Newser Story Index from April, 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.

Justice Souter to Retire at End of Court Term
NPR | Apr 30, 09 9:43 PM CDT
(Newser) - Supreme Court Justice David Souter plans to retire at the end of the current term in June, reports Nina Totenberg of NPR. The move will give President Obama his first chance to make his mark on the court. Souter, 69, has reportedly informed the White House of his decision. He has long made it clear to friends that he doesn't like living in Washington...

Fiat Has Long Shed 'Fix It Again Tony' Reputation
New York Times | Apr 30, 09 9:11 PM CDT
(Newser) - The last time Fiat tried to make a go of it in the US market, its unreliable cars earned it the nickname Fix It Again Tony, reports the New York Times . That was 25 years and another world ago. After a renewed focus on quality under CEO Sergio Marchionne, the Italian automaker is now hoping to rescue bankrupt Chrysler—it will have a 20%...

Surprise: Mercury Has a Personality
Wired | Apr 30, 09 8:35 PM CDT
(Newser) - Mercury's not such a dull planet after all. A new batch of papers in Science spells out evidence of a busy volcanic past and describes an unusual impact crater that would stretch from Boston to DC, reports Wired . The papers, which draw from the October flyby of NASA's Messenger craft, speculate that 40% of the planet's surface was formed by volcanoes....

Confirmed Swine Flu Cases Jump
CNN | Apr 30, 09 8:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - The number of confirmed swine flu cases worldwide jumped from 147 to 257 yesterday, according to the World Health Organization. Hundreds more suspected cases are still being investigated. The jump in confirmed cases is likely attributable to investigators working through their backlog of specimens rather than rapidly mounting incidents of the disease,...

Mexico Official: 'We're On the Right Track'
Associated Press | Apr 30, 09 7:48 PM CDT
(Newser) - Mexico's top medical official told the AP that he's hopeful swine flu has begun to wane in his nation. "The fact that we have a stabilization in the daily numbers, even a drop, makes us optimistic," said Jose Angel Cordova. "We think we're on the right track." An official from the World Health Organization, however, cautioned that...

Biden's Flu Advice Gives White House a Headache
Christian Science Monitor | Apr 30, 09 6:53 PM CDT
(Newser) - Oh, Joe. The vice president's impromptu advice this morning to avoid airplanes and subways has resulted in a daylong series of rebuttals and backtracking, reports the Christian Science Monitor . “To suggest that people not fly at this stage of things is a broad brush stroke bordering on fear mongering,” said an American Airlines spokesman....

Al-Qaeda Agent Pleads Guilty to Supporting Terrorism
Peoria Journal Star | Apr 30, 09 6:29 PM CDT
(Newser) - An al-Qaeda sleeper agent who entered the country the day before the 9/11 attacks pleaded guilty to supporting terrorism in federal court today and faces 15 years in prison, the Peoria Journal Star reports. The government says Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, who had been designated an "enemy combatant" and detained since 2001, attended terrorist...

LA Cops Arrest Suspected Serial Killer From '70s, '80s
Los Angeles Times | Apr 30, 09 5:57 PM CDT
(Newser) - Los Angeles police say a 72-year-old insurance claims adjuster may in fact be the city's "most prolific serial killer," the Los Angeles Times reports. The suspect, John Floyd Thomas, may have killed up to 30 older women and raped scores more during two separate rampages in the 1970s and 1980s, police say. He has been charged with two murders,...

Scientists: Parrots Groove to the Beat
Boston Globe | Apr 30, 09 5:13 PM CDT
(Newser) - Yes, it's an actual study: Parrots can dance. Really and truly dance. A painstaking review of lab video—and YouTube—revealed that the birds have rhythm, the Boston Globe reports. Frame-by-frame analysis of birds’ motion to music shows that they bob and weave in perfect sync to a beat, a new study shows. Scientists believe the bird’s...

Oakland Proposes Nation's First Pot Tax
Wall Street Journal | Apr 30, 09 4:55 PM CDT
(Newser) - Oakland’s city council has approved a provision to apply a 1.8% tax to marijuana sold at medical dispensaries. If voters endorse the measure in July, Oakland would be the first city in the US to tax pot, reports the Wall Street Journal . Backers say it would bring in somewhere between $400,000 and $1 million annually for the cash-strapped city....

