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.
Video Games Get Serious
Der Spiegel
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Oct 13, 2007 2:40 PM CDT
(Newser) -
One game is set in the Guantanamo Bay prison camp; another invites players to oversee famine relief efforts on a fictional island; a third game, called "Darfur is Dying," pits refugees against militias. These three are part of a new trend: serious computer games that aim to raise the political awareness of players, Der Spiegel reports.
Rice Criticizes Putin's Iron Fist
Reuters
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Oct 13, 2007 2:36 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Condoleezza Rice criticized the "concentration of power" in the Kremlin today and pledged support to human rights activists, the BBC reported. In Russia for already-tense talks on a proposed missile defense shield, Rice also questioned the independence of the judiciary. One rights leader, however, said the stain of Guantanamo Bay and...
How Blackwater Came to Be
Washington Post
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Oct 13, 2007 1:49 PM CDT
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Erik Prince, the politically savvy CEO of Blackwater USA, took advantage of a confluence of events—a rise in terrorism coupled with military cutbacks and an administration committed to outsourcing—to create one of the fastest-growing US contractors of the past decade. The Washington Post investigates the extraordinary rise of the private...
Software Titan Oracle Eyes Another Conquest
New York Times
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Oct 13, 2007 1:03 PM CDT
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Software maker BEA Systems is under pressure from shareholder Carl Icahn to sell, but executives say this week’s $6.7 billion offer by Oracle is too low. Icahn agreed the unsolicited bid wasn’t good enough but said he was pleased an offer was made, the New York Times reports. Analysts expect Oracle to raise its offer and get BEA.
Get Ready for Robot Love
LiveScience
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Oct 13, 2007 12:28 PM CDT
(Newser) -
It’s a small step from Roomba to betrothed, says researcher David Levy, whose Ph.D. thesis predicts humans will have sex with and marry robots within half a century. Robots have moved from factories to homes—witness the popularity of Roomba vacuum cleaners—and are becoming more human in appearance. “The question is not if this...
Lots Like It Hot: Taste-Starved Boomers Fuel Spicy Sales
Boston Globe
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Oct 13, 2007 11:52 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Baby boomers and their aging senses are fueling a major sales surge in spicy foods and sauces, turning up the heat on mainstream restaurant menus and supermarket salsa aisles. Market experts theorize that as the generation experiences a diminished sense of taste, consumers are using their enormous buying power to demand spicier foods for all, reports...
No More Chads, but Florida Voting Hassles Remain
New York Times
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Oct 13, 2007 11:12 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Poor Florida. Seven years after the 2000 election fiasco, the state is overhauling its election system yet again, this time chucking touch-screen voting booths for a system that combines old-fashioned pen-and-paper ballots with optical scanning. And with many other states also ditching touch screens, no one wants to buy Florida’s now useless—and...
Timing Is All
ABC News
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Oct 13, 2007 10:37 AM CDT
(Newser) -
ABC News offers these tips on the best time to: Work out: The afternoon, when you’ve eaten and muscles are warmed up. Get groceries: Tuesdays and Fridays, when produce is freshest. Pick up a prescription: Play it safe and pick your pills up in the second week. Pharmacies make mistakes more frequently in the busy first week...
Burma Nabs Top Dissidents
BBC
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Oct 13, 2007 10:02 AM CDT
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Myanmar’s rulers have arrested just about every major dissident at large, the BBC reports. The junta rounded up three more prominent figures, among them Htay Kywe, who had been in hiding. He was a leader not only of the recent protests but of the 1988 uprising as well. Amnesty International expressed “fear that they risk torture and ill...
Ex-Qwest CEO Claims Spy Effort Began Before 9/11
Washington Post
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Oct 13, 2007 9:34 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Joseph Nacchio, the former CEO of Qwest Communications, claims that the National Security Agency asked his company in February, 2001, to participate in a potentially illegal surveillance program—and when he declined, punished the company by dropping a contract worth hundreds of millions of dollars, reports the Washington Post . The allegation...
