Ratings: 'American Idol' crushes Thursday competition

Ratings: 'American Idol' crushes Thursday competition

Mar 27, 2009 | by Margaret Lyons

Fox's ratings machine American Idol dominated Thursday night, averaging 22.3 million during its hour, beating ABC, NBC, and the CW combined. CBS held strong with solid ratings for the NCAA basketball tournament. Samantha Who? returned from hiatus for its first new episode since December, but the comedy struggled without a post-Dancing With the Stars time slot, losing part of its lead-in audience from newcomer In the Motherhood. Without CSI to compete with, Grey's Anatomy grabbed its biggest numbers in months. And the penultimate ER found a larger audience than usual.

Time	Show	Viewers (in millions)
8:00 p.m.	American Idol (Fox) NCAA Basketball (CBS) In the Motherhood (ABC) My Name is Earl (NBC) Smallville (The CW)	22.3 10.1 6.7 5.9 3.7
8:30 p.m.	Samantha Who (ABC) The Office (NBC)	6.5 4.9 (repeat)
9:00 p.m.	Grey's Anatomy (ABC) Hell's Kitchen (Fox) The Office (NBC) Supernatural (The CW)	15.8 10.9 8.4 3.2
9:30 p.m.	30 Rock (NBC)	7.2
10:00 p.m.	Private Practice (ABC) ER (NBC)	10.5 10.2

Mar 27 2009 12:02 PM EDT

Farrelly Brothers' Three Stooges Saga: The 13-Year Backstory

Sean Penn, Jim Carrey, Benicio del Toro newly attached to project with complex history.

By Eric Ditzian

Almost 40 years after the final Three Stooges movie, "Kook's Tour," was released, it appears the Farrelly brothers are finally on their way to bringing the slapstick trio back to the big screen.

As Variety reported earlier this week, Sean Penn has signed on to play Larry, negotiations are under way with Jim Carrey for the role of Curly, and Benicio del Toro is the top choice to become Moe.

Perhaps stranger than this casting news is the very notion that the Farrellys' Stooges revival has survived this long. Even by Hollywood standards of seemingly endless development and turnaround time, this project has suffered through more than its fair share of eye pokes, cheek slaps and head butts. Here's the story of how the movie came together (and how it almost didn't).

It all began in 1996 while Peter and Bobby Farrelly were working on the Woody Harrelson comedy "Kingpin." The brothers had a realization that nobody had ever done an adaptation of the Three Stooges and that they were the perfect guys to take on the challenge. They set up a meeting with Columbia Pictures, but couldn't come to an agreement with the studio about the correct approach to the material.

Four years later, with the blockbuster success of "There's Something About Mary" behind them, the Farrellys revived the Stooges idea with the then-head of Warner Bros., Lorenzo di Bonaventura. The pitch they made for their updated movie was "Dumb, Dumber & Dumbest," and di Bonaventura gave them the go-ahead.

In the spring of 2001, Warner Bros. sent out a press release touting the deal they'd signed, and in January 2002, the brothers and Mike Cerrone, their frequent collaborator, settled in to write a script. The first draft took them seven months to complete, and even then they weren't satisfied. Neither was Russell Crowe, who read the script and turned down the part of Moe. Cerrone and the Farrellys continued to work on drafts. At some point, reportedly, Warner Bros. balked at the gross-out humor — a Farrelly trademark — that made it into their adaptation. Still, filming was eventually set to begin in the fall of 2004. But the casting never came together and the studio eventually let the rights to the Stooges property lapse.

In 2006, First Look Studios picked up those rights in a deal with C3 Entertainment, a company founded in 1959 by the Stooges. C3's CEO expressed admiration for the Farrellys' version, but nothing ever came of it.

"It is happening, but we don't know when," Peter Farrelly nonetheless reassured MTV News in 2007.

"We're trying to make [the script] feel like the original stuff, in the vein of the Stooges comedy," Bobby added. "[We'll retain,] of course, the hitting-each-other-in-the-head-with-the-hammers, and raking-saws-across-their-foreheads and stuff — we'll have that kind of humor, for sure."

A year passed without any fresh news, until last fall, when MGM announced it had picked up the rights both to the Farrelly script from Warner Bros. and to the Stooges, held by C3. A release date was set for November 20, 2009. At the same time, the brothers announced they'd be holding a nationwide talent contest to cast an unknown in the role of Curly.

And then, of course, came word this week that not only was Curly likely going to be cast with Hollywood A-lister Jim Carrey, but that filming wouldn't begin until the early fall for a release in 2010.

So there you have it. At least for now. Deals are not yet in place for Carrey or del Toro. Tune in, say, next week for the continuing saga of the Farrelly duo and their Stooges trio.

mtv.com

Contract reveals 'Dancing with the Stars' is paying Shawn Johnson big bucks

BY Eloise Parker
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Friday, March 27th 2009, 5:43 PM

Police recently arrested a man accused of stalking Shawn Johnson, she meanwhile has quite a lucrative contract with "DWTS."

Will the promise of a mountain of cash be enough incentive for Shawn Johnson to put her stalker fears behind her, slap on another layer of fake tan and push on to the next round on “Dancing with the Stars"?

The gold medal-winning gymnast is guaranteed a six-figure paycheck for risking life and limb on “Dancing with the Stars," but could double her money if she makes it to the grand final, according to a contract unearthed by www.TMZ.com.

