In today's roundup: Dems grieving on the Internets; Biology in Georgia; Merck's Vioxx coverup; U.S. torture flights; Red state welfare; Al-Qaeda and nukes; Morale values; Election Night TV coverage; Sex Ed nonsense in Texas.
NEWS:
Bordering On Nukes?: New accounts from al-Qaeda to attack the U.S. with weapons of mass destruction (Time)
A key al-Qaeda operative seized in Pakistan recently offered an alarming account of the group's potential plans to target the U.S. with weapons of mass destruction, senior U.S. security officials tell TIME. Sharif al-Masri, an Egyptian who was captured in late August near Pakistan's border with Iran and Afghanistan, has told his interrogators of "al-Qaeda's interest in moving nuclear materials from Europe to either the U.S. or Mexico," according to a report circulating among U.S. government officials.
In Face of Warnings, Drug Giant Took Long Path to Vioxx Recall (NYT)
In May 2000, executives at Merck, the pharmaceutical giant under siege for its handling of the multibillion-dollar drug Vioxx, made a fateful decision.
The company's top research and marketing executives met that month to consider whether to develop a study to directly test a disturbing possibility: that Vioxx, a painkiller, might pose a heart risk. Two months earlier, results from a clinical trial conducted for other reasons had suggested such concerns.
But the executives rejected pursuing a study focused on Vioxx's cardiovascular risks. According to company documents, the scientists wondered if such a study, which might require as many as 50,000 patients, was even possible. Merck's marketers, meanwhile, apparently feared it could send the wrong signal about the company's confidence in Vioxx, which already faced fierce competition from a rival drug, Celebrex.
US accused of `torture flights' (The Times /UK)
AN executive jet is being used by the American intelligence agencies to fly terrorist suspects to countries that routinely use torture in their prisons.
Evangelicals Want Faith Rewarded (Los Angeles Times)
Christian evangelicals provided much of the passion and manpower for President Bush's reelection. But even as they celebrate his victory, many of the movement's leaders are experiencing post-election anxiety, worried that their strong support for the president might not translate into the instant influence they expected.
The November Surprises: After a year-long campaign, America now discovers what the election was really about (Village Voice)
The transparently self-serving timing of the biggest Bush military offensive since 2003 is passing unchallenged. Life and death are apparently now mere entries on some Karl Rove political calendar, a campaign calculus only the naive would question.
Nat Hentoff: Cuffing Bush and the FBI (Village Voice)
Olson Predicts Firestorm for Next Justice (AP)
Oklahoma town tells Fred Phelps that God Hates Bigots (Washington Post)
More Red State Welfare: Disaster Aid Payments (Des Moines Register)
Still smarting, Kerry supporters find sites for their sore eyes (Boston Globe)
Biology a Sticky Issue in Georgia (Los Angeles Times)
OP-ED:
Nancy Franklin on Election Night coverage (New Yorker)
Anna Quindlen on Bush's second term and his legacy (Newsweek)
Ellen Goodman: Sex Ed Silliness in Texas (Washington Post)