A 49-year-old woman collapsed and died on the floor of a waiting room at a Brooklyn psychiatric hospital and lay there for more than an hour as employees ignored her, according to the New York Civil Liberties Union, which on Tuesday released surveillance camera video of the incident.
More: continued here
THE HAGUE — A tobacco smoking ban came into force Tuesday in cafes, bars and restaurants throughout the Netherlands, with a uniquely Dutch exemption for marijuana smokers.
More: continued here
BBC:
Spam experiment overloads inboxes — Surfing the web unprotected will leave the average web user with 70 spam messages each day, according to an experiment by security firm McAfee. — It invited 50 people from around the world, including five from the UK, to surf without spam filters.
More: continued here
NICE — Hollywood film star Angelina Jolie has checked in to a French maternity clinic and is expected to soon give birth to twins, bringing her brood with Brad Pitt to six, the hospital said Tuesday.
More: continued here
Kevin Carmony / Kevin Carmony’s Blog:
Xandros Acquires Linspire Assets in Secret Backroom Deal — Today, as a Linspire shareholder, I received the below “memorandum” from Linspire. I have confirmed with several other Linspire shareholders that they too received this same notice. — In classic Michael Robertson form …
More: continued here
MANILA, Philippines – The Natural Water Resources Board and the Quezon City government have shut down several deep wells in Novaliches and Fairview to help curb the rapid decline of groundwater supply in Metro Manila.
More: continued here
MANILA, Philippines–Minimum wage earners have to remit unpaid income taxes covering January 2006 to June 2008, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) said Tuesday.
More: continued here
Free agency opened in the NHL today, and the Chicago Blackhawks wasted no time making a big impact, signing the top goalie and defenseman available— Cristobal Huet and Brian Campbell.
The Huet deal likely means the end of Nikolai Khabibulin’s stay in Chicago, but his monster contract could prevent teams from inquiring about the veteran Stanley Cup winner in net.
That deal was overshadowed by the signing of the biggest name defenseman on the market, Brian Campbell.
Chicago gave him an eight-year, $56.8 million contract after having talks with defensemen Wade Redden and Brad Stuart.
Campbell is known as a good skater, and moves the puck well, but he will now have to deal with the expectations that come with a huge, long-term contract.
He did not perform all that well in the playoffs for San Jose, after being traded from Buffalo at the trade deadline last season.
The signings make it likely that the Hawks will not be able to sign Marian Hossa, the top forward on the market.
The Blackhawks needed more help up front than on the blue line, so the fact that the Hawks front office targeted a defenseman over a forward is puzzling.
Signing Hossa would have made all the forwards better, especially Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane.
It also would have taken pressure off of Patrick Sharp, who will receive more attention from opposing defenders next season after his 30+ goal campaign.
If, somehow, GM Dale Tallon is able to sign Hossa too, you could consider the Hawks instant contenders in the Western Conference.
As they stand now, they should make the playoffs, but I can’t see them getting past the second round, especially if Hossa lands with another Western Conference team.
The other problem with giving Campbell such a huge contract, is that if he does under-perform, it will be extremely difficult to move that contract via trade.
As for the goaltending situation, bringing in Huet should strengthen the goaltending situation.
Look for Chicago to move Khabibulin and have Corey Crawford back up Huet at the start of the 2008-09 season.
Crawford showed he is more than capable of playing at the NHL level, shutting out the then-defending Stanley Cup Champion Anaheim Ducks.
He also played well in the AHL playoffs for the Blackhawks affiliate in Rockford.
Chicago should make the playoffs in the competitive Western Conference, but adding some talent up front can help the team advance farther than they would as constructed.
The remainder of free agency and unforeseen trades could change that prediction, one way or another.
More: continued here
Security contractors working in Iraq will no longer receive immunity from prosecution in that nation under a deal being brokered by Iraqi and U.S. officials, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said.
More: continued here
AP - Brangelina’s twins aren’t here yet, but the big day is drawing closer. The seafront Lenval hospital in Nice in the south of France said Tuesday that Angelina Jolie had checked in at its Santa Maria maternity clinic to be kept under doctors’ surveillance and get some rest before she gives birth.
More: continued here