kfc new sandwich

kfc new sandwich

Why bother with the bun? That's the premise of KFC's latest offering -- the Double Down -- a sandwich that replaces the traditional bun with two Original Recipe chicken fillets.

"It's such a meaty chicken sandwich, there's no room for a bun," Rick Maynard, a KFC spokesman told Slashfood.

But the sandwich -- currently being tested in Omaha, Neb., and Providence, R.I. -- has some wondering if the Colonel has gone too far.

Newspapers like the Hartford Courant called the appearance of the Double Down a "complete 180" for the chain, and the Vancouver Sun estimated that the sandwich -- two chicken fillets sandwiching Swiss and pepper jack cheeses, bacon and "the Colonel's sauce" -- weighs in at 1,228 calories.

Maynard told Slashfood that KFC estimates the sandwich's caloric count at "just under 600," though the final nutritional data is not in.

Earlier this year, the chain unveiled a healthier dining option -- Kentucky Grilled Chicken -- under the Unthink ad campaign. But KFC uses the same Unthink logo in a Double Down TV advertisement, where a man exclaims "there should be more chicken in a chicken sandwich!"

The price of the sandwich varies but in Omaha, one foodie found it selling for $4.99, with combos -- including fries and soda pop -- going for $6.99.

What do you think of this new fried chicken-bacon-cheese combo? Take the poll, and let us know in the comments below.

It might just be the greatest thing since sliced bread.

KFC is selling a sandwich that uses two fried chicken filets instead of a bun.

Between the finger-lickin' pieces of chicken are two slices of bacon, melted slices of swiss and pepper jack cheese and a dollop of "the Colonel's sauce."

It's been dubbed the "Double Down," and "It's so much 100 percent premium chicken, we didn't have room for a bun," according to a KFC commercial posted on YouTube.

Is your mouth watering? Well, don't run down to your local KFC just yet. The Colonel is test marketing these calorie bombs only in Providence, R.I., and Omaha, Neb.

They're $6.99 (not including airfare) for a value meal including fries and a drink.

The calorie count has yet to be posted on KFC's Web site. But an independent analysis by the Vancouver Sun (yet another example of Canadians looking down on Americans) estimates the Double Down has 1,228 calories.

To put that into perspective, that's almost 300 calories more than a Wendy's Triple with Everything.

mass lottery

mass lottery

Mega Millions | Mega Millions Winning Numbers | Mass Lottery Mega Millions | Mass Lottery Winning Numbers | Masslottery

Mass Lottery,Mega Millions: The $252 million Mega Millions jackpot numbers were drawn amid lottery fever across the country.

The winning Mega Millions lottery numbers were: 3, 12, 19, 22 and 40 with the Mega Ball, 2.

The unusually high lottery prize has drawn in players in each of the 12 participating states as people dream of getting rich off their $1 investment.

With jackpots of this size, you start to see people who don’t normally play a game like Mega Millions buying a ticket,” said Dominick DeMarco, a spokesman for the New Jersey Lottery. They may notice it’s over 100 million, and they’ll say, ‘OK, I’ll take a shot at it.

The publicity of large jackpots from local newspapers and vendor signs help bring the lottery to the attention of new players, he said.

victoria reggie kennedy

victoria reggie kennedy

Victoria Anne Reggie Kennedy was born in Crowley, Louisiana on February 26, 1954. She is the widow of late Ted Kennedy and a lawyer. She was born to Edmund M. Reggie who was a banker and judge of Louisiana and Doris Ann Boustany Reggie who was a national committee woman for the Democrats. She was 2nd of the six children of the couple.

Victoria Reggie Kennedy is of Lebanese degeneration as her grandparents were actually from Beirut and were Maronites who settled in Crowley after migrating to the United States. The grandparents of the Victoria Kennedy had become the important role player in the local church of Roman Catholic but their children did not adopt this line and they got involved in politics and business.

After completing her education from the law school, Victoria Reggie Kennedy joined Judge Robert A. Sprecher who was the judge in Chicago of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, for a prestigious post. Being an attorney, Victoria got her specialization in banking law. Grier C. Raclin was her first husband who was a telecommunications attorney.

She got married with Grier in a church of Crowley, Louisiana in 1981 in which around 400 guests were invited. Victoria Reggie Kennedy has two children from her first husband Grier C. Raclin. The first meeting between Ted Kennedy and Victoria was when she got a summer internship in the senate office of mailroom the year after completing her graduation. They got engaged in March 1992 and married on 3rd July 1992.

chappaquiddick incident

chappaquiddick incident

Forty years ago on a dark night on a quiet island off Massachusetts, Senator Ted Kennedy drove his car off a bridge after leaving a party with a young woman, killing her and forever marring his legacy.

The tragedy on Chappaquiddick Island, in which 28-year-old Mary Jo Kopechne was trapped under the car in a tidal pool and died, led to accusations that Kennedy used his name and influence to escape justice. With its whiff of sex, alcohol and privileged self-indulgence, the incident plagued Kennedy for decades.

Forty years on, historians and political analysts remain divided over whether Kennedy effectively dropped the keys to the White House that terrible night. His only run for the presidency in 1980 fizzled. But American political life is replete with second acts of contrite politicians who recover from scandal, and American voters have long shown a remarkable capacity for forgiveness. After Chappaquiddick, Massachusetts voters re-elected Kennedy to the US Senate seven times.

On 18 July 1969, 37-year-old Kennedy attended a private party at a cottage on Chappaquiddick Island off Martha's Vineyard. It had been a tough decade for the Kennedy family's youngest son – he had seen two brothers felled by assassins' bullets, and in 1964 was in a place crash in which the pilot was killed.

Just after 11pm he and Kopechne, a former campaign aide to Robert Kennedy, left the party. Kennedy told friends he was tired and would drive himself and Kopechne back to their respective motels and wanted to catch the last ferry off the island. But Kopechne left her purse and motel key at the cottage, and Kennedy turned away from the ferry terminal toward a secluded beach, in what he later said was a mistake caused by the dark and by exhaustion.

As they approached the beach, Kennedy drove his car off the Dike bridge into a tidal pool. He escaped, but Kopechne was trapped under the car.

Panicked, terrified and dazed from a concussion, Kennedy stumbled back to the cottage, which did not have a phone. He and two friends rushed back to the scene but were again unable to free Kopechne.

Kennedy did not report the accident until about 10 hours later, provoking enduring speculation that he was busy orchestrating a cover-up.

Kennedy was ultimately found guilty of leaving the scene of an accident and sentenced to two months in jail, suspended. A judge who led an inquest found probable cause that Kennedy was negligent and contributed to Kopechne's death, and found that he had lied when he said he drove toward the bridge instead of the ferry by mistake. Authorities never prosecuted.

