Newser Premium News Archive Index
Newser Stories from July, 2008

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Premium news related to Eclipse Draws 15K to Siberia
Guardian (UK) | Jul 31, 08 11:01 PM CDT
(Newser) - Prospects of rare total solar eclipse have drawn thousands of sky-watchers to the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, where the moon’s passage between the earth and sun will create 140 seconds of darkness at 5:45 pm local time today. Hotels in the city—Russia’s third-largest—are fully booked, reports the Guardian. US viewers, meanwhile,...

Premium news related to NASA Lander Confirms Water on Mars
Associated Press | Jul 31, 08 8:50 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Phoenix spacecraft has tasted Martian water for the first time. By melting icy soil in one of its lab instruments, the robot confirmed the presence of frozen water lurking below the Martian permafrost. Until now, evidence of ice in Mars' north pole region has been largely circumstantial. Scientists popped open champagne today when they received...

Premium news related to Ivanka Tops Best-Dressed List
Vanity Fair | Jul 31, 08 8:20 PM CDT
(Newser) - Vanity Fair ’s International Best-Dressed List holds few surprises. True, it includes David Beckham while omitting his wife, Victoria, but overall the roster is rich with royals and light on poor people. The top 10: Heiress and exec Ivanka Trump Would-be American first lady Michelle Obama French first lady and pop star Carla...

Premium news related to When Music, Politics Collide, It's Usually Cringe-Worthy
Radar | Jul 31, 08 7:49 PM CDT
(Newser) - As Barack Obama prepares for an appearance at Lollapalooza this weekend, Radar revisits odd moments when music invaded the political arena. Sometimes scary, sometimes silly, but always strange, here are some highlights: Elvis and Nixon: The King visited the White House and offered to help in the fight against drugged-out hippie culture. He...

Premium news related to Vegans: To Bee or Not to Bee?
Slate | Jul 31, 08 7:15 PM CDT
(Newser) - Although many vegans view buttered toast and milk as sacrilegious snack fare, a growing “flexitarian” attitude could loosen up the menu to include honey, writes Daniel Engber for Slate. Vegan hardliners argue consumption of the beekeeping byproduct amounts to supporting forced labor, while nectarous proponents counter that such logic is...

Premium news related to Tim Russert's Son to Cover Conventions for NBC
Associated Press | Jul 31, 08 6:43 PM CDT
(Newser) - Tim Russert's son will take up a family tradition for NBC News, helping to cover the Democratic and Republican conventions. Luke, 22, who drew praise for delivering a moving eulogy at his father's funeral, will cover "youth issues" as a convention correspondent. The recent Boston College graduate said he was "humbled and grateful"...

Premium news related to McCain Was Going to Pounce On Obama Either Way
Carpetbagger Report Blog | Jul 31, 08 6:25 PM CDT
(Newser) - It's common knowledge by now that a John McCain campaign ad took Barack Obama to task for not visiting wounded US troops in Germany. But David Kiley in BusinessWeek reports that the McCain camp had another ad ready, this one if Obama had visited the troops. It would have charged that Obama was using the soldiers as campaign props.

Premium news related to 'Garfield' Without Garfield Lands Book Deal
Editor & Publisher | Jul 31, 08 6:11 PM CDT
(Newser) - Some comic strip authors might be miffed—or turn litigious—if a fan became a minor celebrity by systematically removing the namesake character and posting the edited strips on the Internet. Not "Garfield" creator Jim Davis, Editor & Publisher reports. With his blessing, Davis’ publisher will issue a book of Dan Walsh's...

Premium news related to Gates Urges Companies to Get Creative to Improve Lives
Time | Jul 31, 08 6:04 PM CDT
(Newser) - Bill Gates tweaks his corporate colleagues with an essay in Time urging businesses to look harder for ways to extend the benefits of capitalism to a greater portion of the global population. As a philanthropist, he says, he recognizes the need for nonprofit work, but as a businessman, he knows that only corporations have the resources to improve...

Premium news related to New Purdue Grad Hits the Streets
Fort Wayne News-Sentinel | Jul 31, 08 5:56 PM CDT
(Newser) - Rob Sedlmeyer needs a job, and he doesn't care who knows it. The May college grad wants a marketing or advertising gig, so he's marketing and advertising himself—at a Fort Wayne intersection. After applications scored him just two interviews and no job, he took to the streets. The “looking for career” placard he held up for 6 hours...

