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The Ultimate Tea Diet

Mark "Dr. Tea" Ukra, the leading authority on tea, revealed the potential health benefits of the ancient herbal drink on "GMA NOW."

Mark "Dr. Tea" Ukra explains his "Ultimate Tea Diet" on GMA NOW.

(ABCNEWS.com)

Armed with a briefcase full of tea, "Dr. Tea" showed us how people around the globe are losing weight and staying healthy with his Ultimate Tea Diet.

A sneak peak of some recipes from his book are below.

Lettuce-Wrapped Tea Turkey Burgers

1 pound ground white meat turkey

2 eggs

2 tablespoons chopped celery

2 tablespoons finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes

2 tablespoons grated fat-free Parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-fleaf parsley or 1 teaspoon dried

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon finely ground dry green tea

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

½ teaspoon hot sauce

¼ cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs)

Olive oil cooking spray

1 head butter lettuce, leaves separated, rinsed, and dried

Combine the turkey, eggs, celery, tomatoes, cheese, parsley, Worcestershire, dry tea, hot sauce and panko in a medium bowl, mixing lightly until all ingredients are incorporated. Divide into four portions and form into patties. Heat a grill pan or barbecue to medium. Spray the pan or grate with a little olive oil cooking spray. Cook for about 8 minutes each side.

Serve in the lettuce leaves.

Serves 4

Nutrition per serving: calories 210, fat 2.5g, protein 35g, carb 13g

[Source: ABC News]

Genepax - Japanese invent car that runs on water

TOKYO (Reuters Life!) - Tired of petrol prices rising daily at the pump? A Japanese company has invented an electric-powered, and environmentally friendly, car that it says runs solely on water.

Genepax unveiled the car in the western city of Osaka on Thursday, saying that a liter (2.1 pints) of any kind of water -- rain, river or sea -- was all you needed to get the engine going for about an hour at a speed of 80 km (50 miles).

"The car will continue to run as long as you have a bottle of water to top up from time to time," Genepax CEO Kiyoshi Hirasawa told local broadcaster TV Tokyo.

"It does not require you to build up an infrastructure to recharge your batteries, which is usually the case for most electric cars," he added.

Once the water is poured into the tank at the back of the car, the a generator breaks it down and uses it to create electrical power, TV Tokyo said.

Whether the car makes it into showrooms remains to be seen. Genepax said it had just applied for a patent and is hoping to collaborate with Japanese auto manufacturers in the future.

Most big automakers, meanwhile, are working on fuel-cell cars that run on hydrogen and emit -- not consume -- water.

[Source: Reuters India]

Endangered sea dragon at Ga. aquarium pregnant

ATLANTA (AP) — A weedy sea dragon at the Georgia Aquarium has something to celebrate this Father's Day. One of the rare creatures is pregnant for only the third time ever at a U.S. aquarium, aquarium officials said. But don't look for the expectant mom — dads carry the eggs in this family.

The aquarium's sea dragon has about 70 fertilized eggs — which look like small red grapes — attached to his tail. He is expected to give birth in early to mid-July, said Kerry Gladish, a biologist at the aquarium.

Sea dragons, sea horses and pipe fish are the only species where the male carries the eggs, Gladish said. Sea dragon pregnancies are rare because researchers don't know what gets them in the mood to mate.

"We know there's something biologically or environmentally that triggers them to want to reproduce, but in the aquarium world, we're not sure what that is," Gladish said.

The aquarium recently changed the lighting and thinned out the plants in the sea dragons' tank to give them room to court each other.

The aquarium has seven of the 18-inch sea dragons, which resemble Dr. Seuss characters with long aardvark-like snouts, colorful sea horse bodies and multiple paddle-like fins.

During mating, the female lays dozens of eggs and then transfers them to the male's tail.

In the wild, the survival rate for sea dragon babies is low, but in captivity it's about 60 percent, Gladish said. The fish is on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's list of threatened species, mostly because of pollution and population growth in its native Australia.

Only about 50 aquariums worldwide have sea dragons.

[Source: Associated Press]

Angela Honeycutt: Pa Woman Turns Sleepover Into Sex Assault

Angela Honeycutt and 38, and Lynne Long, 45, both of Bucks County, Pa. stand accused on numerous charges, including having sex with a minor. If you think that the ever increasing sting of teacher-student sexual encounters are insane, take a read to prove wrong. A Pennsylvania woman by the name of Angela Honeycutt (picture, left) is facing charges of statutory sexual assault, unlawful contact with a minor and other related charges, after turning a teenage sleepover into a sex party. According to the report from the local CBS News branch, 38-year-old Angela Honeycutt allegedly had sex with a 14-year-old boy and performed sexual acts with a 15-year-old, while the boys were attending a sleepover at friend Lynne Long's home. The police was alerted, after one of the boys told his parents about it.

According to the cops, Angela Honeycutt exposed her breasts to the teens at the sleepover, open-mouth kissed some of the minors and even took a shower with one of the boys. Her friend and host of the sleepover, Lynne Long (picture, right), a mother of two young children, is facing charges of endangering the welfare of children and corruption of minors. "What is so particularly outrageous about this is the violation of trust. You think you've seen everything and then all of a sudden, another report of an outrageous crime comes in," the local sheriff was quoted by CBS. Both women surrendered to authorities and were released after being permitted to sign their own bail.

[Source: OGPaper.com]

Early Flag Day observance today

Flag Day will be observed a day early with a ritual flag-burning today at Lowe-McFarlane American Legion Post 14 on Cross Lake.

The day is set aside for the respectful retirement of worn and tattered U.S. flags, which customarily are burned.

The observance is early at Post 14 this year to allow for traditional festivities at the post's 17th annual Cross Lake Floatilla.

The ceremony today will begin at 5 p.m., said Dennis Engdahl, post commander.

The post is at 5315 S. Lakeshore Drive in Shreveport.

Saturday, a traditional Flag Day observance will be held at 2 p.m. at the Shreveport Elks Lodge, 310 E. Preston Ave., just east of East Kings Highway across the Old River and the levee.

[Source: shreveporttimes.com]

The Hunt Club of Brevard Swingers Club Faces Fines

MELBOURNE -- In Brevard County, a swingers club will be fined if they continue to host sex-themed parties.

The Hunt Club of Brevard could be hit with fines of up to $250 a day.

The disputed club is based inside a house in the rustic Oak Groves subdivision.

Code enforcement said the club is an illegal, unlicensed business. They claim the club is a commercial venture operating inside a private home, which violates zoning regulations.

According to Florida Today, the owner of the home is also trying to evict the operators of the club.

[Source: cfnews13.com]

Ed Hill - No Longer on Air

Fox News Channel anchor E.D. Hill has apologized for uttering the words "terrorist fist jab," among others, in reference to the victory gesture Barack and Michelle Obama exchanged last Tuesday. I, for one, don't buy the apology.

Let me start by acknowledging that it could have been worse: one slip of the tongue and YouTube would have crashed under the onslaught of "E.D. Hill Fist Job" hits. But I digress.

It's long past the day when anything FNC does under the guise of reporting news should surprise anyone, but this "fist jab" thing needs to be addressed for two reasons. It is further evidence of Fox's basic dishonesty (in case anyone thinks the jury is still out on that.) And, just as important, it illustrates the depths to which what we have come to know as cable news has gone -- particularly at Fox, which pioneered the concept of misinformation-as-news and elevated it to an art form.

It's not surprising that the offending phrase came during a lead-in to a commercial break. In television, this is when everyone gets creative. The object is to be provocative, to tease what's coming up in a way that holds the audience through the break. The danger, particularly in news, is that carelessly creative copy can mislead.

In this case, the hook was: You might be surprised by what SOME people are saying about the Obamas' fist bump. The copy read, "A fist bump? A pound? A terrorist fist jab? The gesture everyone seems to interpret differently." And Hill delivered it skillfully, pausing for effect twice on the take-home phrase: "A terrorist ... fist ... jab?"

What was misleading about the tease? Let's start with the premise, that the fist bump is a "gesture that everyone seems to interpret differently." A bit of over-statement there, don't you think? Sure, some people use the bump simply to say hello, in place of a handshake; some use it to congratulate, in place of a high five. But who thinks it has terrorist implications?

Just one person, apparently. Not a terrorism expert or an informed observer of any sort; not a columnist; not even a pandering politician or a nut-job pundit (Google "Michelle Malkin Dunkin Donuts.") No, the source for Hill's grabber was merely a website reader -- a website reader! -- who, in posting a comment about a column on the site, opined that the Obamas' bump resembled a "Hezbollah-style fist jab."

Think about it. This means that a news reporter can stand on a street corner, wait for a passerby to make some ridiculous comment about a person or issue in the news, then report that "some people are saying" whatever. In fact, that "whatever" can be anything the reporter -- or the reporter's boss -- wants it to be.

If you think that's too cynical a concern, you've probably forgotten the report from a Fox correspondent in Iraq the day after Election Day 2006, when Democrats regained control of Congress. There were, she said, "reports of cheering in the streets on behalf of the supporters of the insurgency in Iraq that they're very pleased with the way things are going here and also with the resignation of Donald Rumsfeld." Interestingly, her words were a near-perfect match for those of Fox News V-P John Moody in his memo earlier that day suggesting what his correspondents might be on the lookout for.

That, in my view, was a major violation of whatever rules of journalism remain in television news. Hill's Obama/terrorist tease might seem insignificant by comparison, but its implications are just as serious. It shows not only how pervasive sloppy writing is in cable news, but how dangerous it can be in the hands of a news outlet with a political agenda.

Fox clearly holds no trademark on shoddy reporting, but no one else carries it to the same extremes or applies it so well as a weapon of mass propaganda. There are many hard-working and dedicated people at FNC, but they are surrounded by (and take orders from) people who are either politically motivated, willing to subvert the report to fit management politics, or simply unaware that what they do is not news.

Now look at Hill's "terrorist fist jab" tease in that context. You have the hook (differing interpretations of the fist bump); it's unsupported by fact, but who cares? And you have the grabber -- the provocative line suggesting a terrorist angle.

What you don't have, though, is a payoff for the viewers. Back from the commercial break, the segment - an innocuous (and worthless) chat with a pop "body language" expert -- doesn't even mention the terrorist fist-jab notion.

So what are the implications of that tease? Was its inherent dishonesty justified because it got viewers to stay through the commercial? Was the deception a simple transgression, nothing more than the work of an over-imaginative copywriter? Or was it a conscious attempt to taint the Obamas by putting them in the same sentence with the word "terrorist"?

I doubt that anyone instructed the writer to make that association. But having worked at FNC and witnessed the effects of its please-the-boss mentality, I know that the writer didn't need direct instruction.

At Fox, it's okay to bend facts, or stretch them, to make a point. Innuendo reigns, its dishonesty often disguised with a question mark. And everyone knows who's fair game for it, and who is not. When was the last time one of FNC's patented cheap shots hit a favored Republican, or a friend of Fox management?

This week, after four days of criticism elsewhere in the media, Hill readdressed the Obama/terrorist tease. "I apologize," she said, "because, unfortunately, some thought I personally had characterized (the fist bump) inappropriately. I regret that. It was not my intention. And I certainly didn't mean to associate the word 'terrorist' in any way to Senator Obama and his wife."

At the least, Hill might have rephrased her apology to say that she didn't care whether she associated the Obamas with terrorism. But given Fox's history, I'm not sure even that would be telling the whole truth.

[Source: Huffington Post]

Only one Friday the 13th this year, so enjoy it

By Michael Lollar (Contact)
Memphis Commercial Appeal
Friday, June 13, 2008

What's next, locusts?

It's Friday the 13th, the only one this year. It's the day when fear of the No. 13 -- triskaidekaphobia -- meets the fear of Fridays.

Combine the two and you get paraskevidekatriaphobia.

Sounds like something Lucille Ball would say after too many spoonfuls of Vitameatavegamin.

There were two Friday the 13ths last year (in April and July), and there are three next year (in February, March and November). With only one this year, does that mean bad luck will be concentrated on this one day this time?

Or does it mean only one day that the superstitious among us have to lose sleep about the sky falling?

The truth is no one is even sure where fear of Friday the 13th originated. Some believe it stemmed from The Last Supper with Judas, among the 13 guests, betraying Jesus. Others think the 13th step was the last step to the guillotine. Fear of Friday also has obscure beginnings ranging from belief that Christ was crucified on a Friday to belief that it was the beginning of Noah's Great Flood.

Indiana residents might tell you the floods already have come this year. So has the killer cyclone in Myanmar, the monster earthquake in China, $4 gas prices and the salmonella fear that took tomatoes off the menu at McDonald's.

Industries built around chance or luck focus on odds rather than superstition, says Larry Spencer, director of marketing for Southland Park Gaming & Racing in West Memphis. Spencer, who previously worked for casinos on the Gulf Coast and in Tunica for 15 years, says the date had no noticeable effect on attendance.

