Aubrey booted from Dannity Kane is posing for Playboy

Aubrey O’Day wasn’t up to Diddy’s standards (hence she was booted from his girl group 'Danity Kane' last year) but it definitely sounds as though she’s good enough for Hugh Hefner who is putting the aspiring pop star on the cover of Playboy’s March issue.
"The shoot was so liberating, it is very classy, simple and glamorous," O’Day told Tarts at Kari Feinstein’s Sundance Style Lounge over the weekend. "It’s all about the girl and that’s what I wanted. It’s so glamorous, Hef was there and he loved it. My whole family came to watch, I have a very liberal and accepting family and there is very little judgment to have ever come out of my family."

ONLINE EXTORTION

E-Mail Scam Includes Hit-Man Threat 01/15/07
The scam e-mail, which first appeared in December, threatens to kill recipients if they do not pay the sender. It's a scam. FBI officials recommend you don't reply.
A new scam cropping up in e-mail boxes across the country is preying not on recipients’ greed or good intentions, but on their fears. The scam e-mail, which first appeared in December, threatens to kill recipients if they do not pay thousands of dollars to the sender, who purports to be a hired assassin.
About 115 complaints have been filed with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) since the scam emerged, according to special agent John Hambrick, who heads IC3. He said the extortion scam does not appear to target anyone specifically and that IC3 has not received any reports of money loss or threats carried out.
“This is a hoax, so do yourself a favor and don’t respond,” Hambrick said.
Replying to the e-mails just sends a signal to senders that they’ve reached a live account. It also escalates the intimidation, Hambrick said.
In one case, a recipient responded that he wanted to be left alone and threatened to call authorities. The scammer, who was demanding an advance payment of $20,000, e-mailed back and reiterated the threat, this time with some personal details about the recipient—his work address, marital status, and daughter’s full name. Then an ultimatum:
“TELL ME NOW ARE YOU READY TO DO WHAT I SAID OR DO YOU WANT ME TO PROCEED WITH MY JOB? ANSWER YES/NO AND DON’T ASK ANY QUESTIONS!!!”
Bill Shore, a special agent who supervises the computer crime squad in the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office, said recipients should not be overly spooked when scammers incorporate their intended victims’ personal details in their schemes.
“Personal information is widely available,” he said. “Even if a person does not use the Internet or own a computer, they could still be the victim of a computer crime such as identity theft.” more

Another aircraft hit a bird

(CNN) -- A bird struck an Arkansas hospital's helicopter Saturday, tearing a hole into the aircraft's nose and prompting the pilot to land early, according to officials and pictures taken after the landing.

A medical helicopter landed near Forrest City, Arkansas, on Saturday after striking a bird.

The chopper's pilot made a "safe landing" in that state after hitting a bird while returning to Baptist Health Center in Little Rock, Arkansas, hospital spokesman Mark Lowman said.
"I think the pilot just made a judgment call to set it down," Lowman said of the landing, which happened at 6:15 p.m. Saturday near Forrest City, Arkansas.
Video footage taken by CNN affiliate WREG showed a bird hanging out of a hole torn into the paneling on the chopper's nose. Part of the helicopter's windshield also was broken.
The pilot was slightly injured during the landing, and the other two crew members on board were uninjured, Lowman said.
Federal aviation officials are investigating, and the helicopter is not expected to be grounded for long, he said.
The helicopter was returning from a hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, where the crew had taken a patient. more

Coed Slay Suspect Flirts With Ex-Boyfriend at Trial

Amanda Knox sought to patch up relations with her estranged former boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, behind the scenes, at the opening of their trial for the murder of Meredith Kercher, Knox’s British roommate, it emerged Sunday.
During the seven-hour opening hearing on Friday, Knox, 21 smiled and laughed repeatedly, joking with her lawyers and interpreter. Although sitting only a few feet from the bespectacled Sollecito, 24, she barely acknowledged his glances along the row.
As far as is known the two, who have been held in separate prisons, have not spoken since they were arrested for Kercher's murder in November 2007. But during a recess on Friday, Knox approached Sollecito and broke the ice by asking: “Ciao, come stai?” [“Hi, how are you?”]. She smiled at him and said: “You look good with your hair cut short.” more

