Tabloid Archives...
Thursday, January 29, 2004
· Key Prosecution Testimony in Stewart Case Delayed. A federal judge placed a roadblock in the government's case against Martha Stewart on Thursday, delaying the testimony of its star witness and chastising prosecutors for withholding information that might undermine the witness' credibility. 
· Robin Givens Critically Injures Pedestrian. Actress Robin Givens struck and critically injured an 89-year-old pedestrian in a crosswalk, police said Thursday.
· Hormel finds calculator parts in chili. Hormel Foods Corp. recalled about 104,000 pounds of canned chili with meat that may contain plastic and other material from a calculator.
· Tony Randall Recuperating From Pneumonia. Tony Randall is recuperating from pneumonia following bypass surgery.
· Preschooler Tests Positive For Cocaine. Police in Troy, NY want to know why a 4-year-old girl tested positive for cocaine.
· Singer Marc Anthony, Wife Split. Former Miss Universe Dayanara Torres wants a divorce from Latin music singer Marc Anthony, according to court documents.
· Pixar dumps Di$ney. Pixar Animation Studios Inc. - who created "Toy Story", "Monsters Inc." and "Finding Nemo" - said it ended talks with Walt Disney Co. to extend a five-picture deal for Disney to distribute Pixar films.
· Traffic laws not as strict for the sheriff. At 2:30 a.m. the sheriff was pulled over for going 57 mph in a 35 mph zone. The officer noted bloodshot eyes and asked the sheriff to take a sobriety test. The sheriff refused. It turns out not to be a problem.
· Brazil To Deport American Who Threw Water At Crying Baby. A drunken American who splashed a cup of water in the face of a crying baby during a flight to Brazil will be deported, the federal police said Thursday.
· Strippers Flock To Houston, Hope For Super Bowl Business. Not everyone flocking to Houston is a football fan. Some are strippers hoping to make big bucks off Super Bowl visitors.
Word of The Day by WordThink
Ominous [om·i·nous] adj. Menacing; threatening: ominous black clouds; ominous scream prior to the shooting.
· Fla. Teen Called Weakling; Saves Man From Pond. A high school freshman who walked out of a weightlifting session after being called a weakling became a hero minutes later when he saved an elderly man who had driven into a pond.
· Garfunkel Fights Pot Charges. Folk-rock legend Art Garfunkel apparently is contesting a marijuana possession charge he faces in upstate New York.
· Man Hits Cyclist, Drives On With Body In Car. A man who struck a bicyclist and drove for 13 miles before dumping the teen by the road was convicted Wednesday of first-degree murder.
· Jerry Lee Lewis Divorce Case File Sealed. A Mississippi judge has sealed the case file on divorce proceedings involving rock 'n' roll star Jerry Lee Lewis and his estranged wife.
· Ala. Man, Daughter Charged With Incest. Authorities have charged a Franklin County man and his daughter with incest - and a similar charge against a second daughter has been dismissed.
· Driver: "Diddy Shooting Ruined My Life." A limo driver says he has been suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and has been in constant fear for his life ever since he helped Jennifer Lopez and Sean "Pee Diddy" Combs flee a shooting at Club New York.
· Paris Hilton joins seal hunt protest. Opponents of Canada's seal hunt have recruited reality-TV star Paris Hilton to urge Americans to cancel trips to Canada.
· Church Settles Lawsuit With Children Fathered By Priest. The Boston Archdiocese settled a wrongful death lawsuit against a priest who admitted fleeing when a woman he fathered two children with overdosed, one of the more notorious cases of clergy misconduct that led to Cardinal Bernard Law's resignation.
· Kidman, Penn, expected to film at United Nations. Between speeches on Iraq, Afghanistan or the Middle East, the United Nations probably will allow director Sydney Pollack to make a feature film on its premises.
· Judge insults rape victim. Judge Gene Stephenson shocked a rape victim and prosecutors when he looked over the victim's photo in court and said, "Why would he want to rape her?"
· Wall Street bonanza hopes fade as Google delays IPO. Google is to put its keenly awaited multibillion-dollar public offering on the back burner, dashing hopes of a bonanza on Wall Street.
· Telemarketers now must show up on Caller ID. Starting today, if you have Caller ID you'll know when a telemarketer is trying to reach you. That's when Federal Trade Commission regulations kick in requiring telemarketing firms to identify themselves.
· Boston Mayor's Snow Job. Even though there was hardly a snowflake, a last-minute 'snow emergency' was called by Boston Mayor Curtatone that resulted in 3,000 cars being ticketed, and another 200 towed - a $180,000 windfall for the city's coffers.
· Man to use some Lotto winnings to buy racy headstone. His headstone will read, "Been there, done that" and show "a champagne glass, a royal flush, a slot machine, a nude woman facing backwards and a stick of dynamite with a lit fuse."
· Singer James Brown Is Released From Jail. Soul singer James Brown was released without bail Thursday morning as he was arraigned on charges of criminal domestic violence.
· Suicidal Idiot's Excuse. A Manhattan lawyer whose catastrophically botched suicide-by-stove attempt blew up three floors of Stuyvesant Town told a judge yesterday he had no idea gas could explode.
· Film Studio Suits Claim 'Screener' Leaks. Two major movie studios sued an actor and member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences who allegedly leaked "screener" copies of movies that were then reproduced and distributed on the Internet.
· Dog Issued Credit Card. A pug in Northern California would have purchased his doggie treats with plastic after being issued a credit card by mail.
· Michael Moore prepares provocative 9-11 project. Wacky Moore is at it again with another self-serving documentary.
· Someone Steals Statue of Yoda. A thief lifted a 170-pound bronze statue of Yoda, the "Star Wars" Jedi master.
· Broker's Assistant to Provide Key Testimony Against Martha Stewart. The star witness against Martha Stewart is expected to testify as soon as today that his stock broker supervisor ordered him to pass a secret trading tip to the lifestyle trendsetter.
· Article alleges Jackson hid wine in cans. Michael Jackson gave wine to the 13-year-old cancer patient at the center of the molestation charges he's battling but concealed it inside a Coke can, according to an article in the March issue of Vanity Fair.
· Mike Rowe Sells Out Again. The British Columbia teenager who gave up his website to Microsoft recently, is now selling the Microsoft paperwork on eBay.
· Cereal Launches Whodunit to Lure Kids. These days, it takes more than a hidden prize to get a kids attention. In one of its most in-depth campaigns targeting youth, No.1 U.S. breakfast cereal maker Kellogg Co changed the shape of Apple Jacks cereal in a whodunit mystery beginning this week.
· Rachel Hunter's $1.8 Million Playboy Deal. Model Rachel Hunter has posed topless for Playboy magazine, after being offered a staggering $1.8 million to strip.
· Work Out Without Leaving The Couch. Here's a sign of how lazy some Americans have become: A group of physical therapists have developed a workout specifically for couch potatoes.
· Book Reveals Sordid Details of Kobe Rape Case. A book about the Kobe Bryant rape case — the first so far — will likely create a firestorm of controversy when it's handed out at the next Bryant hearing on Monday.
