Dow futures down

Europe's down about 6%, Japan fell 4%, and Dow futures are down 350 or so. Still 24 hours before the market opens, so plenty of time for a (temporary) bounce, but regardless of what happens tomorrow, it's increasingly clear that our credit-fueled dream years are rapidly coming to an end.

Hard to say which would be worse: A sudden 2,000-3,000 Dow drop to the past century's average valuation level*--or a grinding, gut-wrenching slog of head-fakes, dashed hopes, and ever-spreading depression. Either is possible (as, we suppose, is a sudden recovery, but we're hard-pressed to find a fundamental explanation for that one).


Read the rest of the story at the alleyinsider article

Naked DSL

After long requiring Internet customers to also have land-line phone service, AT&T is offering stand-alone DSL service for as little as $20 a month.

The San Antonio-based telecommunications giant had feared customers would ditch their phone lines in favor of wireless phones if they weren't required to stay tethered, but the Federal Communications Commission ordered the marketing switch as part of AT&T's 2006 merger with BellSouth Corp. AT&T launched it this year.

"We want to give people the opportunity to find the services that best suit their lifestyles," AT&T spokesman Dan Feldstein said.

Fewer traditional phones

The cell phone boom has burdened phone companies, which have typically seen traditional phone subscriptions drop about 9 percent a year, independent telecommunications analyst Jeff Kagan said.

It's too early to tell whether the new "naked DSL" offer is hurting the land-line phone business, Feldstein said.

Kagan predicted any hit would be minimal because the demand for stand-alone Internet service is small.

AT&T declined to say how many local customers have stand-alone Internet service.

Verizon Communications, which provides phone and other services to some Houston-area communities, has offered naked DSL since April 2006. The company began offering it because some customers wanted it, spokesman Bill Kula said.

"It's a fairly small number of our customers," said Kula, who declined to provide Houston-area market data.

Bundling trend

With phone companies providing television service and cable companies selling phone service, the trend is toward picking one company or the other to provide bundled phone, Internet and television, Kagan said.

AT&T charges $20 a month for its slowest stand-alone DSL — 768 kilobytes per second. A 1.5 megabytes-per-second version costs $24, 3 Mbps is $29, and 6 Mbps is $39.

Verizon's pricing is more expensive: $30 for 768 Kbps and $40 for 3 Mbps — with a $5 discount for customers who order online.

Besides Comcast's "triple play" bundled service, for which it charges $99 a month for the first year, the cable company offers stand-alone Internet service. Its 768 Kbps service is $40, 6 Mbps is $55, and 8 Mbps is $68.

Comcast spokesman Michael Bybee also declined to provide specific Houston statistics but said most customers are choosing to bundle services.

From the chron article

Danity Kane's Aubrey O'Day Named Spokesmodel for Famous Stars and Straps Clothing Line

Aubrey O'Day is the new spokesmodel for Famous Stars and Straps, the clothing line owned by former Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker.

O'Day is best known for being a member of Danity Kane, the pop group founded by Sean "P. Diddy" Combs. The five girls that comprise the group were the winners of the "Making The Band 3" television competition on MTV.

O'Day is joined by Aundrea Fimbres, Dawn Angelique Richard, Shannon Bex, and Wanita "D. Woods" Woodgette in the group.

The group's 2006 debut album "Danity Kane" is certified platinum, selling over 1.1 million copies.

The group will also appear on the second season of "Making the Band 4", which debuts on January 28 on MTV. Danity Kane and the contestants from the first season of "Making The Band 4" will live and record their albums together on this new season.

Their second album is slated to come out in March.

Read the story at the transworldnews article

Romney declared winner in the Michigan Primary

A busy night for politics tonight. Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards (Dennis Kucinich was barred) debate in Las Vegas and, simultaneously, the Michigan primary results are in.

Michigan is an odd state in this election. It moved its primary ahead in the year to compete with Iowa and New Hampshire's early-state influence. While this led the Democrats to strip it of all convention delegates and the Republicans to slash the number by half (in theory lessening its influence) the result has become seen as crucial to the fortunes of Michigan-born Mitt Romney's campaign and John McCain's drive to project himself as a national frontrunner.

On the Democratic side it is somewhat less gripping. Clinton is the only one of the three main contenders with her name on the ballot. Polls suggest a two-way battle with "uncommitted", which could see a number of delegates unpledged to any particular candidate sent to the Democratic convention. If Michigan was sending any delegates to the convention ...

Read the rest of the story at the blogs article

Romney declared winner in the Michigan Primary

A busy night for politics tonight. Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards (Dennis Kucinich was barred) debate in Las Vegas and, simultaneously, the Michigan primary results are in.

Michigan is an odd state in this election. It moved its primary ahead in the year to compete with Iowa and New Hampshire's early-state influence. While this led the Democrats to strip it of all convention delegates and the Republicans to slash the number by half (in theory lessening its influence) the result has become seen as crucial to the fortunes of Michigan-born Mitt Romney's campaign and John McCain's drive to project himself as a national frontrunner.

On the Democratic side it is somewhat less gripping. Clinton is the only one of the three main contenders with her name on the ballot. Polls suggest a two-way battle with "uncommitted", which could see a number of delegates unpledged to any particular candidate sent to the Democratic convention. If Michigan was sending any delegates to the convention ...

Read the rest of the story at the blogs article

Brad Renfro Dead At 25

Actor Brad Renfro, 25, was found dead in his Los Angeles home Tuesday morning (January 15). Although the circumstances of his death are currently unknown, the former child star had been plagued for nearly a decade by drug abuse and run-ins with the law.



Read the rest of the story at the MTV article

Dr Hasnat Khan: Princess Diana and me

His hair is greyer and his features are more rounded but Dr Hasnat Khan's affection for Diana, Princess of Wales, remains undiminished by the passing of more than a decade. The heart surgeon the late Princess described as "Mr Wonderful" is sitting on a sea-green sofa at his home in Pakistan. Dressed in a white shirt, faded jeans and trainers, he fondly recalls the woman he shared an intimate relationship with until just months before her death.

Read the rest of the story at the telegraph article

Nikki McKibbin a top 10 Idol finalist

Wondering what has happend to Nikki McKibbin, a top 10 American Idol finalist?




Read the story in the pennlive article

Widely used drug may hurt heart patients

Check your medicine cabinet, because new findings show a widely used cholesterol drug may hurt rather than help heart patients.

Researchers wanted to find out if the drug Zetia reduced the growth of plaque in the arteries. Zetia is usually combined with another drug, Zocor. Together it's called Vytorin.

