| Who's that with Jools, then?
Hootenanny may glitter, but Later is the gold. I suppose he's right, though they do look similar to the half-closed eye. Jools has abandoned his sandwich and is leading the band in a shambolic reggae version of 'The Lambeth Walk', which comes to an end when someone decides that his piano needs moving two inches to the left. Spotlights go on and off. A roadie brings tambourines for the backing singers. There's a lot of everything going on. We go upstairs out of the chaos. It's not actual chaos, Mark says, though it would be without director Janet Fraser Cook, who is the strategic genius behind making sure none of the wandering artists gets brained by a swooping camera before they've done their last number. The show was Janet's idea in the first place. She and Mark worked together on The Late Show on BBC2 and Later grew out of that, recorded on the same night, using the same crew and equipment and held together with bits of string and with fingers crossed.
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Zumba arrived in the United States from Colombia in 1999. Nationwide, it's exploding in popularity, according to Associated Press reports. "It's a fun way to get exercise without knowing it," Stelling says. One-hour classes are offered at 6:30 p.m. Monday, 9 a.m. Tuesday and Thursday and 5 p.m. Friday at the Meyer Center. A 30-minute version is offered at noon Tuesday and Thursday at Cox North. Cost for an eight-week session is $25 for members; $65 for others. Volunteer Volunteering is a great way to help yourself and someone else. And the Council of the Churches, an umbrella organization for nine operating agencies, offers a range of volunteer opportunities. "There is such a huge amount of good that is being done through the council that people don't know about," Struckhoff says.
Hamas 'spent months cutting through Gaza wall in secret operation'
Hamas, which took control of the coastal territory last June after a stand-off with Fatah, has denied that its men set off the explosions that brought down as much as two-thirds of the 12-km wall in the early hours. But a Hamas border guard interviewed by The Times at the border admitted that the Islamist group was responsible and had been involved for months in slicing through the heavy metal wall using oxy-acetylene cutting torches. That meant that when the explosive charges were set off in 17 different locations between midnight and 1am the 40ft wall came tumbling down, leaving it lying like a broken concertina down the middle of no-man's land as an estimated 350,000 Gazans flooded into Egypt. .
Born on floor of trailer as snow raged, Michigander is 30 today
He sat on a bench seat in the back as Robert Norris, now a retired National Guardsman, chauffeured him. "We had some personnel carriers out of Ft. Custer," Norris said. They had tank "tracks on them and you steered with a stick." Norris drove Milliken's predecessor George Romney to work the same way when a storm in 1967 closed roads. President Jimmy Carter declared the state a disaster area and offered federal aid to pay private contractors to help crews clear the streets. So what made that storm so fierce? Experts said two weather fronts, one from the north bringing single-digit temperatures and another from the south bringing plenty of moisture, converged on the state. In 1978, Deedler was a young meteorologist working the midnight shift at the office in Ann Arbor.
IRS says Enron stock can't be deducted as theft losses
Personal finance columnist Shannon Buggs answers readers' questions about managing money. Q: We still own Enron stock and qualify for the reimbursement package that was mailed to investors this week. My question: Can we deduct the losses not covered by the reimbursement as theft losses on our taxes next year? At what point does a capital loss become a theft loss? A: No, you cannot deduct as theft losses the amount you invested in Enron stock that is not covered by the reimbursement. The Internal Revenue Service stated in an April 19, 2004, notice that it would "disallow such deductions and may impose penalties" on taxpayers who claimed theft loss deductions for "the decline in market value of their stock caused by disclosure of accounting fraud or other illegal misconduct of the officers or directors of the corporation that issued the stock." The tax code limits losses for individuals to: Losses incurred in a trade or business.
all the right chemistry
For full-year 2007 the network averaged 201,000 primetime viewers 18-49, a 2 percent boost versus 197,000 in 2006, as well as 246,000 viewers 25-54, up 6 percent from 233,000 in 2006. AMC also averaged 119,000 male viewers 18-49 in primetime last year, up 5 percent from 113,000 in 2006, and 148,000 males 25-54, a 9 percent increase from 136,000 a year earlier. The network says "Breaking" targets mainly the 25-54 demographic. Network's signature show “Mad Men," the ad-agency drama set in 1960, is smart, topical and unlike anything else on cable. The show averaged 1.6 million total viewers for its first-season premiere last July en route to becoming the network's No. 1 show and earning loads of positive buzz among critics. Though viewership had dipped below 1 million by the October season finale, it recently got a big publicity push that will help in season two.
Adams: Yes, I'm interested in Saints job
FORMER Saints player Micky Adams has thrown his hat into the ring for the vacant manager's job at St Mary's. Adams made over 150 appearances during his spell at the Dell, between 1989 and 1994, and has previous managerial experience in the Championship with Leicester and Coventry. He guided the Foxes to promotion to the Premiership in 2003 against a backdrop of financial difficulties. The 46-year-old joined Colchester United as assistant boss last summer, but left the role earlier this month. Adams said he would be very interested in returning to the club he loves, this time as manager. "Obviously, it is a job that would interest me," he told the Daily Echo last night. "I am available for work. .
Congress, White House complete deal on tax rebates, business breaks
The caps are higher for people with children.
--Business tax write-offs: Spurring business investments with so-called bonus depreciation and more generous expensing rules.
--Housing rescue: Raising the limit on Federal Housing Administration loans from $362,000 to $725,000. Boosting the cap on loans that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can buy from $417,000 to $725,000.
WHAT'S OUT
--Permanent tax cuts: Republicans conceded that their top priority would have to be left out.
--Unemployment insurance: Democrats wanted to extend benefits past 26 weeks.
--Food stamps: A boost for benefits.
--Medicaid: Democrats gave up on including Medicaid payments to states.
--Low-income heating subsidies: Democrats are surrendering the fight to include them.
Payday lending reform needed
Ohio's 1995 legislation that enabled the practice of payday lending now looks like a classic case of good intentions gone awry. The idea was to allow people with modest incomes and checking accounts to take out small, two-week loans from check-cashing outlets, giving them quick access to cash to tide them over until their next paychecks. Lenders were permitted to charge high fees, $15 per $100 loaned, on the theory that people would make one-time use of this service in emergencies. But too often, it hasn't worked that way for cash-strapped Ohioans who use payday lending as a last resort. By the time they get their next paychecks, they find themselves unable to pay back the loan plus fees, so they end up taking out a second loan to pay the first one, and on and on.
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