http://www.slate.com Slate--the Internet's informed look at news, politics, and culture. Slate separates the facts from the spin with thought-provoking stories, irreverent humor, and delicious reads. ©2008 Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive Co. LLC en-us Mon, 6 Jul 2009 00:00:01 PST Mon, 6 Jul 2009 00:00:01 PST 120 No A summary of what's in the major U.S. newspapers. A summary of what's in the major U.S. newspapers. Slate Magazine Slate Podmaster podmaster@slate.com http://img.slate.com/media/1/123125/2121330/2127745/2142930/textcasts.png http://www.slate.com slate news politics arts culture science 15:00 http://www.slate.com/id/2222242/ http://www.slate.com/id/2222242/ today's papers Deposed President Can't Land By Daniel Politi Posted Monday, July 6, 2009, at 6:44 AM ET The Wall Street Journal leads its world-wide newsbox with, while the Los Angeles Times devotes its top nonlocal spot to, the dramatic scene that played out yesterday in Honduras as the airplane carrying ousted president Manuel Zelaya was forced to turn back after the military blocked the runway with vehicles. Thousands of supporters tried to reach the Tegucigalpa airport to greet Zelaya but were pushed back by soldiers and police, who fired tear gas and at least some live ammunition into the crowd, apparently killing two people. The Washington Post leads with a look at how health care companies have gone into overdrive in hiring former government insiders to help their lobbying efforts. More than 350 former government staff members and retired members of Congress have been snapped up by the companies that are trying to shape health care reform and that are willing to spend $1.4 million a day on lobbying to do it. The New York Times leads with a look at the rollercoaster ride that oil prices have gone through in the last year. After reaching $145 a barrel last summer, it then tumbled to $33 in December and has now more than doubled since the beginning of the year despite the deep economic turmoil. This extreme volatility makes it difficult for businesses to plan for the future, and officials are worried that rising oil prices might delay economic recovery. USA Today leads with a preview of President Obama's trip to Russia, where he will attempt to "reset" bilateral relations that grew strained during the last few years. Obama and President Dmitry Medvedev will discuss the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, which expires in December. Obama is likely to seek Russia's help in nuclear negotiations with Iran and North Korea, while Medvedev will certainly bring up Russia's longstanding objections to the U.S. plan for a missile-defense system in Eastern Europe. Several members of the Organization of American States tried to convince Zelaya not to attempt to fly back to Honduras because it would be too dangerous for him and his supporters. The provisional government had warned long before Zelaya's plane entered Honduras that he wouldn't be able to land. But he ignored them, boarded a Venezuelan plane in Washington, and even had an entourage. Accompanying Zelaya in his plane were the U.N. General Assembly president, several advisers, and reporters for Telesur, Venezuela's state-run television network. The presidents of Argentina, Ecuador, and Paraguay followed him in a separate plane, and a third plane carried journalists. Adding to the whole spectacle, Zelaya carried out a live interview with Telesur while his plane circled the airport. The NYT points out that Zelaya's plane "swept in low and made two passes over the city" that were met by cheers from his supporters gathered below. But it infuriated the military. "They entered our airspace without permission and they were flying lower than allowed. It was an act of provocation," one air force officer tells the NYT. Soldiers and military vehicles lined the runway, making a landing impossible. Zelaya then made a brief stopover in Nicaragua and proceeded to El Salvador. Acting Honduran President Roberto Micheletti said he would welcome dialogue with the OAS, which voted to suspend Honduras over the weekend, but he made it clear the ouster of Zelaya is non-negotiable. Officials close to Micheletti have been warning that Zelaya would be arrested if he returned to Honduras. The LAT notes that the attorney general's office "has drafted a complaint with 18 criminal charges against him, including treason, abuse of power and failure to enforce scores of laws." Almost half of the government insiders currently employed by the health care industry used to work for key committees and lawmakers in the health care debate currently going on in Capitol Hill. At least 10 members of Congress are also working with the industry. This means that some of the meetings between lobbyists and congressional staff members can feel like a reunion. For example, when aides to Sen. Max Baucus, chairman of the finance committee, met with health care lobbyists, two of the senator's former chiefs of staff were present representing the industry. Of course, lawmakers and aides vehemently deny that former colleagues or staff members get preferential treatment. But public interest groups say it's yet another example of the "revolving door" between the private and public sectors. Even if the lobbyists can't get everything their employers want, at the very least, these close, personal connections make it easier for the industry to have a seat at the table. The LAT fronts late-breaking news that tensions between Muslim Uighurs and Han Chinese