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.
Annie Le Strangled: Autopsy
Associated Press
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Sep 16, 2009 1:06 PM CDT
(AP) -
Connecticut's state medical examiner says Yale University grad student Annie Le died of traumatic asphyxiation, meaning she was strangled. Dr. Wayne Carver's office released a short statement about the autopsy today, three days after 24-year-old Le was found hidden inside the basement wall of a Yale medical school research building.
Wilson's Son to Carter: Dad's No Racist
New York Daily News
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Sep 16, 2009 1:03 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Rep. Joe Wilson’s “you lie!” shout wasn’t “based on racism,” whatever Jimmy Carter might say, argues Wilson’s son. “There is not a racist bone in my dad's body,” says Alan Wilson, himself a candidate for attorney general in South Carolina, reports the Daily News . “He doesn't even laugh at...
We Love Justin, Not His Jeans
Wall Street Journal
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Sep 16, 2009 12:53 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The latest casualty of the economic crisis: celebrity clothing lines. “Every D-level celebrity who thought they could make a quick buck by designing a handbag or whatever is going to disappear,” Vogue editor Anna Wintour tells the Wall Street Journal. “And I think that's a good thing.” Wannabe-designers including Jennifer...
Wrestling CEO Linda McMahon to Run for Senate
Hartford Courant (Conn.)
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Sep 16, 2009 12:44 PM CDT
(Newser) -
In an announcement sure to inspire a barrage of “stepping into the ring” cracks, Linda McMahon, wife of Vince McMahon and until now CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, is seeking the Republican nomination to take on Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd, the Hartford Courant reports. McMahon promised to be “a different kind of candidate,”...
Scientists Find Rocky Exoplanet
Wired
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Sep 16, 2009 12:33 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Scientists have at long last discovered a rocky world outside of our solar system, Wired reports. Dubbed COROT-7b (it circles the star COROT-7), the planet has a density similar to Earth’s, said researchers, who believe our greatest chance of finding extraterrestrial life is on a rocky planet with such a density. “This is a day we’ve...
Jon's Nanny Dishes on Affair
AOL Music
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Sep 16, 2009 12:21 PM CDT
(Newser) -
It was only a matter of time before Jon Gosselin’s nanny got her very own tabloid interview—with In Touch— and Popeater snagged a copy. Stephanie Santoro, 23, overshares with details like Gosselin “wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t the best I ever had.” She claims their fling started with a massage and that they...
Maybe Obama's 'Half-White Side' Is Racist: Limbaugh
Media Matters
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Sep 16, 2009 12:08 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Rush Limbaugh yesterday capped off a free-wheeling show on the scourge of racism in America by suggesting that Obama’s white half is racist because he hasn’t thrown a bone to his Kenyan relatives, Media Matters reports. “I'm just going on Newsweek , that we're all born racists, and Obama had a typical white grandmother, in his own...
FCC to Probe Nipplegate, Again
Broadcasting & Cable
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Sep 16, 2009 11:58 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Five years after the nation saw a split-second of Janet Jackson’s right boob, the FCC is trying to reopen the case, Broadcasting & Cable reports. The FCC is asking the Third Circuit Appeals Court to remand the case back to the agency. The evidence “strongly suggests that CBS had access to video delay technology,” the commission...
Baby Crap You Don't Need
Time
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Sep 16, 2009 11:47 AM CDT
(Newser) -
If you’ve had a few kids, you know that you don’t need half of the baby products littering the shelves of Babies “R” Us, but new parents are easy prey for marketers. Brad Tuttle offers a list of the silliest, most useless crap in Time : Crib bedding sets: The bumper pad and comforter pose suffocation hazards, meaning...
With New No. 1, Jay-Z Grabs Record From Elvis
Billboard
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Sep 16, 2009 11:31 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Jay-Z and the Beatles lit up the charts this week, Billboard reports. Jay-Z’s The Blueprint 3 sold 476,000 copies, easily capturing the top spot for the week, and giving the rapper his 11th No. 1 album. That nabs him the record, previously held by Elvis, for the solo act with the most No. 1s ever. The Beatles, meanwhile, sold a whopping 626,000...
