5/19 The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com

The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com         Argentina Plane Crash: No Survivors In Wreckage Of Commercial Plane Carrying 22 May 19, 2011 at 2:29 AM   BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — A Sol Air Lines plane carrying 22 people crashed and exploded Wednesday in Argentina's southern Patagonia region, killing all on board. Sol Air Lines said its Flight 5248 carrying three crew members and 19 passengers, including a baby, communicated an emergency while flying from Neuquen near the Andes to Comodoro Rivadavia along the coast of Patagonia. The company confirmed that the wreckage was found about 25 kilometers (15 miles) southwest of the town of Los Menucos, and that local firefighers and police found no one alive. Read More... More on Airlines         Argentina Plane Crash: No Survivors In Wreckage Of Commercial Plane Carrying 22 May 19, 2011 at 2:12 AM   BUENOS AIRES, Argentina -- A commercial airplane crashed Wednesday in Argentina's southern Patagonia region and all 22 people on board are dead, said a local hospital director. Sol Airlines said its Flight 5248 carrying three crew members and 19 passengers, including a baby, communicated an emergency while flying from Neuquen near the Andes to Comodoro Rivadavia along the coast of Patagonia. Read More... More on Death & Dying         Heat Beat Bulls 85-75 To Tie Series At 1 May 19, 2011 at 2:12 AM   CHICAGO — Back to his usual havoc-wreaking ways, LeBron James took control when it counted and the Miami Heat sent out a loud message in the process. They're ready for a "street fight," if that's the route to the NBA finals. Read More... More on NBA         Dominique Strauss-Kahn Resigns As Head Of International Monetary Fund May 19, 2011 at 1:46 AM   NEW YORK -- Investigators cut out a piece of carpet in a painstaking search of a penthouse suite for DNA evidence in IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn's sex assault case, law enforcement officials said Wednesday as he made a new bid to get out of jail. New York detectives and prosecutors believe the carpet in the hotel room may contain Strauss-Kahn's semen, spat out after an episode of forced oral sex by a hotel maid, the officials told The Associated Press. Read More... More on Dominique Strauss-Kahn         Secular Coalition For America: Rapture Fuels 'Godless' Group's Push May 19, 2011 at 1:46 AM   A group of self-described Godless Americans is defying predictions of the Rapture to kick off a new campaign this week against the religious right. Read More... More on Politics         Gaddafi's Wife And Daughter Are In Tunisia, Says Source May 19, 2011 at 1:07 AM   May 18, 2011 11:23:39 PM By Tarek Amara and Joseph Logan Read More... More on Libya         Dominique Strauss-Kahn Sex Scandal Case: Police Look For DNA In Hotel Carpet May 19, 2011 at 12:30 AM   NEW YORK — Investigators cut out a piece of carpet in a painstaking search of a penthouse suite for DNA evidence in IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn's sex assault case, law enforcement officials said Wednesday as he made a new bid to get out of jail. New York detectives and prosecutors believe the carpet in the hotel room may contain Strauss-Kahn's semen, spat out after an episode of forced oral sex by a hotel maid, the officials told The Associated Press. Read More... More on NY News         Osama Bin Laden Recording: Al Qaeda Releases Posthumous Audio May 19, 2011 at 12:24 AM   WASHINGTON — Shortly before his death, Osama bin Laden recorded a message praising the Middle East protest movements and predicting that revolutions would spread across the region. "I think that the winds of change will blow over the entire Muslim world, with permission from Allah," bin Laden said in the 12-minute message released online Wednesday. Read More... More on Al Qaeda         Maria Shriver Appears On Oprah Winfrey's Farewell Show, Doesn't Discuss Scandal May 18, 2011 at 11:31 PM   CHICAGO -- Maria Shriver didn't address revelations that her husband fathered a child with another woman when she appeared at Oprah Winfrey's farewell show on Tuesday. Shriver, the TV journalist and Kennedy heiress, walked onstage wearing a sparkly blue dress with Winfrey's best friend Gayle King. Earlier in the day it was revealed her husband, Arnold Schwarzenegger, fathered a child with a woman on his household staff more than a decade ago. Read More... More on Arnold Schwarzenegger         Larry Magid: Online Safety Tied to Real World