ABA recommends freeze on all execution, nationwide; Cristina Fernández de Kirchner wins Argentine presidency; Exxon seeks to reduce Valdez judgment...

29 October :: American Bar Association finds irregularities throughout death-penalty system in US, says moratorium should be imposed by all states until thorough examination, correction of systemic flaws is carried out; "After carefully studying the way states across the spectrum handle executions, it has become crystal clear that the process is deeply flawed" an ABA panel found, after reviews of procedures used in 8 states; DNA evidence has been used in recent years to demonstrate conclusively the innocence of over 200 inmates awaiting execution... First Lady Cristina Fernández de Kirchner elected president of Argentina, will succeed her husband when his first term expires; many have said the popular senator's victory in yesterday's election was essentially a "referendum" on her husband's economic reforms... Democrats in Iowa move primary caucuses to 3 January 2008, matching Republicans, maintaining tradition by which both parties meet on same night across state; NH has indicated it will hold its primary balloting no later than 8 January, but no change to the originally scheduled date of 22 January has yet been made... Thousands of civilians have fled Mingora, in the Swat region of northwestern Pakistan, fearing bloodshed in clashes between gov't forces and Taliban-style fundamentalist militia... US Supreme Court agrees to hear Exxon-Mobil appeal of $2.5 billion punitive damages ruling for 1989 Exxon-Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound, in Alaska; the most profitable corporation in US history says the damages, which have already been reduced twice in favor of Exxon-Mobil appeals, is too high; the spill devastated over 1,200 miles of pristine coastline, destroying commercial fisheries and jeopardizing local ecosystems; in July, Exxon announced quarterly profits of $10.36 billion, its record —for all corporations, globally— being $10.71 billion in the 4th quarter of 2005, its next best being Q3 2006, at $10.49 billion; in that quarter, its gross revenues of $99.59 billion exceeded the entire economic output of major oil producers like Kuwait (which it nearly doubled) and the United Arab Emirates...