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.
Animal Collective Doesn't Care About Cool
Pitchfork
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Nov 25, 2009 4:54 PM CST
(Newser) -
Merriweather Post Pavilio n made Animal Collective one of the most hyped bands of 2009, but the follow-up Fall Be Kind EP sounds almost aggressively unconcerned with indie cred. The first song includes a flute solo from Zamfir, one of those ubiquitous infomercial pan-flute players, while a later track samples the Grateful Dead. "Cool? These...
Bachmann, Palin to Address Tea Party Convention
MinnPost.com
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Nov 25, 2009 4:34 PM CST
(Newser) -
Conservative heavyweights Michele Bachmann and Sarah Palin will speak at the first-ever Tea Party Convention in February. Bachmann will give a breakfast speech, while Palin is scheduled for the keynote address at the Nashville event. Tickets to the weekend convention are $549, and that doesn't include accommodations at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel, the...
Oprah to Interview Obamas for Christmas Show
Hollywood Reporter
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Nov 25, 2009 4:00 PM CST
(Newser) -
Oprah Winfrey will interview the First Couple for a primetime holiday special. Oprah’s Christmas show for ABC will feature an interview with the Obamas and a tour of the White House. Christmas at the White House airs 10pm Sunday, Dec. 13, notes the Hollywood Reporter .
One Non-Profit Should Index the Internet
Silicon Valley Watcher
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Nov 25, 2009 3:25 PM CST
(Newser) -
The Internet would be faster for everyone if a single, non-profit entity maintained a search index, writes Tom Foremski. Privately owned search engines use enormous resources to build their proprietary indexes, and sites use tons of bandwidth to answer their queries. On Foremski's Silicon Valley Watcher , for example, search robots/spiders accounted...
Dow Up 31 on Jobs, Income
Wall Street Journal
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Nov 25, 2009 3:08 PM CST
(Newser) -
Stocks saw solid gains as positive data on personal income and jobless claims raised hopes for a solid post-Thanksgiving shopping season, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Dow rose 31 points, closing at 10,464. The Nasdaq gained 7 points, settling at 2,176. The S&P 500 added 5 points to close at 1,111.
Vicki Kennedy Rules Out Politics, Recalls Ted's Battle
Associated Press
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Nov 25, 2009 3:02 PM CST
(Newser) -
Ted Kennedy was so determined to live long enough to attend Barack Obama's inauguration that he trained for it and even figured out how many steps he'd need to take that day. "He was exercising every single day to be strong enough to be there," his widow, Vicki, told Oprah Winfrey in an interview airing today. As for talk that she herself...
Lovely Bones Is Jackson's Best Yet
Sun (UK)
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Nov 25, 2009 2:40 PM CST
(Newser) -
The Lovely Bones got a sneak showing in London last night, and one reviewer is already calling it the best film of next year—while another lambastes it as candy-coated crap. An anonymous critic from the Sun says he’s already sure he won’t “see anything more astonishing, emotionally draining, and life-affirming” next...
Israel Declares 10-Month Freeze on Settlements
Haaretz (Israel)
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Nov 25, 2009 2:20 PM CST
(Newser) -
Benjamin Netanyahu declared a 10-month freeze on new West Bank settlements, hoping to bring Palestinians back to the negotiating table. “We have been told by many of our friends that once Israel takes the first meaningful steps toward peace, the Palestinians and Arab states would respond,” said the Israeli PM. But because the moratorium...
Racist Image of Michelle Obama Taken Down
Associated Press
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Nov 25, 2009 2:07 PM CST
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It's finally gone. The image of Michelle Obama altered to look like a monkey is no longer showing up under a Google image search. The blog site that posted it, "Hot Girls," removed it and issued an apology in Chinese and English, reports the LA Times . The photo stirred controversy when Google declined to remove it from the results page...
Disney Returns to Form With Princess
Salon
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Nov 25, 2009 1:58 PM CST
(Newser) -
Classic Disney animation makes a triumphant return with The Princess and the Frog . Critics agree the film is beautiful, and most—but not all—were charmed by the story: The movie, set in New Orleans, is “the sweetest, most sincere romantic comedy to come along in ages, and a luminous love letter to a great American city,”...
