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.
Eating Too Fast Makes You Fat
BBC
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Oct 22, 2008 12:52 PM CDT
(Newser) -
When your mom said to slow down and chew your food, she may have been more right than she knew: Speedy eating can double your risk of being overweight, according to a new study. Japanese scientists compared hundreds of food-savoring people to their sprinter counterparts, and found a striking correlation with weight, the BBC reports.
Paris Is Still in the Race
Us Weekly
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Oct 22, 2008 12:37 PM CDT
(Newser) -
With less than two weeks left, Paris Hilton is still in the race. On Sunday, she'll release a music video as part of her campaign for "fake" president, Us Magazine reports. The reality queen first got involved after John McCain compared Barack Obama to her—and he didn't mean it as a compliment. Since then, she's made two political...
Google Phone's Appetizing App Menu Is Functional, Too
Wall Street Journal
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Oct 22, 2008 12:28 PM CDT
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With Google’s G1 smartphone making this week’s big tech splash, Katherine Boehret, in the Wall Street Journal , takes a look at some of the applications on offer, finding them “useful, entertaining, and mostly straightforward.” Of those she tested from the Android Market, “the G1's apps are more utilitarian than most...
Military Opens $15M Dog Hospital
Associated Press
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Oct 22, 2008 12:15 PM CDT
(Newser) -
If GI Rover gets injured in Iraq, chances are he'll end up at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, where the "Walter Reed of the veterinary world" has just opened. The base has long been training pups for service in all branches of the military, but its old animal hospital couldn't keep up with demand, the AP reports.
Good News for Bat Boy: Weekly World News Is Back
New York Times
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Oct 22, 2008 11:58 AM CDT
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The Weekly World News —you know, of Bat Boy and "Hillary Clinton Adopts Alien Baby" fame—is, like Elvis, back from the dead. The supermarket tab folded last year, but now it has a new owner and a new life online. "We really think this audience lives online," says Neil McGinness, who may start printing it again, too....
Black Voters Hitting Polls Early
Wall Street Journal
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Oct 22, 2008 11:46 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Black turnout isn’t just expected to be high this year; according to early voting records, it already is, the Wall Street Journal reports. African Americans account for 36% of early ballots in Georgia, for instance, despite making up just 29% of active voters. In 2004, blacks represented 25% of overall turnout. Yesterday, Atlanta voters stood...
Gas Prices Are Down—and That's Bad
New York Times
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Oct 22, 2008 11:31 AM CDT
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Gas prices are dropping at last, back down to an average of less than $3 a gallon for the first time in a year. That's good news for recession-fearing consumers, writes Thomas L. Friedman, but there's a downside: the push to drive less and make Detroit build more fuel-efficient cars is disappearing. The oil shock has been "a bad B-movie rerun...
MLB's Young Stars Will Stamp Series
New York Times
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Oct 22, 2008 11:29 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The recent woes of the Philadelphia Phillies and the Tampa Bay Rays belie what could be a truly classic World Series, the New York Times reports. With 13 of 16 starting position players under 30 and each team's ace only 24 years old, the future of baseball could be on display tonight at St. Petersburg’s domed Tropicana Field.
Miss Teen La. Loses Crown Over Pot Bust
TMZ
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Oct 22, 2008 11:19 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Miss Louisiana Teen USA's reign is ending early, TMZ reports. Lindsey Evans was arrested over the weekend after she and friends allegedly skipped out on a restaurant bill—and cops found pot in the purse she left behind. Pageant officials weren't impressed, saying the organization “believes in opportunities when earned and consequences when...
Early Fla. Voters Hit Hours-Long Lines
Miami Herald
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Oct 22, 2008 11:02 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Early voters in Florida, where polling places opened Monday, endured daunting lines and 2- to 5-hour waits to cast their ballots, reports the Miami Herald . Democrats contend that the blame goes to a law passed in 2005 cutting the number of hours per day that early voting is available from 12 to 8. Early voters tend to tilt Democratic, and the law...
