Newser Story Index from September, 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.
Need Your Gall Bladder Taken Out? Say 'Ahhh'
Washington Post
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Sep 21, 2008 11:56 AM CDT
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A new surgery technique aims to send patients home without a scar —but you might have to put your gall bladder where your mouth is to do it. The Washington Post takes a look at surgeons who operate purely through existing bodily openings, largely the aforementioned gall bladder being removed orally. While some are hailing a surgical...
George Michael Charged in Drug Bust
BBC
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Sep 21, 2008 11:35 AM CDT
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George Michael was arrested in a London public restroom on drug possession charges Friday and let off with a caution, the BBC reports. The singer, 45, is accused of having crack cocaine, among other drugs. Though possession can mean up to 7 years in prison, UK law allows for “flexibility” in such cases, said a government minister, noting...
Tweaked Bailout Bill Opens Aid to Foreign Banks
Politico
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Sep 21, 2008 11:15 AM CDT
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The Treasury Department has amended its bailout bill to include foreign banks, Politico reports, abandoning an earlier requirement that banks be headquartered in the US to receive money. Now, the banks must have “significant operations in the US” or be approved by Henry Paulson—meaning Barclays, Credit Suisse, and others are eligible....
Paulson: Plan Still Leaves Taxpayers at Risk
Politico
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Sep 21, 2008 10:55 AM CDT
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Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, knee-deep in negotiations to save the floundering US finance industry, had a grim warning for Americans today: “There are no guarantees, and the taxpayer is at risk,” Paulson told Fox News Sunday, adding, “The concern I have is for the American people and the economy”—and Wall Street...
Cell Phones Hike Cancer in Kids 5-Fold
Independent (UK)
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Sep 21, 2008 10:20 AM CDT
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Children under 20 using cell phones are five times more likely to get brain cancer, a Swedish study has found, stoking fears of an upcoming cancer epidemic. Kids’ undeveloped brains and nervous systems, as well as their thinner skulls and smaller heads, put them at higher risk from radiation, the Independent reports. Use of home cordless phones...
Doc: Rockers Will Recover From Crash
Associated Press
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Sep 21, 2008 10:07 AM CDT
(AP) -
Former Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker and celebrity disc jockey DJ AM are expected to fully recover from burns they suffered in a fiery South Carolina jet crash that killed the other four people aboard, their doctor said today. The two suffered second- and third-degree burns but had no other injuries from the crash that one witness described as a...
Subprime Bailout Will 'Stifle' Next President
McClatchy Newspapers
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Sep 21, 2008 9:37 AM CDT
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“Change” may be more than an election-year buzzword: Thanks to record deficits and Wall Street's crisis, it could be the only money the next president has left. Barack Obama and John McCain are vowing ambitious projects, reports McClatchy, but “the next president is just not going to have the money to meet his promises,” says...
Return to Iraq: A Fragile Peace That's Jarring
New York Times
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Sep 21, 2008 9:04 AM CDT
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When Dexter Filkins left Baghdad in 2006, it was a city of shuttered buildings and fearful citizens, in a land that looked as though it would never recover from war. But, writes the war correspondent in the New York Times, “to return now is to be jarred in the oddest way possible: by the normal, by the pleasant, even by hope” ...
Alaskans Furious at No-Show Sarah
Los Angeles Times
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Sep 21, 2008 8:30 AM CDT
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Alaskans seeking answers or help from their governor are sick and tired of being referred to John McCain's campaign headquarters 4,300 miles away, reports the Los Angeles Times. "Why did the McCain campaign take over the governor's office?" the Anchorage Daily News demanded in an editorial yesterday. "Is it too much to ask that Alaska's...
Sean Lennon: Dad Screamed at Me
New York Post
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Sep 21, 2008 7:48 AM CDT
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John Lennon's son said his give-peace-a-chance pop once screamed at him so loudly that the boy ended up in the hospital with damage to his ear, reports the New York Post . The famous Beatle became enraged when Sean, then 4, failed to heed his lessons on how to cut steak. "I remember I was lying on the floor and hurting, and him holding me and...
