Drudge Retort: Harry_Powell's blog

No More Guarantees for Men's Wearhouse

Harry_Powell — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 21:31:21 -0400

Men's Wearhouse executive chairman George Zimmer has been "terminated," the clothing retailer said on Wednesday. Zimmer opened the company's first store in Houston in 1973 and has been the company's face for years, promising men in TV ads, "You're going to like the way you look. I guarantee it." He owns 3.6 percent of the company's shares, making him the largest single shareholder

Journalist Michael Hastings Dies

Harry_Powell — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 07:31:44 -0400

The journalist Michael Hastings, best known for a Rolling Stone story that led to the resignation of Gen. Stanley McChrystal, died early Tuesday in a car crash in Los Angeles, his employer said. In a single-car crash that occurred about 4:25 a.m. in the 600 block of North Highland Avenue, a vehicle crossed a median, struck a tree and burst into flames in the Hancock Park area. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene. "Michael was a great, fearless journalist with an incredible instinct for the story and a gift for finding ways to make his readers care about anything he covered, from wars to politicians," said Ben Smith, the editor-in-chief of BuzzFeed, where Hastings was most recently contributing stories.

Pope Refers to Vatican 'Gay Lobby'

Harry_Powell — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 20:32:37 -0400

In private remarks to the leadership of a key Latin American church group, Pope Francis lamented that a "gay lobby" was at work at the Vatican -- an apparent reference to allegations in the Italian media that blackmail was taking place within the Vatican against high-ranking prelates who are gay. A document summarizing Francis' remarks quoted him as saying that while there were many holy people in the Vatican, there was also a current of corruption. "The 'gay lobby' is mentioned, and it is true, it is there. ... We need to see what we can do."

Dodgers Find New Star in Cuba

Harry_Powell — Sat, 08 Jun 2013 16:32:41 -0400

In his first five games, Cuban prospect Yasiel Puig of the Los Angeles Dodgers has five home runs and driven in 10 runs. "I don't believe it!" legendary Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully exclaimed at one spectacular at-bat. "A grand-slam home run!" Puig, 22, signed to a seven-year, $42 million contract a year ago, escaped Cuba and landed on the shores of Cancun, Mexico, last spring. "I've never seen the ball come off somebody's bat like that," said Dodgers scout Paul Fryer, who traveled to Mexico City to sign him.

Phone Tracking Goes Back 7 Years

Harry_Powell — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 18:32:51 -0400

The federal government has amassed a database for at least seven years containing details on virtually every telephone call made within the United States or between this country and telephones abroad, officials said Thursday. The database can only be used for counter-terrorism investigations, not for routine criminal cases, they said. Senior members of both parties defended the telephone data mining in uncompromising terms, saying that congressional committees repeatedly had been briefed on it, that legal safeguards had been put in place in recent years and that the surveillance had helped foil terrorism plots. "Within the last few years, this program was used to stop a terrorist attack in the United States," said Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. "We know that. It's important."

Cop Dives Into La Brea Tar Pits

Harry_Powell — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 11:30:52 -0400

Los Angeles Times: With 16 years on the Los Angeles Police dive unit and several hundred trips into the watery depths searching for evidence, there isn't much Sgt. David Mascarenas hasn't experienced or seen. But on Thursday, Mascarenas dived into an environment so inhospitable, he could barely see past his mask. Twice he got stuck in gelatinous tar of the La Brea Tar Pits, his protective suit filled with muck, and the gas constantly bubbling up from the depths left him lightheaded with a burning throat. His dive into the tar pit was part of a joint investigation into a cold case, but police would not describe or detail the evidence they were seeking.

1,000 Drivers Stopped At DUI Checkpoint - Zero Drunks

harry_powell — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 00:14:50 -0400

A sobriety checkpoint in Burbank on Saturday that screened 1,021 drivers yielded zero arrests, police reported.

Burbank police were stationed at Glenoaks Boulevard just north of Alameda Avenue from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m., during which time six drivers were detained for field sobriety tests, said police Sgt. Darin Ryburn. None were arrested.

