Agency changes name of building to replace towers destroyed on 9/11
NEW YORK - The Freedom Tower is out. One World Trade Center is in.
The agency that owns the site says that the signature 1,776-foot skyscraper replacing the towers destroyed on Sept. 11, 2001, will be known as One World Trade Center.
The building under construction at the site was named the Freedom Tower in the first master plan. Officials at the time said the tallest, most symbolic of five planned towers at the site would demonstrate the country’s triumph over terrorism.
WASHINGTON — Call it Round Two of the news conference, with a big Internet twist.
President Barack Obama took questions from the White House press corps on Tuesday in a prime-time, East Room session that represented the most formal and time-honored of president-and-reporter interactions. On Thursday, he is taking to that same room for another public grilling _ this time by regular folks armed with questions submitted via the Internet and in person, as part of a political strategy to engage Americans directly.
“It’s a way for the president to do what he enjoys doing out on the road, but saves on gas,” press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters Wednesday.
There was more than one whip at last night’s Britney Spears concert in Washington DC.
GOP aides confirmed to the Huffington Post that House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) attended the pop concert at the Verizon Center, where Britney appeared on stage brandishing a leather lash.
One House GOP leadership aide said Cantor went at the request of a fundraiser. “If suffering through a Britney Spears concert will raise one more dime to help Republicans take back the House, then I’m glad Cantor’s willing to do it.”
A House Democratic aide shot back, “Looks like Eric Cantor’s not that innocent.”
The gossip blog Wonkette first reported the Cantor sighting on Wednesday afternoon, and subsequently ran a quote from Cantor’s office alleging that Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu was also in attendance.
But Landrieu’s office denies the charge. An aide insists that numerous witnesses can place the Senator at Matchbox during that time (a bar/restaurant that is suspiciously close to where Spears performed).
But the aide held firm. “I can assure you she was not at the concert,” he said. Nor did she attend the show after the meal. Instead, she went to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee’s annual spring reception, he said.
About 700 swimmers taking part in a race Sunday off Sydney, Australia, seemed oblivious that danger was lurking just a stone’s throw away. A hammerhead shark was swimming near them, and another, smaller shark was in the water under them.
This video below, from ITN, captures the drama. The camera was able to pick up the hammerhead, but it wasn’t able to get an image of the other interloper.
Most of the competitors appeared to be unaware of the sharks’ presence. Race winner Chris Allan did see authorities put up a shark signal as he was swimming, but he seemed to take it in stride. “I figure [the sharks] had 700 of us to choose from and they couldn’t decide, by the looks of things,” he told ITV.com.
The gallery below includes three shots from the race. Keep clicking for photos from recent and notable shark attacks, including information on a spate of attacks earlier this year off Australia’s coast.
Police investigate disturbance at Lohan friend Sam Ronson’s house Saturday, but leave without apprehending Lohan.
Lindsay Lohan’s attorney, Shawn Chapman Holley, released a statement on Saturday (March 14) about the warrant for the actress’ arrest, calling the situation a “misunderstanding.”
“Since her case was resolved, Ms. Lohan has been in compliance with all the terms and conditions of her probation and all orders of the court,” the statement reads, according to People.com. “The warrant issued on Friday was, in our view, born out of a misunderstanding which I am confident I can clear up next week.”
A hearing for Lohan is set for Monday morning in a Beverly Hills, California, court, the site reported. “The judge apparently has indicated that Ms. Lohan should be in attendance,” said Los Angeles District Attorney spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons. Lohan, 22, is serving a three-year probation term for a 2007 DUI incident.
“We are not actively looking for Ms. Lohan at this time,” Beverly Hills Police Lieutenant Mark Rosen said at a Saturday press conference. “We are not anticipating her surrender this weekend. But if she comes in contact with police, she’s subject to arrest. As for why we’re not actively looking for her, that’s not our procedure for this type of warrant. Her attorney is hoping to resolve this issue in the coming week. If it’s not resolved, I’m sure we’ll negotiate her voluntary surrender.”
White House officials and some members of Congress reacted strongly Sunday to news that insurance giant AIG had intended to pay out $165 million in bonuses and compensation. The company has received at least $170 billion in federal bailout money.
