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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: vandalism

vandalism stories: 21 news summaries

1 - 20 of 21 Stories | 1 2 Next >>

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vandals' paradise

 Abandoned Detroit Draws 
 Pranksters, Artists 

80K empty buildings a mecca for 'urban explorers'

Nov 6, 09 5:53 AM CST
(Newser) - Detroit's 80,000 abandoned buildings, from housing projects to high-rises to industrial plants, have become a magnet for all kinds of vandals, pranksters, and urban explorers. "Mayhem. That's what they should call the place. If you decide you want to push a dump truck out of a window, this... More »

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Detroit • vandalism • urban blight

(Newser) - Street artist Shephard Fairey plead guilty today to three counts of vandalism for displaying stickers and posters around Boston without permission, the Globe reports. He must pay a fine and is prohibited from carrying the tools of his trade—like wheat paste and brushes—in the county for 2... More »

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Boston • Massachusetts • vandalism • artist • graffiti • criminal trial • street art • Shepard Fairey • plea deal

 Alba Sorry 
 for Shark 
 Vandalism 

Actress tagged billboards, including one from United Way

Jun 10, 09 11:52 AM CDT
(Newser) - Jessica Alba got herself into a strange controversy yesterday when photos emerged of the actress defacing Oklahoma City billboards—with posters of great white sharks, TMZ reports. Alba apologized for the vandalism, explaining in a statement that she “made a spontaneous and ill-advised decision to let myself get involved... More »

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entertainment • celebrity • vandalism • Oklahoma City • Jessica Alba • great white shark

Feds Boost Abortion Clinic Security Amid Tiller Probe

FBI checks earlier vandalism incident

Jun 2, 09 11:14 AM CDT
(Newser) - US Attorney General Eric Holder boosted security for abortion providers yesterday as the FBI investigated a vandalism incident at the clinic operated by slain doctor George Tiller, the Wichita Eagle reports. Tiller reported a threat last month, days after the Women’s Health Care Services clinic sustained thousands of dollars... More »

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abortion • investigation • FBI • security • Attorney General • vandalism • Eric Holder • clinic • George Tiller • Scott Roeder

 Vandals Rip Lenin a New One 


Apr 1, 09 1:04 PM CDT
(Newser) - A bomb exploded this morning at a St. Petersburg tribute to Vladimir Lenin, opening a gaping hole in the statue's backside, the BBC reports. “As a result of the explosion a crater of 31-39 inches appeared on the monument,” a Russian official said. The motive for the attack... More »

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Russia • vandalism • bomb • explosion • statue • monument • St. Petersburg • Communism • Vladimir Lenin

 Vandals Target Former 
 RBS Boss, Vow Further Action 

Goodwin target of public outrage over his pension

Mar 25, 09 1:10 PM CDT
(Newser) - After the Edinburgh home of the former boss of the Royal Bank of Scotland was vandalized last night, an unknown group is warning of further attacks on financial figures, the Scottish Daily Record reports. Sir Fred Goodwin has been the focus of controversy since he took early retirement—complete with... More »

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pensions • Royal Bank of Scotland • vandalism • Britain • populism • bailout • bankers • Fred Goodwin • financial crisis • RBS

LA Parents May Have to Pay for Graffiti Cleanup

Politicians push new strategy to curb city's rampant tagging

Mar 25, 09 12:36 PM CDT
(Newser) - Here’s a reason to rein in unruly teens: Los Angeles parents may soon be financially liable for their kids’ vandalism. Officials want to allow residents to turn graffiti cleanup over to the city, which would then allow it to sue the perpetrators, and their parents, to recoup some of... More »

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Los Angeles • parents • vandalism • civil lawsuits • graffiti

ART CRITICISM

 Fairey Makes 'Pop 
 Masquerading as Art' 


Feb 16, 09 4:11 PM CST
(Newser) - Shepard Fairey’s iconic Obama image inspires “a thrill of concerted purpose,” writes Peter Schjeldahl in the New Yorker, but the same can't be said for the rest of Fairey’s work, on exhibition in Boston. While the Obama poster made something new and vibrant, writes Schjeldahl,... More »

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Barack Obama • Boston • art • vandalism • street art • exhibition • Shepard Fairey • Institute of Contemporary Art


 Activists Hit 
 'Fur-Hag' 
 Aretha's Star 

Activists dub celebs 'fur hags'

Jan 27, 09 10:36 AM CST
(Newser) - January has not been kind to the queen of soul. First Aretha Franklin was mocked for her ginormous inauguration hat, and now her Walk of Fame star has been vandalized, Perez Hilton reports. Anti-fur activists scrawled “Fur Hag” across her star in Hollywood after doing the same thing to... More »

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Hollywood • fur • celebrity • vandalism • Aretha Franklin • activist • Mary-Kate Olsen • Ashley Olsen

Bush Street Gets Overnight 'Update' in SF

Pranksters in notoriously liberal city rename thoroughfare, if only temporarily

Jan 20, 09 2:36 PM CST
(Newser) - Partisan pranksters struck San Francisco overnight, covering four blocks of signs on the city’s Bush Street with “Obama Street” signs, NBC affiliate KNTV reports. The covers look professional, and chalk messages on the pavement encourage pedestrians to look up and notice the “change.” A rally is... More »

