Newser Story Index from November, 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.
PETA Video Shows W.Va. Workers Abusing Turkeys
Associated Press
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Nov 19, 2008 2:00 PM CST
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Just ahead of Thanksgiving, workers at a West Virginia farm are shown stomping turkeys and twisting their necks to kill them in an undercover video released by PETA, AP reports. The employee who filmed the stomach-turning scenes says the birds are kept in overcrowded barns and that employees brag about their abuses.
Finally: Mac Wins Missouri
Kansas City Star
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Nov 19, 2008 1:55 PM CST
(Newser) -
Missouri, the last state up for grabs, looks to have gone Republican by less than a 1% margin, leaving John McCain with 173 electoral votes to Barack Obama’s 365, the Kansas City Star reports. There are still 3,000 uncounted provisional ballots, but McCain’s margin is large enough to declare him the winner of the state’s 11 electoral...
Senate GOP Crafts Own Auto Bailout Package
Detroit News
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Nov 19, 2008 1:47 PM CST
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Senate Republicans are crafting legislation that would repurpose an already-approved $25 billion Energy Department initiative to bail out struggling automakers, the Detroit News reports. The plan is at odds with Democratic efforts, which would use money from the $700 billion Wall Street bailout to help Detroit. The Energy money was originally intended...
In Need of a Buck, Many Donate Plasma
Chicago Tribune
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Nov 19, 2008 1:38 PM CST
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With unemployment and costs of living up, blood plasma donations are an increasingly popular option for those in need of a little extra cash, the Chicago Tribune reports. Donors compensated with $20 to $45 are an invaluable part of a $10 billion dollar industry that supplies drugs to fight hemophilia and immune system disorders, and to aid burn recovery....
His Fundraising Machine Turns to Transition, Inaugural
CNN
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Nov 19, 2008 1:26 PM CST
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Barack Obama is in fundraising mode again, this time for his transition and inauguration, CNN reports; many hope he will honor his promise to steer clear of special interests and big corporate donors. Though there is almost $10 million in public funds available for transition spending, experts say that’s insufficient. Obama cannot use leftover...
Love to Fans: I'm 'Not Suicidal'
Us Weekly
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Nov 19, 2008 1:07 PM CST
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After alarming fans in a recent MySpace blog post about death, Courtney Love reassures everyone: “No, I am not suicidal,” Us magazine reports. The musician, whose husband, Kurt Cobain, committed suicide, posted a follow-up to explain: “Occasionally, like all of us, I get depressed.” She said she has decided to quit blogging,...
A Romantic, Jackman Is People's Sexiest
People
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Nov 19, 2008 12:57 PM CST
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Hugh Jackman, the 40-year-old actor starring in Australia with Nicole Kidman, has been declared 2008’s Sexiest Man Alive by People magazine—and by his wife of 12 years, who, when told of the honor, said, “‘I could've told them that years ago!" But she followed quickly, Jackman tells the magazine, with "Obviously,...
Ballmer Quashes Yahoo Bid Rumors; Open to Partnership
CNET
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Nov 19, 2008 12:42 PM CST
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Steve Ballmer quashed the rumor that Microsoft would make another offer to buy Yahoo now that Jerry Yang has quit as CEO, CNET reports. “We are done with all acquisition discussions with Yahoo,” the chief executive said today. “We did our best; we’ve moved on.”
Rahm to CEOs: Get on Board With Health Care
Wall Street Journal
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Nov 19, 2008 12:27 PM CST
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Rahm Emanuel has avoided the spotlight since accepting the White House chief of staff job, but he was anything but shy last night at the Wall Street Journal CEO Council, challenging his high-powered audience to help on health care. “When it gets rough out there, a lot of business leaders get out of the car and say, ‘We’re OK with...
Jacko Needed $350K 'Mind Guru'
New York Daily News
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Nov 19, 2008 12:19 PM CST
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The sheikh who is suing Michael Jackson says he spent nearly $350,000 on a brain guru for the star, the New York Daily News reports. Mind-mapping and motivational guru Tony Buzan spent one week with the King of Pop in an effort to unlock his creativity, thus allowing him to write the agreed-upon album, autobiography, and musical for the Bahraini...
