7/7 The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com

The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com         PlayStation Network Down For Maintenance: July 2011 July 6, 2011 at 8:32 AM   Sony's PlayStation Network went down briefly on Tuesday, but it was apparently just for maintenance. According to PlayStation Universe, the work was conducted between 5:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. PT (8 p.m. and 9 p.m. ET). "Sony hasn't warned users about this scheduled maintenance; probably because it'll only last for an hour or so," PU wrote at the time, adding, "[I]t seems that they have this under control. Keep Calm and Carry On." Read More...         China Considers Allowing U.S. Regulators To Probe Mainland Firms July 6, 2011 at 8:32 AM   NEW YORK (Clare Baldwin and Nanette Byrnes) - U.S. regulators, reeling from a series of scandals over U.S.-listed Chinese companies, will head to Beijing to discuss launching audit inspections while regulators in Canada announced a probe of foreign issuers. Read More...         Roger Clemens Trial Begins With Jury Selection (VIDEO) July 6, 2011 at 8:32 AM   WASHINGTON â€" Roger Clemens, one of the most imposing and accomplished pitchers in baseball history, is going on trial Wednesday to fight allegations that he used drugs to enhance his power on the mound. Like other players who have been indicted in baseball's steroids era, Clemens has not been charged with drug crimes but instead is accused of lying about drug use. Clemens told a House committee under oath in 2008 that he never used performance-enhancing drugs during a standout 23-season career in which he won a record seven Cy Young Awards as his league's top pitcher. The federal court trial of U.S. vs. William R. Clemens begins by narrowing a pool of 125 Washington residents to a panel of 12 jurors and four alternates. The first 50 prospective jurors are to appear Wednesday, and U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton hopes to have the panel selected by early next week. The trial is expected to last four to six weeks. Read More... More on MLB         Dalai Lama Birthday Rallies Banned By Nepal Bans Tibetan Rallies On July 6, 2011 at 8:10 AM   KATMANDU, Nepal — Nepalese authorities prevented exiled Tibetans from celebrating their spiritual leader the Dalai Lama's birthday on Wednesday over concerns that gatherings would turn anti-Chinese. Hundreds of riot police blocked the Tibetans from entering a school on the northern edge of Katmandu where the celebrations were planned. Read More... More on Tibet         Roy Williams Sues Ex-Girlfriend: Cowboys Receiver Wants Engagement Ring Back July 6, 2011 at 8:10 AM   This is what happens when a marriage proposal by mail goes wrong. The Odessa American reports that Dallas Cowboys receiver Roy Williams has sued his ex-girlfriend, former Miss Texas USA Brooke Daniels, in an attempt to get back the engagement ring he offered her earlier this year. Williams claims that he should be able to regain possession of the ring, which is reportedly valued at $76,000. Read More... More on NFL         Nicole Kidman, Daughter Faith Step Out (PHOTOS) July 6, 2011 at 8:10 AM   Nicole Kidman kisses her adorable 6-month-old daughter Faith at the airport on Wednesday (July 6) in Sydney, Australia. Read More... More on Celebrity Kids         Obama, Boehner Held Secret Debt Ceiling Meeting Over July 4 Weekend July 6, 2011 at 8:10 AM   WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama says back-channel talks with congressional leaders last weekend have produced new progress in advance of a White House session Thursday on deficit reduction. The president is siding with House Speaker John Boehner in insisting that negotiators resist the temptation to "kick the can down the road" and settle for a makeshift, short-term solution to stave off a first-ever U.S. default next month. Read More... More on Barack Obama         Secure Communities Immigration Program A Gateway For Other FBI Data-Sharing July 6, 2011 at 8:10 AM   WASHINGTON -- Documents released on Wednesday reveal more details about how the government planned to roll out its Secure Communities immigration-enforcement plan and confirm that the FBI plans to implement additional security programs in the next five years -- whether or not states consent to participate. The documents show the FBI was more involved than originally known in the decision to make Secure Communities effectively mandatory. Under the program, fingerprints taken by local law enforcement agencies during bookings are shared between the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security, which uses them for immigration enforcement. But the program has received push back from some state and local governments that oppose sharing fingerprints with the federal government for immigration enforcement. Illinois, New York and Massachusetts governors announced in May and June that they do not want to participate in the program. Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) called in May for an investigation into whether officials lied to Congress and the public about the mandatory nature of the program, and both California and Illinois have proceeded with legislation against it. An investigation will take place later this year. Read More... More on Immigration         Sydney Woman's Remains Found Years After Death July 6, 2011 at 7:54 AM   SYDNEY — When an elderly Australian woman apparently vanished from view eight years ago, no one bothered to call the police. Not her relatives, her neighbors, or government officials, who kept paying her welfare benefits into a bank account that sat untouched. New South Wales state police said Wednesday that they discovered the woman's skeletal remains on the floor of her Sydney home on Tuesday, after her sister-in-law finally called them to report that she had not heard from the woman – who would have turned 87 next month – since 2003. Read More... More on Death & Dying         South Korea Sex Workers Fight To Protect Brothels July 6, 2011 at 7:54 AM   SEOUL, South Korea — The pimps and prostitutes of Yeongdeungpo start the day as if preparing for a siege, stocking their brothels with flammable liquid and gas containers. Large, red-lettered signs warn police that they're willing to die to protect their livelihoods. "We can turn on the gas and light the flames," said a 47-year-old pimp who would only give her surname Sohn. "We know that we don't have much chance of winning ... but we're ready to die fighting." Read More... More on South Korea         Jiang Zemin Dead? Local Censors Don't Want Any Speculation July 6, 2011 at 7:38 AM   Is he or isn't he? Around 11 pm on July 5, China's blogosphere began trading in rumors that Jiang Zemin, the former leader of the People's Republic, had died. By midnight local searches on this topic had become very popular. But within half an hour, the heavy hand of China's censors descended. Read More... More on China         Spero Dedes Arrested; Knicks Sportscaster Charged With DWI July 6, 2011 at 7:38 AM   A sportscaster who recently took a job announcing New York Knicks games was arrested this weekend in Southampton and charged with driving while intoxicated. Read More... More on NBA         Michael Jordan Love Letter: Laquetta Robinson, Recipient, Threatens Legal Action July 6, 2011 at 7:38 AM   A 30-year-old love letter from Michael Jordan that went viral last week now has the original recipient of the missive threatening legal action. Laquetta Robinson, the woman whom the 18-year old Jordan wrote the letter to while he was in advanced chemistry class at Emsley A. Laney High School, says that she has no idea how it got from her possession to an auction house and then into the hands of an unknown bidder. She first learned that the letter was no longer in her possession when she saw it on a televised news report last week. Read More...         Torchwood: Miracle Day Is Russell T Davies' Bleak But Big-Budget Will Please Both UK And US Audiences July 6, 2011 at 7:28 AM   “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes,” said one the America’s Founding Fathers, Benjamin Franklin. Well, that was a long time ago. We’re now in Russell T Davies’ world, and we can’t even rely on that much. The writer’s baby, Torchwood, returns on July 14 for its fourth series, dramatically sub-titled Miracle Day; 10 hour-long parts asking one fundamental question â€" What would happen if no one could die? Read More... More on TV         Bin Laden Family Held By Pakistan Panel July 6, 2011 at 7:22 AM   ISLAMABAD — A Pakistani commission investigating the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden has ordered the government to prevent the al-Qaida chief's wives and children from leaving Pakistan without its permission. The late Tuesday order was directed in part at Pakistan's powerful Inter-Services Intelligence spy agency, which tends to operate beyond civilian control – a sign that the commission was taking advantage of the unusual public pressure on the security establishment since the raid to push its investigation forward. Read More... More on Osama bin Laden         Syria War Crimes Investigation Should Be