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Barack Obama • San Francisco • vandalism • prank • George W. Bush • street art • President Obama • Inauguration Day • street sign • NBC Local

 O No: Bushies 
 Warned to Skip Pranks 

Last time, Clinton aides took the "W" off office keyboards

Jan 19, 09 7:33 AM CST
(Newser) - White House aides have been ordered not try some of the pranks played by Clinton aides eight years ago, reports CNN. Mischievous Clintonites yanked the "W" keys from keyboards, and outgoing aides have been warned to keep their mitts off the "O" keys—or try any other tricks,... More »

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White House • vandalism • prank • George W. Bush • President Obama • transfer of power • keyboards • General Accounting Office

Mich. Letters Taunt Obama; Racist Vandals Strike Sign

Secret Service investigates mail threatening Dem, supporters

Sep 17, 08 3:53 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Secret Service is investigating anti-Obama letters sent to a local Democratic office and a business in south-central Michigan, the AP reports, even as authorities in Pittsfield Township, about 40 miles west of Detroit, say an Obama billboard was defaced with swastikas and Klan symbols overnight. One letter declares a... More »

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Barack Obama • Ku Klux Klan • Michigan • racism • vandalism • KKK • Obama 2008 • graffiti

 Kanye Charged in Photog Flap 

All falls down on rapper who has meltdown in front of TMZ's camera

Sep 11, 08 1:01 PM CDT
(Newser) - Cops busted Kanye West today for felony vandalism at Los Angeles International Airport, TMZ reports, after the short-tempered rapper confronted a paparazzo trying to photograph him and smashed his camera to the ground. West then spotted a TMZ photog, who was filming the incident. His bodyguard tussled with the man... More »

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Kanye West • paparazzi • vandalism • airport • photographers • LAX

Everybody's
a Critic

Pa. museum guard charged with keying $1.2M painting he 'didn't like'

Jun 6, 08 5:46 PM CDT
(Newser) - Pittsburgh police have charged a museum guard with defacing a $1.2 million painting he "didn't like," the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. Timur Serebrykov, 27, added he was "sorry" for keying the night sky image by Vija Celmins. The work suffered a "large vertical gouge" and... More »

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art museum • art • vandalism • painting • Pittsburgh • Vija Celmins • Carnegie Museum of Art

LA Cops Bust Tagger—
With Help From YouTube

Daredevil graffiti artist tagged with felony vandalism charges

May 28, 08 2:18 PM CDT
(Newser) - LA cops have finally busted a tagger they say is one of California's most prolific graffiti artists—with the help of videos of him posted on YouTube, the Los Angeles Times reports. The 24-year-old art-degree grad who goes by the moniker "Buket" is accused of causing $150,000 in... More »

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California • YouTube • Los Angeles • vandalism • tag • graffiti

  Vandals Chip
 Away at Stonehenge 

It's a grab and run

May 23, 08 7:35 AM CDT
(Newser) - Vandals chipped off a coin-sized piece of Stonehenge’s central megalith last week before escaping security guards, the AP reports. Two men used a hammer to knock off the piece, then hopped a fence and drove away. Local police are investigating the attack on the ancient World Heritage site. More »

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vandalism • Stonehenge • Britain

What?! Tourist Arrested for Busting Ancient Statue's Ear

Easter Island vandal headed to jail

Mar 27, 08 11:05 AM CDT
(Newser) - A Finnish tourist is facing an imposing sentence for cracking an ear off one of Easter Island's ancient monoliths, the Guardian reports. A local woman saw him snap the ear off the 13-foot statue. It shattered in several pieces as it fell to the ground, and he fled with one... More »

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Chile • vandalism • statue • monument • tourists • Easter Island

Hate Crimes Up; Racial Incidents Dominate

FBI figures show
8% jump for 2006

Nov 19, 07 5:26 PM CST
(Newser) - Hate crimes in the US rose 7.8% in 2006, with racially motivated attacks accounting for more than half of 7,722 reported incidents. Religious bias represented one-fifth of hate crimes, and cases of sexual orientation discrimination nearly 16%, the AP reports. Victims of racial bias are overwhelmingly black, according... More »

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FBI • crime • hate crime • race relations • vandalism • Jena 6

Vandals Punch Hole in Monet

Group broke into Paris museum during all-night culture festival

Oct 8, 07 2:35 AM CDT
(Newser) - Four or five people broke into a Paris museum on Sunday and punched a hole in a Monet. The group broke open a back door to the Musee d'Orsay and fled when an alarm sounded, but not before tearing a four-inch hole in "Le Pont d'Argenteuil," a scene... More »

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art museum • France • art • vandalism • painting • Paris • vandals • damage • Monet

Eco-Vandals Trash Hummer

Attack on $38K gas-guzzler called
a 'hate crime'

Jul 18, 07 2:46 PM CDT
(Newser) - A 32-year-old man in Northwest DC woke to find his dream car—a $38,000 Hummer—with slashed tires, smashed windows, and a message carved into its body: "FOR THE ENVIRON." In a green-friendly neighborhood dominated by hybrids, two masked eco-extremists decided to punish Gareth Groves by mutilating... More »

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environment • environmentalism • gas • Washington DC • prius • extremists • vandalism • hummer • miles per gallon • mpg • vandals • eco vandals • hybrid car • cars

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