Newser Story Index from November, 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.
Jay Leno Not the Only Prime-Time Loser
Los Angeles Times
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Nov 16, 2009 9:54 AM CST
(Newser) -
Network TV's big hits— Modern Family, The Cleveland Show , NCIS: Los Angeles— join a pack of losers and losing news: NBC viewership is down 10% among young adults, ABC and CBS have slipped, too, and Eastwick, Hank, and Trauma have already been canceled. The LA Times surveys the playing field, mid-season. Comedy rules—kinda:...
Couples Retreat Ad Sparks Brit Race Brouhaha
Daily Mail (UK)
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Nov 16, 2009 9:37 AM CST
(Newser) -
Audiences in Britain are crying foul over a Couples Retreat poster that omits two black actors who were featured on the US version. A film rep tells the Mail that the change was meant “to simplify the poster to actors who are most recognizable in international markets”—but filmgoers and critics alike aren't buying. Still, as...
Ill. Dems Rally Around Plan to Take Gitmo Prisoners
Associated Press
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Nov 16, 2009 9:14 AM CST
(AP) -
Illinois' governor and senior senator spent yesterday feverishly trying to regain momentum on their plan to use a nearly empty maximum-security prison 150 miles from Chicago to house Gitmo detainees. With federal officials visiting Thomson Correctional Center today, local GOP lawmakers had gone on the offense Saturday, calling it a threat to security....
Wanted: Economist to Trash Health Bill
Washington Post
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Nov 16, 2009 9:01 AM CST
(Newser) -
Pro-business groups opposed to the president's health care reform are raising funds to hire a "respected economist" to study the impact of the reform—and find that it is a threat to jobs and the economy. In an email obtained by the Washington Post , a top official at the Chamber of Commerce writes: "The economist will then circulate...
Twilight's Secret Superfans: Moms
New York
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Nov 16, 2009 8:55 AM CST
(Newser) -
Twilight ’s “unthinkably cheesy,” unabashedly adolescent take on love—vampire love, at that—is inspiring adoration in a hidden cache of fans: “smart, sophisticated, well-read mothers.” Why would an otherwise mature adult turn to mush over Stephenie Meyer’s teen saga—even putting a photo of Robert...
Obama, Dems Catch Flak From MSNBC
New York Times
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Nov 16, 2009 8:48 AM CST
(Newser) -
Forget Fox News, Barack Obama is catching just as much grief from MSNBC, as the network’s liberal hosts hammer Democrats for drifting right. Rachel Maddow, for example, spent most of last week lambasting House Democrats over the anti-abortion Stupak amendment, calling it an “electoral defeat,” and contemplating the consequences for...
Mutant Genes Linked to Long Life
BBC
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Nov 16, 2009 8:43 AM CST
(Newser) -
Scientists have spotted a link among people who live to age 100: high levels of telomerase, an enzyme that protects DNA and could possibly be simulated in life-lengthening drugs. The enzyme repairs telomeres, end sections of DNA that have been likened to plastic tips that prevent shoelaces from unraveling. In a study, centenarians and their children...
Afghan Rocket Misses French General, Kills 3 Kids
Associated Press
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Nov 16, 2009 8:40 AM CST
(Newser) -
A rocket attack intended for a French general instead killed three children and wounded 20 others in a busy market northeast of Kabul today. Insurgents fired into the marketplace hoping to hit a meeting between Brig. Gen. Marcel Druart and tribal elders from Tagab Valley, where France is in the midst of a major offensive. Neither Druart nor any of...
Vladimir Putin, Rap Advocate?
Telegraph (UK)
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Nov 16, 2009 8:33 AM CST
(Newser) -
While it would have been infinitely more entertaining had Vladimir Putin actually tried to freestyle, his appearance at a music awards show this weekend still made newspapers titter. Putin, who first stood around looking awkward while his “youth disguised” security mingled with the dancing crowd, handed out an award and offered his thoughts...
Most Boozers Sober Up Without AA
Los Angeles Times
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Nov 16, 2009 8:08 AM CST
(Newser) -
Most people who hit the bottle too heavily lay off the booze long before they ever have to stand up and say, "My name is Bill W and I'm an alcoholic." Shooting down conventional wisdom that climbing up on the wagon and staying there was the only way to curb alcohol problems, new research suggests that most people with drinking problems moderate...