Obama Fights Robocall With Robocall
Talking Points Memo
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Oct 22, 2008 10:54 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Barack Obama has robotic telemarketers of his own, and he’s using them to complain about John McCain’s robotic telemarketers. Obama will begin blanketing Wisconsin today with a recorded call from “Jeri Watermolen,” who identifies herself as a Green Bay native who once backed McCain, but has flipped to Obama because McCain’s...
A-Rod a Sudden Fan of Kabbalah
New York Daily News
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Oct 22, 2008 10:44 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Is Alex Rodriguez trading strip clubs for spirituality? The newly single Yankees star denies dating Madonna—who recently split with hubby Guy Ritchie—but his actions suggest otherwise, the New York Daily News reports. This week, A-Rod was spotted at Los Angeles’ Kabbalah Centre, where Madge is a regular—and he’s closing...
US Ends Trials of 5 Gitmo Prisoners
Los Angeles Times
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Oct 22, 2008 10:24 AM CDT
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The war crimes tribunal at Guantanamo Bay has dropped charges against five suspects that the Pentagon has called al-Qaeda operatives, reports the Los Angeles Times . All of the men were fingered by Abu Zubaydah, a Saudi-born militant whom the Bush administration concedes was waterboarded. The charges were dismissed after one of the case's prosecutors...
Crisis Powwow Set for Nov. 15
Associated Press
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Oct 22, 2008 10:18 AM CDT
(AP) -
World leaders will meet Nov. 15 in Washington to address the global financial crisis—the first in a series of summits to mitigate what economists predict could be a long and deep downturn, a senior Bush administration official said today. The first meeting will discuss underlying causes of the financial crisis, review progress being made, and...
Congress' Big Auto Bailout Mired in Red Tape
Washington Post
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Oct 22, 2008 9:59 AM CDT
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Detroit's $25 billion loan is sitting in Washington, the Washington Post reports, and may take more than a year to distribute, despite the auto industry's increasing desperation for the cash. The Energy Department, which was tasked with doling out the money, says various legal and administrative requirements will drag the process out 6-18 months....
Fey: Palin Sketches 'Fair, Quite Gentle'
Access Hollywood
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Oct 22, 2008 9:49 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Should Tina Fey take it easy on Sarah Palin? She doesn't think so, Access Hollywood reports. "I stand by the pieces as both fair and quite gentle," says Fey, who plays the veep nominee on SNL . At first Fey "didn’t think we looked alike at all," but now she's on board. "We glue my ears down," she says. "That’s...
Wall St. Bonuses Are Down, but Hardly Out
Forbes
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Oct 22, 2008 9:29 AM CDT
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Wall Street bonuses could top $23 billion this year despite the woes of the global economy, Forbes reports. Indeed, that figure is down some 30% from last year’s $33.2 billion, but a smaller pool of employees, competition among companies to keep top performers, and the effects of mergers will help ensure many of the Street’s stars still...
GOP Foots $150K Bill for Palin Clothing, Makeup
Politico
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Oct 22, 2008 9:08 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Sarah Palin apparently isn't kidding when she stresses the importance of lipstick to a hockey mom: the RNC spent $5000 on hair and makeup en route to racking up a $150,000 bill for clothing and accessories for Palin and her family since John McCain picked her as his runningmate. The $75,000 dropped at Neiman Marcus, among other spending sprees,...
As Obama Feels the Love, Democrats Feel the Panic
Politico
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Oct 22, 2008 9:00 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Democrats are so used to losing, writes Roger Simon on Politico, that even the spectacle of what looks very much like a Republican collapse can't keep them from feeling blue. Soaring poll numbers for Barack Obama, a huge war chest, a boom in registered voters—so much good news makes them uncomfortable. “The McCain campaign cannot possibly...
Sour Earnings Sink Stocks
Wall Street Journal
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Oct 22, 2008 8:51 AM CDT
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Recession fears kept bears roaring today, as the Dow shed 230 points at the open on a spate of lousy third-quarter results. Wachovia posted a staggering $23.9 billion loss to lead a group of five gloomy blue chip reports, the Wall Street Journal reports. “We’ve seen a range of poor results lately,” said one market watcher, “and...
