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Monday, February 28, 2005

· Bryant, accuser might have reached settlement.  Attorneys in the sexual assault lawsuit against Kobe Bryant said Monday a long-awaited deposition by the NBA star was postponed, prompting speculation a settlement is in the works. 

· Martha Stewart due to leave prison Friday.  She gets out of prison Friday, and to hear her coworkers and friends tell it, Martha Stewart is hungry. 

· BTK Suspect Confesses.  Dennis L. Rader was arrested Friday and allegedly confessed to six of the killings that day, a source close to the investigation told The Associated Press. "The guy is telling us about the murders," the source said on condition of anonymity. 

      » DNA role in BTK suspect's capture questioned.  The suspect in the BTK serial killings is awaiting his first court appearance, and there are conflicting reports on the role his daughter's DNA played in his arrest.  A source close to the investigation told CNN on Sunday that the suspect's daughter did not provide DNA to investigators and was not involved in her father's capture. 

· Teen knows more about sex than Jacko.  The Los Angeles boy who has accused Michael Jackson of molestation told investigators that the singer was a naif when it came to "the birds and the bees," claiming that his alleged abuser "didn't know much. I knew more than he did."  The surprising appraisal from the boy, now 15, came during a January 19, 2004 interview with Santa Barbara Sheriff's Department officials. 

· Psst! Wanna buy an Oscar?  Industry experts speculate that 150 Oscars have been sold since the first Academy Awards ceremony in 1929 -- half of which are likely gray-market sales involving post-1950 statuettes. And those 8.5-pound golden statuettes are fetching as much as $1.5 million on the open market. Prices are lower for post-1950 Oscars because they can't be sold again as easily, but a big-name Oscar rarely goes for less than $60,000. 

· It's a knockout for 'Million Dollar Baby.'  "The Aviator" had more Oscars, but it was "Million Dollar Baby" that scored the knockout punch at the Academy Awards Sunday night.  The Clint Eastwood-directed film about a female boxer, her crusty trainer and the trainer's ex-boxer right-hand man won four Oscars: best picture, best actress (Hilary Swank), best supporting actor (Morgan Freeman) and best director. 

      » Tim Robbins 'gestures' at Academy host.  Oscar presenter Tim Robbins makes a gesture toward host Chris Rock, after Rock's comments about his politics during the 77th Academy Awards. 

      » Rock Comes Out Swinging As Oscar Host.  Apropos for an Oscar ceremony in which the boxing movie "Million Dollar Baby" was the big winner, host Chris Rock came out swinging Sunday night, unleashing his acerbic wit on anyone and everyone in Hollywood - including himself.  Rock kept it clean compared to the profanity that fills his standup comedy routine. But he slung the mud in a way that kept the audience laughing. 

· Laci's Mom Spars With Scott's Kin.  Police stood watch over the home once shared by Scott and Laci Peterson after Laci Peterson's mother angrily confronted Scott Peterson's family as they hauled furniture and other belongings from the vacant house. 

· Oops!  Suspect’s cell phone rings in on missing assault rifle case.  Two men insisted they had no knowledge of an AK-47 used in an October shooting. They continued to stand by their story under questioning.  Then their cell phones chimed in. As Detective Kevin Doran tried to silence the rings, he noticed one had interesting wallpaper - a picture of one of the suspects holding an AK-47.  "A picture truly is worth a thousand words," said Capt. Joe Fair, the vice squad's commander. 

· Social Security Overhaul Proposal.  One new proposal emerging from the national debate on how to overhaul Social Security could make every American a millionaire at age 65.  Upon each child's birth, the government opens an investment savings account in his or her name and puts $2,000 into it. The government puts another $2,000 into the account every year until the child turns 18. The money then would be left to grow at a compounded rate until the individual reaches the retirement age of 65.  Assuming a 6 percent continuously compounding rate of return over 65 years, money in the account would exceed $1 million. 

· Santa Maria braces for close-up.  The site of Michael Jackson's child molestation trial has had brushes with celebrity before, as a stopover for the biggest stars of Hollywood's golden age en route from Los Angeles to the Hearst Castle and other Central Coast destinations. 

· Federated to buy May for $10.4 billion.  Federated Department Stores Inc., operator of Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s, has reached a deal to buy rival May Department Stores Inc. for $10.4 billion, according to a published report. 

Word of The Day by WordThink

Anachronism [a·nach·ro·nism] n.  One that is out of its proper, chronological, or historical order, especially a person or practice that belongs to an earlier time.  [the sword is an anachronism in modern warfare]. 

· U.S. Mint releasing redesigned nickel.  The U.S. Mint is releasing the latest in its series of redesigned five-cent coins today, honoring the 200th anniversary of the Lewis & Clark expedition and its patron, President Jefferson.  The new nickels look quite a bit different than current ones. The front and back of the piece both feature a new engraving. 

· Toy Fair Debuts Include 'Sith' Vader, Talking 'Scarface.'  While a lot of companies debuted toys for films coming out this year, many are still pumping out product from classic films - and when one of them includes a talking version of Tony Montana, you know you're in for some fun. 

· Death toll soars past 100 after car bomb blast in Iraq.  A suicide car bomber drove into a crowd of people south of Baghdad and detonated his explosives on Monday, killing more than 100 people and wounding 130 in one of the deadliest attacks since the fall of Saddam Hussein, police and witnesses said. 

· FCC rejects complaint involving 'Angel.'  A love scene from the canceled TV show "Angel" that showed a female character turning into a vampire and biting her partner's neck did not overstep federal indecency rules, the FCC ruled. 

Sunday, February 27, 2005

· A&E Placing Huge Bet on 'Sopranos' Reruns.  A&E is placing a $195 million bet - and perhaps its future - on Tony Soprano's broad back. The basic cable channel's recent purchase of rights to telecast edited versions of HBO's "The Sopranos" for a record-shattering $2.5 million per episode is the new year's most significant television deal. The reruns will start in fall 2006. 

· Stewart prepares for house arrest.  Fashion designer Ralph Lauren lives next door. Billionaire financier George Soros is down the street. And on a nearby hill stands the house that patriot John Jay retired to after serving as the first U.S. chief justice.  When Martha Stewart gets out of a West Virginia prison in the next week or so, she won't be moving into a typical halfway house. 

· 'Mom swiped my identity.'  One year out of high school and just starting her first job, Aimie McAllister got a call from American Express out of the blue telling her she owed $2,000 on her credit card. But the 20-year-old from Harlem had never owned a credit card, or even applied for one. Facing the nightmare of bad credit, the confused social worker came to a grim conclusion — a credit card in her name was being used by her own mother. 

· College weighs buyout for 'Nazi' professor.  University of Colorado officials are considering offering Ward Churchill an early retirement package that could end an increasingly uncomfortable standoff with the controversial professor. 

· Halle Berry 'Wins' Another Award.  Halle Berry won an Academy Award. Now she's won a Razzie. George W. Bush and Arnold Schwarzenegger won elections. Now they've won Razzies. Berry was picked Saturday as worst actress for 2004's action bomb "Catwoman," which also took the prize for worst film at the 25th annual Razzies, an Oscar spoof that trashes Hollywood's lowpoints. 

· Dems Back Meathead For Calif. Governor.  California voters are in favor of another actor to face actor-turned-governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 2006 election, according to a new statewide poll.  Actor-director Rob Reiner leads a Democratic field that also includes Attorney General Bill Lockyer, state Treasurer Phil Angelides and Controller Steve Westly, the Field Poll said Friday. 

· Millionaire John Gilmore is 'grounded.'  John Gilmore's splendid isolation began July 4, 2002, when, with defiance aforethought, he strolled to the Southwest Airlines counter at Oakland Airport and presented his ticket.  The gate agent asked for his ID. Gilmore asked her why. It is the law, she said. Gilmore asked to see the law.  Nobody could produce a copy. To date, nobody has. The regulation that mandates ID at airports is "Sensitive Security Information." The law, as it turns out, is unavailable for inspection. 

· Ancient geek treasures fetch modern moolah.  The next time investors tell you your business plan isn't worth the paper it's printed on, tell them this: Christie's sold one at auction Wednesday for $72,000. Sure, it was J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly's 1946 plan to start what's billed as the world's first electronic computer company. 

