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COPYRIGHT 2006 Voxant Inc.
Original Source: CNN LIVE TODAY
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's take a look at what's happening right "Now in the News."
Thousands of jobs are on the line at the Ford Motor Company. The giant automaker announced just moments ago that it's closing some major plants in North America as part of its restructuring plan.
Details in a live report straight ahead.
As West Virginia copes with two mining tragedies in less than a month, mine safety is in the spotlight on Capitol Hill, as we look at live pictures of Senator Arlen Specter. As we see in these pictures, a Senate panel is holding hearings on the issue right now. Fourteen West Virginia coal miners have died in two separate mine accidents since the first of the year.
More details are just ahead.
And you've no doubt noticed it, gas prices are on the rise. In the latest Lundberg Survey, the national average for self-serve regular is up three cents over the last two weeks to $2.33 a gallon. That is nearly 20 cents higher than in early December. Analysts say they expect more price hikes in the weeks ahead.
One day before Saddam Hussein's trial is scheduled to resume in Baghdad, Iraqi officials have named a new interim chief judge. The previous presiding judge resigned earlier this month amid complaints that he was too lax with the defendants in the trial. Charges against Hussein and seven co-defendants stem from the 1982 killings of 148 Iraqis.
There still is no word on the fate of American hostage Jill Carroll. The journalist was kidnapped 16 days ago. Carroll's father is pleading with his daughter's captors to set her free, saying she is not their enemy.
Militants holding Carroll have threatened to kill her unless the U.S. military releases all Iraqi women prisoners in its custody. A deadline set by the kidnappers passed on Friday.
If you use one of those popular e-mail devices known as the BlackBerry, you might soon feel the impact of a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court. The high court has now refused to hear an appeal over patent issues by the Canadian company that makes the BlackBerry. Today's decision means a trial judge in Virginia could impose an injunction against the company and block BlackBerry use among many of its owners here in the U.S.
And we will have more on that BlackBerry news a little bit later in the newscast.
Good morning, everyone. Welcome back to CNN LIVE TODAY.
Checking the time around the world, just after 11:00 a.m. in Dearborn, Michigan, just past 9:00 a.m. on Utah's Mt. Olympus. We'll tell you why we're focused on Mt. Olympus in a bit.
I'm at CNN Center in Atlanta. I'm Daryn Kagan.
First up this hour, the Motown blues. Cuts are job one at Ford today. You heard the announcement just a few minutes ago live right here on CNN.
Ford, like its Detroit brethren, GM, is downsizing to compete with Asia. Both companies are major players in the U.S. economy.
Ford plans to shed as many as 30,000 jobs. Fourteen plants will be cut.
Wall Street is watching, with Ford's North American operation a billion-dollar losing in 2005. And you can see the Dow a little bit strong this morning. It is up about 39 points. Trading has been open about an hour and a half.
We'll check in with Susan Lisovicz in just a moment. But first, let's go to Ali Velshi. He is from outside Detroit in Dearborn, Michigan, on Ford's tough day.
Ali, you were saying the announced cuts even bigger than what was expected.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the 25,000 number had been bandied around. Now we're talking about 30,000, plus 4,000 salaried workers, which we had heard were going to happen. So when you take it all together, that's 34,000. Add that to the...
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