Newser Story Index from October, 2008
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.
Palin's 'Reforms' Include State Jobs for Donors
Los Angeles Times
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Oct 24, 2008 1:45 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Sarah Palin has touted herself as a reformer, telling voters she "took on the old politics as usual in Juneau." But an LA Times investigation shows the Alaska governor gave more than 100 state jobs to campaign contributors and their relatives, many of whom lacked qualifications for the positions. One controversial appointee received...
That Stink May Help Your Blood Pressure
BBC
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Oct 24, 2008 1:31 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The gas we pass is unpleasant when it escapes, but it may also be key to lowering blood pressure, the BBC reports. It seems that hydrogen sulfide is produced by an enzyme in blood vessels, researchers at Johns Hopkins University found. Mice who lacked the enzyme experienced what would be serious hypertension in humans, even when injected with a vessel...
Mac's Brother Calls 911 Over Traffic Troubles
WJLA
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Oct 24, 2008 1:14 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Power corrupts, especially if you're stuck in traffic. A man believed to be John McCain’s brother called 911 to complain about being caught in gridlock in suburban Washington, WJLA-TV reports. "Sir, are you calling 911 to complain about traffic?" asks the operator on the tape. After a pause, the caller says, "(Expletive) you!"...
Changeling Decent but Flawed
Metacritic
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Oct 24, 2008 12:58 PM CDT
(Newser) -
There’s a kidnapping, corrupt police, a trip to a mental hospital, a serial killer, even a hooker with a heart of gold. “If Changeling were fiction, you’d accuse it of being over the top,” writes David Ansen of Newsweek . Instead, it’s based on a true story, and Clint Eastwood’s “classical repose lifts the...
Death in Juror's Family Puts Stevens Trial on Hold
Politico
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Oct 24, 2008 12:34 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Deliberations in the corruption trial of Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens were halted again today when the judge sent the jury home following the death of a juror’s father, Politico reports. The juror flew to California, and it’s unknown whether she’ll return for deliberations. This latest delay pushes deliberations closer to Election Day,...
Brangelina Brood Wants Wedding Rings
Us Weekly
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Oct 24, 2008 12:15 PM CDT
(Newser) -
With their relationship having followed an anything-but-normal progression, marriage could soon be on the table for Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. The actress tells Us Magazine their six children “want to know why Shrek and Fiona got married and we haven’t.” “We’ve done everything the wrong way around,” she says....
Biden Finds Inspiration in Father's Tough Life
New York Times
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Oct 24, 2008 12:06 PM CDT
(Newser) -
To understand Joe Biden's approach to life and politics, look no further than his father, writes the New York Times in a profile of the candidate today. Biden has long trumpeted his dad's slogan on the campaign trail—"the measure of a man is not how often he is knocked down, but how quickly he gets up"—and both men have to had...
TV Execs Like Palin's Future
Hollywood Reporter
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Oct 24, 2008 11:55 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Even if she doesn't end up in Washington, Sarah Palin could still find a presence in the lower 48, the Hollywood Reporter notes. Media higher-ups, salivating at the thought of ratings bumps that Palin appearances gave Saturday Night Live and CBS News, would love to offer her a backup career—with talk shows, news commentary or even a reality...
Woman Admits Making Up Tale of Carved 'B'
KDKA-TV
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Oct 24, 2008 11:40 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The blogosphere smelled a rat, and they were apparently right. The woman who claimed that an Obama-supporting mugger carved a "B" into her cheek has confessed to making up the tale, KDKA-TV (Pittsburgh) reports. The 20-year-old told police that her black mugger got ticked when he saw her McCain bumper sticker. Given that she Twittered before...
Paris for President: Campaign Music Vid
People
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Oct 24, 2008 11:20 AM CDT
(Newser) -
It may look like the presidential race is over, but Paris Hilton wants you to know she's still in the running. The would-be "commander in bikini" has a new music vid, "Paris for President," coming out on SwagHouseMedia.com Sunday. In the meantime, People's web site has a sneak peek, showing the party-girl heiress strutting in...
