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Morning Links: Heroin Bust in Hell's Kitchen; Less-Popular Obama Won't Cave on Tax Cuts; Adventures in Bikram with Lady Gaga

​• Happy Friday! The heroin den formerly located at 417 W. 43rd St., inside, as the New York Post puts it, a "Next to Normal-seeming ground-floor duplex," (wink, wink! groan, groan) has been busted and a stash worth $6.5 million has been seized. Note: when the neighbors move in and put black ... More >>

Morning Links: Carl Paladino to Make "Major" TV Announcement; Lou Dobbs' Illegal Immigrant Trouble; Verizon iPhone Update

​• New York gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino has bought a block of TV time with the three network affiliates in Buffalo and is expected to make a "major" announcement today at 5:13 p.m. Don't bet that he's dropping out. But is he still angry?[NYDN] • The stream of red, toxic sludge f ... More >>

Anderson Cooper Will Soar as The New Phil Donahue

​Technically, Anderson Cooper will be the new Oprah, since he's pretty much jumping into daytime talk TV next fall in the wake of the chat queen's dramatic exit. But he's more like Phil Donahue--gray haired, compassionate, with a healthy sense of humor, and a supportive spouse.

CNN Bids Adieu to Rick Sanchez By Deleting Blog; Jon Stewart Makes a Joke

​On Friday evening, CNN briskly fired Rick's List host Rick Sanchez, after his off-color remarks about Jews went virally bonkers in less than 24 hours. "I'm telling you that everybody who runs CNN is a lot like Stewart, and a lot of people who run all the other networks are a lot like Stewart, ... More >>

The Great Pumpkin Shortage is Over; Ben & Jerry's No Longer 'All Natural'

​The great canned pumpkin shortage of 2009-10 has ended. Nestle, which sells about 85 percent of the canned pumpkin in the U.S., said increased demand was to blame for the shortage. [Boston Herald] As the FDA nears the approval of genetically modified salmon, questions over its safety have ar ... More >>

Free Lindsay Lohan: Someone Pulls Some Strings, Actress Goes Free on Bail

​Lindsay Lohan is free once again. But to rewind: In the last few weeks, Lindsay Lohan failed two court-ordered drug tests, showing either an amazing amount of gall or demonstrating the intensity of a horrible disease. Probably both. As punishment, on Friday morning a judge ordered her directl ... More >>

Cult in California Found Not Dead, Media Sighs

​Everyone that works in 24-hour cable news got really excited temporarily when the Los Angeles Times reported that a "cult-like" group could not be found, but left behind letters that "essentially state that they [the missing persons] are all going to heaven shortly to meet Jesus and their dec ... More >>

Morning Links: Obama Unveils Jobs Plan and Tax Breaks as Disapproval Rating Rises

​Welcome back; we hope your long weekends were swell! • President Obama has unveiled a $50 billion public-works plan to revive the economy, and is asking Congress to pass tax breaks that would let businesses write off 100 percent of their new capital investments through 2011. [WSJ, AP]

Eliot Spitzer is Coming. On CNN. To CNN. We Mean 'To.' (Video)

​Via Steve Krakauer at Mediaite, former New York governor Eliot Spitzer's long-awaited (by people like me) CNN show with Kathleen Parker has a name -- Parker-Spitzer -- and an opening date (8PM on Monday, October 4th). Here is video of him with a woman who is not his wife:

Manila Bus Hijacker Killed; At Least 7 Hostages Survive

​According to reports, Rolando Mendoza, the former police inspector who was holding at least 15 Hong Kong tourists hostage on a bus in Manila, has been killed after being shot in the head. Mendoza had been demanding his job back after being dismissed for extorting $444 from a chef over drivin ... More >>

For Every 100 Single Women, There Are 88 Single Men, and Other Invigorating Findings From the U.S. Census Bureau

Here is a typical single lady, enjoying her cosmo-tini and thinking about being single, and her next Botox appointment (via CNN)​Hey, single ladies! (And single men, too, but mostly ladies, because there are just more of you looking off longingly into the distance and thinking about your once- ... More >>

