HOT TOPICS: Tuesday, July 3, 2007

HOT TOPICS: Tuesday, July 3, 2007 Here are just some of the hot topics in the news today that are stirring up conversation.  Please let us know in the comment thread below if you would like to write about any of the following topics or would like to pursue another current event.  If you post to the appropriate Essential, we will be on the lookout for your article and you will have a chance to be featured on the homepage.  

Please note that Hot Topics will take a hiatus for the 4^th of July holiday, and will return on Thursday, July 5^th.  Have a great and safe holiday everyone! 

News/Politics Essential 

President Bush commuted the 2 ½ year prison sentence of Scooter Libby, saying that the punishment was too harsh.  Libby is still stuck with a tainted record and a $250,000 fine.  This leaves Libby as the highest-ranking White House official to be convicted of a crime since the Iran-Contra affair.  What are your thoughts on this last minute save? 

John McCain has laid off over a dozen of his staff due to financial troubles in raising money for his campaign. 

An Indian doctor has been arrested in Australia, and is believed to be connected to the attempted car bombings in London and Glasgow, Scotland. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin met with President Bush in Kennebunkport, Maine yesterday, where they discussed a Russian-proposed alternative to the planned missile defense shield.  Putin’s next stop will be Guatamala, where he will lobby for the 2014 Winter Olympics to be held in Sochi, on the Black Sea. 

Charles Taylor, the former Liberian president, appeared in court today for the first time since the start of his trial for atrocities committed during Sierra Leone’s civil war. 

News Essential 

Fidelity National Information Services announced that an employee of a subsidiary stole 2.3 million consumer records containing credit card, bank account and other personal information.  The information was sold to several direct marketing companies, but the data was not used in identity theft or other fraudulent activity. 

Music Essential 

Opera soprano and arts advocate Beverly Sills has died at the age of 78. 

Movies 

The Transformers and License to Wed open in theaters.  If you brave the holiday crowds, let the rest of us know if we should as well. 

In a promotional tie-in with The Simpsons movie, 7-Eleven has turned a dozen stores into Kwik-E-Marts, the fictional convenience store on the popular cartoon show.  

On This Day In History:  

News/Politics Essential 

In 1775, George Washington takes command of the Continental Army in Cambridge, MA. 

In 1863, the Battle of Gettysburg ended. 

Music Essential 

In 1971 , rock singer Jim Morrison of The Doors died in Paris at age 27. 

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