truesee's Blog

Russell/APTitans backup quarterback Chris Simms, son of Giants Super Bowl hero Phil Simms, was busted Thursday morning for driving while under the influence of pot, police sources said.

The son of former New York Giants legend Phil Simms was busted in Manhattan Thursday morning for driving while on drugs, police sources told the Daily News. 

Chris Simms, a backup quarterback for the Tennessee Titans, was pulled over at a DWI checkpoint on W. Houston St. at 1:30 a.m., the sources said. 

One source said Simms, 29, was slurring his speech, his eyes appeared red and his face was flushed. 

He confessed to cops that he smoked a joint inside his 2009 Mercedes-Benz earlier in the night, a source said. 

"He was so stoned he couldn't keep his mouth shut, and admitted he smoked a joint in the car," said the source. "The smell of pot just came off his clothes and out of his car." 

Simms, who walked erratically when he stepped out of the luxury car, was charged with operating a motor vehicle while impaired by drugs, police sources confirmed. 

He is expected to be arraigned at Manhattan Criminal Court later Thursday. 

Simms signed with the Titans in April after being released by the Denver Broncos. He only played two games with Denver last season. 

A former third round pick by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Simms's career - and life - were in danger when he ruptured his spleen after a hit in a 2006 game. 

His father, who now works for CBS Sports, led the Giants to a victory in the 1987 Super Bowl and remains the franchise's all-time leading passer.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/michael-jackson/sns-offbeat-pix,0,2433389.photogallery

New report slams White House spill response

The top Republican on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee plans to release a report Thursday that he alleged would blow holes in White House claims about its command of the oil spill response and the amount of assets deployed.

Rep. Darrell Issa’s (R-Calif.) report on the Gulf of Mexico oil spill is titled “How the White House Public Relations Campaign on the Oil Spill is Harming the Actual Clean-up.”

“The evidence on the ground suggests that the White House has been more focused on the public relations of this crisis than with providing local officials the resources they need to deal with it,” he said in a prepared statement.

The report alleges that committee staff interviews with local parish officials in Louisiana paint a picture at odds with White House claims. Here’s a blurb:

"Parish officials maintain that the federal government has not been in control since day one. In four separate interviews, senior-ranking Parish officials described how, until the President’s visit on May 28, 2010, BP was in charge. According to one official, “until two weeks ago [after the President’s May 28, 2010, visit], BP was in charge and the Coast Guard looked to them for direction.” Furthermore, “Coast Guard asks BP,” not vice-versa. When specifically asked to agree or disagree with the assertion that the federal government had been in control since day one, another official firmly disagreed.

Guard shoots escapee who would have been let go in hours

Man was on work release, set to be freed anyway

Unemployment Extension Fails: Senate Rejects Jobless Benefits 58-38

First Posted: 06-30-10 10:06 PM   |   Updated: 06-30-10 10:32 PM

The Senate rejected Wednesday -- for the fourth time -- a bill that would have reauthorized extended benefits for the long-term unemployed, by a vote of 58 to 38. Democrats will not make another effort to break the Republican filibuster before adjourning for the July 4 recess.

By the time lawmakers return to Washington, more than 2 million people who've been out of work for longer than six months will have missed checks they would have received if they'd been laid off closer to the beginning of the recession.

Only two Republicans, Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine, crossed the aisle to support the measure. That gave Democrats 59 of the 60 votes they needed to break the GOP filibuster, but without the late Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), Nebraska Democrat Ben Nelson's nay vote was enough to kill the bill.

(The final tally shows only 58 yea votes due to arcane rules of Senate procedure, which require Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to vote against the bill in order to allow for another vote on it in the future.)

"We will vote on this measure again once there is a replacement named for the late Senator Byrd," Reid said in a statement after the vote. "In the meantime, I sincerely hope that Republicans will finally listen to the millions of unemployed Americans who need this assistance to support their families in these tough times. These Americans and millions more demand that Republicans stop filibustering support for unemployed workers."

Already, more than 1.2 million people out of work for longer than six months have missed checks since federally-funded extended benefits lapsed at the beginning of June.

