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'Buy American' just got more appealing. Toyota is recalling 3.8 million American cars and trucks—the largest recall in its history—because the driver's side floor mats can stick to the gas pedal, which could cause the vehicle to accelerate to high speeds and potentially serious accidents. On Tuesday, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood warned drivers to immediately remove the mats from affected Toyota and Lexus models made since 2004, and the Toyota announcement followed shortly afterward.
The Senate Finance Committee may have shot down amendments to add the public option to the health-care package, but the White House holds the power to keep the option alive. After endless debate in Congress, and a schism between moderates and liberals, Democratic factions are looking to President Obama to pull the party back together. Obama could have the final say on whether the public option ends up in the eventual House-Senate compromise bill. However, Obama has said that though he supports the option, it's only one method of many to keep health-care costs down. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) remains upbeat: "[The public option] was given up for dead a few weeks ago, but what we find is every time we debate it... we pick up more support. Every day I am more optimistic..." The deciding factor may be whether the president wants to pass a bill with 60 votes—which would have the patina of bipartisanship—or with 51. The latter may be the public option's only realistic hope.
Tsunami waves topping 13 feet crashed into American Samoa after an 8.0-magnitude subsea earthquake shook the Pacific islands Tuesday. Though fatalities are hard to estimate at this point—due in part a large number of small, sea-level villages with weak communication—USA Today reports at least 34 dead and multiple villages leveled in Samoa and American Samoa (the latter of which is a U.S. territory). A local radio host said that "right now, everybody is up in the high mountain ranges." Thousands of people live at sea level in the area, but fortunately there was no Pacific ocean-wide tsunami like the one that claimed 230,000 lives in 11 countries in 2004.
A notorious fundraiser for Hillary Clinton and other political candidates was sentenced to more than 24 years in prison for violating federal campaign-finance laws and for his role in a Ponzi scheme. In 2007, Clinton's campaign had to return $850,000 in funds raised through Norman Hsu, a California businessman. It was later revealed that Hsu was able to bundle the money by pressuring investors in his Ponzi scheme—through which he stole $20 million—to donate to candidates of his choosing. He was so successful that Clinton herself left Hsu a voicemail in which she thanked him by gushing, "What am I going to do with you, Norman? You are working so hard for me… I just don't even know what to say anymore. I've never seen anybody who has been more loyal and more effective and really just having greater success supporting someone than you."
Guinean soldiers opened fire on pro-democracy protestdrs in Conakry, the capital of Guinea, on Tuesday, killing 157 and injuring more than 1,000. Reports say that some of the presidential guard troops sexually assaulted women in the streets. The violent crackdown on the 50,000-strong rally has led to both increased international pressure on the government and increased nerves among mining companies operating in the West African nation. (When Guinea's president died in December, Capt. Moussa Dadis Camara seized power, promising not to contest new elections. He has since reneged on that promise.) This week's violence was condemned by the African Union, a rare step as the group usually does not criticize its members. And France has severed military ties with its former colony. But mining companies Rusal and Rio Tinto are keeping quiet, unsure who in the government will eventually triumph. Protesters had been chanting, "We want a true democracy."
Feast your eyes on the ladies of the right in the must-have calendar of 2010, Clare Boothe Luce Institute’s Great Conservative American Women Calendar. Among the right-wing pinups: Miss USA contestant Carrie Prejean, Fox News personality Michelle Malkin, Ann Coulter, a surprisingly spry Phyllis Schlafly, and one congresswoman—Minnesota’s Rep. Michele Bachmann. In the softly lit photos, the women wear chic white shirts with jeans, warm smiles, and windblown hair—tousled, surely, by the soft breeze of a soaring eagle's wings.
