* Berlusconi wins budget vote, but seems to lose majority in Italy's lower house of parliament. * Six biggest American publishers refuse titles for launch of Amazon's lending library. * Interview from 1994 has Fidel Castro talking cigars. * "Shooter's sandwich" has two steaks, one loaf
* Sarkozy overheard calling Netanyahu a liar to Obama; Obama says Netanyahu on a daily basis is no fun. * Barak dismisses talk of strike against Iran. * Berlusconi remains defiant; lacking support, he may win today's vote if the center-left abstains. * GOP activists expect candor from Cain; Cain schedules
* If you want to see Italy on the road to ruin, there's no shortage of signposts. * Italy placed under special IMF preventive regime for fear of collapse, due to credibility issues. * Thousands donate to pay massive tax bill served on Chinese artist Ai Weiwei. * Amazon in China changes
* International Atomic Energy Agency to say Iran now has the ability to produce a workable nuclear weapon. * Cole: Netanyahu and Barak are bluffing about bombing Iran; Obama won't green-light Israeli adventurism. * Related: David Remnick, in a nuanced assessment, not so sure (at least about the first part)
* Andy Rooney dies at age 92. * Dryboarding scandal at Gitmo demands investigation that suicides were in fact torture. * It's Bank Transfer Day, and 650,000 have switched to credit unions since September. * Absorbing profile of how Tim DeChristopher became a martyr for the environmental movement. * They don’t
Here we go again. We’ve altered (or removed entirely) the legends from each of the below maps. Try guessing what each means using only clues contained within them—the relationships between color-coded regions, say, or perhaps word clues. Anything you can detect, really, is fair game. Answers are
* American students steadily improving in math, but still disappoint in reading. * Amusing take on the "to" in "When it comes time to saving the Constitution..." * Study: Walking through a door makes people forget more quickly. * Round-up of witty comebacks. * Six years later, post-divorce, groom
* Eleventh Tibetan since March self-immolates to protest Chinese rule: Qiu Xiang/Palden Choetso, 35. * Month-old baby with university degree receives salary from Nigerian government. * Summary of this week's collapse of the Euro's “comprehensive package." * Marine Le Pen, dogged by French reporters, has an
* Papandreou says he's ready to kill the referendum idea on Greece's eurozone bailout deal. * Other species on Earth that exceed, equal, or approach the seven-billion mark. * Bengalese finches' tweets tested for grammatical order. * Kenya's message of peace, with thousands of troops on
* Despite tension in Kashmir, Pakistan agrees to normalize trade relations with India. * Catapults seized that smugglers used to fling weed over the border. * "The Shameless Republican Race to Cut Rich People's Taxes." * U.S. drops from fourth place to 23rd in global test for internal inequalities
