Newser Story Index from June, 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.
Russian Soccer's No. 1 Fan? The Kremlin
New Republic
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Jun 26, 2008 8:51 AM CDT
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Russia's soccer team takes the field against Spain today in the Euro 2008 quarterfinals with an unlikely and ardent cheering section—the Kremlin. The team, resurging after years in decline, can thank the hefty monetary backing of an oil magnate afraid to run afoul of Moscow. And, as Josh Patashnik writes in the New Republic , "This is Vladimir...
Docs Pay Patients to Post Surgeries on YouTube
New York Times
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Jun 26, 2008 8:41 AM CDT
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When her doctor offered her a $100 discount to post her Lasek surgery on YouTube, Michelle Wilder was perplexed. “I was wondering, ‘Who wants to see my surgery?’” she says. But the money talked, and now you can see Wilder, and thousands of others, go under the knife online, the New York Times reports. More and more cosmetic...
Delicately, Team Clinton Gets Behind Obama
New York Times
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Jun 26, 2008 8:24 AM CDT
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Under the eye of one of Washington's most powerful lawyers, Barack Obama is negotiating with Hillary Clinton over a tangle of issues, from how to retire her campaign debt to what role she will play in this summer's convention. The Democratic party is slowly recovering from its bruising primary fight with the aid of Robert Barnett, who brokered book...
Yahoo Defends Rejection of Alternate Microsoft Offer
MarketWatch
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Jun 26, 2008 8:09 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Yahoo yesterday launched an offensive against billionaire Carl Icahn’s attempt to displace the board, detailing in a letter to shareholders why accepting Microsoft’s alternative $8-billion search-only deal would have diminished Yahoo’s value and hurt the company strategically, reports MarketWatch. CEO Jerry Yang and Chairman Roy Bostock...
Japan's Big 3 Move Into New Markets
New York Times
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Jun 26, 2008 7:50 AM CDT
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Japan’s automakers, traditionally focused on North America and near-home markets, are expanding aggressively into new territories as opportunities shift to Africa, India, and the former Soviet Union, reports the New York Times. One analyst said 76% of the global growth of the Big Three—Toyota, Honda, and Nissan—in the next 6 years...
North Korea Hands Over Nuclear Data
BBC
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Jun 26, 2008 7:36 AM CDT
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The North Korean regime has submitted a long-awaited rundown of its nuclear program to China, 6 months after its due date. The report is expected to detail the nation's plutonium enrichment efforts, but will probably leave out details of its nuclear arsenal, reports the BBC. The White House responded by notifying Congress of its intent to remove North...
Can Fish-Hungry Japan Go Sustainable?
Gourmet
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Jun 26, 2008 7:16 AM CDT
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Japan loves its fish: The island nation consumes an average of 147 pounds per person a year, compared to America’s 17. So, Samuel Fromartz wonders in Gourmet , how can Japanese fisheries continue to support supermarket fish counters as large as an entire US meat section? The answer, slowly gaining ground, is sustainable fishing, and retailers’...
Refugees: Iraq's Unspoken Crisis
New York Times
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Jun 26, 2008 6:56 AM CDT
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New York Times columnist Nicholas D. Kristof travels to Jordan to report on one of the unintended consequences of the Iraq war: a regional refugee crisis. About 2 million Iraqis, mostly Sunnis, have fled since the war, living mostly in Jordan and Syria in deplorable conditions. "They are the new Palestinians," writes Kristof, "the...
Quest on for Chocolate Genome
Washington Post
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Jun 26, 2008 6:44 AM CDT
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Candy giant Mars is investing $10 million in a 5-year research project to unlock the secrets of chocolate's genetic code—the cocoa genome—as the first stage in developing cacao trees that can produce more, survive droughts, and combat disease. Mars intends to make the results public to stop key genes from being privately patented, reports...
Obama Backs Death Penalty for Child Rapists
Associated Press
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Jun 26, 2008 6:10 AM CDT
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Barack Obama joined rival John McCain yesterday in supporting the death penalty for child rapists, the AP reports. The Democratic candidate spoke after the Supreme Court ruled against a Louisiana law allowing capital punishment for child rape, saying it violates the constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment. The verdict negates similar laws...
