Newser Story Index from March, 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.

Chocolate Christ Show Cancelled
Associated Press | Mar 31, 07 5:54 PM CDT
(Newser) - A  nude chocolate Christ, sans loincloth, was pulled from a midtown Manhattan gallery yesterday after torrent of complaints from offended Catholics . Bill Donohue, head of the watchdog Catholic League, which orchestrated the protest, said the sculpture, intended for display during Holy Week,  was "one of the worst assaults on Christian...

Former Giuliani Partner Faces Felony Charges
Washington Post | Mar 31, 07 4:36 PM CDT
(Newser) - Bernie Kerik is about to embarrass his former pal and partner Rudy Giuliani again. Federal prosecutors say they will charge Kerik with with several felonies in connection with the same problems that sank his nomination for secretary of Homeland Security in 2004.

Hicks Will Walk After 9 Months
Associated Press | Mar 31, 07 11:06 AM CDT
(Newser) - Australian terror suspect David Hicks will serve just nine months more in detention, the AP reports, despite receiving a seven-year sentence from a military tribunal at Guantánamo yesterday. In an extraordinary plea deal, the rest of the sentence was suspended in exchange for his silence about his treatment during his five years in detention,...

Jesse Backs Barack
Associated Press | Mar 30, 07 1:13 PM CDT
(Newser) - Jesse's backing Barack, despite his long friendship with the Clintons, the civil rights veteran told the AP yesterday.  "He's got my vote,"  Jackson said, dismissing suggestions that he might feel obligated to support Hillary. "It's not awkward at all," he said, adding, "I don't owe a debt to any of them."

U.N.'s Worthless If It Can't Get Tough on Iran
Los Angeles Times | Mar 30, 07 1:02 PM CDT
(Newser) - Iran's taking hostages, and the the United Nations is merely "gravely concerned"? Two U.N. lawyers, writing in the LA Times, are disgusted. "The international community's failure to show immediate outrage at Iran's action is deafening," say David Rivkin and Lee Casey. "Ancient legal principles governing how states make war...

Brit, K-Fed, Settle Their Split
MTV | Mar 30, 07 12:52 PM CDT
(Newser) - Britney Spears and Kevin Federline settled their long-impending divorce  last night, reports MTV, after five hours of hashing it out with their lawyers. The fresh-from rehab pop star and her would-be rapper hubby setttled "all issues of their marriage and child custody" his lawyer said.

Prince Will's Steady Fights Back Against Tabloids
Daily Telegraph (UK) | Mar 30, 07 12:20 PM CDT
(Newser) - Prince William's girlfirend Kate Middleton is getting tough on tabloids to get the paparazzi out of her face. Her lawyers filed a complaint with the Press Complaints Commission yesterday after the Daily Mirror published a close-up photo of her she said was obtained through harassment, the Daily Telegraph reports.

They're Lucky They're Not in Guantánamo
Guardian (UK) | Mar 30, 07 11:57 AM CDT
(Newser) - Iran's British captives may be embarrassed and anxious, but they  appear to be better off than many detainees in American and British hands, observes novelist Ronan Bennett. "They have not been hung from a forklift truck and photographed for the amusement of their captors. They have not had electrodes attached to their genitals or been set...

FDA Panel Passes First Cancer Vaccine
New York Times | Mar 30, 07 11:20 AM CDT
(Newser) - A cancer drug that's the first to harness the body's immune system to destroy tumors got a thumbs-up from  the FDA's advisory panel, the New York Times reports. If approved, Provenge, a prostate cancer treatment, would be the first of the "cancer vaccines"—experimental therapies that commandeer a patient's own white blood cells...

Alzheimer's Patients Dying In Prescription Scandal
Guardian (UK) | Mar 30, 07 10:13 AM CDT
(Newser) - Sedatives commonly prescribed to Alzheimer's and dementia patients are leading to their premature death, new research reported in the Guardian concludes.  The drugs, called neuroleptics, combat the diseases' more alarming symptoms, including agitation and hallucinations. Their widespread off-label use in the U.K.—where they're licensed only...

