from WDIV Detroit TV 4
Workers earning the state's minimum wage will get a raise in October through legislation signed today by Gov. Jennifer Granholm.
The minimum rate will climb from $5.15 an hour to $6.95 an hour, the first increase in about nine years. The legislation calls for the rate to rise to $7.15 an hour in July 2007 and to $7.40 an hour in July 2008.
from WDIV Detroit TV 4
This fast food bill was a real whopper (pun intended).
A man was charged more than $4,300 after placing his food order at a Burger King in California last week.
The four burgers came to $4.33. The cashier entered the charge on George Beane's debit card, then mistakenly punched in the numbers again without erasing the original ones.
That brought the bill to $4,334.33.
The electronic charge drained a checking account and left Beane and his wife wondering how they'd pay their mortgage.
But everything worked out. Burger King didn't charge the Beanes for their meal and the couple later got their money back.
from Drudge
Tom Cruise’s pregnant fiancée Katie Holmes will be reminded to keep her vow of silence during birth — by signs plastered around their home. The couple — following the Scientology tradition of a silent birth — had the posters delivered to their Beverly Hills mansion.
The 6ft placards will be placed so Katie can see them in labour.
One reads: “Be silent and make all physical movements slow and understandable.”
Holmes, 26, must keep silent and will not even be allowed painkillers when she has the couple’s first child due any day. Scientology elders were seen carrying the huge white boards through the gates.
The “birthing boards” will also tell staff and visitors to stay silent.
Followers believe it is traumatic for babies to hear their mother scream or groan when giving birth. They think it can cause “psychic” damage, which takes years of therapy to overcome.
The cult’s creator, sci-fi writer L. Ron Hubbard, once said: “Maintain silence in the presence of birth to save both the sanity of the mother and child.”
The doctrine stresses newborns cannot be poked or prodded for medical tests or spoken to for seven days.
from WDAF Kansas City TV 4
Independence Police Find Filthy House Filled With Animals
A meter reader for Missouri Gas Energy Smelled a foul odor coming from a house in Indepebdebcem Missouri. When they entered, the found dozens of cats, dogs, birds, ferrets, and even a pig, in the basement.
The house had not been cleaned. There were no litter boxes for the animals, and feces and urine were everywhere on the first and second floors. The smell inside the house was overpowering, and some police officers had to wear full military-type gas masks while they were in the house.
After more than two hours, they had captured about 70 cats, 10 dogs, 2 ferrets, 3 birds, and that big pig. Neighbors said two women live in the house, but they were not there at the time.
from The Discovery Channel
The line between living organisms and machines has just become a whole lot blurrier. European researchers have developed "neuro-chips" in which living brain cells and silicon circuits are coupled together.
The achievement could one day enable the creation of sophisticated neural prostheses to treat neurological disorders or the development of organic computers that crunch numbers using living neurons.
To create the neuro-chip, researchers squeezed more than 16,000 electronic transistors and hundreds of capacitors onto a silicon chip just 1 millimeter square in size. They used special proteins found in the brain to glue brain cells onto the chip. The proteins also provided the link between ionic channels of the neurons and semiconductor material in a way that neural electrical signals could be passed to the silicon chip.
It could still be decades before the technology is advanced enough to treat neurological disorders or create living computers. But for now, the chips could provide an advanced method of screening drugs for the pharmaceutical industry.
from The Washington Post
For the first time since 1972, the United States is planning to fly to the moon, but instead of a quick, Apollo-like visit, astronauts intend to build a permanent base and live there while they prepare what may be the most ambitious undertaking in history -- putting human beings on Mars.
Scientists and engineers are hard at work studying technologies that don't yet exist and puzzling over questions such as how to handle the psychological stress of moon settlement, how to build lunar bulldozers and how to reacquire our culture of exploration. NASA continues to plan a lunar mission and to promote the technological advances needed to achieve it.
from CNN
The threat of cancellation no longer looms over the Pentagon's Airborne Laser effort, but senior program officials say they are taking nothing for granted as they prepare for a missile-intercept demonstration in 2008.
