The Golden Report

BREAKING I- US Sharpens Warning to Pakistan- “The Obama administration has sharply warned Pakistan that it must cut ties with a leading Taliban group based in the tribal region along the Afghan border and help eliminate its leaders, according to officials from both countries. In what amounts to an ultimatum, administration officials have indicated that the United States will act unilaterally if Pakistan does not comply.” Senior Administration officials, including Defense Secretary Panetta, CIA Director Petraeus and Secretary of State Clinton, have been delivering hard-line messages to their Pakistani counterparts in recent days, including at the United Nations General Assembly in New York and a 3 1/2 hour meeting that Clinton held on Sunday. 

BREAKING II- The Washington Post is reporting exclusively tonight that that the United States is building a series of secret bases across North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula from which to launch drone attacks. Last week in THE EVENING REPORTED we mentioned a series of US drone attacks in the nation of Yemen- one of the nations, and an al-Qaeda stronghold, that the United States has targeted in a renewed series of unmanned predator drone attacks this year. The information was first obtained through the WikiLeaks cables. “One of the installations is being established in Ethi­o­pia, a U.S. ally in the fight against al-Shabab, the Somali militant group that controls much of the country. Another base is in the Seychelles, an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, where a small fleet of “hunter killer” drones resumed operations this month after an experimental mission demonstrated that the unmanned aircraft could effectively patrol Somali territory from there,” the report says. 

BREAKING III- President Obama will meet tomorrow evening with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Earlier today, it was announced that the President will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tomorrow morning. The meetings are expected to be high-stakes ahead of a vote on Palestinian recognition [that the US has said it will block]. A bilateral meeting is not expected.

TOP STORY- Former Afghan President Burhanuddin Rabbani was killed in a car bombing in Afghanistan today- hours before President Obama met with current Afghan President Hamid Karzai at the United Nations. After meeting with the President, Karzai cut short his trip to New York in order to return to Afghanistan. The assassination is the latest setback for the US and coalition effort in Afghanistan. Last week, insurgents placed the US & other European embassies in Kabul under siege in a protracted firefight. And last month, 33 Navy SEALS were killed when their helicopter was targeted and brought down by insurgents. In July, President Obama announced his plan for a drawdown of US forces from Afghanistan, beginning next year, and the end of the surge he announced in 2009. 

The INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND lowered its projects for economic growth for both the United States and Europe, as the Associated Press Reports, “The fund said it expected the American economy to grow just 1.5 percent this year and 1.8 percent in 2012. Its June forecast was 2.5 percent in 2011 and 2.7 percent next year. The organization also lowered its outlook for the 17 European Union countries that use the euro. It predicted 1.6 percent growth this year and 1.1 percent next year, down from its June projections of 2 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively.”

WALL STREET ended the day mixed:

• DOW up 7.65 
• NASDAQ down 22
• S&P 500 down 2

2012: Just a week after announcing her candidacy in the Massachusetts 2012 Senate race, Harvard Professor Elizabeth Warren has a 46%-44% lead according to a new poll out today. Democrats will be targeting Massachusetts as one of their only chances of a Senate pick-up next year. 

GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN POSSIBLE- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid today suggested that the government may shutdown at the end of last week if the House & Senate can not reach an agreement over disaster funding. Earlier this week, it appeared that a deal was imminent to pass an continuing resolution through November 23rd [the same date the Supercommittee is expected to report back] and avoid a government shutdown. Although the conventional wisdom is that a shutdown will still be avoided, the current stalemate could extend into the weekend, and possibly force the House to stay in session through its planned Rosh Hashanah Recess. The sticking point is over offsetting additional funding for FEMA and both sides appear to be ready to go to the mat. “There is not going to be a government shutdown,” Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said today. “I’m not so sure about that, ” Majority Leader Reid repleid.

WATCH TOMORROW: The Federal Reserve will complete a two-day meeting and announce a decision on interest rate policy. No change is expected.

FINALLY- Glam Media has purchased the social networking company Ning- a platform that allowed individuals and organizations to create their own social networks. Last year, Ning shifted from a free service to a subscription-based model. Terms of the deal were not disclosed but TechCrunch reports it is likely higher than the $35 million that NewsCorp paid to acquire MySpace, but less than the estimated $100 million the company is estimated to have raised. 

TOP STORY: GREECE DEBT CRISIS- A conference call this evening Europe-time with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel was meant as a sign of greater European support for the Greek government, after new austerity measures announced today by Greek prime minister, George Papandreou. No new proposals were discussed. This show of support from France and Germany was meant to calm European markets, which closed higher today. 

