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Tuesday, January 31, 2006
· Class-Action Lawsuit Against AT&T for Collaboration with Illegal Domestic Spying Program. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) filed a class-action lawsuit against AT&T on January 31, 2006, accusing the telecom giant of violating the law and the privacy of its customers by collaborating with the National Security Agency (NSA) in its massive and illegal program to wiretap and data-mine Americans' communications. 
· Accused Assailant Told To Join Army Or Go To Jail. That's the choice facing a man from Niagara Falls, N.Y., after pleading guilty to criminal contempt. Michael Guerra had been accused of assaulting his girlfriend's friend, and violating an order of protection.
· Location, Location, Location. A married couple pleaded no contest to charges they ran a brothel across the street from the Concord, California police station, authorities said. Debra Watts, 52, will serve one year of home detention after pleading to three felony counts of pimping and pandering, according to prosecutors.
· Sen. Brownback Says Gays Aren't 'Fruits.' Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kansas, said he was not referring to sexual orientation when he used the word "fruits" in a Rolling Stone magazine interview.
· Deputy's gun used in rape, records show. Two days before a King County deputy sheriff's live-in lover allegedly shot and killed a convenience-store clerk, he used the deputy's handcuffs and gun to rape a man in their Kenmore home while the cop slept upstairs, according to police reports.
· Iraq II? UN confirms Iran enrichment move. The UN's atomic watchdog says Iran has started preparations to resume producing enriched uranium, which can be used in nuclear weapons.
· Police: "Get up - so we can shoot you." A videotape released Tuesday shows a sheriff's deputy shooting an unarmed Air Force policeman who recently returned from Iraq as he appeared to obey an order to get up off the ground. Senior Airman Elio Carrion, 21, was told several times on the video to "get up." Carrion says on the video: "I'm gonna get up." As he rose, at least four shots were fired and Carrion collapsed.
· UPS Driver Attacked By Middle School Students. A UPS driver was savagely beaten by middle school students while delivering packages in the western Chicago suburbs. UPS driver Thomas Murphy says he was beaten by a group of 15 to 20 school kids. "Somebody clocked me with a pipe. I took kicks from my right. My eyes caked over. I tried to get up and defend myself as best I could," Murphy said.
· AP Is Older Than Was Thought, Papers Show. A collection of 19th-century documents newly acquired by The Associated Press shows that the world's largest newsgathering organization traces its origins to 1846, two years earlier than traditionally accepted by journalism historians and the AP itself.
· Firetruck joyride doesn't ring a bell. How he ended up behind the wheel of a stolen Pasadena Fire Department truck is a mystery to Kenneth Paul Engle III. Engle, 28, who isn't a firefighter, said he can't remember going to the fire station, climbing into the driver's seat or crashing the truck through the station's garage door.
· Marijuana Found In Toddler's Diaper. Two people in Orange County, Fla., were arrested after an 18-month-old was found with marijuana in his diaper.
· Even Billionaires need a budget. Court documents reveal Oracle founder Larry Ellison's personal spending habits are out of control, according to his finacial advisor, and Ellison's million dollar a day spending needs to be reduced in a "sensible manner."
· Moss Returns to Britain to Face Police. Kate Moss was interviewed by detectives in London Tuesday about her alleged cocaine use. The Metropolitan Police doesn't identify suspects being interviewed by name, but said a 32-year-old woman "has voluntarily attended a London police office in relation to a Met investigation into allegations of possible drug abuse."
· Police: 'Bored' Teens Tossed Cinder Blocks Into 114 Cars. Two men and two teens were charged in connection with a weeklong vandalism spree during which cinder blocks were thrown into at least 114 vehicles in Palm Bay and Melbourne, Florida.
· LA radio personality puts conditions on Muslim apology. A Los Angeles radio personality said Monday he would apologize for an on-air skit that made fun of the deaths of hundreds of Muslims, but only if an Islamic civil rights group denounces terrorism and acknowledges Israel's right to exist.
· Seven dead in California postal shooting. A female former employee opened fire at a 24-hour postal service sorting facility in Goleta, California, killing six people and critically wounding another, before turning the gun on herself, authorities said Tuesday.
· Woodruff faces long fight. ABC News anchor Bob Woodruff could come home to the United States as early as today after successful surgery overseas to reduce brain swelling by removing a chunk of his skull.
· Slain kids' mom: 'I blessed them and then I suffocated them.' A woman accused of smothering her three children was distraught over the breakup of her marriage and told police that she blessed the children before suffocating them, a prosecutor said Monday. In addition, police said, she may have fed the children hot chocolate laced with poison before she smothered them.
· 'Brokeback' Sparks Interest in Wyoming Fans of "Brokeback Mountain" don't seem to care the movie was actually filmed in Canada. They want the Wyoming experience. The Wyoming Business Council's travel and tourism department has received hundreds of calls asking about scenery in the movie, which is based on Pulitzer Prize-winner Annie Proulx's short story about two gay Wyoming cowboys.
· Fabio's maiden Super Bowl ad. Heartthrob Fabio, with his buff chest and long flowing locks, gives a beautiful woman a big surprise in his first ever Super Bowl commercial. Nationwide Insurance will go for bawdy laughs in its Super Bowl spot featuring model Fabio in a skit where he is made up to look like an 85-year old man.