· Man convicted of exposure. A Davenport man on trial for three charges of indecent exposure tried to defend himself by having his wife testify that he is not well-endowed enough for a female postal worker to have seen his penis from about 35 feet away.
· Disgusting Presidential Secrets Revealed. History teachers never would have told you these things, but writer Cormac O'Brien will. He's the author of "Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents"
· Bowflex Machines Recalled Over Safety. Hundreds of thousands of popular Bowflex fitness machines are being recalled because of safety problems that have resulted in more than 70 injuries.
Wednesday, January 28, 2004
· James Brown arrested on domestic violence charges. Brown was arrested today on a domestic violence charge and faces a bond hearing later this afternoon in a South Carolina courtroom.
· Judge: R. Kelly Can Go To Grammys, But Avoid Michael Jackson. A judge in Chicago has given singing star R. Kelly permission to travel to Los Angeles to attend next month's Grammy Awards - but he can't associate with Michael Jackson.
· Defibrillator Spark Sets Patient On Fire. It wasn't what a Connecticut paramedic had in mind when he tried to use a defibrillator to restart a woman's heart.
· Prosecutor: Martha Stewart Lied About Stock Sale. Martha Stewart lied to cover up evidence of a suspicious stock sale after she received an inside tip from her broker, prosecutors argued, but the defense said the case was based on speculation and guesswork, as the trial of the lifestyle trendsetter started in earnest.
» Legal team admits she 'might' have had inside information. Martha Stewart's legal team served up a surprise dish yesterday: She now admits she might have received an alleged insider stock tip, after all.
· New Haven man guilty in kidnap of billionaire. A 24-year-old former Marine pleaded guilty in the abduction of one of the richest men in America, a kidnapping that fell to pieces despite months of preparation.
· Inventor of ctrl-alt-delete is logging off. The man who invented the most dreaded keystroke in history is retiring. David Bradley, inventor of the control-alt-delete key combination, is leaving IBM Corp. after nearly 30 years at the computing powerhouse.
· Girl 'sees' broken bones. Russian Natasha Demkina, 17, has stunned doctors in her home country with her ability to see medical conditions inside people. The young girl flew 1,500 miles to London to demonstrate her extraordinary powers.
· Court Date Set for Madonna, Ritchie Case. A lawsuit alleging that Madonna and her husband, director Guy Ritchie, stole the idea for the 2002 film remake of "Swept Away."
· KRON-TV fined $27,500 for indecent exposure. The Federal Communications Commission fined the owners of Bay Area television station KRON $27,500 Tuesday for broadcasting a live news segment in which a performer from a stage show flashed his genitals.
· The boy who won't grow up turns 100. Peter Pan has outlived generations of children, but the boy who would not grow up remains as youthful as ever.
· Prediction: Bin Laden in custody by Christmas. The-led coalition in Afghanistan is confident of capturing al-Qaeda terror network chief Osama bin Laden, who has long eluded determined efforts to catch him, by the end of the year, a US military spokesman said today.
· Dennis Miller Debut Draws Ratings Gain for CNBC. The premiere of "Dennis Miller," with guest appearances by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and a chimpanzee named Elle, drew 746,000 viewers, more than four times the average audience.
· Fox thinks small. The wacky short-run series will have 12 female 'little people' contestants competing for the affections of a 4-foot-5 bachelor.
· Despite recent DUI, Wynonna Judd still demands booze on tour. She may have copped last month to a drunk driving rap, but that hasn't stopped Wynonna Judd from demanding that promoters provide her with wine and beer during her current concert tour. [Concert Rider - List of required items while on tour].
· Man Charged With Fatally Running Down Robber. A man who fatally ran down a fleeing robber in his Ford Explorer moments after being held at gunpoint was charged with manslaughter.
· Bank barking up the wrong tree. Every dog has its day, and Clifford's time came this month when he got his first credit card in the mail. The 2 1/2-year-old pug received a Chase Manhattan Bank Platinum Mastercard with a spending limit of $1,500.
· Campaign loan illegal - 'fantastic,' says governor. A $4.5 million bank loan Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger used to finance his own campaign is illegal, according to a Superior Court judge, but the Republican governor said Tuesday the decision was "fantastic" in a statement that contradicted his position in court.
Word of The Day by WordThink
Incredulous [in·cred·u·lous] adj. 1. Skeptical; disbelieving: incredulous of stories about flying saucers. 2. Expressive of disbelief: an incredulous stare.
· Customer suing over Shoney's soup gets just $407. A customer who sued a Shoney's restaurant for serving him the wrong soup can't blame the restaurant chain for his nightmares over the incident, a jury decided.
· Dionne Warwick Defends Michael Jackson. Singer Dionne Warwick has defended Michael Jackson, calling his child molestation case a "complete injustice."
· 10 Sure-Fire Ways to Get Fired. In this list of "10 Sure-fire Ways to Get Fired," you will find what NOT to do if you want to keep your new job.
· Mom Has Her Car Stolen - Twice. A single mom was grateful when police recovered her stolen car. But just hours later another crook stole it again.
· Apple to build second supercomputer. Apple and Virginia Tech surprised the supercomputing world last year by clustering 1,100 Apple G5s that performed 10.3 trillion operations per second. Now they will use Apple's new 64-bit Xserve G5 computer.
· 'Mydoom' E-Mail Worm Spreading Fast. Network administrators were working to stop a fast-spreading e-mail worm that looks like a normal error message but actually contains a malicious program that spreads itself and installs a program that leaves an open door to infected computers.
· Agency to Offer Free Cyber Alerts. Aiming to increase Internet security, the government is now offering Americans free cyber alerts and computer advice from the Homeland Security Department.
· Faith Evans, Husband Face Drug Charges. R&B singer Faith Evans and her husband, record executive Todd Russaw, were arrested on drug possession charges.
· High School Student Steals School Bus. An 18-year-old high school student was arrested after authorities say he stole a school bus and drove erratically before being found asleep inside the vehicle.
· Strike Two: NASA Says Second Mars Rover Experiencing Problems. As NASA scientists pored over striking new photos from Mars revealing finely layered formations of ancient bedrock, engineers labored on Tuesday to diagnose problems with two robotic rovers on opposite sides of the Red Planet.
· Group insists Washington not first U.S. prez. The title of "first president" has always belonged to Washington, but in the southeastern Connecticut city of Norwich, there's a mounting effort to rewrite history with Samuel Huntington as the first president.
Tuesday, January 27, 2004
· 'Tonight Show' pioneer Jack Paar dead at 85. Jack Paar, pioneered late-night talk on "The Tonight Show," then told his viewers farewell when still in his prime.
· Comic actor Lewis leaves hospital, sheds 50 pounds. Actor and comedian Jerry Lewis has left the hospital after a three-month stay to wean himself off doctor-prescribed steroids.
· 'Rings' Receives 11 Oscar Nominations. With hardly a breath after the Golden Globes, the Academy Awards announces their Oscar nominations.
