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.
Mom: Bible Says Kids' Shirts Can Be Untucked
Dallas Morning News
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Apr 23, 2009 11:05 AM CDT
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Battling a school for her daughter’s right to attend with an untucked shirt, a Texas woman cited the Bible, which calls for women to “adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation,” the Dallas Morning News reports. “I don’t want her behind showing,” the mother said. “I don’t want...
Gay-Rights Group Reaches Out to Miss California
San Francisco Bay Times
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Apr 23, 2009 10:58 AM CDT
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Carrie Prejean, the Miss USA contestant who stirred up controversy with her opposition to gay marriage, may soon be having dinner with gays and lesbians from her home state, the San Francisco Bay Times reports. Geoff Kors, executive director of Equality California, said he invited Prejean because “Miss California probably doesn’t realize...
Palin Accused of Conflict of Interest
Anchorage Daily News
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Apr 23, 2009 10:50 AM CDT
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Yet another ethics complaint was filed against Sarah Palin yesterday, alleging that the governor’s extracurricular excursions on behalf of SarahPAC pose a conflict of interest. The complaint, filed by an Anchorage mother and advocate for children with disabilities, says Palin left the state at a crucial time—the end of the legislative session—to...
10-Year-Old Boyle Demo Tape Goes Viral
Telegraph (UK)
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Apr 23, 2009 10:48 AM CDT
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With Susan Boyle's I Dreamed a Dream rendition setting a YouTube record, a decade-old demo of her singing Roberta Flack's Killing Me Softly has become a new viral hit. The former—from the Britain's Got Talent audition that blasted Boyle to fame—has been viewed 93.5 million times on YouTube and 100 million times on combined sites,...
Existing Home Sales Tumble 3% in March
Associated Press
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Apr 23, 2009 10:40 AM CDT
(AP) -
First-time homebuyers looking for bargains snapped up about half of all US homes sold last month, but the spring selling season got off to a lackluster start, with sales falling more than expected from February levels. Home sales fell 3% to an annual rate of 4.57 million in March from a downwardly revised pace of 4.71 million units in February, the...
Torture Memos Bear Me Out: Abu Ghraib Boss
CNN
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Apr 23, 2009 10:36 AM CDT
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A retired colonel who helped run Abu Ghraib prison long asserted that she and her troops were just following orders in the prisoner interrogations that sparked a global outcry. Now, Janis Karpinski tells CNN, the release of torture memos has finally proven her case. “When they were first released a few days ago, I did feel this sense of being...
Cups Runneth Over as Stacking Goes Big Time
Wall Street Journal
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Apr 23, 2009 10:31 AM CDT
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Stifle that laugh. Cup-stacking is a sport in its own right, complete with a championship tournament, an ESPN following—even its own Tiger Woods. That’s Steven Purugganan, an 11-year-old who so masterfully piles plastic cups into pyramids that fans and reporters chase him for attention. Last week’s tournament in Denver—the sport’s...
Prez's Pimped-Out BlackBerry Nearly Ready
Washington Times
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Apr 23, 2009 10:26 AM CDT
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President Obama’s super-secure, high-powered new BlackBerry could soon get the thumbs-up from the National Security Agency, which is about to begin final tests on its encryption software. The president could be texting, emailing, calling and Facebooking other high-security personnel—like Michelle O.—within months, the Washington...
UK Privacy Cops Won't Block Google Street View
BBC
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Apr 23, 2009 10:20 AM CDT
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Google Street View can keep capturing everyday British embarrassments, the nation’s information commission says, rejecting privacy groups that hoped the tech giant would be stopped. The agency ruled such a drastic step “disproportionate to the relatively small risk of privacy detriment.” British law allows filming from public streets,...
White Director for Black Play Puts Race Center Stage
New York Times
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Apr 23, 2009 10:12 AM CDT
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The selection of a white director for the Broadway revival of an August Wilson play has sparked racial tension, the New York Times reports. Before his death in 2005, Wilson refused to let white directors oversee productions of his work, partially out of racial solidarity, partially because he felt black directors best understood his characters. Lincoln...
