The following stories are brought to you by the fine folks on the News 4 assignment desk.
BEST JULY FOR DOW IN 20 YEARS
New hope for the economy just gave the stock market its best July in 20 years. Investors placed big bets over the last month that the profit machine at U.S. companies will continue to rev higher, and that the longest recession since World War II is finally easing its grip. If that turns out to be wrong, the huge gains of July means there will be an even bigger price to pay if companies don't deliver. The Dow surged 725 points, or 8.6 percent, for the month, with most of the gains arriving in bursts in the final 15 days. The extraordinary run shaped July into the best month for the blue chips since October 2002 and the best July since 1989. (MSNBC)
PALIN A NO-SHOW YET AGAIN
OH QUELLE SURPRISE, as they say in the lower 48! Once again the famous Alaskan quitter Sarah Palin will be a no-show at some major event where the organizers thought she was going to be a very special guest. Just a few weeks ago, the Republican Women Federated of Simi Valley, a group in suburban Los Angeles, revealed that Palin would attend their 50th anniversary gala on August 8. But even as they made the announcement, the women's group should have known they were just being set up for more disappointment. "The Alaska governor's office did not respond to e-mail or phone messages," reported the Associated Press.
(NBC Washington)
RUDY TO OBAMA: "SHUT UP"
Rudy Giuliani, who has returned as a leading Republican spokesman, condemned Obama's health care plan in an interview with Sean Hannity. He also offered, in response to the president's hope that the Gates arrest would be a "teachable moment," this: "He's actually right. It is teachable. Here's the lesson: Shut up." (Politico)
GATES GIVES FLOWERS TO 911 CALLER
Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. has sent a bouquet of flowers and a note to the woman whose 911 call led to his arrest earlier this month. Wendy Murphy, attorney and spokeswoman for Lucia Whalen, said today that Gates had sent her client a bouquet of flowers as an "expression of gratitude.'' Murphy, who is not a gardener, said she believed it was a bouquet of tulips. The flowers came with a note from Gates, the contents of which Murphy would not disclose. "[Whalen] said that she really appreciated it,'' Murphy said. "She's been getting a lot of apologies and people have been saying nice things." (Boston Globe)
