Week of April 15, 2009

Somali pirates fired grenades and automatic weapons at an American freighter

loaded with food aid but the ship managed to escape the attack and was heading

Wednesday to Kenya under U.S. Navy

guard, officials said.

Despite President Barack Obama's

vow to halt their banditry and the

deaths of five pirates in recent French

and U.S. hostage rescue missions,

brigands seized four vessels and more

than 75 hostages off the Horn of Africa

since Sunday's dramatic rescue of an

American freighter captain. Picture is

pirates making their escape. That

brought the total number of sailors

being held by Somali pirates to over

300 on 17 different ships — a distinct surge in the number of captives over the

last few days.

President Barack Obama travels to meet with his Mexican counterpart, Felipe

Calderon, as the U.S. and one of its biggest economic partners grapple with a

trade standoff and escalating violence stemming from drug trafficking. Obama

begins his first trip as president to Latin America in Mexico City, where he and

Calderon are likely to discuss border security, a conflict over Mexican trucks

delivering goods inside the U.S., the global economic crisis and energy-related

issues, including climate change.

New jobless claims fell more than expected for the second straight week, but the

number of Americans continuing to receive unemployment insurance benefits

rose above 6 million for the first time.

Citigroup lost money and General Electric's profits fell, but both beat Wall Street's

expectations as investors look for further signs that the economy has begun to

stabilize. Citigroup Inc. reported its smallest loss since 2007. The bank on Friday

posted a first-quarter loss to common shareholders of $966 million after massive

loan losses and dividends to preferred stockholders. However, before paying

those dividends, which were tied to the government's investment in Citigroup, the

bank earned $1.6 billion.

President Barack Obama said on Saturday he would soon announce the

elimination of dozens of wasteful or ineffective government programs as part of a

broad effort to restore fiscal accountability to the federal budget.

Week of April 15, 2009

Obama, speaking in his weekly radio address, said he would use his first full

Cabinet meeting on Monday to ask department and agency heads for specific

proposals for trimming their budgets.

Somali pirates attacked two ships off the Horn of Africa on Saturday, capturing a

Belgian dredger and its 10 crew.

NATO forces intervened in the

other assault, chasing the pirates

down and freeing 20 fisherman on

a Yemeni dhow. The high-seas

attacks underscored the dangers

in waters off Somalia and east

Africa despite the best efforts of

an international flotilla that

includes warships from the United

States and the European Union.

Pirates from anarchic, clan-ruled

Somalia have attacked more than

80 boats this year and hold 16

ships and over 290 crew members hostage.

President Barack Obama is wrapping up a summit with other leaders in the

Western Hemisphere on Sunday the same way he began it: Pledging to reshape

the image of the U.S. as a humble partner in addressing problems throughout the

region. "I look forward to hearing more about how the United States can be an

effective partner," Obama said just before meeting with leaders from Central

American countries. At the Summit of the Americas on the twin-island nation of

Trinidad and Tobago, the president was hopeful that he'd boosted the image of

the U.S. among its friends in the region — and perhaps even made some new

ones. Among those seemingly charmed by the president's promise of a new,

more equal partnership was Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, the fiery leftist who

famously likened former President George W. Bush to the devil.

A gunman forced his way though airport security and hijacked a Canadian jet

near Montego Bay, holding six crew members hostage for eight hours before

police and soldiers stormed the aircraft on Monday and captured the man.

Nobody was killed or injured in the ordeal, which ended with a raid near daylight

after talks broke down with a 20-year-old Jamaican hijacker described as

"mentally challenged."

Information technology company Oracle Corp. said Monday it is buying Sun

Microsystems Inc. in a cash deal the company valued at $7.4 billion after IBM

abandoned its bid to buy the networking equipment maker.

