The Donald to Carolyn: "You're Fired!"

from FOX News

Carolyn Kepcher, who sat by while her boss Donald Trump dismissed one would-be apprentice after another, has now felt the full force of his iconic phrase: "You're fired." Kepcher, a co-star with Trump from the start of The Apprentice in 2004 and a longtime employee of the Trump Organization, has been let go. She had been chief operating officer of two of Trump's golf courses.

Her leave-taking will have no impact on the upcoming sixth season of The Apprentice, originating for the first time from Los Angeles. Though production is completed, Kepcher was not part of the cast, which includes Trump children Ivanka and Donald Jr. It begins airing in January.

The slender, striking blonde had become familiar to viewers as one of Trump's two sidekicks on the NBC series. She was an adviser to one of the rival teams and was often seated beside Trump for boardroom sessions where one or more competitors would hear Trump declare, "You're fired."

Kepcher's firing has been attributed to excessive self-promotion as a star at the expense of her performance at her day job. Since TV fame beckoned, Kepcher has been active with speaking engagements, made a number of talk-show appearances and two years ago wrote a book, "Carolyn 101," which promised to reveal the secrets of her success and give readers guidance for their professional lives.

RadioShack Fired 400 People Via E-Mail

from Breitbart

RadioShack Corp. notified about 400 workers by e-mail that they were being dismissed immediately as part of planned job cuts. Employees at the Fort Worth headquarters got messages Tuesday morning saying: "The work force reduction notification is currently in progress. Unfortunately, your position is one that has been eliminated."

Company officials had told employees in a series of meetings that layoff notices would be delivered electronically. Laid-off workers got one to three weeks pay for each year of service, up to 16 weeks for hourly employees and 36 weeks for those with base bay of at least $90,000.

The company announced Aug. 10 that it would cut 400 to 450 jobs, mostly at headquarters, to cut expenses and "improve its long-term competitive position in the marketplace." RadioShack has closed nearly 500 stores, consolidated distribution centers and liquidated slow- moving merchandise in an effort to shake out of a sales slump.

Crazy Cat Lady

from WMUR New Hampshire TV 9

Authorities removed 27 cats from a Nashua apartment Wednesday after neighbors reported an overwhelming smell coming from the residence. The landlord of the apartment found the cats when she arrived to evict the residents. Officials from the Humane Society had to wrangle the cats from all corners of the apartment. They said animal waste was everywhere.

Neighbors said they had been working with the landlord to try to get the residents to clean up the place. The unidentified couple and their two teenage children moved into a hotel and reportedly returned to the apartment Tuesday night and took 10 cats.

Many of the cats appeared malnourished but not necessarily abused. The cats still belong to the former residents, and if they don't agree to surrender them and can prove that they have adequate housing, they could potentially take possession of them again. No charges have been filed at this time.

Applebee's Bartender Get's $10,000 Tip

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

Two weeks ago, one of bartender Cindy Kienow's regular customers left her a $100 tip on a tab that wasn't even half that. This week, he added a couple of zeros. Kienow, a bartender at Applebee's, got a $10,000 tip from the man -- for a $26 meal -- on Sunday.

Kienow has worked at Applebee's for eight years. The man is a regular customer who comes in a couple of times each month. He usually signed his ticket and fliped it upside down. But this time, he had it right side up and said, 'I want you to know this is not a joke.

Kienow said the customer has always tipped well, but she doesn't know what prompted the huge tip. She told the newspaper that she hasn't decided how to spend the money, but she said she has her eye on a Jeep.

'Snakes on a Plane': 2 Scoops

movie review

The plot centers around laidback surfer-dude Sean (Nathan Phillips), who witnesses the murder of a Los Angeles prosecutor in Hawaii by infamous crime boss. After saving Sean from hitmen at his home, FBI Agent Nelville Flynn (Jackson) convinces him to come out to Los Angeles and testify against Kim in court. The two of them, plus Flynn’s partner, commandeer the first-class section of a 747 on a red-eye flight headed for L.A. and, well, the rest is cinematic history.

The film takes a while to ramp up, and the exposition is rather heavy-handed as we meet the passengers who will share their reptile-infested journey. The plane is populated by a shallow mix of instantly recognizable types: the honeymooning couple, the two youngsters flying alone, the obsessive-compulsive rap star, the haughty princess and her accessory dog, the earthy young mother and her baby. Besides Jackson, the only other person to get any kind of characterization is flight attendant Claire (Julianna Margulies). Sam Jackson is his usual self, delivering soon-to-be classic one-liners in full badass mode.

As with The Lord of the Rings films, moviegoers must metally prepare themselves before seeing this film. Everyone knows that Hobbits don't exist and that there is no such place as Middle Earth, but that shouldn't stop anyone from getting caught up in the story and enjoying the film. That is also true for Snakes. Accept the film for what it is: a cult horror film that pokes fun at the genre and the human condition of fear. The sacrifices made after 9/11 (particularly the no steak knife rule) are also jested. There are a few jumpy moments, but overall you'll find yourself laughing more than being scared.

Julianna Marguiles and Sam Jackson deliver great performances. I also liked Kenan Thompson and Bobby Cannavale.

BREAKING NEWS

Alleged Ploygamist Warren Jeffs Arrested
from Reuters

Warren Steed Jeffs, the fugitive leader of a polygamist Mormon sect and one of the FBI's 10 most wanted, was arrested in a traffic stop outside Las Vegas. Nevada Highway Patrol Lt. Steve Cabrales said Jeffs was apprehended after being pulled over by a trooper on Monday night.

Jeffs, 50, the leader of the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints, is wanted for the alleged sexual misconduct in Arizona. He is also wanted as an accomplice to rape in Utah. Jeffs, whose Mormon group is estimated to have 10,000 followers, allegedly arranged marriages between older men and underage girls.

Saddam Hussein Forced to Watch 'South Park'

from Yahoo! News

Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein is being made to repeatedly watch his appearance in cult cartoon South Park while he is behind bars. The deposed leader on trial in Iraq was featured in the movie spin-off as the lover of the devil. South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut featured Hussein and Satan attempting to take over the world together as a gay couple.

