11 January 2005 By The Morning News — 11 Jan 2005 New York's currently: watching the kettle go up in flames Twelve missing, three dead in California mudslides. Bush administration says no reimbursement to D.C. for inauguration costs--a break with precedent that means the District will have to divert money from homeland security projects to afford it. Following blast that killed eight of its soldiers, Ukraine announces plan to withdraw troops from Iraq. Ethics and Journalism: White House pays a journalist to promote its policies; Iraqi PM gives reporters $100 each to cover press conferences. And: The real story isn't about Dan Rather or exec firings, it's about a new level of responsibility for television journalists. (Scroll for recommendations from the CBS panel report [PDF].) "The Salvador Option": the Pentagon could insert special-ops troops in Iraq for assassination and kidnapping. Audit shows Texas spent anti-terrorism money improperly, including on a trailer for hauling lawn mowers to lawn mower drag races. A town lovingly mourns a goose. [via MetaFilter] The outpouring of aid for disasters in Honduras and Iran was first massive, and then missing. How can we avoid the same mistakes in Asia? Beautiful New York pinhole photographs. High-school principal says "freak dancing" is unacceptable, cancels dances for the rest of the year. How to play along with email scammers. Comics and criticism from Josh, who reads the comics so you don't have to. "100 things we didn't know this time last year." Why do we like the sounds of certain words? Because they're "earworms."
