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04 Feb 2009 21:55

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U.S.: Authorities prescribe new leads in Tylenol murders

  • What happened? In 1982, a number of bottles of Tylenol were laced with cyanide, killing seven people in Chicago and causing a nationwide recall of the product. The crime was never solved, but its maker, Johnson & Johnson, was able to survive a PR disaster by aggressively recalling the product and creating safer, more secure packaging. (It’s an oft-used example of how to survive a crisis.) source
  • What happened? In 1982, a number of bottles of Tylenol were laced with cyanide, killing seven people in Chicago and causing a nationwide recall of the product. The crime was never solved, but its maker, Johnson & Johnson, was able to survive a PR disaster by aggressively recalling the product and creating safer, more secure packaging. (It’s an oft-used example of how to survive a crisis.)
  • Recent developments The FBI searched the Cambridge, Mass. home of James W. Lewis, who sent an extortion letter to the company and was sent to prison. He was never charged in the killings but was always considered a prime suspect. Due to renewed attention after its 25th anniversary, a number of tips led authorities to a major break in the case. source

04 Feb 2009 10:56

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U.S.: Big cities are feeling the unemployment squeeze pretty badly

  • 98% of all cities saw their unemployment levels rise source

04 Feb 2009 10:42

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Biz, U.S., World: How much could bailed-out execs get their pay capped?

  • $500,000 plus stock options source

03 Feb 2009 23:03

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U.S.: Obama ditches Tom Daschle – AND he takes the blame

  • Did I screw up in this situation? Absolutely. I’m willing to take my lumps.
  • Barack Obama • in an interview with NBC’s Brian Williams, on that Tom Daschle guy, who had to pay a ton in back taxes recently – a fact that came out when he was being vetted for Secretary of Health and Human Services • source

03 Feb 2009 10:23

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U.S.: Obama’s planning a media blitz. Wait, he wasn’t in the midst of one?

  • He’s granting interviews to everyone. Barack Obama, who’s pretty popular right now, wants to get his face on TV as much as possible in the next couple of days to push forward his economic stimulus plan. He’s facing some resistance from in Congress due to Republicans complaining about added pork. He wants the stimulus to pass, dudes. source

03 Feb 2009 07:41

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U.S.: Obama: Delays in food recalls like peanut butter could hurt my family

  • That’s what Sasha eats for lunch probably three times a week. And, you know, I don’t want to have to worry about whether she’s going to get sick as a consequence to having her lunch.
  • President Barack Obama • on peanut butter and the level of oversight that the Food and Drug Administration has regarding recalls. During the recent peanut butter scare, the FDA had to get the company’s approval on the language for the recall, which caused delays. • source

02 Feb 2009 09:24

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U.S.: Tom Daschle + back taxes = the inevitable apology to Congress

  • I apologize for the errors and profoundly regret that you have had to devote time to them.
  • Tom Daschle • the former Senate Majority Leader who is nominated for secretary of Health and Human Services, on having to pay $128,000 in back taxes. He wrote this in a letter to the Senate Finance Committee, who has yet to approve him. *forehead slap* • source
 

02 Feb 2009 09:20

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U.S.: Did Punxsutawney Phil see his shadow on Groundhog Day?

  • YES. Six more weeks. We so wanna punch Ned. source

02 Feb 2009 08:17

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Biz, U.S.: Bits and bytes are nice, but buy a newspaper today.

02 Feb 2009 08:08

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U.S.: Oh no! Obama broke a promise!

  • It’s his first one PolitiFact, which, as you might remember, has been keeping track of Obama’s numerous campaign promises, noted that late last week, Obama broke his first promise. He’s currently 6 kept, 1 broken and 1 compromise (and about 500+ to go).
  • What did he break? Obama made a campaign promise that he would allow for public vetting of any bill he was about to sign into law over a five-day period, but the the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act (which curtailed pay discrimination) was passed after only two days with no comment. Shame. source