Slate Magazine - Today's Papers

The Pentagon releases detainee names to the Red Cross.

David Sessions — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 04:21:11 EST

The New York Times leads with the Pentagon's decision to release the names of detainees held at secret camps in Iraq and Afghanistan to the Red Cross. The military previously insisted that the detainees' identities be kept classified for fear they could jeopardize counterterrorism efforts. The Washington Post leads with an unprecedented government effort in the works to vaccinate half of the U.S. population against swine flu "within months." More than 2,800 local health departments are gathering medical personnel and developing strategies to reach as many as possible. The Los Angeles Times leads with California legislators having a difficult time slashing the required $1.2 billion from the state's ailing prison system. Federal courts ordered California to reduce its prison population by 40,000, and the state's ongoing budget crisis makes deep cuts a fiscal necessity.

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Bankers upbeat about economic growth; CIA reportedly staged mock executions of detainee.

Ben Whitford — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 06:33:27 EST

All the papers lead with news that the battered global economy could finally be on the mend. The Washington Post and the New York Times both top their front page with yesterday's declaration from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke that the economy appears to be "leveling off," his most upbeat assessment since the global meltdown began. "Prospects for a return to growth in the near term appear good," he told a gathering of economists and central bankers, adding that aggressive action by governments and central bankers around the world appeared to have successfully staved off the worst of the downturn.

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Afghanistan doesn't bring out the vote.

Daniel Politi — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 07:11:22 EST

The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal's world-wide newsbox lead with, and everyone else fronts, Afghanistan's presidential election, which was marred by low turnout and scattered violence. A steady campaign of intimidation by the Taliban over the past week kept many inside their homes. Officials were quick to declare that the vote had been a success, but the papers say it's far too early to tell "whether bombs or ballots would ultimately emerge the day's victor," as the WSJ puts it. Declaring a winner could take at least two weeks, and a runoff seems likely. The Washington Post goes across the top of Page One with an investigation into the medical-helicopter business, which is now a competitive $2.5 billion industry that is lightly regulated. It is also one of the most dangerous jobs in the country, with 113 deaths for every 100,000 employees, a rate surpassed only by working on a fishing boat. Since 1980, 211 crew members and 27 patients have been killed in crashes that many experts say were largely predictable and avoidable.

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CIA hired private contractors to take part in its al-Qaida assassination program.

Daniel Politi — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 06:35:30 EST

The New York Times leads with word that the CIA hired contractors from Blackwater USA to take part in an assassination program that targeted top al-Qaida operatives. Blackwater is a private security contractor, now known as Xe Services LLC, that has come under scrutiny for using excessive force against Iraqi civilians. The Washington Post also leads the news in its late edition, and while it gives credit to the NYT for first reporting the story, it takes it a step further by saying that the whole of the assassination program was outsourced to Blackwater in 2004 and the private contractor was given "operational responsibility for targeting terrorist commanders." For its part, the NYT isn't clear as to whether the contractors were going to be used to kill or capture al-Qaida suspects or just for training and surveillance in the larger program. Regardless, the program was canceled before any missions were actually carried out.

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Democrats go it alone on health care reform; Afghanistan prepares to go to the polls.

Ben Whitford — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 05:36:06 EST

The New York Times leads with news that in the face of stiffening Republican opposition to health care reform, Democrats look increasingly likely to quit wooing minority lawmakers and focus instead on building support among their own ranks. In theory, that should allow Democratic leaders to cut through the noise and push through more speedy and substantive reforms; still, going it alone is no guarantee of success. The Washington Post leads with a report on Democratic infighting over the White House's apparent shift away from the public option, a move that riled progressives and threatened to derail the broader debate. "I don't understand why the left of the left has decided that this is their Waterloo," sighed one senior White House adviser. "It's a mystifying thing."

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