UPDATE No Murder Charges for John Mark Karr

from CNN

Prosecutors abandoned their case against school teacher John Mark Karr on Monday, saying that DNA tests failed to link Karr to the slaying of child beauty contestant JonBenet Ramsey.

DNA tests completed Saturday confirmed that Karr was not the source of the DNA found on the underwear of JonBenet Ramsey -- disproving his claim that he was sexually involved with the child and killed her by accident. Karr's family also provided strong circumstantial evidence he was with them in Georgia at the time of the crime.

The 41-year-old schoolteacher will be kept in jail in Boulder until he can be sent to Sonoma County, Calif., to face child pornography charges dating to 2001.

Text Messaging Driver Crashes into Police Officer

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

An Allen Park police officer was injured in an accident caused by a teenage motorist sending a text message on his cell phone. A 17-year-old male driver hit the rear of the police car, which was policing an earlier crash Sunday afternoon.

The crash caused the police car to spin around and hit the officer, who was thrown into the air on an Interstate 94 ramp.

The teenage driver, who told police he was text-messaging on his cell phone when he hit the police car, suffered minor injuries. He was treated and released from Oakwood Hospital in Dearborn. The officer, who was listed in stable condition, was being treated at Detroit Receiving Hospital.

Chinese Woman Crashes While Teaching Dog to Drive

from Breitbart

A woman in Hohhot, the capital of north China's Inner Mongolia region, crashed her car while giving her dog a driving lesson. No injuries were reported although both vehicles were slightly damaged.

The woman said her dog "was fond of crouching on the steering wheel and often watched her drive." She thought she would let the dog 'have a try' while she operated the accelerator and brake. They did not make it far before crashing into an oncoming car.

LOCAL Casino Rumors Once Again for Silverdome

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

The longtime operations director of the Pontiac Silverdome said that a casino would be a good use for the former home of the Detroit Lions. But such a plan would face many challenges, such as approval from the state Legislature or the federal government. John Kissick said that people have told him for years that the Silverdome should be used as a casino.

The struggling city wants to find a buyer for the Silverdome. It hopes a bidder will bring a high sale price for the Silverdome and development with new jobs and tax revenue to help Pontiac stabilize its finances.

The 80,000-seat Silverdome has been largely unused for several years. It hosted the Lions from 1975 until 2002, when the NFL team moved to Ford Field in Detroit. Various plans to redevelop it have stalled over the years.

UPDATE NASA Scrubs Launch

from CNN

NASA will not launch the space shuttle Atlantis on Tuesday as Tropical Storm Ernesto threatens Florida. Atlantis will be rolled back from the launch pad and into its shelter Tuesday morning unless something really extraordinary happens with Ernesto's path and intensity.

Ernesto weakened to a tropical storm Sunday, but forecasters warned the storm could regain hurricane status as it moves over Cuba and north toward Florida.

If the shuttle leaves its launch pad Tuesday, liftoff would be pushed beyond a September 7 deadline imposed so that the Atlantis mission would not interfere with a Russian Soyuz flight to the international space station in mid-September. Atlantis' next launch window would not open up until October 20.

Lightning Strike Delays Space Shuttle Launch

from WKMG Central Florida TV 6

NASA officials decided to delay the launch of the space shuttle Atlantis by 24 hours to give engineers more time to determine whether a lightning strike a day earlier caused any problems. The launch, planned for Sunday, now won't be until at least Monday.

The lightning didn't hit the shuttle, but it struck a wire attached to a tower used to protect the spacecraft from such strikes at the launch pad. Engineers wanted time to check out some readings on ground and flight systems. The lightning strike was one of the most powerful ever to hit a launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center. NASA managers also had been concerned about storms passing through the area before launch time Sunday.

The six member crew of STS-115 are to resume construction of the international space station by installing a new set of solar panels to the station, which will double the power to the station. Safety checks of the stations robotic arm will be be visually checked as well.

LOCAL Teenage Girl Hires Hitman to Kill Father

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

A 17-year-old Southgate girl offered an undercover federal agent a pair of diamond earrings as partial payment if he agreed to kill her father. She was arraigned Friday on a charge of solicitation of murder and ordered held in the Wayne County Jail. She wanted her father killed because she was tired of arguing with him.

Crazy Cat Lady

from the Saint Petersburg Times

More than 100 animals, mostly rodents, were removed from a squalid home at Southern Comfort Mobile Home Park. There were 80 rats, mice and gerbils; 13 dogs; two cats; two rabbits; one gray squirrel; one gecko; and four iguanas inside the home at a sprawling mobile home park in Clearater.

There were also some dead rats in the freezer.

Sheriff's investigators were seeking to speak to the home's residents, who were not present when the animals were carried out, before considering charges. At least 15 of the animals were neglected.

The Blue Lagoon

from NASA
click picture for larger view

The red emission (H-alpha emission) from atomic hydrogen dominates the cosmic lagoon's visible light, but narrow band filters were used to record the image data and map the hydrogen emission to green hues, with emission from sulfur atoms in red and oxygen in blue. The lovely Lagoon Nebula spans about 30 light-years at an estimated distance of 5,000 light-years toward the constellation Sagittarius.

2 Jets Diverted Due to Security Issues

from Breitbart

An American Airlines flight from England to Chicago was forced to land in Maine for security reasons, and a U.S. Airways jet was diverted to Oklahoma City after a federal air marshal subdued a passenger who was involved in an incident with a flight attendant.

American Airlines Flight 55 out of Manchester was diverted to Maine for security reasons. The Boeing 767 carrying 167 passengers and 12 crew members was diverted at the request of the Transportation Security Administration. No further information was given.

At Oklahoma City's Will Rogers World Airport, law enforcement officers were questioning the passenger involved in the incident that led to the diversion of the U.S. Airways flight. The Charlotte, N.C.-bound flight had left Phoenix at 6:15 a.m. The nature of the problem between the passenger and the flight attendant was not disclosed. A passenger television station said an air marshal tackled the man, but that it wasn't clear what prompted the incident.

Dynamite Found in Checked Luggage

from the Houston Chronicle

A 21-year-old man was taken into custody and has been charged with carrying an explosive aboard an aircraft after a partial stick of dynamite was found in his luggage this morning at George Bush Intercontinental Airport. After Howard Fish's checked luggage was singled out for extra scrutiny, a secondary inspection performed by Customs found at least two suspicious items, including the dynamite, in his bag.

