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Newser Story Index from April, 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.

Britney Owes Lawyers $400K, Court Rules
People | Apr 17, 2008 10:27 PM CDT
(Newser) - Britney Spears must pay nearly $400,000 to the lawyers who have been handling her affairs for the past three months, People magazine reports. Among the disbursements ordered by an LA court: $175,000 to the firm that won Spears' father control over the pop star's affairs, an arrangement that's in effect until at least July 31.
Smoltz Notches 10 Strikeouts, Braves Shut Out Marlins 8-0
Associated Press | Apr 17, 2008 9:55 PM CDT
(Newser) - With John Smoltz on the mound and Chipper Jones at the plate, their team looked like the Atlanta Braves of old. The Braves began Thursday night's game off to their worst start since 1990, but Smoltz and Jones provided a lift to help beat the Florida Marlins 8-0. Smoltz pitched five shutout innings and struck out 10, increasing his career total to 2,996.
It's Hillary to the Rescue on 'Colbert Report'
Associated Press | Apr 17, 2008 9:47 PM CDT
(Newser) - Hillary Clinton poked a little fun at her own image as a problem-solver tonight on the Colbert Report , the AP reports. While taping, Colbert complained about a litany of tech problems and cried out, "Are you telling me there is no one in this theater who can fix the mess we're in?" In walks Clinton. "I can," she said, making quick...
Padilla 7 Strong, as Rangers Beat Blue Jays 4-1
Associated Press | Apr 17, 2008 9:34 PM CDT
(Newser) - Vicente Padilla pitched seven strong innings, Ian Kinsler had three hits and the Texas Rangers beat Toronto 4-1 tonight, handing the Blue Jays their fifth straight home defeat. Padilla allowed one run and seven hits with three walks and two strikeouts. Rangers outfielder David Murphy went 3-for-4 with three doubles. The last time Toronto dropped five...
Bruins Rout Canadiens 5-1
Associated Press | Apr 17, 2008 9:22 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Boston Bruins worked hard to get a break and Carey Price gave a big one right to them. Glen Metropolit scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period after Price caused a reckless turnover and Boston went on to beat the Canadiens 5-1 tonight to avoid elimination in their first-round series. Tim Thomas stopped 31 shots for the Bruins.
Blake Advances to Clay Court Quarterfinals
Associated Press | Apr 17, 2008 9:20 PM CDT
(Newser) - Top-seeded James Blake beat 15-year-old Ryan Harrison 6-3, 6-2 today to move into the quarterfinals in the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championship. Blake needed just 50 minutes to eliminate the Texas teenager, who earlier this week won his first-ever tour match. Harrison is only the 11th player since the Open Era began in 1968 to win a main-draw match at...
Serena Williams, Sharapova Advance
Associated Press | Apr 17, 2008 9:15 PM CDT
(Newser) - Serena Williams set up a quarterfinal match against Maria Sharapova in the Family Circle Cup, overcoming a sprained ankle and sluggish performance to beat Katarina Srebotnik 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 today. "I just kept making errors and it wasn't pretty out there," the fifth-seeded Williams said after her more than two-hour match. "It wasn't the...
Red Sox Jersey Up for Auction After Failed Curse Attempt
Associated Press | Apr 17, 2008 9:13 PM CDT
(Newser) - Some might call it a curse, others might say it's a goodwill gesture by longtime baseball rivals. The official charity of the Red Sox, the Jimmy Fund, began an eBay auction Thursday for the David Ortiz jersey that was buried under the New York Yankees' new stadium by a Boston fan hoping to create a hex. 
Now 'The Simpsons' Have Ticked Off Argentina
Washington Post | Apr 17, 2008 8:34 PM CDT
(Newser) - "The Simpsons" may be a pop culture staple in South America, but they sure have a knack for stirring up trouble there. A week after Venezuela objected to its content, Argentines are in a huff over anti-Perón comments in a new episode, the Washington Post reports. Says Homer's pal Carl: "When he disappeared you, you stayed disappeared."...
