THE NATION TODAY
Obama taps Gibbs as press secretary
WASHINGTON, D.C.
President-elect Barack Obama yesterday named longtime spokesman Robert Gibbs as White House press secretary and reached outside his inner circle for the post of White House communications director. The director of communications will be Ellen Moran, who is executive director of EMILY's List, a group that backs female candidates who support abortion rights. (AP)
california
Screen actors guild calls for a strike
LOS ANGELES - The Screen Actors Guild said yesterday that it will ask its members to authorize a strike after its first contract talks in four months with Hollywood studios failed despite the help of a federal mediator. The guild said it adjourned talks with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers shortly before 1 a.m. after two marathon sessions with federal mediator Juan Carlos Gonzalez. SAG, representing more than 120,000 actors in movies, television, and other media, said in a statement that it will launch a "full-scale education campaign in support of a strike authorization." (AP)
FLORIDA
Astronauts finish 7-hour spacewalk
CAPE CANAVERAL - Spacewalking astronauts completed almost all the greasy repairs on a gummed-up joint at the international space station yesterday, leaving just a few chores for another day. The nearly 7-hour walk by Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper and Stephen Bowen was the longest of the mission. Also yesterday, a new recycling system for converting urine into drinking water broke down again and engineers were working to fix it. (AP) 