Newser Story Index from July, 2012
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.
Wembley Stadium Security Keys Go Missing
Associated Press
|
Jul 30, 2012 3:05 AM CDT
(Newser) -
So police may have misplaced a set of keys for massive Olympic venue Wembley Stadium—but that doesn't mean there's anything to worry about, says Scotland Yard. Authorities are pretty sure the keys were simply misplaced, and not stolen—and are reasonably certain they haven't fallen into the wrong hands. But just to be certain,...
Kent State Student Busted for Tweeting Shooting Threat
newsnet5
|
Jul 30, 2012 1:50 AM CDT
(Newser) -
A 19-year-old Kent State student was busted by police at his parents' home yesterday after university officials say he tweeted that he was going to "shoot up" the campus. Sophomore William Koberna was charged with inducing panic, a felony, and aggravated menacing, reports WEWS-TV . He's scheduled to be arraigned today. He'll...
Mitt: I'll Have to Check on My Tax Rate
ABC News
|
Jul 30, 2012 1:25 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Amid the buzz of his world travels, ABC brought Mitt Romney back to his old Achilles heel: taxes. Asked last night if he has ever paid less than the 13.9% rate he paid in 2010, Romney said he'd have to check his records. "I haven't calculated that,” Romney said in response to a question from David Muir on World News Tonight ....
Boy, 9, Clings to Life After He's Shot in Head by Dad
Worcester Telegram & Gazette News
|
Jul 30, 2012 1:00 AM CDT
(Newser) -
A Massachusetts boy is fighting for his life after he and his 7-year-old sister were shot in the head by their suicidal father, said law enforcement authorities. Police found Daryl Benway, 41, and daughter Abigail dead in the master bedroom of their Oxford home. Owen Benway, 9, was found still alive in the kitchen, reports the Worcester Telegram...
Octomom Begging Fans to Help Buy Her a New Home
TMZ
|
Jul 30, 2012 12:29 AM CDT
(Newser) -
A porn flick and stripping may be moving Octomom Nadya Suleman off welfare, but they haven't saved the home she shares with her 14 kids from foreclosure. So she's begging sympathetic Internet surfers to send her $150,000 so she can buy a new house, reports TMZ . "I am having to move out of my home soon, and I'm very close to being...
Zombies Cream Westboro Protest
Huffington Post
|
Jul 30, 2012 12:01 AM CDT
(Newser) -
It was the afterlife vs. the undead: Protesters from the Westboro Baptist Church encountered a protest of their own on Friday. Ersatz zombies organized on Facebook to counter Westboro's appearance at the Lewis-McChord joint military base south of Seattle. Some 300 zombies and supporters easily overran the paltry eight protesters in the Westboro...
The Ticket to Healthy Snacks: Animal Feed?
Wall Street Journal
|
Jul 29, 2012 7:00 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Milk, sugar, flour, eggs ... and pulverized corn kernels typically fed to farm animals. If that doesn't whet your appetite, then consider the health benefits of that final ingredient, known as "dried distillers' grain," or DDG. The substance is left over in the process of turning corn into ethanol, and it's jam-packed with fiber...
Black Couple: White Church Refused to Marry Us
Associated Press
|
Jul 29, 2012 5:30 PM CDT
(AP) -
A Mississippi couple says the church where they planned to get married turned them away because they are black. Charles and Te'Andrea Wilson say they had set the date and mailed invitations, but the day before their wedding they say they got bad news from the pastor of predominantly white First Baptist Church of Crystal Springs: Some members of...
20 Most Influential Americans Ever
newsfeed.time.com
|
Jul 29, 2012 5:00 PM CDT
(Newser) -
In its 236 years, America has been shaped by legions of intelligent, courageous, and noble characters. Time singles out 20 as the most influential in history, including:
Israel's New Protest Movement: Suicide by Fire
GlobalPost
|
Jul 29, 2012 4:30 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Israel is searching for answers after seven people tried to end it all—and make a shocking public statement—with suicide by fire. The first was Moshe Silman, who killed himself with lighter fluid and a match at a rally for the first anniversary of Israel's Occupy movement on July 14. Among the six who followed, all have lived, but one...
