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Most popular news on 12 June 2009 |
Chastity Bono announces sex change
AP - Chastity Bono is having a sex change to become a man. A spokesman for Bono, born a girl to Sonny and Cher, says he "has made the courageous decision to honor his true identity" and began the sex-change process earlier this year. Publicist Howard Bragman said Bono is proud of his decision and hopes "that his choice to transition will open the hearts and minds of the public regarding this issue."
Will Obama be Truman on Gay Rights?
RealClearPolitics.com - In June, 2008, Michelle Obama came to Manhattan's Waldorf Astoria for a fundraiser with wealthy gay Democrats and spoke of civil rights struggles "from Selma to Stonewall."
Radioactive wasps bug out nuclear cleanup workers
AP - If workers cleaning up the nation's most contaminated nuclear site didn't have enough to worry about, now they've got to deal with radioactive wasp nests. Mud dauber wasps built the nests, which have been largely abandoned by their flighty owners, in holes at south-central Washington's Hanford nuclear reservation in 2003.
AP source: NKorea may be prepping new nuclear test
AP - North Korea may be preparing for its third nuclear test, a show of defiance as the United Nations considers new sanctions on the dictatorship for conducting an underground nuclear explosion in May, according to a U.S. government official.
WHO: Swine flu pandemic has begun, 1st in 41 years
AP - Swine flu is now formally a pandemic, a declaration by U.N. health officials that will speed vaccine production and spur government spending to combat the first global flu epidemic in 41 years. Thursday's announcement by the World Health Organization doesn't mean the virus is any more lethal — only that its spread is considered unstoppable.
No smoking: Historic vote could bring new limits
AP - The Senate struck a historic blow against smoking in America Thursday, voting overwhelmingly to give regulators new power to limit nicotine in the cigarettes that kill nearly a half-million people a year, to drastically curtail ads that glorify tobacco and to ban flavored products aimed at spreading the habit to young people.
For accused museum shooter, a downward spiral
AP - James von Brunn carried a lifetime of hatred and an aging rifle to the entrance of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, authorities say, and was met with a simple act of kindness: a security guard opening the door for him.
Iowa woman's photo sparks push for new cloud type
AP - Looking out the 11th floor window of her law office, Jane Wiggins did a double take and grabbed her camera. The dark, undulating clouds hovering outside were unlike anything she'd seen before.
Slain security guard remembered as 'teddy bear'
AP - As an elderly white supremacist approached the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, security guard Stephen T. Johns unknowingly held open the door — a final act that friends and family said Thursday was typical of his kindness for others.
No. 2 House Republican compares Obama to Putin
AP - The No. 2 Republican in the House on Thursday compared President Barack Obama's plans for the auto industry to the policies of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, saying the White House has stripped credit holders of rights and given them to Democratic allies.
Mo. family Christmas photo turns up in Czech ad
AP - It's an international mystery: How did a Missouri family's Christmas card photo end up in the Czech Republic, splashed across a huge storefront advertisement? Danielle Smith said Wednesday that the photo taken of her family last year got sent to family and friends, and was posted on her blog and a few social networking sites. The photo showed her and her husband Jeff holding their two young children.
Iranians begin voting in key presidential election
AP - Iranians began voting Friday in a crucial presidential election pitting hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad against a pro-reform candidate who is more open to improving relations with Washington.
WHO declares first 21st century flu pandemic
Reuters - The World Health Organization declared an influenza pandemic on Thursday and advised governments to prepare for a long-term battle against an unstoppable new flu virus.
Mexico nabs drug suspect wanted in Tijuana battles
AP - Mexican soldiers captured a suspected cartel member accused of killing two federal agents and leading bloody battles for smuggling routes in the northern city of Tijuana, authorities said Thursday.
Carrie Prejean Stands by, Well, Carrie Prejean
E! Online - The now former Miss California is talking.
Letterman hunts for jokes in Palin feud
AP - David Letterman joked Thursday that things are now fine now between him and Sarah Palin because the Alaska governor called and offered to take him hunting.
I have an excuse, I swear
The Yahoo! Newsroom - Today, President Obama hosted a town-hall meeting in Green Bay, Wisconsin to sell his ideas on health-care reform. During the Q&A portion, the president and father of two also wrote a note excusing one 10-year-old audience member from school.
IDs of Air France victims could prove jet broke up
AP - Brazilian authorities started to identify bodies recovered from a downed Air France jet on Thursday, and the names of victims found 53 miles (85 kilometers) apart in the ocean could help prove whether the jet broke up in the air.
Obama to fire inspector general of AmeriCorps
AP - President Barack Obama plans to fire the inspector general who investigates AmeriCorps and other national service programs amid a controversy between the IG and Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, who is an Obama supporter and former NBA basketball star.
AP source: Eagles give McNabb $5.3 million raise
AP - Donovan McNabb got a big raise instead of a longer contract.
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