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.
Anthony Defense Granted Access to Crime Scene
Orlando Sentinel
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Jan 30, 2009 5:14 PM CST
(Newser) -
A judge ruled today that Casey Anthony’s defense team must have access to the scene where Caylee Anthony’s body was found, but denied a request for information from an unofficial search group, the Orlando Sentinel reports. Attorneys for the mother accused of murdering her young daughter had sought access to records from Texas EquuSearch,...
Computer Virus Targets Gullible Lovebirds
ComputerWeekly.com
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Jan 30, 2009 4:55 PM CST
(Newser) -
A Valentine-themed spam campaign is underway, with a side dish of coercion and extortion, Computer Weekly reports. Users receive an email, ostensibly from a secret admirer, with a link to a website that downloads a bot called Waledec. Not only does Waledec co-opt the user’s address list and start sending out the same emails—it also installs...
Geo-Engineers Not Quite Ready to Save Earth
Economist
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Jan 30, 2009 4:36 PM CST
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Their proposals to combat global warming may sound like science fiction, but geo-engineers insist they can save the planet. Two new reports show that while that may be the case, the science has a long way to go, the Economist reports. The burgeoning field posits that humans can cool the planet via unorthodox ideas such as dumping tons of iron into...
Barkin May Get Revenge on Ex Via New Show
New York Post
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Jan 30, 2009 4:22 PM CST
(Newser) -
Ellen Barkin is producing and starring in an HBO pilot about a hot woman in her 50s "famous for her high-profile marriage, who divorces, and re-enters the singles market," the New York Post reports. Sound familiar? In 2006, Barkin's husband, billionaire Ron Perelman, surprised her with divorce papers and tossed her out of their New York...
Yemen Is New Haven for al-Qaeda
Economist
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Jan 30, 2009 4:11 PM CST
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As the US prepares to close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Yemen presents a problem: Despite government efforts, the country is becoming a safe haven for al-Qaeda operatives, the Economist reports. Rebuffed by anti-terror initiatives in Saudi Arabia and Iraq, jihadists have flocked to Yemen, where rugged countryside, weak rule and tribal...
Steele Will Head RNC
Politico
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Jan 30, 2009 4:00 PM CST
(Newser) -
Michael Steele emerged from a grueling contest today to become the first African-American chairman of the Republican National Committee, Politico reports. The six-ballot process, the most drawn-out in years, ended in the rare election of a non-member. “This is awesome,” the former Maryland lieutenant governor said, drawing a laugh. He said...
With Legal Gray Areas, Art Heists Go Digital
Wall Street Journal
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Jan 30, 2009 3:56 PM CST
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A disconnect between the artistic and legal communities is reigniting the debate over copyright infringement, the Wall Street Journal reports. The law says an artist can adapt an existing work only if the resulting piece is “transformative,” or provides a new spin. “It’s meant to be a gray area,” explained an attorney....
Calif. Faces Worst Drought Ever
San Francisco Chronicle
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Jan 30, 2009 3:45 PM CST
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With winter precipitation lagging well below normal, California officials say residents should prepare for the state’s worst drought on record, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The snowpack in the Sierra Nevada—the state’s main water supply—is at just 61% of normal after an unusually sunny and dry January. “We’re...
Feds Start Criminal Probe Into Salmonella Outbreak
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Jan 30, 2009 3:36 PM CST
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The federal government has begun a criminal investigation into the peanut-driven salmonella outbreak, after it was revealed that a supplier shipped product that initially tested positive for the bacteria, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. The House has called representatives from two testing labs, which certified negative results, to testify....
Inquiry Into Jobs' Health Puts SEC in New Territory
Bloomberg
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Jan 30, 2009 3:33 PM CST
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The Securities and Exchange Commission's inquiry into Apple’s disclosures on Steve Jobs’ health has the agency prying into perhaps the last remaining corner of executive privacy, Bloomberg reports. Securities law requires companies to reveal to shareholders information that could affect share price, but the health of executives has usually...
