June 2008 Archives

, but that hasn't stopped the celebrity news site from bagging more blockbuster scoops the past two years than any competitor.

's growing reputation as Hollywood 's in-the-know and in-your-face news agency was built by working the phones, developing sources and basically out hustling rivals, say executives. What isn't well-known, however, is that the company may also possess a technology edge. TMZ, which launched as a Web site in 2005 and moved into TV last September, is among the first to build a tapeless, high-definition TV newsroom from the ground up, according to managers.

Full Story: How TMZ uses tech to get in your face (CNET)

WASHINGTON - Former Intel Corp . Chairman Andy Grove has a knack for sensing when circumstances should force changes at a company or an industry — and how to respond.

During the past year and a half, Grove has created his own crash course in electric power, plug-in hybrid vehicles and finding ways of shifting the nation's fleet of vehicles from gasoline. His goal: To draw more attention to electric vehicles . "The most important thing I would like to do is light that almost half-assumed truth up in neon lights : Electricity in transportation has to be done. It is urgent. It is important that everything else is secondary," Grove said in a recent interview with The Associated Press.

Full Story: AP Interview: Ex-Intel head pushes electric cars (AP)

Barack Obama , said Sunday John McCain 's military service does not automatically qualify him to be commander in chief.

Underscoring during a national television appearance a position he has been expressing for several weeks, Clark said performing heroic military service is not a substitute for gaining command experience.

"In the matters of national security policy making, it's a matter of understanding risk," he said on CBS' "Face the Nation." "It's a matter of gauging your opponents and it's a matter of being held accountable.



Full Story: Clark: McCain a hero, but lacks command experience (AP)

. After a year of trying to sell her four-bedroom home and eight years of singledom, Deven Trabosh is offering her South Florida home and a shot at marrying her on the Internet.

"I figured let's combine the ad because I'm looking for love and I'm looking to sell the house," said Trabosh, a Barbie-esque blonde who teeters around the nearly 2,000 square-foot house in patent leather heels.

, upgraded tile and a soaking tub in a gated community with a pool and tennis courts.



Full Story: Single mom selling Fla. home and heart on Internet (AP)

LOS ANGELES - The head of the Screen Actors Guild doesn't want to hear the s-word as a deadline for contract expiration looms.

has taken out an advertisement in trade publications calling a strike "harmful and unnecessary." Citing $2.8 billion in lost wages, the ad says "We've completed four equitable and forward-thinking labor agreements. Let's get the fifth done." The ad is scheduled to run in Monday's editions of Variety and Hollywood Reporter.

"The industry is shutting down because SAG 's Hollywood leadership insisted on 11th-hour negotiations and dragging these talks into July so they can continue attacking AFTRA ," AMPTP spokesman Jesse Hiestand said in a statement.



Full Story: SAG president doesn't want to hear strike talk (AP)

MTV Games and developer Harmonix. " Rock Band 2 " will feature a new variety of instruments, online modes and songs, and will allow players to import their previously purchased "Rock Band" tunes.

as well as Nintendo's Wii later in the year. The original "Rock Band" was simultaneously released on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 last November before later coming to the PlayStation 2 and Wii.

"Rock Band" allows up to four gamers to form a virtual band, thrashing and singing along to songs with friends online or in-person on various phony instruments. The second edition will feature a playlist of over 80 songs — all master recordings — which will include more female-fronted bands and artists who have never contributed tunes to a music game.



Full Story: 'Rock Band 2' to include new online modes, songs (AP)

to retailers and major computer makers Monday, despite protests from a slice of PC users who don't want to be forced into using XP's successor, Vista.

Once computers loaded with XP have been cleared from the inventory of PC makers such as Dell Inc . and Hewlett-Packard Co., consumers who can't live without the old operating system on their new machine will have to buy Vista Ultimate or Vista Business and then legally "downgrade" to XP. Microsoft will still allow smaller mom-and-pop PC builder shops to buy XP for resale through the end of January. A version of XP will also remain available for ultra-low-cost PCs such as the Asus Eee PC .

Full Story: Microsoft to stop selling Windows XP on Monday (AP)

The service will work with seven current handsets and three to be launched soon, including the third version of the popular music-oriented LG Chocolate .

In a related announcement, Rhapsody said it is getting rid of copy protection on all tracks bought from its online music store. Beginning Monday, customers can buy music in the MP3 format, which will play on practically any music gadget, including iPods. digital rights management , or DRM , which prevents copying and piracy, but also makes it difficult to legally move music between devices.