Premium news related to Is Killing Liberals a Hate Crime?
Slate | Jul 31, 08 5:45 PM CDT
(Newser) - The suspect in last weekend’s Knoxville church shooting told police that “liberals should be killed because they were ruining the country.” But Tennessee, like the federal government and most states, doesn’t extend hate-crime law to political affiliation, explains Chris Wilson in Slate. In fact, legal experts say politically...

Premium news related to US Death Toll in Iraq Plummets
Associated Press | Jul 31, 08 5:36 PM CDT
(Newser) - The monthly US toll in Iraq fell to its lowest point since the war began, with 10 American deaths recorded as July drew to a close today. Iraqis also are dying at dramatically lower numbers in the sixth year of the war. July saw the lowest civilian toll since December 2005, the AP reports.

Premium news related to Aussie PM Gains Cachet From Thieving Ancestors
Daily Telegraph (UK) | Jul 31, 08 5:15 PM CDT
(Newser) - Australia’s history as a penal colony is no laughing matter, but some Aussies have come to appreciate, and even relish, their hardscrabble beginnings. Case in point: PM Kevin Rudd, whose family tree includes ancestors convicted of stealing sugar (in 1801) and underwear (in 1788). The release of some details today helped boost the head of state's...

Premium news related to Doctors Fume Over Website Selling Fake Sick Notes
Australia's News Network | Jul 31, 08 5:14 PM CDT
(Newser) - In an Internet version of a classic schoolboy trick, a website is peddling fake doctors' notes to Australians looking to get some paid time off, reports news.com.au. The $40 certificates have infuriated the medical community, which wants the police to step in. Two backpackers reportedly set up the site to make money for their travels, and they insist...

Premium news related to Aspiring Spies Get New Toys
New York Times | Jul 31, 08 4:57 PM CDT
(Newser) - Two new Bluetooth headsets are meant as cellphone accessories, "the type that make white-collar executives on city streets look like the muttering deranged," but David Pogue has found a much cooler use, he writes in the New York Times. SoundID’s SM100 and Callpod’s Dragon V2 easily convert to "secret-agent two-way radios."...

Premium news related to Edwards Dodges Press Over Tabloid Questions
News & Observer (Raleigh) | Jul 31, 08 4:41 PM CDT
(Newser) - John Edwards apparently wants nothing to do with the press these days in the wake of tabloid reports that he was caught visiting a mistress and their love child, the News & Observer reports. After giving a speech at a Washington hotel, Edwards slipped out through a kitchen exit and emerged in the rear of the hotel. When approached there by a...

Premium news related to BoSox Deal Ramirez as White Sox Land Griffey
New England Sports Network | Jul 31, 08 4:17 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Red Sox traded Manny Ramirez at the deadline today, shipping the disgruntled outfielder to the Dodgers in a three-way deal that sends outfielder Jason Bay from Pittsburgh to Boston, reports New England Sports Network. Earlier, Ken Griffey Jr. agreed to a trade from the Reds to the White Sox, boosting the odds that the 20-year veteran will finally...

Premium news related to Mass. Allows Marriages for Out-of-State Gays
Boston Globe | Jul 31, 08 4:07 PM CDT
(Newser) - Massachusetts will now allow gay and lesbian couples from other states to marry there. Gov. Deval Patrick today signed a law overturning a 1913 measure originally crafted against interracial marriage, the Globe reports. Massachusetts is the second state, after California, to allow same-sex marriages, regardless of residence. A flood of couples is...

Premium news related to Casino Ejects Man Over B.O.
Fox Philadelphia (WTFX) | Jul 31, 08 4:06 PM CDT
(Newser) - A gambler deemed too smelly to play is demanding an apology from New Jersey’s Borgata casino, Fox Philadelphia reports. Michael Wax, 54, had spent 17 hours gambling in the casino when an official approached him and said he had to leave because other patrons were complaining of his body odor. Wax has filed a complaint with the Casino Control Commission.

Premium news related to 7 Russian Athletes Suspended for Doping
New York Times | Jul 31, 08 3:36 PM CDT
(Newser) - Seven female athletes from Russia were suspended today for doping violations, a potentially devastating blow to the nation's medal hopes just a week before the Olympics begin, the New York Times reports. Five of the women, all members of Russia's track and field team, were scheduled to compete in the Games. They have 14 days to appeal, but it appears...

