Cheat Sheet
The Best In Brief
Please register to manage your email preferences and comment on the site.
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell jumped into the fray on issues surrounding the arrest of Henry Louis Gates, Jr. on Tuesday night with a rebuke of the Harvard professor. Having been the victim of racial profiling "many times" himself, Powell said Gates should have practiced more restraint with the police officer who arrested him. "I think [Gates] should have reflected on whether or not this was the time to make that big a deal," Powell said on Larry King Live of the Gates' interaction with Sgt. James Crowley. Powell scolded the Cambridge Police Department as well, but emphasized controlling one's anger: "There is no African American in this country who has not been exposed to this kind of situation," Powell said. "Do you get angry? Yes. Do you manifest that anger? Do you protest? Do you try to get things fixed? But it's the better course of action to try and take it easy and don’t let your anger make the current situation worse."
Who knew that prison would look good on Bernie Madoff? The “buff-looking” Ponzi schemer gave his first interview since being sentenced to 150 years in a North Carolina prison on Tuesday, speaking candidly with a pair of San Francisco lawyers about his life outside the law. “There were several times that I met with the SEC and thought ‘they got me,’” Madoff told Joseph Cotchett in the four-and-a-half-hour interview. Madoff agreed to sit down with the pair after they threatened to sue his wife, Ruth Madoff: “He cares about Ruth,” Cotchett said. “But he doesn’t give a [expletive] about his two sons, Mark and Andrew,” whom Cotchett also threatened to sue. According to the lawyer, Madoff was “very articulate, very direct” and spoke openly without holding back.
New Jersey’s corruption scandal took a somber turn today when a man under investigation turned up dead, and a prominent mayor resigned. Secaucus Mayor Dennis Elwell, who is among the 44 people accused in the far-reaching case, stepped down today. The Democrat is alleged to have taken $10,000 in exchange for helping an FBI informant posing as a developer build a hotel. According to one of his lawyers, Elwell quit after 10 years in office in order to focus on his defense, and doesn’t intend to plead guilty. “He didn’t want to have his problems interfere with the business of Secaucus,” said Jeffrey G. Garrigan, one of Elwell’s lawyers. “He doesn’t want to be a distraction.” Meanwhile, Jack Shaw, a political consultant who was also among the 44 people charged in the case, was found dead in his Jersey City apartment this evening. Police and homicide investigators said that no weapon was found with the 61-year-old. Shaw is accused of taking $10,000 in campaign contributions for an unnamed Jersey City official from the FBI informant, as well as $10,000 for himself.
Of course the crazies won’t be placated, but: Hawaii officials have reconfirmed the veracity of President Obama's birth certificate. The official who examined the document made a terse statement (he probably had better things to do), saying, "I ... have seen the original vital records maintained on file ... Barack Hussein Obama was born in Hawaii and is a natural-born American citizen." He then added, "I have nothing further to add to this statement or my original statement issued in October 2008 over eight months ago." It is worth noting that Hawaii law prohibits the release of a birth certificate "to anyone who does not have a tangible interest," according to the Associated Press. Will this story please go away?
Law enforcement officials are searching the Las Vegas home of the doctor who is suspected of administering Jackson a powerful anesthetic before he died, ABC News reports. Dr. Conrad Murray has been at the center of the manslaughter investigation, and Houston police already searched Murray's Houston office last week, where they were looking for "items constituting evidence of the offense of manslaughter that tend to show that Dr. Conrad Murray committed the said criminal offense," according to the warrants. DEA agents and police were present at the raid of Murray's home, but Murray himself is not believed to be at home. Dr. Murray has said through his lawyers that he did not "prescribe or administer anything that should have killed Jackson." Whether Murray will face criminal charges-and what those charges would be-remains unclear. If charged with administering propofol, Murray will have to prove why he would prescribe a drug meant for the operating room, and face questions over why he waited 30 minutes after Jackson became unresponsive to call an ambulance.
It’s no surprise that someone wants to see Sacha Baron Cohen dead—but when it’s someone who has the means to do it, well, that’s a little different. A bona fide terrorist organization featured in Brüno is less than enthused about their portrayal in the film because of its inclusion of homosexuality and has threatened to make Cohen pay for it. “We reserve the right to respond in the way we find suitable against this man,” said the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade, a coalition of Palestinian militias depicted in the film. “The movie was part of a conspiracy against [us].” Cohen is taking the statement from the group, which is alleged to be responsible for dozens of suicide bombings and shootings, seriously and has upped security measures for himself and his family. But he may have more than his own safety to worry about: The Martyrs’ Brigade member featured in the movie, Ayman Abu Aita, said that he was tricked into appearing in Brüno and is threatening to sue Cohen. “This joke is very dangerous,” said Abu Aita, who is no longer involved with the group. “We are not in the United States, we are not in Europe, we are in the Middle East and the world operates differently here.
