Obama urges banks to find ways to increase lending
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama challenged top bankers Monday to explore "every responsible way" to increase lending, saying they were obliged to help after being rescued by taxpayers. He asked them to "take a third and fourth look" at their small-business lending. US Bancorp CEO Richard Davis told the group meeting at the White House that his bank would be willing to take a second look at every loan it rejects. And he said he would present the idea to other members of the Financial Services Roundtable — a group representing the largest financial companies, according to the Roundtable. Davis is its incoming chairman.
Gore: Polar ice may vanish in 5-7 years
COPENHAGEN (AP) — New computer modeling suggests the Arctic Ocean may be nearly ice-free in the summertime as early as 2014, Al Gore said Monday at the U.N. climate conference. This new projection, following several years of dramatic retreat by polar sea ice, suggests that the ice cap may nearly vanish in the summer much sooner than the year 2030, as was forecast by a U.S. government agency eight months ago. One U.S. government scientist Monday questioned the new prediction as too severe, but other researchers previously have projected a quicker end than 2030 to the Arctic summer ice cap.
Dems against Dems in health care vote struggle
WASHINGTON (AP) — The end game in sight, Senate Democrats coped with stubborn internal differences as well as implacable Republican opposition on Monday in a struggle to pass health care legislation by Christmas. A liberal-backed call to expand Medicare as part of the legislation drew strong opposition from Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn. and quieter concerns from a dozen Democrats, raising significant doubts about its ability to survive.
22 million missing Bush White House e-mails found
WASHINGTON (AP) — Computer technicians have found 22 million missing White House e-mails from the administration of President George W. Bush and the Obama administration is searching for dozens more days' worth of potentially lost e-mail from the Bush years, according to two groups that filed suit over the failure by the Bush White House to install an electronic record keeping system. The two private groups — Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and the National Security Archive — said Monday they were settling the lawsuits they filed against the Executive Office of the President in 2007.
General says Afghan troop surge will take longer
KABUL (AP) — The military may not finish its surge of 30,000 American troops to Afghanistan until nearly a year from now, a senior U.S. commander said Monday — a slower pace than President Barack Obama has described. The White House insisted it was sticking with a goal of completing the buildup by late summer. The reinforcements begin arriving next week, and the bulk of the troops are scheduled to be in Afghanistan by the end of summer. But it will probably be nine to 11 months before all the troops are in place, Lt. Gen. David Rodriguez said.
Pakistan police probe Americans in terror case
KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani police Monday seized luggage and a cell phone from a hotel where three of five Americans arrested on suspicion of militant links stayed, while a court ruled the men cannot be deported until judges review the case. Police allege the young Americans intended to join militants in the northwest tribal areas and then travel to Afghanistan before their arrest last week. The case has fanned fears that Americans and other Westerners are heading to Pakistan to link up with al-Qaida and other militant groups.
Helicopter extends search for 2 climbers in Ore.
GOVERNMENT CAMP, Ore. (AP) — A military helicopter searched upper elevations of Mount Hood on Monday, as rescuers held onto hope that two experienced climbers would be found alive after a third member of their party was discovered dead over the weekend. Search teams were working against time, with a new storm expected to hit Oregon's highest peak overnight.
Study shows pot more popular among teenagers
DETROIT (AP) — Smoking marijuana is becoming even more popular among U.S. teens and they have cut down on smoking cigarettes, binge drinking and using methamphetamine, according to a federal survey released Monday. More teens also are getting high on prescription pain pills and attention-deficit drugs, according to eighth-, 10th- and 12th-graders surveyed by the University of Michigan for the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Cobain's mother gets guardianship of granddaughter
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A court filing shows the only daughter of Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love has been placed in a temporary guardianship. The filing states Cobain's mother Wendy O'Connor and his sister Kimberly Dawn Cobain are now caring for the 17-year-old daughter. The filings do not mention Love or give a reason for the guardianship.
Germans flee into container after wild boar scare
BERLIN (AP) — German police have rescued four frozen walkers who called up from a waste container begging to be saved from roving wild boars. Police in Darmstadt, south of Frankfurt, said they received an emergency call at nearly 3 a.m. Sunday from a man who said he and three companions had fled into the container after being surprised by a group of boars during a nighttime walk in the woods. He said they didn't dare to emerge. A police statement Monday said that a patrol found the four shivering in the metal container and escorted them from the scene.
This comment has been deleted.