The Airborne Laser, or ABL, is a Boeing 747 aircraft being equipped with a high-powered chemical laser to destroy ballistic missiles in their boost phase.
As envisioned, the aircraft would fly in a figure-eight pattern over an area deemed a likely site of a missile launch. Onboard infrared sensors would detect the launch and feed that information into a computer that would direct the laser turret to point at the ascending missile. The turret would then fire two lower-powered solid-state lasers — one to track the missile and one to measure atmospheric distortion — before shooting the high-powered chemical laser at the target.
from E! News
Producers from FOX's American Idol almost fired Paual Abdul because she was "being difficult." It was reported that Britney Spears and Jessica Simpson were discussed as possible replacements. Abdul's publicist denies the reports.
from WKMG Orlando TV 6
Signs warning of bird droppings were posted along a stretch in downtown Orlando this week after cars, benches, sidewalks, plants and even people are hit and covered by the white bird crap.
The birds are moving into the city and are covering anything and anyone between Lake Eola and Central Avenue with droppings. 
from KSL Salt Lake City TV 5
VH1 Classic will present a full hour of the English and German music videos for the 1984 hit 99 Luftballons, aka 99 Red Balloons" by German rock group Nena.
The music video presentation, to air Sunday (2 p.m. EST), caps off the cable channel's "Pay to Play for Hurricane Katrina Relief," which raised over $200,000 for Mercy Corps, a humanitarian relief organization.
Viewers could request one video to be played on VH1 Classic for every $25 donation. For a $35,000 donation, they could select an hour's worth of music videos from the 1960s through the early 1990s.
However, one viewer chose something different for his allotted hour, requesting continuous playing of 99 Luftballons.
99 Luftballons is a Cold-War era protest song that tells the story of 99 red balloons floating into the air, triggering an apocalypse when the military sends planes to intercept them.
from Left Lane News
These rims are called Pimpstar. They’re available from CustomWheel and they’re unlike any rims you've seen before. Using built-in color LED lights, they can display any digital image on the wheels. Of course, none of this is too interesting unless you can see it in action. Luckily, here is a link for a really awesome video showing them in action.
http://www.leftlanenews.com/2006/03/25/forget-the-spinners-pimp-rims-go-high-tech/
from Appalachian News Express
A Virginia resident claims that some officials working for the county government in Pikeville lost a herd of cattle valued at $15,000 when the cattle got loose last November.
State and county ordinances give the animal shelter the authority to capture and house "at large" animals for five days. If the owner does not contact the shelter within that period, the animals can either be adopted or euthanized, according to those regulations.
The cattles' owner is suing for compensatory and punitive damages. The matter is set to go before a jury.
Electricity bills are high and state regulators say if you are a Detroit Edison customer you may be paying too much. Regulators said DTE may be overcharging customers and they said they want the company to justify its rates.
An investigation has been launched to determine whether DTE is overcharging its customers.
DTE representatives said their rates are properly set.
The more than 800 teachers who were stricken with the blackboard flu on Wednesday must prove it.
Administrators are asking the teachers to provide a doctor's note by the end of the day Friday to confirm that they were in fact sick with the flu, saying no note, no sick-day pay.
The notes are a way for administrators to know if the teachers were sick, or if they just stayed away from the classrooms as a form of protest against pay increases for principals. The teacher's union is consulting an attorney in whether a doctor's note is really necessary.
A cat in Missouri is a contender for the world's fattest feline. Iggy the cat weighs more than 40 pounds.
Iggy stands 14 inches tall, measures nearly 40 inches from whiskers to tail, and boasts a thickset 33-inch waistline. He is larger than most toddlers.
The cat goes through 30 pounds of food every week.
Randy Quaid has filed a lawsuit claiming he was done in by producers of 'Brokeback Mountain.'
The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court, claiming producers falsely represented the movie to him as "a low-budget, art house film, with no prospect of making any money." Quaid claims the representations were a ruse from the beginning. 'Brokeback' has grossed around $160 million worldwide.
Quaid's suit claims that in 2004, he met with director Ang Lee, who offered him the role of Joe Aguirre. The suit alleges that Lee told Quaid: "We can't pay anything, we have very little money, everyone is making a sacrifice to make this film."
