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.
Elton John Can't Adopt: Ukraine
Associated Press
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Sep 14, 2009 11:00 AM CDT
(AP) -
Elton John will not be able to adopt a 14-month-old Ukrainian child because the pop star is too old and isn't traditionally married, Ukraine's minister for family affairs says. The pop singer toured a hospital for HIV-infected children in eastern Ukraine on Saturday as part of a charity project and said he and his longtime partner, David Furnish, wanted...
Parents Leery About H1N1 Vaccine
Los Angeles Times
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Sep 14, 2009 10:34 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Concerned over unforeseen effects and unconvinced that the H1N1 virus is really anything worse than a case of the sniffles, some parents are leaning away from vaccinating their kids against it, the Los Angeles Times reports. “It's a different brand of flu, but it is still the flu,” says one mom. “I'm really more concerned about...
House Dems Working to Repeal Gay-Marriage Law
The Hill
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Sep 14, 2009 10:10 AM CDT
(Newser) -
A group of three House Democrats, two of them gay, are slated to unveil a bill this week that would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act, the 1996 law that defines marriage as a man-woman union and blocks same-sex couples from getting full benefits, the Hill reports. DOMA has frustrated White House attempts to expand domestic partner benefits...
ACORN May Sue After New Tape Emerges
New York Post
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Sep 14, 2009 10:00 AM CDT
(Newser) -
ACORN is weighing legal action after another undercover sting tape emerged, this time in Brooklyn, the New York Post reports. Like a tape made in Baltimore, the new footage shows a man and a woman dressed as a pimp and a prostitute getting advice on housing loans. “Honesty is not going to get you the house," says an ACORN staffer....
Jackson Movie Trailer Released
Sun (UK)
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Sep 14, 2009 9:46 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The trailer for Michael Jackson’s This Is It , a flick pieced together from more than 100 hours of rehearsal footage, has been released, the Sun reports. Watch it at left. More on Jackson: Messages left on Post-it notes give a view into Jackson’s state of mind before he died, News of the World reports. The notes ranged from...
UK Gives Liquid Bomb Plotters Life in Prison
BBC
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Sep 14, 2009 9:34 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The three men convicted of plotting to smuggle liquid bombs onto trans-Atlantic flights all received life sentences in British court today, with minimum terms ranging between 32 and 40 years, the BBC reports. The judge said the attack aspired to “stand alongside” the 9/11 attacks, calling it “the most grave and wicked conspiracy ever...
Iraqi Shoe Thrower's Prison Release Delayed
Associated Press
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Sep 14, 2009 9:29 AM CDT
(AP) -
The Iraqi reporter jailed for throwing his shoes at George W. Bush will not be released today as planned due to paperwork processing delays, his brother says. Muntadhar al-Zeidi's family had gathered at dawn outside an Iraqi army base where he was expected to be released from prison. After waiting more than five hours, his brother said al-Zeidi called...
Beck Didn't Need Mainstream Help to Oust Van Jones
Washington Post
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Sep 14, 2009 9:15 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Traditionally the script goes like this: Pundit attacks someone, the mainstream media notices, and the sap is quickly shown the door. The Van Jones affair was a lot like that, only without that mainstream middleman, writes Howard Kurtz of the Washington Post . Glenn Beck’s assault took out Jones before the New York Times or USA Today had...
Kanye's Tantrum Smells Staged
Idolator Blog
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Sep 14, 2009 9:10 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Kanye West’s outburst at last night’s Video Music Awards allowed MTV “to sneak up behind the rest of the cable lineup and command the television-watching nation’s attention"—a definite coup when you consider it was competing with the US Open, football, and the True Blood finale, and the fact “that this...
Utilities Turn to Peer Pressure to Nudge Customers
Wall Street Journal
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Sep 14, 2009 8:57 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Would you be more likely to rein in your energy use if you knew it would save money, or if you knew your neighbors used less? Traditional economists assume the former—that consumers do what is in their best interest—but companies are ditching that notion in favor of behavioral economics, with tangible returns, the Wall Street Journal ...