"When people decide they're going to go gambling it doesn't make any difference to them,'' Spencer says. ''I guess they think if they've made it through the day then they can go out that night."

The question this year is whether a tornado might have whisked a gambler away during the trip to Tunica.

One recent study in England claimed luck has nothing to do with random numbers or days but everything to do with positive thinking. It sounded suspiciously like something Norman Vincent Peale had been telling us all along. Psychologist Sigmund Freud got the jump on both of them, saying belief in bad luck was a way to shift the blame for bad decisions or risky behavior.

Golfer Gary Player lobs a lemons-to-lemonade observation that seems to scoff at the idea of luck altogether: "The harder I practice the luckier I get."

[Source: Commercialappeal.com]

Review: Magellan Maestro 4200 satellite navigation

Magellan's new range of satellite-navigation products is being sold on the line that they're the slimmest such devices around. We can believe that – the 4200 looks great, with unspoiled lines and a slimline design – but looks aren't everything.

The Maestro 4200 is otherwise relatively basic: it includes navigation, of course, with full postcode searching, and information on speed cameras. That's pretty much it, though. There's a 'Marco Polo' travel guide, but this only extends to major sights in capital cities – you need to pay to unlock the rest of it.

The unit can work in any region of Europe (but no more than one): at the beginning the user must select one (the UK and Ireland for us) and it's then locked in permanently, so get that wrong and you're in trouble.

Navigation was simple, and the touch-sensitive screen was responsive and fast. It was also pretty quick to calculate directions and to pick a new route when we had deviated.

Although there's no Bluetooth connection for your phone, or traffic updates, there are speed camera warnings and the ability to set a route plan. The Magellan Maestro 4200 is certainly portable, and it does its job well, but some of its competitors include more features for a similar price.

Vista compatibility: Yes

[Source: Computeractive.co.uk]

Susan Atkins considered for release

Susan Atkins, center, did the stabbing of actress Sharon Tate during the August 1969 murders in Benedict Canyon that are popularly blamed on Charles Manson. Atkins was the killer who famously wrote PIG in Tate's blood on the front door of the home shared by the actress and her husband, Roman Polanski. Atkins was sentenced to death in 1971, but like all of the Manson followers who got death sentences, hers was changed to life in prison when capital punishment was temporarily deemed unconstitutional. The longest-serving female inmate in the California prison system, Atkins is reportedly dying of brain cancer and has had a leg amputated. A request for compassionate release is pending before prison authorities.

Manson prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi says he is OK with Atkins getting out, given her failing health. Tate's sister and last living relative, Debra Tate, wants Atkins to stay locked up. From the Riverside Press-Enterprise:

"She showed no compassion. She told my sister as she slit her throat that she didn't (care) for her or her unborn baby," Tate said.

"If I could, I would say to her that I would pray for forgiveness on her soul at her moment of death when she has paid her debt to society. At that point, I'll show compassion and pray for her soul."

The L.A. Times story has less detail. In the photo, Leslie Van Houten is at left and Patricia Krenwinkel is on the right. Both of them remain in custody, like Manson himself turned down for parole several times. Here's a very brief summary of that bloody episode in Los Angeles history.

[Source: LAObserved]

Google founder books space flight

Google co-founder Sergey Brin has made a $5m (£2.5m) down payment to book a seat on a future orbital space flight, a US space tourism company has said.

Space Adventures says it is planning the first private space flight to the International Space Station in 2011 in a deal with the Russian space agency.

The initial payment gives members a first option on a seat on the mission.

It will go towards flight costs, which could be $35m or more, Space Adventures CEO Eric Anderson said.

"I am a big believer in the exploration and commercial development of the space frontier and am looking forward to the possibility of going into space," Mr Brin said in a statement.

In the past, Space Adventures has sent private tourists into space by buying seats on Russian missions to the International Space Station (ISS).

But the 2011 mission will be different.

"The Soyuz to be used for this mission will be a specially manufactured craft, separate from the other Soyuz vehicles designated for the transportation of the ISS crews," said Alexey Krasnov of the Federal Space Agency of the Russian Federation.

"This private mission, flying two Space Adventures clients at once, will not interfere with the implementation of the ISS programme or the obligations of the Russian space agency; on the contrary, it will add flexibility and redundancy to our ISS transportation capabilities."

Google has already shown an interest in space exploration by becoming one of the sponsors of a $30m prize designed to stimulate research into low-cost space missions, including landing a vehicle on the Moon.

[Source: BBC]

Oprah Tops Forbes 'Most Powerful Celebrities' List For Second Year

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Talk show host Oprah Winfrey is the world's most powerful celebrity for the second straight year and for the fifth time ever, according to the 2008 Forbes Celebrity 100 Power List released on Wednesday.

The annual list also included two couples among its top 10. Actress Angelina Jolie came in at No. 3 and her partner Brad Pitt nabbed No. 10, while music mogul newlyweds, Beyonce Knowles and Jay-Z were fourth and seventh.

Golfer Tiger Woods remained No. 2 and soccer player David Beckham was No. 5, while actor Johnny Depp took sixth. Music group The Police nabbed No. 8 after reuniting for a successful world tour and British author J.K. Rowling was No. 9 after the release of the seventh and final Harry Potter book.

"It's not surprising that Oprah Winfrey and Tiger Woods remain at the top this year -- they're certainly some of the biggest earners," said Matthew Miller of Forbes magazine.

The rankings give the most weight to earnings over the past year but also factors in such things as Internet presence, press clippings, magazine covers and mentions on TV and radio.

During the past year Winfrey made $275 million, Woods, $115 million, Knowles $80 million, Beckham $50 million, Depp $72 million, Jay-Z $82 million, and The Police $115 million.

While Jolie's earnings of $14 million and Pitt's salary of $20 million pale in comparison, the popularity of the couple, who have four children and twins on the way, and their constant presence in magazines saw their power soar.

"Had (Jolie) made a couple of millions dollars more she probably would have been close to topping the list because the number of magazine covers that she was on, the number of stories she was mentioned in, far surpassed anyone else on the list," Miller said.

And it was Beckham's move to Los Angeles with former Spice Girl wife Victoria and their three sons in a blaze of publicity that helped propel him into the top 10 for the first time.

In contrast, Rowling earned $300 million in the past 12 months, more than Winfrey, but is a reluctant celebrity.

The 2008 top 100 is made up of 20 film actors, 20 athletes, 10 musicians, 10 talk show hosts, 10 TV actors, five "tween" stars, five directors/producers, five celebrity personalities, four authors, four hip-hop impresarios, four chefs and three models.

The "tween" category, a marketing term that usually refers to an audience ages 9 to 12, is new, Forbes said, with "Hannah Montana" star Miley Cyrus making her debut in the top 100 at No. 35 "following a sold-out concert tour, a hit 3-D movie, and a controversial photo shoot that had the press buzzing."

Among those dropping from the list are Tom Hanks, Jessica Alba, Hayden Panettiere, Adam Sandler and Scarlett Johansson, The Rolling Stones, Elton John and Jessica Simpson.

The full list can be seen at http://www.forbes.com/celebrities.

(Editing by Mark Egan and Cynthia Osterman)

[Source: Yahoo! OMG]

Floodwaters claim bridge, force evacuations in Iowa

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Nearly 4,000 homes were evacuated here Thursday and parts of the city's downtown were under 5 to 6 feet of water as flooding continued to ravage the state.

Heavy rain pounded Cedar Rapids again Thursday, and a downtown railroad bridge over the Cedar River collapsed. It had been loaded with 18 gravel-filled rail cars in an attempt to weigh it down against the rising river.

"There's nothing left to see" of the bridge, said Jeff Woods, a spokesman for the Cedar Rapids and Iowa Railway Co. No injuries were reported.

All interstate highway exits to downtown Cedar Rapids were closed, and major power outages were reported through the community. The Linn County Jail in Cedar Rapids evacuated more than 400 inmates to state prisons, and the situation worsened Thursday with more rain predicted into the night.

Officials estimated that 100 blocks in Cedar Rapids were under water.

"We're seeing very substantial flooding," said Craig Hanson, the city's public works maintenance manager.

PHOTO GALLERY: Flooding rains devastate Midwest

Cedar Rapids' problems came a day after frantic sandbagging enabled the upstream cities of Cedar Falls and Waterloo to narrowly avoid widespread flooding.

As Cedar Rapids dealt with rising floodwaters, other Iowa cities warily watched rivers further swollen by storms overnight into Thursday that brought up to 5 inches of rain across west central Iowa.

The heavy rain moved east during the day, soaking people as they hurried to remove items from businesses as police told them to move to higher ground.

In Des Moines, officials urged residents to evacuate more than 200 homes north of downtown because of concerns that the Des Moines River would top a nearby levee.

Public Works Director Bill Stowe said officials were watching the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers through downtown Des Moines.

"We're certainly concerned, and last night's rain elevated those concerns," Stowe said. "We'll be carefully watching the situation over the next couple of days."

Despite rising water, the city's water treatment plant operated normally. The plant was knocked out of service in the 1993 floods, cutting off water to Des Moines for 12 days.

Meteorologist Rod Donavon of the National Weather Service said there was a strip of 3 to 5 inches of rain across west central Iowa and another strip of 2 to 3 inches in central Iowa.

"A lot of water fell in the Raccoon River basin, which is of concern as it moves toward the Des Moines metro area," he said

Donavon said he had not seen any new river forecast projections but it will "be a concern."

Gov. Chet Culver has declared 55 of the state's 99 counties as state disaster areas. Nine rivers are at or above historic flood levels.

Iowa City officials have approved a mandatory evacuation ordinance at a special council meeting Wednesday. The city put the order into effect around 2 a.m. on Thursday for residents in the Normandy Drive area on the city's north side near the Iowa River.

In Coralville, residents along two streets have until 5 p.m. Thursday to evacuate. The city also asks that residents try to avoid using running water and toilets while it is raining, because the volume of water is overwhelming the water plant.

Contributing: The Des Moines Register; Associated Press

[Source: USA Today]

Eva Longoria Is Not Pregnant

So, it turns out Eva Longoria is still not pregnant. Eva sparked pregnancy rumors when she was spotted out shopping in New York City, Monday. She was wearing a loose-fitting black dress which made her look pregnant.


Her stylist Robert Verdi says that Eva is not pregnant , "I'm not her gynecologist, but I am her stylist," Verdi tells People magazine, "I see her naked. I see her boobs! That's the first place it would show, and it's not showing!"


Verdi adds that the photos of salespeople looking down at Eva's belly are misleading. “Eva was holding a handbag that she bought in the crook of her arm. The manager came over and said to her, ‘I love that bag.’ But in the photos, it looks like the woman is gesturing to her midsection. It’s too funny,” he adds.

[Source: CelebGlitz]

Miley Cyrus & Family in InStyle Magazine June 2008

June 2008 issue of InStyle Magazine features Miley Cyrus and her family at their Mediterranean-style villa in North Hollywood.

"I just Superman onto my bed," laughs Miley Cyrus, 15, "I love to sleep. I'd sleep all day if I could."

Her father and "Hannah Montana" costar, country music icon Billy Ray Cyrus, says "I like for the house to be an escape from the insanity that is outside,".

To see more of Miley Cyrus at home, pick up the June issue of In Style, available on newsstands now.

[Source: CelebGlitz]

House passes jobless benefits extension

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The House on Thursday approved an extra three months of jobless benefits for all unemployed Americans, knowing the plan's chances are slight in the Senate and almost nonexistent at the White House.

After failing to get a veto-proof two-thirds margin by three votes on Wednesday, Democrats got an exact two-thirds margin on Thursday with a 274-137 vote - the amount needed to overcome a threatened presidential veto.

Democrats said they pushed the legislation through to the Senate because Americans need help in a slumping economy.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that the number of people filing new claims for unemployment benefits last week increased by 25,000 from the week before. The unemployment rate in May jumped to 5.5 percent, up from 5 percent in April. It was the biggest one-month gain in 22 years.

"The American people are waiting to see if Congress is going to help them," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

But the White House already has threatened to veto the bill, and Senate Democrats have said they won't try and force their Republican colleagues to consider the House legislation.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he will try to bring up the House bill, but he won't force the issue if Senate Republicans object. "We're not wasting weeks" on it, he said. Instead, Reid said, Democrats might attach the jobless benefits extension to the Iraq war spending bill, a move also opposed by the White House.

The White House and Republicans said a bill targeting unemployment benefits only to states that have high unemployment would be more palatable to them. The Democrats' plan "is dead on arrival," House Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio said. "The Senate's not going to take it up."

Republicans said the Democrats are simply trying to get an election-year advantage by making them choose between the extension of unemployment benefits - with 8.5 million people reported unemployed in May - and President Bush's position. Prospective GOP presidential candidate John McCain has also said he would support extending unemployment benefits.

