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.
UAW Cuts Deal With Chrysler, Fiat, US Treasury
Wall Street Journal
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Apr 26, 2009 8:00 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Auto workers cut a new agreement with Chrysler today that brought the automaker closer to a partnership deal with Fiat, the Wall Street Journal reports. Agreeing to lower health care benefits for retirees, United Auto Workers called the "concessionary agreement" painful but said it met President Obama's rigorous standards. The terms...
Vinyl LPs Make a New Sound: Cha-Ching!
Los Angeles Times
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Apr 26, 2009 7:20 PM CDT
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The crackling, old-fashioned sound of vinyl LPs is back, the Los Angeles Times reports. Defying the digital music craze, record sales spiked nearly 90% last year and fueled a boom in brick-and-mortar music stores across LA. Why the uptick in a bad economy? Majestic artwork, the fun of LP-flipping, and—aficionados say—better sound can...
Legalized Pot, Cocaine Work OK in Portugal
Time
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Apr 26, 2009 6:45 PM CDT
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Portugal decriminalized drug possession 8 years ago, so it must have high abuse rates, right? Not according to a new study from the Cato Institute, Time reports. Teen drug use and HIV infection from needles have declined, and more addicts now enter treatment programs. "Judging by every metric, decriminalization in Portugal has been a resounding...
Swine Flu Fears Prompt Quarantine Plans, Pork Bans
Associated Press
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Apr 26, 2009 6:16 PM CDT
(AP) -
Canada became the third country to confirm human cases of swine flu today as global health officials considered whether to raise the global pandemic alert level. Nations from New Zealand to Spain also reported suspected cases and some warned citizens against travel to North America while others planned quarantines, tightened rules on pork imports,...
'Imperious' Arthur Was a 'Thunderbolt'
Entertainment Weekly
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Apr 26, 2009 5:58 PM CDT
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Bea Arthur may not have been television’s most iconic actress, “but no woman ever made so many people so happy by being so imperious, so decisive, so just plain bossy,” Ken Tucker writes in Entertainment Weekly . No one defied or upstaged her on Maude or Golden Girls , but no one “resented her for that. Indeed, this was...
Sanford Still Fights Stimulus Plan, Tears in His Eyes
Newsweek
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Apr 26, 2009 5:28 PM CDT
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Angry state legislators and picketing teachers still haven't swayed Mark Sanford. The conservative governor of South Carolina is ignoring opponents and his dipping approval rating, now at 40%, because he's wary of federal stimulus dollars. But when a lone security guard gives his support, Sanford's strained emotions begin to show. "I'm gonna lose...
Don't Blame Nuns for Your Bad Sex Life: Catholic Honcho
New York Post
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Apr 26, 2009 4:45 PM CDT
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Are Catholic nuns responsible for repressed and sexually frustrated American women? That's absolute nunsense, fumes a conservative Catholic leader after a former sex-columnist-turned-deputy-editor at Cosmo blamed uptight teaching by nuns for women's sexual hangups. "It's not easy to undo damage caused by years of exposure to Catholic-school...
Palin Didn't Write Obama Slam in Post
Politico
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Apr 26, 2009 4:16 PM CDT
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Sarah Palin isn't feeling so neglected by President Obama after all. The New York Post quoted her today as slamming the president for not reaching out to Republicans—but the words were from an article by conservative journalist Meghan Clyne, Politico reports. "I mixed up an e-mail from Meghan Stapleton, who works for Palin, with Meghan...
Parents Push Toddlers Into Japan's 'Exam Hell'
ABC News
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Apr 26, 2009 3:55 PM CDT
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While most 3-year-olds romp and fingerpaint, a growing group of Japanese toddlers are working through stacks of worksheets taller than they are. Enrolled in courses called ojuken , they're studying for entrance exams to enter top-tier elementary schools. Despite Japan's declining birth rate and schools clamoring to fill seats, well-heeled parents...
Box Office Obsessed With Beyoncé
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
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Apr 26, 2009 3:32 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Beyoncé Knowles’ Obsessed clobbered rivals in this weekend’s box office prizefight, banking $28.5 million, Entertainment Weekly reports. 17 Again stayed pretty with $11.7 million, while Fighting ($11.4 million) demolished The Soloist ($9.7 million) in the battle for third. Disney’s Earth orbited into fifth with...