in northwestern China led to riots yesterday that left 140 people dead and more than 800 injured, according to China's official news agency. Details are still murky, but, like the Tibetan uprising last year, "it highlighted the deep-seated frustrations felt by some ethnic minorities in western China over the policies of the Communist Party," notes the NYT. The Chinese government accused Uighur exiles of planning the riots, while Uighurs countered that the violence only began after police officers used extreme force to break up what had been a peaceful demonstration. The demonstrators were demanding justice for two young Uighur men who were beaten to death by a mob at a factory last month after rumors began circulating that they had sexually harassed—or raped—Han women. The NYT notes that while the location of President Obama's first vacation since moving into the White House is officially classified, "it is hardly a secret to the people on Martha's Vineyard," who are preparing for the first family to arrive in August. Although his family will stay longer, Obama is likely to take only a week of vacation. But it seems the White House is determined that it will be real vacation time, as most of Obama's senior advisers will be heading elsewhere. Daniel Politi writes "Today's Papers" for Slate. He can be reached at todayspapers@slate.com. Copyright 2007 Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive Co. LLC today's papers Mon, 6 Jul 2009 00:00:01 PST slate news politics arts culture science 15:00 http://www.slate.com/id/2222237/ http://www.slate.com/id/2222237/ today's papers Iran's Top Clerics Call Shenanigans By Ben Whitford Posted Sunday, July 5, 2009, at 6:02 AM ET The Washington Post leads with word from Tehran, where opposition leader Mir Hussein Mousavi yesterday published a dossier accusing the government's supporters of orchestrating electoral fraud on a massive scale; meanwhile, a newspaper with close ties to the government accused Mousavi of being a "foreign agent" employed by the United States. The New York Times also leads on Iran, reporting that the country's most important group of religious leaders yesterday branded the recent election and the resultant new government illegitimate; the move marks the most significant split in the country's clerical establishment in recent memory and could undermine the ruling regime's efforts to dismiss Mousavi as a traitor. The Los Angeles Times leads with an investigative report on "storm chasers"—the traveling contractors and insurance salesmen who descend in the aftermath of natural catastrophes, promising to help victims rebuild their lives. Regulators and advocacy groups say the niche industry is rife with corruption, with fraudulent storm chasers preying on both insurance companies and disaster victims. "Every disaster has them," says the leader of one victim-advocacy group. "They're literally like vultures circling." In a 24-page document released on his Web site, a commission appointed by Mousavi yesterday accused President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's supporters of waging a massive campaign of bribery and ballot stuffing to ensure their candidate's victory in last month's disputed election. The report stops short of providing a smoking gun but gives the most detailed account yet of the opposition's grievances, accusing the Interior Ministry, which counted the votes, and the Guardian Council, which ratified the election, of institutional bias and accusing the Revolutionary Guard of seeking to influence the election results. The LAT reports that the release of the dossier came as the editor of a state-owned newspaper with close ties to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khameni accused Mousavi of shilling for Iran's foreign enemies and demanded that he be put on trial for his "frightful crimes and overt acts of treason." But in a blow for Khameni, the NYT reports that Iran's most important body of religious leaders threw its weight behind the reform movement yesterday, directly criticizing the Guardian Council and accusing the government of betraying the ideals of the revolution. That's arguably the most significant crack to have appeared in the Iranian clerical establishment in the Islamic republic's 30-year history, analysts say, and will make it much more difficult for the government to paint opposition leaders as traitors or criminals. Of course, yesterday was Independence Day, but while the fireworks popped and fizzed and tourists proposed to one another atop the Statue of Liberty's newly reopened crown, North Korea took the opportunity to thumb its nose at the United States by firing seven missiles into the Sea of Japan. The barrage—the largest such test for three years—was interpreted as a warning against efforts to construct missile shields, which can be vulnerable to multimissile attacks; still, Pentagon officials said newly deployed radar systems would make it possible to knock out any long-range missiles launched toward U.S. territories. Pyongyang's saber-rattling raised the stakes ahead of President Obama's arrival tomorrow in Moscow, where talks are likely to focus on missile defense and nuclear proliferation. (The NYT takes the opportunity to front a piece eying Obama's youthful screeds railing against nuclear weapons and the evolution of his vision of a nuclear-free world.) The talks will be Obama's first major diplomatic encounter with an unfriendly rival, notes the Post; the NYT says that much will depend on Obama's ability to