Space Station

from Daily Mail

This spectacular picture shows the space shuttle Atlantis alongside the International Space Station silhouetted as they orbit the earth.

FDA Lifts Ban on Most Spinach

from AP

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration lifted its two-week-old consumer warning on most fresh spinach Friday, revising the alert to say it now covers only specific brands packaged on certain dates.

The warning now applies only to spinach recalled earlier this month by Natural Selection Foods of San Juan Bautista and four companies that it supplied, said Kevin Reilly, deputy director of prevention services for the California health department.

Natural Selection's recall covered 34 brands it packaged bearing "Best if Used By" dates of Aug. 17 through Oct. 1 - this Sunday. The recall and the expiration dates make it likely the tainted spinach that led to a nationwide E. coli outbreak has mostly worked its way out of the food supply.

Anna Nicole & Her TV Attorney Exchange Vows

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

Reality TV star Anna Nicole Smith exchanged vows with boyfriend Howard K. Stern on a boat near Nassau, but there was no formal marriage and the ceremony is not legally binding. Tthe exchange of vows happened aboard a catamaran Thursday - 18 days after Smith's 20-year-old son, Daniel, died as he was visiting her in a Nassau hospital, where she had given birth to a baby girl.

Stern says he is the father of the baby.

Doctor Claims He Can Time Travel

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

An Ohio chiropractor who claimed to treat patients using time travel has surrendered his license to practice. State regulators had been investigating Dr. James Burda of Athens, who said he could take care of anyone, anywhere by reaching back in time to when the injury occurred. Burda said he discovered the skill six years ago when he hurt his own foot while driving. He said he gave the pain a command to stop and it went away.

He said he doesn't use force to realign bones, but he uses his mind to manipulate the body. But if that doesn't work, he said he travels back in time to fix the problem. He calls the practice Bala-Keem. State medical officials call it malpractice.

Burda's Web site offered long-distance healing service for $60 an hour.

Burda said that his practice is beyond chiropractic, and is beyond what "they understand." He
said that anything that's beyond what people don't understand scares them. The Ohio State Chiropractic Board accused him of being unable to practice due to mental illness.

7-Eleven Drops Citgo

from MyWay News

7-Eleven Inc. dropped Venezuela-owned Citgo as its gasoline supplier after more than 20 years as part of a previously announced plan by the convenience store operator to launch its own brand of fuel. 7-Eleven officials said that the decision was partly motivated by politics.

Citgo Petroleum Corp. is a Houston-based subsidiary of Venezuela's state-run oil company and 7-Eleven is worried that anti-American comments made by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez might prompt motorists to fill-up elsewhere. Chavez has called President George W. Bush the devil and an alcoholic. The U.S. government has warned that Chavez is a destabilizing force in Latin America. Instead, 7-Eleven, which sells gasoline at 2,100 of its 5,300 U.S. stores, will now purchase fuel from several distributors, including Tower Energy Group of Torrance, Calif., Sinclair Oil of Salt Lake City, and Houston-based Frontier Oil Corp.

Zero-gravity Surgery Successful

from BBC News

A team of French doctors say they have carried out a successful operation on a human under "weightless" conditions in an adapted aircraft. The trial is being seen as a first step to performing surgery in space.

The doctors removed a benign tumour from the arm of a volunteer as their plane made a series of swoops to mimic a reduced-gravity environment. The medics and patient were strapped down for the procedure which was done inside a hygienic plastic tent. Specially designed instruments were fitted with magnets to attach them to the metal operating table.

The three-hour flight above south-west France used a modified Airbus A300 known as "Zero-G", which flies parabolic curves that give its passengers 20-second periods of weightlessness. The operation took no more than 11 minutes.

UPDATE Daniel Smith Killed by Medicine Mix

from People

According to pathologist Cyril Wecht the death of Anna Nicole Smith's 20-year-old son Daniel was caused by a lethal combination of methadone, Zoloft and Lexapro. Wecht said the drugs caused the cardiac dysrhythmia that led to Daniel's death. Wecht got the toxicology results from National Medical Services in Willow Grove, Pa., today. Daniel had a prescription for the antidepressant for Lexapro, but it is not known how he obtained the Zoloft.

Crazy Cat Lady

from WTOP D.C. 103.5 FM

A woman who was found living with more than 300 mostly dead cats pleaded guilty to 46 misdemeanor counts of neglect, abruptly ending her trial on animal cruelty charges. Patricia K. Nicholson, 51, of rural Mount Airy, entered the Alford plea after a lunch break following about 2 1/2 hours of testimony in Frederick County District Court. In an Alford plea, a defendant doesn't admit guilt but acknowledges the state has enough evidence to produce a guilty verdict. Nicholson faces a maximum penalty of 11 years and four months behind bars plus a $46,000 fine.

Nicholson was found living in a house with 184 dead cats and 119 live ones, of which 46 had to be euthanized, according to court records and trial testimony. In return for her guilty plea to failing to provide adequate food, shelter and air to the 46 cats that were put down, prosecutors dropped 76 other counts of that offense and 122 misdemeanor counts of inflicting unnecessary pain and suffering. Animal control officers found two refrigerators stuffed with cat carcasses and every flat surface covered with at least three inches of animal feces. Amid reeking rooms filled with cat-carrier cages stacked six high, they found other remains _ some in plastic containers lovingly labeled with names and death dates going back to 2001, and some decomposing in closets and atop the mattress on which Nicholson apparently slept.

