Newser Story Index from June, 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.
Bush Kills Stem-Cell Bill
Washington Post
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Jun 20, 2007 5:19 PM CDT
(Newser) -
President Bush delivered the expected veto of a stem-cell research bill this afternoon, issuing instead an executive order to encourage the development of non-embryonic stem cells. "I will not allow our nation to cross this moral line," Bush said, setting off a predictable firestorm of protests from Dems. Presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton...
Dow Jones Board Seizes Control
Wall Street Journal
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Jun 20, 2007 4:48 PM CDT
(Newser) -
After more than a month of dithering by the Bancroft family, the Dow Jones board will take over negotiations with News Corp., greasing the skids for Rupert Murdoch's effort to acquire the company. With a $5 billion bid on the table, the board decided to "take the lead in addressing all aspects of the proposal," the Wall Street Journal reports.
Internet Users Slam Chinese Censorship
Reuters
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Jun 20, 2007 4:32 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Frustration with government curbs on the Internet is growing among China's 140M web users. Wikipedia has been banned, and the censors recently shuttered photo-sharing web site Flickr, after a user uploaded a picture of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. Tens of thousands of human monitors and an elaborate filter system keep watch over China's browsers.
Sierra Leone Tribunal Convicts 3
BBC
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Jun 20, 2007 4:14 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The UN-backed Sierra Leone war crimes tribunal handed down its first verdicts today, convicting three leaders of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The rebel leaders face lengthy prison terms after being convicted of 11 of 14 charges, including murder, rape, and the recruitment of child soldiers during...
Google Complaint Spurs Vista Revision
Ars Technica
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Jun 20, 2007 3:40 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Microsoft has caved in to Google's antitrust complaints and agreed to alter the search tools in its new Vista operating system by the end of the year. The move is a victory for Google, which complained to antitrust regulators that Vista's hard-drive indexing was difficult to switch off and made alternatives—like Google's own Desktop Search—run...
Church Nixes Joe K's Annulment
Time
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Jun 20, 2007 2:55 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Politics and religion collided today with the revelation by Joe Kennedy's ex-wife that the Catholic Church has reversed its decision to annul their marriage. Sheila Rauch Kennedy, an Episcopalian, tells Time that the process of invalidating her marriage to the ex-congressman was "dishonest, and it was important to stand up and say that."
Israel Takes Fight to Gaza
Associated Press
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Jun 20, 2007 1:44 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Israeli aircraft and tanks attacked locations in Gaza today, killing four militants in their first assault on the strip since Hamas took over. An Israeli aerial strike targeted two rocket launchers in northern Gaza as tanks moved into southern Gaza, sparking a shootout that produced the four casualties.
Private Equity Pounces on Nuveen
Bloomberg
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Jun 20, 2007 1:32 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Private equity fund Madison Dearborn has made the biggest-ever play for an asset management firm, offering $5.75 billion to buy out Chicago-based Nuveen Investments. The $65-per-share offer—a 20% premium over Nuveen's closing price yesterday—signals the growing demand for cash-rich money-management firms as buyout targets.
Bloomberg Says He Won't Run
New York Times
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Jun 20, 2007 1:11 PM CDT
(Newser) -
A day after sparking presidential hype with a shift out of the GOP, Mike Bloomberg says he won't run. "I said that my intention is to be mayor for the next 925 days and probably about 10 hours—whatever’s left, 11 hours? And that is my intention," Bloomberg told reporters at a press conference.
Computer Outage Leads to Airline Outage
Bloomberg
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Jun 20, 2007 1:00 PM CDT
(Newser) -
United flights around the globe sat on the tarmac for 2 hours this morning after a computer malfunction effectively shut down the world's second-biggest carrier. The midmorning glitch affected an unknown number of flights, Bloomberg reports, before techs traced the trouble to the systems that weigh planes, check their balance, and monitor the opening...
