Thee KB Breaking News Blog

Rich PTC - The Best Way to Make Money Online 2009

2009-08-11T12:28:00.000-07:00

Rich PTC - The Best Way to Make Money Online 2009

Recently, Rich PTC, a paid-to-click site has created a Cash flood on the Internet. By creating
an innovative concept where you can earn handsomely by clicking on ads. You click one ad you
will be paid $1! If you have a downline member earning then you earn half of what he earns.
The total payout is $1000. On a daily bases you receive around 20 valid site's to surf and click to receive a $1.
If you have a couple of active downlines members who click regularly then you can very easily reach $1000 within 2
months. Moreover, they have a sign up concept where you have to sign up to other sites where you
will be payed $10 after authentication.

However, there is a certain degree of ambiguity and perplexity regarding their process of payment
where you have to wait 60 business days after you have requested your payout; 60 business days
means it is more than 2 months. However, the brighter side of this is that the data they have
produced as payment proofs of around 150 members who have claimed their prize seem to be
authentic, as well as their steadily increasing members.

Rightly said, "It doesn't hurt to be optimistic. You can always cry later." Since I am an active
member of Rich PTC and have reached $270 and will be reaching the payout probably in a couple weeks.
I am very optimistic and keeping my fingers crossed. All-in-all, I believe this is not a scam and
is a genuine site which pays. I just want the members of Rich PTC who have already received the
payment to reply to this post to boost my morale, so that I don't have anymore sleepless nights
and at the same time it will help me to carry on aggressively on a war-game basis by obtaining
more downlines members thereby earning more.

As well I certainly will submit my payment proof once I receive it.

Click on the link to Sign-up for RichPTC Here!

Is Twitter Down

2009-08-06T10:00:00.000-07:00

Yes, Twitter's Down and Facebook's Slow
It's not just your computer: Twitter has been inaccessible this morning, apparentlybecause of a denial-of-service attack. And Facebook's been either sluggish or unresponsive; for instance, I've had trouble opening my inbox, and many news-feed links haven't worked. So you might as well stop hitting the "refresh" key over and over and accept the situation for what it is.

It's normal to get angry about downtime at a site you use every day, but in this case it might not be a bad thing. The world won't end while Twitter and Facebook right themselves; why not take this opportunity to catch up on some chore you usually postpone in favor of updating your status or reading other people's updates at these sites? Why not try to remember what you used to do with your time before these sites made their way onto your bookmarks list?

(Disclosure: I've got a column to write, as usual for a Thursday. So Twitter and Facebook's issues actually come at a pretty helpful time for me.)

Morning Xtra: Twitter Down, Tumblr Up, Fox News to Stop Being Free
Highlights from this morning's other big tech headlines....
Those of us who are just now finally digesting 'Twitter' need to get ready for a new social-networking site (and verb) to hit the mainstream. Tumblr, a simple photo-blogging site, had over 255 million page-views in July alone. Next big thing, anyone? [From: Mashable]
Rupert Murdoch, CEO of News Corp., announced yesterday that his news sites, including Fox News, News of the World, and the UK-based Sun, will begin to charge a fee for content, stating that "quality journalism is not cheap." [From: Guardian.co.uk]
Someone is trying to kill Twitter! At post time, the micro-blogging site is down due to a DOS (Denial of Service) attack. Defend our tweets! [From: Twitter]
TUAW has listed its "Top Five iPhone Apps For Lawyers." Some aren't strictly law-related, like Timewerks, which helps users schedule their projects and activities, but Black's Law Dictionary is perfect for litigators on the go. [From: TUAW]
The price of the heavily shrouded TomTom GPS iPhone app has been leaked; it'll cost drivers a cool $194 (making it the most expensive app to date). Fortunately, the price includes a stylish cradle and enhanced voice instructions. Phew. [From: Handtec.co.uk, via DaniWeb]
Aiming to compete with Facebook in ruining the reputations of its users, the Sony Party-shot tripod (launched with the WX1 and TX1) can be set up at soirees to pan around the room, find faces, and compose shots, making sure drinks in hand and flirty faces will be captured for all to see. [From: Engadget]

Twitter down after attack
Twitter went down for more than two hours Thursday morning and is continuing to have problems with performance after the microblogging service said it suffered a malicious attack.

The company first posted a message stating it was fighting off a "denial of service attack," and later another stating that "the site is back up, but we are continuing to defend against and recover from this attack."

The system initially went down about 6:25 a.m. Pacific time.

Twitter in the past had problems scaling to meet demand, and outages were so frequent that the company created it's famed "Fail Whale" logo for messages about such problems.

Thursday's downtime, however, was different.

According to Wikipedia, denial-of-service attacks generally "are implemented by either forcing the targeted computer(s) to reset, or consuming its resources so that it can no longer provide its intended service or obstructing the communication media between the intended users and the victim so that they can no longer communicate adequately."

One common method of attack involves saturating the target machine with fake requests so the machine cannot respond to legitimate traffic, or responds slowly.

For more information click on the link to see the source!

Emotional Homecoming Greets Reporters Freed!

2009-08-05T08:47:00.000-07:00

Is Bing Good for Bing?
I'll be honest with you. I have mixed feelings now about this whole Bing thing. David Pogue in The New York Times gives Bing The Search Engine a nice little writeup in the paper today, saying that "in many ways, Bing is better."
More from Stanley Bing Good News: Twitter Will Know Where You Are!For Immediate Release: Bing vs. Bing9 Things We'll All Forget When This Is OverWar Is Over If You Want It to BeStanley Bing: Recession? What Recession?Stanley Bing: Bad Bosses Breaking HeartsStanley Bing: A Flight to NowhereStanley Bing: Paulson's Not Fooling MeStanley Bing: Who's Keeping Score on Gas Prices?Stanley Bing: I See Recovery in July Market Activity Microsoft Corporation| MSFT UPA few months ago, that would have been about me. Now it's not. It's about this other guy. I'm happy for him and all that. But what good is that doing for all the other Bings who used to be the Bings that people thought about when they thought about Bings?My friends have said that this whole hyper-awareness of anything Bing will be a positive thing for this particular Bing. And it's true... there are more of you commenting on my thoughts here in this space. The only problem is, your comments aren't about anything germane to any other subject than Bing The Search Engine, which from now on I think I'll just call BingTSE, or perhaps Bingtsey, for short. Your comments tend to be things like, "I hate the threading," or "there are certain aspects of its algorithm I like."...

Laura Ling Wikipedia
What is Laura Ling Wikipedia? Here is a little more to know about Laura Ling who has been sentenced to labor prison for 12 years. Laura Ling was born in Carmichael, California, United States on December 1, 1976. Laura Ling is a Chinese-American journalist working as Current TV’s managing editor of Vanguard. Laura Ling is the younger sister of ‘Lisa Ling’ who is also an American journalist working as ‘Channel One News’ reporter and is CNN special correspondent.

Laura Ling has been detained by North Korea along with her fellow journalist ‘Euna Lee’ after an allegedly attempt of filming refugees besides the border of China and North Korea since March 18, 2009. In March 2009, North Korea has also announced about these two journalists ‘Laura Ling and Euna Lee’ for trying to enter illegally from China into the North Korea, which leaded them to labor prison for 12 years on June 8, 2009.

On the other hand, the Government of United States is trying to oppose this sentence with a lot of diplomatic efforts. While, Lisa Ling has also stated in the support of her sister that Laura Ling never intended to enter into North Korea. She also mentioned that Laura Ling needs medical treatment as she is suffering from ulcer....

Emotional homecoming greets reporters freed from North Korea
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - American journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee, returning to an emotional welcome after being freed from custody in communist North Korea, said on Wednesday it was the love of family and "total strangers" that kept them going through their ordeal.

After the aircraft that brought them home parked inside a vast hangar at Burbank Airport, a beaming Ling, 32, raised her arms in triumph as she descended the steps and Lee, 36, crouched down to swoop up her 4-year-old daughter, Hana, who she had not seen for five months.
Accompanied by former President Bill Clinton, who secured their release, the reporters for a cable television venture co-founded by Clinton's former vice president, Al Gore, arrived at dawn at the suburban Los Angeles airport.

"To our loved ones, friends, and to the complete strangers with the kindest of hearts who showed us so much love and sent us so many positive thoughts and energy, we thank you," Ling said as she fought back tears of relief to be home.

"We could feel your love all the way in North Korea. It is what kept us going in the darkest of hours. It is what sustained our faith that we would come home," she said as relatives, friends and reporters gathered round.

She thanked Clinton and his "super-cool team" who went to Pyongyang to secure their release as they faced the possibility of serving a sentence of 12 years hard labor after being detained on a reporting trip to the China-North Korea border.

"The past 140 days have been the most difficult heart-wrenching time of lives," Ling said. "We are very grateful we were granted amnesty by the government of North Korea and we are happy to be home and we are just so anxious now to spend some quiet time getting reacquainted with our families."

Though it was Clinton who secured the women's release in a meeting with North Korea's reclusive leader Kim Jong-il, the former president uncharacteristically avoided the spotlight.

He remained on the plane, a Boeing business jet owned by his friend, the Hollywood producer Steve Bing, for several minutes after the women first emerged and did not address reporters and camera crews assembled in the hanger.

His silence may reflect the delicate political situation surrounding his mission, which has been portrayed by Washington as private and not linked to tense efforts to revive talks on halting reclusive North Korea's nuclear program.....

For more information click on the link to see the source!

Cash For Clunkers Car

2009-08-04T08:24:00.000-07:00

Cash for clunkers car list

Starting tomorrow, Chrysler is dumping its big ad campaign in which it promises to match the $4,500 incentives of the government's Cash for Clunkers incentive program. Many of the most lucrative deals aren't going to be as lavish anymore because the campaign proved so effective.

Though it was tied to the government program, Chrysler's deal was always kind of gimmicky anyway since you weren't required to trade in a clunker -- or anything -- to get the $4,500 in Chrysler's incentive. "It cut through the clutter," said spokeswoman Kathy Graham. Even the ancient PT Cruiser, above, saw its sales soar 24% compared to the same month last year.

"We're not running out of cars, but we do have a lower-day's supply on some of our small cars," said Graham. Double-cash $4,500 incentives will stay in place on PT Cruiser and lots of the bigger SUVs and trucks, but are going to be cut on some of the bigger clunker incentive replacements:

Now, instead of $4,500, Chrysler will kick in $3,500 to buy a Dodge Avenger or a Chrysler Sebring sedan. Instead of $3,500, Chrysler will now contribute $3,000 to buy a Dodge Nitro SUV, $3,000 for a Jeep Liberty and $2,500 for a Dodge Caliber. Vehicles like Jeep Wranger, Dodge Sprinter, Dodge Challenger and the high-performance SRTs were never part of the incentive.

For more information click on the link to see the source!

The Obama Joker poster

2009-08-03T11:39:00.000-07:00

The Obama Joker poster: Is it about time too?
The Obama Joker poster that has started appearing in LA will no doubt cause some to keel over with an attack of the vapors.
What. you mean, Barack Obama? Portrayed as The Joker? With the word socialism underneath? Have these people no shame? Insulting our President so?
The same people having these panic attacks over the Obama Joker poster are likely to be those who were perfectly happy that the last President (a certain George Bush for those with short memories) was habitually portrayed as a chimpanzee if not simply an out and out moron.
The answer is of course, whether it's over that portrayal of Obama as The Joker to the right, George W as an inarticulate idiot earlier or Lyndon B Johnson as an elephant eared buffoon a few decades ago, is that America, quite rightly, has a very rough and tumble political scene. If you have the ego, the effrontery even, to claim that you know how to lead a country of free people then you've also got to have the ego to withstand the brickbats, rhetorical though they may be, that those free people are going to throw at you.
This is, at least to this reporter, as it should be: yes, the President is indeed the representative of the nation at times but most of it he's simply a politican: your and my servant, not our master.
Cartoonists, satirists and caricaturists have actually had something of a problem with Obama as a subject: sure, he has prominent ears and some have made use of that. But the most obvious point about him is that he is of a rather darker hue than most Americans, he's an African American. Yet, quite rightly, this is not considered a subject that should be a subject of satire or caricature: race, thankfully, is not a polite subject for humor any more, we've gone beyond that (clearly, we haven't everywhere, but it is out of public discourse, out of where it should not be).
My colleague reports that these posters are now spreading along the off ramps and underpasses in the Hollywood area and that there is some thought that this might be part of a nationally coordinated campaign. The American Thinker has some photos of Obama Joker posters in situ.
This might not be the most successful attack, if attack it is, upon Obama, might not take off as a nationally known caricature, but what it does show is that, finally, someone is thinking. Perhaps they're not thinking as you would like, perhaps you think this is disrespectful, but we do indeed have free speech here. And no politician has really made it until someone has devised a cartoon, a caricature, that really works, that sticks.
Maybe Obama as The Joker will be it, maybe it'll be the next or a later one that comes along but arrive it will: they always do, in the end.

For more information click on the link to see the source!

Pocono Raceway

2009-08-02T09:12:00.000-07:00

Pennsylvania 500 Postponement Imminent: Pocono Raceway Weather Report
Pennsylvania 500 postponed. The weather for today's Sprint Cup race at Pocono raceway in Long Pond Pennsylvania has been looking pretty grim. But rainy weather hasn't kept NASCAR fans from the raceway this weekend.
Race fans at the raceway had some pretty unkind words about the weather this race weekend. But despite the rain, many were still having a good time.
But it is not looking good for today.

NASCAR will be making an announcement soon as they do not have a whole lot of time to spare at this track. The 2.5 mile oval would take no less than three hours to dry. 2pm is the drop dead time but I would expect it to be called before that time....

For more information click on the link to see the source!

Sarah Palin Divorce

2009-08-01T18:01:00.000-07:00

Sarah Palin Divorce

With Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's resignation this weekend, she will leave behind many of the problems and frustrations she has had running the state.
But she will have to continue to deal with one of her biggest complaints: the series of ethics accusations lodged against her that will follow her after she leaves office.

Since her bombshell resignation announcement, several new ethics complaints have been filed with state authorities, including one saying that she should not be able to claim per diem funds when she stays at her Wasilla, Alaska, home instead of Anchorage or Juneau, where she has offices. The governor's mansion is in Juneau.

At issue is a contention that she was charging the state when she stayed in Wasilla and commuted to her offices.

Just this week, a complaint was filed alleging Palin failed to submit completed and signed gift disclosure forms.

Palin says she is the target of the "politics of personal destruction," as she and some staff members face about 20 filings regarding allegations of ethics violations.

"It doesn't cost the critics anything to file frivolous lawsuits or ethics violation charges. It costs our state such a great deal -- thousands of staff hours, millions of dollars in public resources that aren't going to things that it should be going to," Palin told CNN earlier this month. "We haven't violated the ethics code."...

For more information click on the link to see the source!

Shuttle Landing

2009-07-31T09:49:00.000-07:00

Space shuttle landing: watch live at Space News
Upodate: Endeavour and its crew are safely home at Kennedy Space Center following their two-week, five-spacewalk mission.
Original post follows.
Space shuttle Endeavour and its seven-member crew are enroute to Kennedy Space Center in Florida. They'll be landing on Runway 15 at the Shuttle Landing Facility at 10:48 p.m. EDT.
Once again, I've teamed up with SpaceVidcast to bring you the landing live.

For more information click on the link to see the source!

FreeSiteSignUp

2009-07-17T07:54:00.000-07:00

So ... what is FreeSiteSignUp and how can
it benefit you?

This concept is new ... it looks too good to be true!
FreeSiteSignUp is a service offering Cash Pulling Affiliate websites
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This conceptual masterpiece has already been PROVEN to be the
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Not only you get a free website but also the guidance to get
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It's basically a cash machine which never sleeps and keeps
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Since FreeSiteSignUp offers you everything for free there is
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Thanks for Reading,

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Property Room

2009-06-30T09:05:00.000-07:00

Seattle Police seized-items auctions make more online
Inside the Seattle Police Department's property room, rows of bicycles, Christmas decorations, wheelchairs and other unclaimed or seized items gather dust until they're put up for auction. But bargain hunters no longer have to wait for police, or the King County Sheriff's Office, to schedule a public auction to score a deal. They now merely need to log onto a computer.

Seattle police and the Sheriff's Office contract with PropertyRoom.com, a California-based Web site that receives items from the property rooms of 1,600 law-enforcement agencies in the U.S. — 124 in Washington state — and sells them online.

Proceeds are split between the police departments and the Web site.

Before, the Seattle Police Department and Sheriff's Office periodically held auctions to sell off unclaimed items — and there wasn't even a guarantee they could sell it all.

"It's a lot easier for them [PropertyRoom.com] to come and take it all than for us to auction it off," said sheriff's spokesman Sgt. John Urquhart "It's a very efficient way to dispose of excess property we get."

"It's a very green way to do it," added Cindy Granard, detective sergeant of evidence for Seattle police. "It's recycling old material and giving it to someone new."

When Granard wants to give items to PropertyRoom.com, she compiles a list and calls the Web site, which sends a truck to get them. The truck then takes the items to a facility in Seattle, where they move from one truck to another that goes to PropertyRoom.com's processing facility in Los Angeles.

"We usually wait until we have pallets full of stuff before we give to them." Granard said.

Once the items arrive in Los Angeles, Gemological Institute of America-trained specialists look over items containing precious stones to ensure they are real. They are then listed for auction on the Web site.

Once an item sells, the originating law-enforcement agency receives 50 percent of the proceeds if the item sells for less than $1,000, and 75 percent if it's more than $1,000.

Since using PropertyRoom.com starting in July 2003, Seattle police have seen their profits go up. From 2004 to 2005, for example, police recorded about a $28,000 increase in auction profit. In 2004, the department's auction profit was $29,951. In 2005, it was $57,974.

Proceeds from the sale go toward the department's pension fund....

Police auction goods at Property Room
LONG ISLAND (WABC) -- Find everything from unique items to high-end items, including diamond jewelery, all at a steal. And the best part is you can do it without ever leaving your home.

And here's another interesting aspect - all the items for sale are being sold by police departments around the country. They're selling off items retrieved from burglaries, credit card fraud and other crimes. And they're giving you a chance to get in on the deals.

The deals are found on the Web site PropertyRoom.com and the items sold online are stored around the country in warehouses. And among the biggest sellers is bicycles.

Many of these items have been recovered from crimes and, for a variety of reasons, never made it back to the rightful owner. So police departments can sell the items to make money for the local community, or they can have the Property Room can do the selling for them....

$200,000 missing from New Orleans police evidence room
Investigations into missing evidence determined that about $200,000 was taken from the New Orleans Police Department's evidence and property room, Superintendent Warren Riley said Wednesday.

Riley's disclosure comes as a preliminary report about the problems at the evidence room by the state's legislative auditor was given to the department, as well as other officials in city government, including the mayor's office and members of the City Council.

The missing money was taken from envelopes containing cash seized from four or five criminal cases, Riley said.

Speaking at a news conference at police headquarters, Riley said the police investigation into the missing money is ongoing and that suspects have been identified. He said he plans to respond to the audit report after a meeting with staff later this week.

During the news conference, Riley initially said more than $100,000 was missing from the property and evidence room, but later changed that tally to about $200,000.

Louisiana State Auditor Steve Theriot said Wednesday evening that his report will be made public in several weeks, once the NOPD has a chance to respond to his findings. He declined to say what his audit found or elaborate on the contents of his report.

Since the first reports about missing cash from the evidence room surfaced last fall, the NOPD has declined to provide documents requested by The Times-Picayune, citing the ongoing internal investigation. The documents the NOPD has refused to provide include weekly staff reports that the newspaper believes should be provided in accordance with Louisiana's public records law.

