plus 3, Michael Jackson bumps Britney Spears from top Yahoo '09 searches - StarPhoenix

Michael Jackson bumps Britney Spears from top Yahoo '09 searches - StarPhoenix
Britney Spears Very Much in Love but Not Engaged - Softpedia
Volusia County man in 'dirty look' stabbing sentenced to life - Gainesville Sun
The almanac - United Press International

Michael Jackson bumps Britney Spears from top Yahoo '09 searches - StarPhoenix

Posted: 01 Dec 2009 03:21 PM PST

NEW YORK - Michael Jackson's death thrust the singer to the top of yahoo.com Internet searches in 2009, putting an end to Britney Spears' four-year reign and helping bump the President Barack Obama from the top 10 list.

Although the year was dominated by recession, the most clicks still went to what distracts web surfers. NASCAR, actress Megan Fox, reality star Kim Kardashian, and the film "Twilight" replaced four actresses on last year's top list.

Until June, when Jackson died of a drug overdose, Obama's inauguration garnered the most web traffic, said Vera Chan, web trend analyst at Yahoo Inc.

"When the news of Michael Jackson's death came out the traffic was overwhelming, and surpassed that," she said.

The death had all the elements of intrigue and tragedy. It was sudden, shocking and eerily familiar, according to Chan.

"And then his case was ruled a homicide so it's an ongoing crime investigation. His death is unresolved," she added.

Breaking news increasingly drove searches this year. While Obama dropped from third in 2008 to 44th in 2009, the political focus shifted from the election campaign to specific policies. The phrase stimulus plan placed fourth and health care reform was sixth among Obama-related searches.

Among finance-related searches, the words coupons and unemployment topped a list that included cash for clunkers, student loans, foreclosures, and government jobs.

The economy "was definitely a distinction from the previous years, how much people are monitoring the financial situation," Chan said.

The overall top 10 is "often just a snapshot of our distractions, our guilty pleasures, and breaking news," she added.

Spears, the singer whose personal meltdown captured headlines for the last few years, dropped to fifth place in the overall list, just behind Fox, the sex symbol star of the film "Jennifer's Body", and just ahead of Japanese magna cartoon Naruto.

"Britney was No. 1 for four years in a row, and not all of those years were pleasant years for her," said Chan. "For her well being, and for our well being, I think we're happy that we don't have to check up on her."

"Twilight" came in second on the list, followed by WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment), Fox and Spears. Naruto captured sixth place, with the reality show American Idol, Kardashian, NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing) and the online role-playing fantasy game Runescape rounding out the top 10.

Yahoo accounted for 18 percent of U.S. online searches in October, compared to 65.4 percent market share for Google Inc, according to analytics firm comScore. Yahoo's search data is from the company's dot-com sites only.

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Britney Spears Very Much in Love but Not Engaged - Softpedia

Posted: 01 Dec 2009 08:40 AM PST

Long are the days when Britney Spears' personal life was the closest thing to horror stories, with one visit to the psychiatric ward, car chases and public breakdowns. The same goes for her love life, which, not long ago, meant dating a paparazzo who reportedly made money off the relationship. Today, Britney Spears is in love – but has no intention of making the relationship official, People magazine says.

As fans will remember, a while ago, rumor emerged that Britney was dating her longtime agent Jason Trawick, who also happens to be one of those responsible for her triumphant return to the spotlight. Sources close to her were telling the media back then that she was so head over heels with Jason and him with her, that they had already spoken of marriage and had decided upon taking that final step. Not quite so, other sources are now dishing out to the media.

"Not all the bad news out of Australia about Britney Spears is true. Although she was in fact embroiled in a lip-syncing controversy, reports that her agent-boyfriend Jason Trawick abruptly left the country after rejecting her wedding proposal are '100 percent absolutely false,' says a source close to the couple. 'There was no proposal and they were never engaged'," People writes.

"The couple of more than six months had spent time together across Australia with her two boys, Preston and Jayden, while Spears performed on stops of her Circus tour. When Trawick headed back to LA instead of spending the holidays it was simply a matter of logistics. 'Jason spent more time in Australia than originally planned,' says the source. 'They are very happy'," the same publication further explains, citing the unnamed but admittedly reliable source.

Clearly, Britney Spears is not rushing into marriage like she used to do when she was younger. Two failed marriages, one of which lasted only a few hours and the other resulting in two gorgeous children, but also an unbelievable amount of media attention, seem to have finally taught the singer a lesson as to rushing things.