Wachovia Takes Massive $23.9B 3rd Quarter Loss
Bloomberg
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Oct 22, 2008 8:40 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Wachovia reported losses of $23.9 billion in the third quarter, a whopping hit of $11.18 per share that blew by analysts’ estimates of a 2-cent-per-share loss, reports Bloomberg. But Wachovia’s loss—virtually all tied to mortgages or mortgage-related securities—may be Wells Fargo’s gain.
OPEC Panics as Oil Plunges
New York Times
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Oct 22, 2008 8:33 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Earlier this year the nations of OPEC were riding high as booming economic growth and tight supplies buoyed crude above $100. But now a barrel of oil is $70 and dropping fast, and frightened petroleum producers are holding an emergency meeting this week to discuss a production cut. As the New York Times reports, a global fall in demand could...
As McCain Falls, NH Senator Faces Trouble
New York Times
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Oct 22, 2008 8:13 AM CDT
(Newser) -
One of this year's most bitterly contested Senate races is in New Hampshire, where the Republican John Sununu is facing a rematch with Jeanne Shaheen, whom he defeated in 2002. In the famously independent Granite State, Sununu was counting on the popularity of John McCain to propel him to victory. But as the top of the GOP ticket has faltered,...
Protester Tries to Handcuff Rove
Associated Press
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Oct 22, 2008 8:01 AM CDT
(Newser) -
A protester attempted to slap the cuffs on Karl Rove in San Francisco yesterday, in what she called a citizen's arrest for treason, the LA Times reports. Rove was having a debate with former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell at a mortgage bankers' convention when a well-dressed woman walked onstage and asked why no women were present. Then she...
San Francisco May Soon Be Hooker Haven
Associated Press
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Oct 22, 2008 7:39 AM CDT
(Newser) -
San Francisco could soon become the first major city in the US where prostitutes won't be arrested, the AP reports. The city votes next month on the controversial Proposition K to decriminalize sex work. The measure won't actually legalize the trade, but will forbid local law enforcement from investigating or prosecuting anyone for prostitution....
Palin Sorry for 'Pro-America' Remark
CNN
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Oct 22, 2008 7:10 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Sarah Palin apologized last night for any misunderstandings created by her remarks about "pro-America areas of this great nation." The candidate told a CNN interviewer she hadn't meant to imply that parts of the country are unpatriotic. "If that's the way it came across, I apologize," she said. She promised to tackle energy independence...
Dunkin' Donuts Brews Up Showdown With Starbucks
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
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Oct 22, 2008 6:31 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Dunkin' Donuts is aiming to punch holes in Starbucks' share of the coffee market with an aggressive new ad campaign, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports. The ads portray Dunkin' Donuts coffee as being the choice of "hard-working Americans" and boast of having beaten Starbucks' house blend in blind taste tests. The Massachusetts-based...
Global Stocks Pounded, Dollar Hits Record Highs
Bloomberg
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Oct 22, 2008 5:40 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Stocks in Asia and Europe dove once again today, with banks leading losses as the continuing economic downturn hit corporate profits. The Nikkei in Tokyo closed down 6.8%, and London's FTSE opened down 2.3% after the Bank of England said that the country is in a recession. Meanwhile the dollar soared to $1.62 against the pound—a 5-year high—and...
Four More Years: O'Reilly Re-Ups
New York Daily News
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Oct 22, 2008 5:08 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Bill O'Reilly has signed up for 4 more years of controversy at Fox News, the New York Daily News reports. The outspoken host of top-rated cable news show The O'Reilly Factor says he’s staying on because "the good outweighed the bad"—despite the security entourage he must maintain. The pundit’s daily radio show will probably...
EBay Bans Ivory Sales
Ars Technica
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Oct 22, 2008 4:23 AM CDT
(Newser) -
EBay will introduce a total ban on ivory sales after the holidays in a bid to prevent elephant poaching, Ars Technica reports. The company banned international sales of ivory on its site in 2007 but critics say it did little to halt the trade in illegal ivory. Conservationists estimate 20,000 elephants are killed every year for their tusks.
