Rob Ford's brother to run for mayor,After the ouster, the appeal and the by-election — which Rob Ford likely can't run in — there is still a possibility that Ford Nation will have a champion in the Office of the Mayor.

Have you forgotten they come in pairs?

The latest from Toronto City Hall is the possibility that Doug Ford will make a bid to replace his brother, who was thrown from office by an Ontario Superior Court judge earlier this week.

Citing anonymous sources, The Toronto Star reports that Ford's closest allies gathered to come up with a strategy on how to recover from the decision, which will see Rob removed from office in two weeks.

According to the Star's Robyn Doolittle, Plan A is to get the ruling overturned and Plan B is for the mayor to win the by-election. However, the city's top legal adviser said her interpretation was that Ford would be blocked from running in that potential by-election:

If Ford is banned from running in a by-election, his councillor brother would run in his place. The mayor would then turn his attention to provincial politics, which Doug Ford had been planning to do this year.

Mayor Doug Ford. Well, crazier things have happened. (Literally, like as recently as two years ago when a crazier thing happened.)

Thinner, more tan and prone to bouts of eye contact, Doug Ford differs from his beleaguered brother in a few subtle ways. In other ways, he is just Ford 2.0.

The message: Doug and Rob often share the same sound bites, railing against unnecessary spending and harping against the same perceived liberal attacks against them.

The temper: Upon learning his brother had lost the conflict-of-interest case, Doug barreled through a swarm of media, knocking those who didn't move aside, to stand next to Rob as he offered comments.

Richard Lustig tips,Richard Lustig has offered some interesting tips to his fellow Americans on how they can win the half a billion lottery jackpot that is up for grab.

Lustig knows a thing or two about winning the lottery – he won a huge jackpot not once, not twice but seven times.

The 7-time lottery winner appeared on FOX News where he gave the following winning tips.

Do not let the machine pick your numbers – you have less chances of winning with a quick pick.

Have a selection of numbers, make sure they have never been drawn before and constantly play that set of numbers.

Play regularly.

Play a lot – meaning after you have paid your bills, shopped for groceries and put gas in your car – set a side a budget and play as often as you can.

Will you be playing in order to win the $550 million Powerball jackpot?

Wrong Turn Prison,A Dallas truck driver is enjoying his first weekend of freedom in seven months after what his employer said was an "honest mistake" landed him in a Mexican prison.

Jabin Bogan was transporting a load of ammunition to a Phoenix gun shop in April when he said he made a wrong turn, causing him to cross the border into Mexico, where strict firearms laws are enforced.

"He told me he was coming from the warehouse, missed a turn, and was stuck one-way going south," said Bogan's manager at Demco Express, Denis Mekenye. "At that point he asked a cop how to make a U-turn and was told to go three or four miles, but at that point was in Mexico."

Bogan was arrested when he tried to re-enter the United States near El Paso, Texas, with 268,000 rounds of ammunition in his truck.

He was released on Friday after his mother paid a fine, ABC News affiliate WFAA reported.

The father of one had an emotional reunion with his family over the holiday weekend.

"My son, that's my motivation," he told WFAA. "That kept me going every day. My mama is my strength - without my mama I wouldn't be no where now. My family is my pride and joy."

If convicted, Bogan could have faced more than 25 years in prison.

Celebs' Exotic Pets: Celebrities Pet---When money isn't really an issue, you get to spend money on whatever homes and clothes you want to buy. For some celebs, though, the desire to blow cash on unique items extends to buying exotic animals. Because why would you want a golden retriever when you could have a goat or even a donkey? Click through to see which celebs prefer to have unconventional family pets.

Tori Spelling

This reality TV star has lived in the City of Angels her whole life, but based on her choice in pets you'd think she had grown up on a farm. The unusual animals she takes on walks around the neighborhood tori spelling pet goat, animal did she name Coco Tori Spelling's Pet Chicken, Tori Spelling family.

Black Friday Sales Top 1 Billion, Black Friday retail sales online this year topped $1 billion for the first time ever as more consumers used the Internet do their early holiday shopping, comScore Inc said on Sunday.

Online sales jumped 26 percent on Black Friday to $1.04 billion from sales of $816 million on the corresponding day last year, according to comScore data.

Amazon.com was the most-visited retail website on Black Friday, and it also posted the highest year-over-year visitor growth rate among the top five retailers. Wal-Mart Stores Inc's website was second, followed by sites run by Best Buy Co., Target Corp. and Apple Inc, comScore noted.

Digital content and subscriptions, including e-books, digital music and video, was the fastest-growing retail category online, with sales up 29 percent versus Black Friday last year, according to comScore data.

E-commerce accounts for less than 10 percent of consumer spending in the United States. However, it is growing much faster than bricks-and-mortar retail as shoppers are lured by low prices, convenience, faster shipping and wide selection.

ShopperTrak, which counts foot traffic in physical retail stores, estimated Black Friday sales of $11.2 billion, down 1.8 percent from the same day last year.

"Online has been around 9 percent of total holiday sales, but it could breach 10 percent for the first time this season," said Scot Wingo, chief executive of ChannelAdvisor, which helps merchants sell more on websites, including Amazon.com and eBay.com.

Seven robbers shot dead,  An elite South African police unit shot dead seven men when they tried to rob a cash depot in western Johannesburg on Saturday evening, a spokesman for the unit said.

Nine others were injured and under police guard in hospital, a spokesman of the unit known as Hawks told Reuters. Police also confiscated 11 vehicles and four firearms.

"We believe we got the kingpin down. We are convinced that we got all the robbers - dead or arrested," Paul Ramaloko said.

The depot belonged to Protea Coin, a security company which runs a cash-in-transit business.

Crime is a chronic problem for South Africa. It has one of the highest murder rates in the world outside a war zone.

About 40 percent of the adult population is jobless - a percentage expected to rise substantially in the coming years - and this is seen driving crime and widening economic inequality.

Dinah Sheridan Dies,She was considered the quintessential English rose because of her elegance and quiet beauty.

The actress Dinah Sheridan, who starred in The Railway Children, has died.

Ms Sheridan, 92, who also starred in Genevieve, died peacefully at her home in Northwood, Middlesex this morning surrounded by her family, said her agent Gareth Owen.

The actress, the mother of actress Jenny Hanley and Sir Jeremy Hanley, was considered the quintessential English rose because of her elegance and quiet beauty.

She was born Dinah Nadyejda Ginsburg in Hampstead in 1920 to a Russian father and German mother who were photographers to the Royal Family.

Her first stage role came at the tender age of 12 and she subsequently went on tour as Wendy in Peter Pan which starred Charles Laughton as Captain Hook.

Ms Sheridan's film break came shortly after when she was 16 and appeared in such films as Irish And Proud of It (1938) until her momentum was interrupted by the Second World War.

In 1942 she married actor Jimmy Hanley and had three children, although one died at birth.

One daughter, Jenny Hanley, followed in her parents' footsteps and became a noted actress.

The couple appeared together in titles such as Salute John Citizen (1942), 29 Acacia Avenue (1945) and The Huggetts Abroad (1949).

Ms Sheridan's career peaked with the sparkling comedy Genevieve (1953), co-starring John Gregson, Kenneth More and Kay Kendall.

Clinton falls asleep, Hillary Clinton is earning some notoriety among web trolls today as a video makes its way around the circuit of her apparently catching a few z’s during President Obama’s speech in Myanmar on Monday. The president was the first American leader to visit Myanmar, as well as Cambodia, and gave an inspirational speech to the audience at the University of Yangon. “You’re taking a journey that has the potential to inspire so many people,” Obama said. Apparently, jet-lag was enough to keep the Secretary of State a little sleepy during the oration, as it appears she nodded off for a moment.

David Petraeus rehire, I have a great idea whom Barack Obama should nominate as his next CIA director: Gen. David Petraeus. With that simple announcement, Obama could strike a blow for civil liberties and against the silly and destructive sexual Puritanism that has taken down so many public figures. Since Petraeus’ departure both Democrats and Republicans have been mourning the loss of a public servant of extraordinary ability.

So let’s mourn no more. The president can say that when news of Petraeus’ affair first broke he reluctantly accepted the general’s resignation. But as it has become clear that the events were wholly of a private nature and national security was not breached, he is reinstating his CIA director. (OK, we probably have to wait until the CIA finishes its new investigation into whether Petraeus used agency resources to conduct the affair, but investigators have leaked that they don’t expect any criminal charges.)

Because Obama is a man with such a blemish-free private life, this could be a “Nixon in China” moment. It would be impossible for a Bill Clinton, say, to strike such a blow for sexual sanity. But given that even that insatiable sex fiend is back in the arena and much revered (by some), surely that means we have grown up enough to realize that just because you’re in public life doesn’t mean every aspect of your marriage is fair game.\

Yes, it’s been titillating to read the farcical details of Petraeus’ fling, and no one got more vicarious pleasure than I. But in the end the Petraeus so-called scandal is just the old story of a long-married man who strayed with a younger woman, a woman who unfortunately for all went a little nuts. I hope that for none of the participants it’s a marriage ender, but it certainly should not have been a career ender.

