|
American Idol Controversy
The American people have spoken. The media juggernaut that was Antonella Barba is no more.
In the end, Barba’s online popularity, spurred largely by explicit photos, was no match for painful performances and harsh assessments from the show’s judges.
Barba’s run is now over, as is her entertainment career. Or is it?
As she entered her final appearance on the show last night, the Point Pleasant native was still revving up the Internet’s search engines. On Yahoo, Barba was number one in popularity for the past two days. She previously slipped to number two behind Britney Spears, but another panned performance Wednesday amid criticism of an Idol-istic double standard renewed the interest. Over at Google, Barba topped all topics searched for the week ending March 3, moving up from the week before where she was in third place.
Dems Finally Show Iraq Plan
Senate Democratic bill: (1) Troop withdrawal would begin within four months of enactment. Most combat forces would be out by end of March 2008. (2) Some troops would remain to train and equip Iraqis. (3) Progress reports would be required from President Bush.
House Democratic bill: (1) Bush would have to show success in meeting benchmarks for progress by July or else withdraw most troops by December. (2) Most combat troops would be out by the end of August 2008, even if benchmarks were met. (3) An invasion of Iran would be prohibited without congressional authorization.
Parent of the Year Nominees
Father Intentionally Crashes Plane With Daughter
A pilot took his 8-year-old daughter up in a small plane Monday and crashed it into his former mother-in-law's house in southern Indiana, killing himself and the girl, authorities said.
A preliminary crash investigation leads "us to believe that this was an intentional act," Indiana State Police spokesman 1st Sgt. Dave Bursten said.
Your Turn To Stab Mommy
Fermin Rodriguez, 21, attacked his 17-year-old wife Sunday night, after accusing her of cheating on him, police said. He slashed and stabbed her multiple times, then handed the knife to his 2-year-old son and told him to stab her, police said.
Uncle Teaches Newphews To Smoke Pot
A 17-year-old faces a felony charge of injury to a child after police found a videotape that appears to show him and another man teaching his 2- and 5-year-old nephews to smoke marijuana, police said.
Mom Uses Baby As Weapon
A woman pleaded guilty Tuesday to swinging her 4-week-old son like a bat to hit her boyfriend during a fight, fracturing the infant's skull in the process.
Chytoria Graham, 27, pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of a child under a plea agreement with prosecutors.
Papers dropping Ann Coulter
Three newspapers said this week they will drop Ann Coulter's column after the conservative author referred to U.S. Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards as a "faggot."
All of this could be hype to help pique interest in her forthcoming book.
UPDATE: Liberal Columnist wants and end to the campaign calling for papers to drop Coulter.
Students in Trouble for Flag Desecration
College Republicans at San Francisco State University desecrated the name of Allah by stepping on makeshift Hezbollah and Hamas flags, charged school officials who brought the students before a hearing yesterday.
The trouble began at an Oct. 17 anti-terrorism rally in which the students stepped on butcher paper painted to resemble the flags of the Middle East terrorist organizations Hamas and Hezbollah. The College Republicans say they simply copied the script from an image on the Internet and didn't know it bore the name of Allah in Arabic script.
The Push Against Incandescent Bulbs
The Australian government on Tuesday announced plans to phase out incandescent light bulbs and replace them with more energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulbs across the country.
Legislation to gradually restrict the sale of the old-style bulbs could reduce Australia's greenhouse gas emissions by 4 million tons by 2012 and cut household power bills by up to 66%, said Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
Last month, a California assemblyman announced he would propose a bill to ban the use of incandescent bulbs in his state. And a New Jersey lawmaker has called for the state to switch to fluorescent lighting in government buildings within three years.
Cuba's Fidel Castro launched a similar program two years ago, sending youth brigades into homes and switching out regular bulbs for energy-saving ones to help battle electrical blackouts around the island.
| 
