User Story Index

User stories are short summaries of news stories from across the web written and submitted by Newser readers.

Paris Doctor Catches Baby After Seven-Story Fall
AFP | Nov 2, 2010 6:34 PM CDT
(USER SUBMITTED) - An 18-month-old toddler in Paris survived a seven-story fall after bouncing off a cafe awning yesterday, reports AFP . A quick-thinking doctor caught the boy, who was uninjured. "He had gone right outside the railing," said the doctor. "I said to myself I mustn't miss him. I had time to move from side to side to get in the right position."...

For Teens, Oral Sex Leads to Intercourse
LiveScience | Nov 1, 2010 8:56 PM CDT
(USER SUBMITTED) - Teens who engage in oral sex have a much higher chance of having intercourse while in high school compared to teens who refrain from oral sex, according to a new study that followed 600 students over the course of three years. It found that teens who have oral sex by the end of 9th grade have a 25% chance of having intercourse by the end of that school...

Snake's 'Virgin Birth' Results in Odd Offspring
BBC | 1 hour, 6 minutes ago
(USER SUBMITTED) - A female boa constrictor has produced not just one baby born by immaculate conception, but rather two litters totaling 22 little miracles. Stranger still, the baby snakes have some very unusual traits. Instead of having the X and Y chromosomes like humans, snakes have Z and W chromosomes—ZZ produces males, and ZW produces females. However, all...

Glenn Beck: Stewart's Message Was Same as Mine
Mediaite | Nov 1, 2010 8:25 PM CDT
(USER SUBMITTED) - Glenn Beck has apparently decided that Jon Stewart's Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear wasn't really that bad after all. In fact, Beck announced on his show tonight that "it’s basically the same message that I gave on 8/28—of course on 8/28 we spoke a lot about God at our rally—but the theme was ... we need to come together...

Are People Planning Death to Avoid Estate Tax?
Associated Press | Nov 1, 2010 9:59 AM CDT
(USER SUBMITTED) - Rep. Cynthia Lummis claims her Wyoming constituents are literally planning to die by Dec. 31 to avoid paying estate taxes, which will be reinstated when Bush-era tax cuts expire at year-end, reports the AP . She explained their logic this way: "If you have spent your whole life building a ranch, and you wanted to pass your estate on to your children,...

Time Traveler Spotted in 1928 Film?
Metro (UK) | Oct 28, 2010 9:15 AM CDT
(USER SUBMITTED) - Just in time for Halloween, a Belfast man has posted a video on YouTube with a somewhat spooky claim. A Charlie Chaplin fan, George Clarke has spent more than a year studying a scene from the 1928 film The Circus —convinced it shows a woman holding a cell phone to her ear ... meaning she must be a time traveler. In the footage, which has garnered...

Iranian woman saved from stoning will be hanged
Guardian (UK) | Nov 2, 2010 2:35 PM CDT
(USER SUBMITTED) - Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, originally sentenced to death by stoning after her conviction for adultery, will be hanged for murder on Wednesday in Iran. Ashtiani had her stoning sentence suspended after a worldwide outcry. In September, the Iranian government said that the adultery conviction was being reviewed. Reportedly, she had been engaged in a...

The Social Network: Where Are They Now?
AllFacebook | Oct 29, 2010 5:26 PM CDT
(USER SUBMITTED) - After seeing the movie The Social Network , viewers may feel the desire to watch a VH1 Special to answer the question, Where are they now? And how did the movie do at showing the true characters of the cast surrounding the rise of Facebook? The VH1 special isn't available (yet) but the folks over at All Facebook make a nice attempt at it. In short:...

Jon Stewart to Salman Rushdie: Cat Stevens is OK
washingtonexaminer.com | Nov 2, 2010 2:52 PM CDT
(USER SUBMITTED) - Jon Stewart raised a lot of eyebrows over the weekend when the “Rally to Restore Sanity” showcased Yusef Islam, a.k.a. Cat Stevens. Stevens has said many radical things including a number of comments where he essentially endorsed the infamous fatwa against Booker-Prize-Winning novelist Salman Rushdie, even calling for his death. Islam has since tried...

Domino's Delivery Driver Wanted: $31,000/hour
indyposted.com | Nov 2, 2010 9:15 AM CDT
(USER SUBMITTED) - Tip not included. Domino's in Japan will pay a delivery driver 2,500,000 yen for one hours work. That's about US$31,000. Or about 3,100 large one topping pizzas. Domino's is celebrating 25 years in Japan by running some sort of contest to choose the lucky driver. Details haven't been announced, so it's not to late you hop an international flight and...

