Newser Story Index from February, 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.

Patriots Trade Cassel, Confident in Brady
Boston Herald | Feb 28, 09 10:06 PM CST
(Newser) - No quarterback controversy here. The New England Patriots—confident that Tom Brady will return stronger than ever—have traded Matt Cassel to the Kansas City Chiefs, the Boston Herald reports. Cassel emerged from obscurity this year by leading the Patriots to an 11-5 record after Brady got injured in the season's first game. The deal frees...

Radio's Paul Harvey Dead at 90
Associated Press | Feb 28, 09 9:29 PM CST
(Newser) - Paul Harvey, the news commentator and talk-radio pioneer whose staccato style made him one of the nation's most familiar voices, died today in Arizona at age 90. Known for his resonant voice and trademark delivery of "The Rest of the Story," Harvey had been heard nationally since 1951, when he began his "News and Comment" for ABC...

Ailing AIG Nears $30B Deal With Feds
Reuters | Feb 28, 09 7:22 PM CST
(Newser) - Facing a roughly $60 billion fourth quarter loss—the biggest in corporate history—American International Group is cutting a deal with the feds to stay alive, Reuters reports. If AIG's board approves the agreement tomorrow, Washington will give the insurer another $30 billion in equity and a lower interest rate on its current $60 billion...

Jon & Kate Exploit 8 Meal Tickets: Critics
Philadelphia Magazine | Feb 28, 09 6:53 PM CST
(Newser) - Jon and Kate Gosselin and their eight children have become the darlings of cable TV, giving hope to frazzled parents everywhere with their hit show Jon & Kate Plus 8 . But the love affair with the bustling brood is ending, Jessica Remo writes in Philadelphia Magazine. “They are totally exploiting those kids,” said one organizer who...

Limbaugh to CPAC: 'Take Country Back'
Fox News | Feb 28, 09 6:15 PM CST
(Newser) - Rush Limbaugh thrilled an overflow crowd of conservatives in Washington, DC, tonight by urging them to "take this country back. All we need is to nominate the right candidate." Following speeches by Newt Gingrich, Mike Huckabee, and Ann Coulter at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Limbaugh surprised attendees by praising...

'To Be or Not to Be' No Longer the Question for Poetry
Daily Telegraph (UK) | Feb 28, 09 6:07 PM CST
(Newser) - Poetry is not going gently into that good night, having been energized by the very tool predicted to kill it: the Internet, reports the Telegraph . Email, social networking sites, and online media players are helping poets win over new audiences. “It’s counter-intuitive,” marveled poet Richard Price. Poetry reading groups and live...

Pakistan Routs Insurgents in Militant Haven
Reuters | Feb 28, 09 5:47 PM CST
(Newser) - Pakistani forces have scored a victory against Islamic militants by ousting them from a stronghold on the Afghan border, Reuters reports. Pakistan plans to clear at least four of seven other regions of militants by the end of the year. “They have lost their cohesion here,” one general declared. “The resistance has collapsed.”...

Rhode Island's Little Economy In Giant Fix
New York Times | Feb 28, 09 5:21 PM CST
(Newser) - It may be the littlest state, but Rhode Island’s economic meltdown is among the biggest in the nation, arguably second only to Michigan’s, the New York Times reports. Rhode Island’s 10% unemployment rate ranks second, and its average income, $39,827, pales before neighboring Massachusetts and Connecticut. No one’s sure exactly...

Sebelius Tapped for Health Post
Associated Press | Feb 28, 09 5:11 PM CST
(Newser) - Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius is President Barack Obama's choice for secretary of health and human services, a White House source said today. Sebelius, 60, was an early Obama supporter who picked his presidential campaign over that of Hillary Rodham Clinton and worked tirelessly for Obama's bid. Obama will formally announce her nomination on Monday,...

Alcoholism Plagues UK Orchestras
Guardian (UK) | Feb 28, 09 4:56 PM CST
(Newser) - Alcoholism is sounding a sour note in the great orchestras of Britain, the Guardian reports. Though little research has been conducted on the issue—which remains taboo in many corners—there have been some “regrettable incidents,” recalled one official with the Musicians’ Union. One drunk percussionist fell off a high...

Why Your Belly Button Has Lint
Daily Telegraph (UK) | Feb 28, 09 4:33 PM CST
(Newser) - Just so you know: Navel lint is caused by a unique arrangement of abdominal hairs that are positioned in concentric circles around the belly button and “act like a kind of barbed hooks,” the Telegraph reports. The discovery comes from an Austrian doctor who conducted 3 years of tireless investigation on his own navel. Don't like lint...

Lefty Lobbyists Ready for Battle
New York Times | Feb 28, 09 4:09 PM CST
(Newser) - Toughened by years in the political wilderness, liberal lobbyists are organized and ready to support President Obama on issues ranging from health care to taxing the rich, the New York Times reports. “This is no longer going to be Barack Obama standing by himself getting pilloried by the special interests with no one pushing back—if I...

Rihanna's Dad Backs Her Return to Brown
Us Weekly | Feb 28, 09 3:49 PM CST
(Newser) - Rihanna’s father supports her decision to stay with Chris Brown. “I love my daughter with whatever road she takes,” Ronald Fenty told Us . “I'm behind her win or lose. If that's the road she wants to choose, I'm behind her.” As for his daughter’s allegedly abusive boyfriend, a terse Fenty told People , “I...

Outrage Over Bank's Golf Tourney Is Misplaced
Wall Street Journal | Feb 28, 09 3:27 PM CST
(Newser) - “Golf, with its traditional fat-cat image, is an easy target for abuse, some of it deserved,” John Paul Newport writes in the Wall Street Journal . But the recent hubbub over Northern Trust’s sponsorship of a PGA tourney—that bank received $1.6 billion in TARP funds—threatens “effective business practices”...

White House Opens Up on Race
Washington Post | Feb 28, 09 3:03 PM CST
(Newser) - In a break from the tone of the Obama campaign, members of the White House inner-circle are talking candidly about race. Eric Holder's "nation of cowards" remark caught the most attention, but Michelle Obama and  EPA chief Lisa Jackson—also the first African-American in her position—have moved the conversation forward as...

HIV+ Brit Arrested for Unprotected Sex
BBC | Feb 28, 09 2:38 PM CST
(Newser) - Police have arrested a British man for allegedly keeping his HIV status secret while having unprotected sex with women, the BBC reports. Cops in Cornwall and Devon captured the suspect after multiple complaints from women who say they learned of his infection after sleeping with him. The man, 39, can be charged with causing grievous bodily harm,...

Family's Search for WWII Hero Scarred Generations
Wall Street Journal | Feb 28, 09 2:16 PM CST
(Newser) - The fate of Raoul Wallenberg, savior of thousands of Jews in World War II, remains unknown, despite his family’s generation-spanning search for the Swede who was arrested by Soviets in 1945, at age 32. That quest has lasted 6 decades—and the Wall Street Journal has reviewed thousands of documents, many previously unseen, chronicling the...

Mugabe Hosts $250K Party in Starving Zimbabwe
BBC | Feb 28, 09 1:50 PM CST
(Newser) - More than half of his country is starving, just 10% have jobs, and nearly 4,000 have died of cholera since August, but none of that has stopped Robert Mugabe from partying. Zimbabwe’s president spent $250,000 on his 85th birthday bash today, which included a 187-pound cake, the BBC reports. The celebration comes just days after Zimbabwe asked...

Mom Nabbed for Breastfeeding While Driving
Dayton Daily News | Feb 28, 09 1:23 PM CST
(Newser) - Turns out, it’s not legal to breastfeed and drive at the same time. Genine Compton found that out the hard way when a male motorist spotted the Ohio woman chatting on a cellphone and breastfeeding one child while driving her other children to school. When police tracked Compton down, she quickly admitted the deed and was issued a citation for...

Gossip Girl to Host No Doubt Reunion
Rolling Stone | Feb 28, 09 12:54 PM CST
(Newser) - No Doubt will kick off a reunion tour in May, but first the band is going to make a guest appearance on Gossip Girl , reports Rolling Stone . Because the show doesn’t feature a performance venue like the Peach Pit in the old 90210 , the episode will likely take a page from the Dawson’s Creek playbook and send the characters to a No...

Fallon: 'Nauseous' But Ready
New York Times | Feb 28, 09 12:33 PM CST
(Newser) - Jimmy Fallon will be following in some pretty big footsteps when he takes over Late Night on Monday, but he’s prepared. After all, he has the plastic pickle—a 3-foot-long specimen passed down from Conan, who got it from Letterman—plus an endless supply of advice from friends and even strangers. He's also got a world of pressure...

Incomes Under $400K May Dodge Brunt of Tax Hike
New York Times | Feb 28, 09 12:13 PM CST
(Newser) - If your income is in the $200,000-400,000 range, and you’ve been fretting over Barack Obama’s proposed tax hikes, relax; odds are decent you won’t wind up paying more. Obama’s plan does indeed jack up the rates on those tax brackets, but for many those increases won’t take their federal taxes above the Alternative Minimum...

Public Feud Bruising Manny, Dodgers
Los Angeles Times | Feb 28, 09 11:32 AM CST
(Newser) - Teams don’t usually publicize their offers to players, but the Dodgers have publicized their offer to Manny Ramirez—in fact, they’ve publicized all four of them. And so LA is embroiled in a bizarre spring training, dominated by an ongoing negotiation/feud with a player who isn’t there. “I don’t recall a more public...

Authors Can Silence Talking Kindle: Amazon
Los Angeles Times | Feb 28, 09 11:01 AM CST
(Newser) - Amazon has bowed to pressure from the Authors Guild and will allow authors and publishers to disable the controversial text-to-speech feature on its Kindle e-reader, the Los Angeles Times reports. Authors contend that the function essentially turns the e-book into an audio book, a contract violation. “They created a hybrid product,” a...

1 in 10 Jobless in California
Los Angeles Times | Feb 28, 09 10:43 AM CST
(Newser) - California’s jobless rate soared to 10.1% in January, the highest in more than 26 years, the Los Angeles Times reports. Some 1,863,000 are unemployed in the state after 79,300 lost their jobs last month. On top of the usual culprits such as manufacturing and retail, a slump in the film business also is taking a toll. Meanwhile, Gov. Arnold...

Buffett Has Worst Year Ever
Wall Street Journal | Feb 28, 09 10:11 AM CST
(Newser) - Not even legendary investors can escape this mess. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway posted its worst year ever in 2008, the Wall Street Journal reports. A key indicator, book value per share, fell 9.6%, only the second loss since Buffett took control of the company in 1965. Berkshire reported fourth-quarter income of $117 million, 96% less...

Bush Fans Rare at Conservative Pow-Wow
Politico | Feb 28, 09 9:50 AM CST
(Newser) - George W. Bush spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference every year of his presidency, but this year when you hear his name, it’s usually being derided, writes Andy Barr of Politico. Newt Gingrich spent his speech railing against “Bush-Obama big spending,” while Mike Huckabee cited Bush’s response to Hurricane Katrina...

Producers Press Case Against Piven
Variety | Feb 28, 09 9:26 AM CST
(Newser) - The producers of Speed-the-Plow haven't given up their legal pursuit of Jeremy Piven, Variety reports. They plan to seek independent arbitration, which could result in serious fines for the actor. A panel of actors and producers failed to reach consensus on a possible penalty last week, leading to the producers' new decision. Piven bailed on the...

U2 Plays Surprise Rooftop Gig
BBC | Feb 28, 09 8:56 AM CST
(Newser) - U2 treated London fans to a surprise concert from the rooftop of BBC headquarters last night. The band, promoting the launch of new album No Line on the Horizon, played two new songs and two old ones as thousands of fans filled the street below. "This is the first time we've played these songs to people, so we hope we don't screw it up,"...

Clinton Heads to Mideast, Europe and Russia
Associated Press | Feb 28, 09 8:28 AM CST
(Newser) - Hillary Clinton is using her second overseas trip as the nation's top diplomat to assess peace prospects in the Middle East, reconnect with European allies, and discuss America's strained relationship with Moscow with her Russian counterpart. Clinton will begin the weeklong journey in Egypt, where she'll attend an international conference on Gaza and...

Hip-Hop Comes to Late Night
Wall Street Journal | Feb 28, 09 8:27 AM CST
(Newser) - When it comes to music, late-night talk shows have long been the province of the Great American Songbook—with some rock and jazz mixed in. But when Jimmy Fallon takes the stage next week, it will be with longtime hip-hop band the Roots. “The show's going to be a marriage of two worlds that never have necessarily met before,” rapper...

Combative Obama Braces for Fight on Budget
Politico | Feb 28, 09 7:57 AM CST
(Newser) - In his weekly radio address today, President Obama struck a more combative tone than usual in a push for his $3.6 trillion budget, reports Politico. “I know these steps won’t sit well with the special interests and lobbyists who are invested in the old way of doing business, and I know they’re gearing up for a fight as we speak,”...

Cops: Knox 'Did Cartwheels' After Murder
ABC News | Feb 28, 09 7:37 AM CST
(Newser) - Accused killer Amanda Knox had a "strange attitude" after being told of her flatmate's murder, an Italian court heard yesterday. A detective testified that the American student turned cartwheels in the police station when she and her boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito were brought in for questioning, reports ABC News. She had to be told that sitting...

840-Pound Brazilian Emerald Lands in Court
Wall Street Journal | Feb 28, 09 7:11 AM CST
(Newser) - A colossal emerald valued at almost $400 million is under lock and key in Los Angeles County while detectives try to figure out who owns it, the Wall Street Journal reports. Police managed to track down the 840-pound Bahia emerald after it was reported stolen last fall, but they also uncovered a web of competing claims for its ownership.

No Injuries as Romanian Plane Crash Lands on Foam
Associated Press | Feb 28, 09 6:40 AM CST
(Newser) - A plane carrying 51 people made an emergency landing in western Romania today, and all the passengers escaped, after part of the Carpatair flight's landing gear became stuck, the AP reports. The aircraft circled for almost two hours, using up its fuel to avoid a potential fire, officials said, before it landed nose-down on a bed of foam laid out by...

Shaq Scores 45 Points Against Toronto in 6-Year High
Associated Press | Feb 28, 09 6:37 AM CST
(Newser) - Shaquille O'Neal scored 45 points last night in his biggest offensive performance in 6 years, powering the Phoenix Suns to a 133-113 victory over the Toronto Raptors. A week shy of his 37th birthday, O'Neal made 20 of 25 shots in the 49th 40-point game of his career but the first in four seasons. He hadn't scored this many since he nabbed 48 for the...

Feds: Stanford Ran Massive Ponzi Scheme
Houston Chronicle | Feb 28, 09 6:22 AM CST
(Newser) - Federal officials have labeled shamed financier R. Allen Stanford’s operation a Ponzi scheme for the first time, the Houston Chronicle reports. The accusation—meaning the company used cash from new investors to pay older ones—came in an amended civil fraud complaint from the SEC yesterday alleging Stanford and a fellow exec misappropriated...

Rocky Mountain News Dead at 150
Denver Post | Feb 28, 09 6:01 AM CST
(Newser) - The Rocky Mountain News published its last issue yesterday just short of 150 years after its founder hauled a printing press by oxcart to the nameless gold-rush settlement that would become Denver. Staffers and readers alike mourned the passing of the paper believed to have been Colorado's longest-running business, reports the Denver Post —now...

In Japan, Sun Sets on Yakuza Mob Scene
Economist | Feb 28, 09 5:24 AM CST
(Newser) - The role of the yakuza in Japanese society has always been hard for Westerners to understand. Since the 1950s the mafia-like organization has been tolerated by government and the public, trusted to run gambling and prostitution rackets with a modicum of respect for social order. But as a tough economy forces the yakuza into new industries, that...

Cycling Battles Doping With 'Biological Passports'
New York Times | Feb 28, 09 4:50 AM CST
(Newser) - A landmark doping case being pursued by cycling authorities could help the sport pull ahead of the pack in the fight against performance-enhancing drugs, the New York Times reports. Cycling's governing body is preparing a case using blood profiles—or "biological passports"—that show telltale changes in the blood that signal...

Overrated: Sex on the Beach
Salon | Feb 28, 09 4:05 AM CST
(Newser) - Let’s face it, sex isn’t always great. Beth Mann at Salon breaks down the “seemed like a good idea at the time” list of most overrated erotic acts: Sex on the beach: “In real life the beach is sandy, the temperature unpredictable, the mosquitoes, the jellyfish, the police…” Porn-style sex:...

Ancient Footprints Reveal Path to Humanity
Philadelphia Inquirer | Feb 28, 09 3:12 AM CST
(Newser) - Scientists have unearthed ancient footprints that reveal humanity's ancestors walked with a modern stride as long as 1.5 million years ago, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer . Researchers believe the tracks—left beside a muddy river bank in Kenya and preserved when the river changed course—belong to human ancestor Homo erectus , and provide...

Rihanna Back With Brown
People | Feb 28, 09 2:04 AM CST
(Newser) - Rihanna and Chris Brown are a couple again almost 3 weeks after he allegedly beat her, sources tell People . The “Umbrella” singer is spending time with Brown at Sean "Diddy" Combs' Miami Beach mansion. "They're together again. They care for each other," says the source. “They've reached out to each other. It's...

Jindal Fudged Katrina Story
Daily Kos Blog | Feb 27, 09 8:28 PM CST
(Newser) - Bobby Jindal's reps are scrambling to explain the heroic Katrina tale he slipped into his big speech on Tuesday night. The Louisiana governor said he was in New Orleans "during Katrina" and backed a sheriff's push to send out rescue boats despite "bureaucrats" who fretted over insurance. A Daily Kos diarist dug up evidence...

Med Marijuana Backers Cheer End to Raids
MSNBC | Feb 27, 09 7:41 PM CST
(Newser) - Supporters of medical marijuana are celebrating a remark by Attorney General Eric Holder that went largely unnoticed this week, MSNBC reports. Asked about federal drug raids on state-approved dispensaries that led to 775 arrests, Holder said such busts are a thing of the past. What President Obama "said during the campaign ... is now American...

New Orleans Gives National Guard the Boot
Times-Picayune (New Orleans) | Feb 27, 09 7:07 PM CST
(Newser) - New Orleans is sending off the last National Guard troops some 3 1/2 years after they arrived to help patrol the hurricane-ravaged city, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports. Police say their 1,500 officers are enough to control bad neighborhoods, but not everyone is convinced. "We don't have enough cops," one resident said. "This...

GOP States Buy More Porn
New Scientist | Feb 27, 09 6:32 PM CST
(Newser) - Church-going Republicans are more likely than liberals to buy pornography online, New Scientist reports. In a nationwide study of purchases at an adult entertainment company, researchers found that eight in 10 of the most porno-consuming states voted for John McCain last year. "One natural hypothesis is something like repression: if you're told...

Hearst to Roll Out E-Reader for Newspapers, Magazines
CNNMoney | Feb 27, 09 6:06 PM CST
(Newser) - Hearst Corporation aims to do for periodicals what the Kindle's doing for books with a new electronic reader, CNN reports. The company—which publishes an array of magazines and newspapers, including Cosmopolitan , Esquire and the San Francisco Chronicle —hopes the device will help cushion revenues in light of sinking ad revenue and...

Distracted Doodling Helps Us Focus, Study Shows
LiveScience | Feb 27, 09 5:50 PM CST
(Newser) - Doodling while listening actually increases retention of memory, LiveScience reports. A new study shows that subjects who “mindlessly” sketched while listening to a not-so-interesting phone message remembered key facts 29% more than others instructed to just listen. “It helps to keep us on track with a boring task,” a researcher...

Feds Delay Start of Bonds Trial
San Francisco Chronicle | Feb 27, 09 5:30 PM CST
(Newser) - The perjury trial of baseball’s home-run king won’t begin Monday as scheduled, the San Francisco Chronicle reports, with federal prosecutors today delaying—perhaps by months—the start so they can appeal a ruling that excluded what they view as key evidence against Barry Bonds. Reports of positive steroids tests were among...