200 dead, missing as India ferry sinks

GUWAHATI, India — An overcrowded river ferry broke in two and sank in northeast India during a severe storm on Monday, leaving at least 105 people dead and almost as many missing, police said.
As rescuers struggled in heavy rain to find survivors weeping relatives lined the shores of the fast-flowing Brahmaputra river in Assam state, desperate for news of family members on board the vessel.

असम में नौका डूबी, ढाई सौ सवारों में 35 मरे

गुवाहाटी/एजेंसी

 असम में सोमवार को हुई एक नौका दुर्घटना में 35 लोग डूब कर मर गए। इस नाव में 250 लोग सवार थे। अभी डेढ़ सौ से ज्यादा लोग लापता हैं। धुबरी जिले में ब्रह्मपुत्र नदी में जा रही यह नाव धुबरीघाट को पार कर रही थी कि तभी पलट गई। 

Study: Heavy teens have trouble managing diabetes

New research sends a stark warning to overweight teens: If you develop diabetes, you'll have a very tough time keeping it under control.

A major study, released Sunday, tested several ways to manage blood sugar in teens newly diagnosed with diabetes and found that nearly half of them failed within a few years and 1 in 5 suffered serious complications. The results spell trouble for a nation facing rising rates of "diabesity" — Type 2 diabetes brought on by obesity.

Don't blame me for Whitney's death, Bobby Brown says

"I'm not the one that got Whitney on drugs, at all," Brown said in an interview to be aired this week on the "Today" show on U.S. television network NBC.

"I'm not the reason she's gone," he added.

First look at Whitney Houston in her final film Sparkle as much-awaited trailer is released

Viewers got a first glimpse of Whitney Houston's final film today.
NBC's Today show premiered a trailer for the much-awaited release of Sparkle, a remake of the 1976 original.

The film stars Houston, who passed away last month at the age of 48, as the mother of three girls who form a singing group and struggle with fame and drug addiction.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2124070/Sparkle-movie-trailer-First-look-Whitney-Houston-final-film.html#ixzz1qyBwblnn

Gunman kills 7, wounds 3 at California Christian college

(Reuters) - A gunman opened fire at a Christian college in California on Monday, killing at least seven people and wounding three after telling former classmates: "Get in line and I'm going to kill you all."
Police said the suspect, a 43-year-old Korean-American, surrendered at a Safeway grocery store several miles away from the scene at Oikos University in Oakland after the deadliest U.S. school shooting in five years.

He was named by police as One Goh, a former student at Oikos, which has links to the Korean-American Christian community. Police described the man as both a Korean national and a naturalized American citizen from Korea. They said they believed he used a handgun and acted alone.

12 killed in Moscow market fire

Twelve people have died after a fire tore through a Moscow market warehouse that was being used by migrant workers as temporary residence.

Unconfirmed news reports said the migrants came from the impoverished Central Asian nation of Tajikistan. Numerous Moscow markets employ cheap labourers from the region without giving them proper housing conditions or pay.

The blaze erupted early on Tuesday at a market on the southern outskirts of the city called Kachalovsky. Officials said it took two hours to put out.

Emergency workers described squalid living conditions in which the workers slept on hard cots that were stacked on top of each other in rows of four without any direct access to the outside.

Supreme Court Ruling Allows Strip-Searches for Any Arrest

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday ruled by a 5-to-4 vote that officials may strip-search people arrested for any offense, however minor, before admitting them to jails even if the officials have no reason to suspect the presence of contraband.

Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, joined by the court’s conservative wing, wrote that courts are in no position to second-guess the judgments of correctional officials who must consider not only the possibility of smuggled weapons and drugs, but also public health and information about gang affiliations. 

“Every detainee who will be admitted to the general population may be required to undergo a close visual inspection while undressed,” Justice Kennedy wrote, adding that about 13 million people are admitted each year to the nation’s jails.

