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Obama just can’t get a break today. The Supreme Court decided in favor of delaying the sale of Chrysler to the Italian automaker Fiat and also struck down a challenge to the military’s “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, in a double-blow to the president’s agenda. Beyond Justice Ruth Ginsburg's one sentence statement that the car sale is "stayed pending further order of the undersigned or of the court," it is unclear how long the delay will remain in place as the court considers appeals from an Indiana pension fund and consumer groups opposed to the deal. The decision is a blow to President Obama, who hailed a declaration of bankruptcy as the best option available to both Chrysler and G.M. Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court struck down a challenge to the U.S. military's "Don't ask, don't tell" policy, and had also cracked down on the influence of campaign donors on the nation's judges. Obama said he supports a repeal of the military policy, which allows the dismissal of openly gay servicemen and women.
Britain’s beleaguered prime minister made a sheepish plea to remain in power in a speech to Labour MPs after the Party finished a dismal third in the EU elections. He admitted he had “a lot to learn” about being a leader. “Like everyone else, I have my strengths and weaknesses. I am going to play to my strengths and address my weaknesses,” Gordon Brown said. "No doubt I have much to learn about a collective way of leading the party and the government.” A group of renegade Labour MPs said they had a list of 50 names that have no confidence in Brown’s leadership, and wanted to have a secret vote on Brown. But other members of the party stopped the vote, as changing leadership would mean a call for elections, and the sure ousting of the Labour party—dogged by an embarrassing expenses scandal—from power.
In an effort to revive the economy, the federal government is going on a $787 billion spending spree. In a statement Monday morning, President Obama promised to create more than 600,000 jobs by pumping federal funds into public works projects, schools, and summer youth programs. As Obama ramps up his stimulus plan, his advisers are trying to lower expectations about when unemployment will decline. The unemployment rate has reached 9.4 percent, the highest in 25 years, although last month the nation lost fewer jobs than economists expected. Republicans were predictably critical of the plan, slamming it as unecessary.
If your invite to Monday night’s GOP fundraiser was lost in the mail, here’s a recap. The dinner raised almost $15 million for the Republican Party and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich urged his fellow Republicans to be inclusive in order to gain back political control. "I am happy that Dick Cheney is a Republican," Gingrich said. "I am also happy that Colin Powell is a Republican." Conservative actor Jon Voight (father of Angelina Jolie) emceed the event with a fiery defense of the Party, saying he was “embarrassed” at Obama, who is a “false prophet.” (Remember Bill Ayers? Voight certainly does.) He also gave thanks for the existence of Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and other conservatives. Governor Sarah Palin showed up but didn’t address the crowd after leaving organizers in the dark about her attendance until Monday afternoon. She was originally supposed to headline the event before being replaced by Gingrich, both of whom are possible presidential contenders for 2012.
Viewers got more drama than they bargained for at last night's Tony Awards: Following a performance of "Nothin' but a Good Time" with the cast of Rock of Ages during the opening act, Bret Michaels, lead singer of '80s hair metal band Poison, smacked into a stage prop, causing him to fall backwards onto the stage. The singer and star of VH1's Rock of Love found out today that he suffered a broken nose and busted lip requiring three stitches. Despite the mishap, Michaels' spokeswoman reports that he remained in good spirits during the show. After wiping off blood backstage, he laughed when host Neil Patrick Harris joked that he "gave head banging a whole new meaning."
This is sure to cause a fuss: House Democrats are reportedly mulling over the possibility of fining anyone who refuses to buy health care under the emerging universal government plan. The unspecified monetary penalty is part of a developing proposal that may also include taxing certain insurance benefits as a way to finance the expansion of coverage to millions of uninsured Americans. The plan includes government and private company insurance, though critics say private companies won’t be able to compete with the government plans. Obama attacked the idea of taxing benefits during the campaign, when then-opponent John McCain supported the idea. In the proposal, no one could be rejected for pre-existing medical conditions, and all plans would contain a minimum benefit. The estimated price tag for a decade? Somewhere around $1 trillion.
