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Opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi is planning to bring his massive number of supporters to a prayer ceremony led by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei on Friday at Tehran University, The Independent's Robert Fisk reports. Mousavi hopes to show his support for the leader as well as mourn slain student protesters, but Khamenei is expected to tell him to stop the protests that have raged on for six days since Ahmadinejad claimed victory. If he does, Mousavi will be in a tough position: he could be accused of breaking the law if he continues protesting. Meanwhile, Ahmadinejad is reportedly "deeply troubled" and even traumatized by the demonstrations against him, and three independent inquiries have been launched into his election victory. In a private meeting, Iranian MPs reportedly engaged in a fist-fight over Mousavi's honor.
Paranoid about online privacy? Popular networking site Facebook has hired Timothy Sparapani, former ACLU counsel and all-around man of the people, as a lobbyist for Internet confidentiality. A self-described “privacy zealot,” Sparapani teams up with Facebook at a time when the site is scrutinized for its hold on users’ information—in March it came under fire for trying to claim ownership to all data and photos—in an attempt to befriend Washington. The Obama administration, for one, is an avid contributor to Web 2.0, but the notion of the federal government having a stake in networking sites raises questions about their access to user information. Executive director for the Center of Digital Democracy Jeff Chester said hiring Sparapani should put Facebook’s 200 million users’ minds at rest: “Given his history as a privacy advocate, Tim is simply not going to be able to accept, without a crisis of conscience, any technique by Facebook that would unfairly use and reveal data,” Chester said.
Nuclear weapons aren't the only thing we should be worried about. The U.S. Treasury Department warned financial institutions today that the North’s government may resort to using “high-quality” counterfeit money in an attempt to get around the strict measures that keep Pyongyang from obtaining enough funds to develop its nuclear arsenal. After conducting a nuclear test in May and another earlier this month, the United Nations Security Council tightened its restrictions on weapons imports in North Korea and banned transactions related to the sale of North Korean arms. According to Michael O’Hanlon, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institute, the country will “definitely try” to shirk these restrictions. “It's consistent with their past behavior and they certainly don't consider it beneath their dignity,” he said. “They'll find some new way to cheat.” The Treasury Department said large cash transfers made by North Korean customers should be regarded as highly suspicious.
A secret letter from a senior Iranian official to Ayatollah Khamenei declaring Mir Hossein Mousavi the frontrunner of the disputed presidential election is inspiring protesters—whether it be legitimate or not. Robert Fisk, reporting from the streets of Tehran, says that thousands of protesters are carrying the document and that the director of the film Persepolis was even "brandishing the same document" in Belfast. Yet the supposed classified communique gives President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a shockingly low amount of votes, and has a relatively unknown third candidate, Mehdi Karroubi, coming in second. Fisk, for his part, appears to believe the document is real. Fisk also reports witnessing reformist protests marred by a terrible lack of organization. "This was no way to overthrow a government," he writes. Nevertheless, the authorities once again did not assault Mousavi supporters, reflecting an apparent change in tactics.
What do you get for uncovering terrorist plots in the U.S.? A cease-and-desist order, according to journalist Peter Lance, who claims his discovery of an al Qaeda-Mafia connection earned him undue litigious attention from U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald. In a sprawling first-person account punctuated with scanned letters, records, and documents, Lance argues that Fitzgerald—the prosecutorial golden boy who nabbed Rod Blagojevich and was once a People Magazine “Sexiest Man Alive”—is accountable for a series of decisions that culminated in a dangerous friendship between terrorist Ramzi Yousef (who contributed to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and 9/11) and mobster-turned-informant Gregory Scarpa Jr. Yousef and Scarpa occupied adjacent jail cells and, over the course of elevent months, passed handwritten notes including one step-by-step instruction sheet entitled “How to Smuggle Explosives Into an Airplane.” (Who knew terrorists were so user-friendly? And had such curly handwriting?) Lance says Fitzgerald bungled the handling of a world-endangering terrorist who drew bomb diagrams in his free time, and is now mishandling free speech; Fitzgerald says Lance is defamatory. Describing a terrorist cell in New Jersey, Lance says "In the face of the evidence, you have to ask whether the feds could have interdicted the 9/11 plot if they’d devoted half the surveillance time they’d put in on John Gotti to ... 'the Jersey jihad office.'"
