Obama Forces GM CEO Rick Wagoner to resign

The Obama administration pledged only to fund GM's operations for the next 60 days while it develops a sweeping restructuring plan, instead of granting GM's request for up to a further US$16-billion in loans.

GM CEO Rick Wagoner, who had presided over the company's rapid decline in the past five years and had run the automaker since 2000, was forced out at the request of the autos panel headed by former investment banker Steve Rattner. A majority of GM's board will also be replaced.

"We are left to look back and say that Wagoner's appointment as both chairman and CEO in 2003 was little more than an act to ensure the dynasty of GM boardroom arrogance and failure continued," said Howard Wheeldon, senior strategist at brokerage BGC Partners.

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Wheeldon said Wagoner's departure had been all but inevitable since the automaker sought government funds and said he was disappointed the authorities had not insisted on an external replacement.

Wagoner protege and GM President and Chief Operating Officer Fritz Henderson was named as new CEO. Wagoner's departure came as the Obama administration came under fire for not blocking bonuses to executives at American International Group Inc.

The senior labor leader of GM's German brand Opel, being spun off with the UK's Vauxhall and seeking investors and government support, said the move was overdue.

In Europe, auto stocks fell on concerns about the broader industry impact of the failure of a major U.S. producer. The DJ Stoxx European autos index fell 6.4% by 1000 GMT, while PSA Peugeot Citroen fell 7.7%.

In France PSA Chairman Thierry Peugeot said in a statement the exceptional difficulties faced by the industry warranted a change in management, but Streiff defended himself saying his policies had equipped the group to weather the storm.

Some analysts viewed the appointment of Philippe Varin as positive.

"It brings somebody in that can look at the problem with fresh eyes. The hope will be that he will have a similar impact here to the impact (Sergio) Marchionne had at Fiat, and indeed Varin had at Corus," said Credit Suisse analyst Stuart Pearson.

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Elsewhere, Russia's Avtovaz bucked the trend, its shares surging after Prime Minister Vladimir Putin pledged 20 billion rubles in aid, while Spain's plan to grant subsidies for green cars won approval from the European Commission.

Chrysler, controlled by Cerberus Capital Management, was given 30 days to complete an alliance with Italy's Fiat or face a cut-off of its government funding that could force its liquidation.

Fiat was not immediately available for comment.

The autos panel rejected a claim by Cerberus that Chrysler could be viable on its own, citing its relatively small size, weak product line-up and declining U.S. market share.

If Chrysler can complete a tie-up with Fiat and cost-saving deals with creditors and its major union, the Treasury would consider investing up to another $6 billion, officials said.

U.S. officials said there had been progress in recent negotiations involving the task force. Fiat had agreed to take less than the 35% stake in Chrysler the two companies had first negotiated, the senior official said.

Meanwhile, Henderson, a key architect of GM's now-rejected turnaround plan, was charged with working with U.S. officials and advisers to develop a more aggressive restructuring.

"We believe our approach to GM is starting with a clean sheet of paper," the senior official said.

GM bondholders, the official said, could have to take less than the US33-cent-on-the-dollar payout they have been offered and should abandon hope of a government guarantee.

The Obama administration had also not ruled out a quick bankruptcy process for either GM or Chrysler, he said.

Wagoner had been outspoken in his opposition to a Chapter 11 reorganization, saying it would drive away consumers and probably lead to GM's liquidation.

GM had asked for more than US$16-billion in new government loans, while Chrysler wanted $5 billion to ride out the weakest market for new cars in almost 30 years.

GM has lost about US$82-billion since 2005 when its problems began to mount in the U.S. market. GM stock has also lost about 95% of its value since Wagoner took over as CEO. Although he inherited many of the company's deeper problems, his critics say he failed to act fast enough to resolve them.

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OBAMA Takes over GENERAL MOTORS - The Bail-out / Buy out

With Barack Obama in the driver’s seat, the U.S. auto industry is set to veer on a new course away from the production of gas guzzlers to smaller, more fuel efficient cars.

Barack Obama, the U.S. president, is demanding General Motors Corp. and Chrysler accelerate their production of “green” vehicles as part of conditions unveiled Monday that the ailing automakers need to meet before they receive billions more in bailout money from U.S. taxpayers.

The requirement is part of his administration’s broader effort to end America’s addiction to foreign oil and improve environmental standards. Industry analysts said Monday that includes an ambitious plan to dramatically reshape the U.S. auto industry and give government an unprecedented role in its future.

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The pit crew installed to help oversee the shake-up includes Steven Rattner, a Wall Street financier who earlier this year was named to lead the administration’s auto task force; Edward Montgomery, who will fight for autoworkers and the communities that have been hard hit by the sector’s slump; and Fritz Henderson, who was named chief executive of General Motors after his boss Rick Wagoner stepped down over the weekend at the government’s request.

At a speech at the White House Monday explaining the latest ultimatums GM and Chrysler face to get more bailout funds – or go bankrupt — Barack Obama said he believes the U.S. auto industry can once more out-compete the world.