Optimism permeated to WALL STREET on Wednesday:

Dow up 140 to 11,246
NASDAQ up 40
S&P 500 up 15

ELECTION RESULTS from last night’s special elections: 

NY-09 (Weiner): Bob Turner (R) 53% - David Welprin (D) 47%
Note: Weiner won the race against Turner in 2010, 61%-39%

NV-02 (Heller): Mark Amodei (R) 58% - Kate Marshall (D) 36%

The defeat in two special elections is, predictably, being seen as referendum on the President. Republicans will welcome their two new members to Washington tomorrow. When they are sworn in, Republicans will control the lower chamber by a 242-192 majority.

DECISION 2012: 1/ Elizabeth Warren, the Harvard professor who helped to establish the Consumer Regulatory Protection Bureau, officially announced today that she will seek the Democratic Senatorial nomination in Massachusetts to challenge Sen. Scott Brown. 2/ Rep. Dennis Kucinich will run for re-election in Ohio, he has announced, despite the possibility that he will challenge an incumbent Democrat as a result of redistricting. There had been speculation that Kucinich would change his residency and run in the state of Washington. 

PRESIDENT OBAMA continued stumping for his American Jobs Act today in North Carolina. This as even some members of his own party are beginning to go public with their dissent to the President’s plan, one-week old tomorrow. Today Pennsylvania Democratic Senator Bob Casey went on-record saying, “I think the American people are very skeptical of big pieces of legislation.” A new poll by Bloomberg released today, and taken over last weekend, showed Americans just as skeptical that the plan will actually create jobs and lower unemployment.

TOMORROW MORNING the Deficit Reduction Supercommittee goes behind-closed-doors for a breakfast their meeting- their first non-public (and disclosed) meeting.

REMEMBER THE DEBT DEAL that created the Supercommittee in the first place? Well, one of the components of allowing the debt ceiling to increase was that Congress would have the opportunity to vote up and down on a resolution of disapproval. Last week (immediately after the President’s address to a joint session of Congress), the Senate voted, and did not approve the Resolution. Today, the House- in a highly symbolic and deeply political vote- approved the resolution. “Though 174 Republicans voted to support the August deal that allowed the debt ceiling to rise, 228 voted against the president’s action to actually lift it.” the Washington Post reports. All 181 Democrats voted in favor of the President’s action, even though there were 7 dissenters in August. 

UNITED AIRLINES FLIGHT 685 encountered trouble shortly before takeoff today at Dulles International Airport. Reports of smoke prompted the captain to stop the plan on the runway and deploy the emergency chutes. All 179 passengers and 6 crew members evacuated the plane safely, with only minor injuries reported. Supreme Court Associate Justice RUTH BADER GINSBURG was among the passengers who were en route to San Francisco.

FACEBOOK today unveiled a new feature..SUBSCRIPTIONS..that allows a user to share their content publicly, to a world-wide audience, without them specifically requesting to be friends with you..in a similar way to GOOGLE + that was unveiled earlier this year. “Facebook says the feature will appeal to anyone looking to reach a broader audience, like journalists, artists, and political figures. To start sharing your own posts publicly, head to the new tab beneath your profile photo that says Subscriptions. Click it, and you’ll have the option to broadcast your public updates to anyone who has subscribed to you. Note that you’ll only syndicate updates that are marked Public; updates shared with Friend Lists won’t be seen by your subscribers,” TechCrunch reports. Also reported to be coming soon.the ability to update Twitter..from Facebook.

NASA today announced the design of a new SPACE LAUNCH SYSTEM that will eventually carry humans into orbit in deep space. According to NASA, “The Space Launch System will be NASA’s first exploration-class vehicle since the Saturn V took American astronauts to the moon over 40 years ago. With its superior lift capability, the SLS will expand our reach in the solar system and allow us to explore cis-lunar space, near-Earth asteroids, Mars and its moons and beyond” Of course, this new system- and the entire space program- is dependent on Congressional approval of the space agency’s budget.
WHAT TO WATCH TOMORROW: President Obama will award the Medal of Honor- then nation’s highest military award- to Marine Corporal Dakota Meyer, 21-years-old, who is credited with using his own life to save the lies of 36 US and Afghan troops. Over the weekend, a White House staffer called Meyer to discuss arrangements for tomorrow’s ceremony. In the call, Meyer asked if he could have a beer with President Obama. Tonight, the two met in the White House to have a beer. Full Medal of Honor Citation. 

FINALLY- Michaela Salahi is back! The reality TV star perhaps best known for her title as a White House Gate Crasher at a 2009 state dinner for the Indian Prime Minister, was reported missing by her husband- Tareq. The Sheriff’s Office in Warren County, Virginia was alerted- and even held a press conference concerning the matter today. Then, it was reported that Michaela isn’t missing after all..in fact, she is in Memphis, Tennessee with the leader guitarist for the band Journey, Neal Schon.