Today's Top News from The Washington Times

		Saturday, July 16, 2011 Must Read Stories Today
Obama: No 'radical' budget fix needed Fighting back against Republican calls for greater spending cuts, President Obama said Friday that the government doesn't need to make major changes to get its budget back on track and called for that solution to include some trims coupled with tax increases. Pair disguised as utility workers held in Bowie slaying A Bowie man fatally shot Wednesday was targeted by two robbers disguised as Pepco workers, Prince George's County police said Thursday. Army finds Mexico's biggest pot plantation Mexican soldiers have found the largest marijuana plantation ever detected in Mexico, a huge field covering almost 300 acres, the Defense Department said Thursday. Senate on record pace for sloth Big issues are piling up in Congress, but halfway through the year, the Senate is on pace for its least productive legislative session since records were first kept, and the House is also operating at a clip well below normal, according to an analysis of floor activity by The Washington Times. A surreal site, a ghost 405 freeway, awaits L.A. When the sun rises above Los Angeles on Saturday, residents in this car-dependent, traffic-choked city will see a rare sight: a 10-mile stretch of one of the nation's busiest freeways turned into a virtual ghost road. Grief counseling for Muggles mourning final 'Harry Potter' film Fear not, Hogwarts junkies. Yes, the release of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2" marks the end of a cinematic era. But that doesn't mean your fantasy fix is about to vanish like an invisibility cloak. WSJ publisher quits in phone-hacking scandal Rupert Murdoch accepted the resignations of The Wall Street Journal's publisher and the chief of his British operations on Friday as the once-defiant media mogul struggled to control an escalating phone hacking scandal, offering apologies to the public and the family of a murdered schoolgirl. Experts: Casey Anthony should go to a safe house When Casey Anthony is released from jail Sunday, it will probably be in the middle of the night. If her lawyers are smart, security experts say, they will arrange for several SUVs with tinted windows to pull up to the Orange County Jail. Then they will bundle her into one of them and whisk her away to a safe house, where she will be protected by bodyguards for days, if not weeks. The money roll begins: Newest campaign finance reports The quarterly campaign finance reports that will give the first real insight into fledgling machines of 2012 presidential candidates, and the relative strength of House and Senate incumbents and their challengers, are beginning to arrive in earnest this Friday afternoon in Washington, hours before a midnight filing deadline. U.S., allies formally recognize Libya rebels The United States and more than 30 other nations on Friday formally recognized Libya's main opposition group as the country's legitimate government, giving the rebel movement a major boost. Humbled Murdoch says sorry as protege Brooks quits Rupert Murdoch's scandal-rocked empire retreated from defiance to contrition Friday as the media magnate accepted the resignation of his protege Rebekah Brooks, publicly apologized for his company's sins and met the family of a murdered schoolgirl whose phone was hacked by the News of the World tabloid. Dozens arrested, charged in Calif. gang sweep More than 500 federal agents and state and local law enforcement authorities swept through an Orange County, Calif., neighborhood Friday that had been the territory of the Mexican Mafia in what one official called a "critical blow" to the gang's prison-based leadership and those members and associates they control throughout the region. Syrian forces fire on massive rallies; 14 killed Syrian security forces killed at least 14 protesters Friday as hundreds of thousands flooded the streets nationwide in the largest anti-government demonstrations since the uprising began more than four months ago, witnesses and activists said. Anger, grief sweep India after Mumbai blasts Residents of India's commerce capital expressed grief Thursday over a trio of synchronized bombings that killed 18 and wounded 131, and anger over the government's failure to stop terror attacks since the 2008 siege of Mumbai. Japanese debate whether to restart nuclear reactors Japan's nuclear industry is eager to restart reactors shut down for maintenance or switched off after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami caused explosions and meltdowns at a power plant in the northeast and sparked a nationwide panic over radiation exposure. GOP pushes for balanced-budget amendment Amid the uncertainty and bickering over how to raise the debt limit, congressional Republicans are pushing ahead with balanced-budget proposals that could further complicate - or serve as a key bargaining chip to - a final deal. Commentary VERNUCCIO: Labor's new strategy: Intimidation for dummies In the past decade, unions have become increasingly desperate to obtain new dues-paying members. An example of how desperate can be found in a 70-plus-page intimidation manual from the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which only recently came to light in a pending court case. KNIGHT: Debt's not all, folks Over the past 90 years, a relentless campaign has unfolded to overthrow Judeo-Christian morality and replace it with an amorality that says desires themselves validate choices. GRAFMAN: Courtroom media circus What do Dominique Strauss-Kahn and Casey Anthony have in common? If you say nothing, you are wrong. The correct response: Both are victims of a failing American criminal justice system where trials today become public entertainment. EDITORIAL: Read Obama's lips: More new taxes The White House is fighting hard to resolve the debt-ceiling crisis with a deal that raises taxes to maintain elevated spending levels. Republicans need to understand that compromising on taxes would be disastrous, possibly guaranteeing President Obama's re-election in 2012. EDITORIAL: Obama stimulates Jakarta President Obama now claims there's only $2 billion he can cut out of this year's $3.6 trillion in federal outlays. He's not looking very hard. The administration's trillion-dollar "stimulus" spending spree spread millions in U.S. taxpayer dollars around places like the president's boyhood home, Indonesia. Money that stayed within the country often wound up in the hands of debt-riddled, fly-by-night firms. This week, the White House continued to stonewall attempts to get to the bottom of where our money has been going. Other Recent Articles Survey: Americans more accepting of risque tunes Tennis player Alisa Kleybanova treated for cancer NASCAR vows to fix Kentucky traffic woes Lawsuit filed over Duke basketball tickets Dodgers owner seeks lower spousal support payments Amateur Lewis holds his own against golf Goliaths Ibaka nationalized by Spain, ready to play Euros 1st patient with man-made windpipe almost said no Nats commit five errors, walloped by Braves 11-1 Mystics' losing streak reaches five games with 78-65 loss to Mercury LF Vernon Wells a late scratch for Angels A surreal site, a ghost 405 freeway, awaits L.A. Grief counseling for Muggles mourning final 'Harry Potter' film US trustee objects to Dodgers financing plan NFL lockout: Players, owners say 'progress has been made'		Most Read Stories Grief counseling for Muggles mourning final 'Harry Potter' film WOLF: 'German Miracle' Barack Obama doesn't see Senate on record pace for sloth NUGENT: You have the right to remain stupid Pair disguised as utility workers held in Bowie slaying Latest from WT Communities Independent Social Contributors Life With Lisa Casey Anthony, Nubia & Jorge Barahona; The horrors of child abuse and neglect Kaylee Anthony, Nubia & Jorge Barahona; When mommy is a monster - the horrors of child abuse and neglect Out and About Baltimore Sunday Southern Gospel music at Edgemere, Md's Penwood Christian Church Visiting Hampton, Va Curtain Up! CATF 2011: Lucy Thurber and 'The Insurgents' invade WV CATF 2011: Sam Shepard's punchy 'Ages of the Moon' Being Young, Conservative and Spicy Conservative women combat fecklessness, status quo in race to 2012 "Americans in Name Only" wage war on the U.S.