Even Babies Are Airbrushed
Telegraph (UK)
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Nov 16, 2009 8:03 AM CST
(Newser) -
Even babies can't meet the media-industrial complex's exacting standards: Baby photos are airbrushed before making their way to magazines, to tweak skin tone, swap eye color, and airbrush fat lines and creases, reports the Daily Telegraph . While many are riled, to some, this is not news: "You kind of know that they do it because if you look...
46 Bailed-Out Firms Behind on Repaying US
Washington Post
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Nov 16, 2009 7:38 AM CST
(Newser) -
A whopping 46 of the banks the government bailed out last year are behind on their payments, with some going belly-up despite the rescue. The largest so far, CIT Group, is in bankruptcy court today hoping to wipe out the $2.3 billion it owes Uncle Sam, and analysts tell the Washington Post that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Porn Co. to Prejean: We'll Make You a Star
TMZ
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Nov 16, 2009 7:18 AM CST
(Newser) -
Carrie Prejean’s eight so-called “sex tapes” could earn her millions of dollars—in the porn industry. Vivid Entertainment re-extended a helping hand to Prejean—when the company first offered her $1 million to do a porno, all she had to her name was a topless photo. Now that news of her sex tapes has surfaced, all she has...
Drugmakers Hike Prices Ahead of Reform
New York Times
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Nov 16, 2009 7:08 AM CST
(Newser) -
Bracing for health care reform, drug companies have been raising prices at the fastest rate in almost 20 years—even as they pledge to support Washington's goal of cutting the nation's drug bill. The pharmaceutical industry is scrambling to get the price base as high as possible before legislation to curb drug spending kicks in, critics tell the...
Men at 40 Face 1-in-8 Chance of Cardiac Death
Wall Street Journal
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Nov 16, 2009 6:58 AM CST
(Newser) -
A 40-year-old American male has a one-in-eight chance of sudden cardiac death in his lifetime, according to a new study that's stunned even cardiologists, one of whom calls it "fairly astonishing data." The study shows women's odds much lower at one in 24, and black men's risk even higher than white men's, the Wall Street Journal reports....
GM to Repay Bailout Early, Posts (Smaller) $1.2B Loss
Detroit News
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Nov 16, 2009 6:48 AM CST
(Newser) -
General Motors will start repaying its $6.7 billion debt to the US and Canadian governments early, with $1.2 billion quarterly payments beginning next month, reports the Detroit News . The accelerated repayment plan is a strong indication that finances are looking up for the troubled automaker, which today posted a $1.2 billion loss in its first...
'Sarah's Not Retreating, She's Reloading'
Wall Street Journal
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Nov 16, 2009 5:37 AM CST
(Newser) -
The Sarah Palin who emerges on the pages of Going Rogue is a far cry from the "prejudiced, dim-witted ideologue of the popular liberal imagination," Melanie Kirkpatrick writes in the Wall Street Journal . Kirkpatrick finds a "nuanced" politician "capable of mastering complicated issues," and a "new style of feminist"...
Obama Nudges China on Internet Freedom
CNN
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Nov 16, 2009 5:37 AM CST
(Newser) -
China and the US don't have to be adversaries and can work out their differences, President Obama told students in Shanghai today. "More is gained when great powers cooperate than when they collide," Obama said. But the president also prodded for more freedoms in China, reports CNN , telling students that Internet freedom makes nations stronger:...
Pats Lose on Belichick Stunner
Sports Illustrated
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Nov 16, 2009 5:33 AM CST
(Newser) -
Bill Belichick’s vaunted genius got the better of him last night, when a gutsy fourth-down gamble cost the Patriots a win in Indianapolis. Up by six with 2:08 left on the clock, New England decided to go for it on fourth-and-two from its own 28. Kevin Faulk made the catch, but fell short of the first-down marker. Peyton Manning capitalized on...
Plastics 'Feminizing' Baby Boys
Telegraph (UK)
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Nov 16, 2009 5:25 AM CST
(Newser) -
Pregnant women's exposure to plastics is "feminizing" the baby boys they give birth to, researchers have found. Heightened in utero exposure to plastics is linked to reduced interest by boys in "rough and tumble" play and also to more typically masculine toys, like trucks, trains and guns, found the study by New York's University...