Stop With Those Awful Exclamation Points
Salon
|
Jul 29, 2012 4:10 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Who could hate a friendly little punctuation mark? Steve Macone could, and does, even though he's addicted to using it. "I've come to hate" exclamation points in texts and emails, he writes at Salon . "'See you at 1:00 for the meeting,' I type, and then hesitate: If I don’t add an exclamation point it sounds like...
America's Worst Airport for Spreading Disease Is ...
New York Daily News
|
Jul 29, 2012 3:41 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Which US airport is most likely to spread an infectious disease during an epidemic? This won't surprise New Yorkers: It's JFK. But its top ranking has nothing to do with dirtiness, reports the New York Daily News . MIT scientists who analyzed 40 of the biggest US airports compared them by location, links to other airports, number of passengers,...
Vollmer Sets World Record in Butterfly
Associated Press
|
Jul 29, 2012 3:13 PM CDT
(AP) -
Dana Vollmer won a gold medal at the Olympics and set a world record, too. Not bad for someone who didn't even qualify four years ago. On a night featuring a relay duel between the Australians and the Americans, Vollmer got things started with a bang today in the 100-meter butterfly. She was third at the turn but powered to the wall for a time...
US Doctor Shortage Is Getting Scary
New York Times
|
Jul 29, 2012 3:00 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Struggling to find a good primary care doctor these days? You're not alone. Seems the US has far too few of them, and ObamaCare won't really plug the gap, the New York Times reports. Even with President Obama's health care plan, America will have 100,000 fewer doctors than needed by 2025. Among the reasons why: Medical students are...
Cheney Calls Palin VP Pick 'a Mistake'
ABC News
|
Jul 29, 2012 2:30 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Dick Cheney's advice to Mitt Romney: Don't go with another Caribou Barbie. In an ABC News interview, the former VP said John McCain's decision to run with Sarah Palin was simply "a mistake." He added that "the test to get on that small list has to be, 'Is this person capable of being president of the United States?'"...
Revealed: What Space Smells Like
lifeslittlemysteries.com
|
Jul 29, 2012 2:10 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Outer space may be soundless, but it's apparently not odorless. Life's Little Mysteries recently stumbled upon a 2009 interview with a NASA astronaut that's too good to not resurrect. In it, Kevin Ford spoke of picking up the weird odor while undertaking spacewalks. It's not something he could smell while embarking on them (the...
Why Romney Made That 'Horrible' Gaffe
New York Times
|
Jul 29, 2012 1:51 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Turns out Mitt wasn't the first Romney to show off his foot-in-mouth skills. His father George, running for president in 1967, said officials had put him through “the greatest brainwashing that anybody can get” when he toured Vietnam. "And it was painful for Mitt" to see dad take criticism, writes Maureen Dowd in the New...
London Scrambles as Seats Sit Empty
Wall Street Journal
|
Jul 29, 2012 1:20 PM CDT
(Newser) -
For months, tickets for London 2012 events have been so impossible to lay hands on that organizers have had to resort to ... filling vast swaths of empty seats with servicemembers? Yesterday's first full day of competition showcased hundreds of unfilled seats, even in primetime events such as swimming and gymnastics, reports the Wall Street Journal...
AIDS Epidemic Rages Through the Deep South
Los Angeles Times
|
Jul 29, 2012 12:49 PM CDT
(Newser) -
You might think HIV/AIDS has been relegated to a Third World problem, but the virus is ravaging populations right here in the American South. Some 50% of new HIV cases occur in Dixie, which is home to more HIV-positive Americans than any other region and also has the country's highest AIDS death rate. Poor minority areas often lack effective treatments,...
USA Basketball Romps Over France
New York Times
|
Jul 29, 2012 12:14 PM CDT
(Newser) -
With Michelle Obama cheering them on, Lebron James, Kobe Bryant and the US men's basketball team tidily put France away today in a preliminary game, reports the New York Times , in the first step to defending their gold medal. Though France is led by Tony Parker and five other NBA stars, they proved no match for Team USA and fell 98-71. "They're...
