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Friday, June 30, 2006
· Complaint: Racist mayor abuses office. Tennessee officials are taking the rare step of trying to remove a small-town mayor accused of frequently using racial slurs, including the n-word, and targeting Hispanic drivers for tickets because they are "mostly illegal anyway." 
· Florida lawmakers caught on tape voting for absent colleagues. When the Florida Legislature is in session, you can watch representative Democracy at work. Every member of the Florida State House represents 140,000 Floridians. Each member has one vote. Or should have one vote. But on April 18th, Clearwater Representative Kimberly Berfield pushed the "yes" button of hers, and three other representatives, on a bill she sponsored. The bill passed.
· Judge Tosses 'Mafia Cops' Convictions. A judge on Friday threw out a racketeering murder conviction against two detectives accused of moonlighting as hitmen for the mob, saying the statute of limitations had expired on the slayings. District Judge Jack Weinstein also granted a new trial to the defendants, Louis Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa, on money laundering and drug charges.
· Philly Cops Find $5 Million In Cocaine In Sofa. Philadelphia police and the FBI have announced the arrest of two men and the seizure of about 60 pounds of cocaine hidden in a sofa. Police Captain Chris Werner says authorities seized 47 kilos of cocaine - more than 100 pounds of it - with a street value of nearly $5 million. Investigators determined that Mexican nationals were bringing the illegal narcotics into Philadelphia from the Southwest.
· Reuters: Operation removes lightbulb from man's rear end. Fateh Mohammad, a prison inmate in Pakistan, says he woke up last weekend with a glass lightbulb in his anus. Wednesday night, doctors brought Mohammad's misery to an end after a one-and-a-half hour operation to remove the object. "Thanks Allah, now I feel comfort," the man said. "We had to take it out intact," said Dr. Farrukh Aftab at Nishtar Hospital. "Had it been broken inside, it would be a very very complicated situation."
· Autopsy: Boy at Disney Had Heart Defect. The 12-year-old boy who died after riding a Walt Disney World roller coaster had a congenital heart defect, a medical examiner determined Friday.
· Pastor's wife said she 'snapped', agent testified. A minister's wife charged with murdering her husband told police she shot him after they argued over family finances and then told him "I'm sorry" as he lay dying in their bedroom, according to testimony at a bond hearing Friday.
· Heavier Toys May Mean Fewer Fat Kids. Doctors and health advocates have warned for years that American children are getting fatter. Now even some kids' teddy bears are packing on the pounds. But these heavy toys aim to combat obesity, not add to it.
· Elvis-crazy PM hits high notes at Graceland. After an in-flight airing of Elvis Presley's greatest hits on Air Force One and an offering of "the king's" favored grilled fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches, President Bush took Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi on a tour of Graceland, home of Koizumi's undisputed musical hero, with Priscilla and Lisa Marie Presley greeting them.
· Man Sues Creator Of Web Site That Lets Women Dish Dirt On Men. A city attorney is suing the creator of a Web site that lets women dish dirt on men they claim have wronged them, saying they made defamatory statements about him.
· Judge throws out confession in Jessica Lunsford case. The confession of a man charged with kidnapping, raping and killing 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford isn't admissible in court, but the discovery of her body can be used as evidence, a judge ruled today. John Evander Couey, a 47-year-old convicted sex offender, gave the confession to detectives, but also told them that he wanted to consult a lawyer. He wasn't given the opportunity to do so.
· New cell phone helps keep you out of trouble. A new cell phone hitting the U.S. market allows users to set it up so they don't call certain people in their phone book - Think ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend. If you have a blood alcohol level over .08, the phone will not let you dial that person. So it not only promotes sobriety, but chastity — and probably your dignity, as well.
· Guard to Miss Border Mission Deadline. The Bush administration has been unable to muster even half of the 2,500 National Guardsmen it planned to have on the Mexican border by the end of June. As of yesterday, the next-to-last day of the month, fewer than 1,000 troops were in place, according to military officials in the border states of Texas, Calif., New Mexico and Arizona.
· NASA Officials Say Shuttle Not Safe. Key NASA officials who oversee the agency said they don't believe the shuttle is safe for launch. NASA already had a "no go" for flight from the agency's top safety official and chief engineer. However, NASA managers went ahead and gave the "go for launch" for tomorrow.
· Update: 'Penis pump judge' convicted. A Creek County jury late Thursday convicted a former judge who was accused of exposing himself by using a sexual device while he presided over court cases. Jurors recommended one year in prison and a $10,000 fine on each count against judge Donald Thompson, 59, who served more than 20 years on the bench in eastern Oklahoma before his retirement.
· Rich folks get more sleep - blacks and men get less. In a study of sleep characteristics in 669 adults in Chicago who were compared by sex and race, investigators found that blacks got less sleep than whites, while men got less sleep than women. Furthermore, the wealthier you are, the more sleep you're likely to get, Dr. Diane S. Lauderdale of the University of Chicago and her colleagues found.
· Woman auctions herself with her Ferrari. A woman living in Germany is auctioning off her red Ferrari Enzo sports car and including a little extra in the package - herself. The 26-year-old has invited bids on Internet auction site ebay starting at $1.6 million. She said she was rich herself, liked her car and was looking for a man who could foot the bill for such a luxury.
· Defense: Cartoons Provoked Yates. Andrea Yates believed that cartoon characters told her she was a bad mother who fed her children too much candy, a jail psychiatrist testified Thursday. Dr. Melissa R. Ferguson said Yates thought the television characters were berating her for giving her children too much candy and cereal.
