Flags from JFK limo sold for $450,000

New York Two flags that flew from the convertible President John F. Kennedy was riding in when he was assassinated in 1963 sold at auction Saturday for $450,000.

The banners, one an American flag, the other bearing the presidential seal, were among the most-sought items at the three-day auction of memorabilia from the lives of John and Jacqueline Kennedy. Guernsey’s auction house declined to identify the buyer.

The auction featured more than 1,500 lots of items, most from the collection of the late Robert White, a Kennedy admirer who befriended the president’s secretary and inherited much of the memorabilia from her when she died.

NYC transit talks show no progress

New York Transit workers and the agency that runs the city’s subways and buses broke off contract talks after less than four hours Saturday with no agreement to prevent a strike at the height of the Christmas rush.

Ed Watt, secretary-treasurer for the 33,000-member Transit Workers Union, said the negotiations Saturday were limited. “Both sides are in what seems to be intractable positions,” Watt said.

The previous contract expired early Friday, but the trains kept running and the union set a new strike deadline for 12:01 a.m. Tuesday. The new deadline gave negotiators at least a few more days to try to reach an agreement.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chairman Peter Kalikow insisted Friday that the authority’s last offer was its best.

The offer called for a 9 percent wage increase, phased in over three years. The union wants 8 percent raises each year of the contract.

Congress extends anti-violence law

Washington Congress on Saturday sent President Bush an extension of the Violence Against Women Act that would increase funding for the landmark act.

The House passed the bill on a voice vote Saturday, a day after the Senate approved it.

The Violence Against Women Act, which is aimed at curtailing domestic violence through funding for women’s shelters and law-enforcement training, expired in September.

U.S. Muslims discuss combating extremism

Long Beach, Calif. Muslim leaders and activists from across the United States gathered Saturday to discuss their role in combating extremism within the Islamic community.

“The real battle is for the soul of Islam,” said Maher Hathout, founder and senior adviser of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, which organized the one-day conference. “Islam needs to be reclaimed from extremists, but only Muslims can do that.”

Hathout said American Muslims need to actively define their role in society so other groups, including extremists and media organizations, don’t define it for them. Generating strategies to do that was a centerpiece of the conference, titled “Examining our role in America.”

“When people speak out on our behalf, our silence just adds to the ignorance,” Hathout said. “We are not helping the country win the war on terrorism.”

Former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, whose CIA agent wife’s cover was allegedly blown by the Bush administration, was among the invited speakers.