Perry Asks Feds for Swine Flu Meds
San Marcos Record
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Apr 26, 2009 3:05 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Turning sharply from tea party-inspired talk of secession, Texas Gov. Rick Perry is responding to three known cases of swine flu in his state by asking the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to hand over 37,430 precautionary doses of antiviral meds, the San Marcos Daily Record reports. All three infected people are high school students...
YouTube Could Take Down Your Internet
Telegraph (UK)
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Apr 26, 2009 2:46 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Watching those Susan Boyle and laughing baby clips on YouTube may soon come with a price: slower, shaky Internet connections, the Telegraph reports. Experts warn of a “brownout,” caused by outdated web systems unable to keep pace with surging online use of video sites, that will paralyze computers, threaten the economy, and leave the...
With 20 Sick, US Declares Swine Flu Emergency
New York Times
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Apr 26, 2009 2:18 PM CDT
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The White House declared today a public health emergency to fight the spread of swine flu, the New York Times reports. With 20 confirmed infections in the US, the declaration frees up money and resources for diagnosis, prevention, and antiviral medication. “We’re preparing in an environment where we really don’t know ultimately...
Economy Forces 'Boomerang Kids' Back Home
Washington Post
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Apr 26, 2009 2:08 PM CDT
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After losing their jobs and homes, some middle-aged adults are losing something else—independence from their parents, the Washington Post reports. The recession is forcing so-called “boomerang kids” back into their childhood homes, raising questions about how easily parents can accommodate refilled nests amid tough economic times....
Latest Astor Battle Restages 1959 Clan Fight
New York Times
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Apr 26, 2009 1:25 PM CDT
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New Yorkers can be forgiven for feeling a sense of déjà vu when it comes to the latest scandal involving the storied Astor fortune, the New York Times says. Tomorrow begins the criminal trial of Anthony Marshall, the son of deceased matriarch Brooke Astor whom prosecutors allege exploited her mental condition to bilk millions—claims...
Resolute, Saberi Marks 32nd Birthday
NPR
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Apr 26, 2009 1:00 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Journalist Roxana Saberi is spending her 32nd birthday in an Iranian prison today—determined to maintain a hunger strike to protest her conviction and 8-year prison sentence for being an alleged American spy. “She didn't wait for us to persuade her not to do so,” her father told NPR, as now two lawyers began handling her case “behind...
'Straight-Edge' Markoff's Pals Wonder What They Missed
Boston Globe
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Apr 26, 2009 12:28 PM CDT
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Those who’ve known Philip Markoff throughout his life are at a loss to explain how a “straight-edge” young man stands accused of being the Craigslist killer, the Boston Globe reports. “If there were any clues” to a sordid alter-ego, “he hid them well,” said a college friend. Acquaintances described him as...
UK Billionaires' Ranks Halved in Downturn
Times (UK)
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Apr 26, 2009 12:03 PM CDT
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The number of UK billionaires has been almost cut in half by economic woes, from 75 to 43, with the country’s wealthiest having lost a collective $228 billion, the Times of London reports. The hardest-hit was steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, who remains Britain’s richest man despite having lost some $9 billion. Others facing big losses...
8 NYC Students Have Swine Flu, CDC Says
Associated Press
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Apr 26, 2009 11:25 AM CDT
(AP) -
The CDC has confirmed that eight New York City schoolchildren were infected with swine flu, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said today, stressing that the cases were mild and many are recovering. The city is awaiting the tests of additional samples to see if more students are infected. Some students at St. Francis Prep School went to Cancun on a spring break...
FARC Captive Recalls Horror of Jungle Birth
Times (UK)
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Apr 26, 2009 11:01 AM CDT
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Clara Rojas was one of many prisoners who endured the misery of the Colombian jungle during her 6 years as a hostage of the FARC. But in 2003 her ordeal became almost unbearable: She discovered she was pregnant by one of her captors. "I knew I could die," said Rojas, who describes the 36-hour jungle birth of her son, Emmanuel, in an...