"Senators had a chance to put election year posturing aside and one too few rose to that challenge," said Judy Conti, a lobbyist for the National Employment Law Project. "It's a sad night, especially for the over one million workers and their families who will have little cause to celebrate this holiday weekend. It is a disgrace and an absolute slap in the face to basic human decency." 

During the past several weeks, Reid and Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) trimmed a broader spending bill that included the benefits among a host of other domestic aid programs. They reduced the bill's 10-year deficit impact from $134 billion to $33 billion -- the cost of reauthorizing extended unemployment benefits through November -- but to no avail.

This week, Reid and Baucus pulled out the unemployment benefits as a $33-billion standalone bill, attaching an extension of the homebuyer tax credit, yet it wasn't enough of a sweetener to overcome the deficit demands of most Republicans and Ben Nelson.

Though there is some talk within their caucus of offsetting the cost of unemployment benefits to keep them from adding to the deficit, Democratic leaders refused to cave; they argued that because the cost of federally-funded extended benefits has never been offset, deficit neutrality shouldn't suddenly become a requirement for emergency aid.

Republicans offered alternative bills that would have paid for extended benefits with unused stimulus funds. "The only reason the unemployment extension hasn't passed is because our friends on the other side have refused to pass a bill that doesn't add to the debt," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said after the vote.

Republicans and some Democrats are uneasy about the unprecedented duration of benefits made available to the unemployed by last year's stimulus bill and subsequent acts of Congress, which in some states reaches 99 weeks. Without those provisions, layoff victims are currently eligible for only 26 weeks of benefits in most states, while the average unemployment spell is 34 weeks.

Lurking beneath the deficit concerns for some members is the suspicion that the extended benefits discourage people from looking for work -- even though there are five people vying for every available job and a full third of the 15 million unemployed don't actually receive the benefits.

If Congress eventually does reauthorize the aid, people eligible for extended benefits during the lapse will be paid retroactively. Failure to do so would be unprecedented: Since the 1950s extended federal benefits have never been allowed to expire with a national unemployment rate above 7.2 percent. The current rate stands at 9.7 percent.

Reid vowed earlier on Wednesday that the Senate would try again. "We're not moving away from this issue," he said. "We'll be back to haunt [Republicans] for what they're doing to people who are in such desperate shape."

Pelosi To Boehner: You're Not Taking My Gavel

First Posted: 06-30-10 02:23 PM   |   Updated: 06-30-10 02:29 PM

 

 

 

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Cali.) said last Friday that she fully expects to hold on to her gavel even as Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) finishes every campaign-related speech by predicting he will be the next Speaker. 

"Of course that's what he says," said Pelosi, in an exclusive interview with the Huffington Post. "Of course he does. But we are very confident we will [remain in power] because we don't take anything for granted. We run every race one race at a time, and I make it really clear to my colleagues that my responsibility is to reelect our incumbents, to win our Democratic open seats and then to go after some of their seats." 

In a quick detour into the world of electoral politics, Pelosi predicted with gusto that Democrats will retain control of the House even during the likely tumultuous midterm elections. Part of the reason, she said, is that the slate of House Democrats in close races has already "fought the fight" with respect to health care reform, and has the time and confidence to win over their constituents before the election. The main factor, however, is that the GOP has yet to present itself as a threat. 

Asked, for instance, about remarks from Rep. Joe Barton (R-Tex.) apologizing to BP for the pressure it received from the White House to set up a $20 billion escrow fund, Pelosi offered a tongue-in-cheek lament. 

"[Gen. Stanley] McChrystal came right in and took him [off the front page]," she said, in reference to the former commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan who was relieved of his post after making disparaging comments about civilian leadership. 

"But it's a gift that keeps on giving because you know what, they're saying that it's a gaffe," she added. "No, it's a clear indication of who they are and that's what you're going to see. We were fighting against the health insurance industry, Republicans said no. We're fighting against Big Oil, the Republicans said no. Democrats are fighting the big banks and financial institutions; Republicans said no. Not one of them voted for the regulatory reform. And on Big Oil, what more did we need than them apologizing? When people are desperate in the Gulf and they're apologizing." 

