August 29, 2011
In the News: Gadhafi Family Flees to Algeria; Alan Krueger, Economic Adviser Pick and More
- Gadhafi Family Flees to Algeria, Ambassador Says
The wife of fugitive Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi, three of his children and some of his grandchildren arrived in Algeria on Monday morning, Algerian diplomats said
Mourad Benmehidi, the Algerian ambassador to the United Nations, said he relayed the news to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon earlier Monday. Benmehidi said his country granted entrance to Gadhafi’s wife, Safia, his daughter, Aisha, sons Hannibal and Mohamed and their children on “humanitarian grounds.”
- Hurricane Irene: Wet, Deadly And Expensive, But No Monster
The storm that had been Hurricane Irene crossed into Canada overnight but wasn’t yet through with the U.S., where flood waters threatened Vermont towns and big city commuters had to make do with slowly reawakening transit systems.
The storm left millions without power across much of the Eastern Seaboard, killed at least two dozen and forced airlines to cancel about 9,000 flights. It never became the big-city nightmare forecasters and public officials had warned about, but it caused the worst flooding in a century in Vermont.
- Usain Bolt False Start
Still fuming from his false start that knocked him from the 100-meter final, Usain Bolt crouched slightly on the line and waited. Then he zipped into the darkness of a deserted practice track.
There, only a short hike from the main stadium, he didn’t have to worry about jumping the gun.
Bolt missed out on defending his title Sunday when he jumped from the blocks early at the world championships. He was disqualified by a highly debated zero-tolerance false start rule enacted last year.
- Princeton Professor Alan Krueger, Economic Adviser Pick
Alan B. Krueger, a Princeton University professor who recently served as chief economist for the United States Treasury, was tapped on Monday by President Obama to head the Council of Economic Advisers.
Dr. Krueger, 50, was probably chosen in part for his research on the job market, a potential asset at a time when the country is suffering from the worst unemployment in a generation.
In remarks in the White House Rose Garden on Monday, President Obama called Dr. Krueger “one of the nation’s leading economists†and cited the professor’s record on economic policy work “both inside and outside of government.â€