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.
They Used to Laugh and Call Her Names
Associated Press
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Dec 19, 2008 1:07 PM CST
(Newser) -
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer very likely is a girl, or so say wildlife experts who’ve turned their attention to Santa’s lead sleigh-puller. Male reindeer typically shed their horns before Christmas, so popular images of Rudolph’s team with big, branched antlers would mean they might actually be female, reports the AP.
Yes Man ? No, Thanks
Rotten Tomatoes
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Dec 19, 2008 12:55 PM CST
(Newser) -
Yes Man, a Jim Carrey comedy about a guy who can’t say no, is “too sluggish and slapdash a vehicle for its star’s prodigious wackiness,” writes AO Scott in the New York Times . “Carrey looks too grown up, too tired to plunge into the reckless silliness that the story demands, and the story doesn’t really demand...
Detroit's Not the Only Place That Needs 'Restructuring'
Wall Street Journal
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Dec 19, 2008 12:46 PM CST
(Newser) -
Lawmakers want to restructure Detroit’s auto industry—but Congress could use a little makeover, too, writes Philip K. Howard in the Wall Street Journal . He offers a prescription to streamline the government as one would a corporation: Dump “legacy obligations.” Like Detroit, Congress must ditch old promises it can't...
In Preacher Pick, Obama Dismisses Gays
Washington Post
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Dec 19, 2008 12:40 PM CST
(Newser) -
Barack Obama’s choice of Rick Warren to offer his inaugural invocation was a glaring and offensive misstep for a consistently savvy politician, writes prominent gay-rights activist Joe Solmonese in the Washington Post. Warren was a key proponent of Proposition 8, “the biggest loss our community has faced in decades,” Solmonese notes....
Mugabe's Party Feasts While Zimbabwe Starves
Time
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Dec 19, 2008 12:30 PM CST
(Newser) -
The government of Zimbabwe has planned a decadent feast for delegates from the ruling party while starvation and cholera run rampant in the general population, Time reports. Robert Mugabe and 5,000 Zanu-PF delegates will treat themselves to 124 cattle, 81 goats, and 18 pigs across a four-day conference now under way. "This truly is incredible...
Oprah House-Hunting in DC
New York Post
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Dec 19, 2008 12:19 PM CST
(Newser) -
Call it Chicago on the Potomac—Oprah Winfrey and the Obamas may soon be neighbors again. The multimedia titan, an early and enthusiastic supporter of the president-elect’s campaign, is house-hunting in Washington, the New York Post reports. The hot rumor is that she's leaning toward a $50 million Georgetown mansion, though she hasn’t...
Polaroid Files for Bankruptcy a Second Time
Bloomberg
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Dec 19, 2008 12:08 PM CST
(Newser) -
Polaroid is blaming fraud at its parent company for its second bankruptcy filing in 7 years, Bloomberg reports. The instant photography pioneer says it has “ample cash reserves” and doesn’t expect to seek additional financing under Chapter 11 reorganization. But the Petters Group, which acquired the 71-year-old firm in 2005, has unsecured...
Krauthammer: Make Her Run for Office
Washington Post
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Dec 19, 2008 12:02 PM CST
(Newser) -
Don’t worry that Caroline Kennedy doesn’t have enough experience to be a senator; worry that she thinks she’s entitled to it because of her last name, writes Charles Krauthammer in the Washington Post . Given that she hasn’t accomplished a whole lot, what else is Kennedy offering? “I hate to be a good-government scold,...
Madoff Crony Harangued at Tony Fla. Club
New York Post
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Dec 19, 2008 11:52 AM CST
(Newser) -
Bob Jaffe, who recruited many of the marks for Bernard Madoff’s $50 billion fraud operation, got an earful after showing up last weekend at a Palm Beach party brimming with Madoff’s victims, a source tells the New York Post . When one saw Jaffe, “it nearly came to blows and I think people wanted to see a good fight, but they were...
Haggard: I Still Struggle With Sexuality
Associated Press
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Dec 19, 2008 11:45 AM CST
(AP) -
Disgraced evangelical leader Ted Haggard says in a new documentary that he still struggles with his sexuality yet is committed to his marriage for the sake of his children. "The reason I kept my personal struggle a secret is because I feared that my friends would reject me, abandon me, and kick me out, and the church would exile and excommunicate...
