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.
China Evacuates 80,000 on Flood Fears
Associated Press
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May 27, 2008 7:09 AM CDT
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Chinese officials hurried to evacuate 80,000 people today near quake-hit Beichuan as waters rose in a dammed river, the AP reports. Soldiers are working to blast and dig a channel to drain some of the 34 billion gallons of water now held by the fragile dam, created by a quake-driven landslide. The new evacuations bring the total number of people cleared...
Aussie Pardoned 86 Years After Execution
Reuters
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May 27, 2008 6:27 AM CDT
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An Australian man hanged for raping and murdering a 12-year-old girl has been pardoned 86 years after his execution, Reuters reports. Hairs found in his bed that were said to belong to the victim weren’t hers, recent tests showed. The attorney general said the case was a warning against the use of the death penalty, which hasn't been imposed...
8 Shot in Harlem Rampage
New York Daily News
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May 27, 2008 6:00 AM CDT
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At least seven young people are in the hospital with gunshot wounds after a shooter went on a rampage in Harlem, the New York Daily News reports. Cops believe the gunman was taking revenge after being jumped at a basketball tournament earlier in the day. The victims, all but one teenagers, were wounded within a three-block radius. The gunman is still...
Report Bares Child Abuse by Peacekeepers
BBC
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May 27, 2008 5:07 AM CDT
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A shocking number of children as young as 6 are being sexually abused by peacekeepers and aid workers sent to protect them, a top global charity has found. Children are “suffering sexual exploitation and abuse in silence,” fearful of speaking out, said a representative for Save the Children. An organization survey uncovered cases in Sudan,...
'On-Form' Kennedy Grabs 2nd Place in Regatta
Boston Herald
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May 27, 2008 4:48 AM CDT
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Ted Kennedy didn't miss the start of the sailing season, despite his recent diagnosis of brain cancer, reports the Boston Herald . The senator made a surprise decision to compete in the last leg of the Figawi regatta off Cape Cod, and guided his schooner into second place. Family and friends said Kennedy was his usual self—and is looking forward...
Drugged California Tourist Killed by Train in Rome
Los Angeles Times
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May 27, 2008 4:27 AM CDT
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An elderly American tourist drugged by a thief was killed by a train as he wandered along the tracks in a daze, the Los Angeles Times reports. The 76-year-old traveler and his wife were befriended by a man who gave them drug-laced cappuccinos in a Rome train station and then robbed them as they slept. A 54-year-old suspect has been arrested.
Indiana Jones Whips Up $311M
Variety
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May 27, 2008 4:00 AM CDT
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Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull has struck it rich, racking up the most lucrative international opening of all time and the second highest US weekend box office take ever in a blockbuster weekend for the Steven Spielberg epic. The film grossed $151 million domestically and $160 million overseas, Variety reports. It's Paramount's...
Gas Prices Drive Americans Off the Road
CNN
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May 27, 2008 3:31 AM CDT
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The summer driving season that kicked off over Memorial Day weekend will see significantly fewer Americans hitting the road, reports CNN: Figures from March released yesterday show the biggest decline in driving since the federal government began keeping records in 1942—down 4.3% or 11 billion miles from last year. Gas consumption for the first...
Sir Paul Picks Up Yale Doctorate
Yale Daily News
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May 27, 2008 3:09 AM CDT
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Former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney was awarded an honorary doctorate in music by Yale University yesterday during the 307th commencement at the Ivy League institution. The identities of recipients of honorary degrees are usually a closely guarded secret, but McCartney's presence on the Yale campus was impossible to keep under wraps, reports the Yale...
Canadian Minister Quits After Blunder With Lover
Canada.com
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May 27, 2008 2:45 AM CDT
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Canada's foreign affairs minister has been forced to resign because he left NATO summit briefing documents at the home of his former girlfriend. Maxime Bernier was already under fire for his just-dumped lover's connection to Quebec biker gangs, and his resignation follows other embarrassing revelations that have plagued the Canadian government, reports...
