TheState.com: Nation

Box office results

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 06:15 EDT

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. “Beverly Hills Chihuahua, ” $17.5 million

2. “Quarantine, ” $14.2 million

3. “Body of Lies, ” $13.1 million

4. “Eagle Eye, ” $11 million

Seeking inspiration

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 01:42 EDT

Emerging authors work at Kerouac’s old home

ORLANDO, Fla. — This city in a region of mouse ears and outlet malls was once home to Jack Kerouac, and it might be incubating a successor.

Five decades ago, the Beat Generation author wrote “The Dharma Bums” in 11 days in a small, tin-roofed house near downtown Orlando and received the first glowing reviews of “On The Road.”

Now his old digs house the Jack Kerouac Writer in Residence Project, which brings emerging authors to live and work in the home for three-month stints — not to create Kerouac clones, but to give them the opportunity to develop their own style.

“It’s the idea of not only celebrating Kerouac’s history in Florida, but also creating a living legacy to him,” said local TV reporter Bob Kealing, who helped start the program after learning of the house’s history in 1996.

Black Republicans forging new paths

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 06:06 EDT

ROCK HILL — Marvin Rogers is trying to scale a political hill that few others would attempt to climb.

Rogers is a black Republican, running to fill an open York County House seat held by black Democrats for more than 30 years.

Some view Rogers as the ultimate party pooper for attempting his feat during a historic run for president by a black Democrat.

But if Rogers, 32, pulls it off, he’ll make some history of his own. Rogers would be one of the first black Republicans in the S.C. House in about 100 years.

Two other black Republicans, Tim Scott, now Charleston County Council chairman, and Bonnie Adams, of Green Pond, also are vying for House seats in next month’s election.

Today in History

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 06:15 EDT

A.D. 54: Roman emperor Claudius I died, poisoned apparently at the behest of his wife, Agrippina.

1775: The United States Navy had its origins as the Continental Congress ordered the construction of a naval fleet.

1843: The Jewish organization B’nai B’rith was founded in New York City.

1858: The sixth debate between senatorial candidates Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas took place in Quincy, Ill.

1908: The Chicago Cubs won Game 4 of the World Series, defeating the Detroit Tigers 3-0 to take a 3-1 series lead.

Billions needed boggle the brain

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 01:43 EDT

NEW YORK — There’s an old saying attributed to Everett Dirksen, the Illinois senator who dotted his speeches with colorful rants against government borrowing: A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you’re talking real money.

Not these days, you’re not.

The thicket of figures hurled at Americans since Wall Street began to melt down last month boggles the mind and crashes the calculator. We are utterly numb from numbers.

Bailout of the U.S. financial system: $700 billion. Sweeteners to get the bill through Congress: $140 billion. Federal loan to insurer AIG: $85 billion. John McCain government mortgage buyback proposal: $300 billion.

Billions and billions and billions and billions, tossed out there as quickly and casually as if by a Carl Sagan impersonator on speed. The Fed announced Wednesday it would loan AIG an additional $37.5 billion, and we hardly flinched.

Markets await breakthrough

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 01:47 EDT

WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson told international leaders Sunday that isolationism and protectionism could worsen the spreading financial crisis. With a new trading week dawning, U.S. lawmakers urged quick action by the Bush administration on measures to make direct purchases of bank stock to help unlock lending.

Sen. Chuck Schumer, chairman of the Joint Economic Committee, said an administration proposal to inject federal money directly into certain banks, in effect partially nationalizing the banking system, “is gaining steam.”

“I am hopeful that tomorrow, the Treasury will announce that they’re doing it. And they have to do it quickly. ... Markets are waiting,” Schumer, D-N.Y., said.

Democrats also are lining up behind House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s plan to bring lawmakers back to Capitol Hill after the Nov. 4 election to work on a second economic relief plan. The idea is “give the middle class and the average citizen the same kind of relief that we try to give the financial sector,” said Democratic Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee.

Top Democrats are suggesting a $150 billion measure that would extend jobless benefits, provide more money for food stamps and finance some construction projects, such as rebuilding bridges and roads. It would also include either a tax rebate or tax cut.

Cayce elections: 2007 decision hot issue in races

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 06:03 EDT

Next month’s Cayce election is shaping up as a referendum on the city’s controversial 2007 annexation of a swath of Richland County, many candidates say.

Some contenders call the annexation — of 3,100 acres of what once was the disputed Green Diamond project — “foolhardy” and “clandestine.”

Almost all say Cayce residents remain upset that former Mayor Avery Wilkerson and City Council quickly annexed the area across the Congaree River and, critics say, ran roughshod over residents who raised questions.

“People feel like things are being done to them, not for them,” said mayoral candidate Elise Partin, backed by an anti-annexation group.

On Nov. 4, the city’s 7,000 registered voters get a chance to elect a new mayor for the first time in 18 years. Voters also will choose who will fill two seats on council.

