Tabloid Archives...
 | | February 2004 - Week 3
[Some Source Links May Unexpectedly Drop]
Return to TabloidColumn.com |
Saturday, February 21, 2004
· Bobby Brown back in jail for the 10 billionth time. Singer and Whitney-hubby Bobby Brown is back in jail for violating his probation on a prior drunken driving conviction. 
· Spot, spaniel born in first Bush White House, dies. Spot, an English springer spaniel with a White House pedigree who spent nearly 15 years with President Bush and his family, has died, the White House announced Saturday.
· Report claims Bin Laden 'surrounded.' A British newspaper is claiming Osama bin Laden has been found and is surrounded by US special forces in an area of land bordering north-west Pakistan and Afghanistan.
· Site posts low-tech hack for iTunes giveaway. Sharp eyes and a bit of patience paid off for iTunes fans who figured out a way to "hack" the popular music download service's Pepsi promotion.
It takes a bit of squinting and some persistence, but the trick works. Those who see the word "again" after tilting the bottle have a losing cap. But random letters and numbers mean you have a winner.
· Pam Anderson considers 12 years of celibacy. The actress, who has had high-profile romances with rockers Tommy Lee and Kid Rock, says she may not date again until her kids are 18.
· Chris Isaak: Playing Orbison Is a 'Dream.' On the "American Dreams" set, Isaak is recreating one of the historic moments of "American Bandstand."
· Television Academy Shakes Up Emmy Rules. The television academy is shaking up Emmy rules to try to freshen a competition that sees the same shows winning trophies year after year.
· Zellweger confident about landing 2004 Oscar. Renee Zellweger says she'd better get an Oscar award this year - because she deserves it.
· Prosecution Rests in Martha Stewart Trial. The government rested its case Friday against Martha Stewart and her stockbroker, and a judge said she would hear arguments next week on whether some charges in the case should be thrown out.
· One Lucky $230M Mega Millions Winner. One person captured the $230 million Mega Millions jackpot overnight, becoming the biggest winner in the lottery's history.
· Schwarzenegger: Gay marriages must stop. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has warned San Francisco to stop issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples in defiance of state law.
· Ozzy crash: first picture. TV footage of Ozzy Osbourne being revived has been screened for the first time.
· Martha Stewart Pal Backtracks. A close friend of Martha Stewart admitted on Friday that some of her most damaging testimony against the domestic trendsetter may have been a figment of her imagination.
· Diverted flight passenger charged over hoax. A man who claimed he was being abducted - leading to the diversion of a Moroccan jetliner after it left a New York airport - was charged Friday evening with making false statements to the FBI, a statement from the Justice Department said.
Word of The Day by WordThink
Redact(ed) [re·dact] tr.v. Edit something: to edit, revise, or delete content in preparation for publication. "Formerly classified documents were redacted so personal information wasn't released to the public."
· Texas Woman Gives Birth To 12-Ounce Baby. A Texas couple has given birth to twin girls, including one who is one of the tiniest babies ever delivered.
· Who's Judging For The Common Good? A critical part of the role of judges is deciding who can sue for what, but these days anyone can sue for just about anything.
· Nonstop kids' tune promotes switch. Since Monday morning, a York, PA country music station has been playing the children's classic "Pop Goes the Weasel" nonstop.
· Democratic spoiler prepares presidential bid. Ralph Nader, the consumer advocate who ran for president in 2000 as a Green Party candidate, will enter the 2004 race for the White House as an independent candidate, his advisers said.
· Judge Refuses To Halt SF Gay Marriages For Now. In another victory for gay and lesbian couples in San Francisco, a judge on Friday declined to immediately halt the rush of same-sex marriages that started with the mayor's defiance of state law.
· Politician's Web Site Featured Hardcore Porn. Upstate New York Republican Gary Finch wants to know what happened to his Web site. 'Somehow' it became a link to porno on the Internet.
Friday, February 20, 2004
· Air Scare Mystery: 'I've Been Captured.' Federal authorities tried Friday to unravel the story of a Chicago investment banker who vanished on Valentine's Day, may have gone to New York and then reappeared Thursday night on a Morocco-bound flight, where he claimed he had been kidnapped by Al Qaeda.
· Pamela Anderson Happily Single. After high-profile romances with rockers Tommy Lee and Kid Rock, Pamela Anderson is happily single - and says being a full-time mom dominates her life.
