'Girls Gone Wild' Founder Joe Francis Pleads No Contest to Child Abuse, Prostitution Charges .

PANAMA CITY, Fla. — "Girls Gone Wild" founder Joe Francis pleaded no contest Wednesday to child abuse and prostitution charges in the spring break haven of Panama City.
Francis entered the pleas to settle the case that began when the series that shows women baring their breasts videotaped underage girls in 2003. Judge Deede Costello sentenced Francis to 339 days in jail, but gave him credit for the last year he has spent in jail in Bay County and in Reno, Nev. read more -foxnews.com

Jennifer Aniston on quest for a baby daddy.

Plus: No weight-loss worries for Nicky Hilton; chatty Jeremy Piven.
That’s right. Jennifer’s allegedly on a quest to make her maternal dreams come true, and one insider says it’s down to Brian and Owen. “Both men have some of Jen’s favorite qualities: Brian has the height and looks, while Owen can make her laugh,” a pal of Jen’s shared with the magazine. “Either one would be a good choice for Jen.” Then again, one of the guys may not be ripe for the papa picking. A friend from camp Owen told OK! the actor isn’t seeing anyone seriously, and “wants to keep his options open.” read more - msnbc.com

Last ‘Harry Potter’ book will span 2 films .

LOS ANGELES - Harry Potter was the center of seven novels, but he’ll star in eight films. The final book in the wildly successful series will be made into two films, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday. Producers are expected to announce Thursday that J.K. Rowling’s last “Potter” installment, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” will be split into two parts on the big screen. The first film is slated for release in November 2010, with part two following in May 2011. read more - msnbc.com

Shuttle Endeavour docks with space station.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (AP) -- Space shuttle Endeavour pulled up to the international space station and docked, kicking off almost two weeks of demanding construction work. Before the late-night linkup, Endeavour's commander, Dominic Gorie, guided the shuttle through a 360-degree backflip to allow for full photographic surveillance. It's one of the many safety-related procedures put in place following the Columbia tragedy in 2003. The space station crew used cameras with high-powered zoom lenses to photograph Endeavour from nose to tail, especially all the thermal tiles on its belly. The pictures -- as many as 300 -- will be scrutinized by engineers on the ground to see whether the shuttle suffered any damage during Tuesday's launch. read more -cnn.com

Boyfriend Kept Woman's Body on Ice for a Year at SoCal Hotel 'for Religious Reasons'.

FANS NEWPORT BEACH, California — Police thought they were handling a routine drug bust at a ritzy hotel — until they opened a large Rubbermaid container and found a woman's body preserved on a bed of dry ice. In the days since the chilling discovery, the tale has only gotten more bizarre. Friends insist that Monique Trepp, 33, an aspiring model, died a year ago and her boyfriend, a convicted drug dealer from New Zealand, held a wake in her honor at the hotel where he lived for three years. Authorities said she had been dead "a while," but released few other details. The person who likely knows more, Trepp's boyfriend, Stephen David Royds, 46, made a cryptic statement from jail, where he is being held on $1 million bail on felony drug charges and a warrant from a 2002 conviction for selling cocaine. read more -foxnews.com

Woman stopped over skeleton in luggage.

MUNICH, Germany - A woman was stopped at Munich airport after baggage control handlers found the skeleton of her brother sealed in a plastic bag in her luggage, police said Wednesday. The 62-year-old woman and her 63-year-old friend, who both live in Italy, were hauled in by airport police Tuesday after a scan of the bag showed a human skull and other bones. The women were traveling to Italy from Brazil. It turned out that the woman was trying to fulfill the last wish of her brother — who died 11 years ago in Sao Paulo, Brazil — to be buried in Italy... read more -msnbc.com

Mom Throws 2 Kids From Dallas Overpass, Then Jumps; All 3 Survive.

DALLAS — A woman threw her two young children from a freeway overpass during Wednesday's morning rush before leaping off herself, police said, and all three somehow survived the 22-foot fall into traffic. Khandi Busby, 27, and her sons, ages 8 and 6, were in stable condition at Dallas hospitals, said Sr. Cpl. Kevin Janse, a police spokesman. They are well enough to speak with investigators, police said. All three landed on concrete in the far left lane of westbound Interstate 30 around 6:30 a.m., when commuters from Dallas' east suburbs are heading downtown, Dallas police spokesman Sgt. Gil Cerda said. read more -foxnews.com

Cartoon Britney Is Animated in New Video.