The tiny athlete, who had a major security scare earlier this week when an alleged stalker was arrested on the set of the hit ABC show, has already earned $125,000 just for appearing on the show, according to the paperwork.

The document was made public after being filed with the L.A. County Superior Court. A judge was required to approve the deal because 17-year-old Johnson is still a minor. In addition to her $125,000 appearance fee, Johnson is set to receive $10,000 a week for her third and fourth weeks in the show, $20,000 if she makes it to week five and an additional $30,000 per week through weeks eight and nine.

Her deal tops out at $50,000 per week for weeks 10 and 11 and a whopping $365,000 if she becomes one of the final two contestants.

Used to clocking up endless hours of grueling gymnastics training, Johnson will likely breeze through the compulsory 20 hours of dance training per week.

However, should she get struck down by an injury on the accident-prone show, her contract makes it clear that that DWTS has no liability.

According to TMZ, the contract reads, "Artist releases Producer, Network ... from any and all claims ... arising from physical or other injury resulting from Artist's appearance in the Series."

Phoenix's Serial Shooter gets 6 death sentences

Phoenix's Serial Shooter gets 6 death sentences

By JACQUES BILLEAUD – March 27, 2009

PHOENIX (AP) — The main suspect in the Phoenix Serial Shooter attacks was sentenced to death Friday for six murders that put the city on edge for nearly two years.

Dale Hausner was convicted earlier this month of killing six people and attacking 19 others in random nighttime shootings in 2005 and 2006.

As the jury's decisions were announced, the former janitor was expressionless, keeping his head down as he flipped through papers in front of him. Before being led out of the courtroom, Hausner thanked the judge who presided over his trial.

Hausner's mother was whisked out of the courtroom through a back door by one of his lawyers. One of the attorneys, Tim Agan, wouldn't comment on the six death sentences.

Even though Hausner, 36, has denied any involvement in the attacks since his arrest in August 2006, he apologized to the families of the victims on Thursday and said he would take his punishment "like a man" if it helps them heal. He declined the opportunity to call his own witnesses and instructed his attorneys not to ask jurors for leniency on his behalf.

He is scheduled to be sentenced Monday on 74 other convictions.

Prosecutors said Hausner preyed on pedestrians, bicyclists, dogs and horses during a 14-month conspiracy that occasionally included his brother and his former roommate, Sam Dieteman.

"It's justice as much as it can be," said Rebecca Estrada, whose 20-year-old son, David Estrada, was shot to death in Tolleson in June 2005. "The death penalty is the limit and that's what he deserves."

Michael Anthony Scerbo, a spokesman for the Maricopa County Attorney's Office, which prosecuted the case, wouldn't comment on the sentences.

The Serial Shooter attacks and an unrelated serial killer case kept police and neighborhood watch groups on high alert in the summer of 2006. Families stayed inside as police searched for the killers. Authorities called meetings that drew hundreds of people.

Police said their big break came when one of Dieteman's drinking buddies, Ron Horton, called them to say Dieteman had bragged about shooting people.

"They called it 'RV'ing.' Random Recreational Violence," Horton told The Associated Press in a 2006 interview. Horton died last year.

Dieteman pleaded guilty to two of the killings and is awaiting sentencing. He testified against Hausner, saying he and his roommate cruised around late at night looking for strangers to shoot. He could also face the death penalty.

Dieteman said Hausner professed a hatred for prostitutes and homeless people as they looked for victims in areas frequented by streetwalkers. Still, Dieteman said, Hausner never explained why he wanted to shoot people.

Hausner cast himself as a busy divorced father of a sick daughter, a ladies' man and a go-getter with side jobs in standup comedy, bartending and boxing photography. He also made an appearance in a TV commercial for a personal injury law firm.

He has suggested that Dieteman may have carried out some of the attacks, saying his roommate could have taken his car.

Hausner offered alibis that included being at his girlfriends' houses, shopping at the grocery store, driving in another part of the Phoenix area or taking care of his daughter.

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Higher income taxes, steeper service cuts in store for California

By Mike Zapler

Mercury News Sacramento Bureau

Posted: 03/27/2009

SACRAMENTO — California residents will pay an additional personal income surtax while aid for low-income people will be slashed under a decision announced today by two senior finance officials.

The ruling by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's finance director, Mike Genest, and Treasurer Bill Lockyer was tied to the budget plan Schwarzenegger signed late last month to close the state's $40 billion deficit. The deal included $2.8 billion in extra income taxes and program cuts, but they would be nullified if the state received enough money from the federal stimulus package.

Specifically, the budget agreement said California would have to receive at least $10 billion from the feds to help offset its deficit through mid-2010. But Genest and Lockyer said today that the stimulus package, which was still being crafted when the governor and lawmakers were negotiating the budget, would deliver only $8.17 billion toward that end.

So instead of a .125 percent personal income tax surcharge, taxpayers across all income levels face an extra charge of .25 percent. The surtax will generate an estimated $1.8 billion and cost a family of three making $80,000 about $100 more each year.

Nearly $1 billion in program cuts will also go forward. Low-income people enrolled in Medi-Cal will lose their dental coverage; cash payments for welfare recipients, the elderly and disabled will be reduced; wages for workers who care for the elderly and disabled in their homes will be cut; and the budgets of the state's university and court system will be trimmed. Universities, which were already facing steep cuts, will see their budgets shaved by another $100 million.

