CNN news 2007-12-22 加文本

cnn 2007-12-22


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Hello, I'm Melissa Long here at the cnn Center in Atlanta on this Friday, December 21st, here's a look at some of the stories that are happening NOW IN THE NEWS.

The Bush administration was in court and under oath earlier today. White House lawyers asked a federal judge to hold off on investigating destroyed CIA interrogation tapes. They say court involvement could jeopardize a Justice Department probe. The tapes show harsh questioning of suspected Al-Qaeda terrorists. Critics say they could provide evidence of torture.

The Missouri man who admitted to kidnapping and molesting two young boys has been sentenced on federal charges. Michael Devlin received an additional 170 years on federal charges of child pornography and transporting a minor across state lines for sex. He'd already been given 74 life sentences on state charges. The federal sentence will run consecutive to the state charges.

At least 50 people are dead after a bomb blast inside a mosque in Pakistan. Police say a former interior minister who led operations against militants in tribal areas was targeted in the attack. Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao was with worshippers offering Muslim Eid festival prayers. He was not hurt.

Lines are beginning to grow and grow long at airports across the country. This is the scene at San Francisco's International Airport. Millions of travelers are heading home for the holidays, turns out airlines might be responsible for the biggest flight delays, not due to the weather, not due to congestion. USA Today is reporting that pilot shortages and mechanical breakdowns are more to blame. study show the average delay for an airline or related problem is about 55 minutes, compared to 47 minutes for air traffic. Airlines still blame the weather and the heavy air traffic.

It's pretty a good Friday so far on Wall Street. Stocks rose more than 150 points on news that Merrill Lynch could receive a 5-billion-dollar shot in the arm from a Singapore investment firm. Merrill Lynch was one of the investment banks hit hardest by the housing credit crunch. Impressive earnings from BlackBerry-maker RIMM, or Research in Motion have also held up the markets today

Those are the headlines for you, making news at this hour. For more on these stories or other news of the day, remember cnn is your source whether you're surfing the Web, watching television or you happen to be on the go with your cellphone.

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