The Obama administration is quieting Pakistani objections to U.S drone attacks on militants in their country by granting them greater control over the air strikes. In a new collaboration, the U.S. military drones will be allowed for the first time to leave Afghanistan’s borders and target Taliban militants under the direction of Pakistani military officials. U.S. military in Afghanistan have been powerless to pursue insurgents once they cross the border into Pakistan—the task was once the domain of the CIA. This new collaboration could change that, though Pakistani officials are ambivalent about using the drones to fire on their own people. Taliban fighters are presenting a growing threat to Pakistan’s capital as well, as Afghanistan. “This is about building trust,” a senior U.S. military official tells the Los Angeles Times.

Scary projections from the government: The Great Recession has wiped out the financial underpinnings of the Medicare and Social Security programs. According to the official yearly appraisal of the two giant entitlement programs, Medicare’s trust fund is now projected to run out of money in 2017, two years earlier than projected a year ago; Social Security will be insolvent in 2037, a full four years earlier than last year’s estimate. It’s far worse news than during the weaker recession earlier this decade, which hardly dented the trust funds that support the programs, and the report shows that fewer workers are paying into both systems.

The identity of the soldier who killed five comrades Monday in Iraq has been revealed, though his motive remains a mystery. Sergeant John M. Russell, a 44-year-old from Texas on his third tour of duty in Iraq, snapped at a stress clinic in Baghdad, turning a weapon on his brothers in arms and fatally injuring five. The Washington Post reports that one of Russell’s commanders had taken his weapon away, an uncommon decision that indicates he was showing signs of severe depression. The tragedy highlights the growing problem of suicide among the armed forces: In 2008, 140 soldiers killed themselves, a sharp increase from 2007. In April, it was reported that at least 48 soldiers had taken their own lives so far in 2009.

Even on weeknights, the White House is a party house. The Obamas hosted a star-studded poetry jam Tuesday night that President Obama said was meant to “celebrate the power of words.” Michelle, meanwhile, told guests to “enjoy, have fun, and be loose.” Several writers of various backgrounds performed, including James Earl Jones and Mayda del Valle. Director Spike Lee, ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos, and even veep Joe Biden were spotted in the crowd, enjoying music from bassist Eric Lewis and singer Esperanza Spalding. “Our goal really is to bring the house alive,’’ White House social secretary Desiree Rogers said. Since Inauguration Day, the Obamas have hosted Sheryl Crow, Stevie Wonder, Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas, and Paul Muldoon, a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet from Ireland.

Big news from the Astor trial, which is now offering daily tidbits about New York City society: Charlene Marshall—whose husband, Anthony, is accused of changing his senile mother’s will—was none too happy about Brooke Astor’s long life. Astor, who died in 2007, at 105, “is killing him. She’s f----- killing him,” Charlene said in 2001, according to testimony by Astor’s social secretary. The younger woman suspected that if her husband died before Astor, she would be left out of an inheritance of millions of dollars. According to the social secretary, Marshall was overheard saying “If [my husband] dies before I do, I get nothing.” At one point as the statement was read to the court, “a red-faced Charlene was seen mouthing, ‘It’s wrong!’” the Post reports. But the only damage may be to Charlene’s reputation: The judge ruled that the secretary’s statement was irrelevant.

Will Tina Fey be in it? Gov. Sarah Palin has signed on to write a memoir for HarperCollins for an undisclosed amount. The Alaska governor says she sees the book as an “unfiltered forum to get to speak truthfully about who we are and what we stand for and what Alaska is all about.” She tells the Anchorage Daily News that she’s excited to put her journalism degree to work in penning the book, though a collaborator will help her write it. The book will address her time as mayor of Wasilla, as well as her rise to fame during the presidential election as Sen. John McCain’s running mate. Palin laughed off rumors this January that publishers were offering her an $11 million advance for her story, but she won’t disclose the amount she’s been paid by HarperCollins, saying she wants the focus to be on the content of the book. Ubiquitous agent Bob Barnett secured her the deal.

Pope Benedict didn’t actually think he could tour the Holy Land and avoid controversy, did he? Touring some of the holiest sites tied to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, the pontiff has run into one problem after another while trying to convey his message of peace. During his visit Monday to the Holocaust memorial in Israel, he disappointed Jews by not directly addressing the Nazi atrocities of World War II. Many felt his remarks were too distant, especially considering he had firsthand experience with Nazi Germany in his youth. On Tuesday, another of the pope’s appearances—at an event to encourage interfaith dialogue—was disrupted by a Muslim cleric who went on an anti-Israel tirade, prompting a walkout by the Vatican delegation. The pope’s spokesman has been working overtime trying to control the bad PR, Time reports: “Sometimes he feels he is not well understood.”

