Newser Story Index from September, 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.
Ex-Gang Members Help LA Cut Homicides
Los Angeles Times
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Sep 28, 2007 9:29 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The Los Angeles homicide rate has dropped this year to the lowest level since 1970, a turnaround police credit in part to a new program using ex-gang members to prevent gang killings. Nine months after the mayor vowed to crack down on gang violence, homicides are down by 50% in some neighborhoods, the Los Angeles Times reports. A civil right attorney...
Prez Orders Action to Reduce Flight Delays
New York Times
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Sep 28, 2007 8:28 AM CDT
(Newser) -
After a summer of nightmarish ordeals for airline passengers, President Bush yesterday ordered his transportation secretary to sit down with the airlines and do something to reduce delays and improve treatment of travelers by next summer. “There’s a lot of anger amongst our citizens about the fact that, you know, they’re just not...
Musharraf Wins Case, Will Run For Reelection In Uniform
BBC
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Sep 28, 2007 7:45 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Gen. Pervez Musharraf has won his case in Pakistan's Supreme Court to run for president while remaining chief of the army, the BBC reports. The verdict deals a blow to opposition parties, who had hoped the court would invalidate Musharraf's dual campaign before the parliamentary vote next week. it comes as something of a surprise, as the court...
Hirst Sculpture Springs a Leak
Telegraph (UK)
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Sep 28, 2007 7:21 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Damien Hirst won fame and fortune for his installations of animals preserved in formaldehyde, but now, writes the Telegraph , his vitrines are in less-than-perfect shape. The Astrup Fearnley Museum in Oslo recently discovered liquid seeping out of sculpture Mother and Child Divided , which preserves a cow and calf sliced into segments. It's not the...
World Bank Pledges Record $3.5B to Aid Poorest Nations
BBC
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Sep 28, 2007 7:15 AM CDT
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The World Bank has doubled its previous promises and pledged a record $3.5B in grants and credits to aid the world's poorest countries. The bank's new president said the dramatic move is intended to spur an increase in donations from rich countries, the BBC reports. The bank also eased loan conditions for middle-income countries.
Child Health Bill Heads for Veto
Washington Post
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Sep 28, 2007 6:20 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The stage was set for a confrontation with the president yesterday as the Senate passed a bill expanding health insurance for children's with a veto-proof, bipartisan majority of 67 to 29. Bush has repeatedly vowed to veto the measure, which drew the support of 18 of 49 Senate Republicans, including many of the presidents usual allies, reports the...
US Sinks International Golfers
Golf.com
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Sep 28, 2007 6:09 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The first round of the President's Cup couldn't have gone much better for the US team—or much worse for the International team. Strong performances by a number of golfers, including Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods, kept the International team from winning a single match.
Alcohol Spikes Breast Cancer Danger
Reuters
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Sep 28, 2007 5:27 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Alcohol in any form significantly increases a woman's risk of breast cancer, according to a major new study. Three or more drinks a day, whether wine, beer or spirits, is tantamount to smoking a pack of cigarettes, US researchers told a European scientific conference. One to two drinks a day increases the risk by 10%, which jumps to 30% for more than...
Cubs Swept by Marlins, Magic Number at 2
MLB.com
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Sep 28, 2007 5:02 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The Cubs continued to play their worst baseball at the worst possible time last night, stranding 10 in a 6-4 loss to the Marlins. The Brewers, however, helped out by losing 9-5 to the Padres, which holds the Cubs division lead at two with three games left to play.
Violent Face-Off Rages in Burma
Guardian (UK)
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Sep 28, 2007 4:44 AM CDT
(Newser) -
A brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protesters continued after a bloody confrontation yesterday when soldiers shot dead at least nine people, including a Japanese news photographer. Troops again opened fire on demonstrators today, cut internet connections and sealed monasteries as crowds defied orders from the ruling military junta to disperse....
