LABEL DISPUTES FOR CIGARETTES, “JERSEY SHORE”

Tuesday’s debt talks between Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy appear not to have eased concerns about the economy in Europe, where shares slid on Wednesday. Republicans in the Wisconsin State Senate hung onto their majority—barely—after a week of recall votes. And five U.S. tobacco companies are suing the federal government, claiming that new graphic cigarette labels violate their freedom of speech.
To read: Letters made available by U.K. investigators that call into question James Murdoch’s testimony from July and suggest a coverup of widespread phone hacking. (Read Amy Davidson on the letters.) The former police commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson, meanwhile, has been cleared of any misconduct by an independent investigation.
To stay AAA: Fitch’s credit rating for the United States.
To join John Wayne: Elvis Presley, on the list of subjects of Michele Bachmann gaffes. She wished the King a happy birthday yesterday—the anniversary not of his birth, but his death.
To tell you what to read: BookLamp, a recommendation engine that is like a Pandora for books.
To tell him what to wear: Abercrombie and Fitch has offered Michael (The Situation) Sorrentino of MTV’s “Jersey Shore” a “substantial payment” not to sport its brand.