In a letter explaining the decision, Lockyer acknowledged "all of these consequences, fiscal and human," and said he was particularly troubled by the elimination of dental benefits and reduction of in-home workers' salaries. Both programs receive matching funds from the federal government, Lockyer noted, exacerbating the impact of the cuts.

"I strongly urge the governor and Legislature to reconsider these two programmatic cuts before they take effect on July 1," Lockyer wrote.

Critics accused the governor and treasurer of low-balling the amount of stimulus dollars the state will receive to offset the deficit. For example, they did not count nearly $5 billion in federal education money the state is expecting to receive, saying it's unclear how it would be spent.

But advocates for the poor said those funds almost certainly will be used to counter state cuts to public schools and therefore should have been counted toward the $10 billion threshold.

"The cuts to dental and other medical benefits, on top of all the other cuts to programs that help low-income people, are really devastating," said Beth Capell, a lobbyist for Health Access, which advocates for expanded health care coverage for lower- and working-class people. "We heard testimony from doctors who used to pull teeth in the emergency room when Medi-cal did not include dental coverage. We will go back to that era."

Capell said opponents are "considering our options" for trying to reverse the program cuts.

The Service Employees International Union is holding demonstrations across the state today, including one in Sunnyvale, to protest the cuts.

Report: Reid Says Roberts 'Didn't Tell Us the Truth'

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid suggests Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts misled senators into believing he was not too conservative.

FOXNews.com

Friday, March 27, 2009

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Friday that Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts did not "tell us the truth" during his 2005 confirmation hearings, suggesting Roberts misled senators into believing he was more moderate than he really was.

According to Politico.com, Reid complained about Roberts during a discussion hosted by the Christian Science Monitor.

"Roberts didn't tell us the truth. At least (Samuel) Alito told us who he was," Reid said, according to the article.

"But we're stuck with those two young men, and we'll try to change by having some moderates in the federal courts system as time goes on -- I think that will happen."

According to Politico.com, while Reid said Democrats will try to bring more moderates to the bench, he said they will not try to block Republicans' ability to filibuster nominees.

Click here to read the full story on Reid at Politico.com.

American Idol predictions: Megan Joy Corkrey or Michael Sarver are gone

March 26, 2009

American Idol predictions: Megan Joy Corkrey or Michael Sarver are gone

American Idol will cut Michael Sarver or Megan Joy Corkrey tonight -- with Scott MacIntyre showing up in the bottom three for the first time in the finals, according to our American Idol predictors.

Unlike last week we all agreed on the bottom three this week... which should make Anoop Desai, Allison Iraheta and Lil Roundsnervous!

Oh well--for the first time this season Verne has to share first place, with Glenn. Since they have the same picks, look for the two-headed monster on top of the standings again next week.

Are we wrong, or dead on? Has this been an easy season to predict, or a tricky one? Add your two cents in the comments, below.

Verne Gay (12-3)
-Michael Sarver (will be cut)
-Megan Joy Corkrey
-Scott MacIntyre

Glenn Gamboa (12-3)
-Michael Sarver (will be cut)
-Megan Joy Corkrey
-Scott MacIntyre

Eileen Fredes (11-4)
-Megan Joy Corkrey (will be cut)
-Scott MacIntyre
-Michael Sarver

Mystery Lauren (9-6)
-Megan Joy Corkrey (will be cut)
-Scott MacIntyre
-Michael Sarver

Daniel Bubbeo (9-6)
-Michael Sarver (will be cut)
-Megan Joy Corkrey
-Scott MacIntyre

Jamshid Mousavinezhad (8-7)
-Michael Sarver (will be cut)
-Megan Joy Corkrey
-Scott MacIntyre

Anne Bratskeir (2-1)
-Michael Sarver (will be cut)
-Megan Joy Corkrey
-Scott MacIntyre

Fargo racing to protect against rising river

By Monica Davey

Published: March 26, 2009

FARGO, North Dakota: Volunteers, many of them cold and weary after loading sandbags all night, were racing on Thursday to raise dikes protecting this city still higher, hoping to hold back the Red River, which is expected to reach record levels by Saturday.

In one sign of this city's intensifying fears about the flooding threat, hundreds of workers on Thursday began building a second set of dikes — inside the primary, 12-mile long dike — to protect Fargo's main services, like a water plant and a waste water facility.

"We're in uncharted territory," Dennis Walaker, the mayor of this city, said after a morning meeting of city officials. Noting that the river's waters had risen another 3 feet in the last day, Mr. Walaker said he gave the city a "3- or maybe 4-to-1 shot at winning" its battle with the flood. "We're still optimistic," he said.

Worries of major flooding extend well beyond Fargo. Throughout parts of North Dakota and western Minnesota, residents are bracing for the Red River, nearby streams and rivers and the Missouri River to spill their banks — the result, experts said, of a combination of factors. In the fall, the flat terrain here was saturated by rain, followed by a winter of heavy snow, and now — as so much snow began melting — came days more of rain and, on Wednesday, half a foot of snow in some places.

All around, the frozen conditions were complicating efforts to stop the flooding. In Fargo, where the Red River marks the border with Moorhead, Minnesota, volunteers in snowsuits on Wednesday told of icy conditions on the dikes they were building but could barely see at times in the falling snow.

Snowplows focused all their efforts on clearing roads for flatbed trucks carrying sandbags and were escorted by police cars with sirens blaring. One concern, some officials said, was whether so many sandbags would function properly and hold back the river waters if they became frozen.

