Author: Adam Martin

Shep Smith Apologizes After Fox News Airs a Suicide

Fox News / YouTube

A carjacking suspect being chased by police in Phoenix suddenly got out of the car and shot himself on live television, prompting Fox News's Shepard Smith to apologize after the network aired the footage.

By Adam Martin

Jun 11, 2012

Correction: State Department Not Paying Amazon $6,600 for a Kindle

Update: A procurement contract between the State Department and Amazon worth $16.5 million over five years allows for the purchase of more than the 2,500 Kindles cited in the documents as the government's "immediate need."

Comments | 6,651 Views

By Adam Martin

Jun 11, 2012

Annan Pleads for Limit to Deaths, Fighting Continues in Homs and Damascus

From the reports of fighting coming out of Syria on Monday, it's hard to believe the war-ravaged country was ever the subject of a peace agreement, as the architect of that failed plan renewed his call to limit civilan casualties in Geneva.

Comments | 506 Views

By Adam Martin

Jun 11, 2012

Gordon Brown Says He Never Made 'Unbalanced' Call to Rupert Murdoch

In his testimony before the Leveson Inquiry on Monday, former British prime minister Gordon Brown denied ever having a phone call in which he allegedly threatened Rupert Murdoch, essentially accusing Murdoch of lying under oath.

Comments | 162 Views

By Adam Martin

Jun 11, 2012

Joy Behar Will Start Her Current TV Career as Spitzer's Fill-In

Joy Behar's going to be back in charge of her own show as early as next week, when she takes over Elliot Spitzer's time slot on Current TV while the Viewpoint host goes on vacation.

Comments | 449 Views

By Adam Martin

Jun 11, 2012

Following Threats From the North, Hacks Hit South Korean Newspapers

Last week, North Korea threatened South Korean media companies for comparing Kim Jong Un to Hitler, and on Saturday, a massive cyber attack disabled two Seoul-based newspapers, so it's natural to suspect Pyongyang was involved.

Comments | 172 Views

By Adam Martin

Jun 11, 2012

After Rain-Soaked Tantrum and Delay, Nadal Sets a French Open Record

Spain's Rafael Nadal finally secured his record-breaking seventh French Open win on Monday, defeating world No. 1 Novak Djovic after rainy weather drove him to a temper tantrum before it mercifully delayed play for 18 hours.

Comments | 988 Views

By Adam Martin

Jun 11, 2012

Dylan Ratigan Leaving MSNBC to Do... Something

The story that Dylan Ratigan was going to leave MSNBC after three years on the network was a good scoop for The New York Times' Brian Stelter, but it's frustratingly incomplete because Ratigan has only vaguely hinted at what he'll do next.

Comments | 3,621 Views

By Adam Martin

Jun 8, 2012

Comment of the Day

'Doesn't Mean I Have to Like It!'

Naturally, John Hudson's post about Ron Paul supporters furious over Rand Paul's endorsement of Mitt Romney drew many Ron Paul-supporting comments.

Comments | 1,006 Views

By Adam Martin and Elspeth Reeve

Jun 8, 2012

Cocktail Crossfire

Cocktail Crossfire: Should We Mourn 'Car Talk'?

On Friday WBUR broadcasters Tom and Ray Magliozzi announced that they would stop making new episodes of their 35-year-old car advice phone-in program Car Talk. This is very sad. Or is it? 

Comments | 4,847 Views

By Adam Martin

Jun 8, 2012

Boozing Bankers Bummed About Busted Summer

CNBC's John Carney must have an iron liver. How else could he elicit so many embarrassing comments from so many Wall Street types about their summers not spent relaxing in the Hamptons.

Comments | 862 Views

By Adam Martin

Jun 8, 2012

73 Lives Later, Jamaican Drug Lord Gets 23 Years

The question, now that Jamaican drug lord Christopher Coke has received the maximum sentence of 23 years after 73 people died in a raid on his compound, is was it worth it?

Comments | 1,032 Views

By Adam Martin

Jun 8, 2012

CNN Reportedly Closing in on Mashable Purchase

The acquisition rumors from March are back, and if they're true it looks like CNN's finally closing in on a purchase of technology news site Mashable.

Comments | 405 Views

By Adam Martin

Jun 8, 2012

The Coolest Space Station Photos Yet

Occasionally we get really amazing photos of earth and space from the International Space Station, but the batch recently posted to the ISS Flickr stream contains some of the coolest yet because they don't even look like earth or space.

Comments | 4,393 Views

By Adam Martin

Jun 8, 2012

'Car Talk' Ending New Episodes of Its Dad-Soothing Radio Program in September

Car Talk is such a dad show, so hosts Tom and Ray Magliozzi could have picked a more sensitive time to announce they're going to end it than shortly before Father's Day.

Comments | 9,034 Views

By Adam Martin

Jun 8, 2012

A Tale of Two Villages: Are Chen Guangcheng's Neighbors Freer Now?

As authorities in China destroy evidence of their alleged mistreatment of blind human rights activist Chen Guangcheng and his family, his brother says that life has improved for his fellow villagers now that the armed guards and checkpoints are gone.

