(... official name pending...): Jul 12, 2011

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Netflix increases prices!

Netflix on Tuesday announced price changes that add about $6 to the monthly bills of subscribers for unlimited streaming video and DVD rentals.

First ladies past and present, others pay bipartisan tribute to Betty Ford at Calif. memorial

PALM DESERT, Calif. — First ladies, past and present, and others who called the White House home remembered Betty Ford on Tuesday, not just for her decades-long work against substance abuse but for her contributions to a political era when friendship among lawmakers helped them govern.

Boehner: ‘I don’t know’ what happens if debt deal isn’t reached

House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) on Tuesday said he was not certain what might happen if congressional leaders and the White House don’t come up with a debt-limit agreement by an Aug. 2 deadline.

“I don’t know,” Boehner said after a lengthy pause when asked by Fox News Channel’s Bret Baier what might happen if the ongoing debt-limit negotiations with the White House fail to produce a deal.

A man walks past Milan Stock Exchange July 12, 2011.

LONDON — Europe’s escalating debt crisis is on the verge of engulfing by far its biggest victim: Italy, the world’s seventh-largest economy, whose sheer size could thwart any international attempt to bail it out.

Italy has been deeply indebted for years, and its woes have generated a burst of investor panic in recent days amid concerns of political infighting in Rome over budget cuts. Italian bank shares have been battered, and the nation’s borrowing costs have skyrocketed to dangerous levels.

"The bottom line is if you're an attractive female in this industry, people just take you as that: attractive," she says.

Mila Kunis thinks women can be taken seriously as comedians in Hollywood -- but it's hard.

Kristen Wiig

"Cinema Verite's" Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini will direct the film beginning in August.

Maven Pictures and Anonymous Content announced Tuesday that Bridesmaids star Kristen Wiig will star in Imogene as the title character.

Sherwood Schwartz, creator of Gilligan's Island and The Brady Bunch.

The famed '70s TV show producer asked THR to publish this letter upon his death.

Following the death of Sherwood Schwartz on Tuesday, The Hollywood Reporter has been given a farewell letter titled “A Conversation at the Gates” from the late writer’s family.

David Straiton is on board to direct the Josh Lucas pilot, with Helen Shaver joining the project as a producer-director.

Juliette Lewis and Callum Keith Rennie have joined NBC's mid-season legal drama, The Firm, adapted from John Grisham's best-selling novel.

James Murdoch

Analysts are split on whether the 39-year-old heir apparent can survive the storm.

Can New Corp. heir apparent James Murdoch emerge from the Watergate-style phone-hacking scandal with his ambitions intact?

Alcohol-induced blackouts can lead to future injuries

College drinkers may amaze friends with tales of forgotten nights and sloshy parties, but research from Northwestern University shows those who can’t remember how the night ended are almost twice as likely to receive injuries in the future.

One of the Field Museum’s mummies is a 40-year-old woman who had lower back pain.

A second was a teenager who may have jumped to his death.

Another mummy has no torso.

“It was a bit of a shocker” learning that within the sarcophagus was a skull and legs but nothing to join them, said J.P. Brown, associate conservator for the museum’s department of anthropology.

The murky life and times of the Field’s ancient mummy collection, the largest in the Americas, recently got a little clearer. Since July 6, select mummies from ancient Egypt and Peru were given CT scans in a trailer in the museum parking lot. The CT machine was donated by Genesis Medical Imaging in far northwest suburban Huntley.

Casey Anthony and her advisers are putting a lot of thought into her release from prison Wednesday.

A source close to the Anthony team shared this with me Monday:

† The mother of the slain Caylee reportedly is considering various disguises she can easily employ — to realistically alter her appearance. “There even have been discussions about cosmetic surgery, but Casey has rejected that out of hand,” said the Anthony insider, who says she believes “Casey really does not completely understand the depth of hatred out there.

About the time that Florida State’s Chief Osceola rides out on the stallion, chucks the flaming spear into the ground and sends The Doak into a chopping frenzy, you realize what “NCAA Football 12’’ game designer Ben Haumiller meant about “making the game more realistic this year.’’

“The authenticity of it,’’ Haumiller said in a phone interview, “that’s the biggest thing for us every year. How it looks. More importantly, how it feels.’’

MLB’s All-Star format under scrutiny because of no-shows

PHOENIX — If Yankees great Derek Jeter needed a note excusing him from the All-Star Game tonight at Chase Field, White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko was willing to write it.

