| Title | Word Count |
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Health Care Overhaul Passes First Stage in Appellate CourtJudge Jeffrey Sutton, an appointee of President George W. Bush and a former law clerk to conservative Supreme Justice Antonin Scalia, joined the majority in support of the mandate. He is the first Republican on the federal bench to do so. However, it is far from the end for the mandate. GOP state officials in Virginia, Florida, and other states have made similar challenges to the mandate. They are currently being reviewed in federal appellate courts in Atlanta and Richmond, Virginia. Twenty-six states bound together to bring one case against the mandate. Most legal experts and other litigants involved in healthcare lawsuits predict that the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that Obama signed last year will be determined in the U.S. Supreme Court as early as next year (Levey). |
773 |
Greek Parliament Approves Austerity PlanThe Greek Parliament finally consented to Prime Minister George Papandreou's package of austerity measures - the only factor standing in the way of Greece receiving the $17 billion from the European Union, the European Central Bank, and the International Monetary Fund that it needed to survive the summer without defaulting. The 155 to 138 vote approved tax increases, wage cuts, and the privatization of 50 billion euros, or about $72 billion, in state assets. However, many are concerned that the measure will not be enough, but a second bailout is in the works for the July 3rd meeting of euro zone finance ministers in Brussels. The bill was met with outrage as thousands of residents protested in the streets, turning violent at some points and prompting the police to release tear gas (Donadio). |
1157 |
Google+ to Rival FacebookGoogle, the world's powerhouse search engine, is launching its newest initiative to attempt to break into the social media industry once again. Although the company has already failed several times with Google Buzz, Orkut, and Google Wave, Google is introducing a social networking service called the Google+ project. The project looks conspicuously a lot like Facebook, but Google insists its added some tweeks that will hopefully prove this new initiative to be successful (Miller). The Google+ project that launched on June 28th is only available to a select group of Google users who will test the product and then invite others to join. Like Facebook, the social networking site allows people to share and discuss status updates, photos and links. |
1060 |
Clinton Hosts Job ConferencePresident Barack Obama and congressional Republican leaders are currently in a standoff over the best way to reduce the national deficit, which will allow the nation's borrowing limit to increase. The limit currently has a ceiling of $14.3 trillion. The August 2nd deadline will be upon us quickly. This date was provided by the Treasury Department, which said that at that time the U.S. will no longer be able to pay its debt obligations. Obama is still pulling for Republicans to set aside their difference of opinion regarding tax increases as part of the deficit-reduction plan. Democrats have to accept some "painful cuts" to their favored programs, and Republicans must allow for some taxes to be raised (McCormick). |
837 |
Chicago Mayor Launches Initiative to Bring New Jobs to CityChicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel seemed extremely optimistic about the job outlook in his city during a CGI jobs summit on June 28th. Like the rest of the United States, Chicago's unemployment rate remains painstakingly high. He announced that companies, such as General Electric, United Airlines, and Walgreens, among others, agreed to hire more than 3,000 people since his administration began. He also said the city will focus on filling existing positions to really bring down the unemployment rate (Schneiderman). "There are 120,000 job openings in Chicago," said Emanuel, who served as the former White House senior staffer. "Yet we have 9 percent unemployment. Those two facts should not go together" (Schneiderman). |
808 |
Bank of America Settles on Mortgage SecuritiesDespite the huge losses that this deal would cause in the beginning of the next fiscal year, Bank of America is finalizing an agreement to pay $8.5 billion to settle claims by investors that purchased mortgage securities that went awry when the housing market took a turn for the worst. This deal could potentially be the single biggest settlement after the economic crisis that began in 2008 (Schwartz). "I think this is huge," said Michael Mayo, a bank analyst with Credit Agricole in New York. "It's about time the industry resolves issues from the financial crisis and focuses more on righting their companies and improving the economy. This is the most significant step since the financial crisis that helps do that" (Schwartz). Although this deal would right a lot of wrong, it would come at a great cost to the company. The settlement would claim all of the company's earnings in the first half of this year. Furthermore, it would undoubtedly break ground for other big banks that face similar situations (Schwartz). |
793 |