» Complete List of Oscar Nominations. Complete list of the 76th annual Oscar nominations announced Tuesday in Beverly Hills, Calif., by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
· oops! Radio Station Rapped for Muslim Terror Jibe. A Canadian radio station was reprimanded on Tuesday for saying Muslims only traveled to the holy city of Mecca because they wanted to fund suicide attacks such as the one that hit New York.
· N.J. Co. Offers Slices of Elvis Recording. A New Jersey company is offering Elvis Presley fans a chance to buy what it says is a slice of history. And it really means a slice - 2-inch snips of a tape reel featuring some of the King's earliest recordings.
· Tourist Reports Marijuana Stolen. A New York tourist visiting Key West, FL called police to report that several items were stolen from his hotel room, including some high quality Bahamian marijuana.
· Food critic threatened with legal action. One of London's best-known restaurants - popular with MPs and acclaimed by the Michelin guide - is taking the unprecedented step of threatening to sue a restaurant critic for libel.
· Kentucky Fried Fish? The bird flu rampaging across Asia, killing chickens and humans alike, is starting to take the C out of KFC.
· Prosecutors to Launch Attack on Stewart Today. U.S. prosecutors will launch their long awaited attack against Martha Stewart on Tuesday, saying she lied to investigators about a suspicious stock trade, fearing it could ruin her reputation and the lifestyle empire she had built.
· Singer Courtney Love's Hearing Postponed. A court hearing for singer/actress Courtney Love, who faces two felony counts of possession of a controlled substance, was postponed Tuesday after the judge said "additional investigation" was needed.
· Nicole Kidman exposes her 'globe.' Oscar-winning actress Nicole Kidman had to make a dramatic backstage dash at Sunday night's Golden Globe Awards in Los Angeles, when her gown slipped, nearly exposing one of her breasts.
» Nicole a Fashion No-No at Golden Globes. Nicole Kidman committed nine no-nos when she stepped out on the red carpet wearing that ridiculous looking flapper dress.
· "Gigli" leads nominations for worst picture awards. The 2003 film "Gigli," starring Hollywood actress and singer Jennifer Lopez and her just-split boyfriend Ben Affleck, led the nominations for the Razzies worst picture awards.
· Barbra Streisand Reading 'Fockers' Script. Barbra Streisand is reading the script for "Meet the Fockers," the sequel to 2000's "Meet the Parents," her husband, James Brolin said.
· Britney, Beyonce, Pink Star in Pepsi Ad. There were pop stars, cameras and lights, but the excitement wasn't for a movie premiere, it was the world debut of a Pepsi commercial - starring Britney Spears, Beyonce Knowles and Pink.
· Howard Dean's Deli Debt. 200 brown bag specials...with turkey, roast beef, ham and veggie sandwiches ordered and delivered to the Dean campaign's Iowa headquarters. The total check...$963.01. The total payment... nothing.
· Al Franken knocks down Dean heckler. Wise-cracking funnyman Al Franken yesterday body-slammed a demonstrator to the ground after the man tried to shout down Gov. Howard Dean.
· Super Bowl a Blitz on Work Force. This year's Super Bowl could end up costing employers $821 million in lost wages next week as their workers goof off on company time to chat about the big game, researchers say.
· Clinton's Gift to Internet Age - Only 2 E-Mails. The archives of the Bill Clinton presidential library will contain 39,999,998 e-mails by the former president's staff and two by the man himself.
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].
· Teenager's Conservative Club Causes Uproar. Tim Bueler started the Conservative Club to balance what he calls the liberal bias in his San Fransisco-area public school, but when some schoolmates found his views offensive and threatened to beat him up, the 17-year-old claims the principal and teachers turned the other way.
· Landmine-detecting plant developed by Danish researchers. Danish researchers said they have produced a plant that can help detect hidden landmines by changing its colour from green to red when its roots come in contact with explosives.
· Google a Step Closer to Offering. Google has cleared one of the last remaining hurdles to sell shares to the public, receiving a clean bill of health in a company-paid audit.
· Comedian George Carlin on Not being liberal. "First of all, I'm not liberal," Carlin said. "I'm just about (being) anti-United States. I don't like the way this country operates. I think we've ruined this place," Carlin concluded.
· Latest E-Mail Worm Spreading Fast. A malicious program attached to seemingly innocuous e-mails was spreading quickly over the Internet on Monday, clogging network traffic and potentially leaving hackers an open door to infected personal computers.
· Woman Charged With Murder After Dirty Dish Fight. A woman shot her roommate to death less than 24 hours after calling police during an argument between the two over dirty dishes, officials said.
Monday, January 26, 2004
· Barbara Walters to leave ABC's 20/20. After 25 years as co-host and chief correspondent of ABC News' 20/20, the broadcast legend will leave that role in September.
· Robert Redford meets with Castro in Cuba. Cuban President Fidel Castro, who has charmed some of Hollywood's biggest names, paid a call on actor Robert Redford at his Havana hotel.
· Prime-Time 'Millionaire' Returning to ABC. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," the most successful game show in the history of prime-time television until ABC burned through its popularity by overexposing it, will return next month, complete with Regis Philbin, the hot seat, the lifelines, and the big cash prizes.
· Pope hosts break-dance performance. In an unusual spectacle at the Vatican, Pope John Paul II presided Sunday over a performance of break-dancers who leaped, flipped and spun their bodies to beats from a tinny boom box.
· The worst cars of all time. A look at the lemons before the automaking revolution.
· New $850,000 Motor Home Can Cruise On Land Or Water. The propellers on the back of the Terra Wind are the first clue that it's not a typical RV.
· Man Dies After Going Over Cliff On Snowboard. A man rode a snowboard over a cliff in a closed area near the Crystal Mountain ski resort and died when he fell 80 to 100 feet, Pierce County Washington sheriff's deputies said.
· $500,000 Worth Of Drugs Missing From Evidence Room. The Volusia County Sheriff's Office in Daytona Beach, FL has launched an investigation after discovering about $500,000 worth of cocaine and marijuana missing from the agency's evidence compound.
· Winner of nation's biggest lottery jackpot arrested on drunken driving charge. Jack Whittaker, who hit the $314.9 million Powerball jackpot on Christmas 2002, was charged Sunday with drunk driving - just weeks after being charged with trying to assault a bar manager.
· Jury Selection Begins in 'Pee' Diddy Case. Jury selection was to begin Monday in a court case against rap mogul Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, whose former chauffeur contends Combs and a bodyguard forced him to speed away from the scene of a 1999 nightclub shooting.
· Hidden Camera Found In Girls' Locker Room. Police and school officials are trying to find out who hid a video camera inside a girls' swim team locker room.
· First cousins want right to marry; science agrees. Many U.S. states ban the unions based on the long-held notion that cousin marriages are "inbreeding" that produces defective offspring.
» Man sentenced for marrying his 15-year-old cousin. A member of Utah's polygamous Kingston clan was sentenced Monday to a year in prison for taking a 15-year-old cousin - who was also his aunt - as his wife.
· Man finds, returns $12,000. A maintenance worker at a Nassau County mall stumbled upon more than $12,000 in cash forgotten by a Brinks employee refilling an ATM.