Poll: Even Split on Health Care
Washington Post
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Sep 14, 2009 8:38 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The public is split right down the middle on health care reform, but opposition has eased somewhat, and reform supporters are closing the “enthusiasm gap,” according to a new Washington Post -ABC News poll. Right now 46% say they support Democratic plans, while 48% oppose them. But the number who “strongly” support them has...
Franken Gets Funny Again
CNN
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Sep 14, 2009 8:30 AM CDT
(Newser) -
As a latecomer to the Senate this year, Al Franken’s been playing it straight—but he loosened up enough to venture a few jokes at an Iowa fundraiser yesterday, CNN reports. Discussing Sen. Tom Harkin’s new post as head of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee,” Franken said: “Its not really that big...
7 Personality Traits That Hurt Your Body
LiveScience
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Sep 14, 2009 8:02 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Scientists probing the mind-body connection are finding ever more evidence of the ways temperament affects a person's health. Some personality traits can boost your health; others can weaken your immune system, give you job burnout or even send you to an early grave, Live Science reports. These include: Cynicism: Suspicious of others' motives?...
Oprah May Lobby for Chicago Olympics
Chicago Tribune
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Sep 14, 2009 7:54 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Oprah Winfrey may join the contingent helping Chicago bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics, she tells the Tribune. “There’s some talk about it, and if I feel I can be useful there, then that’s what I will do,” Winfrey says of a possible trip to Copenhagen next month for the presentation to the International Olympic Committee....
Jackson Tributes Steal Video Awards
Associated Press
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Sep 14, 2009 7:32 AM CDT
(Newser) -
With the exception of Kanye West's inebriated attack on Taylor Swift, last night’s MTV Video Music Awards were all about Michael Jackson, with longtime friend Madonna and sister Janet delivering moving tributes, the Los Angeles Times reports. The Material Girl introduced the tribute, while Janet performed her half of the duet “Scream”...
Why Hollywood Wants Leno to Fail
Los Angeles Times
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Sep 14, 2009 7:22 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Tonight marks the premiere of Jay Leno’s new show, and many in Tinseltown—not just rival execs—are hoping it flops, the Los Angeles Times reports. That’s because it substitutes cheap fare for the traditional 10pm drama. Many in the industry see the show as a “potential job-wrecker” for those thousands who’ve...
Obama 'Weakened' by Neocons: bin Laden
Times (UK)
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Sep 14, 2009 7:20 AM CDT
(Newser) -
President Obama is “a weakened man,” says Osama bin Laden in a new audiotape titled “A statement to the American people," citing his retention of Defense Secretary Robert Gates and other Bush officials. "The bitter truth is that the neoconservatives continue to cast their heavy shadows upon you." Bin Laden also blames...
Obama Turns to Wall Street Reform
Washington Post
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Sep 14, 2009 6:52 AM CDT
(Newser) -
As Washington wrangles over what shape health reform might take, President Obama heads to Wall Street today to remind it that financial reform is far from being forgotten, reports the Washington Post . On the one-year anniversary of Lehman Brothers' implosion, the president will push financial overhaul as urgent in order to prevent "banks (from)...
China Accuses US of Dumping Chicken, Auto Parts
Los Angeles Times
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Sep 14, 2009 6:31 AM CDT
(Newser) -
US-China trade tensions escalated yesterday when Beijing announced it was investigating whether the US dumped auto parts and chicken products onto the Chinese market, the LA Times reports. An expert calls the retaliatory move, which comes days after the White House slapped a 35% import tariff on Chinese tires, "a turning point in US-China...
Dan Brown Goes to Washington
New York Times
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Sep 14, 2009 6:10 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Nobody can pull off Dan Brown's well-worn Da Vinci Code formula for treasure-hunt thrills anymore—except Dan Brown, Janet Maslin writes in the New York Times . Brown's new book The Lost Symbol , hitting bookstores tomorrow, "clicks even if at first it looks dangerously like a clone," packing in the "neat tricks" and "guilty...
