Newser Story Index from May, 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.

Wings 1 Win Away From Cup
Detroit Free Press | May 31, 08 10:54 PM CDT
(Newser) - Detroit is just one game away from yet another meeting with Lord Stanley. The Red Wings beat Pittsburgh 2-1 tonight to take a 3-1 lead in the Stanley Cup Finals. Jiri Hudler broke a 1-1 tie early in the third, and goalie Chris Osgood turned in one of his best games of the playoffs, the Detroit Free Press reports. Nicklas Lidstrom scored Detroit's...

Dems Have Uncertain Path Ahead
New York Times | May 31, 08 10:18 PM CDT
(Newser) - Hillary Clinton made a very public point of keeping her options open—with Harold Ickes angrily reserving the campaign's right to appeal today's delegate decision—but she seems increasingly resolved to defeat, the New York Times reports. Instead of taking the fight to the convention, close associates think she'll drop out at some point...

On Mars, 'Something That Looks Like Ice'
Space.com | May 31, 08 7:53 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Phoenix probe sent home photos today of what looks like ice just under Mars' rocky surface, Space.com reports. "The thrusters have excavated two to six inches and, sure enough, we see something that looks like ice,” one mission scientist said. NASA picked the landing spot, in the planet's northern arctic, because it likely hid ice under...

Bone Drug Reduces Breast Cancer Relapse
Bloomberg | May 31, 08 7:21 PM CDT
(Newser) - A drug designed to protect cancer patients' bones also renders breast cancer relapses less likely, a new study says. Funded in part by the drug's maker, Novartis, researchers found that even two injections of Zometa a year cut tumor recurrence by 35% in more than 1,800 pre-menopausal women.

Dems Seat Fla., Mich. Delegates as Half-Votes
Associated Press | May 31, 08 6:45 PM CDT
(Newser) - Democratic officials voted today to seat Florida and Michigan primary delegates as half-votes, the AP reports. At a boisterous hearing, delayed by nearly 3 hours of private talks, the party seated Florida delegates based on the state's primary vote, with 105 for Clinton and 67 for Obama. The Michigan deal was more complex, giving 69 of the half-votes...

NFL Sends Players to Millionaires' School
Washington Post | May 31, 08 6:26 PM CDT
(Newser) - The average NFL player leaves football after 4 years. That’s enough time to make decent money—the average annual salary is about $1.7 million—but not enough to learn how to use it. So the NFL is helping out its 20-something millionaires by sending the best and brightest to a $10,000 business boot camp, the Washington Post reports.

Obama Quits Trinity Church
Politico | May 31, 08 6:01 PM CDT
(Newser) - Barack Obama quit his longtime church today in an apparent attempt to quell its latest pulpit controversy, Politico reports. Obama resigned by letter to the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, where a reverend accused Hillary Clinton this week of acting "entitled" to the presidency because she is white. Last month, Obama denounced...

Subject of Lorenzo's Oil Dead at 30
Associated Press | May 31, 08 5:28 PM CDT
(Newser) - Lorenzo Odone, the ALD-plagued child whose plight inspired the film Lorenzo’s Oil , died yesterday at age 30, the AP reports. Doctors said he would die by age 8, but he lived while taking an oil developed by his parents. Susan Sarandon and Nick Nolte starred in the 1992 film about his life.

Instant Replay Will Settle This
Houston Chronicle | May 31, 08 4:57 PM CDT
(Newser) - Baseball's top umpire says instant replay is on the way, the Houston Chronicle reports. Support for it is growing after four blown calls robbed home runs, but umpire supervisor Rich Rieker warns that the technology must be added "in a fashion that will not delay the game further."

Discovery Launches, With Kibo Aboard
Associated Press | May 31, 08 4:31 PM CDT
(Newser) - The space shuttle Discovery blasted into a clear blue sky today, carrying Kibo, a huge Japanese laboratory for the International Space Station. The $1 billion lab will be the station’s biggest room. “This is a real milestone,” said one NASA administrator. The Discovery is also bringing a replacement for the station’s broken...

