Anti-marijuana laws need relaxation

The time has come to relax our laws on marijuana use and possession. Admitting one's past use of marijuana is trendy in modern America. It's even a little presidential. Barack Obama smoked his fair share of cannabis. John Kennedy, Howard Dean and John Kerry all owned up to the dirty deed as well. But it's more than just politicians.

Italy's highest appeals court says "leave it alone"

Touching your own genitals in public is a crime says Italian court.

Who's No. 1? $14.3M License Plate Buyer

Man pays record amount for car license plate at Abu Dhabi auction.

South Africa to allow elephant cull

South Africa says it will reverse a ban on elephant culls because the population now needs controlling.

Fly First Class at Coach Prices

Learn how to get luxury treatment in the air while paying economy prices.

Donald Trump on Surviving Housing Slump

Mogul talks professional success, personal failure and surviving housing slump.

Answer Desk: A hostile takeover playbook

If Microsoft has the cash to buy rival Yahoo, why can’t it just call up a stock broker and? buy? all of Yahoo's stock? The Answer Desk, by msnbc.com's John W. Schoen.

10 Tips: Renting rather than buying?

Given the current state of the housing market in many parts of the country, it might make more financial sense for you to rent for the time being rather than buy a home.

Clinton Campaign: Obama Divisive For Calling Us Out On Smear

Seriously, WTF: The Clinton campaign puts out a response from Maggie Williams, which doesn't respond to the question of whether a staffer was circulating the photo of Obama in Somali garb, instead: "If Barack Obama's campaign wants to suggest that a photo of him wearing traditional Somali clothing is divisive, they should be ashamed."

McCain Breaks Law...That He Wrote

Tomorrow morning the Democratic National Committee will file a complaint with the Federal Elections Commission against John McCain. Why? In the words of DNC Chair Howard Dean: "We want John McCain to obey the law with his own name on it."

MBIA moves to help stability in credit markets (Reuters)

Reuters - MBIA Inc , the world's largest
bond insurer, said it will stop guaranteeing asset-backed
securities for six months and plans to split that business from
its municipal bond unit, moves aimed at restoring stability in
troubled credit markets.

Stocks jump after relief on bond insurers (Reuters)

Reuters - U.S. stocks rose more than 1 percent
on Monday on signs the two largest bond insurers would
stabilize, bringing a wave of relief to a market dogged by
concerns of further bank write-downs.

Amtrak's New Look: Screeners, Dogs, Guns

Amtrak says new procedures won't hold up the flow of passengers.

California: Legalize Pot In 2008

The well known marijuana legalization activist Jack Herer is leading an initiative to get marijuana legalization on the 2008 November ballot in California.

GOP congressman indicted for extortion, money laundering

Republican Rep. Rick Renzi has been indicted for extortion, wire fraud, money laundering and other charges related to a land deal in Arizona

The Clinton Camp's "Audacity of Hopelessness"

The Clinton camp has been the slacker in this presidential race, and its candidate’s message, for all its purported high-mindedness, is self-immolating.

Pro-Hillary 527's first spot begin airing ads against Obama

Blog: "If speeches could create jobs, we wouldn't be facing a recession," the narrator says in the spot, titled "Blueprint," that take

Answer Desk: Not a win for tax dodgers

Actor Wesley Snipes' recent acquittal on tax fraud charges is being taken as a victory by a band of tax "protesters." But, they are overlooking a key fact: Snipes still faces jail time.

Economy - Friday (Investor's Business Daily)

Investor's Business Daily - Price pressures could build even if the economy slows further, said Dallas Fed chief Richard Fisher, who voted against the central bank's half-point 14terest-rate cut Jan. 30 due to inflation fears. U.S. growth is "anemic" but the economy should avoid a recession, Fisher said. He questioned "whether inflation expectations are well anchored."

Supreme Court allows retirement plan suits

The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that individual participants in the most common type of retirement plan can sue under a pension protection law to recover their losses.

Metals and banks help lift European stocks (FT.com)

FT.com - The mining, metals and banking sectors helped drag European shares out of the doldrums Thursday but a cautious opening on Wall Street and US statistics suggesting a manufacturing slowdown in the Philadelphia region pegged back early gains.

10 Tips: Frugal Valentine's Day

Valentine’s Day sure can pack an unexpected financial punch. Consider these tips for dreaming up an approach to this year’s celebration that is both meaningful and economical.

Philly Fed, leading index point to recession (Reuters)

Reuters - U.S. Mid-Atlantic factory production
slumped to its lowest level since the last recession, while an
index of future economic activity pointed to even tougher times
ahead.

Luxury Hotels Boom in the Middle East

Palace-style hotels combine ancient aesthetics with modern indulgences.

Deputy tasers high school student against direct orders

Disgusting. Those things need to be banned.