Fish, a U.S. citizen from Connecticut , arrived in Houston on Continental Airlines Flight 52 from Buenos Aires, Argentina, around 6 a.m. today. FBI officials determined that this was not an act of terrorism. Fish was takin into custody and charges were later filed. Carrying an explosive aboard an aircraft is a felony offense and punishable by up to 10 years in federal prison without parole and a $250,000 fine.

Fish is now in the U.S. Marshals Service's custody.

TOP STORY 8 Planets Now!!!

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

Pluto is no longer a planet.

The International Astronomical Union approved new guidelines that downsize the solar system from nine planets to eight. The leading astronomers, meeting in Prague, Czech Republic, stripped Pluto of the planetary status it has held since 1930, when it was discovered.

In doing so, the group provided a new definition of what is and what isn't a planet. Pluto failed to make the new cut because its oblong orbit overlaps with Neptune's. It will now be a founding member of the new class of "dwarf planets." The guidelines also require planets to have enough mass that they are close to round.

Astronomers have been trying to draw a distinction between the eight "classical planets" -- Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune -- and Pluto, which is smaller than Earth's moon and has an eccentric orbit. Pluto has a large moon named Charon, and two small moons named Nix and Hydra were discovered in 2005.

In January, NASA sent a probe known as New Horizons on the way to Pluto. It is expected to reach the object in 2015.

America's Drunkest Cities

from Forbes

To do the study, Forbes ranked each city in five areas: state laws, number of drinkers, number of heavy drinkers, number of binge drinkers and alcoholism.

Here's the Top 5 and some noteworthies, thereafter:

1. . Milwaukee
2. Minneapolis-St. Paul
3. Columbus, Ohio
4. Boston
5. Austin, Texas
6. Chicago
14. Las Vegas
23. Los Angeles
28. Detroit
32. New York
33. Miami

Airport Mistakes Penis Pump for Bomb

from the Chicago Sun-Times

The female airport security guard held the small, black, squeezable rubber object she'd just plucked out of Mardin Amin's backpack, and eyed it suspiciously. Standing next to his mother, an embarrassed Amin whispered out of one corner of his mouth that it was a "pump" -- as in a penis pump. The guard misunderstood the Iraqi man and thought she heard the word "bomb."

Judge Gerald Winiecki has decided there was enough evidence for the case to move forward after the female guard testified she heard Amin "clearly" say the word bomb during the Aug. 16 incident at O'Hare Airport. Amin, 29, is charged with felony disorderly conduct and faces up to three years in prison if convicted.

Black Students Ordered to the Back of the Bus

from the Shreveport Time

Nine black children attending Red River Elementary School were directed last week to the back of the school bus by a white driver who designated the front seats for white children. This caused the nine children to have to share only two seats, meaning the older children had to hold the younger ones in their laps.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People also is considering filing a formal charge with the U.S. Department of Justice. The school's superintendent has already met with the family.

No one is commenting on the matter.

Morning-After Pill Going OTC

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

A contentious three-year battle over the morning-after pill is at an end. Federal health officials say women who prove they're at least 18 can now buy the Plan-B pill without a prescription.
Girls 17 and younger still need a doctor's note to buy the pills.

The pills are a concentrated dose of the same drug found in many regular birth-control pills, but can lower the risk of pregnancy by nearly 90 percent if taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex.

Ford Looks to Nissan-Renault

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

Shares of Ford Motor Co. surged more than 4 percent, following a report that Ford Chairman and CEO had approached Nissan-Renault about joining a global alliance. Ford said that the company would not comment on speculation.

General Motors currently is in talks with Nissan-Renault about the possibility of joining their global alliance.

Passengers Mutiny to have Muslims Removed from Flight

from the Daily Mail

British travelers staged an unprecedented mutiny - refusing to allow their flight to take off until two men they feared were terrorists were forcibly removed.

The extraordinary scenes happened after some of the 150 passengers on a Malaga-Manchester flight overheard two men of Asian appearance apparently talking Arabic. Passengers told cabin crew they feared for their safety and demanded police action. Some stormed off the Airbus minutes before it was due to leave the Costa del Sol at 3am. Others waiting for the flight in the departure lounge refused to board it.

The pair were marched off the jet at gunpoint after fellow passengers alerted officials on the flight back from Malaga, Spain.

Diverted NW Airlines Flight

from the McClatchy Washington Bureau, portions from WDIV Detroit TV 4

A Northwest Airlines plane flying from Amsterdam to India was escorted back to the airport by Dutch F-16 fighter jets and police arrested 12 passengers whose behavior had aroused the crew’s suspicion.

Several federal air marshals appeared in the front of the cabin, hanging their badges around their necks to keep order shortly after they observed the passengers in the rear trying to use cell phones and passing them around during and shortly after takeoff from Amsterdam. Cell phone use is barred on both U.S. and international flights. Some of the passengers also were trying to change seats. The pilots then requested an escort to land.

Twelve passengers were arrested in the Netherlands, where authorities have 72 hours to hold them without charges. They were being kept overnight in detention cells at the airport, while the rest of the 149 passengers are at hotels.

Northwest said it hopes to try the flight again Thursday.

MSN Messenger Police Alert Button

from Guardian Unlimited

Users of Microsoft's Messenger email service will be able to report suspected sexual predators directly to the police at the click of a mouse. In an attempt to protect the 11 million users of the service from potential abusers, the software giant has struck up a partnership with the Child Exploitation & Online Protection Centre (UK).

Microsoft will add a "report abuse" icon to Messenger that will link any users worried about their anonymous internet buddies directly to online police services. Set up earlier this year to provide a single point of contact for the public, law enforcers and the communications industry to report the targeting of children online, CEOP offers advice and information to parents and potential victims of abuse and works with police forces around the world to protect children.

The debate about online safety has heated up recently, with social networking sites such as MySpace becoming enormously popular with teen- and pre-teenage children.

Crimestoppes Alert

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

The family of a 56-year-old man is asking for help in locating a hit-and-run driver who left him in critical condition. Lazlo Latits (pictured) was riding his motorcycle on the Davison Freeway, near Lasalle, in Detroit at about 5 p.m. on Monday when he was hit by a vehicle. Witnesses described the vehicle as a red Chevrolet Beretta with a black female driver.

