In the Center of Reflection

from NASA

The dust is so thick in the center of NGC 1333 that you can hardly see the stars forming. Conversely, the very dust clouds that hide the stars also reflects their optical light, giving it a predominantly blue glow the general designation of a reflection nebua. Visible near the image top are vast blue regions of dust predominantly reflecting the light from bright massive stars. Visible in the thick central dust are not only newly formed stars but red jets and red-glowing gas energized by the light and winds from recently formed young stars. The nebula contains hundreds of newly formed stars that are less than one million years old. It lies about 1,000 light years away, toward the constellation of Perseus.

Text Messaging Bans Becoming Popular

from KOMO Seattle TV 4

Hang up or pay up: Using your hands to talk on the phone or tap out a text message while behind the wheel of a car will be illegal next year, in Washington State. Gov. Chris Gregoire signed measures into law, flanked by children who suffered serious injuries after being hit by distracted drivers. Under the new laws, drivers who read and compose text messages or talk on a cell phone without a hands-free device could face a $101 ticket.

The text-messaging ban takes effect in Washington, on Jan. 1; the cell-phone law will be enforced starting in July 2008. Drivers are exempt in some situations, including emergencies, and neither offense will be enough to get a driver pulled over by the police.

from WCAU Greater Phila. TV 10

New Jersey legislators pushed forward a plan to make it illegal to text message while driving.
The Assembly Consumer Affairs Committee voted unanimously to release the proposal after several legislators admitted frequently firing off text messages while behind the wheel, even though they know doing so is dangerous.

The proposed bill would fine drivers up to $250 if caught using mobile devices to send text messages. Unlike the state's ban on using a hand-held cell phone while driving, police would be able to stop anyone they see sending text messages while driving. Police can only give tickets for using a hand-held cell phone while driving if they pull over a driver for another reason.

Arizona and Connecticut are among the states considering similar laws to ban text messaging while driving.

Mother Indicted for Selling Daughter

from KDFW Dallas-Fort Worth TV 4

A 37 year old woman was indicted Monday on charges that she sold her teenage daughter for $3000. Tina Valdez is accused of selling the 15 year old girl to a man last August. At first, Valdez saif that her daughter had run away. She even gave police a note that she said her 15 year old daughter had written about going to look for her father.

But Valdez admitted last month that she sold the girl to 35 year old Jason Carlile who took her to Mexico. Carlile was already facing charges of indecency with a child and possession of child pornography. Valdez and Carlile are being held on $150,000 bond each. The girl is back in Texas and has been placed in foster care.

LOCAL Police Officer Baked Magic Brownies

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

Police commanders in Dearborn are taking heat for not prosecuting a police officer caught spiking brownies with marijuana. Cpl. Edward Sanchez was allowed to resign last year after admitting he and his wife baked brownies with marijuana he had taken from a drug suspect.

The officer's troubles began with an April 2006 call to 911. On the tape, he's heard saying, "I think we're dying. We made brownies and I think we're dead, I really do." He also asked the 911 dispatcher what the score was on the Detroit Red Wings hockey game being televised that night, explaining, "I just want to make sure this isn't some type of, like, hallucination that I'm having."

Roseanne Barr in Talks to Replace Rosie

from the New York Post

Roseanne Barr has emerged as the top contender to replace Rosie O'Donnell next year on The View.

Since last week's announcement when Rosie said she planned to leave the show in June, several names have surfaced as possible replacements. Among them are Joan Rivers, Whoopi Goldberg, Kathie Lee Gifford and Connie Chung. Out of all of them, Roseanne seems to be the best fit.

The open chair is the No. 1 seat on the show, requiring a star who can, in effect, be the show's quarterback - moving the discussion along, introducing guests and other duties that a TV neophyte might not be able to pull off believably.

O'Donnell said Wednesday that she's leaving "The View" after one year because she and ABC could not agree on a new deal. Insiders have said she wanted more control over the show and decided to quit when that was denied. O'Donnell had replaced former co-host Meredith Vieira. Starr Jones, who also left the show last year, has yet to be replaced.

Philadelphia Stops Psychics

from The Philadelphia Inquirer

Philadelphia's fortune-tellers didn't see it coming. Suddenly they're facing a very unhappy future. Alerted to an obscure state law banning fortune-telling "for gain or lucre," the city's Department of Licenses and Inspections is closing storefront psychics, astrologers, phrenologists and tarot-card readers who charge money for their services. Inspectors had closed 16 shops since Tuesday.

Fortune-telling for profit is a third-degree misdemeanor. The law has been on the books for more than 30 years. Inspectors are not imposing fines, and police are not making arrests, but they will if these people try to return to work.

LOCAL CRIMESTOPPERS

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

A $6,000 reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest in a school threat case in the Rochester Community School District. For the second time in two weeks, four Rochester schools were closed because of anonymous threats.

Classes were canceled Friday at Rochester High School, Adams High School, West Middle School and Van Hoosen Middle School.

The Oakland County Sheriff's Department is not releasing any details about the threat, but they said a search of the schools found nothing. For more information, go to the Rochester Community School district Web site at www.rochester.k12.mi.us.

LOCAL Toyota Exceeds GM in Sales

from WDIV Detroit TV 4


General Motors, after more than 75 years as the No. 1 automaker in the U.S. and the world, has been surpassed by Toyota. In the first quarter, Toyota sold 2.35 million vehicles, while GM sold 2.26 million.

This is something analysts had predicted but weren't expecting these changes until later on in the year -- not in the first quarter. Toyota has had the No. 1 selling car for the last several years in the Toyota Camry. And Toyota has built a reputation for quality and for building better fuel efficient vehicles.

GM announced a restructuring plan in November of 2005 that called for closing 12 plants by 2008, slashing its workforce, reducing capacity and cutting costs.

LOCAL CRIMESTOPPERS

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

Detroit Police said they need help to catch a group of burglars who have robbed the same store more than a dozen times. In fact, according to police, the Dollar Discount store was broken into twice in the the past two days. Surveillance video of the latest robbery showed a man loading up a sack of electronics behind the counter. He looked directly into the surveillance camera and police released video of the break-in, hoping someone will recognize the burglar.

The Dollar Discount store was broken into seven times in 2005, several times last year, and has been robbed three times so far in 2007. Those who have any information about the robberies are being asked to call CRIMESTOPPERS at 800-SPEAK-UP.

Also, a man seen flashing small children and others at suburban shops was spotted again. Two years ago, he hit the Borders in Rochester Hills, and on April 12 he hit Borders, on April 21 he appeared at Marshalls and on April 22 he was reported in the Sears store. The Oakland County Sheriff's Department said it's time to put this man in jail.

The man targets specific stores like Marshalls and Borders, all in Rochester Hills and all within two miles of each other. Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said the man looks for young boys or girls once he enters a store.

Investigators believe he could be the same man who approached children who stepped away from their parents and flashed them in 2005. In the most recent incident, a child alerted their mother who, along with store personnel, chased the man outside and obtained partial license plate information.

Police are looking for a red burgundy pickup truck with a partial Michigan license plate of 054.

Those who have any information about the man are being asked to call 888-TURN-1-IN. Police said there is a significant reward for information leading to the arrest of the man.

LOCAL Farmer Jack Sells

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

It's selling time for Farmer Jack, a chain of grocery stores that have been in metro Detroit for decades. A & P Company, Inc., the company that owns Farmer Jack, announced that it is in negotiations for the potential sale of its operations in the Midwest. The company cited unsatisfactory operating trends in that market, and the need to devote resources to its expanding Northeast core business, as the reason for the action.

