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.
NCAA Fines Penn State $60M, Bans It From Bowls
ESPN
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Jul 23, 2012 8:30 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Penn State didn't get the so-called "death penalty," but the NCAA brought down the hammer pretty hard nonetheless, fining the university $60 million—or about what the football program grosses in one year—and banning it from bowl games for four years. NCAA President Mark Emmert said that though there was no action it could...
Next Stop for California GOP: 3rd Place?
New York Times
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Jul 23, 2012 8:24 AM CDT
(Newser) -
California's Republican Party has hit on hard times—even as the Democrats preside over a nearly 11% unemployment rate. Not one Republican holds statewide office, and the party is at risk of falling behind both Democrats and independents in the state's electoral makeup within six years. Right now, Dems account for 43% of voters, Republicans...
Worst for Wildlife: Vietnam
Associated Press
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Jul 23, 2012 8:07 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Rhinos, tigers, and elephants don't fare so well in Vietnam: The Asian country is the worst when it comes to wildlife crime, says the WWF in its first report on the matter. Rhinos are in danger there because citizens believe the horns have medicinal value; legalized tiger farms also helped push the country to the top of the list. China, which has...
Gun Range Barred 'Creepy' Aurora Suspect
ABC News
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Jul 23, 2012 7:49 AM CDT
(Newser) -
James Holmes might not have triggered any alarms when he purchased his arsenal of guns, but a gun range operator found him so "creepy" that he barred him from the premises a month ago. Holmes, 24, applied for membership in the Lead Valley Range in Byers, Colo., but when owner Glenn Rotkovich called him at home to follow up he heard a "bizarre,...
Arab League to Assad: 'Safe Exit' If You Go Now
Wall Street Journal
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Jul 23, 2012 7:46 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The UN Security Council may be preventing nations from becoming involved in Syria's civil war, but the US is increasingly pushing secret, non-military efforts to hurt Bashar al-Assad's regime, reports the Wall Street Journal . And the Arab League is trying to shoo him out the door. The main US strategy is to prevent Iran-to-Syria air shipments,...
Pickup Crashes in Texas, Killing 13 of 23 Riders
NBC News
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Jul 23, 2012 7:41 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Tragedy in Texas, where at least 13 people are dead and 10 injured after a pickup truck carrying 23 passengers—crammed into both the cab and the bed—ran into two large trees. "This is the most people I've seen in any passenger vehicle, and I've been an officer for 38 years," a spokesman for the Texas Department of Public...
Huma Abedin Under Police Protection After Threats
New York Post
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Jul 23, 2012 7:19 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The latest fallout from Michele Bachmann's Muslim infiltration conspiracy theory: Now Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin—whose family, Bachmann claims, is vaguely connected to the Muslim Brotherhood —has been threatened by a New Jersey man. Abedin is under police protection following the threat, and the man—a Muslim—has been...
Tough Questions Surface After Deadly Beijing Rains
Associated Press
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Jul 23, 2012 6:41 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The death toll in the torrential rains and flooding that hit Beijing over the weekend has risen to 37, with 57,000 evacuated from neighborhoods swamped by rising waters, and $1.6 billion in damage, reports the New York Times . With more than six inches of rain falling over the weekend, the roofs of old homes collapsed, highway underpasses turned...
93 Killed in Iraq's Bloodiest Day Since US Exit
Associated Press
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Jul 23, 2012 6:23 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Thirteen cities across Iraq suffered bombings and shootings today as the country experienced its deadliest day since US troops left in December. Some 93 people were killed in the attacks, which all occurred in a span of a few hours and appeared coordinated, the AP reports. The deadliest attack occurred in the Sunni town of Taji, where bombs exploded...
Drew Peterson Finally on Trial in Wife's Death
Associated Press
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Jul 23, 2012 5:51 AM CDT
(Newser) -
A pool of 200 potential jurors has waited three years for the Drew Peterson murder trial to begin; today, jury selection will finally begin in what's set to be a rather unorthodox case. Those selected to hear the case will listen to what is, in effect, posthumous testimony based on hearsay: Those who were close to Peterson's third and fourth...