Riley's disclosure on Wednesday evening about the missing money appeared to be prompted by television reports about the audit findings.

The auditor's office likely began looking into the NOPD's evidence and property room issues last year following some high-profile complaints from local defense attorneys, who said their clients' evidence was missing.

In November, lawyer Rick Teissier discovered that about $19,000 of his client's money -- the $100 and $50 bills from a $35,903 stash of cash -- had been taken from the NOPD Central Evidence and Property division.

Riley acknowledged the missing money at the time and promised a thorough investigation.

A month later, news of more missing money spread. This time it was $9,000 in evidence cash that had been checked out by a district attorney investigator. To avoid a conflict of interest, newly minted District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro asked the State Police to investigate.

In both cases, the missing money stems from cases after Hurricane Katrina.

Riley had criticized a former high-ranking cop last fall for lax security of the evidence room, saying too many people had keys to the room under Capt. Danny Lawless' watch.

But Lawless countered Riley's blame by showing off a collection of memos and paperwork in which he had warned supervisors of the temporary facility's security shortcomings and manpower shortages, calling them a "recipe for disaster."...

For more information click on the link to see the source!

Billy Mays Dead

2009-06-28T12:12:00.000-07:00

'Infomercial King' Billy Mays Found Dead in Home
Television pitchman Billy Mays — who built his fame by appearing on commercials and infomercials promoting household products and gadgets — died Sunday.

Mays, 50, was found unresponsive by his wife inside his Tampa, Fla., home at 7:45 a.m. on Sunday, according to the Tampa Police Department.

Police said there were no signs of forced entry to Mays' residence and foul play is not suspected. Authorities said an autopsy should be complete by Monday afternoon.

"Although Billy lived a public life, we don't anticipate making any public statements over the next couple of days. Our family asks that you respect our privacy during these difficult times," Mays wife, Deborah, said in a statement on Sunday.

Mays was well known for his numerous television promotions of such products as Orange Glo and OxiClean. He was also featured on the reality TV show "Pitchmen" on the Discovery Channel, which followed Mays and Anthony Sullivan in their marketing jobs.

Born William Mays in McKees Rocks, Pa., on July 20, 1958, Mays developed his style demonstrating knives, mops and other "as seen on TV" gadgets on Atlantic City's boardwalk. For years he worked as a hired gun on the state fair and home show circuits, attracting crowds with his booming voice and genial manner.

After meeting Orange Glo International founder Max Appel at a home show in Pittsburgh in the mid-1990s, Mays was recruited to demonstrate the environmentally friendly line of cleaning products on the St. Petersburg-based Home Shopping Network.

Commercials and informercials followed, anchored by the high-energy Mays showing how it's done while tossing out kitschy phrases like, "Long live your laundry!"

Recently he's been seen on commercials for a wide variety of products and is featured on the reality TV show "Pitchmen" on the Discovery Channel, which follows Mays and Anthony Sullivan in their marketing jobs. He's also been seen in ESPN ads.

His ubiquitousness and thumbs-up, in-your-face pitches won Mays plenty of fans. People line up at his personal appearances for autographed color glossies, and strangers stop him in airports to chat about the products.

"I enjoy what I do," Mays told The Associated Press in a 2002 interview. "I think it shows."

Mays was on board a US Airways flight that blew out its front tires as it landed at a Tampa airport on Saturday, MyFOXTampa.com reported.

US Airways spokesman Jim Olson said that none of the 138 passengers and five crew members were injured in the incident, but several passengers reported having bumps and bruises, according to the station.

Authorities have not said whether Mays' death was related to the incident.

Discovery Channel spokeswoman Elizabeth Hillman released a statement Sunday extending sympathy to the Mays family.

"Everyone that knows him was aware of his larger-than-life personality, generosity and warmth," Hillman's statement said. "Billy was a pioneer in his field and helped many people fulfill their dreams. He will be greatly missed as a loyal and compassionate friend."...

Pitchman Billy Mays Dead One Day After Bizarre Airplane Accident
American pitchman and advertiser Billy Mays has died at the age of 50. Mays was probably most known for his catch phrase ‘Billy Mays here’ and the pitching of the multipurpose cleaning product OxiClean.
According to reports, Mays’ wife Deborah, found him unresponsive Sunday morning their home located in Tampa, Florida. The cause of death is not yet known, but authorities say they do not believe foul play was involved.
“Although Billy lived a public life, we don’t anticipate making any public statements over the next couple of days. Our family asks that you respect our privacy during these difficult times,” said Deborah Mays in a statement to the press.
Mays recently began co-starring in a television show on the Discovery Channel called Pitchmen. Mays, along with English advertiser Anthony Sullivan starred in the show where they would ‘pitch’ several products. By the end of the show, two inventors would be selected and be given a chance at selling their product in masses.
Mays also pitched sales for several other products including furniture polish Orange Glo, Mighty Putty, the Gopher, Zorbeez, and the cleaning product Kaboom!....

TV Pitchman Billy Mays Found Dead In Home
TAMPA, Fla. (June 28, 2009)—TV pitchman Billy Mays, known for his energetic hawking of such products as Orange Glo and OxiClean, was found dead Sunday at his home in Tampa, Fla.

May’s wife, Deborah, found her husband’s body.

She said the family doesn’t expect to make any public statement and asked for privacy.

There was no evidence of a break-in, and investigators don’t suspect foul play in the death.

An autopsy could be completed Monday.

The Web site TMZ.com is reporting that Mays was struck in the head by something that fell from a luggage rack during a rough landing Saturday aboard a U.S. Airways flight.

The plane’s front tire blew out after the jet touched down.

Fox told a Tampa TV station something struck him in the head, TMZ reported.

He reportedly wasn’t wearing a seatbelt at the time of the landing.

Mays, 50, also appeared on the Discovery Channel’s reality TV show, “Pitchmen.

For more information click on the link to see the source!

Michael Jackson Death Photos

2009-06-27T07:05:00.000-07:00

Michael Jackson Death Photos Exclusive
Michael Jackson Death Photos. Michael Jackson’s photo at last time of his life. After this he was dead.
On June 25, 2009, Jackson collapsed at his rented mansion on North Carolwood Drive in the Holmby Hills area of Los Angeles. Attempts at resuscitating him by his personal physician were unsuccessful. Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics received a 911 call at 12:21 pm (PDT) and arrived nine minutes later at Jackson’s location. He was reportedly not breathing and CPR was performed. Resuscitation efforts continued both en route to the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, and for an hour further after arriving at approximately 1:14 pm (20:14 UTC). He was noted to have already been in cardiac arrest by the paramedics who attended his house.[165] Jackson was pronounced dead at approximately 2:26 pm local time (21:26 UTP)...

More Questions Than Answers in Michael Jackson's Death
This is a rush transcript from "On the Record," June 26, 2009. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, FOX NEWS HOST: Now, the mystery centers around Michael Jackson's doctor, the one on the scene at the time the paramedics arrived. Police have now arranged a meeting with Michael Jackson's doctor. His name is Dr. Conrad Robert Murray. What do we know about this doctor? Well, TMZ has been all over this story from the very beginning.

Dax Holt from TMZ is right here with us live outside the Jackson home. Dax, nice to see you. Any information about this personal doctor who was here when the paramedics arrived?

DAX HOLT, TMZ.COM: You know, I think that's the big mystery that surrounds this whole thing, is, obviously, the doctor. He just kind of vanished after he was performing CPR on Michael's body. They took Michael down to the hospital. He was performing CPR at the hospital itself, and then he just kind of vanished into thin air.

We do know that Dr. Conrad Murray actually sent out a letter to all of his patients in Vegas 17 days ago saying that he was going to be quitting his practice for the time being. He'd still be a managing partner, but he was going to be leaving and he didn't know for how long he would be back. And we've also found out that he signed on to be a part of this London tour that Michael was going to be a part of....

Michael Jackson Dead, Facebook Reports
Social networking/news website Facebook interrupted its coverage of Farrah Fawcett's passing to break the story of Michael Jackson's death, as thousands of users updated their status messages with the announcement.

"RIP MJ ILL MISS U," wrote Facebook user/reporter Jennifer Collins who was on hand at her computer at the King of Pop's time of death.

Messages from Facebook's millions of highly regarded news correspondents flooded the "News Feed" the moment the UCLA Medical Center made the death announcement official. Most were written in a solemn tone and the high level of the writing was both a testament to Jackson and the quality of reporting that Facebook is known for.

"OMG Jacko is dead," wrote Robert Alper, whose profile picture had been changed to a picture of Macaulay Culkin. "I want you back."

Many of the website's columnists were quick to offer their editorial opinion. The articles were posted immediately, raising the question of whether or not they were written beforehand in anticipation of the devastating event.

"I love Michael," Zak Richmond wrote in his column, which was so eloquent it had to have been written weeks ago. "I've changed my ringtone to 'You Are Not Alone'."

Not all Facebook journalists were as respectful, offering crude jokes instead of tributes.

"I wonder if he'll invite little boys to sleep with him in his coffin ha ha aha ha ha!" some asshole wrote.

Articles such as this were not well-received by the legions of Facebook readers.

"Totally inappropriate," said one disgusted fan as they uploaded pictures to an album titled "My cat is cute."

Many users of the site who had not updated their statuses were grateful for the "News Feed" to inform them of Jackson's death.

"Thank God I checked Facebook," said user Ryan Behl, who also used the site to follow its coverage of the riots in Iran. "Facebook's reporting is far superior to Twitter's."

Facebook has promised regular updates from its top reporters over the next few hours. At least until someone else dies.

-Dan Abramson, thehollywoodham.com

For more information click on the link to see the source!

Micheal Jackson

2009-06-25T16:32:00.000-07:00

Michael Jackson Heart Attack
Breaking News
Michael Jackson Suffers Heart Attack: "He Is Not OK"

Michael Jackson has been hospitalized in Los Angeles after suffering a heart attack.
The 50-year-old King of Pop collapsed at his home around noon today. Staffers immediately rushed to his aid, but he was unresponsive.

"The call came in because a person was not breathing," says Los Angeles Fire Capt. Steve Ruda, who declined to ID the singer by name.

"When the team arrived, they saw that CPR was already in progress by someone at the home. The person not breathing was transported to UCLA Medical Center and remains there."

Jackson's family has begun to gather at the hospital, with mother Katherine among the first to arrive.

"He had a heart attack," father Joe Jackson tells E! News by phone from Las Vegas. "He is not OK."

(Originally published June 25, 2009, at 1:50 p.m. PT)

News sites swamped following Michael Jackson's death
The traffic numbers are beginning to roll in now and it appears online news sites fared poorly in handling a flash flood of traffic following the death of singer Michael Jackson.
Keynote Systems, a company that tracks site performance, is reporting that a review of the more than 30 online news services the firm covers, shows that availability on average fell from 100 percent to 86 percent. The average time it took to access the home pages of top media sites jumped from 4.2 seconds to 8.9 seconds.
Shawn White, Keynote's director of external operations, said that among the sites who saw the biggest drop offs in performance were ABCNews.com, Latimes.com and CBSnews.com.
"ABCNews.com went as low as 11 percent availability for almost two hours," White said.
When news of the iconic performer's death began trickling out, scores of people turned to the Web for information. TMZ broke the news that Jackson, 50, known for producing some of the world's best selling records, including "Thriller" and "Bad," had died Thursday afternoon, but the gossip hub cited only unnamed sources and offered few details. As other news services turned their attention to the story and as the public took to the Web to learn more about the performer's condition, some Web sites began slowing down.
Some Google users complained that the search engine's News area was inaccessible for a time.
A Google representative confirmed that "between approximately 2:40 p.m. PDT and 3:15 p.m. PDT today, some Google News users experienced difficulty accessing search results for queries related to Michael Jackson."
CNN.com appeared to be sluggish delivering Jackson stories at times. In its defense, the news organization said that the site saw 20 million page views and a fivefold increase in traffic (from where it was prior to when news about Jackson's death began widely circulating) in one hour.
Even before Jackson's death, Thursday was a big day for news sites as word of actress Farrah Fawcett's death hit the wires in the morning and continued interest in the scandal surrounding South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford.
The traffic deluge came swiftly and lasted for about a half hour, according to internal data here at CNET News, which saw twice the normal amount of hourly traffic shortly after word of Jackson's death spread. At sister site CBSNews.com, traffic numbers were five times their normal levels....

Michael Jackson 'overdose,' Elvis redux
Entertainer Michael Jackson died yesterday and the Internet buzz on the cause of death for the pop icon continues, the latest being that the deceased star overdosed on Demerol that induced cardiac arrest. First the family attorney Brian Oxman alludes to drug involvement on CNN (see video below) and another report on Jackson's death goes as follows:
"Last night it was suspected his collapse could have been caused by an overdose of painkiller. An Emergency Room source at UCLA hospital said Jackson aides told medics he had collapsed after an injection of potent Demerol — similar to morphine, " -- The Sun.
A photo with Michael Jackson's vitals and an ambulance photo are included in the article. [Update: An autospsy for Michael Jackson has been set following his sudden death.]
In another article on Michael Jackson, it was reported that "the star had been taking prescription painkillers including anti-anxiety drugs Xanax, Zoloft and painkiller Demerol in recent months." --Kansas City Star
It should be remembered that a cause of death for Michael Jackson has not been established here, despite the ambulance photos and hearsay reports. A coroner is expected to report on Friday, but a full autopsy and toxicology panel will be required to determine the official cause of death for Michael Jackson. Fox News show On the Record explains more in "What Killed Michael Jackson?"
Just be prepared for comparisons and folklore that rivals Elvis, the original King.\
A more comprehensive report on Michael Jackson's prior health conditions -- from Lupus to Vitiligo -- and the implications of cardiac arrest can be found on CNN....

For more information click on the link to see the source!

2010 Census

2009-06-25T08:38:00.000-07:00

Let Post Office, Not ACORN, Take Census?
This is a rush transcript from "Glenn Beck," June 24, 2009. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

JUDGE ANDREW NAPOLITANO, GUEST HOST: It's hard to have a vote of confidence in the 2010 census when controversial groups like ACORN are recruiting headhunters.

But a freshman lawmaker says he's found a way to put confidence back into the census count while also helping our postal service dig its way out of a budget deficit.

Utah Congressman Jason Chaffetz is here with his solution. Congressman, welcome here.

REP. JASON CHAFFETZ, R-UTAH: Thanks, Judge.

NAPOLITANO: So, what should the post office do that the census people shouldn't?

CHAFFETZ: Well, the Census Bureau has been given some $11 billion to conduct the census on April 1st of 2010. The problem that I have with it is that they're partnering with nefarious organizations — like ACORN — in order to hire 750,000 people to go out and do this counting.
Now, at the same time, we have a postal service with 760,000 employees who is a trusted entity, who already is charged with going door-to-door to every home in America.

So, it just seems to me that we already have a federal workforce in place. They are a trusted organization. And I do not trust ACORN, do not want them to be part of the process. I'd much rather have the postal service execute on this.

NAPOLITANO: All right. The postal service loses about $2 billion to $3 billion every quarter. So, the taxpayers subsidize the post office. Does it help them, or does it cost us more money when they have more work to do?

CHAFFETZ: Well, the post office has been losing money. We actually haven't appropriated federal money since the early 1980s. But this year, they're totally upside-down financially....

IS YOUR MARRIAGE INVISIBLE? Same-Sex Marriage and the 2010 Census
In spring, same-sex marriage supporters celebrated recent wins in Iowa, Vermont, Maine, and New Hampshire after the Proposition 8 letdown in California. As the movement for civil rights progresses, Heather Tirado Gilligan details a new problem. As it stands now, the 2010 census will discount same-sex marriages. Ignoring same-sex marriages does not allow an accurate picture of America. Surprisingly, data shows Mississippi as having the largest number of same-sex couples with children, and registered same-sex couples live in just about every county in the U.S. Gilligan argues how ignoring the demography of LGBTs continues stereotypes of the population as exclusively white, urban, male, and wealthy. Gilligan’s good news is the Census Bureau is responsive to public pressure....

Locke urges end to GOP block on census nominee
WASHINGTON (AP) — Commerce Secretary Gary Locke on Wednesday urged Congress to immediately end a GOP block on President Barack Obama's nominee to lead the 2010 census, saying continued delays are putting the high-stakes head count at risk.
Robert Groves, a veteran survey researcher with the University of Michigan, was easily approved by a Senate committee last month. But Republicans have stalled Groves' full confirmation vote. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said Republicans aren't yet in agreement on Groves; his office says it has no information as to why.
"The Census Bureau cannot wait for strong leadership any longer," Locke said in a statement. "The longer this nomination is held up, the greater the risk to the accuracy and success of the 2010 census. Robert Groves stands ready to run the agency with the independence and professionalism that the American people expect and the Constitution demands."
Groves, 60, has drawn skepticism from House Republicans. As a former census associate director, Groves pushed for the use of statistical sampling in the 1990s to make up for an undercount of millions of minorities who tend to vote for Democrats, but was later overruled by the Republican commerce secretary.
In his confirmation hearing last month, Groves sought to allay GOP concerns by ruling out the use of broad sampling in the 2010 census, which is used to apportion House seats and redraw congressional districts. Groves has also pledged to resign if he encounters undue partisan interference in tallying census figures.
Maine Sen. Susan Collins, the top Republican on the Senate Homeland Security committee which considered Groves' nomination, said she believed it was necessary for Groves to be confirmed soon....

For more information click on the link to see the source!

Bernadette Peters

2009-06-24T08:27:00.000-07:00

Songs of Bernadette
SAN FRANCISCO — If you’re disposed to whistle a happy show tune, be at Davies Hall on Saturday for an evening with two-time Tony winner and Broadway, film and television star Bernadette Peters and the San Francisco Symphony.
Having recently returned to Los Angeles from a concert tour in Australia — which will be released on DVD — Peters is homesick.
“I can’t wait to see Stella,” she says. “She’s the star of my next book!” Stella, a pit bull adopted from a shelter, shares Peters’ New York home with her redheaded mama and Kramer, a terrier mix of equally uncertain provenance.
With this much canine company, it should be no surprise that Peters is the very active spokeswoman, along with animal lover Mary Tyler Moore, of Broadway Barks, a star-studded annual theater alley adopt-a-thon for Gotham’s homeless critters, held July 11.
“This year we’ve got Angela Lansbury and Michael Urie [Peters’ co-star] from ‘Ugly Betty’ is coming!”
Last year, Peters’ dog Kramer was the hero of her first literary effort, a charming children’s best-seller, also called “Broadway Barks.” The book’s companion CD included an original song by this premier interpreter of Sondheim.
Peters is modest about it. “Lyric writing is an art. I just sort of channeled that.”
“I’ve already written it,” Peters says when asked if Stella’s book will be similarly enhanced. “I’m starting to write more.”
“I was driving in the car the other day and all of a sudden these lyrics came to me and I’m like, ‘How do I save this so I can remember it?’” she says. “So I’m, you know, writing them down on a shopping bag during the red lights! So crazy! Then I remembered a friend of mine had given me a little tape recorder, so now I carry that with me. It’s safer for everybody that way!”...

“Queen B's” showcases female vocalists at Center Playhouse
FREEHOLD — "The Queen B's of Broadway" presents interpretations of the beloved works of songstresses Barbra Streisand, Bette Midler, and Bernadette Peters by regional talent. The total of nine performances begin on Friday, June 26th at 8:00 pm (and Fridays on July 10th, and July 17th), and run on Saturdays (June 27th, July 11th, and July 18th) and Sundays at 2:00 pm (June 28th, July 12th and July 19th), at Center Playhouse located on 35 South Street in Downtown Freehold.
Center Players has become known for presenting innovative and unique theatrical events. “The Queen B's of Broadway fits the bill of a memorable showcase that fans of Broadway music will thoroughly enjoy”, says Bernice Garfield-Szita, President of Center Players.