Sent To Court: Amnesty July 6, 2011 at 6:50 AM   BEIRUT — Syrian security forces may have committed crimes against humanity during a deadly siege of a western town in May, Amnesty International said Wednesday, citing witness accounts of deaths in custody, torture and arbitrary detention. The London-based rights group called on the U.N. Security Council to refer the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court. Read More... More on Middle East Protests         Marshall Fine: HuffPost Review: Ironclad July 6, 2011 at 6:34 AM   When it comes to stories that bear transposition to varying eras and settings, Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai (1954) seems a prime example of a plot that never seems to get old. It was the basis for the classic American western, The Magnificent Seven, and the less classic (but still enjoyable) Battle Beyond the Stars, a cheesy 1980 sci-fi action film that featured a script by John Sayles (and included Robert Vaughn as a nod to Magnificent Seven). Still, some variations simply aren't worth the effort. Exhibit A: Ironclad, a kind of Braveheart version of the same plot, set in post-Magna Carta England. Read More...         Texas Girl Raped: 14 Men Charged In Sex Attacks On 11-Year-Old July 6, 2011 at 6:02 AM   LIBERTY, Texas -- More than a dozen men accused of taking part in a series of sexual assaults on an 11-year-old girl are expected in court Wednesday in a case that has divided and horrified their southeast Texas town. The 14 men, who along with five juvenile boys are facing charges, are scheduled to be in a state district courtroom in Liberty for status updates. The investigation began in December, after one of the girl's friends told a teacher he had seen a lurid cell phone video that showed the girl being raped in an abandoned trailer. Read More...         Robert L. Borosage: Foul Deal: What if Republicans Take Yes for an Answer July 6, 2011 at 6:02 AM   Republicans won't take yes for answer in the debt ceiling negotiations. As conservative columnist David Brooks writes in the New York Times, this should be the "mother of all no brainers." http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/05/opinion/05brooks.html Read More... More on Democrats         Texas Girl Raped: 14 Men Charged In Sex Attacks On 11-Year-Old July 6, 2011 at 5:31 AM   LIBERTY, Texas — More than a dozen men accused of taking part in a series of sexual assaults on an 11-year-old girl are expected in court Wednesday in a case that has divided and horrified their southeast Texas town. The 14 men, who along with five juvenile boys are facing charges, are scheduled to be in a state district courtroom in Liberty for status updates. The investigation began in December, after one of the girl's friends told a teacher he had seen a lurid cell phone video that showed the girl being raped in an abandoned trailer. Read More...         Famed American Artist Cy Twombly Dies At 83 July 6, 2011 at 4:29 AM   Famed American painter Cy Twombly, who first found the limelight with his calligraphic paintings in the late 1950s, has died at the age of 83. The US artist was widely known for abstract works that used oil paint, pencil and crayon to create repetitive lines and scribbles on canvas. Read More...         Andrew Newbury: Why Sir Paul McCartney Might Be Justified In Not Having A Pre-Nup July 6, 2011 at 3:09 AM   News that Sir Paul McCartney is to marry again should not come as too much of a surprise, bearing in mind that he has been dating Nancy Shevell for four years. Of course, given the acrimonious and costly end to his marriage with Heather Mills, the former Beatle could have been forgiven for avoiding any exchange of rings or vows this time around. What might be even more surprising to some is that, having proposed, Sir Paul has apparently not insisted on a prenuptial agreement to limit any claim which his third wife-to-be might potentially have on his £495 million ($813 million) fortune. Although not officially confirmed by either his lawyers or publicists, there was been extensive media speculation that the couple merely have what has been described as "a simple document" to protect the trust funds established for his children. Read More...         