Revamping U.S. automakers can lead to “a 21st century auto industry that is creating new jobs, unleashing new prosperity, and manufacturing the fuel-efficient cars and trucks that will carry us toward an energy independent future,” Barack Obama said. “I am absolutely committed to working with Congress and the auto companies to meet one goal: The United States of America will lead the world in building the next generation of clean cars.”

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It is unclear at this stage whether the restructuring of GM and Chrysler can occur without either or both companies winding up in bankruptcy court first.

Worries that GM could be headed in that direction contributed to a stock-market sell-off Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank more than 254 points to 7,522.02. Ongoing worries about the health of U.S. banks also helped drag stocks down. Shares of GM plunged 25%.

The company’s much smaller rival, Chrysler, which is privately held, was given until the end of April to complete a deal with Fiat SpA.

Barack Obama administration showed it is calling the shots at GM by demanding Mr. Wagoner’s exit.

Industry analysts considered the ouster a symbolic move to appease an angry American public upset over the billions in taxpayer dollars that have gone to bail out GM and Chrysler.

Fritz Henderson, GM’s chief operating officer and Mr. Wagoner’s right-hand man, stepped in as interim CEO.

The administration is giving him 60 days to boost the restructuring efforts or the company will face bankruptcy.

“We believe it’s going to be tough to get that accomplished,” said George Magliano, director of auto industry research at IHS Global Insight. “The government has raised the bar so high. I suspect what’s likely to happen is that current management at General Motors will be eliminated and the government will install people that are favorably disposed to the direction it wants to take General Motors.”

To further its green effort, the Barack Obama administration hopes to persuade U.S. Congress to use some of the U.S. government’s US$787-billion stimulus program to fund tax rebates for consumers who turn in their old, less fuel-efficient cars for more environmentally friendly models.

“Obama is going to restructure GM to be a producer of clean, fuel efficient vehicles and make laws and regulations so that automakers in the American market will have to sell them,” said Mr. Magliano. “It’s a way to get American consumers to drive them that doesn’t require the thing that’s political suicide, which is to raise gas prices.”

Some industry analysts questioned the move to emphasize the production of such vehicles when gas prices are falling and consumers don’t feel like they can afford new cars, particularly the usually pricier green models.

“Buying those kinds of cars is not really what’s on people’s minds right now,” said Jessica Caldwell, an industry analyst with Edmunds.com.

Edmunds’ AutoObserver.com Editor Michelle Krebs, added in a note: “The market for fuel efficient vehicles rises and falls with gas prices. Until there is a consistent and compelling reason for consumers to buy hybrids, such as stabilized gas prices, automakers cannot realistically turn over their product lines to that more expensive, less profitable product that has only achieved 2% market share after all these years in production.”

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ASHLEY BIDEN and the COCAINE VIDEO

Washington lawyer Thomas Dunlap is under fire for attempting to sell a video of ASHLEY BIDEN, the 27-year-old daughter of Joe Biden, allegedly snorting lines of cocaine at a Delaware party last month.

The New York Post claims that Dunlap showed it 90 seconds of the 43-minute tape, which purportedly shows ASHLEY BIDEN doing lines of COCAINE with a red straw in front of witnesses and later shouting "Shut the F-- Up!" The newspaper reported that the seller wanted $2 million for the ASHLEY BIDEN COCAINE VIDEO before dropping his price to $400,000.

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Radar Online reported that Dunlap has since dropped the client after he learned the tape was recorded on a hidden camera, complaining about all the "negative attention."

Dunlap said early Sunday that he is no longer involved in the attempted sale of the ASHLEY BIDEN COCAINE VIDEO and informed his client he would not continue to represent him. The lawyer said he did not want to be involved due to circumstances surrounding the publicity of the matter.

According to the New York Post, the video in question shows a woman who looks like ASHLEY BIDEN talking and snorting several lines of cocaine with a straw.

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The ASHLEY BIDEN COCAINE VIDEO ... shows a 20-something woman with light skin and long brown hair taking a red straw from her mouth, bending over a desk, inserting the straw into her nostril and snorting lines of white powder.


She then stands up and begins talking with other people in the room.

Vice President Joe Biden, who coined the term "drug czar" in 1982, has not yet commented on the ASHLEY BIDEN COCAINE VIDEO.

Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University, adds that fellow lawyers are stunned by Dunlop's behavior:

While most people are shocked by the craven acts of the still unidentified friend, most lawyers are equally shocked by the involvement of a member of the bar in allegedly shopping this tape to tabloids for the highest bidder.

For more information on ASHLEY BIDEN, read the ASHLEY BIDEN BLOG

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23 Year Old Man DECAPITATES HIS 5 YEAR OLD SISTER at her Birthday party

Kerby Revelus, 23, was shot dead after beheading his sister Bianca on her fifth birthday, fatally stabbing his 17-year-old sister Samantha and wounding his nine-year-old sister Sarafina.

It was Sarafina who made the 911 call, which saw a local police officer arrive at the door within a minute.

“As the officer entered the door, (Revelus) decapitated (Bianca) in front of him,'' Milton police Chief Richard G Wells Jr told The Associated Press.

“He actually walked into a killing field. He walked into such carnage, as far as the atrocity of it, I've never seen it.''