Obama Talks to Gates About Staying at Pentagon
Financial Times (UK)
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Nov 19, 2008 12:07 PM CST
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Barack Obama and Robert Gates are negotiating policy issues with a view toward Gates remaining Defense secretary, the Financial Times reports, a move that would make the Bush appointee a key member of a bipartisan cabinet that resembles Abraham Lincoln's “team of rivals.” Gates, a former CIA chief, is respected for being tough, but in...
Daschle to Be Health Secretary
Roll Call
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Nov 19, 2008 11:59 AM CST
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Former Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle has been offered, and intends to accept, a post as Barack Obama’s Secretary of Health and Human Services, Roll Call reports. Daschle will also head the health care policy transition group. Nearly all of Obama’s transition policy working group heads are expected to land in top administration jobs.
Obama Girls Join Exclusive White House Sorority
New Yorker
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Nov 19, 2008 11:53 AM CST
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If Malia Obama sneaks a boy into the White House, it won’t be an action without precedent. The generations of girls who occupied what Margaret Truman billed “the Great White Jail” form a sort of underground society, Lauren Collins writes in the New Yorker . The Johnson sisters, for example, planted notes to welcome the Nixon ladies...
Now Joe Owes Barack One
Time
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Nov 19, 2008 11:45 AM CST
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Democrats everywhere, even in the Senate, are still furious with Joe Lieberman for campaigning against Barack Obama. So pushing to allow him to stay in the Democratic caucus, and continue as chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, was a savvy political move on Obama's part, Time reports: Lieberman will owe the new president big time, and there'll...
Kennedy Taps Clinton for Panel on Health Care
Los Angeles Times
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Nov 19, 2008 11:37 AM CST
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It seems when it rains job offers for Hillary Clinton, it pours: Ted Kennedy has asked the New York senator to help lead a health care team, the Los Angeles Times reports. Clinton would lead a working group dealing with insurance coverage. Although health care is an issue near to her heart, no one is sure how Clinton will react.
UK to Slap Johns With Rape
BBC
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Nov 19, 2008 11:18 AM CST
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Lay a finger on a trafficked sex worker, and the Brits will slap you with rape and toss you in the clink, reports the BBC. New laws will make it a criminal offense in England and Wales to pay for sex with prostitutes controlled by pimps, as Britain's Home secretary pushes for a crackdown on trafficking women. Exchanging money for sex remains legal,...
Careless Students' Bonfire Started Montecito Blaze
Los Angeles Times
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Nov 19, 2008 11:13 AM CST
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A group of students who failed to completely put out a hilltop bonfire apparently caused the destructive Montecito fire, a Santa Barbara sheriff told the Los Angeles Times . The blaze destroyed 210 homes and injured at least 25 people last week. A district attorney will decide whether to charge the students after a full investigation.
The GOP Has a God Problem
Washington Post
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Nov 19, 2008 11:00 AM CST
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After getting death threats for dissing Sarah Palin, Kathleen Parker is stirring up trouble in the right-wing ranks again. The Republican Party is going to go the way of the Shakers if it doesn’t lose some of that old time religion, she writes in the Washington Post . The party’s religious base has scared off moderate voters, and is a...
Wagoner: Why the US Should Bail Detroit Out
Wall Street Journal
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Nov 19, 2008 10:40 AM CST
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An aggressive agenda of cost-cutting combined with research and development of new technologies has reshaped the US auto industry in recent years, General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner writes in the Wall Street Journal . And with the industry’s deep, broad roots in the US economy, government aid will help it weather the current financial storm, preserve...
Clinton's Great, But Not a Fit at State
Washington Post
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Nov 19, 2008 10:25 AM CST
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Hillary Clinton would probably do a good job as secretary of State, but giving her the post would be a mistake, writes David Broder in the Washington Post. “It’s not the best use of her talents, and it’s certainly not the best fit for this president.” Obama needs a diplomat to carry out his will, “an agent, not an author.”
