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.
UK Teen Dies After HPV Vaccination
Guardian (UK)
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Sep 28, 2009 8:42 PM CDT
(Newser) -
A 14-year-old British girl died yesterday after receiving the vaccine against human papillomavirus, and the National Health Service has quarantined the batch after three other girls reported unpleasant side effects. Her school is telling parents the girl had a “rare but extreme reaction” to the shot, which is commonly administered to teen...
4th Teen Charged in Chicago Beating Death
Associated Press
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Sep 28, 2009 8:14 PM CDT
(AP) -
A fourth teenager has been charged with first-degree murder in the beating death of a Chicago student who was walking home from school. Prosecutors announced charges tonight against 18-year-old Eugene Bailey, whose aunt has said her nephew didn't have anything to do with the beating that killed 16-year Derrion Albert on Thursday.
Health Foes Fight Mandatory Insurance at State Level
New York Times
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Sep 28, 2009 7:56 PM CDT
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Efforts are afoot in more than a dozen states to outlaw mandatory health insurance, a preemptive strike against federal health reform that, though mainly symbolic and constitutionally dubious, could provoke a court battle that would be costly and delay any plan passed by Congress. “I just don’t want the government getting between my decisions...
Obama's Olympic Lobbying Trip Is Useless Gamble
The Atlantic
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Sep 28, 2009 7:40 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Aside from showing love for his adopted hometown, President Obama’s decision to go to Copenhagen to lobby for Chicago as host of the 2016 Summer Olympics is drawing a chorus of boos from the punditocracy as a gamble that could be embarrassing at best—what if, say, Brazil gets the Games instead, Matthew Cooper wonders—and truly detrimental...
Palin's Book, Going Rogue , Will Be Out by Thanksgiving
Politico
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Sep 28, 2009 7:05 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Trading on a phrase often used to describe her actions in the final weeks of last year’s presidential campaign, Sarah Palin’s memoir will be called Going Rogue—and you’ll be able to get it for all the Mama Grizzlies on your holiday shopping list, too. Palin beat a Sept. 15 deadline from her publisher, who in turn decided to...
Mountain Gorillas Take Fight to Survive Online
Reuters
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Sep 28, 2009 6:37 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Not only can your online buddies be any age and in any location, they don't even have to be your species. Tech-savvy advocates of the endangered mountain gorilla are about to launch an umbrella site, friendagorilla.org, that will feature videos, social networking, and blogs—by park rangers, not gorillas. The first-of-its-kind effort is based...
Women's Workplace Gains Likely to Outlast Recession
Chicago Tribune
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Sep 28, 2009 5:54 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The recession has been kinder to women than to men, and the reason is well documented: the most affected industries are those with lots of male employees, like manufacturing and construction. But another factor is driving a more permanent change, writes Greg Burns: Overall, women earn more college degrees. By 2018, women will be earning more college...
Claire Danes Weds Hugh Dancy
Life & Style
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Sep 28, 2009 5:39 PM CDT
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Actors Claire Danes and Hugh Dancy were married earlier this month in France, Life & Style reports. Danes, best known for her starring role in the cult TV series My So-Called Life, met Dancy on the set of the 2007 film Evening. The up-and-coming Dancy appeared most recently as the love interest in Confessions of a Shopaholic.
Capt. Sully Plans Return to Flying
NBC Los Angeles
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Sep 28, 2009 5:15 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Chesley Sullenberger, who saved the passengers and crew of US Airways Flight 1549 when he executed daring water landing on the Hudson River in January, will soon return to flying. The hero pilot's return to the cockpit is imminent, the NBC affiliate in Los Angeles reports. In addition to flying, Sullenberger will have some new responsibilities...
'Cupcakists' Find Happiness in a Simple Pastry
Newsweek
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Sep 28, 2009 4:57 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Johnny Cupcakes operates stores that sell cupcake-themed merchandise—shirts and stickers bearing a skull-and-crossbones logo with a cupcake instead of a skull—but not cupcakes. Johnny Cupcakes sells the idea of cupcakes, a symbol of an uncomplicated, untouchable childhood pleasure, safe from the stresses of adult life, writes Jennie Yabroff...
