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Newser Story Index from March, 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.

Israel Peace Not Imminent: McCain
Reuters | Mar 19, 2008 4:33 PM CDT
(Newser) - John McCain's tour of the Middle East continued today in Sderot, an Israeli town hit frequently by rockets from the Gaza Strip, Reuters reports. The Republican presidential candidate said he doubts peace between Israel and the Palestinians will be reached this year, and added that he supports Israel's rights to retaliate for the strikes.
Speech on Race Won Hearts and Minds, if Not Votes
Washington Post | Mar 19, 2008 4:22 PM CDT
(Newser) - The day after Barack Obama tackled the race issue head-on, journalists are weighing its lasting effects:  Eugene Robinson credits Obama with reframing the dialogue on race, moving it beyond "the sour stasis of grievance and countergrievance.” Its most significant aspect: laying out the reasons some in both races feel alienated...
Oregon's Having a Grape Year
Associated Press | Mar 19, 2008 4:07 PM CDT
(Newser) - Thanks to good weather and rising demand, Oregon crushed a record number of grapes in 2007—good news for its 370 wineries. And despite selling 1.7 million cases worth $208 million last year, the state hasn't quenched thirst for its wine, the AP reports. "Fussy superstar" pinot noir has maintained its post- Sideways popularity, and...
In Spain, Parents Divorce to Get Kids Into Top Schools
Guardian (UK) | Mar 19, 2008 3:56 PM CDT
(Newser) - Spanish couples will do anything to get their kids into top schools—including break up, the Guardian reports. Thanks to a point-based admissions system that favors children of single parents, Spain has seen a staggering spike in divorces, suspiciously filed just ahead of the upcoming application deadline. Judges think many are “fake”...
Dow Slides 293 Points
Wall Street Journal | Mar 19, 2008 3:44 PM CDT
(Newser) - Stocks slid fast today as commodity prices plunged. Investors rebalanced their portfolios after pumping cash into commodities such as gold and oil for insurance against seesawing stocks, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Dow ended down 293 points to 12,099.66, the Nasdaq 58.3 to 2,209.96, and the S&P 32.2 to 1,298.54.
German Press Criticizes Merkel's Palestinian Snub
Der Spiegel | Mar 19, 2008 3:39 PM CDT
(Newser) - The German press is praising Chancellor Angela Merkel’s historic visit to Israel and her diplomatic handling of the two countries' shared history, Der Spiegel reports. But Merkel has also been chastised by commentators who feel her focus on German-Israeli unity in remarks yesterday to Israel's parliament gives the impression of a German bias...
PETA Goes After NYC Carriages
New York | Mar 19, 2008 3:33 PM CDT
(Newser) - Animal-rights activists have long been champing at the bit to ban horse-drawn carriages in New York City, and a PETA publicity strongman is in town to do just that, New York magazine reports. Though Michael Bloomberg and others in City Hall support the trade, PETA's Dan Mathews—legendary for his anti-fur tactics—has been crusading...
The Software That Ruined Eliot Spitzer
MIT Technology Review | Mar 19, 2008 3:20 PM CDT
(Newser) - The banks were watching Eliot Spitzer—and they’re watching all of us, too. These days, all large banks and most small ones are equipped with anti-money laundering software, Technology Review explains, which tracks even the most mundane transactions of every customer. Moves that don’t conform to a pattern—like Spitzer’s...
Ledger Family Feuds Over Estate
People | Mar 19, 2008 3:06 PM CDT
(Newser) - Heath Ledger's estate has sparked a family squabble, with his uncles claiming the late actor's father is unfit to handle his his assets and make sure his daughter Matilda is cared for. The uncles say Kim Ledger bungled their grandfather's estate so badly that he had to be removed as executor, People reports. "It plunged into enormous debt,"...
Freddie, Fannie Rules Eased to Boost Housing Market
Wall Street Journal | Mar 19, 2008 2:53 PM CDT
(Newser) - Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will be able to buy more mortgages after the amount of capital they're required to hold as a cushion was cut from 30% to 20% today, the Wall Street Journal reports. The move by the Bush administration should pump up to $200 billion of liquidity into the mortgage-backed securities market. 
