... Finally Friday ... 2-15-2008

Slide 2: Whites to become minority in U.S. by 2050 Mon Feb 11, 7:13 PM ET Non-Hispanic whites will become a minority in the United States by 2050, with immigrants and their children driving 82 percent of U.S. population growth in coming years, a new study said on Monday. The U.S. population will grow to 438 million in 2050 from 296 million in 2005 if current population trends continue, the Pew Research Center study found. Non-Hispanic whites would account for 47 percent of the total in 2050, it concluded. By that time, one in every five Americans will be a foreign-born immigrant, compared to one in eight in 2005. "Of the 117 million people added to the population in this period due to the effect of new immigration, 67 million will be the immigrants themselves and 50 million will be their U.S.-born children or grandchildren," the study said. While the white population, with its lower fertility rate, ages, the Latino population, the nation's largest minority, will triple in size. Latinos will be responsible for 60 percent of the population growth until 2050. They will account for 29 percent of the population, or 128 million in 2050, up from 14 percent now, the study said. "The number of whites will increase, but only by 4 percent," said D'Vera Cohn, one of the report's authors. The Asian population will almost double in percentage terms, from 5 to 9 percent, while blacks will remain around 13 percent of the total, the report said. At the same time, the elderly population will more than double as the baby boom generation retires. The number of children and working-age people will grow more slowly. Almost half of the new immigrants arriving the country will be from Latin American countries, said the other author of the study, Jeffrey S. Passel from the Pew Hispanic Center.

Slide 3: Russia in Ukraine missile threat Mr Putin advised his Ukrainian counterpart not to join Nato. Russia has said it may target its missiles at Ukraine if its neighbor joins Nato and accepts the deployment of the US missile defense shield. Russian President Vladimir Putin made the comments in Moscow alongside Ukraine's President, Viktor Yushchenko. Mr Putin has condemned US plans to include Poland and the Czech Republic in its missile defense shield. The leaders had been meeting in urgent talks over a gas dispute and announced a deal to avoid disrupting supplies. 'Scary' In a televised speech last week, Mr Putin warned that a "new phase in the arms race is unfolding in the world". BBC

Slide 4: US: Broken Satellite Will Be Shot Down Feb 14 01:08 PM US/Eastern Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - The Pentagon is planning to shoot down a broken spy satellite expected to hit the Earth in early March, The Associated Press has learned. U.S. officials said Thursday that the option preferred by the Bush administration will be to fire a missile from a U.S. Navy cruiser, and shoot down the satellite before it enters Earth's atmosphere. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the options will not be publicly discussed until a later Pentagon briefing. The disabled satellite is expected to hit the Earth the first week of March. Officials said the Navy would likely shoot it down before then, using a special missile modified for the task. Other details about the missile and the targeting were not immediately available. But the decision involves several U.S. agencies, including the National Security Agency, the Department of Homeland Defense and the State Department. Shooting down a satellite is particularly sensitive because of the controversy surrounding China's anti-satellite test last year, when Beijing shot down one of its defunct weather satellites, drawing immediate criticism from the U.S. and other countries.

Slide 5: Turner 'almost done' buying up ranchland CNN founder Ted Turner is the largest private landowner in Nebraska and the United States and the nation's largest bison rancher. His five ranches in Nebraska cover 425,221 acres, an area larger than Douglas and Sarpy Counties combined. Here, a young bison crosses a stream on a Turner ranch north of Lewellen. CNN founder Ted Turner, the largest private landowner in Nebraska and the United States and the nation's largest bison rancher, said Wednesday that he is about done buying new ranches. He said he would like to reach 2 million acres nationwide before he dies — about 40,000 acres more than he currently owns. "I'm almost done. I've got enough," said Turner, who was visiting Omaha for the reopening and renaming of one of his 54 bison restaurants, now called Ted's Nebraska Grill. The 69-year-old billionaire, philanthropist and conservationist said he isn't interested in free-standing ranches anymore, only "reasonably priced" parcels adjacent to his current operations, which include five ranches in Nebraska near Gordon, Oshkosh and Mullen. The ranches cover 425,221 acres, an area larger than Douglas and Sarpy Counties combined. "You know what 2 million acres is?" Turner asked over a plate of bison miniburgers and transfat-free onion rings. "If my land was all connected, in one long straight line, a mile deep, it would stretch from New York to San Francisco.“ WORLD-HERALD

Slide 6: Thu Feb 7, 8:14 PM ET In this image released by the Nye County Sheriff's Office, former Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss is shown in a booking mug released, Thursday, Feb. 7, 2008, in Pahrump, Nev. Authorities say Fleiss was arrested Thursday morning on charges of illegal possession of prescription drugs and driving under the influence.

