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President Obama told Congress Wednesday night that he was not the first president to try to reform health care, but he is determined to be the last. Obama called for partisan fighting to end—"Now is when we must bring the best ideas of both parties together, and show the American people that we can still do what we were sent here to do. Now is the time to deliver on health care."—and for members of Congress to remember that, "[E]veryone in this Congress gets affordable insurance. And it’s time to give every American the same opportunity that we’ve given ourselves." The president also gave a nod to his former campaign rival, John McCain, citing one of his proposals on health-care reform, to which the Arizona senator responded with a thumbs up. He urged members not to drop a public insurance option, saying, "I will not back down on the basic principle that if Americans can’t find affordable coverage, we will provide you with a choice."
After conflicting reports about the hijacking of an Aeromexico jet in Mexico City on Wednesday, officials now say that the plane's abductors were actually just one: a Bolivian drug addict who claimed "divine references" alerted him to an impending earthquake that would destroy Mexico. "Christ is coming," Josmar Flores Pereira reportedly told authorities. Pereira is believed to have hijacked a Boeing 737 carrying 112 passengers, all of whom were safely freed along with the crew. Many passengers say they were unaware their flight had been hijacked until they arrived on the tarmac. Pereira allegedly told flight staff that he was one of three hijackers and had a bomb in a cardboard box; the box did not contain explosives, but President Calderon's coincidental presence at the airport's presidential hangar raised the sense of menace.
You win some, you lose some? South Carolina Republican Rep. Joe Wilson threw himself into infamy (No. 1 trending topic on Twitter Wednesday night) by yelling "You lie!" during President Obama's health-care speech to Congress. The heckling was in response to the president's assertion that a public-insurance option would not cover illegal immigrants. Sen. John McCain quickly denounced the outburst while being interviewed on Larry King Live, saying it was "totally disrespectful. [Wilson] should apologize immediately." Looks like Joe was listening: Wilson issued a red-faced apology for his "lack of civility" later last night. "I let my emotions get the best of me... While I disagree with the president's statement, my comments were inappropriate and regrettable." Politico notes that Wilson's outburst violates House Republicans' rules of decorum, which bars presidential insults "such as referring to him as a 'hypocrite' or a 'liar.'"
Is this the price of freedom? The rescue of New York Times reporter Stephen Farrell cost of the life of his Afghan interpreter, Sultan Munadi. British special forces raided the compound where Farrell was being held, and in the ensuing firefight, Munadi was shot dead and left behind as the troops brought the American to safety. Resentment of NATO forces is growing in Afghanistan in the wake of several military missions that resulted in civilian deaths, The Washington Post reports, and though the Brits expressed sorrow at Munadi's death, many Afghans remain upset, arguing that his death proves international forces care more about Western lives than Afghan ones. Some compared the incident to one in 2007, when an Italian journalist was freed but his driver and interpreter were left behind to be killed by the Taliban.
President Obama intends to cram a lot into Wednesday's speech to Congress on health care—including a firm call for a public option. The purpose of the speech is to "make sure that the American people are clear exactly what it is that we're proposing," Obama told Good Morning America, as well as "to make sure that Democrats and Republicans understand that I'm open to new ideas, that we're not being rigid and about this thing, but we do intend to get something done this year." Obama also owned that he had "left too much ambiguity" about his plan for health-care reform, which allowed opponents to "fill up the airwaves with a lot of nonsense." In addition, he charged that Republicans are dusting off their smear playbook from Clinton's 1993-94 health-care campaign and called the much-publicized idea of so-called death panels "ridiculous." Politico also reports that Obama will call for a public option, but not insist that it be included in the final bill.
Melanie Oudin, the 17-year-old "instant star" of the tennis world, ended her run at this year's U.S. Open Wednesday night as spectacularly as she began it. Oudin wowed crowds as she won her first four matches (all against Russians), which catapulted her from obscurity to a Tonight Show booking in a week. Her streak didn't last, though, and on Wednesday, Caroline Wozniacki sent the blonde phenom home with an "awkward" 6-2, 6-2 defeat in which "Oudin made only 11 winners and committed 43 unforced errors, a disastrous ratio," ESPN reports. Still, observers say that despite letting pressure get to her head, Oudin's got staying power: Tony Bennett, singer and avid tennis fan, raves, "She has the crowd in the palm of her hands… She's going to be a permanent star."
We all knew she liked to dance—turns out Ellen DeGeneres likes singing, too. The Daytime Emmy-winning talk-show host will be American Idol’s fourth judge in the show’s upcoming ninth season. DeGeneres says she’s watched the show from the beginning. As a fan, “getting this job is a dream come true, and think of all the money I’ll save from not having to text in my vote,” she said in a statement on Wednesday night. DeGeneres will replace Paula Abdul, who left the show amid swirling rumors that the aging pop star was offended by the relative size of her salary compared to megawatt Idol personalities Simon Cowell and Ryan Seacrest. DeGeneres admits that she has fewer music-industry credentials than her judging peers, but “[h]opefully I’m the people’s point of view, because I’m just like you. I sit at home and I watch it.”