· Man Jailed For Days Over Face Mask On Cold Day. An obscure Georgia state statute says, "it is a misdemeanor for any person to wear a mask, hood or device by which any portion of the face is so hidden."
· Jury Picked for Stewart Stock Fraud Trial. A jury of eight women and four men was chosen Monday to hear Martha Stewart's stock fraud trial. Lawyers for the government and defense were expected to present their opening statements tomorrow.
· Kutcher takes U.S. box office top spot. The Butterfly Effect, Ashton Kutcher's bid to escape his pretty-boy tag, shot to the top of the American box office this weekend.
· Rings, Translation Win Golden Globes. The intimate held its own against the epic at Sunday's Golden Globes, as the big, thunderous "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" collected a leading four trophies while the small, poignant "Lost in Translation" got three.
» List of Golden Globes Winners. Complete list of winners at the Hollywood Foreign Press' Golden Globe Awards.
· 'Gigli' Receives 9 Razzie Nominations. Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez's real-life romance crashed and burned. Now, the two are front-runners for worst on-screen love affair.
· Police Investigate 12-Year-Old Prostitutes Working For Teenage Pimps. San Diego police are investigating a prostitution ring in which girls as young as 12 are working.
· Queen Mary 2 Completes Maiden Voyage in Florida. The Queen Mary 2, the world's largest and most expensive passenger ship, completed its maiden voyage to Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
· Mayor offers Atkins widow low-carb mea culpa. Mayor Michael Bloomberg, embroiled in a battle over remarks he made about diet guru Dr. Robert Atkins, offered his widow a low-carb mea culpa Saturday - an invitation to a steak dinner.
· Queen to give knighthood to Bill Gates. Bill Gates, the Microsoft founder and the world's wealthiest man, is to receive an honorary knighthood for "services to global enterprise."
· Cocaine Found in Tropical Fish Cargo. U.S. customs officials seized $300,000 worth of liquid cocaine disguised as water in a shipment of live tropical fish from Colombia.
· Texas Church Cards People Who Patronize Adult Stores. A pastor photographs vehicle license plates and mails the pictures to customers' homes in an effort to get rid of adult stores.
· Couple lose their home over $120 debt. A retired couple's dispute with their homeowners association has spiraled out of control in this Calaveras County community - and now they have lost their home less than a year after failing to pay $120 in annual dues.
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].
· Dennis Miller introduces new show on CNBC tonight. Dennis Miller has usually been happy to spray his acerbic wit across the political spectrum, but things will be different on his new CNBC talk program. President Bush is in a mock-free zone.
· Disgruntled Customer Pummels McDonald's Manager With Shakes. A disgruntled McDonald's customer in New Jersey was arrested after throwing a fit - and two milkshakes - because her order took too long.
· Florida Pastor Charged With Stealing Church Donations. A pastor has been arrested on charges he stole more than $50,000 in church donations.
Sunday, January 25, 2004
· Company unveils new 'Howling Howard' doll. A Connecticut company that specializes in celebrity action figures has just unveiled a howling Howard Dean doll for 36 bucks.
· Keystone Cops: Woman passes airport security with stun gun, knife. A woman passed through security screening at New York's LaGuardia Airport with a stun gun and knife in her purse - but later discovered the mistake herself and alerted authorities.
· Police Return $1,000 Bill to Trucker. A man's treasured $1,000 bill was returned by police who swapped it for more common currency at the mayor's request after the trucker was arrested for 'sleeping off a few drinks' in his truck parked on his own lot.
· Pepsi's Super Bowl ad to feature teens sued by record companies. Some 20 teen music downloaders nailed by RIAA lawyers will be featured in Pepsi's Super Bowl ads.
· Cell Phones That Kill. A mobile phone that masquerades as a gun may sound like a device concocted for 007, but it's the latest hidden weaponry to show up on the radar of law-enforcement folks.
· Clerk charged in lottery dispute. A convenience store clerk has been charged with larceny for allegedly snatching a winning $20,000 lottery ticket from a customer's hand and giving her only $100.
· High-Tech Thriller Wins Sundance Prize. The high-tech thriller "Primer," about two get-rich-quick inventors whose time-travel device complicates their lives, won the top dramatic honor at the Sundance Film Festival.
· London student to sell her virginity on the internet. A student is so hard up for cash, she has decided to make the ultimate sacrifice... she is selling her virginity to the highest bidder.
» The power of the ring thing. An abstinence movement is flourishing in America, with many teens exchanging $12 for a silver ring and a bible. The ring is a symbol of the pledge that they will have made: to remain sexually pure until marriage.
· Britney Gives Madonna French Career Award. Madonna made a brief appearance at a French music awards show this weekend, accepting a career award from Britney Spears and thanking France's fans for two decades of support.
· Study Links Some Hair Dyes to Kind of Cancer. A study of more than 1,300 women in Connecticut shows that those who began coloring their hair before 1980 increased their chance of developing non-Hodgkin's lymphoma by 40 percent.
· Blockbuster Sued for Porn on PG Tape. A couple who says their 4-year-old daughter saw hard-core pornography on a PG-rated movie tape from Blockbuster has sued the video company.
· Woman Surprised With A Pearl In Her Oyster Sandwich. A Meridian, Mississippi woman found a surprise this week in her oyster Po-Boy sandwich. Nestled in the bun was a pearl.
· Teen Witness Shot to Death. Police said a 14-year-old girl was shot to death and her friend wounded after being targeted because their assailant thought the slain girl had witnessed a killing the day before.
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].
· Part of Columbia Astronaut's Diary Found. Sections of a diary belonging to one of the seven astronauts killed last year when the space shuttle Columbia broke apart over Texas were found a few months ago and returned to his family.
· Ex-Anna Nicole Smith Boyfriend Sentenced. An ex-boyfriend of Anna Nicole Smith was sentenced to nearly seven years in prison for making criminal threats against the former Playboy Playmate and attacking her neighbor, officials said.
Saturday, January 24, 2004
· 'Friends' Scoop: Last show provides a twist. Filmed in secrecy, tabloid leaks reveal parents Rachel and Ross (Aniston and Schwimmer) reuniting - and husband and wife Monica (Cox Arquette) and Chandler (Perry) becoming parents of twins.
· Mayor Bloomberg tells Mrs. Atkins to 'lighten up.' A visibly shaken Veronica Atkins appeared on national television to castigate the mayor for callously attacking her late husband earlier this week as "fat" and questioning how he died.
· Man dies after win on lottery TV show. The $57,000 winner of this week's "Hoosier Millionaire" game show died after being hit by a pickup truck just hours after taping the show.
· Hollywood Investigator Gets 30-Month Term in Weapons Case. The private Hollywood investigator and central figure in a federal wiretapping investigation, Anthony Pellicano, was sentenced to 30 months in prison on an unrelated weapons charge.
· Microsoft settles with teen over Web site. The 17-year-old Canadian teenager who caught the attention of Microsoft's lawyers by registering www.mikerowesoft.com, has agreed to give up his Web site in exchange from some perks from the world's largest software maker.
· Jackson documents include previous allegation. The judge in Michael Jackson's child-molestation case ordered documents relating to a search of the singer's Neverland ranch sealed Friday, in part because they include information about another child's allegation of abuse.