Tattooed Freak Suspended

harry_powell — Sat, 01 Jun 2013 00:15:36 -0400

Chris "Birdman" Andersen will be grounded for one game after the NBA suspended the Heat power forward for his part in an altercation with Pacers power forward Tyler Hansbrough in Game 5 Thursday night in Miami.

In announcing the suspension, Stu Jackson, the NBA's executive vice president of basketball operations, said that Andersen's flagrant-one foul was elevated to a flagrant-two because he "resisted efforts to bring the altercation to an end."

U.S. World's Most Competitive Economy

Harry_Powell — Fri, 31 May 2013 20:31:59 -0400

Thanks to a rebounding stock market and innovation coming from American companies, the U.S. has regained the top spot as the most competitive economy in the world, according to an annual ranking by Swiss business school IMD. The report released Wednesday ranks 60 economies around the world and found that the United States has made strong enough strides in its economic recovery to reclaim the top spot. "While the euro zone remains stalled, the robust comeback of the U.S. to the top of the competitiveness rankings and better news from Japan have revived the austerity debate," said Stephane Garelli, director of the IMD World Competitiveness Center. "Structural reforms are unavoidable, but growth remains a prerequisite for competitiveness."

Christian Sets Off Bomb In Disneyland

harry_powell — Thu, 30 May 2013 16:47:59 -0400

Orange County prosecutors charged a 22-year-old Disneyland employee Thursday with possessing a destructive device in a public place in connection with two "dry ice" bomb blasts in the theme park's Toontown area.

If convicted, Christian Barnes faces a maximum sentence of six years in state prison. He is being held in lieu of $500,000 bail, half of what he was held on when he was first booked by Anaheim police investigators.

FOX "News" Lies Again!

Harry_Powell — Sun, 26 May 2013 20:21:15 -0400

The former general counsel of News Corp., parent company of Fox News, said his office never got any notification from the U.S. Justice Department in 2010 that it had subpoenaed communications records of Fox News reporter James Rosen.

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Lawrence "Lon" Jacobs -- who was News Corp. general counsel at the time -- said "we never got it" when asked about a report in the New York Times that the Justice Department had alerted News Corp. via fax of its probe into Rosen.

Jesse James Gives World The Finger

harry_powell — Thu, 23 May 2013 19:42:28 -0400

Jesse James lost his pinky while working with a saw at his custom bike shop.

And it's pretty gruesome.

"Doesn't look like this little dude's gonna make it, Nice know'n you little buddy," James posted on Twitter Tuesday, sharing a stomach-churning photo of the severed phalange.

California Home Prices Up 22% in Year

harry_powell — Thu, 16 May 2013 09:32:40 -0400

California's housing market surged last month, the Los Angeles Times reports. The state's median home price in April ticked up 3.5% from the previous month and soared 22.7% from the same month a year ago. The median hit $324,000 in April, the highest for any month since June 2008, real estate firm DataQuick reported. In the Bay Area, the median home price rose above the $500,000 mark for the first time since June 2008. A big contributor to the increase in the median is the decline in foreclosed homes on the market. Of the previously owned homes sold last month 13.5% were foreclosures, compared with 30.3% in the previous April.

Constitutional Patriot Shoots Five Dead In Nevada

Harry_Powell — Wed, 15 May 2013 19:32:10 -0400

Authorities have arrested a 25-year-old man in connection with the killing of five people in northern Nevada, officials said Wednesday.

"This was senseless," Lyon County Sheriff Allen Veil said at an afternoon news conference. "The taking of the lives of five people for a motive yet to be determined. No matter what it is, it's senseless."

Woman, 63, Killed by Pit Bulls

harry_powell — Sun, 12 May 2013 10:31:19 -0400

Police have seized pit bulls under suspicion they were the dogs that killed a woman Thursday in California's Antelope Valley. A marijuana-growing operation was found during the search for the dogs, authorities said. A 29-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of cultivating marijuana at a house in Littlerock after police conducted a search of the property related to the mauling of a 63-year-old woman Thursday morning. Neighbors said the dogs have a history of attacking humans and other animals.