These are, of course, the same broad themes that all Democrats, not just Pelosi, have pitched to voters as Election Day nears -- from the "party of no" label applied to the GOP during the early months of 2009, to the president's speech before a Wisconsin crowd this Wednesday.

But in offering optimism about the upcoming campaign, Pelosi also touched on some specifics. In particular, she took near glee in reflecting on the special election that recently took place for former Rep. Jack Murtha's seat in Pennsylvania.

"They were going to win," Pelosi said, reflecting on how much the GOP trumped its prospects for winning the seat. 'They had a big press conference planned the next day for the burial of the now-dead Democratic Party. And we were looking at them saying: 'You don't even know what you're talking about. We own the ground.'"

"Now, I don't put money into TV unless we own the ground," she added, "because you're just wasting money. And so in that race we had a great candidate and [Mark Critz]... 110,000 door knocks, 89-something thousand phone contacts, a message about jobs and message about repealing the law that allows business and [sic] gives them a tax break for sending jobs overseas. So I was thinking maybe about three points, a clear victory. It was eight and a half points. Eight and a half points! I don't know what they were thinking. But they thought... in other words, we had to go big in the Democratic area and try to control the damage in their area and we kept saying, "Wait until their counties come in." 

Miller for NewsAl Gore, former vice president and present climate change advocate, is facing a claim he sexually assaulted a masseuse in Portland in 2006.

Get ready for more Gore-y details. 

The masseuse who made the shocking claim she fought off the frisky former vice president has come out of hiding. 

Molly Hagerty, whose 2006 claim that Al Gore attempted to have sex with her in Portland, Oregon, recently came to light, insists her tawdry tale is true. 

"Al Gore is a pervert and sexual predator," the red-headed 54-year-old massage therapist tells the National Enquirer in an exclusive interview that hits stands on Thursday. "He's not what people think he is - he's a sick man!" 

Hagerty tells the supermarket tabloid she has video surveillance and DNA evidence that her will support her claims regarding her touchy-feely experience with Gore. 

The story broke last week, and soon after Portland police released their report on the incident, which Hagerty claims took place in a posh hotel on Oct. 24, 2006. 

According to the transcript, Hagerty told police that Gore, who was in town to speak about climate change, was looking for a "happy ending" to their massage session. When she refused, he attempted to have sex with her. 

Police ultimately dropped the investigation and no charges were ever pressed due to lack of evidence, and because Hagerty repeatedly cancelled follow-up interviews. 

The Washington Post reported last week that Hagerty was looking for $1 million to tell her sordid story. 

Gore's personal life has become tabloid fodder in recent weeks since the surprising announcement he and his wife of 40 years, Tipper, were separating. 

It was followed by reports that Gore had an affair with the wife of comedian and "Seinfeld" co-creator Larry David. She quickly denied the claim. 

"It's a total fabrication," Laurie David, who co-produced the Oscar-winning Gore documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" told The Huffington Post. "I adore both Al and Tipper."

Gore has remained mum on any reports of alleged affairs or Hagerty's claim.

How welfare has managed to take 'work' out of working class

Sandra Parsons 

Daily Mail
8:41 AM on 30th June 2010

Generous benefits: Frank Field, poverty adviser to David Cameron, says many men are better off staying out of work. 

What has happened to a significant number of Britain's working-class men? Well, as Frank Field, the Labour MP who has been made a poverty adviser by David Cameron, has pointed out, for too many of them, the adjective 'working' no longer applies. 

Thanks to a generous welfare system, many of them have calculated that they are better off staying at home than they would be doing anything so proletarian as a hard day's work. 

According to Field, many young men today feel that jobs paying less than $300 a week are not worth their while. 

I know it's unfashionable to say it, but anyone can find work if they really want to. When we were first married, my husband, as a non-EU doctor, was not allowed to practise until he had passed exams proving both his English and his medical competency. 

