Cheat Sheet
The Best In Brief
Please register to manage your email preferences and comment on the site.
President-elect Barack Obama hit YouTube Saturday to announce broad economic initiatives focusing on roads and schools. “We will repair broken schools, make them energy-efficient, and put new computers in our classrooms,” Obama said in his weekly address, describing it as “the most sweeping effort to modernize and upgrade school buildings that this country has ever seen.” For his roads plan, Obama explained: “[W]e will create millions of jobs by making the single largest new investment in our national infrastructure since the creation of the federal highway system in the 1950s. We’ll invest your precious tax dollars in new and smarter ways.” He also promised every American would have electronic medical records.
After the terrorists responsible for the attacks in Mumbai, India were linked to Pakistan, Pakistan High Commissioner Wajid Shamsul Hassan expected a counter strike. "This is what we were told by our friends that there could possibly be a quick strike at some of the areas they suspect to be the training camps, an air raid or something of that sort," he told BBC Newshour. "There was circumstantial evidence that India was going to make a quick strike against Pakistan to teach her a lesson," he added. "We wouldn't have gone, and I'm sure India wouldn't have gone for full-scale war."
London has deployed the Royal Navy and the Special Boat Service to avert a "Mumbai-style operation" from the waterway, Mayor Boris Johnson told the Times of London. "There is a great deal of work going on," he said. "There is substantial organization to guard against the possibility of some sort of riparian assault." The recent terrorist attack on the financial capital of India was launched via speedboat, a scenario that has UK counter-terrorist analysts worried about the upcoming 2012 London Olympics.
The latest on the Caroline Kennedy for Senate saga: The New York Times’ has quotes from Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (“I believe that she is considering it”) and New York Gov. David Paterson: “The conversation was informational. She did not express an interest in the Senate, but we talked about the Senate, so I got that she was just trying to get some information to determine whether or not she would like to have an interest in it. And that was it.” Importantly, Paterson tells the paper: “I haven’t offered the job to anyone.” An article in Politico notes that Kennedy was the one who “initiated the contact.” One obvious question: Does Kennedy, who would face a potentially rough re-election fight in 2010, want to throw herself into the job ala Hillary Clinton? “I don’t think anybody who knows Caroline doubts that she has fire in her belly,” says RFK Jr. “She’s a workaholic.”
As Frost/Nixon hits theaters, The Daily Beast brought together Sir David Frost and Michael Sheen, who plays him in the film. Recalling the climax of both the film and the iconic interview with the former president, Frost says that he had to physically take control over Nixon. "It was a question of pushing him further and further," Frost says. "But the body language comes into it as well as the words... Michael caught that perfectly." Explains Sheen, "You can physicalize your desire to probe and to confront and not allow someone to wriggle out of things." The truth also comes out about the drunken phone call featured in the film: it never took place.
The population of Mecca is ballooning today as more than two million Muslims arrive in the holy city to begin the hajj pilgrimage. By tomorrow morning all pilgrims will have arrived at Mount Arafat, 10 miles east of Mecca and the the Eid al-adha, a feast of the secretive, beings Monday. Saudi officials are taking great pains to prevent disasters like the trampling of 362 pilgrims in 2006, like the institution of checkpoints, which are improving traffic flow. The Saudi Government is also watching for any signs of militancy, particularly in light of last week’s attacks in India, and discouraging any politicization of the hajj. "Saudi Arabia is above any party or political intentions behind the hajj. Pilgrims should not raise any slogans other than that of Islam," Islamic Affairs Minister Saleh bin Abdul-Aziz Al al-Sheikh said.
Someone was waiting for this, right? Bill Ayers, known alternately as an “unrepentant domestic terrorist” and “pal” of Barack Obama, has written a Times op-ed seeking to belatedly address the charges. (Ayers says he saw “no viable path to a rational discussion” during the campaign.) Ayers admits his Weather Underground “crossed lines of legality, of propriety and perhaps even of common sense. … But it was not terrorism; we were not engaged in a campaign to kill and injure people indiscriminately, spreading fear and suffering for political ends.” As for Obama: “We didn’t pal around, and I had nothing to do with his positions. I knew him as well as thousands of others did, and like millions of others, I wish I knew him better.” And with that, another Election 2008 subplot comes to an end.
