Union: All Air France jets have new speed monitors

By MARCO SIBAJA and GREG KELLER, Associated Press Writer Marco Sibaja And Greg Keller, Associated Press Writer – 6 mins ago

PARIS – A spokesman for a pilots' union says all Air France jets taking off now have been equipped with two new-generation speed sensors.

The so-called Pitot tubes on the outside of an aircaft are under suspicion in the crash of Air France Flight 447 into the Atlantic Ocean.France-Info radio cites Eric Derivry, a spokesman for the SNPL union, as saying all the planes flying Tuesday have at least two of their three Pitot tubes replaced, as pilots have demanded.

Air France was replacing the sensors but has not confirmed the report Tuesday.

French investigators are considering the possibility that Flight 447's speed monitors may have iced over and given false readings to cockpit computers in a thunderstorm.

Brazil's Air Force says the Pitot tubes on the Airbus presidential plane have been replaced — coincidentally after the May 31 crash.

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Look what the dog brought in: US hand grenade

Mon Jun 8, 10:49 am ET

BERLIN (AFP) – A dog out on a walk happened upon a live US grenade from World War II and eagerly delivered it to his master, police said Monday, but authorities were able to defuse the explosive before it went off.

A 40-year-old woman had let the dog off its leash near a stream on a walk Sunday on the outskirts of the town of Erkrath in western Germany's Neander Valley.The animal found the grenade on the ground, picked it up in its jaws and trotted back to its owner.

"She recognised immediately that it was probably an old, rusted hand grenade," police said. "On the orders of the woman, the dog obediently put his find back next to the stream."

She then alerted the authorities who blocked off the area and dispatched a munitions expert who identified the object as a still live American hand grenade from World War II and defused it.

Germany is still littered with unexploded Allied munitions more than six decades after the war, leading frequently to major evacuations when they are discovered in densely populated areas.

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Baseball star Barry Bonds' to split from wife

Mon Jun 8, 10:54 pm ET

LOS ANGELES (Reuters Life!) – The wife of former San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds has filed for legal separation after 11 years of marriage, according to Los Angeles court papers.
Elizabeth Bonds cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for the couple's split, and is seeking joint legal and physical custody of their 10-year-old daughter, Aisha Lynn. The documents were filed on Friday in the Los Angeles Superior Court.

Barry Bonds, 44, who passed Hank Aaron to become Major League Baseball's career home run leader in 2007, is awaiting trial in San Francisco on charges he lied about steroid use. He says he is innocent and aims to cleanse his tarnished reputation.

He has two children from his first marriage, which ended in divorce in 1994.(Reporting by Dean Goodman; editing by Miral Fahmy)

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Simple Ways to Slim Down (Without Really Trying)

By Lucy Danziger, SELF Editor-in-Chief - Posted on Tue, Jun 02, 2009, 6:25 pm PDT

I'm not one for cliches, but whoever said "You are what you eat" was onto something. Fill up on doughnuts and pizza, and you're more likely to sport a round shape with a soft center. But if you munch on fresh produce, fish and poultry, chances are you'll be as lean as what's on your plate. Of course, staying slim isn't about absolutes. I lost about 25 pounds about two years ago and kept it off. While I try to eat smart (salads, yogurt, fish) about 90 percent of the time to help maintain my weight, I've been known to indulge in a cookie or some ice cream on occasion. (Hey, we all deserve treats once in a while!) I believe it's not about counting calories or fixating on how much fiber or fat is in your diet. Instead, the key to eating healthy (and even dropping some weight) is making smart choices. Try a few of these tips and watch the weight fly off.

Go for home-grown
When choosing foods, consider the source. Before that sweet potato landed in your fridge, it was grown in the ground. Those potato chips in your cupboard, on the other hand, were mostly manufactured in an assembly line before they caught your eye in aisle 6. Which seems like the smarter choice? The less a food is processed, the healthier it is for you because processing takes out nutrients such as antioxidants and fiber, and even when food chemists add them back, nothing is as beneficial as what's natural. Opt for picks like whole fruit and veggies in particular. When people eat vegetables with a meal, they consume a full 20 percent fewer calories overall--and still feel satisfied afterward, according to a study from The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Carrots, anyone?


Choose crunch
Speaking of carrots, snacks that offer big, satisfying crunch--such as, yes, carrots, but also apples, snap peas and nuts (sorry, processed carbs like sugary cereals and candy don't count)--keep your mouth busy longer than food you inhale like a vacuum cleaner. Experts say that the more you chew, the longer it takes to eat and the more time your body has to realize it is satisfied. The result: You eat less and naturally shed pounds.

Read the fine print
To get the real scoop on a food, check out the back of the box. When you see a list of hard-to-pronounce ingredients, there is a greater chance something artificial is mixed in that's not necessarily waistline-friendly. A shorter list usually indicates a more nutritious and slimming pick.

Forget about feasting
Unless it's a holiday or a special celebration, there's no need to eat with abandon. Let's be honest: Food you munch after you're full doesn't taste nearly as good. And experts say that taste buds are not as sharp after the first few mouthfuls, so overdoing it with bland bites is liable to leave you bloated. Better to savor the initial nibbles and then stop after consuming a reasonable portion.

Eyeball servings
Knowing your portion sizes is important, but the jingle in your purse should be from your keys, not a set of measuring spoons. Rather than tote around a food scale, learn these simple visual cues: A 3-ounce serving of meat, poultry or fish is about the size of a deck of cards; two servings of pasta or rice is the size of a baseball; a bread serving is the size of a CD case; one serving of cheese is the size of four dice.

Go halfsies
When dining out, ask for a half portion of your meal or request that 50 percent of it be packed into a doggie bag before you're served. More restaurants are open to this plan, and some are beginning to offer smaller-sized versions of the usual order. Another idea? Have two appetizers: The calorie total is usually lower than that for one entree.

