The World

THURSDAY

A Wisconsin man pulled a foot-long butcher knife on a fellow guest at a Thanksgiving Day dinner after she ignored his claim to a specific chair at the dining table. The woman defended herself with a broom and was unharmed. Kendrick Carr, 23, has been charged with attempted homicide.

Black Friday got its earliest start ever, as retailers such as Wal-Mart and Toys R Us opened their doors Thanksgiving night instead of the traditional pre-dawn Friday openings.

The U.S. Army’s oldest living four-star general, Ralph Haines Jr., died of natural causes at San Antonio Military Medical Center, an Army spokesman said. He was 98.

FRIDAY

A man was in critical but stable condition after being shot by Black Friday robbers in a parking lot outside a Wal-Mart In San Leandro, California. Meanwhile, a Los Angeles woman pepper-sprayed a crowd at a Wal-Mart as customers swarmed for Xboxes on sale, inuring 20 people. Police in North Carolina had to use pepper spray to subdue rowdy shoppers waiting for electronics. Season’s Greetings!

WEEKEND

Thousands gathered outside the U.S. consulate in Karachi to protest against a NATO cross-border air attack that killed 24 Pakistani troops.

Livestock officials in several western states reported a sharp increase in cattle rustling. Idaho officials reported more than 250 cows have been thieved during the past three months, coinciding with spikes in cattle thefts in Colorado, Montana, Nevada, Wyoming and elsewhere.

Bernie Fine, an assistant Syracuse University basketball coach, was placed on administrative leave under accusations he molested former ball boy Bobby Davis, now 39, and his stepbrother Mike Lang, now 45, when they were juveniles.

NBA players and owners agreed to a collective-bargaining contract, ending a two-month old lockout and paving the way for pro basketball’s return on Christmas.

MONDAY

Court-appointed experts concluded Norwegian mass killer Anders Behring Breivik is criminally insane, which means he may avoid jail but end up in a psychiatric institution indefinitely. Breivik killed 77 people in July by bombing central Oslo and then gunning down dozens of mostly teenagers at a summer camp of the ruling Labor Party’s youth wing.

Police named a Florida man as the prime suspect in the disappearance of his ex-fiancee on the same day an episode of The People’s Court aired showing the former couple arguing over a $5,000 engagement ring.

Wisconsin grave digger Steven Conard pleaded no contest to stealing a cream-colored Fender Telecaster electric guitar from a casket. “That’s a Telly, a really expensive guitar. I have to have that guitar. It’s too expensive to be in a crypt,” Conard allegedly told a mausoleum groundskeeper.

Vienna’s infrastructure, safe streets and good public health service make it the nicest place to live in the world, consulting group Mercer said in a global survey which put Baghdad in last place.

TUESDAY

EU Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn declared Europe has 10 days to save its currency union as rapidly worsening market conditions mean it may have to turn to the International Monetary Fund for more help to avert financial disaster.

New York City Council voted to sue Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s administration over new eligibility requirements for homeless shelters that the council speaker described as “cruel and punitive.” The policy would require adults seeking shelter to provide information, including documents where possible, about their recent housing history and financial resources.

Michigan Governor Rick Snyder approved a state takeover of the city of Flint, following a review team’s assessment earlier in the month that the city, a former manufacturing hub for the auto industry, is in a financial emergency.

American Airlines filed for bankruptcy protection to cut labor costs in the face of high fuel prices and dampened travel demand, capping a prolonged descent for what was once the largest U.S. carrier.

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus agreed to pay a record $270,000 fine to settle charges it violated federal animal welfare laws.

WEDNESDAY

Dutch cooperative bank Rabobank lost its triple-A rating from Standard & Poor’s as the global banking crisis finally caught up with the only bank in the world still holding the top rating. Moody’s still has a AAA rating on Rabobank, but with a negative outlook, and Fitch rates it AA+.

Police in riot gear and biohazard suits removed 200 anti-Wall Street activists from an encampment outside the Los Angeles City Hall as they enforced the mayor’s eviction order.

Compiled by

Gazette staff from a

variety of sources.