Thursday's World Refugee Day is short one power meeting: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton canceled her meet-and-greet with philanthropic bombshell Angelina Jolie due to a broken elbow. Clinton was set to present awards alongside Jolie at the American Foreign Service Association's Refugee Day event, but, as Clinton's chief of staff explained, "On the way to the White House this afternoon, Secretary Clinton fell and suffered a right elbow fracture." Clinton is back at home, recuperating, after treatment at the George Washington University Hospital in D.C.
Another split ruling on a contentious issue from the Supreme Court: The justices ruled on Thursday that “Convicts do not have a right under the Constitution to obtain DNA testing to try to prove their innocence after being found guilty,” according to The New York Times. “The availability of new DNA testing, however, cannot mean that every criminal conviction, or even every conviction involving biological evidence, is suddenly in doubt,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in his opinion. In his dissent, Justice John Paul Stevens wrote, “The DNA test Osborne seeks is a simple one, its cost modest, and its results uniquely precise.”
If Cher's son, Chaz (formerly Chastity) could turn back time, he would have been born a man. Fortunately, he has his mother's unwavering support as he "embarks on a difficult journey." Cher addressed the sex change for the first time Thursday, and seemed to acknowledge some reservations with Chaz's decision, saying "Although I may not understand I will strive to be understanding." Chaz wrote in his memoir, Family Outing, that when he came out of the closet to his mother she kicked him out of the house. However, mother and son quickly reconciled, People reports.
This can’t make the Ayatollah Khamenei happy: Hundreds of thousands of Iranians defied his orders on Thursday, joining Mir Hossein Mousavi in order to mourn demonstrators who have been killed since Friday’s election. According to the Associated Press, “The massive protest openly defied Iran's supreme leader, despite a government attempt to placate Mousavi and his supporters by inviting the reformist and two other candidates who ran against hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to a meeting with the country's main electoral authority.” The demonstrators carried black candles and flowers and wore green wristbands. A Mousavi website estimated that the crowd exceeded one million. Ahmadinejad, meanwhile, issued a conciliatory statement, scaling back earlier criticisms of the protestors. "I only addressed those who rioted, set fires and attacked people," the statement said. "Every single Iranian is valuable. The government is at everyone's service. We like everyone."
Alright reality show fans, might as well set your TiVo now so you don't miss a single instant of what may be the most public divorce ever recorded. A teaser put on the Internet by the TLC network features Kate Gosselin narrating, saying "we've made some life-changing decisions ... that will affect every member of our family ... ones that we hope we'll bring each of us some peace." Accompanying the voice-over are not-so-subtle phrases like "Where do they go from here" floating across the screen. Jon and Kate are the latest reality show trainwreck to enthrall viewers, as the minutiae of their marital meltdown has been chronicled for all to see. Recently, the pair spent its 10-year anniversary apart.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates isn’t taking North Korea’s threat to test a missile near Hawaii lightly: He announced on Thursday that the United States has positioned more missile defenses around Hawaii. “We do have some concerns if they were to launch a missile to the west in the direction of Hawaii.” A Japanese newspaper reported on Thursday that North Korea could fire a missile toward Hawaii sometime around July 4.
Sources at CBS News report that Walter Cronkite, famed reporter and anchor of CBS Evening News, is seriously ill at age 92. The network has been updating Cronkite’s obituary for more than a week. CBS News Exec Linda Mason, Cronkite’s spokeswoman, had no comment. Cronkite is best known for his 19-year stint as a news anchor and his coverage of the Vietnam War, which earned him the title of “Most Trusted Man in America.” In a 2006 interview with TVNewser columnist Gail Shister, Cronkite shared his thoughts on death. “When you get to be 89, you have to think about it a little bit,” he said. “It doesn't prey on me, and it doesn't keep me awake nights. Occasionally, when I'm upset about something else, I think, 'My gosh, I don't know if I should do this or that because I'm not sure I'll be here that long to enjoy it.’”
