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The week: Hospital rights for same-sex couples; A view of Tea Partiers; Lookin at Lucky

ONE...
Obama demands new rules to allow same-sex couples to make medical decisions for each other and be granted hospital visiting rights. 

It's hard to believe, but gay partners can be banned from hospital visits because they aren't legally family. Problem is, if you're gay, you're not legally allowed to marry in 45 of 50 states, and thus may be banned even if you wanted to make your union legal.

So Obama asked the health secretary to change the rules. (Here's a good example of the challenges gay couples face in hospitals.) 

TWO...
Tea Partiers rallied on Tax Day to protest, well, taxes; poll finds them wealthier than the average American.

Eighteen percent of Americans identify themselves as part of the Tea Party movement, which was out in full force across the country on Thursday.

According the poll:

37% are college educated (vs 25% overall)

75% are older than 45

89% are white

59% are male

36% are Southerners

39% are "very conservative" 

See the poll here.

THREE...
Lots of nuclear talk... 

Forty-seven nations convened in Washington for a Nuclear Summit and discussed ways to keep nuclear arms away from "non-state" actors--groups like al Qaeda. May be easier said than done as these groups bleed across borders and operate very differently than organized countries.

The big six—France, Germany, Russia, United States, China and Britain—separately discussed a possible fourth round of sanctions on Iran over their nuclear aspirations.

A FEW + ONE...(on the lighter side)
Competition is fierce ahead of the Kentucky Derby on May 1. 

How much a horse earns determines if it gets one of the 20 spots in the Derby. Last year the lowest-ranked horse earned just $55,000. This year the low guy has made over $200,000, meaning it's a competitive field. Lookin at Lucky has earned the most--$1.5 million in his three short years.

Alas, it's an all boy's race this year. Makes us long for Rachel Alexandra.

 

Haiti beyond the quake

It was one of those news weeks where journalists barely have time to eat.

There was no shortage of major news this week: Leno got his old time slot back; Conan refused to be bumped. House members grilled Wall Street bank executives, and Google said it may pull the Internet search plug on China after some accounts were hacked. U.S. missiles aimed to kill the Taliban leader in Pakistan but failed. And the biggest story of all, Haiti's earthquake.

With all these big stories to choose from, we’re offering some key points about a country that is in ruins—facts beyond the quake to remember as the world (hopefully) works to rebuild Haiti.

• Once a rich island: In 1492, Christopher Columbus landed on an island in the Caribbean, claimed it for Spain and called it Hispaniola; native Tainos were virtually wiped out. Spain ceded Hispaniola to France in 1697, and thanks to sugar and coffee crops it became a very rich colony. Today Haiti shares the island of Hispaniola with another country, the Dominican Republic.   

• First black republic: 95% of Haitians are of African descent. The French brought ove

Five things to know about Yemen

With U.S. intelligence pointing the finger at an Al Qaeda cell in Yemen as the probable instigator of the failed attempt to blow up a plane bound for Detroit on Christmas Day, we thought we’d take a closer look at a country we know little about.

1. STRATEGICALLY LOCATED: Yemen sits in the Middle East just below Saudi Arabia and above Somalia. It’s bordered by the Gulf of Aden, an important shipping lane that leads up to the Suez Canal, which ultimately connects the Arabian Sea with the Mediterranean Sea (think oil shipments in this oil rich neighborhood).
   
   It’s said to be about the size of two Wyoming’s (which doesn’t tell us much) with a population of 23 million that’s growing at a rapid clip.

2. POOR: Yemen is the poorest of all the

Looking ahead to 2010

2010 Census We’ll get a fresh look at U.S. demographics with the 2010 Census, which will count same-sex couples for the first time. The Census results influence Congressional districts and funds going to government-funded services like schools. As a side benefit, new census readers will mean an injection of about 1.2 million temporary jobs into the economy. The Year of the Tiger No, not that Tiger! (For good or bad, 2009 was his year.) Rather, the 2010 Year of the Tiger refers to the Chinese New Year, which begins on February 14 (it changes each year based on the moon). The tiger is one of 12 animals associated with the Chinese lunar calendar, with each bringing certain characteristics to the year. Think courage in the year of the Tiger. Estate tax Unless you fall into the 0.2% of America’s wealthiest people, this won’t apply to you, but you’ll hear a lot about it in the news. In a nutshell, prior to 2010, big estates were subject to an estate tax of 45% on assets above $3.5 million. But after nine years of phasing out the tax under a law passed by Congress in 2001, the estate tax—or “death tax” as Republicans like to call it—completely disappears. The Wall Street Journal reports some wealthy Americans were clinging to life to avoid the taxes by passing away in 2010. The reprieve only lasts a year. In 2011, the tax increases to 55% on assets over $1 million. Congress will likely take up the issue in 2010. Roth IRA conversions

The roundup: Headlines of note from the week

Monday: Sarah Palin on Oprah

If you missed Sarah Palin launching her book tour on Oprah, you've certainly heard about it. Her new book, ‘Going Rogue,’ is the number one best seller.

Tuesday: When to mammogram
A new report sparked confusion and controversy over when and how often to get a mammogram, recommending age 50 for regular screening, not 40. But Health and Human Services asked people to stay the course and urged earlier screenings. The CDC says 41,000 women and 375 men die from breast cancer each year. 

