Longform

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A Storied Washington Home Has Sat Empty for 22 Years

Inside the saga of Katharine Graham's former home

(Newser) - A "grand Beaux-Arts" house has sat at 2920 R Street in Georgetown for centuries. Mark Ein has been in possession of it for the last 22 years—and never lived there. The New York Times has the saga of the storied home, which was built by Georgetown's second...

Retail Stores May Be Killing Themselves With Locked Cases
Stores' Locked Cases
Look Like a Failed Strategy
longform
Aug 11, 2024 3:30 PM CDT

Stores' Locked Cases Look Like a Failed Strategy

Amanda Mull digs in for Bloomberg and finds that the anti-theft practice is 'backfiring'

(Newser) - It used to be that retail stores locked up only items that were pricey or regulated, such as phones or cigarettes. Today, however, everything from toothpaste to deodorant gets locked up behind plexiglass cases, writes Amanda Mull at Bloomberg . In theory, a customer presses a call button to quickly summon...

Antiques Roadshow Clip a Factor in Couple's Odd Arrest

Florida pair was given gold from an illegally looted shipwreck

(Newser) - In June 2022, Florida retirees Phil and Gay Courter were on a cruise ship at a port in England preparing for the trip home. Much to their surprise, ship officials summoned them, asked them to hand over their passports, and informed them they were being arrested on European warrants on...

Infamous UK Mass Murder Case Draws New Scrutiny
Infamous UK Mass Murder
Case Draws New Scrutiny
longform
Aug 11, 2024 6:00 AM CDT

Infamous UK Mass Murder Case Draws New Scrutiny

New Yorker examines the case of Jeremy Bamber, imprisoned 40 years ago for killing his family

(Newser) - The New Yorker is establishing a reputation for raising doubts about notorious UK murder convictions. Three months after questioning the case against former nurse Lucy Letby in the deaths of newborns, a new story by Heidi Blake examines the conviction of Jeremy Bamber in the "most infamous family massacre"...

Another State Creates a Police Buffer Zone
Another State Creates
a Police Buffer Zone
longform
Aug 4, 2024 3:10 PM CDT

Another State Creates a Police Buffer Zone

It's now illegal in Louisiana to get within 25 feet of an officer if ordered back

(Newser) - A new law in Louisiana makes it illegal for people—citizens and journalists alike—to get within 25 feet of police if ordered to back off. A story by ProPublica and Verite News notes that the state becomes the fourth to enact such a police buffer zone, following the lead...

$3.6K of Online Orders Is Enough for $3M of Fentanyl

Reuters journalists show how easily it can be done

(Newser) - Question: How hard would it be to order supplies online to whip up a lucrative batch of fentanyl? Answer: "Astonishingly easy," declares Reuters after some of its reporters did exactly that. More specifically, the journalists shelled out a total of $3,607.18 (mostly in bitcoin) and bought...

2 Cows Got Lost. Even Joaquin Phoenix Ended Up Involved

For 2 years, a rural Western New York town has been embroiled in a culture war

(Newser) - Events in a rural Western New York town have "inspired death threats, rowdy protests, shadowy figures skulking in the woods, intercessions by Fox News and Joaquin Phoenix, stolen chickens, county and state legislation, and a court battle featuring a rotating cast of lawyers." Per a feature in the...

Escobar&#39;s Hippos Have Ecologists Worried
'If I Lived in Colombia,
I Would Be Worried'
longform
Jul 28, 2024 1:05 PM CDT

'If I Lived in Colombia, I Would Be Worried'

Scientist in Smithsonian story is talking about wild hippos, not drug cartels

(Newser) - In Colombia's fabled fight against Pablo Escobar's hippos , it seems safe to say the hippos are winning. For now. Writing at Smithsonian , Joshua Hammer lays out the numbers: Maybe four were left behind when authorities shot the drug lord dead in 1993 and took over his property—including...

Drug Kingpin Eluded Cops as a So-So Soccer Player
Drug Kingpin Eluded Cops
as a So-So Soccer Player
longform
Jul 28, 2024 8:03 AM CDT

Drug Kingpin Eluded Cops as a So-So Soccer Player

Sebastian Marset of Uruguay didn't just bankroll teams, he played for them

(Newser) - Drug kingpins, including Pablo Escobar, have been known to bankroll local soccer teams in Latin America, writes Kevin Sieff in the Washington Post . It's a smart move in a few ways: Not only is soccer the "bedrock of power and politics," it's also an easy way...

'We're Really Not Supposed to Have Earthquakes Here'

Undark explores the unusual danger zone in the center of America

(Newser) - A map put out by the US Geological Society earlier this year on earthquake risk zones has a lot of red in unsurprising places such as California and Alaska. But as a story at the nonprofit science site Undark points out, it also has what amounts to a bull's-eye...