A&P has informed its employees in the Midwest and their union representatives that it anticipates the sale of groups of stores to selected bidders. The company said that it cannot release additional details concerning the ongoing process until definitive acquisition agreements are reached over the next few months.

A&P acquired the Farmer Jack chain in 1989 and at present operates 66 stores in southeast Michigan.

Mexico City Passes Abortion Bill

from MyWay News

Mexico City lawmakers voted to legalize abortion, a decision likely to influence policies and health practices across Mexico and other parts of heavily Roman Catholic Latin America. The proposal, approved 46-19, with one abstention, will take effect with the expected signing by the city's leftist mayor. Abortion opponents have already vowed to appeal the law to the Supreme Court, a move likely to extend the bitter and emotional debate in this predominantly Catholic nation.

Nationally, Mexico allows abortion only in cases of rape, severe birth defects or if the woman's life is at risk. Doctors sometimes refuse to perform the procedure even under those circumstances. The new law will require city hospitals to provide the procedure in the first trimester and opens the way for private abortion clinics. Girls under 18 would have to get their parents' consent.

The procedure will be almost free for poor or insured city residents, but is unlikely to attract patients from the United States, where later-term abortion is legal in many states. Under the Mexico City law, abortion after 12 weeks would be punished by three to six months in jail.

The proposal has created an emotional confrontation in a country where the majority of people are Roman Catholic.

An estimated 200,000 women have illegal abortions each year in Mexico, based on the number who show up at hospitals later seeking treatment for complications. Botched abortions using herbal remedies, black-market medications and quasi-medical procedures kill about 1,500 women each year and are the third-leading cause of death for pregnant women in the capital.

$4 Gasoline

from Bloomberg

Whether it's $50 to fill up your Prius or $130 for the Ford Expedition, $4-a-gallon gasoline is coming to a pump near you. Fuel prices are rising at a pace not seen since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita knocked out a third of the U.S. oil refining industry in 2005. Gasoline consumption is climbing twice as fast as last year and will accelerate when summer travel begins late next month.

Population gains and U.S. economic growth are causing an increase in fuel purchases. The U.S. economy will expand at a 2.4 percent annual pace in the second quarter, up from 1.8 percent in the first three months. Gasoline use is rising almost 5 percent above the five-year average.

Gasoline inventories, measured by the days of demand they will cover, are at the lowest level in two decades for this time of year because of refinery fires, power failures and maintenance work oil companies failed to complete in 2006. No new U.S. refinery has been built in three decades, increasing the strain on existing plants. Pump prices in the U.S. may increase to $4 a gallon from a nationwide average of $2.87 today, especially if hurricanes threaten Gulf of Mexico refineries.

Prices rose 33 percent in the past 11 weeks, the fastest rate of gain since a six-week, 34 percent rally to the record $3.069 in September 2005, Energy Department data show.

LOCAL HEADLINE STORY

Northwest Pilot on Cocaine
from CNN

An off-duty Northwest Airlines pilot was suspected of driving under the influence of cocaine when he headed the wrong way on an interstate to avoid the U.S.-Canada border and led deputies on a chase. Walter L. Dinalko, a veteran pilot of 20 years, had flown to Detroit Metropolitan Airport Saturday afternoon and then rented a Hummer that he drove about 70 miles to Port Huron.

Dinalko turned around three times on the Blue Water Bridge, apparently changing his mind about heading into Sarnia, Ontario. He then drove on the wrong side of the bridge and Interstate 94. U.S. Customs agents alerted sheriff's deputies, who closed down the expressway and gave chase.

Deputies laid down stop sticks, which flattened the Hummer's tires. Dinalko stopped but refused to surrender to deputies.

Dinalko, 50, of St. Paul, Minnesota, was taken to a hospital for a drug test before he was taken to jail. A user's quantity of a substance suspected to be cocaine was found in the vehicle, including one opened package and one sealed package. Toxicology tests on a sample of the pilot's blood were pending.

Dinalko was arraigned Sunday on charges of cocaine possession, eluding police, resisting officers and operating a vehicle under the influence of drugs. He was released Sunday after posting $10,000 bond.

HEADLINE STORY

Cell Phones May Be Wiping Out Bees

from The Independent (UK)

It seems like the plot of a particularly far-fetched horror film. But some scientists suggest that our love of the mobile phone could cause massive food shortages, as the world's harvests fail. They are putting forward the theory that radiation given off by mobile phones and other electronics is a possible answer to one of the more bizarre mysteries ever to happen in the natural world - the abrupt disappearance of the bees that pollinate crops. Late last week, some bee-keepers claimed that the phenomenon - which started in the US, then spread to continental Europe - was beginning to hit Britain as well.

The theory is that radiation from mobile phones interferes with bees' navigation systems, preventing the famously homeloving species from finding their way back to their hives. Improbable as it may seem, there is now evidence to back this up. Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) occurs when a hive's inhabitants suddenly disappear, leaving only queens, eggs and a few immature workers. The vanished bees are never found, but thought to die singly far from home. The parasites, wildlife and other bees that normally raid the honey and pollen left behind when a colony dies, refuse to go anywhere near the abandoned hives.

The alarm was first sounded last autumn, but has now hit half of all American states. The West Coast is thought to have lost 60 per cent of its commercial bee population, with 70 per cent missing on the East Coast. CCD has since spread throughout Europe.

The implications of the spread are alarming. Most of the world's crops depend on pollination by bees. Albert Einstein once said that if the bees disappeared, "man would have only four years of life left". No one knows why it is happening. Theories involving mites, pesticides, global warming and genetically engineered crops have been proposed, but all have drawbacks.

German research has long shown that bees' behaviour changes near power lines. Now a limited study has found that bees refuse to return to their hives when mobile phones are placed nearby.

LOCAL Inmates Released Early

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

The Washtenaw County Jail released inmates on Thursday because of overcrowding. In order to comply with the state jail overcrowding statue, which requires the reduction of inmates sentenced by up to 30 percent to help relieve overcrowding at the jail, the county has released 12 inmates.

The jail has been in a state of overcrowding since March 5 and remains overcrowded.

The jail has 332 beds available, and at last check on Friday morning, there were 357 inmates. The jail is currently closed to new arrests of minor crimes but will accept suspects of certain crimes, like assault, drugs and weapons crimes.

Sheriff's officials believe the overcrowding issue will be resolved by mid-May.

LOCAL Boy Robbed of Puppy at Gunpoint

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

Detroit police are investigating after a 14-year-old boy was robbed of his 3 week old pitbull labrador puppy at gunpoint. The boy was in the backyard of his westside Detroit home when an unknown man approached him and presented a handgun.

The man demanded the boy give up the dog.

The boy and his mother are evacuees of Hurricane Katrina and were unable to provide police with pictures of the dog.

LOCAL UPDATE: Troy Shooting Suspect in Custody

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

Police have announced they have Anthony Lacalamita, 38, in custody in connection with the workplace shooting inside Gordon Advisors Accounting Firm in Troy. A resident driving a pickup truck spotted the silver 2007 Ford Fusion that police were searching for and called 911. The Genessee County Sheriff's Department followed the car through Saginaw and pulled him over in Bay City. They said the rifle was found in the car, and the driver matched the shooter's description.

Lacalamita is being transported to the Genessee County jail.