Martha (Sunny) von Bülow, who the New York Times described succinctly as "the American heiress who was first married to an Austrian playboy prince and then to a Danish-born man-about-society who was twice tried on charges of attempting to murder her," died on Saturday at the age of 76. She had been in a coma for nearly three decades. Bülow was a tabloid fixture in the '80s, when, as the Times wrote, "news media from around the world were irresistibly drawn to the drama of the beautiful heiress who lay in a twilight zone." She is survived by three children.
President Bush has embarked on an unofficial farewell tour, displaying a characteristic that the he has seemingly only recently discovered: introspection. Having settled on what he believes to be his successes, regularly praising the fight against AIDS in Africa, the prevention of another terrorist attack in America, and a “freer, more hopeful and more promising” Middle East, Bush has also started acknowledging his defeats. These include a failure of intelligence leading up to the Iraq War and an admission that he’s “sorry” for the economic crisis. Then again, don’t expect too much contrition. "Bush was a punching bag because he wasn't going to do anything to disrupt McCain during the election," says former aide Pete Wehner. "There wasn't any punching back. I'm sure they are eager to make their case now that the election is past."
Hillary, have you heard the latest? On Friday, Bill Clinton delivered a talk (for a $200,000 fee) in Kuala Lumpur. He offered customary praise for his host, Malaysian businessman Vinod Sekhar. One problem: Sekhar and his Petra Group, a “rubber technology company,” are not exactly popular with some investors. One who claims Sekhar owes him money tells The New York Times that Sekhar is “using” Clinton. Sekhar also settled a dispute with actor Bruce Willis recently, and watched as a member of the Malaysian royal family quit the company, citing several unpleasant “surprises.” Sekhar is—unsurprisingly—a donor to the Clinton Global Initiative. Team Obama says that Sekhar went unvetted before the speech.
With the all child rearing and world saving, sometimes it’s easy to forget that Angelina Jolie is an actress, and the most expensive one at that. The mother of six came in atop The Hollywood Reporter’s annual lost of highest-earning actresses, thanks largely in part to the $15 million she made for Wanted and the $20 million she’s expected to receive for the sequel. Julia Roberts, a veteran of the list who’s making more than $15 million for next year’s Duplicity, came in behind Jolie. And last year’s highest earning actress, Reese Witherspoon, was third for the $14 million she made for goofy holiday comedy Four Christmases. High though they may be, the top salaries for actresses are dwarfed by the $25 million per movie that Will Smith makes and the $15-$20 million that Brad Pitt and Johnny Depp command.
Miami’s Art Basel is supposed to be about weird paintings, strange sculptures, and bizarre installations, but this year, like most, it’s more about the celebrities. Last night’s festivities saw Mary-Kate Olsen (she’s dating an artist) and Kirsten Dunst engaged in a serious stare-down followed by “nasty words,” according to one onlooker. No blows were exchanged and Dunst apparently moved on to chat up Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. Marilyn Manson was also on hand to open his exhibit of, surprise, paintings of limbless bodies and bloody appendages, which are doing brisk business. Oh, and Faye Dunaway was there too!
Grandfathers everywhere are bummed this morning as news comes that seminal 1950s pinup Bettie Page was hospitalized last night. After suffering a heart attack, the 85-year-old Page is “critically ill,” according to a spokesman, and remains in intensive care. One of the earliest Playboy Playmates, Page skyrocketed to fame in the early 50s when she began appearing in bondage themed photographs and erotic films. Her rebellious image and iconic curves are often credited with helping launch the sexual revolution. Page, who became a born-again Christian, once said, “They keep saying I'm some kind of icon and that I started the new generation's sex movement. All I did was pose in the nude. I had less sex activity those seven years in New York than I had any other time in my life.”
