Newser Story Index from December, 2010
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.
Haley Barbour Finds Himself in (Another) Civil Rights Mess
Weekly Standard
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Dec 21, 2010 11:16 AM CST
(Newser) -
Haley Barbour still hasn’t said whether he’ll run for president, but he’s already stirring up controversy thanks to a lengthy Weekly Standard profile in which he recalls his hometown of Yazoo City, Miss., fondly, and doesn’t remember the struggle for civil rights as being “that bad"—this despite murders...
Ernst & Young Hit With Civil Fraud Suit
Wall Street Journal
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Dec 21, 2010 11:01 AM CST
(Newser) -
Andrew Cuomo filed a civil fraud lawsuit against Ernst & Young today, following reports that the company allegedly helped Lehman Brothers mislead investors . According to the complaint, the accounting firm approved Lehman’s use of “Repo 105” transactions, a type of debt that was labeled as sales to reduce the appearance of risk...
Va. Pol: Screw Feds, Ban Gays From National Guard
Richmond Times Dispatch
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Dec 21, 2010 10:38 AM CST
(Newser) -
The Commonwealth of Virginia is showing another sign of going rogue these days: Just days after Congress repealed DADT, a Republican lawmaker is calling for the state to ban gays from serving in the National Guard, reports the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Bob Marshall says the repeal amounts to a "social experiment with our national security"...
New al-Qaeda Terror Plot: Poison US Buffets
CBS News
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Dec 21, 2010 10:25 AM CST
(Newser) -
Homeland Security has uncovered a terrorist plot to spread ricin and cyanide into American salad bars and buffets, CBS reports. Select corporate security officers from the restaurant and hotel industries have already been briefed on the threat, which a major intelligence source described as “credible.” The terrorists appear intent on...
Larry David: My Life Is Glorious Thanks to the Tax Cut
New York Times
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Dec 21, 2010 10:10 AM CST
(Newser) -
The Bush tax cuts have been extended for the wealthiest earners, and one of those wealthy earners is Larry David. “There is a God!” the Seinfeld co-creator proclaims in an op-ed for the New York Times . “I’m the last person in the world I’d want to be beside, but I am beside myself! This is a life changer, I tell...
Jerry Hall: I Became a Model After Taking LSD
Harper's Bazaar
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Dec 21, 2010 9:52 AM CST
(Newser) -
Jerry Hall might have ended up a Texas housewife if not for a single drug experience, she tells Harper's Baazar in a lengthy interview. The 54-year-old supermodel recounts the moment she began to see her own potential: While on LSD at a high school party. "A boy gave me a quarter of a tab. I didn't know what it was!" she says. "I...
Toyota Slapped With Max Fine Over Recalls
New York Times
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Dec 21, 2010 9:22 AM CST
(Newser) -
Toyota has agreed to pay $32.4 million in fines for dragging its feet in recalling millions of defective vehicles, the maximum fine allowable by law. Together with the $16.4 million paid earlier this year, the fines amount to roughly $30 for every car the company sold in the US this year, the New York Times reports. The fines cover both recalls...
Homewreckers Sorry for NYT Wedding Story
New York Post
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Dec 21, 2010 9:04 AM CST
(Newser) -
The New York Times ’ normally genteel “Vows” column hit a nerve on Sunday, with its tale of John Partilla and Carol Riddell—who each left spouses to get hitched. It’s “part Brady Bunch , part The Scarlet Letter, ” the paper cooed . Bloggers and commenters tore the paper a new one. “These things happen...
Iraq Confirms New Government
Associated Press
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Dec 21, 2010 8:57 AM CST
(Newser) -
Iraqi legislators ended 9 months of political deadlock today, unanimously approving a new government under incumbent prime minister Nouri al-Maliki, the AP reports. A March parliamentary election had left the country’s political future unclear; today, lawmakers chose 29 ministers to form a government, with acting ministers making up rest of...
Brad, Angelina Headed for 'Nuclear' Breakup: Dr. Drew
Huffington Post
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Dec 21, 2010 8:52 AM CST
(Newser) -
Bad things are a-brewin' in the Jolie-Pitt household, predicts love/rehab/hot mess expert Dr. Drew Pinsky. While shooting promos for his upcoming HLN talk show Dr. Drew , he spoke with the Huffington Post about the "nuclear eruption" that's looming for the pair. The first problem is Angelina. Says Pinsky, "There's no such thing as...
