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.
Ford to Make Car Payments for Buyers Who Lose Jobs
Associated Press
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Mar 31, 2009 10:00 AM CDT
(Newser) -
With auto sales battered by the recession and tight credit, Ford is offering a payment protection plan to reassure consumers delaying buying new cars because of job-loss fears, the AP reports. The automaker will cover payments of up to $700 each month for up to a year on any new Ford, Lincoln, or Mercury if consumers lose their jobs. The program will...
Sun-Times Files for Bankruptcy
Chicago Sun-Times
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Mar 31, 2009 9:43 AM CDT
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The Sun-Times Media Group, owner of the Chicago Sun-Times , today announced that it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, in the hope of “making the company fit for a buyer.” Unlike the also-bankrupt owner of its competitor, the Tribune, the Sun-Times has just one debtor: Uncle Sam. The IRS says the Sun-Times still owes $608 million...
Site Reaches Out to Those Worried Sick About Money
Reuters
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Mar 31, 2009 9:33 AM CDT
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A federal agency has launched an online rescue kit for people whose mental and physical health is being wrecked by economic worries, reports Reuters. The "Getting Through Tough Economic Times" website aims to help people spot the warning signs of emotional distress in themselves and others and point them toward caregivers and ways of reducing...
Obama Fully Invested as CEO-in-Chief
Politico
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Mar 31, 2009 9:16 AM CDT
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Though he entered office with relatively little business experience, the past week has seen President Obama assume the role as “the most powerful player in American business today,” Mike Allen and Jim VandeHei write for Politico. “He’s realizing, ‘Hey, the economy’s mine now, and I better do it my way,’”...
NY Election Seen as Early Referendum
CQPolitics
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Mar 31, 2009 9:11 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Today’s special congressional election in upstate New York is seen as a key early test of President Obama’s agenda, reports CQ Politics. The race, a tight one between Republican Jim Tedisco and Democrat Scott Murphy, has become a battle over Obama’s stimulus bill, bonuses for AIG, and other national issues. Obama himself has chipped...
Hef Ex Kendra to Peddle Stripper Poles
Us Weekly
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Mar 31, 2009 9:08 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Tae Bo just not doing it for you? Kendra Wilkinson, Hugh Hefner’s ex, has a more exciting idea for your next workout. “I’m coming out with my own stripper pole and stripper pole workout,” she tells Us . “It will connect to the ceiling, and you can spin on it and do all that stuff on it.” Wilkinson is also busy planning...
10 Tax Havens Agree to Curtail Bank Secrecy
Telegraph (UK)
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Mar 31, 2009 9:01 AM CDT
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Ten tax-haven nations—including Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and Monaco—will share information with other countries about suspected tax dodgers in a deal to be announced at this week’s G20 summit, the Telegraph reports. The deal is a coup for PM Gordon Brown, who is hosting the summit and who has been pushing for an end to tax havens...
Was Obama Tough Enough?
Wall Street Journal
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Mar 31, 2009 8:57 AM CDT
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Barack Obama gave GM and Chrysler some tough love yesterday. Too tough, or too much love? Here’s what the papers are saying: Obama “delivered a believable, sharp, and necessary ultimatum,” says the Washington Post. He rightly demanded union concessions, and put bankruptcy back on the table. But the Chicago Tribune...
Obamas Off on Euro Tour
Reuters
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Mar 31, 2009 8:55 AM CDT
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Barack and Michelle Obama set off this morning for Great Britain, the first stop in an ambitious European tour centered on the G-20 meeting Thursday. Obama will be pushing a hefty agenda on this trip, Reuters reports, championing proposals to bring greater international regulatory oversight to hedge funds and “too big to fail” institutions....
Auto Plan Drives GOP in Different Directions
Politico
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Mar 31, 2009 8:46 AM CDT
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Republicans were caught off guard by Obama’s auto moves yesterday, and they responded in wildly different ways, Politico reports. Some complained the president hadn’t been hard enough on GM and Chrysler, while others groused that he’d been harder on them than he’d been on Wall Street. Still others, like California’s Darrell...