And near Bismarck, where some residents were evacuated and the Legislature closed down on Wednesday, the authorities used explosives to begin breaking up several large ice jams (some with frozen chunks the size of cars) on the Missouri that they feared could dam the river or divert water in unexpected ways.

In this city of 90,000, the state's most populous, political leaders said they expected to offer details of an evacuation plan later on Thursday. The authorities acknowledged that any evacuation would be complicated by many changing factors — roads that were already blocked by rising water, the possibility of overland flooding in unexpected directions, and uncertainty about where the levee would breach if it did.

The mayor said an evacuation had never been tried in Fargo, even after a major tornado more than half a century ago. Some residents, who live in homes that would not be protected by the second ring of dikes, expressed fear that the city's decision to quickly build those dikes indicated that Fargo officials had now given up on saving their properties.

"We are not abandoning anybody," Mayor Walaker said. "That was never the intent." Still, the mayor said that given the record levels now expected here, the city was forced to look for ways to save the bulk of the city and its crucial infrastructure, in case the first protections were to fail.

Already, south of the city, near the Red River and the Wild Rice River, 46 residents (and 12 pets) had to be rescued by boat from homes in which water had pressed through sandbags and made its way into first floors, said Sheriff Paul Laney of Cass County. Sheriff Laney said his officers were headed off on boats to make 11 additional rescues on Thursday.

While much of life stood still in Fargo — schools closed, trials in the municipal court were suspended, as was home garbage collection — hundreds of people swarmed the floor of the Fargodome, the home of North Dakota State University's football team and where a rodeo had been scheduled for this week.

In the center of the stadium, mountains of clay- and rock-filled sand were surrounded by college students, children, members of the National Guard and ordinary residents, all bearing shovels and filling white sandbags. Thousands of volunteers — from places as far as Florida and Alaska — have filled 2.5 million sandbags in just five days. Little forklifts whirred around bearing pallets of bags and dump trucks drove through delivering more sand, even as volunteers offered "fresh hot cookies," neck massages and tetanus shots.

"I think my house will be O.K., but I'm here for all the people in harm's way," said Jack McCrary, 70, a retiree and Fargo resident who was spending a fourth day on Wednesday in the sandbag line.

Mr. McCrary said he had heard concerns about how the snowy, frozen conditions might affect all the flood-control efforts. Would water flow through frozen sandbags? How treacherous would it be to keep adding new bags to the tops of slippery ones?

Weather forecasters predicted that by Saturday, waters would swell to more than a foot above the level reached on April 7, 1897, when the record flood occurred here. The river should surpass that 1897 level by 7 a.m. Friday, forecasters said..

In 1997, the most recent major flood in this area, the river had been about a foot and a half lower in Fargo than forecasters are predicting this time. That year, it reached even higher levels in Grand Forks, to the north, causing damage of more than $3 billion.

In Fargo's City Hall on Wednesday, city workers, all of whom have been assigned to 12-hour shifts, were answering phone calls from residents who wanted to know what might happen to their homes. "Fargo flood line," the workers answered cheerfully. They checked addresses on city flood maps and urged people to bring items out of their basements.

"I don't want to promise anything," one worker told a caller, "but the city's going to try our best."

Katharine Q. Seelye contributed reporting from New York.

Sean Penn, Jim Carrey in line for Three Stooges flick

By The Philadelphia Inquirer
Thursday, March 26, 2009

Sean Penn and the Three Stooges? Sean as a Stooge? Variety reports that the brooding actor-director has actually consented to play Larry in Peter and Bobby Farrelly’s comedy about the American philosophical coterie "The Three Stooges."

It doesn’t sound nearly as crazy if you consider Penn’s co-stars: Benicio Del Toro is negotiating to play Moe, while Jim Carrey has agreed to put on 40 pounds to play that lovable bear, Jerome "Curly" Howard.

The Farrelly brothers, who have been trying to get a Stooges movie made for more than a decade, will start shooting in early fall.

Phil Spector jury starts deliberating murder charge

Thu Mar 26, 2009

By Jill Serjeant

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The fate of music producer Phil Spector was put in the hands of the jury on Thursday after a five month retrial on charges that he murdered a Hollywood actress in his Los Angeles home.

Spector, 69, denies murdering B-movie actress Lana Clarkson, 40, with a shot through the mouth on February 3 2003 after meeting her in a Hollywood bar only hours earlier.

His first trial ended in September 2007 with the jury deadlocked 10-2 in favor of convicting him. This time, the jury has also been given the option of finding Spector guilty of the lesser offense of manslaughter, which experts say increase the chances of a conviction.

Under California law a decision to convict or acquit must be unanimous.

The pioneer of the 1960s "Wall of Sound" recording technique who worked with stars such as The Ronettes, Cher, The Beatles and Leonard Cohen, did not testify at either trial.

Prosecutors argued that the shooting of Clarkson was part of a pattern of gunplay and violence toward women displayed by Spector in the past.

Spector's lawyers argued that Clarkson was depressed over her failing career and shot herself. They also highlighted forensic evidence and a lack of Spector's DNA on the gun that they said exonerated him.

If convicted of murder, Spector could face up to life in prison. A manslaughter conviction would result in about 8 years behind bars. Spector has been free on $1 million bail since his arrest in 2003.

(Editing by Dan Whitcomb)

Man charged with stalking Olympian Shawn Johnson

Thu Mar 26, 2009

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Drug violence: Views from Mexico

BBC, Thursday, 26 March 2009

Drug violence: Views from Mexico

Drug gang killings in Mexico claimed the lives of more than 6,000 people last year and around 1,000 so far this year.

