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.
Bush Redux? Runaway Exec Power Traps Obama, Too
New York Review of Books
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Sep 28, 2009 7:34 AM CDT
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George W. Bush expanded executive power to an extreme degree, but he wasn't an exception, writes historian Garry Wills. Since World War II, the presidency has accrued massive, unintended authority—controlling nuclear weapons, intelligence agencies, and a worldwide military network under "the cult of the commander in chief." Barack...
Philippine Toll at 140, Gov't Tarred for Aid Delay
Reuters
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Sep 28, 2009 7:27 AM CDT
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Anger is mounting in the Philippines over what is widely seen as a slow and inadequate relief effort from the government. The death toll from the flash floods has jumped to 140, and is expected to continue rising as people look for missing relatives. At least 450,000 have been affected, including 150,00 displaced. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo...
Obama to Pitch Chicago's Olympic Bid in Denmark
Associated Press
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Sep 28, 2009 7:08 AM CDT
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Barack Obama will travel to Copenhagen on Thursday to back Chicago's bid to host the 2016 Olympics, senior adviser Valerie Jarrett said today. The president will be joined by Michelle Obama and his education and transportation secretaries. Chicago is bidding against Tokyo, Rio de Janiero, and Madrid, but none of the four cities is seen as a favorite...
Iran Test Launches Its Longest-Range Missiles
Associated Press
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Sep 28, 2009 6:03 AM CDT
(AP) -
Iran claimed to have test-fired the longest-range missiles in its arsenal today—weapons capable of carrying a warhead and striking Israel or US military bases in the Middle East. It was the third round of missile tests in two days of drills by the power Revolutionary Guard, which controls Iran's missile program. Today's test ups the ante...
Most Americans Favor 'Soak the Rich' Tax
Vanity Fair
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Sep 28, 2009 5:47 AM CDT
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As if tea parties weren't screamingly pointing to its existence, there lurks a deep vein of populism in recessionary America, and a wide-ranging Vanity Fair/ 60 Minutes poll ran into it. Some 48% of respondents chose Wal-Mart, though the mag notes an element of cynicism, as the firm that 'best symbolizes America'—way more than the 15%...
Polanski Victim: 'I'm Over It'
New York Daily News
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Sep 28, 2009 5:15 AM CDT
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The woman Roman Polanski had sex with when she was 13 never wants to hear about the case again. "I have survived, indeed prevailed, against whatever harm Mr. Polanski may have caused me as a child," Samantha Geimer, 45, said early this year after filing court papers to have the case thrown out. "I got over it a long time ago."
Nestle Buys Milk From Farms Mugabe Seized
BBC
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Sep 28, 2009 4:43 AM CDT
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Nestle is buying up to 265,000 gallons of milk a year from a Zimbabwean farm seized from white landowners and now owned by the wife of Robert Mugabe. Grace Mugabe has taken over at least six of the country's most valuable farms, reports the Telegraph. As a Swiss company, Nestle is exempted from tough US and EU sanctions targeting Zimbabwe's...
Chicago Student's Beating Death Caught on Tape
Chicago Tribune
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Sep 28, 2009 4:19 AM CDT
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Chicago police are stepping up patrols today at a high school where a 16-year-old honor student's gruesome beating death in a gang melee was captured on video. Students scream in horror as Derrion Albert crumples to the ground and covers his head in vain as he's repeatedly pummeled with wooden planks in the video shot by a female student. Police are...
BBC Journo Stuns Brown with Pill-Popping Question
Telegraph (UK)
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Sep 28, 2009 3:53 AM CDT
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Gordon Brown's office and the British Labor Party are furious with the BBC after the host of the channel's flagship political program asked the prime minister if he took prescription painkillers. Downing Street had already denied the rumor, which began on the Internet. A shocked Brown responded: "No! I think this is the sort of questioning...
Palestinians, Jews Clash at Holy Site
CNN
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Sep 28, 2009 3:32 AM CDT
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Palestinian civilians and Israeli police were injured when Jews and Arabs clashed at a Jerusalem holy site yesterday. Palestinians praying at the site—which includes the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa mosques—pelted a Jewish group with rocks, leading police to respond with stun grenades, reports CNN. The Palestinians' chief negotiator blamed...