Under pressure from the Treasury, AIG scaled back the bonus plans and pledged to reduce 2009 bonuses — or “retention payments” — by at least 30 percent. That did little to temper outrage at the initial plan, however.
“There are a lot of terrible things that have happened in the last 18 months, but what’s happened at AIG is the most outrageous,” Lawrence Summers, head of the National Economic Council, told ABC’s “This Week.”
NEW YORK, March 10 - The dollar slid against most major currencies on Tuesday as comments by Citigroup’s chief executive that the bank was profitable in the first two months of 2009 boosted stocks and prompted investors to pare back safe-haven bids on the greenback.
The improvement in risk appetite spurred a bounce in the euro, which rose to two-week highs versus the dollar. But analysts cautioned the euro’s gains could be fleeting as the global macroeconomic environment and worries about banking systems worldwide remain supportive of the dollar as the world’s reserve currency.
The yen rose and fell against the dollar over the session, with doubts about the Japanese currency’s status as a safe haven keeping trading in tight ranges, traders said.
The risk went up by 7.5% for every five degree Celsius increase in
temperature revealed the study of more than 7,000 patients, published
in Neurology.
The same applied to people who suffer from non-migraine headaches too.
Although you can’t alter the weather, people can watch the forecast and pop a pill to avert attacks, the authors say.
As well as temperature, people might want to check
air pressure too, as lower barometer readings over the past couple of
days were also linked with migraines, although less strongly.
The study looked at people attending the emergency department of a
large US hospital for advice about a headache at any point during a
seven year period.
Overall, 2,250 were diagnosed with migraine and 4,803 with “tension” or “unspecified” headaches.
Using meteorological and pollutant monitors, the researchers
then compared measurements of a number of environmental factors during
the days leading up to and again some weeks after a patient’s hospital
visit.
North Korea says it has put its military on full combat alert in advance of a big military exercise by US and South Korean forces.
The official news agency called the maneuvers a dangerous provocation.
North Korea has warned that any attempt to shoot down a satellite it says it plans to launch will result in war.
The South and the US believe Pyongyang could be preparing to test-fire a long-range missile under the guise of a satellite launch.
On Friday, the North said that the risk of conflict meant it could no longer guarantee the safety of commercial flights through airspace it controls off the east coast.
North Korea says it has put its military on full combat alert in advance of a big military exercise by US and South Korean forces.
The official news agency called the maneuvers a dangerous provocation.
North Korea has warned that any attempt to shoot down a satellite it says it plans to launch will result in war.
The South and the US believe Pyongyang could be preparing to test-fire a long-range missile under the guise of a satellite launch.
On Friday, the North said that the risk of conflict meant it could no longer guarantee the safety of commercial flights through airspace it controls off the east coast.
While Chris Brown is spending late nights in the recording studio, girlfriend Rihanna is also focusing on new music, one month after being brutally attacked by her longtime love.
Her Grammy-winning producer Adonis Shropshire tells Hiphollywood.com that the 21-year-old “Disturbia” singer is easing back into her work.
“You have to remember, she’s a kid still,” he says. “So with anybody who goes through something in the world, you have to bring yourself out of it, so I guess her refuge is her music.”
Shropshire, who has worked with Brown, Gwen Stefani, Mariah Carey and Usher, says fans can expect to hear something similar to Rihanna’s current sound.
“She always brings her best whenever she steps onto the stage or the studio,” he says. “This is definitely going to be an eclipse of what she’s done before. It’s going to be hot.”
While Chris Brown is spending late nights in the recording studio, girlfriend Rihanna is also focusing on new music, one month after being brutally attacked by her longtime love.
Her Grammy-winning producer Adonis Shropshire tells Hiphollywood.com that the 21-year-old “Disturbia” singer is easing back into her work.
“You have to remember, she’s a kid still,” he says. “So with anybody who goes through something in the world, you have to bring yourself out of it, so I guess her refuge is her music.”
Shropshire, who has worked with Brown, Gwen Stefani, Mariah Carey and Usher, says fans can expect to hear something similar to Rihanna’s current sound.
“She always brings her best whenever she steps onto the stage or the studio,” he says. “This is definitely going to be an eclipse of what she’s done before. It’s going to be hot.”