US Soldier Held in Iraq Contractor's Shooting Death
CNN
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Sep 14, 2009 5:33 AM CDT
(Newser) -
A US soldier is being held in the shooting death of a civilian contractor in Tikrit, Iraq, reports CNN. Houston-based military contractor KBR said the victim shot to death yesterday at Contingency Operating Base Speicher was an employee.
Poet, Punk Rocker Jim Carroll Dead at 60
New York Times
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Sep 14, 2009 5:11 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Poet and punk rocker Jim Carroll, 60, died of a heart attack Friday in his Manhattan home, the New York Times reports. Carroll is best known for The Basketball Diaries , a book about his experiences as a heroin-addicted basketball star in a New York City private school. A consummate New Yorker, Carroll spent his youth under the wing of beat poets...
Maddy in 'Secret Lair' Like Jaycee: Detective
Independent (UK)
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Sep 14, 2009 4:38 AM CDT
(Newser) -
A detective hunting for snatched British toddler Madeleine McCann believes she could be in a secret lair like the place kidnap victim Jaycee Dugard was held for 18 years in California, reports the Independent. “Maddy is most likely being held captive, possibly in an underground cellar, and could emerge at any time,” said retired Ulster...
Cops Probe Death of Accused Ponzi-Schemer
Wall Street Journal
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Sep 14, 2009 4:13 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Police are investigating the weekend death of accused Ponzi-schemer Danny Pang to determine if it was suicide or death by natural causes, reports the Wall Street Journal . There is no evidence of foul play in the California financier's death, but results from a definitive toxicology test will take two months to complete.The SEC accused Taipei-born...
US Too Scared to Take On Monster Banks: Stiglitz
Bloomberg
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Sep 14, 2009 3:43 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Underlying financial problems posed by ever-growing monster banks are worse now than before the economic crisis, but the Obama administration is reluctant to take them on, warns a Nobel Prize-winning economist. The so-called "too-big-to-fail banks" have become even bigger, and their troubles will further threaten the economy, Columbia University...
Kanye Wigs Out During Taylor's MTV Award
CNN
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Sep 14, 2009 3:15 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Crazed hip-hopper Kanye West stormed the stage last night during Taylor Swift's speech accepting her MTV award for Best Female Video to plug Beyoncé's video. Giddy country-music sweetheart Swift was mid-sentence when West, spotted earlier swigging cognac, yanked the mike from her to rant to a stunned audience. West was escorted from the building....
Russia Lends Chavez $2B in Arms Deal
BBC
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Sep 14, 2009 2:47 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Russia has agreed to lend Venezuela more than $2 billion to buy Russian-made weaponry to ward off what the South American country sees as an imminent US-Colombian attack, reports the BBC. "With these rockets, it is going to be very difficult for them to come and bomb us," said socialist President Hugo Chavez. Chavez plans to buy nearly 100...
New Zealand Bird Gobbled Up Humans
Independent (UK)
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Sep 14, 2009 2:22 AM CDT
(Newser) -
A 40-pound bird with a 10-foot-wide wingspan swooped from the sky at 134 mph to feed on large flightless birds and small humans, according to a Maori legend that scientists have now confirmed is likely true. Researchers re-examining bones of the Haast's eagle found that the bird was a hunter, with talons as big as tiger claws, not a scavenger as originally...
Obama: Wilson Fed 'Circus' Not Health-Care Debate
Chicago Tribune
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Sep 14, 2009 1:50 AM CDT
(Newser) -
President Obama is convinced he'll soon sign a strong health care reform bill, but bemoaned outbursts like Rep. Joe Wilson's which is turning serious debate into "a big circus," he said in a Sixty Minutes interview. Bringing civil debate to Washington is "a work in progress," Obama said. Some in the Republican Party believe that...
Kandahar Slips Back Into Taliban Hands
Washington Post
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Sep 14, 2009 1:25 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Taliban forces using massive car bombs and threatening letters have slowly retaken Kandahar, reports the Washington Post . The Taliban's resurgence in Kandahar, its spiritual home, presents a complex problem for US and UN forces, both scrambling to find enough troops to stabilize the city. In many ways, Kandahar stands for the entire Afghanistan struggle....