Harry Potter Full of Gibberish, Judge Says
Telegraph (UK) | Apr 17, 2008 7:59 PM CDT
(Newser) - The judge in the Harry Potter copyright case gave the man who compiled The Harry Potter Lexicon a one-up against JK Rowling today when he announced that her books were full of gibberish, the Telegraph reports. He said he tried reading one to his grandkids and found it "extremely complex" and suggested that a guidebook would be handy....
New Notes in Earth's Hum
LiveScience | Apr 17, 2008 7:45 PM CDT
(Newser) - Scientists have discovered a new dimension to the sub-aural sound emanating from our planet’s crust, dubbed “Earth’s hum.” Researchers have known about the hum, detectable only by seismometers, for a decade, though its ultimate cause is unclear. They expected to find hidden oscillations, but the amplitude of the new “ring-like...
Stephanopoulos Sticks Up for Tone of ABC Debate
Talking Points Memo | Apr 17, 2008 7:27 PM CDT
(Newser) - George Stephanopolous has drawn fire for posing too many "gotcha" questions at last night's Democratic presidential debate on ABC, but the pundit is sticking to his guns. Stephanopolous says he didn't focus on electability over policy issues by accident. "It's not only, who will be the best president, but who has the best chance of winning,"...
Is That You, Samantha?
New York Daily News | Apr 17, 2008 6:55 PM CDT
(Newser) - Kim Cattrall had to pull a quick-change to start filming the Sex and the City movie: she’d just come off the set of a PBS film in which she played the buttoned-up wife of Rudyard Kipling, the New York Daily News reports. “It was definitely a challenging transition” says the actress, best known for her portrayal of unfettered cougar...
Griffey's 596th HR Leads Reds Past Cubs 9-2
Associated Press | Apr 17, 2008 6:46 PM CDT
(Newser) - Dusty Baker got a win at Wrigley Field while managing the Cincinnati Reds, thanks to Joey Votto and Ken Griffey Jr. Votto doubled with the bases loaded, homered, drove in five runs and made a nice defensive play and Griffey hit his 596th career homer Thursday as Cincinnati beat the Chicago Cubs 9-2 to end a five-game losing streak.
Fielder's First Home Run Helps Brewers Over Cardinals 5-3
Associated Press | Apr 17, 2008 6:40 PM CDT
(Newser) - Prince Fielder hit his first home run of the season, a two-run drive off Brad Thompson in the 10th inning that gave the Milwaukee Brewers a 5-3 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday. Fielder, who led the NL with 50 homers last year, needed 54 at-bats to connect for the first time this year. He also tied the score with a bloop RBI double...
South Africa Calls for Results in Zimbabwe
Reuters | Apr 17, 2008 6:36 PM CDT
(Newser) - South Africa shifted course today and for the first time called on Zimbabwe to release election results, Reuters reports. A spokesman for the government of Thabo Mbeki—an ally of Robert Mugabe who had previously downplayed the crisis—called the situation "dire." President Bush, meanwhile, criticized African leaders for allowing...
Myers Goes 7 Strong Innings, Pitches Phils Past Houston
Associated Press | Apr 17, 2008 6:33 PM CDT
(Newser) - Brett Myers pitched seven impressive innings, Chris Coste tied a career high with four hits and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Houston Astros 10-2 Thursday. Ryan Howard and Pat Burrell had back-to-back homers for the Phillies, who tied a season-high with 16 hits. Chase Utley added a two-run shot. Carlos Lee and 33-year-old Miguel Tejada hit solo...
House Democrats Again Summon Rove
Politico | Apr 17, 2008 6:15 PM CDT
(Newser) - Four months after its Senate counterpart held Karl Rove in contempt for refusing to testify, the House Judiciary Committee demanded today that the ex-Bush strategist testify about potential political motives for a prosecution. A committee report found “troublesome facts” in the case of a former Alabama governor, saying the probe was closing...
Outside Sect, Life is Tough
CNN | Apr 17, 2008 6:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - Even for those women who escape the forced marriages and controlling patriarchy of polygamous sects like the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints, life isn’t easy. Many turn to drugs and alcohol to escape the mental burden, CNN reports. And some never leave because they’re programmed to think “it's not only physically dangerous...