More Companies Should Cut Wages, Not Jobs
Wall Street Journal
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Dec 19, 2008 11:37 AM CST
(Newser) -
It was FedEx's turn yesterday to play Scrooge, announcing cutbacks in the face of recession, but the company's strategy—cutting wages for senior execs and other salaried employees, rather than cutting jobs—maybe prove to be the smart alternative, and a harbinger of things to come, Peter Eavis writes in the Wall Street Journal. It's less...
U2 Gets a Line on New Release
E! Online
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Dec 19, 2008 11:27 AM CST
(Newser) -
U2’s hotly anticipated new album is finally on the horizon: No Line on the Horizon is set for release March 3, E! Online reports. The band delayed the release to polish the songs and add two tracks. Although U2 worked with its “usual suspects,” guitarist the Edge says the new release “doesn’t sound like anything we’ve...
Clinton's Gains-Tax Break Pumped Up Housing Bubble
New York Times
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Dec 19, 2008 11:18 AM CST
(Newser) -
A tax break introduced by President Clinton and made law in 1997 helped fuel the housing bubble that eventually led to the current economic crisis, the New York Times reports. The cut, which allowed owners to sell their homes without paying capital-gains taxes on profits up to $500,000, created an incentive to pump money into housing rather than...
Oops! Broken Arm Not Part of Trick
People
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Dec 19, 2008 11:11 AM CST
(Newser) -
David Copperfield fans may feel disillusioned after one of the magician’s tricks went horribly wrong onstage in Las Vegas this week, breaking an assistant’s arm. The employee got his limb stuck in a fan during a routine stunt in which Copperfield “disappears” while passing through the whirling object, People reports; he’s...
Paulson Wants Next $350B, But Bush May Not Ask for It
Wall Street Journal
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Dec 19, 2008 11:00 AM CST
(Newser) -
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson called today for Congress to release the second half of the $700 billion bailout fund, but his plea isn’t being echoed at the White House—which would have to make the formal request, the Wall Street Journal reports. “It’s not necessarily true that this administration, in the remaining 31 days,...
McCready 'Recovering Nicely'
New York Daily News
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Dec 19, 2008 10:57 AM CST
(Newser) -
Country crooner Mindy McCready is in stable condition after attempting suicide, the New York Daily News reports. Roger Clemens' former mistress underwent surgery in Nashville yesterday to fix a tendon in her left arm. "She is recovering nicely," a source said. A "very intoxicated" McCready slit her wrists Wednesday at her...
Mom of Bristol Palin's Beau Faces Drug Charges
Anchorage Daily News
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Dec 19, 2008 10:55 AM CST
(Newser) -
Cops in Wasilla have arrested Sherry Johnston, the soon-to-be grandmother of Bristol Palin's baby, on felony drug charges, the Anchorage Daily News reports. Johnston is the mother of 18-year-old Levi, the boyfriend of Bristol. The two gained the spotlight when it emerged during Sarah Palin's campaign that they were expecting. It's not clear...
Seven Pounds Heavy on Heart, Light on Logic
Metacritic
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Dec 19, 2008 10:43 AM CST
(Newser) -
The less you know about this movie before you see it, the more you'll like it, caution critics weighing the new Will Smith vehicle Seven Pounds . One thing not to expect in the "darker and more oblique" spiritual successor to Smith's Pursuit of Happyness is chuckles, Mick LaSalle writes in the San Francisco Chronicle .
Retired Admiral Will Be Next Spy Chief
Washington Post
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Dec 19, 2008 10:33 AM CST
(Newser) -
Barack Obama will stick with the front-runner and name retired Admiral Dennis Blair to be his go-to guy on spying as director of national intelligence, reports the Washington Post . Blair, the former commander of naval forces in the Pacific, is generally well-regarded. Some in the civilian intelligence community grumbled about a second consecutive...
Tom Sweetens Katie's 30th With Surprise
People
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Dec 19, 2008 10:25 AM CST
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Aw, isn't this sweet: Katie Holmes turned 30 yesterday, and Tom Cruise—who was attending his Valkyrie premiere in LA—sent a towering birthday cake to a Broadway theater in his place, People reports. Holmes, who’s starring in All My Sons , was surprised when the five-tiered pastry was rolled onstage after the show. Daughter...