· Was Conan O'Brien Right to Insult Canada? After all the insults, Conan gets $1 million from Canadian taxpayers to go up and do his show, and then he tells them off at the same time.
· Criminal Probe Launched into Jackson Plane Incident. A federal grand jury is conducting a formal criminal probe into secret cameras that were placed on the charter plane that flew Michael Jackson to Santa Barbara to surrender to charges of child molestation.
· Stallone to star in Rocky reality show. TV executives have recruited Hollywood muscleman Sylvester Stallone to help take reality television into the boxing ring.
· Ozzy Osbourne fears he may never perform again. Heavy metal rocker Ozzy Osbourne said on Thursday he fears he may not be able to perform again after an accident on an all-terrain vehicle late last year that left him in a coma for eight days.
· Gibson's wacky dad causing more controversy. Days before the release of Mel Gibson's film chronicling the death of Jesus, which critics have accused of fuelling anti-Semitism, the filmmaker's father has added to the controversy.
· Families of R.I. Nightclub Fire Victims Reflect. They included schoolteachers and business professionals, waiters and disc jockeys, musicians and tattoo artists. And when their lives were cut short by a fire that consumed a nightclub, few in Rhode Island were left untouched by the tragedy.
· More Haggling Over Peterson Wiretap Evidence. Lawyers in the Scott Peterson murder case continued wrangling Thursday over whether tapes of his wiretapped phone calls can be used in trial.
· Bartman Baseball Gets Last Night Of Fun Before Execution. The foul ball deflected by Chicago Cubs fan Steve Bartman in Game 6 of the 2003 National League Championship will be destroyed in a public ceremony at Harry Caray's Restaurant.
· Wife of police officer charged in Florida bank robbery. The stay-at-home mom of two and wife of a Miami Beach cop has been arrested and charged with bank robbery.
· $40 million Raphael 'a fake.' A Raphael painting bought by Britain's National Gallery this month for $41.7 million is a fake, a U.S. art professor says.
· Professor resigns after student gets nude. A professor resigned from Mars Hill College in North Carolina after a student accepted his challenge to disrobe in exchange for an "A."
· Now, Janet Jackson to peddle nipple rings. The singer is planning to launch her own range of saucy underwear and jewellery, including nipple rings, leather bras and chastity belts.
· Sizemore Warned to Stay Away From Heidi Fleiss. A judge Thursday warned actor Tom Sizemore to stay away from his ex-girlfriend, former Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss.
· Survey finds Brits spend more on booze than fruits and vegetables. The British spend more on booze to drink at home than on fresh fruit and vegetables, according to a new breakdown of the nation's spending habits.
· Ireland begins smoking ban in bars next month. Ireland will introduce a tobacco ban on March 29 making it the first country in Europe to outlaw smoking in pubs, bars and restaurants, and those who defy the ban will be fined up to (US) $3,824.00 - ouch!
Word of The Day by WordThink
Auspicious [aus·pi·cious] adj. Marked by success; prosperous. Suggesting a positive and successful future: "an auspicious time to purchase the stock."
· Martha's 'friend' delivers blow to defense. In what may be the most troubling testimony yet, Martha Stewart's friend, Mariana Pasternak, said Stewart was tipped to sell ImClone while she and Martha flew on a private jet to vacation in Mexico, adding that Martha said "Isn't it nice to have brokers who tell you those things?"
· Ohio Minivan Shooting A Hoax. The reported shooting of a minivan yesterday in an area where 24 highway shootings are under investigation was determined to be a hoax, authorities said.
· Ambulance Runs Over Man, Flees From Scene. Investigators believe a man crossing the street in downtown Denver Wednesday night was hit not once, but twice by passing drivers before he died and witnesses say that the second vehicle that struck him was an ambulance.
» FLASHBACK: Catholic Bishop convicted of hit-and-run. Bishop Thomas O'Brien was convicted Tuesday of hit-and-run for leaving the scene after killing a pedestrian with his Buick.
· Are Katie Couric's bangs hiding something? According to a report in Women's Wear Daily, they are there not as a fashion statement so much as camouflage. According to surgeon Cap Lesesne, wearing long bangs is a good way to hide forthcoming plastic surgery.
Thursday, February 19, 2004
· Martha Stewart: 'Tricky Ink.' A forensics expert testified Thursday that Martha Stewart's stockbroker used a different ink to make a notation next to an entry for ImClone Systems stock on a worksheet of her stock sales.
