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.
UN Pressure Is 'Declaration of War': N. Korea
CNN
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Apr 18, 2009 3:52 PM CDT
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North Korea will consider pressure from Western nations over its recent rocket launch to be a "declaration of war," Pyongyang said today. The nation is already increasing its "defense capability including nuclear deterrent in every way" due to US and UN criticism of the launch, which North Korea says put a communications...
End Failed Drug War: Go After Kingpins
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Apr 18, 2009 3:27 PM CDT
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The "war on drugs" has been an abject failure—crowded jails and a still-thriving narcotics trade prove that—and it's time for some "visionary" thinking, writes Cynthia Tucker in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution . The nation's not ready for legalization, but how about some concrete steps: Stop going after "penny-ante...
Maryland Family Dead in Apparent Murder-Suicide
Frederick News Post
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Apr 18, 2009 3:05 PM CDT
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Police discovered five bodies in a Maryland house today after a man apparently butchered his family and killed himself, the Frederick News Post reports. Few details are known, but police in Middletown, Md., say Christopher Alan Wood, 34, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the AP reports. His wife, two boys, and girl died after "traumatic...
Newman More Hustler Than Mr. Nice Guy: Bio
New York Post
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Apr 18, 2009 2:44 PM CDT
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Paul Newman’s own secret recipe was a steady diet of booze and womanizing, according to a biography of the late star obtained by the New York Post . In Paul Newman: A Life , slated to come out next month, author Shawn Levy describes the Oscar winner as a functioning alcoholic who toted a beer bottle opener around his neck and downed “a...
Hillary Upset by Iran Prison Term for Journo
Associated Press
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Apr 18, 2009 2:24 PM CDT
(AP) -
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says she's "deeply disappointed" by Iran's sentencing of American journalist Roxana Saberi. Clinton said in a statement the US is working with Swiss diplomats in Iran to get details about the court's decision and to ensure Saberi's well-being. Clinton said the US will "vigorously raise our concerns"...
Turns Out She Has Been Kissed —Sort Of
Telegraph (UK)
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Apr 18, 2009 2:15 PM CDT
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Oops. Susan Boyle's neighbor says the lovelorn singer has been kissed—by him, in fact, and more than once. But not that way, he admits to the Telegraph— more like a "peck on the cheek." "She comes to me when she needs help or a shoulder to cry on. She's a lovely lady, really kind and generous," he adds. "She...
Shell-Shocked Investors Turn to Annuities
Wall Street Journal
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Apr 18, 2009 1:47 PM CDT
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Most financial advisers aren’t big fans of annuities. They don’t offer the prospect of outsized gains, can’t be easily withdrawn from, and often include loads of fees and traps. But now droves of investors, rattled by the stock market’s crash, have turned to the insurance-like vehicles, the Wall Street Journal reports. Sales...
Top Recession Bargains
Time
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Apr 18, 2009 1:29 PM CDT
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Recessions typically are the worst of times, but they can be the best of times if you know what to buy at discounted rates. Time unveils its list of top recession buys: Stores have a glut of fancy duds like cashmere sweaters and formalwear (discounted about 75%), meaning now you, too, can look like a million bucks without spending it.
Israel Hones Ability to Launch Strike on Iran
Times (UK)
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Apr 18, 2009 1:08 PM CDT
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Israel is engaging in a bit of saber rattling directed toward Iran, the Times of London reports. The military is beefing up its air arsenal and training to be ready to strike Iran’s nuclear sites at a moment's notice. “Israel wants to know that if its forces were given the green light they could strike at Iran in a matter of days, even...
Let's Help Vets Avoid Extremist Urge
New York Times
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Apr 18, 2009 1:00 PM CDT
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The recent Homeland Security report detailing right-wing extremist recruitment of veterans is “true, true, true,” Charles M. Blow writes in the New York Times . But “conservatives reacted by throwing a knee-jerk hissy fit,” suggesting that vets “were being vilified by a partisan document.” Instead of playing politics,...
Twitter Guys See Revolution in the Making
Wall Street Journal
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Apr 18, 2009 12:44 PM CDT
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Evan Williams and Biz Stone thought they were starting a podcasting company; its quirky messaging service was just a sideshow. Now, Twitter is the main event, and that's an understatement. “It took us a while to figure out that it really was a big deal,” says Williams in a Wall Street Journal interview with the pair. They don't tip their...
Roddick Weds Model Girlfriend
People
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Apr 18, 2009 12:28 PM CDT
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Tennis star Andy Roddick wed swimsuit model Brooklyn Decker last night in a twilight ceremony at his Austin home, People reports. The two began dating in 2007 after Roddick saw her in Sports Illustrated . "I think they knew that from the moment they met that they were perfect for each other,” a friend said. Andre Agassi and Stefi Graf...
US, Others to Curb Antarctic Tourism
BBC
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Apr 18, 2009 12:10 PM CDT
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Nations led by the US have pledged to check the quickly growing Antarctica tourism industry, the BBC reports. Nearly 30 nations signed a treaty to bar ships carrying more than 500 passengers from landing on the continent and to limit the number of people from a ship on shore to 100 at a time. The move is a response to concerns about safety and the...
US Seeks 'Ethical Hackers' to Combat Cyber Threats
Associated Press
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Apr 18, 2009 11:55 AM CDT
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To combat the rising threat of attack on the nation’s computer networks, the US government is turning to the dark side for help, the AP reports. A call has gone out for so-called “ethical hackers” who “think like the bad guy” to work with Homeland Security to identify and counter threats to the nation’s infrastructure....
The World's Best Waterfalls
Travel Leisure
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Apr 18, 2009 11:41 AM CDT
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Waterfalls are a prime tourist destination, and for good reason. Travel + Leisure runs down a list of the “world’s most spectacular,” but check before you go. Visit in the wrong season and you’ll see just a trickle. And dams can turn off the spectacle in a second. Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe: Even the mist clouds create...
Boyle Makeover Hotly Debated
Chicago Tribune
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Apr 18, 2009 11:20 AM CDT
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Should she or shouldn't she? Susan Boyle's new fans can't help debating whether the 47-year-old singer who wowed the world in her performance on Britain's Got Talent last weekend should shed the frumpy style that made her sensational voice so surprising. She "needs to stay exactly as she is because that's the reason we love her," says judge...
Murray's Lousy Shot Knocks Fan Over
Tampa Tribune
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Apr 18, 2009 10:54 AM CDT
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Gail DiMaggio got a much better look at Bill Murray then she bargained for. Competing in a pro-am tournament in Florida yesterday, the comedian hooked a shot so badly that he hit and knocked over DiMaggio—who was watching from her own yard. Murray rushed to the woman, being tended to by paramedics, and asked, “How many fingers am I holding...
Obama Will Ask Agency Chiefs for Cuts
Bloomberg
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Apr 18, 2009 10:34 AM CDT
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President Obama says he'll begin making good on his promise to cut wasteful spending on Monday. When he meets with his full Cabinet for the first time that day, the president will ask each one to come up with specific cuts for their department, Bloomberg reports. “We are on an unsustainable course,” Obama said in his weekly radio address,...
Psychologists, Doctors Helped With Interrogations
Washington Post
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Apr 18, 2009 10:19 AM CDT
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Psychologists and physicians who assisted the CIA's harsh interrogation program are being accused of violating the most basic principles of their professions, the Washington Post reports. The newly released CIA memos confirm that on-site psychologists—generally contract workers with the agency—took an active role in the program,...
Chavez Gives Obama Book —on Colonial Oppression
Politico
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Apr 18, 2009 9:51 AM CDT
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Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez gave President Obama a Spanish-language book today about the historical ravages visited on Latin America by colonial powers, Politico reports. The English title of the 1971 book by Eduardo Galeano is The Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent. The gift came as Obama met with Chavez...
