Newser Story Index from October, 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.
Obama Assault on Fox News Is 'Nixonian'
Washington Post
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Oct 23, 2009 7:16 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The Obama administration is over the line in its war on Fox News, seeking not only to criticize it, but to delegitimize and marginalize it, writes Charles Krauthammer in the Washington Post . “There’s nothing illegal about such search-and-destroy tactics,” he argues, but they do violate “Madisonian norms.” James Madison...
Clerk Runs Off With Million Dollar Lotto Ticket
Dallas Morning News
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Oct 23, 2009 6:59 AM CDT
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A former Texas convenience store clerk is on the lam and living large, police say, after making off with an unwitting customer’s million dollar lotto ticket. Willis Willis of Grand Prairie, Texas bought tickets at the Lucky Food Store every week, trusting the clerks to check if he’d won. When he brought the million dollar ticket in, clerk...
Palin Bucks GOP, Backs Conservative
Washington Post
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Oct 23, 2009 6:01 AM CDT
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Sarah Palin has bucked the GOP to endorse a third-party challenger in a closely-watched House special election. In the race for the upstate New York seat, Palin has joined Fred Thompson and Dick Armey in endorsing the candidate for the Conservative Party, Doug Hoffman, over a Republican nominee, Dede Scozzafava, who is pro-choice and supports gay rights....
Coulter: 'All Prez Assassins Were Liberals'
Huffington Post
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Oct 23, 2009 5:52 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Conservative screed scribe Ann Coulter insisted yesterday that every presidential assassin in history has been a liberal. "They're all liberals—assassin by assassin by assassin," she spilled on CNN's Joy Behar Show . An angry Behar retorted: "Wait a minute. Don't make that jump from murder, terrorist to liberals. That is an outrageous...
Blasts in Pakistan Kill 24
Associated Press
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Oct 23, 2009 5:48 AM CDT
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A suicide bomber killed seven people near a major air force complex in northwest Pakistan today, while an explosion killed 17, including three children, on a bus heading to a wedding elsewhere in the region. The attacks are the latest in a surge of militant strikes this month, coinciding with a major army offensive against insurgents along the Afghan...
It's Not Bush's Mess Anymore
Wall Street Journal
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Oct 23, 2009 5:47 AM CDT
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President Obama needs to stop complaining that he inherited a mess and realize that the mess is now all his, writes Peggy Noonan. The White House is once again reminding people what dire straits the country was in when Obama's presidency began, but—as the president's free-falling poll numbers prove—that excuse doesn't work any more, Noonan...
Andrews Pins Hopes on New Voice Surgery
Telegraph (UK)
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Oct 23, 2009 5:38 AM CDT
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Julie Andrews hopes to be one of the first to undergo cutting edge surgery in a bid to resurrect vocal chords savaged in a botched operation. The actress hasn't been able to sing since her 1997 surgery to remove non-cancerous nodules on her larynx. She won nearly a million dollars in damages for the operation. Doctors have devised a new technique to...
President Has Delivered Real Change in Education
New York Times
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Oct 23, 2009 5:35 AM CDT
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President Obama's huge success in education reform has been overlooked amid all the carping about his failure to deliver as much change as expected, writes David Brooks. The $4.3 billion Race to the Top fund Obama and Arne Duncan established has helped accelerate real reform in education and has won the president praise from everybody "from Newt...
Opera Diva Faces Jail in NY Cell Phone Tiff
New York Daily News
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Oct 23, 2009 5:34 AM CDT
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An Argentine opera singer could face jail after a fight broke out in a New York restaurant over her cell phone screeching. Soprano Gabriela Pochinki, 41, and her daughter were shouting into a cell phone on speaker and refused to stop after fellow diners complained. Security camera footage shows the singer then pushing the manager. "She really...
US Moves to Extradite Polanski
CNN
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Oct 23, 2009 5:18 AM CDT
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The American embassy in Switzerland formally requested the extradition of Roman Polanski last night, paving the way for the convicted director to face an American court for the first time since 1977. A tribunal in Zurich will now hold a hearing, although Polanski may appeal to the country's high court if, as expected, they rule in favor of extradition....
