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.
Western Diet Hits Heart Health Globally
Canadian Press
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Oct 21, 2008 5:28 AM CDT
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If you eat meat, fried foods, and salty snacks, you're at a significantly higher risk of heart attack regardless of where you live, according to a new Canadian study. The Western diet increases heart attack risk by 35%, while a diet rich in vegetables and fiber cuts that risk by 30%, reports the Canadian Pres s . "The good diet seemed to be...
Suicide Rate Soars for Middle-Aged
Los Angeles Times
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Oct 21, 2008 5:02 AM CDT
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A sharp rise in the number of middle-aged white people taking their own lives has driven up the US suicide rate by nearly 5% since 1999, the Los Angeles Times reports. Experts are baffled by the nearly 16% hike in this group, but speculate that prescription drug abuse, a drop in the use of hormone replacement therapy by menopausal women,...
Yacht Killer Guilty on All Counts
Orange County Register
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Oct 21, 2008 4:42 AM CDT
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A former bit-part child actor has been found guilty of murdering a couple by tying them to an anchor and throwing them overboard off the California coast in a plot to steal their yacht, the Orange County Register reports. The jury must now decide if Skylar Deleon, also found guilty of cutting a man's throat in an unrelated murder, should get the...
Swing Voters Don't Like 'Hothead' McCain
Los Angeles Times
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Oct 21, 2008 4:23 AM CDT
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Doubts over John McCain's disposition are pushing undecided voters Barack Obama's way, according to the Los Angeles Times . Swing voters interviewed by the newspaper say McCain's negative body language over the last few weeks and his "hothead" outbursts have given them strong misgivings—as did his snap decision to suspend his campaign—...
Bush Committed to Gitmo Gulag
New York Times
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Oct 21, 2008 3:56 AM CDT
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Despite his stated desire to the contrary, President Bush and his most hawkish aides are determined to keep prison facilities operating at Guantánamo Bay, reports the New York Times . Bush made up his mind following a Supreme Court ruling in the summer granting 250 detainees the right to challenge their incarceration, and never seriously considered...
Limbaugh: Powell's Endorsement All About Race
CNN
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Oct 21, 2008 3:34 AM CDT
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Right-wing mouth Rush Limbaugh stood by his comments Sunday that Colin Powell's endorsement of Barack Obama was about the color of his skin, CNN reports. "This was all about Powell and race, nothing about the nation and its welfare," Limbaugh said on his radio show yesterday. He chided the media for taking issue with his statement. "So...
Paws Célèbre Land in US
North Country Gazette
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Oct 21, 2008 3:10 AM CDT
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The friendly black mutt credited with helping a soldier survive her tour of duty in Iraq stepped out of a crate, tail wagging, as he arrived in the US yesterday following an international battle over his refugee status. Ratchet was rescued from burning trash in Iraq by soldier Gwen Beberg. Military regulations prevented her from sending Ratchet home—until...
Maddow Sends MSNBC Ratings Rocketing
New York Times
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Oct 21, 2008 2:41 AM CDT
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Rachel Maddow has made MSNBC a prime-time contender with dizzying speed, the New York Times reports. The liberal pundit's Rachel Maddow Show more than doubled the network's ratings in the 9 pm slot within days of its debut six weeks ago, and has beaten CNN's Larry King Live among viewers ages 25 to 54 more often than not.
Gas Prices Lowest in Year
Reuters
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Oct 21, 2008 2:14 AM CDT
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The price of gasoline has dropped to its lowest level in a year, Reuters reports. The national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded is $2.91, a drop of 57 cents per gallon in just the last two weeks. Gas is most expensive in San Francisco, at $3.49 a gallon, but is under $3 in most major cities.
SC Justice, 88, May Break Term Record Under Obama
Chicago Tribune
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Oct 21, 2008 1:48 AM CDT
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The longest-serving Supreme Court justice may defy expectations and stay on the bench even if fellow Chicagoan Barack Obama is elected, the Chicago Tribune writes. Many observers believe that liberal-leaning John Paul Stevens, 88, would choose to step down and let Obama choose his successor. But others think he may stay another four years and become...