UPDATE Former Miners Commit Suicide

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

Two miners whose jobs included watching over safety at the Sago Mine before the deadly explosion last January committed suicide in the past month. Neither man had been blamed for the disaster that killed 12 of their comrades, and neither one's family has definitively linked the suicides to the accident. But those who knew the men say there is little doubt the tragedy haunted them.

Both men were working at the Sago Mine on the day of the blast and had been questioned by investigators along with dozens of other witnesses. One former co-worker said at least one of the men felt investigators were treating him as if he had done something wrong.

State and federal mine-safety agencies have not determined the cause of the Jan. 2 blast.

NYC Mulls Ban on Trans Fats

from the Associated Press

Three years after the city banned smoking in restaurants, health officials are talking about prohibiting something they say is almost as bad: artificial trans fatty acids. The city health department unveiled a proposal Tuesday that would bar cooks at any of the city's 24,600 food service establishments from using ingredients that contain the artery-clogging substance, commonly listed on food labels as partially hydrogenated oil. Artificial trans fats are found in some shortenings, margarine and frying oils and turn up in foods from pie crusts to french fries to doughnuts.

Doctors agree that trans fats are unhealthy in nearly any amount, but a spokesman for the restaurant industry said he was stunned the city would seek to ban a legal ingredient found in millions of American kitchens.

The NY State Restaraunt Association criticizes the proposal, citing that it would create havoc. Cooks would be forced to discard old recipes and scrutinize every ingredient in their pantry. A restaurant could face a fine if an inspector finds the wrong type of vegetable shortening on its shelves. The proposal also would create a huge problem for national chains. Among the fast foods that would need to get an overhaul or face a ban: McDonald's french fries, Kentucky Fried Chicken and several varieties of Dunkin' Donuts.

A similar ban on trans fats in restaurant food has been proposed in Chicago and is still under consideration. Under the New York proposal, restaurants would need to get artificial trans fats out of cooking oils, margarine and shortening by July 1, 2007, and all other foodstuffs by July 1, 2008. It would not affect grocery stores. It also would not apply to naturally occurring trans fats, which are found in some meats and dairy.

A Closer View

from NASA

Click picture for a closer view of the Face on Mars

Craig Monroe

Okay, so Sunday's game wasn't a playoff game: But I gotta show some love for Craig Monroe. His three-run homer punctuated a nine-run second inning, helping to clinch the Tigers' first playoff berth since 1987 with an 11-4 win over the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Infante is congratulating him here.

Tigers Clench Playoff Seat

from the Detroit News

The last time the Detroit Tigers made it to the playoffs was 1987. Between then and now, the Tigers have lost the most games of any major-league club. On Sunday, they coasted to an 11-4 win over the Kansas City Royals by scoring nine runs in the second inning. The Tigers have a week left in the season to try for the league's best record (which means home-field advantage throughout the playoffs) and the Central Division title. They regained the best record Sunday, and they kept their division lead on Minnesota at 1 1/2 games. In effect it's 2 1/2 games, because the Tigers win the tiebreaker based on winning the season series from the Twins.

We will have complete coverage of Tigers playoff action and will begin featuring a new "Player of the Game" segment after each playoff win!

Man Stabs Wife, Daughter During Rush Hour Gridlock

from AP

A Texas man accused of repeatedly stabbing his toddler and ex-wife along an interstate while horrified motorists looked on in rush-hour traffic had just been divorced from the woman earlier in the day. Jimmie Darnell Dixon, 27, of Dallas, was arrested and faces two counts each of attempted first-degree murder and second-degree kidnapping, among other offenses.

The woman and the 2-year-old girl, neither of whom were publicly identified by authorities, are in serious condition. The couple had been divorced earlier in the day in Baton Rouge. Earlier police reports had described the couple as estranged.

The girl and her mother had been abducted Friday from a relative's residence in Baton Rouge when Dixon began stabbing the woman with a kitchen knife as they drove along Interstate 110 near the Governor's Mansion. When the 26-year-old woman got out and ran to get help from an East Baton Rouge Parish sheriff's deputy who was in a squad car just ahead of them, Dixon stabbed his daughter and drove off, sideswiping the deputy's car and striking his wife. His vehicle crashed later in downtown Baton Rouge. The child had the knife lodged in her head. Her mother, who was thrown 20 to 40 feet by the impact of the car, also had numerous stab wounds.

"Gridiron Gang" : 2 Scoops

Punctuated by rough action scenes,Gridiron Gang is a familiar sports saga with kids in need of guidance and a coach in need of support from his institution. This time, it's also based on a 1993 documentary (clips from that film play during the closing credits and suggest that Jeff Maguire's script lifts heartfelt dialogue directly from the original speakers). The movie is also invigorated by The Rock (a.k.a. Dwayne Johnson), whose performance is simultaneously wry and warm. Charismatic as ever, The Rock plays Sean Porter, manager of a youth detention facility, as a creative coach and grateful son. He also makes the movie's basic corniness slightly easier to bear.

Long frustrated by a legal system that sends kids through endless cycles of violence in the streets, their homes, and their juvie blocks, Sean is moved to action when ex-inmate is killed in a drive-by shooting within hours of his release from Camp Kilpatrick. Sean's solution: Organize the violence into football. Though his boss, Paul (Leon Rippy), is predictably skeptical about spending the facility's scant state-issued funds on such a body-slamming venture, Sean and his whistle-wearing assistant Malcolm (Xzibit) assemble a team of hard cases. Because they're inclined to defend their turf, Sean gives them a new source of identification.

