Newser Story Index from March, 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.
Treasury Unveils $1T Plan to Clean Up Toxic Assets
Wall Street Journal
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Mar 23, 2009 8:09 AM CDT
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The Treasury unveiled its three-part Public-Private Investment Program today, reports the Wall Street Journal . Under the program, up to $100 billion in TARP funds will be partnered with private investments to buy troubled assets. The Treasury, Federal Reserve, and FDIC will work with hedge funds and private equity to try to restart the market, and...
Skype Rolls Out New Biz Service
Wall Street Journal
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Mar 23, 2009 8:00 AM CDT
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Internet calling company Skype is introducing new software for businesses that lets workers on corporate phone systems make calls using regular office phones instead of computer headsets, the Wall Street Journal reports. Domestic and international calls to cellphones and landlines will start at 2.1 cents a minute, and computer- to-Skype-network...
White House Aides: AIG Bonus Tax 'Dangerous'
Washington Post
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Mar 23, 2009 7:41 AM CDT
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The White House might not be onboard with bills sprinting through Congress to tax away AIG’s outrage-inducing bonuses. Top White House financial advisers are reacting coolly to the suggestion, the Washington Post reports. “The president has been clear we don’t want to govern out of anger,” said one economic official.
Ash Tweets Pic of Demi's Butt
Gawker
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Mar 23, 2009 7:23 AM CDT
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The celebrity oversharing on Twitter has reached a new level. Ashton Kutcher, infamous for his Twitter proclivities, posted a picture of his wife’s bikini-clad butt as she was bending over, Gawker reports. “Shh, don’t tell wifey,” he Tweeted, but Demi Moore (no stranger to Twitter herself) was quick to reply—and made it...
Geithner: 'These Policies Will Work'
Wall Street Journal
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Mar 23, 2009 7:00 AM CDT
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Tim Geithner caps a weekend of lobbying for the administration's $1 trillion Public-Private Investment Program in an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal , arguing that "the financial system as a whole is still working against a recovery." For the Treasury secretary, all the previous measures will fail to work without this one, since "while...
ABC Newsman Murdered in Brooklyn Home
New York Daily News
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Mar 23, 2009 6:44 AM CDT
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A longtime ABC radio newsman was found stabbed to death in his Brooklyn home yesterday, reports the New York Daily News . George Weber, 47, was dead in his bed with wounds in his chest and neck, police said. His apartment was ransacked, but there was no sign of forced entry. Weber was well known in the city from his work on WABC morning radio, but...
Mexican Drug Violence Seeps Into US
New York Times
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Mar 23, 2009 6:40 AM CDT
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Drug violence has killed more than 7,000 in Mexico since January 2008—and now it’s spreading into the US, the New York Times reports. Home-invasion investigators in Arizona have seen 200 cases since their squad formed last year, and violence has reached across the continent: there have been assaults in Birmingham, kidnappings in Phoenix,...
India Begins Trial of Surviving Mumbai Gunman
Associated Press
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Mar 23, 2009 5:54 AM CDT
(AP) -
The trial of the surviving gunman from last year's Mumbai terror attacks began today with Mohammed Ajmal Kasab addressed the court via video link from prison because of concerns he poses too great a security risk to appear in person. He indicated to an Indian court today he would accept a government-provided attorney and repeated that he was from Pakistan.
Feds Look for Privately Funded $1T Bailout
New York Times
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Mar 23, 2009 5:37 AM CDT
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The Treasury today unveils its three-part public-private plan to purchase $1 trillion in troubled assets, offering lucrative subsidies to private investors to encourage them to participate. The Obama administration spent the weekend wooing hesitant private investors—hedge funds, private equity firms, and sovereign wealth funds—who fear...
Asia, Europe Rally, US Futures Soar
CNN
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Mar 23, 2009 5:11 AM CDT
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Asian markets soared today and European exchanges opened higher as investors expressed optimism about the Obama administration's public-private asset purchase plan. In Hong Kong the Hang Seng rallied 4.1% to close at a five-week high, while the Nikkei in Tokyo closed up 3.4%. At midmorning bourses in London and Frankfurt were both up by about 1.5%,...
