Newser Premium News Archive Index
Newser Stories from February, 2008

Within this archive you´ll find more than 1.5 million premium articles from our content partner, Highbeam Research, dating from as far back as 1984. These pages provide a deep news history of the last three decades along with more current related Newser articles.

Premium news related to Sharks Take Bite Out of Wings
Associated Press | Feb 29, 08 11:42 PM CST
(Newser) - Dominik Hasek returned from a three-week layoff thanks to a hip injury, and was greeted with a goal by Joe Pavelski on the first shot he faced in a 3-2 home loss to San Jose. Rookie Devin Setoguchi, called up from the minors on Thursday, had the Sharks' other two goals as they won their fourth straight on their road trip.

Premium news related to Bosh Hurt; Raptors Lose to Indy
Associated Press | Feb 29, 08 10:44 PM CST
(Newser) - Mike Dunleavy had 36 points and Indiana used a 10-2 run late in the third to pull away from Toronto, 122-111. The biggest loss tonight for the Raptors wasn't the game but that of Chris Bosh, who left in the first quarter with a sore right knee. Currently fourth in the East, Toronto was led by Andrea Bargnani's 27 points. Elsewhere:

Premium news related to Air Force Picks Foreign Bid to Build Tankers
Los Angeles Times | Feb 29, 08 9:49 PM CST
(Newser) - The Air Force shocked observers yesterday by handing a $40 billion contract to build aerial refueling tankers to a foreign company, the Los Angeles Times reports. Northrop Grumman and Airbus—which plan to build the 179 tankers in France—beat out Washington state's Boeing. Outraged lawmakers from Washington state called the move “a...

Premium news related to Britain Seeks 'Giant' Steps at 2012 Olympics
Daily Telegraph (UK) | Feb 29, 08 8:24 PM CST
(Newser) - A, ahem, heightened push to make Britain's sports teams more competitive by the time London hosts the 2012 Olympics has added 52 new athletes to the country’s handball, rowing, and volleyball squads, the Telegraph reports. The “Sporting Giants” program sought tall applicants—over 6-foot-3 for men and 5-11 for women—from...

Premium news related to Nabokov's Ghost: Make Buck off Laura
Slate | Feb 29, 08 7:59 PM CST
(Newser) - Dmitri Nabokov's decision not to destroy his famed father's unfinished manuscript followed an imagined conversation with Vladimir's ghost, writes Ron Rosenbaum for Slate. Rosenbaum, who sleuthed his way through the "to burn or not to burn" debate, was previously told by Dmitri—who hinted at the book's genius before announcing his intent...

Premium news related to Feds OK Wyeth's New Antidepressant
New York Times | Feb 29, 08 7:41 PM CST
(Newser) - Antidepressant Effexor XR will soon lose patent protection, and maker Wyeth is hoping Pristiq, the successor drug approved today by the FDA, will soften the financial blow. Higher-ups at the company gush over Pristiq's advantages, including zero acclimation time and no liver interaction, and hope that sales will offset losses to generic versions of...

Premium news related to Philip Glass: Trained By Life
Details | Feb 29, 08 7:24 PM CST
(Newser) - Philip Glass paid $30 in rent in 1960s New York City, drove a cab to support his composing, and didn't make a dime on his work until he was 41. "I was trained by life," Glass tells Details of working at the kitchen table while his kids watched TV in the same room. As for creating music in isolation, "you're dreamin'."

Premium news related to Judge Balks at Bonds Indictment
San Francisco Chronicle | Feb 29, 08 7:03 PM CST
(Newser) - The government’s case against Barry Bonds hit a snag today, the San Francisco Chronicle reports, with a judge ruling that it included multiple offenses in four of the counts of perjury in the indictment of baseball's home-run king. The feds must rewrite or re-file the indictment, Judge Susan Illston said in calling them "duplicitous."

Premium news related to Berkshire Hathaway's Q4 Income Off 18%
Wall Street Journal | Feb 29, 08 6:30 PM CST
(Newser) - Citing a decline in gains from insurance underwriting and sluggish investment returns, holding company Berkshire Hathaway said today that fourth-quarter income was off 18%—to $2.95 billion, from $3.58 billion—from a year earlier, the Wall Street Journal reports. Billionaire chairman Warren Buffett snuck in digs at Wall Street and the...

