Week of February 8, 2009

Towering flames razed entire towns in destroyed in Saturday's inferno when

searing temperatures and wind blasts produced a firestorm that swept across a

swath of the country's Victoria state, where all the deaths occurred.

First press conference - President Obama took

his case for more than $800 billion in economic

stimulus directly to the American people,

accusing Republicans of playing politics with a

plan that's "exactly what this country needs."

Fresh from a visit to Elkhart, Ind., where the

unemployment rate has soared above 15%,

Obama used his news conference to press

Congress to pass southeastern Australia and

burned fleeing residents in their cars as the

death toll rose to 130, making it the country's

deadliest fire disaster. At least 700 homes were

his package of new spending and tax cuts. "I

can't afford to see Congress play the usual

political games," Obama said. "What we have to

do right now is deliver for the American people."

The president touched on other topics — from

the war in Afghanistan to Iran — but the nearly hour-long news conference was

dominated by the economic issues that have confronted his administration in its

3-week-old infancy.

Emergency teams planned to resume searching early Wednesday for survivors

of a rare February tornado in southern Oklahoma, with at least eight deaths and

dozens of injuries confirmed from the estimated half-mile-wide twister. Severe

weather also caused damage and power outages in Oklahoma City and western

Texas. Lone Grove, a town of 5,000 about 100 miles south of Oklahoma City,

appeared to have been the hardest-hit by what the National Weather Service

described as a large and violent tornado.

Taliban gunmen wearing suicide vests stormed the Justice Ministry and another

government building in Afghanistan's capital on Wednesday, killing 19 people

ahead of a planned visit by President Barack Obama's special envoy to the

region. Eight attackers also died in the assaults, including an attacker outside a

third government building, Defense Ministry spokesman Gen. Mohammad Zahir

Azimi said. The coordinated attacks on the Justice Ministry and a corrections

building struck in the heart of Kabul, underscoring the reach of the Taliban

beyond their strongholds in the south and east. Azimi said all eight attackers had

suicide vests, but only three assailants detonated them.

Week of February 8, 2009

The number of people requesting first-time unemployment benefits dropped

slightly last week, but remained near a 26-year high as companies lay off

thousands of workers amid a deepening recession. The Commerce Department

said Thursday that the number of initial jobless benefit claims dropped to a

seasonally-adjusted 623,000, from an upwardly revised figure of 631,000 the

previous week. The latest tally still was above analysts' expectations of 610,00

claims. The 631,000 figure was the highest number of new jobless claims since

October 1982, when the economy was emerging from a steep recession, though

the labor force has grown by about half since then.

A Continental commuter plane

coming in for a landing nose-dived

into a house in suburban Buffalo,

sparking a fiery explosion that killed

all 49 people aboard and a person

in the home. It was the nation's first

fatal crash of a commercial airliner

in 2 1/2 years. Witnesses heard the

twin turboprop aircraft sputtering before it went down in light snow and fog

around 10:20 p.m. Thursday about five miles from Buffalo Niagara International

Airport. Continental Connection Flight 3407 from Newark, N.J., came in squarely

through the roof of the house, its tail section visible through flames shooting at

least 50 feet high. Two others in the house escaped with minor injuries. The

plane was carrying a four-member crew and an off-duty pilot. Among the 44

passengers killed was a woman whose husband died in the World Trade Center

attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Irag - A female suicide bomber blew herself up in a crowd of Shi'ite pilgrims on

Friday, killing 32 people and wounding 84 others south of Baghdad during one of

the holiest events of the Shi'ite calendar, police said. The attack on the

pilgrimage route in Iskandariya, 40 km (25 miles) south of the capital, came a day

after a bomb killed eight in the Shi'ite holy city of Kerbala, to which hundreds of

thousands if not millions were headed to mark Arbain.

President Barack Obama, winning a $787-billion stimulus for an ailing economy

within his first month in office, today called the measure "a major milestone on

our road to recovery.'' The president plans to swiftly sign the measure approved

late Friday night by the Senate, following its passage by the House earlier in the

day - clearing Congress party lines largely along. “This historic step won't be the

end of what we do to turn our economy around, but rather the beginning. The

problems that led us into this crisis are deep and widespread, and our response

must be equal to the task." The bill passed Congress on Friday on party-line

Week of February 8, 2009

votes, allowing Democratic leaders to deliver on their promise of clearing the

legislation by mid-February.

Entertainment news - Miley Cyrus issues a

heartfelt apology for the racially offensive

photograph she took with her friends.In the

picture, Miley is seen using her fingers to

make her eyes slant, which is considered

degrading to Asian people. It is the 16 year

olds second apology following the advocate

group OCA , a national organization

dedicated to advancing the social, political,

and economic well-being of Asian Pacific

Americans, releasing a statement saying the

teen set "a terrible example for her many

young fans" by "mocking and denigrating

individuals of Asian descent."

NAACP Awards - Beyonce and Jennifer

Hudson both glided away with trophies and

wowed the audience with individual performances during the 40th annual NAACP

Image Awards. Beyonce won the female artist category while Husdon picked up

the new artist award. They costarred in the 2006 film "Dreamgirls."

"This is where we come from," Hudson said, accepting the trophy. "So it's always

an honor to come home and feel welcome and to feel the love. I really cherish

this and appreciate it." Along with Beyonce and Hudson, will.i.am and Seal

performed on stage at the Shrine Auditorium ceremony, which was hosted by

actress Halle Berry and actor-screenwriter Tyler Perry. The show coincides with

the 100th anniversary of the National Association for the Advancement of

Colored People and kicks off a yearlong centennial celebration.