US Maneuvers to Name Afghan Prime Minister
Guardian (UK)
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Mar 23, 2009 4:46 AM CDT
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The US is planning to place a prime minister in the Afghanistan government to bypass corruption-tainted President Hamid Karzai, reports the Guardian . American authorities, backed by European allies, also plan to divert money to the provinces away from Karzai control. US officials have grown increasingly disillusioned with the current government and...
Polygamists Push to Legalize Marriages
BBC
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Mar 23, 2009 3:58 AM CDT
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As many as 40,000 people live in polygamous families in Utah and parents are stepping up efforts to make plural marriages legal, reports the BBC. The lobbying organization Principle Voices is pressing for state law changes. Authorities rarely crack down on polygamous families unless they're linked to child brides or sex assaults because there are too...
Beijing Bids Adieu to Visiting Pandas
Xinhua (China)
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Mar 23, 2009 3:25 AM CDT
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Beijing's "Olympic pandas"—which drew 2 million fans during their 10-month stay in the city's zoo—have been returned to Sichuan Province, Xinhua reports. Their original habitat was damaged in last May's earthquake, so the pack of eight will reside in a panda reserve for now. Several will return to Beijing when China celebrates...
Alaska Volcano Erupts
CNN
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Mar 23, 2009 3:01 AM CDT
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Rumbling Alaska volcano Mount Redoubt has erupted three times since late yesterday, reports AP. The first eruption was obscured by darkness and snow, but was detected by the US Geological Survey. Mud slides were possible into the nearly Drift and Crescent rivers after the blast that shot steam 50,000 feet into the air.
Warner Bros. Opens Its Film Vault Online
USA Today
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Mar 23, 2009 2:34 AM CDT
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Film fans, rejoice! Warner Bros. is dusting off its archive and making 6,800 films that never made it to DVD available for purchase online. Warnerarchive.com launched yesterday with an initial 150 titles—ranging from the 1923 silent Souls for Sale to the more recent Wisdom with Emilio Estevez. Downloads are $15 and custom-made DVDs, shrink...
Astros Fire Up Thrusters to Dodge Trash
Space.com
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Mar 23, 2009 2:10 AM CDT
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Discovery's astronauts fired thrusters yesterday to maneuver the million-pound International Space Station out of the path of approaching space junk, the third such threat to the orbiting lab in two weeks, reports Space.com. The four-inch chunk of debris—from a Chinese rocket that broke apart in 2000—was heading uncomfortably close to the...
Sydney Airport Defends Security After Gang Killing
Sydney Morning Herald
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Mar 23, 2009 1:48 AM CDT
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Officials are defending security systems after a gang of bikers fatally beat a man inside Sydney Airport—then fled in taxis, reports the Sydney Morning Herald. "The police can't be everywhere and this could have happened anywhere," said the federal police commissioner. Horrified passengers watched as the 29-year-old man was bludgeoned...
2 Die in FedEx Plane Crash in Japan
Reuters
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Mar 22, 2009 10:44 PM CDT
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A FedEx plane crashed at Tokyo's main international airport Monday, killing both pilots aboard. Caught in a gust of wind, the cargo plane landed on its left wing and skidded off the runway in a ball of fire, Reuters reports. Airlines have been rerouting passengers as firefighters clear the scattered remains of the Boeing MD-11 off Narita Airport's...
BofA Loaned Insiders $624M as Credit Froze Up
Charlotte Observer
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Mar 22, 2009 8:01 PM CDT
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While credit markets were frozen last year, forcing thousands of Americans out of business, Bank of America lent insiders more than $624 million—more than doubling the amount loaned to insiders the previous year, the Charlotte Observer reports. Recipients' names were not disclosed, but most of the money likely went to bank directors or their...
Top Seed Louisville Holds Off Siena
Associated Press
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Mar 22, 2009 7:24 PM CDT
(AP) -
Terrence Williams had 24 points and 15 rebounds, rallying top-seeded Louisville in the final minutes for a 79-72 win over Siena in the second round of the NCAA tournament today. Siena (27-8) overcame a 12-point deficit in the second half and led by four before Williams took over, hitting 3s, getting rebounds, and starting fast breaks with one-handed...