Starbucks Rolls Out Customer-Focused Changes
Wall Street Journal | Mar 19, 2008 2:46 PM CDT
(Newser) - A customer-loyalty card, a new website and upgraded brewing machines highlighted changes in store at Starbucks, the Wall Street Journal reports, with CEO Howard Schultz using today's annual meeting to re-focus the firm on quality of customer experience. The card will offer rewards for regulars at the coffee giant, which aims for a social-networking...
Berlin Zoo Accused of Selling Animals for Slaughter
Der Spiegel | Mar 19, 2008 2:38 PM CDT
(Newser) - A German politician has filed a criminal complaint against the director of the Berlin Zoo, accusing him of selling animals for slaughter, Der Spiegel reports. The complaint cites examples of a hippopotamus and a family of bears allegedly sold in Belgium. Bernhard Blaszkiewitz vehemently denied the accusations, which he described as a blend of “misunderstandings...
Red Sox Boycott Resolved Bloodlessly
Associated Press | Mar 19, 2008 2:25 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Boston Red Sox are headed to Japan as planned after Major League Baseball gave in to players' demands that team coaches be paid for the trip, the Boston Globe reports. Players threatened not to board this afternoon's flight to Tokyo for season-opening games Tuesday and Wednesday against Oakland; "everyone connected with the trip will be...
No Progress on Missile Deal After Rice's Russia Visit
Financial Times (UK) | Mar 19, 2008 2:09 PM CDT
(Newser) - Moscow talks between top US diplomats and their Russian counterparts haven't edged the two sides any closer to deals on a proposed US missile shield in Eastern Europe and a nuclear-arms reduction treaty, the Financial Times reports. Condoleezza Rice heads home empty-handed, but US-Russia relations at least seem to have thawed a touch after hitting...
Retailers Expressing Gratitude
Portfolio | Mar 19, 2008 1:58 PM CDT
(Newser) - Today's slow economy has sparked more retailers to thank shoppers with bouquets and personal notes, Portfolio reports. Common for big spenders, such thank-yous are now mailed to regular shoppers too—like one reporter who bought two shirts and a jacket at Nordstrom. "Our salespeople build relationships with their customers by calling them...
Feds ID Extra Drug in Baxter's Recalled Heparin
Wall Street Journal | Mar 19, 2008 1:44 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Food and Drug Administration has identified the extra ingredient found in samples of Baxter’s blood-thinning drug heparin, the Wall Street Journal reports today. Some batches of the drug—recalled in January after reports of allergic reactions—contained over-sulfated chondroitin sulfate, but it is not certain that was the cause...
Boarding Passes Are So Last Year
New York Times | Mar 19, 2008 1:38 PM CDT
(Newser) - Airlines are working on transitioning their electronic check-in systems to allow passengers to use their cell phones as boarding passes. Continenal is the first to test the system, in which a scannable bar code is displayed on the phone's screen, and the passenger never has to deal with a paper boarding pass. “We definitely see this as the wave...
Americans Blame War for Economic Woes: Poll
CNN | Mar 19, 2008 1:31 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Iraq war and the current economic crisis aren’t unrelated issues in the minds of most Americans, a CNN poll finds. 71% said the war, which began five years ago today, helped cause the economic storm. Just 32% support the mission, with 61% saying the new president should withdraw most troops “within a few months of taking office.”
After Beacon 'Screw Up' Facebook Ups Privacy
PC World | Mar 19, 2008 1:18 PM CDT
(Newser) - Facebook is launching a series of new privacy features today, allowing users to better pinpoint who can see which parts of their information, PC World reports. Privacy has been a watchword at Facebook ever since the PR disaster that was the Beacon advertising platform, which tracked users online. “With Beacon, we just screwed it up,”...
GOP Sees Pastor as Route to Nov. Win
Politico | Mar 19, 2008 1:07 PM CDT
(Newser) - After scrounging for ways to combat Barack Obama's appeal, Republican strategists now believe Rev. Jeremiah Wright is the perfect play to drag the Democrat through the mud in the general election. Said one of the inflammatory Wright clips making the rounds, “You start getting some sense of who he is and it’s not the Obama you thought—he’s...
