Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

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.

Maliki Pegs Obama as the Most Pliant: Krauthammer
Washington Post | Jul 25, 2008 8:48 AM CDT
(Newser) - Nouri al-Maliki's endorsement of Barack Obama's timetable for withdrawal from Iraq this week was "the earliest and most ostentatious absentee ballot of this presidential election," writes Charles Krauthammer. The Washington Post columnist thinks that the Iraqi PM gave Obama an electorial assist for a clear reason: between him and John McCain,...
Big Brother Is Watching... and Talking Back
New York Times | Jul 25, 2008 8:35 AM CDT
(Newser) - Some bloggers who have vented online about their Comcast cable service have gotten a surprising—and, for some, a creepy—response: a reply from a customer service agent. Like a growing number of companies, Comcast monitors social network sites, public blogs, and message boards for complaints, but now it's taking the extra step of talking...
Step Brothers Is Harmless Fun
Rotten Tomatoes | Jul 25, 2008 8:24 AM CDT
(Newser) - Step Brothers is not exactly comedy gold, but it does have some redeeming moments, critics say. While the story of two man-boys forced to live together isn’t always amusing, there are some “funny-gut-busting” scenes spawned from “the comic chemistry of Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly,” writes Peter Travers in Rolling...
McCain May Pick VP Before Beijing
Washington Post | Jul 25, 2008 8:07 AM CDT
(Newser) - John McCain is ready to announce his running mate, and he’s going to do it sooner rather than later, top aides tell the Washington Post. “He's in a position to make (the decision) on short notice if he wanted to,” said one adviser. The announcement will most likely come after Barack Obama returns from Europe but before the Olympics...
US Expands Visa Program for Iraqis Tenfold
New York Times | Jul 25, 2008 7:57 AM CDT
(Newser) - The US embassy in Baghdad announced a major expansion of its visa program for Iraqi employees of the American government, raising tenforld the number of work permits it currently offers. The move is the latest step by the Bush administration to answer criticism that it has neglected the Iraqis, particularly translators and supervisors, whose lives...
Honda Profits Jump 8% on Fuel-Efficient Lineup
Wall Street Journal | Jul 25, 2008 7:33 AM CDT
(Newser) - Honda announced an 8.1% gain in net profit yesterday for the quarter ending June 30, riding demand for its fuel-efficient models and beating analysts’ estimates, the Wall Street Journal reports. Honda has been hurt less by falling demand than rivals Toyota and Nissan because it's the least invested in truck and SUV lines. "Honda is better...
Oil Spill Snarls Mississippi
Associated Press | Jul 25, 2008 7:28 AM CDT
(Newser) - An oil spill stretching nearly 100 miles along the Mississippi is causing river traffic to pile up, AP reports. Dozens of vessels are stuck in New Orleans waiting to head upriver. Others are waiting to carry cargos of grain downriver from the heartland. Officials say it will be days before traffic is moving again, and weeks before the huge spill is...
Goody Gumbo: Restaurant Reviews Back in New Orleans
New York Times | Jul 25, 2008 7:09 AM CDT
(Newser) - Nearly three years after Hurricane Katrina, the Big Easy finally has its restaurant reviews back, the New York Times reports. Judging that the city's famed eateries can now take the heat, the Times-Picayune has revived a ratings scale of 1-5 beans along with reviews. Many see the move as another sign the city is getting back on its feet.
Catastrophic Loss for Brown in Scottish Vote
Guardian (UK) | Jul 25, 2008 6:43 AM CDT
(Newser) - Gordon Brown suffered a potentially fatal blow to his leadership when Labour lost a once rock-solid seat to the Scottish National Party in a special election early this morning. In one of the most stunning upsets in years, the separatists seized the constituency of Glasgow East as more than 22% of voters who went Labour at the last election abandoned...
Deadly Mine Collapse Draws Record Fine
CNN | Jul 25, 2008 6:21 AM CDT
(Newser) - The federal government has socked a Utah mine operator and its consultant with the highest fine ever—$1.85 million—for safety violations in a mine collapse that killed six men last year. Investigators said weak pillar support and work in dangerous areas of the Crandell Canyon mine led to the disaster. The mine operator was charged $1.34...
