Newser Story Index from December, 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.
Under the Tree: Medical Myths
New York Times
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Dec 21, 2008 6:21 PM CST
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Bending and breaking under holiday stress? Relax! The British Medical Journal has bah-humbugged six holiday health myths, the New York Times reports: Night eating makes you fat: Calories are calories. When you eat doesn't matter; it's what you eat. Poinsettias are perilous: Reported cases of human poinsettia consumption: 22,793....
Kin of 'Fiancée': Dream On, Drew
Chicago Tribune
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Dec 21, 2008 5:57 PM CST
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No stranger to controversy in his romantic dealings, Drew Peterson is now facing off with the family of the 23-year-old woman he says will become the fifth Mrs Peterson, the Chicago Tribune reports. Waitress Christina Raines has some kind of relationship with Peterson, but that’s where the agreement ends; Peterson says they’re engaged,...
Titans Clinch; Jets Fall Short
Associated Press
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Dec 21, 2008 5:10 PM CST
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In NFL games today, New York Jets likely blew their playoff chances in a snowy loss to Seattle, while Tennessee clinched home-field advantage, AP reports: Seattle coach Mike Holmgren topped his former star player Brett Favre as the Jets missed several scoring chances and lost their bid to stay atop the AFC East, 13-3. The lowly Bills...
Shoppers Turn to Funny, Useful Gifts
USA Today
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Dec 21, 2008 5:05 PM CST
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Christmas shoppers are thinking small this year, and the gifts they're buying reveal how Americans are coping with recession, USA Today reports. Here's a list of today's trends: Practical: Nearly half of the most popular items searched for online were boots, according to one mall inventory service. Gifts that help people organize and save...
Carrey Wins Box-Office Yes
Variety
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Dec 21, 2008 4:16 PM CST
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The Northeast's weather outside was frightful, but elsewhere, audiences found Jim Carrey's Yes Man delightful, reports Variety. The Carrey comedy topped depressed box office returns with just $18.2 million, while Will Smith's drama Seven Pounds took No. 2 with $16 million—the lowest opening for Smith since 2001. The Tale of Despereaux...
Bailed-Out Bank Execs Made $1.6B Last Year
Associated Press
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Dec 21, 2008 3:45 PM CST
(AP) -
Banks that are getting taxpayer bailouts awarded their top executives nearly $1.6 billion in salaries, bonuses, and other benefits last year, an AP analysis reveals. Benefits at bailed-out institutions like Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, and JPMorgan Chase included cash bonuses, stock options, personal use of company jets and chauffeurs, home security,...
Newt: An Old Star on the Rise
Politico
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Dec 21, 2008 3:25 PM CST
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Newt Gingrich has 1.1 million subscribers to his email list, 4,825 Facebook friends, and was the election's most influential voice outside the two presidential campaigns on everything from gas prices to the Wall Street bailout, Politico reports. So will the former speaker of the House run for president in 2012? “I’ll look at it in January...
Squeezed Parents Dump Daycare
Washington Post
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Dec 21, 2008 2:43 PM CST
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As the tanking economy squeezes parents with skyrocketing unemployment and foreclosures, experts are noticing that it's the little children who suffer—in the form of fast-emptying daycare centers. As the Washington Post reports, strapped families desperate to cut costs are pulling their kids out of programs that can cost hundreds a month, sometimes...
Iranian Cops Raid Nobel Winner's Office
Reuters
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Dec 21, 2008 1:57 PM CST
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Iranian police today raided the office of a human rights group led by Nobel prize-winning activist Shirin Ebadi, Reuters reports. The office was hours away from hosting a Human Rights Day celebration when cops shut it down. "We will protest against it," said Ebadi. "It will not deprive us from our rights activities." Prosecutors...
The Kids Are All Right: Let's Drop the 'Santa Debate'
Washington Post
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Dec 21, 2008 1:32 PM CST
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As if shopping for the last Malibu Barbie weren’t hard enough, Christmas is testing parents' psyches in more insidious ways, Carl Honoré writes in the Washington Post . “The Great Santa Debate,” about whether to keep up the St. Nick myth for children, “feeds into a broader culture of parental hysteria,” writes...
