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.

Web Inventor Admits // in Addresses Is Pointless
Telegraph (UK) | Oct 14, 2009 2:50 AM CDT
(Newser) - Ever wonder what the // in web addresses is there for? So does the man who put the forwardslashes there in the first place. "Really, if you think about it, it doesn’t need the //," Tim Berners-Lee told a New York Times reporter at a tech conference last week. "I could have designed it not to have the //," he said,...
French Vogue 'Black Face' Sparks Row
Times (UK) | Oct 14, 2009 2:35 AM CDT
(Newser) - A Dutch model painted black from face to toe in French Vogue has triggered angry charges of racism. The photos of model Lara Stone, taken by US photographer Steven Klein, are part of the magazine's October issue honoring models and photo shoots through history. What French Vogue and the photographer "should know is that painting white people...
Scientists Unearth Fossils of 'Missing Link' Flying Reptiles
BBC | Oct 14, 2009 2:04 AM CDT
(Newser) - Scientists have discovered the remains of a flying reptile in China that they believe represents the "missing link" in a controversial theory of evolution. The reptile—named Darwinopterus in honor of Charles Darwin—lived some 160 million years ago and has features from both early, short-tailed pterodactyls and their huge, long-tailed...
Karzai's Government Too Rotten to Back
New York Times | Oct 14, 2009 1:19 AM CDT
(Newser) - No counterinsurgency campaign can succeed without a good government to work with, and Hamid Karzai's operation is nowhere near good enough, writes Thomas L. Friedman. Karzai's government is thoroughly corrupt and his election victory deeply tainted, Friedman notes in the New York Times . Much of the insurgency is now fueled by anti-Karzai animosity...
US Soccer Star Hospitalized in Fatal Car Crash
ESPN | Oct 14, 2009 12:03 AM CDT
(Newser) - Charlie Davies, a starting forward on the US national soccer team, broke several bones and sustained a lacerated bladder in a car crash yesterday that killed another passenger. The driver, who was not identified, swerved into a guardrail outside of Washington, leaving the car "pretty much split in half," according to a police spokesman....
Bloomberg Gets BusinessWeek for $5M
BusinessWeek | Oct 13, 2009 9:23 PM CDT
(Newser) - Financial-news giant Bloomberg is the winning bidder for BusinessWeek , acquiring the 80-year-old magazine for between $2 and $5 million from parent McGraw-Hill, plus any liabilities associated with the purchase—not exactly a princely sum. “We are not buying BusinessWeek to gut it. We are buying it to build it,” a Bloomberg exec...
British Intelligence Had Mussolini on WWI Payroll
Guardian (UK) | Oct 13, 2009 9:19 PM CDT
(Newser) - Britain’s overseas intelligence service helped Benito Mussolini finance his first forays into Italian politics, newly uncovered documents show. Hoping to keep Italy on its side in 1917, during World War I, MI5 gave Mussolini, then 34 and editor of a right-wing newspaper, the equivalent of what’s now $9,500 a week to keep propaganda flowing....
Teacher Fired for Butt Art Paints Colbert for Charity
WTVR-TV | Oct 13, 2009 8:39 PM CDT
(Newser) - A Virginia teacher fired after a YouTube clip surfaced of him using his posterior to paint is turning the other cheek—and auctioning off a portrait of comedian Stephen Colbert to benefit public schools. Stan Murmur uses what WTVR-TV calls “the anthropometric monotype method of painting. That means he sits in paint and applies to the canvas...
Navy Ship Built With World Trade Center Steel Sets Sail
Fox News | Oct 13, 2009 8:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - A US Navy ship built using materials from the World Trade Center has left the Louisiana yard where it was built and headed north for its official christening. The USS New York, an amphibious transport ship, features at its bow some 7½ tons of steel deemed still usable after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attack on its namesake city; it will be commissioned...
Democratic Rep. Wexler Will Resign Fla. Seat
South Florida Sun-Sentinel | Oct 13, 2009 7:53 PM CDT
(Newser) - Robert Wexler, a seven-term Democrat from Florida, is set to resign his house seat for a public-policy position. Though some Washington insiders speculate that Wexler, 48, will head the US Agency for International Development, others tell Politico that, with kids in college, Wexler needs an income bigger than a government job would pay.
