World Briefly

The Associated Press

Published Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Dow jumps nearly 900 points as bargain hunters grab stocks in anticipation of a Fed rate cut

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street had another astounding advance Tuesday, with the Dow Jones industrials soaring nearly 900 points in their second-largest point gain ever as late-day bargain hunters stormed into the market. The Dow and the Standard & Poor's 500 index each shot up nearly 11 percent.

There didn't appear to be any one catalyst for the surge that saw the Dow nearly double its gain in the last hour of trading. Many analysts said investors were grabbing up stocks in the belief that Wall Street had fallen too far in recent sessions; the Dow had dropped 500 points in two days. Some said buying early in the day came from anticipation of an interest rate cut Wednesday by the Federal Reserve, and the market just followed its recent pattern of building on its gains or losses in the last minutes of the session.

"There is nothing fundamental that came out today or yesterday that would take it up or down. We're all groping for something meaningful to talk about," said Bob Andres, chief investment strategist at Portfolio Management Consultants. "The market is exhausted from going down."

But given the relentless volatility in the market — out of 20 trading days this month, there have been only two that didn't see the Dow close up or down in triple digits — no one expects that stocks are now headed higher for good. After Wall Street's devastating losses that slashed 2,400 points off the Dow in eight sessions, market veterans warned that the recovery would be rocky, including huge gains followed by huge declines.

"I don't think it will be a sustained move," said Matt King, chief investment officer at Bell Investment Advisors, of Tuesday's surge.

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McCain showing gritty determination in final week despite steep challenge

HERSHEY, Pa. (AP) — John McCain repeatedly implores backers to "stand up and fight" these days, showing gritty determination even as many indicators point to a Barack Obama victory and Republicans engage in fingerpointing typical of losing campaigns. "Nothing is inevitable here. We never give up. And we never quit," McCain declares.

A week before Election Day, the Republican is an enthusiastic underdog with what advisers say is a deep personal belief that he still has a chance to stage an upset next week. He has come back from the brink politically and personally before, and they say, he's resolved to do so again despite steep challenges.

In the homestretch, he tells people to ignore the pundits who project an Obama triumph and the polls that favor the Democrat. He scorns Obama's confident air in the waning days as a premature "victory lap." He says the country deserves "someone who will fight 'til the end." And, he says a GOP victory is within reach.

Some GOP pessimists have suggested he follow the example of Bob Dole, who, once he fell well behind Democrat Bill Clinton in 1996, shifted his campaign from states with the tightest presidential races to those where his appearance could most help Republican candidates for lesser offices. But McCain has steadfastly focused on the closest presidential battleground states.

Even so, the very real possibility of a loss — and life after the campaign — has crept into McCain's latest pitch. "I have fought for you most of my life, and in places where defeat meant more than returning to the Senate," McCain says. Then, he adds: "I've never been the kind to back down when the stakes are high."

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AP Exclusive: Suspect in Hudson murders arrested for drugs in June, could have been locked up

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The convicted felon suspected in the Chicago slayings of Oscar-winner Jennifer Hudson's mother, brother and nephew was arrested on a drug charge in June, but authorities declined to return him to prison on a parole violation, internal parole records show.

Corrections Department spokesman Derek Schnapp said officials who reviewed the cocaine-possession case against William Balfour determined "the evidence that was presented during that time wouldn't have necessarily warranted a violation."

A judge dismissed the charge for lack of probable cause in July, but under the strict rules of the state's parole program, Balfour could have gone back to prison just for the arrest.

No one has been charged in the shooting deaths of Hudson's mother, 57-year-old Darnell Donerson, her brother, 29-year-old Jason Hudson, and 7-year-old nephew Julian King.

The older victims were found in the family's home Friday afternoon. Julian's body was found in the back of an SUV on Chicago's West Side on Monday; authorities declared his death a homicide Tuesday.

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More Republicans call on Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens to resign after his conviction

WASHINGTON (AP) — A growing chorus of Republicans on Tuesday called for Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens to resign from a seat he's held for four decades after his conviction on seven felony charges.

But with the party bracing for losses in the upcoming election, many hope Stevens will first win re-election next Tuesday, and then resign to give Republicans a chance to fill the seat with a fresh GOP face.

Stevens, 84, was convicted Monday of lying about hundreds of thousands of dollars in home renovations and gifts he received from a corrupt oil contractor. The verdict came down just a week before Election Day, too late for Republicans to put someone new on the ballot against Democrat Mark Begich.

Nevertheless, Republican presidential nominee John McCain, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, urged their Senate colleague to resign.

"It is clear that Sen. Stevens has broken his trust with the people and that he should now step down," McCain said.

That comment beat Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama's call for Stevens' resignation. And for a while it put McCain at odds with his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. Palin, who has campaigned on a record of standing up to corruption, stopped short of issuing such a call on Monday. After McCain's comments, Palin issued a new statement saying there was a cloud over Stevens' seat.

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Lines long for early voting in Ga.; polling place hours extended in Fla. due to record turnout

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia residents packed polling places as early voting started in earnest this week, braving lines as long as eight hours to cast ballots and forcing some voting sites to stay open deep into the night.