Wings Skate by Waddling Penguins, 3-0
Detroit News
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May 27, 2008 1:00 AM CDT
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In the second game of the Stanley Cup finals last night, the Red Wings had made eight shots and scored two goals before the Penguins attempted their first shot, and the lopsidedness continued throughout the game, writes the Detroit News . After a 3-0 loss last night, Pittsburgh has yet to score, as experience appears to be trumping youth.
Oscar Winner Sydney Pollack Dead at 73
New York Times
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May 26, 2008 8:48 PM CDT
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Oscar-winning filmmaker Sidney Pollack died of cancer today at age 73 in Los Angeles, the New York Times reports. His career, defined by classics like Tootsie and Out of Africa , spanned an era when directors wrangled stars and battled studios to make artful yet commercial films. He later grieved that mainstream movies are good only by "accident"...
UN Nuke Watchdog Accuses Iran of Hiding Data
BBC
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May 26, 2008 8:04 PM CDT
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The UN's nuclear watchdog blasted Tehran today for hiding data on its nuclear weapons program, BBC reports. The UN said Iran had blocked access to documents and experts while running 3,500 centrifuges, which can enrich uranium for nuclear weapons. Iran quickly vowed to keep enriching uranium and said it had "left no question unanswered."
Cops Can't Afford Gas Prices Either
Associated Press
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May 26, 2008 7:25 PM CDT
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With gas prices near $4 a gallon, more US police are saving money by peddling around, the AP reports. One cop shop in Bedford, Va., for example, has saved up to 400 gallons of fuel per month by buying just 8 bikes. But the two-wheelers don't come cheap: With crime-stopping features like a silent hub, a police bike runs about $1,100.
Mac, Obama Clash at Memorial Day Rallies
Bloomberg
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May 26, 2008 6:45 PM CDT
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Barack Obama and John McCain dueled at Memorial Day rallies in New Mexico today, Bloomberg reports. Obama restated his support for a new veterans bill, while McCain said an alternate plan would better reward those who reenlist. "Our bill has a sliding scale," he said, that "increases benefits according to the veteran's length of service."
Salon 's Favorite Thrillers
Salon
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May 26, 2008 6:09 PM CDT
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Memorial Day means beaches, languid hours, and a page-turner within reach—so Salon has collared the season's best thrillers. This year's lineup includes: An art forger who gets in too deep; a Stalinist official who tries to do good; and a college prof who needs help solving an imaginary murder. Let's dive in!
China's Olympic Wonders Dazzle—at First
New Yorker
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May 26, 2008 5:27 PM CDT
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Beijing's new Olympic buildings will impress the world at first glance, Paul Goldberger writes in the New Yorker . The National Stadium boasts a lattice of crisscrossing beams, and the blue-gray Aquatic Center seems underwater with its translucent plastic pillows. But peel back the paint, and see evidence of what enrages the world about China.
Bad Habits: It's Who You Know
Washington Post
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May 26, 2008 4:48 PM CDT
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If your friends all jumped off a bridge, you'd probably listen to your mom and not follow them, but how about if they started exercising? New research into social networks—in 3D, not on MySpace or Facebook—shows people are more likely to quit smoking or lose weight if someone close to them does likewise. The search for other applications...
Oldest WWI Veteran, 107, Looks Back
MyFox Kansas City
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May 26, 2008 4:21 PM CDT
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Memorial Day observances in Kansas City this weekend had a very special guest: the last surviving American veteran of the Great War. Frank Buckles, 107, who hoodwinked a recruiter to enlist in 1917, was honored today at the World War I Museum, Fox 4 News reports. "I was gung-ho," the onetime ambulance driver told the Kansas City Star yesterday...
Times Editorial Has White House Seeing Red
The Hill
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May 26, 2008 3:57 PM CDT
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The New York Times lambasted President Bush in an editorial today for opposing the new GI Bill, and the White House swiftly fired back, the Hill reports. The paper “irresponsibly distorted” Bush's opposition to the bill, said a statement from press secretary Dana Perino, who said the editorial "could not be farther from the truth...
