The crowd grew as the day wore on, with afternoon estimates ranging from about 1,000 to 2,000 people. North America boosts Ford in 4Q ADVERTISING DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) — Ford has shown it can make money even with U.S. car
North America boosts Ford in 4Q
DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) — Ford has shown it can make money even with U.S. car sales at depressed levels. Now it needs to show it can manage a myriad of challenges outside its home region.
North America was the only region where Ford Motor Co. saw profits rise in the fourth quarter and in all of 2011. Everywhere else the automaker lost money or saw profits fall, hurt by nervous consumers in Europe, flooding in Asia and aging products in South America. Costs rose faster than expected, too.
Ford reported $13.62 billion in net income, but investors brushed off the result because most of that came from an accounting change. Excluding that change, earnings totaled $1.1 billion, or 20 cents a share, down 15 percent from the fourth quarter of 2010. Ford missed Wall Street’s expectations by 5 cents.
The stock price took an early hit but recovered once the company promised better — if still bumpy — results in 2012. Shares fell 4 percent to close at $12.21.
Funeral held for singer Etta James
GARDENA, Calif. (AP) — Etta James was remembered at a service Saturday attended by hundreds of friends, family and fans as a woman who triumphed against all odds to break down cultural and musical barriers in a style that was unfailingly honest.
The Rev. Al Sharpton eulogized James in a rousing speech, describing her remarkable rise from poverty and pain to become a woman whose music became an enduring anthem for weddings and commercials.
Perhaps most famously, President Barack Obama and the first lady shared their first inaugural ball dance to a version of the song sung by Beyonce. Sharpton on Saturday opened his remarks by reading a statement from the president.
“Etta will be remembered for her legendary voice and her contributions to our nation’s musical heritage,” Obama’s statement read.
Demi Moore 911 call is released
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A 911 recording revealed frantic efforts by friends of Demi Moore to get help for the actress who was convulsing as they gathered around her and tried to comfort her.
Moore was “semi-conscious, barely,” according to a female caller on the recording released Friday by Los Angeles fire officials.
The woman tells emergency operators that Moore, 49, had smoked something before she was rushed to the hospital on Monday night and that she had been “having issues lately.”
“Is she breathing normal?” the operator asks.
“No, not so normal. More kind of shaking, convulsing, burning up,” the friend says as she hurries to Moore’s side, on the edge of panic.
Another woman is next to Moore as the dispatcher asks if she’s responsive.
“Demi, can you hear me?” she asks. “Yes, she’s squeezing hands. … She can’t speak.”
When the operator asks what Moore ingested or smoked, the friend replies, but the answer was redacted.
Asked if Moore took the substance intentionally or not, the woman says Moore ingested it on purpose but the reaction was accidental.
Moore’s publicist, Carrie Gordon, said previously that the actress sought professional help to treat her exhaustion and improve her health. She would not comment further on the emergency call or provide details about the nature or location of Moore’s treatment.
Oakland police arrest protesters
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Oakland police used tear gas and “flash” grenades Saturday to break up hundreds of Occupy protesters after some demonstrators started throwing rocks and flares at officers and tearing down fencing.
Three officers were hurt and 19 people were arrested, the Oakland Police Department said in a release. No details on the officers’ injuries were released.
Police said the group started assembling at a downtown plaza Saturday morning, with demonstrators threatening to take over the vacant Henry Kaiser Convention Center. The group then marched through the streets, disrupting traffic.
The crowd grew as the day wore on, with afternoon estimates ranging from about 1,000 to 2,000 people.