First comes nomination, then the critics. Glenn Beck is urging his devotees to dig up dirt on Harvard Law Professor Cass Sunstein, Obama's nominee to head the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. Beck's tweet for scoops on Wednesday comes days before he's to be voted on. What will they find? Newsweek blog The Gaggle notes that Sunstein’s support for animal rights—including the suggestion that if "sheep are going to be used to create clothing, their conditions must be conducive to their welfare"—has already earned the ire of Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Saxby Chambliss (R-GA). Another problem area could be Sunstein's argument that waiting lists for organ transplants would be shortened if people had to opt out of organ donation instead of opting in, a view that has been interpreted as support for forcible organ harvesting. Widely respected by conservative intellectuals (The Wall Street Journal's editorial page approved of his nomination), Sunstein has written to GOP senators affirming his deep support for the Second Amendment. But will it be enough to mollify Glenn Beck’s army, still high on the success of ousting green-jobs czar Van Jones?
Steve Jobs took to the stage at an Apple event in San Francisco Wednesday, marking his first major appearance since a five-month medical leave this year. Jobs opened up by acknowledging the generosity of the organ donor who gave him the new liver that saved his life. The New York Times blogged that he "looks well, though as thin as when he left the company in January." Jobs then went on to tout the latest improvements to the iPhone and iTunes, and also unveiled a new music format called iTunes LP that is meant, according to Jobs, to "get people to buy music albums again." Google's CEO, Eric Schmidt, was also spotted at the event.
Countless politicians have been caught in awkward positions in earshot of a hot mic, but the case of Michael Duvall, a Republican California Assemblyman, outdoes them all: Following a shockingly graphic caught-on-tape conversation about sexual adventures with two women—one of whom is reportedly an energy lobbyist and neither of whom is his wife—Duvall resigned from office Wednesday. Duvall, who is vice chairman of the Committee on Utilities & Commerce and a champion of “family values,” whispered such raunchy comments as, "So, I am getting into spanking her. Yeah, I like it. I like spanking her. She goes, 'I know you like spanking me.' I said, 'Yeah! Because you're such a bad girl!'" and "She wears little eye-patch underwear... And so she’s all, she’s all, ‘I am going up and down the stairs, and you’re dripping out of me!’ So messy!” into a microphone that fed into the legislature’s in-house TV station and are quickly becoming a viral hit on YouTube.
Two documents that are going to make South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford’s life a whole lot worse: First, 60 of the South Carolina House’s 72 Republicans have called on him to resign, in a clear sign that, should he hold on to his seat, he will be impeached. (The House’s 51 Democrats would likely join them in voting for impeachment.) Also, Sanford’s wife, Jenny, has hired a book agent. Jenny’s agent sent out the proposal September 6, and they will talk to potential bidders this week.
Better check the phone lines: The University of Wyoming is set to open the Cheney International Center—a new hub for international students. Cheney and his wife are expected to attend the center’s dedication Thursday, but so are protesters, 150 of whom signed a petition after the university announced its decision. The center is funded, in part, by Cheney’s $3.2 million donation.
Pamela Anderson has never been known for subtlety. A racy new ad for PETA has CNN pulling the former Playboy Playmate from its Airport Network, citing concerns that “children make up part of the demographic in airports.” In the ad, Anderson plays a sexy airport security guard who screens travelers for animal products. She crouches in front of a muscle-bound man and rips his leather belt off, then pulls his pants down. A nude couple passes through security with a smiling wave from Pamela, but a fur-coat-wearing, Ugg-boot-clad woman is dragged away in handcuffs while a chagrined Andy Dick looks on. The tagline: “Cruelty Doesn’t Fly.” Originally scheduled for use in 48 U.S. airports, the ad lives now on YouTube.
America’s original playboy, Hugh Hefner, has filed for divorce after 11 years of estrangement from his wife and former Playmate Kimberly Conrad. TMZ reports that the Playboy magazine publisher claimed “irreconcilable differences” in his L.A. County court documents, listing the date of his separation from Conrad as January 21, 1998. Why the sudden need to make it official? Many have speculated whether Hef, who has gone through a slew of girlfriends in the intervening years, will ever marry again, but the answer could just as easily be financial: Since their 1989 marriage, Hef has supported Conrad, who still lives next door to the Playboy mansion with her two sons. Hefner is reportedly asking the judge to set spousal support at $20,000 months, justifying the relatively small amount with the fact that he’s already given Conrad some $12 million since their separation.
