Susan Rice to Replace Tom Donilon as National Security Adviser

From 2011: (L-R) Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen, National Security Advisor Tom Donilon, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., US Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton .
AP Photo/Charles Dharapak

In a big shake-up of the President's inner circle (and a big thumb in the eye of Senate Republicans) National Security Adviser Tom Donilon is resigning his post ... and it's going to Susan Rice.

By Abby Ohlheiser

Jun 4, 2013

MLB Reportedly Preparing to Suspend A-Rod, Others, in Doping Scandal

A report from ESPN late Tuesday indicates that 20 Major League Baseball players, including Alex Rodriguez and Ryan Braun, could end up suspended from the league — for up to 100 games — in what might be some of the biggest doping scandal punishments in professional sports history.

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By Abby Ohlheiser

Jun 4, 2013

Michelle Obama Stares Down Heckler at a Fundraiser

Michelle Obama isn't quite as tolerant of hecklers as her husband is, if a late Tuesday confrontation is any indication.

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By Abby Ohlheiser

Jun 4, 2013

The Unconstitutional Abortion Bill That's Advancing Through the House

Republican Representative Trent Franks wanted this May to be the sequel to America's "Newtown moment" on gun control But instead of pushing for background checks, Frank is trying to pass a nationwide ban on abortions after 20 weeks.

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By Abby Ohlheiser

Jun 4, 2013

Will the President Stop the ITC's Sales Ban on Some Older Apple Products?

For the first time since the Apple-Samsung patent war began, Apple could face a ban on U.S. sales of some of its products. 

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By Connor Simpson

Jun 4, 2013

The World May Never See Rob Ford's Crack Video After All

And just like that, one of the most enticing political scandals in quite some time potentially goes up in smoke.

Comments | 1,511 Views

By Philip Bump

Jun 4, 2013

Rubio's Amendment to Kill Obamacare Is a Great Campaign Prop, at Least

Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, who everyone expects to run for president in 2016, has proposed a bill that would amend the Constitution of the United States to prevent the government from enacting Obamacare. It will never, ever happen.

Comments | 1,726 Views

By Richard Lawson

Jun 4, 2013

The Call Sheet

We Don't Need 'The Wizard of Oz' in 3D

Today in show business news: Warner Bros. is reworking a classic, Justin Theroux gets a big TV role, and a Game of Thrones actress lands on her feet. 

Comments | 4,304 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Jun 4, 2013

Obama's Trade Nominee Has a Romney-Style Love of Cayman Bank Accounts

Another Romneyesque figure has been spotted in President Obama's administration. Michael Froman, nominated to be the U.S. trade representative, has about $500,000 in a Cayman Islands account.

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By J.K. Trotter

Jun 4, 2013

Stat of the Day

Oklahoma Tornado Was a Record 2.6 Miles Wide

The deadly cyclone that struck on Friday in El Reno, Oklahoma, was the second EF5 tornado in less than two weeks to strike the state. It was also the largest twister ever recorded.

Comments | 1,079 Views

By Connor Simpson

Jun 4, 2013

Ohio State Haters Whack Gordon Gee with Door on His Way Out

Gordon Gee — longtime academic, enemy of Catholic people, devil to Michigan grads everywhere, ruffler of SEC feathers, and soon-to-be-former president of (The) Ohio State University — has announced his retirement. But that's not stopping football fans across the country from laughing all the way to the AARP.

Comments | 2,805 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jun 4, 2013

Zynga's In-House Rivalry with OMGPOP Led to a Rager — and Maybe the Layoffs

Following Monday's announcement by Zynga that it had fired 520 of its employees — and completely shut down the office of OMGPOP, the startup behind Draw Something that Zynga had acquired for $200 million last year — the laid-off OMG staff immediately threw a boozy, joyous party that involved what sounds like a primal, 2001: A Space Odyssey-style session full of shredding Zynga swag.

Comments | 1,294 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Jun 4, 2013

The Military's Power Play on Sexual Assault Is Old-Fashioned Progress

Military commanders made it very clear, in a Senate hearing on sexual assault in the armed forces on Tuesday, that they do not want a bunch of senators taking away their power to discipline their own troops. The question now is how much power they'll lose.

Comments | 2,571 Views

By J.K. Trotter

Jun 4, 2013

Why the Wall Street Journal Hates Bikes So Much

Journal editorial board member Dorothy Rabinowitz has become the most blogged-about nemesis of New York's new bike-sharing program yet, with media critics, liberal opinionators, and regular old bike-riders jumping on her comments about transportation "totalitarians." What gives?

Comments | 6,040 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jun 4, 2013

The New, Creep-Proof Rules of Google Glass, Translated

After all the very scary privacy stories about very real developer projects, Google updated its developer policies for its wearable computer to include 11 new rules, the company confirmed to The Atlantic Wire. And breaking down through the refreshed list, Google covers pretty much every terrible thing we've heard since Glass hit faces in April. Porn and facial recognition included.