Japanese Mob Boss Gave $100K to UCLA
Los Angeles Times | May 31, 08 4:01 PM CDT
(Newser) - Suspected Japanese mob boss Tadmasa Goto donated $100,000 to UCLA just months after getting a liver transplant there, the Los Angeles Times reports. Goto was treated in 2001, a year when 186 people died waiting for livers in the LA area alone. The school has confirmed Goto’s donation, but insists it did not influence the decision to treat him.

Gal Pal Gangs Make History With Sex Debut
Variety | May 31, 08 3:31 PM CDT
(Newser) - High heels and cosmos made box office history last night, as women dolled out $26.9 million for Sex and the City— the biggest romantic comedy opening day ever, Variety reports. For many, it was a long-awaited event. “You have to come see this with a mess of your friends,” one fan told the Los Angeles Times . “It's not about...

Horses Abandoned As Economy Fails Them
Time | May 31, 08 3:05 PM CDT
(Newser) - With feed and fuel prices rising, more US horses are being abandoned and left to die. “It's a growing problem," says Brent Glover, who runs a horse rescue ranch. "Basically, it's the economy.” Glover’s own hay costs have ballooned from $28,000 to $80,000 this year. Many of these horses would be slaughtered if killing them...

Under the Hood, Size Does Matter
Los Angeles Times | May 31, 08 2:39 PM CDT
(Newser) - Instead of saving on gas by getting smaller cars, many Americans are buying cars with smaller engines. Four-cylinder autos have been zooming off lots nationwide, leaving six-cylinder rides in the dust: Three quarters of mid-size cars sold in May sported the smaller engine, a swerve away from a trend in ever-bigger motors, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Tight Economy Leaves Wealthy Vexed in the City
New York Times | May 31, 08 2:10 PM CDT
(Newser) - Think you’ve got it bad in these tough times? Then consider the swarms of Wall Street bankers and Upper East Side developers whose income has slid along with the nation’s economy. Lawyers, art advisers, personal trainers, and hairstylists to the privileged say their clients gripe about having to cut back on $350 highlights and $10,000-an-hour...

Harvey Korman: More Than a Second Banana
Washington Post | May 31, 08 1:48 PM CDT
(Newser) - Harvey Korman was sometimes described as the “quintessential second banana,” and he did indeed make his name in supporting roles. But Korman, who died this week at 81, was a special second banana. For Mel Brooks, he became the perfect scheming underling, hilariously worming his way through movie after movie. On the Carol Burnett show, he...

CO2 Catcher Could Slow Climate Change
Guardian (UK) | May 31, 08 1:30 PM CDT
(Newser) - A team of American scientists says it's taken an important first step toward creating a so-called carbon scrubber that can rid greenhouse gases from the air, the Guardian reports. The scientists, led by a Columbia University physicist, have a prototype in the works that can suck a ton of carbon dioxide out of the air per day—and do so economically.

Online Gaming Boom Outpaces Real-Life Critiques
Prospect | May 31, 08 1:14 PM CDT
(Newser) - The dizzying growth of the video game industry continues to alarm cultural Luddites, writes Tom Chatfield for the Prospect , but the critics are trapped in video gaming’s past. They haven't adjusted to the development of social, team-based gaming worlds, treating games “as an odd mix of the slightly menacing and the alien: more like exotic...

FCC to Examine Cancellation Fees for Cable, Phone, Web
Washington Post | May 31, 08 1:02 PM CDT
(Newser) - The FCC says next month’s hearing on cell phone cancellation fees may also include similar charges leveled by cable and Internet providers. Chairman Kevin Martin hopes the hearing will ease consumer tension over the fees, which were among cell phone users’ five most common complaints last year, the Washington Post reports. The fees typically...

Dems Hashing Out Delegates
Associated Press | May 31, 08 12:33 PM CDT
(Newser) - Democratic party leaders continue to wrangle over the disputed delegates of Florida and Michigan today, hearing impassioned pleas from representatives of both states and campaigns. Hundreds of protesters are gathered outside the Washington meeting as the party's rules committee seeks a compromise, the AP reports. “We are strong enough to struggle...

