Susan Rice, thought by many to be Obama’s No. 1 pick for secretary of state, holds millions of dollars in investments in Canadian oil companies and banks with stakes in the $7 billion Keystone XL Pipeline, according to a piece out today from OnEarth, a magazine published by the environmental advocacy group Natural Resources Defense Council. As head of the State Department, Rice would have ultimate authority in determining the fate of the pipeline, …

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It is also speeding up the processing of 1,000 planning permissions.

The Palestinian Authority has said it will not return to peace talks without a freeze in settlement building.

The decision comes a day after a vote at the UN General Assembly upgraded the Palestinians’ status at the UN to that of non-member observer state.

According to the Israeli Haaretz newspaper, some of the new units will be between Jerusalem and the settlement of Maale Adumim.

Plans to build …

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James Gus Speth will join us to discuss his new book America the Possible: Manifesto for a New Economy, in which he lays out his ideas for political and economic transformation of the nation. And, the acclaimed international women’s and human rights activist Selma James joins us to discuss President Obama’s re-election. Plus, this year’s Fair Trade and Conscious Gifts Holiday Bazaar and Antimall offers consumers anti-corporate, humane and earth friendly alternatives to holiday shopping. …

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Veteran British film director Ken Loach has sparked a war of words with the organisers of an Italian film festival after he turned down an award over wage and staff cuts at the event’s backers.

Mr Loach, whose films are known for their social conscience, had been due to receive the Gran Premio Torino on Sunday but today revealed it would be “weak and hypocritical” to accept after learning the hiring practices at National Museum of …

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Republican House majority leader John Boehner has appointed 19 of the 21 heads of House committees that oversee legislation. His choices have come under fire for being uniformly white with the possible exception of Representative Darrell Issa who is of Lebanese descent. All nineteen are men.

At a time when the GOP is reeling from Presidential and Senate losses, partly …

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The New York Police Department has subpoenaed film makers Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, and David McMahon over outtakes of their new acclaimed documentary The Central Park Five. The legal wrangling is part of a case brought by plaintiffs known as the Central Park Five – five men who were convicted for a crime they didn’t commit. Burns and his fellow …

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Californians who thought they had averted a major budget crisis by passing Proposition 30, are now dreading a new financial meltdown if the State is denied federal funds due to political bickering over tax cuts and spending called the “fiscal cliff.”

If Congress and the President are unable to reach a budget deal by January 2nd California could lose about …

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A small union of maritime clerks managed to shut down most of the nation’s busiest seaport complex Wednesday, raising concerns about harm to the fragile economy.

Although late November is a relatively slow time for cargo movement at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, a prolonged closure could prove costly for retailers and manufacturers who rely on the ports to get their goods as well as truckers and other businesses that depend on the …

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DHAKA/CHICAGO (Reuters) – Three supervisors of a Bangladeshi garment factory were arrested on Wednesday as protests over a suspected arson fire that killed more than 100 people raged on into a third day, with textile workers and police clashing in the streets of a Dhaka suburb.

The government has blamed last weekend’s disaster, the country’s worst-ever industrial blaze, on saboteurs and police said they had arrested two people, who were seen on CCTV footage trying to …

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BANGKOK — Myanmar on Thursday began its largest crackdown on protesters since the civilian government of President Thein Sein came to power 20 months ago, mounting a raid on hundreds of Buddhist monks and villagers opposed to the expansion of a Chinese-led copper mine project in central Myanmar.

Witnesses said dozens of monks and other protesters were injured when security forces used incendiary devices that set fire to protesters’ encampments outside the offices of the Chinese …

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