- @cnnbrk
- Followers: 63,153,693
Andy Fletcher, a keyboardist and founding member of Depeche Mode, has died, the band announced. He was 60 years old. cnn.it/3wY1Hnk
- @cnnbrk
- Followers: 63,153,693
President Biden and first lady Jill Biden will visit Uvalde, Texas, on Sunday after 19 children and two adults weretwitter.com/i/web/status/1…rE
- @cnnbrk
- Followers: 63,153,693
The gunman in the Texas elementary school shooting wasn’t confronted before entering the school, an official says.twitter.com/i/web/status/1…RtLB
- @cnnbrk
- Followers: 63,153,693
The Supreme Court will allow the Biden administration to continue to use a metric that estimates the real-world costwitter.com/i/web/status/1…rb
- @cnnbrk
- Followers: 63,153,693
Ray Liotta, who starred as Shoeless Joe Jackson in “Field of Dreams” and Henry Hill in “Goodfellas,” has diedtwitter.com/i/web/status/1…QervBHOy4P
- @cnnbrk
- Followers: 63,153,693
Former President Trump and his children Ivanka and Donald Jr. must sit for depositions in NY attorney general’s civtwitter.com/i/web/status/1…dJHg
- @cnnbrk
- Followers: 63,153,693
Actor Kevin Spacey has been charged with four counts of sexual assault against three men, UK prosecutors say cnn.it/3NAe7bx
CNN POLITICS ON FACEBOOK » | CNN POLITICS ON TWITTER »
Monday's intriguing people
Garry Trudeau
The creator of "Doonesbury" is celebrating his 40th anniversary drawing the politically and socially charged comic strip.
He is making the media rounds in support of two books being published: “40: A Doonesbury Retrospective” and “Doonesbury and the Art of G.B. Trudeau.”
The comic strip, which is more likely to appear on the op-ed page of a newspaper than in the comics section, routinely skewers those on the political landscape. Trudeau’s loyal readership has led to the strip being published in 1,500 newspapers around the world since it was first published on October 26, 1970.
Collections of his cartoons have filled almost 60 books and have sold more than 7 million total copies. His 1975 Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning made him the first comic strip artist to win the award.
His comic has sometimes earned him a reputation as a left-winger, but a column in The Boston Globe pointed out that Trudeau’s jabs can target anyone.
“I’ve always thought he was an equal-opportunity balloon-popper,” wrote Alex Beam. “Anybody who figured out that John Kerry was a narcissistic blowhard as a Yale undergraduate is someone who sees the world through a wide-angle lens, taking in all azimuths of social and political tomfoolery.”
Several media outlets are paying homage to Trudeau and his drawings this week. NPR is one of the few media outlets to have gotten an interview with oft-reclusive Yale graduate.
The radio network offers a condensed retrospective of Trudeau’s work as well as several anecdotes from the artist. In one, the 62-year-old recounts how he became syndicated shortly after his strip appeared on campus.
“It's a ridiculous story, and it nauseates my children,” Trudeau says, “that I would find my life's work six weeks into it.”
Paula Deen, Jill Biden take part in day to honor military wives
Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, greets military spouses Saturday.
Jill Biden saluted a roomful of military wives Saturday for their dedication to their families and the country.
"You are very special people," said Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden. "Thank you for what you do and thank you for your service."
Biden spoke to the women at "Operation Home Cooking," an event that brought together military spouses from around Washington at the Metropolitan Cooking and Entertaining Show.
Biden drew upon her own experience as the mother of an active service member, recalling how she sent food to her half son, Beau Biden, when he was deployed to Iraq for 12 months.
"You send food because food is love," she said. "We give them what we do and what we make and we give them some of ourselves."
Her brief speech was the event's highlight for many in attendance, who relished the opportunity to have some time to themselves.
"It's just really hard being a military spouse, especially with them going back and forth to Iraq and Afghanistan and all the things that are going on," said Shawnnay Holland, whose husband just returned stateside.
On the Radar: Veterans Day, ruined cruise, Latin Grammys
Veterans of all U.S. wars are honored Thursday.