"It's an unfortunate spectacle to see the leaders of this Congress manipulate the extension of unemployment benefits into a partisan weapon," said Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash.

Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., said there could be election consequences for Republicans who vote against the Democratic extension, especially with so many people worried about the economy and job losses. "I urge members to think about the election when they vote no," McDermott said.

Forty-nine Republicans voted with the Democrats on Wednesday and Thursday, but 12 fewer Democrats and Republicans voted overall on Thursday, giving Democrats their two-thirds margin of the House members present and voting.

"I understand some of the concerns about granting this extension of benefits, but I believe strongly that those concerns are far outweighed by the needs of struggling American families," said Rep. Candice Miller, R-Mich., who voted with Democrats.

The Bush administration said emergency steps such as broadening benefits for the whole country have been used only when the unemployment rate jumps considerably higher than 5.5 percent. Extending benefits to all states regardless of unemployment rates means that states such South Dakota and Wyoming, which have 2.6 percent unemployment rates, would also get extensions.

"It is fiscally irresponsible to provide extra benefits in states with low unemployment rates," the White House said.

Republicans also complained that the bill would eliminate the requirement that Americans work 20 weeks before getting the average $300-a-week unemployment benefit check. Democrats said the Labor Department reported that 10 percent of the unemployed would not get unemployment benefits if they did not delete that provision.

Congress has extended unemployment benefits during periods that turned out to be recessions: twice in the 1970s, again in the early 1980s and 1990s, and most recently from March 2002 through December 2003.

Unemployment insurance is a joint program between states and the federal government that is almost completely funded by employer taxes, either state or federal. Only three states - Alaska, New Jersey and Pennsylvania - collect taxes from workers for their unemployment benefit programs.

The House legislation would extend unemployment benefits for an additional 13 weeks in all 50 states and the District of Columbia for workers who exhaust their regular 26 weeks of unemployment benefits.

States with an unemployment rate of 6 percent or more would get an additional 13 weeks of unemployment benefits. Michigan (6.9 percent), Alaska (6.7 percent), California (6.2 percent), Rhode Island (6.1 percent) and the District of Columbia (6.0 percent) are the only places that qualify currently.

The extension would run through March, although unemployed workers who are already getting extra benefits before then would get their entire 13 weeks.

The Congressional Budget Office estimated that about 3.2 million Americans would collect $11.7 billion in extended unemployment benefits over the life of the extension.

[Source: Associated Press]

Hulk Hogan’s wife wants him jailed over Condo installments

Estranged wife of wrestle mania sensational Terry Bollea Linda Bollea wants Hogan put in prison.
Linda is asking a Florida judge to sentence Bollea for allegedly not paying his share of a $4.2 million Las Vegas condo. Linda is dating a 19 year old boy friend and Hogan is dating a lady who looks like his daughter renowned Jennifer. If the judge adheres to the call, Hogan will be held in contempt of court and jailed until he pays.
A court order requires them to share the purchase of the condo at The Palms hotel and spa and Hogan jumped the deal and refused to pay. Linda wants Hogan confined in cells where their son is being jailed causing a car crash that left his friend badly injured.
Hogan is a successful wrestler and has starred gallantly in various wrestling and movies. He made a great star in the movie ‘Assault in the devils Island’ and has been a strong role model in modern wrestling videos. He is reputed and popular among wrestling fans but is lately on the spot over various scandals like dating a girl who is almost as his young daughter, his wife’s 19 year old boyfriend, his jailed son and a car crash that left him and his daughter shaken.
Hogan is getting bad publicity and worse, now that he is not obliging to contracts and deals with his wife, he is bad boy and soon he will get that ugly smear.

[Source: ThaIndian]

US Open | The Open Course Is at Its Best

SAN DIEGO — Right in the middle of June, a cold sense of dread used to descend on the afternoon before the opening day at the United States Open. All out of preparation time and looking down the narrow fairways of another penal golf course layout, many of the 156 golfers were beaten right then, the day before they showed up on the tee looking as if they were in line for the root canal chair.

But that was then. The 108th United States Open, which begins Thursday at Torrey Pines Golf Course, arrives with a different, almost hopeful, vibe, a sense of anticipation that something special rides on the freshening breeze that blew away the coastal fog and poured sunshine across the golf course for the first time all week.

“There is nothing we can do now to make Torrey Pines play any better,” said Mike Davis, the senior director of rules and competition for the United States Golf Association. “Here it is Wednesday, and I almost wish today was a championship day because the greens are firm and the golf course is perfect.”

The whole scene is almost too good, bursting with story lines and intrigue. Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Adam Scott, the Nos. 1, 2 and 3 players in the world, will be on the tee at 8:06 a.m. here. Rarely is there an opportunity to see the best players perform for stakes this high on a test that most players agree is among the toughest and possibly the fairest United States Open setups in memory. All week, a procession of players has sung the same chorus of praise for Davis’s setup, so different from that sung on the eve of the Open in the old days that a gray-haired viewpoint is required for perspective.

“I was in Des Moines at a Champions Tour event the week before the sectional qualifier,” said 51-year-old Mark O’Meara, the winner of the Masters and the British Open in 1998 and of 16 PGA Tour events, including the 1997 Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines. “When we finished, I got in the car like the old days and drove five and a half hours to Chicago, got in at 11 o’clock on Sunday night for the 36-hole qualifier the next morning at Conway Farms.

“I was fortunate enough to shoot two 70s and get into the field. It’s pretty cool, cool to be here, to be honest with you, because this is Torrey Pines and it’s a special event, for sure. This setup is great — tough, but not so brutal there’s no chance if you miss a shot.”

Then there is the U.S.G.A. plan to move tees around to create variety in how the players approach the course. The thought of a hole playing 158 yards shorter one day to the next — as will happen at the 435-yard, par-4 14th hole when it plays as a 277-yard, reachable par 4 — would have been fanciful just a few years ago.

The reality is that No. 14 is one of five holes where there may be a marked difference in the actual yardages from those on the scorecard. The par-3 third hole will be played at 142 or 195 yards, a potential four-club difference between a 5-iron or 9-iron. No. 13, which plays at 613 yards from the back or 539 from the front is a 74-yard spread. The 16th hole could have a 32-yard difference from 225 yards or 193 yards. And the 18th hole, which is 573 yards from the back, could be moved up to make it more tempting for players to take a shot at the green in 2 — bringing eagle into the equation, almost unheard of for a finishing hole at an Open.

There will be times when risk may outweigh reward or vice versa, quite a departure from the Open days when a golfer’s most difficult decision was whether to chop a wedge out of the rough or give a go with an 8-iron.

Not everyone is enamored of all the possibilities. Mickelson, for example, says the back tee at No. 13 should never have been built, calling it “terrible.” Such a statement in the days of yore might have assured that the tee would be there all four days, but the new, more benign U.S.G.A. takes a more moderate view.

“We’ll agree to disagree,” said Jim Hyler, the vice president of the U.S.G.A. “We like the back tee there.”

Mickelson’s criticism of the new tee at No. 13 is about the only controversial statement about the course. That in itself demonstrates how times have changed. With more opportunities for creativity, shotmaking, risk-taking and birdie-making, this second United States Open to be played at a municipal course has a very good chance of generating added interest among golfers and spectators who had grown weary of over-par bogeyfests.

And though the event will almost certainly be won by one of the younger players in the field, another of the older heads had a veteran’s take on why this will be an Open to remember.

“This has been phenomenal,” said Brad Bryant, 53, in the field as the Senior Open champion. “I think we’re going to see some exciting U.S. Opens over the next few years, because this graduated rough idea, firming up the greens, doing some things a little differently, is just wonderful.

“We are playing a U.S. Open golf course this week where there’s going to be several times where guys are going to roll the ball on to the green. That is unheard of in a U.S. Open.

“It’s about time that we brought that back as part of the game. And I’m really excited about it.”

[Source: NY Times]

Lehman Bros. names Ian Lowitt CFO after Erin Callan leaves position

NEW YORK (Thomson Financial) - Lehman Bros. said its chief financial officer Erin Callan stepping down after 7 months in the position, and will be replaced by Ian Lowitt, effective immediately.

Callan will will rejoin the investment banking division in a senior role, the New York-based brokerage firm said. Lowitt had been chief accounting officer since October 2006.

The company also said Herbert McDade III will replace Joseph Gregory as chief operating officer, effectively immediately.

Most recently, Gregory was the global head of Lehman's equities division since June 2005.

The stock was down 10% at $21.33 on volume of 18.7 million shares.

[Source: Forbes]

Hope Dworaczyk Is Jason Kidd’s Pregnant Girlfriend (Photos)

So Jason Kidd gets his girlfriend pregnant…Page Six reports that Hope Dworaczyk is a “model” and that their parents celebrated the news by dining at Sabor Latin Bistro Sunday night. Evidently she has already started showing, so she’s no longer sitting courtside at the games.

Hope Dworaczyk Biography

Not much is known about Hope Dworaczyk except for the fact that she is a “model”. Was she crowned Miss South-Texas Junior Co-Ed at one point? I found her MySpace page, but it’s set to private. Shoot! I wanted to see if there were more photos of her on there since doing a photo search of her comes up nothing. I would think that after Jason’s nasty split from his ex-wife Joumana, he would have sworn off women for a while, but obviously he didn’t waste any time. You gotta check out The Big Lead for a comical comment regarding the reason why Hope got pregnant…

[Source: RightPundits]

Tiger Woods Is 2-Over in Early US Open Play

Playing in the tournament's power pairing with Phil Mickelson and Adam Scott, Tiger Woods opened with an unsightly double bogey at Torrey Pines on Thursday, a bad start to his first competitive round since knee surgery after the Masters. The world's top-ranked player opened with a big hook into the caked-down kikuya rough. He hacked out with a wedge, then flew his approach over the green into more tangly grass. Unable to control that shot, either, he knocked the next shot about 8 feet past the hole and two-putted to start the day at 2-over.

That put him four shots off the early pace set by K.J. Choi and Steve Stricker, who each had two birdies over their first four holes.

Mickelson and Scott each hit their opening drives straight and wound up with pars.

Woods came to the tee box with his game face on. He was trying to avoid a repeat of what happened the last time he took this long a break. Returning from a layoff after the death of his father in 2006, Woods missed the cut at the U.S. Open at Winged Foot — the first and only time he failed to make it to the weekend in a major.

Scott, ranked third in the world, greeted everyone with a left-handed handshake; he recently broke his right pinkie finger.

Mickelson, second in the world behind Woods and not even carrying a driver for the longest course in major championship history, came to the first tee box and stood behind the lecturn used by the starter to organize his scorecard and pin sheet as several in the gallery shouted "Speech, speech."

Indeed, this was no usual threesome.

The USGA manipulated the pairings to put the world's top three on the course together for the first two days. About 100 media and photographers, as crowded as anything Woods has ever seen, lined the inside of the ropes to walk with the group down the first fairway. There were thousands of fans in the stands and lining the route to the green.

That was quite a contrast to the scene D.A. Points saw about an hour earlier. He hit the first shot of the tournament to near silence — but that shot went straight down the fairway, a far cry from where Woods ended up.

[Source: ABC News]

Secret al-Qaida, Iraq files found on British train

LONDON (AP) -- Secret government documents on al-Qaida and Iraq were left on a commuter train, prompting a major police investigation into the latest in a series of embarrassing security breaches, British officials said Wednesday.

The documents belonged to a senior intelligence official in the Cabinet office and were found by a passenger on a London commuter train Tuesday. The envelope was then passed to the British Broadcasting Corp.

Seven pages stamped "UK Top Secret" included the latest government intelligence assessment on al-Qaida and Iraq's security forces, the BBC said. The documents were also stamped "for UK/US/Canadian and Australian eyes only." The first page was dated June 5, the BBC reported.

Two of the assessments were made by the British government's Joint Intelligence Committee. The report on Iraq was commissioned by the Ministry of Defence. The al-Qaida report was commissioned by the Foreign and the Home Offices.

The assessments often include intelligence material gathered from agents on the ground.

"Two documents which are marked as secret were left on a train and have subsequently been handed to the BBC," according to a Cabinet office spokesman who spoke on condition of anonymity in accordance with government policy for civil servants.

The intelligence official was still working at the Cabinet office, pending a police investigation.

Britain's Official Secrets Act prohibits the passing of sensitive information that could affect national security.

The BBC said it could not reveal the documents' exact contents after receiving legal advice.

The security assessments often include intelligence material gathered from agents on the ground and could prompt terror cells to change tactics or alert terrorists to British surveillance techniques, according to a British security official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the story.

The security breach is the latest in a string of government data losses and comes as Britain pushes for an expansion of its national DNA database - already the largest per capita in the world - and works to finalize plans for an ID program.

