Monday, December 20, 2010

Daily News for Monday, December 20, 2010


Daily News for Monday, December 20, 2010

HEADLINES

The Washington Post For gay rights, is repeal of 'don't ask' military ban the end or the beginning?David A. Fahrenthold
For the American gay rights movement, this is the big question that follows Saturday's landmark repeal of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy.

With new influence, Issa recasts self as Washington's whistleblowerPhilip Rucker
Rep. Darrell Issa is finally getting what he has long craved: subpoena power.

Obama reaches out to black leaders, says tax-cut deal good for African AmericansPeter Wallsten
As President Obama prepared to sign his $858 billion tax deal Friday, White House aides moved quickly to soothe the anger among liberal constituency groups that bitterly opposed the measure.

House passes defense authorization bill; military pay raise reducedWalter Pincus
The House passed a fiscal 2011 defense authorization bill on Friday that, at $725 billion, was $1 billion below the Obama administration's funding request.

Marshall seeks to ban gays from Virginia National GuardAnita Kumar
Following this weekend's vote by the Senate to allow gays to openly serve in the military, Del. Bob Marshall (R-Prince WIlliam) said he is drafting a bill for the 2011 legislative session that would ban them from serving in the Virginia National Guard.

Enrollment of Muslim students is growing at Catholic colleges in U.S.William Wan
On a quick break between classes last week, Reef Al-Shabnan slipped into an empty room at Catholic University to start her daily prayers to Allah.

Monitoring AmericaDana Priest and William M. Arkin
Nine years after the terrorist attacks of 2001, the United States is assembling a vast domestic intelligence apparatus to collect information about Americans, using the FBI, local police, state homeland security offices and military criminal investigators.

Food-safety measure passes Senate in Sunday surpriseLyndsey Layton
A bill that would overhaul the nation's food-safety laws for the first time since the Great Depression came roaring back to life Sunday as Senate Democrats struck a deal with Republicans that helped overcome a technical mistake made three weeks ago and a filibuster threat that seemed likely to scuttle the legislation.

Defeat of immigration measure reveals failed White House strategy, advocates sayShankar Vedantam
Whenever Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez (D-Ill.) and other immigrant-rights advocates asked President Obama how a Democratic administration could preside over the greatest number of deportations in any two-year period in the nation's history, Obama's answer was always the same.

Congressional negotiators to devise stopgap funding measure for fiscal 2011In the wake of Thursday's collapse of a bill to fund the federal government through fiscal 2011, negotiators turned their attention to devising a stopgap measure.

The New York Times Mexican City Devastated by Pipeline Blast as 28 DieSAN MARTIN TEXMELUCAN, Mexico (AP) — Zoyla Perez awoke before dawn to a strange, overpowering smell, like gasoline. Outside the ground looked as if it were flowing in tar, as crude gushing from a pipeline rushed down the street and into a river.

This Bonus Season on Wall Street, Many See ZerosNelson D. Schwartz and Susanne Craig
Bonus season is fast approaching on Wall Street, but this year the talk does not center just on multimillion-dollar paydays. It’s about a new club that no one wants to join: the Zeros.

Online Stores Start to Wean Shoppers Off SalesStephanie Clifford and Claire Cain Miller
After two years of relative malaise, online sales grew 12 percent in the first 47 days of the holiday season, according to comScore, to $27.5 billion.

British Police Detain 12 on Suspicion of TerrorismAlan Cowell
LONDON — In the latest of several European terrorism alerts, the British police arrested 12 men before dawn on Monday in raids in three cities under counterterrorism laws — the biggest operation of its kind for months.

Mental Health Needs Seen Growing at CollegesTrip Gabriel
STONY BROOK, N.Y. — Rushing a student to a psychiatric emergency room is never routine, but when Stony Brook University logged three trips in three days, it did not surprise Jenny Hwang, the director of counseling.

Palestinian Leader Has 60 Israelis to LunchIsabel Kershner
RAMALLAH, West Bank — The Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, hosted a two-hour meeting with about 60 Israeli politicians, public figures and activists at his headquarters here on Sunday in an effort to reach out to the Israeli public at a time when the official peace process is at a standstill.

Confidential Swedish Police Report Details Allegations Against WikiLeaks FounderJohn F. Burns and Ravi Somaiya
LONDON — Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks who was released from a British jail late last week, is facing a new challenge: the leak of a 68-page confidential Swedish police report that sheds new light on the allegations of sexual misconduct that led to Mr. Assange’s legal troubles.