Wheel of Fortune Loses Exciting Introduction
indyposted.com | Nov 2, 2010 11:27 AM CDT
(USER SUBMITTED) - The category is "Famous Names." There will be no more WHEEL. OF. FORRRRTUUUNE. Not from Charlie O'Donnell's mouth at least. The voice heard by millions on many famous quiz shows died last night. O'Donnell was the voice of Wheel of Fortune for 26 years. He also was the brunt of many of Pat Sajak's seemingly ad-lib tosses to commercial. His agent said...

KKK Costume Wins Legion Contest
Toronto Star (Canada) | 7 hours, 39 minutes ago
(USER SUBMITTED) - At the Campbellford Royal Canadian Legion Hall in Ontario, veterans held a typical Halloween costume contest with some atypical and upsetting results. The first prize winners were a pair of individuals: one attired in Ku Klux Klan robes carrying the confederate flag, the other a "blackface" led around by his costumed captor, pulled by the noose around...

The Ten Biggest Cities That Are Dying Of Thirst
24/7 Wall St. | Nov 1, 2010 12:52 PM CDT
(USER SUBMITTED) - In many areas of the country, residents are being asked to cut back on their water usage. Water shortages are a real problem, and the number of large cities which will soon have to deal with the threat is growing. 24/7 Wall St. has taken a look at a number of relevant sources and identified the ten largest American cities which are facing water shortages,...

McDonald's Owner to Workers: Vote GOP!
Huffington Post | Oct 30, 2010 6:22 AM CDT
(USER SUBMITTED) - A McDonald's in Canton, Ohio, inserted handbills in employee paychecks that helpfully recommended GOP candidates who will "help our business grow in the future"—implying lower wages and benefits if Republicans lose in upcoming elections on Tuesday. A local attorney says the document violates Ohio election law, reports Huffington Post,...

Man tres to steal stop light in front of deputies
Arizona Republic (Phoenix) | Nov 2, 2010 5:18 PM CDT
(USER SUBMITTED) - 19-year-old Northern Arizona resident Christopher McCollum started Halloween on the wrong foot. At 1:45 a.m. on Sunday morning, he stopped his truck on the road in Cornville, Arizona, and began shaking the post of a flashing stop light in an attempt to steal it. When Sheriff's deputies parked 30 feet away shined their spotlight on him, they heard him...

Crusty Old Salt Stabbed in Crotch by Crocked Cook
indyposted.com | Nov 2, 2010 2:23 PM CDT
(USER SUBMITTED) - Neither Captain Morgan or The Skipper had the problems that a Latvian luxury yacht renter had. His drunken cook stabbed him in the genitals. Being a crusty old salt, the yachtsman on the "Old Captain" first refused treatment. A bunch of paramedics wrestled him into a waiting ambulance for a run to the hospital where he was saved from bleeding to death....

GOP: We would welcome switch by Lieberman & Nelson
NewsMax | Nov 2, 2010 7:00 PM CDT
(USER SUBMITTED) - Republican Sen. John Cornyn is rolling out the welcome mat for any Democrats willing to switch party affiliations after Democrats receive the one-sided drubbing most analysts predict on Election Day. The invite goes out to Democrat Senators Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut and Ben Nelson of Nebraska. "I think [Leiberman] votes like a Republican on...

AIDS Activists Heckle Obama at Rally
content.usatoday.com | Oct 31, 2010 12:08 PM CDT
(USER SUBMITTED) - Hecklers interrupted President Obama's latest stump speech in Bridgeport, Conn., for three to four minutes, chanting slogans and complaining that he was not doing enough to address the global AIDS epidemic. Obama seemed irritated by the protesters' antics, telling them, "You've been appearing at every rally we've been doing. And we're funding...

National Enquirer Stops Paying It's Bills
Online Media Daily | Nov 2, 2010 8:51 AM CDT
(USER SUBMITTED) - Reading the National Enquirer in the grocery checkout and then putting it back without buying it is causing economic chaos for the parent company. The National Enquirer, Star, Shape and Men's Fitness, have stopped paying their bills. It's legal because they are entering Chapter 11 bankruptcy which allows them to stop paying bills while they get their...

Democrat Economists Missed What Voters Saw Clearly
Rasmussen Reports | Nov 1, 2010 10:11 AM CDT
(USER SUBMITTED) - Obama Democrats say they are puzzled. They insist that they have been moderate in their approach to governing and yet the American voters are angrily rejecting them. But maybe they ignore the fact of what voters see, that the Obama administration and the Democratic Congress have put the national debt on a trajectory to increase from 40 to 90 percent...

