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.
ID-Theft Ring Victimized Bernanke
Newsweek
|
Aug 27, 2009 2:55 PM CDT
(Newser) -
No less a public figure than the chairman of the Federal Reserve was one of 500 individuals victimized by an identity-theft ring that combined technologically sophisticated methods with old-fashioned thievery to bilk $2.1 million from consumers and financial institutions, Newsweek reports. The ringleader of the group, Clyde Austin Gray Jr.—aka...
In F-22's Wake, USAF Embraces Cheaper Aircraft
Time
|
Aug 27, 2009 2:42 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The scrapping of the F-22 has sent the US Air Force into an abrupt about-face, Time reports. Newly installed officials are asking for 100 cheap, multirole planes that can attack ground positions and also be used to train other countries' pilots in their use. The aircraft must have a range of 900 miles and travel at 200mph. The F-22 makes 1500mph—and...
Romanians Boo Madonna for Defending Gypsies
Associated Press
|
Aug 27, 2009 2:28 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Madonna spoke up for gypsies during a concert in Romania, leading thousands of audience members to boo her, the AP reports. “I found out that there is a lot of discrimination against gypsies in Eastern Europe and that makes me very sad,” the Romanian Times quotes her as saying.
Kennedy Leaves Cape Cod for the Last Time
Associated Press
|
Aug 27, 2009 2:15 PM CDT
(AP) -
Ted Kennedy's body is en route to Boston, where he will lie in repose at his slain brother's presidential library for 2 days of public visitation. The motorcade carrying the senator's body and members of his family departed the family compound on Cape Cod for the 70-mile trip to the state capital. Hundreds of people are lining the route of the motorcade,...
Calif. Girl Abducted in 1991 Reappears
Contra Costa Times
|
Aug 27, 2009 2:06 PM CDT
(Newser) -
A woman missing since she was abducted in 1991 at age 11 stunned authorities and her family yesterday when she walked into a northern California police station, the Contra Costa Times reports . Jaycee Lee Dugard's alleged kidnappers, a married couple, have been arrested and charged with kidnapping and other offenses; the husband, a registered sex...
No Wedding Gifts, Please; Just Fund My Startup
Valleywag
|
Aug 27, 2009 1:58 PM CDT
(Newser) -
A Silicon Valley couple has forsaken a traditional wedding registry for venture capital, Gawker reports. “The World's First Start-up Wedding Registry” doesn’t ask guests for appliances or candlesticks; instead, they can give enough to “feed an outsourced engineer for a day” or pay a month’s worth of utilities for...
Americans Read Over President's Shoulder
Politico
|
Aug 27, 2009 1:46 PM CDT
(Newser) -
President Obama’s poll numbers are faltering, but his summer reading choices are getting rave reviews, Politico reports. A survey of the Amazon.com standings of the five books the White House announced he would take with him on his Martha’s Vineyard vacation show a drastic improvement in sales. If you’re doubtful about joining Obama’s...
Three Speeches That Define Ted Kennedy
Christian Science Monitor
|
Aug 27, 2009 1:34 PM CDT
(Newser) -
He wasn't always the most articulate person in one-on-one conversations, but Ted Kennedy gave powerful speeches, writes Gail Russell Chaddock in the Christian Science Monitor . Three that resonate: His 1980 concession: “For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the...
Apple Will Roll Out iPods With Cameras
Apple Insider
|
Aug 27, 2009 1:22 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Apple will unveil a new line of iPods complete with point-and-click cameras on Sept. 9, Apple Insider reports. In addition to the 3.2-megapixel camera—which, according to a “Taiwanese rumor site,” will grace the probable last-generation hard-drive iPod in addition to the Flash-based Nano and Touch—Apple may also unveil iTunes...
A Supermodel's Summer Reads
Modelinia
|
Aug 27, 2009 1:10 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Paulina Porizkova “quit school at 15 to live off of my looks,” but she’s also a lifelong bookworm, she writes for Modelinia. Because she feels “the need to constantly prove I’m not some dumb model,” she offers up her “summer reading for folks who want to seem kinda smart”: A Suitable Boy , Vikram...