The global economy is likely to shrink for the first time since World War II, and trade will decline by the most in 80 years, the World Bank said today.
The World Bank’s assessment is more pessimistic than an International Monetary Fund report in January predicting 0.5 percent global growth this year. The Washington-based World Bank didn’t provide a specific estimate in its report.
World growth will be 5 percent below its potential, the bank said. Developing nations will bear the brunt of the contraction. They will face a shortfall of between $270 billion and $700 billion to pay for imports and service debts, the bank said.
“We need to react in real time to a growing crisis that is hurting people in developing countries,” said World Bank President Robert Zoellick in a statement. Action is needed by governments and multilateral lenders “to avoid social and political unrest.”
East Asia will be hit the hardest by the decline in global commerce, the bank said. Global industrial production is expected to be as much as 15 percent lower than in 2008.
The World Bank said that a surge of debt issuance by rich nations risks “crowding out many developing country borrowers, both private and public.” Emerging nations that can access capital markets will be forced to pay higher rates of interest.
The report said that 94 out of 116 developing countries had experienced a slowdown in economic growth, with poverty increasing in 43. The result, the bank said, would be growing dependence on foreign aid.
Justin Lin, the bank’s chief economist, said that developed nations should funnel part of their stimulus spending to poorer countries where it would be more effective at boosting demand. Channeling infrastructure investment to the developing world can have a “bigger bang for the buck,” he said.
Churchgoers outside the Maryville First Baptist Church in Maryville, Ill., after a shooting on Sunday.
A pastor was shot to death and two congregants were stabbed Sunday at a church in this village near St. Louis, the police said.
A man strode down the aisle of First Baptist Church shortly after 8 a.m. and briefly spoke with the Rev. Fred Winters, then pulled out a .45-caliber semiautomatic pistol and began firing until it jammed, said Larry G. Trent, director of the Illinois State Police.
Churchgoers wrestled the gunman to the ground as he waved a knife, slashing himself and two other people, Mr. Trent said.
None of the 150-or-so congregants seemed to recognize the gunman. Investigators do not know details of Mr. Winters’s conversation with him but plan to review an audio recording of the service, Mr. Trent said. The service was not videotaped.
The police said Mr. Winters deflected the first of the gunman’s four rounds with a Bible, sending a confetti-like spray of paper into the air.
“We thought it was part of a drama skit,” said a congregant, Linda Cunningham, whose husband is a minister of adult education at the church. “When he shot, what you saw was confetti. We just sat there waiting for what comes next, not realizing that he had wounded the pastor.” Click Here To Continue Reading Pastor Is Shot and Killed at an Illinois Church
Sources tell TMZ Chris Brown would cop a plea, but only to a misdemeanor and with no jail time.
We’re told Brown’s people have consulted with outside legal eagles — including law school professors — who have said Rihanna’s own aggressiveness takes it out of the felony category. Sources say Rihanna was the first one to strike — slapping and striking Brown “numerous times” while he was driving, after seeing the text message from another woman. And Rihanna was fighting Brown as he punched and hurt her. We’re told much of this is reflected in the official police report based on what Rihanna told cops. As a result, they say, this is not a case that demands a felony plea.
On the other side, there are plenty of cases in which the woman engages the man in a fight but the jury convicts the male because it was an unfair fight and the man could have walked away. The photographs of Rihanna — the most graphic of which have not been seen by the public — demonstrate Brown’s superior strength. Add to that the fact that Brown had no significant injuries and it presents problems for him.
Perhaps worse for Brown, sources tell TMZ Rihanna told cops he had beaten her before and the violence had been escalating.
And there’s this. According to the detective’s note filed with the search warrant papers, Brown sent a text message to Rihanna’s assistant in which he apologized for what he had done to Rihanna and said he was getting help. That would be admissible in court and extremely damaging — as a legal admission.
