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'Godfather' Runs Entire Criminal Enterprise from Prison Using Facebook...

ONE of Britain’s most dangerous gangsters has been using Facebook to threaten and intimidate his enemies from a maximum security prison.

Colin Gunn, an underworld godfather who ordered the execution of two grandparents, has been able to correspond freely with up to 565 “friends” on the social networking site for the past two months.

Gunn, a “double-A” category inmate who is serving a 35-year sentence for conspiracy to murder, is said to be still running his drugs and organised crime cartel from jail. He claims he was allowed to set up a Facebook account by prison governors, suggesting it was his legal right.

Critics believe the authorities may have turned a blind eye out of fear of receiving a legal challenge on human rights grounds.

Obama to Cut $20B From Budget...

President Barack Obama will propose cutting or changing some 120 items in his budget for fiscal 2011 that will help save $20 billion this year, the White House said on Saturday.

Obama, who on Monday presents his budget proposals for the fiscal year starting October 1, has promised to tackle record deficits by initiating a spending freeze on some domestic programs and eliminating programs that are redundant.

The White House gave a preview of some of those cuts in a statement published on its blog on Saturday.

One of the proposals would eliminate the "Advanced Earned Income Tax Credit," which allows eligible taxpayers with children to get a portion of the a tax credit paid out in their paychecks throughout the year.

Americans Arrested for Taking Children Out of Haiti...33 Kids...'Illicit Adoption Scheme'

Haitian police have arrested 10 U.S. citizens caught trying to take 33 children out of the earthquake-stricken country in a suspected illicit adoption scheme, authorities said on Saturday.

The five men and five women were in custody in the capital, Port-au-Prince after their arrests on Friday night. There are fears that traffickers could try to exploit the chaos and turmoil following Haiti's January 12 earthquake quake to engage in illegal adoptions.

One of the suspects, who says she is leader of an Idaho-based charity called New Life Children's Refuge, denied they had done anything wrong.

The suspects were detained at Malpasse, Haiti's main border crossing with the Dominican Republic, after Haitian police conducted a routine search of their vehicle.

Economy Grew at 5.7% in 4th Quarter...'Fastest Pace Since 2003'...

The economy's faster-than-expected growth at the end of last year, fueled by companies boosting output to keep stockpiles up, is likely to weaken as consumers keep a lid on spending.

The 5.7 percent annual growth rate in the fourth quarter was the fastest pace since 2003. It marked two straight quarters of growth after four quarters of decline. Growth exceeded expectations mainly because business spending on equipment and software jumped much more than forecast.

Still, economists expect growth to slow this year as companies finish restocking inventories and as government stimulus efforts fade. Many estimate the nation's gross domestic product will grow 2.5 percent to 3 percent in the current quarter and about 2.5 percent or less for the full year.

That won't be fast enough to significantly reduce the unemployment rate, now 10 percent. Most analysts expect the rate to keep rising for several months and remain close to 10 percent through the end of the year.

Criminals 'Totally Running Wild' in Haiti...'Raping Women and Young Girls'...

Bandits in Haiti are preying on vulnerable earthquake survivors, even raping women, in makeshift camps which were set up in the capital of Port-au-Prince after the disaster.

"With the blackout that's befallen the Haitian capital, bandits are taking advantage to harass and rape women and young girls under the tents," Haiti’s national police chief Mario Andresol said yesterday.

"We have more than 7,000 detainees in the streets who escaped from the National Penitentiary the evening of the earthquake... It took us five years to apprehend them. Today they are running wild."

Tax Payers on The Hook for $101,000 for Food and Drink on Pelosi's Flight...

It reads like a dream order for some wild frat party: Maker's Mark whiskey, Courvoisier cognac, Johnny Walker Red scotch, Grey Goose vodka, E&J brandy, Bailey's Irish Crème, Bacardi Light rum, Jim Beam whiskey, Beefeater gin, Dewars scotch, Bombay Sapphire gin, Jack Daniels whiskey … and Corona beer. But that single receipt makes up just part of the more than $101,000 taxpayers paid for "in-flight services" – including food and liquor, for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's trips on Air Force jets over the last two years. That's almost $1,000 per week. Documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by Judicial Watch, which investigates and prosecutes government corruption, show that the Pelosi incurred expenses of some $2.1 million for her use of Air Force jets for travel over that time.