Full Story: Verizon Wireless gets Rhapsody music subscriptions (AP)

said Sunday that family members may never know why he hopped two fences to enter a restricted area.

Six Flags Over Georgia on Saturday. The ride was to remain closed through Monday out of respect for his family.

near Springfield, S.C. They were taking a break to picnic outside the park, and his son returned ahead of the group.



Full Story: Family mourns teen hit by roller coaster in Ga. (AP)

found it wasn't worth quite as much as he thought when he settled for around A$100,000 ($96,000) less than his target price.

Ian Usher, 44, held the seven-day auction of all his belongings, including his three-bedroom home in the west Australian city of Perth and a trial for his job at a rug store, after the break-up of his five-year marriage.

Bids had reached as high as A$2.2 million, only for Usher to discover there had been a glitch on eBay's system which allowed the participation of non-registered bidders who had put in bogus offers.



Full Story: Man auctions off his life, sale price disappoints (Reuters)

has taken out an advertisement in trade publications calling a strike "harmful and unnecessary." Citing $2.8 billion in lost wages, the ad says, "We've completed four equitable and forward-thinking labor agreements. Let's get the fifth done." The ad is scheduled to run in Monday's editions of Variety and Hollywood Reporter.

Anxiety has been growing in Hollywood that actors might walk off the job or studios could lock out performers on the heels of a Writers Guild of America strike that devastated production from November through February.

SAG leaders have been fighting a deal reached between producers and another actors union, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. Vote results among that union's 70,000 members are due July 8.



Full Story: SAG leader calls strike talk 'a distraction' (AP)

The school will use instructional methods developed by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard called study technology. And a few teachers belong to the church.

But the couple say they are not Scientologists , and the academy's director insists the facility has no religious affiliation.

"We are a secular school, and just like all nonreligious independent schools, faculty and staff do not promote their own religions at school or pass on the beliefs of their particular faith to children," New Village Academy director Jacqueline Olivier told the Los Angeles Times .



Full Story: Will Smith's school insists it's not Scientologist (AP)

Some people might be embarrassed if their friends found an old copy of Mr. Big's "To be with you" or Paula Abdul's "Cold hearted (snake)" stashed away in their CD collection. But not EMI. They own those songs, and they want the world to know it.

, and 10 unnamed defendants for allegedly infringing on the copyrights of those and hundreds of other pop throwbacks. The lawsuit alleges that Hi5 users have uploaded and disseminated hundreds of music videos the company owns rights to. VideoEgg is on the hook because it's a former partner of Hi5, and those allegedly infringing videos were uploaded to its servers. (On May 31, VideoEgg stopped hosting videos uploaded by the public and refocused efforts on its ad network, prompting rumors that the company was on its way out.) The lawsuit doesn't say much of anything about who the 10 John Does are.

Full Story: EMI sues Hi5, VideoEgg over user-uploaded videos (CNET)

As Patty Stonesifer, CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation , sees it, Gates won't focus on managing the organization, hiring hundreds of new employees or overseeing the construction of a new headquarters.

"He's clear that he loves the idea that he doesn't have to be the operating leadership," Stonesifer said. Instead "he wants to do strategy and advocacy," Stonesifer said, which means he will focus on better understanding the problems the foundation is trying to address. That includes sitting down with government, business and nonprofit leaders to advocate for them to spend more money on world health, hunger and poverty.

Full Story: Bill Gates to dive deeper into foundation strategy (AP)

NEW YORK - A European Vogue cover model fell to her death from her Manhattan apartment building Saturday in an apparent suicide, published reports said.

Originally from the former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan, the almond-eyed, flowing-haired Korshunova appeared in advertisements and on runways for such designers as Marc Jacobs , Nina Ricci and DKNY. British Vogue hailed her as "a face to be excited about" in 2005.

Her break came when modeling booker Debbie Jones noticed her while perusing an in-flight magazine article about Korushnova's hometown of Almaty, according to the Vogue report.



Full Story: Reports: Model dies in apparent NYC suicide dive (AP)

MEYRIN, Switzerland - The most powerful atom-smasher ever built could make some bizarre discoveries, such as invisible matter or extra dimensions in space, after it is switched on in August.

black hole that could swallow Earth? Or spit out particles that could turn the planet into a hot dead clump? Ridiculous, say scientists at the European Organization for Nuclear Research, known by its French initials CERN — some of whom have been working for a generation on the $5.8 billion collider, or LHC.

