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November 2007
- Cocaine & Meth Prices Get High
  
  USA Today | Nov 9, 07 3:00 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Prices for cocaine and methamphetamine have jumped for the fourth quarter in a row, indicating a short supply of the dangerous drugs, according to the latest figures from the federal Drug Enforcement Administration. A gram of pure cocaine cost $137 in September, up from $93 last year, and meth jumped from $133 to $245. More »
- Soaring Oil Prices Create New Winners, Losers
  
  New York Times | Nov 7, 07 6:51 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - With oil prices inching toward the $100-a-barrel mark, the New York Times looks at how soaring prices are redrawing the world's power grid: from oil-rich nations swimming in cash to oil-importing nations "clawing at each other to lock up scarce supplies." In Venezuela, oil is funding a socialist revolution; in Russia and Norway, it's fueling mammoth new investment funds that could have huge impact on world markets. More »
- Oil Jumps Again, Cracks $96 a Barrel
  
  Associated Press | Nov 1, 07 5:32 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The price of oil smashed yet another record yesterday, rising more than $96 a barrel after a surprise announcement of diminished US crude stockpiles. The unexpected shortfall in American petroleum before winter worried investors and sent prices soaring. The Fed's rate cut also helped push prices higher, since a drop in rates tends to lower the value of the dollar. More »
October 2007
- Thou Shalt Not Covet Thy Neighbor's Water
  
  Chicago Tribune | Oct 28, 07 3:39 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - You'd think the warm weather and easy living would make the West and South leave Frostbelters alone. But no, they want what that frost is made from: water. As drought and development strain limited local water resources, the Sunbelt wants to tap some of the billions of gallons of Great Lakes aqua—and eight Great Lakes states are teaming up with two Canadian provinces to stop them. More »
- West's Water Woes May Be Permanent
  
  New York Times | Oct 21, 07 3:22 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Officials out West are worried about water, the New York Times reports, and not just for the short-term. In what the Times calls the " other water problem" caused by global warming, snowcaps that feed the the Colorado River—which quenches the thirst of 30 million people in seven states—are at their lowest levels in 20 years. The "most optimistic" climate models suggest that 30% to 70% will be gone the second half of this century. More »
- Kidney Swap Might Abate Organ Shortage
  
  Wall Street Journal | Oct 15, 07 1:28 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - One woman desperately needs a kidney transplant; her husband wants to donate but is incompatible. Across the country, the same scenario. But the healthy spouses match the unhealthy spouse in the other couple and make a reciprocated donation to a stranger. About 230 such swaps have taken place since 2000, reports the Journal, and there's hope that the practice might ease organ shortages. More »
- Army Pulls Out Checkbook to Keep Officers
  
  Washington Post | Oct 11, 07 1:08 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - An acute shortage of young officers trained in aviation, intelligence, and other key specialties has prompted the Army to offer cash bonuses—up to $35,000—to persuade more to re-enlist, the Washington Post reports. The move is an effort to combat a shortage of 3,000 captains and majors projected for each of the next 6 years. Lengthy repeat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan is the reason most cited by those leaving the service. More »
- US Cocaine Supply Plummets
  
  Los Angeles Times | Oct 3, 07 5:46 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The cocaine supply has dropped sharply in the last year in 37 US cities, which law enforcement officials attribute to a crackdown on drug cartels by Mexican authorities and a record volume of drugs seized at sea. New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco were among major cities experiencing sharp reductions in supply. The shortage has driven the price of cocaine to its highest level in almost 20 years. More »
August 2007
- China to Punish Parents Who Abort Girls
  
  BBC | Aug 25, 07 2:29 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - China is designing new rules to stop parents from aborting female fetuses, the BBC reports. Parents are currently allowed only one child and often abort girls, worried that they won't be able to support the family. This back-room practice is creating a growing gender imbalance: Now Beijing plans stricter punishments on doctors and parents who engage in the illegal abortions. More »
- Iraq Security Costs Soar
  
  Washington Post | Aug 12, 07 1:22 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The US Military has paid $548M to two British firms over the past three years to protect engineers working on projects in Iraq—nearly doubling its original budget, according to the Washington Post . A swelling insurgency and shortage of troops are driving up the cost of private security for the largely civilian workforce in the war-torn country. More »
- For Fast Recruits, a Fast $20K
  
  Chicago Tribune | Aug 5, 07 12:23 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - An understaffed Army is testing out a tidy bonus to entice enlistees who agree to ship out to basic training within 30 days of signing up. The Army will be offering the $20K "Quick Ship" bonus until September to try and reach an increasingly ambitious recruiting goal of 80,000. More »
- Nagin to Feds: Cut Red Tape
  
  Times-Picayune (New Orleans) | Aug 2, 07 3:40 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Ray Nagin delivered an unscripted plea to Congress yesterday, asking for a more urgent response to the health-care crisis that has plagued New Orleans since Katrina hit in 2005. Both Republicans and Democrats echoed the mayor's frustrations at the federal government's inaction on the city's pronounced shortage of physicians and mental health professionals, the Times-Picayune reports. More »
July 2007
- UK's Top Doc Calls for Organ Donation to Be Default Option
  
  Guardian (UK) | Jul 17, 07 9:20 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The UK's chief doctor is calling for everyone who doesn't specify otherwise to be automatically considered an organ donor. Sir Liam Donaldson says not only does the UK face a severe shortage of donated organs, as do other countries, but 70% say they want to donate and only 20% end up registering. More »
- Barn Owls Are Peace Envoys
  
  Associated Press | Jul 16, 07 9:36 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The border between Jordan and Israel is not easy for citizens of either nation to cross. But it doesn't exist for the barn owls Israeli farmers use to keep rats from eating their date palm trees; they fly into nearby farms in Jordan all the time, and were being killed by the pesticides used there. Enlisting their neighbors across the border to try using owls instead was the only solution. More »
- Parking Spot for Sale: $225,000
  
  New York Times | Jul 12, 07 7:28 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The price of New York City parking has doubled in five years, with some drivers currently vying for the chance to pay an astronomical $225,000 for one of five private parking spaces in the basement of a Manhattan condo, the New York Times reports. That's the price of a three-bedroom house with pool and hot tub in Houston. More »
June 2007
- Tuna Shortage Triggers Sushi Crisis
  
  New York Times | Jun 25, 07 4:21 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Plummeting supplies of tuna have become a recipe for disaster in Japan, where sushi lovers eat 60,000 tons of the fish a year. Desperate chefs are experimenting with increasingly bizarre sushi substitutes, including deer and even horse, the New York Times reports. But sushi without tuna in Japan is like American baseball without hotdogs. More »
- Army Hospital MIA on Stress Disorders
  
  Washington Post | Jun 18, 07 4:15 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Though 20 to 40 soldiers are sent home from Iraq each month with severe mental problems, the Army's largest hospital has no post-traumatic stress disorder center, reports the Washington Post . There is also a severe shortage of doctors qualified to treat these patients. Not long ago, the head of psychiatry sent a memo pleading for more staff. More »
- Kidney Donor Reality Show Was a Hoax
  
  Guardian (UK) | Jun 2, 07 10:48 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A controversial Dutch reality show featuring a dying woman’s choice of a kidney recipient aired last night—and was revealed as a hoax. The "dono