Doctors gave Vytorin to patients and they found it did not reduce plaque. In fact, in some patients, plaque actually grew faster than it did for those who received only Zocor.

That's lead some experts to say Zetia shouldn't be prescribed unless all other cholesterol drugs have failed.

From the abclocal article

Christina Aguilera Delivers Baby Boy

Christina Aguilera, 27, reportedly delivered her baby on Friday, Jan. 11, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, the same hospital that Nicole Richie had her baby girl Harlow Winter Kate Madden just hours earlier.

Read the rest of the story at the Starmagazine article

Nicole Richie's winter delivery

Nicole Richiess got a whole new life on her hands, and it's a lot less simple.

The former reality star and her fiancé, Good Charlotte frontman Joel Madden, welcomed their first child together, daughter Harlow Winter Kate Madden, Friday at Los Angeles' Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, People reports.

The child weighed in at six pounds, seven ounces and was apparently quite healthy, as the proud parents have already left the building.

Read the rest of the story at the eonline article

Serena Williams bears her feelings

Australian Open champion Serena Williams has revealed that she will defend her title this month nursing a broken heart -- and that she has found solace in a book called "Who Moved My Cheese?"



Read the rest of the story in the AFP article

Serena Williams lets go of a relationship

Last fall around October a big change happened in my life. I decided to make sure that tennis was most important in my life next to GOD and my family, and while I was doing that I decided to rid myself of relationships that could stop me from reaching the main goal which is being the best. I did not want anything to stand in my way of doing what I do best which is playing tennis.


Read the rest of the story at the mediatakeout article

Christopher Bowman U.S Skating Champion found dead

U.S figure skating champion Christopher Bowman pleased fans and fellow skaters with his flair on the ice. But he was also known for his off-the-ice struggles with drugs and alcohol and other personal problems. Now the 40-year-old former skating champ known as "Bowman the Showman" has been found dead at a budget hotel in the San Fernando Valley, and authorities say a drug overdose could be to blame.

Read the rest of the story at the Associated Press article

Ghost Hunters International - The New TV show

It hurts when a lousy reality show gets a spinoff.

"Ghost Hunters" is mediocre, and the only thing that makes "Ghost Hunters International" (7 p.m., SciFi) slightly better is location.

At least with this edition, we get to see the lovely sights of Europe along with the paranormal seekers.

Tres magnifique.

In this series, a few members of the American organization TAPS (The Atlantic Paranormal Society) head overseas. Their leader is Robb Demarest, a man who has no business being on TV. He's so stiff in his delivery it's painful to watch.

The pilot episode finds Robb and fellow investigators Andy Andrews, Brian Harnois, Donna La Croix, Barry Fitzgerald and Shannon Sylvia chasing down activity in England and Scotland.

Their first attempt at finding ghosties is at Chillingham Castle in England.

The usual setting up of their fancy-schmancy equipment ensues, and then the geeks wander through the castle trying to scare themselves silly.

The worst part is when Donna clutches a rosary and tells the spirits they are not allowed to hurt her and her idiotic cohorts.

I wanted to smack her just for uttering the words.

The second investigation is at Mary King's Close in Scotland.

A close is like an American alley, and this particular one leads to a buried city where many bubonic plague victims perished.

One of the plague victims was a little girl named Annie, and some visitors to her room have left her lots of stuffed animals and dolls.

You think that's just sweet until the team tries to goad Annie into showing herself by taking her toys away.

From the Albuquerque Tribune article

Quake Off Oregon Causes Few Problems

A magnitude-6.4 earthquake was recorded 150 miles off the Oregon coast Wednesday, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

The quake struck at 5:37 p.m., the U.S. Geological Survey said. A tsunami is not expected, according to the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center.

Police dispatchers in several coastal communities said they had yet to receive any calls from people who felt the quake. The U.S. Coast Guard also reported no quake-related problems.

From the Associated Press article

7 Feet 7 and 360 Pounds, With Bigger Feet Than Shaq’s

The University of North Carolina-Asheville men’s basketball team has perhaps the most effective inbounds play in the country: the Bulldogs’ point guard lofts the ball high toward the basket, and center Kenny George either tips it in or dunks it, without leaving his feet, as his opponents leap in vain.

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Shawn Poynter for The New York Times

George and North Carolina-Asheville face NoBlogger: Hot News Stuff - Create Post. 1 North Carolina on Wednesday.

Some things come easily on the basketball court for George, the tallest player in the country, at 7 feet 7 inches and 360 pounds. Entering the Bulldogs’ game Wednesday night against top-ranked North Carolina, George leads the nation in blocked shots per game (5.4), and he has become a fan favorite here in his junior year. Near the end of a recent overtime victory against Buffalo, George received a standing ovation for his 21-point, 10-rebound, 6-block performance.

Read the rest of the story at the New York Times article

Bitten by Sarah Jessica Parker and Why You Should Bite

Most people know Sarah Jessica Parker from her role in "Sex and the City" as Carrie, but now people are discovering a different side of this celebrity - her new clothing line titled "Bitten"!

Why is this hot new line the talk of the town? Why is Oprah showcasing Sarah Jessica Parker and "Bitten"? Let's take a look at what makes this possibly the biggest fashion story of 2008!

First, "Bitten" isn't only available at high-priced stores only located in major cities, way out of reach of the average shopper. In fact, you can find Sarah Jessica Parker's hottest new styles and fashions at Steve and Barry's, a retail chain offering casual wear for everyone in the family at an affordable cost. And Steve and Barry's is the only store you'll find Sarah Jessica Parker's new line, "Bitten", so start looking up the nearest location!


Read the rest of the story at the associatedcontent article

Goose Gossage Makes the Hall of Fame

Only minutes after Goose Gossage was told of his election to the Hall of Fame yesterday, the former Yankees closer delivered a stern message to the drug abusers of the steroid era, and did not hesitate to link the embattled Roger Clemens with baseball's record-breaking pariah, Barry Bonds.

"I think they are on the same level," Gossage said during a conference call from his Colorado home. "I don't think there's any question about it. It's kind of weird that these guys had some of their most productive years when [other] guys in the history of the game, their talents were diminishing as they got older. For these guys, it didn't happen that way. We'll just have to wait and see if these guys come clean and finally put an end to this."


From the newsdayarticle

Retiring, Gibbs puts his worries behind him

Joe Gibbs' worries, one trusts, are over. Gibbs stepped away from the Washington Redskins yesterday and away from football, which, because it is a game of a thousand details, created for him a thousand worries.