Distracted US Finds Mideast Clout Waning
Reuters
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May 26, 2008 3:45 PM CDT
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The Bush Administration's problems are hardly confined to abysmal domestic approval ratings, writes veteran Reuters journalist Jonathan Wright. Middle Eastern leaders are paying less and less attention to the lame-duck president, who spoke of the need to isolate Hamas during a visit to Egypt last week—even as his host was mediating discussions...
Bush v. Gore 's Lessons for 2008
New Yorker
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May 26, 2008 3:30 PM CDT
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Memorial Day dates from the Civil War, but this week, thanks to HBO’s Recount, a different internecine conflict will be in the air: the 2000 election. The generally factual portrayal of the Florida snafu gets Hendrik Hertzberg of the New Yorker thinking about another hairsplitting debate over vote counting. Perhaps inevitably, he zeros in...
China Eases One-Child Rule for Quake Victims
Sydney Morning Herald
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May 26, 2008 3:06 PM CDT
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China will waive its one-child policy for some survivors of this month's deadly quakes, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. The 3-decade-old rule meant that many of the 65,000-plus victims of the disaster were only children; parents whose kids were killed or injured will be eligible for permission to have another child.
Hacker Adds Bestiality to Fairy Tale
Contra Costa Times
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May 26, 2008 2:31 PM CDT
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A miscreant hacked into a California library's phone "story line" and recorded an obscenity-laced tale about sex between a pig and a dog. The mother of a 6-year-old quickly realized something was wrong and notified the library, reports the Conta Costa Times .
Fox News Guest Jokes About Killing Obama
Editor & Publisher
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May 26, 2008 2:10 PM CDT
(Newser) -
A Fox News analyst yesterday laughingly suggested on the air that Barack Obama be "knocked off." Commenting on Hillary Clinton's recent remarks about RFK's assassination, Liz Trotta referred to "what some are reading as a suggestion that somebody knock off Osama, uh Obama—well, both, if we could." She apologized today for...
Martian Arctic Says Cheese
CNN
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May 26, 2008 1:39 PM CDT
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The Mars Phoenix Lander is sending NASA the first photos of the red planet's northern polar region, CNN reports. On its 3-month mission, the lander will “taste and sniff the northern polar site’s soil and ice,” the agency said. The photos show brown polygons checkering the landscape as far as the eye can see.
Aussie Anglican Won't Make Nice for Papal Visit
Sydney Morning Herald
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May 26, 2008 1:09 PM CDT
(Newser) -
An influential Anglican cleric won’t be welcoming Pope Benedict to Australia with open arms. But the outspoken dean of Sydney, whose brother is the city's archbishop, says he has no trouble with the public funding that's going toward the pontiff's July visit. Phillip Jensen says he won’t be “going to see him or waving a flag,”...
China Races to Clear Quake-Dammed Rivers
Associated Press
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May 26, 2008 12:45 PM CDT
(Newser) -
China is struggling to clear rivers and lakes dammed with earthquake debris before the impending rainy season worsens flooding, the AP reports. In Beichuan county, 1,800 soldiers arrived today, each bearing 22 pounds of explosives to blast obstructions impeding access to a nearby lake, and helicopters are airlifting heavy equipment. But thunderstorms...
General on Funeral Duty: 'Grief Is the Crushing Load'
Washington Post
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May 26, 2008 12:33 PM CDT
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At every funeral for a soldier killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, an Army officer attends, to represent the service and oversee the military rituals involved. Maj. Gen. William Troy has drawn funeral duty 23 times, and for Memorial Day, he writes in the Washington Post about an always-wrenching experience : "You comfort where you can and bear...
Oprah's Slipping—or TV Is
New York Times
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May 26, 2008 12:17 PM CDT
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Oprah’s still the queen, but her ratings have been sliding, the New York Times reports. Her flagship show's average ratings have fallen 7% this year, continuing 3 straight years of slipping; her reality show, Oprah’s Big Give , lost about a third of its audience over the course of its single run. Meanwhile, O magazine has lost 10%...
