 |  | 
May 22, 2012 | | REELECTION How likely is it that Obama will dump Biden for Hillary as veep? Probably not very. But recent polls suggest the president would be foolish not to consider mixing up the ticket, writes Michael Tomasky. WE HAVE LIFTOFF It’s official: Dragon has launched. The private, unmanned space shuttle built by a California’s SpaceX successfully launched early Tuesday morning from Cape Canaveral, Fla.—the first mission by a spacecraft not commissioned by the government. The Dragon capsule blasted atop SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, and the space station was flying 249 miles above the north Atlantic Ocean as the rocket lifted off, NASA officials said. If the mission is a success, it represents a potential new stage in American space exploration: NASA hopes low-Earth orbits will be privately funded, allowing the space agency to focus on new spacecraft and missions to Mars, as well as asteroids and the moon. SNUB The already frayed U.S.-Pakistan relationship took another hit in Chicago. Bruce Riedel on the stalled border talks—and who gains from Zardari’s snub. DEAD HEAT President Obama and Mitt Romney are in a statistical dead heat over the economy, the issue that Americans said they care about most ahead of the November elections, a new Washington Post/ABC News poll found on Tuesday. According to the poll, 49 percent would lean toward Obama and 46 percent for Romney if the election were held tomorrow—but the two candidates were tied when it came to the economy. More than eight in 10 Americans still rate the economy negatively, but 54 percent of Americans say they are more hopeful than anxious about the situation over the next few years. But there is still trouble for Obama on the economy: 30 percent of Americans say they are worse off financially than in January 2009, when he took office, and only 16 percent say they are better off. TRAGEDY At least 25 people were killed and dozens more injured early Tuesday in southern India after a passenger train rammed into a freight train. The vehicles caught fire as rescue workers tried to pull out survivors. Around 70 people were rescued from the wreckage in the six hours after the crash, and at least 40 people were hospitalized with injuries and 10 in critical condition. The first passenger car caught fire, and the 16 people on-board burned to death. Firefighters and police put out the flames within three hours. Officials said they are still working on identifying the bodies and are investigating whether the driver of the passenger train missed a signal or if the signal malfunctioned. | | 
GET The Cheat Sheet A speedy, smart summary of news and must-reads from across the Web. You'll love the featured original stories on politics, entertainment, and more from The Daily Beast's diverse group of contributors.  GET The Yes List Weekly cultural recommendations from The Daily Beast.
| |
No comments:
Post a Comment