The drug cartels are fighting both one another for control of trafficking routes into the US, and the police and troops sent to tackle them.

Here, four people living in different parts of Mexico, discuss how the fight against drugs can succeed.

NASSA HANNAN, BUSINESSMAN, TORREON

I live in northern Mexico, in one of the drugs and arms smuggling routes.

Mexico has deployed thousands of troops to tackle traffickers

Things have changed dramatically in the last year. Five people were shot close to our office on Saturday. There are killings every day. You can't go out at night anymore, you can't go to restaurants and bars.

Violence is between drug cartels, but it is a problem for innocent people if they get caught in the cross fire. The security situation is very bad and it is making the lives of ordinary Mexicans an absolute misery.

When a drug trafficking group loses some of its income, they look for other easy options. So they turn to kidnappings.

Two of my friends were kidnapped - one American and one Dutch. They paid the ransom and left the country.

The US has to tackle demand and stop money and weapons going to Mexico

This is a big industrial area with many foreign-owned companies. Many of the foreigners here can't cope anymore and are leaving.

We are thinking of relocating to another part of Mexico and we'll probably leave in a couple of months. Our company employs 25 people - what will happen to those people?

Mexico can't fight them alone. The US needs to help. If you go to the border crossing in Juarez, you'll discover that there is no control on the US end. Weapons and money are freely coming to the country to fight the military.

The US are the consumer and they do nothing to help us. The US has to tackle demand and stop money and weapons going to Mexico.

AHIME RAMIREZ, JOURNALIST, MORELIA, MICHOACAN

This city has been strongly affected by the drug violence since September 2008, when blasts tore through crowds celebrating independence day. Eight people died.

This week we've had shootings in broad daylight. People are now very scared and don't go out in the streets with the same tranquillity as before. They rush from the building to the car to minimise the chance of being caught in a shooting. Tourism has also decreased.

The drug cartels go hand in hand with power

I am a journalist and this fear makes our job more difficult. It's hard to speak to people as they become more withdrawn.

I don't think the US government's decision to militarise the borders is right. The US authorities don't respect Mexican migrants, they consider them a hassle.

Mexicans are already dying while trying to cross the desert, but I think the death toll will be greater if the US forces are involved.

The drug cartels go hand in hand with power. Unfortunately, drug-related crime is very organised, whereas we, the civil society, are not.

I think the recent protests against violence will not achieve anything, but it is a way for the people to tell our government that we don't agree with the current situation and need them to take appropriate measures to end the violence.

FERNANDO RIVERA, IT ENGINEER, BAJA CALIFORNIA

Drug trafficking has been present in this region for many years, with the Arellano Felix cartel dominating the trade with the US.

Last year, after important members of this delinquent group were arrested, a power struggle within the group started, which caused many executions and murders in the region.

We are left at the mercy of the drug cartels

Since then, our amazement by their violent expression grows every day. Decapitations, bodies dissolved in acid, executions - we've never seen anything like this before.

What worries me most is that the authorities seem to be indifferent to the violence, whether it's because of complicity or incompetence. This leaves us at the mercy of the drug cartels. Only the army has succeeded in the battle against drug trafficking in this country.

This affects the perception of foreign investors and tourists. The number of tourists here in Baja California is at its lowest in decades, mainly because the US government alerts its citizens about the violence in the region.

The only solution to the problem I can see is to get rid of the corruption within the police and those in power. Without corruption, drug trafficking will not be on such a large scale. We, the good citizens, outnumber the drug dealers.

IAN F CAMPBELL, TOURIST WEBSITE EDITOR, COZUMEL

I live in a tourist resort, close to Cancun. Where we are is a completely different country from where the problems are. There's been no violence here whatsoever.

The violence is confined to a few border areas and within the drug cartels while the rest of the country is peaceful.

The tourist trade forms an important part of Mexico's economy

The problem is, you don't get that impression when watching the news. The international media's hysterical approach is having a negative impact on the tourism industry here. American tourists are cancelling their holidays in Mexico for fear that there is violence everywhere.

In addition, the US has updated its travel advisory asking citizens to be careful when visiting certain areas.

Many US teenagers go to Mexico during the spring holiday and the other day Fox news was saying: Don't let your kids go to Mexico, they may never come back!

The media like to sensationalise the news - we had a similar problem a few years ago when there was a hurricane.

This is bad news for many thousands of Mexicans who rely on the tourism industry to feed their families.

The US is getting worried about the drug-related violence here and is beginning to acknowledge that this is not just Mexico's problem. But it needs to do more to reduce the demand for consumption and to make sure that its arms don't cross the border with Mexico.

Obama goes online for town hall meeting

(CNN, March 26, 2009) -- President Obama hosted what amounted to an interactive fireside chat Thursday, answering questions from people around the country in the first online town hall discussion ever hosted at the White House.

President Obama fields questions Thursday in an online town hall meeting.

Standing in front of a TV screen and joined by a live audience, the president fielded online questions concerning education, the mortgage crisis, job outsourcing, national service, assistance for veterans and health care.

Four of the six virtual questions were displayed on the screen in a written format; the other two were video submissions.

Almost 93,000 people submitted more than 104,000 questions to the administration's Web site, WhiteHouse.gov, which streamed live video of the meeting.

Obama had promised to answer the most popular questions as decided by online votes; the site had recorded more than 3.6 million votes for specific questions by the time voting closed Thursday morning.