Being acknowledged by an unabashed sexual deviant is a somewhat awkward honor, but Woody Allen's previous muses have never seemed to mind. Now, the awkward auteur has his eye on the First Lady of France and former model, Carla Bruni. Allen expressed his admiration for Bruni on a U.S. radio show, saying "There are a lot of ways I could use her though I don't have a story for her at the moment." Bruni is no stranger to film, as she played herself in a Robert Altman movie released in 1994. Allen's latest, Whatever Works, starring Larry David, will be released soon, and he is preparing to begin shooting another movie in Paris next year.
Conan O'Brien had big shoes to fill when he took over for Jay Leno as the host of NBC's highly-rated Tonight Show. So far, it looks like he may be a few sizes too small. Although Conan is a major hit with the 18-49 year old demographic—likely why he was chosen as Leno's successor—the program has seen a relentless drop in ratings since it first aired with its new front man. Conan, who was chosen by NBC to take over Leno's spot five years ago, has seen the Tonight Show outperformed by rival late-night host David Letterman, who took first place in the timeslot for the first time on June 9th with 3.38 million viewers to O'Brien's 2.93 million. That's down from Conan's launch on June 1, when 7.12 million viewers tuned in, and soon quickly tuned out. "The trend is relentlessly downward," said one source to the New York Post. "But NBC will never admit they made a mistake."
Billy Joel announced yesterday that he will be divorcing his wife Katie Lee Joel, and his first wife and their daughter are already weighing in on the news. “He was the first person that told me," his daughter, Alexa Ray Joel, tells Ok! "Being who he is, he can’t just trust everybody and you know, I like knowing that my dad can talk to me in the same way that I come to him... I’m just supporting him right now.” And his first wife, Christie Brinkley, tells Extra, ““I’m very sad that this has happened and I wish them both happiness... he’s a wonderful father to Alexa. We’ve remained friends. We’ve been friends for many, many years, so obviously I’m very sad that this has happened and I wish them both happiness."
Who knew that another dull town hall meeting could be such fodder for conservatives? Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele is using the upcoming health care special set to air on ABC next week as a fundraising tool, saying that the GOP needs donations to buy air time on the network for a rebuttal. ABC has been on the receiving end of criticism from the right for refusing to air a commercial payed by an advocacy group opposed to Obama's health care plan. ABC executives insist they are only following standard policy. When asked in an interview aired Wednesday whether he felt he got favorable coverage, Obama said there was one network "entirely devoted to attacking my administration." Fox News pundits have been frothing at the mouth ever since.
An update to Monday's news of Patrick Farrow's death: The Telegraph reports that Mia Farrow's 66-year-old brother committed suicide in his studio, a converted church in Castleton, Vermont. Initially, police classified Farrow's death as suspicious, but later agreed with the medical examiner's ruling of suicide. Farrow, who worked as a professional sculptor for more than 35 years, died of a single gunshot wound to the head.
It's exploring the moon the American way: with bombs. Today NASA is expected to launch a mission to bomb a crater near the moon's south pole, Scientific American reports. The aim of the mission is to figure out if there is water below the surface of the moon. Scientists will examine the debris kicked up by the explosion for water ice or vapor. The explosion will kick debris 6 miles into the moon's atmosphere, making it visible from Earth. If, as Scientific American put it, ice is "trapped in crater shadows near the south pole which never receives any sunlight," the resulting water could serve as the basis for a manned moon base.
It’s Splitsville for Billy Joel and his wife Katie Lee. The couple announced today that they are separating after five years of marriage. “Billy and Katie remain caring friends, with admiration and respect for each other,” the couple’s publicists said in a statement. Lee, who is best known for her season-long stint as the host of Bravo’s Top Chef, was Joel’s third wife. She followed model Christie Brinkley. No word yet on whether Joel and Lee will divorce, but perhaps if they do it’ll give the Piano Man a crop of new material to pull him out of his years-long music hiatus.
Investigators are a little closer to unraveling the mystery of what downed Air France Flight 447 over the Atlantic Ocean between Rio de Janeiro to Paris last month, killing all 228 people aboard. About 50 bodies have been recovered from the sea, The Independent reports, and autopsies uncovered fractures on an undisclosed number of the bodies. Victims were also found with little or no clothing. Both facts suggest that the plane broke up in midair, as during such accidents clothing is torn away, according to Jack Casey, a former accident investigator. Casey also explained that, "getting ejected into that kind of windstream is like hitting a brick wall," which would cause multiple fractures on intact bodies. When intact planes crash into the ocean, apparently, bodies and debris end up in small pieces.
