Other analysts still think Yahoo might try to line up a white knight rather than fall into Microsoft’s clutches. Analysts mentioned several other potential suitors, including News Corp. and InterActiveCorp.
Dinosaur Securities analyst David Garrity even thinks it’s possible that China’s search leader, Baidu.com Inc., or Chinese e-commerce conglomerate Alibaba.com Inc. might bid for Yahoo. Alibaba.com is 40 percent owned by Yahoo.
In what most analysts regard as a long shot, there was even some chatter that longtime Microsoft rival Apple Inc. and its CEO, Steve Jobs, might come to Yahoo’s rescue.
Dear Mr. President, congratulations! Not only have you inherited a global economic crisis unmatched since the Great Depression but you have also inherited an increasingly tumultuous and more radicalized Middle East.
Simon Cowell gave ex-girlfriend Terri Seymour a $9.6million (Ј6m) 'goodbye gift' as part of their split, it has been revealed.
The X Factor supremo and his girlfriend of six years ended their relationship six weeks ago.
But according to American magazine Life & Style Cowell gave Seymour $5m in cash, in addition to a $4.6m mansion in Beverly Hills as a parting gift.
Terri now owns the luxury Los Angeles apartment that Cowell, who is worth Ј130million, bought for her when she moved out of their shared home this summer.
It features four bedrooms, three bathrooms and an impressive view.
'Simon thinks the world of Terri, and that isn't going to change. He also understands her reason for ending it,' a source told the magazine.
Seymour wanted to marry and start a family, whereas Cowell recently said: 'I don't want to mar
... Read more »
A likely record voter turnout on Election Day has polling officials across the country braced for problems, and some difficulties surfaced early Tuesday as people turned out in droves even before balloting began in Eastern Seaboard states.
Voters needed to use paper ballots because of problems with electronic voting machines in some New Jersey precincts, and in Virginia,
... Read more »
Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama's stand on Iran is "utterly immature," French President Nicolas Sarkozy told Israel, according to the Hebrew-language daily Haaretz. Sarkozy has clearly stated that Iran's nuclear sites could be bombed if Tehran develops a nuclear weapon, but he has expressed fears that Sen. Obama, if elected President, would oppose such a move.
The United States and the other four permanent members of the United Nations Security Council have spoken with one voice against Iran's nuclear program and have backed sanctions designed to persuade the Islamic Republic to abandon the process. However, French President Sarkozy expressed worry that Sen. Obama might open direct dialogue with Iran "without preconditions."
President Sarkozy this week told an annual conference of French ambassadors that Iran's nuclear inte
... Read more »
Jake Tapper, writing for the ABC News blog "Political Punch," says the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz reports that French President Nicolas Sarkozy is of the opinion that "...the Democratic candidate's stance on Iran" is "'utterly immature' and comprised of ‘formulations empty of all content.'" Tapper says Ha'aretz cited a senior source in the Israeli government referring to reports received by the Israeli government.
France under Sarkozy has worked to improve relations with the United States and Sarkozy has made an effort , unlike former French President Jacques
... Read more »
A federal judge has appointed a temporary receiver for a kosher meatpacking company in Iowa after a bank said that the company had defaulted on a $35 million loan and that it had written $1.4 million in bad checks.
The loan foreclosure against the company, Agriprocessors Inc., was the latest in a cascade of troubles that have come after nearly 400 illegal immigrant workers were arrested in a raid in May at its plant in Postville, Iowa. On Thursday, Sholom Rubashkin, the former
... Read more »
It's the ultimate leftist fantasy. After being elected president of the United States on Tuesday, Barack Obama places the Palestinian-Israeli conflict at the top of his agenda. A senior presidential envoy, say, Vice President Joe Biden, is dispatched to the region and does not leave until both sides' leaders sign an agreement to divide the land and to form a Palestinian state.
Obama breaks loose from the Jewish lobby's terror and gives Israel an ultimatum: No more financial aid or political support until Israel dismantles all its settlements and roadblocks, and withdraws to the agreed-upon borders.
Israel then returns to its 1967 borders, an independent Palestine consolidates its control next door and the right wing is forced to admit it was wrong. The rightist fantasy would have John McCain elected. He then places the an
... Read more »
Former cabinet minister and Likud MK Benny Begin will soon announce his return to politics and to the Likud Party, and his intention to run in the party primary for the next Knesset list.