After deadlocked juries resulted in two mistrials, a Florida jury has finally convicted five men of conspiring with Al Qaeda in the “Liberty Six” terrorism case. One man, Naudimar Herrera, was acquitted of the charges, while the group’s ringleader, Narseal Batiste, was charged on all four counts of terrorism. The FBI rounded up the men in a sting operation in 2006, when an FBI informant posed as an Al Qaeda member. Batiste and his men took footage of various FBI buildings for the informant, who promised to help Batiste in his plan to blow up Chicago’s Sears Building. The defense team said the informant’s actions were a “setup,” and no incriminating materials were found when the FBI raided the group’s warehouse at the end of the sting. Batiste faces up to 70 years in prison.

The International Criminal Court recently indicted Sudan’s president for war crimes including pillaging, rape, torture, and murder—and sources say he’ll soon be charged with genocide—but Omar al-Bashir claims the 300,000 reported civilian deaths since the conflict in Darfur began in 2003 are greatly exaggerated. The country’s campaign against African rebel groups has increasingly targeted civilians over the past six years, but Bashir tells the BBC he had a responsibility to fight the insurgency. “We have never fought against our citizens, we have not killed our citizens,” he said. Bashir claims rebel groups are using human shields, and he estimates the death toll at less than a tenth of the 300,000 reported by the United Nations.

A cockpit voice recorder transcript was released today for Flight 3407, the Buffalo-bound flight that crashed and killed 50 people on February 12. “Just seconds before the worst U.S. air crash in more than seven years, the pilot exclaimed ‘Jesus Christ’ and moments later his co-pilot screamed as Flight 3407 plunged to the ground,” writes the Associated Press. Minutes before the crash, the pilot and copilot chatted about their fear of flying in icy weather and even noted the buildup on the wings. “It’s a lot of ice,” said First Officer Rebecca Shaw. "Oh yeah that's the most I've seen, most ice I've seen on the leading edges in a long time, in a while anyway I should say," said Captain Marvin Renslow. Speaking of her inexperience, Shaw said that if she were captain, “I'd’ve have like seen this much ice and thought, 'Oh my gosh, we were going to crash.'”

After months behind bars in Iran’s Evin prison, U.S. journalist Roxana Saberi is finally free—and thanking her supporters. “I’m very happy to be released and to be with my father and mother again,” she said Tuesday in Tehran. “I’m thanking all those people around the world who knew me or who didn’t know me but helped my release.” But why was the 32-year-old Iranian-American, who freelanced for NPR and the BBC, jailed for espionage in the first place? One of her Iranian lawyers says a confidential Iranian document about the U.S. invasion of Iraq was used as evidence against her. Saberi obtained and copied the document while working as a translator but did not pass it on to the Americans, the lawyer said.

When the bosses are selling the stock in their company, you know bankruptcy is around the corner. Shares of General Motor fell by 22 percent Tuesday, as six GM executives revealed they had "sold almost $315,000 in stock and liquidated their remaining direct holdings in the automaker," Reuters reports. It appears likely that the once-mighty automaker's stock will either be worthless altogether, or worth less than two cents a share. GM has been listed on the Dow Jones Industrial Average for 83 years in a row, second only to General Electric. Now, its total value of $690 million makes it one of the smallest companies on the Dow.

In this week’s New Republic, Dexter Filkins takes a look back at Iraq and ahead to Afghanistan. Why did the surge work? “The chief reason for the new strategy's success was that all the American troops, not just the new ones, were deployed in a new and riskier way: directly into Iraqi neighborhoods, in small outposts,” Filkins writes. “This put American soldiers among the Iraqis, who for years had been reluctant to cooperate with the Americans for fear of being killed by insurgents after the Americans went back to their bases.” After eight years of neglect, President Obama seems determined to try to repeat Iraq’s successes in Afghanistan. “When American military officers launched the surge in Iraq, many of them were deeply skeptical about its chances for success. They tried it anyway, and it worked. And so in Afghanistan, too, we are going to try. But we must beware of facile analogies about surges and awakenings. It is a different world in South Asia. The war in Afghanistan is in its eighth year. Every day Pakistan lurches closer to collapse. Obama's proposals may be too late. Failure is always an option.”

