Newser Story Index from December, 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.
News Corp. to Sell 8 Fox Stations for $1.1B
Bloomberg
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Dec 23, 2007 8:47 AM CST
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News Corp., shifting its focus to its larger, more profitable properties, will sell eight of its medium-market Fox network TV stations to investment firm Oak Hill Capital Partners for $1.1 billion. The sale will leave the media company, which acquired the Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones for $5.2 billion this year, with 27 stations, Bloomberg reports.
Hit the Slopes in Style This Year
Outside
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Dec 23, 2007 8:36 AM CST
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If you hear "snow" and think "skiing" or "snowboarding," then this gear is for you. Outside magazine picks the hippest and best-performing pieces of the current season: Alpine Skis: Head Monster 88, $950 Soft Shells: Arc'teryx Hercules Hoody, $325 Snowboards: Palmer Honeycomb 164, $749
Queen of YouTube
BBC
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Dec 23, 2007 8:24 AM CST
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Look who's using YouTube. The British Royals have just joined the ranks of YouTube users with the launch of a "Royal Channel" on the video-sharing Internet site that showcases recent and historical clips of the queen and her family. On Tuesday the queen will broadcast her 50th anniversary Christmas message on the channel, which she hopes...
Thugs Skin Tiger in China Zoo
Associated Press
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Dec 23, 2007 7:45 AM CST
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Officials are searching for the thugs who skinned and beheaded a rare Siberian tiger at a zoo in central China. The female carcass—missing its head, legs and skin—was found outside its pen in Yichang City in Hubei province. Four homemade anesthetic rifles lay nearby. "It is highly possible that the killers anesthetized the tiger, opened...
Dem Primaries: A Referendum on Clintonism
New York Times
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Dec 23, 2007 7:29 AM CST
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The Democratic presidential primary contest will be “a judgment on the ‘90s,” writes the New York Times ’ Matt Bai: The left is deeply conflicted about Bill Clinton and his "third way," and Hillary's “fortunes are bound up with his,” Bai says. "They might love Bill Clinton, but they loathe Clintonism"—even...
Deadly Storm Batters Plains
Associated Press
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Dec 23, 2007 7:13 AM CST
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A deadly storm packing a one-two punch of heavy snow and high winds delivered a pounding to the Plains, making travel treacherous on a busy pre-holiday weekend. Blowing snow dropped visibility to near zero at times, causing at least five deaths in a string of multi-vehicle crashes that closed portions of major highways in several states, reports AP.
Squeezed Owners Seek Tax Break as Home Values Drop
New York Times
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Dec 23, 2007 6:45 AM CST
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With property values falling across much of the nation, more homeowners are asking for reassessments, looking for a break from property taxes that inflated before the subprime mortgage balloon burst, reports the New York Times . For local governments, especially in areas already suffering from high rates of foreclosure, declining property taxes could...
Party of Ousted Prime Minister Wins Thai Races
Reuters
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Dec 23, 2007 6:15 AM CST
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Deposed former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is poised to return from exile now that the party supporting him won the most seats in parliament in today's elections, according to exit polls. It was unclear, however, whether the pro-Thaksin People Power party gained an absolute majority. If not, opposition parties still have a chance to cobble...
Israel, Feeling Isolated, 'More Likely' to Attack Iran
Newsweek
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Dec 23, 2007 5:45 AM CST
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Israel feels newly isolated and no less threatened by the US intelligence community's conclusion that Iran ended its weapons program in 2003, Newsweek reports. The atmosphere, says a former CIA official, makes it likely Israel will soon attack Iran. "Israel is not going to allow its nuclear monopoly to be threatened," he warned.
Cowboys Win, But Owens Hurt
Charlotte Observer
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Dec 23, 2007 5:40 AM CST
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Tony Romo was able to play through a banged up thumb and throw one touchdown pass to Terrell Owens, Marion Barber ran for another, and that plus two Nick Folk FGs was more than enough for the Cowboys to grab a road win over the Panthers in their next-to-last game of the season. But the injury bug continued to bite the 'Boys, as Owens left the game...
