Threads from January, 2008
Starbucks' Slowdown
Jan 31, 08 11:49 AM CST
Starbucks has hijacked our morning routine and fueled our caffeine addictions, but the company has slowly begun to lose its golden-child status. Sliding shares, slower growth rates, and the return of Howard Schultz as CEO beg the question: Can Starbucks continue to reign supreme in the land of coffeehouses?
Panda Fever!
Jan 31, 08 7:22 AM CST
They're roly-poly, they're endangered, and they're a key to Chinese foreign policy
Ceylon Chaos
Jan 30, 08 5:31 PM CST
It had been widely predicted that "2008 will be the year of war for Sri Lanka." The recent escalation of violence since Jan.1 supports those fears. With thousands displaced from the fighting, the prospects for peace in Sri Lanka are looking bleaker than ever.
Clinton-Obama Tussle
Jan 30, 08 5:28 PM CST
The feud between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama is getting intense...so intense that it could cost the Democrats a White House victory. Clinton has called Obama a "frustrated" former "slumlord," while Obama has criticized Clinton's "different kind of politics" and "looseness with the facts." Whose side are you on?
Star Power 2008
Jan 30, 08 4:20 PM CST
Squadrons of celebrities and high-profile media outlets are choosing sides in quest for the White House. From wrestler Ric Flair stumping for Mike Huckabee to Oprah Winfrey campaigning for Barack Obama, the candidates continue to play up their casts of supporting characters.
Whale Wars
Jan 30, 08 4:17 PM CST
The world's great whales are battling for their lives as commercial whaling continues despite the ban in 1986. Recent prospects of harpooning humpbacks in Japan have galvanized anti-whaling forces, and provoked a more vigorous than usual protest from the US government.
Will the Wells Run Dry?
Jan 30, 08 4:10 PM CST
Are we running out of oil? While a case can easily be made in the affirmative when there's a shortage of oil in the market, a wide variety of political, economic, and geological factors prove there may be enough left to go around.
Dying Coral Reefs
Jan 30, 08 1:34 PM CST
Twenty percent of the world's reefs have been completely destroyed, as over-fishing, pollution and global warming impact the delicate balance that coral reefs need to survive. Another 50% are in jeopardy if changes aren't made to protect one of our planet's natural wonders.
Beer's To You
Jan 30, 08 1:05 PM CST
Homer (he of the Simpsons, not the Greeks) once famously toasted his favorite beverage as "the cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems." Well said, but there's more to beer than Homer's beloved Duff. It may be the world's oldest alcoholic beverage, but it's hardly been pushed to the back of the fridge. Here's the latest.
The Youth Vote
Jan 30, 08 12:56 PM CST
After decades of being too busy with video games or something, it's starting to look like young people might give a crap about the 2008 election.
That Had to Hurt
Jan 26, 08 5:12 AM CST
Sports injuries can derail an All-Star season, tank a team's playoff hopes, and drive frustrated fantasy owners to desperation. Baseball is a hotbed of torn rotator cuffs, hockey is lousy with concussions, basketball wreaks havoc on ankles and knees, and football remains a smorgasbord of breaks, sprains, and pain. Between season-injuring surgeries and will-he-or-won't-he gameday updates, not a day passes when someone isn't going onto or coming off of a disabled list somewhere in college and professional sports.
Trouble, Darling?
Jan 25, 08 12:53 PM CST
From the foundering Northern Rock to controversial capital gains tax reform—not to mention the loss of 25 million people's bank details—Gordon Brown's successor at the Treasury is trying to cope with the UK's financial woes. Can Alistair Darling, the man with the most famous eyebrows in Britain, ride it out?
Tampa Bay Rays
Jan 24, 08 2:25 PM CST
Baseball's AL East sad sacks are hoping to edge closer to respectability in 2008 with some of the best young talent in MLB
Knutomania
Jan 22, 08 11:55 AM CST
Following the public obsession with Knut, Berlin's celebrity polar bear, the Nuremberg Zoo has grappled with whether to let its orphan cubs die or intervene. Now the zoo has reversed its policy against hand-rearing cubs, after two were apparently eaten by their mother.
Merrill Lynch
Jan 22, 08 11:31 AM CST
Merrill Lynch, the nation's largest broker and the latest big-name in the financial services industry to be hit hard by the subprime mortgage crisis, reported a fourth-quarter 2007 loss of $9.8 billion. That's $12.01 a share, nearly triple the per-share loss most analysts predicted.
