Longform

Read recent longform news stories on Newser.com

Stories 581 - 600 | << Prev   Next >>

Clarence Thomas' Wife the Focus of Critical New Profile

'New Yorker' piece wonders about justice's potential conflicts of interest with Ginni Thomas' politics

(Newser) - It's no secret that Virginia "Ginni" Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, is a staunch conservative . But now a lengthy profile by Jane Mayer in the New Yorker raises the question of whether she's so deeply embedded in conservative causes that it raises conflicts of...

Behind the Schoharie Crash: an 'Outlaw Limo Company'

And at its helm, an FBI informant

(Newser) - On Oct. 6, 2018, the brakes went out on a modified Excursion that was carrying 17 friends and relatives who were headed to a New York brewery in celebration of a 30th birthday. The crash that ensued in Schoharie caused blunt-force trauma that killed nearly all of them instantly. "...

Centuries Ago, We Slept Much Differently
Centuries Ago, We Slept
Much Differently
longform
Jan 22, 2022 7:45 AM CST

Centuries Ago, We Slept Much Differently

People often went to sleep for a few hours, got up, then returned for a second shift

(Newser) - Got any big plans after "first sleep" tonight? This question might have actually made sense centuries ago, when human sleeping patterns appeared to be much different from those of today. As Zaria Gorvett explains at the BBC , people in the Middle Ages—and perhaps for long before that—commonly...

His Bizarre 1970s Plan Involved Elvis, Plastic Surgery

'Rolling Stone' has the story of 'rogue '70s promoter' Danny O'Day

(Newser) - If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Danny O'Day is ... well, he was in a category all his own. In a lengthy piece for Rolling Stone , David Browne digs into the "rogue '70s promoter," who decided to try to make a living by putting...

The Town Is Built on Prisons. What Happens If One Shuts?

A look at the situation in Susanville, California

(Newser) - The husband of Susanville, California's mayor is a corrections officer. It's a place where plenty of people are married to a corrections officer, or one themselves, or the child of one. Roughly 1 out of every 2 adults in the town are employed by the two prisons there,...

'Race-Neutral' Traffic Cameras May Not Actually Be 'Race-Neutral'

ProPublica: Most of the tickets go to Black and Hispanic neighborhoods

(Newser) - Chicago has about 300 traffic cameras positioned around the city, and they're evenly disbursed among Black, Hispanic, and white communities. It's one of the largest such programs in the country, and advocates say this "race-neutral" approach to issuing tickets is the way to go. But as ProPublica...

Californians, Welcome to the 'Trans-Apocalypse'

Elizabeth Weil explores how constant wildfires have changed what it means to live in the state

(Newser) - Elizabeth Weil bought her home in California in the 1990s, and she writes in the New York Times Magazine about how things have changed now that the state seems to be on fire all the time. Fire is "no longer an episodic hazard, like earthquakes," she writes. To...

His Catastrophic Bobsled Crash May Have Saved Him
His Catastrophic Bobsled
Crash May Have Saved Him
longform
Jan 9, 2022 11:35 AM CST

His Catastrophic Bobsled Crash May Have Saved Him

Doctors say career-ending crash at 21 kept Joe Sisson from suffering later brain damage

(Newser) - "I've got survivor's guilt big time," says Joe Sisson. He's a former bobsledder, a onetime Olympic hopeful who survived a near-fatal 2002 crash during a practice run in Switzerland at age 21. But when he talks about survivor's guilt, he's not talking about...

Relatives of Killers, Victims Connect in Odd Forum

Decades later, they find each other in comments section of defunct podcast: 'New Yorker'

(Newser) - In one sense, it's a true-crime story, and a morbidly fascinating one at that. And, yes, a podcast factors into the tale. But the story told by Ryan Katz in the New Yorker offers a remarkable twist—he lays out how people tied to a series of grisly murders...

Hostage Negotiator Receives Call From Own Abducted Wife

'WSJ' profiles Abdullahi Tumburkai, who has assumed unwanted role of go-between

(Newser) - The Wall Street Journal profiles a hostage negotiator in Nigeria named Abdullahi Tumburkai, though he doesn't hold that role in any official capacity. Instead, the 46-year-old was thrust into the job when his two brothers were kidnapped last year. In phone calls with their abductors, he managed to lower...

