Newser Story Index from August, 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.
Jenner, Joe Francis in Bar Fight
TMZ
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Aug 28, 2009 9:54 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Reality star Brody Jenner got tased after a fight with Girls Gone Wild founder Joe Francis early this morning, TMZ reports. The fight started when Francis began “unrelentingly” hitting on a woman Jenner and girlfriend Jayde Nicole knew; Nicole threw a drink on Francis—who then grabbed her hair, punched her in the face, pushed her...
CIA Will Cover Legal Bills for Officers in Inquiry
Washington Post
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Aug 28, 2009 9:50 AM CDT
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Leon Panetta couldn't stop the Justice Department's widening inquiry into the CIA's interrogation policies, but the agency's director can make sure his employees don't go broke paying legal fees. The agency will see to it that case officers caught up in the investigation have representation, the Washington Post reports. Most "don't have much...
How the Dems Can Save Obamacare
Washington Post
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Aug 28, 2009 9:41 AM CDT
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Amid “widespread national revulsion,” Obamacare as it stands “is dead,” but the Democrats can revive it if they’re willing to make some key concessions, writes Charles Krauthammer—a nonpracticing physician in addition to pundit—in the Washington Post . What they must do: Dump the public option. ...
Scientists Capture Detailed Image of Molecule
BBC
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Aug 28, 2009 9:32 AM CDT
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In a scientific first, IBM researchers have produced a detailed image of a molecule’s structure, the BBC reports. The stunning image, made with an atomic force microscope that vibrates like a tuning fork, is so finely detailed that it shows chemical bonds. Such intricate familiarity with the molecule opens the possibility of creating electronics...
Beck's Latest Rant: Obama Like Hussein, Hitler
Gawker
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Aug 28, 2009 9:23 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Glenn Beck may have reached a new low last night when he implied President Obama’s plans to use AmeriCorps make him the equivalent of a fascist dictator, Gawker reports. One guest, Vets for Freedom vice chairman David Bellavia, fanned the flames by saying, “I’m not comparing my president to Saddam Hussein or Hitler,” then promptly...
Sorry, Mr. President, Nobody Likes Change
Washington Post
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Aug 28, 2009 9:14 AM CDT
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If you listen to pandering politicians or ranting radio hosts, you’d think Americans want big, far-reaching change right away. They might disagree on what change, but nobody likes the way things are. Well, you’d be wrong, writes Michael Kinsley for the Washington Post . As the health care debate so vividly demonstrates, once change becomes...
MJ's Credit Score: Pretty Crappy
TMZ
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Aug 28, 2009 9:03 AM CDT
(Newser) -
If Michael Jackson hadn’t been the King of Pop, he probably would have had trouble getting a loan. His average credit score was a “very low” 563.67, TMZ reports—the average Californian’s is 672. Collections and delinquent accounts contributed to the score, and Barneys even shut down his credit line after he spent more...
Runway Designs for Romijn
Associated Press
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Aug 28, 2009 9:00 AM CDT
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The Project Runway designers were hit with the “fun challenge” of crafting a maternity dress last night for “impossibly-beautiful-at-any-stage-of-fertility Rebecca Romijn,” writes Claire Zulkey for the Los Angeles Times : Malvin Vien : It was obvious he “was going to be in trouble when his vision was of a ‘mother...
Ahmadinejad Wants Opposition Leaders Tried
Los Angeles Times
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Aug 28, 2009 8:51 AM CDT
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Just days after Iran's supreme leader tried to dial down the nation's tensions, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ratcheted them right back up again, reports the Los Angeles Times . In a charged speech today in Tehran, the country's president for the first time called for the prosecution of opposition leaders. He didn't name names, but he clearly wants Mir-Hussein...
Megan Fox: I Prefer Kissing Girls
MTV
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Aug 28, 2009 8:42 AM CDT
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The headline-grabbing quotes just keep coming from Megan Fox, who recently told MTV she feels “much safer” and “more comfortable” kissing girls than kissing guys. Amanda Seyfried, the co-star she kissed in Jennifer’s Body , was not so comfortable with it—leading to “a lot of laughing—like, giggling fits...