Begin, who dropped out of politics and public life in 1999, agreed in talks with Likud Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu over recent weeks to return to the party, after having apparently been promised a ministerial appointment if Netanyahu should win the upcoming elections.
The decisive meeting between the two was held late Saturday at the home of close Netanyahu associate Reuven Rivlin, also a Likud MK, in Jerusalem. During the meeting, Netanyahu and Begin ironed out the details surrounding the latter's return to the party.
As required by law, Begin tendered his resignation from the Geological Survey of Isr
... Read more »
Last night's Barack Obama "infomercial" crammed a lot of stuff into its 30-minute run-time. There were stories from "real Americans" (who, coincidentally, happen to live in swing states), clips from speeches, and personal stories on the candidate himself. But of all the ad's content, folks seemed most interested in the portion on Obama's parents and relatives.
With less than a week till Election Day, any movement in the polls is big news. In the Real Clear Politics national poll average, Barack Obama's 8-point lead from Saturday has decreased to 5.9, due mostly to a gain in John McCain's average.
Three major polls have seen a significant squeeze in the past five days, causing this trend. Today, a ... Read more »
Medical examiner says further tests needed to determine cause of death
NEW YORK - A massage therapist who discovered a lifeless Heath Ledger in his Manhattan apartment made her first call to actress Mary-Kate Olsen, according to an in-depth timeline police released Wednesday of the moments surrounding the Australian-born actor’s death.
According to The New York Times, New York City police officials said th
... Read more »
In Monday’s editorial opinion, the Journal-World endorsed John McCain for president citing Barack Obama as a dangerous choice: “The danger of Obama’s plan of change becomes even more disturbing.” Republicans have had control of the American government for six out of the last eight years. We are now in two wars, in debt to everyone, unemployment rising, unbelievable gas prices, Wall Street and the banking system going Chapter 11 while the economy swirls down the toilet. What mossy rock has the J-W editorial board been living under for the past eight years as they cry out for “four more years!”
More disturbing, exactly which McCain do they want to elect? The “maverick” who voted with Bush 90 percent of the time? The “deregulator” responsible for virtually no oversight on Wall Street, and charter member of the Keating
... Read more »
CHICAGO – Police searching for Jennifer Hudson's missing 7-year-old nephew found the body of a young boy Monday in the same SUV that was the part of the massive manhunt.
Authorities didn't identify the body of a young black boy found in the SUV Monday. But police Cmdr. Wayne Gulliford said the license plate on the SUV found Monday matched the one sought in an Amber Alert issued after the singer's mother and brother were found shot to death at home Friday.
Julian King, 7, hasn't been since the killings. He lives in the home where the shootings took place.
His his Oscar-winning aunt offered $100,000 Sunday for information leading to his safe return. Julian is the son of Jennifer Hudson's sister, Julia Hudson.
Members of the Group of Seven (G7) nations may be considering a joint market intervention to prevent a further surge in the yen as the Japanese currency’s sharp rise threatens the world’s second biggest economy and other Asian economies.
The yen, which is trading at around Y93 against the greenback, lurched higher today, despite the afternoon warning statement from the G7 and direct comments by the Japanese Finance Minister that currency traders said amounted to “the clearest possible” signs the Japanese Government was poised to intervene in the markets.
Analysts interpreted a rare currency volatility warning by the G7 as a sign that Japan and others may step in to foreign exchange markets and artificially force down the Japanese currency if the yen breaches the Y90 level against the US dollar.
Japanese government sources told The Times... Read more »
A television anchorwoman who had a cameo role in the new George Bush film W. died in hospital on the weekend after being severely beaten at her home in the US.
Anne Pressly, 26, was found by her mother last Monday, just 30 minutes before she was due to be on air as a presenter of KATV in Little Rock, Arkansas, the home town of Bill Clinton.
She had been beaten around the head, neck and face and had been unable to communicate with her family or police. Ms Pressly died at a hospital in Little Rock on Saturday night, a spokeswoman for the hospital confirmed.
In a statement released by the hospital, Ms Pressly's parents, Guy and Patti Cannady, asked for privacy as they grieved.
It was our hope, as was yours, that Anne would overcome the injuries inflicted upon her in the brutal attack at her home," the statement read.