· Shopping Addict Gets 27 Months In Prison. A woman accused of embezzling more than $1.5 million from a credit union and buying more than 1,500 items, including hundreds of pairs of shoes and a $60,000 swimming pool, was sentenced to 27 months in prison.
· Judge Blocks Georgia Sex Offender Law For All. A federal judge Thursday temporarily blocked the state of Georgia from preventing registered sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of school bus stops.
· Lil' Kim to Be Released From Prison. Lil' Kim says she'll be celebrating Independence Day early this year. The rapper, who was sentenced in September to a year and a day in prison for lying about a shootout outside a hip-hop radio station, is being released Monday, the day before July Fourth.
· Reynolds: ABC Said to 'Make Up a Story.' Ousted cast member Star Jones Reynolds said Thursday she was told she could "make up a story" about why she was leaving "The View" and her colleagues would have gone along with it. The news that Reynolds wouldn't have her contract renewed for a 10th year on the daytime talk show exploded this week into a bitter war of words involving show creator Barbara Walters.
· Abortion Foes Worry About Buffett Donation. Warren Buffett's new philanthropic alliance with fellow billionaire Bill Gates won widespread praise this week, but anti-abortion activists did not join in. Instead, they assailed the two donors for their longtime support of Planned Parenthood and international birth-control programs.
· MSNBC Replaces 'Rita Cosby.' Rita Cosby is losing her year-old MSNBC show and will be doing specials for the cable channel. The shuffle, which MSNBC announced Thursday, is the first big move of Dan Abrams' three-week tenure as MSNBC's general manager.
· Psycho-therapy may benefit sex offenders. Psychological treatments do not cure sex criminals but they may help reduce the number of times they re-offend, researchers said on Friday. Types of psychological therapies, which are usually stipulated during sentencing, vary but criminals who complete treatment programmes tend to re-offend less often and less seriously. "Sexual offending, like many medical conditions, cannot be cured," said Belinda Brooks-Gordon, a psychologist at the University of London.
· Power Outages Plague New Orleans. With temperatures regularly climbing into the 90s and straining New Orleans' power supply, the fragility of the storm-beaten utilities has started to show. Tuesday afternoon the lights suddenly went out on thousands of residents, and the lights stayed out for hours. As power was restored to one area, it was lost in another, and power was lost again Wednesday. "We need restoration of the infrastructure," said City Council member Cynthia Hedge-Morrell. "Right now, they are patching the holes, but sooner or later we'll run out of patches."
· As the Spellings Turn. Not even the Carringtons issued this many press releases. In the latest volley in the PR war between the "Spelling Family" and Tori Spelling, the former accused the latter of tainting the legacy of the clan's legendary patriarch with "mean-spirited and surprising comments."
· G-Forces On Theme Park Thrill Rides Evaluated. Questions about G-forces surfaced after the death of a 4-year-old on Epcot's Mission Space ride. A medical examiner recently determined that Daudi Bamuwayme died from a pre-existing heart condition. Officials said G-forces produced by the thrill rides are harmless for healthy riders. However, theme parks refuse to release information about the intensity of their rides.
· Denise Moves Out, Charlie Moves On. It seems Denise Richards wants to put some distance between herself and her ex-friend Heather Locklear. Richards has placed the Los Angeles-area home she bought last year after her initial separation from Charlie Sheen on the market for $4.3 million, the Los Angeles Times reports.
· Drug runners flew copters through canyons, officials say. U.S. and Canadian authorities said Thursday they had arrested more than 40 people and broken up six rings that smuggled drugs across the border using planes and helicopters. The cross-border drug runs got public attention in July 2005, when Playboy magazine profiled the practice. Investigators have also seized 8,000 pounds of marijuana, 800 pounds of cocaine, more than $1.5 million in currency and two aircraft.
· Bin Laden praises al-Zarqawi, defends attacks. Osama bin Laden defended attacks by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi against civilians in Iraq, purportedly saying in a taped Web message Friday that the slain al-Qaida in Iraq leader was acting under orders to kill anyone who backs American forces. Bin Laden paid tribute to al-Zarqawi in a 19-minute audio message posted on an Islamic militant Web site. The message has narration by a voice resembling bin Laden’s as a video shows an old photo of him in a split-screen next to images of al-Zarqawi taken from a previous video.
Thursday, June 29, 2006
· Nun accused of stealing $300,000 turns self in. A nun accused of stealing more than $300,000 from the Omaha Archdiocese turned herself in. Sister Barbara Markey, 71, turned herself in to Omaha Police on Wednesday, after a warrant was issued for her arrest.
· Congress OKs $700 million for Mars mission. President Bush's plan to send man to Mars in coming decades received a green light Thursday as the House passed a bill funding the annual budgets of NASA and the departments of Commerce, Justice and State.
· Md. Governor Chooses Blind Running Mate. Gov. Robert Ehrlich announced Thursday that Kristen Cox, the state disabilities secretary, will be his new lieutenant governor running mate. Cox said she agreed to join the ticket in part because the governor has stepped up for people with disabilities who, she said, "tend to be marginalized, overlooked, diminished."
· Ark. High Court Backs Gay Foster Parents. Arkansas cannot ban homosexuals from becoming foster parents because there is no link between their sexual orientation and a child's well-being, the state's high court ruled Thursday.
· New York Cops Make Pot Bust in KFC Drive-Through. Two men in their 20s pulled up to the window at the KFC Wednesday afternoon and asked for the daily special. Narcotics detectives, who were inside ordering their usual Wednesday special, noticed a cloud of marijuana smoke wafting into the restaurant and spotted the two men smoking what one of the cops called "the biggest marijuana cigar your ever saw."