· Coretta Scott King is dead. Coretta Scott King, the widow of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, has died.
· Lez Zeppelin: A band that flips the Page. Four women rockers who took on the music of Led Zeppelin are driving club audiences to a frenzy and, offstage, whipping up speculation over their sexual tastes with the name of the band: Lez Zeppelin.
· Obesity 'can be caught like a cold.' A team led by Dr Leah Whigham, of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, found that the human adenovirus Ad-37 causes obesity in chickens, marking the third virus to be linked to being overweight: two related viruses, Ad-36 and Ad-5, also cause obesity in animals.
Monday, January 30, 2006
· Pastor Gets 18 Months for Selling Church. A pastor accused of selling the town's oldest church pleaded guilty to embezzlement on Monday and agreed to 18 months in prison, court officials said. Randall Radic, 53, had preached at First Congregational Church in Ripon for nearly a decade before he sold the church last October for $525,000, allegedly using the money to buy a BMW.
· Dominatrix acquitted of killing and dismembering. dominatrix was acquitted of manslaughter Monday in the death of a man who prosecutors say suffered a heart attack while strapped to a replica of a medieval rack. Barbara Asher, a 56-year-old woman who called herself Mistress Lauren M, was also cleared of dismembering the man's corpse to conceal the death.
· Sex Offender Arrested After Asking Cops For Ride. An El Paso County man, who police said is an unregistered sex offender, was behind bars Monday, after calling officers to ask for a ride home. Authorities said that Terry Patrick Barr, 58, called dispatchers on Saturday, trying to find a ride. But officers recognized his name from a Corrections Department alert and gave him a ride to jail.
· Oops! A visitor to a British museum tripped on his shoelace, stumbled down a stairway and fell into a display of centuries-old Chinese vases, shattering them into "very small pieces," officials said Monday.
· Imus slurs are 'abusive,' Canada watchdog says. Don Imus has been fingered by Canada's TV watchdog for calling Muslims "brainwashed" and "stinking animals" during a 2004 broadcast that aired on MSNBC Canada.
· Bush-bashing takes center stage in NY theaters. It's not hard to spot the common theme in three New York theater offerings this season that go by the titles "Bush is Bad," "Bush Wars: Musical Revenge" and "Laughing Liberally." There is also a spoof romantic duet between Bush and his chief adviser Karl Rove, and a naughty bedroom scene which has Vice President Dick Cheney literally in bed with a pair of scantily-clad women named after oil companies.
· Woman With Tattoo From Homemade Gun Got Sick. Some women in Springfield, MO are regretting their decision last week to get a tattoo from a door-to-door tattoo salesman. At least one person had to be hospitalized and the others face serious health risks.
· Poll Finds Men Want Alba As Girlfriend. More guys want Jessica Alba for their girlfriend than any other woman, according to AskMen.com's top 99 list for 2006. The 24-year-old actress tops the Web site's list ranking female celebrities on their "long-term relationship material." Alba is followed by "Alfie" star Sienna Miller and the ubiquitous Angelina Jolie.
· North Dakota to Test Balloons for Cellular Service. Why put up costly cell phone towers in thinly populated areas, when a few balloons would do? In North Dakota, former Gov. Ed Schafer is backing a plan to loft wireless network repeaters on balloons high above the state to fill gaps in cellular coverage.
· Super Bowl Host Is U.S.'s Poorest Big City. Before the Super Bowl kickoff this weekend, private planes will land here, limousines will clog the streets, and lavish parties will be thrown for those with famous names or lots of money. The kitchens of Ford Field will be stocked with two tons of lobster. Much of the rest of Detroit, though, is a landscape dotted with burned-out buildings, where liquor stores abound but supermarkets are hard to come by, and where drugs, violence and unemployment are everyday realities.
· Exxon Sees Record Profits for Any U.S. Company. Exxon Mobil Corp. posted record profits for any U.S. company on Monday — $10.71 billion for the fourth quarter and $36.13 billion for the year — as the world's biggest oil company benefited from high oil and natural-gas prices and solid demand for refined products.
· Study finds toxic threat in auto interiors. A report by an Ann Arbor environmental group that says toxic chemicals are present in automobile interiors at levels five to 10 times higher than those found in homes and offices has sparked protests from the chemical industry and interest from automakers.
· A Near Miss? Disaster seemed certain when a photographer captured these planes on course to collide over east London. To the onlookers below, the aircraft looked set for a mid-air crash.
· FEMA's big kiss-off. The offer was this: boats, helicopters, heavy equipment, rescue personnel - even places to stay. The response from FEMA after Hurricane Katrina was no thanks, according to documents obtained by CNN. The Interior Department offered the Federal Emergency Management Agency the use of personnel who were experienced in water rescues and also offered boats, helicopters, heavy equipment and rooms.
· Pastor Arrested In Prostitution Sting. The pastor of Garden View Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Fla., was arrested over the weekend, accused of soliciting sex from an undercover officer.
· Michael Jackson Visits Friend in Germany. Michael Jackson offered a brief glimpse of himself during a visit to a friend in the northern German city of Hamburg.