But did she really nail Palin? Lynn Vincent took leave from her post at the Christian publication World Magazine, where she'd worked for a decade, to be ghostwriter for Sarah Palin's book, Going Rogue: An American Life, due out in November. But Vincent can't talk about it—she signed a non-disclosure agreement. Vincent retired from the Navy as an air traffic controller in 1991 and settled in San Deigo. Since then, she has written books about a Christian pop singer, a former terrorist, and an Army general, but her most successful work was an inspirational book about a rich art dealer who befriended a homeless man. Same Kind of Different as Me sold more than half a million copies and spent 75 weeks on The New York Times bestseller list—prompting Mark Clayman, executive producer of the sappy American Dream-themed The Pursuit of Happyness—to pick up the movie rights.
Michelle Obama will bring her well-known White House gardening skills to the set of Sesame Street for the November 10 premiere of the TV series’ 40th season. The first lady notably initiated the first fruit and vegetable garden at the presidential quarters since WWII and will encourage the show’s viewers to do the same. While planting tomato, cucumber, and lettuce seeds with the street’s famous inanimate tenants, Mrs. Obama will teach the program’s child audience the value of eating healthy and growing one’s own produce. The upcoming 40th season of Sesame Street is part of a two-year initiative called “My World Is Green & Growing.”
It’s not Dan Rather’s year. The newsman has had his $70 million lawsuit against his former employer, CBS, dismissed by a New York state appeals court. Rather was claiming that CBS damaged his reputation by blaming him for a 2004 story on President George W. Bush’s Vietnam-era Texas National Guard service. The breach of contract and fraud suit filed two years ago claimed Rather lost out on money-making opportunities because of the controversy. The ruling claimed that "Rather admits that, the broadcast and its aftermath aside, CBS was already contemplating that he would step down from its anchor position in 2006 and assume a reduced role." Rather's lawyers say he plans to appeal the decision.
Najibullah Zazi, the Afghan immigrant accused by federal officials of orchestrating an al Qaeda plot to set off bombs in New York, pleaded not guilty to terrorism conspiracy charges in a Brooklyn court today. The 24-year-old was arrested in Denver on September 20 on charges that he lied about an alleged plot to build bombs from chemicals purchased at a beauty supply store. Zazi was flown to New York from Denver on Friday and investigators say he may have had three accomplices. Outside the courtroom, his lawyer said, “To use a hackneyed phrase, I’d like to stop this rush to judgment, because what I’ve seen so far does not amount to a conspiracy.”
Following the split of Jon and Kate Gosselin, TLC is retooling its hit show Jon and Kate Plus 8 to reflect the change: The next season will simply be Kate Plus 8. The announcement comes after months of screaming tabloid coverage and messy talk-show finger-pointing from the reality-TV couple, whose show chronicled the challenges of raising eight children. Although the Ed Hardy-wearing dad does seem to have some regrets, telling In Touch Weekly: “I regret my conduct since Kate and I separated…I used poor judgment in publicly socializing with other women so soon,” and has tried to stall the divorce to “regain control over the future of our family.” The dramatic split has been ratings gold for the network, and this season of the show has averaged 3.2 million viewers per episode.
Moderates have beaten liberals within the Democratic Party on a key piece of health-care legislation: The Senate Finance Committee has voted to kill a public-insurance plan that would compete with private insurers, and it wasn’t very close. The 15-to-8 vote bodes poorly for the public option’s chances when the whole Senate debates it. Five committee Democrats, including Chairman Max Baucus of Montana, voted to defeat the measure.
American Girl dolls are designed to be educational, but the newly released Gwen Thompson, a pristinely dressed homeless character that sells for $95, has raised more than a few eyebrows. Some critics are surprised that the doll isn't being used as a fundraising tool for actual homeless people, but has instead been marketed like any other toy from the über-successful toy empire. One advocate for the homeless found "the whole concept to be extremely disturbing. It's not a doll I would ever buy for a child."