Gay Bars Lure Straights to Stay in Biz
Anchorage Daily News
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Mar 22, 2009 7:09 PM CDT
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Gay bars across the country are facing an unexpected dilemma, the Anchorage Daily News reports: Attract straight customers or close down. With Americans growing more tolerant and gay connections moving online, one gay activist says "it's like 'mission accomplished.'" But bars from Pittsburgh to San Francisco are shutting their doors as...
Brit Dog Walker Reported Close Encounter of the Alien Kind
Telegraph (UK)
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Mar 22, 2009 7:00 PM CDT
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Another tale from the UK's recently released military files on UFOs comes from a dog-walker, who reports encountering an extraterrestrial who spoke in a Scandinavian accent. It was classified as a "genuine call" by a Royal Air Force phone operator, reports the Telegraph . The alien, appearing in human form in 1989, reportedly told the woman...
High-Tech Jacket Makes This More Vivid
Fast Company
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Mar 22, 2009 6:42 PM CDT
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Moviemakers have a new tool to make your viewing experience more intense: a jacket wired with devices that use touch to stimulate the wearer, Fast Company reports. But the jacket is more than just the latest incarnation of smell-o-vision—rather than reproducing sensations being experienced by characters on screen, it uses touch to interact psychologically...
Docs Warn Would-Be Parents of Higher IVF Risks
Independent (UK)
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Mar 22, 2009 6:15 PM CDT
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British doctors will begin warning fertility patients about in vitro fertilization, which has been shown to increase the risk of genetic health problems in babies by 30%, the Independent reports. Experts say the “small risk” could be caused by weaker eggs in older women or fertilization medication that harms the eggs. Prospective parents...
17 Die as Plane Crashes Into Montana Cemetery
Montana Standard
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Mar 22, 2009 5:53 PM CDT
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Seventeen people died in Butte, Mont., today when a single-engine plane crashed in a cemetery and burst into flames, the Montana Standard reports. Several children were among the victims, who boarded this morning in Orville, Calif., en route to Bozeman. The pilot changed route mid-flight and landed about 500 feet short of Butte's Bert Mooney Airport,...
Jobless Women Turn to Porn, Stripping
Associated Press
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Mar 22, 2009 5:45 PM CDT
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With unemployment rising, more women are moving on up by stripping down, the AP reports. The adult entertainment industry, is receiving a barrage of applications from women seeking good pay and job security in fields ranging from porno to exotic dancing. "You're seeing a lot more beautiful women who are eligible to do so many other things,"...
Spitzer Returns to Blast AIG
Politico
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Mar 22, 2009 5:18 PM CDT
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A humbled Eliot Spitzer re-entered the limelight last week with an interview on CNN, admitting that he "failed in a very important way." But the former New York governor, ousted by a prostitution scandal last year, also took aim at AIG, calling it "at the center of a web" of financial crises. Agreeing that executive bonuses...
Beatty Sued Over Dick Tracy Rights
Reuters
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Mar 22, 2009 4:50 PM CDT
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A unit of the bankrupt Tribune Co. is suing Warren Beatty over the rights to the Dick Tracy character, Reuters reports. Beatty bought the rights to the hard-boiled cartoon detective in 1985 and made the Dick Tracy movie, but he has made “no productive use” of Tracy in years, the Tribune Co. said, meaning the rights bounce back to the firm....
Knowing Thinks Big at Box Office
Hollywood Reporter
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Mar 22, 2009 4:28 PM CDT
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Knowing knew what audiences wanted this weekend and grasped top spot with a $24.8 million haul, the Hollywood Reporter says. Buddy flick I Love You, Man bromanced to second with $18 million, while Duplicity made off with $14.4 million in third. Holdovers Race to Witch Mountain ($13 million) and Watchmen ($6.7 million) rounded out the top...
Old Gray Lady Grabs Obama by the Ear
Politico
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Mar 22, 2009 4:06 PM CDT
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The Obama administration bore an avalanche of criticism this weekend from the usually friendly New York Times . Influential columnists Paul Krugman, Frank Rich, Thomas Friedman, and Maureen Dowd—plus the paper’s editorial board—all piled on a president who “is increasingly overwhelmed, and not fully appreciative of the building...