Prince Philip Sets Royal Consort Record
BBC
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Apr 18, 2009 9:19 AM CDT
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Prince Philip today became the longest-serving royal consort in British history, the BBC reports. Philip passes Queen Charlotte, wife of King George III, who was consort for 57 years and 70 days, and judging by his current pace, the 87-year-old Duke of Edinburgh could have many more years in him. He took on more than 350 engagements last year, while...
Susan Boyle Sings for King, '99 CD Surfaces
CNN
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Apr 18, 2009 8:47 AM CDT
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Susan Boyle and Britain's Got Talent judge Piers Morgan were reunited (remotely) on Larry King's show last night, where Morgan predicted a worldwide chart-topping CD within the year for the woman he called a Rocky Balboa. Morgan also apologized to the 48-year-old Scottish singer—"We thought you were going to be a bit of a joke act, to...
Suicide Bomber Kills 20 at Pakistani Checkpoint
Associated Press
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Apr 18, 2009 8:43 AM CDT
(AP) -
A suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into a military checkpoint in Pakistan's troubled northwest today, killing at least 20 people, officials said. The explosion wrecked a building that houses troops and police next to the checkpoint. At least 18 members of the security forces as well as two civilians died, a police official said. More...
Shakespeare Debate Splits Supreme Court
Wall Street Journal
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Apr 18, 2009 8:08 AM CDT
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John Paul Stevens and Antonin Scalia don’t agree often, but the justices are united on one case: Neither believes Shakespeare’s plays could possibly have been written by a hick like William Shakespeare. Stevens has even written papers on the topic, and searched the Bard’s home for clues. “The evidence…is beyond reasonable...
Publishers Turn Internet Laughs Into Fast Cash
New York Times
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Apr 18, 2009 8:03 AM CDT
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The blog-to-book cycle is speeding up as publishers seek fast cash from Internet funnies, the New York Times reports. Sites like Pets Who Want to Kill Themselves —featuring user-submitted photos of pets in bizarre outfits—have gone from startup to print in a matter of weeks, with the "authors" doing little but coming up with...
Dutch Forces Free 20 Pirate Hostages, Let Pirates Go
Reuters
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Apr 18, 2009 7:30 AM CDT
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Dutch commandos freed 20 hostages in a raid on a pirate "mother ship" today, Reuters reports. The captives, Yemeni fisherman, had been forced to sail their vessel after it was hijacked by pirates for use in support of attacks in the Gulf of Aden. Seven pirates were briefly detained but the Dutch, on a NATO patrol, decided they had no...
Iran Jails US Journo for Spying
BBC
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Apr 18, 2009 7:02 AM CDT
(Newser) -
An Iranian-American journalist has been sentenced to 8 years in jail on spying charges that the US says are baseless, the BBC reports. Roxana Saberi, 31, was charged with buying alcohol without a license when she was first arrested in January, then with working without a press card, before Iranian authorities upgraded the charges against her to...
Fannie Mae CEO Picked as Bailout Chief
Bloomberg
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Apr 18, 2009 6:45 AM CDT
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Wall Street veteran and Fannie Mae CEO Herb Allison has been nominated to oversee the Treasury's $700 billion bank rescue, Bloomberg reports. If confirmed by Congress—where he's likely to be grilled on his defending of bonuses at Fannie—Allison will be tasked with deploying the second phase of the TARP program to take bad assets...
India's Medical Innovators Have Much to Teach US
Economist
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Apr 18, 2009 6:22 AM CDT
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Sure, US hospitals lead the world in the latest technology—but they could learn a thing or two from India’s improving health care system, where pioneers are demonstrating how to give superior care without unnecessary costs, the Economist reports. “In our country’s patient-centric health system, you must innovate,” says...
Pentagon Targets Taliban Radio
Wall Street Journal
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Apr 18, 2009 6:00 AM CDT
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Forcing Radio Taliban off the air is a key part of the Pentagon's new Afghanistan strategy, the Wall Street Journa l reports. Military communications experts are working to jam the websites and unlicensed radio stations extremists in Afghanistan in Pakistan use to proclaim their power, intimidate residents, plan attacks, and broadcast lists of officials...
