Newser Story Index from January, 2009
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.
Pols Sending TARP Funds to Home State Banks
Wall Street Journal
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Jan 22, 2009 9:13 AM CST
(Newser) -
Only healthy banks are supposed to get TARP funds, and OneUnited Bank in Boston is not a healthy bank. So why did it wind up pocketing a $12 million infusion from the Treasury? Because powerful Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank interceded for it, the Wall Street Journal reports. Bankers, regulators, and politicians are complaining that bailout funds...
Venus Ousted in Round 2 of Aussie Open
AFP
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Jan 22, 2009 9:11 AM CST
(Newser) -
Venus Williams has never won an Australian Open, and she won't win this one. The seven-time Grand Slam champ lost today in the second round to unseeded Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain, AFP reports. "I haven't quite figured out the areas of my game that went wrong, but I have to credit her," sixth-seeded Williams said after the 2-6, 6-3, 7-5...
China's Q4 Economic Growth Slows
Wall Street Journal
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Jan 22, 2009 9:00 AM CST
(Newser) -
China’s economy expanded at 9% in 2008, in a drastic slowdown marking the first time China has seen single digit growth since 2002, reports the Wall Street Journal. A soft export market and its own housing collapse slowed fourth-quarter growth to just 6.8%, threatening the government’s baseline goal of 8% annual growth—a mark many...
Job, Housing Woes Sink Stocks
Wall Street Journal
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Jan 22, 2009 8:53 AM CST
(Newser) -
Stocks headed south this morning, following worse-than-expected housing and job data. Jobless claims rose by 62,000 last week, and housing starts slid 15.5%, to their slowest pace on record. The Dow sunk 144 points, accompanied by an 18-point decline in the S&P. A strong quarter from Apple initially lifted Nasdaq futures, but news that Microsoft...
Create a Good 'Bad Bank' to Ease Crisis
Wall Street Journal
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Jan 22, 2009 8:44 AM CST
(Newser) -
The world’s banking crisis is entering its endgame, and it’s time to shore up the most troubled institutions using a strategy that worked in Sweden in the 1990s, writes David Roche in the Wall Street Journal. It won't be easy, he warns: "A good bad bank forces banks to write down their bad assets and cleanse their balance...
Ledger, Rourke Nab Oscar Nods
Associated Press
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Jan 22, 2009 8:16 AM CST
(Newser) -
Exactly a year after his death, Heath Ledger has been nominated for an Academy Award, AP reports. Ledger's Supporting Actor nod was the only nom for The Dark Knight , while The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Slumdog Millionaire rose to the top with 13 and 10 nominations respectively. Other nominees: Best Picture: The...
New Jobless Claims Leap Past Estimates
Associated Press
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Jan 22, 2009 8:09 AM CST
(AP) -
The number of new claims for jobless benefits jumped more than expected last week, as companies continue to cut jobs at a furious pace. The Labor Department reported today that initial claims rose to a seasonally adjusted 589,000, from an upwardly revised figure of 527,000 the previous week. The tally was well above Wall Street economists' expectations...
Dr. Ross Heads Back to ER
People
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Jan 22, 2009 8:04 AM CST
(Newser) -
George Clooney is returning for the final season of ER, the show that made him a star, reports People. It's not clear how many shows ER 's most famous alum will appear in to reprsie his role as soulful babe hound Dr. Doug Ross. The show's creator, John Wells, has ordered a closed set to avoid leaks.
'Google-like' System to Link US Intelligence Agencies
Wall Street Journal
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Jan 22, 2009 8:00 AM CST
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The computer databases of the 16 US intelligence agencies soon will be linked, the Wall Street Journal reports. The system comes nearly 5 years after the spy agencies got heat for failing to "connect the dots" before the Sept. 11 attacks. Analysts will be able to search through secret files the same way civilians can search public data...
Male-Dominated Industries Bear Brunt of Job Losses
Reuters
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Jan 22, 2009 7:54 AM CST
(Newser) -
The gap between men's and women’s unemployment is at a 25-year high because job cuts have hit especially hard in male-dominated industries like construction and manufacturing, reports Reuters. Some 80% of the nearly 3 million workers who lost jobs between November 2007 and November 2008 were men. Women hold many health-care and government jobs,...