In a televised statement, Kennedy denied "immoral conduct" and said he had not been drunk.

The Chappaquiddick incident derailed any chance of Kennedy taking on Richard Nixon in 1972, when he otherwise would have ridden a wave of enthusiasm for his popular late brothers. After years of vacillation, Kennedy made what historians say was a half-hearted effort to beat Jimmy Carter for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1980. His lack of focus, along with a disastrous television interview with journalist Roger Mudd, doomed his bid as much Chappaquiddick, historians say.

"He seemed to be doing it because he was expected to, not because he had anything he wanted to achieve," Columbia University historian Alan Brinkley said.

But Victor Navasky, chairman of the Columbia Journalism Review and author of Kennedy Justice, on Robert Kennedy's term as attorney general, said that in any national race, opponents would have bludgeoned him with Chappaquiddick.

"It represented not just a public relations problem but a real character flaw problem," he said.

ted kennedy quotes

ted kennedy quotes

Veteran US senator Edward Kennedy died aged 77 following a prolonged battle with brain cancer. Here are some of his most memorable quotations.

In his words, as in life, he was a politician unafraid to address issues in a direct and occasionally controversial manner.

* "For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives and the dream shall never die" - addressing the Democratic National Convention after pulling out of the presidential race, August 1980.

* "Frankly, I don't mind not being president. I just mind that someone else is" - at Washington Gridiron Club dinner, March 1986.

* "Well, here I don't go again" - on not running for president in 1988.

* "Ulster is becoming Britain's Vietnam" - on The Troubles in Northern Ireland, October 1971

* "My brother need not be idealised or enlarged in death beyond what he was in life, to be remembered as a good and decent man, who saw wrong and tried to right it, saw suffering and tried to heal it, saw war and tried to stop it" - eulogy for brother Robert Kennedy, June 1968.

* "I regard as indefensible the fact that I did not report the accident to the police immediately" - during a televised statement after he pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident in regards to the Chappaquiddick incident, July 1969

* "What we have in the United States is not so much a health-care system as a disease-care system" - on health care reform for which he campaigned throughout his life, 1994

* "With Barack Obama, we will turn the page on the old politics of misrepresentation and distortion. With Barack Obama we will close the book on the old politics of race against race, gender against gender, ethnic group against ethnic group, and straight against gay" - endorsing Barack Obama for president, January 2008.

mark harris

mark harris
A blaze from a one-alarm fire at a Claymont steel company sent an employee to the hospital Monday night after he suffered smoke inhalation. The man, a worker at Evraz Claymont Steel Company, formerly known asCitiSteel, was taken to Crozer-Chester Medical Center in Upland, Pa

Claymont Fire Company Chief Mark Harris said the fire started in a furnace refractory at 6:11 p.m. Molten steel from a container dripped onto an electrical panel and caused the blaze, Harris said. The employee was working on a crane above the container and was not able to escape without help. Firefighters had to use ropes to free him because there was no visibility inside the room, Harris said.

More than 20 employees were evacuated. Fire companies from Talleyville, Brandywine Hundred, Holloway Terrace, Five Points and Wilmington helped extinguish the blaze. The fire was under control at 7:26 p.m.

Harris said employees were not allowed back into the unit that caught fire because of smoldering metal inside.

Harris also said the unit had smoke damage but it was not extensive. The State Fire Marshal's Office is investigating.

danyl johnson video

danyl johnson video
The video of Danyl Johnson performing the Beatles' "With a Little Help From My Friends" on the British talent show "The X Factor" has gone viral. On Monday, the official clip on YouTube had registered about 600,000 views since the weekend. Twenty-four hours later, the count had doubled to almost 1.2 million.

On Saturday night's airing, judge Simon Cowell called Johnson's soulful cover "the best first audition I have ever heard." Johnson quickly shot to frontrunner status, raising questions about whether he'd become the next incarnation of Scottish chanteuse Susan Boyle, albeit one in cargo shorts who prefers classic rock to "Les Misérables."

In the days since his performance, the British press has been reporting exhaustively on Johnson's personal history, just as it did following Boyle's appearance on "Britain's Got Talent" in April. The 27-year-old is a schoolteacher from Reading, England, who has fallen short in other attempts to make it big as a singer. According to The Daily Mirror, he has been in two boy bands, Upfrunt and Streetlevel, but neither of them ever caught on. The paper also reported that Johnson performed on television with a rock band called Empty Spaces and has auditioned for "X Factor" three times.

The Daily Mail landed an interview with Johnson's estranged father, who said he had not spoken with his son for a year after a falling-out. Following the "X Factor" performance, though, Johnson's father sent Danyl a text message and received a response back.

"I was so proud when I saw Danyl on the television," he told the paper. "I did shed a tear as he was singing."

The audience and the judges were nearly as taken with his performance. "When we see a performance like that, it's the absolute perfect audition," judge Dannii Minogue said. "So exciting to be sitting here on this panel."

avi ben stella car crash

avi ben stella car crash

The Avi Ben Stella car crash story appears to have finally gone properly viral.

Essentially, people are getting an email, or a Facebook request (and any other of the various forms of social media request) to simply change their status for one hour in order to ask for prayers for Avi Ben Stella, a 12 year old child who is now in a coma after being seriously injured in a car crash.

You can see the current status of this at Snopes, here.

No one is as yet quite sure: is there an Avi Ben Stella, was someone of that name in a car crash? Or is it simply a joke of some kind, although as yet the punchline is undelivered?

My supposition is that this is a joke, a game, of some sort. For one of the terms that has been replicating across the internet is "Avi Ben Stella Snopes".....and where would you go to try and find out the truth of an online rumor? Yes, Snopes.

But if the search engines are thoroughly polluted with that serach term, you're most unlikely to find the Snopes entry, are you? You can only get there by using the engine on Snopes' own site.

So I would write this off as a joke, a game: if anyone knows differently please do contact me in the comments.

martha raye

martha raye

CROW TRIBAL ELDER DOCTOR JOE MEDICINE CROW IS SCHEDULED TO BE GIVEN A HUGE HONOR TODAY.

AT A CEREMONY IN WASHINGTON, D.C., PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA WILL GIVE MEDICINE CROW THE PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL OF FREEDOM.

THE 95-YEAR-OLD MEDICINE CROW IS A CROW WAR CHIEF WHO EARNED A BRONZE STAR AND THE FRENCH LEGION OF HONOR FOR HIS SERVICE IN WORLD WAR TWO.

