Newser Story Index from September, 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.
Edwards Aide's Tell-All Finds Publisher
Hollywood Reporter
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Sep 23, 2009 6:54 AM CDT
(Newser) -
If John Edwards wants to cop to fathering Rielle Hunter’s baby on his own terms, he’d better act quickly. Former aide Andrew Young—who took Edwards' fall as babydaddy—will have his tell-all published by St. Martin’s Press in wake of a prominent New York Times story last weekend, sources tell the Hollywood Reporter ....
New Zune HD Scores, but Lags on Content
Wall Street Journal
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Sep 23, 2009 6:36 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Microsoft's Zune music player has long been the iPod's dowdy stepsister, but the new, fourth-generation Zune HD is finally "a portable media player that you can be proud to carry around," says Katherine Boehret of the Wall Street Journal . The new device features a "stunningly vivid" touchscreen, impressive graphics, a web...
In Hong Kong, Palin Blames Big Gov't for Crisis
Wall Street Journal
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Sep 23, 2009 6:20 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The global financial crisis was the fault of governments, not corporations, Sarah Palin told investors today at a closed-door talk in Hong Kong. In her first speaking engagement outside North America, the former Alaska governor said that "we got into this mess because of government interference in the first place." Palin called for tax...
Black Caucus Worries About Resurgent Racism
Politico
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Sep 23, 2009 6:14 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The Congressional Black Caucus is enjoying unprecedented power, with more of their members in leadership roles than ever before, not to speak of one of their number in the White House, but many are disturbed by changes in the political atmosphere, Politico reports. As the 42-member group holds its annual legislative conference this week, they say the...
Obama Raises Bar on What Passes for State Secrets
Washington Post
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Sep 23, 2009 5:58 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The Obama administration will announce much more stringent rules on state secrets today, two Justice Department officials tell the Washington Post , in what amounts to a major shift from Bush-era practice. To keep a program secret, an organization—including intelligence agencies and the military—will have to convince the attorney general...
Iranian Clerks Warned to Dress Mannequins in Hijabs
BBC
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Sep 23, 2009 5:21 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Iranian shopkeepers have been ordered to dress female mannequins in Muslim hijab head scarves, and to keep any curves strictly under wraps, reports the BBC. The edict is part of a continuing crackdown on "Western style" dress. The sale of bowties and neck ties, as well as the sale of women's underwear by men has also been banned. First-time...
NYC 'Burb to Gadhafi: Pitch Your Tent Elsewhere
Journal News (NY)
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Sep 23, 2009 4:47 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The New York town of Bedford has become the latest community to tell Moammar Gadhafi to pitch his tent elsewhere, LoHud.com reports. The town issued a stop-work order to workmen erecting the Libyan leader's Bedouin-style tent on an estate owned by Donald Trump. Officials said no permits required for such work had been obtained. A spokesman for Trump...
US, Europe Clash on Banking Reforms
Wall Street Journal
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Sep 23, 2009 4:16 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The US and Europe are moving further apart on plans for post-financial crisis banking reform ahead of this week's G-20 summit, the Wall Street Journal reports. Both sides agree that banks should be required to keep more capital on hand to cushion them from crises, even at the cost of constraining economic growth. But the French and Germans argue...
S. African Gets Life in Rape, Killing of Lesbian Soccer Star
Independent (UK)
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Sep 23, 2009 3:54 AM CDT
(Newser) -
A South African man has been sentenced to life for his part in the gang-rape and murder of one of the country's leading female soccer players, the Independent reports. Eudy Simelane, 31, who played for the national team, was raped repeatedly and stabbed 12 times before being dumped in a river. Simelane, the first open lesbian in her township, had...
Buyers Scammed for Millions in Record EBay Ripoff
Times (UK)
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Sep 23, 2009 3:30 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Consumers around the world were bilked out of millions of dollars for counterfeit golf clubs in the biggest-ever eBay scam, reports the Times of London. The clubs, as well as clothing, accessories and passes for an airline lounge, were auctioned online from 2004-2008 by a criminal network involving crooks from Europe, China, Thailand and the US....
