5/19 The Huffington Post | Full News Feed

The Huffington Post | Full News Feed         Argentina Plane Crash: No Survivors In Wreckage Of Commercial Plane Carrying 22 May 19, 2011 at 2:28 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 1:56 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 1:56 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         Sarah Palin: David Gregory Asked Newt Gingrich 'Racist-Tinged' Question (VIDEO) May 18, 2011 at 11:18 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         Maria Shriver Appears On Oprah Winfrey's Farewell Show, Doesn't Discuss Scandal May 18, 2011 at 11:18 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         Gabrielle Giffords 'Recovering Well' After Surgery To Repair Skull May 18, 2011 at 11:18 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         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         Mildred Patricia Baena And Arnold Schwarzenegger: Failed Cover Up May 18, 2011 at 9:46 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--Mildred'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 9:46 PM   May 19, 2011 1:09:43 AM By Sami Aboudi Read More... More on Osama bin Laden         Dick Cheney Memoir To Offer Strong Views, Liz Cheney Says May 18, 2011 at 9:46 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         Is The Global Poverty Project's 'Live Below The Line' Campaign An Effective Way To Help The Poor? May 18, 2011 at 9:40 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         Osama Bin Laden Recording: Al Qaeda Releases Posthumous Audio May 18, 2011 at 9:40 PM   May 19, 2011 12:36:04 AM CAIRO, May 19 (Reuters) - Al Qaeda has released a posthumous audio by Osama bin Laden which has been posted on jihadi websites, the SITE monitoring service reported on Thursday. Read More... More on Al Qaeda         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         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         Female Badminton Players Forced to Wear Skirts May 18, 2011 at 8:20 PM   Badminton is soon to be the new women's tennis -- at least according the Badminton World Federation, which took the first step toward raising its sport's profile by requiring female players to wear skirts on the court. The official outfit policy, which will take will take effect June 1 in time for this summer's world championships, is "to ensure attractive presentation of badminton," according to a statement by the Badminton World Federation, the sport's international governing body. But athletes and women's rights organizations are outraged by the rule. Groups from across the globe have come out against mandating hiked hemlines. Read More... More on The Playing Field         Arnold Schwarzenegger And Mildred Patricia Baena Photographed Dancing Together May 18, 2011 at 8:02 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         GOP Donors Deserting Newt Gingrich May 18, 2011 at 8:02 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         Oil Subsidies Repeal Blocked By Industry-Bankrolled Senators (CHART) May 18, 2011 at 8:02 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         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         U.S., China Military Talks Stumble Over Taiwan Arms Sales, China's Military Build-up May 18, 2011 at 7:36 PM   WASHINGTON -- New talks this week between American and Chinese military leaders got stuck on the issue of Taiwan, the same problem that torpedoed U.S.-China military cooperation last year. Growing American concern about China's military build-up, cyberwar attacks, aggressive maneuvers in the South China Sea and Chinese complaints about U.S. spy-planes monitoring its coastline were all topics left unaddressed after the first high-level Chinese military visit in seven years. Following two days of discussions at the Pentagon and elsewhere in Washington, Gen. Chen Bingde, chief of the Chinese general staff, and Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, expressed hope for continued dialog and cooperation while acknowledging the deep disagreements between the two powers. Read More...         Arnold Schwarzenegger Scandal: Will It Affect His Hollywood Comeback? May 18, 2011 at 7:05 PM   Arnold Schwarzenegger's return to showbiz has succeeded in one way: He's a hit in late-night. The former California governor has been preparing a return to Hollywood, but becoming a punch line wasn't on the agenda. Yet that's exactly what's happened since Schwarzenegger acknowledged Tuesday that he had fathered a child of a longtime household staff member more than a decade ago. The revelation followed last week's separation of Schwarzenegger and his wife of 25 years, Maria Shriver. Read More... More on Arnold Schwarzenegger         California Burglary Suspect Calls For Ride, Cop Answers May 18, 2011 at 6:51 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...         