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.
Dems Fail to Override GOP's Bill-Blocker
Washington Post
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Jul 29, 2008 9:42 AM CDT
(Newser) -
A bill aimed at trumping one senator’s efforts to block dozens of pieces of legislation was itself halted yesterday, the Washington Post reports. Sen. Tom Coburn has held up some 80 bills to prevent spending he considers unnecessary; Democrat Harry Reid's legislative omnibus, which contained 35 bills in one, would have pushed many of them through....
Rich Turn to Pimping Basements
Portfolio
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Jul 29, 2008 9:29 AM CDT
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Basements are no longer the lowly underbelly of the high-end home. With the rise of home-theater technology, and widespread community opposition to mansion expansion, wealthy homeowners are increasingly turning basements into underground playgrounds, Portfolio reports, featuring everything from faux-'50s diners to recording studios to saunas. “Whether...
Top Allies Look to Unseat Gordon Brown
Times (UK)
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Jul 29, 2008 9:12 AM CDT
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Several of the leading members of Gordon Brown's government will try to oust him as prime minister, reports the Times of London. Two contenders have emerged in a possible leadership challenge: David Miliband, the youthful foreign secretary allied with Tony Blair; and Harriet Harman, the deputy leader of the Labour Party. The paper says that a cabinet...
Winehouse Leaves Hospital (Again)
Telegraph (UK)
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Jul 29, 2008 8:58 AM CDT
(Newser) -
After spending a “comfortable night” under observation for a reaction to medication, Amy Winehouse was discharged from a London hospital this morning, a spokesman confirmed to the Daily Telegraph . When asked about his 24-year-old daughter’s condition last night, her father Mitch held up a bag of Kentucky Fried Chicken and said:...
'Buried Treasure' Riddle Stumps Feds
Associated Press
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Jul 29, 2008 8:45 AM CDT
(Newser) -
It was found in a suitcase in an alfalfa field. It was in a tree. A treasure map led to a coffin full of money. Customs broker Franz Felhaber has been giving different stories about how he came to have up to $20 million in decomposing dollars for years, the AP reports. About $6.4 million has now been seized and Felhaber will need to get his story straight...
Behind Kennedy Tumor Surgery: Rally of Top Experts
New York Times
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Jul 29, 2008 8:40 AM CDT
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After his brain cancer diagnosis, Ted Kennedy wielded extraordinary clout to convene a panel of more than a dozen top experts from around the country for a conference—with some doctors flying to Boston and some on the phone—that changed the course of his treatment. Kennedy opted for surgery at Duke University, apparently overruling...
Overdose Deaths Spike
MSNBC
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Jul 29, 2008 8:35 AM CDT
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The number of deaths caused by fatal combinations of prescription medications with alcohol or street drugs has exploded in recent years in part because patients are being released from hospitals early, according to researchers. Such deaths rocketed from 92 in 1983 to 3,792 in 2004, reports MSNBC.
Smokers' Spouses Face Higher Stroke Risk
Reuters
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Jul 29, 2008 8:26 AM CDT
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Having a spouse who smokes significantly increases a nonsmoker’s risk of stroke—especially if the nonsmoker used to light up, a US study shows. The stroke risk for those whose spouse smokes but who never have themselves is raised 42%, while the risk for those who are former smokers jumps 72%—about equivalent to a smoker’s stroke...
10 Health Scares to Forget
New York Times
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Jul 29, 2008 8:14 AM CDT
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Each passing day seems to bring a new story about how something seemingly innocuous will ruin your health, or else ruin the planet. Not all of it's true, though, insists John Tierney of the New York Times , who lists 10 things it's not worth fussing about. Deadly hot dogs . The nitrite scare is over, and saturated fat is bad but not terrible;...
WWII Bomb Found in Budapest; Thousands Flee
Associated Press
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Jul 29, 2008 8:01 AM CDT
(AP) -
Some 16,000 people were evacuated yesterday in Budapest after construction workers unearthed a huge unexploded bomb from World War II. The 2-ton explosive, being disarmed today by experts, is one of the largest found in the city since 1945. Thousands of unexploded bombs are believed to be buried in the area, which was heavily bombed by US and Russian...