Behavior May 18, 2011 at 11:31 PM   I've been working in the field of Internet safety for 17 years, and the deeper I get into it, the more I realize that Internet safety for kids and teens isn't about the Internet or really even about safety. Read More... More on Bullying         Sarah Palin: David Gregory Asked Newt Gingrich 'Racist-Tinged' Question (VIDEO) May 18, 2011 at 11:31 PM   During an appearance on Fox News' "Hannity" on Wednesday night, Sarah Palin suggested that David Gregory, host of NBC's "Meet the Press," asked a "racist-tinged question" in pressing presidential candidate Newt Gingrich on an eyebrow-raising characterization of President Barack Obama he made last week. The former House Speaker criticized the president as "the most successful food stamp president in modern American history" while speaking in Georgia. Here's an excerpt of the exchange that went down between Gingrich and Gregory after a clip was played of the remarks: GREGORY: First of all, you gave a speech in Georgia with language a lot of people think could be coded racially-tinged language, calling the president, the first black president, a food stamp president. Read More... More on Elections 2012         Gabrielle Giffords 'Recovering Well' After Surgery To Repair Skull May 18, 2011 at 11:31 PM   HOUSTON -- Doctors repaired Gabrielle Giffords' skull on Wednesday, the latest milestone in her recovery from an assassination attempt and a procedure that experts say will improve her quality of life. A gunman shot her in the head more than four months ago in Tucson, Ariz., and doctors had to remove a portion of her skull to relieve pressure on her brain. Read More... More on Gabrielle Giffords         'Left Behind' Author Tim Lahaye Says May, 21 2011 Judgment Day Won't Happen May 18, 2011 at 11:10 PM   The author of the popular "Left Behind" book series, Tim Lahaye, has written on his website that he does not subscribe to the growing belief that May 21, 2011 will mark the end of the world. The "Left Behind" series lays out a theoretical image of the Christian prediction for the end of the world and suggests that the rapture may be imminent. Lahaye himself has drawn attention for identifying the earthquakes and tsunami that hit Japan in March and President Obama's administrative agenda as signs of the coming apocalypse. With this seemingly eager attitude, it is somewhat surprising that Lahaye has come out in opposition to Harold Camping's judgment day bandwagon. Instead, Lahaye sticks to the oft-cited passage from the Book of Matthew that is interpreted to mean the apocalypse will not be predicted: Read More... More on Christianity         Craig Crawford: Revenge of the Mask May 18, 2011 at 11:06 PM   This post is dedicated to my best friend, who is fighting for his life against brain cancer. Sean Holton is the most talented writer and journalist I've ever known. His blog on his struggle is must reading, and after well over a year of survival he is still at war. Here I cross post a piece he wrote on our time together, which seems mostly true although I could not swear to it in federal court. Sean Holton (Same Time Tomrrow): Be careful what you mock in your youth, because what goes around comes around and the target of your mockery will often get the last laugh. A long time ago, my target was something called The Mask, and now it is finally getting its revenge. Read More...         Dick Cheney Memoir To Offer 'Strong Views,' Liz Cheney Says May 18, 2011 at 10:44 PM   NEW YORK -- Dick Cheney has finished his memoir, according to his daughter, and the book is scheduled to come out on Aug. 30. Liz Cheney said that the former vice president's manuscript was turned in at the beginning of the month. She said the book, currently being edited, will be "very straightforward," with "a lot of in-depth analysis of really critically important issues." Cheney's memoir, "In My Time: A Personal and Political Memoir," is being published by Threshold Editions, a conservative imprint of Simon & Schuster run by Republican strategist and former Cheney aide Mary Matalin. Read More... More on Dick Cheney         Amnesty International Says Vatican Not Meeting Obligations On Sex Abuse May 18, 2011 at 10:33 PM   By Francis X. Rocca Religion News Service VATICAN CITY (RNS) Amnesty International has criticized the Vatican for falling short of its commitments to protect children from sex abuse. Read More... More on Catholic Church         William Bradley: NCIS: America's Favorite Show and What It Tells Us May 18, 2011 at 10:26 PM   How was the season