BitchNews Headline News

CNN reports here: WASHINGTON – The Bush administration has launched a “significant escalation” of covert operations in Iran, sending U.S. commandos to spy on the country’s nuclear facilities and undermine the Islamic republic’s government, journalist Seymour Hersh said Sunday.

AP reports here at Yahoo News: HONOLULU – With a heavy reliance on imported fossil fuels, Hawaii has become the first state to require solar water heaters in new homes, pleasing environmentalists but leading opponents to note the island chain’s already high home prices.

CNN reports here: WASHINGTON – Federal health officials are checking into the possibility that an outbreak of salmonella-caused illness originally linked to tomatoes may instead be linked to something else, they said Friday.

AP reports here at CNN: “Food prices could rise even more unless the mysterious decline in honey bees is solved, farmers and businessmen told lawmakers Thursday.”

Remember this Albert Einstein quote: “If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man.”

More also here in this article from Spiegel Online: “A mysterious decimation of bee populations has German beekeepers worried, while a similar phenomenon in the United States is gradually assuming catastrophic proportions. The consequences for agriculture and the economy could be enormous.”

AP reports here at CNN: LONDON, England – European stock markets were mixed Friday in the wake of steep falls on Asian and U.S. exchanges as oil prices hit a record $142 a barrel.

Spiegel Online reports here: A heated debate has erupted in the United States over oil drilling in coastal waters and Alaska. To the delight of business and the chagrin of environmentalists, President Bush and candidate John McCain are pushing to have a 26-year-old ban lifted — and fallaciously promising that the move would lower energy and gasoline prices.

AP reports here at CNN: CENTRAL ISLIP, New York (AP) — A millionaire who inflicted years of abuse on two Indonesian housekeepers held as virtual slaves in her Long Island mansion was sentenced Thursday to 11 years in prison.

High court strikes down gun ban, CNN reports here: WASHINGTON – The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a sweeping ban on handguns in the nation’s capital violated the Second Amendment right to bear arms.

UK plans big wind power expansion, BBC News reports here: Thousands of new wind turbines could be built across the UK over the coming decade as part of a £100bn plan to boost renewable energy.