Taliban Attacks Luxury Hotel in Kabul, AfghanistanJust before President Obama plans to withdraw troops from Afghanistan and begin the gradual process of turning over power to Afghan security forces, a premier hotel in the Afghan capital was attacked. Several armed men entered the building, firing sporadically (Rubin). Rocket-propelled grenades thrown from the roof were aimed at the first vice president's house (CNN). Afghan security forces searched for and fended off the attackers for hours (Rubin). NATO helicopters came to the aid of the Afghan security forces killing three suicide bombers on the roof. A fourth bomber was killed in the beginning of the attack, but it is unclear whether he detonated his bomb or was shot by the security forces. However, several unknown explosions were reported (Rubin). |
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President Obama Invests in Manufacturing Industry to Create JobsPresident Barack Obama announced in a radio and Internet address his most recent endeavor to stimulate the job market following the economic slowdown that ultimately eliminated job openings nationwide and weakened his job approval standing with the public. Obama vowed to begin a $500 million initiative which will use technological innovations to create jobs and spur growth in clean energy and advanced manufacturing. To reach these goals, the government will join teams with universities and corporations to jumpstart the manufacturing sector, specifically targeting cutting-edge research and new technologies (Kuhnhnen). The program is called The Advanced Manufacturing Partnership and includes six universities paired with manufacturing companies like Ford, Caterpillar, Procter & Gamble, and Northrop Grumman (Murphy). |
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Hu Jia, Chinese Dissident, Released From JailHu Jia, a Chinese dissident who was also an activist involved in environmental affairs and AIDS sufferers, was recently released after spending three and a half years in prison. In December 2007, Hu was arrested and then convicted just five months later for "incitement to subvert state power," a term frequently used in trials against critics of China's authoritarian Communist government. Hu was originally an environmental campaigner, eventually taking on campaigns against HIV and AIDS in China before his increasing knowledge led him to become critical of the government. With the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics drawing the spotlight onto the country, including the Communist government's human rights record, authorities began to arrest outspoken critics. |
540 |
Breast Cancer Drug Avastin Faces FDA PanelFor the second time in two years, a panel will go before the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) to fight for the fate of the drug Avastin for breast cancer patients. In July of 2010, Avastin lost its right as a therapy to treat advanced, or metastatic, breast cancer when an advisory panel voted 12-1 to withdraw the drug. Four clinical studies concluded that the drug did not make patients live longer. Furthermore, the studies found that Avastin resulted in dangerous side effects, including increased risk of internal bleeding and high blood pressure (Hellerman). |
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Bachmann Begins Presidential Campaign After Financial AllegationsMichele Bachmann launched her multi-day, multi-state tour to announce that she plans to run in the 2012 presidential election in her hometown of Waterloo, Iowa. Although the event was meant to announce her political endeavors, Bachmann's first speech focused mostly on her sentimental connections to the town where she was born. In her short, 20-minute speech, Bachmann only spoke briefly of political issues. She urged her supporters to put her on top in the Ames Straw Poll in August and to volunteer for her campaign. A recent poll of Republican caucus participants showed Bachmann tied with the GOP front-runner Mitt Romney in Iowa. Her home state will prove to be very important in her campaign for GOP nomination. |
789 |
Four Remaining Khmer Rouge Leaders Face TrialThe Khmer Rouge government terrorized Cambodia during their short reign from 1975 to 1979, killing approximately 1.7 million in its aim to create a Communist utopia. Invading Vietnamese forces eventually brought down the government, but not before they created one of the largest genocides ever known. Now, the remaining leaders of the regime are being put on trial. On trial are 84-year-old Nuon Chea, who was Pol Pot's No. 2 and the group's chief ideologist; 79-year-old former head of state Khieu Samphan; ex-foreign minister leng Sary, 85; and his 79-year-old wife, leng Thirith, who served as minister for social affairs. All four say they are innocent. |
1090 |
Journalists Participating in Gaza Flotilla Threatened by IsraelA flotilla is set to sail from Greece to Gaza this week with hundreds of activists in tow to help break the Israeli embargo on the Palestinian territory. Israel officials are threatening any foreign journalists who embark on the journey, saying they will be banned from entering Israel for the next decade and their equipment will be impounded. The warning came from a letter signed by the Government Press Office, saying the flotilla is "a dangerous provocation that is being organized by Western and Islamic extremist elements to aid Hamas" (Chick). Israel defense forces are expected to interfere with the flotilla's passage before it even reaches Israel. |