Pakistan Bomb Toll Climbs to 53, Al-Qaeda Accused
Reuters
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Sep 21, 2008 7:17 AM CDT
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Pakistani intelligence authorities have blamed al-Qaeda for a massive bomb attack that has so far claimed 53 lives, Reuters reports. The truck bomb slammed into an Islamabad Marriott yesterday, turning the busy hotel into an inferno of flame. The Czech ambassador to Pakistan, and an American and German national were among those killed. Nearly 300 people...
Franken Hatched Mac-Mocking SNL Skit
Politico
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Sep 21, 2008 6:48 AM CDT
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Former Saturday Night Live scribe and current Minnesota Democratic Senate hopeful Al Franken hatched the idea for last night’s sketch mocking John McCain—raising tough political questions for the program and NBC, Politico reports. Critics raised concerns about the propriety of a politician playing a role in an attack on a candidate from...
Olmert Announces Resignation
Reuters
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Sep 21, 2008 6:26 AM CDT
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Scandal-plagued Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced today that he will step down. "This was not an easy decision," he said. Olmert, who faces criminal corruption charges, must now submit his resignation to President Shimon Peres, but he may remain as a caretaker prime minister for weeks or even months as a new government is formed,...
Economy's in for Grueling Hangover
New York Times
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Sep 21, 2008 6:05 AM CDT
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The federal government’s giant bailout plan sparked a stock market surge—but it’s unlikely the economic turbulence will end anytime soon, warns David Leonhardt in the New York Times . “It’s been a long period of excess” lasting over a decade, and now the dot-com, stock market and real estate bubbles are bursting,...
Cops Raid Evangelist Complex in Kid Abuse Probe
CNN
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Sep 21, 2008 5:28 AM CDT
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Police raided an evangelist’s compound in Arkansas seeking evidence into allegations that he physically and sexually abused children, CNN reports. Some 100 agents took part in the raid on the 15-acre grounds in Fouke near Texarkana. Authorities were interviewing several children throughout the weekend. Evangelist leader Tony Alamo ripped the...
Market Crunch Spanks UK Nannies
Reuters
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Sep 21, 2008 4:56 AM CDT
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British nannies are lining up for jobs alongside the bankers and financiers who once employed them, Reuters reports. Renowned as the world's best, Britain's nannies are losing work to the credit crunch that has wiped out US investment banks and rippled through London's financial district, threatening thousands of jobs. Problems for nannies are "just...
Tampa Clinches First Playoff Spot; Cubs Win NL Central
TBO Blogs
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Sep 20, 2008 10:04 PM CDT
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What a difference a year makes. The once-lowly Tampa Bay Rays clinched their first playoff appearance in franchise history today with a 7-2 win over Minnesota. The Rays will earn at least a wild-card spot, but they also hold a 2 1/2-game lead over Boston in the AL East, the Tampa Tribune reports. Tampa finished with a league-worst record of 66-96...
Downturns Spark 'Witch Hunts' Against Elderly
Slate
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Sep 20, 2008 8:07 PM CDT
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"Witch-hunting” is a hot term these days as angry Wall Street investors pine for revenge—but in some countries they take it literally, Tim Harford writes in Slate. In Tanzania, Bolivia, and India, elderly women are often targeted as witches when resources are scarce. Tanzanian women are killed by their own families: "The machete...
Ike Evacuees Sneak Back Into Galveston
Associated Press
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Sep 20, 2008 8:04 PM CDT
(AP) -
Rats, raw sewage, and a no-excuses curfew await exiled residents who try to return to Texas' storm-wrecked Galveston Island when it reopens next week, officials warned today. But that didn't keep some of the 45,000 evacuated islanders from trying to get home. Some ignored orders to turn around outside the city, while others resorted to deception to...
Wall St. Ads Must Stop Lying
Washington Post
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Sep 20, 2008 7:11 PM CDT
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You may see some ironic ads by flicking on CNBC. Financial companies have spent decades advertising their stability and trustworthiness, but these days such claims seem ridiculous, writes Paul Farhi of the Washington Post. As recently as Monday, AIG was running ads with the slogan “The Strength to Be There,” while Merrill Lynch’s...
