Cheat Sheet

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President Barack Obama appeared before more than 3,000 servicemen and women Monday at a Navy base in Jacksonville, Florida. He began with a somber mention of the 14 Americans killed in Monday's helicopter crash in Afghanistan: "Like all thsoe who give their lives in service to America, they were doing their duty, and they were doing this nation proud." He followed with a promite to "never rush the decision of sending you into harm's way." This week, Obama will sign a bill that will increase the Defense budget, including spending on the Navy and Marine Corps. Later tonight, Obama will appear at a Democratic fundraiser, and tomorrow he will head to the town of Arcadia to discuss the nation's power grid.

In a sweeping three-day sting operation, federal officials have arrested nearly 700 people known to be involved with child prostitution. The arrested included pimps, madams, and former suspected customers of child prostitutes. The youngest victim to be rescued was 10 years old, according to authorities. The operation, which is part of the Innocence Lost National Initiative, involved almost 1,600 agents and officials and spanned 36 cities. Running since 2003, the initiative has rescued nearly 900 children and led to 510 convictions. The president of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which was involved with the undertaking, estimates that 100,000 children are still involved in sex trafficking in the United States, and that number is growing in part because of the recession.

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Is the Republican Party just not Web savvy? First, their relaunched Web site was roundly mocked for being culturally tone-deaf in its attempt to catch the attention of a new wave of Republican youth. And now the Republican National Committee's Facebook page was recently caught featuring a photo of President Barack Obama gnawing on fried chicken above the tagline "Miscegenation Is a Crime Against American Values" and a call to repeal Loving v. Virginia, the landmark Supreme Court case that overturned laws banning interracial marriage. The image was posted last Tuesday by a fan, at the same time a Louisiana judge refused to wed a white woman and a black man. The image has since been removed, but the gaffe comes amid a number of online follies by GOP figures, including Young Republican Chairman Audra Shay’s racist Facebook note imbroglio and a series of offensive email forwards among low-level GOP organizers.

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Same-sex couples have another decade to wait before they can be recognized by the U.S. Census. Though officials had said in June that they would try to include gay married couples in the 2010 count, they determined that next year would be too soon to include same-sex couples in the portrait of America's landscape. Like the last count in 2000, gay married couples will be counted as unmarried partners. However, this time around the Census will include a new set of data for same-sex couples "who described themselves as married." Officials cited concerns about accuracy rather than politics in their decision-making process.

T-bone steak, or icebergs? Pretty soon, we'll have to make a choice, says Lord Stern of Brentford, a leading climate-change expert and author of the 2006 global warming report the Stern Review. "Meat is a wasteful use of water and creates a lot of greenhouse gases," says the former chief economist of the World Bank. "A vegetarian diet is better." Stern, now the I.G. Patel Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics, admits he is not a strict vegetarian, but said that eventually global attitudes about meat consumption will change: "People change their notion of what is responsible. They will increasingly ask about the carbon content of their food." The economist, who was being interviewed by the Times of London, implored President Obama to attend the U.N. meeting in Copenhagen, where he believes U.S. leadership is "desperately needed," and that in order to avoid further, possibly irreparable damage to the planet, the world will need to halve its greenhouse-gas emissions by 2030. Unsurprisingly, Stern's comments garnered a strong reaction from the U.K. meat industry: "Going vegetarian is not a worldwide solution," said Jonathan Scurlock of the National Farmers Union.

ESPN needs some damage control. Just one day after the sports network fired baseball expert Steve Phillips for having an affair with a young production assistant, announcer Bob Griese has now been suspended after making an inappropriate remark on air about NASCAR driver Juan Pablo Montoya. While announcing for Saturday's Minnesota-Ohio State football game, Griese made a joke that Montoya, who is Colombian, was "out having a taco." ESPN is punishing Griese by pulling him off the air for one week, noting that the announcer acknowledged the inappropriateness of his sense of humor.