Pamela Anderson's PETA Ad Banned in Canada; The New York Islanders Launch an Official Team Cupcake

​A new study reveals that people who work in food service and farming may have an elevated risk for heart disease, diabetes, and stroke. [Reuters] Pamela Anderson's new campaign for PETA has been banned in Montreal for being sexist. The ad has the actress in a bikini with her body parts label ... More >>

CNN Anchor's Hezbollah Hollaback via Twitter Costs Another Media Job

​Things People Say That Cost Them Their Media Jobs, CNN Edition: In the great and recent tradition of White House Press Correspondent Helen Thomas, and Washington Post blogger Dave Weigel, for the third time this summer, someone has said something that has more or less cost them their job once ... More >>

Picky Eaters Get Some Attention; New Yorkers with Small Kitchens

​Picky eaters, who have long stumped medical experts because their behaviors don't fit the traditional eating disorder profile, can now report on their unusual eating habits with the first national public registry of picky eating. [Wall Street Journal] A new study reveals that children are se ... More >>

Eric Korsh 'in' at Waverly Inn; Jody Williams 'out' at Gottino

​Eric Korsh has been enlisted to take over the kitchen at Waverly Inn while John DeLucie is on leave opening The Lion. Korsh has had stints at Prune and Patroon, and was the chef-owner of the now-defunct Eloise in Sebastopol, California. [NY Times] Jody Williams has reportedly left West Villa ... More >>

Things That Could Ruin Your Day, But Won't: Death by Asteroid

Potential Proctologists Association campaign ad waiting to happen.​You know what asteroids and hemorrhoids have in common? Four letters at the end and the ability to severely fuck up one's day. You should enjoy today knowing that you missed at least one of them.

Restaurants Hire Inspection Consultants; Pizza Guy Fights Off Robbers, Delivers Pies

​Star tenor Placido Domingo, who four weeks ago had colon cancer surgery, is recovering nicely and readying for the opening of his new restaurant, Zengo, which he's a partner in with Richard Sandoval. [AP] An East Harlem pizza-delivery guy fought off two gun-toting robbers and still managed t ... More >>

Corporate Watchdog Group Says Ronald McDonald Is Bad for Children and Other Living Things

Not lovin' it.​Corporate Accountability International, the corporate watchdog group who brought down penis-faced Joe Camel, has now set their sights on a less phallic but equally pervasive target: Ronald McDonald. The group is planning to release a report tomorrow calling for the clown's retir ... More >>

Tiger Woods Show Trial, Live-Blogged: "For All I Have Done, I Am So Sorry" (Update: Could Be Back to Golf This Year!)

10:55 a.m. CNN is prefacing its Tiger Woods coverage with nerve-wracking percussion music and tweets from and interviews with Concerned Citizens ("That makes you laugh. Why does it make you laugh?"). 11:00 a.m. Now, the back of heads. Blue curtain. No sound. All the trappings of high drama!

Mumps Outbreak Hits Suburbs; Summer Camp Blamed (Updated)

​CNN reports that about 1,000 people have recently caught mumps in the greater metropolitan area. Mumps? Wasn't that eradicated a long time ago? Not quite; vaccines aren't 100 percent effective and little outbreaks have been seen elsewhere in the States in recent years. The local epidemic ... More >>

Jack E. Jett Axed For "Jacking His Cock"

​Radio host Jack E. Jett--a friend of this blog--was axed after he made a remark that included the phrase "jacking my cock" in an interview with a blogger. Ironically, the remark was designed to tell people how thorough and professional he is. ("I don't just go in and talk on the mic while jac ... More >>

Indie Takeover Wednesdays Continues with the Scandalous Vice/Sub Pop Partnership with CNN

​So Vampire Weekend has the number one record in the country, and now Vice's VBS.TV will claim a prominent spot on CNN's website, presumably somewhere near the Indie Asia: On Tour With the Handsome Furs Sub Pop-produced travel featurette CNN is already hosting. Insert scandalized, risque refer ... More >>

