Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

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.

Jon and Kate Ends Next Month
Radar | Oct 15, 2009 9:18 AM CDT
(Newser) - Good news for everyone who’s been begging, “Make it stop!” Jon and Kate Plus 8 will finally be put to rest in mid- to late-November, sources tell Radar. “They are not shooting anymore so they are taking what they have and seeing how many more episodes they can get out of it,” one source says. Unfortunately, should Jon...
2 New Theaters Make Dallas a Hotspot
New York Times | Oct 15, 2009 9:13 AM CDT
(Newser) - Dallas has several museums and concert halls that would be the envy of any city, but until now they've seemed more like standalone monuments than elements of a city center. Two new venues opening this Sunday have transformed downtown, "giving the area the cultural stature Dallas has long been craving," says New York Times critic Nicolai...
Mayer to Mag: I'll Sodomize You
New York | Oct 15, 2009 9:00 AM CDT
(Newser) - John Mayer, always the charmer, waxed poetic on everything from Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize to sodomy with New York. Highlights: On Obama’s Nobel: "Do you think I'm smart enough to be able to articulate to you why our president receiving the Nobel Peace Prize is a bit early for things? If you don't know who else should have...
Internet Access Now a Legal Right in Finland
Guardian (UK) | Oct 15, 2009 8:57 AM CDT
(Newser) - In Finland, broadband access isn’t a privilege, it’s a right. The Ministry of Transport and Communications has pushed through a law requiring telecom companies to offer speeds of at least 1 megabit per second to all of the country’s 5.3 million citizens. While 96% of Finland’s population is already online, the communications...
Sorry Shriver Goes Hands-Free
TMZ | Oct 15, 2009 8:46 AM CDT
(Newser) - TMZ got an “I’m sorry” out of Maria Shriver a day after exposing her law-breaking habit of using her cell phone while driving. Hubby Arnold Schwarzenegger—who happened to sign the particular law that bans it—promised “swift action.” What does that mean? “I will be donating my favorite old cell phone”...
Reid Ducks the Media as 2010 Fight Looms
The Hill | Oct 15, 2009 8:38 AM CDT
(Newser) - Reporters are used to getting a press conference from Harry Reid every Thursday, but since the August recess he’s been canceling them, opting instead to get the message out in more controlled environments like Senate floor speeches. A spokesman says Reid’s not intentionally hiding out, but analysts tell the Hill that he’s probably...
Stern Gave Smith Valium Shots: Guard
New York Daily News | Oct 15, 2009 8:27 AM CDT
(Newser) - Howard K. Stern injected Anna Nicole Smith with Valium “four or five” times in the months between her son’s death and her own, her bodyguard testified yesterday. “She couldn’t swallow,” he said. “Anna and Howard felt if they put it in the blood system that it would get into her system quicker.” Stern’s...
Obama's Stealth Stimulus: $250 Checks to Seniors
Washington Post | Oct 15, 2009 8:12 AM CDT
(Newser) - Seniors won’t be getting a boost in their Social Security benefits this January, but President Obama tried to head off that announcement yesterday by encouraging Congress to give them all a one-time $250 check. The administration sees these payments, which would cost the government about $13 billion, as another way to pump money into the economy...
Bachmann: 'Reckless Liar,' Rising Star
New York Times | Oct 15, 2009 8:01 AM CDT
(Newser) - Michele Bachmann thinks the administration is trying to eliminate the dollar. She’s refusing to fill out her census form, which, she notes, has been used to populate internment camps. And she’s suggested that Democrat-proposed privacy rules for school clinics could lead to abortion referrals for young girls. To Democrats, they're examples...
Health Debate Now Hinges on Public Option
New York Times | Oct 15, 2009 7:22 AM CDT
(Newser) - The White House and Congress are now wrangling to reconcile the five health care bills on the floors of the House and Senate, and no issue is causing greater headaches than the so-called public option. The Senate Finance Committee's bill, which has the support of Republican Olympia Snowe, doesn't have one, but the Maine senator says she favors a "trigger"...
