Yes, America Says: America Drones the American People

Associated Press

The U.S. government admitted for the first time Wednesday that it intentionally droned American citizen Anwar al-Awlaki, and that it unintentionally droned three other Americans, including al-Awlaki's 16-year-old son. Attorney General Eric Holder admitted it in a letter to Congress, ahead of President Obama's long awaited speech on Thursday, which could finally lay bare the truth about the administration's targeting killing program.

By Abby Ohlheiser

May 22, 2013

Dog Found Standing Guard Over a Tornado Victim Reunited With Her Owner

There's a happy ending to the story of a dog, found alive in the rubble after a massive tornado devastated Moore, Oklahoma

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By Abby Ohlheiser

May 22, 2013

Colorado Governor Has Death Penalty Doubts

Today, Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper issued a temporary reprive for death row inmate Nathan Dunlap. But it's not because of anything Dunlap has — or hasn't — done.

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By Abby Ohlheiser

May 22, 2013

Why the Yemeni Gitmo Detainees Aren't Going Anywhere (for Now)

In his much-anticipated national security speech on Thursday, President Obama will reportedly revisit his longstanding pledge to close Guantanamo. And in the coming weeks, Obama will reportedly announce the restart of detainee transfers to Yemen

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By Abby Ohlheiser

May 22, 2013

West Point Sergeant Accused of Spying on Female Cadets

An Army Sergeant employed at West Point Military Academy has been charged with secretly videotaping female cadets in the school's showers and locker rooms. 

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By Richard Lawson

May 22, 2013

The Call Sheet

'American Horror Story' Gets Another Witch

Today in show business news: Emma Roberts has joined the Ryan Murphy family, CBS hires a Bad Teacher, and a glimpse of the next Vince Vaughn movie.

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By Connor Simpson

May 22, 2013

Tesla Is First Green Tech Company to Pay Back Its Department of Energy Loan

Tesla no longer owns the federal government a dime. On Wednesday the company announced it had repaid the outsanding balance of $451.8 million, with interest,  on its 2009 Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing loan from the Department of Defense. That means taxpayers earned a very, very small $12 million profit on the loan.

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By Philip Bump

May 22, 2013

Chart of the Day

The Moore Tornado May Have Done $2 Billion Worth of Property Damage

The mayor of Moore provided an estimate of the total cost stemming from Monday's tornado: $2 billion — a sum that's about a quarter the size of Oklahoma's state budget. It would make the Moore tornado the third-most costly in American history.

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By Elspeth Reeve

May 22, 2013

John McCain Is the Latest Senior Senator to Have Had Enough of Junior Ted Cruz

For two days John McCain and Ted Cruz have been fighting on the Senate floor over the rules for negotiating a budget, but, like so many fights, it's also about so much more. Cruz is being annoying about the budget, but worse, he just doesn't get the Senate. 

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By Rebecca Greenfield

May 22, 2013

How to Stop Worrying and Love Twitter's New Two-Factor Verification

Twitter has added two-step verification to increase its security after all the recent hacks into high profile media accounts, but you should go sign up for it right this minute — because everyone's vulnerable to password attacks these days, even if the new cellphone hiccup seems cumbersome.

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By Esther Zuckerman

May 22, 2013

Do You Buy Joseph Gordon-Levitt as The Situation?

Yesterday we wrote about Joseph Gordon-Levitt's attempt to promote his directorial debut, which he also wrote, in character on Twitter. His Twitter persona as porn-addicted Jersey guy Jon Martello seemed strained. Now we have the trailer to see if he can pull off the persona on screen. 

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By Philip Bump

May 22, 2013

Inside Darrell Issa's Sketchy Legal Rationale Forcing Lois Lerner to Testify

The Chairman of the House Oversight Committee would like a do-over. Rep. Issa plans to demand the IRS's Lerner return to his committee to testify, arguing that she waived her ability to plead the Fifth once she offered an opening statement. According to a lawyer we spoke with, he's almost certainly wrong.

