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.
Norway Ponies Up $1B to Help Save Rainforests
BBC
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Sep 17, 2008 8:15 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Brazil’s renewed push to save the rainforest gained support from a far-flung proponent today when oil-rich Norway pledged nearly $1 billion, the BBC reports. “Efforts against deforestation may give us the largest, quickest, and cheapest reductions in greenhouse gas emissions," said Norway's prime minister. "Brazilian efforts (are)...
McCain Tries to be Outsider and Insider at Once
Associated Press
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Sep 17, 2008 7:50 PM CDT
(AP) -
John McCain embraces and expels Washington like an accordion player belting out a song, writes Glen Johnson. Squeeze in and he touts his vast knowledge of the capital city. Draw out and he casts himself a reformer bent on changing its ways. It's a remarkable dichotomy echoed throughout the Republican establishment, as a party that's held the White...
Google Changes Policy, Accepts Anti-Abortion Ads
Times (UK)
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Sep 17, 2008 7:30 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Google today changed its worldwide advertising policy to let anti-abortion groups buy space on its site, the London Times reports. Google previously banned pro-lifers from placing ads opposite abortion-related search terms, but a British group sued the company for violating activists’ free speech rights. Says one group member: The Christian...
Hackers Breach Palin's Email
Associated Press
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Sep 17, 2008 7:12 PM CDT
(AP) -
Hackers broke into the Yahoo! email account that Sarah Palin used for official business as Alaska's governor and posted some content on the Internet. The group Anonymous claimed credit but did not explain its motives. The FBI and Secret Service are investigating. Palin has taken criticism for using private email to conduct government business, which...
Morgan Stanley, Wachovia Explore Possible Merger
Wall Street Journal
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Sep 17, 2008 6:39 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Morgan Stanley, one of the two big investment banks left standing in the economic rubble, is exploring a merger with Wachovia or another bank, the Wall Street Journal reports. Morgan Stanley officials have had preliminary talks with the other institutions as they scramble to shore up the company's plunging stock price.
Roth's Latest Doesn't Measure Up
New York Times
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Sep 17, 2008 6:11 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Unlike the emotionally twisted and tortured heroes of Philip Roth's finer works, the dead 19-year-old narrator of Indignation is an uncomplicated soul—and the novel suffers because of its milquetoast protagonist, writes Michiko Kakutani in the New York Times . "All of Marcus' unrelieved niceness makes for a somewhat pallid narrative,"...
Livni Claims Win in Race to Succeed Olmert
Reuters
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Sep 17, 2008 5:51 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Tzipi Livni declared victory today in her party's primary and is on track to become Israel's first female prime minister in more than 30 years, Reuters reports. Livini, currently the foreign minister, comfortably won the Kadima Party election to decide who will replace scandal-plagued Ehud Olmert. Final results aren't yet in, but she apparently received...
Missile Strikes Are Learning Tool: CIA
Associated Press
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Sep 17, 2008 5:30 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The CIA purposely uses missile strikes to "tickle" enemy groups, often by targeting a single person, to learn from their responses, agency chief Michael Hayden said today. Hayden also told a gathering of Air Force members the CIA has "picked up insights" from working alongside the military, the AP reports. The agency often uses...
Candidates Go Hunting (Not Each Other) in Field & Stream
Chicago Tribune
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Sep 17, 2008 5:05 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Barack Obama and John McCain will talk fishing and hunting in the October issue of Field & Stream magazine. (Coincidentally or not, the cover feature implores readers to “Find Your Bull,” the Swamp notes.) In the interview, both candidates profess to be big fans of the outdoors, with McCain recalling fishing and hiking in Arizona,...
Hirst Auction Yields $199M
Forbes
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Sep 17, 2008 4:50 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Damien Hirst sold 223 pieces of artwork for $199 million by the end of a two-day auction yesterday, shattering the record for most revenue in an auction of a single artist’s work, Forbes reports. The previous mark was held by Pablo Picasso, with 88 sold for $20 million in 1993. Hirst himself set a target of $116 million.
