The New York Times
In Rescue of Captain, Navy Kills 3 Pirates
Navy Seal snipers rescued an American cargo ship captain unharmed and killed three Somali pirates in a daring operation in the Indian Ocean on Sunday, ending a five-day standoff between United States naval forces and a small band of brigands in a covered orange lifeboat off the Horn of Africa.
Longer Unemployment for Those 45 and Older
When Ben Sims, 57, showed up earlier this year for a job interview at a company in Richardson, Tex., he noticed the hiring manager — several decades his junior — falter upon spotting him in the lobby.
Plan to Change Student Lending Sets Up a Fight
WASHINGTON — The private student lending industry and its allies in Congress are maneuvering to thwart a plan by President Obama to end a subsidized loan program and redirect billions of dollars in bank profits to scholarships for needy students.
Rising Circulation, at Papers Sold by Homeless
WASHINGTON — Newspapers produced and sold by homeless people in dozens of American cities are flourishing even as the deepening recession endangers conventional newspapers. At many of them, circulation is growing, along with the sales forces dispatched to sell the papers to passers-by.
Ban on Drooping Drawers Faces Legal Challenge
RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. — As fashion statements go, the young men’s “sagging pants” look, with trousers slung low enough to reveal a generous swath of boxer shorts, has some lamentable drawbacks.
Formerly Joyous, Black Voters Waver on Support for Paterson
ALBANY — When Gov. David A. Paterson met recently with a group of mostly black legislators, he got an earful. They wanted to know his strategy for recovering from his disastrous first year.
Addiction Behind Bars
The United States must do more to curb the spread of diseases like AIDS and hepatitis C in prison, where infection rates are high and inmates can easily spread disease through unprotected sex or by sharing needles.
The Washington Post
An Early Military Victory for ObamaIt was one of the earliest tests of the new American president -- a small military operation off the coast of a Third World nation. But as President Bill Clinton found out in October 1993, even minor failures can have long-lasting consequences.
Foreclosure Sales Stalled by Red TapeAnxious to meet the bank's demands for quick action, Andrew Garcia and his fiancee, BethAnne Hoffmann, rushed to find financing to buy a foreclosed-on house in a lovely tree-lined Baltimore neighborhood.
Schools' 'Money Is Falling Off the Truck'Educators across the country are counting on a federal stimulus windfall to prevent teacher layoffs and improve schools. But while Washington is giving, some state and local governments are taking away.
Liberated Agenda Pushed In D.C.With a friend in the White House and Democratic majorities in Congress, several D.C. Council members say they are emboldened to push a progressive agenda that will put the city at the center of the national debate over the environment, same-sex marriage and gun control in the coming year.
The Christian Science Monitor
10 ways the new economy will look differentWASHINGTON - On Sept. 18, 1873, weakened by investments in the ill-conceived Northern Pacific Railway, the big Philadelphia banking firm Jay Cooke & Co. went bankrupt. A national economic crisis followed – one with eerie parallels to the grinding recession of today.
How you'll know the economy is turning aroundPurchases of big-ticket consumer items like cars and washers, trends in the stock market, and manufacturers' inventories are a few of the "leading indicators" that economists watch for signs of an economic upturn – most of which remain gloomy.
On Cuba, Obama must first think of Latin America – and democracyHow to deal with Cuba has vexed US presidents since communist Fidel Castro took power in 1959. Now it is President Obama's turn. But this time, more than US-Cuban ties are at stake.
Baltimore Sun
Cell phone problem in prisons target of legislationWhen prosecutors revealed last month that a Baltimore man accused of using a contraband cell phone in jail to order the killing of a witness was again caught with an illegal phone behind bars, the judge's jaw dropped. He couldn't fathom how this keeps happening. It's "amazing," said U.S. District Court Judge Richard D. Bennett.
Housing program gives hope to veterans
Detroit Free Press
Obama proves he can handle a crisisWASHINGTON -- The U.S. economy is showing only glimmers of life and two costly wars remain in the balance, but President Barack Obama's "no drama" handling of the Indian Ocean hostage crisis proved a big win for his administration in its first critical national security test.
Obama twice approved force to rescue hostageWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama twice authorized the military to rescue a U.S. captain held by Somali pirates and whose life appeared to be at risk, administration official said hours after today’s rescue.
Fiat funds from subsidiary loan could aid ChryslerThe Italian automaker Fiat SpA is seeking billions of dollars in U.S. banking rescue funds through one of its subsidiaries -- money that could be used to prop up its deteriorating cash reserves and, ultimately, help Fiat and Chrysler LLC finalize an alliance that could rescue the Auburn Hills-based automaker.
Cockrel to offer plan to fix Detroit city budget
Los Angeles Times
Obama is urged to take the wheel on infrastructureReporting from Washington -- Two prominent governors, California's Arnold Schwarzenegger and Pennsylvania's Edward G. Rendell, sent a memo to President Obama saying he needed to assert more political leadership instead of leaving it to Congress to draft a plan for improving the nation's aging highways, bridges and ports.
Internet payday lenders with ties to Indians dodge California regulatorsReporting from Sacramento -- California business regulators are stumbling in their efforts to find and ban an unlicensed form of high-interest consumer credit: payday loans available on the Internet.
Chicago Tribune
HIV/AIDS: South struggles against rising problemHENDERSON, N.C. — Sheila Holt moved to this small town from New Jersey two years ago to take care of her ailing mother. But as a former heroin addict with HIV, she found that rebuilding her life in the South was harder than she had imagined.
Evidence frays in murder casePARIS, Texas — Four months after a grand jury indicted two white men in connection with the dragging death of a black man in this racially troubled northeast Texas town, key evidence against the pair appears to be evaporating amid growing optimism by one defense attorney that he can win an acquittal when the first case comes to trial in July.
Drunken driving, cop case: Chicago cop gets bail in fatal crash, angering 2 victims' friends and familyA raucous confrontation broke out Sunday outside Cook County Criminal Court after a Chicago police detective charged with causing a deadly auto crash while driving drunk was ordered released on $500,000 bail.
Ku Klux Peeps?Yup, those yellow marshmallow chicks that are better seen than eaten, as far as I'm concerned (Easter eggs; That's how I roll), pop up everywhere these days.
This fuzzy photo comes from NBC’s Washington DC station WRC. (See their full report here. )