Some of the kids are briefly distracted by the usual obstacles -- Willie (Jade Yorker) likes a girl (Jurnee Smollett), Kenny (Trever O'Brien) is rejected by his mom, Junior (Setu Tasse) suffers an injury during practice. And Sean grapples with his own pain and his ailing mother (L. Scott Caldwell). Together, they find a purpose -- to beat back the other teams, in particular one that includes a white boy who calls Willie the n-word. The Mustangs, as the detention center team is called, engage in repeated drills of the montage-y sort, learning to tackle, catch, pass, and appreciate Coach's efforts.

Exceptional performances by Jade Yorker, Trever O'Brein, and Dwayne Johnson. The plot of the movie is overly predictable, as is the ending. I also enjoyed L. Scott Caldwell's performance. You can catch her every Wed. beginning Oct 4 once Lost resumes (she plays Rose).

UPDATE Atlantis Return

from Breitbart

The Space Shuttle Atlantis's return flight prompted panic in a Mayan village in Mexico, with local residents inundating police with phone calls about a ball of fire in the sky and the sound of an explosion. The emergency calls came in six minutes before NASA's Atlantis shuttle landed at Cape Canaveral in Florida, some 500 miles from Chunes, a small village on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula.

It was not until the evening, when authorities saw the television news, that they realized the suspicious sights and sounds had been produced by the shuttle as it streaked overhead. Prior to, the authorities searched the area to confirm that no small plane had crashed.

In an unrelated story zn astronaut from Atlantis collapsed twice Friday during a welcome home ceremony, a wobbly return that officials attributed to the adjustment from 12 days at zero gravity. Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper left the hangar at Ellington Field through a side door but was not taken to a hospital.

Ben & Jerry's New Flavor Finals

Ben & Jerry’s has narrowed down more than 40,000 suggestions for a new flavor to five finalists, and will turn their customer-creators loose next month in the “Flavor Finals,” to see which is tastiest. The five finalists get expense-paid trips to the ice cream maker’s Waterbury plant, where they will whip up their concoctions for the company’s flavor gurus in the Oct. 4-5 finals.

Here's the flavors:

ApricotAbra - a mix of apricot chunks, dark chocolate, vanilla ice cream and tart apricot preserves

Wackie Chan - sweet cream and ginger-flavored ice cream, with chocolate-covered fortune cookie bits and fudge swirl

Italian Renaissance - made of amaretto liqueur ice cream, cherry chunks and sliced almonds

Mojito - a lime-based sherbet with mint, brown sugar and rum

Puttin' on a Ritz - vanilla ice cream, caramel and Ritz crackers

Mars Face Makeover

from Space.com

NASA started it all back in 1976 with an image of an interesting mountain on Mars and a caption that described it as appearing to have eyes and nostrils. Thirty years later, the Face on Mars still inspires myths and conspiracy theories.

New images from the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter confirmed for many that the features are natural, while no doubt offering tantalizing "clues" to others of an ancient intelligent civilization at work. The spacecraft's High Resolution Stereo Camera provided data that researchers turned into colorized perspective views, which simulate the scene as though you were flying high over the region in an aircraft. The data was obtained in July and the images released today.

UPDATE Obesity Alert

from the Sun-Sentinel

Surely every American old enough to place his own Happy Meal order knows there's an obesity epidemic in this country. Despite this -- and despite piles of research on the evils of diets high in saturated fat and sodium and low in fiber -- American fast-food chains continue to roll out bigger, fatter, more decadent fare. Consider this summer's debut of Burger King's BK Stackers, which include a Quad Stacker option of four slabs of beef, four slices of cheese and up to eight slices of bacon -- "smothered," as the company puts it, in a creamy sauce.

The behemoth sandwich contains 1,000 calories and a whopping 68 grams of fat, including 30 grams of saturated fat. According to nutritionists, that's about half the calories and 1-1/2 times the saturated fat the average adult should consume in an entire day. For its part, Burger King says it is simply giving the public what it wants.

LOCAL MI Gets Smart with Welfare Reform

from the Detroit News

Some welfare recipients suspected of illegal drug use could be tested under legislation approved in the Michigan House. The bill will go to the Senate for consideration when lawmakers return to the Capitol.

The bill would allow for drug testing of a family assistance recipient if a Department of Human Services employee has a reasonable suspicion the recipient has been using drugs. The bill calls for DHS to set up a pilot program to test the measure. Welfare recipients testing positive for drug use would be required to enter a treatment program. If they don't conform to the treatment program requirements, they eventually could lose some of their welfare benefits.

In NYC, Bush Welcomes Abbas to "Washington"

from TheRawStory

President George W. Bush today told Palestine Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, "Welcome to Washington, D.C.," although the two were at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City.

UPDATE The Roaming Gnome

from ABC News

Allen Snyder's garden gnome is apparently out of jail and now traveling the country. The 14-inch tall red-and-white statue disappeared from Snyder's Morgantown, W.Va. yard in the spring, and Snyder has since received three letters claiming to have been written by the gnome. The latest letter, which Snyder received this week, included photos of the gnome in the company of Steelers fans attending Pittsburgh's football home opener.