Home Sales Up 5.5%, Biggest Gain in 5 Years
Associated Press
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Oct 24, 2008 11:10 AM CDT
(AP) -
Sales of existing US homes rose by the largest amount in more than five years in last month, a real estate trade group said today. The data offer a glimmer of hope that the housing slump could be starting to bottom out. The National Association of Realtors said sales of existing homes rose by 5.5% in September compared to August.
Obama Credits His 'Grit' to Grandma
ABC News
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Oct 24, 2008 11:00 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Barack Obama plans to give his ailing grandmother "a kiss and a hug" and do some chores today during his pause from the campaign trail in Hawaii, he told ABC’s Good Morning America . Madelyn Dunham, 85, is “gravely ill,” Obama said, and she may not live to see Election Day. He’s visiting to be sure of the chance to...
Makeup Artist Highest Paid McCain Campaign Staffer
New York Times
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Oct 24, 2008 10:50 AM CDT
(Newser) -
While no more Saks and Barney's charges have surfaced, records for the first 2 weeks of October indicate that Sarah Palin's makeup artist was the highest paid individual contributor to the McCain campaign effort, pulling in $23,000. Amy Strozzi easily beat out McCain's foreign policy adviser (just $12,500) and senior communications staffer ($12,000),...
HSM 3 Is Cheesy, Charming
Rotten Tomatoes
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Oct 24, 2008 10:40 AM CDT
(Newser) -
High School Musical 3 takes the megapopular Disney Channel franchise to the big screen, and its director has “made the most of the move to the multiplex," writes Elizabeth Weitzman in the New York Daily News . While the storyline is “instantly forgettable,” it’s still “the HSM we all know and (sometimes secretly)...
GOP's Weld Jumps Ship, Backs Obama
Boston Globe
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Oct 24, 2008 10:27 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The latest big Republican to jump ship, at least temporarily, is a former Massachusetts governor who supported Mitt Romney in the primaries. Barack Obama is a "once-in-a-lifetime candidate" with "common values" and "an ability to unite and inspire," says William Weld. The Democrats have Massachusetts in the bag,...
Troubled Hubble Gets a Fix
Los Angeles Times
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Oct 24, 2008 10:06 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The malfunctioning Hubble Space Telescope could resume its space photography tomorrow, the Los Angeles Times reports. NASA scientists have reconfigured software that shut down the telescope last week. “There does not appear to be any permanent damage,” said a Hubble manager. “We're ready to resume recovery.” If all goes well,...
Palin's Old Pals Wonder: Where Did That Shy Girl Go?
New York Times
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Oct 24, 2008 9:51 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Those close to Sarah Palin as she was growing up remember her as quiet and reserved—“almost a wallflower type,” said one friend, a far cry from the tough, outspoken campaigner she has become. “I don’t think Sarah ever wanted to lead,” notes a college buddy. But somewhere between high school basketball, beauty pageants,...
NBC Stalls Runway, Readies Copycat
New York Post
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Oct 24, 2008 9:38 AM CDT
(Newser) -
NBC is using its legal muscle to keep Project Runway from airing on Lifetime while it launches a copycat show on its Bravo channel, reports the New York Post 's Page Six. Details about Fashion House in Cragslist casting calls make it sound like a replica of the fashion original . The lawsuit against Lifetime and Runway producers claims NBC...
Looks Over, but Don't Count Out Conservatives: Noonan
Wall Street Journal
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Oct 24, 2008 9:26 AM CDT
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For all of Barack Obama’s skill and John McCain’s clumsiness, the Republican can still count on at least 43% of the vote, writes Peggy Noonan in the Wall Street Journal . McCain might come back (there's still an awful lot of undecideds), but even if he doesn’t, more than 50 million people—the “beating heart of conservatism”—will...
McCain Was Blinded by Beauty
Washington Post
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Oct 24, 2008 9:15 AM CDT
(Newser) -
For Kathleen Parker, it’s suddenly clear why John McCain picked Sarah Palin. Parker's husband called it first, then a male friend confessed, “I’m sexually attracted to her. I don’t care that she knows nothing.” Robert Draper’s much-discussed New York Times magazine piece notes that McCain’s first real meeting...