House Approves Credit Card Reform
Reuters | Apr 30, 09 4:44 PM CDT
(Newser) - The House today approved legislation to protect credit card holders from hidden fees and sudden rate hikes, Reuters reports. Legislators voted overwhelmingly for the Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights, a measure banks complain will tighten the amount of credit available and make holding a card more expensive. The Senate is expected to pass its own...

Couple Caught Having Sex on Windsor Castle's Lawn
Guardian (UK) | Apr 30, 09 4:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - Let's hope the queen had her shades drawn. A couple in Britain stripped off their clothes and began having sex on the lawn of Windsor Castle today, the Guardian reports. “People were shouting things like, ‘What are you doing?’ but the couple didn't seem to care,” said one witness. “It was going on for about 10 or 15...

White House Staffer Caught Flu in Mexico
Washington Post | Apr 30, 09 3:46 PM CDT
(Newser) - An administration staffer who worked at a dinner President Obama attended during his trip to Mexico likely contracted the H1N1 virus there, the Washington Post reports. The unnamed Energy Department security worker has since transmitted the flu to his wife, son, and nephew, though he has been cleared of the infection. Neither Obama nor Energy Secretary...

Safety Remains in the Spotlight
MSNBC | Apr 30, 09 3:40 PM CDT
(Newser) - A year after second-place finisher Eight Belles had to be euthanized following the Kentucky Derby, safety has improved—but the inherent dangers of horse racing remain immutable, MSNBC reports. The industry has altered the rules regarding steroids, whips, and horseshoes, "but the bottom line is, not a lot of change," said a congressman...

Dow Has Best 2-Month Showing Since 2002
Wall Street Journal | Apr 30, 09 3:28 PM CDT
(Newser) - The markets were mixed today but wrapped up a strong month. The Dow, which fell 17.61 points to close at 8168.12, rose 7.4% in April, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Dow has risen 15.65% in two months—its best two-month showing since 2002 and the start of the last bull market, the Journal notes. The Nasdaq, which gained 5.36 to 1,717.30,...

Rich Feel 'Guilty' Spending Now: Poll
USA Today | Apr 30, 09 3:18 PM CDT
(Newser) - Even the still-rich are unhappy in this economic climate, though their dolor is more likely to come from shame than anything else, USA Today reports. 54% of people who have $100,000 to spend after such mundane things like mortgage payments and taxes “feel guilty purchasing luxury goods” nowadays, according to a survey. But it’s...

Chrysler Bankruptcy Obama's Blunt Message to GM
Detroit Free Press | Apr 30, 09 3:08 PM CDT
(Newser) - In announcing Chrysler’s bankruptcy, President Obama shows other troubled firms and industries there’s a point where bailouts stop and hard choices begin—and that message must ring especially clear at General Motors, writes Tom Walsh for the Detroit Free Press . GM’s creditors will now be under a lot of pressure to accept what...

WHO Drops 'Swine Flu,' Now Calls It H1N1
Advertising Age | Apr 30, 09 2:56 PM CDT
(Newser) - The World Health Organization will stop using the term "swine flu" and instead call the virus by its technical name, H1N1 influenza A, reports the Times of London. The UN agency made the move after nations began slaughtering pigs and banning pork products in a misguided effort to stem the outbreak. Pork is safe to eat, a point the...

Clinton to Iran: Free Reporter
Reuters | Apr 30, 09 2:39 PM CDT
(Newser) - Hillary Clinton demanded that Iran release Roxana Saberi, the Iranian-American journalist held on accusations of spying, Reuters reports. “We have great concerns about Ms. Saberi’s health and well being,” Clinton said today, citing reports that Saberi is on hunger strike. The case raises questions about Iran’s legal system,...

FDA Slaps Strictest Warning Label on Botox
Bloomberg | Apr 30, 09 2:10 PM CDT
(Newser) - Botox will now carry the Food and Drug Administration’s strictest warning for pharmaceuticals after the agency raised concerns over the risk of botulism last year, Bloomberg reports. The approval of a rival botulinum toxin for cosmetic purposes prompted the review. The toxin can cause muscle weakness and breathing difficulty, particularly in...