· The boxer and the billionaire.  None of these best picture nominees has topped $100 million at the box office, leading some commentators to worry about the ratings for the big show. 

· BTK Killings Suspect Led Cub Scouts.  Dennis Rader, the man police believe is the BTK serial killer, hid for more than 30 years in plain sight. He lived in this suburb of Wichita, the city he is suspected of terrorizing, with a wife and two children.  He led a Cub Scout troop and was active in his Lutheran church. As an ordinance enforcement officer for the local government, he could be seen measuring grass in a front yard with a tape measure to see if it was too long, a neighbor said. 

· Warning: This may make you laugh.  You've been warned - no matter how ridiculous that warning might appear. On dog treats, toilet seats, scooters and almost every product imaginable, companies are protecting themselves from lawsuits - or just plain clueless consumers - with a never-ending supply of disclaimers. Take, for instance, the warning label tagged onto a sporty children's scooter. "This product moves when used." 

· $25,000 reward for information on missing girl.  The father of a missing 9-year-old Florida girl made a tearful plea for public help in locating her Saturday, as authorities announced a $25,000 reward for information about her whereabouts.  Atlanta Braves pitcher Mike Hampton and his wife Kautia have offered the $25,000 reward. 

Word of The Day by WordThink

Nebulous [neb·u·lous] adj.  1. Lacking definition or definite content.  2. Lacking definite form or limits; vague: nebulous assurance in the verdict. 

· Charles accuses Britons of 'torturing' him over Camilla affair.  Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne, has complained that his future subjects have "tortured" him over his relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles, a newspaper reported. 

· Putting finger on male aggression.  Men with index fingers shorter than ring fingers are more hostile, researchers say. 

· Chemical In Non-Stick Cookware Causes Concern.  A chemical used in the making of non-stick cookware and many other household products could be making you sick. 

· FBI to Investigate Nun's Killing.  Three FBI agents arrived in northern Brazil to investigate the killing of American nun Dorothy Stang. 

· Beauty pageant fights HIV stigma.  A dozen HIV-positive women donned flowing evening gowns and glittering jewelry to compete in a beauty pageant aimed at fighting the stigma that still surrounds the deadly virus in this AIDS-ravaged southern African country. 

Saturday, February 26, 2005

· Schwarzenegger has no regrets about steroid use.  Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has acknowledged using steroids during his years as a champion body builder, said he doesn't regret using the performance-enhancing drugs. 

· Bill Gates calls America's high schools "obsolete."  America's high schools are obsolete," the Microsoft founder said. "By obsolete, I don't just mean that they're broken, flawed or underfunded, though a case could be made for every one of those points. By obsolete, I mean our high schools _ even when they're working as designed _ cannot teach all our students what they need to know today." 

· LA Times editors vote Bono in as World Bank chief.  The Los Angeles Times devoted its lead editorial to the proposition that Bono, the Irish frontman of rock band U2, "should be named the next president of the World Bank."  No word yet on whether they propose Whoopi Goldberg to head up NATO. 

· Wichita Police: 'BTK Is Arrested.'  Police said Saturday they have arrested a suspect they believe is the notorious BTK serial killer who terrorized Wichita throughout the 1970s and then resurfaced about a year ago after 25 years of silence.  Police arrested Dennis Rader, a 59-year-old animal control officer, after his daughter alerted authorities of her suspicion that her father was the BTK killer — a self-coined nickname that stands for "Bind, Torture, Kill."

A blood sample from the daughter was reportedly used to confirm DNA tests that linked Rader to the eight killings committed between 1974 and 1986. 

· Mystery Witness Emerges in Jackson Case.  On the eve of trial, a mystery witness has emerged in the Michael Jackson case and will be deposed by both the prosecution and defense in a rare weekend session at noon Saturday in Los Angeles.  The surprise witness is reportedly a paralegal who worked for the attorney representing the accuser's mother when their family sued JC Penney and won a $137,500 settlement in October 2001. 

· Amnesty International founder dead.  Benenson, the founder of the human rights group Amnesty International, has died, the group has announced. 

· Judge Rules Against Prayer At School Board Meetings.  A federal judge ruled Friday that Congress and legislative bodies can open their sessions with prayers, but school boards do not have the same option. 

· City promises billboard fame to shame 'johns.'  Buy sex from a hooker in Oakland, and you may lose your car and see your picture plastered on a billboard or bus shelter. 

· Japan Launches Space Rocket.  Fifteen months after Japan's last liftoff ended in a spectacular fireball, an orange and white H-2A rocket blasted off Saturday on a mission officials hope will revive this country's once proud space program — now languishing in China's shadow. 

Word of The Day by WordThink

Furtive [fur·tive] adj.  1. Marked by quiet, caution or secrecy; taking pains to avoid being observed.  2. Characterized by stealth; surreptitious. 

· Update: Gunman kills ex-wife, bystander in Texas shooting spree.  A man angry about being sued for unpaid child support opened fire with an AK-47 assault rifle outside the Tyler, Texas courthouse, killing his ex-wife and a man trying to help the couple's adult son. 

· Derek Jeter Center In Boston?  The owners of the FleetCenter are auctioning off naming rights to the facility for charity. You bid on eBay and get to re-name the facility for a day. Derek Jeter, of the New York Yankees, had his lawyer bid, according to the Boston Herald. The FleetCenter could be renamed the Derek Jeter Center Tuesday, unless officials decide to refuse the bid. 

· Kraft caves in; halts production of controversial roadkill-shaped candy.  It's a chewy candy complete with tire tracks, and it'll never see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Kraft Foods has pulled its latest product - "Trolli Road Kill Gummi Candy" - after receiving complaints from New Jersey animal rights activists. 

· Plane Lands In New Mexico To Drop Off Unruly Passengers.  A Southwest Airlines plane heading from Phoenix to Philadelphia made an unscheduled landing in New Mexico.  The plane reportedly landed at Albuquerque International Sunport after two unruly passengers would not calm down. 

· School Board Bans Photo Of Girl Wearing Tux.  Kelli Davis, 18, had her senior class photo taken in a tuxedo top and bow-tie outfit provided for boys rather than the gown-like drape and pearls provided for girls. The school's principal decided it could not appear in the yearbook because she didn't follow the dress code.  Kelli, a straight-A student with no discipline problems, is a self-proclaimed lesbian. She said she was uncomfortable to have her chest exposed in the photo.  

Friday, February 25, 2005

· Cops make arrest in 30-year-old BTK killings.  Wichita police arrested a "person of interest" in BTK serial killer case Friday evening, turning him over to the FBI for questioning.  The man was arrested in suburban Park City, just north of Wichita, and his home was subsequently searched. Police made the arrest near where one of the BTK killer's recent packages was left. 

· Both Sides Rest in Blake Murder Case.  Both sides rested their cases in the Robert Blake murder trial Friday after the prosecution presented a tabloid writer as its last rebuttal witness.  "All sides have rested and the case is now concluded," Judge Darlene Schempp told the jury. 

· Gay men share women's talents for map reading.  Homosexual men share the same relatively poor map reading skills as heterosexual women, according to a new study.  Earlier research found men better than women at finding their way around a "virtual reality" maze, relying on geometric cues while women rely more on landmarks. 

· British Airways saves $192,000 flying broken jumbo jet across Atlantic.  A British Airways 747 jumbo jet carrying 351 passengers made an emergency landing after a failed attempt to reach Heathrow airport.  One of the engines blew during take-off in Los Angeles, but the pilot declined all opportunities to land in the U.S. and instead continued on three engines for 5,000 miles to Britain to save £100,000 (about US $192,300) on delay and cancellation fees.

To make matters worse, the Boeing 747 was unable to climb to its cruising altitude of 36,000ft and had to cross the Atlantic at 29,000ft, where the remaining engines performed less efficiently. When the pilot realized he was running out of fuel and would never make it to Heathrow, he made an emergency landing at Manchester airport, where he was met by four fire engines and thirty firefighters on the runway. 