finale? On the anti-climactic side, actually, and not nearly as good as the penultimate episode, one of the show's best. But it did set up an intriguing beginning to the show's ninth season in the fall. Read More... More on Mad Men         Michaela Haas: 2,500 Years After the Buddha, Tibetan Buddhists Acknowledge Women May 18, 2011 at 10:18 PM   It may come as a surprise to many that despite its peaceful and somewhat progressive image in the West, the Tibetan Buddhist tradition does not know full ordination for women. Read More... More on Buddhism         Eric Ehrmann: Brazil´s Biofuel Drama Goes Global May 18, 2011 at 10:05 PM   Brazil's biofuel drama is a reminder that solutions packaged in green wrappers fail to scale with billions facing starvation in the Americas, Africa and Asia. Read More... More on Argentina         Dick Cheney Memoir To Offer Strong Views, Liz Cheney Says May 18, 2011 at 10:05 PM   NEW YORK — Dick Cheney has finished his memoir, according to his daughter, and the book is scheduled to come out on Aug. 30. Liz Cheney said that the former vice president's manuscript was turned in at the beginning of the month. She said the book, currently being edited, will be "very straightforward," with "a lot of in-depth analysis of really critically important issues." Cheney's memoir, "In My Time: A Personal and Political Memoir," is being published by Threshold Editions, a conservative imprint of Simon & Schuster run by Republican strategist and former Cheney aide Mary Matalin. Read More... More on Dick Cheney         James S. Gordon: Haiti's New Hope, and New President, Michel Martelly May 18, 2011 at 9:55 PM   May 14, 2011 in Port-au-Prince felt like January 20, 2009 in Washington DC: a new president producing unexpected smiles, and tears, too -- and in devastated Haiti, a sense of new life. Read More...         Is The Global Poverty Project's 'Live Below The Line' Campaign An Effective Way To Help The Poor? May 18, 2011 at 9:55 PM   May 16 to 20 is The Global Poverty Project's (GPP) 'Live Below the Line' week. The project has challenged participants to eat only $1.50 worth of food per day to raise awareness for extreme poverty and encourage people to get involved. But is that enough to make a difference? The premise for the event is that 1.4 billion people worldwide currently live in "extreme poverty," defined by the World Bank as surviving on US$1.50 a day (adjusted for inflation from the 2005 rate of US$1.25). Live Below the Line challenges the public to go for five days spending just that on food -- though, as its website points out, for people actually living in extreme poverty, that daily $1.50 has to cover not only food, but "housing, health, education, and transportation expenses" as well. Besides trying to help people better understand the plight of those in extreme poverty, the project has a dual goal of raising money for international aid through sponsorships from friends and family. Participants create personalized fundraising pages and are encouraged to garner at least $50 in donations, which support GPP and its charity partners. Read More... More on Poverty         Judy Kurtz: What's Your Gadget's Name? May 18, 2011 at 9:55 PM   I was a bit surprised when, as I was driving in the car with my sister, Bonnie, she said she didn't know the name of one of my dearest friends. This constant companion had been virtually everywhere with me. Read More... More on Android         Mildred Patricia Baena And Arnold Schwarzenegger: Failed Cover Up May 18, 2011 at 9:55 PM   The former Governor may have lied, but the documents didn't. On Wednesday, the birth certificate belonging to Arnold Schwarzenegger's love child surfaced. The certificate, which lists the boy's birth date as October 2, 1997, also lists Mildred Patricia Baena, a former member of Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver's household staff, as the mother (Baena uses a different last name on the certificate--Pena), and Rogelio Baena--Baena's then-husband--as the father Read More... More on Arnold Schwarzenegger         Osama Bin Laden Recording: Al Qaeda Releases Posthumous Audio May 18, 2011 at 9:55 PM   May 19, 2011 1:09:43 AM By Sami Aboudi Read More... More on Osama bin Laden         San Francisco Circumcision Ban To Appear On Ballot May 18, 2011 at 9:40 PM   SAN FRANCISCO — A proposal to ban the circumcision of male children in San Francisco has been cleared to appear on the November ballot, setting the stage for the nation's first public vote on what has long been considered a private family matter. But even in a city with a long-held reputation for pushing boundaries, the measure is drawing heavy fire. Opponents are lining up against it, saying a ban on a religious rite considered sacred by Jews and Muslims is a blatant violation of constitutional rights. Read More...         