Madoff Fund Operator De La Villehuchet Found Dead

Thierry Magon de La Villehuchet, who ran a fund that invested with Bernard Madoff, was found dead today in his New York office in an apparent suicide, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said. “Our investigative premise is that it was a suicide,” Kelly said in an interview. De La Villehuchet, 65, was found “with his feet propped up on his desk, a trash pail nearby to collect blood,” and no sign of a second person, Kelly said. The money manager had “multiple stab wounds” to his arms and wrists, a box-cutter and pills were found nearby, and no suicide note was found, Kelly said. De La Villehuchet was co- founder and chief executive officer of Access International Advisors, a New York firm that invested $1.4 billion with Madoff, who was arrested on Dec. 11 for allegedly running a $50 billion Ponzi scheme.

The death of de la Villehuchet, who founded Access in 1994 with Patrick Littaye, came as lawsuits mounted in connection with investors victimized by Madoff. Fairfield Greenwich Group, a hedge-fund firm that had $7.5 billion invested with Madoff, has been sued by investors for allegedly failing to protect their assets. A New York woman who says she lost most of her savings is seeking $1.7 million in damages from the Securities and Exchange Commission for Madoff losses. The tally of investors hurt by Madoff continues to grow. Pedro Almodovar, the Spanish film director known for movies such as “Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown” has about $280,000 at risk, El Economista reported. Credit Lyonnais

De La Villehuchet was chairman and CEO of Credit Lyonnais Securities USA, the U.S. investment banking arm of the French bank, according to Access marketing documents. Prior to joining Credit Lyonnais in 1987, he ran Interfinance, an international broker firm specializing in French, Belgian and Italian stock markets that he founded in 1983. Access managed $3 billion and had 26 employees according to marketing documents dated September, and its LUXALPHA SICAV- American Selection fund invested solely with Madoff. Access said last week that it was working with lawyers to assess the situation. UBS AG was LUXALPHA’s administrator until this year, and is no longer involved with it, said Karina Byrne, a UBS spokeswoman. Clients of Madoff had at least $36 billion with his firm, according to a Bloomberg tally that may include some double counting. Before his arrest, Madoff, 70, confessed to employees that his “giant Ponzi scheme” may have cost as much as $50 billion, according to an FBI complaint.

His misconduct may have stretched back to at least the 1970s, two people familiar with the government’s inquiry of Madoff said last week. Madoff is now under house arrest at his New York apartment.

Obama to Release Report on Blagojevich Contacts

HONOLULU — President-elect Barack Obama plans Tuesday to release an internal review of the communications that his advisers had with the office of Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich of Illinois, who is accused by federal prosecutors of seeking favors in exchange for filling Mr. Obama’s vacant Senate seat.Mr. Obama, who is on vacation with his family here in Hawaii, is not planning to answer questions or speak publicly about the report. The review, prepared by lawyers for the Obama transition team, will highlight the telephone calls and contacts that a small circle of Mr. Obama’s advisers had with aides to Mr. Blagojevich last month. It is scheduled to be released Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. Eastern time, aides said. The report, according to three people familiar with its findings, is a memorandum that will lay out a narrative in about a dozen paragraphs the limited contact Mr. Obama’s advisers had with the governor’s office. Mr. Obama said last week that it was “frustrating” not to be able to answer questions, but said his review had found that his advisers were not involved in any inappropriate talks about the Senate seat.

Rahm Emanuel, the Illinois congressman selected by Mr. Obama as his White House chief of staff, had a handful of contacts with the governor’s office. At least two other names also are expected to be mentioned in the review, including David Axelrod, a senior adviser to Mr. Obama, who was the chief strategist of the presidential campaign.

Valerie Jarrett, a close friend to the Obama family who is a co-chairwoman of the transition effort, is also expected to be referred to in the report. Her name was raised as a possible candidate for the Senate seat, but she withdrew from consideration last month and took a position in the White House. The report, and the timing of its release, was a product of cooperation from the office of Patrick J. Fitzgerald, the United States attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, who is leading the federal investigation into Mr. Blagojevich. But according to people familiar with the report, lawyers who compiled the Obama review did not have access to wiretapped telephone conversations between Obama aides and the governor’s office. Last week, Mr. Fitzgerald asked the Obama transition team to delay the release of its report so prosecutors could interview witnesses in the Blagojevich investigation. The office had yet to complete its interviews late last week, people familiar with the case said, and asked the Obama team not to release its report on Monday. It is unknown whether one of the leading unanswered questions will be resolved: Did Mr. Obama, through his aides, give Mr. Blagojevich a list of preferred candidates for the Senate seat? At a news conference three days after the election, Mr. Obama said he was staying out of the matter. “There are going to be a lot of good choices out there,” he said, “but it is the governor’s decision to make, not mine.”
Gregory B. Craig, the incoming White House counsel, helped prepare the report that is set for release on Tuesday. He has worked with the United States Attorney’s Office, which has repeatedly suggested that Mr. Obama’s staff is not suspected of any wrongdoing. The Obama report may not be the final word on the case. The review was compiled from memory by Mr. Obama’s aides, rather than from recordings of any phone calls. The taped conversations, which were picked up through the court-approved wiretapping of Mr. Blagojevich and his chief of staff, John Harris, will not become public until the case moves through the courts or goes to trial. Mr. Emanuel believes he was taped on a court-approved wiretap as he discussed the Senate seat, but has told associates he did not engage in any deal-making with Mr. Blagojevich.

SKorean lawmakers brawl over US free trade pact

SEOUL, South Korea – Brawling South Korean lawmakers tried to sledgehammer their way into a parliamentary meeting room barricaded by the ruling party as the National Assembly descended into chaos Thursday over a free trade agreement with the United States.

Opposition parties were incensed by the ruling Grand National Party's move to submit the agreement to a committee on trade, setting in motion the process for the accord to win approval in the legislature.

Security staff and aides from the ruling party stood guard outside the room to keep opposition lawmakers away after the committee's GNP-affiliated chairman invoked his right to use force to "keep order" in parliamentary proceedings.

Scuffles broke out as dozens of opposition members and their aides attempted to push their way into the office. TV footage showed people from both sides shoving, pushing and shouting in a crowded hall at theNational Assembly building amid a barrage of flashing cameras.

Opponents later used a sledgehammer and other construction tools to tear open the room's wooden doors, only to find barricades of furniture set up inside as a second line of defense.

Cable news channel YTN reported that an electric saw was used to open the door. YTN footage showed security guards spraying fire extinguishers at those trying to force their way inside and one man 

Obama chooses 3 more to take on financial reforms

CHICAGO – President-elect Barack Obama on Thursday named three veteran regulators to help clean up financial debacles that he said occurred because government overseers "dropped the ball."

Obama wouldn't weigh in on whether he would support a decision byTreasury Secretary Henry Paulson to tap the second $350 billion installment of the $700 billion financial bailout program. Major auto companies are pleading for emergency aid, which could come from that pot.

"I think it's important that the Treasury, the Fed and all of us do whatever's required to make sure that our financial system is stable and secure," Obama said. But he added: "We cannot afford a collapse of our financial system. Main Street can't afford it." He said he would evaluate any Paulson signals about what is necessary.