Zombie Apocalypse? The CDC Describes How To Be Prepared May 18, 2011 at 6:51 PM   The U.S. government wants to make sure that in the event of a zombie invasion, you know what to do. That's right. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shocked us all with their post on how to prepare for the zombie apocalypse. The CDC post, "Preparedness 101: Zombie Apocalypse," came out Monday and has been gaining media traction since -- the link has been down for much of the day, presumingly due to over-traffic. Read More...         Arnold Schwarzenegger Scandal: Will It Affect His Hollywood Comeback? May 18, 2011 at 6:51 PM   -- Arnold Schwarzenegger's return to showbiz has succeeded in one way: He's a hit in late-night. The former California governor has been preparing a return to Hollywood, but becoming a punch line wasn't on the agenda. Yet that's exactly what's happened since Schwarzenegger acknowledged Tuesday that he had fathered a child of a longtime household staff member more than a decade ago. The revelation followed last week's separation of Schwarzenegger and his wife of 25 years, Maria Shriver. Read More... More on Arnold Schwarzenegger         Maria Shriver Appears On Oprah Winfrey's Farewell Show, Doesn't Discuss Scandal May 18, 2011 at 6:51 PM   More on Arnold Schwarzenegger         Secret Service Twitter Misstep Followed By Apology From Agency May 18, 2011 at 6:51 PM   The U.S. Secret Service issued an apology on Wednesday after an eyebrow-raising tweet went out on the agency's official Twitter account (@SecretService), which was just activated last week. The tweet, which stirred buzz despite swiftly being taken down, read: "Had to monitor Fox for a story. Can't. Deal. With. The. Blathering." According to CNN, the Secret Service released a statement addressing the social media misstep. Read More... More on Fox News         Mitt Romney Defends The Boston Herald, Longtime Press Nemesis (AUDIO) May 18, 2011 at 6:51 PM   WASHINGTON -- Throughout most of his career, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has had what can best be described as a testy relationship with the Boston Herald. The conservative-leaning tabloid, the Boston Globe's counter-balance of sorts, has long treated the former Massachusetts Governor as an ideological chameleon. Recent headlines from both its news and editorial side range from "Just one more reminder that Mitt Romney can't win," to "Mitt Romney has it all — except GOP stalwart support," to "Health-care jabs bloody up Mitt Romney." One GOP operative described the rapport between the paper and the former governor as "horrific." Read More... More on Mitt Romney         Arnold Schwarzenegger-Mildred Patricia Baena: Reporters Swarm Baena's Bakersfield Home May 18, 2011 at 6:51 PM   BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — The revelation that Arnold Schwarzenegger has an out-of-wedlock child with a former employee turned into a tabloid frenzy Wednesday, as scores of reporters and photographers swarmed a quiet suburban cul-de-sac in the middle of California farm country amid unconfirmed reports it was the home of the child's mother. The woman was not at the Bakersfield home when the flash mob arrived, its satellite TV trucks filling her quiet Bakersfield street and spilling onto another one. The media descended after the woman's name surfaced in several Internet reports. Read More... More on Arnold Schwarzenegger         'Saveur' Names The 2011 Best Food Blog Award Winners May 18, 2011 at 6:51 PM   When we opened nominations for this year's Best Food Blog Awards, we had no idea we'd find ourselves deluged with over 40,000 individual plugs for websites. Narrowing them down to six finalists in seventeen categories was no easy task -- but an even harder job fell to the thousands of you who voted, picking just one blog above all others in its category. Read More...         Arnold Schwarzenegger Love Child Revelation Sparks Media Frenzy May 18, 2011 at 6:22 PM   BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — The revelation that Arnold Schwarzenegger has an out-of-wedlock child with a former employee turned into a tabloid frenzy Wednesday as scores of reporters and photographers swarmed a quiet suburban cul-de-sac in the middle of California farm country amid unconfirmed reports it was the home of the child's mother. The woman was not at the Bakersfield home when the flash mob showed up, its satellite TV trucks filling her quiet Bakersfield street and spilling onto another one. The media descended after the woman's name surfaced in several Internet reports. Read More... More on Arnold