David Francis, a physicist on the collider's huge ATLAS particle detector, smiled when asked whether he worried about black holes and hypothetical killer particles known as strangelets.



Full Story: Scientists: Nothing to fear from atom-smasher (AP)

. But there was no singing during the 30-minute ceremony — just an exchange of vows, prayers and music provided by a string ensemble. A reporter from The Birmingham News attended the ceremony.

Alabama will be their home as the 29-year-old-singer gets set to release a new album later this year.

Adventure Travel in Southern Utah Zion National Park - St. George, Utah. A destination for outdoor Adventure Travel activities in southern Utah.



Full Story: 'American Idol' winner Ruben Studdard weds in Ala. (AP)

. After taking the stage Saturday, the troubled singer climbed down into the pit and scuffled briefly with a reveler.

The performance came just after she was hospitalized. Her father says she developed emphysema from smoking cigarettes and crack cocaine , although her spokeswoman has said Winehouse only has pre-emphysema symptoms.

Zion National Park - St. George, Utah. A destination for outdoor Adventure Travel activities in southern Utah.



Full Story: Winehouse strikes back at Glastonbury reveler (AP)

Beijing to the eastern coastal city of Yantai , but after morethan three hours of sitting on the tarmac, the airlinecancelled the flight, the Beijing Morning Post said.

"Most of the about 200 passengers disembarked to completeflight transfer procedures, but a Mrs. Shi was one of 52passengers who refused to get off," the newspaper said.

"Mrs. Shi said that she and her colleagues had to get toYantai for a meeting, they were on a very tight schedule, andcould not accept the cancellation of the flight." At 3 a.m. the airline finally told them they could take a7.30 a.m. flight to Yantai.



Full Story: Passengers sleep on plane after flight cancelled (Reuters)

Summer Olympics . NBC's digital plans, however, have angered media outlets that worry the company is being heavy-handed in enforcing its rights to exclusive Olympic access.

Athens was available in 2004, but those visiting the NBC site were required to enter a credit card number , even though they weren't charged, and that drove away traffic.

NBC quietly experimented by beaming live over the Internet the hockey gold-medal game from the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics . The change in scope to what it is offering this year is staggering.



Full Story: NBC offers wide online access for Beijing Olympics (AP)

went on stage to reminisce with his longtime friend Steve Ballmer , and neither man could hold back tears as Ballmer handed Gates a large scrapbook as a farewell present.

"They went off with OS 2, we were left with good old Windows, and sure enough the David versus Goliath story came out with the right ending," said Gates, eliciting laughter from the crowd of 830 Microsoft employees. Gates, who founded Microsoft with Paul Allen in 1975, admitted that Microsoft has faltered along the way, and certainly isn't perfect today.

Full Story: Ballmer and Gates bid farewell with tears (AP)

They came together in this hamlet where each won 107 votes in January's primary. Body language rivaled campaign rhetoric as attention-getter of the day. And a pair rendered distant by a marathon campaign acted like teammates, alternately exhorting the rank-and-file to put any recriminations behind them.

Clinton noted that they had stood "toe to toe" against each other in a primary season fight that began almost two years ago and declared the time has come to "stand shoulder to shoulder" against the GOP . They seemed equally determined to regain a White House that their party hasn't seen since her husband, President Clinton , left at the start of 2001.

"To anyone who voted for me and is now considering not voting or voting for Sen. (John) McCain, I strongly urge you to reconsider," said Clinton, beseeching her supporters to join with Obama's "to create an unstoppable force for change we can all believe in." In turn, Obama praised both Clinton and her husband as allies and pillars of the Democratic Party.



Full Story: Obama, Clinton appeal for Democratic unity in N.H. (AP)

NEW YORK - Another chapter has been added to the Lohan family saga — and this time, it may be another Lohan.

Michael Lohan, father of actress Lindsay, said in a statement Friday that he's looking into a woman's claim that she had a daughter by him.

Lohan said he once had a relationship with a woman named Kristy, whose last name he did not provide, and that he hadn't seen her in 12 years. He said the two were seeing each other while he was separated from Dina Lohan, and the woman was going through a divorce.



Full Story: Another Lohan saga: Another Lohan? (AP)

The chairman of Microsoft and one of the world's richest men, Bill Gates, is stepping down from his job running the world's largest software company.

Mr Gates, who made his fortune through developing software for the personal computer, plans to devote his time to charity work. As a teenager Bill Gates had a vision of a personal computer on every desk in every home.