What a Detroit Bankruptcy + Bailout Should Look Like
Washington Post
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Nov 19, 2008 10:14 AM CST
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Barack Obama isn’t in the Oval Office yet, but he’s already passed his first presidential test “with flying colors,” in Steven Pearlstein’s book. With Democrats ready to roll over for the not-so-big three, and Republicans stonewalling, Obama broke the stalemate with just the right bankruptcy-then-bailout. Shareholders,...
US Infrastructure Is a 'Bridge to Almost Nowhere'
New York Times
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Nov 19, 2008 10:02 AM CST
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Recently the House passed an $18 billion infrastructure bill, and Barack Obama has indicated that he'll ask for billions more in spending to create jobs while improving the nation's roads and bridges. But as New York Times columnist David Leonhardt writes, insufficient investment is only part of the problem. At the moment federal projects aren't...
For Yahoo, Question Is: Who's Yang's Yin?
Wall Street Journal
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Nov 19, 2008 9:52 AM CST
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Yahoo’s successor to CEO Jerry Yang could come from outside the Internet industry, as long as he has a strong operations background and the decisiveness to break the company’s culture of indecision, reports the Wall Street Journal . But even before hiring a CEO, the company needs to decide whether it wants to remain independent or go with...
Prop 8 Furor Squeezes Calif. Court
Los Angeles Times
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Nov 19, 2008 9:43 AM CST
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California’s moderately conservative Supreme Court faces pressure from both fronts of the gay-marriage battle, the Los Angeles Times reports. Opponents of Proposition 8—including Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger—are collecting arguments for why the amendment should be struck down, while supporters have promised to oust judges who rule...
Al-Qaeda Boss Calls Obama 'House Negro'
Associated Press
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Nov 19, 2008 9:19 AM CST
(AP) -
Seeking to persuade Muslims and Arabs that Barack Obama does not represent a change in US policies, al-Qaeda's No. 2 calls the president-elect, along with Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice, “house negroes” in a message on militant websites today. In the audio tape, Ayman al-Zawahri calls Obama “the direct opposite of honorable black...
Voter Board: Hey Tim, Wanna Do a PSA?
TMZ
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Nov 19, 2008 9:14 AM CST
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The New York City Board of Elections, headed up by a man Tim Robbins has termed a "corrupt scumbag," is reaching out to the prickly actor with an offer he might well resist—turn his Election Day voting tantrum into a civics lesson. TMZ reports that the board is inviting the Bull Durham actor to produce a public-service announcement...
Consumer Prices Dive 1%, Biggest Drop in 61 Years
Associated Press
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Nov 19, 2008 9:07 AM CST
(AP) -
Consumer prices in the United States plunged by the largest amount in the past 61 years in October as gasoline prices dropped by a record amount. The Labor Department said today that consumer prices fell by 1% last month, the biggest one-month decline on records that go back to February 1947. The drop was twice as large as the 0.5% decline analysts...
Spain Drops Probe Into Franco Crimes
New York Times
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Nov 19, 2008 8:48 AM CST
(Newser) -
One of Spain's leading judges terminated an inquiry into atrocities committed during the 1936-1939 civil war and the ensuing dictatorship, ending the country's first criminal investigation into Francisco Franco's regime. The judge dropped the case after government prosecutors questioned his jurisdiction over what the suit called crimes against humanity....
Taliban Force US to Find New Route to Afghanistan
Washington Post
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Nov 19, 2008 8:39 AM CST
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Since the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, the American military has received about 75% of its supplies via a NATO corridor from Pakistan. But as the Taliban continue to grow in strength and the border region becomes ever more unstable, the US is now seeking new routes—including a punishing overland journey via Europe. Attacks on drivers...
Ashley to Silda: 'Sorry for Your Pain'
New York Post
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Nov 19, 2008 8:32 AM CST
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Former call girl Ashley Dupre is haunted by the pain she caused Eliot Spitzer’s wife, but insists her tryst with the former governor of New York was “strictly business,” the New York Post reports. Dupre tells People in a forthcoming interview that she didn’t realize who “Client No. 9” was until she saw him on...
