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Speaking out as William Ayers becomes an increasingly controversial figure in the presidential campaign, a woman charges the former Weather Underground radical locked her in his attic apartment when both were college students and intimidated her into having sex with his brother and his black roommate. Read the latest now on WND.com.
http://wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=77407

What counts more in Bush's America? Oil company executive bonuses/company profits or education?

Ga. Schools to Close Two Days to Save Gas

Georgia's Public Schools to Close for First Two Days of Next Week to Conserve Fuel After Rita

By DICK PETTYS

The Associated Press

Sep. 24, 2005 - Most of Georgia's public schools will be closed Monday and Tuesday, taking two early snow days, in an effort to conserve fuel in the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Gov. Sonny Perdue asked for the closings on Friday, estimating that closing all of the state's schools would save about 250,000 gallons of diesel fuel by idling buses, plus an undetermined amount of gasoline by allowing teachers, staff members and some parents to stay home. Electricity also would be conserved by keeping the schools closed, he said.

If Georgians stick together, work together and conserve together we can weather whatever problems Rita brings our way with the least possible inconvenience, Perdue said.

All but four of the state's 181 school districts said they would comply with the governor's request.

One of the four, Floyd County Schools, refused to join the effort because it already planned to close for a weeklong break starting next Friday. Closing would give us two days of school next week, district spokesman Tim Hensley said.

As he did in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Perdue also asked residents and ordered government agencies to limit nonessential travel and use commuting alternatives including telecommuting, car pooling and four-day work weeks.

If demand is reduced, he said, we will have enough market power to hold prices down. All together, we can influence demand within our state.

Tim Callahan, spokesman for the 61,000-member Professional Association of Georgia Educators, said he worried that Perdue's announcement would prompt panic buying.

I wonder if it's going to create the type of panic that we saw a few weeks back that drove prices over $3, said Callahan, referring to the long lines and record-high prices following Hurricane Katrina.

During the price escalation, Perdue and the legislature suspended the state's gas tax, saving motorists an estimated 15 cents per gallon. While several other states considered taking similar action, Georgia was the only one to suspend the tax.

The state's monthlong gas-tax holiday expires this Friday, but Perdue has ruled out extending that tax break because the state's $75 million gas-tax surplus has been drained.

AAA reported the state's average price for regular unleaded was $2.59 per gallon as of Wednesday, but increases of up to 28 cents per gallon were reported Friday.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - General Motors Corp, nearing a Tuesday deadline to present a viability plan to the U.S. government, is considering as one option a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing that would create a new company, the Wall Street Journal said in its Saturday edition.

"One plan includes a Chapter 11 filing that would assemble all of GM's viable assets, including some U.S. brands and international operations, into a new company," the newspaper said. "The undesirable assets would be liquidated or sold under protection of a bankruptcy court. Contracts with bondholders, unions, dealers and suppliers would also be reworked."

Citing "people familiar with the matter," the story said that GM could also ask for additional government funds to stave off a bankruptcy filing.

General Motors and Chrysler LLC face a Tuesday deadline to file restructuring plans to the government in exchange for receiving $17.4 billion in federal loans.

Automakers have struggled as U.S. auto sales have tumbled amid a recessionary economy. U.S. auto sales in January tumbled to a 27-year low.
GM has been in talks with bondholders and the United Auto Workers union to get an agreement on a restructuring that would wipe out about $28 billion in debt for the auto maker, sources have told Reuters. However, it appears unlikely a deal could be reached by the Tuesday deadline, they said.

GM has already announced plans to cut 10,000 salaried workers worldwide, or 14 percent of its staff, impose pay cuts for most remaining white-collar U.S. workers and has offered buyouts to its 62,000 U.S. workers represented by the UAW.

In addition, it is trying to sell its Hummer SUV and Swedish Saab brands and is reviewing the status of its Saturn brand.

General Motors Corp., nearing a federally imposed deadline to present a restructuring plan, will offer the government two costly alternatives:

commit billions more in bailout money to fund the company's operations, or provide financial backing as part of a bankruptcy filing, said people familiar with GM's thinking.

The competing choices, which highlight GM's rapidly deteriorating operations, present a dilemma for Congress and the Obama administration.

If they refuse to provide additional aid to GM on top of the $13.4 billion already committed they risk seeing an industrial icon fall into bankruptcy.