US News - News May 6, 2011

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Sony to offer a year of ID theft protection in wake of PSN / Qriocity hack (examiner)
We've been waiting for the other shoe to drop, as more and more damning evidence emerged (and finally admitted by Sony) that credit card numbers were accessed in the PlayStation Network (PSN) / Qriocity hack. Although Sony continues to say there is no evidence any of the stolen credit card numbers have been used fraudulently, it has finally come through and is offering its users ID theft protection.

SACOM report details Chinese workers' anti-suicide pacts, overtime, more (examiner)
It was reported in mid-2010, in the wake of numerous suicides at Foxconn's Shenzhen plant, that Foxconn had required workers to sign a no-suicide "pact" [although that was reported to have later been rescinded]. Now a new report by the Daily Mail has delved into the details of the no-suicide clause.

Al Qaeda's Prognosis (foreignaffairs)
What will the death of Osama bin Laden mean for the future of al Qaeda? The terrorist organization may be dealt a crippling blow by bin Laden's loss, but the larger Islamist terrorist network will surely survive his death.

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Say Hey: It's the 80th Birthday of All-Time Great Willie Mays (huliq)
Undeniably, he is one of the greatest players of all time, and to many, he is the greatest ever: Willie Mays is 80 years old today.

8 In 10 Say Economy In Poor Shape (TheBostonChannel)
More than 80 percent of Americans surveyed say the economy is in poor shape, with unemployment still the public's top concern, according to the latest CNN/Opinion Research Corp.

U.S. Payrolls Grew 244,000 in April; Unemployment at 9% (bloomberg)
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke speaks about the outlook for Fed monetary policy, the impact of ending the central bank's $600 billion bond-buying program on financial markets and the U.S. economy.

Al-Qaeda confirms bin Laden's death, threatens more attacks on Americans (content.usatoday)
Al-Qaeda has confirmed Osama bin Laden's death in an Internet statement, The Associated Press reports.

S&P 500 CEO pay averages $9M in 2010 (chicagotribune)
In the boardroom, it's as if the Great Recession never happened. CEOs at the nation's largest companies were paid better last year than they were in 2007, when the economy was booming, the stock market set a record high and unemployment was roughly half what it is today. The typical pay package for the head of a company in the Standard & Poor's 500 was $9 million in 2010, according to an analysis by The Associated Press using data provided by Equilar, an executive compensation research firm. That was 24 percent higher than a year earlier, reversing two years of declines.

Employment in U.S. Likely Slowed as Companies Cut Spending (bloomberg)
The pace of hiring in the U.S. probably cooled in April as companies curbed spending in the face of rising raw-material costs, economists said ahead of a government report today. Payrolls rose by 185,000 workers last month compared with a 216,000 advance in March, according to the median forecast of 86 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. The jobless rate may have held at 8.8 percent.

Debt Ceiling Talks: What They Really Mean (WMTW)
The formal negotiations over the nation's debt have begun. On Thursday, Vice President Biden and a bipartisan group of six lawmakers had their first meeting to work out a framework for long-term debt reduction.

Biggest Profit Gain Since 1900 Sustains S&P 500 After Rally (bloomberg)
American International Group Inc., the New York-based insurer bailed out by U.S. taxpayers, has posted the biggest turnaround since March 2009.

Obama to push energy plan at Allison plant (ibj)
President Barack Obama is pushing his national energy plan with a tour of an Indianapolis transmission plant. Obama plans to tour the Allison Transmission plant and meet with workers Friday. It will be his fifth trip to Indiana since becoming president.

Obama Visits Firehouse in Midtown Manhattan (nytimes)
For Firefighter Joseph Ceravolo, President Obama turned up the heat, so to speak, even before he sat down to an early lunch on Thursday.

President Obama to meet with Navy SEALS who sent Osama Bin Laden to watery grave (nydailynews)
The heroic Navy SEALs who sent Osama Bin Laden to his watery grave will finally get a hero's welcome home Friday from President Obama.

New York's 9/11 Memorial Will Connect Names to Relationships Among Victims (bloomberg)
The National Sept. 11 Memorial & Museum to be created at New York 's World Trade Center has set the arrangement of 2,982 names of victims who perished in two separate attacks on the Twin Towers, at the Pentagon and on an airplane that crashed in Pennsylvania.