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30 Jun 2011 16:01

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U.S.: David Petraeus unanimously confirmed as new CIA chief

  • 94-0 Senate vote confirming Petraeus as CIA director source
  • » The big shuffle continues: With Robert Gates’ retirement, and Leon Panetta imminently poised to become the new Secretary of Defense, the Senate has voted to confirm General David Petaeus to take Panetta’s old job. Petraeus had been serving as the Commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, but will be departing to become the number one man of the government agency we all think of when we think about high-level secrecy. Of note in this confirmation — ninety-four to nothing! Even in a thoroughly divided Washington, it’s clear Petraeus is still one of the most politically popular people to stand in support of, no matter the political party.

05 Aug 2010 20:39

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U.S.: Get ready: Elena Kagan officially the new John Paul Stevens

  • 63 senators voted for Kagan; the rest got  screamed “NAY”
  • 111 the number of justices that have served the court; she’ll be lucky 112
  • 3 the number of women that have served; she’ll be the fourth source

22 Jun 2009 19:22

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U.S.: The death toll in the DC Metro crash: The worst ever

  • 6+ confirmed dead, but people are still trapped in the wreckage source

20 Jun 2009 23:31

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World: No matter what happened in Tehran, lots of people died today

  • 150+ the unconfirmed death toll for today’s protests in Tehran
  • 19 the confirmed death toll for today’s protests in Tehran source

12 Jun 2009 11:30

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Tech: Finally, Tony La Russa can verify his Twitter account!

Twitter’s verified accounts are now a thing of reality. Which means now you can confirm Ashton Kutcher is ignoring you. source

20 Jan 2009 18:38

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U.S.: Who was and wasn’t confirmed for Obama’s cabinet?

  • The confirmed These guys are good to go: Energy secretary Steven Chu, education secretary Arne Duncan, Department of Homeland Security head Janet Napolitano, Eric Shinseki for head of Veterans’ Affairs, Ken Salazar for the Department of the Interior, Peter Orszag to head the Office of Management and Budget and Department of Agriculture head Tom Vilsack.
  • The “hey, wait a second …” Secretary of State pick Hillary Clinton faces conflict-of-interest-type questions about her ex-president husband’s charity. Treasury Department head Timothy Geithner forgot to pay his taxes (oof). Attorney General pick Eric Holder and Health and Human Services pick Tom Daschle are still going through the process.
  • The sitting prettyBush’s Defense Secretary, Robert Gates, is just staying in that role for Obama. We imagine he’s kicking his legs up on his desk right now thinking of all the things he could be doing besides getting confirmed by the Senate. source