About the Redskins. About the Redskins' next practice, their next game, their next anything. Nothing was so minuscule that Gibbs could not agonize over it, which he would, all the live-long day and part of the night. His life became a monastic one, with him sleeping on a cot in his office because he did not feel he could take the time to repair to his Virginia residence.

Read the rest of the signonsandiego article

The Man who has tumors on his face is set to undergo another operation

A CHINESE man suffering from huge tumours on his face is set to have life-changing surgery.

Huang Chuncai was due to have his second operation to remove the tumours which currently weigh 10kg (22lbs) this week.

Huang, a 32-year-old native from a remote village in China's southern province of Hunan, had part of his facial tumours which originally weighed about 23kg (50.7 lbs) removed last year.

His second operation in China will remove another 4.5kg (9.9lbs) of the tumour.

Huang suffers from Neurofibromatosis – a genetic disorder of the nervous system that primarily affects the development and growth of nerve tissues.

From the sunco article

It's his birthday - Elvis that is

At one minute past midnight Monday, the Elvis Presley Fan Club will continue its tradition of meeting at the gates of the late Elvis Presley's Graceland mansion for his birthday celebration.

They will sing familiar gospel songs and, of course, Happy Birthday to Elvis.

The legendary singer died at Graceland on August 16, 1977. He was born Jan. 8, 1935, and would have been 73 years old on this birthday.

The official Elvis Presley Birthday ceremony begins at 8:45 a.m. Tuesday on the front steps of Graceland.

His former wife, Priscilla Presley will participate in this ceremony for the first time this year.

The traditional ceremony features a birthday cake cutting and a proclamation of Elvis Presley Day by Memphis and Shelby County officials.

Read what else they will do at the WKYC article

Kidman and Urban - They're pregnant

Roll up, roll up - pin back your ears...

We love to say we told you so.

And didn't we do just that, Nicole Kidman?

We had you on preggers watch and were just waiting for you to confirm.

OK, so you had us fooled momentarily, with your big ol' denials.

But guess what? Nicole's only gone and held her hands up and announced that she's a bubba in the oven.

Kaloo kalay, we're as pleased as punch for Nic and her hubby, Keith Urban.

Her rep confirmed in a statement: "The couple are thrilled."

Read the rest of the story at from the Skyshowbiz article

Neighbors bid farewell to 'The Pigeon Man'

Under misting skies, on a balmy January Sunday, beneath the terra-cotta brow of a boarded-up old bank where 87 pigeons roosted, the mourners came with nine loaves of bread, a sack of cracked corn and 200 black-and-white photocopied cards with a word, "compassion," defined.

A No. 49B Western Avenue CTA bus pulled to the curb, and the driver leaned forward in his seat and whispered his prayer, making a sign of the cross as he steered back into traffic. A Chicago beat cop, in her squad car, pulled up too. With tears in her eyes, she gave her blessing to the flurry of feathers and crumbs and an old friend, now gone.

Read the rest of the story at the ChicagoTribune article

The Man Who Has a Blue Face

Fourteen years ago, Karason developed a bad case of dermatitis, which results in swollen, reddened and itchy skin. He started self-medicating, using a treatment called colloidal silver, which is made by extracting silver from metal.

Read the rest of the story at the Foxnews article

Can you stil buy Mexican Jumping Beans?

You can buy them from online retailers.

Among them: BeansThatJump.com, JumpingBeansRUs.com and MyPetBeans.com.

If you get yourself some pet beans, you should be aware that they aren’t really beans (they’re seed pods) and they don’t really jump (they twitch around when warmed in a pocket or in your hands).

But they do encase some real live “pets” — moth larvae.

But don’t get all caught up in the thought of wriggly, jiggly worms — though it’s their movements inside the pods that causes the “jumping.” But they don’t worm their way out. They’re small moths when they emerge — if they emerge. Most apparently never make it out.

If they do, they supposedly don’t live long and while they do, they won’t eat you out of house, home or wool sweaters. Instead, they’ll spend their few days of life searching fruitlessly for a mate.

Even if the moths managed to hook up, there’d be no baby moth boom down the road. These moths lay their eggs on the flower of a shrub and the eggs are then encased by seeds — the jumping beans. The larvae then eat their way out and the whole cycle begins again.

Since these shrubs grow only in certain areas of Mexico and Arizona, you’d probably be pretty safe.

If you want to buy jumping beans, they’re typically available only in the latter half of the year — after the moths have laid their eggs and the seeds have formed.

From the FayObserver article

Woman's slaying in Tyler may involve cannibalism

Cannibalism may have been involved in a murder discovered here after a man summoned his mother to "see what he had done."

She saw his girlfriend's body in the back seat of his pickup, authorities said.

The suspect, Christopher Lee McCuin, called 911 on Saturday morning and calmly described murdering his girlfriend and cooking her ear, said Smith County Sheriff J.B. Smith.

The 24-year-old sheetrock hauler surrendered after a brief standoff at his mother's home.

Deputies found a human ear boiling in a stovetop pan and raw flesh on a nearby plate, with a fork stuck in it.

"Either he was going to eat it, had been eating it, or that's what he wanted it to look like," Sheriff Smith said Sunday. "I'm not shocked anymore – surprised that people can do such horrible things to each other – but not shocked. I've seen it all.

"This isn't the worst we've had," he said. "But it is my first cannibalism."

Read the rest of the story in the Dallasnews article

Local athlete featured on NBC's 'American Gladiator

Tanji Johnson has always been a woman to be reckoned with.
"I'm very much your alpha male-type female," she said.

But now she's taking her game to a whole new arena. Tanji is a cast member on the new NBC show "American Gladiators."

In real-life she is an unassuming personal trainer from Renton, but she says when the cameras come on she becomes "Stealth....They call me Stealth because I'm the bomb."

Read more about Tanju Johnson, "Stealth" at the king5 article

There is, of course, Epiphany, the holiday.

Epiphany: In some denominations of Christianity, especially in the Orthodox faith, they hold feasts today to celebrate the occasion.

Call them Wise Men, the Three Kings of Orient are, or the Magi; in my mind, these guys are worthy of feasts and celebrations. They saw a star in the East and believed its message, no matter how far they had to travel or how difficult the journey over moors and mountains might become.

Whether their story is part of one's living theology or merely inspiration for a carol sung once a year; whether Epiphany is a feast or merely a fanciful way to prolong the season, it is a wonderful message to take into each new year.