Premium news related to Holocaust Memoir Mostly Fiction: Author
Reuters | Feb 29, 08 6:15 PM CST
(Newser) - A best-selling Holocaust memoir, which follows a 7-year-old Jewish girl who lived with wolves after losing her parents to the Nazis, is mostly fictional, its author confesses—in particular, the parts about the wolves and her being Jewish, Reuters reports. Misha Defonseca says she "always felt Jewish," but, instead of skinning rabbits...

Premium news related to Sprint, AT&T, BofA Faves of Identity Thieves
PC World | Feb 29, 08 5:41 PM CST
(Newser) - Bank of America led as a target for identity thieves in a 2006 sample of FTC complaints, followed closely by AT&T and Sprint. The survey by Berkeley researchers found that half of all complaints involved 25 organizations, mainly banks and telecom companies, reports PC World . There were 88,000 offenses voluntarily reported over three months’...

Premium news related to Pairing Leaves Writer Red-Faced
New York Times | Feb 29, 08 5:25 PM CST
(Newser) - Oysters and red wine? "Why not?" asks Eric Asimov in the New York Times . Wine pairing as a science can drain a meal of its pleasure, while instincts and taste-testing add adventure. After Parisian waiters twice recommended red with a foodie blogger's oysters, Asimov traded the usual suspects (muscadet, Chablis, Champagne) for a lineup of...

Premium news related to Scientist Makes Wonder Material from Rice Husks
Associated Press | Feb 29, 08 5:10 PM CST
(Newser) - Rice husks might be the key to lowering electricity use, bomb-proofing buildings and making products—from airplanes to tennis rackets—lighter. A Malaysian scientist says she’s found a cheap way to create aerogel, the world’s lightest solid, from discarded rice husks. The material combines incredible insulating power and strength...

Premium news related to Clinton Counts on Sisterhood in Ohio
Associated Press | Feb 29, 08 4:55 PM CST
(Newser) - Sitting on a 17% lead among women in Ohio, Hillary Clinton is playing the gender card in an effort to save her presidential bid. She holds a slim overall lead in the state, where her focus on jobs has scored with women in all age and economic brackets. "She has struck a chord with women, especially in Ohio," a strategist tells the AP.

Premium news related to Tech Giants Behave Like Nations
ABC News | Feb 29, 08 4:45 PM CST
(Newser) - A comparison of two of this week’s big tech news stories, the end of an eBay boycott and Google’s announcement of the construction of a new trans-Pacific fiber optic cable, show how the tech giants have moved beyond old corporate paradigms, writes Michael Malone for ABC News. With business models that involve unprecedented consumer participation,...

Premium news related to Putin Pushes for High Turnout
Times (UK) | Feb 29, 08 4:35 PM CST
(Newser) - Even with the outcome all but certain, Vladimir Putin took to the airwaves today to urge Russians to vote in Sunday’s elections. Putin wants to enable his hand-picked presidential successor, Dmitry Medvedev, to claim a strong mandate, so the government is pushing for turnout of at least 65%, the London Times reports. That puts pressure on regional...

Premium news related to Clinton's Black Superdelegates Under Pressure
Kansas City Star | Feb 29, 08 4:25 PM CST
(Newser) - The heat on Hillary Clinton’s black superdelegates is rising, and Rep. Emanuel Cleaver has called on Barack Obama to speak out against “ugly" pressure from his supporters. The Missouri congressman said Clinton’s African-American backers are being "bludgeoned verbally" and told, “You’re not black if you’re...

Premium news related to Paulson Wants to Toss Pennies
Associated Press | Feb 29, 08 4:15 PM CST
(Newser) - Henry Paulson sees little point in pennies and would stop their production if he could, the AP reports. “The penny is worth less than any other currency,” the Treasury Secretary said today in a radio interview. But a sea change in change isn't imminent: Paulson says he has bigger challenges to tackle in the last year of the administration.

Premium news related to 35 Dead in Suicide Bombing at Pakistan Funeral
Associated Press | Feb 29, 08 4:05 PM CST
(Newser) - At least 35 people were killed and at least 60 injured today when a suicide bomber struck a funeral in northwest Pakistan' near the border with Afghanistan, the AP reports. The funeral in the Swat Valley drew 800 mourners for a police official killed today by a roadside bomb in the region, rife with conflict between authorities and pro-Taliban forces.