China Must Be Confronted on Currency
New York Times
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Oct 23, 2009 5:00 AM CDT
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China has been allowed to get away with its outrageous currency policy for far too long and it's time the world did something about it, writes Paul Krugman. The nation has been keeping its currency effectively pegged to the dollar, and this policy will result in even greater trade imbalances as the yuan falls along with the dollar, Krugman writes in...
White House: Cheney's the Irresponsible One
Associated Press
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Oct 23, 2009 4:38 AM CDT
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What Dick Cheney calls dithering, "President Obama calls his solemn responsibility to the men and women in uniform and to the American public," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said yesterday, rejecting Cheney's charge that the Obama adminstration is taking too long to decide its Afghanistan strategy. "I think we've all...
Wildfire Suspect Charged in Heart Attack 'Murders'
Associated Press
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Oct 23, 2009 4:13 AM CDT
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California officials have taken the unusual step of charging a wildfire arson suspect with murder in the death of 5 people who suffered heart attacks escaping the flames. Prosecutors intend to prove the stress of the fire caused the deaths in the massive 2003 San Bernardino blaze. The groundbreaking case will be complicated by the fact that the victims...
Cell Refuseniks Hail Independent Life
New York Times
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Oct 23, 2009 3:36 AM CDT
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Most of the remaining few Americans who don't have cell phones are elderly or unable to afford one—but a tiny minority within that minority actively refuse to get one. Life without interruptions and being a slave to a tiny screen is preferable, the "refuseniks" tell the New York Times , and is well worth the hassle of having to deal...
Cocaine Sub Nabbed Off Guatemala
BBC
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Oct 23, 2009 3:13 AM CDT
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The US Navy and Guatemalan forces have seized a makeshift submarine carrying 10 tons of cocaine. Three Colombians and a Mexican crewman were arrested on board. The haul is the biggest drug bust ever made in Guatemala, which has become a major transit point for drug traffickers seeking to secure supply lines as Mexico steps up its war on drugs.
SF Cops Tie Night Stalker to 1984 Girl Killing
Associated Press
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Oct 23, 2009 2:30 AM CDT
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San Francisco police believe they have uncovered another killing by the "Night Stalker" serial killer who terrorized the Bay Area in the '80s. DNA evidence has linked Richard Ramirez to the 1984 murder of 9-year-old Mei Leung, who was sexually assaulted and killed in the basement of a hotel. The breakthrough was made by homicide...
Italy Probes 'Kill Berlusconi' Facebook Gang
Independent (UK)
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Oct 23, 2009 2:08 AM CDT
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Italian authorities have vowed to close down a Facebook group called "Let's Kill Berlusconi," even though its creators say it's harmless fun. Some 20,000 people from all over the world have joined the group, many offering their services to dispatch the embattled Italian leader in a variety of ways. Security chiefs warn that the joke group...
Feds Pitch Polar Bear Habitat
Los Angeles Times
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Oct 23, 2009 1:41 AM CDT
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The federal government has proposed designating 200,000 square miles of land, sea, and ice in northern Alaska as a critical habitat for polar bears. The move is "one step in the right direction to help this species stave off extinction," said an Interior Department official. He acknowledged, however, that the melting of sea ice caused by...
'Prince Jean' Sarkozy Drops Bid for Post
BBC
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Oct 23, 2009 1:20 AM CDT
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Nicholas Sarkozy's son Jean has dropped his bid to run France's most important business district. The 23-year-old law student, whose move to take over the $150,000 Paris job sparked accusations of nepotism and street protests, announced he didn't want a "tainted" victory. Sarkozy said his "passion for politics" remains, and...
Comic Soupy Sales Dead at 83
Associated Press
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Oct 22, 2009 10:54 PM CDT
(AP) -
Soupy Sales, the rubber-faced comedian whose anything-for-a-chuckle career was built on 20,000 pies to the face and 5,000 live TV appearances across a half-century of laughs, died tonight at 83. A longtime friend said Sales died at a hospice in New York, which he entered last week as he battled a variety of health issues.