Bank of America Suspends Payments to WikiLeaksNelson D. Schwartz
In a sign of the increasing tensions between WikiLeaks and the corporate world, Bank of America has said it will no longer help process payments for the organization, which released a huge cache of secret State Department cables in late November and has threatened to “take down” a major United States bank with another data dump.

Haitians in U.S. Brace for Deportations to ResumeKirk Semple
The Obama administration has been quietly moving to resume deportations of Haitians for the first time since the earthquake last January.

Gas Prices Soar in Iran as Subsidy Is ReducedWilliam Yong
TEHRAN — Gasoline prices nearly quadrupled on Sunday and the riot police guarded filling stations around the capital as deep cuts in subsidies on fuel and other essential goods took effect.

Blog Gives Superheroes Their Day in CourtJohn Schwartz
Is Superman’s heat vision a weapon? If so, would the Second Amendment protect his right to melt pistols and cook hamburgers with it?

CNNTRENDING: Palin disses Michelle Obama over 'dessert'CNN Ticker Producer Alexander MooneySarah Palin is again taking aim at Michelle Obama over her anti-obesity campaign, taking the opportunity in Sunday's "Sarah Palin's Alaska" to land a diss against the first lady's efforts to improve nutrition.

Biden explains top targets for 2012Gabriella SchwartzVice President Joe Biden revealed Sunday that tax cuts and the estate tax for those with higher incomes will be the administration's top priorities in 2012.

Senate GOP leader says deal reached on government spendingThe Senate will consider a proposal to fund the government until March under an agreement worked out by its Republican and Democratic leaders, the chamber's top Republican told CNN on Sunday.

Procedural vote on DREAM Act fails in SenateCNN Wire StaffA bill that offers a path to citizenship to some illegal immigrants who entered the United States as children failed a procedural vote in the Senate on Saturday.

USA TodayAutomakers suing EPA over higher ethanol mix gasWASHINGTON (AP) — Automakers and engine manufacturers are suing the Environmental Protection Agency over a plan to allow the sale of gasoline containing 15% ethanol.

Many skip Christmas' religious aspectCathy Lynn Grossman
Christmas 2010 is a whole lotta jingle and not so much Jesus. Two new surveys find more than nine in 10 Americans celebrate the holiday — even if they're atheists, agnostics or believers in non-Christian faiths such as Judaism and Islam.

Don't be shy: Now's the time to boost your Web presenceSteve Strauss
I recently did a webinar about small business trends for 2011. One of the main themes that I came back to time and again was, not only how ubiquitous things like social media, apps, Web 2.0, and smartphones have become, but just how great they are for growing one's business.

Slain U.S. tourist had strong ties to IsraelJERUSALEM (AP) — An American tourist killed in a forest outside Jerusalem had deep spiritual ties to Israel through her involvement with an evangelical ministry that promotes Christianity among Jews.

141 inmates escape Mexican border prisonMEXICO CITY (AP) — Nearly 150 inmates escaped Friday from a state prison in the northern Mexico border city of Nuevo Laredo, and authorities said the breakout was probably helped by prison employees.

LA TimesSouth Korea holds live-fire drillsReporting from Seoul — South Korea on Monday conducted an hourlong live-fire artillery drill on an island at the center of recent tensions on the Korean peninsula, as residents anxiously waited to see whether North Korea would make good on its pledge to attack the South if the exercises took place.

Dream Act's failure in Senate derails immigration agendaReporting from Washington — A last-ditch Democratic effort to establish a path to citizenship for some children of illegal immigrants failed in the Senate on Saturday, likely derailing any attempt at sweeping immigration reform in Congress for the foreseeable future.

Newt Gingrich, serious this time, mulls a bid for presidentReporting from Spartanburg, S.C. — Newt Gingrich has been here before, very publicly dangling the prospect of a run for president. In the past, he's yanked it away in the end, like Lucy and her football in the "Peanuts" comic stip.

Scientists drill beneath Dead Sea in search of priceless dataReporting from Dead Sea — If you thought you couldn't get any lower than the Dead Sea, think again. You can go under it.

PoliticoCharles Schumer: Democrats, Obama 'joined at hip'Jennifer Epstein
New York Sen. Chuck Schumer acknowledged on Monday the fates of President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats are by necessity entwined.

President Obama 2.0: Becoming 'CEO of America'John F. Harris and James Hohman
Six weeks of lame-duck legislating should be more than enough to convince President Barack Obama that two more years of this would be a drag.

Peter King promises hearings on Muslim 'radicalization'Jennifer Epstein
Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) is vowing to hold hearings next year on what he calls the “radicalization of the American Muslim community and homegrown terrorism.”

