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.
Coulter's Slur Slinging Aims Right for GOP Base
Salon
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Mar 8, 2007 2:25 PM CST
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Ann Coulter's gay-baiting of John Edwards won't cost her anything, writes Glenn Greenwald in today's Salon, because it appeals perfectly to her base: anxious, insecure American voters. "Her aim was not to suggest that Edwards is actually gay, but simply to feminize him like they do with all male Democratic or liberal political leaders," Greenwald...
V-Word Gets Teens Suspended
Associated Press
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Mar 8, 2007 2:11 PM CST
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Three high school girls in a New York City suburb were suspended for reciting the word "vagina" in an excerpt of the "The Vagina Monologues" during a school open-mic night. Faculty had instructed the 16-year-old honors students to delete the word, in deference to children in the audience, but the teens disobeyed orders, because,...
King of Jordan Chides Congress for Coddling Israel
New York Times
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Mar 8, 2007 1:32 PM CST
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The U.S. must lead negotiations to resolve the Israel-Palestine conflict, King Abdullah II of Jordan told a joint session of Congress yesterday. Abdullah chided the U.S. for favoring Israel, saying Palestinians question "whether the West really means what it says about equality and respect and universal justice."
NASA Dumps Deranged Astronaut
Washington Post
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Mar 8, 2007 1:16 PM CST
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Love-lorn Lisa Nowak made history again Wednesday, when she became the first astronaut ever to get a pink slip from NASA. The space agency remanded her to the U.S. Navy, for whom she was officially on assignment at NASA.
Turkey Bans YouTube
Associated Press
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Mar 8, 2007 1:03 PM CST
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A Turkish court banned YouTube on Wednesday after Greek videos on the site insulted Turks—in particular Ataturk, the country's modern founding father—calling them homosexuals. The videos, part of an escalating "virtual war" between Greek and Turkish citizens belittling each other, were deemed an insult to Turkishness, a crime...
British Peers Could Lose Their Perch
Guardian (UK)
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Mar 8, 2007 11:26 AM CST
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British peers took it on the chin last night as their confrères in the House of Commons voted to make the House of Lords 100 percent elected, ending the rights of title-holders to inherit their seats. If a larger reform plan passes, the Lords could find elected members in their midst for the first time in history.
Lung Scans Fail To Cut Deaths
Los Angeles Times
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Mar 7, 2007 7:52 AM CST
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CT scans, once hailed as a breakthrough in early detection of lung cancer, fail to save lives, according to research published yesterday. In a study of 3,246 smokers or former smokers, the scans led to the discovery of more tumors—and more surgeries—than in a control group, but patients died at the same rate.
Is America Ready for "Rudy Rage"?
Washington Post
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Mar 6, 2007 2:12 PM CST
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"Vindictive," "tone-deaf," prone to bouts of "Rudy rage"—that's the Giuliani that hasn't been visible to a national audience in the early days of the former mayor's presidential campaign, writes Jonathan Capeheart in the Washington Post . As a columnist for the New York Daily News in the late '90s, Capeheart ...
Pretty Faces Make Profitable Sororities
New Republic
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Mar 6, 2007 1:51 PM CST
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An Indiana sorority that elicited national outrage for kicking out 23 overweight or non-white members did so not just for "Aryan uniformity" but for the sake of the almighty dollar, writes the New Republic 's Alexandra Robbins. The DePauw University's flagging Delta Zeta chapter believed that a prettier sisterhood would attract more women—and...
Walter Reed Exposes Weakened Top Brass
New York Times
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Mar 6, 2007 1:51 PM CST
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Blame the Walter Reed scandal on "the silence of our top officers," writes a retired Army general. Paul Eaton, who spent a year in Baghdad rebuilding the Iraqi army, says the administration and Congress "pointedly failed to provide the money and resources for our returned troops," and top military officials let it happen.
Britain Adds Troops In Afghanistan
Guardian (UK)
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Mar 6, 2007 11:04 AM CST
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Britain will send 1,400 more troops to Afghanistan in the next few months to counter a Taliban spring offensive. Other NATO allies are unwilling to commit more forces, and French and German patrols are so risk averse their helicopters may as well be "parked up in leading European airports," sniped UK Foreign Office minister Kim Howells.
Chalabi Rides Surge Back Into Office
Wall Street Journal
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Mar 6, 2007 11:04 AM CST
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Ahmed Chalabi, the former U.S. darling and deputy prime minister spurned by Iraqi voters in the 2005 elections, is back in office. He won a post created as a buffer between residents and the troops pouring into Baghdad for the new security push. Chalabi's new role involves organizing reimbursement for citizens whose property is damaged by counterinsurgency...
Jesus Tomb Claim Stirs Cries of Heresy
Time
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Mar 6, 2007 11:04 AM CST
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A book and documentary produced by Titanic 's James Cameron claims to identify the burial place of Jesus Christ, Mary Magdalene and a son, Judah. The documentary, which Newsweek calls "a slick and suspenseful narrative," asserts that 10 bone boxes found in 1980 in a first-century burial cave in Jerusalem once contained the bones of Christ...
Iraqi Cabinet Approves Deal to Divide Oil Revenues
Telegraph (UK)
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Mar 6, 2007 11:04 AM CST
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The Iraqi cabinet approved a law yesterday spelling out how revenue from the country's petroleum reserves will be doled out to provinces: based on population. The deal, which must be approved by the parliament, eases Sunni fears about being cut out of wealth generated by oil reserves in Shiite areas.
Greenspan Sees Recession
Yahoo
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Mar 6, 2007 11:04 AM CST
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Back when bankers and investors hung on his every word, Alan Greenspan was caution itself in public pronouncements . But yesterday the former chairman took the rare step of predicting the onset of an out-and-out recession. Speaking via satellite to a business conference in Hong Kong, Greenspan said the US. economy has been expanding since 2001,...
Why Can't the Media Cheer Up?
CNN
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Mar 6, 2007 11:04 AM CST
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Her mission was to talk about women and heart disease. But Laura Bush couldn't help telling Larry King how she really felt about the media portrayal of her husband's war in Iraq. "Many parts of Iraq are stable now," the First Lady told King. "But, of course, what we see on television is the one bombing a day that discourages everybody."
Prisoner Sheds Harsh Light on "Black Sites"
Washington Post
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Mar 6, 2007 11:04 AM CST
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Details about "black sites"--the network of secret internment facilities for terror suspects the CIA ran until last summer—are emerging as former prisoners tell their stories. The Washington Post i nterviews Marwan Jabour, an accused al-Qaeda paymaster who spent 28 months in two facilities—where he was drugged, burned, beaten...
Tech-Savvy Docs Get More Time With Patients
Wall Street Journal
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Mar 6, 2007 11:04 AM CST
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A growing number of primary care doctors are opting out of hospitals and big medical groups to open up mom 'n' pop doc shops. Key to these "micropractices," reports the Wall Street Journal, is technology that allows doctors to schedule their own appointments, order prescriptions, and process billing and insurance claims, slashing overhead...
Bernanke Buoys Dow
Reuters
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Mar 6, 2007 11:04 AM CST
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U.S. stock prices rebounded yesterday, buoyed by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's forecast of moderate growth. But averages from Singapore to London continued to slide and there was widespread debate over whether the plunge was the market correcting for inflated highs or if it was the first sign of a recession.
Hotels Go Budget Boutique
New York Times
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Mar 6, 2007 11:02 AM CST
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A new hotel hybrid, offering boutique aesthetics at budget chain prices, is poised to open across the nation this spring. The hotels trade on the hip design and high-tech amenities popularized by boutique hotels, but at less than $150 a night. The concession will be in location—most are planned for suburban and airport site—and a...
Gitmo Tagged for Cuban Refugees
Miami Herald
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Mar 6, 2007 11:01 AM CST
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Anticipating that Fidel Castro's death will prompt thousands of Cubans to attempt to join their expatriate countrymen in South Florida, U.S. authorities are making space for them—in Cuba. The Miami Herald reports that the DOD has budgeted $18 million to expand its base at Guantanamo Bay to handle a wave of Cuban refugees they hope to intercept...
Plastic Surgeons Cut a New Path Down Under
Washington Post
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Mar 6, 2007 8:04 AM CST
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David Matlock, a flamboyant California gynecologist who's been a pioneer in cosmetic surgery aimed at giving women "a youthful, aesthetic look" for their nether regions, has unleashed a host of protégés now improving unsightly genitals all over the country. Despite being uninsured, the procedures are growing in popularity: doctors...
Lawsuits Aimed at Swapping Students
CNN
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Mar 5, 2007 10:40 PM CST
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The recording industry is bringing out the big guns in its battle to stop illegal music downloads, threatening to sue hundreds of college students each month if they don't stop swapping swiped tunes. The kids need to be taught some download etiquette, says RIAA President Cary Sherman. "Remember that the habits that they form in college will...
Newmark Brains Scammers
New York Observer
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Mar 5, 2007 6:20 PM CST
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“We are not really that high-tech of a company,” the man who brought classifieds into the Internet age, Craig’s List founder Newmark, tells the New York Observer, explaining why he uses a combo of customer feedback and his own memory—instead of techie solutions like IP-address blockers or email tracing—to track the real...
Bombers Strike Baghdad Booksellers
New York Times
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Mar 5, 2007 5:26 PM CST
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A noon car-bomb blast ravaged Baghdad's historic book market, killing dozens of people and wounding over 100. The bomb destroyed many shops, including the venerable Shahbandar cafe, a popular haven for writers. Poet Abdul Baqi Faidhullah said, "Those who did this are like savage machines intent on harvesting souls and killing all bright minds."...
Fat and Fertility Do Mix
Daily Mail (UK)
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Mar 1, 2007 4:29 PM CST
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Eating ice cream may help expand your waistline in more ways than one: consuming full-fat dairy products may actually boost fertility, according to new Harvard research. In an eight-year study of women suffering from anovulatory infertility—infertility due to lack of ovulation—greater intake of full-fat dairy products directly correlated...
