In the News

  TV Pitchman Billy Mays Found Dead

Billy Mays, the TV pitchman whose trademark voice helped sell everything from cleaning supplies to baking soda, was found dead by his wife at his Tampa home.


  Anti-Israel Group Boycotts Trader Joe's

Although "World Refugee Day," the boycott of Trader Joe's planned by the anti-Israel group "Don't Buy into Apartheid," came and went on Saturday, June 20, with no apparent incidents in Los Angeles, other cities in California did witness protesters invade the popular supermarket chain.


  Blogger's Baby Was a Hoax

The unmarried mother's story about giving birth to a child diagnosed as terminally ill in the womb hit a major nerve on the Internet.

Every night for two months, thousands of abortion opponents across the nation logged on to a blog run by the suburban Chicago woman who identified herself only as "B" or "April's Mom."


  Teen Bride: 'My Wedding Cost £100,000'

The bride dazzled in her £16,000 Swarovski crystal-covered dress, the guests guzzled dozens of bottles of champagne and the smell of fake tan hung thickly in the air.

It sounds like a typical celebrity wedding, but the bride was 16-year-old traveller Missy Quinn, whose family threw an extraordinary £100,000 bash, celebrating with 150 guests.


  Tapping Your Cell Phone

Imagine someone watching your every move, hearing everything you say and knowing where you are at every moment. If you have a cell phone, it could happen to you. 13 Investigates explains how your cell phone can be secretly hijacked and used against you — and how to protect yourself.


  Obama Blows Off Medal of Honor Recipients... Not Exactly

The American Legion, as it has on every inauguration evening since 1953, hosted the Salute to Heroes Inaugural Banquet & Ball on January 20th.


  MSNBC Retracts False Palin Story; Others Duped

MSNBC was the victim of a hoax when it reported that an adviser to John McCain had identified himself as the source of an embarrassing story about former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, the network said.

David Shuster, an anchor for the cable news network, said on air that Martin Eisenstadt, a McCain policy adviser, had come forth and identified himself as the source of a Fox News Channel story saying Palin had mistakenly believed Africa was a country instead of a continent.

Eisenstadt identifies himself on a blog as a senior fellow at the Harding Institute for Freedom and Democracy. Yet neither he nor the institute exist; each is part of a hoax dreamed up by a filmmaker named Eitan Gorlin and his partner, Dan Mirvish.


  Web Surfers Face Dangerous New Threat: 'Clickjacking'

Internet and Web browser security experts are sounding the alarm about a new type of malicious attack called "clickjacking," a technique that can be used to dupe Web surfers into revealing confidential information while clicking on seemingly innocuous Web pages. Among other things, a clickjacking attack can be used to take control of a computer's Webcam and microphone without the knowledge of the user.


  The Breast Is Best!

PETA dispatched a letter to Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, cofounders of ice cream icon Ben & Jerry's Homemade Inc., urging them to replace the cow's milk in their products with human breast milk. PETA's request comes in the wake of news reports that a Swiss restaurant owner will begin purchasing breast milk from nursing mothers and substituting breast milk for 75 percent of the cow's milk in the food he serves. PETA points out to Cohen and Greenfield that such a move on their part would lessen the suffering of dairy cows and their babies on factory farms and benefit human health at the same time.


  Edwards Admits Sexual Affair; Lied as Presidential Candidate

John Edwards repeatedly lied during his Presidential campaign about an extramarital affair with a novice filmmaker, the former Senator admitted.


  Bernie Mac Dies at 50

Comedian-actor Bernie Mac has died from complications due to pneumonia, his publicist has confirmed. Mac had been admitted to Chicago's Northwestern Memorial hospital on Aug. 1, but had been expected to recover. The 50-year-old actor had battled sarcoidosis, a chronic disorder that can cause inflammation in the lungs.


  Student Artwork Purporting to Show Abortion a Hoax

A Yale University art student duped the student newspaper with a story about inducing repeated abortions on herself and using the blood for her senior art project.

The story about Aliza Shvarts' project, published in the Yale Daily News, swept across blogs and media outlets, including the Drudge Report, Fox News and The Washington Post, before Yale issued a statement saying it investigated and found it all to be a hoax that was Shvarts' idea of elaborate "performance art."


  Expert Debunks Cheney's Naked Lady

A photo editor who used the latest digital technology to examine a photo of U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney says the veep was not fishing with a nude woman.

In a photo of a fly-fishing vice president posted on the White House Web site, the reflection on one lens of Cheney's sunglasses created a stir on line when some bloggers concluded it was a lady showing the full monty.


  Vodka-Maker Absolut Apologizes for Ads

The Absolut vodka company has apologized for an ad campaign depicting the southwestern U.S. as part of Mexico amid angry calls for a boycott by U.S. consumers.


  Thomas Beatie - From Burly Woman to Heavily Pregnant Man

A married man who used to be a woman says that he is pregnant and will give birth to a baby girl in July.


  Woman Refuses to Leave Boyfriend's Toilet

Kory McFarren, 36, told police his girlfriend, Pam Babcock, 35, had a phobia about leaving the bathroom and may not have left the bathroom in two years, although he's unsure how long she was in there.

