US & World News, Wednesday 12/26

US & World Summary --- Zoo Director: Cause Of Tiger Attack Still Unknown (San Francisco, CA) -- San Francisco Zoo Director Manuel Mollinedo said at a news conference today that its still unclear what caused a 350-pound tiger to attack three people, killing one of them. There is speculation the victims may have been taunting the big cat, but zoo officials cannot confirm that. Police Chief Heather Fong said officers didnt immediately shoot at the Siberian tiger, known as Tatiana, because she was discovered still very close to one of her victims. Fong said officers fatally shot Tatiana when she turned toward the officers. The two surviving victims are currently at San Francisco General Hospital recovering from their injuries. --- Malls And Stores Opened Early To Offer Post-Christmas Madness Discounts Malls across the nation are jammed with shoppers looking for big after-Christmas bargains. Stores opened in the pre-dawn hours in hopes of boosting year-end sales. An early projection from MasterCard Advisors on this years holiday sales shows spending between Thanksgiving and Christmas was up just three-point-six-percent over last year. Thats the worst holiday sales performance in at least four years. --- Fog Causes Delays And Cancellations At Detroit Metro Airport (Romulus, MI) -- Several flights at Detroit Metro Airport were delayed or canceled earlier today due to heavy fog. Airport officials said more than 20 flights were canceled due to the inclement weather. After bad weather caused hundreds of flight cancellations in Chicago earlier this week, United Airlines reportedly is working to get its planes and pilots there back on schedule in anticipation of a very heavy travel day today. --- Increased Sales Forecast Could Make Toyota .1 Growing demand in new markets could put Toyota at the top of the auto making world. Bloomberg.com reports the companys expansion into Russia and China is moving rapidly. Toyota is expected to sell nine-point-eight-million vehicles in 2008, with sales jumping more than 40 percent in the Chinese market. The automaker also is considering opening a second manufacturing plant in Russia. --- Nativity Scene Faces Court Battle (Green Bay, WI) -- A lawsuit is expected to be filed today in federal court that challenges a nativity scene placed at the entrance to Green Bay, Wisconsins City Hall. The Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation and 12 Green Bay residents are the plaintiffs. Their complaint says a Green Bay city council member placed the nativity scene there "to convey a message that persons who object to the public display of religious symbols are political outsiders." --- Actor Will Smith Clarifies Hitler Comments Actor Will Smith has issued a statement saying a Scottish newspaper twisted his recent comments about Nazi leader Adolf Hitler into a, quote, "awful and disgusting lie." TMZ.com reports that Smiths statement says "The Daily Record" in Glasgow allegedly took his quotes out of context, making it appear that he was praising Hitler. A rep for Smith also says that the star was, quote, "incensed and infuriated to have to respond to such a ludicrous misinterpretation." --- African-Americans Start The Celebration Of Kwanzaa (Washington, DC) -- Today marks the first day of the celebration of Kwanzaa, which runs for seven days. The term Kwanzaa comes from the Swahili word meaning "harvests first fruits." The African-American cultural observance was first celebrated on December 26th, 1966. It was developed by University of California Professor Dr. Maulauna Karenga to honor African-American heritage and culture. (Copyright 2007 by Newsroom Solutions) RNS-12-26-07 1439CST