· Thanks to a semicolon, gays and lesbians keep marrying in San Francisco. A Superior Court judge told the plaintiffs that they would likely succeed on the merits eventually, but that for now, he couldn't accept their proposed court order because of a punctuation error. "I am not trying to be petty here, but it is a big deal... That semicolon is a big deal," said San Francisco Superior Court Judge James Warren.
· 'Idol' Loser Finds Way To Cult Stardom. Flopping on "American Idol" has not stopped a California college student from catching the public's attention and climbing to cult stardom.
» William Hung website - 'A voice so bad, it's comical.'
· Lost Snowboarder Builds Igloo, Eats Pine Needles To Survive. A 34-year-old snowboarder and former Olympic hockey player was rescued after he strayed off mountain runs, lost his bearings and survived frigid conditions for a week by building a makeshift igloo and eating pine nuts and needles.
· Stern sidekick to announce for Leno. Stuttering John Melendez is leaving the Howard Stern radio show to become the new announcer on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno." He'll replace Ed Hall - who, for some - wonder why it took so long to replace him.
· Sept. 11 Is Hard Sell As Wedding Date. September is a popular month for weddings but there's one date that's still open.
· Colorado Coach 'Benched' For Comments. Describing the on-field performance of alleged rape victim Katie Hnida, University of Colorado football coach Gary Barnett said yesterday, "It's a guy's sport, and they felt like Katie was forced on them," Barnett said. "It was obvious Katie was not very good. She was awful."
Reminiscent of a bad Fuzzy Zoeller interview, coach Barnett brazenly continued, "Well, Katie was a girl. Not only was she a girl, she was terrible. And there's no other way to say it. She couldn't kick the ball through the uprights."
· Olsen twins spur restaurant scuffle. A New York restaurateur has slammed multimillionaire acting twins Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen after their bodyguard tried to barge him out of the way in his own eaterie.
· State: 'Bucky' Must Die. A Hagerstown, MD-area couple says state officials have told them a wild deer living on their enclosed porch must be destroyed.
· Lawsuit Claims Jacko Failed to Pay for Surrender Flight. A travel agent sued Michael Jackson on Wednesday, claiming the pop star failed to pay her $18,000 for the infamous charter jet flight that brought him from Las Vegas to Santa Barbara where he surrendered to authorities on child molestation charges.
· FLASHBACK: Private Charter Jet Company Trys to Sell-Out Jacko. Attorney Mark Geragos called XtraJet's attempt to sell a video and audio recording in which Jackson is seen and heard talking to Geragos in flight "one of the most outrageous acts I've ever seen in my 20 years of practicing criminal law." A Los Angeles Superior Court judge forbade the release of videotape secretly filmed aboard Jackson's flight to Santa Barbara.
· Want a fat ass like J.Lo's? You can have it for $3,000 to $5,000 a cheek, and plastic surgeons in nearly every state are now being inundated with 'gluteal implant' requests.
· Man accused of killing his children dies in jail. Scumbag accused of killing his two children and burying them in the Midwest last summer apparently killed himself in his jail cell, the state attorney general said Thursday.
· Mom turns tables in music industry lawsuit. In what legal experts described as a novel strategy, A New Jersey woman is citing federal racketeering laws like the one that jailed mob boss John Gotti to countersue record labels that accused her in December of illegal downloading music.
· Cingular almost pays extra $1.6 billion. Sleepy lawyers and bankers, exhausted after working on the takeover battle for AT&T Wireless, almost cost Cingular, the winning bidder, an extra $1.6 billion because of a clerical slip-up.
· County Makes Escort Service' Electronic 'Black Book' Public. The newly opened "black book" of a Frederick County madam reveals how high-tech the world's oldest profession has become.
· New Norah Jones sells 1 mil in 1st week. Norah Jones' "Feels Like Home," the follow-up to her multiplatinum, Grammy-winning debut album, has sold over 1 million copies in its first week, the highest sales debut for an album since 2001.
Word of The Day by WordThink
Dogmatic [dog·mat·ic] adj. 1. Expressing rigid opinions; Prone to expressing strongly held beliefs and opinions. 2. Asserting opinions in a doctrinaire or arrogant manner; opinionated.
· Chuck Yeager is in love. Three of his kids doubt his new wife, who's half his age, is made of the right stuff. They're suing.
· State Mulls Drunk Driving Locks on All Cars. New Mexico is considering a law that would make all drivers exhale into an alcohol detection device in their cars before they could start the engine.
