big gifts news stories on Newser

Perry's Haul as Governor: $23K in Gifts

Matt Cantor — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 10:43:05 CDT

Rick Perry’s salary may be $150,000 a year—but his total haul as Texas governor also includes more than a couple pairs of cowboy boots. Perry has received at least 90 gifts during his tenure, together worth at least $22,500, Politico reports. Among them are the boots (22...

Grandparents Face Bitter Foe: Other Grandparents

Ambreen Ali — Thu, 14 May 2009 12:01:02 CDT

Baby boomers are joining the ranks of grandparents, and as usual, they want to be the best—which includes outranking other grandparents in their mutual grandchildren's affections. The competition is so fierce that it's an economic stimulus unto itself: 42% of gift spending is by grandparents, the Boston Globe reports....

Wade Gives Displaced Family New Home

Ambreen Ali — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 12:48:15 CST

Christmas seemed destroyed for Dawn Smith’s family after her nephew accidentally burned down their Florida home, but Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade has saved it. He helped Smith move into a new home on Christmas Eve, providing furnishings, clothes, and gifts for the holidays, the AP reports. Wade’s foundation will...

Just in Time for Holidays: No Job

Mary Papenfuss — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 05:03:00 CST

Few things ruin the holidays like losing a job. Yet that's what's happening to thousands of Americans just as they were planning to treat friends and families to gifts and holiday gatherings. The turnaround is excruciating as families struggle to save traditions on extremely tight budgets, reports the New York...

Stevens Pleads Not Guilty

M. Morris — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 12:57:13 CDT

Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens pleaded not guilty today in federal court in Washington to seven counts of corruption, the Anchorage Daily News reports. At his lawyers' request, the judge set a tentative trial date of Sept. 24, more than 5 weeks before the Nov. 4 general election. He'll rule on...

Cruises Welcome Kidman's Kid

Elizabeth Wolff — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 11:34:16 CDT

Tom Cruise’s clan sent a huge baby gift basket to his ex-wife Nicole Kidman in celebration of the birth of her daughter Sunday Rose, People reports. Contrary to reports that Cruise filled Kidman's Nashville hospital room with flowers, he and his brood—including their two kids together—sent the tot...

All I Want for Xmas is a $1.6M Concert

Colleen Barry — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 04:44:05 CDT

A $1.6 million concert by the Kirov Orchestra is just one eye-popping highlight of Neiman Marcus' brand new Christmas catalogue, which is chock full of super-extravagant gifts most of us can only salivate over. The private concert for 500 includes a Steinway Concert Grand piano autographed by the musicians....

UC Berkeley Gets $113M to Corral Profs

Sam Gale Rosen — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 08:35:16 CDT

UC Berkeley will announce a $113 million gift today, which the school will use to create 100 new endowed chairs—hopefully slowing the emigration of professors to the juicier paychecks offered by private universities. The gift is unusual in that it will go straight to ordinary activities rather than building...

Michael Moore Saves, Exploits His Enemy

Jonas Oransky — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 09:19:24 CDT

The man behind an anti-Michael Moore website found himself on the right end of his target’s checkbook after the documentarian dropped 12K to cover the blogger's uninsured wife's medical expenses. Jim Kenefick received the anonymous gift after seeking help from visitors to Moorewatch.com, which aims to expose Moore's "deceptions...