A heavy Christian turnout at the polls in Lebanon brought the country’s Western-backed coalition back to power in parliament on Sunday, thwarting the country’s Islamist party. Though news that Iran and Syria-backed group Hezbollah, which the U.S. considers a terrorist organization, lost the elections is heartening for the West, Newsweek’s Christopher Dickey argues that the loss had more to do with complex Lebanese politics than U.S. influence. Obama’s Mideast speech might have had some impact, but Lebanese Christians ultimately ousted Hezbollah because an Iranian or Syrian endorsement doesn’t look attractive to a country that often serves as a battleground for the bigger nations. Syria is also widely blamed for the death of the father of a Sunni Muslim politician who leads one of Lebanon’s political coalitions. Hezbollah lost a big portion of both the Sunni and Christian vote, leaving just the Shiites as supporters.
Republicans, with the help of two dissident Democrats, have seized control of New York’s Senate, overthrowing the five-month-long Democratic leadership in the midst of a debate over legalizing same-sex marriage. The Republicans now have a 32-30 edge after staging a roll-call vote on the Senate’s leadership. The two Democrats who defected have not officially switched parties (and both, oddly enough, are being investigated by authorities—in one case for assault). Confusion descended as angry Democrats briefly turned off the lights in the chamber and threatened to leave. They will most likely challenge the coup in court on Monday. The liberal Assembly had passed the controversial measure to legalize same-sex marriage, but it’s been stalled in the Senate where many Republicans oppose it. Republicans had controlled the Senate for forty years until this January. The Democrats say their leadership structure will stay in place.
The U.S. has struggled to keep its efforts freeing two captured journalists separate from its ongoing dispute over North Korea’s nuclear ambitions. But since the women were sentenced to 12 years “reform” through hard labor on Monday, it’s expected the journalists will become pawns in the two countries’ conflict. Experts think journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling won’t be sent to the infamous Gulags—where an estimated 200,000 North Koreans are imprisoned in appalling conditions—since they would learn too much there about the ultrasecretive country’s penal system. The U.N. is currently negotiating sanctions against the country as it escalates its nuclear program. The White House says they are using "all possible channels" to free the women.
Apple isn’t sitting silent while the Palm Pre steals the iPhone’s thunder: The company released today a new version of the iPhone—the iPhone 3G S. New features include “improved speed and performance—up to twice as fast as iPhone 3G—with longer battery life, a high-quality 3 megapixel autofocus camera, easy to use video recording and hands free voice control.” It also comes with a new operating system that will include new features like cut, copy, and paste. The 16 GB model will cost only $199, while the 32 GB model will cost $299. Also, beginning today, the 8GB iPhone will cost only $99.
Twist! In a not-that-shocking change of pace, Susan Lucci’s character on All My Children will find herself in the arms of a younger man—who also happens to be her daughter’s ex-husband and her ex-fiance’s stepson. Erica Kane (Lucci’s character) is already 10 husbands deep and has a penchant for drama, so it’s only natural that cougar-dom would be next on the writers’ list of cultural phenomena to tackle on the show. “Certainly the fact that it is a hot topic right now makes it all that more delicious for us,” said All My Children's executive producer. Kane’s cougar commencement makes a splash later this summer, literally—she “accidentally” falls into her new beau’s bathtub.
It looks like we’ll be spared any self-righteous posturing from senators on Sonia Sotomayor this afternoon: The Supreme Court nominee reportedly broke her ankle in the airport as she was en route to Senate meetings. Give her points for toughness: She plans to still attend her six Senate meetings today, with the aid of crutches.
When congressional and Senatorial Republicans disinvited Sarah Palin from a fundraising event this weekend in favor of Newt Gingrich many interpreted this as a snub, but according to sources familiar with her schedule, Palin's dropping into the dinner after all. Palin is facing charges (she denies) that she plagiarized an article co-written by Gingrich in a speech introducing Michael Reagan, Ronald’s son, to an audience in Anchorage on Wednesday. Blogger Geoffrey Dunn slapped Palin with the charge on The Huffington Post and offers a side by side. Some passages are directly lifted, such as “Ronald Reagan never won any arguments in Washington. He won the arguments by resonating with the American people.”
Ever wonder how spies like Kendall and Gwendolyn Myers can go unnoticed within the intelligence community for so many years? Perhaps because agencies like the C.I.A. and the office of National Intelligence are too busy feuding with each other to notice traitors in their midst. A simmering feud between the directors of the C.I.A. and the umbrella organization that supervises all spy agencies, the office of National Intelligence, threatens to undermine efforts to foster collaboration between the typically-secretive agencies. At issue is whether the C.I.A. will maintain its responsibility of appointing the top spy in every country overseas. A lack of communication among spy agencies was considered one of the culprits for the lapses that led to September 11. President Obama has yet to send a clear signal of whose side he is on.
