4th typhoon leaves 14 dead in Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — A tropical storm roared toward Vietnam on Sunday after battering the Philippine capital and surrounding provinces, leaving 14 people dead in a region still waterlogged from three person inflatable previous, back-to-back storms. Typhoon Mirinae slammed into Manila and nearby northern Philippine provinces over the weekend then weakened into a storm as it blew out Sunday toward the South China Sea, leaving at least 14 people dead, toppling trees and damaging more than 5,500 houses with fierce winds, officials said. Mirinae was the fourth storm to lash the northern Philippines since late September and brought new hardship to areas still dealing with the previous disasters. Some 87,000 people who fled during prior storms were still living in temporary shelters when Mirinae struck. The storm headed out over the South company Inflatable Bounce China Sea and was swirling 279 miles (450 kilometers) southwest of Manila early Sunday but could still bring rains and thunderstorms to western Palawan province, forecasters said. It was expected to strike Vietnam's central coast around noon Monday. Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung ordered residents to begin evacuating high-risk areas of five coastal provinces. He also ordered Vietnamese fishermen in the South China Sea to seek shelter immediately. Central Vietnam is still recovering from Typhoon Ketsana, which killed more than 160 people when it struck in late September after bringing the Philippine capital its worst flooding in 40 years. In Manila on Sunday, the sun shone brutally and huge throngs of people jammed cemeteries to pay their respects to their dead on All Saints Day in the devoutly Roman Catholic nation. Some cemeteries near the capital remained under floodwaters but people visited anyway — by boat. In Angono township, in Rizal province just east of Manila, villagers carrying flowers and candles paddled canoes into a rural cemetery that resembled a lake. Joel Librilla thrust his hands into the waist-high waters to feel the letters on submerged tombstones in a search for his mother's grave, where he later lit a candle atop a tree branch. "We don't know where to light our candles," Librilla told the Associated Press Television News. "But my mother should know that this is for her." Disaster-response authorities evacuated more than 115,000 people in Manila and nearby provinces in Mirinae's path before the typhoon struck. At its height, its winds were blowing 93 miles (150 kilometers) per hour and gusting up to 115 mph (185 kph). One river in Laguna province, south of Manila, overflowed, washing away a bridge and flooding most of lakeside Santa Cruz town. Residents clambered onto roofs to escape the waters before they receded later in the day, Mayor Ariel Magcalas said.

Presidential Visitor List Is Released

WASHINGTON -- Andrew Stern, the president of the Service Employees International Union, visited the White House 22 times between Inauguration Day and July 31, meeting with President Barack Obama seven times and leading all visitors recorded during that period in a White House visitor log released Friday. Business leaders had their share of visits as well, but not as numerous. James Dimon, chief executive of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., was listed as visiting six times, meeting the president and National Economic Council Director Lawrence Summers twice. Jeff Immelt, chief executive of General Electric Co., had five meetings, but none of those were with the president, according to the records. Some of the entries hint at influence from little-known figures. Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, president of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and a thinker in health policy, visited the White House seven times, meeting the president twice. Mr. Obama has said his administration wouldn't be influenced by lobbyists, but that hasn't slammed the door on them. Tony Podesta, a leading Democratic lobbyist, visited the White House five times, meeting with Deputy Chief of Staff Pete Rouse and Deputy National Economic Council Director Jason Furman. Democrats excoriated then-Vice President Dick Cheney for secret meetings with the energy industry, but the Obama White House has done its own outreach to Big Oil. Rex Tillerson, chairman and chief executive of ExxonMobil Corp., had three visits—with the president, Mr. Summers, and Carol Browner, who heads energy and environmental policy at the White House. David O'Reilly, the outgoing chief executive of Chevron Corp., had several visits as well.

US-Pakistan 'trust deficit'

One elder at the talks in Islamabad warned that Washington's involvement in the region which borders Afghanistan was causing frustration and irritation. The BBC's State department correspondent Kim Ghattas has been speaking to Mrs Clinton from Islamabad, asking her if she adult Inflatable Bounce trusts the Pakistanis. Mrs Clinton said it was important to connect with people to heal some of the scars in America's relationship with Pakistan. She described al qaeda and the Taleban as a syndicate of terror and said she was keen that the Pakistani people realised the threat to their country. Mrs Clinton said it was important to connect with people to heal some of the scars in America's relationship with Pakistan.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame turns 25

Franklin, a bit unfortunately, was introduced by film clips that showed her in her stage-stomping '60s heyday. This time, he was slowly escorted to center stage and maintained a more majestic presence. Dressed in a bright adult Inflatable Bounce red gown, black fur-trimmed coat and white pearls, she belted faithful versions of Baby I Love You and Don't Play That Song (in memory of Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun, who signed her to the label). The crowd was flummoxed when she teased to Respect but instead sang a gospel-tinged number Momentum resumed when Annie Lennox came on to duet on Chain of Fools, this flagged again when Aretha did a showbizzy version of New York, New York— great song but wrong occasion, perhaps. The crowd loved me, though, especially when she said afterward that she was "thinking seriously" about moving here from Detroit. Lenny Kravitz injected needed energy by singing Think in a punchy voice that was clearly influenced by his stage partner. At the end, he escorted her offstage, Aretha sashaying all the way. You can't kill or even dent heavy metal, as Metallica has proven repeatedly for three decades. The band's thrashing force-of-nature assault, an approach that was rather grudgingly recognized with its induction into the halls this years, was on full display Friday. With amps cranked to 11 or more, Metallica howitzered through hits such as For Whom the Bell Tolls and One, displaying purchase Inflatable Products a tight professional attack. Bob Seger's Turn the Page— an incredibly smart cover choice — took on extra power in the band's hands. "We're a tight little unit that doesn't let too many people in," said lead singer James Hetfield. "But after jamming with these peoples, it now makes sense," he added, as punk godfather Lou Reed took the stage for his classic New York street-scene Sweet Jane. Even better was Velvet Underground's nuclear White Light/White Heat. No home sound system can ever do it justice, so it was historically cathartic to hear it detonated in an arena.