Is Yahoo's Deal to Buy Tumblr Going to Fall Apart?

Reuters

That rumored $1 billion offer from Yahoo! to buy Tumblr? It's looking like a forgone conclusion at this point. But things are messy and speculative and there are already doomsayers predicting this is a bad idea for everyone involved. But mostly they're predicting it's bad for Yahoo!

By Connor Simpson

May 18, 2013

Oxbow Upsets Orb's Bid for a Triple Crown at the Preakness

After completing a thrilling come from behind win at the Kentucky Derby, Orb was supposed to walk away with Preakness and charge onto the Belmont Stakes in pursuit of the elusive Triple Crown. Unfortunately a horse named Oxbow had other ideas. 

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By Connor Simpson

May 18, 2013

Sore Losers Can't Accept That France Legalized Gay Marriage

France finally became the 14th country to legalize gay marriage on Saturday when President Francois Hollande signed the bill that legalizes same sex marriage into law. But ugly protests that have marked the legal process will continue even now that the bill is passed. 

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By Connor Simpson

May 18, 2013

The New 'Anchorman 2' Trailer Says Hello But Not Much More

There are a lot of cool things reportedly in store for fans when Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues hits theaters on December 20. The new trailer isn't giving away any hints, though. 

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By Connor Simpson

May 18, 2013

The President's Umbrella Scandal Folded Before It Could Take Off

There was a brief moment where some conservative were trying to make a scandal out of the President's moment in the rain on Thursday. But unfortunately that scandal died before it could really take off.

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By Connor Simpson

May 18, 2013

Kanye Was Watching You Watch Kanye's New Video Last Night

So if Kanye West's weird behavior in the Saturday Night Live promos wasn't enough to pique your interest in tonight's season finale, last night he surprised the world be debuting a new song and video with projections on landmarks in 10 different cities around the world. 

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By Connor Simpson

May 18, 2013

Why Is North Korea Testing Missiles Now?

North Korea noticed the world stopped paying attention to them, and so, the country fired three short range missiles off the coast to out all eyes on them. Are we about to fall back into the endless stream of provocations and threats that seemed to die down?

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By Sara Morrison

May 17, 2013

Commuter Trains Collide in Connecticut

Two Metro-North trains collided Friday evening, leaving at least 60 people injured, five of them critically. No deaths have been reported yet.

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By Sara Morrison

May 17, 2013

Michael Phelps Denies He's Planning a Comeback

Michael Phelps, who retired from swimming following last year's London Olympics, is coming back! Unless he isn't.

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By Sara Morrison

May 17, 2013

Federal Speedy Trial Act Won't Apply to Dzhokhar Tsarnaev

This Sunday will mark 30 days since suspected Boston marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was found hiding in a man's boat. According to the Federal Speedy Trial Act of 1974, "the information or indictment must be filed within 30 days from the date of arrest or service of the summons." So, where's the indictment?

Comments | 817 Views

By Philip Bump

May 17, 2013

What the Cold Spring Looked Like in Cities Across the U.S.

If April seemed a bit on the cold side to you, you're not alone. The month was the 23rd coldest on record in the United States. Here's what winter looked like in 180 different US cities.

Comments | 1,021 Views

By Richard Lawson

May 17, 2013

The Call Sheet

The Dramatic Demise of 'American Idol'

Today in show business news: Not many people watched the American Idol finale, The Voice is still going strong, and Pete Campbell takes to the stage. 

Comments | 1,634 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

May 17, 2013

Syrian Electronic Army Adds Financial Times to Its Social Media Hacks

The Financial Times became the latest news agency to fall prey to the Syrian Electronic Army, the hacking group which has claimed the social media scalps of the AP, The Onion, the BBC, and NPR, perhaps signaling that news outlets should be more like The Onion and come clean about how they're getting hacked.

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By Elspeth Reeve

May 17, 2013

The IRS Scandal Was First Revealed by an IRS Official Asking to Be Asked About It

The IRS official who revealed the IRS had inappropriately targeted conservative groups on Friday did so on purpose -- by asking a tax lawyer to ask her about it at American Bar Association tax section’s annual meeting.