AIG Has Already Spent Most of $123B Bailout
Washington Post
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Oct 24, 2008 9:05 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Struggling insurance giant AIG, recipient of the largest government bailout in history, has burned through three-quarters of its $123 billion financial lifeline, the Washington Post reports. As of yesterday, AIG has withdrawn $90.3 billion from the Federal Reserve’s credit line, mostly to pay off bad bets insuring toxic mortgage investments...
Stocks Take Early Plunge
Wall Street Journal
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Oct 24, 2008 8:54 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Stocks took a big plunge at the open today, with the Dow down 411 points, after a morning that saw Dow and S&P futures fall so far that trading was halted. Driving the pessimism were similar plunges overseas, with the Nikkei down 9.6%, and London’s FTSE down more than 8%, the Wall Street Journal reports. “Everyone is staring at their...
Palin: 'I'm Going to Plow Through'
Chicago Tribune
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Oct 24, 2008 8:32 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Sarah Palin focused on people with disabilities and special education in an interview with the Chicago Tribune yesterday, accompanied by her husband Todd and baby Trig. She noted her ticket’s plan to add $3 billion per year for special ed, saying the money will come from “re-prioritizing" the budget. She denied that the GOP spent...
Bianca Jagger Booted From Park Ave. Pad
New York Daily News
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Oct 24, 2008 8:29 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Bianca Jagger must give up her rent-controlled Manhattan apartment of 20 years. The state's highest court ruled that she doesn't meet the "primary residence" clause because she has an American tourist visa. Mick’s ex-wife says the eviction was revenge for her 2003 lawsuit against the landlord, which claimed she got sick from toxic mold...
GOP Memo Warns of House Rout
Politico
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Oct 24, 2008 8:17 AM CDT
(Newser) -
A memo passed around to House Republicans describes a looming catastrophe for the caucus in November, reports Politico. Written by a GOP consultant, the document describes as many as 58 Republican-held seats at risk, with 11 already written off and 34 in serious danger. Just a handful of Democratic seats are described as possible pick-ups for the Republicans....
No Glory , Plenty of Cliches
Rotten Tomatoes
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Oct 24, 2008 8:02 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Pride and Glory has all the ingredients of a great cop thriller, critics say, but they're ingredients that have been recycled a few too many times. Edward Norton, Colin Farrell, Noah Emmerich, and Jon Voight turn in fine performances as a family of New York cops, Bill Goodykoontz writes in the Arizona Republic , but they are "cut off at the...
Obama Pulls Ahead in Montana
KULR-8 (Montana)
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Oct 24, 2008 8:02 AM CDT
(Newser) -
For the first time, Barack Obama is leading John McCain in Montana, 44% to 40%, a poll suggests. Obama is seen as stronger on the economy by 48% to McCain’s 42%, though voters prefer McCain on foreign policy, 52% to 42%. Obama’s overall lead is within the MSU-Billings poll’s margin of error, KULR-8 TV reports.
50 High School Teens in St. Louis Exposed to HIV
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
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Oct 24, 2008 7:46 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Health officials in a small town near St. Louis have set up an HIV testing clinic in a high school gym after an infected person said up to 50 students may have been exposed, reports the St. Louis Post-Dispatch . School officials won't say whether that person is a student or how the virus may have been spread. They are scrambling to stop the spread...
Can Do: Guns N' Roses Triggers Free Dr Pepper
New York Daily News
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Oct 24, 2008 7:29 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Back in March, Dr Pepper offered to give every American a free soda if Guns N' Roses' long-delayed album hit stores in 2008. Now that Chinese Democracy , 17 years in the making, has a release date of Nov. 23, the soft drink giant is paying up. That day, it will offer coupons for free Dr Pepper on its website, the Daily News reports.
OPEC Slashes 1.5M Barrels a Day to Boost Oil Prices
Wall Street Journal
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Oct 24, 2008 7:14 AM CDT
(Newser) -
OPEC today decided to take 1.5 million barrels of oil per day off the markets to boost prices flirting with 16-month lows, the Wall Street Journal reports. The deep cut will take effect next month. “This slowdown in oil demand is serving to exacerbate the situation in a market which has been oversupplied for some time,” OPEC said in a...