One woman has died and two men are injured. Witnesses inside the building said there are armed police officers and guards outside. Officials have secured the basement and first floor and are working to secure the other floors. Employees were removed from the building in sections and taken to a neighboring building.

LOCAL BREAKING NEWS - CRIMESTOPPERS

Troy Workplace Shooting: 1 Dead, 2 Injured
from WDIV Detroit TV 4

Troy police are at the scene of a workplace shooting inside Gordon Advisors Accounting Firm.

Police received a tip call on Monday morning stating there was a shooting on the second floor of the 1301 Long Lake Crossings building on Long Lake Road.

The shooter has been identified as Anthony Lacalamita, 38. He is about 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighs 180 pounds. He has short dark hair and was wearing a dark-colored sweater. He is still armed with either a rifle or shotgun.

One woman has died and two men are injured. Some employees have barricaded themselves inside their offices, while others have been evacuated and taken to a nearby building. Witnesses inside the building said there are armed police officers and guards outside. Officials have secured the basement and first floor and are working to secure the other floors.

Ten members of the SWAT team entered the building in full gear but have not come out yet. Employees are being removed from the building in sections and taken to a neighboring building. There were injuries reported, but how many people were involved and the extent are not known at this time.

Police are searching for a silver 2007 Ford Fusion and said it may be related to the shooting. The license plate is BEY 0843.

If you have any information regarding this incident, or believe you know the whereabouts of Lacalamita please call Troy police at (248) 689-4455.

HEADLINE STORY

Girl Had Suspected 'Boyfriend' That Was a Woman
from ABC News

A 14-year-old girl authorities allege was sexually abused by a 30-year-old woman who posed as a teenage boy said she didn't know about the ruse but eventually suspected it. Lorelei Corpuz posed as a 17-year-old orphan to gain the trust of the girl's family, then beat and molested her. She was charged this week with child rape and child molestation and was being held in lieu of $150,000 bail.

Corpuz, who called herself Mark, met the girl at a mall and moved in with her. It started out as a regular teenage girlfriend-boyfriend thing, like holding hands, hugging, kissing, but over time it developed into something sexual. The suspect, however, never let victim see her private parts and victim always thought that suspect was male until a police officer informed her otherwise.

Corpuz was found out after an officer checked the suspect's vehicle, parked at an Everett gas station, to see whether it was stolen. The officer arrested Corpuz after the check pulled up an outstanding traffic warrant under an alias, Mark Villanueva.

Authorities allege Corpuz had sex with the girl, beat her and bit her twice on the back, leaving a scar. Snohomish County prosecutors have filed charges in District Court against Corpuz, but expected to refile them in Superior Court.

Disney to Allow Same Sex Ceremonies

from CNN

Same-sex couples who want to exchange vows in front of Cinderella's Castle now have the chance. The Walt Disney Co. had limited its Fairy Tale Wedding program to couples with valid marriage licenses, but it is now making ceremonies at its parks available to gay couples as well.

The company said it made the change after being contacted by a gay couple who wanted to use the wedding service, which offers ceremonies at Disneyland in California, Walt Disney World Resort in Florida and Disney's cruise ships. The service offers flowers, dining, music and many optional Disney touches, from ceremonies in front of the parks' iconic attractions to having Mickey and Minnie Mouse in formal wear as guests. The packages start at $8,000 and can cost more than $45,000.

Groups not affiliated with Disney have held annual "gay days" celebrations at Disney parks for years. Company officials have taken a tolerant attitude to the weekend, allowing party promoters to rent out parks after hours and rebuffing religious groups that condemned Disney. In 2005, Southern Baptists ended an eight-year boycott of the Walt Disney Co. for violating "moral righteousness and traditional family values."

R-Rated Movie Mix-up Shocks Families

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

A family-film audience was stunned to get an unintended glimpse of a horror movie, which left some parents shaken and the theater chain apologizing for the movie mix-up. The moviegoers were expecting to see The Last Mimzy, the PG-rated tale of a brother and sister who discover a mysterious box of toys and become endowed with superhuman powers to help preserve humanity's future.

Instead, the crowd saw the opening scene of The Hills Have Eyes 2, the R-rated sequel to a recent remake of a 1977 horror classic by the genre's renowned Wes Craven. The Hills Have Eyes 2, which centers on National Guard troops who stumble on a clan of mutant cannibals, starts with a chained woman giving birth to a mutant.

Another patron said the episode had left his 3-year-old son with lingering questions. Theater staffers soon stopped the movie, gave the patrons free ticket vouchers, and started "The Last Mimzy" about a half-hour late, according to parents.

The cinema company has expressed "deepest apologies" for the incident.

LOCAL Really Old Bones Found in Oakland Co

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

Two sets of human bones that are believed to be at least hundreds of years old were found in White Lake Township by an excavating crew clearing a site for a baseball field. State archaeologists say the bones are of an adult and child and are likely 700 to 2,000 years old. The bones were found March 26 on Township property owned by a local church.

However, no skulls were recovered. The bones were turned over to the Oakland County Medical Examiner's Office and are undergoing extensive study.

Dead Rat Found in Senior's Mouth

from Yahoo! News

Staffing was so inadequate at a California senior center that a rat crawled into an Alzheimer's patient's mouth and died there before staff noticed. A lawsuit, filed on behalf of 90-year-old Sigmund Bock, alleges that administrators at the Paragon Gardens Assisted Living and Memory Care Community in Mission Viejo overbooked their facility to receive corporate bonuses, but cut back on staff to increase profits.

Keith Richards Snorted his Dad's Ashes

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

Keith Richards has acknowledged consuming a raft of illegal substances in his time, but this may top them all. In comments published Tuesday, the 63-year-old Rolling Stones guitarist said he had snorted his father's ashes mixed with cocaine.

LOCAL CRIME STOPPERS ALERT

Pontiac Rapist Sketch Released by Police

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

Pontiac police said they are on the hunt for a suspected rapist and they released a sketch of a person of interest. Over the weekend, a man raped a woman and then tried to attack a second woman 30 minutes later. The first incident was reported to have taken place in Murphy Park around 10 p.m.

A boyfriend and girlfriend were sitting in a parked car when they told police a black man approached them and pointed a silver handgun at them. The boyfriend told police he was ordered out of the vehicle by the man and asked to empty his pockets.

When officers arrived at the scene with the boyfriend the woman was gone. After searching the park, the woman was located and told police she had been raped. The area had been secured with tracking dogs, and the Oakland County Sheriff's Department allocated helicopter and good patrols but the man was not located. Police are now waiting for DNA samples to come back from a lab.

At 10:31 p.m. on Saturday another woman reported being approached and robbed while sitting in a parked car in Beaudette Park. A black man showed her a gun and ordered her out of the car. She said the man had her open her trunk and then he took her purse and fled in a dented green Dodge Neon. Police said the man's description matches in both incidents.

The man is being described as black and in his 20s, 5 feet 10 inches to 6 feet 1 inch tall, with a thin build, mustache and short-length black Afro. The man was last seen wearing a dark winter jacket with a hood. Those who have any information on the man are being asked to contact Pontiac police at (248) 857-7890.

Jackson-Hewitt Accussed of Tax-Fraud Schemes

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

The government said Tuesday it is trying to shut down more than 125 Jackson Hewitt tax preparation stores in four states, including Michigan, for systematic "tax-fraud schemes." The Justice Department accuses the franchises of bilking the government out of more than $70 million through fraudulent practices such as using phony W-2 forms, bogus deductions and fuel tax credits and false claims regarding the earned income tax credit.