North, South Korea OK Family Reunions
BBC
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Aug 28, 2009 8:33 AM CDT
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North and South Korea have agreed to resume allowing reunions for families separated by the Korean War, in a sign that tensions are once again easing between the nations, the BBC reports. North Korea called off the meetings 2 years ago, after South Korea’s newly-elected President Lee Myung-bak ended unconditional aide, instead tying the money...
Kidnapper's Brother: 'He's a Fruitcake'
San Francisco Chronicle
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Aug 28, 2009 8:23 AM CDT
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Ron Garrido was shocked when he discovered his little brother had kidnapped an 11-year-old girl, held her captive in his backyard, and fathered two children by her, but believed it immediately. “I know my brother,” the 65-year-old tells the San Francisco Chronicle. “He’s a fruitcake.” Phillip Garrido had always been...
True Blood Kills With Metaphors (and, Uh, Sex)
New York Times
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Aug 28, 2009 8:11 AM CDT
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Critics are gushing about HBO's hit True Blood , which manages to marry kinky vampire sex to social commentary, writes Gina Bellafante in the New York Times . The barrier-busting series touches on gay marriage, racial profiling, capitalism run amok, and right-wing religious extremism. In the current season, a crazed Christian cult called the Fellowship...
In Obama White House, Justice Trumps CIA
New York Times
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Aug 28, 2009 7:40 AM CDT
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The appointment of a federal prosecutor to investigate CIA interrogations exposed a long-running turf war between the intelligence agency and the Department of Justice—and demonstrated the substantial clout of AG Eric Holder, who prevailed in almost every dispute with CIA Director Leon Panetta. The New York Times and Washington Post...
Nixon Had 'Crude Swingers' Teddy and Joan Followed
Associated Press
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Aug 28, 2009 7:39 AM CDT
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Richard Nixon hoped to embarrass Ted Kennedy in a scandal and huddled with aides in 1971 to make sure people were keeping an eye on him, the AP reports. "You watch, I predict something more is going to happen," Nixon tells HR Haldeman and press chief Ron Ziegler in a taped conversation. They touch on Chappaquiddick and then-wife Joan...
Rush to Obama: Hands Off My Private Parts
Salon
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Aug 28, 2009 7:18 AM CDT
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Rush Limbaugh says President Obama is out to get his foreskin. Seriously. Or at least semi-seriously. It all started when the the Centers for Disease Control reported that it's thinking of issuing an advisory touting the health beneifits of male circumcision in infancy, writes Gabriel Winant for Salon. Conservative blogger Ed Morrissey leaped from...
Brilliant, Loyal Kennedy Staffers the Envy of DC
Washington Post
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Aug 28, 2009 7:07 AM CDT
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When they discovered their old boss had died, about 100 former Kennedy staffers headed to Boston to help with the funeral. “We are a family,” says one former communications adviser. They have also been a formidable political asset, both to the senator and the Democratic Party, the Washington Post reports. For decades, Kennedy’s...
Gun Collector Fatally Shoots Wife, Cats, Self
New York Daily News
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Aug 28, 2009 7:00 AM CDT
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A New York man called 911 yesterday and admitted to shooting his wife and cat—and then shot himself in the head minutes before police arrived. "I shot my wife," John Pizon told emergency services. "Yeah, it was an accident. And I shot the cats, too." The NYPD rushed his wife, also shot in the head, to the hospital...
Noonan on Reagan and Kennedy: 'Grace Met Grace'
Wall Street Journal
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Aug 28, 2009 6:53 AM CDT
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Peggy Noonan recounts the unlikely friendship of the Kennedys and the Reagans and the time "grace met grace"—when President Reagan ventured to Ted's house in 1985 to make a speech honoring JFK and raise money for his new library. "A friendship that had already begun deepened," writes Noonan in the Wall Street Journal .
'Too Big to Fail' Banks Are Only Getting Bigger
Washington Post
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Aug 28, 2009 6:46 AM CDT
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Officials plowed hundreds of billions of taxpayers' dollars into financial institutions deemed "too big to fail," but a year later the once-stricken banks are bigger than ever. Thanks to Treasury and Fed-brokered mergers, plus a playing field cleared of the weaker performers, America's financial behemoths are coming out of the crisis in even...
