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.
House Votes to Cut Off ACORN
Associated Press
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Sep 17, 2009 10:12 PM CDT
(AP) -
The House voted tonight to deny all federal funds for ACORN in a Republican-led strike against the scandal-tainted community organizing group that comes just three days after the Senate took similar action. "ACORN has violated serious federal laws, and today the House voted to ensure that taxpayer dollars would no longer be used to fund this corrupt...
Dogs Might Have Found Human Remains at Garridos'
CNN
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Sep 17, 2009 9:42 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Two dogs trained to sniff out human remains, working separately, alerted police today to the possibility on the property belonging to northern California kidnap-rape suspects Phillip and Nancy Garrido, CNN reports. Authorities are also looking for evidence to connect the couple to the 1980s disappearances of girls from nearby towns, and say they’ll...
LA Police Bust Suspect in Lohan Burglary
Associated Press
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Sep 17, 2009 8:51 PM CDT
(AP) -
Los Angeles police today arrested a man suspected of breaking into the homes of Lindsay Lohan and Audrina Patridge. Nicholas Prugo, 18, is being held on $20,000 bail on suspicion of felony burglary; authorities gave no details on whether items had been recovered.
In Back-to-School Hindsight, John Hughes Looks Terrible
Chicago Tribune
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Sep 17, 2009 8:26 PM CDT
(Newser) -
When the world rushed to eulogize John Hughes, Christopher Borrelli of the Chicago Tribune held off. He wanted to watch Hughes’ movies again. “I had suspected these films might be disturbing in hindsight,” he writes. “I had no idea how disturbing.” There’s drunk driving, insinuations of date rape, and worse, and...
Jaycee Dugard: I Want My Pets Back
San Francisco Chronicle
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Sep 17, 2009 7:43 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Jaycee Dugard wants back a group of pets she raised while in captivity in a northern California backyard, animal-control officials tell the San Francisco Chronicle . “We are very hopeful that it’s going to happen as soon as possible,” one says of the menagerie, which includes two dogs, five cats and several birds.
What'd Michelle Buy at Farmers Market? Kale
The Atlantic
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Sep 17, 2009 7:17 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The farmers market Michelle Obama has been pushing for opened near the White House today, Eleanor Barkhorn writes for the Atlantic —though without any produce from the first lady’s own much-publicized garden. Mrs. O was among the first customers, and though she skipped the “Beets Even the President Would Love,” she did score...
Dropping Missile Shield Is Jab at Bush—Not US Allies
The Atlantic
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Sep 17, 2009 6:32 PM CDT
(Newser) -
President Obama’s decision to shelve the missile shield for Eastern Europe is appeasement only to those obsessed with “legacy threats” like Russia, Marc Ambinder writes for the Atlantic . Obama believes the threat from Iran was overstated by President Bush, and that the shield technology wasn’t a sure bet to work anyway. Now,...
Pint-Size T-Rex Surprises Scientists
New York Times
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Sep 17, 2009 5:50 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Paleontologists have unearthed a miniature predecessor of Tyrannosaurus Rex, a finding that may rewrite the origins of the most iconic of dinosaurs. “Raptorex,” discovered in China, has all the distinctive features of a Tyrannosaurus—large head and jaws, long legs, and small arms—but it weighed only 150 pounds. The diminutive...
Time Profile: Beck Strong on Melodrama, Not Politics
Time
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Sep 17, 2009 5:12 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Time hits newsstands tomorrow with a familiar face on the cover and the question, "Mad Man: Is Glenn Beck Bad for America?" But instead of a hit piece, the article itself offers a fairly benign profile of "the pudgy, buzz-cut, weeping phenomenon of radio, TV and books." Limbaugh and Hannity are still juggernauts, "but it...
Lawsuit: Let's Double the Number of Congressmen
New York Times
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Sep 17, 2009 4:51 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The House of Representatives is supposed to ensure equal representation for all Americans, but critics see a flawed system because of the expanding population. In Nevada’s 3rd District, for example, one representative speaks for nearly a million people, about twice as many as the congressman for all of Wyoming. A lawsuit filed today seeks to...