Read the full article at the MLive.com article

King of California soon on HD DVD and Blu-ray

First Look will release "King of California" on HD DVD and Blu-ray this January 29th. The film stars Michael Douglas and Evan Rachel Wood.

Extras will include: a "Making-of Featurette," "Outtakes," and "Previews."

Be sure to check under Related Releases below for more details.

Synopsis:
At age sixteen, Miranda (Evan Rachel Wood) has already been abandoned by her mother, dropped out of school and has been supporting herself as an employee at McDonald's while her father Charlie (Michael Douglas) resides in a mental institution.

When Charlie is released and sent back to their home, the relatively peaceful existence Miranda´s built for herself becomes completely disrupted. Charlie has become obsessed with the notion that a long-lost Spanish treasure is buried underneath their local suburban California Costco.

Initially sceptical, Miranda soon finds herself joining in Charlie´s questionable antics in an effort to give him one last shot at accomplishing his dreams in this darkly funny, exciting and surprisingly hopeful take on the modern family and the American dream.


From the DVDtown article

Coffee Made from Cat Poop

Move over Starbucks. You’re getting some competition from an unusual source: namely, cat feces.

Herman’s Boy, a coffee shop in Rockford, Michigan, serves up the unusual brew. The owner, Floyd Havemeier, says the coffee beans are safe, even though they’ve passed through a cat’s rear end. “It will be very sanitary, probably more sanitary than some other things we consume.”

Havemeier bought three pounds of the rare Kopi Luwak beans from missionaries from Indonesia. The beans go through an unusual and unappetizing path to the coffee cup. The luwak civet, a kind of cat, eats the coffee beans. Then, you know.

The beans are collected quickly after they hit the ground and sold to willing connoisseurs the world over who swear by the coffee.

Herman’s Boy is offering the Kopi Luwak up for charity, at five to ten dollars a cup.




From the firstcoastnews article

Random Reality - Interview with American Gladiators' Hosts Hulk Hogan and Laila Ali

American Gladiators premieres on Sunday, January 6 at 9 p.m. Eastern time, and will then air the following night, Monday, January 7 at 8 p.m. Eastern time. The show will then officially air on Monday nights at 8 p.m. Eastern time afterwards. Athlete and champion of heath and fitness, Laila Ali, and wrestling legend, Hulk Hogan, will co-host the ultimate championship series. To help promote the revival of a classic television series, Hulk and Laila participating in a conference call with various members of the media.

Read the highlights of the interview with the host Hulk Hogan and Laila Ali at Realitydish

Alessija Dorfmann Booted from German Army after Boob Job

Alessija Dorfmann, a 23-year-old recruit in the German army, was booted from the country’s training program after it was determined her boob job posed an increased risk of injury.

Dorfmann had apparently wanted to be an army nurse but at the same time wanted to look good doing it. After undergoing a breast augmentation operation that boosted her cup-size to D top brass in the German army ruled she could no longer fulfill her army duties in a safe manner.

Speaking about the army’s decision Dorfmann was quoted as saying, ““I am devastated. It has always been my dream to be a soldier and have a great figure.”

From the Transworldnews article

Fernley, NV levee fails; 800 Homes flooded

A levee break in Nevada has sent freezing water into hundreds of homes, trapping 3,500 people.

Authorities said a 30-foot-wide section of the Truckee Canal broke around 4 Saturday morning in the town of Fernley on the eastern side of the Sierra.

The break prompted the National Weather Service to issue a flash flood warning for north central Lyon County in western Nevada until 10:15 a.m. PST.

About 3 feet of water filled about 800 homes in the town near Reno but nobody was hurt.

About 3,500 residents of the desert community are stranded but school buses have been brought in to take them to a shelter. Two helicopters from nearby Fallon Naval Air Station also are helping
make rescues.

The levee break occurred in freezing temperatures and followed a storm that dumped 4 to 6 inches of snow in the area.

Before the snow, a steady downpour on Friday produced a record amount of rain for January 4 in the Reno-Sparks area, according to the Reno Gazette-Journal. The National Weather Service reported 1.54 inches of rain at Reno-Tahoe International Airport, breaking a record 0.69 inches set in 1939.





From the news10 article

Running back Ray Rice leads Rutgers against Ball State in the International Bowl

The International Bowl could be the perfect showcase for Rutgers running back Ray Rice.

The Scarlet Knights' all-time leading rusher will line up Saturday against a Ball State defense that ranked 99th in the nation against the run this season, giving up nearly 200 yards a game.

"Any game Ray takes the field could be a big game for him," offensive tackle Jeremy Zuttah said. "On any play, he can go the distance, make a whole bunch of guys miss."

Rice has made a college career of that. The two-time Associated Press second-team All-American ran for 1,782 yards and 20 touchdowns in his junior season with the Scarlet Knights (7-5). He has yet to announce whether he'll skip his senior season and enter the NFL draft. Players who choose to declare for the draft must do so by Jan. 15.

Rice ran for 1,120 yards as a freshman in 2005, then followed that with 1,794 yards as a sophomore as Rutgers went 11-2 in 2006.

Read the rest of the story at the International Hearld Tribune article

Clinton and McCain lead in New Hampshire

Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican John McCain hold leads in New Hampshire four days before the state's presidential nominating contest, according to a Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby poll released on Friday.

The poll was taken before Iowa's caucuses on Thursday, when Democrat Barack Obama and Republican Mike Huckabee easily captured the first big prizes in the state-by-state battle to choose candidates in November's presidential election.

In the New Hampshire poll, Clinton, a New York senator and former first lady, led Illinois Sen. Obama 32 percent to 26 percent among likely voters in the state's Democratic primary. Former Sen. John Edwards, the runner-up in Iowa, was at 20 percent, and no other Democrat was in double digits.

"There will be an Iowa bounce in New Hampshire for Obama," pollster John Zogby said. "Clearly the burden here is going to be on Clinton to maintain the validity of her candidacy."

Read the rest of the story at the Reuters article

Kansas makes most of Va. Tech gaffes

Kansas shocks Virginia Tech
Sure, you could say Virginia Tech dropped touchdown passes and interceptions (one each). Sure, you could say Kansas put together just one legitimate scoring drive (although the game ended with the Jayhawks a yard away from another).

Yeah, you could mention that this game was decided by Hokies gaffes more than anything. But for all the truth found in those statements, the fact remains that Mark Mangino's ballclub — with fewer physical specimens than Frank Beamer's boys — stood up to the ACC champions and proved to be clearly superior.

This wasn't an artful victory, but it definitely represented a clean kill for the BCS at-large team that made the most of its unexpected invitation to Miami. The Jayhawks, when given their one big shot on the national stage, didn't flinch or fold.