Wednesday: Obama visits Great Wall
President Obama wrapped his meetings in China on trade, currency, climate and security, with a visit to the Great Wall, before heading to South Korea and then home.

Wednesday: Senate reveals health bill
The stats: $849 billion over 10 years; 31 million covered. Vote on Saturday over whether to discuss and vote on the bill.  More details.

Thursday: More Oprah
Talk show queen Oprah Winfrey says she’ll announce Friday that she’ll end her show in 2011 to focus on her new cable network, OWN, the Oprah Winfrey Network, which launches next year. Will those 7 million viewers move with her?

Friday: Changes in screenings for cervical cancer 
 New guidelines recommend starting screening at age 21, regardless of sexual activity, and get the test every two years and less frequently into their 30s if there's no history of cancer or abnormal pap smears. The report says incidence of cervical cancer is very low in teenagers. Read more.

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Hunger stunting growth of 200 million children

A new report from UNICEF says some 200 million children around the growth suffer stunted growth due to lack of proper nutrition. The United Nations says world hunger hit a new high in 2009, rising to over one billion during the global recession. The UN says 90% of the children affected by lack of nutrition under the age of five live in Africa and Asia. Read more of the report on UNICEF's site. 

All eyes on Iran

While world issues were center stage this week in the United States, with leaders gathering in New York and Pittsburgh for two important meetings to discuss a host of global problems, it’s likely the only thing anyone will remember is the announcement that came Friday morning: that Iran has a second, secret nuclear facility under development.

Speaking in Pittsburgh where they were attending the Group of Twenty (G-20) Meeting, President Obama, England’s Gordon Brown and France’s Nicolas Sarkozy accused Iran of hiding a secret uranium enrichment facility from inspectors and demanded that they allow inspectors in to see the plant.

The news conference came days after Iran revealed to the International Atomic Energy Agency, which monitors nuclear activity for the world, that it has a second pilot plant under construction.

Summer news equals a weird week

It was such a weird week.

Sarah Palin quit her post as governor of Alaska for reasons yet to be revealed to us—and maybe to herself, and instantly became the top-read, top-searched story again on most news sites. Man, the media loves to hate her.

Michael Jackson’s memorial was attended to with interest and care deserving of a head of state, broadcast live on CNN, and then over and over again.

California began issuing IOUs to “pay” its bills because it’s almost entirely out of cash, and Al Franken, otherwise known as the Saturday Night Live character Stuart Smalley, was sworn in as a Senator.

Google announced that it’s launching an operating system just weeks after Microsoft unveiled a new search engine (who does what again?). Media moguls met in Sun Valley and talked about how Twitter might make money (do we care?).

Iran: The Supreme Leader

Twitter-mania reached a new high this week as a key means of communicating the events in Iran, where the aftermath of last week’s presidential election is still playing out. 

The State Department asked the service, which has yet to make money and that many people are still trying to figure out how to use, to delay scheduled maintenance so that information could keep flowing as Iran cracked down on media inside the country.

 

And while it is modern methods the protesters are using to voice opposition to the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the battle they’re fighting is really quite old.

 

To better understand the events of today and what happens from here, let’s take a look back.

 

The power structure in Iran

First, it’s important to recognize that Iran’s president is only the second most powerful person in the country. The real authority lies with the Supreme Leader—currently Ayatollah Ali Khamenei—the top religious and political figure, who in turn appoints many of the leaders in the various governing bodies in Iran and also the head of the state media. Khamenei is the one who called for an investigation into last week’s election after announcing support for Ahmadinejad, and is the one who now says no fraud occurred.

 

Democracy and religion intersect heavily in Iran andclerics hold many key posts in government, including on the powerful Guardian Council, a 12-member body that can disqualify political candidates and veto legislation passed by parliament. The council is controlled by conservatives. This is the group that reviewed the results of the latest election.

 

The 1979 Iran Revolution

Iran’s unique government structure dates back to the Islamic Revolution of 1979. Leading up to the revolution Iran was led by the Shah, a monarch who tried to westernize Iran and who came to power with help from the U.S. CIA. While Iranians experienced more social freedoms under the Shah, his rule was also repressive and clashed with traditional norms in the Islamic country and he was eventually ousted in a popular uprising.

 

After the revolution, a new constitution formally brought Islam into the nation’s political structure. Its first Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, railed against Western powers and famously labeled the U.S. the “Great Satan.”

 

Many of us remember the Iran hostage crisis of 1979, when 52 Americans were taken hostage at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran for 444 days. A military attempt to rescue the hostages in 1980 failed and they were released the same day Ronald Regan took office in 1981.

 

Life in Iran and Western relations

Religion has always played a central role in Iran despite the Shah’s attempts to separate it from government. The revolution put much of the country’s power into clerics’ hands. Since 1979 life inside Iran has become quite strict. Women once again had to wear veils and lost the right to divorce and even the right to hold certain jobs (like judges). Inflationsoared, the country has suffered under some Western-backed sanctions, and despite being oil-rich, the poverty rate is high. The revolution marked the end of U.S. diplomatic relations with Iran.

 

The big picture

The protests in Iran are really symbolic of the freedoms many Iranians hope for. An estimated 70% of Iran’s population is under the age of 30, meaning they haven’t experienced the social freedoms that existed prior to 1979. For now those hopes seem wrapped up in the one man—Mir Hossein Moussavi—who has at least so far lost the election.

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