Brit Terror Suspects Targeted Holiday Shoppers
Independent
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Dec 21, 2010 8:45 AM CST
(Newser) -
The 12 men arrested yesterday across Britain sought to attack holiday shoppers in multi-city, synchronized bombings. The raids marked the first discovery of an alleged terrorist plot by people of Bangladeshi origin, the Independent notes. Bangladesh has become a terror training site since travelers to Pakistan began facing tighter security. The...
In Spanish Cave, Neanderthal Bones Tell of Cannibalism
New York Times
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Dec 21, 2010 8:42 AM CST
(Newser) -
In the forests of northern Spain is a cave named El Sidrón, and inside lies one of the richest troves of Neanderthal remains known to man. Since explorers first stumbled upon jawbones in 1994, 1,800 Neanderthal bone fragments have been discovered there, some of which contain accessible bits of DNA—and tell quite the story. In a paper published...
Echinacea Won't Ease Your Cold
LiveScience
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Dec 21, 2010 8:16 AM CST
(Newser) -
For those battling colds this winter, the herbal supplement echinacea may be popular, but it won’t actually help ease the severity or duration of your misery, researchers find. Those who took the supplement in a 700-person study found their symptoms faded just 7 to 10 hours earlier than those who didn’t take it, LiveScience reports. And...
Scenes From Last Night's Eclipse
Associated Press
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Dec 21, 2010 7:57 AM CST
(Newser) -
Those of you who hit the hay early last night missed a show not to be seen on the winter solstice for another 84 years: The moon, hanging high in the sky, turned reddish and went dark for 72 minutes as the Earth eclipsed it, reports the AP. Click through the gallery for pictures from various vantage points on planet Earth, or check out a time-lapse...
GOP Support Grows Ahead of START Vote
New York Times
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Dec 21, 2010 7:56 AM CST
(Newser) -
Things were looking bleak yesterday for the New START arms treaty—but that was yesterday. Following a closed-door meeting, GOP Sen. Scott Brown said he’d vote for the treaty and two other Republicans said they would likely support it, giving supporters enough votes to push it through as voting begins today. Meanwhile, John McCain put...
A Third of Working Families Live in Near-Poverty
Huffington Post
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Dec 21, 2010 7:55 AM CST
(Newser) -
Recession lamenters often focus on the unemployed, but the employed are taking a beating, too. Nearly one in three working families in America is now considered low income, meaning they earn less than twice the official poverty threshold, according to a report released today from the Working Poor Families Project. The number has increased in recent...
Pentagon Presses for Special-Ops Raids in Pakistan
New York Times
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Dec 21, 2010 7:52 AM CST
(Newser) -
Frustrated US military commanders in Afghanistan are pushing for a series of Special Ops ground raids in Pakistan, sources tell the New York Times , in essence opening up a new front in the war. The raids would likely need approval from President Obama himself, and the wary administration fears political backlash in Pakistan. But the commanders...
Napolitano: Homeland Security Is Working '24/7/364'
Mediaite
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Dec 21, 2010 7:37 AM CST
(Newser) -
The head of Homeland Security wants Americans to know her team is working 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 364 days a year to protect us. So Janet Napolitano told Diane Sawyer in an interview last night, raising an important question: Which day is our anti-terror forces taking off? “Because I think I might stay home that day," quips Mark...
Assange: Jail Sucked, Guardian 'Disgusting,' Women in 'Tizzy'
New York Daily News
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Dec 21, 2010 6:00 AM CST
(Newser) -
Julian Assange has ripped into prison conditions, his enemies, and at least one ally in a series of post-prison interviews. He also said the women accusing him of sex assault had worked themselves up into a "tizzy." The WikiLeaks founder says that the decision by the Guardian , one of his site's media partners, to publish leaked details...
FCC Poised to Pass Net Neutrality Rules
Associated Press
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Dec 21, 2010 5:37 AM CST
(AP) -
New rules aimed at prohibiting broadband providers from becoming gatekeepers of Internet traffic now have just enough votes to pass the Federal Communications Commission today. The new "net neutrality" rules would prohibit phone and cable companies from abusing their control over broadband connections to discriminate against rival content...
