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.
Rally Pauses; Dow Adds 15
Wall Street Journal
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Jul 27, 2009 3:19 PM CDT
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Stocks fluctuated today after two weeks of solid gains, the Wall Street Journal reports. Data from the Commerce Department showing an 11% rise in sales of single-family homes in June boosted homebuilders. Verizon fell 2% after posting a 7% decline in earnings. The Dow ended up 15.27 at 9,108.51. The Nasdaq gained 1.93, settling at 1,967.89, and the...
Fall Fashion Trends: Tough-Chic to Sex Kitten
Vogue
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Jul 27, 2009 3:11 PM CDT
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The fall runways offered their share of splurges—like the must-have biker jacket—but savvy, recession-friendly choices like the pinstripe suit had their own moment in the spotlight. Vogue highlights the most important fall trends: Biker chic: Think zippers and shrunken tops. Designers from Christophe Decarnin to Alexander Wang...
'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Will Get Senate Hearing
Times Union (Albany)
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Jul 27, 2009 3:00 PM CDT
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The Senate Armed Services Committee will convene a fall hearing to examine the US military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy governing gay service members, the Albany Times Union reports. Chairman Carl Levin agreed to hold the hearings at the encouragement of New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who has been pushing to tack...
Fans Want Nobel Peace Prize for Jackson
Sky News
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Jul 27, 2009 2:53 PM CDT
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Fans of Michael Jackson are pushing for a Nobel Peace Prize nod for the late pop star. 12,000 have signed various online petitions putting the singer up for the honor because of his “lifelong dedication to the well-being of humanity,” and one organizer hopes for 100,000 signatures. However, Sky News notes, Nobel nominations are decided...
Breast Cancer Death in Blacks Linked to Genes
Baltimore Sun
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Jul 27, 2009 2:41 PM CDT
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The higher risk of death from breast cancer for black women may depend more on differences of biology than environmental factors, the Baltimore Sun reports. Research shows that black women are up to 49% more likely to die from the disease than white women, even when patients receive the same treatment. And those who argue that the disparity is due...
NZ Woman Rescued From Too-Friendly Dolphin
Gisborne Herald (NZ)
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Jul 27, 2009 2:30 PM CDT
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Moko, the famously friendly dolphin who hangs around the beach in Mahia, New Zealand, nearly accidentally killed a woman yesterday, the Gisborne Herald reports. The woman had been playing with the dolphin, and it refused to let her return to shore. "When I wanted to go back in, he just wanted to keep playing," she said. As she became cold...
Penn State Dethrones Florida as Top Party School
Gainesville Sun
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Jul 27, 2009 2:20 PM CDT
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Penn State has knocked the University of Florida from its No. 1 spot … atop the Princeton Review’s “Best Party School” list. Each year, the Review ranks schools in a huge number of categories based on surveys of their students. A Penn State spokeswoman called it a “popularity contest,” among students. “The...
Fifth Spacewalk Completes Shuttle Crew's To-Do List
Space.com
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Jul 27, 2009 2:07 PM CDT
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Astronauts from the space shuttle Endeavour today completed the final tasks of their mission to upgrade and maintain the International Space Station’s Kibo lab, Space.com reports. Crewmen Chris Cassidy and Tom Marshburn spent five hours in space rewiring the station’s altitude control system and adding some TV cameras to the experiment...
He Can't Say It Like He Wants to Anymore
New York Times
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Jul 27, 2009 2:00 PM CDT
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President Obama has backed off a bit on his “acted stupidly” comments concerning the arrest of black scholar Henry Louis Gates, saying they were not properly “calibrated.” But, aides say, it “was not a slip of the tongue,” Peter Baker writes in the New York Times . “Obama said what he wanted to say. The question...
MLB Chief Weighs Pardon for Pete Rose
New York Daily News
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Jul 27, 2009 1:42 PM CDT
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Pete Rose may yet have a shot at baseball’s Hall of Fame: Commissioner Bud Selig is weighing ending Rose’s lifetime ban for gambling on the sport, the New York Daily News reports. Hank Aaron, whose opinion counts heavily with Selig, told reporters over the weekend he’d like to see Rose in the Hall; members of its board of directors...