HE WAS NOMINATED FOR THE MEDAL BY MONTANA SENATOR JON TESTER AND RETIRED WYOMING SENATOR ALAN SIMPSON, AND THE NOMINATION WAS SUPPORTED BY LETTERS FROM SENATOR MAX BAUCUS, GOVERNOR BRIAN SCHWEITZER, FORMER COLORADO SENATOR BEN NIGHTHORSE CAMPBELL, AND FILMMAKER KEN BURNS, WHO INTERVIEWED MEDICINE CROW FOR HIS ACCLAIMED DOCUMENTARY ABOUT WORLD WAR TWO.

MEDICINE CROW WILL BE ONE OF 16 PEOPLE WHO WILL BE AWARDED THE MEDAL OF FREEDOM TODAY. THAT LIST INCLUDES SUCH LUMINARIES AS PHYSICIST STEPHEN HAWKING, FORMER SUPREME COURT JUSTICE SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR, TENNIS PRO BILLIE JEAN KING, AND ACTOR SIDNEY POITIER.

MEDICINE CROW WILL BECOME ONLY THE SECOND MONTANAN WITH THE MEDAL OF FREEDOM. THE OTHER IS THE LATE ACTRESS AND COMEDIAN MARTHA RAYE, WHO WAS BORN IN BUTTE.

festival of the little hills

festival of the little hills
ST. CHARLES, MO (KTVI-FOX2now.com) - It's called one of the most important economic weekends of the year for businesses in historic downtown St. Charles. The annual Festival of the Little Hills is underway on Main Street. Organizers think as many as 350-thousand people could come to the festival. It started on Friday and will continue through Sunday.

Retailers hope that many potential customers will help their bottom lines in what still a tough economy. At Jake's on Main, life is good when the festival opens up. The manager says business is tremendous during the festival.

It is a similar story at Lewis and Clark's Restaurant. The weekend is circled as a major money maker.

From the funnel cake to furniture, jewelry to artwork, there is something for everyone at the Festival of the Little Hills.

Some 350 booths are spread out along Main Street and the riverfront.

Festival Chairperson Linda Jackson-Regot says between two and three hundred thousand people usually come out. With the mild weather this weekend, she expects that number to jump to nearly 350,000.

The festival is open from 9:30AM until 10:00PM on Saturday and 9:30AM until 5:00PM on Sunday.

sterling hayden

sterling hayden

Turner Movie Classics TCM is presenting a day of Sterling Hayden movies on cable television on Saturday, August 22, 2009.; as part of its month of Summer Under the Stars. Hayden was a star of the late 1940’s and 1950’s. As a tall leading man, Hayden usually portrayed a masculine man with adventurous pursuits, such as being a cowboy or a military man. Movies being presented on Saturday include Battle Taxi; Terror is a Texas Town, Ten Days to Tulara, 5 Steps to Danger, Dr. Strangelove, Zero Hour, Johnny Guitar, The Last Command, The Asphalt Jungle, Manhandled, Crime of Passion, The Golden Hawk, The Iron Sheriff and Loving.

Battle Taxi at 6:00 AM

Battle Taxi (1955) if a film about a helicopter pilot during the Korean War with a cast including Sterling Hayden, Arthur Franz, Marshall Thompson, Leo Needham, Jay Barney, John Dennis, Michael Colgan, Andy Andrews and Dale Hutchinson.

Terror in a Texas Town at 7:30 AM

Terror in a Texas Town (1958) is the final feature film by Joseph H. Lewis, a major cult director. The cast includes Sterling Hayden, Sebastian Cabot, Carol Kelly, Eugene Martin and Nedrick Young.

Ten Days to Tulara at 9:15 AM

Ten Days to Tulara (1958) is about a charter pilot in Mexico ho is forced to help a criminal gang when his son is kidnapped. The cast includes Sterling Hayden, Grace Raynor, Rodolfo Hoyos Jr., Carlos Muzquiz, Tony Carvajal, Juan Garcia, Rafael Alcayde, Felix Gonzalez, Jose Pblido, Major M. Badager, Milton Bernstein, Barry Grail and Paco Arenas.

5 Steps to Danger at 11:00 AM

5 Steps to Danger (1957) is about a couple trying to keep secrets from Communist spies. The cast includes Ruth Roman, Sterling Hayden, Werner Klemperer, Richard Gaines, Charles Davis, Jeanne Cooper, Peter Hansen, Karl Lindt, John Mitchum and John Frederick.

Dr. Strangelove at 12:30 PM

Dr. Strangelove, 1964, is a satire by director Stanley Kubrick about sex, politics and nuclear arms. The cast includes Peter Sellers, Sterling Hayden, Keenan Wynn, Slim Pickens and James Earl Jones.

Zero Hour at 2:30 PM

Zero Hour!, 1957, has a cast that includes Dana Andrews, Linda Darnell, Sterling Hayden, Elroy ‘Crazylegs’ Hirsh, Geoffrey Toone, Jerry Paris, Peggy King.

Johnny Guitar at 4:00 PM

Johnny Guitar, 1954, has a cast including Joan Crawford, Sterling Hayden, Mercedes McCambridge, Scott Brady, Wand Bond, Ben Cooper, Ernest Borgnine, John Carradine, Royal Dano and Paul Fix.

The Last Command at 6:00 PM

The Last Command, 1955, is a story about the battle at the Alamo. The cast includes Sterling Hayden, Anna Maria Alberghetti, Richard Carlson, Arthur Hunnicutt, Ernest Borgnine, J. Carrol Naish, Ben Cooper, John Russell, Virginia Grey, Jim Davis, Eduard Franz, Otto Kruger, Russell Simpson, Roy Roberts, Slim Pickens and Hugh Sanders.

The Asphalt Jungle at 8:00 AM

The Asphalt Jungle, 1950, is about a corrupt lawyer that bankrolls a jewel heist. The cast includes Sterling Hayden, Louis Calhern, Jean Hagen, James Whitmore, Sam Jaffe, John McIntire, Marc larence , Anthony Caruso, Marilyn Monroe, Bard Dexter and Dorothy Tree.

Manhandled at 10:00 PM

Manhandled, 1949, is a murder mystery with film noir elements with a cast including Dorothy Lamour, Sterling Hayden, Dan Duryea, Irrene Hervey, Phillip Reed, Harold Vermilyea, Alan Napier, Art Smith and Irving Bacon.

Crime of Passion at 12;00 AM

Crime of Passion, 1957, is a crime melodrama with a cast including Barbara Stanwick, Sterling Hayden, Raymond Burr, Fay Wray, Virginia Grey, Royal Dano, Stuart Whitman.

The Golden Hawk at 1:30 AM

The Golden Hawk, 1952, is a pirate movie with a cast including Sterling Hayden, Rhonda Fleming, Helena carter, John Sutton, Paul Cavanagh, Michael Ansara, Raymond Hatton and Alex Montoya.