Fey on Virginity: 'Couldn't Give It Away'
CBS | Oct 15, 2009 7:21 AM CDT
(Newser) - Tina Fey was a virgin until age 24—“couldn’t give it away,” she told David Letterman last night, as the two discussed a tabloid list of celebrities who stayed virgins until, as Fey put it, “they were really old.” Responding to Letterman, who called it “lovely, romantic” that the man Fey eventually gave...
Goldman Tops $3B in Profit, Blows By Estimates
Bloomberg | Oct 15, 2009 7:13 AM CDT
(Newser) - Goldman Sachs is even more golden than we'd thought. The top firm on Wall Street posted a record third-quarter profit of $3.19 billion, a billion dollars higher than expected, thanks to returns on advising on takeovers and more aggressive investing. That quarterly result more than triples the $845 million it posted this time last year. As for the big...
Deadly Wave of Pakistan Attacks Kills 38
Wall Street Journal | Oct 15, 2009 7:11 AM CDT
(Newser) - Pakistan erupted in violence today as three teams of militants launched coordinated strikes on law enforcement buildings in Lahore and a suicide car bomber struck a police station in the country's northwest. A few hours later another blast rocked a school in Peshawar, near the Afghan border, killing at least one child. At least 38 people have been...
World's Priciest Apartment Sells for $56M
Financial Times (UK) | Oct 15, 2009 5:50 AM CDT
(Newser) - A mainland Chinese buyer has purchased the most expensive apartment in the world, a duplex at the top of a Hong Kong highrise selling for $56.6 million. Hong Kong exited recession in the second quarter and its property market has rebounded strongly, although with prices up 30% this year the government has voiced fears another bubble. The apartment...
Runaway Muslim Girl Sparks Furor
Christian Science Monitor | Oct 15, 2009 5:40 AM CDT
(Newser) - An Ohio teen has found herself straddling the fault line between the world's two biggest religions after converting to Christianity and running away from her Muslim parents. A judge in Florida, where 17-year-old Rifqa Bary was being sheltered by pastors she met on a Facebook group, has ruled that she be returned to Ohio, but placed with a foster family.
'Race Hammers' Crushed Rush Deal: O'Reilly
Gawker | Oct 15, 2009 5:38 AM CDT
(Newser) - "Thought police" in the media who have unfairly skewered Rush Limbaugh as a racist spoiled his bid to become an owner of the Rams, charged right-wing media maven Bill O'Reilly. Now that he's been dumped from the buyers' group after the controversy over his participation, Limbaugh should sue media outlets like NBC and CNN, which helped screw...
Harrods Now Selling Gold Bars
Telegraph (UK) | Oct 15, 2009 5:05 AM CDT
(Newser) - The world's most over-the-top department store has taken bling to a new level. Beginning today, shoppers at Harrods, the London emporium owned by Egyptian billionaire Mohamed al-Fayed, can buy gold bars and coins over the counter. The store has teamed with a Swiss bank to arrange for customers to purchase the precious metal, now at $1,072 an ounce,...
Injured Vets Seeking Closure Return to Iraq
New York Times | Oct 15, 2009 4:58 AM CDT
(Newser) - The military has been aiding injured veterans to return to Iraq to help them find closure and assure them that their sacrifices were worth it. Operation Proper Exit—believed to be the first such program to facilitate vets' return to a battlefield while a war is still in progress—has had a "phenomenal" effect on the wounded veterans,...
Terror Act Used to Block Climate Activist's Trip
Independent (UK) | Oct 15, 2009 4:41 AM CDT
(Newser) - A British climate change activist says police abused anti-terror laws to prevent him from traveling to this week's climate change conference in Copenhagen. Police yanked him and another activist off a bus they stopped on the way to the Channel Tunnel. The activist, who has taken part in several acts of civil disobedience, was questioned and sent back...
Pollan's 'Rules to Eat By' Hard to Swallow
Weekly Standard | Oct 15, 2009 4:31 AM CDT
(Newser) - Food industry critic Michael Pollan is compiling a book of "Rules to Eat By"—like "If you're not hungry enough to eat an apple, you're not hungry"—but his advice that you rely on your ancestors' wisdom for your eating decisions tastes a little off to Patrick Cooke. Cooke's grandfather grew up in the Depression when fresh...