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India Works to Eradicate PolioAlthough the United States has been enjoying Jonas Falk's vaccine for decades, making polio an almost unheard of occurrence, India's scientists, health workers, and community outreach officials believe they are on the brink of eradicating the disease from their own country (Magnier). Not too long ago 100,000 children in India were killed or crippled by the disease each year. Now, India sees itself as a potential superpower in the future, quickly growing economically. Popular "Incredible India" advertisement campaigns depict expensive BMWs and glitzy shopping malls, but behind the propaganda, the polio epidemic is claiming thousands of victims a year from the population of one billion. The majority of the population lives in poverty-stricken areas that provide dense living conditions, poor sanitation, entrenched superstition, and transient population. Moradabad, in western Uttar Pradesh state, is one of the worst effected polio districts in the world. Here, the virus is commonly transferred through fecal matter that enters a person's digestive system, typically through contaminated food, water, or hand-to-mouth contact (Magnier). To confront the epidemic head-on, India poured billions of dollars into eliminating the virus and gained access to a more effective vaccine. Because of these drastic measures, the number of reported wild polio cases, the kind that most often results in paralysis, has decreased from hundreds in 2009 to just one case in 2011, none of which were in Uttar Pradesh. Furthermore, places such as the slumbs of New Delhi and Mumbai boast record-level numbers of immunizations and virus-free water samples. Lower-risk areas offer children younger than five the oral polio |
795 |
Natural Gas Rush Comes to a Halt as Predictions Fail to Come TrueThe recent catastrophic oil spills and President Obama's decision to tap into the oil reserves still fresh on everyone's minds, the natural gas companies are boasting about the wells they are drilling, although many experts in the field are not buying into their talk. The natural gas companies are promising to deliver big profits and provide a vast new source of energy for the United States. Hundreds of industry emails and internal documents and an extensive analysis of data from thousands of wells lead industry experts to question those claims. According to them, natural gas companies are forging how easy and cheap it is to extract from shale formations deep underground. Companies may even be intentionally overstating the productivity of their wells and the size of their reserves even though doing so would defy the law. Furthermore, experts have noticed a drastic difference between the claims made in the emails and the statements made by the industry in public. "Money is pouring in" from investors even though shale gas is "inherently unprofitable," an analyst from PNC Wealth Management, an investment company, wrote to a contractor in an email. "Reminds you of dot-coms." An analyst from IHS Drilling Data, an energy research company, wrote in an email, "The word in the world of independents is that the shale plays are just giant Ponzi schemes and the economics just do not work." |
1851 |
"Mystery Shoppers" Recruited to Conduct Survey on PhysiciansIn response to the shortage in primary care physicians and the government's new laws regarding private health insurance, Obama administration officials are recruiting "mystery shoppers" who will experience and report firsthand on the growing problem. Although many physicians are angered at the idea, the administration says the survey will address a "critical public policy problem," the increasing shortage of primary care physicians. Furthermore, the administration is concerned that the remaining available doctors are turning away patients in government health programs because they pay lower reimbursement rates than those patients who can afford private insurance. |
1046 |
Lulz Security Vows to End Cyberattacks After 50 DaysLulz Security, a group of hackers who say they are in business to raise awareness of poor security and to have fun at the same time, announced that their two-month spree of hacking is now over. The group also posted their farewell announcement on The Pirate Bay, a file-sharing Web site, but did not give a reason for their end. They bragged about "disrupting and exposing corporations, governments, and often the general population itself." However, many are skeptical of the group actually leaving the Internet. They are known for their sarcasm and have continually promised to continue their work. "It's time to say bon voyage," they posted on their website. "Our planned 50-day cruise has expired and we must now sail into the distance." The group typically used nautical terms in their messages. LulzSec, as they typically go by, announced its demise after an attack on Sony Corp. resulted in a breach of customer data that compromised the personal information of roughly 100 million users. The hackers claim they did not perform the original hack, but they did target the company soon after. |
