USA
Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, who acknowledges being short on international experience, will meet with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and other foreign dignitaries this week as the UN General Assembly opens in New York, campaign officials for GOP presidential candidate John McCain confirmed over the weekend.
Lehman Brothers can sell its investment banking and trading businesses to Barclays for an estimated $1.35 billion, a bankruptcy judge ruled Saturday in New York. The deal would be a first major step in phasing out the nation's fourth-largest investment bank, since it filed for bankruptcy a week ago.
Vice President Dick Cheney must preserve a wide range of records from his time in office, US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelley ordered Saturday in a suit brought by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. A Cheney spokesman said he will not comment on pending litigation.
A field of orbiting dust particles in the distant Aries constellation suggests that a collision may have occurred between two Earth-like planets, a team of US astronomers said late last week of the event 300 light-years away.
Muslim meatpacking workers – most of Somali background – were to meet Sunday in Grand Island, Neb., to consider a possible resolution to a dispute over religious practices with employer JBS Swift & Co. A refusal to allow prayer breaks has led to walkouts and protests. About 500 of the plant workers are Muslim.
A problem with ocean waste and litter is likely to worsen, the National Research Council said in a report to Congress that recommends designating an agency to address problems with derelict fishing gear, ship waste, and abandoned vessels.
Alaska completed a 3.2-mile "Road to Nowhere" last week, even though the controversial "Bridge to Nowhere," which was to connect to the road, was never built, the state reported. The $400 million bridge has become a symbol of questionable earmarks in federal bills.
Baseball's Tampa Bay Rays clinched the first American League playoff berth in the team's 11-year history Saturday by beating Minnesota. In the National League, the Chicago Cubs defeated St. Louis to secure their second straight Central crown and their first consecutive post-season berths in 100 years.