Premium news related to Previewing What's Next in Social Networks
CNN | Feb 29, 08 3:57 PM CST
(Newser) - What’s next for online social networking? A heavy dose of geography, writes David Kirkpatrick in Fortune ’s Fast Forward . At a real-life meeting for 100 new-media notables in New York, one hot topic was adding location information to user-driven sites so that “not only will you know what someone is doing online, you’ll know...

Premium news related to 10 Senate Seats Likely to Flip
Washington Post | Feb 29, 08 3:55 PM CST
(Newser) - The presidency isn’t the only job up for grabs this November. The Washington Post’ s Chris Cillizza runs down (in order) the Senate seats most likely to flip parties: Ex-Virginia governor Mark Warner (D) is mounting a “sure-thing bid.” The survivor of the New Mexico GOP primary will likely fall to Rep. Tom Udall...

Premium news related to UK Docs Call for Smaller Wine Bottle
Guardian (UK) | Feb 29, 08 3:45 PM CST
(Newser) - Britons are downing too much wine, the British Medical Journal concludes, and it has a solution: smaller bottles. “Once two of us have had a glass each, it’s all too tempting to finish the bottle then and there,” wrote one doctor of the standard 750-mililiter size. One UK supermarket has already announced the introduction of ...

Premium news related to Texas Tops US in CO2 Emissions
Newsweek | Feb 29, 08 3:35 PM CST
(Newser) - Texas—the land of big oil, big agriculture, pickup trucks, wide-open spaces, and little mass transit—not only is the biggest emitter of CO2 among states, it ranks eighth in the world, a new study says. It’s also one of the few states without any climate plan in the works. "Oil companies run the show,” an activist tells...

Premium news related to Clinton Rolls Out 'Nuclear Option' TV Spot
ABC News | Feb 29, 08 3:25 PM CST
(Newser) - Hillary Clinton today debuted an ad hinting at dire consequences of electing a commander in chief who isn’t “tested," ABC News reports. "It's 3am and your children are asleep," a voice says over images of sleeping infants. "There's a phone in the White House, and it's ringing. Something is happening in the world. Your...

Premium news related to Tanking Dow Drops 315 Points
MarketWatch | Feb 29, 08 3:15 PM CST
(Newser) - The Dow lost an incredible 315.79 points today to close at 12,266.39 as AIG reported the biggest losses in its history and bellwether Dell reported a year-over-year fourth-quarter profit decline of 6%. The Nasdaq slipped 60.09 to 2,271.48, and the S&P 500 lost 37.04 to close at 1,330.64.

Premium news related to Man in Critical Condition After Stay in Ricin Room
CNN | Feb 29, 08 3:05 PM CST
(Newser) - A man who stayed in a Las Vegas hotel room where ricin was found yesterday has been hospitalized for 2 weeks after exposure to the toxin and is in critical condition, CNN reports. A friend retrieving his belongings discovered the ricin. "We don't know who it belongs to or why it would be here at this time," said a police captain.

Premium news related to Scandal-Master Courbet Dazzles
Newsday | Feb 29, 08 2:55 PM CST
(Newser) - Parlaying scandal into success may seem a terribly modern ploy, but Gustave Courbet, the subject of a new retrospective at New York's Metropolitan Museum, mastered the art 150 years ago. Courbet, the realist painter and father of modern art, painted both gorgeous, subtle scenes and uglier, intentionally awkward tableaux. They stand side by side in...

Premium news related to Gay Voters Defect as Clinton Falters
Bloomberg | Feb 29, 08 2:45 PM CST
(Newser) - As first lady, Hillary Clinton marched in New York's pride parade and cemented her standing as a defender of gay rights. But her stalwart support in the gay community is waning, Bloomberg reports. Although both Democratic candidates oppose gay marriage and support civil unions, only Barack Obama wants to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act—which...

Premium news related to Why We Have Leap Year
New York Times | Feb 29, 08 2:35 PM CST
(Newser) - It's leap day, and scientist Chris Turner uses his extra time to muse in th e New York Times on its origins. Julius Caesar came up with a plan—pinning the calendar to the Earth's circling of the sun—in 46 BC as a way to synchronize months with the seasons. But one circuit takes 365 days, 5 hours, 49 minutes, creating the need for an...

