Wednesday, May 17, 2006
The King's first home is now another man's castle.
A ranch-style Memphis home that Elvis Presley bought in 1956 as his career was taking off has sold for $905,100 on the online auction service eBay.
Peter Gleason, a New York attorney and retired firefighter, posted the high bid in the final seconds before the 8 p.m. deadline Sunday.
Gleason said Monday that he is a partner in a group that includes Israeli psychic Uri Geller. Their interest in the home is in restoring it to its 1956 luster, down to the original wallpaper and floor coverings, and eventually opening it to the public.
Texas Stripper Candy Barr Dies; Had Dalliance With Vegas Mobster
Candy Barr, 70, whose inspired stage name and beguiling striptease wiles ignited naughty male fantasies among '50s-era Texans, died Dec. 30 at a hospital in Victoria, Tex. She had pneumonia.
Abe Weinstein's Colony Club in downtown Dallas, a few blocks from City Hall, was the scene of Miss Barr's nightly triumphs. Big-spending businessmen, conventioneers out on the town, local politicos, cops and hustlers, not to mention wide-eyed country boys from Canton or Waxahachie all crowded into the club to ogle the blond beauty
Great Satan Park
The former US embassy in Tehran could soon see a new chapter in its troubled history, with a top Iranian commander calling for the downtown compound to be turned into a "Great Satan Park".
"We would be able to nicely show off the American crimes to citizens strolling in the park," General Mir-Faisal Bagherzadeh told the official news agency IRNA.
"The former American Den of Spies should become the park of Great Satan," said the general, who heads the Sacred Defence Foundation - an influential propaganda body set up to commemorate the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war
Girl dragged under limo after her prom?
A Denver East High School student who was run over by a stretch limousine leaving the school prom Saturday was in critical condition after surgery Monday.
Molly Bloom, 17, a standout on the school's swim team, sustained injuries to her leg and pelvis when she was dragged under the rear tires of the vehicle, according to police and students.
Bloom was leaving the prom about 11 p.m. in the 1700 block of Sherman Street, near the Sherman Street Event Complex, and was getting into the Hummer H1 limousine when the driver started to move before she was fully inside
The Da Vinci Code
The Da Vinci Code is one of the greatest phenomena in the history of fiction publishing and the juggernaut rolls on with the arrival of the movie version. But why are we so profoundly obsessed with a thriller about the Church?
It has sold more than 40 million copies across the world, transforming author Dan Brown into a spectacularly wealthy man.
For the few who don't know, it is a thriller telling the story of a race to uncover a massive conspiracy engineered by the Catholic Church to obscure the feminine nature of early Christianity and a shocking secret about Jesus and the Holy Grail.
Upside down at 60ft
Terrified thrillseekers were left dangling upside down at 60ft after a fair ride got stuck. One woman was taken to hospital after a panic attack.
She was among 17 people stranded for six minutes. Several complained of headaches and dizziness after the £1 ride at the Pleasure Beach, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, on Sunday.
The Evolution, which has rotating cages, is thought to have locked in a power blip.
Tentative $615 mln Boeing settlement reached
Boeing Co. has tentatively agreed to pay the U.S. government $615 million to settle two high-profile criminal investigations and related civil claims, the U.S. Justice Department said on Monday.
Under the deal, Chicago-based Boeing accepts responsibility for actions of its employees, but will avoid criminal charges as long as it abides by certain conditions for two years.
"Under the proposed agreement, Boeing will pay a total of $615 million," said department spokeswoman Tasia Scolinos. The figure includes $50 million in criminal penalties and $565 million in civil claims.
Penis is a competitive beast
Scientists believe the shape of the penis may have evolved to help men remove the semen of love rivals during sex.
Tests led a team of US researchers, headed by Professor Gordon Gallup, to conclude that the penis acts as a "semen displacement device" and its shape has evolved in part to displace another man's semen.
The team from the State University of New York believe the thrust of the penis during sex may help to clear a woman's reproductive system of a previous lover's semen.
Tattooed 5th century mummy with jewelry found
A female mummy with complex tattoos on her arms has been found in a ceremonial burial site in Peru, the National Geographic Society reported Tuesday.
