Author: Serkadis

Simon Monjack and Sharon Murphy, the grief-stricken husband and mother of late actress Brittany Murphy, brought their campaign to clear the actress’ name to The TODAY Show on Thursday. Brittany died suddenly after suffering cardiac arrest in her Los Angeles mansion last month. She was 32. In an interview with NBC’s Matt Lauer this morning, Sharon and Simon vehemently denied tabloid rumors that the shockingly-frail Brittany had been abusing drugs or suffering from an eating disorder in the last years of her life. Monjack, who married the Clueless star in 2007, blames the rumors for destroying the actress’ once promising career.

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Monjack has accused film producers of firing the actress from the Happy Feet sequel because of tabloid rumors about her lifestyle.

“There was a great deal of stress in her career. A week before she died… unfortunately Warner Brothers pulled the offer (for Happy Feet) based off rumors, which were untrue.”

He’s now urging actors to withdraw from the sequel in protest.

“So any actress that takes the role is terrible. And I would say to Brad Pitt and Matthew Damon, who are considering doing the movie, to rethink your friendship with Brittany before you do it.”

Bears running back Matt Forte had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee within the last two weeks, according to multiple sources.

The clean-up procedure followed a post-season MRI. Forte sprained the medial collateral ligament in his knee during the Bears’ 25-19 victory at Seattle in Week 3, but it is unclear if the surgery stems from that specific injury.

Although Forte ran better toward the end of the season, he averaged just 3.6 yards per carry, down from his 3.9-yard average as a rookie.

He finished with 929 rushing yards on 258 carries as the Bears ranked 29th in the league. Forte ran for 1,238 yards on 316 carries as a rookie the year before. As a receiver, he had 57 catches for 471 yards in 2009 against 63 for 477 in his first season.

Forte also suffered a partially torn hamstring during offseason workouts before the ‘09 season.

With Forte recovering from surgery, the Bears have at least three running backs on the mend.

Garrett Wolfe had shoulder surgery almost two weeks ago while Kevin Jones continues his extensive rehab from torn ligaments in his left ankle. Jones missed the entire regular season.

Also, punter Brad Maynard had his right hip scoped, a source said. His recovery time is unclear.

Maynard was listed as questionable with a groin injury before the last home game against the Vikings. He handled the punt duties that night despite the Bears’ decision to sign Richmond McGee as insurance.

The first day teams can start the offseason workout program is March 15.

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Read the original article from Tribune News Services.

Patients ‘grinned from ear to ear’ at the chance to meet favorite players

Baseball season came early this year for a few of the Chicago Cubs’ most devoted fans.

As part of their annual caravan tour, Cubs members visited Northwestern Memorial Hospital oncology patients and their families on Wednesday, Jan. 13.

Patients were able to meet players including Welington Castillo, Koyie Hill, Micah Hoffpauir, and Brett Jackson, as well as coach Lou Piniella and Cubs broadcaster Bob Brenly.

Hospital staff hosted a reception for Cubs members and patients, and then players broke up into groups to visit individual rooms and sign autographs.

Pat Murphy is the director of oncology nursing at Northwestern and has participated in the Cubs Caravan event for five years.

She noted this year in particular, more patients were physically able to come out of their rooms to attend the reception and meet the entire group of Cubs players.

“The patients were grinning from ear to ear; they enjoyed every single minute of it,” said Murphy.

“For a few minutes that day it took their minds away from what they are here for.”

Murphy added seeing Cubs players interact with patients was a gratifying experience for the entire staff.

“The fact they could take time out of their busy schedules to do this on behalf of our patients was amazing,” said Murphy.

With the refueling ban introduced by the International Automobile Federation (FIA) for the 2010 season of Formula One, it’s quite logical that we’re going to see much quicker pit stops during the race. The only thing the pit crew will be asked to do will be the tire change, which will reportedly take up to three seconds.

Yes, you’ve heard it right! According to Williams F1 spokeswoman Claire Williams, the pit stop crew at Grove managed to score some impressive times during their Thursday prac… (read more)

Filed under: Convertible, Japan, Lexus, Rumormill, Luxury

Much unloved by the automotive press and lately by consumers who haven’t been buying them, the folding-hardtop Lexus SC430 is possibly ending its production run this July. To celebrate and honor the occasion, Lexus is releasing a special edition. Called “The Eternal Jewel,” this special edition SC430 should be at Japanese domestic market Lexus dealers by March.

