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.
At London Bar, Patrons Breathe Their Liquor
ABC News
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Apr 21, 2009 6:28 PM CDT
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Two British entrepreneurs have opened a truly innovative bar—where alcohol is inhaled rather than drunk, ABC News reports. London’s Alcoholic Architecture fills a room with gin and tonic vapor, which patrons covered in protective suits breathe in for around $7 an hour. "We're reinventing the gin and tonic," creator Sam Bompas...
Supreme Court Limits Car Searches After Arrests
Washington Post
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Apr 21, 2009 6:06 PM CDT
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The Supreme Court today put new limits on police officers' ability to search a car after an arrest, the Washington Post reports. The 5-4 ruling—with an unusual grouping of justices—says police need a warrant unless certain criteria apply, a break from the standard practice of about 30 years. The court laid out some exceptions, including...
Search for 'Earth's Twin' Finds Similar-Sized Planet
BBC
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Apr 21, 2009 5:36 PM CDT
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Astronomers in Chile looking for an Earth-like planet have discovered the closest one in size yet, the BBC reports. Don’t get your hopes up: Though Gliese 581 e, which lies outside our solar system, is just twice as large as Earth, it travels far too close to its sun to support life. Most planets found in far-flung solar systems approximate the...
Obama Triples Size of AmeriCorps Program
CBS News
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Apr 21, 2009 5:21 PM CDT
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President Obama today signed a bill to triple the size of the AmeriCorps national service program to 250,000 positions over eight years, CBS News reports. Obama signed the legislation with Sen. Ted Kennedy—"one of the finest leaders we've ever had"—nearby. The law, named after Kennedy, is designed to encourage Americans of...
'Tragic Oversharing' Turns Us Into Tweet Twits
Los Angeles Times
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Apr 21, 2009 4:41 PM CDT
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In the “Age of Oversharing,” Twitter is king—and that could be a bad sign for society, Meghan Daum writes in the Los Angeles Times . If Twitter were human, it would be the kind of person we'd avoid at parties, Daum writes: “emotionally unstable,” a “tragic oversharer” who’d make us feel “kind of...
Leona's Mansion Makes History: Price Drops $50M
Wall Street Journal
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Apr 21, 2009 4:27 PM CDT
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The asking price for the late real estate magnate-cum-jailbird Leona Helmsley’s Connecticut mansion has been slashed by $50 million, the Wall Street Journal reports. The 40-acre Greenwich property is now offered for $75 million, down from $125 million. Insiders think it could be the largest cut ever for a house in America. Helmsley’s...
Yahoo to Cut 700 Jobs as Profit Plunges
Associated Press
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Apr 21, 2009 4:21 PM CDT
(AP) -
Yahoo says its slump worsened in the first quarter as the recession made it more difficult to sell the ads that generate most of its profits. The company says it will cut 600 to 700 jobs, or about 5 percent of its work force. Yahoo says it earned $118 million, or 8 cents per share, during the first three months of the year. That represents a 78 percent...
Senate Panel Clears Sebelius for HHS Post
The Hill
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Apr 21, 2009 3:56 PM CDT
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It looks like President Obama will finally get his full Cabinet. A Senate panel today approved his pick of Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to be director of Health and Human Services, the Hill reports. The vote, largely along party lines, all but assures that Sebelius will be approved by the full Senate despite lingering GOP opposition.
Why Game Boy, at 20, Still Rules
Ars Technica
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Apr 21, 2009 3:51 PM CDT
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Nintendo's Game Boy portable gaming system has been around for 20 years today, and even has a spiritual successor in the DS. Benj Edwards takes a look at why the franchise is a lasting one on Ars Technica. Tetris: "Every new hardware platform needs a 'killer app,'" and that was as true in 1989 as it is now. The addictive game perfectly...
Sun Rises on Japanese Whiskey
Guardian (UK)
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Apr 21, 2009 3:40 PM CDT
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Japanese whiskey is becoming a contender on the world stage, set to steal market share worldwide from the likes of Johnnie Walker and Chivas Regal, the Guardian reports. Japan’s Nikka and Suntory distilleries took the single-malt and blended whiskey awards, respectively, at last year’s world whiskey awards, and a slew of awards have followed,...
Dow Up 128 on Geithner Talk
Wall Street Journal
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Apr 21, 2009 3:25 PM CDT
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Stocks gained today on upbeat comments from Timothy Geithner and the CEOs of Citigroup and US Bancorp, the Wall Street Journal reports. Banks rallied after the Treasury secretary said that the “vast majority” have sufficient capital. The Dow closed up 127.83 at 7,969.56. The Nasdaq rose 35.64, settling at 1,643.85, and the S&P 500...
Fla. Launches Criminal Probe In Polo Horse Deaths
USA Today
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Apr 21, 2009 3:13 PM CDT
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Florida has opened a criminal investigation into the deaths of 21 polo horses over the weekend in Palm Beach, USA Today reports, aiming to find out if negligence or foul play might have been behind the incident. “We would be looking at any and all possible leads,” said a spokesman for the Florida Department of Agriculture.
Hackers Bidding 5 Figures for Old Phone Raises Eyebrows
Network World
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Apr 21, 2009 3:05 PM CDT
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Phonemaker Nokia is flummoxed as to why hackers are offering more than $32,000 in underground forums for old handsets, NetworkWorld reports—though bank fraud is a distinct possibility. “We have not identified any phone software problem that would allow” misuse, the company said. But a 2003 model manufactured at a certain plant in...
Dismal Ad Revenue Sends Times to $75M Loss
Wall Street Journal
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Apr 21, 2009 2:56 PM CDT
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Advertising revenue for the New York Times Company’s news divisions sank 28% in the first quarter of this year, the Wall Street Journal reports. That, and a total revenue falloff of 19%, resulted in a $74.5 million loss for the publisher, compared to a break-even first quarter last year. Times Co. is attempting to compensate with pay cuts,...
Tweeting for Peace in Iraq?
Reuters
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Apr 21, 2009 2:50 PM CDT
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Iraqi lawmakers tweeting during sessions? YouTube campaign videos? Execs from communications and social media firms, including the likes of Google, AT&T, YouTube, MeetUp, and Twitter are in Iraq this week at the behest of the State Department. Their mission: to consider how their tools might be used to boost transparency, battle corruption, and...
Retractable Roof Will Cut Wimbledon Delays
Times (UK)
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Apr 21, 2009 2:42 PM CDT
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Wimbledon unveiled its new 56,000-square-foot retractable roof today, the Times of London reports, with officials optimistic it will mitigate the delays that have made the tennis tournament’s schedule a mess. The roof, under construction for 2 years, will be ready when this year’s event begins June 22. It also means matches can go as...
Burris, Unsure on '10 Election Run, Faces Cash Crunch
Chicago Tribune
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Apr 21, 2009 2:27 PM CDT
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Roland Burris says he hasn’t decided if he’ll run for election to his Senate seat in February 2010, but an aide says he has begun fundraising efforts, the Chicago Tribune reports. The “very aggressive” push to raise money “as quickly as possible” can’t come soon enough: Burris took in only $845 in contributions...
Gun, Restraints Found in Craigslist Suspect's Home
New York Times
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Apr 21, 2009 2:27 PM CDT
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A search of the home of alleged Craigslist killer Philip Markoff turned up a handgun, ammunition, and plastic restraints, the New York Times reports. Boston police believe the ties are identical to ones used in two hotel robbery/assaults that left one woman dead by gunshot last week. Markoff pleaded not guilty today. Meanwhile, investigators tell...
Cheney Hasn't Asked CIA for More Memos: Source
Plum Line
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Apr 21, 2009 2:20 PM CDT
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Dick Cheney hasn’t actually asked the CIA to release more memos to support his claim that torture works, a source tells Plum Line blogger Greg Sargent. “The agency has received no request from the former vice president to release this information,” the intelligence insider says. A Cheney spokesman had no comment on the report; Sargent...
Madonna Ignores Her Kids: Ex-Cook
National Enquirer
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Apr 21, 2009 2:13 PM CDT
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Perhaps it’s best Madonna’s bid to adopt another Malawian child was barred, because the Material Girl's a negligent mom—spending barely half an hour a day with her kids—her former house manager and cook tells the National Enquirer . “She's got two full-time nannies and one part-time nanny. So why adopt a kid if somebody...