Chuck Norris: Prop. 8 Foes Wreaking 'Anarchy'
Townhall Blog
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Nov 19, 2008 8:26 AM CST
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Opponents of California's gay marriage ban need to learn how democracy works, Chuck Norris argues at TownHall.com. Post-election Proposition 8 protesters are attacking churches for backing the ban and threatening boycotts, Norris writes, when they should be accepting the majority vote of their fellow Californians. "Like it or not, it's the law...
NBA Pros Deserve Oscars for Crying Foul
New York Times
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Nov 19, 2008 8:00 AM CST
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The grunts and bellows of pro basketball players approaching the hoop has become as much a part of the game as the dribbling, the New York Times reports. Players shout to alert—or, as often, persuade—the ref that they are being fouled before they take a basket. LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and Dwayne Wade are considered among the game's...
Bill Agrees to Short Leash if Hill Goes to State
Wall Street Journal
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Nov 19, 2008 7:36 AM CST
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Bill Clinton is willing to do whatever he needs to do to get out of the way of Hillary's becoming secretary of state, reports the Wall Street Journal . That includes vetting in advance his speaking engagements and putting on hold charitable and business activities that might pose conflicts of interest if she is nominated.
Romney: Let Detroit Go Bust
New York Times
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Nov 19, 2008 7:26 AM CST
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If you want to maintain an automotive industry in the US, writes Mitt Romney, giving the Big Three a bailout is the last thing you should do. In an op-ed for the New York Times , the former Massachusetts governor (and Michigan native) says that GM, Chrysler, and Ford need a managed bankruptcy followed by radical restructuring. A bailout will only...
UK Asylum Releases Ripper Suspect's Notes
Independent (UK)
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Nov 19, 2008 7:19 AM CST
(Newser) -
A British institution for the criminally insane has released the medical records of a madman long suspected of being Jack the Ripper, the Independent reports. The documents contain no conclusive proof, but offer enough to keep Thomas Cutbush on the suspect list. The "very insane" young man threatened to get a knife and "rip up"...
India Sinks Pirate 'Mother Ship'
New York Times
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Nov 19, 2008 6:51 AM CST
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An Indian warship sent a large pirate vessel to Davy Jones’ Locker, after a pitched four- to five-hour sea battle, the New York Times reports, marking the second time in a week that India has clashed with suspected hijackers. The ship, which the Indian commander described as a “mother ship” was surrounded by two smaller vessels,...
EPA to Loosen Clean-Air Rules in National Parks
Washington Post
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Nov 19, 2008 6:29 AM CST
(Newser) -
Polluting facilities like coal-fired power plants could soon be allowed to operate closer to national parks, according to documents obtained by the Washington Post . Rules being finalized by the EPA—against strong objections from several officials—will weaken Clean Air Act protections by averaging out emission counts over a year, meaning...
Anarchy Rules Desperate Congo
New York Times
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Nov 19, 2008 5:55 AM CST
(Newser) -
Bewildered residents in eastern Congo talk of the "front line" separating rebel territory from areas controlled by the army. But no such line exists—only a jumble of unstable, chaotic territories with no checkpoints or fortifications, reports the New York Times . While a ceasefire between the two sides seems to be holding, residents...
Bill's $500K Kuwait Speech Shadows Hillary Vetting
Daily Beast
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Nov 19, 2008 5:17 AM CST
(Newser) -
Bill Clinton hailed the prospect of Hillary becoming Barack Obama's secretary of state in a speech to a group of Kuwaiti bankers Sunday, and the $500,000 he pocketed for the talk highlights the kind of complications that have ensnarled his wife's vetting process, reports the Daily Beast. Clinton, who also gave advice to the president-elect in the speech,...
Mom Gets Trachea Grown From Own Stem Cells
BBC
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Nov 19, 2008 4:49 AM CST
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In a frontier-busting surgery, transplant doctors have given a young woman a trachea developed in a lab using the patient's own stem cells. Stem cells from the patient's trachea and bone marrow were used to create a new rejection-proof organ in the surgery, performed in Spain in June, reports the BBC. The trachea developed its own blood supply a month...
