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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.

Selig: A-Rod 'Shamed the Game'
Associated Press | Feb 13, 2009 7:23 AM CST
(Newser) - Bud Selig slammed Alex Rodriguez yesterday for "shaming the game" by using steroids, reports the AP. Angry words may be the only thing the MLB commissioner can use to punish the Yankees player, however, since his positive test was meant to be anonymous and took place years before the enactment of an agreement that mandates penalties for drug...
Congress Needs to Speed Read Like Crazy to Study Stimulus
The Sundries Shack | Feb 13, 2009 7:09 AM CST
(Newser) - It might be called a stimulus bill, but it’s far from stimulating reading. At 1,434 pages, and written in the usual incomprehensible legalese, the stimulus is going to be passed unread by members of Congress. That’s no fault of theirs, blogs Jimmie Bise at the Sundries Shack; to read the bill in time, they would have to average 640.5 words...
Tapes Point to Ice as Crash Factor
Buffalo News | Feb 13, 2009 6:55 AM CST
(Newser) - Icy conditions may have been a factor in the plane crash near Buffalo that killed 50 last night, the Buffalo News reports. Just after the disaster, air traffic controllers asked other nearby pilots about ice. Several confirmed that they had "picked up rime ice." After a long pause, an air traffic controller tells the other pilots about...
Livni Running Out of Options, and Time
Los Angeles Times | Feb 13, 2009 6:42 AM CST
(Newser) - Though her party nabbed first place in Tuesday's Israeli election, Tzipi Livni seems to have shelved her long-shot effort to become the country's next prime minister. The question that remains, writes the Los Angeles Times , is whether she will join forces with Benjamin Netanyahu or go into opposition. "Livni, the moral winner of the election,...
GDP Nosedives Across Atlantic
Wall Street Journal | Feb 13, 2009 6:20 AM CST
(Newser) - We're not alone: The euro zone’s recession worsened in the fourth quarter of last year as its GDP saw its biggest decline since records began in 1995, the Wall Street Journal reports. The GDP contracted 1.5% quarter-to-quarter and 1.2% since the year before, EU figures showed. Germany, the zone's biggest economy, recorded its biggest GDP plunge...
Alleged Facebook Stalker Found Hanged
Independent (UK) | Feb 13, 2009 6:01 AM CST
(Newser) - A suspected murderer believed to be stalking potential victims on Facebook has been found hanged, reports the Independent . The body of George Appleton, 40, was found in a deserted building in Manchester. Police had been hunting him since his former girlfriend was found murdered and burned last week. Several women reported that Appleton had recently...
Ledger Fans Demand Joker's 'Retirement'
CNN | Feb 13, 2009 5:42 AM CST
(Newser) - A group of Heath Ledger fans are calling for the Batman movies to hang up the Joker's purple suit for good as a tribute to the late actor's last role, CNN reports. Supporters at website "The Ultimate Joker" say no actor could ever nail the killer clown as well as Ledger did, and are aiming to get 50,000 people to sign their petition....
Hard-Right Dutch Pol Barred From UK
Guardian (UK) | Feb 13, 2009 5:11 AM CST
(Newser) - Ultra-right Dutch politician Geert Wilders, whose short film attacking the Koran caused an uproar last year, was refused entry to Britain yesterday, reports the Guardian . The member of Parliament was flying to London to show his controversial film when the home secretary sent him a letter saying his presence in the UK constituted "a significantly...
Joaquin: Junkie or New Borat?
Gawker | Feb 13, 2009 4:43 AM CST
(Newser) - The case of Joaquin Phoenix gets curiouser and curiouser following the actor' shambolic appearance on the David Letterman show. The odd tics and nodding-off behavior that drew Letterman's scathing wrath are typical of a heroin user, Gawker points out. But many speculate that it's all a Borat-like hoax act by the thespian who insists he has sworn off...
Octuplet Doc Implanted 7 Embryos in Woman, 49
Los Angeles Times | Feb 13, 2009 4:21 AM CST
(Newser) - A 49-year-old woman who went to the controversial fertility specialist responsible for Nadya Suleman's octuplets is now pregnant with quadruplets, even though she wanted only one baby, the Los Angeles Times reports. Dr. Michael Kamrava transferred at least seven embryos—made from eggs donated by a woman in her late 20s—into the woman....
