■UNITED STATES
Agents hold ‘Iran’ chopper
Federal agents are investigating whether a helicopter they have been holding for 14 months at a Texas airport was earmarked for shipment to Iran. The Dallas Morning News said the agents suspected an Italian firm, Tiber Aviation SRL, had already shipped two helicopters to Iran, with a third one to follow. The Sunday newspaper said the US$8 million aircraft sits in a Bell Helicopter hangar in Arlington.
■UNITED STATES
Site diverts funds to aid
A new Web site lets people donate to charity the money they would have spent on, say, that US$44.50 Henley sweater from The Gap is selling this year. BRAC USA, the US arm of a Bangladeshi development and aid organization, started the site, www.whatididnotbuy.org, on Thursday. As of midday on Friday, 89 people had contributed roughly US$500 using the site, forgoing items like a blender, champagne, power tools and a flat-screen TV. Lucy Bernholz, a nonprofit and philanthropic consultant, said she saw the new Web site as a reaction to the growth of embedded giving, in which companies promise to donate part of the proceeds from the sale of specific items.
■UNITED STATES
Obama ‘unhappy’ over party
President Barack Obama hit out on Sunday at a socialite couple who gatecrashed his first state dinner, saying it was “a screwup” and promising it would never happen again. “What I know is what everybody knows. Which is that these people should not have gotten through the gate,” Obama told CBS’ 60 Minutes. “I was unhappy with everybody who was involved in the process. And so, it was a screwup.” The uninvited couple — Tareq Salahi and his wife Michaele — were pictured shaking hands at a lineup with the president during the dinner given in honor of visiting Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The socialites got past several checkpoints and mingled with top-level officials at the Nov. 24 state dinner.
■UNITED STATES
Obamas at benefit concert
The nation’s capital got in the holiday spirit on Sunday night when music legends Neil Diamond and Mary Blige performed for President Barack Obama at the annual “Christmas in Washington” concert. The festivities, hosted by comedian George Lopez, took place at the National Building Museum and benefited the Children’s National Medical Center. “This season we celebrate that sacred moment, the birth of a child, the message of love preached to the world,” Obama said from the stage, where he was joined by first lady Michelle Obama. “More than 2,000 years later, that spirit still inspires us.” The president spoke of helping those in need during the holidays, as well as honoring those in the military.
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