Hitler's Mom: 'I Want My Kids Back'
Express-Times
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Jan 22, 2009 7:31 AM CST
(Newser) -
Adolf Hitler's mom wants her son back home. The Jersey mother who saddled her three kids with Nazi-friendly names lost them to social services because of a neighbor's false claims of abuse, she tells the Express-Times. We "would never abuse our children," she said. "I want my children back." But that may prove to be complicated...
Tsunami in Medicaid Need Batters Broke States
New York Times
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Jan 22, 2009 7:01 AM CST
(Newser) -
A surge in demand for Medicaid is draining state coffers just when they can least afford it, a New York Times survey of 40 states reveals. Demand ballooned by up to 10% in many states last year as people lost their employer-sponsored health care with their jobs, and officials believe the need will keep growing with the delayed impact of recent job...
In Afghanistan, Taliban Control the Countryside
New York Times
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Jan 22, 2009 6:47 AM CST
(Newser) -
Barack Obama has signaled that he will send 20,000 to 30,000 new American troops to join NATO forces in Afghanistan. It certainly won't hurt, reports Dexter Filkins in the New York Times . Troops are stretched so thin that, more than 7 years after the initial invasion, the Taliban control entire provinces in all parts of the country—not...
Pakistan Arrests Suspect in '05 London Attacks
Associated Press
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Jan 22, 2009 6:34 AM CST
(AP) -
Pakistani police have arrested an al-Qaeda suspect believed to have links to the 2005 London transit bombings, acting on a tip from the US. Zabi ul Taifi, a Saudi national, was among seven al-Qaeda suspects caught in a raid near Peshawar, reports the AP. An unmanned spy plane and three helicopters hovered over the area during the raid, while US intelligence...
Sony Swings to First Annual Loss in 14 Years
BBC
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Jan 22, 2009 6:25 AM CST
(Newser) -
Sony announced today that it would go down to its first annual loss in 14 years, after having forecast just months ago that it would turn a profit. The Japanese electronics giant said it expected to lose $1.7 billion, the result of declining demand from the global recession. The BBC reports that Sony has also been hit hard by the strong yen: 80%...
Fan Fidel Hails 'Sincere' Obama
The Age
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Jan 22, 2009 6:16 AM CST
(Newser) -
Cuba's ailing former dictator Fidel Castro has spoken warmly about President Barack Obama, and his brother Raul is hinting about a face-to-face meeting, reports Australia's Age . Fidel, 82, spent Tuesday watching TV coverage of the inauguration and spoke glowingly about America's new president as "absolutely sincere" to Argentine President...
Student Held in Fatal Virginia Tech Stabbing
ABC 13
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Jan 22, 2009 5:50 AM CST
(Newser) -
A Chinese graduate student has been arrested in the fatal stabbing of a female student in a cafeteria of the Virginia Tech campus. The death was the first campus killing since a suicidal gunman shot dead 32 in 2007. A student alert system devised after that attack was launched when police were alerted to the stabbing last night, AP reports.
Nazi Doc Linked to Brazil Twin Record
Telegraph (UK)
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Jan 22, 2009 5:10 AM CST
(Newser) -
Nazi "Angel of Death" Dr. Josef Mengele may have continued his mission to create a master race after World War II in a small Brazilian town, the Daily Telegraph reports. A historian probing the sadistic Auschwitz doctor's post-war life in Latin America has linked him to the mysteriously high birth rate of blond, blue-eyed twins in a settlement...
Pot-Growing Dad Busted After Baby Calls 911
Globe and Mail
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Jan 22, 2009 4:38 AM CST
(Newser) -
Mounties responding to an aborted 911 call from a Vancouver home discovered a cute baby playing with a cordless phone upstairs—and 500 marijuana plants downstairs, the Globe & Mail reports. The boy's pop was arrested and the baby was returned to his mom, who is separated from the father and had dropped off the 11-month-old earlier...
Prez Will Keep His BlackBerry
The Atlantic
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Jan 22, 2009 4:13 AM CST
(Newser) -
Security agents aren't going to have to pry the BlackBerry out of Barack Obama's hands after all, Marc Ambinder reports in the Atlantic . A government agency has added super-encryption technology to a standard BlackBerry, which the president will be allowed to use for routine and personal messages. It's not known if the tech-addicted president...