I was working full-time, so he could have stayed at home. Instead, he found a job as a cook in a wine bar. He had no experience, but reasoned that anyone could grill a burger and throw together a salad. Soon, he was working double shifts and earning more than he subsequently did in his first year as a junior doctor. 

But instead of finding whatever work they can, too many of Britain's poorest young men choose to stay at home, easily able to afford the satellite television and cans of strong beer that all too often fuel their day. 

Unsurprisingly, they feel useless and frustrated - emotions that too many are unable to analyse, but which explode into aggression, violence and crime, together with a terrifyingly feckless attitude to procreating with different women. 

I say procreating because their loveless actions have nothing to do with fathering. For any child, the lack of a strong, responsible father figure is a tragedy. 

Despite what our politicians think, most single mothers do not want to go out to work, at least until their children are older. 

What they, and their children, want is a man to fulfil a role that used to be taken for granted and which these days seems almost quaint: that of provider. 

If a young boy does not see his father getting up and going to work every day, why should he go to school - still less aspire to a job afterwards? 

And why should he treat women with respect if that role model doesn't? Thus our disastrous welfare system creates a cycle of dependency. 

Yesterday the Government announced its new Work Programme, under which millions on benefits will be forced to make daily efforts to find a job - and those who refuse will have their benefits curtailed. 

The inspiration for this reform has come from the U.S., where it's claimed similar welfare reforms introduced by Bill Clinton saw dole queues fall by as much as 80 per cent in some states. 

And what happens when a man goes out to work is this: he starts to believe in himself and find some self-respect. And then he finds those around him start to believe in him and respect him, too. 

'Why can't a woman be more like a man?' asked Professor Higgins in My Fair Lady as he tried to transform recalcitrant <snip>ney Eliza Doolittle into a lady. 

The question Professor Higgins might ask these days of a boozed-up man with several children by different mothers is: 'Why can't a man be more like a man?'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1290752/How-welfare-managed-work-working-class.html#ixzz0sKhwHdZl

King to step down after 25 years  Keach Hagey June 29, 2010 10:07 PM EDT

AP

His future at CNN in question since a recent string of weak ratings became a symbol for the network’s struggle to find its way in an increasingly ideologically divided cable landscape, Larry King, host of the longest-running continuously hosted show on a single network, announced Tuesday evening that he is hanging up his “nightly suspenders.”

King, 76, and CNN/US President Jon Klein made the announcement after weeks of tabloid reports about King’s possible successor at CNN’s 9 p.m. timeslot, which “Larry King Live” has occupied for 25 years.

“I’m incredibly proud that we recently made the Guinness Book of World Records for having the longest running show with the same host in the same time slot,” King wrote on his blog. “With this chapter closing I’m looking forward to the future and what my next chapter will bring, but for now it’s time to hang up my nightly suspenders.”

Kiein said that King would remain “a beloved part of the CNN family” and continue to host periodic specials.

In May, he scored his lowest ratings in 20 years, lagging far Rachel Maddow on MSNBC and Sean Hannity on Fox News. The ratings bounced back a bit in June, growing 28 percent on the previous month, according to Nielsen data released Tuesday. But the movement to replace King was already well underway, according to a New York Times report last month.

King said he'd be in the interviewer's chair until "maximum November," and, when asked who'd he'd like to succeed him said: "I can't be objective because I don't know his interest in politics, but Ryan Seacrest. He's curious, he's interesting, he's likeable. If he has a great interest in politics, I'd recommend him."

Known for his trademark non-confrontational conversations with everyone from Frank Sinatra to Bob Woodward, King did more than 40,000 interviews over the course of his career, according to CNN. But in the media-saturated age of 24/7 cable news and Twitter, his interviews occasionally lacked a sense of timeliness. He was criticized for putting Mick Jagger on the air, for example, during a recent primary night.

The early favorite for King’s replacement was Katie Couric, whose contract at CBS runs out in May of next year. But the New York Post reported yesterday, citing unnamed sources, that she has turned down the job.

