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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.

Ingraham Denies Calling Meghan McCain Fat
Gawker | Mar 19, 2009 8:55 AM CDT
(Newser) - The liberals made her do it. Laura Ingraham denied on last night's O’Reilly Factor that she’d ever called Meghan McCain fat—even after playing the radio clip in which she seemingly did just that, Gawker reports. The talk-show host argued that the whole thing was a “left-wing attempt to silence any criticism,” engineered...
Teen Fans Blame...Rihanna
New York Times | Mar 19, 2009 8:51 AM CDT
(Newser) - Who deserves the blame for Chris Brown’s alleged attack on Rihanna? Not Brown, say many teens. A recent survey showed 46% blame Rihanna, while 52% placed blame on both parties, the New York Times reports—and the level of support has parents worried. "She probly ran into a door and was too embarrassed so blamed it on Chris,"...
Ambulance Was Turned Away After Richardson Accident
Globe and Mail | Mar 19, 2009 8:46 AM CDT
(Newser) - Potentially life-saving paramedics were turned away before they could examine Natasha Richardson after the Canadian ski accident that claimed her life, reports the Globe and Mail . Ski patrollers had requested an ambulance after the actress stuck her head in a fall on a beginners slope at Mont Tremblant in Quebec, said a spokesman for the ambulance...
Stocks Head Higher on Job Data
Wall Street Journal | Mar 19, 2009 8:40 AM CDT
(Newser) - Stocks headed slightly higher at the open, as commodities rallied and investors cheered better-than-expected jobless claims numbers. The Dow rose 31 points, and the S&P and Nasdaq were up 0.9% and 0.8% respectively. Initial jobless claims fell 12,000 last week, though the four-week moving average rose again, hitting its highest level since October...
Geithner Swinging in Wind After Fed Drops AIG Ball
Washington Post | Mar 19, 2009 8:35 AM CDT
(Newser) - Officials at the Fed knew about AIG's plan to award $165 million in bonuses for months but failed to tell the Obama administration, reports the Washington Post . Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said this week he was "stunned when I learned how bad this was"—belatedly on March 10—and regretted not knowing earlier. But the communication...
Undersea Volcano Erupts in Pacific 'Ring of Fire'
Associated Press | Mar 19, 2009 8:20 AM CDT
(AP) - Scientists sailed today to inspect an undersea volcano that has been erupting for days near Tonga—shooting smoke, steam, and ash thousands of feet into the sky above the South Pacific ocean. The eruption doesn't pose any danger to islanders at this stage, authorities say, and there have been no reports of fish or other animals being affected.
Obama CIO Stole Shirts From JC Penney
Business Insider | Mar 19, 2009 8:12 AM CDT
(Newser) - Days ago, it emerged that President Obama’s Chief Information Officer once pleaded guilty to theft; now the Business Insider comments on what Vivek Kundra stole: $134 worth of JC Penney shirts. “At an average of $33.50 a pop, they weren't even nice shirts, even in 1996 dollars” Eric Krangel writes. According to the police report,...
New Jobless Claims Fall More Than Expected
Associated Press | Mar 19, 2009 8:04 AM CDT
(AP) - New jobless claims fell more than expected last week, but continuing claims set a new record for the eighth straight week and few economists expect the labor market to improve anytime soon. The Labor Department says the tally of initial requests for unemployment insurance dropped to a seasonally-adjusted 646,000 from the previous week's revised figure...
How Obama Can Reboot Geithner
Politico | Mar 19, 2009 7:55 AM CDT
(Newser) - Three times in 3 days the president has had to offer a defense of Tim Geithner, who will almost certainly remain Treasury secretary despite calls to resign. As Eamonn Javers reports in Politico, the White House now has to perform some crisis management: Keep Geithner out of the spotlight, allow him to take tougher policy stances, and, at last, fill...
FedEx Earnings Dive 75%
Wall Street Journal | Mar 19, 2009 7:52 AM CDT
(Newser) - FedEx net income plunged 75% in the third quarter, the company announced today, a bad sign for economists who consider the shipping giant a bellwether. FedEx also announced plans to cut $1 billion in costs, though it didn’t detail how many job cuts that might entail. The company has already lowered salaries, with CEO Fred Smith taking a 20% pay...
