Cut to the News . . . Your Daily News Briefing
Friday, July 17, 2009 Make us your homepage
The New News
This Morning's Cut
The Leading News
At Least Eight Dead in Jakarta Blasts . . . Dozens injured as bombs rip through luxury hotels. Tourists among those killed. Times (UK)
GOP Won't Filibuster Sotomayor . . . Decision all but ensures the rapid Senate confirmation of Obama's pick for the to Supreme Court.
Washington Post
Rafsanjani Calls For Protestors' Release . . . Iran's former president challenges the country's leaders in his first Friday sermon since June's disputed election. BBC
Politics
Taxes Could Soar . . . Three tax increases proposed by Obama and House Democrats on the rich could produce the highest tax rates in a quarter-century. USA Today
CBO Assails Health Costs . . . Congress's chief budget analyst says Democrats' proposals lack necessary controls on spending.
Washington Post
House Wants Dealerships Reinstated . . . Passes law to force General Motors and Chrysler to reinstate as many as 3,200 dealers the car makers cut. Wall Street Journal
Obama Offers Tough Loves for Fellow Blacks . . . Obama delivers fiery sermon to NAACP warning parents and children they must accept their responsibilities. New York Times
National Security
U.S. Helped Chinese Interrogate Uighurs at Gitmo . . . U.S. soldiers even physically restraining them so they could be photographed against their will. McClatchy Newspapers
Battle Lines Drawn Over Fate of F-22 . . . Democrat-controlled Congress is challenging President Obama's resolve to cut an Air Force fighter plane program. Washington Times
Obama May expand the Army . . . Considers adding another 30,000 personnel to bring total to 577,000. Daily Telegraph
News on the Money
Paulson Grilled Over Merrill Merger . . . Lawmakers angrily accuse Paulson of abusing power, misleading Congress and suppressing information. Washington Times
GE Profit Falls Steeply . . . Profit fell by almost half on a deeper drop in revenue than Wall Street expected. Reuters
Twin Giants on Wall Street . . . A new order is emerging in which Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are starting to tower over former financial titans. New York Times
CIT Struggles to Survive . . . Locked in negotiations with investors from whom it hopes to extract $2 billion to $3 billion to avoid bankruptcy.
New York Times
Starbucks Experiments With Alcohol . . . In a move to attract evening business, Starbucks is about to test the addition of wine and beer to the menu at one of its Seattle stores. USA Today
International
Liberia's Taylor Says U.S. Arranged Escape . . . Says his flight from a Massachusetts jail that led to him back to Liberia was an intel operation. Boston Globe
Report From Grave By Russian Activist . . . Natalya Estemirova, murdered in Chechnya as she probed abuses, filed this unpublished report in August 2008. The Independent
Pope Benedict XVI Breaks His Wrist . . . Being treated in hospital for a broken wrist and twisted ankle after slipping in his bathroom while on holiday. Daily Telegraph
Afghan Blast Kills at Least 11 . . . At least 11 civilians, including five children, have been killed in a blast in Afghanistan's southern province of Kandahar. BBC
Also Today. . .
Limited Benefits to Cancer Screening . . . For many cancers, early detection efforts offer little benefit at high expense, and present a real risk of harm. New York Times
Walmart To Give Products Environmental Ratings . . . In a few years consumers will see the "sustainability index" labels on products.
McClatchy Newspapers
Swine Flu Vaccine Production Snag . . . Proving difficult to produce, vaccine will arrive later than anticipated. Wall Street Journal
Sorry, You'll Have to Hold It . . . States are closing rest areas to save money. USA Today
Today's Video
Restored Video of Apollo 11 . . . Houston Chronicle