CIA Pushed Brutal Tactics on Interrogators
New York Times
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Apr 18, 2009 5:51 AM CDT
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Higher-ups in the CIA pressed for harsh interrogation methods to be used on a captured al-Qaeda member despite his interrogators' assurances that he had nothing more to tell, the New York Times reports. Abu Zubaydah had already yielded important information, including tips that led to 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shiekh Mohammed, under less brutal pressure,...
Obama Girls Are Tween Sensation
Washington Post
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Apr 18, 2009 5:32 AM CDT
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The Obama daughters are starting to rival even Miley Cyrus as an obsession of tween girls, the Washington Post reports. Young girls—especially in the DC area—are poring over every shred of information available about Malia and Sasha Obama, plastering their bedroom walls with photos of the first family and fantasizing about play dates...
2 Languages Better Than 1 for Baby's Brain
Economist
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Apr 18, 2009 5:24 AM CDT
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Some teachers complain that children raised in bilingual households tend to lag behind their peers in school, but a new study suggests multilingual kids' brains may be better organized, the Economist reports. Polyglot babies have stronger "executive function": processes in the brain that help humans plan, prioritize, and switch attention...
Obama Calls For 'New Beginning' With Cuba
Los Angeles Times
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Apr 17, 2009 10:58 PM CDT
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Adding warm words to the ongoing thaw in US-Cuba relations, President Obama said today he sought "a new beginning" with the island's communist regime, the Los Angeles Times reports. Obama spoke after arriving at the Summit of the Americas in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. "I am prepared to have my administration engage with...
Sheffield Clocks 500th Homer in Mets Win
Associated Press
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Apr 17, 2009 10:12 PM CDT
(AP) -
Gary Sheffield joined the 500-homer club in the New York Mets' 5-4 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers tonight. The nine-time All-Star was on as a pinch hitter and sent a full-count pitch an estimated 385 feet for his first hit of the season for the Mets, making him the 25th player in major league history to reach the milestone . New York picked him...
Chavez to Obama: 'I Want to Be Your Friend'
Times (UK)
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Apr 17, 2009 8:40 PM CDT
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President Obama smiled and shook hands with Hugo Chavez today, only a month after the anti-American Venezuelan leader called Obama "ignorant," the Times of London reports. "I want to be your friend," said Chavez today. The White House had said Obama would not meet personally with Chavez at the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad,...
Thousands of Americans 'Wake Up Canadian'
Toronto Star (Canada)
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Apr 17, 2009 8:10 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Thousands of foreigners living in Canada, most of them Americans, woke up this morning to discover they were Canadians, the Toronto Star reports. A new law is granting citizenship to the sons and daughters of Canucks who lost their native status by leaving the country. "It's a strange thing to all of a sudden one day gain a citizenship to a...
CIA Objections Slowed Torture Memos' Release
Associated Press
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Apr 17, 2009 7:28 PM CDT
(AP) -
Four former CIA directors opposed releasing classified Bush-era interrogation memos, officials say, describing objections that went all the way to the White House and slowed release of the records. Former CIA chiefs Michael Hayden, Porter Goss, George Tenet, and John Deutch all called the White House last month warning that release of the so-called...
Penguin to Publish Last Nabokov Novel
Bookseller.com
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Apr 17, 2009 7:08 PM CDT
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The unfinished manuscript that Lolita novelist Vladimir Nabokov ordered destroyed after his death will hit bookstores in November, The Bookseller reports. Penguin Classics, which acquired The Original of Laura from Nabokov's son Dimitri in a six-figure deal, will reproduce the index cards on which Laura was written alongside transcriptions of...
Limbaugh Slaps Himself to Mock Torture Debate
Huffington Post
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Apr 17, 2009 6:36 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Rush Limbaugh slapped himself silly, groaned, and sighed on-air today to make a comment about the newly released Bush torture memos, the Huffington Post reports. Trying to demonstrate that torture techniques approved by the Bush administration—and revealed by President Obama this week—are less painful than terrorist strikes, Limbaugh took...