Comments | 172 Views

By Adam Martin

Jun 8, 2012

Confession Scrawled on Etan Patz's Photo Will Become Iconic Evidence

Though police already have a detailed confession from Pedro Hernandez, the alleged killer of Etan Patz, they took the unusual and melodramatic step of having him sign a photograph of the child, an image that has kept the case in the public mind for 33 years.

Comments | 695 Views

By Adam Martin

Jun 7, 2012

Bob Welch, Onetime Fleetwood Mac Guitarist, Dead at 66

Some sad news to end with today: Former fleetwood Mac guitarist and 1970s rock star Bob Welch was found dead from an apparent suicide in which he shot himself in the chest in his Nashville home.

Comments | 606 Views

By Adam Martin

Jun 7, 2012

Comment of the Day

'Might as Well Enjoy the Music Until the Boat Sinks'

The news that a group of scientists think the earth may have reached a "tipping point" beyond which the climate becomes inhospitable to human life and there's nothing we can do to stop it, is pretty scary stuff, unless you have the right attitude.

Comments | 645 Views

By Adam Martin

Jun 7, 2012

Confirmed: It Is Hot In Here (It's Not Just You)

Welcome to history: We're living in the hottest time ever for the United States, and this spring was the warmest since the country started keeping records, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reports.

Comments | 172 Views

By Adam Martin

Jun 7, 2012

Chuck Klosterman Is The New York Times Magazine's New Ethicist

The author and critic confirms he'll be taking over the column after Ariel Kaminer left the post in April, saying, 'this is a job I've wanted for 10 years.'

Comments | 10,378 Views

By Adam Martin

Jun 7, 2012

Romney Out-Fundraises Obama, Rubs it In

It's unlikely that the Romney campaign didn't know its own May fundraising total when Obama and the Democrats announced theirs Thursday morning, but the Republicans waited until midday to announce they'd out-paced the president

Comments | 173 Views

By Adam Martin

Jun 7, 2012

Three Years After Air France 447 Crash, A Hint of Scandal

Last night's episode of Nightline, all about the disappearance of Air France flight 447, featured a perfect nugget of news with which to drum up some renewed interest in the story: The suggestion of a sex scandal involving the plane's captain.

Comments | 7,943 Views

By Adam Martin

Jun 7, 2012

Unemployment Claims Fall by a Modest 12,000

After last month's annoyingly high unemployment report, the news that first-time unemployment benefits claims fell by 12,000 last week is a move in the right direction, albeit a modest one.

Comments | 477 Views

By Adam Martin

Jun 6, 2012

Comment of the Day

'It's Like Dilbert Cartoons'

It's one thing to observe that the app-makers are running out of ideas, as Rebecca Greenfield did on Wednesday, but it's a whole new level of mean to compare all of online to a Dilbert cartoon.

Comments | 1,826 Views

By Adam Martin

Jun 6, 2012

Euro 2012 Says Refs, Not Players, Must Respond to Racism

Players at the this year's Euro 2012 European soccer championship will have to rely entirely on referees to stop any racism on the field, or else risk a yellow card if they walk off in protest.

Comments | 560 Views

By Adam Martin

Jun 6, 2012

Now That Google Has Camera Planes, Street Views Cars Are So Passé

Google's just-announced 3D maps sound awesome, but they also include a serious downside for the privacy crowd: Anybody who got creeped out by Street View cars shooting their block will now have to worry about Google's camera-toting fleet of airplanes.

Comments | 3,449 Views

By Adam Martin

Jun 6, 2012

Apparently HBO Doesn't Want Cord-Cutters as Customers

Lots of people would like to pay HBO for online-only access to its programs, but at the moment the network apparently doesn't think that potential customer base is worth the trouble.

Comments | 3,722 Views

By Adam Martin

Jun 6, 2012

NASDAQ Will Pay Financial Firms for Facebook IPO Hiccups

For a brief period following Facebook's disastrous IPO, the NASDAQ itself was one of the few companies to make money on it, but now the exchange has agreed to pay out $40 million to financial firms, including the $10.7 million it made on the launch.

Comments | 884 Views

By Adam Martin

Jun 6, 2012

Pelosi: Maybe a Do-Nothing Congress Shouldn't Take Nine Weeks of Recess

Nancy Pelosi's open letter to House Speaker John Boehner asking him to work through next week's planned recess is basically political posturing, but the House minority leader has a point.

Comments | 1,976 Views

By Adam Martin

Jun 6, 2012

Space Shuttle Enterprise's Final Approach in Photos

The Space Shuttle Enterprise is making its final approach to its new home at New York's Intrepid Sea Air and Space Museum, after traveling by airland, and sea.

Comments | 2,242 Views

By Adam Martin

Jun 6, 2012

Ray Bradbury, Science Fiction Master, Has Died at 91

The legendary science fiction author died in Los Angeles at the age of 91, iO9 reports.

Comments | 4,290 Views

By Adam Martin

Jun 6, 2012

More Body Parts Found in Canada, Including a Fake One

Even with suspected foot-mailing murderer Luka Magnotta in custody, more body parts have been turning up in Canada this week, but thankfully at least one appears to be a fake.

