Newser Story Index from October, 2007
Welcome to the Newser Story Index. Here you find stories written by Newser writers and editors, assembled with supporting photos and videos from the files of the news story.
Ohio State No. 1 After Weekend Full of Upsets
Associated Press
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Oct 14, 2007 9:00 PM CDT
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The first bowl series rankings of the year released today declared traditional power and undefeated Ohio State the best college football team in the US; more surprisingly, the BCS combination of human polls with computer rankings placed South Florida second. They were helped when AP poll #1 LSU and #2 Cal lost yesterday, the first time that's happened...
Burma Protests a 'Success,' Says Buddhist Leader
Time
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Oct 14, 2007 7:07 PM CDT
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Revered Buddhist spokesman Thich Nhat Hanh, famed for enlisting Martin Luther King's help against the Vietnam War, is supporting his spiritual brethren in Burma on a US tour. The monks' struggle against Burma is "already a success," he told Time , "because if monks are imprisoned or have died, they have offered their spiritual leadership."
GOP Struggles to Regain the Offensive
New York Times
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Oct 14, 2007 7:00 PM CDT
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GOP lawmakers admitted to low morale when they met with Bush the other day, the New York Times reports. A spate of retirements, and bad PR over Bush's stance on children's health care, have recently stung the party. “The president has let the debate on health care down by not offering an alternative,” says one rep. “We are not happy,...
European Militants Find Training in Pakistan
Los Angeles Times
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Oct 14, 2007 6:38 PM CDT
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Renewed Al-Qaeda strength on the Pakistan-Afghan border is wooing European militants to train in Pakistan, the Los Angeles Times reports. Fighters who are wary of Iraq—where they may have to strap on a bomb on short notice—can enjoy being groomed for missions in Pakistan. “Pakistan worries me more than Iraq,” says a Belgian...
Pelosi Vows to Push Turkish Genocide Vote
New York Times
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Oct 14, 2007 6:13 PM CDT
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Nancy Pelosi vows to take the Turkey-genocide vote to the floor despite renewed Turkish threats and Republican jabs, the New York Times reports. Turkey’s army chief warned today that “military relations with the United States can never be the same" if the vote passes. GOP lawmaker John Boehner called it “the most irresponsible...
What Makes Gloria Run?
Telegraph (UK)
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Oct 14, 2007 5:48 PM CDT
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London's Daily Telegraph offers a colorful profile of LA "celebutorney" Gloria Allred as both a tireless victims' rights advocate and a self-promoter who thrives on high-profile trials. She's squared off against Michael Jackson, Dodi Fayed, Charlie Sheen and OJ; she's recently been battling Eddie Murphy on behalf of ex-girlfriend (and baby...
Nooses Hanging in Northeast
CBS News
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Oct 14, 2007 5:19 PM CDT
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A noose found outside a New York post office this week is the latest in a spate of apparent Northeast hate crimes, CBS reports. The Jim Crow-era symbols have turned up recently at a Connecticut Coast Guard Academy, a Long Island police station, and at Columbia University—possibly inspired by racial clashes in Jena, Alabama. “We have to...
Filmgoers Ask, Why Did I Get Married?
Los Angeles Times
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Oct 14, 2007 4:57 PM CDT
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Black America flocked to Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married? this weekend, lifting it to number one with $21.5 million. George Clooney and The Rock bowed to the actor/playwright's fourth effort, as The Game Plan fell to second at $11.5 million and Michael Clayton tied Mark Wahlberg’s We Own the Night at $11 million.
Els Scores Record 7th Win at UK Tourney
Times (UK)
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Oct 14, 2007 4:34 PM CDT
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Ernie Els scored a record seventh victory at the World Match Play Championship today in Wentworth, England, pocketing £1 million and jumping from third to first on the European Order of Merit, AFP reports. “It’s absolutely a dream come true,” Els says. “In my wildest dreams, I would not have dreamt I could win it seven...