Jackson Hewitt Tax Services Inc. is the nation's second largest tax preparer. The franchises were either totally or partially owned by Farrukh Sohail of Atlanta, and involved a pervasive and massive series of tax-fraud schemes.

According to court documents, Sohail and other defendants "created, directed, fostered, and maintained a business environment" at the Jackson Hewitt franchises "in which fraudulent tax return preparation is encouraged and flourishes."

Employees were encouraged to ignore telltale signs of fraudulent information and to file claims even when it was obvious customers were using fake W-2 forms or false deductions. A sample of returns prepared by franchises connected to Sohail found 31 percent contained false information such as phony earned income tax credit claims, bogus deductions and fraudulent W-2 forms.

The suits, filed in federal courts in Chicago, Atlanta, Detroit and Raleigh, N.C., also allege that managers and employees at the Jackson Hewitt franchises took kickbacks for filing fraudulent returns. Managers at the franchises repeatedly told tax preparers that "we are not the IRS" and that it is not their responsibility to prevent customers from filing bogus returns. Many of the stores catered to customers seeking refund anticipation loans based on phony returns.
In one instance, a Jackson Hewitt franchise customer claimed a fuel tax credit for which the tax filer would have had to drive almost 1,400 miles a day. The suits seek court orders shutting down the franchises.

Ala. Woman on Horseback Charged with DUI

from Breitbart

A woman who went for a horseback ride through town at midnight and allegedly used the horse to ram a police car was charged with driving under the influence and drug offenses. Apparently cars were passing by having to avoid it, and almost hitting the horse. According to the police, DUI charges can apply even when the vehicle has four legs instead of wheels.

Police in the northeast Alabama town received a call around midnight Saturday about someone riding a horse on a city street. The responding officer found Melissa Byrum York, 40, of Henagar on horseback on a nearby road and attempted to stop her. Seals asked the woman repeatedly to get off the horse, but she kept trying to kick the animal to make it run.

After ramming the police car with the horse and riding away, the woman tried to jump off but caught her foot in a stirrup, Gregg said. The officer took the woman into custody and discovered that she had crystal meth, a small amount of marijuana, pills and a small pipe. York was charged with DUI for allegedly riding the horse under the influence of a controlled substance. She was also charged with drug possession, possession of drug paraphernalia, resisting arrest, assault, attempting to elude police and cruelty to animals.

FL Community Sues to Evict Toddler

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

A Florida homeowners group wants 3-year-old Kimberly Broffman to take her Big Wheel and hit the road. They've banded together to oust the toddler from their Tampa-area community, which bans residents under 18.

The child's grandparents, Judie and Jimmy Stottler, admit Kimberly's been living there in violation of homeowners' association rules for three years. They said her mother has a drug problem, and isn't capable of caring for the child. The grandparents said they live on a fixed income and can't afford to move until they sell their house. So far, there have been no takers to buy their house, even after they lowered the $189,000 asking price by $10,000 six months ago.

They also said they can't afford to hire an attorney. Judie Stottler supports the family with her $18,000-per year dishwashing job because Jimmy Stottler is disabled and is unable to work. Judie Stottler's friends told the St. Petersburg Times that they are worried.

The Lakes homeowners association filed suit to oust Kimberly last month.

LOCAL HS Senior Runs for School Board

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

A high school senior -- four days too young to get his name on the local school board ballot -- will take his chances as a write-in candidate. Phil Nichols' 18th birthday was Feb. 17. Under state law, candidates on the ballot must be 18 or older by the filing deadline, which was Feb. 13 in the race for the Howell Public Schools Board of Education. But the requirement doesn't apply to those running a write-in campaign, as long as they're 18 when taking the oath of office.

Nichols said he was inspired to run by his opposition to the Livingston Organization for Values in Education. The group has complained about profanity and sexual content of some books assigned to advanced English students at Howell High School.

Nichols plans to attend Eastern Michigan University in the fall, but said he could handle his schoolwork and service on the board.

British Team Grows Heart Valve from Stem Cells

from the Guardian (UK)

British research team led by the world's leading heart surgeon has grown part of a human heart from stem cells for the first time. If animal trials scheduled for later this year prove successful, replacement tissue could be used in transplants for the hundreds of thousands of people suffering from heart disease within three years.

The team at the heart science centre at Harefield hospital has grown tissue that works in the same way as the valves in human hearts, a significant step towards the goal of growing whole replacement hearts from stem cells. Currently, many people suffering from heart valve disease have artificial replacement valves. Though they save lives, the artificial valves are far from perfect. They perform none of the more sophisticated functions of living tissue, children need their valves replaced as they grow, and patients need a lifetime of drugs to prevent complications after surgery.

Deadbeat Parents Shown on Pizza Delivery Boxes

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

Customers at some suburban Cincinnati pizza parlors are getting something extra with their pepperoni and mushrooms. pizzerias to add wanted posters of parents accused of skipping out on child support on pizza boxes.

The idea came to the agency's director while she was ordering a pizza. She said it suddenly dawned on her that most people running from the law don't eat out, they order pizza. It's just one of the innovative ways agencies are trying to get past-due parents to pay up. In California's Kern County, officials can auction parents' vehicles and give the proceeds to the children. Virginia subpoenas cell-phone records from service providers.

Other Ohio counties include similar fliers in water and sewer bills. An attorney who specializes in fathers' rights has criticized the fliers, saying it could hurt children to see their parent on a "wanted-style" poster.

Cat Serial Killer

from the Columbus Dispatch

Investigators say that a woman who confessed to killing 650 cats and dogs is expected to return to Columbus to face criminal charges. Maureen McLaughlin, 56, apparently had checked herself into a mental-health facility in the Mansfield area by the time authorities went to her apartment. Social workers have diagnosed her with bipolar disorder.

Investigators say that McLaughlin has described drowning hundreds of cats in a large trash can filled with water. She told investigators that she got the cats from neighborhood animal shelters and killed them because she didn't want them to languish in the animal-welfare system.

McLaughlin has been charged so far with one count of animal cruelty.

A Jeopardy First!

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

The answer is: Something that's never happened before on "Jeopardy!" The question is: What is a three-way tie, Alex? The three contestants on the venerable game show all finished with $16,000 each in the episode that aired Friday.

All three correctly responded in the category, "Women of the 1930s." They identified Bonnie Parker of the famed Bonnie and Clyde crime duo as a woman who, as a waitress, once served one of the men who shot her.

Host Alex Trebek remarked that in 23 years, he's "never seen anything like this before."
The three contestants, Jamey Kirby, Anders Martinson and Scott Weiss, were all declared champions and taped a rematch that will air Monday.

Carol Burnett v. Family Guy

from Reuters

Comedian Carol Burnett has filed a copyright infringement suit against the makers of Fox TV's cartoon sitcom "Family Guy" over an episode poking fun at the performer and her variety show from the 1960s and '70s.

The lawsuit claims Family Guy violated Burnett's exclusive rights to her name and likeness by depicting her signature cleaning-woman character in a segment last April without her consent.
The suit seeks $2 million in damages and also says the cartoon episode used a slightly altered version of the copyrighted musical theme to The Carol Burnett Show without permission from the 73-year-old entertainer.

The episode in question refers to Burnett by name as working as a part-time janitor, and depicts her character, complete with trademark blue bonnet and mop bucket, cleaning the floor of a pornography shop.