A House panel passed a broadly worded measure today regulating financial executives' compensation, The Wall Street Journal reports. The bill, approved in a 40-28 vote by the House Financial Services Committee, authorizes restrictions on “inappropriate or imprudently risky” pay packages—specifically Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and other financial companies—with the exception of firms with less than $1 billion in assets. The legislation also guarantees more input from shareholders, as well as requiring that independent directors are included in board compensation committees. Opposing Republicans worried that “federal bureaucrats” would be setting pay levels for employees, but Democrats argued that the government wouldn’t be responsible for the task—shareholders would weigh in. “There’s nothing in this bill that allows the government to set compensation,” said Rep. Mel Watt, a Democrat from North Carolina. “Quit trying to hide behind the government as a big, bad entity.”
With a group of six bipartisan senators set to kill a public option in health care reform, Matt Yglesias is making sense: “[T]he Senate that vast power is being wielded by people who, in a democratic system of government, would have almost no power. We’re talking, after all, about Max Baucus of Montana, Kent Conrad of North Dakota, Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico, Susan Collins of Maine, Mike Enzi of Wyoming, and Chuck Grassley of Iowa. Collectively those six states contain about 2.74 percent of the population , less than New Jersey, or about one fifth the population of California. The six largest states, by contrast, contain about 40 percent of Americans.”
In the wild and crazy world of Amy Winehouse, one would think there’d be plenty of drugs to go around, but no: The hard-partying singer allegedly stole cocaine from Kate Moss’s handbag, her ex-husband claims. The then-couple were at the Gramercy Park Hotel on an undisclosed date when the model told Winehouse to get a bill to snort cocaine with, at which time Winehouse allegedly found two grams of the drug and pocketed them. Moss, Blake Fielder-Civil said, was too drunk to notice. Both Winehouse and Moss have publicly addressed their addictions to illegal drugs.
So much for a bipartisan nomination. Sonia Sotomayor cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday, though only one Republican, Lindsay Graham, joined the Democrats who approved of her. The 13-6 vote paves the way for a full vote in the Senate next week. Jeff Sessions, the top Republican on the committee, reiterated his discomfort with some of Sotomayor's comments and court rulings. The Associated Press reports that the GOP is struggling with the "politically perplexing issue" of how to handle the Sotomayor nomination, as they must avoid alienating both Hispanic voters and the conservative base.
Michael Phelps lost to Germany's Paul Biedermann in the 200-meter freestyle Tuesday, but might a polyurethane swimsuit be to blame for the upset? Biedermann smashed the world record, held by Phelps, by nearly a full second. After the race, Biedermann acknowledged that his Arena X-Glide suit might have played a role in his victory, saying it made him "really fast; honestly, about two seconds in the race...I think the suits are destroying a little bit the sport." Of course, the issue didn't seem to bother him as he stood atop the podium. Phelps—who does not wear the super-suit—reportedly "appeared miffed" after the loss while swimming officials scrambled to announce that new rules will be enacted to prohibit the suits from competition. Nevertheless, it is likely many more records will be broken before the rules come into effect.
While there appears to be a peaceful, beer-filled resolution to the debate that erupted when a Cambridge police officer arrested Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates at his home, The New York Times' resident ethicist, Randy Cohen, writes that Gates shouldn't be calling a truce just yet. “Gates should enjoy a cool one and then file suit,” he wrote. “We Americans are often mocked for being overly litigious, but we are not nearly litigious enough. In the right circumstances, filing suit can be a way to pursue social justice, and that makes it thoroughly ethical.” On The other hand, Cohen writes that not suing is perfectly understandable—seeking legal action is “above and beyond the call of duty.” But going to court could be a giant step forward in race relations, Cohen argues. “Gates should sue. Social change proceeds through the combination of many forces—legislation, litigation and public discourse among them. For Gates to contribute to this effort would be laudable.”
The nominees are in: the longlist for the 2009 Man Booker Prize was announced Tuesday. It consists of 13 titles, including two from former winners, four from past-shortlisted authors, and three books from first-time novelists. The titles include Summertime, by J.M. Coetzee, The Children’s Book by A.S. Byatt, and William Trevor’s new novel, Love and Summer. The judges include broadcaster and author James Naughtie, and Michael Prodger, literary editor of The Sunday Telegraph. The shortlist will be announced on September 8th, and the winner will be announced on October 6.
The much-anticipated meeting between Henry Louis Gates Jr. and the officer who arrested him is set for 6 p.m. on Thursday at the White House, a senior administration official said. Sgt. James Crowley will drink Blue Moon, the president will drink Budweiser, and Professor Gates will drink Red Stripe or Beck’s. At a press conference Monday, White House Press Secretary Gibbs fielded questions on the beer choices. “What’s wrong with Budweiser?” he asked when a reporter questioned the president’s beer choice. And, to the question “Pretzel or chips?” Gibbs responded: “We’re just going to go straight beer. No sense in diluting it.”