Condom-Hating Health Official Steps Down
Boston Globe | Mar 30, 07 10:00 AM CDT
(Newser) - Bush's top family planning official resigned unexpectedly yesterday, on the heels of a legal action against him in Massachusetts, the Boston Globe reports. The lawsuit  initiated by Medicaid  targets Dr. Eric Keroack's private practice in Marblehead. Abortion rights groups protested his appointment five months ago, claiming he opposed birth...

GOP Gains in Head-to-Head Matches
Time | Mar 30, 07 9:32 AM CDT
(Newser) - The smart money says the 2008 election is the Democrats' to lose,  but a surprising Time poll has the Democratic front runners narrowly losing to the Repubican front runners in hypothetical head-to-head match-ups. Hillary Clinton loses to John McCain 42%-48%, and to Rudy Giuliani 41%-50%. Obama, behind Clinton in the polls, fares better: 43%-45%...

Rudi Says Judi Could Sit In On Cabinet
Associated Press | Mar 30, 07 9:09 AM CDT
(Newser) - "I couldn’t have a better adviser,” Rudy Giuliani gushed about his wife, Judith Nathan, on ABC's 20/20. He would encourage Nathan, a registered nurse and the third Mrs. Giuliani, to sit in on the occasional cabinet meeting and consult on policy in his administration, the GOP frontrunner told Barbara Walters.

Illegal Immigrants Flee LA
Economist | Mar 30, 07 8:50 AM CDT
(Newser) - Illegal immigrants are draining out of the Hispanic neighborhoods of LA and into  Republican suburbs like San Bernadino, which hold the allure of jobs, but little hospitality.  In a detailed study of the demographic shift, the Economist calls them  them the "canaries in the economic coal mine, sensitive to the slightest changes...

NYC Pays Kids To Go to School
New York Times | Mar 30, 07 8:17 AM CDT
(Newser) - Forget gold stars: poor New York City kids who attend class regularly or improve grades will get cash rewards. Mayor Michael Bloomberg tells the New York Times the program, which could net a low-income family up to $5,000 a year, is akin to sales bonuses in the private sector.

Justice Dept. Aide Ties Rove to Firings
Washington Post | Mar 30, 07 7:50 AM CDT
(Newser) - Alberto Gonzales was more deeply involved in the dismissal of eight U.S. attorneys  than he has admitted, and Karl Rove had a direct role in the firings, according to dramatic testimony by the attorney general's former chief of staff yeasterday, reports the Washington Post. Kyle Sampson claimed he briefed his boss at least five times on the prosecutor...

British Captives Standoff Stiffens
Los Angeles Times | Mar 30, 07 7:17 AM CDT
(Newser) - London and Tehran and ratcheted up the rhetoric over the 15 British soldiers being held captive in Iran yesterday, the LA Times reports: Britain got the UN Security Council to issue a statement of "grave concern," while Tehran released more video of sailors professing guilt and issued charts and satellite readings to prove UK ships crossed...

Twins Found to Be "Semi-identical"
Time | Mar 30, 07 6:21 AM CDT
(Newser) - A new kind of twin has been discovered, neither strictly identical nor fraternal. Now toddlers, the babies look identical but one is anatomically male while the other has ambiguous genitalia. Genetic tests show the children are identical on their mother's side but share only half their father's DNA.

Mink: He's Merely a Pawn
Belleville News Democrat | Mar 29, 07 10:02 PM CDT
(Newser) - Who really cares if Alberto Gonzales resigns? Nobody but his family and friends, writes Eric Mink in the St. Louis Dispatch. Because Bush's embattled attorney general proved himself inconsequential long before the botched firings of the  insufficiently loyal U.S. attorneys. Congress learned how little clout the AG had when the president repeatedly...

Phelps Wins Fourth Gold, Third Record
Associated Press | Mar 29, 07 5:36 PM CDT
(Newser) - Michael Phelps won his fourth gold medal and his third world record at the World Swimming Championships in Melbourne today, this time in the 200-meter individual medley. At  1:54.98, Phelps was .86 seconds under than the old record -- also his.

