The Justice Department Investigated a New York Times Reporter, Too

AP

The New York Times reports the Department of Justice investigated national security leaks given to Times reporter David Sanger over his story last year about the Stuxnet virus by pulling all the email and phone records of government officials who communicated with the reporter.

By Connor Simpson

May 25, 2013

The Video of the Washington Bridge Collapse Is Terrifying

Seattle's KIRO-TV got their hands on surveillance video capturing the very moment when a too-heavy truck starts crossing the I-5 bridge and the supports start to collapse. You can see the next truck start to cross the bridge as the whole thing is coming apart. It is a horrifying — if brief — clip.

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By Connor Simpson

May 25, 2013

Racial Tensions Are High as U.K. Police Arrest Three More Connected to Attack

The U.K. police arrested three more men on Saturday in connection with the gruesome murder of 25-year-old British soldier Lee Rigby. They also arrested one suspect's friend minutes after he gave an interview to the BBC, though he's allegedly not connected to Rigby's investigation. 

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By Connor Simpson

May 25, 2013

The Week's Second Bridge Collapse Happened Because of a Train Collision

It's not every week that two bridges collapse only days apart. This time, seven people are injured after after two trains collided and knocked out a bridge's support pillar, triggering its collapse.

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By Connor Simpson

May 25, 2013

Jimmy Fallon's Wonderful 'Game of Thrones' Parody Previews Late Night's New King

Jimmy Fallon released a brilliant Game of Thrones parody on Friday's episode of Late Night and, really, the whole thing is fantastic. But it really served as an introduction for the next king of the remote control throne.

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By Connor Simpson

May 25, 2013

The Significance of Soccer's Robbie Rogers Coming Out of Retirement

Soccer player Robbie Rogers will announce he's coming out of retirement on Saturday. This may seem insignificant, except Roger isn't old, or past his prime, or unworthy of a contract. The 26-year-old former U.S. national team member retired in February after announcing that he's gay. 

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By Connor Simpson

May 25, 2013

Is Toronto City Councillor Doug Ford, Rob's Brother, a Former Hash Dealer?

A day after Toronto mayor Rob Ford carefully denied smoking crack cocaine, The Globe and Mail unleashed a bombshell of a story alleging the entire Ford family -- and Ford's closest adversary in office -- has very close ties to the drug trade. 

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By Alexander Abad-Santos

May 24, 2013

The Gay Boy Scouts Are Still Impossible

What seems like progress from the top-down may reveal the problem with Boy Scouts from the inside-out: its first official coming out party is still a microcosm of discord on gay acceptance, especially in Christian America, no matter what polls say today or the Supreme Court declares in a few weeks. Here's a survey of the reaction so far.

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By Jen Doll

May 24, 2013

What's the Perfect Food of Summer?

With the help of my Atlantic Wire colleagues, I have compiled 12 contenders for the best summer food, along with the reasons we would consume these items all year round if we had our druthers. Who is the top of the summer food pile? Help us choose.

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By Philip Bump

May 24, 2013

Sweden's Inexplicable Riots, Explained

For the fifth straight night, rioters have broken windows and set fire to cars in neighborhoods around Stockholm, Sweden. The violence is drawing renewed attention to the interplay of immigration, economics, and government in Europe.

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By Alexander Abad-Santos

May 24, 2013

What Lesbians Think of Lesbian Porn

Today in viral videos: lesbian porn can make actual lesbians unhappy, that kid who got turned down by Kate Upton gets a prom upgrade, the 50 quotes you're probably misquoting, and hashtags.

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By Richard Lawson

May 24, 2013

The Call Sheet

Jennifer Hudson Returning to 'Idol'?

Today in show business news: Jennifer Hudson might become an American Idol judge, Jon Stewart finds a leading man for his risky directing debut, and Tom Cruise walks away from a movie. 

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By Philip Bump

May 24, 2013

Mayor Ford: I Did Not Have Smoking Relations with That Crack Pipe

On Friday afternoon, Toronto mayor Rob Ford became the first mayor of a major North American city to officially deny smoking crack during his tenure.

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By Jen Doll

May 24, 2013

When a Blog Gets Caught in Your Throat

 "Let’s get this straight up front: I am now writing a blog post, not blogging a blog," writes Forrest Wickman at Slate, the good people who brought you the great two-spaces-after-a-period debate. Oh yes. Oh yes. They are at it again, this time with a post in which he takes on the matter of what to call this thing we do.

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By J.K. Trotter

May 24, 2013

Yahoo Wants Hulu, Too

Marissa Mayer is coming for online video — and the ads that accompany it. Days after announcing its $1.1 billion acquisition of blogging platform Tumblr, Yaho has submitted a bid for Hulu. Now starts the bidding war, all $2 billion of it.

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By Philip Bump

May 24, 2013

There's No Reason for Cops to Panic About 3D-Printed Guns

A bit slow to warm up the engines, law enforcement officials in the U.S. and Australia have begun issuing warnings to law enforcement agencies and the public about the dangers of 3D-printing guns. Pro: Video of a printed gun exploding! Con: Their concerns are misplaced.