Week of April 15, 2009

Redwood Shores, Calif.-based Oracle will buy Sun shares for $9.50 each in

cash. The price represents a 42 percent premium to Sun's Friday closing stock

price of $6.69. Net of Sun's cash and debt, the transaction is valued at $5.6

billion, Oracle said. IBM had offered to buy Sun for $9.40 per share, but

acquisition talks fell apart earlier this month. Sun balked at the price and

canceled IBM's exclusive negotiating rights, leading IBM to withdraw its offer.

Bank of America Corp. posted strong first quarter results Monday, as higher

revenue from the purchase of Merrill Lynch & Co. help offset a surge in credit

costs. The results surpassed analysts' expectations, and provide further evidence

the banking sector might be improving. But the bank also took a hefty $13.4

billion provision for credit losses and its shares fell 80 cents, or 7.5 percent, to

$9.80 in premarket trading.

President Barack Obama on

Monday ordered his Cabinet to

find ways to slice spending by

$100 million, but acknowledged

it's a "drop in the bucket" and

said there's a "confidence gap"

that he needs to overcome. Just

back from a Latin America

summit, Obama told the first

formal Cabinet meeting of his

administration that vast

spending to combat the

economic crisis was "the right

thing to do." But he also said taxpayers still need to know that every dollar they

give the government is being spent wisely.

Investigators have opened a criminal probe into whether someone poisoned 21

polo horses that died during preparations for a match in the sport's top

championship in Florida, officials said. The horses from a Venezuelan-owned

Lechuza Polo team began collapsing Sunday as they were unloaded from trailers

at the International Polo Club Palm Beach, with some dying at the scene and

others hours later at stables or clinics. State investigators believe the horses died

from an adverse drug reaction, toxins in their food or supplements, or a

combination of the two.

Jamie Foxx - who does a Howard Stern-type show on Sirius Satellite Radio -

apologizes for remarks made about Miley Cyrus. On his Foxxhole show Sunday.

Foxx -- who has a teenage daughter -- cracked that Cyrus, 16, needs "to get a

gum transplant ... make a sex tape ... do some heroin." His other insults were too

Week of April 15, 2009

vulgar to reprint. “I so apologize ... and this is sincere. I am a comedian, and you

guys know that whatever I say, I don't mean any of it," said Foxx on the Tonight

show. On Bonny Hunt’s TV talk show dad Billy Ray said, "It was hurtful. There

wasn't nothing funny about it. And, quite frankly, I think if I said those things

about his daughter, he might not find it so comedic."

American Idol Happenings - Under

the mentorship of film director Quentin

Tarantino, the contestants chose songs

from films. Lil Rounds , who performed the

Bette Midler song, "The Rose," with an

R&B flair, ended in hot water with judge

Simon Cowell. “I think that you're getting

this completely wrong," Simon said after

the one-time standout finished her number.

"The song was too soft for you. It was

completely middle of the road. You had

some nice moments in there, but there's no

excuses any more. You are not the artist I

believe we met seven or eight weeks ago.

I'm getting frustrated."

After weeks of dismal scores, former Jackass

star Steve-O was booted from the "Dancing

With the Stars" ballroom Tuesday. The 34-year-

old reality star and his professional partner,

Lacey Schwimmer, were eliminated from the hit

ABC show after earning the week's lowest

score, 16 points out of 30, for their rumba. "You

can't confuse movement with dancing," said

head judge Len Goodman. "There was no hip

action, there was no footwork and it was no

good."

Radio news - Radio station owner Clear

Channel is making it clear - it is in the

syndication business. It’s A-list of personalities -

such as Ryan Seacrest and Elvis Duran - are available to voice track on all Clear

Channel stations - in many cases, taking the place of a local personality (this

saves lots of money). This seems to be the way of the future Clear Channel has

a national B list personality as well - and Clear channel stations can chose to

Week of April 15, 2009

“hire” any DJ for “Ipod” voicetracking on their stations. Here’s an announcement

this week, although it’s not new to those in the industry:

According to a press release, local Clear Channel program directors will have

total choice and flexibility in choosing the Premium Choice programming

elements such as Ryan Seacrest and other Clear Channel personalities. They

can elect large portions, single pieces, or none of the offered programming.

