The Daily Tar Heel
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The Daily Tar Heel

ON THE WIRE


California relaxes marijuana law

The grass is definitely greener in California — the state is currently considering legalizing marijuana, and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger recently signed a bill changing possession of the drug from a misdemeanor to an infraction.


Obama talks to college journalists

President Barack Obama talked to 100 college journalists in a teleconference from his Oval office today. The Daily Tar Heel was one of the newspapers invited to dial in to the conference. Here are some of the main points from Obama’s 45-minute conference call: - The administration is trying to make college more affordable by changing the way federal loans are administered. - He is working with legislators to get the DREAM Act approved. - College students need to participate in this year’s elections at the same level they did in 2008. - The administration is going to work on making sure universities are putting their tuition increases in areas that need them the most. - Students can also now stay on their parent’s health insurance plan until they turn 26.


Colbert testifies in Congressional hearing

Stephen Colbert, the satirical conservative talk show host has taken on a new role — expert on migrant farm labor. Colbert recently went before Congress to testify about the day he spent picking beans and packing corn with migrant farm workers as part of the United Farm Workers “Take Our Jobs” campaign. The day had a lasting effect on Colbert, who now says he “breaks into a sweat at the sight of a salad bar”. Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-San Jose, invited Colbert to testify because she also spent a day working alongside Colbert and the migrant workers. Reactions from members of Congress have been mixed on Colbert’s recent testimony.


MUR-KOW-SKI — a spelling test on the ballot?

Incumbent Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski is trying to win re-election as a write-in candidate. The problem, besides the fact that write-in candidates have a slim chance of winning, is that Alaska requires voters to spell the name of the write-in candidate correctly for the vote to count.


Stewart and Colbert organize rallies

If you watch the Daily Show with John Stewart then you know that he and Stephen Colbert have decided to have dueling political rallies at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. on October 30. On the Daily Show, after showing clips of Lady Gag and extremists that have been in the news, Stewart asked why we don’t hear from 70 to 80 percent of the moderate citizens.


Lady Gaga pushes for repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

Lady Gaga is using her superstar status to further a cause she strongly believes in. For weeks now, Gaga has been actively campaigning for the repeal of the military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy. Gaga has used her world tour as an outlet in her fight to end discriminatory actions against the gay community.


Burr pulls ahead of Marshall

Sen. Richard Burr’s once narrow lead is beginning to open up, new polling finds. After Burr released the race’s first campaign-funded ad, “Front Porch”, the incumbent’s lead has more than doubled in every poll.


Big night for Tea Party candidates

Tonight’s primaries have so far proved to be another successful night for Tea Party candidates. In Delaware, Tea Party favorite Christine O’Donnell won the bid for the Senate seat once held by Vice President Joe Biden, and in New York, another Tea-Party-backed candidate Carl Paladino, defeated former Congressman Rick Lazio.


Google instant — useful or annoying?

Last week Google launched a new search feature — Google Instant, which gives suggestions as the user is entering the query and then gives results before the user finishes typing. Using Google Instant reduces one’s search time by three to five seconds. Before Google Instant, the average search process took about twenty-five seconds, according a Google press release. We talked to experts and students on campus to see how exactly this feature functions and how users feel about it.


Liberal arts majors could see a decline

Students nationwide might be erring on the side of practicality by straying away from liberal arts majors during the economic downturn, but that is not the case at UNC. The American Political Science Association discussed the trend at their conference last week, but Sarah Treul, an advisor and a political science professor at UNC, confirmed that political science is still one the most popular majors at UNC.


Tea Party movement strengthens

Another Tea Party rally in Washington, D.C. Sunday, put the spotlight on hundreds of disgruntled citizens — again. Because these rallies seem to be getting more popular everyday, we interviewed experts to see exactly what the movement represents and how they’re going to influence the elections in Novembers. We also tried to look for Tea Party supporters on campus, but only found sympathizers.