There’s a flurry of new information from Mumbai: Two men suspected of being “black market cell phone dealers,” in CNN’s phrase, have been arrested in Calcutta. Police are questioning whether the men sold the cell phone SIM cards that were used by the terrorists. Meanwhile, the interrogation of captured gunman Mohammed Ajmal Kasab continues to produce new revelations. Kasab has reportedly told authorities that men wearing what appeared to be Pakistani army and navy uniforms helped train the gunmen. Kasab has also identified more leaders in the Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist group whom he says participated in the planning and operation of the attacks. The usual caveat: All of Kasab’s confessions—and the versions conveyed by Indian officials—should be regarded with some skepticism until more information emerges.
New Yorker columnist Hendrik Hertzberg has taken to his blog to fire the latest shot in a drawn out battle between himself and Fox News talking head Bill O’Reilly. It all started when Newt Gingrich said on The O’Reilly Factor: “I think there is a gay and secular fascism in this country that wants impose its will on the rest of us.” Hertzberg used the quote in a article and few days later O'Reilly accused the writer of taking the quote wildly out of context and calling him a “far left zealot.” Then a Factor producer accosted Hertzberg outside his home with questions about the article. Wait, there’s more. Now, on his New Yorker blog, Hertzberg has published an entertaining email exchange between the magazine’s editor, David Remnick, and another Factor employee while also defending his own use of Gingrich’s quote: “I don’t think it was at all unreasonable for me to infer that the targets of Mr. Gingrich’s ‘fascism’ remarks were the mainstream gay-rights movement in general and the opponents of Proposition 8 in particular.” Some may want them to take a cue from the UFC and settle this in the ring.
You already knew that the stock market was in the dumps, but did you know that today's most popular songs have a particularly low beat variance (meaning a song maintains the same pace throughout)? Phil Maymin did. A professor at the Polytechnic Institute of New York University, Maymin's research shows that it's no coincidence either. When the market is highly volatile, beat variance is minimal and when the market is healthy, beat variance speeds up and "people have more of an appetite for something like Alice Cooper," Maymin says. But he doesn't know which is the cause and which the effect. Maymin's research included the study of 50 years worth of stock market data and more than 5,000 hit songs.
It's unclear if they had copies of the Communist Manifesto downloaded onto their Kindles, but in a bold sign of worker insurrection, a bunch of laid-off stiffs at the aptly named Republic Windows and Doors company in Chicago are acting mighty Marxist. According to the Chicago Tribune, about 50 workers have occupied the building and are demanding assurances that they will receive severance and vacation pay they say they are owed. It all started yesterday when 200 employees began a sit-in in the factory to protest's failure to give 60 days notice before shutting the factory down, as required by law. "We're going to stay here until we win justice," said Blanca Funes, a 12-year employee of Republic.
After days of deadlock, congressional Democrats are ready to offer what The Wall Street Journal calls a “down payment” to the Big 3 automakers. The size of the bailout will be about $15 billion, and come from funds originally intended to improve the fuel-efficiency of American cars. This had been the source of controversy on the Hill, as Speaker Nancy Pelosi had resisted tapping those funds. But The Journal says that Friday’s grim jobs report helped convince her otherwise. Pelosi and Sen. Harry Reid said they want a bill rushed through both houses next week. A congressional aide tells CNN, "They need to get Republicans on board and send an important signal for House members to vote for this.”
With Alaska’s Senate seat finally pried from his grasp, Sen. Ted Stevens has focused on fighting for his freedom. Yesterday Stevens’ lawyers filed a motion for a new trial, citing 17 reasons the trial that convicted him was unfair, including “false evidence” presented by federal prosecutors. The appeal had been expected after Stevens’ lawyers repeatedly accused prosecutors of misconduct, withholding evidence, and coaching a witness. Stevens’ lawyers also renewed a motion to dismiss six of the seven counts, arguing that they’re duplications of the first. They also want to hold the retrial in Alaska, where Uncle Ted is still a relatively popular brand.
Partner Sites: Expedia| Hotels| Hotwire| Urbanspoon| Vimeo