Michael Phelps gives Marijuana use new light. Imagine what all the pot smokers are thinking(give me more). Michael Phelps is know as the top Olympic champion of all time. He has accomplished more in the Olympic games representing the United States than any other in the past. Do you think the government has it wrong by outlawing marijuana use and making it illegal? In the sixties and seventies everyone was smoking pot , now 30 some odd years later those same smoker’s are known as today’s baby boomers. Now there older ,wealthier, and well accomplished Americans that still smoke Marijuana. So it seams like we are living a lie. If marijuana has no lasting effect, and it calms people down at the same time increasing there heart rate and allowing blood flow for good circulation why are we so hard on users? Some of the top neurosurgeons in the nation recommend using marijuana because it’s the best natural anti-inflammatory. Well for one thing it brings in a lot of money for the local police departments and local municipality’s. Figure it costs the average user 20 dollars for a gram of the good green stuff sometimes purple. To the law the same 20 dollars of pot may represent an arrest which will cost the user a hefty fine of $1000 dollars or so and if they catch a few people smoking on the same $20 worth of pot it may mean 1000’s of dollars for the local municipality’s in fines. It seems everyone wants the green for one reason or another. And who says money isn’t the root of all evil. Micheal Phelps is more than an Olympic champion , he has brought some weight to the fight for legalizing marijuana. For people struggling with an illness , to your perfectly healthy athlete there seems to be a glimmer of hope more now than ever. In fact if you find your kids smoking pot what are you going to say “you don’t want to grow up and turn out like Michael Phelps”?
Commuters in The UK Love Their Commute . Here they are shown dancing on there way to work during a T-mobile commercial filming. I’m sure New Yorker’s have better moves but with the pending rate increases it will take lot’s more to get the New Yorkers dancing in the streets.
Alex Rodriguez didn’t want to surrender to a surgeon. For the glory of the pinstripes, he was ready to play with pain, an indication he was hoping that fate had a much smarter plan for the restoration of A-Rod’s image than his army of well-paid spin merchants.
But the labrum tear in his right hip will require arthroscopic surgery on Monday and a prolonged stay on the disabled list. For the Yankees, a vacation from A-Rod may be just what the proverbial doctor ordered. If only temporarily, the face of the team will again belong to Derek Jeter, not Rodriguez, whom we have come to recognize in a variety of poses as the deer caught in the limelight.
Maybe the Yankees will hold their own with improved pitching, for which there was no shortage of off-season expenditure, and the brand of baseball that won them four World Series during a five-year stretch almost a decade ago. This is not to say that A-Rod is fundamentally unsound; it’s more his all-thumbs approach to life, his exceedingly unsubtle presence as the reigning clubhouse hub.
One day, he is mobilizing his public-relations machine in response to steroid revelations. Another he is deploying his children as props in a training camp photo opportunity. Rodriguez’s chronic transparency and heavy-handedness has become a metaphor for the Yankees’ inelegance and inconsistency dating to the American League Championship Series in 2004, when they dominated the Red Sox for three games only to be ghost-busted into a state of championship-identity disrepair. Click Here To Continue Reading Bad News on Alex Rodriguez (A-ROD) That Could Turn Good for Yankees
As government data revealed that 651,000 more jobs disappeared in February, a sense took hold that growing joblessness may reflect a wrenching restructuring of the American economy.
The unemployment rate surged to 8.1 percent, from 7.6 percent in January, its highest level in a quarter-century. In key industries — manufacturing, financial services and retail — layoffs have accelerated so quickly in recent months as to suggest that many companies are abandoning whole areas of business.
“These jobs aren’t coming back,” said John E. Silvia, chief economist at Wachovia in Charlotte, N.C. “A lot of production either isn’t going to happen at all, or it’s going to happen somewhere other than the United States. There are going to be fewer stores, fewer factories, fewer financial services operations. Firms are making strategic decisions that they don’t want to be in their businesses.”
Commodity prices, including oil, have started to bottom out and are likely to rise in the second quarter, supported by signs China’s economic stimulus plan has taken effect, investment bank Barclays Capital forecast today.
The bank predicts the price of a barrel of oil will rise to $50 in the second quarter and to $76 by the fourth, Justin Hyde, director overseeing commodities sales in Asia, said in Hong Kong. He recommends investing in commodity markets at current prices.
President Obama declared in an interview that the United States was not winning the war in Afghanistan and opened the door to a reconciliation process in which the American military would reach out to moderate elements of the Taliban, much as it did with Sunni militias in Iraq.