The current favorite is Piers Morgan, the former British tabloid editor turned reality TV star on “Britain’s Got Talent” and its American offshoot, “America’s Got Talent.” The British press ran a series of stories last week claiming he was about to sign a contract to take over King’s slot in the fall.

CNN has declined to comment on the matter of King’s successor.

Matthew Freud, the chairman of Freud Communications, husband of Rupert Murdoch’s daughter, Elizabeth, and a friend of Morgan’s, told POLITICO, “He has a big mouth. It is probably half true and he is also trying to renegotiate his deal with Simon Cowell, with whom he has a complicated relationship.”

King’s departure represents the final piece of the shake-up of CNN’s primetime lineup, which began with 8 p.m. host Campbell Brown’s decision to step down due to low ratings. CNN recently announced it would fill her slot with the point-counterpoint format show hosted by former New York governor Eliot Spitzer and conservative columnist Kathleen Parker.

To break the news to his audience, King invited on an old friend, Bill Maher, to open the show by putting him in the interviewee’s seat. What was clear from their banter was that the Times’s reporting on King’s ratings troubles – and particularly David Carr’s column essentially declaring him irrelevant last week – had stung.

“I hope it’s coming from you and not dictated by the New York Times,” Maher said. “I hear people say, ‘Larry didn’t really understand Lady Gaga.’ Who understand Lady Gaga?”

Mayer said he had seen her wearing an aquarium on her head, but never sit down and talk to anyone the way she did during King’s 25th anniversary week earlier this month. King might be in his 70s, Maher said, but “it’s too soon.”

“I pay no attention to that,” King said of the media criticism. “I love what I do. It was time.”

Bill Clinton Endorses Andrew Romanoff For Senate

First Posted: 06-29-10 03:32 PM   |   Updated: 06-29-10 05:27 PM

Former President Bill Clinton announced in an email Tuesday his support for Colorado Democrat Andrew Romanoff in his bid to unseat incumbent Michael Bennet.

Clinton, who met Romanoff in 1992 when he was a student at Harvard, alluded to Romanoff's career in the Colorado legislature to argue that he gives the party "[its] best chance to hold this seat in November." Clinton did not mention Bennet, who has received strong and consistent support from the White House.

Romanoff the former Speaker of the Colorado State House, announced his Senate bid last September after discussing potential administration jobs with the White House in the event that he stayed out of the race. President Obama endorsed Bennet shortly after Romanoff announced his candidacy.

Romanoff is the first Democratic Senate challenger to receive Clinton's support in a primary this season. In Clinton's home state of Arkansas, the ex-president publicly endorsed incumbent Democrat Blanche Lincoln over challenger Bill Halter. In Pennsylvania, Clinton worked with the White House to lure challenger Joe Sestak out of the Senate race against incumbent and former Republican Arlen Specter.

Lincoln recently defeated Halter, while Sestak beat Specter in Pennsylvania.

Romanoff was an early supporter of Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign.

According to most public polling, Bennet leads Romanoff by double digits among likely Democratic voters. He also holds a commanding fundraising advantage. 

Romanoff, however, has ridden the support of long-time party activists to victories in Colorado's Democratic party caucuses.

The Colorado primaries will be held on August 10.

Clinton and a young Andrew Romanoff meet in 1992:

READ Clinton's announcement:

Dear XXXXXX,

 

I first met Andrew Romanoff in 1992, when he was a student at the Kennedy School of Government and I was a candidate for President. Four years later, I was running for a second term, and he had just been elected to his first -- as one of Colorado's representatives on the Democratic National Committee.

I was proud to carry Colorado in 1992, but you should be even prouder of what Andrew Romanoff did to turn the state blue. He worked harder than anyone in Colorado to put Democrats in positions of power -- and to use that power to benefit every single citizen.

Andrew led the effort to win a majority in the Colorado House of Representatives for the first time in 30 years, and to keep that majority for the first time in more than 40 years. He built the largest Democratic majority since John F. Kennedy was President.