Queen B's is likely the only performance of its kind anywhere in the United States, as it was created by Vic Schioppo, musical director for the Center Players production:

“I wanted to come up with something that crossed lines between performers, composers, and musical story lines and at the same time maintained a common thread. The common thread I have chosen to use is the letter ‘B' as in Barbra Streisand, Bette Midler, and Bernadette Peters. All three have made their mark on Broadway, movies, and recording. They have always been the overwhelming choice of many Broadway producers, directors, and composers. Although all three possess a unique and individual style unlike each other, they too also share common threads: a love for great American music and lyrics; they all have studied and honored the many female performers who graced stage and screen long before their coming of age; and most of all they have touched all of our hearts.”

Garfield-Szita comments, “Our extraordinarily talented female vocalists Bethe Burns (Freehold Township), Yvette Cataneo (Freehold Borough), Kelly Rice (Ocean Township), Brenda Schofield (Marlboro), and Janet Tartaglia (Lincroft), under the musical direction of Vic Schioppo (Manalapan), will positively enrapture our audiences. We are pleased to find that the Freehold region is abundant with such talent.”

Tickets are on sale now -- the cost is $24 per ticket; $22 for seniors (60 and older), students, and groups of 10 or more; includes complimentary beverage and desserts during intermission of each performance. Dining packages are available as well, for an additional cost of $30 per ticket and include choice of restaurants: Metropolitan Caf, Solo Trattoria, and Bayou Caf. Tickets may be purchased by phone: 732-462-9093 option 1, or online at www.centerplayers.org....

Wednesday's Talk Shows
The Early Show Mary Tyler Moore discusses juvenile diabetes; food critic Katie Lee Joel prepares pizza on the grill; jobs and money during a recession. (N) 7 a.m. KCBS

Today Chef Mark Bittman; chef Joey Campanaro; James Purefoy; chef Curtis Stone. (N) 7 a.m. KNBC
KTLA Morning News (N) 7 a.m. KTLA

Good Morning America Cameron Diaz ("My Sister's Keeper"). (N) 7 a.m. KABC

Good Day L.A. Buddy Miller. (N) 7 a.m. KTTV

Rachael Ray Valerie Bertinelli; NASA astronauts answer questions. 9 a.m. KCBS

Live With Regis and Kelly Guest co-host Bernadette Peters; Cameron Diaz ("My Sister's Keeper"); Mark Feuerstein ("Royal Pains"). (N) 9 a.m. KABC

The View Joan Rivers; designer Michael Smith. (N) 10 a.m. KABC

The Morning Show With Mike & Juliet Director J.J. Abrams; Tom Bergeron ("Dancing With the Stars"); Internet dating sites. (N) 11 a.m. KTTV

The Bonnie Hunt Show Jeff Probst; Debbie Reynolds; 7-year-old chef Jake Littell. noon KNBC

The Tyra Banks Show Parents learn about the dangers and pitfalls of open calls in the modeling and acting arenas. 1 p.m. KTTV

The Martha Stewart Show Chris "Ludacris" Bridges ("RocknRolla"). 2 p.m. KNBC

Oprah Winfrey Interior designer Nate Berkus and landscaper Jamie Durie renovate a house for a deserving couple. 3 p.m. KABC

Dr. Phil A woman leaves her husband for another man and now lives in a tent; a woman learns her husband was living a secret life for almost a year. 4 p.m. KCBS

The Ellen DeGeneres Show Anderson Cooper; Katy Perry performs. 4 p.m. KNBC

The Tyra Banks Show Gay couples who say their weddings are being ruined by loved ones who refuse to attend. 4 p.m. KTTV

Larry King Live (N) 6 and 9 p.m. CNN

Dr. Phil Teens engage in outrageous trends including sending risque texts and posting fighting videos on YouTube. 7 p.m. KCAL

Tavis Smiley Director Francis Ford Coppola; Femi Kuti. (N) 7 and 11 p.m. KCET

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Reza Aslan; "Jason Jones in Iran: Access of Evil." (N) 11 p.m. Comedy Central

Real Time With Bill Maher Paul Begala; Katty Kay; Joel Stein; author Hooman Majd; Meghan McCain. 11 p.m. HBO

Charlie Rose U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. (N) 11:30 p.m. KCET

The Colbert Report Matthew Crawford. (N) 11:30 p.m. Comedy Central

Late Show With David Letterman Ray Romano; St. Vincent performs. (N) 11:35 p.m. KCBS

The Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien Brandon McMillan; Kerry Washington; Wilco performs. (N) 11:35 p.m. KNBC

Nightline (N) 11:35 p.m. KABC

Jimmy Kimmel Live Josh Duhamel; writer Tracy Hutson. (N) 12:06 a.m. KABC

The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson Mary Steenburgen; Bettye LaVette performs; Todd Sawyer. (N) 12:37 a.m. KCBS

Late Night With Jimmy Fallon Entrepreneur Richard Branson; astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson; the Roots perform. (N) 12:37 a.m. KNBC

Last Call With Carson Daly Ida Maria performs. (N) 1:36 a.m. KNBC

For more information click on the link to see the source!

Randy Foye

2009-06-23T19:57:00.000-07:00

Jefferson, Foye involved in pre-draft deals
WASHINGTON — The NBA draft is a day away, but some teams couldn't wait that long to shake up rosters.
The Milwaukee Bucks sent high-scoring forward Richard Jefferson to San Antonio on Tuesday for three players who faced diminishing roles with the Spurs.

The Washington Wizards, according to an SI.com report, sent their No. 5 pick and reserve frontcourt players Etan Thomas, Oleksiy Pecherov and Darius Songaila to the Minnesota Timberwolves for guards Mike Miller and Randy Foye.

Earlier Tuesday, Wizards general manager Ernie Grunfeld said he had talked with far more teams about draft-day deals than in recent years and said he was open to dealing the pick "if the right offer comes along."

Jefferson, 29, averaged 19.6 points last season. Going to Milwaukee: Bruce Bowen, 38; Kurt Thomas, 36 and Fabricio Oberto, 34. None is signed beyond 2009-10....

The Missing Holiday, Rubio Slipping?
It's understandable why Blake Griffin, Hasheem Thabeet and Ricky Rubio haven't visited Washington for a pre-draft workout, since they are considered the three best prospects in the draft. But I'm sure some of you may have noticed that there another is potential top 10 pick in Thursday's draft whose name has not been mentioned much in these parts -- UCLA combo guard Jrue Holiday.

Holiday has been slated to possibly go as high as No. 4 to Sacramento. ESPN's Chad Ford and Draftexpress.com have Holiday rated as third- and the fifth-best point guard prospect in the draft, respectively, after averaging 8.5 points and 3.7 assists last year at UCLA.

The Fourth of July will remain the biggest Holiday in D.C. (AP Photo)
The Timberwolves, Knicks, Raptors, Bucks and Pacers are also considering him, yet Holiday somehow hasn't worked out for the Wizards. Strange, right?

It's not that the Wizards have no interest.

Here's an explanation: According to a league source, the Wizards attempted to set up something with Holiday but Holiday's agent did not want him to work out for the team.

Holiday's agent? Dan Fegan.

Yep, the same Fegan who doesn't want Rubio in the same time zone as the Wizards. The source didn't say why Holiday wouldn't come, but if you recall, Fegan was concerned about Rubio sharing the floor with his former client, Gilbert Arenas.

Opinions about Holiday are mixed, but most view him as tweener, since senior Darren Collison dominated the ball and handled most of the point guard duties at UCLA. Some scouts and executives that I've spoken with believe that Holiday's numbers are low because was buried his freshman year with the Bruins with the hope that he would have to come back and improve his stock. He is considered a player who could be the Russell Westbrook of this draft......

Minnesota Timberwolves eyeing Arizona forward Jordan Hill
With the NBA draft coming up this week general managers, sports agents, and draftees palms are all getting sweaty. Everyone is wondering who each team will take and any team that takes on Arizona forward Jordan Hill should be satisfied.

Hill started all 34 games his junior year as a Wildcat and received numerous awards including Honorable Mention All-America and a Third-Team All-America pick by The Sporting News as a junior. Hill was no stranger to being left out on the floor as he played 35.7 minutes a game, good enough for third among his teammates.

Hill was also the first member of an Arizona team in 30 years to average double figures in both scoring and rebounding in the same season. His 18.3 points per game was a team high and his 11 rebounds a game was almost five more than any other player on the squad.

The 6-foot-10, 235 pound man originally from Atlanta, Ga. was the driving force behind the 21-14 season the Wildcats experienced. He also led the team to their two wins in the NCAA tournament as he averaged just less than 16 points per game and continued to be a force off the glass. Hill kept his season average of 11 boards per game under the big pressure and bright lights of the national tournament.

He also was able to block 58 shots in his last season at Arizona making him a defensive threat that most other big players eligible for the draft do not possess.

NBA.com is speculating that Hill will go sixth overall to the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Wolves could certainly use the size of Hill as the team had no player who averaged more than ten rebounds a game except for Al Jefferson who handled 11 per game.

The Timberwolves first round pick from last season, Kevin Love, is also 6-foot-10 as is Jefferson, the addition of Hill would allow the team to be more physical in the post and use some of their outside shooters like Randy Foye....

For more information click on the link to see the source!

Lydia Hearst

2009-06-22T10:40:00.000-07:00

Heiress Lydia Hearst's family loves her new topless film poster
What does a girl have to do to get a little attention for a small movie these days?

She only has to wear very little.

Like Lydia Hearst did for the recently banned poster for "The Last International Playboy."
Lydia is the socialite heiress daughter of the socialite heiress Patricia Hearst. That’s right. Tonya.

Lydia, who has appeared once on "Gossip Girl," takes off her clothes for some hot sex scenes in the movie, including the opening scene with Jason Behr. Check out the first few scenes of the trailer to get a glimpse.

Hearst told the Daily Transom, a column in the New York Observer, "I'm very happy with the photo." She added that she's baffled over the banning of the poster in several cities, including Seattle, Chicago and Dallas.

She thinks Calvin Klein and Armani ads are way racier. For the record, so do we. What do you think of the banned poster? Tame or tasteless?

But, more important, what does her family think of the racy movie ads?

"My sister saw it when she was grabbing lunch with her husband somewhere in Midtown," Ms. Hearst said. "She saw one of the buses go by and picked up the phone and called me and was so excited."

"They love it," Hearst told the Observer. "They're very supportive of my career and my work. I would never do anything to upset my family.”

Famous last words...

I watched her mother seductively model in a Thierry Mugler fashion show in Paris in the early '90s (or was it late '80s?), so the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

But so far Lydia has no Symbionese Liberation Army affiliations....

Lydia Hearst
Want to know what it’s like to go to a major award show? The model (and Hearst heiress) gives PEOPLE.com the inside scoop on getting ready for Fashion’s Oscars — and hanging with fellow guests Blake, Heidi an
d Justin! Click here to see all the stars at the CFDA Awards.
6am: Going to be a crazy day. Nice long bath, then straight over to an early morning photo shoot with Terry Richardson. They were incredible, fun, crazy pictures. I was wearing men’s clothes, lingerie, dressing up as animals. Such an eccentric shoot.
3pm: Grab some food on-set: Thai curry chicken, pasta and rice. I won’t be able to eat once I go to the CFDAs. I’m wearing white so I definitely don’t want to take the risk of spilling anything on the one-of-a-kind dress Marc Bouwer made for me!
5:20pm: Oops. We had so much fun at the photo shoot, and ran over. Now it’s pouring rain! Here I am looking for a cab, still wearing all the black eye makeup and hot pink lips; my hair is sticking straight out from all the products. I looked like a drowned rat.
5:45pm: Home! Thankfully my dress already got dropped off. Jump into the shower and rinse off faster than I ever have. Didn’t even bother with my hair. It was already soaked with rain. I wanted a sort of a 1920s, old Hollywood, Veronica Lake look. My makeup artist Jasen Kaplan and hairstylist Ricardo Rojas have to work on me like crazy — it’s such a miracle.
6:20pm: Marc Bouwer picks me up, and we head over to the CFDA Awards gala at Lincoln Center. I felt like a princess. My dress was actually sheer white, but I put a nude body suit under it. Thankfully you couldn’t see anything!
Click through for more details on Lydia’s star-studded night!...

Lydia Hearst in town?
Lydia Hearst (above) -- as in, the daughter of Patty and great-grandaughter of William Randolph -- may be in Boston tomorrow night. The Kendall Square Cinema is hosting a big premiere of the young model's new movie, "The Last International Playboy," and so far, Hearst is on the guestlist.

Hearst and a few other "Playboy" cast members -- including Boston-born "Project Runway" model Polina Frantsena -- are also expected to show up at an after-party for the screening at the Estate. Supermodel Paulina Porizkova, as in wife of Ric Ocasec, has also RSVP'd a yes to the late-night shindig. Very Hollywood, yes?...

For more information click on the link to see the source!

US Open Golf Standings

2009-06-22T09:56:00.000-07:00

US Open Golf Standings Controlled by Barnes, Glover
The US Open golf standings have just two people leading the US Open golf standings over everyone else. But the US Open golf standings aren't led by Tiger and Phil, but by Ricky and Lucas. The US Open

US Open Golf Standings Controlled by Barnes, Glover
golf standings have Ricky Barnes and Lucas Glover leading by a wide margin, as the final round finally gets started. Today, the US Open golf tournament may finally crown a champion, and it is rapidly looking like the standings will favor one of these two unknowns.
The US Open golf standings heading into today have Ricky Barnes and Lucas Glover leading the field by five shots. Both were -7 under par, with four players, including Phil Mickelson, tied for third at -2. Unless there is a big comeback, or unless either Barnes or Glover collapse, the top of the US Open golf standings may be dominated by just these two players....

At this U.S. Open, Phil may be main attraction ahead of Tiger
FARMINGDALE, N.Y. — Tiger Woods, the world's No. 1-ranked golfer, is not the main story line this week as the U.S. Open returns to the famed Black Course at Bethpage State Park on Long Island.
Despite Woods' unwavering celebrity and storied win in last year's U.S. Open — when he limped to victory on two stress fractures in his tibia and a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee — Woods is sharing the marquee with Phil Mickelson, the world's No. 2 golfer. Mickelson is the sentimental favorite here four weeks after his wife, Amy, was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Together, 30 miles east of 'Manhattans skyscrapers, golf's biggest stars are at least temporarily getting top billing in New York's sports landscape.At 34th Street and Seventh Avenue in Manhattan, a 70-by-40-foot billboard of Woods towers over the street. Sports radio talk shows are buzzing. The New York Yankees and Mets have been moved off the back pages of the city's tabloids. Crowds at the Bethpage course during this week's practice rounds already were thirsting for a Sunday showdown.

Woods, with his obsession to surpass Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 major titles (Woods has 14), is the prohibitive favorite this week. After having reconstructive knee surgery, Woods has reasserted himself this year with one victory in late March and another two weeks ago. Woods says his knee gradually has built enough strength so he finally again can practice at will, and thus fine-tune his swing. In his win two weeks ago in Ohio, his ball-striking performance compared favorably to his best ever...

Golf: U.S. Opens leave Zach Johnson moping
Zach Johnson has a complicated relationship with the U.S. Open golf championship.

"You arrive full of excitement, awe and confidence, but you leave ready for decompression," said the Iowa native and Drake graduate, who tees off at 7:28 a.m. Thursday in the first round at Bethpage Black. "You can't wait to tee it up, but you can't wait to be done. You love it, but you hate it."

Johnson has one major championship, the 2007 Masters, on his resume. He also has top-20 finishes in the British Open and the PGA Championship.
He's perennially listed as an Open contender because of his accuracy off the tee and his touch on the greens. But since shooting an even-par 70 in the first U.S. Open round of his career, at Shinnecock Hills in 2004, Johnson has been over par for 13 consecutive Open rounds. He has missed the cut in three of his five Open appearances and finished no better than a tie for 45th, at Oakmont in 2007.

"Unfortunately, I really don't have a theory as to why," Johnson said. "I honestly think I just have not played well during those weeks. One of these years I will be clicking on all cylinders. Hopefully it is this week."

Many things point to a breakout for Johnson at Bethpage Black. He leads the FedEx Cup playoff point standings and is second on the 2009 PGA Tour money list with earnings of $3.35 million. He's won twice, at the Sony Open in Hawaii and the Texas Open, and is ranked 20th in the latest World Golf Rankings....

For more information click on the link to see the source!

Indiana Unemployment

2009-06-21T13:51:00.000-07:00

Indiana unemployment tops 10%
Nearly two-thirds of Indiana's counties had unemployment rates in double digits last month as the state's seasonally adjusted rate increased to 10.6 percent.

The state is only 2 percentage points away from its November 1982 peak in seasonally adjusted unemployment, when the rate was 12.8 percent.

Unemployment grew in Fayette County by nearly a full percentage point in May, with 15.7 percent of the county's work force unemployed, up from 14.8 percent in April, according to the Indiana Department of Work force Development.

Fayette's 15.7 percent rate is the highest unemployment has been in the county since Visteon, its largest employer based in Connersville, closed 17 months ago.

Unemployment also increased in Randolph and Wayne counties. Randolph's unemployment rate climbed to 12.5 percent, up from 12.1 percent in April.

In Wayne County, 11.9 percent of the work force was unemployed in May, up from 11.6 percent in April. In May 2008, 6 percent of Wayne County residents were out of work....

Unemployment climbed in May
WASHINGTON - The unemployment picture in all but two US states deteriorated in May as the jobless rate in more than a quarter of them exceeded 10 percent.
Five states - Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee - crossed into double digits last month, adding to the eight that had the distinction in April, the Labor Department reported yesterday in Washington. Joblessness in eight states, including California, Florida, and Georgia, reached the highest levels since records began in 1976.

The figures make it likely President Obama was correct this week in forecasting the national unemployment rate will reach 10 percent this year. With no region escaping the rout, consumers across the country will probably curtail their spending, preventing any boom out of the deepest recession in half a century, analysts said...

For more information click on the link to see the source!

Juneteenth

2009-06-19T08:18:00.000-07:00

Celebrate our freedom during Juneteenth Weekend
Commemorating the end of African slavery in the United States, Juneteenth has become into a national weekend holiday of sorts. Our LGBT community has already begun celebrating, so here’s what you can catch this Friday through Sunday.
On Friday, do the fish fry thing with drink specials at Joe’s, 4117 Maple, for the “Welcome to Dallas Juneteenth Celebration”. On Saturday, there’s free grub and fun under the sun during the annual Legacy Of Success Foundation's “Juneteenth Celebration Picnic” at Tennyson Park at the corner of Tennyson Pkwy and Clermont from 11am to 4pm.
Can’t make it to the picnic, but open for a pool party? Come to the poolside at the Marriot Suites, 2493 N. Stemmons Frwy from 5pm to 8pm for the “212 Degrees: The Boiling Point Juneteenth Pool Party”. The party will be hosted by none other than DeMarco Majors from LOGO’s Shirts and Skin TV Series....
Dallas
Juneteenth Blues and Jazz Festival starts at 6 p.m. today at the African American Museum of Dallas, 3536 Grand Ave. in Fair Park. Museum admission costs $5 for adults and $2 for children under 12. 214-565-9026.

Juneteenth Film Screening, hosted by the South Dallas Cultural Center, will show the film Wattstax at 8 p.m. today. Admission is $5. Jammin' at the Center, which is free, follows from midnight to 3 a.m. Saturday. The center will present a free benefit concert for its summer arts program at 6 p.m. Saturday; donations requested. All events are at the center, 3400 S. Fitzhugh Ave. 214-939-2787....