How big a Madonna fan are you? Enough to fork out upward of $40,000 for two tapes with steamy answering-machine messages she left a boy toy from 1992 to 1994? If so, keep your eye out for an upcoming rock' n' roll memorabilia auction that will feature the tapes, along with a "very personal and intimate video" from the Material Girl to the same gentleman, who at one point was also her bodyguard. Some blast-from-the-past personal faxes are up for grabs, too. The faxes sent to (you guessed it) the same ex feature such stimulating conversation as "my booty looked good [in a photo shoot] and you should see how good it looks in person." Apparently, a fling with a pop star is a good investment, too.
Send in the cavalry. Battled-tested elite Colombian Commandoes are on their way to Afghanistan to help in the war against the Taliban. Speaking to CBS News, the top Colombian general explained that the commandoes are being sent as a favor to the U.S. for all the military aid it provided against the FARC. Several observers describe the Colombian special forces as among the finest in the world, adept at striking "targets deep in the jungle, destroying drug labs and taking out the top drug lords." Despite the favor, Colombia itself is far from completely stable, and has yet to put down the FARC insurgency which has lasted 45 years. Just this week, Colombia accused Venezuela of providing the FARC with heavy weaponry bought from Sweden.
Inspired by the reprinting of Gov. Mark Sanford's scandalous emails in a South Carolina newspaper, Gawker filed its own Freedom of Information Act for emails from the office of ousted Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. The blog posted emails Tuesday that show that NBC scheduled an "exclusive" Matt Lauer interview with Blagojevich the morning he ended up being arrested by the FBI—only to cancel it last minute to cover the "news" of network star Jay Leno's new 10 p.m. show. While it's fun to imagine Blagojevich being arrested on his way to his scheduled Today interview, the kicker of the emails is the best part: When told Blagojevich was being bumped, his aide replied to a producer, "Aw, shucks... I guess we'll wait til we make national news again." That was 10 hours before the governor's arrest.
Two weeks after Tina Brown wrote in The Daily Beast that Obama should “let Hillary Clinton take off her burqa,” the Washington Post’s Anne Applebaum writes… that the column “continues to echo around Washington.” Applebaum contends, however, that the burqa is off: “Not only has [Clinton] not been kept forcibly silent, in other words, she also possesses an extraordinary number of ways to set the agenda and has done so on several occasions.” Applebaum concludes, “I'm not sure that Clinton, or any secretary of state, needs to have an overarching 'theory' in order to explain her views. But it is up to her to tell us what she thinks is important, and why. If she hasn't done so yet, that isn't the president's fault.”
First gummy bears with vitamins, now this: The dye used in blue M&Ms can help fend off spinal-cord injury, scientists at the Rochester Medical Center in New York say in newly released findings. Those rats treated with Brilliant Blue G, as the dye is known, showed improved motor skills, and rats that did not receive injections of the dye did not regain the ability to walk after spinal-cord injuries. The downside? The treatment causes skin to turn bright blue, temporarily. Scientists say further tests in human clinical tries are needed but are optimistic that new treatments for acute spinal-cord injuries are in the future.
Looks like it's the beginning of the end: Defense Secretary Robert Gates arrived in Iraq on Tuesday to meet with Iraqi political leaders and American military commanders to discuss security during the U.S. withdrawal. During his first trip to Iraq this year, Gates will meet with Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki and Defense Minister Abdel Qader Jassim. They are expected to discuss Baghdad's interest in buying a squadron of 18 F-16 fighter jets after U.S. forces leave the country; Iraqi officials have expressed interest, but Congress will have the final say. Gates is also expected in the Kurdish region in the North, where Kurds are in dispute with the Arab majority over the oil-rich territory.
The mourning over Michael Jackson's death may have subsided, but the investigation into the circumstances of his death has not. A source has told the Associated Press that Conrad Murray, Jacko's personal doctor, administered the powerful anesthetic Propofol the last night of his life. Authorities, who are in the process of carrying out a manslaughter investigation, suspect the drug was responsible for Jacko's sudden demise. Dr. Murray has said through his lawyers that he did not "prescribe or administer anything that should have killed Jackson." Whether Murray will face criminal charges—and what, if any, those charges will be—remains unclear.
Texting behind the wheel of a car is dangerous—texting behind the wheel of a truck, even more. A new study shows that when drivers text behind the wheel of a truck, they are 23 times more likely to crash than before. And of those who crashed, drivers usually spent five seconds looking at their phones—which, on a highway, amounted to a distance of an entire football field. A previous study conducted at the University of Utah showed texters in cars were only eight times as likely to crash their vehicles. And while truck drivers are not more or less typical than other drivers, the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute's $6 million study showed an increased pattern of risk. “You should never do this,” said Tom Dingus, director of institute, “it should be illegal.”
