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Saturday, December 31, 2005
· Airline’s 7-hour delay prompts charges. Six German airline passengers who said they were being held against their will on an aircraft stuck on the runway for hours during a snowstorm have filed "false imprisonment" charges, German police said Saturday. 
· Amtrak passengers stuck on train for 20 hours before moving. Exasperated passengers were stuck on an Amtrak train for close to 20 hours while engineers waited for a derailed freight train to be removed. After running out of food and toilet paper, Amtrak arranged to provide free lunches for its outraged passengers.
· Tom Jones Receives Knighthood From Britain. What's new, Pussycat? It's Sir Tom Jones now. The big-voiced singer from Wales was among the new knights of the realm in the New Year list of honors announced Saturday. Jones, 65, joins a group of previous pop-rock knights including Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Cliff Richard, Sir Mick Jagger and Sir Elton John.
· Police say man hired 12-year-old to torch ex-wife's car. A 12-year-old boy and a 49-year-old man face charges in an alleged arson-for-hire scheme in which the man allegedly paid the boy $125 to torch his ex-wife's car on Christmas Eve.
· Dick Clark set for New Year's homecoming. A year after he was sidelined by a stroke, veteran TV host Dick Clark returns on Saturday night to the annual New Year's eve broadcast he launched in 1972, but it remains unclear whether his Times Square homecoming will end up being a swan song.
· PETA Staffer Legally Changes Name To KentuckyFriedCruelty.com. A 19-year-old PETA staffer has legally changed his name to KentuckyFriedCruelty.com. Chris Garnett, youth outreach coordinator for the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, said he changed his name in support of the group's anti-KFC campaign. "People don't believe me at first when I tell them my name, but it never fails to spark a discussion," Garnett, er, KentuckyFriedCruelty.com, said in a statement.
· Model charged in theft. Model Beverly Peele, whose face and figure have graced magazine pages and runways for designers Ralph Lauren, Donna Karan, Prada and Versace, was charged Wednesday with using stolen credit cards for some $10,000 in purchases to furnish her Saugus home.
· $14,000 a night? N.Y. hotel rates are soaring. The Days Inn Brooklyn sits on a charmless block in a working-class neighborhood 30 minutes by subway from the nearest tourist spot in Manhattan. Security glass encloses the front desk. Breakfast is packaged commercial pastry, served from a rack in a closet-sized lobby. The clean but drab rooms overlook train tracks. Everything about the place says budget travel, except the price - $229 per night.
· Thousands Of Inmates Released? Um, No. The automated telephone call shook Karla Edwards so badly she couldn't compose herself. On the other end of the phone, a message was telling her the man who was in prison for her sister's slaying had been released. Thousands of Ohio crime victims or their family members received calls from a computer notification system Friday mistakenly telling them inmates had been released, a spokesman said.
· Katrina sent sex offenders off the radar. Governors in states that accepted Katrina evacuees are being urged to locate about 2,000 registered sex offenders who fled the Gulf region during the hurricane's mayhem and may have vanished from legally required tracking.
Friday, December 30, 2005
· N.J. Grandma Will Be First Baby Boomer To Turn 60. A New Jersey mother and grandmother is turning 60 on New Year's Day, and she has the distinction being the very first baby boomer, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported at the time. There are about 79 million boomers, according to USA Today.
· Judge Grants Hinckley Overnight Visits. A federal judge Friday loosened the restrictions on John W. Hinckley Jr., allowing the hospitalized presidential assailant to spend seven overnight visits with his parents in Williamsburg, Va.
· Daughter says father passed her off as wife in 15-year relationship. The Wilmington man charged with repeatedly raping a teenage quadriplegic has fathered two children with his own daughter, his abused offspring revealed Thursday. "He made it look like we were husband and wife," Susan Clelland said of her father, 68-year-old Lawrence Southwood.
· Tiger Woods buys new den in Florida. Tiger Woods turns 30 today and he's been looking to buy himself something. Golf's superstar is reportedly paying $40 million for a 10-acre oceanfront compound on Jupiter Island in Florida.
· "Jump the couch!" Tom Cruise inspires new slang. When Tom Cruise jumped on Oprah's couch, a new slang term was born. And now, "jump the couch" has been named the Slang of the Year by the editors of the Historical Dictionary of American Slang. The dictionary defines "jump the couch" as exhibiting "strange or frenetic behavior."
· Man Breaks Into Woman's Home, Puts Porn On Computer. A woman in California called police to report that an intruder broke into her home and added pornography to her computer. The woman in Fremont said she woke up and was startled to see a stranger typing away on her computer.
· Suspected Lesbian Students Sue Christian School For Expulsion. Two 16-year-olds who were expelled from a Lutheran high school because they were suspected of being lesbians have sued the school for invasion of privacy and discrimination. The lawsuit states that the school's principal said their friendship was "uncharacteristic of normal girl relationships and more characteristic of a lesbian one."
· Cop Attacked By Angry Dogs - Itty-Bitty Angry Dogs. A California police officer is OK after being attacked by a pack of angry dogs. He suffered only minor injuries, including bites to his ankle. Oh - did we mention that the dogs were chihuahuas?
· "Brownie, you're doing a heckuva job" named most memorable phrase. Call it the wrong phrase at the wrong time but "Brownie, you're doing a heckuva job" was named on Thursday as president George W. Bush's most memorable phrase of 2005.