"This is just the latest in a long line of serious breaches of security ... further highlighting the most basic failures in this government's ability to maintain our security," said Pauline Neville-Jones of the opposition Conservative party.

A computer containing sensitive details on 600,000 prospective military recruits was snatched from the car of a Royal Navy recruitment officer in central England in January.

The data included details of candidates' religions and some banking records. It was not encrypted.

In another breach, tax officials last year lost computer disks containing information - including banking records - on nearly half the British population.

"There should be strict guidelines about when such secret documents are outside carefully monitored premises," said Chris Huhne with the Liberal Democrats, the third largest opposition party.

[Source: AP]

Afghans seize 'largest drug haul'

The seizure comes ahead of a major international donor conference

Afghan police working with British special forces have uncovered a drugs stash of 237 tonnes of hashish.

Afghan and British officials say they believe it to be the world's biggest seizure of drugs in terms of weight.

The drugs were found hidden in trenches in Kandahar province on Monday. The haul was so large that British jets bombed it to destroy the hashish.

Nato's top general in Afghanistan said the find would seriously cripple the Taleban's ability to buy weapons.

'Welcome boost'

Afghan and British officials said the hashish had a value of more than $400m (£203m).

The Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) said the hashish weighed as much as 30 double-decker London buses.

[The find] was so large that two aircraft were brought in to destroy the underground bunker in which the hashish was being stored UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband

"With this single find, they have seriously crippled the Taleban's ability to purchase weapons that threaten the safety and security of the Afghan people and the region," said Isaf's commander, US General David McKiernan.

Afghan police received a tip about the drugs cache on Monday morning and found it later that day, Isaf said. Three men were arrested during the operation.

The find "reflects the efforts of the Afghan government against the drug trade, and was so large that two aircraft were brought in to destroy the underground bunker in which the hashish was being stored", British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said in a statement.

The BBC's Martin Patience in Kabul says the announcement should provide a welcome boost to the Afghan government on the eve of a major international donor conference in Paris in support of the country.

In the past, Afghanistan has been criticised by the international community for not doing enough to tackle drugs - especially the opium trade.

Afghanistan is estimated to account for 90% of the world's opium.

The previous record drugs haul is believed to be 81 tonnes of cocaine seized in Colombia.

[Source: BBC News]

Obama's VP search leader steps down

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The chief of Democrat Barack Obama's search for a vice presidential running mate stepped down from that role on Wednesday over questions about loans he received from a company involved in the U.S. housing crisis.

The Illinois senator said in a statement that Jim Johnson had decided to quit the unpaid position in order to avoid being a distraction from the process of gathering information about possible vice presidential candidates.

Obama clinched the Democratic presidential nomination last week and will face Republican John McCain in the November election.

"Jim did not want to distract in any way from the very important task of gathering information about my vice presidential nominee, so he has made a decision to step aside that I accept," Obama said.

Obama appointed Johnson last week to a three-member team heading his search for a No. 2. Other members of the team include Caroline Kennedy, daughter of the late President John Kennedy, and former Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder.

"We have a very good selection process under way, and I am confident that it will produce a number of highly qualified candidates for me to choose from in the weeks ahead," Obama said.

The Wall Street Journal had reported Johnson, former head of the mortgage giant Fannie Mae, received private loans at below-market rates from Countrywide after he left Fannie Mae.

Countrywide has been accused of helping fuel the subprime mortgage crisis with risky loans.

Illinois Democratic Sen. Richard Durbin told MSNBC that it was Johnson's decision to step down and was the right move.

"He's willing to step aside from this line of fire. And it appeared that this was going to be a bigger story than it really should have been. I think he made the right choice," said Durbin.

The campaign of Republican presidential candidate John McCain had heaped criticism on Johnson in response to weeks of attacks from Democrats over McCain's ties to lobbyists.

"Jim Johnson's resignation raises serious questions about Barack Obama's judgment," said McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds.

Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton fired back, saying, "We don't need any lectures from a campaign that waited fifteen months to purge the lobbyists from their staff."

Obama had given Johnson a vote of confidence on Tuesday, dismissing Republican criticism of him. Johnson had performed the same role for Walter Mondale in 1984 and John Kerry in 2004.

"I am not vetting my VP search committee for their mortgages," Obama had told reporters on Tuesday.

Obama's search for a running mate is casting a wide net. Former NATO commander James Jones surfaced this week as a name on his list.

Among other possibilities are his vanquished rival, New York Sen. Hillary Clinton; former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota, a close adviser to Obama; Virginia Sen. Jim Webb, a decorated Marine veteran of the Vietnam War; among others.

Johnson stepped down even as Obama was criticizing credit card companies for what he called predatory lending practices and accused McCain of turning a blind eye to them.

On a two-week tour focusing on problems in the U.S. economy, Obama held a round-table discussion with three people who have seen their credit card debt skyrocket due to a relentless cycle of interest rate increases and fees.

Obama said "John McCain has been part of the problem," accusing the presumptive Republican nominee of siding with banking industry lobbyists on credit issues and voting against an effort to increase transparency on credit card bills.

"When he had the chance to help families avoid falling into debt, John McCain sided with the credit card companies," Obama said of the Arizona senator.

[Source: Reuters]

Lawmakers say Capitol computers hacked by Chinese

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Multiple congressional computers have been hacked by people working from inside China, lawmakers said Wednesday, suggesting the Chinese were seeking lists of dissidents.

Two congressmen, both longtime critics of Beijing's record on human rights, said the compromised computers contained information about political dissidents from around the world. One of the lawmakers said he'd been discouraged from disclosing the computer attacks by other U.S. officials.

Virginia Rep. Frank Wolf said four of his computers were compromised, beginning in 2006. New Jersey Rep. Chris Smith, a senior Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said two of his computers were attacked, in December 2006 and March 2007.

Wolf said that following one of the attacks, a car with license plates belonging to Chinese officials went to the home of a dissident in Fairfax County, Va., outside Washington and photographed it.

During the same time period, The House International Relations Committee - now known as the House Foreign Affairs Committee - was targeted at least once by someone working inside China, said committee spokeswoman Lynne Weil.

Wednesday's disclosures came as U.S. authorities continued to investigate whether Chinese officials secretly copied the contents of a government laptop computer during a visit to China by Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez and used the information to try to hack into Commerce Department computers.

The Pentagon last month acknowledged at a closed House Intelligence committee meeting that its vast computer network is scanned or attacked by outsiders more than 300 million times each day.

Wolf said the FBI had told him that computers of other House members and at least one House committee had been accessed by sources working from inside China. The Virginia Republican suggested that Senate computers could have been attacked as well.

He said the hacking of computers in his Capitol Hill office began in August 2006, that he had known about it for a long time and that he had been discouraged from disclosing it by people in the U.S. government he refused to identify.

"The problem has been that no one wants to talk about this issue," he said. "Every time I've started to do something I've been told 'You can't do this.' A lot of people have made it very, very difficult."

The FBI and the White House declined to comment.

The Bush administration has been increasingly reluctant publicly to discuss or acknowledge cyber attacks, especially ones traced to China.

In the Senate, the office of Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., who chairs the Senate's subcommittee on humanitarian issues, asked the sergeant at arms to investigate whether Senate computers have been compromised.

Wolf said the first computer hacked in his office belonged to the staffer who works on human rights cases and that others included the machines of Wolf's chief of staff and legislative director.

"They knew which ones to get," said Dan Scandling, who currently is on leave of absence from his job as Wolf's chief of staff. "It was a very sophisticated operation," he said. "The FBI verified that it had been done."

Smith said the attacks on his office computers were "very much an orchestrated effort."

He said that after the first intrusion in December 2006, "that was the last time" his office put the names of dissidents on its computers.

In Beijing, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs had no immediate comment on the allegations by Wolf and Smith.

Last week, China denied the accusations regarding Gutierrez's laptop and the alleged effort to hack Commerce Department computers.

Wolf said he was introducing a House resolution that would help ensure protection for all House computers and information systems.

It calls for the chief administrative officer and sergeant at arms of the House, in consultation with the FBI, to alert members and their staffs to the danger of electronic attacks. Wolf also wants lawmakers to be fully briefed on ways to safeguard official records from electronic security breaches.

"My own suspicion is I was targeted by China because of my long history of speaking out about China's abysmal human rights record," Wolf said in a draft of remarks he prepared to give on the House floor.

He said Congress should hold hearings, specifically the House Intelligence Committee, Armed Services Committee and Government Operations Committee.

Speaking generally in May 2006, Wolf called Chinese spying efforts "frightening" and said it was no secret that the United States is a principal target of Chinese intelligence services.

Wolf thinks that President Bush should stay away from the Olympics because of China's human rights record.

He also has been outspoken on the subject of violence in the Darfur region of Sudan, where China has major oil interests.

Smith has introduced the Global Online Freedom Act which would prohibit U.S. Internet companies from cooperating with countries such as China that restrict information about human rights and democracy on the Internet.

Wolf and Smith both traveled to Beijing 17 years ago seeking the release of 77 people imprisoned or under house arrest because of their religious activities.

---

Associated Press writers Ted Bridis and Laurie Kellman contributed to this report.

[Source: AP]

Browns release center LeCharles Bentley

CLEVELAND (AP) — LeCharles Bentley's career with his hometown Browns amounted to nothing more than a couple incomplete practice sessions.

The center asked for and received his release from the Cleveland Browns on Wednesday, nearly two years after he suffered a major knee injury at the start of his first training camp with the team.

Bentley wants to resume his career somewhere he'll have the opportunity to play, said his agent, Jonathan Feinsod. The Plain Dealer first reported Bentley's release on its Web site.

"At this point in LeCharles' career, he is not ready to be just an insurance policy," Feinsod said. "To come back from what basically amounts to a near-death experience and now be healthy again is an inspiration to anybody. He's ready to continue his Pro Bowl and hopefully Hall of Fame career."

Browns general manager Phil Savage wished Bentley well.

"This is a chapter that finally comes to an end," Savage said. "We've got some closure to it and we can go our separate ways in a positive manner."

Bentley practiced with the Browns on Tuesday for the first time since he underwent knee injury and survived a life-threatening infection.

The 28-year-old passed a physical and a running test Monday and was cleared to practice with the team during their three-day minicamp this week. He predicted Tuesday that he would be starting in 2008 whether for the Browns or another NFL team.

"When he came to the Browns two years ago, their situation was entirely different and they didn't know if and when he was going to recover from this injury," Feinsod said. "They had to do certain things to help their team, which they did."

The Browns improved their offensive line in Bentley's absence and that helped them transform an inept offense into one of the league's powerhouses.

"We feel like the landscape of our team has changed from July 2006 to where we are in June 2008," Savage said.

Feinsod characterized the parting as amicable.

"This is no fault of the Cleveland Browns," he said.

He declined to comment on whether other teams were interested in Bentley.

Bentley, a two-time Pro Bowl center with New Orleans, signed a six-year, $36 million free-agent contract in March 2006 with the Browns.

"It was a unique circumstance, in terms of him being a local icon, playing at St. Ignatius, Ohio State," said Savage, referring to Bentley's local high school and college teams. "It was going to be the trifecta in playing for the Browns. It just didn't work out."

Bentley's dream of playing for his hometown team ended quickly when he tore his left patellar tendon on the first full-contact play of training camp in July 2006.

Following surgery to repair the tendon, he developed a staph infection and needed three more operations. His contract with Cleveland was later shortened to one year.

"I'm still a fan, I'm still a Cleveland guy, and I'm glad to see the Browns do well," Bentley said a day before his release. "They have got so many stars now. I'm excited about that from a fan's perspective. I'm always going to be a Cleveland Browns die-hard fan no matter what. Whatever happens, I'm glad to see the team do well."

[Source: Associated Press]

Alex Kozinski | 9th Circuit's chief judge posted sexually explicit matter on his website

Alex Kozinski, who is presiding over an obscenity trial in L.A., acknowledges that he had posted sexually explicit photos and videos. He says he didn't think the public could access the site.

Judge Alex Kozinski, now chief of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, during a 2003 hearing in San Francisco. (Paul Sakuma / Associated Press)

One of the highest-ranking federal judges in the United States, who is currently presiding over an obscenity trial in Los Angeles, has maintained his own publicly accessible website featuring sexually explicit photos and videos.

Alex Kozinski, chief judge of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, acknowledged in an interview with The Times that he had posted the materials, which included a photo of naked women on all fours painted to look like cows and a video of a half-dressed man cavorting with a sexually aroused farm animal. Some of the material was inappropriate, he conceded, although he defended other sexually explicit content as "funny."

Kozinski, 57, said that he thought the site was for his private storage and that he was not aware the images could be seen by the public, although he also said he had shared some material on the site with friends. After the interview Tuesday evening, he blocked public access to the site.

