What happens now that Congress declared Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt?
The matter now goes to the U.S. attorney of the District of Columbia, Ronald Machen Jr., who works for Holder. Machen will likely use “prosecutorial discretion” to avoid the matter. That’s what the U.S. attorney did in 2008 when a Democratic Congress referred contempt charges against two Bush administration officials. Congress also could go to the courts. But, as the 2008 case showed, Congress’ term will expire long before the courts decide.
Why is Metro charging $1 extra when riders use paper farecards?
Because Metro wants riders to stop using paper farecards. The $1 surcharge kicked in on Sunday. Riders were already paying 25 cents more per ride on paper farecards, but that penalty wasn’t high enough to convince them to pay $5 for a plastic, reloadable SmarTrip card. More than 10 percent of Metro train riders still use paper cards.
What happened to Janet Jackson after her 2004 Super Bowl “wardrobe malfunction”?
The case was finally settled last week. The Federal Communications Commission fined CBS $550,000 for Jackson’s infamous halftime breast baring, but a federal appeals court threw out the fine — twice. The FCC turned to the U.S. Supreme Court. But a day after unveiling its historic decision on health care, the Supreme Court announced it wouldn’t hear the Jackson appeal. Case closed.
What swing states will decide the election?
Prognosticators agree that only a handful of states are really tossups and therefore likely to decide this year’s presidential election. They don’t agree on which states those are. Seven states make almost everyone’s list: Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio and Virginia. Several others bear watching: Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
