Wikinews Shorts: December 17, 2008

Bomb kills two at Oregon bank; suspects arrested
Two people were arrested Tuesday after police say they were responsible for killing a state and local police officer at a bank in Woodburn, Oregon on Friday.

57-year-old Bruce Turnidge and his son Joshua, 32, face various charges including aggravated murder and conspiracy to manufacture and possess explosive materials and devices.

William Hakim, a bomb technician and Tom Tennant for the Woodburn police were both killed after they examined the bomb and had said it appeared to be a hoax. When they started to take it apart, the bomb exploded. One other officer was seriously injured in the blast.

Sources

United States interest rates cut to almost zero
The United States Federal Reserve has reduced its key interest rate from one percent to somewhere between zero and 0.25%. This is the latest in a series of moves to try to curb the country's recession.

The Federal Reserve stated that "the outlook for economic activity has weakened further", adding that the rates would stay at their current levels for some time. The figure is the lowest it has ever been since the Federal Reserve started publishing its target back in 1990.

Wall Street reacted positively to the move, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 232.89 points to a level of 8797.10.

Sources

Bus crash in Israel kills at least 26
A bus containing Russian tour guides crashed in southern Israel on Wednesday after it went through a roadside barrier and went down a ravine, killing no less than 26 people and injuring over 12 more.

The crash occurred near the Sinai Desert border located to the north of the resort of Eilat on the Red Sea.

Police and rescue workers quickly responded to the accident, and army helicopters airlifted survivors of the crash to a hospital in Beersheba, while ambulances sped others to Eilat.

A police investigation has been initiated. Micky Rosenfeld, a spokesman for the police, said that it will concentrate mainly on whether or not the driver lost control of the bus as it attempted to overtake another vehicle.

Sources