Monday, a Summer News Break

General News

One Step Was Plenty

First Man to Walk on the Moon Stoically Backpedals on Earth

It’s not fair to call Armstrong a “recluse,” as many accounts of his life after Apollo 11 invariably have. He’s no cosmic J.D. Salinger or Howard Hughes, shunning the world out of spite or madness. Armstrong makes the occasional public appearance and speech, as he did Sunday at the Smithsonian and as he will do again Monday at NASA’s official commemoration of the moon landing.
. . .
Yet for the 40th anniversary, Armstrong has once again carefully rationed himself. He told planners at the Smithsonian and NASA that he would speak at their events, but not as the keynoter, not at length and only in conjunction with other Apollo alumni. A book-signing at the Air and Space Museum featuring his Apollo 11 crew mates, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins, was out of the question (Armstrong stopped signing anything some years ago when brokers began peddling bogus signatures on the Internet). Media interviews? Not a chance. “He’s always been this way,” says one person involved in planning the events.

16 Killed in Copter Crash at Afghan Base

NATO officials in Kandahar ruled out insurgent fire as a factor, as the helicopter was well within the perimeter of the military base, crashing just after it took off more than a mile inside the camp, said Capt. Glen Parent of the Canadian Army.

With More Children at Peril, a Call to Unarm

Chicago Church Pushes for Gun Regulations as Deaths of Youth Increase

Murdered Fla. Couple’s Daughter Will Care for 13 Siblings

Ashley Markham, 26, said that it was her mother’s wish for her to care of the children. Markham also defended her parents whose lives and histories had come under national media attention following the murders.

Another possible Zodiac suspect put forth

Tarbox says that on an evening in the early 1970s, a walk-in client appeared at his Montgomery Street office with a merchant mariner’s identification document. He paid $50 for what the lawyer presumed would be a consultation for a shipboard injury claim.

Instead, in the hour that followed, Tarbox says, the seaman admitted he was responsible for the Zodiac crime spree – five murders in Vallejo and San Francisco that remain unsolved today despite 40 years of intense investigative effort by law enforcement.

And THIS should be in a category of it’s own…. I’ve never imagined such a thing:

‘I wed Iranian girls before execution’

In the Islamic Republic it is illegal to execute a young woman, regardless of her crime, if she is a virgin, he explained. Therefore a “wedding” ceremony is conducted the night before the execution: The young girl is forced to have sexual intercourse with a prison guard – essentially raped by her “husband.”

“I regret that, even though the marriages were legal,” he said.

Why the regret, if the marriages were “legal?”

“Because,” he went on, “I could tell that the girls were more afraid of their ‘wedding’ night than of the execution that awaited them in the morning. And they would always fight back, so we would have to put sleeping pills in their food. By morning the girls would have an empty expression; it seemed like they were ready or wanted to die.

“I remember hearing them cry and scream after [the rape] was over,” he said. “I will never forget how this one girl clawed at her own face and neck with her finger nails afterwards. She had deep scratches all over her.”

Health & Science

In Britain, the Dept of Health clarifies flu advice for pregnant women

Let us look at two extremes. Keeping yourself in isolation for nine months – tricky with all those ante-natal checks – is a non-starter.

The other extreme would be to go to every rock concert in town and go to as many crowded places as possible. Also not sensible.

And for two three sides of the same story:

1. White House Less Firm on Date for Health Care Bill
   

   “It’s still the goal,” Mr. Orszag said on CNN’s “State of the Union,” after he was asked if the president still wanted a bill on his desk before the summer recess. “We think we can make that.”

   Mr. Orszag also appeared on “Fox News Sunday,” where he said “I think the chances are high” that both the Senate and House would deliver a bill to Mr. Obama by August.

2. UPDATE 3-White House stands by August goal for healthcare
   

   “There are those who are advocating delay just as a desperation move to try to kill this,” director Peter Orszag said on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday.

   Asked on FOX News Sunday whether the House of Representatives and Senate would meet a target and pass a bill before the August recess, he said, “I think the chances are high.”

3. White House: ‘It’s time to raise the stakes’ on health care plan
   

   “Our strategy has been to allow this process to advance to the point where it made sense for the president to take the baton. Now’s that time,” senior adviser David Axelrod told the Washington Post. “I don’t know whether he will Twitter or tweet. But he’s going to be very, very visible.”
   …
   Placing Obama on the front lines carries huge risks for the president. If he fails to convince a legislative body that is controlled by Democrats, he will have to explain his failure publicly.

