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Vail Mountaineer
Saturday, April 10, 2010
THE UPDATE
pendent mind, a record of excellence and integrity, a fierce dedication to the rule of law and a keen understanding of how the law affects the daily lives of the American people.”
Stupak retiring from Congress
Rep. Bart Stupak insists that tea party activists outraged over his crucial support of health care legislation didn’t run him out of office, but his decision to retire gives conservatives a rallying point as they target Democrats in the midterm elections. The congressman, an anti-abortion Democrat whose high-profile role in the “Obamacare” debate earned him enemies on the left and the right, said Friday that he’s leaving because he’s tired and has accomplished his No. 1 goal: improving health care. “The tea party did not run me out,” Stupak told The Associated Press in a phone interview. “If you know me and my personality, I would welcome the challenge.” Stupak had been a consistent landslide winner in his sprawling northern Michigan district, and the opening now offers Republicans a ripe opportunity to regain a seat they held for decades until Stupak prevailed in 1992.
Liz getting re-re-re-re -re-re-re-re-hitched
Dame Elizabeth Taylor may soon be walking down the aisle ... for the ninth time, reports Us Magazine. A source close to the Oscar-winning actress, 78, tells Us Magazine exclusively that Taylor recently got engaged to Jason Winters, 49, of Sterling Winters Management. Taylor -- who now predominantly uses a wheelchair -- and Winters -- who recently became Janet Jackson’s new manager -- have yet to confirm the news, according to Us Magazine. Another insider, said in Us Magazine’s report: “It’s no secret that they’ve been together forever and are in love, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if they were engaged. Right now they are keeping it between them.”
Obama and Palin mix it up
President Barack Obama and Republican Sarah Palin sparred from a distance over nuclear policy with each questioning the other’s experience on the issue in a potential preview of the 2012 White House race. “Unbelievable,’’ Palin said earlier this week after Obama rewrote the U.S. nuclear strategy, and she suggested the president was weak on nuclear defense.
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Obama, in Prague to sign a nuclear reduction treaty with Russia, countered by deriding the former Alaska governor who resigned midway through her first term as ‘’not much of an expert’’ on nuclear issues. Palin then shot back yesterday during a speech to the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans with a reference to Obama’s early career choice. Mocking the president, she dismissed ‘’all the vast nuclear experience that he acquired as a community organizer.’’ Playing out over several days and across the globe, the spat foreshadowed what the country could see come the next presidential race should Palin run for president and win the GOP nomination.
Qatari comedian banned from United return flight
A Qatari diplomat who created a bomb scare midflight earlier this week tried boarding the same airline for his return flight to Washington. United Airlines said, “No.” United spokesman Mike Trevino says they banned Mohammed Al-Madadi (Al-Mah-DAH-dee) from a United flight Thursday because he violated airline and Federal Aviation Administration policies when he tried smoking on a flight from Washington to Denver Wednesday. When caught, Al-Madadi’s awkward joke about setting his shoes on fire prompted a bomb scare and an F-16 escort to Denver International Airport. The U.S. is not filing charges against the diplomat after receiving assurances from Qatar that Al-Madadi will be sent home, officials said.
Netanyahu to skip nuke conference
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to abruptly cancel a trip to a nuclear conference in Washington spotlighted a key sore point Friday in international nonproliferation efforts: Israel’s own atomic weapons. The Jewish state wants to help lead the charge against allowing nuclear weapons to end up in undesirable hands, even when nobody doubts that Israel itself possesses them. An Israeli official said Friday that Netanyahu called off his trip after his government received word that participants at next week’s conference would “push an Israel-bashing agenda.” He and other officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the government’s reluctance to allow its members to speak publicly about nuclear-related issues.
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President Barack Obama’s nominee to head the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel has withdrawn her bid for confirmation, after several Republicans objected to her criticism of the Bush administration’s terrorist interrogation policies. Dawn Johnsen’s withdrawal -- a setback for the Obama administration -- was announced late yesterday by the White House on a day the capital’s legal and political elites were absorbed in the news that Justice John Paul Stevens would retire from the Supreme Court. The Senate Judiciary Committee had recommended Johnsen’s confirmation on party-line votes. But several Republicans objected to her sharp criticisms of terrorist interrogation policies under President George W. Bush, and the full Senate never voted on her nomination.
Gas hits $9 a gallon in UK
The $9 gallon arrived at Britain’s petrol pumps yesterday as motorists continue to be hammered by Labour, reports the Daily Express. Unleaded hit an average of 119.9 pence a liter for the first time ever, breaking the previous July 2008 record of 119.7 pence. But some gas stations are already charging 131.9 pence a liter – or just a penny short of the $9 a gallon, reports the Express. “This is a dark day for Britain’s hard-pressed motorists,” said the RAC in the Express, and there is worse to come, warned experts Thursday night.
Coca Cola and Innocent Drinks
US soft drinks giant Coca-Cola has taken a majority stake in fast-expanding British smoothie maker Innocent Drinks, but its founders said yesterday, according to an Agency French Press report, that operational control would stay in their hands. Coca-Cola increased its stake in Innocent to 58 percent, one year after taking an initial 18 percent share, reports the AFP. In a statement, cited by the AFP, Innocent’s three cofounders said they would continue to run their ethically minded company -- which donates 10 percent of its profits to charity -- despite their reduced holdings.
Clinton on nukes
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton offered assurances yesterday that a new nuclear arms control treaty enables the U.S. to maintain a “strong, flexible deterrent” as she urged divided Republicans and Dem-
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Justice Department nominee withdraws
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