Entries for February 2007

Nation/World editor Terry Atlas brings us this item:

Guess who? Take a look at this White House transcript of a "senior administration official" speaking to the press traveling with Vice President Cheney aboard Air Force Two. Who could it be?

It's common practice for high-ranking government officials to speak with reporters on "background" as an unnamed senior official, even if many news-savvy Washingtonistas often can figure out who the speaker is. Rarely, though, it is the cloak of anonymity quite so transparent. The lesson for this senior administration official: Avoid using giveaway personal pronouns, "me" and "I."

Here are the hot stories making headlines this afternoon around the Web:

• U.S. markets are recovering after a big plunge. As of the early afternoon, the Dow was up about 75 points after yesterday's 416-point dip.
• Video: Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke tells lawmakers that the situation is being monitored and appears to be under control.
• North Korea appears to be complying with a recent agreement to shut down its main nuclear reactor in exchange for an initial load of fuel oil, but U.S. intelligence officials say they're still monitoring the situation closely.
• Australian researchers have discovered 20 new species of sharks and rays in Indonesia, the AP reports.
• Two Picassos--or maybe more--were stolen from the apartment of the artist's granddaughter.
• A report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office says the military is unprepared for chemical or biological attacks.

Etc.: Q&A With U.S. News's Paul J. Lim on the Market, on USNews.com

From U.S. News's Jay Tolson:

It wasn't the first Roman Catholic diocese in the United States to file for Chapter 11 protection when faced by a staggering number of sex-abuse lawsuits. But the 1 million-member San Diego diocese is so far the largest to do so. Last night's eleventh-hour filing raises questions about whether this strategy will soon become the rule rather than the exception for other financially strapped dioceses facing suits for alleged child-abuse episodes dating back, in many instances, several decades. And if it does, will it further erode confidence in a church hierarchy that many say still refuses to take responsibility for a scandal that it tried to cover up?

Whatever happens elsewhere, plaintiffs in the San Diego case are already accusing Bishop Robert Brom of bad faith. (See his letter to parishioners here). They say that he took the action after his pretrial settlement offers were rejected as sketchy and unclear. They also charge that the filing only heightens suspicions of a diocese that destroyed records of its criminal priests, the only U.S. diocese known to have done so.

More after the jump.

Etc.: A Pontiff's First Year, on USNews.com

...continue reading.

U.S. News reporter Alex Kingsbury is currently embedded with U.S. troops in Iraq. He sent us this video from a school where U.S. and Iraqi forces have been working for several months on a reconstruction project.

Stayed tuned for more from Kingsbury later today.

Not too much campaign activity to report today. John McCain is in New York City to be honored by the Irish-American Republicans and appear on the Late Show With David Letterman. Meanwhile, Joe Biden continues a trek through New Hampshire.

Stay tuned as candidates gear up for a big push this weekend.

From today's Political Bulletin:

• Antiwar activists appear dismayed that Democrats in the House are not being more aggressive in curbing the war in Iraq, possibly by cutting funding.
• Bush may veto a bill implementing the recommendations of the 9/11 commission if the legislation grants airport security screeners bargaining rights.
• Yesterday's 416-point plunge in the U.S. stock market has put "the R-word"--recession--back in play.

Those stories and more in today's bulletin.

This morning's top stories:

• Stock markets around the world are feeling the tremors of the U.S. stock market's worst day since the Sept. 11 attacks, while China's stock market bounced back from yesterday's 8.8 percent drop.
• U.S. officials said yesterday that they will hold high-level diplomatic talks with Iran and Syria over the next two months as part of an international summit on Iraq.
• Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives are finishing up their second Iraq measure, one with slightly more teeth than the earlier non-binding resolution the House passed in opposition to the troop increase in Iraq, but would not go so far as to cut off funds.
• The Washington Post has new details on the CIA's network of "black sites," internment facilities around the world for terrorism suspects.
• U.S. News' Jay Tolson has new insights on the documentary titled "The Lost Tomb of Jesus."