Don't Fear Debt —Failed Reform Is Scarier
New York Times
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Aug 28, 2009 6:19 AM CDT
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Paul Krugman isn't surprised that the projected $9 trillion deficit over the next decade is being greeted as a sign of economic apocalypse—and that commentators think it proves health care reform should be scuppered. In fact, he writes in the New York Times , it's good to run a deficit during a recession; if anything, Washington should run "even...
Stanford 'Fraud Scheme Sealed With Blood Oath'
New York Times
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Aug 28, 2009 6:13 AM CDT
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Alleged Ponzi schemer Allen Stanford cut his wrist and made a secret blood pact with the banking regulator of the island of Antigua, where his bank operated, according to court documents. Stanford and the official pressed their bloody wrists together in a "brotherhood ceremony," after which the regulator called him "Big Brother,"...
Thai Activist Gets 18 Years for Insulting Monarchy
Reuters
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Aug 28, 2009 5:41 AM CDT
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A supporter of Thailand's exiled former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was sentenced to 18 years in prison for insulting the monarchy in what free speech campaigners describe as a severe attack on political dissent, Reuters reports. The 46-year-old woman was arrested last year after a fiery speech denouncing the 2006 coup that forced Thaksin from...
Kidnapper's Blog Details 'Angel Talk Miracle'
Gawker
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Aug 28, 2009 5:06 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The California man held in the kidnapping of Jaycee Dugard boasts of an ability to "speak in the tongue of angels" granted by "the Creator" in rantings in his religious blog, reports Gawker. The power came to Phillip Garrido after God "removed a problem from my shoulders that behavioral scientists believe is not possible to...
Va. Tech Couple Shot Dead in Forest
Roanoke Times
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Aug 28, 2009 4:32 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Two Virginia Tech students have been found murdered in a campground near the school, bringing fresh horror to a campus already rocked by tragedy, the Roanoke Times reports. Police have found no murder weapon, motive or suspect. They believe an attacker shot the sophomore couple in a "random act of brutal violence." Virginia Tech was the...
Wikipedia Labels Obama 'Harvard Puppet'
Gawker
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Aug 28, 2009 4:02 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Oops. Wikipedia's new editorial oversight didn't start soon enough to block a statement in President Obama's Wiki profile that he's a "puppet" of Columbia and Harvard Law. Mystery writer "Mrjazzguitar" substituted the word in the kind of prank that Wikipedia hopes to curtail with its new policy to monitor all copy changes by contributors...
Catholic Bishops Slam Obamacare
New York Times
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Aug 28, 2009 3:30 AM CDT
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After decades lobbying for better health care for the poor, a growing number of Catholic bishops have become an unexpected voice of opposition against President Obama's health care plan, the New York Times reports. "No health care reform is better than the wrong sort of health care reform," said an Iowa bishop, one of many who fear the...
Cops Searched Kidnapper's House, Found Nothing
San Francisco Chronicle
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Aug 28, 2009 2:36 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Phillip Garrido had several brushes with the law during the 18 years that police say he held Jaycee Lee Dugard and their two children captive in his backyard, but managed to keep his ugly secret, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Last July, a multi-agency police task force searched Garrido's home as part of a routine check on the registered sex...
Blood Splatters Reveal Fight in Model's Car
TMZ
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Aug 28, 2009 2:14 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Blood splatters inside Jasmine Fiore's Mercedes show evidence of a "struggle between two people," but police aren't sure whether the model was killed in her car, TMZ reports. After finding the car in a Hollywood Trader Joe's parking lot, cops yesterday called Fiore's murder a "domestic violence situation" that turned murderous because...
Kennedy Legacy Testament to Power of Compromise
New York Times
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Aug 28, 2009 1:49 AM CDT
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The political agenda outlined in Ted Kennedy’s speech at the 1980 Democratic convention was radical: Kennedy called for a policy of full employment, government intervention to “reindustrialize” American cities, and universal health care. Having lost the Democratic nomination, “his liberalism was unbound," writes David Brooks...