Revelus was shot by four officers who arrived at the scene as he attacked Sarafina.

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She was rushed to Boston Medical Center with serious stab wounds, but authorities say she is expected to survive.

North Carolina: Eight killed in nursing home shooting

"In policing, we see the raw human emotion every day, but to think that a human being could afflict such an atrocious, violent act on his own family is unbelievable,'' Police Chief Wells said.

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"When I walked up to the first officer (on the scene), I could see the whole story right in his face. This just told me that this was something very bad."

The children’s parents were away from home, although it is believed their grandmother was in the basement doing laundry at the time of the attack.

Police have no idea what sparked the killings on Saturday, but said Revelus has been in a fistfight with a next-door neighbour the previous day.

Revelus targeted his 17-year-old sister Samantha first, before attacking five-year-old Bianca as her birthday cake sat on a table nearby.

Revelus had recently been released from jail after serving time on a gun charge.

The details of his criminal history will be released when courts open later today.

The officers involved in the case were receiving counselling from the Boston Police Department stress unit.

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NURSING HOME SHOOTING IN NORTH CAROLINA

CARTHAGE, N.C. (AP) — A gunman opened fire at a North Carolina nursing home Sunday morning, killing at least six people and wounding several others, police said.

The gunman was also injured before he was apprehended by police after the 10 a.m. shooting at Pinelake Health and Rehab in the town of Carthage, Police Chief Chris McKenzie told several television stations. A police officer was also hurt.

"It's a horrible event in any size town, particularly, though, when you deal with a small town such as Carthage," McKenzie said. "It's hard. This is my home, my small town. I was born and raised here so, yeah, I take it to heart a little bit. All you can do is move forward."

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Gretchen Kelly, spokeswoman at FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital in nearby Pinehurst, said six people were brought to the hospital from the nursing home. Kelly said two of the injured died at the hospital, but it wasn't clear if those two were among the six initially reported dead by police.

Kelly said two other patients had been discharged, while two were still being treated. She wouldn't release further details on the injuries or conditions of those hospitalized.

McKenzie said the gunman wasn't a patient at the nursing home, located about 60 miles southwest of Raleigh, but didn't offer any further details on what the gunman's motive might have been.

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Late Sunday afternoon, authorities appeared to be conducting a search of the nursing home's parking lot, which they had blocked off with yellow police tape. Among the items they found was a camouflaged-colored rifle or shotgun, which was leaning against the side of a Jeep Cherokee.

The road leading to the home was filled with parked cars, both of police and relatives of those living at Pinelake. Howard McMillian, of Lakeview, said he raced to the scene as soon as he heard about the shooting. His 56-year-old sister lives at the nursing home, and McMillian said his brother had gotten a call from officials saying she was unharmed.

"I know she's real nervous," McMillian said. "I just want to make sure she's OK."

A nursing home Web site said the facility that opened in 1993 has 110 beds, including 20 for those with Alzheimer's disease.

Calls to the nursing home by The Associated Press rang unanswered Sunday, and McKenzie and several state law enforcement agencies didn't immediately return messages or declined to comment. Police planned a news conference for later Sunday afternoon.

Carthage is a small town of roughly 1,800 people in the North Carolina Sandhills, an area popular among retirees and home to several noted golf courses, including the famed Pinehurst resort and its No. 2 course that regularly hosts the U.S. Open.

Pinelake Health and Rehab was last inspected in May, and the review resulted in an overall five-star — or "much above average" — rating from federal Medicaid officials.

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NATALIE MAINES SPORTING A NEW HAIR STYLE

Reminiscent of John Cryer, the sexy and outspoke NATALIE MAINES has chopped off a bunch of her hair. Internet response to this recent Haircut development has been fast and critical. Fact of the matter is, this is Natalie's hair and she can do with it as she pleases. Sure NATALIE MAINS now looks like a little boy, but... I dunno, she is still kinda sexy in her own way.... Not that I find boys sexy.

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DANIELLE LLOYD CELL PHONE SCANDAL - TOPLESS PHOTO'S

TOPLESS MODEL DANIELLE LLOYD CELLPHONE SCANDAL

TOPLESS MODEL DANIELLE LLOYD is suing a phone company after one of its workers allegedly downloaded explicit photos from her mobile phone.

The former Miss England left the phone at her local branch of Carphone Warehouse, where one of the staff viewed the images and made copies, a High Court writ states. Danielle, who appeared with Jade Goody in the controversial series of Celebrity Big Brother, is suing Carphone Warehouse and employee Deepak Jagpal.

Mr Jagpal is accused of taking copies of the pictures, including intimate surgery shots, when the model bought a new mobile.

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She was told to leave her old phone so all the data could be transferred, and collect it later the same day.

The incident took place last September and the company says it apologised as soon as it was made aware of the matter.

Mr Jagpal no longer works for Carphone Warehouse.

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A spokesman for the company said: "The download of customer content is entirely unacceptable and we can confirm that this content was not published. When the matter was brought to our attention we immediately conducted an investigation and the employee is no longer working within the business. Their actions are not indicative of our usual standard of service and we absolutely apologise to Ms Lloyd."