Rosy Q1 for Google
Bloomberg | Apr 17, 2008 5:45 PM CDT
(Newser) - Google reported a 30% increase in first-quarter profits today, bettering analysts’ predictions and sending share prices up 17%, Bloomberg reports. Forecasters had assumed that growth in domestic advertising clicks would slow, but Google said it “remains healthy;” a 55% increase in international ad sales gave the search giant the bump...
Putin Set to Wed 24-Year-Old Gymnast
Telegraph (UK) | Apr 17, 2008 5:31 PM CDT
(Newser) - Vladimir Putin is said to be preparing to marry a 24-year-old star Russian gymnast, the Telegraph reports. Rumors of the 56-year-old president’s courtship to Alina Kabaeva have been swirling around Moscow for months, but were recently printed by a Russian newspaper that found a St. Petersburg event planner who said he was organizing a wedding...
Civet-Digested Beans Yield $99 Espresso
Guardian (UK) | Apr 17, 2008 5:19 PM CDT
(Newser) - You might look for a $99 espresso shot in a crowded Italian café before the second floor of a London department store. Yet it's the latter where you'll find the cup brewed from two of the world’s rarest coffee beans, one of which is sniffed out and, er, digested by an Indonesian civet, the Guardian reports. But is the java foodie paradise...
Polygamist Hearing Has Chaotic First Day
New York Times | Apr 17, 2008 5:07 PM CDT
(Newser) - Lawyers for the state of Texas told a chaotic, objection-filled hearing today they would press for psychiatric evaluations and genetic testing of all members of a polygamist sect, the New York Times reports. On the first day of a custody hearing to determine the fate of the sect's 416 children, the state said it also plans to relocate the youths...
McCain Expands Fan Club
Associated Press | Apr 17, 2008 4:56 PM CDT
(Newser) - John McCain has been quietly winning back Republicans unhappy with the Bush era—and can even claim the support of many moderate Democrats. A new poll shows 20% of the electorate remains undecided, but McCain is now virtually tied with either Democrat—a far better result than the 13-point lead enjoyed last November by unnamed Democrat over...
Darwin's Papers Now Online
BBC | Apr 17, 2008 4:48 PM CDT
(Newser) - A vast collection of the papers of Charles Darwin is now online, providing public access to volumes once restricted to Cambridge scholars, the BBC reports. 20,000 items are available, including the first draft of his seminal book on evolution, travel notes and personal pieces such as family recipes, Reuters reports. “Darwin changed our understanding...
Benedict Sees Abuse Victims
Boston Globe | Apr 17, 2008 4:34 PM CDT
(Newser) - Pope Benedict XVI met this afternoon with victims of sexual abuse at the hands of Catholic priests, the Boston Globe reports, an unprecedented move by the pontiff. The five are from the Boston area, the center of the scandal that has rocked the church. Though Benedict has already addressed the scandal several times on his US trip, the meeting was...
US Athletes Reject Boycott of Beijing Games
Christian Science Monitor | Apr 17, 2008 4:32 PM CDT
(Newser) - Many US athletes aren’t swayed by winds of boycott surrounding the Beijing Olympics, the Christian Science Monitor reports. “What's going on is important and we should pay attention to it,” says a 2004 gold medalist, but “we need to be athletes first.”  Despite a 1980 boycott of the Moscow Games, "the invasion...
Kid Lit Meets Nip/Tuck
Newsweek | Apr 17, 2008 4:20 PM CDT
(Newser) - A plastic surgeon has written a children’s book aimed at explaining why Mommy is getting her tummy tucked, Newsweek reports. My Beautiful Mommy follows the story of a mother undergoing cosmetic surgery—and telling her daughter why, from doctor consultations to post-op bandages. Parents “just try to ignore the kids’ questions...
Thawing Arctic Could Set Off Methane Climate Bomb
Der Spiegel | Apr 17, 2008 4:08 PM CDT
(Newser) - Climate scientists meeting this week in Vienna are contemplating a terrible prospect—the release of billions of tons of methane gas from the Arctic Ocean, Der Spiegel reports. Methane, 20 times more damaging to the atmosphere than carbon dioxide, lies frozen in gas hydrates on the ocean floor, but rising global temperatures are loosening the...
