Newser Story Index from July, 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.
Scrabble Seduces Senegal
BBC
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Jul 21, 2008 4:06 PM CDT
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Despite the country’s 40% literacy rate, Senegal considers Scrabble as important as the national soccer team, and this week hosts the Francophone Scrabble World Championships. Senegalese dominated last year’s event, the BBC reports, and hope to repeat on home turf. “Nowhere else in the world can you find such excitement and dedication...
Obama Reaps Benefits of Trip McCain Prodded Him Into
New Republic
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Jul 21, 2008 3:53 PM CDT
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John McCain’s campaign made a grave miscalculation by spotlighting Barack Obama’s lack of foreign travel, Noam Scheiber writes in the New Republic , “an incredibly superficial critique” that “can be rebutted incredibly superficially”—see Obama’s current photo-op overseas tour. Hard to believe the Republicans...
Pharma, Tech Kill Early Gains
MarketWatch
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Jul 21, 2008 3:40 PM CDT
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The markets failed to hold on to early-session gains today as oil rose above $131 per barrel and the overall economic outlook remained downcast, MarketWatch reports. The Dow lost 29.23 points to close at 11,467.34, the Nasdaq fell 3.25 to 2,279.53, and the S&P 500 dropped just 0.68, settling at 1,260.00.
Winehouse MIA at Hubby's Sentencing
Daily Mail (UK)
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Jul 21, 2008 3:32 PM CDT
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Amy Winehouse was nowhere to be seen as a London judge handed husband Blake Fielder-Civil a 27-month prison sentence for beating up a bar owner, then trying to bribe the man to keep quiet, the Daily Mail reports. Fielder-Civil has already spent 9 months in the slammer, and with good behavior could be released in 4½ more.
8 Signs the Animal Kingdom Is in Trouble
LiveScience
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Jul 21, 2008 3:20 PM CDT
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Biologists have mounting evidence that human activity is causing real damage to the natural world. LiveScience lists overlooked indications that things are seriously out of whack. Earlier migration: Several bird species are getting their timing wrong. Jellyfish rule: The creatures are hitching rides on ships.
Forget the Polls: Obama's a Nov. Shoo-In
Financial Times (UK)
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Jul 21, 2008 3:08 PM CDT
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It’s hard to reconcile Barack Obama’s narrow lead in the polls with the massive enthusiasm that seems to surround his campaign, so Clive Cook of the Financial Times has some advice: Ignore the polls. Midsummer polls are notoriously worthless, he says. Instead, he touts political scientist Alan Abramowitz’s “election barometer,”...
Portugal Cops End Maddy Investigation
BBC
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Jul 21, 2008 2:56 PM CDT
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After 14 months, Portuguese police officially ended their investigation into the 2007 disappearance of 3-year old British girl Madeleine McCann, the BBC reports. A lack of evidence has brought the case—which began after Madeleine disappeared from a vacation apartment—to a standstill, Portugal's attorney general said. Madeleine's mother...
Mailman Wants to Wear a Kilt
Boston Globe
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Jul 21, 2008 2:35 PM CDT
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Dean Peterson likes kilts. In fact, the 48-year-old Air Force vet and mail carrier owns 15 of them, and he's on a one-man crusade to persuade the USPS to allow carriers to wear kilts on the job, the Boston Globe reports. He’s contacted every postal union branch in the country to make the case for Male Unbifurcated Garments, or MUGs.
Evangelical Dobson Softens on McCain
Associated Press
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Jul 21, 2008 2:29 PM CDT
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James Dobson still won’t formally endorse John McCain, but the evangelical leader voiced support for the Republican candidate in a radio broadcast today, the AP reports. “Barack Obama contradicts and threatens everything I believe about the institution of the family and what is best for the nation,” Dobson said, forcing him “to...
Songwriters Collaborate by File-Sharing
NPR
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Jul 21, 2008 2:18 PM CDT
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Telephono works like a musical chain letter: One musician e-mails a tune to another, who adds to it and passes it on. The next musician does the same. Eventually, a song is created. The idea is "inspired by the classic children’s game 'Telephone,'" says creator David Matysiak. People can change "anything or everything. Or nothing...
