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.
John Paul Wounded in '82 Stabbing by Priest
Reuters
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Oct 15, 2008 5:23 PM CDT
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Pope John Paul II was injured in a 1982 stabbing by a crazed priest, but the wound was kept secret until now, Reuters reports. The late pontiff was visiting a shrine in Portugal to give thanks for surviving an earlier assassination attempt when an ultra-conservative Spanish priest lunged at him with a dagger and drew blood. The attack is revealed in...
3-D Map Adds Light Years to Concept of Universe
Los Angeles Times
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Oct 15, 2008 5:00 PM CDT
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Telescope photographs of the night sky are compelling, but it’s hard to get a feel for the heavens when you’re Earthbound. The recently completed Sloan Digital Sky Survey can help: It is a 3-D map of the area within 2 billion light years of Earth that allows the user to move through space as if by flying saucer, the Los Angeles Times ...
Top Evangelical Weighs Candidates
Boston Globe
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Oct 15, 2008 4:45 PM CDT
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The presidential race is a contest between different sets of philosophy, writes Richard Cizik, president of the National Association of Evangelicals. In an NAE newsletter, Cizik says Barack Obama is “a thinker who sees the grays in ethical choices” while McCain opts for the “clarity of moral opposites”—and that Obama “has...
US Agrees to Leave Iraq in 2011
Reuters
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Oct 15, 2008 4:32 PM CDT
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Iraq's government could soon be in charge of US troops for the first time, a prelude to their full withdrawal by 2011 under a deal now awaiting approval by Iraqi politicians, Reuters reports. The deal sets a firm timeline, and lets the Arab nation prosecute American soldiers for some serious crimes committed off of US bases—previously a major...
Justifiable Killings Surge for Cops, Civilians
USA Today
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Oct 15, 2008 4:19 PM CDT
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Justifiable homicides committed by cops and civilians are at their highest levels in more than 10 years, USA Today reports. Last year's totals: 391 for police and 254 for civilians. Analysts attribute the rise to a growing “shoot-first” attitude among both groups, especially as criminals improve their arsenals.
Debates Help Obama Raise Our Comfort Level
New York Times
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Oct 15, 2008 4:07 PM CDT
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Barack Obama’s success in recent debates has less to do with out-talking his opponent than in letting US voters become familiar with him, the New York Times reports; Obama’s contest was as much to prove himself to an electorate uneasy with his novel candidacy. Polls show more confidence in Obama after the first two debates, while John...
NY Probes AIG's Golden Parachutes, Spending
Wall Street Journal
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Oct 15, 2008 3:56 PM CDT
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New York's attorney general today called on AIG's directors to recover millions in “outrageous expenditures,” including golden parachutes to executives even as it neared the collapse that brought an $85 billion federal intervention, the Wall Street Journal reports. Andrew Cuomo is investigating whether the insurer broke state law by making...
Chocolate News Could Fill Chappelle Void
Washington Post
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Oct 15, 2008 3:42 PM CDT
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Comedy Central may have found a Dave Chappelle-worthy replacement in David Alan Grier, Paul Farhi writes in the Washington Post . His Chocolate News is a “wholly inappropriate—and riotiously funny” 60 Minutes- style program in which Grier offers the news in “Lou Dobbsean rant” and mocks such figures as rappers and...
Rove Used Federal Coin to Help GOP in '06
Washington Post
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Oct 15, 2008 3:31 PM CDT
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Karl Rove helped direct federal officials and funds to 99 congressional districts where Republican candidates were threatened in the 2006 elections, the Washington Post reports. Many presidents, including Bill Clinton, have briefed cabinet members before reelection efforts, but the “gross abuse” of public White House funds for at least...
Dow Finishes Down 733
Wall Street Journal
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Oct 15, 2008 3:21 PM CDT
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Stocks continued to slide in the final hours of the trading day as retail sales and manufacturing activity slowed while core inflation jumped, the Wall Street Journal reports. Oil slid $4.09 to $74.54 a barrel, its lowest price in 2008. The Dow closed down 733.08 at 8,577.91—the index's second-largest point drop ever. The Nasdaq shed 150.68,...