Deborah Raffin dies--Actress Deborah Raffin has died at the age of 59. Raffin passed away at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center after a year long battle with leukemia.

Years before her death Raffin was running a successful audiobook company which was oftentimes helped along by her many celebrity friends.

Raffin’s death was revealed by her brother William who told the Los Angeles Times that she was diagnosed with the blood cancer approximately one year ago.

During her career Deborah Raffin had roles in such movies as Forty Carats and Once Is Not Enough. On the TV front Raffin starred as actress Brooke Hayward in Haywire and as a businesswoman in Noble House.

The actress and her former husband Michael Viner launched Dove Books-on-Tape in the mid-1980s. The business eventually turned into a multimillion-dollar venture that included such hits as Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time.

With her connections in Hollywood it was Raffin’s job to secure celebrity voices for her writers books. Viner and Raffin sold Dove Books-on-Tape in 1997. Viner died of cancer in 2008, eight year after the couple divorced.

Raffin is survived by her daughter Taylor Rose Viner and her brother and sister, William and Judy Holston.

The family of Deborah Raffin has planned services in Culver City, California on Sunday.

Our condolences go out to the entire Raffin family and their friends.
Read more at http://www.inquisitr.com/409308/deborah-raffin-dies-at-59/#tcB7ZXYwyG4PiT5M.99

Mayim Bialik divorce--Mayim Bialik and her husband, Michael Stone, are getting divorced, her publicist confirmed to ABCNews.com. Bialik cites “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for the split and plans to file papers in court today.

“The main priority for us now is to make the transition to two loving homes as smooth and painless as possible,” Bialik said in a statement. “Our sons deserve parents committed to their growth and health and that’s what we are focusing on.”

Bialik, who stars in “The Big Bang Theory” and shot to fame with the ’90s sitcom “Blossom,” has been married to Stone for nine years. They have two children together, Miles and Frederick. Bialik recently made headlines with her book about attachment parenting, “Beyond the Sling,” in which she revealed that she still breastfeeds Fred, who is nearly 4, and said she and her husband sleep on the floor in a family bed with the two boys.

Bialik said the “hands-on style of parenting we practice played no role in the changes that led to this decision,” adding, “relationships are complicated no matter what style of parenting you choose.”

Calvin Johnson 100 yards--Detroit fans are thankful for Calvin Johnsontoday.

Megatron already has five catches for 103 yards at halftime, including a 22-yard touchdown catch just before the two-minute warning, which gave the Lions a 21-14 lead over the Texans. Johnson has been hobbled by multiple injuries and missing a lot of practice in recent weeks, but it hasn’t affected him on game days: This is Johnson’s fourth straight game over 100 yards.

The Lions’ passing game is working as well as it has all season, aided in part by the absence of Texans cornerback Johnathan Joseph. Receivers Ryan Broyles andMike Thomas are having solid games (and perhaps supplanting Titus Young, who was benched this week for bad behavior, on the depth chart), and tight endsBrandon Pettigrew and Tony Scheffler are playing well too.

The Texans’ passing game is looking good as well. Andre Johnson has made a couple of huge plays himself, and has three catches for 87 yards at the half. Matt Schaub has played very well despite a lot of pressure (and some borderline cheap shots) from Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh.

At halftime, Boomer Esiason of CBS said of Suh, “I would never shake this guy’s hand. Once again he has crossed over the line and it’s obvious it’s on purpose.”

Houston’s offensive line needs to keep Suh away from Schaub, and Houston’s secondary needs to find an answer for Megatron, or else the Texans are heading for their second loss of the season.

lebron names sir jack--Attention, Grinnell College basketball office:LeBron James wants the tape from Jack Taylor's record-setting scoring spree.

Or as "King James" is now calling Taylor, "Sir Jack."

The NBA champion Miami Heat took plenty of notice of Taylor in their shootaround practice Wednesday morning, one day after the Grinnell guard scored a record 138 points in only 36 minutes of playing time against Faith Baptist Bible In Grinnell, Iowa. The Heat called their intern — the day's designated shooter during a defensive drill for the team — "Taylor" all morning during practice, and after the session, James was among those weighing in on the significance of the feat.

"It's unbelievable, honestly," James said. "I would like to see the game. I want to see the game."

Hard to believe, but after one record shooting night, a three-time NBA MVP like James was putting Taylor in the same breath as all-time superstars like Kobe Bryant and Wilt Chamberlain.

"I watched Kobe's game when he had 81," James said. "I watched some of the greatest games ever played when guys scored big numbers. There's two games that I would love to see: One was Wilt, when he had 100, and this kid, I want to see him too. Sir Jack."

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra wasn't sure of the name of the school, but knew plenty about what Taylor had done.

"A lot of us probably wished we were at, Grimmell? Is that where it is? Grinnell?" Spoelstra said.

James said he doesn't believe he's ever topped 56 points in any game — he scored that many against Toronto in 2005, but didn't remember any game as a young player or high schooler where he had more.

He said he couldn't even manipulate a video game well enough to score 100 points, noting that "you've got to mess with the rules and the users and all that stuff to get to that."

New Mexico gun store shooting--Authorities say an employee at a New Mexico gun shop was unloading a handgun when he accidentally shot a customer in the back.

The Las Cruses Sun-News reports the 65-year-old customer was airlifted from Silver City to a Texas hospital, where was listed in stable condition Tuesday afternoon.

Silver City Police Chief Ed Reynolds says an employee at Copper County Sporting Arms was unloading a .45 calibre handgun when the weapon went off, shooting the man in the back.

Emergency responders closed off the street in front of the shop, so a medical helicopter could pick up the customer. It flew him to an El Paso, Texas, hospital for treatment.

Reynolds says the investigation is ongoing, and it’s unclear whether any charges will be filed. No names have been released.

A person who answered the phone Tuesday at Copper Country declined to talk to the Sun-News.

$4.2 Million Christmas Tree--For those seeking a glow to their Christmas this year, a jewellery store in downtown Tokyo has just the answer: a pure gold revolving "tree" covered in Disney characters such as Mickey Mouse, Tinker Bell and Cinderella.

The tree-like ornament is made of 40 kg (88 pounds) of pure gold, standing about 2.4 metres (7.9 ft) high and 1.2 metres in diameter. It is decorated with pure gold plate silhouette cutouts of 50 popular Disney characters and draped with ribbons made of gold leaf.

The price tag? A mere 350 million yen ($4.2 million).

But the ornament is actually a deal, said Tomoko Ishibashi, in the marketing department of Tanaka Kikinzoku Jewelry, which runs the Ginza Tanaka jewellery store.

"Right now gold is over 4,400 yen per gram. We used pure gold and had an expert craftsman form each Disney character by hand," she said of the decoration, which took 10 craftsmen two months to complete.

The combination of gold and Disney characters had spectators mesmerised.

"It is very vivid and the gold is very pretty," said Takashi Miura, a 36-year-old jeweller. "The characters on it are also really cute and it really looks like a Christmas tree."

For those with less ready cash, the store offers a scaled-down version that features 20 Disney characters and stands 25 cm high for a mere 2 million yen ($243,000).

While nobody has yet made a down payment on the larger tree, the miniature has already found buyers, Ishibashi said. (Reporting by Kimiteru Tsuruda, editing by Elaine Lies)

Arrest For Saying Santa’s Not Real--Arrested for saying Santa's not real? That's not the whole story, but it's close. The incident took place at the Santa Parade in Kingston, Ontario over the weekend. According to information made available on Nov. 19, 2012, the 24-year-old man was arrested on charges of public intoxication and breach of probation. He wasn't actually arrested for saying Santa's not real, but the fact that he was yelling that Santa Claus doesn't exist while at a Christmas-themed parade probably helped bring unwanted attention to himself from the people who called police.

According to Metro News, Kingston Constable Scott Kingston described the man as having hair that "looked like a set of devil horns protruding from his head." The man began yelling that Santa isn't real about one hour after the Santa Parade began. It was approximately 6 p.m. on Saturday, and the parade of Christmas floats was making its merry way down Princess Street when the disturbance culminated in the man's arrest. It looks like someone's getting a lump of coal in his stocking this year.

Rovers Big Discovery--Mars rovers were made to make a big discovery, but this one is for the history books, but NASA scientists say we have to wait a few weeks to reveal what Curiosity found.

There are several media reports about the new Red Planet find that was made by Curiosity’s Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM), the rover’s onboard chemistry lab. It is capable of identifying organic compounds — the carbon-containing building blocks of life as we know it. SAM apparently spotted something interesting in a soil sample, delivered by Curiosity’s huge robotic arm.