Snowe, Not Palin, Is GOP's Real Maverick
Associated Press | Oct 13, 2009 7:30 PM CDT
(Newser) - Today’s committee vote for a key health-reform measure isn’t the first time Sen. Olympia Snowe has broken with fellow Republicans—and leads Laurie Kellman to call her, and not former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the GOP’s real maverick. Snowe also voted for President Obama’s stimulus package, Kellman notes for the AP, and...
Governator: 'Swift Action' for Wife's Serial Car Phone Use
TMZ | Oct 13, 2009 6:44 PM CDT
(Newser) - California’s ban on using cell phones (other than hands-free) while behind the wheel is loosely enforced at best, but Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is promising “swift action” after TMZ brought wife Maria Shriver’s serial violations to his attention today. Schwarzenegger made the promise via Twitter to TMZ boss Harvey Levin—only...
Jim Morrison Is Not in This Photo
True/Slant | Oct 13, 2009 6:27 PM CDT
(Newser) - Jim Morrison is still dead. Repeat: Still dead. Unfortunately, and just in time for Halloween, researchers in a new book assert that an old photo taken of a visitor to Morrison's grave does indeed show the singer's ghostly image rising, complains Lou Carlozo. These supposed experts rule out weird lighting or trickery in the well-known image taken of...
Christie's NJ Lead Shrinks After Corzine's Weight Ads
Talking Points Memo | Oct 13, 2009 5:50 PM CDT
(Newser) - Gov. Jon Corzine's strategy of running an ad that calls attention to challenger Chris Christie’s girth may be paying off: 19% of New Jersey voters said Christie’s weight made them less likely to vote for him, while 11% said it was a “legitimate campaign issue,” a new poll shows. While the precise effect is debatable, the race...
3 Teens Set Another on Fire, Police Say
Miami Herald | Oct 13, 2009 5:32 PM CDT
(Newser) - Three Florida teens have been charged with the brutal crime of dousing another teenager with a flammable liquid and setting him on fire. The 15-year-old victim, who was sitting by a pool at the time of the attack, is in serious condition and is expected to remain hospitalized for 5 months. He suffered burns on 75% of his body.
Dog Fighting, Football Share Brutal Similarities
New Yorker | Oct 13, 2009 5:12 PM CDT
(Newser) - Malcolm Gladwell is serious when he asks the question, in the New Yorker , whether football is really any different from dog fighting. He doesn't just mean that both inflict grievous injury to combatants—though the brain damage sustained by football linemen takes considerably longer to kill them—but that there are troubling similarities...
Obama Praises 'Critical Milestone' of Baucus Bill
Associated Press | Oct 13, 2009 4:48 PM CDT
(AP) - President Obama called today's passage of legislation by a key Senate committee "a critical milestone" toward getting a health care overhaul this year, but said "now is not the time to pat ourselves on the back." Obama spoke in the Rose Garden about two hours after the Senate Finance Committee approved its version of reform. Obama...
Ford Recalls Another 4.5M Vehicles Over Fire Hazard
Detroit News | Oct 13, 2009 4:33 PM CDT
(Newser) - Ford today made 4.5 million vehicles eligible for what is already its biggest recall ever. The move involves a faulty switch, an automatic cruise control deactivator made by Texas Instruments, that has been linked to at least 550 fires, mostly while the vehicles were turned off. Ford has now recalled 14 million vehicles over the last 10 years because...
Top 10 Hottest Heads of State
HottestHeadsofState | Oct 13, 2009 4:17 PM CDT
(Newser) - Barack Obama may have won a Nobel Peace Prize, and Yulia Tymoshenko has not, but there’s one thing the Ukrainian prime minister has over the president: She’s ranked No. 1 on HottestHeadsofState.com. The site offers “scientific and unbiased rankings” of world leaders’ hotness, complete with piercing observations like, “Kabila...
Jon Must Pay Back $180K to Joint Account
People | Oct 13, 2009 3:52 PM CDT
(Newser) - Jon Gosselin must return $180,000 to the bank account he shares with estranged wife Kate, a judge ruled today. The sum is part of a $232,000 withdrawal that Kate claims Jon made in violation of a divorce arbitrator’s orders, reports People . Jon has to pay up by the next court hearing on Oct. 26. Kate used the rest of the money for household...
