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Saturday, November 5, 2011

Cheat Sheet - The Bromance Subplot to Greek Crisis

Today: U.S. Commander Removed, Lawmakers Try Debt Loopholes, Why Gloria Cain Is Silent
The Daily Beast Cheat Sheet: Morning

November 05, 2011
HIGH DRAMA

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou's party may have won a nail-biting confidence vote, but that may not be enough for him to hold on to power. The main opposition New Democracy party, headed by Antonis Samaras, is refusing to join any coalition with Papandreou, instead demanding elections. There's an intriguing subplot to all this drama: Papandreou and Samaras, now the fiercest of rivals, were roommates at Amherst College. It's a battle for power in a bromantic drama as the world watches anxiously. The Daily Beast's David Graham retraces the history of the pair.

AFGHANISTAN

One of the top U.S. commanders in Afghanistan, Major Gen. Peter Fuller, was relieved of his duties Friday after reportedly making some off-the-cuff comments about Afghan President Hamid Karzai. In an interview with Politico, Fuller called the Afghan government "isolated from reality," and blasted Karzai saying, "When they are going to have a presidential election, you hope they get a guy that's more articulate in public." In response, NATO Commander Gen. John Allen called the remarks "inappropriate public comments," and said, "These unfortunate comments are neither indicative of our current solid relationship with its government in Afghanistan, its leadership, or our joint commitment to prevail here in Afghanistan."

SUPERCOMMITTEE

This doesn't bode well for the deficit supercommittee. Republicans on the House and Senate Armed Services Committees are preparing legislation that would undo the automatic $500 billion in cuts to military programs that will take effect if the deficit panel fails to trim $1.2 trillion from the budget. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina drafted a bill that replaces military cuts with reductions from elsewhere in the budget, plus a 10-percent decrease in pay for members of Congress. Similar measures are being worked out in the House. But House Speaker John Boehner said the automatic cuts, called sequestration, shouldn't be tampered with. "The sequester is ugly," said Boehner. "Why? Because we don't want anybody to go there."

ON SECOND THOUGHT

Herman Cain's wife was right to cancel a TV interview about her husband's sexual harassment charges, writes Michelle Cottle. The aggrieved wife is a part no one plays well.

ASSASSINATION

Pakistan has filed charges in the murder of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan claims two senior police officers and five alleged Taliban militants were responsible for Bhutto's assassination after she made a dramatic return from exile to run for electionin 2007. The police officers—including the chief of police at the time in Rawalpindi, where Bhutto was killed—were charged with security breaches and failing to protect Bhutto. Bhutto was killed in a gun and bomb attack while campaigning in an election that was ultimately won by her husband, the current Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari.


KINGPIN
Colombian FARC Leader Killed
Headed feared rebel group.
OBIT
Andy Rooney Dies
"60 Minutes" commentator was 92.
TRAGIC
Massive UK Crash Injures Dozens
27-vehicle pileup kills at least seven.
FINAL FRONTIER
Report: Benicio Del Toro, Star Trek Villain
Sources say J.J. Abrams will give him the role.
JACKSON TRIAL
No Verdict Yet for Conrad Murray
Jury goes home for the weekend after day one of deliberations.
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