Planes Sent Toward Storms to Test Air Traffic Controller
Daily Mail (UK)
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Oct 15, 2008 3:16 PM CDT
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The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating an incident in which four Orlando-bound passenger jets were rerouted on Saturday in an effort to train a new air traffic controller. The Daily Mail reports the jets were directed into an area where thunderstorms were raging and that one, a Virgin Atlantic plane, was forced 70 miles off course....
Refineries Shut as Omar Nears Virgin Islands
Bloomberg
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Oct 15, 2008 3:04 PM CDT
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Caribbean oil refineries are under threat from Hurricane Omar, whose 85-mph winds roared through St. Croix today, Bloomberg reports. It could hit the Virgin Islands, home to one of the hemisphere's largest refineries, as a Category 2 storm tomorrow. Puerto Rico may be in line for 20 inches of rain and life-threatening floods, forecasters say.
Drunk 'Hijacker' Arrested After Making Bomb Threat
BBC
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Oct 15, 2008 2:57 PM CDT
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A man claiming to have explosives was foiled in an attempt to hijack a Turkish Airlines plane today, the BBC reports. The man, who was drunk, handed an attendant a note saying he had a bomb, then tried to force his way to the cockpit, but was overpowered by passengers. The man was arrested when the plane reached its destination in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Russia-Georgia Talks Break Down
Reuters
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Oct 15, 2008 2:49 PM CDT
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Georgia-Russia peace talks broke down today when Russian officials skipped a plenary session, Reuters reports, and the two sides failed even to agree on whether to include officials from South Ossetia and Abkhazia in the closed-door meeting. Each side bitterly blamed the other amid continuing tensions emanating from the five-day war in August.
After Beating Back HD DVD, Blu-Ray Hardly in Clear
Wall Street Journal
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Oct 15, 2008 2:43 PM CDT
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Blu-ray might have won the battle against Toshiba’s HD DVD, but it may still be losing the high-definition war as it is forced to compete with other sources of HD content, the Wall Street Journal reports. With cable and satellite TV providers offering more HD channels and video-on-demand services, some viewers are holding off on buying expensive...
Avon Looks to Ailing Economy for Growth
Wall Street Journal
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Oct 15, 2008 2:30 PM CDT
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Avon's cosmetic-toting army is growing as troubled economic times make door-knocking more attractive to women struggling to make ends meet, reports the Wall Street Journal. Incentives including price cuts, gas vouchers, and advice from celebrity financier Suze Orman, helped attract 5% more sales reps in the second quarter of this year,...
UK Aims to Mine Facebook in Fight on Crime, Terror
Guardian (UK)
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Oct 15, 2008 2:17 PM CDT
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With social-networking, gaming, and video sites offering stealth chatting that criminals and terrorists exploit, the British government is moving to require such websites to collect and provide user data to authorities. Accessing chat contents would still require a specific warrant, but demographic information could help find pedophiles, kidnappers,...
Rock Opera Humanizes 'Deep Throat'
Los Angeles Times
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Oct 15, 2008 2:05 PM CDT
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Slut or victim? Porn star or feminist? A Los Angeles stage production tackles the contradictions of Linda Boreman—better known as Linda Lovelace, of 1970s hit Deep Throat , the Los Angeles Times reports. The creators of Lovelace: The Rock Opera “wanted to know Linda as a person, beyond the controversy,” Anna Waronker says. “She...
Crisis-Stricken Germans Turn to Marx
Guardian (UK)
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Oct 15, 2008 1:56 PM CDT
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The financial crisis has made interventionists out of the most laissez-faire politicians, but in Germany the affection for state control seems to have attained new heights. The Guardian reports that sales of the works of Karl Marx have skyrocketed, with purchases of Das Kapital reportedly up 300%. As Europe's largest economy feels the pinch, one...
Obama Ad Blitz Stifles McCain
Politico
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Oct 15, 2008 1:51 PM CDT
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Over the past three weeks, Northern Virginia TV viewers have seen 1,342 commercials from Barack Obama … and eight from John McCain. Obama is dominating the airwaves, Politico reports, outspending McCain and the Republican National Committee as much as 8-1 in some markets, blunting GOP attacks with a sustained presence. “McCain is virtually...