Full Story: Gates to step down from Microsoft

SEATTLE - It is almost unthinkable that any one human could pick up where Bill Gates leaves off when he ends his full-time tenure Friday as Microsoft's leader.

But as Gates bones up on epidemiology at his charitable foundation, the software company he built with a mix of visionary manifestos and extreme hands-on management must still wake up Monday to face hard problems even he could not solve. Among them: beating Google Inc . on the Web while fending off its attacks on desktop computing. When Microsoft Corp . announced in 2006 that Gates planned to go part-time as board chairman, so he could spend more time on his global health charity, it named two senior executives to guide the company's overall technical direction.

Full Story: Gates moves on, but Microsoft keeps 'quests' alive (AP)

TOKYO - Master Japanese drummer Daihachi Oguchi, who led the spread of the art of "taiko" drumming to the U.S. and throughout Japan, has died after being hit by a car, an official at his ensemble said. He was 84.

Oguchi was crossing the street when he was struck by the car Thursday. He was rushed to the hospital but died of excessive bleeding early Friday, said Yuken Yagasaki of Osuwa Daiko, the group in Nagano prefecture (state) in northern Japan that Oguchi had led.

Oguchi helped found top U.S. taiko groups, including San Francisco Taiko Dojo , which has performed in Hollywood movies and on international tours since its founding 40 years ago.



Full Story: Master Japanese drummer Oguchi dies (AP)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Paris Hilton is making good on her promise to become a better person.

The 27-year-old socialite made an "extremely generous" donation toward the construction of a medical building at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles , hospital officials said Thursday, although they did not specify the amount.

"The children I have met through my involvement with Childrens Hospital have truly touched my heart," Hilton said in a statement. "I am proud to make a donation and lend my name to the fundraising effort to help children who are facing terribly serious illnesses." The 460,000-square-foot Childrens Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases is expected to open in 2010.



Full Story: Paris Hilton donates to LA's Childrens Hospital (AP)

A complete overhaul of the way in which people navigate the internet has been given the go-ahead in Paris.

The net's regulator, Icann, voted unanimously to relax the strict rules on so-called "top-level" domain names, such as .com or .uk. The decision means that companies could turn brands into web addresses, while individuals could use their names.

Full Story: Internet overhaul wins approval

SEATTLE - It is almost unthinkable that any one human could pick up where Bill Gates leaves off when he ends his full-time tenure Friday as Microsoft's leader.

But as Gates bones up on epidemiology at his charitable foundation, the software company he built with a mix of visionary manifestos and extreme hands-on management must still wake up Monday to face hard problems even he could not solve. Among them: beating Google Inc . on the Web while fending off its attacks on desktop computing. When Microsoft Corp . announced in 2006 that Gates planned to go part-time as board chairman, so he could spend more time on his global health charity, it named two senior executives to guide the company's overall technical direction.

Full Story: Bill Gates moves on, but Microsoft keeps his 'quests' alive (AP)

O.J. Simpson says an ambitious Nevada prosecutor is pressing a kidnapping and armed robbery case against him that he says even the alleged victims don't want to pursue.

"If I was anybody else, I wouldn't be going to court," Simpson told a reporter for Fargo, N.D., radio station KFGO who interviewed him late Tuesday at a Fargo cigar bar. Simpson was vacationing in eastern North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota.

"How many trials have you ever heard of where both of the victims say they don't want this guy to go to jail, they don't want to go to court, and you still go to court?" Simpson asked. "It's only me.



Full Story: O.J.: Anybody else wouldn't be going to court (AP)

The end credits of the "Batman Begins" sequel include a farewell note to Ledger, who died in January from an accidental overdose of prescription drugs; and to special-effects technician Conway Wickliffe, who was killed last September in a stunt-car accident.

"In memory of our friends Heath Ledger & Conway Wickliffe," reads the tribute included in the credits, which went up Thursday on the Warner Bros . publicity Web site.

Ledger plays the villainous Joker in "The Dark Knight," who begins a reign of terror on Gotham City that pits him against conflicted hero Batman (Christian Bale).



Full Story: `Dark Knight' credits pay tribute to Ledger (AP)

A complete overhaul of the way people navigate the internet could begin following a crucial vote in Paris.

The net's regulator Icann will vote to decide if the strict rules on so-called top level domain names, such as .com or .uk, can be relaxed. If approved, firms could turn brands into web addresses while individuals could also grab a unique domain based on their name, for example.

Full Story: Crucial vote on internet's future

. The portable video game console is now being used as a key teaching tool, breaking with traditional Japanese academic methods.

