Cut to the News . . . Your Daily News Briefing
Saturday, May 16, 2009 Make us your homepage
Leading the News
GM Shuttering 1,100 Dealerships . . . GM told 1,100 dealers it will drop them from its retail network, as the auto maker appears headed for a bankruptcy filing.
Wall Street Journal
Majority Of Americans Are 'Pro-Life' . . . Poll finds 51 percent call themselves pro-life, a majority for the first time in 15 years Gallup has asked the question. Associated Press
Pakistan Prepares Major Assault in Swat . . . Aims to dislodge Taliban from main town in region. Militants said to be shaving beards to flee along with civilians. Associated Press
Politics
Panetta Defends CIA . . . Issues memo contradicting Pelosi's assertion she wasn't told about the agency's use of waterboarding to interrogate suspected terrorists. Wall Street Journal
Obama Wants to Avoid Culture War . . . Wants a Supreme Court pick whose views on abortion and same-sex marriage won't galvanize the GOP.
Los Angeles Times
Obama Has Second Thoughts . . .Recent decisions on detainee abuse photos and tribunals put him more in line with Bush, despite pledges of a new direction. New York Times
Obama's Personal Finances Look Good . . . The economy is struggling, but thanks to a couple of best sellers, the president is not.
Associated Press
Obama's Modified Military Tribunals . . . They ban evidence obtained through cruel treatment and restrict prosecutors' use of hearsay evidence. Christian Science Monitor
Obama Won't Get his New Chopper . . . Pentagon orders Lockheed Martin to stop work on $13 billion contract to develop new helicopters used to carry the president. Wall Street Journal
Health Care Hits a Snag . . . Senators can't resolve differences this past week, suggesting uphill struggle to meet goal of passing bipartisan health-care bill by August. Wall Street Journal
National Security
The Threat to Pakistan's A-Bomb . . . Experts see Taliban as less of a risk than radical insiders gaining access to nuclear materials.
Christian Science Monitor
Islamist Drive Upends West's Somalia Strategy . . . Renewed fears a militant Islamist regime allegedly tied to al Qaida could seize control of the nation. McClatchy Newspapers
U.S. Drone Kills Ten in Pakistan . . . Missile hits Islamic school. Meanwhile, car bomb in Peshwar kills 11. Reuters
Rumsfeld Unit Blamed for Afghan Deaths . . . Special Forces group implicated in three incidents that claimed the lives of hundreds of innocent civilians. The Independent
Business
Insider Trading Probe at SEC . . . Federal prosecutors are investigating whether two SEC enforcement lawyers violated insider-trading laws.
Wall Street Journal
Hunt for Madoff Money to Drag on for Years . . . Little of his victims' money has been found, and the search for the missing billions will not be easy. Reuters
Data Point to Easing Recession . . . April consumer prices unchanged and industrial output declined at slower pace than in March. Reuters
International
Congress Party Hails Victory in India . . . Indian PM Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi thank the people for delivering the party a "massive mandate". BBC
Scandal Rocks British Politics . . . The Parliament expense scandal threatens to be as corrosive as anything seen in Britain for decades.
Wall Street Journal
Sri Lankan Army Controls Coast . . . Move blocks escape of remaining Tamil rebels, who are ensconced in populated area. BBC
Gazprom's Bad Gamble . . . Russian gas giant tried to corner the market, but committed itself to paying high prices before the bottom dropped out. Now it's taking big losses. New York Times
Also Today. . .
U.S. May Have Up to 100,000 Swine Flu Cases . . . There are likely far more cases than official count of 7,415 because many are mild and not being tested. New York Times
Astronauts Fix Hubble Telescope . . . Eight hour space walk is one of the longest. USA Today
Michael Jackson Has Skin Cancer . . . But the star is expected to survive, and he'll perform the 50 shows he has scheduled in London.
The Sun
Today's Video
Farrah Fawcett's Search for a Miracle . . . MSNBC
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
