Heads That Shouldn't Happen

From AP on Yahoo:


'Jobs killer': Democrats win key test vote on climate bill

First, there's no quote in this story at all that refers to this bill as a "jobs killer."

Second, even if there were, it does not belong in the headline unless the bulk of the story is about the effect on jobs. It is a partisan statement. Just report the facts.

Say What?

It would seem completely unneccessary to explain how to pronounce "Julio" at this point, don't you think? Hevesi? Could be another matter, at least for those outside New York.

From the AP:

The attorney general's office said Tuesday Julio (HOO'-lee-oh) Ramirez entered into a corrupt agreement with a top political aide to former New York Comptroller Alan Hevesi (HE'-vuh-see) to ensure that his company's clients got a slice of pension fund investments.

Dumb Headlines, Cont'd.

Will Yahoo or AP please stop it with these foolish headlines?


Clinton urges NKorea against 'provocative' actions

NEW YORK – Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, making her first major policy speech, urged North Korea Friday not to take any "provocative" actions that could undermine peace efforts. Amid press reports that North Korea might be preparing a long-range missile test, Clinton pledged to hold the communist regime to its commitments to give up its nuclear programs in return for international aid and political concessions.

Swing and a Miss

Aside from reaching a conclusion not backed up by the story, I find this AP-Yahoo headline biased. And for some reason, you can cut and paste the text of the story but not the headline.


Democrat's Vision Will Collide With Reality


WASHINGTON – Barack Obama is accepting the Democratic nomination Thursday night with a lofty vision for the nation's future that is far easier to articulate than to accomplish.

The next occupant of the White House will inherit a half-trillion-dollar budget deficit that will severely crimp any plans for spending on new programs, as well as the messy endgame of the war in Iraq and growing energy and health-care challenges. A look at Obama's promises and the realities he would confront:

THE ECONOMY AND DEFICITS

The promise: Obama has pledged to attack the weak economy with another stimulus plan to follow the $168 billion package of tax rebates for individuals and tax breaks for businesses that Congress passed last February. Obama's stimulus would include tax rebates, aid to state and local governments and increased spending for infrastructure projects. He would also increase spending in other areas such as alternative energy programs.

The problem: Obama's spending plans and middle-class tax relief will collide with the hard reality of exploding budget deficits. The Congressional Budget Office projects this year's deficit will hit $400 billion, driven higher by the weak economy and the stimulus program Congress has already passed. And the Bush administration is forecasting that next year's imbalance will hit an all-time high of $482 billion. Deficits will remain high because of the costs of extending the Bush tax cuts and growing demands on big government benefit programs such as Social Security and Medicare as the baby boom generation retires.

and so on...

Where to Begin?

Is it me or does this story read as if it were written by a 12-year-old? This is from AP Yahoo.

PORTSMOUTH, Ohio - A teacher's husband came to her Ohio elementary school Thursday and shot her, but no children were injured, police said.

The condition of the woman was not immediately known, and the shooter escaped. Authorities said they were in the process of trying to apprehend the man, but did not elaborate.

The shooting happened at Notre Dame Elementary in Portsmouth, a community in southern Ohio near the Kentucky border.

The school and another Catholic school nearby were locked down, said Deacon Tom Berg, vice chancellor of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus.

"We are mobilizing our crisis team and sending them down," Berg said.

Public schools also were put on lockdown, said Superintendent Jan Broughton, who oversees the community's public schools.