The Obama administration is considering a probe into the legality and fairness of college football’s Bowl Championship Series (BCS). Sen. Orrin Hatch, R – Utah, has complained to the government that, “The current system runs counter to basic fairness that every family tries to instill in their children from the day they are born.... »
Derek Dooley, the new University of Tennessee football head coach, has hired Harry Hiestand as his offensive line coach. Hiestand, 51, spent the last five seasons coaching the Chicago Bears, where he helped the NFL franchise to its first Super Bowl appearance in 21 years. Prior to that, Hiestand coached 17 seasons at four different... »
A series of recent controversies — capped by Friday’s decision to pull a key 9/11 trial out of Manhattan — is prompting Republicans to turn up the pressure on President Barack Obama, by resurrecting the kind of “soft on terrorism” charge that has dogged Democrats in the past. Obama largely escaped any controversy over... »
President Barack Obama chided the GOP during a public question-and-answer session with Republican members of the House of Representatives at their annual policy retreat in Baltimore on Friday. The president was invited to speak at the conference, and in an unprecedented move, cameras and reporters were allowed to attend. More confrontational than conciliatory, the... »
In a story that emphasizes the true spirit of philanthropic giving, Bill and Melinda Gates announced plans Friday to invest $10 billion in the fight against a number of illnesses including AIDS. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, they said the 10-year program will focus on vaccines for AIDS, tuberculosis,... »
Enter the iPad! It’s only half an inch thick, weighs 1/2 pounds, and with its aluminum back, it even feels great. Turn it on and you have an incredibly vivid 9.7-inch display protected by a glass touch-screen ready for the ultimate in user-friendly selections of books, newspapers, Web sites and videos. If it resembles... »
She is amazing her doctors, the 16-year-old choir girl who came close to dying but wouldn’t in the crumbled concrete graveyard of Port-au-Prince. More than two weeks after the earthquake brought down her school — and a day after she was lifted from the ruins — Darlene Etienne was eating yogurt, talking and regaining... »
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito didn’t like hearing President Barack Obama publicly criticize the high court’s ruling removing corporate campaign spending limits — and he didn’t try to hide it. Alito made a dismissive face, shook his head repeatedly and appeared to mouth the words “not true” or possibly “simply not true” when Obama... »
Near the end of his State of the Union speech, President Obama called for repeal of the 1993 “don’t ask, don’t tell” law for the military. ”This year, I will work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because... »
If the Pennsylvania Senate race were held today, former Republican Rep. Pat Toomey would lead Democratic Sen. Arlen Specter by 14 points among decided voters. Fox News reports that a Franklin and Marshall College survey released on Wednesday shows 45 percent of likely voters support Toomey, while 31 percent support Specter and another 20... »
On a 9-3 vote, the Los Angeles City Council approved an ordinance on Tuesday that will shut down hundreds of medical marijuana dispensaries in the city. The statute caps the number of licensed dispensaries to 70, down from the 1,000 operating under a 1996 California law that decriminalized cannabis for medical use. According to... »
Botox is immediately recognized as the trade name for a faddish treatment for wrinkles that begin to appear with natural ageing. It has also been used with relative safety for years as a treatment to cure migraine headaches and facial tics. According to a report released by The Washington Post, eight companies worldwide are licensed to... »
As police began investigating whether cyber bullying was to blame for the suicide last week of 15-year-old Phoebe Prince, who recently emigrated from Ireland; disparaging remarks were posted by classmates to a Facebook page created in her memory. Prince died on January 14 after being picked on and taunted since moving to Massachusetts last fall, according... »
Toyota Motor Corp is suspending sales of eight models that were recalled last week for potentially faulty accelerator pedals. The company also plans to halt production at plants in Indiana, Texas and Kentucky in the United States and in Ontario, Canada starting the first week of February. Last week Toyota announced the recall of... »
Police in Branchburg, New Jersey, responding to a report of a suspicious person, have arrested Lloyd R. Woodson, 43, of Reston, Va. after he attempted to flee police questioning. Fox News reports that Woodson is being held at the Somerset County Jail on numerous charges, including unlawful possession of weapons, possession of prohibited weapons,... »