Latits remains hospitalized Wednesday at Henry Ford Hospital. His family said doctors removed his spleen and pancreas and may also remove a kidney.

Anyone with information on the hit-and-run driver or vehicle should contact Crime Stoppers at 800-SPEAK-UP .

UPDATE Granny Gets to Keep 'Obscene' License Plate

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

Central Ohio grandmother fought for and won the right to keep her personalized license plate after allegations that they were profane.
Pat Niple, 74, said she wants to set the record straight about her problem, WCMH-TV reported.
"I'm not an obscene granny," Niple said.

Niple's personalized license plates are NWTF, an abbreviation of Northwood Tree Farm -- a business she owned with her late husband. It also means something else, officials said.
Niple went to an Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles office to get some answers. A clerk had to whisper what the acronym means to some people. Niple was told that her license plates she has displayed for 10 years would be taken away. She said she was astonished and appealed to keep the abbreviated reminder of her late husband's business

After weeks of debate and national media attention, Niple's plates were returned to her last weekend.

...and who says the media is so bad?

Boy Charged for 'Meowing' at Neighbor

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

Meow. A Pennsylvania judge is being asked to decide whether that word is a harmless taunt or grounds for misdemeanor harassment. Police have charged a 14-year-old boy with that crime. Michael Loughner is accused of meowing whenever he sees his 78-year-old neighbor, Alexandria Carasia.

The boy's family got rid of their cat after Carasia complained that it was using her flower garden as a litter box. Now, she said, the boy makes meowing sounds every time he sees her.

He said he's only meowed at her twice and there is a history of disputes between the neighbors. We are currently waiting decision from the judge, who has elected to wait 90 days before delivering it.

Snakes in a Theater

from WKMG Central Florida TV 6

Two live diamondback rattlesnakes were released in an Arizona movie theater during a showing of the new film Snakes on a Plane. Pranksters released the young venomous rattlesnakes in a dark theater at the AMC Desert Ridge in Phoenix. The two snakes caused a panic in the dark theater.

Wranglers were called to collect the snakes. No one was injured in the incident and, so far, the culprits have not been caught. Officials believe the snakes were smuggled into the theater in backpacks. The snakes were released into the desert.

Fraud Alert

from the San Francisco Chronicle

If you're thinking about ordering a pizza for dinner tonight, you'll definitely want to think twice if the pizza place insists that you pay by credit card. That's because an AT&T official fired off an internal memo the other day warning of a scam being perpetrated on California consumers, pizza restaurants and the telecom giant itself.

Here's how the scam works:

A fraudster contacts an AT&T service rep and says he works at a pizza parlor and that the phone is having trouble. Until things get fixed, he requests that all incoming calls be forwarded to another number, which he provides. Pizza orders are thus routed by AT&T to the fraudster's line. When a call comes in, the fraudster pretends to take the customer's order but says payment must be made in advance by credit card. The unsuspecting customer gives his or her card number and expiration date, and before you can say "extra cheese," the fraudster is ready to go on an Internet shopping spree using someone else's money.

AT&T said it's possible there have been other instances elsewhere in California and perhaps other states as well. AT&T has no way of knowing until an individual pizza parlor calls in to ask why its phone has stopped ringing. AT&T has alerted other phone companies about the bogus call-forwarding requests.

Strange Pic

from NASA
click picture for larger view

The cloud pictured above resulted from a series of flares released by an air force jet over the Atlantic Ocean. The jet that released the flares, a C-17 Globemaster III, is seen on the right. The flares release smoke and the resulting pattern is sometimes known as a smoke angel. The circular eyes of the above smoke angel are caused by air spiraling off the plane's wings and are known as wingtip vortices.

Britney Spears's WT Husband's Rap Debut

link to YouTube

If you can stand to watch, the video lasts 5 minutes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aam1pDl8wnM

Man Attacked, Stabbed After "Coming On" to Lesbians

from LOGO News

Seven New Jersey lesbians are charged with attempted murder and gang assault after a man was stabbed when he was rebuffed after coming on to one of them on a New York City street. The 28 year old man, identified as Dwayne Buckle, is listed in serious condition in St. Vincent's hospital. Police say that the women had just exited a movie theater in the West Village when he approached one of them to say she was pretty.

The 4'11'' woman rebuffed the advance and Buckle allegedly spat at her and called her a "dyke". The woman is then reported to have pulled a steak knife and stabbed him. Why was a lesbian traveling with a steak knife? Probably becasue lesbians must always be prepared to eat large cuts of fatty meat.

The six other lesbians kicked and punched the man and then removed their large belts and pelted Buckle.

The suspects were arrested a block awayby the NYPD. And again, they have since been chraged with attempted murder and gang assault. One of the accused reportedly said, "He spat on us and threw a cigarette". A second suspect reportedly said that they should not have been charged because they were defending themselves from "a hate crime".

Here's a question: Would you call a gang of lesbians a gaggle?

Couple Uses Chicken as Bridesmaid

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

Chicken was a part of the wedding of Terry Morris and Renee Biwer, but it had nothing to do with the menu or the name of a popular dance.

Henrietta the hen was a bridesmaid. She's also the pet of the groom.

Terry Morris has had Henrietta for 12 years, ever since the hen came into his wheel alignment shop in Olympia, Washington.

He said he kept the hen a secret from his bride-to-be at first because he didn't want her to think he was crazy. She didn't, and the couple now travel with Henrietta and keep her in hotel rooms with them.

The new Mrs. Morris said Henrietta is part of the family, and "like one of our children," it's important to include her.

Swarm of Bees Attack, Kill Man

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

An Arizona man has died after he and his father were attacked by a swarm of bees.

Authorities said the 39-year-old man and his father were working on the roof of a home Sunday when they accidentally disturbed a bee hive. The father sought refuge inside the home but the son stayed outside to try to ward off the bees. The son was stung about 300 times. The father was stung about 100 times and is hospitalized in stable condition.

Sheriff's deputies and firefighters used foam to placate the angry bees. Two emergency workers also were stung but are OK.

Officials did not know what type of bees attacked the men.