Federal Cash Is Not Welcome at Small Banks
Washington Post
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Oct 15, 2008 1:46 PM CDT
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The government’s plan to buy $250 billion worth of bank investments was greeted with cheers on Wall Street and in Congress, but with jeers by many bankers, the Washington Post reports. “We don't need a bailout,” said one indignant small-bank chief, “and if other banks had run their banks like we ran our bank, they wouldn’t...
Teens Clueless About Risks of DIY Porn
ABC News
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Oct 15, 2008 1:38 PM CDT
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Young people like the Ohio teen facing child porn charges for sending nude photos of herself to classmates are often clueless as to the consequences of their actions, experts tell ABC News. Heavily influenced by a culture in which porn is readily available and increasingly acceptable, some teens seek a quick 15 minutes of fame—no matter...
Friend of Stevens Bullied Contractor Into Eating $13K Bill
Anchorage Daily News
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Oct 15, 2008 1:31 PM CDT
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An Alaska oil exec told a carpenter working on renovations to Sen. Ted Stevens home that he would have to “eat” a final $13,393 bill, the Anchorage Daily News reports. The carpenter, Augie Paone, took the stand in Stevens’ corruption trial today in Washington, telling the court that Bill Allen said he should look at the bill “as...
Light Winds Aid LA Firefighters
Los Angeles Times
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Oct 15, 2008 1:18 PM CDT
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Firefighters made progress early today in containing two Los Angeles-area fires, as calm winds prevented the flames from blazing a path to the Pacific Ocean, the Los Angeles Times reports. The older of the two fires, the Marek blaze, was 80% contained, and firefighters have begun to cut containment lines for the second fire, which now covers 13,200...
Sacramento GOP Site Takes Down Obama Hate Images
Sacramento Bee
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Oct 15, 2008 1:15 PM CDT
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Sacramento Republicans yesterday removed images from their website urging voters to “Waterboard Barack Obama” and declaring “The Only Difference Between Obama and Osama is a Little BS.” State party leaders condemned the content, with a spokesman for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger calling it “completely and totally inappropriate,”...
Dow Off 500; Fed Can't Calm Investors
MarketWatch
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Oct 15, 2008 12:59 PM CDT
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Poor data and continued pessimism over the state of the US economy had the Dow down around 500 points as today’s session entered the final hours, MarketWatch reports, with hints of further interest-rate cuts from Fed chief Ben Bernanke doing nothing to boost confidence. The Dow dipped below the 9,000 level, to 8,806.58; the Nasdaq fell 98.64,...
States Warn Feds They May Ask for Cash, Too
Christian Science Monitor
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Oct 15, 2008 12:53 PM CDT
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The credit crisis is threatening states with budget shortfalls, and they could be the next group seeking a federal bailout, the Christian Science Monitor reports. California, looking at a $7 billion deficit, has informed the Treasury that it could come calling. States take loans to cover lean times, in the form of short-term bonds, much like the...
Broken Pelvis Hospitalizes Reagan
Associated Press
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Oct 15, 2008 12:42 PM CDT
(AP) -
Nancy Reagan has been hospitalized in Los Angeles with a broken pelvis. A Reagan spokeswoman said Reagan "is in very good spirits" and surgery is not required, though it is not known how long she will be hospitalized. The 87-year-old former first lady fell at her home last week and decided Monday to get checked out at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical...
Desperate Times Call for Jump Starting Next Presidency
Boston Globe
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Oct 15, 2008 12:35 PM CDT
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In the current economic morass, the US cannot afford to wait 9 weeks to install the new president after he is elected in November, Richard Tedlow and David Ruben write in the Boston Globe . But wait—doesn’t the Constitution dictate the date of the inauguration? “Changing that would take years, not days,” write the two Harvard...
Ceding Spotlight, Jobs Signals His Departure
Gizmodo
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Oct 15, 2008 12:13 PM CDT
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“Steve Jobs is leaving Apple,” declares Jesus Diaz of Gizmodo. “Not tomorrow, but probably very soon.” That’s the conclusion Diaz drew from yesterday’s MacBook unveiling, which saw the rock star CEO for once cede the spotlight to his top lieutenants, as if to announce, “Hey, look, Apple is more than Steve.”...