Hudson Reportedly Pregnant
New York Post
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Apr 23, 2009 10:03 AM CDT
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Jennifer Hudson is pregnant, according to the New York Post . The Oscar winner, who had no comment, is set to marry David Otunga this summer. Elsewhere: Anna Nicole Smith’s half-sister is suing the publisher of her tell-all exploiting Smith’s death, TMZ reports. Apparently they published it without signing—or paying—her....
Laid-Off Execs Try Fatherhood
New York Times
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Apr 23, 2009 9:50 AM CDT
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Jobless Mr. Moms are becoming more prevalent at school pickup time and PTA meetings in Pelham Manor, a posh New York suburb where hedge-fund managers and execs raise families. Their blunt decisiveness is a remnant of once-successful careers, and while PTA moms welcome their help, they worry for them, too. “That goes to their identity,”...
Market-Regulation Bill No Longer on Fast Track: Frank
Wall Street Journal
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Apr 23, 2009 9:47 AM CDT
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Once on the fast track to President Obama’s desk, a bill that would grant the government powers to place large companies into receivership has been pushed to the slow lane, Rep. Barney Frank tells the Wall Street Journal . The bill’s complexity, and a slow-moving Senate, led the Financial Services Committee chairman to package it with...
Post-Breakup LiLo Ready for Comeback
Access Hollywood
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Apr 23, 2009 9:42 AM CDT
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Despite having just been through a tumultuous weekend, Lindsay Lohan says she was blindsided by her breakup with Samantha Ronson, Access Hollywood reports. “It came out of nowhere,” LiLo tells Ellen DeGeneres on today’s show. “I had no idea what was going on.” Lindsay denied cheating on Sam and said they're now “friends,”...
For Teens Hip to the Recession, Cheap Is In
New York Times
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Apr 23, 2009 9:37 AM CDT
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For the oft-studied, rarely understood teen demographic, cheap is the new black. Teen spending is off 14% this spring, the New York Times reports, reflecting the larger economic crisis. But the recession has also caused a realignment among the stores teens find hip, as discounters and heavy promoters become popular while upscale brands that refuse...
Octuplet Mom's Stripper Name: 'Angelina'
In Touch
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Apr 23, 2009 9:33 AM CDT
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Nadya Suleman’s obsession with Angelina Jolie just keeps getting creepier. Suleman, who denied stripping as a career, was actually a stripper for at least a year—and her stage name was “Angelina,” In Touch reports. “She was overly flirty with the guys we performed for,” recalls fellow dancer Sage. A limo driver...
Fox News' Smith Loses Cool Over Torture
Gawker
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Apr 23, 2009 9:16 AM CDT
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Shep Smith has had it with fellow Fox News anchors justifying torture. When Trace Gallagher suggested that the harsh interrogation techniques may have helped on The Strategy Room last night, the increasingly disgruntled Smith lost it. “We are America!” he bellowed, slapping the desk. “I don’t give a rat’s ass if it helped!...
Third Woman: Paraguay Prez Fathered My Kid
McClatchy Newspapers
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Apr 23, 2009 9:14 AM CDT
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The paternity scandal surrounding Paraguay’s president, a former bishop, has reached new heights: A third woman says he fathered her child, McClatchy reports. Fernando Lugo recently acknowledged paternity of a 2-year-old; soon after, another woman said he was her 6-year-old’s dad. She filed an official paternity claim yesterday, the same...
Spector's Kid Seems as Crazy as Spector
New York Post
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Apr 23, 2009 9:11 AM CDT
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Phil Spector’s son had as interesting an upbringing as one might imagine. In his memoir proposal, the Post reports, Louis Spector recalls a night involving “a bottle of wine, a Playboy magazine," and one of dad’s “lady” friends: “That night I lost my innocence, and my brother, at the age of 10, lost his...
Buying a Computer? Wait for New OS
Wall Street Journal
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Apr 23, 2009 9:07 AM CDT
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It’s a bad time to buy a computer, writes Walter Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal . And that makes it an equally awkward time for his annual computer buying guide. Both Microsoft and Apple will release new operating systems in the fall, and it’ll be easier to buy a computer with the new software preinstalled. But if you can’t...