· The latest study to worry about. Along with smoking and chronic infections, alcohol consumption is an important cause of several types of cancer, researchers said on Monday. Excessive drinking raises the risk of cancer of the mouth, larynx, oesophagus, liver, colon and breast. It may also be linked with cancer of the pancreas and lung.
· Passenger Says Cruise Ship Employee Almost Raped Her. A Royal Caribbean cruise employee has been arrested and charged with attempting to rape a passenger during a weeklong cruise. Authorities said Henry Maceto Forbes, 34, was arrested Saturday when the Legend of the Seas docked in the Port of Tampa. He's being held without bond.
· Body Armor Likely Saved ABC News Pair. Surgeons removed shrapnel from ABC News anchor Bob Woodruff's head and neck, a family friend said Monday, and a hospital official said body armor likely saved the journalist's life.
· Tenn. Certificates Lure Illegal Immigrants. Tennessee's driving certificate for illegal immigrants isn't valid as a form of ID, but people are paying hundreds of dollars on the black market and traveling hundreds of miles to get one. Tennessee has issued more than 51,000 certificates since it became the first state to offer them in July 2004, but not every certificate has gone to someone living there.
· Former 'Playboy' playmate deported. The former “Playboy” playmate was rounded up by immigration authorities and deported with her husband after living illegally in Miami for five years. Now her attorney is trying to get the calendar pinup back into this country by classifying her as, quote, “an alien of extraordinary ability.”
· Religious Groups Get Chunk of AIDS Money. New groups are springing up to win a piece of President Bush's $15 billion AIDS program, with traditional players and religious groups joining forces to improve their chances in a competition that already has targeted nearly a quarter of its grants for faith-based organizations.
· Sporting clubs forbid photos of kids. Parents are being banned from taking photos of their children at sporting events in response to growing fears about pedophiles. Queensland's junior sports clubs are demanding parents get permission from other parents and team officials before photographing children.
· Ex-Enron execs Lay, Skilling set for trial today. Enron Corp.'s former top bosses Ken Lay and Jeffrey Skilling will enter a federal courtroom on Monday to face the jury that will judge whether the two took part in the fraud that brought down the company.
· Temple Says 'Mom' Was Among Her Best Roles. She's appeared in scores of movies and kept generations of children singing "On the Good Ship Lollipop" for more than 70 years. But Shirley Temple Black says her greatest role has been as a wife, mother and grandmother. "There's nothing like real love. Nothing," Black, 77, said backstage at the Screen Actors Guild Awards where she accepted a lifetime achievement award Sunday night.
· Witherspoon, 'Crash' Win Top SAG Honors. Reese Witherspoon as singer June Carter in "Walk the Line" and Philip Seymour Hoffman as author Truman Capote in "Capote" won lead-acting awards Sunday from the Screen Actors Guild, while the ensemble drama "Crash" pulled off an upset win over Brokeback Mountain" for the overall cast award.
· Baby In Plastic Bag Rescued From Lake. A baby girl was found inside a plastic bag floating on a lake in Brazil after passers-by heard her crying. The infant was released from a hospital Sunday in good health, doctors said.
· 'Baby Jessica,' now 19, reportedly marries. A published report says "Baby Jessica," whose dramatic rescue from an abandoned Texas well was televised across the country 18 years ago, has gotten married. Crews struggled for 58 hours to rescue Jessica McClure, then 18 months old, after she fell into an eight-inch-wide pipe in October 1987.
Sunday, January 29, 2006
· Woman with transplanted face revealed. Barely two months ago, the 38-year-old French divorcee received the world's first face transplant and this exclusive photograph reveals the full extent of her transformation.
· Is there a new member of the Bush family? President George W. Bush says Bill Clinton has become so close to his father that the Democratic former president is like a member of the family.
· Nervous Palestinians Circulate Hamas Jokes. A slew of jokes circulating among Palestinians following Hamas' landslide election victory reflects concerns that the fundamentalist group will impose Islamic law and social codes across the West Bank and Gaza. Speeding ticket? Pay for it with extra prayers.
· Grandmother Guns Down Daughter's Ex-Husband. Police said Sunday a man picking up his son for a supervised court visit was shot twice at point-blank range by the boy's 81-year-old great-grandmother.
· George Foreman could be in for a legal grilling. A $50-million lawsuit claims the former boxing champ and an international law firm defrauded a company hired to launch a line of George Foreman steaks.
· Too many losers force cancellation of audition. Hundreds of people were turned away from an open casting call for NBC's hit weight-loss show, "The Biggest Loser," because the restaurant couldn't accommodate the immense crowd of 1,500 people.
· TV crime dramas provide a how-to guide for killers. When Tammy Klein began investigating crime scenes eight years ago, it was virtually unheard of for a killer to use bleach to clean up a bloody mess. Today, the use of bleach, which destroys DNA, is not unusual in a planned homicide, said the senior criminalist from the LA County Sheriff's Department. Klein and other experts attribute such sophistication to television crime dramas like "CSI," which give criminals helpful tips on how to cover up evidence.
· Bob Woodruff Hurt in Iraq. ABC News anchor Bob Woodruff and his cameraman were seriously wounded Sunday in a roadside bomb attack near Taji, according to a statement from ABC News president David Westin.
