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.
1 Dead After Shots Fired at Tehran Protest
Al Jazeera
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Jun 15, 2009 11:49 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Shots were fired at a huge street protest in Tehran today, the BBC reports, not long after opposition candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi addressed the gathering in spite of a ban by the Iranian government; an AP photographer says one protester was killed, and that the shots came from a compound belonging to a militia associated with Iran’s powerful...
What's the Globe Really Worth?
New York Times
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Jun 15, 2009 11:37 AM CDT
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With the New York Times Co. said to be looking for a Boston Globe buyer, David Carr polled experts to see what the paper might be worth—a question, he writes in the Times , that reaches beyond the Globe itself as the newspaper industry struggles. Carr got quite a range of answers, “everything from $250 million to 'we pay you to take...
Safety Worries Mount as Regional Airlines Soar
Chicago Tribune
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Jun 15, 2009 11:26 AM CDT
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Regional airlines have risen to new heights in recent years as major carriers outsource to the smaller firms. But as the regional outfits have grown, so have safety concerns, reports the Chicago Tribune . Pilots for the smaller airlines are often driven by modest salaries to work overtime, and some wonder whether they’re getting adequate training...
'I've Never Been On a Date': Sienna
Vogue
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Jun 15, 2009 11:11 AM CDT
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Sienna Miller’s reputation is “pretty bad,” the actress admits. “I’ve made some bad choices and done some stupid things.” Jude Law, who famously cheated on her with the nanny, asked her to “please stop talking about it,” she tells Vogue , and her love life since has seen more drama than her career. But...
UK Women More Prone to Boozing, Brawling
Telegraph (UK)
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Jun 15, 2009 10:46 AM CDT
(Newser) -
In a sign of a growing “binge-drinking ladette culture,” fines for being drunk and disorderly have soared 30% over two years among British women, the Daily Telegraph reports—faster than among men. Fines to underage girls have risen by half, and a report says a quarter of violent attacks involve women. “The government has completely...
Knox Writes Love Letters to 'Ex' Raffaele
Telegraph (UK)
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Jun 15, 2009 10:28 AM CDT
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Raffaele Sollecito is supposed to be Amanda Knox’s ex-boyfriend, but you wouldn’t know it by reading the letters she’s been sending him, the Daily Telegraph reports. In them, the 21-year-old opens up to her co-defendant and thanks him for sharing his feelings with her. “You know what would be wonderful?” she wrote. “Do...
Iran Protesters Launch Twitter Revolution
CNN
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Jun 15, 2009 10:12 AM CDT
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Erupting protests over Iranian elections may be the first political upheaval tweeted from beginning to end, as demonstrators keep up a running account of what's happening, reports CNN. "My friend saying more than 100 students arrested. Bastards just attacked us for no reason. I lost count of how much tear gas they launched at us!" said one...
Pa., NY Dems Ignore Obama, Ready Senate Primary Bids
Politico
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Jun 15, 2009 10:01 AM CDT
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Two House Democrats look ready to stage Senate primary challenges in 2010—even if the White House doesn’t like it, Politico reports. Joe Sestak of Pennsylvania says a presidential intervention wouldn’t change his mind about a run against Arlen Specter; New York’s Carolyn Maloney is “way past” concern for what the...
Advocates Push for Rear Seatbelt Laws
USA Today
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Jun 15, 2009 9:50 AM CDT
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Highway safety advocates are pushing for a federal transportation bill to include incentives for states to make safety belts mandatory for all passengers, but opponents say the move would set a precedent for the government to tell citizens what to do, USA Today reports. Though studies show that rear seatbelts reduce fatalities for all passengers,...
It's Too Soon for Feds to Ease Up on Economy
New York Times
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Jun 15, 2009 9:42 AM CDT
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With critics prematurely calling on Washington to scale back financial rescue efforts, economic history fans see “déjà vu all over again,” writes Paul Krugman in the New York Times . This is the third time a major economy has been stuck in a liquidity trap, and both previous times these same calls for restraint have been...