'Cop Tipster' Imam May Have Alerted Terror Ring
Associated Press
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Sep 23, 2009 3:01 AM CDT
(Newser) -
A Queens imam was secretly recorded in a phone conversation warning a Denver terror suspect that law enforcement authorities were moving in, reports AP. Authorities are now investigating if imam Ahmad Wais Afzali may have used his role as a presumably reliable New York police department tipster to glean information about investigations. "They...
Taxi-Sized Squid Caught off Louisiana
Bloomberg
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Sep 23, 2009 2:39 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Scientists studying whale diets in the Gulf of Mexico unexpectedly hauled in a giant squid half as long as a school bus, Reuters reports. The 19.5-foot-long creature dragged up from 1,500 feet below the sea off Louisiana is the first giant squid found in the area in over 50 years and the first ever to be caught during research. The squid, which didn't...
Mackenzie Phillips: 'I Slept With My Dad'
People
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Sep 23, 2009 2:16 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Actress MacKenzie Phillips slept with her musician father John Phillips in a long-term incestuous relationship that began when she was 19 on the eve of her wedding, she reveals in her bombshell memoir High on Arrival . The Mamas and Papas singer showed up "determined to stop" MacKenzie's marriage to a member of the Rolling Stones entourage,...
Swim Club Discriminated Against Minority Kids: Panel
Philadelphia Inquirer
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Sep 23, 2009 1:50 AM CDT
(Newser) -
A state panel has found that a Philadelphia-area swim club racially discriminated against a day camp group of mostly black and Hispanic children when it canceled an agreement to let them swim, the Philadelpha Inquirer reports. The panel examined the Valley Club's actions and communications before and after the agreement was revoked with the Creative...
Outlook Bleak for Holiday Hiring
Wall Street Journal
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Sep 23, 2009 1:22 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Retail jobs are expected to be in short supply even as the holiday shopping season approaches, the Wall Street Journal reports. Some 40% of retail chains surveyed say they plan to hire fewer workers this year than they did last year when the recession forced many to cut staffing levels. A third of retailers expect a year-to-year drop in sales, and...
Ahmadinejad Says He'll Seek Leniency for US Hikers
Associated Press
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Sep 22, 2009 10:36 PM CDT
(AP) -
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said today he will request leniency for three American hikers who apparently strayed across Iran's border. Ahmadinejad said the Americans broke the law, and "we're not happy that this happened." He added, "What I can ask is that the judiciary expedites the process and gives it its full attention,...
Microsoft's Courier Tablet Is 'Astonishing'
Gizmodo
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Sep 22, 2009 9:50 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Microsoft’s foray into tablet computers looks to be “astonishing,” Gizmodo blogger The Paperboy raves after getting a look at leaked photo of the Courier, which has two screens and opens like a book. It has touch-screen and stylus capabilities, and is in the “late prototype” stage, sources say.
Busiest US-Mexico Crossing Closed After Gunfight
Associated Press
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Sep 22, 2009 9:13 PM CDT
(Newser) -
A coordinated effort to get illegal immigrants into the US devolved into a gunfight today in San Diego, and shut down the busiest US-Mexico border crossing. Four people were injured after US agents opened fire on three vans attempted to speed through the San Ysido Port of Entry from Tijuana unchecked, the Los Angeles Times reports, noting that while...
Red Dust Blankets Sydney
Age (Aust.)
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Sep 22, 2009 8:36 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Red dust blowing in from the Australian Outback covered Sydney today, snarling air travel and forcing locals to don masks to venture outdoors. “It’s like a nuclear winter morning,” one visitor told Bloomberg; the state government called air quality “hazardous.” Visibility was under 50 feet in some areas of the country’s...
Chase, Bank of America Tweak Overdraft Policies
Wall Street Journal
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Sep 22, 2009 7:44 PM CDT
(Newser) -
After squawking by legislators, JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America are changing how they charge overdraft fees, the Wall Street Journal reports. BofA now won’t charge customers if they overdraw their accounts by under $10 in one day; at Chase, it’s $5 or less. Both are also reducing the number of times daily customers can be charged an...