The suit does not specifically state how much Quaid made, but it does claim that the defendants "were engaged in a 'movie laundering' scheme designed to obtain the services of talent such as Randy Quaid on economically unfavorable art film terms..."
The suit asks for $10 million in damages as well as punitive damages. It also seeks "restitution for all ill-gotten gains."
Detroit teachers returned to their classrooms today following an apparent sick-out. Fifty-three Detroit Public Schools were closed Wednesday when more than 800 teachers called in sick.
The cause of the "blackboard flu" was a pay adjustment for principals. The Detroit Federation of teachers considered it a pay raise, which came at a time that teachers were asked to make concessions.
Teachers had money taken out of their paychecks this pay period as a loan for the financially strapped Detroit Public Schools, but teachers were upset to learn that some principals and other administrators are set to receive an 11 percent pay raise.
About 36,000 students were affected by the school closures.
from WDIV Detroit Channel 4
Parents are asked to pick up their children after an alleged teacher sickout has closed more than 50 schools in Detroit Wednesday. Teachers are calling in sick to protest pay raises for administrators and pay cuts for teachers.
Teachers had money taken out of their paychecks this pay period as a loan for the financially strapped Detroit Public Schools, but teachers were upset to learn that some principals and other administrators are set to receive an 11 percent pay raise.
On a normal day, about 300 teachers and staff members call in sick in the school district. At a school board meeting Tuesday evening, word came that about 1,500 of the district's teachers and staff had already called in sick for Wednesday.
The sickout is not sanctioned by the teachers' union and such an action might be illegal. The union and school district are negotiating a new contract.
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick released the following statement regarding the alleged sickout:
"I am disappointed that some teachers have decided to not show up for class today, forcing the District to close schools. The actions of these teachers are hurting our children and our community. Teaching is a calling, not just a job."
Harrington Is Out
from WDIV Detroit Channel 4
The Detroit Lions are parting ways with Joey Harrington after four turbulent seasons in which the former third overall draft pick went from franchise savior to fans' scourge.
Coach Rod Marinelli told reporters Monday: "We've made a decision to move on. At this moment, he's not with us. That's been my decision."
Taking Harrington's spot under center most likely will be Jon Kitna or Josh McCown. The two former NFL starters are expected to battle for the top quarterbacking job in Detroit.
from NASA
Can a gas cloud eat a galaxy? It's not even close. The odd looking "creature" in the center of the above photo is a gas cloud known as a cometary globule. This globule, however, has ruptured. Cometary globules are typically characterized by dusty heads and elongated tails. These features cause cometary globules to have visual similarities to comets, but in reality they are very much different. Globules are frequently the birthplaces of stars, and many show very young stars in their heads. The reason for the rupture in the head of this object is not completely known. The galaxy to the left of center is huge, very far in the distance, and only placed near the galaxy CG4 by chance superposition.
from Yahoo! News
Movie theater owners faced with falling attendance are considering asking federal authorities for permission to jam cell phone reception in an attempt to stop annoying conversations during films.
Theaters are trying a number of ways to silence cell phones, from sweeps by ushers to funny fake movie trailers urging viewers to shut off phones.
This may be difficult, since federal law and FCC rules prohibit the use of cell phone jammers.
from Drudge
In the two decades since it's been a licensed state adoption agency, Catholic Charities of Boston has placed a tiny number of children with gay parents: 13 of 720 adoptions. But when those adoptions became public knowledge, the archdiocese's bishops - following a Vatican directive - announced they had to stop.
The result was a showdown with lawmakers as the bishops tried to get an exemption from the state's nondiscrimination clause and, ultimately, decided to exit the adoption business entirely
Currently, Florida, Mississippi, and Utah have laws that ban gay adoption explicitly, although a few other states - including Nebraska, Arkansas, Missouri, and New Hampshire - have de facto policies or laws restricting gays from adopting or becoming foster parents.