9 Missing Foreigners Found Dead in Yemen
Associated Press
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Jun 15, 2009 9:27 AM CDT
(AP) -
Nine missing foreigners, including three children, have been found dead in Yemen today, their bodies mutilated, a security official said. The foreigners, including seven Germans, a Briton, and a South Korean, disappeared Friday while on a picnic in the turbulent northern Saada region. Shepherds roaming the area found some remains near a town known...
Madonna Introducing New Addition Mercy to Luxe Life
Daily Mirror (UK)
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Jun 15, 2009 9:24 AM CDT
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Mercy James is living the high life starting today. As Madonna’s lawyer prepares the adoption paperwork, the 4-year-old orphan will move into the singer’s luxury lodge in Malawi to be cared for by a nanny and nurse flown in from the US, the Mirror reports. She could leave for New York this week to meet her new sister and brothers.
Obama Looooves the Times
Politico
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Jun 15, 2009 9:08 AM CDT
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Barack Obama is a friend of new or non-traditional media—he’s given interviews for Univision, and called on reporters from the Huffington Post or, for example, Politico. But his true love is the Gray Lady. Unlike their predecessors, Obama and his administration treat the New York Times with utter reverence, Politico reports. Obama has...
Manufacturing Data Kill Stocks
Wall Street Journal
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Jun 15, 2009 8:48 AM CDT
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Stocks plunged at the open today, after an ugly New York manufacturing report, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Dow sunk 120 points, while the Nasdaq and S&P lost 1.5% and 1.4% respectively. The New York Fed’s manufacturing survey dropped to -9.41 from -4.55 in May, sending Caterpillar and Deere down more than 2.5%. Oil fell to $71.55,...
Obama Half-Bro Clinches Book Deal
Associated Press
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Jun 15, 2009 8:37 AM CDT
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President Obama’s half-brother will publish a memoir next year, in a book deal one official says is worth six figures, the AP reports. George Obama, 27, lives in Kenya and did not grow up with the president, but they share a passion for community organizing—an area George embraced after a life of crime. His is the latest in a series of...
Geithner, Summers Outline New Regulatory System
Washington Post
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Jun 15, 2009 8:33 AM CDT
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The current financial regulatory system “is riddled with gaps, weaknesses, and jurisdictional overlaps,” Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Obama economic guru Larry Summers write in today’s Washington Post . They outline, in broad strokes, their plan to fix it: Capital and liquidity requirements will be raised across...
Michael Moore Wants to 'Save Our CEOs'
New York Daily News
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Jun 15, 2009 8:24 AM CDT
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Let the viral marketing begin. Michael Moore pulled a fast one on New York moviegoers Friday night when, instead of a conventional trailer for his new film, he appeared onscreen Will Rogers-style asking for donations to “save our CEOs,” the New York Daily News reports. Audience reactions were filmed as ushers walked up and down the aisles...
Torture Shrinks Rehired by CIA, Fired by Panetta
New Yorker
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Jun 15, 2009 8:09 AM CDT
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The CIA renewed contracts with several psychologists considered the architects of waterboarding and other brutal techniques tantamount to torture a month after Barack Obama's inauguration. The revelation comes in a piece by New Yorker reporter Jane Meyer on Leon Panetta, the new CIA director, who nixed their contracts after his confirmation....
NASA Hopes for Wednesday Launch
Space.com
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Jun 15, 2009 8:07 AM CDT
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NASA is planning to delay the launch of two unmanned moon probes to give the space shuttle Endeavour another shot at takeoff, Space.com reports. The shuttle was grounded last week because of a hydrogen gas leak. Mission managers will make the final decision later today, but expect Endeavour to leave Cape Canaveral at 5:40am Wednesday.
Two Killers Eluded FBI Hunt for 'Lone Wolves'
Wall Street Journal
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Jun 15, 2009 8:02 AM CDT
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The shootings of George Tiller and a National Holocaust Museum guard came despite a renewed FBI effort to preempt solo acts of political violence, the Wall Street Journal reports. Identifying such extremists—while respecting their civil rights—is a challenge. Both James von Brunn and Scott Roeder expressed their views online, but neither...