New Yorkers Bullish on Bare Market
New York Post
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Jul 21, 2008 2:17 PM CDT
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Naked dinner, yoga in the buff and comedy clubs au naturel are turning the Big Apple into Nude York City, the New York Post reports. One New Yorker rents out restaurants for monthly nude dinner parties—the motto for a group often numbering 50 is “no hot soup”—while a midtown studio has a devoted following for its twice-weekly...
Top NFL Training Camp Issues, Non-Favre Edition
ESPN
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Jul 21, 2008 2:05 PM CDT
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The NFL is in the midst of a turbulent off-season, even if you ignore the Brett Favre and Chad Johnson sagas. ESPN’s John Clayton breaks down the other top distractions as training camp nears: With NFL Europe gone but the 80-man roster still in place, teams will have trouble finding enough healthy bodies for training camp. The New...
New-Look 'Obama One' Has Dem Flying High
Associated Press
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Jul 21, 2008 1:52 PM CDT
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The jet bearing Barack Obama on his trip abroad is sporting a new look, the Los Angeles Times reports. The plane is emblazoned with Obama’s “Change You Can Believe In” slogan, and sports the candidate’s rising-sun logo on its tail. Obama is using the jet for campaign-financed portions of his trip, with stops in Jordan, Israel,...
Iraq Sands Shifting Under McCain Position
Politico
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Jul 21, 2008 1:40 PM CDT
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Republican presidential candidate John McCain is stuck in an awkward position after both President Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki moved closer to a withdrawal timetable favored by Barack Obama, Politico notes. McCain has opposed such a measure, but in 2004 asserted that if a sovereign Iraqi government asked US troops to leave, the American...
Court Tosses Super Bowl Fine
Broadcasting & Cable
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Jul 21, 2008 1:27 PM CDT
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A federal appeals court today threw out the FCC $550,000 fine against CBS for Janet Jackson’s infamous 2004 “wardrobe malfunction.” The decency watchdogs were found to have acted arbitrarily in changing their policy of not punishing fleeting nudity, Broadcasting & Cable reports. The court separately said the network couldn’t...
In Sudan War Crimes Case, Peace Must Take Priority
Los Angeles Times
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Jul 21, 2008 1:20 PM CDT
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The genocide and war crimes charges against the Sudanese president are a solid moral victory, but to actually prosecute Omar al-Bashir would derail realistic chances of peace in the war-torn nation, argues author David Rieff in the LA Times . Indeed, the African Union today called for the Security Council to stall on the war crimes charges for exactly...
Beijing Forces Half of Drivers Off the Road
Associated Press
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Jul 21, 2008 1:10 PM CDT
(AP) -
Half of Beijing's drivers left their cars at home today and took public transportation on the first workday under new restrictions meant to clear the city's notoriously polluted skies before the Olympics. Under the plan that kicked in yesterday, half of the capital's 3.3 million cars will be removed from city streets each day, alternating odd and even...
In Good Times and Bad, Looks Matter
Washington Post
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Jul 21, 2008 1:07 PM CDT
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Did so many people believe IndyMac CEO Michael Perry's assurances that his company was doing fine because of his baby face? A forthcoming study suggests that soft features like "large eyes, small nose, high forehead and small chin," engender more favorable bias in viewers, the Washington Post reports. The effect only goes so far, however.
MLK Children: Lawsuit Defends Dad's Legacy
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Jul 21, 2008 12:52 PM CDT
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Martin Luther King's children are blaming each other for the uncharacteristically public standoff that led two of them to sue the third over management of their father's estate, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. The deaths of the family peacekeepers, mother Coretta and sister Yolanda, helped expose the rift. "Strong parents have strong...
Zimbabwe Rivals Agree to Start Negotiations
BBC
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Jul 21, 2008 12:40 PM CDT
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Robert Mugabe has signed a deal with opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai establishing negotiations on the future of Zimbabwe, the BBC reports. The rivals met for the first time in 10 years to sign the agreement, which South Africa’s Thabo Mbeki witnessed. The deal does not create the power-sharing structure Mbeki proposed; it creates a framework...