On Craigslist, Bromance Is King
The Frisky
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Sep 16, 2009 11:15 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Men looking to be swept off their feet—in a “strictly platonic” kind of way—know where to go: Craigslist, where ads seeking bromance are pouring in. A few of the best, as reported by the Frisky: “Having just watched the movie I Love You, Man (which was the funniest I’ve seen in a while), I realize I need to...
When I Miss Heath, I Look at Matilda: Michelle
Vogue
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Sep 16, 2009 11:02 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Michelle Williams was reluctant to talk to the press after the death of Heath Ledger, because “I didn't know what my boundaries were,” she tells Vogue . She has since figured it out: “I can talk about grief, about single parenting, about trying to balance work and kids. But what I don't have to talk about is what happened between...
Execution Set for DC Sniper
Associated Press
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Sep 16, 2009 10:50 AM CDT
(Newser) -
John Allen Muhammad, the mastermind behind the sniper attacks that rocked the Southeast in 2002, will be executed on Nov. 10, the AP reports. The attorney general’s office had requested a Nov. 9 execution, but a Virginia judge chose to set it a day later so that it would fall on a Tuesday, allowing for last-minute appeals. Muhammad’s lawyer...
Swearing at Your Boss Can't Get You Fired in Spain
Associated Press
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Sep 16, 2009 10:39 AM CDT
(AP) -
A Barcelona court says calling your boss a "son of a bitch" is not grounds for dismissal, insisting the slight is common in arguments in Spain and not that big a deal. The plaintiff in the case was fired in January 2008 for hurling that insult at his boss during a money dispute, then calling him "crazy" as he stormed out of the...
World's Top Shoe Misusers
Christian Science Monitor
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Sep 16, 2009 10:26 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Muntadhar al-Zaidi, the Iraqi reporter who threw a shoe at George W. Bush, was released from jail yesterday, leading the Christian Science Monitor to reflect on other top “footwear misusers” through the years: Richard Reid: The would-be shoe bomber brought homemade explosives onto a flight from Paris to Miami in December 2001,...
iPhone Blew Your Budget? 'Recession Case' Is for You
Mashable
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Sep 16, 2009 10:10 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Hard times no longer mean iPhone users who blew all their cash buying one can't afford a protective case for their new favorite toy, Mashable reports. Case-Mate has introduced the iPhone 3G Recession case, priced at just $1. The sturdy cardboard case, which assembles with locking tabs, will cushion your phone against falls and defend against scratches,...
Lady Gaga: 'Skank With a Brain'
Nerve
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Sep 16, 2009 9:57 AM CDT
(Newser) -
“Lady Gaga is pretty skanky,” writes James Brady Ryan for Nerve. “That might sound harsh, but there are some facts we all must face: the girl is no fan of pants, for one thing.” She may be crass, outlandish, and over-the-top sexual—but “she is also completely awesome.” And what makes her different from fellow...
Baucus Unveils Health Care Bill
Wall Street Journal
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Sep 16, 2009 9:42 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Max Baucus has officially unveiled his 223-page, $856 billion health care bill, intended to be a blueprint for a bipartisan compromise on reform, though GOP backing has evaporated, the Wall Street Journal reports. That $856 billion price tag is a surprise, lower than the $1 trillion-plus cost estimates of earlier versions. Not a surprise: The bill...
Sean Penn Finds New Galpal, 25
People
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Sep 16, 2009 9:40 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Sean Penn wasted no time finding a new galpal in the wake of his split from Robin Wright Penn—and she’s just half his age and a swimsuit model to boot. The actor, 49, has been spotted around New York City with Jessica White, 25, and “they are pretty serious,” a source tells People. Another source spotted the pair, who met...
Baucus Touts His Bipartisan Bill—Alone
Wall Street Journal
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Sep 16, 2009 9:26 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Max Baucus took to the Wall Street Journal opinion page today to make the case for the health care reform bill he’s unveiling this morning. “Our plan would lower costs and would not add to the federal deficit,” he declares in the first of many statements about what he repeatedly calls “our plan,” and at one point calls...