“These improvements have been part of the company’s long-term strategy to

strengthen its competitive position,” added Hogan. “We’re accelerating these

pieces because of the undeniable competitive opportunity presented by this

market,” he said.

Ryan Seacrest may be one of the

hardest-working men in Hollywood

but last week he took time out from

his gig as a host of On Air with Ryan

Seacrest for a romantic jaunt to Paris

with L.A. bartender Jasmine Waltz.

Seacrest, 34, met Waltz during a

night out at Guy's, a West Hollywood

lounge. Waltz, who has previously

worked at other L.A. hotspots

including Les Deux and Italian

restaurant Bella, is an aspiring

actress. "They've been together for a few months now," says the source. After

wrapping his American Idol duties last week, Seacrest whisked Waltz off to Paris

for a weekend where the couple displayed a lot of PDA.

Ryan Seacrest , music’s number one radio host with a weekly worldwide

audience estimated at more than 20 million, will expand the nationally syndicated

On Air with Ryan Seacrest to include a fourth hour of programming beginning

May 4. His syndicated show was launched nearly a year ago on 50 radio

stations and is now in 130 markets.

One day after she was plunked on the head by Bill Murray's wayward tee shot,

Gayle DiMaggio had a request: a signed copy of his movie "Caddyshackhe actor,

meanwhile, was back on the course Saturday for the second round of the

Outback Pro-Am. And the course marshals took no chances: They wore hard

hats. DiMaggio lives on the course where Murray hooked his shot far to the left of

the No. 9 hole at TPC Tampa Bay. She was hit on the left temple Friday as she

stood in her backyard to watch the first round. She never lost consciousness but

needed stitches at a hospital.

Week of April 15, 2009

Falls off a horse - again! - Madonna is under the care of doctors after falling off a

horse over the weekend an accident she is blaming on the paparazzi. A

representative for the superstar said Madonna suffered "minor injuries" after she

fell while horseback riding in the Hamptons, a playground for the rich and famous

on the eastern end of Long Island, N.Y. "The accident occurred when the horse

Madonna was riding was startled by

paparazzi who jumped out of the

bushes to photograph the singer,

who was visiting friends," Liz

Rosenberg said in a statement.

Madonna was thrown from a horse

back in 2005 and received more

severe injuries.

Hip TV Wednesday night (TVS)

At 8, ABC has a new Scrubs , then

new episodes of Better Off Ted ,

Lost , and The Unusuals .

FOX has a new Bones , followed by a new American Idol .

The CW has a new America's Next Top Model at 8.

At 8:30, Bravo has The A-List Awards Red Carpet , then the special Kathy

Griffin: She'll Cut A Bitch and The A-List Awards .

At 9, PBS has a new Great Performances at the Met .

Discovery has a new Mythbusters at 9, then the series premiere of Pitchmen .

Sci-Fi has a new Ghost Hunters at 9.

At 10, CBS has a new CSI: NY .

TBS has two new episodes of Tyler

Perry's House of Payne at 10.

TV Land has the series premiere of The

Cougar at 10.

Also at 10: A&E has a new Dog The

Bounty Hunter .

Top movies this week in 2009 -

17 Again

State of Play

Monsters vs. Aliens

Hannah Montana the Movie

Fast and Furious

Crank High Voltage

Observe and Report

Knowing

Week of April 15, 2009

I Love You, Man

The Haunting in Connecticut

Dragonball Evolution

Adventureland

Top TV

American Idol" (Wednesday)

FOX

American Idol" (Tuesday)

FOX

Dancing with the Stars

ABC

NCIS

CBS

NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Michigan St. vs. North

CBS

Carolina

The Mentalist

CBS

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation

CBS

Dancing with the Stars Results

ABC

Criminal Minds

CBS

10.

House

FOX

11.

60 Minutes

CBS

12.

CSI: NY

CBS

13.