parse the power dynamic between President Dmitri Medvedev and former President (and current Prime Minister) Vladimir Putin, who is widely assumed to be Russia's true ruler. The Organization of American States voted late last night to suspend the membership of Honduras, reports the NYT, but stopped short of calling for sanctions against the interim government responsible for the overthrow of elected President Manuel Zelaya. The country's deposed leader repeated his pledge to return from forced exile in Costa Rica later today; the interim government said that he would be arrested if he did so, prompting church leaders to beg for calm. U.S. officials admitted to the Post that they had misread the Honduran political landscape and had been unprepared for direct clashes between Zelaya's populist government and the country's social and military elite. Back home, the NYT off-leads on news that with real-estate values slumping, record numbers of homeowners are disputing their property tax bills in an attempt to ride out the recession. "It's worthy of a Dickens story," said one real-estate assessor. "These people are desperate." The surge in tax disputes is creating a budget nightmare for local governments; with property tax revenues falling for the first time since World War II, municipalities are having to raise taxes and slash services in order to stay solvent. Post Publisher Katharine Weymouth pens a lengthy apology to readers after this week's disclosure that the paper sent out fliers apparently seeking to sell lobbyists off-the-record access to journalists and Washington power-brokers. "As publisher it is my job to ensure that we adhere to standards that are consistent with our integrity as a news organization," Weymouth writes. "Last week, I let you, and the organization, down." (Slate's Jack Shafer couldn't agree more.) And, of course, all the papers continue to ponder Sarah Palin's decision to step down as Alaska's governor. With the soon-to-be-former governor keeping a low profile, the papers were left poring over her Facebook updates in search of edification; little was forthcoming. Still, the Post finds room below the fold for a piece speculating that Palin had grown weary with the scrutiny that followed her sudden rise to national prominence and struggled to reconcile her waning regional popularity with her efforts to regain control of her national image. "Palin simply got tired of the ritual media humiliations, along with the mundane reality of governing," reckons the Post's Howard Kurtz. The big question, of course, is what Palin will do next. There's growing consensus that quitting as governor won't help Palin's presumed presidential ambitions; the NYT's Adam Nagourney notes that while a similar gambit helped Nixon win the White House, Tricky Dick had already served as vice president, senator, and congressman before beginning his stint in the wilderness. In the Post, Dan Balz is similarly scathing, writing that Palin's decision to quit in midterm called into question her judgment and political instincts, and betrayed a fundamental misunderstanding of the responsibilities of governing. The NYT argues that Palin's shock announcement, which apparently caught the GOP leadership flat-footed, is symptomatic of a broader decline in party discipline. It may also serve to reinforce the glass ceiling: "Big girls don't quit," writes the Post's Ruth Marcus, arguing that Palin's move damages both her own political future and that of women in general. But it's Maureen Dowd who comes closest to capturing the prevailing mood: "Caribou Barbie is one nutty puppy," she declares. Ben Whitford writes for the Guardian, Mother Jones and Newsweek. Copyright 2007 Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive Co. LLC today's papers Sun, 5 Jul 2009 00:00:01 PST slate news politics arts culture science 15:00 http://www.slate.com/id/2222233/ http://www.slate.com/id/2222233/ today's papers Mystery, Alaska By Kara Hadge Posted Saturday, July 4, 2009, at 6:02 AM ET Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin capped off a week of bad publicity with a stunning decision: The Republican captured the lead story in all the papers today after announcing Friday afternoon that she will resign her post, effective at the end of the month. Palin did not indicate if she plans to run for political office again but framed her choice as a personal one undertaken after prayer and consultation with her family. She wants to avoid the media spotlight that has often plagued her family members in the past year, as well as the costly ethics probes receiving attention in Alaska this week that have strained the family finances. "I thought about how much fun other governors have as lame ducks: They maybe travel around their state, travel to other states, maybe take their overseas international trade missions," Palin said outside her Wasilla home. "I'm not going to put Alaskans through that." Her term should have run through the end of 2010, and she had not said previously whether she planned to seek re-election. Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell will take over the governorship. Palin hopes to focus on the issues important to her—namely, energy and national security matters—outside of the fray of day-to-day politics. The question on everyone's minds now is whether Palin is preparing for a 2012 presidential bid or ducking out of electoral politics for good. The Washington Post includes an analysis as part of its two-column lead, which speculates that her decision will give Palin the opportunity to travel the world and educate herself on international affairs without being seen as shirking her duties at home in Alaska. The New York Times tries to parse the governor's speech for clues of her future plans but reaches no definitive conclusion either way. (An earlier story on NYT blog the Caucus gives word that new e-mails pending release might add to the financial ethics probes already underway.) Inside, the NYT posits that this is the end of Alaska's 15 minutes of fame. The Los Angeles Times reports that "many" anticipate a run for president, although analysts believe the early resignation will irreparably hurt her chances. The LAT also points out that the unflattering Vanity Fair profile published this week reopened old wounds among Republican aides on last fall's campaign trail, "underscoring Palin's polarizing place in the GOP." Slate's John Dickerson questions the timing of Palin's announcement, which came "the day before a national holiday—a day reserved for news of impending investigations, affairs, or habits that need treatment." The NYT off-leads with two international stories: First, Russia has agreed to let the U.S. military fly over the country to deliver supplies to Afghanistan, which is good news for efforts in Afghanistan as well as for the strained U.S.-Russian relationship. (The LAT, on the other hand, fronts a story on anti-Americanism in Russia.) The second story reveals that Iranian leaders have heard confessions from top reformists that indicate they had planned a "velvet" revolution to overthrow the government. Human rights groups are quick to point out that confessions are often forced in Iran, and this may be a sign that the country is trying to disable reformist political parties and quash future reform movements. All the papers go inside with news that some of the British Embassy staff who were arrested in Tehran during the protests following the Iranian election on June 12 may face trial. The LAT reports that European Union members have begun summoning Iranian diplomats to make their disapproval known. The EU is toying with the idea of withdrawing all member nations' ambassadors from Tehran and/or imposing visa restrictions. However, such a move might put the EU in a difficult position if further negotiations become necessary with the Iranian government. The LAT goes above the fold with two big sports and entertainment stories. First, Tuesday's memorial service for Michael Jackson at the Staples Center will hold 17,500 ticketed guests, including those randomly selected through an online lottery. The Los Angeles Police Department urges everyone else to stay away from the area, as they plan to pay for security measures with an overtime fund used for such purposes. Fans are still camped out at Jackson's Neverland Ranch, despite the fact that the family has announced there will be no public viewing there. Manny Ramirez's return to the L.A. Dodgers after a 50-game suspension for use of a banned substance merited the front page photo, along with a story about the huge cheers he got from the crowd at yesterday's game. Ramirez still will not address questions about whether he used steroids. A Page One profile in the WP chronicles the coming of age of an introspective young woman from Baghdad, now 20, who has kept a diary throughout the war in Iraq. At age 13, she grappled with the fall of her hometown to American troops, writing, "They talk about democracy. Where is democracy? Is it that people die of hunger and deprivation and fear?" More recently, her approach has become more measured and more accepting. And finally, on the Fourth of July, the LAT fronts a look at a pair of bald eagles nesting in Washington, D.C. The eagles built their nest back in 2001 and have spent half the year there ever since, the only two living symbols in a city that bears their image throughout. Now their nest is threatened by the proposed location of the "mega-headquarters" of the Department of Homeland Security in the woods nearby. But eagle advocates predict "the sheer chutzpah that brought the birds here in the first place" ought to help them adjust just fine. Kara Hadge is a former Slate intern. Copyright 2007 Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive Co. LLC today's papers Sat, 4 Jul 2009 00:00:01 PST slate news politics arts culture science 15:00 http://www.slate.com/id/2222211/ http://www.slate.com/id/2222211/ today's papers Jobless Rate Crushes Recovery Dreams By Daniel Politi Posted Friday, July 3, 2009, at 6:51 AM ET The Washington Post and New York Times lead with, while the Wall Street Journal banners, the unexpectedly grim unemployment numbers released yesterday. While the rate increased only slightly to a 26-year high of 9.5 percent, from 9.4 percent, the raw numbers led many to warn that economic recovery isn't on the horizon. The U.S. economy lost 467,000 jobs in June, marking the first time the monthly losses increased after they had been steadily shrinking from the January peak of 741,000. "There's nothing in here to show that the economy and the market are pulling out of the grip of recession," an economist tells the NYT. Stock markets around the world decreased, with the Dow Jones industrial average dropping 2.6 percent. The Los Angeles Times off-leads the unemployment numbers and leads with news that California's controller began printing IOUs. It marked the second time since the Great Depression that the state had to resort to such an unusual action to meet its obligations. The