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.
What Happened to the Paperless Office?
BusinessWeek
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May 28, 2008 2:33 PM CDT
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More than 30 years after Xerox guru George Pake predicted a "paperless office" by 1995, the dream is as elusive as ever. That's because the very computers that made paper theoretically obsolete, BusinessWeek notes, also brought us printers and copiers on practically every desktop. "The decision to print has gotten much closer to the...
LA Cops Bust Tagger— With Help From YouTube
Los Angeles Times
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May 28, 2008 2:18 PM CDT
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LA cops have finally busted a tagger they say is one of California's most prolific graffiti artists—with the help of videos of him posted on YouTube, the Los Angeles Times reports. The 24-year-old art-degree grad who goes by the moniker "Buket" is accused of causing $150,000 in damage. He became a YouTube sensation, particularly after...
'Traitor' Musharraf Should Be Tried: Sharif
Associated Press
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May 28, 2008 2:14 PM CDT
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Nawaz Sharif labeled Pervez Musharraf a "traitor" today, and claimed his allies in Pakistan's coalition government had agreed to oust the president, the AP reports. "A high treason case should be registered against him and he should be given the punishment of a traitor," Sharif told members of his Pakistan Muslim League. "There...
DNC Lawyers: Only Half of Fla., Mich. Can Be Seated Saturday
Talking Points Memo
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May 28, 2008 2:06 PM CDT
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By Democratic Party rules, the long-awaited committee meeting on Saturday is authorized to re-seat no more than half of the outlaw delegations from Florida and Michigan, party lawyers have advised in a new memo. The Rules and Bylaws Committee is required to maintain a penalty for the leapfrogging states that cuts their original delegate counts at least...
Family Guy Neighbor Gets Own Show
New York Post
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May 28, 2008 1:58 PM CDT
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Fox's hit cartoon Family Guy is spinning off a new show centered around Cleveland Brown—the soft-spoken neighbor to Peter Griffin. The Cleveland Show will debut in 2009, and follow a recently divorced Brown on a quest to his Virginia hometown, where he falls in love with an old flame.
Clinton's Delegate Math Goes From Fuzzy to Demeaning
Washington Post
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May 28, 2008 1:37 PM CDT
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Attempts by Hillary Clinton supporters to link the push to seat the Florida and Michigan delegations with fights for suffrage and other freedoms the world over is "an equation that makes a mockery of democracy and feminism,” Harold Meyerson writes in the Washington Post —particularly since Clinton herself supported sanctions on the...
Tasmania Moving Its Devils
Wall Street Journal
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May 28, 2008 1:22 PM CDT
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The Australian government is stepping in to prevent the Tasmanian Devil from extinction, the Wall Street Journal reports, as the ill-tempered beasties have been dying off thanks to the world’s first contagious cancer, which they transfer by biting each other in the face. So zoologists are now working to quarantine infected devils in a natural...
Iran's New Speaker May Pose Challenge to Ahmadinejad
Los Angeles Times
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May 28, 2008 1:02 PM CDT
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Iranian lawmakers seemingly made their displeasure with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad known today, selecting rival Ali Larijani as speaker of parliament. Larijani ran against Ahmadinejad in 2005, and the two have often clashed since, the Los Angeles Times reports. As Iran’s top nuclear negotiator, Larijani was often frustrated by the president’s...
Malawi Judge OKs Madonna Adoption
Associated Press
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May 28, 2008 12:52 PM CDT
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Madonna has official custody of a Malawian boy after nearly 2 years of wrangling, a judge in the African nation ruled today. Madonna and husband Guy Ritchie have been taking care of 2-year-old David in London since meeting him in an orphanage in 2006, the AP reports. Critics railed at the pop star, 49, for using her fame to skirt adoption laws—charges...
Abortion Digs on VP Hopeful Sebelius Are Ridiculous
Los Angeles Times
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May 28, 2008 12:46 PM CDT
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Right-wingers may be gleefully lampooning Kathleen Sebelius as a money-launderer for an abortion doc, Tim Rutten writes in the Los Angeles Times, but one could make the equally ridiculous case that by writing about it Robert Novak is an Opus Dei operative plotting a national overthrow. Abortion couldn't hurt the Obama veep frontrunner anyway, as...
