World/Nation Briefs November 30, 2011
Cain tells staff he is reassessing campaign
ATLANTA - Herman Cain told aides Tuesday he is assessing whether the latest allegations of inappropriate sexual behavior against him "create too much of a cloud" for his Republican presidential candidacy to go forward.
Acknowledging the "firestorm" arising from an accusation of infidelity, Cain only committed to keeping his campaign schedule for the next several days, in a conference call with his senior staff.
"If a decision is made, different than to plow ahead, you all will be the first to know," he said, according to a transcript of the call made by the National Review, which listened to the conversation.
It was the first time doubts about Cain's continued candidacy had surfaced from the candidate himself. As recently as Tuesday morning, a campaign spokesman had stated unequivocally that Cain would not quit.
Cain denied anew that he had an extramarital affair with a Georgia woman who went public a day earlier with allegations they had been intimate for 13 years.
Judge sentences Jackson doctor to maximum
LOS ANGELES - It was clear that Michael Jackson's doctor was going to get the maximum four-year sentence for involuntary manslaughter before the judge even finished speaking.
In a nearly half-hour tongue lashing, Dr. Conrad Murray was denounced as a greedy, remorseless physician who committed a "horrific violation of trust" and killed the King of Pop during an experiment.
"Dr. Murray created a set of circumstances and became involved in a cycle of horrible medicine," Judge Michael Pastor said in a stern voice.
Pastor said Murray sold out his profession for a promised fee of $150,000 a month when he agreed to give Jackson a powerful anesthetic every night as an unorthodox cure for insomnia.
Murray will likely serve less than two years in county jail, not state prison, because of California's overcrowded prisons and jails. Sheriff's officials said he will be housed in a one-man cell and be kept away from other inmates.
Iranians storm British Embassy as unrest grows
TEHRAN, Iran - Hard-line Iranian protesters stormed British diplomatic compounds Tuesday, hauling down the Union Jack, torching an embassy vehicle and pelting buildings with petrol bombs in what began as an apparent state-approved show of anger over the latest Western sanctions to punish Tehran for defiance over its nuclear program.
The hours-long assault on the British Embassy and a residential complex for staff - in chaotic scenes reminiscent of the seizing of the U.S. Embassy in 1979 - could push already frayed diplomatic ties toward the breaking point.
Iran's parliament approved a bill Sunday to downgrade relations with Britain, one of America's closest allies with diplomatic envoys in the Islamic Republic.
Calling Tuesday's attack "outrageous and indefensible," British Prime Minister David Cameron said that Iran's failure to defend the embassy and its staff was a disgrace and would have "serious consequences."
American Airlines files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
American Airlines used to bill itself as "something special in the air," and it was.
It was the first airline to offer curbside check-in. The first with computerized reservations. It invented the frequent-flier program and came up with the deeply discounted Super Saver fare to fill empty seats on its planes.
But it was disastrously behind on one thing - recognizing that its finances were unsustainable.
In the past decade, other airlines cut expenses in bankruptcy reorganizations. American plodded along with high labor costs and aging, gas-guzzling jets. Other airlines found merger partners. American was the awkward kid at the middle school dance.
American was left with little spare cash to make improvements or take risks. The money ran out, and on Tuesday, the time did, too. American filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization.
'Cyber Monday' saw most online shopping ever
NEW YORK - Online shoppers spent record amounts on the Monday after the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, making it the biggest online shopping day in history.
Online sales rose 22 percent to $1.25 billion on "Cyber Monday," when retailers ramp up online promotions, according to research firm comScore Inc. That makes it the biggest online shopping day ever, the research firm said. A year ago, "Cyber Monday" sales topped $1 billion for the first time
IBM Benchmark, another company that tracks online sales, reported a 33 percent rise. The average order rose 2.6 percent to $193.24 this year, according to IBM Benchmark. It didn't give total dollar sales numbers for comparison. The company said about 80 percent of retailers offered online deals.
The Cyber Monday numbers point to Americans' growing comfort with using their personal computers, tablets and smartphones to shop.
- The Associated Press