Author: Dashiell Bennett

The Three Sentences in the Fed Announcement That Matter

Federal Reserve

The Federal Reserve announced the results of its latest all-important Open Markets Committee meeting on Wednesday afternoon, and they're exactly the same as last month's results — but with three important changes. For market watchers, these three sentences mean everything. So how should they be interpreted?

By Dashiell Bennett

Feb 14, 2013

The Life and Mysterious Death of Israel's 'Prisoner X'

Australian and Israeli officials have found themselves squaring off over the death of an anonymous prison inmate who killed himself under very shady circumstances. Here's everything you need to know about the made-for-spy-novel drama as it unfolds.

Comments | 1,180 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Feb 14, 2013

Nuclear Negotiations with Iran Fail... Again

Leading negotiators for the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog agency left Tehran this morning after another round of talks with Iranian nuclear inspections accomplished absolutely nothing.

Comments | 172 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Feb 13, 2013

Rand Paul Will Block John Brennan Until He Gets an Answer About Drones

After the scuttled nomination of Susan Rice and rumblings about stopping Chuck Hagel's, it looks as though a Senator may actually pull out their one big "check and balance" gun and put a hold on an Obama nominee.

Comments | 487 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Feb 13, 2013

Pentagon to Start Awarding Medals for Drone Strikes and Cyberattacks

The Defense Department is reportedly inventing a new medal designed to reward soliders who fight battles from the safety of their computer consoles.

Comments | 5,690 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Feb 13, 2013

The Final Days of Pope Benedict Begin

As the papal exit strategy develops, Benedict XVI made his first public appearance since announcing his resignation, reiterating his strong abdication statement that he simply doesn't have the energy to do the job anymore.

Comments | 1,530 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Feb 13, 2013

The Evolution of Obama's State of the Union Addresses

He has now given five State of the Union addresses (four officially), and if you watch them all in order you can witness the subtle development in his approach to the speech — one that also mirrors the development of his presidency, and his exercise of power.

Comments | 517 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Feb 12, 2013

The Olympics Want to Dump Wrestling, Which Makes No Sense

The goal of the Olympic movement should be to promote all sports, not pit them against each other, but the IOC recommended today that one of its original sports be dropped from the Summer Games in 2020.

Comments | 2,550 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Feb 12, 2013

Why North Korea's Nuclear Program Can't Be Stopped

Tuesday's test has the world calling for a strong response, but the world can't negotiate with North Korea, because the world doesn't have anything North Korea wants.

Comments | 4,698 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Feb 11, 2013

Gabby Giffords' Voice Is Now the Voice of Gun Control

Giffords has narrated a new public service ad pushing for background checks on all gun sales, and it's tough to imagine anyone — even the NRA's Wayne LaPierre — finding a way to attack her message without looking monstrous as the next fight looms.

Comments | 862 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Feb 11, 2013

What's Next for the Catholic Church?

Pope Benedict XVI caught nearly everyone off guard with his sudden resignation today, but will his surprise departure also manage to shake up the Vatican? The answer to that question rests heavily on who his own people choose to replace him.

Comments | 1,501 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Feb 11, 2013

The Man Who Shot Bin Laden Breaks His Silence

Phil Bronstein got the first interviews with the man who actually fired the bullets that killed Osama bin Laden — a man who would be considered a hero to most Americans, but whose story since leaving the Navy has not been a happy one.

Comments | 14,252 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Feb 11, 2013

Pope Benedict XVI Is Resigning

The Vatican confirmed this morning that Pope Benedict XVI will resign his position as head of the Catholic Church later this month.

Comments | 8,408 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Feb 8, 2013

A Photographic Guide to Looking Concerned While Meeting with the President

If you're ever in a meeting with the leader of the free world, you know it's important. Or rather, you better show it's important.

Comments | 25,473 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Feb 8, 2013

After Signing Muslim Players, Israeli Soccer Team Hit by Arson

The offices of the Beitar Jerusalem soccer team were set ablaze last night, apparently in ongoing fight over the team's two new Muslim players.

Comments | 1,260 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Feb 8, 2013

Mali Gets Its First Suicide Bomber

After French forces changed the dynamic of the conflict in Mali, it has now taken on another new, and sadly predictable, turn—suicide attacks.

Comments | 345 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Feb 7, 2013

Watch Live: John Brennan's CIA Confirmation Hearing

President Obama's top counterterrorism advisor faced the Senate Intelligence Committee today.

Comments | 1,035 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Feb 7, 2013

John McCain Takes Out His Benghazi Anger on America's Top General

The two newest targets of John McCain's barbs over the attack on the Benghazi are the outgoing Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who McCain essentially called a liar.