Celebs' Stupidest Moves of 2008
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Dec 21, 2008 1:07 PM CST
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Celebrities broke new ground with their moronic bungles this year, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. And, let's face it, they're fun to watch: Lil Jon: The rapper reacted to questions about his opening a winery: “I'm not like an expert, so don't ask me no questions. This is not some ghetto Boone's Farm." Gavin Rossdale...
Pastor Warren: Some of My Best Friends Are Gay
Associated Press
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Dec 21, 2008 12:37 PM CST
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Pastor Rick Warren "loves gays and straights," he said yesterday, in response to the uproar his invitation to Barack Obama's inaugural invocation sparked among gay rights groups. In a speech to the Muslim Public Affairs Council, Warren emphasized that he has "many gay friends" and has "eaten dinner in gay homes,"...
Sorry, Pops, Lily Allen Ain't My Mouthpiece
Spiked
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Dec 21, 2008 12:07 PM CST
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British pop singer Lily Allen can carry a cute tune, but "spokesperson for her generation"? Puh-leeze, Emily Hill writes in Spiked. Allen's first album, Alright, Still , "soundtracked a summer," inspiring middle-aged music hacks to praise her and London Mayor Boris Johnson to ask for her insight into gang violence. But Allen...
Attenborough Falls, Slips Into Short Coma
Times (UK)
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Dec 21, 2008 11:37 AM CST
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Acclaimed director and actor Sir Richard Attenborough fell at his London home and briefly slipped into a coma, reports the Times of London. The Oscar-winning director of Gandhi , 85, is recovering in the hospital, but his family is unsure whether he'll be home for Christmas. Attenborough received a pacemaker after a recent blackout caused by a heart...
Families Remember Lockerbie, 20 Years Later
CNN
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Dec 21, 2008 11:11 AM CST
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Mourners on both sides of the pond are commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Lockerbie airliner bombing, CNN reports. Families and friends gathered today at Arlington National Cemetery and at New York’s Syracuse University, which lost 35 students in the Pan Am explosion over the Scottish town. Mourners in Scotland laid a wreath at a permanent...
Biden's New Role: Help the Middle Class
Associated Press
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Dec 21, 2008 10:50 AM CST
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Joe Biden emerged from the shadows today and said he will lead a task force to strengthen the middle class, the AP reports. “We'll look at everything from college affordability to after-school programs,” he said on ABC's This Week . From the get-go, Biden told Barack Obama that he wanted input on all important matters instead of being...
Nude Blago Joins Naked Palin
Chicago Tribune
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Dec 21, 2008 10:27 AM CST
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Somewhere in a Chicago bar, embattled Gov. Rod Blagojevich is cavorting in the buff with winkin' Gov. Sarah Palin—or at least if life imitated art, reports the Chicago Tribune. The latest "nude governors" installment from Chicago artist Bruce Elliot imagines Blago reporting for prison. Titled "The Cavity Search," a...
Lawsuits, Tech Glitches Keep Bush Emails Under Wraps
Washington Post
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Dec 21, 2008 9:56 AM CST
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Technical snags and lawsuits are holding up the release of hundreds of millions of Bush White House emails to the National Archives, the Washington Post reports. Historians and nonprofits are in a legal battle with the White House, as administration officials sift through backup tapes to recover lost documents. "We are worried," said the...
Shame On You, America: Give Pie Some Respect
Salon
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Dec 21, 2008 9:30 AM CST
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Plenty of people like pie. But they don’t love it the way they should, says Vincent Rossmeier of Salon. “For too long, pie has played the ugly stepchild to that flamboyant diva of desserts, cake,” he argues. “Sure, plastered with enough frosting and chocolate-ganache implants, cake cuts a fine appearance,” but inside it’s...
Cops Seize Bags, Boxes From Caylee's Home
Los Angeles Times
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Dec 21, 2008 9:05 AM CST
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Police seized two large bags and two boxes of items after a search of the dead toddler Caylee Anthony's home, reports the Los Angeles Times . The girl's skull and bones were found buried near the home Caylee and her mom shared with her maternal grandparents in Orlando, Fla. Caylee's mother, Casey Anthony, has been charged in her death.
