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.
Twitter = Crack, and Other Web Equivalents
Patrick Moberg
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Nov 22, 2009 1:28 PM CST
(Newser) -
We all have our favorite Internet time-wasters; now, Patrick Moberg gives us their equivalents in real-world vices: Twitter is crack cocaine: “Fucking ANYONE is your friend. Yuppies do it on their iPhone. Cheap. Short. Fruitless.” Tumblr is a bottle of wine: “A quiet night in with a couple friends … flipping through...
Lincoln Swings to Center of Health Debate
New York Times
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Nov 22, 2009 1:03 PM CST
(Newser) -
With all eyes on her last night, Blanche Lincoln cast the deciding vote to push health reform forward—and simultaneously swung herself soundly into the epicenter of the brouhaha. By warning fellow Dems she won't support a final bill with a public option, she guaranteed their attention. But in casting the telling 60th vote, Lincoln, Arkansas'...
Provincetown: Pilgrims Landed Here First
Boston Globe
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Nov 22, 2009 12:26 PM CST
(Newser) -
Provincetown, Mass., wants you to know: The Pilgrims landed here first. Sure, the fresh water was lacking, the sand not so great for growing things, and the Native Americans were a bit scary, causing them to move a few weeks later to Plymouth—the same Plymouth that gets all the tourist dollars and fame as the place our forefathers supposedly...
McConnell: Dems Proceed at 2010 Peril
Politico
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Nov 22, 2009 11:15 AM CST
(Newser) -
The morning after Harry Reid scored his 60 votes, many a senator headed for the talk shows to expound on their views of the Senate health bill. A look around the Sunday dial: There were 39 people unhappy with last night's outcome, and Mitch McConnell leads them, telling State of the Union that Dems proceed at their own 2010 peril. "The American...
Palin: Our First WWE Politician
True/Slant
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Nov 22, 2009 10:44 AM CST
(Newser) -
Sarah Palin is America’s “first WWE politician,” barren of actual political ideas but on a crusade against “assholes,” Matt Taibbi writes. The governor-turned-author is “a cartoon combatant who inspires stadiums full of frustrated middle American followers who will cheer for her against whichever villain they trot...
US Backs Afghan Militias Against Taliban
New York Times
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Nov 22, 2009 9:38 AM CST
(Newser) -
The US is actively supporting local militia groups against the Taliban as American and Afghan officials move to encourage a demoralized Afghan population to re-engage in the war, reports Dexter Filkins of the New York Times . Tapping into the militias’ resources could fill the manpower gap as a vacillating White House decides how many troops...
Orbiting Astronaut a New Dad
Associated Press
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Nov 22, 2009 9:14 AM CST
(AP) -
Randolph Bresnik is a new dad, and almost literally over the moon—a day after taking his first spacewalk, the astronaut this morning announced the birth of his daughter, Abigail. His wife, Rebecca, gave birth to their second child back home in Houston last night at 11:04pm CST. They have a 3-year-old son, adopted from Ukraine. Bresnik said both...
RI Bishop Disses Kennedy Over Pro-Choice Stance
Providence Journal
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Nov 22, 2009 8:23 AM CST
(Newser) -
Health care reform, the cause of his father's life, has made Rep. Patrick Kennedy persona non grata in his Rhode Island parish—thanks to the furor over publicly funded abortion. As the debate rages, Bishop Thomas Tobin has told the only public servant remaining in America's most famous Catholic family not to receive communion because of his...
Indonesian Ferry Sinks, Kills 25
Associated Press
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Nov 22, 2009 7:48 AM CST
(AP) -
Rescuers have saved 243 people from the Indonesian passenger ferry that sank today in rough waters off Sumatra island, but at least 25 people, including two children, have died, an official said. An unknown number of passengers were still missing, and search operations were called off after nightfall. A second ferry was still stranded in nearby waters...
Iran Kicks Off 5 Days of War Games
Associated Press
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Nov 22, 2009 7:42 AM CST
(AP) -
Iran today begins large-scale air defense war games aimed at protecting the country's nuclear facilities, state television reports, adding that the five-day drill will cover a third of the country, including regions that are home to Iran's nuclear facilities. The drill involves both Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard, the paramilitary Basij forces affiliated...
