Newser Story Index from June, 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.
Arizona Solution to Tied Election: Cut the Deck
Arizona Republic (Phoenix)
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Jun 16, 2009 7:44 PM CDT
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This could have saved a lot of legal fees for Al Franken and Norm Coleman: A small town in Arizona settled an election that finished in a dead heat by asking the candidates to cut a deck of cards, reports the Arizona Republic . When the two council candidates each got 660 votes, town elders pulled out an obscure statute from 1925 that allowed them...
Sosa Tested Positive in '03
New York Times
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Jun 16, 2009 7:04 PM CDT
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Bad news for Sammy Sosa's Hall of Fame hopes: The Cubs slugger is among the players who tested positive for doping in 2003, the New York Times reports. The retired Sosa, sixth on the all-time homer list, has long been suspected of taking steroids but has never admitted it. The new development, courtesy of unnamed lawyers familiar with the 2003 results,...
Boyle Likely Coming to US This Summer
People
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Jun 16, 2009 6:29 PM CDT
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Susan Boyle will likely be traveling to the US this summer to appear on America's Got Talent , reports People . “If she’s up for it and she is well enough, our feeling is she probably will," said judge Piers Morgan. "Absolutely.” The NBC talent show, back on the air later this month, is the US version of Britain's...
Gossip Site Broke Labor Laws With Octomom: Calif.
Associated Press
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Jun 16, 2009 5:54 PM CDT
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California labor officials have cited RadarOnline for breaking labor laws in its coverage of octuplet mom Nadya Suleman, the Los Angeles Times reports. On March 17, the day the first two of the octuplets returned home from the hospital, a crew filmed the infants for the gossip site without first obtaining an entertainment permit, a requisite for...
Ensign Admits Affair; Nev. Senator Is Rising GOP Star
Washington Post
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Jun 16, 2009 5:36 PM CDT
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John Ensign, a Republican senator from Nevada said to be considering a presidential run in 2012, admitted today that he had an extramarital affair with a campaign staffer, reports Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post . "It's absolutely the worst thing I've ever done in my life," he said at a press conference. "I'm very sorry."...
Judge to NY Lawmakers: Settle This Mess Yourselves
New York Daily News
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Jun 16, 2009 5:13 PM CDT
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Judges' decisions sometimes clarify things in the real world, but not so much in the New York state legislature. A state judge today dismissed a case from Democrats, who say that Republicans illegally took control of the state Senate last week, reports the Daily News . The judge told the two parties they'd have to work it out themselves, leaving the...
Nev. Newspaper Defends Commenters' Anonymity
Las Vegas Review-Journal
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Jun 16, 2009 4:34 PM CDT
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A tax-evasion trial has sparked a free-speech controversy at the Las Vegas Review-Journal . The paper has declined to honor a federal subpoena demanding the identities of everyone who commented on an article on the trial. Businessman Robert Kahre faces tax-fraud charges for hiding the real value of sales of gold and silver coins, and an article attracted...
Top Ayatollah Appeals for Calm in Iran
Guardian (UK)
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Jun 16, 2009 4:22 PM CDT
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Iran's supreme leader addressed the nation on TV tonight to criticize anti-government protesters and appeal for calm, the Guardian reports. Those stirring up trouble are simply “tension seekers,” said Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Rival protests again filled the streets of Tehran, though no more deaths were reported. Khamenei has promised at...
With US Help, India-Pakistan Tension Eases
New York Times
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Jun 16, 2009 4:12 PM CDT
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Revamped leadership in India and Pakistan and some behind-the-scenes encouragement from the US could lead to negotiations over the disputed Kashmir region, the New York Times reports. But while there are shimmers of hope, the relationship is still strained. “I am happy to meet you,” India’s PM told Pakistan’s president today,...
How Board Games Screwed Up Your Fiscal Sense
The Big Money
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Jun 16, 2009 3:50 PM CDT
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It’s really no wonder Americans fouled up the financial system—fiscal irresponsibility was instilled in us at an early age by board games, observes Caitlin McDevitt for the Big Money. Among the poor lessons imparted by money games: In Monopoly , the game’s bank can never go bust—if the banker runs out of Monopoly money,...