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By J.K. Trotter

May 22, 2013

Five Best Green Stories

Greek Yogurt Creates a Crazy Amount of Waste

Modern Farmer on the yogurt industry's waste, The Associated Press on Portland's anti-fluoridation proposal, The Atlantic Cities on how to handle cargo in American cities, New York on what this summer holds for climate policy, and The New York Times on America's energy import strategy.

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By Esther Zuckerman

May 22, 2013

Billy Crystal vs. Robin Williams Is TV's New Battle of the Olds Next Season

One week after CBS gave the world an upfront first look at Williams's TV comeback in The Crazy Ones (doing his manic schtick, with Buffy as his hot young daughter), word comes that FX is bringing Crystal on board for a pilot called The Comedians, wherein he'll play a veteran comedian (himself, with a hot-but-not-in-the-Buffy-way young sketch-show partner). Whose return will be more illustrious?

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By Rebecca Greenfield

May 22, 2013

What Google's X Lab Is Cooking Up Next

While it houses a lot of cooky ideas that never see the light of day, the "top-secret" innovation hub birthed Google Glass and Google's driverless cars. So as outlandish as some of the following ideas may sound, they're all in the works or they suddenly aren't, per Businessweek's new cover story — yes, even the balloons — and, hey, maybe they'll come true, too.

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By J.K. Trotter

May 22, 2013

Bike-Hating Yuppy Vandals Save Their Streets but Can't Stop NYC Bike-Sharing

Well-to-do opponents of New York City's long-awaited Citibike program have notched several significant victories against New York's Department of Transportation over the past week — after a month-plus of delirious outrage, a small journalism scandal, and destructive vandalism.

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By Rebecca Greenfield

May 22, 2013

Vine's Cicada Stompers Need to Stop Murdering Innocent, Horny Bugs

As much masochistic fun as it may be to follow the cicada sex invasion via Twitter's ever popular Vine app, the brave backyard directors chronicling the East Coast's ongoing insect phenomenon don't seem to be enjoying the process too much — many of them are just resorting to violence against the little guys, who die almost instantly upon their return to earth anyway.

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By Elspeth Reeve

May 22, 2013

Don't Call It a Campaign Book, but Paul Ryan Has a 2012 Book for 2016

Paul Ryan is writing a campaign book, and though it's not officially a campaign book, it seems to be exactly the kind of campaign book that exists merely to preview a presidential candidacy.

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By Alexander Abad-Santos

May 22, 2013

Yes, Oklahoma Truthers Think Obama Used His Anti-Scandal Weather Magic

If you thought 9/11 conspiracy theorists were bad, or the Sandy Hook and Boston bombing truthers were reckless, Obama's meteorological manipulation — perhaps by way of George Soros — all to distract a country from three Washington scandals, well, that might be a new level of ridiculous.

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By Philip Bump

May 22, 2013

The Economics of Saving Lives During a Tornado

Nearly every day of every year, even in tornado-prone areas, tornadoes don't strike. If you live in Moore, Oklahoma, 99.99 percent of the time, there's no threat that you'll be killed by a tornado. The question, as it so often does, becomes: How much do we spend to save a life? Here's a look at prevention techniques, and the politics therein.

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By Alexander Abad-Santos

May 22, 2013

Jose Canseco May Have Just Tweeted the Name of a Rape Victim and/or Be Crazy

Jose Canseco apparently just live-tweeted the police arriving at his Las Vegas home, then said he has been accused of rape, then proceeded to publicly name his apparent accuser to his more than 500,000 followers, with bikini photos, and the woman's phone number, and talk shows, and cats... then proceeded to delete the whole thing. Except her name.

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By Jen Doll

May 22, 2013

For the Diner Who Has Everything, There's Dinner in the Sky

What sort of dining experience is the right sort of dining experience for the diner who's seen it all, done it all, eaten it all, and is just so weary over simply sitting in a nice restaurant and eating? Dinner while hanging from a rope, for $500 each, for the pleasure of dining really, really alfresco.