Ski Champ Concocts 'Smell of Victory'
Wall Street Journal | Oct 15, 2009 4:19 AM CDT
(Newser) - Ski champ and chemical engineer Michelle Roark has put together a line of perfumes she insists can give athletes the winning edge. Roark, the 2009 US freestyle skiing champion, credits her scents like "Confidence"—which includes grapefruit oil and rose oil—with helping her succeed. Other scents include Focus, Balance, Adventure,...
Brit Dad Busted in Kids' Death
Telegraph (UK) | Oct 15, 2009 3:56 AM CDT
(Newser) - A man separated from his wife was arrested yesterday after his two young children were found unresponsive in his home and were later declared dead. Police believe the father strangled the girl, 4, and 2-year-old boy, reports the Telegraph . They were discovered by their mom, who arrived to collect the children after a visit with their father. Neighbors...
Once-Reserved Goldman Turns on the Charm
Wall Street Journal | Oct 15, 2009 3:35 AM CDT
(Newser) - Today's the day: Goldman Sachs is set to announce record profits in the third quarter, projected at $2.17 billion, and with it a compensation pool larger than Wall Street has ever seen. But the golden bank knows a PR disaster when it sees one—and has been mounting a charm offensive for months, highlighting the modest roots of its CEO, Lloyd...
Domino Wall to Fall on Berlin Anniversary
Wall Street Journal | Oct 15, 2009 3:31 AM CDT
(Newser) - Twenty years after a domino effect of resistance toppled Communist regimes across Europe and brought down the Berlin Wall, the Germans are trying it again with actual dominoes. Volunteers have crafted almost 1,000 8-foot-tall Styrofoam dominoes and plan to assemble them along the path of the old Wall through the heart of the city, and then send them...
Nazi Gnomes Invade German Town
Telegraph (UK) | Oct 15, 2009 3:21 AM CDT
(Newser) - Some 1,250 controversial German gnomes giving the heil Hitler salute will greet visitors to the center of the German town of Straubing beginning today. The artist behind the gnome blitzkrieg says the installation, Dance With the Devil , is designed "to get people to think, to react," and to draw attention to the rise of far-right movements...
First Major Financial Crisis Trial Begins
Independent (UK) | Oct 15, 2009 2:43 AM CDT
(Newser) - The first major criminal trial against top Wall Street execs involved in the financial crisis kicked off in New York yesterday. Bear Stearns hedge fund managers Ralph Cioffi and Matthew Tannin are accused of misleading investors in a desperate attempt to stop them from abandoning the funds, even as they themselves yanked their money out and admitted...
London Cops Hunt Girls in Gay's Murder
Independent (UK) | Oct 15, 2009 2:06 AM CDT
(Newser) - Police are hunting two teenage girls and a young man after the murder of a gay man in central London. The victim, 62, suffered severe brain damage and died earlier this week after his life support machine was switched off. The trio punched and kicked the man to the ground after he chided them for shouting homophobic abuse at him and a friend as they...
Iran May Be Ready for Nuke Deal
New York Times | Oct 15, 2009 1:17 AM CDT
(Newser) - Iran has likely taken its nuclear program as far as it wants to and the nation may be willing to make a deal with the US and its allies this month, analysts say. The country has developed the capability to create and deliver a nuclear weapon without actually making it, which many believe was its goal all along. "Iran has all the advantages of...
11 Anti-Aphrodisiac Foods
11Points.com | Oct 14, 2009 10:36 PM CDT
(Newser) - Like sex itself, aphrodisiacs are an eternally popular subject. But what about anti-aphrodisiacs (more properly known as anaphrodisiacs)? Among the top sexual depressants, per 11 Points: Corn Flakes. John Harvey Kellogg was a proponent of abstinence and invented Corn Flakes in the belief that a bland, meatless breakfast would calm bodily urges....
Bon Jovi Is NBC's First 'Artist in Residence'
New York Times | Oct 14, 2009 9:38 PM CDT
(Newser) - In a move that will keep him exclusively on NBC-owned airwaves as he promotes his band’s upcoming album, Jon Bon Jovi has signed on as the network’s first “artist in residence.” His first appearance was on this morning’s Today show; he has spots scheduled with Jay Leno, Saturday Night Live —and even Nightly News...