The Iron Sheriff at 3:00 AM

The Iron Sheriff, 1957, is about a sheriff who tries to clear his son of the murder of a stagecoach driver with a cast including Sterling Hayden, Constance Ford, John Dehner, Kent Taylor, Darryl Hickman, alter Sande, Frank Ferguson, King Donovan, Mort Mills and Peter Miller.

Loving at 4:00 AM

Loving, 1970, has a cast incuding George Segal, Eva Marie Saint, Sterling Hayden, Keenan Wynn, Nancie Phillips, Janis Young, David Doyle, Paul Sparer, Andrew Duncan and Sherry Lansing.

liam hemsworth

liam hemsworth

It seems that Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth are more than just friends or costars. This is because last Wednesday, Miley Cyrus was at the Nashville airport to bid Hemsworth goodbye, but it was more than an ordinary goodbye as the teen couple kissed each other and according to a New York actor Alex Emanuel, they were “full-on making out,”. Alex Emanuel said he was standing close to the teen couple and was watching them. Emanuel said that Miley Cyrus acts “as giddy as a schoolgirl.”

On arriving at the airport, Hemsworth was on Miley’s truck and he jumped out of it with his luggage. According to Alex Emanual, after Hemsworth got out of the truck then Miley jumped but she did not jumped at floor. Emanuel said,

“she jumped into his arms and threw her arms around his neck and kissed him and leaned back and he was dipping her,”

Emanuel added,

“It was like a scene out of an old movie where the guy’s getting on a train and they’re saying their goodbyes.”

16-year-old Miley Cyrus and 18-year-old Liam Lemsworth worked together in the movie “The Last Song”, that wrapped up recently. On 16 August they also attended the wrap party of “The Last Song”, together. Miley wrote on her Twitter that she is still a single and maintaing her status. She wrote,

“I do not have a boyfriend,”

ramadan prayer times

ramadan prayer times
The ninth month of the Islamic (lunar) calendar.

Sawm: The Arabic word for fast.

Iftar: Breaking of the fast immediately after sunset. Iftar takes place at Maghrib as soon as the Call to Prayer (Adhan).

Suhoor :The pre-fast meal before dawn.

Eid Al Fitr: Three-day festival marking the end of Ramadan. It takes place on the 1st of Shawal, the 10th month of the Islamic calendar.

Fidya: Compensation for missing a fast, for those unable to, or wrongly practicing it. Fidya usually takes the form of donating money, foodstuffs, or sacrificing an animal. Contrast with Kaffara (making amends).

Zakat: Stands for purification; Muslims give up a portion of wealth in excess of what is needed for sustenance to “purify” or legitimise what they retain.

Zakat Al Fitr: The contribution given at the end of Ramadan.
Eid Mubarak: Greeting meaning “Have a happy and blessed Eid” expressed at the end of Ramadan.
Ramadan 2009 Prayer Times Schedule

jasmine fiore pictures

jasmine fiore pictures
28-year-old swimsuit model, Jasmine Fiore found dead. Jasmine’s dead body was discovered by police on Tuesday, stuffed into a suitcase. Ryan Alexander Jenkins, a Reality TV Show contestant is among the most probable suspects according to police. Buena Park police have issued a statement according to which, they are looking for a person with Canadian nationality, named Ryan Alexander Jenkins, 32-year-old engaged in real estate business, from Calgary. He has been reportedly seen with Jasmine Fiore at her house at Fairfax district (Edinburgh Avenue) last week. However till Tuesday morning, the Buena Park Police was still unable to determine Ryan – Fiore relationship, may be due to insufficient evidence. Rumors are that they were married somewhere in Las Vegas to which, Lisa Lapore totally denied.

megan wants a millionaire ryan

megan wants a millionaire ryan
"Previously on Megan Wants A Millionaire...Ryan won Megan over with a romantic date and lavish gifts. He even told her that if they got married she wouldn't have to sign a prenup.

Coming up this week on Megan Wants a Millionaire...Megan finds out Ryan is wanted for the murder of his ex-wife."

It does kind of have that certain VH1 reality show ring to it, doesn't it?

TMZ reports that Ryan Alexander Jenkins, one of the finalists on VH1's Megan Wants A Millionaire, is a "person of interest" in the murder of model Jasmine Fiore.

After reportedly being kicked off the show, Ryan went to Las Vegas where he met and married Fiore, who worked in a Vegas strip club.

Jasmine's body was found stuffed into a suitcase in a trash bin last Saturday morning in Buena Park, California. Ryan reported her missing that day, but quickly disappeared himself. Police feared he had fled to Canada, where he's from.

Ryan's publicist said, "Ryan is currently speaking to his attorney and will fully cooperate with the police in this matter. He is planning on meeting with them in the near future."

hurricane bill update

hurricane bill update
Hurricane Bill, upgraded to a Category 4 storm, tore across the Atlantic Wednesday with raging winds nearing 135 mph, threatening a possible strike near Bermuda in a few days, meteorologists reported.

Forecasters predicted the hurricane could get even stronger.

"The wind sheer is light and the waters are warm," said Todd Kimberlain, a forecaster at the National Hurricane Center.

"Those are two essential ingredients not just for the formation, but also the maintenance, of hurricanes."

Early Wednesday, Bill was centered about 460 miles east of the Leeward Islands and was expected to pass them later in the day or by early Thursday.

The most significant threat could be to Bermuda, which the storm could hit in three or four days, Kimberlain said.

It also could move directly between Bermuda and the eastern coast of the U.S. without making landfall.

Either way, people near the coast can expect wave swells and rip currents in the next few days, Kimberlain said.

Meanwhile, Ana, the first named storm of the Atlantic season, was downgraded to a tropical depression and dissipated before reaching Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

eric dane tape video

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brett favre

brett favre
Brett Favre, who only three weeks ago said he planned to remain retired, changed his mind yet again Tuesday, agreeing to join the Minnesota Vikings after all. It’s the second time in two years that Favre announced he was retired, only to reverse course soon after.

The Vikings, who had courted Favre throughout the off-season only to be left empty-handed on the eve of training camp, planned to address the media later Tuesday. When Favre initially said he would not come back, Coach Brad Childress said the team would move forward with the quarterbacks on its roster and had no interest in Favre.

But now, Favre is en route to the Vikings training camp. He and his wife Deanna were spotted boarding a team plane at the Hattiesburg, Miss. airport.

The U-turn in Favre’s future wasn’t a complete surprise. He had left the door slightly open for a return – likely only to the Vikings – back in July, but almost everyone expected that he wouldn’t make a move until the regular season. Instead, Favre becomes the Vikings starter ahead of Sage Rosenfels and Tarvaris Jackson with three preseason games remaining. He is already familiar with the offense run by his friend, the Vikings offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell. The Vikings have viewed Favre, 39, as the final piece needed to make them the N.F.C. favorite to reach the Super Bowl.