LeBron Ready to Be Recruited for 2015-16 Season
indyposted.com | Nov 1, 2010 1:05 PM CDT
(USER SUBMITTED) - LeBron James is regretting his ESPN broadcast of his decision to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers in favor of joining the Miami Heat. He told ESPN.com he doesn't know what he would do differently, but he definitely would do something other than taking sixty minutes to say "It's Miami, goodbye Cleveland." James has been roundly booed for his grandstanding...

Loaded Rocket Launcher Found on Canadian Highway
Globe and Mail | Oct 30, 2010 3:14 PM CDT
(USER SUBMITTED) - A tree pruner clearing brush near a highway on Canada's Vancouver Island made a surprising discovery—a loaded rocket launcher sitting beside the road, covered in moss. “I cleared it away and that's when I read the writing. It said: To fire, aim, pull pin and press trigger," he said. “Right then, just by looking at it I kind of...

290-lb Transvestite Hooker Pummels Attacker
news.cincinnati.com | Oct 28, 2010 10:50 AM CDT
(USER SUBMITTED) - A would-be robber met his match when he tangoed with the wrong cross-dressing hooker. Sixteen-year-old Rufus Bowman approached what he thought was a 6'1", 290-pound female prostitute in a pink halter top and pumps. However, that lady-of-the-night turned out to be Joshua Bumpus. When the pair went into an alley to conduct "business,"...

Proposed list of $343 Billion Spending Cuts
Heritage Foundation | Nov 2, 2010 10:21 PM CDT
(USER SUBMITTED) - The US voters have been repeatedly hearing "spending cuts" by conservative candidates this election year, but specifics are avoided when pressed by reporters. $340-350 Billion seem to be the number they parrot. On Oct. 28th, conservative think tank Heritage Foundation — FOX news, Beck, Rush often get their talking points — released their proposed...

Dwindling Owl Population Blamed on Harry Potter
indyposted.com | 7 hours, 9 minutes ago
(USER SUBMITTED) - The owl population in India is decreasing, and there is only one logical culprit. Harry Potter. India's Environment Minister says that Harry Potter fans are buying owls from illegal bird traders, and it is putting the owl population in danger. “Following Harry Potter, there seems to be a strange fascination even among the urban middle classes for...

Minorities Win Big As GOP Candidates
Fox News | 6 hours, 2 minutes ago
(USER SUBMITTED) - The historic Republican wave also produced historic results for minority candidates, from Latina and Indian-American governors to a pair of black congressmen from the deep South. In New Mexico, Susana Martinez was elected as the nation's first female Hispanic governor. Nikki Haley, whose parents were born in India, will be the first woman governor...

Some Democrats Call For Challenge To Obama in 2012
NewsMax | Nov 1, 2010 3:58 PM CDT
(USER SUBMITTED) - Associated Press-Knowledge Networks Poll finds that many Democrats are growing increasingly disenchanted with Mr. Obama. Among Democrats, 47 percent say Mr. Obama should be challenged for the 2012 nomination, and 51 percent say he should not be opposed. Those favoring a contest include most who backed Hillary Rodham Clinton's unsuccessful run against...

Internal Email: GOP Will Not Roll Over For Obama
Politico | 2 hours, 27 minutes ago
(USER SUBMITTED) - Republicans in the Senate don’t plan to roll over for President Obama’s call for more cooperation. A top Senate GOP aide e-mails: “At the [White House] presser, they’re going to spin that the results show that Republicans can’t keep saying ‘no,’ need to start governing, and need to cooperate with Dems. The election result showed the opposite.” “This...

NYC to Rival Silicon Valley as Tech Start-Up Capital?
GigaOm | Oct 28, 2010 12:20 PM CDT
(USER SUBMITTED) - In an interview in GigaOM , veteran NYC-based venture capitalist Fred Wilson is bullish on New York City as the next major center of technological innovation. He says that Internet companies based in the city are being flooded with venture capital at the same magnitude as Silicon Valley start-ups.

Chilean Tunnel Runner Will Pound NYC Marathon
indyposted.com | Nov 2, 2010 9:49 AM CDT
(USER SUBMITTED) - Running six miles in a gold and copper tunnel may be the newest marathon training technique. Edison Pena, one of the Chileans dubbed "The Runner" while being trapped has entered the New York City Marathon as a honored guest. The marathon committee was prepared to honor him in ceremonies when they learned he ran in the tunnels to help pass the time....

