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.
Teddy's Mantle Looks Tailored for Hillary
Politico
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May 22, 2008 6:46 PM CDT
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Though Ted Kennedy helped crush her presidential dreams by endorsing her rival, writes Eamon Javers in Politico, Hillary Clinton may find he ultimately gives her the job she’s made for: his. Kennedy has been the Senate’s center of Democratic gravity since his own White House bid failed in 1980, and with his career perhaps at an end, it’s...
After Gay Ruling, Calif. Scrambles to Fix Paperwork
Associated Press
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May 22, 2008 6:29 PM CDT
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The recent California Supreme Court ruling allowing same-sex marriages has spawned a persnickety problem: what to do about current forms mentioning the "bride and groom" four times and prohibiting “alterations.” While one official assured the AP of “compliance with the court order,” an activist was less perturbed:...
Open-Source Security Flaw Exposes Millions
MIT Technology Review
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May 22, 2008 6:16 PM CDT
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A programming error discovered last week makes at least four open-source operating systems and 25 applications vulnerable to hacking, and a patch distributed to fix it doesn’t solve the problem. Worse, the vulnerability can extend to computers not even running the deficient code, reports Technology Review . The mistake went unnoticed for almost...
For Actor, Grand Theft Auto Doesn't Pay
New York Times
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May 22, 2008 6:05 PM CDT
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He has gained fame and exposure as the voice of sly Balkan criminal Niko Bellic in Grand Theft Auto IV. But actor Michael Hollick would rather see a royalty check from Rockstar Games, reports the New York Times . Though the game has raked in roughly $600 million so far, Hollick earned $100,000 for his gritty voice work and, unlike his compatriots...
US Casinos Dotting Macau Can't Cash In
Wall Street Journal
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May 22, 2008 5:51 PM CDT
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Casinos on the Chinese island of Macau create more gambling revenue than the ones in Las Vegas and Atlantic City combined, but US operators—permitted to set up shop there since 2004—are decidedly not rolling in the money. The Wall Street Journal looks at the bumps in the road for MGM Mirage, Wynn and Sands, and finds that local middlemen...
Ellen to McCain: Walk Me Down the Aisle?
Chicago Tribune
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May 22, 2008 5:30 PM CDT
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John McCain won't be walking Ellen DeGeneres down the aisle when she weds her lesbian partner, but he still wishes her "every happiness," the Chicago Tribune reports. DeGeneres pressed the Republican during her show on his opposition to gay marriage, saying, "Our love is the same." McCain praised her "very eloquent"...
Dems Jockey on Florida and Michigan Votes
St. Petersburg Times
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May 22, 2008 5:10 PM CDT
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With primary voting in its final stretch, the long-simmering argument about outlaw Florida and Michigan balloting is heating up. Hillary Clinton's camp is still arguing that all delegates should be seated, while Barack Obama said seating half the Florida delegates would be “a very reasonable solution”—though he discounted the vote's...
Security Could Get A Bit Easier
USA Today
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May 22, 2008 5:05 PM CDT
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In a few months, travelers likely will be able to take their laptops through airport security without removing them from their cases—if they buy special new cases, that is. The Transportation Security Administration will probably begin accepting new forms of carrying cases that allow unobstructed x-ray views of the laptop inside, the agency told...
Make Dams and Food, Not War and Ethanol
Wall Street Journal
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May 22, 2008 4:55 PM CDT
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Ethanol is among the "poor solutions to high-profile problems" researcher Bjorn Lomborg blasts in the Wall Street Journal . According to calculations by his Copenhagen Consensus, “carbon mitigation policies” return only 90 cents for every dollar spent; in contrast, he writes, $1 billion spent on tuberculosis would result in an...
House Panel Subpoenas Karl Rove
Chicago Tribune
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May 22, 2008 4:42 PM CDT
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A House panel slapped Karl Rove with a subpoena today to compel his testimony on the White House's role in the firing of federal attorneys and the prosecution of Democratic Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman, the Chicago Tribune reports. Rove, due to appear July 10, refused requests to speak voluntarily to the committee. His lawyer called the move a "gratuitous...