Flu Battles at Camp Spark Fears for School Year
Los Angeles Times
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Jul 27, 2009 1:31 PM CDT
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With a swine flu resurgence expected in the fall—before an H1N1 vaccine is available—schools are getting a head start on fighting the disease, the Los Angeles Times reports. The scene at summer camps may provide a preview: Hundreds of youngsters in Southern California alone have been sent home to recover from symptoms, and kids are arriving...
Dying Doc: Don't Keep Me Alive
Los Angeles Times
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Jul 27, 2009 1:13 PM CDT
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Martin Welsh considers himself a lucky man, with a loving family and innumerable friends. “Life has been truly wonderful,” the 55-year-old doctor writes in the Los Angeles Times . But soon, that life will end, and he doesn’t want his doctors to do anything to prolong it. Welsh has ALS, a neurological illness that’s already...
Cops Release Gates Arrest Tapes
Boston Globe
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Jul 27, 2009 1:00 PM CDT
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In audio from the arrest of Henry Louis Gates Jr, released today by Cambridge police, the arresting officer tells the dispatcher to “keep the cars coming” as he faces an “uncooperative” suspect, the Boston Herald reports. An earlier tape reveals the 911 call in the case, in which a Harvard magazine employee says another woman...
How to Buy the Perfect White Shirt
GQ
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Jul 27, 2009 12:47 PM CDT
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Like the little black dress for women, the white shirt is the cornerstone of a man’s wardrobe—and small differences between shirts can make a big statement when it comes to your appearance. GQ offers tips on how to select the perfect staple: Fit your body type : The shirt should neither balloon nor be too tight. Box pleats are...
5 Barriers to Obamacare
Time
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Jul 27, 2009 12:35 PM CDT
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Both chambers of Congress will likely miss President Obama’s August deadline for a health care reform bill, slowing “the momentum behind the president's top priority,” Jay Newton-Small writes in Time . “Why can't a popular president with poll numbers in the 60s and super majorities in both chambers of Congress get this done?”...
New Fashion Mag Takes Web by Storm
New York Times
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Jul 27, 2009 12:21 PM CDT
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The newest magazine to make a splash in the fashion world isn’t sold in stores, but it is a head-turner. Online-only Polyvore lets users act as fashion editors, putting together “sets” of clothing and accessories other users can then click to purchase. The site is growing in popularity as traditional magazines suffer, and it boasted...
Have Mercy, Officer: I Can't Think of a Good Excuse
San Jose Mercury News
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Jul 27, 2009 11:55 AM CDT
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Every time a cop pulls someone over, he or she is liable to hear an excuse. And every so often, a driver manages to surprise even the most jaded ticket-writer, the San Jose Mercury News reports. Like the pair of Frenchmen one officer caught speeding on Highway 101. They’d studied US driving laws and were sure speed limits were posted on white...
Clarkson, Beyoncé Songs Nearly Identical
New York Post
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Jul 27, 2009 11:39 AM CDT
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Kelly Clarkson is battling her record label again, this time for releasing a song that appears to copy the Beyoncé single “Halo,” the New York Post reports. When Clarkson realized that the backing track songwriter Ryan Tedder had given her for “Already Gone” was the same as the one on “Halo,” she “fought...
Jackson Couldn't Face Man in the Mirror
New York Review of Books
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Jul 27, 2009 11:27 AM CDT
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Michael Jackson was always trying to be somebody else: he "was most himself when he was someone other than himself,” writes Hilton Als in the New York Review of Books . The need to redefine himself emerged in his thirst for fame that would let him “wrest from the world what most performers seek: a nonfractured mirroring.”
Texas Mom Admits Decapitating Newborn Son
San Antonio Express-News
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Jul 27, 2009 11:20 AM CDT
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A San Antonio woman has claimed responsibility for the grisly killing of her baby boy, saying she heard voices telling her to do it, the San Antonio Express-News reports. Police say the infant was stabbed, decapitated, and skinned early yesterday. Otty Sanchez, 33, says the devil told her to kill the baby, Scott Wesley Buchholtz Sanchez, who was...
