Newser Story Index from July, 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.

Health Bill Compromise Kicks Off 5-Week Battle
Washington Post | Jul 31, 09 8:50 PM CDT
(Newser) - A key House committee approved a health care package tonight, kicking off a 5-week public battle on the issue and sending lawmakers home for August recess, the Washington Post reports. The 31-to-28 vote in the House Energy and Commerce Committee, fueled by a liberal–Blue Dog deal this morning, could give low-income workers greater subsidies...

UK Artists Invent 'Neurotic' Robot Band
Wired | Jul 31, 09 8:24 PM CDT
(Newser) - Cybraphon mimics a neurotic indie band by obsessing over its online presence and knocking out tunes to express its fluctuating moods, Wired reports. Designed by three UK artists, Cybraphon is a musical robot stuffed with an organ, cymbals, a Macbook Pro—and a highly volatile emotion meter. "The Cybraphon has an almost egotistical...

Taiwan Bridles Foreign Wife Brokers
BBC | Jul 31, 09 7:45 PM CDT
(Newser) - Taiwan is clamping down on companies that arrange quicky foreign marriages for male customers, the BBC reports. Many Taiwanese men say they fly to Southeast Asian countries like Indonesia and Vietnam for brides because women in Taiwan are putting off marriage for career. But officials say cross-border weddings are built on "weak foundations,"...

Bruno 'Terrorist' Says He'll Sue Baron Cohen
Guardian (UK) | Jul 31, 09 7:05 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Palestinian portrayed as a terrorist in Bruno says he is a Christian activist who plans to sue Sacha Baron Cohen, the Guardian reports. Ayman Abu Aita, a Fatah representative in Bethlehem, says he met with Cohen in a hotel under Israeli control—not a refugee camp, as depicted in the film—and discussed the Palestinian cause for 2...

House Votes to Curb Wall Street Bonuses
Associated Press | Jul 31, 09 6:29 PM CDT
(Newser) - Bowing to populist anger, the House voted today to prohibit pay and bonus packages that encourage bankers and traders to take risks so big they could bring down the entire US economy. Passage of the bill on a 237-185 vote followed the disclosure a day earlier that nine of the biggest US banks, which are receiving billions of dollars in federal bailout...

Strangest eBay Auctions Ever
Daily Mirror (UK) | Jul 31, 09 6:06 PM CDT
(Newser) - Hard up for cash? Perhaps the Daily Mirror ’s list of the 10 most bizarre eBay auctions will inspire you to sell off some of your own belongings: Scorned by your ex-wife? Consider selling her wedding dress. If you model it yourself, as one man did in 2004, you could get $6,300. Pregnant? One mom got $15,500 from a casino in exchange...

Student Must Pay $675K for Illegal Downloads
Ars Technica | Jul 31, 09 5:22 PM CDT
(Newser) - A Boston graduate student must pay $675,000 to the music industry for illegally downloading 30 songs, a federal jury ordered today. Joel Tenenbaum, 25, essentially admitted yesterday to grabbing the music via file-sharing network KaZaA. The fine averages out to $22,500 per song—significantly less than the $80,000 the recording industry won in...

Apple Patches iPhone Security Concerns
All Things Digital | Jul 31, 09 5:04 PM CDT
(Newser) - Apple today issued an update for its iPhone operating system, patching a flaw in its text-messaging operation that security experts say could have allowed serious hackers to “take over every iPhone in the world,” AllThingsD reports. “Contrary to what’s been reported,” a company spokesman said, “no one has been able...

Corazon Aquino Dead at 76
Los Angeles Times | Jul 31, 09 4:28 PM CDT
(Newser) - Corazon Aquino, former president of the Philippines, has died at 76, the Los Angeles Times reports. Aquino became Asia’s first female president, leading a “people power” movement that eventually toppled dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986—and arguably set off a wave of democratic revolutions that ended with the fall of the Berlin...

Michelle O. 'Doing a Great Job:' Laura Bush
Associated Press | Jul 31, 09 4:16 PM CDT
(Newser) - Michelle Obama's performance as first lady is getting high marks from her predecessor, Laura Bush. Speaking after a change-of-command ceremony for the USS Texas submarine in Connecticut, Bush said today she's watched the current first lady from afar and is impressed.

