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.
Smithsonian Gallery Names New Director
Washington Post
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Feb 27, 2009 8:18 AM CST
(Newser) -
Richard Koshalek, former director of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, will become the new head of the Hirshhorn Museum—the modern gallery of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington. Koshalek expanded MoCA over 20 years, leaving in 1999 to run the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. Last year he left Art Center early, following...
GDP Drop Worst in 26 Years
Associated Press
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Feb 27, 2009 8:09 AM CST
(AP) -
The US economy contracted at a staggering 6.2% pace at the end of 2008, the worst showing in more than a quarter-century, as consumers and businesses ratcheted back spending, plunging the country deeper into recession. That's drastically worse than the 3.8% the government originally estimated, and the 5.4% economists predicted. Looking ahead, economists...
Livni Rejects Netanyahu Coalition Offer
Haaretz (Israel)
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Feb 27, 2009 8:01 AM CST
(Newser) -
Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister-designate, failed to persuade rival Tzipi Livni to join him in a broad coalition government, Haaretz reports. At a meeting today, Netanyahu made substantial concessions to the current foreign minister, including key ministerial posts for her party, Kadima. But Netanyahu's refusal to endorse a two-state...
Huckabee: MSNBC? More Like 'MSBS'
Politico
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Feb 27, 2009 7:43 AM CST
(Newser) -
Mike Huckabee took a swipe at MSNBC in a speech to fellow conservatives yesterday, calling the network “MSBS,” Politico reports. “It's not MSNBC, but the MSBS channel,” the former Arkansas governor said. He went on to rip Chris Matthews’ audible “oh God” before Bobby Jindal’s Republican response to President...
Cuomo Orders BofA to Name Bonus Takers
Reuters
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Feb 27, 2009 7:26 AM CST
(Newser) -
Bank of America CEO Kenneth Lewis has been ordered to hand over a full list of Merrill Lynch execs who received bonuses just before the bank took over the company, reports Reuters. Lewis was grilled for hours yesterday in the offices of New York AG Andrew Cuomo, who's looking into $3.6 billion in bonuses handed out ahead of the government-backed...
Slumdog Kids Back in Slum
CNN
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Feb 27, 2009 7:15 AM CST
(Newser) -
No more red carpet: The two child stars of Slumdog Millionaire have returned from Hollywood to their now-infamous Mumbai slum, CNN reports. The pair, excited from the trip but exhausted from the media attention, were greeted by enthusiastic crowds. Rubina Ali, 9, says she has heard rumors of new homes from the government, but she and Azharuddin Ismail...
Obama's 'All-In' Budget Presents Huge Risks
Washington Post
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Feb 27, 2009 7:06 AM CST
(Newser) -
With his first budget, Barack Obama has presented a program of stunning cost and complexity that underlines his ambition to transform the United States, writes Dan Balz in the Washington Post . Its $600-billion-plus health package, taxes on the wealthy that exceed campaign rhetoric, and shocking $1.75 trillion deficit show that the president "has...
US to Take 36% Stake in Citi
Wall Street Journal
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Feb 27, 2009 6:57 AM CST
(Newser) -
Citigroup and the federal government have reached a deal to boost the US stake in the bank to up to 40%, the parties announced this morning. The deal gives shareholders more protection, but in return, agrees to a Treasury Department demand for an overhaul of the embattled bank's board of directors. The new board will include a majority of independent...
Fannie Mae Posts Big Loss, Takes $15B in Bailout Cash
Washington Post
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Feb 27, 2009 6:43 AM CST
(Newser) -
Fannie Mae received $15 billion from Uncle Sam last night after reporting a $25.2 billion fourth-quarter loss, the Washington Post reports. The loss, caused mostly by sinking mortgage-related investments, brought the company’s 2008 losses to $59 billion. This marks the first time Fannie has dipped into its potential pool of $200 billion in...
Obama Sways GOP on Iraq, Loses Dems
New York Times
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Feb 27, 2009 6:16 AM CST
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Key congressional Republicans, including John McCain, gave their backing to President Obama's plan to withdraw all combat forces from Iraq by August 2010. The New York Times reports that GOP members at a bipartisan White House meeting yesterday left more impressed than some Democratic counterparts, who thought Obama was leaving behind too large...