Polls have been open in Georgia since Sept. 22, but dozens more opened this week as part of a statewide strategy to ease the crunch on Election Day. The advance voting sites will be open every day through Friday.

The new system has been popular: About 200,000 votes cast their ballots on Monday alone. They're among 1.2 million people, more than 20 percent of the state's 5.6 million registered voters, who have voted early so far.

In Florida, a crucial battleground state where early voting lines have also been long, Gov. Charlie Christ signed an executive order Tuesday keeping polling places open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., four hours longer than specified in state law. He cited record turnout in signing the order, which also requires polling places to be open a total of 12 hours this weekend instead of eight. Many counties in Tennessee have also extended their polling hours.

Nationwide, about a third of voters in more than 30 states are expected to cast their ballots before Election Day.

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Ex-Detroit mayor Kilpatrick gets 4 months in jail in sex scandal that led to his resignation

DETROIT (AP) — Kwame Kilpatrick was sent to jail for four months Tuesday for his part in a sex-and-text scandal and the judge chastised the disgraced ex-mayor for arrogance and disregard for the rule of law.

Wayne County Circuit Judge David Groner's sentence was the finale to the scandal that destroyed Kilpatrick's reign at City Hall and threw local government into disarray for months.

"At a time when this city needed transparency, accountability and responsibility, you exhibited hubris and privilege at the expense of the city," the judge said.

He ruled that Kilpatrick not be given an opportunity for early release.

But county sheriff's spokesman John Roach said in a subsequent statement that Groner didn't have the standing to order Kilpatrick not receive time off for good behavior.

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Phillies, Rays set to resume Game 5 of World Series on Wednesday night

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — In the middle of all this World Series chaos, Joe Maddon sounded rather calm.

Bumped to a hotel in Delaware until Game 5 resumes Wednesday night — if the weather cooperates — the Tampa Bay manager and his young team rode out the storm together.

"I referred to it as kind of like getting snowed in, if I could go back to my roots," said Maddon, raised in nearby Hazleton, Pa.

Rain put the Series on hold Monday night, with the Phillies and Tampa Bay Rays suspended in the sixth inning with the score 2-all.

More rain and possible snow showers were expected Tuesday, so commissioner Bud Selig said Game 5 was tentatively set to resume at 8:37 p.m. Wednesday night.

"While obviously we want to finish Game 5 as soon as possible, the forecast for today does not allow for us to continue the game this evening," Selig said. "We are closely monitoring tomorrow's forecast and will continue to monitor the weather on an hourly basis. We will advise fans as soon as we are able to make any final decisions with respect to tomorrow's schedule."

The forecast for Wednesday called for clearing skies by the early afternoon, with temperatures in the upper 30s by night.

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Trying to avoid a cold? Watch out for the fridge handle, doorknobs, TV remotes

WASHINGTON (AP) — Someone in your house have the sniffles? Watch out for the refrigerator door handle. The TV remote, too. A new study finds that cold sufferers often leave their germs there, where they can live for two days or longer.

Scientists at the University of Virginia, long known for its virology research, tested surfaces in the homes of people with colds and reported the results Tuesday at the nation's premier conference on infectious diseases.

Doctors don't know how often people catch colds from touching germy surfaces as opposed to, say, shaking a sick person's hand, said Dr. Birgit Winther, an ear, nose and throat specialist who helped conduct the study.

Two years ago, she and other doctors showed that germs survived in hotel rooms a day after guests left, waiting to be picked up by the next person checking in.

For the new study, researchers started with 30 adults showing early symptoms of colds. Sixteen tested positive for rhinovirus, which causes about half of all colds. They were asked to name 10 places in their homes they had touched in the preceding 18 hours, and researchers used DNA tests to hunt for rhinovirus.

"We found that commonly touched areas like refrigerator doors and handles were positive about 40 percent of the time" for cold germs, Winther said.

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Michigan Democrats' mistake on absentee-voting flier directs callers to phone-sex line

DETROIT (AP) — Michigan Democrats trying to arouse interest in absentee voting have accidentally directed people to a phone-sex line.

State party spokeswoman Liz Kerr says a flier that included two absentee ballot applications had a misprint in the number for a campaign hotline.

The flier came from the Michigan Democratic State Central Committee and featured photos of presidential candidate Barack Obama and U.S. Sen. Carl Levin.

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Police chief provides new details of overdose episode at NY home of Isiah Thomas

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) — Officers who responded to Isiah Thomas' home after a 911 call reporting an overdose on sleeping pills found a man passed out on the floor and gave him oxygen until an ambulance arrived.

Authorities have not publicly identified Thomas as the victim, but a person familiar with the case has confirmed it was the former Knicks coach and NBA star. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press because of privacy concerns.

On Tuesday, Harrison Police Chief David Hall provided new details about last week's emergency in which officers were handed a bottle of prescription pills at Thomas' Westchester County home.

Hall said the bottle had a name on it, but he would not disclose the precise medication. He said police called the overdose accidental because there was no suicide note and no indication the victim suffered from depression.

Thomas has denied being the victim, and Hall again criticized the ex-coach for saying it was his 17-year-old daughter, Lauren, who required treatment.

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