Danielle's writ makes a claim of up to £50,000 for breach of contract and invasion of privacy.

INTERESTED IN TOPLESS PICTURES OF DANIELLE LLOYD???

DANIELLE LLOYD TOPLESS

NAKED PICTURES OF DANIELLE LLOYD

DANIELLE LLOYD SHOWS OF HER BREASTS AND MORE

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SCIENTISTS FIND DIAMOND ENCRUSTED ASTEROID

DIAMOND ENTRUSTED METEORITE

WASHINGTON - For the first time, scientists have matched a meteorite found on Earth with a specific asteroid that became a fireball plunging through the sky. It gives them a glimpse into the past when planets formed and an idea about how to avoid a future asteroid Armageddon.

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Last October, astronomers tracked a small non-threatening asteroid heading toward Earth before it became a "shooting star" - something they had not done before. It blew up in the sky and scientists thought there would be no space rocks left to examine. But a painstaking search by dozens of students through the remote Sudan desert came up with four kilograms of black jagged rocks - leftovers from the asteroid 2008 TC3. The study is being published Thursday in the journal Nature.

It says the dark rocks found in the desert were full of surprises, including minuscule diamonds. "This was a meteorite that was not in our collection, a completely new material," said study lead author Peter Jenniskens of NASA's Ames Research Center in California. For years, astronomers have been lobbying to send a robot probe to an asteroid, grab a chunk of it and return it to Earth for labs to analyze the material. Instead, a piece of an asteroid dropped in their laps and the researchers were able to track where it came from and where it landed.

The asteroid, which mostly burned in the atmosphere 37 kilometres above the ground, is likely a leftover from when chunks of rock tried and failed to become a planet, about 4.5 billion years ago, scientists said. "This is a look back in time and it came to us," said University of Maryland astronomer Lucy McFadden. She wasn't part of the study, but like four other outside experts praised the findings as important to the understanding of the solar system. "It's a beautiful example of looking at an earlier stage of planet development that was arrested, halted," said NASA cosmic mineralogist Michael Zolensky, a co-author of the study. But it also serves as a lesson for the future if this asteroid's big brother comes hurtling toward Earth.


Blowing it up like in the Bruce Willis movie "Armageddon" wouldn't be smart because this type of asteroid turns out to be very much like a "travelling sandpile," Zolensky said. "If you blow it up, all the pieces are heading toward Earth." Instead, a spaceship-aided nudge would be more effective, said NASA Ames Research Center director Simon (Pete) Worden, another study co-author. He is a longtime advocate of a worldwide program to plan for the threat of asteroids and comets hitting Earth. "The real important issue is to understand the physics of these objects," Worden said.

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There are many different types of asteroids, all classified from afar based on colour and light wavelengths. This type is called class F and turns out to be mostly porous and fragile. University of Maryland's McFadden said it's unlikely that a class F asteroid could be any danger to Earth, even if it's bigger, because of its porous makeup which would cause it to break up before hitting. It was full of metals, such as iron and nickel, and organics such as graphites, Zolensky said. And most interesting is that it has "nanodiamonds." These diamonds are formed by collisions in space and high pressure and they are all over the rocks, making them glitter like geodes, he said. But they aren't big.

"If bacteria had engagement rings, these would be the right size for them," Zolensky said.

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MADONNA ADOPTION UNDER GOVERNMENT SCRUTINY

Madonna holds her adopted son, David Banda, at an orphan care centre run by Raising Malawi, a grassroots initiative by Madonna, in Mphendula Village, about 40 km

LILONGWE (Reuters) - Madonna's bid to adopt a second Malawian child, a baby girl called Mercy James, will be examined by a court in the southern African country next week, officials said on Friday. The 14-month-old would be a sister for Madonna's three children including David, whose adoption by the U.S. pop star aroused controversy, and comes from the same orphanage.

"Her name is Mercy James from Mchinji Home of Hope orphanage. She has no father and mother, they both died... We finished the assessment yesterday in readiness for the courts next week," an official at the ministry of Gender and Child Development told Reuters. Court clerks confirmed the name of the child and said that Madonna or her associates were expected to appear in court next Monday for the adoption proceedings. She is expected to arrive in Malawi over the weekend, officials said.

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Some Malawians opposed David's adoption, accusing the government of skirting laws that ban non-residents from adopting children in Malawi, which has been badly hit by an AIDS epidemic. Mavuto Bamusi, national coordinator for the 60-member Human Rights Consultative Committee, told Reuters that this adoption would also violate the country's laws.

"As far as we are concerned, nothing has changed in terms of adoption laws in the country," he said. The local Nation newspaper this month quoted Madonna, 50, as saying that Malawian friends had told her David needed a brother or sister and that she would consider adopting another child, but only with the support of the Malawian people.

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David's life with the global pop star is worlds away from his village of Lipunga, where his relatives eat maize meal as a staple food and meals are cooked on open fires. His father, Yohane Banda, told Reuters that he may see his son next week. Madonna, who was divorced last year from British film director Guy Ritchie, is one of the most successful singers of all time, with album sales of more than 200 million.