As Obama spoke at a Chicago news conference rounding out his economic team, the White House said it is considering "orderly" bankruptcy as a way of dealing with the desperately ailing U.S. auto industry. President George W. Bush, asked about an auto rescue plan during an appearance before a private group, said he hadn't decided what he would do but also spoke of the idea of bankruptcies organized by the federal government as a possible way to go.

Oprah, HBO to team on movie projects

Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Films has entered an exclusive three-year deal with HBO, the network announced Tuesday. Winfrey's company, which had worked with ABC for the last 15 years, will create scripted series, mini-series, films and documentaries for HBO. It isn't known yet when Winfrey's first HBO show will air, but Harpo executives will begin "brainstorming" with HBO's creative staff in early 2009.

"I think the question will be, how are we going to do everything [we want to do], and that will be a Class A problem," HBO co-president Richard Plepler said in a phone press conference with reporters. Kate Forte, president of Harpo Films, told reporters in the Tuesday phone conference that the "creative freedom" represented by HBO would allow Harpo to expand the kind of fare it comes up with. "There are natural limitations to being on network television," which is dependent on ratings and commercial sponsorship, Forte said. "HBO is not concerned with that. ... The measure of success for them is quality.

"For the last year and a half, every time I would bring a project to Oprah, she would say, 'This is perfect for HBO,' " Forte added.

OPEC Will Make Record Output Cut to Revive Oil Prices

OPEC, supplier of more than 40 percent of the world’s oil, will reduce production by a record 2 million barrels a day to shore up prices as a global recession cuts demand, Saudi Arabia’s oil minister said. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is set to slash production quotas from 27.3 million barrels a day starting on Jan. 1, Ali al-Naimi, who sets policy in the world’s largest oil exporter, said before today’s meeting in Oran, Algeria. A formal announcement is expected once the meeting is over. quick divorce Oil’s $100-a-barrel collapse from July’s record prices has curbed revenue for producers, threatening government budget shortfalls. Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah said last month that his country needs crude at $75 to spur development. Russia, the largest non-OPEC producer, may join the group in cutting output as global oil demand falls for the first time since 1983.

“Now, the question mark is non-OPEC cooperation,” said Mike Wittner, head of oil market research at Societe Generale in London. “More importantly, will the market believe that Russia or other non-OPEC” producers will agree to further reductions on top of declines that are going to happen anyway.

Russia may announce a 400,000-barrel-a-day cut in output to support the group’s action, Kuwaiti Oil Minster Mohammed al-Olaim said yesterday. Azerbaijan’s oil minister said today his country may lower production as much as 300,000 barrels a day.

Al-Naimi said the group’s rate of compliance with a previous output cut was 85 percent. Asked if the latest reduction would start from Jan. 1, the minister replied: “Yes.”

Manifa Start

Saudi Arabia’s Manifa oil field will start in 2011 only if consumers require the extra crude, al-Naimi said later in an interview. “When we need it, it will be there,” he said, adding that the start of the field depends on the “market situation.”

Crude oil for January delivery climbed as much as $1.90 to $45.50 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, and traded at $45.46 as of 9:37 a.m. London time.

The price slump since July spurred OPEC to reduce output for the first time in two years when it met in October. The group deferred a decision on further cuts at its Nov. 29 consultative meeting in Cairo.

Today’s decision will exceed the 1.9 million-barrel cut agreed on in March 2000. That was a bigger reduction in percentage terms than today’s likely 7.3 percent cut because Iranian production was excluded from the quota at that time.

The meeting started today with an opening session at 9:30 a.m. local time in the Sheraton Hotel in Oran, followed by a closed-door session at 11 a.m., a lunch with Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika at 1 p.m., and a further closed-door session later in the afternoon. A press conference is tentatively scheduled for 4 p.m.

Obama picks Vilsack as Agriculture secretary

Reporting from Washington and Chicago -- Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, who aggressively campaigned for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton before his state's caucuses in January, will be named Agriculture secretary by President-elect Barack Obama, three Democratic officials confirmed Tuesday. The formal announcement was expected this morning at a news conference in Chicago.

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Vilsack declined to comment on the report. "Those questions should be answered by the transition office and the president-elect," he said. The former two-term Democratic governor has been a supporter of renewable energy and pushed for development of Iowa's ethanol industry. The state is one of the nation's top producers of corn and has a large meat-packing industry. During the campaign for the Iowa caucuses, Vilsack was the top Clinton official in the state and often appeared with the New York senator. He also frequently questioned Obama's preparedness for the presidency.

Obama's team takes shape

» A mixture of old a new faces make up the beginnings of the 44th president's administration. The nominations must be confirmed by the Senate.

But after Obama won the Democratic nomination, Vilsack campaigned for his general election effort in Iowa and other states.

Vilsack would be the fourth high-level appointment of a former presidential campaign rival to Obama's team, following Clinton for secretary of State, Delaware Sen. Joe Biden for vice president and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson for Commerce secretary.

"He knows production agriculture, and he knows the changes we need to ensure its profitability and future, including for young and beginning farmers and ranchers," Sen. Tom Harkin, an Iowa Democrat who chairs the Senate Agriculture Committee, said in a statement.

Iowa's Republican senator also endorsed the selection.

"He has a firsthand look at the role of agriculture in our global economy," Sen. Charles E. Grassley said in a statement. "I'm happy for him, happy for Iowa, and this is welcome news for agriculture."

A former mayor and state legislator from Mount Pleasant, Iowa, Vilsack campaigned for president himself, but dropped out of the race in February 2007 after just 86 days of campaigning.

While running for president, he took an unusual position for a farm-state official, arguing to cut subsidies for agricultural commodity crops and channel the money toward improving environmental practices. He has argued that agricultural policy should focus on production of renewable energy. He also wrote newspaper articles before the election in support of Obama's energy policies.

In an essay published in October, he urged greater investment in cellulosic ethanol, bio-fuel production plants and wind farms, and advocated "carbon credits" for farmers whose production reduces greenhouse gases associated with global warming.

Some advocates of organic food, meanwhile, have criticized Vilsack as being too supportive of biotechnology company efforts to market genetically modified foods.

In 1998, Vilsack was elected Iowa's first Democratic governor in 32 years. He won reelection in 2002 but did not run a third time, keeping a term-limit promise he had made.

A native of Pittsburgh, he was one of three finalists to be Sen. John F. Kerry's running mate in 2004.

Adam Walsh case is closed after 27 years

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Reporting from Hollywood, Fla. -- A dead man was officially named Adam Walsh's killer Tuesday, but not because of any new evidence or a deathbed confession.Police simply took another look at 27 years of tips, psychic revelations, often-botched police work and a serial killer's chilling admissions and decided it was time. Time to ease the suffering of the Walsh family and time to point the finger at the man Hollywood Police Chief Chad Wagner said had been the prime suspect all along: Ottis Toole.

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"This is a process that is long overdue," Wagner told an audience that included Adam's parents, John and Reve Walsh. Wagner acknowledged that not much had changed since 1996, when Toole died in prison while serving a sentence for an unrelated murder. He had twice confessed to killing Adam and twice recanted.

"We could have charged him back then," Wagner said. "I've taken cases much weaker than this to the state attorney's office."

The announcement was long on drama and compassion for the Walshes, but it offered no new evidence against the drifter from Jacksonville, Fla., who passed through Hollywood on July 27, 1981. That was the day 6-year-old Adam disappeared from a Sears at the Hollywood Mall -- across from the police station -- while his mother shopped for lamps.