Cox Has Neutered SEC's Watchdog Role
Portfolio
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Sep 17, 2008 4:37 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Under chairman Christopher Cox, the US Securities and Exchange Commission has drastically reduced the power of its enforcement division, Portfolio reports. Cox was brought in to “chill it out” after his predecessor was perhaps too zealous for White House tastes. Congress chided Cox for essentially turning down more funding, and penalties...
Palin's Right—That Is Russia Over There
Slate
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Sep 17, 2008 4:25 PM CDT
(Newser) -
If the Republicans lose in November, Sarah Palin may just want to walk on over to Russia to escape the media frenzy. Turns out you can really see America’s "next-door neighbors" from US shores. The Alaskan island Little Diomede and Russia's Big Diomede are a mere 2½ miles apart, explains Nina Shen Rastogi in Slate.
Ryan O'Neal, Son Busted for Meth
People
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Sep 17, 2008 4:12 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Actor Ryan O'Neal received a rude awakening this morning as he and son Redmond were booked for allegedly having drugs in their Malibu, Calif., home, People reports. Police found "a vial of drugs" believed to be methamphetamines in Ryan's bedroom during a probation check on the younger O'Neal, who, like his half-sister Tatum, has had past...
Google Makes YouTube Audio, Video Searchable
TechCrunch
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Sep 17, 2008 4:05 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Want to get your presidential candidate’s take on health care without suffering his whole speech? A new Google tool will find the relevant clips on YouTube for you—no sifting through piles of junk required, TechCrunch reports. The tool, called GAudi, indexes words spoken in audio and video files, then puts them into a database that works...
Mich. Letters Taunt Obama; Racist Vandals Strike Sign
Associated Press
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Sep 17, 2008 3:53 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The Secret Service is investigating anti-Obama letters sent to a local Democratic office and a business in south-central Michigan, the AP reports, even as authorities in Pittsfield Township, about 40 miles west of Detroit, say an Obama billboard was defaced with swastikas and Klan symbols overnight. One letter declares a wish Obama “gets a bullet,”...
Dow Plunges 449 Points
Wall Street Journal
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Sep 17, 2008 3:41 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Stocks plummeted again today as insecurity about the financial system gripped the markets, the Wall Street Journal reports. The AIG bailout proved to be of little comfort to traders, who quickly began betting on the next big firm to fall. The Dow closed down 449.36 points to 10,609.66. The Nasdaq fell 109.05, closing at 2,098.85, and the S&P...
Zune's Music Discovery System Tops iTunes
Wall Street Journal
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Sep 17, 2008 3:38 PM CDT
(Newser) -
In test-driving new software from Apple and Microsoft designed to facilitate music discovery for users of their respective media players, Walter Mossberg gives the edge to Zune’s system over rival iTunes’ upgrades. “Though I didn't happen to have as much time to use Zune's software as I did Apple's Genius, I got more out of my Zune...
Passport Frauds Used Identities of Deceased
San Francisco Chronicle
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Sep 17, 2008 3:32 PM CDT
(Newser) -
More than 100 people stole the identities of dead people to cover up their immigration status, military desertion or drunken-driving convictions, federal authorities say after an investigation called “Operation Deathmatch.” Some of the accused even hid their true selves from spouses and children, and had been using the identities for decades,...
Poll Asks Jews Loaded Questions About Obama
Politico
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Sep 17, 2008 3:20 PM CDT
(Newser) -
A Republican group has taken credit for a new poll that asks loaded questions about Barack Obama and has caused a ruckus in the Jewish community, reports Politico. The poll seeks responses to provocative statements linking Obama with various groups and people hostile to Israel. While most of the statements are at least partly true, they fail to mention...
US May Seek World's Emergency Fuel
Reuters
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Sep 17, 2008 3:09 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The Bush administration may ask the International Energy Agency to release emergency fuel stocks into the domestic market to cushion losses from hurricane-battered oil refineries, Reuters reports. Gustav and Ike temporarily closed a dozen Gulf Coast refineries, though all are in "reasonably good shape" according to an official, resulting...
