Newser Story Index from December, 2011
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.
Stephen Hawking Seeking Assistant
Associated Press
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Dec 29, 2011 11:12 AM CST
(Newser) -
Looking for a new gig? If you're not intimidated by the idea of being interviewed by Stephen Hawking, we have a job opportunity for you: Help the esteemed British physicist to develop and maintain the electronic speech system that allows his voice to be heard. The assistant position will pay about $38,500 per year, according to a posting on Hawking's...
Sinead Explains What Went Wrong
Sun (UK)
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Dec 29, 2011 10:49 AM CST
(Newser) -
Sinead O'Connor married on Dec. 8 and announced the end of said marriage to the world 18 days later —so what the heck happened? Well, things may not have gotten off to a great start when she spent their wedding night on a desperate hunt for cannabis, especially considering then-hubby Barry Herridge is a drug counselor. "We ended up...
At Louvre, a Brawl Over a da Vinci
Telegraph (UK)
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Dec 29, 2011 10:48 AM CST
(Newser) -
Who knew art historians could duke it out like this? The Louvre finds itself embroiled in a big brouhaha regarding its recent restoration of a Leonardo da Vinci painting. Two of France's preeminent art experts, who sit on the museum's 20-person committee tasked with overseeing art restoration, have resigned, furious about what they call the...
And the Worst Celebrity Baby Name of 2011 Was...
ABC News
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Dec 29, 2011 10:40 AM CST
(Newser) -
Celebrities tend to choose some very, er, interesting names for their offspring, but this year two names stood out: Bear Blu Jarecki, born to Alicia Silverstone, and Moroccan Cannon, born to Mariah Carey. Those two tied for the worst celebrity baby boy names of 2011 on a new BabyNames.com poll, ABC News reports. The worst baby girl name "award"...
Despite Maliki Crackdown, US Still Selling Arms to Iraq
New York Times
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Dec 29, 2011 10:19 AM CST
(Newser) -
The US is charging ahead with an $11 billion arms deal with Iraq, and has even delivered some of the promised fighter jets, tanks, and weapons—even though Nouri al-Maliki has blatantly failed to follow through on an agreement intended to ensure he would not marginalize his Sunni rivals. Indeed, Maliki has moved aggressively to cement his power...
Meet Ashton's New 'Friend'
Us Weekly
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Dec 29, 2011 10:03 AM CST
(Newser) -
Is Ashton Kutcher moving on already—and in public? He made no secret of spending Christmas in Italy with screenwriter Lorene Scafaria, tweeting a picture of the two of them along with Kutcher's business partner, Matt Mazzant. But reps insist they're just friends, and the tweet does refer to both Scafaria and Mazzant as Kutcher's...
Turkey Kills 35 Civilians in Attempted Hit on Rebels
Associated Press
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Dec 29, 2011 10:00 AM CST
(AP) -
Turkey's air force attacked suspected Kurdish rebel targets across the border in Iraq, but the roughly 35 people killed were teenage smugglers mistaken for guerrillas. A ruling party spokesman said today the victims "were not terrorists," but people smuggling cigarettes into Turkey from Iraq. He added that officials are investigating...
Charges Loom in Deepwater Disaster
Wall Street Journal
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Dec 29, 2011 9:40 AM CST
(Newser) -
US authorities are on the verge of bringing their first criminal charges related to the Deepwater Horizon disaster, with several Houston-based engineers and at least one BP supervisor likely facing felonies, sources tell the Wall Street Journal . The men are suspected of providing false information to regulators regarding the risks at the Macondo...
Huntsman on Iowa: They Pick Corn There
CBS News
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Dec 29, 2011 9:16 AM CST
(Newser) -
Don't expect to see Jon Huntsman shaking in his boots on Tuesday. The GOP candidate could care less about the Iowa caucuses, and has no qualms about his decision to ignore the state in favor of New Hampshire. Talking to CBS' The Early Show today (from Manchester, NH, of course), he summed up how it all works for the rest of America: "They...
Wendy's Return to Japan Marked by ... a $16 Burger
Los Angeles Times
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Dec 29, 2011 8:49 AM CST
(Newser) -
For two years, Japan's fast-food lovers were forced to go without Wendy's. Now the chain is back—with a bang. Its first new store to open in the country will serve up the Foie Gras Rossini Burger, which, yes, is topped with foie gras and costs 1,280 yen, or around $16. The Tokyo store will also serve a Truffle and Porcini Grilled Chicken...
