Feel like you're drowning in a flood of so-called "reality" television, Canadian series imports and new cable shows?
It's not you, it's TV; specifically, the oddball land of summer television.
As the big networks try to avoid looking like they've gone fishin' for summer and cable amps up its schedule, there's a new universe of programming for small screen fans to sort though. And there's a few standout series worth seeing — and avoiding — in the weeks to come.
The Wallow Fire near Greer, Ariz., has already burned 486 square miles and winds have been driving the flames 5 to 8 miles a day since the fire began over a week ago.
Today, The Nation and Haiti Liberte posted a story about some Wikileaks memos that reveal that "Contractors for Fruit of the Loom, Hanes and Levi's worked in close concert with the U.S. Embassy when they aggressively moved to block a minimum wage increase for Haitian assembly zone workers."
Walking through the serpentine streets of a Palestinian refugee camp on the outskirts of Beirut, Mohammed Turek stops at his homemade recording studio. It measures only six by twelve feet, and the walls are covered with foam-rubber baffling and political posters. Turek, known as TNT, records tracks here for his rap group, I-Voice.
The Food and Drug Administration is beefing up the safety instructions for simvastatin, a cholesterol-lowering medication that was the second-most prescribed medicine in the U.S. last year.
The agency says the highest approved dose of simvastatin (80 milligrams) has been linked to a higher risk of muscle injury, a risk that is greatest during the first year of use. The symptoms of the damage, a condition called myopathy, include pain, tenderness and weakness.
Congressional Democrats are starting to come forward with public calls for Rep. Anthony Weiner to give up his House seat.
Politico.com reports that Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D-PA) an official with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, on Wednesday openly called for Weiner to resign because of his admission that he sent lewd photos of himself to women he had online discussions filled with explicit sex talk.
It turns out that the housing market works a lot like love. At least for some people.
Take Christina Huang. She fell in love with a $969,000 house in Northern Virginia. She could picture raising a family. But there were a few red flags after an inspection, and she realized it wasn't going to work.
It took her several months to go on a proper date with her husband. Her housing search has taken considerably longer.
Texas governor and potential presidential candidate Rick Perry announced yesterday that in response to America's crisis, he was calling on fellow Americans to join him in a day of prayer.
"I sincerely hope you'll join me in Houston on August 6th and take your place in Reliant Stadium with praying people asking God's forgiveness, wisdom and provision for our state and nation. There is hope for America. It lies in heaven, and we will find it on our knees," he writes on the website for the event, which has been called The Response.
Politicians caught up in sex scandals have something more to look forward to than embarrassment and potential loss of office. They may face legal scrutiny as well.
"The partisans on both sides no longer seem satisfied to have a scandalized opponent brought to the public square for a tar-and-feather session," says Larry J. Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics. "The public, or some of it, wants to pursue legal charges against certified political sleazebags."
Last summer the concert industry, which had grown steadily for a decade, slipped badly. It was a surprise to almost everyone who pays attention to the hugely complicated network of bands, big and small, that tour the country, but looking back, it seems like maybe it was just a matter of time.