President Barack Obama sits with House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, as he meets with Republican and Democratic leaders regarding the debt ceiling, Monday, July 11, 2011, in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington.

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama and congressional leaders on Monday emerged still deeply divided over how to slash the nation’s debt, with reality sinking in that even a middle-ground proposal was not big enough to succeed and would not get through Congress anyway.

Notre Dame says 7-year capital campaign raised 2 BILLION DOLLARS!

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The University of Notre Dame says its seven-year “Spirit of Notre Dame” capital campaign raised more than $2 billion for the private school.

Dan Meyer of Wilmette Illinois chops up the trees that block his driveway after taking a day off to get his home back in order after yesterday's storm. | Al Podgorski~Chicago Sun-Times

About 350,000 people remain without power Tuesday morning following Monday’s “derecho” -- a short, violent windstorm that pounded the Chicago area with hurricane-force winds.

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) — President Hamid Karzai’s half brother, the most powerful man in southern Afghanistan and a lightning rod for criticism of corruption in the government, was assassinated Tuesday by a close associate. His death leaves a dangerous power vacuum in the south just as the government has begun peace talks with insurgents ahead of a U.S. withdrawal.

‘People can’t live like this,” said a reader sitting in the dark in Park Ridge. “I’ve [had my power] down five times in a year, I’ve wasted I don’t know how many hundreds of dollars of food. We’re down again today from a little wind and rain that lasted a total of six minutes. Their service is horrendous. They will not give you an answer. It’s outrageous what we go through. Last time I was down three days, now I may be down three or four days. It’s not the Middle Ages. Maybe you can do something.”

Bree Olson is opening up about threesomes, sex with the troubled actor and, of course, how she's currently "winning" after leaving Sheen and retiring from the porn industry.

Jody Rosen reviews "Where Country Grows" by Ashton Shepherd

Australian Carbon Tax: Big Coal Not Scared

On Sunday, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard introduced a plan to make Oz the first nation to put a price on carbon pollution. In a world sorely lacking for signs that political leaders are taking the threat of global warming seriously, it is big news – especially given the fact that Australia has the largest per-capita carbon footprint in the world. The plan, which is expected to pass both houses of parliament before the end of the year, would require the nation’s 500 biggest CO2 emitters to pay a tax of $24 per ton of carbon dioxide, with that price increasing by 2.5 percent each year until 2015, when the tax will end and an emissions-trading scheme will be introduced. By 2050, Gillard's plan will reduce emissions by 80 percent and channel about $10 billion into energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. "I want people to understand we are seizing a clean energy future," Gillard said.

Coldplay, Lady Gaga, Black Eyed Peas Sign On For iHeartRadio Festival!

Some of the biggest names in pop will perform at Clear Channel event in Las Vegas

Lady Gaga Performs three hits on Japanese TV!

Mathew Knowles has filed legal papers rejecting Live Nation's claim that he had stolen money from his daughter Beyoncé on her most recent world tour.

U.S. decrees that marijuana has no accepted medical use

The decision by the DEA comes almost nine years after medical marijuana supporters asked the government to reclassify cannabis to take into account a growing body of research that shows its effectiveness in treating certain diseases.

As British cellphone hacking scandal widens, Murdoch's bid for BSkyB hits new snag

Reports say that Prince Charles and former Prime Minister Gordon Brown were among those whose cellphones were targeted by newspapers owned by Rupert Murdoch. Meanwhile, Murdoch's bid to take over satellite broadcaster BSkyB faces months of delay after the government refers the matter to antitrust regulators.

Kevin Baxter: It's time for baseball to put the fun back in its All-Star game - (LA Times)

Trying to turn an exhibition into serious competition, with home-field advantage in the World Series awarded to the winning league, hasn't worked. The solution: Re-energize by de-emphasizing.

WASHINGTON — President Obama made no apparent headway on Monday in his attempt to forge a crisis-averting budget deal, but he put on full display his effort to position himself as a pragmatic centrist willing to confront both parties and address intractable problems.

Fear in the Market: All eyes on China and Italy!

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- World stock markets tumbled Tuesday, after a report stoked concerns about the finances of more than five dozen Chinese companies, and as fears remain high about Europe's debt crisis spilling over into Italy.