Sources: Obama Will Send 40-45K More to Afghanistan
BBC | Oct 14, 2009 9:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - President Obama will announce a troop surge in Afghanistan next week, sources tell the BBC, with Afghanistan’s ambassador to the US saying Obama will commit as many as 45,000. The White House says there’s been no decision, with spokesman Robert Gibbs sniffing that the BBC wouldn’t be the first to get such news anyway.
Obama Scared to Show His Face in ... San Francisco?
San Francisco Chronicle | Oct 14, 2009 8:33 PM CDT
(Newser) - Given the adoring crowds he’s attracted in, say, Berlin, one would think President Obama would have a number of public appearances scheduled during a quick jaunt to San Francisco beginning tomorrow. But evidently, his staff is so worried about rabid lefties that Obama’s just dropping in for an evening fundraiser, then jetting out next...
Designer Fixing Barbie's .... Cankles?
Women's Wear Daily | Oct 14, 2009 7:34 PM CDT
(Newser) - A Christian Louboutin makeover of the Barbie doll is going further than just the clothes. “He found her ankles were too fat,” said a Louboutin spokeswoman. At least one of his dolls should be ready for the next Cannes film festival in May, Women's Wear Daily reports. "They're completely wild and even come with mini Louboutin boxes...
Point of Vampire Craze: No Sex Is Deviant Anymore
Esquire | Oct 14, 2009 6:56 PM CDT
(Newser) - A cultural obsession with vampires usually coincides with changing sexuality, writes Stephen Marche. The vampire is a realized sexual other—whether an aristocratic libertine or an AIDS victim—with the human characters representing the mainstream. Usually, the normals have killed the other, but our current vampire moment is different: Whether...
Times Co. Takes Globe Off Market
Boston Globe | Oct 14, 2009 6:14 PM CDT
(Newser) - The New York Times Company has decided not to sell the Boston Globe after all, its chairman told workers in a late-afternoon email today, saying that the financial picture has “significantly improved” for the 137-year-old newspaper in recent months after various cost-cutting and revenue-boosting moves. Two groups did bid after the Globe...
Arianna: Biden Should Resign Over Afghanistan
Huffington Post | Oct 14, 2009 5:54 PM CDT
(Newser) - Joe Biden should resign on principle if President Obama sends more troops to Afghanistan, writes Arianna Huffington. It's no secret Biden has "deep reservations" about ramping up the war effort there. "So if the president does decide to escalate, Biden, for the good of the country, should escalate his willingness to act on those reservations."...
Flood of Bush Memoirs May Trip Up GOP
Politico | Oct 14, 2009 5:23 PM CDT
(Newser) - The 2010 elections offer Republicans the first chance in a long time to run without the handicap of the unpopular Bush administration. Or not. Bush may be out of office, but the period between now and next November could see the release of five Bush-era memoirs—from Hank Paulson, Laura Bush, Donald Rumsfeld, Karl Rove, and Dubya himself. Dick...
Wrestling Dynamo Captain Lou Dead at 76
MTV | Oct 14, 2009 5:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - “Captain” Lou Albano, a professional wrestler who also enjoyed success as a mainstream entertainer, died today at 76. Starting in the late '50s as one-half of tag team “the Sicilians,” Albano’s wrestling career spanned four decades. With his signature look—Hawaiian shirt, rubber-band goatee—and a landmark decision...
Feds: Suspect Had Contact With Al-Qaeda Bigwig
Associated Press | Oct 14, 2009 4:42 PM CDT
(AP) - The Denver man accused of plotting a terrorist bombing had contacts with al-Qaeda that went nearly all the way to the top—to an Osama bin Laden confidant believed to be the terrorist group's leader in Afghanistan, say US intelligence officials. Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, an Egyptian reputed to be one of the founders of the terrorist network, used...
Facebook Trips Up High-Living Fugitive
Guardian (UK) | Oct 14, 2009 4:40 PM CDT
(Newser) - Fugitives of the world, take note: If you’re having the time of your life hanging out in Cancun, you probably shouldn’t brag about it on Facebook. And you definitely shouldn’t add an ex-Justice Department official as a friend. Take it from Maxi Sopo, a 26-year-old who had spent the last seven months on the lamb after allegedly helping...
