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After being released from North Korean imprisonment Tuesday, American journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling arrived home to U.S. soil Wednesday morning as their plane landed in Burbank, CA. Ling and Lee had a public and tearful reunion with their families upon arrival. Their release came hours after former President Bill Clinton arrived in Pyongyang for talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il. According to North Korea's state news agency, the women received a "special pardon" from Kim Jong-Il himself, relieving them of the 12 years of hard labor they received after wandering across the border between North and South Korea while reporting for San Francisco-based and Al Gore-owned Current TV. Politico reports that the White House approved Clinton's mission "which has been secretly planned for weeks" after reports surfaced that the Pyongyang would release the women in exchange for a diplomatic visit from Clinton. His visit is the first presidential-level American sit-down in North Korea since Jimmy Carter's 1994 visit with Kim Il-Sung on behalf of then-President Clinton.
The Democratic National Committee said today that Republicans are colluding with lobbyists to encourage "angry mobs" of right-wing extremists to disrupt health-care town-hall meetings around the country. "These mobs of extremists are not interested in having a thoughtful discussion about the issues," DNC spokesman Brad Woodhouse said in a statement. He argues that the mobs are "bused in by well-funded, highly organized groups run by Republican operatives." He also writes that some of the extremists are hanging members of Congress in effigy, questioning the president's citizenship, and using Nazi symbols.
Drivers still hoping to swap old cars for lump sums have a little more time to get to the dealership: The Senate is expected to to pony up an additional $2 billion for Cash for Clunkers. According to President Obama, the program’s initial $1 billion—which was supposed to last until October—will run out Friday. The vote to extend the measure (using money formerly set aside to use toward renewable-energy subsidies) will allow the rebates to continue through September. The program awards rebates of between $3,500 and $4,500 to consumers who trade in old cars for newer, more fuel-efficient ones, aiding consumer spending and allowing nearly a quarter-million Americans to buy new cars. The Clunkers program reported having performed $664 million worth of transactions as of early Tuesday morning.
A lone gunman in Collier, Pennsylvania, shot more than 10 people, killing four as well as himself, according a report in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Witnesses say a man carrying a duffel bag entered L.A. Fitness, a chain gym, through the back door before opening fire. A woman in an aerobics class said the man entered the room and began shooting, prompting class participants to crouch and hide on the side of the room. Another woman, who was running on a treadmill at the time of the shooting, said she heard 12 to 15 individual shots. A man who was playing racquetball says he heard "about eight shots": "It was panic. Then we realized it was gunfire. Once the shooting started, everybody started running."
How's this for White House-media cooperation? President Obama led the press corps in singing "Happy Birthday" to veteran reporter Helen Thomas before press secretary Robert Gibbs' daily briefing Tuesday. The columnist turned 89 the same day as Obama turned 48. Obama carried a box of cupcakes to Thomas and sat next to her as she blew out a candle. Thomas' birthday wish? "World peace and a real health-care reform bill," she said. Thomas, sometimes called the "first lady of the American press" is known for asking tough questions—like when she visibly upset President Bush by asking him in 2006 why he wanted to go to war.
Tabloid notoriety hasn't helped Jon and Kate Gosselin's television show, it seems. Us Weekly reports that Jon & Kate Plus 8's return to TLC on Monday night saw a 61 percent drop in viewership. The previous episode drew a record-breaking 10.6 million viewers who witnessed the couple's announcement that, after 10 years of marriage, they would separate. By contrast, Monday's episode hovered around 4 million viewers. The episode showed Kate vacationing, then camping with the kids while Jon supervised a kitchen renovation. Meanwhile, Radar reports that a Gosselin babysitter recently slept over at Jon's house—overnight child care, or sexy rendezvous?
Having proceeded carefully over the Iranian presidential controversy, the White House seemed to have finally released its official position on Tuesday. When asked whether Barack Obama recognized Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the elected-Iranian president, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said, "This was a decision and a debate ongoing in Iran by Iranians, they were going to choose their leadership. He's the elected leader." Though careful not to comment on the legitimacy of the election process, the White House has previously condemned the Iranian government for their treatment of opposition protestors.