Blackwater Blamed for Fallujah Bloodshed
Associated Press
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Sep 28, 2007 4:05 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Blackwater, the private security firm under investigation for a dozen civilian deaths in Iraq last week, is now being faulted for actions that led to a 2004 battle in which 36 US soldiers and 600 civilians were killed. Blackwater is charged with sending a disorganized, unprepared four-man team into the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah, resulting ...
Oprah Tops List of TV's Biggest Earners—Again
Forbes
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Sep 28, 2007 3:57 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Talk show diva Oprah Winfrey continues her reign as the Queen of Media, topping Forbes' list of 2007's 20 highest earning TV stars with a whopping $260 million. Jerry Seinfeld came in a distant second with $60 million—mostly from residuals. They were followed by Simon Cowell ($45 million), David Letterman ($40 million), Donald Trump ($32...
CIA Suspects Granted Access to Lawyers
Washington Post
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Sep 28, 2007 3:51 AM CDT
(Newser) -
US officials have granted 14 "high-value" al-Qaeda suspects, transferred to Guantanamo Bay after years in secret CIA prisons, access to lawyers to represent them at future military trials. The suspects include Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the 911 attacks, and others once close to Osama bin Laden, reports the Washington...
LB Caught With Pot, Kicked Off Team
ESPN
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Sep 28, 2007 3:19 AM CDT
(Newser) -
After crashing out of the top 10, Louisville's football program (2-2) suffered another blow when linebacker Willie A. Williams was pulled over for playing loud music and allegedly discovered trying to conceal a small amount of marijuana in his mouth, reports ESPN. Williams was swiftly dismissed from the team.
Lab Rats 'Treated Better Than Humans'
New York Times
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Sep 28, 2007 3:19 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Animals used in medical research have more rights and protections than humans who participate in clinical trials, according to a federal investigation. The Food and Drug Administration has only 200 inspectors to monitor 350,000 clinical trials and most of their field reports are ignored, reports the New York Times.
Opposition Will Boycott Musharraf Election
BBC
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Sep 28, 2007 2:34 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Pakistani opposition leaders vow to vacate their legislative seats to protest President Pervez Musharraf's bid for re-election next week, the BBC reports. Members of the influential MMA religious alliance say they will resign from parliament and four provincial assemblies, which decide who will be the next president.
Mets Tailspin Brings Tie With Phillies
New York Times
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Sep 28, 2007 12:57 AM CDT
(Newser) -
A start by ace Pedro Martinez was not enough to stall the Mets' meltdown, as Joel Pineiro and Jason Isringhausen of the Cardinals combined on a 3-0 shutout. With the Phillies beating Atlanta, New York dropped into a tie for the NL East lead after leading the division since mid-May. 41-year-old Moises Alou's hitting streak was halted at 30 games.
Jena 6 Teen Goes Free on Bail
ABC News
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Sep 27, 2007 8:20 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The black teenager jailed in the Jena 6 case walked out of a Louisiana courthouse free on bail today. A judge released Mychal Bell, 17, on $45,000 bail hours after prosecutors decided not to seek an adult trial, the Associated Press reports. The prosecution of Bell and five other black teenagers in the beating of a white student has triggered weeks...
Microsoft Rips Google Over Ad Service Bid
Wall Street Journal
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Sep 27, 2007 7:30 PM CDT
(Newser) -
A Senate antitrust panel heard testimony today on Google's proposed takeover of internet ad broker DoubleClick, the Wall Street Journal reports, including a not-so-friendly broadside from Microsoft, a snubbed DoubleClick suitor. Google's chief legal officer said the $3.1 billion deal wouldn't create an internet advertising monolith, as the companies...
Canada-US Border Insecure
CNN
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Sep 27, 2007 7:01 PM CDT
(Newser) -
It is easy to smuggle radioactive material across the border between Canada and the US, CNN reports. Investigators from the Government Accountability Office testified before Congress today that they were able to pass from one country to the other with a duffle bag containing what looked like radioactive components, and never saw a police or border-security...
