Today's News Highlights 10.04.11

TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS
Perry’s complicated record on matters of race
Defenders cite his appointing minorities to top positions, but others say the Texas governor has a long history of engaging in racially tinged tactics and rhetoric to gain a political edge.
(By Amy Gardner)

Obama warned not to visit Solyndra
A top fundraiser and federal officials warned that President Obama might later be embarrassed if he made a high-profile visit to Solyndra in 2010.
(By Carol D. Leonnig and Joe Stephens)

Where all the CEOS are above average
Kevin W. Sharer’s company isn’t making money for shareholders, but he still gets hefty raises because of a pay-setting approach known as “peer benchmarking.”
(By Peter Whoriskey)

Italy appeals court clears Knox and her co-defendant of murder convictions
PERUGIA, Italy — An Italian appeals court has thrown out Amanda Knox’s murder conviction and ordered the young American free after nearly four years in prison for the death of her British roommate.
(By Associated Press)

Chris Christie’s bouts of doubt
The New Jersey governor’s musings about whether he is ready to be president may be the biggest obstacle to his potential candidacy in 2012.
(By Perry Bacon Jr.)

NATION
Panetta: U.S. seeking release of Israeli-American Ilan Grapel
Defense secretary says officials have been urging Egypt to free a dual U.S.-Israeli citizen accused of spying for Israel.
( by Craig Whitlock , The Washington Post)

Three win Nobel for medicine
One of the recipients of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine died Friday. Rules for the prize stipulate that recipients must be living.
( by David Brown , The Washington Post)

State Department spending warrants closer look
The fiscal 2012 appropriations bill for the State Department should warrant a look at what some programs do and don’t accomplish.
(, The Washington Post)

‘Our Bodies, Ourselves’ turns 40
“Our Bodies, Ourselves” taught women about sexuality and reproductive health. The book has turned 40.
( by Stefanie Weiss , The Washington Post)

Churches help members stay healthy
An innovative program in Memphis keeps church members healthy while reducing health-care costs.
(, The Washington Post)

METRO
Ben’s Chili Bowl closes for a week for repairs
Washington is on a week-long hiatus from Ben’s Chili Bowl because of plumbing work that began Monday at the U Street dining institution.
( by Annys Shin , The Washington Post)

Montgomery weighs development plan
County Council is set to take a key vote Tuesday on a plan that would help create small, walkable cities in traditionally suburban areas.
( by Victor Zapana , The Washington Post)

Fed Faces: Nicolas Luco
Nicolas Luco, a USGS earthquake engineer, works to strengthen building codes and designs.
(, The Washington Post)

Acceptional mistakes
Ladies and gentlemen, start your dictionaries. It’s time for another typo roundup.
(, The Washington Post)

Fairfax water wars heat up
Falls Church accuses Fairfax County of a power grab in a long-running water war.
( by Fredrick Kunkle , The Washington Post)

POLITICS
A mountain of mail for Congress
A report finds that the volume of constituent messages to Congress has skyrocketed, but Hill offices have not been able to add staff to deal with it.
( by Ben Pershing , The Washington Post)

Perry slips, Cain rises in bid for GOP nomination, poll finds
After a quick rise in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, Texas Gov. Rick Perry has experienced an equally dramatic decline, losing roughly half his support over the past month, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.
( by Dan Balz and Jon Cohen , The Washington Post)

Making buildings more earthquake resistant
For USGS engineer Nicolas Luco, earthquakes are literally a family business.
( by The Partnership for Public Service , The Washington Post)

VA faulted on mental health resources
A survey of Veterans Affairs health workers finds that more than 70 percent of respondents think the department lacks the staff and space to meet the mental health needs of veterans.
( by Steve Vogel , The Washington Post)

Bleak picture for Social Security
Potential Social Security Administration budget cuts would result in significant declines in service for the nation’s growing elderly and disabled population.
(, The Washington Post)

STYLE
You can’t order kids off a menu
He wants two kids — a boy and a girl — and she’s afraid she might be “barren.”
(, The Washington Post)

Clinton gang gets together again
Scores of former aides gathered in Little Rock last weekend to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Bill Clinton announcing his presidential candidacy.
( by Jason Horowitz , The Washington Post)

Touré on ‘post-blackness’
The writer and culture critic, headed to D.C. on a book tour, scoffs at being “black enough.” Clarence Thomas, in other words, is no less black than Jay-Z.
( by J. Freedom du Lac in CAMBRIDGE, MASS. , The Washington Post)

Theater review: Studio’s ‘Lungs’
Duncan Macmillan’s “Lungs” is a bracingly dramatic walk through the thicket of couples-communication.
( by Peter Marks , The Washington Post)

Finding magic in science
Richard Dawkins, the biologist who wrote “The God Delusion,” has a new book targeted to 12-year-olds. It’s about science, he says, and is “not anti-religion.”
( by Sally Quinn , The Washington Post)

SPORTS
TV and radio listings: Oct. 4

(, The Washington Post)