Favre too had viewed the Vikings as a perfect fit for him, because of his familiarity with the N.F.C. North. Favre also said earlier this year that he was motivated to come back last season in part to get back at Packers General Manager Ted Thompson, who shipped Favre to the Jets.

Favre’s play with the Jets dropped off precipitously late last season and the team missed the playoffs, leading to the firing of Coach Eric Mangini. Favre asked the Jets for his release and they granted it, in part because they did not want to endure Favre’s drawn-out retirement deliberations.

Favre had arthroscopic surgery during the off-season on a partially torn right biceps muscle, but then, with the Vikings urging him on, he began throwing again and preparing for a comeback.

bob novak

bob novak

The fraternity of syndicated columnists is extremely small, once filling a single page in a book called "The Capitol Source." The number who actually can make a living at it is smaller still.

Bob Novak was unusual in many ways. He wrote his column with a partner, the late Rowland Evans, which is extremely rare and no one else currently does it. He came up at a time before cable TV and before all-news radio stations when people read the newspapers to find out what was going on.

Novak was known for being well-connected in Washington, but not many may know that in recent years he was welcomed into the Roman Catholic church. Novak was a descendant of Russian Jews and was famous for a tough exterior through which few could penetrate. But apparently God got through! In an interview with journalist Barbara Matusow published in Washingtonian magazine last November, Novak spoke of that conversion and the peace it had given him. His last words in that interview were "pray for me." I suspect many did and today one trusts those prayers have been fully answered.

minnesota vikings

minnesota vikings
who only three weeks ago said he planned to remain retired, changed his mind yet again Tuesday, agreeing to join the Minnesota Vikings after all. It’s the second time in two years that Favre announced he was retired, only to reverse course soon after.

The Vikings, who had courted Favre throughout the off-season only to be left empty-handed on the eve of training camp, planned to address the media later Tuesday. When Favre initially said he would not come back, Coach Brad Childress said the team would move forward with the quarterbacks on its roster and had no interest in Favre.

But now, Favre is en route to the Vikings training camp. He and his wife Deanna were spotted boarding a team plane at the Hattiesburg, Miss. airport.

The U-turn in Favre’s future wasn’t a complete surprise. He had left the door slightly open for a return – likely only to the Vikings – back in July, but almost everyone expected that he wouldn’t make a move until the regular season. Instead, Favre becomes the Vikings starter ahead of Sage Rosenfels and Tarvaris Jackson with three preseason games remaining. He is already familiar with the offense run by his friend, the Vikings offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell. The Vikings have viewed Favre, 39, as the final piece needed to make them the N.F.C. favorite to reach the Super Bowl.

Favre too had viewed the Vikings as a perfect fit for him, because of his familiarity with the N.F.C. North. Favre also said earlier this year that he was motivated to come back last season in part to get back at Packers General Manager Ted Thompson, who shipped Favre to the Jets.

Favre’s play with the Jets dropped off precipitously late last season and the team missed the playoffs, leading to the firing of Coach Eric Mangini. Favre asked the Jets for his release and they granted it, in part because they did not want to endure Favre’s drawn-out retirement deliberations.

Favre had arthroscopic surgery during the off-season on a partially torn right biceps muscle, but then, with the Vikings urging him on, he began throwing again and preparing for a comeback.

robert novak

robert novak

Mr. Novak's "Inside Report" syndicated column, shared for 30 years with the late Rowland Evans, was important reading for anyone who wanted to know what was happening in Washington. Mr. Novak and Evans broke stories about presidential politics, fiscal policy and intra-party feuds. Their journalism, which reported leaks from the highest sources of government, often had embarrassing consequences for politicians.

In recent years, Mr. Novak was best known for publicly identifying CIA operative Valerie Plame. His July 14, 2003, column was printed days after Plame's husband, former U.S. ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV, publicly claimed that the Bush White House had knowingly distorted intelligence that Iraq tried to obtain uranium from Africa.

The column triggered a lengthy federal investigation into the Plame leak and resulted in the 2007 conviction of a top vice presidential aide, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, for perjury and obstruction of justice. President George W. Bush later commuted Libby's prison term.

Mr. Novak was accused by prominent journalists of being a pawn in a government retribution campaign against Wilson. Mr. Novak, who had called the U.S. invasion of Iraq "unjustified," denied the allegation.

He wrote that his initial column was meant to ask why Wilson had been sent on a CIA fact-finding mission involving the uranium. Then-Deputy Secretary of State Richard L. Armitage mentioned Plame's CIA position to Mr. Novak, and Bush aide Karl Rove confirmed it.

In a 2006 column, Mr. Novak wrote that Armitage "did not slip me this information as idle chitchat. . . . He made clear he considered it especially suited for my column." Armitage told The Washington Post that his disclosure to Mr. Novak was made in an offhand manner and that he did not know why Plame's husband was sent to Africa.

Mr. Novak lamented that the Plame story would "forever be part of my public identity" despite having written columns he said were more important.

Until the Plame controversy, Mr. Novak had largely been known as a strong anti-Communist in his foreign policy views. He also was an leading advocate of supply-side economics, a belief that tax cuts would lead to widespread financial prosperity.

David Keene, chairman of the American Conservative Union lobbying organization, said that Mr. Novak helped transform supply-side economics from a fringe idea into a tenet of President Ronald Reagan's economic policy. Keene called Mr. Novak "a giant of the profession" who "gave respectability and visibility to conservative ideas and positions in the 1970s, when they were mostly dismissed."

Mr. Novak was a congressional reporter for the Associated Press and the Wall Street Journal before he teamed with Evans in 1963 to write a Washington-based political column for the old New York Herald-Tribune. "Inside Report" ran in almost 300 papers nationally, including The Post. Mr. Novak continued the column after Evans's retirement in 1993. Evans died in 2001.

Focusing on political intrigue rather than starchy analysis, they had an immediate effect with news about Arizona Sen. Barry Goldwater's likely nomination as the Republican presidential candidate in 1964.

john edwards psychic

john edwards psychic

I just wanted to ask if you could help me to understand what is platform mediumship or gallery readings? I noticed you do a spirit speaks gallery night and I have seen others offered like this before in New Jersey. Is this also like what John Edward does? I have never been but I am curious to what it is and if I should go to one. Thanks.
Blessings to you, Rachel


Hi Rachel, thanks for writing and I will try my best to assist you. Platform mediumship and gallery readings can be a great experience and much comfort to so many.

When it comes to platform mediumship and gallery readings everyone is used to seeing the more main stream public Medium as John Edward. John is known all over the world for his extraordinary gift of connecting individuals with their loved ones who have crossed over. This takes much focus, responsibility, hard work and dedication in who he is as an individual working with his gifts. Most individual do not understand what it is to do this work and the amount of time and energy that goes into what we do. I often hear individuals say that this is a gift ( which it is and we all have) that it is unbelievable that anyone can talk to deceased individuals. Many will not understand it and say it is not real. I have even seen someone get a message delivered to them and they negate it, as they are too afraid of the truth that was given to them.

Being a medium is something that is a passion and a life in which you live constantly on a platform of everything that is going on around you. When a good Medium does this work with such ease it makes it all look too simple to the normal individual. But many do not understand or know what goes into being a good Medium. Many believe that being a Medium is filled with glamour and everyone will become rich and famous. Not true. It takes a very special individual to be recognized in this way. As I said there is much responsibility, time and focus to be a great Medium. Mainly by the time an individual works to develop their gifts with the ability to bring them closer to the lime light they become distracted with an ego and never make the cut. Most so-called Mediums do not take the time to work, learn or understand their own stuff before they are selling themselves as a Medium to the main stream public. Mainly by calling themselves a Medium when they do not even understand what a Medium is themselves. Once again it is taking the time to understand and develop what it is they are working with. They will read a few books because they have something going on around them, a recognition that they see, hear, or know something that is hard to explain. Some individuals have even taken some classes but when it gets to the point of actually having to do some work or look at the truth of everything, they will run in the opposite direction. These individuals really did not take the time to do their work. I once had a young woman tell me she is a true Medium and that she did not have to develop what was just natural for her. This is all very wonderful, except for the fact that she was giving messages to others that were all fear based. She did not really understand the responsibility it was to work with others in this way. She was also more of a intuitive psychic that just wanted to be known as a Medium for her own prestige.

Developing your Mediumship if that is what calls to you, takes more than one weekend to work with to develop. It takes the time to develop it over a course of months and years to be able to understand the basics and then more importantly to understand who you are and if this is for you.

Just about any good Medium will tell you the importance to doing their own work and developing how to interpret the messages they are receiving. Remember my articles about Spirit Guides and Angels? That they never tell you anything fearful or negative and they most certainly do not. It is always going to be the interpretation of the Medium in how they receive their messages from those in spirit, to then be able to deliver them back to you with accuracy. This is why a Medium takes the time to develop their gifts, to know how they are receiving (seeing, hearing, feeling, etc...) what they are receiving and what all of it is about. As in my earlier articles I wrote the differences in psychic, psychic mediums and mediums, which is very important to know these three different working styles. As to then know what kind of messages you will be receiving and what style in which it will be delivered.

At a Gallery Reading or seeing a demonstration of Platform Mediumship there are a few things that go on. You may see that there will be one, two or sometimes up to five Mediums on the stage area. As the event gets started the Medium will introduce themselves and start to look around the room. As they are doing this they are being drawn to an area or individual that they cannot look away from. As this is happening your loved one , guide or angel is there getting the attention of the Medium working. The Medium will then start to give you information that is coming from those in the spirit world around you.

The Medium should always ask if they may speak to you. At that point the messages will be delivered to you. The Medium then cannot walk away until the message is delivered to you. Many times those in spirit will stay there until they are satisfied you have been given the message correctly. When the message is delivered correctly the Medium will then close that energy and move on to the next person. Remember those in the spirit world have a wonderful sense of humor and once again shall never tell you anything frightful or fearful; there is no need to do so. For those in spirit love you too much to harm you in any way. This can be very fun, informative, healing, and peaceful when in the hands of the right Medium.

Platform mediumship and or gallery readings is a way for you to sample and experience messages being delivered from those in spirit (loved ones, guides and angels) to individuals here in the physical. Most old school Mediums will tell you that the only messages delivered is to be from loved ones who have crossed over. I agree on many levels, but I also know there are guides and angels who have just as many important things to say to someone. That to exclude this is to not give a message that is there for someone. Many times my loved ones do not come in to give me a message, as there are different levels and things I am going through and in what I need to hear. But I will say, if all of the messages that are being delivered by a Medium on such a night as one of these, are all from just guides and angels, then this goes in that category of not being a very good Medium. There may be those rare nights that this may happen but not every time.

You will find many differences in attending a platform or a gallery reading, when one happens to venture to a Medium who is in the category of not being a true, or a good medium. This can be very disappointing and also places a bad representation of other Mediums around the world especially if no one has ever had the chance to experience a good medium at work. This can either work out well for the Medium (since no one knows the difference) or most times make a disaster to the good mediums out there, who work hard at the work.

I once had the opportunity to see what was being advertised as the worlds best psychic but who was supposed to also be a Medium. She was late arriving due to the weather and then proceeded to explain so much information that was not necessary before she even began. Everyone was given a small piece of paper and asked to write down a question, you were not told exactly why. As this individuals proceeded, she gave one story after the other answered a few questions as she kept talking about herself and then after taking a break came back to do messages. The basket was given to her with all of these pieces of paper. Being a Medium I supposed she was going to demonstrate psychometry to deliver messages around the room.

Not so, she proceeded to select a piece of paper and then open the paper, read the question and then give an answer. Well, this is not a Medium but can be a psychic. Unfortunately she kept saying she was a Medium. No Medium needs to have you write questions on paper and then open the paper, read the question to get your answer. This then is a not good Medium. At one time she was even very rude to an audience member and was embarrassing this individual in front of everyone. I did not find this acceptable as there is no reason to go there in the first place. As everyone was laughing at that individual I sat there sending love. Even if all of it was true this went over the line of professionalism.
The night ran very late as there were those who needed to go to work the next day, what started at six thirty that night, lasted to over twelve midnight. For every question she read she needed to talk more about herself. That was a total disaster.

On a brighter side. I once had the opportunity to go and see John Edward here in Maryland and I was so delighted, not just with the messages he was delivering to those in the audience. But also to see and know his energy and light that was around him. It is very rare for me to be able to see another in this line of work that is a pure vehicle and I was in heaven just watching him work. His integrity stands alone and speaks very well for him in all that he does. The room was filled with individuals just excited to be there and hoping for a message from their loved ones also. Even though John did not get to everyone in the room that night, the messages he did give to those few, were also messages to others around the room. This is true of many messages that are delivered to an audience in any size room. Listen when the Medium is speaking because there will always be something there for each individual sitting in that same area. It may not be delivered straight to you, but you will feel and know when it resonates with you.