· Dentist chair takes a bite out of male bravado, dentists say.  Put a guy in a dental chair, and he turns into a wimp.  In a new survey of 171 Chicago area dentists, 49 percent said males are more anxious when it comes to dental appointments, while only 15 percent thought females were the scaredy-cats. 

· Frantic search for Florida girl.  In a case reminiscent of the disappearance of Elizabeth Smart, a 9-year-old girl vanished from her bedroom, leaving her despondent father and grandparents on a hunt to find her.  Jessica Marie Lunsford of Florida was last seen about 10 p.m. Wednesday when her grandmother put her to bed, and seemingly disappeared without a trace.  Jessica is 4-feet-10 inches tall, weighing 70 pounds, with light brown shoulder-length hair and brown eyes. 

· Model airplanes are the real stars of ‘The Aviator.’  Hollywood's biggest names are in front of and behind the camera in Martin Scorsese's award-winning film epic "The Aviator."  But what has thrilled audiences across the world and pushed the limits of cinematography are the true-to-life mechanical stars in the film, 3 of the largest and fastest radio-controlled scale model aircraft ever constructed and flown. 

      » Behind the scenes - The model builder.  These amazing flyable models were unmanned scale versions of Howard Hughes airplanes built by Aero Telemetry of Huntington Beach, Ca. 

· Court:  Man Can Sue Over Surprise Pregnancy.  An appeals court said a man can press a claim for emotional distress after learning a former lover had used his sperm to have a baby. But he can't claim theft, the ruling said, because the sperm were hers to keep. 

· Milk can cause acne, says new research.  Women who drink two or more servings of skimmed milk every day are 44 per cent more likely to have developed severe acne, the study, reported in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, said. 

· Wife details family gathering with Thompson dead in chair.  Hunter S. Thompson heard the ice clinking.  The literary champ was sitting in his kitchen chair, dead of a self-inflicted gunshot through the mouth hours earlier.  But a small circle of family and friends gathered around his dead body telling stories with, as he wished, glasses filled with his favored elixir — Chivas Regal on ice. 

      » Widow: Thompson Shot Himself on Phone.  The widow of journalist Hunter Thompson said her husband killed himself while the two were talking on the phone.  "I was on the phone with him, he set the receiver down and he did it. I heard the clicking of the gun." 

· Disney Sells Mighty Ducks Hockey Team.  The Walt Disney Co. has sold the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim to billionaire Henry Samueli and his wife Susan, the new owner announced Friday. 

· Jackson Jury to Hear Evidence on Mother.  Jurors in Michael Jackson's child molestation trial will be allowed to hear evidence that the accuser's mother had made allegations of improper touching against store security guards, a judge ruled Friday. 

· Latest Cyber-Security Breach.  In the financial world's latest cyber-identity crisis, Bank of America today is warning the holders of at least 1.2 million of its federal employee credit card accounts that a major security breach may have left their account information exposed to theft or hacking, according to a senior U.S. official and Bank spokeswoman. 

· Tel Aviv Suicide Bombing Kills Several.  A suicide bomber blew himself up among Israelis waiting outside a nightclub near Tel Aviv's beachfront just before midnight Friday, killing several people, wounding dozens and shattering an unofficial Mideast truce. 

· New twist to watergate break-in.  a former Watergate investigator says the break-in was motivated by President Nixon's paranoia that the Democrats would find out that he had taken a $50,000 bribe from Howard Hughes. 

· Men who tossed ticket now seek prize.  Two men who say they bought a scratch-off lottery ticket and threw it away are seeking the $100,000 prize a woman claimed after she plucked it from a cafe's trash can. 

· 'Basic Instinct 2' Will Have Bisexual Love.  Sharon Stone says her character will have a bisexual relationship in the upcoming film "Basic Instinct 2: Risk Addiction."  "There is lesbian love," Stone said in a recent interview with Access Hollywood.  When asked if she would mind if life ever imitated art, the 46-year-old actress said with a smile: "Why not? Middle age is an open-minded period." 

· Family: Heart Attack Victim Moved for Michael Jackson.  A woman who had suffered a massive heart attack died after hospital personnel moved her out of a trauma room to accommodate a flu-stricken Michael Jackson, the patient's family said. 

· New vacuum cleaner makes its own service calls.  The new Dyson vacuum alerts the user if it has broken down or needs a replacement part. The owner then dials the number of the Dyson call center and holds the telephone receiver to the vacuum cleaner. The machine transmits a message telling engineers what’s wrong and automatically orders any new parts that are needed. 

· Court backs former Gov. Janklow's convictions.  The state's highest court on Thursday upheld Bill Janklow's conviction for a 2003 crash that killed a motorcyclist, rejecting the former congressman's argument that there wasn't enough evidence for a guilty verdict.  Ruling unanimously, the South Dakota Supreme Court also found that Janklow had received a fair trial. 

· Ouch!  Representative tells off colleague.  Republican and Democratic leaders alike urged members to act more civil after Rep. Bill Cadman, R-Colorado Springs, warned a colleague on the House floor, "If you try that again, I'll ram my fist up your ass." 

· The most expensive cars of the year.  Average price of top 10 rides on the list are $351,000, and Saleen's S7, this year's most expensive car, costs $120,000 more than it did last year. 

· Jewelry Store Robbed By Delivery Man Impostor.  A man posing as a delivery worker and at least one other man robbed a jewelry store of its high-end watches, rings and other items Thursday night, according to Orlando police. 

· California Judge Refuses to Jail Sizemore.  A judge refused yesterday to lock up Tom Sizemore for possessing methamphetamine and for failing drug tests seven times this month. 

· Viacom Loses $18.4 Billion After Writing Down Radio Business.  Viacom Inc. reported today that it lost $18.4 billion in the fourth quarter last year, mainly because it took an $18 billion writeoff to reflect the declining value of its radio station operations, along with its outdoor advertising business. 

· Fox's clean sweep.  According to Nielsen estimates for the first three weeks of the February sweep, Fox led in adults 18-49 with a 7.0 rating/18 share, followed by CBS (3.9/10), ABC (3.8/10) and last place NBC (3.6/9). 

· Man maced after asking cops to help dying dog.  A Brooklyn man was pepper-sprayed when he brought his dying dog to his local police precinct, it was revealed yesterday. 

· Update: Congress to Probe ID Theft Issues.  A congressional committee will hold hearings on identity theft and information brokers following the revelation that personal data on millions of people was stolen from ChoicePoint Inc.'s databanks. 

· Creatures frozen for 32,000 years still alive.  A new type of organism discovered in an Arctic tunnel came to life in the lab after being frozen for 32,000 years.  The deep-freeze bacteria could point to new methods of cryogenics, and they are the sort of biology scientists say might exist on Mars and other planets and moons. 

Word of The Day by WordThink

Innocuous [in·noc·u·ous] adj.  1. Having no adverse effect; harmless.  2. Not likely to offend or provoke to strong emotion; insipid.  [the seemingly innocuous e-mail actually contained a malicious virus]. 

· Nazi salute lands scientist in airport prison.  A British scientist who gave the Nazi salute in an argument with an airport worker in Germany yesterday was arrested and fined $334. 

· Wal-Mart hit with $7.5 million jury verdict.  A New York jury ordered Wal-Mart to pay $7.5 million in damages to a disabled former employee in a class-action lawsuit in which he claimed the retailer unfairly reassigned him to garbage duty even though he was hired to work in the pharmacy department. 

· Another TV Gig for Tarantino: 'CSI.'  Quentin Tarantino, director of the "Kill Bill" movies, has signed to direct the season finale of CBS's "CSI." Tarantino also came up with an original story for the episode, the trade paper reports, adding that he "has long been a fan" of the procedural crime drama about a forensics team led by Gil Grissom (William Petersen). 

· Paris Hilton worm spreads fast.  A new worm that promises explicit pictures of hotel heiress Paris Hilton is rapidly becoming more common.  Sober.K is replicating itself so much that it now accounts for 10 percent of all viruses detected in the last 24 hours. 

· ABC News: UFO Interest Still Intense after Fifty Years.  Aliens and UFOs have been such a staple of American pop culture it's hard to believe the fascination only began about 50 years ago. It started with a spark of interest, exploded, and continues to this day in a constant burn. 