MTV's Jersey Shore Irks Italian-Americans
New York Daily News
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Nov 25, 2009 1:50 PM CST
(Newser) -
The young Italian-American stars of MTV’s upcoming reality show Jersey Shore are celebrated in a promo as the “hottest, tannest, craziest Guidos” this side of Parsippany. Ick, says Italian-American group UNICO. They may well “keep their hair high, their muscles juiced and their fists pumping all summer long,” as the...
Japanese Man Marries Video Game Girlfriend
Telegraph (UK)
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Nov 25, 2009 1:33 PM CST
(Newser) -
A Japanese man pledged his undying love to a video game character last weekend, in a first-of-its-kind ceremony witnessed by dozens of gamers. The man, username Sal9000, had fallen in love with Nene Anegasaki, a virtual woman in the Nintendo DS dating simulator “Love Plus.” He “married” his digital before a real-life priest,...
Judge Who? No Placard for Ito After Many Thefts
Associated Press
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Nov 25, 2009 1:21 PM CST
(Newser) -
Of all the people damaged by the OJ Simpson trial, Lance Ito’s tale is perhaps the saddest—err, most mundane. The poor presiding judge’s name became so famous that the placard announcing him outside his courtroom was repeatedly pilfered over the years. He tried everything, the Los Angeles Times reports—even glue—but...
'Jet Man' Ends Up in Drink
Independent (UK)
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Nov 25, 2009 1:14 PM CST
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Swiss daredevil Yves Rossy wound up swimming today after a botched attempt at the world’s first intercontinental flight on a jet-powered wing. Rossy, the self-styled “Jet Man,” had intended to fly from Africa to Europe, launching himself from a plane over Tangier. But about 15 minutes later the plane lost sight of him in a cloud bank.
Requiem for the Soft Sell of the Catalog
Reason Magazine
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Nov 25, 2009 12:42 PM CST
(Newser) -
Greg Beato couldn’t care less about the impending demise of print stalwarts like newspapers and magazines, but he will shed a tear when the flood of mail-order catalogs in his mailbox slows to a trickle. Where online shopping is “largely functional,” and TV ads “noisy and insistent,” catalogs are “serene” and...
Polanski Could Go Free on $4.5M Bail
BBC
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Nov 25, 2009 12:25 PM CST
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Roman Polanksi may soon be free to take a pricey vacation from jail to his Swiss chalet, with ankle bracelet. A Swiss court has agreed to free him on $4.5 million bail, the BBC reports, provided he surrender his passport and submit to electronic monitoring. He's still behind bars for the time being while the government decides whether to appeal....
Dobbs to Latino Voters: Let's Be Amigos!
Wall Street Journal
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Nov 25, 2009 12:13 PM CST
(Newser) -
If Lou Dobbs does indeed run against the only Hispanic in the Senate, New Jersey’s Robert Menendez, he may have to mend some fences with Latino voters—and here he goes. The former CNN anchor, notorious for his views against illegal immigration, gave an interview to Telemundo last week in the interest of “smoothing the water and clearing...
Philippine Massacre Death Toll Hits 57
Reuters
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Nov 25, 2009 12:05 PM CST
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Another 11 bodies have been found in the mass grave where dozens were killed in election related slaughter in the Philippines. The death toll now stands at 57, including 24 women, Reuters reports. The government has imposed emergency rule on the southern province, sending in 500 soldiers, and disbanding a 200-member paramilitary force controlled by...
Quiet, Creepy, Absurd, Home Wows Critics
Rotten Tomatoes
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Nov 25, 2009 11:55 AM CST
(Newser) -
Ursula Meier’s acclaimed Home, in which a family is driven insane by the new highway running past their idyllic country house, is opening in the US. Should you be excited? Critics say yes: This is a “bewitching dream of a film,” says Sukhdev Sandhu of the Daily Telegraph . Leading lady Isabella Huppert “has such mesmerizing...
Lose Weight: Do a Puzzle
Telegraph (UK)
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Nov 25, 2009 11:44 AM CST
(Newser) -
Hunkering down with a Sudoku puzzle could help you shed some pounds. Tim Forrester, the man behind brain training website cannyminds.com, says mental exercise doubles as real exercise, with the body burning 90 calories for every hour spent working on crossword puzzles or brain teasers. A passive brain requires 0.1 calories a minute to survive, Forrester...
