Americans are growing more optimistic about the state of the economy and direction of the country, according to a new NBC News-Wall Street Journal poll out Wednesday evening, and President Obama is receiving better grades on his handling of the economy and job as a result [....]
By Ryan Lizza, The New Yorker, Jan. 30, 2012 issue
The making of a post-post-partisan Presidency: hundreds of pages of internal White House memos show Obama grappling with the unpleasant choices of government.
[....] A close look at the choices Obama made on domestic policy, based on a review of hundreds of pages of internal White House documents, reveals someone who is canny and tough—but who is not the President his most idealistic supporters thought they had elected [.....]
By Saeed Kamali Dehghan, Guardian.co.uk, Jan. 18, 2012
At least three prominent journalists have been arrested in Iran in a fresh crackdown on press freedom ahead of the country's parliamentary elections in March.
Two journalists, Marzieh Rasouli and Parastoo Dokouhaki, and photojournalist Sahamoddin Bourghani were arrested separately by officials believed to be from the Iranian security services.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility on Wednesday for the killing of a reporter for the Voice of America, a radio service financed by the United States government, and warned that others would be targets in the future.
A masked gunman strode into a mosque during evening prayers in Shabqadar, a small town in the tribal area of northwest Pakistan, on Tuesday evening and opened fire on the reporter, Mukarram Khan Aatif, as he was praying, his colleagues said.
WASHINGTON — Factory production in the United States has surged 15 percent above its lows of two and a half years ago and is helping drive the economy’s recovery.
The Drudge Report, **Exclusive** Jan 18 2012 18:47:14 ET
Marianne Gingrich has said she could end her ex-husband's career with a single interview.
Earlier this week, she sat before ABCNEWS cameras, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned [....]
I don't know how long my link will be good, he uses the same link over and over but changes the stories on it--it doesn't really matter because the entry ends like this:
By Jon Swartz and Scott Martin, USA Today, Jan. 17, 2012
More than a dozen websites planned to go dark Wednesday to protest a pair of controversial anti-piracy bills they claim will gut the Internet and stifle free speech.
Wikipedia, Moveon.org, Craigslist, user-submitted news site Reddit, the blog Boing Boing and the Cheezburger network of comedy sites planned to participate in a blackout to protest the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA) bills. [...]
The ratings agency Standard & Poor’s also cut Portugal’s credit to junk status, lowered Italy’s rating and downgraded several other countries caught in the euro crisis.
By Hejratullah Ekhtiyar in Jalalabad, Asia Times Online, Jan. 12, 2012
Jalalabad has earned the nickname Little Mumbai after the Indian city renowned for its bustling Bollywood film industry. The Afghan version in the southeast of the country draws excited crowds to see locally made films, even though they are shown in tents as the city has no cinema. This hits filmmakers hard as they struggle to make a buck, while also living under the threat "of being beheaded with a knife by the Taliban".
By Luca Di Leo, Jon Hilsenrath and Michael S. Derby, Wall Street Journal, Jan. 12, 2012
[....] The transcripts, available on the Fed’s website, provide full details of Fed officials’ individual views during the eight Federal Open Market Committee Meetings, with the traditional five-year lag (the minutes, released three weeks after FOMC meetings, only give a summary.)
By Tom Wright, Wall Street Journal, 30 minutes ago
Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani fired his defense secretary Wednesday just hours after the nation's military warned that Mr. Gilani's recent attacks on the army chief could have "grievous consequences."
BEIRUT—Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said Tuesday he wouldn't relinquish power and is determined to steer the country through a historic crisis, in a rare address that several regime opponents saw as setting the stage for redoubled violence.
President Assad vowed to use an "iron fist" to fight terrorists, the government's characterization of its opponents.