· Big stereo could cost you your car. St. Louis city police would be able to seize cars blasting loud music under an ordinance passed Friday by the Board of Aldermen. The ordinance, which would take effect once signed by Mayor Francis Slay, prohibits the use and even installation of some enhanced speakers.
· No Nursing With 'Distracting' Breasts At YMCA Pool. The lifeguards find bare breasts distracting. That's one of the reasons officials at the Ann Arbor, Mich., YMCA said they've banned breast-feeding at the pool. But nursing moms counter that's no excuse.
· FDA: You're eating crushed bug juice. That ice cream you're eating or the lipstick you're wearing just might contain extract from crushed bugs. On purpose.
· Hamas Suggests Using Militants in Army. The leader of Hamas suggested Saturday that the Islamic group could create a Palestinian army that would include its militant wing responsible for scores of deadly attacks on Israelis in the aftermath of its crushing victory in parliamentary elections.
· Ugly watch. The $220,000, limited edition Cabestan watch has been introduced just in time to add a little eye candy to your wrist. Don't ask us what the hand crank on the side is for.
· Traffic deaths escalate during Super Bowl weekend. The Insurance Institute says nearly 60 percent of traffic deaths on Super Bowl Sunday involve alcohol. Only New Year's Eve has a higher rate - 70 percent - of traffic deaths involving alcohol.
· Russia looks for 'cash crop' on the moon. Russia is planning to beat America back to the Moon to mine for an abundance of untapped riches. But it's not gold or diamonds they aim to bring back to Earth. It's rare and precious helium 3 which could provide our planet with an almost limitless source of clean energy.
· Methane Gas Deposit Discovered In Ocean Floor Off California. Scientists have discovered an undersea deposit of frozen methane just off the Southern California coast, but whether it can be harnessed as a potential energy source is unknown.
· How the U.S. fell out of love with its cars. Tail fins and chrome grilles were once the symbols of a superpower. Now, with 36,000 jobs cut in a week and foreign vehicles filling the highways, Paul Harris in New York surveys the collapse of an industry.
Saturday, January 28, 2006
· Fox Employees Sue Over "Toxic" Studio Air. Two Fox News employees have filed a lawsuit claiming they were sickened by air contaminated with toxic molds and pesticides while working in the building where "The O'Reilly Factor" and "At Large with Geraldo Rivera" are produced.
· They're baaack! Storm damaged cars return. Over four months after hurricanes Katrina and Rita struck the Gulf Coast, scam artists are already trying to pawn off flooded vehicles as your standard secondhand car, according to industry experts.
· '60 Minutes' Pioneer Arthur Bloom Dies. Television news director Arthur Bloom, who helped found the newsmagazine "60 Minutes" and donated his stopwatch to create the show's iconic ticking image, died Saturday of cancer. He was 63.
· Cindy Sheehan Threatens To Run Against Feinstein. Cindy Sheehan has decided to run against California Senator Diane Feinstein if Feinstein does not filibuster the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Samuel Alito. Sheehan made that announcement from Venezuela where she is attending the World Social Forum.
· Off-Duty NYPD Cop Shot by Fellow Officer. In a tragic case of mistaken identity, police shot and critically wounded an off-duty officer as he pointed a gun at a suspect outside a fast food restaurant early Saturday, authorities said. Eric Hernandez, 25, was hit three times and was hospitalized in extremely critical condition, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.
· Pharmacists Sue Walgreen Drug Stores Over Birth-Control Policy. Four pharmacists who refused to sign a pledge promising to dispense the morning-after birth-control pill sued Walgreen drug stores Friday, alleging they were illegally fired.
· Prosecutor: 8-year-old demanded money. The 8-year-old boy who took his father's handgun to a day care Tuesday used a string of obscenities before he demanded money from a 7-year-old girl, then fired a shot that struck her in the arm, according to state prosecutors.
· Celeb Sex Tapes: a String of Grainy Hits. In a Hollywood museum specializing in erotica, there lies a grainy tape of a woman having sex with a man on a couch. The museum says it's widely believed, though denied by her estate, that the woman is Marilyn Monroe, circa 1948.
· Two Katrina FEMA Employees Accused Of Taking Bribes. The FBI arrested two Federal Emergency Management Agency employees Friday, accusing each of accepting $10,000 in cash kickbacks from a food services contractor.
· Man Falls From Ship and Survives 14 Harrowing Hours at Sea. After a night of partying on a cruise, 31-year-old Tim Sears woke up to find himself adrift in a dark sea, his ship nowhere in sight. Miraculously, he survived 14 hours at sea and was picked up by a passing cargo ship.
· David Hasselhoff hits rock bottom with music video. We just came across what has to be one of the poorest quality music videos ever produced. Watch Hasselhoff fly through the air in this 2002 kindergarten-level production for the German market.
· Rock producer Spector says mind clouded by Taser. Rock producer Phil Spector said in a sworn deposition made public on Friday he was sober when arrested in the shooting death of an actress but that his mind was clouded from having been zapped by police with a stun-gun.
Friday, January 27, 2006
· Judge jails teens who ridiculed him on Web site. A judge who sentenced three teenagers to probation threw them in jail after he saw them ridiculing him and drinking alcohol on a Web site.