Shot on Location—in Azeroth
Washington Post
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Oct 14, 2007 4:08 PM CDT
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World of Warcraft is home to 9 million adventurers—and one film crew. A team of New York-based programmers, filmmakers and geeks has been shooting a feature-length movie entirely within the online game, a uniquely difficult location shoot. “The crew doesn't usually start running off after their mortal enemy and shooting fireballs when you're...
Clinton Up by 21 Points in NH
Reuters
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Oct 14, 2007 4:01 PM CDT
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Hillary's up by 21 points over Obama in New Hampshire, a new poll says, and Mitt's got a 6% edge on Giuliani. More than half of state Dems say Hillary has the best shot at beating a Republican in 2008, but roles reverse on the GOP side: "While Mitt Romney is ahead in the horserace, many voters think the betting money should be on Rudy Giuliani...
England Sees Huge Leap in Alcohol Problems
Guardian (UK)
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Oct 14, 2007 3:30 PM CDT
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England’s liberal alcohol policies may be coming home to roost. Alcohol-related hospital admissions have skyrocketed, according to documents obtained by the Observer , two years after England relaxed alcohol policies and allowed booze to be sold 24 hours. The figures, which trace admissions ranging from drunken driving to liver problems, have...
Blue? Your Job May Be to Blame
Associated Press
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Oct 14, 2007 3:06 PM CDT
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Those who care professionally for children or the elderly and those who dish out food and drinks tend to suffer from depression more than anyone else, a new government study says. To ward off the blues, try becoming an architect, an engineer or a surveyor, the job categories with the least amount of depression, the AP says.
Coulter Crossed the Line This Time, Critic Says
Los Angeles Times
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Oct 14, 2007 2:47 PM CDT
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Ann Coulter has gone too far this time, says LA Times media critic Tim Rutten. Reacting with outrage at the conservative firebrand's statements may be playing into her game, but after her remark on CNBC that Jews must be "perfected" into Christians, it's necessary, he says. Coulter's comment is anti-Semitism masquerading as political commentary,...
Black Women Face Tough Choice
New York Times
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Oct 14, 2007 2:22 PM CDT
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South Carolina’s real Democratic debate is going down in the hair salon, where the New York Times informally polled black women on their split allegiances to Hillary and Obama. Maternal fondness for Barack may work against him—one won’t vote for him because “I fear that they just would kill him.” Black women are a crucial...
It's Retirement, Not Exile
CNN
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Oct 14, 2007 1:48 PM CDT
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If you've lived in the city your whole life, retiring to the country may not be desirable. CNNMoney looks at 30 of the nation's largest metro areas to find 35 affordable neighborhoods for retirees: Hudson Heights, NY Tudor City, NY South Loop, Chicago
Cats of Iraq Bring Solace in War
New York Times
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Oct 14, 2007 1:10 PM CDT
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As bombs rocked the outside world, New York Times correspondent John Burns found one hopeful symbol within the newspaper’s Baghdad compound—the growing cat population. Keen survival instincts brought the cats over the blast walls to adoring humans who fed and counted the feline population. It was “one small thing we could do to...
Justin.tv All Me All the Time
New York Times
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Oct 14, 2007 1:07 PM CDT
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In most pix of Justin Kan a small camera is perched above his left ear. He’s a livecaster who co-founded Justin.tv, for people like him who have the tools, and the desire, to broadcast their every waking moment on the Web. The NY Times reports that the founders of the new site are hoping a business will emerge from mass adoption, as with YouTube—but...
Tory Poll Surge Batters Brown
Telegraph (UK)
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Oct 14, 2007 12:32 PM CDT
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British PM Gordon Brown took a beating this week as a new poll showed the opposition Tories surging to their highest levels of popular support in 15 years, and even some Labourites came out of the woodwork to attack his vision for the future. Support for the Conservatives rose 5 points to 43%, compared with 36% for Brown's Labour Party, the ...
