Three American hikers are believed to be in Iranian custody after they may have strayed across the border from Iraq. According to a report from CNN, the three had been visiting Ahmed Awa, a popular tourist destination in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region. An official in Iraq’s border guards alerted them that they were... »
Disappointing thousands of loyal fans, two-time Olympic medalist, Michelle Kwan has decided not to compete in the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games, ending her career on the ice without a gold medal. Instead, she has chosen to pursue a master’s degree at Tufts University. As reported In the Los Angeles Times, she announced today that... »
According to a story just released by CNN, a source with knowledge of the investigation has revealed that Florida State Attorney Bill Eddins’s office believes there were two motives in the home invasion and murder of Florida couple Byrd and Melanie Billings — robbery and a contracted hit. The couple were shot dead in... »
The New York Times reports that the House has voted $2 billion to extend the “cash for clunkers” program. President Obama praised the legislators for moving quickly. “We’re already seeing a dramatic increase in showroom traffic,” he said, adding that the program helps to reduce air pollution while helping car buyers. So, the... »
Overall progress for President Barack Obama’s top policy goal of health care reform has slowed ahead of the House and Senate August recess. As reported by Reuters, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman’s panel is the last of three House committees to vote on healthcare reform. “We’ve agreed that we need to... »
Search warrants carried out at properties of Michael Jackson’s doctor suggest that investigators believe the singer was a drug addict. CNN reported the following: The warrants, signed by District Judge Timothy Williams and given to CNN by Las Vegas affiliate KTNV, say “there is probable cause to believe” that searches would uncover evidence... »
In an interview with the Web site NewsOne, Michael Jackson’s father, Joe, admitted that Michael had another son, a 25-year-old Norwegian performer, Omer Bhatti. “Yes, I knew he had another son. Yes, I did,” Joe Jackson said. “He looks like a Jackson, he acts like a Jackson, he can dance like a Jackson. This... »
So much of the $1 billion that Congress appropriated for the “cash for clunkers” program has been used toward new car sales that the system has started to run out of cash. According to the New York Times, the Transportation Department notified auto dealers Thursday night to stop offering the rebates. The White House,... »
It remains to be seen if the “beer summit” put an end to all of the racial tension that has surrounded the Gates arrest but one thing is certain, it was a picturesque place to sip some cold brew. With frosty mugs of their preferred beers, President Obama, VP Joe Biden, Harvard Professor ... »
Reuters reported today that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ratcheted up her criticism of big insurance companies. She accused them of unethical behavior and working to undermine a new government-run health plan. “It’s almost immoral what they are doing,” Pelosi said to reporters, referring to insurance companies. “Of course they’ve been immoral all along in... »
TMZ has a recording of an Erin Andrews 911 call to police complaining of “suspicious people” lurking around her Georgia home. Obviously filled with disgust and anxiety over the recent “peep hole” event, she peppered the call with 4-letter expletives. Apparently the police discovered that the “suspicious people” were news people looking for an... »
Reuters reports that Iranian police disbursed and arrested mourners who gathered at a Tehran cemetery. The purpose of the event was to commemorate victims of the unrest that followed the country’s disputed June presidential election. Mirhossein Mousavi, who was defeated in the recent election was forced by authorities to leave the cemetery. Mousavi and... »
The “Birth Place of Country Music” was entertained yesterday by a visitor that has, some say, a rock star’s popularity. Employees at a Bristol Virginia grocery store heard refrains from, by what has become, some rather familiar tunes. This Bristol Herald Courier’s lead paragraph about the president’s visit in Thursday’s newspaper read: “President Barack Obama made his case for health care reform... »
Natalie Smith, who attended a Jessica Simpson concert with Tony Romo in February, is reportedly involved in an “intimate relationship” with the Dallas Cowboys quarterback. Romo, 29, and Smith, 22, “are are not officially dating, but they are having an intimate relationship,” a Smith source tells Us. Adds another pal of Smith, who typically... »
In an incredible experiment that has shown miraculous results, European scientists have actually used mosquitoes as flying needles to deliver a “vaccine” of live malaria parasites through their bites. According to USA Today, The results were astounding: Everyone in the vaccine group acquired immunity to malaria; everyone in a non-vaccinated comparison group did not,... »
