Headlines from Democracynow.org, a daily TV/radio news program, hosted by Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez, airing on over 650 stations, pioneering the largest community media collaboration in the US.

Obama Wins S.C. Primary; Picks Up Sen. Kennedy Endorsement

Senator Barack Obama is riding a wave of momentum after Saturday's landslide victory in South Carolina's Democratic primary. On Sunday, former president John F. Kennedy"s daughter, Caroline, endorsed Obama in a column in the New York Times titled "A President Like My Father." And today, Senator Ted Kennedy is scheduled to announce his support for the Illinois Senator at a campaign rally at American University in Washington. On Saturday Obama won 55 percent of the vote in South Carolina.

Sen. Obama: "Tonight, the cynics who believed that what began in the snows of Iowa was just an illusion were told a different story by the good people of South Carolina. And in nine days, nine short days, nearly half the nation will have the chance to join us in saying that we are tired of business-as-usual in Washington, we are hungry for change, and we are ready to believe again."

Senator Hillary Clinton placed second with 27 percent. John Edwards, who was born in South Carolina, placed third with 18 percent. On Saturday former President Bill Clinton attempted to downplay Obama's victory.

Bill Clinton: "Jesse Jackson won South Carolina twice in '84 and '88. And he ran a good campaign, and Senator Obama's run a good campaign here. He's run a good campaign everywhere."

Democrats Focus on Super Tuesday; Republicans Campaign in Florida

Democrats are now focusing on February 5 - Super Tuesday-when voters in 22 states will cast ballots. On the Republican front, the campaigns remain focused on Florida where voters head to the polls tomorrow. Mitt Romney and John McCain appear to be the frontrunners. In other campaign news, Vice President Dick Cheney's daughter Liz Cheney has become a senior foreign policy adviser to Mitt Romeny.

Asian Stock Prices Plummet

In economic news, stock prices plummeted again today in trading in Asia. In Shanghai, shares fell over seven percent. The main stock indexes in Tokyo and Hong Kong dropped about four percent.

Bush To Focus on Economy in State of the Union

As fears mount over a worldwide recession, President Bush is expected to call on Congress to approve a one hundred fifty billion dollar stimulus package during his State of the Union address tonight. Bush"s final state of the union comes at a time when his approval rating has dropped to new lows. A recent Washington Post-ABC News Poll, found Bush's overall approval rating to be just 32 percent. Only 28 percent of respondents approve of his handling of the economy.

Median Price of U.S. Homes Drops For First Time in Decades

In other economic news, the National Association of Realtors has revealed the median price of single family homes fell last year for the first time since at least 1968. The group"s chief economist, Lawrence Yun said: "It"s the first price decline in many, many years and possibly going back to the Great Depression."

Joseph Stiglitz: U.S. Economy Has "Deep Structurally Problems"

In Switzerland, the World Economic Forum has wrapped up after five days of talks. Joseph Stiglitz, the former chief economist of the World Bank, was one of several economists attending the summit in Davos to issue grave warnings about the state of the economy.

Joseph Stiglitz: "There really are some deep structural problems. The fact that the U.S had to borrow in 2006 $850 billion from other countries-the richest country in the world; fundamental global imbalances, financial systems that don't know how to manage risk. These are not symptoms of what you might call a fundamentally strong economy."

Former Indonesian Dictator Suharto, 86, Dies

Former Indonesian dictator General Suharto has died at the age of 86. He ruled the country from 1966 to 1998 and oversaw the murder of over one million people in a series of political purges of dissidents and wars on the populations of East Timor, Aceh and West Papua. Despite his human rights record, Suharto remained a close U.S. ally and a recipient of U.S. military aid. On Sunday the U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia Cameron Hume said in a statement "Though there may be some controversy over his legacy, President Suharto was a historic figure who left a lasting imprint on Indonesia and the region of Southeast Asia." Meanwhile human rights activists in Indonesia said justice still needs to be served for the hundreds of thousands of victims of Suharto's regime.

Usman Hamid, head of the victim rights organization Kontras: "We'd like to express our condolence to the family of Suharto who loved Suharto. But I think Indonesia has to move on. Indonesia has to solve past human rights abuses. We cannot forget the past. We have to remember the past. By remembering the past, we as a country can work together to solve the past in order to be a great nation. There are many people, thousands of people, who lost their parents, who lost their fathers, their mothers, their sons, and I think they need justice."

Bush's Plan For Compact With Iraq May Be Unconstitutional

The Boston Globe is reporting President Bush's plan to forge a long-term agreement with the Iraqi government that could commit the US military to defending Iraq"s security for years to come may be unconstitutional. Legal specialists and lawmakers of both parties said this marks the first time such a sweeping mutual defense compact has been enacted without congressional approval.