In Rhode Island, they're getting ready to inhale: Overriding the objections of Republican Gov. Don Carcieri, Rhode Island has become the third state in America—and first in the East Coast—to permit marijuana sales for medical purposes. Joining California and New Mexico in giving ganja the legal 'go.' Rhode Island's House voted unanimously to override Carcieri's veto, while the Senate voted 35-3 to allow a regulated store for selling medical marijuana, reports NPR. To a standing ovation, Democratic Rep. Thomas Slater, who has cancer and says he will smoke marijuana for pain relief, explained the law's logic: "This gives a safe haven for those who have to go into the seedy areas to try and get marijuana. I think that this center will definitely help those who most need it." In California, patients can buy marijuana at licensed stores; in New Mexico, medical marijuana growers are licensed. Legislation similar to Rhode Island's is under consideration in Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania. Arizona and Maine both have ballot initiatives coming up on the use of medical marijuana.
The 100 day marker is long gone, and not all of President Obama's constituents are still basking in the afterglow. An NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released today revealed skepticism about Obama’s policies, with the biggest drop in approval ratings among self-described political independents. “It’s not personal. It’s professional,” said NBC News chief White House correspondent and political director Chuck Todd. According to the poll, 69 percent of people are concerned about government intervention in the economy, with 53 percent of respondents saying they disapproved of the GM and Chrysler bailouts. Another 58 percent said the government should try to control the budget deficit rather than focus on boosting the economy, but 46 percent—the highest in four years—expressed optimism that the economy would improve in the next year. The presidential approval rating still stands strong at 56 percent, and a high percentage of people like Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor. But Republicans aren't getting a boost from Obama skepticism: the image of the Republican Party is at an all-time low.
Is the genocide in Darfur finally over? The Washington Post reports that on Wednesday, the special envoy to Sudan, retired Air Force Maj. Gen. J. Scott Gration said that the Sudanese government had stopped its "coordinated" mass murder campaign in Darfur. "What we see is the remnants of genocide," Gration said. But not everyone agrees. As recently as two days ago, Susan E. Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., accused the Sudanese government of genocide, and human rights groups have criticized Gration as turning a blind eye to abuses. Gration and Rice's remarks expose a rift in leadership on Sudan as the administration seeks to review its policy in the region.
North Korea continues to up the ante: The Associated Press reports that “North Korea may fire a long-range ballistic missile toward Hawaii in early July.” The missile—a Taepodong-2 with a range of up to 4,000 miles—could be launched between July 4 and 8. Hawaii, at 4,500 miles away from North Korea, is just outside of its range, but the missile would also pass over Japan en route.
Unsatisfied with the traditional comic-book villain trades of arms dealing, drug smuggling, and counterfeiting, Kim Jong-Il is also reportedly behind a global insurance fraud scheme as well. According to The Washington Post, North Korean insurance managers have delivered the leader "gifts" of as much as $20 million in cash derived from an elaborate plan in which the North Korean government collects huge sums in suspicious insurance claims over a variety of natural disasters and industrial accidents. According to a state department official who tracked the case under Bush, these payments have "become one of the North's largest illicit revenue generators" and provide much needed hard currency to the cash-strapped dictator. Foreign insurance companies have taken North Korea to court at times over the allegedly staged "disasters," but have found little success and often are scared of publicly revealing the scale of their losses.
Politicians are clumsy just like us. Despite having safely traveled thousands of miles across the world, Hillary Clinton "tripped and fell near the White House on Wednesday, breaking her right elbow," Los Angeles Times reports. George Washington University Hospital treated and released the Secretary of State, who will undergo surgery next week.
