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.
Space Station Toilet Calling Astroplumber!
Space.com
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Jul 20, 2009 1:21 AM CDT
(Newser) -
A broken toilet is turning into a real pain on the International Space Station, reports Space.com. The record 13 astronauts in the station are forced to queue up for the one remaining functional commode, or use the facilities aboard the space shuttle Endeavor, currently docked there, say NASA officials.
CIT Strikes $3B Deal, Averting Bankruptcy
Reuters
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Jul 19, 2009 10:46 PM CDT
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CIT Group Inc. has made a deal for a $3 billion rescue package from bondholders to stay afloat, Reuters reports. The board of the lender, which was facing bankruptcy, struck a tentative agreement tonight. It includes high interest rates and apparently lacks long-term solutions, reports the Wall Street Journal . But the stopgap measure buys CIT time...
Italian Cops Fine Nuns Speeding to See Pope
Guardian (UK)
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Jul 19, 2009 7:52 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Italian police pulled over a Ford Fiesta doing 112mph and found it full of nuns desperate to see the Pope, the Guardian reports. "The police were shocked to find three nuns of a certain age in the Fiesta," says the driver, who wanted to help the Pope recover from his broken wrist. "But we were afraid of getting there late." Police...
'Hurt, Angry' Abdul Likely to Quit Idol : Manager
Associated Press
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Jul 19, 2009 7:00 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Paula Abdul is unhappy with her American Idol deal, and her manager wants the world to know it. The famously tongue-tied and tearful judge "is not a happy camper" in contract negotiations, manager David Sonenberg tells the Los Angeles Times. "Very sadly, it does not appear that she's going to be back." Ryan Seacrest recently...
Angela's Ashes Author McCourt Dead at 78
New York Times
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Jul 19, 2009 6:29 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Frank McCourt, the former schoolteacher who gained literary stardom by recounting his unhappy childhood in Angela's Ashes , died today in New York of skin cancer, the New York Times reports. He was 78. The Brooklyn-born author grew up in Limerick and taught in New York public schools for 30 years before writing Ashes , which dazzled critics with...
Pentagon IDs Soldier Caught by Taliban
ABC News
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Jul 19, 2009 6:04 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Pentagon officials have confirmed that Bowe Bergdahl, 23, is the captured US soldier seen this weekend in a Taliban video, ABC News reports. Bergdahl says in the video that he was caught after falling behind in a foot patrol, but Defense Department officials say he may have left his Paktika Province base at night with Afghan soldiers to meet...
Kim Jong Il's 3 Sons: Are Any Fit for Power?
Newsweek
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Jul 19, 2009 5:46 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Kim Jong Il has presided over North Korea’s closed, crooked government with an iron fist for decades. But as the Dear Leader’s health fades, anxious observers are analyzing his three heirs apparent—none of whom seem fit for the job, Evan Thomas and Suzanne Smalley write in Newsweek . Unlike Saddam Hussein’s nefarious spawn,...
Moon Landing Pulled Plug on Russian Space Pride
Associated Press
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Jul 19, 2009 5:18 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Russia is still smarting over America’s moon landing 40 years ago—so much so that a recent state TV report gave credence to dubious NASA-faked-it conspiracy theories, the AP reports. Before the moon landing, Moscow dominated the space race, laying claim to the first craft in space, the first man and woman in space, and the first human to...
Israel to US: We Won't Halt Housing in Jerusalem
Jerusalem Post (Israel)
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Jul 19, 2009 4:56 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Amid intense US-Israeli negotiations over settlements, Israel today brushed off Washington’s request to stop an American millionaire's housing project in East Jerusalem, the Jerusalem Post reports. Palestinians have complained that it would change demographics in the Arab-dominated area. But Obama "had crossed a red line" in...
Russian Green Card Marriages Are Big Biz in NY
New York Post
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Jul 19, 2009 4:34 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Russian women are so eager for green cards that one New York-area weekly devotes an entire page to marriage ads, the New York Post reports. A Post reporter, posing as an immigrant angling for a green card, contacted a marriage broker and got the going rate: $31,500, $6,500 of which goes to the broker. "It's a big business," one official...