“This data is gonna be one for the history books,” Curiosity chief scientist John Grotzinger, of Caltech in Pasadena, told NPR. “It’s looking really good.”

Grotzinger said the rover team won’t be ready to announce just what SAM found for several weeks yet, NPR reported. The scientists want to check and double-check the results, to make sure they’re for real.

The $2.5 billion Curiosity rover landed inside Mars’ huge Gale Crater on Aug. 5, kicking off a two-year mission to determine if Mars has ever been capable of supporting microbial life.

The car-size robot carries 10 different instruments to aid in its quest, but SAM is the rover’s heart, taking up more than half of its science payload by weight.

In addition to analyzing soil samples, SAM also takes the measure of Red Planet air. Many scientists are keen to see if Curiosity detects any methane, which is produced by many lifeforms here on Earth. A SAM analysis of Curiosity’s first few sniffs found no definitive trace of the gas in the Martian atmosphere, but the rover will keep looking.

Curiosity began driving again after spending six weeks testing its soil-scooping gear at a site called “Rocknest.” The rover will soon try out its rock-boring drill for the first time on the Red Planet, scientists have said.

Prince William and Kate Middleton--The rumor mill is a-churning with talk of Prince William and bride of a year-and-a-half Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge being with child. Of course, the ink was barely dry on their marriage license back in 2011 before the rumors started up, but when the world is so in love with you, it's easy to get caught up in the excitement.
What is fueling these new rumors? Kate has been seen toasting with water on her and William's trip to Singapore. We're fairly certain that's not some kind of Singapore custom -- plus, other people at the reception were toasting with wine. It's noteworthy, but not exactly hard evidence.

However, William is kind of adding fuel to the pregnancy fire by telling reporters he wants to have two children in an interview conducted while in Singapore. Is he perhaps softening up the ground for the big announcement?

Lovely Catherine certainly doesn't look pregnant at all. But if it's so early they haven't announced it yet, she wouldn't look pregnant yet. Some women don't really start showing for five or six months, honestly.

Helicopter Found 8 Years Later--The family of Hannah Timings, a British woman who went missing on a vacation in New Zealand eight years ago, have finally had closure, according to reports.

Her body was found this week in a crashed helicopter, along with the body of the pilot, eight years after the pair first went missing while on a flight in a remote part of New Zealand. Timings was 28 years old at the time. The young New Zealand pilot, Campbell Montgomerie, was 27.

The Hughes 500 helicopter wreckage was first noticed by another helicopter pilot on Wednesday. He telephoned local authorities who were able to get to the remote scene of the crash and recover the two bodies.

Of course, DNA testing will be used to confirm the bodies are those of Hannah Timings and Campbell Montgomerie but, as the helicopter is the same one that went missing in 2004 with Timings and Montgomerie aboard, there’s little doubt.

Hannah Timings was on a six-month holiday in New Zealand when she took the ill-fated helicopter trip.

Police have notified the families and say they hope the discovery brings some closure.

Here is the original story from 2004:

Obama Turkey Pardons-- With a wave of his hand, President Barack Obama on Wednesday gave two plump turkeys a Thanksgiving reprieve, noting that without his intervention, "they'd end up next to the mashed potatoes and stuffing."

The official national Thanksgiving turkey is a 19-week-old, 45-pound bird named Liberty. Its alternate, also spared, is a turkey of the same age and size named Peace.

Liberty sat calmly as Obama, accompanied by daughters Sasha and Malia, offered a blessing, his hand over the turkey's head. Obama said Liberty had the distinction of being "the luckiest bird on the face of the earth."

"Right now, he's also probably one of the most confused," Obama said.

Obama jokingly cast his pardon as yet another of his "We Can't Wait" initiatives. "Recently, I've been taking a series of executive actions that don't require congressional approval," the president said. "Well, here's another one. We can't wait to pardon these turkeys."

Ice skating champ lost profits--Ice skating, gold medalist Oksana Baiul filed a lawsuit this week against former agents who reportedly withheld her earnings from her, and now the athlete is asking for at least $1 million in compensatory damages.

The 35-year-old reportedly discovered the discrepancy between her earnings and the actual amount she was being given when she hired a new finance manager last year. Baiul claimed the William Morris Endeavor Agency owed her money for several projects and that the agency used language in the contracts that was difficult for her to comprehend because of her poor English skills at the age of 16, which was when she first signed with the agency.

The suit also stated that the agency distributed portions of her earnings to people she did not even know. Baiul was able to collect $9.5 million but she believed WME hid more money than that from her, according to The Inquisitr. The lawsuit filed by Baiul's party includes the following statements:

"Not until November 19, 2011, did Baiul discover, through investigations by her personal manager, Farina, that though Defendants undertook the duty to collect and in fact collected almost U.S. $9.5 million on Baiul's behalf.

"Defendants failed to collect additional sums to which Baiul was contractually entitled, failed to remit payment of the additional sums to Baiul and/or took the payments owing to Baiul and wrongful transferred them to OCL, UFG, and their agents."

Human Barbie fake--Human Barbie is as fake as her plastic inspiration, a website claims—and the accusations aren't based on the rumors that Valeria Lukyanova has had plastic surgery.

TheDirty.com claims Lukyanova, the Ukrainian Internet sensation known commonly as the "human Barbie," uses PhotoShop to make her appear more like the doll she strives to be.

As evidence for this accusation, the site posts a video (shown above) recently uploaded by Lukyanova in which she looks very different from many of her photos that can be seen on the model's Facebook page.

"Her videos aren’t photoshopped. Does she still look the same?" the site asks. "Not only are her looks fake/photoshopped this girl is also mentally insane."

In the video, Lukyanova speaks about why her head is often tilted. To hear the model tell it, it's because her neck is too thin and fragile to support her head.

The Daily Mail reports that this isn't the first time Lukyanova has been accused of using PhotoShop to achieve her jaw-dropping look. She's also been faced with reports that she's gotten plastic surgery to obtain and keep her incredibly slim figure. Lukyanova denies both charges.

"I'm happy I seem unreal," Lukyanova said in a post on her Facebook page. "It means I'm doing a good job."

Jesse James Alexis DeJoria--Jesse James falls in love quick and hard, there’s no denying that. Less than one year after his engagement to Kat Von D ended in tears and reproaches, according to reports at least, he’s getting ready to settle down again.

James has been dating drag racer Alexi DeJoria for a little over two months but they’re both convinced they were made to be together for the rest of their lives.

He’s already proposed to her, HollyScoop reports.

“Following his high profile breakups with the likes of Sandra Bullock and Kat Von D, Jesse James has set his sights on a lesser-known vixen: drag racer Alexis DeJoria. And it turns out the couple has wedding bells in their near future,” the celebrity e-zine writes.

“James and DeJoria are engaged. Insiders from the drag racing circuit confirm the news. This will be Jesse’s fourth marriage, and fifth engagement, and, no… we are not making up those numbers,” the same media outlet confirms.

For the time being, neither Jesse nor Alexis have addressed the rumors publicly but, knowing how his romance with Kat Von D played out in the press (including the breakup), one might be excused for believing he’s trying to keep a lower profile these days.

Biggest Toy Recalls 2012---The Biggest Toy Children's Product Recalls of 2012: The products on this year's recall list aren't as bad as the scary toys in this classic late-night skit, but they did have some frightful defects. Toys and kids' gear were included in some of the biggest recalls of 2012.

Namibia animal terrorize--Residents in northern Namibia, on the southwest coast of Africa, have reported being terrorized by a bizarre dog-pig hybrid creature. The animal is said to be mostly white and unlike anything the villagers have ever seen, with a doglike head and the broad, round, nearly hairless back and shoulders of a giant pig. The beast was spotted chasing and attacking dogs, goats and other domestic animals in this arid region not far from the Kalahari desert.

As often happens when rumors of monsters spread in rural areas around the world, some locals have taken extra safety precautions, such as traveling in groups and arming themselves with weapons. In 1995 and 1996, some Puerto Ricans armed themselves against the vampire beast el chupacabra; last year, Malaysian residents patrolled the streets searching for the mysterious orang minyak, or "oily man" creature that had recently terrorized them.

What could this monster be? One Namibian official, regional councilor Andreas Mundjindi, was quoted in Informante newspaper as saying, "This is an alien animal that the people have not seen before. We don't have a forest here, only bushes. So, this must be black magic at play." Some people in the area trace the beast to one old man rumored to be a warlock or witch doctor, suggesting it's his pet (or, what witch-hunters hundreds of years ago would have called a "familiar").

The assumption that the beast has magical origins is not surprising. A 2010 Gallup poll found belief in magic widespread throughout sub-Saharan Africa, with more than half of respondents saying they personally believe in witchcraft and sorcery.