Canseco Busted With 'Roids-Reversing Drug
TMZ
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Oct 15, 2008 12:00 PM CDT
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Former baseball player Jose Canseco was charged yesterday with bringing a mislabeled drug from Mexico into the US, TMZ reports. The drug, human chorionic gonadotropin, helps boost testosterone in men who have used steroids and can reverse some of their, ahem, shrinking effects; it’s illegal in the US without a prescription. Canseco, an admitted...
'Really? This Is My Life?': Reese
Vogue
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Oct 15, 2008 11:46 AM CDT
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Reese loves Paris, and Paris loves Reese. At a recent Vogue shoot, surrounded by fashion and fabulous views, Witherspoon charmed everyone in sight, Robert Sullivan writes. "Every once in a while you're hit with moments when you think, Really? This is my life? How lucky am I?" Witherspoon gushes. And yes, that goes for her love life too—boyfriend...
A Baseball Nerd Turns to Election Stats
New York
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Oct 15, 2008 11:32 AM CDT
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Give the sheer number of political polls being produced, and the history of many of them proving wrong, it takes a seriously smart statistician (and something of a nerd) to predict the presidential race with any authority. Nate Silver, the man who "revolutionized the interpretation of baseball stats," is both, and he's doing it again with...
Poll: Americans Want More Regulation
Los Angeles Times
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Oct 15, 2008 11:19 AM CDT
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What caused the financial and housing crises? Three-quarters of Americans think a lack of federal regulation played at least some role in current economic woes, and 90% characterize the economy as doing badly, according to a Los Angeles Times /Bloomberg poll. When asked about the most crucial financial focus for the next president, the majority cited...
Denis Leary: Autistic Kids Are 'Just Stupid'
New York Post
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Oct 15, 2008 11:15 AM CDT
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Denis Leary is not a sensitive man. His new book, Why We Suck , seems bound to offend people, the New York Post reports, particularly autistic people. Leary asserts that autism is booming because parents “want an explanation for why their dumb-ass kids can’t compete academically,” so they run to psychologists. “I don’t...
Panic Has Passed, but We Haven't Hit Bottom
Washington Post
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Oct 15, 2008 11:00 AM CDT
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The most panicky phase of the global financial crisis is likely over, thanks to the combined efforts of the world’s governments, writes Steven Pearlstein in the Washington Post . But don’t “confuse this moment of calm with a stock market bottom or a sign that a serious recession has been avoided.” The bear market is going...
Economic Crisis Turned McCain Into a Bystander
Washington Post
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Oct 15, 2008 10:53 AM CDT
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John McCain isn’t losing because he’s running an incompetent campaign, Michael Gerson writes in the Washington Post . Rather, his campaign only looks incompetent because the economy doomed him to lose. When a campaign is sinking, pundits weigh in with their pet suggestions, while insisting that “the candidate must be himself.”...
US Kills al-Qaeda in Iraq's No. 2
Associated Press
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Oct 15, 2008 10:48 AM CDT
(AP) -
American troops acting on a tip killed the No. 2 leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq—a Moroccan known for his ability to recruit and motivate foreign fighters—in a raid in the northern city of Mosul, the US military said today. The man, known as Abu Qaswarah, was a charismatic leader who had trained in Afghanistan and managed to rally al-Qaeda followers...
Met Lifts Curtain on Opera You Don't Have to Dress Up for
New York Times
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Oct 15, 2008 10:31 AM CDT
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New York's Metropolitan Opera will soon be offering a new viewing experience: online streaming of performances dating back to 1937. Next week, on the 125th anniversary of its first show, the Met will unveil its online, on-demand service, reports the New York Times . If you can get past the glitches, you'll find modern video and vintage audio recordings.
Cheney Cancels Event Over Heart Issue
Associated Press
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Oct 15, 2008 10:13 AM CDT
(AP) -
Vice President Dick Cheney canceled a campaign event in Illinois today after experiencing an abnormal heart rhythm. Cheney's press secretary Megan Mitchell said that during a doctor's visit this morning, it was discovered that the vice president was having a recurrence of atrial fibrillation—an abnormal rhythm involving the upper chambers of...