US Ban on Flavored Cigarettes Kicks In
Associated Press
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Sep 22, 2009 7:22 PM CDT
(AP) -
The new federal ban on flavored cigarettes took effect today, marking one of the first visible signs of the Food and Drug Administration's new authority to regulate tobacco. The ban on manufacturing, importing, marketing and distribution includes candy-, fruit- and clove-flavored cigarettes, which health authorities say are more appealing to youth....
Obama Drops on Foreign Policy, With Independents
Wall Street Journal
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Sep 22, 2009 6:42 PM CDT
(Newser) -
President Obama’s speech on health reform did stem movement away from him on the issue, a Wall Street Journal /NBC News poll shows, but he’s losing steam among independent voters—a key constituency for him and fellow Democrats in recent elections—and facing more doubt about his handling of the war in Afghanistan and of foreign...
Photogs Sue Tom, Gisele Over Bodyguards' Gunshots
Associated Press
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Sep 22, 2009 6:25 PM CDT
(AP) -
Two photographers have sued Tom Brady and his supermodel wife for $1 million, saying they were shot at during a party in Costa Rica. The two men, one from AFP and the other from a Costa Rican newspaper, say Gisele Bundchen's bodyguards shot at their car and just missed their heads. They were taking photos of a Brady-Bundchen party two months after...
Russian Tycoon Makes Bid for NJ Nets
Reuters
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Sep 22, 2009 5:55 PM CDT
(Newser) -
A Russian tycoon has made a bid for a controlling stake in the New Jersey Nets, in what could become the first instance of foreign ownership of an NBA club, Reuters reports. Mikhail Prokhorov, Russia’s richest man, said on his blog that his Onexmi group had offered to loan the team most of the cost of a planned stadium—an amount sources...
Subway Will Soon Have More Stores Than McDonald's
Advertising Age
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Sep 22, 2009 5:30 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Subway is nearing a milestone: the sandwich chain will soon have more global locations than McDonald’s, Ad Age reports. The chain is expanding so quickly that it's expected to have 31,800 stores by the end of the week. It's probably just a matter of months before it surpasses the 32,158 locations under the golden arches.
Margulies Dazzles in The Good Wife
Hollywood Reporter
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Sep 22, 2009 4:59 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Critics are impressed with The Good Wife , starring Julianna Margulies as the wife of a cheating and stealing politician forced to rejoin the workforce after his arrest. The CBS drama begins tonight. "There could not be a better choice for the title role of Alicia Florrick than Margulies," writes Barry Gordon for the Hollywood...
James Dean Lives—at Least in New TV Ad
Telegraph (UK)
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Sep 22, 2009 4:39 PM CDT
(Newser) -
James Dean is resurrected in a new TV ad for a South African investment firm, the Telegraph reports. The ad depicts Dean advancing through life as if he had he not died at age 24—directing his own films, leading a Vietnam War protest, going to a developing nation on a humanitarian mission. A mechanic from Cape Town portrays Dean in the ad,...
Swayze's Biggest Regret: No Kids
Boston Globe
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Sep 22, 2009 4:11 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Patrick Swayze desperately wanted to have children and was “crushed” when wife Lisa Niemi had a miscarriage, the Boston Globe reports. Swayze wrote of his longing for fatherhood in his memoir The Time of My Life : "I couldn't wait to become a dad, to have a child with this woman I loved so dearly.”
Condi: Want a Terror Attack? Abandon Afghanistan
Fortune Magazine
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Sep 22, 2009 4:09 PM CDT
(Newser) -
If the GOP is serious about overcoming its current status as the party of naysayers and talk-show cranks, it should try to get Condoleezza Rice back in the game, writes Nina Easton for Fortune . At a recent women's summit, Rice earned a standing ovation from a diverse crowd after proving she can intelligently, and forcefully, attack Democratic positions...
How to Get Yourself Retweeted
Fast Company
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Sep 22, 2009 3:40 PM CDT
(Newser) -
You might think all you need to do to get your 140-character gems rebroadcast on Twitter is make them, well, good. Wrong. Fast Company looks at some data-proven tips from Hubspot's Dan Zarrella: Links work— If they're the right links: Retweets (or RTs) are three times more likely to have links than the general field, but use the right...
