This is how it's gonna be: President Obama vows to veto any debt reduction package that doesn't include tax increases on rich ... A choice, not an echo: Ralph Nader and other liberal leaders announce plans to field progressive slate in presidential race; Nader says idea isn't to defeat Obama but to sharpen focus on progressive issues ... Blood money: Rupert Murdoch's News International Corp. reportedly offers $4.5 million settlement to family of murder victim Milly Dowler for hacking their phones ... Yemen's agony: Death toll from two days of clashes between protesters and security forces in Yemen tops 50, including children ... Which came first, the ducks or the beavers? Bureau of Land Management says 7-million-year-old fossilized beaver teeth found in Eastern Oregon are earliest evidence of beavers in North America.
Tuesday, Sept. 20
Camouflage no longer needed: Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy officially ends; gays can serve openly in military ... Oh no, not again: Japan prepare to evacuate a million people as Typhoon Roke heads for Fukushima nuclear plant previously wrecked by earthquake and tsunami ... The less said the better: Executives of Solyndra, California-based solar energy company that blew through half-billion in federal money, planning to take Fifth Amendment in testimony before Congress ... Did he leave out any adjectives? Texas governor and GOP presidential hopeful Rick Perry says President Obama's Mideast policy is "naive, arrogant, misguided and dangerous" ... And we thought only the Defense Department did this: Audit of Justice Department spending on conferences finds agency spent $16 apiece for muffins and $7.32 apiece for beef Wellington appetizers.
Wednesday, Sept. 21
And they call it "the justice system": Troy Davis, black man accused of killing white police officer, executed in Georgia despite strong evidence he was innocent ... Don't you dare fix that economy before Election Day: Republican congressional leaders warn Federal Reserve Board (which is supposed to be politically independent) not to try any more economy-stimulating moves ... No argument here: After two years in prison, Iran releases American hikers Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer. "Two years in prison is too long," says Bauer ... Now let the endless "farewell tour" begin: After 31 years, pioneer alternative rock band R.E.M. announces breakup; split described as "amicable."
Thursday, Sept. 22
Leader of the pack: Rick Perry's GOP presidential rivals gang up on him at debate; Mitt Romney accuses him of flip-flop on Social Security ... Arctic cougar on the prowl: Levi Johnston, 21, father of Bristol Palin's love child, tells interviewer Sarah Palin, 47, had a "cougar crush" on him, but hastens to add, "She never touched me or anything like that!" ... Did Einstein blow it? Team of physicists reports subatomic particle has been clocked moving faster than speed of light, although Albert Einstein declared nothing can go faster than light ... Abusing the privilege: Texas decides to stop providing whatever condemned criminals request for last meal after one orders a triple-meat bacon cheeseburger, a pizza, a bowl of okra with ketchup, a pound of barbecue, a half loaf of bread, peanut butter fudge, a pint of ice cream and two chicken-fried steaks, and then says he isn't hungry. Okra with ketchup?
Friday, Sept. 23
It's hard to keep a real dictator down: Aisha Qaddafi releases audio recording saying her dad is alive, in high spirits, and fighting ... Audio problems? Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum says he didn't hear crowd at last night's debate loudly booing when gay soldier appeared on video, but he condemns it: "Certainly had I heard them, I would have said, 'Don't do that.'" ... Slight miscalculation: Groupon Inc. reveals revenue was only half what it reported; news may again delay IPO ... Farewell to Pine Valley: After 41 years, soap opera "All My Children" airs last episode as gunshot rings out. Was Erica Kane shot? We may never know. Do we care? Probably not.
Saturday, Sept. 24
Pepperoni and extra cheese: Godfather's Pizza mogul Herman Cain scores surprise win in Florida GOP presidential straw poll, beating Texas Gov. Rick Perry by 2-1 ... Meanwhile, NJ Gov. Chris Christie, who looks like he's put away a few pizzas himself, reportedly thinking about entering race ... In political news from behind what used to be the Iron Curtain, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's getting ready to run for president again. Pundits make him heavy favorite ... Muammar's Last Stand (Maybe): Rebel forces batter their way into Muammar Qaddafi's hometown stronghold of Sirte ... Let them eat credit default swaps: 80 arrested in NYC as "Occupy Wall Street" protest enters second week; Wall Street brokers sip champagne and taunt demonstrators.
Sunday, Sept. 25
Better late than never: Three years behind schedule, Boeing finally delivers its first carbon-fiber 787 Dreamliner passenger jet ... Better 10,000 years late than never: King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Saud of Saudi Arabia announces women will be allowed to vote and hold public office. Don't know if this means they'll be allowed to drive too ... Strange bedfellows: The Telegraph of Britain reports Tony Blair held six secret meetings with Muammar Qaddafi after Blair stepped down as prime minister ... Strange discovery: Libyan rebels reportedly find 1,200 bodies in mass grave near Qaddafi's Abu Salim Prison in Tripoli ... Sequel coming? Inspired by movie "127 Hours," Amos Wayne Richards, 64, goes hiking alone in Utah's Little Blue John Canyon, falls, breaks leg, crawls four days through desert before being rescued.