Sex a Factor in Preemie Survival
Associated Press | Apr 17, 2008 3:53 PM CDT
(Newser) - Gestational age is not the only factor determining odds of a very premature baby's survival, a study finds. Being female, receiving lung-maturing steroids before birth, an extra 3½ ounces of weight and being a single birth all help as much as an extra week of pregnancy, the AP reports. The findings will help doctors and parents decide on heroic...
Mental Disorders Huge Issue for US Troops
Associated Press | Apr 17, 2008 3:40 PM CDT
(Newser) - 300,000 veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars have either post-traumatic stress disorder or major depression, and another 320,000 suffered brain injuries, the AP reports. RAND Corporation, in the first private evaluation of mental injury from the conflicts, found 18.5% of combat troops suffered from major depression or PTSD. "There is a major...
Stocks Flat After Day in Red
MarketWatch | Apr 17, 2008 3:27 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Dow ticked up 1.22 points to close at 12,620.49 today, after a flood of mixed earning reports mostly kept stocks down during the session. One analyst was impressed the market didn’t dip, saying it “seems to be holding up relatively well, especially after yesterday’s rally.” The Nasdaq was off 8.28 points, closing at 2,341.83,...
Did You See What the Pope Is Wearing?!?
Washington Post | Apr 17, 2008 3:13 PM CDT
(Newser) - Benedict XVI is wearing some pretty flashy, and pretty old-school, outfits, and pope-watchers the world over are atwitter, the Washington Post reports. Unlike his predecessor, who “would just wear whatever was given to him,” the current pontiff is reaching into a closet that dates back hundreds of years, causing some to wonder whether...
Fertile Felines May Require New Laws
LiveScience | Apr 17, 2008 3:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - America’s wandering cat population is growing—and if communities don’t address the issue, their numbers could spiral to alarming heights, LiveScience reports. As it stands, there’s a cat for every 3.5 Americans, and reproducing roamers contribute to the 5 million cats euthanized yearly. Cities may need to follow Los Angeles’...
Pork Workers Contract New Nerve Disease
Reuters | Apr 17, 2008 2:48 PM CDT
(Newser) - Pork-plant workers in three states have contracted an unheard-of neurological disorder linked to removing pigs’ brains, Reuters reports. Some 24 people—most from Minnesota—are experiencing symptoms including inflamed spinal cords, weakness, fatigue, and numbness and tingling in the limbs. “As far as we are aware it is a brand...
'Cloud' Ads Float Sky-High
LiveScience | Apr 17, 2008 2:36 PM CDT
(Newser) - Forget blimps. A new kind of advertising sends company logos sky-bound in the form of clouds themselves—or almost. “Flogos” are flying, cloud-like shapes created from a soapy mixture pumped up with helium and other gases. The floating messages, sent up by repurposed snow machines, are completely safe, both for the environment and...
Few Flock to Be Paris' New Best Friend
MSNBC | Apr 17, 2008 2:24 PM CDT
(Newser) - Paris Hilton’s quest for a new best friend is off to a slow start. Casting calls for a show on which she’ll audition new pals aren’t much of a draw: Word is just 40 or 50 turned up at a New York event. And reporters were turned down on the theory that “no press was better than any press,” MSNBC reports.
Yanks, Mets Dig In for Stadium Sell-Offs
Newsweek | Apr 17, 2008 2:11 PM CDT
(Newser) - Demolition isn’t usually very profitable—unless you’re knocking down Yankee Stadium or Shea Stadium and auctioning off every last brick. When New York’s stadiums close at season’s end, they’ll transform into a merchandising windfall, Newsweek reports. Seats, lockers, scoreboards and maybe even infield dirt will...
Cisco Develops a Lighter Touch in Acquisitions
Wall Street Journal | Apr 17, 2008 1:59 PM CDT
(Newser) - Cisco, once famous for swallowing small companies whole and digesting them without leaving a trace of their former brand names (or management), is forging a new acquisition strategy. As it targets new, Internet-based technologies that it’s less familiar with, the company has developed a lighter touch, as evidenced by several recently acquired...