Infant Killed in LA Gang Shooting
Associated Press
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Sep 28, 2009 3:09 AM CDT
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A 4-month-old baby boy was fatally wounded in a gang confrontation as he was being fed in a parked car in Los Angeles, police said. Andrew Garcia was rushed to a local hospital where he died. A pregnant family friend who was feeding Andrew was wounded. A teen with criminal connections, also shot, was standing close to the car when a gang member fired...
US Coast Guard, Brit Navy Seize $380M in Cocaine
BBC
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Sep 28, 2009 2:46 AM CDT
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The British Navy and US Coast Guard have seized a record $380 million worth of cocaine on a fishing boat off the coast of South America. The boat was searched for 24 hours before investigators broke up the concrete floor with sledgehammers and discovered 5.5 tons of the drug wrapped in bales. Several drug runners of several nationalities were...
Skull Not Hitler's; Suicide in Doubt
Guardian (UK)
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Sep 28, 2009 2:23 AM CDT
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A portion of bullet-pierced skull believed to be Adolf Hitler's is actually from the head of a woman under 40, throwing into question how the Nazi dictator died, American scientists have revealed. The skull portion, seized by Russians after soldiers stormed Hitler's bunker, has the DNA, bone thickness and fusion patterns of a younger woman and not...
Smartphones Heart QWERTY, Click Off Users
Wall Street Journal
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Sep 28, 2009 1:57 AM CDT
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Smartphone users are baffled that the the commonly used QWERTY keyboard is dominating their text-typing world. Many would prefer the little-know Dvorak keyboard, which was designed to be easy to use, placing the most common letters on the home row. QWERTY, used on computers, was designed to overcome a technical glitch on early typewriters. But Dvorak...
French, Swiss Battle Over Polanski
Times (UK)
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Sep 28, 2009 1:25 AM CDT
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The French and Swiss government bickered angrily over Roman Polanski yesterday as the film director's arrest strained diplomatic relations. France's culture minister said he was “stupefied” by the arrest, while President Nicolas Sarkozy called for a “rapid solution”—presumably one that involved letting Polanski return...
Khloé Kardashian Weds Lamar Odom
E! Online
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Sep 27, 2009 10:56 PM CDT
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In a rousing triumph for opposite marriage, reality-TV personality Khloé Kardashian and Los Angeles Lakers star Lamar Odom tied the knot today, about a month after they first met. Sisters/co-stars Kim and Kourtney were the maids of honor, and the guests included Lakers coach Phil Jackson. The bride wore Vera Wang, reports E!—which insisted...
Elizabeth Edwards Cyber-Slags John's Mistress
New York Daily News
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Sep 27, 2009 5:50 PM CDT
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An irate Elizabeth Edwards is taking borderline-anonymous shots at her husband's former mistress in blog comments. The disgraced ex-senator's wife lambastes Rielle Hunder using the pseudonym "Cherubim"—which makes it easy for insiders to guess her identity. "It's Elizabeth," a source tells Rush & Molloy of the Daily...
Tawny Kitaen Hit With DUI Charge
Orange County Register
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Sep 27, 2009 5:18 PM CDT
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Troubled actress Tawny Kitaen, best known as the bombshell star of 1984's Bachelor Party, was arrested yesterday on suspicion of DUI, according to Newport Beach, Calif., police. A veteran of the TV show Celebrity Rehab, Kitaen has a history of drug abuse, but it wasn't clear whether she was drunk or high during the collision that led to the...
Social Security Faces Grim Forecast for 2010, 2011
Associated Press
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Sep 27, 2009 4:40 PM CDT
(AP) -
Big job losses and a spike in early retirement claims from laid-off seniors will force Social Security to pay out more in benefits than it collects in taxes the next 2 years, the first time that's happened since the 1980s. The deficits—$10 billion in 2010 and $9 billion in 2011—won't affect payments to retirees because Social Security has...
