Author: Dashiell Bennett

Here's Treasury Secretary Jack Lew's New John Hancock

US Treasury

One of the perks of being Treasury Secretary is getting your name on every dollar bill, but that awesome responsibility meant that new boss Jack Lew had to reinvent his name.

By Dashiell Bennett

Mar 15, 2013

Pope Francis Can't Escape Argentina's Dark Past

The world is still learning much about the life and history of Pope Francis, and now the Vatican finds itself having to directly confront the most troubling story from his early life in Argentina.

Comments | 1,724 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Mar 15, 2013

North Korea Test-Fires Missiles and Fails to Provoke Much of Anybody

At a time of heightened awareness — and with U.S. and South Korean militaries in the middle of war games — North Korea has apparently decided that now would be the perfect time to start testing missiles.

Comments | 3,195 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Mar 15, 2013

North Korea Complains of Cyberattacks From the U.S.

In the ongoing international spat over which country deploys the most evil cyber hackers, North Korea is lobbing accusations that the United States and South Korea took down the nation's webservers.

Comments | 336 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Mar 15, 2013

Obama Says Iran Is a Year Away from a Nuke

As part of a mini press-tour to set up his first presidential trip to Israel next week, Barack Obama told an Israeli television station that Iran is at least a year away from developing a nuclear weapon.

Comments | 1,379 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Mar 15, 2013

How a Broken Heart Led a Young Man to Become the Pope

A woman in Argentina says that her rejection of a young male suitor more than 60 years ago, drove the heartsick boy to join the priesthood. Oh, and his name just happened to be Jorge Bergoglio.

Comments | 4,483 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Mar 14, 2013

What Did 1988 Los Angeles Think 2013 Los Angeles Would Look Like?

On April 3, 1988, the Los Angeles Times Magazine produced a special issue predicting what life would be like a family all the way in the distant future of 2013

Comments | 67,672 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Mar 14, 2013

Russia and Iran Prop Up Syria's War Machine, and Tell the West to Butt Out

While Europe and the U.S. hem-and-haw about finding ways to support Syria's rebel army — and get threatened for even considering it — Iran appears to have no reservations about funneling money to their enemies.

Comments | 4,153 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Mar 14, 2013

Is Francis the Most Humble Pope Ever?

Catholics are learning all kinds of fun new tidbits about the new Holy Father, and we're also starting to notice a pattern developing.

Comments | 5,244 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Mar 14, 2013

Physicists Confirm They Actually Did Find the Higgs Boson

After analyzing "two and a half times more data" than they have since last summer, scientists at the CERN research labs in Switzerland say that they are pretty sure that they found what they think they found.

Comments | 2,033 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Mar 13, 2013

HABEMUS PAPAM — Argentina's Jorge Bergoglio Becomes Pope Francis

The papal conclave has concluded and Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina is now the first Latin American pope in the history of the Catholic Church.

Comments | 70,821 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Mar 13, 2013

The Dutch Are Worried the Syrian War Is Headed Their Way

The government of the Netherlands raised its terror threat level to "substantial" today, amid fears that terrorists trained in Syria will try to disrupt the coronation of their new king.

Comments | 690 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Mar 13, 2013

Man Who Taped Romney's 47% Speech Will Finally Reveal Himself

Later today, Americans will finally get to meet the cater-waiter who recored and then leaked the video revealing Mitt Romney's now infamous "47 percent" comments.

Comments | 5,690 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Mar 12, 2013

And Today's Vatican Smoke Color Is... Black!

The results of the first papal conclave vote are in and ... we still don't have a pope. 

Comments | 3,966 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Mar 12, 2013

Aurora Shooting Suspect Holds Off On Insanity Plea For Now

The man accused of shooting 70 people in an Aurora, Colorado, movie theater last summer was given an automatic not guilty plea in court today, but is holding off on claiming the insanity defense for now.

Comments | 693 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Mar 12, 2013

Is Obama About to Have His Jed Bartlet Moment?

President Obama is headed to Capitol Hill this week, starting Tuesday afternoon, in his continued pursuit of that mythical grand bargain — taking a page from the playbook of the greatest president who never lived.

Comments | 4,817 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Mar 12, 2013

Here's How the Papal Conclave Will Go Down

In just a matter of hours, the College of Cardinals will gather to cast their first vote on a new pope, but don't expect a winner to be chosen today.

Comments | 6,552 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Mar 11, 2013

The Secret to Carl Icahn's Bully Success

No one puts the activist in "activist investor" quite like Carl Icahn, who just won the latest round in the fight over Dell computers — just one of his many, many attempts to bend major corporations to his will.