5 Killed as High Winds Sweep East, Midwest
Associated Press | Feb 13, 2009 3:57 AM CST
(Newser) - Five people were killed as winds of up to 65 mph swept across a large area of the nation yesterday from the Great Lakes to the eastern seaboard, AP reports. The winds cut a swath of destruction, delayed travel, and downed trees and power lines. A half million people were without power in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia and Ohio.
Spy Chief: Economic Crisis a Greater Threat than Terror
New York Times | Feb 13, 2009 3:32 AM CST
(Newser) - The new director of national intelligence warned Congress yesterday that the global economic crisis poses a graver and more immediate threat to the US than international terror, the New York Times reports. The crisis could undermine national governments and cause widespread civil unrest as it spreads and deepens, causing serious damage to America's...
Aussie Arson Suspect Charged
The Age | Feb 13, 2009 3:12 AM CST
(Newser) - An Australian man has been charged with setting one of the hundreds of deadly brushfires that swept across the state of Victoria, killing up to 300 people and destroying entire towns. He was charged with lethal arson linked to 10 of the deaths, and with possessing child pornography, reports the Age . The unidentified suspect is in a fragile mental...
Bush Hits Lecture Circuit—in Canada
Globe and Mail | Feb 13, 2009 2:45 AM CST
(Newser) - Former President Bush is scheduled to give his first major speech since leaving office to an audience in Calgary, Canada, reports the Globe and Mail. Bush will address a private audience of 1500 at an event next month organized by the city's Chamber of Commerce. Invitations said Bush will speak on "eight momentous years" and current "challenges."...
Final Stimulus Votes Set Today
Reuters | Feb 13, 2009 2:16 AM CST
(Newser) - Lawmakers have hammered out the final details of the economic stimulus bill and cleared the way for final votes in the House and Senate today, reports Reuters. Both chambers are expected to approve the bill's final version, meeting Barack Obama's deadline of passing the $789 billion package of spending and tax cuts before the holiday weekend.
Caterpillar Boss Contradicts Obama on Jobs
ABC News | Feb 13, 2009 1:53 AM CST
(Newser) - Caterpillar's CEO said the stimulus package would let the company start rehiring laid-off workers, according to President Obama—but he was swiftly contradicted by the boss himself, ABC News reports. CEO James Owens said that even with the stimulus package, the massive scale of the downturn would require the firm to lay off even more workers before...
50 Dead in Buffalo Plane Crash
Buffalo News | Feb 12, 2009 11:40 PM CST
(Newser) - A Continental Airlines commuter jet crashed into a house in a hamlet near Buffalo late last night, killing all 49 passengers and crew on board and one person on the ground, the Buffalo News reports. The crash caused a huge blaze that could be seen miles away. Officials say crew members on the flight from Newark reported mechanical problem as they...
Gandhi's Spectacles for Sale
BBC | Feb 12, 2009 10:16 PM CST
(Newser) - Mahatma Gandhi's handful of possessions—his signature round-lens eyeglasses, simple sandals, bowl, plate, and pocket watch—are to be sold at auction in New York next month. Although he had far fewer possessions than Jackie O, the BBC reports the auction is likely to attract just as much attention as hers did.  Figure about $40,000...
Senate Confirms Panetta as CIA Chief
Associated Press | Feb 12, 2009 9:47 PM CST
(AP) - The Senate confirmed Leon Panetta as director of the CIA tonight, placing the nation's top spy agency in the hands of a government veteran valued for his skills as a lawmaker and policy manager rather than an expert at intelligence-gathering and analysis. The Senate approved President Obama's choice on a voice vote.
Hamas Agrees to Gaza Truce
Reuters | Feb 12, 2009 9:20 PM CST
(Newser) - Hamas says its negotiators have a reached a deal with Israel for a long-term Gaza truce, Reuters reports. A senior leader said the truce ensures the opening of all commercial crossings and will be announced over the weekend. The Egyptian-brokered pact would replace a tentative truce put in place last month after a 22-day Israeli offensive left 1,300...