Adam's severed head was found two weeks later in Vero Beach, Fla., beginning a search that has haunted the Walsh family, Reve Walsh said Tuesday.

She thanked the family's three children, Meghan, Callahan and Hayden, who were born after Adam's death.

The abduction of a young boy from a busy shopping mall sparked fear among parents nationwide and changed the way police and the media responded to reports of missing children.

Wagner acknowledged that evidence was destroyed or overlooked and apologized to the Walshes for investigative mistakes.

Among the problems: Police lost a bloody carpet from Toole's 1971 Cadillac, then lost the car. They also missed leads, took poor investigative notes and didn't properly document evidence.

But the case led to improvements that law enforcement officials and children's advocates say have saved lives.

On Aug. 19, four days after Adam's funeral, the family established the Adam Walsh Outreach Center for Missing Children. It has since become a national clearinghouse for families and law enforcement officers dealing with reports of missing children.

The Walshes also lobbied for stronger laws before Congress and at the White House. John Walsh's television show, "America's Most Wanted," is credited with helping to solve hundreds of crimes.

"We can now move forward knowing positively who killed our little boy," John Walsh said. "I believe wherever Toole is, he's paying and being held accountable for his actions."

The lack of new evidence and the inability of Toole to defend himself won't quiet critics who said police got it wrong, Wagner said.

"If you're looking for that magic wand, that one piece of evidence, it's not there," Wagner said.

Consumer prices fall by record 1.7% Inflation for consumer products falls by a record in November for second-straight month, dragged down by falling e

-- Consumer prices dragged down by plunging energy costs fell by a staggering amount in November, the government reported Tuesday.

The decline marked the second straight month that prices fell by a record amount.

The Consumer Price Index, a key inflation reading, fell 1.7% last month, according to the Labor Department. That was much weaker than October's 1% drop and exceeded the 1.3% decline forecast by a consensus of economists surveyed by Briefing.com.

Prices fell by the greatest amount since the Department of Labor began publishing seasonally adjusted changes in February 1947.

Consumer prices have performed a virtual about-face in recent months. For most of the year, high energy prices have caused consumer prices to soar, reaching a 17-year high in July. But energy prices have fallen about 70% since then, as the credit crunch deepened.

Demand for consumer products has fallen precipitously in recent months, after the credit crunch exploded into a crisis in mid-September. Loans have been expensive and hard to come by for those who want to make purchases for big-ticket items, and consumer confidence remained near an all-time low in November, according to a recent Conference Board study.

Tuesday's report is just further indication that consumers have dramatically shifted their spending habits in the past few months, opting to save money or pay down debt rather than spend it. A separate report released by the Federal Reserve last week showed American household debt fell for the first time ever in the third quarter, as net worth dropped by the largest amount on record based on data going back to 1951.
Core inflation falls ahead of Fed decision

The closely watched core CPI, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, was unchanged last month. Economists had expected a 0.1% rise after a 0.1% drop in November. Core CPI posted a 12-month change of 2%, down from a 2.2% rise on that basis from the month before.

Core inflation is now at its lowest point since September 2005 and at a level that central bankers are typically comfortable with. It's believed that the Federal Reserve wants the 12-month change in core inflation to remain between 1% and 2%.

Food prices actually continued to rise very slightly - increasing 0.2% in November - but energy prices fell by a record 17% in the month. Gasoline prices fell by 29.5% in the month, according to the report.

Economists say falling prices have given the Federal Reserve more wiggle room for lowering interest rates, since those cuts tend to be inflationary. The Fed is expected to cut its benchmark rate to an all-time low of 0.5% Tuesday afternoon in response to deterioration in global financial system.

On Friday, a separate Labor Department report showed wholesale prices also fell in November as energy costs continued to decline

In Blagojevich Case, Is it a Crime, or Just Talk?

WASHINGTON — When Patrick J. Fitzgerald, the United States attorney in Chicago, announced the arrest of the Illinois governor, Rod R. Blagojevich, Mr. Fitzgerald said he had acted to halt a political crime spree that included what he called an “appalling” effort to sell off the Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama. But now some lawyers are beginning to suggest that the juiciest part of the case against Mr. Blagojevich, the part involving the Senate seat, may be less than airtight. There is no evidence, at least none that has been disclosed, that the governor actually received anything of value — and the Senate appointment has yet to be made. Ever since the country’s founding, prosecutors, defense lawyers and juries have been trying to define the difference between criminality and political deal-making. They have never established a clear-cut line between the offensive and the illegal, and the hours of wiretapped conversations involving Mr. Blagojevich, filled with crass, profane talk about benefiting from the Senate vacancy, may fall into a legal gray area.

Robert S. Bennett, one of Washington’s best-known white-collar criminal defense lawyers, said Mr. Blagojevich faced nearly insurmountable legal problems in a case that includes a raft of corruption accusations unrelated to Mr. Obama’s Senate seat. But Mr. Bennett said the case raised some potentially thorny issues about political corruption.

“This town is full of people who call themselves ambassadors, and all they did was pay $200,000 or $300,000 to the Republican or Democratic Party,” said Mr. Bennett, referring to a passage in the criminal complaint filed against the governor suggesting that Mr. Blagojevich was interested in an ambassadorial appointment in return for the Senate seat. “You have to wonder, How much of this guy’s problem was his language, rather than what he really did?”

In presenting his case, Mr. Fitzgerald said Mr. Blagojevich had crossed the line from deal-making to criminality, citing an example in the complaint in which the governor discussed with an aide obtaining a $300,000-a-year job from the Service Employees International Union in return for naming a candidate to the seat.

“We’re not trying to criminalize people making political horse trades on policies or that sort of thing,” Mr. Fitzgerald said. “But it is criminal when people are doing it for their personal enrichment. And they’re doing it in a way that is, in this case, clearly criminal.”

But politicians routinely receive political contributions in return for their decisions, whether they involve making appointments or taking a stand on legislation. Lawmakers vote in favor of bills and steer appropriations backed by their donors without fear that prosecutors will bug their offices and homes.

And while prosecutors have brought increasing numbers of political corruption cases in recent years, they have done so using laws that make it a crime for an official to deprive the public of “honest services.” The cases are based on statutes that never define exactly what conduct might be illegal and do not require proof of a bribe or a quid pro quo to establish criminal wrongdoing.

What those statutes do require is evidence that an official at least tried to seek something of value in return for an official action.

In the case of Mr. Blagojevich, it would be legal for the governor to accept a campaign contribution from someone he appointed to the Senate seat. What would create legal problems for him is if he was tape-recorded specifically offering a seat in exchange for the contribution. What would make the case even easier to prosecute is if he was recorded offering the seat in exchange for a personal favor, like cash, a job or a job for a family member.

Indeed the government has claimed the wiretaps show that Mr. Blagojevich told his aides that he wanted to offer the seat in exchange for contributions and for personal favors, including jobs for himself and his wife.

But talk is not enough. Any case will ultimately turn on the strength of the tapes, and whether the governor made it clear to any of the candidates for the Senate seat that he would give it only in exchange for something of value.

Several lawyers cautioned that the complaint presented last week was a snapshot of the evidence that Mr. Fitzgerald had amassed so far, in an investigation that is continuing.