Young, black and Republican

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 01:48 EDT

The barbs have become like a soundtrack to Richard Ivory’s life: Uncle Tom, sellout, self-hater. Being black and Republican does indeed have its challenges — especially in New York. And even though the remarks sometimes wear on Ivory, they mostly seem to have emboldened him.

Ivory started a blog, HipHopRepublican.com, four years ago to voice criticism of what he perceived to be the political pigeonholing of blacks.

The blog is part of a small but vibrant collection of black Republican sites that have given right-leaning blacks a sense of community during an election in which Sen. Barack Obama’s candidacy has made their political stance seem particularly unlikely.

Indeed, Ivory, despite being a devout Republican, feels history tugging at his loyalties.

“That a country that was founded by slavery could actually elect a black person to be its highest person in office, it’s just amazing,” said Ivory, 30, who works as a counselor to mentally ill patients.

GOP frets over McCain’s strategy

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 01:42 EDT

INDIANAPOLIS — Three weeks before the election, Republicans are growing increasingly concerned about John McCain’s ability to mount a comeback, questioning his tactics and even his campaign’s main thrust in a White House race increasingly focused on economic turmoil.

“He has to make the case that he’s different than Bush and better than Obama on the economy,” said former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, one of more than a dozen prominent Republicans who in interviews during the past week expressed concern over the course of McCain’s bid. “If he doesn’t win that case, it’s all over, and it’s going to be a very bad year for Republicans.”

Several Republicans, who spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid angering McCain, said the campaign should have sought to plant doubts about Sen. Barack Obama’s associations with 1960s-era radical William Ayers and others months ago, rather than waiting until the campaign’s final weeks. Doing so now, they said, makes the 72-year-old McCain come off as angry, grouchy and desperate, playing into Democrats’ hands.

Rather, these Republicans said, McCain needs to strike a balance in his tone — appearing presidential while also questioning Obama’s readiness to serve and judgment to lead. And, several said McCain should close the campaign on an honorable note.

“He doesn’t need an attack strategy, he needs a comeback strategy,” said Alex Castellanos, a longtime national GOP media consultant who worked for McCain primary rival Mitt Romney.

A SEAT AT THE TABLE

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 01:43 EDT

Some S.C. voters and candidates will be looking for a breakthrough in the Nov. 4 elections. A look at those groups, their hopes and challenges:

Today

Black Republicans. Three black Republicans will be on the ballot next month, seeking State House seats. One has no opposition, guaranteeing he will become the first African-American Republican in the House in more than 100 years. What does it mean to be a black Republican?

Tuesday

Women. South Carolina has fewer elected women in state government than any other state in the nation. If all three women on the Nov. 4 ballot lose, then the state Senate will be all-male for the first time in decades. A look at the women who are trying to prevent that.

CANDIDATE SUMMARY

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 01:47 EDT

The contenders for Cayce City Council’s two open seats Nov. 4 are:

District 1

Residential area known as The Avenues

John Bloom Jr., a political newcomer and a Cayce resident for a year. Works in public affairs for BlueCross BlueShield. Has a master’s degree in international business from USC, speaks Chinese and lived in Beijing for two years. A critic of how the Vista Farms annexation was handled. Wants to improve communication with residents.

Brad Coleman, a newcomer who used to be athletics director and football coach at Brookland-Cayce High School. Opposes the way Cayce handled recent annexations. Wants to attract family-friendly businesses to replace cash-for-titles stores and fill empty buildings.

A monster Sweet 16 bash

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 08:58 EDT

Miley Cyrus’ 16th birthday party was more boisterous than sweet.

Cyrus celebrated the hallmark birthday at an over-the-top Disneyland celebration Sunday — even though she doesn’t actually turn 16 until Nov. 23. The California theme park was closed for the supersized soiree, which included a four-song performance by the teen queen and a fireworks display above Sleeping Beauty Castle and 16 giant inflatable candles.

“Miley is really hard to surprise,” her father, Billy Ray Cyrus, said at the event.

Organizers estimated more than 5,000 people attended the special party, which cost $250 a ticket. On the event’s purple carpet — that’s Cyrus’ favorite color — the “Hannah Montana” star bragged that her parents bought her a new puppy for her birthday. What else does Cyrus want for her birthday? A new car? Perhaps a later curfew?

“My parents shut down Disneyland for me, so I’m good for a while,” Cyrus said.

Today in History

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 06:44 EDT

1571: Allied Christian forces defeated an Ottoman fleet in the naval Battle of Lepanto.

1777: The second Battle of Saratoga began during the American Revolution.

1858: The fifth debate between Illinois senatorial candidates Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas took place in Galesburg.

1868: Cornell University was inaugurated in Ithaca, N.Y.

1916: In the most lopsided victory in college football history, Georgia Tech defeated Cumberland University 222-0 in Atlanta.

Sanford, USC deny Ayers ties

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 10:33 EDT

Gov. Mark Sanford and USC are rebutting claims of ties to 1960s-era radical Bill Ayers made by U.S. Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign Monday.

In recent days, Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin has denounced Obama’s relationship with Ayers, who was a founder of the 1960s domestic terrorist group Weather Underground.