Porn Pioneer Vows to Take More DC Scalps
Vanity Fair
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Dec 23, 2007 5:07 AM CST
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Hustler publisher and professional muckraker Larry Flynt is “arguably the greatest student of the American underbelly since J. Edgar Hoover"—and now he’s got big conservatives in his sights, writes Vanity Fair . Flynt, who has often offered money for the unmasking of gay or adulterous politicians, insists he’s about...
Gulf Arabs Enjoy Iranian Thaw
Economist
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Dec 23, 2007 4:30 AM CST
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Relations between the Sunni states in the Persian Gulf and the Shias in Iran were chilly before Mahmoud Ahmadinejad came to power in 2005, and they became even frostier afterward. But now the worm is beginning to turn—and former rivals are making nice. Burdened with UN sanctions and needing new trading partners, Tehran has been knocking...
Selling the Video Game Pitch
GameSpot
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Dec 22, 2007 7:50 PM CST
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Picture the video game pitch: You sit down in front of a group software publisher execs with nothing more than a Powerpoint presentation and somehow try to communicate what your hypothetical digital world will be like and why it will be successful. Gamespot explores the evolution of pitching, from its unassuming beginnings to today’s pressure...
Fateful 1963 Xmas Card Missing on Tour
Reuters
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Dec 22, 2007 7:44 PM CST
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Visitors on a White House Christmas tour have noticed something missing—a rare 1963 greeting card that John F. Kennedy signed before his fateful trip to Dallas, Reuters reports. President and Jacquelyn Kennedy signed fewer than 30 of the cards, which were never sent out. "They are the most rare pieces of presidential Christmas memorabilia...
Fruitcake Gets a Facelift
Wall Street Journal
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Dec 22, 2007 7:41 PM CST
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What's a sinfully rich dessert that’s been around since the Middle Ages—and some say tastes about that old? Fruitcake, capable of producing “ahs!” or ”arghs!” in a single bite, has gotten a makeover. The new recipe: less fruit—especially those compacted bits of garishly colored candied fruit—and more...
Calif. Crunch May Force Drastic Cuts
Los Angeles Times
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Dec 22, 2007 7:22 PM CST
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California's dire financial straits may force the early release of 30,000 low-risk inmates and bring drastic cuts in education, the Los Angeles Times reports. Arnold Schwarzenegger will declare a fiscal emergency next month as the state wrestles with a $14.5 billion budget gap. The governor has ordered agencies to explore spending cuts of 10% across...
Italy Depressed by News Story Calling Italy Depressed
New York Times
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Dec 22, 2007 7:12 PM CST
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In a self-referential moment, the New York Times interviews its own reporter, Ian Fisher, about the nationwide soul-searching set off in Italy by Fisher's Dec. 13 article that depicts Italians as wallowing in a collective funk. Fisher's description of a dispirited national mood has prompted an impassioned response from all corners.
Employees as Hard on Airline as Customers
New York Times
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Dec 22, 2007 7:07 PM CST
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US Airways has the worst on-time performance of any major US airline; it also has 36,000 employees encouraged to e-mail CEO Douglas Parker about everything from smelly planes to lousy in-flight snacks to a reservation system that doesn't work yet, reports the New York Times. Says Parker: The feedback “keeps management extremely honest.”
McCanns Make Christmas Plea for Maddy
Telegraph (UK)
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Dec 22, 2007 6:37 PM CST
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The parents of Madeleine McCann issued a video message today telling their daughter that "our only Christmas wish is for you to be back with us again" and pleading that anyone with information about her disappearance come forward. The video includes footage of the toddler unwrapping presents last year, the Daily Telegraph reports.
Mitt and Mike Get Nasty in Iowa
Los Angeles Times
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Dec 22, 2007 6:20 PM CST
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With the Iowa caucuses closing in, Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee are taking the gloves off in the state critical to both their campaigns, the LA Times observes. Romney has taken to calling Huckabee, the Iowa front-runner, weak on crime and immigration. Huckabee calls Romney a flip-flopper. “I didn’t just suddenly decide to be pro-life...