· Sam's Club To Sell Health Plans. Sam's Club plans to unveil a new health-insurance offering for some of its customers on Wednesday, making such a service available nationally for the first time. While the coverage is available elsewhere, Extend Benefits will charge Sam's Club members lower administrative fees. It'll cost $150 to establish an account instead of $500, with a monthly administration fee of $4 rather than $5.
· Bowler dies shortly after rolling perfect game. A bowler collapsed and died at a bowling alley shortly after rolling the third perfect game of his life. Ed Lorenz, 69, bowled a 300 on Wednesday in his first league game of the night at Airway Lanes. When the retiree got up to bowl in the fifth frame of his second game, he clutched his chest and fell over. "If he could have written a way to go out, this would be it," said friend Johnny Masters.
· N.Y. Jail For Gay, Transgender Prisoners To Close. One of the nation's few jail dormitories specifically for gay or transgender prisoners is closing. The unit, on New York City's Rikers Island, stopped accepting new inmates last month. Plans call for the specialized unit to be replaced with a new protective custody system available to prisoners who feel threatened, regardless of their sexual orientation.
· Two Arrested in Anthony-Lopez Video Case. Two men have been arrested for trying to sell Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez's stolen wedding video back to the couple for $1 million, authorities said.
· Man Wants Alimony From Ex Who Killed Kids. A man says he wants alimony from his ex-wife who is serving three life prison terms for poisoning their children and hiding their bodies under a bed.
· W.Va. Police Chief Faces Incest, Sex Abuse Charges. A West Virginia police chief has been arrested on three sex-related charges. State Police said the arrest warrants charge 63-year-old McMechen Police Chief Franklin D. Dunn with one count of incest, one count of sexual abuse by a custodian and one count of second-degree sexual assault.
· Marlon Brando's Son Sued by Ex-Wife. Christian Brando, son of late actor Marlon Brando, was sued by his ex-wife and his stepdaughter, who alleged he abused and threatened to kill them, their attorney said Thursday. Deborah Brando and her 13-year-old daughter filed a lawsuit against Brando in Superior Court on Tuesday for violation of their civil rights, assault, domestic violence, battery and emotional distress.
· The plan was solid, but the execution stunk. The two criminal masterminds planned the heist carefully, knowing the courier would have a suitcase full of cash. They waited for his car to pass, then pursued him at high speed, shooting at the vehicle until the courier was forced to pull over. As the courier cowered, the crooks forced open the car's trunk, grabbed the case and fled. Back at their secret hideout, the bandits prepared to force the locks and spring the cash. That's when they noticed their plan had gone horribly wrong. Instead of a suitcase filled with cash, they had seized the courier's first aid kit.
· A&E unearths America's newest roll models. Short skirts and fishnet stockings aside, "Rollergirls" is about friendships, competition, sisterhood and making time in busy lives for this blue-collar pastime and its devoted following in Austin. Away from the roller derby arena, the women who go by names such as Jail Bait, Venis Envy and Miss Conduct hold such jobs as maternity unit nurse, special education teacher and biologist.
· Telemarketer's Call Saves 85-Year-Old's Life. An 85-year-old Illinois man fell and spent the night outdoors before help came in the form of a random caller. Crystal Rozell works for Consumer Direct Marketing in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. When she called the elderly man last Thursday morning, he was cold and desperate outside his rural home. His phone could not make outgoing calls.
· Will work for crack. Andrew Uitvlugt, candidate for mayor of Kelowna, British Columbia, proposed in November to coax drug addicts into public jobs, such as trash collection, by rewarding them with crack cocaine, on the theory that the work would be so fulfilling that they would ultimately decline the drugs.
Thursday, December 29, 2005
· Porn Actress Arrested on Child Rape Charge. A porn actress was arrested in Oklahoma on child rape charges after allegedly persuading a high school student to run away from home and have sex with her, authorities said.
· Overstock shares fade as CEO warns of 'drugs or dead body' caper. Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne continues to break new ground as the head of a publicly traded company. In a single TV interview last week, he shocked investors by revealing that holiday sales were far below expectations, perplexed the financial crowd by talking about drugs and dead bodies being found in his trunk and initiated a verbal war with billionaire blogger Mark Cuban.
· 'Honor' killings shock Pakistan. Nazir Ahmed appears calm and unrepentant as he recounts how he slit the throats of his three young daughters and their 25-year old stepsister to salvage his family's "honor." Ahmed said he killed his daughters so they would not commit adultery when they grew up. Hundreds of women are murdered by male relatives each year in this Islamic nation.
· Nevada tanning salon gets 9/11 loan. A Texas golf course, a Nevada tanning salon and an Illinois candy shop were among small businesses that may have improperly received U.S. subsidized loans intended for firms hurt by the September 11 attacks, an internal government watchdog has found.
· Teen runs away - to Iraq. Maybe it was the time the taxi dumped him at the Iraq-Kuwait border, leaving him alone in the middle of the desert. Or when he drew a crowd at a Baghdad food stand after using an Arabic phrase book to order. But at some point, Farris Hassan, a 16-year-old from Florida, realized that traveling to Iraq by himself was not the safest thing he could have done with his Christmas vacation. And he didn't even tell his parents.