Obama to Leave Trail for 2 Days, Visit Sick Grandma
Associated Press
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Oct 20, 2008 8:24 PM CDT
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Barack Obama is canceling nearly all his campaign events Thursday and Friday to fly to Hawaii to visit his suddenly ill 85-year-old grandmother, his spokesman said today. Robert Gibbs told reporters that Obama's grandmother, Madelyn Payne Dunham, who helped raise him, was released from the hospital late last week. But he said her health had deteriorated...
Letter Threats Prompt Okla., Denver Banks to Evacuate
Denver Post
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Oct 20, 2008 7:55 PM CDT
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Several Chase banks in Detroit and Oklahoma were evacuated today after receiving threatening letters containing white powder, the Detroit Post reports. The letters "basically indicated that the person who opened the letter was going to die" because of "an action the bank may have taken," an FBI spokesman said. Medics...
Mac Irked at Powell for Not Calling
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
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Oct 20, 2008 7:37 PM CDT
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John McCain is disappointed that longtime friend Colin Powell didn't even call him before backing Barack Obama, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports. McCain didn't like Powell's criticism of Sarah Palin, either. "I wished he had taken the opportunity to meet Governor Palin," McCain said. "I'm proud to have four former secretaries...
'Kimchi Deficit' Puts Korea in a Pickle
BBC
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Oct 20, 2008 7:08 PM CDT
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Seoul is facing a ferment in its effort to promote South Korean cuisine around the world: declining exports of its national dish, kimchi. The country recorded a $77.3 million trade deficit of the spicy pickled cabbage and other veggies over the past 3 years, BBC reports. A government report blamed competition with cheaper Chinese-made kimchi for the...
Put It Away: iPods Are So Yesterday
Portfolio
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Oct 20, 2008 6:38 PM CDT
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Soon iPods will seem as outdated as Walkmans—the only question is whether iTunes goes out the door with them, Kevin Maney writes in Portfolio . Consider how old-fashioned the iPod already is: You pay for downloads, fill up a hard drive with them, and cart them around, "like keeping a cow so you can eat your favorite cheese." Now consider...
Palin Likes Gay Marriage Ban After All
ABC News
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Oct 20, 2008 6:05 PM CDT
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Sarah Palin broke with John McCain on gay marriage today, saying she backs a federal ban after all, ABC News reports. In a 700 Club interview airing tomorrow, Palin says she has "voted along with the vast majority of Alaskans" to outlaw gay nuptials. "I wish on a federal level that that's where we would go because I don't...
Early Voters Mob Fla. Polls
Miami Herald
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Oct 20, 2008 5:36 PM CDT
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The start of early voting in Florida today brought hordes to polling places, forcing voters to contend with long lines and voting machine failures, the Miami Herald reports. Miami-Dade and Broward counties added a million registered voters each to their rolls this year. The crowds signaled the usefulness of the state’s early voting provision,...
McCain Sees Comeback; Tightening Race More Like It
Washington Post
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Oct 20, 2008 5:09 PM CDT
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As supporters get increasingly giddy about Barack Obama’s persistent lead in the polls, advisers to John McCain charge the media is ignoring a comeback by their candidate, writes Chris Cillizza in the Washington Post . The McCain campaign credits a return to a traditionally Republican tax-based argument for some recent figures showing Obama’s...
Baldwin on SNL : 'It's Not Meet the Press '
Huffington Post
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Oct 20, 2008 4:45 PM CDT
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If you saw Alec Baldwin's courtly interaction with Sarah Palin on Saturday Night Live and you're wondering what's gotten into the well-known liberal firebrand, he's wondering something, too: What's your problem? "What did some of you people actually think would happen?" he writes in a post that went up on Huffington Post today.
'Outsider' Palin Used Media Insiders to Win VP Nod
New Yorker
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Oct 20, 2008 4:23 PM CDT
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Sarah Palin likes to play up her outsider credentials while decrying the media elite, but she’s relied on both throughout her career. Belying her mockery of the “mainstream media,” Palin hired a well-connected PR firm to target East Coast journalists and courted conservative media insiders who eventually championed her VP candidacy....