· Dinner brought to you tonight by Smith & Wesson. A Wisconsin man thought his guns and ammunition would be safe if he hid them in the oven while he and his wife were on vacation — only he forgot to tell his wife when they returned.
Wednesday, February 18, 2004
· America says farewell to Howard Dean and the 'Dean Scream.' Howard Dean will end his campaign for the presidential nomination and oversee a new effort to keep his issues alive and his supporters organized on behalf of Democratic causes.
» One more time, Yeeaaahhhhhh! [mp3 audio file]
· With Paris, ex sells sex. Paris Hilton's ex claims that 50,000 people a day have paid $50 a pop to download the 37 minutes of his former girlfriend having sex with him since he launched it on a Czech-based Web site run by his brother.
· Pee Diddy Appears In Court For Alleged Assault. Hip-hopper Sean "P. Diddy" Combs was in Detroit Wednesday to appear at the 3rd Circuit Court for the alleged assault of a Detroit radio host.
· 'Bachelor' Couple Aaron and Helene Put Ring in the Block. Former "Bachelor" sweethearts Aaron Buerge and Helene Eksterowicz are using eBay to auction off the 2 1/2-carat diamond ring Buerge gave to Eksterowicz on the show's finale in Fall 2002.
· Palmolive pitchwoman 'Madge' dead. Jan Miner, a New York stage actress who gained fame as Madge, the manicurist in Palmolive television ads, died Sunday. She was 86.
· Kerry's electric rock'n'roll past. First, we had Bill Clinton on saxophone. Now, prepare yourselves for Senator John Kerry on bass guitar. He even recorded an album, which one of only 500 recently sold on eBay for over $2,500.
· Barry Bonds' personal trainer admits giving steroids to players. According to the documents released Tuesday, Anderson told federal agents he gave steroids to several professional baseball players. It was unclear whether Anderson provided specific names to the federal agents.
· Ex-Colorado kicker says she was raped. A female placekicker says she was raped by a teammate at the University of Colorado four years ago and didn't tell police because she was too frightened - another hit to the scandal-plagued football program.
· Judge allows GPS evidence in Peterson case. The judge in Scott Peterson's murder trial ruled Tuesday that evidence dealing with the electronic tracking of Peterson after his wife's disappearance will be admitted in the trial.
· Cash Family Won't Let Song Be Used for Ad. Advertising writers in Florida were planning to pitch hemorrhoid-relief products with a commercial featuring the Johnny Cash classic "Ring of Fire," but Cash's family said there's no way they will let it happen.
· Politically correct way to cook lobsters. Lobsters and crabs should make their way to the dinner plate via a quiet descent into frozen sleep, and not by being boiled alive.
· NBC's Conan O'Brien Issues "Apology" to Quebec. Late-night comedian Conan O'Brien sought to defuse a flap over a recent segment poking fun at the French-Canadian province of Quebec by issuing a self-deprecating "apology" on Tuesday in French.
· 14-Foot Python Loose In Neighborhood. A 14-foot python snake - which hasn't eaten in three months - escaped from its cage and remains missing in a Fruitland Park, FL neighborhood.
Word of The Day by WordThink
Extemporaneous [ex·tem·po·ra·ne·ous] adj. 1. Unrehearsed. Done or said without advance preparation or thought; impromptu: "An extemporaneous lecture." 2. Prepared in advance but delivered without notes or text: "An extemporaneous speech."
· Man Pleads Innocent in Oscar Screener Case. A man accused of helping to illegally post movies for Oscar screeners on the Internet has pleaded innocent to federal charges.
· Google Adds 1 Billion More Pages to Web Index. Online search engine leader Google added an additional 1 billion pages to its Web index Tuesday, increasing its breadth by about one-third as it girds for tougher competition from Yahoo! and Microsoft.
» Yahoo dumps Google search technology. Yahoo dropped Google as the default search technology provider for its U.S.-based sites late Tuesday, signaling the beginning of the end for the Web's most high-profile marriage of convenience.
· What really happened to Natalie Wood. In 1981, when Natalie Wood drowned off Catalina Island under mysterious circumstances, the tabloids erupted in headlines that hinted at foul play by Robert Wagner or Christopher Walken on the yacht, Splendour.
· Disney Buys Jim Henson's Muppets. Walt Disney and The Jim Henson Company today announced that they have entered into an agreement under which Disney will acquire the Muppets and Bear in the Big Blue House properties from Henson.