For Dallas-area family, Juneteenth signifies struggle for equality
CARROLLTON – Willie Rainwater will be busy Saturday commemorating his family's fight for equality here, as well as the broader civil rights struggle of the nation.
Officially, it's a Juneteenth celebration – the Texas commemoration of the end of slavery. It dates to June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers landed in Galveston with news that the war had ended and the enslaved were free throughout the nation. More than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation, an estimated 250,000 slaves in Texas heard of their liberty.

Today and throughout the weekend, Juneteenth celebrations are occurring throughout the Dallas area, in Texas and in many parts of the United States. But the day holds multiple meanings for Rainwater in Carrollton.

"In my city, it is hard to find black history," says Rainwater, 66. "It's like black people never lived here."

Make that officially recognized black history, because the Rainwater family has been peeling back the historical onion layer by layer for some time.

As Rainwater says, "At one time, there were more black people here than there were white people."

The Carrollton Community Cemetery, better known as the Carrollton black cemetery, is an example of that. It is believed to date to the 1870s, so some buried there could be freed slaves. That's why for Juneteenth today, there will be a cemetery cleanup at 8 a.m., moving to an official celebration of Juneteenth and on to a barbecue by 11 a.m. at the cemetery, 1615 W. Belt Line Road....

Go & do: Juneteenth events
Richardson
"It's a Family Affair" Juneteenth celebration, hosted by the University of Texas at Dallas, will be from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. today at the UT Dallas Gazebo. The event will include a bake-off, free food while it lasts, educational information and music. 972-883-6390.

For more information click on the link to see the source!

US Open 2009

2009-06-18T09:23:00.000-07:00

US Open 2009: Paul Casey set to spearhead the British challenge
Casey, the world No 3 after three victories already this season, has the power to prosper at Bethpage, but will he drive the ball well enough?
Much of his success in 2009 has been based on hitting his "strong" 3-wood. At Bethpage he will have to hit more drivers. If Casey can control his greatest weapon, then he has the game to become the first Brit of his generation to win a major....

USOPEN.com To Feature Woods And Mickelson Marquee Groups
USOPEN.com will stream live coverage on Thursday and Friday of the Tiger Woods, Padraig Harrington, Angel Cabrera group and the Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els, Retief Goosen group on U.S. Open LIVE! during both the first and second rounds of the 2009 U.S. Open at Bethpage State Park’s Black Course.

On Thursday, the Webcast will begin at 8 a.m. EDT, with the Woods group scheduled to tee off on hole No. 1 at 8:06 a.m. Live coverage will continue with the Mickelson group, which will tee off on hole No. 10 at 1:36 p.m.

On Friday, the Webcast will begin again at 8 a.m. EDT, with the Mickelson group scheduled to tee off on hole No. 1 at 8:06 a.m. Live coverage will continue with the Woods group, which will tee off hole No. 10 at 1:36 p.m.

For complete coverage of the 2009 U.S. Open Championship, please visit www.USOPEN.com ....

US Open Golf Television Schedule
As Tiger Woods tries to win his 15th major, Phil Mickelson has the support of New Yorkers, who have seemingly adopted him. The fact that Lefty has said this will probably be his last golf for some time due to his wife's breast cancer will make the crowds overwhelming pull for him. Who will win? Here's the US Open Golf Championship TV schedule.

The U.S. Open Championship will be played at the Black Course at Bethpage State in Farmingdale, N.Y. Tiger Woods, won last year’s U.S. Open in an 18-hole playoff against Rocco Mediate.

For more information click on the link to see the source!

Lakers Parade Live

2009-06-17T11:33:00.000-07:00

Lakers parade opponents are asking all the wrong questions
Even in Los Angeles, not everybody is happy with the Lakers' NBA championship.

Reports surfaced that a Lakers parade would cost $1 million, a stat later revised to $2 million. The city and team agreed to split the amount, but people are still asking a big question; How can the city justify taking on a frivolous expenditure when the budget is a wreck and employees face layoffs and mandatory furloughs?

The mayor is scrambling to find private donors to support the event, which is an enterprising solution that should please everybody. But the underlying anger seems a bit misguided. On face value, we should be upset when a wealthy private institution might benefit from public funds during an economic crisis. But what happens when the public has benefited mightily from a wealthy private institution?

Forbes values the Lakers franchise at $584 million. What does this big business mean to the city of Los Angeles?

According to the NBA, the Lakers have the league's most popular merchandise. It's sold in stores all over town. We could track down those receipts, but how do you measure the economic impact of somebody selling an unlicensed T-shirt on the street corner? And what about a player who pays property taxes on an expensive estate? It obviously doesn't end there....

Lakers Parade Route a Bittersweet Victory Lap Around L.A.?
Talk of a victory parade for the NBA's Lakers began before the team had even cinched the victory itself, which, if you're in LA and live under a rock, happened last night in Orlando in game 5 of the championship.

The primary concern for many has been the cost of an event; with an estimated price tag of $1.1 million, Angelenos, including City Councilwoman Jan Perry, feel a parade is not the best use of limited--perhaps even nonexistent--City funds. While the Lakers have said they would split the bill with the City, the fact remains that such an event must be designed to, and will likely, draw attention to our city.

Some people's behavior last night post-win notwithstanding, the chosen route of the parade leaves many questioning why the team would journey south from their home court at Staples down Figueroa to the Coliseum. Much like recent scrutiny over the chosen routes of the LA Marathon, it leaves locals, like those at Blogdowntown, wondering: "Are strip malls and car dealerships really the visuals Los Angeles wants to feature in its celebration" and "is that stretch of Figueroa really the right venue for the hundreds of thousands of fans expected for a championship parade?"

In comparison to previous parade routes for Lakers victories, the one established for Wednesday's celebration is longer. It stands to reason that, in a time clouded by budget shortfalls, perhaps this route was also the cheapest, since it is a straight shot from venue to venue, and can accommodate the hundreds of thousands of people expected to participate. So why end at the Coliseum and not Staples? Is it because the LA Live contingency does not want a potentially destructive crowd setting fires in front of the Conga Room and the Ritz Carlton?...

Fan's guide to the Lakers victory parade
Toward the end of the Lakers championship celebration in June of 2002, Kobe Bryant left the stage telling the crowd, "I'll see you all next year." Bryant wasn't the only one predicting a fourth consecutive title. Popular forward Mark Madsen chanted in Spanish, "Cuatro, cuatro, cuatro ..."

And why not? This was the team's third consecutive NBA title celebration.

Well, "next year" arrives today when the Lakers once again celebrate a NBA championship with a parade and rally in downtown LA....

For more information click on the link to see the source!

Zicam

2009-06-16T10:29:00.000-07:00

Zicam Cold Remedy Gets FDA Warning; Matrixx Dives
June 16 (Bloomberg) -- Zicam nasal sprays and swabs may cause permanent loss of smell and taste and consumers should stop using them, U.S. regulators warned today, sending shares of manufacturer Matrixx Initiatives Inc. down the most ever.

Matrixx, based in Scottsdale, Arizona, fell $10.68, or 56 percent, to $8.56 before Nasdaq Stock Market trading was halted. That’s the biggest intraday decline since its 1996 initial public offering.

The Food and Drug Administration has received more than 130 reports of people losing their sense of smell after using zinc- based Zicam nasal spray and swabs, and Matrixx has an additional 800 reports it hasn’t made available to the agency, Deborah M. Autor, director of the FDA’s Office of Compliance, said today in a conference call with reporters. The agency sent a warning letter to Matrixx telling the company to stop selling three Zicam products.

“If they wish to continue marketing the products, the next step is for them to come in and seek FDA approval,” Autor said....

Cold remedy linked to loss of sense of smell
Zicam Cold Remedy, a homeopathic product sold in drugstores, may cause users to permanently lose their sense of smell, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned manufacturer Matrixx Initiatives Inc.
The FDA said there’s no proof the product is safe or effective and gave the closely held maker, based in Scottsdale, Ariz., 15 days to reply to the warning....

For more information click on the link to see the source!

David Letterman Sarah Palin

2009-06-16T09:44:00.000-07:00

Does the Sarah Palin controversy help or hurt David Letterman in his battle with Conan O'Brien?
David Letterman spent the first part of last night's "Late Show" apologizing once again to Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and her family for an inappropriate joke he made last Monday. As Letterman explained last night, "I told a bad joke. I told a joke that was beyond flawed, and my intent is completely meaningless compared to the perception. And since it was a joke I told, I feel that I need to do the right thing here and apologize for having told that joke. It's not your fault that it was misunderstood, it's my fault. That it was misunderstood."
While a protest remains planned for today's taping of the "Late Show," Palin has accepted Letterman's explanation. And though the "Late Show" lost one website advertiser – Embassy Suites – because of the ongoing debate, viewers have remained loyal to the longtime late-night talk-show host.

The controversy had swelled as Palin and her supporters rejected Letterman's first attempt at an explanation last Wednesday. Last Monday, he had referenced the governor's older daughter, Bristol, in an off-color remark, not realizing that it was her younger daughter, Willow, who had accompanied her to New York City. As he said last night, "I would like to apologize, especially to the two daughters involved, Bristol and Willow, and also to the governor and her family and everybody else who was outraged by the joke. I'm sorry about it, and I'll try to do better in the future."...

David Letterman Apologizes to Sarah Palin for A-Rod Joke
Letterman should have never told the "joke"
But now that he has apologized, the story is over. The diehards will probably do just that--die hard--if they persist in trying to "make something" out of an event that is over. The world will be moving on, sorta like we finally went past "lipstick on a pig".
Letterman + Michael Richards + A Rod
Willow Palin be should compensated. What about poor A Rod ? He was falsely accused by Letterman. He is a minority. Rodriguez was born in the Washington Heights section of New York City to a Dominican family. When he was four, Rodriguez and his parents moved to their native Dominican Republic, then to Miami, Florida / Michael Richards ( Cosmo Kramer )hecklers tell their story

The men don’t just want an apology, they want compensation. Check it out on NBC.Dave Letterman came to the rescue for Kramer's remarks in a "Comedy Club in 2006"...

David Letterman not expected to respond to Sarah Palin on tonight's show
Alaska Governor Sarah Palin continues to blast away at David Letterman for jokes he made earlier this week about her teenage daughter, but the talk show host won't be firing back during tonight's new installment of The Late Show. Why? Because he already filmed the show before this controversy even erupted. A CBS spokesperson tells EW that Letterman pre-tapes his Friday shows on Mondays, and this week is no exception. Letterman will be shooting all new shows next week, so perhaps he'll have something to say on Monday. Gov. Palin—outraged over a crack about her daughter being impregnated by New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez—continued venting today during appearances on NBC's The Today Show and The Situation Room on CNN. When NBC's Matt Lauer asked the former Republican vice presidential hopeful if she'd accept an apology from Letterman, Palin responded by saying she'd rather have him apologize to young people for promoting the idea that it's "okay or funny talk about statutory rape." (Earlier this week, Letterman conceded his humor was in bad taste, but adamantly disagreed with Palin's assessment that he was making light of rape or adolescent sexual activity, insisting the joke was not about 14-year-old daughter Willow, as Palin has claimed, but 18-year-old Bristol.)
CBS has no official response to Palin, but a source inside the network forwarded EW this ABCnews.com article from last fall, cataloging various jokes many other late-night hosts made at the expense of Palin's daughter during the course of presidential campaign. (The implication: Letterman's joshing is nothing new—and Palin's anti-Letterman press blitz feels oddly behind-the times.) For her part, Palin is getting new support from a fellow Republican: New York State Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb today demanded that CBS fire Letterman for his comments, reports Fox News....

For more information click on the link to see the source!

Fire David Letterman

2009-06-15T09:05:00.000-07:00

"Fire David Letterman " Rally Called for by FireDavidLetterman.Com
Craig Ferguson jokingly declared himself the "King of Late Night" Friday night and the Scot comedian just might become just that if the Fire David Letterman crusade catches hold and produces the result it demands. But Letterman is the leader in late night television, according to the latest rankings, possibly due to unfamiliarity with the new host of the "Tonight Show," Conan O'Brien, and the controversy over the Sarah Palin jokes that inspired pundits, politicians, and average citizens to call upon CBS to fire David Letterman.

FireDavidLetterman.com has been set up to hold David Letterman "accountable for his disgraceful statements," according to the site's Mission Statement. The site includes a sample protest/boycott letter and a list of "Late Show with David Letterman" advertising sponsors' to which one can write. The site also calls upon the outraged to write, e-mail, or call their local CBS affiliate or local sponsor of the show to let them know they disapprove or will boycott their station/product until David Letterman's show is removed from the station's lineup. The site even lists six ways to make FireDavidLetterman.com viral....

"Fire David Letterman " Rally Called for by FireDavidLetterman.Com
Date: June 13, 2009
New York, NY
United States of America

Fire David Letterman: Protests to Fire David Letterman After Palin Joke
A Fire David Letterman Rally is set for Tuesday outside of the Ed Sullivan theater, where Late Night with David Letterman is filmed. The rally is in response to David Letterman’s controversial jokes regarding the Palin family. Letterman stated that Sarah Palin’s daughter got “knocked up by A-Rod” during a top 10 list regarding Sarah Palin’s trip to New York...
Sarah Palin attended a Yankee game with her 14-year-old daughter Willow. In response, Palin accused Letterman of making a joke about a minor getting raped. She also called Letterman a pervert.

Letterman claimed that he meant to reference Bristol Palin, who is an adult. He apologized and said the joke was in bad taste.

New York State Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb is one of the people spearheading the “Fire David Letterman” movement. Radio talk show host John Ziegler is also supporting the rally. They have created a website that contains more information: www.firedavidletterman.com

I don’t believe David Letterman, who has been on TV as long as I can remember, will be fired over an incident like this. However, I do believe that his joke crossed the line and he deserves the negative press he has gotten. Ultimately though, Sarah Palin is an open target from Hollywood, New York and the news media, and people can take cheapshots at her without consequences in the Obama era....

Palin outrage boils over, spawns firedavidletterman.com
A rally is planned outside the Ed Sullivan theater in Manhattan on Tuesday following calls by Sarah Palin supporters to “fire David Letterman.”

Letterman drew a considerable amount of outrage after a controversial crack at Yankee Stadium that Bristol Palin was “knocked up” by Alex Rodriguez- during the seventh inning. He further got right-wing panties in a knot by likening Palin’s look to that of a “slutty flight attendant” during one of his “Top Ten” segments last week.

The movement even begat a website, Fire David Letterman, and a mission statement:

Our Mission Statement: David Letterman Must Held Be Accountable For His Disgraceful Statements

In addition to shameless abuse of the Caps Lock key, the site also frustratingly, deliberately misconstrues Letterman’s joke to be about Willow, not Bristol Palin. That simple misdirection plants the joke firmly in the “inappropriate comments about the underage” category (Willow Palin is 14), likely to sway advertiser opinions on the matter....

For more information click on the link to see the source!

India vs England Live Streaming

2009-06-14T12:55:00.000-07:00

ICC World Twenty20 day eight as it happened
Alan, Scotland, text 81111: "Re Iain in LA, the Fox and Hounds in Santa Monica would be your best bet to watch the Ashes."
2046: Unsurprisingly, Dwayne Bravo is named man of the match for a quite brilliant innings of clean hitting and intelligent manoeuvring. However, no larging it for the West Indians in Laaaandan taaaan tonight, they're up against South Africa at 1330 BST at The Oval on Saturday. As for India, how's about that for a shot across the bows. Time for me to say goodnight, catch you on a live text commentary very soon...

Truck champion Benson injured in fiery crash
GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan (AP) — Reigning NASCAR truck champion Johnny Benson is in serious but stable condition after a fiery crash during a SuperModified race.
The driver was starting his second lap when he collided with another car on Saturday night at Berlin Raceway in Marne, Michigan. His car slammed into the wall and erupted into flames.

Benson reportedly had multiple injuries, including burns and broken ribs.

The 45-year-old driver lost his full-time ride last Monday when Red Horse Racing folded his Camping World Truck Series team because it couldn't find sponsorship....

For more information click on the link to see the source!

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Statue Cruises

2009-06-13T14:28:00.000-07:00

Lineup for Statue Cruises' Statue of Liberty crown tickets: Visitors not allowed since 9/11 (video)
In another smoke and mirrors effort to divert our attention from important issues, our government, through Statue Cruises, is again allowing "we the people" into the crown of the Statue of Liberty. We own the Statue of Liberty, and it is supposed to represent our liberty . Yet, a bunch of white guys in Washington (some are women or people of color just acting like all the white guys who have gone before them) have restricted us from touring the crown.
Now, people are lining up to purchase coveted tickets to the top of Miss Liberty. I wonder what kind of search they will have to pass through to actually get in? Perhaps this picture is not far from the next government restrictions reality.
In order to get the most publicity from this new government stunt and help us to forget we are a warmongering country waging two wars abroad and not able to feed, house, educate or provide health care for our own people, the Statue of Liberty's crown opens to the public on July 4. So, step right up and get in line to worship at the head of the hottest babe in New York harbor.
May we all experience true liberty and freedom, free from government restrictions, and may that genuine liberty pervade our entire Spaceship Earth soon....

Lady Liberty's crown--climb to the top with a reservation
Today visitors to the Statue of Liberty can't venture beyond the top of the statue's pedestal. Beginning July 4, 2009, a lucky few (30 per hour) will be able to climb to her crown.
On May 8, 2009, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced that beginning this July 4, the American public will once again be able to visit the crown of the Statue of Liberty, which was closed after the 9/11 attacks for safety and security reasons. Beginning at 10 a.m. (EST) on June 13, 2009, crown reservations may be made through the park’s ferry concessioner, Statue Cruises, or by calling 877- LADY-TIX (877-523-9849).
Ready to make reservations? The National Park Service has put together this list of important things you need to know before you call....

Beer Bike

Though tourists cheer, officials jeer Amsterdam ‘beer bike’
n a canal-threaded city of bicycling masses, so-called “beer bikes” are part of the landscape. Holding 10 or more people, these people-powered bars on wheels are popular with tourist groups in Amsterdam.

Because of two recent publicized accidents, however, their safety is being scrutinized.

“This beer bike is completely legal, but he [City Councilor Hans Gerson] is not very enthusiastic about this idea of people drinking while being amongst traffic,” said a spokesperson quoted in a Reuters report.

Yet, continued the article, the spokesperson “downplayed the possibility of a ban, stressing the alderman is looking into various options.”

In the report, the owner of beerbike.co.uk claims that his company “only rents a beer bike out with a driver and has never been involved in an accident.”

The beerbike.co.uk rentals seats up to 22 people, including a nondrinking driver. A two-hour tour on the weekend costs about $34 per person, including beer. The bike is pitched on the website as “de biggest beer bike in the world with 30 liters of beer on board.”

Another company, the Fietscafe, which calls itself a “mobile pub, for groups up to 17 people per bike,” requires a sober driver, according to its website....

For more information click on the link to see the source!

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Rapid Lash

2009-06-12T09:41:00.000-07:00

Rapid Lash Warning
Rapid Lash Eyelash Renewal Serum is the latest in the procession of eyelash renewal products to include harmful chemicals to help produce the desired effects.
Prostaglandins like Cloprostenate are used in drugs that treat glaucoma. The effect on the eyelashes was first noticed when glaucoma patients started developing full, bushy and elongated lashes - an effect eventually tied to Cloprostenate.