The U.S. has finally joined the club. In a reversal of Bush administration policy, the U.S. has been elected to a seat on the U.N. Human Rights Council as part of President Obama's plan to reengage the world. During the Bush years, the U.S. rejected a seat on the council due to the membership of other countries with poor human rights records, as well as a perceived bias against Israel. The council has faced much criticism for its focus on Israel, as well as its failure to produce a substantial condemnation of the atrocities in Sudan. Other members on the council include Cuba, Saudi Arabia, China and Russia.

Did anyone really think Donald Trump would kick Miss California to the curb? Trump, the owner of the Miss USA pageant, has declared that Miss California can keep her crown, saying that the racy photos that endangered her title are “fine.” Trump’s decision comes after TMZ found new nude photos of Carrie Prejean, which, unlike the first batch, were definitely taken when she was of a legal age.

We thought firing meant your bosses gave up the right to tell you what to do, but apparently we just don’t understand banking: “Bank of America Corp is telling fired employees that they cannot accept job offers from competitors for three months unless they give up either deferred compensation or their right to sue the bank,” reports Reuters. “[I]f they go to work for a competitor during that period, they must either sign a waiver effectively giving up their right to sue for discrimination, or give up uncollected deferred compensation. … Bank of America's steps reflect a shifting balance of power on Wall Street—banks increasingly have the power to name their terms when hiring and firing employees as the number of jobs in the industry shrinks.”

Here's a piece of news one rarely sees: The war on drugs is actually producing some results. Across the globe, the cocaine market is "in retreat" as anti-narcotic operations have had their desired effect. Drug traffickers' newfound difficulties in moving their cocaine is reflected in the rising price of a kilo, as well as the growing tendency to cut the drug with other chemicals as a means to increase profits. Harmful chemicals such as "the cancer-causing drug phenacetin, cockroach insecticide and pet worming powder" have turned up in cocaine in the U.K., according to the BBC.

Survivors from the small village that was bombed by U.S. forces made the solemn hike to a local town to receive reparations from the government of Afghanistan Tuesday. A commission appointed by President Hamid Karzai found that 140 innocent were killed in the bombing, which occurred during a battle between U.S. troops and Taliban fighters. The U.S. disputes the number of civilians killed. Villagers received $2,000 for each family member killed and $1,000 for each injured person. One local who lost two nephews in the bombing told the Los Angeles Times, "It doesn't make the pain in my heart go away. We all have to leave this earth, but this cannot be explained."

Slate launched today a new women’s website, doubleX. What’s there to see? Linda Hirschman paints a target on rival women’s website, Jezebel, arguing “Given the high level of risk the Jezebel life involves, it is surprising that the offense that arouses the liberated Jezebels to real political fury is the suggestion that women like them might be made responsible for the consequences of their own acts, or that there might be general standards that define basic feminist behavior. … Doing what feels good to you is the only standard that is allowed.” Christine Rosen, diagnosing the problems with contemporary feminism, writes “If, as Joan Didion noted of the women’s movement in 1972, ‘to make an omelette you need not only those broken eggs but someone “oppressed” to break them,’ today you need the women who spend their days buying organic eggs from Whole Foods and mommy-blogging about the frittatas they made for their kids to question seriously their life choices.”

The possible final chapter of Michael Jackson's bizarre career is unfolding in a building near the Burbank airport in Los Angeles. There, the king of pop has begun rehearsing for his 50-show extravaganza in London that is being touted as the most expensive, over-the-top concert to ever be performed. Rumors abound of a new dance move that will be the "moonwalk" for the new millennium, Cirque de Soleil-style aerial dancers, a duet with Jacko's son, Prince Michael, 22 different sets, and even elephants and monkeys on stage. Jackson has hired a cast of elite backup dancers and is collaborating with one of the most successful choreographers in the biz. Still, Jacko has his doubters, as he has a bit of a reputation for being—well—wacko.

Major corporations are taking aim at the administration's repeal of overseas tax breaks, settling the stage for the White House's first contentious and expensive PR battle. "We're going to spend whatever it takes," said the senior director of congressional relations for the Business Roundtable, which represents the interests of some of the largest companies in the U.S. President Obama has claimed the country can gain $210 billion over the next decade if the tax loophole is closed. "This really is the mother of all schisms between the business community and the administration," one top lobbyist told Politico. "It also could create massive fractioning among the business community."

A Milwaukee Archbishop who resigned after a sex scandal in 2002 has written a new memoir admitting that he’s gay. Archbishop Rembert G. Weakland, once a hero of liberal Catholics, stepped down after a male theological student accused him of rape and alleged that Weakland offered him $450,000 to cover it up. But now Weakland is coming clean in a new book, A Pilgrim in a Pilgrim Church: Memoirs of a Catholic Archbishop, due out in June.  "I was very careful and concerned that the book not become a Jerry Springer, to satisfy people's prurient curiosity or anything of this sort," Weakland said. And it does seem the former Archbishop is publishing the book for personal, rather than financial, reasons: all proceeds will be donated to a Catholic charity.