Bush v. Gore, Seven Years Later
Washington Post
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Oct 13, 2007 9:01 AM CDT
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The Gore camp couldn't resist gloating yesterday: "Bush earned the Iraq war, and Al Gore earned the Nobel Prize. Who knew Al Gore would one day thank the Supreme Court for their judgment?" The day after the prize, the Washington Post takes a look at how the fortunes of Gore and the man who defeated him have reversed since the 2000...
'NSync Mogul Accused of Sleeping With Boy Singers
Vanity Fair
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Oct 13, 2007 8:27 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Boy band "svengali" Lou Pearlman is accused of scamming more than $300 million, but some ex-singers and moms say there's more: The 'NSync and Backstreet Boys mogul pressured his underage wannabe stars for sex. One ex-assistant has gone on record with Vanity Fair , saying, "There was one guy in every band—one sacrifice—who...
Boulerice Checks Himself Out of 25 Games
Philadelphia Inquirer
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Oct 13, 2007 7:33 AM CDT
(Newser) -
NHL vice president Colin Campbell has suspended Philadelphia's Jesse Boulerice for 25 games after an unnecessarily vicious cross-check on Vancouver's Ryan Kessler on Wednesday. Boulerice went for Kessler's neck in the third period of an 8-2 Philly win, in a move that the Flyers GM called "a careless act," reports the Philadelphia Inquirer....
Chinese Dam to Displace 4M More People
BBC
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Oct 13, 2007 7:28 AM CDT
(Newser) -
China will move at least four million more people—including many who've already been moved once—as the Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest hydroelectric project, nears completion at the end of next year. The new relocations were announced amid reports that the dam was causing landslides, soil erosion, polluted drinking water, and...
Ex-General Calls Iraq War 'Incompetent'
New York Times
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Oct 13, 2007 6:19 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the retied former commander of US forces in Iraq, didn't pull any punches yesterday when he launched a scathing assault on the administration's conduct of the war effort. Speaking to reporters, Sanchez called Bush's plans "unrealistically optimistic" and "catastrophically flawed," and decried the lack of...
Midnight Madness Off to an Early Start
ESPN
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Oct 13, 2007 5:50 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The first official practices for NCAA basketball teams tipped off at 7pm last night with varying degrees of hoopla, ESPN reports. Schools like UCLA and Washington State eschewed the "madness" aspect as well as the "midnight," but others put on spectacles for sellout crowds. "Until you go through it you'd never understand it,"...
Rockies Remain Undefeated
Denver Post
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Oct 13, 2007 5:31 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The Colorado Rockies held on to their postseason win streak last night courtesy of Arizona closer Jose Valverde, who walked in the winning run with two out in the 11th. The Diamondbacks put up a good fight, tying the game in the ninth and outhitting the Rockies, but the return of Willy Taveras spelled doom for Arizona, reports the Denver Post .
OT Win in San Jose Keeps Hawaii Perfect
Associated Press
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Oct 13, 2007 5:28 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Hawaii's Warriors battled back in the final seconds of regulation to beat the San Jose Spartans in overtime last night, reports the AP. Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan connected on 44 of 75 and rocketed a total of 545 yards, matching his four interceptions with four touchdowns to eclipse Dwight Lowrey's two huge touchdown runs for San Jose.
Vatican Clears Knights Templar of Heresy
Reuters
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Oct 13, 2007 4:44 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Correcting a 700-year-old filing error, the Vatican will soon publish papers that clear the Knights Templar of heresy—a crime for which they burned at the stake in the 1300s. Scholars at the Vatican's Secret Archives plan to print the docs in a hefty leather-bound book that costs more than $8,000, but Reuters reports that Templar buffs are ready...
Blackhawks Rally Past Red Wings for Win
Chicago Tribune
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Oct 13, 2007 1:00 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Former Red Wing Robert Lang was pivotal in Chicago's come-from-behind 3-2 victory over Detroit last night, the Chicago Tribune reports. The Hawks scored twice in quick succession in the second to overcome an 0-2 deficit, and Lang's third period shot proved decisive. The center also had a pivotal tying goal in last week's Chicago victory over...
