Newser Story Index from April, 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.
Google Earth Digitizes Genocide
Wired
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Apr 13, 2007 2:12 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Google Earth has teamed up with the Holocaust Museum to bring the realities of genocide to your MacBook. "Crisis in Darfur" employs Google Earth wizardry to help users visualize the scope of the atrocities currently unfolding in Sudan. Viewers can see over 1,600 damaged and destroyed villages up close.
Stocks Swing on CEO House Size
San Jose Mercury News
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Apr 13, 2007 1:55 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Don't buy stock in a company whose CEO lives in a huge house, a new study says. CEOs who move into regular-sized digs —5,600 square feet for the typical company head — see their company's stock jump an average 6% the following year. Those who go palatial — 10,000 square feet or more — watch stocks dip by an average...
Impeachment: Not Just For Presidents
Newsday
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Apr 13, 2007 1:54 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Impeachment isn't just for presidents—it would suit Alberto Gonzales just fine, says law professor Peter Shane, and it would be an excellent way to restore constitutional checks and balances. The grounds for impeachment go beyond the questionable dismissal of U.S. attorneys, he writes.
Democratic Soapbox Disappears With Imus
Los Angeles Times
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Apr 13, 2007 12:26 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The cancellation of the Don Imus' show creates a vacuum for Democratic pols who've used it to reach the white, politically independent men that were Imus's prime audience, the LA Times reports. Democratic candidates like Joe Lieberman, Chris Dodd, John Kerry, and Harold E. Ford were among those who availed themselves of Imus' s sympathetic...
Dylan, Dr.Seuss Can't Mix
Salon
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Apr 13, 2007 11:57 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Dr. Seuss's estate has knocked down a website by artist/jokerman Kevin Ryan, featuring the fantasist's verses set to fake Bob Dylan music. The loss of the brilliant mash-up prompts Salon 's Dan Brekke to explore how the times are a' changin' for copyright law, particularly in the murky and amorphous area of parody.
British Scientists Find Fat Gene
Times (UK)
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Apr 13, 2007 11:45 AM CDT
(Newser) -
British scientists have for the first time identified a gene that contributes to garden-variety obesity, supporting ancient anecdotal evidence that birthright, not just lifestyle, shapes stomachs. Although they can't say exactly how the gene, called FTO, works, the 16% of white Europeans carrying two "fat" variations of it are 70% more...
MySpace Crashers Trash British Teen's House
Sydney Morning Herald
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Apr 13, 2007 11:15 AM CDT
(Newser) -
After a British teenager invited a few friends to a party on MySpace, over 200 non-virtual revelers trashed her family's house. In a story being circulated by alarmed parents all over the Commonwealth, 17-year-old Rachael Bell's parents came back from vacation to find $48,000 worth of damage to their home. "Whoever has come in here are worse than...
Glavine Bests Moyer in Battle of Vets
Associated Press
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Apr 13, 2007 10:11 AM CDT
(Newser) -
In a meeting between starting pitchers almost ready to collect their pensions, youthful 41-year-old Tom Glavine out-pitched 44-year-old Jamie Moyer as the Mets topped the Phillies 5-3 Thursday at Shea Stadium. Glavine earned victory number 292 of his storied career.
Clippers Top Lakers as Playoff Picture Clouds
Associated Press
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Apr 13, 2007 10:03 AM CDT
(Newser) -
With more than just city bragging rights at stake, the Los Angeles Clippers defeated the Lakers 118-110 last night. The Clippers moved into a tie for the eighth and final playoff spot with idle Golden State, as both teams sit 1.5 games behind the Lakers.
N.J. Governor Injured in Car Crash
Star-Ledger
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Apr 13, 2007 9:54 AM CDT
(Newser) -
New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine was critically injured last night after a pickup truck struck his motorcade. "He's in serious shape, but he's alive and going to survive," says state senate president Richard Codey, acting governor until Corzine can resume his duties—which could be weeks. Cops are still looking for the driver responsible...
