Hot Breaking News

Legionnaires’ disease: Recent Miami outbreak claims life of Epic Hotel patron

2009-12-14T12:18:00.000-08:00

Legionnaires’ disease is defined as a severe case of pneumonia caused by a bacterium. Rather than being spread through direct contact, as some contagious diseases are, Legionnaires’ disease is usually contracted through inhaling the bacterium through a mist of vapor from water.

In recent Miami news, three people have recently become ill with Legionnaire’s disease at the Epic Hotel, while one succumbed to the disease. The cause of the recent cases appears to be contaminated water.

Read more here: http://www.examiner.com/x-32800-Indiana-Healthy-Living-Examiner~y2009m12d14-Legionnaires-disease-Recent-Miami-outbreak-claims-life-of-hotel-patron

Tiger Woods' caddie speaks out

2009-12-13T15:00:00.000-08:00

Tiger Woods' caddie, Steve Williams, has broken his silence on Woods' recent problems in an interview with a New Zealand newspaper.

Williams said the Woods scandal had placed pressure on his own wife and family and that Woods had admitted to him he had "a problem."

"My head is in a spin right now," Williams told the New Zealand Sunday News.

"The media has made it very difficult for my family. There is no question about it.

"Obviously, I understand Tiger has got a problem." And, he said, he and Woods "discussed that."

More here: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/sports_blog/2009/12/tiger-woods-caddie-steve-williams-breaks-his-silence.html

Nellie McKay and Doris Day

2009-12-13T14:35:00.000-08:00

Nellie McKay is an indie pop songstress with her own unique flair. One of Nellie McKay's favorite people is Doris Day. Rumored to be 27 years old, Nellie McKay just put together a CD tribute to Doris Day entitled, "Normal as Blueberry Pie - A Tribute to Doris Day."

Nellie McKay puts together an upbeat collection of American standard songs with eclectic, daring arrangements for "Normal as Blueberry Pie." The Philadelphia Inquirer reports Nellie McKay stated, ""From a woman's perspective, Ms. Day says a lot about her times as a popular icon that reconciled the conflicting ideas of what women 'should' be - the quest for love and fulfillment as homemaker and wife."

Heisman trophy presentation 2009

2009-12-12T14:32:00.000-08:00

The Heisman Trophy Presentation 2009 airs tonight. Who do you think will win? Up for the award are Florida quarterback Tim Tebow, Texas quarterback Colt McCoy, Stanford's Toby Gerhart, Nebraska's defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, and Alabama running back Mark Ingram. The Heisman Trophy Presentation 2009 will take place at 8/7c on ESPN and takes place in the Nokia Theatre in Times Square.

Who will win the 2009 Heisman Trophy? Many people claim that their favorite is Alabama running back Mark Ingram. Others claim that their favorites lie within the other 4 contenders. I ventured out to a local sporting goods store and asked people what they had to say about their Heisman Trophy picks:

Randy said he thinks that Ingram will win, especially after last week's SEC championship game.

For more: http://www.examiner.com/x-29916-Davidson-County-Headlines-Examiner~y2009m12d12-Video-Heisman-Trophy-Presentation-2009-airs-tonight--who-will-win

lg phone projector

2009-12-12T12:19:00.000-08:00

Here's a whole bunch of firsts for the U.S.: LG today announced the Expo, a Windows Mobile 6.5-based smartphone with a built-in fingerprint sensor and optional pico-projector powered by a Qualcomm 1-GHz processor that I assume is their Snapdragon chipset, though LG doesn't say.

Without the projector, the Expo is a reasonably sized slider smartphone at 4.5 inches by 2.24 inches by 0.65 inches. It has a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, a 5-megapixel camera, a 3.2-inch, 800-by-480 screen, Wi-Fi, HSDPA 7.2, and a giant honking 1500 mAh battery.

More info:http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2356407,00.asp

Boston Red Sox Tickets Sales are Overpriced in 2010

2009-12-12T11:52:00.000-08:00

Boston Red Sox tickets for the 2010 season are now on sale and fans are struggling to buy them in more ways than one. Tickets are not only expensive for the Boston Red Sox 2010 season, they are ridiculously overpriced. Still, fans want to come out to Fenway Park to see Martinez, Youkilis, Pedroia, Ellsbury, Ortiz and some new blood that's coming to Boston for the 2010 MLB season.

A Google Phone Is Real And Testing Is Confirmed

2009-12-12T11:35:00.000-08:00

In November the rumor of a Google Phone appeared on TechCrunch. Now the Google Phone is actually real and has been handed out to select Google employees for testing.
Google confirms on one of their blogs that an Android phone built by a partner got distributed to select Google employees for testing.
Google says this s a new concept of a mobile lab where the company tests out noew features and capabilities.

It is still not official that Google will actually sell this phone on the market, but TechCrunch says Google will sell the Google phone unlocked. Further they claim that it would support GSM based networks and run Android 2.1.
The Google Phone is also supposed to have a high-resolution OLED touchscreen (the one I want for the iPhone 4G, I suppose) and is supposed to be fast.
We see how that plays out. I still have my doubts that Google will offer a mainstream Android Phone. The Google Phone could also just be a developer device. If though the Google Phone is somewhat affordable unlocked than the smartphone business will change dramatically.
More info: http://www.i4u.com/article29188.html

Mermaid girl

2009-12-12T04:30:00.000-08:00

Final chapter in 'mermaid girl' story to be aired on TLC

ENNEBUNKPORT, Maine — Over the past two years, many people around the world came to know Shiloh Pepin, Kennebunkport's own "mermaid girl," through the two documentaries on her life that aired on The Learning Channel.