Investors Are Looking to Buy Homes by the Thousands

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — At least 20 times a day, Alan Hladik walks into a fixer-upper and tries to figure out if it is worth buying.

With home prices down more than a third from their peak and the market swamped with foreclosures, large investors are salivating at the opportunity to buy perhaps thousands of homes at deep discounts and fill them with tenants. Nobody has ever tried this on such a large scale, and critics worry these new investors could face big challenges managing large portfolios of dispersed rental houses. Typically, landlords tend to be individuals or small firms that own just a handful of homes. 

But the new investors believe the rental income can deliver returns well above those offered by Treasury securities or stock dividends. At the same time, economists say, they could help areas hardest hit by the housing crash reach a bottom of the market.

UPDATE 1-New Jersey (no kidding) is among best corruption fighters

WASHINGTON, March 19 (Reuters) - Despite a well-deserved
reputation for scandals, New Jersey is a mong the state leaders
in the fight ag ainst official corruption, with most states doing
a poor job, according to a wide-ranging study released on
Monday.

Five states received a "B" grade for accountability and
transparency and eight got an "F" in the investigation by the
nonprofit groups Center for Public Integrity, Global Integrity
and Public Radio International. No state got an "A."

The 18-month project is the most comprehensive study of
state laws and practices that bolster openness and deter
corruption, the investigators said.

The five states receiving "B" grades were New Jersey,
Connecticut, Washington, California and Nebraska. The eight
failing states were North Dakota, Michigan, South Carolina,

Report: South Carolina government is ripe for corruption

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/03/19/3500190/report-south-carolina-government.html#storylink=cpy

WASHINGTON — Government is ripe for corruption, according to 50-state assessment.
South Carolina is among the states most ripe for corruption because of government secrecy, weak ethics enforcement, little disclosure of legislators' finances and low accountability for legislative and executive branch members, according to a nationwide analysis to be released today.

The report gives South Carolina failing grades in nine of 14 key categories, with the state faring especially poorly in public access to information and executive accountability.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/03/19/3500190/report-south-carolina-government.html#storylink=cpy

Wall Street Keys On Landlord Business

Some of the biggest names on Wall Street are lining up to become landlords to cash-strapped Americans by bidding on pools of foreclosed properties being sold by Fannie Mae.

The idea is that the new owners would rent out the homes at first rather than reselling—potentially aiding a housing-market recovery by reducing the number of properties clogging the market. The fact that big-name investors are interested also suggests they anticipate sizable future profits in housing.

Gunman kills four at French Jewish school

Three children among four people shot dead in Toulouse attack described by Nicolas Sarkozy as "national tragedy".

At least four people, including three children, have been killed in a shooting outside a Jewish school in the southwestern French city of Toulouse, officials say.
Monday's incident occurred as children and their parents were arriving at the Ozar Hatorah school, in the northeast of the city, for the start of the school day.
The gunman drove away on a scooter, a national police officer said.

Georgia Rep Wants To Force Women To Carry Stillborn Fetuses…Like Cows Do

In today’s news about more men who want to control women’s bodies, Georgia’s state representative, Terry England, wants to force us to carry stillborn fetuses to term–just like cows and pigs do, he says. Because, you know, women are just like barnyard animals.

Fatal U.S. shooting of black teen stokes anger, raises suspicion

 Tragically, a black male teenager killed by a gunshot is hardly news in America.

So, it was perhaps no surprise that the killing of Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old, shot at a close-range by George Zimmerman, a crime-watch volunteer in a gated community in north Orlando, attracted little initial attention.

NetZero's Free Wireless Broadband Service Announced

United Online Inc. announced Monday that it will offer free wireless Internet service under its NetZero brand, the one that started the free dial-up phenomenon in 1998. The company is backing up the plan with TV, print and online advertisements.

Whigham Sources: Raffles Van Exel Responsible For Whitney’s Enquirer Photo

Man Accused Of Taking Casket Picture Of Whitney Speaks Out!