A giggly class of 32 seventh-graders used plastic pens to spell words like "hamburger" and "cola" on the touch panel screen — the key feature of the hit console — following an electronic voice from the machine. It's a sort of high-tech spelling bee . When the students got the spelling right, the word "good" popped up on the screen, and the student went on to the next exercise. The first five students to complete the drills were awarded colorful stickers.

Full Story: Nintendo DS teaches English in school (AP)

"The matter has been amicably resolved to the satisfaction of both parties," NBC spokeswoman Jenny Tartikoff said in a statement, the Times reported. The network would not say how much the General Electric Co unit paid, the paper said.

Rockwall County, Texas , had reportedly sent sexually explicit messages to a person that he believed was under-age.

The person actually was a volunteer for Perverted Justice , a group that helps set up stings to catch child sexual predators and was a paid consultant for the Predator series, the Times said.



Full Story: NBC settles lawsuit over man's suicide: report (Reuters)

Universal has settled a $105 million lawsuit brought by a woman who claimed a televised sex sting by " Dateline NBC: To Catch A Predator " drove her brother to kill himself.

"The matter has been amicably resolved to the satisfaction of both parties," said a statement released by both sides. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Patricia Conradt's lawsuit had claimed her brother, a suburban Dallas prosecutor, fatally shot himself after he was accused of engaging in a sexually explicit online chat with an adult posing as a 13-year-old boy.



Full Story: Settlement in NY lawsuit over NBC's 'Predator' (AP)

Two teams of foreign aid workers dedicated to delivering emergency telecoms in disaster areas have been forced to leave cyclone-hit Burma.

The members of Telecoms Sans Frontieres (TSF) left the country after attempts to reach affected areas were blocked. The charity, which described the situation as "unprecedented", said it had no other choice but to leave.

Full Story: Burma blocks emergency telecoms

SAN FRANCISCO - Oracle Corp . breezed past analysts' expectations in its fiscal fourth quarter, providing another sign of the technology industry's vitality despite the listless U.S. economy.

The business software maker said Wednesday that it earned $2.04 billion, or 39 cents per share, in the three months ending in May, up 27 percent from $1.6 billion or 31 cents per share at the same time last year. If not for expenses related to acquisitions and stock awarded to employees, Oracle said it would have made 47 cents per share — three cents above the average estimate among analysts polled by Thomson Financial.

Full Story: Oracle 4Q earnings rise 27 percent to $2.04B (AP)

WASHINGTON - Hundreds of people have been arrested and 21 children rescued in what the FBI is calling a five-day roundup of networks of pimps who force children into prostitution.

The Justice Department says it targeted 16 cities as part of its "Operation Cross Country" that caps off five years of similar stings nationwide.

Many of the children forced into prostitution are either runaways or what authorities call "thrown-aways" — kids whose families have shunned them. Officials say they are preyed upon by organized networks of pimps who lure them in with shelter or drugs, then often beat, starve or otherwise abuse them until the children agree to work the streets.



Full Story: 345 arrested, kids rescued in prostitution busts (AP)

" will focus on the humanitarian crisis in the Congo with the help of an unusual correspondent — Ben Affleck .

The 35-year-old actor took a "Nightline" crew on his recent fact-finding mission to Africa with the goal of spreading the word on a story that gets relatively little notice in the United States. His essay airs 11:35 p.m. Thursday on ABC.

He's been to the Congo three times in the past year. He said his motive was to learn about the war and hunger that have killed thousands of people per month in the past decade in hopes that the outside world would be moved to help, and his celebrity opened some doors.



Full Story: Ben Affleck takes journey to Congo (AP)

Lifesaving equipment in hospitals may be switched off by radio-frequency devices used to track people and machines, Dutch scientists claim.

Radio frequency identification devices (RFIDs) are on the rise in healthcare, helping identify patients, and reveal the location of equipment. There are two types of RFID, one which transmits information, and another, "passive", device which can be "read" by a powered machine when it is held nearby.

Full Story: 'Hospital risk' from radio tags

The service, called T-Mobile AtHome, will cost $10 per month when it rolls out on July 2.

Customers need a wireless plan that costs at least $40 per month, and need to buy a T-Mobile Internet router for $50. The router plugs into the home broadband connection, and the customer's corded or cordless phones plug into the router. "Clearly there's a big opportunity for us to give T-Mobile customers an incentive not to be on competitive landline service," said T-Mobile USA's chief executive, Robert Dotson.

