USA
Racial tensions over a comment about the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. crept onto the Democratic presidential campaign trail Sunday, triggered by an earlier remark by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. She said that the campaign of her chief rival, Sen. Barack Obama, had deliberately made it seem as if she credited President Johnson more than King in advancing the landmark 1964 Civil Rights Act. She called the suggestion, which fellow candidate John Edwards also made, "ludicrous."
Citigroup, the largest US bank, is expected to announce plans Tuesday to cut as many as 20,000 employees and write down as much as $24 billion due to subprime mortgage losses and credit-related losses, CNBC reported.
The number of foreign tourists who visited New York last year rose 17 percent, according to estimates by the city's tourism office, which placed the overall number of visitors at a record 46 million. A favorable exchange rate and overseas marketing efforts were key in attracting 8.5 million international travelers.
While acknowledging that there would be "enormous" legal complications in closing the US Naval prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Sunday he'd like the facility shut down because of damage to America's image.
Because of the ongoing Hollywood writers' strike, Sunday's 65th annual Golden Globe awards presentation for movies and television was pared down to an hour-long news conference in Beverly Hills, Calif. "Atonement" was named the best movie drama. Actors boycotted the ceremony of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.
Automotive writers named theChevrolet Malibu the 2008 North American Car of the Year Sunday at the Detroit auto show. It was the second year in the row a General Motors car took top honors, following the selection of GM's Saturn Aura last year. Above, in a show promotion for Dodge Ram pickup trucks, cowboys watch over 120 longhorn cattle outside COBO Center.
Driven up by higher crude oil prices, the cost of a gallon of regular, unleaded gasoline rose nearly 10 cents during the past two weeks to $3.07, industry analyst Trilby Lundberg said.
Oregon rancher Bill Inman, who set off on a cross-country horseback trip seven months ago to discover what's good in America, completed his journey Sunday at a motorcycle dealership in Hendersonville, N.C. He said he is encouraged by the people he met.
Wildfires and strong winds in southern California have hindered the recovery of the US avocado crop from last winter's severe freeze, say growers in San Diego County, who estimate that lost production could take as long as 10 years to restore.
