Blogs and Stories
From our Contributers
Mario Tama / Getty Images Storm Hits Joplin
Terry Greene Sterling is an award-winning Arizona-based journalist and author of ILLEGAL, Life and Death in Arizona's Immigration War Zone. Visit her on Facebook, or her website.
Tornadoes killed 14 people overnight in Oklahoma, Kansas, and Arkansas. The storm blew through Joplin, MO, where the death toll from Sunday’s storm is now 124. Terry Greene Sterling reports.
Susan Walsh / AP Photo The Palestinian Right to Dream
Peter Beinart, senior political writer for The Daily Beast, is associate professor of journalism and political science at City University of New York and a senior fellow at the New America Foundation. His new book, The Icarus Syndrome: A History of American Hubris, is now available from HarperCollins. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.
As Congress applauded Netanyahu's tough speech, a young Ramallah man talked about creating a Palestinian Tahrir Square, using nonviolence—and the hope that American Jews would back such a civil rights approach. Political reality suggests otherwise, writes Peter Beinart, but Palestinians should be allowed to dream.
Oprah Winfrey (Evan Agostini / AP Photo) Oprah's 20 Biggest Feuds
The Daily Beast is dedicated to news and commentary, culture, and entertainment. We carefully curate the web’s most essential stories and bring you original must-reads from our talented contributors.
In her 25 years on The Oprah Winfrey Show, the daytime talk-show billionaire has had rumored conflicts with everyone from the first lady to Oscar winners to a legendary battle with David Letterman. See the best of the worst.
Casey's Bombshell Accusation
Investigative journalist and syndicated columnist Diane Dimond has covered all manner of celebrity and pop culture stories. Her latest book is Cirque Du Salahi which uncovered the full story behind Tareq and Michaele Salahi, the so-called "White House Gate Crashers". Dimond has written extensively about the John Edwards sex scandal for the DailyBeast and she first broke the news that King of Pop Michael Jackson was under investigation for child molestation. She is author of the book, Be Careful Who You Love—Inside the Michael Jackson Case. She lives in New York with her husband, broadcast journalist Michael Schoen.
Mitch Daniels Rejects Candidates' Insane Path to the Presidency
Jack Germond has been covering national politics and Washington since 1960. He spent 20 years with the Gannett papers, then eight with the still-lamented Washington Star and more than 20 with the Baltimore Sun. He and his partner Jules Witcover wrote a syndicated column five days a week from 1977 through 2000, and four books about the 1980, 1984, 1988 and 1992 presidential campaigns. Germond's memoir is called Fat Man in a Middle Seat—Forty Years of Covering Politics; he has just completed his first novel. He and his wife Alice live on the Shenandoah River in West Virginia where he enjoys watching the birds and playing the horses.
San Francisco's Circumcision Ban
Adam Winkler is a constitutional law professor at UCLA.
Stars' Biggest Engagement Rings
The Daily Beast is dedicated to news and commentary, culture, and entertainment. We carefully curate the web’s most essential stories and bring you original must-reads from our talented contributors.
Kris Humphries proposed to Kim Kardashian with a 20.5-carat diamond band, but how does that stack up with some of the most legendary engagement rings of all time? SEE PHOTOS of everything from Elizabeth Taylor's 30-carat hoop to Kate Middleton's sapphire-and-diamond sparkler.
Cry Macho: Arnold's Canceled Film
Marlow Stern works for The Daily Beast and has a master's from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. He has served in the editorial department of Blender magazine, as an editor at Amplifier magazine, and, since 2007, editor of Manhattan Movie Magazine.
Before news that Arnold Schwarzenegger cheated on Maria Shriver with his maid and produced a love child, he was set to star in Cry Macho, an adaptation of a novel about, oddly enough, an adulterous, mid-life-crisis-suffering ex-rodeo star bonding with an 11-year-old Mexican boy. Marlow Stern on the nine most bizarre similarities between Schwarzenegger's would-be film and his own domestic scandal.
An All-Star Meeting of Deficit Reducers
Lloyd Grove is editor at large for The Daily Beast. He is also a frequent contributor to New York magazine and was a contributing editor for Condé Nast Portfolio. He wrote a gossip column for the New York Daily News from 2003 to 2006. Prior to that, he wrote the Reliable Source column for the Washington Post, where he spent 23 years covering politics, the media, and other subjects.