Gadhafi May Set Up Tent on Trump's Lawn
Huffington Post
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Sep 22, 2009 3:19 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The Donald might have a controversial guest. Moammar Gadhafi is pitching his Bedouin-style tent on private property in the posh New York suburb of Bedford, reports ABC, and the Huffington Post says it's on the estate of none other than Donald Trump. The eccentric Libyan leader—in town for the UN General Assembly meeting—originally...
Dow Rebounds, Gains 51
Wall Street Journal
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Sep 22, 2009 3:18 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Stocks today saw more of the small but steady gains that have marked an unusually strong September, the Wall Street Journal reports. After yesterday's pullback, financials, and particularly insurers, saw gains: MBIA rose 22.3%, and rival AMBAC Financial gained 15.2%. Oil pushed up $1.84 to $71.55 a barrel. The Dow gained 51 points to settle at 9,830....
Mass. Senate Clears Way for Kennedy Successor
Boston Globe
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Sep 22, 2009 3:06 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Gov. Deval Patrick should be able to name a Democratic replacement for Ted Kennedy's Senate seat before the end of the week, the Boston Globe reports. Legislation giving hm the authority to do so cleared the state Senate today, a week after the House passed it. The measure still needs to be formally enacted tomorrow, but no further snags are expected....
Microsoft Pinching Apple Employees to Staff Stores
The Loop
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Sep 22, 2009 2:54 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Microsoft’s planned expansion into the brick-and-mortar retail sector will be staffed at least in part by…Apple Store employees, reports the Loop. The software giant is hiring away Apple managers with higher salaries, sources tell the tech blog. Those managers in turn are trying to bring aboard Apple's top salespeople. All reports suggest...
Pawlenty Launches PAC
Washington Post
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Sep 22, 2009 2:41 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Tim Pawlenty is taking yet another step toward a presidential run by launching a political action committee, the Washington Post reports. The PAC, dubbed “Freedom First,” will allow Pawlenty to travel the country, build a national network, and donate funds to state and federal candidates. Its first event will be a November fundraiser...
Pair's Remains May Date to Trojan War
Reuters
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Sep 22, 2009 2:30 PM CDT
(Newser) -
In a discovery one professor calls “electrifying,” archaeologists have uncovered the remains of a couple believed to have lived during the Trojan War era in Turkey’s ancient city of Troy, Reuters reports. “If the remains are confirmed to be from 1200 BC it would coincide with the Trojan war period” chronicled by Homer,...
Obama to Israeli, Palestinian Leaders: Get to Work
New York Times
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Sep 22, 2009 2:17 PM CDT
(Newser) -
President Obama urged Israeli and Palestinian leaders to restart peace talks, saying it was “time to move forward” on finding compromises to the contentious final status issues, the New York Times reports. Obama delivered his comments today after separate one-on-one meetings with Benjamin Netanyahu and Mahmoud Abbas and just before a...
Zelaya Supporters Clash With Honduran Police
Reuters
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Sep 22, 2009 2:06 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Honduras' tense political situation may be coming to a head. Riot police clashed with supporters of ousted President Manuel Zelaya today outside the Brazilian embassy, where Zelaya has been holed up for a day since sneaking back into the country. Police fired tear gas at the protesters, who returned fire with rocks, reports Reuters. The hospital in...
Lost Symbol Sets Record for Random House
Publishers Weekly
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Sep 22, 2009 1:56 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code sequel sold more than 2 million English-language copies in its first week, a Doubleday spokesman tells Publisher’s Weekly , making it the best debut Doubleday—or, for that matter, parent company Random House—has ever had. “The book is exceeding our expectations,” the spokeswoman said....
House Republicans Face Tea Party Primaries
CQPolitics
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Sep 22, 2009 1:42 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The so-called “tea party” movement has spawned a host of primary challengers for House Republicans, pressuring them to stay far to the right, CQ Politics reports. “I’ve got four primary challengers, and all of them hope to capitalize on the tea parties,” complains Bob Inglis of South Carolina, who has come under fire for...