No Post- Curb Reunions, Seinfeld Insists
Entertainment Weekly
|
Aug 27, 2009 12:59 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Jerry Seinfeld wasn’t worried that reuniting with George, Elaine, and Kramer might be considered double-dipping, Entertainment Weekly reports. “There was a little part of me that said, ‘Do we really want to tamper?’” he says, emphasizing that the Seinfeld cast's upcoming appearances on Curb Your Enthusiasm will be...
Biofuel Boom Runs Out of Gas
Wall Street Journal
|
Aug 27, 2009 12:49 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Once considered a win-win for the environment and energy independence, America’s biofuel industry is sputtering to a halt, the Wall Street Journal reports. Thanks to the recession, lower oil prices, and government delays, two-thirds of American biodiesel refineries—dozens of plants—are idle, and companies across the country are...
LiLo Sex Tape Stolen: Tab
Daily Mirror (UK)
|
Aug 27, 2009 12:39 PM CDT
(Newser) -
A Lindsay Lohan sex tape could be the next big thing to hit the Internet. “Very incriminating videos and photos” were taken during the recent burglary at her home, sources tell the Mirror . Along with the “compromising” footage, legal documents were reportedly also snatched that “could cause embarrassment” if leaked....
Anne Heche Bashes Ex on Letterman
New York Daily News
|
Aug 27, 2009 12:36 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Looks like Anne Heche is still none-too-happy about her divorce settlement with ex Coley Laffoon. In an appearance on Letterman last night, Heche asked if she could say "lazy ass" on television after being asked what Laffoon, who collects child support from the actress, does for a living. "He goes out to the mailbox and he opens up...
IRS May Cut 401(k) Contribution Limit
USA Today
|
Aug 27, 2009 12:29 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Low inflation could force the IRS to decrease the amount workers can contribute to their 401(k) plans to $16,000, USA Today reports. It would mark the first time the government has ever lowered contribution limits. Though a spokesperson says it’s too early for speculation, the IRS may not have any choice. "A strict interpretation of the...
Parker Posey Battling Lyme Disease
People
|
Aug 27, 2009 12:23 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The generally spunky Parker Posey may be showing a little drag in her step: The 40-year-old actress has been diagnosed with Lyme disease, People reports. The illness is forcing Posey to bow out of the lead role in the stage production of This , which starts previews Nov. 6.
All Living Presidents Will Attend Kennedy's Funeral
Boston Herald
|
Aug 27, 2009 12:19 PM CDT
(Newser) -
All four living former presidents will attend Ted Kennedy’s invitation-only funeral, the Boston Herald reports. President Obama will also be there, breaking off his Martha’s Vineyard vacation to deliver a eulogy. Gordon Brown also plans to attend, as will Irish PM Brian Cowen. “Sen. Kennedy is being honored as though he were a former...
New CK Jeans Give You the Back—or Front —You Want
New York Post
|
Aug 27, 2009 12:06 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Good news for the flat-bottomed: Calvin Klein’s Body jeans do for your lower half what a push-up bra does for your upper half, the New York Post reports—and both men and women can get a lift from the new line. The ladies get a rounder, more flattering look for their bums, and men enjoy a larger-looking fly area. The miracle workers will...
Freed Gitmo Detainee to Sue US for Damages
Associated Press
|
Aug 27, 2009 12:05 PM CDT
(Newser) -
A Guantanamo inmate recently released to his native Afghanistan after almost 7 years of detention plans to sue the US for damages, the AP reports. Mohammed Jawad is considered one of the youngest prisoners held at the Cuban base—he claims he was 12 at the time he was captured, though the Justice Department maintains he was 17. “I was an...
Derek Jeter 'Secretly Engaged'
New York Post
|
Aug 27, 2009 12:02 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Derek Jeter and Minka Kelly “are secretly engaged,” a source tells the New York Post , and telling friends to "save the date" for a fall ceremony. “The wedding is being planned and will take place after baseball season is over.” Kelly’s rep denies the rumor, but the Post is quick to point out the actress also...