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WASHINGTON INMATE IN SEGRATATION FOR TRYING TO COOK SAUSAGE IN STAINLESS STEEL TOILET

CLALLAM BAY, Wash. - An attempt by an inmate at a Washington state prison to heat up sausages in his stainless steel toilet went up in smoke when the cooking fire forced the evacuation of dozens of other convicts. Clallam Bay Corrections Center spokeswoman Denise Larson says 130 inmates were evacuated to a dining hall when smoke was spotted coming from a sewer vent pipe Wednesday evening. She says the smoke was traced to the inmate's cell and he admitted to trying to heat up snack sausages bought from a prison store in the toilet.

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The toilet chef has been placed in segregation pending discipline at the prison on Washington's Olympic Peninsula. His name was not disclosed.

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MOUNT REDOUBT IN ALASKA CONTINUES TO ERUPT

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Alaska's Mount Redoubt is continuing its volcanic explosions, the latest sending an ash cloud almost ten kilometres above sea level. The two new eruptions occurred less than an hour apart late Thursday and early Friday. The National Weather Service is warning about possible light ash falls in Anchorage, 160 kilometres to the northeast.

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Alaska Airlines has said it would assess the ash situation Friday morning before deciding whether to resume flights at Anchorage. The ash can damage airplane engines.


Since the series of eruptions began Sunday night, the volcano has had several bursts. One earlier in the day Thursday sent ash 20 kilometres high. The last time the volcano had erupted was during a four-month period in 1989-90.

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VIEW A LIVE MOUNT REDOUBT WEBCAMERA HERE

ITALIAN MAN ENSLAVED AND RAPED HIS DAUGHTERS FOR 25 YEARS

ITALIAN MAN ACCUSED OF USING HIS DAUGHTERS AS SEX SLAVES FOR 25 YEARS

Italian police said Friday they have arrested a man for sequestering his daughter and forcing her to have sex with him for 25 years.

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The man in the northern city of Turin also incited his 40-year-old son, who was also arrested, to have sex with his own daughters, who range in age from six to 20, police told AFP.


The father, a 63-year-old junk vendor, allegedly raped his daughter, now 34, regularly since she was nine years old, La Repubblica newspaper reported, citing investigators. The Italian press likened the case to Austrian Josef Fritzl, who was sentenced to life last week for enslaving and raping his daughter for 24 years.

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The Italian woman, given the pseudonym of Laura in the Italian press, was not allowed to leave home without her father and spent her days locked in a dark room, police said. She stopped going to school at age 13, according to La Repubblica. The son was encouraged to imitate the father. He is accused of raping and mistreating his four daughters, now aged six, eight, 12 and 20, and forcing them to watch the sex sessions.


The investigation began last October, when Laura lodged a complaint against her brother, accusing him of sequestering and raping her for two weeks after she fled to his home following an argument with their father. The five victims are under psychological care at a shelter.

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RESTRAINING ORDER AGAINST SHAWN JOHNSON STALKER

Duct tape, two loaded guns, a cross-country journey in a dilapidated car; yep, spring is in the air. And that's when a young man's fancy turns to thoughts of love, and Shawn Johnson.

Our Olympic hero, toiling on the set of Dancing With The Stars (don't pretend you're not watching), was surprised to learn that one Robert O'Ryan, 34, was stopped by security and subsequently arrested by police after he jumped a fence at CBS Studios. He said that he wanted to meet Johnson, who was taping the show there, and that the two were meant to have children together.

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"He believes SHAWN JOHNSON is speaking to him personally through the television and via ESP and that he will be with her no matter what," SHAWN JOHNSON's court papers state.

This love story ends the way that most do: With the girl's mother filing a restraining order, and the suitor being held on $35,000 bail on suspicion of carrying a loaded firearm in public. Just like in fine literature.

But I'm still not totally convinced that O'Ryan wasn't actually trying to abduct Johnson's dancing partner, Mark Ballas

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A man alleged to be a crazed fan of Olympian Shawn Johnson was arrested Tuesday near the set of Dancing with the Stars. Police later found two loaded guns in the man's car.

Robert O'Ryan, 34, allegedly jumped a fence at CBS Studios in L.A. where the show was filming, but was caught by security. Johnson's mother, Teri, requested and received a temporary restraining order from the L.A. Superior Court on Wednesday.

Approached by security while roaming the studio grounds, O'Ryan admitted he was attempting to meet SHAWN JOHNSON, 17, but after Johnson was contacted and said she didn't know O'Ryan, he changed his story and said he was there to meet Steve-O, according to court documents. No one in Steve-O's group knew O'Ryan, either.

O'Ryan allegedly told LAPD that he had "packed all his belongings and permanently left Florida to drive out here to be with [Johnson]," Teri Johnson wrote in the request for a restraining order.

Among the disturbing items allegedly found in the man's car: A loaded shotgun, a loaded Colt .45 handgun and Johnson memorabilia.

"This incident has caused us severe emotional distress, we have been on the move ever since and have not been able to rest at all for fear that this disturbed person will attempt to make good on his statements and attempt to harm my daughter and possibly us as well," Teri Johnson added in the papers.