· Ann Coulter: "Poison Justice Stevens." Conservative commentator Ann Coulter, speaking at a traditionally black college, joked that Justice John Paul Stevens should be poisoned. "We need somebody to put rat poisoning in Justice Stevens' creme brulee," Coulter said. "That's just a joke, for you in the media."
· Mystery of lost mother ends in still more loss. For 24 years, Michael Milbourn never could get straight answers from his father and grandmother about what happened to his mother, Rhonda Burgess. They would say only that she was crazy, that she was dangerous, that she abandoned him when he was a toddler and that he was better off without her. The search ended abruptly when a police detective told him the terrible family secret. Michael’s mother did not desert him after all. She was shot to death in 1981 by his grandmother.
· Ford bans competitors' vehicles from lot. Following Chrysler's lead, employees at Ford's Dearborn Truck Plant in Dearborn, Mich., will have to drive Ford Motor Co. vehicles to work or park across the street, the plant manager announced this week.
· Former NBA player Isaiah Rider arrested for kidnapping. Troubled former NBA player Isaiah Rider was arrested by Marin County sheriff's deputies Thursday on charges of kidnapping a female acquaintance, authorities said.
· Super Bowl Ad May Leave Viewers Asking, 'Que Pasa?' If you're expecting your Super Bowl Sunday to be an English-only experience, piénsalo de nuevo. Toyota will use the ultimate sports event to launch a commercial in Spanish and English, in what is the most prominent example of what analysts say is a growing trend: bilingual television ads.
· Teen Leaves Hospital After 'Flower' Tea Stops Heart. A teen in Titusville, Fla., who nearly died after drinking a batch of tea made from a common flower is out of the hospital Friday. David O'Bryan Taylor, known as Bryan, reportedly used an Internet recipe to make Angel's Trumpet flowers into a tea to get high.
· Former Ranger claims he served as Aiken's 'Claymate.' Former Army Ranger John Paulus swore he wasn't going to sell out singer Clay Aiken when contacted last week about rumors that he'd had sex with the supposedly straight "American Idol" star.
· Toddler may have mistaken cocaine for candy, police say. A 2-year-old Bronx girl died after eating cocaine stashed in her bedroom that she may have mistaken for candy, law enforcement sources said Thursday, and her mother's boyfriend and her mother were arrested on drug possession and other charges.
· Broadcaster says serious news at risk. The anchorman whose boss once characterized him as ice compared with his successor's fire was anything but chilly in the impassioned speech he delivered Tuesday at The Society of the Four Arts. "Truth no longer matters in the context of politics and, sadly, in the context of cable news," said Aaron Brown.
· Hidden Camera Busts TV Sportscaster In Woman's Home. A Baltimore television sportscaster is free on bond after he was charged with stealing painkillers from his neighbor's home. Keith Mills was arrested Wednesday afternoon at his home in Linthicum, Md., after he was captured in a police sting.
· Activists Aid Woman in Music Piracy Case. Patricia Santangelo just wanted to save money, but the mother of five quickly realized that acting as her own lawyer against the music companies accusing her of illegal downloading was a big-time money-burner. Fortunately, for her, it didn't take long for the Internet crowd to help her out.
· Cingular applies to patent smileys. Cingular, the United States' largest mobile phone network this week applied to patent emoticons, better known as smileys. The application refers to selecting emoticons on mobile phones or handheld devices over a wireless, and makes 35 claims in all. Although it uses the word 'emoticon', the application doesn't acknowledge that mutant punctuation has been livening up online communications since at least 1961.
· Cruise Ship Coverup? When 40-year-old Merrian Carver went missing on the second day of a seven-day Alaskan Royal Caribbean cruise, the crew didn't respond as one might expect. In fact, the crew acted as though nothing had happened.
· U.S. posts wrong photo of ‘al-Qaida operative.’ For a year and a half, the U.S. government has been asking for the public's help in finding Midhat Mursi al-Sayid 'Umar, also known as Abu Khabab al-Masri, a dangerous al-Qaida operative. But now intelligence officials admit they were using a photo of the wrong man.
· Joaquin Phoenix Flips Car, Avoids Injury. Joaquin Phoenix's car overturned on a canyon road and collided with another vehicle after his brakes went out, but there were no reports of injury, police said. Phoenix, the 31-year-old star of the Johnny Cash biopic "Walk the Line," was driving eastbound above Sunset Strip about 2:50 p.m. when he realized his brakes were not working, said Officer Jason Lee, a police spokesman.
· Ex-'SNL' Star Pleads Not Guilty to DUI. Former "Saturday Night Live" star Tracy Morgan is heading to court after pleading not guilty to charges of drunken driving, prosecutors said Thursday.
· Muslim Group Asks Radio Host to Apologize. A Muslim civil liberties group demanded an apology Thursday from the host of a Los Angeles-area radio show for making fun of a stampede that killed hundreds of Muslims during an annual pilgrimage. The Council on American-Islamic Relations asked for an apology from KFI-AM 640 host Bill Handel, who allegedly made fun of the deaths the same day they happened during a segment he called the "Annual Stampede Report."
· 7 myths about the Challenger shuttle disaster. Twenty years ago, millions of television viewers were horrified to witness the live broadcast of the space shuttle Challenger exploding 73 seconds into flight, ending the lives of the seven astronauts on board. What is not widely known, however, is that it didn't explode, the crew didn't die instantly and it wasn't inevitable.
