Murkowski concedes to Miller in Alaska Senate race (The Upshot)

The Upshot – A week after the primary, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski conceded to challenger Joe Miller Tuesday night, becoming the seventh congressional incumbent and fourth Republican to lose a primary challenge this election year. Miller, who was endorsed by Sarah Palin and the Tea Party Express, narrowly defeated Murkowski in last week’s voting. Murkowski’s campaign was hopeful

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Obama: US combat in Iraq over, ‘time to turn page’ (AP)

AP – Claiming no victory, President Barack Obama formally ended the U.S. combat role in Iraq after seven long years of bloodshed, declaring firmly Tuesday night: “It is time to turn the page.” Now, he said, the nation’s most urgent priority must be fixing its own sickly economy.

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New Gulf compensation chief Feinberg lags in processing oil-spill claims (The Newsroom)

The Newsroom – Just over a week ago, when Kenneth Feinberg took over the process for handling damage claims from the Gulf oil spill, he promised to cut through the delays and confusion that applicants faced under the much-maligned BP system.

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Expectations low for round of Mideast talks (AP)

AP – After months of shuttle diplomacy, the Obama administration is set to plunge into a new round of Mideast peacemaking, bringing Israeli and Palestinian leaders together for face-to-face talks for the first time in nearly two years.

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Deja vu: 5 ex-governors in comeback bids (AP)

AP – In an election year of the angry electorate, former governors in five states are hoping that a deja vu appeal sells better than the anti-establishment pitch.

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Republicans gain historic lead in generic congressional poll (The Upshot)

The Upshot – Republicans hold a 10-point lead over Democrats in Gallup’s most recent generic congressional survey, the Republicans’ largest margin over Democrats in six decades of this particular Gallup poll. Registered voters expressed a preference for a generic Republican over a generic Democrat for Congress 51 percent to 41 percent. This is the fifth week in a

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Does it matter that Glenn Beck is a Mormon? (The Week)

The Week – Beck appears to be moving toward becoming a Christian leader. So what if his target audience doesn’t recognize him as a Christian?

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Obama‘s Iraq Address: Afghan War Looms Large over Speech (Time.com)

Time.com – Iraq’s fate is far from settled, Afghanistan is going badly and the Dems would rather the President show he’s focused on a sagging economy

Obama‘s Iraq Address: Afghan War Looms Large over Speech
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Obama to honor troops as Iraq combat mission ends (AP)

AP – As President Barack Obama prepares to officially end the lengthy and divisive U.S. combat operation in Iraq, he’ll personally thank some of the soldiers who fought there for their service to a mission he forcefully opposed from the start.

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Kill Switch on Hold for Gulf Oil Well

Environmentalists will be disappointed with the news today regarding the destructive Gulf of Mexico oil well. The final “kill” plan that was supposed to completely seal of the well has been put on hold due to certain concerns that have arisen.

Since its explosion in April, the well has cause massive economic and environmental issues for the U.S. and Gulf coast residents. BP, the owner of the rig, has been battling to shut down the well and provide relief to the residents at the same time. Last month a temporary sealing cap was installed and since then no oil has leaked through. The final phase of permanently sealing the well by using the cap was to have begun by this time.

The plan for the “kill” switch was to drill an intercept well; this would then be used to pump “mud” (a heavy drilling fluid) and cement in-between the layers of the temporary cap. The result was expected to be a permanent fix to the leaking well. However, suspicions have arisen as to whether oil coul have leaked into the space where the mud and cement were supposed to go. If this is so, then pumping the mix in with the oil could not only fail to set a permanent cap, it could also cause a high pressure zone which would then break the cap and bring everything back to square one.

A study is now underway to determine if there is any oil trapped within the cap and also to determine what course of action should be taken if it is found to be so.

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