To see the segment from the episode: http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2007/0316072carolburnett1.html

Eiffel Moon

from NASA

Celestial and terrestrial lights are featured in this stunning image that includes the Moon in phases of the total lunar eclipse of March 3rd. In the foreground, the distinctively-shaped Eiffel Tower, nearly 1,000 feet tall, is a well-known tourist destination and one of the most visited buildings in the world. Of course the Moon is even more recognizable, but harder to visit.

Detroit PD Officer Involved in Road Rage, Shooting

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

Livonia police said they responded to the scene of a road-rage incident involving a Detroit police officer on Wednesday. When police arrived at the scene on WB I-96 near Stark Road, they found a black SUV with its windows shot out, and a silver Dodge Magnum nearby. The incident started in the area of Fenkell Street and West Outer Drive in Detroit, but ended in Livonia.

The driver of the Magnum was hit by the SUV, and the driver of the SUV fled the scene. The driver of the Magnum then followed the SUV onto I-96. At that point shots were fired from the Magnum, but no one was injured.

Livonia police responded to a 911 call regarding the shooting, and officers waited for the vehicles to enter Livonia city limits, where they pulled both vehicles over. The driver of the Magnum, was an off-duty Detroit police officer. He was immediatley taken into custody. The officer also had open intoxicants inside his vehicle.

The officer probably shot off about four or five rounds and he told Livonia police he was fired at first, and was only shooting back. The officer will not be released until an investigation by police and prosecutors is complete. He is facing charges of assault with intent to murder, and driving under the influence. Livonia police said the Wayne County Prosecutors office has requested several items regarding the investigation.

Probe Spots Seas on Saturn's Moon

from CNN

Scientists have discovered what appear to be sea-size bodies of liquid, probably methane or ethane, on the surface of Saturn's largest moon. The discovery by the international Cassini spacecraft was welcomed by researchers, who have long theorized that Titan possessed hydrocarbon seas because of methane and other organic compounds in its thick, largely nitrogen atmosphere. Until now, Cassini had spotted only clusters of small lakes on the planet-size moon.

Researchers using visual and radar imaging uncovered evidence of at least two seas on Titan's hazy north pole. Cassini's camera last month spied a large, irregular feature stretching 680 miles long with a surface area similar to Asia's landlocked Caspian Sea. Its radar instrument swept over the feature's northern tip and determined that it likely contains liquid methane or ethane because of its smooth appearance. However, scientists do not know whether the entire area is filled with liquid.

Cats Invade House Injuring 3 People

from Breitbart

Two stray cats got into a North Platte, Nebraska house and attacked three people inside, then were euthanized and checked for rabies. The cats entered Melissa Breva's house through an open front door and attacked two women visitors and a boy.

Animal control officers responded to a 911 call for help finding that one woman was scratched and bitten on her legs; the other woman was bitten on her right calf. After talking to the women, the officer went to his truck for snares, then heard screaming from inside the house. He ran back inside and saw a young boy with blood all over his face. He had been bitten on his forehead, nose, left ear and right cheek. All 3 were taken to a local hospital.

The cats were found in a back bedroom, snarling. The officer shot them with a tranquilizer gun and then took them to an animal shelter where they were both euthanized.

'300' Smashes Box Office Record

from CNN

The ancient battle of Thermopylae was the stuff of 2007's first certified blockbuster as the bloody action tale 300 debuted with $70 million over opening weekend.

The number of movie-goers for the Warner Bros. epic 300 outnumbered crowds for the rest of the top-10 movies combined. If the estimate holds when final numbers are released Monday, 300 would break the record for best March debut ever, topping the $68 million haul for Ice Age: The Meltdown last year.

Movie Review: '300' - 3/4

3 scoops (out of 4)
from the Orlando Weekly

300 is a steroid-fueled fantasy of male bloodlust inspired by Frank Miller’s graphic novel about the ancient Battle of Thermopylae between Greek Spartans — a warrior culture unparalleled in human history — and the invading, million-strong army of Persians hell-bent on squashing Greece’s burgeoning democracy. 300 of these Spartans hold off the entire Persian force for three days and, though eventually defeated, their deaths inspire the rest of Greece to unify.

Director Zack Snyder understands the balance between reality and mythology and renders the movie using a technique much like Sin City’s (also based on a Miller graphic novel), except in full color, so that the exaggerated, stylized carnage takes on an almost Homeric beauty while still remaining in the historical ballpark. A lot of this is a credit to Miller, whose comic-book source material is often recreated frame by frame, but just as much is due to the actors, led by Gerard Butler as King Leonidas, who transformed their bodies into muscle-bound machines and slice into their roles so passionately that it’s hard not to leave the theater wanting to become a Spartan and cut off a few Persian heads of your own.

If you see it, make sure your theater is using DLP (Digital Light Projection) technology. DLP™ shows are projected digitally rather than using conventional film. DLP technology is a revolutionary display solution that uses an optical semiconductor to manipulate light digitally. The result is maximum fidelity: a picture with impressive clarity, brilliance and color and a lack of scratches, fading and flutter.

http://300themovie.warnerbros.com/

Teens At Calif School Getting High on Med Marijuana

from WBIR Knoxville TV 10

Officials at the Grossmont Union High School District have sent letters home to parents, notifying them that a number of students have been caught on campus with medical marijuana cards. They are concerned over the growing trend and the apparent ease with which teens are able to obtain the cards.

In the letters, parents, students and faculty are reminded that even if the cards are valid, it is against the law to have marijuana on school property. Recently two East County teenagers were suspended for showing up at school high, with a medical marijuana card as their excuse.

During a series of recent undercover sting operations, investigators identified five local doctors who are issuing cards or prescriptions without proper exams or follow up medical care.

Moose Brings Down Helicopter

from Breitbart

A helicopter is not necessarily a match for an angry Alaskan moose. Instead of lying down after being shot with a tranquilizer dart, a moose charged a hovering helicopter used by a wildlife biologist, damaging the aircraft's tail rotor and forcing it to the ground. Neither the pilot nor the biologist was injured, but the moose was maimed by the spinning rotor and had to be euthanized.

The wildlife biologists shot the animal with a tranquilizer dart and the pilot tried to maneuvered the helicopter to keep the animal from collapsing into nearby water and drowning. The moose then started to move, and then the helicopter began backing off and try to keep the moose out in the open but instead the moose charged the helicopter.

Spring Forward = Mini Y2K

from the Rockford Register Star (Ill)

It’s been compared to a “mini Y2K” — some electronic devices will be confused by the new date for daylight-saving time. Although it’s more of a nuisance than a catastrophe in the making, older computers, PDAs and DVRs may not automatically update their times when daylight-saving comes three weeks early this year — on March 11. The date change was established by the federal Energy Policy Act of 2005, which was passed to get Americans to cut energy consumption. The thinking is that less energy will be used toward the end of the day if the sun’s out later.

Few computer experts think the new date will make a big difference. Consumers can prepare for the change by using a rule of thumb: If a computer or device is a bit older, it may not correct the time automatically. Any Microsoft operating system older than Windows XP may not recognize the new time change come March 11.

Daylight-saving time will end Nov. 4 instead of the usual last Sunday of October.