TreePeople Improving Los Angeles' Environment May 18, 2011 at 9:38 PM   As a boy growing up in Los Angeles, TreePeople President Andy Lipkis would breathe in steam to soothe his lungs from the searing burn caused by the city’s air pollution. At age 15, Lipkis began planting trees to rehabilitate smog and fire-damaged forests, and in 1973, he founded TreePeople, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving Los Angeles’ air quality through tree planting. Almost 40 years later, this internationally recognized organization has planted more than 2 million trees in the Los Angeles basin. Here, Lipkis schools us on tree power: Trees create shade: “Pollutants like smog actually multiply when hit with heat,” Lipkis says. Thus, the longer smog is exposed to high temperatures, the more is produced. Add this to the fact that summer temperatures in Los Angeles rise by 10 - 12 degrees due to sunlight hitting surfaces like asphalt and concrete, and you have a smog layer that thickens as winds blow it east towards the Inland Empire. Read More... More on LA Impact         Best Vintage and Thrift Shopping Outside of Los Angeles May 18, 2011 at 9:32 PM   Secondhand shopping, with all of its required digging and rummaging, is more treasure hunt that traditional shopping trip. Turn your thrifting into an all day adventure by getting out of Los Angeles, (where most if the thrift stores are completely picked over anyways), and heading to the great vintage and secondhand emporiums in the greater LA area. Destination: Ventura Shop: Main Street Read More... More on LA Around Town         LAFD Cuts: New Plan Would Cut 300 L.A. City Fire Jobs, Close 18 Stations May 18, 2011 at 9:05 PM   LOS ANGELES (KTLA) -- Sparks flew in front of Los Angeles City Hall Wednesday, as firefighters gathered to blast a cost-cutting plan that could eliminate about 300 jobs over the next several years. The L.A. City Council is expected to approve Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's new fire budget for 2012. Watch the video and click HERE for the rest of the story. Read More... More on Video         YouTube 'Town Hall' Lets Politicians Duke It Out Online May 18, 2011 at 9:02 PM   In today's polarized political climate, it sometimes seems the focus is more on parties and candidates rather than the issues. But YouTube's come up with a solution for this. And it's a new way to debate politics that doesn't involve knowing someone's party affiliation (shocking!). Read More... More on YouTube         Brendan DeMelle: Hillary Clinton's State Department Sued Over Alleged Tar Sands Lobbyist Contact May 18, 2011 at 8:23 PM   The suit follows an extensive effort by the environmental groups to seek information about contacts between Clinton and Paul Elliott, a lobbyist for TransCanada Pipelines and the national deputy director of Clinton's presidential run. Read More... More on Hillary Clinton         Keystone XL Suit: Environmental Groups Target Hillary Clinton Over Oil Pipeline Documents May 18, 2011 at 8:23 PM   A coalition of environmental and ethics groups sued Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the U.S. State Department on Wednesday over documents relating to a contentious oil pipeline that would link Canada's oil sands to oil refineries in the southern United States. The groups suspect that the documents, sought through a Freedom of Information Act request filed in December, contain communications between Clinton and a lobbyist representing TransCanada, the company behind the proposed pipeline, known as the Keystone XL project. The lobbyist in question, Paul Elliott, formerly served as a deputy campaign director for Clinton's failed presidential bid in 2008. The State Department is currently considering whether to grant TransCanada a permit for the Keystone pipeline, without which the project cannot go forward. Read More... More on Energy         Lee Feigon: Goat à la Julia Child May 18, 2011 at 8:07 PM   As the founder of a Goat Farm, I had plenty of sweet succulent goat meat in my freezer. Why, it occurred to me, couldn't I substitute goat meat for beef in Julia's famous Boeuf Bourguignonne dish? Read More...         