40% of Employers to Hike Health Plan Costs Next Year
Washington Post
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Sep 16, 2009 9:07 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Many Americans are happy with their employer-sponsored health care plans and eager to keep them, but they won't be keeping them at the current price, the Washington Post reports. In a survey released yesterday, some 40% of employers said they expect to increase the amount their employees paid for health care next year—raising premiums, deductibles,...
Facebook Makes Money At Last
Advertising Age
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Sep 16, 2009 8:55 AM CDT
(Newser) -
After mountains of hype, Facebook has joined the ranks of profitable enterprises, despite an advertising model that Ad Age describes as “nascent.” Mark Zuckerberg announced yesterday that the social site had passed the 300 million registered-user mark and become “cash-flow positive” last quarter. That actually puts it well...
Housing Industry Pushes to Extend, Boost $8K Tax Credit
New York Times
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Sep 16, 2009 8:45 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The real estate industry has loved the federal government’s $8,000 rebate for first-time home buyers, and some economists agree. But the policy is under scrutiny as some call for it to be extended beyond its Nov. 30 cutoff—at which point it’s projected to have cost the government some $15 billion, the New York Times reports, twice...
TV Noise Hurts Parent-Kid Bond
Associated Press
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Sep 16, 2009 8:35 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Having a television on reduces parent-child interaction and may hold back the development of young children—even if nobody's watching it, according to a new study. Researchers studied children ages 1 to 3 playing with their parents with and without an adult's show like Jeopardy playing in the background and discovered that parents spoke to...
Megan Fox: I'd Totally Shoot My Boyfriend
New York Post
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Sep 16, 2009 8:25 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Don’t give Megan Fox a gun, unless you want to see on-again/off-again boyfriend Brian Austin Green seriously injured. “My temper is ridiculously bad,” Fox overshares with Rolling Stone in an excerpt printed by the New York Post, going on to describe a fight with Green. “I've had to say to Brian, ‘You have to go and...
Annie Le Suspect Is Released
Hartford Courant (Conn.)
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Sep 16, 2009 8:22 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Raymond Clark, the lab tech "person of interest" who was picked up by police last night in connection with Yale grad student Annie Le’s murder, was released this morning after DNA samples were taken, CNN reports. Clark shares his apartment with the girlfriend he is engaged to marry in December 2011, the Hartford Courant reports. Fiancee...
Treasury's Secret Formula Slows Loan Modifications
ProPublica
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Sep 16, 2009 8:15 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The Obama administration’s mortgage modification program has been a big disappointment, and part of the reason could lie in the invisible hurdle troubled homeowners have to clear to get their mortgages renegotiated: the NPV test. Devised by the Treasury, the secret formula is designed to determine if modification is in the bank’s—not...
Day Traders Jump Back Into the Game
Wall Street Journal
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Sep 16, 2009 8:07 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Trading volume is rising on Wall Street, but it’s not because of renewed confidence from long-term investors. The surge has instead been powered by a 14% jump from online brokerages like Charles Schwab and TD Ameritrade, and much of the money has been funneled into volatile parts of the market. Day traders, in other words, are back, trying to...
Indians Dodge Harassment in Women-Only Trains
New York Times
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Sep 16, 2009 7:56 AM CDT
(Newser) -
India's railway system has replaced women-only rail cars with entire women-only trains in an effort to battle sexual harassment, the New York Times reports. Groping and catcalling—known as "eve-teasing"—is endemic on India's commuter system, a trend analysts say shows the friction caused by the huge amount of women who have...
Mohammed Now London's Most Popular Boys Name
Telegraph (UK)
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Sep 16, 2009 7:25 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Mohammed has beaten out old favorites like Jack and Oliver to become the most popular name for baby boys in London, the Telegraph reports. British government figures show that the name—when variant spellings like "Muhammed" are included—is more than twice as popular in the British capital as the second favorite, Daniel. The...