"You never took me to any games," the note said. The letter ended: "Have to go now. Boarding a plane. Now, finally, broadening my travels."

An earlier letter included a request for bail money and included what appeared to be booking photos of Gnomey and another of the gnome in the back seat of a police car.

The story has even caught the attention of officials at Travelocity, which uses a roaming gnome in the online travel agency's advertising. "While we know that your dear friend, Gnomey, can never be replaced, we're sending the enclosed Roaming Gnome to keep you company in his absence," wrote Michelle Peluso, president and chief executive officer of Travelocity. "Hopefully your friend will find his way out of trouble and back to your front yard soon, although we can't help but admire his sense of adventure and love of travel."

New Energy Drink

from the Daily Mail

Anti-drug campaigners today attacked the makers of a soft drink who have called their product cocaine. The high-energy drink is being billed as a "legal alternative" to the class A drug, using a massive hit of caffeine instead of cocaine. Its maker claims the title is "a bit of fun" but critics slammed the technique as a cynical ploy which could tempt young people into using drugs.

The drink is "350 percent stronger than Red Bull" but people do not experience the "sugar crash" or jitters that some of the other energy drinks can produce. Las Vegas-based drinks company Redux Beverages is producing the drink which contains 280 milligrams of caffeine. According to the company's website, the only way to get more caffeine per ounce is with an espresso. At the moment it is being sold only in the Los Angeles and New York metropolitan areas - mainly to teenagers.

Congress Extending Disaster Plans to Include Pets

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

Congress called for emergency preparedness plans that include helping individuals and families with pets, under legislation sent Wednesday to President George W. Bush. It was during Hurricane Katrina that people saw the images of anguished pet owners asked to abandon their animals to gain shelter or be rescued.

The bill calls for state and local emergency preparedness plans to make provisions for families with pets and individuals with service animals. It grants the Federal Emergency Management Agency the authority to help state and local governments develop emergency and evacuation plans that take pets and service animals into account. It also authorizes some federal financial help for states establishing emergency shelters for people and their pets, and it permits FEMA to assist individuals with pets and service animals after a major disaster. Humane Society President Wayne Pacelle said the change recognizes the fact that two-thirds of U.S. households have pets.

The House passed the bill by voice vote. The Senate had passed it August.

Social Drinkers Tend to Earn a Bigger Paycheck

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

If you're looking to make more money at your job, have a cocktail. A recent study found that drinkers take home more money than those who avoid libations altogether. Female drinkers earn 14 percent more than nondrinkers, while male drinkers make 10 percent more than abstainers. Additionally, social male drinkers -- those who visit a bar at least once a month -- bring home another 7 percent in pay on top of the 10 percent premium.

Wal Mart to Sell Generic Drugs for $4 in Florida

from MyWay News

Wal-Mart announced today that it will start a test program in Florida, where it will sell generic prescription drugs for $4 for a 30-day supply. The test will start tomorrow in 65 Tampa Bay-area stores and is to expand to the whole state by January. On average, generic drugs tend to cost between $10 and $30 for a month-long supply.

The world's biggest retailer said that it will test the program in Florida that will make 291 generic drugs available, which are used to treat a variety of condition from allergies to high-blood pressure. It will also be available to the uninsured.

Wal-Mart's recent moves to improve its health care plan include relaxing eligibility requirements for its part-time employees who want health insurance, and extending coverage for the first time to the children of those employees. Part-time employees, who had to work for Wal-Mart for two years to qualify, now have to work at the company for one year. This year, Wal-Mart also expanded a trial run of in-store clinics, aimed at providing lower cost non-emergency health care to the public. Last October, Wal-Mart offered a new lower-premium insurance aimed at getting more of its work force on company plans.

More People Leaving Big Inheritances to Their Pets

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

Attorneys report a growing number of pet owners are making plans for their animals. People have long left money and even homes to pets in their wills. But pets were considered property, so their status as beneficiaries rarely stood up to a court challenge. A pet trust, though, allows a benefactor to name a caretaker for a pet and a trustee who ensures the money is being spent appropriately.

Virginia has now joined 37 other states that have pet trust statutes. The new Virginia law lets one person be appointed to care for the pet and another put in charge of assuring the pet's money is used appropriately.

One lawyer reported that he had one Richmond, Va. client who left $2.5 million to a horse. Distant relatives objected and a judge reduced the horse inheritance to $150,000. Knight added that another client left $35,000 for the care of a goose.

GM & Ford Talk Alliance, Merger

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

According to the trade journal Automotive News, executives of General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. have discussed a possible merger or alliance. Both companies have declined to comment.

The report comes as GM and Ford have been slashing their work forces and closing plants in efforts to reverse multibillion dollar losses. Their sales have been hurt by competition from more fuel-efficient models from Asian automakers.

SUV Smashes Through Capitol Security Barrier

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

An armed man ran through the hallways of the U.S. Capitol after crashing his vehicle on the Capitol grounds in the worst breach of security since a gunman killed two police officers eight years ago. The man was tackled outside a basement office after leading police on a chase through the building. He was carrying a small weapon but there were no reports of shots fired.

Sources said the man, who was not identified, appeared to be having a seizure, possibly drug-related, and that he was transported by ambulance to a Washington hospital. The man, wearing a blue ballcap, drove an SUV through a barricade at a huge construction site on the east side of the Capitol, across from the Supreme Court. His vehicle also crashed into a water fountain on the plaza in the middle of the construction area.