Welles Best Part of Me and Orson Welles
Los Angeles Times
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Nov 25, 2009 11:24 AM CST
(Newser) -
Richard Linklater's Me and Orson Welles , an atmospheric period piece set behind the scenes of Welles' 1937 production of Julius Caesar , has critics gushing about Christian McKay as Orson Welles, but split on Zac Efron as a wide-eyed teen who stumbles into Welles's glamorous orbit: The "frothy" film is upstaged by its own subject,...
The Best iPhone Travel Apps
New York Times
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Nov 25, 2009 11:12 AM CST
(Newser) -
If you’re traveling for the holidays, it should come as no surprise that the iPhone can be a handy tool. Michelle Higgins lists some of the best travel-friendly apps in the New York Times : HearPlanet, $4.99: Text and recorded commentary for 250,000 attractions and landmarks worldwide. SitOrSquat, free: Need a bathroom stat? Find...
Obama to Give Afghan Speech at West Point
Politico
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Nov 25, 2009 11:11 AM CST
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President Obama will announce his decision to send 20,000 to 40,000 more troops to fight in Afghanistan in a speech to West Point cadets next Tuesday at 8pm. His remarks will outline a surge, but administration officials say the president is not making a case for an open-ended war. “We are in year nine of our time in Afghanistan,” says...
12 Other Controversial Kisses
The Frisky
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Nov 25, 2009 10:49 AM CST
(Newser) -
The uproar over Adam Lambert kissing a guy on live television is just the latest in a long line of Hollywood lip-lock controversies. Amelia McDonell-Parry collects the top 12 on The Frisky . Watch clips above, or for the complete list—including Angelina Jolie’s brother-smooching moment at the Oscars—click here .
25 Years of Oprah's Screams
Jezebel
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Nov 25, 2009 10:47 AM CST
(Newser) -
Liz Lemon isn't the only one who loves it when Oprah yells out a name like a crazy person—and the talk show queen has been doing it want plenty of umph for almost 25 years now. Jezebel put together a fantastic video montage of her best “Kate Hudsooooooooooon” and “Jake Gyllenhaaaaaaaaal” moments. Watch it here .
Biggest Loser Loses Sight of Contestants' Health
New York Times
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Nov 25, 2009 10:44 AM CST
(Newser) -
The Biggest Loser has produced some amazing results for its obese contestants, but at what cost? Many see the pounds come right back, and it’s likely because they engage in dangerous, damaging behavior in the first place in order to win the weight-loss reality show, the New York Times has learned. Season one's winner, who's almost back...
The Last Decade in 7 Merciful Minutes
The Frisky
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Nov 25, 2009 10:41 AM CST
(Newser) -
Oh, the aughts had their moments, what with disputed elections, terrorist attacks, invasions, and Rickrolling. If you, like most, can't remember anything else that happened, the Frisky has a treat for you: Newsweek 's condensed version of the past decade in 7 short minutes. Spoiler alert: Barack Obama becomes the first black president.
Obama Headed to Copenhagen for Climate Talks
Politico
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Nov 25, 2009 10:28 AM CST
(Newser) -
Barack Obama will head to Copenhagen on Dec. 9—the day before his Nobel Prize ceremony in Oslo—to advocate for a comprehensive global climate accord. The White House had vacillated on whether Obama should go, since no one expects a legally binding treaty, insiders tell Politico . But Obama decided that he could help build momentum and...
Rock Star of the Year? Berlusconi
Associated Press
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Nov 25, 2009 10:27 AM CST
(Newser) -
He might be 73, paunchy, and balding, but Silvio Berlusconi is still a rock star, says Italy’s Rolling Stone . The Italian premier was named “Rockstar of the Year” by the mag because he has a “lifestyle worthy of the greatest rock stars,” the AP reports. We certainly know enough about his sex life to make him seem like...
Man Bites Teen Girl After New Moon Screening
WZZM13.com
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Nov 25, 2009 10:16 AM CST
(Newser) -
A Michigan teen came away from a showing of New Moon with a bite on her neck, courtesy of the 40-something man sitting in front of her. “Every so often he would lean back and make a sexual comment that was very unnecessary,” Erin Westrate tells WZZM13 . Afterwards, she says he came up behind her while she was trying to leave the theater,...