Letterman: Wife Didn't Boot Me
New York Daily News
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Nov 16, 2009 4:54 AM CST
(Newser) -
David Letterman yesterday denied a tabloid report that his wife has kicked him out of their Westchester home because of dalliances with staffers. "The National Enquirer has it wrong," Letterman's spokesman told the New York Daily News . The Enquirer , citing an unnamed CBS source, reported that Letterman had moved to his loft in Manhattan...
Aussies 'Sorry' for Abused Children
BBC
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Nov 16, 2009 4:20 AM CST
(Newser) -
The Australian government has apologized—again—this time for abusing thousands of children forced to migrate to the nation. Some 500,000 "forgotten Australians" were abused or neglected in orphanages and children's work homes from 1930 to 1970. "We are sorry," Australian Prime Minister Devin Rudd told some 1,000 of the...
'Night Stalker' Charged in Elderly Rapes
Times (UK)
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Nov 16, 2009 3:56 AM CST
(Newser) -
A Londoner has been busted for a host of crimes, including rape, targeting the elderly over the last 17 years. Delroy Grant, 52, appears in court today to face 11 charges of rape, burglary and indecent assault. But police believe he is responsible for some 108 crimes, striking as often as 5 times in a single night. Grant is charged with attacking victims...
Ex-Hooker Blogger Is Cancer Researcher
Times (UK)
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Nov 16, 2009 3:06 AM CST
(Newser) -
A former London hooker whose blog posts have been turned into books and a popular British TV series has finally revealed her identity as a scientist who works in a hospital on kids' cancer research. Dr. Brooke Magnanti, 34, has been writing under the pen name "Belle du Jour" to describe her experiences working as a $450-an-hour call girl...
Hasan Wrote Imam of Anger With US
Washington Post
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Nov 16, 2009 2:40 AM CST
(Newser) -
Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan revealed his growing disapproval of the US military in email correspondence with a radical imam who once counseled 9/11 terrorists, the cleric has revealed. “I speak with you about issues that I never speak with anyone else," the imam said Hasan wrote in emails that began last December. Anwar al-Aulaqi said...
Boomers Enjoy New 'Whatever' 'Tude on Pot
Washington Post
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Nov 16, 2009 1:47 AM CST
(Newser) -
Aging baby boomers are not only boosting the ranks of older pot smokers, they're enjoying a kind of neo Age of Aquarius of relaxed attitudes toward one of their favorite habits. The number of marijuana smokers in the 50-59 age group has doubled over the past decade, according to statistics. "There's gotten to be greater tolerance, that's for sure,"...
Rupe Not Likely to Yank Content From Google
Advertising Age
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Nov 16, 2009 1:21 AM CST
(Newser) -
Rupert Murdoch is not likely to go through with his plan to remove News Corp. content from Google News. He could negotiate a big payout from Microsoft for "de-Googled" content to place on Bing, Jason Calcanis suggests. But that's not likely to hurt Google, or help Bing, unless other content providers follow. And so few others would follow...
Lou Dobbs: I Wasn't Forced Out
Associated Press
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Nov 15, 2009 4:47 PM CST
(AP) -
Lou Dobbs says he doesn't feel as though he was pushed out of CNN, where he worked for all but 2 years of its existence until last Wednesday. "I don't know if people will believe it, but we had a very amicable parting on the best of terms," Dobbs, who will continue hosting his radio show, said in a weekend interview. "I spent 29 years...
'The Wasilla Whack-Job' Reads My Blog!
The Atlantic
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Nov 15, 2009 4:14 PM CST
(Newser) -
Back in the day, public figures were cautioned not to pick fights with people who bought ink by the barrel—namely, newspaper publishers. In the age of the blogger, it's more important to guard against fueling your antagonists with the 21st-century version of ink: attention. Paging Sarah Palin: "The Wasilla whack-job was an obsessive reader...
Lauren Bacall Wins an Oscar
Los Angeles Times
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Nov 15, 2009 3:24 PM CST
(Newser) -
A mere 65 years after her unforgettable screen debut, Lauren Bacall has won an Academy Award. The honorary Oscar was a high point of a ceremony last night in Los Angeles that also celebrated the careers of filmmaker Roger Corman, cinematographer Gordon Willis, and producer John Calley. "I can't believe it, a man at last!" the 85-year-old...
