Other News: Stocks Drop on Economic Recovery Doubts
In other news, stocks dipped to their lowest levels in more than two months on doubts about the strength of the economic recovery, and the president of Costa Rica agreed to mediate the political crisis in Honduras.
JIM LEHRER: In other news today, stocks hit their lowest
levels in more than two months on doubts about the global economic recovery. The
Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 161 points to close at 8,163, a loss of about
2 percent. The Nasdaq fell 41 points, more than 2 percent, to close at 1,746.
The president of Costa Rica
has agreed to mediate the political crisis in Honduras. Oscar Arias won a Nobel
Peace Prize for his work to end political violence in Central
America in the 1980s. The announcement of this new effort came in Washington, after
Secretary of State Clinton met with Manuel Zelaya, the ousted Honduran
president.
HILLARY CLINTON, secretary of state: It is a better route
for him to follow at this time than to attempt to return in the face of the
implacable opposition of the de facto regime. And so, instead of another
confrontation that might result in the loss of life, let's try the dialogue
process and see where that leads, and let's let the parties determine all the
various issues, as they should.
JIM LEHRER: Zelaya tried to fly back to Honduras on Sunday, but government
troops blocked the airport runway. The leader of the interim government said
today he has accepted the mediation offer.
In Pakistan,
intelligence officials reported another missile strike by a U.S. drone aircraft. They said 12
to 14 militants were killed. The attacks took place in South
Waziristan at a training camp run by one of the leaders of the
Pakistani Taliban. In response, the Pakistani army warned the U.S. strikes were
hurting its ongoing campaign against the Taliban.
The new U.S.
senator from Minnesota,
Al Franken, was sworn in today, eight months after the election. His arrival
gave Democrats 60 seats in the U.S. Senate. Vice President Biden administered
the oath on the Senate floor, with former Vice President Walter Mondale, a Minnesota native,
alongside. Franken took the oath on a bible that belonged to the late Senator
Paul Wellstone of Minnesota.
The Minnesota State Supreme Court declared Franken the winner last week after a
long recount battle.
The American Bar Association has given U.S. Supreme Court
nominee Sonia Sotomayor a boost. She earned a "well-qualified" rating
from the nation's largest attorneys' group after its review.
At the same time, Senate Minority Leader McConnell suggested
today that Sotomayor has let racial bias cloud her decisions. The Senate
confirmation hearings begin next week.