Dow Off 107 on Weak Data
Wall Street Journal
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Jun 16, 2009 3:27 PM CDT
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Stocks fell further today as markets absorbed more poor economic data, the Wall Street Journal reports. National industrial production fell 1.1% in May, the Federal Reserve announced. The Dow Jones producer-price index rose only 0.2% in May, short of the expected 0.6% increase. The Dow lost 107.46 to close at 8,505.67. The Nasdaq fell 20.20, closing...
As Calif. Righty Bastion, Orange County Cedes to Rural Placer
FiveThirtyEight
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Jun 16, 2009 3:20 PM CDT
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Placer County, Calif.—stretching from Sacramento east to Lake Tahoe—is this generation’s Orange County, and that bodes ill for conservatives, Tom Schaller writes on FiveThirtyEight.com. Placer’s demographics and voting record are similar to the Orange County of the 1960s, which birthed the modern conservative movement. But,...
Nora Roberts' Secret to Success: 'Ass in the Chair'
New Yorker
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Jun 16, 2009 3:02 PM CDT
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Nora Roberts is the most popular romance writer in America, but it’s not easy being on the top. “People go, ‘Oh, you work six or eight hours a day, oh my God,’” she tells the New Yorker . “‘Well, yeah, how many hours do you work?’ ‘Well, yeah, but …’ But nothing.” Roberts churns...
The Real Deal on 10 Lies About Obama
Time
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Jun 16, 2009 2:45 PM CDT
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Opponents are saying a lot of things about President Obama that just aren’t true. Mark Halperin clears up the record in Time . Obama ... has Israeli security interests at heart. is not blind to the costs of a revamped health care system. "is not captive to his party's liberal interest groups." "is not...
Asthma Breakthrough Holds Promise
BBC
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Jun 16, 2009 2:34 PM CDT
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Scientists have found a “cellular pump” that appears central to the development of asthma, pointing the way to possible new treatments, the BBC reports. The pump, called SERCA2, helps airway muscles relax. People with asthma had reduced SERCA2 levels, researchers found; replacing it in airway muscle cells could help fight asthma symptoms...
Nothing Wrong With a Little Grunting
Sports Illustrated
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Jun 16, 2009 2:25 PM CDT
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If you’ve been— AUUGGGHHH!!! —watching women’s tennis lately, you’ll have noticed a whole lot of— VVVUUUUHT!!— grunting. “Close your eyes when you watch Wimbledon,” suggests Jon Wertheim of Sports Illustrated . “You could be forgiven for thinking the remote had inadvertently moved to a pay...
Hamas 'Foiled Carter Assassination Plot'
Haaretz (Israel)
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Jun 16, 2009 2:13 PM CDT
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Hamas, the Palestinian group that rules the Gaza Strip, foiled an attempt by al-Qaeda-linked militants to assassinate Jimmy Carter, a source tells Haaretz . Hoping to kill the former president as his vehicle left Gaza, militants placed a pair of bombs at a border crossing. Witnesses say that they saw Hamas troops patrolling and detonating bombs near...
Abuse Victim Blige Records Duet With Chris Brown
Jezebel
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Jun 16, 2009 2:06 PM CDT
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In a somewhat baffling move, Mary J. Blige has recorded a duet with alleged Rihanna-beater Chris Brown, Jezebel reports. Blige has been outspoken about her suffering at the hands of a former boyfriend and the terrors of growing up around domestic violence. To make matters more uncomfortable, it appears that the Blige/Brown song, leaked on the Internet,...
Daily Show to Feature Dispatches From Iran
New York Times
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Jun 16, 2009 1:53 PM CDT
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The Daily Show will begin airing reports from a correspondent in Iran next week, the New York Times reports. Correspondent Jason Jones spent late May and early June filming in Tehran, Qom, and the Imam Mosque in Esfahan for his weeklong series Jason Jones in Iran: Access of Evil. Jones’ dispatches include interviews with former Iranian...
Ripley's Runs Low on Oddities
Wall Street Journal
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Jun 16, 2009 1:37 PM CDT
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They just don’t make shrunken heads the way they used to. In fact, no one makes them at all, which is a big problem for Ripley’s Believe It or Not! The chain of “odditoriums” has expanded so far and so fast that its collection is stretched to the breaking point, the Wall Street Journal reports. Curators are searching desperately...