This is not the first time that unusual animals have been spotted in rural areas of Namibia; several other monsters have been reported over the years, including in July 2009, when unknown creatures reportedly sucked the blood out of livestock, including nearly two dozen goats. Though no one saw the monsters, they were said to have left footprints similar to those of a dog, but much larger. Police followed the footprints, but they mysteriously stopped in an open field, as if the creature suddenly took flight or vanished. At that time, locals were also convinced that the strange beast was the product of black magic — going so far as to accuse an old man and his sister of conjuring the creature.

It's not clear whether locals believe that the current dog-headed, pig-bodied animal is the samemystery creature that terrorized the region three years ago. Whether the reports are real or rumor, hopefully belief in these creatures won't be used as an excuse for mob attacks on elderly men and women suspected of witchcraft.

Indian Woman Arrested For Facebook Like, Two women in India have been arrested for criticizing the government's handling of a funeral for a deceased politician on Facebook.

The arrests followed the death Saturday of Bal Thackeray, a Hindu fundamentalist with reported links to mob violence. His death led the Indian city of Mumbai to shut down for his funeral.

That prompted Shaheen Dhada to post a Facebook status critical of the city's handling of Thackeray's funeral, accusing the city of shutting down "due to fear, not due to respect." Renu Srinivas, a friend of Dhada's then "liked" the status and both found themselves under arrest Sunday, according to the Associated Press.

The Indian media have rallied around the women, criticizing the government for the arrests.

Notable individuals have also criticized the arrests, including Markandey Katju, a former judge on India's Supreme Court, as well as Kapil Sibal, the country's minister of communications and information technology

"Freedom of speech is a very important right, and we need to protect it," Sibal said, according to the AP.

Sibal said the government would reexamine its laws to ensure they don't curb people's freedom to express their opinions.

"We want to make sure that this law is not meant to prevent people from stating their point of view on any issue," he said.

As for the two Indian women, the pair were released on bail Monday, and not surprisingly, both have deactivated their Facebook accounts, according to the AP.

Dhada has even said she will never make comments on a social networking siteagain.

Jessica Simpson weight loss--What family drama?

Jessica Simpson appeared at a Macy's promotional event in Costa Mesa, Calif., on Saturday with her sister, Ashlee, and both looked amazing in spite of their family's recent issues.

It's the first time the famous sisters have been seen together since the news of their parents' split after 34 years of marriage.

Jessica, who publicly joined Weight Watchers after the birth of daughter Maxwell on May 1, has lost 60 pounds in the last 6 months, making her 10 pounds short of losing the 70 pounds she gained during her pregnancy.

"She's so focused and determined," her Weight Watchers leader Liz Josefsberg told Us Weekly in October. "She's very brave to do this in a healthy, more realistic way." Her trainer Harley Pasternak added, "In over 20 years, I've never seen as consistent a weight loss. Jessica's right where she needs to be ... She's gotten so much stronger."

Girl slept for 64 days--17-year-old Nicole Delien from Pennsylvania suffers from a rare disorder that manifests itself through sleeping episodes.
The Kleine-Levin, or "Sleeping Beauty" Syndrome, only affects 1,000 people worldwide, of which most are young males.


During episodes, Nicole sleeps 18 to 19 hours a day, and she remains asleep for 32 to 64 days at a time on some occasions. The most she slept was a period of 64 days, from Thanksgiving to January, Daily Mail writes.

She wakes up during the episodes, only to eat and go to the bathroom. She does so during a dream-like, sleepwalking state, her mother describes.

According to a case review by the Oxford Journal, the condition manifests itself not only through periodic hypersomnia or excessive sleeping, but also through cognitive and behavioral disturbances.

Symptoms of Kleine-Levin include disorientation, hallucination, child-like behavior, and binge-eating, most frequently during sleepwalking episodes.

ian fleming homophobia--As I arrived in Brighton last Sunday, I overheard someone say to a man in a tutu carrying a Yorkshire terrier, "We're a broad-minded bunch here." Quite so: at the tail end of the week when Gillian Duffy was branded a bigot, the city's readers were embracing a novel where xenophobia, homophobia and misogyny run riot – a book where a Turkish secret agent is praised for lacking "the banana skin handshake of the East that makes you want to wipe your fingers on your coat-tails" and the

hero declares, "There's no reason why a Russian girl shouldn't be just as silly as an English one."

The organisers of this month's Brighton Festival had decided to stage a "Big Read", and the chosen work was JFK's favourite: From Russia With Love. This seemed brave even for pansexual Brighton. After all, Ian Fleming's novel features not only the most villainous pantomime lesbian in the annals of fiction, the poison-booted Rosa Klebb, but the description of members of the intelligentsia as "long-haired perverts" by the officious Captain Troop (prompting Bond's laconic response: "Not all intellectuals are homosexuals. And many of them are bald").

I've adored the Bond books since childhood, when they introduced me to that particularly heady cocktail of sex, power and violence. As 007 says when watching two naked gipsies fight to the death (quoting his French friend, Mathis): "J'aime les sensations fortes." I relished Fleming's gift for detail, even more lavish when detailing a good breakfast or a fast car than when describing a woman's body.

Biggest Toy Recalls 2012---The Biggest Toy Children's Product Recalls of 2012: The products on this year's recall list aren't as bad as the scary toys in this classic late-night skit, but they did have some frightful defects. Toys and kids' gear were included in some of the biggest recalls of 2012.

Shania Twain horseback--Shania Twain has arrived at Caesars Palace for a two-year residency after parading down the Las Vegas Strip amid a herd of horses.


Police diverted traffic on the tourist corridor for a short time Wednesday afternoon as the country superstar arrived at the resort's fountains on horseback. She was accompanied by several dozen horses and a handful of wranglers.

Twain is due to begin a run of shows at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace starting Dec. 1.

She's the best-selling female country artist of all time, and has sold more than 75 million albums worldwide.

©2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Romney Blames Gifts--Mitt Romney is complaining about “gifts” – but to Democrats, it’s Mr. Romney who’s the gift. And he keeps on giving.

Mitt Romney is complaining about “gifts” – but to Democrats, it’s Mr. Romney who’s the gift. And he keeps on giving.

“No, I think that’s absolutely wrong,” said Governor Jindal, a rising Republican star who is Indian-American, speaking at an RGA meeting in Las Vegas. “Two points on that: One, we have got to stop dividing the American voters. We need to go after 100 percent of the votes, not 53 percent. We need to go after every single vote.”

“And, secondly,” Jindal continued, “we need to continue to show how our policies help every voter out there achieve the American dream, which is to be in the middle class, which is to be able to give their children an opportunity to be able to get a great education. … So, I absolutely reject that notion, that description. I think that’s absolutely wrong.”

Romney was echoing his infamous “47 percent” comment during a fundraiser in May – that 47 percent of the public will vote for Obama “no matter what,” because they depend on government and see themselves as victims. It may have been the most damaging gaffe of Romney’s campaign.

Obama crushed Romney among minorities – winning 93 percent of African-Americans and 71 percent of Latinos – and he won 60 percent of voters ages 18 to 29.

In his comments to donors, Romney said the Obama administration had been “very generous” to those groups.

Husband Hospital Abortion--The debate over legalizing abortion in Ireland flared Wednesday after the government confirmed a miscarrying woman suffering from blood poisoning was refused a quick termination of her pregnancy and died in an Irish hospital.

Prime Minister Enda Kenny said he was awaiting findings from three investigations into the death of Savita Halappanavar, an Indian living in Galway since 2008 who was 17 weeks along in her pregnancy. The 31-year-old's case highlights the bizarre legal limbo in which pregnant women facing severe health problems in predominantly Catholic Ireland can find themselves.

Ireland's constitution officially bans abortion, but a 1992 Supreme Court ruling found it should be legalized for situations when the woman's life is at risk from continuing the pregnancy. Five governments since have refused to pass a law resolving the confusion, leaving Irish hospitals reluctant to terminate pregnancies except in the most obviously life-threatening circumstances.

University Hospital Galway in western Ireland declined to say whether doctors believed Halappanavar's blood poisoning could have been reversed had she received an abortion rather than wait for the fetus to die on its own. In a statement it described its own investigation into the death, and a parallel probe by the national government's Health Service Executive, as "standard practice" whenever a pregnant woman dies in a hospital. The Galway coroner also planned a public inquest.

Rihanna Wants Kids--Rihanna made a stop by Ellen yesterday and revealed she ‘absolutely’ wants a family one day.