Forget Arugula: Dems Should Hit GOP on Fiscal Crisis
Wall Street Journal
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Sep 17, 2008 2:58 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Put aside the arugula and forget "priggish" counter-attacks on Sarah Palin, Thomas Frank advises Democrats. The way to win the culture war being waged by Republicans is to point out what GOP dominance over the last quarter century has done: removed fiscal safeguards and brought us "to the edge of Armageddon." They've made it easier...
Say Ciao to Chianti, Sip This Red Instead
New York Times
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Sep 17, 2008 2:55 PM CDT
(Newser) -
It's time to discover the pleasures of aglianico wines, writes Eric Asimov in the New York Times . While many drinkers familiarly sip Chianti and Barolo, aglianico consumption has been largely confined to the diffuse Southern Italian regions where the grape is grown. And while some of the leading aglianicos are unavailable in the United States, there...
Longs Picks CVS Despite Walgreen's Higher Bid
Associated Press
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Sep 17, 2008 2:41 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Longs Drugs today declined Walgreen’s premium buyout offer, opting for CVS’ in the pharmacy-market tussle, the AP reports. Longs’ largest shareholder calls the choice "totally unfair," but the board maintains that a Walgreen deal could get bogged down in antitrust review. Longs' stock dipped on the news, indicating that...
Arctic Ice at 2nd-Smallest Level
Reuters
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Sep 17, 2008 2:26 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Arctic sea ice shrunk to its second-lowest size this summer, up 10% from last year's record, reports Reuters. The melting may not appear as noteworthy as that of 2007, said one research scientist, but the season's conditions prove otherwise. Last year's mix of warm air and favorable winds shifted the ice, prodding the melt; this year was cooler and...
In World First, Women Form Majority in Rwanda Assembly
BBC
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Sep 17, 2008 2:19 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The second parliamentary election in Rwanda since the 1994 genocide has ushered in the only majority female parliament in the world, the BBC reports. Of 80 seats, 44 went to women—and that 55% could go higher after additional voting. Under the constitution drafted after the genocide, 30% of MPs must be women; a separate “quota” election...
Colbert Wraps Early Xmas Special
E! Online
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Sep 17, 2008 2:11 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Christmas is ready early for fake-news fans, E! Online reports. Stephen Colbert's musical holiday special is already in the can and will air November 23. Jon Stewart, Toby Keith, Willie Nelson, and Elvis Costello will be among the stars joining Colbert in crooning holiday-themed favorites including Hanukkah and Little Dealer Boy.
Hillary Bundler Picks McCain Over 'Elitist' Obama
Muckety.com
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Sep 17, 2008 2:09 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Democratic fundraiser and ardent Hillary Clinton supporter Lynn Forester de Rothschild will endorse the McCain-Palin ticket today, Muckety reports. De Rothschild, who worked with the Democratic National Committee, has been a steadfast critic of the Dems’ decision to nominate Barack Obama, whom she called an untrustworthy “elitist”...
Senate Grills FBI on Anthrax, Ivins
Washington Post
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Sep 17, 2008 2:02 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Senators cast strong doubts today on the FBI's conclusion that Bruce Ivins acted alone in the 2001 anthrax scare, reports the Washington Post, with many demanding a more public vetting of the investigation into America’s largest bioterror attack. "There are others out there who should be charged with murder," said Sen. Pat Leahy,...
Candidates Get the Economy Wrong: Pundits
American Prospect
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Sep 17, 2008 1:50 PM CDT
(Newser) -
With the economy in trouble, John McCain and Barack Obama have been talking economics. How are they doing? Not very well, says the Wall Street Journal , declaring that the candidates “appear to know more about Mars than they do about financial markets.” Obama’s offering a return to “paternalist” policies, while...
Winehouse Inspires Tom Jones Comeback
Associated Press
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Sep 17, 2008 1:31 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Amy Winehouse's retro stylings have inspired an old pussycat to make a new album. Tom Jones, 68, is releasing his first new album in the US in November. It was listening to his fellow Brit's Back to Black that gave him ideas for the right sound for his famous voice, he tells AP.