Bill Clinton had a tete-a-tete with Paul Ryan, Alan Simpson was ripping Grover Norquist, and Mitch Daniels wasn't quite relieved to be out of the 2012 race. Lloyd Grove reports from the Peterson Foundation's Fiscal Summit.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn's Rich Wife
Sandra McElwaine is a Washington Correspondent for The Daily Beast. She has been a reporter for The Washington Star, The Baltimore Sun, a correspondent for CNN and People, and Washington editor of Vogue and Cosmopolitan. She has also written for The Washington Post, Time, and Forbes.
Anne Sinclair is shelling out millions of her own money on bail, security, and posh housing for her husband as he fights rape charges. Sandra McElwaine explains how the socialite inherited her fortune from her art-dealer grandfather Paul Rosenberg—and how he acquired it.
Top 9 WTF Moments From American Idol 2011
The Daily Beast Video curates the most essential and entertaining video, and brings you original and exclusive productions from our talented contributors.
Casey Abrams breaking down. Naima's infamous dance. The many noises of Steven Tyler. WATCH VIDEO of the moments that had this season's fans scratching their heads.
A Keith Olbermann Hint From Morning Joe
Wayne Barrett is a Newsweek contributor and a fellow at the Nation Institute.
Joe Scarborough's morning-show banter turned mysterious on Tuesday when he appeared to link the media fallout after the Tucson shooting to Keith Olbermann's exit from MSNBC. Wayne Barrett on the possible connection.
Premature Celebration Follows Democratic Victory in New York State
Newsweek/Daily Beast Special Correspondent Michael Tomasky is also editor of Democracy: A Journal of Ideas.
Democrats are cheering the results of this week's election in upstate New York. But as Michael Tomasky explains, they still face an uphill battle for control of Congress in 2012.
The Real Housewives of New York City's Alex McCord
Nicole LaPorte is a contributor to The Daily Beast and the author of The Men Who Would Be King: An Almost Epic Tale of Moguls, Movies, and a Company Called DreamWorks.
On The Real Housewives of New York City, Alex McCord has morphed from wallflower to rabble-rouser. She gossips with Nicole LaPorte about her transformation.
Could Medicare Sink the GOP in 2012?
Patricia Murphy is a writer in Washington, D.C., where she covers Congress and politics.
Six months after winning their House majority, Republicans have wandered into electoral quicksand with Paul Ryan's Medicare reform proposal—and just lost a New York House seat to the Democrats over it. Patricia Murphy on how Medicare could become the defining issue for 2012.
Who Said It: John Edwards or Arnold Schwarzenegger?
David Graham is a reporter for Newsweek covering politics, national affairs, and business. His writing has also appeared in The Wall Street Journal and The National in Abu Dhabi.
Can you tell the difference between Arnold Schwarzenegger's baby-mama drama and John Edwards' own child-producing affair—which may now result in charges? Take The Daily Beast quiz.
Britain's Crush on Obama
Alex Massie is a former Washington correspondent for The Scotsman and The Daily Telegraph. He currently writes for The Spectator and blogs at www.spectator.co.uk/alexmassie.
His speech to parliament was a bore. But that hasn’t stopped the U.K. from fawning all over America’s president. Alex Massie on why Obama’s star still burns bright across the pond.
ABC Deal Close for Katie Couric
Howard Kurtz is The Daily Beast and Newsweek's Washington bureau chief, and writes the Spin Cycle blog. He also hosts CNN's weekly media program Reliable Sources on Sundays at 11 a.m. ET. The longtime media reporter and columnist for The Washington Post, Kurtz is the author of five books.
The network is nearing an agreement with Katie Couric after upping the ante on a lucrative syndication offer. Howard Kurtz reports on the behind-the-scenes bidding for Couric’s daytime show.
Hangover II: Ken Jeong's Scene-Stealing Performance
Marlow Stern works for The Daily Beast and has a master's from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. He has served in the editorial department of Blender magazine, as an editor at Amplifier magazine, and, since 2007, editor of Manhattan Movie Magazine.
On Friday, the Wolf Pack is back in one of the most anticipated films of the year, The Hangover: Part II, but it's the effeminate crime czar Mr. Chow, played by Ken Jeong, who steals the show. The physician-cum-comedian chats with Marlow Stern about dropping trou, Bradley Cooper's X-rated game of ping-pong, and how the first Hangover film saved his life.
Celebrating Sidney Harman's Life
Eleanor Clift is a contributing editor for Newsweek. Follow her on Twitter.