· Tom Petty amused over plagiarism debate. Tom Petty has decided to take the high road when it comes to the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Music insiders were shocked when the Peppers debuted their hit song, "Dani California," last month - as was reported, it's eerie similarity to Petty's "Mary Jane's Last Dance." But Petty tells Rolling Stone: "I seriously doubt that there is any negative intent there. And a lot of rock 'n' roll songs sound alike."
· U.S. Supreme Court quashes 'illegal' Guantanamo tribunals. Military tribunals arranged by the Bush administration for detainees at Guantanamo Bay are illegal, the United States Supreme Court ruled Thursday. The justices also rejected the government's argument that the Geneva Conventions regarding prisoners of war do not apply to those held at Guantanamo Bay.
· Ex-governor convicted in corruption trial. Former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman and former Health South CEO Richard Scrushy were convicted Thursday in a bribery scheme that derailed Siegelman's campaign to retake his former office.
· Coopertown Mayor's City Hall Of Shame. A Tennessee mayor spewed racial slurs, attempted to set up foes for arrest, and tried to boost his town's traffic ticket revenue by specifically profiling soldiers and Hispanics, according to a lawsuit seeking the politician's ouster from office.
· Baby Left in Minivan All Day Dies. A 5-month-old baby died in a minivan Wednesday after the mother apparently forgot to drop the child off at a Grand Forks day care. The tragedy was discovered about 5:30 p.m. outside the Wonder Years 2 day care. The baby's mother stopped at the day care after work to pick up the child and was told by staff that the baby had not been dropped off. She realized then that the baby had been in her minivan all day, where the temperature exceeded 100 degrees.
· Feds recover stolen computer with sensitive data on vets, military personnel. The government has recovered the stolen laptop computer containing sensitive data for up to 26.5 million veterans and military personnel, Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson announced Thursday. Nicholson also said there have been no reports of identity theft since the May 3 burglary at the Maryland home of an agency employee.
· Orlando Commissioner: 'White Boy' Is No Racial Slur. Orlando Commissioner Daisy Lynum insisted she did nothing wrong when she called a city officer who pulled over her son a "white boy," and continued her crusade against racial profiling last night.
· Judge Accused of Sex With Teens. A Milledgeville, Georgia lawyer who serves as a municipal court judge and prosecutor was released on $75,000 bond after he was arrested on charges of having sex with 13- and 14-year-old girls. Jon Philip Carr, 53, a municipal court judge in Ivey and McIntyre and a prosecutor for Milledgeville Municipal Court, was released Monday and is charged with six counts of child molestation and four counts of statutory rape, said Baldwin County Sheriff Bill Massee.
· Katrina Looters Get 15 Years For Alcohol Theft. Three people convicted of hauling away liquor, wine and beer from a grocery store after Hurricane Katrina were sentenced Wednesday to 15 years in prison.
· Nolte Makes Suit Go Away. Nick Nolte will probably opt to stay home the next time his kid throws a party. The Affliction star has reached a settlement with the parents of a teenage girl who said that she was date-raped during a party at the actor's Malibu home. The family sued Nolte on their now-18-year-old daughter's behalf in 2004, and the case was headed to trial after a judge refused to dismiss the lawsuit last month
· Berkeley, California to vote on Bush impeachment. The municipal council in the liberal California city of Berkeley plans to give voters a say on a measure calling for the impeachment of President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, the mayor said on Wednesday. A number of local governments across the United States have pressed resolutions urging impeachment, but the Berkeley city council's goal is to be the first to put the issue directly to voters, Mayor Tom Bates said in an interview.
· Update: Pentagon says homosexuality not a mental disorder. The Pentagon no longer deems homosexuality a mental disorder, officials said on Wednesday, although the reversal has no impact on U.S. policy prohibiting openly gay people from serving in the military. After a 1996 Pentagon document placing homosexuality among a list of "certain mental disorders" came to light this month, the American Psychiatric Association and a handful of lawmakers asked the Defense Department to change its view.
· Dubai embezzler busted for posing as Brad Pitt. A salesman tried to fleece a money exchanger in the United Arab Emirates by using an identity card bearing the picture of Hollywood heart-throb Brad Pitt, a local newspaper reported on Thursday. The Gulf News said the 29-year-old Jordanian had been told by his brother, who worked at the Dubai money exchange, that more than $23,000 in cash had been transferred to the bureau for a client who had not picked it up for more than three months.
· Charged Marine Says He Felt 'Under Attack.' An Iraq war veteran charged with injuring two people when he fired his rifle from his home testified Wednesday he wanted to scare away a rowdy crowd after a bottle crashed through his second-floor window.
· Tori Spelling's Mother Issues. The Spelling family feud is on. In a new interview with Us Weekly, Tori Spelling reveals she learned of father Aaron Spelling's death last week as she dined in Toronto. Her BlackBerry broke the bad news. "My first thought was, I can't believe my mom didn't call me!" "My mom's behavior simply made me uncomfortable to be around my family," Tori Spelling says in the magazine. Specifically, Tori Spelling is said to be unhappy that her mother, Candy, was spending time with a longtime family friend while her father's health deteriorated. Candy Spelling has denied a romance with the friend.
· Jackie Chan looks to bequeath half of wealth. Hong Kong action movie star Jackie Chan is looking to bequeath half his fortune to charity, following in the footsteps of Warren Buffet and Bill Gates, local media reported on Thursday.