Eliot Spitzer Among Victims of Madoff
NPR
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Dec 19, 2008 10:15 AM CST
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Eliot Spitzer’s family real estate firm was one of many Jewish businesses fleeced by Bernard Madoff, the disgraced governor confirmed at the recent Slate holiday mixer. Spitzer said he hadn’t met Madoff personally and wasn’t into “the Palm Beach scene.” One journalist joked that Madoff “was worse for the Jews than...
Scarlett's Used Tissue Passes $2K on EBay
New York Daily News
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Dec 19, 2008 10:05 AM CST
(Newser) -
Scarlett Johansson is proving that even Hollywood glamour-pusses can be gross. The actress thinks her flem would make a nice fan memento, so she’s auctioned off a used tissue to raise money for a hunger charity. Bidding on eBay has already topped $2,000, the New York Daily News reports. Johansson alerted the world to the auction on Leno, telling...
Music Industry to Dump Download Lawsuits
Wall Street Journal
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Dec 19, 2008 9:56 AM CST
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After five years of suing everyone from single mothers to teenage girls for illegally sharing music files, the recording industry is dropping the legal campaign that has ensnared 35,000 individuals, the Wall Street Journal reports. Instead, an industry group is making deals with Internet-service providers to warn those sharing music files via email....
Noonan: Don't Panic, We're Still America
Wall Street Journal
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Dec 19, 2008 9:46 AM CST
(Newser) -
From Bernard Madoff to Rod Blagojevich, Americans have lost faith in the people running things. “It’s the age of the empty suit,” one of Peggy Noonan’s friends mused recently. Our institutions have proven impotent and absent, and now “people feel all trends lead downward from here, that the great days of America Rising...
Iraqi Judge: Shoe-Tosser Was Beaten
Associated Press
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Dec 19, 2008 9:38 AM CST
(AP) -
The Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at President Bush was beaten afterward and had bruises on his face and around his eyes, a judge said today. Judge Dhia al-Kinani, the magistrate investigating the incident, said the court has opened an investigation into the treatment of Muntadhar al-Zaidi. "We will write an official letter asking for the...
Wintry Mix Brings Misery to Midwest, Northeast
Associated Press
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Dec 19, 2008 9:15 AM CST
(AP) -
A major winter storm is cutting a broad swath across the Midwest, snarling traffic and cutting power to thousands of households as it heads to the and Northeast. Heavy snow, sleet, and freezing rain should continue through midmorning in Illinois and Indiana. Authorities are pleading with the public to stay home if possible.
Palin Fans, Stop Whining About Caroline
Washington Post
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Dec 19, 2008 9:05 AM CST
(Newser) -
Critics crying foul over the difference in treatment received by Caroline Kennedy and Sarah Palin are ignoring the power gap between the respective jobs sought, Kathleen Parker argues in the Washington Post . Both may have emerged without proper vetting, Parker writes, but Kennedy is seeking to be one of a hundred senators, while Palin could have...
Auto Rescue Lifts Stocks
Wall Street Journal
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Dec 19, 2008 8:53 AM CST
(Newser) -
Stocks started off in the right direction this morning, buoyed by the White House’s rollout of its auto rescue plan. The Dow rose 67 points, while the S&P and Nasdaq added 0.7% and 1.6% respectively, the Wall Street Journal reports. President Bush announced a $17.4 billion loan designed to prevent bankruptcy for GM and Chrysler, removing...
Obama Picks Physicist as Science Adviser
Boston Globe
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Dec 19, 2008 8:48 AM CST
(Newser) -
Barack Obama will appoint Harvard physicist John P. Holdren as science adviser this weekend, pointing to an expanded role for science in the next administration, the Boston Globe reports. Holdren is versed in energy, climate change, and nuclear proliferation. Coming on the heels of Nobel laureate Steven Chu’s nomination as energy secretary,...
Actor Sam Bottoms Dead at 53
Los Angeles Times
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Dec 19, 2008 8:42 AM CST
(Newser) -
Actor Sam Bottoms, who appeared in Apocalypse Now and some 30 other films, died at his LA home this week of brain cancer at age 53, the Los Angeles Times reports. Bottoms began his film career at age 15 in The Last Picture Show and was cast as surfer Lance Johnson, a sailor who travels alongside Martin Sheen in 1979's Apocalypse .