Stocks Rebound on Q1's Last Day
Wall Street Journal
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Mar 31, 2009 8:45 AM CDT
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Stocks tried to end the quarter on a positive note this morning, taking back some of what they lost in yesterday’s sell-off. The Dow added 75 points, while the Nasdaq and S&P were up 1% and 1.4% respectively. GM wasn’t in on the rally though; its shares slid another 3%. It’s been a brutal first quarter for stocks, with the Dow...
GM Will Drive Obama Off Cliff: Brooks
New York Times
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Mar 31, 2009 8:36 AM CDT
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For decades, General Motors hasn’t been so much in the automaking business, David Brooks writes in the New York Times , as “in the restructuring business.” And for just as long, presidents have sought to push bankruptcy into the future. By getting serious, though, “the Obama administration and the Democratic Party are now completely...
LiLo Driving Porn King's Ride
TMZ
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Mar 31, 2009 8:24 AM CDT
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So how is La Lohan, who hasn't had steady work in many moons, driving a $115,000 Maserati? Turns out the ride isn’t hers—it belongs to porn king Dennis DeSantis, TMZ reports. DeSantis, producer of Origami So Horny among other, er, classics, apparently isn’t requiring LiLo’s acting services in trade. And Lohan will continue...
Obama's Auto Crackdown Worries Bailed-Out Banks
Washington Post
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Mar 31, 2009 8:12 AM CDT
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After the Obama administration kicked out GM’s boss and said two of the Big Three automakers may benefit from bankruptcy, CEOs of banks bailed out by the government are wondering if there's a bull's-eye on their backs, the Washington Post reports. The risk of such a crackdown has been “heightened,” says a financial lobbyist, and...
In Wine Market, a Bubble Has Burst
New York Times
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Mar 31, 2009 8:08 AM CDT
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The most serious wine collectors buy their bottles "en primeur"—paying vineyards for futures of wines that haven't been produced yet. Futures prices for wine had spiraled higher and higher in recent years, even for inferior vintages, as a new class of big spenders moved into the market. But many buyers are staying away from this week's...
Critics: Afghan 'Home Rape' Law Worse Than Taliban
Guardian (UK)
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Mar 31, 2009 8:02 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Critics are blasting a new law in Afghanistan that forbids a woman to refuse sex with her husband or to leave home without his permission, reports the Guardian . The law, opposed by the UN, is viewed as a major step backward for women in a nation whose constitution supports equal rights. Observers believe Afghan President Hamid Karzai signed the law...
Medvedev: Obama and I Must Work Together
Washington Post
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Mar 31, 2009 7:57 AM CDT
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Relations between the US and Russia were testy, to say the least, by the end of 2008—a condition for which Dmitry Medvedev, not surprisingly, blames Washington. In a needling op-ed for the Washington Post , the Russian president writes that the proposed missile defense system and support for Georgia and Ukraine's NATO bids "undermined...
Gates Stakes His Claim Under a New President
New York Times
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Mar 31, 2009 7:40 AM CDT
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In 2008, under another president, Robert Gates spent 115 days traveling to Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo, and 23 other countries. But this year, writes the New York Times , the defense secretary has been spending much more time in Washington. Gates, the only holdover from the Bush Cabinet, has slowly secured a key role under Barack Obama, the eighth president...
Nefertiti Bust May Be Ancient 'Makeover'
Reuters
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Mar 31, 2009 7:39 AM CDT
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Nefertiti’s image as a flawless beauty of antiquity may not be entirely accurate, Reuters reports. New computer scans reveal a slightly different face at the core layer of the Egyptian queen’s famous 3,300-year-old bust than the finely chiseled planes of the statue’s surface—one with a bumpy nose, less striking eye and cheekbone...
India's Rampaging Elephants Become Election Issue
Reuters
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Mar 31, 2009 7:28 AM CDT
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Villagers in eastern India have pledged to give their votes in the upcoming election to whoever can save them from rampaging elephants, Reuters reports. Dozens of people are trampled to death in the region every year by elephants forced to raid farmland because of habitat loss, and the two biggest parties have promised a review of elephant policy.