Pot Will Be Legal, and Soon
Rolling Stone
|
Jul 29, 2012 11:02 AM CDT
(Newser) -
This November, three states will vote on whether to legalize marijuana for old-fashioned "getting-high purposes." Colorado is the best bet—one poll has the public behind the bill by a 61-27 margin—but Oregon and/or Washington might as well, and even if all of them chicken out, Julian Brookes of Rolling Stone thinks the end...
Scalia: You Can't Call a Penalty a Pig
Politico
|
Jul 29, 2012 10:59 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Antonin Scalia is still fired up about the Supreme Court's refusal to overturn ObamaCare, appearing on Fox News Sunday to decry the majority opinion that the individual mandate is a tax. "You don't interpret a penalty to be a pig," he said, according to Politico . "It can't be a pig. And what my dissent said in the Affordable...
Romney: We Stand With Israel Vs. Iran
Reuters
|
Jul 29, 2012 9:58 AM CDT
(Newser) -
As Mitt Romney prayed today at the Western Wall as part of his show of support for the Middle Eastern state, the region is getting more than its fair share of American politics. A breakdown: Sky News reports that a top Romney adviser told media that a nuclear Iran would be "unacceptable," and that "if Israel has to take action...
Pals Re-Create Same Photo for Decades
CNN
|
Jul 29, 2012 9:42 AM CDT
(Newser) -
In 1982, five young men posed for a photo at a California lake. Little did they know then that they'd be doing the same thing every five years for the rest of their lives. They've just marked the 30th anniversary of the tradition, and the series of photos shows a group of friends changing styles and shapes across the decades, CNN reports.
Koch-Funded Climate Skeptic: Oops, Humans Are to Blame
New York Times
|
Jul 29, 2012 9:13 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Physicist Richard Muller co-founded the Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature project three years ago to debunk global warming fears, even getting a hefty grant from the conservative Koch brothers for his work. Last fall, he backtracked a bit , admitting the evidence for global warming was solid, but denying you could prove humanity was the cause....
15 Celebrity Nude Scandals
Celebuzz
|
Jul 29, 2012 8:39 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Minka Kelly is the latest celebrity to find herself in the middle of a nude video scandal—but her case is particularly controversial because the 1998 sex tape (which is currently for sale ) may just show her before she became a legal adult. Fourteen more notorious nude tape scandals, from Celebuzz : Rob Lowe: His sex tape—which...
Palin Grabs a Bite at Chick-fil-A
Politico
|
Jul 29, 2012 8:14 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Stumping for Senate candidate Ted Cruz, Sarah Palin worked up a Texas-sized hunger and sauntered right into the gay-marriage brouhaha ignited by Chick-fil-A : The former Alaska governor tweeted a photo of herself and husband Todd at a restaurant, declaring, "Stopped by Chick-fil-A in The Woodlands to support a great business." No stranger...
Greece Caves, Agrees to Full Austerity
Reuters
|
Jul 29, 2012 7:27 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Greece blinked today: In a showdown with creditors, the crisis-wracked country agreed to find the final $1.85 billion needed to reach the $14.2 billion in cuts required to get desperately needed aid money in September, reports Reuters . Greece had been asking for more time, but fed-up German and EU donors in turn threatened to pull the plug on the...
Mom of Aurora's Youngest Victim Suffers Miscarriage
Denver Post
|
Jul 29, 2012 6:56 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The mother of Veronica Moser-Sullivan, the 6-year-old who was the youngest victim in the Dark Knight shooting, has been hit by another loss, suffering a miscarriage yesterday, reports the Denver Post . Ashley Moser, 25, incurred injuries to the neck and abdomen in the shooting, and was undergoing surgery when she had the miscarriage. Moser still...
London Cops Bust 182, Charge 4 in Olympic Protests
Associated Press
|
Jul 29, 2012 6:43 AM CDT
(AP) -
London police arrested 182 activists on bicycles who tried to breach the Olympic Park's security cordon during the Opening Ceremony, officials said today. Four people were charged with various offenses during Friday night's protest, while the rest were released pending further questioning, Scotland Yard said. Police said that they were aware...