Red Sox Cruise Behind Beckett
Providence Journal
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Oct 13, 2007 12:53 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Game 1 of the ALCS did not prove to be the pitching duel between Cy Young candidates that many had expected, as the Red Sox battered Cleveland starter C.C. Sabathia en-route to a 10-3 victory, the Providence Journal reports. Sabathia was rocked for eight runs in four and a third innings, while Josh Beckett coasted through six, giving up two runs...
The Scent of Money
Forbes
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Oct 13, 2007 12:36 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Britney's life may be off the rails, but her scent is selling brilliantly, right up there with Liz's and Diddy's. Forbes gives us the top seven celebrity scents, along with their sales tallies for 2006: Sean Combs: Sean John Unforgivable, $74.9 million Elizabeth Taylor: White Diamonds, $60.7 million Sarah Jessica Parker:...
Military Flying Saucers Coming
Discovery News
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Oct 13, 2007 12:10 AM CDT
(Newser) -
They’re not science fiction anymore. Researchers have built a real life flying saucer that looks and flies like a B-movie dream. The unmanned craft takes off vertically, maneuvers well, and can land almost anywhere. Cheaper and safer than a helicopter, the Defense Department thinks the saucer could become a staple in urban war zones, Discovery...
Fast Start Powers Rangers
New York Times
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Oct 12, 2007 11:51 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The Rangers got their power-play on track in dominating fashion in Thursday's 3-1 victory over the Capitals, reports the New York Times . After suffering an 0-for-15 dry spell with a man advantage, it took less than two minutes and Scott Gomez's first goal of the season to set things right, and New York would score two more in the period to hand Washington...
Baseball Steroid Report Will Be 'Salacious'
ESPN
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Oct 12, 2007 11:33 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Following an internal MLB conference call, rumors abound that the long-awaited report by George Mitchell on steroids in baseball will name names, including those of well known players, ESPN reports. The network says an MLB lawyer on the call labelled the report "salacious," and quotes an unnamed source saying, "This is going to be enormous...it's...
Staff Acquitted in Boot Camp Youth Death
Associated Press
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Oct 12, 2007 6:45 PM CDT
(Newser) -
In a case that led to reforms in the state's controversial juvenile justice system, eight former Florida boot camp workers were acquitted of manslaughter today in the death of a 14-year-old boy. "You kill a dog, you go to jail. You kill a little black boy and nothing happens," said the family's lawyer, echoing the frustrations of many outside...
Mushrooms Declared Illegal in Netherlands
Associated Press
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Oct 12, 2007 5:52 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The party is over in Amsterdam. The Dutch government today announced a ban on psilocybin mushrooms, long tolerated under the Netherlands’ notoriously liberal drug laws, after the well-publicized suicide of a teenage user. The fungus “will be outlawed the same way as other drugs,” the justice minister said. The government will crack...
Cops Raid Anna Nicole's Doctors
Los Angeles Times
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Oct 12, 2007 5:23 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Police raided the homes and offices of two doctors who prescribed medication to Anna Nicole Smith today as part of an ongoing investigation into the circumstances of the heiress' death in Florida in February, the LA Times reports. California AG Jerry Brown said investigators had developed evidence of violations of the state's medical code and possible...
Sir Paul's Divorce Talks Collapse and Head to Court
Daily Mail (UK)
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Oct 12, 2007 4:57 PM CDT
(Newser) -
As divorce talks between Paul McCartney and estranged wife Heather Mills collapse, the unhappy couple gears up for a full-blown public trial next February. Mills apparently turned down a $100 million settlement offer, the Daily Mail reports, because it stipulated that she not talk about the marriage in public—something she evidently has set...
Nobel-Winning UN Panel Head: I'm 'a Symbol'
BBC
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Oct 12, 2007 4:30 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The Nobel Peace Prize came as a surprise to the head of the UN committee that shared the award with Al Gore, who seized the opportunity to share the panel's mission: "To tell the world we need to do something about climate change urgently." Rajendra Pachauri deflected praise to his fellow scientists, saying he is "just a symbol,"...