Ads Tap Into That 'Mad-as-Hell' Feeling
New York Times
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Jun 26, 2008 5:14 AM CDT
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Advertisers are feeling our pain. So they're tapping into consumer rage over rising prices by saying "we understand," and using that to sell products and services. Take a Southwest ad that asks what the competitors have been smoking. "Apparently, your rolled-up $20s," it quips. A legion of ads has cropped in similar fashion to assure...
Brangelina Donate $1M to Kids Hurt by Iraq War
Associated Press
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Jun 26, 2008 4:47 AM CDT
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Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie—soon to be proud parents of six—are doling out $1 million for other people's kids, AP reports. The Jolie-Pitt Foundation will give counseling and educational aid to Iraqis and Americans who have lost their parents, homes or schools in the Iraqi War. Last year, the couple gave $300,000 to help Darfur refugees.
75% Blame Bush for Faltering Economy
Los Angeles Times
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Jun 26, 2008 4:20 AM CDT
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A new poll paints a gloomy picture of a pessimistic America struggling with soaring gas prices and a deteriorating economy—and blaming President Bush. Three of four Americans—including a large number of Republicans—hold the president responsible for the economic downturn, according to a Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll. The president's...
City Plans to Test Every Bronx Adult for HIV
New York Times
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Jun 26, 2008 3:50 AM CDT
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City officials aim to test every Bronx adult for HIV by 2011 under an ambitious initiative to tackle the high rate of AIDS deaths in the borough, the New York Times reports. The voluntary testing would become routine in emergency rooms and storefront clinics and would pare down consent requirements into a 5-minute presentation health care providers...
Fuhgeddaboutit! Soprano Garb Grabs $200K
E! Online
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Jun 26, 2008 3:30 AM CDT
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Fans of fictional mob boss Tony Soprano shelled out nearly $200,000 for the outfits he wore on his hit TV series, including a set of "blood-spattered" threads, reports E! Online. Top grossing was the suit and undershirt Tony wore when Uncle Junior shot him in season 6, which fetched $44,000. The money will go to the Wounded Warriors charity...
Pickens Stiffs Witnesses Against Swift Boat Ads
Dallas Morning News
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Jun 26, 2008 3:00 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The billionaire who bankrolled the notorious Swift Boat ads discrediting John Kerry's military record during his 2004 presidential run has rejected evidence that the ads were false. T. Boone Pickens offered a million dollars for proof the ads contained falsehoods—but has refused to acknowledge information provided by 10 men who served with Kerry,...
Studios Brace for Actors' Strike
New York Times
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Jun 26, 2008 2:30 AM CDT
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TV and movie studios are scrambling to be as prepared as possible in the event of an actors' strike when the union contract expires Monday, reports the New York Times. Movie studios had long planned to finish projects by the deadline—and TV studios have been rushing productions to finish next season’s episodes early. “We’re...
Scientists Find Fossil of Most Primitive 4-Legged Creature
Associated Press
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Jun 26, 2008 2:08 AM CDT
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Scientists have found a partial skeleton of the world's most primitive four-legged creature— a water-dwelling tetrapod—in Latvia, AP reports. The four-foot-long fish eater resembles a small alligator and likely belongs to an extinct offshoot of the four-legged family tree. The fossil is 365 million years old—predating dinosaurs by...
Mandela Blasts Mugabe's 'Tragic Failure of Leadership'
BBC
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Jun 25, 2008 10:00 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Nelson Mandela broke his silence today and denounced the "tragic failure of leadership" of Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe. The influential former South African leader had previously held back so he wouldn't undermine the authority of mediator Thabo Mbeki, the BBC reports. "The world remains beset by so much human suffering," he said....
For Sale: Chicago Landmark
Chicago Sun-Times
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Jun 25, 2008 9:44 PM CDT
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Saddled by debt from his acquisition of the Tribune Company media empire, billionaire Sam Zell may sell off the iconic Chicago headquarters of the Tribune newspaper, he said yesterday. The 83-year-old Tribune Tower could fetch $250 million, analysts told the Sun-Times , with Zell likely needing to assure a new owner that the newspaper would continue...