Harry Potter Bewitches Box Office for $160M
Bloomberg
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Jul 19, 2009 4:10 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince conjured up a weekend box-office win with $79.5 million, bringing its 5-day total to $159.7 million, Bloomberg reports. The Hogwarts sequel trailed only Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen for the year's best bow. Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs ($17.7 million), Transformers ($13.8 million), ...
Psychic's Tools Go Up for Auction in DC
Washington Post
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Jul 19, 2009 3:50 PM CDT
(Newser) -
What would you pay for a pre-owned crystal ball? A Washington, DC, auction house is refusing to make predictions as it organizes a sale of the psychic tools—er, props, for non-believers—of America's most famous seer, the Washington Post reports. Jeane Dixon, predictor of JFK's death and astrologer to Nancy Reagan, left 500 boxes...
When Going Gets Tough, Obama Loses His Cool
Politico
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Jul 19, 2009 3:27 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Here's some change you might not believe: President Obama, he of the unflappable political cool, is starting to sweat. And he's also learning to adjust his strategies, writes Politico. Faced with a stagnating economy, troubled foreign relations, and a bogged-down health care bill, the president has (sometimes literally) rolled up his sleeves and...
Ron Paul Gains a Little Mainstream Cred
Politico
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Jul 19, 2009 3:00 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Ron Paul is disappointed in everybody, Politico reports. President Obama “became the peace candidate: ‘Yeah, we’re going to end that war in Iraq,’” the Texas congressman and erstwhile presidential candidate says. “But it’s not sincere.” And though Republican opposition to Obama’s spending plans...
Gates: Public Won't Stand for 'Long Slog' in Afghanistan
Los Angeles Times
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Jul 19, 2009 2:38 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Americans aren’t going to put up with a ‘long slog’ in Afghanistan, says Robert Gates: if the public doesn’t see things getting better within a year, support for the war will likely falter, he tells the Los Angeles Times . “After the Iraq experience, nobody is prepared to have a long slog where it is not apparent we are...
Kennedy: Why I Fight for Health Reform
Newsweek
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Jul 19, 2009 2:05 PM CDT
(Newser) -
From his near-death in a 1964 plane crash to his children’s health battles to the brain tumor threatening his life, Ted Kennedy’s medical struggles have taught him that “quality care shouldn't depend on your financial resources, or the type of job you have, or the medical condition you face.” That’s why he’s spent...
Cink Robs Watson of Storied Win
Associated Press
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Jul 19, 2009 1:32 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Tom Watson squandered a chance to become golf's oldest major champion today, as the 59-year-old American missed an 8-foot putt on the 72nd hole of the British Open, then lost a four-hole playoff to Stewart Cink. Cink won his first major title, but this one will be remembered as the one that Watson let get away when he had a historic victory in his...
Spectator Death, Squabbles Rock Tour de France
Australia's News Network
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Jul 19, 2009 1:03 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Cycling can't seem to catch a break. Despite a clean record on drug tests, this year's Tour de France will be wrapping up under dark clouds. Between the death of a 61-year-old spectator, a pellet-gun attack on riders, and accusations of sabotage between teams and individuals, the race itself has taken a backseat, Australia's News Network reports.
Calif. Stoked About Pot Profits
Associated Press
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Jul 19, 2009 12:07 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Even if they’re not legal without a doctor’s recommendation, marijuana sales are far from clandestine in California, and some say the state should finish what it started and just legalize pot for everyone, the AP reports. “The culture has gone so far beyond the law,” says a man who runs a pair of weed dispensaries, a weed trade...
Inside the CIA Torturers' Heads
Washington Post
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Jul 19, 2009 11:40 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The FBI was already getting information out of a suspected terrorist in a series of relatively friendly interrogations in 2002 when the CIA stepped in, a former US official tells the Washington Post . Agency contract psychologists escalated the techniques to sleep deprivation, extreme cold, and waterboarding, which the FBI interrogators called "borderline...
