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Saturday, May 14, 2011
The Morning Scoop - The Awkward Exit of Mideast Envoy George Mitchell
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President Obama's special Mideast envoy George Mitchell told his bosses yesterday that he'd had enough. With the president about to meet two big allies—Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Jordan's King Abdullah—and make a major speech on Mideast policy, the timing of Mitchell's departure couldn't be more uncomfortable. The Daily Beast's Daniel Stone on why Mitchell was increasingly annoyed—and what his resignation means for Israel and Palestine.
Army engineers are preparing to open the gates of an emergency spillway along the Mississippi River in an attempt to divert floodwaters from Baton Rouge and New Orleans. But opening the gates, which haven't been unlocked in 38 years, will swamp the homes of about 25,000 people in Cajun country and inundate Morgan City, an oil-and-seafood hub. Sheriffs and National Guardsmen have begun warning people in a door-to-door sweep, and shelters have begun preparing to accept evacuees. When the gates open, the water they release could submerge about 3,000 square miles under as much as 25 feet of water. But if the spillway isn't opened, officials fear the flood will overcome the levees in New Orleans in a disaster that would be much worse than Hurricane Katrina.
President Obama plans to open Alaska's national petroleum reserve to new drilling, he said in his weekly radio address. The plan would also fast-track environmental assessment of petroleum exploration in some portions of the Atlantic and extend leases to oil companies who stopped working in the Gulf of Mexico and Arctic Ocean because of the moratorium on offshore drilling following the BP disaster. House Republicans dismissed the plan as weak. The U.S. consumes nearly 25 percent of the world's daily crude oil output but contains only 2 percent of its reserves, and analysts say increased domestic production won't drive down prices substantially. The proposal does not include drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
A worker at Japan's troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has died, but Tokyo Electric Power says his body shows no signs of radiation overexposure. Still, the first death in the effort to stabilize the reactor raises concerns about conditions at the plant, where workers must operate in a cramped and sweltering environment and rotate in and out so as not to be exposed to dangerous levels of radiation. Tepco says the worker, a subcontractor in his 60s, had begun work at the plant only the day before. He had been exposed to 0.17 millisieverts of radiation on Saturday, about the equivalent of a chest X-ray, and no radioactive material was found on his body.
Could Syria be trying a less violent approach? A top government adviser said Friday that the regime is looking to heed demands of peaceful protesters, implying that the government is realizing their violent crackdown tactics have not succeeded in repressing the opposition. Tens of thousands of Syrians prayed across dozens of towns and villages on Friday after government forces attacked neighborhoods where demonstrations were being held, killing six protesters in three separate locations. The death toll was lower than it had been in past weeks. "We don't crush peaceful protesters by force. Our problem is with armed groups," said the government adviser. Tanks and troops are being pulled out of cities, and officials say committees have been formed to vote on new political party laws and start a "comprehensive national dialogue" next week.
A new Senate report chronicles the ex-senator's sordid affair, obsession for his mistress, illegal coverup, and Rick Santorum's attempt to protect him. The Daily Beast delivers the most salacious tidbits.
'Unlawful Killing': Cannes' Princess Di Outrage by Richard Porton Wacky theories about Diana's death in the new doc 'Unlawful Killing' are making waves at the French festival. Richard Porton says the film is as awfully made as factually confused.
May 14: The Week in Viral Videos by The Daily Beast Video From Lindsay Lohan's vampire make-out session and Tina Fey's triumphant return as Sarah Palin to Charlie Sheen's proposed suicidal Men ending and Justin Bieber's bratty CSI stint, watch the week's buzziest videos.
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