Seven states introduced bills last year that would prevent gays or lesbians from adopting, and a few states - Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, and Tennessee, among others - have indicated a willingness to introduce constitutional amendments in future years. A bill in Arizona would force the state to give priority to married couples adopting. Ohio is considering a bill that would ban gays from being either adoptive or foster parents.
from WDIV Detroit Channel 4
The Michigan House voted Tuesday to raise the state's minimum wage by $1.80 an hour in October, the first increase in nine years.
The legislation now heads to Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who is expected to sign it.
Full-time workers making the minimum wage could earn an extra $288 per month, or about $3,700 a year, under the bill.
The bill would boost the state's minimum wage to $6.95 in October. The minimum would gradually rise to $7.40 an hour by July 2008.
John Travolta and Jennifer Lopez have reportedly been offered the two lead roles in a movie remake of the 1980s television series Dallas.
Travolta has been offered the role of the show's villian, JR Ewing. It has also been reported that Lopez was offered the role of Sue Ellen. Neither of the actors have accepted the roles.
from WDIV Detroit Channel 4
A cow in Alabama has tested positive for mad cow disease, the Agriculture Department confirmed Monday, the third case in the U.S.
The animal was a beef cow but hadn't entered the food supply for people or animals.
A routine test last week had indicated the presence of the disease. Results were confirmed by more detailed testing at a government laboratory.
U.S. investigators have found two previous cases of mad cow disease. The first was in December 2003 in a Canadian-born cow in Washington state. The second was last June in a cow that was born and raised in Texas.
The cow spent the past year at an Alabama farm. The department is investigating where the animal was born and raised.
The animal appears to have been at least 10 years old.
from Drudge
Soul singer Isaac Hayes said Monday he was quitting his job as the voice of the lusty character "Chef" on the satiric cable TV cartoon "South Park," citing the show's "inappropriate ridicule" of religion.
Series co-creator Matt Stone said the veteran recording artist was upset the show had recently lampooned the Church of Scientology, of which Hayes is an outspoken follower.
Comedy Central has not decided whether Chef would be dropped from the show or continued with another actor supplying his voice.
from CNN
Prosecutors charge Ryan Daniel Goff hatched a mousey scam to strike it rich.
He's charged with planting a dead mouse in a burrito at a Taco Bell in Traverse City, Mich. Goff, 20, laughed and smiled as a judge charged with him extortion for allegedly stuffing the dead mouse in the burrito last week.
Goff's plan was ill-conceived from the start. He complained his burrito tasted funny when he ate at the Taco Bell Jan. 24.
They said he didn't want a replacement burrito and insisted on keeping his when he left. Court documents said he later called Taco Bell's regional manager, asking for money to settle the matter.
He's accused of trying to extort money from the manager to make the mouse matter disappear. Apparently Goff's girlfriend saw him buy frozen mice at a pet store and place one in the burrito.
Goff was already in jail on unrelated charges last week. His bond has been raised to $100,000.
from WKMG Central Fla Channel 6
A 42-year-old man was hit and killed on Interstate 4 Friday after he was kicked out of his friend's car for exposing his genitals to passing motorists and told to find his own way.
A passing motorist found the body of Kevin Steedly early Friday on the side of Interstate 4 near exit 107 at Dirksen in Volusia County.
Steedly was drinking inside a car with friends as they drove westbound on I-4 toward Steedly's Winter Park home. Steedly's friends kicked him out of the car because he was pulling down his pants and exposing himself through the car windows.
Troopers believe Steedly began to walk on I-4 at about 3:40 a.m. and was hit by a car a short time later.
Troopers are asking for any motorists with information about the incident to call the Florida Highway Patrol at (321) 984-4840. The vehicle that hit Steedly would have heavy damage.
from The Sun
Perhaps there was a bit of confusion at the Oscars, particularly among the older voters, about how to cast their butterfly ballots. This image shows the purported ballot and reminds me of the 2000 election between Al Gore and Gearge W Bush.
from The Boston Globe
The Boston Archdiocese's Catholic Charities it would stop providing adoption services because state law requires them to consider gays and lesbians as parents.
The social services arm of the Roman Catholic archdiocese has provided adoption services for about a century. But it says state law allowing gays to adopt runs counter to church teachers on homosexuality.