Health Activists Jab Vatican in Needle Exchange Battle
Guardian (UK)
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Feb 27, 2009 5:53 AM CST
(Newser) -
World health activists are blasting the Vatican for battling a UN statement that would support measures to protect the health of drug users, such as needle exchange programs, reports the Guardian . Vatican officials say the global push for such "harm reduction" policies leads to "liberalization of drug use," which is "anti-life."...
Scientists Pitch Massive Mirror Sun Shade to Save Earth
Telegraph (UK)
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Feb 27, 2009 5:17 AM CST
(Newser) -
Scientists are proposing a stunning rescue project right out of a science fiction movie to save the earth from global warming: a massive 100,000-square-mile mirrored "sun shade." Trillions of tiny mirrors would be blasted by a cannon into space a million miles above earth to deflect the sun's rays under the plan, reports the Daily Telegraph...
Phoenix Might Be Losing His Mind: Shrink
Associated Press
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Feb 27, 2009 4:46 AM CST
(Newser) -
A Chicago psychiatrist has offered yet another theory for the recent odd behavior of actor Joaquin Phoenix: he might be losing his mind. While bloggers speculate that the zombie-like Phoenix is either hooked on drugs or spoofing his fans with a zoned-out tumble into a laughable rap music career, Dr. Paul Dobransky notes that Phoenix is exhibiting a...
Senate to Probe Bush-Era CIA
Los Angeles Times
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Feb 27, 2009 4:22 AM CST
(Newser) -
The Senate Intelligence Committee plans a sweeping investigation into the CIA's actions under President Bush, the Los Angeles Times reports. Officials say the probe is a fact-finding mission rather than an investigation into whether laws were broken, but the inquiry is certain to put the spotlight back on the agency's use of harsh interrogation techniques...
Coen Brothers' Ad Knocks 'Clean Coal'
Guardian (UK)
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Feb 27, 2009 3:59 AM CST
(Newser) -
The Coen brothers chuck the notion of "clean coal" into the woodchipper in a new ad commissioned by Al Gore’s Reality Coalition, the Guardian reports. The ad, which the filmmaking duo directed for the anti-coal environmental group, features a salesman spraying black smog from a can marked "Clean Coal" around a spotless home....
Adoption May Be Option for Octuplets: Grandma
Us Weekly
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Feb 27, 2009 3:37 AM CST
(Newser) -
Adoption may be an option for Nadya Suleman's octuplets if she can't care for them properly, her mom revealed in an interview with The Insider. "If I could see that she would not be able to take of them financially, I would opt for this," said Angela Suleman, reports Us . While grandma emphasized that she loves all 14 of her grandchildren...
Feds: Florida Prof Scammed NASA for $3.4M
Houston Chronicle
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Feb 27, 2009 3:02 AM CST
(Newser) -
Federal agents have seized the property of a University of Florida professor accused of shuttling millions in NASA grants into his family's bank accounts, the Houston Chronicle reports. Nuclear scientist Samim Anghaie, who has worked on developing fuels for future Mars missions, submitted "multiple fraudulent certified contract proposals to...
Bundchen Weds Brady
Us Weekly
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Feb 27, 2009 2:28 AM CST
(Newser) -
Gisele Bundchen said "I do" to Patriots quarterback Tom Brady in an intimate ceremony at a Santa Monica church yesterday, Us Magazine reports. The Brazilian supermodel, who had repeatedly denied that she and Brady were even engaged, wore a gown from Dolce & Gabbana—which supplied matching collars for her three dogs.
Recession Drives Workers to Trucking
Wall Street Journal
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Feb 27, 2009 2:07 AM CST
(Newser) -
Hard times have reversed the trucking industry's trouble finding recruits, the Wall Street Journal reports. Applications have surged as workers who once shunned the industry's demanding conditions can no longer afford to be choosy. At the same time the number of trucks on the road has dropped. Firms that once engaged in cut-throat competition to...
Piven Avoids Penalty for Broadway Absence
Playbill
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Feb 26, 2009 9:54 PM CST
(Newser) -
Jeremy Piven has escaped punishment—at least for now—for bailing on the Broadway play Speed-the-Plow , reports Playbill . Piven insists he had to leave because of mercury poisoning, but the producers aren't buying it. The actor appeared before representatives of the Actors' Equity Association and the Broadway League at a grievance hearing...