Even more important, Andrew took on Colorado's biggest challenges and made enormous progress. As the first Democratic Speaker of the House since 1976, he:

* Put together an Economic Recovery Plan to bring good jobs to Colorado and balance the state budget.
* Passed the largest investment in school construction in state history -- a billion-dollar plan to repair, rebuild and modernize schools, especially in rural Colorado.
* Protected Coloradans from the threats they face every day: insurers who deny their claims and refuse to honor their policies, scam artists who prey on seniors and bilk them out of their life savings, polluters who destroy the environment and expect somebody else to pay for the damages.

Andrew won. Colorado won.

In 2008, the editors of Governing Magazine honored Andrew as "Public Official of the Year." They recognized in Andrew the same qualities that the National Conference of State Legislatures, the Council of State Governments, and more than 50 other organizations had already seen -- integrity, courage, compassion. Simply put, Andrew Romanoff is one of the best legislative leaders in the United States.

Colorado is far better off today because of Andrew Romanoff's leadership. America will be too.

As a Senator, Andrew Romanoff will continue to stand up to special interests and fight for working families. We need Andrew's leadership in Washington -- especially now, when so many Americans are losing so much. "It is not enough," as Andrew put it at the Colorado Democratic Assembly last month, "to put a President of real talent and vision and leadership in the White House if the same qualities are not matched at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue."

Andrew won the state assembly by 21 points. With your help, he'll win the primary and the general election.

Andrew brings to this race both an extraordinary record of public service and an extraordinary capacity to lead. I believe that those assets, as well as his deep commitment to Colorado, give him the best chance to hold this seat in November.

I support Andrew Romanoff, and I hope you will too. Please make a generous contribution to his campaign today.

Sincerely,

Bill Clinton

Pedroncelli/APSarah Palin, the one-time Alaskan governor and former vice presidential nominee, at California State University, Stanislaus, in Turlock, jokes about writing notes on her hand.

Her speeches generally draw cheers, but Sarah Palin earned jeers for a recent speech in California -- from reporters. 

Several journalists were caught on an open mic mocking the ex-Alaska governor following her remarks at California State University, Stanislaus, in Turlock last week. 

"I feel like I just got off a roller coaster, going round and round," one reporter is heard saying on audio captured by Fox40 News. "S--- flying out everywhere." 

"She didn't finish a statement," another reporter says. 

"Did she make a statement?" another asks, drawing laughs. 

"I don't know how we're gonna make a story out of that," a voice is heard saying. 

"Now I know that dumbness doesn't come from just sound bites," yet another reporter says. 

None of the journalists could be identified, but Fox40 released a statement to indicate its reporters were not involved. 

"The comments overheard were made by reporters assembled from other newspaper and television outlets," the station said. "At no time was the voice of our photographer or our reporter heard on the stream." 

"Unfortunately, there's no way to immediately identify the photographers and reporters making commentary following Sarah Palin's speech," the statement read. "It's very likely that those reporters and photographers were unaware, or simply forgot, that there was one television station with an open microphone broadcasting to the world." 

Palin's speech at the university had drawn criticism for the thousands the school reportedly paid out to bring the high-priced former vice presidential candidate to the fund-raising event. 

It is estimated the gathering brought in more than $200,000, making it the most successful fund-raiser in the university's history, said university foundation board

CURT ANDERSON and TONY WINTON

Associated Press Writers

Conchita, Lucia and April Marie are used to a luxurious life in an island mansion. With a $3 million trust fund from the will of an heiress, they'll never have to worry about a thing. What sets the three apart is that they're Chihuahuas. 

The three little dogs are part of a bitter battle over the estate of Gail Posner, daughter of late corporate raider Victor Posner. Gail Posner's only surviving child, 46-year-old Bret Carr, is challenging her will in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court, contending she was coerced into changing it by several employees while suffering from cancer and drug addiction. 

Carr was awarded only income from a $1 million fund in his mother's will. But employees including maids, a personal trainer and bodyguards received $27 million, according to court documents. Some of them, including a caretaker of the pampered pooches, are being allowed to live in the $8.3 million, seven-bedroom Sunset Island mansion with the Chihuahuas. 