3 Sentenced to Death in China Milk Scandal
CNN
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Jan 22, 2009 3:49 AM CST
(Newser) -
A Chinese court has sentenced three men to die for adulterating milk for profit and poisoning thousands, CNN reports. The former chairwoman of the milk company at the heart of the scandal that killed six infants and sickened 300,000 has been sentenced to life in prison. Other defendants, including middlemen who sold toxic melamine to milking stations...
Apple Harvests Record Profit
Associated Press
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Jan 22, 2009 3:26 AM CST
(Newser) -
A late surge in holiday iPod sales boosted Apple quarterly revenue and profits to a record high, reports the Los Angeles Times . Wall Street analysts had predicted a slump of up to 18% in Apple sales, but despite the recession, the company is reporting $1.61 billion in profits on increased revenue of $10.2 billion. Apple shares rose 6% to $82.83...
Marines Warned Tijuana Too Dangerous for R&R
USA Today
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Jan 22, 2009 3:02 AM CST
(Newser) -
The US military has warned their battle-hardened Marines that Tijuana is too dangerous a place for them to visit, USA Today reports. A surge in Mexican drug violence has resulted in military orders effectively placing the popular party town off limits to 44,000 leathernecks—including many who have done tours of duty in Iraq or Afghanistan....
Prez to Shut Gitmo, Secret CIA Prisons
New York Times
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Jan 22, 2009 2:35 AM CST
(Newser) -
The president will sign orders today ordering the Guantanamo Bay detention center shut down within a year—and directing the CIA to dismantle its network of secret prisons overseas, government officials tell the New York Times . The CIA will still be allowed to detain terror suspects in foreign countries, but will be barred from holding...
Obama Grabs Highest TV Ratings Since Reagan
USA Today
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Jan 22, 2009 2:11 AM CST
(Newser) -
Barack Obama's inauguration was the most-watched ever but it failed to set a TV ratings record, USA Today reports. Neilsen estimates 37.8 million television viewers tuned in for the ceremony, while 41.8 million watched Ronald Reagan's 1981 inauguration. But internet viewership broke records and sent figures through the roof. Some 26.9 million...
Blago's Wife Axed by Charity
Chicago Sun-Times
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Jan 22, 2009 1:49 AM CST
(Newser) -
The wife of embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has been fired from her $100,000-a-year job as development director of a Chicago charity that runs a state-of-the-art homeless shelter, reports the Chicago Sun-Times. Patti Blagojevich had been hired to help double the million dollars raised annually by the Christian Industrial League, but her efforts...
Caroline: 'I Am Withdrawing My Name'
New York Times
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Jan 21, 2009 11:06 PM CST
(Newser) -
Caroline Kennedy says she doesn't want to be a senator just now. After hours of conflicting media reports, Kennedy released a statement after midnight saying she had called Gov. David Paterson and withdrawn her name from contention because of "personal reasons," the New York Times reports. A source tells the Times that her uncle...
Girls' Coats Crash JCrew's Website
Politico
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Jan 21, 2009 9:07 PM CST
(Newser) -
The Obama family's fashion sense may pay dividends for JCrew. A day after Malia and Sasha donned coats designed by the company for their dad's inaugural, heavy customer traffic repeatedly crashed its website, Politico reports. Alas, the colorful coats were made especially for the girls and aren't available to the public—it's a safe bet they...
Powder Mailed to Journal , Dershowitz Is Harmless
Wall Street Journal
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Jan 21, 2009 8:25 PM CST
(Newser) -
White powder mailed to executives of the Wall Street Journal and to Harvard professor Alan Dershowitz is harmless, authorities say. Authorities have no suspects or motive, but the Journal notes that Dershowitz wrote an essay for the paper earlier this month defending Israel's assault on Gaza. The Journal got a dozen letters and evacuated two...
Ex-Time Warner Chief Will Lead Citigroup
Associated Press
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Jan 21, 2009 7:57 PM CST
(AP) -
Former Time Warner CEO Richard Parsons—an economic adviser on Barack Obama's transition team—will become the new chairman of Citigroup next month. The ailing bank has suffered five straight quarters of losses and received $45 billion in government aid as it struggles to stay afloat amid the credit crisis. Last week, the company said...