Focus on the Family has paid CBS $2.5 million for a 30-second Super Bowl commercial which will feature Tim and Pam Tebow. The background for the ad involves the time when Pam, pregnant with Tim, contracted a serious disease while on a mission trip in the Philippines. She was urged by doctors to have an... »
Ali Hassan al-Majid, better known as “Chemical Ali” has been executed by hanging in Iraq. Majid, who has been sentenced to death four times for genocide and crimes against humanity, was sentenced earlier this month for for ordering the gas attack on the Kurdish town of Halabja in 1988. Iraqi jets sprayed the town... »
Paraguay soccer player Salvador Cabanas was shot in the head after a fight broke out in a bar in Mexico City. The 29-year-old footballer was at the bar with family and friends when he was attacked in the bathroom. “He was shot in the head,” prosecutor Miguel Angel Mancera, told the news channel Televisa.... »
The scientist behind the bogus claim in a Nobel Prize-winning UN report that Himalayan glaciers will have melted by 2035 last night admitted it was included purely to put political pressure on world leaders, reports the Daily Mail. Dr. Murari Lal also said he was well aware the statement, in the 2007 report by... »
Once again, Chinese authorities have discovered the presence of melamine in dairy products. This time, three companies were identified as having added the chemical which is primarily intended for use in the manufacture of plastics and fertilizer. Melamine’s high nitrogen content allows protein levels to appear higher when it is added to milk or... »
On January 19, President Obama addressed a 6th grade class at at Graham Road Elementary School in Falls Church, Va. and to help with that daunting task, he brought along his best friend – Mr. Teleprompter! That’s right, the president of the United States needed a teleprompter to address a group of 12-year-olds. God help... »
The attacks on Google by Chinese hackers have dominated the cyber-news recently. A closer look, however, reveals that at least 20 other major U.S. corporations are targets of the cyber-spies. “This is not a Google story,” said Peter Navarro, author of “The Coming China Wars.” “It is a story about industrial espionage, coming from... »
A tape said to be from al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden has warned US President Barack Obama there will be more attacks if the US continues to support Israel. The new audio tape aired on al-Jazeera, purported to be from Osama Bin Laden, says the US will never live in peace until there is “peace... »
Justin Timberlake and his former “Mickey Mouse Club” castmate Matt Morris performed Leonard Cohen’s 1984 track “Hallelujah” on the Hope for Haiti Now telethon on January 22. The Timberlake-Morris duet was a new take on a song that has been covered by a variety of musicians. Their obvious emotion and beautiful harmonies made the performance one of... »
Abigail Sunderland of Thousand Oaks, California set sail today at 11:30am from Del Rey Yacht Club in an attempt to make history as the youngest person to circumnavigate the world alone. And, adding to the challenge, she plans to accomplish this without taking refuge on land even once. Abby set out on her 6 month voyage in... »
Venus Williams got a little cheeky Saturday at the Australian Open. At first glance it appeared the women’s tennis superstar had ‘gone commando,’ however, closer inspection revealed not a bare behind but flesh-colored underwear. The 29-year-old attracted plenty of wolf-whistles for the risque outfit, which Williams revealed she designed. The eye-catching bright yellow dress also... »
24-year-old Wismond Jean-Pierre rescued after 11 days trapped in rubble CNN reports that French rescue workers pulled a 24-year-old survivor from the rubble of a hotel in Haiti on Saturday, 11 days after an earthquake devastated much of the country. Wismond Jean-Pierre, who had no visible injuries but was severely dehydrated, was immediately loaded into... »
Hollywood power couple, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, are calling it quits – according to the Daily Mail. After months of speculation that Brangelina’s five-year relationship is on the rocks, Pitt and Jolie have allegedly signed a separation agreement. Preparations for the split began in December when they met with a Los Angeles divorce firm to negotiate the division... »
Scott Brown’s impressive upset victory in Massachusetts may well be the first of several U.S. Senate seats to fall to the Republicans this year. Although the GOP is not expected to regain Senate majority status, there are six seats currently held by Democrats that look promising for Republicans. The Christian Science Monitor listed the... »
Fugitive film director Roman Polanski must return to the United States to be sentenced for having sex with a 13-year-old girl in 1977. Reuters reports that Judge Peter Espinoza rejected a request by Polanski to be sentenced in his absence, and instead said the Oscar-winning director must return to California. “I choose to insist... »