Kadima leader Tzipi Livni on Sunday evening announced that her efforts to build a coalition government were unsuccessful, and recommended that early general elections be held.
Livni made the announcement at a press conference held at the president's residence in Jerusalem, Beit Hanassdi, where she arrived at 5:30 p.m. to meet with President Shimon Peres.
During the meeting, Peres praised Livni for her "sticking to her principles" in the process of attempting to put together a coalition.
Though Peres is likely to accept her preference, by law he could also decide to appoint another MK whom he believe
... Read more »
Kadima chairwoman arrives at Presidential Residence in Jerusalem, informs Peres she will not be able to assemble new government despite last ditch effort
It's official: Israel is heading towards a nationwide election. Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni informed President Shimon Peres on Sunday that she will not be able to assemble a new government, and the latter must therefore call for general elections. Prior to Livni's arrival at the Presidential Residence in Jerusalem, another effort was made to schedule a meeting between the Kadima chairwoman and Shas Chairman Eli Yishai, in order to enable the last-minute construction of a coalition. However both sides were dismissive of the possible success of such negotiations, and a top Livni aide said, "No one would speak to us." Yishai's
... Read more »
Having hauled in a record $208,333 every hour of every day last month -- $150 million in all -- plus a few more unreported millions so far this month, Barack Obama is worried that he might come up short in the political money war with the John McCain-Sarah Palin ticket.
Just to relieve himself of that $150 million before the polls open, Obama will have to spend $12.5 million a day.
But he needs some more.
And, according to an e-mail plea to supporters, tonight's
... Read more »
The number of foreclosure notices dipped from a record high in August, but was still up 21% from last year.
The housing crisis still has a choke hold on America: In September, 81,312 homes were lost to foreclosure, according to a report released Thursday.
RealtyTrac, an online marketer of foreclosed properties, said that 851,000 homes have been repossessed by lenders since August 2007.
In September, 265,968 troubled borrowers received foreclosure filings - such as default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions. That's a decline of 12% from the record high number of filings in August, but 21% more than in September 2007.
All told 765,558 foreclosure filings were made on U.S. properties in the third quarter of this year - up 3%
... Read more »
Since his arrival on the American political stage a week ago, Joe the Plumber (a.k.a. Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher) has been a dominant force in the coverage of the presidential race.
City prosecutors have announced that they will not retry the pop star in the wake of her mistrial.
"I talked to the foreman, and while I was troubled by the jurors' outside impressions, I won't ask the court to retry the case," Deputy City Attorney Michael Amerian told the court.
Oil prices tumbled back below $72 a barrel Tuesday as a stronger dollar dented investor demand for commodities and outweighed concerns about an expected OPEC output cut.
At the pump, consumers got another price cut as a gallon of regular gasoline lost 3.4 cents overnight to a new national average of $2.89, according to auto club AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and Wright Express. Prices have fallen 30 percent from their July 11 peak of $4.11 a gallon and are quickly closing in on year-ago levels.
The dollar muscled higher against rival currencies as credit market conditions eased some and on speculation that the U.S. government might roll out another stimulus package in an effort to push the economy out of a deep downturn.
Investors often buy commodi
... Read more »
Police seek motive in attack on TV anchorwoman.
Popular and beautiful Anne Pressly, an up-and-coming Little Rock, Ark., news anchor, had dinner with a friend, talked about her small role in the movie “W.” and went home, where she exchanged cheery text messages. And then she was beaten nearly to death.
While the 26-year-old Pressly remains in critical but stable condition in a Little Rock hospital, her family, many friends and police are all trying to discover who would have attacked a person who is said to have had no enemies, and why.
“If there’s one person that does not have an enemy, it is Anne Pressly,” Mallory Hardin told TODAY’s Matt Lauer from Little Rock Tuesday, a day after the attack. “She’s wonderful to everybody. She’s the most loving girl that anyone could ever meet; [she] is so kind to every stranger. She goes out of her way to help other people.”
Random br
... Read more »
Parents and children might rush through their days in different directions, but the American family is as tight-knit as in the last generation -- or more so -- because of the widespread use of cellphones and the Internet, according to a new poll.