Chicago Train Derails
Chicago Tribune
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May 28, 2008 12:39 PM CDT
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A Chicago Transit Authority elevated train derailed this morning, the Chicago Tribune reports. Although the train came off the elevated tracks, it did not fall all the way to the ground. Using ladders and baskets, firefighters rescued 39 people from the Green Line train on Chicago’s south side, but only 10 required medical attention.
Obama to Fans: Don't Protest Rules Meeting
The Hill
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May 28, 2008 12:28 PM CDT
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Barack Obama is urging supporters not to demonstrate at Saturday’s meeting of the Democrats' rules committee, hoping to keep the event from becoming a cable-news circus, the Hill reports. Clinton supporters have pledged to gather outside the meeting, where party bigs will decide whether, and how many Florida and Michigan delegates are seated...
Sony Deal Ends Cable Box Era
Reuters
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May 28, 2008 12:19 PM CDT
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The days of set-top cable boxes are surely numbered, thanks to Sony, the first consumer electronics company to close a deal to produce TVs that need no accessories to receive digital cable signals. The memorandum of understanding, signed by all the major cable companies, doesn’t just apply to Sony; other electronics companies have been invited...
Vatican Opens Ancient Pagan Tomb
Associated Press
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May 28, 2008 12:11 PM CDT
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After a year of restoration work, the Vatican has unveiled one of the most luxurious pagan tombs buried in the necropolis beneath St. Peter’s Basilica, the AP reports. Built by Emperor Marcus Aurelius in the second century, the once open-air tomb was buried by Emperor Constantine in the fourth century. Now, it’s been enclosed in glass,...
10 Easy Breezy Summer Reads
MSNBC
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May 28, 2008 12:00 PM CDT
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The perfect summer read is like a breathmint: light, refreshing, and available for purchase at the airport. Cosmopolitan book editor John Searles dishes his top 10 titles of the season to MSNBC. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein: a family tell-all—from the dog’s POV The Story of a Marriage by Andrew...
Microsoft to Offer Windows Touch Screen
Wall Street Journal
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May 28, 2008 11:51 AM CDT
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Microsoft, still smarting over consumer discontent with its Windows Vista operating system, yesterday offered a peek at the touch-screen operating system it believes will revolutionize personal computing, the Wall Street Journal reports. The OS isn’t expected to hit shelves for 20 months, but already is creating buzz with its iPhone-like ease...
Amnesty Again Demands Gitmo Closure
New York Times
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May 28, 2008 11:46 AM CDT
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The US has “distinguished itself in recent years through defiance of international law,” says human-rights advocate Amnesty International in its annual reports, released today. The group called for the closure of Guantanamo Bay and other secret detention centers , the New York Times reports, and the prosecution of "detainees...
Baby-Stealing Charges Halt Adoptions
CNN
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May 28, 2008 11:39 AM CDT
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Guatemala and Vietnam, two of the most popular countries for international adoptions, recently halted their programs, following reports that some babies are kidnapped and put up for adoption or birth mothers coerced—fueled by the $30,000 an adoption can fetch. Vietnam says it will no longer allow adoptions to the US, while Guatemala will resume...
Rove Brushes Off McClellan Claims on Plame Deception
Chicago Tribune
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May 28, 2008 11:29 AM CDT
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With the political world abuzz over the harsh tone of Scott McClellan’s new memoir about the "culture of deception'' in the Bush White House, Karl Rove is defending himself against one of the former spokesman’s most damning claims—that Rove and Scooter Libby colluded in a Valerie Plame cover-up and misled McClellan on the...
Dad (Oh, and Pics) 'Out' LiLo, Sam
Us Weekly
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May 28, 2008 11:16 AM CDT
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Michael Lohan says his never-a-dull-moment daughter's lesbian relationship with celebrity DJ Samantha Ronson "is evident to anyone with half a brain," reports Us magazine. Papa had his brainstorm after photos surfaced over the weekend of the gal-pals canoodling at Diddy's Cannes yacht party.
