US & World News, Monday 4/28

US & World Summary --- Taxpayer Rebates Roll Out Today (Washington, DC) -- Taxpayer rebates are rolling out today. In a statement at the White House Friday, President Bush said the IRS will start sending rebates to tax filers who have direct deposit today. The rest of the rebates will be mailed out on May 9th. A recently enacted economic stimulus package covers more than 160-billion-dollars and is highlighted by business tax incentives and taxpayer rebates. President Bush has consistently rejected assertions that the U.S. is in a recession and prefers to refer to the situation as an economic "slowdown." --- California Wildfire Now 30 Percent Contained (Los Angeles, CA) -- Firefighters are battling a massive fire in Southern Californias Angeles National Forest. The fire is now about 30 percent contained. A thousand people were forced to flee their homes 20 miles northeast of Los Angeles. A group of 50 people celebrating a wedding at a mountain campground were safely airlifted from the area after being trapped by the fire. Over 400 firefighters are working with air support to quell the 400 acre inferno. --- Obama: I Will Set New Mission For Petraeus To Follow (Marion, IN) -- Presidential candidate Barack Obama says, with General David Petraeus help, he will remain strong on pulling out of the war in Iraq. In an interview on "Fox News Sunday," Obama said he plans to confirm the nomination for Petraeus to become the new leader of Central Command. Obama said he hopes to work with Petraeus to expand the focus from Iraq to the entire Middle East. Obama added as president, he would set a new mission for Iraq and establish a timetable to withdraw U.S. troops. --- Feinstein: U.S. Must Initiate Dialogue With Iran (Washington, DC) -- The first step toward improving relations with Iran could simply be opening a dialogue. California Senator Dianne Feinstein told CNNs "Late Edition" it would be a big mistake for America to only consider military options when it comes to Iran. Feinstein says there hasnt been a meaningful dialogue between the U.S. and Iran for three decades. Feinstein says the U.S. needs to speak with Iran without preconditions and only then will there be a window of opportunity to discuss nuclear weaponry and the Iranian economy. --- Doctors Use Gene Therapy To Assuage Blindness For the first time in medical history, doctors used gene therapy to restore vision in patients suffering from a rare and typically incurable form of blindness. "USA Today" reports none of the six patients who were treated regained normal vision but four of them have significantly better vision than before. The patients have a rare inherited disorder called Lebers congenital amaurosis. The disorder begins eroding eyesight at birth and leaves patients blind by their mid-20s. The findings are published in "The New England Journal of Medicine." --- India Launches Ten Satellites Today The Indian Space Research Organization said it launched ten satellites today. Most of those satellites belong to Germany and Canada. The satellites were shuttled into space by Indias Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, which blasted off from a space center off the countrys eastern coast. A senior Indian official said the launches were smooth and everything went according to plan. The Indian-made Cartosat-2A remote sensing satellite, which is fitted with a high resolution camera for recording clear images from space was the main satellite launched. --- Adam Takes Home The Final Victory On CBS "Big Brother" One house guest on CBS "Big Brother" is leaving the Big Brother house half-a-million-dollars richer. The hit reality shows season finale was yesterday. While houseguests Adam and Ryan were the final contestants in the "Big Brother" house, it was up to the last seven eliminated houseguests to pick the winner. After the votes were tallied, Adam came out with a 6-to-1 victory. (Copyright 2008 by Newsroom Solutions) RNS-04-28-08 0641CDT