· Hey, genius, 'stop' means you STOP!  A dimwitted dump-truck driver unleashed a torrent of woe in the Bronx yesterday when he ignored firefighters' pleas and sunk his 14-wheel rig into a cracked and flooding intersection. 

· Man celebrates end of DUI classes with drinks.  On the night he earned a certificate for completing a court-ordered alcohol education class, prosecutors said, a Franklin man went drinking to celebrate.  He now faces four misdemeanor charges of driving under the influence and a felony charge of operating while intoxicated with a previous drunk-driving conviction in the past five years. 

· Valentines cards prove the wrong medicine.  A pharmaceutical company that sent anonymous Valentine's cards in a publicity stunt has been forced to apologize.  The doctors and their partners are furious with the company after it sent cards saying "Now shall we tell everyone?"  The cards caused so much distress that the company sent apologetic bouquets of flowers. 

· Feds wants passenger names one hour before takeoff.  The Department of Homeland Security is drafting a rule that will require airlines to pass on passenger manifest information as much as an hour before the departure of international flights bound for the United States, officials confirmed yesterday. 

· Adelphia dumps porn plans.  Adelphia, the large cable company that began this month to offer hard-core pornographic movies on its system, has stopped the practice and backed off its plans. 

· Hollywood Files New Web Lawsuits.  Hollywood's major movie studios filed a new round of lawsuits across the United States on Thursday against people who trade illegally copied films and TV shows on the Internet. 

· Rapper 'C-Murder' Makes Video While Jailed.  Rapper C-Murder, in jail in the New Orleans, La., area awaiting a murder trial, has angered the local sheriff with his plans to release a music video and compact disc, parts of which were recorded behind bars. 

· How PC Motherboards Are Made.  Producing and testing a single motherboard involves a mind-boggling host of automated machines, people and processes; so here's a detailed look at how motherboards are made. 

· Update: Pope Undergoes Tracheotomy After Rush Back to the Hospital.  Despite the operation's apparent success, both the procedure and the underlying conditions that made it necessary seem likely to intensify questions about the pope's ability to continue to lead the church if he remains badly debilitated. 

· Population to top 9 billion by 2050.  If you can believe the U.N., the world's population will rise from 6.5 billion to 9.1 billion by 2050, according to a United Nations survey released Thursday. 

Thursday. February 24, 2005

· Hollywood Catches Case of Oscar Blahs.  In the days leading up to the movie industry's most glamorous night, the Oscars, the word heard frequently around Hollywood this year is not glitz, or hype, or excitement. It is fatigue. 

· Bin Laden gets branded.  Swiss authorities have ruled that a Geneva-based half-brother of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has the right to use the family name as a trademark. 

· Christian Slater files to end marriage.  Christian Slater has filed a petition to end his five-year marriage to television producer Ryan Haddon. 

· Lufthansa May Sue Over Bush Visit.  Lufthansa, Europe's No. 2 airline, may seek damages for cancellations and delays from German authorities who temporarily brought the Frankfurt area to a standstill yesterday for a visit by U.S. President George W. Bush. 

· Whitney Houston gets ill on airliner, taken to Paris hospital.  Grammy-winning singer Whitney Houston got ill on an airliner bound for France and was taken Thursday to a Paris hospital for treatment of apparent food poisoning, her publicist said. 

· Reports: At Least Three Shot Outside Texas Courthouse.  A man with a high-powered rifle opened fire in the town square Thursday and shot at least three people, including a deputy. 

· Shocker: J.Lo Comes Clean: She Is Married.  Jennifer Lopez has confirmed that she and Marc Anthony are, indeed, husband and wife. "Yes, we're married," Lopez tells People magazine, on newsstands Friday. "I mean, come on, everyone knows. It's not a secret." 

· Papers Allege Lohan's Dad's Death Threat.  The father of teen movie star Lindsay Lohan threatened to kill his estranged wife and children, according to allegations in divorce papers.  "O.J. Simpson has nothing on me," Michael Lohan allegedly told the family's security guard last year. "I know exactly how I'm going to kill (them). I know when I'm going to do it, and I'm going to enjoy it."  [It makes a person wonder what he had planned for his 'Lohan family' reality show he was reportedly pitching to TV execs].  

      » Lohan's Dad Says Her Career Isn't Damaged.  Lindsay Lohan's father says his headline-grabbing problems have helped - not hurt - his teenage daughter's career.  "She's got more offers than ever now ... don't they say any publicity is good publicity?" Michael Lohan told ABC's "Primetime Live" in an interview to be broadcast Thursday night. "People don't want the good things, they want the dirt." 

· Texas murder suspect: 'Everyone has this all wrong.'  The man charged with killing his pregnant ex-girlfriend and her 7-year-old son told his wife from behind bars that "everyone has this all wrong."  Stephen Barbee's wife of two months, Trish Barbee, 39, said she spoke to her husband for the first time since his arrest during a visit Wednesday at the Mansfield Jail. 

· Enron's Lay, Skilling to Be Tried in Jan. 2006.  The trial of former Enron Corp. Chairman Kenneth Lay and former Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Skilling for their role in the downfall of the energy giant will start on Jan. 17, 2006, a U.S. judge said. 

· Hunter fined $18 million for forest fire.  A lost hunter who started a forest fire in northern California while trying to keep warm was ordered to pay $18.2 million in restitution yesterday. 

· Diplomat handcuffed, released in Internet child sex case.  Virginia officials are waiting to see whether the federal government will revoke immunity for a foreign diplomat they say showed up expecting a tryst with a 13-year-old girl.  Dr. Salem Al-Mazrooei, a diplomat from United Arab Emirates, has not been charged with any crimes, but Bedford County, VA Sheriff Mike Brown said if Al-Mazrooei's immunity is revoked, he will be charged with four felony counts of electronic solicitation of a minor. 

· Peterson sentence may face 2nd delay.  A judge's final word on whether Scott Peterson should be executed could be delayed again at a hearing Friday, sources said.  Formal sentencing for the Modesto man, convicted of murdering his pregnant wife and their unborn child, previously was changed from Friday to March 11. 

· Cereal Restaurant Pours Into New City.  Chicago is getting some Snap, Crackle and Pop.  The Cereality Cereal Bar and Cafe is opening a downtown cereal-only restaurant. The new outlet will be within two blocks of the Sears Tower. 

· Paris Hilton: 'I want to apologize.'  In an interview with Us Weekly magazine, on newsstands Friday, Hilton says: "I feel horrible that, once again, someone has invaded my privacy. I want to apologize to all my friends and family. I don't know why this stuff always happens to me, but I wish it wouldn't anymore. 

· Big spender: Pervert offers $5 for sex.  Police arrested an accused sexual predator, after they say he offered young girls $5 if they would perform sexual acts. 

· Kobe Bryant to be questioned under oath Friday.  Lawyers for the woman accusing Kobe Bryant of rape will get their first chance to question him under oath when they meet the basketball star Friday in Los Angeles. 

· Was race an issue in ‘Hitch’ casting?  Casting Will Smith’s love interest in “Hitch” was not a simple black or white decision.  Will Smith says moviemakers were afraid to cast him in love with either an African-American or a white woman, so selected Cuban actress Eva Mendes so its worldwide audience - especially U.S. viewers - would not be offended. 

· Pregnant Women Risk Murder in U.S., Report Finds.  Murder is a surprisingly common cause of death among pregnant women in the United States, U.S. government researchers reported on Wednesday.  "Homicide is a leading cause of pregnancy-associated injury deaths," Jeani Chang and colleagues wrote in the latest issue of the American Journal of Public Health. 

· Soccer Team Ordered To Play In Empty Stadium.  Paris Saint-Germain was ordered to play Saturday's French League game against Bastia in an empty stadium because of crowd trouble during a match against Metz in December. 

· 'Daily News' worth a million.  A New Jersey bank couldn't believe what a good son Staten Island lottery winner William Cousart was - until his 84-year-old mom produced a Daily News article that proved her $1 million check was good.  Although Cousart - who went from leveraged to loaded when he won a $30 million jackpot - has been too busy to spend the loot, he found time to make his mom a millionaire.  "I gave $1 million to my mom, and when she brought the check to the bank, they thought she was a fraud," Cousart, 54, said with a laugh yesterday. "She had to bring them the Daily News to prove I'd won." 