6 Guantanamo Detainees Sent Home
Associated Press
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Jun 20, 2007 12:19 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Six prisoners held at the Guantanamo Bay naval base have been returned to their home countries—four to Tunisia and two to Yemen—the AP reports. One detainee's lawyer opposed the transfer on the grounds that he may face abuse for nonviolent political activism.
French Government Develops BlackBerry Allergy
Times (UK)
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Jun 20, 2007 11:37 AM CDT
(Newser) -
BlackBerrys may feel like tools of high-tech spycraft, but they're not—or so the manufacturer is attempting to convince the French government. Worried that American intelligence could intercept transmissions from the addictive devices, the government has renewed an apparently futile 18-month-old ban on high-level officials' use, according to...
Morgan Stanley 2nd Quarter Wallops Rivals
Bloomberg
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Jun 20, 2007 10:23 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Morgan Stanley released far better-than-expected earnings figures today, with net income up over 40% in the last quarter. Riding strong fixed-income sales and trading figures, profits rose to $2.58 billion, up from $1.84 billion last year. That's a far cry from rivals Goldman Sachs and Bear Stearns, whose second-quarter bottom lines were hit hard by...
For Giuliani, Things Go Better Without Coke
New York Post
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Jun 20, 2007 9:45 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The South Carolina state treasurer's drug problem is reverberating in New York, where the Giuliani campaign severed ties with volunteer state chairman Thomas Ravenel after his indictment yesterday on federal cocaine-trafficking charges. The campaign said the real estate millionaire "has stepped down from his volunteer responsibilities," and...
Kerkorkian Hedges Bets on MGM
CNN
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Jun 20, 2007 9:13 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Mega-investor Kirk Kerkorian has withdrawn his intended bid for two of MGM Mirage's showcase properties. Kerkorian, who owns a 56% stake in the company, pulled his preannounced offer on news of a multi-billion dollar development deal between MGM and South African casino giant Kerzner International to develop a new property on the Strip.
Missing GI's Wife Faces Deportation
WBZ 4
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Jun 20, 2007 9:12 AM CDT
(Newser) -
While the US military searches for MIA Army specialist Alex Jimenez, the US government may be looking to deport his wife. Yaderlin Jimenez snuck into the country from the Dominican Republic six years ago; Alex, who disappeared in Iraq with two other soldiers last month, had tried in vain to get his wife of three years a green card.
Abortion Doc's Killer Draws 2nd Life Sentence
ABC News
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Jun 20, 2007 8:35 AM CDT
(Newser) -
A militant anti-abortion activist who murdered an obstetrician was sentenced to life in prison on federal charges yesterday. James Kopp is already serving a state term of 25 years to life for the 1998 sniper-style killing of Barnett Slepian, who performed abortions. Kopp is also suspected in four other shootings of doctors in the US and Canada.
Boeing Bags Another Big One
New York Times
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Jun 20, 2007 8:23 AM CDT
(Newser) -
International Lease Finance Corporation, the world’s #1 jet leasing company, ordered 52 787 Dreamliners, Boeing announced at the Paris Air Show. This brings total orders for Boeing's new plane to 634 -- way ahead of rival Airbus' 127 orders for its A350XWB. Both planes incorporate lightweight composites instead of metal, which will...
Clintons Score a Mafia Hit
Washington Post
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Jun 20, 2007 8:12 AM CDT
(Newser) -
A new Hillary 2008 viral ad is exploring the senator's Family ties. The Clinton campaign posted an already-ubiquitous video yesterday, starring Bill and Hillary and parodying the final scene of the Sopranos—down to the diner, the suspicious goon, and the sudden blackout. Hil seems determined lately to prove she can laugh at herself, WaPo reports.
Tiger Cub Is Already in the Zone—of Privacy
Associated Press
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Jun 20, 2007 8:00 AM CDT
(Newser) -
When superstar golfer Tiger Woods became a first-time dad earlier this week, the news appeared on his website--absent any specifics about daughter Sam Alexis' height, weight, or time of arrival. It was par for the course for the notoriously private pro and his wife, Elin, who've been hounded by the press, says the AP.