LOCAL New Dress Code for DPS

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

Students in the Detroit Public School District will soon be following a new dress code. This fall, students will be required to wear dress collared shirts and black, navy, or khaki-colored slacks and knee-length skirts. Flip flop sandals, hats and T-shirts are prohibited, and students who don't follow the dress code will be disciplined.

'World Trade Center': 2 Scoops

movie review, portions from Slate magazine

For those of your who were expecting to see the story of 9/11, you will be surprised to discover that this film closely follows the lives of two Port Authority police officers and their families and not the disaster as a whole. Nicolas Cage and Michael Pena portay officers John McLoughlin and Will Jimeno, repectively, who were first responders to the World Trade Center after the attacks.
There are many difficult scenes to watch, but you won't see the planes as they hit the buildings. I think we have all seen this too many times anyway. Many of the people portrayed in the film, particularly Jimeno and McLoughlin's families, were involved in with the production of the film.

Many people have said that this film was made and released "too early." I must admit, when I first read of its production (post from Jan 24: http://channel248.blogspot.com/2006/01/two-911-movies-to-be-released-this.html) I was skeptical. But the truth is, I think people need to be reminded of what happened. Furthermore, I think this film tells the stories of many people who risked there lives that day that haven't had as much attention as other parts of the tragedy. However, there are many supporting characters whose stories were merely tocuhed on. And according to interviews done by Slate magazine, many of these "supporting characters" played much more intricate roles in the rescues while other characters' stories were exaggerated and somewhat fictionalized. But all-in-all the movie portrays accurate accounts of what McLoughlin, Jimeno, and their families experienced that day.

Naked Chic with Dead Pig

from the Daily Mail
picture edited for content (click for larger view)

After pickled sheep, unmade beds and painting with elephant dung, some questioned where modern art could go next. Kira O'Reilly will provide her own answer today by spending four hours naked, hugging a dead pig.

The controversial Irish performance artist will invite one person at a time to watch her sit in a specially-constructed set and perform a 'crushing slow dance' with the carcass in her arms.
She claims the bizarre exhibition is an attempt to 'identify' with the pig, which she cuts with a knife during the show.

Visitors to the Newlyn Art Gallery in Newlyn, Cornwall (UK) will be allowed to watch her for ten minutes. The gallery has defended its decision to stage the one-off show, but animal rights campaigners have labelled the performance 'sick'.

BREAKING NEWS ALERT

Man Admits to Killing JonBenet Ramsey
from AP, CNN

An American suspect arrested in Bangkok has admitted to killing 6-year-old JonBenet Ramsey, according to the head of Thailand immigration police. This comes as a surprise breakthrough in a lurid, decade-old murder mystery that had cast a cloud of suspicion over her parents.

John Mark Karr, 41, admitted to the killing after he was arrested at his downtown Bangkok apartment Wednesday night. Karr arrived in Bangkok on June 6 from Malaysia to look for a teaching job. It was not clear whether he got a teaching position.

Karr's visa has been revoked as an "undesirable person" given the accusations against him, and U.S. authorities were expected to take him to the United States in the next few days.

Karr has been charged with murder, kidnapping, and sexual assault of a child.

In a statement Wednesday, John Ramsey said: "Patsy was aware that authorities were close to making an arrest in the case, and had she lived to see this day, would no doubt have been as pleased as I am with today's development almost 10 years after our daughter's murder." The Boulder Police had been tracking Karr online throughout a "focused and complex investigation."

UPDATE MI Terror Threat

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

County prosecutors backed off terror charges filed against three Palestinian-American men from Texas who were found buying large numbers of cell phones. An attorney for the accused trio said the men now were being charged with two federal counts: conspiracy to defraud consumers with counterfeit goods and intent to promote the carrying on of a specific unlawful activity, and in this case the activity is conducting financial transactions involving the proceeds from counterfeit goods.

Supporters of the Texas men in the Michigan case say they were targeted because of their ethnicity. They say the trio was buying up prepaid cell phones to resell for a profit and their purchases had nothing to do with terrorism. The photos the men took of the Mackinac Bridge, which led to the surveillance charge, were innocent tourist snapshots, they contend.

The FBI said this week that there was no imminent threat to the Mackinac Bridge and no information linking the men to known terrorist groups. The head of the Michigan State Police said there was no indication the men were plotting any kind of attack.

UPDATE 16 y/o Allowed to Forgo Chemo

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

A 16-year-old cancer patient's legal fight ended in victory Wednesday when his family's attorneys and social services officials reached an agreement that would allow him to forgo chemotherapy.
According to the court decree Abraham Cherrix will be treated by an oncologist of his choice who is board-certified in radiation therapy and interested in alternative treatments. The family must provide the court updates on Abraham's treatment and condition every three months until he's cured or turns 18. The decree also states that the parents weren't medically neglectful.

Abraham said that he saw the doctor last week, and the doctor assured him that his cancer is curable. The teen said he'll continue following an alternative herbal treatment called the Hoxsey method (the sale of which was banned in the United States in 1960) as well as his doctor's treatment plan. The regimen won't include chemotherapy, but radiation is a possibility.

Last summer, the teen was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease, a cancer of the lymphatic system considered very treatable in its early stages. He was so debilitated by three months of chemotherapy that he declined a second, more intensive round that doctors recommended early this year. After Abraham chose to go on the sugar-free, organic diet and take liquid herbal supplements under the supervision of a Mexican clinic, a social worker asked a juvenile court judge to intervene to protect the teen's health. Last month, the judge found Abraham's parents neglectful and ordered Abraham to report to a hospital for treatment as doctors deem necessary. Lawyers for the family appealed, and an Accomack County Circuit Court judge suspended that order and scheduled a new trial to settle the dispute. The judge scheduled the trial for two days but has indicated he would like to finish in one.

According to the American Cancer Society, there is no scientific evidence that Hoxsey is effective in treating cancer in people. The herbal treatment is illegal in the United States but can be obtained through clinics in Mexico, and some U.S. naturopathic practitioners use adapted versions of the formula.

XM, Siruis Merger Buzz

from Rertuers

Pull up the six-month performance of companies making up the Hollywood Reporter/Bloomberg 50 Entertainment Stock Index and a tiny pattern emerges: Dead last is XM Satellite Radio, and third from last is Sirius Satellite Radio. Their rapidly declining share prices have some investors calling for a quick fix -- namely, that the two companies merge.