Indoor Pot Farms Sow Calif. Discord
Los Angeles Times | May 31, 08 12:13 PM CDT
(Newser) - Indoor pot farms are sprouting up around California and causing some bad vibes in the Golden State, the Los Angeles Times reports. In one northwest community, authorities estimate that 1,000 of 7,500 homes are devoted to cultivating marijuana, cutting into the housing supply and raising safety concerns. Many residents complain that out-of-staters...

An Other-Worldly Brew on Tap
Associated Press | May 31, 08 11:40 AM CDT
(Newser) - Want to try a heavenly lager? Come November, you might get a chance. Japan's Sapporo Breweries is harvesting barley this weekend from seeds that spent 5 months aboard the International Space Station, the AP reports. It then plans to brew 100 bottles of space beer, though it hasn't figured out yet who will actually get to drink it.

Sales of Hybrid SUVs Stuck in Neutral
New York Times | May 31, 08 11:15 AM CDT
(Newser) - As sales drop for traditional SUVs, GM and Chrysler have high hopes for hybrid versions of their popular truck-based vehicles—but sales thus far haven’t been impressive, the New York Times reports. GM has sold 1,100 of its Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon hybrids—pacing far behind the company’s goal of 12,000 a year.

Monks Provide Myanmar Relief
New York Times | May 31, 08 10:50 AM CDT
(Newser) - In the wake of Burma’s cyclone, Buddhist monks have become the only source of comfort—both “material” and “spiritual”—for many thousands of homeless and destitute who have been abandoned by the government, the New York Times reports. “Monks are like parents to us. The government wants us to shut up,...

Short Men Seek Surgical Stretching
Details | May 31, 08 10:25 AM CDT
(Newser) - Short, and even not-so-short men who feel their height is holding them back in life are turning to surgery in growing numbers, Details reports. Clinics abroad offer cosmetic limb lengthening that can add a few inches of height, but the bill can top $100,000 and the procedure, which involves breaking and stretching the bones, leaves the patient crippled...

Charlie Sheen Marries No. 3
People | May 31, 08 10:00 AM CDT
(Newser) - Charlie Sheen wed real estate investor Brooke Mueller last night in Los Angeles, People reports. “They’re well matched and incredibly happy,” said a friend of the newlyweds. Mueller, 30, and Sheen, 42, exchanged vows before 60 family and friends. This is the third marriage for the Two and a Half Men star and the first for Mueller,...

French Judge Annuls Wedding Over Virgin Fib
Times (UK) | May 31, 08 9:31 AM CDT
(Newser) - A judge's decision to annul a Muslim wedding because the bride was not a virgin has caused outrage in France, the London Times reports. The groom emerged from the bedroom to complain about his bride while the wedding party was still going on and went to the judge the next day. The bride, shunned by both families, later admitted to a sexual indiscretion,...

Save the Planet: Eat Bugs
Time | May 31, 08 9:06 AM CDT
(Newser) - Chowing down on creepy-crawlies is a concept that's likely to nauseate most Americans, but insect eats may be the way of the future, Time reports. The critters are rich in protein and far more efficient to raise than cows or pigs, making them a possible solution to the problem of feeding an increasingly crowded and hungry planet.

Nader Likes Obama, but He's Still a 'Corporate Democrat'
Wall Street Journal | May 31, 08 8:38 AM CDT
(Newser) - Ralph Nader prefers Barack Obama to Hillary Clinton, but still considers Obama what he calls “a corporate Democrat,” the Green Party candidate for president tells the Wall Street Journal in a wide-ranging chat over lunch. Despite the populist rhetoric, Obama has “made his peace” with the need to be a “conciliatory, concessionary,...

Lakers, Celtics Renew Rivalry for Finals
Los Angeles Times | May 31, 08 7:59 AM CDT
(Newser) - The Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics will revive a historic rivalry in this year’s NBA finals, the Los Angeles Times reports. The Celtics’ defeat of the Detroit Pistons last night will bring the celebrated franchises together for the 11th time in the finals. Lakers coach Phil Jackson will seek a record 10th finals victory while the...