Obama also fielded questions from the audience joining him in the East Room of the White House.

As the town hall got under way, the president repeatedly steered the discussion toward larger economic themes, most notably the recent spike in job losses. He warned that even if the economy has already bottomed out, unemployment probably would continue to get worse. Watch Obama warn that job losses could continue »

Unemployment, he said, is typically a lagging economic indicator

In a lighthearted moment, the president said that the White House had received many questions about the potential economic upside of legalizing marijuana. Obama did not display any of the questions, but he did briefly address the topic. Watch Obama say legalizing marijuana 'not a good strategy' »

"This was a fairly popular question. ... I don't know what this says about the online audience," the president joked. "No, I don't think this is a good strategy to grow our economy."

Obama also discussed education reform, an issue he has championed during the 2008 presidential election and during his time in the White House.

Obama, responding to a question about school reform, said more money is needed to bring about change. Watch Obama says schools need more funding »

"So a lot of times in Washington, we get an argument about money versus reform. And the key thing to understand about our education system is we need more resources and we need reform," he said. "If we just put more money into a system that's designed for the 19th century and we're in the 21st, we're not going to get the educational outcomes we need."

Obama, who revolutionized the use of technology as a political tool during his campaign, is the first president to address questions from the public live on the Internet. By allowing people to submit any question they want and answering selected ones live on the Web, the administration hopes to create a more transparent style of governing that will help win public support, political observers say.

"This is just the tip of the iceberg," said Don Tapscott, author of "Growing Up Digital," a book exploring the generation that has grown up on the Web.

"It turns out that the Internet is a new medium of human communication that not only helps you get elected, it changes the way you govern." Watch more on Obama's online appeal »

Former presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton engaged in online chats with citizens, but neither relied on the Internet as a platform for reaching the American public as Obama does, said Andrew Rasiej, co-founder of the Personal Democracy Forum and the techPresident blog.

"It's changing the relationship between the president and the country," Rasiej said. "It's building on a 21st-century information-age platform. We want to make sure our president isn't stuck in a bubble."

Some observers wondered whether Obama's creative social media initiatives, dubbed Obama 2.0, would continue once he entered office. But Thursday's online meeting -- potentially the first of many -- reaffirms his commitment to engaging with Americans through technology, Rasiej said.

Adam Ostrow, editor of Mashable.com, a guide to social media, says the online town hall-style meeting will encourage Americans to get involved beyond the election.

"It gives people a sense of participation and [of being] able to shape some of the decisions that will be made," he said.

Meet Robo-Croc: Ten-foot crocodile gets four metal plates and 41 screws in his head after reconstructive surgery

By Mail Foreign Service
18th March 2009

A 10-foot crocodile is recuperating in a Florida zoo after undergoing reconstructive surgery.

The ground breaking four-hour operation took place at Miami's Metrozoo facility yesterday.

The giant male predator, affectionately named Robo-Croc following the operation, had been close to death after having its head crushed by a car in the Florida Keys last year.

Enlarge

All patched up: Robo-Croc recuperates after the four metal plates and 41 screws are drilled into his head

Staff took four hours to put Robo-Croc's head back together during the surgery

With its snout hanging limp, the distressed animal has not eaten for three months.

Fearing the worst vets at the zoo had almost given up hope of saving the crocodile before Douglas Mader, of the Marathon Veterinary Hospital, gave him a final chance - by reconstructing the reptile's dry, textured face.

Robo-Croc'had two metal rods placed between its eyes extending down to the bridge of its nose, and another on each side.

Forty-one metal screws were drilled into its hide, keeping the skull and snout together.

Staff work on Robo-Croc

The metal rods holding Robo-Croc's broken jaws together

'Robo-Croc is doing just fine,' said Ron Magill, spokesman for Miami Metrozoo. 'We have a certain responsibility to our endangered, native species and it was either he die on the table today, or die a horrible, slow death.

'There has been reconstructive surgery undertaken on crocodiles before but not to this extent as far as we know.

'We didn't even know if he would survive the surgery so we are delighted that he is now recuperating.

But Robo-Croc is not out of the woods yet.

In the best-case scenario, Mader hopes he will be able to open his mouth and eat again.

'Now its a case of time, making sure the wounds don't become infected and then eventually making sure he has a good meal,' he said.

But if the crocodile does survive Magill said, it will be, the most remarkable thing he has seen in his 30 years at Metrozoo.

'American Idol': On the scene at the Top 11 results night

Mar 19, 2009 | by Adam B. Vary

Categories: 'American Idol 2009', On the Scene

I'm sorry to start things at the end, dear readers, but man do I miss David Cook. Lemme 'splain: The season 7 American Idol champeen pre-recorded an upcoming results show performance after last night's live show, and the dude was so smoothly professional, so calm and even-keeled, that it reminded me just how, well, smoothly professional, calm and even-keeled he was throughout his march towards the Idol crown last year. No Matt Giraud-esque flop sweat, no Danny Gokey-ish smarm, no Adam Lambert-ian showboating, no Megan Joy-ful dance spasms -- just good, ole fashioned musicianship, confidence and charm. And as an added bonus (and this is the part of the recap where we jump all the way back to the beginning and start things again in chronology), when Cory the Warm Up Comic commanded the audience to "get up on your feet!" before last night's live results show, Cook's mother and younger brother, sitting a few rows away from me, remained firmly in their seats. That alone is more than enough to sustain my snark demon, Smirkelstilskin, for weeks.