Horses Laid Off as Cop Budgets Trimmed
Wall Street Journal
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Jul 27, 2009 11:04 AM CDT
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It’s not just humans facing unemployment these days: horses are seeing their jobs disappear as police in Boston, Toledo, and other cities cut their mounted units, the Wall Street Journal reports. The units are said to bolster crowd control, with one mounted cop worth 15 on foot. And “our horses are probably photographed as often as Paris...
Silverman Leaves NBC, Goes Digital
Hollywood Reporter
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Jul 27, 2009 11:00 AM CDT
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Ben Silverman is leaving NBC Entertainment and hitting the Internet, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The division's co-chair—who may have jumped and may have been pushed—will partner with Barry Diller and IAC to create “a next generation enterprise that bridges the gap between traditional television and the Internet,”...
Dance Legend Cunningham Dead at 90
New York Times
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Jul 27, 2009 10:49 AM CDT
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Merce Cunningham, one of the most influential dancers and choreographers of the 20th century, died last night at age 90, the New York Times reports. Hailed as the creator of new classicism, he remained productive to the end; this year saw the premiere of his final work, “Nearly Ninety,” and even on his deathbed he told friends he was...
Risk Aversion Keeps Loans Shrinking
Wall Street Journal
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Jul 27, 2009 10:34 AM CDT
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Lending is still on the downswing, the Wall Street Journal finds, as an analysis of 15 banks' total loans on offer in the second quarter shows another 2.8% decline. What's worse, more than half of April and May’s loan volume was tied to refinanced mortgages and renewed credit rather than new loans. Banks are reining in lending to protect against...
US Will Stop Releasing Afghan Insurgent Body Count
CNN
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Jul 27, 2009 10:23 AM CDT
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The US will no longer publish tallies of the number of enemies killed in Afghanistan, CNN reports. The body counts send the wrong message, says the top US military spokesman for the coalition, who ordered the change. The war is supposed to be about protecting civilians, he noted, not killing militants, and publicly quantifying the deaths "has...
Retailers Pitch Tweens, Moms Age-Appropriate Wares
Washington Times
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Jul 27, 2009 10:05 AM CDT
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Tween girls are a $43 billion market—but they’re not the ones with the wallets. Marketers are aiming for parents concerned about kids facing a barrage of ads that may not be “age-appropriate,” the Washington Times reports. “Many products are about making them older faster, but that's just not what they or their mothers...
Palin Can Write Her Own Ticket—If She Wants To
Washington Post
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Jul 27, 2009 10:01 AM CDT
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Private citizen Sarah Palin has a lengthy to-do list, and Job No. 1 is shaping her public image as she closes the book on a topsy-turvy year, writes Dan Balz in the Washington Post . “Palin Year One was the introduction of a persona, and the construction (and destruction) of legend around it,” said a former adviser. “Year Two and...
Home Sales Take Biggest Jump in 8 Years
Bloomberg
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Jul 27, 2009 9:36 AM CDT
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New home sales jumped 11% in June, the biggest gain in eight years, the Commerce Department announced today, as the supply fell to its lowest level in more than a decade. With mortgage rates and prices staggeringly low—the median home price fell 12%—buyers came out of the woodwork. Sales increased to a 384,000 annual pace, topping estimates,...
International Cast Crowds Space Station
Space.com
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Jul 27, 2009 9:30 AM CDT
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The International Space Station is more international than it's ever been before. With a full 13 astronauts aboard—six regular crew members and seven from the visiting Endeavor shuttle—the station has its biggest human payload ever, including representatives from all five of the top station partners. “It’s really fascinating...
Obama Calls for Era of Cooperation With China
Wall Street Journal
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Jul 27, 2009 9:21 AM CDT
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President Obama opened bilateral talks with China today with a friendly speech, saying the US-China relationship would “shape the 21st century” and highlighting areas in which the nations have common interests, like nuclear proliferation, terrorism, and the global economy. He also touched on climate change, noting that the US and China...