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By Richard Lawson

May 24, 2013

Five Ways to Spend a Summer Weekend

Memorial Day Weekend is here! The summer season has officially started, with all the joys and stresses that come with it. One of those stresses is the mad, fraught dash to get out of the city every Friday, sometimes successful, sometimes not. But that's OK. A weekend in the city can be fun, too. Really, there are infinite ways to enjoy a summer weekend. Here are a few.

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By Esther Zuckerman

May 24, 2013

Read as Much as You Want into These 10-Second 'Arrested Development' Clips

The return of Arrested Development is fast approaching, but, really, nobody knows much of anything about what's actually in the new episodes. So that makes these four new videos released by Netflix on Friday all the more enticing.

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By Rebecca Greenfield

May 24, 2013

3 Fun & Easy Tips for Spending Your 2013 Memorial Day BBQ... with Cicadas

But fear not, BBQ-ers! The Atlantic Wire's resident cicada expert is here to help! Cicadas and humans alike can celebrate this long weekend in peace, together, at the cicada-cue. Like so.

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By J.K. Trotter

May 24, 2013

Princeton Meningitis Scare Threatens Nostalgic Hook-Ups at Reunion

Princeton's annual alumni bacchanal is in crisis. Reunions, as the well-documented event is known, coincides this year with a meningitis outbreak on Princeton's campus. But how serious of a threat, really, does meningitis pose to Princeton's campus-wide merriment? Not a whole lot — if Princetonians can hold off on making out too much.

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By Jen Doll

May 24, 2013

Y.A. for Grownups

Sophie Blackall and the Missed Connections of the Mail

This month Random House Children's Books released The Mighty Lalouche, a picture book by Matthew Olshan illustrated by Sophie Blackall. It gets my vote for cutest picture book of the year so far.

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By Alexander Abad-Santos

May 24, 2013

Japan's Prime Minister Won't Say Why He Won't Move Into His Haunted Mansion

Unconfirmed believer in the paranormal and full-time prime minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, still hasn't moved into the Koutei, a Tokyo mansion where prime ministers of Japan are supposed to live, since coming into power in December. His political opponents are now mocking Abe for being afraid of ghosts — and having looked into the history of the place, well, we don't exactly blame him.

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By Rebecca Greenfield

May 24, 2013

iPhone's New iOS7 Design Is Flat as Hell and You Can't Stand the Wait Anymore

After hearing a lot about the "flat" new look of iOS 7 that may or may not be revealed next month, there's finally been some light shed on details of what the latest iPhone design basics might look like — and, well, things start off pretty much in the dark.

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By Philip Bump

May 24, 2013

Gun Background Check Politics, Explained in Seven Graphs

When Senator Mark Pryor voted against a gun background check compromise, he was taking a measured political risk. Even as an anti-gun group announces a plan to spend $350,000 on ads criticizing Pryor ahead of a near-certain second vote, a detailed new poll shows why it may have made political sense.

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By Esther Zuckerman

May 24, 2013

Elton John Is Like a Nagging Mom for Billy Joel

Andrew Goldman has an extensive interview with Billy Joel in this Sunday's New York Times Magazine, which — after you finish admiring the accompanying photo of Joel and his pug posing in a sidecar — covers the piano man's finances, divorces, and drinking.

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By J.K. Trotter

May 24, 2013

Today's Best

Five Best Friday Columns

Kiel Brennan-Marquez on the ethics of drones, Saeed Jones on New York's spate of attacks aimed at gay people, Jane Mayer on Obama's foreign policy speech, Bhaskar Sunkara on the future of liberalism, and Philip Preville on Toronto's scandalized mayor.

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By Richard Lawson

May 24, 2013

The Smart Set

Amanda Bynes Had a Bad Night

Today in celebrity news: Amanda Bynes was arrested last night, Leo's space trip earns millions, and Prince William receives a gift.

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By Esther Zuckerman

May 24, 2013

Stat of the Day

The Cannes Celebrity Jewelry Heist Total Is Now $4 Million

Are we sure this isn't a viral marketing stunt for a remake of To Catch a Thief? About a week after some $1.4 million worth of Chopard jewels were stolen from a hotel during the Cannes Film Festival, a diamond necklace valued at $2.6 million vanished from a swanky party on the French Riviera that hosted the likes of Paris Hilton and Alessandra Ambrosio.

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By Jen Doll

May 24, 2013

Is Mister Softee the Most Divisive Issue of Our Summertime?

Now that we've reached Memorial Day weekend, the kick-off to the season and all of its sweaty flair, Mister Softee worship can begin in full, right along with a lot of Mister Softee hate.