US May Subsidize Lenders Who Cut Mortgage Rates
Washington Post | Feb 12, 2009 8:41 PM CST
(Newser) - Details are emerging on the Obama administration's plan to help homeowners: One idea is to give strapped borrowers a lower interest rate, then have the federal government chip in to defray the lenders' loss, the Washington Post reports. The Treasury Department is expected to outline its overall plan in the next week or so. Another proposal gaining...
Second-Half Rebound? Don't Bank On It
Wall Street Journal | Feb 12, 2009 8:05 PM CST
(Newser) - Economists say the prospects of a recovery in the second half of the year are looking less and less likely, the Wall Street Journal reports. Most economists surveyed predict the nation's GDP will grow in the third quarter by a measly 0.7%, less than half the rate predicted 6 months ago. The fourth quarter is expected to tick up, but not by much,...
Dead Rodents Trigger Recall at Texas Peanut Plant
Associated Press | Feb 12, 2009 7:33 PM CST
(AP) - Texas has ordered a recall of all products ever shipped from a Peanut Corp. of America plant in Plainview amid a nationwide salmonella outbreak. The order came from the Department of State Health Services, which says "dead rodents, rodent excrement, and bird feathers" were discovered yesterday in a crawl space above a production area. Inspectors...
Scientists Decode Neanderthal Genome
Times (UK) | Feb 12, 2009 7:04 PM CST
(Newser) - Scientists using ancient fossils have pieced together a rough draft of Neanderthals' genetic code, the Times of London reports. The development could eventually shed light on how they thought, spoke, and functioned, and why they disappeared. Because Neanderthals are humans' closest relatives, scientists may be able to get a better sense of just what...
Microsoft Offers $250K to Catch Worm Creators
PC World | Feb 12, 2009 6:40 PM CST
(Newser) - Microsoft has offered a $250,000 bounty for the creators of the dreaded Conficker worm, which has infected 10 million computers worldwide, PC Magazine reports. The software giant is working with security firms and domain name administrator ICANN to find the culprits, whose virus exploits a vulnerability in Windows. Microsoft helped catch a worm author...
Starbucks Will Sell Instant Coffee
Advertising Age | Feb 12, 2009 6:15 PM CST
(Newser) - Baristas may turn up their noses, but Starbucks is going to start selling instant coffee, reports Advertising Age . Starbucks Via will be available in some cafes next month. The move comes on the heels of value meals and store closings by Starbucks as it adapts to tough times. Via will sell for $2.95 for 3 packets—customers will stir it in...
Obama: Gregg's Withdrawal 'Something of a Surprise'
Springfield Journal-Register | Feb 12, 2009 5:47 PM CST
(Newser) - President Obama—now 0 for 2 on commerce nominations—said Judd Gregg's decision to back out today came as a "something of a surprise," the State Journal-Register of Springfield reports. "The truth, you know, Mr. Gregg approached us with interest and seemed enthusiastic," said Obama. The Republican senator told Politico...
Songbirds Faster Than We Thought
Washington Post | Feb 12, 2009 5:30 PM CST
(Newser) - Researchers have tracked the migratory paths of songbirds for the first time, using small data-gathering “backpacks,” the Washington Post reports. The avian wanderers, who are so small they cannot be tagged with transmitters, move about 3 times as a fast as previously thought. The recovered data shows that birds traveling between the...
Lincoln Made My Story Possible: Obama
CNN | Feb 12, 2009 5:09 PM CST
(Newser) - President Obama and Congress marked the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth today, with Obama reflecting on how Lincoln's vision led to his own success, CNN reports. "I can say that I feel a special gratitude to this singular figure who in so many ways made my own story possible—and who in so many ways made America's story possible,"...
Octuplet Mom Sent Jolie Admiring Letters
Chicago Sun-Times | Feb 12, 2009 4:52 PM CST
(Newser) - The octuplets' mom swears she isn't trying to be like Angelina Jolie, either through plastic surgery or mothering. But an anonymous source tells the Chicago Sun-Times that Nadya Suleman has sent Jolie fawning letters over the past year concerning the actress's humanitarian work. Jolie is said to be "creeped out" by the whole affair.