Full Story: T-Mobile goes nationwide with landline service (AP)

A representative for the former "Idol" confirmed to The Associated Press on Tuesday that Studdard, 29, plans a Saturday wedding. He and Surata Zuri McCants, 30, took out a marriage license on Monday, according to court records.

The Birmingham native, nicknamed the "Velvet Teddy Bear" on the show for his big frame and sonorous voice, has released three albums since his 2003 win, including the platinum CD "Soulful." He is working on a new album .

Zion National Park - St. George, Utah. A destination for outdoor Adventure Travel activities in southern Utah.



Full Story: Former 'American Idol' champ to wed (AP)

and Lil Wayne have owned the music scene over the past year: It seems as if T-Pain's voice has accented half the hits on urban radio, while Lil Wayne, another ubiquitous collaborator, has appeared on the rest.

In addition, Lil Wayne just this month scored the year's best-selling album sales debut with 1 million copies sold of his new CD, "Tha Carter III." So it was appropriate that both artists dominated Tuesday's BET Awards with not only their energetic performances but their presence, despite winning just one trophy each.

Other highlights from the three-hour ceremony included a girl group reunion; a stirring tribute to the Rev. (and soul legend) Al Green ; and topless performance by ripped rapper Nelly.



Full Story: T-Pain, Lil Wayne, Barack Obama rule the BET Awards (AP)

Finnish mobile phone giant Nokia is paying 264m euros ($410m; £209m) to buy out the other shareholders in handset software firm Symbian.

Nokia, which already owns 48% of the UK-based firm, intends to develop its software to compete with Google's planned Android operating system. For its part, Symbian said the takeover was "a fundamental step" in the establishment of the Symbian Foundation, which is expected to start operating in the first half of 2009.

Full Story: Nokia to take control of Symbian

CHICAGO - Wireless systems used by many hospitals to keep track of medical equipment can cause potentially deadly breakdowns in lifesaving devices such as breathing and dialysis machines, researchers reported Tuesday in a study that warned hospitals to conduct safety tests.

Some of the microchip-based "smart" systems are touted as improving patient safety, but a Dutch study of equipment — without the patients — suggests the systems could actually cause harm. A U.S. patient-safety expert said the study "is of urgent significance" and said hospitals should respond immediately to the "disturbing" results.

Full Story: Wireless hospitals systems can disrupt med devices (AP)

Gloucester High School this year denied Tuesday there was any pact among them to have children, saying instead they decided to help each other make the best of their situations.

Lindsey Oliver refuted the principal's claim that a sharp increase in teen pregnancies — 17 compared to a typical four — was in part because several girls planned to get pregnant so they could raise their babies together.

and could not be immediately reached for comment. Psalidas's father, Charles Psalidas, said his son would not talk to any other reporters because he'd made an exclusive interview agreement.



Full Story: Pregnant Mass. teen says there was no pact (AP)

said Tuesday morning on his radio show that he was trying to "make a sarcastic point" with his latest on-air remarks about race, but that they had been misunderstood.

Imus resurrected his radio career six months ago with a pledge to mend the wounds caused by a racist and sexist comment he made about a women's basketball team .

On Tuesday he said he was following the spirit of that promise by calling attention to the unfair treatment of blacks — in this case the arrests of suspended Dallas Cowboys cornerback Adam Jones .



Full Story: Don Imus says he was making a 'sarcastic point' (AP)

NEW YORK - Virgin Mobile USA is introducing a plan with unlimited calling for $79.99 per month, helping feed the price-cutting frenzy that has washed over the cellular carriers this year.

The prepaid plan will be available July 1, the carrier said. Virgin was charging $99.99 for 1000 minutes per month with no limit on night and weekend calls. Verizon Wireless introduced a plan with unlimited nationwide calling in February for $99.99 per month that was quickly matched by its competitors.

Full Story: Virgin Mobile introduces unlimited calling plan (AP)

TEHRAN (Reuters) - An adviser of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said there was a plot to assassinate the Iranian president during a U.N. food crisis summit in Italy earlier this month, an Iranian daily reported on Tuesday.

It came a few days after Ahmadinejad, who often rails against the West, accused the United States and its allies of plotting to kidnap and kill him during a visit to neighboring Iraq in March.

Presidential adviser Ali Zabihi said Ahmadinejad's policies since his election in 2005 were threatening "the illegitimate interests" of many foreign powers and domestic circles, the Etemad-e Melli daily reported.



Full Story: Aide: plot to kill Ahmadinejad thwarted at U.N. meet (Reuters)

is finding himself in a familiar position on his morning radio broadcast: facing questions over what he meant by on-air remarks about race.