· Gun amnesty uncovers attic rocket launcher. An amnesty program designed to reduce the number of illegal and unwanted guns in British Columbia, Canada has also turned up an unexpected weapon - a rocket launcher from an elderly woman.
· Mall Owner Pays State Record Amount for Liquor License. The company that owns the Cherry Hill Mall in New Jersey has paid a record $1.5 million for a liquor license.
· "Devil Wears Prada" skewers fashion boss from hell. Meryl Streep, who plays a tyrannical fashion magazine editor in "The Devil Wears Prada," insists she didn't draw on Vogue editor Anna Wintour for her character - on the contrary, she based it on men.
· Hubble Telescope Camera Should Be Fixed by Monday. The Hubble Space Telescope's main camera should be back on line July 3 without any loss of performance, the space agency announced.
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
· Britney Bares All. Apparently, Britney Spears is out to prove she's not a girl and very much a woman. Just days after baring her soul on Dateline, the pregnant pop tart is taking a page out of Demi Moore's playbook and baring, well, everything else, for the cover of the August issue of Harper's Bazaar.
· Cost for Queen is a buck per person. Queen Elizabeth costs each UK taxpayer $1.13, with the overall cost of running the royal family increasing above the rate of inflation, Buckingham Palace said on Wednesday. The Royal Public Finances report said the queen's family and household spending was $68.2 million, a 4.2 percent increase from the previous year, costing the taxpayer an extra 1 pence more a year.
· Teacher scandals - They happen in England too. A married teacher who had sex with one of her teenage pupils has been jailed for four years and three months. Elvira Fairhurst, from Liverpool, began an affair with the boy when he was 14 and had sex with him up to 10 times.
· Plane Crashes After Taking Off Without Pilot. A small plane crashed Tuesday afternoon near the Mount Comfort airport in Hancock County, but no one was on the plane when it went down. Police said the plane's pilot, Michael Bower of Greenwood, went out for an afternoon flight out of the airport, but had some trouble starting the plane.
· Pervert priest blames parents of daughter he molested. Former Roman Catholic priest Oliver O'Grady claims it was the parents' fault that he raped a 5-year-old girl, because they allowed him to be too close to their daughter. [Disturbing Video]
· Awkward moments abound in penis pump trial. Serving on the jury in an indecent-exposure trial unfolding in this conservative Oklahoma town has been a giggle-inducing experience. Former Judge Donald D. Thompson, a veteran of 23 years on the bench, is on trial on charges he used a penis pump on himself in the courtroom while sitting in judgment of others. It sounded like a penis pump to me," Daniel Greenwood testified. "I still use those," another testified.
· High court says prisons can withhold newspaper. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that Pennsylvania officials did not violate the free-speech rights of troublesome inmates by keeping secular newspapers and magazines away from them. Justices, by a 6-2 vote, said the state could use newspapers as incentives to get inmates in a high-security unit to behave themselves.
· School Administrator Accused Of Exposing Self. A 51-year-old school administrator was arrested and charged with exposing himself at a park in Osceola County, Fla., according to a sheriff's office news release.
· New tool to save ocean life: Buy out the fishermen. Two environmental groups working to reduce an often-harmful kind of commercial fishing that drags nets along the ocean bottom off the California coast have decided to fight it with a novel new weapon - cold cash.
· Amish farmer fights milk law after sting. Arlie Stutzman was busted in a rare sting when an undercover agent bought raw milk from the Amish dairy farmer in an unlabeled container. Now, Stutzman is fighting the law that forbids the sale of raw milk, saying he believes it violates his religious beliefs because it prohibits him from sharing the milk he produces with others.
· Insurers Give Better Rates To Churchgoers. Churchgoers are in even greater hands with an Iowa-based insurance company that offers them special benefits and unique coverages. When it was founded in the 1940s, GuideOne Insurance offered lower insurance rates to people who didn't drink alcohol. Now regular churchgoers get special blessings.
· Flag-burning amendment fails by one vote. The Senate by a single vote Tuesday rejected a proposed constitutional amendment to ban desecrating the American flag. The measure would have rolled back a 1989 Supreme Court decision allowing it. The vote was 66-34.
· Reynolds' Announcement Upsets Walters. The gloves are off for the women on "The View." Creator Barbara Walters said she was "betrayed" by Star Jones Reynolds' surprise on-air announcement of her exit from the daytime talk show Tuesday. Reynolds said in a magazine interview she felt she was fired. "I would have loved for Star to have left and not said 'I was fired,' and not make it look like the program was somehow being cruel to her," Walters said.
· News Agency Apologizes to Ariz. Candidate. A Spanish news agency apologized for a report that described a Republican gubernatorial candidate's proposed work program for illegal immigrants as "concentration camps." EFE Executive Vice President Emillio Sanchez said a freelance writer for the news agency inaccurately described Goldwater's plan. "Upon further reflection, our investigation has determined that your plan to house illegal prisoners in a tent city is consistent with accepted practices for nonviolent American prisoners in your area."
· Officials: 'Hooters For Neuters' Degrades Women. Several Los Angeles city officials are criticizing a planned bikini contest to raise money for spaying pets, saying the "Hooters for Neuters" event is degrading to women. Hosted by the Hooters restaurant chain, the July 13th fundraiser will donate money to the spay and neuter programs at Los Angeles Animal Services.
· Senator Wants Pimps to Face Tax Collectors. Pimps and sex traffickers could soon find themselves being chased by tax collectors, not just the vice squad. Sen. Charles Grassley, chairman of the tax-writing Senate Finance Committee, wants the Internal Revenue Service to chase after pimps and sex traffickers with the same fervor it stalked gangster Al Capone for tax evasion.