FBI Busts Child Prostitution Networks
Associated Press
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Jun 25, 2008 9:29 PM CDT
(AP) -
Hundreds of people have been arrested and 21 children rescued in what the FBI is calling a five-day roundup of networks of pimps who force children into prostitution. In all, authorities arrested 345 people, including 290 adult prostitutes, during the operation that ended this week in 16 major cities. "The sex trafficking of children remains one...
Tim McGraw's His Own Bouncer
TMZ
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Jun 25, 2008 8:48 PM CDT
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Tim McGraw took matters into his own hands when a rowdy fan got violent in the front row, TMZ reports. When McGraw saw the beefy man strike a woman during a concert in Washington state Tuesday night, he called for security while in mid-song, then reached down from the stage, and grabbed the guy.
World Body Postpones Decision on Whale Hunts
Economist
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Jun 25, 2008 8:25 PM CDT
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A moratorium on commercial whaling looks set to continue for another year after an international body put off a decision yesterday, the Economist notes, but its fate beyond that appears tenuous. The 81-nation International Whaling Commission, often paralyzed by conflicting views, also decided to revamp its decision-making process by forming a core...
Gene Test May Rewrite Breast Cancer Screening
Guardian (UK)
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Jun 25, 2008 7:57 PM CDT
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Scientists say they will soon be able to take a simple mouth swab from women to better determine their risk of breast cancer, the Guardian reports. Researchers at Cambridge University have zeroed in on several genetic variants—with more to come—that offer a far more precise measure of a woman's risk than current tests. The development...
Noise Pollution Getting Louder and More Dangerous
Salon
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Jun 25, 2008 7:25 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Ear-splitting car alarms, predawn street cleaners, ubiquitous leaf-blowers, and other forms of noise pollution are louder than ever and posing a genuine risk to people's health, writes Katharine Mieszkowski in Salon. Loud noises damage hearing, raise blood pressure, ruin sleep, and, in fact, cause tens of thousands of deaths a year, says the World...
Budweiser to Reject InBev Offer
Wall Street Journal
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Jun 25, 2008 7:00 PM CDT
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Anheuser-Busch plans to reject Belgian brewer InBev's $46 billion offer to buy the company, the Wall Street Journal reports. The decision is not expected to deter InBev, however, which could launch a hostile takeover bid, the Journal notes. InBev wants to acquire the St. Louis brewer—the maker of Budweiser—to create the world's largest...
Democrats in House Catch Populist Fever
Politico
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Jun 25, 2008 6:39 PM CDT
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Despite conventional wisdom suggesting Congress would be in a holding pattern until November, a new surge of energy behind Democratic domestic spending bills is poised to deliver populist promise this summer. An airline passenger bill of rights—an “unapologetic attempt to position lawmakers on the side of harried travelers,” writes...
Contrast in Defense Chiefs: Blunt Vet vs. Rhodes Scholar
NPR
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Jun 25, 2008 6:13 PM CDT
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How would a McCain Pentagon differ from Obama's? NPR sits own with two potential defense chiefs and finds common ground in their praise of Robert Gates' reforms but big differences in their approach to Iraq and in their own styles. Richard Armitage is an earthy McCain adviser and Vietnam vet who appreciates the value of "an infantryman with a...
Mandela to Nutty Naomi: You're Not on the List
Daily Mail (UK)
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Jun 25, 2008 5:50 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Nelson Mandela personally barred Naomi Campbell from a London concert to celebrate his 90th birthday Friday, the Daily Mail reports, days after the supermodel was sentenced for assaulting airport police officers. The anti-apartheid hero—whom Campbell calls her "honorary grandfather"—is said to be particularly disappointed that...
Daring Architecture Energizes Beijing
New Yorker
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Jun 25, 2008 5:30 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Some of the world’s most adventurous architects have found a gung-ho partner in Beijing, the most noticable payoff being the soon-to-be completed CCTV headquarters—"a dazzling reinvention of the skyscraper," writes Paul Goldberger in the New Yorker. Other creations, such as an ovoid peforming arts center dismissed as "the...
