Sept. 15, 2009

Obama and the economy:

U.S. President Barack Obama heads back on the road for a pair of economy-related speeches.

One day after a New York appearance in which he called for additional regulation on the financial industry, Obama goes to a roundtable chat with workers at a General Motors plant in Warren, Ohio. This could be seen as a visit from the boss since the U.S. government owns the bulk of GM.

Obama also visits Pittsburgh to speak to the AFL-CIO convention. That speech will likely include applause lines involving Obama's order of additional tariffs on tires from China and healthcare reform -- both issues popular with unions.

Obama also has a fundraising appearance scheduled to help the re-election campaign of newly minted Democrat Sen. Arlen Specter.

Monday, Obama told financial leaders they shouldn't try to block the additional regulation he wants to place on the industry. He has claimed a lack of oversight led to the meltdown in the credit market and overall U.S. economy last year.

Al-Qaida in Somalia:

A U.S.-led helicopter attack killed an al-Qaida leader in Somalia.

U.S. Special Forces carried out the attack against a vehicle Monday in which Saleh Ali Nabhan was killed. Nabhan allegedly built a vehicle bomb that killed 15 people in Kenya in 2002 and was responsible for the firing of a missile at an Israeli airplane taking off in Mombasa.

Five people were killed in Monday's attack. All were described by Somali government spokesman as foreign militant commanders.

The attack is seen as a severe blow to the leadership of militant organizations in eastern Africa.

Afghan elections:

With fraud allegations rampant, Afghan officials have ordered a recount of about 10 percent of the votes cast in the recent presidential election.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai is leading in the vote count but former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah has complained of irregularities in the balloting. Foremost are reports that some polling stations had more votes than eligible voters and that an inordinate percentage of the votes went to one candidate -- generally Karzai.

With 95 percent of the returns counted, Karzai had about 54 percent of the vote. A substantial recount could reduce his percentage to less than 50 percent and force a runoff with Abdullah.

About 2,500 voting locations in Afghanistan are affected by the recount order.

Congressional riches:

The richest members of Congress aren't as rich as they used to be.

Roll Call produced its annual list of the 50 wealthiest members of the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate and said the bottom line for those august personages is about $171 million less than the 2008 total and down $275 million from 2007.

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., tops the list with a net worth of $167.5 million with Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., second at $164.7 million. Two of the Top 10 are Republicans; the rest are Democrats.

The richest 10 are evenly split between the House and Senate. For the full list of 50, 28 are Democrats and 11 are freshmen members, Roll Call said.

'Lost Symbol':

Dan Brown returns to the top of the best-seller list with the release of "The Lost Symbol," his third book following the adventures of symbologist Robert Langdon.

Brown's second book "The Da Vinci Code," released in 2003, sold more than 80 million copies. The first, "Angels & Demons," was also a success, especially after "The Da Vinci Code" took off. Both were concerned with conspiracies involving the Roman Catholic Church.

Advance demand for "The Lost Symbol" led publishers to order an initial run of 5 million copies.

As with the other Langdon books, Brown limits the time frame of the plot -- in this case to about 12 hours. The conspiracy here focuses on Freemasonry and the action takes place in Washington.

Patrick Swayze, 1952-2009:

Patrick Swayze, an actor most famous for a pair of romantic leading roles, has died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 57.

Swayze seemed destined for being typecast in more rugged roles but his dancing background won over "Dirty Dancing" in 1987 and he became a heartthrob in the supernatural "Ghost" three years later. Both roles earned Swayze Golden Globe acting nominations and had something to do with People magazine anointing him as a "Sexiest Man Alive" in 1991.

His desire to expand his acting range, however, was displayed in 1995's "To Woo Fong, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar" and 2001's "Donnie Darko," very different roles for a screen idol to add to his resume.

Swayze was diagnosed pancreatic cancer in January 2008 and continued working though treatments. By April 2009, the cancer had spread to his liver. He died Monday with his family nearby.