Rimes' Marriage Hits Skids, Too
New York Daily News
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Jul 27, 2009 9:00 AM CDT
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Days after Eddie Cibrian’s wife announced their separation, Cibrian’s Northern Lights co-star—and rumored lover—LeAnn Rimes’ hubby is addressing reports their marriage is also over, the New York Daily News reports. Dean Sheremet recently Twittered, “Thanks to everyone for all the support through a very difficult...
Gates and Crowley: Unlikely Sparks for Racial Fireworks
New York Times
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Jul 27, 2009 8:55 AM CDT
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A closer look at Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Sgt. James Crowley, and the details of what transpired between them, leads the New York Times to find them the unlikeliest of men to have sparked a racially heated debate. Contrary to earlier reports, Crowley, a diversity trainer praised for his even temper, didn't know the race of the suspected burglar,...
Apple Teams Up With Record Labels to Revive the Album
Financial Times (UK)
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Jul 27, 2009 8:50 AM CDT
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Apple has joined forces with four major record labels on a mission to get music buyers to start buying albums again instead of just single tracks, the Financial Times reports. The project—codenamed "Cocktail"—will bundle album downloads with lyrics sheets, sleeve notes, photos, and assorted interactive features in an effort...
Jon 'Cares' About Kate 2.0; She Cares About the Money
E! Online
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Jul 27, 2009 8:41 AM CDT
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Jon, Jon, Jon. Wasn’t it just the other day you claimed your heart belonged to Hailey Glassman? How quickly things change. Now the reality TV father of eight tells E!, “I care about Kate Major, she resigned from her job for me.” Even more touching: Major is shopping a tell-all to the tabs, the New York Daily News reports . She could...
Why Are Blue Dogs Derailing Health Reform?
New York Times
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Jul 27, 2009 8:33 AM CDT
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The Blue Dogs are threatening to sink health care reform in the House for reasons that don't seem to add up, Paul Krugman writes in the New York Times . The coalition of conservative Democrats—whose support President Obama needs—is crying loudly about fiscal responsibility, Krugman writes, while at the same time calling for changes—like...
Ex-Hooker: Berlusconi Offered Me a Parliament Seat
Times (UK)
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Jul 27, 2009 8:19 AM CDT
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Patrizia D’Addario, the prostitute who brought the world what she says are audiotapes of her having sex with Silvio Belusconi, says the Italian PM offered her a seat in the European Parliament, the Times of London reports. He offered her the position in lieu of paying for sex, she says, after backing out of a promised building permit favor....
Prop 8 Foes Back Off 2010 Push
New York Times
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Jul 27, 2009 8:04 AM CDT
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California’s gay community may want to go straight back to the polls to have another run at Proposition 8, but top advocacy groups and donors aren’t on board, the New York Times reports. “The only thing worse than losing in 2008 would be to lose again in 2010,” explains one donor. While many expected Prop 8 anger to power...
GAO Slams Feds for Plan to Build Disease Lab in Tornado Alley
Washington Post
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Jul 27, 2009 7:59 AM CDT
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A Homeland Security plan to build a $700 million lab handling highly infectious animal diseases in Kansas' 'Tornado Alley' probably isn't the best idea it's had, the Washington Post reports. A withering report from the Government Accountability Office found that the DHS based its decision on a flawed, hastily done study that grossly underestimated...
Hall of Fame Voting So Predictable, a Computer Can Do it
Wall Street Journal
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Jul 27, 2009 7:37 AM CDT
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The Baseball Writers of America turn out to be a predictable lot. A new computer program from a Missouri State computer science professor can accurately predict who’ll join the Hall of Fame, the Wall Street Journal reports. Given a set of 1,592 players who retired between 1950 and 2002, it accurately identified 98.7% of those selected to be...
Timberlake Opens 'Green' Golf Course
Commercial Appeal (Memphis)
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Jul 27, 2009 7:29 AM CDT
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Justin Timberlake took his well-known passion for golf and channeled it into creating an eco-friendly course, the first in the nation to be dubbed an Audubon Classic Sanctuary, the Commercial Appeal reports. Mirimichi, located near Memphis, was a $16 million labor of love for the singer, who says that in addition to crafting a world-class public...
