Study Says Some People Having AIDS Aren’t Infectious

It is found in a recent study that AIDS patients that have been treated with the latest antiretroviral drugs can no longer infect other people through sexual contact. The drugs work so well that even though the patients aren’t cured, they make it able that only a small amount of the virus is circulating through the body. Researchers say that this fact prevents a HIV-positive person from transferring the virus through sexual intercourse.

The researchers also say that AIDS patients who took the drugs for at least six months can have unprotected sex with HIV-negative people without infecting them. Many activists and doctors don’t agree with doing this because it might have HIV-positive people having sex without informing their partners about their disease. If a HIV-positive patient missed a dose of their medicine, then they could be at risk of infecting their partners.

China Targeting the Internet to Stop Juvenile Crime

China is targeting illegal Web sites, computer markets, and Internet cafes to attack online games that are considered too violent and unhealthy to try to stop juvenile crime. The crackdown is being called “Operation for Tomorrow” and is also aimed at Web sites that offer unregistered playing platforms or services that can be downloaded. They hope that this plan will improve the environment, prevent, and reduce juvenile crime and illegal activities.

China already monitors the Internet for anti-government speech and uncensored news reports. The new plan mainly targets school dropouts, runaways, children of inmates, and children that have been left behind by parents that migrated to different areas for work. Unlicensed Internet cafes would be closed down and there would be tighter supervision over legal cafes. The China government is blaming Internet cafes for promoting juvenile crime and school truancy. Online pornography will also be attacked in the crackdown.

The crackdown is meant to increase government supervision and control the services of groups of people that they feel are vulnerable and easily impressionable. They also plan to increase the supervision over domestic and foreign charity groups and other non-government organizations.

New Dinosaur Fossils Found in China

Scientists have found new dinosaur fossils in China. The fossils are small, sparrow sized, toothless, and have carved toes. Despite their small size, they strongly resemble pterodactyls. They supposedly spent most of their time living in trees. Pterodactyls are widely known for being giant flying reptiles and most of their fossils have been found around costal areas.

The new fossil has been named Nemicolopterus cryptic, meaning hidden flying forest dweller. It was found in the western part of China’s Liaoning province, which is a region that had forests 120 million years ago. The fossil had attachments for muscles so that it could grasp limbs. It didn’t have any teeth, unlike most pterodactyls, and probably ate insects.

Rapper The Game Sentenced to do Jail Time

The rapper The Game was sentenced to serve two months in jail after he pleaded no contest to a felony weapons charge from an incident that happened last year. He was charged with the possession of a firearm in a school zone after he threatened to shoot someone during a basketball game. He was also ordered to perform 150 hours of community service and spend three years on probation.

U.S. Seeks Death Penalty for 9-11 Terrorist Attack Suspects

The Pentagon plans to charge six men detained at Guantanamo Bay for the Sept 11^th terrorist attacks on America. They are seeking the death penalty for the men. One of the men, named Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, is supposedly the mastermind behind the attack, where hijacked planes were flown into buildings in New York and Washington. Prosecutors have been working for years to build the case against the suspects.

The trial will be held in a specially made court at Guantanamo that will allow lawyers, journalists, and some other people attend. The men would be tried in the military tribunal system that was set up by the Bush administration after the start of the war on terror. The system has been criticized for its rules on legal representation for suspects, hearings behind closed doors, and allegations of inmate abuse at Guantanamo.

Yahoo Declines Microsoft’s Offer

Yahoo has rejected Microsoft Corp.’s $44.6 billion dollar offer thinking that they can get a better offer from the company or find another way to pay its shareholders. Yahoo has said that they could possibly negotiate if Microsoft comes up with a better offer. If they don’t, then Yahoo will have to try to rebound financially on its own.

Some analysts think that Microsoft will raise its offer to $35 to $40 per share to make the negotiation. Microsoft was willing to pay at least $40 per share for Yahoo a year ago but Yahoo wasn’t interested in the offer because it was confident in its own strategy and plans. A higher bid could possibly hurt Microsoft’s stock price, because recently it has been falling. Microsoft’s market value has decreased by over $40 billion, which is 14 percent, since the bid was announced. The Yahoo takeover could be more trouble than it’s worth for Microsoft. Analysts say that Yahoo will have no choice but to take the offer if Microsoft raises its bid.

If Microsoft doesn’t want to pay more money then they can take their original bid directly to Yahoo’s shareholders. Microsoft has been seriously considering this by meeting with some of Yahoo’s major shareholders to get support for the offer. Yahoo could also make Microsoft not want them by issuing out more company shares so that it would make the company too expensive for Microsoft to want to buy.

Even though Yahoo has been suffering for the past two years, it still has one of the largest Internet audiences and is a very valuable franchise. Microsoft wants to use those qualities to compete against Google Inc., which currently has the lead in online search and advertising. Yahoo has been considering an advertising partnership with Google as an option to earn profits and stay independent. Yahoo is also looking for other companies that might make a larger bid than Microsoft, but none has come forward yet.

Yahoo is hoping that their stock value will not go below $20 per share if Microsoft decides not to make any more bids. If that happens then there could be a large number of shareholder lawsuits.

Bank Deposits Able To Be Made From Home

CheckFree Corp, an online banking service, is introducing technology called Remote Deposit Capture where people can scan their checks through their home computer and deposit them electronically. This means that people have another choice when it comes to depositing their checks without going to a bank branch. The service will start to be available this week for people who do their banking services online as long as their banks offer the service.

This technology has been around for several years but has mostly been used by businesses. It is already in use in the top 150 banks. It is easy to use and banks can customize it for their clients.