Surprise! Half of US Pregnancies Are Accidents
Boston Globe
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May 26, 2008 11:58 AM CDT
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Nearly half of all US pregnancies are accidents, a new survey shows. The risk of unintended pregnancy is especially high for women unsatisfied with their contraceptive method, says the report, released by a think tank on reproductive issues. The problem isn't laziness or absent-mindedness, reports the Boston Globe —it's a complex combination...
Tennis Star Takes It Off for Playboy
Associated Press
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May 26, 2008 11:36 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Ashley Harkleroad lost to fellow American Serena Williams at the French Open yesterday, but Harkleroad grabbed the headlines, revealing that she recently posed for Playboy, the AP reports. Harkleroad, 23, posed while recovering from having an ovary removed. “I was just laying there… and an offer came,” she said. “I thought,...
Spreadsheets Can't Handle Democrats' Haul
Politico
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May 26, 2008 11:16 AM CDT
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The Democratic presidential candidates have raised so much money that the FEC can’t handle the data, Politico reports. Barack Obama’s January report was so big that industry standard spreadsheet programs like Microsoft Excel 2003 couldn’t handle it. By March, Hillary Clinton had also broken the Excel barrier—a mere 65,536 rows...
Oh, Baby! Jumpers Ward Off Devil
BBC
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May 26, 2008 11:03 AM CDT
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Men dressed as demons leapt over rows of placid babies in a Spanish village yesterday in a rite intended to protect them from evil spirits. During a festival marking the Catholic feast of Corpus Christi, infants lie on mattresses as long-jumpers in red-and-yellow costumes fly over them. No one was hurt in the annual event, the BBC reports. The village...
DNA Scientists Finally Clear Gender Barrier
Associated Press
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May 26, 2008 10:32 AM CDT
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Dutch scientists have sequenced the a female human genome, reports the AP. The first human genome was sequenced in 2001; since then, scientists have mapped four male individuals' DNA. "It was time, after sequencing four males, to balance the genders a bit," says the lead researcher.
Barr Set for Libertarians
Associated Press
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May 26, 2008 10:12 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Bob Barr won the Libertarian nomination yesterday, beating scientist Mary Ruwart 324-276 after six rounds of voting. The former GOP congressman from Georgia then swiftly named fifth-round dropout Wayne Allyn Root as his vice-presidential choice. Former Democratic candidate Mike Gravel, meanwhile, dropped out in the fourth round.
The New Segregation: This Time It's Political
Los Angeles Times
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May 26, 2008 9:46 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The good news? Apathy is on the decline. The bad news? The new political activism is tearing the country apart, writes Gregory Rodriguez in the Los Angeles Times, with political divides turning into geographic ones, too. The country is segregating itself according to politics, moving to areas full of like-minded people. In 1976, only 38% of counties...
Airlines Forced to Front Cash for Fuel
Times (UK)
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May 26, 2008 9:32 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Cash-strapped airlines are now being pressured to pay millions of dollars in advance for aviation fuel, reports the Times of London. Mandatory prepayment for fuel has become common in the US and is now moving to Europe as crude oil prices continue to rise and the solvency of the industry is uncertain. Jet fuel costs have soared 60% since January.
For Internet Ministers, a Lark Becomes a Passion
Chicago Tribune
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May 26, 2008 9:02 AM CDT
(Newser) -
It starts when friends asks you to officiate at their wedding, but it often doesn't end there. Many who become ministers with the click of a mouse—through the Universal Life Church or the Church of Spiritual Humanism—find themselves staying in the marriage business, the Chicago Tribune reports. Forging bonds becomes a pleasurable sideline—almost...
Senate Homecoming Won't Be Glorious
New York Times
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May 26, 2008 8:42 AM CDT
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If Hillary Clinton does indeed lose the Democratic nomination, her Senate homecoming won’t be a glorious one, the New York Times reports. Clinton is still a junior senator, ranking 36th out of 49 Democrats, and would need to leapfrog a lot of people to become a committee chair—much less majority leader, which is considered fanciful in...