When Shiloh died in October at age 10, a TLC production crew was there to capture both her last days and the celebration of her life that followed.
ON TV

"Mermaid Girl: The Last Six Months," will air at 8 p.m. Sunday on TLC.

More info: http://www.seacoastonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091212/NEWS/912120323/-1/NEWSMAP

Facebook privacy changes

2009-12-10T05:23:00.000-08:00

Privacy campaigners and civil liberties groups have criticised an update to Facebook users' profile settings, saying that it was pushing members to share personal information

Facebook's panic button
Facebook has been criticised for changes to its privacy policy, which some civil liberties campaigners believe could lead to users sharing more information than they realised

The changes, which were announced last week and are now rolling out across the site, asks users to review their privacy settings, and adjust them to ensure they are only sharing personal information, videos and photos with the people they want.

But privacy campaigners say this "transition tool" is "nudging" Facebook's 350 million users towards creating more open profiles, with details and information that can be viewed by anyone.

More: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/facebook/6778396/Facebook-privacy-changes-criticised.html

Buffalo school closings

2009-12-10T04:45:00.000-08:00

Storm closes schools, knocks out power across NY

By CHRIS CAROLA (AP) – 16 hours ago

ALBANY, N.Y. — The season's first major winter storm socked upstate New York with almost a foot of snow on Wednesday, causing one death, hundreds of school closings, accident-delayed commutes and power outages.

The National Weather Service said up to 10 inches fell before tapering off in early afternoon, with the highest totals in the Albany area, the Catskills, Mohawk Valley and Orange County in the Hudson Valley. The weather service said a wind gust of 67 mph was recorded at Dunkirk on Lake Erie.

A collision between a freight train and snow plow at a crossing in the Saratoga County town of Northumberland left one highway worker dead and another injured. Lt. Bill Seibert of the sheriff's department said James Shea, 68, who operated the truck's wing plow, was killed in the 8:45 a.m. crash. Driver Kerry Garnsey was in critical condition at Glens Falls Hospital. A spokesman for Canadian Pacific railroad said the two train operators were not hurt. Seibert didn't know if there was an automatic gate at the crossing.

For more: www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j0teDK8y49D3rVbKGiW_TCyoXWogD9CG0JSO0

Obama: Nobel Peace Prize is 'call to action'

2009-12-10T04:11:00.000-08:00

(CNN) -- President Obama said Friday that he was "surprised and deeply humbled" by the decision of the Norwegian Nobel Committee to award him the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize.

President Obama, speaking Friday, said the award was "an affirmation of American leadership."

The committee said it honored Obama for his "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples."

Obama said he viewed the decision less as a recognition of his own accomplishments and more as "a call to action."

The decision appeared to catch most observers by surprise. Nominations for the prize had to be postmarked by February 1, only 12 days after Obama took office. The committee sent out its solicitation for nominations last September, two months before Obama was elected president.

Obama had not been mentioned as among front-runners for the prize, and the roomful of reporters gasped when Thorbjorn Jagland, chairman of the Nobel committee, announced that the president was the winner.

For more: Obama: http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/10/09/nobel.peace.prize/index.html

Tiger Woods 11 affairs and counting!

2009-12-09T17:22:00.000-08:00

With the mistress count now reportedly up to 11, Tiger Woods' wife Elin Nordegren has moved out!

With talk of nightclub hostesses, models, porn stars, sex addiction and now drugs, it isn't easy to keep up on all the gossip pouring out about Tiger Woods these days. It also isn't that easy to keep track of what's real, what's speculation and what's outright, unfounded gossip!

With money to be made, women are coming out of the woodwork with lusty stories about the golfer, with the total currently at eleven. While some aren't talking, others, including the Rachel Uchitel and reality show contestant Jaimee Grubbs, are offering up their stories, as well as private texts, emails and voicemail messages from Tiger.

There's now speculation floating about sex tapes, unsafe sex, bribes to stay quiet and illegitimate children, though nothing has actually been uncovered.

Other women on the growing list include porn stars Holly Sampson, 36, and Joslyn James, 32; Kalika Moquin, 27; swimsuit model Cori Rist. 31; Jamie Jungers. 26 and pancake waitress Mindy Lawton, 33. There are also reports of a British TV presenter, a cougar and a former cocktail waitress, who haven't been named.

If sex scandal isn't enough to get your interest, there's now speculation that Woods abuses drugs like Ambien and Vicodin. That factoid apparently comes from a few of the mistresses, while TMZ reports that Woods was actually hospitalized for an overdose the night of the fateful car accident that set off this on slot of news stories.

With all the hubbub, there continues to be speculation that Woods will flee the country for privacy, but it no longer sounds like his wife will join him. Word is Nordegren moved out of their place on December 7 and is staying at a nearby friend's. She's also reportedly bought a manse back in Sweden for $2 million, but not with Woods. She may run, but it won't likely be with him.

Meanwhile, there's been chatter the couple was back together for a top secret meeting with a "suited man" yesterday, which has led to speculation that Oprah offered Tiger a chance to finally speak for himself. SheKnows wonders if he might be Barbara Walters' surprise guest on her December 9 10 Most Fascinating People of 2009.

We hate to say it, but stay tuned for the next installment...there's sure to be more on this story!

More on http://www.sheknows.com/channels/entertainment.htm

Norway Spiral

2009-12-09T14:18:00.000-08:00

The Norway Spiral, a strange light that appeared in the sky across Norway last night, has Norwegian residents and international spectators baffled as videos of the incident hit YouTube.

The light was spotted one day before President Barack Obama was scheduled to give an acceptance speech in Oslo, Norway for his Nobel Peace Prize.

Speculation is rampant on what the light actually was; "anything from a Russian rocket to a meteor or shock wave" has been mentioned, per the Mail Online.