Israel Faces Snap Vote After Talks Collapse
Haaretz (Israel)
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Oct 24, 2008 7:05 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Tzipi Livni received a potentially fatal blow in her bid to become Israel's prime minister when the ultra-orthodox party Shas announced today it would not join her coalition. Livni, who succeeded Ehud Olmert as leader of the ruling Kadima party last month, has struggled for weeks to build an alliance. The breakdown in talks means that early elections...
Half of America's Population Growth Now Hispanic
Houston Chronicle
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Oct 24, 2008 6:50 AM CDT
(Newser) -
A Hispanic baby boom accounts for more than half of America's population growth over the last decade, the Houston Chronicle reports. A survey found 50.5% of the growth in that period was among Hispanics, even though the group currently makes up just 15% of the population. The growth is due more to births than immigration, the Pew Hispanic Center...
Trading Locked After Dow Futures Plunge 550
Wall Street Journal
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Oct 24, 2008 6:21 AM CDT
(Newser) -
US stock futures plunged this morning, with trading in Dow and S&P futures locked after both fell more than 6% in early-hours trading. Dow futures fell 550 points to 8824, while the S&P fell 60 to 855.2—hitting the limit that each can decline in one trading session. The Nasdaq lost 82.25 points to 1171.25. The declines came...
IMF Plans Huge Credit Line for Poor Nations
New York Times
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Oct 24, 2008 6:11 AM CDT
(Newser) -
While the financial crisis is leading the West into recession, other parts of the world from Hungary to Argentina face an even worse fate: default, market panic, and possibly social upheaval. Now the IMF is working to build a giant line of credit, funded by rich nations, to provide emergency capital to nations on the brink. "The tsunami...
Half of US Docs Prescribe Placebos
Chicago Tribune
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Oct 24, 2008 5:45 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Half of US doctors admit prescribing drugs to patients just for the placebo effect—to make them think they are taking something beneficial, reports the Chicago Tribune. As many as 56% prescribed antibiotics, painkillers, vitamins, and sedatives in cases where they didn't expect them to have any benefit physically, but thought the pills might...
Pound Craters After Latest Grim Stats
Times (UK)
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Oct 24, 2008 5:08 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The British economy shrank by 0.5% last quarter, all but confirming that the UK is in its first recession since 1991, reports the Times of London. The decline is greater than expected, and this week both the prime minister and the head of the Bank of England acknowledged that a recession is likely. The news sent the pound falling, dipping to...
Obama Scores in Fantasy Football
ESPN
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Oct 24, 2008 4:40 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Barack Obama's too busy be a great fantasy football partner, but the man knows his stuff, writes Rick Reilly at ESPN. The candidate accepted Reilly's challenge to help him draft a team for a week in a fantasy football league and the sportswriter found him on the campaign bus poring through stats. "Man, this is more important than politics!"...
SNL 'Bush' Endorses Squirming 'GOP' Pair
E! Online
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Oct 24, 2008 4:23 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Will Ferrell reprised his role as a bumbling George Bush for last night's special edition of Saturday Night Live to force his endorsement on an extremely unreceptive GOP "ticket." Ferrell first explained to Tina Fey's Sarah Palin that the vice president tells a president what to do and that it's the most important job in the land. Then...
Golf Giant Faces Third Brain Surgery
Times (UK)
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Oct 24, 2008 4:00 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Golf legend Severiano Ballesteros, weak from two major brain surgeries, will undergo a third today as doctors attempt to remove the remnants of a tumor deep within his brain. His brain began to swell after the first surgery and a second was performed to remove part of his skull, reports the Times of London. A doctor at the Madrid hospital where the...
Berlin Statue to Honor Would-Be Hitler Assassin
Der Spiegel
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Oct 24, 2008 3:31 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Berlin is planning a memorial to honor one of the unsung heroes of the Nazi era—a humble carpenter who came within minutes of assassinating Hitler. Georg Elser planted a bomb in a Munich beer hall in 1939 that nearly killed Hitler just nine weeks into World War II—but the fuhrer left 13 minutes before it exploded, Der Spiegel reports....
