Cut to the News . . . Your Daily News Briefing
Thursday, April 16, 2009 Make us your homepage
Leading the News
All Banks Expected to Pass Stress Tests . . . Industry appears strong enough to weather deteriorating economy. USA Today
NSA Intercepts Exceed Congressional Limits . . . Agency has intercepted private e-mail messages and phone calls of Americans on too large a scale. New York Times
Gun Sales Booming . . . Fear and hope for a good investment stoke sales of weapons and ammo. Wall Street Journal
Politics
Conservative to Challenge Sen. Specter . . . Pennsylvania moderate will face former Rep. Pat Toomey, who led anti-tax group Club for Growth. Wall Street Journal
Palin's Rough Return to Her Day Job . . . Slogs through the Alaska legislative session with frayed alliances and questions about where her priorities lie. New York Times
'Tea Party' Tax Day Protests Against Obama . . . Conservatives see a grass roots movement while liberals view gatherings as a right wing media extravaganza. Washington Times
Obama Targets Mexican Cartels . . . Imposes sanctions on drug groups, threatens U.S. firms that do business with them. Washington Post
CNBC Sweats Obama Bashing . . . Execs press journalists on whether they're now the anti-Obama network. White House had attacked one reporter for on-air tirade. New York Post
National Security
Right Wing Extremists Seen as a Threat . . . A Homeland Security report says right-wing groups are on the rise because of fears about Obama and the recession. Los Angeles Times
China Moves In To Latin America . . . Loans to region lock in access to natural resources and fill vacuum of influence that grew during Bush years. New York Times
Somali Pirates Say They're Targeting U.S. Ships . . . Meanwhile, French forces detain 11 hijackers in a high-seas raid. Associated Press
U.S. Details Anti-Piracy Plan . . . Seeks international cooperation, but no plans to send more warships. Washington Post
Business
Foreclosures Take a Big Jump . . . March filings rose 46 percent over 2008 as lenders resumed action against delinquent mortgage payers.
USA Today
Obama Reverses on China Currency . . . He issues a report that does not brand China as manipulating the yuan after saying during campaign that it did. Wall Street Journal
GM Accelerating Plan to Shutter Dealerships . . . Hastens timetable for closing about 1,700 dealerships as it rushes to meet June 1 deadline to restructure. Reuters
China Growth Slowest on Record . . . But pickup in March shows economy may be rebounding. Reuters
International
Russia Officially Ends Chechnya Operation . . . Declares decade-long "counter-terrorism operation" against separatist rebels over. BBC
Colombia Captures Top Drug Lord . . . Daniel Rendon Herrera, known as "Don Mario", was the most wanted of them all. BBC
Liverpool Marks the Hillsborough Tragedy . . . A crowd of 30,000 gathers on the 20th anniversary of the stadium stampede that killed 96 and injured hundreds. Los Angeles Times
Medvedev Gives Interview to Anti-Kremlin Paper . . . Wants to burnish image as a reformer. But is it for real? Washington Post
Indians Go to the Polls . . . Month long voting could see election of untouchable as leader of world's biggest democracy. The Times (UK)
Also Today. . .
Human Genome Project Has Limited Success . . . Figuring out how to predict common diseases through gene defects proving more complicated than thought. New York Times
But, Scientists ID Gene That Raises Stroke Risk . . . Gene variants carried by tens of millions of Americans that substantially raise the risk of having a stroke. Associated Press
The Ambush Factor . . . Fox News anchor Bill O'Reilly dispatches TV crews to ambush political and personal opponents. New York Times
Hijacked Crew Returns Home . . . Family members greet them on a late night return. Captain makes port in Kenya. Washington Post
Green Energy Dilemma . . . Activists worry about the environmental impact of efforts like wind and solar projects. Washington Post
Army: Brain Injuries Overdiagnosed . . . Pentagon and Veterans Affairs wasting time and money on the "illusory demands" of mild traumatic brain injury, Army says. USA Today
Today's Video
The Video That's Killing Domino's . . . YouTube