Asked whether the contents of his site should force him to step aside from the pending obscenity trial, Kozinski declined to comment. Opening statements in the trial are scheduled for this morning. In the case, Ira Isaacs, a filmmaker based in Los Angeles, is accused of distributing criminally obscene sexual-fetish videos depicting bestiality and defecation.

Stephen Gillers, a New York University law professor who specializes in legal ethics, told The Times that Kozinski should recuse himself from the Isaacs case because "the public can reasonably question his objectivity" concerning the issues at hand.

Gillers, who has known Kozinski for years and called him "a treasure of the federal judiciary," said he took the judge at his word that he did not know the site was publicly available. But he said Kozinski was "seriously negligent" in allowing it to be discovered.

"The phrase 'sober as a judge' resonates with the American public," Gillers said. "We don't want them to reveal their private selves publicly. This is going to upset a lot of people."

Gillers said the disclosure would be humiliating for Kozinski and would "harm his reputation in many quarters," but that the controversy should die there.

He added, however, that if the public concludes the website was intended for the sharing of pornographic material, "that's a transgression of another order."

"It would be very hard for him to come back from that," he said.

Kozinski said he would delete some material from his site, including the photo depicting women as cows, which he said was "degrading . . . and just gross." He also said he planned to get rid of a graphic step-by-step pictorial in which a woman is seen shaving her pubic hair.

Kozinski said he must have accidentally uploaded those images to his server while intending to upload something else. "I would not keep those files intentionally," he said. The judge pointed out that he never used appeals court computers to maintain the site.

The sexually explicit material on Kozinski's site earlier this week was extensive, including images of masturbation, public sex and contortionist sex. There was a slide show striptease featuring a transsexual, and a folder that contained a series of photos of women's crotches as seen through snug fitting clothing or underwear. There were also themes of defecation and urination, though they are not presented in a sexual context.

Kozinski, who was named chief judge of the 9th Circuit last year, is considered a judicial conservative on most issues. He was appointed to the federal bench by then-President Ronald Reagan in 1985. He has a national reputation for a brilliant legal mind and has developed a reputation as a champion of the First Amendment right to freedom of speech and expression. Several year ago, for example, after learning that appeals court administrators had placed filters on computers that denied access to pornography and other materials, Kozinski led a successful effort to have the filters removed.

The judge said it was strictly by chance that he wound up presiding over the Issacs trial in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. Appeals court judges occasionally hear criminal cases when they have free time on their calendars and the Isaacs case was one of two he was given, the judge said.

Kozinski said he didn't think any of the material he posted on his website would qualify as obscene.

"Is it prurient? I don't know what to tell you," he said. "I think it's odd and interesting. It's part of life."

Before the site was taken down, visitors to http://alex.kozinski.com were greeted with the message: "Ain't nothin' here. Y'all best be movin' on, compadre."

Only those who knew to type in the name of a subdirectory could see the content on the site, which also included some of Kozinski's essays and legal writings as well as music files and personal photos.

The judge said he began saving the sexually explicit materials and other items of interest years ago.

"People send me stuff like this all the time," he said.

He keeps the things he finds interesting or funny with the thought that he might later pass them on to friends, he said.

[Source: Chicago Tribune]

Obama Forced to Cancel Visit to Cedar Rapids Due to Weather

The Gazette Online is reporting that Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has been forced to cancel a scheduled visit to Cedar Rapids, Iowa that was slated to take place later today. The reasons for the cancellation are due to various weather-related issues, a record amount of flooding in the area as well as evacuations due to the flooding.

Both the Democratic Party and Republican Party are scheduled to have their state conventions on Saturday in Des Moines, Iowa and it is expected that the record flooding will have a drastic affect on the turnout of delegates.

Executive Director of Iowa’s Republican Party, Caleb Hunter, provided a statement in response to the question of whether or not the flooding would affect delegate attendance, saying, “That's a possibility. We've gotten a couple of calls from folks who aren't going to be able to make it. It probably will be a limited impact.”

[Source: The Gazette Online]

British beauty Billie Piper plays Belle de Jour in 'Call Girl'

LICKFOLK, England — On an early summer evening, Billie Piper is sitting in the back garden of a pub near her country home.

She's talking about sex and a city girl - the London-based professional escort Belle, whom she portrays in the Showtime series "Secret Diary of a Call Girl," premiering June 16 in the United States. In Canada it runs on Showcase and premiered last fall. "I was thinking it was quite racy for America," says Piper as she ponders just how the series will come across in the United States.

In the United Kingdom, when it first aired last September it was blasted in the media for glamorizing prostitution.

"I thought it was a side to prostitution that we are not normally exposed to, and I thought there was a story worth telling there," Piper says in defence. "I kind of knew it was going to cause a bit of an uproar, especially because I was playing the part. People are always so used to me doing children's shows or family drama."

As a teenager, Piper became a star in England in 1998 with the chart-topping pop song "Because We Want To." And she has been a popular subject for the British tabloid press.

She was previously married at 18 to popular DJ Chris Evans. Now 25, she's married to Laurence Fox, who plays Detective James Hathaway in "Inspector Lewis," airing on PBS' "Masterpiece Mystery" beginning June 22.

Piper and Fox married on New Year's Eve, about a year after meeting while acting together in the play "Treats," and they recently moved from London to the country.

Piper has had recurring roles in the popular sci-fi series "Doctor Who," and has starred in several British made-for-TV movies. Yet never has the actress revealed more of herself than in the sexy "Call Girl."

The series is based on the Belle de Jour blog, which was written by a young woman who enjoys being a sex worker yet pretends to family and friends she's just Hannah, a legal secretary.

Doubts have been raised about whether Belle really exists or whether the blog was simply the fictitious concoction of some clever minds.

However, Piper says: "I met her and she was quite a character and she was the most useful part of my research."

"I started asking really simple, mundane questions - like 'What's your favourite song?' 'What kind of films do you watch?' Often those very simple details can be really useful. They tell you a lot about the human side of things," says Piper, explaining that because Belle's way of life was "so far removed from anything I know, I had to make her more human in my head."

She also consulted several other professional escorts and went to their apartments "where all these intimate moments take place" to see "step by step, how it's done."

How it's done, of course, meant strong language and nudity. But Piper counters criticism by saying that's just part of the acting challenge of honestly portraying the lifestyle.

Showtime is running the eight half-hour episodes uncut as part of an hour-long block with the fourth season of the hit series "Weeds."

Undaunted by the media criticism, Piper has begun filming a second series as Belle, and a third series has been ordered. But she may soon need a body double, she says, because she's pregnant.

[Source: The Canadian Press]

Protesters Panic Over 'Crap Cannon'

Activists planning protests at the forthcoming Democratic National Convention in Denver are wary of a police weapon they refer to as "Crap Cannon." Luckily for them, it doesn't exist. Fox News filed this report:

Also called “Brown Note,” [the cannon] is believed to be an infrasound frequency that debilitates a person by making them defecate involuntarily.

Mark Cohen, co-founder of Re-create 68, an alliance of local activists working for the protection of first amendment rights, said he believes this could be deployed at the convention in August to subdue crowds...

Cohen, who described Brown Note as a “sonic weapon used to disrupt people’s equilibrium,” cited eyewitness accounts of its use during free-trade agreement protests in Miami in 2003...

His group is preparing against a possible attack by Brown Note and other crowd-control measures by dispatching street medics at the convention trained in treating injuries in demonstration situations.

He should save himself the time. While the story of a frequency that liquefies bowels has been going around for many years, the facts don't really back the tale up. Mythbusters tackled it in 2005, concluding:

Even after testing a wide range of sub-audible and near-sub-audible noises on him, not once did Adam lose control of his bowels. Some discomfort was reported however, due to the effects of low-frequency sound on the lungs.

Fox also turns to Mythbusters -- specifically Dr. Roger Schwenke, an acoustician who appeared on the show's "Brown Note" episode -- and concludes that "there is no scientific evidence that proves such frequencies cause involuntary defecation."

You might argue that Mythbusters is not right there on the cutting edge. For that, you need look no further than Dr. Jürgen Altmann of the Bochum Verification Project, who carried out the definitive review of all available literature on the effects of acoustic weapons:

Evidence for bowel spasms and uncontrolled defecation is even scarcer. Among all the literature surveyed for this article, the only hint found was one on “digestive troubles” observed during experiments with a strong 16-Hz siren. These were, however, not specified at all, and the explanation immediately following talked of objects vibrating in clothing pockets.

In the low frequency exposures up to 150 dB no bowel spasms were observed. The same holds for low-frequency animal experiments. Here it is noteworthy that also in reviewing vibration experiments no mention was made of bowel spasms or uncontrolled defecation.

Naturally, he gives full references for those wishing to check the facts. (Altmann debunks a lot more myths about the power of acoustic weapons, many of them dating back to the tall tales of Gavreau's legendary sonic weapon. That give us Kate Bush's fab Experiment IV, at least, but not a lot of science.)

So chalk this up as another example of the awesome power of the urban myth. But like all myths, this one does have a teeny-tiny kernel of truth. At 2004's Republican National Convention, authorities deployed a Long Range Acoustic Device, a super-loudhailer/nonlethal-weapon. But they never used the thing, Dr. Altman notes. "Protesters were at too short distance, so the normal loudspeakers sufficed." If you do get hit with an LRAD blast, it'll make your ears ring, if the machine is turned way up. But no brown stuff will result.

The authorities might try harder to dispel these myths. Equally though, they might find that the effects of crowd control weapons can be greatly enhanced by just this sort of fear.

[Source: WIRED]

Sean Salisbury | NASCAR harassment suit may prove costly

We owe Isiah Thomas and Sean Salisbury an apology.

That's how bad the discrimination and sexual-harassment allegations 32-year-old Mauricia Grant brought against NASCAR are.

Compared to the environment allegedly condoned at the popular racing series, the former Knicks coach's penchant for calling female executives "bitch" and the ex-ESPN analyst's habit of photographing and displaying his steak were greatly overblown controversies.

After reading through Grant's official lawsuit complaint, you'd get the feeling that NASCAR was filming an updated version of "Roots," beginning with the slave-ship scene where the captain is looking for a "black wench belly-warmer" to tide him over on the long journey home.

Damn! If you're looking for confirmation of NASCAR stereotypes, you can pretty much find them all in Grant's $225-million lawsuit. According to Grant, her white male co-workers repeatedly flashed their weenies, dropped the N-word, asked to see her breasts, talked sympathetically about the KKK and called her a stupid, nappy-headed ho. And when none of those tried and true seduction techniques worked, "Mo" Grant says they resorted to spreading rumors that she was a "Ho-Mo."

I mean this in the most non-offensive, non-gender-specific, Rick James way, Mauricia Grant is not a Ho-Mo, she's a soon-to-be "Rich Bitch."

Yeah, she caught NASCAR ridin' dirty, and the settlement headed her way is going to make Anucha Browne Saunders and Chamillionaire blush. If you remember, Saunders won $11.5 million for tolerating Zeke the Freak's primitive sexual advances and bitch moves. My memory is a little fuzzy, but I don't recall Zeke showcasing Magic's Stick during his romancing of Saunders.

No, what Grant experienced is on a whole different level, which should more than compensate for her entry-level status at NASCAR and the fact that her direct supervisors did not participate in much of the harassment.

What she claims to have experienced will also render Brian France's position that he and her supervisors were unaware of her Mississippi Burning pretty hard to believe.

"The disappointing thing is she makes a lot of claims, none of them reported," France said in a statement refuting Grant's charges. "It's inconsistent of our policies of our company and how we operate the sport. The fact that it went on as she stated, Ms. Grant, for many months, but never bothered to tell anyone at management what was going on — which is what our policy says — is very disappointing. We would have liked, if those types things were in fact going on, we would have loved to have done an investigation and a review of such an allegation."

If what she alleges is even remotely true, she certainly operated in a hostile work environment, and it appears her supervisors did little to stop co-workers David Duke (not the famous one), Jonathan Dickerson, Bud Moore and others from torturing her mentally.

She claims that: Duke, Moore and Tim Knox all flashed their johnsons at different times; Duke, Dickerson and Russell Howard used the N-word in her presence; Dickerson told her that the KKK was no different from the NAACP.

In all, I counted at least 20 allegations in her lawsuit that were racist, reprehensible and totally unprofessional. Her lawyers also listed perhaps another 20 allegations that seemed bogus and overly sensitive. Claims that NASCAR officials didn't come to her aid when a group of race fans shouted "Look at the black official" or complaining that her co-workers said "Mo looks hot today" weaken the seriousness of her legitimate charges.

But that's nitpicking. I guess her lawyers wanted to overwhelm the court with volume. They don't need it. There's more than enough there to charge NASCAR with gross negligence and indifference without pointing out that chassis supervisor Alan Shepard asked Mauricia to purchase his mistress gifts.

