In a major policy speech Wednesday night, President Obama announced plans to withdraw 10,000 U.S. troops from Afghanistan by the end of the year—and a total of 33,000 by the end of next summer. Promising to be “as strategic as we are resolute,” Obama spoke of the need to balance the war on terror with urgent domestic priorities—such as “rising debt and hard economic times.” He used Libya as an example of squeezing resources by relying on help from allies rather than putting boots on the ground. “America, it is time to focus on nation-building here at home,” the president said.

Read it at National Journal

June 22, 2011 8:19 PM

Three students were killed, 21 were injured, and an additional 130 were arrested when Syrian security forces raided a dorm at Damascus University late Tuesday. The students reportedly refused to participate in a pro-regime rally held in support of President Bashar al-Assad’s speech promising reform, which was held at the university Monday. The raid also came only hours before Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallan gave a news conference repeating Assad’s pledge to negotiate with protesters and other dissidents. Meanwhile, witnesses said there was a prison riot at a detention facility in the eastern province of Hasakah, where the prisoners reportedly took control of the facility and demanded freedom before being surrounded by army troops.

Read it at Los Angeles Times

June 22, 2011 6:48 PM

Ouch, this is not a good sign. Sources said Wednesday that some of Tim Pawlenty’s top aides are working for little or no pay, having given up large salaries for the sake of the campaign. One aide said, “This isn’t ‘we’re broke and we can’t afford to pay you’ … we’re raising exactly what we said we were going to raise.’” Another said the low paychecks were a sign of their commitment, especially since many of these aides had donated to the campaign. Those earning little or nothing include his top two strategists, who earn between zero and $1,000 a month, plus reimbursements for expenses.

Read it at The Washington Post

June 22, 2011 11:55 PM

Infamous Boston mobster James “Whitey” Bulger has been arrested in Los Angeles after being on the run for 16 years, police said Wednesday. Bulger, now 81, has been on the FBI’s “10 Most Wanted List” for his alleged role in 19 murders when he was head of the Winter Hill Gang. Bulger had been a top FBI informant on his gang’s rival, the New England Mob, and prosecutors said Bulger went on the run after he was tipped off by a corrupt FBI agent that he would be arrested. Bulger, whose brother, William Bulger, is the former president of the Massachusetts State Senate, had been somewhat of an embarrassment for the FBI, especially when their cozy relationship and the extent of his crimes became public.

Read it at Associated Press

June 23, 2011 12:44 AM

It was a free-for-all at Kentucky’s Churchill Downs on Wednesday night after a twister hit and knocked down a few barns, sending horses scattering at the racetrack that hosts the Kentucky Derby each year. At least five barns were damaged, but all of the stables’ 1,300 horses have been recovered and put safely back in their stalls. The storm was part of a flash of twisters that swept across Louisville Wednesday night. No injuries were reported, and the track’s famous twin spires were spared.

Read it at Associated Press

June 22, 2011 10:57 PM

Don’t count out Sarah Palin just yet: The former Alaska governor shot down reports Wednesday that her bus tour of historic sites had been canceled, saying she had to return to Alaska for jury duty. Palin said her bus tour of the Southeastern U.S. will resume “when the time comes,” and said she is looking forward to “hitting the open road again.” Although Palin has repeatedly said her tour is not the beginning of a presidential campaign, she said she plans to visit Iowa next, the state with the influential first caucus.

Read it at Associated Press

June 22, 2011 9:39 PM

Renowned artist and activist Ai Weiwei has been freed on bail after nearly three months in jail. State media claim that authorities were satisfied with Ai's “confession” to tax evasion, and that his poor health was also a factor in the decision to release him. Ai thanked reporters for their support outside his studio Wednesday, and said his health was fine. Ai was jailed on April 3, and became the most high-profile victim of a huge crackdown resulting from Beijing's anxiety over the Arab Spring uprisings.

