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25 Apr 2009 23:42

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Culture: Obituary: Thank you for being a friend, Bea Arthur.

  • Half of the Golden Girls have officially passed away. *Sigh* Bea Arthur, known for two major roles – the namesake character of “Maude” and Dorothy on “The Golden Girls” – died this morning of cancer in her home. She was 86. Both shows were immensely popular and each garnered Emmys for Arthur. “Maude” tackled such hot-button topics as abortion and pornography, while “The Golden Girls” proved that you could make a show around a bunch of old retired ladies really popular. Arthur follows her TV mom, Estelle Getty, in death – Getty, who was actually younger than Arthur, died last year. source

25 Apr 2009 23:15

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Sports: Synopsis of the NFL’s draft day: Rife with surprises.

  • The Detroit Lions, sucky new logo and all, getting Georgia QB Matthew Stafford with the first pick? Duh. source
  • USC’s Mark Sanchez, fresh off a killer Rose Bowl, going to the Jets after a trade? Nobody saw that coming. source
  • Wide receiver Michael Crabtree, falling all the way to 10th, into the 49ers’ arms? Totally unexpected. source

25 Apr 2009 11:14

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Tech: Google’s G1 is no iPhone, but T-Mobile likes its sales figures a lot

  • 1 million people own one – two-thirds of all 3G devices T-Mobile sells source

25 Apr 2009 10:32

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World: Today is World Malaria Day. Here’s a PSA from Ashley Judd.

  • Malaria used to be a completely devastating disease; now, thanks to much fighting, it appears the world has turned a corner in fighting it.source

25 Apr 2009 10:18

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U.S., World: Roxana Saberi, the jailed U.S. journo in Iran, is on a hunger strike

  • She will keep it up until she’s freed, her dad says. Saberi, a freelance journalist convicted of espionage, told her rather Reza Saberi in a short phone call that she had been on a hunger strike since Tuesday and would keep it up until she was released. Saberi says the call was short and that “she did not give us the chance to tell her not to do it.” Saberi’s arrest and conviction has met with worldwide criticism of Iran. source

25 Apr 2009 10:00

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U.S., World: Swine flu has the World Health Organization on its Ps and Qs

  • The World Health Organization called an emergency meeting in response to the outbreak of swine flu that has gone from minor concern to major danger in a just couple of days. The disease has killed dozens in Mexico and sickened scores of others. source
  • WHO is debating raising the flu pandemic alert level from three (no/limited risk) to four or five (new flu virus in the wild and spreading) “This is a very high concern for us as the world’s global health organization,” said WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl. source
  • Can the virus be stopped? While traditional flu vaccines designed to stem the flow of viruses are ineffective against swine flu, it appears that Tamiflu, a common drug well-stocked by Mexico and the U.S., fully remedies the virus. *Whew.* source

25 Apr 2009 09:25

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U.S., World: Hilary Clinton tries to look at the bright side of the Iraq attacks

  • I think the suicide bombings … are, in an unfortunately tragic way, a signal that the rejectionists fear that Iraq is going in the right direction.
  • Secretary of State Hilary Clinton • On her reasoning for the sudden rise in attacks in Iraq late this week. We’re not sure if this is a good thing. • source
 

25 Apr 2009 03:47

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About, Tech: New features: We’d like to welcome Apture to the fold.

  • This program was seemingly designed for ShortFormBlog. As we’re sure you know, our goal is to keep information simple and short for you guys, while allowing you to better find information from other sources. Which is why we’re very excited about the prospect of using Apture. Apture uses Javascript to create rich extra layers of content (from sources we like, such as Wikipedia and YouTube) above the main site. Among initial users include The New York Times and The Washington Post. What do you guys think? Comment here. source

25 Apr 2009 02:15

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U.S.: A murder-suicide in Maryland revolved around a bunch of cash

  • $27 million (or more) could be missing after an ex-lawyer’s death source

25 Apr 2009 02:06

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Tech: A good way to kill a weekend: Retro multiplayer Sierra games

From “The Black Cauldron” to “Leisure Suit Larry,” 80s gamers will feel a tinge of nostalgia. source