Alas, the Desai family hasn't yet been inured to Cory the WUC's "charms," since the man I believe is Anoop's dad allowed himself to be dragged on stage so he could, yes, "shake that booty." (First Lil's pap, and then Anoop's? Is this going to be a regular thing now? Because Smirkel's hissing into my ear that he would very much like it to be.) The judges were brought in with a particularly seizure-inducing lighting package, and Kara gave Randy, Paula and Simon each both-arms-around-the-body, sway-from-side-to-side, please-please-please-think-of-me-as-one-of-you hugs as they arrived at the judges' table. Ryan entered, fist-bumped Cory, I realized I could never fist bump again, and Debbie the Stage Manager counted us into the show, stopping herself around the T-minus 12 seconds mark to compliment the judges for actually arriving with time to spare: "I think that was a record, thank you judges!"

During the Tuesday recap video package, the stagehands started wheeling out a piano, and I began wondering if Brad Paisley was a closet pianist until Debbie led Scott to the piano bench and the Idols all took their places for the group number. Smirkel began to shrink to half his size when he realized Scott would not be dancing for us again, but then sprouted back to vibrant life after Megan Joy (who I shall forevermore be referring to as M.Jo) threw her leg almost back over her head when she slipped "dancing" up to the piano. During the ad break, the Idols bizarrely kept up their exaggerated laughing and kidding around, giving me acid flashbacks to The Partridge Family, which is kinda weird, since I've never actually seen an episode of The Partridge Family. As Kara tried to leave, Debbie told her (and the rest of the Idol Thunderdome) that "it's only one-and-a-half minutes, Kara, it's only one-and-a-half minutes!" Kara left anyway, but, it should be noted, she was also the first judge back to her seat. You do not cross Debbie.

The footage of Jorge and Jasmine's farewell dinner was so sweet that not only do Smirkel and I have anything snarky to say about it, but the judges didn't talk through pretty much the entire package. It certainly threw some cold water on the Idols' garrulousness, too; in contrast to their Chatty Cathy party at last week's results show, they all remained rather somber and silent throughout the rest of the night. Things certainly didn't get any brighter when Allison and Sarver were pulled into the top three; after we entered into the ad break, Alexis mouthed an incredulous (and, in hindsight, inauspicious) "What?!" And with that, the Idols were whisked away as the stagehands set up for Brad Paisley (pictured) and his band. (Let me just say that I'm kinda tickled by the implication that Carrie Underwood and David Cook, two people who owe their careers to Idol, are so on-the-go that they cannot sing their Idol segments live, but Brad Paisley has absolutely no problem squeezing the show into his schedule.)

The judges came back into the studio in time for the girl Ryan accidentally hit with that water balloon to show Simon and the Idol host the precise splash point on one of her calf-high boots. It looked to me like Simon then began debating Ryan through the beginning of Brad Paisley's performance about whether Ryan owed the woman a single replacement boot, or a brand new pair of them. After Paisley finished and we went into an ad break, Randy walked up to Paisley for a firm bro hug, then brought him back to the judges table to meet Simon, Paula and Kara. The judges continued talking after the country star made his exit, but Paula was turned to face Simon in such a way that her chair completely blocked Kara from joining the conversation. Looks like your patented super-duper hugs didn't work, Kara; might I suggest gift baskets for next week?

We came back from the break, and the moment Ryan asked Scott to stand up, Alexis and Adam shot each other a knowing look -- "Whoa boy," said their eyes, "that means it's down to us" -- and I was happy to see that at least some of the Idols are wise to the producers' results show seating chart shenanigans. Alexis was bottom three'd, Allison got her reprieve, and we went to the ad break. Back at the benches, Allison took a moment to lean back in relief, and then headed to the other side of her row to give Scott and M.Jo a hug. M.Jo, however, had other plans, swaddling the faux-redhead like her favoritest doll in the world, which Smirkel thought was a pretty bald-faced ploy to use outward affection to infect her competition with Influenza B. I, on the other hand, would never dream of thinking such a thing.

Once the lights went dark for Carrie Underwood and Randy Travis' pre-taped duet of "I Told You So," things got pretty quiet until some be-flashlighted PAs guided the judges back to their seats and it became pretty clear that some not-so-subtle TV sleight-of-hand was afoot. Did any of you buy that, after Carrie and Mr. Travis finished, they were "sitting" just "off-camera" from Ryan, Alexis and Sarver? (No, I didn't think so.) We went into the final ad break, the judges stuck around and got makeup retouches, Debbie brought Alexis and Sarver center stage, and I caught Paula hugging Randy from behind, her head resting on his arm. I don't exactly appreciate having this image in my head, but not so much that I don't want to share it with all of you. Aw, you're welcome!

Ryan sent Sarver back to the benches, and when Simon acknowledged that the judges had only considered saving Alexis, the aw-shucks roughneck demonstrated why he was one of my very favorite finalists to talk to during the Idol Top 13 party by simply giving a quick nod and easy smile. Alexis sang and appeared to forget her words, sparking what I'm sure will be a levelheaded and equitable debate about whether she would have performed better if Ryan and the judges hadn't made it so abundantly clear that she actually had a shot at being saved. Alas, Randy began scooting back to his spot before Alexis even reached the second verse, her fate seemingly sealed after that first crack in her voice. When Simon delivered the bad news, Allison looked especially unhappy, directing what I can only describe as a "you're just a bunch of meanies!" death stare towards the judges. (I'm kicking myself, by the by, that I neglected to make my official choice in this week's EW.com Idol Prediction Challenge, because I totally called that Alexis -- who found herself in the dangerous position of being neither memorably good nor all that memorably bad on Tuesday night -- was going home. Really, I did. Truly! Ask my boss!)