They faced a name program and responded with poise and grace under pressure. As a result, the program produced the biggest victory of KU's entire season — not to mention the past 40 years.

	Bowl Games
Mark Mangino
BCS Bowls BCS Championship: LSU vs. OSU Rose Bowl: USC 49, Illinois 17 Fiesta Bowl: WVU 48, Oklahoma 28 Orange Bowl: Kansas 24, Va. Tech 21 Sugar Bowl: Georgia 41, Hawaii 10 Non-BCS Bowls Poinsettia Bowl: Utah 35, Navy 32 New Orleans Bowl: FAU 44, Memphis 27 Papa Johns.com Bowl: Cin. 31, USM 21 New Mexico Bowl: UNM 23, Nevada 0 Las Vegas Bowl: BYU 17, UCLA 16 Hawaii Bowl: E. Carolina 41, Boise St. 38 Motor City Bowl: Purdue 51, CMU 48 Holiday Bowl: Texas 52, ASU 34 Champs Sports Bowl: BC 24, MSU 21 Texas Bowl: TCU 20, Houston 13 Emerald Bowl: Ore. St. 21, Maryland 14 Meineke Bowl: Wake 24, Uconn 10 Liberty Bowl: Miss. St. 10, UCF 3 Alamo Bowl: Penn St. 24, Texas A&M 17 Independence Bowl: 'Bama 30, Colo. 24 Armed Forces Bowl: Cal 42, Air Force 36 Sun Bowl: Oregon 56, USF 21 Humanitarian Bowl: Fresno St. 40, GT 28 Music City Bowl: Kentucky 35, FSU 28 Insight Bowl: Okla. St. 49, Indiana 33 Chick-fil-A Bowl: Aub. 23, Clem. 20 OT Outback Bowl: Tenn. 21, Wisconsin 17 Cotton Bowl: Mizzou 38, Arkansas 7 Gator Bowl: Texas Tech 31, UVA 28 Capital One Bowl: Mich. 41 vs. Florida 35 International Bowl: Rutgers vs. Ball St. GMAC Bowl: Tulsa vs. Bowling Green Photo galleries: Best of 2007

After losing to Joe Paterno and Penn State by a single point in the 1969 Orange Bowl, Kansas made good in South Florida this time around, winning one not just for a special team and the national coach of the year, but also for the history books.

The lads from Lawrence earned their landmark victory for a very simple reason: They used more brains than their opponents from Blacksburg. It wasn't just that the Hokies displayed a sloppier brand of ball, but that the Kansas craniums cranked out better reactions and more rational responses to game situations. Between the headsets and between the white lines, the Jayhawks destroyed the Hokies.

A brief stroll through this game's more fascinating developments told the tale of how a January newbie knocked off the bearer of the BeamerBall brand name.

First off, Kansas quarterback Todd Reesing turned in the most beautiful and thoroughly impressive 21-of-38 passing performance one could possibly hope to have. Basic math will tell you that 21-of-38 is just a hair over 50 percent, which doesn't exactly set the world on fire.

Yet, with the exception of two passes (one which Va. Tech intercepted, one which Va. Tech dropped ... and could have changed the game), Reesing displayed substantial smarts on the field. Many of his incompletions were wise throwaway passes under pressure, and he rarely endangered the ball.

For most of the night, Reesing threw accurate passes in very tight windows, minimizing mistakes and erring on the side of caution. Mangino's leader under center continued to be an extension of the coach who taught him so well. In terms of game management, field-general leadership and overall pocket presence, Reesing rose to the occasion in Miami.

On the other side of the ball, Virginia Tech trotted out two quarterbacks who — after playing so well down the stretch in the regular season — became body-snatched and baffled near the beaches of the Sunshine State.

For whatever reason, Sean Glennon and especially Tyrod Taylor seemed to play the whole game in a fog, with negative body language and clouded minds. Three interceptions from Tech's two quarterbacks didn't just deny scoring chances to the ACC champions. More importantly, those picks directly led to Kansas points.

The Jayhawks didn't have to lift a finger on offense to tally 17 of their 24 points. They took one interception into the end zone, ran a second interception to the Hokie 2, and added a field goal after intercepting Glennon at the Tech 31, already in scoring range.

As is so often the case in tight football games, it's just not accurate to say that turnovers alone make the difference. It's the timing and location of the turnovers that make the difference. With smarter quarterbacking and game management, Kansas got the more timely and better-located turnovers on this night, and that tells you why the Jayhawks jumped for joy at the end of this messy affair.

Speaking of interceptions, the man who took one of them into the end zone for Kansas' first score was yet another brainy and brilliant performer who won with his instincts and not necessarily his athleticism.

Aqib Talib, the anchor of KU's secondary, gave his team a 7-0 lead and set the tone for this contest by reading Tech's quarterbacks like a first-grade spelling book. Talib — who is to KU's defense what Todd Reesing is to KU's offense — displayed the football IQ that showed why the Jayhawks have outfoxed and outflanked opponents all season.

Always around the ball and able to make the big play when the moment demanded it, Talib changed the trajectory of the game with his smarts and savvy.

This brings us to what might have been the most defining aspect of this game — the coaching performances. On a night when Kansas had the smarter players, the Jayhawks also had the better coach.

There were several ways in which the national coach of the year proved to be the biggest difference maker of all, while Frank Beamer — his counterpart — had a major hand in losing this contest as well.

For starters, Mangino had great play calls in third-and-short or fourth-and-short situations. Using the pass on short-yardage plays, Mangino gave Reesing simple and very short pass plays to the perimeter that picked up easy 3-yard gains to keep the sticks moving.

Frank Beamer and Virginia Tech were simply outcoached. (Doug Benc / Getty Images)

Without overthinking, Mangino gave his quarterback a very simple game plan that was accentuated by the many rollouts that enabled Reesing to see downfield and find passing lanes.

The structure and design of KU's offense were perfect for this game, and Mangino's situational moves proved to carry the day. Yes, his toss run at the Hokie 1 in the third quarter blew up in his face, denying the Jayhawks a touchdown in the process. But for most of this contest, the best coach of 2007 pushed the right buttons on the third night of 2008.

On the other sideline, the results weren't so good because Beamer — who admittedly couldn't do much about the special-teams blunders that crippled his Hokies — didn't help his cause with the decisions he made.

After he and offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring failed to give running back Branden Ore enough touches for most of the night, Beamer — still within striking distance midway through the fourth quarter — made a decision that would come back to haunt him.