Rich Kids Get Leg Up at Cash- Strapped Schools
New York Times
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Mar 31, 2009 7:19 AM CDT
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Endowments are shrinking, and kids are needing more aid—so many colleges are reluctantly giving an admissions boost to students who can pay in full, the New York Times reports. Schools are finding ways to let in more wealthy students without sacrificing "need-blind" labels: by admitting more foreign students, transfers, and those...
Thatcher's 'Big Bang' Free-for-All Led to Bust
Wall Street Journal
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Mar 31, 2009 6:55 AM CDT
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The British regulatory reforms that changed the face of the financial industry in the '80s allowed banks to become bloated giants, two architects of the so-called "Big Bang" changes tell the Wall Street Journal . The deregulation let London's financial sector flourish, the men say, but also allowed banks to become too big for even their...
Big Strides in US Optimism, Poll Shows
ABC News
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Mar 31, 2009 6:41 AM CDT
(Newser) -
American attitudes are showing signs of a turnaround in the 70 days since Barack Obama took the reins, a new ABC News/ Washington Post poll reports. The percentage who say the country is headed in the right direction has more than doubled since the end of the Bush era—some 42% say the country's on the right track, up from 19% in January.
Taliban Chief Claims Lahore Attack, Vows to Hit US
Times (UK)
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Mar 31, 2009 6:26 AM CDT
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The head of the Pakistani Taliban and the man accused of masterminding the assassination of Benazir Bhutto has claimed responsibility for yesterday's commando assault on the Lahore police academy and has threatened more attacks, the Times of London reports. Baitullah Mehsud personally called Western news agencies to take credit for the attack instead...
Detroit's Papers Missing on Red-Letter Day
New York Times
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Mar 31, 2009 6:04 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Yesterday was a once-in-a-lifetime news day in Detroit: GM's boss was forced out, Chrysler was pushed to merge with Fiat, Michigan State made it to the Final Four—and the first day that Motor City's two daily newspapers didn't land on doorsteps to tell readers all about it. Both the Detroit News and Detroit Free Press had long chosen Monday...
Auto Intervention Puts Obama on Risky Road
New York Times
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Mar 31, 2009 5:46 AM CDT
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President Obama's intervention in the auto industry puts him on a risky road through uncharted territory, David E. Sanger writes in the New York Times . Making decisions for an industrial giant like GM is a totally different enterprise than stepping in with the likes of AIG, Sanger writes—especially when the feds' promise to back warranties...
Google Launches $100M Venture Capital Fund
Wall Street Journal
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Mar 31, 2009 5:35 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Google will launch a venture capital fund next year with an initial capitalization of about $100 million, reports the Wall Street Journal . Unlike other corporate funds that back companies in their own industries, Google Ventures will look beyond the Internet to also invest in biotech, health care, and environmental technology. The fund managers say...
Hospital Fires Staffers for Octuplet Snooping
Los Angeles Times
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Mar 31, 2009 5:07 AM CDT
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The hospital where octuplet mom Nadya Suleman birthed her brood has fired 15 of its employees and disciplined another eight for unauthorized peeking at Suleman’s medical records, the Los Angeles Times reports. The breech, discovered 10 days ago, has been reported to state authorities and to Suleman. The snoopers didn’t seem intent on...
Yemen Doc Cleared to Leave Gitmo After 7 Years
CNN
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Mar 31, 2009 4:38 AM CDT
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A Yemeni doctor held at Guantanamo Bay since 2002 has been cleared for transfer abroad as part of the administration's review of prisoner cases, reports CNN. Justice Department officials say the hard part now will be to find a country willing to take him. The Bush administration once claimed the physician had taken part in an anthrax program of Al...
Can Tomatoes Grow to Love Shakespeare?
Times (UK)
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Mar 31, 2009 4:16 AM CDT
(Newser) -
A tomato by any other name might taste as sweet, but will it grow as fast without the sound of a human voice? A new British study intends to find out with recordings of Shakespeare's verse and a poem by John Wyndman. The recordings will be played to the plants via headphones connected to their pots. "Prince Charles talks to plants," said...
