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The Case for Treating Romantic &#39;Limerence&#39;
The Case for Treating
Romantic 'Limerence'
longform
May 27, 2023 5:30 AM CDT

The Case for Treating Romantic 'Limerence'

It's like a crush, but sometimes a one-sided, debilitating fixation, as Pioneer Works explains

(Newser) - The word "limerence" has been around since 1979, when psychologist Dorothy Tennov coined it to describe a particular type of one-sided romantic attachment. She was talking about "the obsessive, all-consuming fixations we sometimes develop on people who do not feel the same, or whose feelings we cannot be...

New College Admissions Tactic: Publish a Research Paper

ProPublica reports that parents are paying to have iffy studies published in iffy journals

(Newser) - It's a new twist on the old phrase "publish or perish." It's more like, publish or don't get into your college of choice. ProPublica reports on the latest questionable method being used to puff up college admissions: Parents are paying to get their kids' names...

One Nation's Capital Is Sinking. Solution? Build a New One

Indonesia is trying to do that, and the 'New York Times' digs into the huge challenges

(Newser) - Indonesia's capital of Jakarta has a fundamental problem: To put it simply, the city of 30 million people is sinking. President Joko Widodo has tried all kinds of "Sisyphean" solutions to fix things, writes Hannah Beach in the New York Times , but it appears the rising sea will...

Behind Tech Entrepreneur&#39;s Death: &#39;The Lifestyle&#39;
Behind Tech Entrepreneur's
Death: 'The Lifestyle'
longform
May 21, 2023 11:30 AM CDT

Behind Tech Entrepreneur's Death: 'The Lifestyle'

'Wall Street Journal' looks at the underground party scene linked to killing of Bob Lee

(Newser) - After Cash App founder Bob Lee was stabbed to death in San Francisco last month, police arrested 38-year-old Nima Momemi , who was allegedly upset over Lee's relationship with Momemi's sister. Now the Wall Street Journal reports on another apparent factor: Lee's participation in what's known as...

&#39;We Buy Ugly Houses&#39; Firm Accused of Shady Tactics
'We Buy Ugly Houses' Firm
Accused of Shady Tactics
longform
May 15, 2023 10:30 AM CDT

'We Buy Ugly Houses' Firm Accused of Shady Tactics

ProPublica says the company zeroes in on desperate homeowners, pressures them to sell

(Newser) - You may have seen the "We Buy Ugly Homes" signs or flyers around, or heard of parent company HomeVestors. The premise behind the business is straightforward: They'll buy the homes of sellers willing to take less than full price in exchange for the convenience of a quick sale....

A Fateful Dinner in 1965 Led to a Food Revolution in US

'Los Angeles Times' explains how Noritoshi Kanai and Harry Wolff Jr. popularized sushi

(Newser) - If you've ever been to a sushi bar or even tasted the Japanese dish, the credit might belong to two men described by Daniel Miller in the Los Angeles Times as the "ultimate odd couple." Harry Wolff Jr. was "an imposing Jewish man who’d cut...

Most Mysterious Jeopardy! Champ Speaks 40 Years Later

Barbara Lowe won in the 1980s, then disappeared from show history

(Newser) - Mention the name Barbara Lowe to a Jeopardy! superfan—and there are legions of them—and you might get an earful. As Claire McNear's deep dive in the Ringer explains, Lowe is the game show's "most enigmatic" champion. She won five games in 1986, which at the...

&#39;She Was the Female Bob Dylan&#39;
'She Was the Female
Bob Dylan,' Then Vanished
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
May 13, 2023 6:30 AM CDT

'She Was the Female Bob Dylan,' Then Vanished

Connie Converse was a folk pioneer before she disappeared, as the 'New York Times' explains

(Newser) - If she had recorded her songs just a few years later, Connie Converse might very likely be a household name to this day, writes Howard Fishman in the New York Times . Instead, she's an enigmatic footnote in modern music history, though interest appears to be growing in her legacy....

Connie Chung Has No Idea She Inspired &#39;Generation Connie&#39;
Connie Chung Learns
of 'Generation Connie'
OPINION
May 11, 2023 8:16 AM CDT

Connie Chung Learns of 'Generation Connie'

'New York Times' essay reveals that she inspired a surge of namesakes among Asian-Americans

(Newser) - "Connie" is not a particularly popular name in the US. But among a certain demographic, its popularity is off the charts: Asian-American women. Specifically, among Chinese-American women whose families watched Connie Chung as a pioneering TV journalist. Connie Wang, born in 1987, writes about the phenomenon she dubs "...

He Died Homeless in City Where He Was Once Mayor

'New York Times' explores sad trajectory of Craig Coyner in Bend, Oregon

(Newser) - In February of this year, a 75-year-old homeless man died in Bend, Oregon. It had been a particularly brutal winter for Craig Coyner: At least one of his toes had to be amputated because of frostbite, and after that operation he suffered a stroke that left him unable to speak....