Fellow Hostages Rip Betancourt
New York Times
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Feb 26, 2009 8:46 PM CST
(Newser) -
Three Americans freed in a daring hostage rescue in Colombia last year were thrilled to escape their FARC captors—and nearly as happy to be free of fellow hostage Ingrid Betancourt. In a new book, the Americans portray Betancourt as a self-centered and malicious prima donna, the New York Times reports. “I don’t want to attack...
FBI Arrests High-Ranking Stanford Exec
Associated Press
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Feb 26, 2009 8:09 PM CST
(AP) -
FBI agents have arrested the chief investment officer of Stanford Financial Group, accusing Laura Pendergest-Holt of obstructing an SEC fraud investigation. The SEC has been investigating allegations of an $8 billion investment fraud involving Texas billionaire R. Allen Stanford's financial group. Pendergest-Holt, arrested in Houston, will appear in...
Gwyneth: Goop Haters Just Don't Get It
People
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Feb 26, 2009 7:45 PM CST
(Newser) -
Back off, Goop detractors. Gwyneth Paltrow is tired of people sniping about her advice-dispensing website. "I think the people who are criticizing it or criticizing the idea of it, don't really get it, because if they did, they would like it," Paltrow tells People . The latest salvo came in an article in the New York Times Sunday, which...
Suicide Group May Have Helped 130 Kill Selves
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Feb 26, 2009 7:20 PM CST
(Newser) -
A group that helps people commit suicide with helium gas may have had a role in more than 130 deaths, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. That revelation surfaced in a court document related to the arrest yesterday of four members of the Final Exit group. The four suspects, two from Georgia and two from Maryland, are charged with assisting...
Budget Includes Fishing Lessons, Moon Shot
Wall Street Journal
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Feb 26, 2009 7:00 PM CST
(Newser) -
A $3.6 trillion budget is bound to have nooks and crannies. The Wall Street Journal takes a look at some of the lesser publicized aspects of President Obama's plan: Interior Department gets $50 million to teach young people how to hunt and fish and generally love the environment. NASA gets a 14% increase to $19.7 billion, enough to return...
Tiger Loses in Second Round
Associated Press
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Feb 26, 2009 6:34 PM CST
(AP) -
One day after a ceremonious return to golf, Tiger Woods was on his way home. Tim Clark of South Africa played 16 holes without a bogey and knocked Woods out of the Accenture Match Play Championship with a 4-and-2 victory. The good news for golf is that it probably won't have to wait eight months to see him again. Assuming his knee doesn't act up, Woods...
Neil Young: Don't Forget Farmers in Bailout
Boston Globe
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Feb 26, 2009 6:12 PM CST
(Newser) -
Neil Young puts down his guitar and picks up his pen today on behalf of family farmers. In an essay in the Boston Globe , Young argues that tight credit, declining prices, natural disasters, and the overall economic gloom has many of them on the brink. The situation is as dire as it was in the 1980s, before the federal government freed up credit for...
Obama Budget Relies on Rosy Growth Estimates
Bloomberg
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Feb 26, 2009 5:38 PM CST
(Newser) -
President Obama is more optimistic about the nation's economic prospects than most economists, Bloomberg reports. His budget plan forecasts a GDP contraction of 1.2% this year, followed by a 3.2% expansion in 2010. The median forecast of economists calls for a contraction of 2% this year and growth of 1.8% next year. If the economists are right,...
Wiesel: Put 'Psychopath' Madoff in Prison
New York Post
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Feb 26, 2009 5:17 PM CST
(Newser) -
Author and Nazi hunter Elie Wiesel, who lost $15.2 million in foundation money and a good chunk of his own fortune to Bernie Madoff, railed today against the “psychopath” financier, the New York Post reports. “He should be put in a solitary cell with a screen, and on the screen, for at least five years of his life, pictures of his...
Crash Reminds Us of Dangers of Nuke-Armed Subs
Der Spiegel
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Feb 26, 2009 4:59 PM CST
(Newser) -
The Cold War is over, and the threats of terrorism and economic collapse have made it easy to forget about the possibility of sudden, total annihilation by nuclear weapons. Until, that is, last week’s collision between French and British nuclear submarines, Clemens Höges writes for Der Spiegel . It's a reminder that 40 ballistic missile...