Schwarzenegger         HUFFPOST HILL - White House Talks Tough About Debt Ceiling May 18, 2011 at 6:22 PM   Newt Gingrich spent the day searching for the world's most powerful lint roller. His spokesman drafted statements that read like they were dictated by Marlon Brando's character in Apocalypse Now. Lawmakers in Congress spent the bulk of their day devising strategies to annoy each other. And Jon Huntsman positioned himself to be the first presidential candidate to accept campaign contributions in Disney Dollars. Out of the billowing smoke and dust of tweets and trivia emerged HUFFPOST HILL for Wednesday, May 18th, 2011, once again ready to lead those who won't be intimated by the political elite and are ready to take on the challenges America faces: WHITE HOUSE REFUSES TO BUDGE ON DEBT CEILING REALITY - The White House this afternoon said that there is no "Plan B" to raising the debt ceiling, which was hit on Monday. "There is no alternative to raising the debt limit. It has to be raised," a White House official told reporters. "There's really no way around it." Elise Foley: "The White House is pushing back against a few Republicans -- including Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) -- who hinted this week the government could default on its debts for a short time in pursuit of a broader deal to cut the deficit. Republicans have overall agreed that the debt ceiling needs to be raised but have said they will not vote to raise the ceiling unless it is paired with major spending cuts and long-term debt reduction. But some fear that talks to reach that deal, which are being facilitated by Vice President Joe Biden, will last beyond the Aug. 2 deadline for increasing the debt limit." [HuffPost] The Secret Service could probably stand to be a bit more secretive. Read More... More on HuffPost Hill         Catherine Tate: 'The Office' New Boss? Producers Want British Star May 18, 2011 at 6:22 PM   The new boss at Dunder Mifflin may be the season finale guest star with whom Americans are least familiar. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the show's producers want British star Catherine Tate to be Steve Carell/Michael Scott's longterm replacement -- he just left the show after seven seasons. Tate is one of a number of major guest stars set for Thursday night's season finale, which will see a laundry list of candidates hoping to take the reigns now that Will Ferrell/Deangelo Vickers' brief arc and Dwight Schrute's even briefer reign have ended. According to a tweet from the star/writer Mindy Kaling, Tate will play a character named Nellie Bertrum. She's a well known comedic force in Britain; she has her own sketch series, "The Catherine Tate Show," and has appeared in "Doctor Who." Read More... More on The Office         Bryan Stow Shows Signs Of Improvement According To Doctor May 18, 2011 at 6:11 PM   SAN FRANCISCO -- A Giants fan who was brutally beaten on opening day at Dodger Stadium is opening his eyes but remains in critical condition at San Francisco General Hospital, the medical center's chief neurosurgeon said Wednesday. Bryan Stow has been weaned off one of five anti-seizure medications since arriving Monday from a Los Angeles hospital where he had been in a coma after being attacked in March, Dr. Geoff Manley said. Stow's brain also did not show any seizure activity during 30 hours of continuous monitoring in the hospital's intensive care unit. Read More...         Don Gorske Eats 25,000 Big Macs In 39 Years (VIDEO) May 18, 2011 at 6:05 PM   Read More... More on Fast Food         Elizabeth Warren Launches Morgage Forms Regulatory Overhaul May 18, 2011 at 6:05 PM   The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau advanced its overhaul of annoying, incomprehensible mortgage forms on Wednesday in its first regulatory maneuver since the agency was created by last year's financial reform bill. The CFPB rolled out two prototypes for a single, streamlined form to replace two complex and overlapping forms used by consumers to help gauge the real costs of their mortgage. The new regulator, which hopes to have a final form ready by September, is asking consumers to provide feedback on the forms online and is conducting in-person tests and interviews about the forms in six cities. Consumer advocates and both community and Wall Street banks have lobbied for the change for years. Banks complain that it makes no sense for them to have to deal with two forms that carry the same basic information, while consumer advocates bemoan the fact that the forms aren't actually very helpful to consumers. Read More... More on Banks             This email was sent to cbzvdani.delluve@blogger.com. Delivered by Feed My Inbox PO Box 682532 Franklin, TN 37068 Account Login Unsubscribe Here