Opie, Andy, Fonzie Endorse Obama
Chicago Tribune
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Oct 24, 2008 3:08 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Ron Howard has taken a trip down TV memory lane to stump for Barack Obama, reports the Chicago Tribune . In a serious-humorous video posted on Funny or Die, Howard reprises his role as Opie alongside TV pop Sheriff Andy Griffith—who tells Opie he could someday grow up to vote Obama. Howard then swaps wigs, becomes Richie Cunningham from...
ACORN Inflated New Voter Count by 850K
New York Times
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Oct 24, 2008 2:39 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The community organizing group ACORN and Project Vote's boast of having signed up 1.3 million new voters was off by 850,000, reports the New York Times . Just 450,000 of the registrations represent genuine new voters. Another 450,000 were already-registered voters who changed their address, and 400,000 have been rejected for various reasons—including...
Asian Markets Mauled
MarketWatch
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Oct 24, 2008 2:11 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Asian markets took a hammering today for the third day in a row as investors looked ahead and saw nothing but gloom, Marketwatch reports. The Nikkei index nosedived 9.6% to a five-year low. Indexes in Hong Kong, South Korea, China, Taiwan, and Australia all sank to multi-year lows. Analysts fear the basement still isn't in sight.
NFL Blocks 'Ocho Cinco' Jersey Name Change
Associated Press
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Oct 24, 2008 1:48 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Chad Ocho Cinco's jersey is going to continue to read plain old "C. Johnson" for the rest of the 2008 season, reports AP. The Cincinnati Bengals receiver legally changed his name before the season to the Spanish words for his shirt number. But the NFL has ruled that Ocho Cinco can't have his new name on his shirt unless he pays Reebok...
Rays Even Up Series
TBO Blogs
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Oct 23, 2008 10:46 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Tampa Bay starter James Shields shut down the Phillies, and the Rays used a classic game of small ball to even up the World Series with a 4-2 win, the Tampa Bay Tribune reports. The Rays scored their runs on two groundouts, a single, and a squeeze bunt. The Phillies finally got on the board in the 8th and 9th, but it wasn't enough. Game 3 is Saturday...
New York Times : Obama Is the 'Easy' Choice
New York Times
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Oct 23, 2008 9:03 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The New York Times is endorsing Barack Obama, calling the choice between him and John McCain an "easy" one. In an editorial to run in tomorrow's edition, the Times says "Obama has met challenge after challenge, growing as a leader and putting real flesh on his early promises of hope and change."
No, Blogging Isn't Dead
Fast Company
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Oct 23, 2008 8:13 PM CDT
(Newser) -
A recent Wired magazine article argued that blogging is out, that mainstream media have taken the practice over, and one-time bloggers have moved on to social networking tools like Twitter, Facebook, and Flickr. Not so, responds Allyson Kapin on Fast Company. Witness the 175,000 new blogs created daily and 570,000 posts a day.
Miss Virginia Strikes Back at GOP Slight
FiveThirtyEight
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Oct 23, 2008 7:41 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Miss Virginia has entered the fray. Former crown wearer Kristi Lauren Glakas takes exception to the division of her state by a top McCain adviser into the "real Virginia" of the conservative South and the urban northern suburbs of DC. Glakas, an honor student at UVA who's won three state crowns, tells the political website FiveThirtyEight...
Conservative Sees Future in Palin
Washington Times
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Oct 23, 2008 7:14 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Conservative commentators who shamelessly jump on the Barack Obama bandwagon are blinkered to the new face of conservatism, Tony Blankley writes in the Washington Times . Just like “me-too” Republicans of the New Deal era, “they all cast their admiration for Mr. Obama in contrast to Sarah Palin—who they mischaracterize through...
Assailant Carves 'B' Onto McCain Backer's Cheek
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
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Oct 23, 2008 6:40 PM CDT
(Newser) -
An assault on a Pittsburgh woman at an ATM machine took a brutal turn last night over her political affiliation, the Tribune-Review reports. A knife-wielding assailant robbed the 20-year-old woman of $60, then became angry when he saw a McCain bumper sticker on her car, police say. After punching and kicking the woman, the assailant carved the letter...