Hybrid Owners Put the Pedal to Fuel Efficiency
Washington Post
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May 26, 2008 8:29 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Leaving the bad old days of drag-racing in the dust, greenies are now engaging in their own race for fuel efficiency, reports the Washington Post. With hybrid vehicles such as the Toyota Prius giving up-to-the-second feedback on just how much gas passing that little old lady in the right lane is guzzling, many drivers are adjusting their habits to...
MLK's FIrst Grandchild Born
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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May 26, 2008 7:48 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The first grandchild of Martin Luther King Jr. was born yesterday morning in Atlanta to Martin Luther King III and his wife, Arndrea Waters King, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Yolanda Renee King is named after the civil rights leader's oldest child, who died last year. Baby Yolanda and mom are doing fine. Her father called Yolanda “a...
Family of 5 Found Dead in San Clemente
Los Angeles Times
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May 26, 2008 7:17 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Authorities are hoping that autopsies shed light on what happened to a family of five that was found dead in a San Clemente house yesterday, the Los Angeles Times reports. The bodies—of an elderly woman, a man and woman in their 40s, and twin females in their early 20s—went undiscovered for 2-3 weeks, and were significantly decomposed....
Kassin+2 Lets Sun Shine In
Spin
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May 26, 2008 6:52 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Kassin+2's Futurismo is a superb summer album, writes Chandler Levack in Spin . The trend-setting Brazilian trio mixes "samba, airy folk, and sheer mysticism" to wrap up their album trilogy in fine fashion. Notable tracks include "Pra Lembrar," which "floats on soft keys," and "Samba Machine," with a blazing...
Kickball 'Pirate' Busted With Sword at Macy's
New York Post
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May 26, 2008 5:50 AM CDT
(Newser) -
A knuckle-headed player for a local "Pirates" kickball team was busted at Macy's in Manhattan yesterday for sporting an actual swashbuckler's sword, reports the New York Post . The 29-year-old player told police the sword was a "prop" he was taking to a game—but cops were not amused. "It's not a toy. It's sharp,"...
8 Killed as Tornadoes Hammer Midwest
CNN
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May 26, 2008 5:17 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Midwestern tornadoes killed seven people in Iowa and a toddler in Minnesota yesterday as they tore paths of destruction through communities, CNN reports. The southern half of a town in Iowa was unrecognizable after a twister demolished the local high school, commercial areas and some 200 houses. At least 50 people were injured in the town of...
Quake-Hit Colombians Hunker Down
Reuters
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May 26, 2008 5:00 AM CDT
(Newser) -
After Saturday’s 5.6-magnitude quake which sparked landslides, hundreds of Colombians gathered in temporary shelters yesterday, reluctant to return home for fear of further shake-ups, Reuters reports. Colombia’s Red Cross reported 11 deaths and 54 injuries, with some 5,000 facing damaged homes and other buildings. President Alvaro Uribe...
Speculators to Blame for Soaring Oil: Soros
Telegraph (UK)
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May 26, 2008 4:40 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Billionaire investor George Soros blames soaring oil prices that reached a record $135 a barrel last week largely on speculation that’s causing a “bubble” in numbers, the Daily Telegraph reports. The weak US dollar, slipping Middle East oil supply, and rising Chinese demand all play a role, but “speculation is increasingly...
Vietnam Vets in Hog Heaven
Washington Post
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May 26, 2008 4:18 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Thousands of Harleys roared past Washington's Vietnam Veterans Memorial yesterday in what has become a Memorial Day weekend tradition: the "iron salute" of members of national veterans organization Rolling Thunder. It's a festival of engines, leather, denim and patriotism, reports the Washington Post .
Billions Wasted in UN Carbon Program: Study
Guardian (UK)
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May 26, 2008 3:38 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Billions of dollars spent to encourage developing nations to cut greenhouse gas emissions are being wasted on projects that don't qualify, according to two new studies of the UN's carbon credit program. The Kyoto agreement arranges for wealthy countries unable to meet emission reductions to instead subsidize green energy projects in developing countries....