Anna Nicole Smith Dead at 39

from MyWay News

Anna Nicole Smith, the voluptuous former Playboy centerfold who married an octogenarian billionaire and waged a legal battle for his fortune all the way to the Supreme Court, died todat after collapsing at a hotel. She was 39. The blond bombshell - who recently became tabloid fodder all over again after the sudden, apparently drug-related death of her 20-year-old son - was found unresponsive while staying at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. She was rushed to a hospital.

The Broward County Medical Examiner's Office said the cause of death is under investigation and an autopsy will be done on Friday. Stay tuned for full details.

Man Leaves Daughter, 2, Outside to Freeze

from CNN

A Pittsburgh man angry his toddler daughter wouldn't go to bed knocked her unconscious and left her to die outside in single-digit temperatures. The frozen body of Nyia Miangel Page, who was about to turn 2, was found Sunday at an abandoned playground about a 10-minute walk from the family's home. Tiny footprints in the snow suggest she had gotten up and wandered around before she died.

Her father, William Lorenzo Page, 23, was arrested on charges of criminal homicide, kidnapping, false reports and simple assault. He has been in custody since Sunday, when he was charged with sexually abusing another child shortly before Nyia died. Page told police he woke up early Saturday and found the girl awake and playing near a mirror in the hallway. He said he got angry when the girl wouldn't go back to bed and he hit her so hard she lost consciousness.

Awesome Picture

from NASA

Sometimes the sky itself is the best show in town. On January 26, people from Perth, Australia gathered on a local beach to watch a sky light up with delights near and far. Nearby, fireworks exploded as part of Australia Day celebrations. On the far right, lightning from a thunderstorm flashed in the distance. Near the image center, though, seen through clouds, was the most unusual sight of all: Comet McNaught.

Woman Dies Trying to Save Cats

from Yahoo! News

A 77-year-old woman trying to rescue her seven cats from a house fire was found dead in a hallway, still clutching one of the animals. The fire was probably started when one of the cats knocked over a decorative candle onto a stack of papers and magazines.

Firefighters found the body of Mary Lou Henry in a hallway. The cat she was holding and another one died. Two were being treated at a veterinary clinic, two were missing and another was taken in by the victim's daughter.

Police Officers Suspended in Miscariage Case

from CNN

Two police officers were suspended indefinitely with pay Thursday as an investigation continued into their arrest of a pregnant woman who had a miscarriage a day after she was thrown in jail. The suspensions came two days after police released a videotape showing Sofia Salva telling officers during her arrest last year that she was three months pregnant, bleeding and needed to go to a hospital.

The tape shows officers ignoring her pleas. After the ninth request, the tape shows, a female officer asked: "How is that my problem?"

The officers' behavior is "inconsistent with the values and policies of this department and inconsistent with the training they received in the police academy," Chief James Corwin said at a news conference Thursday. Salva, 32, has sued officers Melody Spencer and Kevin Schnell and the police department for wrongful death and personal injuries. Salva is seeking actual damages exceeding $25,000 and punitive damages.

She was arrested February 5 and held overnight on traffic violations and outstanding city warrants. After being released the next morning, she delivered a premature baby boy who died immediately after birth, according to the lawsuit filed Friday in Jackson County Circuit Court. Corwin said he felt the incident was serious enough to suspend the officers even though an internal investigation is not complete.

The tape shows Salva telling the officers she is having a miscarriage and is bleeding.
On the tape, an officer identified as Schnell walks away from the car and tells his partner: "She just gave me a line of excuses. She said she's bleeding. She said you can check her."

Cat's Lose Visiting Privilages at Women's Prison

from CNN

At the Southeast State Correctional Facility, inmates are subjected to head counts several times a day. But not Ziggy, Marmalade, Smokey and Shane -- they come and go as they please. They're prison cats -- but only for now. They are being involuntarily paroled by the new superintendent of Vermont's largest women's prison, to the chagrin of inmates who feed them, pay for their care and cherish them.

Cats have been fixtures at the farm-turned-prison since the 1980s, sleeping in warm garages and nooks and crannies on the 22-building campus and keeping it mouse-free. The number fluctuated as the prison became a dumping ground for unwanted felines and they found their way under fences, into barns and into the hearts of inmates.

Due to recent disruptions involving the cats, about a month ago, the prison started giving away the cats. Inmates have been scratched, and some are allergic to cats, or just don't like them. Recently, an inmate used a cigarette lighter to burn the fur off one of them. That cat has since recovered and is now living with a staff member.

Penny Shortage is a Possibility

from Fox News

A potential shortage of coins in the United States could mean all those pennies in your piggy bank could be worth five times their current value soon. Sharply rising prices of metals such as copper and nickel have meant the face value of pennies and nickels are worth less than the material that they are made of, increasing the risk that speculators could melt the coins and sell them for a profit.

Such a risk spurred the U.S. Mint last month to issue regulations limiting melting and exporting of the coins. Some economists have suggested making the penny worth five cents rather than one cent. Doing so would increase the amount of five-cent coins in circulation and do away with the almost worthless one cent coin.

Teacher Suspended For Penis Drawings

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

A New York state teacher was banned from classes after having his seventh-grade students draw male genitalia on the blackboard during health class. The teacher has been assigned to adminstrative duties and is expected to be terminated at a March 21 trustee meeting.

The state's seventh-grade curriculum calls for lessons in human anatomy and sexuality, but the teacher asking the students to draw male genitals on the blackboard was not within these guildlines and has been described as inappropriate.

Ford Posts Record Loss

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

Ford Motor Co. posted a $12.7 billion loss in 2006, the largest annual loss in the automaker's 103-year history. The company lost $5.8 billion in the fourth quarter alone due to slumping sales and huge restructuring costs. It lost just less than $7 billion in the first three quarters of the year.

The annual loss surpassed the previous record annual net loss of $7.39 billion in 1992. The Dearborn-based automaker expects continued losses for the remainder of the year.

29 Year-old Sex Offender Posed as 7th Grader, Twice

from CNN

A convicted sex offender attended at least two Arizona middle schools, sat through seventh-grade courses and turned in homework as he moved around the state pretending to be 12 years old. Authorities in Yavapai County have accused Neil Havens Rodreick II, who is really 29, of assaulting a girl. They are not releasing details. Rodreick was arrested last week after spending a day at the Mingus Springs Charter School in Chino Valley, about 90 miles northwest of Phoenix.

School officials there called police after they checked what they called a phony birth certificate and other admissions documents. He has been charged with misdemeanor assault, conspiracy to commit fraud, conspiracy to commit forgery, failing to register as a sex offender, and possession of a forgery device. He remains in the Yavapai County jail.

GM Recalls 98,000 Cars

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

General Motors Corp. is recalling about 100,000 Chevrolet Cobalt small sedans to upgrade head impact protection. The recall affects 98,707 vehicles from the 2005-2006 model years that are not equipped with optional roof-mounted side impact air bags. The issue was discovered during compliance testing.

There have been no injuries related to the recall and the head impact protection would only be an issue for motorists not wearing a seat belt. Belted motorists would not be affected. To correct the defect dealers will install energy absorbing plastic to the area. Owners can contact Chevrolet at 800-630-2438.

Rare Primitive Shark Captured on Film

from the Daily Mail (UK)

A species of shark rarely seen alive because its natural habitat is 2,000 ft or more under the sea was captured on film by staff at a Japanese marine park this week. A marine park just south of Tokyo was alerted by a fisherman who spotted an odd-looking eel-like creature with a mouthful of needle-sharp teeth. Park staff caught the 5 ft long creature, which they identified as a female frilled shark, sometimes referred to as a "living fossil" because it is a primitive species that has changed little since prehistoric times.

