The nation in brief

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“This is not the hardest Thanksgiving

America has ever faced. But as long as many members of our American family are hurting, we’ve got to look out for one another.”

President Barack Obama

Article, 1AInvestor group to buy Del Monte

NEW YORK - Del Monte Foods Co. on Thursday agreed to be bought for $4 billion in cash by a group of investors that includes its former owner in what would be the biggest private equity deal of the year.

An investor group led by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.

- which briefly owned Del Monte - Vestar Capital Partners and Centerview Partners agreed to buy the food maker for $19 per share. They will also assume $1.3 billion in debt.

The purchase price is a 6 percent premium to the stock’s closing price Wednesday, though the stock has soared recently on published reports about a possible buyout. The stock is up 59 percent since the beginning of the year, including a 12 percent jump on Nov. 18 when rumors of the deal surfaced.

Del Monte, based in San Francisco, is the owner of several well-known pet-food brands, including Kibbles ’n Bits, Meow Mix and Milk-Bone. It also has food brands under the Del Monte, Contadina, College Inn and S&W names.

Return millions, city tells ex-manager

LOS ANGELES - The city of Bell wants its former city manager to return millions of dollars he’s accused of misappropriating and using to enrich himself through a hefty salary.

The city filed a complaint against Robert Rizzo on Wednesday, claiming negligence, fraud and unjust enrichment. The Los Angeles Times said the action was done in response to a complaint filed by Rizzo last month seeking to be indemnified by the city.

Rizzo, who resigned in July, is among eight people facing public corruption charges.

When numerous perks like vacation, insurance and other benefits were added to his $787,637 salary, Rizzo’s total compensation package was about $1.5 million a year.

Rizzo’s attorney, James Spertus, said the city’s complaint was nothing more than a bunch of allegations with no proof.Ono, son Lennon join Day of Listening

WASHINGTON - Yoko Ono and her son, Sean Lennon, are joining a national oral history project that urges people to take time the day after Thanksgiving for a National Day of Listening with their friends and loved ones.

The recorded conversation between mother and son about their lives will be broadcast today as part of the Story-Corps segment on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition.

Organizers said Ono and her son find similarities between their childhoods.

This is the third year for the National Day of Listening, a project that encourages people to record interviews with friends or family members about their lives. New participants this year also include U.S. Olympic athletes and staff members at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian as part of today’s Native American Heritage Day.

Former President George W. Bush helped jump-start the Day of Listening in 2008 before leaving the White House by sitting down for an interview with his sister, Dorothy Walker Bush Koch.

Since 2003, StoryCorps has collected more than 30,000 interviews across the country. The recordings are archived at the Library of Congress.

Burglars at armored-car firm strike out

NEW HYDE PARK, N.Y. - Police are searching for burglars who used heavy construction equipment to break into an armored-car company on Long Island.

The attempted heist happened early Thursday at Safe and Sound Armed Courier Service in New Hyde Park.

Nassau County police said the burglars pried open the rear door of a vacant store nearby. Once inside the building they used heavy equipment, including drills, to break through two walls to get into the armored-car company.

The vibrations from the equipment set off the alarm system. The burglars fled without taking anything.

Front Section, Pages 4 on 11/26/2010

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