Gulags in America? Hoover Tried
New York Times
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Dec 22, 2007 5:56 PM CST
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J. Edgar Hoover wanted to round up 12,000 Americans he deemed disloyal in 1950, suspend habeus corpus, and lock them up in military and federal prisons, the New York Times reports. In a newly declassified letter, the FBI chief urges President Truman to approve the plan and tell the populace the Soviet-style arrests were necessary to “protect...
Sarko Stalwart Against Taliban
BBC
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Dec 22, 2007 5:31 PM CST
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Nicolas Sarkozy said today the international community must prevent Afghanistan from falling back under extremist rule, the BBC reports. The French president made a quick visit to Kabul to reaffirm his support for the US-led operation, saying France would commit more troops in the near future. France currently has about 1,300 troops in Afghanistan,...
I Like Ike, Says Spector, But I Hate His Enemies
Fox News
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Dec 22, 2007 5:25 PM CST
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Phil Spector gave an impromptu and rambling—but highly entertaining—eulogy at pal Ike Turner's funeral in which he took potshots at Tina, Oprah, Whoopi, and even Eric Clapton, Fox News reports. Spector glorified Turner—“Ike could play circles around Eric Clapton and Eric knew it”—and vilified his enemies, along with...
The Queen Called a Philistine
Guardian (UK)
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Dec 22, 2007 5:04 PM CST
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Queen Elizabeth II is undereducated and lacks curiosity about culture and her predecessors, a British historian charges in an interview with the Guardian . "I think she's got elements a bit like Goebbels in her attitude to culture," David Starkey says. "You remember: 'Every time I hear the word culture I reach for my revolver.'"...
What's the Next Bright Idea for Light Bulbs?
New York Times
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Dec 22, 2007 4:50 PM CST
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Retailers will be banned from selling inefficient incandescent bulbs in 2012, but manufacturers say their bright idea about compact fluorescents came years ago and the industry was heading in that direction anyway. In fact, the coming years will see a wave of more efficient light sources—not only flourescents, but LEDs and even high-efficient...
Texas Hits Strip Clubs With 'Pole Tax'
Associated Press
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Dec 22, 2007 4:32 PM CST
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Texas strip clubs are suing over a new law that will force them to collect a $5-per-person tax on clientele, the AP reports. Most of the estimated $40 million in proceeds will help rape victims, which club owners claim to support, but smaller venues fear a loss of customers. A Houston lawmaker who backed the bill disagrees: "I don't think another...
Belgium Frees Terror Suspects
Yahoo
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Dec 22, 2007 4:01 PM CST
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Today Belgian police released 14 men accused of plotting to break free an al-Qaeda suicide bomber, the AP reports. A court ruled there was not enough evidence to justify holding them more than 24 hours—the standard time to present evidence on a suspect in Belgium. "The police get the same time to question a terrorist as they would a shoplifter,"...
Turkey Hits Kurds With Air Strikes
BBC
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Dec 22, 2007 3:33 PM CST
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Turkey bombed Kurdish rebel targets in Northern Iraq today, claiming strikes on "infrastructure" but no fatalities, the BBC reports. Ten planes reportedly attacked the al-Amadiyah region, which Kurdish officials say is abandoned for fear of military strikes. Turkish officials said the militant PKK "suffered heavy losses in terms of its...
Pilgrims Use Wi-Fi at Hajj for First Time
Wi-Fi Planet
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Dec 22, 2007 3:06 PM CST
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Muslim pilgrims had free access to Wi-Fi for the first time during the Hajj, which ended yesterday in Saudi Arabia. The short-term service, provided by two telecom firms, had 70 access points around holy sites and took only two months to assemble. Pilgrims say that online access helped them seek guidance without tracking down busy muftis, or legal...
NYC Fines for Rat-Hunting Cats
New York Times
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Dec 22, 2007 2:32 PM CST
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New York food shops and delis have a way to deal with rats, but health inspectors aren’t purring: Many NYC stores have a cat around to keep out rodents, the New York Times reports. Unfortunately, health inspectors frown on cats and rats with equal fervor. “Any animal around food presents a contamination threat,” one rodentologist...