· Tom Cruise Voted Most Irritating Star Of All Time. Maybe it was jumping on Oprah's couch. Or perhaps it was his testy interview with Matt Lauer on NBC's "Today" show, or his constant expressions of love for his fiancee, Katie Holmes. Maybe it was all of those things combined that prompted British movie fans to name Tom Cruise the most irritating actor in Hollywood.
· College Student Sues Over Mistaken Drug Bust. When college freshman Janet Lee packed her bags for a Christmas trip home two years ago, her luggage contained three condoms filled with flour - devices that she and some friends made as a joke. Philadelphia Airport screeners found the condoms, and their initial tests showed they contained drugs. The College student was arrested on drug trafficking charges and jailed. Three weeks later, she was released after a lab test backed her story, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Thursday.
· Student cashes in with $million Web idea. Alex Tew turned his home page into a billboard made up of a million dots which he sells for a dollar a dot to anyone who wants to put up their logo. So far they have bought up 911,800 pixels. Tew's home page now looks like an online Times Square, festooned with a multi-colored confetti of ads.
· 'Bronx Tale' Actor Says He's Sorry For Cop Slaying. A young "Sopranos" actor accused in the slaying of an off-duty police officer said in a jailhouse interview he's sorry and didn't know his alleged burglary accomplice was carrying a gun.
· UPS worker goes postal. A 56-year-old woman is found riddled with bullets, her body set ablaze in her northwest Detroit home. A 23-year-old United Parcel Service worker is discovered in a pool of blood near trash bins in a Wal-Mart parking lot.
· Baby Sitter Charged In Case Of Drunk 2-Year-Old. A 37-year-old man was charged with child endangerment after one of two toddlers he was baby-sitting was found drunk, authorities said. The deputies had noticed the 2-year-old was having difficulty standing, had bloodshot eyes, smelled of alcohol and was lethargic.
· Fresh Prince Fraud Behind Bars. Carlos Lomax, the guy who stole Will Smith's identity and ran up nearly $33,000 in credit card debt in the actor's name, was sent back to prison Tuesday after violating the terms of his probation.
· PlayStation Graffiti Ads Spark Controversy. Sony scouted out an unusual place to advertise its PlayStation Portable before the holidays: the side of an abandoned building in a gritty North Philadelphia neighborhood. The black-on-white graffiti shows wide-eyed cartoon characters riding the PlayStation like a skateboard. But there's no mention of the Sony or PlayStation brands - nor any hint the wordless display is an ad. The stealth marketing campaign has popped up in San Francisco, New York and other large cities.
· Photographer Not Charged in Lohan Crash. The photographer whose collision with actress Lindsay Lohan helped prompt California to adopt an anti-paparazzi law won't be charged with a crime, the district attorney's office said. Deputy District Attorney William Hodgman said there was no evidence photographer Galo Cesar Ramirez deliberately crashed his minivan into Lohan's Mercedes-Benz.
· Accused Nazi ordered deported from U.S. A federal immigration judge Wednesday ordered an Ohio man accused of having served as a Nazi death-camp guard deported to his native Ukraine. John Demjanjuk, a retired Cleveland-area autoworker, has 30 days to appeal. A federal judge found in 2002 that Demjanjuk, now 85, had been a guard at the Sobibor death camp in Poland, where a quarter of a million people were killed during World War II, and at two other concentration camps.
· Surfing up for women, but Web gaps remain. Once the playground for young techie guys, the Internet in recent years has been dominated by women as the overall gender gap closed, according to a report released Wednesday by the Pew Internet & American Life Project.
· NSA "accidently" places tracking cookies on its website. The National Security Agency's Internet site has been placing files on visitors' computers that can track their Web surfing activity despite strict federal rules banning most of them. These files, known as "cookies," disappeared after a privacy activist complained and The Associated Press made inquiries this week, and agency officials acknowledged Wednesday they had made a mistake. Nonetheless, the issue raises questions about privacy at a spy agency already on the defensive amid reports of a secretive eavesdropping program in the United States.
· Stallone Magazine Allowed to Stay on Sale. Sylvester Stallone can keep his magazine, Sly, on newsstands despite the complaints of an Internet magazine with the same name that a judge suggested was more of a shoe "fetish" publication. Judge Richard Casey said the 59-year-old actor, who gained fame in the "Rocky" movies, could continue to produce the fitness magazine for middle-age men even though it carries the same title as the Internet magazine.
· Mayor defends Fire Chief despite explosion. Bergenfield, NJ Mayor Richard Bohan may be regretting his decision to hold a news conference to proclaim the town's support of Fire Chief John Pampaloni. Bohan grew upset and annoyed with reporters as they kept asking him to explain why he thought the chief was being unfairly criticized for failing to detect the gas leak that led to an explosion at an apartment building, killing three tenants.
· Bill Gates buys 80 more Berkshire Hathaway shares. Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates last week spent $7.1 million to buy 80 more Class A shares of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., the investment company run by Warren Buffett. The shares fell $100 to $88,500 per share in Wednesday trading.
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
· Teen Who Made Blog 'Confession' Gets 5 Years In Prison. A 19-year-old man who confessed on his Weblog to causing a crash that fatally injured his friend was sentenced Wednesday to 5 years in prison, 10 years of probation and a permanent suspension of his driver's license. Ranking was accused of grabbing the steering wheel from the back seat as a prank.
