News You Can Use

News You Can Use for June 18

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IMPORTANT NOTE: These headlines are applicable to June 18, 2008, and may be out of date.

If you’ve watched the (national) news today, demand that they cover THESE headlines before ANY filler (and comment if there are some I missed yet):

  1. China yuan hits new high against US dollar
  2. Bali bomber warns of al-Qaida attacks if executed
  3. Iraq foreign minister hails US “flexibity”
  4. Bipartisan accord reached on war funding bill
  5. Judge: Calif. Blackwater facility may remain open
  6. Guantanamo Bay detainees have rights. Now what?
  7. US disputes claim Guantanamo detainee was ill
  8. Report: Former detainees still suffer from trauma
  9. US-India nuclear deal appears to be in trouble
  10. Dow briefly dips below 12,000 as oil rises
  11. Bush sending energy chief to Saudi oil parley
  12. Midwest flooding may cause more levee overflows
  13. Audit cites lack of planning for Afghan security
  14. ACLU seeks to clear 2 charities in Holy Land case
  15. Many CEOS have visions of swirling pink slips/Job cuts likely in HP’s overhaul of printing group
  16. Housing rescue bill could be slowed by Republicans
  17. White House seeks $1.8 billion for Midwest flood aid
  18. Boeing wins key round in Air Force tanker protest/McCain: Tanker report unfortunate for taxpayers
  19. Obama says bin Laden must not be a martyr/Obama meets with national security advisory group
  20. Forces deployed to Sudan’s oil-rich Abyei region
  21. Olmert, Assad could meet in Paris
  22. Home buying practices adjust to high gas prices
  23. Belgian truckers, farmers protest high fuel prices
  24. Chinese engineer sentenced for economic espionage
  25. Rice to host UN talks on rape, Zimbabwe

Honorable Mentions:

  1. Second fromer EADS exec charged in trading probe
  2. CDC counts 383 salmonella cases from tomatoes
  3. UN says Colombia coca crop grew by 27 pct. in ’07
  4. Congress enacts farm bill over Bush veto, again
  5. Official: Charges loom for 2 Bear Stearns execs
  6. TD Ameritrade close to settling data theft lawsuit
  7. Flight delays spur fight over air travel changes
  8. Airline passengers sue to stop Delta-Northwest deal
  9. Even best efforts can’t prevent all heart attacks
  10. Credit card fees: Some gas stations say ‘no more’
  11. FDA OKs breathing device used by Christopher Reeve
  12. Man with deadly skin cancer saved by new treatment
  13. Anglican Bible conservatives hold strategy summit
  14. Bono, Bob Geldof press G-8 on aid to Africa
  15. Sweden adopts law allowing official eavesdropping
  16. Israel urges Lebanon to open peace talks

Other important stories:

  1. Australian minister says drought needs attention
  2. Scientists fighting disease with climate forecasts
  3. Suit asks Coast Guard to protect whales from ships
  4. Political leaders pay tribute to TV’s Russert
  5. YouTube opens screening room for indie filmmakers
  6. Continental Airlines studying first-bag fee
  7. Tiger won US Open with torn ligament, 2 fractures
  8. Banner 17: Celtics add to record championship haul
  9. Fla.’s Crist has new view of offshore drilling ban/States weigh options in offshore fight
  10. Bush rallies behind McCain at fundraising dinner
  11. Michelle Obama grateful for first lady’s defense
  12. Muslim woman: Scarf kept her from seat near Obama
  13. Texas GOP cuts off vendor that sold racist button
  14. Board member, former Microsoft president to retire
  15. Founders of Yahoo’s Flickr head for the exits
  16. Fla. court declines jurisdiction in Allstate suit
  17. Morgan Stanley 2Q profit falls 61 percent
  18. West Coast shippers, dockworkers near new deal
  19. Collapsed bridge’s successor may be done by Sept.
  20. Internet domain name for China surpasses “.net”
  21. Voted items at FCC are secret, agency says
  22. Fifth Third to raise $2B capital, cut dividend
  23. FedEx swings to 4Q loss; guidance disappoints
  24. Sprint sets price for new smart phone: $129.99
  25. 3 men charged with killing suspected mob informant
  26. Teenager from faith-healing family dies in Oregon
  27. Tribal casinos continue growth in 2007
  28. Study shatters myths on personal Net use at work
  29. Low-caste Indian group ends weeks of protests
  30. Cuba says 2 die as as smugglers overturn boat
  31. Mexico freezes prices on 150 foods for 6 months
  32. Official says Chad’s army kills 161 rebels
  33. Somalis flee terror, pour into Kenya refugee camp
  34. Srebrenica survivors seek damages from UN, Dutch
  35. Monsoon floods kill 29 in India
  36. South Korea: Japan should give aid to North Korea
  37. Japan, China reach deal on undersea gas exploration
  38. Georgia authorities release 4 Russian peacekeepers

