Market Crunch Spanks UK Nannies

Without uttering the 'R word,' prez allows, 'Americans are anxious'

(NEWSER) - Rising oil prices, a crashing job market, and a tenacious mortgage crisis have created “economic challenges” for the US, President Bush said in Chicago yesterday, a shift from his insistence that the economy is fundamentally strong. While acknowledging “Americans are anxious about the economy,” Bush stopped short of saying the nation is entering a recession, reports the New York Times. More»

Security camera confusion leads to hilarious pursuit

(NEWSER) - For 20 minutes, an undercover British police officer intrepidly tracked a suspicious person in an area recently hit with a spate of burglaries. Unfortunately, the officer was chasing himself. How? An operator watching the street via security camera alerted the plain-clothes officer of a suspicious person in the area—not realizing it was, in fact, the cop, explains the Telegraph . The camera operator began relaying the whereabouts of the "suspect" so the officer could nab him. More»

British pub patron swings crazily at customers

(NEWSER) - An angry Brit has pleaded guilty to charging into a pub with a chainsaw after he was kicked out for smoking, the Daily Mail reports. Dean Dinnen, 24, swung the saw wildly at customers, slicing a tendon in one man and sending others scampering. Defending themselves with bar stools, patrons eventually subdued Dinnen, broke several of his ribs, and punctured one of his lungs before police showed up. More»

But most remain upbeat about their future: Pew survey

(NEWSER) - The economy is doing a number on those aged 18 to 34, according to a new survey from the Pew Research Center :

• Half say they have taken a job they didn't want.
• More than a third have gone back to school because of the job market.
• Nearly a quarter have taken unpaid work to gain experience.
• About a quarter have moved back in with the folks.
• More than 1 in 5 have postponed having a baby, and about the same number have put off getting married.

Europeans grapple with worst winter in years

(NEWSER) - While much of the US basks in unseasonably warmish weather, Europe continues to be locked in a deep freeze that's getting even colder. More than 100 people have died in Ukraine, Italy is suffering its coldest winter in 27 years, and conditions are so severe in Serbia that thousands have been stranded in -22 degree cold along with six feet of snow, reports the BBC . Food and medicines are being airlifted in, and helicopters are attempting to move the most fragile Serbians to safety. Authorities are also scrambling to get help to people in Greece, Spain, and Italy. Nearly 600 passengers were stranded this week for seven hours in an Italian mountain train when the brakes and electrical cables froze. Temperatures have plunged as low at -40 degrees in Russia—which is -52 with the wind chill factored in. More»