Comments | 1,035 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Mar 11, 2013

How to Run for Pope

The papal election begins tomorrow, but just because the vote is done in secret, that doesn't mean there isn't a campaign.

Comments | 3,104 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Mar 11, 2013

North Korea Shuts Off Their Emergency Hotline to Seoul

After last week's threat to call off their armistice with South Korea, officials disconnected the hotline built to avert disaster.

Comments | 3,708 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Mar 8, 2013

The Fight for Chris Dorner's $1.2 Million Reward Is Sweeping California, Too

The case of the L.A.-cop-turned-L.A.-cop-killer may have closed with his fiery death, but now authorities have to figure out who, if anyone, should get the cash reward for leading them to the once and former most wanted man in California.

Comments | 8,449 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Mar 8, 2013

Yes, the Trial of Bin Laden's Son-in-Law Is in NYC, and He's Pleading Not Guilty

As the most high-profile al-Qaeda trial in New York City since 9/11 began with high tension, Sulaiman Abu Ghaith made his first appearance in a Manhattan courtroom Friday to face charges of conspiracy to kill Americans.

Comments | 1,494 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Mar 8, 2013

Watch the Hugo Chavez Funeral Before His Body Goes on Display 'For Eternity'

Dozens of world leaders and diplomats are joining thousands of Venezuelans in the streets of Caracas for the funeral service. Follow it live here, even though you'll have plenty of chances to see the former leader from hereon out.

Comments | 2,759 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Mar 8, 2013

The Hush-Hush Pope Vote Is Very Close

The Vatican is officially on lockdown as the College of Cardinals makes final preparations for the papal conclave taht starts on Tuesday — including countermeasures to prevent any leaks. So what are they talking about behind closed doors?

Comments | 1,207 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Mar 8, 2013

Global Warning May Be More Dramatic Than We Realize

A new study on global warming has concluded that rise in global temperatures over the last century is even more shocking that you think, because the Earth should actually have been getting colder during that time.

Comments | 4,977 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Mar 7, 2013

U.S. Captures Bin Laden's Son-In-Law and Will Put Him on Trial

U.S. officials have announced that a former spokesperson for al Qaeda — who also happens to be a son-in-law of Osama bin Laden &mdash has been captured overseas and is being brought to America to stand trial.

Comments | 2,242 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Mar 7, 2013

Russian Ballet Dancer Says Ordered Hit Was to Beat Up Rival — No Acid Allowed

Now that they've all been arrested and are facing serious jail time, the men accused of orchestrating an acid attack on the director of the Bolshoi Ballet are all pointing the fingers at each other.

Comments | 862 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Mar 7, 2013

Kenyan Presidential Candidate Says Election Results Were Doctored

Supporters of Kenyan presidential candidate Raila Odinga have called for vote counting to be halted, after numerous claims of vote rigging, fraud, and missing ballots.

Comments | 862 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Mar 7, 2013

Silvio Berlusconi Gets Another One-Year Jail Term

Italy's former Prime Minister isn't going to jail just yet, but his legal trouble haven't gone away just because he had a good day at the polls a few weeks ago.

Comments | 1,724 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Mar 7, 2013

North Korea Is Now Threatening a Preemptive Nuclear Attack

As the U.N. Security Council prepares to vote on harsh new sanctions against North Korea, that nation's military has found a way to take its fighting words to yet another hyperbolic level.

Comments | 10,202 Views

The Tale of Rand Paul's Drone Filibuster

Rand Paul spent Wednesday doing something you don't see often enough in Washington — he made an honest-to-goodness, non-stop filibuster speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate, all-out and Mr. Smith-style. And he had a lot to say about drones.

Comments | 20,497 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Mar 6, 2013

Can Venezuela and the U.S. Be Friends Again?

The death of Hugo Chavez may have created an opening for Venezuela to alter is relationship with the rest of the world, but will the country be able to change without its leader? Will it want to?

Comments | 345 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Mar 6, 2013

FAA to Close Air Traffic Control Towers Due to Sequester

Following through on President Obama's biggest sequester doomsday scenarios, the FAA has announced it will shut down 173 air traffic control towers due to forced budget cuts.

Comments | 5,345 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Mar 6, 2013

Syrian Refugee Population Tops One Million

This month will mark the second anniversary of the start of the Syrian civil war, and after two years of violence and destruction the number of citizens who have fled to neighboring countries has reached 1,000,000.