· New Tech Finds the Face of Crime.  Spotting suspects without ever leaving the station has become a reality for the Los Angeles Police Department. 

· Pope back in hospital.  Pope John Paul II has been taken back to hospital after suffering a recurrence of the flu that forced him to be hospitalized for 10 days earlier this month, the Vatican said. 

Word of The Day by WordThink

Pragmatic [prag·mat·ic] adj.  More concerned with practical results than with theories and principles [the CEO used a pragmatic approach to making his business a success]. 

· Toddler's Legs Broken Over Child's Mess.  A woman in Kissimmee, Fla., has been charged with aggravated child abuse after allegedly confessing to throwing her 1-year-old to the ground and breaking his legs. 

· Tiger Killed Near Reagan Library.  Authorities shot and killed a tiger Wednesday that had been roaming the hills near the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.  The 600 pound cat was shot several hundred yards from soccer and baseball fields at the edge of a housing development. 

· Cuba Makes War On Weed.  Over 1,300 pounds of marijuana seized by the Cuban Border Guard went up in smoke in a steel plant furnace as some two dozen "mellow" journalists looked on. 

· Chicken Feathers in PCs No Birdbrain Idea.  Researchers are turning to an unlikely source to develop environmentally friendly computer components: the barnyard.  Richard Wool, a professor of chemical engineering at the University of Delaware, wants to recycle discarded chicken feathers and use them to manufacture circuit boards, replacing petroleum-based components with keratin-based composites. 

· 'Tibetan Healer' Arrested For Sexual Assaulting Patients.  Sheriff's deputies are looking for victims of a self-proclaimed Tibetan healer.  Reiki Master Ardi Galash, 50, was arrested in Poway for allegedly sexually assaulting his patients. Several people alleged that while they were being treated for assorted medical problems, Galash sexually assaulted them. 

· 'Rabbit' keeps on surfing at 84.  Legendary surfer Rabbit Kekai - at 84, the oldest competitor in international surfing events - has said hopes to continue boarding until he is 100.  Kekai has ridden the daunting Pacific waves off the coast of Hawaii for nearly 80 years, and has long since been inducted into surfing's Hall of Fame. 

· Mount St. Helens bubbling and boiling again.  Mount St. Helens has shown an upswing in volcanic activity over the past two days, U.S. volcano scientists reported.  Small collapses of hot rock from the south end of the lava dome - which is growing at a rate of about 15 feet per day - have sent several ash clouds upward and over the rim of the mile-wide crater 

· Laci's Legacy.  Salem, Oregon lawmakers are considering a new bill inspired by the case of Laci Peterson, the California woman who went missing on Christmas Eve, 2002. Laci's husband, Scott, was later convicted of killing her and their unborn son, Connor.  The legislation would recognize the killing of a pregnant woman as the taking of two lives, instead of one under current state law. 

· Toothpaste that fixes cavities as they appear.  A toothpaste has been developed that can rapidly and seamlessly fix little cavities without need for drilling.  Dental paste of synthetic tooth enamel could revolutionise treatment of tiny early lesions, says the study published today in the journal Nature by Dr Kazue Yamagishi. 

· Cops say suspect offers cheesy bribe.  Steven T. Denton, 32, was charged with a felony count of attempting to bribe a law officer after he allegedly offered to spring for McDonald's cheeseburgers in exchange for his release. 

· Blind Man Accused Of Biting Guide Dog Charged With Animal Cruelty.  A blind man who allegedly bit his guide dog has been charged with animal cruelty.  David Todd is accused of sinking his teeth into the animal's head in a busy street, Scottish police said Thursday. 

· Tabloids: Charles' wedding in 'shambles.'  Buckingham Palace says Queen Elizabeth II won't be attending her son's wedding to keep the occasion "low key." Fat chance.  "Queen's anger at wedding shambles," said London's Evening Standard newspaper yesterday, while The Sun headed its coverage "Royal bombshell." 

· Police Say Dad Killed Toddler Who Refused Sandwich.  A father is under arrest, charged with killing his 3-year-old daughter. The reason, police say, is that she wouldn't eat her peanut butter sandwich. 

· Ring finger points police to fiance in theft.  A Charlottesville man was charged with stealing wedding rings from Glassner Jewelers after his girlfriend accepted his proposal and returned to the store on Valentine’s Day to have the rings resized, authorities said. 

Wednesday, February 23, 2005

· Teacher Trifecta: Intern accused of sex with student.  A 30-year-old teaching intern has been arrested in Sacramento after police found her with a 16-year-old male student in her car as the woman's toddler was strapped into a car seat in the back. 

· 'Nazi' Colorado professor admits he's not an Indian.  University of Colorado professor Ward Churchill finally addressed the issue of his ethnicity, admitting that he is not Native American.  "Is he an Indian? Do we really care?" he said, quoting those he called his "white Republican" critics.  "Let's cut to the chase; I am not," he said.  Pedigree is "not important," Churchill added. 

· Martha Stewart may return as CEO.  Currently imprisoned on an obstruction-of-justice conviction, Stewart still faces a civil case that could prevent her from running the company she founded. However, the Securities and Exchange Commission, which has hit Stewart with civil insider-trading charges, recently told her lawyers that it would consider a settlement deal that wouldn’t require her to be barred for life from running her company. 

· Author Regrets Secretly Taping Bush Talks.  An old friend of President Bush who secretly recorded their private conversations and released them to the media said he has regrets and is turning the tapes over to Bush. 

· Bob Dylan blasts rock bands.  Bob Dylan has launched a withering attack on contemporary rock bands in latest tour.  "I know there are groups at the top of the charts that are hailed as the saviours of rock'n'roll and all that, but they are amateurs." 

· Bank robber calls in to radio show, admits crime.  The phone call to a popular Chicago talk show could go down as one of the dumbest acts by a criminal in recent times, authorities said. 

· College gets money to teach bedside manners.  A woman who got bad news from a rude doctor has left nearly $2 million dollars for the Medical College of Ohio to teach its students better bedside manners.  School officials say her doctor called her and told her she had a terminal form of the disease, then hung up on her. 

· Teacher in sex scandal pleads Not Guilty.  Pamela Turner, the Tennessee teacher who was arrested and charged for having an ongoing relationship with a 13-year-old boy, has entered a Not Guilty plea in court this morning.  Turner has been charged with 15 counts of sexual battery by an authority figure and 13 counts of statutory rape. 

· Witness: Blake's hands too clean to have fired gun.  A forensic scientist testifying at Robert Blake's murder trial said gunshot residue found on the actor's hands could have come from touching his wife's body or the car in which she was shot to death. 

      » Defense Rests in Robert Blake Murder Case.  Robert Blake's defense rested its case Wednesday without calling him to the stand, but he was able to tell jurors his story in a videotape of a TV interview that was played in court. 

· Mayors charged in corruption sting.  Eleven local officials in northern New Jersey - including three small-town mayors - have been charged in a federal corruption sting.  Ten of the Monmouth County officials were accused Tuesday of extorting cash bribes and free work from a contractor who was working undercover for the FBI, and the other was charged with money laundering, prosecutors said. 

· Michael Jackson jury of peers chosen - no blacks.  The panel includes four men and eight women, ranging in age from 20 to 79. None are African-American, despite efforts by the pop star's attorneys to secure at least one black juror on the panel. 

· For money, Canseco says he will prove he told truth.  Jose Canseco is so certain of what he has said in his book Juiced, that he revealed plans to stage a pay-per-view polygraph examination.  Taking a lie-detector test before a paying public, he said, would be "the straw that breaks the camel's back." 

· Pictures show final moments of couple killed in tsunami.  The three sons of a couple from North Vancouver killed in Thailand during the tsunami disaster have received pictures of their parents' final moments, including images of the deadly waves.  The camera was destroyed but its memory card was salvaged. 