Boozy 'Lost' Lennon Tape Hits Block
New York Post
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Dec 21, 2008 8:44 AM CST
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A tape never released to the public showcasing a boozed-up, raunchy John Lennon is set for auction in Los Angeles today, and will likely fetch up to $40,000, the New York Post reports. Belting an intoxicated rewrite of the Lloyd Price song Just Because , Lennon advises listeners that “I wanna take all them new singers, Carol and the other...
Tim Gunn Goes to Bat for Bunnies
New York Post
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Dec 21, 2008 8:14 AM CST
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Project Runway 's favorite nice guy Tim Gunn is joining the anti-fur PETA campaign with a personal video plea to designers amid shocking images of screaming skinned rabbits, reports the New York Post . PETA is focusing on designers using rabbit fur from China, where there are no animal protection laws. Any designer who ignores the facts is "egregiously...
Maddy's Parents Release Video in New Plea
Independent (UK)
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Dec 21, 2008 7:39 AM CST
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The parents of missing toddler Maddy McCann have released heartbreaking new footage of their daughter in a new plea to the public to help in the search for her, reports the Independent . The scenes reveal a fun-loving, spunky kid playing with her siblings, showing off new pink shoes and donning a ballerina outfit with wings. "Christmas is a time...
Exec Pay Likely to Stay in Stratosphere
Washington Post
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Dec 21, 2008 7:13 AM CST
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Will the financial crisis slash the pay of executives who helped get us into the mess? Probably not, if past trends continue, writes David S. Hilzenrath in the Washington Post . When government in the past has fought to curb bosses’ cash flow, corporate boards have generally found a way to skirt the spirit of the rules—often making executives...
How Bush Fueled the Mortgage Mess
New York Times
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Dec 21, 2008 6:52 AM CST
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A range of factors led to the housing crisis that dragged the economy into the toilet—but President Bush’s philosophy likely played a key role in the collapse, reports the New York Times . Dozens of interviews point to both Bush’s drive to expand homeownership and his steadfast belief in minimal market regulation as central factors...
Torture a Dead End: Intelligence Experts
Vanity Fair
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Dec 21, 2008 6:20 AM CST
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Governments have known for centuries that torture yields questionable intelligence, and none of the evidence accumulated during US grilling sessions contradicts that argument, David Rose writes in Vanity Fair. Rose carefully documents the inaccurate and even falsified information obtained from suspects Abu Zubaydah, Binyam Mohamed, Jose Padilla,...
Climate Change Pushes Aspens to Brink
Smithsonian
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Dec 21, 2008 5:53 AM CST
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Huge swaths of the Rocky Mountain landscape is being transformed as the region's signature tree, the aspen, goes into rapid decline, reports the Smithsonian. Climate change and surging population of the bark beetle is causing the grim phenomenon known as SAD (sudden aspen decline). The beetle is a mere twelfth-of-an-inch long but is capable, en masse,...
Storms Threaten to Wipe Out Retailers' Last Hopes
Reuters
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Dec 21, 2008 5:26 AM CST
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Retailers were extending hours and cutting prices deeper in a last-ditch attempt to attract a final wave of holiday shoppers and mitigate the impact of major storms in the Midwest, Northwest and Northeast, Reuters reports. Some two-thirds of shoppers still have holiday shopping left to do, according to surveys, but the storms may further cut their...
10 Best Albums of 2008
Rolling Stone
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Dec 21, 2008 5:02 AM CST
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Dear Science tops Rolling Stone 's year-end best list with an album “that sounded the most like America in 2008." The top 10: TV on the Radio, Dear Science : "Infernal visions of war and economic desperation," but "amid the fear and loathing" is "defiance." Bob Dylan, Tell Tale Signs—...
Plane Veers Off Runway in Denver; 38 Injured
Denver Post
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Dec 20, 2008 10:30 PM CST
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A Continental jet at Denver's airport veered off a runway and into a ravine tonight, sending 38 people to local hospitals, the Denver Post reports. None of the injuries appeared to be life-threatening. The 737 jet, which had been trying to take off for Houston, caught fire on one side after the accident, forcing the 112 people aboard to exit...