Premium news related to Stocks Fall on Economic Reports
MarketWatch | Jul 31, 08 3:19 PM CDT
(Newser) - Stocks fell today as worrying economic reports put an end to a 2-day rally, MarketWatch reports. Financials slipped, and energy stocks took a hit as Exxon’s record profit failed to meet analysts' expectations and crude prices continued to fall. The Dow dropped 204.69 to 11,379.00. The Nasdaq, relatively insulated from financials and energy, fell...

Premium news related to Kissinger Outlines Endgame for Iraq—Without Deadlines
Washington Post | Jul 31, 08 3:18 PM CDT
(Newser) - Henry Kissinger outlines his vision for the endgame in Iraq in a piece in the Washington Post, arguing that recent progress makes redeployment of US troops feasible, but "establishing a deadline is the surest way to undermine the hopeful prospects." A fixed deadline would encourage both al-Qaeda and Iran to plan a resurgence, writes the...

Premium news related to Gore a Likely Convention Star
Reuters | Jul 31, 08 3:09 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Democrats haven't finalized the lineup for their upcoming convention in Denver, but one man seems certain to land a central role in the proceedings: Al Gore. Once mocked for his wooden style, Gore now enjoys even higher approval ratings than Barack Obama, Reuters reports. Tickets for a recent Gore lecture were snapped up in less than 24 hours.

Premium news related to Scrabulous Creators Spite Hasbro With 'Wordscraper'
Silicon Alley Insider | Jul 31, 08 2:53 PM CDT
(Newser) - The creators of Scrabulous are determined: Just 2 days after Hasbro forced Facebook to ditch their wildly popular online Scrabble impersonator, Rajat and Jayant Agarwalla have introduced Wordscraper, Silicon Alley Insider reports. The new game looks less like Scrabble than Scrabulous and offers a few rule changes, but it may yet provoke another takedown...

Premium news related to Brit Says Bye-Bye to Sam Lufti
Associated Press | Jul 31, 08 2:44 PM CDT
(Newser) - A restraining order was lifted yesterday against Sam Lufti, the man by Britney Spears' side during her string of embarrassing mishaps earlier this year. But he won't be seeing her any time soon, reports AP. The singer "does not want to be further harrassed or contacted" by her former pal, an attorney says.

Premium news related to McCain, Aides Often Part Ways on Policy
Politico | Jul 31, 08 2:10 PM CDT
(Newser) - Much has been made recently of John McCain’s difficulty in driving a message from his “eclectic and occasionally politically inconvenient hodgepodge of policy positions,” Politico says, but little has been said about how often the candidate’s top aides disagree with him. And while fewer public disagreements within the Obama...

Premium news related to Plane Crash Near Minn. Airport Kills 8
Minneapolis Star Tribune | Jul 31, 08 2:02 PM CDT
(Newser) - A small plane crashed while trying to land at a southern Minnesota airport this morning, killing eight people, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. The Raytheon Hawker was arriving from Atlantic City, bearing customers of a local glass manufacturing company, just as stormy weather blew through the region.

Premium news related to Fish Found at Record Depth
BBC | Jul 31, 08 1:50 PM CDT
(Newser) - Scientists have captured a live fish from a record 7,500 feet under the Atlantic Ocean, the BBC reports. A new device allows recovery of live creatures from much farther down than was previously possible. The expedition to learn more about life around hydrothermal vents deep beneath the ocean also brought back three species of deep-sea shrimp.

Premium news related to McCain Strays Off Message, But Which Message?
Washington Post | Jul 31, 08 1:38 PM CDT
(Newser) - John McCain relishes interacting with voters and sparring with the press, a style that's helped earn him his "maverick" reputation even as it ties his advisers and staff in knots. The campaign as a whole is turning to Karl Rove-style tactics, but the candidate's unpredictable behavior is making it tough to present a united front, the Washington...

Premium news related to Beijing Becomes Obsessed With Rain
Washington Post | Jul 31, 08 1:33 PM CDT
(Newser) - Talking about the weather isn’t just idle conversation in Beijing these days—it’s a national obsession, the Washington Post reports. The country is so anxious for a sunny Olympics—with just enough rain to clear the smog, of course—that changes in the forecast have become front-page news. Monday even saw the launch of...