· Ohio justice scolded for drunk driving. A panel of state appellate judges publicly reprimanded Ohio Supreme Court Justice Alice Robie Resnick on Wednesday, saying her drunken driving conviction violated the state's judicial code of conduct. No other discipline was recommended.
· Nursing home protections 'too costly.' A new Illinois law to protect nursing home residents from sex offenders and other ex-cons is being watered down because of industry concerns that the $10 per person background checks would be too costly.
· Computer Visionary Diebold Dies at 79. John Diebold, a business visionary who preached computerization during the era of Elvis and Eisenhower as the future of worldwide industry, has died at the age of 79. "I was too early," he once said. "It was before the first computer was installed for business use." Diebold laid out his vision of a computerized future with his 1952 book, "Automation," which presented the then-radical notion of using programmable devices in daily business.
· What's Hot In 2006? Trend Watchers Share Predictions. In fashion, designers say look for a return to preppy, collegiate styles, with upturned collars, argyle sweaters and tiny embroidered logos from the 1980s. Waistlines will head north to a more natural place. On the electronics scene, the iPod will remain the must-have device. One electronics writer said there will be massive growth in downloadable video and TV offerings. And satellite radio competitors XM and Sirius are expected to offer even more programming choices.
· 49 Accused of Defrauding Hurricane Fund. The number of people indicted in a scheme that bilked thousands of dollars from a Red Cross fund designated for Hurricane Katrina victims has risen to 49, federal authorities said. At least 14 suspects worked at a Red Cross call center in Bakersfield and are accused of helping family and friends file false claims for aid money, said Mary Wenger, a spokeswoman for U.S. Attorney McGregor Scott in Sacramento.
· Marriott Discloses Missing Data Files. Marriott International Inc.'s time-share division said yesterday that it is missing backup computer tapes containing credit card account information and the Social Security numbers of about 206,000 time-share owners and customers, as well as employees of the company.
· Officials Backtrack on Oprah Plane Mishap. Officials now say that it was wear and tear, and not a collision with a bird, that damaged the windshield of Oprah Winfrey's private jet and forced it to return to the city airport.
· Glitter 'pays girls' families.' Former British rocker Gary Glitter has paid $4,000 to the families of Vietnamese girls whom he is accused of sexually abusing in exchange for their cooperation, his lawyer says. Attorney Le Thanh Kinh said on Wednesday that Glitter gave $2,000 each to the families of two girls, ages 11 and 12, after they agreed to write letters to the court asking that the case be dropped.
· 'Huggy' Teacher Faces More Molestation Charges. Three more charges were filed Tuesday night against a 55-year-old elementary school teacher accused of inappropriately touching children at the school.
· Dunkin' Donuts Ad Actor Michael Vale Dies. Michael Vale, the actor best known for his portrayal of a sleepy-eyed Dunkin' Donuts baker who said "Time to make the doughnuts," has died. He was 83. Vale died Saturday in New York City of complications from diabetes, according to son-in law Rick Reil.
· Comedian Mitch Hedberg Died of OD. Comedian Mitch Hedberg died accidentally in March of "multiple drug toxicity," including cocaine and heroin, Spin magazine reports, citing reports filed by the New Jersey medical examiner's office. Hedberg, 37, died in a hotel room in Livingston, N.J., while on a club tour performing standup. The comedian, who was born with a heart defect, was initially believed to have died from heart failure.
· Jack Black's 'Kong' 'lost weekend.' As if a giant ape weren't enough to get Jack Black going in "King Kong," the actor says he let loose one time while making the film. "I had a bit of a lost weekend while we were doing 'King Kong,"' Black says in the January issue of GQ magazine. "Overall I'm very responsible on set. I'm not one of those dudes who come drunk to the set." "But there was a lost weekend where I had a little time off and I did some Ecstasy and I went on a kind of crazy rampage.
· Mich. companies tout dieting incentives. Losing weight is earning some Michigan workers more than a slimmer waistline. At the Clarkston-based Freedom One Financial Corp., employees who meet weight loss goals are earning tropical vacations. "It's actually selfish," Freedom One President and CEO Mark Wayne told The Detroit News for a Tuesday story. "When somebody feels good, they're healthy, they work harder and they're more focused."
· Dispelling myths about how well a good watch tells time. If this is your first time buying an expensive wristwatch, there is one very important fact you need to know in advance. A $25 Timex or Casio digital watch will keep time just as well as, and possibly better than, a $20,000 solid gold mechanical Omega, Rolex, or other very fine watch.
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
· Update: Judge tosses Letterman restraining order. A state judge has lifted a restraining order granted to a Santa Fe woman who accused talk-show host David Letterman of using coded words to show that he wanted to marry her and train her as his co-host. After the hearing, the woman said that if Letterman or any of his representatives came near her, "I will break their legs."
· Actress Tori Spelling Reportedly Engaged. Tori Spelling is engaged, just months after separating from her first husband, People and Us Weekly magazines reported Tuesday. Actor Dean McDermott, who has been dating the former "Beverly Hills, 90210" star for several months, proposed Christmas Eve in Toronto
· Britney Spears' Husband Launches Web Site. Kevin Federline, aspiring rapper and husband of Britney Spears, has unveiled his own Web site. Federline, whose new hip-hop album, "The Truth," is due out in 2006, appears to expect big things in the coming year.