Enough Already: Kennedy Was No Hero
Boston Herald
|
Aug 27, 2009 11:56 AM CDT
(Newser) -
You wouldn’t know it from the tearful plaudits in the "echo chamber of the mainstream media," but Ted Kennedy was no hero, Howie Carr writes for the Boston Herald . Kennedy was actually a ruthless partisan—he accused Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork of wanting "segregated lunch counters”—and lived a sheltered...
Britney Fans Ejected for Sexy Dancing
New York Post
|
Aug 27, 2009 11:47 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Apparently only Britney Spears is allowed to get down and dirty at her concerts. A few fans were ejected from Madison Square Garden for dancing “too provocatively” at Tuesday's show, one of them tells the New York Post . “Meanwhile, Britney is onstage gyrating half-naked and singing ‘Get Naked,’” she adds. “It...
NEA Is Playing Politics, Filmmaker Charges
Big Hollywood
|
Aug 27, 2009 11:38 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The National Endowment for the Arts recently encouraged artists to create works that focus on “health care, energy and environment, safety and security, education, community renewal”—a disturbing step away from the its actual mandate, filmmaker Patrick Courrielche writes for Big Hollywood. “Artists shouldn’t be used as...
Today's Senate Won't Produce Another Ted
Los Angeles Times
|
Aug 27, 2009 11:29 AM CDT
(Newser) -
If you ask leading Democrats who can replace Ted Kennedy as the Senate’s liberal standard-bearer, the most frequent answer is “nobody,” writes Doyle McManus of the Los Angeles Times . No one has a record to match Kennedy’s, and in today’s Senate, building one would be virtually impossible. "The Senate is much more...
Firefox Upgrade Scares Off Porn Fans
PC Pro
|
Aug 27, 2009 11:20 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The No. 1 reason many Firefox users refused to upgrade to the browser’s latest version was fear that it would expose their deep, dark—think "naked"—online secrets, PC Pro reports. Firefox 3’s new address bar suggests your bookmarked sites as you enter URLs, which 25% of people who declined to upgrade cited as their...
Lavigne, Hubby Headed for Split
New York Daily News
|
Aug 27, 2009 11:17 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Rocker couple Avril Lavigne and Deryck Whibley are headed for divorce, sources tell the New York Daily News . The two, married since 2006, haven’t been photographed together since last December, and have been spotted at events and on vacations alone. Lavigne recently “wanted to get away from Deryck and have a weekend to herself”...
Heidi Is the Next MJ: Spencer
MTV
|
Aug 27, 2009 11:11 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Hey, if Spencer Pratt thinks he can be the next Brad Pitt, why shouldn’t his wife be the next Michael Jackson? In yet another example of the reality show couple’s delusions of grandeur, Pratt called Heidi Montag "the new, modern-day, 2010 Michael Jackson” following her Miss Universe “performance," MTV reports....
FDIC Fund Falls to $10.4B as Banks Struggle
Wall Street Journal
|
Aug 27, 2009 11:02 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The FDIC's fund for protecting bank deposits fell in June to just $10.4 billion—the lowest balance since the savings and loan crisis—all but ensuring that the government will have to levy new fees on banks to replenish it, the Wall Street Journal reports. The fund topped $45.2 billion a year ago, before the financial crisis wreaked havoc...
Angry Crowd Greets McCain at Ariz. Town Hall
Associated Press
|
Aug 27, 2009 10:53 AM CDT
(AP) -
John McCain met with an angry crowd at a town hall meeting about health care reform yesterday, sometimes having to fight to talk and telling one woman who wouldn't stop shouting that she had to leave. The senator hadn't yet opened the meeting to questions when one audience member continuously yelled over him. McCain had security escort her out, saying,...
New Planet Expected to Crash and Burn
Independent (UK)
|
Aug 27, 2009 10:44 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Scientists in the UK have discovered a planet that defies the laws of physics, the Independent reports. WASP-18b, which is orbiting a star 1,000 light years from Earth, is so big and close to the sun that it should be pulled toward it. "The spin of the star is slower than the orbit of the planet, so the star should be spinning up, and the planet...