O'Ryan remains in police custody as of Wednesday. He has been ordered to stay 100 yards away from Johnson, not to communicate with her and not to harass her parents or dancing partner Mark Ballas. Bail has been set at $35,000.

Johnson's rep, Susan Madore, tells PEOPLE in a statement released Wednesday: "The matter has been turned over to the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles District Attorney's office. It is currently an ongoing investigation and we are confident that it will be handled appropriately by all involved."

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TORNADO's HIT CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI

MISSISSIPPI HIT WITH SEVERAL TORNADO'S.

Two tornadoes touched down in Mississippi before dawn Thursday, damaging about 70 homes and flattening a church, emergency officials said. The tornadoes damaged at least 70 homes, but no fatalities were reported.

At about 4 a.m., a tornado damaged about 60 homes near Magee, about 40 miles southeast of Jackson in central Mississippi, said Katherine Gunby, spokeswoman for the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency. Earlier, another tornado damaged nine homes and businesses in Lauderdale County, about 90 miles east of Jackson, near the Alabama border, CNN affiliate WAPT reported.

The tornadoes destroyed Corinth Baptist church in Magee, leaving only its doors standing. "The church means so much to this community," Pastor Wes Brooks told WAPT. Two people were airlifted to the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Gunby said. No fatalities were reported, she said.

The Mississippi Department of Transportation and power companies are working to restore power to the state, she said.

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Severe weather across the South unleashed tornadoes in rural Mississippi, including one that shattered dozens of homes, flattened a church and injured at least 17 people, authorities said Thursday.

There were no immediate reports of fatalities, Magee Mayor Jimmy Clyde said. The most seriously injured were hospitalized, but most others had minor injuries.

The twister was reported around 1:30 a.m., and swept through Mississippi's pine-covered hill country as severe thunderstorms rumbled across several Southeast states. Power blackouts affected tens of thousands of Louisiana residents, and authorities reported damage to some Alabama homes. Georgia residents also braced for potentially heavy rains.

"This is like reliving Hurricane Katrina all over again and that's no fun," Clyde told The Associated Press. "We're getting a lot of help in here. That's the thing about Mississippi, everybody just helps each other in times like this."

Clyde said authorities were attempting to restore power after utility lines toppled on roads littered with tree branches and metal scrap. Magee's 16-member police force fanned out before dawn and kept up the work after daylight. He said homes in some areas were "basically leveled" and there was extensive damage just outside the city limits.

Jeff Giachelli, 48, said he and his wife Cappy were asleep when the storm hit. He said he called to his wife when the windows of their red-brick home shattered. His roof also had been sheared off.

"We got in the closet and it just collapsed," he said.

Giachelli, his black Harley Davidson cap at an angle as he picked up tree limbs from his yard, said one of his neighbors was taken by helicopter to a hospital. He said it took rescuers nearly an hour to dig the neighbor out of the rubble.

In a nearby neighborhood, several brick duplex apartments were smashed, and cars were flipped upside down.

Stephanie Malley, 35, cried as she looked at what was left of her home. The red brick structure was nothing but a shell with its roof gone. She awoke when something flew through her window and hit her in the back. She grabbed her 11- and 13-year-old sons and pulled them into the bathroom.

"We stayed in the bathroom for a long time until everything started coming down," Malley said.

Her 11-year-old needed nine stitches for a cut on his leg, but otherwise the family was fine. Nearby houses were marked with red spray paint to show that emergency workers who dug through the rubble didn't find any injured or dead residents.

"I lost everything," she said, wiping away tears.

At least 60 homes suffered damage, said Katherine Gunby, spokeswoman for the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency. The nearby Corinth Baptist Church was so shattered that "only the doors to its sanctuary were left standing," she said.

Members of the 100-year-old church stepped around the rubble of the red brick building perched on a hilltop overlooking pine forests, consoling one another. Others walked through a nearby cemetery littered with broken tree limbs and tombstones knocked to the ground. Pieces of artificial flowers from the graves were strewn all about and a white church van was overturned.

A tearful Maegan Errington, 23, said Thursday was her birthday and she was to be married in the church on Saturday. Church member Charlene Loyd, 58, hugged her and patted her on the back.

"Our church is still here, because our church is the people, but the building is gone," Loyd said.

Another reported tornado touched down in Mississippi's Lauderdale County around midday Wednesday, heavily damaging nine homes and a business, but no injuries were reported, emergency officials said.

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National Weather Service officials say at least five tornadoes struck Mississippi before early Thursday morning.

Mississippi Emergency Management officials say at least 60 homes were damaged and 17 people were injured in tornadoes that touched down in Simpson County, with two people needing to be airlifted to a hospital for treatment while the others were treated at local hospitals.

The Simpson County tornado struck in Magee, which is about 40 miles south of Jackson.

Meanwhile, a twister that touched down in Lauderdale County reportedly damaged fewer than a dozen homes and businesses. And in Madison County a tornado blew roofs off homes in at least two subdivisions.

No fatalities were reported, but plenty of power lines were downed by high winds. Workers are busy trying to restore power to residents in several counties across the state.

Search and rescue is ongoing, but many homes were destroyed down to their foundations in Magee.

