Local News:

There was a slight delay in the lighting of the Christmas tree at Town Center Park, but it wasn’t enough to dampen the mood of the townspeople attending the sixth annual Winterfest on Friday. “Let there be light!” Mayor Kevin Smith said to a crowd of about 75 after the tree failed to light after a short countdown at 6:30 p.m. The people were very happy to have a small tree representing the Christmas spirit of the town. Along with Town Center Park and Anderson Center for the Arts, several other downtown locations were part of the event.

http://www.theheraldbulletin.com/local/local_story_334204924.html


World News:

Faced with melting polar ice caps and droughts that are getting worse, climate experts at a massive U.N. conference on Monday urged quick action toward a new international pact that is growing an increasingly destructive rise in world temperatures. A main goal of the two-week conference, that opened with delegates from almost 190 countries that attended, will be to draw a skeptical United States into an agreement to cut emissions of carbon dioxide and other so-called greenhouse gases. Conference leaders strongly encouraged delegates to move quickly to combat climate change.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/12/03/climate.conference.ap/index.html



National News:

Drivers in most of the Northeast moved through a terrible mix of rain, sleet and snow Monday. A storm caused at least 11 deaths so far and blanketed the region after covering roads in the Midwest. 40 mph of high winds hit many parts of western New York. Schools were delayed or canceled as the city awoke early Monday morning with a suprise of up to 6 inches of snow on the ground. The National Weather Service has sentenced a foot of snow in the mountains of New England and possibly 20 inches in northern Maine. Upstate New York's central Adirondacks and Lake George region could see 12 inches of snow.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/weather/12/03/winter.weather.ap/index.html


Election News:

Mike Huckabee, who is the former Arkansas governor, has finally made a small lead over the former front runner, Mitt Romney in Iowa. Romney has been the top runner in Iowa for months.The poll by The Des Moines Register shows Huckabee is on top with 29 percent to 24, with Rudy Giuliani at 13 percent, followed by Fred Thompson at nine percent, John McCain and Ron Paul each with seven and Tom Tancredo polling six percent. Things are also close for the Democrats. Obama holds a slight edge over Clinton and Edwards.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/

Health News:

As many as one in three U.S. children have been ridiculed or threatened through computer messages, according to one estimate of the emerging problem of cyberbullying. Another new study found the problem is less common, with one in 10 kids reporting online harassment. But health experts have said even the lower estimate signals a growing and concerning public health issue. CDC officials have said that it's difficult to say how severe online harassment is as a public health issue, because a posting or e-mail that might upset some children is shrugged off by others.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/11/27/cyber.bullies.ap/index.html

Technology News:

Based on the weather reports and restaurant listings you check out online, Yahoo Inc. has a good idea where you live. Based on searches you've done, the Web portal might also know where you want to go. Elsewhere, Facebook is mining friends' buying habits and are buying companies to expand their reach and capabilities for targeting all so advertisers can try to hit you with what they believe you're most likely to buy, even as doing so means amassing more data on you.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/12/02/targeting.ads.ap/index.html

Business News:

U.S. coffee, Starbucks Corporation said it plans to build a regional support center in Rwanda for farmers in east Africa. The industry there has faced some difficulty with recent price spikes. This center will offer new opportunities to enhance the methods and produce even greater volumes of their specialty coffees. On Wednesday, Starbucks revealed plans to build a support center for Ethiopian coffee farmers, claiming an end to a long-running dispute with the east African country. The Ethiopian center was the firm's first in Africa.

http://money.cnn.com//news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200712020555DOWJONESDJONLINE000289_FORTUNE5.htm

Sports News:

A fourth man charged in the shooting death of Washington Redskins star Sean Taylor appeared in court Sunday and was denied bond. Jason Mitchell, 19, appeared for a short amount of time on via videoconference in a Fort Myers courtroom. Also on Saturday Rivera, Wardlow and Hunte made their appearance on Saturday. They all have been charged with unpremeditated murder, armed burglary and home invasion with a fire arm or another deadly weapon.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/football/nfl/11/30/taylor.ap/index.html