Premium news related to Bristol-Myers Makes Bid for Icahn's ImClone
Wall Street Journal | Jul 31, 08 1:21 PM CDT
(Newser) - Already a 17% shareholder, Bristol-Myers Squibb laid down a $4.5 billion offer to buy the  rest of ImClone shares, the Wall Street Journal reports. The $60-a-share offer, sent to ImClone chairman Carl Icahn today, is a 29% premium on yesterday's closing price and makes Bristol the second pharma giant to gun for its biotech partner in as many...

Premium news related to Even Texas Is Going Electric
Wall Street Journal | Jul 31, 08 1:08 PM CDT
(Newser) - High gas prices are forcing Americans to seriously pursue other transportation options—even in Texas, the heart of oil country. Chrysler’s Global Electric Motorcar division, which sells tiny, utilitarian vehicles, has seen dealerships triple sales. The Wall Street Journal visits a Texas family that’s embraced the cost-efficiency...

Premium news related to Stevens Pleads Not Guilty
Anchorage Daily News | Jul 31, 08 12:57 PM CDT
(Newser) - Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens pleaded not guilty today in federal court in Washington to seven counts of corruption, the Anchorage Daily News reports. At his lawyers' request, the judge set a tentative trial date of Sept. 24, more than 5 weeks before the Nov. 4 general election. He'll rule on the defense team's request to move the trial to Alaska on Aug....

Premium news related to Bush Aides Must Testify: Judge
Washington Post | Jul 31, 08 12:36 PM CDT
(Newser) - Turning aside White House arguments that top aides are protected from subpoenas by executive privilege, a judge ruled today that Harriet Miers must testify before a congressional committee on the firings of nine federal prosecutors, the Washington Post reports. Miers and fellow aide Joshua Bolten can, however, invoke executive privilege in declining...

Premium news related to Army 'Warned on Wiring' Before Soldier's Electrocution
CNN | Jul 31, 08 12:31 PM CDT
(Newser) - A sergeant warned Army administrators about faulty wiring months before a soldier was electrocuted in a shower at the same quarters, CNN reports. "Pipes have voltage, get shocked in the shower," he wrote in a work order. A House committee probing the electrocution deaths in Iraq had previously heard there was no evidence the Pentagon or contractor...

Premium news related to Dog Adopts Zoo's Tiger Cubs
Associated Press | Jul 31, 08 12:21 PM CDT
(Newser) - A golden retriever has adopted three white tiger cubs abandoned by their mother at a southeast Kansas zoo, the AP reports. The Safari Zoological Park's owner says the dog, who recently weaned her own puppies, licks, cleans, and feeds the days-old cubs as if they were her own.

Premium news related to Pundits Pile on Stumbling Mac
Wall Street Journal | Jul 31, 08 12:10 PM CDT
(Newser) - A rare level of pundit fury is flying at John McCain, as some erstwhile defenders lose patience with the Republican. Daniel Henninger asks point blank in the Wall Street Journal , “Is John McCain stupid? Is John McCain losing it?” The venerable rightie documents lazy and repeated stumbles on social security, Al Gore, and Nancy Pelosi—questioning...

Premium news related to A-Rod Wants Prenup Enforced
New York Daily News | Jul 31, 08 12:01 PM CDT
(Newser) - Alex Rodriguez plans to ask the Florida courts to enforce the prenup he and estranged wife, Cynthia, signed, the Daily News reports. The Yankee slugger acknowledges their marriage is “irretrievably broken” and wants the courts to disregard his soon-to-be-ex's allegations of "extramarital affairs and other marital misconduct"...

Premium news related to Big Brother Boss Turns Eye on Home Workers
Wall Street Journal | Jul 31, 08 11:50 AM CDT
(Newser) - Think working out of a home office means wearing your jammies and watching YouTube? Not unless you want the boss to see what you watch in your Mickey Mouse PJs. As telecommuting rises, employers are tracking their workers by taking screen snapshots, recording keystrokes, and even taking pictures of workers via built-in cameras, reports the Wall Street...

Premium news related to Jamie Lynn Plans Fall Wedding
OK! | Jul 31, 08 11:38 AM CDT
(Newser) - Jamie Lynn Spears is planning a late-fall wedding at home, with sister Britney as maid of honor, OK! magazine reports. "Her own backyard with just the people who matter most is more Jamie Lynn's style,” said a friend. The 17-year-old ex-Nickelodeon star, fiance Casey Aldridge, and baby Maddie live in Liberty, Miss.