Only 200 are being made and all we know is what we see in the above photograph, i.e. nice looking leather. We doubt any will make it to our shores. If SC430 production does end, that leaves the door open for Lexus to continue in the direction laid down by the IS-F and LF-A and bring out a sporty SC replacement, hopefully along the lines of the original SC300 and SC400, visually at least. We’ll keep you posted as we learn more. Tip of the sun-blocking baseball cap to Leopaul!

[Source: Lexus]

Rumormill: Lexus SC430 to end production in July with special edition “Eternal Jewel” originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 21 Jan 2010 10:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Reliable sources have told WMPU that the HTC Obsession, HTC’s rumoured 3.7 inch AMOLED smartphone set to come later this year, will be coming to AT&T and T-Mobile USA as the HTC Diamond3.

They were also able to confirm a time scale – the smartphone was intended to ship as early as June 2010, but may be delayed somewhat.  Despite the plans to come so early, the smartphone is definitely a Windows Mobile 7 device, and will not be coming in a WM 6.5 version first.

A reminded of the specs of the device below:

The full specs are below.

• CPU: Qualcomm QSD8250; 1GHz
• GSM HSDPA
• Device Size: 112 x 56 x 11.7 mm
• Memory (RAM/ROM): 512MB/512MB
• Internal Storage: 4GB
• External Storage: MicroSD (up to 32GB)
• Screen Size/Type: 3.7-inch capacitive AMOLED “Multitouch Supported”
• Camera: 5.0 Megapixel AF with flash; HD 720p video@ 25fps
• Video Support: Windows Media Video (WMV), MPEG-4 (MP4/M4V) H.264, DVR-MS4
• Audio Support: Windows Media Audio (WMA), Advanced Audio Coding (AAC-LC), FairPlay DRM, MP3 (.mp3)
• Battery:  Removable 1230 mAh
• Talk Time: Up to 10 hours
• Standby Time: 240 hours
• Internet Use: 6 hours (3G), 7.5 hours (WiFi)
• Video Playback: 7 hours
• Audio Playback: 24 hours

Unlike previous Diamonds the device will not be coming in a CDMA version, following poor sales of the last Diamond.

In some ways the branding will be reassuring to HTC HD2 owners, who would prefer not to see their investment superseded so quickly with an HD3.

Follow us on twitter.com/wmpoweruser for more Windows Mobile 7 news and rumours.

Three people were wounded, one of them critically, in a shooting late Wednesday night in the South Side’s Chatham neighborhood, Chicago police said.

One of the victims, a 31-year-old woman, was reported in critical condition at Northwestern Memorial Hospital after being shot in the abdomen, police said.

They said a 25-year-old man, believed to be the boyfriend of the woman, was reported in serious but stable condition at Stroger Hospital after being shot in the back.

A 20-year-old man suffered a graze wound to his left thigh. Preliminary reports indicated he went to Jackson Park Hospital.

The shooting happened about 11:20 p.m. in the 500 block of East 76th Street. Police said the victims were in a vehicle when they were shot, and then drove to 75th Street and South Cornell Avenue before being taken to the hospitals.

Police said there were three suspects, all of whom wearing dark clothing, and at least one fired the shots into the victims’ vehicle.

No one was in custody this morning.

–Staff report

The Scandinavian Hydrogen Highway Partnership (SHHP) along with the European Lighthouse Project (LHP), has created H2moves Scandinavia (part of H2moves Europe) which will be rolling out 10 Daimler Mercedes-Benz B-class F-CELL cars plus two Fiat Alfa Romeo MiTo fuel cell vehicles (a first for this company).

The vehicles will serve as shuttles and demonstration cars around the Oslo, Norway region. Oslo will also be having a hydrogen fueling station built by 2011, which will use renewable energy, namely hydropower and the electrolysis of water to create H2.

In addition, H2 Logic will add five hydrogen fuel cell city cars to the mix in Oslo. The FCV city cars will have a range of around 155 miles. H2 Logic will also create a mobile hydrogen refuelling concept with the goal of identifying certification gaps that remain in Scandinavia that need to be addressed before a more robust hydrogen highway system can be built.

