Newser Story Index from August, 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.
Palin Spurs Both Camps to Alter Strategies
New York Times
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Aug 30, 2008 5:35 PM CDT
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Barack Obama and John McCain are tinkering with political strategy today to account for Sarah Palin's game-changing entrance into the campaign. Camp Obama, which had planned attack ads against likely veep candidates Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty, is struggling to criticize Palin, knowing she represents a political milestone for women. The camp's...
1M Flee Gulf Coast Hurricane Warning
Associated Press
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Aug 30, 2008 5:00 PM CDT
(AP) -
Spooked by Hurricane Gustav's rapid move toward Category 5 strength, a million residents of the Gulf Coast fled today as a hurricane watch was issued for Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and part of Texas. Gustav is likely to become a Category 5—with sustained winds of 156 mph or more—by Sunday, and strike the coast within 36 hours.
Edwards Plans First Return to Public Stage
Associated Press
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Aug 30, 2008 4:27 PM CDT
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John Edwards will emerge from his month-long seclusion to speak in New York next week, the AP reports. Edwards has not appeared publicly since he admitted his affair with videographer Rielle Hunter. His wife, Elizabeth, will not join him as scheduled at the September 8th speech at Hofstra University. Watchers were wary: “I don't think the dust...
Clues Point to Rigged World Cup Match
Deutsche Welle (Germany)
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Aug 30, 2008 3:57 PM CDT
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Asian betters may have fixed a World Cup game between Brazil and Ghana 2 years ago, a Canadian reporter says. His research links players on Ghana's team with a Bangkok betting ring that wanted Brazil to win that match—and it did.
Under Italy's Mob, Toxic Trash Heaps Growing
Los Angeles Times
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Aug 30, 2008 3:24 PM CDT
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Heaps of garbage tower in southern Italy’s legal and illegal dumps, and may even be contributing to cancer and birth defects in the area—but the mafia’s grip on disposal makes it near impossible to fix the problem, the Los Angeles Times reports. “For years the waste has been accumulating, nothing has been done to clean it...
Dems Should Fear 'Sarah Barracuda'
Weekly Standard
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Aug 30, 2008 2:52 PM CDT
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Democrats will launch one patronizing strike after another on Sarah Palin in the coming weeks, but make no mistake: Liberals are—and should be—terrified of the GOP veep pick, William Kristol writes in the Weekly Standard . Palin is “a compelling and mold-breaking example for lots of Americans,” with hard-core conservative values...
50 Years On, Tibet's Secret War Simmers
Wall Street Journal
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Aug 30, 2008 2:23 PM CDT
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The little-known Tibetan resistance struggle after China's 1950 invasion still affects its politics today, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Dalai Lama's brother played a vital role in the CIA-backed armed movement, largely made up of Buddhist monks, and Chinese suspicion still lingers over how much the spiritual leader himself was involved.
Ron Paul Fans Stage Their Own Party
Associated Press
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Aug 30, 2008 2:00 PM CDT
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"Ronvoys" have begun converging on Minneapolis, where Ron Paul supporters plan to gather in a convention near to, but separate from, the Republican hullaboo in St. Paul. Nearly 10,000 anti-war, anti-taxes, anti-big-government, and pro-personal-liberties revelers plan to attend the Rally for the Republic, otherwise known as Ronstock '08, the...
Party's Not Over for Romney
Boston Herald
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Aug 30, 2008 1:30 PM CDT
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Mitt Romney won’t share a ticket with John McCain, but the former Massachusetts governor’s political future is still rosy, the Boston Herald reports. “He’s a very viable candidate,” one expert said, whether for a Cabinet post in a McCain administration—Treasury or Commerce, perhaps—or another run for...
Category 4 Gustav Slams Cuba; La. Exodus Increases
Associated Press
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Aug 30, 2008 1:05 PM CDT
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Gustav grew into a fierce Category 4 hurricane and slammed into Cuba this afternoon as the nation scrambled to evacuate its most populated areas, the AP reports. The storm, which had been upgraded to a Category 3 just hours earlier, now has 145mph winds and remains on path to hit the Gulf Coast on Monday. In New Orleans, lines at bus stations are growing,...