Shuttle Launch Comes With Real-World 'Tweetup'
Space.com
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Nov 15, 2009 3:01 PM CST
(Newser) -
Final preparations for tomorrow's space shuttle launch include inspecting Atlantis, briefing the six-person crew, and making sure followers of NASA's Twitter feed can see from where they're sitting. The first 100 people to register for the event received 2-day passes that include an in-person look at the launch. "I'm certain it will be one of...
Overdue Books Return —51 Years Late
KNXV-TV
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Nov 15, 2009 2:32 PM CST
(Newser) -
An Arizona high school librarian got the surprise of her career when she opened a package and found a letter from a former student, two books checked out in 1958—and a money order for $1,000 to cover the overdue-book fines. The books, Community of Living Things: Forests and Woodlands and Field and Meadows, accidentally moved to Colorado with...
OMG, Enuf With Ur Duckface
Urlesque
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Nov 15, 2009 1:50 PM CST
(Newser) -
Chances are, if it doesn’t describe the face you’re making in your Facebook profile picture, it describes one (and likely more) of your friends: the pouty-kissy duckface. And the minds behind Stop Making That Duckface! are sick of it. “Stop doing it,” reads the manifesto just above the address where you're encouraged to send...
2012 Soars to Top Spot
USA Today
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Nov 15, 2009 1:23 PM CST
(Newser) -
Apocalypse preview 2012 raked in $65 million domestically at the weekend box office, the high end of the prerelease estimate range, en route to a $225 million haul worldwide. The doomsday action flick handily beat A Christmas Carol, which performed strongly in its second weekend in release. A new entry in the top 10 was No. 4 Precious; the indie...
Neda's Boyfriend: 'This Movement Will Never Die'
Guardian (UK)
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Nov 15, 2009 12:48 PM CST
(Newser) -
"I still cannot believe it. I think I will see Neda again," the boyfriend of the iconic slain Iranian protester tells the Guardian in his first interview since fleeing the country. "Now I have left Iran, I can cry out," says Caspian Makan, who was tossed in the notorious Evin prison after telling foreign media about the government's...
Leaders Punt on Copenhagen Deal
New York Times
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Nov 15, 2009 12:04 PM CST
(Newser) -
Just 22 days ahead of Copenhagen, President Obama and other leaders have declared that a meaningful and binding international deal is unlikely to come out of the climate change conference. The move, as the New York Times reports, sets the bar much lower and effectively delays the most treacherous issues until a second conference in Mexico City.
Craziest Rap Concert Demands
11Points.com
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Nov 15, 2009 11:30 AM CST
(Newser) -
Drawing on the Smoking Gun ’s collection of concert riders, Sam Greenspan of 11points.com offers a list of the 11 craziest demands made by rappers: DMX: Three boxes of condoms and a gallon of Hennessy—that’s anywhere from $300 to $800 worth of cognac. Public Enemy: Kosher food—odd, because “Public Enemy is...
Clinton: Karzai on the Hot Seat
Politico
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Nov 15, 2009 10:51 AM CST
(Newser) -
It's time for Afghan President Hamid Karzai to put up or shut up, Hillary Clinton said today, underscoring the White House's heightened expectations of Kabul. "We are expecting there to be a major crimes tribunal, an anti-corruption commission," she told This Week, adding that the original Afghan mission to "disrupt, dismantle, and...
For Your Beau: The Mangagement Ring
Details
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Nov 15, 2009 10:00 AM CST
(Newser) -
Times, they are a changin', and with change comes marketing opportunities. With more women proposing and an uptick in gay marriages, ''mangagement rings'' are being used more—and marketed harder—than ever, reports Details . British jeweler H. Samuel introduced the Tioro, a titanium ring with a subtle diamond, and a Robbins Brothers rep...