· Limbaugh Likely to Wait Several Days. Rush Limbaugh will likely have to wait several days to find out if he violated his deal with prosecutors in a prescription fraud case when authorities found him in possession of a bottle of Viagra that was apparently prescribed to someone else, a spokesman for the state attorney's office said Tuesday.
· Update: Ellison reneges on $115 million donation to Harvard. It's official: Larry Ellison is backing away from a promise to donate $115 million to Harvard University. The Oracle founder and CEO, the world's 15th richest person, had made headlines in 2005 when, in an interview with The Chronicle, he pledged to make a major donation to an institute at Harvard to study world health.
· Police Shoot Man at Las Vegas Airport. Police shot and wounded a man at the city's airport Tuesday after he grabbed a 3-year-old boy at knifepoint and sprinted through a security checkpoint, authorities said. The 25-year-old man snatched the boy at a toy store in an unsecured area just outside a gate area at McCarran International Airport, officials said. The child was not harmed and was returned to his mother.
· Hip-hop producer faces Dubai drug charges. Grammy-winning hip-hop producer Dallas Austin faces drug possession charges in the United Arab Emirates that could land him a lengthy prison term, legal sources said Tuesday. Austin, 34, was the producer behind TLC, one of the biggest R&B groups of the 1990s.
· 'Railroad Killer' begs forgiveness before dying. A train-hopping serial killer linked to at least 15 murders near railroad tracks around the country said "I deserve what I am getting" before he was executed Tuesday night. Angel Maturino Resendiz mumbled a prayer, saying "Lord, forgive me. Lord, forgive me," and acknowledged the presence of relatives watching through a nearby window. "I want to ask if it is in your heart to forgive me," he said as he looked toward the relatives of victims in another room.
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
· Montana man's suicide bullet kills girl. A man who committed suicide at a party also killed a 16-year-old girl when the bullet traveled through his head and struck her in the chest, authorities said. Jacob R. Lee, 19, and Lorena Mocko, 16, were found shot to death at around 1 a.m. Saturday, authorities said.
· Firefighter resigns over stolen soda. A Plainfield firefighter resigned Tuesday after being accused of removing a soda from the refrigerator of a burned home and drinking the beverage. “He had removed what was described as soft drink, but regardless of whatever the (item) is, it’s a violation. It is actually theft,” said Fire Chief Byron L. Anderson.
· Texas Woman Receives Finger in Letter From Ex-Boyfriend. Corpus Christi police say a woman reports her ex-boyfriend mailed her a severed human finger. Police Captain John Houston says police aren't sure which finger was removed or how it was removed, but that the finger appeared to have been cleanly severed and washed. Police said a letter was enclosed, stating "This is the last chance to touch you."
· Humble grocer quietly gave away millions. Waldemar Kaminski, who quietly ran a food stand in Broadway Market for more than 50 years, has been revealed to be a self-made millionaire and philanthropist who anonymously gave millions to Buffalo charities and neighbors in need.
· Ailes Cracks Whip as Fox News Slips. Slackers at Fox News Channel, you’re on notice! Your boss is not pleased. Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes is on the warpath following his network’s recent ratings slump, and he won’t hesitate to clean house to turn things around.
· Lottery Winner Claims Medication Made Him Miss Deadline. A man who failed to claim a $40,000 scratch Colorado Lottery ticket jackpot before a 180 day deadline expired said the he was on heavy medication for cancer and the state should cut him some slack.
· Woman Says Pastor Forced Her To Have Sex For Spiritual Reasons. Cocoa, Fla. Police have arrested a pastor who they said forced a woman to have sex with him as her spiritual advisor. Authorities said Tuesday that Jesse M. French, 43, who is the pastor of the Solid Life Ministries, Church of Disciples in Rockledge, was arrested on 10 counts of sexual battery and 15 counts of lewd and lascivious acts to a member of his congregation.
· Boy George, garbage man. The one-time Culture Club singer will do five days of court-ordered community service as an employee of the Department of Sanitation, a spokesman for the city agency confirmed Tuesday.
· Star Jones Reynolds leaving 'The View.' Don't expect any smackdown between Rosie O'Donnell and Star Jones Reynolds on "The View." Reynolds said Tuesday she was leaving the show. 'I feel like I was fired,' she tells People magazine.
· Michael Jackson Overhauls Business. Michael Jackson, who has been living in Bahrain since he was acquitted of child molestation charges a year ago, is moving to Europe, has fired his business managers and has hired a New York-based firm to oversee his business affairs, his spokeswoman said Tuesday.
· Need An Excuse For Being Fat? Here Are 10 More. Why are so many people fat? Scientists have come up with some novel excuses, including air conditioning, lack of sleep, fewer smokers, and more sex among obese people, which can produce chubby kids.
· Rocker Axl Rose Jailed in Stockholm. Axl Rose was arrested early Tuesday after allegedly biting a security guard in the leg at his hotel, police said. The Guns N' Roses frontman was ordered held in jail by prosecutors on suspicion of attacking and threatening the guard, as well as causing damage to the Berns Hotel where the alleged scuffle took place, said a police spokeswoman.
· Yates sobs, jurors teary at sight of kids' bodies. Andrea Yates sobbed as prosecutors played a crime-scene videotape in court Tuesday showing her 7-year-old son floating dead in a bathtub and the bodies of her four younger children laid out on a bed.
· Update: Abandoned Arizona casket mystery solved. An empty casket with a military seal discovered in the desert was discarded by a mortuary after the deceased's family requested that the body be exhumed and cremated, authorities said.