In the past I’ve talked about the Scandinavian Hydrogen Highway and the Norway Hynor Project which starts in Oslo and runs to Stavanger with five hydrogen fueling station stops in-between. The development of Oslo as a focal point for a hydrogen vehicle and fueling station cluster will serve the EU as a beacon of H2 development much the same was Los Angeles is serving in the U. S.

The extent of the inconvenience will depend on the routes riders take and the time of day they travel, officials said. All overnight “owl” service on buses and trains will be maintained to serve third-shift workers.

The agency plans to take out of service 287 buses in a fleet of about 2,000 vehicles. It remained unclear whether the downsizing of CTA bus operations will continue beyond this year as the transit agency adapts to living within its means during tough times for the economy.

CTA buses provide about 1 million of the 1.7 million rides taken on the system.

In addition to the bus cuts, service will run less frequently on seven of the eight CTA rail lines, officials said.

Union leaders reacted angrily to the agency’s final proposal on Wednesday, charging that CTA management is bloated with bureaucrats who should lose their jobs first.

Darrell Jefferson, president of the union representing CTA bus drivers and bus mechanics, said each bus garage had five managers when he was hired in 1994 and today there are 20 managers at each facility.

“They’re having lunch all day, I guess,” he said. “There’s not enough paperwork for all of them.”

CTA President Richard Rodriguez said Jefferson’s assertions are “completely untruthful.” CTA officials, meanwhile, vented frustration over the unions’ lack of willingness to accept contract concessions at a time when nonunion employees are enduring more unpaid days in 2010, on top of their fourth straight year without a salary increase.

“Our unionized workers have not contributed to solving this problem,” CTA board member Jacquelyne Grimshaw said at the agency’s monthly board meeting. Outside the transit agency’s headquarters, off-duty CTA employees marched, banged on drums, carried protest signs and chanted, “Yes, we can.”

The layoffs and service cuts are projected to save the CTA $95.6 million. Freezing salaries and increasing the number of furlough and unpaid holidays for nonunion employees is estimated to reduce the deficit by $32 million.

In addition, $90 million in capital-improvement funds are being shifted to the operating budget, which helps reduce the deficit but delays much-needed repairs.

Planned fare increases that would have increased the cost of a single ride to as high as $3 would have raised $83.3 million. But Gov. Pat Quinn brokered a deal in which the Regional Transportation Authority will increase the amount of money it borrows by issuing bonds and the state will pay some of the costs of servicing that debt in exchange for the CTA promising to hold off on fare hikes for two years.

“The only party that has yet to step to the table to assist us, unfortunately, is the unions,” CTA Chairman Terry Peterson said.

He said the agency could start reinstating service, starting with the 41 bus routes slated to operate fewer hours each day, if the unions agreed to return their 3.5 percent salary increase. The pay hike will cost the CTA $20 million. The next priority would be to add back the nine express bus routes, Peterson said.

“The budget is skewed by labor costs,” Rodriguez said. “Our operating costs must be reduced.”

But Jefferson, the bus union chief, said his membership has made recent concessions in pension and health care coverage.

“I would love to help the CTA, but I see that help is a one-way street,” he said. “We are at a stalemate. Opening the contract is just out of the question.”

Free rides for senior citizens and other categories of riders account for a big source of lost revenue — more than $60 million a year, officials said. The CTA provided 68 million free rides in the first 11 months of 2009, said Karen Walker, CTA chief financial officer.

That’s an increase of 16.8 million free rides compared with the same period in 2008, she said.

Several members of the public signed up to address CTA board members Wednesday and ask them to rescind the service cuts and layoffs.

Phyllis Palmer, business manager of a homeowners association on the Far South Side, said the planned belt-tightening will reduce service by 30 percent south of 95th Street.

She said it would be a cruel blow, coming on top of service reductions dating to 1998 and conditions today where “riders continue to wait at oftentimes cold corners, where no bus shelters or minimum travel options exist.”

–Jon Hilkevitch

Photo: Michael Seaton, of Glenwood, left, and Herman Reyes, of Chicago, bang on buckets Wednesday at a rally against impending CTA service cuts and layoffs. (Tribune photo by Michael Tercha / January 19, 2010)

Read the original article from Tribune News Services.

It’s amazing how people see one semi-successful concept and suddenly everyone has to pile on. The iPhone’s app store has certainly been a success — much more in terms of making the iPhone more attractive than for most developers. But it has all sorts of people thinking that “apps” are in again, and we’re seeing app stores pop up in a variety of different places. The latest is Amazon’s Kindle, which hopes to make the ebook reading device more valuable with more apps.