· Research puts actors' memory on center stage. How do you learn all those lines?" It is the question most asked of actors and their art. The ability to remember and effortlessly deliver large quantities of dialogue verbatim amazes non-thespians. Most people imagine that learning a script involves hours, days, and even months of rote memorization. But actors seldom work that way; in fact, they often don't consciously try to memorize lines at all. And they seldom consider memorization as defining what they do.
· Arab Opinion Over Hamas Win Divided. Some Arab leaders are calling for the peace process to continue between Israel and the Palestinians, despite the victory in Wednesday's parliamentary elections by Hamas. Israel has said it won't deal with a government that includes Hamas, a group that has called for the destruction of Israel.
Thursday, January 26, 2006
· Diner Suspect Seeks Seconds, Shoots Self. Police say a robbery suspect held up a diner on Monday, went back for seconds on Wednesday and wound up shooting himself in the foot. Police say they arrested Clayton Everett Teman, 23, who was hospitalized.
· 2 Tons of Pot Found in Mexican Border Tunnel. Authorities said they discovered more than 2 tons of marijuana in a cross-border tunnel that began near the Tijuana airport and ended inside a warehouse on the U.S. side. The 2,400-feet long passageway is longer than most of the 21 cross- border tunnels that have been discovered since authorities began keeping track after the Sept. 11 attacks, U.S. Immigration officials said.
· Philip Morris to Stop Supplying Dealers. Philip Morris USA will stop supplying cigarettes to illegal Internet and mail order dealers as part of an agreement with attorneys general for 37 states and territories, New York officials said Thursday. The nation's biggest tobacco company voluntarily agreed to end shipments of any of its products to customers, Indian tribes and enterprises that the states deem illegal, New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer said.
· Snowmobiler Dies During Crash In Police Chase. A snowmobiler died of injuries suffered in a crash during a police chase in Brainerd, Minn. early Wednesday. Police began chasing James Gregory Hummel, 39, of Baxter, Minn. around midnight after seeing him run a red light and speeding down city streets, Police Chief John Bolduc said. When police tried to pull the snowmobile over, the driver tried to evade officers by going through a park, across a small lake, and then back through city streets until he hit a guard rail.
· Grenade gets flight attendant in trouble. A Northwest Airlines flight attendant has been grounded and could face charges after security personnel found a real but inactive hand grenade in her carry-on luggage, officials said.
· Quebec couple find $100,000 in home. The owners of a home in Trois-Rivières, Que., have handed $100,000 over to police after finding the stacks of bills in the ceiling of their bathroom while renovating. The $20 bills were stuffed in a plastic bag and hidden above a ceiling panel. The couple who own the home promptly surrendered the cash to authorities. Investigators say the home was most recently owned by the alleged head of the Hells Angels.
· Alleged Crack Dealer Uses Business Cards. The business cards got a response, but surely not what their owner had in mind when he had them printed up. They came to the attention of Leavenworth police, who used them to make a drug arrest last week. The business card had an image of what appeared to be an alarm clock being hit by a boxing glove and said: "For a quick hit on time call the boss."
· Oprah says Frey ‘betrayed millions of readers.’ Oprah Winfrey challenged author James Frey over his disputed memoir, asking him on a live telecast of her show Thursday to explain why he “felt the need to lie.” “It is difficult for me to talk to you because I really feel duped ... but more importantly I feel that you betrayed millions of readers,” Winfrey said to Frey, who wrote the hugely popular “A Million Little Pieces.”
· Grandpa Dies After Hearing 7 Kids Died In Crash. A family reeling from the deaths of of seven children in a fiery crash on a Florida highway yesterday was struck with more tragedy when the children's grandfather suffered a heart attack and died.
· Penn: Cause of death undetermined after autopsy. The cause of actor Chris Penn's death remained undetermined after an autopsy, and the coroner's office has ordered blood toxicology tests.
· Teen beats up his grandmother - because she won't buy him beer. Deputies say a 16-year-old has been arrested for beating his grandmother with a two-by-four for refusing to give him $100 for beer. Investigators say Kurt Cass went into his 60-year-old grandmother's bedroom and asked her for $100 for beer. When she refused, he allegedly placed a razor blade on her throat and demanded she take him to the bank to get the money.
· Palestinian government resigns in wake of Hamas win. In a stunning development ahead of official election results, Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qorie said he and the rest of the Palestinian Authority government will resign in the wake of militant group Hamas' apparent victory in historic elections.
· 'Little Old Lady Killer' suspect is former pro wrestler. A former professional wrestler captured while fleeing a house where an 82-year-old woman had been strangled has been linked to the deaths of at least 10 elderly women, police said Thursday, raising hopes that the notorious "Little Old Lady Killer" is in custody.
· Bank opposes seizing land for private use. BB&T Corp. weighed into the eminent-domain debate yesterday, saying that it would not make loans to commercial developers planning private projects on land seized from private homeowners by local governments.
· Super Bowl ads cutting the sleaze. When paying $2.5 million for 30 seconds of advertising time, you might think you could pretty much do anything with it, but that's not the case this year.