Clinton Camp Blames Obama for Blocking Mich. Re-Vote
Detroit News | Mar 19, 2008 1:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - As a re-vote for Michigan Democrats looks less likely, Hillary Clinton put blame squarely at her rival’s feet, with one spokesman calling Barack Obama's approach “a passive-aggressive effort … to disenfranchise the voters.” Meanwhile, Obama's campaign for the first time expressed opposition to do-over legislation, the Detroit...
USPS Defends Its 'Life Blood:' Junk Mail
Washington Post | Mar 19, 2008 12:32 PM CDT
(Newser) - The US Postal Service, dependent upon junk mail, appears to be successfully fighting efforts to staunch its flow, the Washington Post reports. Though 18 states have introduced do-not-mail bills, none has passed, thanks in part to resistance from postmasters nationwide. "The post office and the business groups are pretty well-organized,"...
25 Ways to Save in Europe
MSNBC | Mar 19, 2008 12:16 PM CDT
(Newser) - Worried that exchanging your dollars into pounds will leave you with pennies? MSNBC outlines 25 ways to stretch your money in Europe. Find no-cost entertainment, like free days at museums or public concerts. Use a credit card or get cash from an ATM for the best exchange rates and lower fees. Haggle, especially at outdoor markets...
Security Boss Suspected by Bhutto Will Quit
Reuters | Mar 19, 2008 12:05 PM CDT
(Newser) - A Pakistani intelligence chief whom slain leader Benazir Bhuttto suspected to be plotting against her is leaving his post with Bhutto's party poised to take power Monday, Reuters reports. Bhutto identified Ijaz Shah as one of four people who should be investigated if she were to be killed; many Pakistanis suspect the country's spy agencies were behind...
Lauder Gives Whitney Museum $131M
New York Times | Mar 19, 2008 11:52 AM CDT
(Newser) - New York's Whitney Museum announced yesterday that its chairman, the cosmetics executive Leonard Lauder, would donate $131 million to boost the institution's endowment. The gift is a transformational sum for the museum, which is devoted to American modern art, and one of the largest donations ever made to a museum endowment. But Lauder's gift has a...
Crisis Is More of Confidence Than Credit
New York Times | Mar 19, 2008 11:39 AM CDT
(Newser) - The credit crisis that’s roiled financial markets has its genesis in the housing boom that began in 1998, David Leonhardt writes in the New York Times . The boom led lenders to create new financing options—including subprime loans—as investors saw potential for huge returns. Low interest rates encouraged investors, and homeowners,...
Late-Night Charges Keep Hybrids Greener
Treehugger | Mar 19, 2008 11:29 AM CDT
(Newser) - Nighttime is the right time to plug in a hybrid, Michael Graham Richard writes in TreeHugger. If recharged after 10pm, the green cars exert less drain on power grids and may not require new power plants—meaning gas-guzzlers could be replaced without any extra pollution. But researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory say that if all hybrid drivers...
Gene Linked to Stress Disorder
Time | Mar 19, 2008 11:16 AM CDT
(Newser) - A gene that may influence an individual's susceptibility to post-traumatic stress disorder has been identified by psychologists at Emory University, Time reports. A study of low-income African-American adults in the Atlanta area, 80% of whom had experienced trauma, found that certain versions of a gene were linked to higher PTSD rates in those who...
Iraqi Death Toll Uncountable
Guardian (UK) | Mar 19, 2008 10:49 AM CDT
(Newser) - "We don't do body counts," an American general notoriously said not long after the US-led invasion of Iraq. Five years later, there is no credible count of civilian deaths in the Iraq war, the Guardian reports in a look at the wildly different estimates that have been promoted—ranging from under 100,000 to well over a million—and...
Extra Room at the Inn as Hotel Biz Slows Down
Wall Street Journal | Mar 19, 2008 10:34 AM CDT
(Newser) - The hotel business is heading for a downturn just as thousands of new rooms are about to open, the Wall Street Journal reports. One expert sees a .9% fall in demand for hotel rooms this year as the slowing economy keeps travelers at home—the first significant slump since 9/11.  At the same time, as many as 260,000 new hotel rooms are slated...