Heroes to Kill Major Character
E! Online | Oct 13, 2009 3:30 PM CDT
(Newser) - A central character will die on Heroes this season. The only hints we get are that the character is male and part of the original cast. E! Online columnist Kristin Dos Santos knows but "can't come right out and name any names." But she adds that "I have to say that I, for one, will miss this guy. Big-time."
Dow Falls 15 in Mixed Day
Wall Street Journal | Oct 13, 2009 3:13 PM CDT
(Newser) - Stocks were mixed today, as pharmaceutical firms declined after Johnson & Johnson’s quarterly earnings failed to meet expectations. Health insurance companies also took a hit, perhaps because of the Senate Finance Committee’s approval of the Baucus bill. The Dow fell 15 points to close at 9,871. The Nasdaq added 1 point, settling...
Colorado Will Lower Minimum Wage
Denver Post | Oct 13, 2009 2:52 PM CDT
(Newser) - Colorado is set to become the first state to lower its minimum wage next year. The state’s minimum wage is tied to local inflation—specifically, the Denver-Boulder-Greeley Consumer Price Index, which has fallen 0.6%. The state’s minimum of $7.28 an hour will fall to $7.24 on Jan 1. Most employers, however, will be required to pay...
Colts Owner, NFL Chief Slam Limbaugh Comments
Pro Football Talk | Oct 13, 2009 2:36 PM CDT
(Newser) - Rush Limbaugh's bid for the St. Louis Rams is looking increasingly hopeless: Colts owner Jim Irsay said today he "couldn't even think of voting for him" and didn't plan on discussing the bid with other NFL owners, reports NBC's Pro Football Talk. "I'm very sensitive to know there are scars out there." Commissioner Roger...
Baucus Panel Approves Health Bill
Associated Press | Oct 13, 2009 2:13 PM CDT
(AP) - A pivotal Senate committee has approved a sweeping remake of the country's health care system, delivering a long-sought boost to President Obama's goal of expanding coverage. The 14-9 vote in the Senate Finance Committee sets up a historic debate on the Senate floor and moves health care overhaul closer to reality than it has been for decades. Olympia...
Moms Can Pass Cancer to Kids In Utero
Guardian (UK) | Oct 13, 2009 2:05 PM CDT
(Newser) - Mothers pass myriad things to their unborn babies via the placenta, and scientists have found that cancer is among them. Researchers studied the case of a mother who died of leukemia soon after she gave birth, and whose child was diagnosed with cancer months later. Though the baby’s cancer type was different, the Guardian reports, both mother...
Fido, Fetch My Tax Break!
ABC News | Oct 13, 2009 1:52 PM CDT
(Newser) - A bill with appealing benefits for pet owners and advocates alike is crawling through Congress, though it’ll probably be put down without ceremony. The HAPPY Act proposes pet expenses be tax deductible up to $3,500 a year, as a way to stimulate the economy and, of course, encourage human wellbeing. “This is as much a health care bill as...
Fox Ain't News, It's 'the Opposition Party'
Media Matters | Oct 13, 2009 1:40 PM CDT
(Newser) - “Fox News has exited the journalism community this year,” Eric Boehlert writes. “It's a purely political player,” which would be all well and good if other media outlets would just report that . As it stands, Fox goes happily about its “propaganda” while hiding behind the “façade of journalism,”...
Size Zero Mom Trounces Big Boys in Eating Competition
Washington Post | Oct 13, 2009 1:14 PM CDT
(Newser) - Juliet Lee only eats one meal a day—but sometimes it’s a really big meal. The 44-year-old, who weights in at 100 pounds, is the 11th ranked competitive eater in the world, but she swears she never practices. The talent comes entirely from her one-meal-a-day habit. “It’s natural,” she tells the Washington Post , “If...
Nobel Jury: Obama Is the Right Choice
Associated Press | Oct 13, 2009 12:58 PM CDT
(AP) - The Nobel panel that gave the peace prize to President Obama is strongly defending its choice amid widespread criticism. "We simply disagree that he has done nothing," said chairman Thorbjoern Jagland. Another of the five panelists said of critics: "Where do these people come from?" The four who returned calls to AP said they expected...