Yoo Fights Back on Torture
Washington Post
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Jul 27, 2009 7:13 AM CDT
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The embattled Bush administration lawyer who drafted memos justifying waterboarding and warrantless wiretaps is fighting back as his role comes under greater scrutiny, the Washington Post reports. John Yoo, now a University of California law professor, has been giving speeches around the country defending the tactics and his view that their use came...
Driver Busted in Idol Wannabe's Hit-and-Run Death
TMZ
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Jul 27, 2009 6:51 AM CDT
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A suspect has been arrested in the hit-and-run death of sassy former American Idol contestant Alexis Cohen, TMZ reports. Her body was found by a New Jersey roadway over the weekend, 350 yards from her parked car. The 23-year-old driver faces charges of reckless driving causing death and leaving the scene of an accident. He could be sentenced...
Bayh's Wife in Deep With Health Industry
Indianapolis Star
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Jul 27, 2009 6:21 AM CDT
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As both sides of the health care debate court Sen. Evan Bayh's elusive vote, his wife's earnings from the industry are raising more than a few eyebrows. The Indianapolis Star takes a look at Susan Bayh, who pulled down some $2.1 million between 2006 and 2008 for serving on the boards of health care companies that have a decided stake in the...
Boxing Champ Vernon Forrest Shot Dead
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Jul 27, 2009 6:13 AM CDT
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Former pro boxer Vernon “the Viper” Forrest was shot and killed Saturday night in a skirmish after he was robbed, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Forrest had stopped at a gas station to fill his tires with air when a man robbed him at gunpoint. The armed ex-fighter chased the mugger, and was shot seven to eight times in the...
Bernanke Defends Bailouts in First Fed Town Hall Meeting
Kansas City Star
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Jul 27, 2009 5:53 AM CDT
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Fed chief Ben Bernanke fielded questions from the public in an unprecedented town hall meeting last night, the Kansas City star reports. Sounding every bit like a candidate running for office, Bernanke defended his moves during the recession and financial crisis, saying he had learned from his predecessors' mistakes in the 1930s. "I was not...
Japanese 'Herbivores' Shun Sex, Machismo
Reuters
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Jul 27, 2009 5:07 AM CDT
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Turning their backs on sexual conquest, macho posturing, and corporate ladder climbing, a growing number of Japanese men are seeking a quiet, non-competitive life, reports Reuters. A Japanese marketing firm found almost half of 1,000 men aged 20-34 surveyed identified themselves as so-called "herbivores," a term that plays on their lack of...
Stolen School Records Rob Chinese of Their Future
New York Times
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Jul 27, 2009 4:39 AM CDT
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Missing or stolen school records are turning Chinese students' once bright futures into nightmarish misfortune, reports the New York Times . Without the documents, graduates have no proof of their degrees and honors, and the would-be chemists can quickly become day laborers. The likely culprit of the missing files? Mistrusted Communist Party state...
Pot Backlash Grows in Mendocino
Washington Post
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Jul 27, 2009 4:09 AM CDT
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Hey, man, things aren't so cool anymore with marijuana farming in Mendocino County. Sure, it was great for years while "steel-haired" California hippies tended their crops, but things are getting out of hand, reports the Washington Post. Little kids started coming to school reeking of pot, while outsiders, some armed, poured into the area...
Bada-Bing: Yahoo, Microsoft Close to Search Engine Deal
Advertising Age
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Jul 27, 2009 3:44 AM CDT
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Yahoo is close to a deal that would make Microsoft's Bing its new search engine, reports Advertising Age . To Yahoo's dismay, the deal will likely involve revenue sharing, not a fat up-front paycheck. Negotiations, which have been heated over the amount of revenue each side gets from search ad clicks, are expected to wrap up this week.
Don't Wig Out: It's Not a Bob, Just Pins
Chicago Tribune
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Jul 27, 2009 3:20 AM CDT
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Michelle Obama triggered shock waves recently when it appeared she clipped her hair in a Jackie O style. But an Obama spokesman has revealed that the fashionable first lady didn't bob her locks; it was simply pinned up, reports the Chicago Tribune , bristling at the White House's apparent lack of transparency on haircare issues.