Comments | 1,294 Views

By Philip Bump

Jun 4, 2013

Donald Rumsfeld 'Can't Tell' if Obama Wants the Terrorists to Win

Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense under Bush, jokingly suggests in an interview that he "can't tell" if maybe President Obama now wants the terrorists to win the War on Terror. We assess how Obama can prove his loyalty.

Comments | 3,883 Views

By Esther Zuckerman

Jun 4, 2013

Is the New 'Arrested Development' Better Now That It's in Chronological Order?

The overlapping comeback episodes of Arrested Development didn't live up to the comeback hopes of some of the show's rabid fans. So the rabid fans at Reddit are trying to fix things with a controversial re-editing.

Comments | 18,315 Views

By Connor Simpson

Jun 4, 2013

Here Are the Inmate Case Files for the 'In Cold Blood' Murderers

English literary nerds, ahoy! A treasure only the bookish could love has arrived on the web. The inmate case files for the two murderers convicted in the infamous killings that inspired Truman Capote's In Cold Blood have been uploaded for the public's viewing for the first time.

Comments | 1,078 Views

By Philip Bump

Jun 4, 2013

This 'New' $49 Million IRS Spending Report Is Pitch-Perfect for Darrell Issa

The expenses detailed in an Inspector General's report are embarrassing, including $50,000 for videos like that Star Trek parody. But in 2011, the president signed an executive order barring such excess. Which would be close to the end of the story if it weren't for the three politically-charged letters on the report's cover: I. R. S.

Comments | 216 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Jun 4, 2013

Gee Whiz, Saxby Chambliss Actually Said 'Hormones' Turn Troops into Rapists

There was an important conversation on Capitol Hill between the nation's top military officials and the Senate Armed Services committee on Tuesday, but Chambliss, in what was surely the most astonishing moment of a hearing on the sexual assault crisis in the armed forces, essentially blamed military rapes on "the hormone level created by nature."

Comments | 5,391 Views

By Jen Doll

Jun 4, 2013

Y.A. for Grownups

Sarah Dessen's Secret to Y.A. Success: Stay Forever Young

If you read teen books, or have teenagers who read books, you probably know the name Sarah Dessen. Today marks the release of the author's eleventh novel, The Moon and More, and we spoke with her to learn about how she channels her teenage years over and over again in new ways as she contributes to the wealth of young adult fare.

Comments | 863 Views

Gallup Explains How It Messed Up 2012 Presidential Polling

Nearly seven months after President Obama won reelection by a margin of 4 percentage points, the Gallup Organization, the world's best-known polling firm, identified in a new report four main reasons why their 2012 surveys badly understated Obama's support.

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By Philip Bump

Jun 4, 2013

House GOP Still Loves the Anti-IRS Show — 'Jackboot of Tyranny' and All

Representatives of a handful of organizations targeted by the IRS appeared before the House Ways and Means Committee today at Congress' fifth hearing on the scandal, offering more anecdotes and quotes than insight into the IRS' behavior. This is where the investigation is: If you've got an interpretation of how the IRS acted badly, the president's opponents are all ears.

Comments | 862 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jun 4, 2013

Swiffer Swiftly Cleans Up Offensive Rosie the Riveter Campaign

Less than a day after the web noticed that Swiffer had drafted Rosie the Riveter for its Steam Boost mop advertising campaign with a glammed up version of the feminist icon, the company has already taken down the product's splash page.

Comments | 2,156 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Jun 4, 2013

Chris Christie Sets Special Election to His Own 2013 Advantage — Not 2016

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has set the special election to replace Sen. Frank Lautenberg, who died on Monday, for October. The primary will be in August. So we now have a little window into how Christie's making his calculations — and getting the love of New Jersey voters is pretty clearly his priority over the love of conservative presidential primary voters.

Comments | 4,959 Views

By Connor Simpson

Jun 4, 2013

Gross Notebooks and a Truth Serum: What's Next in the James Holmes Trial

A judge approved James Holmes's plea of not guilty by insanity on Tuesday, setting off a series of motions that could take months before Holmes will actually go to trial for shooting and killing 12 people and injuring at least 58 others in a movie theater last summer in Aurora, Colorado.

Comments | 2,587 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Jun 4, 2013

How Memes Became the Best Weapon Against Chinese Internet Censorship

China's censors are blocking words like "today" and "June 4" from social media as part of the country's yearly chore to block any reference to the anniversary to the Tiananmen Square massacre 24 years ago. And though the Chinese are running a sophisticated and tight censorship ship, they're having a bit harder time blocking memes. Yes memes. 

Comments | 34,601 Views

By Esther Zuckerman

Jun 4, 2013

John Galliano Attempts to Repent in Vanity Fair

Word began to spread in the fashion world that shamed designer John Galliano was preparing a media offensive, and here's his first (profanity-laced, still not very successful) shot at public redemption.

Comments | 216 Views

By Connor Simpson

Jun 4, 2013

Hear Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's Voice for the First Time (He's Eating Chicken)

You get one phone call when you're arrested, even if you're accused of blowing up the Boston Marathon. That's why today the world gets to listen to the first public tape of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev since last month's terror attack.