Germany Wins Soccer Thriller After World TV Feed Fails
Associated Press
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Jun 25, 2008 5:09 PM CDT
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Soccer fans around the world missed a thrilling finish today as the international TV feed pooped out during a Germany-Turkey matchup that featured two goals in the last 5 minutes, the AP reports. Germany scored a goal in the 90th minute to win 3-2 and advance to the finals of the European Championship. Turkey, an underdog unexpected to advance as far...
Hand of US Neocons Seen Behind Irish 'No'
Der Spiegel
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Jun 25, 2008 4:57 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Pro-Europeans are claiming that American neoconservatives helped bankroll an effort to convince Irish voters to reject a key treaty, Der Spiegel reports. "Europe has powerful enemies on the other side of the Atlantic, gifted with considerable financial means," a French minister said after Ireland's thumbs-down roiled the continent. "The...
Sony Gets Green Thumbs-Up in Electronics Rankings
PC World
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Jun 25, 2008 4:44 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Sony and Sony Ericsson are Greenpeace’s model tech citizens, topping a list of eco-friendly electronics companies. The environmental activists look at industry players’ use of hazardous chemicals, responsibility for obsolete products and—new this year—corporate policy toward climate change and other energy issues. Sony Ericsson...
Battered Women Deserve Help Over Animals
More Intelligent Life
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Jun 25, 2008 4:30 PM CDT
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With 3,800 animal shelters in the US to only 1,500 shelters for battered women, economist Allison Schrager tackles the disparity in More Intelligent Life. "If we value people more than animals can we ever justify giving to an animal-welfare charity?" she asks, and underlines the complexities that make donating to human causes harder, but...
Exxon Ruling Enrages Alaskan Fishermen
Anchorage Daily News
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Jun 25, 2008 4:16 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Today's Supreme Court decision to drastically shrink the punitive damages that Exxon must pay Alaskan fishermen over the Valdez spill has left plaintiffs enraged, cynical, and forced to rethink retirement in some cases, the Anchorage Daily News reports. "This is a total slap in the face," said one of his payout. "This won't even pay...
Obama 'Wants to Talk White': Nader
Rocky Mountain News
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Jun 25, 2008 4:02 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Ralph Nader says Barack Obama "wants to talk white" and "appeal to white guilt" while ignoring poverty, the third-party presidential candidate told the Rocky Mountain News yesterday. The consumer advocate said the only thing that separated Obama from past Democrats is that he’s “half African-American," charging...
Chill Chips May Take Heat Off Computers
ComputerWorld
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Jun 25, 2008 3:49 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Researchers have developed a tiny refrigeration system to keep computers cool, an invention that will do away with the clunky fan currently used—and potentially lead to much smaller and faster devices, Computerworld reports. The team at Purdue University expects the technology to be ready for installation within 2 years.
Big Rally Ends in Modest Gains
Wall Street Journal
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Jun 25, 2008 3:36 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The markets rallied for much of the day on news of ebbing oil prices and the Fed's decision to hold rates steady, but it fell mostly flat by the finish on nagging worries about long-term growth, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Dow—at one point up more than 100 points—added 4.40 points to 11,811.83. The Nasdaq climbed 32.98 points...
Russia Denies Sharapova Bid to Carry Flag at Olympics
Reuters
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Jun 25, 2008 3:13 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Russian officials have denied Maria Sharapova’s request to carry her country’s flag at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, Reuters reports. “I advised against” Sharpova’s wish to be a flag-bearer, the Russian tennis chief said. “We want her to be fresh, not tired, during her matches." Sharapova has...
Man May Have Planned Factory Rampage
Courier-Journal (Louisville, Ky.)
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Jun 25, 2008 2:59 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The man who shot and killed six people at a Kentucky plastics plant today might have planned his rampage in advance, the Louisville Courier-Journal reports. A supervisor had to escort the worker from the premises following an argument with a fellow employee early this morning. The man took a gun from his car, shot the supervisor, and returned to...