US Agents to Aid Mexican Cartel War
Washington Post
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Mar 22, 2009 3:51 PM CDT
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President Obama is shipping agents and equipment to the border to aid Mexico's war on violent drug cartels, the Washington Post reports. His plan, to be unveiled as early as this week, aims to stop the flow of weapons and cash from the US into Mexico. Law enforcement will also increase investigations into cartel activity on the US side. This marks...
Steinbeck's Laugh Would Echo Down Wall Street
Washington Post
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Mar 22, 2009 3:12 PM CDT
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John Steinbeck would relish our economic decline if he were alive today, writes Rachel Dry in the Washington Post. The author of the Great Depression classic Grapes of Wrath , which is regaining popularity these days, romanticized economic hardship and grieved over the affluence of post-WWII America. "He'd think that maybe we're ready...
Fourth Oakland Officer Brain Dead
Associated Press
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Mar 22, 2009 2:31 PM CDT
(AP) -
A fourth Oakland police officer was declared brain dead today after a parolee with a "criminal history" opened fire at a traffic stop and later gunned down members of a team searching for him. Oakland Police officer John Hege, 41, was gravely injured yesterday, capping a day of violence that the Oakland Police Department said was the worst...
Greenies Push Safe Froggy Sex With Hook-Up Pad
NPR
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Mar 22, 2009 2:02 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Frogs have a new reason to leap for joy: a hotel specially designed to allow them to mate in peace and safety, NPR reports. Scottish environmentalists opened the Frog Hotel two weeks ago to protect the amphibians from predators. Frogs “are slowly coming out of hibernation, and the first thing they do is start preparing for the mating season,”...
O'Connor: I'm Not a 'Feminist'
New York Times
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Mar 22, 2009 1:31 PM CDT
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Sandra Day O’Connor says the reason she hoped a woman would be named to replace her on the Supreme Court is that it's easier not to be the only woman on the nation's highest bench. As the first female justice, she tells Deborah Solomon in the New York Times that “there was too much media focus on the one woman, and the minute we got...
Eat 'Real' Rather Than Organic
New York Times
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Mar 22, 2009 1:03 PM CDT
(Newser) -
It seems to be a widespread assumption, but eating organic doesn’t necessarily equal healthy eating, writes Mark Bittman in the New York Times . Organic food consumption is soaring, but the organic label is part of a “marketing program.” To be healthy and help the planet, people should focus on consuming “real ingredients,...
Richardson's Family Bids Final Farewell
New York Daily News
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Mar 22, 2009 12:59 PM CDT
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Close family and friends gathered this afternoon in a tiny white church in upstate New York to say goodbye to Natasha Richardson, the AP reports. The actress’ body was to be laid to rest near her grandmother’s grave after a private service at 2pm, reports the New York Daily News . Husband Liam Neeson, clad in a dark suit and sunglasses,...
Seeking Talks, US May Allow Taliban Political Party
Guardian (UK)
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Mar 22, 2009 12:35 PM CDT
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In an effort to establish a dialogue with the Taliban, the US may allow the militant group to create a political party or be represented by election candidates, the Guardian reports. Other options include removing Taliban leaders from UN blacklists, releasing prisoners, and revising Afghanistan’s constitution. But there’s “no way...
China Busts 100 Monks After Attack on Police
Associated Press
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Mar 22, 2009 12:16 PM CDT
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China arrested almost 100 monks after hundreds of Tibetans attacked a Chinese police station, the AP reports. Police nabbed six while 89 others, almost all monks, turned themselves in, said the state news agency. The uproar appeared to be over a Tibetan who disappeared after he escaped from police, the Xinhua agency said; a Tibetan exile said some...
US Strikes in Pakistan Have Hammered al-Qaeda: Officials
Los Angeles Times
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Mar 22, 2009 11:35 AM CDT
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Some six months of US missile strikes in Pakistan are rocking al-Qaeda, sparking violent infighting among militants, the Los Angeles Times reports. The frequency of attacks was upped last August by the Bush administration when it began launching strikes without Pakistan’s permission. Since then, there have been at least 38 Predator attacks,...