Veterans Day - America honors its veterans Thursday. Vice President Joe Biden and Defense Secretary Robert Gates will take part in a wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery at 11 a.m. ET.
Be sure to visit CNN.com's Veterans in Focus section for stories, images, video and interactive graphics on:
- a World War II vet's memories of D-Day and how he's training a new generation of warriors;
- how military veterans, the Pentagon and mental health professionals are coming to grips with post-traumatic stress disorder;
- how special courts seek to keep veterans out of prison;
- what might happen next with "don't ask, don't tell"; and
- why a Medal of Honor recipient from the Afghanistan conflict feels angry about the award.
On the Radar: Alaska ballots, veterans events, CMA Awards
An absentee ballot shows a write-in vote for U.S. Senate candidate Lisa Murkowski.
Alaska ballot count - Alaska election officials will begin counting write-in ballots Wednesday despite a federal court challenge by the campaign of Republican U.S. Senate candidate Joe Miller, state director Gail Fenumiai said.
Miller is believed to be locked in a tight race with incumbent Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who ran as a write-in candidate. In last week's election, Miller received 34 percent of the vote, Democrat Scott McAdams, who conceded, collected 24 percent, and 41 percent of ballots were for write-in candidates.
The complaint filed in federal court Tuesday asks Fenumiai's office to "adhere" to state law in the counting of write-in ballots, limiting what the suit called "subjective" voter intent rules that were issued this week. The suit requests a court hearing Wednesday over the rules and asks for an injunction.
Vets' care hurt by bureaucratic games, memo says
Military veterans are being denied health care due to "inappropriate scheduling practices" at VA facilities, according to an internal memo from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The day's most popular stories
The five most popular CNN.com stories during the last 24 hours, according to Newspulse.
Veterans possibly exposed to hepatitis, HIV: A Missouri VA hospital has sent letters to more than 1,800 veterans warning them that may have been exposed to life-threatening diseases such as hepatitis and HIV.
Hurricane Alex takes aim at Mexico, Texas: Gulf Coast residents began hunkering down in shelters Wednesday night as Hurricane Alex neared landfall in a sparsely populated area of the Mexican coast, about 100 miles south of the border.
Leak shows Apple's spin on iPhone 4 flaws:AppleCare representatives are being given a strong company line to deliver to unhappy iPhone 4 owners who complain about reception issues, according to documents leaked to Boy Genius Report today.
'The Office' star Kinsey files for divorce: It's over for "The Office" actress Angela Kinsey and writer Warren Lieberstein.
Study links bee decline to cell phones: A new study has suggested that cell phone radiation may be contributing to declines in bee populations in some areas of the world.
Volunteers gather at neglected WWI monument
American Legion volunteers gathered Sunday at a neglected marble temple on the National Mall to commemorate veterans of World War I, at a site they hope will soon be a national memorial.
Vets lobby Congress for repeal of 'don't ask, don't tell'
Over a hundred U.S. military veterans gathered Tuesday on Capitol Hill to press Congress for quick repeal of the law banning gays from serving in the military.
Obama signs law boosting support for military veterans
President Barack Obama signed a bill Wednesday significantly boosting federal support for disabled military veterans and their caregivers.
Among other things, the new law expands resources available for veterans' mental health counseling, provides expanded access to hospitals and clinics outside of the traditional Veterans Affairs system and provides stronger transportation and housing assistance for veterans living in rural areas.
Unemployment on the rise for veterans of current wars
The unemployment rate for veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars reached 14.7 percent in March, according to the latest government statistics.
The number of unemployed veterans increased to more than 250,000, up about 40,000 over the previous month's figures, according to the Department of Labor Statistics. Veterans groups say the figures are unacceptable.
VA officials: Vet homelessness on the decline
The number of homeless military veterans on the street each night in the United States has declined 18 percent from last year, the Department of Veterans Affairs said Wednesday.
VA officials estimate the current number of homeless veterans to be 107,000, down from last year's figure of 131,000. In 2007, the VA's homeless veteran estimate was 154,000.
On Twitter
On Twitter
@cnnbrk on Twitter
Recent Comments