Fed Cut Raises Inflation Fears
Washington Post | Mar 19, 2008 10:27 AM CDT
(Newser) - The Federal Reserve's latest rate cut might boost the economy with cheaper credit, but economists worry a freed inflation genie could be behind any magic, the Washington Post reports. Commodity prices rose to record levels in expectation that the rate cut would keep demand high, and the price hikes are liable to soon filter down to the checkout line.
Maddy Parents Win Apology— and $1.1M
Times (UK) | Mar 19, 2008 10:16 AM CDT
(Newser) - Two downmarket British tabloids ran front-page apologies to the parents of Madeleine McCann today. The Daily Express and the Daily Star apologized for carrying articles that suggested that Kate and Gerry McCann killed their missing daughter in Portugal last year. The company that owns the two newspapers also paid the McCanns $1.1 million in damages,...
Former Child Pilot Commits Suicide
Associated Press | Mar 19, 2008 10:06 AM CDT
(Newser) - Vicki Van Meter, the girl who at age 11 astounded the nation with a 5-hour cross-country flight, is dead at 26, the AP reports, of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound. Van Meter’s trans-continental flight was a record at the time, and a year later she became the youngest pilot to fly across the Atlantic. “We all thought she was coping,”...
Apple May Offer Unlimited Tunes in iPods, iPhones
Financial Times (UK) | Mar 19, 2008 10:00 AM CDT
(Newser) - Apple is considering bundling unlimited access to the iTunes library with its next generation of iPods and iPhones, reports the Financial Times. In a similar move launched in December, Nokia will pay music industry partners almost $80 per handset for “comes with music” phones. Apple has offered just $20 to labels included in its library....
Bush: 'Noble' Iraq War Must Go On
CNN | Mar 19, 2008 9:40 AM CDT
(Newser) - President Bush argued for continuing the Iraq war today on the fifth anniversary of its start, saying the "battle in Iraq is noble, it is necessary, and it is just." Outlining the horrors of Sadam’s regime, Bush thundered, “Because we acted, the world is better,” and called the initial campaign a “remarkable display...
Information Age an Uneasy Time in Baghdad
Los Angeles Times | Mar 19, 2008 9:18 AM CDT
(Newser) - The electronics business is booming in Baghdad five years after the US-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein's regime, the LA Times reports. Repressive controls on foreign TV and Internet access are gone and shoppers are free to buy DVDs of the latest Hollywood movies—but too often, they are investing in home entertainment because they are afraid...
Gorbachev Admits He's Christian
Telegraph (UK) | Mar 19, 2008 9:00 AM CDT
(Newser) - Nearly 20 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union's atheist empire, Mikhail Gorbachev has admitted he is a Christian, reports the Daily Telegraph . On a visit to Italy the last president of the Communist state prayed at the tomb of St. Francis of Assisi, and later told priests the saint had played a fundamental role in his life. "St. Francis...
Interest Soars Sky-High in Visa's $18B IPO
San Francisco Chronicle | Mar 19, 2008 8:43 AM CDT
(Newser) - Visa pulled in almost $18 billion in its initial public offering yesterday, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The credit card company's IPO was the biggest by far in US history and the second biggest ever. The $44-per-share price investors paid was $2 higher than the company's highest estimate, and the price is expected to rise steeply when the...
Clinton to Release First Lady Schedules
Associated Press | Mar 19, 2008 8:33 AM CDT
(Newser) - The public can finally get a look at Hillary Clinton’s record as first lady—all 11,046 pages of it. The National Archives will release all of Clinton's daily schedules, it announced yesterday, responding to a Freedom of Information Act request made almost a year ago. The documents detail Clinton’s comings and goings, including meetings,...
FCC Airwaves Auction Sets Record
Wall Street Journal | Mar 19, 2008 8:26 AM CDT
(Newser) - The FCC earned a record $19.6 billion auctioning soon-to-be-available airwaves to wireless network providers, the Wall Street Journal reports after months of bidding closed yesterday. While the auction exceeded the $15 billion the agency expected, it could have earned still more if it hadn’t placed restrictions on certain blocks of frequencies,...
NCAA Officiating: Is It a Slump?