Comments | 819 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Feb 7, 2013

Is John Brennan's CIA Post-Torture?

Drones will no doubt be the central issue of contention at John Brennan's confirmation hearing on Thursday to become Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, but whatever happened to torture?

Comments | 172 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Feb 7, 2013

Iran Airs Spy Footage It (Allegedly) Took From a Captured U.S. Drone

Iran is jumping on the drone news bandwagon today, with expertly timed released of it claims is decrypted surveillance footage taken from a downed American drone.

Comments | 2,137 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Feb 6, 2013

Tim Geithner Is Not Selling Out

Unemployed Treasury secretaries generally don't stay unemployed for long, but unlike some of his predecessors, newly private citizen Tim Geithner won't be going for the big bucks right away.

Comments | 1,345 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Feb 6, 2013

The Drone Secrets Inside John Brennan

In a week that has already seen the Obama administration's targeted killing program rise from clandestine legalise to coffee-table conversation, many unanswered question still remain: How much else does Brennan know? How much does the Senate? And how much will his confirmation hearing divulge by week's end?

Comments | 2,780 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Feb 6, 2013

U.S. Post Office to Eliminate Saturday Deliveries

CBS News reported this morning that the United States Post Office has decided to end Saturday delivery and will phase out the practice by the end of this summer.

Comments | 6,035 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Feb 6, 2013

Hundreds Rally in Tunisia After Opposition Leader Is Assassinated

Chokri Belaid, a Tunisian politician who has been a leading critic of the new government, was shot and killed outside his house on Wednesday, setting off a wave of protests from supporters and other opposition leaders.

Comments | 1,035 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Feb 5, 2013

Britain Moves One Step Closer to Legalizing Gay Marriage

The British House of Commons have shown overwhelmingly for same-sex marriage legislation that could soon bring soon make gay marriage a reality, but the victory isn't the end of the fight.

Comments | 1,196 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Feb 5, 2013

Someone Threw a Shoe at Ahmadinejad on His Not-So-Good Trip to Cairo

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to Egypt has not gone so well, as he was lectured by a Sunni Cleric, mobbed by aggressive glad-handers, and had someone else throw a shoe at him.

Comments | 6,651 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Feb 5, 2013

President Obama Will Visit Israel This Spring

After being heavily criticized for not visiting the State of Israel during his first term, the second-term President Obama will be making a trip there very soon.

Comments | 493 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Feb 5, 2013

Obama Wants to Kick the Can a Bit More on the Sequester

The President did, in fact, suggest Congress kick the can at a White House briefing, saying that his fiscal-cliff deals are "very much" still on the table.

Comments | 862 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Feb 5, 2013

Rep. Conyers: Immigrants Aren't 'Illegal' — They're 'Out of Status'

Today's big immigration hearing at the House Judiciary Committee got off to a rocky start this morning, when Rep. John Conyers opened the proceedings by asking everyone to please stop saying the words "illegal immigrants."

Comments | 1,011 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Feb 5, 2013

Hezbollah Implicated in Attack on Israelis in Bulgaria

Bulgarian officials announced that the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah was behind a bus bombing that killed five Israeli tourists last summer, a ruling that could force Europe to officially sanction the group.

Comments | 345 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Feb 5, 2013

What the White House Hasn't Said About Drones

Everyone is anxious about the "white paper" that finally begins to detail the Obama administration's opinons on targeted assassination, but what seems to have even more people worried on the morning after — and less than 48 hours from John Brennan's confirmation hearing — is what's missing from that argument. 

Comments | 3,188 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Feb 5, 2013

Companion of Delhi Rape Victim Testifies Against Their Attackers

The companion of the woman who was raped and then killed in the horrific Delhi bus attack last year, appeared in court today to become the first witness to testify against the five suspects being tried for her murder.

Comments | 1,031 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Feb 4, 2013

Super Bowl Ratings Weren't the Highest Ever After All

So much for the hype from the early overnights. Super Sunday notched an official rating of 108.41 million for CBS, falling short of last year's record of 111.3 million.

Comments | 2,521 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Feb 4, 2013

The Assault-Weapons Ban Will Fail for Real Gun-Control Laws to Succeed

As President Obama takes to the road to sell a "comprehensive set of commonsense ideas" about gun violence, Senate Democrats are reportedly working on a gun-control bill that will include all of the his policy proposals — except the one that might be the biggest.

