When did USAToday start being a real newspaper?

I don't know when it happened, but somewhere in the last few years, USA Today has become sort of a real newspaper. My memory is from six or seven years ago when the brightly colored rag would appear at my hotel room door, containing articles no longer than three paragraphs, with no big words and lots of pictures/graphs.

But over the last couple of years, maybe longer, I have put USA Today's top headlines in my Yahoo news, and over time, I've noticed that their stories have gotten longer and their in house reporting has gotten pretty good. In this era of newspapers becoming less and less, I've been pleasantly surprised that USA Today has been offering more.

Here's what got the mention today, a fairly detailed article about the reduction in rebuilding projects in Iraq.

But there are signs that some of the early momentum is gone, particularly for big infrastructure projects. The Ministry of Municipalities and Public Works initially planned to use U.S. funds for 81 much-needed water and sewage treatment projects across the country, says Humam Misconi, a ministry official. That list has dwindled to 13.

Canceled projects include the $50 million project that was supposed to provide potable water to the second-largest city in the Kurdish region, and a $60 million water treatment plant in Babil province, which would have served about 360,000 residents, Misconi says. .....

Nearly half of all of Iraqi households still don't have access to clean water, and only 8% of the country, excluding the capital, is connected to sewage networks.

And despite progress in fixing Iraq's antiquated oil production system, the country's oil wells produce about 1.9 million barrels of crude oil a day, lower than 2003 levels and well under the 3.5 million barrels Iraq was producing before the 1991 Gulf War.

Gulf War

Iraqi households still endure about 10 hours a day of power outages. In Baghdad, the power is out about 14 hours a day, according to the Electricity Ministry. Iraqi power plants are now generating nearly 4,800 megawatts, up from 4,400 before the U.S.-led invasion.

I mean, this article is huge, detailed, combines info from many sources. It's real, good reporting. Way to grow up USA Today.

Also a very good detailed piece on the rising power and defiance of Iran, Venezuela, and Russia brought on by their increased influence due to rising oil prices.