Gitmo Inmates May Land on Mainland: Gates
New York Times | Apr 30, 09 2:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - The fate of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay remains unclear, but Robert Gates hinted at one possibility during a Senate hearing today, reports the New York Times : Inmates who aren’t tried, repatriated, or sent to other countries could wind up in the US. Of the 250 “enemy combatants” in custody, the defense secretary said, “what...

Why Our Brains Want What's Bad for Us
Wall Street Journal | Apr 30, 09 1:46 PM CDT
(Newser) - Former Food and Drug Administration chief David Kessler thinks Americans are victims of “conditioned hyper-eating,” and he’s written a book about it: The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite . The Wall Street Journal poked him for some answers about how food can “hijack” our brains,...

Rumors as Virulent as Swine Flu Itself
Reuters | Apr 30, 09 1:31 PM CDT
(Newser) - Rumors about the origins of the swine flu outbreak are spreading faster than the virus itself, with theories ranging from a group of slaughtered pigs in China to an al-Qaeda conspiracy, Reuters reports. China’s government was actually prompted into making a formal statement by international media reports suggesting that dead pigs in one province...

Flu Carries Lessons for Bioterror Fight
Newsweek | Apr 30, 09 1:11 PM CDT
(Newser) - The H1N1 flu outbreak spotlights a public-health infrastructure ill suited to respond to a pandemic or its close cousin, a bioterror attack, D.A. Henderson writes for Newsweek . We must “sharpen our health-care response. Rapid diagnosis and response are critical,” he writes. The “interconnected world we live in” means a little-known...

NC Rep Calls Shepard Murder a 'Hoax'
ABC News | Apr 30, 09 12:57 PM CDT
(Newser) - A North Carolina congresswoman is backtracking after saying during a House debate that the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard was a “hoax” used by gay-rights activists, WTVD-TV of Raleigh-Durham reports. Arguing against a new hate-crimes bill, Republican Virginia Foxx said the highly publicized killing of Shepard—whose mother was in the...

Palin Ignores McCain on Twitter
Washington Examiner | Apr 30, 09 12:30 PM CDT
(Newser) - Sarah Palin is following some fellow Republicans on Twitter, but she's not showing any love for former running mate John McCain.The Alaska governor is keeping tabs on Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly of Fox, David Gregory of NBC, George Stephanopoulos of ABC, and CNN, but not nemesis Katie Couric—or anyone else from CBS, the Washington Examiner...

Bankruptcy 'New Lease on Life' for Chrysler: Obama
Washington Post | Apr 30, 09 12:14 PM CDT
(Newser) - President Obama said today that Chrysler’s impending bankruptcy is “not a sign of weakness but one more step” towards recovery, the Washington Post reports. The 1-to-2 month “surgical” bankruptcy—a time frame met with skepticism by experts—will give the automaker a “new lease on life,” Obama said....

Marketers Ditch Fast Food for Produce Aisle
The Big Money | Apr 30, 09 12:10 PM CDT
(Newser) - Wary of being associated with fast food, Disney and others are leaving Happy Meals behind and targeting young buyers—well, their parents—by branding everything from eggs to apples, the Big Money reports. Disney properties like Mickey Mouse, Miley Cyrus, and Zac Efron appear on packaging as well as the tiny stickers that dot the stock in...

Disney to Buy Hulu Stake, Upload ABC Shows
Wall Street Journal | Apr 30, 09 12:03 PM CDT
(Newser) - Disney and Hulu have a deal to allow the web-video site to show episodes from ABC properties, the Wall Street Journal reports. Disney’s approximately 30% stake in Hulu will be comparable to that of NBC and News Corp, which bankrolled the site initially. Disney said popular shows like Lost and Grey’s Anatomy would be available, along...

Geithner's Brother Thinks He's Beautiful
Business Insider | Apr 30, 09 11:57 AM CDT
(Newser) - Did you do a double take when you saw Tim Geithner on People ’s 50-most-beautiful-people list? Joe Weisenthal of the Business Insider did. Geithner has all the sex appeal of a lifelong bureaucrat—which, um, he is. Weisenthal finds that People executive David Geithner is the Treasury chief’s brother. Now the only question is: Did...

