MEDIA LEAD SHEET/APRIL 7, 2008 ISSUE (on newsstands Monday, March 31). To book correspondents, contact Brenda Velez at 212-445-4078—Brenda.Velez@Newsweek.com —or LaVenia LaVelle at 212-445-4859—LaVenia.LaVelle@Newsweek.com. Articles are posted on www.Newsweek.com.
COVER: “Womb For Rent” (p. 44). Senior Writer Lorraine Ali and Associate Editor Raina Kelley report that despite a history of controversy, surrogacy is on the rise in the United States. At the high end, industry experts estimate there were about 1,000 surrogate births in the U.S. last year, while the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology counted about 260 in 2006, a 30 percent increase over three years. A large number of the women who have turned to surrogacy are military wives looking to supplement the family income while their husbands are serving overseas. These women can earn more with one pregnancy than their husbands’ annual base pay (which ranges for new enlistees from $16,080 to $28,900). Surrogacies have also risen because of technological advancements that have made them safer and more likely to succeed. Clinics now boast a 70 to 90 percent pregnancy success rate—up 40 percent in the past decade. The great majority of clinics can now test embryos for genetic diseases before implantation.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/129594
THE MONEY CULTURE: “Today’s ‘Culture of Poverty’” (p. 18). Senior Writer and Columnist Daniel Gross writes that social scientists, policy wonks and politicians for decades have studied and debated what’s come to be known as the culture of poverty. “We don’t hear as much about the culture of poverty these days. Perhaps it’s because the market turmoil is making us all feel a little poorer. Or perhaps it’s because a highly visible group is now exhibiting all the outward appearances of the underclass: the overclass. Forget welfare queens and the culture of poverty. Think Wall Street kings and the culture of affluence,” he writes.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/129681
NATION: “The World According To John McCain” (p. 26). Senior Editor Michael Hirsh reports on the two sides of John McCain’s personality. There’s the pragmatist: worldly-wise and witty, determined to follow the facts to the exclusion of ideology—a man willing to defy his own party and forge compromise, even with liberals like Ted Kennedy and John Kerry. And then there is the zealous advocate, single-minded about pressing his cause, sometimes erupting in outrage at detractors and willing to stand alone—without any allies at all, if need be. And sometimes these two McCains—the crusader and the pragmatist—have combined to make him a powerful and leaderly force for change, which seems to be what Americans want now.
<http://www.newsweek.com/id/129660>
Interview with John McCain:
<http://www.newsweek.com/id/129661>
“A Complicated Record on Race” (p. 34). Special Correspondent Dahlia Lithwick reports on Barack Obama’s unique stance on race and affirmative action. Ward Connerly, a prominent opponent of affirmative action, says affirmative action “is probably the most difficult race issue [Obama] will have to face.” If the candidate denounces affirmative action, Connerly predicts, “his support among blacks will plummet from around 80 to 50 percent. Then, bear in mind that much of his support in Iowa, Vermont and Wyoming came from white males, who by a margin of 70 to 30 [percent] oppose affirmative action.” The challenge is made all the more difficult by Obama’s well-polished reputation for fresh thinking: this, some say, is a perfect chance for him to break with the liberal orthodoxy.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/129584
“The New Super Tuesday” (p. 36). Miami Bureau Chief Arian Campo-Flores and Reporter Sarah Kliff report on the importance of the May 6 primaries in Indiana and North Carolina. Though the next big primary is in Pennsylvania on April 22, the real turning point in the campaign could be the May 6 contests. Since most observers fully expect Clinton to carry Pennsylvania, a win there may not do much to sway uncommitted Democratic superdelegates, who will be key to deciding the nominee. If Clinton wins both May 6 contests, she could argue that momentum has shifted decisively in her favor and silence calls for her to step aside. If Obama prevails, it could be his best chance to persuade superdelegates to end the race early.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/129585
JONATHAN ALTER: “The Tales Hillary Tells” (p. 37). Senior Editor and Columnist Jonathan Alter writes that Hillary Clinton’s oft-told story about ducking sniper fire on the tarmac in Tuzla “tells us something about her insecurities and frustrations, which in turn helps explain why she’s losing.” “While Hillary is not generally an insecure person, she is highly defensive about [her record as the First Lady of Arkansas and the U.S.] Without it, she would have only seven years (her Senate career) of public service to cite. Hillary’s ‘movie’ of her own life, and of her presidential campaign, is dependent on those years seeming as meaningful as possible,” he writes. An assault on their importance, such as Barack Obama’s remarks belittling her travel to 80 countries as the First Lady, cuts deep.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/129587
INTERNATIONAL: “The Opium Brides of Afghanistan” (p. 38). Afghanistan Correspondent Sami Yousafzai and South Asia Bureau Chief Ron Moreau report on Afghan “loan brides”—daughters given in marriage by fathers who have no other way out of debt. The practice began with the dowry a bridegroom’s family traditionally pays to the bride’s father in tribal Pashtun society. These days the amount ranges from $3,000 or so in poorer places like Laghman and Nangarhar to $8,000 or more in Helmand, Afghanistan’s No. 1 opium-growing province. The government’s stepped up effort to eradicate poppy crops has hurt many poor farmers financially, many of whom cannot repay debts and have had to take drastic measures to survive. The new brides vary in age and include children as young as 5 years old; until they’re old enough to consummate their marriages, they mostly work as household servants for their in-laws.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/129577
“All in the Family” (p. 41). Baghdad Bureau Chief Babak Dehghanpisheh and Baghdad Correspondent Larry Kaplow report on how the renewed violence in Iraq has devolved into an intra-Shiite blood feud. By the end of last week, at least 100 Iraqis had been killed in battles between the Moqtada al-Sadr’s Mahdi Army and the Iraqi government’s security forces, which are dominated by Sadr’s blood enemies, the Hakim family and their loyalists. Although U.S. and Iraqi officials portrayed the fighting as a showdown between a lawful government and criminal gangs, the feud dates back before the fall of Saddam Hussein.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/129579
MOVIES “Fun With Mick & Keith” (p. 55). Senior Editor David Ansen reviews Martin Scorsese’s dynamite concert film about the Rolling Stones entitled “Shine a Light.” Ansen writes, “This movie is about giving us a privileged glimpse of the Stones in action. It’s a record of an astonishing musical chemistry that has been evolving, with no signs of calcification, for nearly five decades.”
http://www.newsweek.com/id/129580
TIP SHEET: “Employers Aren’t Biting” (p. 59). Contributing Editor Linda Stern provides tips and advice from career coaches on finding a new job during challenging economic times. Although the job market is deteriorating just as a generation of workers is looking to move up a rung, it is possible to survive. Some of the tips include updating your approach, whether it involves customizing a résumé for one position or updating your skills and expertise for a field, as well as paying attention to fields that are growing. Tenacity and patience will also help a job seeker. Five O’Clock Club founder Kate Wendleton tells jobseekers to put more time into researching and targeting specific companies and jobs, even if they’re not advertising any openings.
http://www.blog.newsweek.com/blogs/tipsheet/default.aspx
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