Premium news related to EPA Dumped Toxicologist at Industry Request
Los Angeles Times | Feb 29, 08 2:25 PM CST
(Newser) - The EPA removed an award-winning toxicologist from a chemical review panel at the urging of the chemical-industry lobby, reports the LA Times . Deborah Rice had previously testified in the Maine legislature that deca, used as a flame retardant in electronics, may have adverse effects on brain development. Lobbyists said her damning testimony disqualified...

Premium news related to Rowling Blasts Unauthorized Spinoff
New York Daily News | Feb 29, 08 2:15 PM CST
(Newser) - As part of her ongoing effort to keep a fan from publishing a Harry Potter encyclopedia, J.K. Rowling is suggesting that the book would violate the wizarding world's moral and ethical standards, reports the New York Daily News . “I am very frustrated that a former fan has tried to co-opt my work for financial gain,” she wrote in a letter...

Premium news related to Afghanistan Is Out of Control: Intel Chief
Guardian (UK) | Feb 29, 08 2:05 PM CST
(Newser) - The 6-year NATO campaign in Afghanistan is failing, the US intelligence chief told the Senate Armed Services Committee this week. Mike McConnell said Harmid Karzai’s US-backed government controls only about 30% of the country, with the Taliban holding another 10%, and the rest under tribal rule. Security, meanwhile, is “deteriorating”...

Premium news related to Penelope: Charmingly Imperfect
Metacritic | Feb 29, 08 1:55 PM CST
(Newser) - Penelope , a romantic fantasy that casts Christina Ricci as a socialite "princess" cursed with a pig's nose, draws mixed reviews. "First-time director Mark Palansky is trying for a deft, hip, modern fairy-tale feel, but the odd material, sprawling story, and complicated tonal balancing act get away from him," writes Tasha Robinson...

Premium news related to Torture Orphanage Yields Shackles
Guardian (UK) | Feb 29, 08 1:38 PM CST
(Newser) - Police found shackles yesterday in a torture chamber beneath a former children’s home on the British island of Jersey where human bones were discovered last week, the Guardian reports. An ongoing investigation of alleged physical and sexual abuse has turned up the remains of one child, and search dogs this week demonstrated an "extremely...

Premium news related to Canadian Pols Call for Bribery Probe
Toronto Star (Canada) | Feb 29, 08 1:15 PM CST
(Newser) - Canadian Liberals are demanding investigations of bribery allegations against Conservative officials, the Toronto Star reports. In 2005, a new book says, two Conservatives approached independent legislator Chuck Cadman, who was suffering from terminal cancer, and offered him a $1 million life insurance policy if he voted to oust PM Paul Martin. Cadman...

Premium news related to Obama Up by 6 in Texas, Down by 2 in Ohio
Reuters | Feb 29, 08 12:53 PM CST
(Newser) - Ahead of Tuesday’s crucial primaries, Barack Obama leads Hillary Clinton in Texas, 48% to 42%, and trails in Ohio, 44% to 42%, Reuters reports. “All the momentum is with Obama,” said pollster John Zogby. “The question is whether she can stem the tide.” In Ohio, Clinton retains strong leads among women, older voters, Democrats,...

Premium news related to Do We Need A New, Safer Internet?
Ars Technica | Feb 29, 08 12:35 PM CST
(Newser) - Online debate exploded after former FBI agent Patrick Dempsey said Wednesday that a second, safer Internet is needed. "The same positives that the Internet provides for information sharing, also create negatives in terms of ‘bringing to task' those that wish to use the Internet for illicit purposes," wrote Dempsey. But Nate Anderson...

Premium news related to A Vintage Year for Wine Exports
Los Angeles Times | Feb 29, 08 12:31 PM CST
(Newser) - The dollar’s decline is a boon for California winemakers, who’ve turned the greenback’s challenges into opportunities, expanding exports of everything from top vintages to bulk table wines, reports the Los Angeles Times . California wine exports, 95% of the wine the US sends overseas, jumped 9% to nearly $1 billion in 2007. "American...

Premium news related to NFL's Top 10 2008 Free Agents
MSNBC | Feb 29, 08 12:23 PM CST
(Newser) - Free agents can mean the difference between a losing season and the Super Bowl. This year’s crop is wanting, but quality is available. Here’re 10 of the best: Patriot CB Asante Samuel: A playmaker Patriot WR Randy Moss: Stands pat? Bears LB Lance Briggs: Washington bound? Steelers OG Alan Faneca: Bear? Jet? Cardinal?...