Traders Sneeze, Peso Catches Cold—or Flu
Bloomberg | Apr 30, 09 11:49 AM CDT
(Newser) - Peso trading is taking a hit as Mexico City brokerages, wary of spreading the flu, send home anyone who so much as sneezes, Bloomberg reports. Face masks litter the floor at one brokerage, whose daily trading volume is down 30%, as traders furiously scrub their desks in an attempt to kill germs. "You sneeze, you go home,” says one trader....

Tyra Stalker Convicted, Avoids Jail
New York Daily News | Apr 30, 09 11:39 AM CDT
(Newser) - A Brooklyn grocer who threatened to slit the throat of a studio staffer for denying him access to Tyra Banks was convicted today of stalking the supermodel. A judge spared Brady Green jail time and suggested he leave New York for “a location where he can thrive,” the Daily News reports. The 39-year-old sent Banks roses and was holding...

Chrysler Bankruptcy Faces Bumpy Road
New York Times | Apr 30, 09 11:28 AM CDT
(Newser) - The battle to restructure Chrysler is about to go public, and could get messy, Michael de la Merced writes for the New York Times . After failing to get all the automaker’s debt-holders in line, the government prepared a “prepackaged bankruptcy,” a Chapter 11 filing with a reorganization plan that has most of Chrysler’s creditors...

New Orleans Builds on Hollywood-Friendly Rep
USA Today | Apr 30, 09 11:20 AM CDT
(Newser) - Movie projects like The Curious Case of Benjamin Button have provided valuable revenue to beleaguered New Orleans, and new studio and soundstage developments aim to ensure the city has all the amenities filmmakers need to complete their projects. The city is getting 600,000 feet of soundstages—needed to shoot indoor scenes—and a $30 million...

From TV News to R&B Hit
Time | Apr 30, 09 11:11 AM CDT
(Newser) - If you've ever thought the TV news needed a little something extra, meet Michael Gregory. The 24-year-old Brooklyn musician has taken YouTube by storm by mashing up the news into a faux-R&B track with the use of Auto-Tune, Time reports. The software designed to correct pitch—which can also make humans sound like sexy robots—has been...

Open-Source Software a Cheap Fix for Hospitals
Wall Street Journal | Apr 30, 09 10:58 AM CDT
(Newser) - Hospitals around the country are scrambling to comply with a federal mandate that they digitize their records systems, and one Texas hospital is an example of how to do that virtually for free, the Wall Street Journal reports. Developed with billions of taxpayer dollars, the Veterans Health Administration’s software is open source, meaning...

Boxing's Little Icons Prep For Duel
Wall Street Journal | Apr 30, 09 10:47 AM CDT
(Newser) - Saturday will see a boxing matchup sure to draw countless diehard fans: Filipino Manny Pacquiao, considered the sport’s “pound-for-pound best,” versus Britiain's Ricky Hatton, the current International Boxing Organization junior welterweight champ. “When Manny fights, everything stops in the Philippines,” a Manila journalist...

Top Gun Star Comes Out After 39 Years
SheWired | Apr 30, 09 10:42 AM CDT
(Newser) - Top Gun and The L Word star Kelly McGillis has confirmed longstanding rumors that she's a lesbian, saying she's unequivocally "done with the man thing," SheWired reports. McGillis, 51, said she has wrestled with her sexuality since adolescence and believed God was punishing her for being gay. "Life is a freaking journey, and it's...

Mexico's First Flu Death Exposes Containment Trouble
Associated Press | Apr 30, 09 10:33 AM CDT
(Newser) - After a 39-year-old woman became Mexico’s first person to die of swine flu, authorities quickly responded—but efforts were mixed, the AP finds. Medical teams interviewed 472 people who possibly had contact with the woman, a tax collector whose family runs a convenience store; they temporarily closed the ICU where she’d been. But follow-up...

Possible Assassination Try Kills 4 Near Dutch Royals
Radio Free Netherlands | Apr 30, 09 10:27 AM CDT
(Newser) - Four people were killed today and 13 injured in a possible assassination attempt at a celebration honoring the Dutch queen, Radio Netherlands reports. A car broke barriers and zoomed through a crowd, crashing into a monument just as the royal family was passing in an open-topped bus; they were sped to safety. Some 20 people were sprawled on the ground...