· Fatal Shooting By New Orleans Police Caught On Tape. Police officers shot and killed a man brandishing a knife in a confrontation that was partially videotaped by a bystander, setting off another internal investigation of the embattled department.
· Dozens accused of stealing money Red Cross raised after Katrina. Nearly 50 people have been indicted in a scheme that bilked hundreds of thousands of dollars from a Red Cross program created to put cash into the hands of Hurricane Katrina victims, according to federal authorities.
· Woman Puts Husband's Body In Suitcase After He Dies At Home. Police say a woman put her husband in a suitcase after he died in their New York apartment and left him there. Police say the woman appeared confused about how long her husband had been dead but she said she wanted to take him to Arizona to be buried, as he had wished.
· Munich mastermind spurns Spielberg's peace appeal. The Palestinian mastermind of the Munich Olympics attack in which 11 Israeli athletes died said on Tuesday he had no regrets and that Steven Spielberg's new film about the incident would not deliver reconciliation.
· Woman burned in fire grows new face. More than five years ago Katherine Dowling was badly burned in a house fire. A year ago, she discovered a procedure called Isolagen, which has healed the skin on her face.
· Former major league baseball pitcher charged with robbing store. Former major league pitcher Jeff Reardon is charged with robbing a Palm Beach Gardens jewelry store. Police said the 50 year old walked into Hamilton Jewelers at the Gardens Mall about 11:50 a.m Monday. He's accused of handing an employee a note that said he had a gun and the store was being robbed.
· Update: Swallowing Cell Phone May Not Be Voluntary. A woman who police thought deliberately tried to swallow her cell phone during an argument with her boyfriend was apparently the victim of an assault instead, authorities said. "It appears she didn't voluntarily swallow this phone," Sgt. Allen Kintz said. "It's not quite the way it was first portrayed."
· Amazon says it had best season ever. Amazon.com announced that the 2005 holiday season finished as its best ever, with the company surpassing 108 million items ordered for the first time. On the peak day this season, Amazon's worldwide fulfillment network shipped over 2.7 million units.
· Oprah's Jet Grounded After Striking Bird. A bird has left its mark on Oprah Winfrey's private jet. The Gulfstream jet had to return to the airport in Santa Barbara, California, Mondayafter it struck a bird after takeoff. The impact cracked the jet's windshield.
· Cops doomed by elements. A perfect storm of deadly conditions - broken warning gates, a raised lift bridge, blinding fog and a driving rain - doomed two Jersey City cops on Christmas night. Officers Shawn Carson, 40, and Robert Nguyen, 30, were dispatched to the Lincoln Highway bridge, which connects Jersey City to Kearny, to help warn motorists of the broken gates. As they helped set up flares and cones, they never saw the bridge rise to allow a tugboat to pass. "Everything in the universe that could have gone wrong, did go wrong," said Lt. Tom Comey of the Jersey City police.
· Man who died after 9 years in coma unknown. New York police are trying to identify a crime victim who died after nine years in a coma. Otherwise he will be buried in a potter's field. Police are urging anyone who might know him to come forward, the New York Post said.
· Two CBS Sitcoms Can Now Be Viewed Online. Joining the trend of TV shows migrating to the Internet, a pair of episodes from the CBS comedies "Two and a Half Men" and "How I Met Your Mother" are being offered for free video streaming this week from the Yahoo! Web site. Available through next Monday, the half-hour shows, which aired earlier this season, will be available in their entirety and without commercials.
Monday, December 26, 2005
· Character Actor Vincent Schiavelli Dies. Character actor Vincent Schiavelli, who appeared in scores of movies, including "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and "Ghost," died Monday at his home in Sicily. He was 57, dying from lung cancer.
· Mobile phones to announce 'you've been indicted.' South Koreans may look at their mobile phones with some trepidation in the new year because prosecutors will start telling people they have been indicted via text messages, an official said Monday. The indictments by text messages are not intended to take people by surprise. "People will receive a text message of a legal notice only after they apply for the service," he said.
· Slasher-Santa Display For Sale. For the man who has everything - or someone really desperate to find a last-minute gift - Joel Krupnik and Mildred Castellanos have an answer: Their red-suited Santa Claus figure, holding a bloody knife in one hand and a severed doll's head in the other, went up for auction on Christmas Day.
· Reindeer Animal Rights Group Sues Bush For Abuse. Reindeer, buffalo and a Marin County farm animal protection group sued President Bush and U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns Friday in federal court in San Francisco for allegedly allowing inhumane slaughter.
· ABC Bids Farewell to Monday Night Football. If you were ready for some football, it was the place to be for 35 seasons on Monday nights. Tonight, the NFL bids farewell to ABC, with the New England Patriots playing the New York Jets.
· N.J. cops plunge into river. Two Jersey City police officers driving in an emergency-service truck plunged into the Hackensack River last night off an open drawbridge. Authorities said the driver of the emergency-squad truck carrying the officers apparently failed to notice that Jersey City's Hackensack River Bridgewas in the up position.
· White House Aids Playboy Playmate in Court. Playboy playmate Anna Nicole Smith has an unusual bedfellow in the Supreme Court fight over her late husband's fortune: the Bush administration. The administration's top Supreme Court lawyer filed arguments on Smith's behalf and wants to take part when the case is argued before the justices.