In moving to arrest Mr. Blagojevich on Dec. 9, Mr. Fitzgerald acted without having presented his case before a grand jury. He is now likely to use such a panel to obtain additional witness testimony exploring whether anyone, including anyone in the Obama camp, had specific discussions with the governor’s office about filling the vacancy.

Mr. Fitzgerald’s decision to bypass a grand jury initially could signal a belief on his part that he did not yet have a fully prosecutable case on his hand, though it appears to have been prompted at least in part by the publication in The Chicago Tribune on Dec. 5 of an article that tipped off Mr. Blagojevich that investigators were listening in on his conversations.

Mr. Fitzgerald has also said he had been worried that if he did not intervene, Mr. Blagojevich might go ahead with some of his schemes, including appointing a successor to Mr. Obama.

In the wiretaps cited in the complaint, Mr. Blagojevich talked about what he said was an urgent need for political contributions and favors, but it was not clear whether he took concerted action to actually obtain anything in return for the seat. Several lawyers said Mr. Fitzgerald might need more evidence to prosecute Mr. Blagojevich over the issue.

“It’s a very difficult case for a number of reasons; not the least is the nebulous nature of the charges and the inherently difficult issues when you’re talking about a person executing his First Amendment right to promote a particular politician,” said Michael D. Monico, a former federal prosecutor who is now a criminal defense lawyer in Chicago.

“Merely thinking about something is not a crime,” said Mr. Monico, a lawyer for Christopher Kelly, a former Blagojevich fund-raiser who was indicted last year on tax charges “Just talking about something is not a crime. You need another action for someone to commit a crime.”

Water managers review Florida-U.S. Sugar deal

Water managers began their final review Tuesday morning before a crucial vote on the state's $1.34 billion bid to buy U.S. Sugar's sprawling farm fields.

On the eve of a crucial and still-uncertain vote, Gov. Charlie Crist sent a letter to the South Florida Water Management District's governing board, urging them to back what he called an ''unprecedented'' opportunity that would pay dividends from the Everglades to Florida Bay for centuries. ''The historic nature of this moment cannot be lost,'' he wrote.

But a grim economic forecast, along with growing opposition from state lawmakers and Glades-area communities, post significant hurdles to approval.

Because of a decline in property values and tax revenues, the board will face unanticipated budget cutting in coming years -- up to 22 percent and $100 million a year. That could undermine what appeared to be shaky board support for the state's bid to convert a swath of Big Sugar land into Everglades restoration projects.

The deal's numbers looked starkly more daunting than in June when Crist proposed a blockbuster buyout of the state's largest sugar grower. Then, based on predictions of growing revenue, district money managers calculated that an even-more expensive $1.75 billion deal to acquire the entire company could be done without raising property taxes or cutting operations.

''Six months ago, people worked for Lehman Brothers. Six month ago, AIG was the largest insurance company in the world. Six months ago, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were on solid ground,'' said Charles Dauray, one of seven board members. ``We've had incredible change, including this country going into hock for $2 trillion.''

Other key numbers also have changed.

Factoring in a lease that will let the company continue to farm the land at $50 an acre for seven years, or about a quarter of market rates, two new appraisals put the value of U.S. Sugar's 180,000 acres at about $1 billion -- roughly $300 million less than before. Rising interest rates could add hundreds of millions in bond costs and push the price over 30 years to as much as $3.4 billion.

Board member Shannon Estenoz, an environmental activist from Plantation, cautioned that appraisals didn't fully reflect the value of a deal that could go a long way toward resolving water-storage and pollution problems that have damaged the Glades, rivers, estuaries and bays across South Florida.

''This isn't just a purely business decision,'' she said.

Still, the sobering economic climate is likely to play a big role in the decision.

In three scenarios, the water management report forecast spending cuts of 2 to 22 percent over the next two years. The most likely one showed revenues falling by nearly 9 percent and the agency's spending power plunging by nearly 20 percent, or $88 million, by 2010.

If that happened, district financial experts said, the land buy would trigger subsequent cutbacks in ''core operations,'' which include an array of work from Everglades research to the purchase of flood-control equipment.

The dire forecast underlined warnings from critics, who argue the state is rushing into a bad deal that they say will cost the state too much and cost rural communities jobs. U.S. Sugar has set a Tuesday deadline for the board to approve the deal.

Business leaders from Clewiston, supported by high schoolers bused in for the Monday hearing in the district's West Palm Beach headquarters, urged the board to reject the deal or postpone the vote and try to coax U.S. Sugar back to the bargaining table.

Gaylon Lawrence Jr., one of the owners of a Tennessee-based agricultural concern that is trying to buy U.S. Sugar, told the board the state could cut a better, cheaper deal with his company.

''You've got an all-or-nothing deal here,'' he said. ``It's not fair to the community. It's not fair to the Everglades.''

On Tuesday, Rep. Denise Grimsley, R-Lake Placid, plans to take the extraordinary step of speaking against the deal via a recorded video message.

Crist, in his letter, pledged to support a so-called ''inland port,'' a trucking storage and shipping hub sought by Glades-area communities and businesses, including U.S. Sugar rival Florida Crystals, which is fighting the land deal.

Mark Kraus, senior vice president of the Everglades Foundation, urged the board to consider the broader benefits the land buy will eventually provide.

''I've heard repeatedly, this costs too much,'' he said. ``I'd ask you to consider this: What is the water supply worth? What is a restored Everglades worth?''

Miami Herald staff writers Mary Ellen Klas and Marc Caputo contributed to this story.

Nearly 600,000 Canadian jobs would be lost with collapse of Big Three: report

TORONTO - Canada would lose nearly 600,000 jobs within five years if the Big Three automakers completely shut down, according to a report prepared by the Ontario government.

The 11-page report projects a bleak economic picture for the province and the rest of the country if the automakers went out of business.

Effects on employment would be felt right away, the report states, with Canada losing 323,000 jobs if production ceased immediately, 281,800 in Ontario alone, the report forecasts. Those figures would climb in five years to 582,000 jobs nationally in 2014, 517,000 of those in Ontario.

A cut in production by 50 per cent would eliminate 157,400 jobs nationally immediately, 141,000 in Ontario. By 2014, 296,000 jobs would be lost, 269,000 in Ontario.

The depreciation of the dollar, lower interest rates and lower production costs eventually help the economy to partially recover but the loss of the Detroit Three leaves a permanent dent in Canada's economy in terms of jobs and output, the document says.

The collapse of the Big Three would have far reaching effects, including a reduction in production by the Canadian automotive parts industry of 80 per cent, the report predicts.

The Canadian subsidiaries of the Detroit Big Three automakers had asked Ottawa and Ontario for financial aid that could total as much as $6 billion.

Last Friday, the federal government and Ontario reached a deal to offer $3.3 Billion Cdn to Canada's auto industry, contingent on the approval of a proposed $14-billion US aid package in Washington.

The U.S. bailout package collapsed in the Senate on Thursday night. But the White House has said it is considering using money from the $700-billion US Wall Street rescue fund to support the domestic automakers.

Best Middle-Class Housing Markets

Four years of tuition plus room and board at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., costs $190,000. It's expensive, but an Ivy League education is usually a good investment. So, apparently, is a median-level home there. It's $179,000, up 5.9% over the last year. While luxury beachfront condos and Rust Belt homes fall into foreclosure around the country, an often overlooked corner of the market is the middle class sector. In Ithaca, it's the strongest nationwide, according to Zillow.com, a research firm that draws data from multiple listing services. It's the same story in Winston-Salem, N.C., Utica, N.Y., and Spartanburg, S.C. Home prices in the middle of these markets are up 3.4%, 3.3% and 3%, respectively. Over the same period of time the national market dropped 16%, according to the S&P Case-Shiller Index.