Calif. Gets $4B as Feds Turn on Stimulus Tap
Associated Press
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Apr 17, 2009 5:34 PM CDT
(AP) -
Education Secretary Arne Duncan today released nearly $4 billion to California, the first state to benefit from a special fund for states that was created by the economic stimulus law. The fund will replenish state budgets that have been cut or threatened because of the recession. Most of the money is intended for schools, since education accounts...
Indie Music Outlets Get Their Own Day
USA Today
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Apr 17, 2009 4:48 PM CDT
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Some big-name acts are getting behind Record Store Day, tomorrow’s celebration of independent music stores that have become an endangered species in the Internet age, USA Today reports. “We touched a nerve. So many people are passionate about record stores,” says a rep of the industry group behind the event, for which Bruce Springsteen,...
'Recession Angels' Help the Struggling
ABC News
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Apr 17, 2009 4:41 PM CDT
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The recession has led to some antipathy toward moneyed Americans, but the haves are not casting a blind eye to the have-nots' troubles, ABC News reports. Colleges across the country are seeing millions in anonymous donations designed to save endowments, and at least one hospital has spared hundreds of jobs through benefactors' gifts. Call them “recession...
'I'm Not a Hero': Rescued Captain
Associated Press
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Apr 17, 2009 4:31 PM CDT
(AP) -
Shipping captain Richard Phillips is back in his home state, a week and a half after being taken hostage by pirates. The plane carrying Phillips, who was rescued by Navy SEAL snipers, landed in Burlington, Vt., late this afternoon. "I'm not a hero," Phillips, from nearby Underhill, said on the tarmac. "The military is."
Woman Tapes Puppy to Fridge
NBC 9 Colorado
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Apr 17, 2009 4:10 PM CDT
(Newser) -
A 20-year-old University of Colorado at Boulder student faces animal cruelty charges after taping her boyfriend’s Shiba Inu puppy to a refrigerator, NBC 9 Colorado reports. Abby Toll apparently didn’t like Rex, boyfriend Bryan Beck’s dog, and taped up the animal after the two had a fight. Toll and Beck face assault and domestic...
Vatican Plans Europe's Largest Solar Plant
Bloomberg
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Apr 17, 2009 3:55 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The Vatican plans to build Europe’s largest solar power plant on land it owns north of Rome, Bloomberg reports. The 740-acre site—many times bigger than the 108 acres that make up the world’s smallest nation—is predicted to generate enough power for 40,000 households when it comes online in 2014, enabling the ever-greener Vatican...
Actors Union, Hollywood Studios Make Tentative Deal
Associated Press
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Apr 17, 2009 3:43 PM CDT
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Nearly 10 months after their previous contract expired, the Screen Actors Guild and Hollywood’s major film and TV studios have a tentative agreement for a 2-year deal, the Los Angeles Times reports. Few details of the deal, which must be ratified by the union’s 120,000 members, were made public. One contract rejected by the guild before...
Stocks Stall on Earnings; Dow Climbs 6
Wall Street Journal
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Apr 17, 2009 3:25 PM CDT
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Stocks gave up afternoon gains to close higher by single digits as a week of first-quarter earnings reports failed to spark a selloff or surge, the Wall Street Journal reports. Google’s stock barely moved after the company reported slowing sales growth. GE and Citigroup earnings beat estimates, but GE failed to lock in significant gains, and...
Economy Saps Sarkozy's Approval Ratings
Economist
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Apr 17, 2009 3:14 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Nicolas Sarkozy should be well positioned to gain political capital from the global recession, having warned against capitalist excess years before the crisis quashed pro- deregulation argument. But the French president’s approval rating keeps dropping, the Economist reports. It fell another 2% in April, to 36%. As the crisis grinds on, more...
Cop May Have Caused Death at G20 Protest
New York Times
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Apr 17, 2009 3:06 PM CDT
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A second autopsy of the man who died during recent G20 protests in London revealed that abdominal bleeding, not a heart attack, killed him, the New York Times reports. The follow-up by a board looking into police misconduct did not specify what caused the bleeding. But Ian Tomlinson was filmed being beaten by police moments before his death—and...