Scientists Map Common Cold's Genome
New York Times | Feb 12, 2009 4:43 PM CST
(Newser) - Researchers have completed a “family tree” for the common cold, paving the way for an eventual cure to one of mankind’s most stubborn ailments, the New York Times reports. Scientists mapped the genomes of the 99 variations of rhinovirus, which causes most colds, and have cataloged the weaknesses of specific strains. The rhinovirus’s...
China Loses Taste for Fast Food
Los Angeles Times | Feb 12, 2009 4:25 PM CST
(Newser) - The dollar menu thrives when times are tough in the US, but in China—where Western fast food is no bargain—the American chains are facing tough competition. Price is the main sticking point, but not the only one. "It's fast food," one diner in Shanghai told the LA Times; "it's not good for you"
Celeb Books Only Safe Bet These Days
The Wrap | Feb 12, 2009 4:08 PM CST
(Newser) - Britney Spears is shopping a book to top publishers, and editors are lining up to meet her—a further sign of the strapped book industry's new mantra: "Only the sure-fire, big ticket, lowest-common-denominator bestsellers will survive," writes Sara Nelson in the Wrap. Spears’ book, no doubt with a ghost writer, will focus...
Lincoln's Gettysburg 'Poetry' Resonates
Los Angeles Times | Feb 12, 2009 3:50 PM CST
(Newser) - If anyone has a right to be tired of Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, it's writer and producer David Grubin. As a sixth-grader, he had to write it out 100 times or so—his teacher's favorite form of punishment. The actual words meant little to him as a 12-year-old, but their relevance and eloquence resonate today. "No matter how many...
Gregg Drops Out as Commerce Pick
Washington Post | Feb 12, 2009 3:36 PM CST
(Newser) - More bad Cabinet news for President Obama: Republican Sen. Judd Gregg is withdrawing from consideration to be commerce secretary, the Washington Post reports. Gregg, who represents New Hampshire, cited "irresolvable conflicts" with Obama on issues including the stimulus package. He's the second commerce nominee to withdraw, following Bill...
Stocks Mixed, Dow Down 6.7
Wall Street Journal | Feb 12, 2009 3:25 PM CST
(Newser) - Stocks ended mixed today, recovering from sharp losses on reports that the Obama administration is planning a program to subsidize mortgage payments for some homeowners, the Wall Street Journal reports. Nonetheless, continued uncertainty over how the Treasury’s rescue plan will value the so-called “toxic” assets kept bank stocks...
At $242M, Madonna Tops Music Moneymaker List
Billboard | Feb 12, 2009 3:17 PM CST
(Newser) - When it comes to overall revenues in 2008, all other musicians took a back seat to Madonna. Billboard notes that the top 20 earners all toured, a move that is bringing in more and more money as record sales tank. The top moneymakers: Madonna: With more than $242 million, the Material Girl's 'Sticky and Sweet" tour tops the list, even...
Obama Needs Maine Senators
Time | Feb 12, 2009 3:05 PM CST
(Newser) - Maine’s moderate Republican senators find themselves unexpectedly empowered in the Obama era. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, along with Pennsylvania’s Arlen Specter, form the bipartisan wedge President Obama can use to get bills—like the stimulus package—past a Senate filibuster. After years of being taken for granted by the...
Ex-GM Baylor Sues Clippers for Discrimination
Los Angeles Times | Feb 12, 2009 2:52 PM CST
(Newser) - NBA Hall of Famer and former Los Angeles Clippers general manager Elgin Baylor has sued the team, alleging that owner Donald Sterling had a “vision of a Southern plantation-type structure,” the Los Angles Times reports. The suit claims Sterling often talked about “poor black kids” and at one point said he hoped the team would...
Patients Push Fertility Docs for Extra Embryos
New York Times | Feb 12, 2009 2:40 PM CST
(Newser) - While Nadya Suleman's octuplets remain the in vitro exception, about 30% of such procedures result in multiple births. One attempt can cost $12,000, so patients regularly implore docs to up their pregnancy chances by planting multiple embryos—even though medical guidelines push for the transfer of no more than two in women under 35, the New...