Anna Nicole Paternity Test Blocked

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

The judge in Anna Nicole Smith's baby dispute has temporarily blocked an order forcing her daughter to undergo paternity testing. A Tuesday deadline had been set for the test sought by Larry Birkhead, who has claimed that he's the father of Dannielynn Hope Marshall Stern, who was born Sept. 7 in the Bahamas.

But the former Playboy playmate's attorney questioned the legality of the test, and said Bahamas authorities needed to grant work permits before an American doctor could conduct the test. The judge granted a stay pending a February 7 hearing.

Smith's longtime personal lawyer, Howard K. Stern, maintains he is the baby's father.

Pfizer to Cut 2,400 Michigan Jobs

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

Pfizer Chairman and CEO Jeffery B. Kindler announced plans to make major cuts to improve the company's future. Pfizer Inc. will close its human health research and development facilities in Ann Arbor and Kalamazoo, affecting about 2,400 jobs. The Ann Arbor facility has about 2,100 employees. Also affected are approximately 250 workers in downtown Kalamazoo and another 60 in western Wayne County's Plymouth Township.

But the world's largest drugmaker will continue to maintain manufacturing and animal-health research operations in the Kalamazoo area, preserving about 3,800 jobs. Pfizer announced in March 2005 that it was closing a Holland manufacturing plant with 328 employees. About 60 people continue to work at the facility as it is being decommissioned.

New York-based Pfizer will also close manufacturing plants in New York and Nebraska as part of a plan to cut costs by up to $2 billion per year. About 10,000 jobs will be lost total. The restructuring is part of an effort by Pfizer to cut costs by up to $2 billion a year amid fierce competition from generic drugs.

Customer Seizes Bank Computers in UK Collections Case

from the Evening Standard (London)

A man who was fed up with paying massive bank charges decided to give one of the high street giants a taste of its own medicine. When Royal Bank of Scotland refused to refund more than $6,700 charges that Declan Purcell believed he was owed, he sent in the bailiffs.

Stunned customers at his branch of RBS watched as debt collectors seized four computers, two fax machines and a till filled with cash. The branch manager was told that the items would be sold unless RBS came up with the money owed to Mr Purcell. Only when the manager gave an undertaking that the debt would be paid did the bailiffs leave.

The move, which will raise a cheer from millions of other bank customers, is part of a consumer fightback against bank charges, which net an estimated $9 billion every year in the UK. Every time a current account customer goes overdrawn by as little as $2 most banks will charge around $55, even though the administration cost is only about $9. Then every cheque, direct debit, or card transaction that goes through or is bounced incurs another charge of up to $75.

The Office of Fair Trading is investigating whether banks have implemented these charges unlawfully.

NAIAS 2007 Editor's Choice

Saab Aero X Concept Car

As the current Saab ad campaign tells us, the Swedish car maker got its start designing fighter jets for the Swedish military and with the Aero X concept, Saab's "born from jets" tagline is finally true. Nowhere is the jet influence more prevalent than in the cockpit of the Aero X concept. Instead of traditional doors, the Aero X boasts a jet-like canopy that rises up to allow passengers in and out of the car.

Carbon composite materials are used extensively in the manufacture of fighter jets, and true to its jet heritage, the Aero X sports a lot of carbon material as well and there is also a bit of jet influence in the wheels. Sized 22 inches in the front and 23 inches in the rear, these massive rims have a bit of a turbine fan shape to them.

The Aero X is also a green machine. It's not a hybrid/electric car, but instead it runs on 100 percent ethanol fuel made from corn. The Aero X sports twin turbo 2.8 liter V6 that makes 400 horsepower at the flywheel. Though it hasn't been officially tested, Saab says the Aero X can go from zero to sixty in 4.9 seconds.

The interior of the Aero X resembls the cockpit of a real fighter jet with a high-tech dash and gauges. All of the gauges are made from acrylic material and designed to display information on a 3-dimensional plane with the guages clustered together with similar ones in a wrap-around jet cockpit-like dash illuminated by blue LED light.

Cause of Death: Sloppy Handwriting

from Time

Doctors' sloppy handwriting kills more than 7,000 people annually. It's a shocking statistic, and, according to a July 2006 report from the National Academies of Science's Institute of Medicine, preventable medication mistakes also injure more than 1.5 million Americans annually. Many such errors result from unclear abbreviations and dosage indications and illegible writing on some of the 3.2 billion prescriptions written in the U.S. every year.

To address the problem—and give the push for electronic medical records a shove—a coalition of health care companies and technology firms will launch a program Tuesday to enable all doctors in the U.S. to write electronic prescriptions for free.

Although some doctors have been prescribing electronically for years, many still use pen and paper. This is the first national effort to make a Web-based tool free for all doctors. Even though 90% of the country's approximately 550,000 doctors have access to the Internet, fewer than 10% of them have invested the time and money required to begin using electronic medical records or e-prescriptions. Automation should eliminate many of the errors that occur when pharmacists misunderstand or misrecord medication names or dosages conveyed messily on paper or hurriedly by phone.

MI Court of Appeals Defines Adultery as 1st Degree CSC

from the Detroit Free Press

In a ruling sure to make philandering spouses squirm, Michigan's second-highest court says that anyone involved in an extramarital fling can be prosecuted for first-degree criminal sexual conduct, a felony punishable by up to life in prison.

We cannot help but question whether the Legislature actually intended the result we reach here today," Judge William Murphy wrote in November for a unanimous Court of Appeals panel, "but we are curtailed by the language of the statute from reaching any other conclusion." Technically," he added, "any time a person engages in sexual penetration in an adulterous relationship, he or she is guilty of CSC I," the most serious sexual assault charge in Michigan's criminal code.

No one expects prosecutors to declare open season on cheating spouses. The ruling grows out of a case in which a Charlevoix man accused of trading Oxycontin pills for the sexual favors of a cocktail waitress was charged under an obscure provision of Michigan's criminal law. The provision decrees that a person is guilty of first-degree criminal sexual conduct whenever "sexual penetration occurs under circumstances involving the commission of any other felony."

ABC Eyes End Date for 'Lost'

from TV Week

In a highly unusual move for a broadcast series, ABC and the producers of "Lost" are in discussions to determine an end date for the show. The date will set a limit to the number of "Lost" seasons to come and will be announced to fans. The show's producers, speaking at ABC's Television Critics Association press tour session, said having a conclusion date will bolster fan confidence in the series' narrative. A timeline for making the decision was not announced.

Thought the series ratings have dipped this fall, the show remains one of ABC's top-rated programs. During the first season, Executive Producer Damon Lindelof said the show could run nine seasons if necessary, noting the island has plenty of mysteries. Recently, fans and critics have grown frustrated, however, with the show's continually expanding mythology that keeps piling on new mysteries and characters.

After the panel, Mr. Lindelof suggested the series might cap at 100 episodes, which would only result in two more seasons.

Alpha Dog - 2 Scoops

Movie Review (2 out of 4)

You watch "Alpha Dog" in the conflicted grip of fascination, horror and, to be honest, depression. Writer-director Nick Cassavetes takes a viewer into a heart of darkness that exists right in Southern California's San Fernando Valley among mostly white, suburban young people adrift in a sea of drugs, sex, booze and violence. Parents are either "cool" with this or clueless. Traditional social structure has broken down, replaced by a hedonistic youth culture and "gangsta" lifestyle utterly lacking in any moral sensibility or control. What's worse, this is a true story.