Dow Off 149, Down 8.8% for Month
MarketWatch
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Jan 30, 2009 3:18 PM CST
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Stocks extended losses today off the news of a 3.8% decline in US GDP for the fourth quarter, ending a turbulent month, MarketWatch reports. The report capped a week of widespread layoffs and poor earnings at major US firms. Amazon.com was a rare exception, up 18% on strong fourth-quarter earnings. The Dow fell 148.15 to close at 8,000.86. The Nasdaq...
Coke Will Drop 'Classic' Tag from Labels
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Jan 30, 2009 3:18 PM CST
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If you’re still haunted by New Coke, fear no more: Coca-Cola plans to drop the “Classic” tag from its branding, ensuring that the original formula faces no more threats from upstart incarnations, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. The “Classic” label, which was introduced in 1985, is “a relic of the past...
Iraq Takes Down Shoe Sculpture
CNN
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Jan 30, 2009 3:09 PM CST
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The large, shoe-shaped sculpture made to honor an Iraqi journalist’s gesture of defiance against former President Bush was removed from the garden of a Tikrit orphanage just a day after it was put up, CNN reports. The government requested the removal, and sent police to supervise. “We will not allow anyone to use the government buildings...
New Labor Radio Ad Beats Up on Rush
Talking Points Memo
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Jan 30, 2009 3:00 PM CST
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A radio ad is making the rounds in Cleveland, Reno, and Philadelphia, slamming the local Republican senator and the apparent leader of the opposition: Rush Limbaugh. The ad, from the labor-backed Americans United for Change, slams House Republicans who “voted with Limbaugh against creating 4 million new American jobs.” It finishes by asking...
Beware of Man: Michael Vick Bound for Halfway House
Daily Press (Newport News, Va.)
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Jan 30, 2009 2:59 PM CST
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Disgraced NFL quarterback Michael Vick could be out of prison and in a Virginia halfway house as soon as next week, the Daily Press of Newport News reports. Vick, who is serving 23 months on dogfighting charges in the federal prison in Leavenworth, Kan., could be sprung "any day," his lawyer said at a bankruptcy hearing in Newport...
Men Are the New Old Maids
Evening Standard (UK)
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Jan 30, 2009 2:50 PM CST
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Forget single women—men are the real hopeless romantics, writes Liz Hoggard in the UK's Evening Standard . "Trust me, men are the new spinsters," she says. "They dream of being married to The One," but that "one" must be a mother, a wife, and a handy helper. Single men of a certain age are so picky, they end up...
It's Feeding Time: 1,000 Sharks Invade Florida Coast
NBC 5 Florida
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Jan 30, 2009 2:35 PM CST
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Cue the Jaws theme music: At least 1,000 sharks have invaded the shores of South Florida, reports Palm Beach’s WFLX-TV. Beaches have been closed to swimmers as the demons of the deep hunt schools of migrating fish along the Florida coastline. Officials say the risk is particularly high in the morning and late afternoon, when the sharks...
More Than 1M Still Powerless After Ice Storm
Associated Press
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Jan 30, 2009 2:25 PM CST
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From Missouri to West Virginia, thousands of people are still holed up in makeshift shelters as utility crews frantically work to return water and heat to their homes, the AP reports. More than 1.3 million homes remain without power after the recent ice storm, and though workers are making progress, utility companies say it could be 2 weeks before...
Being Vegetarian Doesn't Make You Better in Bed
Slate
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Jan 30, 2009 2:18 PM CST
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The idea makes for one steamy ad campaign, but vegetarians don’t necessarily have better sex, Nina Shen Rastogi writes for Slate. PETA’s claim that meat makes people “fat, sick, and boring in bed” is a little misleading—the research is based on people who ate low-fat, low-cholesterol diets. Vegetarians do tend to be slimmer,...
Police Help Drew Peterson's Fiancée Move Out
Chicago Tribune
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Jan 30, 2009 2:11 PM CST
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Drew Peterson’s fiancée ended their relationship today and moved out—with a little help from the police, her dad, and Dr. Phil, the Chicago Tribune reports. Christina Raines first called her father for help moving. After arriving with a cameraman from Dr. Phil's show in tow, he called the police just to be safe. They sent five...
How to Be a Super Heckler
ESPN
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Jan 30, 2009 2:02 PM CST
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Sunday’s the last chance to get your heckling in this NFL season, and Eddie Matz of ESPN the Magazine has timely tips on getting the most bang for your buck: Do your homework. Knowing a key statistical weak point or personal peccadillo can get you inside your target’s head. Wait until it’s quiet. Nobody’s...
Madden Has Lots of Fans, If Not All the Facts
Wall Street Journal
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Jan 30, 2009 1:46 PM CST
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John Madden's on-air analysis isn't always right—zealous fact-checkers will attest to that—but the elder statesman of NFL commentators is usually on the money, writes Matthew Futterman in the Wall Street Journal. "I know there's talk he's lost a step," his former boss acknowledges, but the onetime Raiders coach remains a force...
Biden to Head Middle-Class Task Force
Chicago Tribune
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Jan 30, 2009 1:38 PM CST
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President Obama today announced a new task force on the middle class, to be led by none other than onetime "working class kid from Scranton" Joe Biden, the Chicago Tribune reports. “This is a difficult moment,” Obama said, referring in part to the day’s dire GDP numbers. But “if we act swiftly it can be an American...
Democrats: Please Listen to Larry Summers
New York Times
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Jan 30, 2009 1:27 PM CST
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Throughout 2008 Larry Summers was proposing the right kind of stimulus—fast, targeted, and temporary. “Poorly provided fiscal stimulus can have worse side effects than the disease,” he warned. Now Summers is a top Obama adviser, but Democrats are ignoring his every proviso. The stimulus is a “sprawling, lobbyist-driven mess...
Tanning Drug Approved for Trials
Wired
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Jan 30, 2009 1:15 PM CST
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A self-tanning drug long available in various incarnations over the Internet has been approved for human trials in the US, Wired reports. “It's a bioabsorbable implant that you just inject into the skin,” says a pharma rep of afamelanotide. “It stimulates melanin production.” The drug made by Clinuvel is being tested for treatment...
Obama Sneaks Power Back Into the Mix
Politico
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Jan 30, 2009 1:01 PM CST
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Barack Obama’s national security team seems to consist entirely of people known for speaking their minds, observes Ben Smith of Politico, and none moreso than new NSC staff member Samantha Power, best known for calling Hillary Clinton “a monster.” She was booted for the incident, but that was just a “political convenience,”...
Updike Mused on Own 'Overdue Demise'
New York Post
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Jan 30, 2009 12:44 PM CST
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John Updike considered his own mortality, and did so with his usual wry wit. The evidence is in one of his last poems called "Requiem," writes the New York Post. It begins: "It came to me the other day: Were I to die, no one would say, 'Oh, what a shame! So young, so full of promise—depths unplumbable!
Bush Gets Misty-Eyed During Anthem
Huffington Post
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Jan 30, 2009 12:30 PM CST
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In his first public appearance since Barack Obama’s inauguration, George W. Bush took in a women’s basketball game Wednesday at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, about 25 miles from their Crawford ranch. Bush received applause when he and Laura walked onto the court, and seemed to almost tear up while the national anthem was played, the...
Save the Rainforest? Nature May Have It Covered
New York Times
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Jan 30, 2009 12:18 PM CST
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With all the talk of how much primeval rainforest disappears every year, it might come as a surprise to hear that much more new forest is springing up to replace it. Although new jungle taking over abandoned or destroyed farms in tropical nations is good for the planet—the UN has begun the first major study of its impact—not all scientists...
Drew Peterson: I Wouldn't Trust Me, Either
ABC News
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Jan 30, 2009 12:14 PM CST
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Drew Peterson, divorced from wives No. 1 and 2 and suspected of killing wives No. 3 and 4, understands why the family of would-be wife No. 5 is none too pleased with their engagement, ABC reports. “I would have concerns if I were the friends and family of this young girl,” Peterson, 55, told Nightline , referring to 23-year-old fiancée...