Cleaners May Trigger Asthma
BBC
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Oct 14, 2007 11:58 AM CDT
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Cleaning products with bleach and air fresheners may cause asthma, or aggravate symptoms, even if those products are used only once a week, according to new research. As many as 1 in 7 asthma cases may be caused by exposure to household cleaners, says a study in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
Aussie Chief Calls New Elections
Reuters
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Oct 14, 2007 11:14 AM CDT
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Prime Minister John Howard, trailing in national polls after 11 years in office, set national elections today for Nov. 24. Howard will run on the nation’s current economic boom, Reuters reports. His opponent, Labor leader Kevin Rudd, says he'll pull Australian troops out of Iraq, though domestic issues are expected to dominate at the polls.
That's Not Dowd, It's Colbert (We Think)
New York Times
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Oct 14, 2007 10:38 AM CDT
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Maureen Dowd turned over her column to faux conservative Stephen Colbert today in the New York Times —or it's her own clever parody on a master of the form. Either way, it's a fun read, with Colbert hinting he'd like to run for president. But unlike Newt, Colbert won’t force his supporters to raise $30 million. “I would run for 15...
George's Sons Take Over Yanks
New York Post
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Oct 14, 2007 9:59 AM CDT
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George Steinbrenner’s sons, Hank and Hal, are now calling the shots for the Yankees, the New York Post reported today. King George, 77, will still be in the picture and only "an office door away," but the brothers will have final say on all day-to-day baseball decisions. “There's always been a succession—and that's myself...
Do Vegetative Patients Dream of Comatose Sheep?
New Yorker
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Oct 14, 2007 9:57 AM CDT
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New research into the way vegetative brains function is challenging the way the scientific community classifies cognitively impaired patients. Recent studies show that some vegetative patients can recognize faces, acquire new memories, and imagine physical movement—all mental activities long held to be out of reach for such patients, the New...
Rapper T.I. Busted on Machine Gun Charge
CNN
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Oct 14, 2007 9:27 AM CDT
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Rapper T.I. has a good excuse for missing BET’s Hip Hop Awards: He was in jail. Federal agents busted the rapper yesterday after they found an illegal "arsenal" of machine guns in his home, said law enforcement authorities. As a convicted felon, it’s illegal for the self-proclaimed “King of the South” to own any gun.
Eco Warriors Green Around Gills Over Wrong Trout fight
New York Times
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Oct 14, 2007 9:09 AM CDT
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Oops. Conservationists apparently have been fighting for 20 years to protect the Colorado River cutthroat trout. The halibut is, they were supposed to be protecting another, similar species, the greenback cutthroat trout. “Hey, science happens,” said a biologist after studies revealed many of the "saved" fish were not among the...
Colombia Mine Collapse Kills 24
BBC
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Oct 14, 2007 8:10 AM CDT
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At least 24 amateur gold prospectors were killed yesterday when an open pit mine collapsed in southwest Colombia. A landslide caused by torrential rains triggered the accident, which also injured 18 people and left at least 10 missing, BBC reports. Continuing heavy rains have hindered rescue efforts, as has the lack of information about how many...
Lobbyists Hone End Runs Around New Ethics Law
Washington Post
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Oct 14, 2007 7:54 AM CDT
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The new political ethics law was supposed to stop corruption, shady lobbying and runaway perks that had plagued Washington. Instead, its biggest impact seems to be an upsurge in seminars aimed at teaching lobbyists how to skirt the law by informing them of the precise limitations—and loopholes—of the legislation, reports the Washington...
Crazed Elephants Ravage Village
CNN
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Oct 14, 2007 7:26 AM CDT
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A marauding herd of some 100 elephants has run amok on an Indian island, destroying homes and crushing fields as they feast on sugarcane. Panicky villagers were using firecrackers and bonfires in a bid to drive off the animals. Some 50 families have moved to a school for shelter.
Gay Vatican Priest Outed on TV; Ousted by Holy See
Associated Press
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Oct 14, 2007 6:55 AM CDT
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The Vatican yesterday suspended a senior official caught on hidden camera making advances to a man and saying that he didn't believe he was sinning by being involved with gays. Italian television showed the priest with his face distorted, but Vatican officials recognized the office where he was filmed. The suspended priest, Monsignor Tomasso Stenico,...