Harvard University Medical School has released scant details about a campus poisoning that occurred more than a month ago—but at least one expert is pointing to foul play. Six scientists and students were sent to the hospital on Aug. 26 after having ingested sodium azide with their morning coffee. Almost immediately after drinking from a communal coffee machine in the New Research Building’s pathology lab in Boston’s Longwood Medical area, the staff and students reported symptoms of dizziness and experienced low blood pressure. A leading toxicologist says that it's highly unlikely the toxic compound, an odorless white solid used in labs as a preservative, could have made its way into the coffee accidentally. Both Harvard spokespeople and Harvard police refused to answer questions about the incident, angering one Harvard Medical researcher who said, “I don’t know why it would take two months to announce this.”

In an effort to bring some life back into the foundering Golden Globes telecast, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association has a solution: Ricky Gervais. The comedian will host the 67th annual show, which has been host-less since 1995, People magazine reported Monday. “Not only is this the biggest Hollywood celebration of the industry, which includes both film and TV, but also an environment where I feel I can get free rein as a host," Gervais said. "I have resisted many other offers like this, but there are just some things you don't turn down." Gervais himself has won three Golden Globes, and his appearance made for one of the funniest moments from last year’s show (which only brought in a paltry 14.6 viewers, according to Nielsen). “What did I tell you, Winslet—do a Holocaust movie, win an award,” he joked of Kate Winslet’s Best Supporting Actress nomination in January. Nominations for the upcoming telecast will be announced in December.

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Is Kanye West about to make light of his epic VMA fail? Sources tell Perez Hilton that Saturday Night Live producers are “working overtime” to land a special appearance by the rapper during Taylor Swift’s hosting stint in November. According to the blogger, it’s “very likely” that West will make a cameo. West, of course, faced public scrutiny after interrupting Swift at MTV’s Video Music Awards in September, when he claimed Beyoncé should have won the award for Best Female Video instead. He later called Swift to apologize and made a teary-eyed appearance on The Jay Leno Show, where he said he was still grieving the loss of his late mother. If West does appear on SNL, it will be his first major public appearance since the incident, as he recently canceled a joint tour with Lady Gaga.

California first lady Maria Shriver may need some remedial traffic lessons from the Kindergarten Cop—Shriver was once again caught violating the state’s traffic laws, no doubt to the chagrin of her husband, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. New footage posted by TMZ.com shows Shriver parking her Escalade in an emergency-only red zone for nearly an hour in Santa Monica while attending a doctor’s appointment. Prior to this, Shriver has repeatedly been spotted driving while using a cellphone in direct violation of a ban put into place by her husband, meaning she may be the one person in America not intimidated by Schwarzenegger.

President Obama may find some strange company as the White House begins its push for immigration reform: the religious right. "There was this rhetoric in the last immigration debate that was, frankly, harsh," says the law school dean at the late Jerry Falwell’s university "We need to understand that we are still a nation of immigrants, and we need to bring people out of the shadows and make them legal." Dan Gilgoff reports at U.S. News & World Report that some conservative activists are now citing the Bible as reason to be kind to foreigners and that faith offers lessons for forgiveness and opening a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants.

The U.S. Standard & Poor 500 Index is approximately 40 percent overvalued and doomed to declines as a result of central banks avoiding securities investments and selling shares that previously increased prices and raised capital,  Bloomberg reports. “Central banks, they’ve got to stop some time and if that happens everything will come down,” economist Andrew Smithers said. Smithers has been here before. In March 2000, he and economist Stephen Wright predicted the overvaluation of U.S. equities, the same month the S&P reached a record high and then proceeded to dramatically drop 49 percent over the next 2 1/2 years.

Baseball analyst and former Mets General Manager Steve Phillips has been tossed out. The talking head was fired by ESPN on Sunday night, and will be entering a treatment facility to “address his personal issues,” his representative told the Associated Press. What “personal issues” will Phillips be addressing? The highly publicized fallout from the announcer’s affair with a 22-year-old production assistant, Brooke Hudley. "Steve Phillips is no longer working for ESPN," said network spokesman Josh Krulewitz. "His ability to be an effective representative for ESPN has been significantly and irreparably damaged, and it became evident it was time to part ways." Phillips’s affair with Hundley has also apparently caused “irreparable damage” to his wife, Marni Phillips, who filed for divorce on Sept. 14 following Hudley's stalker-like behavior. Phillips was also fired by the Mets in 2003 after being sued for sexual harassment by an employee in 1988.