Harry Benson went where few people have gone before—Michael Jackson's bedroom. Through their decade-and-half-long professional relationship, Benson captured the King of Pop on camera not only at the infamous Neverland Ranch, but also during his legendary Victory tour and the all-night "We Are the World" recording session. That night, Benson recalled Prince phoning Quincy Jones and wondering if he should join in. Jackson reportedly said, "Prince will never come while I am here." At other times, Benson literally gave Jackson the shirt off his back—actually, three tweed jackets the artist had admired. Though he's not wearing them in any of the four images Benson just unearthed, Jackson does don his ubiquitous black fedora while playing the piano, gazing at some bedazzled memorabilia, and playing with his pet chimp, Bubbles.
Maybe California can blame its budget woes on a Schwarzenegger curse? The rights to the Terminator franchise are for sale for the fourth time since the original movie was released in 1984. The rights currently belong to Derek Anderson and Victor Kubicek, the novice producers who bought them two years ago for $25 million and made this year's Terminator: Salvation. Several companies under the producers' Halcyon Holding Group are going through bankruptcy, and in an earlier filing, Anderson claimed that the rights—Halcyon's only valuable asset—are now worth more than $60 million.
What led to Roman Polanski’s arrest 30 years after he fled the country? According to the New York Daily News, Polanski’s lawyers said in court papers that the Los Angeles County district attorney wasn’t really hunting him down. That, of course, caught the district attorney’s attention. Meanwhile, Polanski’s next film, Ghost, has been put on hold. It stars Pierce Brosnan as a former British prime minister resembling Tony Blair and Ewan McGregor as his ghostwriter.
We may not be seeing as much of her these days, but absence makes the heart grow fonder: Politico surveyed “nearly 50 prominent Republican Party officials and politicians, representing every region of the country” and they still love Sarah Palin. She was particularly popular in the West and among evangelical Christians and small-town Republicans. Someone might want to show these Party leaders Palin’s national popularity numbers.
Is the Obamas’ in-person bid for the 2016 Olympics proactive or not worth the risk? While the president’s presence will undoubtedly increase Chicago’s chances of winning the summer games--Obama will be the first U.S. president to make an in-person speech--if such a grand gesture fails, it could harm his political clout. “You’re darned if you do, and you’re darned if you don’t,” Michelle Obama, who will also go to Copenhagen for the pitch, told reporters Monday. “I’d rather be on the side of doing it, and I think that’s how the president feels.” Chicago’s biggest threat is considered to be Rio de Janeiro, though good chances have also been predicted for Madrid and Tokyo. The decision comes Friday.
As the worst floods to hit the Philippines in over 40 years continue to take their toll, officials in Manila estimate some 240 dead, $30 million in damages, and sweeping concerns about typhoid, disease, sanitation, and hidden costs—like the one-third of the Filipino population who work “off the books” and risk falling into financial peril the longer the nation remains in flux. At the peak of Typhoon Ketsana, 80 percent of capital city Manila was underwater, with waves of water crashing over the roofs of cars and filling the ground floors of buildings. The Wall Street Journal reports that rescue delays in Manila have prompted criticism of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, whose anointed successor in next year’s election—Gilbert Teodoro—is current secretary of defense, and has also fallen under criticism for the disaster response. Some 8,000 people were rescued and 69,000 evacuated to emergency centers in Manila; the Philippines is home to 90 million, with one-third of the population living on less than $2 a day.
Roman Polanski may not be the most unpopular man called back from Europe this week: Joseph Cassano, the former head of AIG Financial Products, has returned with his family from London to their home in Westport Connecticut, according to Reuters. Cassano’s former unit was responsible for most of AIG’s massive losses, and Cassano himself was "as responsible for a series of disastrous trades as a person in a big company can be," Michael Lewis wrote in Vanity Fair. Some had thought that his unpopularity plus several investigations into AIG would keep him in London. "Despite what you have read, Joe owns no house in London. His house is here and it is where he lives. He is not ducking anyone," according to his lawyer. Cassano has not been working since September 2008, when his $1 million-a-month contract with AIG ended.