Premium news related to With End Near, Clinton Plays It Smart, Safe
Salon | Feb 29, 08 12:18 PM CST
(Newser) - In what looks increasingly like the twilight of her campaign, Hillary Clinton is stumping as though Barack Obama doesn’t even exist, writes Walter Shapiro of Slate. She’s campaigning as a smart policy nut, moving one supporter to say, "I will always feel safe with this woman as president." One problem: This year, voters aren’t...

Premium news related to EBay Finally Settles Patent Suit
Wall Street Journal | Feb 29, 08 12:17 PM CST
(Newser) - After years of legal battling that escalated to the Supreme Court, eBay has settled a patent-infringement lawsuit by e-commerce technology company MercExchange. The companies aren’t revealing the financial terms, but eBay will buy the three patents that led to the suit. The auction giant said the agreement won’t affect its 2007 results...

Premium news related to Consumer Spending Stalls Again
Bloomberg | Feb 29, 08 12:03 PM CST
(Newser) - Consumer spending rose more than expected in January—but only because prices did so as well, Bloomberg reports. Adjusted for inflation, spending remained flat for the second straight month. With fuel costs rising, banks restricting loans, and property values falling, “consumers are clearly hard-pressed to maintain their standard of living...

Premium news related to Sinking Home Values Lead to 'Walkaways'
Wall Street Journal | Feb 29, 08 11:47 AM CST
(Newser) - Freefalling home values may be creating yet another crisis in the mortgage industry. The new phenomenon: homeowners capable of paying their mortgages who walk away, unwilling to pour money into a property that’s worth less than they originally paid. "It may not be a big thing yet, and hopefully it won't be," an economist tells the ...

Premium news related to Leap Day Cocktails Lost to Time
Wall Street Journal | Feb 29, 08 11:27 AM CST
(Newser) - Feb. 29 still comes once every four years, but celebratory cocktails marking the bissextile have gone out of fashion—along with a leap-year tradition that requires plenty of liquid courage, Eric Felten notes in the Wall Street Journal . Women who proposed marriage during the leap year could not be denied; little wonder desperate lasses were...

Premium news related to Phone Makers Chase Fickle Customers
New York Times | Feb 29, 08 11:15 AM CST
(Newser) - With the cellphone industry increasingly hit-driven, phone designers are plumbing the consumer psyche through cultural experts and focus groups, reports the New York Times. "Our job is to be behaviorists and psychologists," says an exec. Competition has heated up as consumers buy—and discard—phones at an ever-faster rate, with...

Premium news related to Boleyn No History Lesson
Rotten Tomatoes | Feb 29, 08 11:02 AM CST
(Newser) - The Other Boleyn Girl is anything but a dry history lesson about the 16th century, critics say—don't take it too seriously, and you'll be all right. It "probably shouldn't be the way in which high-school kids learn about Henry VIII and his court, but it's a fun movie," writes Bill Goodykoonts in the Arizona Republic . Natalie...

Premium news related to Spanked Kids May Become Sex Aggressors: Study
Newsweek | Feb 29, 08 10:41 AM CST
(Newser) - Though some 90% of American parents do it, spanking remains highly controversial, and research being released today will probably fan the flames, Newsweek reports. Heavily spanking kids has a major effect on their eventual sex lives, a new study finds, making them more likely to coerce a partner into having sex, avoid protection, or indulge in sado-masochistic...

Premium news related to Marine in Okinawa Rape Case Released
Reuters | Feb 29, 08 10:22 AM CST
(Newser) - A US Marine was released into US custody today after Japanese prosecutors dropped rape charges against him, Reuters reports. The Okinawa arrest had sparked outrage across Japan, but prosecutors backed off when the alleged victim withdrew her accusations. The 38-year-old Marine had admitted holding down his 14-year-old accuser but maintained he’d...

Premium news related to Ga. Civilians Nab Fugitive Murder Suspect
CNN | Feb 29, 08 10:11 AM CST
(Newser) - A New Zealand man on the run for 6 months after allegedly killing his wife and abandoning his toddler daughter was captured this week in an Atlanta suburb, CNN reports. The little girl, nicknamed "Pumpkin," captured hearts around the world after her father abandoned her at a Melbourne, Australia, train station and fled to LA in September,...