· Rowling: Two 'Potter' Characters Will Die. Author J.K. Rowling said two characters will die in the last installment of her boy wizard series, and she hinted Harry Potter might not survive either. "I have never been tempted to kill him off before the final because I've always planned seven books, and I want to finish on seven books," Rowling said.
· Buffett's Big 'Oops!' Warren Buffet's decision to make a mega-donation to charity was followed by a mega-gaffe, though one that was quickly remedied. Warren Buffet and the Gateses sat down for an interview Monday with Buffett's close friend, PBS talk show host Charlie Rose. And Rose says the most excitement came when the session ended. "We were all walking down. I was gonna say goodbye to them at the sidewalk," he told The Early Show co-anchor Hannah Storm Monday. "And Warren turns to me and says, 'I forget the documents!' I said, 'Where are they?' And he said, 'I left them in the studio.' So, I ran back to the studio and brought back the documents and Bill said, 'Check and make sure I (Rose) didn't change the beneficiary!' The Charlie Rose Foundation, with assets of $30 billion, suddenly came into existence, Rose joked.
· 'Marlboro Man' Marine files for divorce. A Marine who was dubbed the "Marlboro Man" after appearing in an iconic photograph from the Iraq War has filed for divorce less than a month after dozens of Americans contributed to a dream wedding for him and his bride.
· Surgeon General Warns of Secondhand Smoke. Separate smoking sections don't cut it: Only smoke-free buildings and public places truly protect nonsmokers from the hazards of breathing in other people's tobacco smoke, says a long-awaited surgeon general's report. Some 126 million nonsmokers are exposed to secondhand smoke, what U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona repeatedly calls "involuntary smoking" that puts people at increased risk of death from lung cancer, heart disease and other illnesses.
· Check cursing may cost jail time. Robert Militzer saw the rectangular white parking ticket on his windshield and cursed. When the time came to pay the $10 fine to Berkley District Court, Militzer grudgingly pulled out his checkbook. He scribbled his name, filled in the amount and - in a moment of sheer spontaneous gratification - penned a profane note for the court on the check's memo line: "BULL---- MONEY GRAB." Those three questionable words have turned a simple parking ticket with a nominal fine into a criminal charge and have raised questions about Militzer's right to free speech.
· Teacher charged with having sex with student fired. School board members vote today to fire a Tulsa Washington photography teacher and soccer coach for alleged illegal sexual conduct with a 16-year-old student.
· Rush Limbaugh Detained At Palm Beach Airport. Conservative radio commentator Rush Limbaugh was detained for more than three hours Monday at Palm Beach International Airport in Florida. Authorities said they found a bottle of Viagra in his possession without a prescription. A sheriff's office spokesman said it didn't have Limbaugh's name on it, but that of two doctors. Limbaugh attorney Roy Black said a doctor had prescribed the drug, but he said, it was "labeled as being issued to the physician rather than Mr. Limbaugh for privacy purposes."
· Pitt-Jolie Baby Shower Photos Stolen, Lawyers Say. Lawyers for Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have sent a letter to a number of media outlets warning them not to purchase, distribute or publish stolen pictures of the couple. According to TMZ.com, a "memory card containing a number of personal copyright-protected photographs" has been offered for sale.
· Six of 10 Trapped People Rescued From Collapsed Missouri Elks Lodge. A three-story building partially collapsed as members of an Elks Club gathered for a dinner, trapping 10 people inside. Six of the 10 were pulled out early Tuesday.
· Another Maid Sues Model Naomi Campbell. Naomi Campbell is being accused of less-than-model behavior again, this time by another maid who claims the supermodel hit her. In a terse single-sheet filing in Manhattan's state Supreme Court, Gaby Gibson accused Campbell of "personal injuries,""employment discrim-ination,""civil assault,""civil battery" and other complaints.
· Dog That Starred In 'Frasier' Dies. The dog that drove Frasier crazy has died. Eddie was played on the television series by a Jack Russell terrier named Moose. His trainer told People magazine that Moose was 16 1/2 years old when he died in Los Angeles.
Monday, June 26, 2006
· University of Colorado To Fire Ward Churchill. The University of Colorado announced Monday that it will dismiss controversial professor Ward Churchill. "Today, I issued to Professor Churchill a notice of intent to dismiss him from his faculty position at the University of Colorado Boulder," CU Interim Chancellor Phil DiStefano said Monday afternoon.
· The Wimbledon cover-up. Tennis fans who like to see a little more of their favorite players at Wimbledon could be disappointed this year. Tournament bosses have issued a warning to the stars that could see short skirts banned from the courts.
· Iced marijuana tea to debut in British health food shops. British health food shops will soon be offering customers iced cannabis tea, its Swiss distributor said. Sold under the label "C-Ice Swiss Cannabis Ice Tea", the beverage contains five percent of hemp flower syrup and a tiny (0.0015 percent) quantity of THC, the active ingredient of marijuana.
· Lawyer scolds jury; client gets death. The jury that found Justin Barber guilty of murdering his wife during a stroll on the beach has recommended that he receive the death penalty. "I don't know how you got where you are," the defence attorney said, shaking his head. Echoing accusations he made against police in the closing argument of the trial, Willis said, "Apparently, you have found every sinister inference there is."
· Prince Charles's private income hits $26 million. Prince Charles's private income rose six percent to $25.6 million last year, lifted by investments and rent rises on his country estates, figures from his office show.