Before reading her actual lawsuit, I was suspicious of her allegations and motive. I had no doubt that Grant experienced an unprofessional work environment. I don't believe there is such a thing as a professional work environment. And I say that realizing that in my younger days I occasionally contributed to a lack of professionalism. I've never worked in an environment where women couldn't complain of some sort of aggressive or subtle sexual harassment. Inappropriate sexual relationships on the job are the norm more than an abnormality. And I've heard enough white, black, Mexican and Asian stereotype jokes to perform a Chris Rock standup routine.

I expected Grant's lawsuit to be filled with stuff I'd seen before, stuff you see on every job.

But this was different. She might have felt more comfortable working as a barmaid at a stripclub. I've heard they have the good sense to throw you out of gentlemen's clubs if you pull out your six iron or five wood. (Now, if you unveil an eight iron, they'll hand you a Chippendales application.)

NASCAR is in serious trouble here. Unless it has some awfully good dirt on Mauricia Grant, the organization should angle for a quick settlement, fire most of the clowns who worked with Grant and get Isiah Thomas and Sean Salisbury to host a diversity seminar.

[Source: FOX Sports]

David Spade and Howard Stern Favorite Jillian Grace: It's a Girl!

David Spade and Playboy Playmate Jillian Grace, who dated briefly, are expecting a baby girl, In Touch is reporting this week in the print edition of the magazine that hits newsstands today. Spade is one of the stars of the CBS sitcom "Rules of Engagement" and Grace is a Howard Stern favorite and the report details that David, 43, broke up with the 22-year-old before discovering she was pregnant, and he was surprised by the news.

David Spade and Playboy Playmate Jillian Grace: It's a Girl!

Although the actor has never publicly confirmed that the baby is his, he has said, “If it is true that I am the father of her child, then I will accept responsibility.” Insiders say that the exes barely speak to each other, but are trying to hammer out child-support details before the baby arrives in late summer. “I had a brief relationship with Jillian Grace,” David told TMZ in January.

***

The news was first broke by Star magazine and that led Jillian to write on her website back in January, "I am making Zero claims of any sort to any publication or media of any form. First of all, out of respect to Howard Stern if I should have a news flash he will be the first to know. Second, any trip a girl takes to the pharmacy she takes alone. And third, I would like to tell Star Magazine that everybody in a small town claims to be your friend."

The scoop was that a friend went shopping with her for the pregnancy test. TMZ would later confirm the news as well. The story did help the search for the curvy blondes Playboy photos when the story broke as few knew exactly who she was and what was going on with the story. The pictures are linked here and the first look is safe.


[Source: National Ledger]

Monique Idlett: Ball and Chain

Hip hop master Timbaland will be getting hitched to his lady love, publicist Monique Idlett, on June 19th in Aruba, according to Life & Style Weekly.
An insider says, "No other details have been given out, but guests are being told to be prepared to fly to Aruba on that date."
Monique and Timbaland have been dating for the past two years. They also have a daughter, Reign, born in November.
Congrats!

[Source: fashion.ie]

Randy Pausch Update: Dying Professor Delivers Lessons In Life

"The Last Lecture" (Hyperion, $21.95), a best seller written by a professor dying of pancreatic cancer and a Wall Street Journal writer, is the perfect example of how the Internet is changing publishing and what people read.

More than 10 million people have gone to www.thelastlecture.com to watch a 76-minute video of Randy Pausch's final lecture at Carnegie Mellon University, where he taught courses on virtual reality and human-computer interaction.

Thousands who watched the humorous and poignant lecture have since bought the book written with Jeffrey Zaslow and published in April. And many likely were moved enough by Pausch's thoughts on his life's lessons that they might even change the way they live.

During his lecture, Pausch barely mentioned the cancer he expects will soon kill him (as of May 13, he was doing fairly well, according to an update page on his Web site, download.srv.cs.cmu.edu/~pausch). He also said he wouldn't talk about his three children, ages 5, 2 and 1, because that would upset him too much.

What he talked about were his dreams as a child and how he fulfilled almost every one. He talked about the many lessons learned from his parents, coaches, professors, colleagues, mentors and students. He stressed that, as a Disney Imagineer once told him, if you give most people time, they will pleasantly surprise and impress you. Most people have something good in them, he said more than once during the lecture.

He also stressed the importance of learning the basics - something a football coach taught him early on - and not letting brick walls block your dreams and aspirations.

Another life lesson: Don't be afraid to ask for help getting a job, getting into graduate school or reaching other goals, and return that in kind by helping others.

It is obvious in the online video that Pausch is a wonderful teacher. He's glib and funny and has stand-up comic timing. He says he was encouraged to go into teaching because he was a born salesman, so why not put his talents to work selling education?

He seems proud of the profession and his dedication to it, which is another valuable lesson for those who strive for happiness. Love what you do, and do it well.

Pausch, who's just 47, offers another important lesson: "It's not about how to achieve your dreams," he says. "It's about how to lead your life."

He and Zaslow collaborated on the book in a unique way. They talked for hours by cell phone while Pausch was out riding his bicycle, a daily ritual to relieve his stress and strengthen his body.

Fleshing out Pausch's lecture, the book tells stories from his life and offers more emotional thoughts about his wife, Jai, and their children.

Those who read "Last Lecture" will undoubtedly want to watch the real thing online. It's worth the time.

[Source: TBO.com]

Petroalgae - Life on Mars: The Secret Ingredient for Biofuel?

NASA built a program for extraterrestrial vegetables way back when. Now PetroAlgae is using the lab to grow obese, oily algae.

Decades later, some of the technology developed under a NASA program to put a space station on Mars might pay dividends.

PetroAlgae, a biodiesel startup in Melbourne, Fla., has leased environmental-simulation chambers originally developed for the Mars mission. It hopes to use the chambers to discover the optimal environment for growing algae and then to create it on an industrial level.

The chambers were created in the 1970s. If NASA put a space station on Mars, the thinking went at that time, the astronauts living there would have to grow their own food. Thus, it became a high priority to create tomatoes and cucumbers that could withstand low-oxygen environments and less sunlight than normal.

After the Mars mission got canceled (see Capricorn One starring James Brolin and O.J. Simpson for one explanation of the demise of the program), NASA lost most of its interest in extraterrestrial lettuce. For PetroAlgae, or other biodiesel developers, however, it’s an ideal playground.

“You can control light, CO2, gases,” said Fred Tennant, vice president of business and development at PetroAlgae. “It was dormant. They were glad to lease it.”

The company is one of a large number of startups and established companies trying to fashion diesel or synthetic gasoline out of algae.

The National Renewable Energy Lab in Golden, Colo., kicked off the effort in the 1980s. Some of today’s startups, such as LiveFuels, which plans to make biocrude instead of fuel out of algae, rely on technology licensed from the national labs.

Others, such as GreenFuel Technologies Corp., have sprung from university research. In GreenFuel’s case, that would be Harvard and MIT.

There are three basic business models. Some, like GreenFuel, capture carbon dioxide from smokestacks and feed it to algae in bioreactors-- essentially clear plastic bags. The algae are then harvested and converted to liquid fuel and animal feed. The companies can earn revenue from selling feedstock as well as sequestering carbon for power plants.

Others, such as LiveFuels, grow algae in open ponds. Rather than focus on a single strain of algae, these companies let lots of species bloom. Each species can grow from a different spectrum of light. The algae then gets separated from water and harvested for feed or oil.

Then there is Solazyme, which cooks algae with sugars in beer kettles. The process is similar to brewing beer. Although the added sugar boosts the production costs, Solazyme says it can make fuel faster and cheaper. Why? It doesn’t have to separate the algae from water, a problem that has vexed researchers since the beginning. The company also genetically optimizes the algae.

PetroAlgae is a bioreactor company, but also concentrates on genetic optimization. It has licensed a strain of algae from Arizona State University that is particularly greasy. Approximately 50 percent of the algae’s weight is lipid material, he said, far higher than average.

“Our little critters do nothing but eat and make oil. If you put them back in the swamp, they wouldn’t last five minutes,” Tennant said. “We bred the defenses out of them.”

And the algae strain breeds fast, he said. An acre-sized pond of PetroAlgae’s algae could conceivably produce 10,000 to 14,000 gallons of fuel a year, he asserted, higher than normal. (LiveFuels has talked about 10,000 gallons.) The algae have not been genetically modified, but they have been bred for oiliness.

“Over a billion generations, you can come up with a really oily strain that grows fast,” he said.

PetroAlgae also has obtained patents on particular stages of the algae-to-fuel process, he said.

Still, growing algae has plenty of challenges. While companies have been working on the idea of making fuel from algae for years, none have been able to make it affordably in large volumes.

PetroAlgae is owned by the XL TechGroup, an incubator that claims it tries to envision future markets and then tailor companies around those distant needs.

Many venture capitalists frown on this technique of company crafting, asserting that it mostly results in “me too” companies. Instead, they prefer companies to emerge, almost accidentally, out of a pending problem facing a grad student or engineer.

The think-tank model, however, has had a few successes.

IdeaLab came up with the idea of paid search with Overture, which subsequently was bought by Yahoo.

XL also owns TyraTech, which is creating biopesticides. TyraTech has a contract with Kraft to come up with dairy products for emerging nations that contain medicinal benefits. It is developing an experimental cheese, for instance, that can kill tapeworms.

[Source: Greentech Media]

Would you pay for Gennifer Flowers and Paula Jones' Bill Clinton tales?

What with all the Vanity Fair-inspired buzz about Bill Clinton's rumored (and denied, by the way) sexual involvement with actress Gina Gershon, this was bound to happen.

Gennifer Flowers and Paula Jones, Bill Clinton's past paramours, women, girlfriends - I'm not quite sure what to call them - have launched a website where you can watch them talk about their experiences with the former president.

The ladies have joined forces to set up shop at genniferandpaula.com, where users can view video blogs like, "Gennifer's story and the Presidential [appendage.]"

What, Monica Lewinsky was busy?

According to a joint statement: "Gennifer Flowers and Paula Jones made headline news around the World for their relationship with Bill Clinton. Ms. Flowers having a long term relationship with the President and Ms. Jones having a one-time encounter with Bill Clinton that ended with her filing a sexual harassment filing a sexual harassment lawsuit against him in 1993.

"For the first time in history since the 1992 scandal, two of the 'Clinton Women' … Gennifer Flowers and Paula Jones recently sat down together and had a chat and made comparisons about their experience with Bill Clinton. The two women discuss not only their relationships with Bill but also their opinions on politics, sex with Bill and their perspective opinion of the Presidential penis and how both feel about Hillary Clinton.

"Sit back and relax, ladies and gentlemen and enjoy… Two Chicks Chatting."

Chicks?

But here's the best part: each video costs $1.99 to view. You can use PayPal. I couldn't bring myself to cough up that much money. Maybe you can. If you do watch one of these videos, please let the rest of us know what we're missing.

[Source: LA Times]

Stockton Fire: John McCain might want to consult with his better half about this one.

Thirty single-family homes and 10-20 condominiums were damaged when a wind-whipped grass fire raged out of control around 10:30 a.m. today.

Five of the homes were totally destroyed and eight more were severely damaged in the four-alarm blaze in the Quail Lakes neighborhood, which sits along Interstate 5 just north of March Lane, fire officials said. An eight-unit building inside Sunpointe Condominiums also was destroyed and a separate building seriously damaged

Fire officials are considering arson as a possible cause.

At a hastily arranged press conference near fire scene, Battalion Chief Robert Tuitavuki, serving as a Stockton Fire Department spokesman, said there were three separate fires in the neighborhood all stemming from a single grass fire incident along I-5. All the fires are related, but the investigation is focusing on a single source.

Cpt. Dan Morris, also a Stockton Fire spokesman, said the area is being treated as a potential crime scene. Residents are not being allowed back to their homes and are being redirected to an American Red Cross disaster center inside Quail Lakes Baptist Church, 1904 Quail Lakes Drive.

There have been no injuries to firefighters or, to Tuitavuki’s knowledge, anyone else.

A strong northerly wind hop-scotched the blaze through the dense neighborhood igniting home after home.

Residents and nearby business owners were seen on the streets wetting down fences, walls and the roofs of homes as firefighters struggled to control the blaze.

Other residents could be seen shoving their clothes and belongings in their cars in an attempt to flee the area.

Sean McHugh, 43, a disabled California corrections officer who lives a quarter of a mile from Interstate 5 on Teal Court , saw the billowing smoke as he was preparing to leave his home on errands.

“I zipped over and saw firefighters using chain saws and axes to take out fences,” he said. “I saw three homes on fire.

“I witnessed a family – a mother and boy – using a garden hose and then leaving when firefighters arrived. She escorted her son across street. He was barefoot and carrying his sneakers.

“The whole thing was amazing. Trees were engulfed as if covered in gasoline. I guess it was the pine with all the resin in it. Some of the trees were 20-30 tall and just whoosh, they went up in a second.”