Read it at Associated Press

June 22, 2011 11:08 AM

Sleep easy, Mark Zuckerberg: The Winklevoss twins, the Facebook CEO’s Harvard colleagues who have accused him for years of stealing their idea for the social-networking site, have dropped their appeal to the Supreme Court. The twins—Olympic rowing competitors who were portrayed in The Social Network along with Zuckerberg—had been contesting a 2008 settlement of $65 million, which they claimed was fraudulent because Zuckerberg had hidden information from them. The twins dropped the appeal after “careful consideration.”

Read it at Reuters

June 22, 2011 6:50 PM

Indiana police said Wednesday they have arrested an Amish man, Willard Yoder, 26, for sending inappropriate text messages to a 12-year-old girl. Yoder was nabbed when he showed up in a horse-drawn buggy, intending to meet the girl and have sex with her. He apparently randomly dialed the girl, who then showed it to her mother, who said she made sure the man was aware he was sending these messages to a 12-year-old. Cops say Yoder sent some 600 texts to the girl, including five pictures and two videos. A not-guilty plea was entered on his behalf.

Read it at Associated Press

June 22, 2011 10:41 PM

A Food and Drug Administration report released Wednesday showed that silicone-gel-filled breast implants are safe, as the agency defended its 2006 decision to put them back on the market. But the longer a woman keeps them, the more likely she will experience complications. One in five women getting breast augmentation had to have them removed within 10 years. Silicone was banned in 1992 in response to fears of a possible relationship between the breast implants and cancer and various autoimmune diseases, such as lupus. When the FDA decided to put the silicone-gel-filled implant back on the market in 2006, consumer groups were outraged.

Read it at Los Angeles Times

June 22, 2011 4:14 PM

The national debt will exceed the size of the entire U.S. economy by 2021, according to an analysis by the Congressional Budget Office released Wednesday. The report also predicts that the debt will double the GDP within 25 years, and increased government spending is “attributable entirely” to the soaring costs for "Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and (to a lesser extent) insurance subsidies" to help fund coverage for the uninsured under the new health-care law. As for solutions, the CBO said the government must raise taxes, cut health and retirement spending, or do a combination of the two.

Read it at The Washington Post

June 22, 2011 4:53 PM

Lindsay Lohan was ordered to appear in court Thursday because she reportedly failed an alcohol test. Sources told TMZ Lohan was tested for alcohol twice last week, and reportedly tested positive for alcohol on one of the tests. She did, however, pass the drug tests. Sources said the Probation Department will ask an L.A. County Superior Court judge to revoke Lohan’s house arrest and instead put her in jail. Lohan reportedly also had parties while under house arrest. She is serving a 35-day house arrest sentence after entering a plea bargain for stealing a necklace.

Read it at TMZ

June 22, 2011 10:30 PM

The Federal Reserve is taking a breather. Chairman Ben Bernanke said Wednesday the central bank will finish up some stimulus work next week as scheduled—a purchase of $600 billion in Treasury securities—and would not take any new steps to boost growth or jobs for now. In his second official press conference, Bernanke also downgraded the U.S. economy’s performance, saying that a moderate recovery is taking place, but it’s slower than expected. The Fed will keep interest rates at exceptionally low levels for several more months.

Read it at The Wall Street Journal

June 22, 2011 1:29 PM

George Clooney is back on the market. The actor and his girlfriend of two years, Elisabetta Canalis, have broken up. Last month a source close to the couple told E! News that Clooney “wanted to move on.” However, at the time, he responded by saying, “We are together and doing fine, as far as I can see.” But on Wednesday, the couple issued the following joint statement: “We are not together anymore. It’s very difficult and very personal and we hope everyone can respect our privacy.” Just last week, the two shared a candlelight dinner in Lake Como, Italy.