Adam Lambert: I'm Not Apologizing
CBS
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Nov 25, 2009 9:58 AM CST
(Newser) -
Adam Lambert has no plans to apologize for his guy-kissing, crotch-thrusting American Music Awards performance. “I’m not a babysitter, I’m a performer,” he tells the Early Show . "I think it's up to the parents to discern what their child's watching on television. It was almost 11 at night. I did get carried away,...
Saab Veering Toward Junkyard
Wall Street Journal
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Nov 25, 2009 9:54 AM CST
(Newser) -
GM’s bid to sell its Saab unit to a small Swedish automaker has fallen through after Koenigsegg pulled out yesterday, citing costly delays in the closing process. Saab’s managing director tells the Wall Street Journal it’s “premature” to write the employer of 4,000 off, but one GM exec isn’t so optimistic. “Saab...
Doubt Rising on Global Warming
Washington Post
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Nov 25, 2009 9:50 AM CST
(Newser) -
An overwhelming majority of Americans believe in global warming, but that majority has grown a bit smaller. According to a new Washington Post -ABC News poll, 72% of the country believes global warming is happening, down from 80% last year. A smaller majority, 55%, believe the US should act to curb its carbon output, even if developing countries like...
Obama Is the Anti-Cowboy
Washington Post
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Nov 25, 2009 9:26 AM CST
(Newser) -
Barack Obama’s prolonged Afghanistan strategy review has if nothing else distinguished him from his predecessor—Obama is anything but the “gut player” Dubya claimed to be. In fact, he’s put on “a spectacle of deliberation unlike anything seen in the White House in recent memory,” writes Joel Achenbach of the...
Put Down Old Dogs
Rotten Tomatoes
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Nov 25, 2009 9:06 AM CST
(Newser) -
Don't expect new tricks, funny jokes, or much else from the new John Travolta-Robin Williams comedy Old Dogs , say critics in reviews that range from scathing to indifferent. "It wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without a turkey," writes Ty Burr at the Boston Globe , and this "pitiful family comedy about two aging buddies forced...
Edwards '08 Legal Tab in Oct. '09: $43K
Politico
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Nov 25, 2009 8:52 AM CST
(Newser) -
It’s been almost two years since John Edwards ended his presidential bid, but his campaign still managed to rack up $43,574 in legal fees last month, thanks to the ongoing fallout from the Rielle Hunter revelations. And that’s not even half the $96,000 the not-exactly-defunct campaign spent in October, including $4,000 for travel and $15,000...
Things a Feminist Can Still Do
The Frisky
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Nov 25, 2009 8:45 AM CST
(Newser) -
After a British tabloid snarked that a TV newscaster wore too much makeup—and wondered if she could still be considered a feminist—Wendy Atterberry felt compelled to answer. Yes, she absolutely can—even while wearing false eyelashes, she writes on The Frisky . More things feminists are allowed to do: Flirt shamelessly Like porn...
HuffPo's New Faves: Nip Slips, Nude Pics
Weekly Standard
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Nov 25, 2009 8:17 AM CST
(Newser) -
Though the Huffington Post is run by a liberal, feminist woman, it’s taken a misogynistic, traffic-grabbing turn of late. Take, for example, the gratuitous use of the word “whore” (headline count: three instances) and equally gratuitous shot of Spitzer call girl Ashley Dupre in a recent story about Rep. Alan Grayson, Mary Katharine...
Give Thanks We're Not Thanking Wall St.
Wall Street Journal
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Nov 25, 2009 8:04 AM CST
(Newser) -
There won't be a lot of people thanking the financial industry this Thanksgiving, and that in and of itself may be cause to be thankful, writes Thomas Frank. There's been a shift in thinking and newly skeptical Americans no longer believe that the market is omniscient or that colossal Wall Street bonuses are good news for everybody, Frank writes in...
Jon: Kids Were Marketed to 'Pedophiles'
Radar
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Nov 25, 2009 8:02 AM CST
(Newser) -
Jon Gosselin’s popularity is sure to skyrocket now that Radar has released a recording of him talking about the pedophiles who love his kids. In a phone call with—who else?—Michael Lohan, the octodad gripes about deals he believes TLC made with two magazines that only lined its coffers, saying, “I put my kids out there to...
