Former Employee Held To Charges Of Records Access And Sales
Los Angeles- A previous employee of the U.C.L.A. Medical Center was indicted in court on Tuesday on charges that records of well-known patients were accessed and sold illegally.
Lawanda Jackson, age 49 years, was indicted in records breaches and sales of these records illegally to members of the news media. Possible records that are believed to have been accessed include actress Farrah Fawcett, and Maria Shriver, wife of the California Governor.
The arraignment is set for June 9th. This type of records access and illegal sales has become more of a problem in our technological age. (more…)
CEO Says Best Decision For Both Companies
New York- In surprising news the head of Time Warner Company announced to their shareholders that they would be selling off their cable holdings, Time Warner Cable.
CEO and Chairman Jeff Bewkes said on Tuesday that the decision has been made to separate off the cable holdings, Time Warner Cable, and that is was in the best interests of all the shareholders involved.
The net income reported on Wednesday for the cable division was $242 million dollars net, for its first quarter 2008 earnings.
Net income for a year ago for the same time period was about $276 million dollars. The results from a year ago included an $81 million dollar sale so the current year results are actually an increased amount than one year ago. (more…)
FDA Says Substances Put In Blood Thinner Likely Intentional
Washington- The working theory that the FDA has says that the contaminates that were placed in the Heparin blood thinner supply in China were done so deliberately, with intent.
The FDA did not as clearly state this in earlier statements to the public, but this is what the FDA now believes.
“We have not yet been able to conclusively prove it but that is our working hypothesis, that the contaminates were placed in the blood thinner intentionally,” said Dr. Janet Woodcock. (more…)
Gamers Around The Country Report Errors And Difficult Play
Toronto - After the first day of release there are reports coming in that the new Grand Theft Auto IV video game appears to have some problems.
Users are reporting that the game is freezing up during the introduction, and other scenes, and problems are being reported on both the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 game stations.
Gamers are complaining that they are not able to get to the online features of the game, or that after purchasing the game and returning home that they are not able to get past the introduction screens.
This is potentially a huge problem for Rockstar Video Games, the manufacturer of the game. The video game has been alive with anticipation buzz for nearly a year, and this could radically affect the sales for the new game release.
Before these problems were reported, sales for the game were projected to top $400 million dollars. Now, with the new problems, it will be interesting to see how the projected sales for the new video game will be affected. (more…)
Los Angeles - C.S.I.’s Gary Dourdan was busted with pretty much every drug on Earth Monday morning.
He was found in Palm Springs at 5:12 am, passed out in his car with cocaine, heroin, Ecstasy, prescription pills and paraphernalia.
To cap it off, his car was pulled over on the wrong side of the road. Hopefully he was at least able to locate his pants, though those red eyes in his mug shot (shown above) beg to differ.
This is Gary’s final season on C.S.I.: Original Recipe after CBS opted not to renew his contract.
Did someone say fiery explosion?
Los Angeles - Miley Cyrus is in publicity quarantine.
The Hannah Montana star is still reeling from the big freak-out surrounding a photograph of the 15-year-old clutching a sheet to her chest, and showing bare shoulders and back.
“You won’t be seeing her for a while,” a senior employee at Disney was overheard saying, according to the New York Post.
“The company is keeping her away from events and wants her to keep a very low profile for the next four to six months. They’re trying to keep her contained.”
The last thing you want is a major celebrity to act, like, normal.
The racy photos are now avialble on the Vanity Fair website.
This is just the latest incide in which Cyrus was found her self in the middle of a photo scandal. A few weeks ago, racy photos of her were leaked from her MySpace page.
Communication Company Announced Apple Product To Be Featured
Toronto - In an announcement shortly before quarterly revenue results were scheduled to be released Rogers Communication stated they would be bringing the popular iPhone to market in Canada before the end of 2008.
“We are ecstatic that Apple as agreed to a deal with us for the iPhone,” said Ted Rogers. “We can’t say to much more about it but keep tuned in, we will be able to share more information later,” said Mr. Rogers.
Ted Rogers is the CEO and spokesman for the communications giant Rogers Communications. (more…)
Oshawa - General Motors has announced it’s laying off 3500 workers across North America, including about 970 at the truck assembly plant in Oshawa this September.
C.A.W. local 222 president Chris Buckley calls it “another dark day for Oshawa.” Just 3 months ago, another shift and a thousand jobs were lost.
General Motors, which says demand for full-size pickup trucks is falling, blames a deteriorating economy and soaring gas prices for the cuts.
This news comes as major international oil companies are reporting record multi-billion dollar profits. They say it’s because oil prices are soaring and sales are up. Royal Dutch Shell, Europe’s largest oil company, made more than $9 billion in the first quarter, up close to $2 billion from a year ago. BP reported making $7.6 billion, up 63 percent in a year.
Los Angeles - It’s official, Britney Spears is reprising her role as Abby the secretary on “How I Met Your Mother.”
The episode will air on May 12 on CBS
Producers are “thrilled” to have the pop star back on the show.
Well, they should be happy, her last appearance garnered the highest ratings of the season.
Spears, 26, is not likely going to be a regular according to reports.
Neil Patrick Harris said earlier this month: “She’s not going to be a regular on our show… She’s not an actress.”
Production has already started on the episode.
Los Angeles - Celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz says that the controversial Vanity Fair photos she took of Miley Cyrus are “simple” and “beautiful.”
The 15-year-old Cyrus had apologized yesterday, claiming that she was manipulated into posing for a racy picture.
Leibovitz denies the accusations, saying Miley, and her parents discussed the pics before the shoot.
Leibovitz did say that she was sorry that the pictures of Miley were “misinterpreted.”
She said: “I’m sorry that my portrait of Miley has been misinterpreted. Miley and I looked at fashion photographs together, and we discussed the picture in that context before we shot it. The photograph is a simple, classic portrait, shot with very little make-up, and I think it is very beautiful.”