'Brown Fat' Shots Could Beat Obesity
io9
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Dec 21, 2010 5:27 AM CST
(Newser) -
Scientists looking into ways to fight fat with fat say they've made a breakthrough that could yield effective treatments for obesity. Researchers experimenting on obese mice believe they've found a way to turn white fat cells into energy-burning brown fat cells, io9 reports. Converted cell cultures injected into the mice turned into mature brown...
South Korea Pokes at North With Christmas Tree
CNN
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Dec 21, 2010 5:02 AM CST
(Newser) -
The Korean peninsula was calmer today after the promised North Korean response to South Korean military exercises never materialized—though the South is braced for surprise attacks. It's also getting ready for the holidays: In a move expected to annoy North Korea, the South today lit a 100-foot tall steel Christmas tree visible from the other...
Fifth Day of Rain Drenches California
Associated Press
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Dec 21, 2010 5:00 AM CST
(Newser) -
Thousands of Californians have lost power and dozens have been evacuated as rain and snow pelt the state for the fifth day, the AP reports. Mountains in the state’s south have seen 12 inches of rain; a ski resort is facing 13 feet of snow; and downtown Los Angeles has seen more than 5 inches of rain—more than a third of its annual average....
Thieves Offer Scrap Dealer $1M Sculpture for $65
Guardian (UK)
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Dec 21, 2010 4:43 AM CST
(Newser) -
A Spanish gang of late contenders for the "Dumbest Criminal of 2010" award offered to sell a scrap merchant an iron sculpture worth close to $1 million ... for just $65, police say. The artwork, by Spanish sculptor Eduardo Chillida, has been recovered, along with works by Pablo Picasso and Fernando Botero that were stolen when crooks made...
White Supremacists Boycotting Thor Over Black God
Gawker
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Dec 21, 2010 4:13 AM CST
(Newser) -
A far-right group is calling for a boycott of the upcoming Thor movie because a black actor has been cast as a Norse god. Wire star Idris Elba plays the god Heimdall in the superhero movie, a casting decision that the Council of Conservative Citizens says is an "insulting multi-cultural make-over," Gawker reports.
Hundreds Trapped After Iran Quake
BBC
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Dec 21, 2010 3:55 AM CST
(Newser) -
Hundreds of people have been trapped in the rubble of buildings toppled by a 6.5 magnitude earthquake that jolted the country's southeast region late last night. The death toll currently stands at 7 but it is expected to rise significantly, CNN reports. Some two dozen villages have been wholly or partially destroyed, and rescuers are struggling to...
US Teacher Gets 9 Years for Sex With Cambodian, 14
Reuters
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Dec 21, 2010 3:41 AM CST
(Newser) -
"This is one of the most disgusting cases that has ever come before this court," a federal judge said before sentencing a 61-year-old American teacher to 9 years in jail for having sex with a 14-year-old girl in Cambodia. Michael James Dodd abused the teen over an 8-month period, paying her impoverished family $100 per month, Reuters reports....
Woman Dies After Caning Over Affair
BBC
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Dec 21, 2010 3:22 AM CST
(Newser) -
Bangladeshi officials have launched an investigation into the death of 40-year-old woman following a severe caning for an alleged affair with her stepson. The woman died nearly a month after the beating; she was sentenced by village elders to 40 blows for adultery and caned in public. Bangladesh banned such punishments earlier this year, reports the...
Sarah Palin Zings Michelle Over Right to Eat S'mores
ABC News
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Dec 21, 2010 3:04 AM CST
(Newser) -
Sarah Palin used her reality show to get down to a particularly sticky political issue: the right to eat s'mores. The ex-gov took a direct shot at the First Lady's campaign against childhood obesity as she rummaged in her kitchen cabinet for s'mores ingredients (chocolate bars, graham crackers, and marshmallows) and grumbled: "This is in honor...
Actor's 2-Story Plunge Halts Spider-Man Play
Gawker
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Dec 21, 2010 2:23 AM CST
(Newser) -
Broadway's problem-plagued Spider-Man production was halted near the end of the show last night when a stunt double's flying harness snapped, dropping him two stories into a stage pit, according to witnesses The audience sat, horrified, as the empty harness swayed over their heads and a woman—likely lead actress Natalie Mendoza—began sobbing...