Also important:
Editorial Roundup: Excerpts From Recent Editorials.

A story that isn’t important but worth reading anyway:
Veganic farmers work without animal fertilizers

News You Can Use for June 17

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In the Internet circles I often find myself in, I often hear about how terrible the news media is today, even outside the accusations of bias. So I thought about starting a feature where I run down the top 25 stories of the day that you should know, with no fluff or filler. Think of it as what the evening news SHOULD be. Should generally be up to date by 7:45.

My verdict: There is no such thing as a slow news day. This was a big time sink the first time but I may actually go at it again tomorrow now that I know just how many important stories there really are if you know where to look.

Note that I’m only listing stories reported on by the Associated Press, and for all I know there are probably places on the Internet or elsewhere that are already a great source for substantive news. But it’s so hard to get the word out because the Internet audience is so diverse.

Leave a comment if you quibble with my order or if I missed an important story, or even if I judged a story important that isn’t.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Remember that this is for June 17, 2008, and may be out of date by the time you read this.

  1. Fed auctions $75 billion to ease credit stresses
  2. Report: Pentagon misled Congress on NORAD threat
  3. Official says Iraq contract dispute cost him job
  4. Bush closes defense contractor tax loophole
  5. Iran says uranium enrichment to continue
  6. Pakistan’s A.Q. Khan denies new nuke weapons claim
  7. Attorney seeks clearance for 9/11 defendant
  8. Gitmo war crimes court back in session
  9. Findings on the Pentagon’s detainee policies
  10. Radical preacher Abu Qatada to be freed in Britain
  11. Hamas says it’s reached cease-fire with Israel/Details of Israel-Hamas truce
  12. US, activists decry Darfur ‘failure’
  13. Energy prices fuel US-China strains
  14. GOP objects to jobless benefits extension bill
  15. Bush to urge Congress to allow offshore drilling
  16. Senators jab OPEC over high oil prices
  17. CFTC boosting oversight of foreign oil trades
  18. Weather, costs could cause record Texas ag losses
  19. Bush begins effort to track state of environment
  20. Fed: industrial production dipped in May
  21. Study: Health costs to rise nearly 10 percent
  22. Countrywide revelations muddle housing rescue
  23. Republicans on tax bill: Just say no.
  24. DNC wants McCain investigated
  25. Obama: Bin Laden still free because of GOP tactics

Other important stories (honorable mentions):

  1. AFSMCE, MoveOn ad targets McCain on Iraq war/McCain ad puts distance with Bush on environment
  2. Obama to seek AFL-CIO, labor backing in meetings/Clinton asks top donors to meeting with Obama
  3. Obama promises tuition tax credit
  4. Conviction thrown out in Abramoff scandal/People convicted in the Abramoff investigation
  5. Mexico to have public trials, presumed innocence
  6. Maryland elects 1st black woman to Congress
  7. Patients signing away right to sue nursing homes
  8. US expects food inspectors in China by year end
  9. Appeals court refuses to stop gay weddings
  10. Summer job market especially tough for poor kids/Tips for teens to land a summer job (hey, a story that’s relevant to me!)
  11. Flood health risks exist, but common sense rules
  12. Taco Bell, Wendy’s starting to use tomatoes again
  13. United projects 2008 fuel costs soaring to $9.5B
  14. Northwest Airlines announces larger capacity cuts
  15. Low sales force Ford to idle SUV plant for 9 weeks
  16. Bush to inspect Iowa flood damage
  17. FDA warns about fraudulent cancer treatments
  18. AMA takes no action on tobacco bill challenge
  19. Not important: Study: The new SAT is not much better

Also of interest:
Poll: Obama leads McCain nationally by small margin