Thank (or Blame) Bush for Dave's Left Turn
Variety
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Sep 27, 2009 4:11 PM CDT
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The most telling thing David Letterman has said in a while may have been a brief comment he made last Monday, as he wrapped up an hour with President Obama: "I can't tell you how satisfying it is to watch you work," the famously crotchety Late Night host said matter-of-factly. George W. Bush lies behind the transformation of Letterman...
Lions Score 1st Win Since 2007
Detroit News
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Sep 27, 2009 3:45 PM CDT
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The Detroit Lions, winless since December 2007 and holders of the NFL record for futility after their 0-16 2008 season, stunned the visiting Redskins today at Ford Field, recording a 19-14 victory. "Yes, it's just the Redskins. And yes, they are not very good," wrote Shawn Winston of the Detroit Free Press —who was live-blogging...
Meatballs Rain on Bruce Willis' Parade
Hollywood Reporter
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Sep 27, 2009 3:10 PM CDT
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Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs dominated the box office for the second straight weekend, racking up $24.6 million in ticket sales and running 10-day total to $60 million. That represents just a 19% fall-off from its opening weekend performance, a notably strong showing in a generally weak autumn market, the Hollywood Reporter notes. Surrogates,...
Gates, Jones Split on Afghan Troop Timetable
Washington Post
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Sep 27, 2009 2:49 PM CDT
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The White House appears slightly out of sync on when exactly it expects to make a decision on troop levels in Afghanistan. "I don't have a deadline in my mind," national security adviser James Jones told Bob Woodward of the Washington Post , adding, "The most important thing is to do it right." Defense Secretary Robert Gates,...
Why We Love Fat TV
GQ
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Sep 27, 2009 2:25 PM CDT
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America's obsession with "fattertainment" has become a form of catharsis for an obese nation, Simon Dumenco writes for GQ. Shows like The Biggest Loser and Dance Your Ass Off were at least ostensibly about getting their contestants in shape. But on More to Love , “the participants aren't even trying to lose weight,”...
Times Columnist William Safire Dead at 79
New York Times
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Sep 27, 2009 1:54 PM CDT
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Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist William Safire died today outside Washington, the paper reports. He was 79 and suffered from cancer. A onetime speechwriter for Richard Nixon, Safire, a self-described "libertarian conservative," used his background as a reporter and love for English usage to punch up his op-ed column, which...
Megan Fox, SNL Premiere Not Too Funny
Entertainment Weekly
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Sep 27, 2009 1:29 PM CDT
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Most critics are still wondering why Megan Fox was chosen to host Saturday Night Live 's 35th-season premiere, but they do understand the general fascination with her appearance. She helped out during her monologue, showing off nude shots of herself...as a centaur. A sampling of reactions: After showing off a decent Southern accent in a flight-attendant...
Conan Out of Hospital, Returns to Show Monday
Associated Press
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Sep 27, 2009 1:03 PM CDT
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Conan O'Brien is home from the hospital after whacking his head during a Tonight Show stunt. "Conan is resting comfortably," said an NBC statement. "He is expected to return to work on Monday." Guest Teri Hatcher spilled details on the accident, which reportedly happened while the pair was filming a sketch based on the Desperate...
Merkel Wins Re-Election, New Coalition
Der Spiegel
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Sep 27, 2009 12:28 PM CDT
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Angela Merkel was headed to re-election today, and German voters were sending her along with enough votes to cobble together a center-right coalition and ditch the Social Democrats she has been allied with since 2005. Exit polls on German television showed Merkel's conservative bloc with 33.4% of the vote, while her onetime allies went down to bitter...
'Green China' Marks Sputnik of 21st Century
New York Times
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Sep 27, 2009 11:55 AM CDT
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For those who think the past year will be defined by global recession, Tom Friedman says think again. Rather, for the New York Times columnist it is Red China's decision "to become Green China" that will spur a 21st-century technological race for clean energy—in the same way that Russia's launch of Sputnik belatedly prodded the US...
Most Hypocritical Book Bannings
11Points.com
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Sep 27, 2009 11:26 AM CDT
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Banning a book is a move laden with ironies that can make the banner seem dull-witted in the long run. For National Banned Books Week, 11Points.com lists "the most hypocritical, ignorant, and, based on the content of the books, ironic" bans: Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury: The sci-fi classic is about a future government that...