Afghanistan Cargo Plane Crash: Cargo Plane Crashes Into Mountaintop, Say Officials July 6, 2011 at 2:24 AM   KABUL, Afghanistan — A Russian-made Ilyushin-76 cargo plane chartered by the U.S. military crashed into a mountaintop in eastern Afghanistan, officials said Wednesday, as fears rose for the fate of its nine-member Azerbaijani crew. The plane was hauling equipment from the Azerbaijan capital of Baku to Bagram Air Field in eastern Afghanistan, said Kabul airport official Yaqub Rasoliob. Read More... More on Afghanistan         Phoenix Dust Storm: Massive Dust Storm Drastically Reduces Visibility July 6, 2011 at 1:54 AM   PHOENIX — A massive dust storm descended on the Phoenix area, drastically reducing visibility and delaying flights as strong winds downed trees and left thousands of residents without power. The dust cloud that moved across the Phoenix valley Tuesday night had formed in an afternoon storm in the Tucson area, and then rolled north across the desert before sweeping over the city like an enormous wave, said National Weather Service meteorologist Paul Iniguez. Read More... More on Extreme Weather         Phoenix Dust Storm: Massive Dust Storm Drastically Reduces Visibility July 6, 2011 at 1:54 AM   PHOENIX — A massive dust storm descended on the Phoenix area on Tuesday night, drastically reducing visibility and delaying flights as strong winds downed trees and caused power outages for thousands of residents. The dust cloud that hit the valley had originated in an afternoon storm in the Tucson area before moving north across the desert, said National Weather Service meteorologist Paul Iniguez. Before bearing down on the Phoenix valley, radar data showed the storm's towering dust wall had reached as high as 8,000 to 10,000 feet, he said. Read More... More on Extreme Weather         Phoenix Dust Storm: Massive Dust Storm Drastically Reduces Visibility July 6, 2011 at 1:54 AM   PHOENIX -- A massive dust storm descended on the Phoenix area on Tuesday night, drastically reducing visibility and delaying flights as strong winds toppled trees and caused power outages for thousands of residents in the valley. The towering dust cloud that hit the area had originated in an afternoon storm in the Tucson area before moving north across the desert, said National Weather Service meteorologist Paul Iniguez. Before bearing down on the Phoenix valley, radar data showed the storm's wall of dust had reached as high as 8,000 to 10,000 feet, he said. Read More... More on Extreme Weather         Afghanistan Cargo Plane Crash: Cargo Plane Crashes Into Mountaintop, Say Officials July 6, 2011 at 1:49 AM   KABUL, Afghanistan -- A cargo plane crashed into a mountaintop in eastern Afghanistan, officials said Wednesday. The plane hit a mountain peak late Tuesday night, said Sayed Aleem Agha, the top official in Sayagred district of Parwan province, north of Kabul. Read More... More on Afghanistan         Lorenzo Neal Arrested: Former NFL Star Busted For DUI (VIDEO) July 6, 2011 at 1:49 AM   Former NFL star fullback Lorenzo Neal was one of 100 arrested people in Fresno County, Cali for drunk driving on July 4. According to KFSN TV, Neal tested above the legal limit of 0.08 percent after he crashed his vehicle into a pole. "[He] just ran off the road, struck a pole," CHP Officer Axel Reyes said. "Nothing real major about it. Luckily, he didn't hit anyone and no one else was with him as a passenger." Read More... More on Sports Crime         Sophie Cranston Talks Street Style, Royal Wedding Dress Rumors & Working Under McQueen July 6, 2011 at 1:41 AM   To welcome HuffPost UK to the fold, the Style section tracked down designer Sophie Cranston of Libélula -- a Duchess of Cambridge favorite -- to talk about life in London, her sojourn in Spain and what it was like to work under Alexander McQueen. Peruse what she had to say and peep another British fashion force's answers here. HuffPost Style: What sets London apart as arguably the fashion capital of the world? Sophie Cranston: London is quirky, individual and cosmopolitan and this mix added to the fact that the British are generally unafraid to be different and try things out can be a pretty potent combination when it comes to style. Read More... More on Designers         British Museum "Treasures of Heaven" Exhibit Shows Medieval Religious Artifacts July 6, 2011 at 1:37 AM   The British Museum's Treasures of Heaven: Saints, Relics, and Devotion in Medieval Europe exhibition is an extraordinary collection of religious objects that explores the power relics had in medieval culture. Items on display include a fragment of the True Cross, a reliquary of a thorn from the Crown on Thorns (given by Mary, Queen of Scotts to King Henry II), hair of the Virgin Mary. Relics, the physical remains of holy men and women and objects associated with such people, were a central part of the spread of Christianity in the Middle Ages. Their popularity fostered a culture of pilgrimage to churches