Newser Story Index from February, 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.
States Push to Restrain Insurers
USA Today
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Feb 21, 2008 5:10 PM CST
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As more Americans buy individual health insurance, states are acting to make sure insurers don’t cancel the plans without fair cause, USA Today reports. Plans can be canceled if applicants misreport their medical history, whether accidentally or on purpose. But amid complaints that companies are cutting the plans unjustly, legislators across...
Senators OK After Emergency Afghan Landing
Associated Press
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Feb 21, 2008 4:54 PM CST
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Helicopters transporting three US senators over mountains in Afghanistan were forced to make an emergency landing today due to a snowstorm, the Associated Press reports. US troops sent ground transportation for Democrats John Kerry and Joseph Biden and Republican Chuck Hagel, none of whom was injured, and returned them to Bagram Air Base. Their diplomatic...
McCain Critics Say Denials Bend Truth
Talking Points Memo
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Feb 21, 2008 4:40 PM CST
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John McCain's camp insists he did not act inappropriately on behalf of lobbyist Vicki Iseman's clients, but Talking Points Memo bloggers beg to differ. They point to newspaper articles from 2000 that said McCain—then chair of the Senate Commerce Committee—wrote a letter to the FCC on behalf of Paxson Communications, and that the FCC chief...
Pakistan Opposition Leaders Form Ruling Coalition
BBC
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Feb 21, 2008 4:25 PM CST
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Pakistan’s two major opposition leaders agreed today to one “common agenda” and will form a coalition government, the BBC reports. Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Asif Zardari—widower of Benazir Bhutto and now head of the Pakistan People's Party—called for the immediate reinstatement of Pakistan’s chief justice,...
St. Patty's, Holy Week Collide
Boston Globe
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Feb 21, 2008 4:14 PM CST
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This year’s calendar sees St. Patrick’s Day (March 17) falling during the week preceding Easter, which has caused most organizers to move parades forward to avoid forcing Irish Catholics to choose between heritage and the church's Holy Week, the Boston Globe reports. South Boston planners, however, refused to reschedule the parade, which...
Private Photos Find Way to Online Viewers
Washington Post
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Feb 21, 2008 4:00 PM CST
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The privacy settings on online photo-sharing sites aren’t always foolproof, as one Washington mother discovered. After posting pictures of her kids skinny-dipping on Flickr and marking them “private,” she found recently that they had been viewed thousands of times, the Washington Post reports. "Are creepy people searching through...
Stocks Bearish on Factory Data
MarketWatch
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Feb 21, 2008 3:45 PM CST
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Energy and industrial shares led the markets on a decline that saw all the major indexes fall more than 1%, MarketWatch reports. A drop in oil prices hurt energy stocks, and the Philadelphia Federal Reserve said regional manufacturing had contracted. The Dow fell 142.96 points to 12,284.30, the Nasdaq 27.32 to 2,299.78, and the S&P 500 17.53 to...
Racist Hate Mail Probed at NH Prep School
New York Times
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Feb 21, 2008 3:27 PM CST
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Police, the FBI, and the US Postal Service are investigating hate mail sent to black students at an elite prep school, the New York Times reports. Sources say students at St. Paul's School in New Hampshire received letters containing their photos from the school's directory with the words "bang bang get out of here" beneath. The letters...
Smurftastic Comeback in Works
NPR
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Feb 21, 2008 3:14 PM CST
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At age 50, and after a decade in exile, the Smurfs are planning a comeback, NPR reports, with the original series coming out on DVD and a 3-D movie expected next year. Though today’s kids have more sophisticated options than watching the repair of mushroom houses, “the Smurf village can be a good place to rest," said one marketing...
T-Mobile Launching Net Phone Price War
Wall Street Journal
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Feb 21, 2008 3:00 PM CST
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T-Mobile is giving an extra push to the millions contemplating ditching their landlines. The low-cost wireless carrier is launching a new dirt-cheap VoIP service, which lets T-Mobile customers hook up traditional phones to an Internet router and make unlimited local and long distance calls for $10 a month, the Wall Street Journal reports. Vonage,...