World's Richest Hiding $21 Trillion From Taxman
New York Daily News
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Jul 23, 2012 5:30 AM CDT
(Newser) -
While Democrats and Republicans argue about who should get tax cuts in America —those making $250,000 a year or $1 million annually—the really, really megarich are hiding some real money around the world in tax havens and sheltered offshore accounts reports the Guardian . In fact, at least $21 trillion (and up to $32 trillion) is...
Jammed Rifle May Have Saved Lives
Associated Press
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Jul 23, 2012 5:19 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Aurora shooting suspect James Holmes' most powerful gun, a semi-automatic assault rifle, jammed on him early during his rampage, forcing him to use a less powerful weapon that may have saved lives, police tell the AP in a round-up of the latest news on Holmes and the Dark Night massacre. For now, Holmes is being held in solitary confinement...
Jackson's Mom Reported Missing, Found Safe
Associated Press
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Jul 23, 2012 4:43 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Michael Jackson's mother, reported missing since a dispute escalated concerning the dead singer's estate, is safe and has been contacted by law enforcement authorities, reports AP. California police reached out to Katherine Jackson, 82, who's the guardian of the singer's three kids, after a concerned relative contacted them. Paris...
Police Shooting Triggers Violent Face-Off in Anaheim
Associated Press
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Jul 23, 2012 4:32 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The fatal shooting of an unarmed man by police in Anaheim, Calif., has two police officers on paid leave and a community in an uproar, reports the Los Angeles Times . Two cops approached three men in an alley Saturday. Two of those men drove off, but the third, Manuel Diaz, a reported gang member, threw something onto a rooftop and ran. That led...
'Virgin Mary Tree' Sparks Knotty Problems
New York Times
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Jul 23, 2012 1:52 AM CDT
(Newser) -
A knot in a tree said to resemble the Virgin Mary is sparking a holy mess in a New Jersey town. Throngs are coming to pray and weep before the "miracle" spotted earlier this month by a woman riding to her job in a perfume factory. Others come to deride the worshipers. And all of them are jamming the streets. Now the town of West New York...
13-Year-Old Girl Stayed in Theater to Give CPR
CBS News
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Jul 23, 2012 1:40 AM CDT
(Newser) -
A 13-year-old girl who attended the deadly screening of The Dark Knight Rises is being hailed for her attempts to save 6-year old Veronica Moser-Sullivan , reports CBS News . Kaylan, whose mother didn't want her last name used, went to the movies with four friends, including Veronica and her mom. Three of them were shot in the rampage by suspected...
Kennedy Clan Warring Over Ted's Estate
Boston Globe
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Jul 23, 2012 1:21 AM CDT
(Newser) -
All is not calm in Camelot. A major battle is building between Ted Kennedy's widow and his children over the establishment of a $71 million institution in the late senator's honor. The tension centers on the construction and management of the Edward Kennedy Institute for the US Senate, a close family source tells the Boston Globe . Ted's...
Cop Kills Son, Mistaking Him for Intruder
Post-Standard (Syracuse)
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Jul 23, 2012 12:51 AM CDT
(Newser) -
An off-duty New York police officer shot dead his own son, believing he was an intruder, he told investigators. Michael Leach, 59, was staying in an upstate motel over the weekend when he opened fire on his 37-year-old son, Matthew, of Rochester. Leach used his department-issued .45-caliber Glock in the shooting, said police. Leach was hospitalized...
President: God Will 'Wipe Away Every Tear'
Denver Post
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Jul 23, 2012 12:02 AM CDT
(Newser) -
President Obama quoted scripture yesterday at an emotional three-hour meeting with survivors of the Aurora movie massacre and their families, saying that God will "wipe away every tear and death shall be no more ." Obama traveled to the University of Colorado Hospital "not so much as president but as a father and husband," in an...
Conservative Blogger's Sting Hilariously Backfires
jimromenesko.com
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Jul 22, 2012 7:00 PM CDT
(Newser) -
An unidentified conservative blogger thought he had caught a liberal columnist in quite the compromising position. Photos of one-time Cleveland Plain Dealer writer Connie Schultz apparently canoodling with a US senator from Ohio looked extremely damning. "Dear Ms. Shultz," the blogger wrote, misspelling her name: "We are doing an expose...