Himalaya Adventurers Find 'Yeti Tracks'
AFP
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Oct 20, 2008 4:00 PM CDT
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The legendary abominable snowman of the Himalayas remains camera-shy, but a Japanese team has made a breakthrough, discovering what the lead researcher says are yeti footprints. "Myself and other team members have been coming to the Himalayas for years and we can recognize bear, deer, wolf and snow leopard prints and it was none of those,"...
High Court to Hear Immigrant ID Theft Case
Washington Post
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Oct 20, 2008 3:44 PM CDT
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The Supreme Court said today it will hear a case pertinent to a recent surge in identity-theft prosecutions against illegal immigrants, the Washington Post reports. Lower courts were split over whether the government must prove that thieves knew they were stealing the identity of an actual person when they use a fake ID. A ruling against the Justice...
Stocks Rally, Clearing 9,000
MarketWatch
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Oct 20, 2008 3:33 PM CDT
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Stocks extended earlier gains with a late-session rally today as Ben Bernanke voiced support for a new fiscal stimulus package and a key indicator showed a loosening in the flow of credit, MarketWatch reports. The Dow rose 413.21 to 9,265.43, the first time it has closed over 9,000 in 4 days. The Nasdaq gained 58.74 to close at 1,770.03, and the S&P...
Times Tough for I-Bankers, in 'Marie Antoinette' Kind of Way
New York
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Oct 20, 2008 3:26 PM CDT
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With Wall Street in free fall, many of its elite I-bankers are seeing the status quo turned upside-down, Vanessa Grigoriadis writes in New York . Once at the top of the heap, working for companies that praised them as smartest people out there, some are fighting to survive on the Street, while others have reversed course, taking jobs with—gasp!—the...
New Bond Gives Signature Phrases a Rest
USA Today
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Oct 20, 2008 3:11 PM CDT
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Daniel Craig is cutting the camp in his latest turn as super-spy James Bond. In the new 007 film, Quantum of Solace , Craig doesn't instruct a bartender on how to make his cocktail, and there's no "Bond, James Bond" introduction, USA Today reports. "I'm as big a fan as anybody of all his catchphrases and the martini," he...
Amid Questions, Biden Releases Medical Records
Associated Press
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Oct 20, 2008 2:57 PM CDT
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As questions about the medical history of all four national candidates continue to circulate, Joe Biden released a cache of records today that indicate the 65-year-old VP hopeful is in good health, the AP reports. Like many men his age, Biden takes a cholesterol-lowering drug and has an enlarged prostate, but his records contain no information...
Man Jailed After Tryst With Car-Wash Vacuum
Michigan Live
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Oct 20, 2008 2:52 PM CDT
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A 29-year-old Michigan man was been jailed over the weekend for “receiving sexual favors from a vacuum” at a car wash, the Saginaw News reports. The policeman who—responding to a call of “someone acting suspicious”—discovered the man in the act said, “I've seen some strange things, but this is the weirdest...
Tube 2, Boobs 0 in Weekend Sports Viewing Snafus
Associated Press
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Oct 20, 2008 2:38 PM CDT
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Power problems had fans hoping to catch the baseball playoffs and the NFL on TV this weekend howling, the AP reports, with a malfunction at TBS headquarters keeping the first 20 minutes of Tampa Bay’s Game 6 loss to visiting Boston off the airwaves Saturday. Yesterday, balloons snagged a transformer and cut power CBS needed to broadcast most...
Ignored Hoosiers May Turn Blue
Salon
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Oct 20, 2008 2:25 PM CDT
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Indiana has voted Republican 16 times in the past 17 presidential elections, so why is Barack Obama even bothering to run ads and rally? The state that favored George W. Bush over John Kerry 60-39% is showing surprising support for Obama—enough that he could scrape out a win, Salon reports. And if that does happen, it'll be because...
Cabbies Among First to See Ripples of Wall Street's Pain
New York
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Oct 20, 2008 2:13 PM CDT
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New York cabbies will tell you that their jobs are indicative of overall health of the economy—so they’re getting hammered right now. New York looks at one driver’s experience with the bubble-and-bust of recent years, with the halcyon days of bankers tossing him $40 for a $2.90 ride having degenerated into hours of cruising Wall...