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Governor Jerry Brown Pushes Forward with Budget PlanWith July 1st, the beginning of the new fiscal year, drawing closer, Governor Jerry Brown expressed his concern that a tax deal still will not be finalized by the due date. Currently, the Democrats and the Republicans are in a heated stand-off, blaming each other for the lack of progress that is occurring (York). Representative Eric Cantor, the House majority leader, abandoned the negotiations concerning the federal debt limit after becoming overwhelmingly frustrated that the Democrats who were pushing for the increase believe a tax increase must coincide (Hulse). Because both parties are at extreme odds with each other over several matters, many experts are becoming increasingly skeptical that any deadlines will be met with final decisions. Brown issued a historic veto of Democrats' budget plan last week, buying time to gain the GOP support he needs for his own budget plan, which includes a tax referendum in the fall. Brown saw the spending plan as "unbalanced" because the Democrats relied heavily on spotty accounting to smooth over the state's deficit (Goldmacher). "It continues big deficits for years to come and adds billions of dollars of new debt," the governor said in his veto message. He refused to sign the package saying it "contains legally questionable maneuvers, costly borrowing and unrealistic savings" (Goldmacher). |
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CIA Kills al Qaeda's Second-In-CommandThe United States scored another huge victory in the war against terrorism, after a US drone attack in the mountains of Pakistan's Waziristan area resulted in the death of Atiyah Abd al-Rahman, al Qaeda's second-in-command after Ayman al-Zawahri, who succeeded Osama bin Laden following his death. "It's been confirmed that al Qaeda's number two, Atiyah Abd al-Rahman, was killed earlier this week in Waziristan, Pakistan," said a senior US Administration official (Hindustan Times). Following bin Laden's death, the CIA has continued conducting drone missile strikes over the mountainous areas of Pakistan. These campaigns are worsening the tension between the United States and Pakistan but have resulted in the deaths of several al Qaeda members. Because of their success |
520 |
FTC Plans to Launch Antitrust Investigation Into GoogleTwo decades after the Federal Trade Commission launched a massive inquiry into the Microsoft monopoly, the company plans to fight a similar battle against Google. The FTC is currently preparing subpoenas to serve to Google who they believe is abusing its dominance in the search market industry to unfairly promote its own services at the expense of its rivals. Google's ability to innovate has allowed it to far surpass its rival companies prompting the FTC to launch a massive antitrust investigation into the Internet company (Huffington Post). Experts have noted the similarities between Google and Microsoft circa 1991. Both are huge companies that are highly profitable and indispensable for consumers. Unfortunately, both companies are also accused of using their size and power to restrict their rivals from gaining significant share in the market. However, the same experts believe Google is more vulnerable to competition than Microsoft was at the time because of the nature of the Internet. Like Microsoft, Google is now realizing the downfall of its widespread success; significant market share brings the scrutiny of antitrust watchdogs (Huffington Post). In the month of May, Google reached unknown territory; it boasted over one billion unique visitors worldwide, which is at least 100 million users ahead of its nearest competitor, Microsoft. Google currently has over 65 percent of the domestic search market and processed 11.2 billion searches just last month (Huffington Post). |
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NBC Omits Words from the Pledge of AllegianceDuring the U.S. Open coverage on NBC Sunday, the network aired a controversial, patriotic montage that showed children saying the Pledge of Allegiance. To the disgust of many of the viewers, NBC edited the words "under God" and "indivisible" in the first version and omitted "one nation" as well in the second version. Within hours, social media outlets were flooded with outraged viewers protesting against NBC's omission. NBC's announcer publicly apologized on-air just three hours after the montage aired, highlighting the large number of protests they received online. The announcer said the "feature was edited" and "not done to upset anyone" (Chavez). The host, Dan Hicks, read the following statement during the coverage: "It was our intent to begin our coverage of this U.S. Open championship with a feature that captured the patriotism of our national championship being here in our nation's capital for the third time. Regrettably, a portion of the Pledge of Allegiance that was in that feature was edited out. It was not done to upset anyone and we'd like to apologize to those of you who were offended by it (Busbee). NBC's Universal Sports issued a second apology from Chris McCloskey, the Vice President of communications, stating that a "decision was made by a small group of people to edit portions of the Pledge of Allegiance. This was a bad decision" (Marrapodi). |
835 |