Constantly Online? Mental Problems Await
charlotte.cbslocal.com
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Jul 22, 2012 5:40 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Reading this could be dangerous for your mental health—if you've already been online for a while. Swedish researchers studied more than 4,100 men and women in their early 20s, and found that most of the ones constantly glued to computers and cell phones were prone to depression, sleeping disorders, and stress, CBS Charlotte reports. “It...
14 Strange Celeb Pregnancy Cravings
The Frisky
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Jul 22, 2012 5:17 PM CDT
(Newser) -
So what do the rich and famous crave while pregnant? Weird food, just like the rest of us. The Frisky rounds up 14 celebrity cravings: Angelina Jolie: Cinnamon- and chili-flavored chocolate, and onion rings with mustard. Elisabeth Hasselbeck: Gluten-free cookies, and watermelon with salt and lime.
Why Rupert Murdoch Quit Several Top Positions
Daily Beast
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Jul 22, 2012 4:50 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Rupert Murdoch has resigned from the boards of several companies that control his newspapers, as the Telegraph reported—but why? News Corp called it “nothing more than a corporate housecleaning exercise," but Howard Kurtz writes this at The Daily Beast : "Don't buy it." Besieged by the phone hacking scandal in Britain,...
Friends, Family Remember
Associated Press
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Jul 22, 2012 4:17 PM CDT
(Newser) -
As Aurora, Colo., continues to grieve for the 12 dead and 58 wounded at the Dark Knight massacre, the AP has talked to family and friends of the victims. Here's what they are saying: Jonathan Blunk, 26. A veteran of three tours in the Persian Gulf and the North Arabian Sea, he planned to re-enlist and become a Navy SEAL. He died protecting...
The World's Worst Spammer Is ...
Los Angeles Times
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Jul 22, 2012 3:40 PM CDT
(Newser) -
So you find your morning spam deluge annoying? Well, you can thank India, which has become the world's top sender of spam emails, the Los Angeles Times reports. Its poor law enforcement and burgeoning middle class—which adds about 7 million computers monthly—are largely behind the dubious distinction. "This is one record India...
'Awe Therapy' Can Ease Our Hurried Minds
Independent
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Jul 22, 2012 3:15 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Awwwesome . Say it enough, and your health improves—at least according to those who believe in "awe therapy." Researchers at Stanford University say that people who have "awesome" experiences, like seeing the Grand Canyon or the Northern Lights, get fixed on the present moment and feel time slowing down. They become more...
Notorious Art Forger Rebrands as Genuine Faker
New York Times
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Jul 22, 2012 2:50 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Ken Perenyi has painted some of the world's most famous artworks—only he didn't paint them first. For nearly three decades, Perenyi grew rich as a forger of 18th- and 19th-century classics, then rebranded himself as a creator of fine reproductions when the FBI began snooping around in 1998. “I realized the life I knew and loved...
Thanks to 50 Shades , the Classics Get Sex Scenes
Hollywood Reporter
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Jul 22, 2012 2:30 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Jane Eyre is great and all, but wouldn't it be so much better if it featured tons of "explosive sex" scenes? Thanks to Clandestine Classics , it soon will. The company is publishing erotic versions of that and other tomes including Pride and Prejudice , 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea , and even Sherlock Holmes stories. It's all...
Missing Iowa Girls Are Alive: Authorities
Associated Press
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Jul 22, 2012 2:09 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Authorities who searched a lake looking for two missing Iowa girls said both of them are almost certainly alive, the AP reports. FBI spokeswoman Sandy Breault said officials "feel strongly" that cousins Elizabeth Collins, 8, and Lyric Cook-Morrissey, 10, have not been murdered. But she refused to divulge details, and asked anyone with...
Dark Knight Debuts at Around $160M
Los Angeles Times
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Jul 22, 2012 1:31 PM CDT
(Newser) -
The Dark Knight Rises no doubt ruled the weekend box office, but by how much? Major studios are keeping official estimates under wraps after the Dark Knight massacre , but Hollywood sources estimate a slightly disappointing $160 million debut (audience surveys had indicated up to $200 million). But put that in perspective: Only two films, The...
