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.
Swine Flu: France Boots 'Disease- Ridden' British Kids
Daily Mail (UK)
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Jul 23, 2009 8:32 AM CDT
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More than two dozen British schoolchildren on a school holiday were booted out of France after some came down with swine flu—but not before they were quarantined by medics in anti-contamination suits and insulted by locals. "It was as if we were dangerous criminals," said one of the visitors, who said one person in the town in Normandy...
Italy Foils Sale of $18M Yachts to Dear Leader
Financial Times (UK)
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Jul 23, 2009 8:22 AM CDT
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Italian authorities believe they have torpedoed Kim Jong-Il's hopes of acquiring a pair of new luxury yachts, the Financial Times reports. The sale of the $18 million yachts, which would have violated international sanctions, was blocked after investigators traced the contract to North Korea. Authorities say they have no proof the vessels were destined...
Obama's Best Pal Keeps Him in Line
New York Times
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Jul 23, 2009 8:08 AM CDT
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When the president has made up his mind, there’s one person who can change it: Valerie Jarrett, who acts as his “intermediary to the outside world,” Robert Draper writes in a hefty New York Times Magazine profile. “There are two people he’s not going to say no to: Valerie Jarrett and Michelle Obama,” says a state...
North Korea Blasts 'Funny Lady' Clinton
CNN
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Jul 23, 2009 8:03 AM CDT
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If insults were nukes, the US and North Korea would have destroyed the world today. Hillary Clinton, on a visit to Asia, told reporters that the secretive regime "has no friends left" to block denuclearization, after earlier in the week comparing Kim Jong-Il's coterie to "small children and unruly teenagers." That led Pyongyang...
'Smut-Merchant' O'Reilly Plays Naked ESPN Vid
Gawker
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Jul 23, 2009 7:54 AM CDT
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Bill O’Reilly is building himself a reputation, at least in the Gawker offices, for self-righteously discussing “softcore porn on YouTube or underage strippers or whatever” while simultaneously running the “salacious clips” as he bemoans “the gross injustice.” It’s not surprising, then, that “the...
New Autopsy: Peterson's 3rd Wife Murdered
CNN
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Jul 23, 2009 7:42 AM CDT
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Drew Peterson’s third wife was killed, a new autopsy says, countering the original coroner’s report that concluded Kathleen Savio’s death was an accident, CNN reports. Bruises point to a struggle in the new autopsy by a top forensic pathologist. Peterson, a former Illinois cop, has been charged with murder in the case and is a suspect...
'Cankle' Anxiety Grips Body-Conscious
Wall Street Journal
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Jul 23, 2009 7:30 AM CDT
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Body-conscious Americans have been given a whole new area to fret about about in recent years, the Wall Street Journal reports. "Cankle"—a lower calf too chubby for an ankle to be properly defined—has entered the lexicon in recent years. Gyms, plastic surgeons, and shoe companies have been quick to cash in with offers of ways...
Hello, Senators? Greedy Cell Phone Biz Needs Attention
New York Times
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Jul 23, 2009 7:04 AM CDT
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It's nice to see Congress looking out for the cell phone customer with hearings on carrier exclusivity, but there's plenty of dubious practices in the business they should look into before they worry about getting us all Verizon iPhones, David Pogue writes in the New York Times. Texting fees. These have doubled from 10 to 20 cents...
Ford Shocks Street With $2.3B Profit
Reuters
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Jul 23, 2009 6:39 AM CDT
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Ford surprised the markets today by posting a $2.3 billion quarterly profit, thanks mostly to debt restructuring actions, Reuters reports. The result beat estimates and represents Ford's first good quarter in more than a year; this time in 2008, the automaker lost $2.7 billion. But the global downturn that pushed Chrysler and GM to bankruptcy...
Obama Met at Least 27 Health Industry Execs
Huffington Post
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Jul 23, 2009 6:20 AM CDT
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Since February, President Obama has hosted at least 27 meetings with health industry bigwigs—representing hospitals, doctors, pharmaceuticals and insurance companies—the Huffington Post reports, in its campaign to head off resistance to health care reform. Names of the visitors were released last night, just before the president's press...