Angels Hold Off Yankees, Extend Series
MLB.com
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Oct 22, 2009 10:37 PM CDT
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The Los Angeles Angels stayed alive in the American League Championship Series with a nail-biting 7-6 victory over the New York Yankees tonight. The Angels lost a big lead before pulling back ahead in the seventh inning, then saw the Yankees load the bases with two out in the ninth but fail to score. With the National League champion Philadelphia Phillies...
I Snorted Coke 40 Feet From Obama at DC Dinner: Actor
Politico
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Oct 22, 2009 9:05 PM CDT
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We’ve all done silly stuff on a dare, but probably not on the level of actor/author/comic/crazy guy David Cross, who says he snorted cocaine not 40 feet from President Obama at the White House Correspondents' Dinner (not, for the record, held at the White House). With cabinet secretaries, Supreme Court justices and his “fancy Hollywood...
Fewer Americans Believe in Global Warming
Pew Research Center
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Oct 22, 2009 8:09 PM CDT
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The percentage of Americans who think there’s serious evidence of global warming has dropped precipitously in the past 18 months—from 71% to 57%, the Pew Research Center finds. Numbers were down across the political spectrum—Democrat, independent, Republican—but the drop was most pronounced among independents, to 53% from 75%....
Senate OKs Bill Giving Gays Hate-Crime Protection
Associated Press
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Oct 22, 2009 7:32 PM CDT
(AP) -
Physical attacks on people based on their sexual orientation will join the list of federal hate crimes in a major expansion of the civil rights-era law Congress approved today and sent to President Obama. The measure, on the congressional agenda for a decade, expands current law to include crimes based on gender, sexual orientation, gender identity...
Bigger Jerk Than Phillips? Deadspin's AJ Daulerio
MGoBlog.com
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Oct 22, 2009 6:49 PM CDT
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In the shadows of the Steve Phillips controversy is the reaction at Deadspin, where editor AJ Daulerio, having missed out on the scoop, appears to emptied his in-box in airing years’ worth of anonymous tips about ESPN’s seamy side. That, in turn, got its own reaction from the sports blogosphere at large, where common themes ranged from...
McCain Voters' Testosterone Dropped After Loss
Taegan Goddard's Political Wire
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Oct 22, 2009 6:16 PM CDT
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Male McCain voters were feeling a little less macho when the results of the 2008 election rolled in. Duke researchers tested testosterone levels in 183 voters across election night. Testosterone normally drops over the late evening—but male Obama voters’ levels remained stable, while McCain voters saw a bigger drop than usual. No such effect...
Be Balloon Boy for Halloween
ABC Denver
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Oct 22, 2009 5:38 PM CDT
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It was inevitable: a Canadian model airplane company is selling “Balloon Boy” Halloween costumes on its website. For $19.99, you get a 38-inch mylar balloon with a small gondola. Supply your own helium, cardboard box, and string, notes ABC Denver. "Now you, too, can enjoy all the media attention you want," the Plantraco Microflight...
A Dummy’s Guide to Cheating
New York Post
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Oct 22, 2009 5:05 PM CDT
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Steve Phillips had it coming, big time. Here's what happens when you get horizontal with a crazy chick, writes Mandy Stadtmiller for the New York Post: They always blab about the affair. To the would-be Steve Phillips of the world, she advises that you pick a woman who: Doesn't think you're all that. Make sure she doesn't have that glazed,...
Magic Johnson: Isiah Spread Rumors I Was Gay
Sports Illustrated
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Oct 22, 2009 4:41 PM CDT
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Magic Johnson blames former friend Isiah Thomas for spreading rumors that Johnson was gay after he announced he had HIV in 1991. "Isiah kept questioning people about it,'' Magic writes. "I couldn't believe that. The one guy I thought I could count on had all these doubts. It was like he kicked me in the stomach.'' Johnson makes the accusations...
300 Arrested in Drug Raids Across US
Associated Press
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Oct 22, 2009 4:10 PM CDT
(AP) -
In the largest single strike at Mexican drug operations in the US, federal officials today announced the arrests of more than 300 people in raids across the country aimed at the newest and most violent cartel. La Familia has earned a reputation for dominating the methamphetamine trade and for using extreme violence, including beheadings. US officials...