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The Shoddy Management That Lead to the IRS Tea Party Scandal

The IRS division responsible for flagging Tea Party groups has long been an agency afterthought, beset by mismanagement, financial constraints and an unwillingness to spell out just what it expects from social welfare nonprofits, former officials and experts say.

Comments | 613 Views

By Philip Bump

May 17, 2013

The Smoking Gun Can Tell the AP What a Federal Leak Investigation Is Like

When, in 2006, the website The Smoking Gun released a secret CIA memo documenting prisoner organizing strategies at Guantanamo Bay, the FBI took notice. Now the site has posted details of the ensuing 44-month-long investigation, offering a timely glimpse into the black box of a Department of Justice leak prosecution.

Comments | 408 Views

By Richard Lawson

May 17, 2013

Why We Should Get Excited for J.J. Abrams's 'Star Wars'

While attention is, understandably, mostly on J.J. Abrams's newest film Star Trek Into Darkness, I'm suddenly more interested in his next film, 2015's Star Wars: Episode VI, which could actually be quite good.

Comments | 2,246 Views

By Esther Zuckerman

May 17, 2013

Prepare for John Galliano's Redemption Tour

John Galliano may have apologized for the Anti-Semitic slurs that got him fired from Dior back in 2011, but two years later and he's far from redeemed. Now it seems like he's hoping to change that in a very public fashion.

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By J.K. Trotter

May 17, 2013

Five Best Green Stories

What We Don't Know About Fracking

Grist on the information vacuum around fracking, The Atlantic Cities on Google's personalized maps, ABC News on the impact of climate change on human allergies, The Guardian on the threat of flooding in London, CNN on the specter of oil manipulation.

Comments | 1,225 Views

By Philip Bump

May 17, 2013

What Are the Solutions to This Week's Scandals?

As Scandal Week comes to a close, it's worth reviewing the policy proposals that have followed in the revelations' wake. There aren't many.

Comments | 817 Views

By Philip Bump

May 17, 2013

The EPA Could Lose Its Power to Fight Climate Change Before Using It

Advocates of action on climate change hold a trump card. When the Supreme Court in 2007 determined that carbon dioxide is a pollutant, the EPA got a mandate to regulate it. But, what the court giveth, the court can rescind in a tightly contested vote.

Comments | 817 Views

By Esther Zuckerman

May 17, 2013

Amazon's Open Pilot Season Is the Flip Side of Kickstarter

The backlash to the backlash to one of Amazon's comedy pilots is proving how letting fans on the Internet choose what they want to watch can backfire for the creative minds behind projects. 

Comments | 204 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

May 17, 2013

So Who Lied to ABC News About the Benghazi Emails?

ABC News' Jonathan Karl's revelation of the White House's role in 12 revisions to the Benghazi talking points propelled the story, long percolating in conservative media, into a bona fide scandal. But then CNN's Jake Tapper's revelation of what the emails actually said revealed that to be a fake scandal. So who lied to Karl?

Comments | 5,718 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

May 17, 2013

Powerball Jackpot Reaches Another New Record: $600 Million

Lottery officials with the multi-state Powerball game have raised the expected total for tomorrow night's jackpot to $600 million, the largest in the game's history

Comments | 1,225 Views

By Richard Lawson

May 17, 2013

What We Watched

'American Idol' Finale: The End of an Era

It's over. After all of that pain and struggle, all that we have endured, it's done. Randy Jackson has left the show. Ha, mean. I'm just kidding, Randy. But yes, the twelfth American Idol competition came to a close last night, a surprisingly rousing and spirited finale to a season that's been anything but.

Comments | 4,493 Views

By Jen Doll

May 17, 2013

Dan Brown Is the Anne Hathaway of Authors

Allow me to present a hypothesis: Dan Brown is the Anne Hathaway of authors. Hard-working, serious about his craft (even if others aren't), with lots and lots of money to show for his work. And people love to hate him as much, and sometimes even more, than they love to love him.

