"Pope John Paul II was given the last rites of the Roman Catholic Church late Thursday night as his health condition deteriorated..." More
KETTERING, Ohio (AP) -- A woman rushing to a hospital to give birth hit a few stops along the way -- first at a gas station where she delivered the baby herself, then when confused police ordered her out of the car at gunpoint.
Debbie Coleman, whose 3- and 4-year-old daughters were asleep in the back seat, pulled over at a gas station just after midnight Tuesday.
"I asked if she needed help, and she just leaned back in the seat, hollered a little, and I looked down and there was the baby's head," said station co-owner Lloyd Goff, who was alerted to the emergency at pump No. 7 by a customer.
Goff said Coleman "threw her leg over the steering wheel, groaned once, and the rest of the baby came out.
"She caught that baby, put it to her chest, gave me a look, like, 'I gotta go,' closed the door, put the van in gear and away she went."
A customer at the gas station in suburban Dayton tried to give police a heads-up about Coleman's situation, but a mix-up involving the license plate number had them thinking the van was stolen.
As officers went looking for her, Coleman headed for the hospital, naked below the waist and with the baby boy in her arm. His umbilical cord was still attached.
"I kept pulling over, making sure (the baby) was all right, breathing," she said.
Meanwhile, police had straightened out the license plate issue. But another caller mistakenly reported someone trying to throw a baby from a van.
Coleman said she noticed several cruisers following her before one cut her off. With guns drawn, officers ordered her out of the van with her hands up.
"I opened the door and said, 'I just had a baby' and just let them see everything," she said.
Officers sent Coleman on and let the hospital know she was coming.
Coleman was discharged Wednesday. Her 6-pound, 8-ounce son, Richard Lee Coleman Jr., remained in intensive care.
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LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- It's "rubbish" to suggest there was a deliberate effort to tinker with "American Idol" by putting wrong voting information on-screen, a series producer said Wednesday.
Fox's talent contest, which viewers decide by casting phone or text-messaging votes, showed incorrect call-in numbers Tuesday for Mikalah Gordon, Anwar Robinson and Jessica Sierra.
It was the second unsettling incident for "American Idol" in two weeks. Finalist Mario Vazquez quit abruptly and without explanation March 12.
"Why would we contaminate the honesty of one of the top-rated shows in America by fiddling with it?" executive producer Ken Warwick asked Wednesday in a telephone news conference.
"It's regrettable. This was a human error and we had to address it as best we could," Warwick said. An independent contractor was responsible for the on-air display, he said, declining to identify the company.
All the results were tossed out and a new vote was to be conducted after the filmed performances were re-aired Wednesday in an expanded hourlong show. The outcome -- one contestant is voted off each week -- will be announced in a half-hour special 9 p.m. EST Thursday.
Various remedies were considered but the producers decided the fairest outcome would be based on the performances the singers had given, not new ones, Warwick said. The 11 finalists took the error in stride, he said.
Judges Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul "were as flabbergasted about it as we were," Warwick said.
Conceding that the program has been dogged by accusations of everything from racism to an anti-overweight bias skewing the outcome, Warwick said the contest's honesty has been proven.
He dismissed any possibility of conspiracy in the latest incident, which comes in the fourth season. Web sites were abuzz with speculation, reporters noted.
"It's rubbish. We wouldn't contaminate the success of the show in fiddling with it, and that's the truth," he said. More
ALBANY, New York (AP) -- Audiences at a recent They Might Be Giants concert were rocking out -- or at least jumping up and down a bit before bedtime.
Kids about kindergarten age filled the front rows during a bookstore concert by the veteran rock duo that built a following among the college radio crowd for their witty, often nerdy, songs. But on this night they were supporting a new CD and DVD made especially for kids, an homage to the alphabet titled "Here Come the ABCs."
The children packed in alongside twentysomethings as the group gave a rousing rendition of "Alphabet of Nations":
"Algeria! Bulgaria! Cambodia! Dominica! Egypt! France! ..." More
"Due to an error with the graphics shown on-screen (incorrect voting numbers were displayed) during the performance recap at the end of last night’s AMERICAN IDOL, a live, one-hour show will air tonight, Wednesday, March 23 9/8c on FOX, to enable a re-vote. This new show will combine new live elements with encores of Tuesday’s performances from the remaining 11 contestants.