[Source: Recordnet.com]

I Will Veto Every Beer - A slip of the tongue

John McCain might want to consult with his better half about this one.

In repeating his tough-on-spending threat to block pork-barrel spending, he had a little verbal slip today that might catch the ear of his wife Cindy, the wealthy heir to a beer distributorship in Arizona.

"I will use the veto as needed. I will veto every single beer -- er bill -- with earmarks," he said at a small business summit in Washington.

"And every single bill that we have come across my desk I will make them famous," he continued, pulling a pen out of his suit pocket. "I will veto them, you will know their names."

Cindy McCain released a summary of her 2006 taxes last month that showed income of $6 million, including $4.5 million from partnerships, trusts, and rental real estate, and $743,000 in capital gains. The McCains signed a prenuptial agreement and keep their finances separate.

[Source: boston.com]

[Image: Mark Wilson/Getty Images]

Obama Birth Certificate

BARACK OBAMA

A Few Other Possibilities on Barack Obama's Birth Certificate

Already the query about Barack Obama's birth certificate is being declared ipso facto evidence of "xenophobia" by those who see a "racist America." Well, I did grow up in a small town...

Hawaii's State Department of Health explains the policy on releasing vital records here. Unless you're a relative of Obama, your request will be denied.*

A few readers and other bloggers have wondered aloud what information possibly could be on the birth certificate that would make it worth keeping from the public. Beyond yesterday's (mostly unlikely) possibilities — a foreign birth, a different middle name, or a different first name at birth — there are a few others. (I have been unable to determine precisely what information was recorded on a birth certificate in the state of Hawaii in 1961; any reader insight would be appreciated. I would note that what kind of information was on other state's certificates isn't all that helpful.)

Today's standard certificate of live birth, as issued by the CDC, includes a wide variety of information.

Some states include data on the marital status of the mother. As mentioned in the previous post, details on the marriage ceremony and legal paperwork of the marriage of Obama's mother and father are fuzzy. (It is now clear that Obama's father was not legally divorced from his first wife in Africa at the the time.) All things considered, the possibility that his parents weren't married seems like small potatoes in terms of scandals — not much of a reason to vote against Obama — but perhaps Obama's campaign doesn't want to open that door.

Some states record "religion" on the certificate. If Obama's certificate said "none," it's hard to imagine that being a major scandal; Obama has talked about being raised in a home without much influence of organized religion. I suppose if next to where the religion it says "Muslim", it would generate a predictable brouhaha, but it would reveal more about the beliefs of his father at that time than the candidate. It's not like one-day-old Obama filled the form out himself.

(Perhaps the campaign fears opening the "will the Muslim world see him as an apostate?" can of worms again. But it's hard to see how this revelation would be a bigger deal than his attendance of a Muslim school in Indonesia, that he talks about in his book.)

Then there is the strong possibility that the document asked for "race." I encountered this comment in a web site detailing a research effort at the Family Health Services Division at the Hawaii State Department of Health:

Hawaii is a very unique population. Some of this uniqueness is reflected in that the majority of all births in Hawaii can be considered multi-ethnic. The impact of this heterogeneity on outcomes is not known. The Department of Health seeks a graduate student to evaluate the birth certificate file for birth outcomes of Preterm delivery and Low birth-weight with a particular interest in changes depending on classification based on reported child’s race, compared to mother’s race, father’s race, and both the father’s and mother’s race.

It seems likely that the certificate would record baby Obama's race. While Obama's biracial heritage is pretty obvious, is it possible that the certificate records him as only one or the other? Would that be enough of an embarrassment to keep the certificate sealed? Again, one would think that possibility would reflect worse of the doctor/document preparer or (perhaps) Obama's mother, but not much of a serious gripe with the candidate.

The only scenarios that could really be damaging to Obama himself were if he was born overseas (again, pretty darn implausible) or if he legally changed his name sometime in young adulthood. The idea that he was given some other name at birth and chose to rename himself after his father doesn't seem unthinkable, considering his complicated relationship with his father and sense of identity...

[Source: National Review Online]

Activists Preparing Against Use of ‘Brown Note’ at Dem Convention

Riot police fire rubber bullets at protesters outside an FTAA meeting in Miami in 2003 (AP Photo).

Mark Cohen, co-founder of Re-create 68, an alliance of local activists working for the protection of first amendment rights, said he believes this could be deployed at the convention in August to subdue crowds.

“We know this weapon and weapons like it have been used at other large protests before,” he said.

Cohen, who described Brown Note as a “sonic weapon used to disrupt people’s equilibrium,” cited eyewitness accounts of its use during free-trade agreement protests in Miami in 2003.

“I think these weapons were mostly intended for military use and so their use for dealing with innocent protesters seems highly inappropriate,” he said.

“The idea that they might be field testing them on people who are doing nothing more than exercising their first amendment rights is disturbing.” Political activists planning protest rallies at the upcoming Democratic Convention in Denver have their stomachs in knots over a rumor about a crowd control weapon - known as the “crap cannon” - that might be unleashed against them. Also called “Brown Note,” it is believed to be an infrasound frequency that debilitates a person by making them defecate involuntarily.

His group is preparing against a possible attack by Brown Note and other crowd-control measures by dispatching street medics at the convention trained in treating injuries in demonstration situations.

“It’s all we can do,” Cohen said.

So is the Brown Note a real threat?

Dr. Roger Schwenke - an expert acoustician who appeared on the Discovery Channel’s “Mythbusters” in 2004 to test the phenomenon - told FOXNews.com there is no scientific evidence that proves such frequencies cause involuntary defecation.

“When we conducted the low frequency experiment for the Brown Note episode of MythBusters, we tested a variety of low frequencies and no involuntary gastro-intestinal motility was caused,” he said.

But Schwenke acknowledged the low-frequency exposure did cause an adverse effect. Several people — including himself — reported “abdominal discomfort,” he said, “which was easily alleviated by moving a moderate distance away from the source.”

Adding to the Brown Note rumor is a refusal by Denver’s Mayor John W. Hickenlooper to release details of what was purchased with $18 million of a $50 million federal grant the city received to pay for convention security, despite a lawsuit filed by ACLU.

Cohen’s group is calling on the administration to disclose what measures will be taken.

In a statement released to FOXNews.com, city spokeswoman Sue Cobb said, “commenting on specific security preparations is not helpful to ensuring their effectiveness. I can say, however, that all of our security-related purchases for the Democratic National Convention will comply with federal and City requirements. We are working closely with the U.S. Department of Justice to ensure that the $50 million federal security grant is spent on personnel and equipment in the manner required by the grant.”

Denver’s police Department wouldn’t comment on the tactics that will be used during the convention, but a spokesman said that “we do support and encourage people to express their views safely and in a manner that respects the rights of others along with the laws and ordinances of our city.”

But Glenn Spangnuolo, also with Re-create 68, isn’t taking any chances. He said he has no doubt that Brown Note exists, and is preparing his group for confrontation. “Whether it causes someone to defecate in their pants or not, I don’t know that,” said Spagnuolo. “What I do know is that it causes a person to be disoriented and lose their equilibrium resulting in a nauseous feeling in their stomach.”

More troubling to Spagnuolo is the “Active Denial System” or “ADS,” a ray gun used to send high levels of microwave frequencies that cause a burning sensation the skin.

He described ADS as an “indiscriminate weapon” and said “there’s no long-term testing on what happens to the body when exposed to those kinds of microwave frequencies.”

Spagnuolo believes that Raytheon, the company that manufactures the weapon, is planning to test a limited-range civilian version on protesters in Denver before approving its use in places like Iraq.

Spagnuolo said he believes tactics like these are excessive. “I think spending millions of dollars on weapon technologies to be used on people in our community is completely wrong,” he said.

[Source: foxnews.com]

Sudan Airways: '100 killed' as plane explodes

Sudanese state television says that around 100 people were killed when a plane exploded into fire after landing at Khartoum's international airport.

There was no further official information on the accident, but about 200 passengers were thought to be aboard the plane when it landed in bad weather and a higher casualty toll was feared.

A reporter at the scene said the plane apparently veered off a runway as it landed, and then burst into flames.

Ambulances and fire trucks were seen rushing to the scene after the accident.

The head of Sudanese police, Mohammad Najib, said bad weather "caused the plane to crash-land, split into two and catch fire."

Mr Najib said the plane was flying from Amman after first taking off from Damascus, in Syria.

Al-Jazeera TV station said it was a Sudanese Airways passenger jet, and Mr Najib confirmed the plane is from a Sudanese airline.

[Source: The Press Association]

Rep Shoots Down Paul Newman Cancer Reports

AP Photo/Jim Cooper

Paul Newman is not at death's door, thank you very much.

The Hollywood icon's agent, Toni Howard, tells E! News a slew of gossip reports claiming Newman was terminally ill with lung cancer are "not true."

The reports began in earnest late last month, when Newman backed out as director of Our Town at the playhouse in his hometown of Westport, Conn., citing an unspecified illness.

Several tabloids pounced on the news as evidence of a dire condition. Subsequent photos of a seemingly gaunt-looking Newman at a recent charity event, posted last Friday on Martha Stewart's blog, has added fuel to the speculation, which was even picked up by the Los Angeles Times' gossip blog.

The 83-year-old Oscar winner announced last year that he was ending his acting career after 50 years.

[Source: E!Online.com]

PATH train service suspended between New York and New Jersey

Some PATH train service between New York and New Jersey has been suspended after a fire on the tracks in Lower Manhattan. There are no PATH trains running between 33rd street and Hoboken or 33rd street and Journal Square.

A fire on the tracks between Christopher Street and 9th Avenue has caused service to be disrupted. There was also a suspension in service between Hoboken and the World Trade Center earlier today, but that service has been restored.

For service to New Jersey, customers are encouraged to use the World Trade Center station or take advantage of bus service offered from Port Authority.

For more information, check out the PATH website at www.paalerts.com.

[Source: The Socialite Report]

Wii Fit underwear girl is YouTube sensation

Footage of an attractive young woman gyrating in her underwear to Nintendo's Wii Fit video game has become a YouTube sensation.

The clip, which was filmed by the woman’s boyfriend and posted on the internet without her knowledge, has been viewed two million times.

Titled "Why every guy should buy their girlfriend a Wii Fit", it shows 25-year-old Lauren Bernat doing increasingly fast hula hoop motions dressed only in her pants and a T-shirt.

The Wii Fit, which went on sale in Britain in April, is on course to be the biggest selling fitness device in history.

More than 300,000 copies of the game were sold in its first two weeks on the shelves alone.

The game allows Nintendo Wii owners to do a range of exercises and stretches - including slalom skiing and hula hooping - under the guidance of on on-screen fitness expert.

Giovanny Gutierrez, 30, who filmed the footage of his girlfriend Miss Bernat in their Florida home, said that she had now forgiven him for posting in on the internet.

"She was furious when she found out. She called me on the phone screaming her head off and then hung up on me," he said.

"But she now finds herself laughing about it and enjoying her 15 minutes of fame as the Wii Fit girl. It's just crazy how it's blown up."

[Source: Telegraph.co.uk]

NASCAR Hit With Racism, Sexism Claims | Mauricia Grant|

Fired black worker files scathing $225 million discrimination lawsuit

In a blistering lawsuit charging racial and sexual harassment, a former NASCAR official alleges that she was fired last year after complaining about "virulently racist harassment, a racially hostile work environment and insidious and pervasive race discrimination reflective of a former, uglier era in our nation's history."

Mauricia Grant, who worked as a "technical inspector" on NASCAR's second-tier Nationwide Series, alleges that she was called a series of degrading names (such as "Nappy Headed Mo," "Queen Sheba," and "Simpleton") and subjected to racist stereotypes, such as being told she worked "on Colored People Time" if she arrived late.

An excerpt of Grant's 40-page lawsuit, filed today in U.S. District Court in New York, can be found below. For more than 20 pages, Grant's $225 million lawsuit details allegedly obscene e-mails, text messages, and racist and sexist comments directed at her. Grant, pictured at right, was NASCAR's only black female official when she was hired in January 2005.

Grant, who earned about $30,000 and traveled to tracks nationwide, was responsible for examining racecars to ensure their compliance with NASCAR rules. Grant contends that she has suffered "severe emotional distress, including depression, anxiety, nightmares, sleep disturbance, crying jags, and physical injury" as a result of the harassment directed at her by NASCAR co-workers and supervisors. (24 pages)

[Source: The Smoking Gun]

Queen Latifah to Marry Longterm Partner | Jeannette Jenkins

After the state of California overturned a ban on gay marriages, many expected a rash of same-sex marriages to be scheduled in the state. On the celeb side of things, it seems that Queen Latifah will be amongst the first big stars to marry her longterm partner.

According to this week's edition of the National Enquirer, Queen Latifah plans to marry her partner of five years, personal trainer Jeannette Jenkins.