Tip Your Hats to Tampa
Boston Globe
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Oct 20, 2008 2:00 PM CDT
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The improbable has happened. The Tampa Bay Rays have ousted the defending champion Red Sox. Sportswriters, start your fawning: The Rays won this thing with “talent, talent, talent,” which trumps experience every time, writes Bob Ryan in the Boston Globe . “The best team in the American League is going to the World Series.”...
Powell's Anti-Islamophobia Stance Tops Endorsement
On Faith
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Oct 20, 2008 1:48 PM CDT
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Colin Powell's Barack Obama endorsement wasn’t the only, or even most, notable aspect of his Meet the Press appearance: equally crucial was his rejection of Islamophobia, an issue too long skirted in this country, Abed Z. Bhuyan writes in the Washington Post / Newsweek Faithbook blog. In doing so, “Colin Powell lived up to his billing...
Stevens Testimony Ends Bitterly
The Hill
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Oct 20, 2008 1:35 PM CDT
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The prosecution got tough, and Ted Stevens testy, on the senator’s last day of testimony in his Washington corruption trial, the Hill reports. The prosecution challenged Stevens with emails that seemed to undercut assertions he knew nothing of gifts allegedly given to him by oil boss Bill Allen. At one point, Stevens was remonstrated by the...
Caffeine Jolt From Soap, Elsewhere May Pose Hazard
Time
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Oct 20, 2008 1:30 PM CDT
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Coffee drinkers typically know their limits when it comes to caffeine. But with companies shoveling the drug into the most unlikely places—oatmeal, jelly beans, soap—things may be getting dangerous, writes John Cloud in Time . Public-health experts fear some may add, say, NRG potato chips to already-caffeinated lifestyles, upping the risk...
VP? If She Can Do It, So Can I
Salon
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Oct 20, 2008 1:17 PM CDT
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If being mayor of a town of 6,000 puts you on course for the vice presidency, then Mark Friedman, former mayor of El Cerrito, Calif., is ready for Washington, he writes in Salon. “I have proved I have the inspirational qualities required to say a few words at the annual Little League pancake breakfast,” he points out. And his view of Berkeley...
Amid Scandal, IMF Exec Wins Praise for Nimble Work
Bloomberg
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Oct 20, 2008 1:05 PM CDT
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Even as he faces a probe for misconduct, the head of the International Monetary Fund is being praised for a decisive response to the world financial crisis, Bloomberg reports. Europe’s chief banker says he’s “convinced the investigation will prove that Dominique Strauss-Kahn didn’t abuse power.” Strauss-Kahn, 59, has streamlined...
Ringtones Killed NYC Hip-Hop
New York Press
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Oct 20, 2008 12:53 PM CDT
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Once the king-maker of neighborhood phenoms, New York no longer spawns hip-hop's best, and the rise of ringtones is the culprit, writes Matthew Mundy in the New York Press. Because Big Apple beats are less pop-friendly than their Southern counterparts, they're not making it to teenagers' cell phones. "Hip-hop is now dance music. Clever rhymes...
UK's Gay 'Cannibal' Chef Gets 30-to-Life
Telegraph (UK)
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Oct 20, 2008 12:40 PM CDT
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The British “cannibal chef” who cooked and ate parts of his boyfriend after killing him was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison today, the Telegraph reports. Applause and cries of “murderer” exploded from the gallery after Anthony Morely, 36, was sentenced. The judge called it “one of the most gruesome murders”...
Campaign Heightens Humor's Liberal Bent
Boston Globe
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Oct 20, 2008 12:27 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Comedy is taking a prominent place in the US election, and may be leaning even more leftward than usual, the Boston Globe reports. Tina Fey and David Letterman have brought the highest ratings in years with mockery of Sarah Palin and John McCain. And Jon Stewart, a savage critic of conservatives, always thrives in election years. Is there something...
GPA, Personal Essay, SATs ... and Sabotage?
Chicago Tribune
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Oct 20, 2008 12:15 PM CDT
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With competition for college admissions ever rising, some students are aiming to get ahead by trashing their rivals. Admission officials around the US have reported receiving newspaper clippings, references to Facebook pages, and, in one case, a letter written in crayon pointing out other applicants' false claims or unseemly behavior. Schools tend...