RFK Wanted to Lift Cuba Travel Ban, Too
Washington Post
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Apr 23, 2009 9:06 AM CDT
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Blocking Americans from traveling to Cuba is "inconsistent with traditional American liberties," according to the US attorney general. Eric Holder in 2009? Nope: Bobby Kennedy in 1963—who opposed prosecuting students who went to Havana and unsuccessfully pushed the Johnson White House to lift the ban. As daughter Kathleen...
Obama's Apologies Create a Sorry Situation: Rove
Wall Street Journal
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Apr 23, 2009 8:57 AM CDT
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Barack Obama has finished his "international confession tour," and Karl Rove can’t figure out what it was supposed to accomplish. After his public apologies on two continents, "our adversaries rejoiced," Rove writes in the Wall Street Journal. David Axelrod swears this will yield “very, very valuable” rewards...
$1.5B Yanks MLB's Most Valuable Team
Forbes
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Apr 23, 2009 8:56 AM CDT
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The New York Yankees' $1.5 billion valuation lands them solidly in the top spot in the Forbes ranking of baseball's most valuable teams. The crosstown Mets came second, trailing by almost $600 million. The Yanks, however, were one of only two teams to lose money last season, dropping $3.7 million. The Detroit Tigers lost a whopping $26.3 million....
Stocks, Earnings Both Mixed
Wall Street Journal
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Apr 23, 2009 8:42 AM CDT
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Stocks barely budged at the open, after a good quarter from Apple and a lousy one from UPS. The Dow fluctuated between gains and losses, and was recently down 13 points. The S&P and Nasdaq were similarly flat. Apple rose 3% after beating expectations with a 15% earnings jump. Radio Shack and JetBlue also posted nice numbers. But other reports were...
'Most Teens... Are Sexually Active': Levi
Politico
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Apr 23, 2009 8:41 AM CDT
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Levi Johnston may sue the Palins for the right to see his son, Politico reports. Johnston told Larry King last night that he hired an attorney when Alaska's first family cut off communication, but added, “We’re not in a big fight with the Palins. I still like the family and think we can work things out.” One thing he and ex-fiancée...
Did Brutal Questioning Pay Off? The Battle Heats Up
New York Times
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Apr 23, 2009 8:31 AM CDT
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President Obama says the harsh interrogation methods used by the CIA both compromised American values and provided unreliable information. “Those are a convenient pair of opinions,” notes Scott Shane of the New York Times . But it's not going to be that easy for the new administration to defend its ban, as the battle heats up over whether...
After 4 Decades, Physicist Solves Mystery of Moon Dust
Los Angeles Times
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Apr 23, 2009 8:26 AM CDT
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Moon dust has been a “bloody nuisance” to NASA for decades, says a physicist: it sticks to spacesuits, clogs instruments, and could be a health risk for future colonists. Scientists believe the stickiness is due to a positive charge from the sun’s rays, NASA says. Now the physicist, 75 and retired, thinks he’s figured out the...
Italy Seeks to Move G8 to Quake-Hit Town
Reuters
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Apr 23, 2009 8:17 AM CDT
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Silvio Berlusconi pledged today to move this summer's G8 summit to L'Aquila, where an earthquake killed 296 people and destroyed the homes of 65,000, Reuters reports. The meeting is set to take place on a small island off Sardinia, but the Italian PM said he would rather see the money for the summit help rebuild the destroyed region. "What seat...
73 Killed in Iraq Suicide Bombings
Guardian (UK)
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Apr 23, 2009 8:15 AM CDT
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A suicide bombing in Baghdad today killed at least 28 people and wounded 50 as police handed out relief packages, the Guardian reports. At least five children and 13 police officers were killed in the attack, police said. Meanwhile, an attack in northeast Iraq killed 45, the BBC reports. Attacks have surged in recent weeks, the AP notes; a US defense...
Experts Blast Clone Doc's Claims, Credibility, Ethics
Independent (UK)
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Apr 23, 2009 8:00 AM CDT
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A fertility doctor who claims to have implanted cloned human embryos into several women is being denounced as an unscrupulous publicity hound by leading figures in his field, the Independent reports. Panayiotis Zavos has failed to make his work available for review by his peers, the experts charge, and his claims, if true, represent an immoral and...