2011: Deadly Year for Elephants
Associated Press
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Dec 29, 2011 8:39 AM CST
(Newser) -
This year will ring out as one of the deadliest for elephants since ivory sales were banned more than two decades ago. Officials seized tusks from a record 2,500 elephants, and while some of those could be from long-dead animals, the news still isn't good. "As most large-scale ivory seizures fail to result in any arrests, I fear the criminals...
Rivals Bash Ron Paul on Foreign Policy
Politico
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Dec 29, 2011 8:19 AM CST
(Newser) -
Now that Ron Paul looks like an actual threat to win the Iowa caucuses , his rivals are at last taking shots at him, aiming primarily at what they think is his biggest weakness: foreign policy. “You don’t have to vote for a candidate who will allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon to wipe Israel off the face of the Earth,” Rick Perry...
US Thinks Saleh Tricked It Into Killing Rival
Wall Street Journal
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Dec 29, 2011 7:46 AM CST
(Newser) -
The government of Yemen appears to have tricked the US into taking out a local political nuisance with a missile strike, top military leaders involved in the attack tell the Wall Street Journal . Yemeni officials alerted the US to a gathering of al-Qaeda leaders on May 25, 2010, and the US launched a strike on the strength of that intel. Hours later,...
GoDaddy Braces for Today's Mass Exodus
Fox News
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Dec 29, 2011 7:45 AM CST
(Newser) -
It's D-Day for GoDaddy: The domain king today faces a potentially devastating mass exodus over its brief support of the Stop Online Piracy Act , a controversial anti-piracy measure before Congress that's got First Amendment huggers hot under the collar. Seems GoDaddy's thumbs-up fell afoul of a single Reddit user, who uses the handle ...
Iran Films US Aircraft Carrier
Associated Press
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Dec 29, 2011 7:35 AM CST
(Newser) -
Iran's chest-thumping continues: An Iranian surveillance plane spotted and recorded footage of a US aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf as part of its current Navy drill in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran's state-run news agency said today. It quoted the top admiral in Iran's navy as saying that the "foreign fleet will be warned by Iranian...
North Korea Hails Era of 'Supreme Leader'
BBC
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Dec 29, 2011 7:17 AM CST
(Newser) -
North Koreans crammed into Pyongyang's main square today to hail Kim Jong Un as "supreme leader of the party, state, and army," in a memorial service for Kim Jong Il that the BBC notes appears to mark the unofficial transfer of power. The younger Kim was joined by North Korea's top brass on center stage. "The fact that he completely...
Bachmann's Iowa Chair Defects to Ron Paul
Politico
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Dec 29, 2011 6:22 AM CST
(Newser) -
With the Iowa caucuses just days away, it's not looking good for Michele Bachmann: Her Iowa campaign chair has defected to Ron Paul. Kent Sorenson, an Iowa state senator, says it was a tough decision, but he felt obligated to defend Paul against the Republican establishment, the Washington Post reports. "We're going to take Ron Paul...
Police Line-of-Duty Deaths Up 13%
CNN
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Dec 29, 2011 6:03 AM CST
(Newser) -
Law enforcement deaths in the line of duty rose 13% this year to 173—the second sharp rise since 2009's 50-year-low, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. Gunfire claimed the lives of 68 officers, making this the first year since 1997 in which more law enforcement officers died in shootings than in traffic accidents,...
Chavez Suggest US Gave World Leaders Cancer
CNN
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Dec 29, 2011 5:51 AM CST
(Newser) -
Argentina's Cristina Fernandez has become the latest Latin American leader to be diagnosed with cancer , prompting Hugo Chavez to wonder if the US is to blame. "Would it be strange if they had developed a technology to induce cancer, and for no one to know it?" pondered the Venezuelan leader, who was treated for cancer earlier this year....
Hitchcock's Birds Mystery Solved
ABC News
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Dec 29, 2011 5:40 AM CST
(Newser) -
The real-life mystery that inspired Alfred Hitchcock's 1963 thriller The Birds has been solved, researchers say. Hitchcock is said to have largely based the film on a bizarre incident in 1961, when flocks of crazed seabirds slammed into homes in California's Monterey Bay. Researchers now believe that, rather than being intent on destroying...