"The Secret Life of Bees" won for motion picture. "Grey's Anatomy" won for TV

drama. Several of the winners were awarded before the live ceremony, including

Chandra Wilson from "Grey's Anatomy" for actress in a drama series, Columbus

Short from "Cadillac Records" for supporting actor in a motion picture and singer-

actor Jamie Foxx for male artist.

More music news -

Week of February 8, 2009

Whitney Houston made a triumphant return

to the stage at a pre-Grammy party honoring

her mentor, music mogul Clive Davis. "I've got

it, I've got it!" Houston, looking glamorous in a

skintight leopard dress, sang as she belted a

line from one of her classic hits, "I'm Every

Woman." But more than a lyric, it summarized

to the crowd of A-list superstars and top

industry execs that the superstar — whose

drug use and erratic behavior had caused a

shocking fall from grace just a few years ago

— was back in top form. "We all crossed our

fingers that her beautiful story would end

(happily)," said Jamie Foxx, who stood at the

front of the stage and took video of Houston

like he was just another fan in the crowd. "This

is a new beginning."

Usher canceled his performance at Clive Davis' pre-Grammy party due to a

family emergency. His wife, Tameka, is in Brazil and has experienced

complications from plastic surgery. A neurosurgeon is on the way to South

America.

A tearful Jennifer Hudson won her first

Grammy, thanking her family "in heaven and

those who are with me today" to kick off an

evening already stoked with drama when police

said they were investigating double nominee

Chris Brown for an alleged assault on an

unidentified woman. Brown and longtime

girlfriend Rihanna, each nominated and slated to

perform, separately dropped out of the Grammys

at the last minute and their whereabouts were

not immediately known Sunday night. (Later - it

was revealed that Rihanna did file an assault

complaint and Brown was arrested and later

released after putting up $50,000 in bail).

Follow-up - Rihanna - who has been left with bruises and a scratch on her face

from her early Sunday morning altercation with beau Chris Brown - has

postponed a concert in Malaysia this week, organizers said.

Week of February 8, 2009

Limp Bizkit reuniting - The original band members of Limp Bizkit which consists

of Fred Durst, Wes Borland, Sam Rivers, John Otto, and DJ Lethal have reunited

after an 8 year hiatus. "We decided we were more disgusted and bored with the

state of heavy popular music than we were with each other," said Fred Durst and

Wes Borland. "Regardless of where our separate paths have taken us, we

recognize there is a powerful and unique energy with this particular group of

people we have not found anywhere else. This is why Limp Bizkit is back."

Passing - Estelle Bennett , one of the Ronettes, the singing

trio whose 1963 hit "Be My Baby" epitomized the famed "wall

of sound" technique of its producer, Phil Spector, has died at

her home in Englewood, N.J. She was 67. Bennett's brother-

in-law, Jonathan Greenfield, said police found her dead in her

apartment on Wednesday after relatives had been unable to

contact her. The time and cause of death have not yet been

determined. Greenfield is the manager and husband of

Bennett's sister, Ronettes lead singer Ronnie Spector.

51 st Grammy Awards - some winners:

Album of the year

Robert Plant and Allison Krauss, Raising Sand

Rap album

Lil Wayne, Tha Carter III

Pop male vocal performance

John Mayer, Say

Record of the year

Robert Plant and Allison Krauss, Please Read

the Letter

New artist

Adele

Rock album

Coldplay, Viva La Vida

Pop collaboration with vocals

Robert Plant and Allison Krauss, Rich Woman

Song of the year

Coldplay, Viva La Vida

Country performance by duo/group

Sugarland, Stay

R&B album

Jennifer Hudson, Jennifer Hudson

Male country vocal

Brad Paisley, Letter to Me

Week of February 8, 2009

Country collaboration with vocals

Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Killing the Blues

Country song

Jennifer Nettles, Stay

Traditional pop vocal album

Natalie Cole, Still Unforgettable

Female R&B vocal performance

Alicia Keys, Superwoman

Male R&B vocal performance

Ne-Yo, Miss Independent

R&B duo/group

Al Green featuring John Legend,

Stay with Me (By the Sea)

Traditional R&B vocal

performance

Al Green featuring Anthony

Hamilton, You've Got the Love I

Need

R&B song

Ne-Yo, Miss Independent

Contemporary R&B album

Mary J. Blige, Growing Pains

Nadya Suleman , who gave birth to

octuplets last month, is getting public

assistance. The 33 year-old Whittier,

Calif., resident will receive $490 a

month in food stamps. Three of her

first six children are also disabled and

receiving federal assistance. (Her

publicist Michael Furtney declined to

reveal the children's disabilities.)

Suleman recently told the Today

show's Ann Curry that she was not on

welfare.

Week of February 8, 2009

Top TV This Week -

1. American Idol" (Tuesday)

FOX

2. American Idol" (Wednesday)

FOX

3. Grammy Awards

CBS

60 Minutes

CBS

At the movies -

5. Two and a Half Men

CBS

He’s Just Not That Into You

6. CSI: Miami

CBS

Taken

7. Grey's Anatomy

ABC

Coraline

`House

FOX

Pink Panther 2

9. The Mentalist

CBS

Paul Blart: Mall Cop

10. NCIS

CBS

Push

11. Desperate Housewives

ABC

Slumdog Millionaire

12. Lie to Me

FOX

Grand Torino

13. Private Practice

ABC

The Uninvited

14. Fringe

FOX

Hotel For Dogs

15. Without a Trace

CBS

Underworld: Rise of the Lycons

16. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation CBS

New In Town

17. Ghost Whisperer

CBS

18.

FOX

19. The Bachelor

ABC

20. Lost

ABC