Oswald Brother Furious About Coffin Sale
Associated Press
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Dec 21, 2010 1:57 AM CST
(Newser) -
Lee Harvey Oswald's brother says he bought the pine box the presidential assassin was buried in and a funeral home had no right to auction it off earlier this month. The coffin—which was replaced when Oswald was reburied in 1981—fetched $87,469. But Robert Oswald says it's not about the money. "The coffin should have been destroyed...
30 Rock Star Tracy Morgan Gets New Kidney
Entertainment Weekly
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Dec 21, 2010 1:41 AM CST
(Newser) -
Comedian Tracy Morgan is recovering from a kidney transplant and will be missing from several episodes of 30 Rock this spring. Morgan, a star of the NBC comedy's "show within a show," is doing well and taking some much needed time to recover after the surgery," a rep tells Entertainment Weekly . "He is looking forward to going...
Kidnapped Mexican Politician Freed After 7 Months
Los Angeles Times
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Dec 21, 2010 1:22 AM CST
(Newser) -
Former Mexican presidential candidate Diego Fernandez de Cevallos was freed yesterday, 7 months after kidnappers snatched him from his ranch north of Mexico City. The 69-year-old political heavyweight known as "El Jefe" didn't give reporters any details of his months in captivity. He said that, as a man of faith, he has forgiven his abductors...
SEC Opens Inquiry Into HP's Ex-CEO Hurd
Wall Street Journal
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Dec 20, 2010 6:39 PM CST
(Newser) -
Mark Hurd's bad days tend to be worse than the dry cleaner losing your shirt: The SEC now wants in on reports that HP's ex-CEO leaked details of a $14 billion merger to the woman he stands accused of sexually harassing. You know, the one that cost him his job. It's not clear how far along the inquiry is, and the Wall Street Journal reports...
Dems Stonewall GOP's Attempts to Alter START
Associated Press
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Dec 20, 2010 6:21 PM CST
(AP) -
Senate Democrats have turned back Republican efforts to change a new arms control treaty with Russia. By a vote of 64-33, the Senate rejected a measure that would have increased the number of weapons inspectors. If adopted, the amendment would have effectively killed the treaty, forcing US and Russian officials back to negotiations. Eight Republicans...
What to Know for Tonight's Lunar Eclipse/Winter Solstice
Space.com
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Dec 20, 2010 6:02 PM CST
(Newser) -
It's getting close to showtime, kids: The longest night of the year has begun (at least here on the East Coast), so bring on the first total lunar eclipse to coincide with the winter solstice since 1638 (NASA has apparently engaged in a bit of history-revision). Here's what you need to know, per Space.com and the AP: Take a nap or brew some...
The 10 Strangest Stories of 2010
indyposted.com
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Dec 20, 2010 5:21 PM CST
(Newser) -
There were a lot of strange stories in 2010. The DAFTA Awards give a little recognition to the world's odd events. Here are the winners: The Penis Tattoo (Crazy Crime) —A man wanted to get a yin - yang tattoo. His former friend and tattoo artist decided that a footlong penis tattoo would look a lot better. And charged him for it. Paul...
Oil Spill Booms Resurrected as Chevy Volt Parts
Mashable
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Dec 20, 2010 4:50 PM CST
(Newser) -
If life gives you lemons, make lemonade—and if life gives you 100 miles' worth of oil-soaked plastic booms, make ... Chevy Volts? That's what GM is doing. The company is breathing new life into a heck of a lot of plastic that was used to help contain the Gulf spill, turning it into 100,000 pounds of plastic resin that will be mixed with recycled...
Arf! Arf! Dog Pops Out 17 Puppies
Associated Press
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Dec 20, 2010 4:37 PM CST
(Newser) -
It doesn't quite have the ring of 101 Dalmatians, but 17 Rhodesian Ridgebacks are quite enough for one momma dog and her German owners. It took 4-year-old Etana 26 hours to give birth to the eight females and nine males in late September, reports the AP —and it's been nonstop ever since. Owner Ramona Wegemann says that as soon as she "finished...
Exotic Mistletoe Species Discovered
ecocentric.blogs.time.com
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Dec 20, 2010 3:51 PM CST
(Newser) -
If that moldy sprig of mistletoe you've been tacking above your doorway for years hasn't been doing much for your love life, perhaps it's time to upgrade. During a 2008 expedition to Mozambique, several new species were discovered—including an exotic species of mistletoe that grows on trees in the coffee family near Mount Mabu's summit. But good...