Syrian Rebels Hold Off Regime, But Onslaught Continues
Associated Press
|
Jul 29, 2012 6:23 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Government tanks, artillery, and helicopters continued to pound rebel-held Aleppo today, in what could be one of the biggest battles of the Syrian uprising yet, reports the AP . Rebels have so far managed to keep government forces at bay, but the cost has been high, with 29 killed in Aleppo yesterday and 168 around Syria, including 94 civilians,...
China's Ye, 16, Sets Swim Record
Associated Press
|
Jul 29, 2012 5:27 AM CDT
(AP) -
China's Ye Shiwen set the first world record in the Olympic pool, winning the women's 400-meter individual medley with a dominant finishing kick last night. The 16-year-old Ye trailed American teenager Elizabeth Beisel more than halfway through the grueling race, but pulled away in the freestyle leg to win gold in 4 minutes, 28.43 seconds....
14 Dead in Ebola Outbreak in Uganda
Associated Press
|
Jul 29, 2012 5:09 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Ebola is back. Health officials have confirmed that a deadly virus that killed 14 people in western Uganda earlier this month is a new "outbreak of Ebola," reports the AP . "Laboratory investigations done at the Uganda Virus Research Institute ... have confirmed that the strange disease reported in Kibaale is indeed Ebola hemorrhagic...
What Some Olympic Athletes Eat Is Insane
New York Times
|
Jul 28, 2012 7:00 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Some Olympic athletes maintain their prime physical condition by ... eating an entire cheese pizza and a full pint of Ben & Jerry's? Believe it. The New York Times takes a look at the outsize dietary needs of top athletes, who, as one doctor explains, can burn as many as 20 calories a minute. That means a fairly typical five-hour daily...
Top 10 Firsts in Olympic Games
List Universe
|
Jul 28, 2012 5:31 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The Olympics have come a long way since the first games were hosted in Olympia, Greece, in 776 BC. Listverse looks at few inspiring firsts:
3 Shooting Victims Mourned
Associated Press
|
Jul 28, 2012 4:58 PM CDT
(AP) -
The woman whom Matt McQuinn loved and whose life he saved by taking three bullets for her wept as pastors spoke of his heroism and sacrifice during his funeral today, and of the senselessness of the shooting spree at a Colorado movie theater where he and 11 others were killed just more than a week ago. Mourners packed a church in Springfield, Ohio,...
Teddy Bears Really Did Invade Belarus
USA Today
|
Jul 28, 2012 4:39 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Airborne teddy bears apparently are capable of invading Belarus, despite official denials. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has finally admitted that a Swedish plane dropped teddy bears by parachute over the town of Ivyanets, near Minsik, a few weeks ago. The bears wore signs that read, "Belarus freedom" and "We support the...
Mystery Donor Gives Away $900K and Vanishes
New York Times
|
Jul 28, 2012 4:10 PM CDT
(Newser) -
How can a small apartment in Queens, New York, be the source of nearly $900,000 in political donations? This odd center for financial activity is the home of 64-year-old James Williams; not much is known about him except that he's reclusive, he walks with a cane, and he likes ordering in Chinese food. And he has started at least 25 companies, most...
29 Dead in 'Fierce' Syrian Assault on Aleppo
Al Jazeera Magazine
|
Jul 28, 2012 3:30 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Syrian troops have bombed and strafed rebels in the key city of Aleppo for days now in preparation for a major assault—and that assault is under way, report al-Jazeera and the BBC . Ground troops and tanks that had been massing on the city's outskirts poured in today, according to the watchdog group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights...
Women May Be Smarter, But They're Also Lazier
newsfeed.time.com
|
Jul 28, 2012 3:10 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Guys, here's something to cite the next time your gal is nagging you to get off the couch: An international study suggests that women are lazier than men. A paper published by Lancet this week surveyed 122 countries to find out how active the global population is, reports Time . Around 30% of the world's adults were designated as physically...