Samoa Skipping Dec. 30
Associated Press
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Dec 29, 2011 5:33 AM CST
(Newser) -
If you've got an appointment this Friday in Samoa, better reschedule. The Pacific island nation has decided it wants to be on the other side of the international date line and is canceling this year's Dec. 30 to get there, AP reports. For the country's 186,000 citizens, 11:59pm on Dec. 29 will be followed by Dec. 31.
US Hawking F-15s to Saudis
Associated Press
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Dec 29, 2011 5:32 AM CST
(Newser) -
As Iran continues its saber-rattling , the US is responding by beefing up the military might of a regional ally. The Obama administration will announce the sale of $29.4 billion in F-15s to Saudi Arabia, sources tell the AP , in a deal for 84 new jets and upgrades to 70 existing ones. The fighter jets are part of an overarching $60 billion arms...
Issues, Schmissues: GOP Just Wants a Winner
Los Angeles Times
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Dec 29, 2011 5:31 AM CST
(Newser) -
The fight for the Republican nomination is unusually light on issues this time around, the Los Angeles Times finds. Polls show that Republican voters, by a 2-to-1 margin, care more about whether a candidate can defeat President Obama in a general election than whether his (or her) stand on major issues agrees with theirs. Analysts say the trend...
Sundress Set Michelle Back $2K
Daily Mail (UK)
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Dec 29, 2011 4:22 AM CST
(Newser) -
Irritated penny-pinchers are still tallying up the costs of the First Family's Hawaiian vacation. Because Michelle and the girls went on ahead while the president wrestled with the payroll tax cut extension, some estimates put the price tag for the get-away at $4 million. Now critics are eyeing Michelle's clothing, claiming the ostensibly...
Mexican-American Studies Are Illegal: Arizona Judge
Los Angeles Times
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Dec 29, 2011 3:00 AM CST
(Newser) -
An Arizona judge has declared that a Tucson Mexican-American ethnic studies program in city high schools violates state law. The ruling backs a determination by controversial state Schools Superintendent John Huppenthal that the program is illegal under a new law banning educational programs that promote ethnic solidarity and provoke "racial resentment."...
17 Killed in Burma Blast
BBC
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Dec 29, 2011 2:29 AM CST
(Newser) -
A fire and a massive explosion killed at least 17 people in Rangoon today. More than 100 others, including dozens of firefighters, were injured by the pre-dawn blast in the former Burmese capital, the BBC reports. The blast in a warehouse compound is not thought to have been caused by a bomb, officials say. The explosion shook the entire city and...
Rogue Wave Damages Anti-Whaling Vessel
BBC
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Dec 29, 2011 2:27 AM CST
(Newser) -
A rogue wave off Antarctica has dealt a major setback to conservationists' efforts to thwart Japan's annual whale hunt. The wave hit the Sea Shepherd Society's Brigitte Bardot as it chased the Nisshin Maru factory ship, badly damaging one of its pontoons, the BBC reports. Another boat, the Steve Irwin , is racing to help the stricken...
Teen Recalls 'Big Light' in Videos Before Death
Los Angeles Times
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Dec 29, 2011 1:40 AM CST
(Newser) -
A Texas teen reveals his near-death experiences with a beneficent "big, bright light" in a crushingly poignant double video he made just days before his death on Christmas Day. Ben Breedlove, 18, recounts years of battling his progressively worsening hypertrophic cardiomyopathy heart illness and his three near-death experiences in a series...
Romney: Slap Ads on Freeloading Sesame Street
Raw Story
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Dec 29, 2011 1:10 AM CST
(Newser) -
America is too broke to subsidize ad-free TV for toddlers, Mitt Romney says. The candidate, while campaigning in Iowa yesterday, promised to balance the budget by cutting certain programs, and by requiring PBS to carry ads, forcing Bert and Ernie and the rest of the Sesame Street gang to start paying their own way, the Raw Story reports.
NASCAR Driver Tweets Disgust Over Nursing Mom
SportsGrid
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Dec 29, 2011 12:03 AM CST
(Newser) -
NASCAR driver Kasey Kahne was so disgusted when he spotted a mom nursing her baby at a local grocery store that he immediately tweeted his utter revulsion. “One boob put away, one boob hanging!!! Nasty,” tweeted the overwhelmed car jockey. "I don't feel like shopping anymore or eating." When a female follower complained about...
