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She Turned to Podcasters Over Sister&#39;s Killing. It Ended Badly
She Turned to Podcasters Over
Sister's Killing. It Ended Badly
in case you missed it
Dec 10, 2023 3:15 PM CST

She Turned to Podcasters Over Sister's Killing. It Ended Badly

The 'New York Times' looks at how families can be retraumatized by online sleuthing

(Newser) - Liz Flatt was 8 when her sister, Debbie Sue Williamson, was murdered in 1975. The cold case continued to haunt her into adulthood, so in 2016, she decided to make a new push to get the crime solved. The years that followed brought her to CrimeCon, where she met George...

After Deadly Fire, Parents Say Iffy Science Landed Them in Prison

Deb and Timothy Nicholls are serving life sentences over fire that killed their 3 children

(Newser) - Nearly 20 years ago, a house fire in Colorado Springs, Colorado, claimed the lives of Deb and Timothy Nicholls' three children: Jay, 11, Sophia, 5, and Sierra, 3. Deb wasn't home at the time, and Timothy was found injured outside the house. He says he remembers a piece of...

He Killed Parents, Classmates. His Sister Tells Her Story

'New Yorker' profiles Kristin Kinkel, sibling of Kip Kinkel, one of the first school shooters in the US

(Newser) - In May 1998—roughly a year before Columbine—a 15-year-old named Kip Kinkel fatally shot his parents, then two fellow students at Thurston High School in Springfield, Oregon. He wounded 25 more students. In the New Yorker , Jennifer Gonnerman examines the shooting, which was all but unheard of at the...

How the Most Precious Color on Earth Vanished
How the Most
Precious Color
on Earth Vanished
longform
Dec 10, 2023 8:30 AM CST

How the Most Precious Color on Earth Vanished

And inside the quest to rediscover Tyrian purple

(Newser) - It was the king of all colors—one thought to have been created by the ancient Phoenicians and later cherished by Roman emperors and Cleopatra. Eventually, it vanished. In a fascinating piece for the BBC , Zaria Gorvett delves into the story of Tyrian purple, which was the most precious color...

For Top Ultrarunner, It's All About the 'Pain Cave'

'Outside' profiles the sport's top female runner, Courtney Dauwalter

(Newser) - Ultrarunner Courtney Dauwalter is on a record-breaking streak, making history this year when she became the first person to take home the top prize at the three biggest competitions in the sport. Meaghen Brown of Outside magazine profiles the 38-year-old, seeking to unravel how she manages to reach extreme physical...

Uvalde Schoolchildren Followed Their Training, Baffling Police

Quiet classrooms made officers think no one was in them

(Newser) - Schoolchildren around the country are taught in active shooter drills to stay quiet until the threat ends. That's what the Robb Elementary students in Uvalde, Texas, did last year when a gunman entered their school and started shooting. They even shushed classmates who screamed after being shot. But the...

She Ditched Broadway Dreams, Became Flo From Progressive

Meet Stephanie Courtney, the actor behind insurance company's most famous 'employee'

(Newser) - She's probably one of the most familiar faces to TV viewers, and has been for more than a decade, but "Stephanie Courtney" isn't exactly a household name. We all know the 53-year-old actor and comedian better as "Flo," the walking representation of Progressive Insurance in...

In 1971, His Climate Research Raised Early Alarm Bells
Early Climate Scientist:
'Where Did I Go Wrong?'
LONGFORM
Nov 26, 2023 9:00 AM CST

Early Climate Scientist: 'Where Did I Go Wrong?'

Australia's Graeme Pearman, 82, now laments that so little action was taken decades ago

(Newser) - "I often wonder: where did I go wrong?" Graeme Pearman tells the Guardian . "Why didn't people respond? Is that my responsibility?" In the early '70s, Pearman rang the alarm about what he saw as an impending climate crisis as part of CSIRO, Australia's government agency...

Maybe Our Money Should Expire
Maybe Our Money Should
Have an Expiration Date
longform
Nov 25, 2023 2:45 PM CST

Maybe Our Money Should Have an Expiration Date

Noema explores the concept put forth by a long-ago German economist

(Newser) - It's a novel thought experiment: What if our money had an expiration date? In Noema , Jacob Baynham explores the idea and how it would transform the very idea of what money is, or should be. As Baynham explains, a German economist named Silvio Gesell proposed the idea more than...

He's an Appalachian Trail Legend—but a 'Polarizing' One

'Outside Online' profiles Warren Doyle

(Newser) - When it comes to Appalachian Trail legends, Warren Doyle's name has a place at the top of the list. The 73-year-old set a fastest known time of 66 days five decades ago, has hiked all 2,198 miles of the trial 18 times, has coached other AT record setters,...

