To-Do List: Shrimping Season Starts, DeLay Investigation Ends
By Samantha Henig
To know: At least fifteen hundred people have died in the floods that have affected a fifth of Pakistan. China overtook Japan as the world's second-largest economy last quarter, with a G.D.P. of $1.337 trillion to Japan's $1.288 trillion. And General David Petraeus, speaking on "Meet the Press," said he could foresee circumstances that would make it impossible to withdraw from Afghanistan on President Obama's suggested timetable.
To anger both sides: President Obama, with his two statements this weekend on the so-called Ground Zero mosque. At a Ramadan break-fast dinner on Friday, he said "Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country," prompting attacks from Republicans like Sarah Palin. On Saturday, said that he hadn't been commenting on the "wisdom" of building the downtown Islamic center; just its constitutionality—frustrating liberals and others by seeming to soften his support.
To claim a final victim: The alleged "Craigslist Killer," Philip Markoff, who committed suicide in his jail cell.
To start: The Louisiana shrimping season, today. Shrimpers are not sure what to expect in terms of the oil spill's effects on the product—or on demand.
To end: The Department of Justice's investigation of former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, after six years. "There will be no charges," said Richard Cullen, DeLay's attorney.
To threaten "severest punishment": North Korea, responding to the latest round of military drills involving eighty-sex thousand U.S. and South Korean troops.
To plant a million trees: James Cameron.
More:CraigslistDavid PetraeusGulf Coast oil spillJames CameronNorth KoreaTom DeLay
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