· Screens hide crashes from curious drivers.  Massive curtains were drawn yesterday at the scene of a tractor-trailer rollover on Interstate 93 north in Somerville, where MassHighway utilized its newest weapon against traffic snarls caused by rubber-necking drivers. 

· Florida prosecutor arrested after running naked into wrong car.  A state prosecutor in Florida's island city of Key West is under arrest after he allegedly ran naked and drunk across a parking lot and hopped into the wrong car. 

· Death wish.  "Gonzo" journalist Hunter S. Thompson told his son he wanted "a great funeral — I want my ashes shot out of a cannon," before he walked into his kitchen and shot himself in the head, a close friend of the legendary writer said yesterday. 

      » Thompson probably planned suicide.  "I think he made a conscious decision that he had an incredible run of 67 years, lived the way he wanted to, and wasn't going to suffer the indignities of old age," friend Douglas Brinkley said in a telephone interview from Aspen. "He was not going to let anybody dictate how he was going to die." 

· 97-Year-Old Grandmother Arrested In Drug Raid.  A 97-year-old great-grandmother was arrested Tuesday after police in Portland raided a suspected drug house located across the street from an elementary school. 

· How Paris Got Hacked.  Like many online service providers, T-Mobile requires users to answer a "secret question" if they forget their passwords. According to the O'Reilly Network, for Hilton's account, the secret question was "What is your favorite pet's name?" By correctly providing the answer, any internet user could change Hilton's password and freely access her account. 

· Chiquita to buy No. 1 salad firm.  Chiquita Brands International announced this morning it has agreed to acquire the nation's No. 1 packaged salad maker, Fresh Express, for $855 million in cash. 

· Didn't stop, so plainclothes cops beat me, exec sez.  Just weeks after a bank manager was shot and killed by a man allegedly imitating a police officer, another Long Island businessman claimed Wednesday he was attacked by a pair of plainclothes cops driving an unmarked car after he refused to stop. 

· Expert: Baby Swings May Trigger Dog Attack.  Rocking your baby to sleep in a mechanical swing may trigger a deadly attack on the child by the family dog, a coroner warns. 

· Ben Affleck to Play 'Superman.'  Affleck has signed to play George Reeves — the tragic actor who died under mysterious circumstances after portraying Superman in the eponymous 1950s TV series — in a modestly budgeted indie film, "Truth, Justice and the American Way." 

· Study Blames 20,000 Deaths A Year On Diesel Exhaust.  Emissions from old diesel engines cause more than 20,000 Americans a year to die sooner than they would have otherwise, an environmental group estimated in an announcement yesterday. 

· Nurses, teachers take on Schwarzenegger.  Schwarzenegger made headlines in recent months by deriding political opponents as "girlie men" and ridiculing a group of nurses at a women's conference. Now, an effort to paint the state's teachers as little more than a balky special interest group has angered many critics. 

· Lohan's dad proposes reality show.  Lindsay Lohan's estranged father Michael, who was just arrested on DUI charges over the weekend, is keen to reconcile with his family - for a reality TV show.  Although his wife Dina recently filed for divorce, Michael is hoping his family - including Freaky Friday star Lindsay - will warm to the prospect of appearing in a series on their lives. 

· Andre Agassi and Roger Federer on top of the world.  The duo played tennis on the roof of Dubai's Burj Al Arab hotel, where the helipad was replaced with artificial turf for a PR stunt on the world's tallest hotel. 

      » The 'Helipad Open' Photos.  Enlarged photo gallery of this tennis paradise on a man-made island. 

· New computer virus pretends to be FBI e-mail.  The FBI warned Tuesday that a computer virus is being spread through unsolicited e-mails that purport to come from the FBI.  The e-mails appear to come from an fbi.gov address. They tell recipients that they have accessed illegal Web sites and that their Internet use has been monitored by the FBI's "Internet Fraud Complaint Center," the FBI said. 

· Update: Friends Seek Answers In Violent Deaths Of Texas Woman, Son.  Lisa Underwood was devoted to her 7-year-old son and excited about soon having a baby girl. Friends said she was planning to raise her daughter without help from the baby's father.  Stephen Barbee told investigators that when he went to her home Friday night, Underwood kicked him in the leg and he punched her in the face several times, causing her nose to bleed. Police records show he held her on the floor and suffocated her. 

· Ore. Seniors Allowed to Play Bingo Again.  The folks who play bingo at the Klamath Basin Senior Citizen Center are no longer outlaws.  Five months ago, the Department of Justice contacted officials at the senior center after getting a complaint that bingo games were being played for cash.  Nickels, to be exact. 

· Identification of 9/11 remains comes to an end.  Saying it has exhausted all DNA technology, the New York City Medical Examiner has halted the process of identifying human remains from the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center site.  Family members are to be notified by telephone calls and letters saying that further positive identifications are not expected, leaving more than four out of 10 families with no recovered remains for burial. 

      » 1,000 Lost Souls.  A heartbreaking milestone, long dreaded by the families of many World Trade Center victims, has sadly arrived more than three years after the towers collapsed.  The city medical examiner's office has exhausted all of its attempts to identify the remains of those killed at Ground Zero - robbing more than 1,000 families of at least a small measure of comfort. 

· Martha Stewart Living May Make a Comeback.  When Martha Stewart is released from prison next week, the doyenne of domesticity will return to the multimedia company she founded which faces a much brighter outlook than when she was convicted of lying about a stock sale only a year ago. 

· Mom Arrested For Smoking Around Her Kids.  A Virginia woman has pleaded guilty to smoking - after being ordered by a judge not to light up around her two children. 

      » Update: Plea bargain lets smoking mom avoid jail.  A Virginia woman has pleaded guilty to smoking — after being ordered by a judge not to light up around her children — but a plea agreement allowed her to avoid jail time. 

· Twenty Dismissed From Jackson Jury Pool.  After two weeks of delays, jury selection resumed Tuesday in the Michael Jackson case with attorneys dismissing half the number of jurors they are allowed to dismiss at will. 

Word of The Day by WordThink

Diminutive [di·min·u·tive] adj.  Extremely small in size; tiny. A very small person or thing [a diminutive report]. 

· Apple unveils more iPods.  The No. 1 seller of portable digital music players introduced a six-gigabyte iPod mini and 30- and 60-gigabyte models of the iPod photo with a color screen. 

· Sirius Gets NASCAR Broadcast Rights.  In the latest push to ramp up its programming slate, Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. announced Tuesday that it had reached an agreement to broadcast NASCAR races and related events over a five-year period beginning in 2007 for $107.5 million, luring the broadcast rights away from rival XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. 

· Supermodel Speaks About Addiction Battle.  Supermodel Naomi Campbell says cocaine addiction drove her "to the bottom of the barrel," and that if she hadn't stopped, it would have led to "some self-destructive thing." 

· Magid: What Paris Hilton Has Done For You.  Names and numbers from Paris Hilton’s cell phone have been stolen - possibly by a hacker.  This may turn out to be Ms. Hilton’s greatest contribution to mankind. Thanks to her, you can bet that the entire mobile device industry will focus a lot more attention on security. 

· Jessica Simpson Hospitalized With Stomach Virus.  Jessica Simpson was briefly hospitalized in Chicago for a stomach virus while shooting a segment for "The Oprah Winfrey Show," the singer's spokesman said Tuesday. 

· Prince Receives NAACP Vanguard Award.  Prince may be a man of many names, but the NAACP likes his image regardless. The "Purple Rain" singer will be honored with the 2005 NAACP Vanguard Award in a Los Angeles ceremony. 

· Wrong Man Arrested At His Grandmother's Florida Funeral.  A man was arrested at his grandmother's funeral because Broward County sheriff's deputies thought he was a murder suspect. But it turned out they had the wrong man. 

· German town banks on lottery to help budget.  The small community of Blumberg near the border with Switzerland is banking on a win on Germany's national lottery to fill a large gap in its finances. 

· Boy accused of assault with rubber band.  A young student in Orange County, Fla., was suspended for 10 days and could be banned from school over an alleged assault with a rubber band. 

Tuesday, February 22, 2005

· Crackdown targets work-at-home scams.  Authorities have cracked down on scores of "scam artists" across the United States who cheated thousands of consumers out of millions of dollars with illegal business ventures, officials said Tuesday. 

