Script Summary: Restore Google News Layout (ca. 6/2010). Hides left filter column, disables hover effects, restores fluid full-width, cleans up Top News, hides distracting icons and YouTube logos. Lets us do what we liked about the old Google News: Scan and Read.
Google changed their News layout for the U.S. audience in June 2010 ( http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/06/extra-ex... ).
Even the great Edward Tufte used to praise the Google News experience but apparently that wasn't enough to keep the Google News team from messing with a good thing.
I've made a couple of CSS tweaks to restore the old feel of Google News. There are a couple of things I changed with the new layout that were personal preferences so feel free to check out the comments in the source code and customize to your liking.
You'll need to click on the gear on the top right of the black Google bar, go to "News settings" and select "View as: Two Column". Then make sure you're viewing the "Personalized U.S. Edition" (link at bottom of Google News page) and choose any of the "Modern," "Headlines," "Compact," or "Classic" news views ("Classic" looks the closest to the 6/2010 view).
Update: (1/27/2012) Updating CSS to match markup change of Top Stories. As always, please note the instructions in bold above.
Update: (1/24/2012) Google News is keeping me on my toes. I think I've got everything. Please message me if you see anything out of the ordinary, and note the changes to instructions in bold above.
Update: (1/12/2012) "Fixed" the "Top Stories" section; the third top story was appearing again so I re-hid it. I've been favoring a clean layout over the importance of seeing the third top story, but I'm not convinced it's the right thing to do. I'm open to suggestions. Thanks.
Update: (7/29/2011) Fixed the "Full Coverage" page. (Thank you to the users that are reporting the stuff I miss; I'm not on here daily, but I do check back when I can.)
Update: (7/23/2011) Yet another edit to keep up with their layout tweaks, this time to the top area with the "Personalize" and "Edition" buttons.
Update: (7/19/2011) Edited to reflect recent changes. Also note that the way to view as two columns has changed (see above). May require an uninstall and reinstall.
Update: (12/6/2010) Thanks to a head's up, I've adjusted the script for secure Google News domains ( https://www.google.com/news ). May require an uninstall and reinstall.
Update: (9/28/2010) Thanks to sjhoekje's suggestions, I have styled the news section pages similar to the main news page (two column layout, no left/right columns, etc.).
Update: (9/11/2010) Updated CSS to match markup change to Top Stories section.
Update: (8/25/2010) The Google News team has reverted another one of their mistakes. Good for them. I've updated the script so that the right column is now displayed by default, and it's up to you to hide it as an option.
Update: (7/18/2010) The Google News team has realized their mistake and have brought back the two column layout (http://googlenewsblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/goog... ). However, the layout still includes a third column, wanna-be-social-hip share menus, and unnecessary hover borders. This userscript keeps the third column hidden, hides distracting icons, and cleans up the top news area. I've also brought back the embedded video links but kept the YouTube icon hidden.
