Morning News Roundup (26 May)

• Not this again!?!? The House voted 225 to 201 yesterday to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling, with proponents arguing that new domestic production will ease the nation's energy crunch. House Science Committee Chairman Sherwood L. Boehlert (R-N.Y.), a key opponent, said that if the nation had adopted stricter fuel economy standards for vehicles when they were first proposed 11 years ago, they would have saved more oil than could be produced in the Arctic refuge. Mileage standards have remained the same for 30 years. [WaPo]
  
  
• “Deserts in the American Southwest and around the globe are creeping toward heavily populated areas as the jet streams shift, researchers reported yesterday. The result: Areas already stressed by drought may get even drier.” [ThinkProgress' ThinkFast]
  
  
• On Wednesday an inconvenient truth was the #11 movie in the country despite being in only 4 theaters, earning $78,994 ($19,749/theater). The #10 movie was showing at 1,265 theaters, earning $117,000, or $92/theater. [Atrios]
  
  
• Iraq supports Iran's right to pursue nuclear research, new foreign minister Hoshiyar Zebari said today, taking a position at odds with that of the Bush administration. According to news service accounts, Mr. Zebari said that Iraq does not want "any of our neighbors to have weapons of mass destruction." But he also confirmed "the right of the republic of Iran and the right of any other state to have scientific and technological abilities to research in the field of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes." [NYTimes]
  
  
• From Foreign Policy magazine's Morning Brief: This could be very, very bad. Iraqi civilians may have been "methodically" killed by Marines in the insurgent-plagued city of Haditha last fall. The NYT has Republican Congressman John Kline - a retired Marine colonel - calling the incident an "atrocity," while the WaPo quotes Rep. John Murtha as saying two dozen civilians have been killed "in cold blood."
  
  
• Friday morning, guerrillas used a car bomb to kill at least 9 persons [later reports say 9] at an East Baghdad market, wounding 31. AP had reported 13 killings on Thursday, including two US troops. Al-Sharq al-Awsat said 20 were wounded. [Juan Cole's Informed Comment]
  
  
• Basra in the south of Iraq is beginning to splinter under increasing violence and sectarian divisions. Smuggling of oil on a large scale coupled with increasing violence and the lack of basic services like water and electricity has caused increasing tensions in the city, 570km south of Baghdad. More than 100 civilians have been killed in Basra so far this month. [IPS]
  
  
• ABC’s Brian Ross stands by his story that House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) is under FBI investigation. “I think our story is accurate. We’ve gone back to our sources, and they believe what we reported was accurate as they knew it.” George Stephanopoulos, ABC’s chief Washington correspondent, called the implications “potentially seismic.”
  
  
• Nuclear watch: While Washington pressures Iran over its uranium enrichment program, Australia is considering beginning the process for its own civilian energy needs. Australia's Foreign Minister Alexander Downer stated Australia needed to consider whether to begin uranium enrichment, and Prime Minister John Howard has called for a "full-blooded" debate on nuclear power and uranium mining, leading many to wonder if the government is considering nuclear power generation in Australia. [TerraDaily]
  
  
• I got my mind blown last night watching the last two episodes of Lost. Check out Salon's coverage of the finale and for a full appreciation of the concentration into character depth. And if you really want your mind blown, check out the Hanso Foundation web site--a very well-produced companion marketing piece that also helps develop the story's mythology.
  
  
• Because I know you've all been curious (especially Mrs. F): Wayne Rooney will definitely miss England's World Cup group stage games - after a scan revealed he cannot train for at least another three weeks. He'll require another scan on 14 June to determine when he can return to action. If the striker's broken metatarsal is given the all-clear, he would have 10 days to get fit for a last-16 tie. [BBC]