Michelle Obama Walks the Walk on Fitness, Health
Prevention
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Sep 28, 2009 4:40 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The Obama administration's push for better fitness and nutrition starts at the top, with the gym-rat president and garden-planting first lady setting the bar high for a nation of couch potatoes. It's all about moderation, Michelle Obama tells Prevention magazine. "My message to women: Do what makes you feel good, because there’ll always...
Swine Flu Parties Unsafe: Doc
US News & World Report
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Sep 28, 2009 4:24 PM CDT
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Parents who are throwing “swine flu parties” to get kids together in hopes of exposing them to the virus now, while it is in a weaker form, are on the wrong track, says a prominent pediatrician. Responding to a question from a US News and World Report reader, Thomas Sandora says the DIY immunizing technique is definitely not a good...
Just Being Carrie Fisher Is Super-Weird
New York
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Sep 28, 2009 4:08 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Carrie Fisher’s shrink told her, “If you worked in a supermarket they would’ve institutionalized you at 20,” she recalls. Not so in Hollywood, where the erstwhile Princess Leia suffered through drug addiction, manic depression, and failed relationships—her own and her parents’. But electroshock therapy helped her...
Secret Service Probes Facebook Poll on Murdering Obama
Plum Line
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Sep 28, 2009 3:52 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The Secret Service is looking into a Facebook poll that asked users to weigh in on whether the president should be killed. “We are taking the appropriate investigative steps,” said a rep for the agency. The poll, which has already been taken down, offered four possible answers to the question "should obama be killed?": “yes,”...
Christmas in September Leaves Shoppers Cold
Boston Globe
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Sep 28, 2009 3:32 PM CDT
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Look around your local department store, and you might encounter a ridiculous site: a Christmas display. Yes, retailers are already decking their halls, desperate to get a piece of consumers’ dwindling holiday budgets before their competitors do. Consumers aren't buying it. “You can’t get in the Christmas spirit in September man,”...
Dow Up 124 on Revitalized M&A
Wall Street Journal
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Sep 28, 2009 3:18 PM CDT
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High-profile deals breathed fresh life into stocks today, snapping a 3-day losing streak. Xerox will buy outsourcing company Affiliated Computer Services for $6.4 billion, and Johnson and Johnson bought biotech firm Crucell for $442.7 million. Barring sharp losses in the days ahead, this quarter will have seen the biggest gains in over 10 years. The...
Meg Whitman Tests Media's Celeb-CEO Myth
Advertising Age
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Sep 28, 2009 3:09 PM CDT
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For years Meg Whitman has benefited from the sycophantic business media’s lionization of the CEO. Throughout the boom years, “CEOs were pretty much automatically rock stars,” writes Simon Dumenco for Advertising Age . “If they banked a billion or more, the thinking went, they must have been doing something right—right?”...
Pick an OS: Uncool Robots or Snooty Evangelists?
Guardian (UK)
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Sep 28, 2009 2:59 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Anyone who wants a computer faces an unpleasant choice: Mac OS or Windows. Now, Windows is “awful”— buggy, at times barely functional. But one expert would rather assign himself to Microsoft purgatory than join the club of snooty, self-satisfied cooler-than-thou Mac users. “Stop showing me your iPhone,” Charlie Brooker...
3 Teens Charged With Murder of Chicago Student
Chicago Tribune
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Sep 28, 2009 2:49 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Chicago police have charged three teens with the murder of Derrion Albert, the high school honor student whose vicious beating was captured on video and widely circulated. Silvanus Shannon, 19, Eugene Riley, 18, and Eric Carson, 16, were all charged as adults with first-degree murder and ordered held without bail. Carson is on probation for a previous...
Mad Men Goes Mad on Purpose
Salon
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Sep 28, 2009 2:40 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Critics have begun to worry about Mad Men . Gory lawnmower accidents? Unexpected death? Grueling, drugged-up childbirth? “Where have all the snifters of brandy and jaunty shrimp cocktails gone?” asks Heather Havrilesky of Salon. She’s kidding, of course. Mad Men has spun into insanity so quickly because that’s exactly what...