Investor's Corner: Use Fund Data To Find Promising Stocks (Investor's Business Daily)

Investor's Business Daily - Hunters follow footprints when they stalk big game. Likewise, investors can follow the tracks of mutual funds to spot winning stocks.

$1.8M Car, Price That Will Make You Cry

Companies pricing $11K jeans and $1.8M cars are playing on consumers' emotions.

More Republican Sheep on Video

Scary video showing the ignorance of typical Republicans. It would be funny listening to these people as they repeat the lies that they have unthinkingly accepted if they didn't get a vote.

FTSE higher on bank dividend hopes (FT.com)

FT.com - Banks led a FTSE 100 rally on Monday at the start of a busy week for the sector.

What's Changed Since the Virginia Tech Massacre?

"You know, I wish I could tell you that there was a panacea for this kind of thing, but you've noticed that there's been multiple shootings all over this country within the last six months," NIU Police Chief Don Grady told reporters. "...it's unlikely that anyone would ever have the ability to stop an incident like this from beginning."

Dot-Com Dollars: Web Names Bring Riches

Many names sold for more than $100K in '07; an adult-themed name sold for $9.5M.

Congressman fires back against Bush FISA law

Congressman Rush Holt gave an impassioned speech on the floor of the House opposing the Bush FISA law that just passed the Senate.

US Dollar - Biggest Weekly Drop for 2008 - Prognosis Bad

The dollar has lost 5 percent against the euro since Sept. 18, when the Fed lowered its benchmark for the first time since 2003. ``Lower interest rates are hurting the dollar,'' said Axel Merk, who helps manage $285 million assets at Merk Hard Currency Fund in Palo Alto, California. ``Why put the money in the U.S. where all kinds of negative "

Car Repos Soar as Owners Default on Loans

Beware the tow truck: Car repossessions are heading for a record high.

Wal-Mart dumps HD DVDs to back Blu-ray (Reuters)

Reuters - Wal-Mart Stores Inc has
decided to exclusively sell high-definition DVDs in the Blu-Ray
format, dealing what could be a crippling blow to the rival HD
DVD technology backed by Toshiba Corp (6502.T).

Apology to indigenous Australia - transcript of apology

"Today we honour the Indigenous peoples of this land, the oldest continuing cultures in human history. We reflect on their past mistreatment. We reflect in particular on the mistreatment of those who were stolen generations - this blemished chapter in our nation's history.

House GOP stages walkout over surveillance, aides' contempt

House Republicans just staged a walkout on Capitol Hill as Democrats considered a resolution that would hold some of President Bush's former aides in contempt of Congress for refusing to answer questions before the Judiciary Committee.

Bleak economic reports signal recession (Reuters)

Reuters - A series of bleak economic reports
on Friday showed the mood of American consumers deteriorating
in February to a point that has usually signaled recession,
while factory activity in New York state suffered its biggest
drop on record.

The SEIU Picks Obama

The national executive board of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) endorsed Barack Obama Thursday evening.

CNN: Romney to endorse McCain

CNN's Dana Bash reports that former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney will endorse senator John McCain. The endorsement is expected to happen at a Boston event at 3:30 p.m. ET today.

Obama Camp: Impossible for Clinton to Win Most Delegates

Sen. Barack Obama's campaign manager David Plouffe argued on Wednesday that it is now "next to impossible" for his candidate to lose the pledged delegate lead it has amassed in the Democratic primary.

Hillary is getting desperate...

Bush on terrorist surveillance: "In order to be able to discover enemy — the enemy's plans, we need the cooperation of telecommunication companies. If these companies are subjected to lawsuits that could cost them billions of dollars, they won't participate; they won't help us; they won't help protect America."

Trader Joe's to Exclude Some China Imports

The move comes after customers voiced concerns about products from China.

10 Tips front page

A reader wonders which businesses do well when the economy heads south.? The Answer Desk, by msnbc.com’s John W. Schoen.

What can you do in 15 seconds?

Brush your teeth? pour a glass of beer? kiss your boyfriend? 15 seconds.. for the people of Sderot 15 seconds is all the time they have to find cover from the rockets launched daily from Gaza.

Chavez Threatens to Halt Oil Sales to US

Venezuelan president threatens to cut off oil to US, calls Exxon Mobil 'Oulaws'.

Netflix picks Blu-ray, good luck renting an HD DVD soon

In what can only be classified as yet another crushing blow to the embattled HD DVD camp, rent-by-mail giant Netflix has just announced its intention to only stock Blu-ray titles in the future...

Fed Cuts Interest Rate - Again

How the Fed's latest rate cut impacts credit cards, mortgages and student loans.

Wall St retreats as AIG adds to credit fears (FT.com)

FT.com - Wall Street stocks retreated on Monday as worries about credit losses at American International Group (NYSE:AIG) added to fears that US companies face further credit-related turmoil.