Obama Hits Paris
Associated Press | Jul 25, 2008 5:47 AM CDT
(Newser) - Barack Obama has arrived in Paris, where the candidate is holding talks with French President Nicolas Sarkozy before a joint news conference. Sarkozy rushed back from a summit in the southwest of France to meet Obama at the presidential palace, reports AP. The two first met in 2006 when Sarkozy was running for president and visited Washington.
Kiwi Judge Chucks Kid's Crazy Name
BBC | Jul 25, 2008 5:17 AM CDT
(Newser) - A New Zealand judge has allowed 9-year-old Tallulah Does The Hula From Hawaii to change her name, the BBC reports. The judge said the bizarre name makes a fool of the girl—who prefers to be called "K"—and would pose a likely handicap later in life. He slammed the parents' "poor judgement" and a trend toward weird names....
US Nuke Bomb Crew Caught Napping
Reuters | Jul 25, 2008 4:42 AM CDT
(Newser) - A three-man US missile crew fell asleep while in possession of  top secret launch codes for nuclear missiles, reports Reuters. It happened earlier this month at a Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota—the same site of a breach last year in which nuclear weapons were erroneously loaded on a B-52 and flown to Louisiana.
Hole in Qantas Jet Forces Emergency Landing
Associated Press | Jul 25, 2008 4:17 AM CDT
(AP) - A Qantas flight en route to Australia from London made an emergency landing in Manila today after a mysterious bang punched a 9-foot-wide hole in the fuselage and sent the Boeing 747-400 plunging thousands of feet. There were no injuries but some of the 350 passengers and crew vomited, AP reports. Part of the cabin's ceiling also collapsed and the...
Astronaut Reports Alien Visits
Telegraph (UK) | Jul 25, 2008 3:44 AM CDT
(Newser) - Astronaut Edgar Mitchell, who walked on the moon during the Apollo 14 mission, says aliens have visited Earth but the information has been covered up by the government. The 77-year-old astronaut told a radio interviewer he was "privileged enough to be in on the fact that we've been visited," reports the Daily Telegraph .
Drug Revolution Boosts HIV Survival Rates
Independent (UK) | Jul 25, 2008 3:20 AM CDT
(Newser) - A revolution in drug treatments for people with HIV has dramatically increased survival rates in the West, reports the Independent . A patient diagnosed today at the age of 20 can expect to live to nearly 70 by taking cocktails of drugs. Life expectancy improved by an average of 13 years between 1996 and 2005, and has continued to rise.
Hiding Was 'Easy,' Boasts Karadzic
Guardian (UK) | Jul 25, 2008 2:51 AM CDT
(Newser) - Captured Serbian war crimes suspect Radovan Karadzic has been refusing to eat in his Belgrade cell since his arrest more than a week ago—but has been boasting about life on the lam. Karadzic claims he had planned to turn himself in next year, reports the Guardian . Karadzic was nabbed on his way to a spa outside Belgrade. He was carrying swimming...
Menthol Debate Splits Black Caucus
New York Times | Jul 25, 2008 2:28 AM CDT
(Newser) - The exemption of menthol from a bill banning flavored cigarettes is causing a rift in the Black Congressional Caucus, the New York Times reports. Some members of the caucus, which has strong financial ties to tobacco companies, argue that menthol cigarettes cause disproportionate harm to blacks and are pushing for a ban. Others say a ban on menthol...
Light Pollution Veils Starry Skies
Wall Street Journal | Jul 25, 2008 2:03 AM CDT
(Newser) - Dark skies are being engulfed by light all over the world, creating some unexpected consequences, the Wall Street Journal reports. Over two-thirds of the world's people— including nearly all Americans—can no longer see "what is possibly the most extraordinary natural wonder," said one astronomer. The amount of artificial light...
Secret Justice Memo Bares CIA Torture Defense
CNN | Jul 25, 2008 1:00 AM CDT
(Newser) - The Bush administration advised the CIA in 2002 that its agents would not be prosecuted on anti-torture legislation as long as they professed an "honest belief" that their actions would not cause severe pain and anguish, CNN reports. The memo is one of three made public by the ACLU, and the rights group says they prove the Justice Department...
