Good Morning! - Morning Headlines

[Caro]

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Carolyn Kay
MakeThemAccountable.com

Top Stories

House votes to fund Iraq war in installments
The House Thursday night, by a vote of 221-205, passed a plan to give President Bush money for the Iraq war in two installments after rejecting a plan to withdraw all troops in nine months.

The Radical Fringe

The World

Iraq officials to push for U.S. support
WASHINGTON - Worried Congress' support for Iraq is deteriorating rapidly, Baghdad dispatched senior officials to Capitol Hill this week to warn members one-on-one that pulling out U.S. troops would have disastrous consequences.

U.S. soldier killed, 9 wounded in Iraq
BAGHDAD - An explosion in Diyala province killed one U.S. soldier and wounded nine others, the military announced Friday.

Gunfight mars new Gaza security plan
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Clashes between the rival Hamas and Fatah forces erupted early Friday, injuring at least six people throughout the Gaza Strip, in another setback to a new security plan aimed at halting the wave of violence plaguing the chaotic coastal area.

Stay off sex and drugs, Pope tells Brazil's youth
SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Pope Benedict told young Brazilians to avoid sex before marriage and say no to drugs at a huge rally on Thursday in this country renowned for its lusty attitude toward sex.
Good luck with that, Pope Benedict. —Caro

Two jailed for trying to leak details of Blair's talks with Bush
Tony Blair's ill-fated war with Iraq claimed two more victims yesterday when a civil servant and an MP's researcher were convicted of disclosing details of a secret conversation between the Prime Minister and President George Bush. Last night, MPs, lawyers and civil rights groups described the prosecution as a "farce" and accused the Government of misusing the Official Secrets Act to cover up political embarrassment over the war.

The globalization of electronic election theft
From Ohio and California to Scotland and France, the disputes surrounding electronic voting machines have gone truly global… May 3 elections in Scotland using new electronic counting systems resulted in as many as 100,000 votes being classed as "spoilt papers." (About 90,000 such ballots from Ohio 2004 remain uncounted to this day)… Throughout France, the cry has arisen that the conservatives have done to Segolene Royal what Bush/Rove did to John Kerry.

The Nation

LaHood: Bush ‘sobered’ by Iraq meeting
Rep. Ray LaHood (R-Ill.) said Thursday that President Bush was “sobered” by what he heard from centrist Republicans who went to the White House this week to voice their concerns over the war in Iraq. “The fact is that, I don’t know if he’s gotten that kind of opinion before in such a frank and no-holds-barred way, but he was very sober about it and he listened very intently,” LaHood told CNN. “Frankly, he wasn’t defensive. I think he appreciated the fact that people were willing to really open up and give it to him.” LaHood was one of 11 centrists who spoke to Bush Tuesday about the war and their concerns about the need for progress.
Sobered? Or pissed that someone dared criticize him to his face? —Caro

Bush concedes over Iraq benchmarks
President George W. Bush on Thursday agreed to negotiate war-funding legislation that would set targets for progress in Iraq, amid mounting pressure from Democrats and Republicans over the war. Mr Bush said it "makes sense" to establish benchmarks against which to measure efforts to bring stability to the strife-torn country.
Yes, well, we’ll have to see. Maybe you’ve noticed that Bush often says one thing and does another. —Caro

Poll: Congress' approval same as Bush
An AP-Ipsos poll … found that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is a more popular figure than the president and her colleagues on Capitol Hill, though she faces a gender gap in which significantly more women than men support her. The survey found only 35 percent approve of how Congress is handling its job, down 5 percentage points in a month. That gives lawmakers the same bleak approval rating as Bush

Bush helps raise $10.5M for GOP at gala
WASHINGTON - President Bush helped raise $10.5 million for the national Republican Party at its annual gala on Thursday night, the smallest take in years for the event that came only months after the GOP lost control of both houses of Congress.

Despite terror war, al-Qaida growing
WASHINGTON, May. 9 (UPI) -- (UPI) -- The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, parts of the so-called war on terror, have not reduced al-Qaida's reach or capacity, U.S Defense Secretary Robert Gates said.
Welcome to the world, Secretary Gates. —Caro

States worry about National Guard strength
With repeated deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan leaving state National Guards without almost half of their required equipment, some governors are loudly questioning whether they will be able to handle the next hurricane, wildfire or terrorist attack at home.

Media

Permanent link to MTA daily media news

America Back on Track
“In my thousands of interviews on radio and TV over the past 35 years, I'm thankful when a host like Tony Seton ramps up the level of communication to the public. He knows his subject, allows the interviewee time to make a point, and follows up with sage understanding that compliments it for maximum public understanding. In the end, Tony Seton represents the benchmark of top hosts I've worked with over the years.” (You can listen live weekdays at 12:06 Pacific or to an archived broadcast at their site.)