US Animal Activist Makes 'Most Wanted Terrorists' List
CNN
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Apr 21, 2009 1:59 PM CDT
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In a first, the FBI today put an animal-rights crusader on its “Most Wanted Terrorists” list, CNN reports. San Francisco-bred activist Daniel Andreas San Diego is charged with the 2003 bombings of two corporate buildings. Authorities allege he believed the companies were tied to animal testing. The FBI has pursued San Diego in Costa Rica...
More Americans Brew at Home
Time
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Apr 21, 2009 1:44 PM CDT
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Home brewing has grown in popularity as Americans with increasingly sophisticated taste in beer look to cut costs, Time reports. Despite layoffs and bankruptcies nationwide, a couple in Connecticut just opened Maltose Express, a beer-brewing supply shop, and are already doing brisk business. Home brewers also gather there to share their wares and...
SF Mayor Unveils Run for Calif. Gov on Twitterverse
San Francisco Chronicle
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Apr 21, 2009 1:38 PM CDT
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San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom made his candidacy for California governor official today with nary a word, the Chronicle reports—except on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. Though Newsom plans to publicize his run with in-person appearances, an adviser called the old sort of announcement “passé.” The state’s Democratic...
Buff, Shirtless Obama Graces Mag Cover
ABC News
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Apr 21, 2009 1:25 PM CDT
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If Barack Obama gets sick of being president, maybe he could work a career as cover-boy beefcake. The Washingtonian , a DC-area style/culture magazine, has plastered a picture of the topless Obama on the cover of its May issue, ABC News reports. The pic supposedly illustrates the No. 2 reason (among 26) to love living in the capital: “Our new...
Bankers Leave Street in Rear View; Head for Academia
Time
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Apr 21, 2009 1:19 PM CDT
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With the financial tornado buffeting Wall Street, some of its leading figures are ditching their careers for work in academia, Time reports. Merrill Lynch’s former president is teaching at Yale; Citigroup’s former merger boss headed to Berkeley; a onetime Goldman Sachs exec is now at Harvard. “It’s hard work for little pay,”...
Harman: Release Wiretap Transcripts
Politico
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Apr 21, 2009 1:05 PM CDT
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California Rep. Jane Harman demanded today that Justice Department release “unredacted” transcripts of telephone conversations recorded without her knowledge, Politico reports. Harman demanded the wiretapped conversations be released in response to media reports that she was recorded agreeing to try to help two pro-Israel lobbyists accused...
Nonprofit Lobbyists Want Obama to Let Them In
New York Times
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Apr 21, 2009 1:00 PM CDT
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Nonprofit groups have launched a new campaign on behalf of their own lobbyists, the New York Times reports. Barack Obama’s current anti-lobbying rules don’t make any distinction between corporate influence peddlers and public interest advocates; all are barred from administration jobs. Case in point: Tom Malinowski, the Human Rights Watch...
Blago Can't Hit Costa Rica for Reality Show
Chicago Tribune
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Apr 21, 2009 12:46 PM CDT
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A federal judge has barred Rod Blagojevich’s bid to leave the country to join a reality-show cast, the Chicago Tribune reports. The ex-governor’s lawyers hoped he’d get permission in court today to travel to Costa Rica for NBC’s I’m a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! , which would be “a way to earn a living and...
Obama Open to Interrogations Probe
Politico
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Apr 21, 2009 12:32 PM CDT
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President Obama today said he’d be open to the idea of creating a panel to investigate the Bush administration’s interrogation methods in the war on terror. Obama and his aides have been dismissing the idea for weeks, but today in a press conference with King Abdullah of Jordan, Obama sounded amenable, provided it was “done in a bipartisan...
Researcher Sends Telepathic Tweet
Wisconsin Technology News
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Apr 21, 2009 12:17 PM CDT
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In a perhaps inevitable move, a researcher posted an update to Twitter earlier this month simply by thinking about it, the Wisconsin Technology Network reports. But don’t make any plans for telepathic tweeting just yet—the doctoral student is researching a communication system for paralyzed patients, not lazy social networkers. This “would...