In Depth: Best Middle-Class Housing Marketshousing.jpg

Credit affordable prices that resisted the boom: None of the cities on our list have median home prices over $180,000, which means prices didn't grow beyond what the core of the market could afford. Often, housing-price growth is the result of rising wages and jobs. In Dallas, for example, jobs have grown every month since February 2004, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

In Little Rock, Ark., jobs and wages have grown every month since January 2003, according to the BLS. That solid economic foundation, especially in an affordable market with pro-growth zoning policies that keep the price of land low, means more homeowners who can afford mortgage payments.
Behind the Numbers

Using data from Zillow.com, we looked at the country's 165 largest Census-defined metro areas for housing markets where the middle 50% was outperforming the local market as a whole. In Dallas, for example, the middle of the market--which won't get you into Highland Park, but includes neighborhoods like Oak Lawn--has grown 1.2% over the last year, while metro-area prices have risen only 0.1%.

Ditto Little Rock, where the middle-class housing stock grew in value by 2.5%year over year, while the broader market increased by a paltry 0.8%.

One reason middle class markets have kept their values has to do with a lack of foreclosures. According to Stan Humphries, vice president of data and analytics at Zillow.com, these markets "are adding a whole lot of inventory--and low-priced inventory," which drags prices down. But since the spots on our list resisted the boom, they are not as foreclosure-rich as places where prices--and mortgages--rose.

In Sacramento, Calif., for example, one the nation's foreclosure epicenters, middle-tier prices are down 18%, which hurts, but not as much as the 30% drop in the bottom quarter of the market.

Investment in condos has also hurt metro areas as speculators pumped money into new construction only to see prices drop and buyers flee. Middle class markets have remained relatively immune to this trend since condo speculation in revitalized downtown areas and luxury developments has been concentrated among those buying in the higher end of the housing market.

"The two markets are not really linked," says Jonathan Miller, president of Miller Samuel, a Manhattan residential real estate appraisal firm. "What drove the condo market was different than what drives single-family homes."

But the stable home values of some of the country's middle class markets could soon change. Now that the U.S. is in a recession, national unemployment rests at 6.5%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, while cities like Detroit and Los Angeles have unemployment rates of 10% and 8%, respectively. When people lose their jobs and can't find work, they tend not to move up from a starter home to a middle-tier home, which could lead to price declines in the very areas that have resisted fast growth. Once people stop moving up within a market, the volume of transactions slows down, leading to price declines. quick divorce

"What's happening in the larger economy is going to seriously constrain the ability of those markets to rebound," says Humphries. "And additional stress is something that some markets won't be able to deal with."

Animated 'Delgo' Has Worst Wide Release Opening Ever

Delgo Don't feel too left out if you missed seeing the animated adventure movie "Delgo" this past weekend. No one did. In fact, the movie broke a record for having the worst opening ever for a film in wide release. "Delgo" earned a measly $511,920 this weekend on 2,160 screens, not even breaking the top ten. That's an average of $237 per screen for the three days. If you figure there were five screenings a day, and assume ticket prices are about $8, that comes out to two people in the theater per showing. By comparison, the Golden Globe-nominated drama "Doubt" earned roughly the same amount of money, but it was only in 15 theaters.

This is all too bad because the story of the making of "Delgo" has the makings of a great Hollywood underdog story. 36-year-old entrepreneur Marc Adler decided he wanted to direct and produce a $40 million computer animated kids' flick completely independent of Tinseltown behemoths like Disney and Dreamworks.

Starting in 2001, Adler and his small Atlanta-based animation company Fathom Studios toiled for years on a tight budget. They lined up an impressive, if eclectic, cast of voice actors including Freddie Prinze Jr., Jennifer Love Hewitt, Val Kilmer, Malcolm McDowell, Kelly Ripa, and Anne Bancroft in her final role (she died in 2005). And when Adler couldn't get a Hollywood studio interested in his movie, he raised eyebrows by releasing it himself through distributor-for-hire Freestyle Releasing. It was a huge risk; one that ultimately didn't pay off. There wasn't the sort of marketing budget needed to make a film stand out in the already crowded holiday movie season.

Another problem was the quality of the movie. Or lack thereof. The story -- star-crossed lovers squaring off against an evil queen on a fanciful world divided between a reptilian people who can move rocks with their minds and a sprite-like folk who like dragons -- borrows liberally from "Star Wars," "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Dark Crystal," just without the charm and intelligence. The script required the efforts of six, count 'em, six screenwriters, including Adler. The critics trashed it, giving it a dreadful D average on Yahoo!, which proved to be lethal.

"Delgo" is not the only major wide release bomb of the year. Three of the ten worst openings for films in over 2000 locations came out this year. The raunchy teen sex comedy "College" and the thriller "Deception," starring Hugh Jackson and Ewan MacGregor, both tanked, garnering the sixth and ninth worst openings ever respectively. In both of those cases, the studios dumped the movies with little fanfare rather than spend millions on marketing a stinker. Here is Box Office Mojo's list of the ten biggest wide release bombs:

Obama clears himself and staff in Blagojevich case

Reporting from Washington and Chicago -- Barack Obama said Monday that an internal investigation had found his staff had no inappropriate conversations with Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich over who would succeed the president-elect in the Senate. But Obama said the review of his staff's contacts would not be made public until next week at the request of federal prosecutors, who are investigating whether Blagojevich put Obama's Senate seat up for sale. Obama's comments came as Illinois state lawmakers moved to impeach Blagojevich. The Illinois House voted 113 to 0 to create an investigations committee to consider allegations that the governor, a Democrat, had abused his office. "We plan to proceed without delay," said House Speaker Michael J. Madigan, who is also head of the state's Democratic Party.

In addition to allegedly trying to enrich himself through his power to name Obama's Senate successor, Blagojevich is accused in a criminal complaint of scheming to exchange state favors for campaign funds and of plotting to get Chicago Tribune editorial writers fired for writing pieces critical of him.

Ignoring a chorus of calls for his resignation, Blagojevich reported to work Monday and signed a bill giving tax credits to filmmakers who do work in Illinois.

The scandal has become a distraction for Obama during what had been a smooth transition.

The Chicago Tribune has reported that at least one senior member of Obama's staff, Rahm Emanuel, who will be White House chief of staff, had conversations with Blagojevich's administration about who would replace Obama in the Senate. Sources did not suggest that Emanuel was involved in any discussions about making a deal.

Obama's transition office said in a statement Monday that the internal review had "affirmed" the president-elect's comments that he had not talked directly with Blagojevich or his office and that Obama's staff "was not involved in inappropriate discussions with the governor or his staff."

Obama has promised to release the review. But he said it would not be made public until next week at the request of U.S. Atty. Patrick J. Fitzgerald, who is leading the Blagojevich investigation.

"Those facts will be forthcoming to all of you in due course," Obama said at the news conference. "We just want to make sure we're not interfering with an ongoing and active investigation."

Fitzgerald released a statement backing up Obama's account that a delay had been requested.

"After the president-elect announced an internal transition team investigation, the United States attorney's office requested a brief delay of the release of a report of that investigation to conduct certain interviews," Fitzgerald said in the statement.

One former Justice Department official said prosecutors often wanted to control what was publicly known about the statements of witnesses.

"Information may be released about what one witness says that could compromise the effectiveness of interview or grand jury testimony of other parties to that conversation," said George Terwilliger, a former deputy attorney general.

"Prosecutors never want somebody else mucking around in what they're doing and releasing the results of their own inquiries, whether it's a private company, the Congress or, in this case, a political operation," he said.

Political strategists said the delay would be helpful to Obama, moving the release of new information into a week when people will be more focused on Christmas.

"From a public relations standpoint, it mitigates the exposure somewhat," said Thom Serafin, a Chicago-based political and media advisor. "The unfortunate thing for the president-elect right now is that he's operating out of Chicago, which is ground zero right now."

Parsons is a writer in our Washington bureau. McCormick writes for the Chicago Tribune.

Tara Reid's strapping new style

Tara Reid was taking no chances of having another wardrobe malfunction - like that errant strap that exposed a recently operated-on breast a few years ago - at the 16th Annual Music Video Production Awards. No cleavage shows from the front of her demure navy blue dress. And from the back, it looked more like a straitjacket. Talk about buckling up for safety.

Photo Credits: Tara's playful puppies are not going anywhere. They're strapped in real good.
Todd Williamson/WireImage

Family: Shoe thrower hates both US, Iran role

BAGHDAD – The Iraqi TV reporter who hurled his shoes at George W. Bush was kidnapped once by militants and, separately, detained briefly by the U.S. military. Over time, Muntadhar al-Zeidi, a 28-year-old unmarried Shiite, came to hate both the U.S. military occupation and Iran's interference in Iraq, his family told The Associated Press on Monday.

Al-Zeidi's act of defiance Sunday transformed an obscure reporter from a minor TV station into a national hero to many Iraqis fed up with the nearly six-year U.S. presence here, but also fearful that their country will fall under Iran's influence once the Americans leave.

Several thousand people demonstrated in Baghdad and other cities to demand al-Zeidi's release. The attack was the talk of the town in coffee shops, business offices and even schools — and a subject across much of the Arab world. A charity run by the daughter of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi bestowed a medal of courage on al-Zeidi, calling on the Iraqi government to free him.

Al-Zeidi was held Monday in Iraqi custody for investigation and could face charges of insulting a foreign leader and the Iraqi prime minister, who was standing next to Bush. Conviction carries a sentence of up to two years in prison or a small fine — although it's unlikely he would face the maximum penalty given his newfound cult status in the Arab world.

Bush was not hit or injured in the attack, and Iraqi security guards wrestled al-Zeidi to the ground immediately after he tossed his shoes. White House press secretary Dana Perino suffered an eye injury when she was hit in the face with a microphone during the melee.

Arab satellite TV networks repeatedly broadcast images of Bush ducking the shoes at the Baghdad press conference. The sight of an average Arab standing up and making a public show of resentment was striking — especially against a leader widely blamed for a litany of crimes including the turmoil in Iraq, where tens of thousands of civilians have died in the war.

A geography teacher at a Baghdad elementary school asked her students if they had seen the footage of the shoe-throwing. "All Iraqis should be proud of this Iraqi brave man, Muntadhar. History will remember him forever," she said.

A day after the incident, al-Zeidi's three brothers and one sister gathered in al-Zeidi's simple, one-bedroom apartment in west Baghdad. The home was decorated with a poster of Latin American revolutionary leader Che Guevara, who is widely lionized in the Middle East.

Family members expressed bewilderment over al-Zeidi's action and concern about his treatment in Iraqi custody. But they also expressed pride over his defiance of an American president who many Iraqis believe has destroyed their country.

"I swear to Allah, he is a hero," said his sister, who goes by the nickname Umm Firas (mother of Firas, her oldest son), as she watched a replay of her brother's attack on an Arabic satellite station. "May Allah protect him."

The family insisted that al-Zeidi's action was spontaneous — perhaps motivated by the political turmoil that their brother had reported on, plus his personal brushes with violence and the threat of death that millions of Iraqis face daily.

Al-Zeidi joined Al-Baghdadia television in September 2005 after graduating from Baghdad University with a degree in communications. Two years later, he was seized by gunmen while on an assignment in a Sunni district of north Baghdad.

He was freed unharmed three days later after Iraqi television stations broadcast appeals for his release. At the time, al-Zeidi told reporters he did not know who kidnapped him or why, but his family blamed al-Qaida and said no ransom was paid.

In January he was taken again, this time arrested by American soldiers who searched his apartment building, his brother, Dhirgham, said. He was released the next day with an apology, the brother said.

Those experiences helped mold a deep resentment of both the U.S. military's presence here and Iran's pervasive influence over Iraq's cleric-dominated Shiite community, according to his family.

"He hates the American physical occupation as much as he hates the Iranian moral occupation," Dhirgham said, alluding to the influence of pro-Iranian Shiite clerics in political and social life. "As for Iran, he considers the regime to be the other side of the American coin."

That's a view widely held among Iraqis — including many Shiites — who believe the Americans and the Iranians have been fighting a proxy war in their country through Tehran's alleged links to Shiite extremists.

Al-Zeidi may have also been motivated by what a colleague described as a boastful, showoff personality.

"He tried to raise topics to show that nobody is as smart as he is," said Zanko Ahmed, a Kurdish journalist who attended a journalism training course with al-Zeidi in Lebanon.

Ahmed recalled that al-Zeidi spoke glowingly of anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, whose followers organized protests Monday to demand his release.

"Regrettably, he didn't learn anything from the course in Lebanon, where we were taught ethics of journalism and how to be detached and neutral," Ahmed said.

Obama: Review shows no inappropriate contact

CHICAGO – President-elect Barack Obama said Monday a review by his own lawyer shows he had no direct contact with Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich about the appointment of a Senate replacement, and transition aides did nothing inappropriate.

Obama pledged to make the review public, but said he decided to hold off because prosecutors asked for a delay and "I don't want to interfere with an ongoing investigation." U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald released a statement confirming the request. Controversy has swirled around the president-elect and his incoming White House chief of staff, Rep. Rahm Emanuel, following Blagojevich's arrest last week on charges he schemed to trade Obama's Senate seat for personal gain. quick divorce Obama, fielding questions at a news conference, sidestepped when asked whether Emanuel had spoken with aides to the governor about potential Senate appointees.

Emanuel was one of several aides who watched the news conference from the wings.

The president-elect pledged the results of the investigation by his incoming White House counsel, Gregory Craig, would be released "in due course."

He said the probe was complete and thorough, but did not say which of his aides Craig interviewed, whether any of them was under oath at the time, or any other details.

In personally disclosing the results of the investigation he ordered, Obama said, "As I said in a press conference last week, I had no contact with the governor's office and I had no contact with anybody in the governor's office. What I indicated last week was there was nothing that my office did that was in any way inappropriate or related to the charges that have been brought."

Blagojevich has authority under Illinois state law to name a Senate replacement for Obama, who resigned his seat as he prepares to become president. Senate Democrats have warned the governor not to use his power, hinting they may refuse to allow his selection to take the oath of office.

There also has been talk of the legislature passing a law that would strip the governor of the power to name a replacement, and call for a special election instead.

Separately, Blagojevich has come under heavy pressure to resign, from Obama as well as Democrats nationally and in Illinois. Earlier in the day, the Legislature took the first step toward possible impeachment.

Obama held his news conference shortly after his transition office released a statement by spokesman Dan Pfeiffer saying the internal review had found no wrongdoing.

Like the president-elect, the statement left several issues uncovered.

It did not say whether Emanuel was heard on a wiretap providing the governor's top aide with a list of names that the president-elect favored. Nor did it say who, if anyone, on Obama transition's team had made contact with the governor or his aides concerning a replacement for Obama or whether Craig interviewed people under oath, or to whom he talked.

Pfeiffer said the review "affirmed the public statements of the president-elect that he had no contact with the governor or his staff, and that the president-elect's staff was not involved in inappropriate discussions with the governor or his staff over the selection of his successor as U.S. Senator."

Obama appeared before reporters to announce his environmental and natural resources team.

It was disclosed last week that he selected Steven Chu for energy secretary, Lisa Jackson for Environmental Protection Agency administrator, Carol Browner as his energy and climate "czar," and Nancy Sutley to lead the White House Council on Environmental Quality.

Separately, officials familiar with the selection of Obama's Cabinet said the president-elect has selected Chicago schools chief Arne Duncan as education secretary. These officials spoke on condition of anonymity, saying they were not authorized to disclose any personnel decisions not yet announced.

Earlier in the day, Obama met privately with his national security team, including Vice President-elect Joe Biden, incoming Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

The president-elect's transition office said the meeting was held to discuss opportunities and challenges around the globe and was designed to help the new administration hit the ground running as of Inauguration Day, Jan. 20.

In recent days, Obama's staff has declined to respond even to basic questions about the Blagojevich review, like how long it would take, who was leading it and what issues were explored.

Two people who have been briefed on the investigation had told The Associated Press that Emanuel is not a target of the probe. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the criminal investigation is ongoing. One is a person close to Emanuel, who said he has been told by investigators that he's not a subject of their probe. There are no suggestions that Obama or his aides were involved in the alleged sale of his seat. Fitzgerald has said prosecutors were making no allegations that Obama was aware of any scheming. And Blagojevich himself, in taped conversations cited by prosecutors, suggested Obama wouldn't be helpful to him and called him a vulgar term. Even if the governor were to appoint a candidate favored by the Obama team, Blagojevich said, "they're not willing to give me anything except appreciation."

Jennifer Connelly doesn't stand still

The truth is, Jennifer Connelly had never seen "The Day the Earth Stood Still." She'd heard of the 1951 sci-fi classic, but when the actress saw the script of a planned remake, it was fresh to her and seemed incredibly timely. "It's kind of eerie," she says. "It's a really truthful view of our time." The Cold War threat that casts a shadow over the original film, in which an alien arrives on Earth to warn people they must live in peace or be destroyed, has been replaced by environmental dangers and a message of conservation. "It's a really self-reflective film," says the actress, who turned 38 Friday. "For a big Hollywood studio film to be that straightforward about our own shortcomings and weaknesses is pretty cool." And she likes that this really is a big Hollywood studio film, co-starring neo-futurist veteran Keanu Reeves. "It was kind of a big spectacle of a movie that I thought was exciting and would probably be, in the true sense, awesome to behold, given what can be done in cinema these days," she says. If that seems strange to fans of Connelly's work in quieter movies such as "A Beautiful Mind," for which she won an Academy Award, it might help to take a longer view of her career. She has been making movies for 26 years. At 11, she was cast in the gangster tale "Once Upon a Time in America." Two years later she became a teen star in David Bowie's cult classic "Labyrinth." The daughter of a clothing manufacturer and an antiques dealer, Connelly got into the business as a kid, when a family friend suggested she try modeling. It snowballed, as things sometimes do for the talented and beautiful. By her early 20s she had a resume any veteran actor would envy and real questions about whether acting was how she wanted to spend her life. "I hadn't chosen it, as an adult, for myself," she says on the phone from a Los Angeles hotel room. "It was something that sort of happened. And it happened as a result of other people's suggestions or influence." She made a decision to remain in the field. Still, she adds, "there was a shift: a period where I said, 'Okay, but I'm doing it on my own terms and I'm taking responsibility for it. And I'm consciously making a choice: This is my career.' " Connelly's stewardship of her career has led her to cross a large swath of genres. Throughout her 20s she was regarded almost exclusively as a bright-eyed ingenue. But in 2000 she appeared as a heroin addict in "Requiem for a Dream." The critics took notice. The following year she nabbed the Oscar for her role as the wife of a tortured math genius. She has since appeared as a superhero's love interest ("Hulk," 2003), a suicidal ex-addict ("House of Sand and Fog," 2003) and a heroic journalist ("Blood Diamond," 2006). In just the past 18 months, her resume has swung from the indie drama "Reservation Road" to the big-budget action flick "The Day the Earth Stood Still" to a girls'-night-out rom-com, "He's Just Not That Into You," slated for a February release. "The Day the Earth Stood Still" gave Connelly the opportunity not only to appear in a special-effects-laden action film but to do it playing "this amazing part for a woman." She plays Helen Benson, an astrobiologist brought in to study the alien. She becomes the character on whom the fate of the Earth depends. Despite her credentials and long tenure in the business, compelling opportunities don't pile up on the doorstep of the New York home she shares with her husband, actor Paul Bettany, and two sons. Thus, "The Day the Earth Stood Still" looked even more enticing, despite the risk inherent in any attempt to improve a classic (a classic she did eventually watch, by the way). "It's such a good story, I thought there was room to tell it now," she explains

Bush talks with Karzai on surprise Afghan visit

KABUL (Reuters) – President George W. Bush told Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Monday the United States would stand by the war-torn country despite a transition of power at the White House.

Moving from one war zone to another, Bush flew secretly from Baghdad to Kabul, landing under cover of darkness for talks with Karzai and meetings with U.S. troops spearheading the fight against a resurgent Taliban. "I told the president you can count on the United States. Just like you've been able to count on this administration, you will be able to count on the next administration as well," Bush told a news conference in the Afghan capital alongside Karzai.

On a farewell visit to Baghdad on Sunday, meant to mark greater security in Iraq after years of bloodshed, an Iraqi reporter called Bush a "dog" and threw his shoes at him.

After Air Force One touched down at Bagram air base outside Kabul under heavy security, Bush strode across the tarmac and into a giant tent where hundreds of troops greeted him with raucous cheers as he thanked them for their service.

President Bush Attacked By Shoes

Dec. 8-15 The Gloves Come Off!

Various '80s icons made news this week, for their typical respective reasons: Madonna for offending conservatives, Michael Jackson for being broke, and Paula Abdul for being the center of an American Idol scandal. Let's get started...

First, there was Madonna, still causing controversy and irritating Catholic leaders after all these years. This week she made her first-ever concert tour stop in Chile, which led the country's retired Roman Catholic Cardinal Jorge Medina to denounce her during a speech honoring late dictator Augusto Pinochet. "This woman comes here and in an incredibly shameless manner, she provokes a crazy enthusiasm, an enthusiasm of lust, lustful thoughts, impure thoughts," he disapprovingly declared. (Um, is this guy just figuring this out? Apparently Jorge has never watched the director's cut of the "Justify My Love" video, heard "Like A Virgin," or flipped through Madge's Sex book.)


So according to her recent hit single, Madonna's only got four minutes to save the world...but it took her even less time for her to tick off an entire South American country. And she didn't even need Justin Timberlake's help this time!

Meanwhile, Madge's former Oscar date and Justin's hero Michael Jackson is running out of time to save his empire. This week Jacko, possibly hurting for cash after his recent out-of-court settlement of a lawsuit filed by a Bahraini sheik, announced he's auctioning off the famous sequined glove from his "Billie Jean" video to the highest bidder--along with 2,000 other MJ memorabilia items, like the Neverland Ranch gates and statues from his personal art collection. And while portions of the proceeds from the auction will go to the worthy charity MusiCares, the rest of the money will go to the charity unofficially known as the Michael Jackson Is Broke Foundation.

Pop star-turned-AmIdol judge Paula Abdul made news this week too, when she straight-up accused Idol producers of putting her in harm's way. During an interview on The View--and later in more depth on Sirius XM Radio--Paula told Barbara Walters that the Idol powers-that-be allegedly allowed season 5 reject Paula Goodspeed (who was recently found dead of a possible drug overdose/suicide near Abdul's home) to audition for the show, even though they knew the troubled woman had stalked Abdul for amost two decades. Abdul told Walters that Goodspeed had written her "disturbing letters" for 18 years, but Goodspeed was nevertheless brought on the show "for entertainment value." According to Abdul: "This was something that would make good television....I said, 'This girl is a stalker of mine and please do not let her in....[But] it's fun for [the producers] to cause me stress."


Yikes. If Paula's claims are true, it any wonder she does wacky stuff (like critique Jason Castro songs that were never even performed, or appear to be intoxicated during live TV interviews, or clap like a seal) when she has to work under such stressful conditions?

In happier news, several other acts made comebacks this week. Britpop legends Blur announced they're reuniting for their first original-lineup concert since 2002, playing a big gig at London's Hyde Park July 3; Kiss, possibly taking a cue from their huge-selling hard rock peers AC/DC, announced they're working on their first new album in 10 years; and veteran R&B/hip-hop cult faves the Roots were hired to be Jimmy Fallon's small-screen house band when Jimmy takes over Conan O'Brien's late-night NBC slot in March 2009.


And finally, speaking of veteran R&B/hip-hop artists, our congratulations go out to Usher, who welcomed his second son into the world this week, and our well-wishes go out to Toni Braxton, who just revealed that she recently underwent surgery to remove a (thankfully benign) breast tumor. We wish them both the best.

And so, thus concludes another week of headspinning headlines. Come back next Friday for mo

Holly Valance Keith Lemon’s Very Brilliant World Tour DVD review

Globe-trotting silliness with the Business Man of the Year, 1993 . It's Mr Keith Lemon...

“Welcome to the DVD menu of The Royal Tenenbaums. I am Owen Wilson from Hollywood”, declares Keith Lemon, kitted out in a white suit, looking nothing like Owen Wilson. Following a shark-shaped flight path, the Business Man of the Year 1993 embarks on a journey putting his own ludicrous spin on the travel documentary format. Neighbour Roy accompanies Lemon as cameraman, while back at home the business is left in the hands of cousin Gary (Patrick McGuinness). And that, in a nutshell, is the premise for the six episodes of the Very Brilliant World Tour.

quick divorce Each episode of the World Tour adheres to a formula. Lemon visits a few obvious tourist hotspots in each of the six countries – the casinos of Las Vegas, Egyptian Pyramids, Aires Rock and Icelandic geezers. Then he explores a selection of curios and oddities in each nation, such as Mexican midget wrestling, the Testicle Festival in America (where else?) and peculiar Japanese street theatre. For part of each episode, Lemon is joined by a celebrity guest, some more game than others. Mel B (“Black Spice”), Mel C and Holly Valance enter into the spirit of things, while others like Stefan Dennis laugh along with a look of bewilderment, never quite certain if they are the butt of the joke.

Keith Lemon is more palatable and engaging than Leigh Francis’ earlier incarnations as rubber-faced celebrities and Avid Merrion in Bo’ Selecta and the creepy bear in spin-off series A Bear’s Tail. Looking at the world through Lemon’s eyes is certainly unique and frequently very funny; he is simultaneously irritating and endearing. Keith shares many insightful pearls of wisdom with the viewer - Sydney Opera House is “a collection of eggshells”, Aires Rock is “a big rock surrounded by air” and Iceland is “the country named after the shop”. Mexico is “highly populated by old men with wrinkly old tomato faces, old women with wrinkly old tomato faces and old children with wrinkly old tomato faces.” While in Egypt he comments, “Although 64% of Egyptians have got teeth like Sugarpuffs, they’re still very nice people.” He skirts around the edge of good taste occasionally, but just about gets away with it through utter buffoonery. There’s no malice in Keith Lemon and it is always him, rather than the people he encounters, that we laugh at. It does not make for uncomfortable viewing as Borat’s overseas expedition did; the people in the series are complicit and not duped into thinking it is “real”.

Is Keith Lemon’s Very Brilliant World Tour very brilliant? There are some very brilliant moments, but they total around 9 minutes out of approximately 180. One such moment occurs in Australia when Keith worries he’ll sweat so much he’ll be “reduced to the size of Prince.” On the whole, it’s a case of extreme and prolonged daftness, so how much you enjoy Keith Lemon very much depends on your daftness tolerance level. The sheer idiocy of Keith Lemon becomes fairly exhausting after a while. Watching more than two episodes at a time may result in severe adverse side effects like adopting a shrill Leeds accent and donning a Jimmy Savile wig. You have been warned.

Extras

All the usual extras are included on Disc 2 – Audio Commentary, Bloopers, Video Diaries, Deleted Scenes etc. The Deleted Scenes are certainly worth a look, particularly the trip to the Spam Museum. There’s also a great scene in which Juliette Lewis runs rings around Lemon; he is almost, almost, lost for words, having grown accustomed to more docile guests on the show.

If you were hoping the extras might provide a glimpse of the man behind Keith Lemon, you’ll be sorely disappointed. Leigh Francis doesn’t break character, not even for a second. The audio commentary is all Lemon, even in the bloopers when lines are fluffed and the scene has disintegrated into giggles, there’s still no sign of Francis. At the end of each show, Lemon is credited as director, executive producer and a host of other roles; no Leigh Francis in sight. It’s quite possible that Francis has been consumed by his carnivorous alter-ego.

Ashley Jensen suing US reality star

Ashley Jensen has filed a lawsuit against a US reality TV star after he allegedly threatened her.

The Extras actress and husband Terence Beesley are suing Jeff Lewis, who appears in Bravo's property development show Flipping Out.

Lewis is currently attempting to improve the house next door to the couple in order to sell it on. However, he denies abusing the actors over a deck which encroaches on their property. "I have never even met Ms. Jensen," he said.

"Having apparently watched my reality show, they now feel they can exploit my personality to increase their media exposure and their alleged damages. I never threatened either of them with physical harm, nor was I abusive or verbally threatening to either of them."

The suit, which accuses Lewis of "rude, outrageous, boorish, offensive, mean-spirited" behaviour, requests that the decking be removed and a restraining order be placed on Lewis to keep him away from them.