Els Wins Stunning British Open
Associated Press
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Jul 22, 2012 1:00 PM CDT
(AP) -
Ernie Els kept feeling that something special could happen at the British Open, and it did. But only after a collapse by Adam Scott that no one imagined. Four shots ahead with four holes to play—after eight straight holes with nothing worse than par—Scott bogeyed them all and had to fight back tears on the 18th green today as the magnitude...
Holmes' College Investigating Deliveries
Associated Press
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Jul 22, 2012 12:44 PM CDT
(AP) -
The University of Colorado is investigating whether mass shooting suspect James Holmes used his position as a graduate student to order materials in the potentially deadly booby traps that police said they found in his apartment. Holmes, 24, received deliveries over four months to his home and school, authorities said. University spokeswoman Jacque...
Cue the Debate on Gun Control
Politico
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Jul 22, 2012 11:54 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The Dark Knight massacre ripped through the Sunday talk shows today, echoing the resurgent national conversation about gun control in the wake of the tragedy. The players and their thoughts, as per Politico : Colo. Gov. John Hickenlooper : “This guy is a terrorist. He wasn’t a terrorist in the sense of politics, but for whatever...
9 Actresses Who Think They're Just Too Hot
Celebuzz
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Jul 22, 2012 11:10 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Poor, poor Scarlett Johansson: She's so attractive, her looks have actually kept her from certain roles, she said recently. "That has happened to me before," she said. "That’s always an unfortunate thing." And she's not the only one with this terribly sad problem: Celebuzz rounds up eight more actresses who are just...
UK's Wiggins Wins Tour de France
Associated Press
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Jul 22, 2012 10:39 AM CDT
(AP) -
Bradley Wiggins has become the first Briton to win the Tour de France by safely protecting the yellow jersey during today's final processional ride into Paris—and even helping Sky teammate Mark Cavendish earn his fourth straight sprint victory on the Champs-Elysees. Wiggins secured his win with a dominating performance in yesterday's...
US Poverty Rate to Hit Highest Since 1960s
Associated Press
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Jul 22, 2012 10:16 AM CDT
(AP) -
The ranks of America's poor are on track to climb to levels unseen in nearly half a century, erasing gains from the war on poverty in the 1960s amid a weak economy and fraying government safety net. The AP surveyed more than a dozen economists, think tanks, and academics, and found a broad consensus: The official poverty rate will rise from 15.1%...
NCAA to Hit Penn State With 'Unprecedented' Penalties
CBS News
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Jul 22, 2012 9:41 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Even as Penn State took down Joe Paterno's statue this morning, the NCAA is getting ready to levy "unprecedented" penalties against the university, an NCAA source tells CBS News . "I've never seen anything like it," the source says. The NCAA itself confirmed that "corrective and punitive measures" would be announced...
The Changing Face of Fear
New York Times
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Jul 22, 2012 9:13 AM CDT
(Newser) -
America's great enemies of the past—Nazi Germany, Soviet Russia, or Mao's China—were evil, but at least they were evil with a point (however twisted). But these days, evil has changed, and from Timothy McVeigh to 9/11, the anthrax killer, and now James Holmes, the "world-burners, meticulous madmen, terrorists without a cause"...
Olympic Torch Bearer Gets Unfortunate Tattoo
BBC
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Jul 22, 2012 8:53 AM CDT
(Newser) -
For the rest of her life, Jerri Peterson will remember the role she played in the 2012 Oylmpic Games. That little typo comes courtesy of a tattoo artist who permanently inked it on Peterson's ankle. The 54-year-old Atlanta woman was selected as a torch bearer, so she wanted to have "Olympic Torch Bearer 2012" tattooed on her ankle before...
To Plot Succession, China's Leaders Hit the Beach
New York Times
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Jul 22, 2012 8:26 AM CDT
(Newser) -
With China's once-a-decade leadership transition coming this fall, the country's powerbrokers are now in the thick of furious and extremely hush-hush negotiations over who will guide the world's most populous country for the next decade. And in the brutal heat and pollution of the Beijing summer, China's most important politicians head...