Mom: Captured Pirate Was Duped
Associated Press
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Apr 21, 2009 12:10 PM CDT
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He’s at the center of the first piracy trial the US has seen in more than a century, but Abdiwali Abdiqadir Muse’s mother says he’s a victim. “He was brainwashed,” she tells the AP. “People who are older than him duped him.” Muse, the lone surviving pirate from the hostage-taking of an American ship captain,...
Craigslist Suspect 'Couldn't Hurt a Fly': Fiancee
MSNBC
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Apr 21, 2009 12:01 PM CDT
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The fiancee of Craigslist murder suspect Philip Markoff says the cops have the wrong guy, MSNBC reports. Megan McAllister, who is to marry Markoff in August, insists in an email to Good Morning America that the 22-year-old Boston med student, is "a beautiful person inside and out" and "could not hurt a fly." One of Markoff's college...
Baseball Hasn't Quite Socked Away the Stirrup Look
Wall Street Journal
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Apr 21, 2009 12:00 PM CDT
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Stirrups, baseball’s heel- and toe-less signature hosiery, have their pitfalls for one minor leaguer. “They’re uncomfortable,” he says. “They want to fall down. They ride up in back. But it’s the look. You got to have some white showing.” Most major leaguers disagree, wearing pants all the way down to their...
Death Traps Vs. Gas Guzzlers Split Automakers
Wall Street Journal
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Apr 21, 2009 11:45 AM CDT
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In the push to curb America’s fuel intake, consumers must often make a choice between safety and fuel economy, Joseph White writes in the Wall Street Journal . The real problem, though, may be that small cars have to share the road with SUVs. “A much bigger issue is the incompatibility between truck-based SUVs and cars of any size,”...
Life Tough for 'TARP Wives'
Portfolio
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Apr 21, 2009 11:42 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Things aren’t easy for still-relatively-rich Wall Street execs and their spouses. “I haven’t even looked at spring clothes,” writes an anonymous, self-proclaimed “TARP wife” in Portfolio . “God forbid someone catches me out in something new.” Her husband, like most CEOs, is “scared to death,”...
Sri Lanka Kills 1K Civilians in Raid: Rebels
Associated Press
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Apr 21, 2009 11:15 AM CDT
(AP) -
Sri Lanka's Tamil rebels said today that 1,000 civilians died in a government raid on their territory, an operation the military says freed thousands of noncombatants from the war zone. Government forces deny the accusation, and say they rescued thousands of civilians yesterday after they broke through a barrier built by the rebels to protect their...
Obama Could Try Some of His Vaunted Fiscal Responsibility
New York Times
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Apr 21, 2009 11:10 AM CDT
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In a recent speech at Georgetown, President Obama outlined his plans for the economy. The funny thing is, David Brooks writes in the New York Times , "he sounded like a cultural conservative." The president talked about the good old days and vowed to end fiscal irresponsibility. In short, Obama cast his agenda as "a defense of middle-class...
To Complete Fairy Tale, Boyle Needs a Makeover
Washington Post
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Apr 21, 2009 11:09 AM CDT
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It’s politically correct to say frumpy singing sensation Susan Boyle doesn’t need a makeover. But honestly? Of course she does, writes Washington Post fashion guru Robin Givhan. If Boyle stays the same, it’ll “unravel the centuries-long tradition of fairy tales.” Sure, Boyle won us over precisely because she doesn't...
Geithner: $110B Left in TARP War Chest
Associated Press
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Apr 21, 2009 10:53 AM CDT
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Some $109.6 billion remains in the government's $700 billion bailout, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner today told TARP's congressional oversight chief, Elizabeth Warren. The Treasury sec says that's plenty—he expects banks to repay about $25 billion over the next year, and won't ask Congress for more. Geithner also defended weakened bank lending,...
Hard Times Send Books Straight to Paperback
USA Today
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Apr 21, 2009 10:47 AM CDT
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With customers watching their wallets, publishers are pinning their hopes this year on trade paperback books—not super-cheap mass-market paperbacks, but not hardcovers either, USA Today reports. And critics and authors who once disdained the format are warming to it. “I realized that I really want as many people to read the book as possible,”...