· Man charged for videotaping school bathrooms. A Staten Island man who is a part-time maintenance worker with the New York City Department of Education, arrested earlier this week for allegedly installing illegal spy cameras in a Long Island home, faces several new charges for placing surveillance cameras in two Brooklyn high schools, New York City police said.
· Saddam to sue Bush and Blair. Defense lawyers for Saddam Hussein Wednesday distributed copies of a lawsuit against President Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair for destroying Iraq.
· Sex calms nerves before public speaking: study. Forget pretending you are talking to one person or concentrating on a single point in the audience - having sex is good way to calm nerves before giving a speech or presentation.
· Five Iraqi women prisoners to be freed. Five Iraqi women prisoners whose release has become linked to the case of kidnapped American journalist Jill Carroll will be freed from U.S. custody on Thursday, a Justice Ministry official said on Wednesday.
· Bicycle goes 0 to 60 mph in five seconds. For rocket designer Tim Pickens, a rocket on two wheels is the next best thing to a spaceship.
· No ‘Brokeback Mountain’ for overseas troops. “Brokeback Mountain,” the movie about a gay cowboy love affair that recently won four Golden Globe awards and is expected to be in the Oscar hunt, will not play in any U.S. military theaters in Europe.
· Woods Buys Oceanfront Property for $38 million. Tiger Woods has completed a $38 million purchase of 10 acres of residential property stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Intracoastal Waterway.
Woods, who grew up in southern California, moved to Orlando in 1996 when he turned pro.
· Kerkorian boosts stake in GM. Investor Kirk Kerkorian spent more than $250 million this week to boost his holding in General Motors Corp. to nearly 10 percent, buying the shares only about a month after he'd sold a similar stake. On Thursday, investors are likely to weigh in on the wisdom of his bet.
· Al Gore on fire at Sundance. Former Vice President Al Gore, often accused of being stiff throughout his unsuccessful 2000 presidential campaign, was full of anger and passion as he visited the Sundance Film Festival this week. Since losing the presidency, the self-described "recovering politician" has found a new mission: saving the planet.
· Pilot Killed As Jet Crashes Into Alaska Mobile Home Park. A small, military-style jet crashed into a mobile home park Wednesday, killing the pilot, who was found strapped to his seat 100 yards from the site, authorities said.
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
· Hatch Found Guilty of Failing to Pay Taxes. Richard Hatch, who won $1 million in the first season of "Survivor," was found guilty Wednesday of failing to pay taxes on his winnings. Hatch was also convicted of evading taxes on $327,000 he earned as co-host of a Boston radio show and $28,000 in rent on property he owned. He was acquitted of seven bank, mail and wire fraud charges. Hatch, 44, faces up to 13 years in prison and a fine of $600,000.
· Inmate accused of strangling child-molesting priest beaten at prison. The prison inmate accused of strangling child-molesting priest John Geoghan arrived in court with a black eye Wednesday as jurors began a second day of deliberations.
· Village People 'Policeman' Skips Hearing. Victor Willis, the original policeman in '70s disco band the Village People, skipped a court hearing where he was due to be sentenced on drug and gun charges and now faces more than three years in prison, prosecutors said.
· School to Be Named After Johnnie Cochran. The Los Angeles middle school attended by high-profile attorney Johnnie Cochran Jr. will be renamed in his honor, officials said. The Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education voted unanimously Tuesday to rename the 1,900-student Mt. Vernon Middle School after the attorney best known for representing O.J. Simpson.
· College student claims he was punched by actor Joe Pesci after taking his photo. A college student has filed a police report claiming that actor Joe Pesci punched him in the mouth after he snapped a photo in a shopping center parking lot.
· Grandmother Shot, Killed Picking Up Injured Dog. Police continued searching Wednesday for the person who shot a 46-year-old mother of three to death as she was getting into a car in the driveway of a friend's apartment.
· Actor Chris Penn found dead. Actor Chris Penn, brother of Sean Penn, was found dead Tuesday at a condominium near the beach in Santa Monica, police said. Police said they discovered the 40-year-old actor's body around 4 p.m. Lt. Frank Fabrega said there were no obvious signs of foul play. Chris Penn's credits included "Mulholland Falls," "Rumble Fish," "All the Right Moves," "Footloose" and "Rush Hour."
· Former Knicks executive sues Isiah Thomas. New York Knicks president Isiah Thomas has been accused of sexual harassment and sex discrimination in a lawsuit filed by a former team executive Tuesday in federal court in New York. Anucha Browne Sanders, 43, claims Thomas made unwanted advances and says she was fired as the Knicks' senior vice president of marketing and business operations after she made the complaints.
· MPAA accused of motion picture piracy. The Motion Picture Association of America stands accused of breaking its own piracy guidelines after it admitted making unauthorised copies of a film submitted to it for classification. The accuser is film director Kirby Dick who sent a copy of his documentary "This Film Is Not Yet Rated" to the MPAA back in November. According to the LA Times, Mr Dick is "very upset and troubled" by the MPAA’s admission that it had made copies of his work. According to the MPAA’s own website, "Manufacturing, selling, distributing or making copies of motion pictures without the consent of the copyright owner is illegal."