Read it at E! Online

June 22, 2011 5:47 PM

Al Gore has really developed a taste for inconvenient truths—he’s doing what few Democrats have done and criticized President Obama’s record on climate change. In a 7,000-word essay for Rolling Stone posted online Wednesday, Gore outlines scores of Obama’s failures, from failing to defend his green stimulus package from Congressional defunding, to making concessions to oil and coal companies. But the biggest problem with Obama is a much more general one, according to Gore: “President Obama has never presented to the American people the magnitude of the climate crisis.” Gore said Obama has failed to make the case for “bold action,” and it is time to do so.

Read it at Rolling Stone

June 22, 2011 10:35 AM

Country music hall-of-famer Glen Campbell has gone public with the news that he has Alzheimer's disease. Campbell, 75, told People magazine that he was diagnosed six months ago. The "Rhinestone Cowboy" will say farewell with a slate of concerts this fall. Campbell said that he wants his fans to be aware of his condition in case he falters.

Read it at People

June 22, 2011 5:54 PM

Ryan Dunn was behind the wheel with a blood-alcohol content level over twice the legal limit when he was killed in a fatal crash earlier this week. A toxicology report shows that Dunn’s blood alcohol level was 0.196; the legal limit for drivers in Pennsylvania, where the accident occurred, is 0.08. Police say Dunn may have been driving his car over 130 miles per hour when he went off the road. A passenger in the vehicle, Zachary Hartwell, was also killed in the accident.

Read it at MTV.com

June 22, 2011 4:08 PM

Sarah Palin’s “One Nation” bus tour had people speculating about a presidential run, but is it already over? The former governor has returned home to the 49th state, even though her aides’ itineraries show her traveling through the Midwest and Southeast this month. Mama Grizzly’s reasons for returning home are unknown. Speculators suggest it could mean she has decided against a run in 2012, or just the opposite, taking a break to think things through.

Read it at Real Clear Politics

June 22, 2011 12:23 PM

Jose Antonio Vargas, the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, has admitted to living in the United States illegally. His mother sent him to the U.S. from the Philippines when he was 12 years old, and he did not learn of his illegal status until four years later. He was able to get his first reporting jobs using a fake Social Security card, and other fake documents. Later in his career, he used a fake driver’s license to get into the White House for a State dinner. He has admitted to his status after all these years in order to lend support to the DREAM Act and help push it through Congress, and he says he is aware that he could be deported.

Read it at ABC News

June 22, 2011 10:16 AM

Transocean, the owner and operator of the drilling rig destroyed during the BP oil spill, has released a report claiming that the oil company is to blame for the three month disaster, because of a “faulty” well design and failure to inspect the sealing cement. The company acknowledged its own fault for its crew’s failure to detect the hydrocarbons breaching the Macando well, while still claiming that the rig crew was given “bad” information by BP that “masked” any sign of trouble. BP has already set aside $40 billion for clean up and legal costs, not including pledges by other associated companies and investors.

Read it at Washington Post with Bloomberg

June 22, 2011 1:46 PM

It’s not just Anthony Weiner: Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme accidentally tweeted publicly a note he intended as a direct message to his mistress. The note is just the tip of the iceberg, in his case: The two also exchanged 849 text messages and he helped her find a job at the foreign ministry. It’s also the second time he accidentally sent a private message for her to his public feed, following a note sent out a year ago, which translates to “Not at all. Want to learn to know you. You too?”

Read it at Politico

June 22, 2011 11:07 AM

Saudi Women for Driving has called on Fuji Heavy Industries’ to take its Subaru brand out of the country in order to put “pressure” on the Saudi royal family and support the protest against the driving ban. “This is already the largest women’s rights movement in Saudi history and no one here knows what will happen next, but a big company like Subaru pulling out could help change our country forever,” the group said. A spokesman for the company did not indicate that there is any plan to leave the country, saying, “We only have dealers in Saudi Arabia, and no factories. Our annual sales in the country are limited to only 300 to 400 units.”