Roman Polanski Will Fight Extradition: Lawyer
BBC
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Sep 28, 2009 2:30 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Roman Polanski is “shocked and dumbfounded” by the Swiss government’s decision to arrest him but is “in fighting mood” and won't be extradited easily, his lawyer said today. Diplomatic wrangling continued over Polanski’s fate, as the French and Polish foreign ministers said they had written to Hillary Clinton to...
Sir Allen Banged Up After Jailhouse Fight
Reuters
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Sep 28, 2009 2:20 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Allen Stanford is back in his jail cell today after spending the weekend recuperating from injuries suffered in a fight with another inmate last week. The alleged Ponzi schemer was taken to the hospital with a concussion, a broken nose, and two black eyes. “He is in reasonably good spirits, although he was feeling a lot of physical discomfort,”...
Obama Wants More School, Less Summer Break
Associated Press
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Sep 28, 2009 2:09 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Well, Barack Obama’s approval rating just plummeted in the K-12 demographic. The president is calling for longer school days and a shorter summer break, arguing that it’s a necessary step to catch up with kids from around the world. The president admits they’re “not wildly popular ideas. Not with Malia and Sasha, not in my family,...
The Books Jay-Z Lives By
O Magazine
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Sep 28, 2009 1:56 PM CDT
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Jay-Z has gone from rapper to mogul, and he shares some of the books that helped him along the way with O magazine: The Seat of the Soul , by Gary Zukav : "There are two books that I absolutely live my life by. This is one of them. I believe in karma and doing the right thing even if it may not advance you as far as you want."...
SNL 's Slate Keeps Her Fricking Job
Orlando Sentinel
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Sep 28, 2009 1:50 PM CDT
(Newser) -
SNL won't drop newbie Jenny Slate over the F-bomb she dropped on her live debut Saturday. NBC tells the Orlando Sentinel 's Hal Boedeker that the frickin’ slipup, which viewers were supposed to hear between the lines, is not cause for dismissal. Perhaps Slate can even incorporate the scandal in the future, Boedeker notes—"If there...
Oh, Poor Polanski, Child Rapist
Salon
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Sep 28, 2009 1:31 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Kate Harding would like to remind everyone crowing about the injustice of arresting a 76-year-old man who’s put in 31 years of exile that Roman Polanski is a fugitive and, coincidentally, a child rapist. The director “gave a 13-year-old girl a Quaalude and champagne,” according to her testimony and his admission. He also “put...
Dentist Dropoff Leaves a Cavity
Slate
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Sep 28, 2009 1:06 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The number of dentists graduating from dental school is plummeting just as the first generation of Americans with their full set of real teeth hit their golden years. And those graduates are much more likely now than in the past to be specialists in things like orthodontics and oral surgery. And did June Thomas, writing on Slate, mention that tooth...
Newspaper Heiress' Body Washes Ashore
New York Daily News
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Sep 28, 2009 12:49 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The body of Anne Morrell Petrillo was pulled from the Hudson River yesterday, three days after the newspaper heiress jumped off the same bridge where her stepfather leapt to his death more than a decade earlier. Petrillo, 38, was descended on her mother’s side from Detroit News founder James Scripps. Her stepfather beat her mother to death...
Swine Flu Highlights Debate Over Paid Sick Leave
CNN
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Sep 28, 2009 12:36 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The second coming of swine flu has reignited the debate over paid sick leave. “You have all of our top officials saying, ‘Do the responsible thing. If you're sick, stay home,’” an advocate tells CNNMoney. “And at the same time, we have a country where almost half the workforce doesn't have a single paid sick day.”...
Precious Director, Star Earn 'Wows'
New York
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Sep 28, 2009 12:15 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Film festival darling Precious is a breakthrough not just for director Lee Daniels—who collected Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey to champion the movie—but also for star Gabourey Sidibe, who plays the abused main character. Though media reports paint her as “this downtrodden, ugly girl who got this role and now I’m awesome,”...