The current health-care bill has been in the works for what feels like an eternity, but Democrats are now pushing for immediate action, seeking to enact some of the plan’s benefits as soon as 2010—in time for the next election cycle. As it stands now, the majority of items in the bill would not be put into action until 2013. However, upcoming elections are poised to become a referendum on health-care reform, and Democrats are looking to give the public tangible benefits before then, including discounted brand-name drugs for senior citizens, tax credits for small business, and a tax pool covering people with pre-existing conditions.

Foodies with a dessert fetish will no doubt delight in the most recent addition to the Top Chef franchise. This week, Bravo begins casting for Just Desserts, essentially Top Chef for pastry experts. The network hit on the idea after noticing that Top Chef contestants' "Achilles heel is usually the desserts." Bravo picked up Just Desserts after renewing Top Chef Masters, which pits established chefs against one another in one-on-one match-ups for charity. The show, set to air in 2010, will feature sweet and possibly nasty pastry chefs living together as they endure weekly elimination challenges.

Two synchronized suicide car bombings killed at least 155 people and injured more than 500 in the Iraqi government district in Baghdad on Sunday. The bombs went off near the Green Zone, hitting the Ministry of Justice as well as a provincial government office while commuters were en route. Considering the two buildings suffered severe damage, questions have now been raised as to how the government can secure its most critical operations. The bombers passed through multiple security checkpoints before detonating their vehicles within one minute of each other. However, no strides have been made in identifying them. Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, who is running for another term, had been making claims for months that his country had made progress in decreasing violence. In recent weeks, Maliki had ordered blast walls removed from numerous streets in the capital, including from those that were attacked. Political allegiances have shifted since August’s attacks (which killed 100) and those Sunday, the deadliest the country has seen in two years. “Why should I vote for Maliki?” one Iraqi asked. “He has done nothing except bring explosions and corruption.”

Chicago lost the Olympics—will Obama’s presidential library be a consolation prize? The University of Chicago, which is connected to 80 Nobel Prize winners, is pitching the administration for the selection. No concrete decisions have been made, but the university’s president is open to the possibility and evidence points to Chicago as the most logical site given Obama’s significant ties to the city and school—his home is near the campus and he taught law there from 1992 to 2004. Michelle was also a vice president at the university’s medical center and their daughters attended the university’s Lab School. The decision is ultimately up to Obama, and he may have other ideas in mind—even a “virtual” library.

After 35 years as a member of the Church of Scientology, Crash director Paul Haggis has left the institution. Haggis, known for his support of civil rights and his humanitarian efforts, was shocked when the San Diego branch of Scientology publicly defended California's Proposition 8 referendum. Though he says Scientology’s current national spokesman, Tommy Davis, said he would do something about San Diego’s support of Prop 8, ultimately, Haggis says he took no action. “Despite all the church's words about promoting freedom and human rights,” Haggis wrote in his resignation letter to Davis, “its name is now in the public record alongside those who promote bigotry and intolerance, homophobia and fear.” Haggis says Davis also lied when he claimed in an interview that he did not support the practice of “disconnection.” Haggis himself was reportedly asked to disconnect from his in-laws, who had left Scientology years earlier. The Oscar-winning director also became wary of the church after reading a St. Petersburg Times series, which quoted high-level defectors who claimed current Scientology leader David Miscavige physically abused church members.

Independents are not pleased with the direction the Obama administration has been taking the country, according to a new poll. “Independents have flipped negative,” says Tom Bevan, executive editor of national polling aggregator RealClearPolitics. "That's not a good thing for any party." The independent voters’ ire can be seen in the first gubernatorial races since the left took control of Congress. In Virginia, Republican Bob McDonnell leads Democrat Creigh Deeds by widening margins, and in New Jersey, Democratic Governor Jon Corzine averages about 40 percent in polls. The White House’s fight with Fox News and delayed Afghanistan troop decision are among the concerns of those polled. But registered and likely voters are “disillusioned and disgusted” by the candidates of both political parties, says one political-science professor, as recent polls have showed fewer and fewer people identify as Republican. One CNN poll from last week shows most Americans no longer agree with Obama on the issues they take most interest in, and a Rasmussen poll shows 31 percent “think Congress has a poor understanding of the health-care proposal.”