Comments | 3,449 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Feb 4, 2013

Israel and Assad Trade Words Over Attack in Syria

Israel still isn't (officially) talking about what they were doing in Syria last week, but American officials have revealed a few new details about their cross-border attack.

Comments | 345 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Feb 4, 2013

DNA Tests Prove That This Skeleton Is Richard III

Scientists in England have announced that they can now conclusively say that a skeleton found under a parking lot in Great Britain last year belongs to the Richard III, the famous king who was killed (without his horse!) more than 500 years ago.

Comments | 8,841 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Feb 4, 2013

Ex-Marine Charged with Murder in Sniper Chris Kyle's Death

Authorities still have no motive in the killing of Navy sniper Chris Kyle, but most signs seem to point the post-traumatic stress disorder as a possible culprit.

Comments | 10,355 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Feb 1, 2013

The Neverending Peaceful Protests in Cairo Look Pretty Violent

Protestors set fires outside the gates of Egypt's presidential palace on Friday as Cairo endured a second straight week of demonstrations against Mohammed Morsi.

Comments | 172 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Feb 1, 2013

A-Rod Will Now Have to Deny Juicy Details About Steroid Injections

ESPN is piling on an earlier story about Alex Rodriguez and performance enhancing drugs by reporting that the man who allegedly sold A-Rod the products, personally injected them into the slugger.

Comments | 510 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Feb 1, 2013

Beyond 14,000: America Has a Real Economy Again

The Dow is hovering around that big round number, and as we finish off a fifth straight week of positive growth for the market, hell, that's not a bad start to 2013.

Comments | 1,035 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Feb 1, 2013

A Truck Full of Fireworks Sent Cars Flying Off This Chinese Bridge

A huge truck filled with fireworks exploded on an elevated highway in China on Friday, destroying a large section of the road, and sending vehicles plummeting nearly 100 feet to the ground.

Comments | 1,355 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Feb 1, 2013

The Jobs Report Has Some Very Good Hidden Numbers

The Bureau of Labor Statistics announced this morning that the unemployment rate for January rose slightly, but revisions to previous months showed a huge surge in hiring.

Comments | 862 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Feb 1, 2013

Bomb Explodes Outside the U.S. Embassy in Turkey

A bomb exploded outside the entrance to the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, Turkey, on Friday in an apparent suicide attack that killed two people.

Comments | 1,724 Views

By Dashiell Bennett and J.K. Trotter

Jan 31, 2013

Chuck Hagel's Confirmation Hearing: Re-live the Entire Dramatic Day

After nearly eight hours of testimony, former senator Chuck Hagel got up and walked away from two extended sessions before the Senate Armed Service Committee. It was not an easy day.

Comments | 6,448 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Jan 31, 2013

Iran and Syria Threaten Retaliation for Israeli Strike

Both Iran and Syria are ramping up the rhetoric this morning, not-so-subtly threatening Israel over its attack within Syria's borders on Wednesday.

Comments | 982 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Jan 31, 2013

Chuck Hagel Faces His Biggest Critics Today

Washington could see the most contentious confirmation hearing of Barack Obama's presidency, as former Senator Chuck Hagel fights for his chance to be the next Secretary of Defense. 

Comments | 345 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Jan 30, 2013

The Senate Takes on Guns at Its First Post-Newtown Hearing

The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on gun violence in America today, and advocates from both sides — and their rivals on the committee — got plenty of opportunity to speak out.

Comments | 8,104 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Jan 30, 2013

What to Expect from Today's Big Senate Hearing on Gun Violence

The U.S. Senate will hold its first formal hearing on gun control since the Sandy Hook school shooting, and there's the potential for some heated showdowns between the participants — Wayne LaPierre included.

Comments

By Dashiell Bennett

Jan 30, 2013

Hostage Standoff Continues After Man Kills Bus Driver and Kidnaps Child

Police and FBI negotiators are still in a standoff with a man who murdered a school bus driver before kidnapping a six-year-old child and holing up in an underground shelter.

Comments | 4,138 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Jan 29, 2013

PBR Bailout Brings Twinkie Fever to New Extremes

Beleaguered but beloved snack-cake brand Twinkies may have found a solution to its bankruptcy problems that involves joining forces with owner of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer — and, yes, the Twinkie hysteria has returned, this time for good.

Comments | 2,922 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Jan 29, 2013

A-Rod, Ray Lewis Connected to Shadowy Performance-Enhancing Companies

Two new exposés compound the lingering reality that no Hall of Fame snubs or Lance Armgstrong-style admissions may ever stop the larger modern problem in professional or amateur sports.

Comments | 7,572 Views

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