Libyan rebel oil production down for 4 more weeks

BENGHAZI, Libya (AP) -- Libyan rebels fighting Moammar Gadhafi won't be able to produce more crude oil for at least another four weeks and are taking steps to conserve precious supplies of fuel and money, the top oil official in the breakaway east said Sunday.

The rebels need to repair equipment to pump oil from two key fields in the rebel-controlled east, Messla and Sarir, that were damaged in fighting, said Wahid Bughaigis, who serves as oil minister for the rebels.

"We just finished the assessment, and we are in the process of mobilizing the repairs," Bughaigis told reporters in Benghazi, the de facto capital of the rebel-held east. "We believe we need a minimum of four weeks to get back on stream."

2 Western photojournalists killed in Libya

ABOARD THE IONIAN SPIRIT (AP) -- An aid ship on Thursday ferried the bodies of two Western photojournalists from the besieged Libyan city of Misrata to Benghazi after they were killed and two others working alongside them were wounded while covering battles between rebels and government forces.

British-born Tim Hetherington, the Oscar-nominated co-director of the documentary "Restrepo" about U.S. soldiers on an outpost in Afghanistan, was killed Wednesday inside the only rebel-held city in western Libya, said his U.S.-based publicist, Johanna Ramos Boyer. The city has come under weeks of relentless shelling by government troops.

2012 presidential candidates `friend' social media

NEW YORK (AP) -- Republican Tim Pawlenty disclosed his 2012 presidential aspirations on Facebook. Rival Mitt Romney did it with a tweet. President Barack Obama kicked off his re-election bid with a digital video emailed to the 13 million online backers who helped power his historic campaign in 2008.

Welcome to The Social Network, presidential campaign edition.

The candidates and contenders have embraced the Internet to far greater degrees than previous White House campaigns, communicating directly with voters on platforms where they work and play. If Obama's online army helped define the last campaign and Howard Dean's Internet fundraising revolutionized the Democratic primary in 2004, next year's race will be the first to reflect the broad cultural migration to the digital world.

Poll: US economy improving despite global events

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Economists say the U.S. economy is gaining strength despite political unrest in North Africa and the Middle East and last month's devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

A survey from the National Association for Business Economics finds that economists are hopeful that the broader economy is substantially improving, with rising employment reported for the fifth quarter in a row. The survey found that "companies appear to be positioning themselves for a firming economic environment," said Shawn DuBravac, an economist with the Consumer Electronics Association, who analyzed the findings.

A Consumer's Guidebook to Health Care Modernise

The six-month day of remembrance] of the enactment of the health care overhaul, many of the law's provisions will be in effect. Most consumers, however, won't see any changes until after Jan. 1, when their new health insurance plan year begins.

Meanwhile, employees will be driving fix for fall's "open enrollment" period, once they pick their health coverage for the adopting year. In addition, people who buy their have health insurance will be searching their picks. Medicare donees will be able to modify their coverage future these class if they wish.