Holyfield, 46, Loses Close Bout for Title
SkySports
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Dec 20, 2008 9:32 PM CST
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Evander Holyfield lost his bid—barely—to become the world's oldest heavyweight champ tonight, SkySports reports. Holyfield, 46, lost a close decision to 7-foot Russian Nikolai Valuev in Switzerland for the WBA title. One judge scored it a draw, and the other two gave Valuev the win by scores of 116-112 and 115-114.
Gold's Price Is High, but Human Costs Are Steeper
National Geographic
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Dec 20, 2008 7:30 PM CST
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As the price of gold continues its steady climb—at $271 before 9/11, it's now above $835— National Geographic provides a sobering look at the human and environmental costs of finding it and digging it up. With the world's biggest deposits long gone and new discoveries rare, "it's an invitation to destruction," writes Brook Larmer....
Mumbai's Posh Hotels Prepare to Reopen
Associated Press
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Dec 20, 2008 7:01 PM CST
(AP) -
Three weeks after militants went on a murderous rampage in Mumbai, two of the city's high-profile targets are ready to welcome guests again. Both of Mumbai's five-star hotels—the sleek, sea-front Oberoi and the majestic 105-year-old Taj Mahal—will reopen at least some of their sections tomorrow. The main areas, however—left in tatters...
20 Years Later, Lockerbie Families' Work Endures
USA Today
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Dec 20, 2008 6:38 PM CST
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With the 20th anniversary of the Pan Am flight 103 bombing upon us tomorrow, it's a good time not just to remember the victims but to salute their families for the wide-ranging changes they worked to bring about, writes Alan Levin in USA Today . “Laws on everything from lawsuits against terrorists to airport security were changed," notes...
What to Expect on '09 Menus
MarketWatch
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Dec 20, 2008 6:04 PM CST
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Industry publication Flavor & The Menu predicts that casual, comfort flavor cues will drive restaurant trends in 2009; via MarketWatch, what your palate can look forward to: Top culinary trend: Craft beers paired with sophisticated pub food. Top concept trend: Urban barbecue, with more interesting preparations and sides. Top...
Obama Widens Goals, Now Wants 3M Jobs
New York Times
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Dec 20, 2008 5:37 PM CST
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Barack Obama is expanding his plans to reverse the nation’s financial crisis and will seek to create 3 million jobs in the next two years, up from the goal of 2.5 million he proposed last month, the New York Times reports. The new figure follows a meeting in which economic experts predicted a loss of 4 million jobs next year and an unemployment...
Ladies, Beware This New Type of Cad
New York Observer
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Dec 20, 2008 5:00 PM CST
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Traditional womanizers are easy to detect, but single girls have a new species of cad to watch out for—the Homme Fatale, writes Irina Aleksander in the Observer . They are smart, gentle, short of Hollywood good looks but confident in a self-deprecating way, "deceptively vulnerable," and conniving. Such ladykillers soon leave victims...
Warner Music Pulls Videos From YouTube
Reuters
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Dec 20, 2008 4:40 PM CST
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Warner Music ordered YouTube to remove all music videos by Warner artists today after talks to renew their licensing deal stalled, Reuters reports. The impasse could affect hundreds of thousands of video clips. The music group, home to artists such as Madonna and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, is demanding a larger cut of revenues, though no details were...
Shopping: Patriotic, or Soul-Killing?
Guardian (UK)
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Dec 20, 2008 4:15 PM CST
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These days, it’s patriotic to be a shopaholic. “We neurotically monitor the retailers' latest financial results and our identification with the fortunes of the big stores seems absolute,” writes Andrew Martin of the Guardian . But Martin suspects we’re just waking up to the fundamental absurdity of modern shop-aholic existence:...
What Downturn? Vegas Gets New $2.3B Resort
AFP
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Dec 20, 2008 4:15 PM CST
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Recession has dimmed the glittering lights of Las Vegas, but it hasn’t stopped hotel and casino mogul Steve Wynn, AFP reports. Wynn is preparing to open the lavish $2.3 billion resort Encore on Monday as Sin City weathers its worst economic meltdown in decades. “I don't owe a dime personally and the company's solid as a rock,” said...