For awhile, former President Bush and former Vice President Vice Cheney were night and day in their approach to retirement, with Bush saying that the new president "deserves" his silence and Cheney instead declaring a one-man war on all things Obama. That distinction seems to be breaking down, as Bush—while not mentioning Obama by name—seemed to indirectly criticize him in a speech and Q&A session Wednesday in Pennsylvania. In an apparent swipe at Obama's economic plan, Bush said that "it's going to be the private sector that leads this country out of the current economic times we're in," and added, "You can spend your money better than the government can spend your money." Asked whether Obama was leading the country to "socialism," Bush said "We'll see."
Two debt-ridden Democratic campaign committees are expected to nab a $3 million boost today, courtesy of President Obama. The Hill reports that Obama raised $3 million at his first Democratic National Committee fundraiser, and is expected to do the same today for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Obama's $3 million sounds like a lot, but Bush raised $21.5 million for Republican committees in 2008 and $27 million in 2006. And Newt Gingrich raised $14.5 million for the committees this year. The Democrats attribute the disparity in fundraising to a difference in style; Republicans have one gala-bash event, while Democrats have several smaller ones.
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi just can't catch a break. Forget 18-year-old Noemi Letizia and the photos of topless women at his Sardinian villa. Italian investigators are trying to establish, as the Times of London put it, "whether payments to women to attend 'private residences in Rome and Sardinia' had involved 'induction into prostitution.'" Two brothers are alleged to have paid women to attend parties given by associates, including Berlusconi. A former model and television showgirl from Brazil said that she was paid about $2,700 to attend a Berlusconi party, but got stiffed because she left the party early. The investigation is ongoing.
During the Great Depression, President Franklin Roosevelt wasn't afraid to make Wall Street angry as he radically reformed the financial system. According to a smart piece by The New York Times' Joe Nocera, Barack Obama is no Roosevelt. While on the surface, Obama's financial overhaul looks revolutionary and covers an impressive amount of real estate, from derivatives to insurance companies, the reforms are actually banal. Banks that are "too big to fail" will be regulated more, but their right to exist was not challenged. Plain vanilla derivatives will be traded on an exchange, but the "bespoke derivatives" that ruined the economy will simply be put into a clearinghouse where their price and trading activity can be seen. The new bank supervisor position simply combines two smaller agencies. At core, Nocera argues, "once the financial crisis is over, it will, in all likelihood, be back to business as usual."
Protests are set to continue Thursday in Iran, where supporters of Mir Hossein Mousavi are planning a national day of mourning to commemorate those killed in demonstrations. The death toll of the unrest following the Iranian election, which protesters believe was rigged, is unclear. At least seven were killed on the first day of demonstrations on Monday and student groups say another seven were killed in attacks by government militia on university dorms in Tehran, according to The New York Times. Mousavi, along with former President Mohammad Khatami, have put out a joint letter calling on the government "to take all the necessary measures to put an end to today’s worrying situation, to stop the violent actions against people and to free those arrested,” as fears of an even more repressive crackdown abound. Analysts say the protests could last through the entire summer, but the government is hoping to blunt their impact by cutting off online communications and blocking foreign and domestic journalists from covering them.
Is the American workers unexpected, unwanted holiday over? “The total number of people on the unemployment insurance rolls dropped for the first time since early January,” according to the Associated Press. The Labor Department reported today that unemployment insurance rolls fell 148,000 to 6.69 million, which is the largest drop in seven years. “The drop also breaks a string of 21 straight increases in continuing claims, the last 19 of which were records.”
It's a degree of bravado fit for royalty. Prince William, spurred by sibling rivalry, is anxious to serve in Afghanistan on the frontlines. "In my eyes, if (Prince) Harry can do it then I can do it," William said Thursday. Prince Harry, who is 24-years-old, served a 10-week tour of duty last year, and is now training to fly helicopters. Harry admitted that he doesn't have "the brain capacity" to fly Apache choppers, and instead will likely learn to fly Lynx helicopters, which fill a more supportive role on the battlefield. Though many say it is impossible for Prince William to serve on the frontlines because he would be a high-profile target, he is still holding out hopes.
Well, this is scary: The pilot of a Continental Airlines Boeing 777 died en route from Brussels, Belgium. Two other pilots took over the controls of Flight 61, which landed safely at 11:49 a.m. in Newark, NJ. The incident caused travel delays up and down the Eastern seaboard. The reportedly 61-year-old pilot died of natural causes.
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