In Shift, Clergy Gives More Dollars to Dems
Politico
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Dec 22, 2007 2:05 PM CST
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In a shift from 2004, Republican presidential and congressional hopefuls are losing clergy support as measured by campaign donations, Politico reports. According to FEC data, clergy and religious groups have given Dem candidates $367,000 but the GOP just $288,000. Of the Dem haul, Barack Obama leads with $107,350 to Hillary Clinton's $89,910.
Brown Orders Britons to Think Green
Guardian (UK)
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Dec 22, 2007 1:43 PM CST
(Newser) -
British PM Gordon Brown has told his ministers to count the cost of global warming—literally. For each ton of carbon a new project emits, the UK will tack on a “carbon price" to account for climate costs. The move will prove a boon to carbon-free energy sources like nuclear power, and affect policies ranging from housing to new roads...
Tree That Survived A-Bomb Sees 70th Christmas
Associated Press
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Dec 22, 2007 1:10 PM CST
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A Japanese soldier's Christmas tree has stayed with his family through dark times, and even survived the atomic bomb that killed his brother in Nagasaki. This year marks the 70th Christmas that Warren Nobuaki Iwatake has put up the fragile, three-foot tree, which he calls "a shining light, because it was a symbol of unity in my family."
FBI Plans Huge Biometric Index
Washington Post
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Dec 22, 2007 12:29 PM CST
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The FBI is planning a $1 billion database of “biometric” information—face shapes, iris scans, palm patterns, and even gait patterns—to enhance investigations, the Washington Post reports. Critics fear that the plan, called Next Generation Identification, will further erode individual privacy as the body becomes a de facto...
Huckabee Rocked Little Rock
New York Times
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Dec 22, 2007 11:55 AM CST
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Mike Huckabee surged to the top of the polls in the Republican presidential contest partly because of his squeaky clean image, but the persona emerging from years as governor of Arkansas is quite different, the New York Times reports. Supporters and critics alike remember him as a hard-charging iconoclast with little tolerance for opposition and...
Blair Now Officially Catholic
Times (UK)
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Dec 22, 2007 11:16 AM CST
(Newser) -
Tony Blair converted to Catholicism yesterday, confirming months of rumors that he would switch from the Church of England, the UK Times reports. "I am very glad to receive Tony Blair into the Catholic church," said the archbishop of Westminster, who performed the ceremony in London. The former PM had long been attending services with his...
Ledger Reveals Details of Jones' Doping
ESPN
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Dec 22, 2007 10:53 AM CST
(Newser) -
Documents in the federal case against disgraced Olympic athlete Marion Jones, made public yesterday, reveal the extent of her use of performance-enhancing drugs. The Bay Area lab that supplied Jones turned over a ledger detailing her use of human growth hormone, steroids, EPO, and other drugs in 2000 and 2001, during the period in which she won five...
Nepal Court Rules for Gay Rights
BBC
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Dec 22, 2007 10:23 AM CST
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Conservative Nepal must stop its discrimination against homosexuals and make laws to protect their rights, the nation's highest court ruled yesterday. The decision is a major victory for gay rights advocates in the Himalayan country, where gay men and women have long complained of discrimination and attacks, BBC reports. "We all feel we are liberated...
Deadlock Shuts Down Election Commission
Washington Post
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Dec 22, 2007 9:57 AM CST
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A standoff in Congress will force the agency that doles out federal campaign dollars and polices political spending to go dark on New Year's Eve—just in time for the start of the primaries, the Washington Post reports. The Federal Election Commission needs four votes from its six members to take any action; as of January 1, it'll only have...
Churchill's Granddaughter Dies
Telegraph (UK)
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Dec 22, 2007 9:10 AM CST
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Arabella Churchill, the bohemian granddaughter of Winston who founded both a rock concert and a charity, has died of pancreatic cancer at age 58, the Telegraph reports. Arabella was said to have been Winston's favorite grandchild, but she found the famous name to be a mixed blessing. "I'm immensely proud of my grandfather...but I was no good...