Mass. Mailman Steals 30K DVDs
Republican (Springfield, Mass.)
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Sep 22, 2009 1:33 PM CDT
(Newser) -
A former Massachusetts postal worker has pleaded guilty to stealing 30,000 Netflix DVDs that passed through the Springfield post office, the Republican reports. Investigators got wise to the crime—which spanned all of 2007—when the company noticed it was losing up to a 100 DVDs a week in the area. Myles Weathers’ guilty plea could...
'Fat Tax' Is Really a Poor Tax
Slate
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Sep 22, 2009 1:17 PM CDT
(Newser) -
With Congress contemplating a trillion dollar health care bill, the idea of the “fat tax” has come back into vogue as a way to slim down Americans. Supporters say junk food is every bit the addictive drug that cigarettes are, designed by food scientists to be “hyperpalatable,” and nigh-irresistible. “It’s hard to...
Will Ferrell and Pals: 'Save Our Health Execs'
ABC News
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Sep 22, 2009 1:03 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Will Ferrell thinks we need to remember the people who really matter in the health care debate: insurance executives. The comedian has produced a star-studded parody ad for MoveOn.org in which he and his fellow actors decry the evils of the reform movement. “Why is Obama trying to reform health care when insurance companies are doing just fine?”...
Jenny Sanford to Pen 'Inspirational Memoir'
CNN
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Sep 22, 2009 12:42 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Jenny Sanford will write an “inspirational memoir” to be released by Random House next spring, CNN reports. The publisher is mum on how much the estranged wife of South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford will get for her trouble. The fairer half of the couple has been fairly tight-lipped since the news of her husband’s affair broke in June....
Sotomayor to Throw Out First Pitch for Yankees
USA Today
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Sep 22, 2009 12:30 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Sonia Sotomayor is preparing for more than her first term on the Supreme Court—she's working on her pitching, too. The Bronx native will toss out the first pitch at Yankee Stadium before Saturday's game against the Red Sox, USA Today reports. The team picked her to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, but she has a big baseball link on her resume:...
Hofstra Gang Rape Wasn't Rape—but It Wasn't OK
DoubleX
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Sep 22, 2009 12:13 PM CDT
(Newser) -
It’s clear now that the alleged Hofstra gang rape in a campus bathroom—in which a young woman said 5 guys tied her to a stall and attacked her—was not rape, by any legal definition. Confronted with a cell phone video, the woman recanted within 72 hours, admitting that the sex was consensual. So what was it, Emily Bazelon asks on Double...
Airbrushed Pics May Get French Health Warning
Reuters
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Sep 22, 2009 12:01 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Amid the uproar over fashion photos whose models are airbrushed to teeny-tiny perfection, French politicians are proposing a law that would require any such photos to include a health warning, Reuters reports. Digitally altered ads, press photos, campaign art, packaging, and art photography would have to include “Photograph retouched to modify...
Who Leaked to Woodward? Good Luck
Politico
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Sep 22, 2009 11:50 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The question du jour in Washington is who leaked Gen. Stanley McChrystal’s report advocating an increased troop presence in Afghanistan to Bob Woodward, Ben Smith writes on Politico. But the outcome of this tried and true “capital parlor game” is far from certain. Some Beltway insiders think the leak is a coup for the Pentagon,...
Wash. Town Milks Twilight Connection for Tourist Bucks
New York Times
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Sep 22, 2009 11:38 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Author Stephenie Meyer had never even been to Forks, Wash., when she chose it, with a little help from Google, as the setting for her wildly popular Twilight books. But that hasn’t stopped fans of the series and the movies it has spawned from flocking to the town, population 3,120, in droves and spawning a cottage industry of tours and Twilight...
Fall Sends Byrd to Hospital
Washington Post
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Sep 22, 2009 11:27 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Sen. Robert Byrd is at the hospital after a fall at his Northern Virginia home, the Washington Post reports. The 91-year-old West Virginia Democrat has been scarce at the Capitol recently after a previous hospitalization that ended in June. The longest-serving US senator ever “apparently stood up too fast this morning,” a spokesman says....