Pilots May Have Dozed Off Before Landing
Wall Street Journal
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Oct 22, 2009 3:47 PM CDT
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Travel regulators suspect the pilots of a Northwest Airlines flight fell asleep in the cockpit yesterday. First clue: Controllers lost contact with the plane for more than an hour as it overshot its destination by 150 miles. The jet, en route from San Diego with 147 passengers aboard, finally turned and landed safely at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport....
Amazon App Allows Kindle Books on PCs
CNET
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Oct 22, 2009 3:31 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Amazon will introduce a free software app next month that will allow Kindle users to read their e-books on their PCs. What's more, the app works for non-Kindle owners: Anyone with an Amazon account will be able to buy the books and download them to their Window-based computers, notes CNET. (A Mac app will come later.) The move comes as Amazon faces...
Fed Rolls Out Plan to Limit Bank Pay
Wall Street Journal
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Oct 22, 2009 3:15 PM CDT
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The Federal Reserve today officially announced a plan to regulate pay structures at banks, the same day the pay czar rolled out his plan to cap salaries at bailed-out firms. The administration’s double-whammy on compensation marks an unprecedented level of government involvement in the private sector, and the policies that result may be the most...
Dow Rebounds, Surges 132
Wall Street Journal
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Oct 22, 2009 3:13 PM CDT
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Stocks rallied today as strong earnings from Travelers, McDonald's, and 3M fueled optimism. A report on leading economic indicators also provided good news, although traders were likely buying just to scoop up bargains from yesterday’s sell-off. The Dow rose 132 points to close at 10,081. The Nasdaq added 14 points, settling at 2,165, and the...
ESPN Must Fire Steve Phillips
New York Daily News
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Oct 22, 2009 2:47 PM CDT
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ESPN knew exactly what it was getting in Steve Phillips, and it has to know that it's time to cut him loose. When the network hired him, "ESPN, already having gained a well-earned reputation as the Sodom and Gomorrah of sports television, must have informed Phillips of the World Wide Leader's overriding commitment to cleaning up its image,"...
Worst Food Trends of the Decade
Chicago Tribune
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Oct 22, 2009 2:40 PM CDT
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Asked to name the decade's worst dining trends, chefs and other food experts couldn't shut up. There were too many (including "mache, water sommeliers, organ-meat entrees, unisex bathrooms, bacon tattoos on chefs, over-flaunted kitchen burns, chefs tables") for Christopher Borrelli to list them all, but he hits the top 10 in the ...
Gator Biz Caught in Jaws of Recession
USA Today
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Oct 22, 2009 2:18 PM CDT
(Newser) -
No industry is safe from the recession, no matter how many teeth it has. The demand for alligator-skin accessories like handbags, watches, and belts has plummeted this year, leaving even top US gator farmers in danger of going out of business, USA Today reports. “This is, by far, the worst market conditions the industry has ever seen,”...
Vaccine Scarier Than Swine Flu: Poll
Washington Post
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Oct 22, 2009 2:05 PM CDT
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Americans are spooked by the growing threat of swine flu but even warier of the vaccine. Half of respondents in a recent Washington Post poll are a “great deal” or “somewhat” worried they or a family member will catch H1N1, up from 39% in August. But more than 60% say they won't get a shot, and just 52% of parents plan to...
AIG Chief: Pay Czar's Authority 'Limited'
Reuters
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Oct 22, 2009 2:00 PM CDT
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Ken Feinberg won’t take your money, AIG’s chief executive told his employees yesterday. Hours after reports broke that the pay czar would be targeting the troubled insurance firm with salary caps, CEO Robert Benmosche sent a memo reassuring employees that “the Special Master's jurisdiction is quite limited, and we expect Feinberg's...
Bush as Motivational Speaker? It's Not That Funny
New Republic
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Oct 22, 2009 1:52 PM CDT
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George W. Bush's upcoming gig as a motivational speaker in Fort Worth has wags weighing in: Jason Zengerle, New Republic: A bit "undignified," for sure, but remember that Bill Clinton and others make buckets of cash from speaking gigs. "At least Bush's buckraking is sort of populist. If you want to see him speak, you don't...