Comments | 5,922 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

May 17, 2013

The Bob Menendez Scandal Has Gotten So Weird

The scandal surrounding New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez has evolved from a sex scandal to a donor scandal to a weird mystery about who set him up, with the FBI talking to sugar baron brothers and an ex-CIA operative.

Comments | 2,246 Views

By Esther Zuckerman

May 17, 2013

Kanye West's Angry 'SNL' Rant Makes Saturday's Season Finale a Must-Watch

This coming weekend is a big one for Saturday Night Live. It marks the end of Bill Hader's tenure on the show and Ben Affleck's fifth time hosting. But perhaps the most significant reason to tune in is the fact that Kanye West is the musical guest, and he's making it seem like he really really doesn't want to be.

Comments | 42,067 Views

By J.K. Trotter

May 17, 2013

Today's Best

Five Best Friday Columns

Héctor Carrillo on gay marriage in Brazil, Stephen L. Carter on the scope of the First Amendment, Melanie Springer Mock on the pitfalls of Christian adoption, Sarah Posner on Obama's 'Watergate', and Alexandra Petri on the manners of live theatre.

Comments | 1,021 Views

By Philip Bump

May 17, 2013

New York Busts Up a Massive Ring of Terror-Linked Cigarette Smugglers

The link between drug smuggling and terror usually spurs images of Afghan poppy fields under the wary eye of men in fatigues. Sometimes, though, it's garbage bags filled with money from selling illegal cigarettes in Brooklyn.

Comments | 2,451 Views

By Richard Lawson

May 17, 2013

The Smart Set

Rihanna Sues Topshop

Today in celebrity news: Rihanna doesn't want Topshop selling T-shirts of her, Gywneth does some doublespeak, and Kimye is taking their baby on tour. 

Comments | 1,634 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

May 17, 2013

Amtrak's WiFi Upgrade Allows More People to Complain About Amtrak WiFi

Amtrak, America's much-maligned railroad service, have given rail passengers a gift: upgraded WiFi on its very expensive Acela trains and will upgrade the rest of its trains by summer. But even the revamped Internet access won't be good enough to stream Netflix — and because we're brats, we'll still find this unacceptable. 

Comments | 613 Views

By Esther Zuckerman

May 17, 2013

Cannes Festival Hit by $1 Million Jewel Heist

Jewel thieves have stolen $1 million worth of Chopard jewelry from a hotel right off the Croisette, and while the theft being called by Deadline one of the "biggest heists to go down in recent Cannes history," it's not actually that unexpected. 

Comments | 817 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

May 17, 2013

Huma Abedin Had an Incredibly Sweet Deal at the State Department

Huma Abedin remained Hillary Clinton's deputy chief of staff when she came back from maternity leave in June 2012, even though she worked part-time from her home in New York and was allowed to start a side gig as a consultant.

Comments | 1,838 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

May 17, 2013

The Greatest, Drunkest Hits of Toronto's (Alleged) Crack-Smoking Mayor

Some simmering rumors have risen to the surface after Toronto Mayor Rob Ford appears to have been caught on camera smoking crack cocaine with drug dealers. But this is just the latest resume item for the man who might North America's most ridiculous mayor.

Comments | 7,352 Views

By Philip Bump

May 17, 2013

Acting IRS Head Who Took the Fall This Week Has Few Answers for Congress

Acting IRS commissioner Steven Miller is testifying in front of a House committee this morning. It's one of the Congress' first opportunities to grill the agency on its use of politically loaded differentiation in assessing applicants' non-profit status.

Comments | 2,451 Views

By Jen Doll

May 17, 2013

The Mystery of the 'Immaculately Conceived' Baby Anteater

Staffers at a zoological conservation center in Greenwich, Conn., are very confused — as are the rest of us — because their female giant anteater, Armani, has managed to conceive a baby, apparently without the presence of a male anteater. What?

Comments | 6,943 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

May 17, 2013

Republicans Want to Slow Down the Scandals

Now that everyone is paying attention to the scandal stories Republicans have been pushing for months against President Obama, they have a bit of stage fright.