· Vegas Casino Shooting Rampage Caught On Tape. Police are circulating a dramatic security videotape showing a gunman shooting and people scrambling for cover in a Nevada casino. One man was killed and a woman was wounded in the shooting a little before 4 a.m. Sunday inside the Silver Nugget casino in North Las Vegas.
· Not the best way to get out of jury duty. An Ohio man who tried to get removed from a jury pool claimed in a questionnaire that he is a heroin addict and a killer, a judge said. Benjamin Ratliffe, 21, of Columbus, was charged with contempt of court and obstruction of justice and ordered to spend a night in jail.
· How did Nicole Kidman re-marry in a Catholic church? Nicole Kidman's wedding to country singer Keith Urban in Sydney have many people perplexed at how the former bride of actor Tom Cruise managed to tie the knot for a second time, in a Catholic church. It turns out that Kidman didn't need an annulment for one simple reason: in the eyes of the Catholic Church her 10-year union with Tom Cruise, a renowned Scientologist, never happened.
· Boy Scouts foil arson attempt in California. Maybe the Boy Scouts should start handing out arson prevention badges. A group of Scouts preparing for a camping trip spotted a 17-year-old boy setting fire to a museum building, yelled at him and chased him and two female companions into the street Sunday morning, according to a police statement.
· Missing N.H. Mom, Son & Student Found In Florida. Police found a missing New Hampshire boy, his mother, and a student who ran off with them in Florida Monday, just days after people reported seeing them there. 32-year-old Jennifer Malone, her eight-year-old son Brennan and 16-year-old Christopher Cole were found on a bus Monday morning. It’s unclear where they were going. All three are now at the police station in St. Petersburg, Florida.
· Man wins an early retirement. Some guys get all the luck. Five years ago, Bill Farner, 51, of Joseph won a $1 million as a contestant in a promotion on Howard Stern’s show. On Wednesday, he held the winning ticket in the Oregon Lottery’s Megabucks game. He quickly went to Salem to claim his $8.8 million prize, choosing to collect $352,000 a year for the next 25 years before taxes.
· Fla. man wrongly fined for feeding squirrels. Retired Kennedy Space Center mechanic Jack Garrison doesn't own a dog. He doesn't own a squirrel, either, though he admits he likes to feed the squirrels in his backyard. Recently the Florida man was issued notices of fines totaling nearly $1,400. The infractions, which Garrison calls just plain nuts, included a barking dog violation along with four squirrel-related charges - from squirrel disturbing the peace to squirrel at large. The city of Melbourne, Florida has admitted its mistake.
· Grenade Found In Wall Of Daytona Beach Business. The person who left a hand grenade behind at a Daytona Beach liquor store may have been captured by surveillance cameras.
· Deputy charged with assaulting fellow officer responding to noisy party. The music was too loud, so neighbors called the police. When two Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office deputies responded to the call, they found one of their own, angry and quick to point his gun at them. Deputy Howard E. Howell, 39, was arrested late Friday and charged with aggravated assault with a firearm.
· Woman On Cell Phone Struck By Train. A woman having a conversation on her cell phone was struck and severely injured when an Amtrak passenger train at a crossing near Safeco Field in Seattle Sunday afternoon.
· Oops! Sheriff’s deputy mistakes pistol for Taser. A sheriff's deputy who was trying to get a man down from a tree shot and wounded him after mistakenly pulling a gun instead of a Taser, authorities say.
· 10,000 cram downtown Toronto for 'Dyke March.' Being a gay geek doesn't mean you can't show off your assets too. "I'm marching topless because I thought it was important for women to see other women's bodies," Gillian - who didn't want her last name used because she tries not to freak out her parents "too badly too often" - said during yesterday's Dyke March. With her bare breasts and rainbow-coloured dreadlocks, the 27-year-old computer programmer joined thousands of women in the 11th annual event, which is part of Pride Week.
· No 'Joy of Gay Sex' at This Idaho Town Library. There would be no joy in sex for homosexuals in one Idaho town if one public library user had his way. Randy Jackson, of Nampa, Idaho, checked “The Joy of Gay Sex” out of the library and says he has no intentions of returning it. The library recently decided it would continue to carry “The Joy of Gay Sex” and similar titles as part of its collection, but the controversial books would be housed on higher shelves.
· Young Muslim women in Europe go to extremes to be virgins — again. Chastity can exact a painful price from young Muslim women, forced into lies or surgery to go to the marriage bed as virgins. Hymen repair, fake virginity certificates and other deceptions, said to be commonplace in some Muslim countries, are practiced in France and elsewhere in Europe, where Muslim girls are more emancipated but still live under rigid codes of family honor. Such ploys have saved many a young woman from scorn and worse.
· Looking for a hooker? Skip Saint Paul. Here's a current list of [disturbing] prostitution arrests in Saint Paul, Minn. [Warning: Very scary photos]
· Key to long life may be mom's age at birth. People are more likely to see their 100th birthday, research hints, if they were born to young mothers. The age at which a mother gives birth has a major impact on how long her child will live, two researchers from the University of Chicago's Center on Aging told the Chicago Actuarial Association meeting this spring. The chances of living to the ripe old age of 100 — and beyond — nearly double for a child born to a woman before her 25th birthday.
· Pupil kills family to hide failure. A 16-year-old Japanese boy, pushed to the limits of academic effort and dreading a parental scolding, has admitted starting a house fire that killed his stepmother, five-year-old sister and seven-year-old brother.
· Bibles Are Hot Item At Adult Film Show. One of the hottest items at the weekend's Erotica pornography show was a Bible with a cover that said "Jesus Loves Porn Stars." The Rev. J.R. Mahon of the Web site www.xxxchurch.com said his anti-porn ministry handed out its entire stock of 3,300 Bibles on the first day of the three-day show.