US Halts Raids on Medical Marijuana Facilities
Los Angeles Times | Mar 19, 2009 7:32 AM CDT
(Newser) - Attorney general Eric Holder said yesterday that the Justice Department will no longer prosecute medical marijuana dispensaries that operate legally in California and 12 other states, reports the Los Angeles Times . While he and other Obama officials had hinted previously at the change, the AG's announcement was the most detailed statement of the...
Richardson a Superb Artist of Own Making
Entertainment Weekly | Mar 19, 2009 7:27 AM CDT
(Newser) - Natasha Richardson had the finest theater pedigree possible, but her stage presence owed itself to far more than her acting genes, Lisa Schwarzbaum writes in Entertainment Weekly . Her upbringing in the theater—and those famous Redgrave cheekbones—were plainly visible, but the late actress had an aura of competence and sexual elegance...
Go All In on Afghan War, McCain, Lieberman Say
Washington Post | Mar 19, 2009 7:16 AM CDT
(Newser) - Barack Obama’s strategy for Afghanistan must roundly reject the so-called “minimalist” approach being whispered about in DC, write John McCain and Joe Lieberman in today’s Washington Post. The minimalists want the US to focus on limited, “realistic” counterterrorism goals. But McCain and Lieberman remind Obama...
'Walk and Die' Syndrome Likely Killed Richardson
Associated Press | Mar 19, 2009 6:51 AM CDT
(Newser) - The head injury Natasha Richardson sustained in a skiing accident produced what doctors call "walk and die" syndrome, a UCLA neurologist tells the Los Angeles Times . Patients in such cases at first seem fine, walking and talking normally, but they swiftly deteriorate due to delayed bleeding from an artery in the brain, which can push...
UK Breaks Up London Airport Monopoly
Guardian (UK) | Mar 19, 2009 6:32 AM CDT
(Newser) - Britain's competition authority has ordered the country's largest airport operator to sell two London airports, reports the Guardian , in the biggest shakeup of air travel in decades. BAA will retain Heathrow but must sell Gatwick and Stansted airports, along with a Scottish facility. The watchdog said that only a radical breakup and the threat...
North Korea Seizes US Reporters
BBC | Mar 19, 2009 6:16 AM CDT
(Newser) - North Korean soldiers reportedly crossed the Chinese border to arrest two American journalists filming in the border zone, the BBC reports. The women were detained Tuesday along with their guide after ignoring warnings to stop filming, according to Korean media. North Korea—which regularly accuses journalists reporting on its refugee crisis of...
Fritzl: 'I Can't Go Back and Change It'
CNN | Mar 19, 2009 5:42 AM CDT
(Newser) - Monster dad Josef Fritzl apologized "from the bottom of my heart" today for keeping his daughter locked in a cellar as a sex slave for 24 years, then added: "I can't go back and change it." Fritzl, 73, made his remarks as an Austrian jury was about to decide his fate. A verdict and sentencing are expected later today. Prosecutors...
Gates: 'Bin Laden Hunt Like Finding Unabomber'
Reuters | Mar 19, 2009 5:22 AM CDT
(Newser) - Finding the bad guys isn't as easy as it looks in the movies, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said yesterday. Gates compared the hunt for Osama bin Laden with federal agents' 17-year search for the Unabomber, and suggested the same time frame may be similar in the quest to locate al-Qaeda hideouts in the Pakistan-Afghanistan borderlands, Reuters reports.
'AIG Buck Stops With Me'
Wall Street Journal | Mar 19, 2009 4:56 AM CDT
(Newser) - President Obama began a two-day swing through California yesterday, again accepting blame for the AIG mess and urging Washington to stop its finger-pointing, the Wall Street Journal reports. “Washington is in a tizzy and everybody is pointing fingers at each other and saying it's their fault, the Democrats' fault, the Republicans' fault,”...
Bank of America Must Name Bonus Execs
Wall Street Journal | Mar 19, 2009 4:30 AM CDT
(Newser) - This doesn’t bode well for AIG: A judge ruled yesterday that Bank of America must identify the Merrill Lynch executives who received $3.6 billion in bonuses ahead of the banks’ merger, reports the Wall Street Journal . New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo sought disclosure as part of his investigation into the timing of the payouts....