Hackers Break Into O'Reilly's Website
The Register
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Sep 20, 2008 6:40 PM CDT
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Hackers have broken into Bill O'Reilly's website and posted subscriber data online in an apparent act of retaliation, The Register reports. The hackers put screen shots of subscribers' names, passwords, and email addresses on Wikileaks, which reported that O'Reilly's condemnation of an attack on Sarah Palin's email inspired the break-in.
US Holds 9-7 Lead in Ryder
Associated Press
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Sep 20, 2008 6:05 PM CDT
(AP) -
Birdie putts kept falling, one on top of the other, until the Americans finally secured a Saturday lead in the Ryder Cup for the first time since 1995 to set up a final day that finally matters. The US team leads 9-7 heading into tomorrow's matches, giving it a decent chance to end a nearly decade-long drought against the Europeans. "The golf...
10 Books to Pass Up With Confidence
Times (UK)
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Sep 20, 2008 5:27 PM CDT
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Forget the coma-inducing titles that lit lovers keep telling you to read, Richard Wilson writes in his book, Can’t Be Arsed: 101 Things Not to Do Before You Die. He lists the top 10 clunkers in the Daily Telegraph : Ulysses , James Joyce: notoriously hard, so why bother? Lord of the Rings , J.R.R. Tolkien: the first dangerous...
Mbeki Leaves Mixed Legacy
Guardian (UK)
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Sep 20, 2008 4:55 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Thabo Mbeki could never be as beloved as Nelson Mandela, so he didn’t try, writes Mark Tran in the Guardian. Instead, Mbeki projected himself as a competent technocrat: cool, aloof, almost disdainful of popular opinion. He leaves behind a legacy as inscrutable as that persona, with clear victories, like the power-sharing deal he engineered...
New Gizmos Wage War on Sperm Flow
Times (UK)
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Sep 20, 2008 4:18 PM CDT
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Condoms may be reliable, but they’re so last century, prompting scientists to develop a new arsenal of high-tech male contraceptives, the London Times reports. One device, the tiny “fertility control micro-valve,” is injected into a duct to let men control sperm flow using a remote-controlled key fob, while another uses ultrasound...
Taliban Surges Back With New Battle Plan
Washington Post
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Sep 20, 2008 3:46 PM CDT
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Today’s Taliban bears little resemblance to the incompetent barefoot mullahs the US ousted 7 years ago. In the past year, the Taliban has reinvented itself as a confident, well-armed militia with a mighty propaganda machine, the Washington Post reports. “This is not the Taliban of Emirate times,” said one aide from the old regime....
Devil's in the Details of Wall St. Bailout
Wall Street Journal
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Sep 20, 2008 3:15 PM CDT
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Now that President Bush has requested his $700 billion bailout plan from Congress, work is under way on the details. The administration kept its 3-page outline simple so it could adjust to problems on the fly, the Wall Street Journal reports. But that gives Congress the opportunity to load it up with provisions of its own, particularly on homeowner...
Muppets Hit the Comeback Trail
New York Times
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Sep 20, 2008 2:35 PM CDT
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A generation that never saw the Muppets is about to meet Kermit and Miss Piggy, the New York Times reports. Disney has owned the old puppet/marionette gang for 4 years, but inertia and infighting have kept them undercover. Now the media giant is blitzing outlets with viral video, clothing lines, and customizable toys to hype a 2010 Muppets movie....
Is Metrolink Up to the Job? Train Crash Raises Doubts
Los Angeles Times
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Sep 20, 2008 2:05 PM CDT
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The country's deadliest train crash in decades has focused attention on mass transit carrier Metrolink, which operates on a shoestring budget and has many wondering whether it's up to the job, the Los Angeles Times reports. Five Southern California counties chip in to run the system, set up with relatively few employees to be light on expenses and...
Europeans Cut US Ryder Lead
Associated Press
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Sep 20, 2008 1:41 PM CDT
(AP) -
Even with Sergio Garcia and Lee Westwood reduced to the role of spectators, the Europeans cut into a commanding US lead at the Ryder Cup today. The Europeans closed to within 7-5 by winning two matches and halving another. Jim Furyk and Kenny Perry gave the Americans their only outright win of the morning alternate-shot matches, beating Padraig Harrington...