Anglican Church Offers Two-in-One Wedding-Baptism
Times (UK)
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Jul 23, 2009 5:56 AM CDT
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With more than two in five British children born out of wedlock, the Anglican Church is introducing a new liturgical twofer—a combination wedding and baptism. The so-called "hatch and match" service is designed to encourage marriage, and senior bishops insist that the Church is not changing its teachings. But as the Times of London...
Die-Hard Fans: 'Britney Spears Saved My Life'
Newsweek
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Jul 23, 2009 5:38 AM CDT
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Britney Spears may not be the most obvious role model for the troubled, but hardcore fans credit her with changing their lives in a new BBC documentary, Newsweek reports. In Britney Spears Saved My Life , the superfans testify that Britney and her music guided them through the darkest times of their lives, and helped them beat depression and eating...
Press Let Obama Off Easy on Health Details
BusinessWeek
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Jul 23, 2009 5:20 AM CDT
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Barack Obama maintained his trademark cool at last night's press conference, but he seemed back in campaign mode as he offered "well-honed arguments and sound bites" in favor of health care reform, writes Jane Sasseen of BusinessWeek. The president did a good job selling his plan, but he steadfastly avoided any specifics on the most contentious...
Spacewalk Cut Short After Suit Malfunctions
Space.com
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Jul 23, 2009 5:00 AM CDT
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Two astronauts had to abruptly end their spacewalk outside the International Space Station when mission control operators realized one of them had a spacesuit glitch, Space.com reports. Astronaut Chris Cassidy, making his first spacewalk, was told to abandon his battery replacement work on the station because carbon dioxide levels inside his suit were...
Jon Hangs With Lilo's Pop, Gal-Pal Scribe in Hamptons
People
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Jul 23, 2009 4:35 AM CDT
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Associates of divorcing dad of 8 Jon Gosselin get more and more interesting. He hung out in the Hamptons this week with another quirky dad, Lindsay Lohan's father, reports People . "Jon is a friend, he's a great guy, and my doors were open to him and Kate Major," said Michael Lohan, referring to Gosselin's third squeeze, a reporter for...
Thug: 'Suicidal Victim Paid Me to Kill Him'
New York Daily News
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Jul 23, 2009 4:10 AM CDT
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A career criminal arrested for the murder of a Long Island self-help guru claims that the man was seeking to commit "suicide by thug," the New York Daily News reports. The suspect told police that motivational speaker Jeff Locker, "a business spiritualist" and father of three, hired tthe convict to kill him so his loved ones could...
German Court OKs Nazi Gnome
BBC
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Jul 23, 2009 3:48 AM CDT
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German prosecutors have decided a Seig-Heiling garden gnome doesn't violate the country's tough laws against Nazi imagery, the BBC reports. Artist Ottmar Hörl's creation, on display in a Nuremberg gallery, is intended to mock the Nazis rather than glorify them, officials decided. Prosecutors warned, however, that the stiuation has "certain...
150 Maldive Women to Be Flogged for Affairs
Independent (UK)
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Jul 23, 2009 3:27 AM CDT
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A criminal court in the Maldives has ruled that 150 women will be flogged for having affairs in the Muslim country, reports the Independent . Some 50 men face the same punishment. Earlier this month an 18-year-old woman fainted after being flogged 100 times for having sex with two men, who were both acquitted. The woman was pregnant when she was convicted...
It's Alive! Obama 'Birther' Conspiracy Spawns Nut Nest
New York Times
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Jul 23, 2009 3:02 AM CDT
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The conspiracy theory that the first black president is an alien and not an American citizen is bizarrely growing a full head of steam and spitting out a wacky cast of characters, notes Eric Etheridge in the New York Times. The fact that Barack Obama has a Hawaiian birth certificate has had little impact on the so-called "birthers" whose...
Cop Refuses to Apologize for Gates Arrest
Boston Globe
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Jul 23, 2009 2:35 AM CDT
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The Cambridge cop who arrested Henry Louis Gates Jr. said yesterday that he won't be giving the Harvard professor the apology he demands. Sgt. James Crowley, whose run-in with Gates began when he responded to a neighbor's report of a break-in at the professor's home, denies the arrest had anything to do with Gates' race, though Gates accused him of...