controller decided to state the obvious and said the IOUs "are a sign that the state is being fiscally mismanaged." Most of the IOUs are going to go taxpayers who are still owed income tax refunds, but many others, including businesses and pensioners, will also be getting the check-like pieces of paper that have the words "registered warrant" emblazoned on them. Some banks say they will accept the IOUs, at least for the next few days. The NYT off-leads the move and says it "was seen as a warning flag to other states." In addition to the basic unemployment rate, everyone points to worrying signs from the so-called underemployment rate, which includes part-time workers who can't find full-time work and those who have given up looking, that has increased to 16.5 percent. Until yesterday, there was much optimism that the economy was in recovery mode, but the new numbers put an end to all the happy talk. For the economy to expand in the second half of the year, as many had been predicting, there needs to be a boost in consumer spending, and that may be a pipe dream as employment worries are pushing people to save. The WP points out that the United States now has the same number of jobs as in 2000, "meaning that nine years of employment gains have disappeared." Inside, the WSJ points to the fact that wages remained pretty much stagnant as another worrying sign. Average hourly earnings increased a mere three cents between April and June, "the smallest quarterly gain since at least 1964," notes the paper. The NYT notes that many are pressuring the Obama administration to push through another round of government spending, particularly since the unemployment rate is now higher than what the administration projected at the beginning of the year and everyone expects it to continue increasing. The White House says there's enough money scheduled to hit the economy but also acknowledged that it is getting there quite slowly. Not everyone was ready to join in the doom-and-gloom talk yesterday, saying that people had simply gotten too optimistic too quickly. "The economy is in the process of bottoming, but that's different from saying it's recovering," one expert tells the WP. The NYT's Paul Krugman says the jobs report is proof that "[w]e're going to need a bigger stimulus." Krugman writes that, right now, the situation looks "depressingly familiar to anyone who has studied economic policy in the 1930s" because we have a Democratic president who pushes through recovery measures that aren't quite bold enough to "produce a full recovery." Getting another stimulus package through will undoubtedly be difficult, but it's essential. The WP and WSJ both front looks at the government's efforts to protect its computer networks from attack but from slightly different angles. The WP gives priority to word that the White House is moving forward with a plan by the previous administration to enlist the National Security Agency's help with a system that would screen "government computer traffic on private-sector networks." Even though Department of Homeland Security officials insist that the screening will involve only data going to or from government systems, the program has still sparked a debate in the administration about privacy. "Each time a private citizen visited a 'dot-gov' Web site or sent an e-mail to a civilian government employee, that action would be screened for potential harm to the network," explains the WP. The WSJ doesn't highlight the NSA's involvement but instead focuses on how long it has taken to secure government computers and, overall, does a much better job of clearly explaining what on earth this system, known as Einstein, is all about. The pilot program for Einstein 3 was due to get started in February at Homeland Security with the help of AT&T. But after the telecommunications company was sued for participating in Bush's warrantless-wiretapping program, it demanded written assurance from the Justice Department that it would bear no legal liability for participating in the program. Meanwhile, the government will still take 18 months to completely install the previous version of the system, Einstein 2, across most of the government. But that system leaves a lot to be desired, since it doesn't actually protect against attacks and merely takes notice when something has already happened. Michael Chertoff, the former homeland security secretary, likened it to the difference between "a cop with a radar gun on a highway who catches you speeding or drunk and phones ahead to somebody at the other end" and a "a cop who actually arrests you and pulls you off the road when he sees you driving drunk." Nearly 4,000 U.S. troops continued their push into southern Afghanistan yesterday, and the WP has the most detailed, on-the-ground information about how the operation is going. So far, so good. Although one Marine was killed yesterday, overall the troops encountered little resistance as they trudged along in 110-degree weather. Several became sick from heatstroke, and five had to be evacuated for medical assistance. Commanders are very purposefully trying to keep the gunfire from U.S. troops at a minimum to focus on meeting with town elders along the way to gain their trust. U.S. officials are convinced that if Afghans are given security and basic services, they will stop supporting the Taliban. But the NYT isn't so sure and says that in certain areas, Taliban control is so extensive that "winning districts back will involve tough fighting and may ignite further