Ahmadinejad Boxes Out Rival Rally
Los Angeles Times
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Jun 16, 2009 1:20 PM CDT
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Tens of thousands of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad supporters rallied in Tehran today, shouting slogans like, “Death to America!” and “Khamenei is our leader!” while Mir Hossein Mousavi’s supporters held a low-key march elsewhere in the city, the LA Times reports. The opposition had called for a rally at 5pm, but government loyalists...
S. Korean Man Kills Boy to Hide Drunk Driving: Cops
Associated Press
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Jun 16, 2009 1:12 PM CDT
(AP) -
A South Korean man allegedly shot and killed a 10-year-old boy after hitting him with his car, apparently to hide the fact that he was driving drunk, police said today. The man, whose family name is Lee, struck the boy June 4 in Gwangju and took him to a hospital, said the officer who handled the case. The hospital told him to take the boy to a larger...
NFL Player Gets 30 Days in DUI Death
Miami Herald
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Jun 16, 2009 1:01 PM CDT
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Donte’ Stallworth pleaded guilty to DUI manslaughter today, the Miami Herald reports, as part of a deal that will send him to prison for 30 days. After that, the Browns receiver will serve two years of house arrest and eight years' probation in the March 14 crash that killed a 59-year-old pedestrian. He’ll also perform 1,000 hours of...
FDA: Get Off Smell-Killing Zicam Nasal Spray, Now
Wall Street Journal
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Jun 16, 2009 12:47 PM CDT
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The Food and Drug Administration is calling on consumers to stop using Zicam nasal treatments because they can permanently kill the sense of smell, the Wall Street Journal reports. Zicam is an over-the-counter cold and allergy medication sold in several forms; customers should reject internasal products that contain zinc. The initiative comes after...
How Prop 8 Could Help Everyone
Los Angeles Times
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Jun 16, 2009 12:28 PM CDT
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Proposition 8 could turn out to be a win-win for everyone, “if we can stop all the shouting,” writes Douglas Kmiec, a Catholic, pro-Obama Republican law professor. The California Supreme Court’s ruling “is as inconsistent as it is incomplete,” declaring that gay couples must be given equal treatment, and that Prop 8 denies...
After Practice, Tiger Calls US Open Course 'Phenomenal'
Newsday
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Jun 16, 2009 12:19 PM CDT
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Tiger Woods was the first golfer yesterday to play a practice round at Bethpage Black, the Long Island course which hosts this year’s US Open beginning Thursday, Newsday reports. “Obviously the golf course is phenomenal,” he said today. “It’s playing long this week. It’s not exactly dry out there. This golf course...
Nuclear N. Korea a 'Grave Threat': Obama
Associated Press
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Jun 16, 2009 12:00 PM CDT
(AP) -
A nuclear-armed North Korea poses a "grave threat" to the world and cannot achieve its own security by building illegal weapons, President Obama said today. With South Korea’s president at his side in the Rose Garden, Obama said they agreed that a new UN resolution seeking to halt North Korea's development of nuclear weapons and ballistic...
Boeing Looks to Old 777 Model in Airbus Battle
Bloomberg
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Jun 16, 2009 11:57 AM CDT
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With its 787 Dreamliner delayed, Boeing is turning to its 14-year-old 777 to compete with Airbus’ next plane, Bloomberg reports. At the Paris Air Show today, Boeing said it may make a new wing for the 777 in an effort to boost fuel efficiency, and will also showcase a 777-based tanker to rejoin the battle with Airbus for a Pentagon contract....
How Palin Can Get the 2012 Nod
Politico
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Jun 16, 2009 11:39 AM CDT
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Don’t write off Sarah Palin as the 2012 Republican nominee: Roger Simon says she’s got what it takes to get there, with a little fine-tuning. He offers her seven steps in Politico : Leave Alaska behind. Don’t run for governor in 2010; instead, hang out in the Lower 48. Gather a staff smarter than you are. People might...