Read it at Bloomberg

June 22, 2011 12:01 PM

Keith Olbermann’s revived series Countdown fared well with young adults in its debut on Current TV Monday night. The show drew in 179,000 viewers between the ages of 25 and 54, according to Nielsen. Current TV, Olbermann’s new home since leaving MSNBC earlier this year, is pleased with the show’s start even though The O’Reilly Factor had 735,000 young adult viewers and Lawrence O’Donnell (Olbermann’s replacement on MSNBC ) had 237,000.

Read it at Associated Press

June 22, 2011 10:21 AM

Almost time to upgrade your iPhone, again: Bloomberg says Apple will release a new iPhone in September that is faster and has a better camera than the iPhone 4. It will include the A5 processor that powers the iPad 2 plus an eight megapixel camera. Apple is also testing an iPad with a high resolution screen, like the one currently on the iPhone.

Read it at Bloomberg

June 22, 2011 8:26 AM

Fashion designer John Galliano’s trial begins Wednesday for his anti-Semitic tirade earlier this year. The defense will claim he was made “ill” by a triple addiction to booze, sleeping pills, and Valium, which, his lawyers say, he took “like candy.” “The combined effect of these drugs is a state of complete and utter abandon,” his lawyer Aurelien Hamelle said Tuesday. "When he was in that state he had no way of knowing or remembering what he said." Galliano faces a six-month prison sentence and a fine of around $30,000.

Read it at The Telegraph

June 22, 2011 6:49 AM

It’s one of the great questions that vex the modern world: Do babies drool over Picasso or Monet? At last we don’t have to wonder: A study headed by a psychologist at the University of Zurich found that—voila!—9-month-old infants prefer the Spaniard over the Frenchman. Little humans in diapers were shown six works by each painter. Turns out, babies stare at Picasso for longer, and they usually look at Picasso’s Landscape of Juan-les-pin and shun Monet’s Poppy Field Near Giverny when the two paintings are hung side-by-side. Everyone’s a critic.

Read it at MSNBC

June 22, 2011 11:23 AM

Actor Tobey Maguire is being sued over an illegal gambling ring that ran secret multi-million dollar poker games. An FBI Investigation found that Brad Ruderman, the CEO of Ruderman Capital Partners, lost $25 million of investor money in the poker games, including over $300,000 to Maguire. The games had a $100,000 buy-in. Lawyers for Ruderman’s clients are filing several lawsuits against the winners, in order to retrieve some of the money. Maguire was reportedly winning up to $1 million a month for three years. Other A-listers were involved in the poker ring, including Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Affleck, and Matt Damon; however, they are not being sued. One source recalled, “Matt never won.”

Read it at Radar Online

June 22, 2011 10:57 AM

Put a sock in it: The head of Wimbledon tells The Telegraph that tennis players are grunting too loudly. “We believe it is helpful to reduce the amount of grunting,” says Ian Ritchie, who blames younger players suffering from “an education problem” for the noise. Richie doesn't single out women, but the Telegraph notes the problem is mainly with women. The worst offender this year is Belarussian Victoria Azarenka, whose wails registered at 95 decibels and lasted 1.5 seconds. “Certainly my postbag, if you say 'what do you get most letters about’, I would say that grunting is high up,” Richie says.

Read it at The Telegraph

June 22, 2011 6:41 AM

Could Destiny’s Child get back together? Page Six says Columbia Records executives are having “quiet discussions” about a reunion as a way to make up for possibly low sales for Beyonce's new album, 4. "They're very nervous about Beyonce's new record," a source tells Page Six. "It doesn't have the hit songs that her fans are used to.” Another source tells Page Six that Destiny’s Child could begin recording as soon as October. However, it is unclear if either Beyonce or Kelly Rowland, who has her own solo career, would be up for the reunion. "[Rowland] has her own solo career now,” the source says. “Why would she want to be singing backup for Beyonce?"

