Thursday, August 07 2008

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Thursday, August 07, 2008

A verdict in the Hamdan trial

Osama bin Laden’s former driver, Salim Hamdan, was found guilty of war crimes, but acquitted on conspiracy charges Wednesday.

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Department of Justice releases anthrax case documents calling Bruce Ivins sole attacker

The Department of Justice said yesterday that Army scientist Bruce Ivins was the sole person responsible for anthrax deaths in 2001. New documents in the investigation have been made public. View and discuss the documents in the case of Bruce Ivins, suspect in the 2001 anthrax mailings.

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Ten international athletes to watch at the Beijing Olympics

Guest: Ollie Williams, BBC Sports reporter, in London

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Pakistani scientist accused of links to al-Qaida made her home in Boston

Guest: Abdullah Faruuq, Imam of the Mosque for the Praising of Allah. Aafia Siddiqui attended his mosque.

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The pop songs of the Olympics

Before the 1980s, the only music you heard during the Olympics was the ceremonial sounds of a marching band. Nowadays, there are at least a dozen pop songs associated with each year’s games. The Takeaway looks at the origin of Olympic "anthems” from Strauss to Freddie Mercury to Jackie Chan.

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Jonathan Mahler on the Hamdan Verdict

Guest: Jonathan Mahler, author and New York Times contributing writer. Mahler wrote the book "The Challenge: Hamdan v. Rumsfeld and the Fight over Presidential Power."

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L.A. hospitals used homeless to defraud government

The FBI has arrested two people in connection with a multimillion-dollar Medicaid/Medi-Cal scam involving three private hospitals and hundreds — possibly thousands — of homeless people. This is an ongoing investigation — more arrests could come.

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President Bush talks human rights on the way to Beijing

Stopping in Thailand on his way to Beijing for the Olympic Games, President Bush gave a speech on religious freedoms and human rights which some people found surprisingly firm. The official Chinese response was… no comment.

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"Complicated grief" is a new medical condition affecting one million Americans

Get over it! The old adage reinforces the commonly-held belief that grief is a controllable social condition. However, scientists believe "complicated grief," a physical condition that affects a distinct part of the brain, could be affecting about one million Americans.

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Chief prosecutor in the Hamdan trial discusses the verdict

While the defense says that the trial didn’t follow the American rule of law, prosecutors seem generally pleased with the verdict in the case of Osama bin Laden’s driver, Salim Hamdan. Army Col. Lawrence Morris, the chief prosecutor, discusses the case and its implications.

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Don’t swipe that: How to prevent identity theft

More than forty million people’s credit and debit card details were recently stolen in the nation's largest identity theft crime ever. What can you do to keep your good name?

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Post-Obama black politics: A private race debate enters the public sphere

An article to be published in the August 10, 2008, New York Times magazine provocatively asks, “Is Obama the End of Black Politics?” The Takeaway tests that notion with the article’s author.

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Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf faces impeachment threat

Pakistan's coalition legislature has divided over the issue but says it's looking to impeach President Pervez Musharraf. Musharraf has said he'd rather resign than face impeachment. Though he gave up control of the military last year, he still has the power to dissolve the government.

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Green Bay Packers trade quarterback Brett Favre to the New York Jets

Freshly-retired Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre caused a stir when he said he'd return to football and when the Packers said, "Uhh... Brett, we still own you." It was never a practical return for the Packers, having already prepared for a post-Favre era. Now, Favre has been traded to the New York Jets for a conditional draft pick. His impact on the Jets will be tested Sept. 14, when he meets last season's AFC champs, The New England Patriots — and Tom Brady.

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