I am extremely confused to be bringing you this evening's edition of Overnight News Digest, a daily round-up of the day's top stories that is published each evening at approximately midnight Eastern time.
This spindley-legged offering will be deleted as soon as the real OND appears.
Car Bankruptcy Cited as Option by White House
WASHINGTON — The White House raised for the first time on Thursday the prospect of forcing General Motors and Chrysler into a managed bankruptcy as a solution to save the companies from financial collapse.
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A senior administration official, however, later described that option as a last resort, to be used only if an agreement for a voluntary overhaul of the industry could not be reached.
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Legal experts said Thursday that despite discussion of an out-of-court solution, a revamping of G.M. and Chrysler might be difficult to accomplish outside of bankruptcy court, given the significant steps an overhaul would require.
Helping to Write History
The job requires him to work unnoticed, even in plain view, so Jon Favreau settles into a wooden chair at a busy Starbucks in the center of Penn Quarter.
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During the campaign, the buzz-cut 27-year-old at the corner table helped write and edit some of the most memorable speeches of any recent presidential candidate. When Obama moves to the White House next month, Favreau will join his staff as the youngest person ever to be selected as chief speechwriter.
Punishment for the Shoe Thrower Puts al-Maliki in a Spot
There were rowdy scenes in the legislature as lawmakers from anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's bloc interrupted a discussion about the fate of non-U.S. troops in Iraq to demand al-Zaidi's immediate release.
Crude Oil Tumbles Below $36 as Demand Drop Swells Inventories
All dressed up and nowhere to go!
Dec. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil was steady after falling 22 percent this week to plunge below $36 a barrel for the first time since June 2004 amid declining demand and the weakening economy.
[...]"There’s a lot of supply and not a lot of storage left," said Adam Sieminski, Deutsche Bank’s chief energy economist, in Washington.
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Oil companies have booked 25 supertankers to store crude, enough to supply France for almost a month. The vessels, equal to about 5 percent of the global fleet, can carry as much as 50 million barrels.
It's just floating around out there on the bounding main, alone and unwanted.
Butter Holds the Secret to Cookies That Sing
The most common mistakes made by home bakers, professionals say, have to do with the care and handling of one ingredient: butter. Creaming butter correctly, keeping butter doughs cold, and starting with fresh, good-tasting butter are vital details that professionals take for granted, and home bakers often miss.
The single biggest mistake in home cookie baking is adding other ingredients to the butter.
Scientists Warn Large Earth Collider May Destroy Earth
BATAVIA, IL—In October, Fermilab scientists joined a growing number of physicists around the world in warning that the Very Large Earth Collider—a $117 billion electromagnetic particle accelerator built to study astronomical phenomena by colliding Earth into various heavenly bodies—could potentially destroy Earth when it sends the planet careening headlong into Mars, Jupiter, or even the sun.