still exist. Energy costs -- and smaller supplies -- have pinched the
  pocketbooks of consumers and pushed up business expenses.
  

  
  

• White House Leak Records SoughtA
  federal grand jury probing the leak of a CIA officer's identity has
  subpoenaed the records of phone calls from Air Force One made the week
  before the name of the officer was published in a July newspaper
  column, Newsday reported Friday.
  The three subpoenas to President Bush's Executive Office also seek the
  July records created by an internal task force called the White House
  Iraq Group, which was created to publicize the threat of Saddam
  Hussein, Newsday said. The newspaper cited documents that it obtained.
  In addition, it said, the grand jury wants records of White House
  contacts with more than two dozen journalists and news organizations.
  The subpoenas were issued to the White House on Jan. 22, Newsday said.
  The grand jury is trying to find out whether there were violations to a
  federal law that prohibits the intentional disclosure of the identity
  of an undercover agent by officials with security clearances.

"Wave bye-bye, George!"

Posted by flow Frazao on March 5, 2004 at 01:56 PM | Permalink