Sri Lanka Rejects Rebels' Ceasefire Call
Guardian (UK)
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Apr 26, 2009 10:53 AM CDT
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Surrounded by government forces and citing an “unprecedented humanitarian crisis,” Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tigers declared a unilateral ceasefire today that was immediately rejected, the Guardian reports. Sri Lanka’s defense chief called the ceasefire “a joke. They were not fighting with us, they were running from us. They...
Shut Mexican Border: US Lawmaker
The Hill
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Apr 26, 2009 10:27 AM CDT
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A Democratic member of the House Homeland Security Committee has called for the US-Mexico border to be closed as the number of swine flu cases continues to mount, reports the Hill. Eric Massa of New York said that swine flu is "a serious threat to the health of the American public" and that the border should be shut "immediately and...
Italian Cruise Ship Shoots Back at Pirates, Foils Attack
CNN
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Apr 26, 2009 10:09 AM CDT
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An Italian cruise ship with 1,500 passengers survived a pirate attack yesterday when the ship's captain ordered his security crew to fire back, CNN reports. The six armed men fled in their speedboat after drawing fire from the Melody, which was sailing off the coast of Somalia on the way back to Italy. No one on board was injured.
Iran Prez: No Talks Without Preconditions
Politico
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Apr 26, 2009 10:07 AM CDT
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Rebuffing President Obama’s call for beginning US-Iranian negotiations without preconditions, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad pushed instead for a “clear-cut framework for talks.” In an interview from Tehran, the Iranian president told ABC’s This Week , “The agenda should be clear,” and complained that Obama didn’t respond...
Homeless Teen Heads to Ravens
Baltimore Sun
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Apr 26, 2009 9:52 AM CDT
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A homeless teen turned All-American football player is headed to the NFL. The Baltimore Ravens yesterday traded up to choose Mississippi offensive tackle Michael Oher as the 23rd pick of this year's draft, reports the Baltimore Sun . "It's been a long journey," said Oher, close to tears. "I'm not going to let them down. I'm going...
In Beirut, Clinton Reassures About US Overtures to Syria
Associated Press
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Apr 26, 2009 9:32 AM CDT
(AP) -
Hillary Clinton reassured the Lebanese people today that Washington supports "voices of moderation" and will never make a deal with Syria that undermines the country's interests. Clinton spoke on a surprise visit to Beirut ahead of a critical June 7 election that could see the pro-US Lebanese government ousted by the Iranian-backed Hezbollah...
Obama Approval at 69%; US Split Over Memos
Washington Post
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Apr 26, 2009 9:20 AM CDT
(Newser) -
As he nears the 100-day mark, President Obama’s approval ratings remain high at 69%, a Washington Post -ABC News poll finds—but the recent release of torture memos has sparked a major partisan split. Just over half of those polled back the release; three-quarters of Dems support it, while about the same proportion of Republicans oppose...
Look Out, Susan Boyle: Talent Judges Wowed by 10-Year-Old
Daily Mail (UK)
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Apr 26, 2009 9:07 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Simon Cowell looked ready to buzz 10-year-old Hollie Steel off the stage when the Britain's Got Talent contestant began flitting about in a tutu, but then Steel opened her mouth. The tiny singer floored the judges with an "absolutely beautiful" rendition of "I Could Have Danced All Night," the Daily Mail reports.
Student's Planned Parenthood Sting Raises Ire on YouTube
Los Angeles Times
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Apr 26, 2009 8:30 AM CDT
(Newser) -
A UCLA anti-abortion activist posing as a 13-year-old girl has been running an undercover campaign against Planned Parenthood and posting results on YouTube, the Los Angeles Times reports. Lila Rose, 20, visits branches posing as a minor impregnated by a 31-year-old man, and secretly videotapes what ensues. In several cases, she has recorded workers...
Taliban Are Filmed Killing Pakistani Lovers
Telegraph (UK)
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Apr 26, 2009 7:54 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Taliban enforcers in Pakistan have been filmed in a chilling video shooting down two lovers charged with committing adultery, reports the BBC. The man and woman are seen talking to members of the Taliban, and then move away as they appear to sense the danger they're in. Both are shot several times, then shot again when the gunmen see they are still...