Ubiquitous Peace Sign Turns 50
Victoria Times Colonist
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Feb 21, 2008 2:52 PM CST
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One of the world’s most recognizable symbols turns 50 today, the Victoria Times Colonist reports. The peace sign has become the rallying beacon for social movements from civil rights to anti-war. But textile designer Gerald Holtom designed the emblem to trumpet the fight for nuclear disarmament in England; it crossed the Atlantic thanks to...
Lax Players Sue Duke Over Rape Case
Associated Press
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Feb 21, 2008 2:41 PM CST
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Thirty-eight former Duke lacrosse players are firing back at the North Carolina school and the city of Durham, suing for emotional distress resulting from the later-dropped rape case against three teammates, the AP reports. Players say the school ignored or suppressed evidence in their favor and let them face consequences of a crime they didn’t...
Utah's Well-Armed Students
CNN
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Feb 21, 2008 2:29 PM CST
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While many states have responded to recent college shootings by debating whether firearms should be allowed on campus, Utah is the only one with such a law on the books—and students at its public universities are taking advantage, CNN reports. Predictably, while some students say they feel safer with their guns on hand, others say it makes classrooms...
CIA: Rendition Flights Landed in UK Territory
BBC
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Feb 21, 2008 2:17 PM CST
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Two US flights carrying terror suspects for interrogation abroad—a practice known as extraordinary rendition—landed on British territory in 2002, confirmed CIA Director Michael Hayden today. Though the UK previously denied such landings, Foreign Secretary David Miliband admitted planes refueled on the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia,...
How US Tried to Whack Castro
CNN
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Feb 21, 2008 2:09 PM CST
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Despite several assassination attempts against Fidel Castro, the Cuban president stepped down Tuesday on his own terms. The CIA came up with at least eight sometimes-kooky ways to oust the leader, CNN reports, most of which were not carried out: Chemical attack on the air of his radio station. Cigars treated to cause disorientation or...
Nine Dead, 10 Missing in Amazon Boat Wreck
Associated Press
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Feb 21, 2008 1:59 PM CST
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Nine people died, and 10 more are missing and feared dead after a ferry in Brazil sank this morning after colliding with a barge on the Amazon River, the AP reports. Authorities, who rescued 92 passengers near the town of Itacoatiara, say "visibility was very poor" at the time of the accident due to the lunar eclipse.
Africans Have Most Diverse DNA
Reuters
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Feb 21, 2008 1:47 PM CST
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A pair of wide-ranging genetic studies, published yesterday in the journal Nature , back up the idea that humanity first evolved in Africa before migrating elsewhere, Reuters reports. DNA testing of African Americans and European Americans found that people with African roots had much more genetic diversity. Other tests discovered that DNA diversity...
McCain Story Spurred Turmoil at Times
New Republic
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Feb 21, 2008 1:40 PM CST
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Today’s New York Times bombshell alleging improper ties between John McCain and a lobbyist dropped only after three months of feuding between reporters who thought they’d “nailed” a story and the Gray Lady’s unsatisfied editor, the New Republic reports. One writer quit the paper over the holdup; another staffer begged...
Obama Wins Delegates Abroad
Associated Press
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Feb 21, 2008 1:28 PM CST
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Barack Obama has won the primary organized by Democrats Abroad, a global organization controlling seven official delegates in the national convention, the AP reports today. Obama won more than 65% of the 20,000 US expatriates who voted from more than 164 countries. It is Obama’s 11th consecutive primary victory over Hillary Clinton, who has not...
Huck's Wife Defends Jaunt to Vegas for Fight, Hooters
San Francisco Chronicle
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Feb 21, 2008 1:21 PM CST
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Janet Huckabee put on her least social conservative-friendly face last weekend, going to Las Vegas for a middleweight prizefight—and staying at the Hooters Casino Hotel. The spouse of GOP candidate Mike has fine excuses—boxer Jermain Taylor is an Arkansas favorite; the risqué lodging was an eleventh-hour booking—but the San...