Bin Laden Criticizes America for Global Warming...Tells World Not to Buy American...

Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden has called in a new audiotape for the world to boycott American goods and the U.S. dollar, blaming the United States and other industrialized countries for global warming.
In the tape, aired in part on Al-Jazeera television Friday, bin Laden warns of the dangers of climate change and says that the way to stop it is to bring "the wheels of the American economy" to a halt.
He says the world should "stop consuming American products" and "refrain from using the dollar," according to a transcript on Al-Jazeera's Web site.

Overweight? Watch Out, Michelle Obama is Coming After You...

U.S. health officials have leveraged the star power of first lady Michelle Obama to roll out a new campaign against obesity, a preventable condition that drains billions of dollars from the economy.

Health

Obama, who plans to take on childhood obesity as a cause, headlined the launch on Thursday of Surgeon General Regina Benjamin's blueprint for what can be done at home, school and work to reverse the epidemic.

In her first initiative since becoming "America's doctor," Benjamin issued a report on the consequences of obesity to start a national dialogue on the subject.

"The number of Americans, like me, who are struggling with their weight and health conditions related to their weight remains much too high," she said.

Will Anyone Buy The Apple iPad?

The company once notorious for its ability to upend convention and revolutionize markets may no longer have what it takes, worry some technology journalists. Call it the iPad or the iPlod, but the message seems clear: Apple may have lost its mojo.

Apple has a lengthy history of developing products that inspire technology lust. The iPod transformed the music industry, for example, and the newer iPhone had the same effect on the mobile phone market. But those products have a clear, gotta-have-it factor, filling an obvious niche and making their reason for existence clear.

Not so the iPad.

J.D. Salinger Dead at Age 94..."Catcher in The Rye" Author Thought to be 'Most Important American Writer Since World War II'...

J. D. Salinger, who was thought at one time to be the most important American writer to emerge since World War II but who then turned his back on success and adulation, becoming the Garbo of letters, famous for not wanting to be famous, died Wednesday at his home in Cornish, N.H., where he had lived in seclusion for more than 50 years. He was 91.

Mr. Salinger’s literary representative, Harold Ober Associates, announced the death, saying it was of natural causes. “Despite having broken his hip in May,” the agency said, “his health had been excellent until a rather sudden decline after the new year. He was not in any pain before or at the time of his death.”

Hillary to Challenge Obama in 2012?

When President Barack Obama asked New York Sen. Hillary Clinton to join his cabinet as secretary of state, the move was widely praised. Clinton, his principal rival for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, added a measure of gravitas to his team of advisers and would, it was suggested, help unite the president's party at a time the Republicans appeared to be on the verge of complete collapse.

At the time, comparisons were made to Abraham Lincoln. Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin recounts in her book Team of Rivals how the 16th president of the United States invited others who held leadership claims on the new Republican Party into his cabinet in an effort to present a united front. But Lincoln's decision to invite his rivals for the 1860 Republican nomination--William H. Seward, Edward Bates, and Salmon P. Chase--into his administration was also a matter of political preservation. Their inclusion in the cabinet kept them inside the tent looking out rather than outside the tent looking in, forcing an alliance with Lincoln as the Union threatened to come apart.

Supreme Court Justice, Samuel Alito, Clearly Disagrees With Obama During Speech...

The man in the House chamber openly disagreeing with President Barack Obama as he spoke to Congress wasn't an over-the-top Republican or a seething Democrat. He was a Supreme Court justice, Samuel Alito.

Obama had taken the unusual step of scolding the high court in his State of the Union address Wednesday. "With all due deference to the separation of powers," he began, the court last week "reversed a century of law that I believe will open the floodgates for special interests -- including foreign corporations -- to spend without limit in our elections."

Alito made a dismissive face, shook his head repeatedly and appeared to mouth the words "not true" or possibly "simply not true."

A reliable conservative appointed to the court by Republican President George W. Bush, Alito was in the majority in the 5-4 ruling.

Senate Democratic leaders sitting immediately behind Alito and other members of the high court rose and clapped loudly in their direction, with Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., leaning slightly forward with the most enthusiastic applause.