Comments | 517 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Mar 5, 2013

Congress Gets Its Drone Memos, and Obama Gets His CIA Director

The Senate Intelligence Committee voted in favor of John Brennan's nomination to be CIA director, 12-3, after it was announced that the committee finally got more access to the White House's legal memos about drone attacks.

Comments | 1,207 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Mar 5, 2013

Kenya Probably Just Elected a President Charged with 'Crimes Against Humanity'

With more than half the votes counted in Kenya's presidential election, Uhuru Kenyatta holds a commanding lead over his rival and current boss, despite the fact he will soon find himself at the Hague.

Comments | 9,351 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Mar 5, 2013

Hugo Chavez May Finally Be on His Death Bed

He's been defying the odds for months now, but the latest reports on the condition of Venezuelan president suggest he may not be with us much longer.

Comments | 2,414 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Mar 5, 2013

Stat of the Day

The Dow Jones Just Passed 14,200 for the First Time

Moments after the opening bell rang at the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average busted through its all-time high water mark.

Comments | 517 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Mar 5, 2013

North Korea Says the Korean War Is Back On

The military command of North Korea says that if South Korea and the United States don't cancel their joint military exercises by March 11, they can consider that whole 60-year-old armistice agreement totally over.

Comments | 12,070 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Mar 5, 2013

The Daily Caller Is Sticking with Its Senator Menendez Prostitute Story

The Daily Caller claims that The Washington Post screwed up its report debunking their report about Senator Bob Menendez and Dominican prostitutes, but their defense isn't much more solid than the original story.

Comments | 4,762 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Mar 4, 2013

Deadly Violence Doesn't Deter Kenyan Voting

At least 15 people have killed in election day violence in Kenya, but that hasn't stopped millions of citizens from waiting for hours to vote in the nation's first presidential election since 2007.

Comments | 690 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Mar 4, 2013

Syrian Troop Ambush in Iraq Heightens Fear of Bigger Sectarian War

As has been feared for months, violence from the Syrian civil war has spilled across the border into Iraq, threatening an already unstable balance of power in the neighboring country.

Comments | 345 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Mar 4, 2013

Czech President Bounced for Treason in Giving Amnesty to Financial Scammers

Czech parliament voted to bring the charges against Vaclav Klaus after a controversial decision that ended numerous high-profile fraud and corruption cases.

Comments | 1,517 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Mar 4, 2013

One al-Qaeda Leader Is Killed, While Another Fights On

It seems that "one-eyed" terrorist leader Mokhtar Belmokhtar was not killed in Mali over the weekend, but a different al-Qaeda leader in Africa was taken out by French forces.

Comments | 690 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Mar 4, 2013

Meet the World's 1,426 Billionaires

Forbes has just released the 2013 edition of its world "Billionaire's List", and while the names at the top are mostly familiar, the ranks of the elitest of the elite continue to grow.

Comments | 1,991 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Mar 4, 2013

Cardinal Admits to 'Sexual Misconduct' as Vatican Prepares for New Pope

The College of Cardinals begins arriving in Rome for the papal conclave today, but one who won't be joining them has apologized for the inappropriate conduct that ended his career.

Comments | 4,782 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Mar 1, 2013

Look Who's on Al Qaeda's Most-Wanted List

Al Qaeda has published the latest issue of its jihadist recruitment magazine Inspire, which includes a handy, up-to-date list of all the people they hate the most, including Terry Jones and Salman Rushdie.

Comments | 13,262 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Mar 1, 2013

Is Horse Meat Coming (Back) to America?

Taco Bell is just the latest company in Europe that's been found inadvertently serving horse meat, but as the controversy spreads overseas, the United States may be preparing to bring horse slaughter back to this side of the Atlantic.

Comments | 1,207 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Mar 1, 2013

Florida Man Presumed Dead After Sinkhole Swallows His Bedroom

A 100-foot wide sinkhole opened up directly under a house in the town of Seffner, Florida, nearly killing two brothers and forcing authorities to evacuate the entire neighborhood.

Comments | 4,664 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Mar 1, 2013

Spendocalypse, Soon

The Sequestration Is Here ... Now What?

Welcome to Sequester Day! How will you celebrate and/or mourn? And what is your government doing to put a stop to it?

Comments | 4,138 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Feb 28, 2013

The Vatican Just Deleted All of Pope Benedict's Tweets

By now, we're all familiar with the rituals associated with the papacy changing hands — white smoke, the red shoes, free helicopter rides — but the Vatican has discovered a new one for the 21st century.

Comments | 1,678 Views

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