Budget Carrier Vows New York-London for $13
Times (UK)
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Apr 13, 2007 9:45 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Air fares as low as $13 across the Atlantic are being promised as Ryanair, Europe’s biggest low-cost carrier, challenges the major players—British Airways and Virgin Atlantic—to a price war. Other budget airlines, like Southwest and JetBlue, are expected to jump into the fray, the London Times reports.
Fired Imus Meets Players
CNN
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Apr 13, 2007 9:17 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Don Imus sat down with the Rutgers women’s basketball team last night, hours after he became a former radio star for calling them “nappy-headed hos.” The meeting, which included their coaches and parents, took place at the New Jersey governor’s mansion, whose proprietor, Jon Corzine, was en route when he was seriously...
Hollywood Shapes China's Darfur Policy
New York Times
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Apr 13, 2007 9:08 AM CDT
(Newser) -
China is finally joining the international outcry over genocide in Darfur—and it’s down to Hollywood clout, not Washington’s. Long one of Sudan’s closest protectors, China is suddenly calling on the government to accept UN peacekeepers. The reason, reports the Times : Mia Farrow and Steven Spielberg are leading a charge to...
Sperm Made From Bone Marrow
Independent (UK)
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Apr 13, 2007 8:54 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Scientists are getting closer to removing men from the conception equation, announcing yesterday that they have produced early-stage sperm cells from male bone marrow. Now the team of British researchers is seeking ethical approval to try the same thing with women.
Four Years of Rove E-mails Go Missing
Washington Post
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Apr 13, 2007 8:11 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Four years of emails from Karl Rove that are being sought in a congressional investigation are missing and may have been deleted by Rove himself, the Republican National Committee acknowledged yesterday. The RNC operates the server for non-official e-mail accounts Rove and other White House players use for political business; critics say they are also...
Billionaire Plots New Russian Revolution
Guardian (UK)
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Apr 13, 2007 7:27 AM CDT
(Newser) -
An exiled Russian billionaire says he is bankrolling a coup to overthrow Russian President Vladimir Putin. Boris Berezovsky tells the Guardian : "It isn't possible to change this regime through democratic means. There can be no change without force, pressure." Asked if he is fomenting a revolution, he responds: "You are absolutely correct."
Sweetheart Deal May Sink Wolfowitz
Washington Post
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Apr 13, 2007 6:41 AM CDT
(Newser) -
World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz faced mounting pressure to resign last night as details emerged over his role in ordering a promotion and pay raise for an employee with whom he is romantically involved. Wolfowitz apologized at a press conference and again to a gathering of bank staff members, where he was greeted with boos and chants of "resign,...
CBS Pulls the Plug on Imus
CBS News
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Apr 12, 2007 5:41 PM CDT
(Newser) -
CBS has fired Don Imus, in a surprise move a week after the jockey called the Rutgers womens' basketball team "nappy headed hos," provoking a war of words over race in America. CBS Prez Les Moonves finally announced the decision today, citing the feelings of "young women of color trying to make their way in this society."
Death Be Not Proud (At a Discount)
San Francisco Chronicle
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Apr 12, 2007 4:47 PM CDT
(Newser) -
What does it say about us, Mark Morford asks, that wandering the aisles at Costco in Palm Desert, CA, we come upon not only drums of olive oil and eighty-packs of frozen cream puffs, but over there, right next to the tires and the lawn furniture and right behind the 10-foot plasma TV: discount caskets.
Eight Dead In Bombing of Iraqi Parliament
Associated Press
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Apr 12, 2007 2:13 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Eight people, including three lawmakers, were killed and at least 30 wounded when a suicide bomber eluded the normally heavy security around the Green Zone and denonated an explosion in the cafeteria of the Iraqi parliament. Officials believe the culprit was the bodyguard of a Sunni legislator not among the dead. The bomb squad defused two other...