Aussie Bridge Has a Cow, Man
Sydney Morning Herald
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Oct 22, 2009 1:44 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Australians will get up close and personal with their breakfast on Sunday when 15 cows and a football field’s worth of turf take over the Sydney Harbour Bridge for a picnic. The cows and grass are part of “Breakfast on the Bridge,” an event that showcases regional produce. Ticketholders will be allowed to get their milk directly,...
Scientists Move Closer to Womb Transplant
Times (UK)
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Oct 22, 2009 1:30 PM CDT
(Newser) -
British doctors have performed successful uterus transplants in rabbits, meaning they could try the procedure on a human woman in as little as two years. Researchers say they’ve solved the blood supply problems that have until now bedeviled uterus transplants; a Saudi woman tried the procedure in 2000, but had to have the uterus removed 99 days...
Michael Jordan's Son Could Cost College $3M
Orlando Sentinel
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Oct 22, 2009 1:11 PM CDT
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Michael Jordan’s son wants to wear the shoes his dad made famous when he plays college basketball this season—but if he does, he could wind up costing the University of Central Florida $3 million. Marcus Jordan insists on wearing Nike Air Jordans, but UCF has a deal with adidas. Athletic department officials “said they had talked...
Mass. Terror Suspect an 'Incompetent Wannabe'
Boston Herald
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Oct 22, 2009 12:56 PM CDT
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The Massachusetts man arrested yesterday for plotting to shoot up a mall, kill US troops fighting overseas, and assassinate US officials didn’t really have a chance. Tarek Mehanna traveled to Yemen in search of terrorism training but couldn't find a camp. His alleged accomplice was turned away from Pakistani terror group Lashkar e Tayyiba for...
Cheney Is a 'Maniacal' Hypocrite
Huffington Post
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Oct 22, 2009 12:47 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Dick Cheney is accusing President Obama of "dithering" on Afghanistan and endangering troops. How rich, writes Kristen Breitweiser. What actually endangers troops "is bad judgment—particularly when exercised by an overzealous, power-hungry, maniacal Vice President like you." Cheney seems to have forgotten that the Iraq war—a...
Drug Makers' Big Spending Pays Off on Hill
Time
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Oct 22, 2009 12:33 PM CDT
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Drugmakers could get quite a gift from the health care reform bill. Senate and House amendments passed this summer give the makers of biologics—next-generation wonder drugs derived from living matter—12 years of exclusivity on their hyperexpensive products. That’s 7 more years than normal drugs get, and critics say it’ll cost...
Newsday Jumps Behind a Paywall
Editor & Publisher
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Oct 22, 2009 12:21 PM CDT
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If you’ve been reading a ton of Newsday stories online, we’ve got some bad news: the Long Island daily plans to erect a paywall next week. The paper’s online content will now be closed to everyone except print subscribers, Optimum Online customers, and anyone willing to pay $5 a week for it, notes Editor & Publisher ....
Ann Taylor Finally Gets Good
New York Times
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Oct 22, 2009 12:08 PM CDT
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After a game of fashion musical chairs brought Ann Taylor a new designer, Cintra Wilson decided it was time to reexamine the label—long a "corporate office submissive" look designed to "attract a nice tax attorney husband." She ate her words after checking out the new line (and buying a $175 gray silk-cashmere sweater she'll...
MySpace Gives Up In Race With Facebook
Financial Times (UK)
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Oct 22, 2009 11:52 AM CDT
(Newser) -
MySpace has officially waved the white flag in its battle with Facebook. The company’s new CEO—ex-Facebook exec Chris DeWolfe—tells the Financial Times that the company now sees itself as more of a music and entertainment hub than a social networking site. “Facebook is not our competition,” he says. “We’re...
Bank Reform Shatters Usual Party Lines
FiveThirtyEight
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Oct 22, 2009 11:37 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Once health care reform is “settled,” Nate Silver writes, the White House will be searching for a new domestic issue. Card check is too hard, immigration will have to wait for 2012’s “younger, more diverse electorate,” and gay rights is a slog. The winner, in Silver’s opinion, is bank reform. What's "fascinating"...