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By Elspeth Reeve

May 22, 2013

Why Not Get the Whole 1998 Impeachment Gang Back Together?

The New York Times' Bill Keller suggests we should "Bring Back Ken Starr" to get to the bottom of the IRS scandal, because  "the scandal circus on Capitol Hill is a terrible distraction."

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By Dashiell Bennett

May 22, 2013

Obama Is Set to Reset the War on Terror

On Thursday, the president plans to deliver a speech focusing drone attacks and military detention — a pretty sweeping agenda for a simple policy speech, one that might signal a sea change in America's counterterrorism efforts, and Obama's foreign policy legacy.

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By Connor Simpson

May 22, 2013

Sergio Garcia Added 'Fried Chicken' to Golf's Mega Feud & Tiger Is Not Amused

What was already a years-long rivalry between two great players has now transformed into a full-fledged war of words with racial undertones fueling the No. 1 ranked golfer in the world heading into golf's major summer tournaments. Here's how Garcia's apology tour is going, and how Tiger Woods is reacting.

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By Philip Bump

May 22, 2013

Congress Still Hasn't Cracked the IRS Case — but There May Be More Lists

For the third time in a week, officials from the IRS appeared before Congress to apologize for/not offer many new details on how and why the agency improperly targeted conservative groups for scrutiny — though one witness indicated others may have received the same treatment.

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By Richard Lawson

May 22, 2013

'American Idol' Is Too Old and Bad for Old and Bad Contestants to Save It

The latest wacky plan is to hire former contestants to judge the competition. And while Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, and Jennifer Hudson might be worth tuning in for, Fox should accept the natural death of a show that had a long and fabulous life and let Idol die gracefully.

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By J.K. Trotter

May 22, 2013

Today's Best

Five Best Wednesday Columns

Dana Milbank on how the government criminalizes reporting, Sharon Stapel on homophobia in America, Jarrod Shanahan on why we believe in conspiracies, Ma Jian on the brutality of China's one-child policy, and Emily Bazelon on who to blame for tax-dodging corporations.

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By Rebecca Greenfield

May 22, 2013

The HTC One Isn't Saving HTC from the Facebook Phone

Despite all the glowing reviews of the HTC One, it's still not beating Samsung's Galaxy S IV in the high-end, non-iPhone smartphone market, and HTC is currently falling apart — at least in part because of "disastrous" sales that wiped the HTC First (aka the Facebook phone) on its way out of the market.

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By Richard Lawson

May 22, 2013

The Smart Set

Justin Bieber Will Sue You for $5 Million if You Gossip About Him

Today in celebrity news: Justin Bieber has a pretty strict social contract, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Swift have a hang, Madonna's daughter goes on a date with Finn from Homeland, and Ellen buys her Oprah house. 

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Amazon's Kindle Worlds: A Way to Sell Fan Fiction Without Legal Hassles

Amazon Publishing is launching Kindle Worlds, a publishing platform that lets authors sell fan fiction based on properties like Gossip Girl. Amazon Publishing retains the rights to the works and will set the prices. So much for those 50 Shades problems.

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By Philip Bump

May 22, 2013

The War on Christmas Is Losing in Texas: Teachers Can Now Say 'Merry Christmas'

Worried that government can't be proactive? Good news out of Texas. The state's legislature has sent Governor Perry its "Merry Christmas" bill, authorizing schools to refer to the holiday in non-generic terms. Perry is expected to sign it.

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By Jen Doll

May 22, 2013

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Money: A First Edition Sells for $227,421

A first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the first book in J.K. Rowling's phenomenally selling 7-part series, has been acquired for 150,000 pounds (or $227,421) at a London charity auction held by Sotheby's and organized with the English PEN writers' association

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By Rebecca Greenfield

May 22, 2013

It's Time to Stop Arguing About the Pronunciation of 'GIF'

It's time we took some advice from George Gershwin and stopped bickering over the right and wrong way to say words: Let's call the whole thing off on this GIF pronunciation battle.