Tebow called terrible--Why are so many people making fun of Tim Tebow? 
Nobody who watches football regularly seems to make fun of the guys who do a goofy little dance in the endzone or the fans or wear cheese hats on their heads or paint their faces and bodies in their team’s colors. Is it a big deal that the kid (I call him a kid because if I were in the NFL I would be at retirement age) kneels down and says a prayer in midfield? I guess I don’t see what the big deal is – it seems he’s expressing himself in a way that’s comfortable and familiar to him. We’ve seen other NFL players express themselves in all kinds of different ways -- sometimes those
expressions have resulted in poor press, an appearance before a judge and acriminal record.
Many players have charitable organizations or appear on behalf of causes, and we don’t mock them for their beliefs. Over and over again, we’ve seen that it’s not always wise to focus on a professional athlete for a role model – from Charles Barkley to Mike Tyson to Mark McGuire to Pete Rose, they may be great at what they do, but you probably shouldn’t hold them up to your kids as a shining example of how to act. So I guess it's nice to see somebody taking the field who doesn't throw a hissy fit, beat people up, pop steroids or make illegal bets. I know most of these players are not like that, but the most notorious seem to get the most exposure.

Jill Kelley’s bogus charity--Jill Kelley’s bogus charity has been uncovered as the centerpiece of the David Petraeus sex scandal comes into the national spotlight.

Kelley was identified as the woman who tipped off FBI agents to the affair between Petraeus, the recently resigned CIA director, and biographer Paula Broadwell. Kelley allegedly received a threatening email from Broadwell, which was then forwarded on to the FBI.

But focus has now shifted to Jill Kelley’s bogus charity, which Atlantic Wire reported was used to fund parties she threw in the Tampa, Florida, area.

Jill Kelley and her husband Scott, a physician, set up the Doctor Kelley Cancer Foundation in 2007 for the purpose of conducting cancer research and granting wishes to terminally ill adult cancer patients.


The Huffington Post dug into Jill Kelley’s bogus charity and found tax forms showing that it fell short of its intended mission. The report found that all of the charity’s money was spent on parties, entertainment, and attorney fees.

O.J. Simpson taxes--Former football player O.J. Simpson, best known for being charged with and acquitted at trial for the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman, owes the IRS $179,453.07 in back taxes.
The news, first reported by celebrity news website TMZ, comes less than a year after the bank foreclosed on Simpson’s Florida home. Simpson’s tax bill includes unpaid taxes from 2007 through 2010.

But Simpson’s ability to pay back Uncle Sam is highly questionable. In addition to the millions he owes to the families of Nicole Brown Simpson and Goldman following a civil judgment, Simpson is in a Nevada prison for kidnapping and armed robbery following an incident in which he stole sports memorabilia at gunpoint from inside a room at the Palace Station hotel in Las Vegas.

Bon Jovi’s Daughter Arrested--Stephanie Rose Bongiovi, 19-year-old daughter of Jon Bon Jovi, was arrested this morning at her Upstate New York college after overdosing on heroin.

Police responded to a call to a dorm room at Hamilton College where someone reported that Stephanie was unresponsive. Some would even say she was “livin’ on a prayer.” Medics responded and found Stephanie to be still alive. Luckily for Stephanie, she can never say goodbye.

A drug task force searched the scene finding a “small quantity” of heroin along with marijuana and drug paraphernalia. They were not about to let this rock. Stephanie was arrested for three misdemeanorpossession charges and was released. Also arrested and charged with drug possession was a 21-year-old male who probably told cops, “She don’t know me.”

Ambassador Susan Rice--U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice said the attack on the American consulate in Benghazi last week was not premeditated, directly contradicting top Libyan officials who say the attack was planned in advance.


“Our current best assessment, based on the information that we have at present, is that, in fact, what this began as, it was a spontaneous – not a premeditated – response to what had transpired in Cairo,” Rice told me this morning on “This Week.”


“In Cairo, as you know, a few hours earlier, there was a violent protest that was undertaken in reaction to this very offensive video that was disseminated,” Rice said, referring to protests in Egypt Tuesday over a film that depicts the Prophet Muhammad as a fraud. Protesters in Cairo breached the walls of the U.S. Embassy, tearing apart an American flag.


“We believe that folks in Benghazi, a small number of people came to the embassy to – or to the consulate, rather, to replicate the sort of challenge that was posed in Cairo,” Rice said. “And then as that unfolded, it seems to have been hijacked, let us say, by some individual clusters of extremists who came with heavier weapons… And it then evolved from there.”

Dakota Fanning brown hair-We're so used to seeing Dakota Fanning with her signature pale blonde locks, we almost didn't recognize her at the Los Angeles premiere for "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2" on Monday night.

Cheerleader To Shave Head--NFL Indianapolis Colts Cheerleader Megan Meadors has agreed to shave her head to raise $10,000 for leukemia research.

This began last week, when several NFL Indianapolis Colts players shaved their heads to show support for Chuck Pagano, their head coach.

In September, Pagano revealed that he had leukemia; he recently began losing his hair due to medical treatment he has been receiving. So, when the team’s mascot “Blue” challenged the team’s cheerleaders to get involved the former Miss Indiana accepted.

“Blue” recently tweeted a challenge that read, “ATTENTION @nflcoltscheer: If I raise $10,000 4 leukemia research, will a cheerleader let me shave her head at our next game? #CHUCKSTRONG”

Well, it looks like “Blue” has a lot of work to do as Meadors tweeted back, “@BlueColtsMascot count me in! I’ll do it I’m #ColtStrong”

Paula Broadwells license found--A jogger recently discovered a driver’s license belonging to Paula Broadwell, the woman whose affair with David Petraeus led to his resignation as CIA director, according to Maryland Park Police.

Paula Broadwell’s North Carolina license was found in Rock Creek Park, a national park that extends across Washington, D.C.’s northwest border with Maryland. The license was found in D.C. but the jogger who picked it up turned it over to the Maryland Park Police.


Paula Broadwell’s lawyer, Robert F. Muse, confirmed to U.S. News that his client had recently lost her license in the park. The agency notified the FBI that it had obtained the license and is now holding it for 90 days until it is claimed.

Paula Broadwell is believed to be staying at her brother’s residence in the Mt. Pleasant neighborhood of Washington D.C., which is near Rock Creek Park.

The 40-year-old mother of two, who wrote a biography on David Petraeus, has often talked about how she and the ex-CIA chief enjoyed going on long runs together.

Read more: http://www.bellenews.com/2012/11/14/world/us-news/paula-broadwells-drivers-license-found-by-jogger-in-rock-creek-park-washington-dc/#ixzz2CDc5qIwc

Doherty Calls Cops--Back in the day, Shannen Doherty had the reputation of being a rather nasty person in real life but, over the weekend, at least one fan got confirmation of how kind and thoughtful she is. Had the fan been in real danger, she would have owed Shannen her life.
TMZ reports that the whole thing started on Twitter, when the female fan (not identified to the press) began tweeting the actress that she would kill herself if she didn’t receive a phone call from her ASAP.

Doherty immediately alerted the police and collaborated with them from across the country until they could determine that the unnamed woman was out of harm’s way.

“The Westampton Township Police Department in New Jersey confirms Doherty – who lives in L.A. – contacted officers late Sunday night and told police she had been receiving several disturbing tweets from a fan who threatened to kill herself unless she got a phone call from the actress,” TMZ writes.

Admittedly, Shannen was led to believe that the woman had a gun, one she planned to use if the actress didn’t deliver and would still refuse to call her in person.

Ohio Executes Killer--An Ohio killer was put to death in an efficient 10 minutes Tuesday in the first U.S. execution to use a single drug injection instead of the standard three-chemical combination that has come under legal attack because it can cause excruciating pain.
Kenneth Biros, 51, was pronounced dead shortly after one dose of sodium thiopental began flowing into his veins at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility. The U.S. Supreme Court had rejected his final appeal two hours earlier.

Experts had predicted that sodium thiopental — used in many parts of the world to put pets down — would take longer to kill than the old method. But the 10 minutes it took Biros to die was about as long as it has taken other inmates in Ohio and elsewhere to succumb to the three-drug combination.

The mother, sister and brother of Biros' victim, Tami Engstrom, applauded as the warden announced the time of death.

"Rock on," Debi Heiss, Engstrom's sister, said a moment earlier as the curtains were drawn for the coroner to check on Biros. "That was too easy."

Ohio's switch to one drug was born of a botched execution attempt on another inmate in September, but critics of the three-drug method have long argued that it amounts to cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the U.S. Constitution because it can subject the condemned to extreme pain while leaving them immobile and unable to cry out.

Missing Girl Dragged By Hair--A missing person case in Los Angeles is getting increasingly strange as witnesses to the crime now say the female subject was dragged away by her hair – and no family members have yet to report anyone missing.

Eyewitnesses who reported the events say the individual, who could be either a teen or a small adult woman, was pulled into the brush by a male subject who appeared to be between the ages of 16 and 18.