White House Gives Automakers $17.4B Bailout
MSNBC
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Dec 19, 2008 8:32 AM CST
(Newser) -
President Bush rolled out a $17.4 billion emergency loan package for US automakers today, promising $13.4 billion in immediate short-term loans from the remaining TARP funds and an additional $4 billion available in February, MSNBC reports. But the clock is ticking, as the companies must show they are financially viable by the end of March, or they...
All Wall Street a Ponzi Scheme
New York Times
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Dec 19, 2008 8:12 AM CST
(Newser) -
Bernie Madoff’s $50 billion fraud wasn’t all that different from what his Wall Street peers were up to, writes Paul Krugman in the New York Times . Oh sure, “Madoff allegedly skipped a few steps,” stealing the money without bothering to load up on debt, buy dubious high-yield assets, then pay himself a big bonus for his “profit.”...
Swedes Launch Nobel Prize Bribery Probe
Toronto Star (Canada)
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Dec 19, 2008 8:10 AM CST
(Newser) -
Swedish prosecutors are investigating claims of corruption in the awarding of this year's Nobel Prize in medicine, the Toronto Star reports. German scientist Harald zur Hausen won part of the prize for discovering the link between human papilloma viruses and cervical cancer. The discovery could make a fortune for drug firm AstraZeneca, and the European...
Panasonic, Sanyo Merging Into Electronics Dynamo
Associated Press
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Dec 19, 2008 8:02 AM CST
(AP) -
Panasonic has begun a $9 billion takeover of Japanese rival Sanyo, hoping that transforming into one of the world's biggest electronics companies will help it weather the toughest business conditions in a century. Top shareholders, including Goldman Sachs, had been haggling over the price with Panasonic since last month, but settled today on $1.47...
SEC: Ex-Lehman Broker Stole Inside Info From Wife
Associated Press
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Dec 19, 2008 7:54 AM CST
(Newser) -
A former Lehman Brothers broker was charged yesterday in a $4.8 million insider trading scheme built on his PR-exec wife’s knowledge of upcoming mergers, the AP reports. Matthew Devlin passed information to friends and associates (including former Playboy model Maria Checa), and won cash, luxury goods, and tuition for a Porsche driving school...
Dino Dads: Original Mr. Mom
Washington Post
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Dec 19, 2008 7:43 AM CST
(Newser) -
Some of the fearsome birdlike predators of the Cretaceous and Jurassic ages had a softer side as stay-at-home dads, a team of paleontologists says. The researchers analyzed leg bones found on nests of unhatched eggs and concluded that in at least three dinosaur genuses, it was the males who guarded and incubated the eggs, the Washington Post reports....
Bank of Japan Follows Fed, Cuts Rates to Near Zero
Financial Times (UK)
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Dec 19, 2008 7:32 AM CST
(Newser) -
The Bank of Japan cut interest rates from 0.3% to to 0.1%, within the historic zero- to quarter-percent range that the Fed chose earlier this week. Central bankers were responding to a deep recession as well as a soaring yen, which recently hit a 13-year high against the dollar. In its statement, the BoJ said it may cut rates again and will accelerate...
Troubled LA Museum Wins $30M Bailout
Los Angeles Times
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Dec 19, 2008 7:27 AM CST
(Newser) -
LA's troubled Museum of Contemporary Art is moving toward a bailout deal with Eli Broad, reports the Los Angeles Times . The billionaire real estate investor and art collector offered MoCA a $30 million donation contingent on improved performance, which board members favored over a merger with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The move toward...
GM, Chrysler May Win Loan Deal as Soon as Today
Reuters
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Dec 19, 2008 7:16 AM CST
(Newser) -
In a round of talks running into the night, GM and Chrysler made headway in securing emergency loans from the federal government yesterday, Reuters reports; the package, expected as soon as this morning, would demand wholesale restructuring of the automakers, including more concessions from unions and creditors. The talks continued even as the White...
Beer Giant Kills Caffeine, Alcohol Combo
Chicago Tribune
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Dec 19, 2008 6:43 AM CST
(Newser) -
Beer giant MillerCoors has agreed to snuff out its controversial Sparks line of high-alcohol, high-caffeine drinks. Attorneys general in 25 states complained the stimulant dangerously masks intoxication and accused the company of marketing the beverages to teenagers, the Chicago Tribune reports. Anheuser-Busch has already agreed to remove caffeine...
