Most Read of 2007

Spidey Dumps Mary Jane

Newsweek  |  Jan 11, 08 10:53 AM CST

(Newser) - After 20 years of togetherness, Peter Parker and his beloved Mary Jane are kaput, and he's locking lips with a new mystery woman, according to the latest issue of the Amazing Spider-Man series. Longtime fans of the Marvel Comics classic aren't any too happy about the split, Newsweek reports. "This is an admission of a lack of ideas,"  said one disgruntled fan. More »

Benazir Bhutto Killed in Attack on Rally

Washington Post  |  Dec 27, 07 7:13 AM CST

(Newser) - Benazir Bhutto died in surgery today after an explosion at a rally in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. The suicide attacker detonated a bomb as the former prime minister left the rally where thousands were gathered to hear her speak. "She has been martyred," said a spokesman for Bhutto's party. The interior ministry confirmed Bhutto's death, but the government has said nothing about the fate of January's election. At least 15 others died in the blast. More »

Gates Charity Creates New African Woes

Los Angeles Times  |  Dec 16, 07 6:07 AM CST

(Newser) - The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has given $8.5 billion to global health causes and is slowly defeating AIDS in Africa, but it’s creating unexpected new problems for the continent, the LA Times reports. By pouring money into the treatment of AIDS, TB and malaria, it has lured health care workers with higher pay, while basic  health care has has suffered. More »

Why Jodie Foster Finally Stepped 'Out'

Daily Mail (UK)  |  Dec 15, 07 3:02 PM CST

(Newser) - Jodie Foster’s tentative move out of the closet, at an awards show last week, may be the work of an old friend who, rumor has it, may be the father of her children, the Daily Mail reports. Foster  thanked her live-in partner Cydney Bernard—calling her “my beautiful Cydney”—to fulfill a promise to gay director Randy Stone, the Mail says, an old friend who died in February, after making Foster promise to come out. More »

First Face Transplant Patient Smiles—Slightly

Los Angeles Times  |  Dec 13, 07 3:00 PM CST

(Newser) - Isabelle Dinoire can smile a little, her doctors reported yesterday, a big accomplishment for the world’s first face transplant recipient. Her case shows that the controversial surgery can work—but it also highlighted the risks involved. Dinoire has dealt with two tissue-rejection episodes, two kidney failures, anemia and high blood pressure in the 18 months since the transplant in France. More »

Led Zeppelin Outwits Scalpers

Guardian (UK)  |  Dec 10, 07 7:58 AM CST

(Newser) - Rock band Led Zeppelin performs in London tonight for the first time in 20 years and fans are pouring in from all over the world—including Brazil, Australia and the US. Some may be bitterly disappointed, however. Stringent new security arrangements designed to beat scalpers may stop some fans from seeing their idols. A million people vied for 18,000 tickets available only on the web, and sales were limited to two tickets a person. More »

Popular Mexican Singer Tortured, Killed

Los Angeles Times  |  Dec 4, 07 11:55 AM CST

(Newser) - Sergio Gomez, lead singer of popular Mexican band K-Paz, was found dead beside a highway yesterday. The killing is the latest in a string of south-of-the-border music slayings, the LA Times reports. Gomez was abducted late Saturday after a concert, and his body appeared to have been tortured. He is the ninth Mexican musician slain in 18 months. More »

Cave of Romulus and Remus Comes to Light

Reuters  |  Nov 20, 07 3:28 PM CST

(Newser) - Archaeologists have found the cave worshiped by ancient Romans as the site where a wolf nursed the infant twins Romulus and Remus, who later founded the city. The cave, called the Lupercale, was found underground in an unexplored site near the palace of Augustus. "You can imagine our amazement, we almost screamed," says the head of the archaeological team. More »

WWII Plane Found Under Beach

Associated Press  |  Nov 15, 07 8:05 AM CST

(Newser) - Sixty-five years after its crash landing, a World War II fighter plane has emerged from under the sand on the Welsh coast. The American P-38 "Lightning" fighter, which made an emergency "belly landing" in shallow water after it ran out of fuel, was buried in the sand, with tourists oblivious to its existence, until uncommon weather this past summer eroded the beach above it, the AP reports. More »

Kanye West's Mother Dies After Surgery

CNN  |  Nov 12, 07 10:30 AM CST

(Newser) - Kanye West's mother died in Los Angeles Saturday after complications developed following a "cosmetic procedure," her publicist said today. Dr. Donda West, 58, a retired English professor, inspired the hip-hop superstar's 2005 hit "Hey Mama." No cause of death was released, and the family requested "privacy during this time of grief," CNN reports. More »

NCAA Shafts College Players

New York Times  |  Nov 11, 07 1:48 PM CST

(Newser) - Each season, NCAA football teams score millions in profits, but the players neglecting their education don’t get a dime, writes Michael Lewis in a NY Times op-ed . Colleges say their football programs are an outgrowth of their academic mission and not commercial business. Yet top schools earn more than $60 million, shelling out top dollar to nab coaches and erect lavish stadiums. More »

Hillary Vulnerable in National Poll

Wall Street Journal  |  Nov 8, 07 11:39 AM CST

(Newser) - Americans want a Democratic president, a new Wall Street Journal / NBC News poll shows—but they're not as sure they want it to be Hillary Clinton. Though respondents favored a Democrat to replace President Bush, 50% to 35%, Clinton runs in a dead heat with Republican frontrunner Rudy Giuliani. “I just don't totally trust her,” said one 1990s supporter of Bill Clinton. More »

8-Limbed Girl's Surgery a Success

Reuters  |  Nov 7, 07 6:37 AM CST

(Newser) - Doctors successfully completed an extremely complicated 27-hour surgery on an eight-limbed Indian toddler whose village reveres her as a goddess. Lakshmi Tatma, 2, was born entangled with an incompletely developed headless twin sister. "Beyond our expectations, the reconstruction worked wonderfully well," said one of the surgeons. Doctors removed Lakshmi's two extra arms and legs, as well as excess organs, and rebuilt her pelvis. More »

10 Jobs Not Long for This World

Forbes  |  Oct 23, 07 9:54 AM CDT

(Newser) - Getting a job is hard enough—you don't want one that won't be around in five or 10 years. Forbes pulls out its crystal ball to see which jobs are not long for this world: News analysts, reporters, and correspondents Economists Radio announcers Travel agents More »

YouPorn Is Killing the Porn Biz

Portfolio  |  Oct 21, 07 11:17 AM CDT

(Newser) - As with so many other industries, porn is under assault from the changes wrought by the internet. Claire Hoffman chronicles the challenge a free file-sharing porn site, YouPorn, poses to adult industry goliath, Vivid Entertainment, in Portfolio magazine. The ready availability of pornography on the internet has sent DVD sales, the bedrock of the industry, into free-fall. More »

Turn Off the iPhone or Go to Jail

Consumerist  |  Oct 12, 07 7:33 AM CDT

(Newser) - An irate flight attendant attempted to have a passenger arrested for refusing to turn off an iPhone on a flight to Hawaii, even though it was reportedly in "airplane mode" and didn't violate any FAA rules. The mode turns off all cell, WiFi and Bluetooth signals, which could interfere with a plane's electronics, making it safe to use as an MP3 player or video device on a flight. More »

Iranian Gays: We're Here!