Rare Disorder May Have Afflicted Lincoln

Says his enemies are 'full of rage at our success'

(NEWSER) - Bill O’Reilly vigorously defended his book, Killing Lincoln, yesterday, after the National Park Service lambasted it for historical inaccuracies . “Our enemies are full of rage at our success,” he said on his show. He said the book contained "four minor misstatements, all of which have been corrected" along with "two typeset errors," which he deemed "a pretty good record." He said the Washington Post’s report that the book wouldn’t be sold at the Fort Theater bookstore is inaccurate. "The media lies at will these days," he said. More»

Police suspect statue's sword ended up as scrap metal

(NEWSER) - Police in Illinois are looking for a thief who emancipated a 3-foot copper sword from a statue of a Civil War artilleryman at Abraham Lincoln's final resting place. Investigators believe the sword—which replaced a bronze one stolen from the same statue at Lincoln's tomb in the 1890s—was stolen some time in the last few weeks, probably by somebody seeking to make quick cash by selling it for scrap metal. More»

Ford's Theatre superintendent writes scathing 4-page letter

(NEWSER) - Bill O'Reilly's book, Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever, has sold nearly a million copies and currently sits at #2 on the New York Times bestseller list . Only problem is, it's riddled with errors, according to a scathing review from the National Park Service bookstore at Ford’s Theatre, Salon reports. Here are a few alleged historical missteps:

• Killing Lincoln refers several times to the Oval Office. Little problem: The Oval Office wasn't built until 1909.

Maryland legislators latest to follow Wisconsin's lead

(NEWSER) - As Wisconsin and Indiana Democrats take refuge outside state lines, Maryland legislators have followed their lead: a pair of delegates played hooky this week as their fellow committee members met to discuss a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage. Democrats were left in the lurch as they battled to keep the bill alive minus two of their party members—absences their Republican colleagues defended, reports the Washington Post . "She needed some time to pray about this," said one of absent Del. Tiffany Alston. Alston says she hadn’t been ready to vote, but would stop boycotting; the other said she was staying away to push for concessions on other legislation. More»

... to give the Gettysburg Address

(NEWSER) - One man looking to celebrate Presidents Day found that the land of the free isn't always so, the Daily Caller reports. Phillip Howell is a 25-year-old, 6-foot-4-inch tall American who, with a beard and top hat, bears a striking resemblance to a certain former president. He tried giving the Gettysburg Address from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, only to get booted by park police who informed him he needed a permit. More»