It does make me wonder, though, if people are betting too strongly on app stores, and not recognizing why it works so well in some areas. I also wonder if focusing on apps and app stores is going to make people miss out on the fact that web-based apps (that don’t need to go through any app store) may overtake client-side apps. We’ve already gone through this on the desktop, and one by one, web-based apps have come along that match (or sometimes exceed) the functionality of client-side apps, leading many to turn away from client apps altogether.

Separately, adding another app store to another device may only serve to confuse (or annoy) some users. If you have an iPhone and a Kindle, and there are the same apps on both, which are you going to use? It may depend on the app, but my guess is that in most cases the phone is going to win out over an ebook reader.

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From ZeroHedge:

Yesterday we brought attention to China’s overheating economy.

In response, Deutsche Bank analyst Michael Spencer is now estimating an earlier than expected rate hike for the newly-minted second largest world economy. “We think January CPI inflation will be similar to December, but in February inflation could rise to 2.5%, above the 2.25% benchmark deposit rate. This implies some likelihood of the first rate hike coming in the second half of March, earlier than our current expectation of an April rate hike.” Just look at China markets at what tightening means for equities.

Then extrapolate to the U.S., once Bernanke someday wakes up on the right side of the bed and realizes that America is in a very much comparable situation (although 10.7% GDP growth would be something even Obama would have some problems with digesting). And now that Volcker is finally about to supplant the soon to be defunct Larry Summers as Obama’s key financial advisor, one can extend Deutsche’s conclusion and say that the rate hike in the U.S. may also come earlier than expected.

Read the whole story at ZeroHedge >

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• China Is Tightening, The FHA Is Tightening, And The Massachusetts Election Means Massive Fiscal Tightening
• Did The FHA Just Perform Covert Monetary Tightening?
• China’s Credit Tightening Pipedream Bursts As Yuan Loans Are Set To Jump 18% In 2010

Jim Thome participated Wednesday night in the White Sox’s ”Bring Me Home” campaign that raised money to benefit foster families in Illinois.

As far as Thome is concerned, he wouldn’t rule out a return to the Sox’s family.

”My door is open,” said Thome, a free agent who spent nearly four full seasons with the Sox before being traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Aug. 31. ”Just call me.”

Thome said he understands the business side of baseball while praising the entire Sox’s organization.

”I want to play baseball,” Thome said. ”Right now we’re talking to a few teams, and we’ll see what happens. It’s been a slow winter in the market.”

Sox first baseman Paul Konerko, who started the campaign with Thome and their wives, doesn’t believe the door has closed on a return by Jermaine Dye and Thome.

”There is still an outside chance on both of them, certainly Jim,” Konerko said. ”I wouldn’t shut the door on that yet. And even if it was for this year, I wouldn’t shut the door on it for the future. We’ll see. I like the way the team is shaping up otherwise.

” … I know they’re going to be playing somewhere. When I show up to spring training and they’re not there, I’ll worry about that.”

Konerko said he was ”always” lobbying on Jim’s behalf, stating that Thome and Dye can remain productive players.

”They’ll be fine, no matter what.”

In other Sox news, John Danks said a follow-up examination on his left index finger was fine.

”I’m going to live,” Danks quipped in a text message.

Photo: Jim Thome salutes the White Sox fans in 2008. (Jamie Squire / Getty Images)

By Mark Gonzales

Read the original article from Tribune News Services.

Toyota will bring a slightly revised Auris at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show in March but, unfortunately, boring is still the best way to describe the "fresh" face of the car. However, the best thing – in case you’re one of the many tree huggers out there – is the addition of a hybrid version that could bring a minor increase in European sales.

Getting back to the refreshed Auris, there’s not much too talk about the upgrades. And probably Toyota thinks the same as the Japanese manufactu… (read more)

GREENWOOD, S.C. — Cambridge Academy athletic director Ray Tackett said Wednesday the school plans to retire Gaines Adams’ number 22 jersey in honor of the former Bears defensive end.

Adams passed away Sunday following cardiac arrest attributed to an enlarged heart.

“Nobody will ever wear 22 again,” Tackett said. “And we’re going to name a football award after him, the ‘Gaines Adams MVP’ award.”