The death of DJ AM, the famed Hollywood turn-tablist, last month has been ruled "accidental," according to the New York City medical examiner's office. The medical examiner attributes AM's (whose real name is Adam Goldstein) death to a lethal combination of cocaine and prescription drugs, including oxycodone, hydrocodone, Ativan, Klonopin, Xanax, Benadryl, and Levamisole. Though the 36-year-old DJ had been sober for over a decade, Tuesday's toxicology report deems the cause of death acute intoxication. One month after paramedics found Goldstein in his SoHo apartment, strewn with a crack pipe and prescription pill bottles, what was once speculated suicide is now laid to rest as a tragic mistake.
Second-place American Idol winner Adam Lambert out-sold Madonna, the Beatles, and Susan Boyle in Amazon.com pre-sales on Monday, falling second only to Barbra Streisand’s first new album in four years. The best part about it? Not only did RCA not publicize that pre-release ordering would be available, the singer’s record label didn’t even announce it. The news spread by word of mouth after a dedicated fan found the album on Amazon Sunday morning. Within hours, Twitter, Idol blogs, and Lambert fan sites spread the news like wildfire. The album, which will be out November 24 and doesn’t even have a name yet, will include tracks worked on by Lady Gaga’s producer RedOne, One Republic singer Ryan Tedder, and Swedish songwriter Max Martin, the force behind the hit “Since U Been Gone.”
The White House hinted on Monday that it may miss its self-imposed deadline of January 22, 2010 for closing the prison at Guantanamo Bay. “We’re not focused on whether or not the deadline will or won’t be met on a particular day,” said Press Secretary Robert Gibbs. “We’re focused on ensuring that the facility is closed and doing all that has to be done between now and the 22nd of January to make the most progress that we can that’s possible.” According to The New York Times, some of Obama’s advisers have privately concluded that it was a mistake just two days after Obama took office to set a date for the closure of the prison, when the difficulty of the task ahead was not entirely clear.
The U.S. is getting ready to draw a line in the sand when it comes to Iran. The U.S. plans to economically isolate Iran from the rest of the world by 2010 if Tehran does not agree to allow international inspectors to examine its nuclear program, according to The Washington Post. The Obama administration’s plan, led by Treasury Under Secretary Stuart Levey, would include establishing new sanctions as well as intensifying already-existing ones, and would focus on insurance and reinsurance companies, which are key for international shipping. The plan is at least in part in response to two days of missile tests in Iran last week. "Towards the end of the year, we'll be able to calculate how much progress [has been made]. … If they continue to fail to answer the questions, then obviously there will be implications and consequences to that, as well,” said State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley.
It’s not the first time former Gov. Sarah Palin has finished early. A mere four months after embarking on her memoir, Palin is done, and consequently the release date for Going Rogue: An American Life has been bumped up to November 17, after originally being slated for a spring release. The book clocks in at 400 pages, and the publisher of Harper said Palin had thrown herself into writing it with great enthusiasm: "Gov. Palin has been unbelievably conscientious and hands-on at every stage, investing herself deeply and passionately in this project. It's her words, her life, and it's all there in full and fascinating detail." The book will have a first printing of 1.5 million copies, equal to the first printing of Ted Kennedy's memoir.
A little more than a year since his son’s death, Timothy J. Russert, the father of the late Meet the Press host Tim Russert, has passed away. Tim Russert wrote about his father in the 2004 bestseller Big Russ & Me. The elder Mr. Russert grew up in Buffalo and worked two jobs to support his family, driving a city sanitation truck and a delivery truck for The Buffalo News. He was 85.
The ongoing Colorado investigation into Afghan immigrant Najibullah Zazi’s alleged plot to build bombs from chemicals purchased at a beauty supply store took a chilling turn Monday when investigators identified three possible accomplices, the Associated Press reports. Investigators reportedly know the three people’s identities; they hail from New York City and are accused of helping Zazi make his purchases in Aurora, Colorado. Zazi maintains his innocence, even as officials claim they found in his possession notes on how to turn 18 bottles of peroxide-based hair bleach into explosives. Zazi’s father and imam face charges for lying to investigators.