Japan's Square Enix to Buy 'Tomb Raider' Maker
Forbes | Feb 12, 2009 2:28 PM CST
(Newser) - Looks like Lara Croft has a new sugar daddy: Japan’s Square Enix will buy Eidos, maker of the “Tomb Raider” videogame franchise, for $119.9 million, Forbes reports. That's more than double the per-share price at yesterday's market close. With Square willing to pay such a premium, it is unlikely that Time Warner, which already owns...
Idol Bounces 'Ineligible' Pacitti
People | Feb 12, 2009 2:15 PM CST
(Newser) - Last night American Idol sent Joanna Pacitti on to the next round—then just a few hours later declared her ineligible and replaced her with Felicia Barton, People reports. Questions about Pacitti’s eligibility have plagued her from the start of the show: The singer has had previous record deals, releasing a single and an album, and...
Americans Want Torture Investigation: Poll
USA Today | Feb 12, 2009 2:00 PM CST
(Newser) - Two-thirds of Americans want an investigation into alleged Bush administration misdeeds, including torture and warrantless wiretapping, a USA Today /Gallup poll shows. Forty percent of respondents would like to see criminal probes; one-quarter would prefer investigations without the possibility of criminal charges. And even more—70% of those...
Writer Probes the Land of Lipo
Vanity Fair | Feb 12, 2009 1:49 PM CST
(Newser) - Hoping for a firsthand glimpse at the $13 billion cosmetic-surgery industry, an undercover writer visited three surgeons to ask what could be improved—on her 27-year-old, 5-foot 9-inch, 120-lb. body. “Are teenybopper idols and those who emulate them freely choosing plastic surgery? Or is plastic surgery choosing them?” Melanie Berliet...
Be My Marilyn Monroe: Sarkozy on First Date
Times (UK) | Feb 12, 2009 1:36 PM CST
(Newser) - Undeterred by his recent divorce, French President Nicolas Sarkozy proposed the night he met Carla Bruni and promised that she would be his Marilyn Monroe, according to a new tell-all book. Author Jacques Seguela is the same pal who introduced the couple at Sarko's request, the Times of London reports.
Army Hits Harry With Sensitivity School
People | Feb 12, 2009 1:22 PM CST
(Newser) - Prince Harry has been booted to sensitivity camp by his army higher-ups following back-to-back racial gaffes, People reports. Shortly after calling a fellow soldier a "Paki," the 24-year-old royal told a black comedian, "You don't sound like a black chap." The diversity lessons, slated to last several days, are the only disciplinary...
US Envoy Visits Pakistan, Afghanistan Amid Violence
BBC | Feb 12, 2009 1:09 PM CST
(Newser) - Richard Holbrooke, the Obama administration’s special envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan, arrived in the region yesterday as waves of killings were washing over both countries, the BBC reports. While touring Pakistan’s volatile frontier region, a local official was killed by a roadside bomb. At the same time in Afghanistan, where Holbrooke...
Miley Slapped With $4B Suit
E! Online | Feb 12, 2009 12:55 PM CST
(Newser) - The backlash against Miley Cyrus and her "goofy face" photo continues: An Asian-American woman in Los Angeles has filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of all the city’s Asian Pacific Islanders, E! reports. Lucie Kim wants $4,000 in damages for each of LA’s approximately 1 million Asian Americans, claiming Cyrus “should...
Child's Death Pushed Darwin to Share Work
NPR | Feb 12, 2009 12:41 PM CST
(Newser) - In honor of Charles Darwin’s 200th birthday, NPR takes a look at a lingering mystery: Why did the naturalist, who most likely came up with the idea of evolution around the age of 30, not publish his theory for another 21 years? Some say he was trying to gather more evidence, but others think a family tragedy pushed him to share his ideas.
'Gorgeous' Vaio P Frustrates
Wall Street Journal | Feb 12, 2009 12:28 PM CST
(Newser) - Sony’s new netbook, the Vaio P, is about the size of "one of those plastic folders waiters use to bring you the check at a restaurant," but the pricey gadget is "very slow and has poor battery life," writes Wall Street Journal tech maven Walter Mossberg. It draws envious glances from passers-by, but they're no compensation...
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