BoSox Bullpen Gives Game Away in 11th
Boston Herald
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Oct 14, 2007 5:32 AM CDT
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The Red Sox suffered their first postseason loss last night as the Boston Bullpen let a 6-6 tie explode into a 13-6 embarrassment in the 11th inning. Starting pitchers Curt Schilling and Fausto Carmona both left high scores in their wake after just over four innings, but Eric Gagne got the loss by sparking Cleveland's final, devastating rally, reports...
Deadly Truck Inferno Shuts I-5
Los Angeles Times
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Oct 14, 2007 5:27 AM CDT
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Firefighters were continuing to advance into a highway tunnel on California's Interstate 5 yesterday after a deadly five-truck inferno melted metal and blasted chunks of concrete off tunnel walls. The devastation made it likely that the state's major artery would be shut for days. At least three people died and 10 were injured in the big rig...
No. 1 LSU Goes Down in 3rd OT
Lexington Herald-Leader
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Oct 14, 2007 5:04 AM CDT
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The Kentucky Wildcats trailed for much of last night's game before upsetting top-ranked Louisiana State in triple overtime, reports the Lexington Herald-Leader . The underdogs quickly dug their way out of a 27-14 hole late in the third quarter with Andre Woodson's touchdown pass and two field goals nailed by streaky kicker Lones Sieber.
Cybercrime Nexus Tracked to Russia
Washington Post
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Oct 14, 2007 5:01 AM CDT
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A growing trail of evidence points to a major Russian internet company as the hub of much of the world's cybercrime, according to law enforcement officials. The shadowy firm hosts websites devoted to child pornography, spamming, and identity theft, the Washington Post reports. Security experts believe the St. Petersburg-based company has strong organized...
Vaccine for Ovarian Cancer 'Encouraging'
BBC
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Oct 14, 2007 4:45 AM CDT
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A new vaccine for ovarian cancer has produced "encouraging" results in primary trials, the BBC reports. Ovarian cancer can be effectively treated with chemotherapy, but 70% of women with the illness die from a recurrence of the cancer within five years of diagnosis. There's "compelling evidence that the immune system has the capacity...
Oregon State Shocks No. 2 Cal
San Jose Mercury News
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Oct 14, 2007 4:41 AM CDT
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On the night that LSU was bounced from its top ranking, No. 2 California had the chance to take over—a possibility that fizzled as time ran out at Oregon State's 10-yard line. Freshman quarterback Kevin Riley was tackled with five seconds and no timeouts left, and the Bears couldn't set up a field goal in time, reports the Mercury News.
Good Grief! Peanuts Writer Was Depressive
Salon
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Oct 13, 2007 8:23 PM CDT
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Charles Shulz hid his dark side amid tales of Charlie, Lucy, Linus and Snoopy, according to a new biography. Snoopy's romance was secretly Shulz's extramarital affair, and Charlie Brown was victim to the very buried rage that Shulz took out on others. An old pal confirmed this dark portrayal, writing that Shulz had a “mean streak” that...
Books Help Rwandan Kids Cope After Genocide
Reuters
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Oct 13, 2007 7:58 PM CDT
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Rwandan kids are coping with life after genocide by reading, says the country's sole children's publisher. "After the genocide, children did not laugh, children did not play. But through language and stories, children can learn cultural history, and learn of our joy of life." Agnes Gyr-Ukunda says he has published roughly 450,000 copies of...
Chinese Prez to Snub Left, Right in 2nd Term
Washington Post
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Oct 13, 2007 7:35 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Thousands of delegates are pouring into Beijing for this week's political debates, but the Washington Post says the debate is over: President Hu Jintao will keep walking a safe middle path in his next 5-year term. Once deemed a candidate to open China's one-party system, Hu has ignored calls for "self-revolution" as well as pleas to roll...
Button Down Meets Blue Collar in Iowa
Associated Press
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Oct 13, 2007 7:10 PM CDT
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Advantage, Obama: He's already winning blue collar hearts in Iowa before Hillary shows up for her caucus drive. He can also talk agriculture and education with ease because Iowa's troubles resemble Illinois'. And vets he meets there resemble his grandad, a WWII soldier from Kansas. Yet the big city lawmaker still needs reminders of Iowa life: "Hogs...