Farrah's Son Lands Reality TV Gig
In Touch
|
Aug 27, 2009 10:35 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Redmond O’Neal, the troubled son of Farrah Fawcett and Ryan O’Neal, is going from jail to reality TV, sources tell In Touch. His show, which has yet to be picked up by a network, will follow Redmond’s struggle to get clean, “followed by a trainer and a bodyguard who will try to help him get a job and have a real life,”...
Memos: CIA Kept Prisoner Awake, Chained for 6 Days
Associated Press
|
Aug 27, 2009 10:26 AM CDT
(AP) -
In late 2007, a year after the Bush administration abandoned its harshest interrogation methods, CIA operatives used severe sleep deprivation tactics against a terror detainee twice, keeping him awake for 5 and then 6 straight days, with permission from government lawyers to go over the 4-day limit. Interrogators kept the unidentified detainee awake...
Website Predicts Your Odds of Dying
LiveScience
|
Aug 27, 2009 10:14 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Feeling morbid? A new website will give you your odds of dying in the next year, LiveScience reports. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon came up with DeathRiskRanking.com. Input some basic info—age, gender, place of residence—and the site spits out when and of what you're likely to die. "Most Americans don't have a particularly good understanding...
Gov. Patrick Backs Kennedy Push to Fill Seat
Boston Globe
|
Aug 27, 2009 10:03 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick came out in support yesterday of Ted Kennedy’s request that he be given the power to appoint someone to fill Kennedy's Senate seat until a special election can be held, the Boston Globe reports. “I’d like the Legislature to take up the bill quickly and get it to my desk, and I will sign it,”...
New Jacko 'Kid' Wants DNA Test, Certainly Not Money
Radar
|
Aug 27, 2009 9:54 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Yet another secret alleged son of Michael Jackson has come out of the woodwork, but his “primary motivation isn’t money,” his attorney tells Radar. Prince Michael Malachi Jet Jackson “has been told his entire life that he is Michael Jackson’s son. His primary goal is to have closure on whether or not Michael was his father.”...
Try a Search Engine Blind Taste Test
True/Slant
|
Aug 27, 2009 9:50 AM CDT
(Newser) -
So much of our search engine experience is based on branding, but who would come out on top without all the window dressing? Blind Search may help you figure it out. Designed by a Microsoft employee, it spits out unadorned results from Google, Bing, and Yahoo, only telling you which is which after you’ve voted on a favorite. Ryan Sager of True/Slant,...
To Straighten or Not: Hair Politics Snags Black Women
New York Times
|
Aug 27, 2009 9:39 AM CDT
(Newser) -
For black women, it's near impossible to choose a hairstyle without society weighing in. Chemical relaxers help straighten hair, but "you’re pegged as selling out," a black studies professor tells the New York Times . But go natural and "you’re seen as not practicing appropriate grooming practices." The issue may seem...
UN Calls Aussie Aboriginal Policies Racist
Reuters
|
Aug 27, 2009 9:27 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Australia’s interventions in remote Aboriginal communities “overtly discriminate” against them, and prove that entrenched racism remains in Australia, a UN official said today. In 2007, Australia sent police and troops to aboriginal lands, and instituted special bans on alcohol and pornography. These measures "infringe their...
Olsen Twins Label a Surprise Fashion Hit
New York Times
|
Aug 27, 2009 9:10 AM CDT
(Newser) -
With no formal fashion training and a celebrity image that’s more cutesy than couture, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen have transformed into unlikely fashion icons, the New York Times reports. Sales of their high-end label The Row are around $10 million—better than many established brands—and they’re expected to climb by 30%. ...
Oops: GOP Lawmaker Retracts 'Great White' From Hopes
Topeka Capital-Journal
|
Aug 27, 2009 9:07 AM CDT
(Newser) -
As if the GOP wasn't already a bit too lily white for the 21st century, Rep. Lynn Jenkins, a Kansas Republican, had this to say about her party at a town hall forum last week: "Republicans are struggling right now to find the great white hope. I suggest to any of you who are concerned about that, who are Republican, there are some great young...