· Hospital released Bryant accuser's records. Medical records not directly related to a sexual assault charge leveled by a 19-year-old woman against NBA star Kobe Bryant were given by mistake to his attorneys, it was revealed Friday in a Colorado courtroom.
· Couple Accused Of Broadcasting Young Daughter's Sex Acts On Internet. A central Texas couple is in jail, accused of forcing their 10-year-old daughter to perform sexual acts. Those acts were then allegedly shown on the internet.
· Bill Gates Says Make Spammers Pay. If the e-mail turns out to be from a long-lost relative, for example, the recipient would charge nothing. But if it is unwanted spam, the sender would have to fork over the cash.
· Ozzy thanks his doctor with huge check. Grateful rocker Ozzy Osbourne hands a £50,000 “thank you” to one of the doctors who saved his life.
· David Duke Mulls Run for Congress After Prison. Former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, in federal prison after pleading guilty to mail and tax fraud, is considering a run for Congress when he is released this year, his secretary said.
· The Mac turns 20. Its dedicated users are so passionate they're often described as religious about their love for the machine.
· Photo Leads To Indecent Exposure Arrest. Police arrested a man for indecent exposure after he left a photo of his genitals - and his phone number - on a motel vending machine.
· Deaf-mute shot dead waiting for bus. A Brooklyn man unable to hear or speak since birth was gunned down yesterday as he waited for a bus, his killers leaving behind $10 in the man's pocket and three bullets in his torso.
Word of The Day by WordThink
Temporal [tem·po·ral] adj. Relating to, or limited by time. Lasting only for a time; not eternal. Also: fleeting, passing, momentary, temporary, transient, short-lived.
· Oldest U.S. bank robber gets 12 years. The oldest bank robber in the United States, 92-year-old J.L. Hunter Rountree, has been sentenced to over 12 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to robbing $1,999 from a Texas bank last August.
· French Fire-Fighters Recruited Teenage Arsonists. Part time fire-fighters in a small northern French town are suspected of asking local teenagers to set fires as a way to get more pay.
· Sex Education in School - Brought to you by Amherst, Mass. The 'Berkeley East' school board and superintendent approved a student request to stage The Vagina Monologues -a collection of readings on such topics as homosexuality, rape and various parts of the female anatomy.
Friday, January 23, 2004
· Scott Peterson Trial Postponed. The Scott Peterson murder trial was postponed for at least a week while a new judge is appointed and the case is transferred to the San Francisco Bay area.
· Bob Keeshan, 'Captain Kangaroo', dies at age 76. Bob Keeshan, the friendly face of Captain Kangaroo, has died at the age of 76. He died in his Vermont home.
· Joe Pesci's Horse to Make Stakes Debut. Joe Pesci has garnered only one Academy Award as an actor. But he has already won two races as a horse owner.
· Chasing Elk Part of Airport Manager's Job. Gary Cox jumps into his pickup and rushes along the runway, honking his horn to scare the elk out of the path of incoming planes.
· Corrupt Chicago politics raises its ugly head again? Chicago Mayor Daley's administration spends nearly $40 million a year hiring hundreds of trucks - primarily dump trucks - that often do little or no work, according to a Sun-Times investigation.
· Kobe Bryant Hearing to Discuss Evidence Today. Key evidence for basketball superstar Kobe Bryant's defense against sexual assault allegations - the medical history of his accuser - may never be known to the public.
· NBC Pulls 'Friends' 'Best Comedy Ever' Ad. NBC promised not to rerun a promo using that phrase to refer to the show, which will go off the air after 10 years. "They were just trying to hype it and went overboard," an NBC spokeswoman said.
· Julia Roberts Not Such A Pretty Woman. According to the upcoming biography, "Julia: Her Life," Sutherland once complained to a friend that Roberts "bites her nails to the quick," has "tiny breasts and no butt," and was an "ice princess" in bed.
· "Sucker Bet" Could Earn Man $10,000. Last summer, while visiting Las Vegas, a man's sister-in-law placed a $100 bet for him that the Panthers would win the Super Bowl. Before the 2003 season started, the odds that Carolina would become NFL champions came in at 100-to-1.
· Lawmaker sends sexually graphic email to government workers. The president of the Louisiana Senate has asked for an investigation into whether the Senate's top administrator intentionally sent an e-mail containing graphic sexual images and jokes to government workers.
· Houston Gets Mixed Reviews. An article in The Wall Street Journal called Houston, Texas a patchwork of strip malls, car lots and topless clubs.
· Student Pilot Crashes Into N.M. Jail. A student pilot practicing takeoffs and landings in a small plane crashed through the roof of a police station, forcing the evacuation of 10 inmates.
· Car falls four stories from garage; two die. An elderly couple died Thursday afternoon when their car crashed through a parking garage wall in downtown Las Vegas and plunged four stories to the ground.
· Prosecutors Decline Limbaugh Offer. Prosecutors rejected a proposed deal offered by Rush Limbaugh's attorney that would have seen the radio commentator enter a court-sponsored drug intervention program rather than face charges.
· Maryland Residents Shoot, Kill 2nd Alleged Intruder This Week. Police say a 70-year-old man shot and killed a suspect who allegedly broke into his home in Mitchellville, Md., looking for his girlfriend Wednesday about 10 p.m.
· Firefighting Porn Star Alexas Jones, aka Chantel Lace, Tells Her Side of Story. A small town firefighter made national headlines this week, as news broke that 17 of her fellow firefighters had walked off the job in protest that she moonlighted as a porn star.
· Joe Namath gets counseling. Just over a month after embarrassing himself on national television with a slurred, rambling interview, Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Namath has admitted he is "getting personal help" for alcohol abuse.
· [Another] Lawyer Charged with Making Bogus Claims. A Queens attorney has been arrested and charged with submitting $1 million in fraudulent claims using the personal information of car accident victims that he bought for $54.
· Priest charged with illegal cultivation of marijuana. A U.S. Catholic priest has been arrested for allegedly growing marijuana in his church living quarters.
· Naked man completes trek across Europe. Stephen Gough, 44, from Hampshire, finished his walk after seven months, much of which was spent in jail.
· Refiner Made Gold Tools for Drug Lords. The owner of a long-established Manhattan gold refining business pleaded guilty on Thursday to a scheme in which he molded gold into tools and screws for Colombian drug lords in order to launder cash from illegal narcotics sales.
· FBI Arrests Internet Movie Pirate. FBI agents say they have traced the bootlegging and illegal Internet distribution of Hollywood films to an actor who is an Academy Award member, and have arrested one of his acquaintances.
· Dean and wife spin his soft side - does Letterman Top 10. Flat-lining former front-runner Howard Dean launched a TV offensive yesterday to quell the fallout from his admittedly "over the top" I Have A Scream speech.
· Mad magazine artist Woodbridge dead. George Woodbridge, an illustrator for Mad magazine for nearly 50 years whose exquisitely detailed pen-and-ink drawings were featured in nearly every issue, has died. He was 73.