The state's four Catholic bishops said earlier this month that the law threatens the church's religious freedom by forcing it to do something it considers immoral. Eight members of Catholic Charities board later stepped down in protest of the bishops' stance. The 42-member board had voted unanimously in December to continue considering gay households for adoptions.
from Forbes
Bugatti Veyron 16.4
Country of Origin: France
Price: US equiv: $1,192,057
With its notorious production delays finally over, Bugatti's Veyron is now on sale in Europe--and the company wants to bring it to the U.S.
from AP
Cigarette sales hit a 55-year low in 2005 and have fallen by more than 21 percent since state attorneys general negotiated a landmark settlement with the industry eight years ago.
The 378 billion cigarettes sold in the United States last year marked the lowest number sold since 1951, a time period in which the U.S. population more than doubled.
Cigarette sales declined 4.2 percent last year from 2004, one of the largest one-year percentage decreases since 1999.
The national group is pursuing agreements with major retailers so that they don't sell tobacco products to underage youth. The attorneys general are suing Internet tobacco vendors who sell tobacco products without verifying the buyers' age.
The 1998 settlement between the tobacco companies and the states prohibited the targeting of youth in cigarette ads, bars outdoor ads of cigarettes and the advertising of cigarettes in public
transportation systems.
Tobacco causes over 400,000 deaths a year in the United States, making it the largest preventable cause of death.
from Breitbart
1. Bill Gates, Wash. USA, 50 years old, $50 B
2. Warren Buffett, Nebr. USA, 75 years old, $42 B (investment banker)
3. Carlos Slim Helu, Mexico, 66 years old, $30 B (telecommunications)
4. Ingvar Kamprad, Sweden, 79 years old, $20 B (Ikea)
12. Michael Dell, Tex. USA, 41 years old, $17 B (Dell Computers)
168. Charles Schwab, Cali. USA, 68 years old, $4 B (brokerage)
185. Ralph Lauren, N Y USA, 66 years old $3.6 B (clothing)
194. George Lucas, Cali. USA, 61 years old, $3.5 B (Star Wars)
245. Steven Spielberg, Cali. USA, 59 years old, $2.8 B
278. Donald Trump, N Y USA, 60 years old, $2.6 B
from CNN
The Cassini space probe has found evidence of geysers erupting from underground pools of liquid water on Saturn's moon Enceladus.
High-definition pictures beamed back from the probe showed huge plumes of ice coming from the moon's south pole. Water might be an indication that life could exist on Enceladus. Scientists are searching for signs of water on Mars and believe that Jupiter's moon Europa has a liquid ocean deep under it's frozen crust.
from WDIV Detroit Channel 4
You voted, they listened. Tonight NBC is airing the top two fan favorite episodes of Will & Grace. They are "Gypsies, Tramps, and Weed," and "Das Boob." Thank you for all of you that voted for my favorite ("Gyspies"). I just love Cher and that episode is hilarious. And "Das Boob" is one of my favs as well. There is nothng funnier than having Jack, Will, and Grace all garbbing each others' boobs and then having Grace shooting water all over an art gallery.
from WDIV Detroit Channel 4
An accused Peeping Tom was arrested Monday morning.
Michael William Moore, 49, of Mount Clemens, is believed to be a man who was caught on surveillance video last month looking into women's dressing rooms at Marshall Field's at Oakland Mall in Troy. Troy police said they received several reports of a man lurking near the dressing rooms.
Marshall Field's security guards recognized the suspect from the video, and discovered him looking into a women's fitting room on Feb. 15, according to Troy police. When the suspect observed officers approaching him, he said, "You caught me!" according to Troy police.
After the arrest, Moore told officers that he does not know why he commits these types of actions. Moore was released pending review of the case by the prosecutor's office. After authorization of a warrant on Moore for two misdemeanor charges, police were unable to locate the suspect. Moore no longer lived at the address he provided to police on Feb. 15.
Police released Moore's photograph to the public in an attempt to locate the suspect.