tensions." Many villagers interviewed by the paper said they'd prefer to be under Taliban rule rather than take their chances with American troops. Elsewhere in Afghanistan, military officials believe a U.S. soldier who went missing near the Pakistani border is believed to have been captured by Taliban militants. The whole situation is rather murky, but officials say it doesn't look like the Taliban captured him in the base but rather that the solider left for some reason "and got into trouble," as one official put it. The WP reports that a member of the Taliban said the soldier is in the custody of insurgents on the Afghan side of the border. The LAT points out that the "soldier could provide insurgents with both a propaganda bonanza and a bargaining chip." The NYT takes a front-page look at how the notice sent to American Apparel this week informing the company that almost 2,000 of its employees appear to be illegal immigrants exemplifies how the enforcement of immigration laws is changing. The Bush administration had become fond of workplace raids and rounding up allegedly illegal employees. But now, immigration authorities want to focus more on employers and use fines and civil sanctions, rather than criminal charges, to punish wrongdoers. The Jackson family announced yesterday there will be a public memorial service for Michael Jackson on Tuesday at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles. The space can hold 20,000 people, and there will be 11,000 free tickets available to the public. Details will be released today on how people can register for tickets. The LAT notes it's not clear who will pay for the "massive law enforcement deployment necessary" for what everyone expects will be a huge event. Daniel Politi writes "Today's Papers" for Slate. He can be reached at todayspapers@slate.com. Copyright 2007 Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive Co. LLC today's papers Fri, 3 Jul 2009 00:00:01 PST slate news politics arts culture science 15:00 http://www.slate.com/id/2222076/ http://www.slate.com/id/2222076/ today's papers Coming Soon: A Jobless Recovery By Daniel Politi Posted Thursday, July 2, 2009, at 6:52 AM ET The Los Angeles Times leads with a look at the growing signs that the economy could recover without a significant decrease in unemployment. The concept of a "jobless recovery" is hardly new, but many economists say the situation now could be far worse than what we saw after the last two downturns in 1990-91 and 2001, and could even threaten the recovery itself. The Wall Street Journal leads its world-wide newsbox with Iranian opposition leaders accusing the government of carrying out a virtual coup and urging supporters to continue protesting. A student wing of the pro-government Basij militia called for an investigation into the role that leading opposition candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi played in "destabilizing national security," which could send him to prison for 10 years. But Mousavi, along with another opposition candidate, Mehdi Karroubi, and a former president, Mohammad Khatami, decided to up the ante and said Iran's leaders are turning the country into a dictatorship. The New York Times leads with a look at how thousands of school districts across the country have made cuts to summer school programs. Education Secretary Arne Duncan has urged school districts to use some of the stimulus cash for summer schools, but faced with decreasing revenues, many have decided to ignore his pleas. The Washington Post leads with news that five days before last week's deadly subway train accident, a key part of the system that is designed to prevent crashes was replaced and malfunctioned. No one noticed the problem at the time, and it's not clear whether the equipment was faulty or poorly installed. USA Today uses the reopening of the Statue of Liberty as a jumping-off to look into how Americans' attitudes toward terrorism and security have evolved since Sept. 11. On Saturday, a small group of visitors will be allowed to climb to the crown of the Statue of Liberty for the first time since the 2001 attacks. The expectation that unemployment will continue to increase well into next year "may exert a powerful drag on the recovery," notes the LAT. Many of the layoffs in this recession have been permanent rather than temporary as companies often shut down units and pursued structural changes rather than simply cut back. Also, as has been widely reported, many employees who managed to keep their jobs are working fewer hours, meaning that employers are likely to increase the hours of current workers rather than hire new ones. All this instability in the job market means people are likely to want to save their money rather than spend it, which, in turn, means it could take longer for businesses to recover and hire new employees. Even those who do want to spend are likely to find it difficult to get credit. Khatami, an influential cleric who served as president for eight years, had remained largely silent after the Iranian regime warned against more protests after the election. But yesterday, he posted a statement accusing Iran's leaders of carrying out a "velvet coup against the people and democracy" and also criticized them for creating "a poisonous security situation." A moderate reform party called the election a "coup d'etat." Meanwhile, Mousavi announced he will be forming a political party that will make public all the allegations of fraud during the election. The LAT says these most