U.S. Intel Chiefs Secretly Meet With Pervez Musharraf

The New York Times has revealed the nation's top two U.S. intelligence officials traveled secretly to Pakistan early this month to press President Pervez Musharraf to allow the Central Intelligence Agency greater latitude to operate in the tribal territories of Pakistan. According to the Times, Musharraf rebuffed the proposals of CIA Director Michael Hayden and Mike McConnell, the director of national intelligence. Instead, Pakistan and the United States are discussing a series of other joint efforts, including increasing the number and scope of missions by armed Predator surveillance aircraft over the tribal areas.

Afghan Journalist Sentenced to Death For Mocking Islam

In news from Afghanistan, an Afghan court has sentenced a 23-year-old newspaper journalist to death after he was accused of mocking Islam and the Koran. The journalist--Sayed Perwiz Kambakhsh - was detained three months ago for distributing articles downloaded from the Internet which said the Prophet Mohammad had ignored the rights of women. He was convicted of blasphemy and the Koran and sentenced to death during a secret trial where he had no legal counsel.

Afghan Gunmen Abduct U.S. Aid Worker

In other news from Afghanistan, Gunmen have abducted an American aid worker named Cyd Mizell in Kandahar. She worked as a staffer for the Asian Rural Life Development Foundation.

Eight Protesters Killed in Beirut

In Lebanon, eight protesters were killed in Beirut on Sunday in some of the worst internal violence since the end of Lebanon"s civil war in 1990. The violence erupted during an anti-government demonstration to protest electricity rationing. Cars were set on fire and major streets in Beirut were shut down. According to Al Jazeera security forces shot into the crowd of demonstrators after gunmen opened fire on the troops. The clashes erupted along the war"s former demarcation line between Christian and Muslim areas and near a district where Lebanon's civil war began. In an effort to prevent further violence, Prime Minister Fuad Saniora declared a day of mourning and ordered schools and universities closed.

Egypt Attempts to Reseal Gaza Border

Meanwhile in Gaza, Palestinians streamed home through the breaches in Gaza's border with Egypt on Sunday as Egyptian authorities choked off supplies to the area and moved to restore control. Egypt has struggled to re-seal the border and contain hundreds of thousands of needy Gazans who poured across after Palestinian militants blasted openings in the wall last week to evade an Israeli blockade on Gaza. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reports Egyptian security forces and members of Hamas have begun stringing barbed wire across some of the breaches in the border.

PFLP Leader George Habash, 82, Dies

In other news from the Occupied Territories, George Habash has died at the age of 82. He was the founder of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. To many of his supporters he was known as the "the conscience of the Palestine revolution." Palestinian President Mahmood Abbas declared three days of mourning.

Nabil Abu Rdainah, aide to Palestinian President Mahmood Abbas: "Without a doubt, the passing of the historical leader Dr George Habash is a big loss for the Palestinian people. Dr Habash was one of the leaders of the Palestinian revolution. He was one of the Palestinian people's biggest heroes, and he was one of the people who began fighting, while still young, for the freedom and independence of the Palestinian people."

The PFLP gained international notoriety when the group simultaneously hijacked four western airliners in 1970. The aircraft were blown up in the Middle East after passengers and crews disembarked.

Mukasey Rules Out Special Counsel Probe of Destroyed CIA Tapes

In news from Washington, Attorney General Michael Mukasey announced on Friday he does not plan to appoint a special counsel to investigate why the CIA allegedly destroyed hundreds of hours of videotapes showing the interrogation of two detainees. During the same press briefing Mukasey again refused to say whether he views waterboarding as a form of torture.

Protests Call on Canada to Allow U.S. War Resisters to Stay

A group of Iraq war veterans and peace activists protested outside the Canadian Embassy in Washington Saturday calling on the Canadian government to allow hundreds of U.S. war resisters to remain in Canada. Protests were also held in over a dozen U.S. and Canadian cities as part of a day of action dubbed Let Them Stay Day. The protests were organized to urge the Canadian government to make it possible for U.S. war resisters to obtain permanent Canadian resident status. In November, the Supreme Court of Canada refused to hear appeals from Jeremy Hinzman and Brandon Hughey, who sought refugee status on the grounds of their opposition to the war in Iraq. Max Diorio of the group Courage To Resist said: "We believe that these war resisters should be allowed a safe haven from persecution on the basis of resisting an illegal and immoral war and occupation."

Post-Election Death Toll in Kenya Tops 800

And in Kenya, police have made over 250 arrests after a weekend of violence in the Rift Valley that left dozens dead and injured hundreds more. Eight people were burned to death locked inside one house. More than 800 people have now died since the disputed December presidential election. On Sunday former UN Secretary Kofi Annan met opposition leader Raila Odinga to try to resolve the month-long crisis. Annan said the conflict in Kenya is much broader and deeper than an electoral problem. He called for an investigation into the widespread abuses that have been committed over the past month.

Kofi Annan: "We saw gross and systematic abuse of human rights of fellow citizens and it is essential that facts be established and those responsible held to account."