Democrats to Settle Score on Fla., Mich.
Washington Post | May 31, 08 7:33 AM CDT
(Newser) - The Democratic rules committee has begun a daylong meeting to try to settle the dispute over the seating of Florida and Michigan’s delegates, chosen in violation of party rules. Many Dems expect half the delegations from each state to be seated, the Washington Post reports, which would do little to alter the delegate math that underscores Barack...

Smart Billboards: They're Watching You
New York Times | May 31, 08 7:18 AM CDT
(Newser) - Advertisers are bringing billboards into the 21st century by fitting them with cameras that record details used to determine a passer-by's age, sex, and race, the New York Times reports. Companies plan to use the technology to tailor the advertising to the person standing in front of it. The tiny cameras, which send info back to a central database,...

Prison Letter Could Nail Bronco's Killer
Rocky Mountain News | May 31, 08 6:55 AM CDT
(Newser) - A letter written by a jailed Colorado gang member could tie him to the murder of Denver Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams, the Rocky Mountain News reports. The letter, intercepted by the suspect's cellmate, mentions the man's worries about a witness who saw him shoot "D-Will." Williams was gunned down in a drive-by shooting on New Year's...

Honduras Plane Crash Kills 4
Associated Press | May 31, 08 6:36 AM CDT
(Newser) - A passenger plane overshot a runway and crashed into a busy street in the Honduran capital yesterday, reports the AP, killing the pilot, two passengers, and a taxi driver. Some 65 others were injured. The Miami-bound Airbus ran out of runway in wet conditions. Tegucigalpa's main airport, considered by pilots to be one of the world's most dangerous...

Why Organic Tomatoes Are Better for You
NPR | May 31, 08 6:34 AM CDT
(Newser) - Some organically grown tomatoes appear to have higher levels of potent antioxidants, and the reason may be in the fertilizer, NPR reports. Researchers at UC Davis running tests on levels of the antioxidants, known as flavonoids, found 79%-97% higher flavonoid levels in the organic tomatoes.

Gates: Junta Aid Delays Killed Thousands
Reuters | May 31, 08 6:21 AM CDT
(Newser) - Tens of thousands of Burmese have died because of their government's refusal to allow in foreign aid after Cyclone Nargis, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said yesterday. Gates accused the military leaders of being "deaf and dumb" to the plight of their people, Reuters reports. American ships in the region have not been allowed to deliver...

Weld Faulted in NYC Crane Collapse
New York Times | May 31, 08 6:20 AM CDT
(Newser) - City officials investigating a crane accident that killed two workers yesterday think a bad weld may have been to blame, the New York Times reports. The top of the crane, which met all the city's regulations, snapped off and hit a building. The city has suspended all crane construction until Monday and plans to hire new safety engineers.

Sect Kids Aren't Going Home
San Antonio Express-News | May 30, 08 9:51 PM CDT
(Newser) - The parents of children taken from a polygamist ranch in Texas will not see their kids on Monday after all. At the last minute, a lawyer objected to the state's deal with the sect and stopped the judge from ordering the children's release. Now the judge plans to get them home by canceling the original order to raid the sect, the San Antonio Express-News...

Grandma, Grandpa, Please Back Gay Marriage
Los Angeles Times | May 30, 08 9:03 PM CDT
(Newser) - If old folks in California would come out to support gay marriage in November, a proposed amendment banning it would keel over and die, Joel Stein writes in the Los Angeles Times . The majority of Californians under 50 support it, but only 36% of senior citizens. Which leads Stein to urge oldsters to "take a leap of faith and trust the younger...

Artists Are Making Junk—Literally
Chronicle of Higher Education | May 30, 08 8:25 PM CDT
(Newser) - Beware the scruffy artists at the corner cafe—they may be serial polluters and not even know it, Laurie Fendrich writes in the Chronicle of Higher Education . Many painters, tree-huggers by claim, will flush chemicals down the drain, and ignore the carbon footprint of their synthetic pigments. They just "think of their paints as gooey stuff...