recent statements suggest the reformers are shifting tactics and will focus on "trying to tarnish the government's reputation and credibility, weakening its ability to govern, and to sabotage its agenda." The WP points out that a pro-government member of parliament said a group of lawmakers will be filing a court case against Mousavi. The WSJ says that while the government has so far avoided moving strongly against the opposition leaders, "there are signs that their dissent won't be tolerated for long." European Union officials were in discussions yesterday about whether to withdraw the ambassadors of its member nations from Iran to protest the detention of the British Embassy employees. Iran says it has released all but one of the employees. European officials emphasized they haven't made a decision, and the NYT talks to diplomats who say the EU would rather avoid taking such a strong action. Facing the possibility of diplomatic isolation from its biggest trading partner, Iran decided to go on the offensive. The government threatened to cut off relations with EU countries unless they apologized for even considering removing their diplomats. A military official said that unless European countries apologize for their "interference," they could forget about any further negotiations on Iran's nuclear program. The WP off-leads word that a Securities and Exchange Commission investigator realized that there was something fishy going on with Bernard Madoff's firm in 2004. But she wasn't able to pursue her suspicions because she had to turn her attention to the mutual fund industry, a particularly hot topic at the time. One of her supervisors was Eric Swanson, who married Madoff's niece in 2007. Over 20 years, the SEC investigated Madoff at least five times, but it seems Genevievette Walker-Lightfoot actually came close to unraveling the whole mess. Or, at the very least, she was asking the right questions. She had previously worked at the American Stock Exchange, and specialized trading strategies were her forte. While reviewing Madoff's documents, Walker-Lightfoot saw they were filled with inconsistencies and didn't seem to follow the financier's stated trading strategy. When the SEC's New York office took over the case, it never consulted Walker-Lightfoot and ended up finding only three minor violations. The NYT and WP front news that almost 4,000 U.S. Marines are taking part in a push into the volatile Helmand River valley in southwestern Afghanistan, which is being billed as the first test of the administration's new counterinsurgency strategy. Operation Khanjar will send the troops into villages into one of the deadliest provinces in Afghanistan, a major opium-producing region of the country that is a Taliban stronghold. As part of the mission, troops will build and live in small outposts among the local population in order to protect civilians from the Taliban. "A key to establishing security is getting the local population to understand that we're going to be staying here to help them—that we're not driving in and driving out," one officer said. The WP fronts a look at the newly declassified accounts of the FBI interrogations of Saddam Hussein in 2004. The documents summarize 20 formal interviews and five "casual conversations." Although all the documents were released with few deletions, the account of the last formal interview was completely redacted for some reason. In the conversations, Hussein said he wanted the world to believe he had weapons of mass destruction because he was afraid of Iran. "Hussein stated he was more concerned about Iran discovering Iraq's weaknesses and vulnerabilities than the repercussions of the United States for his refusal to allow UN inspectors back into Iraq," the FBI agent wrote. Hussein also said he never met Osama Bin Laden and didn't share his beliefs. Michael Jackson's 2002 will was filed in court yesterday, and while much of the details had already been revealed, it did contain one big surprise. In the will, Jackson appointed Diana Ross, who helped Jackson start his career in the 1970s, as the second choice to be the guardian of his children if his mother could not fulfill that role. After much speculation, Jackson's family said the King of Pop won't be buried in Neverland. Although they are supposedly planning a public memorial service, no details have been released. Meanwhile, the LAT takes a front-page look at Debbie Rowe, the mother of Jackson's children, who still hasn't said whether she intends to try to obtain custody. Even though she previously renounced her parental rights, legal experts say she could still make a strong case for custody. The NYT reports that Michael Jackson continued to break records even after his death. Jackson had the three best-selling albums in the United States last week, and in total sold more than 40 times the albums he did in the previous week. In addition, 2.3 million downloads of single tracks were sold, marking the first time an artist broke the 1-million mark in one week. In all of last year, Jackson had sold a total of 2.8 million tracks. "The level of dominance by Michael Jackson on the top pop catalog albums chart is unlike anything we've ever seen on any Billboard chart, regardless if it occurred pre- or post-death," said Billboard's director of charts. Daniel Politi writes "Today's Papers" for Slate. He can be reached at todayspapers@slate.com. Copyright 2007 Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive Co. LLC today's papers Thu, 2 Jul 2009 00:00:01 PST