Last Update: Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Weapons makers look overseas as Pentagon cuts back Foreign governments looking to kick the tires of fighter jets and cargo planes at this week's air show in Paris will likely hear a clear message from U.S. defense contractors: We need your business now more than ever.

Convicted 'Cuban Five' spies lose bid for new trial

Courts

Bush Lawyer - John Yoo - Ordered to Testify  Bush Lawyer Ordered to Testify By JOHN SCHWARTZ A federal judge has ruled that John Yoo, a former Bush administration lawyer who wrote crucial memorandums justifying harsh interrogation techniques

U.S. Supreme Court won't review 'Cuban Five' spy convictions

Pennsylvania town fights big coal on mining rights

AIG lawyer: Ex-top exec plundered retirement plan The former top executive of American International Group Inc. plundered an AIG retirement program of billions of dollars because he was angry at being forced out of the company, a lawyer for AIG told jurors Monday at the start of a civil trial. Attorney Theodore Wells told the jury in Manhattan that former AIG Chief Executive Officer Maurice "Hank" Greenberg improperly took $4.3 billion in stock from the company in 2005, after he was ousted by the company amid investigations of accounting irregularities.

Court orders $507.5 million damages in Exxon Valdez spill A federal appeals court on Monday ordered Exxon Mobil Corp to pay $507.5 million in punitive damages stemming from the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill off Alaska, plus 5.9 percent interest running from the 1996 trial judgment, the opinion said.

Myth of Fingerprints Debunked

Feingold Asks Obama to Clarify Position on Warrantless Wiretapping Responding to the controversial assertion by Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair on June 8 that warrantless wiretapping “wasn’t illegal,” Senator Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) today sent a letter to President Obama asking him to make clear that he is not claiming that extraordinary executive authority to disregard the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA.

Taxes

Lawmakers want IRS to suspend tax shelter penalty Some small businesses are being hit with big fines for not disclosing the use of questionable tax shelters to the IRS, an unintended consequence of a law aimed at corporations that use the shelters to avoid taxes....

Doctors Say Current System Impedes Medical Care Doctors say the current health care system doesn't support good doctor-patient relationships. Too few people have health insurance, and too much time is spent on paperwork rather than listening to patients.

Obama

As U.S. Overhauls the Banking System, 2 Top Regulators Feud The personal feud between two bank regulators is shaping the president’s attempt to revamp financial regulation.

S.C. Republican compares first lady to gorilla That was in reference to a controversy last year in which a South Carolina state House Representative was caught with a flyer claiming that Obama had promised a job to all black Americans, but that those black Americans were too lazy to actually want the jobs.

Pick for Army chief pushed defense earmarks before he was named by President Obama to be the next Army secretary, Rep. John M. McHugh of New York had asked Congress to set aside tens of millions of dollars in next year's budget for defense contractors that now could fall under his command as the Army's civilian leader. Mr. McHugh, the top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, requested that more than $40 million in "earmarks" be inserted into a 2010 defense appropriations bill, including more than $8 million benefiting an Army base in his home state, according to records.

Obama may consider limits on malpractice suits President Obama takes his call for government-funded health insurance to a skeptical audience Monday.

Why a Maine GOP senator is taking on oil speculators Oil prices shot past $72 a barrel this week, and a growing number of experts point to Wall Street speculators as a key reason why Americans are suddenly paying a lot more for oil and gasoline. Most lawmakers have remained silent on the issue, but not Sen. Susan Collins.

HUGE SPIKE IN VIOLENCE REPORTED
Iranians Report Major Clashes, Tanks Arriving  I'm continuing to get email about a stunning piece of video showing two things -- 1) a group of riot police on motorcycles charging into a massive crowd of people, and 2) a touching act of compassion, as several demonstrators help a bruised, exhausted police officer into safety. I posted it early this morning but figured I put it up again since so many have written in about it.

Follow The News On Twitter  Meanwhile, here's a list of English-language Twitter'ers in Iran right now, posting updates as news breaks.

Some tweets translated from Farsi by the NIAL:

Iranian Students' Plea To Obama: Don't Accept The Results

Report: Mousavi Meets With Ayatollah Khamenei... With clashes continuing Sunday night on the streets in Tehran, Iran's opposition leader Mir-Hossein Moussavi plans to make a speech to Iranians in the capital's Azadi (Freedom) square."

Opposition Members Are Detained in a Tense Iran The Iranian authorities detained more than 100 prominent opposition members and unrest continued for a second day in the wake of the country’s disputed election.

Massive Demonstrations Clog The Streets, Mousavi Appears In Public For First Time Since Election Day

Speed of Iran vote count called suspicious How do you count almost 40 million handwritten paper ballots in a matter of hours and declare a winner? That's a key question in Iran's disputed presidential election

The war on computers, continued. Boston Globe posts a huge cache of fantastic, high-quality photos, including this one of a dorm room computer apparently targeted by police.

How Iranians outwit the net censors. Informative article from the New York Times, published back in April.

Twitter Delays Planned Maintenance Shut-Down In Victory For Web-Based Iranians... Photos: Protester Scales Tehran's 'Freedom Tower'... Video Shows Gunmen Turning Weapons On Protesters

Pro-Mousavi March In Tehran Stretched Five Miles Long

Stunning Video: Women Beaten With Clubs, Motorcycles Charge Crowds...
ABC: Former Head Of Revolutioinary Guard Contests Election... Emboldened Critics Attack Supreme Leader Khamenei...

Iranian Filmmaker says Mousavi was told he won Yesterday, twenty agents in civilian clothing attacked press offices of Mousavi‘s campaign at Gheitarieh. They broke all communication devices and attacked the campaign staff, including Mr. Kharazi and Mr Amirzadeh. They beat up the staff and when the people confronted them, they fired tear gas at the crowd. These were agents in civilian clothing! Then the agents attempted to runaway. About seven of them were captured by the people and were kept at the campaign headquarters. Next the police arrived at the headquarters and demanded to have custody of the seven captives and said "We would punish these lawbreakers ourselves." . "No, we need this to be court documented; we know that after the election, you will lose them", said Mr. Amirzadeh.

'Shots fired' at Iran protest One person reported killed in shooting at banned pro-opposition rally.

Intense Fighting At Tehran University...  I posted earlier about reports of violence at the university. Reader Phen emails: "I found this video from inside a dormitory at Tehran University surveying the aftermath of whatever happened there. The beginning looks a pretty tame, but as the camera advances things start to look a lot worse, it looks as though there's been an explosion or something. Absolute wreckage inside of the rooms.

Deadly clash erupts in Turkey Two killed in battle between army and separatists in Kurdish southeast.

US begins closing Kyrgyz base Hub for Afghan military operations to close by August as ordered by Kyrgyzstan.

Blast kills Afghan tanker drivers Convoy attacked outside Nato forces base in Gereshk district in Helmand province.

Europe

The Americas