· Prosecutors ask for mystery evidence in Spector case. Prosecutors in the Phil Spector murder case want the defense to reveal mystery evidence that "had been overlooked at the crime scene."
Word of The Day by WordThink
Laborious [la·bo·ri·ous] adj. Hard-working; industrious. Marked by or requiring long, hard work.
· Congressman Sentenced to 100 Days in Jail. Bill Janklow, who dominated South Dakota politics for three decades as governor and then congressman, was sentenced to 100 days in jail Thursday for a car crash that killed a motorcyclist and ended Janklow's career in disgrace.
· Trump Trumped by 'Idol' in TV Ratings. Donald Trump was no match for a bunch of bad singers just begging for insults from Simon Cowell.
· Peterson case to get a new judge. The murder trial of Scott Peterson will be delayed and get still another new judge after the district attorney in the case Thursday challenged the state chief justice's appointment of Judge Richard Arnason, announced only the day before.
· Ben Affleck, J.Lo finally break up - and nobody cares. America's most-watched couple, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, have broken up, a Lopez spokesman said Thursday.
· Boy knifes friend to avoid 'lonely' suicide. A suicidal high school boy has been arrested for knifing his friend because he didn't want to die alone, police said
· Companies Benefit When Employees Die. When Joel St. John died, his wife learned that the grocery store chain where he worked as a butcher was the beneficiary of his life insurance policy - not his family.
Thursday, January 22, 2004
· Dancer Ann Miller Dies of Cancer at 81. Raven-haired, long-legged Ann Miller, whose machine-gun taps won her stardom at RKO and MGM during the golden age of movie musicals and later on Broadway in "Sugar Babies," died Thursday of lung cancer.
· Wynonna Judd DUI Video Released. A videotape of country singer Wynonna Judd trying to walk a straight line and touch her nose in a field sobriety test was released on Thursday.
· Liza's Not Ready for Her Close Up. Liza Minnelli (search), whose estranged husband, David Gest, is suing her for assault, is objecting to having her pretrial interview videotaped by his lawyer.
· ABC bets the raunch on Stern TV special. ABC has just inked a deal with the shaggy-haired shock jock Howard Stern to do a prime-time interview special this spring.
· Man's wife and ex-wife jailed for beating up his mistress. The Romanian wife and ex-wife of the man in their life ended up in jail after being found guilty of beating up the "other woman."
· Detective ruled 'too cute' in drug bust. Fort Lauderdale Detective Mike Nahum's handsome appearance lost him a criminal case, but there is a consolation prize. He may be the only guy in the world with a court order declaring he is a "very attractive man."
· 412-pound trucker receives apology, larger rig from Michigan company. A 412-pound truck driver who said he was fired because he could not fit behind the wheel of a delivery truck has received an apology and a bigger rig from his employer.
· Keyshawn Johnson robbed at gunpoint. Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson was robbed at gunpoint in Berkeley, California, by two men who took his money and jewelry, police said.
· 'Noodles the Clown' Sentenced To More Than 17 Years In Prison. A federal judge called a former clown and Sunday school teacher the most dangerous kind of pedophile when he sentenced him Wednesday to 17 1/2 years in prison.
· Flight attendant's rhyme called racist. "Eenie, meenie, minie moe; pick a seat, we gotta go," is the obscure basis for a federal discrimination lawsuit against Southwest Airlines.
· Public safety official spent $17,000 on TV for his office. Massachusetts' former public safety secretary spent $17,000 in state anti-terrorism funds on a 60-inch plasma screen TV.
· 'Idol' Studdard Not Trying to Lose Weight. When asked whether he was trying to lose weight, the Velvet Teddy Bear - known for his large size - shook his head no.
· Auditors say USO spent improperly for J. Lo, other celebs. The J. Lo gig was among several cited in a General Accounting Office report released this month that found more than $430,000 in improper, questionable or unsupported USO tour expenses charged to the Pentagon over a two-year period.
· Garfunkel charged with marijuana possession. Art Garfunkel, part of the folk music duo Simon and Garfunkel, was charged with marijuana possession after police pulled his limousine over for speeding in upstate New York.
· Magazine directs climbers over cliff. Britain's biggest-selling hiking magazine apologized Wednesday after its latest issue contained a route that would lead climbers off the edge of a cliff on Britain's tallest peak.
· Sleep helps solve problems. After a good night's sleep a problem that seemed insurmountable the night before can often appear more manageable, according to university researchers.
· More song swappers sued. Record companies sued another 532 people for illegally distributing copyrighted music over the Internet, stepping up their attack against online music piracy.
· Former Rep. Janklow faces sentencing. Former Rep. Bill Janklow faces sentencing on manslaughter charges Thursday for an auto wreck that ended his 30-year political career and could send him to prison for more than 11 years.
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].
· 82-year-old retired judge to preside over Peterson trial. A retired judge whose long experience with high-profile cases was picked to preside at the double-murder trial of Scott Peterson.
· NY Mayor Bloomberg thinks Dr. Atkins died from his diet. The wacky mayor and wannabe health czar that made ashtrays illegal is now claiming that Dr. Robert Atkins didn't die from a fall - he died from an improper diet.
· Dean scream gaining cult-like status on Web. Howard Dean, off a disappointing showing in the Iowa caucuses, let loose with a primal scream Monday night that seems to have inspired a generation.
Wednesday, January 21, 2004
· Mariah Carey loses star power - gives concert for chiropractors. The diva, who not too long ago was the hottest-selling singer in the country, was the headliner at a convention for a few thousand chiropractors at the Las Vegas Hilton.
· Jerry Nachman, MSNBC Editor in Chief, Dies at 57. Jerry Nachman, the brash, Emmy award-winning journalist for MSNBC who spent years in local TV news and edited the New York Post, has died of cancer, MSNBC announced Tuesday. He was 57.
· Tax official's desk death unnoticed for two days. A tax man who died at his desk went unnoticed for two days - because his colleagues thought he was hunched over 'working.'
· Don't I Know You From Somewhere? Memo to robbers: Don't hold up the establishment where you're trying to get a job. The robber was a regular customer and had recently applied for a job at the same store he robbed.
· Boy falls through ice trying to get cell phone. Coast Guard and other rescue workers were searching last night for a 17-year-old boy who fell through the ice under the Dorset Avenue bridge while trying to retrieve a cell phone he had dropped.
· Pedophile Film 'Woodsman' a Hard Box Office Sell. Bacon, who has gone from teen idol after 1984's "Footloose" to respected actor in critical hits like "Mystic River," could risk losing fans for sympathetically playing a molester trying to overcome his obsession.
· 'Walker, Texas Ranger' actor Willingham dies. Noble Willingham, who worked steadily as a supporting actor over the last 30 years and left his role as a saloon owner on the series "Walker, Texas Ranger" to run for Congress, has died. He was 72.
· Judge Closes Key Hearing in Kobe Case. Courtroom arguments over whether Kobe Bryant's accuser has given up her medical privacy rights will be closed to the public, the judge ruled Wednesday.
· Does sex still sell? Christina vamps like a burlesque stripper. Britney's gone from schoolgirl to slut. Pink is punk.