Lineups: Sirius ponied up $500 million for Stern and $220 million for the NFL. XM has paid $650 million for Major League Baseball and $55 million for Oprah Winfrey. NASCAR, which XM paid about $15 million for in a five-year deal that is up at year's end, just switched to Sirius for $107.5 million. The two also have lined up Eminem, 50 Cent, Martha Stewart, the NBA and the NHL, to name a few.

Such expenses have led to massive losses -- $667 million at XM last year and $863 million at Sirius -- even as subscriber growth has kept on trucking. Sirius has gone from 30,000 subs in 2002 to 4.7 million as of July, while XM has grown from 360,000 to 7 million in the same frame.

'Hybrid Mutant' Found Dead in Maine

from Breitbart

Residents are wondering if an animal found dead over the weekend may be the mysterious creature that has mauled dogs, frightened residents and been the subject of local legend for half a generation. The animal was found near power lines along Route 4 in Maine on Saturday, apparently struck by a car while chasing a cat. The carcass was photographed and inspected by several people who live in the area, but nobody is sure exactly what it is.

A womanspotted the animal near her yard about a week before it was killed. She called it a "hybrid mutant of something." For the past 15 years, residents across Androscoggin County have reported seeing and hearing a mysterious animal with chilling monstrous cries and eyes that glow in the night. The animal has been blamed for attacking and killing a Doberman pinscher and a Rottweiler the past couple of years.

Wildlife officials and animal control officers declined to go to Turner to examine the remains. By Tuesday, the carcass had been picked clean by vultures and there was not much left of the dead animal.

Apparently Red Heads Have More Sex

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

Redheads have more sex than women of any other hair color, according to new research in Germany. Hamburg sex researcher, Professor Dr. Werner Habermehl, said his new study documented the sex lives of hundreds of German women and compared them by hair color.

Habermehl said that the sex lives of redheaded women were not only more active than women with other colors of hair, but that red heads have more partners and sex more frequently than the average person.

He also told the paper that women who dyed their hair red from another color were signaling they were looking for a partner.

NYPD Revs Up with New Dodge Chargers

from AMNY.com

NYPD Police Commissioner Ray Kelly announced Monday the department would be testing 15 flashy new 2006 Dodge Chargers on regular patrols, giving the NYPD a new top speed of 150 mph. The cars go from 0 to 60 in 6.5 seconds and stop much faster than NYPD's current fleet of Chevrolet Impalas and Ford Crown Victorias, which max out at 110 mph.

The car can also operate in "stealth mode," where all the interior lights are dimmed to look like the car is turned off. The 2006 police model starts at about $29,000.

School Changes Sex-Ed Policy After High Pregnancy Rate

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

An Ohio school board is expanding sex education following the revelation that 13 percent of one high school's female students were pregnant last year. There were 490 female students at Timken High School in 2005, and 65 were pregnant. The new Canton school board program promotes abstinence but also will teach students who decide to have sex how to do so responsibly, bringing the city school district's health curriculum in line with national standards.

The Ohio Department of Education doesn't require schools to provide sex education, particularly when it comes to using contraceptives. The state curriculum calls for venereal disease education, which often is taught along with nutrition and the effects of drugs, alcohol and tobacco. Statistics through July 2005 showed that 104 of the 586 babies born to Canton residents in Aultman Hospital and Mercy Medical Center had mothers between the ages of 11 and 19.

LOCAL UPDATE MI Terror Plot

from The Houston Chronicle

The three Dallas-area men arrested in Michigan on state terrorism charges are well-known to cell phone wholesale and retail shops in the Dallas area, where managers said Monday they are part of a brisk trade in buying phones from Wal-Mart and other discount stores and reselling them to smaller shops.

In Michigan, meanwhile, the FBI said it has no information to indicate that the three Palestinian-Americans arrested with about 1,000 cell phones in their van on Friday had any connections to terrorism.

TFBI said in a news release that there is no imminent threat to the 5-mile-long Mackinac Bridge, which has been the subject of increased patrols after local Michigan authorities said they believed the men were targeting the bridge. Images of the bridge were found on a digital camera belonging to the men.

Local authorities in Caro have not said what they believe the men intended to do with the phones and have declined to spell out what probable cause they have indicating the three were involved in terrorism.

The men are each being held on $750,000 bail and are charged with providing material support for terrorist acts and terrorism surveillance of a vulnerable target. A district court magistrate has set a pretrial hearing for Friday and examining hearing for Aug. 24.

Top 10 Angriest US Cities

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

A study conducted by Men's Health magazine has found that Orlando, Fla., ranks No. 1 on a list of the angriest cities in the nation. The magazine looked at the percentage of men with high blood pressure, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and FBI rates for aggravated assaults, as well as workplace deaths from assaults and other violence. Those numbers were compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Traffic congestion data were also a factor.

Here's the list:

Top 10 Angriest Cities

1. Orlando, Fla.
2. St. Petersburg, Fla.
3. Detroit
4. Baltimore
5. Nashville, Tenn.
6. Wilmington, Del.
7. Miami
8. Memphis, Tenn.
9. Jacksonville, Fla.
10. St. Louis

Woman Runs Over 2 People for Cutting in Line @ McDonald's

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

Police in Athens-Clarke County, Ga., said a disgruntled McDonald's customer ran into two other customers with her car after a dispute over who was next in line to order breakfast.

Police said two women were standing in a crowded line about 8:30 a.m. Saturday as they waited to order breakfast. A cashier opened a new line and they stepped to the front of it -- a move that angered at least one customer waiting for her chance to order. Witnesses said she started yelling and threatened to kill the women.

Witnesses told police the woman left the restaurant before the Thomases and stayed in the parking lot, sitting in her dark blue Jeep Cherokee.

As the other tow women made their way to their car, witnesses said the other woman pulled out of her parking space, backed up and then sped toward the ladies -- striking them both with the passenger side of the Jeep. The report said neither woman was injured severely.

Police are still looking for the drive of the Cherokee.