With Kansas watching the 25-second play clock and about to call timeout, Beamer shockingly intervened and insisted on calling the timeout the Jayhawks were ready to concede.

When the Hokies scored their late touchdown with three minutes left in regulation, that one needlessly forfeited timeout affected Beamer's outlook. With only two timeouts and not three, Beamer went for the onside kick in a game his team trailed by only three points.

When trailing by a field goal, field position becomes that much more valuable, meaning the Hokies should have kicked the ball deep. And while Beamer still could have kicked the ball deep with three minutes to go, it was understandable that he felt the need to pull the trigger on an onside kick.

But when that kick was recovered by Kansas, the strategic squeeze had Beamer by the neck, and when the Hokies tried to stop the clock, Beamer lost the ability to save 35 or 40 extra seconds with that extra timeout he squandered several minutes earlier.

And so the story of this weird and wild Orange Bowl — for all of its special-teams surprises and sudden momentum shifts — is a deceivingly simple one. In the secondary (Talib), at quarterback (Reesing) and between the headsets on the sidelines (Mangino) — three areas of football where savvy students of the sport are so essential — Kansas had the higher football IQs.

As a result, a relatively close game became a Jayhawk joyride when all was said and done. They're partying like it's 1969 in Lawrence, because the memories of a 12-men-on-the-field penalty against Penn State have now been avenged. A painful memory in the history of KU football has been wiped away, as the men of Mark Mangino end their sensational season at 12-1.

"What's the matter with Kansas?"

That question gets asked a lot in American politics, but on a night when the Orange Bowl competed with the Iowa caucuses for public attention — a first in American history — it can safely be said that nothing's wrong with the gridiron Jayhawks.

With 100 percent of the precincts reporting, Kansas is the winner in Dade County, the city of Miami and the state of Florida. It's the best election-night result Mark Mangino could have hoped for when this long college football campaign began back in September.

From the Fox Sports article

A Drunken Night in Iraq, A Soldier Is Left Behind

The sun had not yet risen in Taji. A young Army soldier lay alone in the dirt. She was alive, but barely. Her ribs had been crushed; her spleen, ruptured. Her right side was marked by the angular tread of a tire.

Pfc. Hannah Gunterman McKinney was 20 years old, the brown-eyed mother of a toddler son, when she was spotted in the headlights of a passing Humvee on a perimeter road at one of the largest U.S. military camps in Iraq.

Thirteen hours later, in Redlands, Calif., Barbie and Matt Heavrin, who had three children in the military, learned they had lost their elder daughter to "injuries suffered when she was struck by a vehicle," as the Army first described it.

But there was more to the story. For the Heavrins, the events of Sept. 4, 2006, inside the wire of Camp Taji emerged bit by bit. McKinney's last hours, they would learn, involved alcohol, sex and a decorated reservist who was responsible for looking out for junior enlisted soldiers such as their daughter.

Her case would become one in a litany of noncombat deaths in Iraq, which number more than 700, from crashes, suicides, illnesses and accidents that sometimes reveal messy truths about life in the war zone.

The cases can be especially brutal for parents who lose a child and struggle to understand why. In McKinney's case, many of the details are in a 1,460-page file and court-martial transcript obtained by The Washington Post under the Freedom of Information Act.

Now, her parents want her story to be fully told. They cannot reconcile themselves to the idea that, on that terrible day in Taji, their daughter was left behind.

In the early days after McKinney's death, the Heavrins say they were told by Army officials that it appeared their daughter might have been run over as she crossed a street in the dark while going from a guard tower to a nearby latrine.

There is no mention of that scenario in the case file. But it is what the Heavrins believed as they bowed their heads over her silver coffin in the family church, laying red roses and notes beside their dark-haired daughter.

Barbie Heavrin took McKinney's son, Todd, not yet 2, to her coffin to bid goodbye.

"Mama sleep?" the boy asked, patting her forehead.

The Heavrins described their daughter as attractive and willful, with singing talents and a well-honed sense of humor befitting her early childhood nickname: Happy Hannah. She read books constantly -- loved "Gone With the Wind" -- and wanted a career in marketing.

Read the full story at the Washington Post article

Cindy Margolis sex marathon

MODEL CINDY Margolis has told how she was so obsessed with having a baby that she launched into a 14-day sex marathon on her honeymoon.

The Playboy pin-up once feted as the world's most downloaded woman says she had non-stop sex on the beach, in the ocean, while swimming with dolphins, on a swing, in a tree, on a beach chair, in a cabana, in the woods, and around the coral reef.

She also had sex with her husband, Guy Starkman, in the bath tub and even under the snack bar.

"But it didn't work. I must be going nuts," she told The New York Post.

"I thought I was being punished for my past mistakes: I should never have cheated on my first love with that cute actor who turned out to be a jerk!"

In her new book, "Having a Baby . . . When the Old-Fashioned Way Isn't Working," out this week she writes of the methods she used in her attempts to start a family.

"I set up a baby shrine next to my bed . . . I wrote letters to my unborn baby. I lit fertility candles, saw a psychic and then a healer, and even had my stomach blessed by a priest, a rabbi and a minister. When all that didn't work, I was convinced it was because God saw through me," Margolis writes.

She became very obsessed. Whenever Margolis thought she was ovulating, she demanded her husband rush home to bed her.

She relates: "I would call Guy off the basketball court, out of a meeting, away from a family function, and even home early from a business trip . . . I even told him once that if he didn't get home within 10 minutes and have sex with me, I would find someone else who would."

After years of trying, Margolis consulted specialists who recommended in vitro fertilization and surrogacy. In 2002 she gave birth to a son, Nicholas Isaac. Three years later she had twin girls, Sabrina and Sierra, through a surrogate. "Please, never give up the faith," she urges parents.

From the News com.au article

White House hopefuls ready for Iowa caucus day

Voters in too-close-to-call Iowa will finally weigh in Thursday on who they want to lead the Democrats and Republicans toward the longest White House race in history.

The state will see a tight three-way clash between Democrats Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards, as well as an equally tight race between Republicans Mike Huckabee and former Massachusetts senator Mitt Romney, with John McCain looking to snap up third.

Romney, who has lately gained support in the polls, said Wednesday he could hardly wait for the outcome.

"It's anticipation ... it's like Christmas morning," he said. "You want to run down and see what you get and hope it's not a lump of coal."

Huckabee decided Wednesday to take the unusual step of leaving Iowa and make his pitch to a larger audience by making an appearance on Jay Leno's Tonight Show. Huckabee played up his personable side, jamming on his bass guitar with Leno's band and trading jokes with the host.