First Tom DeLay on Dancing with the Stars, now this: Former Rep. Mark Foley of Palm Beach County has landed a new job as the host of a radio show that will examine beltway politics for those interested in going "Inside the Mind of Mark Foley." Foley, best known for the lurid emails and instant messages he exchanged with congressional pages (sample: “did you spank it this weekend yourself”), resigned in the fall of 2006 from politics and public life in general—until now. Foley taped the first episode of his show on Tuesday.
The axe is poised at Condé Nast, although it has not yet fallen. According to the New York Observer, the svelte, young, and attractive consultants from McKinsey are nearly ready to submit their final recommendations on the magazine powerhouse to Si Newhouse and CEO Chuck Townsend. During interviews, the consultants focused on job duplications, consolidations, and areas where corners could be cut. Gourmet and Bon Appetit are evidently candidates for reduced publishing schedules, while sources called Details the epitome of "a duplication of effort" thanks to its similarity to GQ. Staffers are also expecting budget cuts that could be as high as 20 to 25 percent, although it's unlikely that cuts will be applied uniformly across the board.
Perhaps this explains why the tall candidate wins in presidential elections. A recent Princeton study published in Economics and Human Biology shows that the taller a person is, the happier, richer, and better-educated that person is likely to be. Evidently, Bloomberg reports, the tall are more likely to have reached full cognitive potential than the short are, possibly because childhood diseases and poor nutrition can stunt growth. Each inch brings a quantifiable improvement too—each additional inch raised happiness levels by the same amount as a 4.4 percent increase in family income for men or a 3.8 percent increase for women.
Legends of media and politics gathered at New York's Lincoln Center to honor Walter Cronkite on Wednesday, reaffirming his reputation as the "most trusted man in America." Only hours before his major speech on health care, President Barack Obama attended the gathering, and told the crowd that he admired Cronkite's "view that journalism is more than just a profession. It is a public good, vital to our democracy." Bill Clinton also spoke, and said that Cronkite was "one of the most interesting men I ever saw." Many of Cronkite's colleagues in the news business were also in attendance, including Tom Brokaw, Katie Couric, and Bob Schieffer. Cronkite was 92 when he died in July. He anchored the CBS Evening News from 1962 to 1981.
Gaming nuts should get their computer screens ready because some of the best land is already gone. Hasbro has launched a massive multi-player online version of its hit game Monopoly that uses Google maps instead of a board. BBC News reports that the goal of the new game, which went live Wednesday, is to become the world's richest real-estate magnate. New players receive $3 million in Monopoly money and can buy up any available street in the world, charge rent on it, and build virtual properties. Players can scuttle their opponents' rent rates by building landfills, prisons, or wind farms on a neighbor's property using a chance card, and afflicted landlords can remove the offending landmarks using the same method. The game will close on January 31, 2010.
Max Baucus has put the GOP on notice: The Senate Finance Committee will begin markup of its health-care bill with or without the GOP, beginning the week of September 21. That’s a victory for President Obama, who is set to address the nation in prime-time on Wednesday night. Baucus will also meet with the bipartisan Group of Six Senate negotiators Wednesday afternoon. “He is making clear in the meeting that it is time for action and time to move forward to get a bill done by the end of the year,” a source tells Politico.
Diane von Furstenberg is evidently a one-woman phenomenon, between her memoirs, civic involvement, and the success of her fashion line. The New York Observer reports that von Furstenberg is the "mayoress" of New York Fashion Week for her modest, idiosyncratic clothing that sells well among upper-middle-class women who aren't quite up to the high fashion houses. Daughter of an Auschwitz survivor and the former wife of a Swiss prince, von Furstenberg first rose to fame thanks to the little wrap dress, which signified sexual independence, a style that was revived 10 years ago. As von Furstenberg puts it, "In the middle of a tsunami, we can't change everything, but I would like to make New York Fashion Week the most dynamic in the world." (Von Furstenberg is married to Barry Diller, CEO of The Daily Beast's parent company, IAC.)
We guess he can go back to railing against Bill O’Reilly: MSNBC host Keith Olbermann has taken back his earlier call to his fans to dig for dirt on Glenn Beck. “I can't think of anything anybody will find that is more embarrassing to Glenn Beck, more condemning of Glenn Beck, more explanatory of Glenn Beck, than to simply re-state the awful truth... he's Glenn Beck,” Olbermann wrote on Daily Kos. “I am talking about calling off the Baker Street Irregulars—while reserving the right to reactivate them.”
Say it ain't so, mortgage lenders. A new report foresees another wave of foreclosures, as option adjustable-rate mortgages—an entire class of specialized home loans—will soon reset to higher payments. Estimated to jump by 63 percent on average, the higher rates will likely push many of the already-strained loan recipients over the brink. The loans, also called pick-a-pay loans, are a prime example of the risky lending techniques that created the housing crisis: Borrowers were allowed to pay back the loan with as little as they wanted each month, though that meant many paid less than the interest due. Borrowers that took out the loan only make up 1.3 percent of outstanding mortgages, according to The Washington Post. Nevertheless, the report says the fallout from the loans could be felt for years, especially in states already hit hard by foreclosures.
