Cut to the News . . . Your Daily News Briefing
Thursday, March 12, 2009 Make us your homepage
Leading the News
Obama Earmark Plan Derided in Congress . . . Lawmakers say it will do little to curb the practice. He signs $410 billion spending bill loaded with them. Washington Post
North Korea Will Launch Rocket in Early April . . . It's believed to have the range to strike the United States. Wall Street Journal
Pakistani Leaders Detain Political Foes . . . Hundreds rounded up as government girds for opposition march. Chicago Tribune
Politics
Minnesota Senate Race Drags On . . Still no winner in contest between Democrat Al Franken and GOP Sen. Norm Coleman, though Franken leads. Los Angeles Times
Rep. Maxine Waters Has Ties to Bank She Helped . . . She and her husband have both held financial stakes in OneUnitedBank.
Wall Street Journal
Some Dems Buck Obama on Climate Change . . . He wants to raise money through cap and trade program, but it's not clear he has the votes. Wall Street Journal
Obama May Send Guard To Mexican Border . . . Might dispatch National Guard troops to quell drug violence, but won't send military. McClatchy Newspapers
Obama: It's Safe to Put Gitmo Prisoners in Jails . . . Says U.S. prisons already hold terrorists. McClatchy Newspapers
Lawyer With Porn Clients to be Deputy AG . . . David Ogden is opposed by several conservatives because he has represented defendants in pornography cases. Washington Times
National Security
Freeman Blames 'Israel Lobby' for Sinking Him . . . But Obama's choice to head a key intel council also had questionable ties to China and Saudi Arabia. Washington Post
Virginia Saudi Academy Revises Textbooks . . . School in Washington suburbs, with 900 students, was accused of fostering hate. But books still not entirely kosher. Associated Press
Security Official Warns of Somali Recruiting . . . Somali youths in U.S. traveling to Somalia to fight alongside radical Islamic group with links to Al Qaeda. Boston Globe
Iraqi Shoe thrower Gets Three Years in Jail . . . Flung his shoes at President Bush at a news conference in December, calling him a dog.
Times (UK)
Business
Largest Pension Plan Assets $217B Short . . . Could force companies to invest more money in their plans when they can least afford it.
USA Today
Gates is World's Richest Man . . . Microsoft chief leads a slimmed down list of world billionaires. USA Today
Freddie Mac Needs $31B More . . . Government currently has $45.6 billion stake. Financial Times
Foreclosure Filings Up Six Percent Last Month . . . Despite government and industry efforts to help struggling homeowners.
Washington Post
Roche Wins Genentech Takeover Bid . . . World’s biggest maker of cancer drugs, buys the rest of Genentech by raising offer to $46.8 billion. Bloomberg
International
German Teen Who Killed 15 Seemed Normal . . . Inconspicuous. Friendly. Shy. That's how former schoolmates of Tim K. describe him.
Der Spiegel
Pope Admits 'Mistakes' in Handling Bishop . . . In a letter, explains why he revoked excommunication of a Holocaust-denying bishop.
New York Times
Ulster Police Race to Find Bomb . . . Real IRA smuggled a large device into Northern Ireland, intelligence says. Guardian
Europe Resists Obama's Call for Stimulus . . . They're more concerned with toughening oversight of the financial sector.
Los Angeles Times
Also Today. . .
Alabama Gunman Kept An Enemies List . . . He was quiet and loved guns. Sound familiar? Killed 10 people in two hours in rampage he'd been planning for some time. USA Today
From Two Newspapers, to One, to Zero . . . No one knows which will be the first big city without a large newspaper, but there are candidates across the U.S. New York Times
Apple Does the 'Shuffle' . . . The talking $79 iPod Shuffle is the size of a tie clasp and holds about 1,000 songs. USA Today
Obesity Harms Kids As Young As Age Three . . . Onset of risky cholesterol and artery inflammation levels. Miami Herald
Man Survives Plunge Into Niagara Falls . . . And then he resists efforts to save him at the bottom. Lies in hospital in critical condition.
Associated Press
Today's Video
German Gunman's Final Moments . . . Sky News
