A.M. Links: Charlie Rangel, Orrin Hatch Survive Primary Challenges, Assad Says Syria in "Real State of War," Obama the Favorite in Alien Invasion

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  • Charlie Rangel survived a primary challenge in a redrawn district in New York City, virtually securing a 22nd term in Congress. Senator Orrin Hatch survived a primary challenge as well, and will likely become the Senate Pro Tempore and 3rd in line to the presidency if he wins in November. Hatch once ran for president, briefly, in 2000.

  • Bashar Assad swore in a new cabinet, telling them they "live in a real state of war from all angles" and that "all policies and all sides and all sectors need to be directed at winning this war." Syria's been embroiled in violence since protests there first started about sixteen months ago, during the so-called Arab Spring.
  • A Louisiana businessman will likely plead guilty to trying to bribe an elected official believed to be the former mayor Ray Nagin.
  • A patent dispute is keeping Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 off U.S. store shelves for now; Apple argues the tablet looks "indistinguishable" from an iPad. Except that it's obviously not an iPad?
  • CNN registered its lowest primetime ratings in its 21 year history in the last quarter.
  • A National Geographic Channel survey found that 79 percent of Americans think the government's keeping secrets about UFOs and 55 percent think something like the men in black are real.  The survey found 36 percent of Americans believed UFOs existed and one in ten thinks they've spotted one. 22 percent of Americans would befriend an alien if they met one while 2 percent would try to inflict bodily harm. By a nearly two to one margin they think Barack Obama would do better in an alien invasion. Paul Krugman, of course, thinks we'd all be better for one.
  • The BCS finally approved a seeded playoff system. Two bowls will act as semi-final games with a national championship to follow. The new system will start in the 2014 college football season and last 12 years.

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