Tuesday, February 17, 2004
· Catholic Bishop found guilty in hit-and-run. Bishop Thomas O'Brien was convicted of hit-and-run Tuesday for leaving the scene after killing a pedestrian with his Buick last summer.
O'Brien is believed to be the first Roman Catholic bishop in U.S. history to be convicted of a felony.
· Legal 'Odd Couple' join to keep Limbaugh records sealed. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has joined Rush Limbaugh's attorneys in accusing law enforcement officers of breaking the law when they seized his medical records.
· Record Industry Sues More Over Downloads. The recording industry sued 531 more computer users Tuesday it said were illegally distributing songs over the Internet in what has become a routine reminder reminder that college students, teenagers and others can face expensive lawsuits for swapping music online.
· Appeals Court Upholds Do-Not-Call Registry. A federal appeals court in Denver upheld the national do-not-call registry, where more than 55 million numbers are registered.
· A blushing House OKs sex taxes. They were mostly red-faced and giggling while they did it, but Utah House members approved a special 10 percent tax on nude dancing and escort services.
· Arrest Warrant Against Courtney Love Dismissed. A judge threw out an arrest warrant for rocker Courtney Love on Tuesday after she appeared for a court hearing.
· State prison inmates threaten boycott of new healthier food. Upset over losing their deep-fried chicken and sweet cakes, inmates at a state prison in Northumberland County, Pa., are threatening a food boycott over the new heart-friendly menu.
» Cookbook features last meals of inmates. With recipes for "gallows gravy" and "rice rigor mortis," Brian Price's new cookbook brings a touch of dark wit to a subject seldom welcome at the dinner table: death.
· Police recover swallowed diamond ring. It took a little patience and a little medicine for Salem police to recover a stolen $10,000 diamond ring over the weekend.
· Canadians Still Fuming Over Conan O'Brien Visit. Canadian politicians are denouncing "The Late Show with Conan O'Brien" over a sketch in which a cigar-chomping sock puppet hurled insults at French Canadians.
· British chalet girls heat up the French Alps. British chalet girls catering for Alpine skiers have earned a reputation for all-night partying and promiscuous antics, but these traditionally big-drinking fun-loving women say this is mostly just bad press.
· Cigar-loving Arnie plans a 'smoking plaza' at state capitol. Arnold Schwarzenegger, California's cigar-smoking governor, is to tear a roof off the state capitol so that smokers can enjoy their vice inside the legislature.
· Matt Drudge: 'Oops!' After it became obvious there was no hard evidence to support the allegations against Senator Kerry, Drudge didn't miss a beat... he's now claiming that the young woman had actually been dating Kerry's finance director.
· Priest Found Dead After Talk With Bishop. A priest was found dead two days after meeting with a Roman Catholic bishop over a 1995 letter alleging the bishop was part of "a ring of homosexual Albany priests."
· New Cable Guy. Network news veteran Rick Kaplan is being tapped to rescue MSNBC, which has trailed No. 1-ranked Fox and No. 2-ranked CNN in the cable news wars, according to sources familiar with the matter.
· He's Got 7 Million Ways to Tell Her 'I Love You.' When Mark Bravo set out with his wife, Rosanne, on a trip toLas Vegas, he carried with him a love note she is not likely to forget.
· The Mystery of the Missing Car. The 'theftproof' Honda Civic is started with a key that uses a unique rolling code. But even the newest antitheft devices can fall prey to the oldest con tricks.
· Boy's blow costs family $15,000. A 9-year-old boy's kick to a waiter's crotch cost his parents $15,000. The waiter, then 26, filed a lawsuit against the boy and his parents, claiming the kick caused him great pain and that sex will never be the same.
· 4,450 priests accused of child sex abuse. Children accused more than 4,400 priests of 11,000 sexual abuse cases, according to a survey by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Word of The Day by WordThink
Gregarious [gre·gar·i·ous] adj. 1. Seeking and enjoying the company of others; sociable. "She is a gregarious, outgoing person."
· 'The View' Host Star Jones Engaged. TV personality Star Jones walked away from the All-Star basketball game with something to show off: a ring.
· Retailers Welcome Spring Pastels in Sub-Zero Weather. Baby, it's cold outside - but it's warm and toasty in the eyes of fashion retailers who have pastel miniskirts, tank tops and strappy sandals in their windows and on the sales floor as early as mid-January.