Bloomberg: Geithner's 'the Guy I Would Want'
Politico
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Mar 22, 2009 11:17 AM CDT
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Amidst calls for his ouster, Timothy Geithner can bank on big name supporters: Arnold Schwarzenegger told NBC’s Meet the Press he has confidence in the embattled Treasury secretary, while Michael Bloomberg added that Geithner “is exactly the guy that I would want.” On Fox News Sunday , Christina Romer called demands for Geithner’s...
Hey, Barack: Get Tough Like Michelle
New York Times
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Mar 22, 2009 11:04 AM CDT
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Michelle Obama said her husband would be pulling garden weeds whether he “liked it or not”—and the president could take a page from her book, writes Maureen Dowd in the New York Times . Obama and the Treasury secretary “have been coddling the Wall Street elite,” and the banking bigwigs are taking advantage, heedlessly...
Biden Pokes Fun at the Boss at DC Dinner
Politico
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Mar 22, 2009 10:40 AM CDT
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Joe Biden put his foot in his mouth again, Politico reports—but this time he meant to. President Obama skipped last night’s annual Gridiron Club white-tie gathering of Washington elite, and the VP got in some laughs at his expense, explaining Obama was busy preparing for Easter. “He thinks it’s about him,” Biden said....
Wild Sex Makes Babies
Guardian (UK)
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Mar 22, 2009 10:14 AM CDT
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A night of wild passion is more likely to result in endless nights with a squalling newborn than the mechanical, right-time-of-the-month sex many couples fall into when trying for a baby, say experts. “The better the sex, the better the chances of conception,” noted one. Each partner should focus on making sure the other is satisfied, the...
Spitzer Madam: I Supplied A-Rod With Hookers
New York Daily News
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Mar 22, 2009 9:44 AM CDT
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Move over, Madonna. The former madam who helped keep disgraced former Gov. Eliot Spitzer happy also supplied hookers to Yankees slugger and sometime Madonna boyfriend Alex Rodriguez, she tells the New York Daily News . She even dated A-Rod herself, and found him "hot as hell," says Kristin Davis. "Our paths have definitely crossed personally...
Expelled Girl Sues Prep School, Alleges Cult
New York Times
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Mar 22, 2009 9:20 AM CDT
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It’s a tale worthy of Gossip Girl: A popular student at a posh prep school who was expelled says she was harassed by a secret society of girls that the school and alumnae deny exists anymore. But ex-student Tatum Bass is slapping Ms Porter's with an all-too-real lawsuit, alleging officials at the school—an all-girls boarding institute...
Google Removes Naked Kids From London Street View
Independent (UK)
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Mar 22, 2009 8:49 AM CDT
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As mounting privacy concerns hit Google's new Street View service in the UK, the company has removed pictures of naked children playing outdoors in London. The British government is considering launching an investigation if officials determine that Google has made other images of naked children available to internet users, reports the Independent...
Ford Surprises Flockhart With Ring
People
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Mar 22, 2009 8:24 AM CDT
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Harrison Ford has popped the question to long-time love Calista Flockhart, reports People. The 66-year-old actor has been dating Flockhart, 44, for more than seven years. Ford surprised Flockhart with a ring on Valentine's Day weekend while the couple and their son, Liam, were away on a family vacation. No date for the big day has been set.
Shocked Octuplet Dad Was Furious: Nadya
New York Daily News
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Mar 22, 2009 7:57 AM CDT
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The secret father of Nadya Suleman's octuplets was stunned and furious when he found out about her multiple pregnancy, she tells Radar. "He was speechless. He couldn't even utter a word to me," she said. "He was so angry at the doctor. He said, 'Doesn't that doctor know that you have five kids already?'" (In fact, she already had...
2 Teens Die in Pope Stampede
Times (UK)
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Mar 22, 2009 7:29 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Two teenage girls were killed in a wild stampede as people rushed to view Pope Benedict in Angola yesterday, reports the Times of London. Some 30,000 people raced into a stadium where the pope spoke at a youth rally. The teenagers died at the scene and dozens were injured. "There were too many people and the temperatures were too high,"...