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Volusia County man in 'dirty look' stabbing sentenced to life - Gainesville Sun

Posted: 01 Dec 2009 04:58 AM PST

The Associated Press

DeLAND, Fla. — A Volusia County man accused in the fatal stabbing over a dirty look has been sentenced to life in prison.

Zeth Trawick was found guilty of second-degree murder in July. He was sentenced Monday to life in prison by Circuit Judge Frank Marriott.

Investigators said the 27-year-old Trawick stabbed another man in a gas station parking lot in 2008. The fight was with Trawick's friend. The friend reportedly did not like how the victim looked at him.

The men fought, but authorities say Trawick stabbed the victim on the left side of the neck.

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The almanac - United Press International

Posted: 02 Dec 2009 12:25 AM PST

Today is Wednesday, Dec. 2, the 336th day of 2009 with 29 to follow.

The moon is full. The morning stars are Venus, Mars, Saturn and Mercury. The evening stars are Neptune, Jupiter and Uranus.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Sagittarius. They include French painter Georges-Pierre Seurat in 1859; circus co-founder Charles Ringling in 1863; engineer Peter Carl Goldmark, the inventor of the long-playing record, in 1906; composer/lyricist Adolph Green in 1914; opera singer Maria Callas in 1923; former Secretary of State Alexander Haig Jr. in 1924 (age 85); actress Julie Harris in 1925 (age 84); former U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese III in 1931 (age 78); artist and dog photographer William Wegman in 1943 (age 66); actress Cathy Lee Crosby in 1944 (age 65); figure skater Randy Gardner in 1957 (age 52); actress Lucy Liu in 1968 (age 41); tennis player Monica Seles in 1973 (age 36) and pop singer Britney Spears in 1981 (age 28).

On this date in history:

In 1804, Napoleon crowned himself emperor of France.

In 1823, during his annual address to the U.S. Congress, President James Monroe proclaimed a new U.S. foreign policy initiative that became known as the "Monroe Doctrine."

In 1859, abolitionist John Brown was hanged for his raid on the federal arsenal at Harper's Ferry, W.Va.

In 1927, the Model A Ford was introduced as the successor to the Model T. The price of a Model A roadster was $395.

In 1942, the Atomic Age was born when scientists demonstrated the first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction at a laboratory below the stands at the University of Chicago football stadium.

In 1954, the U.S. Senate voted 65 to 22 to condemn Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy, R-Wis., for conduct unbecoming a senator. The condemnation, which was equivalent to a censure, related to McCarthy's controversial investigation of allegedly suspected communists in the U.S. government, military and civilian society.

In 1961, Fidel Castro disclosed he was a communist, acknowledging he concealed the fact until he solidified his hold on Cuba.

In 1982, 62-year-old retired dentist Barney Clark became the first person to receive a permanent artificial heart. He survived 112 days.

In 1990, Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein declared that the chance for war was "50-50," depending on U.S. willingness to negotiate the Persian Gulf crisis.

Also in 1990, Aaron Copland, the dean of American music, died at age 90; and actor Bob Cummings died at age 80.

In 1993, Colombian drug trafficker Pablo Escobar was killed in a shoot-out with police and soldiers in the Colombian city of Medellin.

In 2001, U.S. forces in Afghanistan captured John Walker Lindh, 20, a U.S. citizen from San Anselmo, Calif., found fighting with the Taliban.

Also in 2001, Enron, the giant Houston energy trading company, its stock nearly worthless, became the largest firm to file for bankruptcy.

In 2002, U.S. President George W. Bush said "the signs are not encouraging" that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein would comply with U.N. resolutions on disarmament despite the prospect of military action should he fail to do so.

Also in 2002, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston reportedly considered bankruptcy protection in the wake of the clergy sex abuse scandal. More than 200 alleged victims were involved.

In 2004, John Danforth, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, resigned.

Also in 2004, NATO officially handed over peacekeeping duties in Bosnia to European forces known as Eufor.

In 2006, at least 32 people died and 16 were injured when a 150-year-old pedestrian bridge collapsed onto a passenger train near Bhagalpur, India.

Also in 2006, three Baghdad car bombs, detonated in quick succession, killed at least 51 people, many shopping at a food market in a Shiite neighborhood.

In 2007, Russian President Vladimir Putin's party dominated parliamentary elections. Putin, who cannot seek another consecutive term, is expected to name his successor and run for prime minister.

Also in 2007, Venezuela voters rejected a referendum pushed by President Hugo Chavez that would have abolished presidential term limits and given Chavez new power to build a socialist economy.

In 2008, U.S. officials joined India in blaming Pakistan for the terrorist attacks on Mumbai.

A thought for the day: Casey Stengel once remarked, "There comes a time in every man's life and I've had many of them."

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