Prior to the incident, other individuals say a man and woman matching the description given by the witnesses to the attack were arguing verbally at a nearby location.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the missing girl dragged by her hair is described as 13 or older — and possibly a small woman — was reported kidnapped Monday night near a recreation center during an argument with a young man who may be between 18 and 20, police said. Sketches of both the girl and the man were released late Tuesday.

“That argument escalated to the point where the male struck the female at least once in the face and then began to drag her up into the brush area by the hair,” police Lt. Andy Neiman said.

Papa Johns facing lawsuit-New York (CNN)- Papa John's pizza has been delivering more than just pizza. Customers nationwide have filed a $250 million class-action lawsuit because they say the popular pizza chain has sent out a half million unwanted spam texts. The messages offered pizza deals but some customers said they got 15 or 16 of them in a row in the middle of the night. One of the plaintiffs said Papa John's never asked permission to text the advertisements which was banned to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991. The plaintiffs are seeking $500 per text but could get up to $1500 per text if the jury rules that Papa John's willfully broke the law. The company's corporate office says they were not involved because the lawsuit involves a small number of their franchisees.

Five family members including three children were found dead inside a parked car on Monday in Toledo, Ohio, from carbon monoxide poisoning, and police said the deaths did "not appear accidental," according to local media reports.

Police found the bodies inside the garage of a family home on Monday afternoon after receiving a phone call from a family member, according to local newspaper the Toledo Blade.
Inside the garage, emergency responders found a truck with hoses leading from the exhaust pipe into a car where the five victims were found, according to local television station WNWO.
"Nobody wants to see five dead people. It's a very unpleasant scene," Toledo Police Sergeant Joe Heffernan told the television station.
The dead were Sandy Ford, 54; her son, Andy Ford, 32; and grandchildren Paige Hayes, 10; Logan Hayes, 7, and Madalyn Hayes, 5. The children were nieces and a nephew of Andy Ford, the paper said.Heffernan told WNWO that Sandy Ford's husband found suspicious notes around the house and was locked out of the garage before he called police.
The children were at the center of a custody dispute between their grandparents, with whom they had primarily lived, and their parents, WNWO reported.
Sandy Ford was upset over the parents' attempt to regain custody, and Heffernan said that was the likely motive for the grisly deaths, according to WNWO.

Toledo police told Reuters that no new information would be released until the morning. (Reporting by Mary Slosson; Editing by Mohammad Zargham)

Source : Yahoo News

 Gen. Petraeus scandal: Cast of characters
Here are the players in the David petraeus scandal

The unexpected resignation of acclaimed former Army general and CIA Director David Petraeus over an extramarital affair and a new investigation of his successor, Gen. John Allen, resembles a soap opera. In order to understand the dynamics of the case, we’ve broken down the cast of characters.

General Petraeus Bio--General David H. Petraeus assumed command of the Multi-National Force-Iraq on February 10th, 2007, following his assignment as the Commanding General, U.S. Army Combined Arms Center and Fort Leavenworth. Prior to assuming command at Ft. Leavenworth, he was the first commander of the Multi-National Security Transition Command-Iraq, which he led from June 2004 to September 2005, and the NATO Training Mission- Iraq, which he commanded from October 2004 to September 2005. That deployment to Iraq followed his command of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), during which he led the “Screaming Eagles” in combat throughout the first year of Operation Iraqi Freedom. His command of the 101st followed a year deployed on Operation Joint Forge in Bosnia, where he was the Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations of the NATO Stabilization Force and the Deputy Commander of the US Joint Interagency Counter-Terrorism Task Force-Bosnia. Prior to his tour in Bosnia, he spent two years at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, serving first as the Assistant Division Commander for Operations of the 82nd Airborne Division and then as the Chief of Staff of XVIII Airborne Corps.

General Petraeus was commissioned in the Infantry upon graduation from the United States Military Academy in 1974. He has held leadership positions in airborne, mechanized, and air assault infantry units in Europe and the United States, including command of a battalion in the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and a brigade in the 82nd Airborne Division. In addition, he has held a number of staff assignments: Aide to the Chief of Staff of the Army; battalion, brigade, and division operations officer; Military Assistant to the Supreme Allied Commander - Europe; Chief of Operations of the United Nations Force in Haiti; and Executive Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

What are nightshade vegetables?Nightshade vegetables are any number of plants from the Solanum genus of plants. The genus contains between 1,500 and 2,000 different species, of which a small portion are considered vegetables. The Solanum genus is part of the larger Solanaceae family, which is a broader category that is also referred to as nightshade, and which contains edible plants that are not part of the Solanum genus, such as peppers.
Read more: What Are Nightshade Vegetables? | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/info_8530467_nightshade-vegetables.html#ixzz2CBuv1sBP

Eggplant Botanical Fruit--Botanists do not categorize anything as vegetables. According to wikipedia, eggplants are a botanical fruit.
Here is where the confusion lies in this whole fruit/vegetable debate:

There are two definitions for the word "fruit". One definition is scientific, the other is generic. For a botanist, a fruit is the flowering ovary of a plant that contains seeds. A lot of botanical fruits aren't even edible.

To a chef, a fruit is a sweet, edible structure from a plant.

For a botanist, nothing is a vegetable. This is because this word in not part of their nomenclature. Broccoli, corn, carrots, celery, potatoes, etc. are not categorized as vegetables. A botanist could not categorize an eggplant as a vegetable even if they wanted to. A lot of things commonly referred to as "vegetables" are called "herbaceous plants" in botany.

For a chef, a vegetable is a savory plant. Pumpkin and rhubarb are considered bothfruit and vegetables in the kitchen. This is because they are used in sweet and savory dishes. Tomatoes are never used in sweet dishes, so they are considered to be vegetables, even though they are botanical fruits.

Eggplants are used in savory dishes, too. For a chef, an eggplant is a vegetable.... for a botanist an eggplant is a fruit.

Why Is An Eggplant Called An Eggplant---Eggplant botanical fruit, Eggplant recipes, What are nightshade vegetables?: The eggplant, brinjal eggplant, aubergine, melongene, brinjal or guinea squash (Solanum melongena) is a plant of the family Solanaceae (also known as the nightshades) and genus Solanum. It bears a fruit of the same name, commonly used in cooking. As a nightshade, it is closely related to the tomato and potato. It was domesticated in India from Solanum incanum.

It is a delicate perennial often cultivated as an annual. It grows 40 to 150 cm (16 to 57 in) tall, with large, coarsely lobed leaves that are 10 to 20 cm (4–8 in) long and 5 to 10 cm (2–4 in) broad. Semiwild types can grow much larger, to 225 cm (7 ft) with large leaves over 30 cm (12 in) long and 15 cm (6 in) broad.


The stem is often spiny. The flower is white to purple, with a five-lobed corolla and yellow stamens. The fruit is fleshy, has a meaty texture. It is less than 3 cm (1.2 in) in diameter on wild plants, but much larger in cultivated forms.

The fruit is botanically classified as a berry and contains numerous small, soft seeds which are edible, but have a bitter taste because they contain nicotinoid alkaloids; this is unsurprising as it is a close relative of tobacco.

Prince Charles assault planned- Police say they caught a New Zealand man before he had a chance to throw a bucket of horse manure over Prince Charles and his wife Camilla during a royal visit to the Pacific nation.

Castislav "Sam" Bacanov, 76, pleaded not guilty in an Auckland court Tuesday to planning a crime in a public place. He has agreed under his bail conditions to keep at least 500 meters (1,600 feet) from the royal couple.

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall are on a six-day tour of New Zealand, the last leg of their Pacific tour marking Queen Elizabeth II's 60th Jubilee.

Police spokeswoman Noreen Hegarty said officers arrested Bacanov, a known anti-royalist, on Monday near a downtown Auckland venue where Charles and Camilla were due to appear. She said the royal couple had not yet arrived at the outdoor venue and were never in any danger.

Hegarty said officers were making sure the area was safe when they noticed the man with the bucket.

Bacanov is due to appear in court again on Nov. 27.

Five dead in Ohio garage-The bodies of three children and two adults were found inside a garage Monday, and authorities said they believe the deaths , apparently from carbon monoxide poisoning , weren't accidental.

Toledo police spokesman Joe Heffernan said firefighters broke into the garage of the Toledo home and discovered the bodies Monday afternoon. Heffernan said officers were called to check on those inside the house after getting a call from a concerned family member.

Investigators think all five might have died from carbon monoxide poisoning. Police released no further details.

The victims are a 56-year-old woman, her grandchildren, ages 10, 7 and 5, and a 32-year-old man, who is an uncle of one of the children, Lucas County coroner, Dr. James Patrick, told The (Toledo) Blade.

A flatbed car-hauler was seen backing in toward the garage hours after the bodies were found.

The residential neighborhood is close to the Ohio-Michigan state line.

