National and international news to make you more worldly.

Hughley Finds A Different Experience In Daily Grind

At the start of his stand-up set in the 2000 film "The Original Kings of Comedy," D.L. Hughley mocked audience members who had to suffer the rigors of a daily grind. Now he's getting his comeuppance.

Last week Hughley, 45, had to arrive every morning at his office at CNN in Manhattan at the ungodly (for a comedian) hour of 11 a.m. to digest reams of information from newspapers, Web sites, television and talk radio. He has no time to goof off during the eight- to 12-hour days; only the occasional moment to glance at his new profile in the CNN company directory that lists him as an anchor.

For CNN, which prefers to emphasize its trustworthiness over, say, its hilariousness, Hughley's new show -"D.L. Hughley Breaks the News," which premiered Saturday night - represents the channel's belated (and risky) entry into the well-established genre of news delivered with a satirical smile.

Obama Fundraising Shows Need For Change, Experts Say

WASHINGTON - Democrat Barack Obama, who became the $600 million man after opting out of the public financing system for presidential candidates, has become Exhibit A for experts concerned that the system put in place after Watergate may be on its last legs.

At the least, they say, the massive money Obama has raised shows why the system is due for a major overhaul.

Only time will tell whether Obama - the all-time king of political fundraising - is a harbinger of candidates to come or a one-time phenomenon riding one of those political waves that come around every generation or so.

Regardless, Obama's money has sparked scrutiny of the public financing system first used in the 1976 presidential race, the first post-Watergate contest, to reduce the impact of big money on presidential contests and to free candidates from spending all their time raising money.

Deaths Of 7 Orcas Blamed On Dwindling Salmon

SEATTLE - Seven orcas that regularly visit Puget Sound have died since November - the biggest die-off in about 10 years - and some experts say dwindling populations of chinook salmon are at least partly to blame.

Among the orcas missing and presumed dead are the oldest and youngest members of the group, as well as two females in their peak productive years.

The orcas were listed as an endangered species in November 2005 and largely depend on Puget Sound chinook - listed as a threatened species nearly a decade ago - for food. The southern resident population that regularly visits the Sound is now at 83 animals, down from a recent high of 97 in 1996.

Corporations Continue Spending On Lobbyists

WASHINGTON - Although American corporations have been under intense financial strain in recent months, there is one category of spending they haven't cut back on: lobbying and campaign contributions to influence government policy. Even Wall Street interests appealing for government help have spent millions lobbying Congress, some of them ranking among this year's biggest campaign donors.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the strongest voice in Washington for the business community, spent $30 million on lobbying in the third quarter of this year, more than twice as much as it spent for the same purpose in the previous quarter.

To maintain its influence after the election, the chamber plans to deploy nearly 1,000 organizers in battleground states this weekend, a larger grass-roots effort than has been made before on behalf of "pro-business" candidates.

Widow Of Sept. 11 Co-Pilot Sponsors New Navy Sub

KITTERY, Maine - Navy tradition suggests that the spirit of a ship's sponsor goes to sea with its crew, and the new USS New Hampshire attack submarine joined the fleet Saturday with its sponsor urging its crews to persevere.

Cheryl McGuinness, whose husband was a co-pilot of one of the planes that crashed into the World Trade Center, said that as a former Navy wife she understands what will be asked of the ship's crew - and their families - as the New Hampshire heads to sea.

Veterans organizations lobbied the Navy to appoint McGuinness, of Portsmouth, N.H., to serve as sponsor. Her husband Tom, a former Navy fighter pilot, was co-pilot of American Airlines Flight 11, which was flown into the World Trade Center North Tower on Sept. 11, 2001.

A wire report