USA - The first same-sex marriage at the US Military Academy's Cadet Chapel at West Point will be celebrated Saturday as Brenda Sue Fulton and Penelope Dara Gnesin exchange vows. The ceremony comes a little more than a year after President Obama ended the military policy banning openly gay people from serving. Fulton, a veteran and the communications director of an organization called Outserve — which represents actively serving gay, lesbian and bisexual military personnel — confirmed in an e-mail to USA TODAY Friday night: "We will be the first same sex couple to wed at the Cadet Chapel at West Point."
UK - Almost half of dying patients placed on the controversial Liverpool Care Pathway are never told that life-saving treatment has been withdrawn, a national audit has found. The study suggests that in total, around 57,000 patients a year are dying in NHS hospitals without being told that efforts to keep them alive have been stopped. It also reveals that thousands of dying patients have been left to suffer in pain, with no attempt to keep them comfortable while drugs were administered. Jeremy Hunt, the Health Secretary, last night described the disclosures from records held by 178 NHS hospitals as "totally unacceptable".
EUROPE - “The euro has profound economic advantages and is the most powerful symbol of European integration,” said not some wild-eyed dude with a joint between his lips, slouching in a café in Amsterdam, but the “Final Report“ issued by the Future of Europe Group, composed of the foreign ministers of Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Poland, Belgium, Austria, Denmark, Portugal, and Luxembourg.
It remains uncertain what they were smoking.
USA - During a press conference today, House Minority leader Nancy Pelosi signaled that she supported “unilateral control” for the President over the country’s debt limit.
“Do you support President Obama having the power to unilaterally increase the debt limit as Secretary Geithner proposed?” asked a reporter.
“Yes.” Pelosi answered shortly.
USA - The Fed's plan to purchase $40 billion in mortgage-backed securities and $45 billion in long-term US Treasuries every month for the foreseeable future is now creating internal feuds. The Federal Reserve's latest round of quantitative easing has no timetable to end or any measurable goal.
USA - The Obama administration's opening bid on Thursday in negotiations to avert a year-end fiscal crunch included a demand for new stimulus spending and authority to unilaterally raise the US borrowing ceiling, a Republican congressional aide said. [President] Obama and congressional Republicans are returning to the bargaining table to prevent across-the board tax increases and deep spending cuts, the so-called "fiscal cliff", from taking effect next year.
EUROPE - It's not just Scotland, almost every major European nation is threatened by breakaway movements. History tells us the result could be bloodshed, chaos and suffering. Though few people today seem to realise it, the future of the United Kingdom is in the balance.
NORTH KOREA - North Korea is to launch a long-range rocket between 10 and 22 December, its official news agency says. The KCNA agency said the aim was to launch a satellite. Previous - unsuccessful - launches have been criticised as breaches of a UN ban on North Korean ballistic missile tests. The announcement is likely to increase tensions with North Korea's neighbours, with South Korea expressing concern over Pyongyang's announcement. South Korean officials called the move a "grave provocation" and a "challenge to the international community".
UNITED NATIONS - The 193-nation UN General Assembly on Thursday overwhelmingly approved the de facto recognition of the sovereign state of Palestine after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on the world body to issue its long overdue "birth certificate."
USA - Mitch McConnell, the Senate Republican leader, says he “burst into laughter” Thursday when Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner outlined the administration proposal for averting the fiscal cliff. He wasn’t trying to embarrass Geithner, McConnell says, only responding candidly to his one-sided plan, explicit on tax increases, vague on spending cuts. Geithner’s visit to his office left McConnell discouraged about reaching a “balanced” deal on tax hikes and spending reductions designed to prevent a shock to the economy in January. “Nothing good is happening” in the negotiations, McConnell says, because of [Mr] Obama’s insistence on tax rate hikes for the wealthy but unwillingness to embrace serious spending cuts.
UK - Any attempt to present as fact the view that God made the world could lead to new free schools losing their funding under government changes. The new rules state that from 2013, all free schools in England must teach evolution as a "comprehensive and coherent scientific theory". The move follows scientists' concerns that free schools run by creationists might avoid teaching evolution. Sir Paul Nurse, president of the Royal Society, said he was "delighted. The development of the theory of evolution is an excellent example of how science works and there is a clear consensus within the scientific community regarding both its validity and importance” he added.
UK - WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says all the necessary physical infrastructure for absolute totalitarianism through the internet is ready. He told RT that the question now is whether the turnkey process that already started will go all the way.
EUROPE/USA - Europe's once vibrant economy is slowly declining, robbing American companies of business and prompting calls for a new trade deal to revive the economic health of the continent. "Europe is in a slow decline," said Thomas Donohue, president of the Chamber. "We need to see them get stronger." Donohue, addressing the Chamber's board of directors Thursday, said that the organization is pushing for new trade deals to open markets in Europe for US products. A new deal, he said, could spark an economic revival in Europe. Without it, the European economy could slowly fade, choking America's largest trading partner.
WASHINGTON, USA - While official Washington is focused on potential tax hikes and automatic spending cuts, another fiscal crisis looms on the horizon. A report released Tuesday warned that the federal government is likely to hit a ceiling on issuing new debt come late December and could begin defaulting on obligations by mid-February.
GERMANY - For the third time, European finance ministers this week have put together a package of aid measures for Greece and assured Europeans that the country is now back on track to financial health. But is it really? German commentators certainly don't think so.