Zimbabwe's Inflation Rate Hits 100,000%
Telegraph (UK)
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Feb 21, 2008 12:53 PM CST
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Zimbabwe's inflation rate is running at 100,000%, according to the government's statistics office—but that's not the worst news. Insane as that number may sound, it's probably an underestimation, writes the Telegraph . In Harare, where shelves are bare and money is being printed at breakneck speed, a single cigarette now costs Z$500,000.
$100 Oil Fuels Recession Fears
Christian Science Monitor
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Feb 21, 2008 12:47 PM CST
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Oil prices have jumped 16% in two weeks, and analysts tell the Christian Science Monitor the run-up couldn't come at a worse time. As the US economy flirts with recession, beleaguered consumers could end up spending their economic stimulus checks to cover even higher gas prices. The $101.32 per barrel oil gushed to yesterday is attributed to cuts...
Feds Taking Closer Look at McCain Loan
Talking Points Memo
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Feb 21, 2008 12:32 PM CST
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Today just isn’t John McCain’s day. The Federal Elections Commission says it may not allow the presumptive Republican nominee to drop out of the federal matching funds program, because he used it as collateral for a $4 million loan he took out to fund his cash-strapped primary campaign in December. If the FEC doesn't allow him to opt out,...
Google Tests Web Med Records
Wall Street Journal
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Feb 21, 2008 12:24 PM CST
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In a test of a long-anticipated medical-records program, Google will offer up to 10,000 patients at the Cleveland Clinic the chance to create an online medical profile, making it easier for them to share information with doctors or pharmacies, the Wall Street Journal reports today. In the pilot program, patients will be able to access data in the...
Porn-Thieving Geek Squad Needs Spanking
San Francisco Chronicle
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Feb 21, 2008 12:06 PM CST
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No matter where you stand on pornography, Violet Blue writes in the San Francisco Chronicle , the theft of it from computers brought in for repair by Best Buy's Geek Squad is an appalling privacy violation—and the company's response isn't much better. After king Geek Robert Stephens brushed off a blog's investigation, Blue says he's overdue...
Al-Sadr to Extend Ceasefire
Reuters
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Feb 21, 2008 11:57 AM CST
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Cleric Muqtada al-Sadr will prolong by six months the ceasefire that has reduced violence across Iraq, officials tell Reuters. Sadr today sent a sealed sermon to mosques across Iraq to be read during midday prayers tomorrow. Exact details won’t be known until those envelopes are unsealed, but “the general idea is that there will be an extension,”...
Will McCain Bombshell Help or Hurt With the Right?
New Republic
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Feb 21, 2008 11:41 AM CST
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Now that the New York Times ’ long-awaited story on John McCain’s relationship with a female lobbyist is finally out—matched by a similar Washington Post story—how will it affect the presidential race? The New Republic ’s Christopher Orr says the article may cut both ways for conservatives, with some seeing...
Sonic Youth's Album Art for Sale
Independent (UK)
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Feb 21, 2008 11:25 AM CST
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Music fans for whom Sonic Youth's Daydream Nation is an all-time classic will get a chance next week to bid on the painting that served as album-cover art, the Independent reports. Kerze (Candle) , a 1983 work by German Gerhard Richter, is one in a series of still lifes based on photographs, and could fetch more than $5 million at auction Wednesday.
LA Police Arrest 4 in Paparazzi Crackdown
Los Angeles Times
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Feb 21, 2008 11:04 AM CST
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Even Britney Spears’ paparazzi can’t stay out of trouble, the Los Angeles Times reports. Late Tuesday and early yesterday, Los Angeles police arrested four shutterbugs for blocking sidewalks in their hunt for tabloid-worthy shots—part of a crackdown, using existing loitering and traffic laws, on increasingly aggressive photographers....
Golf Finds Itself in the Rough
New York Times
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Feb 21, 2008 10:47 AM CST
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The number of American golfers is dropping—and those who do play aren't playing as much as they used to. Busy people aren't as willing to spend four hours on 18 holes, and the rise of electronic games has hurt outdoor activities. Golf professionals are trying to think up innovative ways to tame the hazards, the New York Times reports.