Months after a career resurrection and a pledge to mend the wounds caused by his remark about a women's basketball team, Imus again drew criticism for racial comments made on his broadcast.

"I meant that he was being picked on because he's black," Imus said in a statement released by his spokesman.



Full Story: Imus faces new questions over on-air race remarks (AP)

plans to plead guilty to lying to the Securities and Exchange Commission as it probed stock option backdating at the chip maker, according to a court document filed Monday.

Samueli, owner of the NHL's Anaheim Ducks, was expected to appear later Monday in U.S. District Court to plead guilty to one count of making a materially false statement. Samueli's co-founder, former CEO Henry T. Nicholas, was indicted this month on conspiracy, securities fraud and drug charges.

Full Story: Broadcom exec to plead guilty to lying to SEC (AP)

In large part because gasoline prices are over $4 a gallon, demand for fuel in the US is falling for the first time in 17 years. China is raising prices for gasoline and diesel – a move that might ultimately lower demand. And, on Sunday, there were signs supply might increase as Saudi Arabia's oil minister indicated that the country would increase production through the end of the year if needed.

"It's all a step in the right direction," says Phil Flynn, an oil analyst and trader at Alaron Trading in Chicago. "These are certainly signs to the market that prices can't just continue to go up." However, some of the shorter-term factors are becoming worse.

On Friday, the energy markets were digesting news of an attack on a Royal Dutch Shell oil platform in Nigeria that shut down over 200,000 barrels of oil per day in production. Then energy traders fretted over news of an Israeli military exercise involving 100 planes, with some speculating that the aim of the exercise was to send a message about Iran 's nuclear ambitions.



Full Story: Some signs of relief on gasoline prices (The Christian Science Monitor)

AP - Sacha Baron Cohen, Marion Cotillard, Ruby Dee and Jet Li have been invited to join Hollywood's most exclusive club — the group that hands out the Academy Awards.

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Full Story: Cohen, Cotillard, Cody asked into Oscar ranks (AP)

The net could see its biggest transformation in decades if plans to open up the address system are passed.

The net's regulators will vote on Thursday to decide if the strict rules on so-called top level domain names, such as .com or .uk, can be relaxed. If approved, it could allow companies to turn their brands into domain names while individuals could also carve out their own corner of the net.

Full Story: 'Shake-up' for internet proposed

Olympics on the Go service the network announced Monday. Fans select which sports they're interested in, and the program automatically downloads the coverage once it's available. Then they can watch the events without being online.

Beijing is 12 hours ahead of Eastern Daylight Time , which means many events will take place while Americans are sleeping. Coverage is expected to generally be available through the service within 12 hours after an event ends. Users must have Microsoft Windows Vista to use the service, which runs on the operating system's Media Center. According to Microsoft , about 100 million people have Vista.

Full Story: NBC service will show Olympic events via computer (AP)

George Carlin says the legendary comedian has died of heart failure at a hospital in Santa Monica, Calif.

Carlin, who had a history of heart trouble, performed as recently as last weekend at the Orleans Casino and Hotel in Las Vegas . It was announced Tuesday that Carlin was being awarded the 11th annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.

Copyright © 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.



Full Story: Comedian George Carlin dead at age 71 (AP)

LOS ANGELES - Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television. Some People Are Stupid. Stuff. People I Can Do Without.

George Carlin , who died of heart failure Sunday at 71, leaves behind not only a series of memorable routines, but a legal legacy: His most celebrated monologue, a frantic, informed riff on those infamous seven words, led to a Supreme Court decision on broadcasting offensive language.

The counterculture hero's jokes also targeted things such as misplaced shame, religious hypocrisy and linguistic quirks — why, he asked, do we drive on a parkway and park on a driveway? Carlin, who had a history of heart trouble, went into St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica on Sunday afternoon complaining of chest pain and died later that evening, said his publicist, Jeff Abraham. He had performed as recently as last weekend at the Orleans Casino and Hotel in Las Vegas.



Full Story: George Carlin mourned as counterculture hero (AP)

Xbox or PlayStation . And over the years, the industry has been shrinking to a handful of big players that use large teams of in-house programmers.

But Silva is a one-man game maker for the Xbox 360 . He's among a growing number of independents working to distribute their games to Internet-connected consoles with the help of game box makers seeking to meet demand for titles beyond the usual shoot-'em-ups or big-budget sequels.