The Capitol complex was locked down for almost an hour before reopening for staff and tourists.

Adult Woman Kidnapped by Parents

from Breitbart

A Maine couple upset that their 19-year-old daughter was pregnant tied her up, loaded her in their car and began driving to New York to force her to get an abortion. The daughter, Katelyn Kampf, escaped Friday at a shopping center and called police, who arrested her parents. They were jailed on a kidnapping charge and were being held on $100,000 bail each.

Investigators said rope, duct tape, scissors and a .22-caliber rifle were found in the Kampfs' Lexus and the father had a loaded .22- caliber magazine clip in his pants pocket. The Kampfs were upset that their daughter was pregnant by a man who is now in jail. She escaped from her parents after persuading them to untie her so she could use a KMart bathroom. After her father went into the men's room, she used a cell phone to call for help, then ran to a nearby Staples store.

Toxic Spill on Space Station

from MyWay News

International space station astronauts pulled an alarm and donned protective gear after smelling a foul odor that turned out to be a harmful chemical leaking from an oxygen vent. NASA reported that they were unaware of the exact nature of the spill but were sure that it is not of a life-threatening nature.

The crew first reported smoke but it turned out to be an irritant, potassium hydroxide, leaking from an oxygen vent. The crew donned surgical gloves and masks but did not have to put on gas or oxygen masks. NASA declared a spacecraft emergency for only the second time in the eight-year history of the station. The first time was for a false alarm of an ammonia spill.

The potassium hydroxide, a corrosive that can cause serious burns and can be harmful if inhaled, was cleaned up with towels and wrapped up in two rubber bags.

First Transplanted Penis a Success, Rejected by Patient

from the Guardian Unlimited

Chinese surgeons have performed the world's first penis transplant on a man whose organ was damaged beyond repair in an accident this year. The incident left the man with a 1cm-long stump with which he was unable to urinate or have sexual intercourse. Doctors spent 15 hours attaching a 4-in. penis to the 44-year-old patient after the parents of a brain-dead man half his age agreed to donate their son's organ.

Although the operation was a surgical success, surgeons said they had to remove the penis two weeks later., because of a severe psychological problem of the recipient and his wife. So, the transplanted penis regretfully had to be cut off. An examination of the organ showed no signs of it being rejected by the body.

Somehow I Missed This One...

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

A man and woman who asked a Pennsylvania convenience store clerk to microwave a fake penis have settled disorderly conduct charges. A woman named Leslye Creighton, 41, pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct charges in connection with the incident last February at a convenience store near Pittsburgh.

The incident began when Creighton's friend, Vincent Bostic, 31, filled a fake penis with his urine, which Creighton planned to use to pass a drug test to get a job. On the way to the test, the couple stopped at a convenience store and asked a clerk to heat it in a microwave. They had wrapped it in a paper towel.

A shocked store clerk called police, thinking Creighton had put a severed male sex organ in the microwave. It turned out the object was fake, the type used to beat a urine test. Creighton wanted the device heated so the urine inside would be at body temperature for the drug test. Creighton faces a maximum punishment of $300 and 90 days in jail when she's sentenced in November. Charges were dropped against Bostic, who has agreed to help pay $425 to replace the store's microwave.

UPDATE Anna Nicole

from CNN

Anna Nicole Smith's lawyer has been authorized to bring in a private pathologist to perform a second autopsy on her son. The Bahamas coroner's office has termed Daniel Smith's death to be "suspicious." The term, however, meant the cause was not immediately apparent and did not necessarily imply foul play. The family's pathologist will arrive from the United States on Saturday and will perform the autopsy on Sunday. The results of the official autopsy have not been released.

UPDATE Shelby Twp. Carjacking Victim Dies

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

A 65-year-old woman who was the victim of a recent carjacking in Shelby Township died at a hospital early Friday morning. Eva Doen was a passenger in a 2003 Dodge Caravan when she was approached by a carjacker at about 7:50 p.m. on Sept. 5 in a parking lot located at West Utica and Mound roads. Doen either fell or was pushed from the vehicle during the carjacking. Her daughter, Gina Doen, left the minivan running while she went inside a dry-cleaning business to get her clothes. Police said during the struggle, Doen somehow fell out of the minivan. The woman hit her head on the pavement.

Detroit police recovered the stolen vehicle and arrested a suspect on Sept. 6 at about 1:45 a.m. in the area of Interstate 94 and Van Dyke Avenue.

E. Coli Contaminated Spinach Traced

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

Federal heath officials have traced a nationwide E. coli outbreak to Natural Selection Foods, based in San Juan Bautista, Calif., which has agreed to recall its bagged spinach products. The outbreak, in which bagged fresh spinach is the suspected source, has been confirmed in 20 states. Bagged spinach -- the triple-washed, cello-packed kind sold by the hundreds of millions of pounds each year -- is the suspected source of the bacterial outbreak.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the states are: California, Connecticut, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming. The only reported fatality in the outbreak has come from Wisconsin. The FDA warned people nationwide not to eat the spinach.

Washing won't get rid of the E. coli bacteria, although thorough cooking can kill it. Supermarkets across the country have been pulling spinach from shelves. Consumers are tossing out the leafy green. In all, the bug is known to have sickened roughly 100 people, ages 3 to 84, the majority of them women.