Lou Dobbs Quits CNN One Week After Voice Columnist Says "Enough Dobbs"

​Last week, Village Voice writer Gustavo Arellano, who writes our 'Ask a Mexican!' weekly column from our sister paper, OC Weekly, announced that he'd had "enough with Lou Dobbs" and it was time CNN's anti-Mexican pendejo took a hike. Well, look who was listening! Tonight, Dobbs shocked ever ... More >>

BALLOON BOY IN GARAGE THE WHOLE TIME

​ OK, what's the over/under on what the Heene family should pay for the massive search effort for their kid? Turns out Falcon was hiding in a box in the family's garage while helicopters and first responders were all over hell and gone looking for him. More questions at the end of the post. B ... More >>

I Was on CNN Discussing Celebs and The Recession

Are stars bringing their bling down a notch? Spending scads of money, but only where they can't be seen doing so? Will Paris Hilton become a social worker to suit the country's new mood or will she simply send out a press release saying she's done so? Answers to all those questions and more are in ... More >>

Nothing Like Ham to Slap Kim Jong-il in the Face

​ While foodies are obsessing over who will take over from Frank Bruni as the new New York Times' resident food critic, newsies are more concerned with the real issues, like Bill Clinton going to North Korea to help free US journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee, who have been detained there sin ... More >>

New Black Eyed Peas The E.N.D. Leaks, To Spectacular Effect

Not that we'll point you anywhere in particular to find it, but the Black Eyed Peas' new The E.N.D. has very much leaked onto the internet, in a blaze of bar mitzvah jams ("I Gotta Feeling" is gonna own), randomly French rave synths ("Ed Banger compilation Volume 3," said one friend yesterday), goof ... More >>

Organic Farmers Suffer Losses; Prisoners Excercise Their Green Thumbs

Organic farmers are feeling the sting of the organic food trend slowing. Dairy farmers, especially, are suffering, and many have been told to cut milk production by up to 20 percent. The slowdown, combined with the high cost of transporting organic feed from the Midwest has caused 32 dairy farms in ... More >>

He Shot Me (And It Felt Like Second Degree Murder): Phil Spector Found Guilty

The once-vaunted and now deeply fallen record producer Phil Spector won't dodge the murder of actress Lana Clarkson twice--after 30 hours of deliberation, a Los Angeles jury just handed down a guilty verdict for murder in the second-degree, the same charge Spector dodged after a 2007 mistrial. The 4 ... More >>

I've Been Banned From Showbiz Tonight!

Last year, I was on HN's (i.e. CNN Headline News') entertainment show Showbiz Tonight quite a few times and enjoyed the chance to weigh in on gossip topics with my usual wisecracks. But the honeymoon seemed to falter once I went too far and said that a certain reality star who was being sent to jail ... More >>

Afghan Elections Delayed, Iraq Candidates Murdered

Let's look in on our brothers-in-democracy in the Middle East. Afghanistan has postponed its elections due to "security and logistical concerns," says CNN. This isn't a short-term thing: they were scheduled for May, and will now take place in August -- though a parliamentary spokesman says they're " ... More >>

The Newfound Joy of a Native Ohioan

The Demographics of the Proposition 8 Vote

The Conspiracy Begins This December?

Tonight: Atmosphere at Webster Hall

Last Meal: Tennessee Sucks

News

Downing Street Afterschlock: CNN Makes Good on 'Storytelling' Vow

Clark's Run Still Clouded

Why Didn't He Warn Us About War in Iraq?

Danger Zone

Opposing Forces

Austin City Limitless

God Is Not in the Constitution

The Government Cannot Endorse Any or All Religions

Saddam and the Petunias

The New Age of Anxiety

CNN in the Crossfire

FBI Tried to Subpoena Lindh Interview

Midnight Confession

How CNN Captured John Walker

Accidents Can Happen

Dead Civilians and Other Minor Risks of War

And the Banned Play On

Widespread Panic Hits the Radio

Memo to Turner

Subject of CNN Story Issues Death Threat

Whose 'Talking'?