Gus Van Sant wanted it really badly. Joe Wright's name was thrown around. But the coveted job of directing the 50 Shades of Grey movie adaptation has gone to Sam Taylor-Johnson. Which is great — a studio believes in a female director to carry a movie based on a book with a massive female fan base. But... who? She's really quite cool. Trust us.
Should Jane Austen join Ayn Rand among conservatives' favorite writers? A National Review Online article has opened up a debate that touches the literary and political worlds, making us wonder: Can anyone really claim Austen as an ideological heroine?
Today we get a tantalizing glimpse of season three of Downton Abbey.
Big-name politicians are a familiar sight at the Iowa State Fair — this year, President Obama bought people beers and Paul Ryan was heckled; last year, Sarah Palin and the Republican primary pack made a scene — but the true stars are the many foods, which are put on sticks.
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Races are tight — or at least growing tighter — in two swing states. Here's our guide to today's polls and why they matter.
We all know that Mitt Romney is rich, but just how much does his church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, get within a year? Oh, just about $7 billion.
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Many people didn't think anything—positive or negative—about Paul Ryan before Saturday. Ryan's addition to the Romney campaign changed few opinions of the Republican. Here's our guide to today's polls and why they matter.
In a USA Today/Gallup poll out today Paul Ryan is considered by 42 percent of Americans only a "fair" or "poor" choice for Mitt Romney's vice president— a higher number than that of registered voters who put Dick Cheney and Sarah Palin in the same categories upon learning of their selection.
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A majority of Australians don't think their countryman, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, will get treated fairly if he's tried in the United States.
Two national polls show Obama with leads of nine and seven points. A poll in Iowa shows Romney up by a slim margin. Here's our guide to today's polls and why they matter.
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In Rasmussen's daily Tracking Poll, Romney is up by four points. In Wisconsin, Obama is up by five. Here's our guide to today's polls and why they matter.
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A new poll shows the "stubborn" trends in three swing states, another has Romney "underwater" in favorability, while still another puts Obama in the lead nationally. Here's our guide to today's polls and why they matter.
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Stats in from a new paper show that between 2006 and 2011 between 4 percent and 13 percent of the earth's surface has been covered by extreme heat.
Players: Zach Galifianakis, oddball comedian best known for The Hangover and a guy who interviews celebrities between two ferns; the Koch brothers, billionaires with major conservative power.
Polls show conflicting results in Colorado, but another gives Obama a lead in North Carolina. More 2008 Obama voters are voting Republican than McCain voters are voting Democrat. Here's our guide to today's polls and why they matter.
Another death to report today: Film critic Judith Crist has died at the age of 90.
A summary of the best reads found behind the paywall of The New York Times.
A summary of the best reads found behind the paywall of The New York Times.
Every day The Atlantic Wire highlights the video clips that truly earn your five minutes (or less) of attention.
Americans are divided as to who will best handle foreign issues, and Romney leads North Carolina. Here's our guide to today's polls and why they matter.
On magazine stands in America the cover of Cosmpolitan's blaring sex tips are — though crass — commonplace. But what about in India? Or in the Middle East?
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Every day The Atlantic Wire highlights the video clips that truly earn your five minutes (or less) of attention
A Pew national poll shows Obama with a 10-point lead, the suburbs are tricky for the candidates, and New Jersey and Connecticut lean Obama. Here's our guide to today's polls and why they matter.
As Democrats plan to put gay marriage on their party platform and people flock to Chick-fil-A in opposition, take a note of these charts from the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, which displays how the country's opinions on the topic have morphed over time.
Wondering just who everyone is on Facebook? Well, wonder about 83 million fewer of them.
A summary of the best reads found behind the paywall of The New York Times.
Every day The Atlantic Wire highlights the video clips that truly earn your five minutes (or less) of attention.
Obama has leads in Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, all crucial swing states. The president's approval rating was up for the first half of the year in 13 states and D.C. Here's our guide to today's polls and why they matter.
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There's been some of talk as to just how mortifying it would be to be seen while engrossed in the popular "mommy porn," but according to a 60 Minutes/Vanity Fair poll, it's actually low down on the list of embarrassing public reading.
Obama has the narrowest of leads over Romney in Florida, Missouri looks like Romney country, and 48 percent of Americans support gay marriage. Here's our guide to today's polls and why they matter.
By all media accounts, gold medalist swimmer Missy Franklin is a sweetheart. So why did Washington Post columnist Sally Jenkins say a "a mean girl took possession of her" in the pool? Because she won.
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Romney leads Obama in leadership, values and honesty, Americans think creating jobs is the most important issue for the next president, and Obama's approval rating is up. Here's our guide to today's polls and why they matter.
Last week we told you about the Reddit's internal discussion about its not-so-welcoming attitude towards women who use the site. We called up Reddit general manager Erik Martin to find out what — if anything — can be done about the hostility many said they encountered.
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In the wake of the gun control debate raging after the Aurora shooting last week, we hear that Florida will soon have one million people in possession of concealed weapons.
New polls out today find that Obama has leads in swing state Ohio and swing-y state Wisconsin. Here's our guide to today's polls and why they matter.
This week, a Flavorwire supercut made its way around the Internet professing to show 75 years of the "Manic Pixie Dream Girl." But what is this breed of woman, and why might writer and actress Zoe Kazan have something to do with it being destroyed?
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Business owners are not keen on the job Obama is doing, and "bubble state" Missouri goes for Romney. Here's our guide to today's polls and why they matter.
While Reddit has proved itself as a great source of viral news and received deserved praise for its coverage of the Aurora shootings, a recent thread posited a question about where women fit in in the site.
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