The Chris Matthews Show: On Health Care Reform, Won’t Someone Think About Us Rich People???

BROOKS: You know, they made some progress on the Hill, they got a House bill out, they got a Senate bill moving forward. They’re scaring the dickens out of the moderates in their own party, let alone the Republicans. They’re scaring the dickens out of them because the House bill calls for raising the top tax rate to 52 or in some cities, 57%. That’s higher than in France, Spain, Italy…

Chemicals That Eased One Woe Worsen Another

The chemicals, called hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), were introduced widely in the 1990s to replace ozone-depleting gases used in air conditioners, refrigerators and insulating foam.

They worked: The earth’s protective shield seems to be recovering.

But researchers say what’s good for ozone is bad for climate change. In the atmosphere, these replacement chemicals act like “super” greenhouse gases, with a heat-trapping power that can be 4,470 times that of carbon dioxide.

HOT ISSUE: Should we deliberately move species?

About 20 to 30 percent of species worldwide face a high risk of becoming extinct possibly by 2100 as global temperatures rise, estimated a 2007 report by the Nobel-winning international climate change panel. The group noted that current conservation practices are “generally poorly prepared to adapt to this level of change.”

Deliberating moving a species has long been opposed by some, who believe we should not play God with nature and worry that introducing an exotic species — intentionally or not — could upset the natural balance and cause unforeseen ripple effects. It has happened before with dire results. Two decades ago, zebra mussels were accidentally introduced into the Great Lakes and millions are now spent every year removing the pest from water pipes.

Others counter that given the grim realities of a warming planet, it would be irresponsible not to intervene as a conservation strategy. Otherwise, trees may suffer from ravaging disease epidemics while critters unable to head north may find themselves trapped in a declining landscape.

Economy

CIT reaches tentative $3 bln deal with bondholders

CIT’s board plans to meet later on Sunday to discuss the terms of the deal, and the lender is expected to announce the deal on Monday if the board approves it, according to the source, who declined to be identified because talks are private.

Bailout Overseer Says Banks Misused TARP Funds

The report, which will be published Monday, surveyed 360 banks that got money through the end of January and found that 110 had invested at least some of it, that 52 had repaid debts and that 15 had used funds to buy other banks.

TARP watchdog says Treasury lacking bank data

In a report to be released on Monday, Neil Barofsky said banks that have received money from the $700 billion bailout package passed last year are able to indicate how they are using taxpayer money and that Treasury should require banks to be more transparent.
“The fact that there may be some limitations on the precision of the data that could be collected,” Barofsky said in the report, “does not mean that such reporting could not generate meaningful information.”

Wal-Mart backs employer mandate for health coverage

Wal-Mart and the Service Employees International Union drafted a joint letter along with the Center for American Progress, a self-described progressive think tank based in Washington, D.C., to tell Obama they believe today’s soaring health care costs are a result of so many people being uninsured. The solution, they wrote, is an employer mandate “which is far and broad in its coverage.”

Arts

Frank McCourt – ‘Angela’s Ashes’ Author Dies at 78

Mr. McCourt was a retired teacher in his mid-60s when he wrote “Angela’s Ashes,” an unflinching and unforgettable account of his family’s misery in Limerick, Ireland, in the 1930s and 1940s.

A Wizard Is a Whiz at the Box Office

“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” the delayed sixth installment in the Warner Brothers franchise, sold an estimated $159.7 million in tickets in its first five days in North American theaters, according to box office tracking services.

Finding lessons for life in Harry Potter books

Slack relates all sorts of social issues back to themes in the Harry Potter books. Using the opinions of Harry’s mentor Albus Dumbledore as a moral compass, Slack suggests Potter fans should fight prison torture because Dumbledore was against Dementors and that they should be pro-fair trade because Dumbledore agreed with Potter friend Hermione Granger on giving rights to house elves.

‘Hurt’ and ‘angry’ Paula Abdul may not return to ‘American Idol’ next season

Due to the stalled negotiations, chances of the “Idol” judge returning for another season seem unlikely.

“Very sadly, it does not appear that she’s going to be back on ‘Idol,’” he said.