The slow trickle out of Gitmo continues: Seventy-five detainees being held at Guantanamo Bay have been cleared for release by the Obama administration. The detainees likely learned of the news by reading a document posted by the military around the dreaded prison in Cuba, which lists the names of those cleared for release. A task force is examining the cases of the 223 prisoners remaining at Gitmo one by one to determine whether they should be tried or released to other countries. Some of the latest prisoners to have been cleared are two Uzbeks sent to Ireland, a Yemeni man sent back his home country, and 13 Uighurs awaiting release to the island of Palau. Defense Secretary Robert Gates recently expressed skepticism about meeting President Obama's January 22 deadline for closing the prison.
The fresh new face of Saturday Night Live dropped a big “F” bomb on the sketch-comedy show’s live season premiere on Saturday night, but she won’t be fired, according to US Magazine. Hosted by Megan Fox, the episode featured the newbie, Jenny Slate, 27, expressing herself through pseudo-swear words like “freakin’.” Later in the sketch, however, things got more serious: "You know what? You stood up for yourself, and I fucking love you for that," Slate said. Although the original word was projected straight to TV screens on the East Coast, the network had time to replace it with another “freakin’” by the time the show made it to the West Coast. Executives apparently called a meeting after the show to discuss the slip-up, NBC spokeswoman Sharon Pannozzo said, "[There is] no truth to firing conjecture. … She will not be fired." Slate’s f-word dropped after prime time at 12:40 a.m., which means neither the show nor the network will have to pay FCC fines.
Four teens have been arrested for the brutal murder of Chicago honor student Derrion Albert, CNN reports, following the release of a digital video recording of Albert’s death. Nineteen-year-old Silvanus Shannon admitted during police questioning on Monday night that authorities correctly identified him as the man in the video who jumps on Albert’s head while he is lying on the ground, cracking his skull. Prosecutors say that Shannon and his alleged accomplices—16-year-old Eric Carson, 18-year-old Eugene Riley, and 17-year-old Eugene Bailey—have been charged with murder, and at least three are being held without bail. Prosecutors say Albert was an “innocent bystander” on his way to the bus stop when a street fight broke out near his school in Chicago’s South Side. The video, shot by a witness, has appeared on national television and YouTube, and was also turned over to the police. It depicts Riley hitting Albert on the head with a railroad tie, Shannon stomping on his head, and others kicking him while he lays in varying states of consciousness. In the background, a female voice says “Derrion, get up!” as several teens struggle to help Albert as his attackers dissipate.
The one actor from Friends whose name you don’t recognize—James Michael Tyler, otherwise known as Gunther, the manager of Central Perk—is saying that a film adaptation of Friends is “definitely on,” according to the New York Daily News. “I still keep in touch with a lot of the cast and they say that they are really keen." Lisa Kudrow has gone on the record saying she would be interested in a film version, though she was unsure if the project was feasible. Tyler made the comments while in London, where he was launching the opening of a Central-Perk-themed coffee shop.
Looks like the U.S. Airways fliers lined up to take a ride with “Miracle on the Hudson” pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger will have to wait a little longer. The hero pilot, who saved the passengers of Flight 1549 after birds broke the plane’s engines over the Hudson River last January, has announced that while he’s ready to go back to work, it’s in a new and unexpected capacity. Instead of safely navigating faulty planes while they’re airborne, Sully will now make them safe when they’re still on the ground as well, in his new role as a member of the airline’s flight operations safety management team. “The months since January 15 have been very full, and my family and I have had some unforgettable experiences. … However, I have missed working with my colleagues at U.S. Airways and I am eager to get back in the cockpit with my fellow pilots in the months ahead. In my new role, I will continue to be the same kind of advocate for aviation safety that I have been for several decades,” the pilot said in a statement.