When "don't ask, don't tell" became a policy during the Clinton era, it was controversial, but hailed as a progressive move. Now, the notion that gay men and women in the armed forces must conceal their sexuality or be dismissed could not seem more antiquated. Writing for CNN's AC360 blog, Robert Zimmerman says that President Obama, with the help of the Democratic majority, should follow up on his campaign promise and do away with the rule that has led to the departure of 12,500 troops who came out of the closet. At a time when the military is already "stretched thin," "don't ask, don't tell" only exacerbates the situation while also trampling on gay men and women's rights.

The recession isn’t entirely bad: The New York Post reports that the home of Victoria Gotti, the daughter of John Gotti and star of the reality show Growing Up Gotti, has been foreclosed. Gotti owes $650,000 on the $4.2 million Long Island home, which she won from her ex-husband during their divorce settlement. Asked for comment, Gotti said “This should finally put to rest all the government lies and rumors that I have $200 million buried in my back yard." The Post writes, “Unlike the landscaped lawns that surround neighboring homes, Gotti's unkempt property is covered with weeds and moldering leaves. Trash is spilling out of overturned garbage cans and loose wires hang from the security intercom.” Said one neighbor, who asked to remain unidentified, "Good riddance.”

Some clucked when Susan Boyle corrected her unibrow and donned new clothes, but the YouTube sensation doesn’t think she’s any different. “Depends what you mean by a makeover,” the Britain’s Got Talent singer tells Oprah an interview that will air today. “I mean, my best friend actually helps me with my makeup. You know, I mean, that’s hardly a makeover.” She continues, “I think change is always very hard to come by at first, but I'm really enjoying it and really enjoying every second of it. It's like a dream come true."

Welcome, Iraq, to the global recession: For the first time, the Iraqi economy is beginning to slow. Originally safe from the global economic downturn because of high oil revenues and its unsophisticated banking system, Iraq enjoyed (if little else) relative economic prosperity. But with a dip in international oil prices and a string of high-profile bombings in April, over 25 percent of men ages 18 to 29 are unemployed. Now, the government needs to create jobs for young men entering the job market to keep them from entering the insurgency for economic support. “Security and economic prosperity are interconnected,” said Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki last month. “We cannot talk about stable security with economic progress.”  

It seems Hollywood tycoon David Geffen really wants to buy a newspaper: He tried to purchase a 19-percent stake in the ailing New York Times last month but ended up withdrawing his offer when the hedge fund owners at Harbinger Capital Partners wanted more money for the deal. Geffen’s been on the hunt for a paper for a few years—he offered $2 billion for the Los Angeles Times in 2006, and reiterated his request in 2007, when the Tribune Company was $12 billion in debt. Another tidbit: Google was also considering buying the 19-percent stake, but ultimately turned it down.

Yet more grim news from General Motors: CEO Fritz Henderson sounds open to the idea of moving the company’s headquarters out of downtown Detroit to save money. “We’re looking at everything,” he said Monday, though he added there are no plans yet to move from the beleaguered city, which already has an unemployment rate of 21 percent. Execs aren’t only thinking about abandoning the Motor City: Bloomberg reports that six executives sold all their shares in the company as the June 1 deadline for filing bankruptcy or restructuring looms. Fritz said it’s more likely than previously thought that GM will have to file for bankruptcy. Vice Chairman Bob Lutz sold all 81,360 of his shares at $1.61 each, while North America President Troy Clarke unloaded all 21,380 of his at $1.45 a piece.

Fidel Castro is not happy about Cuba’s first case of swine flu, and he has a theory: “Mexican authorities did not inform the world of the presence [of swine flu], while they waited for Obama's visit,” he wrote on the Cuban government’s website. Obama visited Mexico on April 16, and health officials announced the disease was spreading a week later. A scientific analysis of swine flu’s spread, meanwhile, revealed “the virus is slightly more dangerous than the one that caused a million deaths in the 1968 pandemic, but that it is nowhere near as deadly as the Spanish flu of 1918 that killed 50 million,” according to The Times of London. Also, “The scientists have estimated that about 23,000 people contracted swine flu in Mexico before the end of April, when the WHO had confirmed only 257 infections worldwide, 97 of which were in Mexico. The number of confirmed cases rose yesterday to 4,694, including 53 deaths.”