Mr. Obama pointed to the success in peeling Iraqi insurgents away from more hard-core elements of Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, a strategy that many credit as much as the increase of American forces with turning the war around in the last two years. “There may be some comparable opportunities in Afghanistan and in the Pakistani region,” he said, while cautioning that solutions in Afghanistan will be complicated.
In a 35-minute conversation with The New York Times aboard Air Force One on Friday, Mr. Obama reviewed the challenges to his young administration. The president said he could not assure Americans the economy would begin growing again this year. But he pledged that he would “get all the pillars in place for recovery this year” and urged Americans not to “stuff money in their mattresses.”
WASHINGTON — President Obama is expected to announce on Monday that he is reversing Bush administration limits on federal financing for embryonic stem-cell research, White House officials said on Friday.
The officials said that advocates of unfettered stem-cell research, as well as lawmakers who support it, have been invited to a White House ceremony scheduled for 11:45 a.m. Eastern time on Monday, where the president is expected to make an announcement.
As a presidential candidate, Mr. Obama spoke out in favor of the research, so his apparent intention to undo the curbs put in place by former President George W. Bush is not surprising. But it is still momentous, involving a long-controversial intersection of science and personal moral beliefs. Click Here To Continue Reading Obama Expected to Reverse Limits on Stem Cells
The nation’s unemployment rate topped 8 percent last month and the economy shed 651,000 jobs, according to government data released this morning, further evidence of the deepening recession that has devastated the stock market and home prices and triggered the largest government recovery effort since the Great Depression.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics said the jobless rate rose from 7.6 percent in January to 8.1 percent in February, the highest rate in more than 25 years. An estimated 12.5 million Americans were unemployed in February, the data show, an increase of 851,000 since January.
The government also revised sharply upward the number of jobs the economy lost in December and January to show a total of nearly 2 million jobs disappearing in the last three months. December saw the most job losses, according to the revised figures, with 681,000, significantly more than the previous estimate of 524,000. The number of jobs lost in January rose to 655,000, up from a prior estimate of 598,000.
I just prefer to call it the new Shea. In my eye’s it will never be CITI FIELD because SHEA was built on the love of the game not big corporate sponsors.In fact if big business did not get involved in baseball maybe it would of kept the players honest instead, greed just took over like a bat out of Heck and things just don’t seem the same but one thing remains I will not be calling it CITI FIELD. What happens if CITI goes under the METS will have the CHITI curse. So if your a Met fan and you see another Met fan just ask them are you going to the New Shea. Lets keep the legacy alive not erased by nuances and gimmick’s.
WASHINGTON — President Obama vowed Thursday to end a decades-long stalemate on overhauling the health care system, and he indicated for the first time that he was open to compromise on details of the proposal he put forth in the 2008 campaign.
Mr. Obama spoke at a White House forum on health care, where he bluntly warned lobbyists and “special interests” not to stand in the way of efforts to rein in costs and guarantee coverage for all Americans. He said he intended to achieve those goals this year.
“During the campaign,” Mr. Obama said, “I put forward a plan for health care reform. I thought it was an excellent plan. But I don’t presume that it was a perfect plan or that it was the best possible plan.”
As a candidate, Mr. Obama said he would establish a public insurance program to compete with private insurers and would require employers to contribute to the cost of coverage for their employees or to the cost of the public plan. Insurers oppose the idea of a new public plan. Click Here To Continue Reading Obama Says He Is Open to Altering Health Plan
He looked nervous, even flustered, at first, and some of the prepared comedy was surprisingly lame. That doesn’t matter. Jimmy Fallon’s first few days don’t really reveal how “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon” will fare.
Monitoring the opening kinks and experiments of a new talk show is a spectator sport, and this entry comes with an added “American Idol” edge: NBC had the last word during the auditions, but Internet users are now expected to comment and cavil interactively and build — or diminish — Mr. Fallon’s television audience.
Mr. Fallon was cute and funny on “Saturday Night Live,” but he is not necessarily the ideal choice for the “Late Night” core audience of young males: his humor is mischievous, not anarchic. (If fans had a call-in vote, they might have elected Jon Stewart or Stephen Colbert.)
