Cut to the News . . . Your Daily News Briefing
Thursday, March 25, 2010 
Top Breaking News
This Morning's Top 25:
Leading Today's News
Health Bill Back to House for Finishing . . . Two minor reconciliation rule violations force Senate to change bill and ship it back to the House. Wall Street Journal
Pact Slashes Russia, U.S. Nukes . . . Deal cuts stockpiles a third to roughly 1,500 warheads apiece. Washington Post
Vatican Abided U.S. Abuser . . . Future Pope and others did not defrock priest who molested 200 deaf boys. New York Times
Politics
Health Mandate Tests Reach of Government . . . Flood of lawsuits raises sharp questions about power government to impose mandates on citizens. Boston Globe
Obama Signs Abortion Order . . . Move to appease pro-life Dems bans federal funds for abortion. Los Angeles Times
Odds Brighten For Financial Regulation Bill . . . With health care in the can, Dems say financial reform is next.
McClatchy Newspapers
Obama Seeks $2.8B for Haiti . . . Jump-start to a global push to raise billions of dollars for the country's reconstruction.
McClatchy Newspapers
Reading Scores Stall Under No Child . . . Massive reading effort under Bush-Kennedy law fails to achieve much progress.
Washington Post
Man Hacks Obama Twitter Account . . . Also got into accounts of several celebrities and took personal info. Reuters
National Security
Marines Deride Afghan Soldiers . . . They praise the Afghan police force but can barely conceal their contempt for the Afghan soldiers they must live with.
McClatchy Newspapers
Obama Backtracks on Detainee Policy . . . With plan to house prisoners in Afghanistan, critics say Obama's policy looks a lot like Bush's. Los Angeles Times
Afghan Insurgents Offer to Make Peace . . . Hezb-i-Islami offers to act as a go-between with Taliban in Afghanistan in return for US troop withdrawal. The Guardian
Money
Brin Drove Google to Pull Back in China . . . Co-founder Sergey Brin had change of heart on compromises required to do business in a land that reminded him of his native Soviet Union. Wall Street Journal
The Turkey Principle . . . Learn from the Blockbuster example: Don't hang on to a stock if you have a bad feeling about the company as a consumer. Wall Street Journal
Underwater Mortgages Sap Equity . . . More than 11.3 million homes are now worth less than the mortgages on them.
USA Today
International
U.S. Fails to Convince Israel on Housing . . . Wanted written commitment from Netanyahu to rein in any further building and to move ahead on peace talks with the Palestinians. New York Times
Europe Facing Worst Crisis in Generation . . . Debts and poor growth, combined with German self-interest, are having disastrous consequences. Times of London
Aussie Police Probed Over Racist Emails . . . At least 100 officers investigated after e-mail depicting torture of man circulates on internal system. Times of London
Unwilling Bride's Defiance Brings Death . . . Frashta didn't want to marry her cousin in Afghanistan, so she fled. That sealed her doom. Los Angeles Times
Disputed Island Sinks Beneath the Sea . . . Bangladesh and India were at odds over an island, but it seems global warming took care of the problem. Los Angeles Times
You Must Also Know . . .
New Human Ancestor Identified . . . DNA extracted from a bone fragment shows new species existed as recently as 40,000 years ago. Los Angeles Times
Calif. Voters to Decide on Legalizing Pot . . . Initiative to to legalize recreational marijuana use for adults is on the November ballot. Associated Press
Mobs Born by Text Messaging . . . "Flash mobs" in Philadelphia are part bullying, part running of the bulls as teenagers sprint through the streets. New York Times
'I Spy' Star Robert Culp Dies at 79 . . . Along with Bill Cosby, was part of an easygoing, wisecracking interracial team that was a first for network TV. New York Times
At The Movies No More . . . Show started by Siskel and Ebert faces to black after 24 years. Chicago Tribune
Cut to Your Stocks
Watch the Dow(^DJI), S&P 500 (^GSPC), NASDAQ (^IXIC), Nikkei (^N225), European stocks (^STOXX) and the ten-year Treasury rate (^TNX). Add your own stocks, but DON'T use the "Sign In" feature.