Deb Levine: How to Make Sex-Ed Work For Teens May 18, 2011 at 8:07 PM   Many sex education techniques are, at best, moderately successful, say youth. Different content is needed to engage young people in their own sexual health, and in more forms. Read More... More on Parenting         GOP Donors Deserting Newt Gingrich May 18, 2011 at 8:07 PM   WASHINGTON -- Newt Gingrich's catastrophic first week as an official Republican primary candidate may knock him out of the race before it even gets started. And if he stays in, fundraising will now be much more difficult, and that could hasten his exit, Republican sources said. The former House Speaker from Georgia's once biggest advantage over other long shot candidates -- an established fundraising network -- is withering before his eyes. "The last 48 hours have called into question if Newt can even make it to July 4, because his fundraising is going to dry up," said one veteran Republican strategist. "No serious finance bundler is now going to step forward in such an organized campaign and take a leadership role." Read More... More on Paul Ryan         Chris Weigant: The Ryan Budget Acid Test May 18, 2011 at 8:07 PM   The Republican Party has now made supporting the Ryan budget its acid test for 2012. By forcing the issue in such a major way with Gingrich, the message to the rest of the Republican candidates is loud and clear: "Support the Ryan plan -- or else." Read More... More on Elections 2012         Oil Subsidies Repeal Blocked By Industry-Bankrolled Senators (CHART) May 18, 2011 at 8:07 PM   WASHINGTON -- An attempt to repeal some of the billion-dollar tax breaks enjoyed by the five biggest oil companies failed in the Senate Tuesday evening, as expected, when all but two Republicans and three Democrats voted to block its consideration. The final vote was 52 in favor, 48 against -- eight votes shy of the filibuster-proof majority needed to bring the bill to the floor. All things considered, it was a fairly meek attack on the massive oil and gas subsidies that taxpayers are footing -- even as consumers suffer from high gas prices and industry profits swell to near-record proportions. Tuesday's Senate proposal was only to cut $2 billion worth of subsidies a year from the biggest five companies, and the proceeds would have gone to deficit reduction. By contrast, President Barack Obama called on Congress in January to eliminate some $4 billion a year in tax breaks to the entire industry, and put the proceeds into alternative energy investment. Read More... More on U.S. Senate         Arnold Schwarzenegger And Mildred Patricia Baena Photographed Dancing Together May 18, 2011 at 8:05 PM   Three years before she gave birth to his child, Arnold Schwarzenegger was bumpin' and grindin' with his maid Mildred Patty Baena at a private party in the actor's home ... and TMZ has the photo. Read More... More on Arnold Schwarzenegger         Ashton Kutcher On 'Two And A Half Men': 'You Almost Think I Won The Lotto' May 18, 2011 at 8:01 PM   Charlie Sheen's loss was Ashton Kutcher's gain -- and the new face of CBS knows it. Kutcher, who was revealed as Sheen's replacement on the mega-hit comedy "Two and a Half Men" last week, took center stage at CBS' upfront presentation of the fall lineup. Aside from a few press statements and tweets, this was his first opportunity to comment on his casting, and he hemmed once again to the aww-shucks excitement that he's projected over the past seven days. "In my 13 years in show business, I've never received more emails and phone calls from people congratulating me for this job. You almost think I've won the lotto ... which I kind of did," he said (via EW). "I got the best job in show business and I'm exited about that." Read More... More on CBS         Rep. Zoe Lofgren To DHS: Secure Communities Investigation Should Start Now May 18, 2011 at 8:00 PM   WASHINGTON -- Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) called on Wednesday for the Department of Homeland Security to immediately investigate whether its officials intentionally misled the public and local lawmakers over an immigration enforcement program. The program, Secure Communities, allows Immigration and Customs Enforcement to access the fingerprints that local police share with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The fingerprint-sharing effort allows ICE to detect and deport a larger number of undocumented immigrants, and is a central part of the Obama administration's record removal rates over the last two years. But some state and local officials disagree with the program, arguing it slates too many non-criminal undocumented people for