Archive for the 'Breaking News' Category

Sen. Tim Johnson Is Recovering

By Justin Gardner | Related entries in Breaking News, General Politics

This from Reuters:
While there was no immediate word on the condition of the 59-year-old senator, the source, who is familiar with Johnson’s situation, said surgeons sought to remedy an unspecified medical problem.
Just hours after Johnson was admitted to George Washington University Hospital, a spokeswoman for him said the senator had not suffered a stroke. She [...]

December 14th, 2006 | Permalink| No Comments »

Sen. Tim Johnson Did NOT Have A Stroke

By Justin Gardner | Related entries in Breaking News, General Politics

Sorry readers, I jumped the gun. My apologies for that. And it looks as if he’s doing better.
From the AP:
Johnson, who turns 60 on Dec. 28, was admitted to George Washington University Hospital with an undiagnosed illness, said a spokeswoman, Julianne Fisher.
She said, however, the senator did not suffer a stroke or heart attack. His [...]

December 13th, 2006 | Permalink| No Comments »

Sen. Tim Johnson Has Stroke

By Justin Gardner | Related entries in Breaking News, General Politics

First, my thoughts and prayers are with Senator Johnson and his family. Let’s hope this is not a life-threatenting event.
Second, a statement from his office…
“Senator Tim Johnson was taken to George Washington University Hospital this afternoon suffering from a possible stroke. As this stage, he is undergoing a comprehensive evaluation by the stroke team. [...]

December 13th, 2006 | Permalink| No Comments »

Martinez named to RNC; is the GOP adrift?

By Sean Aqui | Related entries in Bad Decisions, Breaking News, General Politics, News, Partisan Hacks

Not Michael Steele, as previously rumored. But Florida Sen. Mel Martinez.
This seems like an odd pick. Martinez will remain in the Senate, limiting how active he can be with the RNC. And he’s not exactly someone who captures the imagination and energizes the party. In fact, he barely squeaked into office on Bush’s coattails in [...]

November 13th, 2006 | Permalink| 4 Comments »

Rumsfeld resigning?

By Sean Aqui | Related entries in Breaking News, Discuss, Elections, General Politics, Military, Partisan Hacks, The War On Terrorism, War

I just heard NPR refer to an AP report that Donald Rumsfeld is stepping down. A White House announcement is expected later today.
More as it develops.
Update: The AP story.
Asked whether his announcement signaled a new direction in the war that has claimed the lives of more than 2,800 U.S. troops, Bush said, “Well, there’s certainly [...]

November 8th, 2006 | Permalink| 12 Comments »

Air America files for bankruptcy

By Sean Aqui | Related entries in Breaking News, General Politics, Media, Money, News, Partisan Hacks

Financial, not moral.
Think Progress reported it a month ago, but nothing came of it. But they clearly were on to something. Air America said it only recently decided to file after negotiations with a key financial backer fell through, but it’s been obvious they were having money troubles for a long time.
They’re going to stay [...]

October 13th, 2006 | Permalink| 5 Comments »

Mark Warner Wants to Spend Time With His Family.

By amba | Related entries in Breaking News, Elections, General Politics

Yeah, right.
Either that’s standard chintzy cover for an under-the-table deal with Hillary (a deal cozy?), or it’s true and therefore he’s the man we would have wanted for president: the man sane enough not to want to run for president. The Great American Catch-22.
I have never shared other centrists’ enthusiasm for Warner. [...]

October 12th, 2006 | Permalink| 4 Comments »

Reid’s $1.1 million windfall

By Sean Aqui | Related entries in Breaking News, General Politics, Law, Money, News

We may have a prospective new Democratic candidate for my Hall of Shame.
Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid collected a $1.1 million windfall on a Las Vegas land sale even though he hadn’t personally owned the property for three years, property deeds show.
In the process, Reid did not disclose to Congress an earlier sale in which [...]

October 11th, 2006 | Permalink| 7 Comments »

BREAKING: Small Aircraft Hits New York High Rise

By Justin Gardner | Related entries in Breaking News, Sports

Apparently it was the plane of Yankee’s pitcher, Corey Lidle.
From NY Times:
Corey Lidle, a pitcher for the New York Yankees, was killed today when his small private plane crashed into a residential high-rise building on New York City’s Upper East Side, igniting several apartments before pieces of the aircraft crashed to the ground, a high [...]

October 11th, 2006 | Permalink| No Comments »

Unacceptable? Too Late.

By sideways | Related entries in Breaking News, News, United Nations, War

Ooooh, Mr. Bush calls the North Korean nuclear test “unacceptable.” Which is just what he called it before they carried out the test.
Unacceptable. What is that, the magic word, Mr. President? Unacceptable?
It’s a pity the Japanese didn’t think of this in 1945. If only they had announced that nuclear weapons were “unacceptable.”
And now we’re [...]

October 9th, 2006 | Permalink| 19 Comments »

For Those Already Sick of the Foley Scandal…

By Justin Gardner | Related entries in Blogging, Breaking News, News

This post might make you feel better. And I stress might.
However, first I acknowledge that I’ve been posting a lot about this story, and that’s because there’s a LOT to post about. Just today, Tom Reynolds’ Chief of Staff resigned. Big story that points toward a coverup? Quite possibly.
Also, this story isn’t even a week [...]

October 4th, 2006 | Permalink| 5 Comments »

Is the U.S. a rogue state?

By Sean Aqui | Related entries in Breaking News, General Politics, Law, Legislation, Military, News, The War On Terrorism, War

I’ve got my own takes on the detainee bill and the warrantless wiretapping bill. But Matthew Yglesias at the American Prospect asks an interesting question: Has the U.S. become a rogue state?
Agree or not, it’s a thought-provoking read.

September 29th, 2006 | Permalink| 5 Comments »

NIE summary released

By Sean Aqui | Related entries in Breaking News, Foreign Policy, General Politics, Military, News, The War On Terrorism, The World, War

The Bush administration has declassified and released (pdf) the summary of the National Intelligence Estimate that was partially leaked last week.
I’m not sure why Bush thinks this validates his strategy, or demonstrates that the leak was misleadingly narrow.
Here’s my summary of the summary.

September 26th, 2006 | Permalink| 3 Comments »

Ahmedinejad Sees Halo on Himself and Declared Prophet

By Ali Eteraz | Related entries in Breaking News, News

A friend of mine got some Iranian news sources which reveal a lot of strange theological powers being given to Ahmedinejad, including the fact that he saw a halo around himself and that he might be the next Muslim Prophet. I have a full list here.

September 21st, 2006 | Permalink| 8 Comments »

Both Parties Miss Mark: Poll Shows Voter Savvy

By Daniel DiRito | Related entries in Bad Decisions, Breaking News, Elections, Foreign Policy, General Politics, Polls, The War On Terrorism

The latest USA TODAY/Gallup Poll indicates that the recent string of speeches by the President have improved both his approval ratings and the prospects of the Republican Party to hold control of the House and the Senate. The data adds substantiation to other recent polling that seems to be trending in favor of the GOP. [...]

September 19th, 2006 | Permalink| 1 Comment »

Yikes.

By amba | Related entries in Afghanistan, Breaking News, The War On Terrorism

I wake up to this heads-up from The Walrus Said:
Bigger than 9/11
This is the kind of attack Al-Qaeda is threatening against the US, warning all American Muslims to flee New York and Washington.
From an interview with Abu Dawood, the newly appointed commander of the al Qaeda forces in Afghanistan, by journalist Hamid Mir.
It is headlined:
Exclusive [...]

September 17th, 2006 | Permalink| 16 Comments »

Ney pleads guilty

By Sean Aqui | Related entries in Breaking News, General Politics, Law, News

After months of denial, Rep. Robert Ney has pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy and making false statements in the Jack Abramoff scandal.
This isn’t a wrist slap, either.
The maximum sentence for the two counts is 10 years, but the Justice Department and Ney’s lawyers agreed on a sentencing recommendation of 27 months in prison, [...]

September 15th, 2006 | Permalink| 1 Comment »

And the leaker is….

By Sean Aqui | Related entries in Breaking News, General Politics, Law, The Plame Game

…Richard Armitage.
Former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage was the source who revealed the identity of CIA officer Valerie Plame to syndicated columnist Robert Novak in 2003, touching off a federal investigation, two sources familiar with Armitage’s role tell CNN.
The sources said Armitage revealed Plame’s role at the CIA almost inadvertently in a casual conversation [...]

August 30th, 2006 | Permalink| 6 Comments »

The Economy: The Makings Of A Perfect Storm?

By Daniel DiRito | Related entries in Breaking News, Economy, General Politics, In The News, Money

There are more signs that the wheels may be about to fall off the economy and the Federal Reserve seems a bit nervous about how to best insure that doesn’t happen. The prevailing question at the moment centers on whether to continue the long string of rate hikes in order to keep inflation in check [...]

August 29th, 2006 | Permalink| 3 Comments »

Nuclear war coming on Sept. 12

By Sean Aqui | Related entries in Breaking News, Israel, Kitchen Sink, Military, Religion, The World, War

You know, it’s bad enough that my birthday falls the day after Sept. 11; talk about a buzzkiller.
Now there’s this:
Yisrayl Hawkins, well known Bible scholar and author, reports that the Bible predicts the exact date and the location that nuclear war will begin. Hawkins states that the current crisis in the Middle East will go [...]

August 28th, 2006 | Permalink| 23 Comments »