To Palin: No Love From Alaska
Huffington Post
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Aug 30, 2008 1:03 PM CDT
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We’ve heard much talk about Sarah Palin from pundits who barely know who she is. But what do her home state papers think of her? Not much, according to Greg Mitchell of the Huffington Post. The two top papers in the state both questioned the pick —and the Anchorage Daily News greeted the announcement with an update on Palin’s...
Mexican Drug Wars Spread to Touristy Yucatan
Los Angeles Times
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Aug 30, 2008 12:38 PM CDT
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As drug violence soars in Mexico, casualties are spreading to the Yucatan peninsula, a major tourist destination and spring break hot spot. Twelve decapitated bodies were found near the popular ruins of Chichen Itza this week, the Los Angeles Times reports. That's because a government crackdown has heightened “a kind of civil war among drug...
Archaeologists Unearth Ancient Gold Wreath
Associated Press
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Aug 30, 2008 12:00 PM CDT
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An ancient gold wreath buried with human bones in a copper vase has been discovered in the old stomping grounds of Alexander the Great in northern Greece, AP reports. It's rare to find such wreaths, which were generally buried with royalty. Diggers found it in the ruins of Aigai, the first capital of Macedonia and city where Alexander's father was...
Lost Coffins Remain Part of Katrina's Legacy
Wall Street Journal
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Aug 30, 2008 11:32 AM CDT
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Louisiana is still finding coffins displaced by Hurricane Katrina three years on, the Wall Street Journal reports. Katrina and Rita moved 1,500 bodies from their resting places in the state's swampy south, where floating coffins during floods have long been part of local folklore. Hundreds remain unidentified, and they are still turning up in woods...
Palin Choice Clever, Irresponsible
National Post (Canada)
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Aug 30, 2008 10:56 AM CDT
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As a political move, John McCain’s VP choice makes sense: Sarah Palin’s social conservatism should appease the party base, while her “maverick status” and gender may help the ticket win centrist voters and working-class women. But as “bold” and “shrewd” as the choice may be, it’s less “clear...
Darling: British Economy Is at 60-Year Low
Guardian (UK)
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Aug 30, 2008 10:29 AM CDT
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The outlook for Britain's economy is the bleakest since the days when the country was rebuilding from the Blitz, Chancellor Alistair Darling tells the Guardian . Darling warns that the downturn for the UK and the wider world could be "more profound and longer-lasting" than people expect. He acknowledges that voters are "pissed off"...
C-E-R-T-A-I-N Scrabble Winners
Mental Floss
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Aug 30, 2008 10:01 AM CDT
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Sure, Bart Simpson could fake it at Scrabble—but for those of us playing against a wit sharper than Homer's, here are some gems Mental Floss magazine dug up that actually mean something: Cwm: A valley created by glacial shifts. Adz: An axe-like woodworking tool. Xu: The currency of Vietnam.
Lawmakers Get Most Funding From Outside Districts
Miller-McCune
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Aug 30, 2008 8:53 AM CDT
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Candidates running for Congress are increasingly using affluent ZIP codes outside their own districts as "political ATM machines" to fund their campaigns, a new study finds. In the majority of House races in 2004, almost three-quarters of contributions came from donors outside a lawmaker's district—often from Hollywood, Manhattan's...
Gustav Now a Cat 3 Hurricane
Associated Press
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Aug 30, 2008 8:02 AM CDT
(AP) -
Gustav swelled to a fearsome Category 3 hurricane with winds of 115 mph as it neared Cuba early today, the AP reports. The storm, which killed 71 people in the Caribbean, rolled over the Cayman Islands last night, with fierce winds that tore down trees and power lines, but there was little flooding. Gustav could strike the Gulf Coast anywhere from...
Utah Drivers Fill Up With Cheap Natural Gas
New York Times
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Aug 30, 2008 7:43 AM CDT
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Utah drivers are lining up to fill their cars and trucks with natural gas, at the equivalent of just 87 cents a gallon, the New York Times reports. State regulations keeping natural gas cheap have fueled a surge of interest in natural gas vehicles among drivers in the state, who are having their vehicles converted or are buying used cars that ...
