Week of March 1, 2009

A massive late winter storm roared out of the Southeast and into the Northeast

overnight, dumping more than a foot of snow in spots, idling hundreds of flights

and promising to make the commute treacherous. Winter storm warnings were

issued from North Carolina to New Hampshire, with most areas expected to see

8 to 12 inches of snow and slightly higher amounts possible in northern areas.

Consumer spending rose in January after falling for a record six straight months,

pushed higher by purchases of food and other nondurable items. But the

increase is expected to be fleeting given all the problems facing the economy.

The Commerce Department says consumer spending rose 0.6 percent in

January, even better than the 0.4 percent gain that economists expected.

Two U.S. officials are being sent to Damascus for talks with Syrian officials on

improving ties, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced — a sign of the

Obama administration’s interest in moving quickly on several fronts in the Middle

East.

The Dow hits its lowest point since 1997 - around 6500.

After Barack Obama's first six weeks as president, the American public's

attitudes about the two political parties couldn't be more different, the latest NBC

News/Wall Street Journal poll finds. Despite the country's struggling economy

and vocal opposition to some of his policies, President Obama's favorability

rating is at an all-time high. Two-thirds feel hopeful about his leadership and six

in 10 approve of the job he's doing in the White House.

The Coast Guard called off the search for two NFL players and a third man lost

at sea off the Florida coast after their boat capsized during a fishing trip. Officials

said the search would end at sundown, with

Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis

Cooper, free-agent defensive lineman Corey

Smith, who played with the Detroit Lions last

season, and former South Florida player

William Bleakley still missing in the rough,

chilly seas.

Actor Brad Pitt charms Capitol Hill and it

seemed everyone from Nancy Pelosi to

Harry Reid got in on the act. He met with

President Obama in a secret meeting.

Apparently they discussed the New Orleans

rebuilding.

Week of March 1, 2009

The U.S. unemployment rate bolted to 8.1 percent in February, the highest since

late 1983, as cost-cutting employers slashed 651,000 jobs.

The Obama administration kicks off a new program that's designed to help up to

9 million borrowers stay in their homes through refinanced mortgages or loans

that are modified to lower monthly payments. Borrowers, however, are being

advised to be patient in their efforts to get help because mortgage companies are

likely to be flooded with calls.

Barbara Bush underwent heart surgery Wednesday at Methodist Willowbrook

Hospital in Houston for a heart valve replacement. The surgery went as planned

and was successful. She was out of recovery in the ICU awake and alert. Her

husband former President George Bush was with her.

China's Premier Wen Jiabao said that Beijing is ready to hold talks with Taiwan

on political and military issues in the pursuit of ending hostility between the

longtime rivals. In a report to the annual legislative session's opening ceremony,

Wen hailed a significant improvement in ties and a major reduction in tensions

over the past year between China and the self-governing island across the

Taiwan Strait that Beijing claims as Chinese territory.

Passing - Radio great Paul Harvey …

Paul Harvey, the legendary radio host

whose career sharing "the rest of the

story" with listeners spanned more than

70 years, has died. He was 90. Harvey

died at a hospital in Phoenix, Arizona,

where he kept a winter home, said Louis

Adams, a spokesman for the networks.

He was surrounded by family members

when he died, Adams said. Known for his

deliberate delivery and pregnant pauses,

Harvey's broadcasts were heard on more

than 1,200 radio stations and 400 Armed

Forces networks and his commentaries

appeared in 300 newspapers, according

to his Web site.

Teen idols the Jonas Brothers got beaten up by a pistol-packing granny at the

weekend box office in North America, failing to live up to the hype generated by

their concert movie. The film's core audience of screaming young girls was

evidently outnumbered by the older black women who ensured that "Madea

Goes to Jail" logged a second term at No. 1.

Week of March 1, 2009

British media are reporting that Michael Jackson will play his first live concerts

for years in London this summer. More to come.