· Goldman Sachs gal in $8m steal and shop rap. A former Goldman Sachs personal assistant, accused of stealing nearly $7.8 million from the senior bankers for whom she worked, went on an astonishing shopping spree, buying jewelry, property, cars and a power boat, British prosecutors said.
· Combs' Ex-Wife Wants More Child Support. Sean "Pee Diddy" Combs' ex-wife says their 10-year-old son should be getting the same amount in child support - $30,000 a month, she claims - as the son the rap mogul had out of wedlock.
· Cop Shot While Robbing Bank. A senior Malaysian police officer who was about to be charged with corruption was shot dead as he tried to rob a bank.
· Booble takes a poke at Google. Parodying Google, the world's largest search engine, a U.S. entrepreneur today launched 'Booble,' a new search engine for adult material.
· Town uses website to embarrass bad check writers. Sabina Maziarz knew she would pay a penalty when a $400 check she wrote in November to the Sharon School Department bounced, but did not realize her name and address would be posted on the city's website for all to see.
· Jackson Accuser Said to Be in Poor Health. A former attorney for the mother of Michael Jackson's cancer-stricken accuser said the boy is in very poor health and his family is in seclusion, paying little attention to the high-profile legal fight.
· Bishop's hit-and-run trial begins. Bishop Thomas O'Brien's car struck a pedestrian with a "very violent impact" that left the man's blood and hair on the vehicle, and O'Brien didn't even stop.
· Driver Reading Speeding Ticket Rear Ends Ambulance. South Brunswick, NJ police say Ramakri, 19, was reading a speeding ticket he had just received Tuesday morning when his Nissan Pathfinder ran into the back of a Robert Wood Johnson University ambulance at a stop light.
· Town names intersection after Paris, Nicole. The town of Altus, Ark., is honoring Hilton and her "Simple" costar Nicole Richie by naming an intersection after them.
· Drug bust on 'Friends' set. It is alleged the two men arrested had sold cocaine and marijuana to various people at Warners, but police have refused to confirm if any major celebrities were involved.
Word of The Day by WordThink
Duplicitous [du·plic·i·tous] adj. Given to or marked by deliberate deceptiveness in behavior or speech.
· Woman Claims To Have World's Smallest Dog. A woman is claiming to be the owner of the world's smallest dog. 'Tiny Tim' is four inches from nose to tail and weighs just over a pound.
· Blake Prosecutors Seek to Bar Key Defense Evidence. Prosecutors in the Robert Blake murder case asked a judge Tuesday to limit evidence in the upcoming murder trial about the actor's slain wife and her illicit exploits.
· Martha Stewart Reiterates Not Guilty Plea as Jury Selection Continues. Martha Stewart waved to her supporters, strode into a Manhattan courthouse and repeated a plea of innocent at the formal start of her stock-trading trial Tuesday.
Tuesday, January 20, 2004
· Judge Moves Peterson Trial to San Mateo County. The judge in the murder case against Scott Peterson moved the trial about 90 miles away to the San Francisco Bay area Tuesday because of hostility toward Peterson in his dead wife's hometown.
· Microsoft: We took MikeRoweSoft too seriously. Microsoft says it may have been overaggressive in threatening Web entrepreneur Mike Rowe over the name of his Web site, Mikerowesoft.com.
· Estate of McDonald's Heiress to Donate $1.5 Billion to Salvation Army. In one of the largest individual charitable gifts ever, the estate of McDonald's heiress Joan B. Kroc is about to drop a one-time cash donation of $ 1.5 billion into the Salvation Army kettle.
· $2M buys 'Friends' spot. NBC expects to reap $70 million from the final night of "Friends," thanks to advertisers who are shelling out a record $2 million for 30-second spots.
· Judge to Revisit Peterson Venue Change. Prosecutors seeking the death penalty against Scott Peterson in the killings of his wife and unborn son were expected to ask a judge Tuesday to keep the murder trial in Stanislaus County because a decision to move the case was based on a bogus survey of possible jurors.
· Cops save life of woman despondent over singing career. Three cops became instant heroes before they even made it to work yesterday - stopping a 23- year-old woman despondent over a broken heart and failing singing career from leaping to her death off the Brooklyn Bridge.
· Sara Lee Drops Jimmy Dean as Sausage Spokesman. Legendary country crooner Jimmy Dean says the Sara Lee Corp. has dropped him as spokesman for the sausage company he founded more than three decades ago.
· Canada mints new coin with the help of Star Trek. Canada's new five dollar coin features Canadian actor William Shatner.
· Snake at McDonald's may have legal bite. Joanne Borgerding was sitting in a packed McDonald's at lunchtime when something moved beneath her booth. Dancing in the air by her legs were "little movable eyes" that were attached to a dark, 2-foot-long snake.
· Martha Stewart Due Back in Court Today. Is Martha Stewart a criminal who lied to the government about unloading stock on an inside tip, or simply a shrewd investor who saved money with a smart bet on the market?
Word of The Day by WordThink
Atypical [a·typ·i·cal] adj. Not conforming to type; unusual or irregular. Deviating from what is usual or common or to be expected; often somewhat odd or strange.
· 412-Pound Trucker Says He Was Fired Over His Weight. A truck driver who says he was fired because of his weight says he's ready to go to court to get his job back.
· Sex is the best workout, say experts. It could be the hottest health tip ever. According to physicians and gynaecologists, a romp in the bed is the panacea for a host of problems including heart disease, migraine and arthritis.
· Kerry Wins Iowa Kindergarden Caucus. John Kerry rode an 11th-hour surge to victory in Iowa's kickoff presidential caucuses, upsetting Democratic front-runner Howard Dean and stunning caucus favorite Dick Gephardt.
· Police Add Twist To Bait Cars To Catch 'Bad Boys.' Police have added a musical twist to the booby-trapped "bait car" that locks up would-be thieves who get behind the wheel. The automobile is now rigged to play the theme from the television show "Cops" when officers remotely disable the engine and nab the crooks.
· Spanish Sex Clubs Ruling Causes Concerns. A court ruling requiring the owner of a brothel to pay social security for women who worked there as prostitutes is causing concern in Spain among feminists, lawyers and even sex workers themselves.
Monday, January 19, 2004
· Kobe Bryant loses McDonald's endorsement. Kobe Bryant lost his sponsorship deal with McDonald's, costing the NBA star another endorsement while his sexual assault case proceeds.
· Bagle virus hides as calculator. Warnings are being issued about the rapidly spreading Bagle Windows worm.
· Small town hot over porn scandal. Alexas Jones' résumé is a jaw-dropper: porn Web site operator, onetime stripper, mother of three, and volunteer firefighter in this Peyton Place of a town just south of Modesto.
· New Series to Focus on Amish Teens. The UPN television network is preparing a reality series that follows Amish teenagers having their first experiences with modern conveniences and outside society, part of a religious rite of passage that tests their faith.
· Britney planning 'tell-all' book. Britney Spears is reportedly planning to dish the dirt on her life and lovers in a sexy tell-all autobiography.
· School Takes Handgun From 6-Year-Old Student. Michigan school officials are calling it "a show-and-tell mistake."