Some Medical Mysteries Have No Answers
Some Medical
Mysteries Have
No Answers
longform
Jul 21, 2024 4:45 PM CDT

Some Medical Mysteries Have No Answers

Tom Scocca writes about the year his body 'fell apart'

(Newser) - One week after turning 52, Tom Scocca fell while trying to catch a train at a New York City subway station, his legs having simply given out, he explains in an essay at New York . Soon he was experiencing a number of mysterious symptoms: tingling and numbness in his extremities,...

After 'Miracle on the Hudson,' These Bird Detectives Got the Call

When birds collide with planes, Smithsonian forensic ornithologists help decide what happens next

(Newser) - One of the most high profile cases of an airplane colliding with a bird in the air was 2009's Miracle on the Hudson , when pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger safely landed a passenger plane in the river after Canada geese flew into both its engines. The story was a...

What It&#39;s Like to Fall 14K Feet and Live
What It's Like to
Fall 14K Feet
and Live
longform
Jul 21, 2024 6:50 AM CDT

What It's Like to Fall 14K Feet and Live

'The girl who fell from the sky' tells her story

(Newser) - In June 2013, Emma Carey and her lifelong best friend, Jemma Mrdak, were 20-year-olds traveling through Europe after graduating from their Australian high school. Part of the experience was tandem skydiving in Switzerland, jumping out of a helicopter 14,000 feet up with skydiving instructors strapped to their backs. Jemma'...

His Obsession With Collecting Turned Into a Quest for Justice

The New York Times has the fascinating story of art forger and his client

(Newser) - "Oh my God, I hit the mother lode." That's what Doug Arbittier recalls thinking in 2013 when he saw an exquisitely carved antique woodblock on eBay, writes Christopher Kuo for the New York Times . The item featured an anatomical model of a human thorax and abdomen and...

The Rise of the Unregulated Home Health Test
The Rise of the
Unregulated
Home Health Test
longform
Jul 20, 2024 5:00 PM CDT

The Rise of the Unregulated Home Health Test

More people are turning to them if doctors aren't giving them answers

(Newser) - From babies with mysterious gastrointestinal issues to adults with unexplained chronic pain, an increasing number of people are turning to unregulated home health tests for answers they're not getting from doctors. The Washington Post delves into the phenomenon with the story of Annika Sharma, who, at 6 months old,...

This Is a $150K Dog
He's a Very Good Boy.
He'll Also Cost You $150K
longform
Jul 20, 2024 9:31 AM CDT

He's a Very Good Boy. He'll Also Cost You $150K

New York magazine on why some are shelling out the eye-popping sum for Svalinn dogs

(Newser) - They are handsome dogs, for sure. But $150,000? New York magazine explores the bewildering price tag for these dogs bred in Montana by a company called Svalinn . As it turns out, plenty of people with deep pockets are willing to pay the sum, and the animals have become a...

'The State Got This Wrong,' Says DA. It May Not Matter

ProPublica explores the case of an iffy conviction over shaken baby syndrome

(Newser) - Russell Maze was sentenced to life in prison in Tennessee in 2004 after his newborn son died. At the time, prosecutors in Nashville proved their case of shaken baby syndrome, with doctors testifying that the infant surely died from abuse. Since then, a "growing body of research has demonstrated...

'This Generation's Oprah' Looks to Expand Her Monopoly

WSJ looks at Alex Cooper's new media company and the brands watching her influence

(Newser) - With an average of 10 million listeners per episode, the Call Her Daddy podcast is a blockbuster in the space, bringing in $60 million over a three-year deal with Spotify. Host Alex Cooper, who's 29, is expanding her horizons to capitalize on the influence and attention she has over...

Meet the '80s Pay Phone Bandit Who Eluded the FBI for Years

Pay phone lockboxes were designed to be impenetrable—until James Clark entered the scene

(Newser) - Once upon a time, long before the days of smart phones, pay phones were the most convenient way to reach someone when you were on the go. Jake Rossen delves into a true crime story for Mental Floss centered on these relics from the past, and an anti-hero of sorts...

Her Dad Was Losing Memory, So They Took Literal Trip Down Memory Lane

Francesca Mari reflects on how reminiscence therapy factored in during a big trip with her father

(Newser) - When Francesca Mari decided to take a European trip with her aging dad, it wasn't just fun that she was hoping for. Writing for the New York Times , Mari expands on her father's Alzheimer's and how, as dementia started to steal his memories, she hit upon an...

Stories 21 - 40 | << Prev   Next >>