Screen shots from the video for the pop star's upcoming single "Break the Ice" show an animated Spears as a futuristic, bodysuit-clad superhero. According to the U.K.'s The Sun, the cartoon treatment was Spears' idea and based on her "Toxic" video. In other news, Spears will guest star in a March 24 episode of the CBS show "How I Met Your Mother," CBS spokeswoman Kelli Raftery told The Associated Press on Tuesday. The pop star will portray a receptionist in a dermatologist's office named Abby who becomes "smitten" with Ted (Josh Radnor), Raftery said. read more -foxnews.com

Michael Jackson's Neverland Falls Prey to Chaos.

Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch may temporarily be out of financial peril on Wednesday. But there’s been a mini-financial soap opera running in the background, one which Michael probably knows nothing about, and it’s a doozy. Sources tell me that for the last several months, Jackson’s former manager and press person Raymone Bain has been spearheading a drive to refinance Neverland without actually bothering to tell Jackson or his legal representatives. read more -foxnews.com

15 People Rescued at Sea Off California Coast.

SAN DIEGO - Fifteen people were rescued from a boat off the Pacific coast Wednesday after they were stranded for three days in an apparent human smuggling attempt gone bad, authorities said. Officials of the U.S. Coast Guard and the Customs and Border Protection agency found the 24-foot vessel several miles offshore, north of the Mexican border, according to the Customs and Border Protection agency. There was no food or water on board, and some people were dehydrated and sunburned, but no one required medical treatment, he said. Eleven men and four women were taken to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego and placed in the custody of immigration authorities, said Vince Bond, a Customs spokesman. read more -foxnews.com

Second man arrested over Goa killing.

(CNN) -- Indian police have arrested a second man in connection with the death of a British teenager found dead on a beach in the coastal state of Goa last month, a CNN sister network reported Thursday. Placido Carvalho, also known as Shanuboy, has been charged with rape and murder as well as supplying drugs to Scarlett Keeling, CNN-IBN TV reported. Police earlier arrested a bartender, saying they have evidence also linking him to the 15-year-old girl's death. The 29-year-old bartender has not yet been charged. Both men were with Scarlett the night she died, the television network said. ...read more cnn.com

Woman stuck on toilet for two years, police say.

WICHITA, Kansas (AP) -- Deputies say a woman in western Kansas became stuck on her boyfriend's toilet after sitting on it for two years. Ness County Sheriff Bryan Whipple said it appeared the 35-year-old Ness City woman's skin had grown around the seat. She initially refused emergency medical services but was finally convinced by responders and her boyfriend that she needed to be checked out at a hospital. "We pried the toilet seat off with a pry bar and the seat went with her to the hospital," Whipple said. "The hospital removed it." Whipple said investigators planned to present their report Wednesday to the county attorney, who will determine whether any charges should be filed against the woman's 36-year-old boyfriend. read more -cnn.com

'Sex abuser' kills teen at Bulgarian orphanage.

SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) -- A man armed with a shotgun fired on teenagers as they left a Bulgarian orphanage Wednesday, killing a 15-year-old girl and wounding two other young people before taking his own life, police said. The motive for the attack in the western city of Tran was not immediately clear. Police said the attacker, a 67-year-old Bulgarian man, had previous convictions for sexual abuse. Officials said the two wounded teenagers, age 12 and 15, had been hospitalized and were expected to survive. The gunman, identified as Asen Iliev, fired several times at the children with a legally owned shotgun and then fatally shot himself, police said.
read more -cnn.com

Newspaper identifies Spitzer's 'Kristen'.

NEW YORK (CNN) -- The woman at the heart of the Eliot Spitzer prostitution scandal is a 22-year-old would-be singer from New Jersey, The New York Times reported Wednesday. The newspaper said that Ashley Youmans -- now known as Ashley Alexandra Dupre -- was identified in court documents as Kristen, the high-priced prostitute who met with Spitzer at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington on February 13. Dupre has not been charged with any crime. She made a brief appearance Monday in U.S. Magistrate Court as a witness against four people charged with operating Emperor's Club VIP, the prostitution ring, the Times said. read more -cnn .com

Copter crashes in Peru with 10 aboard.

LIMA, Peru (AP) -- A helicopter ferrying passengers from an Anglo-Australian-owned copper mine in the Andes has crashed with 10 people aboard, and the wreckage was spotted from the air Wednesday, police said. Jesus Tapia, police chief of the nearby town of Santa Cruz, said it was not clear if there were survivors, but he said rescuers who spotted it from the air reported the helicopter was destroyed. Some of the passengers aboard the helicopter were employees of the La Granja mine owned by the Rio Tinto Group, the company said, but it did not specify numbers or nationalities.
read more - cnn.com

Last Update:	13/03/2008
Next Update:	16/03/2008