Americans Make Life Easier With At-Home Dialysis
New York Times
|
Jul 28, 2012 2:51 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Dialysis treatment need not involve unpleasant trips to a medical center three or so times a week. Some Americans with kidney disease are now doing it themselves by hooking up to dialysis at home, the New York Times' The New Old Age blog reports. Barbara Boyle of Hayward, Calif., decided on the DIY method so she can travel with the machine...
Bullied Bus Monitor Quits With $700K
newser.com
|
Jul 28, 2012 2:30 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The school bus monitor who was tormented ruthlessly by young bullies has decided to pack up and retire, the AP reports. Karen Klein, 68, said she's not giving up her 3-year gig of watching over school children because it was too difficult. "I'm not quitting because of what happened. That's not it," she said. "I enjoyed...
Lochte Wins 400 IM; Phelps Finishes 4th
Associated Press
|
Jul 28, 2012 2:08 PM CDT
(AP) -
Ryan Lochte turned his much-anticipated duel with Michael Phelps into a blowout, pulling away to win the Olympic 400-meter individual medley by more than 3 seconds today. Even more stunning: Phelps didn't even win a medal. After barely qualifying for the evening final in a performance that hinted at trouble ahead, Phelps struggled to a fourth-place...
Pattinson Wants 'Man to Man Talk'
Radar
|
Jul 28, 2012 1:50 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Robert Pattinson wants to know what really happened with Kristen Stewart and her backseat lover boy, Radar Online reports. "Rob wants to have a man to man chat with Rupert [Sanders] to find out exactly what happened between him and Kristen," says a source close to Pattinson. Because Kristen has already betrayed him with Sanders, her...
Seattle Police Agrees to Reforms on Use of Force
Seattle Times
|
Jul 28, 2012 1:27 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Seattle's police department has agreed to a series of reforms after the Justice Department alleged that officers in the city routinely used excessive force during even minor arrests, especially against minorities, reports AP . A federal monitor will oversee the changes, which reach "into almost every aspect of how police officers interact...
$10 Goodwill Buy: $15K Painting
Charlotte Observer
|
Jul 28, 2012 12:49 PM CDT
(Newser) -
During a visit to Goodwill, a North Carolina artist spotted two large abstract paintings selling for $10 each. That's a quarter of the price a brand new canvas would have cost Beth Feeback, and she figured she could easily paint over them with her subject of choice—cats with big eyes. Good thing she didn't: After Googling the name found...
Romney Heads to Israel, Poised for Big Gains
Daily Beast
|
Jul 28, 2012 12:20 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Mitt Romney arrives in Israel today, and his visit promises to be a lot more rewarding than his stop in London for the Olympics. The trip is important, writes Eli Lake at the Daily Beast , because Romney is poised to make inroads among Jewish voters in the US as no Republican has in years. GOP presidential candidates generally have trouble cracking...
Cops: Man Fatally Shoots 3, Takes Daughter
Associated Press
|
Jul 28, 2012 11:36 AM CDT
(AP) -
A man in south-central Pennsylvania confronting his wife about custody arrangements for their daughter shot to death three people, then fled with the 4-year-old girl before the two were found about 250 miles away in Ohio, authorities said today. Kevin Matthew Cleeves was trying to contact his wife yesterday to make arrangements to pick up his daughter...
Eye Doctors Zero In on Vision Loss
Wall Street Journal
|
Jul 28, 2012 10:36 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Those who were once blind may someday see, thanks to decades of research into what causes certain types of blindness. Scientists have developed several types of experimental treatments, including gene therapy, which could help prevent the rare eye disorder known as Stargardt disease, one of many vision problems that results from the degeneration of...
Near Stunner: Phelps Barely Qualifies
bbc.co.uk
|
Jul 28, 2012 9:48 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Some milestones on day one of the London Olympics: First near upset: Michael Phelps just barely qualified in his first event, the 400-meter individual medley, reports AP . "That one didn't feel too good," said Phelps, who squeaked into the eighth and final spot by seven-hundredths of a second. First gold medal: Yi Siling...