Premium news related to Scots Fight Fake Kilts
Independent (UK) | Feb 29, 08 9:56 AM CST
(Newser) - What do plaid skirts have in common with champagne and feta cheese? If Scottish lawmakers have their way, the kilt could be the latest European product to receive a "protected designation of origin" status. Cheap kilt knockoffs could still be sold, but only the real thing—pure wool, hand-sewn in the highlands—could be branded...

Premium news related to Obama Brain Trust's Key 'Ism' Is Pragmatism
New Republic | Feb 29, 08 9:38 AM CST
(Newser) - Barack Obama’s brain trust leans heavily on behavioral economics, the New Republic reports, with academics who start small in their analyses—looking at everyday anomalies—and are relatively ideology-free pragmatists. From his top economic adviser to his health-care and Social Security aides, Obama is surrounded not by "big-think...

Premium news related to Zoos Leap Into Year of Frog
Florida Today | Feb 29, 08 9:23 AM CST
(Newser) - How could any zoo resist? Leap Day, in the Year of the Frog, is being celebrated by zoos and conservationists everywhere as the perfect time to draw attention to the plight of amphibians. "We want to get people talking about frogs and thinking about them," said one zookeeper. "But the main thing we want them to understand is that the...

Premium news related to McCain, Born in Canal Zone, Dismisses Citizenship Flap
Associated Press | Feb 29, 08 9:12 AM CST
(Newser) - A recent media flap about John McCain's citizenship is a non-issue, the candidate says. McCain was born in the Panama Canal Zone while his father served there in the Navy, which makes him a natural-born citizen and qualifies him to run for president, the AP reports. His camp recently sought a legal analysis on the matter, and a New York Times article...

Premium news related to Turkey Pulls Out of N. Iraq
Reuters | Feb 29, 08 8:57 AM CST
(Newser) - Turkey pulled its troops out of northern Iraq today, ending a controversial offensive that had Washington and Baghdad on edge, Reuters reports. In a statement, Turkey said it had made its point. “There was no question of completely liquidating” the PKK, the military said, “but Turkey has shown the organization that northern Iraq is...

Premium news related to Senate GOP Stymies Dem Housing Relief
Washington Post | Feb 29, 08 8:51 AM CST
(Newser) - Capping a week of gridlock, GOP senators yesterday blocked consideration of a Democratic-backed housing-relief bill. The mortgage industry had fought hard against the proposal, which would allow judges to slash interest rates for low-income homeowners facing bankruptcy, the Washington Post reports. The bill also included billions of dollars for local...

Premium news related to Semi-Pro Not Even Semi-Funny
Rotten Tomatoes | Feb 29, 08 8:34 AM CST
(Newser) - Semi-Pro , a comedy set in 1976 that stars Will Ferrell as the owner/coach of and player for a losing professional basketball team, is the cinematic equivalent of an air ball, say critics, who call the film erratic, repetitive, and dull. "If you're on the prowl for a Ferrell yuk-fest, you'd do better renting one of his more successful comedies...

Premium news related to Cuba Signs Human Rights Pacts at UN
BBC | Feb 29, 08 8:22 AM CST
(Newser) - Cuba yesterday signed a pair of legally binding human rights agreements, promising, among other things, to allow its citizens free speech, free association, and the right to travel, the BBC reports. Coming mere days after Raul Castro became president, the gesture could signal a shift in Cuba’s policy, though Cuba insists it is only “formalizing”...

Premium news related to Possible Heparin Deaths Increase; Recall Expands
New York Times | Feb 29, 08 8:07 AM CST
(Newser) - Baxter International has expanded its recall of heparin products as the FDA said the number of deaths possibly linked to the blood thinner rose from 4 to 21, the New York Times reports. The agency said it found "deficiencies" at a Chinese plant that supplied the active ingredient. Baxter, which produces about half of the nation's supply,...

Premium news related to 'Holocaust' Strikes Will Intensify, Warns Israel
BBC | Feb 29, 08 7:49 AM CST
(Newser) - As Israeli air strikes continued to hit Gaza targets overnight, a top Israel official warned that If Hamas continues to fire rockets at Israel, they "will bring upon themselves a bigger holocaust because we will use all our might to defend ourselves." The rare use of the word usually reserved for Nazi genocide came from the country's deputy...

Premium news related to China May Drop 1-Baby Law
Guardian (UK) | Feb 29, 08 7:32 AM CST
(Newser) - China, faced with an aging population and too few women, may end its controversial one- child-per-family policy. The law that allowed urban couples only one child and rural families two is credited with preventing 400 million births over three decades. But cultural preferences for males has also created a troubling gender imbalance as millions of...