Fresh polls suggest both races couldn't be tighter. A poll published Tuesday in the Des Moines Register showed Obama was leading the race of likely Democratic caucus-goers with 32 per cent, compared to 25 per cent for Clinton and 24 per cent for Edwards.

However, a Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby poll of Iowa, also released on Tuesday, showed Clinton had a four-point edge over Obama with Edwards one point behind him.

It is notoriously hard to poll in Iowa because of the tiny state's low voter numbers, which can skew results. There's also the unusual system in which voters gather in caucuses in homes and town halls to select a candidate.

And then there's the fact that fewer than six per cent of eligible voters take part, many of whom tend to represent the political extremes of both parties, observers say.

Iowa's first step

Iowa's caucuses are the first step in selecting party candidates for the U.S. presidential election. They will help choose delegates to county conventions, which are followed by spring state delegate selection, leading to the national nominating conventions next summer.

CTV Washington bureau chief Tom Clark says the caucuses can have a big impact because their results attract such intense media attention.

"Iowa's important not because of the numbers. In fact, the numbers here are very small. Really, this is important not because somebody can win the presidency from the state of Iowa, but because you can lose here," Clark told Canada AM Wednesday.

For example, whoever comes in third in the three-horse race among the Democrats likely has a slim chance of winning the nomination, if history is any guide.

That's why all eyes will be on the intense race between Clinton and Obama in Iowa, perhaps the only state where Edwards is favoured to win.

Clinton told supporters her experience makes her the most effective leader.

"Long before cameras started following me around I worked to try and do what I could to make positive change to improve people's lives," she said.

Obama quickly rejected that notion.

"You can't be steeped in the conventional wisdom of Washington on issues as profound as war and then somehow believe you're going to chart a new bold direction on foreign policy," he said.

On the Republican side, if current favourite Huckabee doesn't secure a first-place win, it could be a fatal blow for him as well.

"So in other words, Iowa starts winnowing out people as opposed to crowning people. That happens later in New Hampshire and obviously on 'super Tuesday' on February 5," explained Clark.

About $40 million has been spent on campaigning in Iowa, which averages out to be more than $400 for each voter expected to attend the caucuses.

The figures could make this the first-ever billion-dollar presidential election.

From the CTV.ca article

VIVICA FOX IN RUMORED SEX TAPE: Actress reportedly has Atlanta police department investigating.

Rumors are bubbling that a sex tape has surfaced featuring film and TV actress Vivica A. Fox.

According to Atlanta blogger Sandra Rose, Fox is allegedly caught on camera performing oral sex on an Atlanta man, who secretly recorded the act and promptly e-mailed the footage to his friends.

Rose wrote at her Web site:

It was a tough decision for her to make, but V-103’s Porsche Foxx confirmed that her close friend Vivica Fox appears in a controversial sex tape that is currently making the rounds.

In the tape, an apparently inebriated Vivica can be seen on her knees servicing a male friend who surreptitiously taped the encounter on his cell phone. Allegedly the man, who lives in Atlanta, emailed the tape to friends who emailed it to Vivica. She quickly forwarded the tape to a friend at the Atlanta police department.

It isn’t known if Vivica filed an official complaint with the police or if she asked her police friend to handle the situation privately. At any rate, men tattle worse than females - especially here in the ATL - so the tape got out.

From the EURWeb article

Presidential hopefuls seek victory in Iowa caucus

The first votes in the Iowa caucuses will be counted on Thursday night. The caucuses, in which Democrats and Republicans get to choose their presidential candidates, are the traditional pre-elections leading up to the presidential elections in November. Both parties have large numbers of candidates eager to take over from President George W Bush. Voters in the state of Iowa are to give a first indication of who has the best chances of taking up residence in the White House.

Read the rest of the story at radionetherlands

UVa. Tests Viagra-Like Drug for Women

A drug that could do for women what Viagra has done for men is being tested at the University of Virginia. The drug is a testosterone-laden ointment called LibiGel and it's intended to boost the libido of women who have lost interest in sex. It will be prescribed at UVa in coming months to women who are suffering from hypoactive sexual desire disorder.

The condition is believed to affect one-third of American women.

"It is the most common sexual problem that women have," said Dr. Anita Clayton, a psychiatrist with the UVa Health System and author of the 2007 book "Satisfaction: Women, Sex and the Quest for Intimacy."

Read the rest of the story at the Associated Press article

Eddie Murphy Marries Tracey Edmonds

Eddie Murphy celebrated New Year's Day by tying the knot with film producer Tracey Edmonds.

The pair exchanged vows Tuesday on a private island off Bora Bora in French Polynesia in front of a small group of family and friends, their representatives told People magazine.

A call to Murphy's publicist, Arnold Robinson, wasn't immediately returned early Wednesday.

Murphy and Edmonds began dating last fall and were engaged in July.

Murphy, 46, has five children from his marriage to Nicole Mitchell Murphy, who filed for divorce in 2005. He also has a daughter with Spice Girls singer Melanie Brown.

Edmonds, 40, has two sons from her 13-year marriage to singer Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds. As head of Edmonds Entertainment Group Inc., she has produced the film and television series "Soul Food."

Murphy's film credits include "Dreamgirls," and the "Beverly Hills Cop," "The Nutty Professor," "Shrek" and "Dr. Doolittle" movies.

From the Herald Tribune article

Sprinter Gatlin loses appeal, receives four-year ban: report

Reigning 100-meter Olympic champion Justin Gatlin has been suspended for four years for a 2006 doping violation after his 20-month appeal fight failed, the Washington Post reported Tuesday.

Citing unnamed sources close to the case, the newspaper reported that Gatlin was told Monday night that arbitrators voted 2-1 to impose a four-year ban upon the 25-year-old American sprinter who captured gold at the 2004 Athens Games.

The punishment stems from a positive test for testosterone by Gatlin at the Kansas Relays on April 22, 2006. Gatlin tested positive for a stimulant at a college meet earlier in his career so was treated as a repeat offender.

Gatlin could appeal the verdict to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the final legal recourse to overturn what would otherwise likely be a career-ending banishment.

Gatlin's attorney, John Collins, declined to comment to the newspaper, saying he wanted to see the 53-page majority opinion and 22-page dissent before saying anything publicly.

Two of the trio of arbitrators who heard the case July 29 through August 1 in Atlanta declared they could not impose anything less than a four-year ban upon Gatlin because of his prior positive test.

