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They've Gone Down in History for Their 1999 Running Ruse

Sergio and Arnold Motsoeneng infamously cheated during the Comrades

(Newser) - Google "Sergio Motsoeneng," or the name of his brother Arnold, and you'll enter a portal into a scandal. The South African brothers' story of cheating in a 1999 ultramarathon has persisted as one of the most lasting in running history, writes Ryan Lenora Brown for Insider , as...

Expect Hallucinations During This Hellish Ultra-Marathon

The Tunnel Ultra is just over 200 miles in the dark

(Newser) - "I don't want there to be no finishers. But I do want them to go through hell to get there." Mission accomplished, Mark Cockbain. He's the creator of the Tunnel Ultra, a race he calls "a mind-bending test of extreme endurance and sensory deprivation."...

No One Has Secured Exonerations Like Josh Tepfer
No One
Has Secured
Exonerations
Like Josh Tepfer
longform
Jan 22, 2023 3:55 PM CST

No One Has Secured Exonerations Like Josh Tepfer

BuzzFeed profiles the Chicago attorney

(Newser) - "He gave me life again," one man said of Josh Tepfer. Multiply the sentiment by at least 288. Writing for BuzzFeed News , Melissa Segura profiles the 47-year-old Chicago attorney, who has led the charge in securing the exonerations of 288 wrongfully convicted people and numbers "among the...

There's an 'Animal Welfare Disaster' You Don't Know About

Vox takes a look at the export of live animals, particularly by sea

(Newser) - It's an "animal welfare disaster" that's gone largely "unnoticed by the public," writes Sophie Kevany in a piece for Vox that details the issue at length: animals exported alive to other countries. That may sound relatively innocuous, but the reality of these transfers, particularly those...

The Amazon Researcher 'Refused to Believe Her Data'

It showed the rainforest was actually emitting carbon, not capturing it

(Newser) - If you're wondering what scientists are thinking about the state of the Amazon these days, look no further than Alex Cuadros' lengthy piece for the New York Times . Reporting from the Amazon, Cuadros meets with some of the leading scientists on the ground—or in the air—there to...

Women Buying Abortion Pills Online Have Another Worry

ProPublica finds that pharmacies are sharing data that could wind up in hands of prosecutors

(Newser) - Third-party trackers are a common nuisance for anyone who buys something online. But a ProPublica investigation has found that women who buy abortion pills on the internet face the possibility of more than a nuisance—they might get prosecuted. The outlet discovered that at least nine online pharmacies that sell...

As Airlines Abandon Them, Small Cities Are Forced to Pay Up

'Time' looks at what deregulation has wrought

(Newser) - If you're of a certain relatively youthful age, you may not know that prior to 1978, airlines were regulated. As Alana Semuels recaps in a lengthy piece for Time , until that point the government "saw airlines as an essential service, kind of like the post office." The...

Two Stats Illustrate a Problem With Bike Helmets
Two Stats Illustrate a Problem
With Bike Helmets
longform
Jan 20, 2023 8:51 AM CST

Two Stats Illustrate a Problem With Bike Helmets

US riders use them more than others, but also suffer more traffic fatalities

(Newser) - Marion Renault thinks bicyclists should wear helmets, and she always wears one herself. But in a story at Slate , she writes that "helmets are simply not the road-safety panacea we want them to be." The point is brought home with a combination of two stats: American riders tend...

They Called Her 'Law Library.' She Never Went to Law School

How Kelly Harnett helped free others, and then herself

(Newser) - "She's a superb legal mind," an attorney says of Kelly Harnett. That's not thanks to any law school. Hartnett earned the nicknames "Law Library" and "Esquire" while incarcerated at the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility in Westchester, New York. In 2015 she began serving 17...

Cycling Is Healthy. So Why the Deep Connection to Beer?
Bike Culture May Have
a Problem—Alcohol
longform
Jan 10, 2023 12:14 PM CST

Bike Culture May Have a Problem—Alcohol

In 'Bicycling,' Gloria Liu suggests the cycling world drinks too much

(Newser) - A few years ago, Gloria Liu wrote a story in Bicycling magazine about how great the "post-ride beer" is in the parking lot, especially with a group of riding friends. Now comes a story in the same magazine with a different bent and a headline asking, "Does Cycling...

'Tranq' Is Making Fentanyl Scarier—and More Grotesque

The animal sedative, increasingly used as a cutting agent, causes skin to blacken and die

(Newser) - Veterinarians know it as xylazine; some users know it as "zombie dope," and Jan Hoffman's piece for the New York Times makes it clear why. As one user put it, "my arms were dying." That's no exaggeration. The animal tranquilizer—most commonly referred to...