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By Jen Doll

May 22, 2013

Drew Magary and the Rules of the Fatherhood Memoir

In the past five years Drew Magary has given the world The Postmortal, a novel about a pre-apocalyptic world, Men with Balls, a "professional athletes handbook," and now Someone Could Get Hurt: A Memoir of Twenty-First-Century Parenthood. It's not the typical parenting memoir.

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By Philip Bump

May 22, 2013

To Catch a State Department Leaker, the FBI Got White House Phone Records

New details of the Justice Department's investigation of a leak to a Fox News reporter demonstrate the scale of the inquiry: phone records, access badge information for the media, a CD of phone recordings. All to investigate a leak of incorrect information.

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By Connor Simpson

May 22, 2013

Stat of the Day

Only 15% of Los Angeles Voted for Mayor

Eric Garcetti will be the new mayor of Los Angeles after only parts of the city went to the polls last night. The turnout was depressingly low for America's second largest metropolis.

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By Esther Zuckerman

May 22, 2013

Final 'Man of Steel' Trailer Brings the Sci-Fi

From the big new trailer heading into Memorial Day weekend and the feature stories accompanying it, you can rest assured that this blockbuster is not going to be all emotions and Malick-y visuals after all. No, this is a Superman movie that takes its aliens seriously.

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By Alexander Abad-Santos

May 22, 2013

The End of the Rescue Is Just the Start of a Long Road in Moore, Oklahoma

The injured are still being treated, victims are slowly being identified, and now residents face the long process of obtaining government assistance to get back to some sort of normal — and it's likely, despite FEMA's early "Waffle House index," that insurance won't cover all the damage. Not nearly. Here's the state of the town, on Day Three.

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By Esther Zuckerman

May 22, 2013

'The Daily Show' Reveals Canada's Crack Pastime

Jon Stewart last night couldn't resist telling the story of Canada's Rob Ford, the mayor of Toronto who might have a crack habit based on video viewed by news organizations.

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By Elspeth Reeve

May 22, 2013

How Petraeus Turned the CIA into the Good Guys in Benghazi

How did the CIA become the hero in the Benghazi talking point controversy? And if the CIA is part of Team Obama, why hasn't it enjoyed as much scrutiny as everyone else involved? One reason is the political skills of David Petraeus, as behind-the-scenes emails continue to reveal.

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By Dashiell Bennett

May 22, 2013

Anthony Weiner Makes It Official: He's in the Race

In the least surprising move of this political season, former Congressman Anthony Weiner officially threw his hat into the ring to be the Mayor of New York.

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By Connor Simpson

May 21, 2013

Who Should Be the New Voice of 'This Is NPR'?

Your favorite public broadcasting network is looking for someone to record their "this... is NPR" voiceovers. You could be that person! Although, come to think of it, the following people have voices made of gold, so they might deserve the job.

Comments | 206 Views

By J.K. Trotter

May 21, 2013

Teens Are Turning Away from Facebook Because Tumblr Is Real, and Parent-Free

Teenagers really are over Facebook. In a deep report published on Tuesday, Pew Research explains that teenagers departing the social network's blue confines are looking for something more... authentic. Which, ironically, was the initial draw of Facebook, and has become something of a calling card for Tumblr and Twitter. Somewhere, Marissa Mayer is smiling.

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By Philip Bump

May 21, 2013

Chart of the Day

Every Tornado in Moore Since 1893, Mapped

Tornadoes in Moore, Oklahoma, are neither new nor uncommon. Monday's massive twister may be the worst the city has seen, but it's also the 22nd since 1890. We put the data for all of them on a map.

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By Elspeth Reeve

May 21, 2013

Since When Did It Get So Easy to Pass Immigration Reform?

Mitch McConnell said he wouldn't block the bipartisan immigration overhaul on Tuesday, and Patrik Leahy said he will hold off — "with a heavy heart" — on a controversial amendment to green cards to spouses of gay couples. But the path to passage is surprisingly clear, even amidst the Obama administration's scandals.

Comments | 1,031 Views

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