Admit It, Mac, You Misspoke
Washington Post | May 30, 08 7:49 PM CDT
(Newser) - John McCain has been dabbling in truthiness this week, Michael Dobbs blogs in the Washington Post . McCain said US troops were “drawn down to pre-surge levels" in Iraq, and cities like Mosul were "quiet"—but in fact, troop levels remain higher than before the surge, and Mosul's quiet is often broken by car bombs and other...

Guidelines for Solo Boozing
Esquire | May 30, 08 7:05 PM CDT
(Newser) - Being a lone drinker in a place as socially teeming as your local watering hole is a tough business. The trick is to treat the activity as a sacred art form, not as the last refuge of the social pariah, says Esquire . Its rules: Start early. No small talk. People-watch. Drink whiskey. No mixing.

Smart, Capable, and in Control
Washington Post | May 30, 08 6:33 PM CDT
(Newser) - She whipped Ted Kennedy's staff into action after his seizure; she brought the family to his bedside; she allowed the aging senator, diagnosed with brain cancer, to join in the traditional Cape Cod regatta on Memorial Day weekend. Victoria Reggie Kennedy, his wife of 16 years, is right by his side, the Boston Globe reports. And he wants her to replace...

Critics Pumped for Steroids Doc
Rotten Tomatoes | May 30, 08 5:45 PM CDT
(Newser) - The documentary Bigger, Stronger, Faster is drawing raves for its clear-eyed, nuanced look at the world of steroid users. Christopher Bell, a bodybuilder and onetime juicer, directs and narrates an "incisive and compulsively watchable look at America's love affair with steroids," Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly writes.

Shoot at the Facts, Not at the Messenger
Wall Street Journal | May 30, 08 5:21 PM CDT
(Newser) - Scott McClellan isn't someone Peggy Noonan found herself admiring, she writes in the Wall Street Journal , but she did end up “believing him" after finishing his memoir. He didn’t pen his story to make friends or salvage his image, but rather to set the record straight as he saw it. And first-person accounts are exactly what’s...

Starbucks Banks on New Hardware
Seattle Post-Intelligencer | May 30, 08 4:59 PM CDT
(Newser) - With the grounds of a sour economy sticking between shareholders' teeth, Starbucks is looking to a new espresso machine to perk profits back up, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports. "What this machine is about is whether Starbucks can get its virginity back," one observer says of the semi-automatic Mastrena, which brewed its first shot...

YouTube Election Goes Against McCain
Los Angeles Times | May 30, 08 4:51 PM CDT
(Newser) - John McCain is losing the YouTube election in a landslide, writes James Rainey in the LA Times. A search for Barack Obama turns up a "swoon fest" of videos showing him at his “uplifting best,” but querying McCain's name nets these winners: A debate miscue juxtaposed with a Miss Teen USA contestant’s infamous stumble...

Scientific Journals Battle Doctored Images
Chronicle of Higher Education | May 30, 08 4:40 PM CDT
(Newser) - Scientific journals' status as bastions of objectivity and truth has come under fire in the past 10 years because of "image fraud," the Chronicle of Higher Education reports. Researchers alter representations of scientific data for inclusion in journal articles for various reasons, and not all have evil intentions. One admitted doctorer...

More Riders, Pricier Fuel Stress Out Transit Agencies
Wall Street Journal | May 30, 08 4:29 PM CDT
(Newser) - The same agencies that stand to benefit as commuters turn to public transit to escape high gas prices are finding themselves hamstrung by rising fuel costs, the Wall Street Journal reports. Ridership is up by as much as 35% for some bus lines, but the cost of diesel has doubled and economic woes are slowing sales-tax revenue, the main source of transit...

Green Bands Can't Stop Fans From Polluting
Rolling Stone | May 30, 08 4:21 PM CDT
(Newser) - It's not easy being a green band. While touring musicians try to cut their carbon footprints with biodiesel buses and recycling, fans wreak environmental havoc, reports Rolling Stone . The venues arena rockers need sit miles outside of city centers, forcing concertgoers to gas up and hit the road. And the fuel in all those waving lighters can't help,...