The World Health Organization raised its pandemic flu alert to phase 6, its highest level, urging countries to shore up defenses against the swine flu virus.
"At this time, the global assessment is that we are seeing a moderate pandemic," WHO Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan told reporters on a teleconference.
The move to phase 6 reflects the fact that the disease, widely known as swine flu, is spreading geographically, but does not indicate how virulent it is, Reuters reported.
A unanimous decision was based on an overall assessment in the eight most heavily hit countries--Australia, Britain, Canada, Chile, Japan, Mexico, Spain and the U.S.--where the virus is spreading in a sustained way in communities.
"Moving to pandemic phase six level does not imply we will see an increase in the number of deaths or very severe cases," she noted. "Quite on the contrary. Many people are having mild disease, they recover without medicines in some cases and it is good news," she said.
The WHO reiterated its advice to its 193 member countries not to close borders or impose travel restrictions to halt the movement of people, goods and services.
Neo-Nazi Gunman Charged with MurderAuthorities are charging an 88-year-old white supremacist with first-degree murder in the shooting death of a guard at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial and Museum Wednesday.
A complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Washington Thursday accuses James W. Von Brunn of the premeditated murder of Security Guard Stephen T. Johns, AP reported.
Right: At a news conference Thursday, D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier says James von Brunn will be charged with murder. (CNN photo)
A ranking FBI official said authorities also are pursuing a hate crime charge against the racist dirtbag.
An affidavit filed in court said officers recovered a notebook from Von Brunn's car that had handwritten notations signed by James W. Von Brunn stating the following:
“You want my weapons--this is how you’ll get them. The Holocaust is a lie. Obama was created by Jews. Obama does what his Jew owners tell him to do. Jews captured America’s money. Jews control the mass media. The 1st Amendment is abrogated--henceforth. See: holywesternempire.org. JVB swore (LT USNR) to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Jews–Bolsheviks–Zionist are America’s enemies. See: Talmud–Sanhedrin 'Kill the Best Gentiles!'”
The tiff began on Monday night's "Late Show," when Letterman joked that during the 7th inning of the Yankees game, Palin's "daughter was knocked up by Alex Rodriguez." Letterman followed up with more barbs on Tuesday, joking that "the toughest part of Palin's visit was keeping Eliot Spitzer away from her daughter," Extra reported.
On Wednesday morning, Gov. Palin unloaded and said Letterman's jokes about her daughter were "disgusting" and "sexually perverted." Palin has three daughters; teen mom Bristol, 18, and Willow 14, and Piper, 8.
On Wednesday, Dave announced on his show that his jokes on the Palin family were "unpleasant" and "ugly" and said he would love to have the Governor as a guest on "Late Night."
"These are not jokes made about her 14-year-old daughter. I would never, never make jokes about raping or having sex of any description with a 14-year-old girl," he said.
Left: Sarah Palin and David Letterman (Getty Images/Extra composite photo)
"Maybe these are questionable because the girl who actually, excuse me, but was knocked up is now 18 years old. So, the difference there is 14-year-old and of legal age--okay, I can't really defend the joke. I agree. Unpleasant. Ugly."
Dave said Gov. Palin is a "lovely woman" and he would love to have her on the show.
The Palins released a statement in response: "The Palins have no intention of providing a ratings boost for David Letterman by appearing on his show. Plus, it would be wise to keep Willow away from David Letterman."
"Laughter incited by sexually perverted comments made by a 62-year-old male celebrity aimed at a 14-year-old girl is not only disgusting, but it reminds us some Hollywood/N.Y. entertainers have a long way to go in understanding what the rest of America understands--that acceptance of inappropriate sexual comments about an underage girl, who could be anyone's daughter, contributes to the atrociously high rate of sexual exploitation of minors by older men who use and abuse others," Palin added.Flight 447 "Survivor" Killed in Car Crash
An Italian woman who missed Air France Flight 447, which crashed in the Atlantic on May 31, has died in a car crash, several news sources reported
Johanna Ganthaler, a pensioner from Bolzano-Bozen province who had been vacationing in Brazil, died when a car she was riding in "veered across a road in Kufstein, Austria, and swerved into an oncoming truck. Her husband was seriously injured."
All 228 people aboard died after the plane crashed into the Atlantic four hours into its 11-hour flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris.
MySpace Running out of Space for Jobs
MySpace is about to hand pink slips to some 300 to 500 employees, multiple sources close to the company told TechCrunch.com.
It’s unclear if these numbers apply to MySpace alone or its parent company Fox Interactive Media, but MySpace makes up around 1600 of the 2900 employees in FIM, so it’s likely that the social network will be hit hard, TechCrunch reported.
Last summer MySpace laid off 5% of its staff, and as many as 45 employees were let go last month. These cuts go far deeper. We’ve heard that the company’s legal team is hammering out the paperwork that will need to be submitted to the state of California under the WARN act, which requires large companies to give advance notice of any major layoffs, TechCrunch reported. We’ve contacted the California Employment Development Department, which has yet to receive the filing, but we hear they should be getting it any day now.
A FIM spokesperson replied with the following statement:
“Like any company with new leadership, Fox Interactive Media is reviewing every aspect of our operations, performance and structure. It’s no secret that we are looking for ways to improve our products, increase the value of our digital assets, and enhance the overall financial strength of the company.”
Why the cuts? MySpace traffic is plummeting, and revenue is going to take a huge hit when the Google deal terminates in mid 2010. MySpace already has an uphill battle on its hands as it vies to compete with Facebook, and it’s no longer going to have that very lucrative revenue stream to lean on, TechCrunch reported.
Sources: Reuters, AP, Extra, US mag., BBC, BNO, TechCrunch.com
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