Yes, That Elizabeth Holmes Voice Was Fake
Yes, That Elizabeth Holmes
Voice Was Fake
longform
May 7, 2023 7:25 AM CDT

Yes, That Elizabeth Holmes Voice Was Fake

Amy Chozick spends time with the disgraced tech mogul for 'New York Times' profile

(Newser) - Elizabeth Holmes, the disgraced health-tech mogul now facing 11 years in prison, has not spoken with the media since 2016. But she gave Amy Chozick unprecedented access for a profile that appears in the New York Times . Chozick writes that she is surprised at how utterly "normal" the 39-year-old...

ProPublica Finds Another Big Gift Given to Clarence Thomas

Harlan Crow paid for boarding school for the boy the justice was raising as a son

(Newser) - ProPublica continues reporting on the gifts bestowed upon Clarence Thomas by a wealthy billionaire friend. In a new story, the outlet reports that Harlan Crow paid the tuition at two pricey boarding schools for Thomas' grandnephew. The Supreme Court justice has previously said he raised the boy, Mark Martin,...

Killer Confesses to Old Murder. Another Remains Jailed for It

Leo Schofield, up for parole next month, was convicted of killing his wife, insists he's innocent

(Newser) - Next month, a parole board in Florida will decide whether 57-year-old Leo Schofield should be released from prison after more than three decades. Schofield was convicted of the 1987 murder of his 18-year-old wife, Michelle Saum Schofield, and as Richard Bockman writes in the Tampa Bay Times , he would surely...

Restored Ancient Cup Is Amazing, but a Little Fishy

Investigators seized it from the Met, are skeptical about its miraculous trail of shards

(Newser) - In one sense, the story told about an ancient Greek drinking cup known as a kylix in the New York Times is one of an amazing feat of historical puzzle-solving. In 1978, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City bought shards of pottery from a Swiss dealer, a...

TV Writer's 1990s Gaffe Is Legend. He Doesn't Mind

'Vulture' digs into the 1990s tale of a 'Roseanne' writer who didn't know who Jackie was

(Newser) - Listen carefully, and you might hear the phrase "Who Jackie?" crop up in a sitcom every now and then. That's because the line has become an inside joke, one at the heart of what Joe Berkowitz at Vulture calls "the greatest writers' room story ever." As...

Deputy Drove Away With a Man Who Then Disappeared. Twice

CNN explores the still-unsolved cases out of rural Florida

(Newser) - On October 14, 2003, Felipe Santos got into the back seat of a patrol car driven by Collier County deputy Steven Calkins in rural Florida and was never seen again. Calkins told investigators he encountered the 23-year-old Santos at a traffic accident and later dropped him off at a Circle...

Piecing Together the Story of One African &#39;Ghost Boat&#39;
This Is the Story of
One African 'Ghost Boat'
longform
Apr 27, 2023 11:10 AM CDT

This Is the Story of One African 'Ghost Boat'

43 migrants set off with hope, but they became casualties of a dangerous new route

(Newser) - Around 6:30am on May 28, 2021, a couple of miles from Belle Garden Beach on the Caribbean island of Tobago, a narrow white-and-blue boat drifted onto the horizon. From a distance, it seemed no one was aboard. But as fishermen approached, they smelled death. Inside were the decomposing bodies...

Alcohol&#39;s &#39;Health Halo&#39; Is Finally Fading


Alcohol's
'Health Halo'
Is Losing
Its Luster
longform
Apr 24, 2023 10:30 AM CDT

Alcohol's 'Health Halo' Is Losing Its Luster

Slate digs into the shifting sentiment, offers context for those who imbibe

(Newser) - Those who drink alcohol might well be "feeling a fair bit of whiplash" these days, writes Tim Requarth at Slate . Starting in the 1990s, the consensus of health studies suggested that moderate drinking—a glass of red wine at dinner, say—was good for you. But now the consensus...

Roulette Is Impossible to Beat. Or Is It?
Roulette Is Impossible
to Beat. Or Is It?
longform
Apr 23, 2023 5:15 PM CDT

Roulette Is Impossible to Beat. Or Is It?

One man says he trained his brain to do it

(Newser) - The conventional wisdom had long been that roulette is an impossible game to beat. Thanks to the green 0 pocket (American wheels also have 00), all red and black bets have just under a 50% chance of success. "Everyone loses eventually," writes Kit Chellel for Bloomberg . "Except...

One Nation Still Spying on Civilians With Potent Tool

Israeli military spies on civilians with Pegasus despite promises to stop, reports 'New York Times'

(Newser) - It is, write Natalie Kitroeff and Ronen Bergman in the New York Times , the "world's most infamous spyware." The pair do a deep dive into Pegasus , a surveillance tool that can compromise every piece of data on a target's phone—even encrypted phones—including the camera....

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