LOCAL UPDATE MI Terror Plot

from WZZM Grand Rapids TV 13
Men may have planned to destroy Mackinac bridge

Federal authorities helped with the investigation into a possible terror threat to the Mackinac Bridge. The FBI office in Detroit worked with local law enforcement authorities before the police arrested three men in Caro on Friday. Officers found about 1,000 pre-paid cell phones in their van. Police in Caro arrested the three Palestinian-American men after they allegedly bought 80 of the phones at a Wal-Mart store in Caro.

The men allegedly traveled to several states to buy pre-paid cell phones, despite policies at many stores limiting purchases to two or three phones at a time. Police in Wisconsin say these three men also bought phones in their state. A clerk who helped them says she suspected something fishy.

from WNED Sagina/Mid-MI TV 5
Men have no ties to terrorist groups

The FBI says there is no threat to the Mackinac Bridge and that there is no information that directly links the men to terrorism. Special Agent in Charge Daniel D. Roberts says that the FBI has been working with local authorities from Caro and the State Police. He stated that local investigation continues even though the FBI has deamed there is no threat to the Mackinac Bridge and no direct connection to terrorism. It was revealed over the weekend that the goal of an alleged terror plot, uncovered in Mid-Michigan, was apparently to hit the Mackinac Bridge.

The bridge security had already been increased for several months due to elevated terror alert levels. Cameras on the bridge are monitored so that any suspicious packages or activity will be responded to by authorities. ne theory is that the men weren't targeting solely the bridge itself but the people on it. The Annual Labor Day Bridge Walk has drawn over 60,000 people in the past few years. In 2000 there was an estimated 65,000 people who participated in the Annual Bridge Walk.

UPDATE Is Pluto Really a Planet

from CNN

Nearly 2,500 astronomers from 75 countries gathered in Prague Monday to come up with a universal definition of what qualifies as a planet and possibly decide whether Pluto should keep its planet status. For decades, the solar system has consisted of nine planets, even as scientists debated whether Pluto really belonged. Then the recent discovery of an object larger and farther away than Pluto threatened to throw this slice of the cosmos into chaos.

Among the possibilities at the 12-day meeting of the International Astronomical Union in the Czech Republic capital: Subtract Pluto or christen one more planet, and possibly dozens more.


The debate intensified last summer when astronomer Michael Brown of the California Institute of Technology announced the discovery of a celestial object larger than Pluto. Like Pluto, it is a member of the Kuiper Belt, a mysterious disc-shaped zone beyond Neptune containing thousands of comets and planetary objects. Brown nicknamed his find "Xena." The Hubble Space Telescope measured the bright, rocky object officially known as 2003 UB313, at about 70 miles longer than Pluto. At 9 billion miles the sun, it is the farthest known object in the solar system.

The discovery stoked the planet debate that had been simmering since Pluto was spotted in 1930.

Yahoo! Mail Vulnerable to Hackers

from Ynet News

A security vulnerability exposes Yahoo! Mail private mailboxes to hackers. A test conducted by security company Avnet shows hackers may gain access to Yahoo!Mail users' mailboxes by sending an email message with a malicious code.

According to further tests conducted by Ynet, and without disclosing the process, a new email account was opened. An email message was sent to that mailbox along with an html file with the malicious code, as an attachment. Opening the tainted email on Internet Explorer undetectably sends the user's cookie to the hacker's server. The user is exposed to the vulnerability without having to download or open the html file.

At this point, the hacker can retrieve the cookie from the remote server, and gain full access to the user's mail box, with no time limit. The hacker may read and send emails from the mailbox.

Total Fatness

For a limited time only, Denny's Restaraunts are featuring a new grand slam breakfast called the Extreme Grand Slam. This breakfast has twice the amount of food as the Original Grand Slam. There is something about this breakfast that everyone should know... it is absolutely and totally unhealthy. This breakfast served "as is" contains 1,475 calories, 85 grams of fat, and 23 grams of saturated fat. Based on a 2,000 calorie diet, fat allowances are as follows: 65 grams total fat of which 20 can be saturated fats. This means that you are consuming 74% of your daily caloric intake, over 130% of total fat intake, and 115% of saturated fat intake all in one meal! Extreme portions like this are leading to more unhealthy lifestyles that everyone needs to be aware of.

Sea Turtle Attacks Human

from WKMG Central Florida TV 6

A graduate student from the University of Central Florida remains missing Saturday after he was pulled underwater by a large sea turtle. Boyd Lyon, 35, vanished Thursday afternoon about three miles north of the Sebastian Inlet and 400 yards out to sea.

The student was apparently tagging turtles as part of a UCF research project.

The Coast Guard from the Fort Pierce, Fla., station is conducting the search with assistance from the Brevard County sheriff's helicopter.

Ridiculous Item

from Drudge

In an interview with New York Daily News Comedienne Sandra Bernhardt has threatened to fight new security measures at airports imposed after a terrorist attack on planes flying from the UK to the US was averted. Bernhardt, who is scheduled to fly out of New York's JFK Airport is determined to break the rule by taking on board various makeup products.

I think that this is just ridiculous. Anyone who would give airport security a hard time over makeup should be turned away or even arrested. This type of behavior makes Americans look high maintenance. Besides, no amount of makeup is going to do anything for her ugliness!

LOCAL Terrorism Charges Against 3 MI Men

from WNEM Saginaw/Mid Michigan TV 5

The three suspects are now facing two counts each of Homeland Security Terrorism charges.

Around 1:00am August 11th the three men purchased cell phones from the Wal-Mart store on M-81 near the corner of M-24 in Caro. Wal-Mart places a limit on the number of cell phones that can be purchased at once, that number is three. The three men allegedly bought 80 by purchasing them three at time so that an alert wouldn't be triggered by the cash register. They also paid cash.

An alert clerk grew suspicious and called Tuscola County central dispatch. The Caro Police Department sent a unit and stopped the rented van on M-81 just east of Caro. The suspects were headed towards Bad Axe on M-81 where there is another Super Wal-Mart.
The three men are described as being of Palestinian descent but live in Texas. Police say the three, ages 19, 22, and 23 appear to be naturalized citizens. One man was driving while the other two were in the back opening the phone packages with box cutters throwing the phones in one box, batteries in another and the packaging and phone charger in another container. The suspects had 1000 other cell phones in the van. There was also a bag of receipts showing that someone was in Wisconsin the day before. The phones were Nokia TracFones selling for $20 at Wal-Mart. For your twenty dollars you receive a phone charger and 40 minutes of airtime. The phones do not have to be registered with a name. Also discovered was a laptop with store addresses and store logos.