Money Trail Leads To North Korean Deal
Wall Street Journal
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Apr 12, 2007 1:50 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Freezing accounts in a small bank in Macau 18 months ago was key to the recent U.S. success in negotiating an end to North Korea's nuclear program, the Journal reports. Tracing the "saga of bluff and brinkmanship" that led to the deal, the Journal shows the Bush administration deploying financial maneuvers to manage a difficult regime.
Wal-Mart Chokes On Organic Food
BusinessWeek
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Apr 12, 2007 1:00 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Wal-Mart customers aren't buying organic food, and the farmers who stepped up production to supply the giant discounter are the big losers. A year ago Wal-Mart ballyhooed an aggressive push into organic foods, saying they would offer 400 items at low cost. The company placed massive initial orders, farmers say . . . and then largely disappeared.
Docs Accused Of Hurrying Death To Harvest Organs
Los Angeles Times
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Apr 12, 2007 11:24 AM CDT
(Newser) -
A 47-year-old man was wrongly declared brain dead by two doctors apparently eager to harvest his organs, reports the LA Times . "They were waiting like vultures, so they could scoop them up," says the patient’s daughter, Melanie Sanchez. A third doctor determined that her father, who had suffered a catastrophic brain hemorrhage, was...
Blair Blames Crime Wave on Black Culture
Guardian (UK)
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Apr 12, 2007 10:47 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Black culture is responsible for a recent rash of teenage murders in Britain, Tony Blair said yesterday in a burst of un-PC criminology that outraged black leaders. The violence, which has killed seven teens in recent weeks, won't let up unless Britons stop “pretending it is not young black kids doing it," Blair said.
Citigroup Cuts 17,000 Jobs
Wall Street Journal
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Apr 12, 2007 9:47 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Citigroup will cut 17,000 jobs in an attempt to close the gap between its revenue, up 7% last year, and its expenses, up 15%. The two-year cost-cutting plan comes after shareholders demanded major changes, but analysts agree that lowering expenses is only the first step. Upping revenue is the next.
Doctors Are Sorry, Not Sued
Associated Press
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Apr 12, 2007 9:33 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Lawmakers in nine states want doctors to be able to say they're sorry. So-called "I'm-sorry" laws, already on the books in 27 states, allow doctors to apologize to patients when they make mistakes, or as expressions of sympathy, without fear of litigation.
Doe-Eyed Sanjaya Divides America
New Republic
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Apr 12, 2007 9:09 AM CDT
(Newser) -
American Idol contestant Sanjaya Malakar, the waifish breakout star who lacks only a singing voice, is America’s latest wedge issue, according to The New Republic . One teenager went on hunger strike for 16 days to protest Sanjaya's continued presence, sparking a counter protest of "Binge Eating for Sanjaya" and "Slim Fast...
Kurt Vonnegut Dies at 84
New York Times
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Apr 12, 2007 9:09 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Kurt Vonnegut, one of the most popular novelists of the 20th century, died yesterday at 84 in Manhattan. Defying genres, he wrote on everything from the firebombing of Dresden to alien abduction—and that was just Slaughterhouse-Five.
Google Dials 411
BusinessWeek
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Apr 12, 2007 9:06 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Google has unleashed an 800-pound-gorilla in the the $8 billion market for U.S. directory assistance: a free 411 service. 1-800-GOOG-411 launched last week as part of an initiative to bring Google's power to voice searches. And unlike traditional 411, customers can call in with search terms ("pizza Upper East Side") rather than the name of...
Bledsoe to Hang 'em Up After 14 Years
ESPN
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Apr 12, 2007 8:31 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Quarterback Drew Bledsoe has decided to retire rather than play next season as a backup, ESPN’s Michael Smith reports. The number one overall pick in the 1993 draft was a free agent this off-season, but turned down offers from Cincinnati and Seattle to play a fifteenth year.
