The week at a glance...United States
United States
Oakland
Wall Street protest clash: Downtown Oakland erupted into chaos this week as more than 100 people were arrested during a series of violent confrontations between police and Occupy Oakland protesters. At its peak, the surging crowds reached about 1,000 people, said Oakland’s interim police chief, Howard Jordan, who confirmed that his officers had used beanbag rounds, tear gas, and batons to disperse demonstrators. “The crowd started throwing bottles, paints, beer, eggs at myself and the other officers,” said Officer David Carman. Activists denied police reports of provocation. Kat Brooks, an Occupy Oakland spokeswoman, said the marchers were disciplined and that “there was no damage to property.” The police response, she added, went “beyond what was necessary.” The Occupy Wall Street movement, which began in New York City on Sept. 17, has spread to more than 100 other U.S. cities.
Des Moines
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Cain’s abortion muddle: Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain lost the support of some religious conservatives last week, after stating that the decision to end a pregnancy should rest with the individual. “It ultimately gets down to a choice that the family or that mother has to make,” he said during a CNN interview. The candidate, who was leading in several polls this week, later walked back his comments, telling a Des Moines audience that he opposed abortions, “no exceptions.” But the gaffe may have inflicted serious damage to Cain’s campaign in Iowa, where religious conservatives hold sway over the state’s influential January caucuses. Already, pro-life groups have begun handing out flyers at political events in Iowa, accusing Cain of being pro-choice. “You cannot be both personally against abortion while condoning it,” said rival candidate Rick Santorum, who is also trying to appeal to conservatives in Iowa. “You can’t have it both ways.”
Baton Rouge
Jindal’s re-election rout: Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal won a landslide re-election victory last week, garnering nearly 66 percent of the popular vote—the highest total won by a candidate since 1978. Jindal, a 40-year-old Republican, prevailed in all of Louisiana’s 64 parishes, the equivalent of counties in other states. The runner-up, Tara Hollis, a schoolteacher who billed herself as a “proud Democrat,” received just 18 percent of the vote. Analysts said that Jindal’s popularity in his second and final term as governor will make him a force in national politics, despite his disastrous 2009 TV response to President Obama’s address to Congress, the governor’s first major national appearance. “Jindal may be a lame duck in Baton Rouge, but that doesn’t mean his days of positioning himself for the next election are over,” said Stephanie Grace of the New Orleans Times-Picayune.
Gray Court, S.C.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Perry unveils flat tax: Hoping to revive his flailing campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, Texas Gov. Rick Perry this week rolled out an economic plan designed to appeal to conservatives. The centerpiece of Perry’s plan is an optional 20 percent flat income tax. With front-runner Herman Cain’s popular 9-9-9 flat tax clearly in mind, Perry, who dropped to fifth place in this week’s polls, offered taxpayers a plan with more flexibility. Taxpayers could file under the existing system, with its individual rates as high as 35 percent but with traditional deductions and credits. Or they could pay his 20 percent flat tax on income. Perry said his plan would cut taxes “across all income groups” and boost economic growth, but critics responded that the plan would sharply reduce government revenue. “Two things are clear,” said Roberton Williams of the Tax Policy Center. “It will lose lots of revenue, and it will give a big tax cut to the rich.”
Beckley, W.Va.
Mine tragedy trial: Federal prosecutors this week charged the security chief at the coal mine where 29 men died in 2010 with obstructing the government’s investigation and lying about his role in alerting his bosses to the arrival of federal inspectors. Hughie Elbert Stover, who had served as Massey Energy’s security chief at the Upper Big Branch mine since 1999, allegedly ordered thousands of security documents destroyed. His trial is the first criminal case stemming from the explosion at the Upper Big Branch mine, the deadliest U.S. mining accident in four decades. In June, Massey was sold to Alpha Natural Resources, but its former chairman said before the sale that he expected more criminal charges to be brought against mine employees. Stover’s attorney, William Wilmoth, called the government’s case “a rush to judgment,” and said “the real villains” remain free.
Brooklyn, N.Y.
Cops charged with gunrunning: Eight current and retired New York City police officers were charged this week with smuggling guns into the city, defying Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s campaign to get illegal weapons off the streets. An FBI informant first gained access to the circle of cops in 2009, when most of them were working in the same station house in Brooklyn. Federal prosecutors say the police initially accepted payment for smuggling what they thought were stolen cigarettes and counterfeit goods, but last year transported weapons, including three M16 rifles and 16 handguns. The complaint says the suspects didn’t realize the guns had been rendered inoperable but did know that many of them had defaced serial numbers, making them untraceable if used in a crime. Bloomberg said that if the charges were confirmed, the officers would have committed “a disgraceful and deplorable betrayal of the public trust.”
-
Orbital by Samantha Harvey: the Booker prize-winner set to go 'stratospheric'
In The Spotlight 'Bold' and 'scintillating' novel follows six astronauts orbiting Earth on the International Space Station over 24 hours
By Irenie Forshaw, The Week UK Published
-
Gladiator II: Paul Mescal 'mesmerising' in 'relentlessly entertaining' sequel
The Week Recommends Ridley Scott's 'primary aim' is fun, in this 'exhilarating' blockbuster
By Irenie Forshaw, The Week UK Published
-
Bluesky: the social media platform causing a mass X-odus
The Explainer Social media platform is enjoying a new influx but can it usurp big rivals?
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
The news at a glance...International
feature International
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
The bottom line
feature Youthful startup founders; High salaries for anesthesiologists; The myth of too much homework; More mothers stay a home; Audiences are down, but box office revenue rises
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
The week at a glance...Americas
feature Americas
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
The news at a glance...United States
feature United States
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
The news at a glance
feature Comcast defends planned TWC merger; Toyota recalls 6.39 million vehicles; Takeda faces $6 billion in damages; American updates loyalty program; Regulators hike leverage ratio
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
The bottom line
feature The rising cost of graduate degrees; NSA surveillance affects tech profits; A glass ceiling for female chefs?; Bonding to a brand name; Generous Wall Street bonuses
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
The news at a glance
feature GM chief faces Congress; FBI targets high-frequency trading; Yellen confirms continued low rates; BofA settles mortgage claims for $9.3B; Apple and Samsung duke it out
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
The week at a glance...International
feature International
By The Week Staff Last updated