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Monday, April 4, 2011
The Morning Scoop - Exclusive: What Really Went Wrong at Madonna's Charity
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Late last month, it was reported that Madonna's Raising Malawi foundation, one of the most visible celebrity-driven charity efforts in the Third World, was abandoning its planned mission: to build a $15 million girls' academy in Malawi, one of the poorest countries in the world. A report by the Global Philanthropy Group, which Madonna brought in to represent her as trouble developed in the charity, cited two former employees of Raising Malawi as among the problems that led to the demise of the project. But what really happened? In this week's Newsweek, Wayne Barrett reports on a litany of questionable practices by the organization that came to be Madonna's partner in the foundation: the Kabbalah Centre International, which is now a focus of federal investigators.
Has Muammar Gaddafi had enough? The Libyan strongman has sent his acting foreign minister to Athens to seek a way to end the fighting. "It seems that the Libyan authorities are seeking a solution," said the Greek foreign minister. Meanwhile, at least two of Gaddafi's sons are proposing a transition to constitutional democracy under Seif al-Islam el-Gaddafi—a move that Muammar Gaddafi appears to be going along with. Seif has long pushed for political reform, but when the uprisings broke out he appeared in lockstep with his father.
The operators of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan have flooded an underground trench with a milky white dye in its efforts to find the source of radioactive water, which is leaking into the ocean at a rate of seven tons an hour. However, after four hours the dye had failed to indicate the source. Earlier, rescue workers had attempted to plug the leak with concrete, sawdust, and shredded newspaper.
President Obama officially launched his 2012 reelection campaign with the release of a video, "It Begins with Us," on Monday. President Obama does not appear in the video; instead, several of his supporters explain why they back him. The video was posted on BarackObama.com, which announces: "We're opening up offices, unpacking boxes, and starting a conversation with supporters like you to help shape our path to victory. 2012 begins now."
Looks like another Mideast friend is about to get dumped: Officials have confirmed that the U.S. has backed off its support of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has stood as a lone bulwark against the Yemeni branch of al Qaeda, because he will likely fail to deliver the reforms his uneasy citizens are demanding. Gunmen linked to Saleh's government killed 50 anti-regime protesters on March 18, which started talks between American and Yemeni officials about a negotiated transition from power. Since then, there has been a flurry of high-level government defections, and Saleh's supporters have continued to fire on protesters. Though they have not publicly called for Saleh's ouster, U.S. officials said privately that they no longer believe his presidency is tenable and that it's time for him to go. It is not clear whether the U.S. is negotiating safe passage for Saleh and his family to another country, but the talks appear to be going in that direction. Washington's primary goal is to arrange a transfer of power that would allow U.S. counterterrorism efforts in Yemen to continue.
Here comes the smart, sexy, grocery-buying, blessedly normal commoner who could save William—and the royal family. In this week's Newsweek, Allison Pearson offers an intimate look at the unconventional royal couple.
Southwest Tried to Delay Safety Inspections by Clive Irving Before a Southwest plane lost part of its roof Friday, the airline attempted to delay FAA-mandated inspections for cracks like the one suspected in last week's incident.
A Japanese Firefighter Talks Surviving the Nuclear Reactors by Lennox Samuels Ken'ichi Kunisawa and his fellow firefighters braved boiling nuclear reactors for more than 13 hours. He talks to Lennox Samuels about radiation fears and why this wasn't a kamikaze mission.
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