In what was described as the first detailed survey of its kind, released yesterday, researchers reported that family life has not been weakened, as many had feared, by new technology. Rather, families have compensated for the stress and hurry of modern life with cellphone calls, e-mail and text messages and other new forms of communication.
"There had been some fears that the Internet had been taking people away from
... Read more »
Until last week, the most common axiom about plumbers was that when they bent over to fix a pipe, you could see the crack of their butts.
Not anymore.
Thanks to Joe Wurzelbacher, we can now go to plumbers for our political future.
Wurzelbacher was mentioned about two dozen times in the debate between Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain this past week. They called him Joe the Plumber, an average Ohio guy who had told Obama during a campaign swing that he was planning on buying a business that makes $250,000 to $280,000 a year. He then asked the candidate, "Your new tax plan is going to tax me more, isn't it?"
The exchange was caught on tape (what isn't these days?). And from there, the pipe hit the fan. McCain held up Joe as an average American businessman w
... Read more »
The I.M.F. hired a law firm in August to conduct the investigation, which is taking place just as the global financial crisis threatens to swamp smaller and poorer nations for whom the I.M.F. provides crucial support. The investigation was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
“This is a very bad time for a leadership distraction,” said Simon Johnson, a former chief economist at the I.M.F. “I think the global crisis is just beginning, and I think it’s going to get much worse before it gets better.”
In a written statement, Mr. Strauss-Kahn said he had done nothing wrong. “With my full support, the I.M.F. is examining an incident which occurred in my private life in January 2008.” He wrote that he was cooperating with the inquiry but that “at no time did I abuse my position as the fund’s managing director.”
Over the summer, the allegations came to the attention of A.
... Read more »
BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan (Reuters) - U.S. video game magnate Richard Garriott will blast off into space aboard a Russian spaceship on Sunday watched by his father, a NASA astronaut who went into space at the height of the Cold War.
Garriott, who paid $35 million for a ride to the International Space Station, will lift off aboard the Soyuz TMA-13 spacecraft alongside U.S. astronaut Michael Fincke and Russian cosmonaut Yury Lonchakov at 1:03 p.m. (0503 GMT).
Russian-born Google co-founder Sergei Brin , who has put down a $5 million deposit on a seat on a private space flight, was on hand for a send-off at the Baikonur cosmodrome attended by the trio's family and friends.
Garriott has drawn parallels between his journey, which comes at a time of diplomatic tension betwee
... Read more »
The first man to undergo a successful double arm transplant has spoken of his joy at the “indescribable feeling of being a whole man again".
German farmer Karl Merk made his first public appearance on Wednesday, almost three months after the ground-breaking 15-hour operation, and says he can already perform simple tasks such as opening doors and turning lights on and off.
"It was really overwhelming when I saw that I had arms again," the 54-year-old told reporters at a press conference at the Munich University Clinic.
Wearing support straps on his lower arms with a sleeveless black t-sh
... Read more »
When Israeli father Avi tried to register his six-year-old twin daughters for his local ultra-Orthodox school this year, he was happy to sign a form saying his children did not watch television or use the internet at home.
But he was surprised to discover he had to give a "kosher cellphone number". He did not have one.
Avi lives in Har Nof, one of the main ultra-Orthodox, or Haredi, neighbourhoods of Jerusalem.
The community separates itself from mainstream society through its traditional religious practices and distinctive attire of black hats, coats and sidelocks for the men and long skirts and sleeves for the women.
Like most other men in his community, Avi studies the Jewish scriptures daily, keeps the Sabbath and eats only kosher food.
But he has not yet opted for the new religious adaptation to modern technology that has
... Read more »
Other analysts still think Yahoo might try to line up a white knight rather than fall into Microsoft’s clutches. Analysts mentioned several other potential suitors, including News Corp. and InterActiveCorp.
Simon Cowell gave ex-girlfriend Terri Seymour a $9.6million (Ј6m) 'goodbye gift' as part of their split, it has been revealed.
A likely 
Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama's stand on Iran is "utterly immature," French President Nicolas Sarkozy told Israel, according to the Hebrew-language daily Haaretz. Sarkozy has clearly stated that Iran's nuclear sites could be bombed if Tehran develops a nuclear weapon, but he has expressed fears that Sen. Obama, if elected President, would oppose such a move.
