Obama pardons last turkey in Thanksgiving tradition

WASHINGTON, United States — President Barack Obama pardoned his last Thanksgiving turkey on Wednesday, an annual tradition that sees the US leader spare two birds — the centerpiece of most holiday tables — from the carving knife.

Obama’s teenage daughters, Sasha and Malia, who have stood by his side during previous pardons — notably casting side-eye glances at their father’s turkey-themed puns — were absent this year.

The festive occasion, rife with bad jokes and poultry photo-ops, saw Obama’s significantly younger nephews, Austin and Aaron Robinson, take their place.

“Unlike Malia and Sasha, they have not yet been turned cynical by Washington,” Obama said to laughter.

“Thanksgiving is a chance to gather with loved ones, reflect on our many blessings and, after a long campaign season, finally turn our attention from polls to poultry,” he said as he introduced this year’s turkeys — two 40-pound, 18-week-old birds hailing from northwest Iowa, named Tater and Tot.

Tot was pardoned in the Rose Garden ceremony, while Tater was on hand as an alternate, should anything go awry with the main bird.


“I want to take a moment to recognize the brave turkeys who weren’t so lucky, who didn’t get to ride the gravy train to freedom, who met their fate with courage and sacrifice and proved they weren’t chicken,” Obama said — prompting amused groans from the gathering.

“It’s not that bad now, come on,” he quipped.

“All right, congratulations,” Obama told the crowd after pardoning Tot, as the turkey gobbled on cue.

The president also took the opportunity — his last pardoning before he leaves office in January — to check off a list of accomplishments he was thankful for: six straight years of job creation, the stock market tripling, uninsured rates at all-time lows thanks to his signature health care initiative and marriage equality, among others.


“Thanksgiving is also a reminder of the source of our national strength, that out of many we are one and we’re bound not by race or religion but adherence to a common creed,” Obama said.

The origin of the pardoning tradition is unclear — tales of spared turkeys date back to the 19th-century and the days of Abraham Lincoln whose son, the story goes, convinced him to let a bird live.

John F. Kennedy was the first president to formally spare a turkey, in November 1963, but it wasn’t until the days of George H.W. Bush in 1989, that pardoning became a White House ritual.

Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the last Thursday of November.

This year’s turkeys will live out the rest of their lives at Virginia Tech University’s newly built “Gobblers Rest” facility in its animal and poultry sciences department. CBB

source: newsinfo.inquirer.net

Stock market rally fades ahead of US holiday

BEIJING  — The rally in global stock markets, which saw the Dow close above 19,000 for the first time, petered out on Wednesday as investors prepared for a holiday in the U.S.

KEEPING SCORE: Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.3 percent to 6,636 while Germany’s DAX shed 0.6 percent to 10,655. France’s CAC 40 dropped 0.4 percent to 4,529. On Wall Street, the futures for the Dow Jones industrial average and the Standard & Poor’s 500 index were both unchanged, a day after the Dow closed above the 19,000 mark for the first time. The U. S. markets will be closed Thursday for Thanksgiving holiday.

WALL STREET: U.S. markets have been the focus since the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president, which many investors bet will be positive for companies. They expect less regulation of financial services and possibly tax cuts as well as spending on infrastructure. He has affirmed plans to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership but avoided mentioning his campaign pledge to build a wall along the Mexican border. “As Trump has rowed back and not mentioned some of his more extreme policy sound bites, some worries about the nature of his presidency may have begun to abate,” Alex Furber of CMC Markets said in a report. That has helped U.S. indexes hit record highs, with the Dow surpassing 19,000 for the first time and closing at a record high six times in the two weeks.

ANALYST’S TAKE: “The bulls have got control here,” Chris Weston of IG said in a report. “U.S. equity and many other developed markets are going higher, at least in the short-term.” Weston noted investors assume the U.S. Federal Reserve will go ahead with an interest rate hike in December. “Emerging markets have found support and are even attracting buyers,” said Weston. “If the Fed were to assess financial conditions in the wake of a potential rate hike they would be wholly enthused.”

ASIA’S DAY: Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 rose 1.3 percent to 5,484.40 and Seoul’s Kospi advanced 0.2 percent to 1,987.95. India’s Sensex gained 0.5 percent to 26,081.22 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng ended unchanged at 22,676.69. The Shanghai Composite Index shed 0.2 percent to 3,241.14. Japanese markets were closed for a holiday. Benchmarks in New Zealand and Taiwan gained while Indonesia retreated.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude fell 16 cents to $47.87 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract lost 21 cents on Tuesday. Brent crude, used to price international oils, shed 12 cents to $49.00 in London. The contract added 22 cents the previous session.

CURRENCY: The dollar was roughly steady at 111.21 yen while the euro fell to $1.0615 from Tuesday’s $1.0630. TVJ

source: business.inquirer.net

Thanksgiving: Turkey, parades and shopping deals

NEW YORK — Turkey, stuffing and a helium-filled Thomas the Tank Engine were on the menu as friends and families gathered across the United States to celebrate Thanksgiving.

Here's a look at how Americans prepared to celebrate Thanksgiving.

GIANTS IN THE SKY

The nationally televised Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade will include six new giant balloons including Thomas the Tank Engine, Paddington bear and the Red Mighty Morphin Power Ranger. The annual event brings out throngs of people along its midtown Manhattan parade route, ending in front of the store's flagship location.

On Wednesday, passers-by on the Upper West Side got a sneak preview, as the giant balloons were inflated with helium in the neighborhood around the American Museum of Natural History.

"It's really cool, they're huge," said San Francisco resident Ella Missan. Daisy Elliot of Boston, who said she's been coming to see the balloons since she was little, agreed. "It's really exciting for me to see the balloons year after year," she said.

The parade's executive producer, Amy Kule, said organizers were glad wintry weather that made sidewalks slick and travel treacherous on Wednesday was expected to be gone by Thursday.

"We're suffering through a little bit of this now but the end result is really going to be a beautiful parade," she said.

• • •

TRAVEL TROUBLES

Rain and snow on Wednesday made getting around on one of the busiest travel days of the year a chaotic experience for some. The sloppy mixture caused hundreds of flights to be grounded in the Northeast.

Some travelers tried to beat the storm by flying out earlier, and airlines tried to be helpful by waiving re-booking fees. But many flights already were filled, leaving travelers with few options.

The roads weren't much better. By midafternoon, the line between rain and snow went along Interstate 95, the major roadway connecting Boston to Washington, and accidents abounded. Snowfall totals were expected to be as much as 6 to 12 inches in the higher elevations west of I-95.

The AAA estimated that 41.3 million travelers would be on the road between Wednesday and Sunday. That's up 4.3 percent from last year.

• • •

HOLIDAY SHOPPING

To the delight of some and consternation of others, it's increasingly become commonplace to see stores open on Thanksgiving, as retailers try to entice shoppers inside and kick off the holiday shopping season a day earlier than the traditional Black Friday. Some of the stores open for at least part of the day on the holiday include Kmart, Target, Sears, Macy's and Wal-Mart. Other stores, like Neiman-Marcus, Nordstrom and Costco, are closed.

source: lassvegassun.com

Dow, S&P 500 at new records; Apple lifts Nasdaq

New York–The Dow and S&P 500 inched to new records Monday ahead of a deluge of US economic data in advance of Thursday’s Thanksgiving holiday.



At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 17,817.06, up 7.00 points (0.04 percent), its third straight record close.



The S&P 500 gained 5.96 (0.29 percent) to 2,069.46, its second straight record, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index bolted 41.92 (0.89 percent) to 4,754.89 behind a nearly two percent rise in Apple.



The US economic calendar was quiet Monday, but sentiment was lifted by data showing a rise in German business confidence. The next two days will include third-quarter US economic growth, the Conference Board’s index of consumer confidence and several other key reports on the US.



Apple shares jumped 1.9 percent after Susquehanna Financial Group raised its price target for the tech giant, citing strong demand for the iPhone 6.

source: business.inquirer.net