Park yourself at the table
We sit at work, on the train, in the car, yet we rarely stay put during dinner. Fifty-nine percent of young women eat on the go, a study in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association finds, and on-the-run noshers consume more total fat as well as more soda and fast food. The less distracted and stressed you are when you dine, the more efficiently your body absorbs nutrients. So flip off "Lost", wander out of your office and turn off your car before you grab your fork.

Skip sugary sips
Scan any supermarket shelf or cafe;, and you're likely to spot hundreds of beverages offering vitamins, minerals and energy. Reality check: Most are simply sweetened water. Don't let the snappy labels pull a fast one on you: If it's not skim milk, plain agua or regular coffee or tea, it's dessert. For a healthier quaff, try lemon or mint iced tea or sparkling water with a splash of juice.

Fill up in the morning
There's a reason for the term "breakfast of champions": Eating a bigger morning meal helps you power through the day as you efficiently burn those calories. But piling a dinner plate high only to settle into the sofa to watch TV or snooze isn't as conducive to staying slim. This doesn't mean you need to resort to a banana for dinner, but aiming for a 300- to 500-calorie breakfast will help prevent you from overeating at night, when you're more apt to convert those calories into fat.

Quit the clean plate club
Even if you (or someone else) slaved over the stove to prepare an amazing meal, don't feel obligated to polish off every last morsel. Sure, your grandmother might have admonished you for leaving food on your plate when you were 6, but munching after you're full out of guilt won't help you stay slim, much less lead to weight loss. So rather than force yourself to swallow another bite, wrap up your leftovers for lunch tomorrow or toss scraps in the trash. I won't tell on you!

Cut yourself some slack
If you eat well most of the time yet occasionally crave a fast food fix, a cupcake or meatball sub, go for it and savor each bite. You can happily resume your sensible plan once you satisfy the urge.

For more tips on slimming down without resorting to rabbit food, check out this week's worth of healthy meals, or sign up for the SELF Diet Club, where can you log your meals (we'll calculate the calories for you!) and keep track of your weight loss.

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Gingrich at Republican Fundraiser Says Obama’s ‘Already Failed’

Heidi Przybyla Heidi Przybyla – Tue Jun 9, 12:58 am ET

June 9 (Bloomberg) -- Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said President Barack Obama’s plan to fix the economy through stimulus spending and government intervention to boost companies like General Motors Corp. has "already failed."

Gingrich was the keynote speaker at a fundraising dinner for the Republican House and Senate campaign committees, filling a role President George W. Bush had served for the past eight years."Bureaucrats managing companies does not work, politicians dominating the economy does not work," Gingrich told about 2,000 Republicans who attended the event at the Washington Convention Center last night.Some Republican leaders hailed Gingrich, the leader of the 1994 "Republican Revolution," as a de facto head of the party at a time when Republicans are looking for ideas to lead them back to the majority.

In introducing Gingrich, Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin called him the “architect of the last reform movement” and “the man of ideas.”Gingrich was preceded by a series of Republican leaders who also took aim at Democrats and the government bailout of Detroit-based GM, New York-based American International Group Inc. and other companies.Congress in February passed a $787 billion stimulus measure that Republican lawmakers have criticized, saying it hasn’t lived up to administration promises.


Obama said yesterday there are signs the economy may be headed toward a recovery. "We're seeing a reduction in the fear that gripped the market just a few months ago," he said at the White House.

‘Radical Agenda’

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said Obama has a "radical agenda." Republicans have "watched them take over banks, insurance companies, auto companies," he said, “and now they want to take over your health care.”

"We’re going to need some wins next November to slow down their agenda," said McConnell. House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio said Democrats are using their control of Congress "to bury our children and the middle class under a mountain of debt."

Actor Jon Voight, the master of ceremonies, opened the evening with a series of sharp attacks on Obama, something many Republican leaders have been hesitant to do in light of the president’s high approval ratings.

A USA Today/Gallup Poll taken May 29-31 gave him a 61 percent approval rating.

‘Weak Nation’

"We are becoming a weak nation," said Voight, calling Obama a "false prophet." Republicans need to find their way back to power to free the nation from "this Obama oppression," he said.

Both McConnell and Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, who followed Voight, seemed pleasantly surprised.

"I’m still just reveling that someone from Hollywood made a speech like that. I hope you’re going to be able to find work after this," said McConnell. "I really enjoyed that."

Senator John Cornyn of Texas called the speech "refreshing."

The dinner, which included 150 members of Congress, raised $14.5 million for the Republican House and Senate campaign committees.

Alaska Governor and former Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin and Virginia Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell were among the special guests.

Gingrich dialed back his criticism of U.S. Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, only saying she is "wrong" on the issue of quotas, without citing any rulings she had made in favor of racial quotas.

Gingrich Controversy

After Obama nominated Sotomayor on May 26, Gingrich posted a blog saying, "A white man racist nominee would be forced to withdraw. Latina woman racist should also withdraw."

On June 3, Gingrich took back his description of her as a "racist," though he continued to criticize a 2001 speech by her as a "betrayal" of fundamental principles. In the speech, she suggested a "wise Latina" would reach "better" decisions than white males.

Obama nominated Sotomayor, 54, last month to succeed retiring Justice David Souter. If confirmed by the Senate, she would be the first Hispanic to sit on the nation’s highest court.

Obama said last week: "I’m sure she would have restated" her 2001 remarks if given the chance and that she was saying that her life experiences would help her understand other people’s struggles.

Republican lawmakers have sought to distance themselves from the "racist" claims of Gingrich and conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh.

To contact the reporter on this story: Heidi Przybyla in Washington at hprzybyla@bloomberg.net

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