Authorities May Claw Back Madoff 'Profits'
New York Times
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Dec 19, 2008 6:35 AM CST
(Newser) -
While thousands of investors are furious with Bernie Madoff, he did manage to make a few people very rich during the boom years. With handsome if fraudulent returns of 10% to 17%, investors who withdrew even a fraction of their principal may have ended up in the black. But as the New York Times reports, the authorities might now try to claw back...
Star Trek's 'First Lady' Dies
New York Daily News
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Dec 19, 2008 6:32 AM CST
(Newser) -
The 76-year-old widow of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and a character in the science fiction classic, is dead. Majel Barrett-Roddenberry appeared in the pilot for Star Trek as assistant "Number One," and in the series as Nurse Chapel. She also provided the voice of the Enterprise in the original series and The Next Generation ...
Fighter, Wife Dead in Apparent Murder-Suicide
Los Angeles Times
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Dec 19, 2008 5:47 AM CST
(Newser) -
An extreme martial arts fighter known as "the executioner" and his wife have been found dead in their California home in what police are investigating as a murder-suicide, reports the Los Angeles Times . A gun was found next to the body of Justin Levens, 28, who died from a gunshot to his head. His 25-year-old wife was shot in the heart....
Pentagon Warned: Prepare to Shut Gitmo
Voice of America
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Dec 19, 2008 5:03 AM CST
(Newser) -
The Pentagon has been ordered by Defense Secretary Robert Gates to draw up plans to be prepared to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center soon after President-elect Obama takes office, reports the Voice of America. The immediate problem is what to do with prisoners who likely can't be convicted in civilian courts—particularly because evidence...
Women's Rights Activist Beheaded in Iraq
CNN
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Dec 19, 2008 4:38 AM CST
(Newser) -
Armed men yesterday stormed the home of a women's rights activist and Kurdish leader and beheaded her, reports CNN. Nahla Hussain, a 37-year-old married mom of two, was the leader of the women's league of the Kurdish Communist Party. She was alone in her home in the volatile northern town of Kirkuk when the murder occurred.
Mom Gives Birth to Baby No. 18
People
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Dec 19, 2008 4:14 AM CST
(Newser) -
And you thought Angelina Jolie had a lot of kids. An Arkansas mom has just given birth to her 18th. The baby, Jordyn-Grace Makiya, joins a crowd of sibs with names that start with the letter J and star in the TLC series 17 Kids & Counting . The spree began when the Baptist couple, married as teens, ditched their birth control pills. "What...
Oops! Caroline Forgot to Vote
New York Daily News
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Dec 19, 2008 3:48 AM CST
(Newser) -
For someone who hopes to be a US senator, Caroline Kennedy has turned out to be a surprisingly unenthusiastic fan of voting, the New York Daily News has discovered. Kennedy has voted in only about half of 38 elections since moving to the city in 1988, according to records. She skipped a number of primaries to choose a Democratic mayoral candidate...
Watergate's 'Deep Throat' Dead at 95
New York Times
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Dec 19, 2008 3:18 AM CST
(Newser) -
The FBI agent who helped bring down Richard Nixon has died at his California home at the age of 95, the New York Times reports. W. Mark Felt was "Deep Throat"—the anonymous source who supplied crucial leads to Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward about White House abuses of power, setting in motion the Watergate scandal that led...
Dell May Be Set to Float MacBook Air Rival
New York Times
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Dec 19, 2008 2:53 AM CST
(Newser) -
Dell's mystery product Adamo could be a super-slim laptop even lighter than the MacBook Air, but it's proving impossible to get solid information about it, Ashlee Vance writes in the New York Times . The firm has registered the trademark and set up a teaser site, but declines to comment on Adamo. A Dell exec appeared shocked when asked if a lighter-than-Air...
3 Detroit Finalists Up for Car, Truck of Year
Detroit News
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Dec 19, 2008 2:20 AM CST
(Newser) -
Three Detroit-made vehicles are among six finalists for the 2009 North American Car and Truck of the Year awards, the Detroit News reports. The Ford Flex will compete with the Hyundai Genesis and the Volkswagen Jetta TDI for the year's best car, while the redesigned Ford F-150 and Dodge Ram pickups are up against the Mercedes-Benz ML320 BlueTEC SUV...