Ever wonder what it’d be like to meet your favorite celebrity? If that celebrity is Method Man, watch out: The rapper is being sued for shooting a fan six times with a pellet gun upon being asked for an autograph. According to court documents filed this week, Mary Anderson attended a Method Man concert in Houston last year and waited in line to get her ticket stub signed. When she reached Method Man—formally known as Clifford Smith—he reportedly pulled out a pellet gun and fired six times into Anderson’s stomach and torso. Anderson’s attorney said the victim suffered permanent scarring to her chest, stomach and breast area, leading her to sue for assault and intentional infliction of emotional distress. “You can't just go around the country shooting people like that,” Daniel Horowitz, the attorney, said. Method Man has yet to be served. The Wu-Tang Clan member has not commented on the allegation.
The high-impact tackles on the gridiron, the ankle-breakers on the basketball court, all pale in comparison to the dangers inherent in... cheerleading? A new study by the National Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio has found that the most "catastrophic injuries" (usually involving spinal cord damage) came from cheerleading accidents. The study also found that over a 10-year period, physical education-related injuries have skyrocketed by 150 percent. Researchers attributed the jump in injuries to an unbalanced student-teacher ratio, along with a shortage of nurses at schools. Still, the report says, the minor risk involved in physical education far outweighs the "long-term effects of inactivity."
Long gone are the days of Rain Man. Three new movies tackling Asperger's syndrome are set to hit the big screen in the coming months, reflecting the public's growing concern with autism, along with an artistic recognition that the disease is a metaphor "for the condition of us all." Those with Asperger's—considered a "high-functioning form of autism"—generally exhibit an obsessive personality, a high IQ, and extreme social awkwardness. One of the films, Adam, about the title character's struggle with romance, opened in New York last week and earned honors at the Sundance Festival. One advocate said the movies indicate that Asperger's awareness is creeping into the mainstream, and that "it's becoming less of a threat and part of our culture."
In the tightly contested and media-saturated Democratic primary of 2008, every endorsement seemed of immense importance. And the most highly coveted of them belonged to the Lion of the Senate, Ted Kennedy. A new book, Battle For America 2008, excerpted in Tuesday's Washington Post, paints a clearer, more-detailed picture of the intense lobbying from both Hillary and Bill Clinton, along with Barack Obama, to win Kennedy's approval. Dan Balz and Haynes Johnson reveal that as the racial rhetoric reached a fever pitch after several gaffes from the Clinton camp around the time of the South Carolina primary, Kennedy became disillusioned with the tone of debate. Kennedy and Bill Clinton clashed on the phone several times, reinforcing the perception that Bill cracked under the pressure somewhat during the remarkably competitive race. Interestingly, on January 14—long before Hillary conceded—Bill told Kennedy on the phone, "We may get licked, but we're not quitting. Clintons don't quit." Ten days later, Kennedy told Obama he was ready to give him his endorsement, provided he makes a commitment to health-care reform.
The 40th anniversary of Woodstock is being commemorated by an Ang Lee film this month, but one of the event's organizers said there isn't enough money to resurrect the legendary music festival. Michael Lang, one of four of the original organizers of Woodstock in 1969, said he dropped plans for a free concert in Prospect Park in Brooklyn because no one was willing to shell out the $8 million it would have cost. He then tried to plan a September event in conjunction with the United Nations' Climate Week. Either way, Ang Lee's Taking Woodstock hits theaters August 28.
Naomi Sims, often called “the first black supermodel,” died of cancer on Saturday at the age of 61. Sims broke boundaries as the first black model on the cover of Ladies’ Home Journal in November 1968, and became a central figure in the Black is Beautiful movement. Sims began modeling in a close-minded industry, and couldn’t land jobs because she was black. So she approached photographers herself, and personally distributed her image to advertisers. Sims later began a wig business with styles for black women. Said the designer Halston of Sims: “Naomi was the first. She was the great ambassador for all black people. She broke down social barriers.”
It could be a scene straight out of Traffic: Michael Douglas’ son, Cameron Douglas, has been busted for possession of meth with intention to distribute in New York City, TMZ reports. And, unfortunately, this isn’t the first time: The 30-year-old was charged with felony possession when police found liquid cocaine in his car in 2007.