· Clark, Philbin to Host Competing Bashes. New Year's Eve is the biggest party night of the year, and television is among the most youth-obsessed media, so guess who will be the top hosts this weekend when the ball drops in Times Square? A couple of guys in their 70s, that's who. Dick Clark and Regis Philbin have long cultivated a sort of ageless appeal, and that will be put to the test during New Year's Eve specials on ABC and Fox, respectively. Clark partner Ryan Seacrest and NBC's Carson Daly are also on duty.
· Oprah gives best friend a man? What did Oprah Winfrey get her best friend, Gayle King, for the holidays? Apparently, a man. A source close to the best buds say that the queen of talk has hooked King up with none other than one of her other pals, gospel star BeBe Winans.
· Excommunicated priest holds ‘illicit’ Mass. At least 1,500 people attended Christmas Eve Mass presided by an excommunicated Roman Catholic priest, despite warnings from the archbishop that participating would be a mortal sin.
· Bezos brings space race to Kent as he plans a passenger rocket. The new space race has touched down in Kent, where Amazon.com billionaire Jeff Bezos is building a rocket-ship complex set to open early next year. Blue Origin, Bezos' aerospace company, will use the facility to design and build spacecraft and engines.
· Feds rack up $39 million Katrina credit tab. Federal employees helping Katrina victims charged more than $39 million on government credit cards for disaster relief items, and Congressional investigators want to make sure the taxpayers got a good deal. One senator, citing past abuse, wants to know whether anyone used the cards for holiday shopping. Many of the goods, which included $60,639 for sleeping bags and $713 for four 27-inch televisions, were bought at retail rather than cheaper volume prices.
· College student wins $46-million Florida lottery. Christmas has come early for one Florida college student. April Martin said her father actually bought the ticket, and gave it to her when he discovered it had the winning numbers.
· Christmas package thieves arrested. Three Waltham men were arrested on Wednesday and charged with stealing packages from the mailboxes and doorsteps of Weston homes shortly after a UPS truck delivered them, police said.
· Returns, Sales Signal Retailers' 'Second Season'. Shoppers who didn't get what they want for Christmas may find it on sale now. Retailers are expanding hours and offering deep discounts on items that weren't bought before the holidays.
Sunday, December 25, 2005
· Merry Christmas! To all the loyal readers of Tabloid Column, we would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!
· Behind the beard and the red suit, a big business. Santa Claus starts his day on the treadmill. It helps keep his knees from getting sore when he crouches to greet a reluctant child. Santa eats an occasional salad. He can't afford to get indigestion or the flu during the holiday season. For children, Santa may be magical. But for the malls, Santa is serious business, and often earn Santas between $3,000 and $20,000 for the season.
· Those in 20s Join Quest to Retain Looks. Forget "40 is the new 30." Now even twentysomethings are joining the quest for eternal youth by using anti-aging products and wrinkle treatments. "Instead of starting when you're 40 or 45, you might as well start now," says Joanne Katsigiannis, a 24-year-old from suburban Chicago who's been using anti-aging products for about two years.
· Stars turn backs on America's troops in Iraq. During world war two American troops away from home for Christmas were entertained by Marlene Dietrich, Bing Crosby and the Marx Brothers. Even in Vietnam Bob Hope was guaranteed to put in an appearance. But soldiers in Iraq are more likely to get a show from a Christian hip-hop group, a country singer you have probably never heard of and two cheerleaders for the Dallas Cowboys.
· Mom Fights Downloading Suit on Her Own. It was Easter Sunday, and Patricia Santangelo was in church with her kids when she says the music recording industry peeked into her computer and decided to take her to court. Santangelo says she has never downloaded a single song on her computer, but the industry didn't see it that way.
· Stolen Puppy Returned To Family In Time For Christmas. A poodle puppy that had been stolen from its 10-year-old owner two days ago was returned Friday, along with a stocking full of dog toys, just in time for Christmas.
· Judge Lets Man Change Name To Jesus Christ. Manhattan man's holiday spirits soared to celestial heights this weekend when a judge gave him permission to change his name to Jesus Christ. Jose Luis Espinal, 42, of Washington Heights, said he was "happy" and "grateful" that the judge approved the change, effective immediately.
· Spanish royal family 'creates' holiday photograph. A holiday photograph of Spain's king and queen surrounded by their seven grandchildren was indeed too good to be true. The traditional New Year's picture was not real but rather a montage pieced together, the royal press office said Friday after local media raised suspicions about the snapshot.
· Harlem boys choir gets eviction notice. The world-renown Boys Choir of Harlem, struggling under multi-million dollar debt and sexual abuse allegations, is facing eviction. New York City has asked the group to leave the public school where it practices for free by January 31, 2006.
· Snowboarder Fined After 3-Day Search. A man who said he got lost while snowboarding and was rescued after three days in the woods has been cited for violating the Colorado Skier Safety Act and carrying a concealed weapon.
· Mugging It Up. These allegedly lawless ladies and gentlemen are some of the best mugshots of the year, and should be commended for their awful hair, unfortunate clothes, array of bandages, and goofy smiles.
· 2005's Top 10 Movies. David Ansen weighs in on the best of the year—and the rest of the year—as Hollywood starts unveiling its Oscar hopefuls.
Saturday, December 24, 2005
· Santa is on the move. Radar, satellites and jet fighters are tracking the travels of Santa Claus this Christmas Eve. It's the 50th anniversary of the tradition involving NORAD personnel. Earlier Saturday, Santa was spotted near Fiji, Japan. Later, his sleigh was seen speeding across Germany.