Queen Latifah has been very tight-lipped about her relationship with Jenkins, and told Ebony magazine in 2007 that she would not comment on the rumor that Jenkins was her girlfriend. She didn't deny it, she was just annoyed that she was asked.

“No comment on that at all. I’m done commenting on all that … It’s ridiculous, I know me and that’s all I need to know.

“And if the readers don’t know me, then that’s one part they aren’t going to get to know. Those are my people but they don’t sleep with me,” she says in a very even tone that is very consistent with her relaxed mood. “It feels so invasive. It’s the one thing I don’t think people need to know about.”

And then even before that, in 2006, she told Essence magazine:

“If I’m not going to tell you what guy I’m dating, I sure wouldn’t tell you I’m dating a girl.”

Neither Queen Latifah nor her partner have ever officially come out. Queen Latifah has, however, given her special friend attention and treatment that suggests they're more than just good friends. Last year she bought Jeannette a Range Rover, and had it delivered to a restaurant to surprise her.

According to the National Enquirer, the couple are "planning an intimate ceremony with close famiy and friends." They are also reportedly interested in adopting an American baby.

[Source: Cleveland Leader]

GOP senators spike windfall profits tax on Big Oil

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Senate Republicans on Tuesday blocked a Democratic initiative that would have taxed the windfall profits oil companies have enjoyed due to rising energy prices, with the minority leader calling the proposal a "gimmick."

Record energy prices have led to record profits for oil companies.

The measure failed to achieve the 60 votes required by Senate rules to proceed. The vote was 51-43.

Six Republicans, including three seeking re-election in November, broke ranks to support the bill.

Two Democrats -- Sen. Mary Landrieu of oil-producing state Louisiana and Majority Leader Harry Reid, who voted no to be able to bring the measure back to the floor under Senate rules -- voted against the measure.

Along with placing a special tax of 25 percent on oil companies, the bill would have permitted lawsuits against the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, the oil-producing cartel, and suspended deposits into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

Profits from renewable energy sources would be excluded from the tax.

"We're not afraid, on this side, to go after Big Oil when they are not doing the right thing," said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-New York. "And we are not afraid to go after OPEC because they are a cartel that squeezes us.

"We're not afraid to do some strong tough things that will -- some in the short run, some in the longer run -- that will bring down the price, the all too high price, of gasoline."

Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-North Dakota, said the measure was needed to "wring out" speculators he blamed for driving the price of crude oil to more than $130 a barrel in recent weeks

But Senate Republicans insisted the new taxes ultimately would hurt consumers and cut American oil supply, saying Democrats simply were playing election-year politics.

The bill is "pure and simple a pathetic attempt to even call itself an energy plan," said Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said, "Hitting the gas companies might make for good campaign literature or evening news clips, but it won't address the problem. This bill isn't a serious response to gas prices. It is just a gimmick."

The Kentucky Republican added, "They are hoping the idea of going after energy companies will create the illusion of action after a week in which they themselves fought for a bill that would make the problem worse. What a political charade."

As the average cost of gas edged above $4 a gallon, high prices are definitely on the minds of voters.

A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll released Tuesday shows 40 percent of respondents are more concerned about the cost of gasoline than long lines at the pump, which occurred during the energy crisis of the 1970s.

But 55 percent of those surveyed are more worried about the long lines and rationing.

The poll results reflect telephone interviews with 1,035 adults on Wednesday and Thursday. The margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.

[Source: CNN]

Judge to 50: Hang On To That Hizzouse!

A judge has just told 50 Cent he can't sell, unload or otherwise get rid of what used to be his $2 million crib in Long Island -- not until they figure out what caused the fire.

The rapper has also been ordered to put any insurance money he gets from the toasted house in a trust account until his fight with ex-GF Shaniqua Tompkins is resolved.

When we caught up with her after the hearing, baby mama Tompkins maintained that the house was still hers, but didn't go so far as to blame Fiddy for the fire.

[Source: TMZ]

US and EU issue new Iran warning

The EU and the US have threatened Iran with further sanctions unless it verifiably suspends nuclear enrichment.

The measures were announced after US President George W Bush held talks in Slovenia, during what is expected to be his last official tour of Europe.

The "additional measures" would include "steps to ensure Iranian banks cannot... support proliferation and terrorism", said a joint statement.

Mr Bush said a nuclear-armed Iran would be "incredibly dangerous" to peace.

"They can either face isolation or they can have a better relationship with all of us if they verifiably suspend their nuclear enrichment programme," he said.

"They've ignored the [International Atomic Energy Agency] in the past and therefore they can't be trusted with enrichment."

The US president was speaking during a joint news conference with Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso after the leaders' summit at Brdo Castle.

Mr Bush has now arrived in the German capital, Berlin, and is later due to travel to Italy, France, the Vatican and the UK.

Travel bans

The 5,000-word statement urged Tehran not to continue defying a demand from the UN Security Council to stop the enrichment of uranium as part of its nuclear programme.

"We will fully and effectively implement" the existing UN sanctions "and we are ready to supplement those sanctions with additional measures," said the statement.

"We will continue to work together... to take steps to ensure Iranian banks cannot abuse the international banking system to support proliferation and terrorism."

The UN Security Council has approved three rounds of sanctions against Iran. These include asset restrictions and travel bans on Iranian individuals and companies said to be involved in nuclear work.

The sanctions also ban the sale to Iran of so-called dual-use items, which can have either a military or civilian purpose.

Other subjects discussed at the talks included:

• a global agreement on climate change, which Mr Bush said could be reached before the end of his presidency in 2009
• a call for urgent progress in talks for a world trade deal which Mr Barroso said would be good for developing countries
• the crisis in Zimbabwe - the leaders urged the UN to send monitors to the country to check on its human rights situation ahead of the 27 June presidential run-off

End business involvement

Correspondents say Washington is now attempting to apply pressure on individual European businesses to take a harder line on Iran.

Now's the time for there to be strong diplomacy George W Bush on Iran Bush bids farewell Q&A: Iran and the nuclear issue

Barclays Bank, based in the UK, has already responded to such pressure and ended all dealings with Iran's Saderat Bank and Bank Melli, which are on the US list of Specially Designated Nationals.

All US businesses trading with anyone on the SDN list must block their accounts immediately and end any business involvement.

Tehran meanwhile has told Iranian banks to transfer assets and investments from European banks to Iran's central bank.

Observers say the move is not only to escape economic sanctions, but also part of a wider government plan to create a huge pan-Iranian bank run on Islamic principles.

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana will go to Iran on Sunday with a "refreshed" offer of economic and political incentives.

"Now's the time for there to be strong diplomacy," said Mr Bush during the joint press conference.

[Source: BBC News UK]

Plane bursts into flames in Sudan; 100 feared dead

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) -- A jetliner veered off a runway late Tuesday amid thunderstorms and burst into flames, killing about 100 people, Sudanese television reported.

An Associated Press reporter at the scene said the plane arriving from Amman, Jordan apparently left the runway as it landed in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan.

The head of Sudanese police, Mohammad Najib, said bad weather "caused the plane to crash land, split into two and catch fire."

"We believe that most of the passengers were able to make it out and escape with their lives," said Najib, without disclosing further details on how they escaped.

But he stressed that officials could not say for sure how many were killed.

Al-Jazeera television station said it was a Sudan Airways passenger jet, and Najib confirmed the plane was from a Sudanese airline.

Spokesmen for the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board in Washington could not immediately provide any details of the incident on Tuesday afternoon, but said they were continuing to monitor the situation.

Sudan has a poor aviation safety record. In May, a plane crash in a remote area of southern Sudan killed 24 people, including key members of the southern Sudanese government.

In July 2003, a Sudan Airways Boeing 737 en route from Port Sudan to Khartoum crashed soon after takeoff, killing all 115 people on board.

After that crash, Sudanese officials blamed sanctions for restricting vital aircraft parts. The U.S. State Department said there was no ban on equipment needed for aviation safety.

In 1997, then President Clinton issued an executive order barring the export of goods and technology to Sudan because of the country's "support for international terrorism, ongoing efforts to destabilize neighboring governments, and the prevalence of human rights violations."

[Source: Associated Press]

Chicago Bulls hire Vinny Del Negro as new head coach

The Bulls have offered their head coaching job to Vinny Del Negro, which the Suns' assistant general manager is prepared to accept, sources said Monday.

A deal still needs to be finalized, but a news conference officially announcing Del Negro as the 17th coach in franchise history is expected this week.

Del Negro, who has no previous coaching experience, first interviewed for the job on Thursday and quickly shot ahead of Kings assistant Chuck Person and former Minnesota coach Dwane Casey.

Those two candidates had second interviews with Bulls management, including team Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf, last week. When Doug Collins withdrew from consideration for the job on Friday, signs started pointing to Del Negro.

His hiring ended a 52-day search that began with Jim Boylan's firing on April 17 and featured interviews with 13 known candidates, including high-profile dalliances with Mike D'Antoni and Collins.

D'Antoni spurned the Bulls for the Knicks on May 10. Collins surprisingly changed his mind about not wanting to coach and contacted the Bulls on May 23, appeared to have the job and ultimately changed his mind again on Friday.

Del Negro, 41, played for five teams over an 11-year NBA career after Sacramento made him an early second-round pick in 1988. The point guard averaged 9.1 points and 3.2 assists in 771 career games.

Del Negro, who played collegiately for Jim Valvano at North Carolina State, also spent parts of three seasons playing professionally in Italy.

After a two-game stint for Phoenix in 2001-02, Del Negro later became the Suns' radio analyst before being promoted to director of player personnel in 2006. A year later, Del Negro assumed his current position, where he handled scouting for Suns general manager Steve Kerr.

Del Negro was born in the birthplace of basketball, Springfield, Mass. His father, Vince, played basketball at Kentucky for the legendary Adolph Rupp.

Little is known about his basketball philosophy since he never has coached before. Del Negro interviewed for the Suns' coaching job that Terry Porter landed on Saturday, but failed to make Kerr's list of four finalists.

[Source: Chicago Sports]

Official Apple 3G iPhone Release Date: Steve Jobs says July 11th

The official date for the Apple 3G iPhone will be July 11th 2008 for 22 biggest markers and the UK is included in that list, at the moment there is no word on the prices for the UK iPhone 3G but we will keep you posted.

So with the confirmed date of July 11th and with the US price of $299 for the 16GB and $199 for the 8GB iPhone 3G we can see happy days looming closer. I will definitely be trading my iPhone I have now for this new one. We have been checking O2 and The Carphone Warehouse sites for confirmation on prices for the UK and have found that they have not updated yet, but we will let you know. It is however apparently going to be free for trade in with O2 customers if you are already on a contract, we will confirm this as soon as we know.

Just a little recap, this new iPhone will come in either black or white, we are going to give you the official pictures and official specs as soon as we can, you would have guessed we have been busy little bees today so please bare with us. The new design is also a lot sleeker with thinner edges, plus with a flush earphone plug and a full plastic black back. You know you will be upgrading, if you do not then please let us counsel you. LOL

[Source: Phones Review]

Apple launches Web 2.0 infrastructure: MobileMe

Posted by Rafe Needleman

The iPhone's new MobileMe.

(Credit: James Martin/CNET News.com)

At the WWDC on Monday, Apple announced the next evolution of its .Mac service, MobileMe. A cloud storage solution that handles e-mail, calendar items, contacts, photos, and other documents, it will arguably compete with Microsoft's Live Mesh, as well as several other data synchronization start-ups like SugarSync (download).

MobileMe will replace Apple's consumer Web site service, .Mac, and adds to that service additional storage (.Mac's 10GB gos to MobileMe's 20GB), plus support for the new iPhone and for Windows PCs.

The big pitch for the new service is its synchronization capabilities. E-mail to your MobileMe account will be pushed to your phone. Photos you take on your phone can be automatically uploaded to your Web-based MobileMe account and shared with your friends.

The concept is that the iPhone becomes just one way to view your data and your community. If you're in front of a full-screen Web browser or sitting at your Mac or Windows desktop, you might prefer to use one of those larger interfaces instead, but with MobileMe, everything you do will be updated to your iPhone immediately.

The service is being pitched as "Exchange for the rest of us," referencing Microsoft's corporate e-mail solution that offers excellent shared calendar features and e-mail and contact sync across devices and the Web. These are features everyone deserves, and Microsoft has been late, to say the least, at offering this kind of service to consumers.

There's no indication that MobileMe will be open to developers, although we assume not. It was launched at Apple's developers' conference and if it were open we would have heard it there.

Apple's current .Mac accounts will upgraded to MobileMe automatically when the service becomes available in July. A 60-day free trial will be available. The service will cost $99 a year after that from Apple. It looks like you can sign up for .Mac on Amazon.com right now for $69, though, and get the auto-upgrade in a month. Might be worth a shot if you want to save $30.

[Source: www.download.com]