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Heath Ledger was found dead Tuesday at a downtown Manhattan apartment, naked in bed with sleeping pills nearby, police said. The Australian-born actor was 28. It wasn't immediately clear if Ledger had committed suicide.
He had an appointment for a massage at a residence in the tony neighborhood of SoHo, NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said. A housekeeper who went to let him know the massage therapist had arrived found him dead at 3:26 p.m.
A large crowd of paparazzi and gawkers gathered outside the building on an upscale block. Ledger's body was still inside, and several police officers guarded the door.
The medical examiner's office planned an autopsy Wednesday, spokeswoman Ellen Borakove said.
While not a marquee movie star, Ledger was a respected, award-winning actor who chose his roles carefully rather than cashing in on his heartthrob looks. He was nominated for an Oscar for his performance as a gay cowboy in "Brokeback Mountain," where he met Michelle Williams, who played his wife in the film. The two had a daughter, Matilda, and lived together in Brooklyn until they split up last year.
Ledger most recently appeared in "I'm Not There," in which he played one of the many incarnations of Bob Dylan — as did Cate Blanchett, whose performance in that film earned an Oscar nomination Tuesday for best supporting actress. Ledger had finished filming his role as the Joker this year in "The Dark Knight," a sequel to 2005's "Batman Begins."
He's had starring roles in "A Knight's Tale" and "The Patriot," and played the suicidal son of Billy Bob Thornton in "Monster's Ball." He also played a heroin addict in the 2006 Australian film "Candy."Source: http://news.yahoo.com
Omar Osama bin Laden bears a striking resemblance to his notorious father — except for the dreadlocks that dangle halfway down his back. Then there's the black leather biker jacket. The 26-year-old does not renounce his father, al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, but in an interview with The Associated Press, he said there is better way to defend Islam than militancy: Omar wants to be an "ambassador for peace" between Muslims and the West.
Omar — one of bin Laden's 19 children — raised a tabloid storm last year when he married a 52-year-old British woman, Jane Felix-Browne, who took the name Zaina Alsabah. Now the couple say they want to be advocates, planning a 3,000-mile horse race across North Africa to draw attention to the cause of peace.
"It's about changing the ideas of the Western mind. A lot of people think Arabs — especially the bin Ladens, especially the sons of Osama — are all terrorists. This is not the truth," Omar told the AP last week at a cafe in a Cairo shopping mall.
Of course, many may have a hard time getting their mind around the idea of "bin Laden: peacenik."
"Omar thinks he can be a negotiator," said Alsabah, who is trying to bring her husband to Britain. "He's one of the only people who can do this in the world."
Omar lived with the al-Qaida leader in Sudan, then moved with him to Afghanistan in 1996.
There, Omar says he trained at an al-Qaida camp but in 2000 he decided there must be another way and he left his father, returning to his homeland of Saudi Arabia.
"I don't want to be in that situation to just fight. I like to find another way and this other way may be like we do now, talking," he said in English.To Read More....Source: http://news.yahoo.com
A suicide bomber has killed eight people after blowing himself up outside a Shiite mosque in Baquba during a ceremony marking Ashura, police said Thursday.
The attacker struck as devotees were leaving the mosque to begin a street procession as part of rituals commemorating the killing of Imam Hussein by armies of the Sunni caliph Yazid in 680, police Lieutenant-Colonel Najim al-Soumaidaie said.
"The suicide bomber detonated his explosives as people were leaving the mosque," Soumaidaie told AFP. "At least eight people were killed and we have 15 wounded."
Millions of Shiites across Iraq have been observing Ashura for the past week, with the main ceremonies culminating on Saturday in the shrine city of Karbala, 110 kilometres (70 miles) south of Baghdad, where some two million devotees are expected to congregate.
Baquba is capital of restive Diyala province, now considered the most dangerous area in Iraq after US and Iraqi forces chased Al-Qaeda insurgents out of their strongholds in Baghdad and surrounding areas.