Artificial Brain Could Be Just 10 Years Away
BBC
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Jul 23, 2009 2:07 AM CDT
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A functional artificial brain could be built within the next decade, leading scientist and brain-builder Henry Markram told a tech conference. Markram, who leads a project seeking to reverse engineer the mammalian brain from lab data, says his team has already duplicated parts of the rat brain, the BBC reports. The synthetic brain will be key to understanding...
ESPN Bans NY Post Staffers Over Nude Andrews Photos
Newsday
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Jul 23, 2009 1:45 AM CDT
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ESPN has declared every New York Pos t reporter persona non grata on its programming in retaliation for the paper's printing photos taken from a nude video of ESPN reporter Erin Andrews, Newsday reports. The move will affect several Post reporters who regularly appear on ESPN TV and its radio outlet. Andrews plans legal action against...
Newspaper: Capa's Iconic War Photo 'Faked'
Artdaily.org
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Jul 23, 2009 1:24 AM CDT
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One of the most famous war photos of all time was a fake, according to Spanish newspaper El Periodico . The paper says its investigation into Robert Capa's Spanish Civil War "falling soldier" photo—which appears to show a shot militiaman at the moment of death—concluded that the photo was actually taken 30 miles away from any...
Coroner's Staff Improperly Viewed Jackson Documents
Associated Press
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Jul 22, 2009 9:35 PM CDT
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Poor Michael. Even in death, he can't catch a break on privacy. Staffers at the Los Angeles coroner's office looked up the pop star's death certificate hundreds of times and even printed out copies, reports the Los Angeles Times . The office also found possible security breaches in two other computer systems that held information on the investigation...
Obama: Cops 'Acted Stupidly' in Gates Arrest
Boston Globe
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Jul 22, 2009 8:35 PM CDT
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President Obama thinks police in Cambridge "acted stupidly" in arresting Henry Louis Gates Jr. and noted that minorities have a "long history" of unfair treatment by police. Obama took the question at the end of his press conference, and he prefaced his answer by saying that he's a friend of "Skip" Gates and that he doesn't...
Pelosi: I've Got the Votes on Health Care
The Hill
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Jul 22, 2009 8:17 PM CDT
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Nancy Pelosi says she's got enough votes lined up in the House to pass health care reform by the end of the month, the Hill reports. Republicans and Blue Dog Democrats beg to differ, but Pelosi says there's "no question" she's right. On the chance she's wrong, however, she warned that she might make the House work through the summer recess...
Amazon Buys Rival Zappos for About $900M
TechCrunch
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Jul 22, 2009 7:47 PM CDT
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If you can't beat 'em, buy 'em. Amazon is shelling out about $900 million in cash and stock to purchase rival online retailer Zappos, reports TechCrunch. Zappos specializes in shoes, and the investment—the biggest in Amazon's 14-year history—suggests Jeff Bezos is looking to shore up his company's less-than-stellar performance in the enormous...
Obama Tailors Pitch to Middle Class
Associated Press
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Jul 22, 2009 7:20 PM CDT
(AP) -
President Obama kept to his expected themes in his prime-time news conference tonight, emphasizing that his health care reform is not "about me" and tailoring part of his pitch to Americans already covered. “If you already have health insurance, the reform we’re proposing will provide you with more security and more stability,”...
US Missile Kills Son of Bin Laden
NPR
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Jul 22, 2009 6:58 PM CDT
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The US is pretty sure that an American missile killed Osama bin Laden's son in Pakistan, reports NPR. Spy agencies are "80 to 85%" certain that a missile from a US drone killed Saad bin Laden, thought to be in his late 20s, sometime in the last year. Saad bin Laden was active in al-Qaeda but not a major figure. "We make a big deal...
Sorry, Lance, This Doesn't Look Like Your Year
Los Angeles Times
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Jul 22, 2009 6:28 PM CDT
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The Tour de France still has three days left, but nothing short of a two-wheeled miracle will give Lance Armstrong his eighth title, writes Diane Pucin in the Los Angeles Times . Armstrong is now in fourth place, and about the best he can do is push hard in the final days to earn a spot on the podium Sunday in either second or third. Teammate Alberto...