Jobless Outnumber Jobs, 6-1
New York Times
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Sep 27, 2009 10:38 AM CDT
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Even as the US pulls out of the recession, the ranks of the out-of-work have swelled to 14.5 million people, leaving six jobless people vying for every available job—the worst ratio since the Labor Department began keeping track in 2000. "There's too much uncertainty out there," says one economist who says with no surefire source...
Clinton: Obama Not 'Dissing' McChrystal on Troops
Politico
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Sep 27, 2009 9:40 AM CDT
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Bill Clinton came to President Obama's defense today, saying on Meet the Press that the president isn't "dissing" Gen. Stanley McChrystal's request for more troops in Afghanistan. Both Clintons emphasized that settling the Afghan election is vital in determining whether the US has a legitimate partner in Hamid Karzai. Hillary Clinton...
Why Sharks Trump Cats
The Shark Guys
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Sep 27, 2009 8:53 AM CDT
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For the few torn between the two as a favorite animal, the Shark Guys sink their teeth into why sharks are better than cats. Some highlights: When’s the last time you got a LOLSharks pic? James Bond was never dropped into a cat-filled aquarium. “Sharks taste good in a soup or sandwich; cats require too much sauce.”...
Toll in Philippine Floods Hits 83
Associated Press
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Sep 27, 2009 8:11 AM CDT
(AP) -
Rescuers plucked bodies from muddy floodwaters and saved drenched survivors from rooftops today after a tropical storm tore through the northern Philippines and left at least 106 people dead and missing. It was the region's worst flooding in more than four decades. The government declared a "state of calamity" in metropolitan Manila and 25...
Annie Le's Family Bids Farewell
Los Angeles Times
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Sep 27, 2009 7:27 AM CDT
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Annie Le's family tried to reconcile the zest with which she embraced life with the senseless brutality of her death yesterday in a private funeral service held in California. "We could ask a thousand whys for the rest of our life," said her pastor, while Vivian Van Le wished her slain daughter "an eternal, blessed sleep" in...
Defiant Iran Tests 2 Missiles
BBC
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Sep 27, 2009 6:49 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Defiant over the revelation of its secret nuclear facility, Iran today test-fired two short-range missiles and announced it plans to test a long-range missile tomorrow, state media reports. The missiles tested today have a range of 90 to 100 miles, and experts believe Iran is developing them to carry nuclear warheads; the BBC notes that tomorrow's...
Swiss Nab Polanski on 31-Year-Old US Warrant
Associated Press
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Sep 27, 2009 5:50 AM CDT
(AP) -
Director Roman Polanski has been taken into custody by Swiss police on a 31-year-old US arrest warrant for statutory rape, organizers of the Zurich Film Festival said today. The 76-year-old director of Chinatown and Rosemary's Baby, slated to receive an award for his lifetime of work, had recently sought dismissal on grounds of misconduct...
How We Get bin Laden: KFC's New Double Down
The Faster Times
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Sep 27, 2009 5:14 AM CDT
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Fed up with all haute cuisine? Foodie babble? An organic garden at the White House? KFC looks to have just what you need in the Double Down, a bacon and cheese sandwich in which the bread is replaced by fried chicken fillets ! “Forget food porn,” Scott Gold writes for the Faster Times. “This is food weaponry .” Osama bin Laden,...
US Will Give Iran 3 Months to Spill Nuke Secrets
New York Times
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Sep 26, 2009 3:31 PM CDT
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The US will tell Iran next week that it must open all its nuclear sites for inspection within 3 months, turn over any related documents, and make scientists available for questions. Tehran also may be ordered to allow inspectors into its newly revealed uranium-enrichment plant within days. The revelation of that site is giving US officials an aggressive...
Poland OKs Chemical Castration for Pedophiles
Reuters
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Sep 26, 2009 2:54 PM CDT
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A new law in Poland will require convicted pedophiles or those who rape family members to undergo chemical castration when their prison term is up. Human rights groups immediately raised objections, but Poland's prime minister isn't budging—he says the criminals in these cases don't qualify as "human," notes Reuters. "Therefore...