Fossil Discovery Hints Dinos Were Warm and Fuzzy
BBC | Mar 19, 2009 4:12 AM CDT
(Newser) - The evolutionary history of feathers just got a whole lot fuzzier, reports the BBC. A 130-million-year-old fossil has been found in China with “protofeathers,” leading scientists to believe that one of the two main families of dinosaurs—previously thought to have had scaly hides—may in fact have had fuzzy plumage for warmth...
House Votes Today on Bonus Clawback
The Hill | Mar 19, 2009 3:51 AM CDT
(Newser) - The House will vote today on a hastily crafted bill to claw back bonuses from executives at AIG and other bailed-out firms, reports the Hill . The bill, drawn up by Democratic tax experts, slaps a 90% tax on bonuses over $250,000 at firms that received $5 billion or more in federal aid. The House Judiciary Committee is racing to complete another bill...
New Mexico Bans Death Penalty
New Mexican | Mar 19, 2009 3:14 AM CDT
(Newser) - New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson has signed a bill abolishing the state's death penalty, reports the Santa Fe New Mexican . Richardson, who formerly supported capital punishment, said replacing execution with life in prison without the possibility of parole was “the most difficult decision of his political life.” He noted that 130 death-row...
Space Tourism Blasting Off in 2011
Space.com | Mar 19, 2009 2:46 AM CDT
(Newser) - For those bored with mere earthly trips, help is on the way. The first space tourist flights will take off in 2011 from New Mexico, reports AFP. For $200,000, an outfit run by British tycoon Richard Branson will fly tourists 70 miles above earth and then, presumably, back. Flights will begin leaving from Sweden in 2012. Branson’s Virgin Galactic...
Dodd: 'I Saved AIG Bonuses at White House Request'
CNN | Mar 19, 2009 2:32 AM CDT
(Newser) - The bonus loophole mystery has been solved. Banking Committee Chairman Sen. Chris Dodd added language to the stimulus bill that allowed the AIG bonuses to stand—at the request of the White House, he told CNN. The Connecticut Democrat said he did so reluctantly at the insistence of unnamed Obama administration officials, who worried about lawsuits...
Army Phasing Out Program Holding Soldiers After Service
Washington Post | Mar 19, 2009 2:02 AM CDT
(Newser) - The Army plans to stop forcing soldiers to serve again after their enlistment contracts are up, reports the Washington Post . Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced plans yesterday to phase out the “stop-loss” program—which keeps soldiers in the Army beyond their service obligation—over the next two years. Some 13,000 soldiers...
Richardson Dead at 45
Associated Press | Mar 19, 2009 12:12 AM CDT
(AP) - Natasha Richardson, a gifted and precocious heiress to acting royalty whose career highlights included the film Patty Hearst and a Tony-winning performance in a stage revival of Cabaret , died yesterday at age 45 after suffering a head injury during a ski lesson. It was a sudden and horrifying loss for her family and friends, and for the film and...
UK Bans Jolie Movie Ad
Sky News | Mar 18, 2009 11:53 PM CDT
(Newser) - The UK has banned a TV ad for a new Angeline Jolie flick, saying it glorifies violence. In a trailer for Wanted , Jolie kisses co-star James McAvoy as they fire guns in a car chase. It implies "that using guns is sexy and glamorous," complains the nation's ad authority. Universal Pictures—which made the comic book adaptation—retorts...
Let's Impeach the Pope
On Faith | Mar 18, 2009 5:09 PM CDT
(Newser) - In his short reign, Pope Benedict has managed to insult Muslims, women, and Holocaust survivors, writes Robert S. McElvaine, a professor at Millsaps College in Mississippi. But his latest controversy, telling Africans that condoms increase the spread of AIDS, is the last straw. "I am a Catholic and the idea that such a man is God's spokesperson...
'Civilian Surge' Part of New Afghan Plan
Washington Post | Mar 18, 2009 4:52 PM CDT
(Newser) - President Obama’s new Afghanistan policy may include stationing more diplomats and civilians there, officials tell the Washington Post . Obama’s national security advisers are expected to present a plan next week that would send hundreds of government officials from departments like Agriculture and Justice, along with temps yet to be hired,...