Casey Anthony Busted Again
Orlando Sentinel
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Aug 30, 2008 6:49 AM CDT
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Casey Anthony, bailed out of jail last week on charges connected with the disappearance of her 3-year-old daughter Caylee, was rearrested last night on check fraud and theft charges. A crowd outside her parents' Florida home cheered and jeered, calling her a murderer and baby killer, as officers led her away, the Orlando Sentinel reports. Investigators...
Back-to-School Lists Bust Budgets
New York Times
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Aug 30, 2008 6:34 AM CDT
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Ever-expanding back-to-school lists are squeezing family budgets, the New York Times reports. The bill often tops three figures as school ask for pricey items like flash drives—often specifying the brand name. And many cash-strapped districts are turning to parents to provide supplies like paper towels, baby wipes and Band-Aids, once held by...
Battle Is On for the Female Vote
Washington Post
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Aug 30, 2008 6:24 AM CDT
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The GOP is betting that John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as a running mate will put 18 million dents in the Democrats' White House hopes, the Washington Post writes. The party hopes the choice will woo disaffected Hillary Clinton voters, while many Democrats dismiss it as pure political pandering. "It's basically the equivalent of a midnight...
Boeing Union Slams Offer, Urges Workers to Strike
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
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Aug 29, 2008 9:21 PM CDT
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Boeing union leaders are urging members to turn down the company’s latest offer and go on strike, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports. Union chiefs have also filed a charge of unfair labor practice against management for "direct dealing with our members." Machinists plan to vote on Boeing's offer Wednesday and will need a two-thirds...
A Mac Victory Would Crush GOP
Time
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Aug 29, 2008 8:46 PM CDT
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A John McCain win in November would be the worst loss Republicans have endured in decades, Peter Beinart writes in Time . On the other hand, an Obama win—and subsequent torrent of liberal legislation—would reinvigorate demoralized Republicans. If McCain takes the White House, he will likely compromise with Democratic lawmakers and rob...
Clone-Maker Files Countersuit Against Apple
PC Magazine
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Aug 29, 2008 8:10 PM CDT
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Mac clone-maker Psystar countersued Apple this week and charged it with violating antitrust law, PC Magazine reports. The battle centers on a provision in Apple’s end user agreement that prohibits non-Mac hardware from running its operating system. Psystar admits to selling computers with such hardware, and says they can be sold for hundreds...
Traitor 's Layered Thrills Impress
Rotten Tomatoes
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Aug 29, 2008 7:40 PM CDT
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Critics are impressed with terrorism thriller Traitor ’s maze of a plot, superb acting, and moral ambiguity. The film squeezes “a vast and sometimes contradictory compendium of post-9/11 fears and anxieties into 110 swift minutes” while trying “to cover every side and cater to just about every possible ideological objection,”...
Sporting Farmers Plow for Glory in Europe
Wall Street Journal
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Aug 29, 2008 7:07 PM CDT
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Earlier this month, a high-stakes amateur athletics competition, complete with come-from-behind upset victories and confusing rules, captivated audiences. It wasn’t the Olympics, but it’s as close as most farmboys will get, the Wall Street Journal reports: The World Plowing Championships, held in Grafenegg, Austria, doled out gold to...
New Orleans: No Shelter if You Stay
Associated Press
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Aug 29, 2008 6:35 PM CDT
(AP) -
Police with bullhorns plan to go street to street with a tough message about getting out ahead of Hurricane Gustav: This time there will be no shelter of last resort. New Orleans authorities issued a warning today as new forecasts made it increasingly clear that the city will get some kind of hit—direct or indirect—as early as Monday. Evacuations...
Put Your Virtual Tiger Up Against the Real Thing
Boston Globe
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Aug 29, 2008 6:03 PM CDT
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Shaving giant Gillette has announced a partnership with Electronic Arts to sponsor an online gaming tournament where the prize will be competing against real-life sports stars, the Boston Globe reports. Tiger Woods, Roger Federer, and Derek Jeter are the celebrity champions, who will be challenged by players on the Xbox 360’s Tiger Woods PGA...