McCain Severs Ties to Pastor Over Holocaust Blast
CNN
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May 22, 2008 4:30 PM CDT
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John McCain and John Hagee dissolved their union in tit-for-tat fashion today—one day after an offensive sermon about Hitler came to light. Hagee claimed God sent Hitler to perpetrate the Holocaust, because it was a “top priority for the Jewish people … to get them to come back to” Israel. McCain called the remarks “indefensible”...
Senate OKs GI Bill, Sparking Obama-McCain Joust
Huffington Post
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May 22, 2008 4:19 PM CDT
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Senate Republicans broke with President Bush and John McCain to help pass a GI bill that gives education benefits to veterans, setting off a sharp war of words between McCain and Barack Obama, the Huffington Post reports. “I can’t believe he believes it is too generous,” said Obama. McCain fired back: "I will not accept from...
Is There a Solar Bubble?
Wall Street Journal
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May 22, 2008 4:01 PM CDT
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Stocks in solar-energy outfits are enjoying a sustained rally, but investors should remember the lesson of ethanol, Mark Gongloff writes in the Wall Street Journal . Once-loved ethanol stocks are now widely scorned—mainly because the energy source will never be viable without government subsidies. Still, despite solar’s advantages, shares...
Big Brother Indeed: Orwell Prank Ends in Arrests
New Bedford Standard-Times
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May 22, 2008 3:49 PM CDT
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What appears to be a senior prank that saw students commandeer the public-address system at a Massachusetts high school to read George Orwell (or perhaps Fidel Castro) ended with arrests and protests yesterday, the New Bedford Standard-Times reports.
Meager Gains as Oil Retreats
Wall Street Journal
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May 22, 2008 3:35 PM CDT
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Stocks eked out small gains after two days of big losses as surging oil pulled back from a new record of $135 per barrel to $131.79, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Dow rose 24.43, closing at 12,625.62, while the Nasdaq climbed 16.31 to settle at 2,464,58. The S&P 500 rose 3.64, finishing the session at 1,384.35.
Web, Key in Obama's Rise, Twists Public Views of Him
Politico
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May 22, 2008 3:32 PM CDT
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Barack Obama built his candidacy on the internet, but now the wild web is his biggest problem, Politico reports. A nigh-unstoppable wave of viral e-mails continue to spread false information about the candidate—and it’s working. One in 10 voters still believes Obama is a Muslim, and many quote the fake “facts” found in these...
Texas Court: Return Kids to Polygamy Sect
Houston Chronicle
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May 22, 2008 3:27 PM CDT
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A Texas appeals court found today that authorities, acting on "no evidence," and supported only by a "general allegation" of impropriety, should not have removed more than 460 children from a polygamist compound, the Dallas Morning News reports. The panel also said a local court "abused its discretion" in authorizing...
Trucking Goes High Tech
ComputerWorld
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May 22, 2008 3:18 PM CDT
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Trucking companies are adopting technologies that track vehicles, monitor trucks’ condition and drivers’ actions, and even act automatically to stop accidents, reports ComputerWorld . The systems help companies meet regulations and contract obligations. Take the company that delivered the final Harry Potter book nationwide within a three-hour...
Best Alma Maters for Billionaires
Forbes
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May 22, 2008 3:00 PM CDT
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Bill Gates and Carl Icahn may be college dropouts (Harvard and NYU, respectively), but most billionaires carry a sheepskin diploma with them. These top-tier universities have educated the most billionaires: Harvard: with 50, including Steve Ballmer, Michael Bloomberg, and Sumner Redstone. Stanford: was founded by a billionaire and...
Linchpin in 'NAFTA-Gate' to Step Down
Globe and Mail
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May 22, 2008 2:47 PM CDT
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Ian Brodie, chief of staff to Canada's prime minister and the key figure in the "NAFTA-gate" scandal, will step down by summer, the Globe and Mail reports. Brodie, the architect of the Conservative Party's victory in 2006 elections, is under investigation in leaks that clouded the Democratic primary in Ohio in March.