What the Fed's big rate cut means to you

If you’ve been investing for a while, you’ve lived through the '87 crash and the tech-stock collapse , but that doesn’t make this year’s plunge easy to stomach. So, what’s it mean to you ?

Feel the 'Crunch'? Head to the Pawn Shop

More Americans appear to be selling gold and jewelry to pay their mortgages.

GM sees room to consolidate luxury dealerships (Reuters)

Reuters - General Motors Corp will
step up consolidation of dealerships handling its three luxury
brands in a bid to shore up profitability, the automaker's
chief executive said on Saturday.

Daily Show: Romney never recovered from being a douchebag

"What happened to the Romney campaign?" Jon Stewart asked correspondent Jason Jones. "He was well-funded, and he certainly looked the part," answered Jones, "but I don't think the Romney camp ever recovered from the fact that Mitt Romney is a douchebag."

20+ Ways to Get Rid of Your Debt for Good

This is not a step-by-step guide to reducing debt. Rather, it is a collection of a lot of the wisdom I have read so far on this topic and a list of some of the things that worked for us.

John McCain Booed at Conservative Convention (VIDEO)

John McCain acknowledges controversial illegal immigration voting history at CPAC, gets booed, giggles, then gets cheered!

Lieberman Has “Superdelegate” Status Stripped

Thanks to Zell Miller, there is a rule to deal with Joe Lieberman.

Too Many McMansions: Ride Storm or Sell?

Many homeowners struggle to find buyers for their million-dollar properties.

The CIA operation that should have prevented the Iraq war

When Saad Tawfiq watched Colin Powell's presentation to the United Nations on February 5 2003 he shed bitter tears as he realised he had risked his life and those of his loved ones for nothing.

John Mellencamp Asks McCain Camp to Stop Using His Music

Representatives of John Mellencamp have contacted the McCain campaign to ask them to stop playing Mellencamp’s music at McCain campaign rallies.

The Luxury Cars You Won't Find in the U.S.

Many European automakers produce diesel-engine cars still unpopular in America.

John Hurley: Why Veterans are Voting Obama

Great Article: "Across the country, this scene is repeated. Veterans in enormous numbers, with passion and fervor and commitment are turning out in support of Barack Obama. Vietnam veterans are printing literature, "slim jims," at their expense, highlighting Barack Obama's support of veterans."

Next Michelin 3 Star: Cafe Le Delta?

Delta and other airlines bring in new celebrity chefs to improve their meals.

Hersh confirms: Syrian facility bombed by Israel not nuclear

After Israel bombed a Syrian military facility last September, the United States and Israel claimed the target had been a Syrian nuclear facility under construction. RAW STORY's Larisa Alexandrovna was alone at the time in reporting that the actual target was a cache of North Korean No-Dong missiles being converted into chemical warheads.

Victoria's Secret, Super Bowl Resume Affair

Lingerie chain to run ads during Super Bowl for first time since '99.

US Politics Have No Left Wing

None of the presidential candidates would be a viable politician in Sweden.

Two women 'with Down's syndrome' kill 65 at Iraqi pet market

Two women who reportedly had Down's syndrome may have been unwilling suicide bombers in twin blasts that killed up to 65 people at pet markets in Baghdad today. A female bomber killed 45 people at a packed pet market in Baghdad this, police said, in the deadliest attack in the Iraqi capital in six months.

Countdown Special Comment: On FISA and Telecom Immunity

However, as Keith points out, if the president were to veto the legislation and there was another terrorist attack inside the U.S., he, and he alone would be responsible for it — all in the name of protecting huge corporations over the American people he was charged with protecting.

LA Times Endorses Obama

We urge voters to make the most of this historic moment by choosing the Democrat most focused on steering the nation toward constructive change: We strongly endorse Barack Obama.

10 Tips: How to score big at yard sales

With a little bit of advance planning, you can greatly improve your experience at garage sales and save serious cash on all sorts of purchases, both big and small.

Mock Attacks Test Tech, Transportation

What happens when Washington trains shut down and New York computers crash?

Bush Wary of Jeopardizing Military Industrial Profits

LAS VEGAS - President Bush said Thursday he will not jeopardize security gains in Iraq by withdrawing U.S. forces too fast, another signal that troop reductions could slow or stop altogether this summer.

California: Clinton 43% Obama 40%

This is even before John Edward dropped out of the race.Obama held a three-point lead among white voters in the state while Clinton had a twenty-seven point lead among Hispanic voters. Without Hispanics backing Clinton, She can pull it out at all.

This is how Internet can help make a better world! Want in?

By watching a video online right here and now, you're effectively helping a homeless guy in Paris - with documented proof! How is that for a butterfly effect?