Vegas Waitress Sues Nevada Guv in Alleged Rape Attempt
Las Vegas Review-Journal
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Oct 15, 2008 10:00 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Just months after a messy—and overly public—divorce, Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons has been slapped with a lawsuit by the Vegas cocktail waitress who claims he assaulted her two years ago and then covered up the police investigation, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports. Chrissy Mazzeo says she's been "pretty much blacklisted" by...
Post-Vertigo, Janet's Back on Tour
E! Online
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Oct 15, 2008 9:51 AM CDT
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Janet Jackson is ready to resume touring after recovering from a rare form of vertigo, E! Online reports. The singer scrapped nine shows from her Rock Witchu comeback tour after falling ill before a soundcheck in Montreal, causing much speculation about a "mystery illness." Jackson's manager says the singer is receiving treatment....
Bank Rescue Won't Lift Home Prices, Stop Foreclosures
Wall Street Journal
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Oct 15, 2008 9:46 AM CDT
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Economists are increasingly concerned that the government rescue plan is missing the root cause of the foundering US economy: still-falling home prices, reports the Wall Street Journal. And, while the bailout of banks and financial institutions could ease the pain of the slump, unless help is extended to the housing market, mortgage delinquencies...
Bill Ayers Is a Nice Guy
Wall Street Journal
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Oct 15, 2008 9:37 AM CDT
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In a desperate attempt to link Barack Obama to a 1960s culture war he’s too young to remember, John McCain has spent his last shred of political capital attacking Bill Ayers, Obama’s supposed terrorist pal. “I can personally attest to the idiocy of it all,” writes Thomas Frank in the Wall Street Journal, “because I am...
Joe McCain Slams Big Bro's Handlers
Baltimore Sun
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Oct 15, 2008 9:23 AM CDT
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O brother, where art thou? Joe McCain's frustration with the direction of his older brother's campaign has erupted into an angry letter to strategists, reports the Baltimore Sun . The former journalist, who has been stumping for his brother in swing states, slammed the campaign's "counter-productive" strategy of too tightly controlling...
Stocks Trip Over Bad Econ Data
MarketWatch
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Oct 15, 2008 9:02 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The bears came out on Wall Street this morning, sending the Dow down 181 at the bell, as a host of negative economic reports drowned out some positive third-quarter results. Retail sales were worse than expected in September, and several other indexes showed manufacturing activity down. The S&P and Nasdaq dropped 2.9% and 1.9% respectively.
Out of $3.6B Writedown, JPMorgan Pulls a Q3 Profit
Wall Street Journal
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Oct 15, 2008 8:36 AM CDT
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JPMorgan Chase surprised analysts and brought some partly sunny news to a mostly gloomy Wall Street, reporting net income of $527 million, or 11 cents a share, despite mortgage-related writedowns of $3.6 billion and $640 million in losses from its takeover of Washington Mutual, reports the Wall Street Journal. Analysts had expected losses of 29 cents...
How Brown Became a Superhero
New York Times
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Oct 15, 2008 8:25 AM CDT
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Unpopular at home and nearly invisible on the world stage, Gordon Brown endured a tough ride during his first year in power. But the global financial crisis has transformed the British prime minister, who now finds himself in the unlikely position of international superstar. As Europe, Australia, Hong Kong, and the US all emulate his recapitalization...
Worried Florida Seniors Waver on McCain
Washington Post
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Oct 15, 2008 8:13 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Florida's seniors aren’t looking like such a sure thing for John McCain, the Washington Post reports, casting a big shadow for the GOP over the Sunshine State. Blocks of retirees once solidly behind the GOP are now wavering, fraught with worry about disappearing pensions and climbing health care prices. “Who isn't afraid of getting...
Thailand, Cambodia in Firefight Over Temple
Reuters
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Oct 15, 2008 8:00 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Thai and Cambodian troops fought an hourlong battle today, leaving two Cambodian soldiers dead and several wounded by rocket fire in the most serious incident since the start of a border dispute. At issue is just 1.8 square miles of land next to a Hindu temple that an international body awarded to Cambodia. As in previous skirmishes, both sides have...