Movie-Biz Insiders Worth Following on Twitter
Mashable
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Jul 22, 2009 6:15 PM CDT
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Though movie stars are the most publicized of Hollywood's Twitterati, fans can get some real insider dirt from directors and producers using the site, too. Mashable runs down 20 who Tweet often, and honestly: @Jon_Favreau is ... Jon Favreau: The Iron Man director's "Tweets don’t reek of continual self-promotion, and you get the...
Billboard Shifts Website to Lure Listeners, Buyers
USA Today
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Jul 22, 2009 5:49 PM CDT
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As circulation of its print magazine continues to fall, Billboard is looking to transition to the digital age with an overhauled website designed to be a one-stop shop for pop music, USA Today reports. Billboard.com now allows all visitors, not just subscribers, to look at its 51-year archive of sales charts, and it has integrated those charts with...
Obama: 'We Will Do It This Year'
Talking Points Memo
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Jul 22, 2009 5:21 PM CDT
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President Obama will take to the airwaves tonight in his fourth prime-time news conference with a familiar message: Health care reform is not only long overdue, it's a "central" part of the plan to keep the economy on track. In excerpts released in advance of tonight's 8pm EST address, Obama vows that "we will pass reform that lowers...
Record 10% of US Convicts Serving Life
New York Times
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Jul 22, 2009 5:00 PM CDT
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Almost 10% of prisoners incarcerated in the US are serving life sentences, an all-time high, the New York Times reports. In California, which maintains the nation’s highest prison population, that number is 20%, says a report from the Sentencing Project, a group that wants to eliminate life-without-parole sentences. Two-thirds of those serving...
Iraq Pullout on Target: Obama, Maliki
Washington Post
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Jul 22, 2009 4:41 PM CDT
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President Obama met with Nouri al-Maliki today and vowed to keep to his timetable that has all US forces out of Iraq by 2011, the Washington Post reports. The Iraqi prime minister said that his country’s security forces are now “highly capable” of handling the threat posed by insurgents—what Iraq needs now, Maliki said, is...
Gadget Turns Phone Into Microscope
Science Blogs
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Jul 22, 2009 4:29 PM CDT
(Newser) -
A new gadget could mean big improvements for health care in the developing world. Called the CellScope, the device attaches to any cell phone with a camera, turning it into a microscope, Science Blogs reports. Invented by researchers at UC Berkeley, the CellScope also features an LED that can detect cell stains used to identify diseases such as malaria...
Newt: Obama's Misguided Health Plan Will 'Kill Jobs'
Politico
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Jul 22, 2009 4:09 PM CDT
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Newt Gingrich lashed out today against President Obama’s health care plan, saying the nation should deal with crushing unemployment first, Politico reports. “America does not work if Americans are not working,” he said. “Getting Americans working should be the number one priority.” Gingrich called for a 50% reduction in...
Graham: I'll Vote for Sotomayor
Talking Points Memo
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Jul 22, 2009 3:59 PM CDT
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Lindsey Graham intends to vote for Sonia Sotomayor’s confirmation to the Supreme Court, Talking Points Memo reports. "I believe she is well qualified,” said the senator, one of her more aggressive questioners. "She's definitely more liberal than a Republican would have chosen, but I do believe elections have consequences."...
Chimps Can Get AIDS: Study
Associated Press
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Jul 22, 2009 3:44 PM CDT
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Scientists have found evidence that chimpanzees can be sickened by SIV, the non-human version of HIV, adding to the understanding of how HIV/AIDS developed, the AP reports. Scientists have long believed that while other primates can contract simian immunodeficiency virus, they are not affected by it. A 9-year study of Tanzanian chimps overturns that...
Wii Bowling a Strike With Seniors
Chicago Tribune
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Jul 22, 2009 3:33 PM CDT
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Seniors are wholeheartedly embracing Wii Bowling as a fun social activity mercifully devoid of the weight of an actual ball, the Chicago Tribune reports. “Can you think of anything better to do?” says the president of a league at a Chicago-area retirement community. “It's the piece de resistance of retirement.” That league,...
