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Automakers have uphill battle for bailout

DETROIT, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- Ford Motor Co. unveiled details of the plan it will use to persuade members of Congress a Washington bailout would help the company return to profitability.

The company said it would produce 1 million small cars per year and trim the models' complexity to make them more profitable, CNN reported Tuesday.

Like General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC, Ford said it would cut its chief executive's salary to $1 a year. Ford also said it would sell its fleet of corporate jets.

U.S. automakers are scheduled to present arguments Thursday for a $25 billion federal bailout in Washington.

"They have to come back with a very persuasive case," David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research told USA Today.

Analysts say the car companies must address pay to hourly workers, a switch to more fuel-efficient cars, running too many dealerships and bias of members of Congress representing states with non-union, foreign auto plants, the newspaper reported.

Some have warned industry leaders not to sacrifice profits on behalf of more fuel-efficient cars.

"We are deeply skeptical of the commercial prospects for government-dictated product plans," Himanshu Patel, an analyst at JPMorgan Chase said to USA Today.

Obama asks governors for stimulus input

PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- State governments will provide the impetus that helps turn the U.S. economy around and guide it to a prosperity, U.S. President-elect Barack Obama said Tuesday.

Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden, meeting with state executives in Philadelphia, said they recognize states are struggling to meet constitutional mandates of balanced budgets without sacrificing critical state services or raising taxes.

"Forty-one states are likely to face budget shortfalls this year or next, forcing you to choose between reining in spending and raising taxes," Obama told the National Governors Association in prepared remarks.

Action is needed to jump-start the economy and that action is an economic stimulus for Main Street, save or create millions of jobs, cut taxes for the middle class and "makes a down payment on the investments we need to build a strong economy for years to come," Obama said.

The solution won't come just from Washington but through a partnership between federal and state governments, he said.

"It will come from all of you," he said. "It will come from the White House and the statehouse working together every step of the way."

He said he was looking forward to giving substance to that partnership during his discussions Tuesday with governors on topics such as healthcare, infrastructure, education and home ownership.

As president, Obama said he would ask governors to both design and implement any economic recovery plan.

"Because if we're listening to our governors, we'll not only be doing what's right for our states, we'll be doing what's right for our country," he said. "That's how we'll grow our economy, from the bottom up. And that's how we'll put America on the path to long-term prosperity."

AWOL soldier seeks asylum in Germany

HEIDELBERG, Germany, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- A U.S. soldier from Cleveland says he is seeking asylum in Germany, where he has been absent without leave from his base for more than a year.

Spc. Andre Shepherd, 31, served in Iraq as an Apache helicopter mechanic and was based in Germany when he went AWOL, The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer reported Tuesday, noting his case may become the first to test German and international laws regarding granting asylum to deserters.

Shepherd, in an interview with The Plain Dealer, said he should be granted asylum because the war in Iraq is internationally condemned and the Apache helicopters he was ordered to work on are used to kill civilians, the newspaper reported, noting Shepherd has been living near Heidelberg.

Shepherd plans to use arguments from a German court that, in 2005, found the war in Iraq unlawful and reversed the demotion of a German officer who refused to work on a computer program because he said he was afraid it would be used in the war, The Plain Dealer reported, noting legal experts say Shepherd's case is weak.

Harare water supply cut as cholera spreads

HARARE, Zimbabwe, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- Water supplies were cut to residents of Harare as Zimbabwean authorities tried to cope with a quickly worsening cholera epidemic, observers said.

The Zimbabwe National Water Authority shut down pumps in the capital after the utility ran out of purifying chemicals, and the number of cholera cases reached 11,000 while an anthrax outbreak was spreading in the countryside, The Times of London reported Tuesday.

The health and water crises came as hundreds of off-duty soldiers went on the rampage in Harare, frustrated at not being able to draw cash from banks, the newspaper said.

Zimbabwe Health Minister David Parirenyatwa urged Zimbabweans to stop shaking hands to avoid spreading disease, and restaurants provided buckets of water for hand-washing and flushing. The Times said Harare's four-star Jameson Hotel stopped taking guests and other hotels closed as the cholera epidemic worsened.

Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, urged President Robert Mugabe to accept international humanitarian help, telling reporters, "The country is reaching a catastrophic level, in terms of food, health delivery, education. Everything seems to be collapsing around us."

Hotels hope to cash in on inauguration

WASHINGTON, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- Demand for rooms for President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration led some Washington-area inns to hike prices and minimum stays, disgruntled customers said.

Some hotels doubled or tripled prices, demanded a four-night minimum stay and collected full, non-refundable payment up front, The Washington Post reported.

In some instances, the prices and minimum-stay requirements were enacted after reservations were made and confirmed -- forcing the traveler to decide whether to accept the higher rate and other strings or seek alternative accommodations, the Post said.

"What you have is a lot of venues that don't normally face this kind of demand," said Emily Durso, president of the Hotel Association of Washington. "They're dealing with it for the first time. They were dumb enough to give out rooms over the inauguration dates months ago at a low price. Oops -- now they have to fix it."

Even so, hotels should honor the agreed-to rates, not change them after-the-fact, she said.

Bed-and-breakfasts also jumped on the price-hike bandwagon, the Post reported. One would-be customer canceled when the bill of $1,500 quoted via e-mail for his two rooms ballooned to $2,648.29 on his credit card statement, the Post said.

Durso estimated the average price during inauguration week at about $650 a night, despite her group's pleas to keep a lid on prices.

"We said, 'Let's not go overboard. Let's be sensitive,'" Durso said. "But it's not looking good next year economically. Many of these hotels are trying to do what they can to make that extra bit that can carry them through the year and make budget."