Jake Tapper, writing for the ABC News blog "Political Punch," says the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz reports that French President Nicolas Sarkozy is of the opinion that "...the Democratic candidate's stance on Iran" is "'utterly immature' and comprised of ‘formulations empty of all content.'" Tapper says Ha'aretz cited a senior source in the Israeli government referring to reports received by the Israeli government.
A federal judge has appointed a temporary receiver for a kosher meatpacking company in 
It's the ultimate leftist fantasy. After being elected president of the United States on Tuesday, Barack Obama places the Palestinian-Israeli conflict at the top of his agenda. A senior presidential envoy, say, Vice President Joe Biden, is dispatched to the region and does not leave until both sides' leaders sign an agreement to divide the land and to form a Palestinian state. 
Netanyahu associate Reuven Rivlin, also a Likud MK, in Jerusalem. During the meeting, Netanyahu and Begin ironed out the details surrounding the latter's return to the party. 
Last night's 
With less than a week till 
In Monday’s editorial opinion, the Journal-World endorsed John McCain for president citing Barack Obama as a dangerous choice: “The danger of Obama’s plan of change becomes even more disturbing.” Republicans have had control of the American government for six out of the last eight years. We are now in two wars, in debt to everyone, unemployment rising, unbelievable gas prices, Wall Street and the banking system going Chapter 11 while the economy swirls down the toilet. What mossy rock has the J-W editorial board been living under for the past eight years as they cry out for “four more years!”
CHICAGO – Police searching for 
Members of the Group of Seven (G7) nations may be considering a joint market intervention to prevent a further surge in the yen as the Japanese currency’s sharp rise threatens the world’s second biggest economy and other Asian economies. 
A television anchorwoman who had a cameo role in the new George Bush film W. died in hospital on the weekend after being severely beaten at her home in the US. 
Kadima leader Tzipi Livni on Sunday evening announced that her efforts to build a coalition 
Kadima chairwoman arrives at Presidential Residence in Jerusalem, informs Peres she will not be able to assemble new government despite last ditch effort 
Having hauled in a record $208,333 every hour of every day last month --
The number of foreclosure notices dipped from a record high in August, but was still up 21% from last year. 
Since his arrival on the American political stage a week ago, Joe the Plumber (a.k.a. Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher) has been a dominant force in the coverage of the presidential race.
City prosecutors have announced that they will not retry the pop star in the wake of her mistrial.
Police seek motive in attack on TV anchorwoman.
Popular and beautiful Anne Pressly, an up-and-coming Little Rock, Ark., news anchor, had dinner with a friend, talked about her small role in the movie “W.” and went home, where she exchanged cheery text messages. And then she was beaten nearly to death.
While the 26-year-old Pressly remains in critical but stable condition in a Little Rock hospital, her family, many friends and police are all trying to discover who would have attacked a person who is said to have had no enemies, and why.
“If there’s one person that does not have an enemy, it is Anne Pressly,” Mallory Hardin told TODAY’s Matt Lauer from Little Rock Tuesday, a day after the attack. “She’s wonderful to everybody. She’s the most loving girl that anyone could ever meet; [she] is so kind to every stranger. She goes out of her way to help other people.”
Random br
Until last week, the most common axiom about plumbers was that when they bent over to fix a pipe, you could see the crack of their butts.
The I.M.F. hired a law firm in August to conduct the investigation, which is taking place just as the global financial crisis threatens to swamp smaller and poorer nations for whom the I.M.F. provides crucial support. The investigation was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
“This is a very bad time for a leadership distraction,” said Simon Johnson, a former chief economist at the I.M.F. “I think the global crisis is just beginning, and I think it’s going to get much worse before it gets better.”
In a written statement, Mr. Strauss-Kahn said he had done nothing wrong. “With my full support, the I.M.F. is examining an incident which occurred in my private life in January 2008.” He wrote that he was cooperating with the inquiry but that “at no time did I abuse my position as the fund’s managing director.”
Over the summer, the allegations came to the attention of A.
BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan (Reuters) - U.S. video game magnate Richard Garriott will blast off into space aboard a Russian spaceship on Sunday watched by his father, a NASA astronaut who went into space at the height of the Cold War.
When Israeli father Avi tried to register his six-year-old twin daughters for his local ultra-Orthodox school this year, he was happy to sign a form saying his children did not watch television or use the internet at home. 