Compound May Be 'Next Silicon': Scientists
San Jose Mercury News
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Jun 16, 2009 11:32 AM CDT
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Stanford physicists have discovered a chemical compound that could replace silicon and transform the computing industry, the San Jose Mercury News reports. Jet-black bismuth telluride has a unique ability, researchers discovered: Electrons can travel across it without resistance, losing no energy. So far the material can only carry small currents,...
Prejean, Pageant Threaten Dueling Lawsuits
TMZ
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Jun 16, 2009 11:25 AM CDT
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Carrie Prejean is threatening to sue Miss California USA for defamation, TMZ reports, and the pageant isn't taking it sitting down. The Miss California people sent her lawyer a letter stating that if she continues to publicly claim innocence, they'll sue her. If she keeps asserting that she was "courteous, cooperative, or professional in her conduct,"...
Stern Sidekick Hijacks New HBO Show
USA Today
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Jun 16, 2009 11:01 AM CDT
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Comedian Artie Lange appeared on the premiere of HBO's Joe Buck Live last night, and it sounds as if the host wishes he hadn't. Buck told USA Today he couldn't wait for Lange to finish his obscene, homophobic routine. "I thought that spending time on a treadmill felt long," said the veteran baseball announcer, who appeared helpless...
Voicemail Leak Left Me Suicidal: Baldwin
People
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Jun 16, 2009 10:40 AM CDT
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After his infamous 2007 voicemail for his daughter went public, Alec Baldwin had “very serious” suicidal thoughts, he tells Playboy in an interview, People reports. “I spoke to a lot of professionals, who helped me,” he said, adding that Harvey Levin of TMZ, who released the voicemail, is “a human tumor.” Elsewhere:...
As With Bush, Obama Won't Release WH Visitors List
MSNBC
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Jun 16, 2009 10:27 AM CDT
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Despite President Obama’s promise of transparency, the administration is blocking requests for the White House visitors list, MSNBC reports, defying two federal court rulings that the lists are public record. In addition to denying MSNBC’s request for a list of all visitors since Jan. 20, the Secret Service turned down a nonpartisan watchdog...
NYC Ranks No. 1 in Road Rage
Reuters
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Jun 16, 2009 10:23 AM CDT
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New York drivers are the most aggressive and angry in the US, an annual road rage survey finds. Gotham cut off Miami, which had zoomed to the top of the list the past 4 years, Reuters reports. "New Yorkers were most likely to wave their fists or arms," honk their horns, and "make some sort of obscene gesture," said a rep for the...
On the Fence? Play a Hunch.com
Christian Science Monitor
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Jun 16, 2009 10:08 AM CDT
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A new website is ready to answer your queries, but it wants to get to know you first. Hunch.com, created by MIT scientists, asks a series of questions before making a recommendation—say, which car to buy, where to go on vacation, what campy movie to watch. It offers 2,400 decision topics, 14,000 follow-up questions, and more than 50,000 results,...
Palin to Letterman: Thanks, Now Evolve
Politico
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Jun 16, 2009 9:49 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Sarah Palin today accepted David Letterman’s apology, but not without getting another dig in on him. She said she accepted “on behalf of young women like my daughter, who hope men who ‘joke’ about public displays of sexual exploitation of girls will soon evolve.” And then she added a peculiar plug for the military, for...
Blackwater Bilked US Out of $55M for Iraq Security: Audit
Wall Street Journal
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Jun 16, 2009 9:46 AM CDT
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The US overpaid Blackwater by $55 million for its security work in Iraq, a government audit has found. The company, since renamed Xe, didn't employ enough guards, medics, and other personnel to protect high-level officials but still collected full payment from the State Department, the Wall Street Journal reports. "Insufficient manning exposed...
Boyle's Comeback Earns Standing O
People
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Jun 16, 2009 9:32 AM CDT
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Susan Boyle has taken back her rightful place as beloved reality TV phenomenon. Her return to the stage last night brought fans in Scotland to their feet, People reports. “They were cheering her on. And she was ecstatic with the performance,” her rep says. Even though the Scots love her, her brother says 95% of Boyle’s fan mail...
Obama's Pet Power Plant Gets Stimulus Cash
Politico
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Jun 16, 2009 9:15 AM CDT
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When the stimulus was in the works, President Obama went to great lengths to show he was sacrificing his top pet project—a clean-coal power plant to be built in Illinois—on the altar of fiscal responsibilities. “It shows that we’re serious,” a rep for Nancy Pelosi said at the time. “There will not be earmarks in...