The Phony Will Worked— Until His Ex Got Suspicious

'Toronto Life' unravels story of ex-cop, his mistress, and the money they stole from a dead man

(Newser) - In one sense, the story by Katherine Laidlaw in Toronto Life recounts a straightforward, depressing crime: When an elderly man with dementia died without a will and seemingly without relatives, a couple successfully schemed to illegally obtain his estate of more than $800,000. They pulled it off because Adellene...

School Principals Form Unwanted but Necessary Group

A deep dive into the Principal Recovery Network, a support group for leaders at schools affected by gun violence

(Newser) - Frank DeAngelis used to belong to a lonely club of one. Now, he's got nearly two dozen companions in that club, but it's one he wishes didn't exist. In fact, DeAngelis—the former principal of Colorado's Columbine High School, where a 1999 mass shooting left 12...

Can $500 a Month for a Year Change a Life?
What Happened When Chicago
Gave Her $500 a Month
longform
Nov 19, 2023 6:01 AM CST

What Happened When Chicago Gave Her $500 a Month

A look at how one woman's life was impacted by the yearlong Resilient Communities Pilot

(Newser) - You hear about them every so often: pilot programs that give a select group of people a guaranteed income for a specific amount of time in a quest to see if such an approach can make a difference in the fight against poverty. In a deep dive for Chicago Magazine ...

A Famed Tennis Family Moved to the US, Found Tragedy
How Things Came Undone
for a Famed Tennis Family
longform
Nov 18, 2023 2:40 PM CST

How Things Came Undone for a Famed Tennis Family

The 'NYT' shares the story of David Lewis and his daughters

(Newser) - Everyone in the New Zealand tennis world knows David Lewis, writes Matthew Futterman for the New York Times . They also know "what happened to his family." Lewis was part of a trio of tennis-star brothers—himself a pro, another losing the 1983 Wimbledon men's singles final to...

How Did Little Tokelau Become a Cybercrime Hub? Think '.tk'

'MIT Technology Review' unpacks the inadvertent twist for Pacific territory

(Newser) - Unless you're a geography buff, you may never have heard of the tiny Pacific territory of Tokelau. It's no wonder: As Jacob Judah explains in the MIT Technology Review , Tokelau is made up of three small atolls, has only about 1,400 inhabitants, and didn't even get...

The Rare Kit Kats Made It to the US. Then Came the Scam

'Strategic theft' is on the rise. This was one instance of it

(Newser) - As far as scams go, it's a strange and confusing one—and on the rise. The New York Times delves into the world of "strategic theft," which it describes as "part identity theft, part extortion," with a real-world case involving 55,000 unusually flavored Kit...

Lululemon Founder Investing Fortune to Cure His Disease

Bloomberg profiles Chip Wilson and his fight against form of muscular dystrophy

(Newser) - The founder of athleisure company Lululemon has a rare form of muscular dystrophy, and he's spending millions to find a cure before time runs out. Bloomberg details Chip Wilson's story, from becoming an entrepreneur in the outdoor and fitness realm (when he was first diagnosed in the late...

Cajun Turtles&#39; Biggest Threat: Illegal Hunters
Cajun Turtles' Biggest
Threat: Illegal Hunters
longform
Nov 12, 2023 6:33 AM CST

Cajun Turtles' Biggest Threat: Illegal Hunters

'Texas Tribune' explores the fate of alligator snapping turtles in Texas and Louisiana

(Newser) - Alligator snapping turtles have long been a Cajun delicacy, so much so that the prehistoric-looking creatures' numbers are dwindling. As the Texas Tribune explains, Texas has strict laws to protect the freshwater turtles—which can easily top 100 pounds and live longer than the researchers who study them—but Louisiana...

Doctors Are Learning a Risky Procedure on YouTube
A Risky Hernia Procedure
Is Gaining Popularity
longform
Nov 5, 2023 4:25 PM CST

A Risky Hernia Procedure Is Gaining Popularity

'New York Times' takes a in-depth look at component separation

(Newser) - Some doctors are learning how to perform a complicated and risky medical procedure that has recently gained popularity by watching online videos or attending quick trainings. And the New York Times reports that in a growing number of cases, patients are being left painfully disfigured after going under the knife....

He Entered NBA With No Red Flags. They Piled Up Fast

ESPN looks at the troubles of superstar Ja Morant, whose career is on the line

(Newser) - The NBA's Memphis Grizzlies have begun their new season, but superstar Ja Morant has to watch from the bench for the first 25 games. The 24-year-old is serving the league suspension—which amounts to him forfeiting $7.7 million in salary—after he showed up on social media posing...

Stories 201 - 220 | << Prev   Next >>