The Mean Girls-esque GOP fundraiser/Sarah Palin drama has finally been resolved: Palin will be attending tonight’s Republican fundraiser after being disinvited to speak at the event for the second time. The National Republican Congressional Committee and the National Republican Senatorial Committee abruptly told Sarah Palin on Saturday night that she would no longer be allowed to address the dinner. It was the second time that the committees snubbed Palin—they originally invited her to headline the event, but after she issued a press release announcing her appearance, they invited Newt Gingrich instead. Then, last week, she was invited again to speak and then again disinvited—apparently “out of respect” for Gingrich. Organizers reached out to Palin after she decided not to attend the event altogether—now she will sit with John Cornyn and her husband, but make no remarks.
Does Angelina Jolie have you in a trance? In month’s Harper’s Bazaar, writer Naomi Wolf tries to decipher just what it is, exactly, that has everybody consistently drooling over Jolie, personal sexual identities aside. Is it her bee-stung lips? Her devil-may-care body art? Her apparent altruism? Jolie has somehow managed not only to become a mega-star (and top Forbes’s list of the most powerful celebrities), she’s also made us overlook past faux pas like that creepy kiss with her brother, red-carpet overshares with ex-hubby Billy Bob Thorton, and, oh yeah, the marriage she broke up between Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston. Wolf writes: "The magic of Jolie's self-presentation? She makes the claim, with her life and actions, that, indeed, you can get away with it. All of it."
Twitter may have just created the newest celebrity hot list: the micro-blogging service has announced that it will provide a verification service to a select few. As The Telegraph reports, Twitter’s new push to confirm its celebrity correspondents is a response to complaints from Tony La Russa, the manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, who was suing Twitter for unspecified damages after an impersonator tweeted about a dead player. The beta-launch of the verification process will be available to public officials and agencies, famous artists, athletes and other well-known people at risk of impersonation.
This doesn't bode well for the already tense relations between the U.S. and North Korea: On Monday, North Korea convicted two American journalists, Euna Lee and Laura Ling, who had crossed its border for “committing hostilities against the Korean nation and illegal entry” and sentenced them to 12 years of hard labor in the notorious North Korean Gulags. The sentence cannot be appealed, and it comes amid rising tensions between the U.S and North Korea. Hillary Clinton recently said that she is looking into adding North Korea back to the state-sponsors-of-terror list, and she also said on Sunday that the U.S. will look into interdict North Korean sea and air shipments suspected of carrying weapons or nuclear technology.
Recently released meteorological data provides a chilling illustration of how Flight 447 flew directly into the heart of a tropical storm just before it crashed, killing all 228 passengers on board. The Atlantic's James Fallows, himself a former pilot, examines the data, which matches up the Air France plane's flight path with meteorological data from the time of the crash. Yet many mysteries remain. For one, why did the plane fly into the raging storm? Also, what caused the crash? Planes frequently pass through such storms relatively unscathed. Fallows presents a few theories, but the questions may remain unanswered unless Flight 447's black box is found on the bottom of the sea.
The new issue of Newsweek guest-edited by Stephen Colbert is now on stands. Don’t tell Michael Kinsley but, judging from Colbert’s editor’s letter, it may be kind of funny! The issue is about Iraq. “I know what you're thinking: ‘Isn't the Iraq War over?’” Colbert writes. “That's what I thought, too.” Describing his responsibilities, Colbert writes, “I set the editorial agenda, assigned stories and yelled at Peter Parker to get me more photos of that web-slinging vigilante, Spider-Man. He's a menace! Most important, I sent NEWSWEEK's reporters to find out whatever happened to Iraq. Unfortunately, this meant cutting the cover story they had planned: ‘Hey, Have You Heard About This Thing Called “Twitter?”’”
It ain't Turin, Italy, where the picturesque snow-capped Alps loom in the distance, but Detroit locals are doing everything possible to roll out the red carpet for Fiat executives. Fancy boutiques and real estate agents are hoping to reel in the new arrivals, who will likely settle in Detroit's wealthy suburbs. One boutique owner is banking on finally selling her $795.50 sandals, which have she marked down from $1,595. One school in the area is even looking into offering courses in Italian. The suburbs are also bracing for a cultural infusion from the Italian execs, who will further enrich the wealthy, cosmopolitan culture found in places like Birmingham, Michigan, where many of the auto industry's fallen CEOs' lay their heads. You know a city is hurting economically when the arrival of only 200 executives is cause for celebration.