Barack Obama attempted to improve Chinese-American relations on Monday, delivering an address at the beginning of two days of high-level discussions between the countries in Washington. “Some in China think that America will try to contain China’s ambitions; some in America think that there is something to fear in a rising China. I take a different view," the president said. According to the Financial Times, one sticking point in the conversations remains China's desire to "reform the international monetary system." Behind all negotiations is the fact that China is the world's largest holder of U.S. Treasury bonds, which elevates Beijing’s influence over Washington. China's state councilor concluded his remarks Monday with a flourish from the Obama campaign, telling those gathered that the countries are in the same boat and could improve their relationship. Dai added, "Yes we can."
Sad news: a boat carrying Haitian migrants sank off the coast of Turks and Caicos Monday after hitting a reef. Of the 200 passengers, 113 survivors were found, and 85 are still missing, the U.S. Coast Guard reported. According to survivors, the boat was steered into the reef when passengers saw police approaching and tried to hide. A helicopter and jet searched through the night on Monday for more survivors.
Is this the cost of bipartisanship? A group of senators from both sides of the aisle have met secretly for several weeks, and are close to unveiling a trimmed-down health-care bill, the Associated Press reports. The new bill, pushed forth by the Senate Finance Committee, which includes Max Baucus (D-MT), Olympia Snowe (R-ME), and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) omits a public insurance plan as well as a requirement that businesses offer coverage to their employees. The plan would likely establish a nonprofit insurance provider that will compete with major insurance companies, instead of a government-led plan. Meanwhile, in the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi confidently addressed the controversy surrounding health care, saying that everything remains on schedule for a vote—whenever the time may come.
There are, apparently, no birthers in the House of Representatives: Salon reports that the House unanimously passed a resolution on Monday affirming that Hawaii is, in fact, the birthplace of President Obama. Introduced by Rep. Neil Abercrombie, Democrat of Hawaii, as part of a measure commemorating the 50th anniversary of Hawaii’s statehood, Greg Sargent at The Plum Line described the resolution as confronting “House GOPers with a choice: They can vote for the measure, and endorse the idea that Obama was born in Hawaii, which could earn the wrath of birthers. Or they can vote against commemorating the 50th state’s joining of our blessed Union.”
Not too long ago, being in the "friends of Angelo" club was quite a privilege. Nowadays, being known as someone who was cozy with Angelo Mozilo, the former chief executive of Countrywide Financial, couldn't be more embarrassing. A Countrywide official testified Monday that Senators Chris Dodd and Kent Conrad, both Democrats, were well aware of the VIP treatment they received on their mortgages with Countrywide, though the senators have consistently denied it. Countrywide, which was at the forefront of the housing crisis, literally had a VIP section in its offices that handled special clients. One of the people who worked in the section said in secret testimony to congressional investigators that both senators understood that "who you know is basically how you're coming in here." It appears likely that an investigation is under way into the two influential senators' mortgage dealings, the Associated Press reports.
The day after legendary choreographer Merce Cunningham's death, the dance critic for The Wall Street Journal recalls Cunningham as someone who "worked tirelessly to challenge the way people saw and thought about dance." Cunningham challenged audiences, who regularly walked out on performances when confronted with his iconoclastic designs. Did he want to test the public? To answer that question, Cunningham quoted his artistic and life partner John Cage, "No... I'm out to bring poetry into their lives." "Cunningham’s dancers became a breed of their own, precisely poised between the worlds of ballet and modern dancing," Robert Greskovic writes.
Despite violent protests following the Iranian presidential election, former Prime Minister Mir-Hossein Mousavi has renewed a call to action. Mousavi, who lost the election in June to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, called for protesters to once again flood the streets during a religious festival there next week. "A vast... social movement has taken shape in the country and it has to make best use of these occasions and unveil its initiatives," Mousavi wrote on his Web site. Because the protests are likely to coincide with Ahmedinejad's official swearing-in ceremony on August 5, Iranians are bracing for new crackdowns. But the stakes are high, as it is estimated that 300 protestors are now being detained in connection with street protests. A 30-year-old demonstrator reportedly died on Monday from injuries he had sustained in prison.
The Senate Finance Committee may be set to kill a public option as part of health care reform, but a new report from the CBO proves incorrect the basis of their opposition. The Associated Press reports that a new report by the CBO says that “the public option proposed by Democrats would not drive private insurers out of business and most people would still choose to get their medical coverage through employers.” The House has included a public option as part of its plan.
Partner Sites: Expedia| Hotels| Hotwire| Urbanspoon| Vimeo