Treating Addicts With Heroin Gains Steam
Time
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Sep 28, 2009 12:03 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Giving heroin to heroin addicts may not sound like a great idea, but it could soon become the preferred treatment for hardcore addicts. Switzerland and a handful of other countries already have clinics that administer small, supervised doses to addicts, and Britain could be next after completing a four-year trial on the practice. The results were encouraging:...
1 Womb, 2 Fetuses, 2 Weeks Apart: Here's How
Time
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Sep 28, 2009 11:55 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Forget that 19-pound Indonesian baby. The real miracle pregnancy is Arkansas born and bred: Julia Grovenburg, who this month managed to get pregnant not once, but twice. That’s right: two conceptions, one two weeks after the other, to be enjoyed—cherished, endured, served—concomitantly. There are only 10 recorded cases of the phenomenon,...
Details From Khloé, Lamar's Blessed Union
TMZ
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Sep 28, 2009 11:35 AM CDT
(Newser) -
In case you somehow missed yesterday's Khloé Kardashian-Lamar Odom wedding, the gossip sites are here to bring you up to speed. TMZ, in particular, has more information than you ever needed to know: Guests ranged from the expected (Odom’s Los Angeles Lakers teammates, Kardashian’s reality show cohorts) to the WTF-worthy (Alan...
'Lucy In the Sky' Dead at 46
Telegraph (UK)
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Sep 28, 2009 11:24 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Lucy O’Donnell, the girl who supposedly inspired John Lennon and Paul McCartney to write “Lucy In the Sky with Diamonds,” has died of lupus at age 46. Though the song was controversial when it debuted on Sgt. Pepper for its purported reference to LSD, Lennon’s eldest son Julian has said it was inspired by a picture he drew...
LA DA Shouldn't Waste Time on Polanski
Los Angeles Times
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Sep 28, 2009 11:18 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Whether you side for or against Roman Polanski, one has to wonder why the state of California is “stalking an aging, 76-year-old man who has admitted his guilt and was long ago forgiven by his victim,” writes Patrick Goldstein in the Los Angeles Times. California’s legislature is chopping the state's prison budget and grappling...
90% Want to Outlaw Texting While Driving: Poll
CBS News
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Sep 28, 2009 11:11 AM CDT
(Newser) -
An overwhelming majority of Americans think texting while driving is such a bad idea it should be outlawed. A new poll finds that 90% of us support a ban; the most contrary demographic is, rather unsurprisingly, young'uns aged 18 to 29—though a robust 83% are in favor of a ban. And, CBS News points out, there’s no anti-cell phone bias:...
Truckers Fight to Keep Computers in Cabs
New York Times
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Sep 28, 2009 10:54 AM CDT
(Newser) -
With Congress considering legislation to ban text messaging while driving, the trucking industry is fighting to keep its in-cab computers. Truckers use the machines to get directions and talk to dispatchers without having to pull over, saving them precious time on long hauls. The industry says the devices are less distracting than a BlackBerry or iPhone,...
CNN Mulls Heir to King Throne
New York Post
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Sep 28, 2009 10:42 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Believe it or not, American Idol host Ryan Seacrest is still the top choice to replace Larry King when his CNN contract expires in 2011—but thanks to Seacrest’s massive deal with Idol , he’s “unreachable,” a source tells the New York Post . Other possible replacements include Katie Couric, CNN’s John King, Joy...
Uighur Won't Leave Brother at Gitmo—So He's Staying
Washington Post
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Sep 28, 2009 10:12 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Bahtiyar Mahnut, a Chinese Uighur detainee at Guantanamo Bay, is guilty of no crime. In fact, he’s free to leave and even has an offer of sanctuary from the island nation of Palau, like all of his compatriots save one. And that one, his brother Arkin, is why he’s staying, reports the Washington Post . “Every day here is an eternity,”...
Wall Street Doing Its Best to Buy Schumer
Politico
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Sep 28, 2009 10:07 AM CDT
(Newser) -
With a vote looming on Barack Obama’s plan to revamp financial regulations, Wall Street has shoveled $10.6 million into Senate campaign chests this year. Most of that money, $7.7 million, has gone to Democrats, and more than 15% has gone to one man: Chuck Schumer. Schumer’s $1.65 million take is nearly twice what anyone else got; fellow...