Hundreds Missing in Shipwreck off Libya
BBC
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Mar 31, 2009 3:50 AM CDT
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Hundreds of people are missing and feared dead after at least one boat packed with illegal immigrants sank off the coast of Libya, the BBC reports. Libyan officials say they managed to rescue 23 people after a vessel carrying 250 Europe-bound migrants sank. Another boat carrying 342 passengers is still missing. Many of the migrants are believed to...
Salmonella Triggers Pistachio Recall
WebMD
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Mar 31, 2009 3:26 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Consumers have been warned to steer clear of pistachios and any product containing them until the FDA probes the extent of salmonella contamination, reports WebMD. A million pounds of possibly tainted pistachios from a California processor have been recalled and authorities expect that more recalls will follow. Affected products range from trail...
New Sex Scandal Rocks Oprah School
New York Daily News
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Mar 31, 2009 3:08 AM CDT
(Newser) -
A new sex scandal has hit Oprah Winfrey's elite girls school in South Africa, the second in less than two years, reports the New York Daily News . Seven students have been suspended for sexually harassing classmates, including bullying students and "physical contact of a sexual nature," said a letter sent to a parent. Oprah sobbed on the...
Mystery East Coast Fireball Was a Russian Rocket
Space.com
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Mar 31, 2009 2:47 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The fireball that lit up parts of the East Coast Sunday night was almost certainly the exploding remains of a Russian rocket, a US Naval Observatory official tells Space.com. The second stage of the Soyuz rocket was slated to enter the atmosphere at the time and place the fireball was reported by residents along the Atlantic coast, according to an...
Sarko Threatens to Walk Out of G20 Summit
Times (UK)
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Mar 31, 2009 2:11 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Nicolas Sarkozy may walk out on the G20 summit if things don't go his way, the Times of London reports. The French president—who blames "Anglo-Saxons" for the financial crisis—is pushing for tougher global financial regulation and has told his ministers that he will abandon the talks if France's demands are not met.
US Ditches 'War on Terror'
Reuters
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Mar 31, 2009 1:45 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The Obama administration has dropped the phrase "war on terror" in reference to the conflict with al-Qaeda and other Islamic extremists, Reuters reports. "It's not being used," said Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who noted that there have been no official directives about the label. Many international observers have criticized...
Nap Traps JetBlue Worker in Cargo Hold
Boston Globe
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Mar 31, 2009 1:21 AM CDT
(Newser) -
A JetBlue employee ended up flying from New York to Boston in a plane's cargo hold after dozing off while stacking luggage, the Boston Globe reports. The panicked baggage handler called the airline when he woke and realized he was airborne. The worker was uninjured, and was returned to New York—in the passenger cabin—after being interviewed...
Pirates Invade iPhone App Store
Wired
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Mar 30, 2009 8:44 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Pirates have struck the iPhone app store and cracked roughly one in five paid applications for online distribution, Wired reports. At least 5,000 apps are circulating on the Internet, says one analytics company, which found dozens of apps that are downloaded only once for every 100 cracked copies. "It's a real problem that developers, Apple...
'Python Patrols' Hunt Down Snakes in Fla. Keys
CNN
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Mar 30, 2009 8:08 PM CDT
(Newser) -
So-called "python patrols" are scouring the Florida Keys for rogue snakes that gobble up endangered species, CNN reports. Conservation manager Alison Higgins started assembling the teams after pythons, some 20 feet long, were found eating birds, bobcats, and even alligators. The snakes are often released by pet owners in Everglades...
Outlaw Biker Attacks Shock Aussies
Time
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Mar 30, 2009 7:30 PM CDT
(Newser) -
A rash of biker-gang attacks in Australia has outraged citizens and spurred officials to consider new laws, Time reports. In a recent eruption, one biker bludgeoned another to death with a steel post at a crowded Sydney airport. Shootings have also rattled quiet neighborhoods and defied the biker code of keeping turf wars private. One expert says...