Musharraf Pushes Swiss to Prosecute Foe
Guardian (UK)
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Feb 21, 2008 10:37 AM CST
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As the battle to control Pakistan heats up, President Pervez Musharraf's lawyers have asked the Swiss government to prosecute Asif Ali Zardari over decade-old corruption charges. Zardari, the widower of Benazir Bhutto and leader of the victorious Pakistan People's Party, is charged with hiding $55 million in kickbacks in a Swiss bank account. Bhutto...
How to Be Middle-Class Rich
Forbes
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Feb 21, 2008 10:26 AM CST
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Middle-class millionaires are carving out a luxe lifestyle to define their 16.5-million strong group, Forbes reports. And while the $1 million to $10 million stashed in the bank doesn’t make them all that rich, that doesn't put much of a dent in lavish spending habits: Mega-home improvements, to the tune of $150,000 yoga rooms. ...
Board Games Set for Turn on Big Screen
E! Online
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Feb 21, 2008 10:07 AM CST
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Paramount has the rights to any Transformers sequels, but a new deal with toymaker Hasbro guarantees Universal Pictures sole access to nearly all the company's iconic brands, including board games. The studio is said to be developing a Monopoly film, and a new live-action version of the game Clue may also be in the works, E! Online reports.
SocGen Posts Record $4.9B Q4 Loss
Bloomberg
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Feb 21, 2008 9:54 AM CST
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Societe Generale's annual profits plummeted a whopping 82% after a record $4.9 billion fourth quarter loss fueled by subprime woes and the actions of rogue trader Jerome Kerviel, reports Bloomberg. France’s second-largest bank today said net income was 947 million euros, compared to 5.22 billion euros in 2006. SocGen warned further losses could...
Kenya Agrees to Create PM Post
Reuters
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Feb 21, 2008 9:43 AM CST
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Kenya’s government agreed today to create a prime minister position for opposition leader Raila Odinga—the narrow loser in a disputed election for president in December—in an effort to prevent a new round of violence from tearing the African nation apart. The details are still being hashed out, but a government negotiator promised...
New Sexual Assault Charge Shocks Okinawa
Reuters
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Feb 21, 2008 9:31 AM CST
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The American military is investigating a second allegation of sexual assault against a woman on the Japanese island of Okinawa. Reuters reports that a soldier has been taken into custody, accused of sexual assault against a Filipina living on the island. The new allegation comes only a week after a Marine was arrested on suspicion of raping a 14-year-old...
Balmy, With a Chance of Pythons
USA Today
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Feb 21, 2008 9:16 AM CST
(Newser) -
Burmese pythons could rapidly establish a stranglehold on the southern US due in part to snake-loving global warming, according to a new government report. With climate change and more pet owners releasing unwanted snakes into the wild, the adaptable serpent could soon call home any area from Northern California through the Southwest, deep South and...
Marketing of Energy Drinks Under Scrutiny
Wall Street Journal
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Feb 21, 2008 8:56 AM CST
(Newser) -
Big beer companies are facing state-led investigations into whether they're marketing caffeinated alcohol products to underage drinkers, the Wall Street Journal reports. Anheuser-Busch and Miller Brewing both make such beverages, but insist that "We responsibly market our products to legal drinking-age consumers," a Miller spokesman tells...
Jesse to Hill, Barack: Make Nice
Politico
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Feb 21, 2008 8:36 AM CST
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With an eye on November, Jesse Jackson warned Democrats yesterday to patch up their battle wounds from the ongoing Hillary Clinton-Barack Obama feud or they "could hurt themselves substantially, perhaps irreparably," reports Politico. First on his agenda is making sure that black-Latino tensions are not "exacerbated," he stressed....
McCain Denies Charges of Impropriety with Lobbyist
CNN
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Feb 21, 2008 8:18 AM CST
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A subdued John McCain, flanked by his wife, held a press conference today to deny all charges in a New York Times story alleging improprieties involving a female lobbyist. Saying he is "disappointed" in the Times , and that the story alleging a romantic relationship is "not true," McCain said that he and Vicki Iseman are just...