Still, Mr. Fallon is engaging and has an antic, quick-witted charm. He seemed more confident by the show’s third night and, oddly enough, had better comic chemistry with Cameron Diaz on Wednesday than with Tina Fey, his former “Weekend Update” co-anchor on “SNL,” the night before. Most of his skits and routines, however, seemed written for the Web, not for broadcast. Click Here To Continue Reading Fallon Faces the Camera, Conscious of the Web
So it’s all true: Michael Jackson will perform live again. But after all the buildup, his announcement appearance was rather anticlimactic -– for which the performer himself was mainly to blame.
Jackson didn’t exactly get things off to a rousing start. He was more than 90 minutes late to his own press conference, which was scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. ET. Not even the promotional film started without a glitch — though, given that it was chock-full of ‘80s and ‘90s clips, it succeeded in reminding viewers of the genuine excitement Jackson could convey.
And then a skeletal figure sauntered off a silver bus and made his way to the stage.
All that apparent cosmetic surgery notwithstanding, Jackson seemed healthy. “Thank you all,” he said. “This is it.”
He’ll be performing 10 concerts, beginning July 8, at London’s 20,000-seat O2 Arena. “This is it” has a double meaning: Besides, presumably, being a must-see ticket, Jackson said that these will be his last shows in London.
He hasn’t announced any other shows, but you never know. So, if there were more, would you see him? And would you go to see a Michael Jackson performance or a Michael Jackson freak show?
Credit:– Todd Leopold, CNN.com Entertainment Producer
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama’s push to reset U.S.-Russian relations took a huge stride when he signaled the Kremlin he might forgo an anti-missile system in Eastern Europe if Moscow uses its clout with a troublesome Iran and its nuclear ambitions.
The back-channel diplomatic gambit was one of the few tools Obama had for unknotting the stalemated relationship — one that suffered under former Presidents George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin.
Details of the Obama proposal, a letter responding to one from Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, have not been disclosed, but the U.S. president has clearly enticed the Kremlin into a dialogue that could pay significant benefits to both sides.
While Medvedev said the two leaders were not negotiating a quid pro quo, improved relations rest on a deal that bundles the proposed missile shield and Iran, where Moscow holds considerable sway.
Obama concurred there had been no blatant trade offer, but he also said Tuesday that reducing Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons would lessen the need for a missile defense system. Given the three decades of U.S.-Iranian estrangement, Russia would serve as an obvious and powerful entree for putting the U.S. case to Tehran.
The trouble is, unlike recessions, which are easy to define, there are no firm rules for what makes a depression. Everyone at least seems to agree there hasn’t been one since the epic hardship of the 1930s.
A Depression doesn’t have to be Great — bread lines, rampant unemployment, a wipeout in the stock market. The economy can sink into a milder depression, the kind spelled with a lowercase “d.”
And it may be happening now.
The trouble is, unlike recessions, which are easy to define, there are no firm rules for what makes a depression. Everyone at least seems to agree there hasn’t been one since the epic hardship of the 1930s.
But with each new hard-times headline, most recently an alarming economic contraction of 6.2 percent in the fourth quarter, it seems more likely that the next depression is on its way.
“We’re probably in a depression now. But it’s not going to be acknowledged until years go by. Because you have to see it behind you,” said Peter Morici, a business professor at the University of Maryland.
Following a brief thaw last week, New Yorkers will have to pull their sweaters back off the shelf — and a shovel out of the garage — as the season’s first major snowstorm bore down on the region.
The National Weather Service predicted about a foot of snow for New York City overnight, with the heaviest snowfall starting at 9 p.m. and continuing until 7 a.m. or 8 a.m. Monday. Periods of snow were likely to continue throughout Monday afternoon.
“It’s the first of March, which you know is the month that we say comes in like a lion and out like a lamb,” Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said on Sunday, “and while it is too soon to be counting sheep, it’s pretty clear that the lions are getting ready to roar, if you like that.”
The looming storm has sent the city scurrying to prepare.
The Port Authority plans to dispatch more than 300 pieces of heavy-snow equipment, including melters and plows at the airports, and approximately 60 for bridges and tunnels, including 28 for the George Washington Bridge alone. Officials have made more than 4,000 tons of salt and sand available for airport roads and parking lots, bridges and tunnels. Click Here To Continue Reading A Foot of Snow Is Predicted for New York City
The elaborate costumes are packed. The 16 semis filled
with magic props and big-top sets are on the road.