Lohan Sued for Wild High-Speed Car Chase
Access Hollywood
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Oct 22, 2008 3:53 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Lindsay Lohan is being sued by three men who claim the star made them unwilling passengers in a high-speed car chase, reports Access Hollywood. The trio say the "highly intoxicated, as well as angry and aggressive" Lohan drove off with the SUV they were sitting in to chase her assistant after a 2007 party.
Fritzl: 'I Was Born to Rape'
Times (UK)
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Oct 22, 2008 3:15 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The 73-year-old Austrian father who imprisoned his daughter in a dungeon as a sex slave for 24 years and fathered seven children with her has told a therapist he is a "born rapist," reports the Times of London. Josef Fritzl's comments were revealed in a confidential psychiatric report leaked to the Austrian media.
Palin Charged Alaska $21K for Children's Travel
Associated Press
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Oct 22, 2008 2:38 AM CDT
(AP) -
Sarah Palin billed the state of Alaska repeatedly for costs incurred by her children accompanying her on trips, sometimes altering expense reports to indicate that they were on official business even though they were not invited, an investigation by the AP finds. Palin charged the state a total of $21,000 for 64 one-way and 12 round-trip commercial...
Sarkozy Battles Voodoo Curse
Telegraph (UK)
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Oct 22, 2008 2:13 AM CDT
(Newser) -
French President Nicolas Sarkozy is demanding that a voodoo doll in his image be withdrawn from bookstores, the Daily Telegraph reports. The fuming Sarko has threatened a lawsuit if the French distributor does not comply. Some 20,000 of the dolls, which comes with pins and a voodoo guide, have already been produced. The firm has refused to follow...
Vick Seeks Deal on State Dogfighting Charges
Virginian-Pilot
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Oct 22, 2008 1:48 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Disgraced former Falcons quarterback MIchael Vick plans to plead guilty to state dogfighting charges in a bid to win early release, the Virginian-Pilot reports. Vick, currently doing time in a federal pen for his part in an interstate dogfighting ring, is charged with felony counts of dogfighting and cruelty to animals in Virginia, but would not...
Al-Qaeda Crows About US Credit Crisis
Washington Post
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Oct 22, 2008 1:25 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Al-Qaeda websites are celebrating the crippling crisis sweeping the US economy and financial markets, with some internet postings crediting al-Qaeda for luring the nation into a war that has exhausted its resources, reports the Washington Post . Some writers are penning messages expressing hope for renewed terror attacks and a John McCain victory...
Pinched Patients Skimping on Vital Medication
New York Times
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Oct 22, 2008 12:58 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Cash-strapped consumers nationwide are risking their health by cutting back on prescription drugs, the New York Times reports. Some try to stretch out their supply by splitting their pills in half or taking them every other day. Others choose for themselves which medications to stop taking, increasing the chances of serious—and costly—health...
Stevens' Fate in Jury's Hands
Anchorage Daily News
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Oct 21, 2008 10:21 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The jury in the corruption trial of Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens will begin deliberating tomorrow, the Anchorage Daily News reports. Prosecutors urged the jury to use common sense to conclude that $250,000 in gifts received by the powerful senator were bribes. His defense counsel told jurors that evidence against Stevens, 84, has been twisted.
Gaming Industry Slow to Find Its Feminine Side
Los Angeles Times
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Oct 21, 2008 9:40 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The video-game industry has yet to really tap into the female audience, the Los Angeles Times reports, and a big reason looks to be how male-dominated the business is. Women make up fewer than 20% of the industry’s total workforce, and a mere 3% of programmers. Some fault education, while others blame a “college fraternity” atmosphere,...
India Launches First Moon Mission
BBC
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Oct 21, 2008 8:58 PM CDT
(Newser) -
India has launched its first mission to the moon, the BBC reports. The unmanned Chandrayaan 1 spacecraft blasted off smoothly from southern Andhra Pradesh. The robotic probe is scheduled to orbit the moon for two years, during which time it will compile a 3-D atlas of the surface and search for minerals and water. China and Japan already have...