· Charlie Chaplin hat, cane sold at auction. A Charlie Chaplin hat-and-cane set sold for nearly $140,000 at auction on Sunday, according to a spokeswoman for Bonhams & Butterfields.
· Sales calls push security hotline to refuge of Do Not Call list. The federal government has decided to put its own secret Homeland Security hotline to the nation's 50 governors on the federal Do Not Call Registry, according to Delaware Gov. Ruth Ann Minner. The move came after a complaint Thursday by Minner, who said that when her line rings, chances are it's not an emergency but an unwanted intrusion. "Every time that phone rings, it's telemarketers," she said in Washington.
· Man Robbed by Teen Girls, Thought He was Meeting MySpace Friend. A Jacksonville man says he was duped and robbed by two girls after attempting to meet with a woman he met on the internet. The victim says he chatted online with a woman, known on her MySpace.com profile as “Natalia”, for two weeks before deciding to meet with her. He says her prfile showed sexy photos, and a blurb which said “just lookin’ for something fun”. That brief, friendly description was all he knew about her before they planned to meet.
· Studio Bosses Face Unwanted Attention. Studio bosses Brad Grey and Ron Meyer have scaled Hollywood's ruthless ranks to become two of the most powerful men in the entertainment industry. On their way to the top, both enlisted the help of private eye Anthony Pellicano, who is now accused in a federal indictment of wiretapping celebrities and others to dig up dirt to help clients.
· Arizona Deputies Find Empty Casket, Look For Owner. An empty casket with a military seal was discovered in a desert area south of Tucson, and sheriff's deputies were looking for the body. "Obviously it had the smell, and there was other evidence that it had been inhabited recently," Deputy Dawn Barkman said Sunday.
Sunday, June 25, 2006
· Armstrong threatened my life, claims LeMond. Former Tour de France champion Greg LeMond has claimed that he was threatened by fellow American Lance Armstrong for having criticised the seven-time race winner's association with a doctor implicated in doping affairs.
· Murtha says U.S. poses top threat to world peace. American presence in Iraq is more dangerous to world peace than nuclear threats from North Korea or Iran, Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., said to an audience of more than 200 in North Miami yesterday.
· Foot Fondler Sentenced. A Brooklyn man accused of fondling the feet of four women on the subway has been sentenced to 60 days in jail. Joseph Weir, 23, also was ordered to attend psychological counseling and spend the next six years on probation.
· Study: Sexual harassment of men at the office. A hidden world of sexual harassment, with female managers exploiting their power over men in the office, has been unveiled by a new government survey. Despite the common stereotype of the male executive putting pressure on his secretary, two in five victims of sexual harassment are men, the study found.
· Jail is no fun, so why the games? After a long day of work, some inmates at the Hernando County Jail get to relax with a few hours of video games. Daniel Sanchez holds a PlayStation 2 controller loose in his hands as he whips his dirt bike around a turn on the screen. "You can actually feel like you're at home," said Sanchez, 21, who is serving time for burglary. "It gets you away. You don't feel like you're locked up."
· Buffett Gives 85% of Wealth to Charity. Warren Buffett, estimated to be worth $44 billion, will give away 85 percent of his wealth starting in July, most of it to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Fortune said.
· Providence police officer admits stealing magazines. A Providence police officer pleads no contest to charges he stole magazines from a local supermarket. Court records say 41-year-old patrolman John Sigillo took magazines from a Shaw's supermarket several times, and was ordered to pay the supermarket $93.50 in restitution.
· Female fistfight forces plane landing. Police detained one woman and questioned two others early Sunday after a fight broke out in the first minutes of a flight to Puerto Rico, causing the plane to be diverted to John F. Kennedy Airport in New York.
· Teen Killed After Jumping Off Bridge With Friends. A Utah teenager was discovered dead after he went missing in Northern Utah Friday night. The 16-year-old boy was with some friends late Friday afternoon along the Bear River near the town of Trenton.
· Twilight Zone? Here's one Republican's view of the Twilight Zone. Horror clip? - or "Leave It To Beaver." [Video]
· General says troops to start coming home this September. The U.S. commander in charge of coalition forces in Iraq projects large reductions in the 127,000-member American force in Iraq, starting in September and continuing through 2007, according to an online report posted late Saturday.
· University of California Chancellor Dies After Apparent Jump From Building. A University of California chancellor died Saturday in an apparent suicide jump from a 43-story apartment building on Saturday, authorities said. Denice Dee Denton, 46, the chancellor of the Santa Cruz campus, apparently jumped from an undisclosed section of the Paramount luxury apartment building around 8 a.m. and landed on a parking garage, police and university officials said.
· U.S. Population to Hit 300 Million in 2006. The U.S. population is on target to hit 300 million this fall and it's a good bet the milestone baby - or immigrant - will be Hispanic. Latinos - immigrants and those born in this country - are driving the population growth, accounting for almost half the increase last year, more than any other ethnic or racial group.
· U.S. Releases 14 Saudis. Fourteen Saudi Arabians were released on Saturday from the detention center at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and transferred to their home country, the Pentagon said. The releases bring to 310 the number of detainees who have departed Guantanamo to other governments.
· Disney lifts ban on Pooh gravestone. The Walt Disney Co., which had denied permission to grieving British parents to put Winnie the Pooh on their child's gravestone, has had a change of heart. Disney had warned that a stonemason would be in breach of copyright if he included the bear's image along with "bear of very little brain," on the gravestone.