AP - Stocks plunged Thursday, sending the Dow Jones industrial average down 679 points — more than 7 percent — to its lowest level in five years. Stocks took a nosedive after a major credit-rating agency said it might cut its rating on General Motors and Ford, further rattling investors already fretting over the impact of tight credit on the economy.
Politico - With the country at one of its most interesting — not to mention terrifying — moments in a generation, John McCain and Barack Obama met in Nashville for what was surely one of the dullest and least satisfying presidential debates in memory.
AFP - Less than four weeks to the US presidential election, and casting about for a winning strategy, Republican hopeful John McCain is wooing undecided women voters with talk of housing.
The pirates who hijacked an arms-laden Ukrainian tanker off the coast of Somalia threatened Friday to destroy the ship if no ransom is paid, a spokesman for the bandits said.
AP - As Norbert bore down on Mexico's southern Baja California peninsula, it gathered strength overnight and was classified as a Category 3 hurricane early Saturday.
Here's something I noticed earlier this week: The late-night comedy shows all seemed to have the same takeaway from Tuesday's presidential debate. Yes, "That one" got lots of play, but actually I'm talking about something even more ubiquitous: The McCain Wander.
It was actually amazing how similar the pickup was — on Wednesday night, both Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien did back-to-back bits on it, and then last night both Jon Stewart and SNL Thursday spoofed McCain's aimless meanderings around the townhall stage. "What are you doing McCain?" Both the Daily Show and Conan took the liberty of adding their own audio track.
We've taken the liberty of collecting the clips together for you (thanks to HuffPo vid whiz Patrick Waldo for same). If three's a trend, four makes it official: The McCain Wander is comedy gold.
The story is about two struggling mouse musicians, Daniel and Jan. When they are fired from their latest gig (their music is deemed too old-fashioned and not with the times), Daniel goes to pawn his guitar in order to buy groceries. Jan wanders off on her own and encounters a shifty reptilian character in a white suit who introduces himself as "B.L. Zebubb," a record producer.
He and his assistant, Wheez Weasel, offer her fame and fortune in exchange for signing a contract in blood. Jan doesn't read the fine print and trusts B.L., signing herself over to his record production company. Little does she suspect that B.L. is none other than the Devil himself, and at the height of her fame he will return to collect her soul...
As "Funky Jan," Jan is soon the most popular rock star on the planet while the oblivious Daniel is left out in the cold. But when B.L. comes for her soul and she realizes what she has done, a distraught Jan goes to Daniel for help.
I think you know what happens next. Man, did my six-year-old self love that movie — and I never forgot its lesson (a good lawyer can save your ass). I'm just kidding, the lesson is, sometimes you can want something so bad that you give up your principles, but then when you see what kind of demons are unleashed, maybe — just maybe — you can roll it back, and still get a shot at redemption. Perhaps today at a rally in Lakeville, Minnesota, when John McCainpushed back at the anger of his supporters and urged them to be "respectful" of Barack Obama, he was thinking something along those lines.
Here's the final scene from The Devil & Daniel Mouse.