Obama Wants to Repeal "Dont Ask, Don't Tell"

President Obama said Wednesday night he will work with Congress and the military to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that bars gays and lesbians from openly serving in the armed forces.
Obama made the remark in his first State of the Union speech during a short litany of civil rights issues, which included his successful hate crimes bill, a move to "crack down on equal-pay laws" and improvement of the immigration system.
"We find unity in our incredible diversity, drawing on the promise enshrined in our Constitution: the notion that we are all created equal, that no matter who you are or what you look like, if you abide by the law you should be protected by it," he said.

Obama Says Jobs Are 'First Priority'...

Declaring "I don't quit,'" an embattled President Barack Obama vowed in his first State of the Union address Wednesday night to make job growth his topmost priority and urged a divided Congress to boost the still-ailing economy with fresh stimulus spending. Defiant despite stinging setbacks, he said he would not abandon ambitious plans for longer-term fixes to health care, energy, education and more.
"Change has not come fast enough," Obama said before a politician-packed House chamber and a TV audience of millions. "As hard as it may be, as uncomfortable and contentious as the debates may be, it's time to get serious about fixing the problems that are hampering our growth."

Hillary Clinton a No Show at State of Union...

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is missing President Barack Obama's State of the Union address in order to attend a conference in London, but she is not the only absentee Cabinet member.
One member of the Cabinet is designated by the White House to ride out the speech in an undisclosed location as a precaution against the possibility of a catastrophe wiping out the rest of the government leadership in the Capitol during the address.
The White House did not announce in advance of the speech who would be that holdout.
When Clinton became aware that her planned trip to London — for separate conferences on Yemen and Afghanistan — would coincide with the State of the Union address, aides approached the White House about it.

Obama: 'We Must Answer History's Call'...

Defending his approach to the economic crisis, President Obama on Wednesday said his administration acted "immediately and aggressively" to stave off a "second depression," but said the "devastation" remains.

The president acknowledged the economic hardship facing millions of Americans, as he opened his first State of the Union address with an eye toward laying out news jobs creation proposals and calling on Congress to salvage what it can of health care reform.

"One year later, the worst of the storm has passed. But the devastation remains. One in 10 Americans still cannot find work. Many businesses have shuttered. Home values have declined," Obama said. "For those who had already known poverty, life has become that much harder."

Obama One Year Later...How's He Doing?

President Obama is expected to wrap his first official State of the Union address around the theme of jobs creation and economic recovery, calling for advances in education, health care reform, clean energy investment and deficit reduction along the way -- just like he did last February in his first major address as president to a joint session of Congress.

Listeners may be forgiven if they experience a bit of deja vu tonight.

President Obama is expected to wrap his first State of the Union address around the theme of jobs creation and economic recovery, calling for advances in education, health care reform, clean energy investment and deficit reduction along the way -- just as he did last February in his first major address as president to a joint session of Congress.

Nearly a year later, Obama returns to these themes because the work is unfinished. Some of the initiatives are in progress, some have stalled, and others have barely begun.

Apple Unveils New iPad...$499...

Apple Inc CEO Steve Jobs took the wraps off an "iPad" tablet with a lower-than-expected price tag, placing a big bet on a new breed of gadgets that aim to bridge the gap between smartphones and laptops. obs, who returned to the helm last year after a much-scrutinized liver transplant, took the stage at packed theater on Wednesday and showed off a sleek, half-inch thick tablet computer with a 9.7-inch touchscreen. It can run movies, books, games and a gamut of applications. The iPad will sell for as low as $499 for 16 GB of storage. An extra $130 is needed to equip it with third-generation wireless capability. Apple announced a data plan with AT&T Inc, which appeared to have beaten out Verizon Wireless for the deal. "What once occupied half your living room can now be dropped in a bag," said NPD analyst Ned May. "It's pulling together a variety of needs (in) a universal entertainment device." Shares of Apple were up 1.7 percent after the pricing details were announced to trade at $209.40, within reach of their all-time high of $215.59 logged on January 5

Fly Me To The Moon...Nope, Sorry Obama Wants to 'Axe' All of Nasa's Planned Trips...

NASA's plans to return astronauts to the moon are dead. So are the rockets being designed to take them there — that is, if President Barack Obama gets his way.

When the White House releases his budget proposal Monday, there will be no money for the Constellation program that was supposed to return humans to the moon by 2020. The troubled and expensive Ares I rocket that was to replace the space shuttle to ferry humans to space will be gone, along with money for its bigger brother, the Ares V cargo rocket that was to launch the fuel and supplies needed to take humans back to the moon.