With August recess approaching and the Senate still deliberating over a health-care bill, all eyes are on Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), who is struggling to cobble together a compromise with Republican senators. But what are his motives? If you ask liberal advocacy groups, some of whom are running ads against him in Montana, Baucus' reluctance to commit to a more liberal solution is a simple case of selling out to special interests. Ask some of his colleagues and they'll say he's a hardworking centrist looking for bipartisan consensus and the legitimate concerns of his state's conservative voters. The Missoula Independent this week takes an exhaustive look at the senator's 34-year career in Congress, detailing how the cagey political veteran has managed to defy labels and walk the line between left and right at home and in Washington.
The recession may be far from over: personal incomes in the United States fell 1.3 percent in June, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday, marking the largest drop in four years. The numbers showed that the stimulus plan, which boosted incomes by 1.3 percent in May, is starting to unwind on a consumer level. The numbers beat economists' expectations—which, on average, guessed that incomes would fall by only 1 percent—and might also foreshadow a long recovery for consumer spending.
A major terrorist plot has reportedly been averted in Australia. Four Australian men are accused of planning a suicide attack on an army base in Melbourne. More than 400 officers were involved in searching 19 properties in the city during the bust, the BBC reports. The four men are of Somali and Lebanese descent and are accused of involvement with al-Shabab, the insurgent movement in Somalia that is thought to have ties with al Qaeda. An Australian police official said "The men's intention was to actually go into the army barracks and to kill as many soldiers as they could before they themselves were killed." The raid was the product of seven months of surveillance.
Layoffs may soon be coming to the White House: Obama's close aide and top legal counsel, Gregory Craig, may be losing his job, sources tell The Wall Street Journal. Craig has tailored the administration's stance on several controversial national-security issues like closing Guantánamo Bay, the release of the Bush-era torture memos, and the trial of detainees. Craig, who led President Clinton's defense during his impeachment proceedings, has been criticized for failing to gauge the political implications of closing Guantánamo. But White House Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina defused all rumors that Craig might be getting the boot. "We've addressed these rumors before," he said. "They are nothing more than typical Washington parlor games. It's disappointing that while we are focused on reviving the economy and fighting two wars, others spend their time pointing fingers in an attempt to promote their own status."
Have the birthers found a home base? According to a poll by Public Policy Polling, just 32 percent of Republicans in Virginia believe that President Obama was born in the United States. 41 percent, meanwhile, believe that he was not, while 27 percent are still not sure. The poll also showed the Republican gubernatorial candidate, Bob McDonnell, leading over the Democrat Creighton Deeds, who beat Terry McAuliffe in the primary.
Americans just can't get enough of their pills. A new study finds that the number of Americans on antidepressants doubled from 1996 to 2005, sending the total number of people using the medications to 27 million. Interestingly, the percentage of people seeking psychotherapy while on antidepressants dropped over the same 10-year period—80 percent of antidepressant users were prescribed their pills by doctors other than psychiatrists. The study also finds that half of the users are taking the pills for reasons beyond their intended purpose, including "back pain, nerve pain, fatigue, sleep difficulties, or other problems." A major reason for the increase is that doctors are “more comfortable prescribing antidepressants," one expert told USA Today.
Apparently it’s okay for Goldman Sachs to pay its employees huge sums of money, so long as they don’t spend it: “Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein has warned his employees to avoid making big-ticket, high-profile purchases as the gold-plated Wall Street firm hunkers down amid a firestorm of public and political anger over outsize bonus payments,” according to the New York Post. “A source within the bank said Blankfein first began calling for an end to the conspicuous consumption late last year, but has stepped up his campaign in recent weeks as the White House has sought to rein in compensation and as the firm has gotten dinged by a pair of high-profile magazine articles [in New York and Rolling Stone].”
For the first time, Ruth Madoff will have to save her receipts: Under a new agreement, she will provide a court-appointed trustee with a report of her purchases and payments every month. She’ll be forced to account for any expense over $100. In the agreement, Ruth will be allowed to spend money on “reasonable living expenses,” in addition to taxes and legal fees—but she’ll be kept from spending money on inappropriate things. According to Ruth’s lawyer, she has not yet found a place to rent, though it is not disclosed with whom she is staying. Her lawyer called the agreement “a reasonable accommodation based on the trustee’s lawsuit, and allows her to go forward in a responsible and fair way.”