Outlook Bearish for Bear Sterns Hedge Funds
Wall Street Journal
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Jun 20, 2007 7:02 AM CDT
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Two major Bear Stearns hedge funds that once controlled more than $20 billion in assets are on the brink of collapse after disastrous losses in securities backed by subprimes. The Journal reports a bailout plan that would have kept the funds afloat fractured last night, and the consequences could ripple through the mortgage market in the weeks ahead.
Nurses, Prosecutors Joust Over Post-Katrina Testimony
Times-Picayune (New Orleans)
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Jun 20, 2007 6:51 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina continues to unfold in the courts, where prosecutors have offered to drop second-degree murder charges against two nurses in exchange for their testimony about the deaths of four patients. The motions may be a sign that the case against the nurses is weak, the Times-Picayune reports, and the AP says the nurses will...
Amazon Tribe Broods Over Poached Blood
New York Times
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Jun 20, 2007 6:31 AM CDT
(Newser) -
An Amazon tribe is bilious after scientists took blood samples in exchange for medicine they never got, the Times reports. Doctors collected DNA from the Karitiana Indians in the late '70s and again in 1996, and then sold it to researchers for $85 a pop. But now the once remote tribe has made contact with the Western world, and wants compensation.
Bloomberg's Billions Make Instant Player
Washington Post
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Jun 20, 2007 5:57 AM CDT
(Newser) -
One day after Mike Bloomberg announced he's ditching the GOP, the will-he-or-won't-he titters are building to a roar. The Post reports that Bloomberg is prepared to spend at least half-a-billion dollars on an independent presidential run—ten times what Perot spent in '92—making him the "the billion-dollar elephant in the room,"...
China's CO2 Output Passes US
BBC
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Jun 20, 2007 5:25 AM CDT
(Newser) -
China has overtaken the US as the world's biggest CO2 emitter. A Dutch study says China is coughing up 9% more fossil fuel into the air than last year, compared with a 1.4% increase from the superpower across the Pacific. And the trend is up: China's industry is growing so fast, it's building two new power stations a week to meet energy demands.
Bush Prepares to Re-Veto Stem Cell Bill
Associated Press
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Jun 20, 2007 5:17 AM CDT
(Newser) -
President Bush plans to sic the third veto of his presidency on a new bill that would soften restrictions on stem-cell research. Congressional Dems sent the bill to the president this week, and it looks eerily similar to one Bush sent back to fail a congressional override in January.
Hollywood Prays for Laughs from the Faithful
Los Angeles Times
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Jun 20, 2007 4:54 AM CDT
(Newser) -
God is returning to the big screen this Friday in Universal's Evan Almighty , a big-budget comedy aimed at the churchgoing. The LA TImes recalls that Hollywood used to balk at religiously-inflected films, but saw the light when Mel Gibson's spiritual blockbuster The Passion of the Christ raked in $370M in 2004.
Breast Cancer Can Come From Dad, Too
Associated Press
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Jun 20, 2007 4:53 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Half of congenital breast cancer victims inherit the disease from their fathers, not their mothers, according to a new study. And unless dad has female relatives with the affliction, the responsible gene may go undiscovered. The study in JAMA warns doctors, increasingly screening family trees for cancer, not to overlook the paternal genetic danger...
Big Proctor Is Watching You
Associated Press
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Jun 20, 2007 4:00 AM CDT
(Newser) -
A new device designed to monitor tests remotely helps distance-learning providers keep an eye on students who are taking exams thousands of miles away. The virtual proctor locks down the terminal so users can't search files or the Internet for answers, a 360-degree camera captures the student's actions, and a microphone records noise in the room.
Top 10 US HS Athletic Programs
Sports Illustrated
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Jun 19, 2007 9:59 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Jesuit (Portland, Ore.) DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) Warren Central (Indianapolis) Miami (Fla.) Northwestern Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.)