Severe thunderstorm warnings are in effect eastward into the Florida panhandle.

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SCRUBS: A XXX PARODY

The newest addition to the PORN PARODY line-up will be a SCRUBS PORNO PARODY brought to us by NEW SENSATIONS. “Scrubs” star Zach Braff appeared on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” last night and discussed the upcoming porn parody of the hit ABC television show.
The porn take-off on “Scrubs” is being produced by New Sensations. Directed by Lee Roy Myers, the newcomer who also helmed the company’s latest hit, “The Office: A XXX Parody,” the movie stars contract girl Ashlynn Brooke, Thea Marie, Shane Diesel, Jack Lawrence, James Deen and Ralph Long.

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Other members of the “Scrubs: A XXX Parody” cast include Alexis Texas, Joanna Angel, Tori Black and Missy Stone.

“‘Scrubs’ is being made into a movie,” Braff said on Kimmel’s late-night talk show on ABC. “I wouldn’t get too excited — it’s a porno movie.” After the crowd cheered wildly, Braff exclaimed, “They got more excited! Someone sent this to me, this is not a joke. They are making ‘Scrubs’ into a triple-X porno. On the web they showed the porn stars that are playing each one of us.”

Braff and Kimmel then went through some cast photos and the porn stars that are playing them.

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"This girl's gonna be Sarah [Chalke, who plays Dr. Elliot Reid on the show],” Braff said, holding up a picture of Ashlynn Brooke. “I think it’s a good match.”

Braff’s porn doppelganger, James Deen, elicited the most applause. “My guy looks like there’s nothing the director would say that he’d be, like, ‘Nah, dude, I’m not doing that.’”

Kimmel gets in a dig: “He played Screech in the ‘Saved By the Bell’ porno.”

The street date for “Scrubs: A XXX Parody” has not been released.

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For some uncensored NAKED PICTURES OF ASHLEY BROOKE check out

ASHLEY BROOKE AT PLANET BREAST
PICTURES OF ASHLYN BROOKE
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WEST AFRICAN MANGO EXTRACT OFFERS HOPE FOR OBESITY SUFFERERS

AFRICAN MANGO EXTRACT OFFERS HOPE FOR WEIGHTLOSS

WEST AFRICAN MANGO EXTRACT which is derived from a WEST AFRICAN MANGO may help overweight people shed pounds and lower their cholesterol, a new study suggests.

The extract comes from Irvingia gabonensis, also known as AFRICAN MANGO, a fruit commonly eaten in West Africa. Lab research has shown that extracts from the plant's seed may inhibit body fat production, through effects on certain genes and enzymes that regulate metabolism.

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For the current study, researchers at the University of Yaounde in Cameroon randomly assigned 102 overweight adults to take either the AFRICAN MANGO EXTRACT or a placebo twice a day for 10 weeks. The study participants did not follow any special diet and were told to maintain their normal exercise levels.

By the end of the study, the AFRICAN MANGO EXTRACT group had lost a significant amount of weight -- an average of roughly 28 pounds -- while the placebo group showed almost no change.

At the same time, the AFRICAN MANGO EXTRACT group showed declines in "bad" LDL cholesterol and blood sugar levels.

Dr. Julius E. Oben and his colleagues report the findings in the online journal Lipids in Health and Disease. The Fairfield, California- based Gateway Health Alliances, Inc. supplied the Irvingia gabonensis extract and partially funded the research.

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The study is the first well-controlled clinical trial of the AFRICAN MANGO EXTRACT'S effectiveness as a weight-loss aid, the researchers note. But the findings, they write, suggest that Irvingia gabonensis could offer a "useful tool" for battling the growing worldwide problem of obesity and its related ills.

A few patients on the AFRICAN MANGO EXTRACT reported side effects, including headaches, sleep problems and gas, but the rates were similar in the placebo group.

The findings, Oben's team concludes, should "provide impetus for much larger clinical studies."

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DAVID LETTERMAN MARRIES REGINA LASKO

DAVID LETTERMAN MARRIES LONG TIME GIRLFRIEND REGINA LASKO

Last night, during the taping of his Late Show, David Letterman let slip he married his long time girlfriend REGINA LASKO. Having dated for something near 23 years and having a 5 year old child together, it seemed Regina Lasko and David Letterman were beyond getting married, but apparently they stopped by ye ol’ court house in Montana last Thursday.

But, like all weddings, things didn’t go as planned when their pickup got stuck in the mud on the way to get married. David Letterman had to walk back to the house

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David Letterman and long-time girlfriend REGINA LASKO married March 19 at the Teton County Courthouse in Choteau, Montana.

Letterman told the audience at the pre-recording of The Late Show to be shown Monday night that “Regina and I began dating in February of 1986, and I said, `Well, things are going pretty good, let’s just see what happens in about 10 years.” The pair have one child, Harry, born in November 2003.

The marriage didn’t go exactly as planned, with Letterman telling the audience that he managed to bog his truck on the way to the courthouse. “So now we think, `Well, somebody’ll come.’ No, nobody comes along. Nobody comes along _ it’s Thursday afternoon; who’s coming along? Zorro? No, nobody. So I get out of the truck and I walk 2 miles back to the house into a 50-mile-an-hour wind.”