No champagne at the parties after last night’s Tony Awards: Some of the winners were children. Billy Elliot won 10 awards last night, including best musical. The three young actors who share the lead role of Billy Elliot also shared the Best Actor in a Musical award. Despite Billy Elliot’s big night, The New York Times notes, “This year’s awards were spread around evenly for the most part, with 14 shows receiving at least one Tony.” Other winners include Geoffrey Rush for Best Actor in a Play for Exit the King and God of Carnage for Best Play.
When West Virginia Justice Brent Benjamin cast the deciding vote that overturned a $50 million fine for a major coal company there was just one problem: The same company had contributed more than $3 million to Benjamin's 2004 campaign. Now, the Supreme Court has ruled that Benjamin should have recused himself from the case, setting a precedent that will lead to much stricter ethics guidelines for judges across the country. Judges will now have to tread much more carefully when accepting campaign donations, as they will have to consider the likelihood that their donors' companies may end up appearing in their courtrooms. As has been typical in Supreme Court cases as of late, the Justices were split along ideological lines, with Chief Justice Roberts writing the conservative wing's dissenting opinion.
It seems the early, undeniably vicious attacks on Kirsten Gillibrand, Hillary Clinton’s controversial Senate replacement, have only made her stronger. Perhaps she has science fiction to thank for her resolve: The mother of two young kids is a fan of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings books, New York magazine reports, “and her life has had a similar the-quest-is-all momentum.” Despite a shaky first 100 days—marred by flip-flops, threats from political rivals, and smear campaigns—things are looking up for the senator. In less than 90 days, she’s already raised $2.3 million for her 2010 campaign—especially impressive during a recession. President Obama personally convinced potential Democratic primary opponent Steve Israel not to challenge her. And she’s working hard to reintroduce herself to constituents: “My parents and my husband have been worried about the coverage,” says Gillibrand. “I told them, ‘Give me six months, and I will make it better.’ People meet me, they like me. I work hard.” New York Democrats may wish they'd bitten their tongues.
Flyer beware: In eight of the nine serious regional airline accidents in the past decade, at least one of each plane’s pilots had failed emergency skills tests multiple times, a new analysis of federal accident records shows. Those ten accidents killed a total of 137 people and three of the incidents involved a single airline, Pinnacle Airlines (which operated the plane in the February crash in Buffalo that killed 50). The regional airline statistics come at a time when deadly airline accidents across major airlines have become increasingly rare, with only one since 2004.
Susan Boyle's life isn't all nervous breakdowns and time with Pebbles. The Britain's Got Talent runner-up has hired U2's famed financial guru Ossie Kilkenny to be her manager. Kilkenny helped U2 to become one of the industry's biggest moneymakers. Boyle will release an album through Simon Cowell's label Syco, but wanted to augment her management team.
Sunday was a good day to be an egomaniacal world leader: Silvio Berlusconi and Nicolas Sarkozy both gained in European elections. How did the rest of Europe fare? Overall, the Center Left lost out across the 27 E.U. countries, while the Center Right consolidated its power as the largest group in parliament. Anti-immigrant parties gained ground in at least six countries, while socialist parties across Europe failed to capitalize on the economy, and suffered demoralizing losses. About 213 million voters opted out by abstaining from the polls in one of the lowest turn outs ever—only 43 percent of voters showed up, less than 2004's historical low of 45.47 percent, and despite mandatory voting in some countries.
Apparently not: The New York Times reports today on “the underlying tensions that have gripped Mr. Obama’s economic advisers as they have struggled with the gravest financial crisis since the Depression,” and notes “much of the tension derives from the president’s choice of the brilliant but sometimes supercillious Mr. Summers to be the director of the National Economic Council.” According to the Times, Summers’ friendship with Timothy Geithner is strained, and “Mr. Summers has been more populist than they expected for a right-of-center economist, siding often with Mr. Obama’s political advisers. That has given rise to speculation among colleagues, associates and banking representatives that Mr. Summers is trying to win the Fed seat.” (Summers dismissed the tweak as coming from “people who disagree with me.”)