Paterson Fined $62K for Freebie Series Tickets
cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com
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Dec 20, 2010 3:44 PM CST
(Newser) -
David Paterson had better save his pennies: New York's soon-to-be unemployed governor has been slapped with a $62,125 fine for taking five free tickets to last year's World Series. Paterson maintains he always intended to pay for the tickets—though he didn't quite get around to it until the New York Post started snooping around—but the...
US Agencies Link Up to Spy on ... You
Washington Post
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Dec 20, 2010 3:31 PM CST
(Newser) -
Aiming to fight home-grown terrorism, the US is linking local, state, FBI, and military resources to gather information about American citizens: It’s “the largest and most technologically sophisticated” domestic intelligence system the country has ever assembled, write Dana Priest and William Arkin after a Washington Post investigation...
Nobody's Checking to Ensure TSA Scanners Are Safe
AOL News
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Dec 20, 2010 2:52 PM CST
(Newser) -
The TSA claims its scanners are safe when they’re working right—but who’s making sure they’re working right? The agency lists a number of watchdogs, including the FDA, the US Army, and Johns Hopkins scientists. But these groups say they’re not responsible for the scanners, AOL News finds, and the Department of Homeland...
Ahmadinejad Cuts Subsidies, Price of Gas Quadruples
Christian Science Monitor
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Dec 20, 2010 2:00 PM CST
(Newser) -
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took the dramatic step of eliminating state subsidies on fuel, food, and other essential items this weekend, sending their prices skyrocketing for ordinary Iranians. Gas prices quadrupled overnight, and the price of diesel jumped 900%, the New York Times reports. Ahmadinejad said the step was necessary given Iran’s budget...
Whine All You Want: Obama Gets It Done
andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com
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Dec 20, 2010 1:50 PM CST
(Newser) -
Frank Rich and Paul Krugman can rail all they want, fueled by their disappointment that President Obama is no “Michael Moore in chief.” These “brilliant men" are “profoundly resistant to the core rationale of the Obama presidency"—a strategy that’s working well as Obama manages consistently to “get...
Our Most Urgent Free Speech Issue: Net Neutrality
Huffington Post
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Dec 20, 2010 1:38 PM CST
(Newser) -
Tomorrow, the FCC will discuss regulations on net neutrality—the principle that the biggest corporation and the humblest blogger should have equal access to viewers on the Internet. The FCC could protect this freedom, but its draft regulations “don't do that at all,” writes Sen. Al Franken on the Huffington Post . “They're...
Pope: Sex Abuse at a Level 'We Could Not Have Imagined'
New York Times
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Dec 20, 2010 1:00 PM CST
(Newser) -
Pope Benedict issued a sobering Christmas speech today, admitting that sexual abuse in the church has reached "an unimaginable dimension,” and calling for major reflection. “We must ask ourselves what we can do to repair as much as possible,” the pontiff proclaimed, according to the New York Times . “We must ask ourselves...
Nine Sequels Set for 2011 We Don't Need
The Frisky
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Dec 20, 2010 12:32 PM CST
(Newser) -
There are some movies that really, really don't need sequels ... but they're getting them anyway. Kate Torgovnick lists nine flicks inexplicably getting follow-ups next year, on The Frisky : Shakespeare in Love : Just because this film won Gwyneth Paltrow an Oscar doesn't mean we need to know what happened next. Swingers : It just won't...
Biden's Way Off on 'Total' Afghanistan Pullout
Salon
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Dec 20, 2010 12:16 PM CST
(Newser) -
Joe Biden was in the spotlight this weekend for saying the US would follow its Iraq model and be “totally” out of Afghanistan by 2014, “come hell or high water.” Well, that’s just wrong, writes Justin Elliott in Salon . For one thing, withdrawal from Iraq hasn’t meant “total withdrawal.” As for 2014...
Pedophile's Guide Author Arrested
WTSP
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Dec 20, 2010 11:48 AM CST
(Newser) -
The good news for Phillip R. Greaves II: Outrage over his Pedophile’s Guide to Love and Pleasure caused sales of the book to shoot up 101,000% on Amazon . The bad news: He’s now been arrested and faces obscenity charges in Colorado. The 47-year-old self-published author is charged with distributing obscene material—pictures...