Generals Reject War Post
Guardian (UK)
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Apr 12, 2007 8:26 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Three retired generals declined when asked by the White House to fill a new post to run the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Guardian reports. One candidate, Marine General John Sheehan, told the Washington Post he turned down the war czar job because hawkish Vice President Dick Cheney still has too much influence.
Explosion Rocks Iraqi Parliament
Reuters
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Apr 12, 2007 7:39 AM CDT
(Newser) -
An explosion hit a restaurant inside the Iraqi parliament in Baghdad today, killing two members of parliament, wounding dozens and creating chaos in the capitol. The blast occurred when many MPs were having lunch, on a day when parliament was in session. The parliament building is deep within Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone.
Thompson Discloses Cancer
Washington Post
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Apr 12, 2007 7:02 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Fred Thompson has non-Hodgkins lymphoma—but it's in remission, the senator-turned-TV star said yesterday. Strategists see the surprise revelation as a sign that Thompson is preparing to enter the contest for the Republican presidential nomination. A new Los Angeles Times poll, conducted just before the announcement, puts him in second place,...
Troops to Serve Longer in Iraq
New York Times
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Apr 12, 2007 6:46 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Army units in Iraq and Afghanistan will have their tours of duty extended to 15 months, from the standard one year, the military said yesterday. The policy—enacted to alleviate troop shortages—allows soldiers to remain at home for at least one year between assignments. “Our forces are stretched," Secretary of Defense Robert...
King Felix Eclipses Dice-K, One-Hits Sox
Associated Press
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Apr 12, 2007 5:49 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The much-ballyhooed matchup of Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki and Boston's Daisuke Matsuzaka—MLB's best Japanese hitter versus its first-year Japanese pitching sensation—turned out to be far less impressive than the performance of Seattle's young ace, Felix Hernandez. King Felix, who had just turned 21 on Sunday, had a no-hitter until J.D....
Duke Players Cleared
News & Observer (Raleigh)
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Apr 11, 2007 11:09 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Three Duke lacrosse players charged with raping and kidnapping a stripper 13 months ago were finally exonerated today when all the remaining charges against them were dropped. Roy Cooper, North Carolina's attorney general, accused Mike Nifong, the district attorney who brought the charges—and then withheld DNA evidence of the students'...
MSNBC DROPS IMUS
MSNBC
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Apr 11, 2007 6:45 PM CDT
(Newser) -
MSNBC dropped toxic shock jock Don Imus this afternoon, after a day in which companies, pols, and network execs couldn't distance themselves from the host fast enough. The announcement came after General Motors and Sprint Nextel, the show's two biggest advertisers, pulled their sponsorship, and prez contender Barack Obama, intiially reticent on the...
Nasdaq Options Philly Mart
Wall Street Journal
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Apr 11, 2007 3:59 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The tech-heavy Nasdaq exchange is looking to expand into the options-trading market, and it's in talks with the Philadelphia Stock Exchange about a possible merger. Nasdaq's bid to buy the third-largest options trading exchange, valued at up to $300 million, comes as a number of bigger exchanges are on the hunt for smaller aquisitions, reports...
Markets May Lose Farmers
Los Angeles Times
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Apr 11, 2007 3:38 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Farmers' markets have gotten so trendy the they're beginning to annoy their founders: the farmers. Now some of the locally-grown-produce movement's most high-profile members, turned off by the time commitment and the carnival-like atmosphere at many markets, are dropping out of the circuit.
Sox Submarine Seattle In Fenway Debut
Boston Globe
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Apr 11, 2007 3:22 PM CDT
(Newser) -
After four snowed-out days in Cleveland, the Mariners' nightmare roadtrip continued at Fenway. The Sox chased former Cardinals World Series hero Jeff Weaver with seven runs in two innings en route to a 14-3 win; Boston leadoff man Julio Lugo got on base four times in the first four frames. Meanwhile, Beckett held Seattle to an existentially bleak one...