'Dream Ticket' Odds Fading
New York Times
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Jul 29, 2008 7:46 AM CDT
(Newser) -
An Obama-Clinton ticket is looking less and less likely, based on the public and private comments of both senators, the New York Times reports. Obama hasn’t asked Hillary Clinton for background check documents, and his recent statement that he’s looking for a Washington outsider suggests he won’t. Clinton has privately told associates...
Guantanamo Only Looks Like a Real Trial
New York Times
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Jul 29, 2008 7:41 AM CDT
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The first trial taking place at Guantanamo Bay has the look and feel of a real American court proceeding, but that appearance is in many ways just an illusion, writes William Glaberson in the New York Times . Secret evidence remains sealed in red folders, much of what is presented was obtained under harsh interrogations, the public is banned, and...
Live-In Lovers Hit Record Number
USA Today
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Jul 29, 2008 7:23 AM CDT
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The number of unmarried heterosexual couples living together reached a record 6.4 million in 2007, or 10% of all hetero couples who share a home, according to the Census Bureau. It's a snapshot of the changing American family. Some 2.5 million of the couples—45.5%—are raising at least one biological child of either partner, and 1.3 million—21%—have...
Alcatel-Lucent CEO, Chair to Quit After 6th Straight Loss
New York Times
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Jul 29, 2008 6:46 AM CDT
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Patricia Russo, the CEO who led the merger of Alcatel-Lucent, will step down by the end of the year after the troubled telecom giant released yet another grim quarterly report, posting a net loss of $1.73 billion. That figure was much larger than analysts had predicted, and almost double the loss from the same quarter last year, writes the New York...
Evangelicals Fall for Obama's Line
American Spectator
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Jul 29, 2008 6:40 AM CDT
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Barack Obama talks such a good game that he may fool a sizable contingent of evangelicals into supporting him, David N. Bass writes in the right-wing American Spectator. "Unlike past Democratic presidential nominees, he's not schizoid when it comes to talking about his own faith (which, admittedly, is a clash between the bizarre and the watered-down),"...
Haitians Turn to Mud Cakes to Fill Empty Bellies
Guardian (UK)
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Jul 29, 2008 6:08 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Impoverished Haitians have been reduced to living off mud cakes, the Guardian reports. The cakes of clay and water—long eaten by poor pregnant women seeking calcium—are increasingly the only food many families can afford. The global fuel and food crisis has hit Haiti, and half the population is malnourished.
'Pre-Dementia' on the Rise
Los Angeles Times
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Jul 29, 2008 5:33 AM CDT
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Almost a million Americans each year develop a mild form of memory loss that is often a precursor to Alzheimer's, according to new research. Mild Cognitive Impairment—more serious than normal "senior moments"—was found to be more common in men, the Los Angeles Times reports. Doctors warn that a crisis is looming as the Baby...
Web Whizzes Renovate Rickety Sites to Flip for Profit
New York Times
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Jul 29, 2008 4:51 AM CDT
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Web entrepreneurs are taking a page from the real-estate book: they’re buying badly designed websites cheaply, fixing them up, and selling them at a profit. Website sales on eBay and similar sites have soared in the past few months, with many site-flippers happy to sell for just a few hundred dollars, the New York Times reports.
5 More Jailed in Sect Child Abuse
Dallas Morning News
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Jul 29, 2008 4:15 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Five members of a Texas polygamous sect charged in a child abuse investigation are in custody after surrendering to authorities, the Dallas Morning News reports. Four of the men are charged with sexually abusing girls under the age of 17. The fifth, said to be the physician at the sect's Yearning for Zion ranch, is charged with failing to report...
Stumbling Museum Visitor Smashes $12K Sculpture
Guardian (UK)
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Jul 29, 2008 3:44 AM CDT
(Newser) -
A 9-foot ceramic totem was smashed to smithereens after a visitor to London's Royal Academy lost her balance yesterday and tumbled into the work, the Guardian reports. The "Five Frauleins" in the work by a noted Costa Rican sculptor now number four. Museum officials are discussing the damage with their insurers.