Author Offers Creepy Look at Critters With Taste for Blood
New York Times
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Oct 21, 2008 8:25 PM CDT
(Newser) -
With Halloween nearly upon us, the author of new book on bloodsucking creatures—vampire bats, bedbugs, leeches, and the like—leads the New York Times on a sanguivore safari. The world's bloodthirsty creatures vary enormously, as Bill Schutt details in Dark Banquet , and some are mere dabblers, but many specialists have evolved similar...
Kristallnacht Remnants Found Near Berlin
Der Spiegel
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Oct 21, 2008 7:55 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Weeks before Jews mark the 70th anniversary of Kristallnacht, wreckage from the Nazi pogrom against Jews across Germany and Austria has been uncovered. Acting on a tip from a local, an Israeli journalist bills as a “historic discovery” a dump site the size of four football fields near Berlin. He's calling on the German government to get...
Apple's Profit Jumps 26% as iPhone Sales Boom
Associated Press
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Oct 21, 2008 7:30 PM CDT
(AP) -
Apple Inc. said its profit jumped 26% in its fiscal fourth quarter as the newest iPhone outsold the market-leading BlackBerry. Despite the blockbuster performance, which sent Apple's shares soaring in after-hours trading, the company issued what it called "prudent" predictions for the current quarter because of broader economic uncertainty.
Feds Seize Gang's Identity
Los Angeles Times
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Oct 21, 2008 7:05 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Federal agents punctuated a raid against a notorious California motorcycle gang today with an unusual twist—they took the group's logo. In addition to making dozens of arrests, the feds are trying to seize ownership of the Mongols' trademark name and insignia—a Genghis Kahn-like figure riding a chopper. If the plan works, police could stop...
Big Families Bring Big Rewards
Christian Science Monitor
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Oct 21, 2008 6:35 PM CDT
(Newser) -
With Angelina Jolie and Sarah Palin in the parenting spotlight, could big families be back in vogue again? Meagan Francis wonders just that in the Christian Science Monitor , but the mother of 4—soon to be 5—doesn't particularly care about being hip. Instead she writes about the rewards that a big brood can bring for both kids and parents....
Only Dems Fear Obama Loss
Daily Beast
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Oct 21, 2008 6:20 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Despite all evidence to the contrary, lots of Democrats "have convinced themselves that John McCain is going to be the next president,” writes Tucker Carlson in the Daily Beast. Having “snatched defeat from the jaws of victory” so many times, Democrats remain superstitious. Or just shell-shocked. “They shouldn't be,”...
Obama Takes 10-Point Lead
Wall Street Journal
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Oct 21, 2008 6:08 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Barack Obama has opened a double-digit lead over John McCain in the latest NBC/ Wall Street Journal poll. Obama is up 52% to 42% in the poll, up 4 points from 2 weeks ago and his widest lead to date. While voters continue to view McCain as the candidate best prepared to be president, more have grown comfortable with Obama's ability and background....
Youthful Doodles Costly for Sports Collectors
Wall Street Journal
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Oct 21, 2008 5:40 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Mickey Mantle never wore a beard, but that didn’t stop an 8-year-old Mets fan from giving him one, scrawling the words “You Stink,” on his 1968 Topps card. While such youthful indiscretions are fairly common, collectibles that could be worth hundreds, even thousands, of dollars are rendered worthless by childhood doodles, the Wall...
Britney Case Ends in Mistrial
E! Online
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Oct 21, 2008 5:12 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Britney Spears’ misdemeanor driving-without-a-license prosecution ended in mistrial today, and lawyers for the people have no intention of trying her again, E! Online reports. After 5 votes, the jury remained deadlocked 10-2 in favor of acquittal. The foreman said many jurors had their minds set early and thought the trial was a waste of time....
Yahoo to Lay Off 1,400 as Online Ads Stumble
Associated Press
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Oct 21, 2008 4:59 PM CDT
(AP) -
Yahoo today reported a 64%-drop in its third-quarter profits, lowered its revenue estimates for the remainder of the year, and said it planned to cut 10% of its workforce, or about 1,400 jobs, MarketWatch reports. Yahoo reported net income of $54.3 million in the quarter, down from $151.3 million from the same period last year, citing a downturn in...