Neighbors said an older couple and their adult son lived at the house and three children were there often but did not live with them.

Doug Hall, a neighbor who lives across the street, said he saw the son and kids raking leaves last week. He said the only unusual thing he's noticed was a police car at the house last Thursday. He said he didn't know why it was there.

Another neighbor said he saw the kids helping with the yard work and playing in the leaves just a few days ago.

"One minute they're doing the leaves, and then the next there are cop cars all over," Eric Pieper said.


Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/wires/ap/news/nation_world/20121112_ap_5deadinohiogaragecarbonmonoxidesuspected.html#ixzz2C6OqKrt9
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Jeff Gordon fight- Jeff Gordon got into Clint Bowyer on the track. Bowyer's crew got into it with Gordon in the pits. Bowyer made a WWE-like dash through the pits and garage to find Gordon.

The championship race heated up in the desert Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway and it had nothing to do with the weather.

Boys, have at it? They sure did.

"There's a lot of tension out there when you're running for points in the championship and things like that happen," said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR vice president of competition. "We'll continue to talk to the drivers and get them to work it out. That was surely a shame."

The fireworks started with seven laps left, when Bowyer made contact with Gordon, sending him into the wall. Gordon's No. 24 car was black-flagged, but he didn't leave the track, instead waiting for Bowyer for his chance at redemption.

He got it, slowing down until Bowyer came back around, then sliding down the track when Bowyer tried to get around him on the apron between turns 1 and 2. Both cars, along with Joey Logano's No. 20, wrecked and were done for the day.

"Things just escalated over the year and I'd just had it," Gordon said. "Clint has run into me numerous times, wrecked me and he got into me on the back straightaway and pretty much ruined our day. I've had it, fed up with it and got him back."

CSI star bankruptcy- Troubled star Gary Dourdan has filed for bankruptcy.

Dourdan, who starred on “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” in the role of Warrick Brown, has struggled with financial issues and battled to stop foreclosure proceedings on his Venice, California home this summer.

The actor was sued over a credit card debt in 2010 and filed an injunction in August to prevent Wells Fargo from auctioning off his home, accusing the lender of failing to offer any type of relief plan.

Now, Gary Dourdan has filed for bankruptcy and claims he has a little over $1.8 million in assets but owes creditors $1.73 million for bills and to the bank.

Dourdan claimed assets such as his 2006 Dodge Charger worth $7,000, furniture worth an estimated $4,000. $1,500 in clothing, and about $500 in jewelry.

The 45-year-old actor earns an average of $14,883 but after his bills he is only left with $321 every month.

Dourdan was arrested in April 2008 in Palm Springs after police discovered “suspected cocaine, heroin, ecstasy, miscellaneous prescription drugs and paraphernalia” in his possession.

In June 2011, Gary Dourdan was arrested after he crashed his vehicle into two parked cars. He was charged with drug possession and possession of drug paraphernalia.

His latest arrest was in November 2011 when he was taken into custody after a violent altercation with his girlfriend, Nicole Vail Cannizzaro. The judge issued a three-year restraining order against Dourdan.

Valerie Eliot dies-Valerie Eliot, Wife and Editor of T.S. Eliot, Dies at 86-Valerie Eliot, who married the poet T. S. Eliot near the end of his life and steadfastly guarded his literary legacy for nearly half a century, died on Friday in London. She was 86.

The Eliot estate announced her death.

Mrs. Eliot, who was almost 38 years younger than her husband, had been his secretary for several years at the publishing house Faber & Faber when they married in 1957. By all accounts it was a happy marriage. Like many who considered Eliot one of the greatest poets of the 20th century, she had admired his poetry since she was a teenager; she had sought out the job at Faber & Faber specifically because he was there.

Eliot, who guarded his privacy fiercely, died in 1965, having stated his wish to keep biographers from stirring the ashes of his life. His wife became the stewardess of his estate, doling out permissions to quote from his work with extreme parsimony and routinely turning away requests from scholars and the dreaded biographers.

She herself, however, edited a much-admired edition of “The Waste Land,” consisting of a facsimile and transcript of its original drafts and edited annotations by Ezra Pound. And she approved a theatrical adaptation of her husband’s book of poems for children, “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats,” which became the musical “Cats,” bringing her and the estate great wealth, from which she created a charitable trust.

The major project of her later life was editing her husband’s letters, though for almost 25 years only one volume of them — covering 1898-1922, from the time Eliot was 10 until he was 34 — was published, in 1988, leading some to speculate that she had been too intimately involved with the material.

Toddler found in cage-A Tulsa man was arrested after police found his 18-month-old daughter locked in a metal dog cage, his naked 4-year old daughter outside on a cold afternoon and him asleep in a drug or alcohol "induced stupor," police said Monday.

A neighbor called police after finding the older child outside the family's home and getting no response when he knocked on the door around 4 p.m. Sunday, as temperatures dropped to the low 40s. Officers' knocks also went unanswered, "then one of the officers looked inside and saw a small child in a dog cage," Tulsa police spokesman Officer Leland Ashley said.

After forcing their way inside, police discovered the toddler was covered in feces and that a 3-year-old child was asleep in another room. Their father was found asleep on a bed, "in an alcohol- or narcotics-induced stupor," Ashley said.

The three children were placed into the custody of the Department of Human Services, and the father was arrested on a child neglect complaint. The Associated Press is not naming the father so to protect the identity of the children, who showed no sign of physical injury, Ashley said.

George W. Bush painting dogs- Being a retired Leader of the Free World is a lot like being a retired anything else, at least for George W. Bush, who spends his days painting portraits of dogs. Okay, that's not all Bush does with his time off: according to New York's Joe Hagan, he also paints Texas landscapes, plays golf, and eats at restaurants like so many grandparents. But the dog painting is remarkable given his personality. "I find it stunning that he has the patience to sit and take instruction and paint," a former aide tells Hagan, in a story examining the Bush legacy and whether brother Jeb can overcome it. Still, Bush has bigger things to think about than that his grandchildren never call:


W. remains convinced history will vindicate him. But the Bush family is well aware of the damage to their future prospects. Perhaps none more than Jeb, the new custodian of the family brand. “Jeb is highly pained,” says a friend. “He is so loyal. Jeb knows some of the missteps, but Jeb is profoundly impacted by the kind of criticism he’s taken about his brother. It’s over the top.”

Bush is "ambivalent" about his brother's potential presidential run, Hagan reports. More than any other Republican candidate, Jeb would be asked to critique W.'s legacy. And Bush struggles with his father's legacy, too, giving an unemotional and perfunctory speech at George H. W. Bush's birthday party recently. A party attendee explained:


“He’s become increasingly agoraphobic,” this person adds of the former president. “He looked startled by the whole thing. But he doesn’t like people, he never did, he doesn’t now.”

It makes sense Bush would retreat to painting portraits of the most loyal member of the family

John and Lorena Bobbitt- were an American couple, married on June 18, 1989, made famous for a 1993 incident in which Lorena cut off John's penis with a kitchen knife.
On the night of June 23, 1993, John Bobbitt arrived at the couple's Manassas, Virginia apartment intoxicated after a night of partying and, according to testimony by Lorena in a 1994 court hearing, raped his wife. (Note: He was tried and acquitted for this alleged spousal rape in 1994; he was prosecuted by the same district attorney who prosecuted Lorena for allegedly attacking John.) Afterwards, Lorena got out of bed and went to the kitchen for a drink of water. According to an article in the National Women's Studies Association Journal, in the kitchen she noticed a carving knife on the counter and "memories of past domestic abuses raced through her head." Grabbing the knife, Lorena entered the bedroom where John was asleep; and she proceeded to cut off more than half of his penis.

British Medical Journal Tamiflu, A leading British medical journal is asking the drug maker Roche to release all its data on Tamiflu, claiming there is no evidence the drug can actually stop the flu.

The drug has been stockpiled by dozens of governments worldwide in case of a global flu outbreak and was widely used during the 2009 swine flu pandemic.

On Monday, one of the researchers linked to the BMJ called for European governments to sue Roche.

"I suggest we boycott Roche's products until they publish missing Tamiflu data," wrote Peter Gotzsche, leader of the Nordic Cochrane Centre in Copenhagen. He said governments should take legal action against Roche to get the money back that was "needlessly" spent on stockpiling Tamiflu.

Last year, Tamiflu was included in a list of "essential medicines" by the World Health Organization, which often prompts governments or donor agencies to buy the drug.

WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl said the agency recommended the drug be used to treat unusual influenza viruses like bird flu. "We do have substantive evidence it can stop or hinder progression to severe disease like pneumonia," he said.