Stylish Bandit Fleeces Banks, Escapes FBI
KXAN TV Austin
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Jun 19, 2007 9:30 PM CDT
(Newser) -
A bank robber who's pulled off three heists this month has all the conventional moves but none of the usual look. The FBI is looking for a 20-something blonde who, with her ponytail poking through a baseball cap, knocked off a Washington bank late last month, capping a spree with previous stops in Texas and California.
Lebanon Under Seige
New York Review of Books
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Jun 19, 2007 9:22 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Economist Middle East correspondent Max Rodenbeck takes us on a painful amble through the history of modern Lebanon. He sees Lebanon as a Manichean society where the wealthy live next to the poor, the religious coexist (sort of) with the secular, the pro-Syrian are at odds with the pro-Israeli.
Kobe Slams Kupchak, Bynum in Bootleg Video
ESPN
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Jun 19, 2007 9:00 PM CDT
(Newser) -
An amateur video surfaced today in which Lakers franchise player Kobe Bryant slammed GM Mitch Kupchak and the team's young center, Andrew Bynum, in a profanity-ridden tirade. The video had been filmed in a parking lot without Bryant's knowledge, and its anonymous makers plan to offer viewings online after the Lakers passed on purchasing it.
Photos That Changed the World?
Slate
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Jun 19, 2007 8:31 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Slate and Magnum Photos team up to present 31 photos that over the past 70 years have "informed the world" and "capture(d) the political and cultural zeitgeist of our time." The iconic photos in this slide show range from a soldier falling in the Spanish Civil War to a soldier falling in the Iraq War.
Tiger Skips Paternity Leave, Eyes Carnoustie
Scotsman (UK)
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Jun 19, 2007 8:00 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Golf's most famously competitive personality is unlikely to miss the next major title, despite a frustrating defeat at the US Open at Oakmont and the birth of his first child shortly thereafter. Tiger Woods had announced he might possibly miss an event pending the birth of his daughter, Sam, but with five weeks before tee-time in Carnoustie, he...
Atlantis Heads Home
Space.com
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Jun 19, 2007 7:10 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Space shuttle Atlantis undocked from the International Space Station today and set out on the final leg of its 13-day mission. The seven astronauts' final preparations for landing included making sure the craft's heat shield was ready to re-enter the atmosphere before landing Thursday—or later if the weather doesn't cooperate—at the Kennedy...
Bloomberg Waves Goodbye to GOP
Associated Press
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Jun 19, 2007 6:29 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Mike Bloomberg has changed the party in his voter registration from Republican to "unaffiliated," sparking speculation that he will throw the 2008 campaign into turmoil by running for president as an independent. The New York mayor has vowed to leave politics after his term expires in 2009, the AP reports, a stance at odds with his rising...
Gazans Stuck in Israel Tunnel
Associated Press
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Jun 19, 2007 5:35 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Hundreds of Gazans hoping to escape Hamas are boxed in a filthy tunnel at a major crossing point with Israel, awaiting safe passage to the calmer West Bank. Israeli authorities are citing security concerns in checking the Palestinians, some of whom were wounded when Hamas attacked the tunnel at the Erez crossing yesterday.
No-Name Jury Awaits Chicago Mob Trial
Chicago Tribune
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Jun 19, 2007 5:07 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Five elderly men accused of running the Chicago mob go on trial this week before a jury of their peers—but the defendants and their lawyers won't know the names of those peers. The Chicago Tribune explores the issue of juror anonymity as a federal court begins assembling a panel of people who will be known only by numbers.
New England Towns Mint Local Bucks
Reuters
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Jun 19, 2007 3:56 PM CDT
(Newser) -
A cluster of towns in Western Massachusetts has created its own currency—BerkShares. The banknotes, which trade for 90 cents on the dollar, feature local heroes like Norman Rockwell and are accepted as cash at 280 cafés, shops, and even the local "chakra balancing" joint.