“It’s not Beverly Hills, it’s Montana, for God’s sakes. And the whole way, I’m thinking, ‘See, smart ass, see, see, you try to get married, this is what happens.”

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David Letterman and longtime girlfriend REGINA LASKO have gotten hitched.

The host of The Late Show with David Letterman and REGINA LASKO tied the knot Thursday evening, according to Us Weekly, after more than 10 years of dating.

The two met mover a decade ago when Lasko worked for him on his show, and Regina is the mother of his son, Harry, who was born in November 2003.
In 2007, David Letterman told Oprah Winfrey that his son Harry has made a "huge difference" in his life - but doesn't always get his sense of humor.

Said Dave, "Mommy has to tell him a lot that I'm just teasing."

Prior to marrying REGINA LASKO, Letterman was previously married for seven years to his college sweetheart, Michelle Cook.

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Britain Moves to Take control over Turks and Caicos Islands

Britain moved Monday to restore direct rule to the Turks and Caicos Islands, its overseas territory near the Bahamas, after an investigation found evidence of systemic corruption.

London has drawn up legislation that, if approved by parliament, would strip the territory's cabinet and elected assembly of their powers under a 2006 constitution and put the British-appointed governor in control.

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A probe was launched last July into allegations of corruption in land sales, distribution of government contracts and development deals and the granting of voting rights, and misuse of public funds. Preliminary findings published Monday pointed to a "high probability of systemic corruption or other serious dishonesty" among the ruling elite, British junior foreign minister Gillian Merron told lawmakers in London.

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The islands have been at one point part of the Bahamas and of Jamaica, but were granted their own governor in 1973. About 32,000 people live on the territory, many of them British citizens, and it derives most of its income from tourism and as a tax haven.

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BRUCE WILLIS MARRIES EMMA HEMING - aka Demi ver 2.0

BRUCE WILLIS MARRIES EMMA HEMING IN TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS

BRUCE Willis has wed Victoria's Secret model Emma Heming in a Caribbean island ceremony attended by his ex-wife Demi Moore and their three children.

Moore's husband, fellow actor Ashton Kutcher, was also at the event in the Turks and Caicos islands, a spokesman for the Die Hard star said.

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Actor Bruce Willis married model-actress Emma Heming over the weekend in the Turks and Caicos Islands, the actor's publicists announced.


It is the second marriage for actor Bruce Willis, 54, and the first for model-actress Emma Heming, 30.

A small, private ceremony was held at the actor's home in the islands in the West Indies on Saturday, according to publicists Rogers and Cowan.

It is the second marriage for Willis, 54, and the first for Heming, 30. The couple met through friends and have been together for more than a year, the publicists said.

At the wedding were Willis' daughters, Rumer, 20; Scout, 17; and Tallulah Belle, 14. Their mother and Willis' first wife, actress Demi Moore and her husband, actor Ashton Kutcher, also attended the ceremony.

Willis and Heming will have a civil ceremony when they return to California, the publicists said.

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There is a 22-year age gap between the bride and groom - Willis is 54, Heming is 32. The couple reportedly met last year.

US television said the A-list celebrity guests included pop queen Madonna.

Moore, 46, was married to Willis from 1987 to 2000. The couple have three daughters, Rumor, 20, Scout, 17, and Tallulah Belle, 15.

After her marriage to Willis ended she married Kutcher, 31, in 2005.

Meanwhile it has been announced Kutcher is set to star in a new TV series with Aussie supermodel Elle Macpherson.

Called A Beautiful Life the drama is set in the world of the modelling industry

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PICTURES OF EMMA HEMING

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BRAZILIAN WAX BAN - New Jersey pulls back on proposed BAN OF BRAZILIAN WAXING

It looks like bikini season will come to New Jersey after all. Perhaps realizing how silly they looked, Garden State officials on Friday scrapped plans for a BAN ON BRAZILIAN WAXING.

The BAN ON BRAZILIAN WAXING was being considered by the state's Board of Cosmetology and Hairstyling because two women had been hospitalized in the last year for infections following a bare-it-all Brazilian-style treatment. But in a letter to the board on Friday, New Jersey Consumer Affairs Director David Szuchman wrote: "I cannot agree to the complete prohibition ... banning removal of hair in the genital area."

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For the uninitiated, a Brazilian-style bikini wax involves the full removal of hair from what can euphemistically be called the "bikini region." Jeannette Abou-Mourad, owner of Sisters Skin Care and Waxing on Michigan Avenue, explained that despite its South American name the practice began thousands of years ago in the Middle East, a tradition considered routine and hygienic.

"It's pure cleanliness," she said. "It began in the Middle East, then traveled to Brazil and around other parts of the world before it wound up in America." Salon owners in New Jersey cried out when they heard about the potential ban, fearing the economic impact it might have with bikini season on the horizon.

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Szuchman, in his letter to the cosmetology board, wrote that he believes there are "alternate means to address any public health issues" and he encouraged the board to begin a review of the training needed to safely provide Brazilian bikini waxes.

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The short and curly on the BRAZILIAN WAX BAN