'Abortion Addict' Ended 15 Pregnancies
Los Angeles Times | Oct 13, 2009 12:51 PM CDT
(Newser) - Once an “abortion addict,” Irene Vilar is making waves on both sides of the contentious debate with her memoir of the 15 pregnancies she terminated—including one she had forgotten about. One pro-life blogger called for her to be thrown in jail; as for the other side, “the majority of pro-choicers—and I don't blame them—are...
Time to Ditch Umps? (Or at Least Some of Them)
Wall Street Journal | Oct 13, 2009 12:35 PM CDT
(Newser) - Joe Mauer smashed a ball to left field in the 11th inning Friday, and it landed fair, a foot inside the line. But it won’t show up on any box score, because umpire Phil Cuzzi, standing just 10 feet away, ruled it foul. It’s just one of several blown calls in this postseason, and as the errors pile up, some are wondering: Do we really need...
Snowe to Vote for Health Bill
Associated Press | Oct 13, 2009 12:26 PM CDT
(AP) - Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe says she will vote for a Democratic health care bill, breaking with her party on President Obama's top legislative priority. The Maine senator kept virtually all of Washington guessing how she would vote until she announced it late in the Senate Finance Committee debate today. "When history calls, history calls,"...
Judge Fines Orly Taitz $20K
Salon | Oct 13, 2009 12:12 PM CDT
(Newser) - US District Judge Clay Land has had it with Orly Taitz. He slapped the birther leader with a $20,000 fine today for her constant stream of frivolous lawsuits and motions. In a scathing 43-page order, Land writes that Taitz willfully misused the court, and “as an attorney, she is deemed to have known better. … Her response to the Court’s...
Why Rupert Murdoch Won't Buy NBC Stake
Gawker | Oct 13, 2009 11:53 AM CDT
(Newser) - Sources tell CNBC Rupert Murdoch wants to add a stake in NBC Universal to his ever-expanding media empire—which could lead to some awkward moments between Bill O’Reilly and Keith Olbermann at the company Christmas party—but it probably won’t happen, writes John Cook on Gawker. Considering the ongoing negotiations between NBC...
Twitter Gets Psychic With 'Tweance'
Sun (UK) | Oct 13, 2009 11:37 AM CDT
(Newser) - It was only a matter of time before even the dead celebrities found a way to overshare on Twitter. The microblogging site will play host to the world’s first online séance—dubbed the “Tweance”—the day before Halloween, the Sun reports.
At 'Felony Franks,' Ex-Cons Serve Dogs to Wary Populace
Wall Street Journal | Oct 13, 2009 11:26 AM CDT
(Newser) - A snarkily named hot dog stand has its up-and-coming Chicago neighborhood sizzling. Felony Franks employs ex-cons to sling hot dogs with names like the “Misdemeanor Wiener” and the “Cellmate” (two dogs). Step up to the bulletproof serving window and an employee will ask you to “plead your case.” But some locals aren't...
Sperm Bank Offers Celeb Lookalikes
MSNBC | Oct 13, 2009 11:17 AM CDT
(Newser) - Having trouble narrowing down your choice of sperm donor? Perhaps it will help you to know—as it did one mom-to-be—that one option is a Freddie Prinze Jr lookalike. “For me, that clinched it right then and there,” she tells MSNBC. “I’ve always found him attractive!” Thanks to California Cryobank, you can now...
Hey, Right Wingers: You're Hanoi Jane Now
Washington Post | Oct 13, 2009 11:11 AM CDT
(Newser) - “Why, oh why, do conservatives hate America so?” One might get that idea, Eugene Robinson writes, when the likes of Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, and the RNC rush to join the Taliban in denouncing President Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize. These people are “exhibiting what they, in a different context, surely would describe as ‘Hanoi...
Celebs' Fave Smartphone Apps
New York | Oct 13, 2009 10:58 AM CDT
(Newser) - Got a smartphone, but just not sure where to start with the apps? New York magazine has the faves of some famous New Yorkers: Jimmy Fallon, Bionic Eye for iPhone: “Basically, you aim your camera down the street and it will show you floating graphics of where, say, the nearest Starbucks is.” Cost: 99 cents. Katie Couric,...
