This year’s CMJ included many acts that fully deserved the attention they clamored for, but there was also a sense of inertia.

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Critic’s Notebook: At CMJ Music Marathon, a Glut of Bands and a Haze of Music

Melissa McCarthy seemingly can do no wrong this year. She caught the attention of American moviegoers in “ Bridesmaids ” and has capitalized on that by getting cast in several upcoming projects, including Judd Apatow’s “ Knocked Up ” follow-up, “This Is Forty,” and a comedy with Jason Bateman. She scored an Emmy Award two weeks ago for her performance on CBS’s “Mike & Molly” and got her own beauty pageant-winning moment on live television in the process. Read full article > >

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Melissa McCarthy: The next great ‘Saturday Night Live’ host?

With all of the attention focused on the Game 1 matchup between Justin Verlander and C.C. Sabathia, many have overlooked the interesting pitchers scheduled for Game 2.

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Bats: Game 2 May Be a Matchup to Watch

Is this the end of the Tareq and Michaele love story? Or just another darn publicity stunt? Whatever it is, the Virginia horse-country characters, who caused a scandal with their uninvited appearance at a 2009 White House state dinner, seized our attention once again Wednesday when Tareq Salahi reported that his willowy blonde wife had been abducted . Read full article > >

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Michaele Salahi wasn’t kidnapped — she ran off with Journey’s Neal Schon

There are far too many people out there who think they have a DM relationship with @TheAlmighty and then subject the rest of us to what they say His judgment is. After an earthquake rattled the east coast last week, a New York rabbi blamed it on the state’s same-sex marriage law. And over the weekend, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) shared her direct messages from God at a campaign stop in Florida. So, see if you can follow this logic without your head exploding. The American people are angry over government spending and the inattention of politicians to their concerns about it. Hearing their anger, God unleashes earthquakes and hurricanes to get “the attention of the politicians.” Never mind that the billions of dollars in damages will cause local, state and federal governments to spend money they don’t have for repairs. Thus adding to the “morbid obesity diet” Bachmann claims God is trying to get the politicians to rein in. Lord, have mercy. Read full article > >

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Jonathan Capehart:
Bachmann talks to God — again [UPDATED]

It was the beginning of the school year at the London School of Economics and there was already one student that caught my attention. He was slightly older than the rest of us and would always come to class in perfectly fitted Prada suits. I never understood how he managed to arrive just as the lecture was about to begin, never a minute too early or late. He sat across from me and listened intently as our professor lectured us on moral and political theory. I wondered if he was an altruistic banker who had decided to go back to school. I never would have guessed he was the son of a brutal and crazy dictator.

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My Classmate Saif al-Islam

The national unemployment rate — 9.1 percent in May — paints a grim political picture for President Obama as he turns his attention to the 2012 race. But dig slightly further into the numbers and the economic news is far less ominous for him. According to a state-by-state analysis conducted by Matt McDonald, a partner at the GOP-aligned Hamilton Place Strategies, the unemployment rate outpaced the national average in only four swing states last month: Florida, Michigan, Nevada and North Carolina. Read full article > >

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For Obama in 2012, closer look at state unemployment numbers shows silver lining

Struggling to bridge two cultural identities can be a gruesome process and a life- long struggle. As a female Arab-American, I fear the day when I may find myself caught in an ultimatum between my Arab and American cultures. Perhaps that is why I initially wanted to deny the truth behind the title of Dalel Khalil’s self-published book “From Veils to Thongs: An Arab Chick’s Survival Guide to Balancing One’s Ethnic Identity in America.” The title, though a bit long-winded, is perfectly descriptive and sure to grab the attention of many Arab-American girls (It is also a rather clever way to attract boys who are drawn to the book’s provocative title and picture).

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An Extreme Balancing Act: Guidance from a Master

Days into my tenure as mayor of Chicago, with my focus on keeping our city’s streets safe, our schools strong and our finances stabilized, I expected my attention to be in the Midwest, not in the Middle East. But as an American and the son of an Israeli immigrant, I have a deep, abiding commitment to the survival, security and success of the state of Israel. I am among the many who know that the Israeli people yearn for peace. They have taken risks for peace in spite of dangers. They will again, when they have a viable partner in the process and a region that recognizes a Jewish state of Israel with secure and defensible borders. Read full article > >

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Obama’s commitment to Israel

Female copper butterflies close their wings to avoid the attention of persistent males, say scientists.

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Butterflies close wings to say no

He looked so uncomfortable sitting on that stage, lowering his head and blushing as others gushed over him. But Derrick Rose has gotten better with all of this attention — and he has had no choice, because his electrifying play has raised his profile and that of the Chicago Bulls , who finished with the best record in the NBA after struggling for relevance since Michael Jordan walked away. Rose received the league’s most valuable player award in a hotel ballroom in suburban Chicago last week, but the ceremony was a celebration of not just a young man but also a plan, hatched several years before, by a single mother and her three oldest sons to form a protective wall around the baby of the bunch, the one they call “Pooh.” Read full article > >

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Derrick Rose relied on family to become league MVP

Alabama and the seven other states devastated by tornadoes are turning their attention to rebuilding. The task is huge: One estimate, by the risk model forecaster EQECAT, put the insured property losses between $2 billion and $5 billion. Contractors…

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Thousands Homeless in Tornado-Struck States

Libya may be getting most of the attention, but keep an eye on Yemen: Three army commanders, including a top general, have defected to the opposition. The general, Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, was close to Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh. “We announce we…

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Army Commanders Defect in Yemen

You mean she just did it for the attention? Producers for VH1′s “Celebrity Rehab” have canned Michaele Salahi from the reality show, saying the White House party-crasher doesn’t have an addiction and is therefore ineligible to be on the show. So why…

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Salahi Fired from ‘Celebrity Rehab’

Shahbaz Bhatti’s murder in Pakistan hasn’t gotten the attention it deserves.

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A blow to religious freedom in Pakistan