Cooperstown
Jan 22, 08 11:16 AM CST
Home to 130,000 baseball cards and a heck of a lot more, Cooperstown, New York's National Baseball Hall of Fame is a true field of dreams for the sport's faithful fans. Opened in the 1930s and made famous in part through the claim that Abner Doubleday invented the sport in this very town, the Hall, which honors everyone from Babe Ruth to Roberto Clemente, soon got the backing of MLB. But how will the union of steroids and greatness affect future inductees?
Chrysler
Jan 22, 08 10:49 AM CST
Chrysler has been hit hard by higher fuel prices and a move in consumer demand away from sports utility vehicles and trucks to smaller, more fuel-efficient cars. The newly private company is planning to improve the content and lower the price on 12 of its vehicles as part of a new marketing campaign.
Super Bowl XLII
Jan 22, 08 10:44 AM CST
New England gets heated up as the New York Giants take on the Massachusetts-based Patriots at Arizona's University of Phoenix stadium.
Palmetto Primaries
Jan 21, 08 4:52 AM CST
Republicans and Democrats don't even hold their primaries on the same day in South Carolina. While South Carolina has an uncanny record of predicting the Republican nominee, it may be more important for determining the the role race and gender play in selecting the Democratic nominee this year.
Obituaries
Jan 21, 08 4:35 AM CST
"Cast a cold Eye/On Life, on Death./Horseman, pass by!" -W.B. Yeats's headstone
Nevada Caucuses
Jan 18, 08 5:12 PM CST
Nevada is the next battleground for both parties in the race to choose candidates for November's election. So far, no candidate in either party has been able to build up any real steam in a contentious race that has seen five winners in the first five major state contests.
The Wireless Web
Jan 18, 08 4:51 PM CST
Cords are becoming increasingly passé as internet devotees move on to freer forms of hook-up
The Internet
Jan 18, 08 4:50 PM CST
The 'network of networks' has become the dominant communications platform for every aspect of our lives: from entertainment to shopping to politics to sex ... to Newser
Security & Intelligence
Jan 18, 08 4:50 PM CST
"As liberty and intelligence have increased the people have more and more revolted against the theological dogmas that contradict common sense and wound the tenderest sensibilities of the soul." - Catharine Beecher
CIA Leak Investigation
Jan 18, 08 4:49 PM CST
In March 2007, a federal jury convicted former Cheney chief-of-staff Scooter Libby on four counts, including obstruction of justice, for his role in outing former CIA operative Valerie Plame. President Bush later commuted his 30-month, $250K sentence, saving Libby from jail time. But did the right man take the fall?
Gay Rights
Jan 18, 08 4:49 PM CST
For much of history, homosexuality has been a taboo subject. Often, it has been considered a crime in itself. Yet today, millions of gay and lesbians are not only open about their sexuality, they are campaigning for new laws that are changing the world's attitudes and political views on homosexuality.
Buffalo Sabres
Jan 18, 08 4:49 PM CST
After losing their top guns, Buffalo Sabres fight for the playoffs
The Women's Vote
Jan 18, 08 4:45 PM CST
Women have long been targeted by presidential candidates. But never before has there been a female contender as strong as Hillary Clinton, whose sex alone is giving her a crucial boost among women who see the historic appeal of electing the first female president.
Florida Primary
Jan 18, 08 4:45 PM CST
This Jan. 29 primary is the key to Republican candidate Rudy Giuliani's skip-the-early-contests strategy. The plan may backfire, however, now that Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney and John McCain have taken a major chomp out of his lead. Because Florida's early primary date violates party rules, it has been deprived of half its GOP delegates and all of its Democratic ones.
Depp Impact
Jan 18, 08 4:03 PM CST
From Edward Scissorhands to Pirates of the Caribbean to Sweeney Todd , Johnny Depp has proven himself to be one of the most versatile actors of his day.
Black Is Black
Jan 17, 08 10:02 PM CST
Black is black, I want my baby back, It's gray, it's gray, Since she went away, Ooh-Ooh, What can I do'Cause I-I-I-I-I'm feelin' blue."- Tony Hayes and Steve Wadey
Cybercrime
Jan 16, 08 2:07 PM CST
"This is our world now... the world of the electron and the switch, the beauty of the baud." -The Hacker Manifesto
Microsoft
Jan 16, 08 1:59 PM CST
Besieged on all fronts by Google, hacked at by other competitors
Cute 'N' Fuzzy
Jan 15, 08 7:38 PM CST
"Animals are such agreeable friends - they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms." -- George Eliot
Pregnant Marine
Jan 14, 08 5:28 PM CST
One Marine is dead. Another, accused of killing her and her unborn child, has finally been captured after a three-month manhunt.