Craigslist may have cleaned up its sex ads, but that isn't keeping criminals off the site: In a particularly gruesome murder tale, Heather Snively and her in utero baby were murdered after looking for baby clothes on Craigslist. Korena Elaine Roberts stands accused of killing Snively, then extracting her baby and going to the hospital to pass it off as her own. Doctors quickly saw that Roberts had not given birth, and the baby died shortly thereafter. Snively, 21, had moved to Oregon just weeks ago in order to be with the father of her baby.
Has Will Ferrell lost his mojo? The comedy star’s newest offering, the poorly reviewed Land of the Lost, pulled in just $19.5 million in its opening weekend, far below Ferrell’s usual standards. It drifted into third place in the weekend box office, behind the Disney 3-D juggernaut Up, with an estimated $44.2 million in its second weekend, and the surprise bachelor party hit The Hangover, which made its R-rated debut with $43.3 million. Meanwhile, two other new romantic comedies, Nia Vardalos’ My Life in Ruins and indie Away We Go, opened with decent numbers on much fewer screens—the former with $3.2 million and the latter with a $36,000 per screen average.
Search ships on Sunday found 15 more bodies in the wreckage of Air France Flight 447, which crashed during a flight from Brazil to Paris on May 31, the Associated Press reports. Brazilian and French ships helping with the grid search scooped up the bodies after pilots spotted them about 45 miles from the place where the jet sent distress signals indicating electrical failures and loss of cabin pressure. Investigators are examining the possibility that the plane's external instruments iced over, leading the plane's computer to set the craft's speed too fast or slow—a potentially deadly mistake. The plane's airspeed instruments had not been replaced according to the maker's recommendation, although it's unclear whether that contributed to the crash.
Guess who’s not coming to dinner? The National Republican Congressional Committee and the National Republican Senatorial Committee abruptly told Sarah Palin on Saturday night that she would no longer be allowed to address the dinner. It was the second time that the committees snubbed Palin—they originally invited her to headline the event, but after she issued a press release announcing her appearance, they invited Newt Gingrich instead. Then, last week, she was invited again to speak—apparently “out of respect” for Gingrich. Now, Palin may skip the event altogether.
Scott Roeder, the man accused of killing high-profile late-term abortion doctor George Tiller, recently called the Associated Press from a Sedgwick County jail and predicted more violence against abortion doctors and clinics. Roeder said, "I know there are many other similar events planned around the country as long as abortion remains legal," although he refused to elaborate. The Justice Department is taking the threat seriously and has ordered additional protection for abortion clinics. Leaders of the anti-abortion movement have distanced themselves from Roeder, calling him "a fruit and a lunatic." Roeder allegedly gunned down Tiller, one of the only U.Sl doctors that performs third-trimester abortions, while Tiller served as an usher at his Lutheran church.
Lakhdar Boumedienne spent 7 1/2 years at Guantanamo Bay, and now he's talking. According to ABC News, Boumedienne worked as an aid worker in Bosnia, when the Bosnian police picked him up for allegedly conspiring to blow up the U.S. and British embassies. Although the charges were dropped, Bosnia handed him over to the U.S. under pressure from the Bush administration. That's when his ordeal began. When asked if he thought he was tortured, Boumediene answered, "I don't think. I'm sure." He says he was pulled up by his armpits while his legs were shackled, forced to run with the camp guards and dragged when he could not keep up, and that after he began his hunger strike, they would deliberately poke the hypodermic needle in the wrong part of his arm. Strangely, no one asked him about the alleged plot, he said, only about whether he knew Osama bin Laden. After 7 1/2 years, a landmark decision by the Supreme Court led to his release. "I'm a normal man," he said. "I'm not a terrorist."
Stephen Colbert has brought irony to the troops via the art of the crew cut. The New York Times reports that Stephen Colbert is taping four episodes of his show, The Colbert Report, in Iraq this week. The Iraqi episodes have been dubbed “Operation Iraqi Stephen: Going Commando,” and feature cameos by the shockingly famous, such as President Obama, Gen. Ray Odierno, commander of the US troops in Iraq, and Iraq's deputy prime minister. The shows will send up America's fleeting attention span when it comes to Iraq, and they come complete with haircut: during Colbert's performance in front of the troops on Sunday, Gen. Odierno gave Colbert a crew cut by order of the president.
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