Dimon: DC's New Favorite Banker
New York Times
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Jul 19, 2009 11:25 AM CDT
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As the nation's financial center shifted from Wall Street to Pennsylvania Avenue, one man managed both to keep his bank afloat and emerge from a toppled industry with credibility in the White House. In a lengthy profile of Jamie Dimon, the New York Times takes a look at the JPMorgan CEO's newfound emphasis on government relations, an attitude that...
McConnell: Health Plan 'Not Good' for US
Politico
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Jul 19, 2009 11:16 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The fight over health care got even testier today when Mitch McConnell said Republicans wouldn’t support President Obama’s reform plan. “It’s not good for the country,” the Senate minority leader told Meet the Press . “We have quality health care now. We do not have a quality problem.” Elsewhere on the Sunday...
'Snake Oil' College Advisers Can Run $40K
New York Times
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Jul 19, 2009 11:01 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Independent college counselors promise to use their admissions know-how to get students into the best schools. But there’s no way to evaluate their sometimes extravagant claims, and some charge more than a year’s tuition at many colleges, the New York Times reports. Still, business is booming in the largely unregulated field—despite...
'Giant Leap' Was a 'Knee in NASA's Groin'
New York Times
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Jul 19, 2009 11:00 AM CDT
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The US took a “giant leap” landing on the moon in 1969, but NASA's greatest moment of triumph was also "a real knee in the groin" for the space agency, writes Tom Wolfe in the New York Times. At the time, we thought we’d build “a bridge to the stars,” with stops at Mars, Venus, and Pluto. Instead, after Apollo...
UK Issues Swine Flu Alert for Pregnant Women, Babies
Telegraph (UK)
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Jul 19, 2009 10:51 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Amid increasing concern that pregnant women and young children are most at risk from swine flu, experts in the UK are warning them to take extra precautions, the Telegraph reports. Doctors suggest avoiding unnecessary travel and crowds, particularly on trains and the London Underground. Most swine flu cases wouldn’t harm a pregnant woman or...
10 Tips for Homeless Survival
Nation
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Jul 19, 2009 10:27 AM CDT
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Millions of Americans had lost their homes long before subprime crisis plunged the nation into economic peril. Recognizing the plight of the homeless, The Nation offers 10 tips for street survival: Try to relieve passersby of their misconceptions without internalizing their cruel remarks. "Let go of your pride—but hold on to your...
Pols, Drivers Dial Up Cell Phone Danger
New York Times
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Jul 19, 2009 10:15 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Driving while talking on the phone—regardless of whether you're using a hands-free device—impairs your attention and reflexes as much as a blood alcohol content of .08, according to studies. With 81% of drivers admitting to gabbing in traffic, it might seem that stricter laws are inevitable, writes the New York Times —but there's...
Sanford: I Feel Like I Was at My Own Funeral
Greenville (SC) News
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Jul 19, 2009 10:00 AM CDT
(Newser) -
A “broken” Mark Sanford says the fallout from his admission of an extramarital affair has been like attending his own funeral, but he’s “thankful for the perspective it has afforded.” In a column for the Greenville News , the disgraced South Carolina governor shares the life lessons his “tragedy” has taught...
Michelle Gets Wonky on Health Care
New York Times
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Jul 19, 2009 9:15 AM CDT
(Newser) -
There's been much ado about Michelle Obama’s biceps, garden, and taste in clothing in her first 6 months in the White House, but the first lady has shifted from domestic and inspirational to a more direct approach to policy, the New York Times reports. In recent months, she has called for support for President Obama’s health care goals,...
Murder Charges 'Unlikely' in Jacko Case
Los Angeles Times
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Jul 19, 2009 8:51 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Despite “a lot of hysteria,” there likely won't be murder charges in Michael Jackson’s death, a top law enforcement official tells the Los Angeles Times . “There's nothing I have been told that would suggest a murder charge. It's just so remote and so unsupported by the facts as they've been gathered,” he said. Jackson’s...