I Know What Happened to Flight 447: Trump
New York Post
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Jun 16, 2009 9:10 AM CDT
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Donald Trump: entrepreneur, reality show host, airline safety investigator. The real estate mogul has a friend who makes handcarts out of the same material the Airbus 330 rudders are made of, so the Donald has a theory about Air France Flight 447, the New York Post reports.
Ore. Woman Dodges Charge for Fetus Cut From Womb
Associated Press
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Jun 16, 2009 9:06 AM CDT
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The Oregon woman accused of cutting the fetus out of another woman has been indicted on aggravated murder charges, but she won’t be charged for the fetus’ death, the AP reports. Under Oregon law, it must be shown that a baby drew at least one breath outside the womb before any separate charge can be considered.
Italy to Take 3 Gitmo Detainees
Associated Press
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Jun 16, 2009 8:54 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Silvio Berlusconi, seeking to restore some shine to his tattered international image, yesterday agreed to take three detainees from Guantanamo Bay. The Italian PM praised President Obama for his "deep knowledge" after a 2-hour-plus meeting at the White House, the AP reports. The leaders discussed topics ranging from Gitmo to the agenda...
Roy Rogers Will Ride Back Onto Movie Screens
Variety
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Jun 16, 2009 8:49 AM CDT
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Singing cowboy Roy Rogers and his horse, Trigger, will be the inspiration for a new trilogy of Westerns, Variety reports. Roy Rogers Jr., who controls the late movie star's estate, struck a deal with a Nashville-based production company that says it will reinvent the '40s and '50s big-screen favorite as "a family fantasy adventure" for...
N. Korea Nuke Test Showed Progress
CNN
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Jun 16, 2009 8:35 AM CDT
(Newser) -
North Korea appeared to make progress with its nuclear test last month, detonating a device that was significantly more powerful than its first test in 2006, CNN reports. US officials believe the May 26 explosion was in the 3 to 4 kiloton range, a considerable step up from the first half-kiloton blast, which was widely regarded as a failure. Officials...
Credit Card Firms Cut Deals With Delinquents
New York Times
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Jun 16, 2009 8:25 AM CDT
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With countless customers running behind on payments, credit card companies are taking it easy on delinquents, letting them off the hook in exchange for partial repayments, the New York Times reports. The firms began easing up on their previous policies last fall, experts say; now they’re letting frontline workers settle with delinquents without...
Home Construction Leaps 17%
Bloomberg
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Jun 16, 2009 8:13 AM CDT
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Homebuilders were busy in May, as housing starts took an unexpected 17% leap, Bloomberg reports. Lower prices and tax incentives were enough to bring in the buyers, bumping the annual rate to 532,000 homes, up from 454,000 in April. Building permits were also up more than forecast. “We’re nearing a bottom,” said one economist. “Housing...
Wolfowitz: We Must Help North Korea's Refugees
Wall Street Journal
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Jun 16, 2009 8:09 AM CDT
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When President Obama and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak meet today, they will discuss a host of security and economic issues, but Paul Wolfowitz hopes they take some time out for a purely humanitarian concern: North Korea’s refugees. Hundreds of thousands of North Koreans have fled to China, but “China makes life extraordinarily difficult...
Speidi to Roker: We Forgive You
Us Weekly
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Jun 16, 2009 7:54 AM CDT
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Heidi and Spencer Pratt still aren’t sure exactly who Al Roker is, but they forgive him for taking them to task yesterday on Today . “I forgive you,” Heidi told Roker through Us . “It’s OK. The devil gets into all of us sometimes. You’re forgiven. It’ll be a sunny day tomorrow, Weatherman!” Spencer...
Ahmadinejad Foes Gang Up on Websites
ZDNet
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Jun 16, 2009 7:38 AM CDT
(Newser) -
As protests continue on the streets of Tehran, hackers in and outside of Iran are mounting an assault on the establishment's main websites, reports ZDNet. The sites of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and several news agencies were crippled yesterday after activists flooded them with traffic. The campaign appears to have spread on Twitter,...