Moore was arrested in Macomb County Monday. He is being held on several charges.
from CNN
Governor Mike Rounds signed legislation today banning almost all abortions in South Dakota. The law will make it a crime for doctors to perform an abortion unless the procedure was necessary to save the woman's life -- but there are no exceptions for cases of rape or incest. Planned Parenthood, which operates the state's only abortion clinic, has pledged to challenge the legislation. Rounds issued a written statement saying he expects the law will be tied up in court for years and will not take effect unless the Supreme Court upholds it.
My picks are in red. Actual winners in blue. Purple indicates that my pick was a winner.
Best Picture: "Brokeback Mountain," "Capote," "Crash," "Good Night, and Good Luck," "Munich."
Actor: Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Capote"; Terrence Howard, "Hustle & Flow"; Heath Ledger, "Brokeback Mountain"; Joaquin Phoenix, "Walk the Line"; David Strathairn, "Good Night, and Good Luck." In this category, I picked two winners because I wasn't sure which one would win.
Actress: Judi Dench, "Mrs. Henderson Presents"; Felicity Huffman, "Transamerica"; Keira Knightley, "Pride & Prejudice"; Charlize Theron, "North Country"; Reese Witherspoon, "Walk the Line."
Supporting Actor: George Clooney, "Syriana"; Matt Dillon, "Crash"; Paul Giamatti, "Cinderella Man"; Jake Gyllenhaal, "Brokeback Mountain"; William Hurt, "A History of Violence."
Supporting Actress: Amy Adams, "Junebug"; Catherine Keener, "Capote"; Frances McDormand, "North Country"; Rachel Weisz, "The Constant Gardener"; Michelle Williams, "Brokeback Mountain."
Director: Ang Lee, "Brokeback Mountain"; Bennett Miller, "Capote"; Paul Haggis, "Crash"; George Clooney, "Good Night, and Good Luck."; Steven Spielberg, "Munich."
Adapted Screenplay: Larry McMurtry & Diana Ossana, "Brokeback Mountain"; Dan Futterman, "Capote"; Jeffrey Caine, "The Constant Gardener"; Josh Olson, "A History of Violence"; Tony Kushner and Eric Roth, "Munich."
Original Screenplay: Paul Haggis & Bobby Moresco, "Crash"; George Clooney & Grant Heslov, "Good Night, and Good Luck."; Woody Allen, "Match Point"; Noah Baumbach, "The Squid and the Whale"; Stephen Gaghan, "Syriana."
Cinematography: "Batman Begins," "Brokeback Mountain," "Good Night, and Good Luck.," "Memoirs of a Geisha," "The New World."
Original Score: "Brokeback Mountain," Gustavo Santaolalla; "The Constant Gardener," Alberto Iglesias; "Memoirs of a Geisha," John Williams; "Munich," John Williams; "Pride & Prejudice," Dario Marianelli.
Costume: "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," "Memoirs of a Geisha," "Mrs. Henderson Presents," "Pride & Prejudice," "Walk the Line."
Visual Effects: "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," "King Kong," "War of the Worlds."
from WDIV Detroit Channel 4
Toledo based auto-parts maker Dana Corp. filed for bankruptcy protection for its U.S. operations joining a growing list of suppliers forced to make major restructuring moves because of the slumping U.S. auto industry.
Dana, which makes brakes, axles and other parts, has been in a downward spiral since the company announced last fall that it was restating earnings and lowering its profit forecast for 2005 because of accounting errors.
The auto supplier with 46,000 workers worldwide has lost nearly $1.3 billion in the third quarter last year while realigning its business.
The company said it filed for Chapter 11 protection so it could fix financial and operational problems.
Auto parts suppliers over the last year have been sandwiched by rising energy costs that have driven up the costs of raw materials and driven down demand for gas guzzling sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks. Delphi Corp., the nation's leading parts supplier, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October. Visteon Corp., the nation's second biggest auto parts supplier, is closing three plants and putting another six up for sale under its restructuring plan.
Suppliers say the restructuring moves also are being forced by automakers increasing pressure to sell them parts at lower prices.
Dana supplies parts to General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and other automakers.
from NASA
Shining brightly in the east at dawn, Venus dominates the sky in this view over a suburban landscape from Bursa, Turkey. Next to the planet the comet Pojmanski is visible.
from WDIV Detroit Channel 4
A man accused of spying on women in dressing rooms at Oakland Mall is wanted by authorities.