· Widow: Atkins wasn't obese at death. The widow of low-carb diet guru Dr. Robert Atkins said Monday that she was "outraged" at charges her husband was obese at the time of his death and denied his heart problems had anything to do with the protein-heavy diet he espoused.
· Disney Rejects Comcast Offer, Backs Eisner. Walt Disney Co.'s board said on Monday it had unanimously rejected cable operator Comcast Corp's unsolicited takeover bid as too low and endorsed Chief Executive and Chairman Michael Eisner and his strategy for the company.
· Experts Condemn New Craze for 'Snorting' Alcohol. A new craze for inhaling alcohol was today attacked by medical experts as a potential danger that could cause brain damage.
· Honda, GE build new jet engine. Industrial giants Honda Motor and General Electric are teaming up to produce an engine to power a new generation of smaller, lower-cost business jets.
Monday, February 16, 2004
· Young woman denies John Kerry affair allegations. Breaking her silence four days after the allegations surfaced on the Internet, Alexandra Polier issued a statement to The Associated Press, saying, "I have never had a relationship with Senator Kerry, and the rumors in the press are completely false."
» Kerry Would Be Third-Richest U.S. President. Sen. Kerry, like the last JFK from Massachusetts to serve as commander in chief, is also extremely wealthy. Forbes estimate his family fortune at $525 million, which would make him, if elected, the third-richest president ever to take the office.
· Fat flight attendants win lawsuit. A judge ordered United Airlines to pay $36.5 million to settle a sex discrimination lawsuit surrounding United's weight policy for women.
· $58 Million In Property Missing From NASA. At least $58 million worth of government property has been reported missing at NASA centers across the country during the last five years, according to a report.
· The 'Secret lives' of past U.S. presidents. Forget about the affairs — George Washington spent 7 percent of his presidential salary on booze; John Quincy Adams liked to skinny dip in the Potomac; and Warren G. Harding once lost a box of White House china in a poker game.
· NTV inserts 'subliminal' image into TV program. Japanese broadcaster Nippon Television Network has been accused of inserting a subliminal image in one of its late-night television programs on a regular basis.
· A Penthouse Pet Peeve for Trump. Penthouse Pet of the Year Victoria Zdrok claims that reality-television star Donald Trump took her out on four dates a few years back. "I'm sure she's a lovely person but she's not my taste. Far from it," the star of NBC's hit show "The Apprentice" said.
· Jews Can Now Send E-Mail Message To God. Israel's Bezeq telephone company started a new service Monday allowing Jews to send e-mail messages to God.
· Bidders Hot for Jenny's NYC Number. A Manhattan man is using eBay to try to sell 867-5309, the number that appears in the 1981 song "867-5309/Jenny," by one-hit wonder Tommy Tutone.
» The auction bid is up to $65,000.00 so far.
· What happened to Farrah Fawcett's face? She once had the face of an Angel — and a legion of male fans that stretched around the world. But former Charlie’s Angel Farrah Fawcett drew shocked stares as she attended a New York fashion show, modelling a newly-sculpted nose.
· Tear-jerker for John Daly. John Daly stumbled a bit under the weight of his own expectations Sunday, but won the Buick Invitational on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff with Chris Riley and Luke Donald in front of an electrified crowd at Torrey Pines.
· Thousands Of Stolen U.S. Vehicles Found In Central America. Former Houston Oilers football player Alonzo Highsmith has wondered for almost a decade what happened to his fully-loaded Ford F-250 truck after it was stolen from a Houston restaurant parking lot in 1995. Turns out it ended up a lot farther away than he ever imagined: It's in Guatemala.
· Husband's ashes used for shotgun cartridges. The widow of an expert on vintage shotguns had her husband's ashes loaded into cartridges and used by friends for the last shoot of the season.
· Microsoft May Win Big in Comcast-Disney Deal. Since Microsoft already owns 7.4 percent of Comcast, it would end up controlling about 4 percent of the world's largest media company if Comcast's bid succeeds.
· Clinton busy writing own job description. Clinton received a $12 million advance for his book, which is to be published this summer. About 40% of his appearances are paid speeches, at $150,000 each.
· Who Cares Dept: J.Lo's new affair? Newly single Jennifer Lopez was in such a good mood last week that she wanted to take Latin crooner Marc Anthony for a ride.
· Gerber's famous baby now ex-teacher, budding writer. Her face frozen in time as the image of Gerber Baby Foods, Ann Taylor Cook is now a former teacher and 77-year-old novelist.