Wall St. Dealmaker Wasserstein Dead at 61
Associated Press | Oct 14, 2009 4:16 PM CDT
(AP) - Bruce Wasserstein, the CEO of Lazard Ltd. and one of Wall Street's most prominent dealmakers, is dead at 61. He had been hospitalized with an irregular heartbeat on Sunday. Wasserstein had been a fixture on Wall Street since the 1980s. He worked on such landmark deals as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts' takeover of RJR Nabisco, and the Morgan Stanley-Dean...
Kiss Your Wireless Router Goodbye
BusinessWeek | Oct 14, 2009 3:55 PM CDT
(Newser) - If setting up a wireless router just sounds a little too daunting, new technology looks to make unplugging a lot easier. WiFi Direct, slated to roll out in the middle of next year, will turn every device enabled with it into a miniature access point, able to create connections with broadband modems and other WiFi enabled gadgets, BusinessWeek reports.
2 Madoff Victims Sue SEC
CNN | Oct 14, 2009 3:32 PM CDT
(Newser) - Two investors who lost a combined $2.4 million to Bernie Madoff’s ponzi scheme have sued the SEC for negligence. The lawsuit argues that the commission should reimburse the plaintiffs for their losses because it failed in its duty to protect investors. Regulators had "countless opportunities" to catch Madoff "and botched all of...
No NFL Team for Rush: Investors Dropping Him
ESPN | Oct 14, 2009 3:19 PM CDT
(Newser) - It looks like Rush Limbaugh's hope of becoming an NFL owner is kaput. Dave Checketts—the man putting together a team of investors to buy the St. Louis Rams—is dropping Limbaugh, three league sources tell ESPN. Checketts, who already owns the St. Louis Blues, has concluded that the bid doesn't stand a chance because of the...
Dow Closes Above 10,000
Wall Street Journal | Oct 14, 2009 3:07 PM CDT
(Newser) - Strong earnings drove today's milestone stock rally. The Dow rose 145 points to close at 10,016, the first time it's been above the five-figure mark in a year. The Nasdaq gained 32 points, closing at 2,172, and the S&P 500 added 19 points to settle at 1,092, the Wall Street Journal reports. Intel and JPMorgan Chase both beat expectations, and...
She Got Fired for Being Too Fat
New York Daily News | Oct 14, 2009 2:50 PM CDT
(Newser) - Feminists, grab your pitchforks. Filippa Hamilton, the model who appeared in a Ralph Lauren ad so ridiculously photoshopped that her waist looked smaller than her head, now says the fashion label fired her for being too fat. “They said I was overweight and I couldn’t fit in their clothes anymore,” she tells the Daily News.
Pepsi 'Pickup' App Has Anger Bubbling
Wall Street Journal | Oct 14, 2009 2:33 PM CDT
(Newser) - The blogosphere is buzzing with opprobrium for a promotional iPhone app. “Amp Up Before You Score,” as in Pepsi’s energy drink, gives guys tips on how to, well, “score” with different types of women. The advice ranges from banal—compute your carbon footprint to hit on “the treehugger”—to raunchy....
Auschwitz Joins Facebook
BBC | Oct 14, 2009 2:18 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Auschwitz death camp—now a museum about the horrors that transpired there—has joined Facebook. Officials hope to educate young people about the Holocaust but say they are sensitive to concerns about trivializing the site's history. "We want it to be a place of discourse, but of course we won't let anyone do anything that may abuse...
Dow at 10,000? 'Hold the Cheering'
MarketWatch | Oct 14, 2009 1:58 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Dow hit 10,000 today, but most analysts aren't exactly falling off their chairs in excitement: Mark Hulbert, MarketWatch: "It would be entirely in investors' rights to feel pretty good about it. But they're not, on the whole. That's surprising, and suggests to contrarian analysts" that a "strong wall of worry" still...
Dems Lash Out at Insurance Industry
Politico | Oct 14, 2009 1:46 PM CDT
(Newser) - All-out war broke out between the Democrats and the insurers today, with Chuck Schumer calling for an amendment to the health care bill that would remove the industry’s long-standing anti-trust immunity. Schumer called the exemption “one of the worst accidents of American history,” blaming it in part for the precipitous rise in health...
NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   Betty Confidential   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   Fark   |   Timelines   |   The Frisky   |   Geek Sugar   |   NewsOne