Disney Cuts Deal to Show Clips on YouTube
Variety
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Mar 30, 2009 7:02 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Walt Disney Co. has struck a deal with YouTube to show clips from ABC and ESPN shows on the video-sharing site, Variety reports. Facing another year of red ink—YouTube still isn't profitable, the Wall Street Journal says—the company agreed to let Disney show ads along with the clips as long as it shares the profits. In another...
Once-a-Day Heart Combo Pill Wows Researchers
Associated Press
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Mar 30, 2009 6:29 PM CDT
(AP) -
It's been a dream for a decade: a single daily pill combining aspirin, cholesterol medicine and a blood pressure drug—everything people need to prevent heart attacks and strokes in a cheap, generic form. Skeptics pooh-poohed it, but now the first big test of the "polypill" has proved them wrong. An experimental combo pill was as effective...
Intel Unveils High-Speed Chip
Wall Street Journal
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Mar 30, 2009 5:46 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Intel has rolled out a new chip for servers that will more than double the effectiveness of systems but consume no extra power, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Xeon 5500 excels at “virtualization,” allowing multiple operating systems and applications to run on one server—which Intel hopes will attract buyers in a recession....
Cheney Ran Secret Hit Squad: Hersh
CNN
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Mar 30, 2009 5:30 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The Bush administration ran a secret team authorized to assassinate foreign targets without being accountable to Congress, says New Yorker reporter Seymour Hersh. On CNN's Situation Room, he said the hit squad could go "into a country without telling the CIA station chief or the ambassador and whack someone. I am sorry, Wolf, yes I have a problem...
Obama Eyes Syria as Path to Mideast Peace
New Yorker
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Mar 30, 2009 5:00 PM CDT
(Newser) -
President Obama may renew stalled talks between Israel and Syria, both to revive hopes of Mideast peace and isolate Iran, but the approach is laden with pitfalls, Seymour M. Hersh writes in the New Yorker . Some observers doubt Israel will ever move 20,000 settlers out of the Golan Heights—land that Syria demands to have back—and others...
Hartnett Hospitalized With Stomach Virus
TMZ
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Mar 30, 2009 4:36 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Josh Hartnett was taken to a Los Angeles hospital early this morning after complaining of stomach pains, TMZ reports. The actor was picked up at the Chateau Marmont around 2am and walked himself to the ambulance. The “excruciating pain” was perhaps caused by a stomach virus Hartnett picked up while shooting overseas; he had complained about...
Uptick in Mass Murders Could Be Linked to Economy
Christian Science Monitor
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Mar 30, 2009 4:33 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The recent spate of shootings could point to a link between violence and the faltering US economy, the Christian Science Monitor reports. “Most of these mass killings are precipitated by some catastrophic loss, and when the economy goes south, there are simply more of these losses,” said criminologist Jack Levin, and others agree. Though...
White House Favors Managed Bankruptcy for Chrysler, GM
Wall Street Journal
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Mar 30, 2009 4:05 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The Obama administration’s favored plan to rescue GM and Chysler is a managed bankruptcy that would relieve them of their biggest liabilities by splitting the carmakers into “good” and “bad” components, the Wall Street Journal reports. The “good” GM would comprise profitable brands like Chevy and Cadillac...
Texas Gov Gets Grief Over Stimulus Rejection
NPR
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Mar 30, 2009 3:52 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The fallout from Texas Gov. Rick Perry's rejection of $555 million in stimulus funds for unemployment benefits could threaten his re-election bid—but as other politicians cave to public pressure, Perry has yet to waver, NPR reports. "Everything's going to be viewed through that prism," says the editor of Texas Weekly of Perry's principled...
Coming: Dating Show for People With 'More to Love'
Hollywood Reporter
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Mar 30, 2009 3:26 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Fox is producing a “dating show for the rest of us” featuring average-looking and average-size female contestants competing for the love of an ample “Kevin James-type,” the Hollywood Reporter reports. Titled More to Love , it was inspired by the success of Bachelor and The Biggest Loser, which challenged the industry...