SF Votes Today on Tobacco Sales Ban
Wall Street Journal
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Jul 29, 2008 3:23 AM CDT
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San Francisco's Board of Supervisors votes today on whether to ban the sale of cigarettes at the city's pharmacies. City and state legislatures across America—as well as giant pharmacy chains like CVS and Wal-Mart—are carefully watching the outcome of what could be a harbinger of things to come, reports the Wall Street Journal .
Doggone! Labrador Runs for Mayor of Alabama Town
al.com (Ala.)
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Jul 29, 2008 2:59 AM CDT
(Newser) -
A new candidate has bounded into the running in the mayoral race in Fairhope, Alabama, reports the Press-Register . Townspeople sick of the endless politicking are backing 7-year-old Labrador retriever Willie Bean Roscoe P. Coltrane for mayor. Supporters note that Willie Bean is the only candidate to have American Kennel Club certification—and...
Bride Murdered on Honeymoon
BBC
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Jul 29, 2008 2:34 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Six people are being questioned in the murder of a British bride on the final day of her honeymoon on the Caribbean island of Antigua, reports the BBC. The 31-year-old pediatrician was shot dead and her husband critically wounded in what investigators say was a botched robbery at a cottage at a private resort.
Americans Face Hearing Loss 'Epidemic'
Reuters
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Jul 29, 2008 2:08 AM CDT
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Americans are likely to face an epidemic of hearing impairment in coming years as the use of personal listening devices soars and the population ages, Reuters reports. A third of adults already has hearing loss to some degree and the proportion is expected to rise significantly. White Americans, men, and the lesser educated are the worst affected,...
Grammer Back in Hospital
Reuters
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Jul 29, 2008 12:01 AM CDT
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Sitcom star Kelsey Grammer, who suffered a recent heart attack, remains in a New York hospital after checking himself in early yesterday for feeling faint, reports Reuters. The Frasier actor was out promoting his new movie, Swing Vote, when the 53-year-old’s wife escorted him to the hospital for testing. His rep said Grammer was not having...
Don't Talk Down to Alzheimer's Patients: Docs
Chicago Tribune
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Jul 28, 2008 8:30 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Even after they lose the ability to communicate easily, Alzheimer’s disease patients remain aware of the world around them and know when they're being talked down to, a study shows. Video evidence suggests patients are twice as likely to accept help from caregivers, and to not shut down or become distressed, when addressed not as children but...
Merrill Aims to Raise $8.5B, Prune Bad Debt
Financial Times (UK)
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Jul 28, 2008 7:51 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Merrill Lynch announced a surprise stock offering today aimed at raising $8.5 billion for the brokerage, strapped by the mortgage and credit crises, the Financial Times reports. It also said it was writing down a further $5.7 billion in bad debt, and is selling collateralized debt obligations nominally worth $30.6 billion for $6.7 billion.
Florida's #1 Again ... as Top Party School
Associated Press
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Jul 28, 2008 7:50 PM CDT
(AP) -
The University of Florida can raise a glass to another national title—best party school in the country. The Gators, known for wild celebrations following national championships in football and basketball, wrested the party title away from West Virginia University and beat out the University of Mississippi and Penn State University, in the Princeton...
Army Can Execute Death-Row Soldier, Bush Rules
Associated Press
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Jul 28, 2008 7:20 PM CDT
(AP) -
President Bush today approved the execution of an Army private, administration officials said. It was the first time in over a half-century that a president has affirmed a death sentence for a member of the US military. Bush OK'd the military's request to execute Ronald A. Gray, convicted in connection with a spree of four murders and eight rapes in...
Cash Tolls Race Toward Extinction
USA Today
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Jul 28, 2008 7:00 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Cash toll booths are going the way of the Model T as "open-road tolling"—which lets drivers pay electronically without having to slow for booths or gates—gains traction, reports USA Today . Supporters say killing the cash-based system cuts down on everything from congestion to pollution to the amount of land required to build...