I have seen and experienced many gallery readings and platform work demonstrations in doing this work all of my life. I have been a participant to many galleries where there were a few Mediums who were brand new to those that were a total disaster. I worked hard at understanding what it takes and then the time came for me to create the Spirit Speaks Galleries. I do this as an honor of celebrating those in spirit to bring love, healing, closure, independence and more to those who needed to hear from their loved ones, guides and angels. To know they are loved, they are here with you and they shall always be there to talk to.

Angelic Wise Ones Spirit Speaks Gallery Nights are a way for you to bring your friends, family and co-workers together to share in a night that will leave all of you excited for the time spent together. This is also a great opportunity to see what a Medium is like, and how they work if you are looking to schedule a private reading with that Medium. Read my article Finding the right Medium or Psychic for you to have all you need at your finger tips when scheduling an appointment.

Next time you are searching for something to do on a Friday night, check out the Spirit Speaks Gallery Night in Maryland, you will be sure to walk away with a special message from your loved one, guide and angels just for you.

Love, Laughter & Light, Adele

hurricane bill projected path

hurricane bill projected path
Hurricane Bill projected path predictions have it remaining in the Atlantic Ocean for the moment. However, Hurricane Bill's projected path may bring it on land within the end of the week, though people on land still have a lot of time to prepare.

The Hurricane Bill projected path still gives the storm a few days to become a real, threatening hurricane. It remains 1100 miles east of the Lesser Antilles, with maximum winds up to 75 MPH. However, the Hurricane Bill projected path speculates that it will pack a punch when the week ends.

Hurricane Bill is projected to become a major hurricane by Wednesday, as it begins to get closer to land. The first land to be threatened could be the Virgin Islands, as Hurricane Bill may skirt the northern edge. It is Bermuda that might get hit by Hurricane Bill by the end of the week.

However, other predictions have Hurricane Bill's projected path missing land altogether. Though Hurricane Bill may increase in strength over the next few days, there is still a good chance that it may not make landfall. The biggest damage to the shores may come from high tides created by the remains of Hurricane Bill.

The Hurricane Bill projected path is still being watched closely, in case the best case scenarios are wrong and it does hit land. It is part of a massive new string of hurricane watching, as Tropical Storm Ana begins to die down, Tropical Storm Claudette reaches Florida, and Hurricane Guillermo finally starts to weaken in the Pacific.

Ana, Bill, Claudette and Guillermo have been long overdue, since hurricane season is officially starting later than usual. For the moment, it appears that the projected paths of each storm have them dying down before they cause damage on land. Yet their very appearance now has everyone getting ready, in case another storm actually does reach land and cause serious trouble.

tea party patriots

tea party patriots

The Humboldt Tea Party Patriots are looking for a few good patriots to represent them at what's being dubbed the “largest tea party in history.”

On Aug. 28, protesters from around the state are expected to descend on the Capitol Building in Sacramento, where they will speak out against what they perceive to be an out-of-control government that is infringing on their freedoms and

overburdening industries such as mining, construction, ranching and farming.

”Those we have chosen for the privilege to represent us are strangling this great state,” the Humboldt Tea Party Patriots said in a press release.

According to the release, the Aug. 28 protest will gather like-minded people intent on delivering the message to Sacramento and Washington, D.C., that they wish to be

left alone.

Specifically, the press release states that the Humboldt Tea Party Patriots believe in free market policies, wish to see the Endangered Species Act rescinded or revised, wish to see the repeal of Assembly Bill 32 and generally want fiscal responsibility and limited government.

Humboldt Tea Party Patriots are looking to send a busload of locals down to Sacramento for the rally on Aug. 28, and also for some volunteers to ride on the Tea Party Express, a cross-country bus tour of tea parties scheduled to culminate with a march on Washington, D.C., on Sept. 12.

snitch.name

snitch.name

When Maya Rupert wrote an article frowning at several Southern states for officially celebrating Confederate History Month, Internet critics lined up to fire back. ¶ But this time, they arrived with more than harsh words. ¶ The 28-year-old Los Angeles attorney's detractors dug up a photo of her and posted it, along with details of political contributions she'd made, in an online discussion of the article she wrote for the L.A. Watts Times. They called their finds evidence of her bias on the emotionally charged subject. ¶ "It really surprised me when I found out that people could see how much I donated to Obama," Rupert said, referring to the $400 she gave to the candidate last year, the record of which is available through several online watchdog sites. ¶ After that, Rupert

said, "they pulled a picture off my firm's website and said, 'Of course she's black.' " ¶ Until recently, personal information has been scattered across cyberspace, to be found or not depending on the luck and sophistication of the searcher. But a new crop of "snooper" sites is making it easier than ever for anyone with Internet access to assemble the information into a digital portrait. ¶ "It's amazing what you can Google," one of the people who criticized Rupert wrote in an online forum. ¶ Rupert has since learned that the photo and campaign contributions were just a small part of her online "footprint" -- an expansive dossier that she did not realize was available to anyone searching her name. ¶ On Snitch.name, users can enter a name -- their own or someone else's -- and watch as the site culls information from dozens of search engines, social networks and directories.

Rupert entered her name into Snitch last week, and within a minute she was presented with photos of herself, details of her California Bar membership and the names and addresses of her sister and parents.

"I'm a fan of open records and a fan of a lot of information being public," she said. "But there's public," and then there's the unfettered Web where "at the touch of a button, I can find out private information about you and use that for other purposes."

"It's really creepy," she said.

Looking in the digital mirror

Online information about consumers comes from several sources. Public records such as campaign contributions, property sales and court cases are increasingly posted on the Internet. At the same time, marketers are collecting information about consumers' Web browsing and buying habits. And then there are the thousands of online communities such as Facebook and Twitter, where users supply the personal information themselves.

In general, people have felt that their information is better protected within the walls of social networks, where they can control what is posted and approve who can view it. But privacy experts warn against being lulled into a false sense of security.

"The rule of thumb for Internet privacy is that you don't let it get out there in the first place," said Pam Dixon, founder of the World Privacy Forum. The moment information is openly accessible online, it can be -- and often is -- copied from one site to another, making it extremely onerous to stamp out even if it's deleted from the original site.

"It's not like chasing Alice in Wonderland down a rabbit hole," Dixon said. "It's like chasing a hundred Alices down a hundred rabbit holes."

In the course of exploring her own digital footprint, Rupert saw photos and information from a social networking profile she'd started in 2003 on Friendster.com, thinking that only her friends would be able to see it. Little did she know that, years later, much of the material would end up exposed to the open Web. Details from her MySpace profile had also been copied to third-party sites she'd never heard of, where they remained accessible no matter whether she removed the material from MySpace.

Even if you don't post any information about yourself online, however, maintaining a low profile can be a challenge.

Sites such as Huffington Post's FundRace2008 can freely gather and post information about hundreds of thousands of campaign contributions, including the donor's name and address and the amount donated.