When Britney Spears takes the stage at the New Orleans Arena on March 3 – the opening night of her Circus tour.
According to sources, Spears, 27, who left Friday for Louisiana, has been hard at work preparing for the show, which will feature her signature sexy dance moves, a stage filled with three circus rings, and magic tricks.
“She’s pretty determined,” a friend tells PEOPLE. “She missed singing and performing and the freedom of that. It gives her an escape and it’s what she loves to do, so she’s definitely thankful to be doing that again.”
Though the pop star seemed to be back in old Britney form when she sang “Womanizer” on Good Morning America in December, the concert will be her biggest performance since her appearance at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards.
The elaborate costumes are packed. The 16 semis filled
with magic props and big-top sets are on the road.
When Britney Spears takes the stage at the New Orleans Arena on March 3 – the opening night of her Circus tour.
According to sources, Spears, 27, who left Friday for Louisiana, has been hard at work preparing for the show, which will feature her signature sexy dance moves, a stage filled with three circus rings, and magic tricks.
“She’s pretty determined,” a friend tells PEOPLE. “She missed singing and performing and the freedom of that. It gives her an escape and it’s what she loves to do, so she’s definitely thankful to be doing that again.”
Though the pop star seemed to be back in old Britney form when she sang “Womanizer” on Good Morning America in December, the concert will be her biggest performance since her appearance at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards.
DETROIT — Coast Guard crews off Florida’s Gulf Coast are searching for four missing boaters, including Detroit Lions defensive end Corey Smith.The Coast Guard issued a statement saying Smith and Victor “Marquis” Cooper were among the boaters reported missing Sunday morning.Sports agent Ron Del Duca confirmed to the Associated Press that his client, Detroit Lions defensive end Corey Smith, and Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper were two of the four boaters.Smith owned the 21-foot boat and he and Cooper had been on fishing trips before, said Ron Del Duca, Smith’s agent. The pair had been teammates on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2004.They boat left from the Seminole Boat Ramp in Clearwater Pass at about 6:30 a.m. Saturday morning for a fishing trip and did not return as expected, the Coast Guard said.The Coast Guard said it was alerted at about 1:30 a.m. Sunday and is searching the area about 50 miles west of Clearwater Pass.Nick Skyler is listed by the Coast Guard as the third boat passenger along with an unidentified fourth person.Smith, 29, had 30 tackles, including three sacks, and an interception in 12 games last season for the winless Lions. Smith, who is 6-foot-2, 250 pounds, also played for the San Francisco 49ers and played college ball at North Carolina State. He started with the Lions in 2006.Del Duca called Smith one of the “good guys” of the league and was planning to start visiting teams as a free agent this week. He said he has spoken with Smith’s family and is also in touch with Coast Guard officials.”They’ve assured me that they’re deploying all available resources to look for these guys and get them back,” he said.Cooper, 26, has played sparingly in five seasons with the Buccaneers, Seahawks, Jaguars, Steelers and Raiders. Cooper, who is 6-foot-3, 230 pounds, played college ball at Washington.
Until recently, the idea that the world’s most powerful nations might come together to tackle global warming seemed an environmentalist’s pipe dream.
The Kyoto Protocol, signed in 1997, was widely viewed as badly flawed. Many countries that signed the accord lagged far behind their targets in curbing carbon dioxide emissions. The United States refused even to ratify it. And the treaty gave a pass to major emitters in the developing world like China and India.
But within weeks of taking office, President Obama has radically shifted the global equation, placing the United States at the forefront of the international climate effort and raising hopes that an effective international accord might be possible. Mr. Obama’s chief climate negotiator, Todd Stern, said last week that the United States would be involved in the negotiation of a new treaty — to be signed in Copenhagen in December — “in a robust way.”
That treaty, officials and climate experts involved in the negotiations say, will significantly differ from the agreement of a decade ago, reaching beyond reducing greenhouse gas emissions and including financial mechanisms and making good on longstanding promises to provide money and technical assistance to help developing countries cope with climate change.