Young Stars Can't Keep Up With Cloris
New York Times
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Oct 20, 2008 12:02 PM CDT
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At 82, actress Cloris Leachman is a surprise hit on the current season of ABC’s Dancing With the Stars , the New York Times notes, having outlasted sex-tape ingénue Kim Kardashian and others. The Oscar winner, who has a Tarantino film and more waiting in the wings, did the reality show as a lark—but says she had to beg to get...
Chavez's Stature Shrinks as Price of Oil Plummets
Christian Science Monitor
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Oct 20, 2008 11:49 AM CDT
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Hugo Chavez’s days as an international sugar daddy may be ending, at least for now. Chavez has made a habit of lavishing gifts on his political allies, but with crude around $70—less than half its peak price—he may not have the wealth to spread, the Christian Science Monitor reports. Oil makes up 90% of Venezuela’s export...
Brit Jumps Onto Twitter Bandwagon
TechCrunch
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Oct 20, 2008 11:36 AM CDT
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The blogosphere is, ahem, atwitter over Britney Spears’ new Web site and micro-blogging account. The pop star promises to provide fans the inside scoop via britneyspears.com and Twitter, a social-networking site allows users to post constant updates. “I’d like to welcome Britney Spears to our world,” writes Michael Arrington...
Wall Street's Fear Index Hits a Record High
New York Times
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Oct 20, 2008 11:24 AM CDT
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A little known “fear index” that measures volatility in stock prices over 30 days has risen to prominence—and to off-the-charts numbers—as traders try to predict the market’s big swings, reports the New York Times . When the VIX climbs, it’s a sign market action is about to head in a different direction, often down,...
Madge Eyes A-Rod as Baby Daddy
Daily Mail (UK)
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Oct 20, 2008 11:11 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Madonna wants to have another baby—and Yankees star Alex Rodriguez may be asked to step up to the plate, the Daily Mail reports. The 50-year-old singer, still hashing out her divorce with Guy Ritchie, thinks A-Rod is “physically a great specimen” and “would be the ideal man” for the job, a friend says. Though the couple...
Judith Miller Heads to Fox
Editor & Publisher
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Oct 20, 2008 10:59 AM CDT
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Judith Miller, the former New York Times reporter who spent 85 days in jail rather than reveal her sources in a CIA leak case, is Fox News’ newest on-air analyst, Editor & Publisher reports. “I get to spout my views, I will NOT be joining the news team,” said Miller, who left the paper in 2005 after 28 years.
10 Volunteers Go Public With Their DNA
New York Times
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Oct 20, 2008 10:51 AM CDT
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Ten volunteers, including some rather well known ones, are exposing themselves online, the New York Times reports, by making their DNA available for anyone to peruse. The goal of the Personal Genome Project is to start making genetic information—along with personal traits called phenotypes—publicly available, a move whose scientific usefulness...
Democrats See On-Edge Exurbs as Election Key
Washington Post
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Oct 20, 2008 10:38 AM CDT
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Economic anxiety may give Democrats a chance to advance into traditionally Republican outer suburbs this year, the Washington Post reports. In many key states, especially Virginia, the downturn and housing-market meltdown have severed the outer edges of metropolitan areas from the GOP. Largely centrist voters in exurban Virginia have driven recent...
Bernanke Backs New Stimulus
New York Times
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Oct 20, 2008 10:24 AM CDT
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Ben Bernanke gave his blessing to a new economic stimulus package today, the New York Times reports, saying the slowdown warrants another boost but hedging his approval with conditions that would discourage the sort of package Democrats are pushing. “If the Congress proceeds with a fiscal package, it should consider including measures to help...
Michelle Obama Keeps Focus on Military Families
Politico
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Oct 20, 2008 10:20 AM CDT
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Michelle Obama has quietly carved out a niche that helps offset concerns about her husband's lack of military background: reaching out to spouses of service members. Rather than just delivering a speech, she's been hosting roundtable discussions, Politico reports. “I am here to listen and to do a lot of learning and then to transfer that...