Jackson's Mom Gets $86K a Month
Associated Press
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Sep 17, 2009 4:30 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Michael Jackson’s estate pays his mother $86,804 every month, the LA Times reports. Estate administrators set up the allowance because the pop singer’s estate—worth an estimated $500 million—is so vast that settling it in court could take years. The allowance pays Katherine Jackson $26,804 every month for her own expenses...
Jury Clears School Coach in Player's Heat Death
Associated Press
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Sep 17, 2009 4:15 PM CDT
(AP) -
A former Kentucky high school football coach has been acquitted in the death of a player who collapsed at a practice where the team was put through a series of sprints on a hot summer day. It was a rare criminal prosecution of a coach in a player's heat-related death. David Jason Stinson was charged after 15-year-old Max Gilpin collapsed at an August...
Gmail Reveals Google's Achilles' Heel: 'Arrogance'
Business Insider
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Sep 17, 2009 3:49 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Henry Blodget of the Business Insider recently switched from Yahoo Mail to Gmail, mainly because Yahoo had become “buggy, inconsistent, and unreliable.” For basic functionality—and spam-blocking—Gmail performs well. But he hates the "conversation model" for email. Why? "Because I can't easily find the exact message...
3 of 4 Oklahoma Students Can't Name First President
KWTV Oklahoma City
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Sep 17, 2009 3:35 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Are you smarter about American history than a recent immigrant? Most of the students in Oklahoma’s public high schools aren’t. A conservative think tank asked thousands of high school kids to answer 10 questions drawn from the citizenship test given to recent immigrants. Would-be citizens have to answer six correctly, and 92% do so on their...
Dow Dips 2 Points
Wall Street Journal
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Sep 17, 2009 3:20 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Stocks posted small losses today as the modest rally of the last two weeks ran out of steam, the Wall Street Journal reports. Housing starts for August rose 1.5%, less than expected. FedEx shares dropped after the company reported a 53% drop in quarterly profit. The Dow fell 2 points to close at 9,790. The Nasdaq lost 6 points, settling at 2,127,...
Sebelius Schools Reporter on How to Sneeze
Mediabistro
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Sep 17, 2009 2:52 PM CDT
(Newser) -
NBC's Chuck Todd got a lesson in how to sneeze properly today when he let one fly during a briefing with health secretary Kathleen Sebelius. After Todd sneezed, Sebelius stopped the press conference to razz him about not sneezing into his sleeve, reports MediaBistro. "What's up with that? she asked. "We'll have Elmo give Chuck a special...
Tearful Pelosi Fears Rhetoric Could Lead to Violence
The Hill
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Sep 17, 2009 2:30 PM CDT
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Fighting back tears, Nancy Pelosi said today she fears the inflammatory rhetoric surrounding current political debate could lead to violence, the Hill reports. “I have concerns about some of the language that is being used because I saw…I saw this myself in the late '70s in San Francisco,” the House speaker said, referring to the...
PBR Raises Price, Doesn't Advertise—and Sales Soar
Advertising Age
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Sep 17, 2009 2:25 PM CDT
(Newser) -
It’s a good time to be a cheapo beer, but that alone can’t explain the ridiculous year Pabst Blue Ribbon is having, Advertising Age reports. PBR’s sales are up a whopping 25%, making it by far the fastest growing cheap beer, which is especially astounding because it’s not that cheap anymore. PBR’s cases now costs $1.50...
Fallen Soldier Awarded Medal of Honor
Boston Globe
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Sep 17, 2009 2:08 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Army Sgt. Jared Monti, who died in 2006 while trying to save the life of a wounded comrade in Afghanistan, was awarded the Medal of Honor this afternoon at the White House. "Jared Monti saw the danger before him and went out to meet it," said President Obama. He presented the citation to Monti's parents, Paul and Janet, describing their son...
Pearl Jam's Backspacer More of Same
Chicago Tribune
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Sep 17, 2009 1:56 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Pearl Jam “plays it tight, short and fast on its ninth studio album, Backspacer (Monkeywrench) , out Tuesday,” writes Greg Kot for the Chicago Tribune. In its first self-released album, the band steamrolls through 11 songs in just 37 minutes—but it’s 37 minutes of “step-on-it-and-go attack.” The guitars are a...