Couple Insulted in Foreign Tongue at 'Blessing'
AFP | Oct 28, 2010 4:08 PM CDT
(USER SUBMITTED) - A hotel in the Maldives is expressing remorse today after a YouTube video emerged showing a couple being cursed at in the worst of ways during a ceremony to commemorate their love. The only thing is, they didn't know it. Though their ceremonial guide appeared solemn, in the Dhivehi language he was actually spewing insults and profanity in sexual and...

USA Crushes Germary at Volleyball Worlds
usavolleyball.org | Nov 1, 2010 10:58 AM CDT
(USER SUBMITTED) - The USA Women's National Volleyball continued their hot start at the 2010 FIVB Women's World Championship with an easy win over a previously unbeaten German squad. Logan Tom (Salt Lake City, Utah) scored a match-high 19 points leading the American's to a 3-0 win (25-23, 26-24, 25-17) at Matsumoto, Japan. Team USA is ranked second in the world and...

Fed May Jolt Economy Tomorrow Despite Elections
news.yahoo.com | Nov 1, 2010 11:28 AM CDT
(USER SUBMITTED) - Despite all the ranting and raving on the airwaves by the politicians and pundits, what a bunch of white men and women do tomorrow may have a bigger impact on the average Joe and Jane. Six people will huddle in a closed room and under the guidance of Ben Bernanke to jolt the economy. The slump/recession/depression (pick one) has been hammering the...

Your mom's favorite game: Bejeweled 3 hits 12/7
blog.games.com | Nov 1, 2010 10:35 AM CDT
(USER SUBMITTED) - It's one of the most popular game franchises in history, but it's not Halo or Mario -- it's Bejeweled. The latest sequel, Bejeweled 3, hits December 7, game-maker PopCap announced this morning. Bejeweled, a gem-matching game, may be your mom's favorite game, but PopCap says it sells a Bejeweled game every 4.3 seconds. For now, the new version is...

UK Magazine Launches an Online Diagnosis Service
New Media Age | Nov 1, 2010 10:18 AM CDT
(USER SUBMITTED) - While companies such as WebMD have allowed patients to type in their symptoms and get computer generated possible diagnoses for some time, the National Magazine Company in the UK has taken matters a step further. Its NetDoctor service has hired 6 doctors to provide patients with online diagnoses. Patients need to fill out an online questionnaire before...

China Ends Rare Earth Minerals Embargo
New York Times | Oct 29, 2010 8:06 AM CDT
(USER SUBMITTED) - China has resumed its shipment of rare earth minerals to the United States, after cutting us off early last week, the New York Times reports. Shipments to Japan, which have been suspended since September due to disputes involving the arrest of Chinese fishermen, also resumed, though they are facing some delays. The decision came hours after an...

Smart kids will drink more to tolerate the dumb
theweek.com | Nov 2, 2010 5:19 PM CDT
(USER SUBMITTED) - Sure your smart, but ever think why you crave happy hour more than others? Scientist's have actually looked into this, most likely brainstorming after a couple of drinks. A pair of new studies, one done by the British, the other by the Americans say that if you are intellectually superior to your peers, you might lust after the brain soothing...

Iran will execute adulteress, spare murderer.
CNN | Nov 2, 2010 2:25 PM CDT
(USER SUBMITTED) - Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani is a 43 year old mother of two who remains in jail after being earlier sentenced to stoning for adultery. Her lawyer fled the country to escape the authorities after bringing international attention to her plight. Her son and his lawyer are both in prison and denied representation. Though they decided against an execution...

Dog Whisperer's Dog Cannot Cross Border
CBC (Canada) | 1 hour, 13 minutes ago
(USER SUBMITTED) - The ban on Pit Bulls in Ontario apparently makes no exception, even for the Dog Whisperer himself. Cesar Milan who is currently on tour has taken his sidekick "Junior" to all of his Canadian shows except the ones in the province of Ontario, even though he routinely uses the dog to help calm other troubled canines. The ban first put in place 5 years...

US Volleyball Shuts Down Cuba
usavolleyball.org | 6 hours, 21 minutes ago
(USER SUBMITTED) - The USA Women's National Volleyball Team wrapped up a perfect opening round pool play run with a close four-set victory over rival Cuba (30-28, 25-23, 22-25, 25-23) to win Pool C with a 5-0 record in the 2010 FIVB World Championship at Matsumoto, Japan. Team USA moves on to second round pool play in Pool F to be played at Nagoya, Japan. The Americans...