Phone lines will open at the conclusion of tonight's show and will remain open for two hours to give viewers the chance to vote for their favorite contestants and keep them in the competition. Only the voting results from tonight’s show will determine who received the lowest number of votes and will be sent home this week. Tune in to see who America has chosen to stay and who is sent home on the live results show tomorrow, Thursday, March 24 9/8c live on FOX." More
NEW YORK (AP) -- Mario Vazquez is no longer contending for the "American Idol" crown, but he's following in the footsteps of one of its most famous alumni -- Clay Aiken.
Vazquez has hired Aiken's lawyer, Jess L. Rosen -- the man who sprung Aiken from the contract binding him to the 19 Entertainment, the management company owned by "American Idol" creator Simon Fuller. More
Celebrity Fit Club is over and now I can finally get back to gorging on Slim
Jims and Peeps followed by my purging into the mouths of Ethiopian children.
(oh boo hoo yourself... I don't see you contributing to the cause. They
gotta get their food from somewhere even if it is regurgitated from yours
truly's sexy mouth).
For all of you that don't realize by now, I was one of the fat pigs on
the show. Which one? Hint: I know that Stubby Baldwin has a 3 inch cock
(that drugged-up bitch tried to stick that tiny thing into my gaping,
chocolate hole of deliciousness) and I also know that Mia Tyler smells like
Biz Markie's balls (she loves balls). Speaking of Mia Tyler, did I mention
that she smells like Biz Markie's balls?
(Courtesy of Scrubs)
J.D.: Half of what rappers say doesn't make any sense. Like that Snoop Dogg-Dr. Dre song? What does "still hittin' them corners and those ho-hos girl" mean?
Turk: Many disadvantaged African-Americans have limited nutritional choices, therefore they must subsist on Ho-Ho snack cakes. It's a black thing, bro.
Molly: Actually, Turk, it's "still hittin' them corners and them 'lo-los' girls." Lo-los, not ho-hos.
Elliot: See, Turk, in the 'hood, a lo-lo is a lowrider, or a car with an adjusted suspension that allows it to bounce up and down.
She and Molly demonstrate the movement with their hands, much to J.D.'s amusement.
Elliot: And Dre and Snoop enjoy driving around together in their lowriders around the corners, or lizzle-rizzles.
Elliot: [rapping] I'm representin' for them gangstas all across the world!
Molly: [rapping] Still hittin' them corners and them lo-los girls!
Elliot: [rapping] Still --
Elliot & Molly : [rapping] -- taking my time to perfect the beat, and I still got love for the street!
Carla: Turk! You just got schooled on rap by the two whitest chicks in America!
Turk: None of you can prove it!
J.D.: I got it on tape.
Elliot and Molly make scratch noises.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- For more than a year, Rep. Joe Wilson's desk at the House Armed Services Committee was the intersection of his personal and political interest in the Iraq war.
On the table were bills about how to pay for and supply the conflict. Underneath, a handheld computer buzzed with real-time reports from his son Alan, an intelligence officer in southern Iraq.
"I would get a 'Hey Dad' message almost every day," the South Carolina Republican recalls. "I felt like I was voting on legislation, but I was living it simultaneously."
For about half a dozen members of Congress who have had kids serving in Iraq, the war is far more than a matter of public policy. They debate it and often defend it -- with eyes on public opinion, like almost any elected official. But they also live the war through those most dear to them.
Therein lies a lesson about the limits of power.
Lawmakers may be able to shift billions of dollars to pet projects or get seats at a state dinner. But none has the muscle to keep a child safe in a war zone, half a world away. More
You are 'growing one's own food'. You are guided by two words: 'Live simply.' You value quality over quantity in most things, and you have little use for the materialism and consumerism of modern culture. You know the value of hard work and try to be self-sufficient as much as possible, and what you do you do well. Unfortunately, no man is an island, and you cannot do everything yourself. Your puritanical work ethic makes makes people think that you are weird, and not much fun. Your problem is that growing one's own food has been obsolete for a long time.
You Are 27 Years Old |
27 Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe. 13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world. 20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences. 30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more! 40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax. |