Many Toil Through Forced Leave
New York Times
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Jun 15, 2009 7:34 AM CDT
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Sure, required time off beats a layoff—but that can be tough to remember as many continue working through their furloughs, the New York Times reports. Some worry their jobs are at stake if they don’t keep working; others just can’t get their employers to schedule days off. And “sometimes it’s just too busy at work,”...
Obama Offers Docs Backing on Malpractice Suit Limits
New York Times
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Jun 15, 2009 7:18 AM CDT
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President Obama is taking his case for overhauling health care to a tough audience today: The American Medical Association, which is holding its annual meeting in Chicago, came out last week against Obama's plan to offer federal insurance to compete with private insurers. But the president privately with AMA officials about limiting malpractice...
GOP Activist: Gorilla on Lam Just Michelle's Ancestor
WIS-TV (Columbia, SC)
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Jun 15, 2009 7:07 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Turns out that pegging a primate as a member of the first lady's family tree on a public website might not be the best career move, as an activist in the South Carolina GOP is finding out. Rusty DePass has apologized after making a comment on a friend's Facebook photo of a gorilla that had escaped from a local zoo, reports local TV station WIS—"I'm...
Palau's Prez Makes Moral Call to Take in Detainees
Los Angeles Times
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Jun 15, 2009 6:38 AM CDT
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That Palau's president was once a defense lawyer may explain why he risked upsetting his island's 20,000 residents and their peaceful isolation from the world to take in 13 former Guantanamo detainees. "They should be presumed innocent because no one has proven them guilty," newly elected Johnson Toribiong told the Los Angeles Times . "These...
Netanyahu's Palestine Speech Angers Both Sides
Guardian (UK)
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Jun 15, 2009 6:27 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Barely into his new term, Benjamin Netanyahu is already facing major difficulties—caught between a Washington-led demand for a Mideast peace deal and right-wing insistence that he oppose a Palestinian state. The Israeli PM tried to forge a middle path in a major speech yesterday, but as Rory McCarthy writes in the Guardian , his limited support...
CNN Fiddled While Tehran Burned
New York Times
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Jun 15, 2009 6:03 AM CDT
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Twitter has already become a go-to place for breaking news, but the micro-blogging site assumed the role of media watchdog over the weekend, reports the New York Times . As riots protesting Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s victory began to heat up in Tehran—and CNN aired a Larry King repeat about American Chopper rather than images of bloody students—tweets...
Veggie Gardens Thrive in Lean Times
Washington Post
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Jun 15, 2009 6:00 AM CDT
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Sales of vegetable seeds are skyrocketing this season and experts say it’s not just the local food movement or Michelle Obama’s First Garden that’s driving the craze. Americans hit hard by the recession are slashing grocery bills by growing their own, as evidenced by a 30% spike in seed sales at Wal-Mart and a shortage of staple seed...
Ayatollah Orders Ballot Probe
CNN
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Jun 15, 2009 5:36 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has ordered a probe into Iran's allegedly rigged presidential election, reports CNN. The country's supreme leader has already endorsed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's supposed victory as "a divine miracle," but Khamenei today requested that a clerical body investigate Mir Hossein Mousavi's claims of widespread fraud. The ayatollah's...
Manhattan Teeters on Brink of Housing Crash
Reuters
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Jun 15, 2009 5:23 AM CDT
(Newser) -
As foreclosure sales begin to lure buyers back to the housing market in some parts of the country, realtors in New York are finding the market crisis has come home to roost, Reuters reports. Things are bad and could soon be much worse. Condo sales in Manhattan have plummeted 71% from a year ago, with a glut of new units priced way above market.
Swiss Pharma Won't Donate Swine Flu Vaccine to Poor
Financial Times (UK)
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Jun 15, 2009 4:58 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Swiss pharma giant Novartis is defying the World Health Organization by refusing to donate swine flu vaccines to the world's poor, despite the designation of H1N1 as the first pandemic in 40 years, reports the Financial Times . Last week the WHO's director general called on drug companies to show "solidarity" with low-income victims, but...