To use this service you would need a scanner, a computer, and an Internet connection. You would go to your home banking site and enter the amount of the check. You would scan both sides of the check, do a quick review of what you scanned, and then submit the scanned image. Banks can add their own fraud protection to make sue that bad checks aren’t cashed. The processing times for the checks would be as normal as cashing any other check.

CheckFree Corp, an online banking service, is introducing technology called Remote Deposit Capture where people can scan their checks through their home computer and deposit them electronically. This means that people have another choice when it comes to depositing their checks without going to a bank branch. The service will start to be available this week for people who do their banking services online as long as their banks offer the service.

This technology has been around for several years but has mostly been used by businesses. It is already in use in the top 150 banks. It is easy to use and banks can customize it for their clients.

To use this service you would need a scanner, a computer, and an Internet connection. You would go to your home banking site and enter the amount of the check. You would scan both sides of the check, do a quick review of what you scanned, and then submit the scanned image. Banks can add their own fraud protection to make sue that bad checks aren’t cashed. The processing times for the checks would be as normal as cashing any other check.

Jennifer Lopez is Having Twins

Jennifer Lopez’s father, David Lopez, stated in Telefutura’s “Escandalo TV” program that his daughter is having twins.

Heath Ledger Died of Overdose

It is found that the actor Heath Ledger died of an accidental overdose of painkillers, sleeping pills, anti-anxiety medication, and other prescription drugs, says a New York City medical examiner. The cause of death was acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam, and doxylamine. The medical examiner’s office only named the name of generic drugs, so it is unclear if Ledger took generic or brand-name drugs.

Police found six types of prescription drugs in his apartment, including sleeping pills and anti-anxiety medicine. It isn’t released how much of each drug was found in his blood or if one drug played a greater role than others in causing his death. None of the drugs were taken excessively but the combination of having all the different drugs in his body at the same time proved deadly.

On January 22^nd Heath Ledger was found by a masseuse in the bed of his rented SoHo apartment. When she entered his bedroom to set up for the massage, she found him unresponsive. She then called his friend Mary-Kate Olsen three times over the next 9 minutes before calling 911. Ledger had been dead for a while when he was found.

Shaquille O’Neal Preparing to be Traded

Shaquille O’Neal is preparing to be traded by the Miami Heat. The Phoenix Suns are ready to trade two players from their team to have him. The Suns are already planning on having him take a physical before they make the deal and are willing to trade Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks to get Shaq. Both teams are very serious about the deal.

Shaq currently has two full seasons left on his current $100 million five-year contract. This season he averaged a low 14.2 points. He has also suffered a bruised hip on Dec 22^nd and missed four out of five past weeks while recovering. The Miami Heat has lost 19 of their last 20 games and has the NBA’s worst record at 9-37. The Phoenix Suns have the best record in the Western Conference at 34-14.

Amy Winehouse Questioned Over Drug Video

The singer Amy Winehouse was questioned by police about a video that supposedly showed her smoking crack cocaine. There weren’t any charges filed and the investigation is still continuing.

Last month, the Sun tabloid ran still images from a video that showed her inhaling fumes from a small pipe. The video was supposedly taped during a party at her London home. She has recently been admitted into a rehabilitation center in London.

Pimp C Autopsy Results

The autopsy of rapper Pimp C revealed that he died due to a deadly combination of sleep apnea and Promethazine/Codeine, which is cough syrup. His death has been ruled as an accident. He was found dead on December 4^th of 2007 in his bed at the Mondrian Hotel in Hollywood, California.

GM Introduces New Hybrid Pickups

General Motors will introduce a new hybrid full-size pickup and a concept hybrid truck this week at the Chicago Auto Show. The company says that the 2009 GMC Sierra hybrid gives 25 percent more in fuel economy and you don’t have to lose anything in performance. The Sierra is also the next large GM vehicle to get the new two-mode hybrid system. The GMC Denali XT concept gives 50 percent more in fuel economy than most other small pickups. The SUV hybrids are suppose to be on the market early this year and the Sierra is suppose to be on the market at the end of 2008.

Two-mode hybrid cars run without the gas engine at low speeds and at higher speeds the electric motor gives more power. A two-mode system is good for towing.

Hybrid vehicles initially cost more but drivers can driver longer distances before the car needs to be refueled so you can save money in the long run. Small businesses can take advantage of the government tax breaks for hybrids.

Star Jones New Show Gets Canceled

Star Jones’ show on TruTV has been canceled. The last show aired this past Friday. Tru Tv says that the cancellation is due to rebranding and programming refocus of the network. The show was a legal-focused talk show that was on air for only 6 months. She will still stay with the network as a contributor to the channel’s trial coverage.

Actress Garcelle Beauvias Gives Birth to Twins

An Ocala jury has found actor Wesley Snipes not guilty of charges of tax fraud, aiding and abetting in a tax scheme, and failing to file a tax refund for three of the years between 1999 and 2004. He was charged guilty for not filing income tax returns for three of the years between 1999 and 2004.

NASA Launching Music Into Space

On Monday, NASA will broadcast the Beatles song “Across the Universe” across the galaxy to the North Star, Polaris. This would be the first time that a song has ever been beamed by the space agency into deep outer space. It would celebrate the 40th anniversary of the song, the 45^th anniversary of NASA’s Deep Space Network, and the 50^th anniversary of NASA.

The song would be traveling at the speed of light and would take 431 years to reach Polaris. Polaris is 2.5 quadrillion miles away from Earth. The song would be transmitted digitally at 7 p.m. EST on Monday from a giant antenna in Madrid, Spain. For a person to hear the song on Polaris, they would need an antenna and a receiver for it to be converted back to music.

The original idea came from a man named Martin Lewis, a Los Angeles Beatles historian. He asked for permission from McCartney, Yoko Ono, and two companies that own the rights to the Beatles’ music. The Apple Company was happy to approve the idea.