After a few products came out with the substance, many people using the products started to experience side effects such as:
Eye irritation
Loss of vision
Eye-Color change (as drastic as blue to brown)
The ingredient contained in Rapid Lash is a slightly altered version of the harmful chemical that caused a stir not long ago - the new compound is Isopropyl Cloprostenate. Is the chemical difference enough to deter the harmful side effects that are associated with the other form of the compound?

Rapid Lash is still conducting an independent trial to find out how harmful their product can be - it may be smart to wait to buy until the results of those trials are released.

It's official: Paul McCartney will play first shows at Mets' new Citi Field
It's official. As The News posted last Friday, Paul McCartney will indeed perform the very first shows at The Mets' new home, Citi Field, on July 17th and 18th.
The shows will mirror McCartney's historic performance with the Beatles at the team's former home (Shea Stadium), which was the first music event ever held there, back on August 15, 1965.
Forty-three years later, McCartney performed at the final show at Shea, as a guest star for Billy Joel's run there in July of last year.
"I am really excited about playing Citi Field. The Beatles were the first to play at Shea Stadium and along with Billy Joel, I was the last to sing at the old Shea,” Paul McCartney said in a press release.
"So, to be the first to play this stadium is incredible. I am really looking forward to a buzzing show."
The original Shea performance (which was followed by another by the Beatles in 1966) was the first time in history that a sports stadium was used for a rock concert.
The show set new attendance records at the time, with 55,000 screaming fans in attendance, establishing a new benchmark of popularity for rock. In the years since, a range of top musicians played Shea, including The Stones, Bruce Springsteen, The Who, and Simon & Garfunkel.
Tickets for McCartney's show go on sale Monday, June 15 at 10:00 A.M. EST online exclusively at www.507TIXX.com and by phone at 718-507-TIXX.
The concerts are rain or shine.
Rumor has it a third show may be added, to take place on July 21st.

Recycled homes, one box at a time
CHARLESTON, South Carolina (CNN) -- Magoline Hazelton is used to people driving by her home just to take a look. She's also known as the "house lady" by her fellow residents in North Charleston, South Carolina.
From the outside, Hazelton's home doesn't seem much different from the rest of the neighborhood. But there's one big difference. Her house is made from cargo shipping containers.

Using containers to build homes has increasingly become a trend in the past several years because it can be cheaper and faster than using traditional construction methods. There are also plenty of containers at most major ports.

About 18 million containers are used worldwide to transport a variety of everyday products, such as cars, toys and food. Because the United States imports more than it exports, many containers end up stacked at ports. See one of the homes being built »

SG Blocks, a company whose name stands for safe and green blocks, has made a business from the container overflow.

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In Depth: Solutions
Co-founder David Cross previously worked as a merchant marine and spent a lot of time at sea, dealing with shipping containers.

"As you're looking down the deck of the vessel, you see hundreds to thousands of containers perfectly configured," Cross said. "They were stacked nine high below deck, five or six high on deck, and I just kept seeing hotel after hotel on the deck of our ship."

For more information click on the link to see the source!

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Kendhal Beal

2009-06-12T09:00:00.000-07:00

Kendhal Beal: Assaulted
Beauty queen Kendhal Beal was assaulted on Tuesday June 9th by trust fund billionaire Paris Hilton. Hilton allegedly threw ice and bar food at the victim who is said by witnesses to have been a non-aggressor in the situation.
Hilton became upset after hearing her boyfriend Doug Reinhardt was at the bar with Kendhal Beal and a group of friends, having drinks and watching the Lakers on television.

Hilton stormed into the bar and initiated a confrontation with Reinhardt then stormed out.

Her Bio (From her website):

Kendhal Beal, model and aspiring actress, was born in Houston, Texas. She has two sisters and two brothers. Her family is very important to her and is her support in everything that she does.

Kendhal began modeling when she was fourteen years old with Neal Hamil Modeling Agency in Houston, Texas. Neal Hamil Modeling Agency sent her to New York at age nineteen where she worked for Cosmopolitan, Wella, Celebrity Hairstyles Magazine and many other well known clients....

Kendhal Beal PHOTOS | Paris Hilton
Kendhal Beal, that’s the name of the woman attacked by Paris Hilton at the Los Angeles’ Darkroom bar on Tuesday night, after she found out that she was flirting with Doug Reinhardt, just hours after their break up.
Kendhal Beal is a model and beauty queen, according to her website:
Kendhal Beal, model and aspiring actress, was born in Houston, Texas. She has two sisters and two brothers. Her family is very important to her and is her support in everything that she does.
Paris Hilton attacked Beal with snacks, according to Beal’s rep:
“Paris was picking up ice and fruit and throwing it at Kendhal - she was the victim. Kendhal did nothing offensive or aggressive. Paris was throwing accusations, calling her names. It was the same thing you always hear about Paris and her tirades.”...

KENDHAL BEAL Attacked By Paris Hilton
Paris Hilton stormed into Los Angeles' Darkroom bar on Tuesday night (09Jun09) and attacked beauty queen Kendhal Beal with snacks, according to the New York Post's PageSix....

For more information click on the link to see the source!

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Jamie Czerniawski

2009-06-11T13:06:00.000-07:00

Jamie Czerniawski Stabbed Husband!
Jamie Czerniawsk, a Monmouth County mom and former 'Wife Swap' (TV Show) contestant has been arrested on charges of aggrevated assault after stabbing her husband Charles over Memorial Day Weekend.
Jamie says that her husband became jealous and angry after she recieved a phone call from a mutual male friend. Court documents filed after the incident state that Jamie used a kitchen knife to assault her husband.

Jamie Czerniawsk is out on $75,000 bail. Charles Czerniawsk has hired a lawyer and denies Jamie's statement that the stabbing was in self defense.

Wife Swap Jamie Czerniawski (Photo) Stabs Husband, Arrested!
A Monmouth County mother who was once a contestant on the hit reality TV show 'Wife Swap', Jamie Czerniawski, has been arrested for stabbing her husband!
Jamie Czerniawski has been arrested on charges of aggravated assault, according to reports, after she stabbed her husband in an act of "self defense".

Wife Swap Mom Jamie Czerniawski Stabs Husband
A New Jersey mother whose family was once featured on the reality show Wife Swap has been arrested for stabbing her husband.

Jamie Czerniawski is charged with aggravated assault in the Memorial Day weekend stabbing. According to court papers, the former Miss Teen New Jersey used a kitchen knife to slash her husband. Czerniawski tells The New York Post that her husband became jealous when she received a call from a mutual male friend and insists she acted in self-defense. No other details about the stabbing were available.

Czerniawski is free on $75,000 bail. She and her family were featured on a 2006 episode of Wife Swap.

For more information click on the link to see the source!

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Tiger Woods' house in Hawaii

2009-06-11T11:27:00.000-07:00

Tiger Woods Hawaii House Pictures?
Early this morning pictures of Tiger Woods’ house in Hawaii leaked online, but apparently he doesn’t even live in Hawaii. In fact he lives in Orlando. For some reason these pictures are gaining all the buzz on the web and they are not even of his home. This breathtaking $80 Million dollar beachfront home in Hawaii is believed to be just another mansion on some of islands most exclusive property...

Luxury Property: Tiger Woods Hawaii Home?"Click Here to see more pictures"
Nope. As the rumor-busters at Snopes pointed out years ago, the stunning Maui beachfront property you see here doesn’t belong to the golfing great. While Tiger Woods certainly could afford this place, it’s not for sale. Wealthy vacationers can instead rent it for $6,750 to $8,250 per night, and sure, Woods could easily afford that, too. The “Jewel of Maui” sits along a quarter mile of beach, with five bedrooms, five bathrooms and 2 half bathrooms, plus a 60-foot-long pool and 2 hot tubs should the Pacific Ocean prove too salty. Inside, there are a total of 21 televisions, including a 9-foot projection screen. It’s not clear how the rumors began, but we do know that Woods and his family live in Florida. How dull. [Luxury Retreats Hawaii and Snopes]

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John Ziegler

2009-06-10T12:42:00.000-07:00

Malpracticing - Meet filmmaker John Ziegler
I first heard of bombastic talk radio host John Ziegler when I read a profile of him in the April 2005 edition of The Atlantic, written by the late, great David Foster Wallace. The story traced his career—laden with controversy—and included a bit about Ziegler being fired for saying “nigger” on-air when he was working at a Nashville talk radio station.

According to Wallace, Ziegler posited on-air that Tiger Woods is living proof that “not all white people are racists,” and that “no white person would ever think of Tiger as a nigger,” because there’s a distinction between “people who just happen to be black and people who act like niggers.” He later used the word again, in reference to Mike Tyson, and the station fired him.
I forgot about Ziegler, then saw his name come
up in an interview with him conducted by FiveThirtyEight.com founder and statistician Nate Silver, whose revolutionary algorithmic calculations have made him something of a phenomenon. In the interview, about a controversial Zogby poll Ziegler had commissioned, Ziegler twice told Silver to “Go fuck yourself.” Then I forgot about Ziegler again, until January of this year.

Around January 7, Ziegler leaked excerpts of his interviews with Governor Sarah Palin on his website and on YouTube, which came as a surprise to the administration. The clips were from his upcoming film, due to premier at the Conservative Political Action Conference on February 26. But the Palin clips, with her attacking Saturday Night Live and Katie Couric, became a national phenomenon.

Thing is, former Palin spokesman Bill McAllister had just told me that they were trying to keep the governor out of the national spotlight. I was working on a story entitled “Inside Palin’s war on the media” (from the January 15 issue), and McAllister told me, “We thought [the Ziegler interview] was going to be low key, frankly.”...

Palin: David Letterman 'pathetic'
Sarah Palin called David Letterman “pathetic” Tuesday after the CBS “Late Show” host said the Alaska Republican governor sports a “slutty flight attendant look.”

“What a commentary there,” Palin said of the comment during an interview on conservative host John Ziegler’s Los Angeles-based radio show. “That’s pretty pathetic, good ole David Letterman.”

In a follow up to Palin’s weekend trip to New York, Letterman’s “Top Ten” list on Monday featured “highlights of Sarah Palin’s trip to New York.” Number two on the list was “bought makeup at Bloomingdale’s to update her ‘slutty flight attendant’ look.”

“It’s very sad to not recognize what this trip was all about,” Palin said, pointing to the autism event she participated in during a stop in Westchester, New York....

RICHARD WAGONER: Ziegler returning to the airwaves via KGIL
KGIL (1260 and 540 AM, 105.3 HD-3) has announced it is bringing John Ziegler back to the local airwaves.

Beginning Monday, Ziegler will handle the 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. weekday shift on the station; syndicated hosts Glenn Beck and Monica Crowley will each lose an hour of their programs to make room.

This will be the station's only local show, which could be considered quite an achievement for the former KFI (640 AM) evening host.

Ziegler left KFI in November 2007 for what was then called "mutual reasons." At the time, it was said he was going to be busy with other projects.

Soon, however, word leaked out about ongoing problems between Ziegler and KFI afternoon hosts John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou. Ziegler countered with his version of what happened on his Web site, www.therealkfi.com (since taken down). After the site was launched, it was commonly assumed Ziegler would never return to the airwaves.

But as syndicated talker Don Imus proved, time heals all wounds. Ziegler began doing commentaries on KGIL last year, and it will be interesting to hear what changes, if any, he has in store for fans.

In a parallel-universe sort of related move, Bill O'Reilly's commentaries, formerly heard on KABC (790 AM), also will be on KGIL, weekdays at 8:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m....

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72 Year Old Woman Tasered

2009-06-10T10:47:00.000-07:00

Dashcam Video Shows Officer Tasering 72-year-old Woman
The case of 72-year-old Kathryn Winkfein, Tasered by Travis County, Texas, Deputy Chris Bieze, took an interesting turn when the Travis County Sheriff's Department released dashboard camera video of the incident. The department apparently believed that the footage would back up its claims that Bieze's use of the Taser -- a less-lethal, but still-dangerous weapon -- was appropriate. Instead, it shows the deputy resorting to shoving and then his Taser in response to a verbal disagreement.
At the moment Deputy Bieze triggered his Taser, Winkfein was actually turning away from him, having said, "I'm getting back in my car."

Deputy Bieze had already threatened to use his Taser -- "Step back or you're going to be Tased." -- as the woman leaned against the rear of her truck....

Should police have tasered 72-year-old grandma?
Watch 'Today Show' video and chime in
In this image taken from a May 11 video released by the Travis County Constable's Office, Kathryn Winkfein, right, shouts at Deputy Chris Bieze before being shocked with a Taser outside of Austin, Texas. Video released by the constable's Office shows Deputy Bieze confronting 72-year-old Winkfein after stopping her for speeding.
When the "Today Show" reported on the popularity of Taser parties among women, this surely isn't what they had in mind.

Viral culture being what it is, it's hardly surprising the currently most popular video on the show's site involves the caught-on-tape Tasering of a 72-year-old woman.
In it, the Texas woman, a great-grandmother, is shown being belligerent toward a cop at a traffic stop. She dares the officer to Taser her. He takes her up on it....

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2009 MLB Draft

2009-06-09T11:36:00.000-07:00

The Ridiculous MLB Draft, and More Tennis
Note: Henry Schulman is taking a brief and well-deserved break from the Giants' beat, so I'm off to Phoenix today to cover the Giants' three-game series with the Diamondbacks. Giants-related blogs will appear on this page, not the Giants Splash, during this series.

There hasn't been an amateur player in the history of baseball worth a $1 million signing bonus, let alone the catastrophic amount (reportedly $50 million) about to be demanded by Stephen Strasburg's agent, Scott Boras. This is why baseball's draft, which kicks off this afternoon, is such a travesty.

First off, if you get the MLB Network, I'd suggest tuning in today at 3 p.m., when the telecast starts. This is anything but a tedious, NFL-style draft show. It's easy enough to check out a Buster Posey or Gordon Beckham if they play deep into the NCAA tournament, but ESPN's draft show offers video clips and sharp analysis of all of the first-round picks. Two years ago, Giants fans got a quick but very revealing look at Madison Bumgarner and Tim Alderson, among others, in action.

It's an exciting process, seeing which players your club has decided to draft, but only if it has the means to do so. This is where the system falls apart.

The draft was established in 1965 after years of monopolistic domination by the Yankees, who signed and traded for players at their leisure and had a stranglehold on the American League. Fittingly, it was the Kansas City Athletics, long the Yankees' patsy, who had the first pick, and they took Rick Monday, signing him to a $100,000 bonus that was eye-catching but hardly outrageous....

Twins hold 22nd pick in 1st round of MLB draft

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Twins have the 22nd pick in the first round of this year's amateur baseball draft.
The selections begin Tuesday evening, and the draft continues Wednesday and Thursday. Between the first and second rounds, the Twins also have the 46th overall selection as compensation for losing reliever Dennys Reyes to free agency.

Locally, the St. Paul Saints have a stake in this year's draft, too. Pitcher Tanner Scheppers spent the past month pitching for the independent minor league team, and he is expected to be a first-round choice.

Scheppers was drafted last year by the Pittsburgh Pirates, but he didn't sign and will now re-enter the draft. The 22-year-old started four games for the Saints...

2009 MLB mock draft
Only one day remains until all the speculation ends with the beginning of the 2009 MLB draft.
The Washington Nationals likely will draft San Diego State right-hander Stephen Strasburg (right) with the No. 1 overall pick, but the rest of the first round is uncertain.

North Carolina’s Dustin Ackley is one of the best college players available, but he underwent Tommy John surgery last season. Some teams might be concerned with his health, but the Seattle Mariners will probably gamble with the second pick.

As evidenced by their reported efforts to reduce the payroll, the San Diego Padres would probably like to make a safe selection. Right-hander Aaron Crow, who declined to sign with the Nationals last year, would be a tremendous pick because he’s not going to want to miss another season in affiliated baseball.

While Donavan Tate is headed to North Carolina to play football and baseball, the Pittsburgh Pirates could attempt to change his mind after making him the fourth overall pick. He’s going to command a lot of money, so it’s not out of the question that he slides down the draft board.

The Orioles are rumored to be considering a high school pitcher – California left-hander Tyler Matzek and Georgia right-hander Zach Wheeler are popular names – but they have selected college players in the first round during the past two drafts....

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Jon Voight

2009-06-09T10:35:00.000-07:00

Angelina Jolie's Dad Sues the Guys That Sued Him
It's not enough Jon Voight can't get the time of day from daughter Angelina Joile ... he feels he's been viciously targeted by some movie investors and now he's decided to go after them.

Here's the scoop ... Voight was sued by a couple of investors who claimed he defrauded them in a movie deal gone bad. A judge disagreed and dismissed Voight from the case.

Voight is now suing the investors who sued him, claiming malicious prosecution. In other words, Voight says the investors were motived by sheer malice and had no right to drag him into the legal system over nothing.

Voight is seeking unspecified damages. A visit from Angelina wouldn't hurt either.

Actor Jon Voight: Obama False Prophet, Soft Spoken Julius Caesar

(ChattahBox)–There wasn’t a Democrat to be found at the Washington Convention Center last night, as Republican leaders and conservative pundits, such as Sean Hannity and Newt Gingrich attended the major fundraising dinner for the Republican House and Senate campaign committees. Master of ceremonies, actor and rabid conservative Jon Voight, provided plenty of red-meat right wing rhetoric, to the delight of the 2,000 attendees, some of which was outright bizarre.
Jon Voight repeated a speech he had given earlier that day before the congressional committee, setting the paranoid tone for the evening. Voight provided a dire doomsday message throughout his speech, calling for fellow Republicans to “free this nation from this Obama oppression,”
He blamed Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, the Republican’s bogeyman, George Soros and Chris Dodd and “their ilk,” for what he called the “downfall of our country. Conveniently forgetting the disastrous policies of the Bush administration of the past eight years.

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Brett Michaels Tony Awards

2009-06-08T10:30:00.000-07:00

Oops! Bret Michaels Tony Awards video
Bret Michaels got lit up after performing at the Tony Awards. Just watch the video below and pay close attention at the end. Every rose does indeed have its thorn.

Michaels and his band Poison performed during the opening number, singing "Nothin' But a Good Time" with the cast of "Rock of Ages." Could this be setting the stage for Poison to become part of the '80s hair band Broadway show?

I Want to Rock | 9:03 p.m.

D.I. Here’s the number you were really waiting for: the “Rock of Ages” montage.

It’s “I Want to Rock” / “Paradise” / “Don’t Stop Believing” (for those who didn’t live through the hair rock era).

Mitchell Jarvis dares to approach Liza at her throne — he calls her a “Tony-nominated freak machine.”

The crowd has been given their glow-in-the-dark lighters in advance.

C.I. Are you waving yours, Dave?

D.I. I could hear “Don’t Stop Believing” on an accordion and it would still make me tear up a little.

D.I. Am I cynical to think that these commercials for the anti-depressant Cymbalta are secretly a plug for “Next to Normal”?

C.I. See the show — and get the prescription? We should not joke, of course. In fact what’s impressive about the Broadway transfer of that musical, I think, is how it moved away from humor to fully explore the darker depths of the material.

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David Carradine

2009-06-08T09:10:00.000-07:00

David Carradine death photos published in Thailand to family's horror
David Carradine's distraught family is outraged over a Thai newspaper's publication of explicit photos taken of the actor's body hanging naked in a hotel closet.
The grisly image of the "Kill Bill" star ran on the front page of the paper, and another outlet published an autopsy shot of his body at a morgue.
"The family is outraged about the release of these photos," said Mark Geragos, an attorney who represents Keith Carradine, the actor's brother.
In an interview with RadarOnline.com, Geragos also threatened to sue if the photos are published in the United States.
The shocking front-page picture shows Carradine with his hands tied in front of him, hanging from the support bar in a closet. Tattoos on the lower half of his nude body also are visible.
Carradine, 72, who also starred in the 1970s television series "Kung Fu," was found dead on Thursday.
Carradine had a history of engaging in autoerotic asphyxiation, a sexual practice that often involves tying a rope around the neck, friends said.
He was in Bangkok filming his latest movie, "Stretch."