Hey, Google, Search for This: Competitors
CNN
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Oct 12, 2007 4:08 PM CDT
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With more and more businesses reliant on Google for advertising and search services, there may be regulation on the horizon for the online Goliath. The solution? Healthy competition, Fortune columnist David Kirkpatrick says, which it's not getting enough of. Major innovation by Microsoft and Yahoo may be precisely what it needs to avoid the monopoly...
House to Examine NFL Disability
Baltimore Sun
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Oct 12, 2007 3:58 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The disability system for NFL players will receive additional scrutiny now that a House committee with "serious questions" about it has commissioned a Congressional Research Service study, the Baltimore Sun reports. The committee wants to find "why only a small percentage of former players receive disability benefits in such a dangerous...
Tech, Retail Sales Spark Rally
CNN
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Oct 12, 2007 3:50 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Surging tech stocks and positive economic news that eased recession fears helped fuel the first market rally in three days today, with the S&P 500 capping its fifth straight week of gains to close at 1,561.80, up 7.39. The Dow added 77.96 to close at 14,093.08, and the Nasdaq climbed a whopping 33.48, or 1.21%, to wrap up at 2,805.68.
Porn Hacking Keeps CA Gov Site Down
ComputerWorld
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Oct 12, 2007 3:26 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The Transportation Authority of Marin's website, ground zero for last week's porn-related California civic website disruption, remains offline after administrators proved unable to quell the dirty bits prankery. Hidden redirections to porn sites reappeared after TAM officials persuaded US admins to stop shutting down all California websites using the...
Hundreds Die in Police Custody Each Year
New York Times
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Oct 12, 2007 3:20 PM CDT
(Newser) -
More than 2,000 people died during arrests in 2003-05, the first Justice Department figures on suspect deaths reveal, and more than half of them perished at the hands of law-enforcement officers. Officers reported 80% of suspects they killed had threatened or assaulted them with a weapon, the Times reports.
Mediocrity, Blahs Own the Night
Rotten Tomatoes
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Oct 12, 2007 3:00 PM CDT
(Newser) -
No one feels too strongly about We Own the Night, a crime drama Variety calls “exceptionally conventional.” It delivers “jolts of pulse-quickening drama,” the Inquirer says, complete with a rainy car chase every reviewer loved. Beyond that, “reactions will depend greatly upon one's tolerance for dramatic implausibilities,...
After 30 Years, Riviera Murder Case Ends in Conviction
Telegraph (UK)
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Oct 12, 2007 2:36 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Thirty years after his girlfriend disappeared, a onetime playboy lawyer was convicted of her murder yesterday, ending a tangled tale of seduction and bribery that has long fascinated the French Riviera. Although the body of casino heiress Agnes Le Roux was never found, Jean-Maurice Agnelet, 69, was sentenced to 20 years in prison after his third trial,...
Labels Team Up to Bruise iTunes
PC World
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Oct 12, 2007 2:12 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Universal Music is acting on industry-wide anger toward iTunes’ policies, teaming with Sony and potentially Warner on a new subscription service that could make music essentially free. Still a prototype, Total Music would charge makers of music players $5 a month, PC World reports; they would then offer unlimited downloads with purchase of...
Branson's Virgin Group Bids for Northern Rock
Times (UK)
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Oct 12, 2007 1:55 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Richard Branson’s Virgin Group is officially making a bid for Britain’s Northern Rock, the Times of London reports. Branson hopes to merge the bank with Virgin Money and then rebrand it, keeping the company independent. “If we are successful we'll be able to create an exciting new banking alternative for everyone in the UK,”...
14-Year-Old's Mom Arrested on Gun Charges
CNN
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Oct 12, 2007 1:32 PM CDT
(Newser) -
A Pennsylvania woman faces multiple criminal charges after buying guns and bomb-making materials for her emotionally disturbed 14-year old son. Michele Cossey is accused of purchasing a 9mm semiautomatic rifle, a .22 rifle and handgun, and black powder for use in making grenades, CNN reports. Her son, home-schooled after withdrawing in 2006, is being...