Ozzie Osbourne Confirmed as Part Neanderthal
Toronto Star (Canada) | Oct 29, 2010 10:44 AM CDT
(USER SUBMITTED) - Rock legend Ozzie Osbourne is one of the few people worldwide who has had their entire genome sequenced, and there are a few predictable, and some surprising results. The predictable part? That he has a gene that makes him 6 times more prone to addictive behavior. Also no shock to him, that he carries both genes for the "worrier" and "warrior" traits....

Twin Actresses Not Insane, Reports Newspaper
Orange County Register | Oct 30, 2010 2:01 AM CDT
(USER SUBMITTED) - Ten-year-old actresses Rachel and Amanda Pace, known for their shared role as Hope Logan on the soap opera "The Bold and the Beautiful," are still very much sane, reports the Orange County Register. This may come as a surprise to millions of viewers, who have watched the girls endure endless trauma, including nearly drowning in a bathtub, awakening...

Halloween House Animation Music: Marilyn Manson
indyposted.com | Nov 1, 2010 9:52 AM CDT
(USER SUBMITTED) - Will Halloween light shows push Christmas light shows set to music off the YouTube viral video lists? If it is to be, this video of a house featuring a Halloween light show set to the music of Marilyn Manson and "This is Halloween" can get it done. Four singing pumpkin faces, tombstones, hand carved and blow mold pumpkins, strobes, floods and thousands...

Tea Party-Black Panthers Standoff
tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com | Nov 1, 2010 8:40 PM CDT
(USER SUBMITTED) - Tomorrow the Black Panther Party in Harris County, Texas will be at the voting polls; The Tea Party-backed group True the Vote will also be at the polls. Both sides have accused of voter intimidation. The face off between poll watchers alleging massive voter fraud in Harris County and many voters in minority neighborhoods of Houston during the early...

We Want Brett Favre To Die (But Not Really)
Gather | Nov 1, 2010 1:22 AM CDT
(USER SUBMITTED) - Just the idea of Brett Favre, the media obsession--that Brett Favre should die immediately. Because otherwise, the real Brett Favre might very well die. The guy is worse than the New York Mets version of Willie Mays and he can't be trusted to walk away when he should. It's getting sad and scary now. Read the full article .

The Worst U.S. Airlines in 2010
East Bay Business Times | Oct 28, 2010 2:42 PM CDT
(USER SUBMITTED) - Hot off the presses at U.S. News is the list of the worst airlines in the U.S. No surprises here. You do NOT see Southwest, JetBlue or Virgin America on the list. Topping the list is Delta, which far outstrips the others on the list in sheer wretchedness, followed by United, Alaska, American and US Air. And this ranking isn't just some reporter...

Democrats Bungle Florida Senate Race
CNN | Oct 30, 2010 11:55 AM CDT
(USER SUBMITTED) - Rep. Kendrick Meek of Florida was the first candidate to declare that he would run for the U.S. Senate in Florida. HE defeated a billionaire to win the Democratic bid. He has supported liberal causes without fail for many years. Yet, with polls showing him running in last place, Democrat Party establishment types are pointing to Meek as the reason...

Witches Wit Beer Not a Hit With Witches
indyposted.com | Nov 1, 2010 9:45 AM CDT
(USER SUBMITTED) - If 12 witches had 12 Witches Wit which witches would watch ? Would it be gross? Witches Wit is the concoction of a microbrewery that is irritating witches. Not the wheat beer itself, but the label is causing the witches to give wicked warnings. An astrologist, and self described healer, was shocked and aghast when she found a picture on a beer label...

How Big Was Sanity/Fear Rally? Does Size Matter?
tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com | Oct 31, 2010 1:02 PM CDT
(USER SUBMITTED) - Size matters when it comes to rallies in Washington, D.C., and how big the crowd swelled to at the Stewart-Colbert Rally to Restore Sanity And/Or Fear on Saturday seems to depend on the person doing the measuring. The Washington City Paper put the number of attendees at 250,000, while the New York Times said "well over 200,000". Mythbusters hosts...

US Troops Denied Balanced Voter Info
Gather | Oct 31, 2010 4:20 PM CDT
(USER SUBMITTED) - Progressive action group Courage Campaign has been informed by followers among the US troops deployed in Iraq that its website and 2010 voters guide is inaccessible to them. At the same time, Tea Party Express and other right wing opinion sites are easily reachable as military personnel look for information about the November 2, 2010 mid term election....

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