Karl Rove Finds His Inner Eminem
Politico | Mar 29, 07 12:57 PM CDT
(Newser) - White House codger-in-residence Karl Rove debuted his hip-hop alter ego, "MC Rove," at last night's correspondents dinner, the Politico reports. Bush's embattled adviser shouted "I'm MC Rove" at comedian-appointed intervals, pretending gamely to have a sense of humor (and any idea how to win the black vote) as David Gregory and...

Whew! Mills Survives Week One
USA Today | Mar 29, 07 11:51 AM CDT
(Newser) - Disabled Dancing With the Stars contestant and tabloid target Heather Mills (formerly Ms McCartney) says her one leg "turned to jelly" when she realized she was staying for another week on the show. Mills writes about her experience for USA Today , talking up her designated charities (Vegetarians International Voice for Animals, anyone?)...

Idol Boots Curly-Haired Christian
People | Mar 29, 07 11:30 AM CDT
(Newser) - Crimped contestant Chris Sligh was voted off this season's American Idol last night, just minutes after Simon Cowell predicted that it would be, "Bye-bye-curly." Sligh was known for being clever, chubby, and Christian—as well as his shock-mop curls. Saved from elimination was improbable teen hearthrob Sanjaya Malakar, memorable for...

Beijing Ban Spurs Organ Shortage
Der Spiegel | Mar 29, 07 11:14 AM CDT
(Newser) - South Korea has a kidney shortage, and the Beijing Olympics are to blame, Der Spiegel reports. China, attempting to clean up its human rights reputation in preparation the 2008 games, has banned organ trafficking and cut down on the state executions that used to create supply. Now countries that used to rely on this most controversial of Chinese exports...

UN Urges Mass Circumcision
Guardian (UK) | Mar 29, 07 11:03 AM CDT
(Newser) - Mass circumcision should be urged in AIDS-devastated regions to cut infection rates, the UN said yesterday. With trials demonstrating that circumcised men are 60% less likely to contract HIV, such programs could prevent 5.7 million new HIV cases in the next two decades, the Guardian reports.

Modified Corn Could Be Killing The Bees
Salon | Mar 29, 07 10:57 AM CDT
(Newser) - Genetically modified corn is the culprit in the disappearance of honeybees, according to a theory offered by a beekeeping expert, says Salon.  In a German study, the corn itself, which contains built-in pesticides, didn't kill the bees, but it seems to have damaged their intestines, making them vulnerable to parasites.

The Capitol Arms For The War Over the War
New York Times | Mar 29, 07 10:57 AM CDT
(Newser) - With Congress and the president now officially at war over Iraq, all parties scrambled yesterday to gear up for the coming firefight. The President promised to veto the spending bill with troop withdrawal deadlines attached, seeming to relish the fight ahead. Tthe newly aggressive and unified Democrats, notes the New York Times,  seemed surprised...

Iraqis Flee on the "Highway From Hell"
Der Spiegel | Mar 29, 07 9:49 AM CDT
(Newser) - Every day, more than a thousand Iraqis risk their lives on a nightmarish journey from Baghdad to crowded, chaotic border crossings into Syria. Ambushes, murders, roadside bombs and kidnappings are common hazards along the 340-mile road   "Highway From Hell."

Marines Take Aim At "Excessive" Tattoos
USA Today | Mar 29, 07 9:11 AM CDT
(Newser) - There's a run on tattoo parlors this weekend as U.S. Marines ink themselves up before a new ban on "excessive" body art in visible areas takes effect Sunday, says USA Today. Commanders are fighting back against the increasingly in-your-face tattoos favored by enlistees on biceps and forearms visible in short-sleeved uniforms, considering...

Saudi King Calls Iraq War Illegal
New York Times | Mar 29, 07 8:53 AM CDT
(Newser) - King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia fired a warning shot at the Bush administration yesterday, calling Iraq “an illegal foreign occupation” and urging Arab leaders to unite to prevent U.S. domination of the region.  The Saudis "are telling the U.S. they need to listen to their allies rather than imposing decisions on them,” Middle...