This is a well-made ensemble movie in which actors take chances with uncomfortably repulsive characters or roles unlike any previous performances. Make no mistake though: This will be a hard sell for New Line. The gangsta element and hip-hop soundtrack might be selling points, but is that really the right crowd for this movie? Critical acclaim will help, but the film's dispassionate point of view might cause mixed reactions.

Interviews with several characters are seen throughout the movie as if a documentary about this story were in the works. But the film itself is no docudrama. Despite such stylistic devises as split screens and shifting frame sizes, "Alpha Dog" is pretty conventional. Cassavetes simply plunges you into an unhealthy environment of social disintegration and never eases up. The movie is based on a news story of a few years ago about Jesse James Hollywood, a middle-level drug dealer who became one of the youngest men ever to land on the FBI's most-wanted list. Here, he is known as Johnny Truelove (Emile Hirsch), whose father (Bruce Willis) helps supply the merchandise and whose posse is completely loyal, especially the slavishly devoted Elvis (Shawn Hatosy).

But he is more insecure and paranoid than he lets on. When he has a falling out with a competitor, Jake Marzursky (Ben Foster), who cheats him out of $1,200, he recognizes that Jake is a maniacal and ruthless adversary. So payback presents a problem. Johnny solves this with a truly stupid idea. He kidnaps Jake's 15-year-old half brother, Zack (Anton Yelchin). The youngster, who has grown restless with his normal life of doting parents and homework, admires his brother's on-the-edge lifestyle, so he is up for a few days of partying and boozing with this seemingly hip crew. But as Jake vows revenge, and others point out the legal repercussions of kidnapping, Johnny and his loyal lieutenant, Frankie (an almost unrecognizable Justin Timberlake), grow increasingly antsy. Meanwhile, Zack remains oblivious to his pending fate.

Most of the characters share the dual afflictions of poor education and a serious lack of smarts. Hirsch's ringleader moves in often jerky and hyperkinetic movements, but his mental processes are slow. Although he does less drugs than others, he can't seem to think through any problem. Timberlake's Frankie has much more brains and sensitivity, but male loyalty trumps common sense. Foster presents an astonishing portrait of lethal rage. Willis as the bad father and Sharon Stone as Zack's emotionally overwrought mother deliver outstanding performances.

BREAKING NEWS

Rocket Fired at US Embassy in Athens

from CNN

The U.S. Embassy in Athens has been hit by a rocket in an attack that anonymous callers claimed was staged by militant left-wing group. Nno one was injured in the explosion. Damage was minimal but it was still being treated as a very serious attack.

It is believed to be a symbolic act as an attempt to disrupt the country's international relations. Police are checking the authenticity of phone calls made to a private security firm claiming responsibility of behalf of the Revolutionary Struggle. The guerilla group claimed to have carried out an unsuccessful 2006 assassination attempt on Greece's culture minister and has become the most serious domestic threat since the dismantling of the deadly November 17 group in 2002.

Police sealed all entrances and exits to the embassy and cordoned off the block around the compound, causing an almost complete standstill of traffic during the morning rush hour. Chaos erupted inside the embassy after the explosion. However, the only damage visible from outside the embassy was a window blown out on an upper floor.

Teen Dies Trying to Save Cats from Fire

from My Way News

An Illinois teenager is being hailed as a hero for saving his aunt from a fire at their house, but he lost his own life when he went back into the burning building to search for the family's two cats. Seth DeShane, 14, was pronounced dead late Thursday at the family home, which was destroyed in the fire.

When Seth's aunt realized the boy had gone back inside, she tried to get back in herself, but by then the smoke was so thick and the fire so intense, she had to leave the house. The fire is being blamed on malfunctioning lights on the Christmas tree on the first floor. The front half of the two-story home was fully engulfed when firefighters arrived.

2006 TOP TEN Number 1

In February, twenty one people were injured, eight of them seriously, when a van pursued by US police near the Mexican border crashed head-on with a truck. A total of four vans suspected of carrying illegal immigrants from Mexico were fleeing US border patrol officers when one of them lost control and swerved into the oncoming truck. And to make matters worse for the US officers patroling the border, Mexican criminal syndicates began stepping up their attacks on American agents patrolling the border as officials of the Homeland Security Department intensify efforts to stem the flow of immigrants and drugs into the United States.

President Bush then asked Congress to increase the Homeland Security Department's budget by nearly 6 percent. The Border Patrol received an extra $459 million to hire 1,500 new agents, bringing the total force to about 14,000. An additional $410 million was allocated to add 6,700 beds for detainees so fewer illegal immigrants would have to be released before being deported. Another $100 million was spent on cameras, sensors and other detection technology. Mexico also increased its commitment by sending an additional 300 Federalis to patrol their side of the border.

In May, President Bush began calling for 6,000 National Guard troops in a supporting role along the border. And in a controversial move that conservatives are still complaining about, the President endorsed a controversial proposal to give illegal immigrants already in the United States a path to work toward eventual citizenship. Bush made the argument that a guest-worker program is necessary to gain control of the border and relieve pressure from the border. Bush has long championed a guest-worker program that would allow people to enter the United States to fill jobs for which employers can't find enough American workers. In response, a private company called VeriChip, offered to provide radio frequency identification tags that would be implanted beneath the skin of guest workers. These RFID tags would provide the government with the guest workers' location at all times. These tags have been used to keep track of animals, but have not been widely used in humans. This proposal died in its infancy and was never implented.

The increased security along the border forced human traffickers to develop new ways of getting illegals into the US. In August, CA border patrol agents arrested a U.S. man after he tried to smuggle three migrants into the country hidden in the seats of his vehicle. Officers discovered three undocumented migrants sewn into three seats of the conversion van, including the driver’s seat.

In a blitz that began May 26, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has arrested nearly 2,100 illegal immigrants across the country. Officials said the raids are aimed at child molesters, gang members and other violent criminals, as well as people who sneaked back into the country after a judge threw them out. The crackdown was called Operation Return to Senderand was also carried out in Boston, Philadelphia, Buffalo, Cleveland and Detroit arresting 154 undocumented immigrants. The agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement offices came heavily armed and loaded with files and warrants for deportation.

To further document those entering the US, beginning January 23, nearly all air travelers entering the will be required to show passports including returning Americans and people from Canada and other nations in the Western Hemisphere. Currently, U.S. citizens returning from other countries in the hemisphere are not required to present passports but must show other proof of citizenship such as driver's licenses or birth certificates.

In defiance of the many Mexican-pride rallies throughout the US this past year, a Nevada town passed a law this week making it illegal to fly a foreign nation's flag by itself. The town council of Pahrump, which lies in the Mojave Desert west of Las Vegas, voted 3-2 to make flying any foreign flag above the U.S. flag or alone an offense punishable by a $50 fine and 30 hours' community service. Hispanic groups slammed the flag ordinance as a blow to first-amendment rights to free speech but thought it unlikely that the community would enforce it. In passing the bylaw, the town joined several other communities from California to Pennsylvania that have passed laws curbing illegal immigrants in recent months. Among them are Escondido, in southern California, and Hazleton in Pennsylvania, where councilors barred landlords from renting to undocumented aliens and denied them access to services. In Texas, where a third of the citizens are Hispanic, the Dallas suburb of Farmers Branch enacted laws fining landlords who rent to illegal immigrants and making English the official language.