The late Newsweek Daily Beast owner's cultural interests, passion for life, and commitment to social justice were lauded at a memorial whose speakers included President Clinton, Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, and Lynn Harman, who said of her father: "He was magic." Eleanor Clift reports.
Oprah's Last Show: Watch the Best Moments
The Daily Beast Video curates the most essential and entertaining video, and brings you original and exclusive productions from our talented contributors.
Oprah Winfrey ended her talk show Wednesday with an hour-long sermon of the lessons she’s learned from 25 years on the air. WATCH VIDEO of her most poignant moments.
A Writer of Many Disguises
Jennie Yabroff is a staff writer at Newsweek covering books, movies, food, and art.
Novelist Chris Adrian talks about his new Shakespearean novel, The Great Night, how being a doctor inspires his work, and why he’d rather be writing about “zombie bunnies."
Tami Abdollah is a freelance writer who has written for the Los Angeles Times, among other publications.
Ibrahim Abdul-Matin is author of Green Deen: What Islam Teaches About Protecting the Planet and a media personality on public radio's newest morning news show, The Takeaway.
Suad Abdulrahman is a project coordinator with the Association for Crisis Assistance and Development Co-operation (WADI) in Iraqi Kurdistan.
Maha Gaber Abouelenein is the principal of communications firm Organizational Consultants. She focuses on US politics and bridging understanding with Arab cultures, media, and government. She is an active member in the World Economic Forum and the co-Chair of the Corporate Governance Committee of the US Chamber of Commerce.
Richard Abowitz covered Las Vegas for over a decade as a senior writer and editor at Las Vegas Weekly. For many years Abowitz wrote Movable Buffet blog and print column for Los Angeles Times. In addition to covering Vegas, Abowitz has been writing about music and culture for Rolling Stone since 1996. Abowitz blogs at GoldPlatedDoor.com.
Dan Abrams is CEO of Abrams Research, an attorney, and chief legal analyst for NBC News and MSNBC.
Sasha Abramsky is the author of Breadline USA. His latest book, a profile of President Barack Obama titled Inside Obama’s Brain, was published by Penguin’s Portfolio imprint in December.
Bruce Ackerman is Sterling professor of law and political science at Yale, and the author of 15 books on political philosophy, constitutional law, and public policy. His works include Social Justice in the Liberal State, the multivolume constitutional history, We the People, The Failure of the Founding Fathers and Before the Next Attack.
Dr. Mona Ackerman is a clinical psychologist with offices in Manhattan. She has suspended her practice while being treated for ovarian cancer and will resume seeing patients as soon as is practical.
Jennifer Ackerman's most recent book is Ah-Choo! The Uncommon Life of Your Common Cold (Twelve, 2010). Her previous books include Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream: A Day in the Life of Your Body; Chance in the House of Fate: A Natural History of Heredity; and Notes from the Shore. She is also the co-author with Miriam Nelson of a book on women's health, Strong Women's Guide to Total Health (Rodale, 2010). A contributor to National Geographic Magazine, The New York Times, and many other publications, she is the recipient of numerous awards and fellowships, including a 2004 NEA Literature Fellowship in Nonfiction and a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Her articles and essays have been included in several anthologies, among them Best American Science Writing (2005), The Nature Reader (1996) and Best Nature Writing (1996). More information can be found at her website: www.jenniferackerman.net
John M. Ackerman is a professor at the Institute for Legal Research of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, editor in chief of the Mexican Law Review, and a columnist for Proceso magazine and La Jornada newspaper. His website is johnackerman.blogspot.com.
Ruthie Ackerman is a senior fellow at the World Policy Insitute and the founder of Ceasefire Liberia, a hyperlocal blog project that focuses on Liberia and the diaspora.
Edward Adams (1933-2004) was a Pulitzer Prize winning photojournalist best known for his war coverage. He mostly worked for The Associated Press, Time and Parade. His photographs of human rights defenders from 36 countries were published in a book with Kerry Kennedy, Speak Truth to Power.
Jody Adams is the James Beard Award-winning chef/owner of the Boston restaurant Rialto, which Gourmet named one of “world’s best hotel restaurants,” The Boston Globe awarded four stars, and Esquire Magazine named one of the best restaurants in the country. She is the author of In the Hands of a Chef: Cooking with Jody Adams of Rialto Restaurant.
Laurel Adams is the James R. Soles Fellow at the Center for Public Integrity. She graduated cum laude from the University of Delaware in May of 2010 with majors in international relations, Spanish, and Latin American studies. She interned at Voices Without Borders in Wilmington, Del., and the British Embassy in Washington, D.C.