Myth: Exercise Keeps You Lean
New York
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Sep 27, 2007 6:19 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The idea that exercise is the key to shedding pounds is relatively modern—and a whole lot of hogwash, Gary Taubes argues in New York magazine. Though the theory that working out makes us lose weight has been around since the 1960s, scientific research has consistently shown that the relationship between weight and exercise is spurious.
Cell Phone Jamming Just Got a Lot More User-Friendly
ComputerWorld
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Sep 27, 2007 5:56 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Devices that can scramble cell phone calls have been available for years, but now they might be within reach for ordinary airwaves saboteurs. Cell phone jammers are illegal in the US, and their bulk and expense have kept them rare. That may change, with an online catalog selling what ComputerWorld calls the first jammer “priced, sized and created...
Steroid Peddlers Want to Friend You
New York Times
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Sep 27, 2007 5:33 PM CDT
(Newser) -
There were 120 alleged criminals pinched this week in a Connecticut steroids crackdown, but only five are accused of selling drugs on MySpace. Four are accused of purchasing raw Chinese steroid power, manufacturing the drugs in their homes and selling them through the social-networking site, the New York Times reports. MySpace reps had no comment...
In China, Thirst for Growth Leaves Land Parched
New York Times
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Sep 27, 2007 5:12 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Economic growth, rampant contamination, vast crops and a population explosion are sapping China's groundwater supply at an unprecedented pace. And with 20% of the world's population but only 7% of its water supply, the Chinese government is hard-pressed for solutions, the New York Times reports. "They will run out of water if the current rate...
Taliban Kidnaps Red Cross Staff
Reuters
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Sep 27, 2007 4:55 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Taliban fighters kidnapped four Red Cross workers southwest of Afghanistan's capital, Kabul, yesterday, Reuters reports. A Taliban spokesman says the group has "nothing against the Red Cross," was unaware at the time that the kidnapped were Red Cross staff, and that the four would be released soon. The Red Cross says the event will...
DA Ends Bid to Try 'Jena 6' Teen as Adult
Reuters
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Sep 27, 2007 4:39 PM CDT
(Newser) -
A prosecutor has given up attempts to have one of the Louisiana teenagers at the center of a civil-rights furor tried as an adult, Reuters reports. Mychal Bell, 17, was convicted in June of battery in the beating of a white classmate, but an appeals court overturned the verdict on grounds that Bell couldn't be tried as an adult.
Senate Bill Protects Gays Against Hate Crimes
Los Angeles Times
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Sep 27, 2007 4:21 PM CDT
(Newser) -
After a long battle, the Senate today approved a new measure expanding federal hate-crime laws to cover violence motivated by a victim's sexuality, gender identity, gender, or disability. In an attempt to stymie President Bush's threat to veto the legislation, the measure was attached to a defense authorization bill—which no president has ever...
9/11 Survivor's Story May Be Tall Tale
New York Times
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Sep 27, 2007 4:04 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Since September 11, 2001, Tania Head has made a name for herself as one of few people to escape from the upper floors of the World Trade Center, and has devoted much time to organizing survivors' networks and speaking of her experience. But recent inquiries suggest Head may have fabricated the whole account, the New York Times reports.
Stocks Climb on Rate-Cut Hype
Bloomberg
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Sep 27, 2007 3:51 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The stock market rose for a second day as a weak new-home-sales report added energy to speculation that the Fed will slash rates again next month; Bloomberg puts the odds of a quarter-point cut at 88%. The S&P added 5.96 to reach 1,531.38, climbing within 1.5% of a record. The Dow added 34.79 to 13,912.94, within 0.7% of a new record. And the Nasdaq...
Study Links Certain Cancers to Divorce
Reuters
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Sep 27, 2007 3:50 PM CDT
(Newser) -
A recent study finds the presence of either testicular or cervical cancer in one partner heightens the risk of divorce, Reuters reports. With most forms of cancer, the unaffected spouse is statistically likely to support his or her partner; however, women with cervical cancer are nearly 70% more likely to get divorced, and men with testicular cancer...