Halladay Stays; ChiSox Get Peavy
Fox Sports | Jul 31, 09 4:03 PM CDT
(Newser) - The biggest move on today’s baseball trading deadline looks to be one that wasn’t made, Fox Sports reports: Toronto kept ace right-hander Roy Halladay, who’d drawn interest from contenders in both leagues. The biggest name dealt was right-hander Jake Peavy, sent from San Diego to the Chicago White Sox for four young pitchers, Sports...

Minn. Dems Red-Faced Over Email Error
Minneapolis Star Tribune | Jul 31, 09 4:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - Minnesota’s Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party is frantically apologizing after sending out a mass email that linked to a profane YouTube video, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. The email, which blasted Gov. Tim Pawlenty over his economic record, was supposed to include a link to a development report. Instead, it linked to a video entitled...

House Votes to Add $2B to Clunkers Program
Detroit Free Press | Jul 31, 09 3:50 PM CDT
(Newser) - The House voted today to beef up the "cash for clunkers" program to the tune of $2 billion, but that doesn’t mean shoppers and dealers are any clearer on the federal program, the Detroit Free Press reports. “It is an absolute total mess,” one dealer says. One customer who made a last-minute deal is more charitable. “I...

Find a Second Home Afloat—for Less
USA Today | Jul 31, 09 3:40 PM CDT
(Newser) - A boat makes a great getaway home, but mooring and maintenance can turn ownership into an expensive hassle. A few alternatives have cropped up that offer the pleasures of sea living without requiring the vacationer to buy in hook, line, and sinker, USA Today reports: The World . The first condo cruise ship travels around the globe with...

YouTube Wedding Stars Fight Domestic Violence
JK Wedding Dance | Jul 31, 09 3:30 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Minnesota couple whose exuberant wedding procession went viral, generating millions of YouTube hits, are using their powers for good. Having brought priceless publicity to the song Forever , by domestic batterer Chris Brown, Jill Peterson and Kevin Heinz are encouraging fans to support domestic-violence prevention.

Dow Up 17 to End Best Month Since '02
Wall Street Journal | Jul 31, 09 3:15 PM CDT
(Newser) - Data which showed a slowing pace of decline for US gross domestic products fueled modest advances in the markets today, with the Dow finishing its best month since October 2002, the Wall Street Journal reports. Bank of America and Alcoa paced advancers, and the Dow closed up 17.15 at 9,171.61. The Nasdaq lost 5.80 to close at 1,978.50, while the...

'Hedonometer' Gauges US Mood Via Blogs, Tweets
Discovery Channel | Jul 31, 09 3:10 PM CDT
(Newser) - If you think blogs are useless, think again: Scientists have developed a “hedonometer,” or happiness gauge, that analyzes personal online statements to pinpoint the overall contentment of the US population on a given day, the Discovery Channel reports. The program looks at sentences beginning with “I feel” and then grades the...

Scientists Retract Paper Touting Sperm From Stem Cells
AFP | Jul 31, 09 2:56 PM CDT
(Newser) - A paper by British scientists on the creation of synthetic human sperm had to be retracted from the journal Stem Cell and Development , AFP reports. The paper, which reported the revolutionary creation of sperm from stem cells, included text written by another scientist, who was not credited. The retraction is not due to the validity of the findings,...

Kia Soul Sport Better 'Beat Box' Than Vehicle
Los Angeles Times | Jul 31, 09 2:46 PM CDT
(Newser) - The 2010 Kia Soul Sport isn’t “fun to drive,” but that doesn’t mean it won’t be fun for its target drivers, “audio-obsessed teens and 20-somethings,” writes Dan Neil in the Los Angeles Times . Priced under $20,000, it’s “a cool-looking little gizmo penned with confidence if not gall,” featuring...

Millionaire Returns to Prime Time for 10th Anniversary
USA Today | Jul 31, 09 2:30 PM CDT
(Newser) - To mark its 10th anniversary, ABC’s Who Wants to Be a Millionaire will return to prime time for an 11-night run starting Aug. 9, USA Today reports. Regis Philbin will return as host, along with celebrity guests—including Snoop Dogg, Lauren Conrad, Vanessa Williams and Katy Perry—who will answer one question at the end of the show...