Gallup Shows Biggest Obama Lead—Even as McCain Gains
New York Daily News
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Jul 28, 2008 6:30 PM CDT
(Newser) -
After a Gallup poll yesterday showed Barack Obama with his biggest lead to date among all registered voters, at 9%, a Gallup/ USA Today survey out today has John McCain ahead among those voters deemed most likely to actually go to the polls in November. A rep for Gallup—which conducts a daily “tracking poll” of registered voters—calls...
Reaction to Medication Put Winehouse in Hospital: Rep
Associated Press
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Jul 28, 2008 6:00 PM CDT
(AP) -
Amy Winehouse was hospitalized this evening for a reaction to medication and was expected to be released in the morning, representatives for the Grammy-winning singer said. An ambulance took Winehouse from her north London home to University College Hospital, spokesman Chris Goodman said. "Amy Winehouse suffered a reaction to medication at home...
Kidnap Suspect May Be Fleeing NY by Yacht
Boston Herald
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Jul 28, 2008 5:41 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The man believed to have kidnapped his daughter after a custody visit in Boston yesterday could be trying to flee the country on his yacht, authorities said today. Clark Rockefeller might have been dropped off, along with 7-year-old Reigh, at New York’s Grand Central Station last night, aiming to get to his boat, moored somewhere on Long Island,...
Comically Simple Ploy Pays Big for Kansas Candidate
Los Angeles Times
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Jul 28, 2008 5:20 PM CDT
(Newser) -
A cash-strapped candidate for the Kansas legislature has turned around his fortunes in the flash of a few thousand mouse-clicks: Before circulating sassy online cartoon strips, Sean Tevis had $1,525 in his campaign coffers; in less than two weeks, he’s raised nearly $100,000 more. The episode is dramatic evidence of the political power of web-based...
Branson Rolls Out Space Plane
Los Angeles Times
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Jul 28, 2008 5:00 PM CDT
(Newser) -
At a remote airfield in the Mojave Desert today, Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson unveiled the flagship of his new venture, an aircraft that will carry the first passenger space rocket to its launch height of 48,000 feet, the Los Angeles Times reports. Tickets are going for $200,000-plus, with the maiden voyage possible before decade’s...
In Blow to Bush, Olmert Rules Out Deal in 2008
Financial Times (UK)
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Jul 28, 2008 4:45 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Ehud Olmert said today it is "unrealistic" to expect a comprehensive Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement by the end of the year. The Israeli PM and Palestian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas pledged last year to make a deal by the end of 2008, and their inability to do so is a blow to President Bush's hopes for the situation to be resolved...
In City of Light, Bruni a Bright Bulb Indeed
Vanity Fair
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Jul 28, 2008 4:32 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Who could have imagined that Italian supermodel-singer Carla Bruni would find love with a right-wing French president? Maureen Orth takes a look at France’s First Lady in Vanity Fair : her education in art and architecture, admiration of women's-libbers Simone de Beauvoir and Françoise Sagan, and her husband's reaction to nude pictures...
Studio Went Super-Secret to Protect Batman
Los Angeles Times
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Jul 28, 2008 4:20 PM CDT
(Newser) -
In a dazzling covert operation, Warner Bros. kept the lid on The Dark Knight so tight pirated copies didn’t hit the Web until 2 days after its Australian premiere—long enough to keep the film’s record opening on track, the Los Angeles Times reports. Digital piracy can keep fans online and out of theaters; early bad buzz can also...
Top 100 Olympians to Watch
Time
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Jul 28, 2008 4:07 PM CDT
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With the Beijing Olympics right around the corner, Time lists the top 100 athletes to watch. A sampling of stars gunning for gold, from the court to the pool to the track: LeBron James, basketball: This determined athlete's golden guarantee is raising hopes for the US team, which has lost to the likes of Greece and Puerto Rico in recent...
Obama Looks to Tip Scales by Boosting Black Vote
Washington Post
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Jul 28, 2008 3:54 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The Obama campaign’s national voter-registration effort has deployed 3,000 volunteers, with one major focus on expanding the African-American voter base dramatically. One volunteer hits the sweltering streets of Macon, Ga., with the Washington Post in tow. "You see how mentally shackled and jaded people are, because they've seen politicians...