Canadians Bully Burmese Junta With... Panties?
Sify.com
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May 28, 2008 10:59 AM CDT
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When international pressure fails, try… underwear? Canadian women think they can change the Myanmar junta’s ways by mailing a steady stream of panties to the Myanmar embassy in Ottawa, Sify reports. The military dictators apparently harbor a superstitious fear that touching a woman’s undergarment will “rob them of their power,”...
In Turmoil, Bernanke Forged New Persona
New York Times
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May 28, 2008 10:50 AM CDT
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Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke’s aggressive actions in March to douse the fire consuming financial markets won him fans on Wall Street and elsewhere, but created a cadre of critics who say the “Bernanke Doctrine” fuels inflation and hurts the dollar, the New York Times reports. “It has been a really head-spinning range...
Democrats Can't Find Cash for Convention
New York Times
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May 28, 2008 10:41 AM CDT
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Democrats aren’t just wringing their hands over who they’ll nominate at their national convention—they’re also wondering who's going to pick up the tab. The Denver host committee has raised just $25 million of the $40.6 million it needs by June 16, the New York Times reports, which has Dems scrambling to find donors—or...
Dunst: Depression Drove Me to Rehab
E! Online
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May 28, 2008 10:37 AM CDT
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Contrary to reports of broken-hearted hard-partying, Kirsten Dunst went to rehab for a far simpler problem—a good old fashioned case of the blues, Marc Malkin writes for E! Online. "I didn’t go to Cirque Lodge for alcohol abuse or drug abuse, I went there for depression," the Spider-Man star says.
Used Hybrid Market Soars
Newsweek
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May 28, 2008 10:22 AM CDT
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The rising price of gasoline has heated up the used hybrid market, leading Newsweek writer Keith Naughton to wonder about the staying-power of the pricey battery the part-electric cars run on. Initial fears that Prius batteries would die well before the expected life of the car have proven unfounded, and the cost has come down dramatically, but when...
Swayze Stays Buoyant, Out and About
People
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May 28, 2008 10:05 AM CDT
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People passes along an update from Patrick Swayze, who may look pale and gaunt but took in a Lakers game over the weekend, and wants fans to know the "great news" is he's responding well to treatment and able to keep up a busy life as he battles pancreatic cancer.
S. Africa to Build Refugee Camps for Foreigners
New York Times
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May 28, 2008 9:57 AM CDT
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South Africa is planning to establish refugee camps for the foreigners driven from their homes by anti-immigrant violence, the New York Times reports. The shelters, dubbed “temporary places of safety,” would initially house the 11,000 people sheltered near police stations across the country, but could eventually be expanded to as many...
Rachael Ray's 'Terror Scarf' Ad Yanked
Boston Globe
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May 28, 2008 9:44 AM CDT
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Dunkin' Donuts has pulled an ad featuring TV chef Rachael Ray after conservative commentators got tied in knots over her scarf, the Boston Globe reports. The black-and-white scarf around her neck looked a little too much like a keffiyeh—the traditional headwear of Arab men—for some observers, who howled in outrage and threatened a boycott...
New Vodafone CEO Has Tough Calls Ahead
Wall Street Journal
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May 28, 2008 9:20 AM CDT
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A slowing global economy and continued investor unease over Vodafone’s 45% stake in Verizon Wireless will likely provide a turbulent welcome for new CEO Vittorio Colao when he takes the reins of the wireless provider in July, the Wall Street Journal reports. Colao will succeed Arun Sarin, who's set to leave in July—earlier than previously...
Scouts Dig In for Philly Fight Over Gays
Philadelphia Inquirer
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May 28, 2008 9:09 AM CDT
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The Philadelphia chapter of the Boy Scouts of America is locked in a legal battle with the city over the group's refusal to enroll gays. Philadelphia gave the Scouts an ultimatum to quit their historic city-owned headquarters—or pay a new fair-market annual rent of $200,000. The Scouts have responded with a federal civil rights lawsuit and are...