Funny People Puts Serious Pressure on Sandler
Variety | Jul 31, 09 2:22 PM CDT
(Newser) - Though it’s called Funny People , Adam Sandler’s latest film is a bit more serious than his fans are used to—and its opening-weekend performance is a mystery, Variety reports. Forecasts range from just over $20 million to more like $35 million, Audiences loved director Judd Apatow’s prior efforts—which were more upbeat...

Google Voice Worth More Than Beloved iPhone
TechCrunch | Jul 31, 09 2:10 PM CDT
(Newser) - Apple and AT&T rejected the Google Voice app for the iPhone, driving TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington to drop the mobile device entirely. Why are Apple and its carrier blocking an innovative program that has amazing call-forwarding features and transcribes voicemail into text? “Because they absolutely don’t want people doing exactly...

GOP Needs Its Brains Back
Atlanta Journal-Constitution | Jul 31, 09 1:57 PM CDT
(Newser) - Republican sycophants may think Sarah Palin’s resignation was brilliant, “but don’t kid yourself,” writes Robert Eisinger in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution . “The GOP is in trouble.” The party has lost its intellectual coherence, and if it wants it back, it’s got to look beyond the Palins and Mark Sanfords...

'Swine Flu Ship' Docks In France
BBC | Jul 31, 09 1:45 PM CDT
(Newser) - A cruise ship carrying 60 crew members diagnosed with swine flu and 70 more showing symptoms has docked in southern France, the BBC reports. The infected will receive onboard treatment in Villefranche-sur-Mer. French officials say Spanish authorities confirmed the diagnosis, but Royal Caribbean, which owns the Voyager of the Seas , denied that report....

Italy OKs RU-486; Vatican Threatens Excommunications
ANSA (Italy) | Jul 31, 09 1:37 PM CDT
(Newser) - Italy has legalized the abortion drug RU-486, drawing the ire of the Vatican, which threatened to excommunicate doctors who prescribe the medication and women who take it. A church official said using the pill is "a sin in a moral and juridical sense," but a politician who is also a gynecologist hailed yesterday's decision, telling ANSA,...

Texas Education Chief: Stop Hiring Dropouts
Dallas Morning News | Jul 31, 09 1:30 PM CDT
(Newser) - Texas Education Commissioner Robert Scott, reeling from criticism that the state is underreporting its dropout rates, called yesterday on the state’s leading business group to institute a voluntary ban on hiring dropouts, the Dallas Morning News reports. “It would send a powerful message to these kids,” Scott argued, and it would...

Plastic Surgery May Cure Migraines
Time | Jul 31, 09 1:22 PM CDT
(Newser) - A novel plastic-surgery procedure on the forehead could cure migraines entirely, Time reports. The surgery removes certain muscles—or “migraine triggers”—around the trigeminal nerve branches, which some think are the source of the painful headaches; it also smoothes wrinkles. In a recent study, more than half of 49 migraine...

This Is Your Best Shot to Finish a Pynchon Novel
Salon | Jul 31, 09 1:10 PM CDT
(Newser) - Thomas Pynchon's back with what appears to be his most accessible novel yet, in the unlikely category of detective fiction. Critics reviewing Inherent Vice say he pulled it off: Laura Miller, Salon: It's "a sun-struck, pot-addled shaggy dog story that fuses the sulky skepticism of Raymond Chandler with the good-natured scrappiness of...

Top Obama Birthday Gifts
Politico | Jul 31, 09 1:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - President Obama’s birthday is right around the corner—no matter where Lou Dobbs thinks he was born—but what do you get the leader of the free world? Politico asked various Washingtonians their thoughts for Tuesday's big occasion. Some notable responses: Joe Biden: “It’s a surprise!” Rep. Jason Chaffetz...

New GI Bill Gives Veterans Better Shot at College
Houston Chronicle | Jul 31, 09 12:48 PM CDT
(Newser) - The new GI Bill, called the biggest veterans’ educational benefit program since 1944, takes effect tomorrow—and it’s poised to make a big difference, the Houston Chronicle reports. Some 90% of vets will receive two to three times more help paying for college, says one advocate. “This type of investment is going to build the...