David Carradine's family threatens lawsuits over photos
As David Carradine's family awaited the arrival of his body from Thailand, they threatened to sue any media outlet that reprints images of the 72-year-old actor's death.
The announcement was made after a Bangkok tabloid on Saturday published a purported photo of the actor's death scene. The family also asked the FBI to help investigate his death. Carradine's body was found in a Bangkok hotel room on Thursday.
Mark Geragos, the lawyer for Carradine's brother Keith, says the family got involved because of conflicting information about the actor's death. Relatives are hoping his body arrives in the USA by today.

Keith Carradine said in a statement that his family was "profoundly disturbed" by the publication "of photographs taken at the scene." The statement continued, "Any persons, publications or media outlets will be fully prosecuted for invasion of privacy and causing severe emotional distress if the photos are published."

FIND MORE STORIES IN: Michael Baden
The family also wants famed forensic pathologist Michael Baden to perform a second autopsy to determine whether another person could have been involved. Results of an autopsy Friday in Thailand were not expected for three weeks, the Associated Press reported.

In one of his last performances, Carradine appears on Fox's Mental Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

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Macdella Cooper

2009-05-22T09:59:00.000-07:00

Macdella Cooper: Charity is Sexy
Macdella Cooper is part model, part entrepreneur and part huminitarian. She started the MacDella Cooper Foundation
The MacDella Cooper Foundation (MCF) is a 501c3 international charitable organization devoted to empowering Liberian youth, especially orphans and abandoned children, by providing education and the basic necessities of food, clothing, and shelter.

Our vision is to give as many Liberian children as possible the chance to escape the poverty cycle and grow in the nurturing environment of an MCF Academy, so that they can lead Liberia toward an economically strong and politically stable future....

Dick Parsons, Citigroup Chairman, Has Love Child With MacDella Cooper

Parsons and model-philanthropist MacDella Cooper are the parents of a baby girl named Ella.

The 61-year-old former Time Warner chairman said only: "This is a private matter, and I prefer not to talk about it at this time."

Read the whole story: nydailynews.com

Richard Parsons, Citigroup Chairman, Caught in Love Tangle, Has Baby Daughter With Model MacDella Cooper
Why do so many young women put themselves in the position of being someone's "clean-up woman?" I will never understand why some women knowingly have long-term relationships with married men. The latest sh** to hit the fan comes courtesy of Citigroup board chairman Richard Parsons, 61, who has been married for 30 years and they have three grown children: Gregory, Leslie and Rebecca. According to media reports, while he is wrestling to fix the financial mess at Citigroup, he has also been wrestling to find a way to tell his wife, Laura Ann Bush, that not only has been been cheating on her with MacDella Cooper, 32, but he also practiced unsafe sex, which resulted in the birth of a baby girl, Ella, last August....

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Oleksandra Nikolayenko

2009-05-22T09:36:00.000-07:00

Oleksandra Nikolayenko: Pictures and Bio
Oleksandra Nikolayenko-Ruffin (Ukrainian: Олександра Ніколаєнко; July 3, 1981 Budapest Hungary) is a Ukrainian model and actress. She is married to Phil Ruffin. She has received more beauty awards than any other woman in the Ukraine.

She holds “Miss Odesa”, “Miss Ukraine South”, “Miss Ukraine”, “Miss Student”, “Miss Tourism-Europe”, “First vice-Miss Tourism-Planet”, “Miss American Dream” and “Miss Tourism International” titles.

She was the 2004 Miss Ukraine Universe winner, and represented Ukraine at the Miss Universe 2004 in Ecuador. She was invited to judge the Miss Universe 2005 finals in Thailand and later became director of the Miss Ukraine Universe pageant.

She studied at the Odesa National Law Academy, and worked for Savrox Models Agency in Odesa.

She takes an active part in charitable projects. She speaks Ukrainian, Russian and English...

Oleksandra Nikolayenko is Phil Ruffin’s Wife (PHOTOS)
Oleksandra Nikolayenko, Miss Ukraine 2004, is the wife of 72-year-old billionaire Phil Ruffin, who recently purchased Treasure Island Hotel in Las Vegas.
Oleksandra Nikolayenko-Ruffin, 27, is a Ukrainian model and actress who was born in Budapest Hungary. In addition to representing Ukraine in the 2004 Miss Universe pageant in Ecuador, Oleksandra also holds the titles “Miss Odesa”, “Miss Ukraine South”, “Miss Ukraine”, “Miss Student”, “Miss Tourism-Europe”, “First vice-Miss Tourism-Planet”, “Miss American Dream” and “Miss Tourism International.”...

Oleksandra Nikolayenko
eksandra Nikolayenko-Ruffin (Ukrainian: Олександра Ніколаєнко; July 3, 1981 Budapest Hungary) is a Ukrainian model and actress. She is married to Phil Ruffin. She has received more beauty awards than any other woman in the Ukraine.[1]
She holds “Miss Odesa”, “Miss Ukraine South”, “Miss Ukraine”, “Miss Student”, “Miss Tourism-Europe”, “First vice-Miss Tourism-Planet”, “Miss American Dream” and “Miss Tourism International” titles.[1] She was the 2004 Miss Ukraine Universe winner, and represented Ukraine at the Miss Universe 2004 in Ecuador. She was invited to judge the Miss Universe 2005 finals in Thailand and later became director of the Miss Ukraine Universe pageant.
She studied at the Odesa National Law Academy, and worked for Savrox Models Agency in Odesa.[2] She takes an active part in charitable projects. She speaks Ukrainian, Russian and English....

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Hanalei Bay

2009-05-22T09:09:00.000-07:00

Hawaii's Hanalei Bay Tops List of 10 Best Beaches in 2009
HANALEI, Hawaii — Here is the list of top 10 beaches for 2009 from Stephen P. Leatherman, director of Florida International University's Laboratory for Coastal Research, also known as Dr. Beach. He has compiled the list annually since 1991 using 50 criteria, including water quality and temperature, cleanliness, weather, sand, safety and facilities.

1. Hanalei Bay, Kauai, Hawaii

2. Siesta Beach, Sarasota, Fla.

3. Coopers Beach, Southampton, N.Y.

4. Coronado Beach, San Diego.

5. Hamoa Beach, Maui, Hawaii.

6. Main Beach, East Hampton, N.Y.

7. Cape Hatteras, Outer Banks, N.C.

California visitor critical, Washington man drowns
A 69-year-old visitor from California was in critical condition after he was pulled from Moloa'a Bay on Kaua'i yesterday afternoon.
The man, a resident of San Clemente, Calif., was swimming with a friend about 100 yards offshore when they got into trouble about 12:30 p.m. The men attempted to swim to shore, but the current was very strong, Kaua'i County officials said.

The older man, 73, made it back and a bystander jumped in and attempted to help the other man, but was unsuccessful. Hanalei firefighters brought the man to shore and began CPR....

Yuja Wang conquers Prokofiev's mighty Piano Concerto No. 2 in S.F.
As Blu-ray is to VHS, Yuja Wang is to most other pianists. This 22-year-old phenom's performance Wednesday at Davies Symphony Hall was a dazzler, leaving nearly 2,700 concertgoers playing the role of voyeur. It was like watching a tiger devour — blow by blow, with utmost clarity — an elephant, the elephant being Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor.
Cut it off at the knees! Off with its head! It was a clean, controlled, unrelentingly physical performance — or, shall we say, a bloody, savage and exhilarating one? — that Wang gave with the San Francisco Symphony. After each movement, conductor Michael Tilson Thomas turned toward the pianist to smile or give a little gasping "wow."
There are no breaks for the soloist in this behemoth of a concerto, which Prokofiev began composing when he was a conservatory student in St. Petersburg almost a century ago.
Only one year past her own graduation from the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, Wang, a petite woman, not only took it on with the insouciance of a seasoned marathon runner. She smartly shaped it, too, especially from a rhythmic standpoint, illuminating and bringing into focus — once again, blow by blow — the work's huge, intricate, fantastical structure....

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Jake Peavy

2009-05-21T10:43:00.000-07:00

Agent: Peavy still prefers NL
The agent for San Diego Padres pitcher Jake Peavy expressed doubt Thursday that his client is ready to sign off on a proposed trade to the Chicago White Sox.

Agent Barry Axelrod told ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick that Peavy has a "strong preference'' to stay in the National League. That preference, along with Peavy's fondness for his new home in Southern California, could be impediments to a proposed deal that would send the pitcher to Chicago.

Padres, White Sox agree to Peavy trade

The White Sox have agreed to a deal to acquire Jake Peavy from the Padres, subject to the pitcher's approval of the trade. Left-handed pitchers Aaron Poreda and Clayton Richard would go to the Padres, along with one or two other pitchers, according to major-league sources.

The San Diego Union-Tribune first reported the possible deal in its Thursday editions, saying that Peavy met with Padres manager Bud Black to discuss it after the Padres' 2-1 win over the Giants Wednesday night.

Peavy has spoken with White Sox reliever Scott Linebrink, his former teammate with the Padres, and sources said that Linebrink told him he likes playing for the White Sox.

Peavy has the right to veto any trade, and in the past he has expressed a strong preference for remaining in the National League. Last winter, the Padres twice came close to trading Peavy, first to the Braves and later to the Cubs, but both deals fell through....

Peavy says no thanks to extra rest

The Padres recently made Jake Peavy an offer that he gladly refused. Rather than make his next start on extra rest, he chose to face the Cubs on Friday on normal rest.

“That's why we get paid; I want to be out there as much as possible,” Peavy said. “I can see maybe later in the year if you're tired, but I feel like I'm in as good of shape as I've ever been.”

Peavy had just run 10 sprints of 100 yards, a prelude to 20 minutes on a cardio machine and a weight-training workout....

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Top New's Areps.at/Jessica Hahn/Limelight Extra Of FSU

2009-05-21T10:05:00.000-07:00

Areps.at: This Week’s Facebook Phishing Scam
Looks like Facebook has another phishing scam to deal with. Today’s is a message that appears to be appearing in users’ inboxes with the prompt to “Check areps.at.” Similar to last week’s 151.im phishing scheme the domain is not automatically hyperlinked in Facebook, but email clients, like Gmail or Yahoo, will auto-link it. Don’t click on that link and don’t copy and paste it into your browser.

Apparently the link will lead you to a Facebook log-in page. If you login to the site, the site will steal your email and password and will send all of your friends the same message. Twitter reveals that the same has been taking place all morning but I just received a Facebook message from a friend who was sucked into the scam a half hour ago...

Jessica Hahn came on to Larry King?
Larry King is all out to promote his new book “My Remarkable Journey” and going by the internet statistics, he has managed to get lot of people interested in it.
In an interview with Anderson Cooper, Larry King talks about Women in his life and mentions how Jessica Hahn came on to him. You can watch the video here.

Jessica Hahn is a model, actress, and former church secretary best known for her sex scandal with televangelist Jim Bakker. As per Wiki, the story of Jessica goes thus :
According to Hahn, on the afternoon of December 6, 1980, when she was a 21-year-old church secretary, she was drugged and raped by Bakker and another preacher, John Wesley Fletcher, for “about 15 minutes.” Later, she overheard Bakker comment to another PTL staffer, “Did you get her too?” In a 1997 book, “I Was Wrong,” Bakker disputes this account, claiming that he was “set up” and that the sex was consensual....

Limelight Extra
SPOOFING HOOFING: All the cliches and conventions of teen dance movies ("High School Musical," "Save the Last Dance," "Step Up," "Honey," etc.) are skewered by the Wayans brothers in the satirical "Dance Flick." It's rated PG-13 and opens Friday at Governor's Square and The Tallahassee Mall.

LIVING HISTORY: Night watchman Larry Daly (Ben Stiller) is transferred from New York to Washington's Smithsonian Institution just in time to see all the displays come alive in the comedic sequel "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian." It's rated PG and opens Friday at Governor's Square and the Tallahassee Mall.

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINES: After the computerized Skynet defense system declares war on humans, the resistance fighter John Connor (Christian Bale) leads the fight against the powerful Terminator robots — who are trying to disguise themselves as humans —- in the action prequel "Terminator Salvation." It's rated PG-13 and opens Thursday at Governor's Square and The Tallahassee Mall....

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Navy Advancement Center

2009-05-21T09:43:00.000-07:00

The Lookout: Season heats up with Spring Fest in downtown Newburyport
Music, art, fine crafts and food mix together this weekend for downtown Newburyport's first festival of the season. Spring Fest takes place Sunday and Monday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in and around the Market Square area and on the waterfront.

Downtown will be filled with handmade crafts and food both days. Don't Call Me Shirley, which plays contemporary, classic and popular hits from the 1960s to today, will take over the Market Square stage on Sunday, with Cloverfield on tap for Monday. The live music goes from 1 to 4 p.m. both days.

On Sunday, a Kids Korner at Market landing Park on the waterfront will keep the children busy with face painting and balloons from noon to 3 p.m. There will be a teddy bear parade with lineup starting at 11:45 a.m. Brian Doser performs at noon and again at 2 p.m., and local puppeteer and storyteller Martha Dana is on tap for 1 p.m.

The event is presented by the Greater Newburyport Chamber of Commerce & Industry. Call 978-462-6680 or visit www.newburyportchamber.org.

Navy Advancement | NKO | Navy Advancement Center | Bupers Online | Navy Advancement Results | Bupers
Navy Advancement Study Guide & Bupers News main goal is to assist you in preparing for the Navy-wide advancement exam. The other goals are to provide you tips, links to advancement material and Npc / Bupers news related to enlisted sailors. Other areas of this study guide include development, education and warfare material.

House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel Hearing
May 18, 2009 (Congressional Documents and Publications/ContentWorks via COMTEX) -- Madame Chairwoman, Representative Wilson and esteemed members of the Committee, it is my honor and privilege to be here today to talk with you about the Air Force Medical Service. Our Air Force medics work directly for the Line. To that end, we too are focused on reinvigorating the Air Force nuclear enterprise; partnering with the joint and coalition team to win today's fight; developing and caring for Airmen and their families; modernizing our Air and Space inventories, organizations, and training, and, recapturing acquisition excellence.

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Fleet Week 2009

2009-05-20T10:09:00.000-07:00

Fleet Week's sails trimmed by economy, U.S. Navy says
This year's Fleet Week will have the smallest contingent of major American combat ships since the annual event's debut 22 years ago.

The Navy blames the slimmer show on the need to save money.

Fleet Week 2009, which brings an array of warships to New York City's harbors, will mark the return of the museum ship Intrepid, which will host the six-day event after being absent from the celebration for two years for renovations.

Included in this year's lineup of 13 vessels that are to grace the Hudson River today are the 40,500-ton assault helicopter carrier USS Iwo Jima, as well as missile cruiser USS Vella Gulf and missile destroyer USS Roosevelt, organizers say....

New York Red Bulls Weekly Update
BULLS FACE UNITED IN OPEN CUP ACTION: The New York Red Bulls look to advance to the Round of 16 in the 2009 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup when they take on D.C. United at RFK Stadium Wednesday at 7:00 PM ET. The winner of the game will play a to-be-determined opponent in late June.
New York advanced to the final stage of MLS qualifying after defeating the San Jose Earthquakes, 2-1, at Buck Shaw Stadium on April 29. The Red Bulls received goals from Mike Petke and John Wolyniec, who found the back of the net in the second half after Pablo Campos tied the game for the Earthquakes. They will be facing a D.C. United side that gone unbeaten in its last seven games in all competitions (3-0-4), including a 2-0 April 22 home win over FC Dallas in its first U.S. Open Cup qualifying match. On that night, United received goals from Fred and Brandon Barklage on either side of halftime.

In regular season play, United has enjoyed a strong start to its campaign, as it is currently tied in first place in the Eastern Conference with a 3-1-6 (15 pts.) record and is coming off a come-from-behind 2-2 tie against Chivas USA at The Home Depot Center. Maykel Galindo and Eduardo Lillingston gave Chivas the lead going into halftime, but goals by Luciano Emilio and Santino Quaranta in the 77th and 85th minutes, respectively, helped United earn a point...

Strip club set to serve 'Drunken Captains' for Fleet Week '09, with proceeds going to the troops
Welcome to New York, sailors!
As Fleet Week rolls into town Tuesday, one Manhattan strip club will be waiting with a special drink called the Drunken Captain and, the owners say, all proceeds will go back to the troops.
HeadQuarters, located just blocks from the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum on the West Side, is selling the cocktail for $16 during Fleet Week. Military personnel can buy it for $10.
"All of us here at HeadQuarters appreciate all the men and women who put themselves at risk every day to allow us to have the freedom to express ourselves," general manager Serafina Fiori said.
"We welcome them always so they can see firsthand what they're fighting for!"
The Drunken Captain is a mixture of coconut, mango and pineapple rums with a little pineapple juice and a splash of cranberry....

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Oscar Meyer

2009-05-20T09:35:00.000-07:00

Oscar Mayer offers deal to help during down economy

QUAD CITIES, Iowa/Ill. - Oscar Mayer is joining the ranks of offering freebies during these economic times.

Until 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday May 20, you can go to oscarmayer.com to enter for a free coupon. The Kraft Company, which owns Oscar Mayer, is doing the campaign to celebrate a recent nationwide taste test that put Oscar Mayer wieners above those made by Ball Park and Hebrew National. The company says it will give away up to $1 million worth of hot dogs.

Unlike the KFC coupon campaign that Oprah Winfrey launched a few weeks ago. That campaign overtook the company with requests at restaurants for free meals. The Oscar Mayer campaign will ask for your address and says it will send you a coupon in the mail 4-6 weeks after you submit your information.

A disclaimer on Oscar Mayer's website says it will not accept P.O. Box addresses. The campaign limits coupons to one per household...

Kids go to bat for ailing brother of classmate
With glitter sticking to her tiny fingers and dress, 5-year-old Tova Kaplan took a break from her work at Oscar Mayer Magnet School on Friday to urge people to help the brother of one of her classmates.

"Could you really help this boy Jasper because he's very sick?" the 3-foot-tall preschooler said. "You can give me a little money or a lot of money. It's up to you."

In the coming days, Chicagoans will see the fruit of Tova's work -- and that of hundreds of other students at schools throughout the city -- in the shape of brightly decorated fund-raising cans displayed in businesses across Chicago.

It's all to help raise $2.5 million for 4-year-old Jasper Duinstra, of Chicago, and up to four more children suffering from a rare neurological illness that usually is fatal by age 12.

Jasper's family and friends are pinning their hopes on the promising results of some recent gene therapy clinical trials in New York that appeared to slow the progression of Jasper's sickness, Batten disease. The Duinstras -- who moved here from the Netherlands in 2007 -- say government funding won't become available soon enough to fund Jasper's participation in the trials. So they have to rely on private donations....

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie reunite for dinner in Cannes... after flying in separately
They haven't been photographed together in three months and were rumoured to be on the rocks.

But last night Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie showed the world they were still in love as they dined out in Cannes last night.

Angelina arrived on the French Riviera on Tuesday evening after spending the day attending a trial at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
The Oscar winner, 33, joined Brad, 45, and director Quentin Tarantino at a dinner for the cast and crew of Inglourious Basterds at the Michelangelo restaurant in Antibes, seven miles down the coast from Cannes.

Angelina was wearing her a dark Salvatore Ferragamo animal-print gown with her glossy brown hair loose, while Brad went for the smart/casual look in a grey shirt.

