Threat Assessment: October 24-28
WITH US
Feds won't help enforce Alabama immigration law
Department of Homeland Security chief Janet Napolitano says her agency will not help Alabama as it implements its controversial new immigration law, considered the toughest in the nation. [CNN]
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AGAINST US
Clean-tech investments on decline
Venture capital investments in green technology companies in the second quarter of 2011 fell by 44 percent compared to the same time period last year. [Washington Post ]
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WITH US
Army names first black female two-star general
Maj. Gen. Marcia Anderson has been named the Army's first black female two-star general, after a military career of over three decades. [NPR]
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AGAINST US
Chinese children stolen for adoption
Chinese adoption agencies reportedly stole children they were selling to American and international families for high prices; there are about 60,000 children, mostly girls, adopted from China in the U.S. [The Atlantic]
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WITH US
Three generations of family saved in Turkey earthquake rubble
A two-week-old child was pulled from the rubble of this weekend's devastating earthquake in Turkey, only to have her mother and paternal grandmother saved days after. [CNN]
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AGAINST US
Italian lawmakers duke it out over economic reforms
Two Italian lawmakers actually came to blows on the floor of the Parliament in Rome over a controversial pension reform plan. [The Atlantic Wire]
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WITH US
Human workers still besting robots in "complex" fields
Though computers continue to get more advanced and become increasingly able to take over the work of humans, we still excel in high-level pattern recognition and complex communication; managers, therapists and salespeople, all of whom interact with others frequently, employ intuition that is still a ways off for computers. [The Atlantic]
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AGAINST US
Gaddafi's had strange affection for Condi, memoir shows
Among the revelations in Condoleezza Rice's new memoir No Higher Honor, the strangest was the extent of Moammar Gaddafi's bizarre obsession with the former Secretary of State: during an official visit to Libya, Gaddafi had a famous Libyan composer write and perform a song called "Black Flower in the White House" in her honor. [Washington Post]
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WITH US
Young Mormons going hipster(ish)
Young Mormons are trying to break free of their clean-cut images, dodging church rules to grow beards, wear ponytails and dress in more modern ways. [New York Times]
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AGAINST US
Callista Gingrich's favorite campaign stop: Tiffany's
After drawing unwanted attention for a six-figure credit line at Tiffany's this summer, Newt Gingrich's wife Callista was spotted at the jeweler over the weekend. [Washington Post]
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WITH US
U.S. dismantling its most powerful nuclear bomb
The B53 bomb, built in 1962 and hundreds of times stronger than the Hiroshima bomb, is being dissembled in Amarillo, Texas a year ahead of schedule, according to the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration. [AP]
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AGAINST US
Rick Perry: birtherism is "fun"
In a CNBC interview, Rick Perry commented further on his recent remarks about the Obama birthed issue: "It's a good issue to keep alive. It's fun to poke at him." [Daily Kos]
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WITH US
IMMIGRATION LAW FOES SUPPORT ALABAMA DELI OWNER
A Birmingham, ALA, deli owner who spoke out last week against his state's draconian new immigration law was pilloried online by anti-immigrant types. He's since received a counterwave of support from the local community, and business has never been brisker. [Huffington Post]
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AGAINST US
Children spending more time in front of screens than ever, study says
Children eight years old and younger are spending more time in front of TVs and iPads than ever, according to a study by non-profit group Common Sense Media. Children spend over three hours a day on average with various forms of media. [New York Times]
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WITH US
TUNISIA EMBRACES DEMOCRACY
Nine months after toppling their dictator at the dawn of the Arab Spring, Tunisians elected a new government (dominated by moderate Islamists) in what international observers declared a free and fair election. [BBC]
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AGAINST US
Steve Forbes-shaped tax plan would save him $2 billion
Rick Perry-endorsing billionaire Steve Forbes helped draft Perry’s version of the flat tax, which would trim Forbes' tax bill by $1.9 billion over 30 years. [ThinkProgress]
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WITH US
Hacker collective to target child pornography websites
Anonymous, the nebulous hacker group that practices its own online vigilante justice, has vowed to taken down any sites "hosting, promoting or supporting child pornography" in a program it calls Operation Darkness. [The Week]
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AGAINST US
Americans Down on the Future
69 percent of respondents to a new poll said the country is “in decline,” while 57 percent predict today’s kids won’t live better lives than their parents. [The Hill]
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WITH US
U.K. scientists grow super-healthy broccoli
Scientists at Britain's Institute for Food Research have unveiled specially-grown broccoli that contains two to three times the normal amount of glucoaphanin, a nutrient that can help prevent heart disease. [TEXT ]
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AGAINST US
LAX SECURITY AT ANTRHAX LAB
Identified as the source of the anthrax that killed five people in the fall of 2001, the Army bio-weapons lab at Fort Detrick, Md had security provisions "so lax they would have allowed any researcher, aide or temporary worker to walk out … with a few drops of anthrax." [ProPublica]
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WITH US
MAINE MAN'S CAR GETS SERIOUS MILEAGE
Former auto mechanic Joe LoCicero bought his Honda Accord in 1996 with 74,000 miles on the clock. He recently logged his 1 millionth mile. The secret of his car's longevity? Following maintenance schedules, using quality parts and driving safely. [AP ]
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AGAINST US
Patriot Act turns ten
George W. Bush signed the U.S. Patriot Act into law on October 26, 2001 and, in the ten years since, civil rights groups and citizens alike have cried foul over the law's privacy-violating provisions. [NPR ]