Mousavi Cancels Tehran Rally, Cops Teargas Students
BBC
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Jun 15, 2009 4:32 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Mir Hossein Mousavi called off a major rally in Tehran today after the supposedly defeated presidential candidate was told that militias with live rounds would be standing guard, reports the BBC. Heated clashes are continuing between the police and Mousavi supporters disputing the declared election results. Security forces reportedly fired tear gas...
Asian Boy Bias Skewing US Birth Stats
New York Times
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Jun 15, 2009 4:11 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Many Asian American parents' strong bias for sons is beginning to emerge in US birth statistics, reports the New York Times . Chinese, Korean and Indian immigrant families are more likely to abort female embryos and use in-vitro fertilization to have a treasured boy, particularly after the first or second daughter, say experts. No similar basis...
Poachers' Poison Slays Rare Elephant
Associated Press
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Jun 15, 2009 3:39 AM CDT
(Newser) -
A rare Sumatran elephant died after eating pineapples spiked with poison by poachers in northwestern Indonesia, officials report. The giant 30-year-old male, its tusks ripped out for the ivory, was the ninth Sumatran elephant found dead in the region in the last three months. At least seven of them were poisoned in some manner. Only 3000 of the animals...
What's Up, Doc? Cawwot Bombs in Sweden!
BBC
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Jun 15, 2009 3:17 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Swedes got a scare this weekend after an artist wrapped bunches of carrots with black tape to make them look a bit like dynamite, attached clocks and wires and placed them around the southern city of Orebo. Police received several concerned calls from the public about the "Bunny Project: Bombs" exhibit. The artist was ordered to remove the...
Paris Air Show Hits Turbulence
Reuters
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Jun 15, 2009 2:51 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Clouds hang over the launch of the 100th anniversary Paris Air Show today as investigators continue to pore over the wreckage of Air France flight 447. Bad business news combines with the tragedy to make this year's event less than stellar. Russia's first post-Soviet jetliner is expected to upstage Western projects delayed by financial hiccups. In...
Korean Chef Offers Glimpse of 'Lil' Kim'
New York Times
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Jun 15, 2009 2:29 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Little is known about the young man expected to succeed Kim Jong-Il as leader of North Korea, and what analysts do know has been gleaned from a book by the ruler’s former chef, the New York Times reports. Kim Jong-Un is the youngest of three sons and most like his father—though his lack of political experience could make him a puppet...
Sony Armageddon Hoax in Crashing Bad Taste
LiveScience
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Jun 15, 2009 2:07 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The latest Armageddon hoax has a marketing spin that LiveScience's Robert Roy Britt describes as a "sick twist." Sony Pictures went to elaborate lengths to disguise its movie plug on the "Institute for Human Continuity" website, which warns of "cataclysmic events that will devastate our planet" in 2012—a date that...
Pakistan Launches Operation to Kill Taliban Leader
BBC
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Jun 15, 2009 1:35 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Pakistan is launching a manhunt for Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud—branded "the root cause of all evils," by one official—in its tribal areas bordering Afghanistan. Pakistan officials blame Mehsud's group for a string of recent attacks, the BBC reports. The heavy military offensive is expected to please the US, though previous...
MVP Kobe Leads Lakers to Title No. 15
Los Angeles Times
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Jun 14, 2009 9:57 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The Lakers captured their 15th NBA title tonight in Orlando, polishing off the Magic with a 99-86 victory that gave coach Phil Jackson his record 10th title, the Los Angeles Times reports. Last season's runners-up, the Lakers saw five players score in double figures, led by Finals MVP Kobe Bryant (30 points), who collected his fourth championship...
Iran Arrests Dissidents; Challenger Calls for Fatwa
New York Times
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Jun 14, 2009 7:50 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Iran arrested more than 100 opposition members as clashes between anti-government protesters and police continued today, the New York Times reports. Opposition candidates Mir Hussein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi called for yesterday’s disputed election, which saw incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad win easily, to be overturned. Mousavi backers...