Cape Cod Is Being Ruined by Human Waste
Cape Cod Is Being
Ruined by Human Waste
longform
Jan 7, 2023 9:30 AM CST

Cape Cod Is Being Ruined by Human Waste

And by the septic tanks that currently capture it

(Newser) - Cape Cod has been "a cherished destination for generations," writes Christopher Flavelle for the New York Times , and in some ways, that very fact is what's hurting it. Flavelle digs in to the troublesome and odorous situation the Massachusetts locale is experiencing thanks to a ballooning population....

A Scientific Misfire Gave Us &#39;Nebraska Man&#39;
A Scientific Misfire Gave Us
'Nebraska Man'
longform
Jan 6, 2023 1:56 PM CST

A Scientific Misfire Gave Us 'Nebraska Man'

In the 1920s, an old tooth was misinterpreted in a very public way

(Newser) - For a while in the 1920s, it appeared that we'd be talking about "Nebraska Man" for generations as an evolutionary milestone. But as Madeline Bodin writes at Atavist , the name has since faded into obscurity for good reason—it was a very public scientific misfire. The saga began...

For Elise Stefanik, a &#39;Bewildering and Sudden&#39; Shift to Trump World
She Started Out
Moderate, Then
Went Full MAGA
LONGFORM
Jan 1, 2023 5:00 PM CST

She Started Out Moderate, Then Went Full MAGA

'WaPo' profile examines 'bewildering and sudden' shift of New York congresswoman Elise Stefanik

(Newser) - After Mitt Romney lost the presidency in 2012, Elise Stefanik, a budding young Republican from upstate New York who worked for his campaign, helped put together an "autopsy report, a document urging more inclusivity and openness in the GOP." So writes Ruby Cramer in her profile of Stefanik,...

Some Bodybuilders Pay for Their Muscles With Their Lives
Some Bodybuilders Pay for
Their Muscles With Their Lives
in case you missed it
Dec 31, 2022 1:25 PM CST

Some Bodybuilders Pay for Their Muscles With Their Lives

The 'Washington Post' delves into the sport

(Newser) - It's "a sport that for years has operated under the halo of health and fitness." But the reality that Washington Post reporters Jenn Abelson, Nate Jones, and Ladka Bauerova found after delving into the world of bodybuilding was so unhealthy it was often deadly. They interviewed more...

When You Learn Your Home Once Housed a Killer
When You Learn
Your Home Once
Housed a Killer
LONGFORM
Dec 31, 2022 8:02 AM CST

When You Learn Your Home Once Housed a Killer

Matt Blake examines the 'emotional residue' of homes with violent pasts

(Newser) - "All houses have histories. But how much thought do we give to what happened in them before we moved in?" Matt Blake poses that question in his essay for the Guardian , in which he reveals what happened after he moved into an old, drafty London house with slugs in...

Juniper Tree Helped Solve a Young Mother&#39;s Murder
Juniper Tree Helped Solve
a Young Mother's Murder
longform
Dec 31, 2022 6:30 AM CST

Juniper Tree Helped Solve a Young Mother's Murder

Mengqi Ji vanished in October 2019

(Newser) - When Joseph Elledge discovered his wife, Mengqi Ji, was missing, he called the police non-emergency line a day later to report it. Elledge maintained that the 28-year-old mother of a 1-year-old left on the morning of Oct. 8, 2019, with her purse but not her phone or car keys. Elledge...

Meth Took Hold of a Military Wife, Nearly Didn&#39;t Let Go
A Meth Addict's
Unlikely Savior:
a Teen Killer
longform
Dec 26, 2022 3:30 PM CST

A Meth Addict's Unlikely Savior: a Teen Killer

The 'WSJ' has the story of Lauren St. Pierre

(Newser) - Lauren St. Pierre's descent into meth was fast and hard. The Missouri military wife and mother of one was introduced to the drug at age 24 by a fellow military wife in July 2010. It gave her boundless energy. "At 4am, Lauren cleaned the baseboards of her house...

A Doctor Is Missing at Sea, but Prosecutors Are Skeptical

Marvin Moy was facing trial for insurance fraud before his disappearance off Long Island

(Newser) - Dr. Marvin Moy is missing. Beyond that fact, much is in dispute, writes Michael Wilson in the New York Times . Moy is a Manhattan doctor who was facing serious legal trouble before his disappearance at sea in October. Among other things, prosecutors accused him of bribing first-responders and hospital employees...

Some Executives Pay a Pretty Penny to Do an Ironman
The Rich Can
Buy a Different
Ironman Experience
longform
Dec 25, 2022 7:01 AM CST

The Rich Can Buy a Different Ironman Experience

Welcome to the world of Ironman XC

(Newser) - "I'm sure you have noticed we are spoiled kids," is how Jerome Le Jamtel puts it. The New Yorker is a C-level executive who spends close to six figures a year entering Ironman races. With race entry fees that typically run from $475 to $675, how is...

Stories 381 - 400 | << Prev   Next >>