President Hamid Karzai’s political rival could boycott the upcoming runoff election if certain leaders of Afghanistan’s election commission are not removed. Presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah believes the Independent Election Commission includes three prominent Karzai supporters and is biased against him, Karzai’s aides say. Though Abdullah has publicly promised to participate in the November 7 runoff, reports of his threat to pull out could lead to further questioning of the legitimacy of any new government. Abdullah’s aides fear entering into the race could lead to a reproduction of the fraud that discredited the initial August election, though the challenger himself denies the boycott reports. “Lots of our international friends won't be happy. We will have them on our backs,” Abdullah’s first running mate, Homayoun Shah Assefy, said of the possible boycott. “But for the interest of our country, is a rigged and controversial election better than boycotting the election? I think the second.” Karzai’s aides said they are deeply concerned that Abdullah might drop out of the race, saying he is threatening to boycott unless he gets a pre-election deal for a coalition government.

Kathy Willens / AP Photo

The Yankees are back. It's been six years since they made it to the World Series, but last night they sealed the deal during Game 6 of the American League Championship Series by beating the Anaheim Angels 5—2. Winning the ALCS marked the high point of what the New York Post called a "magical" season. Ultimately, pitcher Andy Pettitte, who had taken a massive pay cut, won the game for the team. His 38th post-season start marked a record, and over 6 1/3 innings in Game 6, he gave up a mere run and seven hits. Because a Game 7 playoff game has been avoided, the Yankees will be able to set up their rotation to begin the series against the Phillies with ace pitcher CC Sabathia.

Jerry Lampen, Pool / AP Photo

Radovan Karadzic, the former Bosnian Serb leader accused of masterminding the greatest genocide in post-war era Europe, is set to face the United Nations tribunal Monday. After 13 years as a fugitive, Karadzic was arrested in Serbia last year for allegedly overseeing the mass execution and deportation of tens of thousands of Muslims in Bosnia in 1992 and at Srebrenica in 1995. Karadzic faces 11 war crimes charges, two counts of genocide, and 9 more for other war crimes and crimes against humanity. The trial may be both the last and biggest case of the U.N.’s Yugoslav war crimes tribunal. Karadzic, however, has long argued he is immune from prosecution because he alleges he struck a deal with Richard Holbrooke, then the U.S. Balkan envoy, at the war’s end in 1995. He also insists on acting as his own defense and declared last week he would not be in court, claiming he needs more time to prepare. Previous Serbian leaders have used similar tactics to politicize their endless trials. Despite Karadzic’s threat to boycott, the court stressed that the trial would begin Monday as scheduled, though Karadzic will not make his defense until next week.

Fancy a samosa with your film? Big Cinemas, India's largest movie theater chain, has quietly acquired 18 theaters across the U.S. in the last 18 months, and is spending big bucks—$12 million—to upgrade and renovate the theaters. The company now operates 181 U.S. screens. Some show a mixture of Hollywood and Bollywood films, while a few exclusively feature Indian movies. Big Cinemas' aim is to cater to the 2.5 million Indian Americans, an affluent and fast-growing population often overlooked by Hollywood, and not just with films and theater-going snacks like papdichaat and mango lassi. In addition to films Big Cinemas also plans to show live cricket matches, Indian TV shows, and religious festivals beamed by satellite.

Juanita Castro, younger sister of Fidel and Raul, has revealed that she aided the CIA in working against her brothers in Cuba in the 1960s. Though she initially supported Fidel’s revolution in 1959, "I began to become disenchanted when I saw so much injustice," she said, explaining that her brother had betrayed his democratic principles by turning to Communism and using such violent tactics against opposition. Castro’s memoir, written in Spanish, is about to hit shelves, and she recently broke her silence to Univision, saying that the CIA approached her after she began sheltering enemies of her brother’s regime. “I was rather shocked, but anyway I said yes,” she said. “In this way began a long relationship with the arch-enemy of Fidel Castro, the Central Intelligence Agency.” Castro has been living in exile in Miami since 1964, the last time she spoke to either of her brothers, and ran a community pharmacy there until retiring in 2006.