Cut to the News . . . Your Daily News Briefing
Saturday, April 25, 2009 Make us your homepage
Leading the News
Deadly Flu Threatens U.S. and Mexico . . . New strain may have killed dozens in Mexico. Eight sickened in U.S. recover. Officials search for signs of wider outbreak. Los Angeles Times
Pakistan Taliban Pulls Back . . . Militants complete retreat from area 60 miles from the capital. Troops fan out in their wake. Associated Press
Bombings Rock Baghdad . . . Twin suicide attacks kill at least 60 outside city’s most revered Shiite shrine, pushing death toll in one 24-hour period to nearly 150. New York Times
Politics
Dems See A Clear Path for Health Reform . . . "Budget reconciliation" would let them sidestep a filibuster and move an overhaul without a single GOP vote. Los Angeles Times
Michelle Obama's Carefully Cultivated Image . . . The new first lady is methodically shaping her public image, and in ways that extend far beyond fashion. New York Times
Obama Seeks Cost Saving Ideas From Bureaucrats . . . A plan for federal workers to propose ways to improve their agencies' budgets.
USA Today
Clinton Makes Surprise Visit to Iraq . . . Stresses administration's commitment to the country as horrific suicide bombings fan fears about its precarious stability. Washington Post
National Security
Gates' Defense Overhaul on Track . . . Secretary's careful campaign and timing outflanks lawmakers and lobbyists as he plans sweeping changes in military spending. Los Angeles Times
Indonesia's Voters Retreat From Radical Islam . . . People in the world’s most populous Muslim nation are punishing narrowly religious parties at the polls. New York Times
Military Agency Warned Against 'Torture' . . . Termed extreme duress "torture" in a 2002 document and warned that it would produce "unreliable information." Washington Post
National Guard May Head to the Mexican Border . . . Part of a $350 million initiative that would expand the U.S. military's role in the drug war. Washington Post
North Korea Begins to Extract Plutonium . . . Takes plutonium from spent fuel rods at its nuclear arms plant, raising tensions. Reuters
Business
Raising Bill Gates . . . His dad describes what it took to turn an unruly twelve year old into Microsoft's founder and the world's richest man.
Wall Street Journal
U.S. Presses Banks to Act . . . Government officials pushing several of the country's largest banks to bolster capital reserves. Wall Street Journal
GM expected to Scrap Pontiac . . . Company scrambles to cut units that are not performing as it receives also gets another $2 billion in taxpayer loans. USA Today
G7 Signals Worst of Recession May Be Over . . . But finance chiefs say recovery not assured, and they pledge to make sure big financial firms are sound. Reuters
Microsoft to Offer Windows 7 Version Next Week . . . Release of trial version shows successor to unpopular Vista operating system is in the final stages of development. Reuters
International
ANC Short of Two Thirds Vote . . . Just short of numbers needed to ensure a parliamentary majority sufficient to make sweeping changes unchallenged. Reuters
Reporter Jailed in Iran on Hunger Strike . . . A U.S. -Iranian reporter jailed by Tehran on charges of spying is in the fifth day of a hunger strike, her father says. BBC
Paraguay President Stays on Despite Sex Charges . . . Fernando Lugo faces claims by three women that he fathered children with them while he was a Catholic priest. BBC
Also Today. . .
FAA: Bird Strike Threat Grows . . . The number of collisions between planes and birds is surging. Wall Street Journal
Craigslist Founder Won't End 'Erotic Services' . . . Criticism has intensified after a medical student was accused of killing a Boston masseuse who advertised there. USA Today
Admissions Rule Angers Asian-Americans . . . They fear new policy at University of Calif. will reduce their numbers, currently at 40 percent of undergraduates. USA Today
Captain Gave Up Hope of Escaping Pirates . . . Says he did not think he would live through his captivity on a lifeboat set adrift. Reuters
Today's Video
Meet the Oldest Man in America . . . CBS
