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From the Wires

Friday, Jan 13, 2012 10:09 AM UTC

Movie Night At The White House

By Associated Press
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WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s a night at the movies for President Barack Obama and the first lady — and they won’t have to leave the White House.

The Obamas will be hosting Tuskegee Airmen along with cast and crew members of the movie “Red Tails,” about the legendary African-American fighter pilots during World War II.

Screening of the military drama will cap a day in which the president is scheduled to hold private meetings with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Obama will also take time out to attend a campaign event at the Jefferson Hotel in Washington.

Wednesday, May 30, 2012 2:45 PM UTC

Drivers see scarf-wearing pig on Pittsburgh road

By Associated Press
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PITTSBURGH (AP) — Motorists have reported a sharp-dressed pig running loose on a highway just outside of Pittsburgh. State troopers also spotted the animal but failed to catch it before it scurried off into the woods.

The pig is wearing a scarf. The sightings were reported between 8:30 a.m. and 9 a.m. Wednesday just west of the city on Interstate 376, known locally as the Parkway West.

State troopers from the nearby barracks in Findlay Township spotted the pig, but couldn’t catch up to it.

Police say the pig appeared to be a baby and confirmed it was wearing a scarf. Police don’t know why that is or who may own the animal.

Wednesday, May 30, 2012 2:45 PM UTC

Funeral next week for Bee Gees star Robin Gibb

By Associated Press
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LONDON (AP) — A private funeral service for Bee Gees star Robin Gibb will take place next week, with a public memorial service planned for later in the year.

In a statement issued Wednesday on behalf of Gibb’s family, his relatives confirmed that a service for “close family and friends” would take place on June 8.

No details about the location of the funeral have been disclosed.

The Gibb family requested that mourners offer donations, rather than flowers, to two children’s charities on the Isle of Man, where Gibb was born.

Gibb, a founder of the Bee Gees with his two late brothers, died on May 20 after a long battle with cancer at the age of 62.

Plans have not yet been confirmed for a planned public memorial service.

Wednesday, May 30, 2012 2:45 PM UTC

Andie MacDowell starring in Hallmark’s 1st series

By Associated Press
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NEW YORK (AP) — Andie MacDowell will be a pioneer for the Hallmark Channel, starring in the network’s first prime-time series.

Hallmark said Wednesday that MacDowell will portray municipal court Judge Olivia Lockhart in “Cedar Grove.” It will start with a two-hour movie airing later this year and continue with a 13-episode series early in 2013.

The new series is based on books by author Debbie Macomber. Movie adaptations of Macomber’s books have been among the top-rated programs that Hallmark has shown over the past three years.

MacDowell’s movie credits include “sex, lies and videotape,” ”Groundhog Day” and “Four Weddings and a Funeral.”

Wednesday, May 30, 2012 2:45 PM UTC

Sales contracts for US homes dropped in April

By , Associated Press
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WASHINGTON (AP) — A gauge of Americans who signed contracts to buy homes fell in April from nearly a two-year high in the previous month.

The decline was the biggest in a year. Still, sales are well ahead of last year’s level for the same month, suggesting the housing market is improving slowly.

The National Association of Realtors said Wednesday that its index of sales agreements dropped to 95.5, down from March’s reading of 101.1.

A reading of 100 is considered healthy. One year ago, the level was 83.5.

Contract signings typically indicate where the housing market is headed. There’s a one- to two-month lag between a signed contract and a completed deal.

The decline could be a sign that a milder winter accelerated some home sales that normally take place in the spring.

Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics, said pending home sales rose in the first quarter of the year at a 28 percent annualized rate. Most economists were expecting a decline.

“The decline is bigger than we expected, but the underlying upward trend is still intact,” Shepherdson said.

The March reading was the highest since April 2010, the final month that Americans could qualify for a federal home-buying tax credit.

That helped drive completed sales of both previously occupied homes and new homes in April near two-year highs.

Home prices rose in March from February in most major U.S. cities for the first time in seven months, according to the Standard and Poor’s/Case-Shiller index.

While the nation’s weaker cities pushed the overall price index down to its lowest level since the housing bubble, price declines have slowed nationally and a prices rose in 12 of 20 major markets.

Modest sales and rising prices add to other encouraging signs for the housing market, which has mostly slumped since the bubble burst five years ago.

Builders are breaking ground on more homes and requesting more permits to build single-family homes later this year.

Long-term mortgage rates have never been lower. The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage fell to 3.78 percent last week, the lowest since long-term rates began in the 1950s.

Still, the pace of home sales remains well below healthy levels. Economists say it could be years before the market is fully healed.

Many people are having difficulty qualifying for loans. Or they can’t afford larger down payments required by banks. Some would-be buyers are holding off because they fear prices could keep falling.

A better job market has made more people at least open to buying. Employers have added 1 million jobs in the past five months, though the gains slowed in April and March. The unemployment has dropped a full percentage point since August, from 9.1 percent to 8.1 percent in April.

Economists estimate that employers will have added 160,000 jobs this month. The government will issue the May jobs report on Friday.

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More Martin Crutsinger.

Wednesday, May 30, 2012 2:45 PM UTC

Forest wildfire becomes largest in NM history

By , Associated Press
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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A massive wildfire in southwestern New Mexico’s Gila National Forest is now the largest fire in state history.

Fire officials said Wednesday the erratic fire has grown to more than 170,000 acres, surpassing a blaze last year that burned 156,593 acres in New Mexico and threatened the nation’s premier nuclear facility.

The Gila forest fire is also the largest currently burning in the country.

Fire information officer Jerry Perry says about 1,200 firefighters from around the state were in the isolated region to battle the growing blaze. He says they face low humidity and shifting winds in their firefighting efforts.

Perry says parts of southern New Mexico could expect to see smoke from the fire, which has destroyed a dozen homes.

More Russell Contreras.

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