Wayward Bull Steers Into Supermarket
Guardian (UK)
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Apr 26, 2009 7:27 AM CDT
(Newser) -
A wayward bull nearly locked horns with employees as it slipped through sliding glass doors and raced up aisles in a supermarket in Ireland, reports the Guardian . The animal, which escaped from a nearly outdoor market, butted a shopping cart that workers used to try to corral him, and chased a frightened customer and store owner down an aisle. He...
Sun : Mel's Girlfriend Preggers
Sun (UK)
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Apr 26, 2009 6:55 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Mel Gibson's wife filed for divorce when she learned his Russian lover was pregnant, reports the Sun . Robyn Gibson "put up with Mel for years but when she found out" Oksana Grigorieva was telling friends she was expecting, "it was the last straw," said a friend. Gibson recently moved the singer and her 11-year-old son with...
Swine Flu Spreads as Far as New Zealand
Associated Press
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Apr 26, 2009 5:51 AM CDT
(AP) -
Ten students from New Zealand who just returned from Mexico have tested positive for influenza, and the country's health minister said the cases are "likely" to be swine flu. The students were quarantined after returning to New Zealand yesterday, and one student had to be hospitalized. The minister added that none of the patients was seriously...
Iceland PM Wins Mandate in Crisis Election
Times (UK)
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Apr 26, 2009 5:18 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Iceland's interim center-left government, which came to power in February after the spectacular collapse of the nation's economy, has won a resounding victory in a snap election, reports the Times of London. The "great, historic victory" was an endorsement of her plans to have Iceland "start thinking about the EU," said Prime...
10 Most Promising Summer Blockbusters
Wall Street Journal
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Apr 26, 2009 4:33 AM CDT
(Newser) -
In Hollywood, May flowers don’t bring Pilgrims; they bring summer blockbusters. The Wall Street Journal takes a look at the season’s most promising flicks: May 21: Christian Bale stars in Terminator Salvation , a prequel that tries to hew closer to the first two hit films instead of taking cues from the third, a real clunker....
Police Hunt for Georgia Prof, Suspected of Killing 3
Associated Press
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Apr 25, 2009 9:41 PM CDT
(AP) -
Authorities were on a nationwide manhunt for a University of Georgia professor suspected in the shooting deaths of three people, including his ex-wife, at a community theater near campus today. Police were searching for 57-year-old George Zinkhan, who has been a marketing professor at the university in Athens since the 1990s.
Swine Flu Cases Rise to 11 in US; 8 Probable in NYC
MSNBC
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Apr 25, 2009 9:26 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Swine flu pandemic fears grew today as three new cases surfaced in Kansas and California, bringing the US total to 11. Meanwhile, doctors diagnosed eight "probable" cases among New York City schoolchildren, MSNBC reports. The US victims appear to be recovering, in contrast to Mexico, where 81 people have died and the president has declared...
Freed Gay Activists Flee Senegal Lynch Mob
GlobalPost
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Apr 25, 2009 7:50 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Gay AIDS activists in Senegal are fleeing a mob that vows to turn them into "fish food," GlobalPost reports. Arrested late last year, the nine activists were sentenced to 8-year terms for “indecent acts against nature," but an appeals court freed them early this week. Now social conservatives plan to hunt them down....
Big Paychecks Are Back on Wall Street
New York Times
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Apr 25, 2009 7:19 PM CDT
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While millions of Americans struggle on reduced paychecks or unemployment, Wall Street is returning to the high salaries of yesteryear, the New York Times reports. Enjoying strong first-quarter profits, six of the most powerful banks have reserved $36 billion to pay workers—suggesting that paychecks and bonuses have recovered for the rank-and-file....
Jets Rise in Draft, Grab QB Sanchez
Associated Press
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Apr 25, 2009 6:40 PM CDT
(AP) -
The New York Jets have their franchise quarterback. The Jets selected former Southern California star Mark Sanchez with the fifth pick of the NFL draft today after trading with the Cleveland Browns to leap from the 17th overall spot. Sanchez, with his powerful and accurate arm and excellent field vision, will immediately compete for the starting job...