Gatlin, the 2005 world 100m and 200m champion, had faced up to an eight-year ban but was nonetheless devastated by the decision that could doom his hopes of racing at the Beijing Olympics, the Post said, citing people close to Gatlin.

First violations usually draw a two-year ban with life bans possible for repeat offenders.

Gatlin argued to arbitartors that his secret recording of telephone calls with his former coach and assistant coach to gather evidence for a federal steroid investigation should be considered in imposing a sentence.

Gatlin said if he had knowingly taken performance-enhancing drugs, it would have been revealed in 10 telephone calls he recorded in 2006 with former coach Trevor Graham and Randall Evans, Graham's assistant.

Graham has been indicted on charges of lying to federal investigators about his relationship with a confessed steroid dealer.

Jeff Novitzky, the federal agent investigating Graham as well as the BALCO steroid scandal, told the arbitrators that no evidence was uncovered that Gatlin took drugs.

Gatlin also argued that he might have been sabotaged by a massage therapist who could have rubbed a testosterone cream onto Gatlin's legs over being denied a bonus in 2005.

The therapist denied the claim but also said he did not think Gatlin was a dope cheat.

Another part of Gatlin's case was that he would not have tried to sneak testosterone past dope tests at an early season meet then not used it for the remainder of the 2006 season.

Chris Campbell, the arbitrator who dissented in the four-year ban verdict, said Gatlin had proven his sabotage case only 33 percent not the 50.1 percent needed to avoid punishment - a gap Gatlin could try to close before CAS.

Campbell also said Gatlin had been discriminated against under the Americans with Disabilities Act because his first positive was for a stimulant that was included in his medication for attention-deficit disorder.

From AFP article

Black-eyed peas, cabbage popular new year tradition

For as long as Karen Hendley, deli manager for Jerry Lee's in Pascagoula, can remember, the grocery store has been serving black-eyed peas and cabbage on New Year's Day.

"I've been working here for 18 years," she said. "And they've been doing this for as long as I've been here. And a little bit longer."

The tradition, which began in the Southeast, is that eating black-eyed peas brings good luck, while eating cabbage symbolizes money.

"It's just a New Year's tradition for good luck," said Paula Hollis, of Pascagoula. "It's just always been this way."

Hendley said that Jerry Lee's cuts up and cooks more than 150 pounds of cabbage and about 40 pounds of black-eyed peas New Year's morning.

"A lot more people come to buy the cabbage," she said "-- probably because they don't feel like cooking it."

Carter Anderson, of Moss Point, doesn't believe in tradition of the holiday, and said that he will eat black-eyed peas and cabbage when he feels like it.

"I'm an everyday guy," he said. "And I'll eat them every day, but not just for a special occasion."

The cooks, who come in at 4 a.m., will probably begin cooking at about 7 a.m., she said. The deli will be open from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. today.

For $5.99, customers can purchase a plate lunch of either cabbage and corned beef or black-eyed peas and hog jowls. Both come with two sides and a bread, Hendley said. Customers can buy just cabbage or black-eyed peas for various prices and sizes, the largest of which is a gallon of either for $12, she said.

Reporter Frank Stumbo can be reached at fstumbo@themississippipress.com or at 228-934-1478.

Black-eyed peas

Soak beans for 4 to 6 hours until all water is absorbed. 6 cups per pound of beans.

Drain any excess water.

Sauté 12 cup of diced onion and 1 cup of diced bacon ends or thin-sliced bacon per pound of beans.

Add beans cover with chicken stock and simmer until tender.

Recipe is from Greg Buschmohle, executive chef of the Ship City Grill at LaFont Inn, Pascagoula.

From The Mississippi Press article

Rose Parade Kicks Off in Pasadena

Three military fighter jets streaked over cheering spectators Tuesday to kick off the New Year's Day procession of Rose Parade floats.

People gazed in awe from sidewalks at the spectacle featuring celebrities, marching bands, equestrian units and floats with waterfalls and flowery depictions of Elmo strumming a banjo, tigers and a Honda pickup truck transforming into a space craft.

Thousands of people who spent New Year's Eve camped curbside in Pasadena were joined at dawn by giddy visitors arriving by car, bus and train. The city estimates more than a million people visit Pasadena during the parade and Rose Bowl game festivities.

Gail Paulson was drawn to the parade route although she is blind.

"There's a lot a blind person can appreciate at this parade. There's electricity in the air, the smell of the flowers, the clomping of the horses," Paulson, 64, of Oxnard, said as her guide dog Elton led her to a seat.

The 119th edition of the Tournament of Roses began as sunshine bathed the 5 1/2-mile parade route. The dozens of floats were expected to take about two hours to glide along Pasadena's main street. This year's theme was "Passport to the World's Celebrations."

Some 1,200 law enforcement officers were assigned to the parade to deal with any disruptions. Nineteen people were arrested during the night, mostly for drunk-in-public violations, police spokeswoman Janet Pope Givens said.

Two groups were planning demonstrations. Members of the Chinese Falun Gong spiritual movement said they would protest the float honoring the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, and anti-war activists led by "Peace Mom" Cindy Sheehan said they would demonstrate against President Bush.

The day was expected to be rain-free, with a high of 74. However, wind was likely to gust to 30 mph in Pasadena, and the National Weather Service had posted a red flag warning for parts of Southern California, meaning conditions were ripe for brush fires.

Many in the crowd had come from Illinois to watch the afternoon Rose Bowl football game between No. 6 Southern California and No. 13 Illinois.

Illinois native Jenny Sweer, 43, cuddled up in a sleeping bag in a beach chair waiting for the parade to begin.

"I'm cold and tired. I didn't get much sleep. It's a good year to be here because we're from Illinois," Sweer said.

From the Associated Press

How to Convert to Digital TV

Beginning Feb. 18, 2009, television stations will stop broadcasting analog signals. An older, non-digital television without cable or satellite service will need a special converter box to receive a picture.

The boxes are expected to cost between $50 and $70. Starting Tuesday, each household can request two $40 coupons at no charge to help pay for the boxes. There are four ways to request a coupon:

_ Apply online at http://www.dtv2009.gov.

_ Call the coupon program's 24-hour hot line, 1-888-DTV-2009 (1-888-388-2009), TTY 1-877-530-2634.

_ Mail a coupon application to P.O. Box 2000, Portland, OR 97208-2000.

_ Fax a coupon application to 1-877-DTV-4ME2 (1-877-388-4632).

The program is being administered by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, on the Web at http://www.ntia.doc.gov.

From Associated Press article