TOKYO – Japan ranked its nuclear crisis at the highest possible severity on an international scale — the same level as the 1986 Chernobyl disaster — even as it insisted Tuesday that radiation leaks are declining at its tsunami-crippled nuclear plant.
The higher rating is an open acknowledgement of what was widely understood already: The nuclear accident at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant is the second-worst in history. It does not signal a worsening of the plant's status in recent days or any new health dangers.
Still, people living nearby who have endured a month of spewing radiation and frequent earthquakes said the change in status added to their unease despite government efforts to play down any notion that the crisis poses immediate health risks.
Miyuki Ichisawa closed her coffee shop this week when the government added her community, Iitate village, and four others to places people should leave to avoid long-term radiation exposure. The additions expanded the 12-mile (20-kilometer) zone where people had already been ordered to evacuate soon after the March 11 tsunami swamped the plant.
"And now the government is officially telling us this accident is at the same level of Chernobyl," Ichisawa said. "It's very shocking to me."
Japanese nuclear regulators said the severity rating was raised from 5 to 7 on an international scale overseen by the International Atomic Energy Agency due to new assessments of the overall radiation leaks from the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant.
According to the Vienna-based atomic energy agency, the new ranking signifies a major accident that includes widespread effects on the environment and people's health. The scale, designed by experts convened by the IAEA and other groups in 1989, is meant to help the public, the technical community and the media understand the public safety implications of nuclear events.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said Japan's decision did not mean the disaster had been downplayed previously.
Early actions by Japanese authorities — evacuations, radiation warnings and the work at the plant to contain leaks — showed they realized the gravity of the situation, Denis Flory, an IAEA deputy director general, said.
The upgraded status did not mean radiation from the plant was worsening, but rather reflected concern about long-term health risks as it continues to spew into the air, soil and seawater. Most radiation exposures around the region haven't been high enough yet to raise significant health concerns.
Workers are still trying to restore disabled cooling systems at the plant, and radioactive isotopes have been detected in tap water, fish and vegetables.
Iitate's town government decided Tuesday to ban planting of all farm products, including rice and vegetables, expanding the national government's prohibition on growing rice there.
Japan's prime minister, Naoto Kan, went on national television and urged people not to panic.
"Right now, the situation of the nuclear reactors at the Fukushima plant has been stabilizing step by step. The amount of radiation leaks is on the decline," he said. "But we are not at the stage yet where we can let our guard down."
Japanese officials said the leaks from the Fukushima plant so far amount to a tenth of the radiation emitted from Chernobyl, but about 10 times the amount needed to reach the level 7 threshold. They acknowledged the emissions could eventually exceed Chernobyl's, but said the chance that will happen is very small. However, regulators have also acknowledged that a more severe nuclear accident is a distinct possibility until regular cooling systems are restored — a process likely to take months.
"Although the Fukushima accident is now at the equal level as Chernobyl, we should not consider the two incidents as the same," said Hiroshi Horiike, professor of nuclear engineering at Osaka University. "Fukushima is not a Chernobyl."
In Chernobyl, in what is now the Ukraine, a reactor exploded on April 26, 1986, spewing a cloud of radiation over much of the Northern Hemisphere. A zone about 19 miles (30 kilometers) around the plant was declared uninhabitable.
Thirty-one men died mostly from being exposed to very high levels of radiation trying to contain the accident. But there is no agreement on how many people are likely to die of cancers caused by its radiation.
No radiation exposure deaths have been blamed on the leaks at Fukushima Dai-ichi. Two plant workers were treated for burns after walking in heavily contaminated water in a building there.
The tsunami, spawned by a 9.0-magnitude earthquake, knocked out cooling systems and backup diesel generators, leading to hydrogen explosions at three reactors and a fire at a fourth that was undergoing regular maintenance and was empty of fuel. Workers have been improvising for weeks with everything from helicopter drops to fire hoses to supply cooling water to the plant.
Hidehiko Nishiyama, a spokesman for Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, noted that unlike in Chernobyl there have been no explosions of reactor cores, which are more serious than hydrogen explosions.
"In that sense, this situation is totally different from Chernobyl," he said.
NISA officials said they raised the incident level because of the cumulative amount of radioactive particles released into the atmosphere. Other factors included damage to the plant's buildings and accumulated radiation levels for its workers.
The revision was based on cross-checking and assessments of data on leaks of radioactive iodine-131 and cesium-137. Officials did not say why they skipped level 6 or when exactly the radiation level exceeded the level 7 threshold.
Based on government estimates, the equivalent of 500,000 terabecquerels of radiation from iodine-131 has been released into the atmosphere since the crisis began, well above the several tens of thousands of terabecquerels needed to reach level 7. A terabecquerel equals a trillion becquerels, a measure of radiation emissions. The Chernobyl incident released 5.2 million terabecquerels into the air.
"We have refrained from making announcements until we have reliable data," Nishiyama said. He also emphasized that no more major leaks are expected from the reactors, though he acknowledged more work is needed to keep the reactors stable.
Work to stabilize the plant has been impeded by continued aftershocks, the latest a 6.3-magnitude quake Tuesday that prompted plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co., or TEPCO, to temporarily pull back workers. Work removing highly radioactive water, a necessary step before cooling systems can be restored, finally resumed around 7:30 p.m.
In his televised address, Kan gave the nation a pep talk, telling people to focus on recovering from the disasters that are believed to have killed 25,000 people.
"Let's live normally without falling into excessive self-restraint," he said. "We should eat and drink products from the quake-hit areas as a form of support."
Many of the more than 14,500 people still listed as missing from the quake and tsunami are thought to have been swept out to sea. A month after the disaster, more than 145,000 people are still living in shelters.