White House Budget Director Will Step Down
Washington Post
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Jun 19, 2007 3:46 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The White House budget director will leave his post this summer after just over a year in office. Rob Portman departs the OMB at an awkward time, with Congress gearing up for a bruising fight over next year's federal budget. He enjoys bipartisan support that his successor, onetime Iowa congressman Jim Nussle, can't count on, the Washington Post reports.
Drivers' 10 Commandments
The vatican
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Jun 19, 2007 3:00 PM CDT
(Newser) -
You shall not kill. The road shall be for you a means of communion between people & not of mortal harm. Be charitable and help your neighbour in need, especially victims of accidents. Cars shall not be for you an expression of power & domination, & an occasion of sin. Courtesy, uprightness & prudence will...
Oh, Brother! Female Twins Less Likely to Have Kids
BBC
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Jun 19, 2007 3:00 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Female twins with twin brothers are less likely to marry and have kids than those with twin sisters, a new study shows, and those who do reproduce have fewer children. Elevated exposure to testosterone in utero appears to be the culprit, say British scientists who reached back over two centuries to find records unaffected by modern health care.
Vatican: Thou Shalt Not Speed
Associated Press
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Jun 19, 2007 2:14 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The pope wants you to slow down, watch your language, and pray while on the road—and not by taking the Lord's name in vain when you get cut off. The Vatican issued "10 Commandments" for motorists today, reiterating the familiar prohibition against killing and adding new guidelines for doing unto others in the age of the internal-combustion...
White House Aides Broke Rules on E-Mails
Washington Post
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Jun 19, 2007 12:46 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Hundreds of thousands of White House e-mails sent on Republican National Committee accounts have been deleted or are missing, an apparent violation of the law governing presidential records. The Washington Post reports that Karl Rove personally sent or received 140,000 e-mails, more than half of which appear to be official White House business.
Dozens Dead in Baghdad Mosque Blast
Guardian (UK)
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Jun 19, 2007 11:39 AM CDT
(Newser) -
A car bomb exploded near a Shia mosque in Baghdad today just as afternoon prayers were ending, killing at least 75. More than 200 people were injured in the blast, which sent smoke billowing over the central city. The explosion came 2 days after officials lifted a curfew imposed following the destruction of a Shia shrine in Samarra.
Bloodthinner Can Help Frostbite Victims
Los Angeles Times
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Jun 19, 2007 11:38 AM CDT
(Newser) -
A clot-busting drug is remarkably effective in treating frostbite patients, according to new research from the University of Utah health center, reports the Los Angeles Times . Patients whose treatment included tissue plasmingoen activator (tPA) kept 90% of affected fingers and toes; patients treated before the drug was in use had 41% amputated.
Bomb Blast at Baghdad Mosque Kills 75
Hole Card Blog
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Jun 19, 2007 10:35 AM CDT
(Newser) -
A truck bomb exploded at a central Baghdad mosque today, killing at least 75 people and wounding at least 200, the AP reports. The blast came as worshipers were leaving afternoon prayers. Developing ...
SC Blaze Kills 9 Firefighters
Associated Press
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Jun 19, 2007 8:17 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Nine firefighters died last night when the roof of a burning furniture store in Charleston, SC, collapsed in what one onlooker described as a "30-foot tornado of flames." The mayor said no city firefighter had died on the job in his 30 years in office, and to "lose nine is just unbelievable."
Bush, Olmert Meet on Palestine
Associated Press
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Jun 19, 2007 8:05 AM CDT
(Newser) -
President Bush and Israeli PM Ehud Olmert will convene today to discuss future relations with a newly divided Palestine. The US has resumed aid to Mahmoud Abbas' moderate Fatah government, now balkanized from its militant Hamas rivals, and Olmert has signaled his a potential willingness to push peace negotiations by doing the same.