Lorraine Adams, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and reporter, is the author of Harbor and The Room and the Chair. She lives in New York City.
Mark Adams is a writer and editor whose work has appeared in many of America’s leading magazines, including GQ, Outside, the New York Times Magazine, Fortune and National Geographic Adventure, where he is a contributing editor. Adams wrote New York magazine’s popular column “It Happened Last Week” and once ran 26 miles alone through the streets of Manhattan for an assignment. Originally from Oak Park, Illinois, he now lives near New York City with his wife and their three sons.
Lynsey Addario is a photojournalist based in New Delhi, India, where she photographs for The New York Times and National Geographic, among other publications. Her Web site is lynseyaddario.com.
Jake Adelstein was a reporter for the Yomiuri Shinbun, Japan’s largest newspaper, from 1993 to 2005. From 2006 to 2007 he was the chief investigator for a U.S. State Department-sponsored study of human trafficking in Japan. Considered one of the foremost experts on organized crime in Japan, he works as a writer and consultant in Japan and the United States. He is also the public relations director for the Washington, D.C.-based Polaris Project Japan, which combats human trafficking and the exploitation of women and children in the sex trade. He is the author of Tokyo Vice: An American Reporter on the Police Beat in Japan (Vintange).
Aravind Adiga is the author of The White Tiger, which won the 2008 Man Booker Prize for fiction. His new novel, Last Man in Tower, will be published by Knopf in September.
Ben Adler is a writer for Newsweek and The Daily Beast covering politics and policy. Ben joined Newsweek in 2009 as national affairs editor of Newsweek.com. He was previously a staff writer at Politico. His writing has also appeared in The Atlantic, Columbia Journalism Review, The Nation, The American Prospect, Next American City and The Washington Monthly and his work has been reprinted in books such as Clued in to Politics and The Contemporary Reader. You can follow Ben on Twitter.
Jerry Adler is a contributing editor at Newsweek, where he writes about medicine, science, and ideas. He is the author of High Rise: How 1,000 Men and Women Worked Around the Clock for Five Years and Lost $200 Million Building a Skyscraper.
Michael Adler, a longtime reporter for Agence France-Presse, is currently a scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center and is writing a book on Iran’s nuclear diplomacy, which he has covered for most of this decade.
Ben Affleck’s wrote and directed the films Gone Baby Gone and The Town, in which he also stars. Other acting credits include The Company Men, Hollywoodland, and Shakespeare in Love. In 1997, he won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, with Matt Damon, for Good Will Hunting, in which he also starred.
Born in Iran and later immigrated to the US at the time of the Iranian revolution, Firouzeh was part of the United National Peacekeeping Mission in DR Congo where she lived for two years. Firouzeh holds an MBA from University of Southern California and a Master of International Service—focus on Conflict and Africa from the American University. She has traveled extensively in Africa, consulted for the World Bank and served on several election missions with the Carter Center in Nepal, DRC and Ivory Coast. She lives and writes in Los Angeles.
Dr. Arthur Agatston is a leading preventive cardiologist and creator and author of The South Beach Diet. He lives in Miami Beach with his wife, Sari.
Shohreh Aghdashloo was born in Tehran, Iran, on May 11, 1952. In the 1970s at age 20, she achieved nationwide stardom in her homeland of Iran, starring in some prominent pictures such as Gozaresh (1977) (The Report) directed by the renowned Abbas Kiarostami, which won critics awards at the Moscow Film Festival. During the 1978 Islamic revolution, Aghdashloo left Iran for England, earned a B.A. degree in International Relations.
Prashant Agrawal is CEO of Indipepal.com, India's only social portal. He previously worked at Skadden Arps, McKinsey, and a hedge fund, and is a contributing editor to GQ India and the magazine’s business columnist.
Liaquat Ahamed is the author of Lords of Finance: The Bankers Who Broke the World, a book about the causes of the Great Depression. After working as an economist at the World Bank, he spent 25 years as a professional investment manager in London and New York.
Fasih Ahmed is the editor of Newsweek Pakistan. He won a New York Press Club award for Newsweek's coverage of Benazir Bhutto's assassination. Ahmed was also the inaugural Daniel Pearl fellow and worked at The Wall Street Journal's Washington, D.C., bureau in 2003. He graduated from Columbia University and lives in Lahore.
SITE DESIGN BY CODE AND THEORY.