Mission Accomplished on Mars
Wired
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Aug 29, 2008 5:32 PM CDT
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Time's almost up for NASA's Mars Phoenix Lander: With its 90-day mission complete, the $480 million project will continue testing soil samples until the punishing winter puts it out of commission. Wired recaps Phoenix triumphs with an interactive timeline, from its flawless landing at Mars' north pole to its groundbreaking analysis of Martian ice...
Vatican Blasts Attacks on Christians
Reuters
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Aug 29, 2008 5:09 PM CDT
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The Vatican warned against the spread of "Christianophobia" today following attacks in India that left 13 Christians dead, Reuters reports. Thousands fled their homes this week as mobs rioted in retaliation for the murder of a Hindu leader. The Pope condemned the violence, and Italy's foreign ministry will demand India take "incisive...
Palin All for Drilling— and Has Been Tough on Big Oil
Salon
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Aug 29, 2008 4:50 PM CDT
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Gov. Sarah Palin wants the US to drill for oil, offshore or in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in her home state. Not only does recent drilling convert John McCain get backup, Andrew Leonard writes in Salon, but Dems will have a hard time branding Palin a pawn of Big Oil: She’s had a history of taxing oil companies and badmouthing lobbyists.
In Pursuit of Bonds, Feds Put Screws on Trainer's Family
New York Times
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Aug 29, 2008 4:35 PM CDT
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Federal authorities are still trying to get Greg Anderson, Barry Bonds’ former personal trainer, to testify about the baseball star’s steroid use, the New York Times reports, and may prosecute his wife and mother-in-law on tax charges to coerce him. “I have never heard anything like this,” said a lawyer for Nicole Gestas,...
'Dog Years' Just Don't Add Up
Wall Street Journal
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Aug 29, 2008 4:20 PM CDT
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A human year is 7 dog years, right? That ubiquitous formula has been driving veterinarians and dog enthusiasts nuts for decades. If it were accurate, some pooches would live to the equivalent of age 150 or so, Carl Bialik writes in the Wall Street Journal . For those who must convert, he suggests scrapping the one-size-fits-all approach in favor of...
Baseball Strikes It Rich With Online Content Pitch
BusinessWeek
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Aug 29, 2008 4:03 PM CDT
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Major League Baseball’s full-bore embrace of the internet is paying off for its online service, Jay Yarow writes in BusinessWeek . Most professional sports leagues limit web content for fear of encroaching on TV ratings, but MLB’s Advanced Media allows streaming video of full games, downloadable highlights from every game, and a mountain...
Steak: More Than Meats the Eye
Esquire
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Aug 29, 2008 3:51 PM CDT
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There's more to a mouthwatering steak than meets the eye. So Esquire offers some tips and terms every steak lover should know before a Labor Day meat-fest: Types of beef: Grass-fed: "Healthier but ... less flavorful than corn-fed." Heritage: "Rare heirloom breeds ... without the hormones or pesticides." Aberdeen-Angus:...
Patients Paying $1B in Medical Bills They Don't Owe
BusinessWeek
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Aug 29, 2008 3:37 PM CDT
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Millions of patients throughout the country are footing the bill for medical payments they don’t owe, BusinessWeek reports. In a practice known as balance billing, health-care providers stick weary patients with the cost of their treatment not covered by insurers. The practice is often illegal, but, according to estimates, consumers shell out...
Dell, Income Data Sour Stocks
MarketWatch
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Aug 29, 2008 3:24 PM CDT
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Stocks lost value today on disappointing second-quarter earnings from computer maker Dell and news of declining personal incomes, MarketWatch reports. Trading remained light ahead of the Labor Day weekend as the Dow lost 171.22 to close at 11,543.96. The Nasdaq dropped 44.12, to 2,367.52, while the S&P 500 fell 17.85 to settle at 1,282.83.
How Sarah Palin Instantly Improves McCain's Chances
Weekly Standard
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Aug 29, 2008 3:15 PM CDT
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John McCain turned heads by choosing Sarah Palin today as his running mate, and the Weekly Standard explains why she’s the right woman for the job. Democrats just wrapped their glitzy convention, but the Sunday talk shows will be abuzz with Palin chatter. The mother of five softens McCain’s “crotchety” image and...