Argentine Glacier Grows Despite Global Warming
Associated Press
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Jun 14, 2009 7:35 PM CDT
(AP) -
Argentina's Perito Moreno glacier is one of only a few ice fields worldwide that have withstood rising global temperatures. Nourished by Andean snowmelt, the glacier constantly grows even as it spawns icebergs the size of apartment buildings into a frigid lake, maintaining a nearly perfect equilibrium since measurements began more than a century ago....
Electric Bikes Take Off in China
Time
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Jun 14, 2009 7:00 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Chinese drivers are seeing a new vehicle zip by on the nation's congested, smog-choked freeways: electric bicycles, Austin Ramzy writes in Time . Promoted by the government as affordable solutions to cars, so-called e-bikes are growing in popularity, offering a green solution to the country's automobile boom. About 21 million e-bikes sold there last...
SF Library Offers Amnesty to Tardy Book Borrowers
San Francisco Chronicle
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Jun 14, 2009 6:30 PM CDT
(Newser) -
A book amnesty program in San Francisco has inspired many guilty returns and a few entertaining excuses, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The city's public library offered tardy borrowers the chance to return items, fine-free, as long as they came with an excuse. Returning a record 29,228 items worth $55,165 in fines, book-lovers coughed up a...
Fungus Poised to Kill Off World's Wheat
Los Angeles Times
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Jun 14, 2009 6:02 PM CDT
(Newser) -
A rust-colored fungus could destroy 80% of the world's wheat crops in a few years unless scientists counter it with genetically resistant strains, the Los Angeles Times reports. The Ug99 fungus—an ancient wheat-killer that rose up again in Africa 10 years ago—is already threatening 19% of the world's wheat and becoming more virulent as...
Cheney Almost Wants Attack on US Soil: CIA Head
Associated Press
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Jun 14, 2009 5:41 PM CDT
(AP) -
CIA Director Leon Panetta says former Vice President Dick Cheney's criticism of the Obama administration's approach to terrorism almost suggests "he's wishing that this country would be attacked again, in order to make his point." Panetta told The New Yorker that Cheney "smells some blood in the water" on the issue of national...
Teen Suspect Arrested in Fla. Cat Killings
Miami Herald
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Jun 14, 2009 5:00 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Miami police arrested a teenager today in connection with a high-profile series of cat-killings, the Miami Herald reports. Accused of mutilating and killing more than a dozen cats, Tyler Hayes Weinman, 18, was charged with animal cruelty, improperly disposing of an animal body, and burglary. Residents alerted police to Weinman, whose divorced parents...
Japanese Law Prevents Boy's Life-Saving Transplant
CNN
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Jun 14, 2009 4:35 PM CDT
(Newser) -
A Japanese law prevents 11-year-old Hiroki Ando from receiving the heart he so desperately needs, CNN reports. Ando suffers from cardiomyopathy and will likely die—as his sister did 5 years ago—without a heart transplant. But the minimum age for organ donations in Japan is 15. "This stipulation has greatly reduced the possibility...
Terrorists Didn't Down Flight 447: Autopsies
Independent (UK)
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Jun 14, 2009 4:21 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Autopsy reports indicate that Air France flight 447 did not crash because of a terrorist strike, the Independent reports. Examinations of the first 16 bodies—all recovered whole—show no signs of explosion, fire, or penetration by shards of metal. The autopsy details, leaked to the Brazilian press this weekend, leave authorities all the...
Posh Salvation Army Centers Sputter in Downturn
New York Times
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Jun 14, 2009 3:53 PM CDT
(Newser) -
A multi-billion-dollar plan to install upscale Salvation Army community centers in US cities has hit the recession skids, the New York Times reports. Joan B. Kroc, widow of McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc, left $1.8 billion for the Army to build some 30 complexes featuring pools and ice rinks. Now some are sputtering or canceled, while additional...
Forget Fur: New Celeb Cause Is Food
Guardian (UK)
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Jun 14, 2009 3:26 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Protesting fur is so last decade. Celebrities are now championing their favorite food-related causes, whether it's Paul McCartney asking Brits to cut back on meat, Jamie Oliver refusing to serve endangered bluefin, or celebs lining up to publicize a new film about overfishing, the Guardian reports. Why now? Government inaction and a stubborn...
