Wednesday Linkage

Chilly, a little snow, but not too bad. Apparently we just dodged a bad ice storm. Yeah us!!

Russia Backs Away from Kaliningrad Missile Plans

Immigrant detainee jail deaths draw fire

Was there a plot to kill Queen Elizabeth?

U.S. Pays $40,000 After 15 Afghans Die in Raid

Obama Aides Weigh Banking Rescue Options The Washington Post reports in a front page story that President Obama's "top advisers are in the final stages of debating several perilous options to right the financial system, all of which are likely to prove unpopular and in some cases carry a significant risk of failure" The options include giving firms "a federal guarantee protecting them against losses on assets that are backed by failing mortgages and other troubled loans," the creation of a "bad bank" to "buy these toxic assets," or partial nationalization.

Peanut Processor Knowingly Sold Tainted Products

Police track down violent robber from a footprint that he left in his victim's forehead

U.S. Had To Let Iranian Arms Shipment Go

Too hot for TV: The Superbowl advert pulled for showing models taking too much pleasure from their veggies

Treasury Rules Limit Lobbyist Influence AFP reports the US Treasury "on Tuesday ordered new rules to curb the influence of lobbyists from companies receiving government aid under the massive 700-billion-dollar financial rescue program." The Washington Post reports Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner "issued new guidelines yesterday aimed at eliminating the influence of lobbyists" by "restricting their contact with officials who are reviewing applications for money and deciding how to disburse it." It "remains unclear, however, how the Treasury will implement the new changes and on what timetable."