PETA Bristles at 'Cruel' Aretha
Access Hollywood
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Feb 21, 2008 8:11 AM CST
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The Queen of Soul's fondness for fur means she isn't getting any R-E-S-P-E-C-T from PETA, Access Hollywood reports. Aretha Franklin has topped the animal rights organization's latest worst-dressed list after wearing a fur coat to the Grammys. "Music lovers may think of you as a 'queen,' but to animal lovers, you are a court jester," wrote...
SocGen: Lax Controls Led to $7.2B Fraud
Wall Street Journal
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Feb 21, 2008 7:50 AM CST
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Rogue SocGen trader Jerome Kerviel, whose unauthorized deals led to a $7.2 billion loss for the French bank, continued his trading for more than a year after the first warning flag was raised in the department that was supposed to detect risky trading, reports the Wall Street Journal. Kerviel wrote at least seven bogus emails flagged for anomalies,...
Women's Stroke Rates Triple
Associated Press
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Feb 21, 2008 7:41 AM CST
(Newser) -
Strokes have tripled among middle-aged American women in an alarming development experts attribute to obesity. Despite the increased use of blood pressure and cholesterol medication, 2% of women aged 35 to 54 suffered a stroke between 1999 and 2004. That's a three-fold increase over earlier studies.
McCain Denies Lobbyist Scandal, Attacks Times
ABC News
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Feb 21, 2008 7:26 AM CST
(Newser) -
John McCain’s camp came out swinging at the New York Times last night, calling a “hit and run smear campaign” a report alleging that the senator had been involved in an improper and possibly romantic relationship with lobbyist Vicki Iseman eight years ago. “The New York Times is playing the National Enquirer ,” one...
Police Gas Pakistan Lawyers
Associated Press
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Feb 21, 2008 6:32 AM CST
(Newser) -
Police in Pakistan fired tear gas at a rally of about 100 lawyers in Karachi as the country's deposed chief justice, still under house arrest, roused supporters across the country on a smuggled mobile phone, calling for the incoming government to reinstate him and his colleagues. The justice, whom President Pervez Musharraf sacked during the state...
Probe Looms for US Billions to Pakistan
Washington Post
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Feb 21, 2008 6:12 AM CST
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The electoral defeat of President Pervez Musharraf may prompt Congress to scrutinize the Coalition Support Funds—billions of dollars paid by the US to Pakistan to foot the bill for military action against al-Qaeda near the border with Afghanistan. US officials approve some $80 million a month despite only vague accounting by the Pakistan government...
General Plans New Round of Iraq Troop Cuts
Times (UK)
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Feb 21, 2008 5:45 AM CST
(Newser) -
General David Petraeus is preparing new plans to withdraw American troops from Iraq on top of previously announced reductions. The US commander in Iraq said that after more than 20,000 soldiers are pulled out by July, he will recommend further cutbacks later in the year, he told the Times of London. Pressed to give a number, he said only: "We...
Blackwater Probers Return to Baghdad
Associated Press
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Feb 21, 2008 5:13 AM CST
(Newser) -
Federal authorities investigating the Blackwater shootings that left 17 Iraqi civilians dead will revisit the scene of the massacre this week. Prosecutors from the Justice Department have already arrived in Baghdad, to be joined by inspectors from the FBI. But the inquiry has been hamstrung by the American government's promise of immunity to Blackwater...
Prices Jump for Top Drugs
Wall Street Journal
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Feb 21, 2008 4:45 AM CST
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Drug companies have slapped a series of huge price hikes on some prescription drugs ahead of drug patent expirations, the Wall Street Journal reports. GlaxoSmithKline has raised the price of antidepressant Wellbutrin 44.5%, while Sanofi-Aventis hiked Ambien's price 70%. Wholesale prices for the top 50 drugs increased an average of nearly 8% last...
Sky's the Limit in Powerful New Searches for Alien Life
Christian Science Monitor
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Feb 21, 2008 4:27 AM CST
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Powerful new instruments will help scientists in their search for extra-terrestrial life, the Christian Science Monitor writes. New telescopes will make it possible for the SETI Institute to scan millions of star systems for alien radio signals. Only a thousand have been analyzed in detail so far, but the institute hopes to get more new data in the...