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By Rebecca Greenfield

May 24, 2013

Why Waze Is Worth More Than $1 Billion

The Israeli mobile GPS startup Waze has another mega-suitor in Silicon Valley, with Google reportedly joining the bidding war and topping the $1 billion offer rumored to be coming from Facebook. What is it, really, about this mapping app that's drawing acquisition prices as high as — if not higher than — Instagram and Tumblr?

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By Elspeth Reeve

May 24, 2013

Obamacare's Not-So-Scary New Math

One of the big fears about Obamacare has been that insurers will charge exorbitant prices for plans sold on state exchanges, meaning the law would have the opposite effect of its goal to make health care more affordable. But that's not happening in California.

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By Philip Bump

May 24, 2013

Bridges and U.S. Infrastructure Spending Are Falling: Is There a Link?

It's still not entirely clear what caused I-5 bridge over the Skagit River in Washington to collapse Thursday night. What is clear is that, if the state had needed to repair it, getting federal money to do so would be an uphill climb.

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By Alexander Abad-Santos

May 24, 2013

How Do You Lose 15 Kids on a Field Trip in the Woods for 12 Hours?

Chaperones at St. David Catholic Secondary School near Waterloo, Ontario in Canada had 15 of its teenagers go missing on a school trip intended to teach "survival and backcountry camping" in a national park.

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By Esther Zuckerman

May 24, 2013

Jon Stewart Says the DOJ Should Go After Wall Street Instead of Potheads

Last night on The Daily Show, Jon Stewart explained that the Department of Justice is going after people whose crimes seem minor — especially when you look at them in comparison to what Wall Street executives did to create the financial crisis. To which Stewart asked: "What, none of them bought pot?"

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By Philip Bump

May 24, 2013

Why Racism in Numbers Will Bring Down the NYPD in the Stop-and-Frisk Trial

At some point over the next few weeks, the NYPD is likely to lose a civil trial criticizing it for repeatedly and on a massive scale violating the civil rights of city residents. The cops will probably blame the judge, mostly because it can't blame the numbers.

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By Abby Ohlheiser

May 23, 2013

Troubled Bridge Over Washington Water Collapses into 'Big Puff of Dust'

Late Thursday, a bridge over the Skagit River north of Seattle collapsed, taking at least two cars (and the people inside them) with it. They both survived, but it's the infrastructure conversation all over again. Get ready to talk about "functionally obsolete."

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By Abby Ohlheiser

May 23, 2013

NASA's Plan to Lasso an Asteroid is Making Progress

Quick update on NASA's amazing plan to lasso an asteroid: they're making progress on the ion propulsion engine they'll need for the mission. 

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By Abby Ohlheiser

May 23, 2013

What You Missed During Today's Abortion Hearing In The House

If you were wondering why anti-abortion advocates were so keen on getting Gosnell into the news cycle this spring, look no further than HR 1797: the reintroduced "D.C. Pain Capable Unborn Protection Act," which some lawmakers hope to institute on a national level. 

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By Abby Ohlheiser

May 23, 2013

Is Google Street View the New Nature Documentary?

Google announced Thursday that they've taken their Street View cameras on a hiking trip around the Galapagos islands — above ground, and under water.

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By Richard Lawson

May 23, 2013

The Call Sheet

Steven Soderbergh Unretires

Today in show business news: Steven Soderbergh is headed to television, Intervention will intervene no more, and USA is sending camp kids to battle.

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By J.K. Trotter

May 23, 2013

Boy Scouts Vote to Allow Openly Gay Members

The National Council of the Boy Scouts of America passed a resolution permitting openly gay youth the participate in scouting activities on Thursday afternoon at a national meeting in Grapevine, Texas. Passed by a vote of 61% among 1,400 members, the resolution will go into effect in January 2014, and overturns more than century of organizational precedent.

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By Elspeth Reeve

May 23, 2013

The Drone Speech and the Hyperexcited Return of Intellectual Obama

President Obama's speech on counterterrorism on Thursday won rave reviews among some who seemed to see it as a return of the liberal constitutional law professor who ran for president in 2008. But while the tone might have been refreshing, maybe we should wait to see Obama's follow-through?

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By Philip Bump

May 23, 2013

Lois Lerner, IRS Scandal Target No. 1, Just Got in Actual Trouble

According to multiple outlets, the IRS administrator who first revealed and is perhaps central to the scandal at the agency, has been placed on administrative leave. With pay.

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By Rebecca Greenfield

May 23, 2013

Twitter Is What You Make It, Ashton

Doesn't Ashton Kutcher know what happens to people who complain about how terrible Twitter has gotten since the good old days? They get shamed with the following adage: Twitter is what you make it, bro. 

Comments | 415 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

May 23, 2013

Anthony Weiner Covers Up a New Photo Scandal: Mistaking NYC for Pittsburgh

Weiner's new official campaign website switched up its main logo to a budget version of the New York City skyline late Thursday afternoon, because the background art temporarily adorning AnthonyWeiner.com... was a budget version of the Pittsburgh skyline.

Comments | 1,038 Views

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