Newt: Campaign Worker's 'Fraud' Cost Me Virginia
CNN
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Dec 28, 2011 7:05 PM CST
(Newser) -
Newt Gingrich was in explaining mode today, with two notables: Virginia ballot: Gingrich said one of his own campaign workers cost him his bid to get on the state ballot . "We hired somebody who turned in false signatures," he said at a campaign stop in Iowa, according to CNN . "We turned in 11,100—we needed 10,000—1,500...
Pentagon Trims Top Brass
Washington Post
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Dec 28, 2011 6:38 PM CST
(Newser) -
The Pentagon is thinning its ranks from the top down: It has cut 27 positions for generals and admirals since March, which the Washington Post calls the biggest such reduction since the end of the Cold War. Military leaders are taking advantage of the end of the war in Iraq and the winding down of the war in Afghanistan to push toward a goal of...
Avastin Results Disappoint on Ovarian Cancer
Associated Press
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Dec 28, 2011 6:14 PM CST
(AP) -
Avastin, the blockbuster drug that just lost approval for treating breast cancer , now looks disappointing against ovarian cancer, too. Two studies found it did not improve survival for most of these patients and kept their disease from worsening for only a few months, with more side effects. The Genentech drug won approval in Europe last week for...
NASA Probes to Reach Moon Over New Year's
Associated Press
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Dec 28, 2011 5:57 PM CST
(Newser) -
Two NASA probes are poised to reach the moon over the New Year's holiday. After a journey of more than three months, the $496 million Grail probes—short for Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory—will soon be in place, reports AP . Grail A is set to arrive on New Year's Eve and Grail B the following day.
Members of Congress With Lowest Net Worth
Washington Post
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Dec 28, 2011 5:39 PM CST
(Newser) -
Apparently, not everyone in Congress is rich . The Washington Post compiled a list of the 25 lawmakers with the lowest net worth, based on 2010 disclosures analyzed by the Center for Responsive Politics. Here are the "top" 5, all of whom are in the red. (There's no explanation given for the debt):
Russia's Failed Mars Probe Will Crash to Earth
Fox News
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Dec 28, 2011 5:11 PM CST
(Newser) -
A failed Russian spacecraft will plummet back to Earth next month, and more than two dozen chunks of it could make impact, along with a load of toxic fuel. The expected crash date of the Phobos-Grunt probe is mid-January, and nearly 400 pounds of fragments could survive re-entry, reports Fox News . The Russian probe launched last month —it...
Santorum Sees Big Rise in Latest Iowa Poll
CNN
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Dec 28, 2011 4:47 PM CST
(Newser) -
Looks like Rick Santorum will be around for a while. He has promised to drop from the race if he finishes last in Iowa next week, and a new poll shows that almost certainly will not happen. In fact, the CNN/ Time survey has Santorum in third place at 16%, up 11 points from the start of the month, reports CNN . He is behind Mitt Romney (25%) and...
Southerners Pay Big Money for Fake Snow
ABC News
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Dec 28, 2011 4:24 PM CST
(Newser) -
Weird trend story of the holidays: ABC News says people in the South are apparently very happy to shell out big money to have their yards covered in fake snow. One company says it has "booked" more than 230 tons of the stuff this month, up from 140 tons last December. "It's just absolutely exploded this year," says the president...
Venezuela Offers Free Removal of Faulty Implants
BBC
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Dec 28, 2011 3:39 PM CST
(Newser) -
The Venezuelan government has offered to pay for the removal of defective breast implants for its own citizens, reports the BBC . The implants were produced by a now-defunct French company and are filled with industrial grade silicone—increasing their chance of rupturing. Replacement implants, however, will not be covered.
NY Times Mistakenly Sends Email to 9M People
jimromenesko.com
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Dec 28, 2011 3:29 PM CST
(Newser) -
Nearly 9 million people got a puzzling email from the New York Times today, but fears of a massive hack are apparently unfounded. Turns out, it was good old-fashioned human error. The newspaper meant to send the email only to a few hundred people who had recently canceled home delivery, but it instead went out to anyone who had ever provided an...