Aaron Hill and Vernon Wells each hit two-run homers and the Toronto Blue Jays spoiled Alex Rodriguez's return to the New York lineup, beating the Yankees 7-3 on Sunday to halt their eight-game winning streak.
Armed with multiple dressing rooms and costume changes, Gaga makes a memorable debut.By Mawuse Ziegbe Lady Gaga performs at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards Photo: Getty Images After the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, Lady Gaga was no longer just another face in the pantheon of rising pop stars who occasionally hit the red carpet in a zany getup. She […]
Russ-Kat's backstage interactions are broken down in 'The VMAs: Revealed'By Mawuse Ziegbe Katy Perry and Russell Brand Photo: Jeff Vespa/ Getty Images MTV Video Music Award nominee and California Gurl Katy Perry has summed up the main reason why fans tune in to the madness every year: "The VMAs are always the best show to watch […]
The George Clooney thriller breaks away from the pack on the holiday weekend.By Mawuse Ziegbe George Clooney in "The American" Photo: Focus Features The Box-Office Top Five #1 "The American" ($12.9 million) #2 "Takers" ($11.4 million) #3"Machete" ($11.3 million) #4 "The Last Exorcism" ($7.5 milli […]
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Police investigate disturbance at Lohan friend Sam Ronson’s house Saturday, but leave without apprehending Lohan.
White House officials and some members of Congress reacted strongly Sunday to news that insurance giant AIG had intended to pay out $165 million in bonuses and compensation. The company has received at least $170 billion in federal bailout money.
Sources tell TMZ Chris Brown would cop a plea, but only to a misdemeanor and with no jail time.
Michael Phelps gives Marijuana use new light. Imagine what all the pot smokers are thinking(give me more). Michael Phelps is know as the top Olympic champion of all time. He has accomplished more in the Olympic games representing the United States than any other in the past. Do you think the government has it wrong by outlawing marijuana use and making it illegal? In the sixties and seventies everyone was smoking pot , now 30 some odd years later those same smoker’s are known as today’s baby boomers. Now there older ,wealthier, and well accomplished Americans that still smoke Marijuana. So it seams like we are living a lie. If marijuana has no lasting effect, and it calms people down at the same time increasing there heart rate and allowing blood flow for good circulation why are we so hard on users? Some of the top neurosurgeons in the nation recommend using marijuana because it’s the best natural anti-inflammatory. Well for one thing it brings in a lot of money for the local police departments and local municipality’s. Figure it costs the average user 20 dollars for a gram of the good green stuff sometimes purple. To the law the same 20 dollars of pot may represent an arrest which will cost the user a hefty fine of $1000 dollars or so and if they catch a few people smoking on the same $20 worth of pot it may mean 1000’s of dollars for the local municipality’s in fines. It seems everyone wants the green for one reason or another. And who says money isn’t the root of all evil. Micheal Phelps is more than an Olympic champion , he has brought some weight to the fight for legalizing marijuana. For people struggling with an illness , to your perfectly healthy athlete there seems to be a glimmer of hope more now than ever. In fact if you find your kids smoking pot what are you going to say “you don’t want to grow up and turn out like Michael Phelps”?
Commodity prices, including oil, have started to bottom out and are likely to rise in the second quarter, supported by signs China’s economic stimulus plan has taken effect, investment bank Barclays Capital forecast today.
Ciara will be the opening act for Britney on the European leg of the “Circus” tour!
President Obama declared in an interview that the United States was not winning the war in Afghanistan and opened the door to a reconciliation process in which the American military would reach out to moderate elements of the Taliban, much as it did with Sunni militias in Iraq.
WASHINGTON — President Obama is expected to announce on Monday that he is reversing Bush administration limits on federal financing for embryonic stem-cell research, White House officials said on Friday.
WASHINGTON — President Obama vowed Thursday to end a decades-long stalemate on overhauling the health care system, and he indicated for the first time that he was open to compromise on details of the proposal he put forth in the 2008 campaign.
He looked nervous, even flustered, at first, and some of the prepared comedy was surprisingly lame. That doesn’t matter. Jimmy Fallon’s first few days don’t really reveal how “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon” will fare.
So it’s all true: Michael Jackson will perform live again. But after all the buildup, his announcement appearance was rather anticlimactic -– for which the performer himself was mainly to blame.
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