Family Member Tipped Off Cops to Jackson Drugs
Associated Press
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Aug 28, 2009 1:26 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Police searched Michael Jackson’s rented mansion in Bel Air the day after he died when a family member told them they’d found what looked like heroin there, AP reports. Tests found that the substance was not heroin, but investigators discovered other drugs in Jackson’s home: pot, generic Valium and other sedatives.
Kidnap Suspect: Real Story 'Heartwarming'
KCRA-TV
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Aug 27, 2009 9:45 PM CDT
(Newser) -
“It’s a disgusting thing that took place with me,” the man arrested in the 18-year abduction of a California girl tells KRCA-TV in a jailhouse interview. “Wait until you hear the story of what took place at this house,” says Phillip Garrido, 58, of the case surrounding Jaycee Dugard. “You are going to be completely...
GOP Hopeful: I Was Kidding About Hunting Obama
Twin Falls Times-News
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Aug 27, 2009 8:53 PM CDT
(Newser) -
A Republican gubernatorial candidate is under fire tonight for an offhand remark that he’d buy a license to hunt President Obama, the Twin Falls Times-News reports. Asked at a GOP event Tuesday about “Obama tags,” Rex Rammell replied, “Obama tags? We’d buy some of those.” Today, he backpedaled: “I was just...
Pentagon Grades Reporters' War Coverage
Stars and Stripes
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Aug 27, 2009 8:06 PM CDT
(Newser) -
With a view to trying to influence coverage of the war in Afghanistan, the Pentagon is grading journalists’ work, the Stars and Stripes reports. The military newspaper says it has documents that counter official denials of the practice, with coverage rated as “positive,” “neutral,” or “negative.” The documents...
Vick Plays Early, Gets Standing O in Philly Debut
Philadelphia Inquirer
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Aug 27, 2009 7:25 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Though there was a smattering of protesters both for and against Michael Vick, the convicted dog-killer got a standing ovation from the Philadelphia fans when he made his Eagles debut on their first offensive series of tonight’s exhibition game, the Inquirer reports. Vick lined up at quarterback and wide receiver, completing a key pass in an...
US Envoy Gets Hot With Karzai Over Fraud
BBC
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Aug 27, 2009 7:10 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The top US envoy to Afghanistan held an “explosive” meeting with President Hamid Karzai last week, sources tell the BBC, with the “dramatic bust-up” focused on reports of election fraud. The meeting was held a day after the Aug. 20 election, before any results were released, but Richard Holbrooke pushed for a runoff to make...
Kidnapped Girl Had First Child at 14; Kept in Backyard Shed
BNO News
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Aug 27, 2009 6:42 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Jaycee Lee Dugard, the California girl abducted in 1991 at age 11 and found alive yesterday, gave birth to her first child at age 14, BNO News reports. Abductor Phillip Garrido, 58, admitted to fathering two girls, now 15 and 11, with Dugard; she and the children were kept hidden in a shed and various outbuildings in Garrido's yard in a San Francisco...
Obamas Cut Vacation Short
Politico
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Aug 27, 2009 6:20 PM CDT
(Newser) -
With a tropical storm bearing down on the Northeast, President Obama and Michelle Obama will leave Martha's Vineyard tomorrow, a day ahead of schedule, to ensure he arrives in Boston in time to deliver a eulogy at Ted Kennedy's funeral Saturday. If possible, they'll return to the Vineyard afterward; if they can't, they'll travel directly to Washington,...
Obama's Approval Rating Sinks to 50%
Los Angeles Times
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Aug 27, 2009 5:40 PM CDT
(Newser) -
President Obama's job-approval rating slipped to 50% in Gallup poll results out today, a new low for the 10-month-old administration, the Los Angeles Times reports. The drawn-out health care reform debate apparently is dragging down the number, which hit 69% after the inauguration. The disapproval number is 43%. "It's real easy to stay popular...
Kidnapping Suspect Fathered Abductee's 2 Kids
San Francisco Chronicle
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Aug 27, 2009 5:25 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Jaycee Dugard, who was kidnapped in 1991 at age 11 and reappeared in northern California last night, has two children fathered by one of her alleged kidnappers, sources tell the San Francisco Chronicle. Phillip Garrido, now 58, is a registered sex offender who was arrested last night with his wife, Nancy; they are being held on $1 million bail each...