· Shopper Pays for Marine's Engagement Ring. A Marine who's planning to marry a Texan got an early Christmas present: A fellow shopper picked up the tab for a $3,000 diamond engagement ring after the two struck up a conversation in a jewelry store.
· Deaf girl hears Jingle Bells for the first time. Josie Caven, who was born deaf, will be able to hear Christmas carols for the first time after having cochlear implants in both ears. Josie, 12, beamed with delight as she listened to Jingle Bells for the first time. "It is so nice to hear music, especially Christmas carols," she said.
· Woman swallows cell phone to end fight. A lovers’ dispute over a cell phone ended suddenly when the woman swallowed the phone whole, police said. Police said they received a call at 4:52 a.m. Friday from a Blue Springs man who said his girlfriend was having trouble breathing. When they arrived at the house they found the 24-year-old woman had a cell phone lodged in her throat.
· 'Wonderful Life' Actress Brunetti Dies. Argentina Brunetti, a character actress who played the worried wife of Mr. Martini in the classic film "It's a Wonderful Life," has died. She was 98.
· The 50 Greatest Gadgets of the Past 50 Years. With the holidays in full swing, and as folks shop for the right gear to give their loved ones, join PC World as they visit with the ghosts of gadgets past and present.
· Foxy Brown sticks tongue out at NY judge. A judge on Friday ordered hip-hop artist Foxy Brown handcuffed to her seat in court until she apologized for sticking out her tongue during a hearing stemming from the rapper's 2004 arrest on assault charges.
· Old aunt spurned by Sting. The aunt of rock star Sting got a letter from the Queen on her 100th birthday — but no card from her famous nephew. Rose Sumner — widow of Sting’s dad’s brother Ernie — celebrated her big day with family. Ms. Sumner said “it would have been nice” if Sting had remembered her big day, but added: “I realize that he’s busy being a rock star.”
· Man mistakenly left in jail for 15 months. A man was jailed for more than a year without seeing a lawyer as he waited for a repeatedly postponed court hearing, gaining release only after a cellmate told an attorney about the case. Walter Mann Sr., 69, was released December 16 after a year and three months - more than twice the time he would have served if he had been convicted in his contempt-of-court case.
· Midway Plane Crash Passenger Sues Airline, City. A woman who was aboard a Southwest Airlines jet when it slid off the end of a runway at Midway Airport in a snowstorm earlier this month sued the airline and the city on Friday. Bernice James' lawsuit claims the Dallas-based airline was careless and negligent in landing the plane on the snowy runway on Dec. 8, causing her to suffer "severe fear and terror, emotional distress" and physical injuries.
· Sweet surprise for See's clerk who lost her ring in chocolates. Thea Sawyer, who did the right thing, doesn't want $2,500 for doing it. "The right thing to do is the right thing to do,'' the San Jose yoga teacher said after returning a diamond ring she found in a bag of candy. "It's not that big a deal.' Last week, Sawyer bought a gift basket of chocolates at a See's candy store in Saratoga, and sales clerk Wanda Estrada put it in a bag for her. When Sawyer opened the bag on Wednesday and removed the candy basket, she noticed a gold ring with three large diamonds at the bottom.
· Cheney's iPod Takes Top Priority on Extended Flight. After a four-day overseas trip that took him to four countries in the Middle East, Vice President Dick Cheney really wanted to get his iPod charged for that long return flight to Washington. Since it is his plane, the vice president's iPod took priority and was plugged into one of the only working power outlets on Air Force Two, frustrating reporters who were trying to file stories.
· New Year To Come 1 Second Late. The year 2006 has been postponed. But not for long. The U.S. Naval Observatory says a leap second will be inserted in the world's clocks just before midnight Greenwich mean time on New Year's Eve.
· 'Munich' Backlash Well Under Way. Prior to this weekend's opening of "Munich," the award-winning director's latest film, critics were already lashing out after the movie was screened for Jewish leaders in New York. Based on the massacre of 11 Israeli athletes during the 1972 Olympics by the Palestinian Black September group, "Munich" follows a Mossad hit squad assigned to strike back.
· Wrong Number Lands Man In Jail. Police said Randy Wessel thought he was calling his buddy to tell him about stealing a car from a pizza deliveryman. Unfortunately for him, the person on the other end of the phone was an undercover police officer.
· FBI Tracks Radiation At Mosques, Other Sites. A classified radiation monitoring program, conducted without warrants, has targeted private U.S. property in Seattle and other cities in an effort to prevent an al-Qaida attack, federal law enforcement officials confirmed Friday. While declining to provide details including the number of cities and sites monitored, the officials said the air monitoring took place since the Sept. 11 attacks and from publicly accessible areas - which they said made warrants and court orders unnecessary.
Friday, December 23, 2005
· Mike Myers and Wife Decide to End Marriage. "Austin Powers" star Mike Myers and his wife, Robin Ruzan, are ending their 12-year marriage, a spokeswoman said Friday.
The 42-year-old actor-comedian and Ruzan, a writer and actress, were married in May 1993. They have no children.
