US & World News, Tuesday 11/27

US & World Summary President On Middle East Peace Meeting: Conference Will Launch Negotiations (Annapolis, MD) -- In prepared remarks, President Bush says the Middle East Peace Conference in Maryland will launch negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians, not conclude in an agreement. He says a viable, Palestinian state is in everyones interest. He says the key to success is for each side to understand that helping the other will lead to the realization of their own aspirations. Bush also says achieving the goal will not be easy, if it were, it would have happened a long time ago. --- Report: Mortgage Crisis Will Continue (Detroit, MI) -- Its not good news. A new report is predicting the growing mortgage crisis will drive another one-point-four-million homeowners into foreclosure and push property values down by seven-percent next year. The report, from consulting firm Global Insight, also suggests that over half of the losses will take place in California where property values are expected to ball by as much as 16-percent. The report was scheduled to be released today by the U.S. Conference on Mayors. The mayors group is expected to call on mortgage brokers and loan servicing companies to try harder to work out payment plans with borrowers to contain the growing number of foreclosures. --- Broadway Talks Collapse (New York, NY) -- Broadway remains a quiet place today after talks between producers and striking stagehands broke off this morning with no new agreement. The two sides were at the bargaining table overnight. The strike is now 18 days hold and has shut down over two dozen productions. New York City is losing an estimated two-million-dollars a day, each day the strike continues. --- Arizona Teen Accused In Laser Pointing. (Phoenix, AZ) -- A 13-year-old Arizona boy is in big trouble after police say he aimed a laser pointer at a Phoenix Police helicopter. He was arrested and has been charged with reckless endangerment. Police want to know whether the teen was responsible for pointing the laser at police and media helicopters in other incidents. --- Fossetts Wife Wants Death Declaration (Chicago, IL) -- Steve Fossetts wife is asking an Illinois court to declare her husband legally dead. Her attorney has filed papers seeking the declaration. She believes her husband died in a plane crash in September. He was last heard from when he took off from a rural Nevada airport in a small plane. Search crews turned up no sign of Fossett over several weeks. The court papers describe Fossetts estate as quote, "vast, surpassing eight figures in liquid assets, various entities and real estate." --- Russian Cake Theft (Moscow) -- A Russian man grabbed a womans cake with the hopes of going back to prison. A police spokeswoman said the man snatched the pastry then asked the woman to call the police while he waited. Officials said when they arrived, the man said he just wanted to return to jail. After checking his records, it was discovered he had recently finished a 12-year prison sentence. The cake thief faces up to three years for the pastry nabbing stunt. (Copyright 2007 by Newsroom Solutions) RNS-11-27-07 0940CST