The province is the focus of a massive sweep against Al-Qaeda, known as Operation Iron Harvest and part of the Phantom Phoenix assault targeting insurgents across the country launched on January 8.Source: http://news.yahoo.com
Sri Lanka's military said on Thursday most of the 27 people killed in a bus ambush were shot by rebels as the passengers tried to flee rather than in the blast that struck the vehicle.Wednesday's attack came as a 6-year truce between the state and rebels formally ended, paving the way for what analysts forecast will be a military push for the Tigers' northern stronghold and a bloody escalation in a 25-year civil war.The Tigers were not immediately available for comment on the ambush, but routinely deny involvement."There are now 27 people killed," said military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara. "There are now 49 people in hospital as others have been released after treatment.The death toll was 26 late on Wednesday.He said nine children were among the wounded, including a one-month-old baby, in the attack in the central town of Buttala around 150 miles (240 km) east of the capital Colombo."The terrorists opened fire at people getting down from the bus," Nanayakkara added. "Most were killed and injured due to gunfire, not the bomb."The Defence Ministry posted photographs of blood-soaked corpses of some of the victims on its Web site. Local television broadcast footage of the bus, showing bloodstains on the floor and personal belongings strewn inside and out."This is a brazen demonstration to the whole world of (the Tigers') unchanged commitment to terrorism and the absolute rejection of democracy and all norms of civilised behaviour..." President Mahinda Rajapaksa said in a statement.Nanayakkara said Tiger fighters shot dead six farmers in the area as they fled the bus attack. A soldier was wounded on Thursday as a team searching for attackers clashed with suspected rebels, the military said.Source: http://reuters.com
A major new study of the "mystery disease" known as Morgellons will be launched in Northern California, federal health officials said today.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Kaiser Permanente Northern California are teaming up to investigate the straight-out-of-science-fiction syndrome whose symptoms include itching, biting and crawling sensations and filaments or fibers reported to emerge from the skin.
The San Francisco Bay Area is one of the nation's hot spots for the malady, according to the Morgellons Research Foundation.
Researchers are divided about whether the syndrome represents a real, physical disease or is a manifestation of mental illness.
The study, which will begin immediately, will involve people who sought care for Morgellons-like symptoms at Kaiser Permanente's Northern California facilities between July 2006 and Dec. 31, 2007.
Kaiser's Northern California region serves 3.4 million patients, and 150 to 500 people may qualify for the study, said Dr. Joe Selby, director of Kaiser Permanente-Northern California's Division of Research.
Eligible patients will be contacted and asked to take a survey of their symptoms and other factors that may be related to the syndrome. Patients also may be asked to volunteer for comprehensive medical examinations, including skin biopsies. The Armed Forces Institute of Pathology also will assist with the study.
"The cause of this condition is unknown," said Dr. Michele Pearson, principal investigator with the CDC, said at a telephone news conference Wednesday. "Those who suffer from this condition, as well as their families and physicians, have questions, and we want to help them find meaningful answers."Source: http://mercurynews.com
On Wednesday Patriots wide receiver and Pro Bowler Randy Moss was hit with a restraining order in Broward County court in Florida for alleged punching a woman named Rachelle Washington. The restraining order prevents Moss from coming within 500 feet of her. According to ESPN, Randy Moss has vehemently denied these accusations. No criminal charges was filed.Moss insisted that he wouldn't do such a thing as the allegations leveled against him claimed. Moss explained to the media that he believed the issue came up because the woman wanted financial compensation to keep the matter private.
"In my whole entire life of living 30 years, I've never put my hand on one woman, physically or in an angry manner," an emotional Moss said. "All I know is a friend of mine, a young lady, had an accident where she hurt herself and they called my attorneys, to trying to get 'X' amount of dollars out of me and if we don't get 'X' amount of dollars, we're going to go to the press before this game.''
Moss took questions two different times during the media available session. Each time he insisted that he was innocent and the charges were unfounded. Moss went on to explain that he brought the matter to the attention of head coach Bill Belihcick last week (before the Jacksonville game), and Belichick told him to focus on football and they would address the allegations after.
"I brought it to [Belichick] and said 'Look coach, I'm being threatened to do something that I have no idea of what I need to be doing.' I was told to just focus on playing football and then I'll handle this once the season is over."
Moss vowed to sort things out once the season finally ends. The Patriots play the San Diego Chargers in the AFC Championship game this Sunday in Foxborough for the right to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl is scheduled for February 3, 2008. Moss' hearing for this case is reportedly set for January 28, 2008 (Super Bowl week).
"Whenever the season is over, I plan on sitting down and really getting to the bottom of this," said an emphatic Moss.
