Israeli ground forces invade Gaza
GAZA, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- Israeli ground troops forged into Gaza with bulldozers, tanks and armored vehicles Saturday evening, as the military vowed to destroy Hamas' infrastructure.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak predicted a long conflict as he announced the ground campaign, CNN reported. But he said the country could not abandon Israelis living in areas bordering Gaza.
"This will not be short, this will not be easy," he said. "I don't wish to delude anyone. And the coming days will be difficult also for the residents of the south. We have bitten our lips for a long time. But now the time has come to do what we have to do."
Almost 500 people have been killed in Gaza since the Israeli bombardment began last Saturday, in reaction to persistent rocket attacks on Israeli territory from Gaza.
Israel began calling up reserves Saturday. The first reserve soldiers reported to their bases in the evening and more were expected Sunday, Ynetnews reported.
A Hamas spokesman promised Israel a fight to the death. Ismail Radwan read a statement on al-Aqsa, the Palestinian television station, warning Israel that "Gaza will be your cemetery."
"We will fight to our last breath," he said.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Saturday called for an end to Israeli ground operations in Gaza.
"He is convinced and alarmed that this escalation will inevitably increase the already heavy suffering of the affected civilian populations," the secretary-general's spokeswoman, Michele Montas, said in a statement. "He called for an immediate end to the ground operation, and asked that Israel do all possible to ensure the protection of civilians and that humanitarian assistance is able to reach those in need."
Thousands of people joined a protest Saturday in London against the Israeli bombardment of Gaza. Other demonstrations were held in Athens, Greece; Berlin, Rome and Paris, and in smaller cities in Britain. Muslim Israelis held a large rally in Sakhnin in northern Israel.
Recovery plan could widen jobless benefits
CHICAGO, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- U.S. President-elect Barack Obama may propose expanded unemployment compensation and government-backed healthcare in his economic recovery plan, officials said.
Obama and Democrats in Congress are considering proposals that would provide jobless benefits for part-time workers and help employers cover the cost of temporarily extending healthcare coverage for retirees and laid-off workers, The New York Times reported Saturday.
One proposal under consideration would allow workers who are laid off from jobs that did not provide health insurance to be eligible to apply for Medicaid coverage, the newspaper said.
The proposals represent the kind of long-term change Obama plans to pursue as part of what he has called the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan, the Times said.
The president-elect and congressional leaders will also consider spending for roads and other infrastructure projects intended to promote job creation as part of a stimulus package that could come up for a vote in the House before Obama is inaugurated Jan. 20. Advisers to the president-elect have suggested the plan could come with a price tag of $800 billion.
In his weekly radio and Internet address Saturday, Obama urged Congress to pass a stimulus bill swiftly.
"However we got here, the problems we face today are not Democratic problems or Republican problems," he said.
Major earthquakes off Indonesian island
JAKARTA, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- Two major offshore earthquakes rattled the north coast of Papua, Indonesia, early Sunday, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
The first quake, measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale, struck just before 5 a.m. local time. The epicenter was 95 miles west-northwest of Manokwari on Papua and 1,830 miles east of Jakarta.
Less than three hours later, at 7:33 a.m., the area was rocked by a 7.3 magnitude quake. The epicenter of the second quake was 55 miles west-northwest of Manokwari in Papua and 1,870 miles east of Jakarta.
The Jakarta News said the earthquakes caused a power failure in the part of Papua near the center. Residents, fearing a tsunami, headed for high ground.
On Dec. 26, 2004, one of the largest earthquakes ever recorded struck off the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The quake triggered a tsunami that killed thousands of people in countries bordering the Indian Ocean.
Sunday's quakes were big enough to cause a tsunami. However, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said no large waves had been detected, CNN reported.
The Jakarta News said that a tsunami warning was posted and then withdrawn an hour later.
Franken ahead by whisker as recount ends
ST. PAUL, Minn., Jan. 3 (UPI) -- The Minnesota recount ended Saturday with Democratic challenger Al Franken leading Republican former U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman by 225 votes.
The unofficial result came after the Secretary of State's Office counted 933 absentee ballots, the (Minneapolis) Star-Tribune reported. Franken was ahead by 49 votes out of almost 3 million cast before the absentee ballot count, and picked up an additional 176 votes.
Coleman's term in the Senate expired Saturday.
Lawyers for Coleman have asked the state Supreme Court to order another 2,000 rejected absentee ballots into the count, and the court has not yet said when it would rule.
Regardless of which candidate comes out on top in the final count, the other is expected to sue.
Franken, who grew up in Minnesota, gained national prominence as a writer and performer on "Saturday Night Live" and has long been active in Democratic politics. Coleman won a narrow victory over former Vice President Walter Mondale six years ago after incumbent Democratic Sen. Paul Wellstone was killed in a plane crash shortly before the election.