Rogue al-Qaeda Backers Call for Nuke Attack in Online Video
Reuters
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May 28, 2008 8:52 AM CDT
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Al-Qaeda supporters will use an Internet video to call for the use of biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons in a new attack on civilians in the West, reports ABC News. FBI officials have alerted US law enforcement of the tape, said a spokesman, but emphasized that there is no evidence of a specific plot.
'Evangelist' Renter: Time to Buy
New York Times
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May 28, 2008 8:32 AM CDT
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As property prices head back down, a self-proclaimed "evangelist" of renting is trading in the lease for a mortgage. David Leonhardt of the New York Times has been advising people for years not to buy a home and get their money tied up in a housing bubble, but he now believes buying is starting to make sense again.
'Wingnutty' Webb Can't Be Obama VP
The Atlantic
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May 28, 2008 8:01 AM CDT
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Many liberals are pining for James Webb to be added to a Barack Obama ticket, but the Virginia senator is “completely unacceptable”—severely lacking on affirmative action (which he has called “state-sponsored racism”), on women’s issues (he’s said females in the military “poison” the environment...
Nepal to Become a Republic
BBC
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May 28, 2008 7:26 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Nepal is becoming a democratic republic today—and it's getting its first taste of democracy's hiccups. As thousands gathered in the streets of Kathmandu to celebrate, the newly-elected constitutional assembly met to abolish the country’s monarchy. But the momentous vote has been delayed a few hours over disagreements about the role of the...
Split Twin Sues Hospital After Fluke Meeting 28 Years Later
Times (UK)
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May 28, 2008 7:15 AM CDT
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An identical twin separated at birth from her sister in a hospital mix-up and reunited by a fluke 28 years later is suing Spanish health authorities, reports the Times of London. The mistake didn't come to light until one of the sisters walked into a shop run by a friend of the other. The friend, startled when the woman snubbed her, realized she...
Auschwitz Gaffe Trips Obama
Reuters
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May 28, 2008 7:00 AM CDT
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Barack Obama has admitted he got his concentration camps mixed up when speaking to a Memorial Day audience, Reuters reports. The candidate spoke of how his great-uncle helped liberate Auschwitz when, as Republicans were quick to point out, that couldn't have happened unless his relative was in the Soviet Red Army. Obama's great-uncle was actually among...
Barak Calls for Olmert to Quit
BBC
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May 28, 2008 6:41 AM CDT
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Israel's defense minister told Ehud Olmert to take a leave of absence or step down while he battles corruption charges, reports the BBC, and threatened to leave the country's governing coalition if he refused. "The prime minister needs to disconnect himself from the day-to-day management of the government," said Ehud Barak. A US businessman...
Self-Fixing Plane in the Works
Gizmag
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May 28, 2008 5:55 AM CDT
(Newser) -
British aerospace engineers are working on technology that could create self-repairing aircraft, Gizmag reports. In a technique very much like nature's healing process, resin would "bleed" out of damaged parts of the plane and harden, making a damaged aircraft strong enough to continue to fly until it could be repaired properly on the ground.
Witness IDs Kelly In Child Porn Tape
Chicago Sun-Times
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May 28, 2008 5:33 AM CDT
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Witnesses in the R. Kelly child-porn case have identified the singer and a young teen girl in a sex tape, reports the Chicago Sun-Times . “I didn't want to think it was them,” said Kelly’s former assistant, but on a second viewing, she was “110%” certain. The girl would come to Kelly's studio "after school and do...
$4 a Gallon? Keep It Coming!
New York Times
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May 28, 2008 5:05 AM CDT
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The ideal presidential candidate wouldn’t pledge to cut gas prices—but would promise instead never to let them fall below $4 a gallon, writes Thomas L. Friedman in the New York Times . The high prices are finally forcing America to use fuel-efficient cars—and that’s crucial for the environment, and frees us from foreign oil...