Gimmickry Makes McCain the Howard Dean of 2008
American Prospect | Jul 25, 2008 1:00 AM CDT
(Newser) - What’s the most apt parallel for John McCain’s underdog White House run? It’s Howard Dean’s gimmick-loving, maturity-lacking 2004 run, Ezra Klein writes in the American Prospect . McCain’s “whimsy” shone yesterday with ads in Berlin, NH; Berlin, Penn.; and Berlin, Wis. (with Barack Obama in the German capital)—proving...
Yankees Float Possibility of Bonds in Pinstripes
Associated Press | Jul 24, 2008 9:28 PM CDT
(AP) - Barry Bonds in pinstripes? Hank Steinbrenner confirmed today that team officials are at least talking about acquiring baseball's home-run king, though he wouldn't say just how serious those talks are. Given how late it is in the season, the prospects are unlikely, the AP reports. The slugger, who turned 44 today, became a free agent when the San Francisco...
Hasbro Sues Scrabulous, Warns Facebook
ABC News | Jul 24, 2008 9:05 PM CDT
(Newser) - The makers of Scrabble say Scrabulous must go. Hasbro today sued the creators of the online knockoff, which is wildly popular on Facebook, and warned the social networking site to dtich the game, ABC News reports. No word yet on whether that will happen. Hasbro recently released its own online version of Scrabble, also available on Facebook, in conjunction...
Want Denver Coronation Tix? Be Prepared to Work
Denver Post | Jul 24, 2008 8:36 PM CDT
(Newser) - Barack Obama wants you to help fill Denver’s Invesco Field for his coronation at the Democratic convention—but you’ll have to work for it, the Denver Post reports. A campaign official says would-be spectators will have to outline a plan for activism before and after the Aug. 28 event; tickets will then be awarded to as many as 60,000...
Where to Get Your JD, ASAP
Time | Jul 24, 2008 8:02 PM CDT
(Newser) - Northwestern University’s law school will offer its JD program, normally a 3-year commitment, in 2 years, a move designed to increase the school's competitive edge and respond to critics who say students with jobs lined up coast through their final year. Northwestern isn't pioneering the approach, but as the first top-tier school to offer a shortened...
Pierce: US Basketball Needs Win Worse Than Celtics Did
Associated Press | Jul 24, 2008 7:59 PM CDT
(AP) - Now that the Boston Celtics are once again NBA champions, American basketball's next great championship hope falls to the men's Olympic team. "They need it worse than the Celtics needed a championship this year," said Celtics forward Paul Pierce. "The US has been a perennial basketball power and they just need to establish that once...
Left Breaks News; Right Can't Fix It
Politico | Jul 24, 2008 7:31 PM CDT
(Newser) - The left is using the Internet far more effectively than the right, Jonathan Martin writes on Politico. While conservative political sites are principally opinion, lefty destinations like the Huffington Post and Talking Points Memo tread the line between reportage and commentary, breaking stories ignored by the mainstream media that advance liberal...
Scientists Explain Northern Lights
Wired | Jul 24, 2008 7:01 PM CDT
(Newser) - Scientists say they have solved the mystery of what causes the dazzling northern lights to seemingly dance across the sky, Wired reports. The light show, also known as aurora borealis, is triggered by explosions of magnetic energy about 80,000 miles away. The findings—drawn from five NASA satellites working in tandem with ground observers—might...
Not Exactly JFK, But Obama Leaves Crowd Happy
Guardian (UK) | Jul 24, 2008 6:23 PM CDT
(Newser) - Make no mistake, Barack Obama gave a fine speech in Berlin today, writes Shane Danielsen in the Guardian . But any comparisons to JFK can stop right there. His speech hit all the right notes but shaded more toward the ordinary than the memorable. The mood of the mostly young crowd "never quite tipped into hsyteria," says Danielsen, who notes...
Girls=Boys in Math, Says Study
San Jose Mercury News | Jul 24, 2008 6:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - Girls are just as good as boys at math, says an exhaustive study of 7 million test scores from elementary through high school students, the San Jose Mercury News reports. The findings, to be published tomorrow in Science , are at odds with 30-year-old studies—and a view entrenched in our culture—that say males have a superior aptitude...