Read it at New York Post

June 22, 2011 6:52 AM

Is there anyone who loves jewelry more than the Gingriches? Presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich’s campaign admitted Tuesday that he had another line of credit at the luxury jewelry store Tiffany’s, this one for as much as $1 million. Gingrich’s spokesman said the candidate’s financial-disclosure statement will reveal that Gingrich and his wife, Callista, had a “$500,000 to $1 million line of credit at Tiffany’s, that it has a zero balance and has been closed.” This revelation comes only a few weeks after another set of financial-disclosure forms revealed the family had a $250,000 to $500,000 line of credit at Tiffany’s during 2005-06. Earlier Tuesday, Gingrich’s finance team resigned, only a few weeks after the 16 other top aides quit.

Read it at The Washington Post

June 21, 2011 9:20 PM

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and her husband, Mark Kelly, have signed a book deal with Scribner. The memoir will cover their courtship, Giffords’ political career, and the attack in January that almost killed her. Jeffrey Zaslow, a writer for The Wall Street Journal, is signed up to assist them in writing. The book does not yet have a publication date.

Read it at The New York Times

June 22, 2011 6:39 AM

Forty al Qaeda members and suspects escaped Wednesday from a prison in Yemen. The break was highly coordinated: Prisoners attacked guards and seized their weapons as armed militants attacked the prison from outside. It’s a further sign of lawlessness in southern Yemen, which has been a flashpoint in the country’s recent turmoil. The last major al Qaeda prison break in Yemen went down in 2006.

Read it at Associated Press

June 22, 2011 6:44 AM

Mexican police on Tuesday arrested Jose de Jesus Mendez Vargas, also known as “The Monkey” and the head of the La Familia drug cartel. Mexican President Felipe Calderon praised the capture as a major blow to organized crime. Mendez Vargas is accused of transfer and sale of cocaine, crystal methamphetamine, and marijuana in the U.S. and Mexico as well as masterminding the killing and kidnapping of rival gang members. The previous leader of La Familia, Nazario Moreno, was killed by security forces in December 2010. La Familia claims to protect local communities and families, but is really one of Mexico’s top drug gangs.

Read it at BBC News

June 21, 2011 9:16 PM

The FBI appears to be fighting back against Lulz Sec, the hackers who recently attacked several corporate and government websites. On Tuesday, British police announced they had arrested a 19-year-old man for allegedly participating in cyberattacks "by a single hacking group." The FBI assisted in the investigation, and the Daily Mail says he could face extradition to the U.S. The FBI also confiscated several servers from a data center in Virginia, affecting popular services like InstaPaper and the Curbed blog network. It is unclear whether the raid was related to the Lulz Sec investigation, though a government official told the Times Tuesday that the FBI is actively investigating the group. Separately, the lead researcher at Imperva says he has  identified the members of Lulz Sec.

Read it at The New York Times

June 22, 2011 6:29 AM

The violence mostly ended in Bahrain months ago, but the government continues its crackdown on dissent: The government has sentenced 10 Shiite opposition protesters to life sentences after it accused them of plotting a coup. The prisoners include Hassan Mushaimaa, who leads a hardline opposition group and called for the overthrow of the monarchy in February and March. Bahrain has seen small protests since June 1, when the government lifted emergency law.

Read it at Reuters

June 22, 2011 6:26 AM

Syria’s Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem lambasted the European Union for imposing new sanctions on Syrian companies, a move that he says amounts to “war” against the country. Speaking at a press conference in Damascus Wednesday, Muallem accused the EU of wanting to “plant strife and chaos in the country.” Muallem also urged Turkey, a country generally on good terms with Syria, to reconsider its position on President Bashar al-Assad’s speech Monday promising reforms and a national dialogue.

Read it at Al Jazeera English

June 22, 2011 5:09 PM

Evacuations of Minot, North Dakota began Wednesday as a historic flood is expected to engulf much of the city. The Souris River had not been expected to breach the town’s levees until later this week, but waters are already reaching record levels and overtopping levees in the afternoon. The town of Minot is located in a river basin which has received almost 200 percent more rainfall than usual over the past two months. The Souris River is expected to rise above a previous record of 1,558 feet on Thursday or Friday.

Read it at The New York Times

June 22, 2011 2:45 PM