News Round-Up: Professor Advises Underwater Homeowners to Walk Away from Mortgages; Two Senators Urge Action Against White House Crashers

News Round-Up from Around the U.S. and the World

Professor advises underwater homeowners to walk away from mortgages
Brent T. White, a University of Arizona law school professor, says that it's in the homeowners' best financial interest to stiff their lenders and that it's not immoral to do so. Doing so, he suggests, could save some of them hundreds of thousands of dollars that they "have no reasonable prospect of recouping" in the years ahead. Plus the penalties are nowhere near as painful or long-lasting as they might assume, he says.

Senators Evan Bayh & Jon Kyl: Take action against White House crashers
Two senators say authorities ought to pursue criminal charges against the Virginia couple who crashed last week's state dinner at the White House. They say such behavior should be strongly discouraged.

MIT Analysis: Americans Would Pay LESS Under Senate Health Care Bill
A new analysis by a leading MIT economist provides new ammunition for Democrats as the Senate begins formally debating the historic health-reform bill being pushed by President Barack Obama.

10,000 Albinos In Hiding After Killings In East Africa
The mistaken belief that albino body parts have magical powers has driven thousands of Africa's albinos into hiding, fearful of losing their lives and limbs to unscrupulous dealers who can make up to $75,000 selling a complete dismembered set.

York, Pa., torn by racial strife elects black mayor
A little girl who trembled in her house as a National Guard tank rumbled past during York's chaotic 1969 race riots has grown up to become the first black mayor of the central Pennsylvania city. Kim Bracey, 45, an energetic veteran of the struggling manufacturing city's improvement efforts will take office in January, to the delight of many African-Americans who thought they would never see a black mayor.

Angelo Faliva, Italian chef, missing at sea on Caribbean cruise
Italy's foreign ministry says a chef from the country is missing from a U.S.-flagged cruise ship and the FBI is investigating. Angelo Faliva was last seen in the kitchen of the Princess Cruises "Coral Princess" at about 8:15 p.m. Wednesday while he was working his dinner shift.

Police: Murderous Swedish Moose A Suspect In Death Of Agneta Westlund
Swedish police say they've cleared a man who was arrested for allegedly murdering his wife after deciding the culprit was most likely a moose. Police spokesman Ulf Karlsson says "the improbable has become probable" in the puzzling death last year of 63-year old Agneta Westlund. She was found dead after an evening stroll in the forest.

Jeremy Greenstock, UK Diplomat, Says US Was 'Hell Bent' On Iraq Invasion
Jeremy Greenstock, British ambassador to the United Nations from 1998 to 2003, said that President George W. Bush had no real interest in attempts to agree on a U.N. resolution to provide explicit backing for the conflict. The ex-diplomat, who served as Britain's envoy in Iraq after the invasion, said serious preparations for the war had begun in early 2002 and took on an unstoppable momentum.

Iran authorizes 10 new nuke plants, state news agency IRNA says
Iran's Cabinet has authorized the construction of another 10 uranium enrichment plants, the state news agency IRNA announced Sunday, further defying international calls to halt its production of nuclear fuel. The Iranian Cabinet approved existing plans for five more facilities similar to its current plant at Natanz and ordered planning for five more to begin, the Islamic Republic News Agency reported. The dispatch quoted Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as saying that the new plants will be used to produce fuel for civilian nuclear power stations.