Tony Trupiano
Tony can now be heard exclusively on listener supported RadioPower.org from 3-6 p.m. ET. Just click the banner to listen live and call in during the show at 866-209-8031.

The Clear Channel Flips Have Flopped
About three months ago Clear Channel flipped four liberal talk radio stations to other formats claiming that the stations were not performing well. Now, the results are in and it appears that format flips have proved to be flops.

Kansas City Star Claims 'No Disclosure Necessary' Concerning Their Hatchet Job of McClatchy Story on Missouri GOP 'Voter Fraud' Claims
After reading Greg Gordon’s excellent piece for McClatchy discussing Missouri’s place as "ground zero" for the GOP "voter fraud" scam, we – along with others – were surprised to learn that of all of McClatchy’s papers, The Kansas City Star(‘s) … edited version of the story downplayed failed Republican attempts to prove claims of massive Democratic "voter fraud", and excised references to many GOP politicians, such as Karl Rove, and perhaps most notably, a number of powerful Missouri politicians. Later we learned that the Star was also represented by power MO law firm, Lathrop & Gage who represents -- or is the place of employement for -- several of the key players in the story.

Iraqi Public Opinion
A FAIR reader's as-yet-unpublished Letter to the Editor of the New York Times cites actual statistics to counter an unsubstantiated front-page assertion that "most Iraqis, particularly here in the Sunni-dominated Anbar Province...want the Americans to stay, at least until some semblance of stability is restored." No sources are cited for this... claim... and serious polls of Iraqi opinion indicate the opposite.

CBS eyes more hard news for ailing Couric newscast
The newly appointed senior vp of CBS News says it's frustrating that the network's low-rated evening newscast with Katie Couric isn't doing better, but he believes the program is finally on the right track.
More real news on a news show? Interesting idea, CBS, and it just may work. —Caro

Technology & Science

Fake Snot Makes Electronic Nose Smell Better
Scientists are using artificial snot to give electronic sniffers a better, and faster, sense of smell.

Turning gene ‘on’ helped mice fix broken hearts
Researchers have figured out how to switch on a gene in adult mice that repaired their hearts after a heart attack, a finding that may one day help fix heart damage in humans.

FDA OKs drug patch to treat Parkinson's
The treatment options for patients with early Parkinson's expanded Wednesday with the approval of a new drug in patch form — a first for medicines to treat symptoms of the disease. The once-daily Neupro patch contains a drug called rotigotine, which has not been sold before in the United States, the Food and Drug Administration said. The drug patch, made by Schwarz Pharma AG, is the first for the treatment of symptoms of Parkinson's disease.

In Iowa, English 101 for bonobos
Exploration into one of the most fascinating dimensions of the animal kingdom is taking place in a new state-of-the-art research facility on the edge of this Midwestern city… At the center of the research here is language. The work at the Great Ape Trust grew out of a project begun more than 20 years ago in which researchers tried to use symbols – called lexigrams – to communicate with bonobos in a new way. They wanted to avoid criticisms of past language research, such as the possibility that apes were just responding to non-verbal signals.

Explorer blazes new trails in Venezuela
CHIMANTA TEPUI, Venezuela — Charles Brewer Carias has discovered giant sinkholes, collected new species of plants and scorpions, and rappelled into unexplored caves on his nearly 200 expeditions into the flat-topped mountains and jungles of Venezuela.

Ancient Star Nearly as Old as the Universe
Employing techniques similar to those used to date archeological remains here on Earth, scientists have learned that a metal-poor star in our Milky Way called HE 1523 is 13.2 billion years old-just slightly younger than 13.7 billion year age of the universe. Our solar system is estimated to be only about 4.6 billion years old.

Environment

Climate Change Issue Heats Capitol Hill
Global warming was impossible to avoid on Capitol Hill Wednesday, with a trio of hearings on the consequences or cures for climate change and another on the related question of endangered wildlife.

NASA study: Eastern U.S. to get hotter
WASHINGTON - Future eastern United States summers look much hotter than originally predicted with daily highs about 10 degrees warmer than in recent years by the mid-2080s, a new NASA study says.

Futuristic Engine Uses Much Less Fuel
Engineers are tinkering with a new-age engine that could reduce fuel consumption and in turn help to squelch greenhouse gas emissions associated with automobiles. "We're talking about a major leap in engine technology that could be used in hybrid cars to make vehicles much more environmentally friendly and fuel stingy," said lead scientist Gregory Shaver, a mechanical engineer at Purdue University.

Asphalt-Munching Bacteria Discovered
Trapped in the Rancho La Brea tar pits 28,000 years ago, the bacteria are equipped with special enzymes that can break down petroleum, environmental scientists at the University of California, Riverside report in a recent issue of Applied and Environmental Microbiology. The petroleum-dismantling enzymes could be used to clean up oil spills, create new medicines and manufacture biofuels, among other uses.

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