Rice Kicks Off Climate Summit
Reuters
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Sep 27, 2007 3:45 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Condoleezza Rice insisted the US is serious about fighting global warming today, as top polluting nations began a two-day conference in Washington. "Climate change is a global problem and we are contributing to it," the Secretary of State said. President Bush convened the conference to "support and accelerate" the UN's agenda on...
Microsoft Updates Search Engine
CNET
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Sep 27, 2007 3:33 PM CDT
(Newser) -
In attempt to stay viable in the search market, Microsoft revealed changes to its Live Search site yesterday, the first since it was launched last year. The changes include integration of streaming video into top searches, instant answers on health-related queries, a rating and review index for product searches, as well as improvements to core search...
New Nuke Power Plant Pitched
Scientific American
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Sep 27, 2007 3:31 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Despite warnings of another Three Mile Island or Chernobyl, New Jersey-based NRG Energy has set in motion a plan to build two more reactors at its South Texas nuclear power plant, an hour outside Houston. The application, filed Monday, was the first of its kind in over 30 years, and more are on the way, Scientific American reports.
In the Ashes of Apartheid, a Shopping Mall
BBC
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Sep 27, 2007 3:19 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Nelson Mandela cut a ribbon today to mark the opening of a massive shopping mall in Soweto, the Johannesburg township that was the center of the struggle against apartheid, and his own home before he went to prison. The Maponya Mall, with 200 shops and an eight-screen theater, is the largest in southern Africa, the BBC reports.
Grand Jury Indicts 2 for Espionage
PC World
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Sep 27, 2007 3:17 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Lan Lee and Yuefei Ge, both of California, were indicted Wednesday by a grand jury on two counts each of economic espionage, conspiracy and theft of trade secrets. The former employees of chip maker Netlogics Microsystems allegedly downloaded chip tech plans onto their home computers, intending to start their own company backed by Chinese money, PCWorld...
Legal Assisted Suicide Hasn't Led to Abuse
BBC
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Sep 27, 2007 2:57 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Fears that legalizing physician-assisted suicide would lead to its use on unwilling, disabled people are unfounded, concludes a new study conducted in Oregon and the Netherlands, where the practice is legal. Researchers scoured hundreds of cases for any kind of bias, finding, “no evidence to justify the grave and important concern often expressed...
Website Exposes Burma Brutality
Democratic voice of Burma
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Sep 27, 2007 2:43 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Eyewitness accounts posted on a Burmese expat site offer rare details of Myanmar's brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protesters. One post today described an early-morning raid on a monastery where soldiers broke down the gate with a truck, and attacked monks, along with women and children in their care, with bamboo sticks, before hauling away 100.
First Daughter Talks of New Book, Fiancé
ABC News
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Sep 27, 2007 2:31 PM CDT
(Newser) -
In an interview set to air tomorrow night on ABC, First Daughter Jenna Bush promoted her new book, "Ana's Story," which tells the tale of a 17-year-old single mother living with AIDS whom Bush met while working for UNICEF in Latin America. The interview also touched on Bush's recent engagement to Henry Hager, who proposed while hiking in...
Pakistani Judge Frees Political Prisoners
New York Times
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Sep 27, 2007 2:19 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The chief justice of Pakistan’s Supreme Court today told the government to release more than 100 opposition workers and politicians, the New York Times reports. The arrests were aimed to prevent protests as the court deliberates President Pervez Musharraf's right to run for re-election—a candidacy Musharraf made official by filing nomination...
Why GOP No-Shows Are Dissing Minorities
Los Angeles Times
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Sep 27, 2007 2:01 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The African-American audience watching tonight's GOP presidential debate will see four empty lecterns representing the front-runners who declined to participate. Since the top three also declined a Spanish-language forum, the Los Angeles Times wonders why they're snubbing minority voters. Scheduling-conflict excuses don't cut it; more plausible is...
