U.S. News
Medici lawyer says Kohn didn’t get Madoff payments
NEW YORK/VIENNA (Reuters) - Austrian fund manager Sonja Kohn did not receive any kickbacks from Bernard Madoff to steer Bank Medici customer funds to the swindler’s investment business, a Medici lawyer said on Friday.
U.S. parents think twice about sending kids to camp
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Since its opening last week, camp counselors at New Jersey’s Liberty Lake Day Camp disinfect door knobs, take the temperatures of children as they arrive and remind the campers not to share canned sodas.
Hope for California budget deal as IOUs planned
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Top California lawmakers raised hope on Thursday that an elusive budget deal could be at hand, as officials began issuing billions of dollars in “IOUs” to avoid a cash crisis on the second day of a new fiscal year without an agreement to balance the state’s books.
Entertainment News
Massive demand for Michael Jackson memorial tickets
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - More than half a million fans from around the world applied for 17,500 free tickets to Michael Jackson’s public memorial service next week, organizers said on Friday as a massive security operation got underway.
R&B singer Maxwell ends seven-year break
NEW YORK (Billboard) - A vanishing act has become practically de rigueur for R&B musicians of a certain caliber. Many make a mega-hit album or two, collect Grammy Awards and critical accolades — and then disappear.
Stone Temple Pilots accentuate old faves
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - For a reunited band bent on having a future, Stone Temple Pilots spent most of its House of Blues show Wednesday visiting the past — the distant past.
Sports News
Roddick roars after Federer magic show
LONDON (Reuters) - Roger Federer sprinkled his magic all over Center Court on Friday before Andy Roddick bludgeoned Andy Murray into the hallowed turf to leave Britain still seeking its first post-war men’s singles finalist at Wimbledon.
Roddick roars after Federer magic show
LONDON (Reuters) - Roger Federer sprinkled his magic all over Center Court on Friday before Andy Roddick bludgeoned Andy Murray into the hallowed turf to leave Britain still seeking its first post-war men’s singles finalist at Wimbledon.
Tournament host Woods takes control at Congressional
BETHESDA, Maryland (Reuters) - Tiger Woods played the role of inhospitable host by soaring to the top of the leaderboard midway through the second round of the AT&T National on Friday.
Science News
Australia discovers 3 new large dinosaurs
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Fossils of three new species of dinosaurs have been discovered in Australia, including a meat-eater larger than Velociraptor from the Jurassic Park movies, suggesting Australia may have a more complex prehistoric past.
Vatican should learn from Galileo mess, prelate says
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Catholic Church should not fear scientific progress and possibly repeat the mistake it made when it condemned astronomer Galileo in the 17th century, a Vatican official said on Thursday in a rare self-criticism.
More than 800 wildlife species now extinct
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than 800 animal and plant species have gone extinct in the past five centuries with nearly 17,000 now threatened with extinction, the International Union for Conservation of Nature reported on Thursday.
Political News
DHS Cybersecurity Plan Will Involve NSA, Telecoms
The Obama administration will proceed with a Bush-era plan to use National Security Agency assistance in screening government computer traffic on private-sector networks, with AT&T as the likely test site, according to three current and former government officials.
Book Review: ‘The Waxman Report’ by Henry Waxman
“The Waxman Report” explains, at least, how Congress can work, and it is fun to read. You finish it with gratitude to the voters of Beverly Hills and nearby areas who keep returning this ornery fellow to the House to challenge entrenched special interests.
Court Filing Shows Evidence Cheney Swayed White House Response to CIA Leak
A document filed in federal court this week by the Justice Department offers new evidence that former vice president Richard B. Cheney helped steer the Bush administration’s public response to the disclosure of Valerie Plame Wilson’s employment by the CIA and that he was at the center of many…
Health News
Parents Get $200G After Son, 3, Dies From Botched Op
The parents of a 3-year-old boy who died after an Oregon doctor operated on him have agreed to settle a wrongful death lawsuit for $200,000.
Swine Flu May Not Spread Like Regular Flu
The new H1N1 influenza strain may be just a little less catching than seasonal flu, but seems a little better able to cause stomach upsets, researchers reported on Thursday.
Chantix, Zyban to Warn of Suicide, Depression Risk
The Food and Drug Administration will require two smoking-cessation drugs, Chantix and Zyban, to carry the agency’s strongest safety warning over side effects including depression and suicidal thoughts.
