Jan. 8, 2010
The Public Observer takes a look at upcoming news and presents a photo roundup of recent images provided by The Associated Press.
AMERICAN NEEDLE VS. NFL
The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments Wednesday in an anti-trust case brought against the National Football League by headwear manufacturer American Needle, Inc. At issue in the case is a legal doctrine known as "single entity," which if agreed to by the high court would allow the NFL to be considered a single entity, instead of 32 separate teams competing with each other. American Needle brought the case after the NFL entered into an exclusive deal with Reebok to produce caps and hats with NFL logos, excluding American Needle from becoming a licensee. The NFL won the case in lower courts and surprisingly agreed to American Needle's petition for review by the Supreme Court, in hopes of establishing the single-entity principle on a wider basis. The NFL players' union is vehemently opposed to the single-entity designation, fearing that owners could attack free agency, restrict player movement and create new salary schedules without fear of anti-trust lawsuits.
DETROIT AUTO SHOW
Top lawmakers and members of President Barack Obama's administration will meet with auto company executives, state and local leaders and tour vehicle displays Monday at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The government last year took large ownership stakes in General Motors, Chrysler and auto lender GMA Financial Services as the auto industry reeled from the recession.
The auto show will feature 60 vehicle debuts and is expected to attract more than 5,000 reporters from 50 countries. Green technology will be the focus with electric vehicles, hybrids and small cars on display. Green vehicles from a dozen manufacturers will be showcased in a 37,000-square-foot venue called "Electric Avenue."
CLINTON ROADSHOW
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will embark Monday on an eight-day trip to the Pacific. She will deliver a policy speech Tuesday in Hawaii and then will travel to Papua New Guinea before heading off to New Zealand. She will then go to Australia along with U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to participate in meetings over global and regional security challenges.
NIGERIA POWER VACUUM
The ill president of Nigeria has been out of the country since Nov. 23 and the nation of more than 149 million people has effectively been without a leader. President Umaru Yar'Adua had been suffering from kidney problems and went to Saudi Arabia to recover. The president's doctor has released a statement saying that Yar'Adua was suffering from acute pericarditis, an inflammation of the sac around the heart. A leading member of Nigeria's House of Representatives said lawmakers on Tuesday would discuss the president's long convalescence. Yar'Adua did not formally grant his vice president power to serve in his absence, leading to fears of a constitutional crisis.
PHOTO ROUNDUP
Here's a look at some recent photographs published by The Associated Press.
Fireworks light up, Burj Khalifa , the world's tallest building Monday during the official opening ceremony in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)
Young Indian street performer Mehdi, 9, performs with a rabbit Thursday outside the Mahabodhi Buddhist temple where Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama has been teaching in Bodh Gaya, about 130 kilometers (81 miles) south of Patna, India. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)
Icicles cling to oranges Wednesday in Lakeland, Fla. Farmers spray their crops to help protect them against the cold temperatures. Temperatures in the area dipped into the mid-20's, and farmers have been working to salvage millions of dollars' worth of strawberries and other crops. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Microsoft Entertainment and Devices Division President Robbie Bach speaks Wednesday during CEO Steve Ballmer's keynote address at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Laura Rauch)
Lady Gaga appears a the Polaroid booth Thursday to announce a partnership during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Isaac Brekken)
A view of the ice palaces assembled from blocks of ice at the Harbin International Ice and Snow festival held Thursday in Harbin in northeastern China's Harbin province. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
A horse rolls around in the snow Tuesday in Gates Mills, Ohio. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)
A school boy, who was killed by an explosion, is seen surrounded by relatives Wednesday, as some chant anti U.S. and Afghan government slogans, in the back ground, in Rodad, Nangarhar province east of Kabul, Afghanistan. Four Afghan children and a policeman were killed and at least three U.S. soldiers and dozens of civilians wounded when the explosion tore through a group of local residents and soldiers observing a road-construction project on Wednesday, officials said. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
A Pakistani girl looks on as she lines up with other women to get a ration of rice Wednesday during a donated food distribution in Islamabad, Pakistan. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
Bulgarians sing and dance Wednesday as a boy holds the holy cross in the river of Tundzha, as they celebrate Epiphany day in the town of Kalofer. The Eastern Orthodox priests throw a cross in the river and the men take it out. It is believed that those who dance in the river will be healthy throughout the year. (AP Photo/Petar Petrov)
A member of the Bridge Crew watches over a fire line Wednesday in case the prescribed burn jumps the line and ignites on the other side of Kings Pinnacle in Crowders Mountain State Park in Gastonia, N.C.. Officials at Crowders Mountain State Park conducted the burn of more than 500 acres on Kings Pinnacle near the Gaston and Cleveland County line. The reasons for the burn was decades of forest refuse like leaf litter and downed trees can be a wild fire hazard and there are certain species of plants like bear oak that need fire to germinate. (AP Photo/The Charlotte Observer, John D. Simmons)
-- Paul Chavez, Clear365 News Editor
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