Tim Nausler with the Michigan State Police bomb squad says this has all the tell tale signs of using cell phones to detonate bombs. He says you need two phones to detonate a bomb one to be with the explosive and the other to make the call to that phone. In some instances he says you can detonate with one phone using the alarm clock function.

The TracFones are a nationwide prepaid wireless phone service and are even offered with international long distance. These phones according to www.tracfone.com don't even have coverage in the Thumb area where they were purchased. The men have been "cooperative, upfront, not hiding" anything according to police. They also told officers they get stopped frequently and say they buy the phones for $20 and sell them elsewhere for $38. They sell them without the packaging or charger. The Caro Police Department, the FBI and the Homeland Security Terrorism Taskforce are involved in the case.

UPDATE UK/US Terror Threat

from Breitbart
Attack was dry run

The plot folied on Thursday was merely a dry run. The actual attack would have followed within days. The suicide attackers planned to use a peroxide- based solution that could ignite when sparked by a camera flash or another electronic device. The test run was designed to see whether the plotters would be able to smuggle the needed materials aboard the planes.

from Time
US intelligence picked up chatter, passed along to UK

U.S. picked up the suspects' chatter and shared it with British authorities. Senior U.S officials have confirmed details of the plot that led the Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff to ratchet up the color-coded security alert for British-U.S. flights to an unprecedented red for "Severe." A total of 24 individuals were arrested in Britain overnight and five still remain at large. Their plan was to smuggle the peroxide-based liquid explosive TATP and detonators onto nine different planes from four carriers — British Airways, Continental, United and American — that fly direct routes between the U.K and the U.S. and blow them up mid-air.

Intelligence officials estimate that about 2,700 people would have perished, according to the official. Britain's MI-5 intelligence service and Scotland Yard had been tracking the plot for several months, but only in the past two weeks had the plotters' planning begun to crystallize.

In the two or three days before the arrests, the cell was going operational, and authorities were pressed into action. MI5 and Scotland Yard agents tracked the plotters from the ground, while knowledgeable American intelligence provided London authorities with intercepts of the group's communications.

from ABC News
Explosive gel was to be concealed in sports drink

The suspected terror plotters arrested in Britain had planned to conceal their liquid or gel explosives inside a modified sports beverage drink container and trigger the device with the flash from a disposable camera.

The plotters planned to leave the top of the bottle sealed and filled with the original beverage but add a false bottom, filled with a liquid or gel explosive. The terrorists planned to dye the explosive mixture red to match the sports drink sealed in the top half of the container.

This, they thought, would ensure that they would be able to pass through security -- even if they were asked to unseal and drink the beverage.

The flash in a disposable camera has enough electrical power, they apparently believed, to set off the homemade explosive.

Miami Vice: 3 Scoops

movie review

The movie was a great tribute to the original television series from the 80's. Colin Farrell channeled Don Johnson. As with the original series, Sonny (played by Farrell) has a Ferrari and fast boats are featured throughout the movie. The action scenes were great and the plotline kept me interested.

There were some things that I didn't like. A couple of the characters had really thick foreign accents and sometimes I couldn't catch what they were actually saying. During the setup of the plot, Farrell and Fox's characters along with their other teammates often used police drung lingo that I found unfamiliar. The plot was also sometimes a little jumpy and somewhat hard to follow. But I had forgotten all of this halfway through the movie when the action got real heavy and exciting.

If you ever watched the old show this movie is definately a must see!

UK/US Terror Plot Foiled

from CNN

Terrorists were in the final stages of planning to blow up planes heading to the United States from Britain. The plans were suggestive of an al Qaeda plot. British police said they had arrested 21 suspects in the plot to blow up passenger jets flying between the United Kingdom and the United States. The plot was intended to be mass murder on an unimaginable scale.

Details:

The U.S. raised the terror threat level to "severe" for all flights leaving Britain for the United States. Britain raised its alert level to "critical."

The plot involved hiding liquid explosives in carry-on luggage, U.S. officials said, and passengers at all U.S. and British airports are banned from taking any liquids onto planes. British police are also banning passengers from carrying electronic key fobs, which have the potential to trigger bombs.

The plot targeted Continental, United, British Airways and American Airlines flights to New York, Washington and California. Six to 10 flights were targeted. U.S. and British officials said some suspects could still be on the loose and their investigations were continuing. Police said they were still raiding businesses and homes

Flights were canceled or delayed at airports across Europe and the United States as the new security measures produced massive lines at airports. In a sign of the heightened security, the U.S. is dispatching extra air marshals to Britain.

British investigators are telling the U.S. that terrorists planned to get on board with liquid substances that when mixed could be turned into something that could be detonated. British and U.S. security agencies quickly moved to impose strict limits on carry-on items in the wake of the arrests, causing extended delays at airport security checkpoints. The British Airports Authority said no hand luggage would be allowed onto planes leaving British airports until further notice.

Crimestoppers Alert

from WDIV Detroit TV 4
Help Bloomfield Township Police catch this wanted man!

Police released a sketch on Tuesday of a man wanted in connection with a home invasion in Bloomfield Township. A homeowner said he was returning his lawnmower to his garage at about 12:30 p.m. on Friday when a man surprised him, assaulted him and eventually forced him into his home, police said. The attacker tied up the victim and left the residence on Club Drive with the victim's wallet containing a small amount of cash, according to police.

The man fled in the victim's red 1993 Dodge Caravan with the Michigan license plate No. JDG82.

Police said no weapon was seen during the incident. The victim was not injured.

The attacker was described as white, about 5 feet 10 inches tall, about 45 years old with "bushy" brown hair and a beard, police said. The man also had tattoos on both arms and was wearing a black T-shirt and gray shorts.

The Oakland County Sheriff's Department's aviation unit and the Southfield Police Department's K-9 unit both assisted Bloomfield Township police in their search for the man.

Anyone with information on the incident should contact the Bloomfield Township Police Department at 248-433-7755.