Madoff's Beach Home Sells for More Than Asking Price
ABC News
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Sep 17, 2009 1:40 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Bernie Madoff's Montauk beach house is off the market, ABC reports. A buyer paid cash "over the asking price" of $8.75 million, say Realtors involved with the deal. The US Marshals Service, which is selling the home to get money back for Madoff's victims, won't divulge the buyer's name or the price until the deal closes. It was...
World's Tallest Man Wants to Meet 'Lots of Girls'
BBC
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Sep 17, 2009 1:27 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The world's new tallest man, Sultan Kosen, is in it for the chicks. "I want a car that I can fit in, but more than that I want to get married," says the 27-year-old Turk. The 8-foot-1-inch Kosen, who has pituitary gigantism, also nabbed the 2010 Guinness World Records for biggest hands and feet, the BBC reports. "Hopefully now that...
Egypt Delays School Opening to Combat Swine Flu
BBC
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Sep 17, 2009 1:09 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Fears of a swine flu outbreak have moved the Egyptian government to delay the start of the school year at state-run schools and universities by at least 1 week, the BBC reports. Government-run schools had been set to begin school the last week of September; they will now open Oct. 3. Schools and universities not run by the state have already begun...
GOP Blasts Obama for Fox News Snub
The Hill
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Sep 17, 2009 12:53 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Republican lawmakers are peeved because President Obama is—try not to laugh—snubbing Fox News. Obama will appear on every political Sunday talk show this week, except Fox News Sunday. “If people are going to be on the Sunday talk shows, they should be on all of them,” opined Joe Wilson, who last week talked to Fox News Sunday,...
Sissy Spacek Joins Big Love
Associated Press
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Sep 17, 2009 12:41 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Sissy Spacek will join the cast of HBO’s Big Love , the LA Times reports. Spacek will be a regular cast member on the show’s upcoming fourth season, playing a DC lobbyist. Her first appearance comes in the third episode. Spacek raises the cast’s profile considerably: she won a best-actress Oscar in 1980 and has been nominated five...
Some Software to Keep You Focused
New York Times
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Sep 17, 2009 12:30 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The PC is a devilishly distracting tool, with news, social-networking, and game sites—not to mention work—vying for your attention. To salvage his productivity, Farhad Manjoo turned to a number of programs designed to cut down on distractions, he writes for the New York Times . There are three types. The first, such as RescueTime, simply...
Martha to Jess: Get a New Dog
Us Weekly
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Sep 17, 2009 12:15 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Fellow dog lover Martha Stewart feels bad for Jessica Simpson, whose maltipoo was snatched by a coyote, but tells Us , “She should have watched it more closely, though. She should have been more careful.” Stewart, who lost a treasured pooch of her own in March, did have some advice for how Simpson could best move on: “Get another...
Hofstra Student Recants Gang Rape Claim
Newsday
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Sep 17, 2009 12:05 PM CDT
(Newser) -
A reported gang rape at Hofstra University wasn't a rape after all, the local DA says. The accuser "recanted her claims against the five young men," a school official told students in a text message. The four men who had been charged—and publicly identified—were released from jail last night, Newsday reports. The 18-year-old...
Obama's Missile Move Leaves Allies in the Lurch
CNN
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Sep 17, 2009 11:56 AM CDT
(Newser) -
President Obama’s decision to scrap plans for a missile defense shield is a political bombshell, writes Robin Oakley for CNN. America’s allies in Poland and the Czech Republic are left holding the bag after expending significant political capital on the unpopular system. Abandoning it might make their lives easier, but it won’t make...
How 50 Cent Built His Empire
Business Insider
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Sep 17, 2009 11:44 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Believe it or not, it might do you good to take some business advice from shot-nine-times rapper 50 Cent. After all, it was business savvy more than rap music that helped build his $150 million empire. Business Insider takes a look at how he did it: His endorsement with Vitamin Water is his best known and most lucrative source of revenue;...