In addition to Obama denouncing Ayers’ views and activities, Obama’s campaign sent out a press release Monday downplaying Obama’s relationship with Ayers and attempting to show that others in public life have associations with Ayers.

The release read in part:

“(Ayers) is currently a distinguished scholar at (USC). ... Sanford, who supported Senator McCain’s campaign as far back as the 2000 primaries, serves as an ex-officio member of the Board of Trustees. By Governor Palin’s standards, that means Sanford shares Ayers’ views.”

Voters’ engines run hot on energy issues

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 10:33 EDT

Kim Roberts used to fill up one of his tractor-trailers’ gas tanks for about $600. Now it’s nearly $1,200.

“It’s about doubled on me,” said Roberts, who owns Roberts Towing and Transport in Columbia.

The higher price of diesel has forced Roberts to add a 15 percent fuel surcharge to his customers’ bills. The extra charge doesn’t fully compensate for the fuel spike, Roberts said. “But what do you do? If you go up too much, (customers) will find someone else to do the work.”

With unleaded gas hovering about $3.70 a gallon in South Carolina and supply shortages in the Southeast, gas prices have leapt past the Iraq war to become one of the top issues for voters of all political stripes.

The Palmetto State’s gas prices remain among the highest in the nation, making voters passionate about their presidential pick.

In rivals’ 2nd debate, the safest bet wins

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 10:33 EDT

NASHVILLE — Who does America want at the helm in a time of crisis, an erratic gambler or a dangerous radical?

That’s the stark choice being portrayed by John McCain and Barack Obama as they prepare for their second debate tonight. Each is looking to frame the other in the darkest possible terms heading into the final month of the campaign.

Obama, having opened a lead and looking to seal the deal, heads into the debate portraying himself as the steady hand of calm leadership and slamming McCain as a hothead ill suited to handle the nation’s crises, economic or otherwise.

McCain, looking to stop Obama’s momentum, is hammering his rival’s ties to controversial characters in Chicago as signs of his radical and unpredictable ways.

As both take aim, their shots are underscored by the continuing turmoil in the markets and fresh warnings Monday that the economy is in for tough times despite Friday’s approval of a $700 billion bank bailout.

Advisers warn clients not to sell in a panic

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 10:33 EDT

Amid a day of panic on Wall Street, Columbia-area investment advisers encouraged clients to remain calm.

Most people invest in stocks for long-term financial gain, so there’s no need to sell off a portfolio in this crisis, they said.

“In five years, there’s good odds we could be up from here,” said Daniel Wallick, of Wallick Investments LLC, an investment advisory firm. “The next one to three years are going to be tough.”

On Monday, the first full day of trading after Congress approved the financial bailout package, Wall Street tumbled, with the Dow Jones industrials falling below 10,000 for the first time in four years and slumping as much as 800 points before rebounding slightly.

“We have a patina of panic working into the system,” said Steven Mann, a finance professor at USC’s Moore School of Business.

Stocks drop as fear grips investors worldwide

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 10:33 EDT

WASHINGTON — On Day One, the $700 billion plan didn’t help. Just the opposite.

The government’s huge rescue package, aimed at rebuilding economic confidence in the U.S. and around the world, appeared to sound a global alarm instead on Monday, the first trading day since Congress approved the measure Friday with fanfare and President Bush signed it.

From Asia to Europe to Wall Street, there was a fearful international sell-off as administration officials began work on a plan investors feared would be too little and too late to stave off a worldwide recession.

While markets around the world tumbled amid fast-spreading anxiety, officials in Washington worked quickly to put the new financial plan into effect and to shovel more money into the banking system.

The Treasury Department named a former Goldman Sachs executive, Neel Kashkari, now Treasury’s assistant secretary for international affairs, to oversee the new program and said it would increase its bond sales to help pay for the huge package.

Intense legal brawl erupts

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 01:48 EDT

BUYOUT OF WACHOVIA

NEW YORK — The battle for control of troubled bank Wachovia tilted toward Wells Fargo Sunday as a state appeals court blocked a lower court ruling that had favored rival bidder Citigroup.

At stake is $339 billion in Wachovia deposits and its network of more than 3,300 branches throughout the country that would solidify the winner as being in the top tier of U.S. retail banking.

In the Sunday night ruling, the Appellate Division of State Supreme Court threw out an order by Justice Charles Ramos issued late Saturday at the request of Citigroup; the order would have extended the time under which Wachovia and Citigroup had to complete their deal.

Citigroup, which announced Sept. 29 that it had received federal government backing to acquire the banking assets of Wachovia Corp. for $2.1 billion, or the equivalent of about $1 a share, said it would appeal the decision.

SNL serial parody

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 08:52 EDT

NEW YORK — It’s starting to feel like Tina Fey is running for vice president.

Fey again returned to “Saturday Night Live” to play Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin as the sketch comedy show continued to pull out all the stops in its election year season. Queen Latifah dropped by to portray Thursday’s debate moderator, PBS’ Gwen Ifill, and cast member Jason Sudeikis stepped into the role of Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden.

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