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Published: 12/1/09

Photo Captures Mystery Drone Operating Over Afghanistan

By Sharon Weinberger

(Dec. 1) -- For months, aerospace writers have been hot on the trail of a secret drone rumored to be flying over Afghanistan. Now, a French journalist has successfully captured a picture of this mysterious unmanned aerial vehicle, which experts have linked to defense giant Lockheed Martin. ...

Published: 12/1/09

Sarah Palin Bus Tour Hits Speed Bump With Private Jet Controversy

By Dana Chivvis

(Dec. 1) – Rogues, it seems, will be rogues: As she promotes her new book with an equally hyped down-home bus tour, former vice presidential candidate and Alaska governor Sarah Palin has been jetting to some stops on a Gulfstream II private jet, which rents for $4,000 an hour. ...

Published: 12/1/09

Opinion: Health Care Reform's Lowered Expectations

By John Merline

(Dec. 1) -- A new report today is being hailed as providing a boost to health care reform's prospects in the Senate, because it finds that the Senate plan won't raise insurance premiums for everyone. But wasn't the point of reform supposed to be to cut people's premiums? ...

Published: 12/1/09

Stripper-Mobile Comes to a Bump-and-Grinding Halt

By Steve Friess

LAS VEGAS (Dec. 1) -- The marketing manager of a pair of Las Vegas strip joints hit on the clever idea of driving a truck up and down The Strip with pole dancers inside a Plexiglas box to promote the clubs. Business doubled, but a political firestorm also erupted. For now, the Stripper-mobile is ...

Published: 11/30/09

Vote for 2009's Top 10 'Fugliest' Fashions

By Buck Wolf

(Nov. 30) -- You don't have to be mauled by a tiger if you want that ravaged-by-a-jungle-cat look. Take a look at 2009's worst fashion trends, so you don't get caught celebrating New Year's Eve in crop-circle leggings. ...

Published: 11/30/09

2009 Word of the Year: Twitter

By David Knowles

(Nov. 30) -- "Twitter" has been named the "Top Word of 2009," beating out such contenders as "vampire," "H1N1" and "Obama." ...

Published: 11/30/09

Opinion: Health Care Reform Needs a Strong 'Public Option'

By Sphere Opinion

(Nov. 30) -- As the Senate takes up health care reform this week, a key sticking point will be the "public option" -- a government-run insurance plan that is supposed to help keep costs down by providing competitive pressure to private insurers. But a new report from the nonpartisan Urban Institute ...

Published: 11/30/09

What Recession? Most Expensive Casino Complex, Biggest Cruise Ship Debut

By Dana Chivvis

(Dec. 1) -- In this new era of belt-tightening, a most-expensive anything feels decidedly out of fashion. But Tuesday, two new luxury projects -- a casino and a cruise ship -- will reportedly claim that title in their glitzy categories, while transporting their inaugural guests back to the bygone ...

Published: 11/30/09

Will The Sun Never Set on Dubai's Debt?

By Joseph Schuman

(Nov. 30) -- There may be something in the financial woes of a Persian Gulf emirate that prompts gloating in the West, some latent ill will, perhaps, that dates from the oil shocks of the early 1970s. But the meltdown in Dubai, now shaking markets worldwide, is as American as a subprime mortgage ...

Published: 11/30/09

Prince Albert of Monaco: Forget E-Mails -- Global Warming Is For Real

By Andrea Stone

WASHINGTON (Nov. 30) -- Prince Albert of Monaco today waded into the controversy over the hacked e-mails that have given fresh ammo to climate change skeptics, saying, "There is no more room for doubt." ...

Published: 11/30/09

Scientists Create Lab-Grown Pork; Bacon Industry Unmoved

By Andrew Schneider

(Nov. 30) -- Scientists in the Netherlands have created pig in a test tube. Debate has already started on whether it will save the world, or just throw vegetarians into a quandary. In the meantime, the researchers could be the new front-runners for a million-dollar prize offered by a major animal ...

Published: 11/30/09

Will Swiss Ban on Minarets Set a European Trend?

By Theunis Bates

(Nov. 30) -- Switzerland's reputation as a land of tolerance and harmony took a hit on Sunday, when its citizens overwhelmingly approved a ban on the construction of new mosque minarets. And with right-wing parties across Europe now calling for their own referendums, many are wondering whether ...

Published: 11/30/09

The Point: Does Tiger Deserve Privacy?

By Steve Pendlebury

(Nov. 30) -- Such a big fuss over such a little accident. Tiger Woods isn't saying much about his SUV crash, which just makes people all the more curious about exactly what happened to the golf superstar. ...

Published: 11/30/09

Honduras Election Leaves Diplomatic Muddle In Its Wake

By Carmen Gentile

MIAMI (Nov. 30) -- Five months after a coup that was initially condemned by the Obama administration, voters in Honduras chose a new president in elections that Washington approved but most Latin American countries deemed illegitimate. Early results from Sunday's vote gave a clear win to ...

Published: 11/29/09

WikiLeaks Founder Sees Success in Exposing Global Warming E-mails, 9/11 Texts

By Sharon Weinberger

(Nov. 30) -- It has posted internal e-mails that damaged the reputation of leading climate change researchers and published more than 500,000 text messages sent from government personnel in the hours after the terrorist attacks of 9/11. But such explosive disclosures are just business as usual for ...

Published: 11/26/09

Ghost Soldiers: Do 10,000 Missing Troops Matter?

By Sharon Weinberger

(Nov. 26) -- As the country awaits a presidential decision on increasing the military presence in Afghanistan, a numbers game has begun, with media outlets and pundits guessing how many troops President Obama will send -- and to what extent that number will fall short of the 40,000 troops already ...

Published: 11/26/09

Can Video Games Turn You Into a War Criminal?

By Theunis Bates

LONDON (Nov. 26) -- On Black Friday, geeks across America will head to electronics stores in search of discounted video games. But they should pick carefully. Take home a violent game, and they could be playing with war crimes. ...

Published: 11/25/09

Common Excuse for Guns at Airport: 'Oops'

By Allan Lengel

WASHINGTON (Nov. 25) -- A lot of things became off-limits at airports after Sept. 11, 2001, but a surprising number of passengers still get caught with a particularly big no-no: firearms. ...

Published: 11/25/09

Pundit's Take on Health Care Costs a Must-Read in Obama White House

By Andrea Stone

WASHINGTON (Nov. 25) -- As the Senate gears up for next week's debate on health care reform, West Wingers, Hill staff and policy analysts of all stripes will be digesting journalist Ron Brownstein's 2,600-word blog post, "A Milestone in the Health Care Journey." The piece is a shout-out to Senate ...

Published: 11/25/09

Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck: 2012 Dream Ticket?

By David Knowles

(Nov. 25) -- Sarah Palin isn't ruling out the possibility of running for president in 2012 with Fox News host Glenn Beck as her running mate. ...

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