UPDATE Ford Restruturing Further

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

Ford Motor Co., the nation's No. 2 automaker, said it will offer buyouts to all of its hourly workers, cut 10,000 more salaried jobs and shut down two more plants in an effort to restore it to profitability. The company's already cut 4,000 salaried positions in the first quarter of this year. Most of the remaining salaried job cuts are to be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2007, eliminating a total of about a third of Ford's salaried positions.

It expects to cut 25,000 to 30,000 manufacturing jobs in North America by 2008, four years ahead of its previous target. Ford's plan includes shutting down a stamping plant in Maumee, Ohio, and an engine plant in Essex, Ontario. That would boost plant closings from seven to nine.
The moves are part of a broader restructuring plan aimed at restoring the automaker's to profitability. Ford expected its so-called "Way Forward" plan to trim ongoing operating costs by about $5 billion a year.

Space Station Unfurls Wings

from CNN

NASA unfurled two solar wings on the new 17-1/2-ton addition to the international space station early Thursday after overcoming a software problem that delayed the maneuver for hours.

As they opened separately like accordion window blinds, the solar wings looked like cosmic blankets of gold bars in the reflection of an orbital sunrise. The solar arrays were mounted on blankets and folded up like an accordion for delivery to space as part of the new $372 million addition added to the space station. Together, they span 240 feet. When the space station is completed in 2010, the solar arrays will provide about a quarter of its power.

Space shuttle Atlantis' 11-day schedule is tightly packed, and the arrays needed to be deployed in order for astronauts to go on the third and final spacewalk of the mission Friday. The mission is the first since late 2002 to resume space station construction, which was halted after the Columbia accident in early 2003.

Wal Mart to Eliminate Layaway

from KHBS Ft. Smith, Arizona TV 40

Shoppers with a long list of holiday gifts might want to start saving now because Wal-Mart intends to phase out its layaway department before Christmas. New stores recently opened do not include a layaway department. This Friday will be the last day that any new layaways an be created, and all layaways must be removed by November 19. Wal-Mart reported that the layaway department has not delivered profit in sometime and also noted that only one of its competitors (KMart) has a layaway program.

UPDATE Anna Nicole

from Breitbart



Anna Nicole Smith frantically tried to revive her stricken son and had to be sedated after he died, her attorney said Wednesday. Authorities termed the death "suspicious" and said criminal charges could be filed. Reportedly, the devastation and grief over Daniel's sudden death coupled with the sedation from the delivery has been so extreme that Anna Nicole experienced memory loss of the event.



The chief inspector of the Bahamas coroner's office on Wednesday called the death of the 20-year-old Smith "suspicious" and a formal inquiry that could lead to criminal charges was scheduled for next month. Police have been refusing to reveal the identity of the mysterious third person that was present during Daniel's death. One of Smith's attorneys has revealed that the third person was Howard K. Stern, who was prominently featured on Smith's cable show.

LOCAL 30-Vehicle Crash on 696

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

A crash involving about 30 vehicles on Interstate 696 on Wednesday afternoon was weather-related. Cars were swerving right and left as a tractor trailer went into the ditch.

The crash occurred on westbound I-696 between Drake Road and Halsted Road in Farmington Hills, according to police. Farmington Hills Police Chief William Dwyer described the crash as a "weather-related, chain-reaction pileup." He said the exact cause remains under investigation.

The freeway was closed at the start of the afternoon commute, but police were eventually able to open several lanes of traffic. The far right lane remained closed just after 6 p.m. while crews worked to remove the tractor-trailer from the ditch, but the entire freeway was expected to reopen about an hour later.

UPDATE Anna Nicole's Son

from CNN

The death of Anna Nicole Smith's 20-year-old son was termed "suspicious" by the coroner's office Wednesday, and a formal inquiry that could lead to criminal charges has been scheduled. Authorities said at least one other person was in the hospital room when Daniel Wayne Smith died Sunday while visiting his mother, a reality TV star and former Playboy playmate, three days after she gave birth to a baby girl and the person was not a member of the hospital staff. The police refused to reveal the person's identity.

Anna Nicole Smith is in seclusion in the Bahamas with family and friends "as you would expect any parent who sustained this kind of loss." Police are reconstructing Smith's steps since his arrival Saturday in the Bahamas.

Has Nancy Grace Gone too Far

from Breitbart

Two weeks after telling police that her son had been snatched from his crib, Melinda Duckett found herself reeling in an interview with TV's famously prosecutorial Nancy Grace. Before it was over, Grace was pounding her desk and loudly demanding to know: "Where were you? Why aren't you telling us where you were that day?"

A day after the taping, Duckett, 21, shot herself to death, deepening the mystery of what happened to the boy. Police have refused to say whether she left a suicide note, and said nothing they have found so far in their investigation of her death has shed light on the whereabouts of her 2-year-old son, Trenton. Investigators have stopped short of calling her a suspect but have focused increasing attention on her movements just before the boy vanished and the notes, computer, camera and other items seized from her house.

Pitcher and Catcher Fight During Game

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

Kansas City Royals pitcher Runelvys Hernandez and catcher John Buck got into a fight in the dugout Tuesday night during a game against the Cleveland Indians. After striking out Ryan Garko with two runners on base to end the third inning, Hernandez jogged to the dugout, turned and pointed at Buck and began yelling. The two players charged each other and began throwing punches before being separated by teammates and coaches.

