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Jobless claims drop substantially

WASHINGTON, Nov. 25 (UPI) -- First-time claims for U.S. unemployment insurance benefits dropped in the week ending Nov. 21, the U.S. Department of Labor said Wednesday.

The 466,000 initial claims was a decline of 35,000 and contributed to a four-week rolling average of 496,500.

The four-week average also dropped, down 16,500 from the previous week.

The U.S. unemployment rate remained unchanged at 10.2 percent.

The biggest increases in claims for the week ending Nov. 14 were reported by Florida with 1,313 additional claims; Indiana, which added 607; and Hawaii, which added 278, the report said.

State-by-state statistics lag a week behind the national report.

For the week ending Nov. 14, the biggest decreases were reported by California, with a decline of 7,987 claims; Texas, declining by 4,710; and Pennsylvania with 4,321 fewer claims than the week of Nov 7.

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Obama to reveal Afghan plan at West Point

WASHINGTON, Nov. 25 (UPI) -- President Obama will address the nation from the U.S. Military Academy Tuesday, when he is expected to reveal his decision about Afghanistan, officials said.

The military academy at West Point, N.Y., is the training ground for many officers who have served during the eight-year war, The Boston Globe reported Wednesday.

His address is scheduled for 8 p.m. EST.

Obama said he was confident the public will support his decision, once he explains his reasoning for sending more troops. The Globe reported the number to be between 25,000 and 30,000.

"I feel very confident that when the American people hear a clear rationale for what we're doing there, and how we will achieve our goals, they will be supportive," Obama said Tuesday during a news conference with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

However, a Defense Department official told CNN Pentagon planners have been told to prepare for sending about 34,000 troops to Afghanistan.

The Pentagon planning includes sending three U.S. Army brigades totaling 15,000 troops, a Marine brigade of 8,000 troops, a headquarters element of 7,000 and 4,000 to 5,000 support troops, the official told CNN.

Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, sought 40,000 additional troops.

Media outlets reported two U.S. military officials as saying NATO countries were to bridge the gap between the 34,000 and McChrystal's 40,000.

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Panel told of lack of intelligence on Iraq

LONDON, Nov. 25 (UPI) -- Intelligence about Iraq's weapon programs was "sporadic and patchy" prior to the U.S. invasion, a senior British official told a London war inquiry Wednesday.

Sir William Ehrman, currently Britain's ambassador to China, says an August 2002 intelligence briefing noted that "we know very little" about Iraq's chemical and biological weapons work since late 1998, The Guardian reports.

"The biggest gap in all of that, and one which ministers were extremely well aware of and used extensively, was the lack of interviews with scientists," Ehrman said on the second day of hearings.

Earlier, a senior civil servant told the inquiry there was no evidence of any serious cooperation between Saddam Hussein's regime and al-Qaida following the 9/11 attacks in the United States.

Tim Dowse, head of counter-proliferation for the Foreign Office at the time, said there was nothing that looked like a relationship between the Iraqis and al-Qaida.

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Seven indicted for Mumbai attacks

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan, Nov. 25 (UPI) -- A court in Pakistan charged seven suspects Wednesday in connection with the attacks that killed 166 people in Mumbai last year.

The indictments come on the eve of the anniversary of a 60-hour siege that targeted luxury hotels, Mumbai's main railway station, a restaurant and a Jewish center, Pakistan's English-language newspaper Dawn reports.

All seven suspects entered innocent pleas including the alleged mastermind of the attacks, Sakiur Rehman Lakhvi.

Wednesday's indictment comes a week after India handed Pakistan more information about the siege.

The information is said to include statements of key witnesses, including a magistrate and FBI officials, the Press Trust of India reports.

New Delhi has been pressuring Pakistan to speed up the investigation.

Court proceedings are taking place at a high security prison in the city of Rawalpindi.

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Toyota to replace 3.8M gas pedals

WASHINGTON, Nov. 25 (UPI) -- Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corp. said it would install new gas pedals on 4 million vehicles as the original pedals can become entangled with floor mats.

The automaker said Wednesday it would have new gas pedals designed and ready for installation by April, WKOWTV.com, Madison, Wis., reported

The recall is the second major recall of the week for Toyota, which recalled 110,000 Tundra pick up trucks due to a problem with underbody rust that can weaken support for the spare tire mounted under the truck body. Excessive rust could cause the spare tire to tumble to the road while driving, the National Highway Safety Administration said Tuesday.

The new recall involves Toyota Camry and Prius.

Until new pedals are available, Toyota said it would have dealers shorten the length of the pedals in vehicles, starting in January.