Newser - Top Storieshttp://www.newser.com/2009 - Newseren-usNewser Feed GeneratorSat, 04 Jul 2009 6:10:54 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/63525/2-us-troops-killed-in-attack-on-afghan-base.html?utm_source=syn&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=homTwo American troops were killed when militants attacked a base in eastern Afghanistan today, exploding a truck loaded with gravel outside the gates and sparking a two-hour gunbattle, the AP reports. US forces called in airstrikes to end the clash, killing over 30 insurgents, the governor of Paktika province says. The attack, near the Pakistan border, was hundreds of miles from the massive Marine assault in southern Afghanistan, underscoring the militants' ability to inflict casualties on over-stretched US forces as they widen their battle against the Taliban.http://www.newser.com/story/63525/2-us-troops-killed-in-attack-on-afghan-base.html?utm_source=syn&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=homSat, 04 Jul 2009 5:57:48 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/63518/hot-money-prompts-small-bank-collapses.html?utm_source=syn&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=homA boom-time reliance on something known as "hot money" to boost growth has left many of America's small and regional banks with their fingers badly burnt, the New York Times reports. Brokers provided billions in deposits to ambitious banks seeking to grow fast, but the high interest rates needed to secure the cash prompted the banks to make riskier loans, leaving them high and dry when the economy soured.http://www.newser.com/story/63518/hot-money-prompts-small-bank-collapses.html?utm_source=syn&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=homSat, 04 Jul 2009 5:49:59 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/63522/gop-divided-over-palin-resignation.html?utm_source=syn&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=homSarah Palin's surprise resignation has left Republicans as divided as ever over the woman from Wasilla, Politico reports. Critics within the party charge that leaving the governorship mid-term—and announcing the decision via an odd, rambling press conference—has destroyed her chances for 2012. "There is just no good way to say quitting has made her more qualified to run for higher office,” says one GOP pollster.http://www.newser.com/story/63522/gop-divided-over-palin-resignation.html?utm_source=syn&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=homSat, 04 Jul 2009 5:15:06 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/63420/the-naked-truth-on-nude-farming.html?utm_source=syn&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=homThe motto of Rising Sun Farm in Wisconsin is “Unconventional Farming”—the naked pleasures of which Judd Spicer experiences firsthand and recounts for the Heavy Table. Spicer describes the moment of disrobing as “scary, liberating, strange, natural, different, fun,” but once he’s free and clear the real point hits him. “At Rising Sun, it’s not about the parsing of clothes that matters, it’s the stripping of judgment.”http://www.newser.com/story/63420/the-naked-truth-on-nude-farming.html?utm_source=syn&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=homSat, 04 Jul 2009 5:09:20 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/63523/russia-agrees-to-let-us-use-airspace-for-afghan-war.html?utm_source=syn&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=homRussia has agreed to let American planes transporting troops and equipment to Afghanistan fly over its airspace, the BBC reports. The deal will be officially announced next week when President Obama visits Moscow. Volatility affecting supply lines through Pakistan and Central Asia made securing such an agreement one of Obama's key prorities ahead of his upcoming Russian visit.http://www.newser.com/story/63523/russia-agrees-to-let-us-use-airspace-for-afghan-war.html?utm_source=syn&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=homSat, 04 Jul 2009 5:03:16 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/63509/n-korea-fires-3-more-missiles-for-july-4th.html?utm_source=syn&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=homNorth Korea fired three missiles off its eastern coast today, South Korea said, in what was likely to be seen as a message of defiance to the United States on its Independence Day holiday. The launches, which came 2 days after North Korea fired four short-range missiles, could further escalate tensions in the region as the US tries to muster support for tough enforcement of a UN resolution against Pyongyang.http://www.newser.com/story/63509/n-korea-fires-3-more-missiles-for-july-4th.html?utm_source=syn&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=homFri, 03 Jul 2009 21:12:35 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/63508/the-afghan-region-marines-invaded-america-built-it.html?utm_source=syn&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=homThe 4,000 US Marines who invaded the Helmand Province in Afghanistan this week might feel at home—the US helped build it, the Christian Science Monitor reports. In a Cold War race against the Soviets, Washington lavished more than $110 million on irrigating land, constructing schools, and building the capital city of Lashkar Gah. But Taliban insurgents eventually claimed the land from Afghanistan's government.http://www.newser.com/story/63508/the-afghan-region-marines-invaded-america-built-it.html?utm_source=syn&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=homFri, 03 Jul 2009 20:30:00 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/63507/manny-talks-god-ducks-drugs-in-pre-game-presser.html?utm_source=syn&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=homManny Ramirez ducked questions about drug use and praised the Lord hours before his scheduled return to the major leagues, MLB.com reports. "First, I want to say that God is good and good is God," Ramirez told reporters in San Diego tonight. Asked about the banned substance that earned him a 50-game suspension in May, Ramirez whiffed: "I don't want to get into" that, he said. "I've already said I'm sorry."http://www.newser.com/story/63507/manny-talks-god-ducks-drugs-in-pre-game-presser.html?utm_source=syn&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=homFri, 03 Jul 2009 19:58:21 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/63506/formula-one-chief-lauds-hitlers-efficiency.html?utm_source=syn&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=homThe billionaire chief of Formula One racing admires Adolf Hitler, disses democracy, and applauds Margaret Thatcher—but slams the West for lacking cultural sensitivity. Hitler "could command a lot of people" and was "able to get things done," Bernie Ecclestone tells the Times of London. But Germany's tyrant allowed others to persuade him "to do things that I have no idea whether he wanted to do or not ... In the end he got lost."http://www.newser.com/story/63506/formula-one-chief-lauds-hitlers-efficiency.html?utm_source=syn&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=homFri, 03 Jul 2009 19:30:17 CDT