US-India Civilian Nuclear Deal Delayed Again
Wall Street Journal
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Jun 25, 2008 2:44 PM CDT
(Newser) -
A landmark deal between the US and India to share civilian nuclear technology faces uncertain prospects today after the Indian government announced it had failed to persuade a dissenting political group to back the pact, the Wall Street Journal reports. The White House has been pressing India to ratify the deal so it can go before Congress before...
Brit Found Guilty in Mass. of Killing Wife, Baby
Associated Press
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Jun 25, 2008 2:30 PM CDT
(AP) -
A British man who fled the US after his wife and baby daughter were shot to death in their home was convicted of murder today by a Massachusetts jury. Neil Entwistle’s lawyer had argued that the wife killed her 9-month old baby and herself. Prosecutors said Entwistle was in debt and dissatisfied with his sex life when he killed his family in...
Post-Soviet States May Be Hot Zone in New Cold War
Christian Science Monitor
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Jun 25, 2008 2:17 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Unsettled ex-Soviet republics could become the scenes of proxy battles in a new cold war, the Christian Science Monitor reports, with the breakaway Georgia region of Abkhazia a case in point. The US and NATO are backing Georgia, with Russia supporting the separatists. "Tensions are growing very fast, and we find ourselves on the line of confrontation...
Bizarro Travel-Industry Jobs
Travel Leisure
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Jun 25, 2008 2:03 PM CDT
(Newser) -
From Parisian sewer guides to a coconut safety engineer in St. Thomas, some travel industry jobs straddle the line between necessary and absurd. Travel and Leisure highlights some of the strangest. Tourism ambassador, Japan. Diplomacy never looked so soft and cuddly after Japan appointed elder statesfeline Hello Kitty for PR duty in Hong...
Warming Will Kill 66% of Calif. Plants Within Century
San Francisco Chronicle
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Jun 25, 2008 1:49 PM CDT
(Newser) -
If California’s climate warms significantly in the next 100 years the consequences could be grave for the majority of the state’s native plants, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. A team of scientists from UC Berkeley and Duke found that up to 66% of the state’s plants wouldn’t have time to migrate to a higher, cooler elevation...
As Expected, Fed Holds Steady
Associated Press
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Jun 25, 2008 1:40 PM CDT
(AP) -
The Federal Reserve decided today leave a key interest rate unchanged, bringing an end to a string of consecutive rate cuts aimed at keeping the country out of a deep recession. The federal funds rate will remain at 2%—the first time in 10 months the Fed has failed to reduce interest rates at one of its regular meetings.
GOP Senator Trumpets Obama Connection in Ad
Talking Points Memo
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Jun 25, 2008 1:37 PM CDT
(Newser) -
A blue-state Republican senator up for re-election this fall is showing a serious case of candidate envy in a new ad, Talking Points Memo notes. Oregonian Gordon Smith's spot goes as follows: “Who says Gordon Smith helped lead the fight for better gas mileage and a cleaner environment? Barack Obama! He joined with Gordon and broke through a 20-year...
Revulsed, Queen Voids Mugabe Knighthood
Times (UK)
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Jun 25, 2008 1:21 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Queen Elizabeth II stripped Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe of his honorary knighthood today, calling the move “a mark of revulsion at the abuse of human rights and abject disregard for the democratic process in Zimbabwe over which President Mugabe has presided," the Times of London reports. A run-off presidential election is set for Friday amid...
Bush to Ask Congress to Take N. Korea off Terror List
Washington Note
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Jun 25, 2008 1:13 PM CDT
(Newser) -
President Bush will ask Congress tomorrow to remove North Korea from the “terrorist watch list,” reports Steve Clemons in the Washington Note, a move meant to build confidence with Kim Jong-Il and China in the quest to bring the North back from its nuclear pariah status. In return, reports the Age, Pyongyang is today to list all its nuclear...
Afghans Accuse Pakistan of Karzai Plot
New York Times
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Jun 25, 2008 1:08 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Afghanistan publicly accused Pakistan of plotting the April assassination attempt on President Hamid Karzai, saying it has evidence linking Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence to the deed. A spokesman said phone records, documents, and confessions from suspects proved the ISI harbored "the real schemers and organizers" behind the...