Rock band U2 is getting official recognition for its stint this week on David

Letterman’s show. Mayor Michael Bloomberg is temporarily renaming part of

West 53rd Street in New York City as "U2 Way" on Tuesday of this week, the day

the group's latest CD is being released. The band is performing an

unprecedented five consecutive times this week on the Letterman show over

CBS.

New Orleans - Britney Spears kicks off her world tour -- her first concert tour in

five years.

It'll be Barry Manilow versus the mall rats. The New Zealand city of Christchurch

hopes that putting the American crooner's smooth and gentle tones into the mix

of music to be broadcast through the central mall district can pacify unruly teens

who congregate there- or at least convince them to go elsewhere. "The intention

is to change the environment in a positive way ... so nobody feels threatened or

intimidated," Central City Business Association manager Paul Lonsdale told The

Associated Press. "I did not say Barry Manilow is a weapon of mass destruction."

The producer of the MTV reality series confirms Lauran Conrad is leaving "The

Hills," and that season five, premiering March 30, will be Conrad's final

appearance. "The Hills," which debuted in 2006, has followed Conrad as she

struggles with man problems, career drama and friendship fall outs.

Jimmy Fallon debuts as host of NBC's "Late

Night."

Game - THQ's 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand seems

to be an impressive follow-up to 2006's less-than-

spectacular-yet-commercially successful 50 Cent:

Bulletproof . It’s available for Sony Play Station 3 or

Xbox 360.

Tech news - YouTube surpassed 100 million video

views in January, breaking a record, according to

new stats from market tracker ComScore. YouTube

showed 101.87 million videos. Fox's MySpace and

Yahoo were neck and neck with 62.5 million and

62.1 million videos. Hulu, the fast-rising site from

NBC and Fox that will celebrate its one year

anniversary this month, was in sixth place, with 24.4 million videos, below no. 4

Week of March 1, 2009

MSN's 30 million and AOL's 27 million. All in all, over 147 million U.S. Internet

users watched an average of 101 videos per viewer in January, ComScore says.

Google's YouTube attracted two out of every three Internet users who watched

video.

Top movies -

Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes To Jail

Slumdog Millionaire

Jonas Brothers 3D Concert Experience

Taken

He’s Just Not That Into You

Coraline

Paul Bart: Mall Cop

Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li

Fired-Up!

Confessions of a Shopaholic

Gran Torino

The Reader

Top TV

American Idol, Wednesday

FOX

American Idol, Thursday

FOX

NCIS

CBS

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation CBS

Movie: "Jesse Stone: Thin Ice CBS

House

FOX

60 Minutes

CBS

Criminal Minds

CBS

CSI: NY

CBS

10. Two and a Half Men

CBS

BRITNEY SPEARS CIRCUS

8989

+480

56.496

JIVE/JLG

1 week(s) at number 1

ALL-AMERICAN REJECTS GIVES YOU

HELL

8661 +762

48.9595

DOGHOUSE/DGC/INTERSCOPE

TAYLOR SWIFT LOVE STORY

8483-419

53.9872

BIG MACHINE/UNIVERSAL REPUBLIC

217 LADY GAGA FEAT. COLBY O'DONIS JUST DANCE

8167-

49.8984

Week of March 1, 2009

STREAMLINE/KONLIVE/CHERRYTREE/INTERSCOPE

602

PINK SOBER

8154 +308

43.0256

LAFACE/JLG

KANYE WEST HEARTLESS

8030 +292

50.9243

ROC-A-FELLA/DEF JAM/IDJMG

KELLY CLARKSON MY LIFE WOULD

SUCK WITHOUT YOU

7004 +989

40.0648

RCA/RMG

BEYONCE SINGLE LADIES (PUT A RING

ON IT)

6985-

42.3827

1357

MUSIC WORLD/COLUMBIA

FRAY YOU FOUND ME

5941 +681

33.11510

EPIC

FLO RIDA FEAT. KE$HA RIGHT ROUND

14 6

5383 +1016 33.668 9

POE BOY/ATLANTIC

T.I. FEAT. JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE DEAD AND GONE

GRAND HUSTLE/ATLANTIC

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