Fox Plays Softball in Palin Interviews
Los Angeles Times
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Sep 20, 2008 1:22 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Fox News had a chance to score some credibility this week with its interviews of the Palins. Instead, writes LA Times media critic James Rainey, it served up embarrassing softball interviews that had more to do with polishing the Fox brand than journalism. The result was "three nights of infotainment so frothy, slanted and off-point that they...
Blast In Pakistan Capital Kills 40
Washington Post
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Sep 20, 2008 12:46 PM CDT
(Newser) -
A suicide bomber drove a truck full of explosives into a Marriott in Islamabad today, completely destroying it, the Washington Post reports. At least 40 are confirmed dead, and 200 injured, but police expect those numbers to rise; unconfirmed reports say more than 1,000 people were in the hotel during the attack. The hotel stood just blocks from...
McCartney's Ex Donates $1M in Vegan Food
Associated Press
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Sep 20, 2008 12:17 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Heather Mills certainly has plenty of money after her divorce with Paul McCartney, and she’s spending $1 million of it to buy soy hamburgers, hot dogs, and other vegan meat replacements for one of the Bronx’s poorest neighborhoods, the AP reports. Mills is a vegan animal rights campaigner and says she wants to make sure the poor “have...
Bush Asks Congress for $700B Bailout Fund
Washington Post
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Sep 20, 2008 12:00 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The Bush administration today formally asked Congress to authorize a $700 billion fund, administered by the Treasury Department, to help troubled financial institutions unload bad debt, the Washington Post reports. The figure is $200 billion higher than legislators were led to expect yesterday, and the national debt limit would be raised to $11.3...
Wall Street's New Rules Worry Traders
New York Times
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Sep 20, 2008 11:22 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Stocks roared back to life yesterday on the government’s actions to stabilize the markets, but many traders expressed uncertainty about the new rules of the game, the New York Times reports. The temporary ban on short selling and the new requirement to disclose such trades have wreaked havoc with core mechanics of the market, causing computer...
Atom Smasher Out 2 Months
Telegraph (UK)
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Sep 20, 2008 10:53 AM CDT
(Newser) -
It turns out that the glitch with the Large Hadron Collider is worse than originally thought and will keep the massive atom smasher out of commission for at least 2 months, the Telegraph reports. The collider, which seeks to replicate the Big Bang and solve mysteries of creation, began to malfunction the day after its first test last week.
McCain Rx: Deregulate Health Care—Just Like Banks
New York Times
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Sep 20, 2008 10:19 AM CDT
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Paul Krugman of the New York Times could not believe his eyes when he saw what John McCain said in an article about health care this month in Contingencies. Quothe McCain: “Opening up the health insurance market to more vigorous nationwide competition, as we have done over the last decade in banking, would provide more choices of innovative...
Cole in Hospital With Hepatitis
Associated Press
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Sep 20, 2008 10:00 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Singer Natalie Cole has been hospitalized with complications related to hepatitis C, the Los Angeles Times reports. Cole was diagnosed with the liver disease in July and has been undergoing chemotherapy. That treatment and “the heavy promotional schedule for her new album took its toll,” her publicist said. Cole has put off a tour in...
Rock Star Jet Crash Kills 4, Injures 2
NBC
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Sep 20, 2008 9:24 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Two music stars were the only survivors of a Learjet crash late last night, NBC reports. The small jet crashed while taking off from a South Carolina airport. Former Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker and DJ AM, whose real name is Adam Goldstein, are in critical condition at a Georgia burn center; the other four people aboard the jet, including two passengers...
Mbeki Will Resign in S. Africa
Associated Press
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Sep 20, 2008 9:03 AM CDT
(AP) -
South African President Thabo Mbeki has agreed to resign following orders from the ruling party. A statement from the presidency says that Mbeki, who succeeded Nelson Mandela in 1999, will "step down after all constitutional requirements have been met." Parliament is due to meet in the coming days to formalize the resignation procedure and...