Forget Bush; Brown Talks to Candidates
Reuters | Apr 17, 2008 1:46 PM CDT
(Newser) - Gordon Brown pointedly met with all three US presidential candidates before meeting with President Bush today. Britain’s unpopular prime minister seems eager to look to the future, Reuters reports, lest he be labeled “Bush’s poodle” as predecessor Tony Blair was. Brown said he wouldn’t endorse any of the candidates, but...
Insemination, Miscarriage Make Yale Senior's Art Project
Yale Daily News | Apr 17, 2008 1:34 PM CDT
(Newser) - A Yale art student repeatedly impregnated herself and then induced miscarriages with drugs; her undergraduate thesis documenting the process goes on display next week. The exhibition will include video of the miscarriages, the Yale Daily News reports, and also the student’s own preserved blood. Aliza Shvarts insists “it’s not the...
GE CEO Parries Critics —Including Predecessor
Wall Street Journal | Apr 17, 2008 1:23 PM CDT
(Newser) - General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt faced the music yesterday, as his predecessor, Jack Welch, raked him over the coals on his own cable TV network for missing first-quarter earnings forecasts. Immelt admitted GE “let people down” in downgrading its outlook for 2008, the Wall Street Journal reports. But he said he won’t change the...
The Debate Was No Good for Anyone
New Republic | Apr 17, 2008 1:12 PM CDT
(Newser) - The pundit class agrees for once: No one (at least in the Democratic Party) benefited from last night’s angry debate. But the left and the right disagree on who’s at fault: The first half was “garbage time,” Jonathan Cohn writes in the New Republic , with the moderators creating “a long infomercial about Obama’s...
Paltrow Depression Confession
E! Online | Apr 17, 2008 1:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - News flash: Gwyneth Paltrow is human like everyone else. In the latest issue of Vogue , the Oscar-winning mother of two comes clean about her bout with depression after giving birth to her second child with Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, E! online reports.
Asia Unique in Geography of Flu Outbreaks
Times (UK) | Apr 17, 2008 12:49 PM CDT
(Newser) - Researchers have found yet another thing the West imports from China: the flu. East and Southeast Asia serve as a birthplace for new flu strains, the Times of London reports, thanks to the region’s unique mix of climates. By the time Europe and America get the sniffles six to nine months later, it’s usually a rerun of Asian-born strains.
Does One of Them Die?
New York Post | Apr 17, 2008 12:36 PM CDT
(Newser) - Is Sex and the City star Cynthia Nixon spoiling her own movie? The actress, who plays hotshot attorney Miranda Hobbes in the famed HBO series, told the host of a New York City comedy show Tuesday night that "a character dies in the movie"—but refused to say which one, the New York Post reports.
Patch Would Track Health
MIT Technology Review | Apr 17, 2008 12:25 PM CDT
(Newser) - Researchers are developing a patch to monitor the wearer’s health by collecting sweat. Embedded in a band or shirt, it analyzes the sweat’s electrolyte content to determine if the person is overexerting or stressed. Other health-monitoring clothing usually detects body temperature and heart rate—testing biochemical signals is “truly...
Blue-Collar Philly Paper Taps Obama
Philadelphia Daily News | Apr 17, 2008 12:25 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Philadelphia Daily News endorsed Barack Obama today, calling the Democratic choice one “between the past and the future” and saying the campaign season has been a great indication of eventual governing style. Obama's performance proves his administration will be “well-managed, inclusive … freer of the corrupting influence...
QB McNair Retiring From NFL
Baltimore Sun | Apr 17, 2008 12:15 PM CDT
(Newser) - Ravens quarterback Steve McNair will announce his retirement today, the Baltimore Sun reports. The 13-year veteran surprised his teammates with his decision this morning at a team mini-camp. After leading Tennessee to a Super Bowl, he spent the past two seasons with Baltimore, and injuries limited him to only six games last season.
New China Museum Fuels Tibetan Anger
New York Times | Apr 17, 2008 11:59 AM CDT
(Newser) - China is accelerating construction of a number of museums ahead of August's Olympics, but one is sure to cause serious consternation: the first museum in Beijing devoted to Tibet. Antiquities and historical documents will be used to underline the claim that Tibet is an integral part of China, the New York Times reports—with the Dalai Lama edited...
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