Bonner is big for Reservoir
All-Met senior Colin Bonner scored a goal and set up another to lead the Gators to a 2-1 victory over River Hill.
( by Paul Tenorio , The Washington Post)

Texas holds off Tampa Bay
The Rays fall behind 2-1 in the best-of-five series, after a few moments of weakness by starter David Price, and a full-throttle collapse by a pair of relievers.
( by Amy Shipley , The Washington Post)

Shanahan: Redskins must continue improving
Record of 3-1 at the bye is pleasing, but team wants to play its best at the end of the season, coach says.
( by Rick Maese , The Washington Post)

For Redskins, a new set of questions
COLUMN | At 3-1, the Redskins can enjoy the bye week, but they shouldn’t make playoff plans just yet.
(, The Washington Post)

WORLD
Panetta: U.S. seeking release of Israeli-American Ilan Grapel
Defense secretary says officials have been urging Egypt to free a dual U.S.-Israeli citizen accused of spying for Israel.
( by Craig Whitlock , The Washington Post)

State Department spending warrants closer look
The fiscal 2012 appropriations bill for the State Department should warrant a look at what some programs do and don’t accomplish.
(, The Washington Post)

Karzai accuses Pakistan of supporting terrorists
Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Pakistan is essentially using the Taliban to fight a proxy war in his country.
( by Joshua Partlow , The Washington Post)

Egyptian activists angry over deal between political parties, military
A number of activists and politicians on Monday denounced an agreement signed by 13 political parties and the country’s military chiefs.
( by Leila Fadel , The Washington Post)

Egyptian activists angry over deal between political parties, military
A number of activists and politicians on Monday denounced an agreement signed by 13 political parties and the country’s military chiefs.
( by Leila Fadel , The Washington Post)

LIVE DISCUSSIONS
Ask Boswell
Sports Columnist Tom Boswell will take your questions about baseball, the Redskins, the Wizards and more.
(, vForum)

ComPost Live with Alexandra Petri
The Compost, written by Alexandra Petri, offers a lighter take on the news and political in(s)anity of the day.
(, vForum)

Opinion Focus with Eugene Robinson
Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson discusses his recent columns and the latest news in a live Q&A.
(, vForum)

Debt Ceiling drama: Why Jonathan Capehart thinks your voice needs to be heard
In his Post-Partisan blog post today, Opinion writer Jonathan Capehart said that "Folks should be marching on the Capitol" in protest of the way the debt issue is being handled. Do you agree?
(, vForum)

Chatological Humor: Monthly with Moron
Gene Weingarten takes polls and chats about his recent columns.
(, vForum)

TECHNOLOGY
Wal-Mart, T-Mobile offer cheap prepaid plan
T-Mobile, known for being a low-cost retailer, has pushed its prepaid market hard.
( by Hayley Tsukayama , The Washington Post)

Security flaw on HTC phones alleged
Security problems with HTC devices exposed
( by Hayley Tsukayama , The Washington Post)

Apple’s iPhone 5 buzz hits high before event
The latest rumor, fittingly, has us back where we started: there’s a lot of late speculation that the next iPhone will be a refreshed iPhone 4.
( by Hayley Tsukayama , The Washington Post)

Yahoo, ABC News to co-run news sites
The news partnership will produce content for the Web, and provide more Web-first programming and content.
( by Hayley Tsukayama , The Washington Post)

EDITORIAL
Christie’s temper
His belligerence isn’t presidential.
(, The Washington Post)

D.C. in the weeds
Questions about how Washington does business under Mayor Gray.
( by Editorial , The Washington Post)

Israeli-Palestinian posturing
When a yes means no.
( by Editorial , The Washington Post)

Will Mormonism matter?
It may bother liberals more than conservatives.
(, The Washington Post)

An honest concern about the Fed

(, The Washington Post)

BUSINESS
FHFA faulted for delay of probes
The Federal Housing Finance Agency, the regulator overseeing mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, has missed multiple opportunities to investigate and stop abusive practices by law firms that were foreclosing on homeowners on behalf of Fannie, according to its inspector general.
( by Zachary A. Goldfarb , The Washington Post)

U.S. reaffirms Chukchi Sea oil lease sale
The Obama administration said Monday that it would honor the December 2008 lease sale that the Bush administration held for oil exploration in 2.8 million acres of the Chukchi Sea off the northwest coast of Alaska.
( by Steven Mufson , The Washington Post)

Congress taking aim at China’s currency
A prolonged slump in jobs is putting greater pressure on U.S. politicians to challenge China.
( by Steven Mufson , The Washington Post)

A CEO’s pay-setting friends
As at many firms, Amgen’s CEO has personal and business connections to members of the board of directors who are supposed to oversee him and set his pay
(, The Washington Post)

Where all the CEOS are above average
Kevin W. Sharer’s company isn’t making money for shareholders, but he still gets hefty raises because of a pay-setting approach known as “peer benchmarking.”
( by Peter Whoriskey , The Washington Post)