Carr's attorney Bruce Katzen contends Victor Posner, who died in 2002, set aside a fortune in 1965 that he says is now worth up to $100 million in irrevocable trust accounts for his grandchildren, including Carr. Without telling Carr, Gail Posner made changes before she died March 19, at age 67, that virtually cut him out, Katzen said. 

"He is outraged. He feels he has been totally taken advantage of," Katzen said. 

The lawsuit also accuses the estate's representative, BNY Mellon bank of wrongly "invading" the trust and transferring assets without authorization. A Mellon spokeswoman declined comment on specific allegations but said the bank would defend its position in court. There was no immediate indication in court records that any of Gail Posner's former employees had hired lawyers. 

When she was alive, Gail Posner made such a fuss over her Chihuahuas that she hired a publicist for Conchita to promote her as one of the world's most spoiled dogs. In a 2007 interview with The Miami Herald, she said Conchita had a $12,000 summer wardrobe and a $15,000 diamond necklace that the dog simply refused to wear. 

"Conchita is the only girl I know who doesn't consider diamonds her best friend," Gail Posner told the newspaper. 

The will provides for Conchita and the other two dogs to live in the mansion in the manner to which they're accustomed until they die. The $3 million doesn't go directly to the animals; it's earmarked for expenses related to their care as well as the mansion's maintenance, utilities and so forth. 

Florida law does allow estates to provide for care of animals. Frank T. Adams, an attorney and expert in Florida probate law, said the provisions covering the dogs seemed well-drafted and might pass muster, at least partially, with a judge. The real battle, he says, won't be over the dogs but over whether Gail Posner was fooled into rewriting her will. 

The Miami case recalls that of New York hotel queen Leona Helmsley, who left a $12 million trust fund for her white Maltese, Trouble. A judge whittled that down to $2 million. 

Carr's lawsuit contends that his mother had existing mental and addiction problems made worse by cancer treatments that included powerful painkillers. The combination, her son claims, made her susceptible to "brainwashing" by her employees and unable to understand the consequences of changes she made in her will. 

"She was easily inappropriately induced," Katzen said. "The people that were there taking care of her, instead of taking care of her, took advantage of her." 

It will be up to a judge to decide if that is true. No court date has been set.

LINK TO PHOTOS

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/06/28/national/a063508D37.DTL#ixzz0sGJh4rzX

Porn Sites Closer to Getting .xxx Addresses

While the move may help parents stop their children from seeing some seedy sites, it wouldn't force porn peddlers to use the new .xxx address.

Associated Press 1:38 p.m. EDT, June 26, 2010 

The Brooklyn mom jailed for refusing to let her 9-year-old son visit his rapist father in prison was ordered freed Monday night by the judge who locked her up in the first place. 

Sukhwant Herb, 29, who defied Brooklyn Family Court Judge Robin Sheares' visitation order, was to be released to her lawyer's custody. 

Sheares abrupt change of mind came after the Daily News reported on Sunday how Herb was sentenced to 50 days at Rikers Island on June 10 for refusing to send young Seon into the "horrible, horrific" environment of prison. 

High court officials were shocked that Sheares locked Herb up without giving her a chance to post bail, as well as by the judge's comments in court, according to sources. 

At a June 10 hearing, Sheares ranted, "Shame, shame, shame, you see how shameful she [Herb] is," according to a transcript. "She's gonna get arrested and her kids are not gonna know where she is." 

Last night, the judge said that Herb must appear in court today with her son as a condition of her freedom. 

"No bail in a case like this is really shocking," said Herb's lawyer, Dale Frederick. "My client has not been charged with a crime, has never been charged with a crime - and even felons get bail," said. 

The case began when Herb, who first agreed to the prison visits last Sept. 15, changed her mind, ignored the order and skipped four court appearances. 

Seon Jonas, the father of Herb's son, was convicted in 2003 of raping three women in Phoenix - while he and Herb were living in Phoenix - and is serving 27 years in a state prison.

 RELATED ARTICLES

http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Sukhwant+Herb

http://www.nydailynews.com/money/galleries/forbes_celebrity_100_2010/forbes_celebrity_100_2010.html