Limbaugh on Kennedy: I Told You So
Huffington Post
|
Aug 27, 2009 9:02 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Rush Limbaugh gave himself a big pat on the back yesterday for predicting that Ted Kennedy would kick the bucket—and that it would be used as an “inspirational technique” to boost health care reform efforts. “Before it’s all over it’ll be called the Ted Kennedy Memorial Health Care Bill,” Limbaugh declared...
Jenkins' Sister May Have Aided Escape
Vancouver Sun
|
Aug 27, 2009 8:59 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The discovery of two cars may help piece together details in the Ryan Jenkins-Jasmine Fiore murder-suicide. A PT Cruiser matching the description of the one that dropped off Jenkins at a motel, where he later hanged himself, has been spotted in the parking garage belonging to his half-sister, the Vancouver Sun reports. The find suggests she may be...
If He's a Fascist, Then You're a Moron
The Atlantic
|
Aug 27, 2009 8:50 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Every few months, some hyped-up protester decides someone they don’t like is a fascist. It’s “beyond moronic,” writes Megan McArdle of the Atlantic , whether you’re talking about George W. Bush or Barack Obama. “The Bush administration did many bad things. But to call his administration fascist is both to completely...
For Boom-to-Bust Ireland, Another Great Migration
Wall Street Journal
|
Aug 27, 2009 8:40 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The collapse of the Celtic Tiger is prompting another mass exodus from Ireland's rural west, the Wall Street Journal reports, with young workers once again abandoning their hometowns for London or the US. After a rare decade in which emigrants were flooding back to the island, as many as 40,000 people a year are expected to look for work elsewhere...
Mali's President Bails on Women's Rights Law
BBC
|
Aug 27, 2009 8:27 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Mali's president says he won't sign a controversial new law that gives more rights to women, the BBC reports. President Amadou Toumani Toure says he supports the so-called family law, which Muslim leaders have denounced as the devil's work, but is sending it back to parliament for review. "I have taken this decision to ensure calm and a peaceful...
Madoff Lover Still Talking About Tiny Penis
New York Post
|
Aug 27, 2009 8:18 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Sheryl Weinstein is still expounding on Bernie Madoff’s “not very large” penis, most recently to Cindy Adams of the New York Post . “It was narrow,” she says. “Tiny in terms of girth, not length.” Still, he somehow convinced scores of women to sleep with him—“he was a player,” Weinstein says—thanks...
Kennedy's Senate Class Full of Lions
FiveThirtyEight
|
Aug 27, 2009 8:05 AM CDT
(Newser) -
It’s no wonder Ted Kennedy became a lion of the Senate, writes Tom Schaller of FiveThirtyEight.com: he learned from the best. Kennedy began his first full term with the 88th Congress in 1963, and the list of senators sworn in alongside him contains “a safari’s worth of talent.” Including: Margaret Chase Smith—...
Health Reform's New Frontline: Abortion
Wall Street Journal
|
Aug 27, 2009 7:51 AM CDT
(Newser) -
We've had the birthers, the deathers, and now here come the right-to-lifers to cast their two cents on the health reform debate, reports the Wall Street Journal. Democrats are bracing for protests from anti-abortion advocates, who are preparing a major push against what they call taxpayer subsidies for pregnancy termination. Most plans on the...
To Sell or Not to Sell?
Mashable
|
Aug 27, 2009 7:35 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The founders of Twitter keep insisting it's not for sale, but perhaps they should think again, writes Ben Parr of tech blog Mashable. Only two weeks ago Twitter looked smart for refusing its suitors—but then Facebook made a series of big moves, from buying FriendFeed to launching a speedy Twitter-ish search engine. If the microblogging platform...
Richardson Reportedly Cleared in Pay-to-Play Probe
Associated Press
|
Aug 27, 2009 7:19 AM CDT
(AP) -
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and former members of his administration will not face charges in a yearlong pay-to-play investigation, a source tells the AP. A federal grand jury has been probing whether lucrative work on state bond deals was improperly awarded to a Richardson donor—derailing his nomination as Commerce secretary in the Obama...
