- Not content with being at war with just the West, al Qaeda has vowed to avenge the treatment of Muslim Uighurs in China by attacking Chinese workers in Africa.
- As Pennsylvania enters its third week without a budget, state workers are experiencing pay reductions and if the budget impasse continues past July 1, they will get no pay at all.
- While the Obamas nurture a family friendly environment in the White House for themselves, aides and top staffers aren’t so lucky.
- The winner of the special election in California’s 32nd Congressional District is Chu. That is Judy or Betty. Judy is the Democratic candidate; Betty is the Republican nominee.
- Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is blaming the British for the sexually charged scandals enveloping his private life. In return, a Berlusconi-owned newspaper in Italy claims that the Italians have beaten the Brits at “everything and its time you realized it.”
- In an effort to trim its military budget, Britain is cutting 800 of its elite Gurkha warriors.
- Levi Johnston said that from conversations he overheard, Sarah Palin’s resignation was about taking advantage of the lucrative financial offers that she had.
- Virginia has a plan for a new high-occupancy toll road with toll rates of $1 a mile. That means a regular commuter would pay $33,280 a year to use it. Something is wrong when the use of the road costs more than the vehicle, except if you can pay $33K in toll fees, I suppose you can afford a car more expensive than that.
- The Obama administration will evaluate the much-maligned five-tier colored system used to designate the threat of a terrorist attack.
- Enhanced video from the Apollo 11 moonwalk will be released on July 16.
- The FAA is developing rules on how to handle unmanned aerial vehicles.
- London Mayor Boris Johnson called the £250,000-a-year pay writing for the Daily Telegraph “chickenfeed.”
- A diplomatic spat erupted today over Canada’s sudden decision to impose visas on visitors from the Czech Republic and Mexico, with Czech Prime Minister Jan Fischer recalling the Czech ambassador to Canada, Karel Zebrakovsky. He also announced that Canadian diplomats would now need visas to travel to the Czech Republic. The Canadian tourism industry is also miffed because representatives feel it will discourage Mexican tourists from coming to Canada.
- President Obama may have to veto his own defense spending bill. That’s because some senators made an 11th hour addition of $1.75 billion to buy seven F-22 fighter jets, which Obama and other key legislators say are unnecessary. Analysts say it would be unprecedented for a defense secretary and chairman of the Joint Chiefs to urge the president to veto their own defense bill. Nevertheless, they, and Obama, have made clear that they view such expenditures as wasteful. ”We do not need these planes. That is why I will veto any bill that supports acquisition of F-22s beyond the 187 already funded by Congress,” Obama said in a letter Monday to senators.