Timing of 'don't ask' change unclearJen Dimascio and Gordon Lubold
Even before President Barack Obama scribbles his signature on the legislation repealing “don’t ask, don’t tell," gay advocacy groups are pushing the Pentagon to implement repeal in a matter of weeks.

Congress recognizes a cultural shiftJosh Gerstein
In a landmark series of votes Saturday, the Senate officially recognized a historic change in American public opinion — that in just 17 years, the ban on openly gay men and women serving in the military went from being seen as a necessary compromise to keep peace between two sides in the culture war to a baffling and unnecessary relic of another era.

The Huffington Post
GOP Lawmakers Calling For Federal Wage Cuts Boosting Payrolls In Own OfficesBen Evans
WASHINGTON — For a guy who insists that federal bureaucrats make too much money, incoming House Majority Leader Eric Cantor sure doesn't mind handing out handsome government raises of his own.

Children's Doctors: Nearly 1 Million American Kids In Rural Areas Have No Access To PediatriciansCarla K. Johnson
CHICAGO — There are enough children's doctors in the United States, they just work in the wrong places, a new study finds. Some wealthy areas are oversaturated with pediatricians and family doctors. Other parts of the nation have few or none.

WikiLeaks: Israel-Palestinian Cooperation Hints Released JERUSALEM — A cable just released by WikiLeaks suggests close cooperation between Israel and forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas when rival Hamas militants overran the Gaza Strip three years ago.

No Ban On Twitter In Court, Top UK Judge RulesJill Lawless
LONDON — It's the tweet smell of success for courtroom microbloggers in Britain. The head of the judiciary in England and Wales ruled Monday that there is no ban on using Twitter in court.

LGBT Groups Warn Gay Servicemembers: Don't Come Out, Re-enlist Quite YetAmanda Terkel
WASHINGTON -- Although both chambers of Congress have now passed a repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT) and the President is expected to sign the legislation into law this week, LGBT advocacy organizations are warning gay and lesbian soldiers not to reveal their sexuality or re-enlist in the military quite yet.

Lunar Eclipse Tonight: 2010 Winter Solstice To Coincide With Total Full Moon Eclipse On December 20, 21 (PHOTOS) Multiple astronomical events are lining up for a rare display of synchronization tonight as a total lunar eclipse overlaps with 2010's winter solstice. Depending on the location, late night December 20 or early morning December 21, the full moon will be darkened by Earth's shadow as our planet passes between it and the sun.

Depression In Latinos: Stigma Stops Many From Seeking TreatmentHealth.com
Gabriela Martinez always spent a lot of time in bed, and she rarely laughed, or even spoke. For decades, her family shrugged off this unusual behavior as nervios, or "nerve problems."

2010 Extreme Weather: Deadliest Year In A Generation Seth Borenstein and Julie Reed Bell
This was the year the Earth struck back. Earthquakes, heat waves, floods, volcanoes, super typhoons, blizzards, landslides and droughts killed at least a quarter million people in 2010 – the deadliest year in more than a generation. More people were killed worldwide by natural disasters this year than have been killed in terrorism attacks in the past 40 years combined.

TBDCarcinogen found in Bethesda, D.C. tap waterElahe Izadi
A report analyzing high levels of a carcinogen in the tap water of 35 U.S. cities was released today, and Bethesda and D.C. rank 14th on the list.

Woman strikes 18 cars in FrederickABC7 News
Police are charging 34-year-old Austina Marie Biggus, of Walkersville, with hit and run and driving under the influence after she apparently struck 18 cars overnight, AP reports.

Home Depot vs. Jamaican independence: Court case of the weekAmanda Hess
Margaret Bell, an “adult black female born outside of the United States in Jamaica of Jamaican parents”—and longtime cashier at a Hyattsville, Md. Home Depot store.

SlateThe Great Wall of IndiaAn 8-foot-high, double-walled, barbed-wire fence draped with laundry menaces the border between Sutia, India, and Dhannokulla, Bangladesh.

The Fed enters the skirmish over debit card fees.The Federal Reserve's proposed regulation governing transaction fees for debit cards is best understood as the latest skirmish between bankers, merchants, and consumers over the future of money.

"Don't ask, don't tell" and the future of sexual morality."Don't ask, don't tell" is history. The House and Senate votes to repeal it, backed by President Obama's promised signature, are a cultural milestone.

Barack Obama's 2010 Holiday Card
It's hard to believe we've been in the White House for two years. That's about as long as Barack had been a senator before starting his presidential campaign—a really long time!

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