Madoff Auction Nabs $1M
Wall Street Journal
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Nov 15, 2009 9:27 AM CST
(Newser) -
Those pining for a little piece of Ponzi-scheme history ponied up more than a million bucks yesterday for disgraced financier Bernie Madoff's stuff—more than doubling the $500,000 take expected. The proceeds from the 200-some items goes toward repaying Madoff's victims, reports the Wall Street Journal in a rundown of the results:
Big Pharma Lobbyists Put Words Into Reps' Mouths
New York Times
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Nov 15, 2009 8:37 AM CST
(Newser) -
Yep, that's an echo you hear in the House chamber. The New York Times has obtained emails showing that language drafted by lobbyists working for biotech giant Genentech made it almost unchanged into statements and speeches made on health care—by Democrats and Republicans alike. A Genentech lawyer told staffers, “We are trying to secure...
Tiger Wins Masters Down Under
Associated Press
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Nov 15, 2009 8:18 AM CST
(AP) -
Tiger Woods has won the Australian Masters for his seventh victory of the year, closing with a 4-under 68 for a victory that drew record crowds at Kingston Heath. In his first trip Down Under in 11 years, Woods put on quite a show for his $3 million appearance fee.
Obama to Myanmar: Free Suu Kyi
Associated Press
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Nov 15, 2009 8:08 AM CST
(AP) -
President Barack Obama today abandoned decades of Western avoidance and told Myanmar's prime minister to free opposition leader and fellow Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in a rare face-to-face meeting. The strong message, delivered during his summit with leaders of 10 Southeast Asian nations, signals a further thawing in diplomatic relations as the...
Boss to Michigan: Hello, Ohio!
Associated Press
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Nov 15, 2009 6:58 AM CST
(AP) -
Want to get away, Boss? Bruce Springsteen bellowed "Hello, Ohio!" to his fans at the Auburn Hills Palace. That's in Michigan. The 60-year-old rock legend referred to the neighboring state several times Friday night until E Street Band guitarist Steve Van Zandt whispered in his ear.
NC Girl, 5, Still Missing; Mom Charged
Associated Press
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Nov 15, 2009 6:23 AM CST
(AP) -
The mother of a 5-year-old girl who disappeared Tuesday in North Carolina was charged yesterday with human trafficking and other offenses, though authorities said they still did not know the girl's whereabouts. Antoinette Nicole Davis, the mother of Shaniya Davis, faces a child abuse charge involving prostitution as well as filing a false police report,...
Clinton: I'll Have Coffee With Palin
Associated Press
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Nov 15, 2009 5:35 AM CST
(AP) -
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says she would be happy to talk to Sarah Palin over coffee. In an interview for broadcast today on NBC's Meet the Press, Clinton says she's never met the onetime GOP vice presidential hopeful and former Alaska governor and thinks it would be very interesting to sit down and talk with her.
Fort Hood Victims Laid to Rest
Associated Press
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Nov 14, 2009 4:42 PM CST
(Newser) -
Funerals for several of the 13 victims of the Fort Hood shooting took place today across the nation. Friends, family, and community members laid to rest Staff Sgt. Justin DeCrow, Spc. Jason Dean Hunt, Staff Sgt. Amy Krueger, Pfc. Aaron Thomas Nemelka, Capt. John Gaffaney, and Pfc. Michael Pearson. "Her smile would light up any room, her energy...
Afghan Calculus: 40K Troops Equals $40B
New York Times
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Nov 14, 2009 4:04 PM CST
(Newser) -
When President Obama rejected advisers' recommendations on Afghan troops and insisted they be retooled with exit strategies, he had the war's long-term financial costs in mind, an insider tells the New York Times . While military strategy gets the headlines, the financial constraints also are weighing heavily. Some specfics: Gen. McChyrstal's...
GPS Will Track Dutch Drivers for Per-Mile Tax
Associated Press
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Nov 14, 2009 3:03 PM CST
(AP) -
The Dutch government plans to bring the polluter-pays principle into the home garage. Rather than an annual road tax for their cars, drivers will soon pay a small sum for every mile on the road—a plan aimed at breaking chronic traffic jams and cutting carbon emissions. GPS devices installed in cars will track the time, hour, and place each car...
Prison in Illinois May Replace Gitmo
Chicago Tribune
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Nov 14, 2009 2:04 PM CST
(Newser) -
The leading contender to take Guantanamo Bay's prisoners when it shuts down is a federal prison in Illinois, sources tell the Chicago Tribune . The near-empty facility in the small town of Thompson, about 150 miles west of Chicago, would take an unspecified but "limited" number of Gitmo's remaining 215 or so terror suspects. Town residents...