Slide 7: Teacher convicted for flashing breasts Published: 8 Feb 08 07:56 CET A teacher who flashed her breasts at a high school pupil has been found guilty of sexual harassment by Skellefteå District Court in northern Sweden. The incident occurred after a male pupil had filled the blackboard in the class with sexual swear words and sketches depicting scenes of nudity. The teacher, 47, claimed that she had only revealed her breasts in reaction to the boy's provocative doodles and that there was nothing sexual about the act. "I just snapped. I was trying to get him to stop writing and drawing filth on the blackboard," the teacher told the court, newspaper Norra Västerbotten reports. Taking account of the fact that the woman had been made redundant from her job, the court limited her punishment to a fine equivalent to 60 days' wages. She was also ordered her to pay her former pupil 5,000 kronor ($760) in damages. The woman was cleared of two further charges after two other boys claimed that she had grabbed their backsides and genitals as she made her way into the classroom. The former teacher admitted that she may have pinched the two boys when they blocked her path as she attempted to pass but the court found the pupils' witness testimony to be unreliable. The Local Sweden's News in English

Slide 8: Ageing Cher is losing her battle to turn back time 11th February 2008 Cher once admitted she felt pressure to look youthful in a bid to keep her place in the pop world. But it appears that after years of cosmetic surgery, she's beginning to lose her battle to turn back time. The 61-year-old shocked onlookers with her alarmingly taut face, brassy red wig and disastrous black and grey confection as she emerged onto the red carpet at the Grammy awards last night.

Slide 9: Fort Pierce mother and teen son arrested on robbery charge FORT PIERCE — Police arrested a mother and son each on a robbery charge, linking them to a Thursday confrontation on Okeechobee Road, according to arrest affidavits released Friday. The victim told police that a mother and son identified as Tina M. Burkett, 40, and 19-year-old Thomas P. Demello approached him about 12:30 a.m. Thursday as he sat on the west side of 1800 Okeechobee Road. He said Demello robbed him of about $150, striking him several times before stealing the cash. The victim identified the robbers to police as a mother and son named Tina and Tommy. Police found Burkett at a Circle K convenience store. She took investigators to her home in the 100 block of South 18th Street, where Demello answered the door. Investigators took each into custody on a robbery charge. Tina M. Burkett Thomas P. Demello

Slide 10: New mum Christina Aguilera has given her first interview since giving birth - admitting she is going “stir-crazy” looking after her “stinky” son. Christina gave a radio interview shortly before her first planned public appearance - less than three weeks after giving birth, showbizspy reports.

Slide 11: Ferrari for kids to be available next month Berg Toys has created the Ferrari FXX pedal cars for the kids. Ferrari for kids to be available next month. FXX Racer pedal car comes equipped with a seven-speed transmission, an on-board computer, disc brakes, semi-slick racing tires and styling, which, as you can see, is modeled on Maranello's developmental track-car. For those to whom cost is no object, the FXX Exclusive upgrades with a premium racing bucket and four-point harness, leather steering wheel and even an aero kit. Berg will be offering both models ($700 and $2100 respectively) through its own dealer network and through Ferrari dealerships starting next month, autoblog.com reports. Bugatti and the Alfa Romeo also have pedal car models.

Slide 12: Dubai to Build the World's Largest Arch Bridge in 2012 - It's one mile long and 670 feet tall. - It will have 12 lanes for traffic. - It will cost 817 million dollars. - The design has Sheikh Mohammed's official stamp of approval. - The bridge will carry more than 2,000 vehicles per hour in each direction. - A metro line will run across the middle. - Construction begins in March, with a slated completion date of 2012.

Slide 13: GALVESTON, TX While the ocean vessel 'Dawn Raider' was commercial fishing shrimp, this Great White was hooked in the mouth but only resisted slightly for 15 minutes before it came up alongside the boat to have a look; long enough for one of the crew members to slip a rope a round it's tail !!! 'And that's when the **** hit the fan!! .. The Shark took off towing the 42 foot fishing boat backwards through the water at about 7 Knots. Just like in JAWS, the boat was taking on water over the stern and the crew watched in horror as the shark would actually jump completely out of the water at times. This went on for an hour before the shark finally drowned. She weighed in at 1035 LBS. It is suspected she followed a weak El Nino current into local waters in search of food. Although mid 60 degree water is considered ideal for these sharks, the larger ones can tolerate water in the low 50s.

Slide 14: Speedo unveils ultimate performance swimsuit which helps athletes go faster 12th February 2008 Swimming brand Speedo today unveiled a new swimsuit described as the fastest it has made. Called the LZR Racer, the costume's material is welded together to give the effect of having no seams.

Slide 15: Mini-muscleman: Meet the world's smallest bodybuilder At just 2ft 9in, Indian muscleman Aditya 'Romeo' Dev is the world's smallest bodybuilder. Pint-sized Romeo is well-known in his hometown of Phagwara, India - for his ability to lift 1.5kg dumbbells - despite his overall 9kg body weight. Every day, crowds flock to the local gym to the see the mini-muscleman in training.

Slide 16: The Usual Suspects From scary to cute (and a few hirsute), our latest mug shot roundup…. Smoking Gun

Slide 19: Jailed: Keith Brown had a speck of cannabis on his shoe A father-of-three who was found with a microscopic speck of cannabis stuck to the bottom of one of his shoes has been sentenced to four years in a Dubai prison. Keith Brown, a council youth development officer, was travelling through the United Arab Emirates on his way back to England when he was stopped as he walked through Dubai's main airport. A search by customs officials uncovered a speck of cannabis weighing just 0.003g - so small it would be invisible to the naked eye and weighing less than a grain of sugar - on the tread of one of his shoes. Dubai International Airport is a major hub for the Middle East and thousands of Britons pass through it every year to holiday in the glamorous beach and shopping haven. But many of those tourists and business travelers are likely to be unaware of the strict zero-tolerance drugs policy in the UAE.