· Bonds blasts Canseco, calls reporters liars.  Barry Bonds called reporters liars, and pointed to problems in the world he considers much more important than steroids, such as alcoholism and drug abuse.  Asked directly whether he’d ever used illegal substances, he said: “I’m not a child. You repeat those things to children and then eventually they tell you. I don’t.” 

· Texas man says he suffocated pregnant woman, son.  A man was arrested and charged Tuesday with murdering his pregnant ex-girlfriend and her 7-year-old son, who disappeared from their home over the weekend.  Stephen Dale Barbee, 37, admitted arguing with Underwood over leaving his wife, according to court papers. Barbee allegedly said he suffocated Underwood, then did the same to the boy after he interrupted the attack.  Court papers said Barbee was the father of Underwood's fetus. 

· Tom Cruise sets up Scientology tent on movie set.  In the upcoming Steven Spielberg remake of War of the Worlds, there's been an invasion of another sort: Scientologists.  Tom Cruise, the film's star and the religion’s most well-known adherent, has set up a Scientology tent with a volunteer minister. "It's a gift from Tom to the crew," says Cruise’s spokeswoman. 

· HP sued over printer cartridge expiration.  A Georgia woman has sued Hewlett-Packard claiming the ink cartridges for their printers are secretly programmed to expire on a certain date, rendering them useless before they are even installed in a printer. 

· Man In Uniform Falsely Tells Army Wife Her Husband Died In Iraq.  Military police are investigating a cruel hoax in which a man wearing an Army dress uniform falsely told the wife of a soldier that her husband had been killed in Iraq. 

· Accused Nude Kournikova Stalker Pleads Not Guilty.  A man accused of stalking tennis star Anna Kournikova has pleaded not guilty in a Florida courtroom to battery and other charges.  The suspect is accused of swimming nude across Biscayne Bay, bound for Kournikova's $5 million estate. He was arrested after turning up naked at the wrong house on a neighbor's pool patio and yelling, "Anna! Save me!" 

· Muslim American Charged With Plot to Assassinate Bush.  Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, 23, a former high school valedictorian in Virginia was charged Tuesday with conspiring to assassinate President Bush and conspiracy to support the Al Qaeda terrorist network. 

· Queen Elizabeth Won't Attend Royal Wedding.  On Tuesday night in London, Buckingham Palace announced Queen Elizabeth II will not attend the civil marriage ceremony of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles. 

· Accuser has history of changing his story.  In March 1996, the then 7-year-old accuser became sick at school. He became upset, however, when a school official tried to call his mother, saying that she had beaten him and was afraid she would beat him again if the school notified her, according to Russell Halpern, the attorney for the accuser's father. 

· Neighbor Sues Sean Connery for $30 million.  A downstairs neighbor of debonaire James Bond actor Sean Connery has filed a $30 million lawsuit alleging he's a bully who's trying to force the family out of their New York townhouse. 

· Pope Calls Gay Marriage Part of 'Ideology of Evil.'  Homosexual marriages are part of "a new ideology of evil" that is insidiously threatening society, Pope John Paul says in a new book published Tuesday. 

      » Flashback: Cuban cigar chomping Kinky Friedman supports gay marriage.  Author and Texas gubernatorial candidate, Kinky Friedman said "I support gay marriage. I believe they have a right to be as miserable as the rest of us." 

· 'NYPD Blue' Ending After 12 Years.  "NYPD Blue" - which ends its 12-year run 10 p.m. EST March 1 - had no intention of being polite. Building on creator Steven Bochco's "Hill Street Blues," it was an in-your-face saga of cops whose lives were as troubled as the streets they protected. 

· Judge Assures Jurors Jackson Was Ill.  Michael Jackson returned to court Tuesday after a week's delay and the judge assured prospective jurors that the singer really had been ill and there was no plot to put off his child molestation trial. 

· 'Miss America' May Become Reality Show.  Failing beauty pageant may relaunch itself as multi-episode reality show.  The pageant, dropped by ABC last year after historically low ratings, has inked a deal with William Morris and hopes to reinvent itself as a multi-episode reality show tracking contestants in regional competitions up to the live finale, according to Television Week. 

· 'Saturday Night Fever' Dance Floor To Be Auctioned Off.  The club may be closed, but the colorful dance floor where John Travolta strutted his stuff in "Saturday Night Fever" is staying alive. The flashing floor, which was saved when the club shut its doors last week, is being auctioned off. 

· Traffic cameras have some seeing red.  Virginia state legislators debated whether their red light cameras — in place for the last decade — should be eliminated.  “Red light cameras do not increase safety,” says Eric Scrum with the National Motorists Association. “Quite frankly, they are not a solution in any shape or form.” 

· The 10 greatest rock'n'roll myths.  From strange deaths to blood transfusions and dubious fish-related practices, it's time to debunk the tallest tales.  (Mature Content). 

· T-Mobile spokesman confirms Hilton cellphone hack.  A spokesman for T-Mobile confirmed Monday that information from Hilton's T-Mobile Sidekick has been posted online.  "T-Mobile's computer forensics and security team is actively investigating to determine how Ms. Hilton's information was obtained," the company said in a statement. "This includes the possibility that someone had access to one of Ms. Hilton's devices and/or knew her account password." 

· Oprah Finally Gets Her Ears Pierced.  Oprah Winfrey fussed like a little girl Monday as she be came the last woman in the world — presumably — to get her ears pierced.  The piercing was done live on her show by no less than a plastic surgeon. 

· Police Shoot Man Attacking Trooper With Chainsaw.  Police said 40-year-old William Henkle had called 911 and said he was having a heart attack. But when police and an ambulance arrived, he was outside the house in Wilkes-Barre with a chainsaw running. 

· Police admit computer mix-up in serial rape case.  A DNA sample that might have identified an alleged serial rapist two months before a series of rapes in Colorado was not matched to the suspect because of a computer glitch, police said Monday.  In November, under questioning by police in suburban Aurora, Brent J. Brents confessed to molesting an 8-year-old boy, police said. However, he was not arrested. 

· Chris Rock Clarifies Oscars Comment.  Chris Rock wants to clarify what he meant when he said straight men don't watch the Oscars.  "I did not say that. I said only gay people watch the Tonys," he joked Monday during an appearance on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno."  But later he stuck to his guns.  "I really don't know any straight men who aren't in show business that have ever watched the Oscars," he said. 

· Designer fashion for Korean homeless.  Some South Korean homeless are dressing in style after the government gave away thousands of fake designer garments confiscated by customs agents.  The Korea Customs Service distributed more than 3,500 fake pieces in the southern city of Pusan this month with the permission of the fashion houses whose designs had been pirated. 

· Conquering Minneapolis, step by step.  At her brisk 120-pace-a-minute clip, Francine Cochran is in the third year of doing something that could well be unique in Minneapolis history: She is walking every one of the 1,071 miles of the city's streets and parkways. 

· Yellow Pages Help Trace Trends Of Modern Life.  Disco is out. Toupees barely hang on. And Botox and body piercing are in.  Those are just some of the many changes over the years to yellow pages phone directories. 

      » Latest trend?  "Guys" carrying a purse.  Guys are grasping the benefits of carrying, go ahead and say it, a purse.  It takes a big man to carry a lady-like bag.  Wallets, cell phones, keys, PDAs, laptop computers - even the deepest of pockets can't hold everything the average guy is hauling around these days. 

· Land war goes before Supreme Court.  A fight by homeowners to save their New London, Connecticut, neighborhood from city officials and private developers - an important property rights case with an unusual twist - will reach the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday.  At issue is whether governments can forcibly seize homes and businesses, for private economic development. Under a practice known as eminent domain, a person's property may be condemned and the land converted for a greater "public use." It has traditionally been employed to eliminate slums, or to build highways, schools or other public works. 

· Poll: Americans sick of the UN.  The United Nations is paying a high price for such scandals as the oil-for-food mess, as 42 percent of Americans now have a negative view of the world body while just 37 percent rate it favorably, a new poll shows. 