Clijsters Caps Comeback With Crown
New York Times
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Sep 13, 2009 10:25 PM CDT
(Newser) -
After 2 years off, Kim Clijsters needed just two sets to capture US Open title No. 2 tonight at Flushing Meadows. The 7-5, 6-3 victory over Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark capped a dramatic run by the 26-year-old Belgian, who was unseeded in her third tournament since un-retiring. Her 18-month-old daughter, Jada, was in the stands tonight, reports...
Yale Student's Body Found: Cops
New Haven Independent
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Sep 13, 2009 8:46 PM CDT
(Newser) -
A body believed to be that of a Yale graduate student missing since Tuesday has been found, the New Haven Independent reports. Annie Le, 24, had last been seen in the building that housed her lab; "we are assuming" the remains found within a wall in the basement of that building are hers, said a police official. The case is now being...
'Green Revolution' Founder Borlaug Dead at 95
Dallas Morning News
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Sep 13, 2009 7:55 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Norman Borlaug, who is credited with starting the "green revolution" and saving 1 billion lives, died today in Dallas from complications of cancer, the Dallas Morning News reports. He was 95. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 for agricultural innovations that helped avert mass starvation in India and Pakistan. "More than any...
iPhone Users Report MMS 2 Weeks Early
Mashable
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Sep 13, 2009 7:34 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Some iPhone users are already adding photos, voice memos, and video to their instant messages, Mashable reports. Anecdotal reports of MMS messaging on iPhones cropped up on the Web today and soon turned into a Twitter stream. AT&T isn't talking, MobileCrunch reports, but it looks like the company beat its Sept. 25 release date for the service....
FBI Opens Probe Into 'Stolen' Jackie O Letter
Dallas Morning News
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Sep 13, 2009 7:15 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The FBI has opened a criminal investigation into a condolence letter written by Jackie Kennedy on the day after Robert Kennedy died, the Dallas Morning News reports. Sent to Ethel Kennedy, the two-page letter soon disappeared—and turned up 10 years ago in the home of the Kennedy family plumber. The plumber's son ended up selling it to...
Giants' D Stifles 'Skins in 23-17 Win
New York Daily News
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Sep 13, 2009 6:55 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The Giants' $85 million upgrade on defense paid off today, as New York held the Washington Redskins to one touchdown in a 23-17 win, the New York Daily News reports. In other NFL action: Brett Favre won in his Vikings debut, but threw for only 110 yards as Minnesota beat the Cleveland Browns 34-20, ESPN reports.
Serena Fined $10K for US Open Tirade
New York Times
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Sep 13, 2009 6:42 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Serena Williams' racket-smashing, verbal tirade at the US Open last night will cost her $10,500, the New York Times reports. The United States Tennis Association levied the fine today for unsportsmanlike conduct and racket abuse, SHe will be permitted to play her doubles match with sister Venus tomorrow. Venus practiced with their father...
Federer Sweeps Djokovic, Goes to Final
Associated Press
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Sep 13, 2009 6:19 PM CDT
(AP) -
Roger Federer has moved one victory away from his sixth straight US Open title with a 7-6 (3), 7-5, 7-5 victory over Serbia's Novak Djokovic. The world's top-ranked player punctuated the victory today with a winner, hit backward between his legs, to set up match point. Federer won his 40th straight match at Flushing Meadows and will try to become the...
Sly, Arnie, Willis to Unite Onscreen
Guardian (UK)
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Sep 13, 2009 5:58 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Musclemen Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Bruce Willis are uniting for one last action flick, the Guardian reports. The Expendables , slated for release next year, tells the story of a band of mercenaries in Latin America, and will show the three grizzled stars together for the first time since the launch of their unsuccessful Planet...
Insane Asylums Weren't So Bad: Oliver Sacks
New York Review of Books
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Sep 13, 2009 5:35 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Mental health experts have lost touch with the benefits of old-fashioned insane asylums, where patients once enjoyed a sense of community and jobs like cleaning and farming, Oliver Sacks writes in the New York Review of Books . Touching on a new book of Christopher Payne photographs called Asylum —which offers "a mute and heartbreaking...