Dolphin Doc The Cove a Real Thrill
Rotten Tomatoes | Jul 31, 09 12:37 PM CDT
(Newser) - Critics are raving about The Cove , a documentary about a Japanese town whose economy rests on capturing and killing dolphins for the worldwide market: It’s “an exceptionally well-made documentary that unfolds like a spy thriller, complete with bugged hotel rooms, clandestine derring-do and mysterious men in gray flannel suits,”...

Costs Soar as Docs Order and Perform Tests
Washington Post | Jul 31, 09 12:25 PM CDT
(Newser) - As Congress wrestles with health-care reform, studies show it’s tough to regulate the status quo: Doctors’ “self-referrals” for medical imaging have continued despite efforts to legislate against them, the Washington Post reports. Doctors who own the equipment that scans patients stand to make more cash—and tend to order...

Pentagon Weighs Ban on Facebook, Twitter
Military Times | Jul 31, 09 12:16 PM CDT
(Newser) - The US military is considering restrictions on access to social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, citing privacy and security concerns, the Military Times reports. “Sometimes people, because of the nature of these sites, can have a tendency to get lax in what they put on there,” a Pentagon spokesman says. On the table are everything...

Scientists Upgrade Century-Old X-Ray Tech
Economist | Jul 31, 09 12:06 PM CDT
(Newser) - A team of University of North Carolina scientists are working to bring X-ray technology into the 21st century, the Economist reports. The X-ray machines commonly used today rely on vacuum-tube technology little changed from a century ago, but physicist Otto Zhou and his colleagues have used nanotechnology to create smaller, far more efficient machines...

Dodd Has Prostate Cancer
Hartford Courant (Conn.) | Jul 31, 09 11:55 AM CDT
(Newser) - Senator Chris Dodd has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, the Hartford Courant reports, but the disease is in its early stages, and Dodd doesn’t think it will sideline him long. He’ll undergo surgery during the August recess, and expects to return after a “brief recuperation,” the 65-year-old said. “It’s something...

Palin's Silence Drives Fans Crazy
Associated Press | Jul 31, 09 11:48 AM CDT
(Newser) - It’s been five entire days since Sarah Palin ceased being an elected official, and her fans are restless, the AP reports. “Sarah can you give us just a hint!” pleaded one Facebook follower. Said another: “Sarah, our country really NEEDS YOU NOW!!!” Palin promised to launch her next chapter on social networking sites, but...

Ghostface on New Album: No 'Slinging Crack' in R&B
New York | Jul 31, 09 11:42 AM CDT
(Newser) - Ghostface Killah is one of today’s most critically acclaimed rappers, and he doesn’t plan on quitting any time soon: “I’ma definitely be old in hip-hop. This is a mental thing. You can write music till you 70,” he tells New York . His new album, Wizard of Poetry , finds him exploring a new direction: R&B. The main...

Miami Cops Hunt Horse Killers
Associated Press | Jul 31, 09 11:30 AM CDT
(Newser) - Miami police have a mystery on their hands. Someone, or a group of people, is slaughtering horses and making off with the meat, the AP reports. Since January, 17 horses have been found dead, their butchered bodies generally left by the roadside or in pastures. Animal rights groups believe the killers are selling the meat on the black market.

Hollywood Focuses on Post-Apocalyptic Future
Wall Street Journal | Jul 31, 09 11:16 AM CDT
(Newser) - In one, the Earth's destruction fulfills an ancient prophesy. In another, mechanical dolls take over where humans left off. From serious to humorous, reality shows to documentaries, Hollywood is obsessed with the theme of a post-apocalyptic future, the Wall Street Journal reports. Some attribute the trend to escapism: “People are less concerned...

'Cash For Clunkers' Safe: White House
New York Times | Jul 31, 09 11:03 AM CDT
(Newser) - The rumors of the “cash for clunkers” deal’s demise have been greatly exaggerated, the White House said today, promising that the trade-in program will continue even after consumers have used up its allotted $1 billion. “If you were planning on going to buy a car this weekend using this program, the program continues to run,”...