US Takes Drug War to Africa
New York Times
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Jul 22, 2012 7:45 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Latin America has long been the United States' focus on the war on drugs. But increasingly that war is reaching Africa, too, as US forces are training counternarcotic squads in Ghana and are looking to start similar programs in Nigeria and Kenya, reports the New York Times . In addition, the DEA has opened an office in Senegal and the US military...
Inside Steve Wozniak's 50-Pound Travel Bag
Gizmodo
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Jul 22, 2012 7:37 AM CDT
(Newser) -
You may think your laptop computer, e-reader, and cell phone are too much to carry, but they're nothing compared to the contents of Steve Wozniak's hulking 50-pound backback. The Apple co-founder writes on Gizmodo that his amazing uber -pack may seem "abnormal for me but, to the contrary, it's customary." Of course, he carries...
Penn State Taking Down Paterno Statue
Associated Press
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Jul 22, 2012 6:39 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Penn State is taking down the tarnished statue of longtime coach Joe Paterno, reports the AP . The university's president, Rod Erickson, has confirmed that he has given the order to remove the iconic statue, and a chainlink fence is blockading the area outside Beaver Stadium this morning. "I believe that, were it to remain, the statue will...
Kidnapped Libya Olympic Chief Released
bbc.co.uk
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Jul 22, 2012 6:14 AM CDT
(Newser) -
A week after being kidnapped by gunmen in Tripoli , the president of the Libyan Olympic Committee has been freed unharmed and is back home, reports Reuters . "He is fine," says a fellow Olympic official. Ahmed Nabil al-Taher al-Alam reportedly plans to leave for London "in two or three days" to help Libya's small Olympic team...
Holmes Plotted Colo. Massacre for 4 Months
Reuters
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Jul 22, 2012 6:07 AM CDT
(Newser) -
James Holmes began receiving "a high volume of deliveries" of weapons and ammunition at his home and work beginning at least four months ago, indicating that the man behind Thursday night's massacre in Aurora, Colo., had been plotting his massacre even longer than police originally thought , reports Reuters . "What we're...
Beijing's Biggest Rains in 60 Years Kill 10
Sky News
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Jul 22, 2012 5:52 AM CDT
(Newser) -
Beijing was hit by the worst torrential rains in 60 years yesterday, killing at least 10 people and trapping cars and buses in deep water around the capital, reports Sky News . Two people were killed when the roof of their home caved in, another by a downed power line, while others drowned. About 6.7 inches of rain fell in the city starting yesterday...
Norway Remembers Terror Victims on 1st Anniversary
Associated Press
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Jul 22, 2012 5:17 AM CDT
(AP) -
Norway is commemorating the 77 victims of a bomb and gun massacre that shocked the peaceful nation one year ago. Anders Behring Breivik, a 33-year-old far-right fanatic, has admitted to the July 22, 2011, attacks: a bombing of the government headquarters in Oslo, killing eight, and a shooting rampage that left 69 dead at the left-wing Labor Party's...
Obama to Visit Dark Knight Victims Tomorrow
Associated Press
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Jul 21, 2012 9:00 PM CDT
(AP) -
President Barack Obama will fly to Colorado tomorrow to visit with victims and families from the Aurora movie theater shooting, the White House announced, as he and Mitt Romney dialed back their campaigning in the shocked aftermath of the massacre. Aides said Obama's stop would also include meetings with state and local officials.
The Root of What Ails Us: Inflammation?
Wall Street Journal
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Jul 21, 2012 7:00 PM CDT
(Newser) -
Diabetes, Alzheimer's, cancer. They may seem like wildly different diseases, but they share a common thread, reports the Wall Street Journal : Each has been tied to chronic inflammation. And that has scientists now studying whether inflammation can be battled with certain foods, rather than drugs. The Journal gives a quick primer: Inflammation...
Names of Victims Revealed
Associated Press
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Jul 21, 2012 4:58 PM CDT
(AP) -
A sports blogger who recently wrote about surviving a shooting in Canada. A man preparing to celebrate his first wedding anniversary. A young woman whose death announcement brought heartbreak, yet closure, to her family. They were among the 12 people killed when a gunman barged into a crowded Colorado theater, set off gas canisters, and opened fire...