Judge Orders Hasan Held 'Til Court Martial
Associated Press
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Nov 22, 2009 6:34 AM CST
(AP) -
The Army psychiatrist charged with killing 13 people at Fort Hood will be confined until his military trial, initially staying in a hospital where he is recovering from gunshot wounds, his attorney said yesterday. A magistrate ruled there was probable cause that Maj. Nidal Hasan committed the Nov. 5 shooting spree at Fort Hood, said his civilian attorney,...
Senate Democrats Clear Health Care Hurdle, 60-39
Associated Press
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Nov 21, 2009 7:13 PM CST
(Newser) -
Harry Reid's hope of passing health care legislation before Christmas took a giant step forward tonight. Reid got the 60 votes he needed to ward off a Republican filibuster and clear the way for full debate on the Senate floor after the Thanksgiving recess. "We can see the finish line now," said Reid after the vote. The measure to move the...
Beck Will Host Conventions to Educate America
New York Times
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Nov 21, 2009 5:06 PM CST
(Newser) -
Glenn Beck is fashioning himself into a political organizer. Beck unveiled his promised "big plan" today at a Florida rally , in a letter to supporters, and in an interview with the New York Times . He plans a series of educational "conventions" across the country to teach people "how to be a political force," along...
This Year's 'It' Toy: Zhu Zhu Pets
BusinessWeek
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Nov 21, 2009 4:01 PM CST
(Newser) -
The year's "must-have" toy has been crowned. For the uninitiated, Zhu Zhu Pets are electronic hamsters. They typically cost under $10, but stores are selling out quickly and prices are soaring online. Witness the coronation: BusinessWeek: "Remember the Cabbage Patch Kids craze? The Tickle Me Elmo frenzy? Meet their 2009 brethren,...
Beware 12 Scams of Christmas
CNET
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Nov 21, 2009 3:12 PM CST
(Newser) -
The holiday season brings out the best in online scammers. CNET runs down common schemes to beware of, courtesy of McAfee: Fake delivery invoices: They look like legit emails from UPS, Federal Express, and the like, asking for address confirmation and credit card info to ensure delivery. Holiday e-cards: Make sure you know the site before...
New Moon Breaks Opening Day Record
Variety
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Nov 21, 2009 2:09 PM CST
(Newser) -
The Twilight sequel raked in $72.7 million yesterday, making it biggest opening day ever. New Moon earned $26 million in midnight showings alone, helping it trump the previous record of $67.2 million earned by Dark Knight . The feat is all the more remarkable because it's outside the usual summer blockbuster season, notes Variety . The movie...
Reid Gets 60th Vote: Holdout Lincoln Agrees
Associated Press
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Nov 21, 2009 1:51 PM CST
(AP) -
Democrats have hit the 60-vote number needed to move ahead on health care legislation. Just hours before the 8pm roll call, Arkansas' Blanche Lincoln said on the Senate floor that she will vote with her party. The centrist Democrat had been the last remaining Democratic holdout, after Mary Landrieu and Ben Nelson opted in. Facing unanimous Republican...
Amanda Knox: Murder Charges 'Pure Fantasy'
Sky News
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Nov 21, 2009 1:05 PM CST
(Newser) -
Amanda Knox dismissed the idea that she killed roommate Meredith Kercher as "pure fantasy" in court today. Speaking in fluent Italian after prosecutors rested their case and asked for a life sentence, Knox declared that "Meredith was my friend. I didn't hate her." Fighting tears, she added, "Everything that has been said these...
Landrieu's Officially In, Leaving Only One Holdout
Associated Press
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Nov 21, 2009 12:05 PM CST
(AP) -
And then there was one. Mary Landrieu confirmed today she'd vote in favor of allowing the Senate health care bill to move forward. "Much more work needs to be done," said the Louisiana Democrat, but she's seen enough modifications for now. She warned this doesn't mean she'll vote in favor of whatever final legislation emerges down the road....
College Threatens to Fail Students for Obesity
The Lincolnian
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Nov 21, 2009 11:25 AM CST
(Newser) -
Twenty-five seniors at a university in Pennsylvania must prove they've lost weight in order to graduate this spring. The unusual requirement stems from a policy Lincoln University put in place fours ago: Incoming freshmen with a body mass index of 30, the threshold for obesity, must take a nutrition class or shed the weight on their own to get a diploma,...