Here We Go Again...
Miami Herald
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May 22, 2008 2:39 PM CDT
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Federal storm watchers warned of a possible 16 named storms, and five major hurricanes, this year, the Miami Herald reports. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced a 65% probability that the hurricane season, which stretches for 6 months from June 1, “may very well be a busy” one. The prediction jibes with a forecast...
Hillary's Been 'Denigrated,' Says Bill; Also, I Shoulda Shut Up
CNN
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May 22, 2008 2:20 PM CDT
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Hillary Clinton has been “dismissed, denigrated, declared dead” by a press corps in her rival’s pocket, Bill dishes to People . The first spouse wannabe says bias has been such that “I thought I was literally lost in a fun house.” Still, he partly faults himself for his wife’s fortunes, CNN reports, regretting that...
Out of Land, Monaco Eyes Ocean
Guardian (UK)
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May 22, 2008 2:10 PM CDT
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Monaco, flush with cash from tourism and its status as a tax haven, is trying to acquire the one thing it lacks: space. Its square mile of space is full (it's the world's second-most-densely populated country), moving Prince Albert II to decide to build an artificial offshore district—on stilts, the Guardian reports.
Microsoft Promises to Add Access to Open Format
New York Times
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May 22, 2008 2:00 PM CDT
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Microsoft says it will allow documents created in a competitor’s interchangeable format to open in its Office 2007 software package by mid-2009, but European officials are taking a wait-and-see attitude, the New York Times reports. “We have heard a lot of promises from Microsoft, but as of yet, we are hoping for results,” said a...
McCain Guru's Work for Foreign Dictators Draws Fire
Washington Post
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May 22, 2008 1:45 PM CDT
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A client list that included dictators in Angola, the Philippines, Kenya, and Somalia is now haunting a key strategist for John McCain, the Washington Post reports, with Democrats baying over Charlie Black’s lobbying record. Black was among the earliest users of the revolving door between lobbying and campaign consulting that McCain has criticized,...
Ocean Sharks Face Extinction
BBC
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May 22, 2008 1:40 PM CDT
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Ocean sharks are threatened with extinction, with 11 species designated “high-risk” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and five more also in danger. Sharks are dwindling from intentional fishing, which targets them for their meat and fins, and “bycatch” fishing that lands them in nets meant for tuna and swordfish....
Search Gamble May Just Work for Microsoft
Washington Post
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May 22, 2008 1:38 PM CDT
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Many are pooh-poohing Microsoft’s cash-back search scheme, but Michael Arrington of TechCrunch thinks it’s going to work—and be a major pain in Google’s side. With search-market share at a mere 9.1% (and falling), Microsoft has little to lose, Arrington argues, because search is a winner-takes-most proposition. If customers...
4K Orphaned in China Quake
Associated Press
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May 22, 2008 1:26 PM CDT
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The earthquake that killed more than 51,000 Chinese when it ripped through Sichuan province on May 12 also left more than 4,000 children parentless, a Chinese official said today—and the actual number could be yet higher because many remain missing. The Chinese people are rushing to adopt those orphans, another official said. “Every day...
JFK Negotiated (and Got His Butt Kicked)
New York Times
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May 22, 2008 12:55 PM CDT
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On the campaign trail, Barack Obama often invokes a JFK maxim—"Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate"—to back up his commitment to talk to America's enemies. But in a Times op-ed, two writers observe that Kennedy learned a tough lesson when negotiating with Nikita Khrushchev: Meeting with the...
Gay Paris Mayor Sets Sights on Presidency
Telegraph (UK)
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May 22, 2008 12:44 PM CDT
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The battle is on for the leadership of France's opposition Socialist Party, and a man who says the nation is ready for a gay president is the surprise leader, the Telegraph reports. Bertrand Delanoë, the popular mayor of Paris, is the early favorite, outpolling Ségolène Royal, who lost last year's election to Nicolas Sarkozy.
