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:

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

Other important stories:

42. Australian minister says drought needs attention
43. Scientists fighting disease with climate forecasts
44. Suit asks Coast Guard to protect whales from ships
45. Political leaders pay tribute to TV’s Russert
46. YouTube opens screening room for indie filmmakers
47. Continental Airlines studying first-bag fee
48. Tiger won US Open with torn ligament, 2 fractures
49. Banner 17: Celtics add to record championship haul
50. Fla.’s Crist has new view of offshore drilling ban/States weigh options in offshore fight
51. Bush rallies behind McCain at fundraising dinner
52. Michelle Obama grateful for first lady’s defense
53. Muslim woman: Scarf kept her from seat near Obama
54. Texas GOP cuts off vendor that sold racist button
55. Board member, former Microsoft president to retire
56. Founders of Yahoo’s Flickr head for the exits
57. Fla. court declines jurisdiction in Allstate suit
58. Morgan Stanley 2Q profit falls 61 percent
59. West Coast shippers, dockworkers near new deal
60. Collapsed bridge’s successor may be done by Sept.
61. Internet domain name for China surpasses “.net”
62. Voted items at FCC are secret, agency says
63. Fifth Third to raise $2B capital, cut dividend
64. FedEx swings to 4Q loss; guidance disappoints
65. Sprint sets price for new smart phone: $129.99
66. 3 men charged with killing suspected mob informant
67. Teenager from faith-healing family dies in Oregon
68. Tribal casinos continue growth in 2007
69. Study shatters myths on personal Net use at work
70. Low-caste Indian group ends weeks of protests
71. Cuba says 2 die as as smugglers overturn boat
72. Mexico freezes prices on 150 foods for 6 months
73. Official says Chad’s army kills 161 rebels
74. Somalis flee terror, pour into Kenya refugee camp
75. Srebrenica survivors seek damages from UN, Dutch
76. Monsoon floods kill 29 in India
77. South Korea: Japan should give aid to North Korea
78. Japan, China reach deal on undersea gas exploration
79. 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

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):

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

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