Various 'Little Debbie' Snacks Recalled After Peanut Butter Probe

WASHINGTON — The company that sells Little Debbie snacks announced a recall Sunday of peanut butter crackers because of a potential link to a deadly salmonella outbreak.
The voluntary recall came one day after the government advised consumers to avoid eating cookies, cakes, ice cream and other foods with peanut butter until health officials learn more about the contamination.
The announcement by McKee Foods Corp. of Collegedale, Tenn., about two kinds of Little Debbie products was another in a string of voluntary recalls following the most recent guidance by health officials.
The South Bend Chocolate Co. in Indiana said Sunday it too was recalling various candies containing peanut butter from Peanut Corp. of America. In suburban Chicago, Ralcorp Frozen Bakery Products recalled several brands of peanut butter cookies it sells through Wal-Mart stores.
Peanut Corp. expanded its recall Sunday to all peanut butter and all peanut paste produced at its Blakely, Ga., plant since July 1.
McKee said it had not received any complaints about illnesses from people who ate any size peanut butter toasty sandwich crackers or peanut butter cheese sandwich crackers. The recall covers crackers produced on or after July 1.

Officials are focusing on peanut paste, as well as peanut butter, produced at Peanut Corp.'s Georgia facility. Its peanut butter is not sold directly to consumers but distributed to institutions and food companies. But the peanut paste, made from roasted peanuts, is an ingredient in cookies, cakes and other products that people buy in the supermarket.
So far, more than 470 people have gotten sick in 43 states, and at least 90 had to be hospitalized. At least six deaths are being blamed on the outbreak. Salmonella is a bacteria and the most common source of food poisoning in the U.S., causing diarrhea, cramping and fever.
Also Sunday, the maker of Peter Pan peanut butter said none of its products are associated with the outbreak. Peter Pan and other peanut butter produced by ConAgra Foods Inc. were linked in 2007 to a salmonella outbreak that sickened more than 625 people in 47 states. more

Caught On Tape; Prep Basketball Star Savagely Beaten

VALLEJO, Calif. -- Six suspects were in custody Sunday following a vicious beating caught on a campus surveillance camera at a Vallejo area high school that left a star basketball player -- who came to the aid of a female student -- hospitalized with a severe brain injury, authorities said.
Bryant Lee, 17, was waiting to begin practice with other members of the Bethel High School varsity basketball team at round 4:30 p.m. Thursday when he saw a group of men attacking a female student, school district spokesman Jason Hodge said. click to see video
He rushed over to aid the girl, helping her flee and then the attackers turned their fury on him. On the video, the six can be seen beating, kicking and pummeling Lee as he lay defenseless on the ground.
Hodge said Lee’s teammates came to his aid, but not before he had suffered serious injuries. He was taken to John Muir Hospital where he was in serious condition and initially placed on a ventilator.
"We had six adults who came on the campus and there's no other way to describe it,” Hodge said. “They savagely beat one of our students mercilessly. The young man is lucky to be alive."
Lee’s mother said he was improving and had been taken off the ventilator and given his first meal Saturday, but that he faced a long road to recovery. She said she wasn’t surprised that he came to the girl’s aid.
"He plays for the basketball team; he's a well-liked individual,” an emotional Donna Williams said. “He’s smart, he gets good grades in school. I just -- I couldn't ask for a better son."
Vallejo police said based on the tape and eyewitness accounts they had arrested four members of one family -- Abraham Tili, 26, Alexander Tili, 26, Ray Tili, 18 and Ron Tili, 18. Also in custody were Kevin Young, 18, and a 16-year-old suspect. more

Rogue FBI agent who inspired 'The Departed' jailed for 40 years for killing witness set to testify against the Mob

'The dark side': Former FBI agent John Connolly, shown here appearing in court, has been jailed for 40 years
A rogue FBI agent has been jailed for 40 years for killing a witness who was about to testify against the Mob.
A judge told FBI agent John Connolly he had 'crossed over to the dark side'.
The former agent's decision to switch sides was said to be the inspiration for the character played by Matt Damon in the hit film 'The Departed.'
Damon played a Massachusetts State Trooper detective who supplied his Mob connections with information.
During a two-month trial in Miami, Florida, a jury heard that Connolly, 68, was on the Mafia payroll - receiving money from notorious Mob leader James 'Whitey' Bulger who ran the Winter Hill gang in Boston in the 1980s.

Bulger is the FBI's second-most wanted fugitive after Osama bin Laden and is being sought for involvement in 19 murders.
The court heard that Connolly would supply his Mob connections with tip-offs about police raids and leak the names of informants.
He was convicted of the 1982 murder of businessman John Callahan, whose bullet-riddled body was found in the boot of a car at Miami Airport.
Connolly told his mob connections that 45-year-old Callaghan was preparing to give evidence against the notorious Winter Hill gang in Boston.
A 'hit' was taken out on the father-of-two before he could implicate Bulger.
Connolly has denied being a corrupt agent.
He said: 'I never sold my badge. I never took anybody's money. I never caused anybody to be hurt, at least not knowingly, and I never would.' more