Why It's Time to Sell the Moon
Popular Mechanics
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May 22, 2008 12:23 PM CDT
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The moon isn't up for sale—but it should be, argues Glenn Harlan Reynolds in Popular Mechanics . Dishing out lunar property rights would boost the stagnating government space program, and the interest is proven: One enterprising American has already sold 500 million "novelty" acres of the moon at about $20 per football field-size parcel.
No, She Isn’t Winning the Popular Vote
Newsweek
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May 22, 2008 12:13 PM CDT
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Hillary Clinton’s insistence that she’s winning the popular vote not only promotes a meaningless rubric in a delegate contest, but it's also a dangerous claim—and a false one, Jonathan Alter writes in Newsweek . Not only is Clinton trampling on old sore spots (think Al Gore in 2000), but she’s also in the wrong, Alter asserts,...
Sweet Spot May Be Big Brown's Key
Sports Illustrated
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May 22, 2008 12:08 PM CDT
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There is something unique about Big Brown, and it’s not just his decimation of the fields at the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness. It's a silver-dollar sized white spot at the top of his left front leg. “Some good horses have something about them that's totally different from other horses. … It’s their X factor," the Irish-born...
Sharp Decline Seen in Future Oil Supplies
Wall Street Journal
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May 22, 2008 11:50 AM CDT
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The international agency that monitors oil supplies is preparing a very pessimistic forecast of future capacity, the Wall Street Journal reports, one that heightens worries over whether producers will be able to keep pace with exploding demand for oil. The International Energy Agency, whose previous models showed steady—and predictable—growth,...
Calif. Smog Kills 24K Each Year
Los Angeles Times
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May 22, 2008 11:39 AM CDT
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Air pollution is responsible for the deaths of 24,000 people in California annually—three times higher than previous estimates, according to new research. Rates of heart attacks, strokes, and other serious disease increase exponentially after even minimal exposure to particles of metal, dust, or other pollution from vehicles and factory smokestacks,...
Boy-Band Brain Gets 25 Years for Fraud
Associated Press
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May 22, 2008 11:21 AM CDT
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Lou Pearlman, the honcho behind the Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync, was sentenced yesterday to the maximum of 25 years in federal prison for masterminding a decades-long scam that bilked thousands of investors out of some $300 million, the AP reports. "The sympathy factor just doesn't run very high with the court," the judge said.
Why Obama Has a Jewish Problem
New York Times
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May 22, 2008 11:16 AM CDT
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Why are Jews—especially older Jews, a traditionally liberal Democratic demographic with high voter turnout—reluctant to embrace Barack Obama? The New York Times took the question to Florida’s Jewish voters, who make up 5% of the critical swing state. What they found: Obama has become "a conduit for Jewish anxiety about Israel,...
Fearful of New Quakes, Chinese Pitch Tents
Wall Street Journal
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May 22, 2008 11:01 AM CDT
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Across Chengdu, the capital of China's earthquake-struck Sichuan province, citizens are camping out in tents in public parks, riverbanks, and even on the sides of the roads. But many of the tent-dwellers haven't lost their homes, reports the Wall Street Journal . Rather, they're reluctant to return to their high-rise apartments, fearful of aftershocks.
Rating McCain's Potential VPs
Politico
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May 22, 2008 10:44 AM CDT
(Newser) -
John McCain may claim he’s just having Bobby Jindal, Charlie Crist, and Mitt Romney over for a barbecue this weekend, but it’s pretty clear the GOP’s presumptive nominee is really scouting VP candidates. So Politico ran down the merits of each potential ticket filler: Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is young, ethnic, and...
Sony Aims to Power Up Online Gaming
MSNBC
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May 22, 2008 10:38 AM CDT
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Sony is seeking to boost online gaming to the next level with a pair of new adventures in the pipeline. The company's 1999 EverQuest was the first massive online game to rocket to popularity, but rivals like World of Warcraft have since taken the lead. With spy shooter game The Agency and the tweener-targeting Free Realms, Sony hopes to get...