Space Blob Stumps Scientists
BBC
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Apr 23, 2009 7:53 AM CDT
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A gigantic blob at the edge of the universe is forcing scientists to rethink their ideas on how galaxies form, reports the BBC. The radiation-emitting object 12.9 billion light years away is one of the most distant—and consequently oldest—things ever seen by astronomers, and is much bigger than anything they had expected to exist that soon...
BofA CEO Says Feds Urged Silence on Merrill Losses
Wall Street Journal
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Apr 23, 2009 7:36 AM CDT
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Bank of America's CEO felt pressured by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury chief Henry Paulson to withhold details of last year's Merrill Lynch acquisition from shareholders, including mounting losses at Merrill that triggered a $20 billion bailout, the Wall Street Journal reports. BofA CEO Ken Lewis said in testimony examined by the Journal...
Study Pal Recounts Close Call With Markoff
New York Daily News
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Apr 23, 2009 7:26 AM CDT
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A college friend of the accused Craigslist Killer says she saw hints he was dangerous—including a frightening moment of aggression—but shrugged them off, she tells the New York Daily News . The two studied together and shared the same friends; one night, walking home from a bar, Philip Markoff “pushed me up against the wall and tried...
Experts: Apple's First Worm Nothing to Fret About
Globe and Mail
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Apr 23, 2009 7:06 AM CDT
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Malware that hijacks Macs has shown up for the first time, but it shouldn't be cause for panic, an expert tells the Globe & Mail . The malware, nicknamed iBotNet, only affects a few thousand users who downloaded a pirated copy of iWork and it's not spreading from computer to computer, according to the chief of security giant Symantec.
Zuma Poised for Victory in South Africa
Mail & Guardian (South Africa)
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Apr 23, 2009 6:52 AM CDT
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Jacob Zuma is on course to be the next president of South Africa, reports the Mail and Guardian , as early results from yesterday's election show his African National Congress capturing just under 65% of votes cast. While Zuma's victory was never in doubt, it remains uncertain whether the ANC will maintain its two-thirds majority in parliament,...
Pentagon Will Fill Civilian Jobs in Afghanistan
New York Times
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Apr 23, 2009 6:21 AM CDT
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The Obama administration is being forced to fill hundreds of new positions designed for civilian experts in Afghanistan with military personnel, mostly reservists, reports the New York Times . The shortfall results from insufficient funds to hire and train nonmilitary people for work in combat zones, and the fact that agencies outside the military...
Hannity: Waterboard Me! Lefties: Sure!
Huffington Post
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Apr 23, 2009 6:16 AM CDT
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Right-wing Fox mouth Sean Hannity said he supports "enhanced interrogation" techniques like waterboarding, and has offered to undergo the grueling procedure for charity. "Are you busy on Sunday?" guest Charles Grodin asked yesterday. Hannity responded: "I'll do it for charity. I'll let you do it. I'll do it for the troops."...
Pressure on Freddie Exec Was 'Relentless'
New York Times
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Apr 23, 2009 5:53 AM CDT
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The acting chief financial officer at Freddie Mac, who hanged himself yesterday, was working nonstop and had recently asked the company for a security detail, colleagues tell the New York Times . David Kellermann was struggling to balance the contradictory demands of investors, regulators, and lawmakers, and coworkers say he had lost weight and was...
Poll: US on 'Right Track' for First Time in 5 Years
Associated Press
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Apr 23, 2009 5:48 AM CDT
(AP) -
For the first time in years, more Americans than not say the country is headed in the right direction, according to an AP poll. The percentage of Americans saying the country is headed in the right direction rose to 48%, up eight points from February, while 44% say the nation is on the wrong track. The last time optimism has trumped pessimism...
IMF: Blame Europe for Longer Recession
Wall Street Journal
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Apr 23, 2009 5:41 AM CDT
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The European economy will sink deepest out of all global economies, bounce back slowest—and delay recovery for the rest of the world to boot, according to the IMF's latest forecast. The agency predicts the EU's economy—at $18 trillion, nearly a third of the world's total—will shrink 4% this year and contribute to a longer slowdown...