Dow Falls 35 on Energy Fears
Wall Street Journal
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Jul 22, 2009 3:13 PM CDT
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Markets were off today as falling oil prices put the press on the energy sector and Wall Street took a stern look at the recent rally, the Wall Street Journal reports. Though tech stocks surged, bringing NASDAQ up, oil prices were off and health care concerns tumbled. The financial sector saw gains and losses on earnings reports. The Dow was down...
Berlusconi Admits He's 'No Saint'
Telegraph (UK)
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Jul 22, 2009 3:06 PM CDT
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Silvio Berlusconi appeared unconcerned about the recent disclosure of tapes of an alleged intimate conversation between him and a prostitute, the Telegraph reports. “There are a lot of pretty girls about. I am no saint but you know that,” the Italian PM said today in his first public comments on the matter. The “low-level”...
Fat TV Is Ratings Heavyweight
CNN
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Jul 22, 2009 2:57 PM CDT
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As American waistlines continue to expand, a crop of fat-centric TV shows has emerged to cater to viewers who struggle with their weight, CNN reports. From NBC’s The Biggest Loser , to Lifetime’s Drop Dead Diva , Style’s Ruby , and Fox’s upcoming More to Love , networks have embraced plus-sized programming. Oxygen is the...
Bloated Baghdad Embassy Needs 'Rightsizing': State
McClatchy Newspapers
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Jul 22, 2009 2:45 PM CDT
(Newser) -
An internal State Department assessment has deemed the recently completed US embassy in Baghdad grievously overstaffed, McClatchy Newspapers report. “There is a clear consensus from the top to the bottom of the embassy,” State’s inspector general writes. “The time has come for a significant rightsizing.” The embassy’s...
NYC's Naked Cowboy to Run for Mayor
ABC News
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Jul 22, 2009 2:33 PM CDT
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Robert Burck, the “Naked Cowboy” who strolls New York’s Times Square, is planning a run for mayor there, WABC-TV reports. The guitar slinger in underpants will challenge Mayor Michael Bloomberg by “bringing transparency to a whole new level.” Burck says he’ll also run on his ideas about taxes, tourism, gay nuptials,...
NC Woman Struggles to Get Camel Dairy Over the Hump
Wall Street Journal
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Jul 22, 2009 2:25 PM CDT
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Millie Hinkle loves camel milk, and thinks the rest of America should, too. “It’s taken over my life,” she says. That’s why she’s drained her savings, cut down her day-job hours and devoted herself to opening the US’ first camel dairy, the Wall Street Journal reports. Regulatory issues are one obstacle; there also...
Wedding Military Means Divorcing Manhattan
Vogue
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Jul 22, 2009 2:12 PM CDT
(Newser) -
When her Manhattan colleagues found out Chloe Kamarck was marrying an Army officer, she got a lot of questions: “But why? So he supports the war? Is he a Republican?” This generation is into service—the recession has driven many to the Peace Corps, Teach for America, and the like—but as during Vietnam, the military carries a...
Teen Pregnancy Rampant in Foster Homes
Time
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Jul 22, 2009 1:59 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Teen pregnancy is on the rise throughout the country, but in the foster-care system it’s a full-blown epidemic, Time reports. Nearly half of girls who spent time in the system become pregnant before turning 19, according to one University of Chicago study, and almost 25% had been pregnant more than once. Another report this week from an anti-teen...
US Man Charged in Afghanistan Rocket Attack
New York Times
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Jul 22, 2009 1:48 PM CDT
(Newser) -
An American arrested in Pakistan last fall faces charges for firing rockets at a US military base in Afghanistan, the New York Times reports. Bryant Neal Vinas, 26, also allegedly gave al-Qaeda detailed information about the New York City transit system and Long Island Railroad in return for military training.
'Fun' Cities Forbidden for Federal Travel
Wall Street Journal
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Jul 22, 2009 1:38 PM CDT
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Government agencies have been warned not to hold meetings in cities employees might actually enjoy visiting, the Wall Street Journal reports. Places like Reno, Orlando, and Las Vegas are all considered untouchable. “We do have guidance that says avoid locations … that give the appearance of being lavish,” said one Justice Department...