Whitney Houston Divorcing Bobby Brown

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

The tumultuous marriage of Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown - which withstood drug addiction, Brown's numerous arrests, the decline of Houston's once-sparkling image and domestic abuse allegations - is coming to an end. They have been married 14 years.

Houston and Brown, who had a home in Alpharetta, Georgia, have one child, a 13-year-old daughter, Bobbi Kristina.

Death of Anna Nicole's Son Still a Mystery

from CNN

The remains of Anna Nicole Smith's 20-year-old son, who died suddenly while visiting his mother in the hospital, were to be returned to his home in California. There's no official word yet on what caused his death. It was unclear whether police had completed the autopsy that was under way Monday.

The body was identified at the morgue Monday by Smith's attorney, Howard K. Stern, who also is handling arrangements with the funeral home. Daniel Smith, who died Saturday, was the product of Smith's 1985 marriage to Billy Smith. The couple, who met while working together at Jim's Krispy Fried Chicken in Mexia, Texas, divorced in 1987.

A statement issued by Smith's people details that neither drugs nor alcohol had anything to do with the death.

Conn. School Considering Fines for Ringing Cell Phones

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

School officials at Derby High School are considering fines for kids whose phones go off in class. Teachers are constantly confiscating phones that go off during class. Recently the school had five confiscated cell phones in a drawer in his office, and they all kept ringing even after they had been taken.

The school is proposing fines that would start at $3, then go up to $5 for a second offense and $10 for a third. Students would have to pay the fines to retrieve their phones if they are confiscated after going off in class.

The fines would be used to sponsor an after-prom party for students.

Stingray Revenge

from USAToday

At least 10 stingrays have been killed since "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin was fatally injured by one of the fish, an official said Tuesday, prompting a spokesman for the late TV star's animal charity to urge people not take revenge on the animals. Stingray bodies since have been discovered on two beaches in Queensland state on Australia's eastern coast. Two were discovered Tuesday with their tails lopped off.

Ghost Tree

from Daily Mail

Scores of people are flocking to a village in northern Malaysia to see a betel nut tree which has sprouted a human-like face. Reportedly it is the second time an unusual shape had appeared on the 10-year-old tree in her backyard. The first formation was in the shape of an eye. The frond will probably last another two weeks before it sheds.

NASA Believes Earthlike Planets May be Common

from CNN

Earthlike planets covered with deep oceans that could harbor life may be found in as many as a third of solar systems discovered outside of our own. These solar systems feature gas giants known as "Hot Jupiters," which orbit extremely close to their parent stars -- even closer than Mercury to our sun. The close-orbiting gassy planets may help encourage the formations of smaller, rocky, Earthlike planets.

The team from Colorado, Penn State University and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Maryland ran computer simulations of various types of solar systems forming. The gas giants may help rocky planets form close to the suns, and may help pull in icy bodies that deliver water to the young planets.

Water is key to life as humans define it. As many as 40 percent of the 200 or so known planets around other stars are Hot Jupiters.

Gun Goes Off in Wal-Mart Restroom

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

Police in Hudson, N.H., have charged Charles Masterson, 36, with felony reckless conduct after his pistol went off in a Wal-Mart restroom. Masterson said he was pointing his Glock semiautomatic toward the ceiling, just as he had been taught was the safest thing to do when a gun wasn't being used. The precaution backfired when the gun discharged Tuesday night while Masterson was in the bathroom.

Police said the gunshot scared the wits out of a teenage Wal-Mart employee in the next stall. The young Wal-Mart worker told police Masterson put the gun back in his pants and walked out of the bathroom like nothing happened. Wal-Mart employees called police.

Police charged him for putting the teenage employee in danger. He was jailed overnight but released Wednesday after a court appearance

UPDATE Bartender's $10,000 Tip

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

The bartender at an Applebee's restaurant in Kansas, who last week was left a $10,000 tip by a regular customer, now has the cash. Cindy Kienow got a check from the franchise owner for $6,300 -- her share of the tip, after taxes.

The customer left the tip on Aug. 27 -- a $10,000 tip on a $26 meal. But since he paid by credit card, the restaurant wanted to make sure it was a valid charge before giving the bartender the money. For now, she still has that Jeep in her eyes.

Star Trek 40 Years

Outta Control Granny

from the Idaho Statesman

A 1-year-old girl is in foster care today after she fell from her grandmother's vehicle on Idaho 44 while the woman was trying to evade police. Carolynn Boots, 43, is in the Canyon County jail on charges of felony injury to a child, resisting arrest and leaving the scene of an accident.

Boots was reportedly driving with the baby in her lap, then got in a hit-and-run accident and attempted to flee while deputies opened the passenger door and reached in. The little girl fell through the open door when Boots put her granddaughter in the passenger seat and tried to drive away by making a U-turnand.

UPDATE Shuttle Launch

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

NASA managers on Thursday left open the possibility that space shuttle Atlantis would blast off this week on a mission to resume construction of the international space station. NASA managers ruled out a launch attempt Thursday but said Friday still was a possibility. The decision followed a lengthy meeting over what to do with a problem in the shuttle's electrical power system that forced a scrub on Wednesday.

Friday is the last day the U.S. space agency can get Atlantis off the ground before interfering with the planned launch of a Russian Soyuz vehicle on a trip to the space station later in the month. If the shuttle cannot launch Friday, the flight will have to wait until October.