Downturn's Latest Victim: the Billable Hour
New York Times
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Jan 30, 2009 11:58 AM CST
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Might the billable hour—long the standard of measure for legal services—be on its way out? Law firms are rethinking their business models as the economic crisis makes clients more demanding, the New York Times reports. Firms are experimenting with alternative payment methods such as flat fees and percentages of money saved by successfully...
Why Should US Apologize to Muslims?
Washington Post
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Jan 30, 2009 11:50 AM CST
(Newser) -
Barack Obama’s pledge to “seek a new way forward” in the Muslim world “based on mutual interest and mutual respect” struck Charles Krauthammer as “needlessly defensive and apologetic,” he writes in the Washington Post . What do we have to apologize for? Over the past 20 years, “America did not just respect...
Spitzer Madam Gets 6 Months
New York Daily News
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Jan 30, 2009 11:41 AM CST
(Newser) -
The 24-year-old who ran the call-girl ring that brought down Eliot Spitzer will serve 6 months in prison, the New York Daily News reports. Cecil Suwal of New York, who has pleaded guilty to money laundering and conspiring to promote prostitution, wept as she asked the judge for mercy. "It is my aim to prevent others, especially young girls,...
Meet Blago's Unlikely Replacement
Chicago Sun-Times
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Jan 30, 2009 11:37 AM CST
(Newser) -
Rod Blagojevich never wanted Patrick Quinn as his running mate. Few Democrats would. Quinn is a notorious gadfly, who’s spent 40 years ruffling feathers with his populist crusades and citizens’ initiatives, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. He’s not planning on calming down as governor, either. “We can do great things in the...
Terrible Towel Has Wonderful Story
New York Times
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Jan 30, 2009 11:26 AM CST
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When beloved Steelers radio announcer Myron Cope told fans to bring gold and black towels to a 1975 playoff game, he had no idea he was sealing his fame. Cope's legacy, the Terrible Towel, has become a Pittsburgh legend and brings in huge profits—which he turned over to a school for the disabled, explains the New York Times.
Winehouse's Guitars Stolen in $21K Home Burglary
Sun (UK)
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Jan 30, 2009 11:26 AM CST
(Newser) -
Thieves kicked in a padlocked front door at Amy Winehouse’s London home yesterday while the troubled singer was on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia kicking yet another habit, the Sun reports. Police were called to the address to reports of two men forcing entry, but the bandits made off with $21,000 worth of recording equipment, including...
Critics Not So Taken With Taken
Rotten Tomatoes
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Jan 30, 2009 11:09 AM CST
(Newser) -
Critics disagree over whether Bourne-style action flick Taken is a quality picture, but they concur on one thing: Its plot is “preposterous,” as Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times puts it. It’s “a completely unbelievable action picture” in which Liam Neeson’s “sharpshooting, pursuit-driving, pocket-picking,...
Madonna Will Move Kids to NYC
Sun (UK)
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Jan 30, 2009 11:01 AM CST
(Newser) -
After a battle over residency with ex-husband Guy Ritchie, Madonna has emerged victorious and will take her two sons to live in New York, the Sun reports. Rocco, 8, and David, 3, will join forces with their sister Lourdes, 12, in the Big Apple. It’s a temporary move but is expected to be made permanent.
Canada Rejected Plant's Tainted Peanuts
Associated Press
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Jan 30, 2009 10:50 AM CST
(AP) -
Weeks before the earliest signs of a national salmonella outbreak that now has been traced to peanuts from a Georgia processing plant, peanuts exported by the same company were found to be contaminated and were returned to the United States. The rejected shipment—coming over the US border across a bridge between New York and Canada—was...
PETA Dubs Buffy Actress 'Jeffrey Dahmer'
New York Post
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Jan 30, 2009 10:49 AM CST
(Newser) -
PETA just can’t let some things go. Its latest bulletin compares Eliza Dushku to a serial killer for something she said in August, the New York Post reports. The former vampire slayer told Jimmy Kimmel that she has hunted, but at least she ate what she killed. Not good enough for the animal-rights group: “Eliza, please meet Jeffrey Dahmer....