Their meal came ahead of a screening of the Inglourious Basterds at the Cannes Film Festival tonight, where Brad and Angelina are set to make their first public appearance together since the Oscars on February 22.

Brad arrived on the French Riviera earlier this week and checked into a private villa at the exclusive Hotel Du Cap....

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Missing Link Found

2009-05-20T09:07:00.000-07:00

"MISSING LINK" FOUND: New Fossil Links Humans, Lemurs?
May 19, 2009—Meet "Ida," the small "missing link" found in Germany that's created a big media splash and will likely continue to make waves among those who study human origins.

In a new book, documentary, and promotional Web site, paleontologist Jorn Hurum, who led the team that analyzed the 47-million-year-old fossil seen above, suggests Ida is a critical missing-link species in primate evolution (interactive guide to human evolution from National Geographic magazine).

(Among the team members was University of Michigan paleontologist Philip Gingerich, a member of the Committee for Research and Exploration of the National Geographic Society, which owns National Geographic News.)

The fossil, he says, bridges the evolutionary split between higher primates such as monkeys, apes, and humans and their more distant relatives such as lemurs.

"This is the first link to all humans," Hurum, of the Natural History Museum in Oslo, Norway, said in a statement. Ida represents "the closest thing we can get to a direct ancestor."...

Purported “Missing Link” Found
I guess someone had to post the obligatory missing link story. So, in case you did not hear, scientists have unveiled what they claim to be the fossil remains of a 47 million old skeleton that may explain the key link between early formed primates and modern Homo Sapiens. You can read more about the story here. The remains has both non-human and human-like features which may provide key evidence that human beings evolved from earlier form of primate like being. From the article:
It has, among other things, opposable thumbs, similar to humans’ and unlike those found on other modern mammals. It has fingernails instead of claws. And by examining the structure of its hind legs (one of which is partly missing), scientists say they can see evidence of evolutionary changes that would eventually lead to primates standing upright.
Okay, sounds convincing, but it sounds like there is some clear publicity going on as well. One of the scientists states: “‘Ida’s a direct human ancestor. But he said he was comfortable with the publicity surrounding it.”That’s part of getting science out to the public, to get attention,” he said. “I don’t think that’s so wrong.” The only question I have is, if this find is so amazing, why did it take them 20 years to bring it to the public’s attention. The fossil was found in 1983. It sounds more to me like scientists looking for more grant money and publicity, but I could be wrong...

Hotter Than Shawn Johnson Bikini Pics, Missing Link Found For NBA Winning Picks
The missing link was found for winning in the NBA playoffs a long time ago, though some bettors are still finding out about Stevie Vincent’s domination of the live odds for the NBA. Vincent is hotter than Shawn Johnson bikini photos and has more winner than Oscar Myer has weiners.

Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: LeBron James and the Cavaliers try to continue their march through the postseason, and the Rays take on the Athletics.

Tipping off on the hardwood . . .

The Cavaliers will be looking to keep their playoff winning streak intact on Wednesday night when they host the Magic in the opening game of the Eastern Conference Finals. The Cavs are coming off back-to-back sweeps of the Pistons and Hawks in the first two rounds of the postseason, closing out Atlanta with an 84-74 win on May 11. The Magic bounced the defending-champion Celtics in the second round, cruising to a 101-82 win in that series’ deciding contest on Sunday...

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Sprint's New Palm Pre Smartphone

2009-05-19T10:51:00.000-07:00

Sprint Announces Palm Pre Pricing, Availability
The phonepocalypse is almost upon us. On Tuesday, Sprint announced the long-awaited release date and pricing information for the forthcoming Palm Pre smartphone.

The Pre has been positioned as a prominent challenger to the iPhone, and that's reflected in its launch date of June 6, just two days before the beginning of Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference, which is expected to feature more in-depth information on the new iPhone OS 3.0 software.

The other big question circling the Pre has been pricing: would it be competitive with the iPhone? Sprint now says the Pre will sell for US$200, though, as with the iPhone, you're required to sign up for a new two-year service plan at the time of purchase. There's another catch as well: that price is after a $100 mail-in rebate, bringing the total at time of purchase to $300...

Around the Web 5.19.09: Daimler invests in Tesla, Palm Pre due June 6, exercise games overwhelm
- The Palm Pre gets a launch date: June 6. The company's best hope for competing in the smartphone market will cost $199.99 after rebates with a two-year contract. CNet

-- Er, yeah, June 6 is two days before the Steve Jobs-less Apple developers conference. Is Palm trying to own the news cycle? CrunchGear

-- The movie industry is booming. Video games based on movies? Not so much. Company Town

-- Boston loses more relevance in the high-tech ecosystem as Greylock Partners moves to Silicon Valley. Bits

-- Old meets new: Automaker Daimler took a nearly 10% stake in Tesla Motors, the Silicon Valley electric car company. Wired

-- Can an algorithm help stem an employee brain drain? Google is trying to find out. Silicon Alley Insider

-- Wolfram Alpha, a new kind of search engine supported by 10 terabytes of data from thousands of sources, finally launched. LAT....

Wal-Mart To Carry Palm Pre
Wal-Mart is making a strong push to revamp its electronics departments in order to lure customers from rivals such as Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) and Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN).com, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.
The retailer also hopes to capture consumers from the recently closed Circuit City, which shuttered more than 700 stores in March. Deutsche Bank estimated Circuit City's closing left more than $11 billion in annual revenue that Wal-Mart is trying to capitalize on.
Part of Wal-Mart's strategy is to offer high-end smartphones, and executives said the company will offer the highly awaited Palm Pre. The handset, which was introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, has a capacitive touch screen, slide-out keyboard, Wi-Fi, 3G, GPS, and Bluetooth. The release date and price are still unknown, but Palm said it would be launched in the first half of 2009....

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John Wall

2009-05-19T09:30:00.000-07:00

Sources: Wall picks Kentucky
Top point guard recruit John Wall has told Kentucky coach John Calipari that he will sign with the Wildcats, according to multiple sources, ending a highly publicized courtship with the game-changing player.

Wall, ranked the No. 1 point guard, No. 5 overall, on the ESPNU 100, informed Miami coach Frank Haith Tuesday morning that he had committed to Kentucky. The reasoning, according to a source, was because he just wanted to play for Calipari.

If Calipari had stayed as coach at Memphis, there would have been no drama in Wall's commitment. Privately, Calipari was convinced Wall would have chosen the Tigers, but the coach's departure to Kentucky created a soap opera in the renewed recruiting chase...

The Future of High School: John Wall
John Wall is the most electrifying basketball player in the country. The Word of God (Raleigh, N.C.) senior has Derrick Rose-type skills and looks to be a sure-fire NBA star. He's rated No. 5 in the ESPNU 100.
ESPN RISE: What would be the dream scenario for your future?

Wall: Hopefully go to college as long as I have to, then hopefully the NBA. I think about it a lot. Not too many make it to the NBA. I know how hard you have to work. I love the sport so much. I'm motivated by my dad, who passed away. He'd love for me to make it. I want to do it for mom, who works three or four jobs to take care of me and my sisters.

ESPN RISE: Realistically, where do you see yourself in five to 10 years?

Wall: I do expect to be in the NBA and hopefully be a successful point guard in the NBA. Ever since I was little that was my dream. It's gonna take hard work and dedication and time in college to make me a smarter and better player. It's up to me. Others can help, but I've gotta be the one to do it....

Shanoff's W.U.C.: Wall, Lottery, NBA Picks
Today's Calls: John Wall vs. Kentucky, Blake Griffin vs. Ricky Rubio, Kobe Bryant vs. Chauncey Billups, Nuggets vs. WWE, LeBron vs. Dwight Howard, Jon Gruden vs. Tony Kornheiser, Penguins vs. Hurricanes, John Lackey vs. Mark Teixeira, James Harrison vs. Barack Obama and More.
The Opening Pitch: Mark it down -- Kentucky is going to win the 2010 college hoops national title.

They had already gone from dud to contender by importing John Calipari, who signed a top-flight recruiting class, to go with returning big man Patrick Patterson, the best post player in the country. (They may even get sharp-shooting guard Jodie Meeks back, too.)

Now Coach Cal and the Cats reportedly have John Wall, the top recruiting prize in the country.

Wall will not only step onto UK's campus as the best college player in the country -- he could have been the prize of tonight's NBA Draft Lottery. (Yes: He could have been the No. 1 overall pick in 2009; instead, he will wait a year, but still be the No. 1 pick in the 2010 draft.)...

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Klippel Trenaunay Syndrome

2009-05-19T08:27:00.000-07:00

Klippel Trenaunay Syndrome (KTS)
Carla Sosenko, a well known copy editor and freelance writer has publicly announced that she is suffering from a rare disease called Klippel-Trenaunay Syndrome (KTS). Carla says she was born with the disease, which is a congenital circulatory disorder characterized by hemangiomas, arteriovenous abscesses, and varicose veins, mainly on the limbs.
The disease is painful and life-threatening but there are several treatments that work with varying success.
Surgical: Debulking is the most widely used treatment for the syndrome, but it is very invasive and is generally only used as a last resort...
Non-Surgical: Sclerotherapy is a treatment for individual veins in the affected area. Sclerotherapy involved injecting checmicles into the veins that will open them up to allow normal blood flow to resume....

What Is Klippel Trenaunay Syndrome?
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Carla Sosenko suffers from Klippel-Trenaunay Syndrome
Carla Sosenko, a well known writer and Associate Copy Chief at Bauer Publishing, has revealed that she is suffering from Klippel-Trenaunay Syndrome.

Carla has written abour her condition in an essay in Marie Claire and also on her blog. She says “my right leg is larger than my left and trails slightly when I walk; my back is an uneven, fatty slab with a dense lump above the waist; and a gigantic port-wine stain reaches around my broad torso and down toward my right thigh.”...

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Jenna Morasca

2009-05-18T10:30:00.000-07:00

Survivor Winner Ethan Zohn Ready to Outlast Cancer
He survived Africa, but now he'll face an even more frightening foe: cancer.
Ethan Zohn, the winner of Survivor: Africa, the series' third cycle, has begun a fierce battle with the disease, the 35-year-old tells People.
"This is the ultimate game of Survivor and there's really only one outcome, and that's to win," he says. "There's no other option."
Night sweats and strange itching led the reality-TV star to think he had some sort of skin condition until, on April 30, he was diagnosed with stage two Hodgkin's disease. Shortly after a swollen lymph node and a mass on the left side of his chest were found, doctors declared Zohn had a rare form of the disease called CD20-positive Hodgkin's lymphoma.
He began chemotherapy treatments last Friday...

Lashley on Why He Left WWE, Knockout Profiled, Hebner
Today is TNA referee Earl Hebner's birthday, who turns 60 years old.

- TNA Knockout Jenna Morasca was recently profiled on the TV Guide Channel's InFANity, a program catching up with past Survivor winners. Her segment mostly focused on joining TNA, and as she was talking, you could see the Six Sides of Steel being constructed. She also discussed joining college for Psychology and trying to do something positive with the money and fame coming out of Survivor. The episode re-airs tonight at 7:00 p.m...

Producer For "End Game" Talks About Working Kurt Angle, Jenna Morasca, Pushing The PG-13 Rating With Erotic Dancing From Morasca, Angle's Acting Ability and More

I recently had the opportunity to speak with Bryan Koehler, who is the Executive Producer for the movie "End Game" which stars former WWE and TNA champion Kurt Angle, as well as Survivor: Amazon champion Jenna Morasca.
Morasca, herself, is also dipping her toes in the professional wrestling game, as she has been making appearances on TNA as the love interest of Main Event Mafia member Kevin Nash. She is also currently training with Daizee Haze and TNA's Raisha Saeed in SHIMMER...

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Tony Kornheiser

2009-05-18T09:43:00.000-07:00

Tony Kornheiser leaves ESPN's 'Monday Night Football' booth, will be replaced by Jon Gruden
After three seasons in ESPN's "Monday Night Football" booth, Tony Kornheiser is out.
He will be replaced by Jon Gruden.
In a statement, ESPN said Kornheiser had "decided to step down." Still, during last season there were rumblings throughout the television industry that ESPN brass was looking to replace Kornheiser, who teamed with Mike Tirico and Ron Jaworski.
"Jon is one of the best football minds in the game," said Norby Williamson, an ESPN executive VP. "(We) will create a must-watch Monday Night Football booth."
Gruden spent 11 seasone as an NFL coach with Tampa and Oakland.

He's always an easy target, but it's time to lay off SVG
Look, I love ripping on SVG as much as the next guy. But as the Magic screwed up some games they should have won against Boston, it seemed like the whole world had a field day at SVG’s expense. Shaq started it, and the mainstream sports press was only too happy to pile on.

Tony Kornheiser, a great writer who can’t be bothered to actually watch a regular-season Magic game, said the Magic players hate Van Gundy.

Jim Rome uses any Magic mess-up as corroborating evidence that what Shaq says is true, Van Gundy is the master of panic.

Here’s my beef with these industry giants, who BTW, I am huge fans of: They feast on the superficial while ignoring the substance of what is good and bad about this team.

My best guess as to why they so eagerly dismiss SVG as a coach is simple: He’s (by NBA standards) a slob.

KORNHEISER OUT, GRUDEN IN AT "MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL"
ESPN announced Monday morning that Tony Kornheiser will be stepping down after three years in the “Monday Night Football” booth, and will be replaced by former Tampa Bay and Oakland coach Jon Gruden. “I would like to thank Tony Kornheiser for his many contributions to Monday Night Football the past three years,” said John Skipper, ESPN executive vice president, content. “He has been a big reason for the show’s success on ESPN. Pardon the Interruption is one of ESPN’s most important franchises and fans will continue to see Tony on the show and involved in other future ESPN projects for many years to come.”...

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Grant Hill

2009-05-18T08:47:00.000-07:00

James Harrison plays for Pittsburgh but won't be going to Pennsylvania Avenue
Maybe there is something he doesn't want the FBI to find in a background check.

Or perhaps he's allergic to roses.

For the second time, Steelers' star James Harrison won't be going to the White House with his Super Bowl winning teammates.

He also did not go when the team visited President Bush in 2006.

Grant Hill, co-hosting on Mike & Mike this morning, on Harrison's snub: "I'm ashamed...It's an honor. It's a team event. For him not to want to go, I just don't get it....That's sad."...

Teen stabbed in apparent gang fight
SAN DIEGO — A teenager was stabbed in the back and hospitalized after an apparent gang fight, police reported Sunday.

The 17-year-old was walking in front of a liquor store near the intersection of 28th and K streets in Grant Hill about 9:15 p.m. Saturday when a group of young men confronted him, according to San Diego police.

The group yelled gang slogans and one of them stabbed the 17-year-old with an ice pick in the lower back and another struck him with a piece of metal, police said.

The 17-year-old is expected to survive. Gang detectives are investigating the attack....

Reader suggests way to improve safety on Highway 129
Q: I have driven from the Westside of Santa Cruz to my job as a lawyer in Morgan Hill via Highway 129 round trip for the past 10 years. It is a beautiful but dangerous stretch of highway. I believe that it is much safer now that there is absolutely no passing allowed. However, a head-on collision is the foremost danger on the route. Drunken idiots, reckless speedsters, and inattentive or careless drivers are the primary source of serious crashes. In fact, just this morning some woman in the opposite lane started to stray into oncoming traffic before almost over-correcting into a ditch. Short of spending millions to make a divided highway, I'm not convinced that lowering the speed limit or even increasing police presence will make it any safer.
I think that the most dangerous drivers on the route are those that do not drive it everyday. Regular commuters and residents are acutely aware of how bad the accidents can get out there. We read about the deaths and the injuries with dreadful personal interest. We witness the aftermaths first hand. I think a cost-effective solution is to bring this awareness of the danger to everyone who drives the route -- use signs....

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Notre Dame Commencement

2009-05-17T13:10:00.000-07:00

Obama, and Protests, at Notre Dame
This post will follow the speech and events surrounding President Obama’s commencement address at Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., on Sunday afternoon. Susan Saulny and Dirk Johnson contributed reporting from South Bend, and Liz Robbins from New York.

Father Ted | 4:00 p.m. Near the end of his speech, President Obama spoke about the Civil Rights Commission, whose resolutions were the foundation of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. One of the six members (one black and five whites) was the Rev. Theodore Hesburgh, then president of Notre Dame. Mr. Obama acknowledged how “Father Ted” brought the members of the commission to a retreat in Land O’Lakes, Wis., to break an impasse. Rev. Hesburgh found common ground when the men all spoke about being fishermen and took them on a twilight fishing trip.

“They fished, and they talked, and they changed the course of history,” Mr. Obama said, as CNN showed Rev. Hesburgh, who turns 92 next week, in attendance. “We are all fishermen,” Mr. Obama told his audience to remember.

Agree to Disagree | 3:31 p.m. President Obama said he was not suggesting that the debate surrounding abortion go away: “No matter how much we may want to fudge it – indeed, while we know that the views of most Americans on the subject are complex and even contradictory – the fact is that at some level, the views of the two camps are irreconcilable. Each side will continue to make its case to the public with passion and conviction. But surely we can do so without reducing those with differing views to caricature.”...

Notre Dame Students Struggle to Balance Outrage, Respect at Obama Speech
As some Notre Dame students prepare to protest the university's recognition of President Obama with an honorary law degree on Sunday, the on-campus message is clear: Keep it respectful.

"We're committed to a prayerful, peaceful protest," senior Emily Toates told FOXNews.com. "We will not be showing any graphic images. There is a place for them, but it can dilute your message, and we want to make sure our message is heard."

Toates, 21, is one of up to 40 graduating seniors expected to skip Notre Dame's commencement on Sunday in opposition of Obama's commencement speech, due to his pro-choice abortion stance and his support of embryonic stem-cell research. Notre Dame will confer degrees on roughly 2,000 undergrads, 420 MBA students and 200 law school students.

Instead of tossing her mortarboard with fellow classmates, Toates will take part in a meditation to be held at the university's grotto -- an event organized by ND Response, a coalition of student groups that is holding a series of events throughout the weekend, including an all-night prayer vigil to begin at 9:30 p.m. Saturday and a rally on Sunday.

"I'm really excited about it because the grotto is a special place for me and a lot of students," she said. "It'll prayerfully unite those of us who aren't attending commencement."

But not all pro-life students plan to forgo their biggest day as undergraduates.

"For me, being part of ND Response is really about love of my university," said senior Greer Hannan. "I'm really grateful for the education I've received, and as a Catholic the identity of Notre Dame is really important to me."...

Michelle Obama Gives First Commencement Address
U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama has given her first commencement address, to graduates of a university that did not exist four years ago. President Barack Obama's wife responded to a blizzard of requests from some very persistent students.

It started with a very unusual campaign. Through an internet video, students at the University of California at Merced appealed to Mrs. Obama to speak to their school's first graduating class. They also sent huge numbers of letters and Valentine's Day cards to the first lady's office.

It worked. Mrs. Obama made her debut as a commencement speaker Saturday. In an address to the university's first full graduating class, she paid tribute to their effort. "You inspired me. You touched me. There are few things that are more rewarding than to watch young people recognize that they have the power to make their dreams come true, and you did just that," she said....