US Will Charge 'Combatant' in Military Custody
ABC News
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Feb 26, 2009 4:48 PM CST
(Newser) -
Ali al Marri, the only alleged enemy combatant held on US soil, will be charged by the Justice Department, possibly for supplying material support to terrorism, ABC News reports. The move to a civilian criminal trial is an about-face from the policies of the Bush administration, which had insisted on a military tribunal. Al Marri was arrested shortly...
Senate OKs Congressional Seat for DC
Washington Post
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Feb 26, 2009 4:33 PM CST
(Newser) -
Washington, DC, moved a step closer today to getting a congressional representative. The Senate voted 61-37 to give the district—and its 600,000 residents—a seat in the House of Representatives, the Post reports. The measure now goes to the House, where it is expected to pass next week. President Obama supports the bill and would sign...
Ex-CIA Exec Gets 37 Months for Peddling Contracts
Washington Post
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Feb 26, 2009 4:12 PM CST
(Newser) -
A former CIA official who steered contracts toward a friend in the days after Sept. 11, 2001, was sentenced today to 37 months in prison, the Washington Post reports. Kyle Foggo was, at the time, the CIA’s executive director, the agency’s third-highest position. In exchange for lavish dinners and vacations, Foggo arranged lucrative contracts,...
NYC to Kick Cars Off Broadway
New York Times
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Feb 26, 2009 4:00 PM CST
(Newser) -
New York is turning the Great White Way into the Great Walk Way, the New York Times reports. Mayor Bloomberg announced plans yesterday to turn five blocks of Broadway around Times Square into a pedestrian zone complete with tables and landscaping starting this May. City officials say the plan will ease the area's fearsome congestion but some worry...
Holocaust Bishop Apologizes
Associated Press
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Feb 26, 2009 3:59 PM CST
(AP) -
A British bishop apologized today for remarks in which he denied the scale of the Holocaust and asserted that no Jews were gassed in concentration camps. "I can truthfully say that I regret having made such remarks," said Bishop Richard Williamson. He did not, however, say that his comments were wrong or that he had changed his views.
Newsday Will Charge for Online Content
Reuters
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Feb 26, 2009 3:45 PM CST
(Newser) -
Newsday will buck an industry trend by charging people to read it online, Reuters reports. The newspaper's owner, Cablevision, says it will "end the distribution of free Web content," though it didn't specify when. In the US, the Wall Street Journal is the only major paper currently sticking with paid online subscriptions. Cablevision...
Rocky Mountain News Ends Publication Tomorrow
Denver Post
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Feb 26, 2009 3:33 PM CST
(Newser) -
The Rocky Mountain News , the oldest paper in Colorado and perhaps the longest-running business in Denver, will print its last edition tomorrow, the Denver Post reports. The news comes after its owner spent months fruitlessly searching for a buyer. “The operating conditions have become increasingly difficult,” the CEO said, “leaving...
Insurers Propel Dow Down 89
Wall Street Journal
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Feb 26, 2009 3:26 PM CST
(Newser) -
Stocks turned lower today amid grim economic news and varied responses to President Obama’s budget, the Wall Street Journal reports. Durable goods sank and jobless claims rose, and insurers Aetna and Humana dropped sharply over fears of adverse effects from the administration's healthcare reform. The Dow fell 88.81 to 7,182.08. The Nasdaq lost...
Foreclosure-Relief Bill Stalls Before House Vote
CQPolitics
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Feb 26, 2009 3:09 PM CST
(Newser) -
Legislation that would allow bankruptcy judges to reduce the principal on mortgages of homes in danger of foreclosure will not come up for its scheduled House vote today because Democratic infighting has broken out, endangering its passage, CQ Politics reports. The “cramdown” provision was a red flag for fiscal conservatives, who aired...
Alaskans Erupt Over Jindal Volcano Jab
Anchorage Daily News
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Feb 26, 2009 2:57 PM CST
(Newser) -
Alaskans of all stripes are incensed by Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s disparaging comments Tuesday about the necessity of volcano monitoring, the Anchorage Daily News reports. It’s “a matter of life and death in Alaska,” Sen. Mark Begich wrote the Republican. Even Gov. Sarah Palin’s office weighed in. “Of course...
