Morning Newsdome: Economist fear rising gas prices will start another recession February 23 2011
A daily news round-up of all things important from around the world
>> Muammar Qaddafi has lost control of Eastern Libya as soldiers no longer back the dictator, with General Soliman Mahmoud al-Obeidy saying he's sure Qaddafi "will fall in the coming few days." The death toll is now estimated at more than 1,000 civilians. Later, Libya's interior minister resigned, though the government claimed he had been kidnapped by gangs in Benghazi. If only he had a children's GPS bracelet to protect from kidnappers. (Reuters, CNN, the New York Times)
>> Political unrest in the Middle East has caused crude oil to rise past $108 a barrel, the highest since 2008, and gas prices jumped 5 cents in a week. Economist fear the rising oil prices will push the U.S. back into a recession. Who cares about human rights—I might have to carpool! No! (the Daily Mail)
>> After being challenged over his residency in the city, former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel was elected mayor of Chicago yesterday with 55 percent of the vote. Emanuel is the city's first Jewish mayor and the city's first new mayor in 22 years. As mayor of Chicago, he'll have a lot on his plate: it'll be hard to out-corrupt Richard Daley. (Chicago Tribune)
>> Taking a note from the Wisconsin Democrats, [http://www.indystar.com/article/20110222/NEWS/110222004/House-Democrats-flee-Indiana-stop-votes?odyssey=mod|breaking|text|IndyStar.com|38 of the 40 Democratic state reps from Indiana failed to show up] for today's House session and likely fled to Illinois or Kentucky to stop a union bill. Republican governor Mitch Daniels said he wouldn't send police after the absent legislators because he is "[http://www.indystar.com/article/20110222/NEWS/110222004/Daniels-Not-time-right-work-bill?odyssey=mod|breaking|text|IndyStar.com|not going to divert a single trooper] from their job of protecting the Indiana public." If I lived in Indiana, I'd be fleeing too. (Indy Star)
>> And finally: Baghdad has asked the U.S. to apologize for blast walls installed during the invasion and to pay $1 billion for damages done to the city's infrastructure and aesthetics. Miles of concrete blast walls sealed off Baghdad's neighborhoods that transformed the city into a tangled maze, and despite a sharp reduction in violence, only 5 percent of the walls have been removed. If Atlanta can barely get a Beltline park, I won't be holding my breath for a Beautify Baghdad campaign. (Reuters)