First US Internet Addiction Rehab Center Opens
LiveScience
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Aug 27, 2009 5:00 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The first US Internet addiction clinic has opened in Fall City, Wash. The Heavensfield Retreat Center offers “reStart,” a 45-day in-patient rehab program for Internet, video game, and texting addictions, LiveScience reports. Clients undergo talk therapy and social skills training, as well as feeding goats, raising chickens, and learning...
Fishy Tale Gets Piven Off the Hook
Playbill
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Aug 27, 2009 4:48 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Jeremy Piven was on the level when he blamed mercury poisoning for his decision to bail on a Broadway production of Speed-the-Plow last December, an arbitrator has ruled. "While we respect the decision, we strongly disagree with it," the producers of the David Mamet play said in a statement. Said the Entourage star, who blamed overconsumption...
Toilet Paper Shortage Gives Cuba a Pain in the . . .
Miami Herald
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Aug 27, 2009 4:36 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Cuba is battling a toilet paper shortage, the Miami Herald reports. The country says the global financial crisis and recent hurricanes have forced it to shutter factories and cut down on electricity usage. The result: The cost of a four-pack of TP in Havana is the equivalent of 2 days' wages for the average worker. The government doesn't subsidize...
Throngs Turn Out to Bid Kennedy Farewell
Boston Globe
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Aug 27, 2009 4:24 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Thousands of constituents and admirers turned out this afternoon to honor Ted Kennedy as a motorcade bearing the senator's body from his Cape Cod home to his brother's presidential library wound through the streets of Boston. Some wept, some applauded as both locals and out-of-towners flooded to say goodbye. "We’re his family,” one...
Facebook Beefs Up Privacy Protection
TechCrunch
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Aug 27, 2009 4:10 PM CDT
(Newser) -
In response to criticism by the Canadian government, Facebook is enacting far-reaching changes in how third-party applications gain access to personal data, TechCrunch reports. Currently, Facebook applications ask users once, upon installation, for approval to access personal information. Under the new rules, the apps will have to ask repeatedly as...
Palin Bails Again—on Anti-Abortion Fundraiser
Anchorage Daily News
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Aug 27, 2009 3:57 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Sarah Palin will not appear tonight at an Alaska fundraising event to promote a ballot measure requiring minors to consult their parents before having an abortion, the Anchorage Daily News reports. Organizers have promoted the appearance for weeks, and robocalls asked listeners to meet with her at “an event to protect young girls facing abortion...
Missing Picasso Found in Iraq?! Probably Not.
Times (UK)
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Aug 27, 2009 3:45 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Iraqi security forces have secured a purported Pablo Picasso painting believed stolen from a Kuwaiti museum during the 1990 invasion, the Times of London reports. Only it’s probably not a Picasso. “It bears absolutely no relation to any Picasso that I can think of,” says one expert. Iraqi forces obtained the painting when they pulled...
Tax Collectors Use MySpace, Google to Find Deadbeats
Wall Street Journal
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Aug 27, 2009 3:31 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Internet-savvy state tax collectors are using a new tool in tracking down evaders: social networking websites. Tax collectors are taking advantage of the fact that an individual’s MySpace or Facebook profile often contains quite a bit of professional information, the Wall Street Journal reports. Agents in Nebraska, for example, recently collected...
Dow Climbs 37 on Day 8 of Streak
Wall Street Journal
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Aug 27, 2009 3:19 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Stocks closed up today as the Dow continued its modest winning streak for an eighth day—the longest period of gains in 28 months—though trading volume remained light, the Wall Street Journal reports. An auction of 7-year Treasury notes saw decent demand. AIG shares rose 28.8% on reports that former CEO Maurice Greenberg may return to...
Beck's Ratings Surge as Ad Boycott Continues
Associated Press
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Aug 27, 2009 3:08 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The audience for Glenn Beck’s Fox News show continues to swell even as more advertisers decline to run commercials on the program in the wake of the talk-show host's assertion that President Obama is a racist, the Los Angeles Times reports. Beck’s Monday night show attracted 2.81 million viewers, his third-largest audience to date, and...
