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.
Alzheimer Patients' Kids Lose Memory Faster: Study
Boston Globe
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Feb 19, 2009 1:37 PM CST
(Newser) -
The children of Alzheimer’s sufferers can develop memory problems much earlier than previously believed, according to a large new study. Boston University researchers administered memory tests to a group of middle-aged people, all of whom carried a gene linked to Alzheimer’s, but only half of whom had parents suffering from the disease....
World Euphoric, a Bit Worried About Obama
Time
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Feb 19, 2009 1:24 PM CST
(Newser) -
At recent international gatherings in Munich and Doha, world leaders were “mildly euphoric” about the Obama administration, writes Joe Klein in Time . Muslim leaders called for support for the new president, while Joe Biden’s promises to “listen” and “consult” left a “stunned silence.” But such...
Off-Screen Bickering Spoils Project Runway
Washington Post
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Feb 19, 2009 1:13 PM CST
(Newser) -
Cattiness on Project Runway is part of the show's distinctive flavor, but it's legal wrangling between networks and producers that has kept the whole 6th season off the air. As a result, the finale, a live event tomorrow at New York Fashion Week, will be completely anonymous: Designers will be hiding backstage instead of getting facetime with the...
Brad, Boys Do Vegas
Us Weekly
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Feb 19, 2009 1:03 PM CST
(Newser) -
Seems there's no time like the present to kick off those father-son Las Vegas getaways. Brad Pitt was spotted with Maddox, 7, and Pax, 5, at the ritzy MGM Mansion, where the boys had Nintendo Wiis delivered to their rooms, Us Magazine reports. In New York, Angelina Jolie took her girls shopping. The pair will reunite at the Oscars this weekend,...
Cousin Who Helped A-Rod Juice Identified
ESPN
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Feb 19, 2009 12:56 PM CST
(Newser) -
The cousin who injected Alex Rodriguez with steroids has been identified as Yuri Sucart, a longtime friend and confidant of the disgraced Yankee, ESPN reports. The previously anonymous relative, whom A-Rod refused to identify during his mea-culpa news conference Tuesday, is too devoted to Rodriguez to have stopped him, friends of the cousins say. “He...
Catholics Protest Nonexistent Abortion Bill
Time
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Feb 19, 2009 12:44 PM CST
(Newser) -
Catholics are pulling out all the stops to quash the Freedom of Choice Act, peppering Congress and the White House with postcards and letters. There’s just one problem: There is no Freedom of Choice Act . The bill has been introduced in years past, but it isn’t before Congress now, won’t be anytime soon, and wouldn’t pass if...
How the Crisis Changed Bernanke
Washington Post
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Feb 19, 2009 12:33 PM CST
(Newser) -
Crises change people, and the changes wrought by the financial meltdown on Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke were well evident at a Press Club lunch yesterday, writes Dana Milibank for the Washington Post . Previously known for bland answers, this academic now tempers his economist-speak with straight talk and supplemented official data with a story about...
Conan Trades Up to Tonight But Can't Shake Leno
New York Times
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Feb 19, 2009 12:18 PM CST
(Newser) -
As Conan O'Brien gets ready to move from Late Night to the Tonight Show —tomorrow is his last post-midnight show before he decamps for LA—the value of the coveted 11pm slot has been seriously undercut. With current Tonight host Jay Leno heading not into the sunset but into the 10pm slot, O’Brien finds himself still Leno’s...
Obama Gives Stanford Money to Charity
Los Angeles Times
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Feb 19, 2009 12:06 PM CST
(Newser) -
Barack Obama has donated the $4,600 in campaign contributions he received from R. Allen Stanford to charity, the LA Times reports. Obama is one of many politicians the alleged fraudster courted; another was John McCain, who promised yesterday that he too would return or donate the funds. Stanford was a prolific donor and lobbyist, covering his bases...
AC Milan Haggles for Beckham
Guardian (UK)
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Feb 19, 2009 11:55 AM CST
(Newser) -
With David Beckham hesitant to return stateside next month and AC Milan as eager to keep him, the Italian club is sending a rep to Los Angeles to broker a deal for the midfielder, the Guardian reports. LA Galaxy remains adamant that Beckham return unless a $15 million fee is paid; Milan is expected to offer $12.7 million.