He Was Born in 1887. His True Paternity Emerged in 2020

Swiss researchers managed to identify Renc's true father using DNA from stamps

(Newser) - After more than a century of maintaining a family secret, the descendants of Renc decided they wanted to know the truth. Was he fathered by Ron, the Jewish factory owner whom mom Dina worked for when she gave birth in 1887? Or was his true father Xaver, who had been...

Concerns About Child Brides Well-Known. But Child Grooms?
Often-Overlooked Global
Problem: Child Grooms
longform
Jan 6, 2022 7:15 PM CST

Often-Overlooked Global Problem: Child Grooms

NPR takes a look at the issue, particularly in Nepal

(Newser) - The issue of child brides has long been a topic of concern around the world. But as NPR reports, there's an often-overlooked corollary: child grooms. The UN defines a child marriage as one with a participant under the age of 18, and the issue does indeed affect girls more...

They Turned to Sperm Donor 1558. Was It a Mistake?

Their resulting child suffered from mental illness they suspect was hereditary

(Newser) - "You can know everything about somebody and that doesn’t tell you what their children are going to be like," the chief advocacy and policy officer for the American Society for Reproductive Medicine tells the Wall Street Journal . Laura and David Gunner still wish they had known closer...

Dr. Oz Campaign Starts Quietly (Aside From a Few F-Bombs)

TV star doesn't even have yard signs yet in Pennsylvania, Olivia Nuzzi writes

(Newser) - Dr. Mehmet Oz is running for the Republican nomination for the US Senate in Pennsylvania, but it's not clear how you'd know it. Olivia Nuzzi writes in New York that five days into the race she found the TV star's campaign headquarters deserted. He doesn't want...

The Heart Pump Was Discontinued, but It&#39;s in Their Bodies
'Literally All You Can
Think About Is Death'
longform
Dec 26, 2021 5:20 PM CST

'Literally All You Can Think About Is Death'

ProPublica dives into problems faced by HVAD users

(Newser) - "Death. Literally all you can think about is death." It's what you might expect to hear from a patient before they were able to receive an implanted heart pump. But it's the after for an unfortunate group of patients who talked to ProPublica about their HeartWare...

NYU&#39;s Unwanted Distinction: High Debt Loads for Grads
NYU Diplomas Often Come
With a Large Burden
longform
Dec 26, 2021 2:20 PM CST

NYU Diplomas Often Come With a Large Burden

'Wall Street Journal': Grads and parents have unusually high debt loads

(Newser) - The story begins with an anecdote about a 28-year-old woman selling her eggs—five times, actually—to make ends meet. The twist is that she has a master's from NYU, and the Wall Street Journal reports that her plight will be familiar to other grads from the school. "...

Nanny Was to Go on Trial for Baby's Death. Then, a Reversal

3 years after Rehma Sabir died, medical examiner changed her mind on homicide ruling

(Newser) - "If two people are left in an apartment in the morning, and at the end of the day, one of them is dead, there’s no way that there would not be a trial in that situation." Except that scenario Sameer Sabir described is the one he found...

Once-Mighty Chestnut Tree Might Rise Again in the US
Can the Chestnut Tree
Rise Again in the US?
longform
Dec 25, 2021 12:45 PM CST

Can the Chestnut Tree Rise Again in the US?

Survivors of century-ago blight are mostly scrawny, but scientists are working on a fix

(Newser) - People might sing about roasting chestnuts on an open fire at this time of year, but it's a safe bet few do any actual roasting with American chestnuts anymore. They're a little too hard to find, relative to the days of yore. However, a story in Modern Farmer ...

Victim of Harvard Jobs Scam: 'How Could I Be So Stupid?'

'NYT' digs in to the fraudsters who targeted Nidhi Razdan, others

(Newser) - "How could I be so stupid?" It's the question that repeats in Nidhi Razdan's brain. She's the former NDTV news anchor who in January revealed she had been the victim of a sophisticated scam: one in which she quit her high-profile job to take a position...

The Baby Slept All Day. She Never Woke Up
The Baby Slept All Day.
She Never Woke Up
longform
Dec 25, 2021 7:41 AM CST

The Baby Slept All Day. She Never Woke Up

CNN tells the multi-part story of Rehma Sabir

(Newser) - In CNN's telling, there been a growing but misguided effort in recent years to try to attack the science behind shaken baby syndrome in court, "efforts [that] are even keeping cases of alleged child abuse from coming to trial." It takes a deep, multi-part dive into one...

Stories 581 - 600 | << Prev   Next >>