North Korea said Tuesday it would use nuclear weapons in a "merciless offensive" if provoked - its latest rhetoric apparently aimed at deterring any international punishment for its recent atomic test blast. The statement comes as the families of two American journalists sentenced to 12 years in a North Korean labor prison urge the government to grant them clemency and hope the U.S. government will work to negotiate their release. It is possible North Korean President Kim Jong Il will return to a nuclear freeze and free journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling if the U.S. and U.N. present a package of incentives. Fourteen years ago, Kim Jong Il released a downed American pilot less than a week after President Clinton agreed to ship $2.5 billion in U.S. aid and oil. CBS News
The government is set to announce as early as Tuesday morning which of the country's biggest banks will be able to repay billions in federal bailout dollars. But some worry the repayments could widen the gap between healthy and weak banks. Congress approved the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program eight months ago as financial markets teetered on collapse but banks have been eager to pay back bailout money and cut the federal strings that come with it. Combined, the repayments could exceed $50 billion. Experts say that figure reflects a measure of stability that has returned to the banking system but caution that the crisis isn't over. MSNBC
U.S. authorities have brought the first Guantanamo Bay detainee to the United States, flying him into New York to face trial for bombing U.S. embassies. Ahmed Ghailani arrived in the early morning hours Tuesday. U.S. Marshals took custody of Ghailani from his military jailers and brought him to the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan. Ghailani is scheduled to appear in Manhattan federal court later Tuesday. NY Times
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
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