Fritzl's Daughter May Have Secretly Attended Court
Times (UK) | Mar 18, 2009 4:44 PM CDT
(Newser) - An intriguing report has surfaced in the aftermath of Josef Fritzl’s surprise guilty plea, the Times of London reports. Though unconfirmed by lawyers on both sides, various outlets say Fritzl’s daughter, Elisabeth, secretly attended much of the Austrian court proceedings. In fact, one source says her presence may have so unnerved her...
Bucks Forward Takes Heat for Mid-Game Tweet
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | Mar 18, 2009 4:31 PM CDT
(Newser) - Charlie Villanueva’s zeal for micro-blogging has him in trouble with the Milwaukee Bucks, who deemed the forward’s half-time locker room tweet during Sunday’s Buck-Celtics game to be unsportsmanlike conduct, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. “We made a point to address Charlie and the team that it’s nothing we...
Frank's House Panel to Grill Geithner Twice
Wall Street Journal | Mar 18, 2009 4:17 PM CDT
(Newser) - As criticism of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner mounts, he is scheduled to take his place on the hot seat next week, the Wall Street Journal reports. Geithner will appear before Barney Frank's House panel—the same one grilling AIG chief Edward Lilly today—Tuesday and Thursday. Two Republican congressmen, Connie Mack and Darrell Issa,...
In Job Hunt, Tech Boosts Old-School Networking
Slate | Mar 18, 2009 4:13 PM CDT
(Newser) - The best way to get back into the workforce is both time-tested and cutting-edge: networking. Facebook, LinkedIn, and even Twitter are taking the place of the old-fashioned phone call, Farhad Manjoo writes for Slate: "The most forward-looking job seekers have all but abandoned job-listing sites in favor of social networks." A 2009 survey...
Senate OKs Ron Kirk as Trade Rep
Dallas Morning News | Mar 18, 2009 4:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Senate today confirmed, in a 92-5 vote, former Dallas mayor Ron Kirk as US trade representative, the Dallas Morning News reports. With global trade declining for the first time in 27 years, Kirk has vowed to make countries fulfill their trade promises to the US. Kirk paid the IRS nearly $8,000 to clear up tax issues before the vote, Reuters adds.
Richardson Off Life Support
New York Post | Mar 18, 2009 4:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - Natasha Richardson's family has taken the actress off life support, the New York Post reports. Family members including husband Liam Neeson, her two children, and her mother, Vanessa Redgrave, were standing vigil by her hospital bedside. Richardson, 45, suffered a critical brain injury in a ski accident two days ago. Meryl Streep and author Joan...
Kanye West Charged in LAX Paparazzi Scuffle
People | Mar 18, 2009 3:50 PM CDT
(Newser) - Kanye West was charged with three misdemeanors today after an incident in which he and his road manager allegedly smashed cameras belonging to two paparazzi, People reports. West and Don Crawley face charges of vandalism, battery and grand theft from the incident six months ago at Los Angeles International Airport. If convicted, West could get up...
Jargon Not a Best Practice, Brit Bureaucrats Told
Reuters | Mar 18, 2009 3:46 PM CDT
(Newser) - This recession requires the British government to drop its jargon and get consensually transparent, er, clear. A government agency frets that people are missing out on services because they don't understand bureaucratic lingo like the following phrases, per Reuters: Slippage: Why not just admit the delay? A menu of options offers choices....
LeAnn Rimes Cheating With Her Co-Star
Us Weekly | Mar 18, 2009 3:33 PM CDT
(Newser) - Country singer LeAnn Rimes is having an affair with co-star Eddie Cibrian, reveals Us Weekly . Security cameras caught the couple holding hands and kissing over dinner last week. They also checked into a hotel for three hours, the magazine reports. Both are married and star together in the Lifetime movie Northern Lights . Rimes is 26; Cibrian is...
Fed Moves Street; Dow Up 91
Wall Street Journal | Mar 18, 2009 3:23 PM CDT
(Newser) - Stocks slumped today until the announcement of the Federal Reserve’s plans to buy billions in Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities, which caused a minor rally in equities, the Wall Street Journal reports. Treasury prices surged and yields plummeted. The Dow gained 90.88 to close at 7,486.58. The Nasdaq rose 29.11, closing at 1,491.22,...