Tackett said the jersey ceremony is likely to take place before the first home football game in the fall. A memorial service for Adams was held at the school on Tuesday.

Adams, the team’s go-to receiver and a two-way standout, led Cambridge to a 12-1 record and state title in 2000 while playing eight-man football. After one year of prep school, Adams went on to be an All-American at Clemson and become the fourth-overall draft pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the ‘07 draft.

Tackett said the school is considering naming its football field after Adams.

A Clemson official said the university might consider retiring Adams’ number 93 jersey, although nothing is imminent.

The funeral will be held Friday at 1 p.m. at Rock Springs Baptist Church in Easley, S.C. Members of the Bears will charter a plane to attend. The Buccaneers will do the same.

By Vaughn McClure

Read the original article from Tribune News Services.

In 2014, the Ford Mustang will celebrate its 50th anniversary, meaning we’ll see an all-new Mustang ponycar. According to a report by MotorTrend, FoMoCo is considering taking the Mustang global.

However, with Ford’s global rear-wheel-drive program dead, product planners are trying to figure out how they’re going to build the next-generation Mustang, especially since Alan Mulally’s “One Ford” theme won’t allow them to build vehicles unique to one country.

Under consideration is an evolution of the current model with some styling upgrades and a continued focus on the 412-hp 5.0L V8 as the halo engine. A second option calls for a tubrocharged V6 for markets like Europe. Last but not least, one source says that Ford may transform the Mustang into an ultra-high tech performance coupe that will compete with the likes of the Nissan GT-R.

A Godzilla killing Mustang? We’re excited for 2014.

2011 Ford Mustang GT:

– By: Kap Shah

Source: Motor Trend

Google’s public fallout with China is still a matter of hot debate and both parties seem reluctant to take a definitive stance. Google’s decision to stop censoring results on Google.cn may seem drastic, but the tone of the post is still a bit subdued and leaves the door open to negotiations. Chinese officials haven’t made any offic… (read more)

A North Aurora man went on a lengthy diatribe before being sentenced to natural life in prison today for sexually assaulting two girls he had befriended at their church.

Charles E. Granter, 64, had been found guilty in 2009 for two counts of predatory criminal sexual assault, involving the girls, who were 9 and 11 when the incidents took place between 2005 and 2007.

State law mandated the life sentence, so there was little suspense in Wednesday’s hearing before Kane County Judge Allen Anderson. But before being sentenced, Granter gave a 20-minute address, criticizing Anderson, the North Aurroa police, prosecutors and the alleged victims, who, according to Granter, lied about him.

Granter called Kane “the most corrupt county I’ve ever seen” and said there were flaws in the prosecution’s timeline that would have required him to possess a “Star Trek” style transporter device.

“I never dreamed I’d end up like this,” he said finally.

According to authorities, Granter met the girls and their families through the church they all attended. Granter’s wife and a half-dozen church members were in court as a show of support for Granter.

“If I needed help, he’d be the person I’d call,” fellow church member Terry McKinney said of Granter.

–Clifford Ward

Read the original article from Tribune News Services.

Mercedes Benz USA has entered the Fortune magazine’s 100 Best Companies to Work For top. This is Fortunes’ 13th annual survey of this kind.

"The most important considerations for this year’s list were hiring and the ways in which companies are helping their employees weather the recession.  All 100 companies on our list are currently hiring, many of them aggressively, leading to more than 96,000 open job positions expected in the next year," Fortune Deputy Managing Editor Hank Gilma… (read more)

Funny guy Ashton Kutcher — notorious prankster and former star of MTV’s Punk’d — took to his Twitter page overnight with a big annoucement for comedy fans:

“Hosting SNL on Feb 6 with musical guest Them Crooked Vultures. Could not be more excited. more to come…..” the actor wrote late Wednesday.

This will be Ashton’s fourth time delivering the laughs on Saturday Night Live. The comedian last hosted NBC’s long-running sketch comedy series in April 2008.

Ford Romania plans to invest 400 million euro this year in its factory based in Craiova (southern Romania), money which are loaned from the European Investment Bank (EIB). The agreement was signed today by Romanian Public Finance Minister Sebastian Vladescu, vice president of the European Investment Bank Matthias Kollatz-Ahnen and Wolfgang Schneider, Ford Europe vice president for governmental and environmental issues.

The loan, on which the Romanian government will provide an 80 per cent gua… (read more)