Daily Intel

Soldier Who Plotted Fort Hood Bombing Found Guilty on Multiple Charges

Brett Smiley — Fri, 25 May 2012 01:18:34 -0400

U.S. soldier Naser Jason Abdo was found guilty on Thursday on multiple charges including attempted murder of federal employees in connection with his plot to blow up a restaurant popular among soldiers from Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas. In addition to attempted murder, the 22-year-old private first class was found ... More »

Chinese Activist Chen Guangcheng: \"My Suffering Was Beyond Imagination\"

Brett Smiley — Fri, 25 May 2012 01:04:51 -0400

Blind Chinese activist and new NYU student Chen Guangcheng gave his first in-depth TV interview since arriving in the U.S. to Anderson Cooper on Thursday night. Guangcheng arrived in the city about a week ago when the U.S. and China finally brokered a deal following protracted diplomacy talks. Cooper asked ... More »

Official Who Planned $800,000 GSA Conference in Las Vegas Is Out

Brett Smiley — Thu, 24 May 2012 23:29:42 -0400

Jeff Neely, the General Services Administration regional commissioner who planned the no-expense-spared $822,000 conference complete with a mind reader and very expensive food, is gone from the agency. The GSA, which handles administrative and management duties for the government, placed Neely on administrative leave after news broke about the absurdly lavish ... More »

Pedro Hernandez Arrested, Charged in Killing of Etan Patz [Updated]

Noreen Malone — Thu, 24 May 2012 22:05:45 -0400

The NYPD has arrested Pedro Hernandez and charged him with second-degree murder in the death of Etan Patz 33 years ago, almost to the day, according to the Times, following a day of speculation about his sudden confession. "We believe that this is the individual responsible for the crime," Police ... More »

Pentagon Contractor Admits to Running Smear Campaign Against Journalists

Margaret Hartmann — Thu, 24 May 2012 21:42:50 -0400

Today the minority owner of Leonie Industries, a Pentagon contractor, admitted to launching an online smear campaign against two USA Today journalists who wrote an article criticizing the company's work in Afghanistan. Camille Chidiac, the company's former president, said he was responsible for creating websites that attacked reporters Tom Vanden ... More »

Marion Barry Makes New Racial Gaffe While Apologizing for Old Racial Gaffe

Dan Amira — Thu, 24 May 2012 18:19:07 -0400

Someday, far into the future, Marion Barry will find a way to go a few days without insulting one race or another, but probably not anytime soon. While making amends today for recently calling for Korean shop owners to be kicked out of his neighborhood and for wishing — out loud, ... More »

Video: Chris Matthews and Newt Gingrich Discuss Their Intense Love for Zoo Animals

Sarah Frank — Thu, 24 May 2012 18:15:53 -0400

Today on Hardball, Newt Gingrich, noted animal lover, and Chris Matthews, apparently also an animal lover, discussed their favorite zoos and snakes. And it was hilarious. "I think you're the only presidential candidate basically ever to go zoo to zoo," Matthews said. "I love the natural world," Gingrich responded. "Do ... More »

A Kickstarter Campaign for People Who Like Looking at Boobs

Dan Amira — Thu, 24 May 2012 17:42:49 -0400

Did you know that, since a 1992 court ruling, it has been totally legal for women to walk around topless in New York anywhere that it's legal for men to do so? Well, it is, and this noble Kickstarter campaign wants to "spread the word" that New York "is a ... More »

MSNBC Wants a Real Website

Joe Coscarelli — Thu, 24 May 2012 17:34:19 -0400

The fact that MSNBC.com is a partnership between NBCUniversal and Microsoft, fed through the latter's massive MSN portal, keeps it from being the true online home of the forward-leaning cable network. Instead of all things Rachel Maddow and Al Sharpton, the site is relegated to staid news and Today show ... More »

Constitution Party Candidate Virgil Goode Not Worried About Being a Spoiler

Dan Amira — Thu, 24 May 2012 16:48:20 -0400

Ever since Ralph Nader and his 1.6 percent share of the Florida vote was widely blamed for handing the 2000 presidential election to George W. Bush, Americans, their frustration with the two-party system notwithstanding, seem to have had shied away from supporting third-party presidential candidates. Unless Thomas Friedman manages to ... More »

Lehman Brothers Probably Won’t Ever Be Charged With Anything

Joe Coscarelli — Thu, 24 May 2012 16:10:15 -0400

Late last month SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro said Lehman Brothers was still "under investigation and analysis" more than three years after its catastrophic bankruptcy, but an agency memo obtained by Bloomberg, titled "Activity in the Last Four Weeks," provides a not-unexpected update. "The staff has concluded its investigation and determined ... More »

Anderson Cooper Does Not Take Pity on Woman Who Tries to Defend Gay-Bashing Pastor

Noreen Malone — Thu, 24 May 2012 16:09:50 -0400

His stone-cold expression in the face of her floundering is a wondrous thing to behold. ... More »

Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney’s Long Game

Jonathan Chait — Thu, 24 May 2012 15:40:51 -0400

The Republican campaign has been relentlessly focused on the goal of making voters hold President Obama responsible for the aftereffects of the 2008 global economic crisis. (See, for instance, these ads on “the Obama economy.”) But the party intends to use its power, should it win election, not to focus ... More »

Facebook Releases Instagram Competitor Despite Owning Instagram

Joe Coscarelli — Thu, 24 May 2012 15:04:53 -0400

Mark Zuckerberg and company followed their massive hiccup of an IPO with the release of a new mobile app called Facebook Camera today, allowing users to take photos, color them with corny filters, and share them with friends — more or less the exact same things Instagram does. Instagram, remember, ... More »

John Heilemann on Morning Joe: How Did Obama Lose Wall Street Donors?

Sarah Frank — Thu, 24 May 2012 14:09:15 -0400

On Morning Joe today, our own John Heilemann told the panel that the days of Wall Street acting "as an ATM for the president are pretty much gone," as President Obama has not managed his relationship with major Wall Street donors well enough and is alienating them when it comes ... More »