Soaring Price of Wings Begets Boneless Substitutes
New York Times | Oct 13, 2009 10:36 AM CDT
(Newser) - In a sign of a poultry market apocalypse, chicken wings are now more expensive than skinless, boneless chicken breast, because chicken wings are cheaper. Wait, what? Strange but true: thanks to the recession, restaurants are ordering less chicken breast, the New York Times explains, while consumers buy more of the traditionally cheaper chicken wings....
Dour Industry Report Backfires
Politico | Oct 13, 2009 10:14 AM CDT
(Newser) - The health insurance industry report presented yesterday that predicts the reform bill will do little to stop rising costs appears to have backfired. Dems are up in arms at the timing and content of the “misleading and harmful” attack from their erstwhile ally in the effort. Sen. Jay Rockefeller used the report—which he called “politicking...
Yea or Nay, How Health Bill Hinges on Snowe's Vote
Politico | Oct 13, 2009 10:07 AM CDT
(Newser) - The day is finally here: Olympia Snowe will have to vote one way or another on the Senate Finance Committee’s health reform bill. The Maine Republican has been coy—“It’s all about what I’m comfortable doing at the end of the day”—but that doesn’t stop Chris Frates and Mike Allen from taking a look at...
8 Weekly World News Characters That Could Hit TV
Hollywood Reporter | Oct 13, 2009 10:00 AM CDT
(Newser) - Who needs Batman when you can have Bat Boy? The iconic Weekly World News creation is expected to arrive at a TV near you now that the tabloid has signed with CAA, according to the Hollywood Reporter . "You're seeing an embrace of the fringe," says WWN ’s CEO. "Zombies were big two years ago. Vampires are the rage this year....
Supreme Court to Hear Enron CEO's Appeal
Wall Street Journal | Oct 13, 2009 9:56 AM CDT
(Newser) - The Supreme Court has agreed to hear former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling’s appeal of his fraud conviction in connection with the company's collapse. The appeal argues that the federal “honest services” statute, a favorite for prosecutors tackling white collar criminals, is flawed because the government needn’t prove that the defendant’s...
Clinton Praises Russia on Iran
BBC | Oct 13, 2009 9:30 AM CDT
(Newser) - The US isn’t seeking further nuclear sanctions against Iran, at least not for now, Hillary Clinton said today, after meeting with her Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov in Moscow. The pair professed unity on the Iranian issue, with Clinton praising Russia for its “extremely cooperative” work. Clinton added that if pending talks don’t...
Cheney Group Raises Cash to Save US From Obama
Politico | Oct 13, 2009 9:27 AM CDT
(Newser) - Liz Cheney’s new nonprofit launched its first online video today, kicking off fundraising for its anti-Obama campaign. Keep America Safe is dedicated to opposing what Cheney describes as Obama’s “radical” foreign policy. “Whether you’re a Republican or a Democrat, you want the nation to be strong and so many steps...
Letterman Pans Palin Memoir —in Advance
Huffington Post | Oct 13, 2009 9:17 AM CDT
(Newser) - Whatever you do, don’t buy David Letterman a copy of Going Rogue for Christmas. As part of his ongoing feud with Sarah Palin, Letterman unveiled a new ongoing Late Show segment: “Things More Fun Than Reading the Sarah Palin Memoir.” The Huffington Post compiles a few of the best (watch at the link below): Getting run over...
LA Patients Get Deadly Blast of Radiation in Screw-Up
Los Angeles Times | Oct 13, 2009 9:00 AM CDT
(Newser) - A mistake at LA’s famed Cedars-Sinai hospital has subjected more than 200 patients to dangerous levels of radiation. Everyone who has come to the hospital with a suspected stroke since February 2008 has gotten eight times the normal dose of radiation, the LA Times reports. That was when technicians programmed a new stroke diagnosis protocol...
Why We Love to Hate Jon+Kate
New York Daily News | Oct 13, 2009 8:43 AM CDT
(Newser) - Why does everyone care so much about Jon and Kate Gosselin? They don’t, says Inside Edition anchor Deborah Norville. The reality show trainwreck is popular because they let "all of us to have a sense of superiority,” Norville tells the New York Daily News . “We can look at the bad behavior and feel virtuous.” Norville—who...
NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   Betty Confidential   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   Fark   |   Timelines   |   The Frisky   |   Geek Sugar   |   NewsOne