Buyer beware: The Associated Press has published photos of Bernie Madoff’s Upper East Side penthouse, which is hitting the market at $7.5 million. The 4,000 square-foot duplex is part of a 12-story building with a doorman and features Chinese sculptures, three walk-in closets, a baby grand piano, and Madoff’s desk. (The furnishings will be auctioned off separately.) The AP also has photos of Madoff’s 8,700 square-foot Palm Beach villa—expected to hit the market at $8.5 million—and his yacht.
Army Archerd, the acclaimed columnist who covered Hollywood gossip for Variety magazine from 1953 to 2005, has died at age 87. He died of mesothelioma, a lung cancer that is often the result of asbestos exposure. Archer was a must-read during the glory days of Hollywood, and he was often used by the stars as a means to keep their names in the headlines. Archer is perhaps best remembered for breaking the story that Rock Hudson had AIDS, a major revelation that changed popular perception of the disease. Variety refers to him as "Hollywood's original blogger."
The Department of Defense is on Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, and YouTube—but it has mixed feelings about soldiers’ online lives. The New York Times reports that the Pentagon is expected to issue a new policy on social media next week, and limiting troop access to social networking sites far from off the table, despite the obvious outcry from homesick soldiers that such a move would invite. The internet’s free-for-all anarchy clashes directly with the military’s tightly-controlled, top-down sense of discipline, NYT explains. Though the Army requires soldiers to register with their commanding officers and submit posts for approval, with password protection and a strong sense of secrecy, plenty of soldiers dodge monitoring. What’s more, monitoring thousands of troops is an increasingly Herculean undertaking, and likely counterproductive. Noting Twitter’s role in Iran’s election uprising, Defense Secretary Robert Gates admitted, “This department, I think, is way behind our curve.”
Some harrowing reporting from McClatchy: Reporter Jonathan Landay was there for an ambush in Afghanistan on Tuesday that killed four U.S. marines—the most trainers to the Afghan military lost in a single incident since 2001. “Dashing from boulder to boulder, diving into trenches and ducking behind stone walls as the insurgents maneuvered to outflank us, we waited more than an hour for U.S. helicopters to arrive, despite earlier assurances that air cover would be five minutes away,” Landay writes. "We are pinned down. We are running low on ammo. We have no air. We've lost today," a major tells his Afghan counterpart. Eight Afghan troops and police and an interpreter also died in the conflict, while three Americans and 19 Afghans were wounded. The bodies of two insurgents were recovered, though more are believed to have been killed.
For the first time, a sitting American president will chair the 15-member U.N. Security Council when Obama heads to the September 24 summit on nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament. The U.S. envoy to the U.N. said that the council had "a very important role to play in preventing the spread and use of nuclear weapons," the Financial Times reports, signaling a change from the Bush-era attitude that the UN was principally out to endorse its own unilateral policies. During the week of the summit, Obama may have occasion to run into Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whom he gave until September to respond to the U.S. offer of negotiations. Likewise, Libya's Muammar Gaddafi is due to address the General Assembly on the same day as Obama, and could attend the nuclear summit Obama will chair.
Call girl Ashley Dupre was not on Spitzer's syllabus Tuesday, as the ex-governor stepped into a City College of New York classroom. The New York Daily News reports that Spitzer is teaching a law and public policy course, and his first lecture had students laughing and clapping. He started off the class by saying, "At this point, you know everything about me." Later, he quipped "Half my friends are at Goldman, or they used to be." He also called Obama's stimulus package "not enough and poorly constructed."
It's hard to say whether the $60.5 billion the U.S. sunk into GM and Chrysler was a good investment. According to a new report by a congressional oversight committee, the bailout may have averted economic armageddon, by rescuing an industry that provides 6.5 percent of the U.S.'s manufacturing jobs. On the other hand, the report found that $5.4 billion of Chrysler's $10.5 billion loan is "highly unlikely" to be repaid, and that GM won't be able to pay back its $50 billion unless its stock reaches what the Post called "unprecedented heights."
Second time’s a charm? Sarah Palin revives her death panel claim in Wednesday’s Wall Street Journal. “Is it any wonder that many of the sick and elderly are concerned that the Democrats’ proposals will ultimately lead to rationing of their health care by—dare I say it—death panels?” she writes. Of course, the reason the elderly are concerned about “death panels” is not because of anything the Democrats have said, but because Republicans like Palin decided invented them as a scare tactic last month. Palin goes on to advocate “market-oriented, patient-centered, and result-driven” health-care solutions.