Dow Plunges 239 Points
MarketWatch
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Jul 28, 2008 3:39 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The markets plummeted today as worries over the economy and problems in the financial sector outweighed high spirits over the rescue plan for mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, MarketWatch reports. The Dow plunged 239.61 to 11,131.08, the Nasdaq nosedived 46.31 to 2,264.22, and the S&P 500 fell 23.39 to 1,234.37.
Europe Seeing Rise in War Memorial Porn
Telegraph (UK)
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Jul 28, 2008 3:34 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Europe’s war memorials are seeing an uptick in obscene acts of desecration, the Telegraph reports, with the most recent involving a couple making a pornographic film at the Vimy Ridge memorial in northern France, which commemorates some of the 60,000 Canadians who died in the First World War. The couple was given a suspended sentence and ordered...
FCC Member: Leave the Internet Alone
Washington Post
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Jul 28, 2008 3:21 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The latest crisis for the internet is the gridlock caused by bandwidth-clogging P2P software. But don’t worry, says FCC commissioner Robert McDowell. This has happened before. As far back as 1987, engineers have been solving the net’s bandwidth problems. It’s been a triumph of anti-regulation, and there’s no reason for the government...
Pro-Democracy Group Links Lobbyists, McCain
New York Times
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Jul 28, 2008 3:09 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The workings of a nonprofit democracy-promotion group John McCain has chaired for 15 years are “in many ways at odds with the political outsider image that has become a touchstone of the McCain campaign,” the New York Times reports. The International Republican Institute is a “something of a revolving door for lobbyists and out-of-power...
US Driving Continues to Brake
Washington Post
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Jul 28, 2008 2:57 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Driving in the United States continued to drop, the Washington Post reports, with May marking the steepest dip in vehicle-miles traveled for that month in the 66 years statistics have been tallied. Americans drove 9.6 billion fewer miles in May 2008 than May ’07; in the first five months of 2008, they drove 29.8 billion fewer miles than the...
Will 'Nuked the Fridge' Unseat 'Jumped the Shark'?
New York Times
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Jul 28, 2008 2:45 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Did Indiana Jones set the new standard in ridiculous? Many movie geeks think Dr. Jones’ ability to survive a nuclear blast by hiding in a refrigerator in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was so outrageous that “nuking the fridge” should replace “jumping the shark” in pop-culture parlance, Noam Cohen writes in the New York...
Mole Removed From Mac's Face
Reuters
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Jul 28, 2008 2:32 PM CDT
(Newser) -
A doctor removed a mole-like spot from John McCain’s face today during a routine check-up, a procedure an aide called “just a precautionary removal.” The Republican has had four malignant melanomas removed in the past; other cancerous cells have been taken off McCain’s body in the past. The senator’s skin is checked every...
Want to Oust Couric? Show Her the Money
New York Post
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Jul 28, 2008 2:20 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Katie Couric is keeping her CBS Evening News gig because it would be too expensive to fire her, sources tell the New York Post. Couric has a “pay or play” clause that would force the network to fork over $40 million if it replaces her. “The contract is airtight,” says one source. Les Moonves has “tried to get her to...
US Military Showing Softer Side
Boston Globe
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Jul 28, 2008 2:08 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Despite recent focus on shooting wars, the Defense Department has tweaked the core mission of US armed forces to promote “soft power,” such as humanitarian aid, the Boston Globe reports. Some civilian onlookers say the foreign policy is “out of whack,” and “too dominated by the military.” One Pacific commander...
VP Speculation About Pawlenty Mounts
Boston Globe
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Jul 28, 2008 1:56 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Tim Pawlenty is at or near the top of John McCain’s VP dance card, thanks in large part to the Minnesota governor's friendship with the candidate, the Boston Globe reports. Unlike Mitt Romney, Pawlenty simply gets along well with McCain, who's well known for his insistence on loyalty. A new poll showing McCain nearly tied with Barack Obama...