Asian stocks finished sharply lower, with China's Shanghai Composite (SHCOMP) index falling 1.7% after Moody's Investors Services warned of risky business practices at 61 Chinese companies.

The U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act prohibits bribing foreign officials
A second portion of the law applies to accounting requirements
"There does seem to be a basis for a U.S. investigation," says a business law professor

The police officer who decided not to investigate hacking earlier says some officers probably took bribes
Gordon Brown says News International illegally got his bank details
The accusation widens the scandal over illegal eavesdropping from News of the World to other Murdoch papers
Public outrage over the scandal interferes with Murdoch's expansion plans

The number of confirmed dead rises to 71 in the sinking of the "Bulgaria"
President Dmitry Medvedev declares Tuesday a national day of mourning
He orders a special investigation and tells prosecutors to look into the case
The ship was overloaded and not licensed to carry passengers, prosecutors say

Neighborhood residents say two women visited homes and offered vaccinations
The Guardian newspaper first reported the news
Report: The CIA recruits a doctor to run the fake vaccination drive
One source tells the paper the operation did not succeed

Spacewalk is scheduled for 8:44 a.m. Tuesday
Space debris no threat to station or shuttle, NASA says
The crew is delivering supplies and spare parts
The mission is the last of the 30-year space shuttle program

Chicago in the dark! - massive storms cause massive blackout!

(CNN) -- About 390,000 customers in the greater Chicago area were without power early Tuesday morning following massive storms that moved through the area a day earlier.

Full restoration could take several days, said Judy Rader, a spokeswoman with the ComEd utility company.

The heat index is expected to exceed 105 degrees in 23 states
Heat advisories are expected to last through at least Tuesday
Excessive heat is extremely hazardous to human health
Heat-related death reported in Illinois

Assange does not speak to reporters as he arrives at the court
The case is not related to his website, which leaks secret information
Assange says the allegations are an attempt to smear him
A judge in February rejected his lawyers' arguments against extradition

The policy applies to gun dealers in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas
Gun dealers must report sales of high-power rifles under certain conditions
Authorities say it's an effort to stem the flow of guns to Mexican drug cartels
Critics say it's an illegal expansion of gun-control laws; the NRA says it will sue

Fearsome drop on US stocks!

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- U.S. stocks were headed for another drop Tuesday, amid growing concerns that the eurozone debt crisis is spreading to Italy.

Party leaders to meet again over growing federal deficits and debt
Monday's meeting between Obama and Hill leaders produces no breakthrough
Boehner, Obama say disagreements remain over taxes and entitlements
The United States must raise its $14.3 trillion debt ceiling by August 2 or risk a default

Petraeus calls the shooting "unfathomable"
The Taliban claims responsibility
Hamid Karzai: "The Afghanistan people have suffered a lot"
A guard kills Ahmed Wali Karzai, the governor's spokesman says

Where do the world’s most stressed women live?

(CNN) - A recent study released by the Nielsen Company that examines the consumer and media habits of women in emerging and developed countries has found that women in India are the most stressed – and they spend differently.

The Women of Tomorrow Study, which examined 6,500 women across 21 different nations from February through April 2011, found that an overwhelming 87% of Indian women said they felt stressed most of the time, with 82% claiming they had no time to relax.

LinkedIn is second-most popular social network in the U.S.
U.S. traffic to ailing Myspace is half of what it was in June 2010
Myspace still has about 130 million active users

Petry will be the second living Medal of Honor recipient from the Iraq and Afghan wars
He was wounded by a bullet that went through both legs while serving in Afghanistan
He then picked up an enemy grenade and tossed it away from fellow soldiers
If not for Petry's actions, "we would have been seriously injured or killed," a Ranger writes

Tom Stuker is the first person to reach 10 million miles in United's Mileage Plus program
He has flown on almost 6,000 United flights since 1982 for business and pleasure
"If I go a week or two without flying, I get really jumpy," Stuker says

Former first lady Rosalynn Carter and journalist Cokie Roberts will eulogize Ford
Secretary of State Clinton, a former first lady, praises Betty Ford for breaking taboos
Ford will have a public funeral in California, and a private burial in Michigan
Ford died Friday at age 93

Google+ sends spam to users over the weekend
Google VP says the error was the result of growing pains
Tech bloggers generally give Google's new social network positive reviews
But some are clamoring for features, like celebrity verification, that Google+ lacks