deportation, and forces local police to spend money holding men and women they would otherwise release. Read More... More on Immigration         Gold Scams Rise On High Prices And Investor Anxiety May 18, 2011 at 7:58 PM   NEW YORK -- Last year, Brian Gurl spent some time reading about the state of the U.S. economy. He kept hearing about the gargantuan size of the federal debt and the threat of inflation on TV. Gurl is approaching retirement age, so he and his wife needed safe investments. The couple decided on gold. Read More... More on Glenn Beck         Dominique Strauss-Kahn's Marital History May 18, 2011 at 7:58 PM   When the news broke that Dominique Strauss-Kahn, 62, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), had been arrested for sexual assault and attempted rape in New York City, his wife Anne Sinclair wasted no time in declaring her unquestioned belief in his innocence. The heiress to an art-gallery fortune, Sinclair, also 62, is a celebrity in her own right, having been an award-winning radio and television journalist in France. She has stood by him in the recent past. In 2008, Strauss-Kahn was reprimanded by the IMF after his relationship with the Hungarian economist (and his subordinate at the institution) Piroska Nagy became a public scandal. Read More... More on Dominique Strauss-Kahn         Arnold Schwarzenegger And Maria Shriver's Former Home On Market For $23.5 Million May 18, 2011 at 7:53 PM   Via Realtor.com: Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver's former mansion is for sale, listed at $23.5 million. The house was built in 1982, and the couple called it home from 1986 through 2004. In 1991, Mildred Patricia Baena, Schwarzenegger's alleged mistress and mother to his love child was hired as housekeeper to the property. E! News reports this is "the mansion where Schwarzenegger started his affair." The Will Rogers Park- adjacent equestrian estate sits on nearly two acres of lush grounds and features seven bedrooms. According to the LA Times, the Schwarzenegger-Shriver family sold the property in 2004 to pro-golfer Denis Watson and his wife, attorney Susan Loggans. Watson won three major championships during the first year of his PGA career. Photos courtesy of Realtor.com Read More... More on Maria Shriver         Dr. Susan Corso: Misery Needs Company May 18, 2011 at 7:29 PM   There are plenty of other people in this world who are as miserable as you are right now. Read More... More on Wisdom         William Hartung: Hawks Fighting the Wrong War on China May 18, 2011 at 7:29 PM   The hawks of the military-industrial complex who are hyping the Chinese threat to justify record military budgets are fighting the wrong war, to the detriment of our security. Read More... More on Obama Administration         Reese Schonfeld: The Lessons of Libya May 18, 2011 at 7:13 PM   We seem to be witnessing a major split between military leaders (Gen. Richards) and NATO political leaders. Gen. Richards wants "to tighten the vise." NATO seems to have no intention of tightening the vise, so the game goes on. Read More...         Jay Tavare: Hollywood Indians May 18, 2011 at 7:13 PM   In early films, we Indians were depicted as nothing more than bronze, half-clothed savages, sporting stereotypical double braids, screaming as we got shot off horses. Hollywood's portrayals are responsible for the shallow perception most folks have of our people. Read More... More on The Oscars         Gastronomista: Hot, Bitter, Spicy : Campari and Padma Lakshmi at The Box May 18, 2011 at 7:13 PM   As you can imagine, a Campari event at a burlesque club with its red hued lighting coupled with the seductively red and divinely delicious cocktails had us swooning all night. Read More... More on Padma Lakshmi         Asher Edelman: The Three Graces May 18, 2011 at 6:52 PM   Another two-week marathon has passed. What did we see? What can we conclude as to the market for art? Christie's Read More... More on Art         California Burglary Suspect Calls For Ride, Cop Answers May 18, 2011 at 6:52 PM   WHITTIER, Calif. -- Police say a burglary suspect in Southern California made a bad call when he dialed a friend to ask for a ride and an officer answered. The San Gabriel Valley Tribune says police in Whittier had detained four people they thought were trying to break into cars around 4 a.m. Tuesday, when a suspect's cell phone rang. Read More...             This email was sent to cbzvdani.delluve@blogger.com. Delivered by Feed My Inbox PO Box 682532 Franklin, TN 37068 Account Login Unsubscribe Here