There will be no lunar landers, no moon bases, no Constellation program at all.

In their place, according to White House insiders, agency officials, industry executives and congressional sources familiar with Obama's long-awaited plans for the space agency, NASA will look at developing a new "heavy-lift" rocket that one day will take humans and robots to explore beyond low Earth orbit. But that day will be years — possibly even a decade or more — away.

Miracle: Man Pulled Out Alive of Rubble 14 Days After Quake Hit in Haiti...

U.S. troops pulled a man alive from the rubble of a building in Haiti's destroyed capital on Tuesday, two weeks after a massive earthquake rattled the country.

It was not immediately clear if he became trapped in the initial Jan. 12 quake or during one of the many aftershocks since then.

The man, identified by Reuters as Rico Dibrivell, was covered in dust and dressed only in underpants when he was carried out from the ruins of a building in downtown Port-au-Prince.

Tim Tebow to Star in Pro-Life Super Bowl Ad

The University of Florida campus is slowly catching wind of Tim Tebow’s decision to star in a Super Bowl ad slated to air on CBS on Feb. 7, and some say the ad’s message is bound to spark controversy.

The ad spot was purchased by Focus on the Family, a conservative Christian organization that places emphasis on marriage and parenthood.

The Associated Press reported this week that the ad’s theme will be “Celebrate Family, Celebrate Life,” with Pam Tebow sharing the story of her difficult 1987 pregnancy -- instead of getting an abortion she decided to give birth to Tebow, the now-famous quarterback who went on to become a Heisman Trophy winner, leading the Gators to two BCS wins.

North and South Korea Exchange Fire...

North and South Korea exchanged artillery fire near their disputed sea border on Wednesday, the second time in three months the rivals have clashed and briefly sending prices down on jittery Seoul financial markets.
Analysts doubted the latest clash would escalate and saw it more as an attempt by Pyongyang to stress the instability on the Korean peninsula and press home its demand for a peace deal that would open the way to international aid for its ruined economy.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the North fired artillery shots from land towards the South but landing on its side of the disputed sea border off the west coast.
South Korea returned fire from its coastal artillery.
The presidential Blue House said both sides fired into the air and there were no casualties, according to Yonhap, adding it had called a meeting of top national security officials.

Obama Tries to Reconnect With Middle Class...

President Barack Obama plans to use his state of the union address to "reconnect" with the middle class.

Some say it's an open admission to many here in the tri-state area that he has failed to feel our pain and our needs.

From his war on the banks -- the lifeblood of the metropolitan area economy -- to his health care reform which could cost taxpayers here over $1 billion, President Obama's policies have sent a strong message to the tri-state area that Washington doesn't care about the middle class.

Suddenly, he claims he wants to change that.

"The middle class feels beleaguered, and I think the message of Massachusetts, which I believe the president is now heeding, was pay attention to our plight. We're not as worried about changing the health care system as we are about getting by week to week," Sen. Charles Schumer said.

'Suspicous' New Jersey Man Arrested With 'Cache of Weapons'...What Was His Target?

Authorities in central New Jersey seized a cache of weapons and ammunition including rifles, a grenade launcher and a night vision scope from the motel room of a Virginia man arrested early Monday by officers responding to a report of a suspicious person, MyFoxDC.com reported.

Somerset County Prosecutor Wayne Forrest said Lloyd R. Woodson, 43, of Reston, Va., also had maps of a U.S. military facility and a town in another state.

Forrest said Woodson was wearing a bulletproof vest and carrying a semiautomatic Bushmaster rifle concealed under his green, military-style jacket when officers encountered him at a Quick Chek store in Branchburg shortly before 4 a.m. Monday.

Fox News Offcially Becomes #1 Cable Network

Fox News was the top cable network in primetime last week, averaging the most total viewers between January 18th-24th. The last time FNC topped USA and came in first was during the week of the 2008 presidential election.

In a week dominated by coverage of the earthquake in Haiti and the U.S. Senate election in Massachusetts, FNC drew an average of 3.2 million total viewers in primetime (Mon-Sun).

Fox was ranked 3rd in total day. CNN was 22nd in primetime and 19th in total day, and MSNBC was 25th in primetime and 31st in total day.

Here's are the primetime cable rankings for the week of January 18th: