News 24 Hours: মার্চ 2012

শনিবার, ৩১ মার্চ, ২০১২

There Will Be Oil—and That’s the Problem

I have the cover story this week in the dead-tree/living table TIME, on the future of oil (available here to subscribers). Gas prices have dominated the political conversation for weeks—at least until the Supreme Court started its health care hearings—and with the summer driving season just around the corner, the national obsession won’t be lift any time soon. Republicans and Democrats, oil executives and environmentalists have seized the opportunity to take potshots at each other, with one side claiming that more drilling will greatly ease the pain at the pump, and the other side arguing that energy efficiency and alternative energy are the only solutions. (I lean toward the latter.) The reason gas prices are so high, of course, is because oil itself is expensive, with Brent crude over $125 barrel. And that’s largely because oil markets are spooked over possible conflict with Iran, which could take one of the world’s major crude suppliers offline—and potentially block the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world’s oil flows.

Election a test of Myanmar's new openness

If Sunday's by-election in Myanmar is deemed to be free and fair, it will cap off a startling about-turn by the former military men currently running the country.

For the first time ever, credible alternatives to the ruling party will appear on the ballot, including pro-democracy campaigner Aung San Suu Kyi, who was serving the final days of her house arrest during the general election in November 2010, which was widely derided as a sham.

This by-election, analysts say, will be the first real test of the government's commitment to removing the fear and paranoia of citizens silenced by nearly five decades of military rule. The vote was called to fill seats vacated by the promotion of parliamentarians to the Cabinet and other posts last year.

"It's hugely important and it will provide a new semi-democratic political system with an opportunity to show that it has ambition to become more transparent, more inclusive and thus more democratic," said Nicholas Farrelly, a research fellow at the Australian National University.

In the weeks leading to Sunday's vote, Suu Kyi has traveled up and down the country, rallying support for her once-banned National League for Democracy party (NLD).

Opening up Myanmar

Just the sight of her brazenly pitching her policies to huge crowds of people has emboldened many to dare to believe that democracy might be possible.

"I'm so happy Suu Kyi is free and campaigning... she will bring a better future for this country," said Nu Wary Lwin, who went to see Suu Kyi in Myaungmya, in the country's south.

Suu Kyi news conference

Myanmar: A monk's view of changes

Myanmar's money reform

But others are more wary about what the future holds; "I have more freedom to say what I think now, but Aung San Suu Kyi has to remain free and do more so we all have a better life than this," said another prospective voter, Din Dun Zayawin.

Analysts say Suu Kyi is all but guaranteed to win her seat in Kawhmu, south of Yangon, one of 45 up for grabs in the by-election.

"It would be a major shock if she did not win her own seat. But I think we have to prepare people for the expectations that the NLD will not win all seats in the by-election," said Jim Della-Giacoma, a project director at International Crisis Group.

Della-Giacoma stresses that the NLD does have competition, not least from the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), which was formed less than two years ago to contest the 2010 election by former general, and now president, Thein Sein, and a number of other former military leaders.

"The USDP has shown it is able to recruit good candidates, local figures who are popular in their own right. They've got something to lose here so they're competing, like governments everywhere," he added.

However, others say that it doesn't matter who wins what seats in this by-election. After attracting international condemnation for manipulating the voting process two years ago, Myanmar's leaders know the real test of this election is proving to the world they can conduct a legitimate vote.

"I don't think it matters how many seats the NLD wins. I think the only thing that really matters whether it's free or fair. I don't think the people of Burma care about how many seats the NLD wins either. What they want to know is whether the next set of elections, the national elections (expected in 2015), are also going to be free and fair," said Monique Skidmore, of the University of Canberra.

The USDP has shown it is able to recruit good candidates, local figures who are popular in their own right.
Jim Della-Giacoma, International Crisis Group

The staggering pace of change in Myanmar, which is also known as Burma, has shocked and thrilled observers. In the past 12 months, the country has pardoned hundreds of political prisoners, secured a ceasefire with Karen rebels and has agreed to negotiate with other ethnic rebel groups. Freer press rules have encouraged the proliferation of journals and magazines.

"There's a whole slew of information out there for voters that just wasn't there in 2010," said Della-Giacoma.

Unlike the 2010 general election, international observers have been invited to monitor the vote. The U.S., European Union and members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are sending monitors, as are Japan, Canada and Australia.

However, analysts say the sheer number and spread of polling booths across the country will make it impossible for international monitors to ensure an honest count.

"We just have to take Thein Sein at his word and have a look at the outcome," said Skidmore. "There is no way the Burmese people would ever vote overwhelmingly for the military party and so we'll know on the basis of who is elected whether it was free and fair."

So far, Myanmar's efforts to thaw its frosty relations with the rest of the world have been warmly welcomed and rewarded. In recent months, a steady procession of foreign ministers has visited the country and, in February, the EU lifted a travel ban on Myanmar officials.

There have been hints too that a free and fair vote on Sunday will lead to the relatively swift unraveling of sanctions that have long choked the country's economy.

"The rapid reappraisal of sanctions is likely to come almost immediately," said Farrelly. "(However) there will be those who will consider the sanctions that are in place should only be rescinded when certain other benchmarks are met. There will be some, I'm sure, who will argue that it's terrific that Aung San Suu Kyi now can play an active role in Burma's politics, but that franchise needs to be extended to all ethnic minority groups as well."

As a member of parliament, Suu Kyi would also be expected to be free to travel outside Myanmar -- and more importantly to return -- something that wasn't possible during her long years of repression and confinement.

Another potential shift is underway as well, said Skidmore. Thousands of Burmese living in exile around the world are watching and waiting for a clear sign that it is safe to return home. For many, that clear sign could come with Sunday's vote.

"The Burmese chat rooms are full of discussion about when is it safe to go back and what will we do when we go back," she added.

"Already we're starting to see exiled media organizations coming back into the country and so the time is getting closer and closer for a whole generation of Burmese people to return home। And that's going to be a very exciting aspect of Burma's next democratic phase as well." cnn

How did Mohammed Merah become a jihadist?

Mohammed Merah had plenty of stamps in his passport, according to French intelligence officials. He traveled through at least seven Middle Eastern and central Asian countries on his way to Afghanistan in 2010.

It was a meandering journey that might have been a metaphor for a young man in search of a purpose and identity. But it's also clear that by then he had been exposed to a variety of jihadist influences.

The 23-year-old Frenchman was shot dead last Thursday after being cornered by police in Toulouse. By then he had murdered seven people in a series of gun attacks.

As more details emerge about his short and troubled life, French security services are examining family and local influences on Merah, as well as trying to establish who he may have met during that trip to Afghanistan and another two-month visit to Pakistan in 2011.

Toulouse suspect died while shooting

Bullet holes riddle Toulouse scene

Merah certainly never made any attempt to disguise his travels. While in Pakistan in October of last year, he even contacted a French intelligence official who wanted to interview him about his previous journey, saying he was there to look for a wife.

"As soon as I get back, I will contact you," he told his contact, according to Bernard Squarcini, the head of DRCI -- France's domestic security service.

After being hospitalized with hepatitis upon his return, Merah eventually sat down with French investigators, bringing a USB drive with photographs of what he said was his touristic journey across the regon.

But as the standoff unfolded in Toulouse last week, Merah told a very different story -- boasting to French police that he had been trained by al Qaeda in Waziristan, the tribal area of Pakistan where many European jihadists have gone. Merah said he had been trained by a solo instructor rather than in a camp because he would have stood out as a French speaker. But he also said there were other French militants in Waziristan, according to Squarcini.

He also claimed that "brothers in Pakistan" had supplied him with funds, helping him buy what he said were 20,000 euros (about $26,600) worth of weapons for his attacks. French police believe it is more likely he raised the funds through a series of temporary jobs and petty crime.

But who, if anyone, trained Merah? Was his rambling confession during the siege the invention of a young man with what his attorney calls signs of a "dual personality?" Or did his skill as a gunman suggest training somewhere?

"He's a Janus, two-faced. You have to go back to his broken childhood and psychiatric troubles. To carry out what he did smacks more of a medical problem and fantasy than a simple jihadist trajectory," Squarcini told the newspaper, Le Monde.

Bin Laden 'fathered four children' while on the run

Amal Abdulfattah, from Yemen, was Bin Laden's youngest wife. She was arrested after the US raid on his compound near the Pakistani capital in 2011.

She said two of her children were delivered in state hospitals, but she stayed there just "two or three hours".

Bin Laden, 54, orchestrated the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington in which nearly 3,000 people died.

He evaded the forces of the US and its allies for almost a decade, despite a $25m (£15m) bounty on his head.

Family 'scattered'

According to a report of the interrogation carried out by Pakistani investigators, Ms Abdulfattah, who came from a family with 17 children, married Bin Laden because "she had a desire to marry a Mujahideen", or holy warrior.

Along with three other wives found living at the residence, she was charged with entering and living illegally in the country.

The report recommends that the 30-year-old and her children be immediately deported.

However, a lawyer for the three widows has said that they would be formally charged for illegally staying in Pakistan - a charge that carried a maximum prison term of five years - on 2 April.

Her account says she flew to Pakistan in 2000 and travelled to Afghanistan where she married Bin Laden before the 11 September 2001 attacks.

The family was subsequently "scattered" she told investigators and she travelled to Karachi in Pakistan, later meeting up with Bin Laden in Peshawar and then moving to the Swat Valley, where they lived in two houses.

They moved once again before settling in Abbottabad in 2005.

During the hunt for him, most US and Pakistani officials believed he was hiding somewhere along the remote Afghanistan-Pakistan border, possibly in a cave। bbc

Rebel assault on strategic Mali garrison town of Gao

Two army helicopters were scrambled in response, a local official told AFP news agency by phone.

Gao, with a population of 87,000, more than twice the size of Kidal, hosts one of the biggest garrisons in the north.

Separatist rebels seeking to carve out a desert homeland began a rebellion in the west African state in January.

A regional group, the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), has placed on alert a peacekeeping force of 2,000 soldiers, Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara was quoted as saying by AFP news agency.

After a coup by disgruntled military officers in Mali a week ago, Ecowas has threatened to close land borders, freeze assets and impose a financial blockade if the army does not stand aside before Monday.

The UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office has now advised against all travel to Mali and urges any British citizens currently there to leave.

'People running'

"We can hear heavy fire coming in the direction of the main military camp," a Reuters reporter said.

"People here are running all over the place and all the shops are closing."

Mahamane Diakite, an aide to the governor of Gao, told AFP: "We can hear heavy weapons fire. We have also seen two helicopters taking off to shoot. Rebels have entered the town."

Malians with family members in Gao say the city is under attack from multiple rocket launchers, the Associated Press reports.

Correspondents say the rebels can expect to meet tougher resistance in Gao, where the majority of troops are from the Bambara tribe, unlike Kidal, where the majority of troops were Tuareg.

Before the coup, Mali's government forces had struggled to drive back the rebels.

The mid-ranking officers who overthrew the government said the army needed more equipment to fight.

Their leader, Capt Amadou Sanogo, has asked for foreign help to tackle the rebels but has been condemned over the coup.

Three members of the military leadership have gone to neighbouring Burkina Faso for talks with President Blaise Compaore, who is mediating in the crisis। bbc

Mega Millions: At least one winning ticket sold

(CBS/AP) CHICAGO -- Maryland lottery officials announced early Saturday that their state sold what could become the world's largest lottery payout of all-time, but it wasn't immediately clear if that ticket holder would get sole possession of the $640 million jackpot or have to split it with other winners.

Carole Everett, director of communications for the Maryland Lottery, said the winning Mega Millions ticket was purchased at a retailer in Baltimore County. She said it's too early to know any other information about the lucky ticket holder or whether others were sold elsewhere in the nation.

The Baltimore Sun reports the winning ticket was sold at a 7-11.

The winning numbers were 02-04-23-38-46, and the Mega Ball 23.

Winning lottery ticket sold in Maryland; are there more?

A winning Mega Millions ticket for Friday’s record $640 million drawing was sold in Maryland, lottery officials said early Saturday, and other winning tickets might also have been sold.

The winning numbers are: 02-04-23-38-46. The Mega Ball is 23.

Carole Everett, spokeswoman for the Maryland Lottery, said the winning Mega Millions ticket was purchased at a retailer in Baltimore County. She said it’s too early to know any other information about the lucky ticket holder or whether others were sold elsewhere in the nation.

“We’re thrilled,” she said. “We’re due and excited.”

The estimated jackpot dwarfs the previous $390 million record, which was split in 2007 by two winners who bought tickets in Georgia and New Jersey.

Americans wagered nearly $1.5 billion on the longest of long shots Friday. As sales of the tickets soared throughout the day for what could be the biggest single lotto payout in the world, the state’s new online lottery website creaked under the strain.

The new state website was down for about 30 minutes Friday afternoon for “maintenance” and gave some users error messages while trying to buy tickets, officials said.

“It’s a little slow loading,” lottery spokeswoman Adrian Otto said. Online lottery sales at www.illinoislottery.com debuted last Sunday, making Illinois the first state ever to offer lottery tickets online.

For an idea of how brisk sales were in the hours ahead of the drawing, Illinois retail locations sold just over $2 million worth of tickets between 4 and 5 p.m. Friday — and $12.8 million for the day. That daily total translated to 33,333 tickets sold a minute.

During the same hour-long window a week earlier, on March 21, hourly sales fell slightly shy of $62,400, said Elizabeth Leonard, spokeswoman for Northstar Lottery Group, the private firm that manages Illinois’ lottery.

Online sales Friday stood at slightly under $300,000 at 5 p.m., a third of the total sales volume for Mega Millions since the state lottery began selling tickets over the Internet on Sunday, she said.

“Clearly the load is being carried by our retailers right now,” she said.

The jackpot, if taken as a $462 million lump sum and after federal tax withholding, works out to about $347 million, with the jackpot odds at 1 in 176 million.

Thousands of players — who converged on convenience stores in 42 states and Washington, D.C., where Mega Millions tickets are sold — didn’t mind that they were 50 times as likely to get struck by lightning; about 8,000 times more likely to be murdered; and about 20,000 times more likely to die in a car crash than hit the lucky numbers.

“When people ask me, I just tell them that the odds of a lottery game make it a game of fate,” said Chuck Strutt, executive director of the Urbandale, Iowa-based Multi-State Lottery Association that oversees the Mega Millions, Powerball and other lotteries. “Just buy a ticket, sit back and see if fate points a finger at you for that day.”

Current TV Dismisses Keith Olbermann

10:06 p.m. | Updated For nearly a year now, Al Gore and Joel Hyatt have been building their liberal cable news channel, Current TV, with the mercurial television anchorman Keith Olbermann at its center.

This week, the center collapsed.

Current said on Friday afternoon that it had fired Mr. Olbermann — one of the nation’s most prominent progressive speakers — just a year into his five-year, $50 million contract. It was the culmination of months of murky disputes between Mr. Olbermann and the channel that he was supposed to save from the throes of ratings oblivion.

Yet as inevitable as it might have seemed to some in the television business who know the long history of antipathy between Mr. Olbermann and his employers, it was nonetheless shocking to his fans, to his detractors and to staff members at Current when the announcement was made.

Forty-five minutes afterward, in a stream of Twitter messages, Mr. Olbermann threatened to take legal action against the channel and said its claims about him were untrue. In part because of the prospect of litigation, executives at Current declined to comment on the firing on Friday. But they immediately named as his replacement Eliot Spitzer, the former governor of New York, who took over Mr. Olbermann’s 8 p.m. time slot on Friday night.

By replacing Mr. Olbermann, Mr. Spitzer is getting a second shot at an 8 p.m. talk show; in 2010, two years after he resigned the governorship after he admitted having patronized a prostitution ring, he led a short-lived show on CNN. It was canceled in mid-2011.

In a letter posted on Current’s Web site, Mr. Gore and Mr. Hyatt wrote, “We are confident that our viewers will be able to count on Governor Spitzer to deliver critical information on a daily basis.”

With those words — “on a daily basis” — the founders of Current hinted at one of the reasons for Mr. Olbermann’s termination.

He clashed early and often with Mr. Hyatt, and especially with David Bohrman, a former CNN executive who was installed as president of Current last summer. The clashes became visible when Mr. Olbermann started anchoring his program, “Countdown,” in front of a funereal black backdrop, apparently out of frustration about technical difficulties.

Mr. Olbermann also declined Current’s requests to host special hours of primary election coverage in January, causing lawyers from both sides to intercede. Eventually an election coverage plan was cobbled together, but in January and February, he continued to miss many days of work, as he himself acknowledged on his Twitter page. He attributed some of his absences to throat problems.

In public, Current remained supportive of Mr. Olbermann, whom Mr. Hyatt called “the big gun in our lineup” during an interview on March 5 to promote new political programming on weekday mornings.

“It’s all on top of his shoulders,” Mr. Hyatt said, even as he added new programs, in part as a hedge against the possibility of Mr. Olbermann’s departure.

Behind the scenes, tensions were mounting. That same day, the eve of the Super Tuesday Republican primaries, Mr. Olbermann decided to take a vacation day despite a warning from Current that it would constitute a breach of contract, according to a person with knowledge of the matter, who insisted on anonymity because this person was not authorized to speak on the record.

In a termination letter on Thursday morning, Current cited “unauthorized absences” as one of the reasons. It also cited a failure to promote the channel and disparagement of the channel’s executives.

Mr. Olbermann, however, has said he has been very careful to fulfill the terms of his contract. On Twitter on Friday afternoon, he apologized to his fans for joining Current at all, calling it “a sincere and well-intentioned gesture on my part, but in retrospect a foolish one.”

He encouraged people to “read of a previous occasion Mr. Hyatt found himself in court for having unjustly fired an employee,” and linked to a New York Times article from 1990 that reported on a ruling against Mr. Hyatt’s firm that found that it had illegally removed the head of its Philadelphia office, Clarence B. Cain, after learning he had AIDS.

To many in the television business, the separation was not a question of if, but when. Mr. Olbermann has a history of abruptly and angrily leaving jobs, dating back at least to his days at ESPN, where he was a co-anchor of “SportsCenter” in the 1990s.

Fourteen months ago, Mr. Olbermann abruptly left MSNBC, where he had worked for eight years. There, he nearly single-handedly gave the channel an identity as a liberal counterweight to Fox News — just as Current hoped he would do for it — but he also alienated staff members.

Executives at MSNBC had no public reaction on Friday to Mr. Olbermann’s departure from another channel. But Nielsen ratings demonstrate that Mr. Olbermann was not able to recreate his success there.

In his 40 weeks on Current TV, he had an average of 177,000 viewers at 8 p.m., down from the roughly one million that he had each night on MSNBC. Just 57,000 of those viewers on any given night were between the ages of 25 and 54, the coveted advertising demographic for cable news. Still, Mr. Olbermann ranked as the highest-rated program on Current.

Speculation immediately turned on Friday to what Mr. Olbermann might or might not do next, given that he has moved jobs so many times in the past. Media critics and opponents of Mr. Olbermann’s cracked jokes online about public-access TV and door-to-door visits. For the moment, he at least has Twitter, where he has 377,000 followers.

As the news of his firing reverberated Friday night, his representatives were able to secure him a big-time (albeit one-time) gig: next Tuesday he’ll be the lead guest on CBS’s “Late Show with David Letterman.”

Ryan Leaf’s Statement After His Arrest

The former Chargers quarterback Ryan Leaf, who has battled an addiction to prescription drugs but who had appeared to right his life recently, was arrested Friday in his hometown in Montana, Great Falls, on burglary and drug possession charges, the police said. He later released a statement:

“I’ve made some mistakes, and have no excuses. I am using the tools I’ve learned to move forward rather than backwards, and will be open to talking about the details in the days to come. I am confident that there will be further understanding when the facts are revealed, and feel very blessed for all of the support, especially from my friends and family.”

Leaf, the No. 2 pick in the 1998 draft, had surgery last June to remove a benign brain tumor. He had written a book about his career at Washington State and was promoting it.

Record Mega Millions numbers: 2-4-23-38-46, MB 23

Across the country, Americans plunked down an estimated $1.5 billion on the longest of long shots: an infinitesimally small chance to win what could end up being the single biggest lottery payout the world has ever seen.

The numbers drawn Friday night in Atlanta were 2-4-23-38-46, Mega Ball 23. Lottery officials expected to release details about possible winners a couple of hours after the 11 p.m. Eastern drawing.

Forget about how the $640 million Mega Millions jackpot could change the life of the winner. It’s a collective wager that could fund a presidential campaign several times over, make a dent in struggling state budgets or take away the gas worries and grocery bills for thousands of middle-class citizens.

Kim Kardashian laughs off flour-bomb attack

LOS ANGELES, Mar 25 (bdnews24.com/Reuters) - Reality television star Kim Kardashian laughed off being pelted with a flour-bomb while stepping out to promote her new fragrance.

The star of "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" was on the red carpet in West Hollywood on Thursday when an unidentified woman ran up behind her and emptied a bag of white flour over her head, shouting what appeared to be "fur hag".

The woman was briefly detained and Kardashian, 31, left the event, but returned 10 minutes later in an identical outfit with no trace of flour.

Rolling Stones to issue 50th anniversary photo book

London, Mar 3 (bdnews24.com/Reuters) - Fifty years to the day after the Rolling Stones first took to the stage, the veteran rockers will publish a photographic record of their rise to fame and lasting success.

"The Rolling Stones: 50" will hit the shelves on July 12, the date in 1962 when the band debuted at the Marquee Club in London's Oxford Street.

The book, published by Thames & Hudson in Britain, is part of the 50th anniversary celebrations for one of rock and roll's biggest acts, but what fans are calling for most is another world tour.

Aerosmith says new album brings `a little of 1975 back'

LOS ANGELES, Mar 29 (bdnews24.com/Reuters) - Veteran rock band Aerosmith said on Wednesday they were bringing "a little of 1975 back" on a long-delayed album of new material to be released this summer to coincide with a US tour.

The band said they were working on finishing up the album - the first of new material since 2001's "Just Push Play" - ahead of the tour, but kept the title under wraps.

"The camaraderie's there, there's some songs that are new rock, and old rock and middle-of-the-road rock, and blues, piano. Joe Perry singing a couple of songs, I'm playing the drums, Joey sings, just all kinds of stuff," frontman Steven Tyler told Reuters.

Aerosmith, whose previous attempts to make a new album were dogged by a litany of health problems and internal strife, said they had been working with their long-time producer Jack Douglas to bring "a little bit of 1975 back."

The band will kick off their North American "Global Warming Tour" on June 16 in Minneapolis, playing 18 cities from Toronto to Oakland, California and Atlanta, Georgia. Tickets go on sale from Friday.

NIT championship goes to Stanford over Minnesota

March 30, 2012 (NEW YORK) -- Aaron Bright came off the bench to spark Stanford to an NIT title.

The sophomore point guard had 15 points and six assists in Thursday's 75-51 rout of Minnesota to earn most outstanding player honors, energizing the Cardinal just as the coaches had hoped when they took him out of the starting lineup in mid-February.

"I give him all the credit, because it takes a player buying into something like that before it works, and he bought into his role," coach Johnny Dawkins said. "When he comes in, he brings us energy. ... I think it's hard for teams to prepare for him because he's not out there right away. When he comes in, it gives us a big lift, and it gives our kids confidence in what they can do."

The victory brought Stanford's season full circle. Back in November, the Cardinal let a late lead slip away in the final of the NIT Season Tip-Off at Madison Square Garden against a Syracuse team that would earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

Donovan McNabb is bitter at Shanahans, but does he have a point?

By Jason Reid, Published: March 29

We already knew quarterback Donovan McNabb had a bad relationship with Mike and Kyle Shanahan. On Thursday, we learned McNabb is still holding a grudge long after their breakup.

During an interview on ESPN’s “First Take,” McNabb again ripped the father-son coaching tandem, with whom he battled over the direction of the Washington Redskins’ offense during the 2010 season. McNabb believes that Mike, the team’s head coach, and Kyle, Washington’s offensive coordinator, will force quarterback Robert Griffin III to fit into their system instead of tailoring an offense to Griffin’s strengths.

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McNabb said the Shanahans put their egos ahead of what’s best for the Redskins. Through team spokesman Tony Wyllie, the Shanahans declined to comment.

Given an opening to criticize two of his least favorite people, McNabb kicked the door in, which surely pleased ESPN executives. McNabb’s shots at Mike and Kyle made for great television. Unfortunately for McNabb, he came across as a bitter former employee who apparently hasn’t moved on from his only season with the Shanahans. Still, McNabb could have a point. We’ll find out soon enough.

The Redskins and their fans are abuzz about Griffin, whom the team is expected to select with the second overall pick in April’s NFL draft. Without question, Mike and Kyle will have the biggest roles in his development. If it turns out the Shanahans are better equipped to help Griffin, in part because of their brief encounter with McNabb, then at least something good came from McNabb’s time in Washington.

It’s true the Shanahans could have been more accommodating in calling the type of screen plays McNabb requested, especially early in the 2010 season (they argue they did; others in the organization disagree). At times over their two seasons in Washington, Mike and Kyle have seemed too rigid in sticking with game plans despite poor results.

McNabb was a rectangle they tried to cram into a round hole. He was about as comfortable in the Shanahans’ offense as the overmatched John Beck was directing plays that required passes of longer than five yards.

As for the Shanahans’ egos, well, all football coaches are highly confident. Let’s just say Mike and Kyle believe in themselves more than most. McNabb, however, has no way of knowing whether Griffin will face problems comparable to what he encountered.

McNabb once possessed off-the-charts athleticism and arm strength similar to that of Griffin — but that’s where the similarity of their situations ends. Unlike McNabb, Griffin would work with the Shanahans at the beginning of his career. They would have the opportunity to mold him from the start.

When he arrived in Washington before the 2010 season, McNabb was a set-in-his-ways veteran. He already had been in the league 11 seasons. McNabb was a star at the sport’s most important position and carried himself like one. He expected to be treated as such.

The Shanahans asked the six-time Pro Bowler to retool his game. McNabb’s footwork, throwing mechanics, film study — Mike and Kyle had ideas to improve it all.

A Look Back At The Hidden Earl Scruggs

Earl Scruggs, who died Wednesday at age 88, was the banjo player of his time, right? Right. He defined the sound of a bluegrass band with his banjo style, right? Right. A bluegrass band without a Scruggs-style banjo isn't a bluegrass band, right? It may be a country band, a folk band or some kind of jazz band, but it's not a bluegrass band, is it? Right about that, too.

You'd think transforming the way people worldwide play, perceive and enjoy one instrument would be enough of a contribution for one musician. But with musicians as inspired as Scruggs, peeling back the sparkling outer layer often reveals more glowing layers within.

In Scruggs' case, when you gently peel back the banjo layer of his musical persona, you find a guitar player as impressive as the banjo picker, as well as a gospel singer the equal of any in the finest Southern traditional quartet.

Scruggs' finger-picked guitar, which often came front and center in the Foggy Mountain Boys' religious numbers, was memorably powerful and fluid. Check it out here on this late-'40s Flatt & Scruggs recording of "God Loves His Children." Bluegrass and acoustic musicians love to listen to and study his guitar work, which is easily the equal of his banjo playing in its sheer power, its creative noting and syncopation, rich tone and fluidity.

If you think at times you're hearing a trademark three-finger Scruggs banjo roll on the guitar, you are — it's incredible — while his baritone singing is solid, straightforward, unassuming. "God Loves His Children" serves as audible proof that Scruggs not only had heard traditional church music as a kid in rural North Carolina, but was fully steeped in it. He knew it in his soul.

Katie Couric to guest-host 'Good Morning America'

NEW YORK (AP) — Katie Couric helped start and perpetuate morning television's most epic winning streak. Now she'll try to break it.

ABC announced Thursday that the former "Today" show anchor will be guest host next week on "Good Morning America," the rival wake-up show that has been rising in the ratings.

She will sub for the vacationing Robin Roberts for a week, teaming with George Stephanopoulos.

Couric was co-host of "Today" in December 1995, when the NBC show's streak began. "Today" has won every week in the ratings since then, 850 consecutive and counting, according to the Nielsen company.

Yet frisky "GMA" has been making noise lately. Last week the ABC show was only 137,000 viewers behind "Today" (an average of 4.98 million to 4.84 million), the closest the two shows have been since 2008.

"This has been one of the longest marathons of all time," said Tom Cibrowski, senior executive producer in charge of "Good Morning America." ''There will eventually be a time when the No. 1 spot turns over. We strive every day to take over the No. 1 position. We never stop working on that."

He's not making any predictions about next week, but the curiosity factor of Couric in a new morning chair seems sure to pull in some viewers.

Couric was co-host of NBC's "Today" for 15 years before leaving the network in 2006. Before jumping to ABC last year, she was at CBS, where she anchored the "Evening News."

The winning streak has a big psychological impact in one of the most important parts of the day on television for the broadcast networks. Morning shows are hugely profitable at a time of declining viewership, and none has been more of a cash cow than "Today."

The closest "GMA" got to breaking the streak, in the spring of 2005, NBC fired the "Today" show executive producer and installed the current boss, Jim Bell.

"You kind of wait for these times in morning television, when you get a team together that clicks," Cibrowski said. "We have a team that is on fire. We have the big 'C.' We have the chemistry now."

NBC had no comment on Thursday. Privately, some at NBC suggest that ABC's stronger prime-time lineup is helping "GMA," particularly when the morning show takes advantage of it by featuring stories on "Dancing With the Stars," for example. Last week, ABC was boosted by having actors from the hottest movie, "The Hunger Games," on the show each day of the week.

ABC's best chance of ending the streak would likely come within the next two months. NBC televises the Olympic games from London this summer, and the Olympics traditionally give a boost to "Today."

"Today" is also awaiting a decision by its top anchor, Matt Lauer, on whether he wants to continue in the morning.

Record $540M jackpot sparks Mega Millions mania

(CBS News) Lottery agents in New York were selling 1.3 million Mega Millions tickets per hour Thursday.

Multiply that by 42 states, and get an idea of the frenzy over Friday night's record $540 million Mega Millions jackpot. It's the biggest lottery jackpot in U.S. history.

Officials were expecting to sell about 1.2 billion tickets total before the drawing, and one says there's a 90 percent chance there will be a winner Friday night.

But we may not know who it is right away.

$540M lottery has states anticipating tax jackpot
What to do if you win the $540M

When Garina Fearon won, she said there was "jumping all over the place!"

It was a Cinderella story. The single mom from Jamaica had been both homeless and bankrupt, but she won a $54 million dollar Mega Millions jackpot in 2010.

"It was a shock," she says. "Shock, shock, shock. Because ... the day when I went to play the lottery, I asked for Powerball but yet, still, I was pointing to Mega Million. So, I thought it was all a dream."

It's a dream many of us pay big money for.

"Americans spend about $60 billion on the lottery every year,' says Stephen Dubner, co-author of "Freakonomics." "That's about -- more than $500 per American household goes to playing the lottery. The return on that as an investment is horrible. ... It's even horrible as a gambling outcome."

If you took that same $500 and invested it in an index fund each year for 20 years, you'd end up with $24,000.

Fearon, in contrast, took home a $22 million bulk payment.

If you win Friday's drawing, you'll take home $20.6 million dollars a year.

"The idea that, for $1 or $5, $10 lottery ticket, I can win $20 million," observers Dubner, "that's what you'd call a highly-skewed outcome. It's very unlikely, but if it happens, wow -- it changes your life!"

The odds of winning are nearly 176 million-to-one, meaning you'd have to buy 176 million tickets to get every possible combination, and be guaranteed a win.

We tracked down two mathematicians to see if we could better those odds. They say your best bet is to make sure that, if you win, you don't have to share.

"You would do well to get numbers that most people would think look unlucky, because those would be the ones that nobody would pick," says New York University Mathematics Prof. Sylvain Cappell.

"There are things you should definitely avoid," says fellow NYU Mathematics Professor Charles Newman, "because many people don't avoid them. So there are people who will make numbers based on the patterns they make on the sheet where you fill in the numbers. It's a very bad idea putting money in those."

So if the mathematician were to buy a ticket, what numbers would he pick?

"I choose them at random," says Newman.

"I have to say," Cappell noted, "the best strategy is not to buy the lottery ticket!"

Like millions of Americans, Fearon isn't taking that advice. She's bought $25 in tickets for the mega-drawing.

বৃহস্পতিবার, ২৯ মার্চ, ২০১২

Will Ferrell–as Ron Burgundy–announces ‘Anchorman’ sequel

NEW YORK — Will Ferrell’s swashbuckling newscaster Ron Burgundy had his own breaking news to announce Wednesday night: A sequel to “Anchorman” is finally happening.

Ferrell made a surprise, in-character appearance on “Conan” to regale the audience with a flute solo and declare a deal with Paramount Pictures. A sequel to the 2004 hit comedy, “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy,” has long been discussed.

Ferrell informed host Conan O’Brien: “It’s official, there will be a sequel to ‘Anchorman.’”

Earlier, Paramount had declined a musical plan put forth by Ferrell and director Adam McKay that also included a proposed Broadway stage show. No details on the project were immediately available but McKay, producer Judd Apatow, and co-stars Paul Rudd and Steve Carell are expected to return.

Duggars' Mom, Michelle, Thinks Overpopulation Is A Lie

Michelle Duggar, star of TLC's reality show, "19 Kids and Counting", says there needs to be more children because our world needs more joy. And as for overpopulation? That's just a lie, Duggar recently told the Christian Broadcasting Network in a web interview. "The idea of overpopulation is not accurate," Duggar says, because the entire population of the world could fit inside of Jacksonville, Florida.

"I agree with Mother Teresa when she said, 'to say that there are too many children is like saying there are too many flowers,'" Duggar said.

She explains how her large family is resourceful and therefore not posing as big of an environmental problem as perceived. They buy used cars, she says, and frequently shop at thrift stores, purchasing things others would discard of.

Jezebel's Erin Gloria Ryan points out that, even so, "A family of three or four would practically have to prance around throwing a trail of styrofoam packing peanuts in their wake to leave the same sort of carbon footprint that the Duggars leave." By our rough calculations, the family uses over 1,000 roles of toilet paper each year.

Duggar backs up her claim by highlighting other countries -- whose death rates outnumber their birthrates -- that come to America's doorstep to ask to let their people know that they need to have more children.

So instead of being "deceived" by the idea of overpopulation, "we need to focus on loving people and trying to reach out and make a difference for good in our world," Duggar says.

Mega Millions: Does a Baltimore psychic have the winning numbers?

With this week's Mega Millions pot holding a record-breaking $500 million prize, one could head to the closest quickie mart and leave the numbers up to the lottery machine gods.

Or.... one could attempt a bit of strategy.

And who better to predict such a thing than one of the Baltimore area's card-carrying psychics? We got on the phone this morning to see if any of them were getting a divine line on Friday's drawing.

First we called Savetta Stevens, a psychic with a shop in Mount Washington.

"It's so exciting," she gushed about the big prize, "but."

But?!?!

"It takes time for me probably to study that."

Plus, she added, "I don't play it because it's against my religion to play the lottery."

But before hanging up, Savetta said, "I thought you were calling about the Orioles."

The Orioles? You have psychic information about the Orioles?

"This year is going to be good," she said.

That's something! But no help with my ticket.

Next I tried Bess Sister on Pulaski Highway. She wasn't exactly psychically in tune with the Mega Millions. Or maybe she just hadn't read the paper or watched the news in the last 24 hours.

"Oh my god," she said. "$500 million?!? When does it come out so I can buy a ticket?"

Chely Wright Names Faith Hill, Trisha Yearwood + More as Supporters When She Came Out

Only a few country stars publicly supported Chely Wright when she announced she was a lesbian in 2010. Others, like Faith Hill, chose to privately congratulate her, while a third group won’t talk to her. Wright spoke to the SiriusXM’s Michelangelo Signorile about how her decision was received by her friends in Nashville.

LeAnn Rimes, SHeDAISY and Mary Chapin Carpenter were the only ones willing to publicly support Wright, but she said received emails and letters from a number of friends. “Privately — Faith Hill, Trisha Yearwood and Naomi Judd,” she says (via the Huffington Post).

No male artists offered an encouraging word. “I think some of the artists really have a fundamental belief that there’s something wrong with me,” the ‘Single White Female’ singer said. “But I think most of the artists don’t want their fans to know that they’re supportive of me because they don’t want to lose a record sale. Because, look, there’s a reason I’m the first artist to come out in commercial country music.”

She added, “There’s a reason we hide in country music. Because we know who buys our records by and large. It’s a Christian conservative fan base who doesn’t approve or thinks we’re going to hell. You know, I receive a lot of letters from people who say, ‘I won’t support that sick behavior.’ it’s not pretty.”

During the interview, Wright talked about some of the emails and letters fans have written her, including one from a woman who was considering suicide before hand-writing a 10-page letter, because she was afraid her mom would find it on the computer. In August, Wright married longtime girlfriend Lauren Blitzer in Connecticut.

Recently, the singer has been working as an LGBT advocate. Just last week she cut the ribbon at the Like Me Lighthouse, an LGBT center in her hometown of Kansas City, Mo. The interview was for Signorile’s show on SirusXM’s LGBT channel OutQ.

Adrienne Rich, feminist poet and essayist, dead at 82; Rich influenced a generation of women writers Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainm

Adrienne Rich, a fiercely gifted, award-winning poet whose socially conscious verse influenced a generation of feminist, gay rights and anti-war activists, has died. She was 82.

Rich died Tuesday at her Santa Cruz home from complications from rheumatoid arthritis, said her son, Pablo Conrad. She had lived in Santa Cruz since the 1980s.

Through her writing, Rich explored topics such as women's rights, racism, sexuality, economic justice and love between women.

Rich published more than a dozen volumes of poetry and five collections of nonfiction. She won a National Book Award for her collection of poems "Diving into the Wreck" in 1974, when she read a statement written by herself and fellow nominees Alice Walker and Audre Lorde, "refusing the terms of patriarchal competition and declaring that we will share this prize among us, to be used as best we can for women."

In 2004, she won the National Book Critics Circle Award for her collection "The School Among the Ruins." According to her publisher, W.W. Norton, her books have sold between 750,000 and 800,000 copies, a high amount for a poet.

She gained national prominence with her third poetry collection, "Snapshots of a Daughter-in-Law," in 1963. Citing the title poem, University of Maryland professor Rudd Fleming wrote in The Washington Post that Rich "proves poetically how hard it is to be a woman - a member of the second sex."

She was, like so many, profoundly changed by the 1960s. Rich married Harvard University economist Alfred Conrad in 1953 and they had three sons. But she left him in 1970 and eventually lived with her partner, writer and editor Michelle Cliff. She used her experiences as a mother to write "Of Woman Born," her groundbreaking feminist critique of pregnancy, childbirth and motherhood, published in 1976.

"Rich is one of the few poets who can deal with political issues in her poems without letting them degenerate into social realism," Erica Jong once wrote.

Unlike most American writers, Rich believed art and politics not only could co-exist, but must co-exist. She considered herself a socialist because "socialism represents moral value - the dignity and human rights of all citizens," she told the San Francisco Chronicle in 2005. "That is, the resources of a society should be shared and the wealth redistributed as widely as possible."

"She was very courageous and very outspoken and very clear," said her longtime friend W.S. Merwin, the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet. "She was a real original, and whatever she said came straight out of herself."

‘Anchorman 2′ Confirmed: Will Ferrell Announces Sequel to Cult Comedy Favorite

After years of chatter and online rumors, a sequel to the cult comedy favorite “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy” has finally come together as funnyman Will Ferrell has signed on to star again as 1970s news anchorman Ron Burgundy.

Ferrell showed up at Conan O’Brien’s TBS talk show in character as Ron Burgundy on Wednesday, where after a dazzling jazz flute solo and some insulting banter with O’Brien and sidekick Andy Richter he made the announcement.

“I want to announce this to all of our friends in the Americas, Spain, Turkey and the U.K. — including England — that as of 0900 mountain time, Paramount pictures and myself … have come to terms on a sequel to ‘Anchorman,’” Ferrell said to massive audience applause. “There will be a sequel.”

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Alicia Silverstone baby-feeding video goes viral; Lindsay Lohan to guest star on ‘Glee’?

A video that Alicia Silverstone recently posted on her “Kind Life” Web site has gone viral in the past 24 hours. In it, the actress who played Cher in “Clueless” feeds her son, Bear Blu, mother-bird-style by transferring food from her mouth directly into his. The Internet is officially grossed out. (The Kind Life with Alicia Silverstone Web site)

As Lindsay Lohan stands on the verge of finally getting off probation (her next court hearing is Thursday), she also looks poised to guest star on “Glee.” Lohan is working out a deal to appear on the Fox series. She will — spoiler alert — reportedly play herself and judge nationals. (TV Line)

Lady Gaga: She was born today. (Charles Krupa - AP) Today is Lady Gaga’s birthday. She turns 26. Please feel free to celebrate this occasion by wearing huge veils, dresses made out of meat or ensembles that invite comparisons to Ralph Macchio. (Lady Gaga’s Twitter feed)

20th Century Fox is pulling teaser trailers and posters for the upcoming comedy “Neighborhood Watch” out of theaters in light of the Trayvon Martin case. Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn star in the movie as community watchdogs who wind up battling aliens. Fox said in a statement that its July release “bears absolutely no relation to the tragic events in Florida,” adding that the studio is “very sensitive” to emotions swirling around the Martin situation. (Associated Press)

Sarah Tressler , a society reporter at the Houston Chronicle who is causing a scandal now that her co-workers know she also blogs about her side gig as a stripper, has some fascinating things to say about hooking up with Jeremy Piven. Gawker managed to capture some of them before she made one of her old blog posts, which recounts her dalliance with Piven, private; needless to say, none of the story is suitable for work and none of it reflects well on Ari Gold. (Gawker)

The cast of “Modern Family” is about to enter contract renegotiations now that the third season has wrapped. And reportedly, several key stars may ask for a big raise. “It’s going to get ugly,” a source tells the Hollywood Reporter. Surely Manny will bring some class and decorum to the proceedings? (THR)

Is Ann Curry on the verge of being fired from the “Today” show? (Gawker)

Now that “Bully” will be released unrated, the AMC theater chain has decided to admit kids under the age of 17, as long as a parent or guardian is present or they have a signed permission slip from Mom or Dad. (Entertainment Weekly)

Dennis Rodman could face jail over child and spousal support

By Lauren Williams and Mike Anton, Los Angeles Times

March 28, 2012

Dennis Rodman is in desperate need of a rebound.

An Orange County court commissioner Tuesday told the NBA Hall of Famer he faces a possible 20-day jail stint for contempt of court unless he comes up with $860,376 in child and spousal support he owes his ex-wife by May 29, though it's likely he could get community service time instead.

Either way, Rodman's attorney and his financial advisor say, their client's broke.

"In all honesty, Dennis, although a very sweet person, is an alcoholic," said Peggy Williams, his financial advisor. "His sickness impacts his ability to get work."

Rodman, 50, known for rebounding and defense during 14 years in the NBA, wouldn't be the first former professional athlete to lose a fortune. But he is probably the only one to have also worn a wedding dress to promote a book, dated Madonna, married Carmen Electra and been a competitor on Donald Trump's "Celebrity Apprentice."

Rodman's wild ways are well known in Orange County, where he has lived off and on since the 1990s.

His former oceanfront home in Newport Beach could have been mistaken for a police substation. The police were called there 80 times, mostly to quell raucous parties. Rodman arrived for his 40th birthday party by helicopter — which landed illegally on the beach.

His 47-foot speedboat, Sexual Chocolate, was towed when he docked it at another person's slip in Newport Harbor. He plied Balboa Peninsula's narrow streets in a Humvee adorned with a painting of a naked woman and a Ford 350 pickup with a self-portrait on the hood.

When his third wife, Michelle Rodman, sued him for divorce in 2004, Rodman sold the beach pad. At the time, he listed his previous year's income as $570,000. He said he had $3.4 million in property and $1.45 million in stocks and bonds. But, he said, maintaining his hard-charging lifestyle cost him more than $31,000 a month.

The couple have spent several years trying to reconcile, but the marriage was dissolved a few weeks ago after his wife petitioned the court again.

"This case, especially his wife filling for divorce, has put him on a binge that I have never seen before," Williams said. Rodman, she said, no longer has a job, savings or even a checking account.

Along with the occasional arrest, a rainbow of ever-changing hair colors and the tens of thousands of dollars dropped in strip clubs, Rodman also has tax issues. He withdrew his NBA pension for pennies on the dollar to pay taxes owed to California and still owes $350,000 in back taxes, according to Orange County court documents, though his lawyers say it should be substantially less.

Still, when he was inducted last year into the NBA Hall of Fame, media reports characterized the former rebounding and defensive specialist as earning a good living through endorsements, promotional campaigns, licensing deals and as a high-end deejay.

"Before the Hall of Fame called, we were reaching out for projects for Dennis," his marketing agent told the New York Times reporter. "Now our phones are ringing. There's been a huge spike in business opportunities."

Rodman won three NBA championships with the Bulls in the late1990s and also played with the Lakers, albeit briefly.

He referred to Michelle as his "wife" during the hearing and said the two get along and had dined with their two children at an Outback Steakhouse on Monday evening.

Rodman, who lives in Miami, said their dispute has "never been a hate thing. We're not like that." He added that the two were "just trying to get it done."

When court broke for lunch, they huddled to make lunch plans.

$363-million Mega Millions winning numbers announced

The winning numbers Tuesday night in the multi-state Mega Millions lottery were 9-19-34-44-51 and the Mega number was 24, lottery officials announced.

The estimated jackpot was $363 million, one of the largest in the history of the game.

The Mega Millions website was apparently flooded with visitors Tuesday night and was slow to load.

The lottery had placed the odds of winning Mega Millions at about 1 in 176 million. The retailer who sells the winning ticket will receive a maximum $1-million bonus.

Mega Millions rockets to record $476 million

Welcome to jackpot freak-out.

Even major media outlets like Good Morning America are going gaga over Mega Millions smashing through the $400 million barrier, soaring toward the half-billion-dollar mark, and rewriting the record book.

Forty-seven tickets, including two in Pennsylvania and two in New Jersey, just missed last night. They matched the first five numbers - 9, 19, 34, 44 and 51 - but not the Mega Ball of 24.

Most will win $250,000 - instead of more than 1,000 times that much.

The annuity jackpot rocketed to $476 million for Friday night's drawing - obliterating the old U.S. mark of $390 million set by Mega Millions in March 2007.

The $120 million jump in the annuity also was a record, beating the $115 million also witnessed in March 2007.

The cash jackpot clobbered its own record, catapulting from $259 million to $341 million - $101 million more than the second-biggest cash jackpot ever, the $240 million reached by Mega Millions in January last year. (See list of record jackpots: http://bit.ly/Hd1oJ8.)

If piled in a single stack of $1 bills, the cash windfall could start at the bottommost spot of the ocean and still tower above Mount Everest.

If paid at the rate of $1 every minute, the payout would take more than 600 years.

If anybody wants to give us a wheelbarrow full of cash, we'd be happy to count and calculate that, too.

California's nine second-tier winners will each get $308,573 under that state's pari-mutuel system.

In other states, the usual payout for matching five numbers is $250,000. The amount gets boosted to $1 million if a player also bought the $1 Megaplier multiplier option.

New York had 11 players match five, while Washington State had three. With two apiece, besides Pennsylvania and New Jersey, were Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan and Texas.

Washington, D.C., Virginia, West Virginia, Vermont, South Carolina, Missouri, Colorado and Montana each sold one.

Mega Millions is played in all but eight states - Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Alaska and Hawaii.

The Powerball jackpot tonight is a comparatively modest $50 million, $30.2 million cash.

For more on lotteries, go to

JetBlue Pilot in Rant Called ‘Consummate Professional’

A JetBlue Airways Corp. (JBLU) captain locked out of the cockpit by his co-pilot after acting erratically on a flight is a “consummate professional” with no history of trouble, Chief Executive Officer Dave Barger said.

Clayton Osbon has flown for JetBlue for 12 years, a spokeswoman, Jenny Dervin, said today. Dervin said Osbon has been charged with “interfering with crew-member instructions” and remains in a medical facility in Amarillo, Texas, where the plane landed, in Federal Bureau of Investigation custody.

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Passengers on a JetBlue flight. Photographer: Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images

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March 28 (Bloomberg) -- Bloomberg's Scarlet Fu, Stephanie Ruhle and Adam Johnson report that a JetBlue Airways Corp. captain had to be subdued by passengers after he began acting erratically during a flight from New York and was locked out of the cockpit by his co-pilot before the plane was diverted to Texas. They speak on Bloomberg Television's "Inside Track." (Source: Bloomberg)

Flight 191 was en route yesterday to Las Vegas from New York when the pilot began behaving erratically, the Federal Aviation Administration said. The co-pilot locked out Osbon after he briefly left the flight deck, and passengers wrestled the captain to the floor after he started shouting and banging on the cockpit door.

“I’ve known the captain personally for a long period of time and there’s been no indication of this in the past,” Barger said on NBC’s Today show. New York-based JetBlue isn’t aware of any similar incidents in the pilot’s past, he said.

The airline declined to release further personal details on Osbon or on the co-pilot who diverted the plane to Amarillo, assisted by an off-duty pilot who was on board.

A call today to the FBI office in Dallas investigating the case wasn’t immediately returned.

To contact the reporter on this story: Mary Schlangenstein in

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