Baghdad Shiites Turn Away From Mahdi Army
New York Times
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Oct 12, 2007 1:22 PM CDT
(Newser) -
In Shiite neighborhoods in Baghdad, a substantial shift in allegiances is under way, the Times reports: locals are beginning to turn from the Mahdi Army, the militia that once represented their best defense against Sunni insurgents. A lack of coherent ideology has turned a militia into a gang, and local Shiites have been horrified by the growing...
UAW Wins Some, May Lose Some in Chrysler Deal
Wall Street Journal
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Oct 12, 2007 1:00 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Chrysler's UAW deal came about largely as a result of the company's late concession to preserve 3,100 UAW jobs at its Mopar parts arm and a transport operation . But even as the union trumpets those victories, more union concessions—allowing Chrysler to cut costs—will probably come to light soon, reports the Wall Street Journal.
White House by Way of Oslo?
Politico
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Oct 12, 2007 12:34 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Al Gore’s Nobel Peace Prize will increase calls for the Oscar winner to run for president. The Politico says the laureate’s likely to stay out of the race—after this, a political campaign would be an awful downer, the Washington Post notes—but not until he’s drawn out speculation first. And the most prestigious award...
Legalize Steroids, Save Sports
Washington Post
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Oct 12, 2007 12:20 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Nearly everyone has used drugs to improve performance in some aspect of life—caffeine to work late, sleeping pills to guarantee rest, medicine to clear up a cold—so it is nonsensical to prevent athletes from doing the same, argues Sally Jenkins of the Washington Post . Her answer to the burgeoning steroid scandals in sports is to legalize...
Not Even Cate Can Save Liz 2
Metacritic
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Oct 12, 2007 11:57 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Nobody can bear to say a bad word about Cate Blanchett, star of Elizabeth: The Golden Age ," despite agreeing that the film itself is a big gooey mess. "Cate Blanchett can do anything," writes Peter Travers in Rolling Stone , "but she can't save this creaky sequel." Most agree with Roger Ebert: "We lose sight of the...
Yahoo's Newspaper Deal Still Buggy
Reuters
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Oct 12, 2007 11:50 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Yahoo!'s deal to handle online ads for 19 newspaper publishers is approaching its first anniversary, and it's still unclear how helpful the partnership will be, reports Reuters. Much of the promised technology hasn't even been built yet, and individual papers may be limited in their options by the size of the consortium.
Hillary Does About-Face on Iran
Associated Press
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Oct 12, 2007 11:33 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Hillary Clinton told a voter in an apple orchard yesterday that she would negotiate with Iran “with no conditions”—the very statement for which she took Barack Obama to the woodshed in July, calling him "naive." The difference? Her campaign tells the AP she doesn't agree with Obama that the US "should precommit to meeting...
Google Earth Gets a YouTube Atmosphere
ComputerWorld
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Oct 12, 2007 11:23 AM CDT
(Newser) -
A further sign that you don't need the real world so long as you have Google: the search engine company has now integrated its Google Earth map program with YouTube, the video site it bought last year. Videos location-marked on YouTube will now be available on the Google Earth's satellite view, so users can watch footage from halfway around the world...
Virgin Mobile USA IPO Disappoints
Wall Street Journal
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Oct 12, 2007 11:15 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Virgin Mobile USA debuted on the stock market yesterday with disappointing results, according to the Wall Street Journal . Its closing price of $15.75, up 5% from the IPO, was at the low end of the $15-17 range predicted by deal manager Lehman Bros. Founding owners Virgin Group and Sprint Nextel retained 54% of their shares but may cut back to 47%.
Euro Soccer Bosses & Players Union Sign New Deal
Reuters
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Oct 12, 2007 11:11 AM CDT
(Newser) -
European soccer's governing body UEFA and the players' union FIFPro signed an agreement Thursday covering areas such as contract transfers and players' rights of employment. The deal should prevent another Bosman ruling, the landmark 1995 decision in which the European Court of Justice gave athletes more freedom to change clubs.
