From NPR News in Washington, I’m Lakshmi Singh.
President Obama’s first meetings in the wake of his reelection addressed the looming “fiscal cliff.” Those sweeping spending cuts and tax increases slated to take effect at the end of the year. Today he met with the heads of several labor unions, and tomorrow he’ll welcome business leaders to the White House, all in an effort to garner support ahead of difficult negotiations with Republican leaders in Congress. But the White House’s attempts at addressing spending and taxes are overshadowed these days by headlines of a growing scandal involving former spy chief David Petraeus, who tendered his resignation when word got out that he had an extramarital affair. Now the top US commander in Afghanistan, General John Allen, has become a figure in the scandal. He is under investigation for what the FBI calls “inappropriate communications” with a Florida socialite, who is also a friend of the Petraeus family. Allen denies he did anything wrong. The White House has suspended General Allen’s nomination to command US and NATO forces in Europe. Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi says so far there’s been nothing to indicate a breach of confidential matters.
“I don’t have any reason to think that there are any national security issues at stake in what has transpired. I think some dishonorable things were done, and the honorable thing has to be to resign and not to go forward.”
Separately, Pelosi says she will announce tomorrow whether she will continue in her current post, step down or retire after her party failed to gain the 25 seats it needed to reclaim a House majority.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is set to begin a closed-door briefing this hour about the September terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya that killed US Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans. NPR’s Craig Windham reports it’s the first of four such closed sessions scheduled this week by Senate and House committees.
Lawmakers want to find out more about the security situation in Benghazi at the time of the attack and to look into the administration’s handling of the situation. At first, the president and other top administration officials portrayed the attack as a reaction to a Youtube video that had triggered protests across the Middle East. White House Press Secretary Jay Carney says as more information became available, it became clear the incident was not spontaneous, but was the work of terrorists. Critics have claimed the administration’s initial mischaracterization of the attack was for political reasons. The White House denies that. Craig Windham, NPR News, Washington.
Gasoline rationing is over in New Jersey. Governor Chris Christy, who ordered the restrictions about ten days ago in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, says
supplies are back up and there are no more long lines at those gas stations. However, rationing is still set to be in effect in parts of New York City.
At last check on Wall Street, Dow’s up 19 points at 12,831.
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Eurozone leaders will give Greece more time to meet deficit targets, but will not yet release the country’s latest installment of bailout loans. Joanna Kakissis reports from Athens that the stalemate has forced the Greek government to issue short-term treasury bills for cash.
Greece must pay off the 6.4-billion-dollar bond that matures later this week. The Europeans are withholding 40 billion dollars in aid, even though the Greek government passed tough new austerity measures last week. Public sector workers are on strike today to protest cuts to wages and jobs. Bailout loans come from the European Union, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund, which Greeks call the Troika. The Greek government predicts public debt will rise to 190% of GDP next year. But a draft report by the Troika is more optimistic, saying it will hit 144%. Eurozone leaders will discuss Greece again on November 20th. For NPR News, I’m Joanna Kakissis in Athens.
The Red Cross says it’s raising its death toll from yesterday’s earthquake in Myanmar to 26. The group says more than 200 people were injured in the 6.8-magnitude earthquake.
Small business owners in the US remain cautious in October about the future of the economy as they were waiting for the results of the presidential election. The National Federation of Independent Business has released the results of a monthly survey of its members. It reveals a slight 0.3% increase in optimism that has wavered since 2009.
At last check, Dow was up 14, NASDAQ off four.
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