5-Legged Pup Saved From Freak Show
New York Daily News
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Jul 19, 2009 8:21 AM CDT
(Newser) -
A good-hearted pet lover paid $4,000 to outbid a Coney Island operator to save a five-legged puppy from life in a freak show, reports the New York Daily News . North Carolinian Allyson Siegel, 45, called the owner of the Chihuahua terrier mix when she learned the puppy would be cooped up to entertain gawkers. "She is beautiful. She's not a freak,...
New $130M Global Ponzi Scheme Busted
Telegraph (UK)
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Jul 19, 2009 7:53 AM CDT
(Newser) -
London investigators have uncovered a $130 million Ponzi scheme that duped hundreds of celebrities and businessmen around the world, reports the Telegraph . The scammers were so slick that many of their victims refuse to believe they were sucked in by the ersatz high-yield fund, and are still expecting payment, according to authorities. "These...
Bruni Croons at NYC Mandela Birthday Bash
Times (UK)
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Jul 19, 2009 7:29 AM CDT
(Newser) -
French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy took the stage yesterday to sing at Nelson Mandela's 91st birthday concert in New York City—to mixed reviews, reports the Times of London. The model-turned-singer, who previously vowed not to perform while her husband was in office, sang her hit " Quelqu'un m'a dit" ("Someone Told Me")...
Mexican Cops Busted in 12 Federal Agent Murders
BBC
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Jul 19, 2009 7:05 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Ten Mexican police officers have been arrested in the torture-murder of a dozen federal agents whose mangled corpses were found along a highway in the western state of Michoacan, reports the BBC. Local police are believed to regularly take payoffs from drug traffickers. Some 5,000 heavily armed troops have been deployed to Michoacan, where ten mayors...
Kate Dodges Paps, Jon Moves In to New Digs
People
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Jul 19, 2009 6:43 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Jon and Kate Gosselin were both in Manhattan this weekend—but decidedly not together. While Kate's security guards fended off a mob of paparazzi as she headed with the kids to a photo shoot, Jon was moving into his tony new digs near Lincoln Center—solo. The wayward hubby picked a $5,000-a-month, two-bedroom apartment more than 100 miles...
Watergate Hotel on Auction Block
Washington Post
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Jul 19, 2009 6:10 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Political scandal icon the Watergate Hotel will go to the highest bidder Tuesday when creditors auction off the foreclosed property, reports the Washington Post . The 251-room hotel, scene of a burglary that eventually brought down a president, has been empty since 2007 as its owners scrambled to pay $40 million in loans. Bidding starts at $1 million....
German Cops Probe Artist's 'Nazi' Gnome
BBC
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Jul 19, 2009 5:51 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The German artist who intended to mock his nation's Nazi past with a golden garden gnome saluting "Sieg Heil" is in man-size trouble, reports the BBC. Nuremburg police are investigating whether the bearded gnome—on display in a local gallery—violates Germany's strict ban on Nazi propaganda and symbols. The creature was originally...
Jackson Bros Talking Comeback
Los Angeles Times
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Jul 19, 2009 5:13 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Could a new Jackson Five wow without Michael? Fans may soon find out, reports the Los Angeles Times . The remaining brothers are negotiating with AEG Live to take over some London dates previously earmarked for Michael. Original Jackson Five members Tito, Jackie, and Marlon—as well as baby brother Randy, who joined the group later—may...
Autistic Teen 'Tycoon' Dupes Airline Industry
Times (UK)
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Jul 19, 2009 4:50 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Posing as a young airline tycoon with a fleet of jets, a 17-year-old British boy convinced airport and airline officials he was about to launch a cut-rate airline able to service most of Europe, reports the Times of London . For six months, the teen appeared in industry magazines and met with airport executives under various pseudonyms. He launched...
Taliban Releases Video of US Soldier
Associated Press
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Jul 18, 2009 9:11 PM CDT
(AP) -
The Taliban released a video today of a captured American soldier who went missing from his base in eastern Afghanistan on June 30. The Pentagon has not publicly identified him yet. The soldier is shown in the 28-minute video with his head shaved and dressed in a nondescript, gray outfit. Asked in English how he's doing, he responds, "Well I'm...