· Wife of Congressman Involved in Bar Fight. The wife of Democratic U.S. Rep. John Conyers has been accused of punching a woman in the eye during a bar fight. A spokesman for Monica Conyers, a city councilwoman-elect, confirmed Friday that she was involved in an altercation. But he said Conyers merely defended herself after being attacked by another woman.
· Sex Toy Company Gets N.C. Business Award. A sex toy and video mail order business, once picketed by ministers and searched by postal investigators, has been named business of the year.
· Privacy laws keep families apart. Efforts to locate 500 children still classified as missing after Hurricane Katrina are stalled because the Federal Emergency Management Agency, citing privacy laws, has refused to share its evacuee database with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, according to investigators tracking the cases.
· Jolie, Johansson and now Theron say no to 'Bond.' It has been a jinx so far for Casino Royale, the next James Bond thriller. This time Jinx is not the name of the Bond girl but rather the lack of one. The girls who reportedly turned it down include Angelina Jolie, Scarlett Johansson, Kimberley Davies and now the Oscar-winning Charlize Theron.
· Tall glasses are less 'potent.' If you'd like to make a toast this holiday season without getting too tipsy, try using a tall, slender highball glass rather than a short tumbler, according to a study by a leading food psychology researcher. People tend to pour about 20% to 30% more alcohol in short glasses than taller ones.
· Woman Sues Over Short Toilet. A woman with cerebral palsy is suing the Fort Wayne Housing Authority, claiming she suffered leg pains because her apartment's toilet was installed two inches too low.
· Student sues over Pledge of Allegiance. A high school junior is suing the Palm Beach School Board, claiming he was ridiculed and punished for refusing to stand during the Pledge of Allegiance.
· New Home Sales Plummet in November. Sales of new homes plunged in November by the largest amount in nearly 12 years, providing the most dramatic evidence yet that the red hot housing market over the last five years is starting to cool down.
· Bin Laden niece in glamour shots. Wafah Dufour, an aspiring musician and model, is the daughter of the al-Qaeda leader's half-brother Yeslam. She appears stripped to ostrich feather lingerie, and in a bubble bath, in photos for GQ magazine.
· Jury slaps Wal-Mart with $172 million ruling. Jurors in Oakland, Calif., Thursday awarded $172 million to thousands of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. employees after deciding that the world's largest retailer violated state law by denying lunch breaks, a court spokesman said.
· Mariah ties Elvis with 17th No. 1 single. Mariah Carey moved a step closer to the Beatles' record of 20 No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 Thursday as "Don't Forget About Us" ascended one rung to the top of the singles chart in its 11th week. With 17 chart-toppers, she now ties Elvis Presley at No. 2 on the all-time list, and becomes the only artist to post two No. 1 songs on the Hot 100 in 2005.
· Love for sale. The New York Post is reporting that Courtney Love is broke and wants to raise cash by selling her rights to the song catalog of her late husband, Kurt Cobain, and Nirvana. Sources say Love, whose Crosby Street apartment was in foreclosure earlier this year, is looking for $100 million.
· Woman settles after almost being hit by truck. Louise D’Orsi, a former Turnpike Authority toll collector, was stricken with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after a mail truck came within two feet of her booth 3 1/2 years ago. She has now dropped her $10 million lawsuit against the U.S. Postal Service in exchange for a $94,000 out-of-court settlement.
· Chris Rock's Show Says Santa Doesn't Exist. Yes, Chris Rock, there is a Santa Claus. Parents with young children who happened to watch "Everybody Hates Chris" in the past week had some explaining to do when the character of Rock's brother suddenly told his younger sister that Santa doesn't exist.
· Wahlberg Loses Entourage Member. Mark Wahlberg's real-life entourage is minus one member. Donnie Carroll, the rapper-turned-actor's childhood pal who served as the inspiration for the character Turtle (Jerry Ferrara) on HBO's Entourage, died Sunday of an asthma attack in Boston. He was 39.
Thursday, December 22, 2005
· Police Say HIV-Positive Woman Raped Boy. Authorities said a 13-year-old Arkansas boy was exposed to HIV when he was allegedly raped by a 42-year-old woman in his own home.
· Paris Testimony Gone Wild. Alleged extortion is so not hot. The man accused of blackmailing Girls Gone Wild creator Joe Francis was ordered to stand trial Tuesday following testimony from the boob-happy kingpin and a cameo of sorts from Paris Hilton. Francis claimed during the preliminary hearing that Darnell Riley, 28, broke into Francis' Bel-Air home in January 2004, forced the GGW mogul to make a sexually demeaning videotape at gunpoint and then threatened to release it to the Internet unless Riley was paid $500,000.
· Nuns Convicted Of Defacing Missle Silo With Blood Released From Prison. A nun convicted of defacing a missile silo in Colorado has been released from prison after more than two years behind bars. Ardeth Platte, who's 69, was one of three Dominican sisters arrested in October of 2002 for cutting a chain link fence and using baby bottles to dispense their own blood in the shape of a cross on the silo.
· Gubernatorial candidate: Do as I say, not as I do. As attorney general, Charlie Crist rails against spam e-mails. "Spam is an annoying, intrusive form of e-mail that almost all of us receive but few of us want. Much of it can be downright offensive," the AG said in May in his efforts to fight unwanted e-mail. But as a Republican candidate for governor, Crist is annoying Floridians himself by obtaining people's addresses and sending them unsolicited e-mails touting his candidacy and asking for campaign donations.