Fresh Troops to Target Afghanistan's Troubled South
Wall Street Journal
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Nov 25, 2009 7:54 AM CST
(Newser) -
Though President Obama has yet to announce his plan for finishing the job in Afghanistan, military commanders say the bulk of the fresh troops—regardless of their number—will be sent to the country's volatile south to reverse Taliban gains, specifically targeting the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar. The coming surge will pack thousands of...
The Skinny on the State Dinner
New York Times
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Nov 25, 2009 7:49 AM CST
(Newser) -
Didn't have a ticket to the country's hottest social event? No worries. Here's the who and what of last night's state dinner honoring Indian PM Manmohan Singh: The outdoor tent was decorated with local, sustainably harvested magnolia branches and ivy; centerpieces of hydrangeas, roses, and sweet peas evoked India's state bird, the peacock. Obama...
Publishers Forming 'Magazine iTunes'
New York Times
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Nov 25, 2009 7:36 AM CST
(Newser) -
The latest bid to save magazine publishing may soon have readers browsing the online racks of an iTunes-style newsstand. Major magazine publishers including Time Inc. and Conde Nast hope to exert some control over digital readership with a joint venture enabling readers to buy copies of the New Yorker, Sports Illustrated, Esquire , and many other...
Polanski-Tate Nude Pic Goes to Auction
Reuters
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Nov 25, 2009 7:31 AM CST
(Newser) -
A nude photo of Roman Polanski and his late wife Sharon Tate, taken just months before her murder, is going up for auction. The photo “certainly is provocative because of who the characters are,” a Christie’s VP tells Reuters . “But it's also a touching naked shot of a happy couple,” and photographer David Bailey “does...
Bleak Road Not as Good as Book
Los Angeles Times
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Nov 25, 2009 7:19 AM CST
(Newser) -
It’s a thankless job adapting a literary darling like The Road , and, sure enough, director John Hillcoat hasn’t gotten much thanks. Critics have mixed feelings about the bleak post-apocalyptic film. Here’s what they’re saying: Despite good acting, the film is merely adequate, “an honorable attempt at filming an unfilmable...
Soldier's Family Pushes for Suicide Condolences
Wall Street Journal
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Nov 25, 2009 7:13 AM CST
(Newser) -
The longstanding policy that allows the president to send letters of condolence only to the families of soldiers killed in combat or accidents is part of a military culture that stigmatizes suicide, says the family of recent Army suicide victim Chancellor Keesling. The Keeslings' effort to change that policy comes as the military itself struggles with...
Donny Osmond Wins Dancing With the Stars
AOL Music
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Nov 25, 2009 6:51 AM CST
(Newser) -
All the makeup and pink boas paid off for Donny Osmond, who added Dancing With the Stars champ to his resume last night. The former teen idol’s Argentine tango on the last night of competition was “artistry in motion,” said judge Carrie Ann Inaba. Kelly Osbourne came in third, and Mya was runner-up, Popeater reports. Watch videos...
Gitmo Inmate Policy Chief Bails
New York Times
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Nov 25, 2009 6:46 AM CST
(Newser) -
The Pentagon official tasked with closing the Guantanamo Bay detention center has quit the Obama administration after seven months on the job. Phillip Carter, the chief official in charge of detainee policy, cited personal reasons. His resignation comes in the wake of the administration's announcement that it will miss its January deadline for closing...
Coma Doc Checking Dozens of New Cases
Guardian (UK)
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Nov 25, 2009 5:51 AM CST
(Newser) -
The Belgian neurologist who discovered that a patient thought to have been in a coma was actually conscious for 23 years has been checking dozens of other patients for signs of awareness. And he has discovered consciousness in some of the 50 patients he checks annually with his state-of-the-art equipment, Dr. Steven Laureys tells the Guardian .
Gas Fumes May Pump Up Road Rage
Wired
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Nov 25, 2009 5:24 AM CST
(Newser) -
If filling the gas tank fills you with rage, it might be the fumes you're breathing, not the prices you're paying. A new study shows rats exposed to gasoline fumes became more aggressive, with repeated exposure altering their brain structures—a finding that could also apply to humans and road rage, Wired reports.