It's Karma: Chinese Cinema Bans Sharon Stone Films
Associated Press
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May 28, 2008 4:49 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Instant karma got actress Sharon Stone in China yesterday, reports the AP. The nation's biggest cinema chain has banned the actress' movies since the shoot-from-the-lip star suggested that the Sichuan earthquake that killed as many as 80,000 people could have been bad "karma" for the way China treats Tibet. The remarks have sparked widespread...
7 Cops Cut Down in Mexican Drug Battle
CNN
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May 28, 2008 4:23 AM CDT
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A gun battle in Mexico's drug capital of Culiacan ended with seven federal police officers and a civilian lying dead, and four officers wounded. Drug dealers opened fire and hurled a grenade as police raided a drug house in the city, where 1,000 people have died in drug-related violence since the beginning of the year, reports CNN.
Sopranos Star Auctioning Mob Duds to Help Vets
E! Online
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May 28, 2008 3:55 AM CDT
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Anybody who ever wanted to dress like New Jersey's most famous fictional mobster could soon find an offer they can't refuse, reports E! Online. James Gandolfini is auctioning off 24 costumes he wore as mob boss Tony Soprano—including the blood-spattered ensemble the character wore when he was shot. All proceeds from the sale next month will go...
Another United Merger Crashes
New York Times
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May 28, 2008 3:20 AM CDT
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A proposed merger between United Airlines and rival US Airways has collapsed, just a month after a deal between United and Continental fell apart. Some analysts predicted the rising cost of jet fuel would power merger deals, but the failed negotiations have raised serious questions about the success of future consolidation in the airline industry,...
Childhood Lead Levels Linked to Adult Crime
Los Angeles Times
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May 28, 2008 3:01 AM CDT
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Childhood lead exposure has been linked to smaller brains and criminal behavior in adulthood, reports the Los Angeles Times. Researchers studying childhood blood contamination in old Cincinnati buildings with lead-based paint discovered that each 5 microgram-per-deciliter increase in blood lead levels by the age of 6 was accompanied by a 50% increase...
Records Float Away for Hapless Skydiver
New York Times
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May 28, 2008 2:38 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The third time was not a charm for a retired French army officer-turned-daredevil who hoped yesterday to parachute to earth from the edge of outer space. Michel Fournier's latest attempt to ride a balloon 25 miles up before his death-defying, 15-minute leap—a feat which would have smashed several records—ended with a whimper when...
This Season's Hot Accessory: The Movie Tie-In
Forbes
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May 27, 2008 10:12 PM CDT
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For the innumerable entities cashing in on Sex and the City, the movie due out Friday is the tip of the multimillion-dollar iceberg, reports Forbes. New Line Cinema, which has tie-in deals with eight companies, compares the likely blockbuster to “the Super Bowl for women.” Other high-end beneficiaries include Vivienne Westwood and,...
Gitmo Defense Lawyers See Case as a 'Privilege'
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
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May 27, 2008 9:32 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Defending a Guantanamo Bay detainee isn't a normal pro bono case for Seattle corporate lawyers used to making $575 an hour, the Post-Intelligencer reports: But Harry Schneider and Joe McMillan say the "effort to rein in" what they see as President Bush's legal abuse is motivation enough. "Even a king can't do that," Schneider...
Yahoo Suit Targets Lottery Scammers
PC World
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May 27, 2008 8:50 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Yahoo is suing a group of unidentified spammers who’ve sent emails claiming to be from the "Yahoo International Lottery Organization," soliciting personal information and sometimes money from purported lottery winners. Yahoo is seeking damages for fraudulent use of its trademarks, but it might prove hard to identify the scammers, especially...
McClellan Blasts Bush in Harsh New Memoir
Politico
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May 27, 2008 8:24 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Former White House spokesman Scott McClellan blasts President Bush for not being "open and forthright" about the war in Iraq and using "propaganda" to sell it, Politico reports. The president "veered terribly off course," McClellan writes in his surprisingly harsh new memoir. He also criticizes the press for not challenging...