Gadhafi, Chavez Buddy Up
Associated Press
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Sep 28, 2009 9:54 AM CDT
(AP) -
Moammar Gadhafi and Hugo Chavez are strengthening their relationship and finding common ground as two radical former military men who both want to challenge the "imperialism" of wealthy nations and aspire to speak for many poor nations. The Libyan leader plans to meet with the Venezuelan president today and is expected to sign a series of...
Penélope Cruz: 'I Can Fly and Go Far'
Vanity Fair
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Sep 28, 2009 9:32 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Penélope Cruz found herself suffering a panic attack after filming the scene in Broken Embraces when her character decides to try acting. “I don’t know what happened to me that day, but before and after we filmed I could not breathe,” she says—perhaps because the character recalls Cruz’s own beginnings, which...
BofA Severs Ties With ACORN
Wall Street Journal
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Sep 28, 2009 9:08 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Bank of America has cut off ties with ACORN’s housing assistance arm following revelations that employees of the community organizing group gave ill-advised assistance to videographers posing as a pimp and prostitute. ACORN Housing has worked with BofA—among other banks—since the '90s to help homeowners in danger of foreclosure. The...
Trustee to Sue Madoff's Sons, Brother, Niece
CBS
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Sep 28, 2009 8:42 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Bernie Madoff’s sons, brother, and niece will all be sued this week for $198 million, the trustee in charge of sorting out the Ponzi mess said last night. Sons Mark and Andrew Madoff in particular withdrew roughly $35 million, despite making little if any investment. “Whether or not they have a criminal problem, we will pursue them as far...
Letters Reveal Byron's Feud With 'Turdsworth'
Guardian (UK)
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Sep 28, 2009 8:40 AM CDT
(Newser) -
A collection of letters written by Lord Byron to a clergyman, some of them unpublished, sheds new light on the Romantic poet—who discloses his sexual escapades with servants and angry opinions of fellow writers. Several letters refer to a serving girl whom he took as his mistress; he dumped her after discovering she was unfaithful, even though...
Independents Threaten Dems in 2010
Politico
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Sep 28, 2009 8:30 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Independent candidates figure to play a major role in at least six states next year, threatening Democrats in an election where they already must defend 21 of their 28 governorships. In New Jersey, for example, independent Chris Daggett is trailing well behind Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine and Republican Tom Kean, but he’s siphoning off 15% of...
Coup Leaders Crack Down in Honduras
Los Angeles Times
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Sep 28, 2009 8:22 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The interim government in Honduras moved to prevent protests late last night, outlawing public assemblies and giving the army broad new arrest powers. Manuel Zelaya, who has been holed up for a week in Tegucigalpa's Brazilian embassy alongside about 65 family members, has called on his supporters to take to the streets today. The de facto regime also...
US Scrambles for Support for Iran Sanctions
New York Times
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Sep 28, 2009 8:05 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The US is rushing to assemble support for tougher economic sanctions against Iran ahead of talks scheduled for Thursday. With Russia and China looming as potential spoilers in the UN Security Council, the administration hopes to assemble a coalition that could independently enact sanctions. But the US’ European allies oppose a gas or fuel embargo,...
Leakers Have Agendas—That Journos Hide
Washington Post
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Sep 28, 2009 7:58 AM CDT
(Newser) -
In the past few days the New York Times and Washington Post broke three major stories with the help of leaks: John Edwards' readiness to declare paternity, Stanley McChrystal's blunt assessment of the Afghanistan war, and Barack Obama's intervention in the New York governor's race. For Post media columnist Howard Kurtz, they all raised questions...
Daughter Liz Revives the Cheney Brand
New York Times
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Sep 28, 2009 7:53 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Move over, Sarah Palin and Megan McCain—the GOP’s newest rising star is Liz Cheney, “our favorite vice president’s daughter,” as she was touted at a recent conservative gathering. Cheney—an outspoken proponent of “enhanced interrogation” who has said “waterboarding isn’t torture”—is...