Beneath the Growl, Michael Savage Is a Softie
New Yorker | Jul 31, 09 10:57 AM CDT
(Newser) - Michael Savage is on a roll: First the Brits take him off the "hate promoters" list that had him banned from the country, and now Kelefa Sanneh has an affectionate profile of the heretical conservative shock jock in the New Yorker . The toxic soundbites that emerge from Savage's show, and even his own stridently polemical books, don't do...

Town Halls Turn to Mayhem for Lawmakers
Politico | Jul 31, 09 10:51 AM CDT
(Newser) - Members of Congress are increasingly seeing town-hall meetings turn to bedlam, with people yelling and protesters being pulled out by police, Politico reports. A New York representative who’d hosted more than 100 such meetings has called it quits after a chaotic scene last month that necessitated his departure with a police escort. “There...

Anderson to Bachelorette : How Much Sex?
Gawker | Jul 31, 09 10:40 AM CDT
(Newser) - Anderson Cooper got a little personal yesterday when, as Regis Philbin’s stand-in, he asked Bachelorette Jillian Harris how many of the bachelors on her reality show she slept with. But he was only asking “the question everybody wants to know,” said Erica Hill when he recapped the moment with her last night on his CNN show,...

Why the Kindle Stinks
New Yorker | Jul 31, 09 10:34 AM CDT
(Newser) - Nicholson Baker wanted to like the Kindle, honest. But when he unwrapped it and began to see what all the fuss was about, he "tussled with a sense of anti-climax," the prolific author writes in the New Yorker . Things never improved. He slams the e-reader for having a "greenish, sickly gray" screen, cruddy images, and limited selection...

Career-Switchers Flock to Teacher-Training Programs
Washington Post | Jul 31, 09 10:25 AM CDT
(Newser) - With unemployment soaring, interest is booming in teacher-training programs for people switching careers, the Washington Post reports. This year, a 20-city retraining program saw applications climb 30%; in many areas there’s more interest than jobs available, outside of science, math, and physical education. The surge could help avert likely...

Shuttle Returns to Earth
Associated Press | Jul 31, 09 10:14 AM CDT
(Newser) - Space shuttle Endeavour and its seven astronauts are back on Earth. Endeavour landed at Florida's Kennedy Space Center this morning after a 16-day mission that saw the crew complete its major construction goals at the International Space Station. Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata, back after 4½ months in space, says he can't wait to eat some...

Dethroned Miss Cali to Sue
Perez Hilton | Jul 31, 09 10:08 AM CDT
(Newser) - The Miss California drama isn’t over yet: dethroned Carrie Prejean is filing a lawsuit against the organization, reports Perez Hilton, who snagged a copy of the complaint. Prejean names Keith Lewis and Shanna Moakler, but not Donald Trump, as defendants in her suit for—among other things—slander, libel, and religious discrimination....

Maher: Birthers Stupid, But Dangerous
Los Angeles Times | Jul 31, 09 9:56 AM CDT
(Newser) - Lately, liberals have “been laughing heartily at the wacky antics of ‘birthers,’” the goofballs who think “President Obama is an African sleeper spy,” writes Bill Maher in the Los Angeles Times . But we need to stop laughing, because this is America, “where if you don’t immediately kill errant nonsense...

Health Industry Rains Cash on Blue Dog Dems
Washington Post | Jul 31, 09 9:43 AM CDT
(Newser) - The Blue Dogs—the 52 fiscally conservative Democrats who have been fighting to kill health care reform proposals the industry doesn’t like—receive far more money from that industry than their non-coalition-member counterparts, the Washington Post reports. The reform push has been a boon for the lawmakers' ledgers; the group has...

29 Killed in Baghdad Mosque Bombings
Associated Press | Jul 31, 09 9:31 AM CDT
(Newser) - Bombs exploded near five Shiite mosques in Baghdad today, killing at least 29 people, according to Iraqi police and hospital officials. The bombings, apparently part of a coordinated attack that targeted worshipers leaving Friday prayers, shattered a period of relative calm in the Iraqi capital. The deaths raised to at least 303 the number of Iraqis...