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Russia Swipes Potemkin's Remains From Ukraine

Bones of Prince Grigory Potemkin stolen from Kherson church for their own 'protection': official

(Newser) - Russia has held a grip on the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson and its capital of the same name since the earliest days of the war. Kherson is also one of the four regions that were illegally annexed by Russia earlier this month. But Ukrainian forces have been pushing hard...

Facebook's 'Fat' Emoji Sparks Angry Movement

Petitions seek to have status-update option removed

(Newser) - Think emoji are innocuous little icons? Then check out the movement spawned by Facebook's "feeling fat" emoji—a smiling face with a double chin that was, at least until recently, on the site's list of available status-update options, ABC News reports. The group Endangered Bodies has launched...

Michelle Looks Bad in Shorts—Now You Can, Too

(Newser) - You know it's a slow week when news outlets track down "experts" to discuss the effect Michelle Obama's shorts will have on the White House, writes Belinda Luscombe for Time. The thing is, the shorts she wore on Sunday as she stepped out of Air Force One actually are...

Jackson's Physician ID'd as Target of Investigation

(Newser) - Court records filed today identify Michael Jackson's personal physician as the target of a manslaughter investigation into the singer's death, the Los Angeles Times reports. The development isn't exactly a shocker, given that authorities executed a search warrant yesterday at an office and public storage unit owned by the physician,...

Coroner's Staff Improperly Viewed Jackson Documents

(Newser) - Poor Michael. Even in death, he can't catch a break on privacy. Staffers at the Los Angeles coroner's office looked up the pop star's death certificate hundreds of times and even printed out copies, reports the Los Angeles Times. The office also found possible security breaches in two other computer...

Unreleased Jackson Song Surfaces

(Newser) - Michael Jackson supposedly has heaps of unreleased songs out there, and the first has surfaced. TMZ today posted an audio recording of "A Place With No Name." It's not clear when Jackson recorded the song, which is similar to the 1971 hit by America called "A Horse...

Jackson Video Shows Him 2 Days Before Death

(Newser) - One last Michael Jackson video has emerged as a sad cap to his career. Made just two days before he died, the video shows Jackson rehearsing at LA's Staples Center for his London concerts, reports E! Online. Show promoter AEG released the short footage of him performing the song "...

Jackson Aide: He Took Drugs in Bid to Avoid London Shows

Singer wanted trip to hospital but overdid it

(Newser) - A confidante of Michael Jackson says the singer may have inadvertently triggered his own death by purposely taking an overdose of prescription drugs so he'd end up in the hospital and be excused from some of his London tour dates, reports Gerald Posner of the Daily Beast. “Like a...

10 Essential Jackson Videos
 10 Essential Jackson Videos 

10 Essential Jackson Videos

(Newser) - Michael Jackson videos are once again hot commodities. Here are Newser's top 10 posted on YouTube and showing up on favorites lists all over (to see them, click on "Videos" at left):
  • His 1983 Motown TV performance, in which he shows off his moonwalk.
  • "Thriller"
  • "Beat It"
...

Cops Can't Find Jackson's Doctor
Cops Can't
Find Jackson's
Doctor

Cops Can't Find Jackson's Doctor

Physician reportedly gave singer an injection before he died

(Newser) - Michael Jackson's doctor has apparently gone AWOL, TMZ reports. Authorities want to interview him but can't find him, sources say. Cops towed his BMW from Jackson's house last night. One source says the doctor gave Jackson an injection, possibly of the morphine-like drug Demerol, before he died. The LA coroner,...

With Icons' Deaths, Gen X Grows Up
 With Icons' Deaths, 
 Gen X Grows Up 
OPINION

With Icons' Deaths, Gen X Grows Up

Pair of generation's icons pass in a day

(Newser) - Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson were icons to many, but especially to the impressionable members of Generation X. “These people were on our lunchboxes,” notes one post-boomer. “This is the moment when Generation X realizes they're grown up." “Cynical” and “disaffected,” Gen X...

Obit Writers Agree: He Was Peter Pan

(Newser) - It's no secret that Michael Jackson, onetime owner of Neverland, loved Peter Pan, and the reference provided legions of obituary and tribute writers with a theme:
  • New York Times: "For his legions of fans, he was the Peter Pan of pop music: the little boy who refused to grow
...

Jackson Fans Mourn Legend
 Jackson 
 Fans Mourn 
 Legend 

slideshow

Jackson Fans Mourn Legend

(Newser) - Hundreds of people are converging on the UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles as word spreads that Michael Jackson is dead. The tributes to his musical career, from his youth with the Jackson 5 to his solo career, are just beginning. To see photos of Jackson, click on Slideshow, at...

Jackson's Moment: That Seminal 1983 Moonwalk
Jackson's Moment: That Seminal 1983 Moonwalk
opinion

Jackson's Moment: That Seminal 1983 Moonwalk

(Newser) - "I don't think there's ever been anyone harder to write about than Michael Jackson," writes Linda Holmes of NPR. Try to balance his musical brilliance with, well, just about everything else in his life. So for her, Michael Jackson comes down to this: That moment in 1983 when...

Zippo Closes In on 500M Lighters

American icon set to sell its 500 millionth lighter by year's end

(Newser) - At some point this year, the Zippo factory in Bradford, Pa., will churn out its 500 millionth lighter, NPR reports. The windproof gadget has become a cultural staple since 1932, from the wartime foxholes of Germany and Vietnam to the glitter of the Silver Screen, but NPR notes that the...

Iconic Sign Is Fabulous Indeed
 Iconic Sign Is Fabulous Indeed 

Iconic Sign Is Fabulous Indeed

Nearly 50 years later, designer discusses her creation

(Newser) - It's been nearly a half-century since the iconic "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign went up on the Strip, and Betty Willis is still as sharp as she was when she designed it, Las Vegas Weekly reports. Willis created the neon design back when the Strip still intersected dirt...

Facebook Sneaks Up on BlackBerry Users

Privacy advocates wary of site's new icons

(Newser) - BlackBerry owners may have noticed a new icon appearing on their devices in the past week: a link to Facebook. Some T-Mobile smartphones are getting the icons whether or not customers want them. Facebook spokespeople say users can still decide whether to download the software, but to privacy groups the...

Johnny (Sorry, Jay) Top TV Icon
Johnny (Sorry, Jay) Top TV Icon

Johnny (Sorry, Jay) Top TV Icon

The famous faces of TV are (nearly) all present in this Hall of Fame

(Newser) - Letterman and Stewart made the cut, but Leno got stiffed when Entertainment Weekly and TV Land did their list of the top 50 TV icons. Leading the list, of course, the guy who started it all:
  1. Johnny Carson
  2. Lucille Ball
  3. Oprah Winfrey

18 Stories