I Think, Therefore I Overeat
New Yorker
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Jul 18, 2009 8:09 PM CDT
(Newser) -
As the waistlines of Americans continue to expand, so is the genre of literature seeking to explain why, Elizabeth Kolbert writes in the New Yorker , profiling no fewer than seven books on the subject—including one that endorses “fat power.” The Fat Studies Reader argues that the real problem isn’t obesity, but societal hysteria...
44 Hurt in San Francisco Train Crash
San Francisco Chronicle
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Jul 18, 2009 7:49 PM CDT
(Newser) -
A collision of two streetcars today at a municipal station in San Francisco left 44 people injured, three seriously, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The driver who rear-ended another train was hurt the worst; the crash shattered the front window of the train and crumpled its nose. "This is probably one of the largest we've ever seen," a...
10 Ways to Game the Airlines
Chicago Tribune
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Jul 18, 2009 7:34 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Airlines offer more than you know—and would rather you didn't know about it. The Chicago Tribune runs down a list of ways to benefit from airline secrets: Complain early and often : Whatever the problem, "airlines tend to buy grouchy passengers off with frequent-flier miles." Travel agents work magic: Want a first-class...
Pope 'Can't Pray' Thanks to Broken Wrist
AFP
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Jul 18, 2009 7:11 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Pope Benedict XVI's broken wrist kept him from joining his hands in prayer as he celebrated Mass today, AFP reports. "What pains him the most is to be no longer able to bless with his right hand and to be no longer able to clasp his hands together," said one of his closest officials. His cast also keeps him from writing a follow-up to...
Is Pot Addictive? Critics, Fans Fight Over Data
New York Times
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Jul 18, 2009 6:44 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Advocates and critics of marijuana are wielding scientific data as the debate over legalization becomes one about addiction, the New York Times reports. "Science really has proven, if anything, that cannabis is likely one of the safest substances we can interact with,” says one marijuana legal reformer. But critics paint a grim picture...
Health Care by Computer Has Failed in the UK
Weekly Standard
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Jul 18, 2009 6:19 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Like all liberals, President Obama likes big, controlling systems. Like British politicians, he hopes to manage health care with a nationwide supercomputer. As Britain failed, so too will the United States, Fraser Nelson and Irwin M. Stelzer write in the Weekly Standard . Not only has Britain's medical database failed after years of hard work and...
Razors Snip Pubes in Hair-Raising Trend
Der Spiegel
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Jul 18, 2009 5:52 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Pornographers have proved prescient yet again: The industry’s obsession with shaving pubic hair has reached mainstream society, including teens, in a trend that’s puzzling experts and portraying the hirsute as freaks, Der Spiegel reports. One German poll found 50% of women and 25% of men trim or remove pubic hair, breaking with a tradition...
'Cash for Clunkers' Is a Car Wreck
Washington Post
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Jul 18, 2009 5:20 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The Cash for Clunkers program should never have left the lot, Michelle Singletary writes in the Washington Post . The premise is fine: Give people a financial incentive to trade in old gas guzzlers for new gas sippers. It's the details that smell like a lemon. "The law does not apply to the purchase of used cars, encourages people to take...
Cronkite Shook Our Faith in American Institutions
New Republic
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Jul 18, 2009 5:00 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Armed with a “splendid poker face and a voice that incarnated authority,” Walter Cronkite symbolized the very credibility of American institutions that his reporting came to undermine, Todd Gitlin writes in the New Republic . Whether it was the Pentagon or the president of the United States, Cronkite broke character and challenged the...
Surf's Up for Rover, Too
NPR
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Jul 18, 2009 4:38 PM CDT
(Newser) -
See spot run—not to catch a Frisbee, but to ride waves on a California beach. Surfing pooches are the latest trend in Southern California, where sunny skies and golden beaches gave birth to '60s surf culture, NPR reports. Dogs can take surfing classes and even enter surfing competitions. “It's a way for me to spend time in the water with...