Rowling Gives $1.8M to Beleaguered Labour Party
Guardian (UK)
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Sep 20, 2008 9:00 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Beleaguered British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has at least one big fan: JK Rowling gave a whopping $1.8 million to the Labour party at its annual meeting today, the Guardian reports. The Harry Potter author, who is estimated to be worth a little over $1 billion, said she gave in light of Brown's record on tackling child poverty; Rowling was a...
New Clock Messes With Time
Associated Press
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Sep 20, 2008 8:40 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Here's something different in a timepiece: It has no hands. It's actually designed to run in erratic fashion, slowing down and speeding up from time to time. It aims to disorient and dazzle, to remind people of their mortality and to pay tribute to one of the most famous watchmakers of all time. Stephen Hawking unveiled the nearly $2-million masterwork...
Texting Raises Alarms as Accidents Turn Fatal
New York Times
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Sep 20, 2008 8:12 AM CDT
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The steep rise in text-messaging is being matched by a steep rise in people not paying enough attention to what they're doing, the New York Times reports. Fatal accidents involving distracted texters are on the rise and a group of emergency room doctors has issued a stern warning against attempting to send texts while performing other activities....
E-Cigs Not Safe: WHO
Reuters
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Sep 20, 2008 7:14 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Electronic cigarettes are untested and possibly unsafe, the WHO said today. The device—a mock cigarette that releases a fine mist of nicotine, sans fire—has been sold over the internet as a smoking cessation aid, Reuters reports. The problem is that it could release, besides nicotine, “many other toxic compounds which we are not sure...
McCain Camp Strives to Skirt McCain-Feingold
New York Times
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Sep 20, 2008 7:03 AM CDT
(Newser) -
John McCain is making a concerted effort to get around the campaign finance laws he championed, the New York Times reports. A lawyer who played a key role in defending the reform act known as McCain-Feingold from challenges is now on the McCain team, expertly advising on the loopholes through which the candidate can rake in the kind of unregulated...
Tzipi Livni Was a Spy in Paris
Times (UK)
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Sep 20, 2008 6:43 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The woman set to be Israel's next prime minister started her career as an elite Mossad agent in Paris, the Times of London reports. Tzipi Livni was part of a covert cell in the city during the early '80s, when it was a hotspot in the spy agency's battle with Palestinian militants and with those helping Saddam Hussein get nuclear technology.
Young Burmese Monks Ready to Take Up Arms
Christian Science Monitor
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Sep 20, 2008 6:41 AM CDT
(Newser) -
After seeing nonviolent protesters killed or detained in last year’s protests against the ruling junta, younger segments of Burma’s Buddhist monks are becoming more radical, embracing armed resistance and overt dissent, the Christian Science Monitor reports. "We need weapons,” one young monk said. “That is the only way...
Rays Score First Replay Reversal
St. Petersburg Times
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Sep 20, 2008 6:24 AM CDT
(Newser) -
A Twins fan's near-catch caused MLB's first-ever instant replay reversal yesterday, the St Petersburg Times reports. Carlos Pena's 3-run homer was initially ruled a double for fan interference after the first-base umpire thought he saw a fan touch the ball while it was in play. The replay showed that contact was not made until the ball was over the...
Office Records Contradict Palin's Troopergate Claims
ABC News
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Sep 20, 2008 6:02 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Gov. Sarah Palin's office actually approved a trip to Washington that her lawyers have been offering as evidence of the "rogue mentality" for which her public safety chief was fired, reports ABC News. Documents show that Palin’s chief of staff signed off on Walt Monegan's trip "to attend meeting with Sen. Murkowski"—a...
Out of the Spotlight, Biden Battles On
New York Times
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Sep 20, 2008 5:47 AM CDT
(Newser) -
He may be getting less press attention than Sarah Palin's pets but there's another vice-presidential candidate in this race and he's been blasting John McCain all across the Rust Belt, the New York Times reports. Joe Biden barely mentions Palin in his fiery speeches to crowds of varying size, but he is unsparing in his criticism of the "out-of-touch"...