· Microsoft Takes on Teen Over Web Site. "Since my name is Mike Rowe, I thought it would be funny to add 'soft' to the end of it," said Rowe, a 17-year-old computer geek and high school student in Canada. The software giant, however, is not amused.
· Wal-Mart attacked for 'locking in' overnight workers at its stores. Wal-Mart, believed to be the world's largest retailer, is under fire for reportedly locking in overnight workers at many of its stores, sometimes to the detriment of their own safety.
· No wonder Harrison Ford was drinking in Mexico. Harrison Ford's ex-wife has received a record-breaking $90 million divorce settlement, And future royalties from prior Ford films.
· FLASHBACK: "Drunk and bewildered" Harrison Ford celebrates divorce. According to the London SUN, the Indiana Jones star, 61, stunned partygoers at a Mexican bar by knocking back tequila shots and Corona beers — and then LIMBO dancing under the bar.
· States ranked as most corrupt. Mississippi is the most corrupt state, with North Dakota and Louisiana a close second and third, respectively, according to a Justice Department report. The least corrupt state, according to the report, is Nebraska.
· "Along Came Polly" tops box office. The new romantic comedy starring "Friends" sweetheart Jennifer Aniston with Ben Stiller collected $27.6 million to debut at No. 1, while "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" fell to fourth place with $10.2 million.
· Make that steak a bit smaller, Atkins advises dieters. After advising dieters for years to satisfy their hunger with liberal amounts of steak, eggs and other saturated fats, the promoters of the Atkins diet now say that people on their plan should limit the amount of red meat and saturated fat they eat.
· Friends are a good thing, so where are Stewart's? In sharp contrast to, say, Michael Jackson, there has been no outpouring of public support for Stewart from the people who have partied with her, vacationed with her or appeared on her TV shows.
· Mom Arrested Rushing to Get Son to School. A mother rushing to get her son to school in San Diego County was arrested and jailed after a chase by the California Highway Patrol.
Word of The Day by WordThink
Altruism [al·tru·ism] n. Unselfish concern for the welfare of others; selflessness. (also 'Altruistic').
· Tom Cruise 'proposes for worker.' Actor Tom Cruise appeared on Portuguese television to ask a factory worker to marry her cameraman boyfriend.
· California counties vie for Peterson murder trial. Tourism officials from all over the state are working hard to get the trial moved to their county. "They are seeing nothing but dollar signs in the media frenzy expected to follow Peterson."
· Television Commercials Come to the Web. More than a dozen Web sites, including MSN, ESPN, Lycos and iVillage, will run full-motion video commercials from Pepsi, AT&T, Honda, Vonage and Warner Brothers, in a six-week test that some analysts say could herald the start of a new era of Internet advertising.
· The TV commercial you won't see on TV. This clever two-minute Honda ad is a real-time creation that took seven painstaking months to prepare - and 606 video takes - that results in a mesmerizing clip that will leave you scratching your head.
· Affleck Says 'Jersey Girl' Is No 'Gigli.' While real-life sweethearts Affleck and Jennifer Lopez co-star in the upcoming "Jersey Girl," their on-screen collaboration won't be a selling point after their colossal bomb "Gigli" last summer.
· 'Raymond's' Heaton is 'Goodbye Girl.' Heaton, the Emmy-winning star of "Everybody Loves Raymond" and a mother of four sons, "lived a lot of what Paula was living" for many years.
· $42M for a slice of luxury living. The Time Warner Center is something to behold, inside and out, from the $42.5 million apartment to the digital fingerprint scanners in tenants' elevators, to the parallelogram of two blue glass towers looming 750 feet over Central Park.
· Take the U.S. Presidency Quiz. With the Iowa caucuses in full swing, test your knowledge of all things presidential.
Saturday, January 17, 2004
· 'Why won't Hollywood give us work?' moan the over-40 actresses. Hollywood's most formidable female stars have united to condemn "sexist" film moguls for failing to find roles for women over 40.
· 'American Idol' Returning for Third Year. In two years, Fox's "American Idol" has minted three new music stars in Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken. Now the televised talent hunt is trying for more.
· Beatle's guitar lawsuit settled. George Harrison's estate has settled its dispute against a doctor it accused of coercing the dying ex-Beatle into signing the doctor's son's guitar.
· Trump's new reality show a TV ratings hit. The Donald has a hit on his hands. Donald Trump's NBC reality show, "The Apprentice," continued to roll Thursday night, snaring a whopping 20.2 million viewers.
· Doctors baffled by hermit who shuns food and water. A man claims he has not eaten or drunk anything for the past 60 years. Doctors in the western state of Gujurat, who recently completed a 10-day controlled test on the illiterate hermit, say the man is a medical miracle.
· Monopoly fights to clear gangs off street. Ghettopoly, currently sold in Virgin Megastores to children as young as 13, uses a Monopoly-style board to portray in graphic form the extremes of urban ganglife.
· More than 5 Million World War II Aerial Photographs Released. More than five million detailed aerial photographs from World War II go onto the Internet from Monday, giving the public their first views of some of the most dramatic and grisly moments of the conflict.
· Confidential Passenger Data Used for Air Security Project. Northwest Airlines provided information on millions of passengers for a secret U.S. government air security project soon after the Sept. 11th terrorist attacks.
· Cancer Faker Gets Jail Time. A woman who accepted $6,400 in donations after shaving her head and dyeing her skin to make it appear she had cancer has been sentenced to three days in jail and three years of probation.
· Hollywood Agent, Producer Ray Stark Dies. Ray Stark, a publicist and actors' agent who became a Hollywood power broker and producer of such movies as "Funny Girl,""The Way We Were," and "The Sunshine Boys," died Saturday after a long illness. He was 88.
· Paris sequel in springtime. Paris Hilton is packing her Louis Vuitton bags and teacup Chihuahua for a second installment of "The Simple Life."
Word of The Day by WordThink
Disingenuous [dis·in·gen·u·ous] adj. Not straightforward or candid; insincere or calculating. 'It was disingenuous of her to claim she had no financial interest in the case.'
· Reporter's Notebook: Inside the Jacko Circus. I asked him what he thought of the three-ring circus that enveloped the Santa Maria courthouse, but all I got was “I’ll tell you later” and “no comment right now.” That from the so-called King of Pop as he walked in to face multiple charges of child molestation, the only words he would speak to the media all day.
· Two planes collide over Florida airport. One plane crash landed and a second managed to land safely after they collided on the final approach to Clearwater Airpark in Florida on Saturday, an airport authority spokesman said.
· Missing actor was working on painful new work. Before he disappeared last week, Spalding Gray had been performing early versions of a new work that had long bedeviled him - a monologue about a car wreck more than two years ago that left him physically and emotionally scarred.
Saturday, January 17, 2004
· Britney visits California hospital. Britney was photographed for the first time since her sham 55-hour marriage to Jason Alexander when she turned up at the Centinela hospital in Los Angeles.
· Teen In Critical Condition After Playing Chicken With Amtrak. A teenager playing a game of chicken on railroad tracks was struck by an Amtrak train, authorities said.
Corporation.