The New York Times reports that protestors in Iran’s prisons have suffered severe abuse and deadly violence. Some of those released claim that they watched fellow detainees being beaten to death by guards in overcrowded, stinking holding pens. Others say they had their fingernails ripped off or were forced to lick filthy toilet bowls. Several bruised... »
Dr. Conrad Murray turns out to be an interesting study. He first met Michael Jackson in Las Vegas in 2006 when he treated one of Jackson’s children at the recommendation of one of Jackson’s bodyguards. According to CNN, Murray was hired at Jackson’s specific request, by promoter AEG, to care for the pop star... »
New York City, faced with annual homeless sheltering costs of $36,000 per family, has come up with a solution: buy each homeless family one-way tickets out of the city. It only requires a relative elsewhere to agree to take the family in. The story outlined in today’s New York Times indicates that the city... »
Details of a long-rumored Microsoft-Yahoo alliance were just released by MSNBC. Both companies have decided. that together they stand a better chance of mounting a meaningful challenge to Google Inc.’s dominance of online advertising. The following is from the MSNBC report: Microsoft is counting on Yahoo’s search engine, which ranks No. 2 with a... »
During a press conference at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo, on Wednesday, Rebiya Kadeer, head of the pro-independence World Uyghur Congress, sought international support to urge Beijing to give full accounting of the deadly riots in its far west. Kadeer is an exiled Uighur activist whose visit to Japan has already drawn... »
Grammy Award- winning singer Beyonce Knowles and General Mills have teamed up with Feeding America to launch a new program that will benefit poverty stricken families across America. The campaign called Show Your Helping Hand will deliver 3.5 million meals across America to local food banks and runs in conjunction with Beyonce’s U.S. “I AM…” Tour. According to... »
The Police have searched the home of Michael Jackson’s Doctor, Conrad Murray, in connection with the manslaughter investigation into the singer’s death. They were looking for documents but would not specify what kind. Murray’s office, from which several items were removed, was searched by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) on July, 22. DEA Assistant... »
According to the New York Times, texting raises vehicular crash risks by large margin. The new study, which entailed outfitting the cabs of long-haul trucks with video cameras over 18 months, found that when the drivers texted, their collision risk was 23 times greater than when not texting. The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, which compiled... »
According to Fox News, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger made additional cuts to child welfare programs, medical care for the poor and AIDS prevention efforts Tuesday as he signed an $85 billion compromise spending plan that he called “the good, the bad and the ugly.” Using his line-item veto, Schwarzenegger saved an additional $656 million that... »
ABC News reported Tuesday that pathologists discovered a deadly cocktail of prescription drugs in Michael Jackson’s emaciated body, that included the powerful painkillers OxyContin and Demerol. The revelation came after reports circulated that police believe Jackson’s personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, gave the superstar the dose of an anesthetic — Propofol, which is marketed under... »
MSNBC just announced that the Senate Judiciary Committee has voted 13-6 in favor of Sonia Sotomayor, President Barack Obama‘s pick to replace retiring Justice David Souter on the Supreme Court. Just one Republican, Lindsey Graham, joined panel Democrats in voting for Sotomayor. »
Fox News reports that State officials in Hawaii on Monday said they have once again checked and confirmed that President Barack Obama was born in Hawaii and is a natural-born American citizen, and therefore meets a key constitutional requirement for being president. This is hoped to slow down, if not stop, the recent surge... »
In a rare display of objectivity, the following from today’s New York Times is almost astonishing: If the three Democrats and three Republicans (members of the Senate Finance Committee) can pull off a grand bargain, it will have to be more conservative than the measures proposed by the House or the left-leaning Senate... »
Although not subjected to the rigorous training, makeup, costumes, and strict discipline required of a traditional Geisha, a line of work, called hostessing, is among the most lucrative and popular jobs available to Japanese women today. According to the New York Times, the women who pour drinks in Japan’s sleek gentlemen’s clubs were once shunned... »
The AP, as covered in Yahoo News, reported today that the official who handled their loans insists that, despite their denials, influential Democratic Senators, Kent Conrad and Chris Dodd were told from the start they were getting VIP mortgage discounts from one of the nation’s largest lenders, The article went own to claim that... »