ESPN | Mar 19, 2008 8:16 AM CDT
(Newser) - The officiating in college basketball has been one of the hot topics all year across the nation. From a dubious foul call 80 feet from the basket with 0.1 seconds left to give Georgetown the win over Villanova to the no-call on UCLA’s possibly-over-the-backboard shot, the nation’s referees have drawn the ire of many fans and commentators,...
Call Girl Was a 'Girl Gone Wild'
Los Angeles Times | Mar 19, 2008 8:07 AM CDT
(Newser) - The call girl who ended Eliot Spitzer's career started hers on a nude Girls Gone Wild video during a wild Spring Break weekend in 2003, reports the LA Times. Ashley Alexandra Dupré was celebrating her 18th birthday in Miami when she stumbled across the Girls Gone Wild production bus, and made seven videos over several days.
Morgan Stanley Beats Estimates With 42% Q1 Drop
Bloomberg | Mar 19, 2008 7:53 AM CDT
(Newser) - A day after posting its biggest gain on Wall Street in more than a decade—shares rose 18% to $42.86—securities firm Morgan Stanley today reported a second straight quarterly loss, as first quarter earnings fell 42% to $1.55 billion, from $2.67 billion a year ago, reports Bloomberg. But Morgan joined Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers in...
Report Rips Zoo in Tiger Attack
San Francisco Chronicle | Mar 19, 2008 7:37 AM CDT
(Newser) - When a 243-pound tiger escaped its pen and began mauling Christmas Day visitors, the San Francisco Zoo was painfully understaffed and ill-equipped to respond to the emergency, according to a new report. "The zoo is too often chasing problems," concluded the independent Association of Zoos and Aquariums of the attack, in which a 17-year-old...
Angry Shareholders Want More for Bear Stearns
Wall Street Journal | Mar 19, 2008 7:19 AM CDT
(Newser) - Bear Stearns shareholders are threatening to vote against its sale to JPMorgan, saying the $2 price per share for the nation’s fifth largest investment bank is unrealistic; speculators seem to agree, trading up Bear stock to $5.91 yesterday, a 23% bump. Expect some serious brinkmanship to force a higher offer or lure another bid, reports the...
Bush Sees Success as Iraq War Turns 5
CNN | Mar 19, 2008 7:00 AM CDT
(Newser) - On the fifth anniversary of launching the shock-and-awe assault that toppled Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq, President Bush will make a major speech at the Pentagon today, CNN reports. In excerpts from the speech he acknowledges that "the fight in Iraq was faltering," but praises the progress in the last year. "The surge has done more...
Congress Will Nix Airbus Deal, Boeing Says
Reuters | Mar 19, 2008 6:44 AM CDT
(Newser) - Boeing isn't taking its loss of a $35 billion military contract to Northrop Grumman and Airbus lying down, Reuters reports. A company vice president said he was "as confident as he could be" that Congress would overturn the Air Force's decision to buy refueling tankers from Boeing's European rival. The firm charges that the Air Force broke...
New Real Name for Hannah Montana
E! Online | Mar 19, 2008 6:19 AM CDT
(Newser) - Two names is enough for Miley Ray Cyrus, also known as Hannah Montana, E! Online reports. The teen superstar has filed to have her name legally changed from Destiny Hope Cyrus to Miley Ray Cyrus—the name her legions of fans know her by and the name her family has called her since she was a baby. 
Economy in 'Sharp Decline,' Paulson Admits
Reuters | Mar 19, 2008 5:46 AM CDT
(Newser) - Hank Paulson came closer than ever to conceding that the economy is in recession in a series of interviews yesterday, Reuters reports. Weary after a weekend in which he helped to broker Bear Stearns' fire sale to JPMorgan, the treasury secretary avoided the R-word but admitted: "There's no doubt that the American people know that the economy has...
Slumping Kings the Latest Chum for Sharks on Road Streak
Los Angeles Times | Mar 19, 2008 5:38 AM CDT
(Newser) - The Sharks didn't have much trouble against the NHL's worst team yesterday, cruising to a 2-1 victory over the Kings with backup goalie Brian Boucher in the net. San Jose stretched its road win streak to a league-best nine games, and has only lost one of its last 13, reports the Los Angeles Times . Meanwhile, in Edmonton:
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