Microsoft , Sony Corp . and Nintendo Co. have all opened up digital distribution channels to their consoles. The financial risk is low, and it helps console makers keep an eye on up-and-coming talent and ideas. Is also boosts the number of exclusive titles for each machine.

Full Story: Console makers embrace indie game developers (AP)

MANILA, Philippines - A group of 28 ferry passengers and crew washed ashore after drifting at sea for more than a day from the site where a typhoon capsized their ship and left most of the hundreds aboard missing and presumed dead, officials said Monday.

Manila's DZBB radio said the survivors, 20 male passengers, four women and four crewmen, drifted at sea for more than 24 hours wearing their lifejackets, reaching Mulanay township in eastern Quezon province late Sunday. Coast guard chief Vice Adm. Wilfredo Tamayo announced early Monday that they had been found, raising the total number of survivors to 38. All were discovered after making it to land.

Tamayo said rescuers may have to bore a hole in the ship to allow divers access to area where many aboard the ferry were believed to have been trapped.



Full Story: Philippines typhoon capsizes boat, 700 missing (AP)

Winston died at his home in Malibu surrounded by family June 15 after a seven-year struggle with multiple myeloma. He was 62.

In a career spanning four decades, Winston created some of the most memorable visual effects in cinematic history. He helped bring the dinosaurs from "Jurassic Park," the extraterrestrials from "Aliens," the robots from "Terminator" and even " Edward Scissorhands " to the big screen. He was a pioneer in merging real-world effects with computer-generated imagery.

Frequent collaborator Cameron told those gathered he spoke with Winston the day before he died. Cameron said Winston expressed something that he never had before: Winston told his colleague and friend that he loved him. Cameron also let "the fans speak for Stan" by reading several messages posted after Winston's death by users of the movie news and gossip Web site Ain't It Cool News.



Full Story: Stars, relatives honor special-effects wiz Winston (AP)

Fears are growing for more than 700 people on a ferry which officials say has capsized in the central Philippines in the wake of a typhoon.

Rescuers have reached the scene but their efforts are being hampered by heavy seas and gale force winds.

Officials on Sibuyan island say four bodies have been recovered. There are unconfirmed reports of three survivors.



Full Story: Philippines ferry hit by typhoon

The picture on his TV would freeze now and then, and he had heard good things about FiOS. Then the 21-year-old student saw a TV commercial from Comcast that made fun of FiOS and claimed the cable TV company has a larger fiber-optic network.

"I thought to myself: Maybe I don't have to switch, because if Comcast has fiber optics now, that means that they'll be better," said Axel, who lives in Roosevelt, N.J. But after asking around online, he found that nothing's changed about Comcast's service: It still uses coaxial cable to connect homes. It does use fiber-optic cable further away in the network, as it has for many years.

Full Story: Cable ads attacking Verizon confuse consumers (AP)

The BBC's James Reynolds says there is a staggering security presence in the city, three months after violent protests broke out.

Ethnic Tibetans clashed with security forces and Han Chinese in March in the biggest protests for two decades.

But reporters representing about 30 international news organisations have been allowed into the city in a closely monitored group to cover the torch relay - widely considered the most sensitive leg of the flame's journey around the world and through China.



Full Story: China stages torch relay in Tibet

The Small Scale Experimental Machine, or "Baby", was the first to contain memory which could store a program.

The room-sized computer's ability to carry out different tasks - without having to be rebuilt - has led some to describe it as the "first modern PC".

Using just 128 bytes of memory, it successfully ran its first set of instructions - to determine the highest factor of a number - on 21 June 1948.



Full Story: One tonne 'Baby' marks its birth

TORONTO - BCE Inc . on Friday won the right to go ahead with the largest leveraged buyout in history, a US$35 billion deal that the telecommunications company's bondholders fought, saying it would reduce their holdings to junk.

"We're pleased with the Supreme Court's decision and we're continuing to work to complete an acquisition of BCE," Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan spokeswoman Deborah Allan said.

The last hurdle to the deal also looks to be gone as the banks said they would proceed with the deal. The banks are slated to provide billions in financing to complete what is a US$51 billion cash and debt takeover.



Full Story: Canadian court allows largest ever leveraged buyout (AP)

AP - Yahoo Inc. is offering free e-mail accounts under two new designations in an effort to attract Web surfers unhappy with their current addresses.

Full Story: Yahoo addresses e-mail concerns with new domains (AP)

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AP - Americans dissatisfied with political sound bites are turning to the Internet for a more complete picture, a new study finds.

Full Story: Study: Americans use Net to look beyond sound bite (AP)

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