why present tense?

[ichirocanada]

Hi, the headline from the website reuters.com says "Clemens denies he ever used steroids". I don't understand why "deny" is in present tense but "use" is in past tense. Does that mean Clemens denies now the use of steroids in the past but did not deny it before??? why not say " Clemens denied he ever used steroids". Also, when people say someone say"s" something, do they usually refer to as of this moment someone is saying something???

[Mister Micawber]

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It is Newspaper English. Using simple present is short and direct, and it makes the story more immediate for the reader.
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_________________
Canadian-American native speaker
who teaches English for a living at Mister Micawber's
ESL cafe: Interview with Mr. Micawber

[Alan]

Hi,

This use is referred to as the historic/dramatic present and is used in story telling or anecdotes, which highlights the actuality of what is being described and makes it come to life. You might like to have a look at a piece I've written for the site that gives examples of this and other uses of the present simple:

http://www.english-test.net/lessons/

Alan
_________________
English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story Your Choice