User-Generated College Review Site Gets It Right
Wall Street Journal
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Feb 19, 2009 11:45 AM CST
(Newser) -
A new online college guide “built for the age of YouTube and Facebook” employs user-generated content to give applicants a student's-eye-view of hundreds of schools, and Walter S. Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal likes what he sees. Unigo.com is free and ad-supported; professional editors help present reviews, videos, and photos largely...
Naked Stars Win 'Anatomy Awards'
New York Daily News
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Feb 19, 2009 11:35 AM CST
(Newser) -
Forget the Academy Awards: Nominated actresses Marisa Tomei and Kate Winslet have already nabbed an Anatomy Award for their skin-tillating roles, the New York Daily News reports. Celeb nudity site MrSkin.com awarded Tomei “Best Oscar-Nominated Nudity,” while Winslet can boast the “Lifetime Skinchievement Award.” Other winners...
Bin Laden Ally Wins Settlement For Human Rights Breach
Times (UK)
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Feb 19, 2009 11:24 AM CST
(Newser) -
A radical Muslim cleric who has been ordered to leave Britain has won $3,600 from Europe's top court, which ruled his detention without trial after 9/11 violated his human rights. Abu Qatada was cleared for deportation yesterday despite fears he may be tortured in his native Jordan, the Times of London reports. Although he has issued several fatwas...
Twitterers Help Lance Get His Bike Back
Telegraph (UK)
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Feb 19, 2009 11:10 AM CST
(Newser) -
Turns out celebs can use Twitter for more than just ranting against loud neighbors: Lance Armstrong used social networking sites to get his bike back, the Telegraph reports. He issued an “APB” to his 140,000 Twitter followers, and on Facebook, a group popped up named “1 Million Citizens Looking for Lance Armstrong’s Stolen...
Surveyors Find Sunken WWI Battleship
BBC
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Feb 19, 2009 11:02 AM CST
(Newser) -
A French battleship famously sunk by Germans in World War I has been found in “extraordinary” condition on the Mediterranean Sea floor, the BBC reports. A geosciences firm came upon the Danton while surveying the waters between Italy and Algeria for a planned gas pipeline, set to be diverted to avoid the site. The ship sits upright, more...
Stanford's Other Mess: Cricket
Wall Street Journal
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Feb 19, 2009 10:45 AM CST
(Newser) -
Before he was charged with massive fraud, Sir Allen Stanford was often charged with an equally grievous offense: subverting the game of cricket. The Texan was among the sport’s deepest-pocketed fans, but the fast-paced Twenty20 tournaments he favored annoy purists. When Stanford put up $20 million in prize money for a winner-take-all match in...
Tutu Urges Obama to Apologize for Iraq
BBC
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Feb 19, 2009 10:37 AM CST
(Newser) -
Desmond Tutu says Barack Obama's election made him want "to jump and dance and shout," and he's encouraging the new president to apologize for the invasion of Iraq. Obama “could easily squander the goodwill that his election generated if he disappoints,” the Nobel Peace Prize winner tells the BBC. “It would be wonderful...
Polanski Judge Wise to Resist Whitewashing
Salon
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Feb 19, 2009 10:25 AM CST
(Newser) -
The judge who refused to throw out Roman Polanski's rape conviction Tuesday—unless he agreed to come back to the country to challenge it in person—was right to resist the whitewashing of Polanski's crime, writes Bill Wyman in Salon . The movement to rehabilitate the acclaimed director was based on last year’s documentary, Roman...
'Narco-Protests' Paralyze Mexican Border Crossings
Dallas Morning News
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Feb 19, 2009 10:15 AM CST
(Newser) -
Civilian protesters suspected of being in the pay of drug traffickers have blocked Mexican bridges to the US in recent days, demanding that the military leave their cities, the Dallas Morning News reports. Officials see the demonstrations—dubbed "narco-protests"—as a worrying new development amid a wave of violence already being...
Crazed Chimp, Owner Acted Like a Couple
New York Post
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Feb 19, 2009 10:06 AM CST
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Sandra Herold and her chimp, Travis—who viciously mauled her friend—were unusually close, sharing wine and lobster and exchanging gifts, the New York Post reports. “What she had with that monkey was not normal,” one friend said. But Herold said outsiders don’t understand: “Until you've eaten with a chimp and bathed...
Venezuela Seizes Stanford Bank, Calls It Healthy
New York Times
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Feb 19, 2009 9:56 AM CST
(Newser) -
Venezuela has taken control of a bank run by alleged fraudster R. Allen Stanford and his Stanford International Group, the New York Times reports. A banking regulator said the retail bank is essentially healthy, but Venezuelans are still fretting. “When Venezuelan forces say nothing is wrong,” explained one insurance broker, “it...
Scandal! Heartbreak! Clooney Visits Darfur
New York Times
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Feb 19, 2009 9:53 AM CST
(Newser) -
George Clooney figures prominently in New York Times op-ed columnist Nicholas D. Kristof's latest report from Africa, which Kristof describes as "yet another hand-wringing column about Darfur." He offers to swap dirt on the Hollywood heartthrob for readers' interest—then offers a chilling tale of a "petty and mean-spirited"...
California OKs Long-Delayed Budget
Los Angeles Times
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Feb 19, 2009 9:43 AM CST
(Newser) -
The California Assembly quickly stamped its approval on a state budget passed by the Senate early this morning, ending a 3-month budget deadlock. The final Republican vote needed to pass the bill came with steep concessions, though billions of dollars in tax hikes and program cuts remain intact, the Los Angeles Times reports. In the final hours,...
Slate Scribe Gets in Syrian Street Brawl
Forbes
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Feb 19, 2009 9:40 AM CST
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Three journalists—including columnist and author Christopher Hitchens—were jumped by thugs during a press junket in Beirut, reports Lawrence Osborne in a column for Forbes . Hitchens “rather gallantly insulted the swastika flag” of a “Syria-loving skinhead party called the SSNP” by scrawling an obscenity on it....
Man Kills Self in SoCal Televangelist's Cathedral
Associated Press
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Feb 19, 2009 9:30 AM CST
(AP) -
A man shot and killed himself in front of a cross inside televangelist Robert H. Schuller's Crystal Cathedral yesterday as a nearby volunteer told a group of visitors about the church's suicide-prevention program, police and church officials said. The man handed a note and his driver's license to two ushers, walked to the cross and then shot himself...
Oprah Visits the White House
Washington Post
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Feb 19, 2009 9:22 AM CST
(Newser) -
Oprah Winfrey and BFF Gayle King traveled to Washington this week for a sit-down with Michelle Obama, the Washington Post 's "Reliable Source" reports. An upcoming issue of O, the Oprah Magazine will feature the interview with the first lady, and that news is sparking speculation that Obama will be the first cover model to unseat...
Coleman Lawyers Blast Judges' 'Fatal Inconsistency'
Minneapolis Star Tribune
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Feb 19, 2009 9:15 AM CST
(Newser) -
Norm Coleman's lawyers lambasted the judges in Minnesota's recount trial for again refusing to reconsider certain rejected absentee votes that would narrow Al Franken's 225-vote lead in the Senate race, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports. The attorneys called the rulings a "legal quagmire" and said the "fatal inconsistency serves...
Mortgage Plan Relies on Incentives, Lacks Muscle
Wall Street Journal
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Feb 19, 2009 9:14 AM CST
(Newser) -
The Obama administration’s foreclosure-prevention plan contains more carrots than sticks, relying heavily on incentives designed to prod mortgage servicers to modify at-risk loans, the Wall Street Journal reports. The plan offers monetary rewards to mortgage companies that lower interest rates on delinquent mortgages, and reduces principal...
Boxer Challenges Brown to 'Real' Fight
Fox News
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Feb 19, 2009 9:05 AM CST
(Newser) -
At least 1,223 people want to see Chris Brown get in another fight, and a Los Angeles martial arts expert is one of them, Fox News reports. Anthony Geisler, president of LA Boxing, started a Facebook group called "I want to fight Chris Brown" that invites the singer to step into the ring and "see what it’s like to face a real opponent"—namely,...
Unless He Resigns, Senate Likely Stuck With Burris
Los Angeles Times
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Feb 19, 2009 8:57 AM CST
(Newser) -
Whatever problems Roland Burris had being seated in the Senate, they pale in comparison to the problems the Senate will have getting rid of him, the Los Angeles Times reports. Expulsion from the Senate requires a two-thirds vote; the last senators to be formally booted were alleged rebel supporters during the Civil War. "It's a collegial body...
Stocks Rise on Job, Price Data
Wall Street Journal
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Feb 19, 2009 8:52 AM CST
(Newser) -
Stocks climbed at the open, following jobless claims and wholesale price reports that, for once, didn’t contain any nasty surprises. The Dow was up 35 points, while the Nasdaq and S&P each rose about 0.8%. The producer-price index rose 0.8% in January, reflecting a widespread rise in wholesale prices. Meanwhile, the level of new jobless claims...
Don't Give Up on Bipartisanship, Barack
Washington Post
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Feb 19, 2009 8:41 AM CST
(Newser) -
Barack Obama came into the White House pledging bipartisanship, but one month in, pundits are telling the president to forget compromise and "get real." Don't listen, writes David S. Broder in the Washington Post , who calls those recommendations "the worst advice he has received." Not only has bipartisanship served past presidents...
4 Acquitted in Russian Journalist's Murder
Guardian (UK)
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Feb 19, 2009 8:28 AM CST
(Newser) -
Four men were acquitted today on charges related to the murder of Anna Politkovskaya, a prominent Russian journalist shot dead in 2006. Two Chechen brothers and a former Moscow policeman were found not guilty of offering operational support to her killer, and a Russian spy was cleared in a related case. Politkovskaya's murderer is still at large, and...
Girl's Barracks Death May Be Drug-Related
Associated Press
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Feb 19, 2009 8:16 AM CST
(AP) -
Army investigators believe the death of a 16-year-old civilian girl at a barracks on Fort Lewis was possibly drug-related. A spokesman wouldn't say what drugs may have been involved, and toxicology results aren’t expected for at least a week. The dead girl was identified by her family on her MySpace page as Leah King.
Trial Postponed for Iraqi Shoe Hurler
BBC
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Feb 19, 2009 8:05 AM CST
(Newser) -
The trial of an Iraqi journalist who chucked his shoes at President Bush has been delayed until next month, reports the BBC. The court first needs to consult with the Iraqi government on whether Bush's visit to Iraq was formal or informal, according to the judge. Munthadar al-Zaidi is charged with assaulting a foreign leader and faces 15 years in jail...
G20 Will Push for End to Tax Havens
Guardian (UK)
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Feb 19, 2009 7:52 AM CST
(Newser) -
Ahead of the G20 financial summit in London this April, Gordon Brown is pushing ahead with a major diplomatic effort to crack down on international tax havens that cost governments $150 billion a year. The British PM has held talks with fellow world leaders, including Barack Obama, reports the Guardian . While Obama has taken an interest in the...
Casey Anthony's Diary Reveals 'No Regrets'
People
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Feb 19, 2009 7:38 AM CST
(Newser) -
Just five days after Caylee Anthony was last seen alive, her mother described herself as “the happiest that I have been in a very long time,” People reports. The sentiment comes from Casey Anthony’s June 21 diary entry, which also reads, “I have no regrets, just a bit worried. I completely trust my own judgment. I know that...
Stanford May Have Ties to Mexican Drug Cartel
ABC News
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Feb 19, 2009 7:23 AM CST
(Newser) -
Fugitive financier R. Allen Stanford was under investigation over possible ties to a Mexican drug cartel long before the SEC swooped in on his firm, federal authorities tell ABC News. The FBI and other agencies began probing Stanford on suspicion of money laundering a year ago, after Mexican authorities detained one of his private jets and...
Rove: Team Obama 'Winging It'
Wall Street Journal
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Feb 19, 2009 7:12 AM CST
(Newser) -
The new president was highly disciplined on the campaign trail, and he’s already won a huge legislative victory, but there’s a “growing sense the administration is winging it on issues large and small,” writes Karl Rove in the Wall Street Journal . Team Obama has ignored or missed legal and organizational problems that led...
Kyrgyzstan Votes to Shut Critical US Airbase
Guardian (UK)
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Feb 19, 2009 7:00 AM CST
(Newser) -
The parliament of Kyrgyzstan voted nearly unanimously to close a critical American military base in the country, dealing a blow to Barack Obama's efforts to reinforce troops in Afghanistan. The vote, 78-1, means that the US has 180 days to remove its airplanes and equipment, reports the Guardian . Kyrgyzstan's president announced the surprise...
EPA Expected to Start Limiting CO2 Emissions
New York Times
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Feb 19, 2009 6:46 AM CST
(Newser) -
The EPA is expected to soon start regulating emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases for the first time, reports the New York Times . The agency is under an order—ignored by the Bush administration—to decide whether CO2 is a pollutant that endangers the public. Obama administration officials have signaled that an affirmative...
Hoover's FBI Launched Gay Probe on Valenti
Washington Post
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Feb 19, 2009 6:31 AM CST
(Newser) -
Before his long presidency of the Motion Picture Association of America, Jack Valenti served as a top White House aide to LBJ. Recently declassified files show that, at the same time, the FBI under J. Edgar Hoover was investigating whether Valenti, who died in 2007, was gay. Although no proof was ever found, the files offer a new perspective into how...
Obama Heads to Canada Amid Trade Concerns
New York Times
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Feb 19, 2009 6:18 AM CST
(Newser) -
Barack Obama makes his first foreign trip as president today to Canada, and his talks there are likely to touch on some thorny trade issues, the New York Times reports. Obama spoke forcefully in favor of reopening NAFTA while a candidate, but intends to focus on strengthening the US-Canada trade relationship in his discussions with Prime Minister...
Octuplets' Home in Danger of Foreclosure
Associated Press
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Feb 19, 2009 6:01 AM CST
(Newser) -
Nadya Suleman acknowledges that her 3-bedroom home is too small for her brood of 14, but the family is in danger of losing even that, the Los Angeles Times reports. Records show that the suburban California home, which is owned by the octuplets' grandmother, is in pre-foreclosure, with a projected sale date of June 9. No payments have been made since...
House Reps Make Rare Gaza Visit
Associated Press
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Feb 19, 2009 5:43 AM CST
(AP) -
Two members of Congress traveled to the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip today, the first such delegation to enter the area since the Islamic militant group rose to power in 2006. The House members—Keith Ellison of Minnesota, the first Muslim member of Congress, and Brian Baird of Washington—will meet with UN officials but not with Hamas, which the...
SEC Missed Stanford Warning Signs
New York Times
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Feb 19, 2009 5:24 AM CST
(Newser) -
Years of SEC probes into the Stanford Group's finances resulted in wrist-slaps for violations that experts believe should have been huge red flags for investigators, the New York Times reports. The firm, suspected of engaging in an $8 billion fraud, paid out just $60,000 in the past 2 years to settle three separate claims of securities violations....
Disney to Slash Theme Park Jobs
Orlando Sentinel
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Feb 19, 2009 5:04 AM CST
(Newser) -
Tomorrowland holds unemployment for an undisclosed number of Disney employees, reports the Orlando Sentinel . The company is restructuring its theme park division—which employs 80,000 people—and plans to cut jobs by consolidating its East and West Coast operations. Analysts believe Disney can make substantial savings this way but warn...
GOP Guvs Consider Rejecting Stimulus Cash
Associated Press
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Feb 19, 2009 5:01 AM CST
(Newser) -
A number of of Republican governors, carping about terms of the stimulus package, are threateneing to tell the federal government to keep its money, the AP reports. The governors of Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alaska, South Carolina and Idaho have expressed concerns that the package comes with too many strings attached and won't even stimulate the...
Netanyahu Will Be Israel's PM
Associated Press
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Feb 19, 2009 4:47 AM CST
(AP) -
Benjamin Netanyahu is now all but certain to become Israel's prime minister after winning the backing of Avigdor Lieberman, whose far-right Yisrael Beiteinu party came in third in last week's election. Centrist Tzipi Livni edged out hawkish Netanyahu in the Feb. 10 poll, but Netanyahu has garnered the endorsement of more lawmakers. Lieberman's party...
Griffey Returning to Seattle
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
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Feb 19, 2009 4:21 AM CST
(Newser) -
Slugger Ken Griffey Jr. will return to Seattle almost nine years to the day after he left the Mariners, reports the Seattle Post-Intelligencer . The prolific home-run hitter has signed an incentive-laden one-year contract for 2009. Griffey became a free agent after his short stint with the White Sox ended, and made it clear he wanted to finish his...
