JIM LEHRER: U.S.
economic growth has slowed down. The Commerce Department reported today the
gross domestic product advanced at an annual rate of 1.6 percent in the third
quarter; that was the weakest gain in more than three years and fell short of
economists' expectations.
Democratic Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island said, "This report
undercuts the president's claim that his tax cuts are working."
Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez said, "I would not
panic about this." A downturn in the housing market led to the loss of
momentum.
The economic news spurred a down day on Wall Street. The Dow
Jones Industrial Average lost 73 points to close at 12,090. The Nasdaq fell 28
points to close above 2,350. For the week, the Dow gained 0.7 percent. The
Nasdaq rose 0.4 percent.
A wildfire in southern California spread to almost 38 square miles
today. Firefighters battled the blaze near Palm Springs. Only
5 percent of the fire was contained; authorities said it was
arson. We'll have more on this story right after the news summary.
Iraq's
prime minister and the U.S.
ambassador to Iraq
issued a joint statement today. Iraq
reaffirmed its commitment to a "good and strong" relationship with
the United States.
The statement also said Iraq
"made clear the issues that must be resolved with time lines."
Earlier this week, Prime Minister al-Maliki said the U.S. had no right to impose timetables on Iraq.
Across Iraq
today, there was relative calm. A midday curfew in Baghdad
and Mosul kept
vehicles off the streets. Iraqi soldiers
manned checkpoints in both cities.
Also in Baghdad, U.S. forces entered Sadr City
to search for a missing American soldier. He was abducted on Monday.
The U.S.
military announced the death of another U.S. soldier today. He was wounded
in combat yesterday. Ninety seven U.S. troops have died in October.
In Afghanistan
today, a roadside bombing killed at least 14 Afghans. It happened when an
anti-tank mine exploded in a central
province.
Also today, Afghan President Karzai denounced the recent deaths
of civilians during NATO operations against the Taliban. As
many as 80 civilians died in three villages near Kandahar on Tuesday. Karzai
said the Afghan defense ministry had launched an investigation into those
deaths.
Iran
has doubled its capacity to enrich uranium, according to a report today by the
Iranian Student's News Agency. In the past,
Iranian authorities have leaked information to that agency.
In this case, an Iranian official was quoted as saying,
"Iran
has started injecting gas into a second network of centrifuges." In
Washington,
President Bush did not confirm that report but he did say any such moves were
unwelcome.
GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States: We must double our
effort to work with the international community to persuade the Iranians that
there is only isolation from the world if they continue working forward on such
a program. And I've read the speculation about that; that's what they may be
doing. But whether they've doubled it or not, the idea of Iran having a
nuclear weapon is unacceptable.
JIM LEHRER: The U.S. and its European allies are currently circulating
a draft resolution at the United Nations on limited
sanctions for Iran.
A former Bush administration official was sentenced to 18 months
in prison today for lying and obstructing justice. David
Safavian was convicted last June for his dealings with
Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Safavian resigned from his job as the
government's chief procurement officer last year.
And that's it for the news summary tonight. Now: the California fire; negative political ads; Shields and
Lowry; an Iraq
options conversation; and the newest of the tech.