Book Tour Puts Ted Jr. in Spotlight
Boston Globe
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Sep 13, 2009 5:09 PM CDT
(Newser) -
When Ted Kennedy Jr. starts publicizing his late father’s memoir on 60 Minutes tonight, he will emerge into a political spotlight he has shunned since losing a leg to cancer more than 30 years ago, the Boston Globe reports. Friends have tried to prod him into office, but for now he “wants the world to see" that his father "was...
Ex-Ky. Politico Was Losing It, Pals Say
Lexington Herald-Leader
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Sep 13, 2009 4:57 PM CDT
(Newser) -
A divorce, his father’s death, and a domestic violence order sent Steve Nunn spinning out of control, friends tell the Lexington Herald-Leader . The former Kentucky state lawmaker's attempted suicide and arrest on Friday, hours after his ex-fiancée was gunned down, were only the latest lows in a long decline. "You could tell Steve...
Harnessing Anti-Obama Energy Tough for GOP
Politico
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Sep 13, 2009 4:33 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Thousands of angry conservatives turned out for protests in Washington and other cities yesterday, but their rage may prove difficult for Republicans to harness, Kenneth P. Vogel and Alex Isenstadt write on Politico. Many protesters not only opposed Democratic policies, but shouted extremist rhetoric and criticized high GOP spending over the past...
Obama Neglects a Powerful Presidential Tool: Fear
Politico
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Sep 13, 2009 3:54 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Barack Obama has been praised for bringing a more conciliatory tone to the presidency after the with-us-or-against-us swagger of George W. Bush. But Obama’s preference for gentle negotiation and compromise leaves him less able to use an effective presidential tool: fear, writes Ben Smith for Politico. Obama has failed to make the impression,...
Protest Organizer Inflated Crowd Size: ABC News
ABC News
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Sep 13, 2009 3:30 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The organizer of the "Tea Party" protest in Washington yesterday falsely attributed a high estimate of the turnout to ABC News, the network reports. Matt Kibbe, the head of FreedomWorks, said on stage that ABC estimated the turnout at 1 million to 1.5 million people. In a correction, ABC states that it reported the DC fire...
Swine Flu Shots Will Start Next Month: Sebelius
Associated Press
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Sep 13, 2009 3:10 PM CDT
(AP) -
The nation's first round of swine flu shots could begin sooner than expected, with some vaccine available as early as the first week of October, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said today. Sebelius said she is confident the vaccine will be available early enough to beat the peak of the expected flu season this fall, and that early...
FBI Sifts Trash for Clues to Missing Yalie
Hartford Courant (Conn.)
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Sep 13, 2009 3:00 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The FBI began investigating today a Hartford trash facility for any clues to the disappearance of Yale student Annie Le, the Hartford Courant reports. A spokesman says the FBI is looking for evidence in garbage from a New Haven laboratory where Le was last seen. Investigators have also started reviewing surveillance tapes frame by frame in an attempt...
Obama Skirts Accountability With Policy Czars: Hutchison
Washington Post
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Sep 13, 2009 2:42 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The Obama administration is using its many policy “czars” to skirt the accountability and transparency established by the founding fathers, writes Kay Bailey Hutchison in the Washington Post. The administration has an “unprecedented” 32 czar positions, and “unfortunately,” the senator from Texas writes, “virtually...
Box Office Is Good to Bad
USA Today
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Sep 13, 2009 2:21 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The box office was good to I Can Do Bad All By Myself , which took in $24 million this weekend, USA Today reports. Tyler Perry’s latest flick rode the same under-the-radar marketing blitz that drew legions of Christians and African Americans to his Madea movies. The digitally-animated 9 made $10.9 million this weekend for a five-day haul...
Del Potro Routs Nadal for First Grand Slam Final
Associated Press
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Sep 13, 2009 2:12 PM CDT
(AP) -
Rafael Nadal looked lost, swallowed up by the huge serves and crushing forehands coming at him from the 6-foot-6 opponent across the net. That was Juan Martin del Potro, who made his first Grand Slam final, handing Nadal a 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 loss today at the US Open—the worst loss Rafa has suffered in a major tournament.
