Toronto – Canadian Auto Workers president Buzz Hargrove says by the end of the week, up to 100-thousand Canadian workers could be out of work as a result of the G-M strike south of the border.
That includes workers in the auto and auto parts industries. and Hargrove says the impact will be felt mostly in Ontario and Quebec.
He says it’s difficult to estimate how long the dispute will last — but he says there are very difficult problems to resolve.
He says G-M seems to be saying to U-A-W members that they have to pay for problems caused by unfair trade that’s costing the company market share. (more…)
Tampa – Friends and family are mourning after 19-year-old Rachael Futterman died of a suspected case of bacterial meningitis over the weekend.
Futterman was a student at the University of South Florida student
University officials say Futterman became ill last Friday and was taken to the hospital Saturday. She was placed on life supported, but later died.
“Our first reaction to the diagnosis on Saturday was sadness for the student and her family,” said Dr. Jennifer Meningall, vice president of Student Affairs. “We were concerned that members of her sorority were okay, both mentally and physically. At the same time, we had to gather all the information we could, identify students who might have had direct contact with the victim, and go the extra mile to alert everyone on campus. Given the size of the university, very few people would have potentially had direct contact, but we felt everyone needed to know so they could take the precautions they believe necessary.”
According to USF spokesman Ken Gullette, Futterman did not attend any classes last week — where she wDoneould have been most contagious.
“Rachel was our student and part of our family,” said Judy Genshaft, president of USF. “It has been an emotional weekend, and our hearts and prayers go out to her family and friends. We’ll do everything we can to provide counseling and support services to those who need them.”
Officials say that all studends who had contact with Futterman have been treated with a powerful antibiotic. Other studends are encourged to take the vaccine as well, said Gullette.Done
Bacterial meningitis is a serious infection of the fluid in the spinal cord and the fluid that surrounds the brain and is most commonly caused by one of three types of bacteria: Haemophilus influenzae type b, Neisseria meningitidis, and Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria.
Prevention depends on use of vaccines, rapid diagnosis, and prompt treatment of close personal contacts.
Los Angeles – It seems like every day brings another set of naughty Vanessa Hudgens Pictures.
According to reports, a new set of photos — far less scandalous then the first set — have popped up online.
In the latest Vanessa Hudgens pictures, the ‘High School Musical’ star is seen with unmanned friends — both male and female — making crass and dirty gestures at the camera. Other photos show her bending over, showing her bottom to the camera.
Three weeks after the initial nude photos were leaked online, there seems to be no end in sight and it certainly seems that someone has it out for Vanessa. Who keeps releasing these photos — and why? It just might be time for the young entertainer to speak publicly about the photos and set the record straight once and for all.
Los Angeles – A rep for Miley Cyrus, star of the Disney TV series Hannah Montana, spoke out against rumors claiming the 14 year old was pregnant. A blog posted a fake interview with Miley from J-14 magazine, stating Miley was expecting her first child. Publicist Meghan Prophet told People Magazine it was “ridiculous and completely untrue.â€
“It’s 100 percent false. Someone doctored a J-14 article and posted this online. It’s ridiculous and completely untrue. Miley is not pregnant. She just wrapped season two of Hannah Montana and will go on tour beginning Oct. 18,” said Cyrus’ spokesperson.
Miley is scheduled to begin a fifty-four date tour October 18 in St. Louis, just one night before her father, Billy Ray Cyrus, comes to town with his tour.
Los Angeles – According to The Post Chronicle, The White Stripes cancelled several shows recently sighting acute anxiety on the part of Meg White, and they are attributing that anxiety to a sex tape — and they proved photos and a video to back it up.
The band has been known for their raw low-fidelity sound, and it’s hard to be certain if it is Meg White or not.
However according to TMZ.com, the photos and sex tape are not of Meg White.