Texas Grand Jury Indicts Cheney, Gonzales
Reuters
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Nov 19, 2008 4:26 AM CST
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A grand jury in a small southern Texas county has handed down indictments against Vice President Dick Cheney and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales for "organized criminal activity" connected to abuse in federal prisons, Reuters reports. The indictments, overseen by controversial local District Attorney Juan Guerra, accuse Cheney of...
Chinese Automakers Seek US-Style Bailout
New York Times
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Nov 19, 2008 4:01 AM CST
(Newser) -
China's automakers are looking to emulate a new Detroit invention—a bailout, the New York Times reports. After years of rapid expansion, the industry has been hit by a sudden slowdown as confidence crashes both home and abroad. Executives are now quietly pressing Beijing for a US-style rescue package to boost demand and fund research into greener...
US Troops in Afghanistan Battle Beard Ban
US News & World Report
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Nov 19, 2008 3:34 AM CST
(Newser) -
American troops in Afghanistan want to take a razor to the military's long-standing rule banning beards, US News & World Report writes. Beards are a sign of manhood in traditional areas of Afghanistan, and clean-shaven troops grumble that the rule—which the military maintains is essential for hygiene and discipline—makes...
Oops! Tools Lost in Space
Houston Chronicle
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Nov 19, 2008 3:10 AM CST
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A shuttle astronaut performing repairs during a spacewalk outside the International Space Station yesterday faced a slippery dilemma when a grease gun spurted lubricant inside her tool bag. As Heide Stefanyshyn-Piper cleaned the lubricant from her gloves, her bag full of tools floated away, boldly going where no tools have gone before, reports the...
Military Recruitment Up Amid Job Crisis
USA Today
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Nov 19, 2008 2:45 AM CST
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More young people are considering joining the military as civilian jobs dry up and the US begins to prepare plans to withdraw from Iraq, reports USA Today . After years of difficulty finding recruits, a Pentagon survey shows a jump from 9% to 11% in the number of 16- to 20-year-old Americans planning to join the military.
Boy Admits Killing Dad in Cops' Video
CNN
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Nov 19, 2008 2:20 AM CST
(Newser) -
An 8-year-old Arizona boy charged with fatally shooting his father and a tenant confessed to the crime in a chilling videotaped police interrogation, CNN reports. The boy, sitting cross-legged in an overstuffed arm chair, explains that he finished off his father after shooting him "because he was suffering." No lawyer or adult relative was...
Toxic Toads Wiping Out Aussie Crocs
AFP
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Nov 19, 2008 1:53 AM CST
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Poisonous cane toads are proving more than a match for Australia's freshwater crocodiles, AFP reports. The toads are hopping their way into the crocs' northern Australia territory in huge numbers, killing off all who opt to make a meal of the invaders. Toad poisoning has already cut the numbers of crocodiles in some rivers by half.
Clinton Still Undecided on Cabinet Post, Aides Say
Politico
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Nov 18, 2008 9:10 PM CST
(Newser) -
Press reports to the contrary, Hillary Clinton still hasn't decided whether to accept the post of secretary of state, Politico reports. She remains genuinely torn on whether to leave the Senate and give up her fight for health care reform, several anonymous aides say. The Obama camp is still vetting the business dealings of Bill Clinton and has not...
Begich Defeats Stevens in Alaska Race
Anchorage Daily News
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Nov 18, 2008 8:28 PM CST
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Democrat Mark Begich has ousted Ted Stevens in Alaska's Senate race, the Anchorage Daily News reports. Begich widened his lead to 3,724 votes, with only 2,500 left to be counted. The Stevens camp has not said whether it will request a recount, which would take place in early December. Such recounts rarely change the outcome in Alaska voting, the...
Ways to Cut Your Bills Down to Size
USA Today
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Nov 18, 2008 7:41 PM CST
(Newser) -
Spendthrift Americans from all rungs of the income ladder are taking a page from Scrooge these days, adopting new, cash-lite strategies to get through hard times, USA Today notes. They're managing to save by: Hocking whatever's collecting dust in their closets: The average household has $3,200 worth of saleable goods, according to one...