Comments | 1,566 Views

By Adam Martin

Jun 6, 2012

Death at a Silent Yoga Retreat Poses Obvious Reporting Problems

For your morning mystery, The New York Times' Fernanda Santos brings an arduously reported story of a man's death in the Arizona desert after he and his wife were expelled from a silent, three-year yoga retreat.

Comments | 16,553 Views

By Adam Martin

Jun 5, 2012

Comment of the Day

'There Should Be a Statute of Limitations on Spoiler Alerts'

We did not choose our featured comment today because it was overly pithy or insightful, but because it made a point that's worth more discussion.

Comments | 1,859 Views

By Adam Martin

Jun 5, 2012

It's the Supreme Court or Bust for Proponents of Prop. 8

Supporters of California's overturned Prop. 8 banning gay marriage will have to get their case before the U.S. Supreme Court if they want to appeal it any further, now that the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals refused to re-hear a challenge to a judge's decision that the ban was unconstitutional.

Comments | 1,634 Views

By Adam Martin

Jun 5, 2012

Beer Company Would Rather Not Be Associated with an Alleged Cannibal Killer

Of all the photos Luka Magnotta posted to the web before he was arrested for allegedly killing and dismembering a Chinese student in Montreal, Labatt Beer really wishes the Montreal Gazette had chosen one that didn't prominently feature one of its bottles.

Comments | 4,574 Views

By Adam Martin

Jun 5, 2012

Jubilee Gets Dickensian

The story of job-seekers working as low- or unpaid stewards for the queen's diamond jubilee being made to sleep under the London Bridge reads like something straight out of Charles Dickens.

Comments | 528 Views

By Adam Martin

Jun 5, 2012

Goldman's Latest Layoffs Target its Bonus Takers

The latest round of layoffs at Goldman Sachs was small, just 50 staffers, but it was notable for who got cut: not rank-and-file workers but some people with big titles and, of course, big bonuses.

Comments | 1,559 Views

By Adam Martin

Jun 4, 2012

Defenders of the Queen's English Lay Down Their Grammar Arms

It was with mixed feelings that we received the news that the Queen's English Society would disband by the end of June, but we felt sadness not because of the loss of the grammar constabulary but because, in the end, nobody cared.

Comments | 345 Views

By Adam Martin

Jun 4, 2012

Stat of the Day

73% of Those Who Killed Black Victims Went Free Under 'Stand Your Ground'

In the Tampa Bay Times' analysis of 200 cases of Florida's "stand your ground" law, this finding stands out: "people who killed a black person walked free 73 percent of the time, while those who killed a white person went free 59 percent of the time."

Comments | 2,412 Views

By Adam Martin

Jun 4, 2012

Bloomberg Rushes to Agree with Cuomo on Pot Decriminalization

Seeing as how he's repeatedly defended the stop-and-frisk program and low-level pot arrests, we didn't expect New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg to come out in favor of Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo's plan to partially decriminalize pot.

Comments | 1,341 Views

By Adam Martin

Jun 4, 2012

Disgruntled Militia Fighters Shut Down Tripoli's Airport

The Tripoli International Airport, which handles about 30 flights in and out a day, has been shut down after it was attacked by "at least two dozen armed militiamen," according to the BBC.

Comments | 345 Views

By Adam Martin

Jun 4, 2012

The Keepsakes of a Hollywood Legend

Given the choice between a visit to the Hollywood Museum or the chance to rummage around in the attic of longtime Hollywood "superagent" Sue Mengers, we'd take her attic any day.

Comments | 860 Views

By Adam Martin

Jun 4, 2012

By Adam Martin

Jun 4, 2012

California Tax Fight Threatens an Unlikely Smokers' Haven

The New York Times' coverage of a proposed $1-per-pack tobacco tax increase in California raises an incongruity with the state's reputation as tough on tobacco: It has, for now, some of the cheapest cigarettes in the country. 

Comments | 862 Views

By Adam Martin

Jun 1, 2012

Rielle Hunter to Testify in Print

We were disappointed when Rielle Hunter did not take the stand to testify during John Edwards' campaign finance fraud trial, but now we have an idea why: She'd have cannibalized her new tell-all book.

Comments | 1,026 Views

By Adam Martin

Jun 1, 2012

For the Last Time, CDC Says There's No Zombie Apocalypse, OK?

"CDC does not know of a virus or condition that would reanimate the dead (or one that would present zombie-like symptoms)." [Huffington Post]

Comments | 3,867 Views

By Adam Martin

Jun 1, 2012

Connecticut's New Medical Marijuana Law Is So Square

Connecticut became the 17th state to make medical marijuana legal on Friday, but before New Yorkers with headaches and back pain jump on the first Metro North see a doctor, you should know: This is a far less forgiving law that in other states.

Comments | 1,629 Views

By Adam Martin

Jun 1, 2012

George Zimmerman Heading Back to Jail

The judge in George Zimmerman's second-degree murder case revoked his bond on Friday, saying he misrepresented his financial status in his original bond hearing last month.

Comments | 4,656 Views

By Adam Martin

Jun 1, 2012

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