JoltNews.com Bringing daily world events to your desktop. Today is December 19 2006.
News
Dynamic Duo Lead Colts to 34-16 Win

©  The Associated Press
Manning to Harrison is the surest way to get the Indianapolis Colts out of a funk. The most prolific passing duo in NFL history tore apart the Cincinnati Bengals, combining for three touchdowns in a 34-16 victory Monday night. Even the Colts' maligned defense woke up after Indy dropped three of its last four games and yielded an incomprehensible 375 yards rushing a week ago to Jacksonville.  more
Laura Bush Had Skin Cancer Tumor Removed

©  The Associated Press
First lady Laura Bush had a skin cancer tumor removed from her right shin in early November. The procedure was not disclosed until Monday night. The cancer was identified as a squamous cell carcinoma, a malignant tumor that is the second most common form of skin cancer.  more
Visitors Kept Away From Hawaii Volcano

©  The Associated Press
Visitors to one of the world's most active volcanoes are being kept hundreds of feet away from a 55-acre lava delta that authorities believe may soon collapse into the Pacific Ocean.  more
2 Climbers May Have Fallen and Died

©  The Associated Press
Two climbers still missing on Mount Hood may have been swept to their deaths over a treacherous cliff by howling winds of more than 100 mph after they left their injured companion behind in a snow cave to get help.  more
Spacewalkers Free Jammed Solar Array

©  The Associated Press
Two spacewalking astronauts finished folding up a stubborn, accordion-like solar array Monday, resolving the only complication in space shuttle Discovery's otherwise smooth mission to the international space station.  more
Market Reports
Phila. Papers' Largest Union OKs Pact
Members of the largest union at Philadelphia's two biggest newspapers voted 498-69 Monday to approve a new three-year contract at the urging of union leaders despite major concessions and looming layoffs.  more
Biomet Agrees to $10.9 Billion Buyout
A group of private investors that could include a founder of Biomet Inc. has offered $10.9 billion in cash for the Warsaw, Ind.-based orthopedics maker as they seek to capitalize on baby boomers who want to turn back the clock.  more
FCC Commissioner Won't Vote on AT&T Deal
AT&T Inc.'s proposed buyout of BellSouth was thrown into doubt Monday when Robert McDowell, a member of the Federal Communications Commission and a former telecommunications industry lobbyist, said he will not be voting on the deal.  more
U.S. Charges Ex-Fannie Mae Chief Raines
The government on Monday filed civil charges against former Fannie Mae chief Franklin Raines and two other top executives, accusing them of misconduct costing shareholders billions of dollars.  more
EBay to Open Chinese Web Site in Shift
EBay Inc. is expected to announce plans Tuesday to open a new Chinese Web site as part of a joint-venture with a Beijing-based Internet company, signaling a strategic shift in the online auction company's Chinese operations.  more
Entertainment
Stallone Still Packs Punch With 'Rocky'

©  The Associated Press
Rocky Balboa is as much a Philadelphia institution as the art museum steps, the Liberty Bell and Elfreth's Alley. But spare Sylvester Stallone the shots about his fictional underdog champion being as cracked and weathered as the city's other famed landmarks.  more
Publisher Allegedly Cited 'Jewish Cabal'

©  The Associated Press
In an explosive telephone argument that led to her firing, publisher Judith Regan allegedly complained of a "Jewish cabal" against her in the book industry and stated that Jews "should know about ganging up, finding common enemies and telling the big lie."  more
Yogi Bear Creator Joe Barbera Dies at 95

©  The Associated Press
Joe Barbera, half of the Hanna-Barbera animation team that produced such beloved cartoon characters as Tom and Jerry, Yogi Bear and the Flintstones, died Monday, a Warner Bros. spokesman said. He was 95.  more
Tepid Response to Controversial Opera
Under heavy security, a controversial production of Mozart's opera "Idomeneo," dropped for fear of Muslim backlash over a scene with the severed head of the Prophet Muhammad, returned to the stage Monday without incident.  more
Patti LaBelle Cancels Gospel Tour

©  The Associated Press
Patti LaBelle's current tour, "The Gospel According to Patti," is being canceled, the singer announced Monday.  more
Health & Medical
Hormones Used in Breast Cancer Fight
Robin Khadduri gets monthly shots of a drug that blocks the male hormone testosterone and is often used to treat prostate cancer.  more
Low-Fat Diets May Help Some Dodge Cancer

©  The Associated Press
The first experiment ever to show that low-fat diets could help prevent a return of breast cancer now reveals, with longer follow-up, that the benefit was almost exclusively to women whose tumor growth was not driven by hormones.  more
Bacteria Outbreak Closes Hospital Units
A hospital has closed its neonatal and pediatrics intensive care units to new admissions after a potentially fatal bacterium sickened seven children, including an infant who may have died from the infection, officials said.  more
State Pandemic Preparations Vary Widely

©  The Associated Press
Trailers packed with cots and medical supplies are parked in secret locations around Colorado, ready for doctors to open makeshift hospitals in school gyms if a flu pandemic strikes.  more
Survivors Recall Horror of Flu Pandemic

©  The Associated Press
At the height of the flu pandemic in 1918, William H. Sardo Jr. remembers the pine caskets stacked in the living room of his family's house, a funeral home in Washington, D.C.  more
Current Weather
12/18/2006
New York60 °F
High Tech
Google, NASA Finalize Imagery, Info Deal

©  The Associated Press
Google Inc. and NASA Ames Research Center said Monday that they have finalized an agreement to deliver more of the space agency's imagery and information through the Internet's leading search engine.  more
Intel, Partners to Make Electronic Quran
Intel Corp., the world's largest computer chip maker, has partnered with two Saudi Arabian software companies to develop an electronic version of Islam's holy book and a training computer for teachers packed with the government-approved curriculum for schoolchildren.  more
Net Imbalance Stem From Tech Constraints
For years, the Internet's technical constraints went hand-in-hand with the realities of Internet usage. At first, most people viewed Web pages but did little to create or change them. Web journals, photo sites and video sharing didn't come until later. Even when users had a need to send information _ an e-mail here, a shopping transaction there _ the amount of data was small.  more
Imbalance in Net Speeds Impedes Sharing

©  The Associated Press
Blame the Internet's legacy systems if Jay Glatfelter falls asleep Thursday mornings. Co-host of an online audio show about "Lost," Glatfelter must wait about 40 minutes to finish posting his program to the Internet in the hours after ABC's Wednesday night broadcast. If he were downloading it as his listeners do, the same file would take only a few minutes over a cable modem.  more
Oracle 2Q Earnings Match Analyst Views

©  The Associated Press
Oracle Corp.'s quarterly profit surged 21 percent as the business software maker reaped the latest returns from a two-year shopping spree that has eliminated several major rivals and shored up its product line.  more
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