Comments | 9,380 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jun 4, 2013

D.C.'s 'Doissant' Has Killed This Cronut Thing Dead

Now that our hip nation's capital, already so incapable of being hip, has up and built its own donut/croissant hybrid, the "doissant" — New York's Dominique Ansel actually trademarked the cronut name — it's safe to call this the end of the end of the cross-pollinated pastry trend, or at least Washington has brought us disgustingly close.

Comments | 7,441 Views

By Esther Zuckerman

Jun 4, 2013

The X-Men Will Once Again Be Altering History

X-Men: First Class re-imagined the Cuban Missile Crisis as a conflict manipulated by mutants. In the sequel, X-Men: Days of Future Past we can now expect Richard Nixon and Vietnam. 

Comments | 3,934 Views

By Philip Bump

Jun 4, 2013

Fox News Is Still Waiting for Woodward's 'Watergate' Stamp of Approval

Bob Woodward is perhaps the country's only official validator of political scandal. For months, Republicans and sympathetic parties in the media have been enticing Woodward to apply the stamp to Obama. So far, they've had no success.

Comments | 2,802 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Jun 4, 2013

Turkey Says It's Sorry About Beating Up All Those Protesters

With Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan out of the country, Turkey's Deputy PM was left trying to pick up the pieces (and mend fences) after a week of violent protests.

Comments | 1,293 Views

By Richard Lawson

Jun 4, 2013

The Smart Set

Sean Parker's $2.5 Million Ecological Wedding Disaster

Today in celebrity gossip: Sean Parker had to pay the state of California a bunch of money, Justin Bieber gets even more absurd at the Heat game, and Channing Tatum's baby has a name. 

Comments | 8,838 Views

By Connor Simpson

Jun 4, 2013

The U.S. Government Asked the AP for $1 Million for Secret Email Addresses

The Associated Press filed Freedom of Information Act requests for the secret email addresses of appointed administration employees, and a Labor Department spokesman came back with an offer: you can have the emails if you give us a million bucks.

Comments | 3,233 Views

By Jen Doll

Jun 4, 2013

The Trouble with Talking About Fertility

In these progressive times in which women and men are delaying marriage and children, too, the topic of female fertility — and how it's not going to be there forever, ladies! — seems to come up again and again. But what really are we supposed to do with this information?

Comments | 3,880 Views

By J.K. Trotter

Jun 4, 2013

Today's Best

Five Best Tuesday Columns

Çağlar Keyder on the demonstrations in Turkey, Emily Bazelon on the Supreme Court's DNA decision, Kirby Dick on the Pentagon's handling of rape, Conor Friedersdorf on bike-sharing paranoia, Jenny Davis on Facebook's teenage exiles.

Comments | 647 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Jun 4, 2013

Did Boehner Spoil the GOP by Sparing the Rod?

While pundits wonder why President Obama won't impose his will on House Republicans, the  mystical manipulation mystery for GOP Congressional leaders is why they won't impose their will on House conservatives.

Comments | 1,724 Views

By Rebecca Greenfield

Jun 4, 2013

The Long War on Patent Trolls Has Begun

President Obama Tuesday introduced executive orders to combat the very patent trollery described in this week's This American Life, which detailed how a so-called patent protectors buy up patents only to profit from lawsuits against inventors.

Comments | 4,742 Views

By Connor Simpson

Jun 4, 2013

China Wants to Be a 'Pain' to North Korea Until It Gives Up the Nuclear Tests

China doesn't have any patience for North Korea's bloviating anymore, and it seems the DPRK may be falling out of favor with its biggest ally — just in time for President Obama's meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Comments | 1,962 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Jun 4, 2013

Police Say an American Tourist Was Gang-Raped in India

Six months after the deadly gang rape of a 23-year-old in New Delhi set off a wave of protests, multiple reports out of the Indian mountain escape of Manali say a 30-year-old female American was hitchhiking home late Monday night when she was allegedly driven to a secluded area and gang-raped by three men. Yes, it appears that India's rape crisis is still out of control.

Comments | 4,311 Views

By Philip Bump

Jun 4, 2013

Meet the Three Judges Who Could Bring the Senate to Its Knees

The White House Rose Garden is rarely a scene of insurrection. But the president used the setting this morning for phase one of a strategy that could end with Senate Democrats exercising the "nuclear option" to reset rules around the use of the filibuster. All by simply saying three names.

Comments | 31,038 Views

By Esther Zuckerman

Jun 4, 2013

Jon Stewart Explains How John McCain Got Photobombed by Terrorists

The Daily Show returned from a week off last night, and Jon Stewart decided to tackle John McCain's trip to Syria, where the senator may have taken a picture with two men who may have kidnapped Shiite Muslims last year.

Comments | 4,095 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Jun 4, 2013

Syria War Crimes Go from Bad to Worse to Even More Awful

As the Syrian civil war drags on into its third summer, the conflict only grows larger and more vicious, with Hezbollah, Israel, Turkey, Russia, and even the North Koreans joining in the fight.

Comments | 1,071 Views

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