Simpsons Gets 2 More Years
Broadcasting & Cable
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Feb 26, 2009 2:31 PM CST
(Newser) -
Fox ordered another two seasons of The Simpsons today, ensuring the legendary animated series will run for 22 seasons, Broadcasting and Cable reports. The series is currently tied with Gunsmoke for longest-running prime-time TV program, at 20 seasons. Fox in January kicked off “Best. 20 Years. Ever.”, a year-long celebration of the...
Kindle 2 Worth It for 'Serious Book Readers'
Wall Street Journal
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Feb 26, 2009 2:16 PM CST
(Newser) -
Amazon’s new Kindle e-reader offers vast improvement over the previous model, writes Walter Mossberg in the Wall Street Journal , and “is finally a pleasure to use.” Faster page-flipping, sleeker design, tons more memory, and a digital audio feature are just some of the advances. But hardware is only one part of the company’s...
Oldest English Words Include 'Two,' 'Three'—But Not 'Four'
BBC
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Feb 26, 2009 1:59 PM CST
(Newser) -
"I," "we," "two," and "three" have existed for tens of thousands of years, making them among the oldest words in the English language, new research reveals. Computer analysis of Indo-European languages helped isolate "the ways we think words change and their ability to change into other words,"...
Pentagon Lifts Coffin Media Ban
CNN
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Feb 26, 2009 1:39 PM CST
(Newser) -
The Pentagon has lifted the media ban at Dover (Del.) Air Force Base and will allow photos of the coffins of US war casualties returning from overseas—provided the service members' families approve. Under the new rules, the families can withhold permission, CNN reports. Some relatives had lobbied against the ban; others say they prefer the ceremony...
Bloggers, Unions Team Up to Push Dems to the Left
New York Times
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Feb 26, 2009 1:38 PM CST
(Newser) -
A new political action committee backed by liberal bloggers and labor unions aims to push the Obama administration and Democratic establishment to embrace more progressive politics, the New York Times reports. Called “Accountability Now” the group will recruit and promote liberal candidates to challenge centrists in Congress. Their goal...
Paltrow: Madonna a 'Survivor'
OK!
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Feb 26, 2009 1:12 PM CST
(Newser) -
Madonna and longtime friend Gwyneth Paltrow might not have the same kind of personal lives, OK! reports, but the actress sees the singer as an inspirational figure. “She’s a real survivor,” Paltrow said. “Every problem that I’ve had, she’s had 10 problems worse.” And she’s “a caring woman,”...
Germany's Scheme to Scrap Cars Sparks Sales Explosion
Der Spiegel
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Feb 26, 2009 1:00 PM CST
(Newser) -
Automakers are running out of gas all over the world—except in Germany. Volkswagen expects to have its best February ever, selling 120,000 cars, while GM subsidiary Opel has sold 40,000, its best month in 5 years, Der Spiegel reports. It’s all thanks to the scrapping bonus,” a government program that gives consumers $4,500 to junk...
Rebel Troops in Bangladeshi Capital Surrender
BBC
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Feb 26, 2009 12:47 PM CST
(Newser) -
Mutinous border guards in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka laid down their weapons today, ending the uprising that started yesterday and claimed at least 20 lives, the BBC reports. “All the rebel troops have surrendered with their arms,” a government spokesman said, and urged rebels outside the capital to do the same. The bodies of 9 officers...
Afghanistan Demands Broader Strategy: Kissinger
Washington Post
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Feb 26, 2009 12:45 PM CST
(Newser) -
The US can no longer afford to follow “traditional anti-insurgency tactics” in such a large, ethnically diverse, and “forbidding territory” as Afghanistan, Henry Kissinger writes in the Washington Post . Instead of focusing on a stronger centralized government, he urges a “coherent” strategy that supports “local...
Blago Gave Burris' Son Job
Chicago Sun-Times
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Feb 26, 2009 12:34 PM CST
(Newser) -
Sen. Roland Burris’ son, Roland W. Burris II, got a job with the Illinois housing authority last year, weeks after the IRS imposed a tax lien and his home entered foreclosure, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. The appointment came as his father lobbied for Barack Obama’s Senate seat, and Gov. Rod Blagojevich was asking the elder Burris for...