Banks to Form $100B Fund to Back Mortgage Securities
Wall Street Journal
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Oct 13, 2007 6:37 PM CDT
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Citigroup and other major banks are banding together to create a $100-billion fund to buy back shaky mortgage securities in order to contain the threat of their undermining the markets and hurting the economy. The unprecedented project, pooling money from banks like JP Morgan and Bank of America, has been hatched in cooperation with the Treasury Department,...
Israeli Strike on Syria Hit Nuke Reactor
New York Times
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Oct 13, 2007 6:21 PM CDT
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Israel's air strike on Syria last month was aimed at a nuclear reactor, US and Israeli intelligence analysts say. The partly-built facility was based on a North Korean model—a link that could harm Pyonyang's new denuclearization deal if Israel can prove that Kim Jong Il helped mount the reactor. US and world officials were mum about the origins...
Boot the Electoral College: Salon
Salon
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Oct 13, 2007 5:44 PM CDT
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The Electoral College is "a loaded gun pointed directly at the heart of our democracy," writes Garrett Epps in Salon, and it's high time to get rid of the throwback designed to protect slave ownership. No part of the Constitution has failed more, he argues, citing the 1824, 1876, 1888, and 2000 elections, when the popular-vote winner was...
Still a Believer in Faith-Based Solutions
Economist
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Oct 13, 2007 5:04 PM CDT
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The Economist catches up with John DiIulio, the Democrat who was Bush's “faith czar” for just 7 months in his first term, to re-examine the viability of what the magazine calls "compassionate centrism." With "faith-based" now unfortunately associated more with political zeal—faith-based wars, faith-based science—than...
US Envoys Try to Soothe Angry Turks
BBC
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Oct 13, 2007 4:38 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Two US envoys flew to Ankara today to urge Turkey not to strike back against Kurdish militants, the BBC reports. Relations between the NATO allies remain strained after US lawmakers accused Turkey this week of waging a WWI-era genocide campaign against Armenians. Turkey reacted by recalling its ambassador from Washington.
US Halts Hanging of Convicted Saddam Chief
Time
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Oct 13, 2007 4:07 PM CDT
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The US stopped Saddam's defense chief from hanging last month, claiming Iraqi outrage inspired the pardon — but insiders say that Sultan Hashem earned his reprieve by thwarting Iraqi attacks during the 2003 US-led invasion. Officials tell Time that Hashem’s execution would be a “gross miscarriage of justice” since his work...
6 Months After Virginia Tech, Lawsuits Loom
Associated Press
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Oct 13, 2007 3:36 PM CDT
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The Virginia Tech shootings six months ago Tuesday left 32 people dead and 20 threatening to sue. A lawyer yesterday notified state and town officials that he represents the families of 12 people killed and eight wounded; the group is weighing legal action on the grounds that town employees “failed to conduct a reasonably thorough and professionally...
Maternal Death Rate Still High
Guardian (UK)
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Oct 13, 2007 3:11 PM CDT
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Despite two decades of efforts, more than half a million women die each year while pregnant or from complications after childbirth, the Guardian reported. While overall abortion rates have dropped and contraceptive use has increased, Africa and parts of Asia are bucking those trends. Some experts blame the Bush administration, whose HIV/AIDS prevention...
Britain Launches Wi-Fi Health Investigation
Guardian (UK)
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Oct 13, 2007 3:04 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Great Britain’s Health Protection Agency has launched a two-year comprehensive study into the health risks of wireless Internet connections, responding to rising fears from advocates and educators – but they don’t expect to find anything. There’s no evidence suggesting health risks, the Agency says, and it's likely exposure...
Stock Options Make for Risk-Happy CEOs
Reuters
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Oct 13, 2007 2:59 PM CDT
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Companies compensating their CEOs with stock options should prepare for a bumpy ride, as those CEOs are more likely to take big chances that backfire, a new study finds. Shareholders took extreme losses from more than 10% of option-heavy CEOs, compared to 6.8% who saw big gains. The study's authors say it’s like “handing money to a gambler...