Cuomo Seek Aid Storm, Governor Cuomo to seek $30B in superstorm federal aid Posted at: 11/12/2012 7:53 PM By: Associated Press | WHEC.com Gov. Andrew Cuomo plans to request $30 billion in federal aid to rebuild after Superstorm Sandy.
The storm heavily damaged parts of New York City and Long Island. Cuomo says the Obamaadministration will seek a supplemental appropriation to cover infrastructure, repair and emergency costs beyond those normally covered by federal emergency aid. Cuomo says he's asked for "100 percent reimbursement.

"Meanwhile, New York City is pouring half a billion dollars into repairing public schools andhospitals.

Twenty-three schools and two city-owned hospitals remain closed two weeks after the storm. The repairs would include structural restorations, new boilers, new electrical systems androof repairs.

The city council will vote on the plan on Tuesday. Mayor Michael Bloomberg says the city has already spent $134 million on storm-related emergency relief.

Meanwhile, gasoline rationing will come to an end in New Jersey tomorrow morning, but it remains in place in New York City and Long Island.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg says the odd-even system appears to have eased the post-storm gasoline crunch, but he's going to leave the system in place "for a while." For more Rochester, N.Y. news go to our website www.whec.com.Like us on Facebook & follow us on Twitter Print Story

Jesse Jackson Jr. plea-  Attorneys for the Justice Department and Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. are in talks about a possible deal regarding allegations of campaign finance violations, according to sources familiar with the investigation. Negotiations have been under way for some time.

It is unclear whether the talks will result in a plea agreement, but sources say the talks could come to some conclusion soon.

Part of the investigation's focus is on whether Jackson improperly used campaign funds for personal purchases, including furnishings for his Washington, D.C., home. Investigators are also looking at allegations that Jackson bought a female friend a $40,000 Rolex watch. The investigation is being run by the FBI's Washington Field Office.

Representative Jackson's office said he is currently receiving treatment at the Mayo Clinic – his second prolonged stay there since being diagnosed with bi-polar disorder. He is refraining from any official duties until he is given a clean bill of health by his doctors.

The Chicago congressman coasted to victory in Tuesday's election, keeping a seat he first won in a special election in 1995. Jackson won re-election despite having virtually no presence on the campaign trail. A robo-call to constituents describing his recent health troubles and thanking supporters for their "patience, your prayers … during this difficult time" appears to be the only evidence of Jackson's campaigning at all.

He has been absent from his congressional duties since this past summer. He last voted in the chamber on June 8 and has missed every one of the 225 votes since.

Jackson first came under a cloud of controversy in December 2008 when his name surfaced in the investigation of then Gov. Rod Blagojevich's scheme to peddle the Senate seat of president-elect Barack Obama. A House ethics probe into Jackson's activities was triggered but halted at the request of the Justice Department, which was conducting its own investigation.

Total Solar Eclipse 2012-

A total solar eclipse will take place on 13-14 November, 2012 and will be visible from northern Australia and the southern Pacific Ocean. Solar Eclipse tours are getting popular last decades, thousand of so called "eclipse chasers" are going this year to Australia or even to the ocean cruises.
Want to join them in this this one-in-a-lifetime experience? Then you'll need to know what are the best spots:
Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Probably the best place to observe eclipse. Biggest city in the area is Cairns - it's quite a big town on the shore with population over 150,000 and many hotels (but be hurry - all of them are almost booked!). Totalilty will last for 2 minutes just after sunrise. Try also Port Douglas, Atheron or Daintree National Park.
West and East Arnhelm. That's Northen Australia, totality will be shoter here - 1 minutes. But the places are more wild and beautiful. And there would be no cro-o-owds of tourists as in Cairns.
In the ocean. In the ocean, where eclipse will take its beginning, totality will last for 3-4 minutes! The only problem - there is no islands on the eclipse line. The nearest port is Auckland, New Zeland, so you can make a 3-4 day cruise from here to The Eclipse.As planned, there would be several live web broadcastings of this eclipse. At least three of them from Australia and at least one from New Zeland. Please come back later, we will post the links to the broadcasting here the day before the total eclipse.
More information is coming soon!

Read More: total-eclipse

Cost Of Sandy -What was Hurricane Sandy is now a post tropical cyclone, having hammered New Jersey, New York and Connecticut. Sandy is now moving on to Pennsylvania, the Ohio valley and the Great Lakes, albeit with less force.

The job of rebuilding will be huge.

In the New York City borough of Queens, a fire in a community there destroyed at least 80 homes. On 57th street in Manhattan, a crane on a 90-story residential building under construction partially collapsed and was dangling over the street. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said there was damage to each and every New Jersey transit line and that commuter trains wouldn't resume service for 7-10 days.

Atlantic City is underwater, and the southern tip of Manhattan is submerged.

So far experts say that Sandy could cost the region $5- $10 billion in insured damages, and up to $20 billion in total costs once you factor in uninsured liabilities. However, that may well understate the problem.

Economists are considering whether Sandy will clip the nation's overall economic growth. After all, analysts said the iPhone 5 would add a quarter to a half percent to GDP. If a phone can move the needle, don't you believe a once in a century storm could do the same?

Here are some of the losses that are less obvious- the hundreds of thousands of brokers, store clerks and bank tellers who stayed home during the storm. That’s a lot of lost productivity and a lost wages. Companies, large and small sent workers in the path of the storm home- General Motors was one.

Airlines canceled a total of more than 18,000 flights - according to flightaware.com. That is about half of the level of Hurricane Irene. The cost of that storm was $40 million in revenue for United Continental and $15 million in profits for Delta Air.

Microsoft Star Trek translator not far off, In an impressive presentation Microsoft have shown off technology that came straight from the Star Trek universe with a translator that seemingly trumps Apple’s Siri.
The venue was the  14th annual Computing in the 21st Century Conference in Tianjin, China. On october 25th Microsoft head of research Rick Rashid addressed a crown of 2,000, mostly students.

In the presentation Rick spoke as the technology translated his speach into text on a screen above his head. He talked about the troubles of translation and how much the technology has come along. The technology did extremely well with few mistakes. It’s estimated that Microsoft’s new tech has around a 15% fail rate, compared to the previous 25% of other systems such as Siri and Xbox Kinnect’s speech recognition.

Then came the magical part.

Rick spoke in English, the technology live translated his speech to Chinese text, and then with very little delay it spoke the words and to boot it spoke in a voice similar to his!

The technology used about an hour of his voice as a base and voices of many Chinese speakers to create the audio translations. I don’t speak Chinese but whoops and enthusiastic clapping from the crowd suggests it worked really

I was very impressed with the presentation but would love to see it with a person speaking Chinese and an audio translation in English so I can hear how it comes out! Rick said a lot of work needs to be done so it’s not quite up to Star Trek translator level yet but it sure is getting close!

Does think kind of break through is exciting and will be better for the world or will it just be used for bad things by the corps

Jennifer Lopez hotel maid- J.Lo denies getting hotel maid fired for asking for an autograph

Apparently this wasn't the kind of room service Jennifer Lopez was looking for.

J.Lo was staying at a hotel in Dusseldorf, Germany, when hotel maid Pray Dodaj knocked on her door to ask for an autograph. She was turned away by two assistants, but that was far from the end of it. Pray claims she was fired shortly after because Jennifer immediately complained to hotel staff. A bit ironic since J.Lo actually played a hotel maid in the 2002 flick Maid in Manhattan! "A day later the cleaning company that employed me at the hotel called and said that Ms. Lopez had complained. I was fired right there on the phone. Because of an autograph," said Pray, according to Daily Mail.

Jennifer took to Twitter to address the rumors and while she didn't confirm or deny complaining about the autograph request, she made it clear that she had no involvement in Pray's firing. "C'mon thought you know me better than this. Would never get anyone fired over an autograph. 1st I heard of this was on Twitter. #hurtful," she tweeted.

But whether or not J.Lo had anything to do with it, the hotel stands by their decision to sack the maid because disturbing guests during their stay is a huge no-no. "She has acted contrary to the contractual agreements and disturbed the privacy of our guests," the hotel said in a statement.

Kristen Stewart Robert Pattinson, They are said to have been not been invited to the Oscars this year.

But that doesn't mean that Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart can't enjoy all of the parties.

The Twilight couple were spotted in a rare outing together last night at the William Endeavor Morris pre-Oscar party in the the upscale suburb of Brentwood, Los Angeles.

The 25-year-old actor looked a little worse for wear as he left the soiree, while his girlfriend languished far behind him clearly in an attempt to try and avoid being photographed together.

They were then quickly ushered into an awaiting car which whisked them on to Chateau Marmont.


While other guests such as Miley Cyrus and Hayden Panettiere looked glamourous in their evening attire, the on and off screen couple opted for their usual low-key casual clothing.

However Kristen glammed up her flannel shirt and skinny indigo jeans with some black leather heels.

Robert meanwhile covered his newly shaved head with a baseball cap which he paired with jeans and bomber jacket combination.