President Barack
Obama on Tuesday blamed "human and
systemic failures" for allowing a
botched Christmas Day attack aboard a
Detroit-bound airliner and a U.S.
official said the incident was linked to
al Qaeda.
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News United States
December 2009
December 2009December 30, 2009
Obama Blames
"Systemic Failures" For Plane Attack
Dutch airport to use full-body scan for U.S. flights
Amsterdam's
Schiphol Airport will begin using
full-body scanners within three weeks to
scan people traveling to the United
States, after consultations with U.S.
authorities, the Dutch interior minister
said on Wednesday.
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December 26, 2009
Passengers help
foil attack on Detroit-bound plane
An attempted
terrorist attack on a Christmas Day
flight began with a pop and a puff of
smoke - sending passengers scrambling to
subdue a Nigerian man who claimed to be
acting on orders from al-Qaida to blow
up the airliner, officials and travelers
said.
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December 24, 2009
Obama says climate
discontent is justified
President Barack
Obama said disenchantment over the
Copenhagen climate talks was "justified"
but defended the chaotic outcome as the
top UN envoy urged an end to post-summit
recriminations.
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December 23, 2009
American Airlines
plane overshoots runway in Jamaica
An American
Airlines spokesman said that a flight
from Miami overshot the runway Tuesday
in Kingston, Jamaica, but came to a safe
stop. He said there were no immediate
reports of serious injuries or
fatalities.
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December 22, 2009
U.S. crime drops
in first half of 2009, FBI says
Violent crime in
the United States, including murder and
robbery, dropped 4.4 percent in the
first half of 2009 and property crime
like car thefts also dropped, the
Federal Bureau of Investigation said on
Monday.
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December 21, 2009
Airlines scramble after
winter storm delays flights
Airlines were
scrambling to accommodate passengers
affected by the cancellation of hundreds
of flights after a monster weekend
winter storm that blanketed a swath of
the East Coast.
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December 18, 2009
Obama Addresses World
Leaders at Climate Talks
U.S. President
Barack Obama told world leaders at the
final day of the Copenhagen climate
change conference Friday it is time for
the nations of the world to come
together behind a common purpose.
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December 17, 2009
Housing starts rise less
than expected
New housing starts
rose but were lower than expected in
November as construction activity for
single family dwellings increased only
marginally, a government report showed
on Wednesday.
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December 15, 2009
White House Builds Clean
Energy Case Ahead of Obama's Copenhagen Visit
Three days ahead of
President Obama's visit to the climate
change conference in Copenhagen, the
White House continues to build the case
that the United States is committed to
pursuing clean energy with or without
legislation that is stuck in Congress.
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U.S. plans to transfer some Guantanamo detainees
The Obama
administration will announce plans later
on Tuesday to acquire an Illinois prison
and to send a limited number of
detainees there from the U.S. military
prison at Guantanamo Bay, a U.S.
official said.
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December 14, 2009
Robert G. Heft,
who is credited with designing and
sewing the first 50-star American
flag, has died. He was 67.
Wakeman Funeral Home says Heft died Saturday at a hospital in Saginaw. A cause of death wasn't immediately available. Read more
U.S. sends a parade of
promises to Copenhagen
Obama dispatches a
slew of Cabinet-level secretaries,
advisors and envoys to prove to world
leaders that the U.S. is serious about
combating climate change. His own
assurances might carry more weight.
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December 4, 2009
Obama, lawmakers target
bailout fund for jobs bill
President Barack
Obama's options for spurring job growth
may be limited by out-of-control budget
deficits, but he is warming to moves by
his congressional allies for a
jobs-boosting bill.
Read more
December 3, 2009
White House accepts some
blame in gatecrasher saga
The White House on
Wednesday shouldered some of the blame
for an embarrassing breach of security
that permitted an uninvited couple to
gate-crash President Barack Obama's
debut state dinner last week.
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December 2, 2009
Analysis: A war strategy
with echoes of Bush
President Barack
Obama's revamped Afghanistan strategy
involves rushing 30,000 more troops into
the fight by next summer. The abrupt
infusion of U.S. military might is aimed
at jump-starting a war that has crawled
along for more than eight years,
yielding few lasting gains.
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