Premium news related to New Yorkers Owe Debt of Gratitude to Spitzer Hooker
New York Daily News | Jul 31, 08 11:27 AM CDT
(Newser) - Call-girl Ashley Dupre has done the state of New York a huge favor, Michael Daly writes in the New York Daily News . If the sex scandal hadn't brought down "self-righteous, mean-spirited and divisive rich kid" Eliot Spitzer, New York wouldn't have the "warm-hearted and manifestly decent" governor it has today in David Paterson,...

Premium news related to Illusionist Escapes Imploding Building —Barely
Central Florida News | Jul 31, 08 11:17 AM CDT
(Newser) - Goth illusionist Criss Angel escaped an imploding hotel in Florida last night, reports Central Florida News. During the stunt, which aired live on A&E's Mindfreak , the daredevil had three and a half minutes to pick handcuffs and four padlocked doors before catching a helicopter on the roof. While Angel failed to beat the blast, he emerged unscathed...

Premium news related to Lawsuit Targets Cruise, Scientology 'Crime Syndicate'
New York Daily News | Jul 31, 08 11:07 AM CDT
(Newser) - An ex-Scientologist says the organization is a “crime syndicate” in a $250 million federal lawsuit that names Tom Cruise as the head honcho's "right-hand man," reports the Daily News. The suit uses a statute designed to counter organized crime in an attempt to have the Church of Scientology broken up.

Premium news related to Navy Captain Fired Over Blaze on Nuclear Ship
CNN | Jul 31, 08 11:03 AM CDT
(Newser) - The Navy has canned the captain and executive officer of the USS George Washington after investigations indicated that the destructive fire that broke out onboard this pring may have resulted from breaches in protocol. Flammable liquids were found in unsuitable storage areas, and crewmembers were allowed to smoke nearby. About $70 million in damage...

Premium news related to Google Weighs New Venture Capital Arm
Wall Street Journal | Jul 31, 08 10:57 AM CDT
(Newser) - Google is planning to launch a venture capital arm, the Wall Street Journal reports, and has hired an entrepreneur who's also been an investor to head the project. Other tech firms, including Intel, Motorola, and Comcast, already have VC units. Just how big a commitment Google will make and what type of businesses it will back haven’t been...

Premium news related to Campaign Scolds Ludacris for Obama Rap
Washington Post | Jul 31, 08 10:39 AM CDT
(Newser) - Ludacris may have lost his most famous fan. Yesterday the rapper released “Politics as Usual,” a track from his upcoming CD that sings Barack Obama’s praises. But an Obama spokesman says Luda should be “ashamed” of the tune, which, among its other meditations, calls Hillary Clinton an “irrelevant bitch” and...

Premium news related to Karadzic Delays Plea in War Crimes Trial
Guardian (UK) | Jul 31, 08 10:31 AM CDT
(Newser) - A freshly shaven and subdued Radovan Karadzic declined to enter a plea in his first appearance today before the war crimes tribunal in The Hague, the Guardian reports. The former Bosnian Serb leader said he needed more time to consider the charges, which include 11 counts of genocide and crimes against humanity. He also confirmed that he would be...

Premium news related to Israelis: Olmert Successor Is Unlikely to Forge Coalition
Haaretz (Israel) | Jul 31, 08 10:18 AM CDT
(Newser) - Benjamin Netanyahu has called for a snap election after Ehud Olmert's sudden announcement that he will resign as Israel's PM. Riding high in the polls, the head of Likud said that "it doesn't matter who heads Kadima. They are all partners in this government's total failure." The call comes as members of the ruling party admitted to Haaretz...

Premium news related to Cartier Mines MySpace for Clients in Rough
New York Times | Jul 31, 08 10:03 AM CDT
(Newser) - Luxury jeweler Cartier has teamed with MySpace in a unique effort to develop a new, younger audience by blending networking, entertainment, and marketing, reports the Wall Street Journal. The move, one of the first by a major luxury brand, may provide a road map for other luxury retailers so far wary of using social networking sites.

Premium news related to Polls Show No Bump From Obama Trip
CNN | Jul 31, 08 9:51 AM CDT
(Newser) - Neither Barack Obama’s foreign tour nor John McCain’s harsh attacks of it have made a dent in the polls, CNN reports. In the first poll conducted entirely after the trip, Obama holds a 51-44% lead, a mincing step up from last month’s 50-45% edge. His numbers on foreign policy and national security issues remained similarly stationary.