Bush Loan Could Crush Once-Powerful UAW
Washington Post
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Dec 20, 2008 3:58 PM CST
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Washington's $17.4 billion loan to Detroit automakers may inflict a death blow to one of America's most powerful unions, the Washington Post reports. The loan requires UAW workers to accept pay and benefits “equal” to those of nonunion workers, a stipulation that undermines the union's purpose, analysts say. The deal is open to interpretation,...
Mice Spark Blaze That Scorches 100 Cats
Telegraph (UK)
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Dec 20, 2008 3:45 PM CST
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Mice started a fire in a Toronto animal shelter that killed 100 cats and three dogs, the Telegraph reports. The rodents likely sparked the blaze by chewing through electrical wires. Canadians nationwide have been donating money and offering temporary homes and meals for the few animal survivors. “People are very upset and some people have just...
Caroline Backs Gay Marriage
Politico
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Dec 20, 2008 3:27 PM CST
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As she campaigns for Hillary Clinton’s Senate seat, Caroline Kennedy is finally opening up about some of her political stances. In a questionnaire provided by Politico, the 51-year-old expressed support for gay marriage, which Barack Obama opposes, and says she opposed the Iraq war from the get-go, unlike Hillary Clinton. Kennedy declined to...
US May Double Forces in Afghanistan to 60K
Reuters
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Dec 20, 2008 3:27 PM CST
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The US could double the number of its troops in Afghanistan to about 60,000 by next summer, the highest such estimate to date, Reuters reports. American troops currently number 31,000, but joint chiefs chairman Mike Mullen said today that an additional 20,000 to 30,000 will be needed by the spring or early summer. “We're going to fill that requirement...
Jilted Woman Blames Spitzer Call Girl in Suit
New York Daily News
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Dec 20, 2008 3:03 PM CST
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Ashley Dupre has wrecked another home, if you believe KT Mary Dunphy. The Manhattan woman is suing her ex-fiancé for “emotional distress,” in part, she tells the New York Daily News , because he slept with Eliot Spitzer’s infamous call girl and eventually took her on vacation to Aruba. A spokesman for Dupre says she’s...
Russian Warships Dock at Havana Bay
Times (UK)
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Dec 20, 2008 2:36 PM CST
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Russian warships arrived in Havana yesterday for the first time since the end of the Cold War, the London Times reports. The visit comes at the end of a 3-month South American tour that Russia expected would raise hackles in the US. “I guess they’re on R&R,” said Condoleezza Rice. Russia sent off the warships after US ships...
Canada Pledges $3.3B Aid for Automakers
Globe and Mail
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Dec 20, 2008 2:12 PM CST
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A day after President Bush offered a bailout to American automakers, Canada announced plans to follow suit. The federal and Ontario governments will grant GM and Chrysler’s Canadian subsidiaries $3.3 billion ($4 billion in Canadian dollars), the Globe and Mail reports. “We cannot afford either in the US or Canada a catastrophic short-term...
Want Free Art? Get A Tattoo
Globe and Mail
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Dec 20, 2008 2:10 PM CST
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A growing number of Canadian artists are giving away art to fans who are willing to wear it permanently, the Globe & Mail reports. The art buffs get free prints and a tattoo, while artists put their work out there on human flesh. "When I say 'this is by a local artist' it's so much more punk rock," said one buyer who forked out $300...
Wild Cat Gang Keeps Lost Boy Alive
Telegraph (UK)
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Dec 20, 2008 1:52 PM CST
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Police in Argentina recently found a 1-year-old homeless boy being cared for by wild cats, the Daily Telegraph reports. A policewoman on patrol noticed an unusually large cat gathering which, on closer inspection, was surrounding the boy. Doctors believe the eight cats snuggled up to keep the child warm on cold nights that would have otherwise been...
There's No Right Way to Spell This Word
New York Post
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Dec 20, 2008 1:28 PM CST
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There's definitely an “H,” an “N” and a “K” in there, but beyond that, spellings of the upcoming Jewish holiday differ significantly. Conservative rabbis tell the New York Post not to worry, though, because all English spellings all wrong. The correct one is in Hebrew. English spellings have "solely to do...