Without a Trace

CBS

14.

Prelude to a Championship

CBS

15.

Surviving Suburbia

ABC

16.

Survivor: Tocantins

CBS

17.

FOX

18.

Amazing Race 14

CBS

19.

Cold Case

CBS

20.

Harper's Island

CBS

Hip TV Saturday night (TVS)

Food Network has a Chopped marathon all night.

MTV2 has a Life of Ryan marathon all night.

CSPAN2 has new episodes of Book TV all night.

At 8, NBC has a new Kings .

FOX has the Subway Fresh Fit 500 NASCAR race at 8.

At 9, CNBC has a new Suze Orman Show .

National Geographic Channel has two new episodes of Wrecked starting at 9.

At 10, CBS has a new 48 Hours Mystery .

HBO has a new Pacquiao/Hatton 24/7 at 10.

Week of April 15, 2009

At 11:30, NBC has a "Best of Amy Poehler" Saturday Night Live .

Hip TV Sunday night (TVS)

At 7, ABC has a new America's Funniest

Home Videos .

CBS has a new 60 Minutes at 7, then a new

Amazing Race and the movie The

Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler .

NBC has the Miss USA 2009 Pageant at 7,

followed by a new Celebrity Apprentice .

At 8, FOX has a new Simpsons , then the

series premiere of Sit Down, Shut Up and

new episodes of Family Guy and American

Dad .

There's a new Challenge on Food Network at

ABC Family has the movie My Fake Fiance at

Also at 8: HBO has a new No. 1 Ladies'

Detective Agency , followed by two new

episodes of In Treatment .

At 8:30, Disney has a new Wizards of

Waverly Place .

At 9, ABC has a new Desperate Housewives , then a new Brothers & Sisters .

PBS has a new Masterpiece Classic at 9.

USA has the season premiere of Law and Order: CI at 9, then the season

premiere of In Plain Sight .

GSN has a new High Stakes Poker at 9.

Nickelodeon has a new Nick News at 9.

G4 has a new G4 Underground at 9.

Showtime has a new episode of The Tudors at 9, then a new Tracey Ullman's

State of the Union .

At 10, AMC has a new Breaking Bad .

At 11:45, Cartoon Network has a new Aqua Teen Hunger Force .

At 1am, Cartoon Network has a new Mighty Boosh

Hot Hits this week in 2009 -

Poker Face - Lady GaGa

Right Round - Flo Rida

Gives You Hell - All American Rejects

Dead And Gone - T.I. Feat. Justin Timberlake

My Life Would Suck Without You - Kelly Clarkson

Week of April

15,2009

You Found Me - Fray

Kiss Me Through The Phone -

Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em Feat Sammie

Boom Boom Pow - Black Eyed

Peas

Sober - Pink

How Do You Sleep? - Jesse

McCartney Feat. Ludacris

Beautiful - Akon

Circus - Britney Spears

If You Seek Amy - Britney Spears

Love Sex Marriage - Ciara Feat.

Justin Timberlake

Blame It - Jaimie Foxx Feat. T-

Pain

Just Dance - Lady GaGa Feat.

Colby O’Donis

Second Chance - Shinedown

Halo - Beyonce

The Climb - Miley Cyrus

Love Story -Taylor Swift

Hot Country

Don’t Think I Can’t Love You - Jake

Owen

Here Comes Goodbye - Rascal Flatts

It’s America - Rodney Atkins

Nothin’ To Die For - Tim McGraw

I Told You So - Carrie Underwood

Feat. Randy Travis

It’s Won’t Be Like This For Long -

Darius Rucker

It Happens - Sugarland

River of Love - George Strait

Wild Horse - Taylor Swift

Ride - Martina McBride

Kiss A Girl - Keith Urban

One In Every Crowd - Montgomery Gentry

Shuttin’ Detroit Down - John Rich

Hot Alternative Rock -

Lifeline - Papa Roach

Feel Good Drag - Anberlin