Premium news related to Housing Bill Funds Democratic Ally
Wall Street Journal | Jul 31, 08 9:36 AM CDT
(Newser) - Nestled in the housing bill President Bush signed yesterday is an acronym Republicans don’t like one bit: ACORN. The Wall Street Journal reports that the group is among the many housing-related nonprofits the bill hands cash to, but Republicans grumble that it does more than housing. It’s also co-managing a $15.9 million voter registration...

Premium news related to Farm Boy Mulls What's Good for Goose, Gander
New York Times | Jul 31, 08 9:21 AM CDT
(Newser) - Californians go to the polls in November with a high-profile ballot initiative to decide: whether to ban factory farms from raising livestock in small cages. For Nicholas D. Kristof, it's an apt moment to consider our transforming attitudes toward animal welfare. The Oregon farm boy turned New York Times columnist is a carnivore, but one who recognizes...

Premium news related to Exxon Reports Best Quarter in History; Misses Estimates
Associated Press | Jul 31, 08 9:14 AM CDT
(Newser) - ExxonMobil reported the biggest quarterly profit in US history today, earning $11.68 billion or $2.22 a share as revenues rose 40% over the previous year. But those stratospheric numbers fell short of Wall Street’s estimates; analysts had expected crude prices, which have doubled over the past year, to power Exxon to a $2.52 per-share haul, and...

Premium news related to Terror Will Be No. 1 Enemy for Decades, Warns Gates
Washington Post | Jul 31, 08 8:54 AM CDT
(Newser) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates foresees terrorism remaining the leading threat to America for decades, and calls for the military to prepare for "irregular" warfare rather than conventional conflicts with other nations, reports the Washington Post . While success in Afghanistan and Iraq is crucial, it will not be enough to eliminate the...

Premium news related to Calif. Sues EPA for 'Wantonly' Ignoring Earth
Reuters | Jul 31, 08 8:42 AM CDT
(Newser) - California is suing the EPA for "wantonly" shirking its duty to protect the environment, reports Reuters. The lawsuit is aimed at forcing the agency to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from ships, planes, and industrial equipment, said Attorney General Jerry Brown. He said previous efforts to get the agency to act had been met only with...

Premium news related to Beijing Amps Up Anti-Pollution Measures
New York Times | Jul 31, 08 8:28 AM CDT
(Newser) - Beijing today rolled out new emergency measures to ease pollution, with the Olympics just more than a week away. The new rules will close more factories and take more vehicles off the road, in a wider radius around the capital, in the event of “extremely unfavorable weather conditions"—like hot, humid air that traps pollution. Beijing...

Premium news related to Packers Offer Favre $20M to Stay Home
ESPN | Jul 31, 08 8:12 AM CDT
(Newser) - The Packers are desperate to keep Brett Favre retired and they’re willing to pay handsomely for the privilege, ESPN reports. Packers president Mark Murphy met with the quarterback yesterday and reportedly offered him roughly $20 million over several years to stay retired. Murphy would say only that he’d had a “nice visit,” and...

Premium news related to Workers Losing Hours as Economy Tightens
New York Times | Jul 31, 08 7:44 AM CDT
(Newser) - US joblessness stands at a moderate 5.5%, but more than 3.7 million workers have seen their hours cut from full-time to part-time over the last year, shrinking their paychecks even as gas and food prices soar, reports the New York Times. That's the highest figure in the half-century these cuts have been tracked by the government, bringing the total...

Premium news related to Sox Discussing Manny Trade
ESPN | Jul 31, 08 7:23 AM CDT
(Newser) - Red Sox fans are used to "Manny being Manny," but could they accustom themselves to Manny being a Marlin? Talks about sending Manny Ramirez to Florida have turned serious, but many still doubt that any deal will be made by today's trade deadline, sources tell ESPN. Ramirez, for his part, seems ready to leave Boston.

Premium news related to Top Gun-Control Activist Is Firearms Industry Spy
Mother Jones | Jul 31, 08 7:00 AM CDT
(Newser) - Mary McFate is a longtime prominent member of the gun-control movement; she is also, Mother Jones shockingly reveals, Mary Lou Sapone, a spy who infiltrates citizen groups for corporations targeted by activists—and who has been employed by the NRA. Over a decade, she reached high levels in a panoply of gun-control groups, where she had access...

Premium news related to As World Economies Falter, Brazil Sambas
New York Times | Jul 31, 08 6:33 AM CDT
(Newser) - Economies worldwide are stalling, with growth slowing to a trickle and markets seizing up. But in Brazil, long a laggard on the international stage, the economy is growing at the largest rate in three decades. Good government, progressive social programs, and newly discovered resources have allowed Brazil to finally take its place as a major economic...

Premium news related to 5 Things We Learned From Obama's Trip
New York | Jul 31, 08 6:00 AM CDT
(Newser) - Here are five things we learned in the wake of Barack Obama’s overseas trip, via John Heilemann in New York : Obama's got guts: The trip was “risky business, fraught with peril”—but we know now that he's willing to gamble if the potential payout is right. His team is great, but imperfect: The trip once again proved...

Premium news related to White House Order Ramps Up Spy Boss Powers
Wall Street Journal | Jul 31, 08 5:36 AM CDT
(Newser) - A sweeping overhaul of spy powers will give the director of national intelligence broad new authority, reports the Wall Street Journal . Mike McConnell will be able to command information-sharing between agencies, hire and fire agency heads, and make major purchase decisions under a new executive order signed yesterday by President Bush and to be...

Premium news related to Mac 'Celebrity' Attack Ad Signals New Battle Stage
New York Times | Jul 31, 08 4:57 AM CDT
(Newser) - John McCain's latest attack on Barack Obama as a self-absorbed "celebrity" candidate out of touch with ordinary Americans marks a new aggressive stage of his campaign, reports the New York Times . The "star power" offensive against Obama, sharper than earlier efforts, comes as key players in President Bush's attack-driven re-election...

Premium news related to Missing Girl's Dad Bought Gold
Boston Globe | Jul 31, 08 4:41 AM CDT
(Newser) - The wealthy businessman accused of abducting his 7-year-old daughter has apparently exchanged cash for gold as part of his elaborate kidnapping plot, reports the Boston Globe. Clark Rockefeller, a man with a mystery history who lied about his connections to the Rockefeller family, can use the gold anywhere in the world as he flees with his daughter,...

Premium news related to Queen Victoria's Giant Knickers Fetch $9K
BBC | Jul 31, 08 4:14 AM CDT
(Newser) - A pair of bloomers that belonged to Queen Victoria were auctioned off yesterday for $9,000, almost ten times the expected price, the BBC reports. The royal knickers, which sport a 50-inch waist and a "VR" monogram, date from the 1890s. The queen was apparently "a very big lady," noted the auctioneer. The bloomers were part of a...

Premium news related to House Votes to Let FDA Regulate Tobacco
New York Times | Jul 31, 08 3:49 AM CDT
(Newser) - The House passed landmark legislation yesterday to bring the tobacco industry under the regulatory control of the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA wouldn't have the power to ban cigarettes under the bill, but it could order nicotine levels in cigarettes reduced and restrict other harmful ingredients, reports the New York Times. The bill comes...

Premium news related to Fears Mount Over Gulf of Mexico 'Dead Zone'
Washington Post | Jul 31, 08 3:22 AM CDT
(Newser) - Scientists are  increasingly concerned about the growing "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico, an oxygen-poor mass of water that cannot sustain most sea life, which now covers 8,000 square miles, nearly the largest ever. Created by fertilizer runoff from the Mississippi, the zone would be even bigger if not for the ocean-stirring power...

Premium news related to Turkey Dodges Political Crisis
Time | Jul 31, 08 3:04 AM CDT
(Newser) - A major constitutional showdown in Turkey was narrowly averted yesterday when the nation's top court voted not to ban the ruling Islamic AKP party, which attorneys had argued is illegally attempting to dismantle Turkey's secular democracy. A judge described the razor-thin 6-5 vote as "a serious warning" to the party, reports Time.

Premium news related to Hillary Nabs Key Speech at Convention
CNN | Jul 31, 08 2:34 AM CDT
(Newser) - Hillary Clinton will deliver the main address on the second night of the Democratic National Convention, reports CNN. Insiders say the erstwhile candidate will be accompanied on stage with all female senators for a speech marking the 88th anniversary of the day women won the right to vote. "Tuesday night is Hillary night," said one supporter....