Bill Kristol: Thanks, Dad
Weekly Standard
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Sep 26, 2009 2:13 PM CDT
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Bill Kristol remembers his late father as a man of a "deep modesty" who "loved intellectual pursuits but always shunned intellectual pretension." Irving Kristol, who died earlier this month at age 89, is generally regarded as the architect of neoconservatism, but the honors he accrued never gave him an inflated sense of "self-importance,"...
Hackers Get 43 Cents for Every Hijacked Mac
ComputerWorld
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Sep 26, 2009 1:44 PM CDT
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Mac users, beware: the Russians are after you. A notorious network of spammers in the country pays hackers 43 cents for every Mac they infect with fake software, an investigator says. At a security conference in Switzerland, the researcher laid out a specific scheme to get Mac users to install malware in the guise of a video player. The Russian spammers...
'Guardian Angel' Gives Birth, Returns Baby After Embryo Mistake
Associated Press
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Sep 26, 2009 12:39 PM CDT
(AP) -
The biological parents of a baby boy born to a woman implanted with the wrong embryo say they will remain "eternally grateful" for her decision to turn the baby over to them. The Toledo woman gave birth to a health baby boy this week after a fertility clinic mistakenly implanted her with an embryo from Paul and Shannon Morell of Michigan....
3-D TV Shows Promise, But Those Glasses Still a Must
Time
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Sep 26, 2009 12:04 PM CDT
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Admit it, your heart skips a beat at the prospect of a 3-D high-definition TV in your own home. And by this time next year, Sony and Panasonic will have ‘em on the market. But—and it’s a big one, even after the cost—you’re going to have to wear those glasses. Yes, technology seems to have cleared up the headaches, and...
Simpsons Premiere Has Rogen in Double Duty
Celebrity Cafe
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Sep 26, 2009 11:35 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The Simpsons season premiere tomorrow night will feature rare double duty by a guest. Seth Rogen, a self-described "obsessed" fan, not only voices a character but co-wrote the episode. "I can die a happy man," he says. The show, in which Homer has to get in shape to play the comic book hero Everyman in a movie, marks the 21st...
Iran Will Allow UN Inspectors at Nuke Site
Associated Press
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Sep 26, 2009 11:08 AM CDT
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Some typically mixed messages out of Iran today: The nation's nuclear chief says UN inspectors will be allowed to visit a newly revealed uranium-enrichment facility. Ali Akbar Salehi says he's "astonished" by the controversy, insisting that Iran has done nothing wrong. Meanwhile, an aide to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei boasted that...
Birthers Now Have a Late-Night Infomercial, Too
Talking Points Memo
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Sep 26, 2009 10:37 AM CDT
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The birther movement may have just jumped the shark. A group pushing the case that President Obama is no citizen is now making its case in late-night infomercials across the country. For $30, you can get a bumper sticker reading "Got a Birth Certificate?" But wait, there's more: A faxed statement will be sent in your name to 50 state attorney...
Americans Fed Up With Afghan War
New York Times
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Sep 26, 2009 9:59 AM CDT
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The Obama administration is busy figuring out how to fine-tune its Afghan strategy while most Americans by and large just want us out of there. "A clash is coming," warns Bob Herbert. Most people are tired of the war, worried about the recession, and in no mood for yet another protracted conflict. "The difference between the public’s...
Terror Suspect Doubled as Friendly Coffee Vendor
New York Times
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Sep 26, 2009 9:05 AM CDT
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When he pushed his family's coffee cart on the streets of New York, Najibullah Zazi greeted people with friendly hellos and made a point to remember how regulars liked their joe. Now, feds say he trained with al-Qaeda and planned a massive bomb attack on the same city. The New York Times stitches together a profile of the 24-year-old, finding him...
What If Bill Clinton Was Your Dad?
Time
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Sep 26, 2009 8:54 AM CDT
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Charismatic charmer. Triangulating pragmatist. Narcissistic horndog. Whatever the prevailing stereotype of Bill Clinton—and they've all had legs—Taylor Branch shows a Clinton we know little about in his new book The Clinton Tapes: seriously devoted dad. In conversations from 1993 to 2001, Branch shows Clinton refusing to let the demands...