Jimmy Carter, Rogue Ex-President
New York
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Jul 21, 2008 12:28 PM CDT
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Jimmy Carter does things his own way, pursuing peace initiatives in the Middle East and South America whether Washington likes it or not, and generally redefining what it means to be an ex-president. So it’s no wonder “his mind-set and his policies seem to jibe so well with the attitudes of young people, students, and the blogosphere,”...
Liberal Bloggers Get Their Wish... or Do They?
Washington Post
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Jul 21, 2008 12:14 PM CDT
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Barack Obama's frontrunner status has liberal bloggers wondering whether they should have been careful what they wished for. “The way it’s looking, we might actually win this thing,” said Daily Kos founder Markos Moulitas. The "Netroots" movement began as a response to a Republican-dominated Washington; the Washington Post...
Bravo Adds Parker's Reality Art Show
Hollywood Reporter
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Jul 21, 2008 12:00 PM CDT
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Bravo has picked up a Project Runway -style reality art show produced by Sex and the City star Sarah Jessica Parker, the Hollywood Reporter writes. American Artist is slated to feature competition between up-and-comers in varying media; it will be co-produced by Magical Elves, the skill-driven reality TV experts behind Top Chef and Top Design...
Obama Raises $25M in a Single Day
Politico
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Jul 21, 2008 11:47 AM CDT
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Barack Obama brought in more donations on the last day of June than John McCain did in the entire month, Politico reports. The unprecedented $25 million day accounted for nearly half of Obama’s $54 million total. It was one of five days on which the campaign brought in more than $1 million; John McCain had no million-dollar days en route to raising...
US Athletes Weigh Wearing Masks in Beijing
Wall Street Journal
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Jul 21, 2008 11:34 AM CDT
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To protect its athletes from Beijing’s polluted air, the US Olympic Committee has secretly developed a mask for them to wear during next month’s Games, the Wall Street Journal reports. But if the 600-plus American Olympians decide to wear the high-tech filter, they risk insulting their Chinese hosts—not to mention looking like geeks.
PC Makers See Big Trouble in Smaller 'Netbooks'
New York Times
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Jul 21, 2008 11:22 AM CDT
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Smaller and lighter than most textbooks, “netbooks”—the latest generation of computers used for light computing and surfing the web—are causing heartburn among PC manufacturers who see the low-cost innovation as a threat to already-slim profit margins, the New York Times reports. Perhaps more worrisome to giants like Microsoft...
Country Fans to Crossover Simpson: Cross Back
Kenosha News
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Jul 21, 2008 11:08 AM CDT
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Struggling pop star Jessica Simpson’s country crossover got off to a rocky start Saturday when her debut performance at Wisconsin’s Country Thunder Festival drew a decidedly mixed reaction from the crowd, the Kenosha News reports. "I just don't hear the country in her; I don't hear the twang. She's not good enough to be here,"...
Maliki Uses US Politics to Gain Iraqi Leverage
Associated Press
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Jul 21, 2008 10:54 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The Iraqi PM’s endorsement of Barack Obama’s withdrawal timetable Saturday (walked back somewhat under pressure) was a calculated maneuver by a man who has figured out how to play US politics for his country's gain, Robert Reid writes for the AP. Nouri al-Maliki started using it as leverage when negotiations over the long-term US role in...
Connery Won't Give Son a Dime
Times (UK)
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Jul 21, 2008 10:45 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Add Sean Connery to the list of wealthy patriarchs who want their children to make their own money. The 77-year-old actor is worth $170 million, but his 45-year-old son, Jason, will “never receive a penny” of it, Connery’s ex-wife and Jason's mother Diane Cilento told the London Times .
Parents Say Knight Too Dark for Kids
USA Today
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Jul 21, 2008 10:31 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Parents who saw the PG-13 rating attached to The Dark Knight and decided to bring the kids along are walking away, if not dissatisfied, then a little miffed. “I know it's a good movie, but it should have been rated R,” one surprised mother tells USA Today . Another parent was less equivocal. “There has to be a way to tell parents...