Burn Flares Up, Flames Out
Variety
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Aug 29, 2008 3:02 PM CDT
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Burn After Reading , a dark comedy about Washington bureaucrats and other buffoons, “tries to mate sex farce with a satire of a paranoid political thriller, with arch and ungainly results,” Todd McCarthy writes in Variety . The Coen brothers dial everything up to “an almost grotesquely exaggerated extent … making for a film...
In Remote Amazon, Complex Towns Once Flourished
BBC
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Aug 29, 2008 2:50 PM CDT
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Researchers have unearthed remains of densely populated, complex urban towns in a remote region of the Amazon River Basin, the BBC reports. In an area of western Brazil thought to be virgin forest, researchers found extensive and advanced human activity, including roads, farming, wetland management, and what appear to be fish farms built prior to Europeans...
The State of US Wine, in 50 Bottles
Time
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Aug 29, 2008 2:37 PM CDT
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Wine snobs contend that "terroir"—soil, climate, and topography—restrict great wines to certain regions. But are they right? All 50 US states make wine, so Joel Stein sampled a bottle from each to test the claim in Time . He discovered "quite good" varietals from surprising states like Delaware and Kentucky, but also...
Comcast Caps Internet Use, Says 99% Won't Notice
Reuters
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Aug 29, 2008 2:27 PM CDT
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Comcast subscribers will soon have their Internet usage capped, Reuters reports. From Oct. 1, the nation’s largest cable operator will limit monthly residential data use to 250 gigabytes to improve the quality of Internet delivery. The company says up to 99% of its subscribers will be unaffected by the cap—equivalent to 50 million emails...
New Orleans Honors Katrina Victims, Keeps Eye on Gustav
Reuters
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Aug 29, 2008 2:14 PM CDT
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New Orleans didn’t have long to commemorate the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina today as it kept a wary eye on another deadly storm. The city could get an evacuation order as early as this evening, Reuters reports, as Tropical Storm Gustav—nearing hurricane strength—churns in the Caribbean. Today, President Bush declared a...
Palin Stunner: A Brilliant or Brutal Pick?
Time
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Aug 29, 2008 2:02 PM CDT
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John McCain certainly turned some heads by selecting Sarah Palin as his vice president. Here’s what people are saying: Given how perfectly Palin fits his needs, it’s surprising that this is so surprising, write Mark Grunwald and Jay Newton-Small of Time. McCain needed to prove he was independent, but also socially conservative,...
GM Recalls 800K Over Electric Issues
Reuters
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Aug 29, 2008 1:50 PM CDT
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An electrical glitch has General Motors recalling 857,735 vehicles today, Reuters reports. GM will recall all cars with a heated windshield wiper fluid system for faults that may lead the system to short circuit, increasing the likelihood of fire or other electrical malfunctions. See below for a full list of affected vehicles.
Obama on Warpath Pleases, Worries Pundits
Guardian (UK)
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Aug 29, 2008 1:39 PM CDT
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The chattering class saw strength—even Rovian aggression—in Barack Obama’s acceptance speech, for better or worse. A sampling of what observers are saying: The Democratic nominee managed to be about voters, not himself, magnificently deflecting John McCain’s entire “celebrity” narrative, Michael Tomasky writes...
Feinstein Weighs Run for Calif. Governor
San Francisco Chronicle
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Aug 29, 2008 1:25 PM CDT
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Sen. Dianne Feinstein is considering a run for governor of California in 2010, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The chairwoman of the Rules Committee, who was forced to skip this week’s Democratic convention in Denver because of a broken ankle, said her decision will hinge on how congressional Democrats fare in this year’s election.
Georgia Cuts Diplomatic Ties With Moscow
Associated Press
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Aug 29, 2008 1:10 PM CDT
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Georgia pulled its diplomats from Moscow today, charging that it cannot engage in diplomacy with an “aggressor country,” the AP reports. A spokesman for Russia’s Foreign Ministry said the Georgians’ cutting of diplomatic ties would not benefit relations between the two countries. Russian troops remain in Georgia, both in the...