French Blast Pope's Anti-Condom Remarks
BBC | Mar 18, 2009 3:14 PM CDT
(Newser) - Irked by Pope Benedict’s anti-condom remarks in Africa, the French foreign ministry today called them “a threat to public health policies and the duty to protect human life” and voiced “extremely sharp concern over the consequences,” the BBC reports. The pontiff said on the first day of his current visit that condom distribution...
Fed to Spend $1T on Mortgage, Treasury Securities
Wall Street Journal | Mar 18, 2009 3:01 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Fed plans buy up to $300 billion in long-term Treasury securities in an attempt to make lending more affordable, the Wall Street Journal reports. The massive buy is intended to push down interest rates on consumer loans and corporate bonds, which are linked to yields T-bills. The Fed will also buy $750 billion of mortgage-backed securities—above...
Duke, and Other March Villains
Slate | Mar 18, 2009 3:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - Along with the obligatory madness, March always brings along a slew of detestable teams and characters. This year, thankfully, Billy Packer is gone, but Josh Levin, writing for Slate, still has plenty to disparage. The list starts, as always, with: Duke: This isn’t the most deplorable squad ever, but Coach K’s “basketball...
O'Reilly's Naughty Bedtime Story Sweeps Web
Village Voice | Mar 18, 2009 2:50 PM CDT
(Newser) - Bill O’Reilly’s 1998 crime novel Those Who Trespass has already caused him some embarrassment, given that one character is a ticked-off TV journalist who murders his rivals. But the Fox News host also recorded an audiobook version, which Village Voice blogger Alan Scherstuhl has mined for gems—namely the tome's many sex scenes....
Commerce Nominee Locke Sails Through Hearing
Washington Post | Mar 18, 2009 2:38 PM CDT
(Newser) - Gary Locke, President Obama’s third pick for commerce secretary, faced an amiable crowd during today’s confirmation hearing, the Washington Post reports. Locke’s background check was “clean and happy reading” or “boring,” depending on the senator, but not controversial. The former Washington governor—who,...
Brit's Paparazzo Ex Served With Restraining Order
People | Mar 18, 2009 2:33 PM CDT
(Newser) - Adnan Ghalib, the paparazzo who briefly dated Britney Spears, may not contact her or come within 100 yards of the singer for 3 years, People reports. The ruling, handed down by a Los Angeles judge today, was sought by Spears’ father Jamie, who has legal conservatorship over the troubled star and accuses Ghalib of attempting to control his daughter....
Internet Music Retailers Race to Cut Prices
Boston Globe | Mar 18, 2009 2:25 PM CDT
(Newser) - Faced with crumbling CD sales and a digital market without enough oomph to compensate, online music sellers are slashing prices to lure buyers, the Boston Globe reports. “It is the schoolyard crack dealer approach,” one analyst said. Amazon MP3 offers sought-after albums for $3.99, and others for just $0.99. iTunes also offers specials...
In Recession, NBC Page Gig Loses Luster
New York Observer | Mar 18, 2009 2:15 PM CDT
(Newser) - Stop by NBC’s Rockefeller Plaza headquarters for a tour, and you’ll be shown around by cheerful 20-somethings, cheerfully working 50-hour weeks for $10 an hour. Why? Because this is the NBC page program! Michael Eisner started as a page, as did Steve Allen, Willard Scott and others. But these days, such career climbing seems non-existent....
Foreigners Lap Up US Comedies
Variety | Mar 18, 2009 2:06 PM CDT
(Newser) - Foreign audiences are totally into Marley and Me , the Owen Wilson/Jennifer Aniston vehicle, which topped the international box office last weekend with $14.2 million, Variety reports. Marley ’s success—it’s beating Watchmen , among others—runs counter to traditional wisdom about foreign taste for US yuks leaning more to...
US Births Hit Record High
USA Today | Mar 18, 2009 1:56 PM CDT
(Newser) - A record 4.31 million babies were born in the US in 2007, USA Today reports, topping the 4.30 million born in 1957, the height of the “baby boom”—although that year remains impressive because the overall population of the US was much smaller. Unmarried women bore 1.7 million children—40% of US births—in 2007, the most...
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