Ferris Bueller House Could Be Torn Down
Chicago Tribune
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Sep 17, 2009 11:34 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The suburban Chicago house where Cameron killed his dad's Ferrari in Ferris Bueller's Day Off is on a list of endangered Illinois landmarks, the Chicago Tribune reports. The Highland Park home is on the market for $2.3 million and is at risk of being torn down. The preservation group Landmarks Illinois says it hopes a public outcry will save the...
Working Class Picks Wrong Villains
New York Times
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Sep 17, 2009 11:25 AM CDT
(Newser) -
When the tea party protesters converged on Washington, one leader, radio demagogue Mark Williams, repeatedly described them as “working stiffs” who felt left out. It’s no wonder they’re angry, writes Timothy Egan for the New York Times , because it’s been a lost decade for “working stiffs.” In 2008 the poverty...
Clark Charged With Murder
Hartford Courant (Conn.)
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Sep 17, 2009 11:13 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Raymond Clark III has been charged with the murder of Yale grad student Annie Le, the Hartford Courant reports. Clark, a lab technician at Yale, was arrested this morning at a motel and arraigned in Superior Court in New Haven. Clark, 24, did not submit a plea. His bail remains at $3 million, and the case will continue on Oct. 6.
Radio Hosts Squeezed by Too Much Listener Info
Wall Street Journal
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Sep 17, 2009 11:10 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Radio stations are collecting more and more data on the listening habits of their audience, and even popular hosts like Ryan Seacrest are feeling the pinch. Seacrest says Clear Channel execs told him to zip it because ratings would rise if "you actually play some more music," the Wall Street Journal reports. When he complained to a pair...
Health Experts Call for Soda Tax
ABC News
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Sep 17, 2009 11:00 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Health experts say a tax on sugary sodas would take a big bite out of the obesity epidemic, ABC News reports. Taxing "sugar-sweetened beverages is really a double-win," said the co-author of a new paper published in the New England Journal of Medicine . "We can raise much-needed dollars while likely reducing obesity prevalence, which...
Sexism Taints Megan Fox Flap
Huffington Post
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Sep 17, 2009 10:48 AM CDT
(Newser) -
With the “big pile of poo” stirred up by Megan Fox and the Transformers crew maintaining its place in the spotlight, it’s time to realize Fox “has guts to call a spade a spade”—in this case, by calling out director Michael Bay, writes Melissa Silverstein for the Huffington Post. Bay “is known in Hollywood...
Great Network Won't Make Up for Boring Phones
Wired
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Sep 17, 2009 10:36 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Verizon’s network may be the envy of its peers, but its smart phones definitely aren’t, writes Priya Ganapati. Caught off guard by the iPhone phenomenon, the carrier has taken a very cautious approach to new devices, subjecting them to a long testing process. As a result, while its competitors have carved out niches, Verizon is stuck in...
Fickle User Base May Doom Facebook
True/Slant
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Sep 17, 2009 10:24 AM CDT
(Newser) -
These are rosy times for Facebook, but there's no guarantee the social networking juggernaut will even be around 5 years from now, Gary Andrew Poole writes for True/Slant. The newly profitable site is riding high, with 300 million users. But as fallen giants like AOL and veterans of the dot.com implosion attest, "our expectations have changed,"...
Schwarzenegger Wants ACORN Investigation
Associated Press
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Sep 17, 2009 10:11 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Arnold Schwarzenegger today urged California AG Jerry Brown to launch an investigation of ACORN, the Los Angeles Times reports. The governor acted after a video sting operation that's targeted ACORN offices around the country hit the group’s San Bernardino office. In the video released Tuesday, as in previous videos elsewhere, conservative...
Swayze Memoir: Dying 'Is Okay'
New York Daily News
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Sep 17, 2009 9:54 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Dying was “okay” with Patrick Swayze, he wrote in his upcoming memoir. Though his cancer diagnosis at first seemed like a “cruel joke,” he “began thinking to myself, I've had more lifetimes than any 10 people put together, and it's been an amazing ride.” More excerpts from The Time of My Life published by the ...