Iraqis have enjoyed uncensored material—scandalous Egyptian soap operas, romance novels, and pornography—since the American invasion in Iraq in 2003. But now, the Iraqi government is imposing new censorship laws that will require Internet cafes to register with the government and publishers to censor content in new books. The laws grew out of Prime Minister al-Maliki’s attempt to censor sexual material coming into the country in May. Government officials say that uncensored material is corrupting the minds of the young and encouraging sectarian violence. According to Iraq’s cultural minister, “Our constitution respects freedom of thought and freedom of expression, but that should come with respect for society as a whole, and for moral behavior. It is not easy to balance security and democracy. It is like being a tightrope walker.”
Send in the cavalry. Bill Clinton arrived in North Korea Tuesday morning to negotiate the release of the two jailed American journalists who were caught reporting in the oppressive nation, according to a South Korean news agency. The two freelancers were working for Al Gore's Current TV when they were arrested on the wrong side of the China-North Korea border, quickly convicted of "grave crimes," and sentenced to 12 years in the dreaded North Korean labor camps. The talks come during a time of increasing tensions between the country and the U.S. over its nuclear ambitions.
Don’t tell the birthers, but President Obama turns 48 on Tuesday, August 4. What does he have planned? According to The Washington Post, he will be working. “Obama will have lunch with Senate Democrats at the White House, press secretary Robert Gibbs said Monday. They will probably discuss health care, the economy, energy legislation and the ‘Cash for Clunkers’ program.” Over the weekend, he visited Camp David with his family and friends from Chicago and Hawaii.
When it comes to health reform, the White House is closely monitoring the blogs—and firing back. A video of President Obama recently appeared on the Drudge Report under the headline "Uncovered Video: Obama Explains How His Health Care Will 'Eliminate' Private Insurance." And on Tuesday, the White House punched back, posting a video that featured former ABC News correspondent Linda Douglass, who is now the White House Office of Health Reform communications director. "There are a lot of very deceiving headlines out there right now, such as this one—take a look at this one," she says, turning to an image of the Drudge Report's story on her screen. She continued, referring to the president: "What happens is that because he's talking to the American people so much, there are people out there with a computer and a lot of free time, and they take a phrase here and there—they simply cherry-pick and put it together, and make it sound like he's saying something that he didn't really say."
Is it no more mister nice guy for Timothy Geithner? The Treasury secretary “blasted top U.S. financial regulators in an expletive-laced critique last Friday as frustration grows over the Obama administration's faltering plan to overhaul U.S. financial regulation,” according to The Wall Street Journal. According to one person at the meeting—which included Ben Bernanke, SEC Chairwoman Mary Schapiro, and FDIC Chairwoman Sheila Blair—the gist of Geithner’s rant was that “enough is enough.” He apparently targeted those who argued the Federal Reserve should not be given more regulatory power. According to the Journal, “Friday's roughly hourlong meeting was described as unusual, not only because of Mr. Geithner's repeated use of obscenities, but because of the aggressive posture he took with officials from federal agencies generally considered independent of the White House.”
Being president and first lady comes with many titles and privileges, of course, but today the first couple has another achievement for their resume: both have been tapped for Vanity Fair's 70th Annual International Best Dressed List. The list includes a dose of political heavyweights, with France's first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy making the cut, along with the usual suspects: actresses like Anne Hathaway, actors like Brad Pitt, and a few royals along the way. While it comes as no surprise that Michelle graced the list, President Obama was more of surprise. But as Vanity Fair's Amy Fines Collins said in the president's defense, "He has such a natural ease and elegance... He's completely comfortable in his own skin." Notably absent: Angelina Jolie.
The GOP might be getting traction though their rejection of Obama's health-care agenda, opposition to Sonia Sotomayor and even the kooky birthers, but might they be damning the future of their party? Writing for the Huffington Post, Thomas Edsall says the Republicans' current strategy is very reminiscent of the "Southern Strategy" that took advantage of racial prejudices though much of the later 20th century. Conservatives are returning to their white base as the party reels and it has produced results: Obama's approval ratings have suffered a precipitous fall among lower-income whites. Still, the demographics of numerous presidential elections since the 60s prove focusing on the dwindling white majority is destined to fail.