BlockShopper.com maps home sales -- including the property's sale price, its address, and the names of the buyer and seller. That data is publicly available, often from county assessor and recorder offices.

Many kinds of court documents, which can contain social security numbers and family details, are public records. And city governments can post building permit applications, complete with blueprints of private homes.

Vatche Yepremian, who runs a mortgage lending company in Glendale, said he was well acquainted with the array of public information available about him online. His footprint includes details about several properties he owns, a home remodel plan he submitted to Glendale in 2007 and various court proceedings in which he is named.

Rather than being disturbed by the availability of data, Yepremian said it has been a useful tool when deciding whether to grant applicants a loan.

"If I want to lend money to someone, I want to make sure that everything and anything they've told me is the truth," Yepremian said. Even a few years ago, verifying an applicant's claims might have required a call to a title company or a crosstown drive to inspect a property. Now the Web saves him the trouble. "It makes life much easier," he said.

Perhaps the least understood by consumers is the practice of behavioral tracking, where marketing companies log activities such as the Web pages users visit, the ads they click and the terms they search for.

Most companies say information about user activities is stored securely and anonymously.

Even so, Paul Stephens of the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse said, "an individual's patterns on the Internet can reveal a tremendous amount of information about them, and it can be a gold mine for companies that want to market to you."

big brother 11 jordan hoh

big brother 11 jordan hoh

New Delhi, Aug 16, 2009: Big Brother 11 Jordan HOH, dethrones Michele. In Big Brother it is getting very confused. We had expected that with Chima Simone gone there will be a few moment of civility in the show, but I was apparently wrong.Apparently HOH or head of household has become a tricky issue with housemates. We have seen it happening during the last two weeks.

In the fifth week, Chima won the Head of Household competition. She nominated Lydia and Russell for eviction. [24] Kevin won the Power of Veto but decided not to use it.

On Day 40, right before the eviction vote, Jeff decided to use the power of "Coup d'État" to replace Chima's nominations with his own. He nominated Jessie and Natalie for eviction. He, Chima, and his nominees were not permitted to vote. Jessie became the fifth evicted HouseGuest by a 3-2 vote, and the first member of the jury that will vote for the winner of Big Brother.

At the end of the episode, Julie Chen announced the sixth eviction episode will be a special live double eviction, with the eviction held immediately at the show's start, followed by an entire week of competitions and the seventh eviction, all in one hour.

In the sixth week, every HouseGuest was eligible to become Head of Household. Michele won the HoH competition "Hit the Road" and nominated Chima and Natalie for eviction. On Day 42 after throwing her mic into the Hot Tub, not having her mic on, and bad mouthing production, Chima was removed from the house.

meet the press

meet the press

A week after George Stephanopoulos' much-touted ratings victory over "Meet the Press" (and no, there wasn't tennis on NBC; just a weak lineup of guests), the David Gregory-moderated show is back on top.

"Meet the Press" had 2.99 million viewers last Sunday versus 2.68 million for ABC's "This Week," according to Nielsen Media Research.

However, the Stephanopoulos show edged out Gregory's program in the crucial 25- to 54-year-old viewer demographic.

On "Meet the Press," New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Newark, N.J., Mayor Cory Booker shot holes into national gun laws.

Meanwhile, Stephanopoulos interviewed everyone's favorite shouting Democrat, Howard Dean, as well as former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

The CBS show, "Face the Nation," is still hanging in there in the ratings race. Moderator Bob Schieffer takes home another bronze medal with 2.39 million viewers. "Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace" attracted half that.

We can't help but wonder what fuels the ratings fluctuations. As we noted a couple of weeks ago, high-profile guests don't seem to make a difference. Does it just depend on what channel you had left on the TV from Saturday night?

merrill lynch online

merrill lynch online

An index of U.S. consumer sentiment unexpectedly declined in early August to 63.2 from 66.0 in July. That was the lowest reading since March, and is significantly worse than the 69.0 that was expected by economists surveyed by MarketWatch. See full story.

The Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF 14.24, -0.09, -0.63%) , an exchange-traded fund that tracks all of the financial-services companies in the S&P 500 index, declined 0.6%.

Meanwhile, the KBW Bank Index edged up 0.2%.

Bank of America (BAC 17.39, +0.39, +2.29%) shares gained 2.3% to close at $17.39, while Citigroup (C 4.04, -0.02, -0.49%) , Wells Fargo (WFC 27.73, -0.15, -0.54%) , J.P. Morgan Chase (JPM 42.45, -0.45, -1.05%) and US Bancorp (USB 22.49, -0.06, -0.27%) all fell by 1.1% or less.

The KBW Bank Index has jumped 23% in the past month, while the Financial Select Sector SPDR has rallied 19%.

Bank stocks have risen after the sector's second-quarter results suggested that consumer loan delinquencies are starting to stabilize as the recession eases. Indeed, Citi shares were upgraded by analysts at Banc of America Securities-Merrill Lynch on Friday, partly because of stabilization in consumer credit delinquency trends.

The sector got another boost Thursday after a regulatory filing showed that Paulson & Co., one of the world's largest hedge funds, run by John Paulson, bought big stakes in lenders like Bank of America during the second quarter.

It's not clear whether Paulson still holds the stakes, but some investors took the filing as a sign that the sector is gaining support among some top institutions. See full story.

Friday's consumer sentiment report suggests that the financial health of American consumers may not be stabilizing as much as bank investors hope. See story on threats to bank stock rally.

Colonial BancGroup (CNB 0.41, -0.06, -11.91%) shares dropped 12% to 41 cents before being halted Friday morning.

Colonial may become the largest bank failure so far this year. BB&T Corp. (BBT 28.23, +2.43, +9.42%) is expected to take over the Montgomery, Ala.-based bank as early as Friday, after the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. seizes the lender, according to reports by Bloomberg News and The Wall Street Journal's online edition. See story on possible failure of Colonial.

BB&T shares jumped 9.4% to close at $28.23.

Shares of E-Trade Financial (ETFC 1.35, -0.05, -3.57%) , the discount broker that has it's own troubled bank, fell 3.6% to close at $1.35.

Hedge fund firm Citadel Investment Group in a regulatory filing said it has entered into a trading plan allowing it to sell as many as 120 million E-Trade shares between the end of August and late October.

Citadel said it sold nearly 14 million shares of E-Trade earlier this week. The firm, run by Ken Griffin, invested heavily in the online broker in late 2007.

Genworth Financial (GNW 8.28, -0.47, -5.37%) fell 5% to close at $8.28. Citigroup analyst Colin Devine downgraded the insurer to sell from hold, citing "a very uncertain earnings outlook and capital position."