Next for Miss California: $1.5M Marriage Ad Campaign
CNN | Apr 30, 09 10:25 AM CDT
(Newser) - Carrie Prejean is going to push “opposite marriage” in a new $1.5 million ad campaign bankrolled by same-sex opponent National Organization for Marriage, CNN reports. The group says the ad will call “gay-marriage advocates to account for their unwillingness to debate the real issue: gay marriage has consequences.” Miss California...

Pols, Hacker Among 'Influentials'
Time | Apr 30, 09 10:18 AM CDT
(Newser) - Time has unveiled its latest tallying of the world’s 100 most influential people, and yes, of course, Barack Obama is on it. But the other 99 choices aren’t as obvious. Bernie Madoff makes the list, as do Rush Limbaugh, George Clooney, and 4Chan’s Moot. And as usual, Time has snagged some celebrity writers, making for some great...

Jon & Kate Dad Cops to 'Poor Judgment'
People | Apr 30, 09 10:10 AM CDT
(Newser) - Jon & Kate Plus 8 star Jon Gosselin denies rumors that he’s cheating on wife Kate, People reports. He says the woman he was spotted with at a bar is just a friend, but adds, “being out with [her] late at night showed poor judgment on my part.” Elsewhere: Contrary to recent rumors, Hugh Hefner is just friends with ex...

Demons Under Control, Royals' Greinke Makes Good
Yahoo! | Apr 30, 09 10:02 AM CDT
(Newser) - Kansas City’s Zack Greinke has been, without question, the best pitcher of this young baseball season. The 25-year-old didn’t allow a run in his first three starts; his 0.50 ERA and 5-0 record are both major-league bests. After losing most of the 2006 season to his fight with depression and social anxiety, he tells Jeff Passan of Yahoo...

Surprise! JT's Tequila Is Good
New York Daily News | Apr 30, 09 9:55 AM CDT
(Newser) - Tequila aficionados were shocked to discover Justin Timberlake’s 901 tequila is in fact quite drinkable, the New York Daily News reports. “It’s actually a really nice product,” said one bar owner. A bartender added, “I gotta admit, I’m a little surprised.” The experts described the $40 tequila as rich and...

Wedding's Off After Fiancée Visits Markoff
WBZ 4 | Apr 30, 09 9:39 AM CDT
(Newser) - Megan McAllister visited her fiancé, accused Craigslist killer Philip Markoff, in jail yesterday, sans engagement ring, WBZ 4 reports. "It's time to move on with other things in her life," her lawyer says. "She's going to take up her life with her friends and her family in New Jersey. I don't expect her to return in the near future."...

US Benefits From China Stimulus
Wall Street Journal | Apr 30, 09 9:29 AM CDT
(Newser) - While Americans await the fruits of their $787 billion bailout, China is moving ahead with public-works projects at a staggering pace, pumping up its own economy as well as America’s, the Wall Street Journal reports. US industrial-equipment makers, struggling with effectively zero domestic growth, are back near record levels in China, where,...

Jacko Gets Groove Back— by Studying YouTube
Sun (UK) | Apr 30, 09 9:21 AM CDT
(Newser) - Michael Jackson hasn’t performed in so long, he’s almost forgotten how. Thank goodness for YouTube, which Jacko has been using to brush up on his trademark moves before returning to the stage in July, the Sun reports.  “It’s over a decade since he performed a full-length show,” a source tells the tab. “He’s...

For Bush Veterans, DC Jobs Are Scarce
Politico | Apr 30, 09 9:15 AM CDT
(Newser) - Former Bush administration staffers are feeling the economic pinch as acutely as other victims of the sagging economy, Politico reports. GOP job-seekers in Washington face a triple whammy of economic chaos, minority status on Capitol Hill, and an excess of qualified Republicans. “The Washington side is a bit of a black hole because there are...

'Enchanted'? Twitterverse Pounces
Christian Science Monitor | Apr 30, 09 9:04 AM CDT
(Newser) - One question from last night’s presidential press conference has pundits and Twitterers buzzing: A reporter asked President Obama what “surprised,” “troubled,” “enchanted,” and “humbled” him about the office. “I thought the Miss USA Pageant was *last* week,” read one Tweet cited by the...