Michael Moore (pictured) is accused of spying on women at the Marshall Field's store at the mall in Troy, according to police. Security camera video showed a man, believed to be Moore, lurking near women's dressing rooms and edging close to take a peek.
A young lady was in the women's fitting room in the store and she noticed when she looked out, there was an unknown male looking into the stall.
Police and store security are trying to locate Moore.
Anyone with information should contact Troy police at (248) 583-7709.
from Drudge Report
007 actor Daniel Craig has agreed to be the first nude Bond in upcoming feature film Casino Royale.
This is a picture of a Boeing F/A 18F Super Hornet as it approaches the sound barrier. The high humidty at in Virginia Beach makes the shockwave clearly visible.
from WDIV Detroit Channel 4
After hours of debate, the Detroit City Council voted 6-3 Wednesday to keep the Detroit Zoo open.
Under the agreement, the Detroit Zoo will be transferred over to the Detroit Zoological Society, and council members say Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's appearance may have made a difference.
Under the terms of the agreements, the city is mandated to turn over $5 million within 15 days to the Zoological Society.
The next course of action is trying to retain the loss of $4 million in state aid. The City Council gave up the aid by rejecting the original proposal At this point, residents will not see any changes at the zoo. The zoo was expected to close May 1 under a shut down plan.
from Drudge
A small-town police chief was accused in a federal lawsuit Thursday of stopping a would-be rescuer from performing CPR on a gay heart attack victim because he assumed the ailing man had HIV and posed a health risk.
Claude Green, 43, died June 21 after being stricken yards from City Hall in Welch, a community of about 2,400. Welch is roughly 100-mi south of Charleston, West Virginia
The ACLU has filed suit on behalf of his mother. The lawsuit accuses Bowman of pulling off Green's friend Billy Snead as Snead was performing chest compressions on the man. Snead was a passenger in Green's pickup truck when Green collapsed; Snead had managed to pull over the vehicle.
Green was pronounced dead at the hospital after about 30 minutes of attempts to revive him
Police Chief Bobby Bowman called the allegations "a boldface lie." He said that he called an ambulance and that Green was taken to the hospital in "no more than nine minutes."
from MSNBC
Joining the growing list of places on this planet that are melting, Antarctica is losing about 36 cubic miles of ice every year. For comparison, Los Angeles consumes roughly 1 cubic mile of fresh water a year.
The south polar region holds 90 percent of Earth’s ice and 70 percent of the total fresh water on the planet, so any significant pace of melting there is important and could contribute to an already rising sea.
Other studies have documented rapid melting, unprecedented in modern times, in Greenland and around the North Pole. And rapid melting of individual glaciers has been noted in Antarctica.
from Drudge
A Costa Mesa, Calif. middle school student faces expulsion for allegedly posting graphic threats against a classmate on the popular MySpace.com Web site, and 20 of his classmates were suspended for viewing the posting.
Police are investigating the boy's comments about his classmate at TeWinkle Middle School as a possible hate crime. According to three parents of the suspended students, the invitation to join the boy's MySpace group gave no indication of the alleged threat. They said the MySpace social group name's was "I hate (girl's name)" and included an expletive and an anti-Semitic reference.
from MSNBC
Two men have been arrested on allegations they had illegal sexual contact with minors they met through MySpace.com. Sonny Szeto, 22, of New York, used the site to meet an 11-year-old girl, while Stephen Letavec, 39, of Pennsylvania used it to meet a 14-year-old girl.
from Reuter's
On Feb 24, the South Dakota legislature passed a bill that would ban all abortion within the state. The bill would grant only one exception allowing an abortion: the mother's life being in danger. Governor Mike Rounds has said that he is inclined to sign the bill.
If this bill becomes law, it will be in direct conflict with the 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion. There is no doubt that if the governor signs the bill into law, opponents will take the case directly to the Supreme Court that has recently changed with two conservative justices appointed by President G W Bush.