Talks on National Debt Ceiling Increase HaltedAs the August 2nd deadline looms closer, the House hit another roadblock on the road to increase the federal debt limit. Representative Eric Cantor, the House majority leader, abandoned the negotiations after becoming overwhelmingly frustrated that the Democrats pushing for the increase believe a tax increase must coincide. Cantor, a Virginia lawmaker and one of only two Republicans participating in the talks led by Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., refused to attend the meeting on June 23rd, citing the reason as the Democrats continuing to press for part of the more than $2 trillion in savings to come from revenues such as phasing out tax deductions. Top Republicans said they would not give in to a Democratic push for new revenues as part of a compromise. The other Republican attending the negotiations is Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona, who also announced that he would miss Thursday's meeting. Along with Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, Kyl plans to increase the pressure on President Obama to become more involved in the push for a debt limit deal. |
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Rowling Announces Pottermore Website to be Launched in OctoberJ.K. Rowling, author and creator of the Harry Potter phenomenon, partnered with Sony to create Pottermore, an interactive website that will be available in October 2011. Despite the wide range of guesses from a massively multi-player online role-playing game to a treasure hunt to a sequel, the Pottermore website will allow Potter-crazed fans to journey through the story lines of the books, starting with "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," according to a statement from Rowling's media team. Rowling even announced that the seven original Harry Potter books will be available as ebooks for the first time, in five languages and more to come, and as audiobooks in an online store on the website. Although rumors circulated that a sequel to the series would be released, Rowling is sticking to her promise that the Harry Potter series ended with the seventh book. However, Rowling promises to release new content on the Pottermore website that she has been "hoarding for years." On July 31st, which also happens to be Harry Potter's birthday, fans can compete in an online challenge to be one of the first million people to gain early access to the website. The official website will not open until October. |
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Obama Administration Taps into Oil ReservesOn June 23rd, the Obama administration announced its plan to delve into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and release 30 million barrels of oil over the next 30 days, constituting half the 60 million barrels that the nations in the International Energy Agency plan to bring to market in the next month. This strategy move plays a role in the coordinated international effort to reduce high crude prices and offer a helping hand to the world's most industrialized countries as they begin to revive their economies. Although the absence of Libyan oil does not constitute a shortage of oil in the world, the fighting in Libya has caused a loss of about 1.5 million barrels of oil per day from global markets, according to the Energy Department. However, other Arab oil producers are increasingly becoming nervous about their own unrest. This, along with the revival of the Chinese and Indian economies, has caused crude prices to increase to painstakingly high levels. Other members of Obama's party want to see a reduction in the demand for oil rather than a release of more oil. They are pushing for the automobile industry to increase their fuel-economy standards to as much as 62 miles per gallon, which doubles to the numbers set for 2011. |
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ICANN To Expand Domain Suffixes in 2012After six years of consideration, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (Icann), plans to expand the number of website domain endings past the current list of 22, which include .com, .org, .info, .edu. and .net. This new rule will allow major corporations and companies to register almost any word, in any language, as their domain ending. Icann is a nonprofit group, founded in 1998, that assigns addresses to Internet service providers. Icann has members from all over the world and is dedicated to "keeping the Internet secure, stable, and interoperable," according to Icann's website. Since their beginning, the company has expanded the list of domain endings to include such top-level domain names as .biz and .xxx, but the list will soon grow exponentially. The cost for an individualized domain name will be at least $185,000 per domain application and $25,000 in annual fees, more for those who want to keep the name exclusively for themselves. The application money will help cover the cost incurred by Icann in implementing the new policy. A smaller portion will also go to charities that cannot get the endings they want. Skeptics are worried that cybersquatting could take on a whole new role, although companies hoping to claim a domain suffix will have to undergo a rigorous screening process designed to weed out unscrupulous applicants. |
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