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Bay To Breakers 2009

2009-05-17T12:04:00.000-07:00

2009 Bay to Breakers winner crushes course record: Deena Kastor comes in 3rd
22-year-old Sammy Kitwara of Kenya was the first professional runner to cross the ING 2009 Bay to Breakers finish line winning the race in a course record time of 33 minutes, 31 seconds.
The previous record of 33 minutes, 42 seconds by fellow Kenyan Ismael Kirui was set back in 1993 at the infamous San Francisco 12K.
“I feel very well but very hot,” Kitwara said, all smiles. He said he knew he was going to win because of how he did during training in Kenya. This visit is his first in the Bay Area and he’s thrilled to be here.
“I love this place. It’s the best place,” he said. “The beaches, the chance to relax with no one bothering you, it’s like Kenya.”
According to the San Francisco Examiner:
"The first woman to cross the finish line was 26-year-old Ethiopian Teyba Erkesso.
“I’m happy,” she said, after setting a personal best time of 38 minutes, 29 seconds.
Lineth Chepkurui, 21, of Kenya, came in second among the women, with a time of 38 minutes, 35 seconds. In third place was Olympian Deena Kastor, 36, of Mammoth, with a time of 39 minutes, 5 seconds."
Deena Kastor was the firts America women to finish the race and the first America man to cross the finish line was 29-year-old Justin Young of Boulder, Colo.
The first place winners each take home $25,000...

BAY TO BREAKERS 2009 OFF TO WARM START

The San Francisco tradition of athletics, revelry and well, debauchery too, took off as scheduled from the Embarcadero this morning in typical fashion.

While some of the early news reports were saying the race had less nakedness and public drunkenness, the party on Howard Street certainly had plenty of the above with people determined to carry on the unique traditions despite fear of a crackdown...

2009 Bay to Breakers 'pivotal' in San Fran

SAN FRANCISCO, May 15 (UPI) -- Organizers of the annual Bay to Breakers footrace and street party in San Francisco said they are working to keep the event fun despite strict new rules.
Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, whose district contains a large portion of the race route, said Sunday's event, the 98th Bay to Breakers, will be important to the future of the race, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Friday.

"This is a pivotal year," Mirkarimi said. "We're trying to perform the fine pirouette of addressing any negative consequences from previous years while making sure we don't thwart the fun and spirit of the Bay to Breakers."

The new rules, adopted by city leaders in February, include a ban on kegs and glass bottles and a regulation requiring floats to enter the course only via the starting line behind the runners. The rules came after last year's race yielded numerous complaints about trash, public urination and floats hindering the runners...

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Alltel

2009-05-17T11:25:00.000-07:00

Who Will Buy Verizon's Alltel Leftovers?
Verizon Wireless is still required to sell off 26 markets as part of its Alltel acquisition agreement with the government, even after AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) unveiled a $2.35 billion deal to buy most of those assets on Monday. (See AT&T Buys Some Verizon-Alltel Assets.)

"Only 79 of the 105 markets Verizon Wireless is required to divest are included in the agreement with AT&T," a Verizon spokesperson told Unstrung Tuesday. "We are actively working to sell the remaining 26 markets."...

Verizon profit tops estimates on Web-phone plan usage
Verizon Communications Inc., the second-largest U.S. phone company, posted profit that topped analysts' estimates as customers spent more on services such as text messaging.
First-quarter earnings amounted to 63 cents a share, excluding costs such as acquisition expenses. That beat the 59-cent average of estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Revenue from services such as Web surfing advanced 56 percent.

Sales rose 12 percent to $26.6 billion, bolstered by the purchase of Alltel Corp. Nevertheless, the average monthly bill declined from a year ago once Alltel's results were included. Verizon also said business customers spent less after firing workers and delaying decisions on new purchases, bringing global enterprise revenue down 3.4 percent.

"Things in the wireline business continue to go from bad to worse," Craig Moffett said in a note to investors Monday. "Enterprise continues to tick downward."...

Frontier to have regional office in Charleston
Frontier Communications Co. plans to make Verizon's office tower on MacCorkle Avenue a regional office, a Frontier executive said.

Mike Swatts, Frontier's West Virginia general manager, said, "We have a 250,000-square-foot facility in Charleston. That's a great building and we certainly want to utilize it to the fullest extent. That building will be fully utilized."

Verizon announced Wednesday that it will sell its wireline business in West Virginia and 13 other states to Frontier for about $8.6 billion.

Swatts said Frontier is not new to mergers and acquisitions. The company entered West Virginia by acquiring properties formerly owned by GTE, Contel and Alltel. In addition, the company -- formerly named Citizens Communications Co.-- went through a merger with Frontier.

"So we've been through a number of mergers and acquisitions over the past 15 years," Swatts said. "I think we've followed through with everything we indicated. We made the systems work, upgraded our services, and brought on new services. I think we have an excellent track record. We've been tried and tested."

The deal with Verizon is the first time Frontier will be tripling in size. However, "we've taken on some big acquisitions like one in Pennsylvania that was several hundred thousand access lines," Swatts said. "The process is the same to get systems converted. It's a pretty standard function."

Frontier spokesman Steve Crosby said the plan is for the Verizon properties to be spun off as a stand-alone entity. Unlike other mergers and acquisitions, "there's not a gun to our head to have everything integrated by a certain date," he said. "We have the flexibility to be very deliberative, to do this in a way that is a very positive experience for customers."

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Duck Duck Go

2009-05-16T09:55:00.000-07:00

Duck Duck Go: Silly Name, Interesting Search Engine
The search engine market is obviously dominated by a small number of big players, but that doesn't mean that small companies with interesting ideas can't still get at least a small slice of this market. One of these services is Duck Duck Go, which has a rather silly name, but turns out to be a pretty interesting search engine. Duck Duck Go aims to get its users to their desired destinations in as few clicks as possible. Instead of long lists of results, Duck Duck Go simply tries to return the most relevant links about a given topic.

Features
Whenever you do a search on Duck Duck Go, the service will try to bring up the most 'official' page first, and if the search terms has a Wikipedia page, it will also include a short blurb from Wikipedia, as well as related search terms in a box at the top of the page...

Black Duck Reckons Open Source Popularity Helped Its Q1 Growth
Black Duck Software has announced that it has registered 42 percent growth in bookings performance and 27 percent growth in services for the first quarter of 2009, and owes its success to the growing trends of Open Source Software (OSS) acceptance and usage.
The down economy is forcing companies to look at new ways to cut costs so that profit margins are sustained or, at the bare minimum, exist. One globally accepted cost cutting method is the adoption of OSS and this has led to Black Duck procuring significant business with three global enterprises and signing deals with existing and 18 new clients to take its customer base to 640....

How to block 44 million spam domains
A Firefox from the new search engine Duck Duck Go is now out of beta. It blocks 44 million spam domains, 28% of which are found in Google.

In my interview with Gabriel Weinberg, Duck Duck Go’s Founder and CEO, a couple of weeks ago, he explained how his brand new search engine has partnered with The Parked Domains Project. That project regularly crawls the Web and marks spam and parked domains. It is now marking 44 million pages, which depending on how you count, is approximately between 30-40% of the whole Internet.

How it works

The Duck Duck Go Toolbar uses the same data to prevent users from going to 44 million spam or parked domains. In other search engines, these domains often come up in search results and by slightly mistyping Web addresses.

Here is an example: If you have the toolbar installed and by mistake you type in yotube.com in stead of youtube.com, it will alert you of the mistake and ask “Did you mean youtube.com?” After a few seconds, it will then automatically redirect you to the suggested site....

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Armed Forces Day

2009-05-16T09:09:00.000-07:00

Alabama Celebrates National Armed Forces Day
The event will be held at the Airport beginning at 10 a.m. and ending at 2 p.m.

They are asking that members of the Armed Forces, Veteran’s and their families come out and enjoy this free celebration.

Food vendors will be there but military members and their families (who show ID) will be treated to a free lunch grilled out by Wal-mart team members.

You can also take part in a free helicopter ride given by the Army heritage Foundation.

All guests are asked to enter through the south gate (closest to Glenn Ave/ Airport Motors).

They ask that you don’t bring any pets to this event because the runways will be active...

Lee County Red Cross to celebrate Armed Forces Day Saturday
The Lee County Red Cross is sponsoring a community celebration from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today at the Auburn-Opelika Robert G. Pitts Airport to mark Armed Forces Day.

Admission is free and there will be food vendors, inflatables, helicopter rides (provided for a fee) and some local planes and military vehicles on display.

Military members and retirees who show identification will be treated to a free lunch provided by Wal-Mart Distribution Center in Opelika...

Air Show Schedule
The public is invited to attend the annual Joint Service Open House Air Show this weekend at Andrews Air Force Base. Admission is free.

Because of security concerns and limited parking, guests cannot park at Andrews. Shuttle buses will run from FedEx Field parking lots and the Branch Avenue Metro station. Check 301-981-4600 for delays or cancellations caused by weather or other circumstances...

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GM Dealer Closing List

2009-05-15T08:08:00.000-07:00

GM to notify 1,100 dealers of closings
DETROIT, MI -- Today is the day when 1,100 General Motors dealerships find out whether GM will renew their franchise agreements when they expire at the end of September 2010.
The news comes a day after Chrysler announced that it would sever relationships with 789 dealers, in an effort to cut costs and keep existing dealers from competing with one another.
At Chicago's oldest dealership -- selling cars since before Chrysler existed -- owner Stanley Balzekas summoned his employees Thursday...

Chrysler delivers bad news
Jeryl Luegers learned through a letter Thursday that Chrysler LLC wants to revoke his franchise to sell Jeeps, which he has been doing since 1973.

Luegers, one of five brothers who own Bob Luegers Motors in Jasper, Ind., said the news that his business was on the list was startling. He said he didn't welcome it.

On The Outs With Chrysler
These are the local dealers whose franchise agreements Chrysler LLC wants to revoke:

Bob Luegers Motors in Jasper, Ind.; Byrne Motors in Princeton, Ind.; D-Patrick in Evansville; Evansville Chrysler, Mazda, Volvo, Kia in Evansville; Hendrickson Enterprise in Boonville, Ind.; and Memering Motorplex in Vincennes, Ind.

"It's been a great brand for us," he said. "Certainly, we hate to lose it — the sales of parts and services, along with vehicles."...

List of Alabama dealers Chrysler wants to close
(AP) — The list of Alabama car dealers on Chrylser's list of those it wants to close, with note on what the dealer plans to do:

ANDERSON MOTOR COMPANY INC, LANETT. Losing Jeep franchise, but hopes to stay open with used cars and service.

BONDY'S FORD INC, DOTHAN. Losing Jeep franchise but remaining open as a Ford dealer...

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Good Morning America Jon And Kate

2009-05-15T07:41:00.000-07:00

Good morning america jon and kate
Confession time: I have absolutely no idea who these Jon and Kate people are or what plus eight they have. Is it eight spider monkeys? Eight chimneys? Eight copies of The Secret?
All right, I’m exaggerating — I realize they have eight children. But all of a sudden Jon and Kate are everywhere and I feel like I have missed out on some kind of pop culture phenomenon...

'Jon & Kate Plus 8': I have no idea who these people are!
Confession time: I have absolutely no idea who these Jon and Kate people are or what plus eight they have. Is it eight spider monkeys? Eight chimneys? Eight copies of The Secret? All right, I'm exaggerating -- I realize they have eight children. But all of a sudden Jon and Kate are everywhere and I feel like I have missed out on some kind of pop culture phenomenon...

Exclusive: Jon Gosselin tells EW 'I am not guilty of cheating on my wife'
In an exclusive interview with EW, Jon and Kate Gosselin -- the stars of TLC's top-rated Jon and Kate Plus Eight -- addressed the recent tabloid coverage that alleged the 32-year-old father was unfaithful to his wife. In the early morning hours of April 18, a paparazzo photographed Jon leaving a Pennsylvania bar with a woman who has since identified herself as Deanna Hummel, 23 (Kate was out of town promoting her latest book, Eight Little Faces). Since then, Hummel and friends of Jon have come to his defense, including a bouncer at the bar who said "there was no romantic anything" between Jon and the woman...

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Chrysler Dealerships Closing

2009-05-14T10:46:00.000-07:00

Chrysler Dealerships Closing
The time has come for Chrysler to start closing up shop on there 3,200 dealerships around the nation. By June 9th, Chrysler will have begun eliminating 789 dealerships, a quarter of the total 3,200. Unsuspected dealerships received word yesterday via UPS mail. With the option to appeal, many of these dealerships were quite involved with there small town communities and losing such a big business will definitely affect the city as a whole...

Five Siouxland Chrysler dealerships to close

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KTIV) -Nearly 800 Chrysler dealerships around the country are being told by the car company that they will have to close in order for the member of the big three Auto-Makers to be financially viable.

Five of those businesses are in Siouxland.

In Iowa, those dealerships include Motor Inn of Estherville, Motor Inn of LeMars, McCormick Motors of Ida Grove, Schuelke Auto Company in Storm Lake, Ken Krause Motors in Emmetsburg.

In all, Chrysler told a New York bankruptcy court that they wanted to get rid of about one quarter of its dealers across the country...

Chrysler to cut nearly 800 dealers
Chrysler LLC plans to eliminate 789 dealerships, or about 25 percent of its dealers. None of those closing are in Hawaii.

The carmaker revealed the number in a bankruptcy court filing. Click here to download a PDF of the entire list.

It’s expected that the dealers will have a right to appeal Chrysler’s decision.

Privately-held Chrysler filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April in a deal that includes a partnership with Italy’s Fiat.

The restructuring also calls for closing eight plants...

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Google Down

2009-05-14T10:27:00.000-07:00

Google is down, but is it out? The day the Google Earth Stood Still!
There have been tens of thousands of tweets on Twitter this morning all about Google and Gmail’s outage. The site is moving very sluggish and a simple Google search takes up to two minutes to respond. Users are also reporting that Gmail is completely down on both the web and devices such as the iPhone...

Keep Those Eyes Down: Google Street View to Re-Shoot Japan
Responding to privacy complaints, Google says it will re-shoot all Japanese pictures used in Street View using lower camera angles.
Google's Street View seems like a great idea—give users of its Google maps product a street-level view of a location so they can more easily find their way around. But the service has engendered all manners of privacy complaints, particularly from individuals who claim they can be identified from photos appearing on the service. The latest brouhaha is in Japan, where Google has quietly announced it will reshoot all photographs used in its Street View mapping service using lower camera angles. Google will lower the cameras on its imaging vehicles by 40 cm (about 16 inches) after numerous complaints they were invading citizens' privacy by shooting impacts over the fences of private homes.
So far, Google has shot Street View images in 12 Japanese cities, including Tokyo and Osaka. Following with the company's practices in the U.S. and Europe, Google has been blurring out items like car license plates and faces, but the image changes have not been enough to placate all privacy advocates...

Google Unveils New Search Products
Days before the planned launch of the Wolfram Alpha search engine, Google on Tuesday announced a series of new search products intended to provide more relevant results.

The new offerings include Google Search Options, Google Squared, Rich Snippets, and an astrology-related Android app.

Google Search Options is a "rich set of tools that let you slice and dice your results," Marissa Mayer, vice president of search products and user experience, said during a presentation at Google's Mountain View headquarters.

Specifically, once you conduct a normal Web search, you can drill down with different genres, including elements of time, visualization tools, recently added, blogs, or images, combining a variety of Google search products into one...

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Corie Blount

2009-05-13T10:19:00.000-07:00

Ex-NBA player Blount to be sentenced in drug case
HAMILTON, Ohio (AP) — Former NBA player and University of Cincinnati basketball star Corie Blount will be sentenced on marijuana charges that could put him in prison up to 10 years.
Wednesday's sentencing in Ohio's Butler County comes more than a month after the 40-year-old Blount pleaded guilty to two felony possession counts. As part of a plea bargain, prosecutors dropped two trafficking charges.
Blount was arrested Dec. 4 after sheriff's deputies intercepted 11 pounds of marijuana sent to him at a relative's house. Investigators said they found another 18 pounds in a subsequent search of Blount's home...

AP Top News at 12:53 p.m. EDT
Ex-NBA player Blount sentenced to 1 year in prisonHAMILTON, Ohio (AP) _ Former NBA player and University of Cincinnati star Corie Blount was sentenced to one year in prison on Wednesday in a plea arrangement resulting from drug charges. Blount, 40, had pleaded guilty in Butler County Common Pleas Court last month to two felony counts of marijuana possession after prosecutors dropped two trafficking charges...

Ten teams with something to prove up front
Offensive lines are like electricity: They're largely taken for granted and not fully appreciated until they're not working well.

Running backs and quarterbacks may be described as electrifying, but it's the line that empowers them.

Running backs have fast feet; linemen get fast food. Quarterbacks (Heath Shuler, J.C. Watts, Jack Kemp) run for Congress; linemen run out for pizza....

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Frontier Communications

2009-05-13T09:48:00.000-07:00

Frontier Comm CEO: Proven Track Record Of Integration >FTR
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Frontier Communications Corp. (FTR) has a proven track record of integration, and should be able to quickly absorb Verizon Communications Inc.'s (VZ) rural assets, according to Frontier Chief Executive Maggie Wilderotter.

While the deal is structured as a tax-free spin-off and merger, Frontier will have to raise roughly $3.3 billion in funds through a debt offering, the proceeds of which will be paid to Verizon. Even though Frontier is raising debt, the acquisition of Verizon's assets allows the company to approach investment grade rating, she said during a conference call on Tuesday...

Retail Woes Rattle Investors
April dip shows consumers still aren't shopping; major averages tumble through midday.
A lukewarm reading on retail sales put the kibosh on any advance, as Wall Street stays on hold and investors reflect on two months of gains.

Over recent weeks economic data has signaled the U.S. recession is easing and driven equities higher, but Wednesday morning's news from the Commerce Department sounded a warning to investors. Retail sales were down 0.4% in April, after a 1.3% drop in March, and there is concern that the first quarter's 2.2% rise in consumption may have been a false start instead of a recovery signal...

US HOT STOCKS: GT Solar Intl, BMC Software, Applied Materials
U.S. stocks were down Wednesday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 140 points to 8326, the S&P 500 declined 16 points to 892 and the Nasdaq Composite slid 31 points to 1684. Among the companies whose shares are actively trading in the session are GT Solar International Inc. (SOLR), BMC Software Inc. (BMC) and Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT)...

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Flight 3407-NTSB

2009-05-12T10:33:00.000-07:00

NTSB Scrutinizes Pilot Actions in Q400 Crash Probe
The pilots of the Colgan Air Bombardier Q400 involved in the February 12 crash near Buffalo, N.Y., that killed 50 people did not observe the so-called sterile cockpit rule and the captain appears to have violated Colgan Air’s policy prohibiting the use of the crew room to sleep overnight, according to testimony read this morning during the NTSB’s public hearing on the crash.

NTSB hearing officer Lorenda Ward reported that the crew engaged in non-essential conversation while flying below 10,000 feet in violation of FAA rules, including, for example, a three-minute discussion on the crew’s experience in icing conditions and training. “This conversation occurred just a few minutes before the stick shaker activated and while the crew was executing the approach checklist,” said Ward...

Families to watch NTSB hearings on Buffalo crash
CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y. - Families of passengers killed when Continental Connection Flight 3407 crashed onto a home near Buffalo will be looking for answers as they gather to watch a public hearing on the accident.

The National Transportation Safety Board is holding the three-day hearing in Washington starting Tuesday, but will broadcast it in Buffalo, where the flight was headed, and Newark, N.J., where it originated...

NTSB: Student pilot at fault in RMC plane crash
Federal investigators say the crash of a Rocky Mountain College airplane was partly caused because the student pilot did not follow approved navigational procedures and was not aware of where he was.

Andrew Scheffer, then 18, was flying the Piper Archer aircraft alone on a night cross-country flight to Powell, Wyo., on March 25, 2008. He was trying to fulfill a training requirement for his commercial pilot certificate when the single-engine plane crashed in the Pryor Mountains about 40 miles south of Billings....

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