Berlusconi Taps Babes as Italy's EU Reps
Times (UK)
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Apr 23, 2009 5:20 AM CDT
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A bevy of beauties with no previous political experience have been tapped by randy Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi to represent Italy in European Parliament elections, reports the Times of London. But first, they're undergoing a crash course in politics and current affairs. Berlusconi, 72, has surrounded himself with models, stars and strippers,...
UN Orders Sri Lanka Rebels to Surrender
Bloomberg
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Apr 23, 2009 4:48 AM CDT
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The UN Security Council has called on Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers to surrender after 26 years of civil war as the country's army claims victory is within reach. More than 150,000 Sri Lankans have been displaced as the army has advanced to the island's north, trapping the Tigers in a 5-mile strip along the coast. Humanitarian fears are growing as...
Apple Yanks 'Baby Shaker' iPhone App
San Jose Mercury News
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Apr 23, 2009 4:20 AM CDT
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An iPhone application urging users to shake a virtual baby to death to shut it up has been pulled after an unsurprising outcry from child welfare groups, reports the San Jose Mercury News reports. A representative for Apple—which is nearing its billionth app download—refused to comment on how the app made it past the vetting team in the...
Arab Royal Filmed Torturing Man
ABC News
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Apr 23, 2009 3:56 AM CDT
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A tape smuggled out of the United Arab Emirates and obtained by ABC News shows a member of the country's royal family viciously torturing a man. Uniformed police assist as the sheikh—the brother of the country's crown prince—tortures the man with whips and cattle prods, pours salt in his wounds, and then runs him over with an SUV.
NY Attorney Beat, Suffocated Family Over Hours
New York Daily News
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Apr 23, 2009 3:34 AM CDT
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A New York attorney beat and suffocated his wife and two daughters in a horrific attack that took hours, police told the New York Daily News. He then fatally slashed himself in a Baltimore hotel room where the four bodies were found. Investigators believe William Parente, 59, was ripping off investors in a scam he ran as part of his Manhattan tax...
Fossil of 'Missing Link' Walking Seal Found
BBC
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Apr 23, 2009 3:03 AM CDT
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The fossil of a semi-aquatic creature unearthed in northern Canada may hold the key to how seals and walruses evolved, the BBC reports. The carnivore—which resembles a cross between an otter and a seal—had feet that were webbed but weren't flippers. Scientists believe the animals walked on land and swam in fresh water.
Condi Was First to OK Waterboarding
Associated Press
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Apr 23, 2009 2:39 AM CDT
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Condoleezza Rice played a greater role than she has acknowledged in the CIA's harsh interrogation program, and approved the use of waterboarding, according to a newly released report from the Senate Intelligence Committee. The report finds that Rice, as national security adviser, verbally approved the CIA's request to waterboard a captured al-Qaeda...
Me-Owch! Cubs' Cat-Grab Sparks Uproar
Chicago Tribune
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Apr 23, 2009 2:19 AM CDT
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Cat lovers are hissing in rage after a feline intruder was hoisted out of a game by its tail at Wrigley Field, the Chicago Tribune reports. The wayward cat was lifted into the stands by a security guard after a comical chase during the fourth inning of a Cubs-Cincinnati Reds game. The treatment was labeled "poor decision-making" by an exec...
Treasury Ups Offer to Chrysler Lenders
Wall Street Journal
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Apr 23, 2009 1:58 AM CDT
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The Treasury Department is offering banks holding Chrysler's debt a better deal in the latest round of the back-and-forth over the automaker's future, the Wall Street Journal reports. The counter offer—still way short of what the banks seek—proposes to give lenders 22% of the $6.9 billion Chrysler owes, plus a 5% stake in company....
Travelers Flock to Nazi Tours
Der Spiegel
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Apr 23, 2009 1:25 AM CDT
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The world has moved on in many ways, but for many tourists, a visit to Germany often boils down to two things: beer and Hitler. "I'm no Nazi," said an American who's spending most of his four-day visit on Hitler's trail. "I'm just interested in Germany." And, as Der Spiegel reports, he's among many tourists who spend their...