across Europe and Asia Minor that possessed such artifacts. Reliquaries, in which the relics were stored, evolved from simple containers into lavish, often ornate works of art that included in gold, silver and semi-precious stones. The evolving decoration of reliquaries gave rise to new forms of design in art and architecture of the time. The exhibition, which opened June 23, was organized by the Vatican, the Musee du Louvre, The Metropolitan Musuem of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago and the National Gallery of Art. It is currently at the British Museum through October 9th. Read More... More on Christianity         Lily Allen Penning 'Bridget Jones' Musical, Heading To Stage In 2012 July 6, 2011 at 1:25 AM   Lily Allen is heading to the stage, or writing for it anyways. Allen is penning the songs for the new musical version of Helen Fielding's'Bridget Jones's Diary,' and said to Elle magazine that she's nearly finished. Her career as a recording artist is currently on hiatus due to her work on the musical and her burgeoning family. Of her break, Allen said "I can't commit to going on tour for seven months and leaving [husband] Sam [Cooper], I really miss singing my songs to people and seeing the reaction on their faces. It's one of the most special things you can do, or it was for me." Bridget Jones herself will be played by Sheridan Smith, who previously starred in Legally Blonde: The Musical. Smith tweeted that "Lily has done an amazing job with it" and the the musical is "still very much in the workshop phase." Read More... More on Lily Allen         British Open 2011 Preview: Open Championship Odds & 7 Things You Need To Know (PHOTOS) July 6, 2011 at 1:09 AM   The Masters and US Open are perhaps more heralded amongst American golf fans, but no tournament is more prestigious overseas than the British Open. Next Thursday marks the return of one of golf’s trickiest courses â€" Royal St. Georges in Sandwich, England â€" where good tee shots go to die and low scores are nearly impossible. Tiger Woods has announced he will not be playing in the British, a storyline growing increasingly irrelevant thanks to golf's newest boy wonder, 22-year-old Rory McIlroy. Great Britain's own just finished off a rousing tournament by dominating at Congressional to capture the US Open, firing a 16-under-par 268, and breaking 12 Open records in doing so. Read More... More on Golf         When It Comes To Integrative Medicine, Does The UK Lag Behind The U.S.? July 6, 2011 at 1:09 AM   In spite of recent cuts to publicly funded advertising campaigns, the UK has led the charge in effective public health campaigns aimed at promoting preventative measures, including healthy eating and smoking cessation. Last week, for example, researchers from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical published the results from the so-called "txt2stop" campaign. Some 5,800 smokers were sent text messages encouraging them to quit; those who did were twice as likely to stop after six months than their counterparts who received no messages. The campaign has been hailed as a simple but cutting-edge intervention that could serve as a powerful tool in promoting behavioral change. But when it comes to complementary and alternative medicine (also referred to as CAM) aimed at prevention, many experts agree that the UK lags behind the U.S. in access to -- and acceptance of -- integrative therapies. Many of those therapies -- acupuncture, aromatherapy, chiropractic, homeopathy, massage and osteopathy -- aim to promote prevention of chronic and serious disease. Read More... More on Integrative Medicine         Dr. Michael J. Breus: Rocked To Sleep -- Not Just For Babies Anymore July 6, 2011 at 1:09 AM   The study suggests that rocking does indeed have an effect on our ability to fall asleep -- as well as on the quality of the sleep itself. Read More... More on Sleep         Phoenix Dust Storm: Massive Dust Storm Drastically Reduces Visibility July 6, 2011 at 1:09 AM   PHOENIX — A massive dust storm has swept into the Phoenix area and drastically reduced visibility across much of the valley. The wall of dust moved across the desert from the south on Tuesday and descended on the valley by nightfall. KSAZ-TV reported the storm appeared to be roughly 50-miles wide. Read More... More on Extreme Weather         Arianna Huffington: Introducing HuffPost UK... And Why We're Excited to Be Joining Your Thriving, Innovative Media Culture July 6, 2011 at 1:09 AM   LONDON - I am delighted to be in London today for the first Huffington Post launch outside of North America: Welcome to HuffPost UK. Britain has always held a very special place in my heart, having gone to college and started my career here. Indeed, my time in the UK set the course for the rest of my life -- leading all the way, in fact, to the creation of The Huffington Post in May of 2005. We are arriving here in the midst of a rich and thriving media culture marked by great innovation. We look forward to adding HuffPost UK to the mix, and to our real-time 'digital water cooler' -- which embraces the best of the new (immediacy, transparency, interactivity) and the best of the old (fact-checking, accuracy, fairness, and an emphasis on storytelling) -- becoming the spark for many interesting conversations. So check out HuffPost UK and let us know what you think. Read More... More on United Kingdom         Issa's Daniella Helayel Talks Dressing Her First Celebrity, Casting Supermodels & Label Expansion July 6, 2011 at 1:09 AM   To welcome HuffPost UK to the fold, the Style section tracked down designer Daniella Helayel of Issa -- a Duchess of Cambridge favorite -- to talk about swapping Brazil for London, casting real, live supermodels in her shows and her plans for expansion. Peruse what she had to say and peep another British fashion force's answers here. HuffPost Style: Why did you choose to settle in London after growing up in Brazil and attending F.I.T. in New York? What is different about fashion in each of the cities? Daniella Helayel: I ended up moving to London in November 1999, as I was bored with work in New York and needed a change. I was looking for something new and exciting, somewhere in Europe -- although I wasn't sure exactly what and where it would be when I left New York. Read More... More on Designers         Duchess Of Cambridge Adds New Name, Malene Birger, To The Designer Mix In Yellowknife, Northwest Territories (PHOTOS) July 6, 2011 at 1:09 AM   The Duchess of Cambridge spent Tuesday in Yellowknife, the capital of the Northwest Territories, where she continued her Canadian tour with a new round of outfits. For a meet-and-greet with residents and a visit to the Somba K'e Civic Plaza, the former-Kate Middleton introduced a new name to the mix -- Malene Birger. Birger's bio from Net-A-Porter.com: Award-winning Danish designer Malene Birger, formerly of Day Birger et Mikkelsen, started her namesake line in 2003. Taking inspiration from the classic styles of the '50s and '60s, and demonstrating an inspired use of color, her beautiful silk dresses, sequined vests and draped white shirts are elegant, feminine and easy-to-wear. Read More... More on Kate Middleton         'Mick Jagger: Young In The 60s' At The National Portrait Gallery (PHOTOS) July 6, 2011 at 1:01 AM   Colin Jones' 1967 portrait of Sir Mick Jagger, with a confrontational gaze and a military coat à la Sgt. Pepper's, says it all. Jagger and the Rolling Stones were spokesmen of their psychedelic generation without ever really identifying with the idealism of the late-'60s. The Rolling Stones' grimy, libidinous blues-rock hardly comes to mind in the oversimplified, peace-and-love stereotypes of that era; around the same time the Beatles had "Strawberry Fields Forever" on the charts, the Rolling Stones had "Let's Spend the Night Together." Mick Jagger, Young in the 60s, a new photographic exhibition at London's National Portrait Gallery, documents this tension. Aggressive but elegant, Jagger's style and personality cut through the fashions of the day to portray more than just a period piece. Read More... More on Music         Tracey Emin's Pop Up Exhibition At Louis Vuitton, London (PHOTOS) July 6, 2011 at 1:00 AM   Alongside artist Tracey Emin's "Love is What You Want" exhibition at London's Hayward Gallery, eight new prints are on display and available for sale at the Louis Vuitton Maison. Prints will be limited to editions of 100. Emin's images feature nude female figures, many in suggestive poses, but sleep is portrayed alongside sex: one reads, "AT NIGHT I CANT SLEEP ANYMORE MY MIND IS WRAPPED UP IN UNKOWN FEAR" (sic). Emin's career blossomed in the 90s, being nominated for the Turner Prize and creating such works as "Everyone I've Ever Slept With" and "My Bed." She opened the Tracey Emin Library in rural Uganda in 2008, to which proceeds of the show will be donated. Read More... More on Uganda         Art Markman, Ph.D.: Why People Identify With Health Causes July 6, 2011 at 12:53 AM   The connection between disease and identity is important, because it can influence the effectiveness of methods of disease prevention. Read More... More on chronic conditions         