Bernanke Keeps Interest Rate Steady
Wall Street Journal | Mar 29, 07 8:15 AM CDT
(Newser) - With inflation creeping up, Fed chairman Ben Bernanke will keep interest rates steady—at least for now, reports the Wall Street Journal. Soft business investment and weakening housing are becoming serious risks, but the long-term outlook is good, Bernanke told Congress yesterday. "The current stance of monetary policy is likely to foster...

Germans Spy on Scientologists
Der Spiegel | Mar 29, 07 8:06 AM CDT
(Newser) - Celeb church-of-choice Scientology is under surveillance from German intelligence officials, alarmed at the recent opening of its new chapel in Berlin, just blocks from the Reichstag. Leaders' phones have been tapped. "This is a dangerous group… that wants to break the will of each of its members. That's why we have to take massive counter-action,”...

Ian Paisley Does the Unthinkable
Philadelphia Inquirer | Mar 28, 07 7:01 PM CDT
(Newser) - "Watching this stooped white-haired man reverse a lifetime's course made one feel that change might be possible in other intractable situations," writes Trudy Rubin of Ian Paisley's meeting with Gerry Adams to agree on power sharing in Northern Ireland. The "other situation" Rubin has in mind is  for the Middle East.

Iran Promises Female Soldier's Release
New York Times | Mar 28, 07 6:08 PM CDT
(Newser) - Iran promised to release by Friday the female sailor captured along with 15 men in a British patrol boat last week. England stepped up pressure to free  the soldiers by cutting off "bilateral business" and publicizing secret documents which mark its boat nearly two miles from Iranian waters at the time of its capture.

Phelps Shatters Butterfly Record
Associated Press | Mar 28, 07 5:53 PM CDT
(Newser) - Michael Phelps set another record at the World Swimming Championships in Melbourne today, becoming the first man to break the 1:53 barrier in the 200-meter butterfly, and producing the biggest time drop in the event in 48 years. "I feel like a 12-year-old," the 21-year-old said," being able to drop more than a second off my best time."

Urbina Gets 14 Years
ESPN | Mar 28, 07 4:57 PM CDT
(Newser) - All-star pitcher Ugueth Urbina, who's been in a Venezuelan jail for a year and a half awaiting trial for attempted murder,  has been convicted and sentenced to 14 years. He was also found guilty of illegal deprivation of liberty and unlawfully taking justice into his own hands in a violent incident involving five workers on his ranch in Venezuela....

Thompson Slides Into Third
CNN | Mar 28, 07 1:14 PM CDT
(Newser) - "Law and Order" actor and former senator Fred Thompson is in third place among GOP presidential hopefuls in a new USA Today/Gallup poll. Since he announced that he was considering a bid two weeks ago, Thompson's support has skyrocketed to 12 per cent, kicking Mitt Romney to a distant fourth.

San Francisco Bans Plastic Grocery Bags
San Francisco Chronicle | Mar 28, 07 1:07 PM CDT
(Newser) - Plastic bags are history in San Francisco's large grocery and drug stores, after the city's board of supervisors adopted the country's first ban on petroleum-based bags yesterday. The ubiquitous bags don't biodegrade, clog recycling machines, clutter landfills, catch in trees and can injure or poison marine life.

Wall Street Snapping Up Losers
Forbes | Mar 28, 07 9:46 AM CDT
(Newser) - Money-losing tech companies are enjoying overheated IPOs again. In a disconcerting echo of 1999, Forbes reports more than half the companies going public so far this year have yet to turn a profit. "The losers may be us," Quentin Hardy cautions, "a public suddenly so hot for growthy tech stocks that quality standards are starting to...

Equal Rights Amendment Is Back
Washington Post | Mar 28, 07 9:43 AM CDT
(Newser) - The Equal Rights Amendment is making a comeback, with Democrats reintroducing it in both houses of Congress yesterday, and five state legislatures putting it on the docket since January. The measure banning sex discrimination passed the House and Senate in 1972, but it went down to defeat when only 35 states ratified it—just two short of the...