Obama Mulls Republican for Commerce
Politico
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Jan 30, 2009 10:40 AM CST
(Newser) -
Democrats may get their 60-seat Senate majority after all. President Obama is considering New Hampshire Republican Judd Gregg for the Commerce Secretary post Bill Richardson declined, sources tell Politico. New Hampshire’s Democratic governor would then get to appoint Gregg’s successor. Asked if he’d been offered the job, Gregg replied,...
Not Much New in This Town
Rotten Tomatoes
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Jan 30, 2009 10:30 AM CST
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Fish-out-of-water romantic comedy New In Town takes an old recipe and follows it to the letter, say critics. That's not a good thing. Renee Zellweger stars as a cynical Miami exec sent to cut jobs in an icy Minnesota hamlet full of warm-hearted folks, with results you can see coming "all the way from Duluth," John Anderson writes in Newsday...
'Party' With a Backstreet Boy—for Just $15!
Perez Hilton
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Jan 30, 2009 10:27 AM CST
(Newser) -
Always wanted to party with the celebs, but just don’t have the cash? Head to Toronto, where you can celebrate Nick Carter’s birthday and virtually dormant music career with the Backstreet Boy himself, Perez Hilton reports. Tickets to the high-profile event are a mere $15, or $20 at the door—but be careful, because the flyer warns,...
Pols Just Don't Get It: The Party's Over
Wall Street Journal
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Jan 30, 2009 10:20 AM CST
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Peggy Noonan has discovered a new disease. She calls it “Goldmansachs Head,” and when you have it, “the party’s never over.” People with GSH fly private jets to bailout hearings, give bonuses as the company tanks. A GSH sufferer “has everything but a watch. He doesn’t know what time it is,” she writes...
Slumdog Makers Say Kids Weren't Exploited
People
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Jan 30, 2009 10:08 AM CST
(Newser) -
The creators of Slumdog Millionaire are taking the offensive to rebut accusations that the young Indian actors in their film were exploited, People reports. Claims surfaced earlier this week that two of the child actors, still living in the slums of Mumbai, got a raw deal. But director Danny Boyle and producer Christian Colson say “painstaking...
Team Obama Mulls 2-Part Bank Bailout
Wall Street Journal
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Jan 30, 2009 9:52 AM CST
(Newser) -
The bank stabilization plan the White House is cooking up may mix two competing strategies, the Wall Street Journal reports, setting up a “bad bank” to buy portions of banks’ toxic assets while offering guarantees against future losses on part of the remainder. The goal is to bolster banks and get credit moving while limiting the...
Nadal Makes Aussie Open Final
Associated Press
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Jan 30, 2009 9:42 AM CST
(AP) -
Top-ranked Rafael Nadal outlasted fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (2), 6-7 (1), 6-4 today to reach the Australian Open final after the longest match in the tournament's history. The fans were riveted as the left-handed Davis Cup teammates went at each other for 5 hours and 14 minutes. After all that, having saved two match points,...
Ashton Rails on 'Jackass' Neighbor, Apologizes
Huffington Post
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Jan 30, 2009 9:29 AM CST
(Newser) -
Ashton Kutcher has apologized after lashing into his neighbor with a profanity-laced online video, the Huffington Post reports. The actor vented after his "jackass" neighbor dared to start noisy construction on his house at 7am (which is perfectly legal in LA). After the neighbor shot back, calling Ashton “silly” and “out...
GOP Struggles (and Twitters) to Close Tech Gap
Wall Street Journal
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Jan 30, 2009 9:17 AM CST
(Newser) -
With the Republican National Committee voting for a new chairman today, the candidates have been busy competing not on ideological grounds but on who has more Facebook friends, and who's more adept at Twittering, the Wall Street Journal reports. In rebuilding the party, one strategist declared the top priority to be closing the technology gap that...
Fox Picks Up Third Narnia
Associated Press
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Jan 30, 2009 9:04 AM CST
(Newser) -
Fox is taking a gamble on the third Narnia movie, reports the Los Angeles Times . The media giant is stepping in to produce T he Voyage of the Dawn Treader , slated for a 2010 holiday release. Disney bankrolled T he Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe and the far less successful Prince Caspian , but balked at another sequel. Fox hopes to make Dawn...