Blacks Charge Harassment in China
Globe and Mail
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Jul 21, 2008 10:17 AM CDT
(Newser) -
African residents of Beijing say they are facing growing harassment from police ahead of the Olympics, reports the Globe and Mail . Bar owners near the city's Workers Stadium have reportedly been ordered not to serve "black people or Mongolians." The groups have been targeted as part of China's crackdown on groups it sees as potential troublemakers.
Obama, Maliki Want US Troops Out of Iraq by 2010
Washington Post
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Jul 21, 2008 10:02 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Barack Obama spent nearly an hour today meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, the Washington Post reports, before meeting with President Jalal Talabani. Though the Democrat gave few details—“We had a very constructive discussion,” was all Obama would say—an Iraqi official said the government shares Obama’s...
Israeli Soldier Shoots Prisoner on Tape
Guardian (UK)
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Jul 21, 2008 9:59 AM CDT
(Newser) -
An Israeli soldier was arrested today after a human rights group released a tape showing him shooting a handcuffed and blindfolded Palestinian protester with a rubber bullet, YNetNews reports. The Israeli Defense Force questioned the man shortly after the incident, which was reported by an officer at the scene, but only launched a criminal investigation...
ETA Behind Blasts in Northern Spain
Telegraph (UK)
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Jul 21, 2008 9:48 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The Basque separatist group ETA detonated five bombs in northern Spain yesterday in a coordinated attack, the Telegraph reports, though only one injury was reported. Four bombs went off in tourist resorts; a fifth targeted a bank near Bilbao. The explosions marked the traditional summer bombing campaign ETA has waged in an attempt to disrupt Spanish...
Brits Warn of Devastating Pandemic
Independent (UK)
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Jul 21, 2008 9:26 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The world is in danger of losing up to 50 million people to an "inevitable" flu pandemic, and global response agencies aren't ready for such a test, the British government warns. A report rates early-warning systems as "poorly coordinated" and calls for an overhaul of the World Health Organization, reports the Independent .
Failed FDIC-Run Bank Added Fuel to Subprime Fire
Wall Street Journal
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Jul 21, 2008 9:21 AM CDT
(Newser) -
An Illinois bank seized by regulators in 2001 continued to write risky subprime mortgages for months after it was put under the day-to-day supervision of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Wall Street Journal reports. Many of the loans—some with interest rates above 12%—have been foreclosed; a Texas bank that bought a portfolio...
Boston Diocese Boots 'Women Priests'
Boston Globe
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Jul 21, 2008 9:08 AM CDT
(Newser) -
A group campaigning for women to be admitted to the Roman Catholic priesthood held a ceremony in a Protestant church in Boston yesterday in which three women were declared Catholic priests and a fourth a deacon. The Archdiocese of Boston immediately denounced the action and declared that the women had automatically excommunicated themselves by taking...
How McCain Became a Senate Power
New York Times
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Jul 21, 2008 9:00 AM CDT
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Prior to his 2000 bid for the White House, John McCain spent more time mocking his fellow senators than compromising with them. But after his defeat, the Arizona legislator returned to the Senate with a softened demeanor and got down to the business of legislation. The New York Times looks at how McCain cuts deals with everyone from Democrats to...
SNL Expands Election Coverage
Zap2It
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Jul 21, 2008 8:42 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Saturday Night Live is expanding its satirical coverage of Election 2008, reports Zap2it. NBC will air three SNL primetime campaign specials, plus four consecutive Saturday night shows beginning in September, boosting the number of pre-election live shows to seven. The program will also feature the traditional election eve special " SNL Presidential...
LA Times Insider Launches Anti-Zell Blog
New York Times
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Jul 21, 2008 8:14 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Heads continue to roll at the Tribune Company, but one staffer is aiming to prove the pen is mightier than Sam Zell's ax, reports the New York Times, with new blog TellZell.com. The site is airing the gripes of Tribune's disgruntled journalists, and is finding plenty of fodder—from top-level resignations at the LA Times to publishing the...