Patrick Swayze to Be Cremated
Radar
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Sep 16, 2009 7:11 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Patrick Swayze’s ashes will be spread across his New Mexican Rancho de Días Alegres (Ranch of Happy Days), which he called his favorite place in the world, a source tells Radar. The actor’s body, currently in Los Angeles, will be cremated within 48 hours. More Swayze news: The Time of My Life , the actor's book written with...
Supreme Court Likely to Uphold Alabama Sex Toy Ban
Volokh Conspiracy
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Sep 16, 2009 6:58 AM CDT
(Newser) -
An Alabama statute criminalizing the sale of sex toys will probably be upheld as constitutional if it is challenged in the Supreme Court, Eugene Volokh writes at the Volokh Conspiracy. The statute—which was upheld by the state's Supreme Court Friday and bans the distribution of "any device designed or marketed as useful primarily...
Wages Are Up—for Workers With Jobs
New York Times
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Sep 16, 2009 6:41 AM CDT
(Newser) -
For those with the good fortune to have a job, wage growth has actually increased in recent months, government surveys show. From the fall of Lehman Brothers last September to this June, average weekly pay stayed at $612. But since June, the workweek has gotten longer and hourly pay growth has increased. Average weekly pay hit $618 last month, writes...
Young Adults Will Pay Steep Price for Health Reform
Washington Post
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Sep 16, 2009 6:22 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Young adults are the demographic most firmly behind President Obama and health care reform, but they may also end up funding a disproportionate share of it, the Washington Post reports. Requiring young adults to sign up for health insurance is a key part of reform plans, as it will ensure low-cost additions to the insurance pool who will effectively...
Aussies Stop 'Asylum Boat'
BBC
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Sep 16, 2009 6:06 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The Australian navy stopped a vessel carrying 58 suspected asylum-seekers off the country's northwest coast today, the BBC reports. It was the fourth such boat stopped in the area in under a week. The passengers will be sent to a detention center on Christmas Island, 1,600 miles west of Australia, while their cases are processed. The Australian government...
Hatoyama Confirmed as Japan's New PM
CNN
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Sep 16, 2009 5:50 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Japan's parliament formally voted in Yukio Hatoyama as the country's new prime minister today, ending an almost half-century of rule by the Liberal Democratic Party, CNN reports. The LDP's Taro Aso and his cabinet resigned en masse earlier in the day. Hatoyama's Democratic Party of Japan won a landslide election victory last month with an Obama-style...
UK Unemployment Soars to 14-Year High
Wall Street Journal
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Sep 16, 2009 5:18 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The unemployment rate in Britain has climbed to 7.9% despite signs the economy is slowly beginning to pick up, the Wall Street Journal reports. The rate is now the highest since 1995, and analysts expect it to keep rising until well into next year. Unemployment remains especially high among Britons aged 16 to 24, raising fears of a "lost generation"...
Google's New UFO Mystery Solved
Independent (UK)
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Sep 16, 2009 4:51 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Google has apparently been abducted by aliens. The search engine sent Twitterers on an extraterrestrial mystery hunt this week after Tweeting map coordinates and posting "Google" written in crop circles as its ever-changing Internet logo. The coordinates led to the English town of Woking, which was the landing site for Martians in HG Wells'...
France Telecom Sets Up Suicide Hotline for Workers
BBC
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Sep 16, 2009 4:15 AM CDT
(Newser) -
France Telecom's chief executive has promised to do all he can to end a wave of suicides at the company, including establishing a suicide hotline, reports the BBC. The firm plans to halt employee relocations and train team leaders to spot signs of depression at the company, where 23 employees have killed themselves over the last 18 months, Lombard...
Nepal Suffers Shortage of Sacrificial Goats
BBC
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Sep 16, 2009 3:52 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Baa-ad news. Nepal is facing a severe shortage of sacrificial goats ahead of one of the Hindu calendar's biggest festivals, the BBC reports. Officials are searching the countryside for as many as 4,000 goats to buy and bring to Kathmandu ahead of the Dashain festival, in which goats are ritually slaughtered to appease the goddess Durga. The government...