Stars Hit Venice for Hayek Wedding
People
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Apr 25, 2009 6:13 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Salma Hayek married her hubby today for the second time at a star-packed ceremony in Venice, People reports. Having signed their papers on Valentine's Day in Paris, Hayek and French billionaire François-Henri Pinault said their vows at the La Fenice opera house. Penelope Cruz, Edward Norton, and former French President Jaques Chirac were among...
Dinos Survived in the Arctic
LiveScience
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Apr 25, 2009 5:44 PM CDT
(Newser) -
A meteor strikes Earth, dust clouds block the sun, and shivering dinosaurs die off in the cold—right? Not so, say researchers who have dug up dinosaur fossils well above the Arctic Circle in Russia. Because the find includes fossilized dino eggshells, they say, dinosaurs settled up there and withstood freezing temperatures. A meteor still may...
Cash-Rich Italian Mafia Grows in Recession
Associated Press
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Apr 25, 2009 4:57 PM CDT
(Newser) -
In Italy, one man’s recession is a mobster’s paradise, the AP reports. Organized crime syndicates are taking full advantage of the economic slowdown, gobbling up businesses and flaunting an asset in short supply these days: liquidity. Money is no object to the syndicates, who scored $167 billion in profits last year through extortion rackets,...
Pastor Charged With Killing Disabled Man
Baltimore Sun
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Apr 25, 2009 4:30 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Baltimore police say a pastor has admitted to killing a mentally disabled and blind man to collect on his life insurance money, the Baltimore Sun reports. Charged yesterday, Kevin Pushia, 32, confessed to hiring a hit man with $50,000 in church funds to kill Lemuel Wallace—one of several mentally challenged people who have listed Pushia as...
Golden Girl Bea Arthur Dead at 86
Associated Press
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Apr 25, 2009 4:05 PM CDT
(AP) -
Beatrice Arthur, the tall, deep-voiced actress whose razor-sharp delivery of comedy lines made her a TV star in the hit shows Maude and The Golden Girls , died today at age of 86. Arthur, who had cancer, died peacefully at her Los Angeles home with her family at her side. “She was a brilliant and witty woman,” said her personal assistant.
London Library Yields Lost Ben Franklin Letters
CNN
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Apr 25, 2009 3:40 PM CDT
(Newser) -
More than two centuries after his death, Benjamin Franklin has more stories to tell, CNN reports. An American professor conducting research in London unearthed facsimiles of 47 letters the Founding Father wrote and received when he lived there 250 years ago. “I just about shot through the ceiling I was so excited,” said political science...
Iraq Spurns Baathists Despite US Prodding
New York Times
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Apr 25, 2009 3:23 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Despite entreaties from Washington, Iraq’s majority-Shiite government is hardening its stance against the outlawed Sunni-dominated Baath party, the New York Times reports. Blamed by some for recent bombings of Shiites, Baathists are “filled with hate from head to toe," Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said this week, after rejecting...
Ex-CIA Chief: Congress' Sudden 'Amnesia' a Joke
Washington Post
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Apr 25, 2009 2:46 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The outrage on Capitol Hill against Bush-era interrogation policies is nothing more than a disingenuous “circus,” former CIA chief Porter Goss writes in the Washington Post . Goss, also a former congressman, says he and other senior lawmakers were briefed more than once about CIA tactics. “I do not recall a single objection from...
CDC Prepares Swine Flu Vaccine
Time
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Apr 25, 2009 2:23 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has prepared a seed stock of vaccine for the swine flu that has killed dozens in Mexico and infected a handful of Americans, Time reports. The CDC has not begun mass production of the vaccine, opting instead to see if the outbreak reaches pandemic proportions. Still, “concern has grown” about...
Bybee Rues Signature on Torture Memos
Washington Post
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Apr 25, 2009 2:00 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Jay Bybee has told friends and colleagues that he regrets his role as one of the authors of the so-called torture memos, the Washington Post reports. Most notably, Bybee, who's now a federal judge, signed off on the 2002 memo that authorized waterboarding. "I've heard him express regret at the contents of the memo," said a friend. "I've...