Aussie Miscarriage Fiasco Leads to Calls for Reform
ABC News (Australia)
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Sep 27, 2007 1:50 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Reports of Australian women left to miscarry in the bathroom of a major Sydney hospital have elicited an outcry for public health reform, even as beleaguered prime minister John Howard defended the system as flawed but good. But an ER physician at the hospital told ABC News that there were simply no beds: "This could happen in any emergency department...
Spilling Spoilers Is a Deathtrap for Indy Extra
New York Post
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Sep 27, 2007 1:35 PM CDT
(Newser) -
A spoiler-filled interview with his hometown Oklahoma paper proved as dangerous as a rolling ball of death for an extra in the new Indiana Jones movie. Steven Spielberg is furious that the 24-year-old violated his non-disclosure agreement, the Post reports. “Who knows whether that particular person will ever work in this town again?”...
Spector's Cash His Best Defense
Los Angeles Times
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Sep 27, 2007 1:22 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Phil Spector’s money mattered more than his celebrity in convincing two jurors of his innocence in this week’s mistrial on second-degree murder charges. Several jurors had never heard of the record producer—so it was his ability to hire a pricey team of lawyers, forensic experts, and private investigators, the LA Times concludes.
Navy to 'Camouflage' Swastika Building
Guardian (UK)
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Sep 27, 2007 1:10 PM CDT
(Newser) -
When it was finished in 1970, officials realized a building at a San Diego Navy base looked like a swastika, the Guardian reports. But after images of the building from Google Earth sparked outrage, the Navy has decided to do something about it. The Navy will spend $600,000 to “camouflage” the building with landscaping and solar panels,...
Verizon Backs Off, Will Allow Naral Texts
New York Times
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Sep 27, 2007 12:56 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Verizon has reversed its refusal to let Naral send text messages over its system, after previously banning the abortion rights group’s content as “controversial or unsavory.” The wireless service provider was apologetic about last week’s decision, saying it had misinterpreted “a dusty internal policy,” the Times...
August Home Price Plunge Is Biggest Since 1970
Bloomberg
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Sep 27, 2007 12:44 PM CDT
(Newser) -
New-home sales fell 8.3% in August, Bloomberg reports, a greater decline than predicted. Housing prices fell over last year, with the 7.5% decrease the biggest drop since 1970. Sales fell to an annual pace of 795,000, lowest in seven years. And that may not signal the housing market’s nadir: One CEO said the industry won’t bottom out...
Thompson Losing Evangelicals
Politico
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Sep 27, 2007 12:31 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Fred Thompson, once the longed-for alternative to a field of uninspiring GOP candidates, didn't get through his campaign's first official month before the religious right started jumping ship, Politico reports. Thompson's refusal to back a gay marriage ban, past lobbying for an abortion-rights group, and refusal to talk religion has conservatives...
Catholic Leader: Condoms in Africa Carry HIV
BBC
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Sep 27, 2007 12:19 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Catholic opposition to condom use as an AIDS preventive in Africa took a bizarre turn yesterday when a respected archbishop in Mozambique charged that condoms imported from Europe had been deliberately infected with HIV. Maputo Archbishop Francisco Chimoio made his comments at an Independence Day celebration and reiterated them to the BBC.
9 Killed in Burmese Crackdown
Reuters
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Sep 27, 2007 12:04 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Burmese troop forcibly scattered some 70,000 protesters for a second day today, with gunfire claiming the lives of at least nine—even as leaders around the world called for restraint. One of the dead is reportedly a Japanese photographer, spawning fears that the junta is targeting journalists to prevent news coverage.
Brazil Stuns US Women in Cup Semifinal
Chicago Tribune
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Sep 27, 2007 11:40 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Brazil thrashed the US, 4-0, in the Women’s World Cup semifinals today in Hangzhou, China, the worst loss in the program's history. The match was “over at halftime,” the C hicago Tribune writes, with the Americans down two goals—and one player, after Shannon Boxx received two yellow cards. Brazil faces Germany in Sunday's final;...