Arts Need a New Deal, Too
Ebony
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Jan 21, 2009 7:40 PM CST
(Newser) -
Fifty years after FDR’s Public Works Art Project paid and promoted American talent, President Obama has people dreaming of a new deal for arts, cultural anthropologist Patricia Williams Lessane writes in Ebony . While division spawned the Harlem Renaissance, Lessane is hopeful an arts resurgence would be “born out of inter-racial solidarity,”...
It's a Do-Over: Obama Retakes Oath of Office
Washington Post
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Jan 21, 2009 7:09 PM CST
(Newser) -
Better safe than sorry: Chief Justice John Roberts went to the White House this evening and re-administered the oath of office to President Obama, the Washington Post reports. The two made up for their much-publicized bungle on Inauguration Day "out of an abundance of caution," said White House counsel Greg Craig.
Reports: Caroline Drops Out
New York Times
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Jan 21, 2009 6:27 PM CST
(Newser) -
Caroline Kennedy has removed her name from contention to fill the Senate seat of Hillary Clinton, reports the New York Times . Kennedy called Gov. Paterson today to withdraw her name, citing concerns over the health of her uncle Ted, an anonymous insider told the Times . The New York Post also says she's out, though other media reports are less...
All of Antarctic Is Heating Up, Study Says
National Geographic
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Jan 21, 2009 6:14 PM CST
(Newser) -
Antarctica is warming up after all, scientists say. New research contradicts previous findings that parts of the continent were actually cooling and thus giving ammunition to skeptics of global warming, reports National Geographic . The new study in Nature uses satellite information to fill in spotty weather station data over the past 50 years.
Aussie Stars Play New Venue: the Mailbox
Australia's News Network
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Jan 21, 2009 5:53 PM CST
(Newser) -
Australian movie stars Nicole Kidman, Cate Blanchett, Russell Crowe, and Geoffrey Rush have been honored by their country with postage stamps in their likenesses, the Daily Telegraph reports. The actors have been named Australia Post’s 2009 Australian Legends, and each will have two stamps. “I’m going to be licked by millions of...
Hillary Is Sworn In After Senate Vote
New York Times
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Jan 21, 2009 5:24 PM CST
(Newser) -
It took a little longer than expected, but Hillary Clinton is the new secretary of state, the New York Times reports. Clinton was sworn in this evening in a private ceremony about an hour after the Senate voted 94-2 to confirm her nomination. The vote came after Sen. John Cornyn dropped his bid to slow down the confirmation because of conflict-of-interest...
Harvard Applications Hit Record High
Boston Globe
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Jan 21, 2009 5:12 PM CST
(Newser) -
It's getting even harder to get into Harvard. A record 29,000 high school students have applied to be freshmen, an increase of 5.6% from the previous record set last year, the Boston Globe reports. School officials attribute the increase to a combination of the slow economy and its year-old policy of waiving or capping tuition for low-earning families....
Love Guru Up For 7 Razzies
Associated Press
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Jan 21, 2009 4:57 PM CST
(Newser) -
Mike Myers’ The Love Guru looks poised to dominate the Razzie Awards this year, the Los Angeles Times reports, with the film nabbing seven nominations, including worst picture. Myers specifically has nominations for writing, producing and acting. But Myers was bettered on personal Razzie noms by Paris Hilton, who’s got four between...
'Just to Be Safe,' Obama Should Redo Oath: Experts
San Francisco Chronicle
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Jan 21, 2009 4:40 PM CST
(Newser) -
OK, it's probably not going to come up in court, but some constitutional lawyers tell the San Francisco Chronicle that Barack Obama should retake his flubbed oath just to be on the safe side. Presidents Coolidge and Arthur did after similar gaffes. It "would take him 30 seconds, he can do it in private, it's not a big deal, and he ought to do...
Lab Is Top US Dog, 18 Years and Counting
Reuters
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Jan 21, 2009 4:25 PM CST
(Newser) -
The Obamas’ pup could change things, but for now the playful Labrador retriever remains America’s most popular purebred, the American Kennel Club calculates. It's the Lab’s 18th consecutive year as king; the Yorkshire terrier and German shepherd are second and third, Reuters reports. Bulldogs moved up two spots, to No. 8, with their...