Barack: Don't Tell Europe What It Wants to Hear
New York Times
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Jul 21, 2008 7:51 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The vast majority of Europeans are hoping Barack Obama will be elected president, according to polls that give him as much as 86% support among voters in France, Britain, and Germany. The overwhelming support reflects a hope for a new era of unity with the US, writes Roger Cohen in the New York Times . But Obama mustn't succumb to the temptation,...
Bank of America Posts Slide but Beats Q2 Expectations
Wall Street Journal
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Jul 21, 2008 7:33 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Bank of America reported a 41% decrease in net income today, beating analyst expectations as writedowns shrank to $1.22 million in the second quarter from $2.81 billion a quarter earlier, reports the Wall Street Journal. The bank also said it expects to make money this year from its takeover of troubled mortgage lender Countrywide.
Deal Puts Icahn on Yahoo Board
Wall Street Journal
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Jul 21, 2008 7:27 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Yahoo will add two seats to its board of directors and put Carl Icahn in one of them, reports the Wall Street Journal, in a deal that ends Icahn’s proxy fight. Eight of Yahoo’s current board members, including CEO Jerry Yang, will keep their seats, while a ninth will resign. The board will select two members of Icahn’s proxy slate...
Roche Makes Genentech Takeover Bid
Wall Street Journal
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Jul 21, 2008 6:55 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche today offered $43.7 billion for the outstanding shares of Genentech, the San Francisco-based biotech firm in which Roche already owns a 55.9% stake, the Wall Street Journal reports. The $89-a-share offer is the latest in a series of big pharma companies, whose new drug development has been lagging, stepping up investment...
States Brace for Election's Tech Snarls
New York Times
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Jul 21, 2008 6:46 AM CDT
(Newser) -
As states prepare for millions of voters using new ballot systems in November, many officials are expecting serious logistical headaches across the country. About half of all voters will use different machines than the last presidential election. Most voters—up from 49% in 2006—will be using paper ballots that will be scanned as states...
Missing Soldier Found Alive
Associated Press
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Jul 21, 2008 6:34 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The Fort Bliss soldier reported missing and endangered Friday has been found alive in Nevada, reports the AP, and tells family that her estranged husband abducted her from her El Paso apartment. Jeneesa Lewis, whose apartment yielded evidence of a struggle, reported being beaten and stabbed twice, and sounded "tired, scared, and weak," her...
B-52 Crashes Off Guam
Associated Press
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Jul 21, 2008 6:21 AM CDT
(Newser) -
A US B-52 bomber with six crew members crashed near the island of Guam today, AP reports. A dozen planes and ships have been deployed by the Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard to search for survivors. Rescuers have found at least two people, but their condition was not immediately available. The search area of floating debris and oil covers 70 square...
Clinton Lends Campaign $1M as Debts Mount
New York Times
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Jul 21, 2008 6:07 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Hillary Clinton lent her suspended presidential campaign an additional $1 million at the end of last month, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission. The newest self-loan—the New York senator has now lent herself $13.2 million—underscores how much difficulty she is facing in retiring her mountain of debt. A Clinton spokesman...
Miami Deals Taylor to Redskins
Miami Herald
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Jul 21, 2008 5:54 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Dancing With the Stars hunk Jason Taylor is a Dolphin no longer. After spending his career in Miami, the defensive end will head for Washington after the teams agreed on a trade that sends two Redskins draft picks to the Dolphins, the Miami Herald reports. "I love Miami, will always cherish my 11 years with the Dolphins," said Taylor,...
McCain in the Minority: Peers Are on the Web
Associated Press
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Jul 21, 2008 5:14 AM CDT
(Newser) -
John McCain may be a Luddite when it comes to the internet—the 71-year-old candidate confesses that he relies on his wife and aides to do his browsing for him—but most of his peers are computer savvy, AP reports. While only 35% of Americans over age 65 are online, three-quarters of white, college-educated American men over the age...