Moss regretted the attention his personal issues gathered and asked that the media respect his teammates who Moss said didn't know anything about the matter until yesterday's report surfaced. "As much as I love the game of football and my teammates. I would never put themselves or myself in a situation like this."
With Moss typically only available to the media one day per week, this is probably the first and last time fans will get to hear his side of the story until after Sunday's game. For now, Moss is gong to take his coach's advice and focus on football. After a 1 catch, 14-yard performance against the Jaguars last week, improved focus for the All Pro could be a necessity if his team is going to have a chance to win on Sunday. Source: http://bal.scout.com
A busy night for politics tonight. Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards (Dennis Kucinich was barred) debate in Las Vegas and, simultaneously, the Michigan primary results are in.
Michigan is an odd state in this election. It moved its primary ahead in the year to compete with Iowa and New Hampshire's early-state influence. While this led the Democrats to strip it of all convention delegates and the Republicans to slash the number by half (in theory lessening its influence) the result has become seen as crucial to the fortunes of Michigan-born Mitt Romney's campaign and John McCain's drive to project himself as a national frontrunner.
On the Democratic side it is somewhat less gripping. Clinton is the only one of the three main contenders with her name on the ballot. Polls suggest a two-way battle with "uncommitted", which could see a number of delegates unpledged to any particular candidate sent to the Democratic convention. If Michigan was sending any delegates to the convention ...
How can you keep up? US cable viewers can channel surf, or watch the TV on one and read the liveblog on the other. Or follow it all here. You'll work it out.
7.30pm ET (all times ET): Early exit polls are in. Voters are saying the most important issues are the economy (55%), Iraq (18%), illegal immigration (14%) and terrorism (10%). Turnout is 68% Republican, 25% independent with the remainder registered Democrats. Independents made up 35% of the vote in 2000.
Polls close at 9pm ET/2am GMT so bear in mind these figures could change. At present, the decline in independents from would not bode well for McCain ... unless Republicans are now feeling better disposed to him. Only the results will tell.
7.50pm: MSNBC's Chris Matthews - derided last week by John Stewart as "insane" for his Lawrence of Arabia/New Hampshire routine - is running through all his Las Vegas boxing and gambling references in one go ahead of tonight's debate. What will he do later? And does Michigan have anything equivalent?
8.30pm: Polling is just about over. Results are now coming in from the first precincts to close and there is a lead for Romney in the early returns. To put in its proper context this is the first 1% of polling stations (Romney's actual votes are 3,393 and McCain's 2,751 - 39% to 31%).
8.50pm: 5% of precincts reporting: Romney 36% and McCain 31%. In the Democratic "race" Clinton is on 62% and "Uncommitted" on 33%. It's still early, but I'd say Clinton has it here.Source: http://blogs.guardian.co.uk
Actor Brad Renfro, who has a history of drug problems and was enrolled in a court-ordered rehabilitation program, was found dead Tuesday in his Los Angeles home, the celebrity news Web site TMZ.com reported.
Renfro, 25, rose to fame as a child star appearing opposite Susan Sarandon in the John Grisham legal thriller "The Client." He quickly became one of Hollywood's most sought-after young talents, appearing in films such as "Apt Pupil," "Sleepers" and "Bully."
But legal troubles dogged his career. He was arrested on drug charges at age 15 in his hometown of Knoxville, Tenn., and agreed to undergo random drug screening. At age 18, he tried to steal a yacht in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and was placed on probation. More arrests followed for underage drinking and DUI, leading him to be jailed in Florida and California.
On Dec. 22, 2005, Renfro was among 14 people arrested during a police sting on Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles. During a span of a few hours, six undercover narcotics officers from the LAPD's Central Station sold balloons filled with fake heroin to people looking to buy the drug at Sixth and Spring Streets.
Renfro was placed on three years probation and entered a drug rehabilitation program. During a court hearing in August, Renfro told a judge he was trying to remain drug-free.
"Your honor, I'm really doing my best," he said.
Renfro was most recently filming "The Informers," which also stars Winona Ryder, Mickey Rourke, Kim Basinger and Billy Bob Thornton.
Source: http://myfoxla.com
Heath Ledger was found dead Tuesday at a downtown Manhattan apartment, naked in bed with sleeping pills nearby, police said. The Australian-born actor was 28. It wasn't immediately clear if Ledger had committed suicide.
