Several Dead In Shootout In New Jersey Shopping Plaza

Editor’s note:  Is there something in the water this summer?  WTH!

NEW YORK (Reuters) – An early-morning shooting at a Pathmark supermarket in New Jersey has left at least three people dead, including the suspected gunman, local media said on Friday.

Shots were heard inside the supermarket in Old Bridge, about 35 miles from New York City, just before 4 a.m. EDT as employees were preparing to open the store for business, said the local ABC television affiliate.

Police found two windows bashed in, the station reported.

Old Bridge Mayor Owen Henry described the suspected shooter as a disgruntled worker, the Star-Ledger newspaper said.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/news/nationworld/sns-rt-us-usa-newjersey-shootingbre87u0ha-20120831,0,3082254.story

Tropical Storm Isaac Slogs Toward U.S. Gulf Coast

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) – Tropical Storm Isaac churned across the Gulf of Mexico on Monday, disrupting U.S. offshore energy production and threatening to hit Louisiana on the anniversary of devastating Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

The storm swiped south Florida on Sunday before moving into warm Gulf waters, where it is expected to strengthen into a hurricane.

On its current track, Isaac was due to slam into the Gulf Coast anywhere between Florida and Louisiana by Tuesday night or early Wednesday, the seventh anniversary of Katrina hitting New Orleans, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

“The weather is going to go downhill well in advance of that and that’s why today is the day of preparation,” said NHC director Richard Knabb.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/business/sns-rt-us-storm-isaacbre87l0ph-20120822,0,2605372.story

Lance Armstrong Ends Fight Against Doping Charges, To Lose Titles

Lance Armstrong riding to victory at L’Alpe d’Huez. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

(Reuters) – Seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong said he would no longer fight doping charges by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, which quickly said it would strip him of his titles and ban him from competitive cycling.

Armstrong, a cancer survivor considered one of the all-time greats in his sport, made the announcement in a written statement as he faced a midnight deadline on Thursday to formally challenge the accusations against him.

“There comes a point in every man’s life when he has to say, ‘Enough is enough’,” the American cyclist said in the statement, which was posted on his website, www.Lancearmstrong.com.

“For me, that time is now.  I have been dealing with claims that I cheated and had an unfair advantage in winning my seven Tours since 1999.”

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/24/us-cycling-armstrong-doping-idUSBRE87N03N20120824

Ten Shot, Two Dead Near New York’s Empire State Building

English: Empire State Building from airplane (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

NEW YORK  (Reuters) – Two people were killed and at least eight were wounded in a shooting outside the landmark Empire State Building in New York City on Friday, a New York police source said.

One of the dead was the shooter, the source said, adding there was no apparent link to terrorism.

A white tarp covered what was believed to be a body in front of the entrance to the office building but police declined to confirm if it was the shooter.

“I heard the gunshots,” said Dahlia Anister, 33, who works at an office near the 102-story Empire State Building.  “It was like pop, pop, pop. It was definitely in a bunch.”

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/news/local/sns-rt-us-usa-shooting-empirestatebre87n0m2-20120824,0,326407.story

“F-Bomb” Among New Words In Merriam-Webster Dictionary

(Reuters) – Popular phrases such as “man cave,” “bucket list” and “game changer” are among the new entries in the 2012 update of Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, according to a list released by the company on Tuesday.

“Sexting” – the sending of sexually explicit messages or images by cell phone – and “f-bomb” – the printable euphemism for a four-letter curse word – also made the list.

Merriam-Webster said the list offers a revealing look at U.S. culture and the colorful language English speakers adopt to describe it.

The term “underwater” reflects the familiar struggles of homeowners who owe more on their mortgage loan than their properties are worth, while the lighter “aha moment” gives a nod to media mogul Oprah Winfrey‘s signature phrase describing a flash of sudden realization.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/entertainment/sns-rt-us-usa-dictionary-new-wordsbre87d0p0-20120814,0,5768026.story

Consumer Sentiment Falls To 2012 Low

(Reuters) – Consumer sentiment fizzled in July, falling to its lowest level of the year, as Americans took a dim view of the employment situation and their income prospects, a survey showed on Friday.

The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan‘s final reading on the overall index on consumer sentiment fell to 72.3 from 73.2 in June. It was the second month in a row attitudes have soured and the lowest level since December.

But the level was a touch higher than economists’ expectations for it to be unchanged from July’s preliminary reading of 72.

“While consumers do not anticipate an economy-wide recessionary decline, they do not expect a pace of economic growth that could satisfactorily revive job and income prospects,” survey director Richard Curtin said in a statement.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/27/us-usa-economy-sentiment-idUSBRE86Q0T620120727

Shooting Targets Resembling Trayvon Martin Sold Online

(Reuters) – Shooting targets resembling Trayvon Martin, the unarmed black teenager shot to death in Florida by a neighborhood watch volunteer, were offered for sale online before the ads were pulled by the auction site.

The sale at an online gun broker’s auction site started on April 22 and offered 40 10-packs of paper targets, according to a screen shot of the auction ad by WKMG-TV in Orlando before the ad was taken down.

The targets featured a silhouette of a faceless person wearing a hooded sweatshirt, known as a hoodie, and holding a bag of Skittles candy and a container of tea. In an email exchange with WKMG, the seller claimed to be motivated by profit and to have sold out in two days.

Martin was wearing a hoodie and returning from a convenience store with Skittles and tea when he was shot on February 26 in Sanford, Florida. Neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman, 28, is awaiting trial for second-degree murder in the racially charged case.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/11/us-usa-florida-shooting-targets-idUSBRE84A1CP20120511

AOL To Sell 800 Patents To Microsoft For $1 Billion

The second logo for AOL, used from 2006–2009 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

(Reuters) – AOL Inc said it would sell over 800 of its patents and related applications to Microsoft Corp , and would grant Microsoft a non-exclusive license to the patents it retains, for slightly over $1 billion in cash.

AOL’s shares jumped 37 percent to $25.16 in trading before the bell on Monday. They closed at $18.42 on Friday on the New York Stock Exchange.

The Internet company said it plans to return a “significant portion of the sale proceeds” to shareholders.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/business/sns-rt-us-aol-microsoftbre83809x-20120409,0,3464198.story

Yahoo To Lay Off 2,000 Employees

Deutsch: Logo von Yahoo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Editor’s note:  Betcha nobody is yelling “yahoo” over this news!

(Reuters) – Yahoo Inc will lay off 2,000 people, or 14 percent of its workforce, in its deepest round of job cuts in years as new Chief Executive Scott Thompson tries to jumpstart growth with a leaner, more agile company while saving hundreds of millions of dollars.

Wall Street’s reaction was lukewarm, after two previous Yahoo CEOs failed to find an answer to rivals like Web-search leader Google and the Facebook social-networking site.

Sunnyvale, California-based Yahoo, which ended 2011 with some 14,000 employees, said it would save $375 million annually from the cuts and incur a pre-tax cash charge in the second quarter of $125 million to $145 million.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/business/sns-rt-us-yahoo-layoffbre8330ly-20120404,0,1433746.story