Texas Makes Little Headway in Recovery From Ike
Associated Press
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Sep 17, 2008 1:23 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Houston- and Galveston-area communities continued to struggle post-Hurricane Ike today, the AP reports. Divers cleared debris from navigation routes into Houston and looked for bodies along the coastline; most of the city remains without power for a fifth day. On Galveston Island and the nearby Bolivar Peninsula—which still lack gas, power, and...
Feds Search for WaMu Buyer
New York Post
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Sep 17, 2008 1:06 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Washington Mutual, America's largest savings and loan, may be the next big financial institution to fail, the New York Post reports. Fearing a run on the struggling bank, federal regulators placed calls yesterday gauging interest in a WaMu buyout to Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase, HSBC, and others, but no further negotiations have been scheduled.
How Much More Will Taxpayers Have to Pony Up?
Los Angeles Times
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Sep 17, 2008 1:01 PM CDT
(Newser) -
More than $320 billion in taxpayer funding has already been pledged to treat firms sickened by the subprime contagion—more than twice the $124 billion the government spent fixing the savings and loan crisis in the 1980s, reports the Los Angeles Times. The question, writes Michael Hiltzik, is how much farther will this "bailout binge"...
Disney Tailors Flick for Miley
Variety
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Sep 17, 2008 12:56 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Disney has asked Nicholas Sparks, author of The Notebook and Message in a Bottle , to write a screenplay tailor-made to star Miley Cyrus in an attempt to sell the tween queen to a more adult audience, Variety reports.
Inmate Too Fat to Execute: Just Shoot Me
CNN
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Sep 17, 2008 12:54 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Convicted killer Richard Cooey knows there have been jokes at his expense. But he insists he’s not afraid to die— just too fat for lethal injection. At 5’ 7”, 267 pounds, Cooey is so rotund that it’s nigh-impossible to find a vein. “It's hard getting access to my veins,” Cooey told CNN. “If it would make...
Stocks Plunging, Russia Closes Market
Bloomberg
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Sep 17, 2008 12:49 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Russia shut down trading for the second day in a row after the benchmark Micex index plummeted 10%, Bloomberg reports. The Finance Ministry announced that it was pouring $44 billion into Russia’s three top banks, Sberbank, VTB, and Gazprombank. But foreign investors have pulled $35 billion from Russia’s stocks, as Russia’s decade-long...
Gates Apologizes for Civilian Deaths in Afghanistan
Associated Press
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Sep 17, 2008 12:43 PM CDT
(Newser) -
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates, in Afghanistan today, apologized for recent civilian casualties from military operations, the AP reports. While the US strives for precision in airstrikes against Taliban insurgents, “it is clear that we have to work even harder,” Gates said—even as the coalition commander said the reliance on air...
Smith: I Am Not a Scientologist
Fox News
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Sep 17, 2008 12:38 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Despite months of speculation, Will Smith tells Fox News that “I am not” a Scientologist; he even agreed to speak with the anti-Scientologist group Anonymous. Smith and wife Jada Pinkett Smith, who are close friends with Scientologist Tom Cruise, opened a school which uses Scientology teaching tools. But, “You can take different parts...
On Earmarks, McCain Tilting at Windmills
Politico
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Sep 17, 2008 12:30 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Members of Congress warn that earmarks won’t go away just because John McCain thinks they’re wasteful, Politico reports. On the stump, the would-be president has been threatening to veto any spending bill containing earmarks; such a move would be "an executive branch power grab" that would bring government to a standstill, say...
Tot's Death Spurs Soccer Goal Recall
NPR
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Sep 17, 2008 12:26 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Some 190,000 fold-up soccer goals are being recalled after the strangulation death of a Texas toddler, NPR reports. Distributor Regent Sports will replace all MacGregor and Mitre brand nets with a 5-inch grid sent in by customers. The 21-month-old child died last year when his head became entangled in the mesh as he climbed through the back of the...