The Idols swarmed Alexis during her Idol journey package, the show came to a close, and Kara was the first judge to commence the weekly ritual of passing along some sage advice with a dollop of sorry-we-ditched-you consolation. Paula and Randy followed, and quickly the tiny mother with the pink streak in her hair was surrounded by all four judges, Simon standing before her with his usual one-armed hug and I'm-sorry-but-not-that-sorry hand squeeze.

The on stage commiseration was cut short, however, by the stagehands carting out the results show benches and whisking in David Cook's band equipment. As they set up an eight-piece string section, what looked like eight amps for as many as four guitars, and your standard full drum set, Cory continued the time-killing technique that worked so uncommonly well on Tuesday while we waited for Carrie Underwood's pre-taped setup: Pulling volunteers from the audience to sing for the four stand-in judges. Tuesday, we were treated to the soaring gospel tones of Lil Rounds' big sister Tiffany. Last night, well, after a less-than-stirring "The Star Spangled Banner," a kinda unrecognizable interpretation of the Beatles' "Oh! Darling," and a semi-pro rock climber mumbling a Bloc Party song I couldn't quite make out, let's just hope Cory doesn't employ this tactic any time soon. (Which means, of course, he'll be doing it for the rest of eternity.)

Finally, after a half-hour wait, Ryan came back out to introduce David Cook. Debbie joked that after Cook's performance, "We're going to do a group number, Cookie's favorite part of the shows!" And Cook delivered a solid, polished rendition of his new single "Come Back To Me." When he was finished, some fans screamed "We love you David!" as Cook was speaking with Ryan on-camera, and Cook didn't miss a beat, replying back, almost quizzically, "Not as much as I love you!?" Oh, wait, I almost forgot! Right before Ryan and Cook came out, two willowy blond girls were plucked from the Swaybot pit and brought backstage. Thankfully, we quickly learned after Cook's song that the girls were singled out only as pretty faces worthy of delivering a framed platinum record to Cook on the air. The reigning Idol reminisced about spending a year selling just 1,000 copies of the self-published record he made pre-Idol in 2006, and marveled that he could now move a million copies in just four months. Then, once the taping was over, Cook walked right up to his mom -- who had been moved, with his younger brother, to a seat in the front row -- and presented his framed platinum record to her. I mean, how could you not love this guy?

All right, PopWatchers, that's it for me and Smirkel for the next few weeks, but don't you worry a whit, because, that's right, the one and only Whitney "Aunt Whittlz" Pastorek will be taking on the Idol on-the-scene duties, and she's almost certainly sure to deepen her highly entertaining obsession with Mr. Seacrest. (The guy's not going to know what hit him.) Until then, dear readers, tell me, would you have sent Alexis packing based on her final performance? Does it matter to you if a guest performer is singing live or on tape? And now that Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood and David Cook have all paid their respective visits to the Idol Thunderdome, which former Idols would you like to next return to their pop culture alma mater?

Photo Credit: Ray Mickshaw/Fox

Wal-Mart awards $2 billion to U.S. hourly employees

Wal-Mart awards $2 billion to U.S. hourly employees

By Andria Cheng, MarketWatch

March 19, 2009

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- At a time when many companies have curtailed bonuses and merit raises, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Thursday it is increasing its incentives to its U.S. hourly associates by 11% to about $2 billion.

In a memo to employees Thursday, Wal-Mart CEO Mike Duke said the award includes $933.6 million in bonuses, which jumped by almost half from last year, $788.8 million in profit sharing and 401(k) contributions, and millions of dollars in merchandise discounts and contributions to the associate stock purchase plan.

About 1 million of the company's employees, who earn an average hourly rate of $10.83, received a bonus Thursday, Wal-Mart (WMT 49.95, -0.49, -1.0%) spokesman David Tovar said in an interview.

The world's largest retailer has outpaced its rivals with its low-price message that clicks with budget-conscious shoppers, analysts have said. Wal-Mart is the No. 2 best performer in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, after McDonald's Corp. (MCD 54.71, -0.71, -1.3%) . Wal-Mart shares are down 1.5% in the past 12 months compared with the 39% decline in the Dow.

"Our strategy is working and we're building momentum," Duke said in the memo.

Wal-Mart (WMT 49.95, -0.49, -1.0%) , through its "Save Money. Live Better" marketing tagline, generated February same-store sales gain of 5.1%, compared with the flat industry rate and a 4.1% drop at its top discount rival Target Corp. (TGT 31.43, -0.15, -0.5%) .

Wal-Mart profit last year rose 5.2% to $13.4 billion. Sales jumped 7.2% to $401.2 billion.

On top of its price message, analysts have credited Wal-Mart with its moves to update stores, improve customer service, introduce products such as its exclusive l.e.i. line of teen apparel and jump faster on popular trends such as staging events and merchandise tied to the popular teen vampire movie "Twilight."

Bonus and other incentive plans for the company's overseas employees are being worked out separately, Tovar said. The company's executives and other employees also are receiving merit raises as normal.

Andria Cheng is a MarketWatch reporter based in New York.