Durant Will Jump to Pros
Associated Press
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Apr 11, 2007 3:12 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Longhorns freshman heartthrob Kevin Durant has announced he will leave Texas for the NBA draft. Durant averaged a frankly absurd 25.8 points and 11.1 rebounds over the course of an award-sweeping first-year campaign that ended one game short of the Sweet Sixteen. Texas benefitted from a new NBA rule that grants eligibility to players only ...
NFL Commish Benches Bad-Boy Players
ESPN
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Apr 11, 2007 1:50 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Fresh NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has meted out a season-long suspension to Titans cornerback and police-blotter regular Adam "Pacman" Jones, plus an eight-game layoff for similarly intractable Bengals wideout Chris Henry. Goodell, argues Len Pasquarelli, has thus broken with his more timid predecessor Paul Tagliabue and set the...
Conoco Calls For Emissions Cap
Wall Street Journal
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Apr 11, 2007 1:15 PM CDT
(Newser) -
ConocoPhillips is the first American oil company to advocate a U.S. emissions cap, positioning itself to help shape potential federal legislation. Acknowledging that fossil fuels contribute to global warming, the company joined a group of corporations drawing up a plan for a nationwide ceiling.
Advertisers Dump Imus
Wall Street Journal
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Apr 11, 2007 12:01 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Piling on to the mounting outrage against Don Imus, three advertisers have pulled their support from the CBS radio show or its simulcast MSNBC TV program. The three include marketing heavyweight Procter & Gamble, Staples and Bigelow Tea, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Bombers Hit Algerian Capital
Al Jazeera
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Apr 11, 2007 11:50 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Two bombs, including one targeting the prime minister's office, killed at least 23 people in Algiers today, in the latest in a round of suspected Al-Qaeda-affiliated terror attacks that have rocked North Africa in recent weeks, the New York Times reports.
Imus Affair Could Cost Obama
Boston Globe
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Apr 11, 2007 10:11 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The Don Imus meltdown could have fallout for Barack Obama, as critics note that he kept his mouth shut for five days—until after the suspension—before condemning the shock jock's crude racial jokes. The candidate's caution is signaling to some black leaders that he isn't going to take a hard-line stance on civil rights, the Boston Globe...
Russia Threatens New Cold War
Guardian (UK)
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Apr 11, 2007 8:56 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Livid over U.S. plans for a missile defense system in its backyard, Russia is mounting a cold-war-style response. The Kremlin admonished that the military installations planned for Poland and the Czech Republic would threaten "the world's strategic stability," and promised a suitable counter-measure, reports the Guardian . Responses are...
Report Uncovered Walter Reed Problems in 2004
Salon
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Apr 11, 2007 8:12 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The mess at Walter Reed was detailed in a damning task force report in 2004, obtained by Salon , in which soldiers described their frustrations with outpatient care and bureaucratic nightmares. Not only was the report ignored, but the official who sat on it for three years is now up for a promotion to undersecretary for health at the VA.
House Subpoenas Gonzo
Washington Post
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Apr 11, 2007 7:28 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Alberto Gonzales got served yesterday, as House Dems issued their first subpoena in the attorney-firing scandal. They want the AG to turn over hundreds of pages of new or uncensored documents, including a complete version of the March 2005 chart Gonzales and chief-of-staff Kyle Sampson used to evaluate all 93 U.S. attorneys—and that allegedly...
Rudy Fails Price-Is-Right Test on Milk, Bread
Associated Press
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Apr 11, 2007 7:20 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Tarnishing his regular-guy credentials, Rudy Giuliani told reporters yesterday a gallon of milk costs $1.50 and a loaf of bread $1.25. So what if his own neighborhood's average is $4.19 for milk and upwards of $2.99 for white bread? At least he had a clue about fuel prices: "Gas, I think, is $2.89."