US: Embassy Attack Bears al-Qaeda 'Hallmarks'
Associated Press
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Sep 17, 2008 12:20 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Explosions and gunfire outside the US embassy in Yemen earlier today bore "all the hallmarks" of al-Qaeda, says a US official. Gunfire raged for 10 minutes as the assailants—carrying automatic weapons, grenades, and a suicide bomb—failed to enter the embassy grounds. The building’s security upgrades and security officials’...
3 Soldiers Charged in Iraqis' Murder
Associated Press
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Sep 17, 2008 12:08 PM CDT
(AP) -
Three soldiers have been charged with murder for their alleged role in the killing of four Iraqis last year, the US Army said today. The Iraqi men were blindfolded, shot in the head, and dumped in a Baghdad canal around April 2007 in retribution for casualties suffered by the 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, Army officials said.
Wall Street Meltdown Turns McCain Pro-Regulation
Washington Post
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Sep 17, 2008 12:00 PM CDT
(Newser) -
With Wall Street in extremis, John McCain is backing away from a long history as an opponent of financial regulation, reports the Washington Post . The paper cites McCain's record in backing banking deregulation, including the 1999 legislation, sponsored by then-Sen. Phil Gramm, a McCain campaign adviser, that removed the Depression-era walls between...
Bears Send Dow Down 350
MarketWatch
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Sep 17, 2008 11:45 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Bears are running wild on Wall Street today, with the Dow down as much as 350 points by midday, MarketWatch reports. The Fed’s rescue of AIG seemed to do little to reassure investors, as the financial sector continued to plummet; Morgan Stanley fell as much as 40%, despite a better-than-expected earnings report, and Goldman Sachs fell 23%.
Enquirer Targets Palin's In-Laws
National Enquirer
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Sep 17, 2008 11:30 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The National Enquirer takes another swing at Sarah Palin's colorful family again this week—this time wielding not unnamed sources but Alaskan court documents. It seems that her brother-in-law James had a drunk-driving hit-and-run arrest in 1989, when he was 20. According to records, he hit a woman, breaking her pelvis, got out of his vehicle...
Wyo. Changes Sluggishly Since Shepard Murder
New York Times
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Sep 17, 2008 11:19 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The creators of The Laramie Project have returned to Wyoming to explore the legacy of Matthew Shepard’s murder 10 years later, the New York Times reports. In revisiting the people whose words make up the script, the theater company found that there has been progress —albeit slow.
Clinton Cancels Event After Palin Invited, Too
Associated Press
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Sep 17, 2008 11:07 AM CDT
(AP) -
Hillary Clinton has canceled an appearance at a New York rally next week after organizers blindsided her by also inviting Sarah Palin. Several American Jewish groups are planning a major demonstration outside the United Nations on Sept. 22 to protest against Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Clinton aides were furious that Palin had also been...
Tsvangirai: Zimbabwe 'Moving On'
Guardian (UK)
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Sep 17, 2008 11:00 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Morgan Tsvangirai, Zimbabwe's newly appointed PM after months of strife against President Robert Mugabe, is ready for the challenge of uniting his nation's dueling political factions. In an interview with the Guardian , Tsvangirai said that while Mugabe's Zanu-PF party is "moving on" without him, it's unlikely Mugabe will ever be charged...
Dems Again Losing Catholics Over Abortion
New York Times
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Sep 17, 2008 10:37 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Though progressive Catholics have worked hard to convince churchgoers that the Democrats share the church's views on the Iraq war, immigration, and health care, abortion is again turning Catholic voters away from the party, the New York Times reports. As conservative bishops have scolded Catholics like Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden for contradicting...
UK's Largest Mortgage Lender in Buyout Talks
Financial Times (UK)
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Sep 17, 2008 10:36 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Britain's biggest mortgage lender, HBOS, is in advanced discussions with Lloyds about a possible buyout, reports the Financial Times . Stock in the troubled lender has yo-yoed today, falling to less than a pound a share before rocketing up and then plummeting again. While a Lloyds purchase of HBOS could trigger monopoly concerns, several bankers close...