David Katz, M.D.: The Paleo Diet: Can We Really Eat Like Our Ancestors Did? July 6, 2011 at 12:53 AM   That our native diet is relevant to our health seems little less than self-evident. That we can't get back to the Stone Age from here is equally so. Read More... More on Nutrition         Lucy Danziger: 8 Ways Music Can Boost Your Workout July 6, 2011 at 12:53 AM   We've all felt it: calm music slows our heart rate; fast tunes jazz us up and motivate us to move. Read More... More on Fitness and Exercise         Our Favorite UK Comedians (SLIDESHOW) July 6, 2011 at 12:51 AM   UK comedians: they've given us so much. From "Monty Python" to "The Office," from "A Bit Of Fry & Laurie" to "The Mighty Boosh." There's just so much to love. We couldn't possibly list all of the talented Brits who have made us laugh over the years, so we're just hitting the highlights. And, of course, we're limited by our "American-ness." So weigh in on our picks and let us know who we missed in the comments. Read More...         Former Tim Pawlenty Colleagues, Mentors Don't Recognize The Man Running For President July 6, 2011 at 12:19 AM   WASHINGTON â€" Those who have known Tim Pawlenty for a long time are stumped by a simple question: What happened to him? It's not just his presidential campaign, which is at a low point. His poll numbers have spiraled downward and his $4.2 million second quarter fundraising haul was disappointing. It's also Pawlenty himself. Numerous longtime friends and associates of the former Minnesota governor told The Huffington Post the problem is deeper: They don't recognize the man running for president. "The charisma that engaged him with Minnesotans doesn't seem to be connecting at the same level. I don't know if it's the national stage. I don't get it," said Vicki Tigwell, who grew up in the same South St. Paul neighborhood as Pawlenty and has worked with him in Minnesota politics for decades. Read More... More on Tim Pawlenty         Lord Weidenfeld of Chelsea: Assad's Dangerous Manoeuvres Deflect Attention From Syria's Internal Crisis July 5, 2011 at 11:31 PM   The Assad regime plays a very risky game by sending truckloads of Palestinian refugees to the frontier and encouraging them to demonstrate in favour of Israel's withdrawal. Read More... More on Tiananmen Square         Casey Anthony Trial: Anger And Disbelief After Not Guilty Verdict July 5, 2011 at 11:12 PM   ORLANDO, Fla. â€" Casey Anthony's eyes welled with tears and her lips trembled as the verdict was read once, twice and then a third time: "Not guilty" of killing her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee. Outside the courthouse, many in the crowd of 500 reacted with anger, chanting, "Justice for Caylee!" One man yelled, "Baby killer!" In one of the most divisive verdicts since O.J. Simpson was acquitted in 1995 of murdering his ex-wife, Anthony was cleared Tuesday of murder, manslaughter and child-abuse charges after weeks of wall-to-wall TV coverage and armchair-lawyer punditry that one of her attorneys denounced as "media assassination." Read More... More on Casey Anthony         Spay, Neuter Programs Lead To Fewer Cases Of Pet Euthanasia July 5, 2011 at 11:12 PM   LOS ANGELES -- When Stephen Zawistowski got his first dog 50 years ago, she was the only dog in the neighborhood that was spayed. "She had an incision that must have been a foot long and was sewn up with what looked like piano wire," says Zawistowski, science adviser for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Read More... More on Pet Health         Christal Smith: It's Never Too Late: The Making of The First Grader July 5, 2011 at 10:58 PM   He is known simply as Maruge. He witnessed some of the worst crimes against humanity in twentieth century Africa yet, in the sunset of his life, he wants nothing more than to learn to read. Read More... More on Kenya         5 Amazing Castles To Visit In The United Kingdom July 5, 2011 at 10:58 PM   Deciding which castles to visit can be an overwhelming task. The country boasts well over 3000 castles, ranging from historic ruins to medieval strongholds to Victorian beauties. We've highlighted five noteworthy castles spread across Wales, England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. A visit to any of these will leave tourists with a good sense of what it was like to live in a more romantic, if less sanitary (bubonic plague anyone?), time. Read More... More on United Kingdom             This email was sent to venturepoliticalcapital@gmail.com. Delivered by Feed My Inbox PO Box 682532 Franklin, TN 37068 Account Login Unsubscribe Here