Iranian Prez Dropped Holocaust Denial From UN Speech
Associated Press
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Apr 21, 2009 10:28 AM CDT
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It didn't stop a mass walkout, but Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad actually t oned down the speech he gave at a UN racism conference yesterday, the UN said today, dropping language denying the reality of the Holocaust. In the original text of his speech, he said of Western nations: "Following World War II, they resorted to military aggression...
Anti-New Deal Book Is GOP's New Bible
Politico
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Apr 21, 2009 10:19 AM CDT
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For the Republican Party, looking for any kind of traction for its opposition to President Obama’s stimulus spending, anti-New Deal book The Forgotten Man is a godsend, Politico reports. Author Amity Shlaes suggests, in what some call revisionist history, that FDR’s plan, pushed by government bureaucrats on a tottering economy, worsened...
Lawyers Rush In to Grab Work From Lobbyists
Politico
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Apr 21, 2009 10:02 AM CDT
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The Obama White House may have toughened rules on lobbyists, but the bonanza of new spending and regulation ushered in by the new administration has created a gold rush of lobbying opportunities, nonetheless, and law firms are horning in on the action, Politico reports. Staffing up with experts who provide similar services but aren't registered lobbyists,...
GM Spends $2.8M on Lobbying
Associated Press
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Apr 21, 2009 9:55 AM CDT
(Newser) -
General Motors spent $2.8 million on lobbying in this year’s first quarter, even as $13.4 billion in federal loans kept it on life support, the AP reports. That’s down from $3.3 million it spent in 2008’s fourth quarter, but still up from Q3, according to its government filings. A GM spokesman says none of the company’s federal...
Liberals to Obama: Don't Sell Us Out on Health Care
Washington Post
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Apr 21, 2009 9:54 AM CDT
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Progressive groups are worried that President Obama is going to go wobbly on them on health care. The Washington Post reports that the president has signaled he's open to compromise on the inclusion of a public insurance plan. Key conservatives like Sen. Charles Grassley hate the idea of a public plan, but for unions and liberals, it’s non-negotiable....
Cowell: Quitting Idol 'Feels Right'
New York Times
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Apr 21, 2009 9:38 AM CDT
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Simon Cowell has three hit shows worldwide, including America’s most popular; he pulls in $36 million a year from Fox; and the success of Susan Boyle is raising the talent guru’s profile even higher. But, he tells the New York Times , he’s not backing off statements to British media that he’s thinking of quitting American...
Doctor: Snoring Can Kill Your Sex Life—and You
Times (UK)
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Apr 21, 2009 9:35 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Surveys show that snorers have less sex, writes the Times of London’s resident doctor, and snoring can ruin health as well as relationships. Heavy snorers often don’t breathe properly as they sleep, Mark Porter cautions, and end up waking momentarily hundreds of times a night, leading to fatigue and making the snorer likelier to suffer...
Bush, Clinton Plan Public Chat in Toronto
Globe and Mail
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Apr 21, 2009 9:13 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Bill Clinton and George W. Bush will appear in Toronto next month for a two-hour, moderated “conversation,” the Globe and Mail reports. But don’t expect a bloodbath: The former presidents will likely hold a friendly discussion of past events and current issues. Still, the meeting promises to match up leaders who “embody the...
Pa. Parents Fire Back at Sexting Charges
Wall Street Journal
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Apr 21, 2009 9:09 AM CDT
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A Pennsylvania district attorney is trying to snuff out “sexting” by threatening felony child-pornography charges for teens who have taken, appeared in, or sent naughty pictures, the Wall Street Journal reports. But while many capitulated, the parents of three others have teamed with the ACLU to sue George Skumanick instead, saying he’s...
Iraq Busts Baby Suicide Bombers
Times (UK)
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Apr 21, 2009 8:53 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Iraqi security forces say they have smashed a cell of kids recruited to become al-Qaeda suicide bombers, the Times of London reports. Military officials have arrested four children under the age of 14 they believe were preparing to carry out attacks in the northern city of Kirkuk and had been specially trained to avoid detection.