New Site Lets Microbloggers Post Short Videos
Mashable | Jul 24, 2008 5:30 PM CDT
(Newser) - Sick of spreading your message by text alone on sites such as Twitter, but not ready to actually talk to your friends face to face? Worry not: a new site, “12 Seconds,” allows you to post video updates from home or on your mobile device, Mashable reports. The only catch? You’ve probably figured it out already: each video must be 12...
The Democratic Party: Is Civil War Brewing?
American | Jul 24, 2008 5:05 PM CDT
(Newser) - Democrats are undoubtedly ascendant in the US, Joel Kotkin writes in the American , but the demographic shift that made it so may undermine the party in the near future. That’s because the working-class party of FDR is now chock-full of elites—two constituencies with different values. The richer Dems don’t care deeply about economic...
Giuliani's Son Sues Duke in Golf Dismissal
New York Post | Jul 24, 2008 4:50 PM CDT
(Newser) - Rudy Giuliani’s son Andrew has filed suit against Duke University to protest his dismissal from the school’s golf team, the New York Post reports. Giuliani’s suit contends he was kicked off the team with no warning. Coach OD Vincent said Giuliani threw golf clubs around, disrespected a trainer and played a team game of football...
Mukasey Can't Reach Dems Across Gulf on Terror Law
Newsweek | Jul 24, 2008 4:34 PM CDT
(Newser) - The refusal by Democrats to give Michael Mukasey a hearing during a Hill appearance yesterday is evidence of a “huge and poisonous gulf” between the legislative and executive branches that threatens to delay action on judicial process until 2009, Michael Isikoff and Mark Hosenball write in Newsweek . The attorney general wants new laws...
After Yahoo, Microsoft Amps Up Search Effort
Wall Street Journal | Jul 24, 2008 4:21 PM CDT
(Newser) - CEO Steve Ballmer is spinning Microsoft’s failure to acquire Yahoo expertly, telling analysts today that, unburdened by the search giant, the company can be more frisky and adaptable in its fight with nemesis Google, the Wall Street Journal reports. Actions might speak louder than words, though: Microsoft announced yesterday it would give the...
Energy Crisis Requires a Global Agency
Financial Times (UK) | Jul 24, 2008 4:08 PM CDT
(Newser) - A global agency is needed to deal with the developing energy crisis, Mohamed ElBaradei, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, writes in the Financial Times . Demand for energy is rising fast and alternatives to fossil fuels remain largely hypothetical, and though there are international organizations to deal with everything from health...
Russia Goes After Emo
Guardian (UK) | Jul 24, 2008 3:55 PM CDT
(Newser) - Fearing a threat to the wellbeing of its youth, the Russian Duma is going after what it sees as Public Enemy No. 1—emo.  Lawmakers are debating legislation to ban all signs of emo culture—an offshoot of punk music—from schools and government buildings, the Guardian reports. Lawmakers see the  trademark skinny jeans, black...
Qaddafi Cheesed at Swiss Over Son's Arrest
Times (UK) | Jul 24, 2008 3:43 PM CDT
(Newser) - Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi is waging a diplomatic, business and public-relations offensive against Switzerland, the Times of London reports, in response to the July 15 arrest of his son Hannibal in the assault of a Geneva hotel worker. Qaddafi has closed Swiss offices and expelled diplomats, apparently organizing a boisterous gathering outside...
Housing, Labor Pummel Stocks
Wall Street Journal | Jul 24, 2008 3:29 PM CDT
(Newser) - Stocks saw big losses today as bad news on housing and employment soured investors’ hopes of a looming economic turnaround, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Dow fell 283.10—a 2.43% drop—to close at 11,349.28; the Nasdaq shed 45.77, to 2,280.11; and the S&P 500 lost 29.65, closing at 1,252.54.
Lieberman, 50, Returning to WNBA
ESPN | Jul 24, 2008 3:24 PM CDT
(Newser) - Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman is headed back to the WNBA at age 50, reports ESPN, which is losing her from its airwaves to the Detroit Shock, a team she played for and coached. Lieberman signed a 7-day contract to help a team hurt by injury and looming disciplinary action; she’ll be the league’s oldest player ever—breaking a record...