He said during that time, he brought her food, water, and clean clothes.


  California Court Says Home-Schoolers Need Teaching Credentials

A three-member panel in Los Angeles has ruled unanimously that parents who home-school their children must have such a credential. Although the ruling probably will be put on hold during an appeal to the state Supreme Court, it could put a damper on the increasingly popular phenomenon of parents keeping their kids out of schools to teach them themselves.

The ruling has angered and confused tens of thousands of parents who are part of the state's vast and diverse home-schooling community. If the decision is upheld, California would become the only state in the nation to require parents who educate their children at home to have a teaching credential.


  Group Takes on Scientology from Unknown Corner of Web

A long-simmering dispute over digital copyrights between the Church of Scientology and its critics has boiled over after video clips turned up on the Internet from a 2004 interview by the church's most famous member, actor Tom Cruise.

When Scientology officials complained the clips were copyrighted and requested their removal from YouTube and other Web sites, a shadowy organization of online activists sprang into action.

The group known as "Anonymous" posted an eerie video on the Internet featuring a computer-generated voice announcing a campaign to destroy the church and calling for worldwide protests Feb. 10.


  Miley Cyrus Is Not Pregnant!

Despite Internet rumors, J-14 NEVER reported that Miley Cyrus is pregnant. Someone doctored the "This Just In" article that appeared on page 16 of J-14's July 2007 issue, where a few of Miley's Hannah Montana co-stars talked about her gross habits.


  FBI Taps Cell Phone Microphones as Eavesdropping Tool

The FBI appears to have begun using a novel form of electronic surveillance in criminal investigations: remotely activating a mobile phone's microphone and using it to eavesdrop on nearby conversations.

The technique is called a "roving bug," and was approved by top U.S. Department of Justice officials for use against members of a New York organized crime family who were wary of conventional surveillance techniques such as tailing a suspect or wiretapping him.


  Man Floats 193 Miles Using Chair, Balloons

Kent Couch settled down in his lawn chair with some snacks — and a parachute. Attached to his lawn chair were 105 large helium balloons.

Destination: Idaho.

With instruments to measure his altitude and speed, a global positioning system device in his pocket, and about four plastic bags holding five gallons of water each to act as ballast — he could turn a spigot, release water and rise — Couch headed into the Oregon sky.


  Sprint to Cancel Complainers' Service

Sprint Nextel Corp. has told about 1,000 disgruntled cell phone customers that they would be better off with someone else.

Even though signing enough new subscribers has been a problem recently for the nation's No. 3 wireless carrier, Sprint executives decided to break up with a group of malcontents who called frequently with complaints.

"While we have worked to resolve your issues and questions to the best of our ability, the number of inquiries you have made to us during this time has led us to determine that we are unable to meet your wireless needs," stated the letter Sprint recently sent to these soon-to-be former customers.


  Pool Drain Pulls Small Intestine Out of Young Girl

A 6-year-old Edina, Minnesota, girl has been hospitalized after a horrific accident at a swimming pool.

Abigail Taylor was severely injured when she sat over an open drain hole in a wading pool at the Minneapolis Golf Club.

Now Abigail's father has a warning to other families: Pool and hot tub drain accidents are a hidden danger that many of us don't understand.


  Worm Targets Harry Potter Fans

Sophos has warned Harry Potter fans not to open an e-mail which claims to contain the final instalment of the boy wizard book series.

Security companies have intercepted an e-mail promising a copy of 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' — which is not due for release until July 21. But rather than getting a sneak preview of the book, impatient muggles who click on the file will instead find their PC infected by the W32/Hairy-A worm.


  A Horse Is a Horse - Unless It's a Zorse

Eclyse the zorse is striking proof of how an offspring inherits genes from both parents — which in her case was a male zebra and a female horse. The result is shown in her amazing coat which looks like a zebra's that has been partly covered in white paint.

While most zebra-horse crossbreeds have stripes across their entire body, Eclyse has only two such patches, on her face and rump.


  Wrestler Chris Benoit, Wife and Son Found Dead

Pro wrestler Chris Benoit strangled his wife, suffocated his 7-year-old son and placed a Bible next to their bodies before hanging himself with a weight-machine pulley, authorities said.

Benoit's 43-year-old wife was killed Friday in an upstairs family room, her feet and wrists were bound and there was blood under her head, indicating a possible struggle. His son Daniel was probably killed late Saturday or early Sunday, the body found in his bed.

Benoit, 40, apparently hanged himself several hours and as long as a day later. His body was found in a downstairs weight room, hanging from the pulley of a piece of exercise equipment.


  Vince McMahon's Hoax Goes up in Smoke

Did Vince McMahon, who's bluffed and blustered his way into the ringmaster's role of the testosterone-fueled soap opera that is professional wrestling, really fall for the old bomb-in-the-limo trick?

Though World Wrestling Entertainment would have you believe otherwise, the answer is no.

Despite articles on the wrestling federation's Web site that firefighters and federal agents are investigating, workers at the Luzerne County 911 Center confirmed that it was "a stunt" and that no emergency vehicles were called to the arena.

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