“Some people have a very twisted sense of humor and this prank is in particularly bad taste. The tape circulating on the Internet as featuring Meg White is fake. It’s definitely not Meg,” said White’s spokesperson.
Meg White is just the latest celeb to get mixed up in a sex tape scandal. Both Paris Hilton and Pamela Anderson have both had their share of attention after their sex tapes hit theinternet.
Waynesville (EON) – Rescue teams are hard at work trying to find 8 Boy Scouts along with their leader who did not return from the North Carolina mountains over the weekend.
They went on a trip over the weekend and many of the troop members had cell phones with them. Because of bad cell phone service though it is expected that they have been able to make no contact with anybody.
One mother is being optimistic as Lisa Logan stated that she believes they got off track and decided to stay one extra night. Charity Sharp, a spokeswoman of the Cuso Fire Department, called the search a precaution.
She stated that “There’s 8 children up there, so we want to make sure everyone’s OK. There’s a possibility they could be hurt.”
There were 3 adults with the 8 Boy Scouts.
Paris (EON) – The last master of the mime, Marcel Marceau passed away at the age of 84.
He was a French Jew and was the world’s most famous mime artist. He survived the Nazi occupation and managed to make quite a living. He was the bigest theatrical export for France in the past 50 years.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy remembered Marceau and stated he was “one of France’s most eminent ambassadors.”
He was born in 1923 and the son of a Jewish butcher. He lived through the Holocaust and performed, it seemed, because “people who came back from the camps, couldn’t talk about it, they didn’t know how to express it .. Maybe that has counted, in my choice of silence.”
He was inspired by actors such as Gary Cooper, David Copperfield, Michael Jackson, etc.
He performed internationally for decades after making it big in television in America in the 1950s and on stage.
Orlando (EON) – Florida’s state Democratic Party made the announcement on Sunday that they will go against the request of the national Democratic party and hold their presidential primary early, on January 29th.
This means that no Florida delegate will be seated at the next Democratic convention set for next summer. Apparently the state party does not care the slightest bit though.
Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Karen Thurman stated “We will be voting on January 29th with our candidates on the ballot. At the end of the day, we came down on the side of having a fair and open election.”
This came one month after the national party decided to strip Florida of its 210 delegates unless they changed the date. Party rules state only a few state primaries can be held before February 5th.
Michigan is also challenging the party as well with a January 15th primary scheduled.
Florida argues that this schedule allows for less populous states to have a disproportionate influence on who they select and nominate.
Beijing (EON) – 307 kindergarten students in China were poisoned due to bacteria found in food.
The poisoning took place in China’s northeast province of Gansu according to local officials as over 300 children got sick.
The number of children sent to the hospital after they ate meals given by a kindergarten in Wuwei City is now up to 307 with the number expected to rise.
The food poisoning was caused by diarrhoea germina according to experts. All of the children are in stable condition.
Many kids began to suffer vomiting, fever, and stomach aches last Wednesday with many more illnesses to follow. The kindergarten was the Shiyan Kindergarten.
The kids ate porridge and buns for breakfast on Wednesday. The source of the food poisoning is not yet known.
Boston (EON) – A new study has found that high-glycaemic foods or a diet full of starch can cause liver damage.
Researchers based in Boston, MA reported in the journal Obesity in regards to the dieting practice. They stated that the foods which are rapidly digested by the body could cause increases in fatty liver and raise the risk for serious illness.
An obesity expert stated that fatty liver is a tragedy for the future and something bad just waiting to happen.
Fatty liver is a build-up over time of fat deposits around the organ. There are no effects at first but later in life it could prove fatal.
The study was done at the Boston Children’s Hospital and looked at the effects of diets with many varying traits.
Tam Fry of the National Obesity Forum stated that “Fatty liver is going to be one of the tragedies of the future unless we do something about it.”
Dr. David Ludwig led the research and stated that the results apply directly to humans and even children. Around 25 to 50% of American children have the condition which he called a “silent but dangerous epidemic.”