Feds Let Troops Fight, Won't Help Them Vote
Washington Post | Jul 24, 2008 3:12 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Pentagon has long dragged its heels on making it easier for US troops overseas to have their votes count back home, columnist Robert Novak points out in the Washington Post . There’s little appetite in a Democratic-controlled Congress to kick-start the process, Novak notes, as evidenced by the “silence” that met a recent Republican...
Paper Shortage Deepens Crisis in Zimbabwe
Guardian (UK) | Jul 24, 2008 2:58 PM CDT
(Newser) - International sanctions and hyperinflation have left Zimbabwe nearly unable to print money, the Guardian reports. Stocks are nearly depleted since shipments ceased early this month from the German firm that supplied paper for banknotes; worse, the license will soon expire on the software used to design and print the bills. And with inflation around...
New Stadium Strikes Fear in Mets Foes
Philadelphia Daily News | Jul 24, 2008 2:37 PM CDT
(Newser) - National League teams visiting Shea Stadium this summer can’t help looking past the outfield with fear at the New York Mets’ new home, Citi Field, which opens next year. “It is the ballpark that could make the Mets financially untouchable,” Rich Hofmann writes in the Philadelphia Daily News , urging his hometown Phillies and...
McCain Ad Links Obama to Castro
Huffington Post | Jul 24, 2008 2:12 PM CDT
(Newser) - The McCain campaign is running an Internet ad composed of photos of Barack Obama and Fidel Castro side by side, with the caption “Fidel Castro thinks he is 'the most advanced candidate,'" the Huffington Post reports. The ad is running on websites catering to South Florida, home to many Cuban expatriates and deep anti-Castro sentiment.
Next Batman May Be Lurking in Obscurity
Radar | Jul 24, 2008 2:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - With The Dark Knight —featuring a Batman "easily inhabited by the George Clooneys or Christian Bales of the world"—all the rage, Radar presents "other subversive comic book characters who probably won't—but really should—show up at a theater near you," including: Female Furies: "With a little...
Fewer Men Are Going to Church
USA Today | Jul 24, 2008 1:40 PM CDT
(Newser) - The number of men attending church services is plummeting, and now females outnumber males at places of worship in every major Christian denomination, reports USA Today . Religious groups across the US are launching campaigns to get men praying, trying everything from guy decor to "beast feasts," where male worshipers dine on meat they hunted...
Iraq Barred From Beijing Games
MSNBC | Jul 24, 2008 1:21 PM CDT
(Newser) - Iraq has been banned from next month’s Beijing Olympics because of what the International Olympic Committee calls government interference in the Olympic process, MSNBC reports. The Iraqi leadership dissolved the country’s Olympic committee, which is supposed to be an independent body of elected officials, and replaced it with a temporary...
Obama, in Berlin: There Are More Walls to Tear Down
CNN | Jul 24, 2008 1:09 PM CDT
(Newser) - Barack Obama told an estimated 100,000 in Berlin today that “America has no better partner than Europe.” Touching on climate change, nuclear non-proliferation, genocide, and human rights, the Democrat referenced Ronald Reagan’s famous plea to the Soviet Union—saying there are new “walls we must tear down.” He cited...
Why I Loved Scully
Salon | Jul 24, 2008 1:03 PM CDT
(Newser) - The X-Files ’ Dana Scully was everything women in entertainment today are not: intellectual, nuanced, tortured, Rebecca Traister writes in Salon. So as the sci-fi classic hits the big screen once again this weekend, we need Scully, “the cerebral head of the X-Files, torn between her Catholic faith, her scientific impulse to explain away...
Feds Confiscate Hathaway's Diaries
New York Daily News | Jul 24, 2008 12:54 PM CDT
(Newser) - Anne Hathaway could be drawn into the scandal surrounding her ex-boyfriend. The FBI has seized the actress’ diaries, looking for evidence in the fraud investigation against Raffaello Follieri. They also confiscated personal photos of the pair, along with other documents, a Tiffany clock, watches, and an antique Bible. Hathaway hasn’t been...
NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   Betty Confidential   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   Fark   |   Timelines   |   The Frisky   |   Geek Sugar   |   NewsOne