Premium news related to Dollar's Slide Pushing Oil Prices Higher
Bloomberg | Feb 29, 08 7:21 AM CST
(Newser) - The dollar continued its fall as unrelentingly dismal economic data eroded confidence in the US economy, Bloomberg reports. The greenback set a new low of $1.52 against the euro this morning and hit a three-year bottom against the Japanese yen. Oil surged more than $2 a barrel to $103.05 in Asian trading before closing at $102.92. 

Premium news related to 'Terror Toxin' Found in Vegas
CNN | Feb 29, 08 6:58 AM CST
(Newser) - Las Vegas police have discovered the deadly toxin ricin at a long-stay hotel, CNN reports. It's "100% ricin," said a police official. "We did have enough ricin to be concerned. At this point, it has been contained and is not a threat to anybody." Three policemen, three hotel workers, and another person are in a local hospital...

Premium news related to Profits Slide as Dell Streamlines
Wall Street Journal | Feb 29, 08 6:30 AM CST
(Newser) - Dell posted a 6.5% decline in profits for its fiscal fourth quarter yesterday, citing slowed consumer spending and the cost of restructuring, which included slashing thousands of jobs, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Dell results are likely to cause concern about other tech stocks—especially those that rely on the US consumer market—and...

Premium news related to 'Chemical Ali' Slated to Hang
Reuters | Feb 29, 08 5:50 AM CST
(Newser) - Saddam Hussein's cousin "Chemical Ali" will be hanged now that the last legal obstacle to his execution has been eliminated by the Iraqi presidency council, Reuters reports. The execution of Ali Hassan al-Majid will take place in a matter of days, according to a spokesman for Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

Premium news related to Media Leak Ends Harry's Afghan Mission
Times (UK) | Feb 29, 08 5:38 AM CST
(Newser) - Britain's defense ministry is setting up emergency plans to withdraw Prince Harry from his battalion in Afghanistan after yesterday's news leak that he had been stationed there. He has completed 10 weeks of what was supposed to be a four-month tour of duty in Helmand Province, reports the Times of London. The defense ministry lifted its media embargo...

Premium news related to Bush Push for Musharraf Angers Pakistan
New York Times | Feb 29, 08 5:07 AM CST
(Newser) - His political future might be in doubt, but Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf is still receiving forceful backing from the Bush administration after his party's drubbing in parliamentary elections—and it's angering Pakistanis, reports the New York Times . "I’ve never seen such an irrational, impractical move on the part of the US,"...

Premium news related to US Warship Heads for Lebanon
Reuters | Feb 29, 08 4:30 AM CST
(Newser) - The US has ordered a warship to the coastal waters of Lebanon amid fear the country's political deadlock could turn violent, Reuters reports. The country's presidential election has just been delayed for the 15th time and the US blames the political quagmire on Syrian meddling on behalf of its Hezbollah allies. "The presence is important. It signals...

Premium news related to Cattle Horror Worker: Just 'Following Orders'
Wall Street Journal | Feb 29, 08 4:11 AM CST
(Newser) - A worker shown in a shocking undercover video jabbing apparently sick cows to their feet for slaughter was following orders from management, his lawyer said yesterday. The attorney made the accusation as he negotiated with federal investigators to work out a plea deal for his client, reports the Wall Street Journal. The video triggered a record recall...

Premium news related to Swindler Black Ordered to Jail
Chicago Tribune | Feb 29, 08 4:00 AM CST
(Newser) - Former media tycoon Conrad Black, convicted of swindling millions from his newspaper empire, will be behind bars by Monday night, reports the Chicago Sun-Tribune . A Chicago court ruled that he couldn't remain free on bail while awaiting a decision on his appeal. Black has been sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison for obstruction of justice...

Premium news related to Stars Cash in on Trade to Beat Blackhawks
Chicago Tribune | Feb 29, 08 3:52 AM CST
(Newser) - Niklas Hagman's hat trick for Dallas was eclipsed by new acquisition Brad Richards' five assists against a Chicago team that had also tried to nab him. After the Stars' 7-4 win, Richards can be glad the trade sent him where it did. "I'm just so happy to be a part of this," he told the Chicago Tribune . Elsewhere in the NHL: