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.
NYC Prep Student Leaps to Death Into Recess Crowd
New York Daily News
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Feb 19, 2009 3:23 AM CST
(Newser) -
A 17-year-old student at an elite Manhattan prep school leapt to his death from an eleventh-story classroom window yesterday, reports the New York Daily News . His plunging body narrowly missed a group of fourth graders playing in front of the Dalton School. "I heard a loud bang," said a school security guard. "It sounded like a gunshot....
Here's Tiger's Baby
New York Daily News
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Feb 18, 2009 9:58 PM CST
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Tiger Woods has released the first images of his new son, Charlie, reports the New York Daily News . In fact, Woods issued a family portrait of himself, wife Elin, daughter Sam, and the new Charlie Axel, who arrived on Feb. 8. Now that Charlie's here, dad expects to be back at work later this month, says his caddy. He hasn't golfed since winning the...
No Fingerprints Found on Caylee's Duct Tape
Orlando Sentinel
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Feb 18, 2009 9:38 PM CST
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No bombshells have surfaced in the newly released evidence in the Caylee Anthony case, but police say they are more certain than ever that Casey Anthony is guilty, the Orlando Sentinel reports. Police say they found the same type of duct tape used to cover Caylee's mouth at her mother's house. Big deal, says Casey's defense team: It's a common brand....
NASA Plans Jupiter Mission
Washington Post
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Feb 18, 2009 9:03 PM CST
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NASA plans to send an orbiter to study the mysteries of one of Jupiter's moons, the Washington Post reports. Scientists suspect Europa has a massive ocean—possibly bigger than all of the Earth's oceans combined—beneath its ice-covered surface, the Post notes. Don't look up just yet: The $3 billion project—in tandem with the European...
Sebelius Is Obama's Top Pick for Health Secretary
New York Times
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Feb 18, 2009 8:18 PM CST
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President Obama has decided to pick Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to be his health secretary, the New York Times reports. The Democratic governor is now being vetted, and Obama hopes to make the announcement next week when he turns his attention from the economy to health care. One of Sebelius' strengths is her ability to work across party lines,...
Bruni: Michelle Could Give Me Pointers
Vogue
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Feb 18, 2009 8:06 PM CST
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Michelle Obama just moved into the White House, but America’s first lady could teach a few things to her more veteran French counterpart, confesses Carla Bruni in Vogue . “I fell into my husband’s life from another world,” explains the model-turned-singer, who's been the French first lady for about a year. “Michelle Obama...
Airport Body Scanners May Replace Metal Detectors
USA Today
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Feb 18, 2009 7:40 PM CST
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Full-body scanners may eventually replace standard metal detectors at airports, USA Today reports. The feds are experimenting with machines that look through clothing for hidden guns or bombs—especially those made of plastic that can elude metal detectors. Tulsa's airport has the scanners now, and San Francisco, Las Vegas, Miami, Albuquerque,...
Mean Trainers Make Mean Dogs
LiveScience
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Feb 18, 2009 7:17 PM CST
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Dog owners who try to tame their pets by acting aggressive themselves will only make matters worse, LiveScience reports. A new study in Applied Animal Behavior Science presents sobering news for advocates of tough love. Those who hit, kick, growl at, or confront their dogs in similar ways are more likely to have pets that act in kind. Instead of...
Swiss Bank Will Give Names of US Tax Dodgers
Wall Street Journal
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Feb 18, 2009 6:55 PM CST
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Switzerland's biggest bank admitted today that it helped wealthy US customers evade their taxes, the Wall Street Journal reports. UBS set up shell companies and fake trusts for customers so they could hide their accounts from the IRS. The company will pay $780 million in fines and turn over the names of as many as 250 American clients—a move...
Fed Sees Little Relief for Jobless
Associated Press
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Feb 18, 2009 6:28 PM CST
(AP) -
The Federal Reserve warned today that the nation's economy is even worse than thought and predicted it would deteriorate throughout 2009. The Fed's bleak estimates indicated that unemployment could climb as high as 8.8 percent this year and that the economy would contract for a full calendar year for the first time since 1991. Recovery will be "unusually...
NYC Wants to Turn Laid-Off Bankers Into Entrepreneurs
New York Times
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Feb 18, 2009 6:09 PM CST
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With the Wall Street mess taking a heavy toll on New York City's economy, Mayor Bloomberg is launching a program to retrain laid-off investment bankers and make the city a mecca for entrepreneurs and foreign financial firms. The city plans to spend $45 million in federal and city money to seed new businesses—ideally created by those very same...
Geronimo's Heirs Sue Yale to Get Skull Back
Hartford Courant (Conn.)
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Feb 18, 2009 5:36 PM CST
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Descendants of the legendary Apache chief Geronimo are suing Yale and its secretive Skull and Bones Society for the return of his skull and other remains, reports the Hartford Courant . The suit alleges that members of Skull and Bones—including Prescott Bush, father and grandfather of a pair of presidents—robbed the warrior's Oklahoma...
Florida Jury Awards $8M to Smoker's Family
Miami Herald
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Feb 18, 2009 5:18 PM CST
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Philip Morris must pay $8 million to the widow and son of a 55-year-old lung cancer victim, a Florida jury says. Jurors in the closely watched case decided that the cigarette maker hid the health risks and addictive qualities of cigarettes, the Miami Herald reports. Stuart Hess smoked about two packs daily for 40 years, and the company says Hess...
Obstinate GOP Digging Itself Deeper
Boston Globe
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Feb 18, 2009 5:05 PM CST
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Even the stimulus couldn’t rouse Republicans “into any human feeling,” writes Derrick Jackson of the Boston Globe. “With the collective livelihood of America at stake,” Republicans opted for full-blown obstinacy, crying about the deficit while conveniently forgetting that their president had turned a $128 billion surplus...
Pope Scolds Pelosi on Abortion
CNN
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Feb 18, 2009 4:45 PM CST
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Pope Benedict didn't beat around the bush in his short meeting with Nancy Pelosi today. He lectured the Catholic House speaker about her liberal views on abortion and assisted suicide, the Vatican says. Pelosi's aides, however, focused on brighter moments: She showed the pontiff photos of her grandkids and discussed poverty and global warming with...
Man Finds Kidney Donor—on Craigslist
CNN
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Feb 18, 2009 4:25 PM CST
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Daniel Flood may owe his life to Craigslist—and his three tech-savvy daughters who posted a plea for a kidney on the classifieds site. After his lone kidney was damaged, Flood faced years of waiting for a donor matching his rare blood type. His daughters sifted through more than 100 responses—some of them frauds—and found donor Dawn...
Google to Fight All Patent Lawsuits
Bloomberg
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Feb 18, 2009 4:11 PM CST
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Google is pursuing a more aggressive litigation strategy in an attempt to curb the number of patent lawsuits filed against it, Bloomberg reports. The company originally tended to settle lawsuits, getting rid of them quickly. But management is worried that doling out settlements has made it look like an easy target: Google was hit with 14 patent challenges...
Fla. Gun Requests Spike in Recession
Miami Herald
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Feb 18, 2009 3:55 PM CST
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Floridians are arming themselves, literally, against the recession and fears of being burgled. There's been a 42% jump in concealed weapons permit requests in the past 45 days, and the state office that issues them is buried under a 95,000-application backlog. It's seeking a $4 million budget transfer to facilitate permit processing, the Miami Herald...
Holder: We're Still a 'Nation of Cowards' on Race
Politico
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Feb 18, 2009 3:42 PM CST
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We may have elected our first black president, but America remains "a nation of cowards" on race, Eric Holder said today in a speech honoring Black History Month. "Average Americans simply do not talk enough with each other about things racial," said the attorney general. He vowed that the Department of Justice would lead by example...
Office 's Angela, Hubby Split Up
Us Weekly
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Feb 18, 2009 3:28 PM CST
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Angela Kinsey, who plays Angela on The Office, and her husband of 8 years are separating less than a year after having their first child, Us Weekly reports. "They are taking some time apart to figure out what is best," her rep said, adding, "They continue to be friends." Good thing, too—Kinsey's husband, Warren Lieberstein,...
Stocks Mixed; Dow Up 3 Points
MarketWatch
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Feb 18, 2009 3:17 PM CST
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Stocks vacillated between minor gains and losses today, perking up slightly after President Obama announced his housing plan, MarketWatch reports. Financials continued to slide after Alan Greenspan suggested in a Financial Times interview that bank nationalization would be the “least bad” way to solve the crisis. The Dow gained 3.03 points...
Burris: 'I Have Done Nothing Wrong'
Chicago Tribune
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Feb 18, 2009 3:08 PM CST
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Roland Burris today urged his constituents to "stop the rush to judgment" as he denied any wrongdoing in the process of gaining his Senate seat, the Chicago Tribune reports. "If I had done the things I’ve been accused of, I’d be too embarrassed to stand up here," he said at a meeting in Chicago. He also fired back...
Court Blocks Release of 17 Gitmo Prisoners Into US
Washington Post
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Feb 18, 2009 3:07 PM CST
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The fate of 17 Chinese Muslims imprisoned at Guantanamo since 2002 remains in flux after the DC Circuit Court of Appeals blocked their release to the US today. That reverses a lower court ruling that said the prisoners—members of the Uighur ethnic group who are no longer considered enemy combatants—should be released to the temporary care...
MC Hammer Lands Reality Show
Hollywood Reporter
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Feb 18, 2009 3:02 PM CST
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MC Hammer will follow his upcoming concert with Vanilla Ice with another project sure to inspire nostalgia: a half-hour reality show. Hammertime , which will air later this year, follows the once-bankrupt rapper as he "lives a more economically balanced life," the A&E show's reps said. Hammer's wife and five kids...
Prof Says He's Found bin Laden
Telegraph (UK)
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Feb 18, 2009 2:49 PM CST
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Osama bin Laden is probably in one of three buildings in Parachinar, Pakistan, according to a UCLA geography professor. His research team applied data on where bin Laden was last spotted to models that explain how animal species spread to determine the region bin Laden is most likely in, then narrowed the choices by identifying the atmosphere...
Jerry Springer Joins Chicago Cast in London
Times (UK)
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Feb 18, 2009 2:35 PM CST
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Jerry Springer will test his singing, dancing, and acting chops in a production of Chicago in London’s prestigious West End, the Times of London reports. Springer, a former lawyer, will play the role of lawyer Billy Flynn. The talk show host acknowledged that musical theater would have its challenges: "When I sing the audience really...
Bush on Brink, Says Tabloid
Globe
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Feb 18, 2009 2:20 PM CST
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Former President George W. Bush is “depressed and paranoid,” even “suicidal,” proclaims the tabloid glossy the Globe . Yes, “insiders fear” that the erstwhile leader of the free world will terminate himself: He’s “boozing up a storm,” and is “terrified of Barack Obama” and—heaven...
China Bans Actors From Medical Commercials
Variety
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Feb 18, 2009 2:06 PM CST
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Stung by the appearance of a single actor playing four different medical experts, the Chinese government has prohibited actors from portraying doctors or patients in commercials, Variety reports. The outrage stemmed from a Beijing Times article that also revealed one actress had posed as someone suffering from lung, liver, kidney, and heart conditions...
Thanks to Implants, Boxing Career Goes Bust
ABC News
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Feb 18, 2009 1:46 PM CST
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A British model and recreational boxer has been barred from competition because she has breast implants, ABC News reports. The Amateur Boxing Association of England cited possible health risks, but Sarah Blewden says she should be able to use a breast protector, similar to groin cups for men. “If I had great, ginormous, double-F breasts it would...
House at Heart of Knox Trial Ransacked
Telegraph (UK)
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Feb 18, 2009 1:40 PM CST
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Intruders broke into the house in Italy where Meredith Kercher was murdered last year, the Telegraph reports. Their motivation is unclear—they ransacked the house and left candles and four kitchen knives in various rooms, but left the room where the British exchange student was murdered untouched. Police, who discovered the break-in today,...
Palin Told to Pay Taxes on Per Diem Cash
Anchorage Daily News
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Feb 18, 2009 1:31 PM CST
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Sarah Palin will have to pay income tax on the thousands of dollars she charged the state for her meals and expenses, state officials said today. As recently as December, Palin was still drawing a per diem allowance while she lived in her Wasilla home, the Anchorage Daily News reports, even after it became fodder for critics during her vice presidential...
Simon, Garfunkel Plan New Tour
BBC
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Feb 18, 2009 1:24 PM CST
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The audience at Friday night's Paul Simon show in New York got a taste of what's to come when Art Garfunkel joined his long-time collaborator on stage for three songs: The two today announced a new tour, inspired, said Garfunkel, by the “knockout” reaction to that concert.
Ink-Stained Wretches Flee Media to Obama Admin
Politico
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Feb 18, 2009 1:06 PM CST
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At least six journalists have signed on to government jobs, reports Politico, and that has conservatives asking if the same would be the case in a McCain/Palin White House. “When some leave journalism because of a reduction in staff, what’s the natural landing spot? The Obama administration,” says a conservative critic.
Obama Must Share Blame for Burris
Chicago Tribune
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Feb 18, 2009 12:58 PM CST
(Newser) -
Roland Burris is in the Senate embarrassing Illinois, and Rod Blagojevich isn’t the only one on the hook for that, writes John Kass of the Chicago Tribune . A fair share of the blame belongs to Barack Obama, who pressured Senate leaders to seat Burris—a move from which he's profited nicely, getting Burris’ vote on his “pork/stimulus...
LL Cool J to Obama: 'You Must Deliver'
Daily Mirror (UK)
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Feb 18, 2009 12:42 PM CST
(Newser) -
These are challenging times indeed for Barack Obama, but LL Cool J's got the answers, reports the Daily Mirror. The 41-year-old rapper offers some advice in an open letter cautioning the leader of the free world against disappointing those inspired by his message of hope: “You have shifted the cultural paradigm of America,” he wrote....
Dietrich Was Camelot's Other Woman
Vanity Fair
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Feb 18, 2009 12:33 PM CST
(Newser) -
Marlene Dietrich had a peculiar effect on many of the world’s most accomplished and respected men: She turned them into bumbling adolescents. But the German screen siren, who entranced everyone from Frank Sinatra to Adlai Stevenson, enjoyed a special relationship with Ambassador Joseph Kennedy when their families summered together in the French...
Microscope Follows Palin Back to Alaska
Washington Post
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Feb 18, 2009 12:16 PM CST
(Newser) -
After the 2008 campaign clock struck midnight, Sarah Palin returned to Alaska with a mixed bag of name recognition and unwanted scrutiny, the Washington Post reports. Supporters and opponents alike parse her every move for signs of a 2012 presidential run, and her role as conservative attack dog is coloring her ability to govern. “The governor...
And the Oscar Goes to … Matilda, If Ledger Wins
Associated Press
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Feb 18, 2009 12:08 PM CST
(AP) -
If Heath Ledger is named best supporting actor at Sunday's Academy Awards ceremony, his 3-year-old daughter will become the owner of the statuette. But it won't really belong to Matilda Rose Ledger until her 18th birthday, in 2023—and even then, only if she signs a contract. Ledger's nomination, and his daughter's age, led to one of the trickiest...
Americans Use DNA Tests to Trace African Roots
Los Angeles Times
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Feb 18, 2009 12:01 PM CST
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As a kid, Isaiah Washington only knew Africans as the “natives running around with bones in their noses” on TV, “trying to put Tarzan in a pot.” Now, the former Grey’s Anatomy actor is chieftain of a village in Sierra Leone, thanks to a DNA test that allowed him to trace his ancestry back to the country, where he later...
Antigua, Stanford's Banking Base, Braces
Antigua Sun
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Feb 18, 2009 11:53 AM CST
(Newser) -
The SEC's allegations of fraud against R. Allen Stanford prompted concern on the tiny Caribbean island of Antigua, the base of the financier's bank. Despite reassurances from the prime minister, customers lined up at both branches of the Bank of Antigua to make withdrawals yesterday. Some seemed to emerge with money; others responded angrily when the...
Obama Unveils 3-Part, $275B Mortgage Plan
Associated Press
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Feb 18, 2009 11:30 AM CST
(Newser) -
Barack Obama announced in Mesa, Ariz., today a three-pronged plan to revamp the mortgage market, the Wall Street Journal reports. The plan offers opportunities for 9 million homeowners to refinance or rework their mortgages. Five million borrowers facing foreclosure will have access to a $75 billion fund, and another 4 million with negative...
Rourke Loses Dog Who Was 'Love of His Life'
E! Online
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Feb 18, 2009 11:29 AM CST
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Loki, the Chihuahua who figured prominently in Mickey Rourke’s Golden Globe acceptance speech, died Monday, E! Online reports. The 18-year-old dog accompanied Rourke on the red carpet at the awards. The Oscar-nominated actor is very attached to his canine friends. “Sometimes, when a man is alone, that's all you got is your dog,” he...
Accountants May Be Liable in Madoff Fraud
Wall Street Journal
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Feb 18, 2009 11:17 AM CST
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The many accounting firms that missed Bernie Madoff’s massive scam could be in for a world of legal hurt, experts tell the Wall Street Journal . Madoff’s company was audited by a firm that had just one accountant, and one ex-SEC accountant finds it hard to believe that feeder-fund auditors checked his work. “If they didn’t,...
NYPost Cartoon: Racist or Just Tasteless?
Huffington Post
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Feb 18, 2009 11:06 AM CST
(Newser) -
A somewhat inscrutable, certainly tasteless, and possibly racist cartoon by Sean Delonas appeared today in the New York Pos t and other newspapers, prompting complaints from several quarters, reports the Huffington Post . In a reference to the recent chimp attack in Connecticut, the cartoon shows two police officers, one with smoking gun, standing...
Doc Files Complaint vs. Octuplet Mom
TMZ
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Feb 18, 2009 11:00 AM CST
(Newser) -
A psychiatrist who has never met Nadya Suleman has filed a formal complaint against the mother of 14 with LA County’s child-welfare department TMZ reports. The doc, who frequently appears on talk shows, alleges Suleman “is not stable enough” and is putting her kids, including her newborn octuplets, “in psychological and physical...
Detroit Bailout Proposals: Disappointing, Incomplete
New Republic
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Feb 18, 2009 10:50 AM CST
(Newser) -
GM and Chrysler now want another $22 billion from Washington—and propose to use dramatic job cuts to help right their respective ships. What both companies avoid, writes economist Susan Helper for the New Republic , is an appraisal of the real problem: Nobody wants to buy their cars. Rather than cutting labor costs, the companies need to...
Stanford Spent Millions to Lobby Congress
Wall Street Journal
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Feb 18, 2009 10:39 AM CST
(Newser) -
Billionaire R. Allen Stanford has spent millions of dollars in attempting to enlist high-powered Washington officials in his anti-tax efforts, reports the Wall Street Journal . Stanford’s investment companies spent over $5 million on lobbying, $2 million on campaign contributions, and thousands more on flying members of Congress to the Caribbean,...
GTA IV Rides Again in Lost and the Damned
New York Times
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Feb 18, 2009 10:22 AM CST
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Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and the Damned brings gamers back to a Liberty City as gritty and darkly funny as ever, Seth Schiesel writes in the New York Times . The add-on episode, only available as a download through the Xbox Live service, swiftly ditches GTA IV 's protagonist to let players take the role of a would-be biker gang leader....
GE CEO Scraps His $12M Bonus
Wall Street Journal
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Feb 18, 2009 10:14 AM CST
(Newser) -
Jeffrey Immelt has recommended to GE's board of directors that he not get a planned $12 million bonus for 2008, the Wall Street Journal reports. The CEO noted that earnings were "below where we expected," but stressed that even those numbers represent success in the midst of a faltering economy, well outperforming the S&P 500.
What Baby? Oscar Producers Beg MIA to Perform
MSNBC
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Feb 18, 2009 10:13 AM CST
(Newser) -
The ratings-challenged Academy Award broadcast needs a boost, and producers are desperate for rapper MIA to perform her Oscar-nominated song, even though she just gave birth, MSNBC reports. “We are happy to bring some sort of fabulous bed on stage if that means MIA can be there,” they said of the entertainer, who performed at the Grammys...