Disney Monorail Gets a Facelift
Orange County Register
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Dec 22, 2007 8:58 AM CST
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Disney's once-futuristic elevated train has gotten its first facelift in 20 years, with the arrival at Disneyland Thursday of the first new cars in a series of planned upgrades to the monorail. The cars, to be unveiled in February, feature blue glass windows and red stripes that change color in the sun, the Orange County Register reports.
Reid on Two Sons: 'Still Hope'
Associated Press
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Dec 22, 2007 8:56 AM CST
(Newser) -
Eagles coach Andy Reid and his wife have finally spoken publicly about their two sons' drug problems, in a tear-jerking interview to be published next week in Philadelphia Magazine, AP reports. The Reids broke their silence as a way to "reach out to those who are going through similar situations," the coach said.
Astronaut Grieves From Space Station
Chicago Sun-Times
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Dec 22, 2007 8:32 AM CST
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Before they blast off for missions that could take months, NASA asks astronauts to choose if they want to learn if there's important news from home. Daniel Tani said yes, and is this week mourning his mother from space. Tani has chosen to continue his daily tasks, and yesterday spoke to his family via teleconference to help plan her Sunday memorial...
Mold Ravages Da Vinci Codex
Times (UK)
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Dec 22, 2007 8:04 AM CST
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An onslaught of red, black, and purple mold has turned the Codex Atlanticus, the largest collection of writings and drawings by Leonardo Da Vinci, into a "precious sick patient," the Times of London reports. The mold, discovered by an American scholar, is attacking 12,000 codex sheets at a Milan library for lack of restoration funds.
CIA Withheld Tapes From 9/11 Panel
New York Times
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Dec 22, 2007 7:57 AM CST
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The 9/11 Commission made repeated requests to the CIA for details on the interrogation of al-Qaeda suspects and were told they'd been given everything the CIA had, the New York Times reports. A member of the commission reviewed classified records of the panel's work after the CIA said the agency would have turned over the now-destroyed tapes but...
Hit the Winter Festival Circuit
MSNBC
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Dec 22, 2007 7:27 AM CST
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Even though it's freezing outside, you don't have to shut yourself up at home. Party on three continents at these amazing festivals, selected by Sherman's Travel: Barbados Jazz Festival, Jan. 14–20 Buenos Aires Tango Festival, Feb 22-Mar 3 Carnival in Rio, Feb 2–5
Giuliani, Feeling 'Great,' Back in the Game
New York Times
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Dec 22, 2007 6:46 AM CST
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Rudy Giuliani, out of the hospital and without his comfortable double-digit lead in the polls, is back on the campaign trail but planning to take it a little easier for a few days, the New York Times reports. "I feel great," he told reporters on his way to a fundraiser in Rochester. Giuliani has a couple of days of scaled-down campaigning...
Saudis Foil Hajj Attack
Al Arabiya
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Dec 22, 2007 6:27 AM CST
(Newser) -
As millions of Muslims completed the annual Hajj pilgrimage yesterday, Saudi police said they'd arrested a group that had been planning attacks, Al Arabiya reports. An official said the al-Qaeda suspects, detained at cities across the country, had been intent on disrupting the ritual and causing "security confusion." Mecca itself was not...
Nazi Architect's Son Has His Own Designs
Der Spiegel
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Dec 22, 2007 6:14 AM CST
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It’s hard to make a name for yourself when you share a name with your father, harder when the father was a famous Nazi architect and friend of Hitler. Urban planner Albert Speer constantly battles the association, keeping a low profile, and, though he has made his mark worldwide, avoiding Berlin. Now, he has his sights on bringing the 2018 Winter...
One of Last Remaining US WWI Vets Dies
Toledo Blade
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Dec 22, 2007 6:13 AM CST
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The oldest-known American World War I veteran—one of only three remaining—has died at age 109, the Toledo Blade reports. J. Russell Coffey, who enlisted in the Army a month before the war ended, was never comfortable with that recognition because he never saw combat. He preferred to be remembered for his accomplishments as a student,...