A feather for President Obama’s cap? Politico reports that “The Obama White House is playing an unprecedented role in the bid to bring the 2016 Summer Olympics to Chicago, with top adviser Valerie Jarrett spearheading an effort that draws on the international symbolism of his presidency.” The initiative is not run directly from the White House, but is relying on Obama confidantes and fundraisers as well as the international goodwill he has engendered. Since his election, Obama has recorded two videos supporting Chicago’s bid.  Writes Politico, “[it’s] a strategy veteran Olympics watchers say is paying dividends and could result in an enormous hometown farewell party if Obama wins a second term.”

Are the stress tests working? According to Ben Bernanke, “Government ‘stress tests’ of how 19 major banks would endure a sharp downturn in the economy already appear to be helping banks gain access to private capital,” reports Reuters. More good financial news from Reuters: “Citigroup Inc, the bank bailed out with $45 billion of U.S. taxpayers' money, is using almost all of that money to make new loans.” Bank of America, meanwhile, sold $7.3 billion worth of shares in China Construction Bank in order to help raise the $34 billion in capital the stress test said it needed.

“This is a very big deal,” Fred Kaplan writes at Slate of President Obama’s plan to replace General David McKiernan, commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, with General Stanley McChrystal. “McKiernan's ouster signals a dramatic shift in U.S. strategy for the war in Afghanistan. And it means that the war is now, unequivocally, ‘Obama's war.’” So who’s the man Obama may be staking his presidency on? “Gen. McChrystal, a Green Beret who has spent most of the last year as the top staff officer to Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, spent the previous five years commanding special operations forces in Iraq—units that specialize in guerrilla warfare, including the training of indigenous armies,” reports The Wall Street Journal. “Like Gen. David H. Petraeus, who will become Gen. McChrystal's new boss and is credited with turning around the Iraq campaign, Gen. McChrystal has won over converts in the Pentagon because of his intellectual rigor and a flexible decision-making process that lends itself to irregular warfare.”

The Pope has preached religious unity on his tour of the Middle East, and, as he toured Jerusalem's Old City on Tuesday, he's proven to be a man of his word. The German-born Pope fell under criticism on Monday after he spoke at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, where he expressed "deep compassion" for the victims of the Holocaust, but failed to point fingers at the Germans or Nazis. On his tour, the Pope has honored both Muslim and Jewish practices, following Muslim protocol by removing his shoes at the Dome of the Rock shrine, and observing Jewish tradition by placing a prayer in the Wailing Wall. "Here the path of the world's three great monotheistic religions meet, reminding us what they share in common," he said. "I have come to Jerusalem on a journey of faith." Wondered Jerusalem's Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi Yona Metzger: "If a historical meeting such as this, where the head of the largest religion in the world meets in Jerusalem with the head of the Jewish religion, had taken place many years ago, how much blood would have been spared and senseless hatred prevented."

President Obama’s plan to raise $318 billion to finance his health care overhaul through limiting tax deductions for America’s wealthiest is running a little short—$60 billion short, to be precise. The administration is now scrambling to find new ways to fill the hole in the financing of the sweeping reforms, and is proposing tighter rules for inheritance taxes on the nation’s wealthiest estates. Just three-tenths of 1 percent of estates each year would be affected by the stricter tax rules. But getting the estate tax passed is the least of Obama’s problems: Congress is opposing the deduction limits, which would raise $266.7 billion over 10 years, on the grounds that they would lower charitable donations among the wealthy.

The Iranians may have released U.S. journalist Roxana Saberi, but they’ve already made a statement—don’t mess with us. When the Iranian authorities arrested Saberi for not having a press pass, they were sending a message to the Iranian media in the run-up to the June presidential election, the BBC reports. But they upgraded her charges to spying as a way to rebuff President Obama’s calls for improved U.S.-Iran relations. Since her arrest was so politically calculated, it’s doubtful her release will be the beginning of a beautiful friendship between the two countries. So far, Iran has responded icily to Obama’s attempts to talk about the country’s nuclear program.

He's popular enough among Floridians to be the new front runner in the 2010 Senate race, but is he conservative enough? That is the question dogging Republicans in the Sunshine State as they consider the candidacy of Gov. Charlie Crist. The GOP base, delicately described by Politico as "restless," is undergoing a well-publicized identity crisis as it struggles to stick to its core values without becoming irrelevant. The showdown looming between Crist and Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio in the Republican primary highlights this conflict. Rubio, a rising star with close ties to the influential Cuban-American community in Miami, has already signaled he will be taking Crist's conservative values to task, especially his controversial support for President Obama's stimulus.