· Pilot Error Blamed in Commuter Plane Crash. The crew of of a commuter plane made fatal mistakes in a crash that claimed 13 lives in northeast Missouri and federal investigators say their jovial mood was partly to blame. A steady stream of inappropriate jokes, quips and expletive-filled comments throughout the flight suggested a lack of cockpit discipline, NTSB officials said. Pilot fatigue after a 14 1/2-hour day also played a role in their "degraded performance" the agency found.
· Nagin's 'Chocolate' Remark Sparks T-Shirt Craze. T-shirts making fun of Mayor Ray Nagin's remark that New Orleans would once again be a "chocolate city" are in high demand, with recent orders coming in from overseas countries.
· NBC Drops 'Book of Daniel' From Schedule. The last chapter of the controversial religious drama "The Book of Daniel" has been written at NBC. Although the network stopped short of saying the low-rated show was canceled, a spokeswoman said Tuesday it has been dropped from the schedule. Conservative Christian groups condemned the depiction of Jesus as blasphemous, accusing the writers of portraying Christ as tolerant of sin in talks with the priest. Seven NBC affiliates refused to air it.
· Anti-war protester Cindy Sheehan hails Venezuela's Chavez. Anti-war protester Cindy Sheehan, mother of a US soldier killed in Iraq, joined more than 10,000 anti-globalization activists in Caracas, where she hailed Venezuela's leftist President Hugo Chavez. "I admire him for his resolve against my government and its meddling," said Sheehan.
· FBI Agent Punished for Exposing Boss’s Affair With an Informant. The FBI’s former top agent in Panama carried on an affair with a confidential informant that left him open to blackmail by “a hostile foreign intelligence agency,” according to his former deputy, who has filed a discrimination suit against the bureau.
· West Poses As Jesus for Rolling Stone. Kanye West, with a crown of thorns atop his head, poses as Jesus Christ on the cover of the upcoming issue of Rolling Stone. The outspoken rapper defends his brash attitude inside the magazine's pages, on newsstands Friday.
· Study: Many College Students Have Been Harassed. Nearly two-thirds of college students have experienced sexual harassment at some point during college, according to a report released Tuesday by the American Association of University Women Educational Foundation.
· Motel Burglar Leaves Room Number. A man on a weekend getaway was arrested after allegedly burglarizing the Fort Bragg motel where he was staying, then leaving a note indicating where to find him. Enrique Rodriguez Vasquez, 37, was arrested on suspicion of burglary and possession of methamphetamine after police confronted him at the Best Western motel room he'd described in the note.
· Officers Discharged Under Gay Policy. Hundreds of officers and health care professionals have been discharged in the past 10 years under the Pentagon's policy on gays, a loss that while relatively small in numbers involves troops who are expensive for the military to educate and train.
· Meg Ryan Remakes Motherhood. Meg Ryan has borrowed a page out of Angelina Jolie's guide to motherhood. Ryan picked up her new daughter from the U.S. consulate this week after an eight-day stay in China.
· Dogs may be able to detect cancer in patients' breath. Researchers exposed dogs to breath samples from lung and breast cancer patients, as well as samples from healthy people. They said the dogs were able to detect cancer with astounding sensitivity: They identified 99 percent of the lung cancer breath samples (including early-stage cancer patients) and 88 percent of the breast cancer samples.
· Lawyers: Moussaoui possibly schizophrenic. Defense attorneys said Tuesday they are prepared to present witnesses who will say Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person in the U.S. convicted in connection with the September 11, 2001, terror attacks, may be schizophrenic.
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
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· Greenville Teacher Gets Suspended Sentence. A former high school teacher was given a suspended prison sentence and two years of probation for taking indecent liberties with a student. Katherine Tew, 31, was cleared Monday by a Pitt County jury of a charge of having sexual relations with the male student, who was 17 at the time.
· DENIED: Pamela Anderson's request to oust KFC statue. Kentucky's governor is siding with Colonel Sanders over Pamela Anderson. Governor Ernie Fletcher wrote the actress to say a bust of the late KFC founder will stay in the Kentucky Capitol, despite her claim that Sanders is a symbol of cruelty to chickens.
· Paparazzi Help Britney With Ferrari Breakdown. The paparazzi sometimes drive Britney Spears out of her mind — but the new mom was actually happy they were around when the car she was riding in broke down in the middle of a busy road. Spears was cruising along the Pacific Coast Highway near her Malibu home in hubby Kevin Federline's Ferrari, her older brother, Bryan, behind the wheel, when the stunning $200,000 sports car suddenly seized and ground to a halt in the middle of speeding traffic.
· Woman Arrested For Leaving Toddler In Hot Car Sues City. A Connecticut woman who was arrested after her son was accidentally locked in her car on a hot day is suing city officials for defamation. Guita Sazan Silverstein was arrested in July after she allegedly told rescuers not to break the window on her Audi to free her child.
· Kathleen Turner is barely recognizable. She is the siren whose sexual chemistry with Michael Douglas lit up the screen 20 years ago. Today, Kathleen Turner is barely recognizable as she succumbs to the side-effects of steroids she is taking to ease the agony of rheumatoid arthritis.
· Hiccups lead to two shooting deaths in Colombia. A Colombian man accidentally shot his nephew to death while trying to cure his hiccups by pointing a revolver at him to scare him, police in the Caribbean port city of Barranquilla said on Tuesday.