· Ohio Highway Shooting Confirmed As 24th. The day after the chief investigator said authorities were closing in on a serial highway shooter, a man stood in plain view on an overpass and fired a handgun at cars below. He then walked to his car and slipped into traffic.
· Oscar honors geeks at Sci-Tech awards. Jennifer Garner proved her range as actress when a Hollywood audience got to hear the star of ABC's spy drama "Alias" expound on the merits of subsurface light scattering in translucent materials.
Word of The Day by WordThink
Quixotic [quix·ot·ic] adj. 1. Idealistic without regard to practicality; impractical. 2. Impulsive: tending to act on whims or impulses.
· New scholarship created for whites only. A student group at Roger Williams University is offering a new scholarship for which only white students are eligible, a move they say is designed to protest affirmative action. The application for the award requires an essay on "why you are proud of your white heritage" and a recent picture to "confirm whiteness."
· Amazon Reviewers Unmasked? Many sign their names. Many don't. They're the book reviewers on Amazon.com who use such words as "masterful," "page-turner" and "tear-jerker." But among the reviewers were the authors themselves when they lost their anonymity after a glitch on Amazon's site.
· Tests show dogs are almost human. If you think your dog can read your mind, you're right. Because pooches and people have kept company for hundreds of generations, Canis familiaris is hard-wired to pick up human social cues.
Sunday, February 15, 2004
· '50 First Dates' leads box office with $41 million. Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore's romance "50 First Dates" proved an irresistible draw for the Valentine's weekend date crowd, taking in $41 million to debut as the top movie, according to studio estimates Sunday.
· If cleared, Kobe may play for Denver next year. Sunday’s Denver Post reports that the Nuggets will go after Kobe Bryant if the Los Angeles Laker is not found guilty in his sexual assault trial.
· Stars Abound at NASCAR's Biggest Event. If the magnitude of a sporting event is judged by the number of stars who attend it, then it's safe to say the Daytona 500 is among the biggest.
· Jury in Bishop's trial starts over. The jury in the hit-and-run case of Catholic Bishop Thomas O'Brien began deliberating from scratch after a judge excused one juror and called a substitute.
· How Tyson spent a cool $470 million. Down to his last 5 grand, the one-time world heavyweight champion has been wracking what is left of his punch-drunk brain to remember what happened to the fortune - estimated at $470 million - he has frittered away.
· Texas Church Tries Guns for Roses on Valentines. It's Valentine's Day Texas style and a church in Dallas wants people to show their love by giving up their guns. The First Presbyterian Church in Dallas is sponsoring a program for people to turn in their guns to mark the Valentine's celebration of love.
· Gibson denies 'Passion' is anti-Semitic. Actor Mel Gibson denies in an ABC television interview to be aired on Monday that either he or his controversial new film "The Passion of the Christ" is anti-Semitic as some critics have claimed in the heated run-up to its opening.
· Keeping Abreast: Janet Jackson Awarded for Charity Work. In her first public appearance since her breast was exposed during the Super Bowl halftime show, Janet Jackson received an award for her humanitarian and charitable contributions.
· Young Mayor Under Fire in Pa. Community. Two years ago, at age 19, Chris Portman took office as mayor of Mercer, making him one of the nation's youngest mayors. But the celebrity that ushered in his term haven't changed much in this borough of 2,400.
· 4 Men Plead Not Guilty In Steroid Indictment. Four men accused of providing steroids to dozens of top athletes have pleaded not guilty to federal charges in San Francisco.
Word of The Day by WordThink
Repugnant [re·pug·nant] adj. Arousing disgust or aversion; offensive or repulsive.
· Fur, feathers are trends for fall. It may not come as welcome news to animal activists, but as the trends are tallied for the Fashion Week collections which wrapped up on Friday, the message for fall is fur.
· Smith Had Approached Another Woman In 1997. The man accused of kidnapping and killing an 11-year-old girl tried to lure a woman outside a grocery store in 1997 while he carried a knife and pepper spray, according to a police report.
· Tech Firm Eyed in Windows Code Leak Probe. Self-appointed sleuths eager to solve one of the technology industry's most intriguing mysteries found references inside files accompanying the leaked Windows blueprints indicating that Mainsoft Corp. of San Jose had been working with the computer code before it began circulating on the Internet.
February 2004 Week 2 News Archives...
Corporation.