Beagles
Jan 14, 08 4:44 PM CST
The Beagle is a breed of medium-sized dog. A member of the Hound Group, it is similar in appearance to the Foxhound but smaller, with shorter legs and longer, softer ears. Beagles are scent hounds, developed primarily for tracking hare, rabbit, and other game. They have a keen sense of smell and tracking instinct that often sees them employed as detection dogs for prohibited agricultural imports and foodstuffs in quarantine around the world. They are popular as pets because of their size, even temper, and lack of inherited health problems.
Scientology
Jan 14, 08 10:48 AM CST
Dubbed "the study of truth" by its founder and spiritual messiah, the late science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, Scientology was born in the early 1950s and now claims more than 10 million members in 159 countries. One of America's most controversial religions, its widely known for attracting Hollywood celebrities like Tom Cruise and John Travolta.
Consumer Electronics
Jan 14, 08 10:22 AM CST
Consumer electronics, gadgets and digital entertainment have redefined virtually every aspect of how we live our lives. What's on the horizon for flash-memory hard drives, ultra-thin TVs, GPS units and digital music players?
After the Holocaust
Jan 14, 08 9:50 AM CST
The Holocaust was the systematic, state-sponsored killing of six million Jewish men, women, and children and millions of others by the Nazi regime and its collaborators. What is being done to preserve the memory of those who suffered? How do the tragic events of the Holocaust impact the world today?
Strict Dad, Lax Dad
Jan 11, 08 11:42 AM CST
What is the best way to discipline children? From strict to permissive, there are plenty of strategies. Whether you fall into the Lynne Spears school of parenting or adhere more to tactics like those of the mom who very publicly sold her son's car after finding alcohol in it, see how the strict and the lax do it here.
Celebrity Zoo Animals
Jan 11, 08 11:29 AM CST
Whether the animals are thronged with admirers like Berlin polar bear Knut or embroiled in infamy like San Francisco tiger Tatiana, the cult of celebrity has reached the zoo. In the strange world of animal fame, furry celebs earn points for tragic backstory and fleeting cuteness. Family dramas and reproductive woes are on even more blatant display than among human stars, with lawsuits or movie deals close on their heels.
Sarko: Love & Marriage
Jan 11, 08 10:37 AM CST
Forget the politics: French President Nicolas Sarkozy has created an international soap opera focused on his love life. Mere months after his divorce from Cecilia, Sarkozy fell head-over-heels in love with supermodel-turned-singer Carla Bruni. The two were married in a quiet ceremony, but their union has done nothing to ease the media firestorm surrounding Sarko, Carla, and Cecilia.
Art Heists
Jan 11, 08 10:28 AM CST
The museum may be sacred, but it isn't always safe. Some of the world's most valuable art has been stolen...and in some cases recovered...in recent years as art thieves find themselves wooed by increased market demand, open borders, improved transport systems and political instability.
Comedy Kings and Queens
Jan 11, 08 9:53 AM CST
From the writers' strike to the funny pages, comedians are consistent newsmakers. Leno and Letterman provide nightly commentary on wacky happenings; Tina Fey and Larry David keep television comedy on its toes; Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert take newsmaking quite literally. So much comedy, so little time: Make this your stop for the latest from the world of humor.
Nanuk of the North
Jan 10, 08 8:09 PM CST
Nanuk is the Inuit name for polar bear. With global warming, loopholes in the law, and man encroaching on its environment, the polar bear is as threatened as it's ever been.
ACC
Jan 10, 08 4:11 PM CST
Sports by Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Miami, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest
Super Duper Tuesday
Jan 10, 08 3:12 PM CST
With 24 state primary elections lined up on Feb. 5, more than 40% of each party's delegates will be chosen on this date — the earliest allowed without special exception. California and New York have the most delegates at stake.
Michigan Primary
Jan 10, 08 12:03 PM CST
GOP rivals are zeroing in on economic issues ahead of the Jan. 15 primary in Michigan. John McCain won Michigan in 2000, but he must battle it out with Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney, whose father governed the state in the 1960s. The other GOP hopefuls are putting less focus on Michigan; because Michigan's early primary date violates party rules, it has been stripped of half its GOP delegates and all of its Democratic ones.
Late-Night Laughs
Jan 10, 08 11:43 AM CST
The nation's late-night comedy titans returned to air Jan. 2 after a two-month hiatus because of the writer's strike. Though Writers Guild rules prohibit the hosts from using scripted monologues, sketches, or fictional characters, Letterman returned with his writers after securing an independent deal.
Artificial Intelligence
Jan 10, 08 11:33 AM CST
It may not be Hal—at least we hope not—but artificial intelligence is bringing computers ever closer to humans.