Manners Killed Titanic's Brits as Yanks Fled: Study
Independent (UK)
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Jan 21, 2009 4:12 PM CST
(Newser) -
British passengers aboard the Titanic were most likely to die because their sense of propriety inclined them to line up for lifeboats while Americans elbowed past to save themselves, claims an Australian researcher who is studying how people react in life-threatening disasters. Americans were 8.5% more likely than other nationalities to survive, while...
China Censors Obama Speech
New York Times
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Jan 21, 2009 4:00 PM CST
(Newser) -
Chinese censors clipped parts of Barack Obama’s inaugural address from yesterday’s live telecast, including his message for the world’s despots, the New York Times reports. The streaming audio translation was muted after Obama said “communism” in a sentence about using alliances and enduring conviction to defeat conflicting...
Madoff Scandal Turns Up Heat on Financial Advisers
Bloomberg
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Jan 21, 2009 3:53 PM CST
(Newser) -
Wall Street advisers and brokers are tussling over the details of a looming regulatory overhaul as Washington takes steps to prevent another Bernard Madoff scandal, Bloomberg reports. Advisers want brokers who counsel clients to be subject to the same oversight they’re under; currently, their brokerage counterparts can profit by swaying customers...
Portland Mayor Cops to Sex With Male Teen Intern
Oregonian (Portland)
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Jan 21, 2009 3:31 PM CST
(Newser) -
Oregon’s attorney general today announced the launch of an investigation into the conduct of Portland’s mayor, who Monday copped to having a sexual relationship with an 18-year-old male intern. As more details emerge, the Oregonian also reports that a Portland Mercury writer who confronted Sam Adams last year about the alleged relationship...
Financials Kick Dow Up 279
MarketWatch
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Jan 21, 2009 3:22 PM CST
(Newser) -
A rebound in the financial sector today and qualified confidence in President Obama’s stimulus plan drove stocks to recover some of yesterday’s large losses, MarketWatch reports. The Dow gained 279.01 to close at 8,228.10. The Nasdaq added 66.21, closing at 1,507.07, and the S&P 500 rose 35.03 to 840.24.
Is There Life After Lost for Fox?
Details
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Jan 21, 2009 3:15 PM CST
(Newser) -
Watching his handsome mug on screen, it's easy to see Lost star Matthew Fox following George Clooney's footsteps and moving easily from small screen to big. And while the 42-year-old actor is indeed looking forward to the end of the series and a switch to movie roles, the down-to-earth Ivy Leaguer seems genuine when he says he could take it or leave...
GOP Questions Put Brakes on Holder Vote
CNN
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Jan 21, 2009 3:04 PM CST
(Newser) -
The Senate Judiciary Committee delayed today’s scheduled vote on Eric Holder’s confirmation by another week, CNN reports. Republican members engineered the move, saying they have questions about the attorney-general nominee’s stance on interrogation techniques. Chairman Patrick Leahy, who said he was “extremely disappointed,”...
Mayor Embraces Kissing in Public, Denies Ban
Associated Press
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Jan 21, 2009 2:56 PM CST
(Newser) -
Planning a trip to Guanajuato, Mexico? You’d better bust out the lip balm, AP reports. Mayor Eduardo Romero has proclaimed his city “the kissing capital” to counter claims he’s against public displays of affection. Apparently, the wording of a local anti-obscenity law caused some people to believe that lip-locking in the streets...
San Jose Is 'LePumped' About Lemieux
San Jose Mercury News
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Jan 21, 2009 2:46 PM CST
(Newser) -
Four-time Stanley Cup winner Claude Lemieux took to the ice for the San Jose Sharks yesterday after nearly 6 years in retirement, and Mark Purdy of the Mercury News is cautiously optimistic. The 43-year-old, who's been a pro for longer than several of his new teammates have been alive, "was solid. That's one of the finest compliments you can...
Actor Nearly Killed by Prop Gun
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
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Jan 21, 2009 2:34 PM CST
(Newser) -
A Florida theater company’s production of Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men got a little too real Monday when a prop gun almost killed an actor in rehearsal, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reports. A revolver used in the play’s final scene—in which the character Lennie is shot—turned out to be loaded, sending a bullet ricocheting...
