2/15 Yahoo! News: Top Stories

Suspected US missile strike kills 27 in Pakistan (AP) February 14, 2009 at 10:59 pm AP - Dozens of followers of Pakistan's top Taliban commander were in a compound when a suspected U.S. missile attack hit, killing 27 militants in an al-Qaida stronghold near the Afghan border, intelligence officials said. Burris says Blagojevich's brother sought donation (Reuters) February 14, 2009 at 10:59 pm Reuters - Roland Burris, named to fill the Senate seat once held by President Barack Obama, has disclosed he was asked for campaign contributions on behalf of the ousted Illinois governor who eventually appointed him. Official: Captive Chinese man freed in Pakistan (AP) February 14, 2009 at 10:37 pm AP - An official says a Chinese engineer held captive by militants for six months in Pakistan has been set free and is safe. US envoy meets Afghan president amid 'crisis' (AFP) February 14, 2009 at 9:57 pm AFP - American envoy Richard Holbrooke has held talks with President Hamid Karzai as part of a review of Washington's fight against extremism, after the Afghan leader warned of a "crisis" with his US backers. GM, Chrysler labor talks slow as deadline nears (AP) February 14, 2009 at 9:47 pm AP - Concession talks between the United Auto Workers and the Detroit Three shifted into an odd phase Saturday as negotiations broke off with General Motors Corp., slowed at Chrysler LLC and picked up speed at Ford Motor Co., financially the healthiest of the three, according to people briefed on the bargaining. Investigator: Plane fell flat onto Buffalo house (AP) February 14, 2009 at 9:42 pm AP - A commuter plane that smashed into a house apparently plunged flat to the ground rather than nose-diving, ending up pointed away from the airport it was trying to reach, investigators said Saturday. Congress strengthens exec pay limits (AP) February 14, 2009 at 9:34 pm AP - President Barack Obama's economic team tried to keep Democratic allies negotiating the stimulus bill from limiting paychecks for executives at banks in need of a bailout. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and economic aide Lawrence Summers failed. Australian wildfire victims mourned at church (AP) February 14, 2009 at 9:31 pm AP - Australians mourned the victims of deadly wildfires at Sunday church services across the country, as news emerged of a class action lawsuit against a power company over the cause of one of the blazes. U.S. officers probed on Iraq rebuilding: report (Reuters) February 14, 2009 at 9:29 pm Reuters - U.S. officials looking into irregularities in the early portion of the $125 billion U.S.-led effort to rebuild Iraq have expanded the inquiry to include senior U.S. military officers who oversaw the program, The New York Times reported on its website. Burris confirms request for Blagojevich donation (AP) February 14, 2009 at 9:27 pm AP - Raising fresh questions about his appointment to Congress, Sen. Roland Burris admitted in a document released Saturday that former Gov. Rod Blagojevich's brother asked him for campaign fundraising help before the governor named Burris as Illinois' junior senator. Chavez confident ahead of key test for Venezuela (AFP) February 14, 2009 at 9:27 pm AFP - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Sunday gambles big on a second bid to try to lift his presidential term limit, with a view to spending another decade in power. Climate warming gases rising faster than expected (AP) February 14, 2009 at 8:57 pm AP - Despite widespread concern over global warming, humans are adding carbon to the atmosphere even faster than in the 1990s, researchers warned Saturday. Obama plans to sign stimulus measure Tuesday (AP) February 14, 2009 at 8:55 pm AP - Savoring his first big victory in Congress, President Barack Obama on Saturday celebrated the newly passed $787 billion economic stimulus bill as a "major milestone on our road to recovery. " M.I.A. announces birth of baby boy on MySpace page (AP) February 14, 2009 at 8:07 pm AP - Call her Mamma M.I.A. The Grammy- and Oscar-nominated rapper has announced on her MySpace blog that she has given birth to a son. U.S. envoy meets Afghan president as ties strained (Reuters) February 14, 2009 at 7:26 pm Reuters - President Barack Obama's envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan met Hamid Karzai on Saturday, the first direct contact between the Afghan president and the new administration that has distanced itself from him. Obama to sign stimulus bill Tuesday in Denver (Reuters) February 14, 2009 at 6:59 pm Reuters - President Barack Obama will sign the $787 billion economic stimulus bill on Tuesday in Denver, a White House official said on Saturday. GM, UAW talks break off; Chrysler talks stall (Reuters) February 14, 2009 at 6:41 pm Reuters - Talks between the United Auto Workers and General Motors Corp central to a turnaround plan for the struggling automaker have broken down over the issue of retiree healthcare costs, a person briefed on the talks said on Saturday. Global warming seen worse than predicted (Reuters) February 14, 2009 at 4:46 pm Reuters - The climate is heating up far faster than scientists had predicted, spurred by sharp increases in greenhouse gas emissions from developing countries like China and India, a top climate scientist said on Saturday. U.S. investigators sift site of deadly plane crash (Reuters) February 14, 2009 at 3:24 pm Reuters - Investigators sifted through wreckage and searched for bodies on Saturday after a commuter plane nosedived into a western New York state neighborhood on Thursday night, killing 50 people. Israel says no truce without release of captured soldier (AFP) February 14, 2009 at 2:57 pm AFP - Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Saturday that Israel would not agree to any truce with the Islamist Hamas movement without the release of an Israeli soldier seized by Palestinian militants in 2006. U.S. missile strike kills 25 militants in Pakistan (Reuters) February 14, 2009 at 1:24 pm Reuters - A U.S. missile attack killed at least 25 al Qaeda-linked militants in a Pakistani tribal region on Saturday, security and Taliban officials said, the highest death toll of militants in a single such strike. GM considering Chapter 11 filing, new company: report (Reuters) February 14, 2009 at 12:28 pm Reuters - General Motors Corp, nearing a Tuesday deadline to present a viability plan to the U.S. government, is considering as one option a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing that would create a new company, the Wall Street Journal said in its Saturday edition. British investor in Madoff scheme kills himself (Reuters) February 14, 2009 at 9:19 am Reuters - A former British soldier killed himself after losing his life savings in an alleged $50 billion fraud run by Wall Street financier Bernard Madoff, the dead man's son said.