Obama Supports Extending Patriot Act Provisions
Associated Press
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Sep 16, 2009 3:30 AM CDT
(AP) -
The Obama administration supports extending three controversial provisions of the Patriot Act that are due to expire at the end of the year, AP reports. The Justice Department tells Congress in a letter they will back preserving the post-9/11 law's authority to access business records, monitor so-called "lone wolf" terrorists,...
Corpse Sex Show Stirs Up Swiss
Gawker
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Sep 16, 2009 3:09 AM CDT
(Newser) -
German anatomist Gunther von Hagens just opened his traveling corpse sex show in Zurich and is steeled for controversy, reports Gawker. Von Hagens discovered a way to plasticize human bodies and has exhibited corpses stripped of their skin all over the world doing various activities. His latest show revealing bodies during sex has sparked outrage in...
Denver Man in NYC Raids Denies Terror Link
New York Times
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Sep 16, 2009 2:42 AM CDT
(Newser) -
A Colorado man believed to be a central figure in a New York City terror investigation denies he has links to al-Qaeda or any other terrorist group, the New York Times reports. Police raided three apartments in Queens after Najibullah Zazi visited the city last week. Materials were removed for examination but no arrests have been made, sparking accusations...
Jessica's Daisy Snatched by Coyote
New York Daily News
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Sep 16, 2009 2:18 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Jessica Simpson's beloved Maltipoo Daisy has been snatched by a coyote near her Los Angeles home and hasn't been seen since, reports the New York Daily News . "My heart is broken because a coyote took my precious Daisy right in front of our eyes," tweeted Simpson. "We are searching. Hoping. Please help!" A neighbor reported hearing...
'Lebanese Madoff' Shames Hezbollah
New York Times
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Sep 16, 2009 1:48 AM CDT
(Newser) -
A Lebanese businessman's billion-dollar Ponzi scheme has left thousands of investors penniless and Hezbollah leaders seriously embarrassed, reports the New York Times . Salah Ezzedine—dubbed the "Lebanese Bernie Madoff" by the nation's press—has strong ties to Hezbollah, and many of the mostly Shiite investors in his scheme...
Ohio Con Wins Week Break After Botched Execution
Cleveland Plain Dealer
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Sep 16, 2009 1:21 AM CDT
(Newser) -
An Ohio death row inmate was given a week-long reprieve by the governor yesterday after the execution team couldn't find a usable vein in over 2 hours of trying at his planned execution, reports the Cleveland Plain Dealer . Rowell Broom, convicted of raping and killing a teen girl in 1984, attempted to help the team by shifting positions, rubbing...
Cops Detain 'Person of Interest' in Yale Murder
WCBS-TV
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Sep 15, 2009 9:57 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Connecticut authorities took a “person of interest” into custody tonight in connection with the investigation into the death of a Yale graduate student, WCBS-TV reports. Raymond Clark, a lab technician who worked with Annie Le, also 24, has been in authorities’ sights the past few days; they have a warrant to take a DNA sample from...
Rockefeller: 'No Way' I'll Vote for Baucus Health Bill
The Hill
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Sep 15, 2009 8:49 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Sen. Jay Rockefeller said today he doesn’t support the health-reform bill being crafted by Sen. Max Baucus, a fellow Democrat who chairs the body’s Finance Committee. “There is no way in its present form that I will vote for it,” Rockefeller tells the Hill . The West Virginian had earlier stated his opposition, saying that...
Carter: Wilson's Heckling of Obama 'Based on Racism'
Associated Press
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Sep 15, 2009 8:33 PM CDT
(AP) -
Former President Jimmy Carter says Rep. Joe Wilson's outburst during President Obama's speech last week was an act "based on racism." Carter says Wilson's comment was part of an "inherent feeling" of some that a black man should not be president. In responding to a question at a town-hall meeting at his presidential center in Atlanta,...
Kate's New 'Do in Full View
E! Online
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Sep 15, 2009 8:13 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Kate Gosselin, whose so-called reverse-mullet hairdo has been among her claims to fame, showed off a new cut today on ABC’s The View , where she’s been filling in as a guest co-host, E! reports. “Isn’t it cute?” she gushed as her colleagues fawned over the look.