Comments | 4,493 Views

By Esther Zuckerman

May 17, 2013

Jon Stewart Literally Loves Chuck Todd's 'Lite Rally'

Jon Stewart mocked the media's eagerness to predict the 2016 presidential race last night, saying that it has the "attention span of a concussed goldfish," and caught one reporter in an embarrassing gaffe.  

Comments | 19,400 Views

By Philip Bump

May 17, 2013

Inevitable Allen West-Fox News Partnership Is Sealed

Outgoing members of Congress are rarely hard-pressed for jobs. Tea Party star Allen West just accepted the one that was perhaps the most predictable.

Comments | 2,042 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

May 17, 2013

Couch-Surfing on Viral Video Fame, 'Hatchet Hitchhiker' Arrested for Murder

"Kai the hitchhiker," a homeless YouTube star famous for telling people how he "smashed" someone over the head with a hatchet, had been parlaying his Internet fame into an endless wave of couch-surfing at fans' apartments. But now he's charged with murder, and, well, that complicates things.

Comments | 2,859 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

May 17, 2013

Former Chechen Rebel Is at Center of Boston Bombing Investigation

Though he isn't considered a suspect, a former Chechen separatist who is now a refugee in the United States has become a key target of information in the Boston Marathon bombing investigation.

Comments | 30,427 Views

By Abby Ohlheiser

May 16, 2013

Is Tumblr Worth $1 Billion?

There's another $1 billion acquisition rumor floating around. Yahoo, reportedly, is interested in coming to some sort of deal to acquire Tumblr.

Comments | 1,225 Views

By Abby Ohlheiser

May 16, 2013

Russia Just Sent Bashar al-Assad More Missiles

Russia, one of the few remaining friends of Bashar al-Assad's regime, just sent the Syrian government some advanced antiship missiles.

Comments | 1,838 Views

By Abby Ohlheiser

May 16, 2013

Does John Edwards Want a Redemption, Too?

Mark Sanford did it. Anthony Weiner is trying it. Jonah Lehrer botched it. And now, it looks like disgraced politician John Edwards could be gunning for his own public redemption moment.

Comments | 1,838 Views

By Abby Ohlheiser

May 16, 2013

The IRS is the New Death Panel During the 37th House Vote to Repeal Obamacare

Because no Scandal Week would be complete without some good, old-fashioned tilting at the windmill of Obamacare, the House today voted (again) to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

Comments | 2,655 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

May 16, 2013

Third Military Man in Charge of Stopping Harassment Arrested for Doing Just That

The U.S. military has now had three men in charge of programs to limit harassment or violence against women accused of similar crimes revolving around harassment and violence against women in the same month. It's only May 16th.

Comments | 2,042 Views

By Philip Bump

May 16, 2013

This Is Exactly How Massive the Texas Fertilizer Explosion Was

Authorities in Texas provided an update on their investigation into the fertilizer plant explosion in West Texas. The short story is that the cause of the fire is undetermined. The long story is that the investigation has been as massive as was the explosion.

Comments | 4,493 Views

By J.K. Trotter

May 16, 2013

How Columbia's 'Illegal' White-Only Scholarship Disappeared

An arcane court case has revealed that an Ivy League university awarded a racist fellowship for 77 years. As it turns out, the school may have known about the "Caucasian" clause all along — even though its recipients did not. Columbia says it's trying to get back the money for "a diversity of students," but what happened in between? And why are we just learning about this now?

Comments | 3,063 Views

By J.K. Trotter

May 16, 2013

Five Best Green Stories

How Cell Phones Are Helping Fisherman Fight Piracy

National Geographic on how cell phone can help fight pirate fishing, London Review of Books on the recent literature of climate change, The Huffington Post on the reality of our environmental harm, The New York Times on how insurers are dealing with increasingly catastrophic weather, and Forbes on the future of energy storage.

Comments | 204 Views

By Richard Lawson

May 16, 2013

The Call Sheet

Look at These Old Men Wild 'N Out

Today in show business news: Here's our first look at the old Oscar winners in Vegas comedy Last Vegas, HBO is heading to Silicon Valley, and The CW is trying to figure out Wonder Woman.

Comments | 1,021 Views

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