Tillman's Mom Wants Hearings On Cover-Up
ESPN | Mar 28, 07 9:26 AM CDT
(Newser) - Congress should investigate the Army's cover-up of Pat Tillman's friendly-fire death, his mother told ESPN Radio yesterday. A military inquiry concluded Monday that nine high-ranking military officials would face "corrective action," not criminal charges, for their role in claiming Tillman was killed by enemy fire long after they knew otherwise.

Brits Prove Captured Sailors Were in Iraqi Waters
Guardian (UK) | Mar 28, 07 8:50 AM CDT
(Newser) - The 15 British sailors captured by Iran last week were inside Iraqi waters, British evidence released today shows. The craft's GPS system put it 1.7 nautical miles outside Iranian territory, which a British military helicopter confirms. The Iranian government revised its own version of the location Monday, when its original estimate turned out to be...

Bill Would Put Ba'athists Back in Power
Guardian (UK) | Mar 28, 07 8:47 AM CDT
(Newser) - Ba'athists will be allowed back in government posts if a bill proposed yesterday, aimed at  reconciling dissident Sunnis with the Shiite-dominated government, passes the Iraqi parliament.  The U.S has been pushing for the law to law to woo the former Saddam loyalists —mostly Sunnis— into the political process to quell Sunni insurgency.

Red Meat May Harm Sons' Sperm
BBC | Mar 28, 07 8:23 AM CDT
(Newser) - Men whose mothers ate a lot of beef during pregnancy have lower sperm counts, finds a study attempting to track the effect of growth hormones fed to cattle. While the specific chemicals weren't identified, sons of pregnant women who ate beef more than seven times a week were three times as likely to have sperm counts below the fertility threshold.

Judge Throws Out Rumsfeld Torture Suit
Associated Press | Mar 28, 07 7:56 AM CDT
(Newser) - Donald Rumsfeld can't be held personally responsible for the alleged mistreatment of prisoners held in overseas military prisons on his watch. Calling the case “lamentable,” U.S. District Judge Thomas Hogan nevertheless dismissed a suit against the former defense secretary on behalf of nine former prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Tony Snow's Cancer Recurs
Washington Post | Mar 28, 07 7:53 AM CDT
(Newser) - White House press secretary Tony Snow has cancer again, and this time it's spread to his liver. Doctors discovered the recurrence when they removed a  growth from his lower abdomen yesterday. Snow, who's 51, underwent surgery and chemotherapy for colon cancer two years ago.

Senate Backs Troop Pullout Timetable
Washington Post | Mar 28, 07 7:48 AM CDT
(Newser) - Democrats in the Senate  pulled off a surprise victory yesterday in their bid to force President Bush to bring troops home from Iraq—deflecting a GOP effort to kill the troop withdrawal plan. The Democrats’ proposal sets a March 2008 deadline for ending the conflict and is folded into a must-pass $122 billion package to fund the war....

Wall Street Tigers Bearish on Stocks
MarketWatch | Mar 28, 07 7:37 AM CDT
(Newser) - Tiger 21—the elite investment club whose members have at least $10 million each — is moving away from stocks and into alternatives like hedge funds and private equity instruments. Michael Sonnenfeldt, Tiger 21 founder, reports that assets in stocks are down 10 percent from last year, based on members' growing worries about instability in...

Pakistan Deserves Democracy
New York Times | Mar 27, 07 3:03 PM CDT
(Newser) - A Pakistani novelist who's seen many benefits from Musharraf's rule concludes that it's time for the embattled leader to go. "By prolonging his rule, the general risks taking Pakistan backward and undermining much of the considerable good that he has been able to achieve," writes Mohsin Hamid. 

Innocent Customers Caught in Terrorist Dragnet
Washington Post | Mar 27, 07 1:57 PM CDT
(Newser) - Hassans, Muhammeds, and other men with Arabic-sounding names  are being turned away when they try to buy cars, homes, and even exercise equipment. Responding to post-9/11 requirements to screen customers against terrorist lists, companies are turning down buyers with even partial name matches rather than risk stiff fines and prison time.