Climate Skeptics: Hacked Emails Prove We're Right
New York Times
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Nov 21, 2009 10:37 AM CST
(Newser) -
Hackers have gotten their hands on a trove of emails from leading climate scientists, and global warming skeptics are rejoicing. They say the emails prove the crisis is overblown and are crowing about one in particular, from 1999, in which a scientist plans to add a "trick" to a graph to "hide the decline" in temperatures. In another,...
US Fears $53B in Iraq Reconstruction Will Go to Ruin
New York Times
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Nov 21, 2009 10:35 AM CST
(Newser) -
As the American troop withdrawal nears, US officials fear the $53 billion taxpayers have spent since 2003 to rebuild Iraq will be squandered. Facilities from power plants and water treatment facilities to schools and hospitals are at risk of being neglected or abandoned for lack of funding or expertise, the New York Times reports.
New Books Do Carver Justice
New York Times
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Nov 21, 2009 10:16 AM CST
(Newser) -
Two new books on Raymond Carver—a biography and a collection of stories—bring a "welcome and necessary corrective" to what we know of the short story master, writes Stephen King. Carol Sklenicka's A Writer's Life cuts Carver too much slack for his personal life—he was a "sometimes dangerous" drunk who treated...
46 Years After Kennedy, the Virus of Hate Is Back
Esquire
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Nov 21, 2009 9:08 AM CST
(Newser) -
Tomorrow’s 46th anniversary of the Kennedy assassination provides an occasion for Mark Warren to examine “the paranoid strain in the American polity” that has reasserted itself since the election of President Obama, and finds in a Texas Republican congressman just the sort of “skinhead reprobate” whose demagoguery could...
US Recruits Allies for Afghan Surge
Wall Street Journal
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Nov 21, 2009 8:39 AM CST
(Newser) -
President Obama isn't planning to go it alone: The administration has hopes that from 3,000 to 7,000 NATO troops will be committed to joining the US troop surge in Afghanistan by the time he rolls out his new strategy after Thanksgiving. Advanced talks are underway, the Wall Street Journal reports, and coordinated announcements of new troop deployments...
2 Arrested in Italy for Aiding Mumbai Attackers
Associated Press
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Nov 21, 2009 7:57 AM CST
(AP) -
Italian police today arrested a Pakistani father and son accused of helping fund and provide logistical support for last year's terrorist attacks in Mumbai. The two were arrested in an early morning raid in Brescia, where they managed a money transfer agency. The day before the attacks began, last Nov. 26, they allegedly sent $299 using a stolen identity...
All Eyes on Blanche Lincoln in Cliffhanger Senate Vote
Politico
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Nov 21, 2009 7:24 AM CST
(Newser) -
Arkansas Sen. Blanche Lincoln is in the hot seat tonight, as the last Democratic holdout to the 60 votes Harry Reid needs in balloting tonight to bring the health care bill to the Senate floor for debate. Nebraskan Ben Nelson said yesterday he would vote yes, and Louisiana's Mary Landrieu told Politico last night she was "leaning towards"...
Palin Pulls in Big Bucks —for Democrats
Washington Post
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Nov 21, 2009 6:50 AM CST
(Newser) -
Guess who else is raking in the dough as Sarah Palin noisily returns to the national stage: her detractors. After months of trailing Republicans in fundraising, Dems raised $11.5 million in October, a record for a non-presidential year, the Washington Post reports, compared to $8.7 million for the GOP. Republicans still lead in the yearly totals—$69.2...
Obama's Stimulus Finally Gets Some Respect
New York Times
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Nov 21, 2009 6:21 AM CST
(Newser) -
Economists are still fighting about whether the economic stimulus was too small, or too big and wasteful, but a consensus is emerging, at least, that the $787 billion package, flawed as it is, is working. With a quarter of the money now spent, the New York Times says a broad range of economists agree that the combination of tax cuts and spending—rather...
The Decade's Best Quotes
Newsweek
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Nov 21, 2009 5:48 AM CST
(Newser) -
With the end of the decade near, Newsweek has rounded up the top 10 most important quotes from 2000 to 2009. A selection: "Brownie, you’re doing a heck of a job": President George W. Bush, Sept. 2, 2005. In one line to then-FEMA director Michael Brown, Bush summed up everything wrong with the government's response to Hurricane...
Chinese Mine Explosion Kills 42, Traps 66
Associated Press
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Nov 21, 2009 5:46 AM CST
(AP) -
A gas explosion tore through a state-run coal mine in northern China on Saturday, killing 42 people and leaving 66 others trapped underground as rescuers worked hastily to save them. More than 500 people were working in the Xinxing mine in Heilongjiang province at the time of the 2:30am explosion. China Central Television reported that the explosion...
Airline Pulls Own Mag After Holocaust Memorial Shoot
New Statesman (UK)
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Nov 20, 2009 11:50 PM CST
(Newser) -
British budget airline easyJet has taken its in-flight magazine out of its planes after the New Statesman pointed out that a fashion spread in its current edition was shot at Berlin’s Holocaust memorial. The airline blamed the outside publishing house in charge of the magazine, which, judgment and taste issues aside, didn’t ask permission...
Iraqi Prisoners Taunt Wis. Soldiers Over Favre Defection
WTMJ-AM
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Nov 20, 2009 9:30 PM CST
(Newser) -
An allegiance to the Green Bay Packers has come back to haunt Wisconsin National Guardsmen on duty at a prison camp in Iraq, with detainees using quarterback Brett Favre’s defection to the rival Vikings to taunt the soldiers. A Packers-themed paint job sparked curiosity, one officer tells WTMJ-AM , “they soon learned about Favre going...
Billboard Links Obama to Jihad
Associated Press
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Nov 20, 2009 8:42 PM CST
(AP) -
A billboard showing President Obama wearing a turban has sparked a lot of attention at the suburban Denver car dealership that put it up. The sign shows a cartoonish Obama and bears the words "PRESIDENT or JIHAD?" Underneath Obama's image is the phrase, "BIRTH CERTIFICATE, PROVE IT!" The words "WAKE UP AMERICA! REMEMBER FT....
Beck to Unveil 'Big Plan' at Saturday Rally
Politico
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Nov 20, 2009 8:07 PM CST
(Newser) -
Glenn Beck has got a “big plan” for 2010, and he’s going to let us in on it tomorrow at a Florida rally that coincides with the beginning of his book tour, insiders tell Politico . The Fox News host’s new direction is likely to involve his 9.12 Project, aimed at regaining the unity he saw in the US after the 2001 terror attacks....
Pakistani Intelligence Sheltering Taliban Leader
Washington Times
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Nov 20, 2009 6:50 PM CST
(Newser) -
Pakistan’s intelligence service is secretly sheltering the Taliban’s top leader, US intelligence sources tell the Washington Times —helping Mullah Omar escape from the town of Quetta, along the Afghanistan border, to the port city of Karachi, deep within Pakistan. The sources say Mullah Omar is leading a new senior leadership council...
India Miffed By Obama's Bond With Beijing
Washington Post
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Nov 20, 2009 6:30 PM CST
(Newser) -
President Obama might find Indian PM Manmohan Singh a bit prickly when he arrives in Washington this weekend, after Obama gave India short shrift during his recent Asia trip. Obama didn’t mention India at all in his speech on US relations with Asia, and caused further offense in a joint statement issued with Beijing that implied China could help...
Hadron Collider Restarts Briefly
AFP
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Nov 20, 2009 6:06 PM CST
(Newser) -
The Large Hadron Collider roared to life today for the first time since September 2008. "The first tests of injecting subatomic particles" took just a fraction of a second, a CERN rep said, but the circulation of the proton beams confirmed that the repairs instituted 9 days after the collider opened were successful. "If all goes well...
Rihanna's Rated R a Dark Treat
Chicago Tribune
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Nov 20, 2009 5:41 PM CST
(Newser) -
Rihanna's been through a lot since she released her last album, and the excellent Rated R is all the better for it, writes Greg Kot. After the much-publicized Chris Brown incident, her music has become darker and more serious than the airy pop of "Umbrella" and "SOS." Most of the tracks feel deeply personal, Kot writes, suggesting...
Shaniya Raped, Killed on Day of Abduction: Cops
Associated Press
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Nov 20, 2009 5:04 PM CST
(AP) -
A 5-year-old North Carolina girl was raped and killed the same day she was taken from her home, according to an arrest warrant released today. Shaniya Davis was sexually assaulted and asphyxiated Nov. 10, the day her mother reported her missing from the trailer park where she was staying, according to the warrant. After a nearly weeklong search, the...
The Tuna on Your Plate May Be Endangered
LiveScience
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Nov 20, 2009 4:27 PM CST
(Newser) -
You might suspect a sushi restaurant that doesn’t specify what sort of tuna you’re eating of trying to pawn off an inferior species. Not so. Researchers using novel DNA barcoding technology found that though nearly a third of tuna sold in 31 US restaurants was the prized—and endangered—bluefin. But just 8 of the 22 bluefin samples...
Flu Pandemic Slacks Off, But 'It's Not Over'
Reuters
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Nov 20, 2009 4:25 PM CST
(Newser) -
The swine flu outbreak is slacking off in some areas, but don't get complacent, officials say: Pandemics naturally fluctuate. "There can be multiple ups and downs over the season," says a CDC doctor. "We have many weeks ahead of us where disease is going to be circulating." Infections in people under 65 have dropped in the past...
Neglected Ind. Fans Boo Palin
WRTV Indianapolis
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Nov 20, 2009 3:50 PM CST
(Newser) -
Sarah Palin ticked off about 150 fans in Noblesville, Ind., last night by bailing on a book signing earlier than expected. Though the first 1,000 people who bought Going Rogue from the local Borders got wristbands that were supposed to ensure they'd get their copies signed, Palin got back on her tour bus right at 9. One fan loudly accused her of...
Ohio Sues Credit Rating Agencies for Role in Crisis
New York Times
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Nov 20, 2009 3:29 PM CST
(Newser) -
Ohio's attorney general sued the three biggest credit-rating agencies today on behalf of state employee retirement funds that lost $457 million in complex securities that imploded in the financial crisis. Richard Cordray alleges Moody's, Standard & Poor's, and Fitch conspired with issuers of the high-risk investments to give top ratings to products...
Dow Dips 14; Energy, Tech Fall
Wall Street Journal
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Nov 20, 2009 3:10 PM CST
(Newser) -
Energy stocks led declines on Wall Street today after Goldman Sachs downgraded coal firm Peabody Energy, and Dell reported a bigger-than-expected profit decline, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Dow closed down 14.28 points at 10,318.16. The Nasdaq lost 10.78, closing at 2,146.04. The S&P 500 fell 3.52, settling at 1,091.38.
Knox Acted Out of 'Hatred': Prosecutor
Telegraph (UK)
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Nov 20, 2009 2:57 PM CST
(Newser) -
Italian prosecutors pulled out all the stops in closing arguments at the Amanda Knox murder trial, telling the court that the American exchange student killed Meredith Kercher in "an unstoppable crescendo of violence." The chief prosecutor restated his argument that Knox murdered her roommate out of spite because Kercher disapproved of her...
Anonymous Posters Bedevil TripAdvisor
The Big Money
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Nov 20, 2009 2:35 PM CST
(Newser) -
Some recent snafus have taught TripAdvisor the hard way that crowdsourcing may be powerful, but it isn’t always reliable. In one recent incident, a new boutique hotel shot to the top of the site’s Miami Beach hotel rankings on a flood of positive reviews—until one reviewer implied they’d all been written by friends of the owner...
Project Runway Limps to Season's End
Salon
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Nov 20, 2009 2:19 PM CST
(Newser) -
It was hard to care who won last night’s Project Runway season finale, but it was easy to say who lost: fans. The move to Lifetime—and, probably more important, the switch in production companies—proved disastrous for the once-brilliant reality show, Heather Havrilesky writes for Salon . “The story of Season 6 was that there...
Limbaugh's Wrong: Gallup's Obama Approval Below 50%
Politics Daily
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Nov 20, 2009 2:03 PM CST
(Newser) -
A new Gallup poll is the latest this week to show President Obama's approval ratings falling below 50%. Today's results, which appear to refute Rush Limbaugh's contention that Gallup's results are tilted to favor Obama, show 49% of voters approve of his handling of the presidency and 44% do not. A Quinnipiac University poll this week put Obama's approval...
Who Will Be the Next Oprah?
AOL Music
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Nov 20, 2009 1:49 PM CST
(Newser) -
Who will fill the Oprah vacuum on daytime TV when the Queen of All Media leaves for her cable network in 2011? Mike Hess weighs the pros and cons of six candidates on PopEater . Ellen DeGeneres: "Talked her way onto the cover of Winfrey's O Magazine ... coincidence or a symbolic passing of the torch? We'll see.” In any case, she’s...