Judge Tosses 'Frivolous' Birther Lawsuit
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
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Sep 17, 2009 9:38 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Leading "birther" Orly Taitz had a lawsuit chucked out of court yesterday and the judge threatened her with sanctions if she brings another “frivolous” suit to the same court, the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer reports. Taitz—representing a soldier seeking to avoid deployment to Iraq by challenging President Obama's legitimacy—"presented...
Susan Boyle Is Not a Sideshow
Los Angeles Times
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Sep 17, 2009 9:35 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Susan Boyle’s performance last night on America’s Got Talent “was exactly what Boyle's mentor, Simon Cowell, could have hoped for—lovely, inspirational, free of surprises,” writes Ann Powers in the Los Angeles Times . “No matter that it was canned” or that she was nervous. Boyle's time has come, and “we...
Baucus Bill Gives Obama a Route to Compromise
Washington Post
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Sep 17, 2009 9:27 AM CDT
(Newser) -
It may not look like anyone’s happy with Max Baucus’ health care bill, but it has some very important backers: the health care industries it seeks to reform. Influential players who long ago struck a bargain with the Obama administration “found elements to dislike,” writes Ceci Connolly of the Washington Post , “but not...
Twitter Hits $1B Valuation
TechCrunch
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Sep 17, 2009 9:16 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Twitter soared to $1 billion in valuation in its most recent round of venture capital funding, TechCrunch reports—up from $250 million in a round earlier this year. CEO Evan Williams shared the results with Twitter employees during a recent meeting. Sources say the company will raise about $50 million; it raised $35 million in the last round....
Student Loan Bill a No-Brainer That Actually Might Pass
New York Times
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Sep 17, 2009 9:10 AM CDT
(Newser) -
For health reform watchers despairing that lawmakers "will never be able to do anything, ever," it's time to turn an eye on the no-brainer student loan reform in the House, Gail Collins writes in the New York Times . Right now, the government gives banks money, pays them to lend it to students, and guarantees the loans. Under the new plan—wait...
Obama Story Turns Out to Be (Partially) False
Wall Street Journal
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Sep 17, 2009 8:59 AM CDT
(Newser) -
One of the most poignant passages from Barack Obama's recent address to Congress concerned an Illinois cancer patient who died, the president said, because his insurer dropped him after discovering an unreported gallstone. In fact, reports the Wall Street Journal , Otto Raddatz did have his coverage rescinded in 2005—but with the help of the...
Jon to Nanny: Don't Worry —I Had a Vasectomy
Radar
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Sep 17, 2009 8:55 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The back-and-forth between Jon Gosselin and his nanny drags on, but at least there won’t be any lovechildren to worry about. Gosselin assured Stephanie Santoro “he’d had a vasectomy,” her mother tells Radar. Meanwhile, Jon’s new divorce attorney agrees “the content of the story is shocking”—because Santoro...
Oil Giant Tries to Settle Biggest- Ever UK Lawsuit
Independent (UK)
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Sep 17, 2009 8:49 AM CDT
(Newser) -
A British multinational has offered a multimillion-dollar payout to settle a case involving toxic pollution in the Ivory Coast, the Independent reports. A contractor working for oil trading firm Trafigura dumped hundreds of tons of toxic sludge around Abidjan in 2006, sickening tens of thousands. Some were permanently disfigured, and the dumping...
Michelle Will Join Health Debate
Politico
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Sep 17, 2009 8:31 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Michelle Obama will be joining the push to pass a health reform bill, but the first lady won't be entering into the booby-trapped terrain that Hillary Clinton braved 16 years ago. Instead, Obama will focus on what Politico calls "the soft, soccer-mom sell," focusing on nutrition, exercise, and preventive care. With her approval ratings...
Democrats Mock Beck's Czar Hunt
Huffington Post
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Sep 17, 2009 8:18 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Democrats are fighting back against the anti-czar fervor that has taken hold of the Republican party. Many of the so-called czars these officials insist must be confirmed by the Senate actually already have been, writes Jason Linkins of the Huffington Post. Others occupy positions they themselves voted to create, and others still are random functionaries...