LOCAL 7-Eleven Clerk Murderer Arrested

from the Chicago-Sun Times

A man wanted for allegedly killing a 7-Eleven clerk in Michigan over a taco has been arrested in Wisconsin. Kenyatta Davis, 35, was arrested late Friday by the U.S. Marshals Service. Marshals and the Racine County sheriff's department, acting on a tip, found Davis at a home in downtown Racine.

Davis, of Shelby Township, tried to escape out a basement window but was unsuccessful because the house was surrounded. Davis allegedly argued with a 7-Eleven clerk on Aug. 24 in Sterling Heights, over the price of $1.16 taco before Davis returned to his vehicle, got a gun and shot clerk Wajed Ali Baig four times.

Baig was a father of three. Davis was being held Tuesday in the Racine County Jail awaiting extradition to Michigan.

Google Creates News Archive Spanning 300 Years

from Breitbart

Internet giant Google Inc., is expected to announce that it will offer a free archive service enabling Internet users to search for printed articles back to the 1700s. Called Google News Archive Search, the service will direct users to both paid and free content on publishers' Web sites, but will not generate revenues for Google itself.

The company was working with several partners in the new service including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Time magazine, Guardian Unlimited, Factiva, Lexis-Nexis, HighBeam Research and Thomson Gale. Some of the partners had been pressing Google to offer access to their archives for several years.

The service will allow searches for news articles reaching back to the 1700s. Time magazine, it added, will provide free access through Google to its archives dating back to its founding in 1923; The New York Times will offer searches back to 1981, but by next year it hopes to have digitized articles dating back to the 1850s.

'Crocodile Hunter' Stever Irwin Killed

from the Sunday Morning Herald (Australia)

Television personality and environmentalist Steve Irwin has died from a stingray wound while filming off north Queensland. Friends believe he may have died instantly when struck by a stingray as he filmed a sequence for his eight-year-old daughter Bindi's new TV series.

During the filming Irwin came over the top of a stingray and the stingray's barb went into his chest and put a hole into his heart.

Irwin's death was one of only a handful of known stingray deaths in Australian waters. The Discovery and Animal Planet TV networks - which produced Irwin's programs - suspended broadcasts of the Crocodile Hunter series across its networks this afternoon. Footage of Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin being fatally attacked by a stingray on the Great Barrier Reef has been handed to Queensland police.

UPDATE Go For Launch

from CNN

The weather looks favorable for a Wednesday launch of Atlantis, which storms have delayed several times.

LOCAL Dodge Chargers Stolen from Holding Area

from WDIV Detroit TV 4

Police are on alert after nine new Dodge Chargers were stolen from a holding area in Sterling Heights. The thefts occurred at 17 Mile Road and Van Dyke Avenue. One of the chargers was spotted on the road, and that prompted police to put out an alert. A brief police chase took place moments after.

The suspect driving the stolen Dodge ditched the car near Orchard Lake and Northwestern Highway and fled on foot. Police are searching for the suspect, and the eight other vehicles.

Smartest US Cities

from CNN

CNN has used US Census Bureau data to compile a list of what it calls, "The Smartest US Cities." The list contains the places with the highest concentrations of college degrees.

1. Seattle
2. San Francisco
3. Raleigh, NC
4. Washington, D.C.
5. Austin, TX
10. Lexington, KY
20. New York, NY
25. Columbus, OH

hmmm.... no Detroit

Prosecutor Recommends Dealth Penalty for US Soldiers

from CNN
I hope I am able to present this story unbiased

An Army investigator has recommended that four soldiers accused of murder in a raid in Iraq should face the death penalty if convicted. Lt. Col. James P. Daniel Jr. concluded that the slayings were premeditated and warranted the death sentence based on evidence he heard at an August hearing. The case will now be forwarded to Army officials, who will decide whether Daniel's recommendation should be followed.

The soldiers, all from the Fort Campbell, Kentucky-based 101st Airborne Division's 187th Infantry Regiment, are accused of killing three Iraqi men taken from a house May 9 on a marshy island outside Samarra, about 60 miles north of Baghdad. Staff Sgt. Raymond L. Girouard, Spc. William B. Hunsaker, Pfc. Corey R. Clagett and Spc. Juston R. Graber have claimed they were ordered to "kill all military age males" during the raid on the island. According to statements from some of the soldiers, they were told the target was an al Qaeda training camp. Prosecutors argue the soldiers conspired to kill the men and then altered the scene to fit their story.

The soldiers are expected to be tried at Fort Campbell. They have been jailed in Kuwait since their arrests this year. The U.S. military has not executed a soldier since the 1960 hanging of a soldier convicted rape and attempted murder.

Police Officer Gets DUI While on Duty -- a 2nd Time

from the Ventura County Star (CA)

Todd Adams, a Ventura County Community College District police officer, was arrested for the second time while on duty this week on suspicion of driving a patrol car while intoxicated. He had earlier been convicted in May of a DUI and vandalism. Then Adams paid $2,626 in fines in connection with the two convictions.

California Highway Patrol officers arrested Adams again at gunpoint at 3:55 a.m. Thursday along an eastbound highway near Simi Valley. Adams was arrested on suspicion of being under the influence of a controlled substance and driving while intoxicated. A police dispatcher had broadcast a notice that a police car was seen weaving around. Adams failed a series of roadside sobriety tests and CHP officers drew their guns after pulling Adams over for their safety because they knew he was on duty and armed.