The President said that he doesn't entirely agree with the S D bill. He says that his idea of an abortion ban includes three exceptions (rape, incest, and life of the mother) allowing an abortion; the S D bill only has one recognized exception.
Please read the comments for my take on this issue. Here's your chance to get political.
from LA Times
CBS Radio jolted shock jock Howard Stern and Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. on Tuesday with a $218-million lawsuit that alleged Stern misused the company's airtime in a scheme to boost the payment he received when he moved to Sirius in January.
CBS contends that while it employed Stern, the host spent more than a year hyping his upcoming switch to Sirius and, as a result, improperly enriched himself, "pocketing over $200 million for his personal benefit" by driving up Sirius' subscriber numbers.
The subscription increase allowed Stern to trigger an early grant of more than 34 million shares of Sirius stock, valued at about $220 million, the suit alleged. That compensation was disclosed by Sirius this year after Stern had signed off CBS' airwaves.
In addition to the $218 million in restitution, CBS is seeking unspecified punitive damages. Stern began broadcasting with Sirius in January under a five-year contract worth more than $600 million. Stern's frequent mentions of Sirius on his CBS show in the days leading up to his departure did earn him a one-day suspension in November. Stern and his on-air crew frequently referred to Sirius in code as "eh eh."
from Breitbart
A phone repair worker who is in transition from male to female said Tuesday that she was arrested three times by transit police in the last six months for using the women's restroom at Grand Central Terminal.
Helena Stone, 70, said an officer called her "a freak, a weirdo and the ugliest woman in the world" and warned her, "If I ever see you in the women's bathroom, I'm going to arrest you."
Since the story broke, that Metropolitan Transportation Authority has since dropped the charges and claims an inestigation will take place.
Police have confirmed that a white substance found in 18 bags brought to a southwest Philadelphia school by a 7-year-old girl is cocaine. Patterson Elementary School officials said that plastic bags of cocaine were found inside a second-grade classroom and that some of the students ate the drugs.
The incident is currently under investigation. Further details have not been relaeased.
from WDIV Channel 4 Detroit
A St. Clair Shores teacher was escorted from her classroom Tuesday because of a controversial segment warning students about the dangers of a popular Web site. Lakeview High School students produced a newscast showing some controversial content from MySpace.com during a broadcast class. The student report showed clips and images from MySpace.com, but were edited and blurred out.
The student producers said the teacher does not deserve to be punished. They said they believe the message of the newscast was important.
School officials confirmed the incident in a statement, but did not comment on the status of the teacher. The following is the statement released:
On Tuesday morning, February 28, 2006, a student-produced video was aired over the internal cable system at Lakeview High School. The piece was part of the "Silver and Blue" television show produced by the television production class. Unfortunately, the message of the piece (safe use of the internet) was lost because of the selection of photographs, language and music that were included.
Lakeview administrators have initiated an investigation into concerns about the content. We apologize to any students or staff who may have been offended by what was aired. At this time there is no comment about the teacher's status.
from WDIV Channel 4 Detroit
A 5-year-old boy got behind the wheel of a school bus after sneaking out of his Milwaukee classroom Tuesday afternoon.
The Lakeside school bus driver at Samuel Clemens School on Milwaukee's north side went to throw out some trash and left the bus running.
The 5-year-old got behind the wheel and went for a spin. No one else was on the bus at the
time. As the driver walked back to his bus, he spotted it driving away. The child drove the bus around the school's front turnaround, not once, but twice.
On the first go-around, the bus left the circle and merged onto the street. The bus eventually smashed into a parked car.
It took out a tree and a light pole, hit the schoolyard fence and finally came to a stop. No one was hurt. The bus driver has been suspended pending an investigation.
The school's principal, Lakeside Bus Company and the parent of the kindergartener were not immediatley available for comment.
from WDIV Channel 4 Detroit
McDonald's is about to offer premium coffee that's stronger -- and more expensive.
The fast-food chain will start pouring the new brew at all 14,000 of its American restaurants next week. The java is roasted in California and will cost about a $1.20 for a 12-ounce cup.
That's about a dime less than a small coffee at Dunkin' Donuts and 30 cents less than the same size coffee, "tall", at Starbucks.