Silda Steps Out of Hiding
New York Daily News
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May 22, 2008 10:30 AM CDT
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While the fictionalized "Law & Order" version of her husband's infamous sex scandal was airing on NBC last night, Silda Wall Spitzer emerged from 2 months of self-imposed exile to attend the Manhattan benefit for Children for Children, the Daily News reports. The wife of prostitute-patronizing former New York governor Eliot Spitzer...
Excoriated by China, 'Miserly' Firms Defend Quake Aid
Associated Press
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May 22, 2008 10:24 AM CDT
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Mega-companies are defending themselves against harsh criticism on Chinese websites that they’ve done too little to help earthquake survivors, AP reports. Companies such as McDonald’s, Wal-Mart, and Nokia were labeled “International Super-Misers” on one site. "We've been involved in helping and responding since day one,”...
Singer's Son Runs Over Daughter
Associated Press
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May 22, 2008 10:16 AM CDT
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The youngest daughter of Grammy-winning Christian musician Steven Curtis Chapman was struck and killed yesterday when one of her older brothers ran over the tyke in the family driveway, the AP reports. Several family members witnessed the accident that claimed the life of 5-year-old Maria Sue, who died later at a nearby Nashville hospital.
Congressional Screwup May Force Farm Bill Do-Over
Reuters
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May 22, 2008 10:11 AM CDT
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A paper-shuffling error may force Congress to repeat its work on the $289-billion farm bill already passed—and vetoed by President Bush. The version of the bill sent to the president was missing a section, Reuters reports. That makes the president’s veto theoretically invalid. House Democrats tried to re-insert the segment when voting to...
Peer Pressure Helps Snuff Habit
New York Times
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May 22, 2008 9:58 AM CDT
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New research shows people quit smoking not as individuals but in complex social clusters, each strongly influencing the others. Friends, spouses, relatives, and other social contacts all exercise an overwhelming sway over individual decisions to quit. The study covered 58,000 people from 1971 to 2003, the New York Times reports, when smoking declined...
New Trust Drug: Good for Shyness, Bad for Investing
BBC
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May 22, 2008 9:46 AM CDT
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Scientists have created a nasal spray that makes its users more trusting, the BBC reports. Made up mostly of oxytocin, alternatively nicknamed the “love hormone” or “cuddle chemical,” the spray decreases social fears by lowering activity in the amygdala. That should be great news for social phobics; just don’t use it when...
Google Readies Defense of Yahoo Ad Deal
New York Times
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May 22, 2008 9:35 AM CDT
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An advertising deal between Google and Yahoo is certain to stir the Justice Department’s antitrust division into action, no matter what the two do to address concerns, experts anticipating a partnership between the two Internet leaders tell the New York Times . Google says a deal would simply be a supply matter, with parallels in other industries.
Lebanon Pays High Price to Avert Civil War
Washington Post
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May 22, 2008 9:15 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The agreement that ended Lebanon's 18-month political crisis is nothing less than a sea change for the country, writes the Washington Post , strengthening Hezbollah and dealing a blow to America and its Middle East allies. The US-backed government in Beirut said that the last-minute deal averted a civil war, but gives Hezbollah many of its demands—including...
French Go on Strike for a Day
BBC
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May 22, 2008 9:01 AM CDT
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France's five largest unions have launched a coordinated strike that has crippled bus, train, and airport links across the country. The BBC reports that postal services have been reduced and public radio stations are playing music instead of regular programming. The unions are protesting an effort by Nicolas Sarkozy's administration to make them work...
Alaska Suing to Bounce Bears Off Threatened List
CBC (Canada)
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May 22, 2008 8:51 AM CDT
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The state of Alaska will sue to challenge the federal government's decision to place polar bears on the endangered species list, reports CBC News. The Department of the Interior cited the bears' diminishing sea ice habitat as a reason for listing them as threatened, but Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin fears offshore shore oil and gas exploration will...