The mummy was accompanied by ceremonial items including jewelry and weapons, and the remains of a teenage girl who had been sacrificed, archaeologists reported.
The burial was at a site called El Brujo on Peru's north coast near Trujillo.
They said the woman was part of the Moche culture which thrived in the area between A.D. 1 and A.D. 700. The mummy was dated about A.D. 450.
The presence of gold jewelry and other fine items indicates the mummy was that of an important person, but anthropologist John Verano of Tulane University, said the researchers are puzzled by the presence of war clubs, which are not usually found with females.
12.8 million gigabytes
Researchers have finally found a way to create storage devices that are capable of storing millions of gigabytes of data. With the use of ferroelectric, the researchers from Drexel University and University of Pennsylvania are able to squeeze 12.8 million gigabytes of information into a cubic centimeter. Very amazing indeed.
Until recently, researchers were not able to find a method of stabilizing ferroelectricity on the nano-scale. It was this group of talented researchers that found out that water is in fact the answer to their problem. It has to do with the hydroxyl (OH) ions molecules found in water, which are capable of screening the charges.
Rapist: I'm going to jail anyway
A rapist awaiting trial for attacks on two 16-year-old schoolgirls claimed a third victim after a judge allowed him to walk free from court on bail.
Daniel Charnock subjected a girl of 18 to a terrifying ordeal in a park within 72 hours of facing court charged with the first two rapes. When he carried out the third assault Charnock, 19, mocked his victim, saying: "I'm going to get sent down anyway."
As he began a sentence of at least seven years for the attacks, campaigners criticised the jus-tice system which allowed the dangerous sexual predator to strike a third time.
I personally think they should cut his dick off!
Jenny McCarthy offers sex tips
Former Playboy pin-up Jenny McCarthy has signed on to become the sex columnist in US men's magazine FHM - and she's starting her stint as a journalist by helping guys cheat.
The sexy actress promises to give lusty guys tips on lovemaking and courting in the coming months, and she has kicked off her tenure with advice on how to have an affair - and get away with it.
She writes, "These tips are only to be used on women who deserve to be cheated on. If you cheat on a good woman, you are going to die a miserable death, probably of cancer." McCarthy's tips include sticking to a routine so as not to make your partner suspicious, don't suddenly get stylish and never confess to anything."
Coca-Cola sued over lead content
The state of California and the city of Los Angeles sued drinks giant Coca-Cola Co today seeking to stop distribution of Coca-Cola made in Mexico amid concerns over its alleged lead content.
The lawsuit claims that elevated levels of lead have been detected in the paint used to decorate the outside of glass Coca-Cola bottles, as well as in the fizzy drink itself.
"Millions of bottles of this product have been handled and consumed by Californians over the past four years without any warning of the danger they pose," the lawsuit claimed.
The lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court by California attorney-general Bill Lockyer and Los Angeles city lawyer Rocky Delgadillo.
Woman's Seatbelt, Bra Strap Deflects Bullet
A 44-year-old woman escaped serious injury from a gunshot Sunday thanks to her seat belt and a thick bra strap, authorities said.
Robin Key, 44, of Riverview, Fla., was shot through the windshield of the car she was riding in Sunday. She said she felt a searing pain in her shoulder.
Hillsborough County sheriff's deputies said a .38-caliber bullet smashed through the windshield then bounced off Key's shoulder -- thanks to a seat belt and a thick bra strap.
The copper-jacketed slug landed in her lap.
Bill Cosby Cracks Down On Young Black Men
"The men as young boys are dropping out of high school, but they've memorized the lyrics of very difficult rap songs," Comedian Bill Cosby says. Stern criticism from Bill Cosby as he addresses the 2006 graduating class of Spelman College in Atlanta. But his message isn't going over so well with these young men at the Boys & Girls Club here in Memphis. "It doesn't make me feel good as a young black male at all. Not everyone is trying to do bad in their life," High School Senior Nick Smith says.
Nick Smith and Jeremy Lawson are just two young men who are doing good. Both will graduate high school next week and head to college. "I refuse to be a statistic. It just gives me fuel to my fire," Lawson says. Cosby also cracks down on young black men who he says leave women to fend for themselves. "They know how to send their sperm cells out then walk away from something called the responsibility of father," Cosby says.