· Mexican Assassins A Growing Threat.  Dallas and federal officials say eight to 10 Zetas - former members of the Mexican army who defected to Mexico's Gulf drug cartel in the late 1990s - have been operating in North Texas since 2003.  At least three drug-related slayings in North Texas are being blamed on them. 

· Winn-Dixie Files Bankruptcy To Reorganize.  Supermarket giant Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. said Tuesday it has filed for bankruptcy reorganization, less than two weeks after reporting decreased revenues and increased losses from a year ago. 

· Author: I should give tapes to Bush.  The author who secretly recorded his conversations with then-Gov. George W. Bush told CNN Monday he should give the tapes to the president despite lucrative offers to sell them. 

· Study finds Tennessee has lowest rate of drug abuse.  A federal study doesn't indicate why, but says Tennessee had the lowest rate of alcohol and marijuana abuse among the states.  The two-year study found about six percent of Tennessee residents 12 and older had abused alcohol in the past year - about seven and a half percent had abused marijuana. 

Word of The Day by WordThink

Austere [aus·tere] adj.  1. Markedly simple without adornment or ornamentation. [an austere office] [an austere style of writing].  2. Strict or stern in appearance or manner [an austere critic]. 

· Mobile Phone Virus Found in United States.  The world's first mobile phone virus "in the wild" has spread to the United States from its birthplace in the Philippines eight months ago, a security research firm said. 

· Celebrity Chatter: Awards You'll Never See.  Have You Had Enough Of Awards' Shows?  Remember when the Academy Awards were the only game in town?  One person's account of being SAGged out, BAFTAed, and Grammied to the point of overload. 

· Televangelist Gene Scott Dies at Age 75.  Gene Scott, the shaggy-haired, cigar-smoking televangelist whose eccentric religious broadcasts were beamed around the world, has died, a family spokesman said. 

      » "You're watching Dr. Gene Scott's program."  He's unpredictable, entertaining, ridiculous and brilliantly inspired. Puffing a cigar, harassing a visibly shaken staff, delivering hateful missives against the FCC. He's the Bill Hicks of adult preachers, cracking jokes with impeccable timing and delivery. 

· Falwell Hospitalized With Infection.  The 71-year-old Falwell was taken Sunday to Lynchburg General Hospital after falling ill at a church service. He had battled a severe cold last week and saw a doctor Friday. 

· 18th-century penny sells at auction for $437,000.  A copper penny minted in 1792 and kept in a tobacco tin for decades was auctioned Monday for $437,000. 

Monday, February 21, 2005

· Company buys Johnny Carson's boyhood home.  Johnny Carson's boyhood home has been sold to a private developer.  The Georgia-based company called Historic Properties bought the five-bedroom home where Carson lived from the age of eight to 18 in Norfolk, Nebraska. 

· Mexican schools provide drug songs.  Mexico's school libraries are stocking a book that includes the lyrics of "narcocorridos" - folk songs that glorify drug traffickers - causing a storm of criticism in a country where the drug market and its violence have become part of life in thousands of communities. 

· Bill To Bar Eating Cats, Dogs Stirs Debate.  A state legislator is pushing a bill that would ban the slaughter of dogs and cats for food, drawing protests from members of some Asian ethnic groups who believe the measure is aimed at unfounded and racist stereotypes of their cultures. 

· Swazi king bans pictures of his many cars.  Swaziland's King Mswati has barred photographers from taking pictures of his growing fleet of royal limousines amid criticism that his most recent purchase - a new $500,000 Daimler Chrysler Maybach 62 - is an embarrassment considering Swaziland is one of Africa's poorest countries, whose residents often go without food and suffers one of the world's highest AIDS infection rates. 

· Actress Jessica Alba Says She's Done Sleeping Around In Hollywood.  Jessica Alba is finished with actors and sleeping around.  The "Dark Angel" star adding that she went through "a wild period" when she had no problem being with a guy just for sex. 

· Madame Tussaud sculptors 'break up' Pitt and Aniston.  Sculptors in London's Madame Tussaud's museum were forced to break up a waxwork figure of Hollywood superstars Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston embracing following their separation. 

· ID Theft Victims Seen In All 50 States.  ChoicePoint Inc. admitted Monday that residents in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and three U.S. territories may have been affected by a breach of their credentialing process in which criminals gained access to their massive database of consumer information. 

· Soldier stunned by kid's letters.  An American soldier overseas is fuming over 21 letters he received from Brooklyn middle-school children accusing GIs of destroying mosques and killing civilians in Iraq. 

· Russian Scientists Develop Tablet to Prolong Drunkeness.  Russian scientists have developed a product that can keep a person drunk, Britain’s Daily Telegraph wrote.  The tablet called RU-21 Red was developed in Spirit Sciences, a laboratory based in California but with research facilities in Russia. 

· 'Paris' calls are driving celebs crazy.  After Paris Hilton's cellphone was hacked over the weekend, the Internet was flooded with the private phone numbers of celebrities across the country.

"I got 100 calls in two hours," said Victoria Gotti. "I didn't want to take the phones off the hook because my oldest son was out on a date.  "This went on all night," said the peeved reality TV star and writer. "Finally, at 5:30 a.m., I took them off the hook. This morning, I put them back on and they started ringing immediately. It's driving me insane." 

· John Raitt, Father of Bonnie, Dies at 88.  Though in his later years he joked that he had become best known as singer Bonnie Raitt's father, John Raitt was famous in his own right as the robust baritone who livened musicals such as "Carousel" and "The Pajama Game." 

· Hunter S. Thompson shoots self in head.  Hunter Stockton Thompson, who coined the term "gonzo journalism" to describe the unique and furiously personal approach to reportage exemplified in his 1972 book "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," died Sunday night of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at his Woody Creek home. He was 67, family members said. 

      » Hunter Thompson's last column.  Thompson's last column was a meandering story of his new brain-child: Two-player golf where one hits the ball - and the other blows it out of the air with a shotgun.  Thompson calls Bill Murray at 3:30am for his expert advice. 

· Smith flick still 'hitched' to top spot.  Keanu Reeves went to hell and back, but he could not unhitch Will Smith from the top of the box office.  Smith's romance "Hitch" remained the No. 1 weekend movie with $31.8 million, narrowly beating Reeves' demonic thriller "Constantine." 

· Rooney: No Place To Hide From Ads.  Vogue is a beautifully done magazine but the table of contents is on page 28. Everything before that is advertising. Then there's another 46 pages of ads before the editor's page. The first little article is on page 82. 

Word of The Day by WordThink

Duplicitous [du·plic·i·tous] adj.  Given to or marked by deliberate deceptiveness in behavior or speech. 

· Cremated remains of 5,000 people found in Oregon.  The cremated remains of over 5,000 patients unclaimed by their families sit on shelves in an abandoned building on the grounds of the Oregon State Hospital. They symbolize the loneliness, isolation, shame and despair too many patients of the hospital experienced. 

· Update: Lohan's dad arrested after fiery crash.  The father of teen movie star Lindsay Lohan was arrested Saturday following a fiery car crash and charged with driving while intoxicated, police said. 

· Man kills friend he thought was carjacker.  An off-duty correctional officer shot and killed a lifelong friend and co-worker Saturday whom he mistakenly believed was trying to carjack a vehicle being driven by his wife, police said. 

· Poster girl is stripped.  Vandals have been tearing pasted on underwear off a controversial lap dancing poster.  A red bra and matching pants were added to ten city hoardings four days ago after complaints from the Advertising Standards Authority about the naked model on all fours. 

· Court Won't Reconsider Anna Nicole Ruling.  A federal appeals court has declined to reconsider a ruling that former Playboy model Anna Nicole Smith is not entitled to $88.5 million from the estate of her late husband. 

Sunday, February 20, 2005

· Actress Sandra Dee dies at age 63.  Actress Sandra Dee, the blond beauty who attracted a large teen audience in the 1960s with films such as “Gidget” and “Tammy and the Doctor” and had a headlined marriage to pop singer Bobby Darin, died Sunday. 

· Shut the cell up.  Unsuspecting cellphone users may find themselves saying that more often now that cellphone jammers — illegal gizmos that interfere with signals and cut off reception — are selling like hotcakes on the streets of New York.