US to Iran: Shutting Hormuz 'Will Not Be Tolerated'
MSNBC
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Dec 28, 2011 2:52 PM CST
(Newser) -
The rhetoric between the US and Iran over the Strait of Hormuz is heating up, reports MSNBC . After Tehran threatened to shut down the strait if the West imposes sanctions, the US Navy's 5th Fleet responded thusly: "Anyone who threatens to disrupt freedom of navigation in an international strait is clearly outside the community of nations;...
Tourist Finds Human Leg on Florida Beach
Tampa Bay Times
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Dec 28, 2011 2:27 PM CST
(Newser) -
A family visiting St. Petersburg, Florida, got a nasty surprise yesterday, when they stumbled upon a severed human leg that had washed ashore on a small beach tucked behind a waterfront neighborhood. The leg was pale, white, and shaven, bent at the knee and cut with eerie cleanness at the thigh and foot. “We don’t know the cause and manner...
More Unemployed Turn to Social Security Disability
Wall Street Journal
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Dec 28, 2011 2:15 PM CST
(Newser) -
The ranks of Americans collecting Social Security Disability Insurance payments have swelled dramatically in recent years, and that may be because more people are turning to the program when they can’t find work, the Wall Street Journal reports. Some 10.6 million Americans are now on the program, compared to 7.2 million in 2002. And one recent...
Book Alleges Richard Nixon Had Gay Affair
Daily Mail (UK)
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Dec 28, 2011 2:00 PM CST
(Newser) -
Your salacious political rumor of the day: A soon-to-be-released biography of Richard Nixon alleges that he had a longtime gay affair with Miami businessman Charles "Bebe" Rebozo, reports the Huffington Post . The allegation in Nixon's Darkest Secrets is getting some traction because the book is written by veteran political reporter...
Failing Artificial Hips Will Cost Us Billions
New York Times
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Dec 28, 2011 1:45 PM CST
(Newser) -
In the coming years, tens of thousands of US patients could face operations to replace artificial hip implants that are failing prematurely—and the cost could reach billions for taxpayers, insurers, employers, and others. In an extensive look at the problem, the New York Times calls it “the most widespread medical implant failure in...
Melting Peru Glaciers Threaten Water Crisis
Treehugger
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Dec 28, 2011 1:32 PM CST
(Newser) -
Peru’s arid Rio Santa watershed could find itself facing a serious water shortage, as rapidly melting glaciers are causing a decrease in supply 20 to 30 years earlier than anticipated. The glaciers in the Cordillera Blanca mountain range, which covered some 530 square miles in the 1930s, now cover less than 375, a new study finds. The glaciers...
Let's Stop Overprotecting Our Kids
Wall Street Journal
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Dec 28, 2011 1:17 PM CST
(Newser) -
Remember earlier this year when Applebee's accidentally served alcohol to a toddler ? Lenore Skenazy does, along with what she sees as the ridiculous overreaction of both the national media and the restaurant chain. It was "as if serving toddlers stiff drinks had been company-wide policy," she writes in the Wall Street Journal . Unfortunately,...
Our Pundit Screw-Ups of the Year
Washington Post
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Dec 28, 2011 12:47 PM CST
(Newser) -
Political pundits are in the business of making predictions—usually secure in the knowledge that no one will remember when they mess up. “We’re not always wrong,” writes Dave Weigel of Slate . “But we’re wrong enough.” He and Dana Milbank of the Washington Post both chose this week to look back over their...
Gary Johnson Launches Third-Party Bid
Wall Street Journal
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Dec 28, 2011 12:35 PM CST
(Newser) -
Gary Johnson formally launched his bid to run for president as the Libertarian candidate today, declaring himself "liberated" and fed up with the "elitist media organizations" that largely ignored his attempt to run as a Republican, reports CNN . "I'm a Libertarian in belief," said the former New Mexico governor....
Rival Monks in Broom Brawl at Christ's Birthplace
Associated Press
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Dec 28, 2011 12:22 PM CST
(Newser) -
Not a very nice birthday present for Jesus: Dozens of rival monks brawled at his birthplace today, as the feuding clergy members were performing an annual cleaning of the holy spot. The Church of the Nativity, built over the site where Jesus is believed to have been born in Bethlehem, was being cleaned ahead of next month’s Orthodox Christmas...