Among them is Kenichi Yomogita, a plumbing contract worker at Fukushima Dai-ichi who was off work the day of the tsunami and has not returned. His hometown of Tomioka is in the evacuation zone, and he thinks it will be at least three years before he can return. For now he is living at a shelter in Koriyama, and said the upgraded crisis level has not improved his hopes.
"At first the reality of this situation didn't sink in," he said, "but this news shows how serious it is."
___
Associated Press writers Yuri Kageyama, Mari Yamaguchi, Mayumi Saito and Malcolm J. Foster and Noriko Kitano in Tokyo, George Jahn in Vienna and photographer Hiro Komae contributed to this report.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Friday, April 8, 2011
Deadline nears: Shutdown looms without agreement
WASHINGTON – The federal government lurched toward a shutdown for the first time in 15 years on Friday as Republicans and Democrats in Congress struggled for a way out and swapped increasingly incendiary charges over which side was to blame.
The Obama administration readied hundreds of thousands of furlough notices for federal workers, to be released any time after the midnight deadline for a deal to keep operations running.
"We know the whole world is watching us today," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.
He, President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner all agreed a shutdown posed risks to an economy still recovering from the worst recession in decades. But there were disagreements aplenty among the principal players in an early test of divided government — Obama in the White House, fellow Democrats in control in the Senate and a new, tea party-flavored Republican majority in the House.
For much of the day, Reid and Boehner disagreed about what the disagreement was about.
Reid said there had been an agreement at a White House meeting Thursday night to cut spending by about $38 billion as part of a bill to finance the government through the Sept. 30 end of the budget year.
He said Republicans also were demanding unspecified cuts in health services for lower income women that were unacceptable to Democrats.
"Republicans want to shut down our nation's government because they want to make it harder to get cancer screenings," he said. "They want to throw women under the bus."
Boehner said repeatedly that wasn't the case — it was spending cuts that divided two sides.
"Most of the policy issues have been dealt with, and the big fight is about spending," he said. "When will the White House and when will Senate Democrats get serious about cutting federal spending."
By midday Friday, 12 hours before the funding would run out, most federal employees had been told whether they had been deemed essential or would be temporarily laid off in the event of a shutdown.
The military, mail carriers, air traffic controllers and border security guards would still be expected at work, although paychecks could be delayed.
National parks and forests would close, and taxpayers filing paper returns would not receive refunds during a shutdown.
Passports would be available in cases of emergencies only.
Obama canceled a scheduled Friday trip to Indianapolis — and a weekend family visit to Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia — and kept in touch with both Boehner and Reid.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky sounded hopeful, predicting an agreement and saying, "I assure you, these are not unresolvable issues."
The House passed legislation on Thursday to keep the government running for another week while also cutting $12 billion in spending — and providing enough money for the Pentagon to operate through Sept. 30.
Boehner urged Obama to reconsider a veto threat.
That seemed unlikely, although Republicans and Democrats alike talked of trying once more to pass a stopgap bill if the larger agreement remained elusive.
Obama has already signed two of those interim bills, which included a total of $10 billion in spending cuts.
The standoff began several weeks ago, when the new Republican majority in the House passed legislation to cut $61 billion from federal spending and place numerous curbs on the government.
In the weeks since, the two sides have alternately negotiated and taken time out to pass interim measures.
Democrats said Republicans had effectively jettisoned numerous demands to block Environmental Protection Agency regulations aimed at polluters, a key stumbling block in negotiations for weeks.
Originally, Republicans wanted to ban federal funds for Planned Parenthood, a health care services provider that is also the nation's largest provider of abortions.
Federal funds may not be used to pay for abortions except in strictly regulated cases, but supporters of the ban said cutting off government funds for the organization — currently about $330 million a year — would make it harder for it to use its own money for the same purpose.
Democrats rejected the proposal in private talks. Officials in both parties said Republicans returned earlier in the week with a proposal to distribute federal funds for family planning and related health services to the states, rather than directly to Planned Parenthood and other organizations.
Democrats said they rejected that proposal, as well, and then refused to agree to allow a separate Senate vote on the issue as part of debate over any compromise bill.
Instead, they launched a sustained campaign at both ends of the Capitol to criticize Republicans.
"We'll not allow them to use women as pawns," said Sen. Patty Murray, a fourth-term lawmaker from Washington who doubles as head of the Democratic senatorial campaign committee.
For Congress and Obama there are even tougher struggles still ahead — over a Republican budget that would remake entire federal programs, and a vote to raise the nation's debt limit.
____
Associated Press writers Andrew Taylor, Alan Fram, Julie Pace and Ben Feller contributed to this story.
The Obama administration readied hundreds of thousands of furlough notices for federal workers, to be released any time after the midnight deadline for a deal to keep operations running.
"We know the whole world is watching us today," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.
He, President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner all agreed a shutdown posed risks to an economy still recovering from the worst recession in decades. But there were disagreements aplenty among the principal players in an early test of divided government — Obama in the White House, fellow Democrats in control in the Senate and a new, tea party-flavored Republican majority in the House.
For much of the day, Reid and Boehner disagreed about what the disagreement was about.
Reid said there had been an agreement at a White House meeting Thursday night to cut spending by about $38 billion as part of a bill to finance the government through the Sept. 30 end of the budget year.
He said Republicans also were demanding unspecified cuts in health services for lower income women that were unacceptable to Democrats.
"Republicans want to shut down our nation's government because they want to make it harder to get cancer screenings," he said. "They want to throw women under the bus."
Boehner said repeatedly that wasn't the case — it was spending cuts that divided two sides.
"Most of the policy issues have been dealt with, and the big fight is about spending," he said. "When will the White House and when will Senate Democrats get serious about cutting federal spending."
By midday Friday, 12 hours before the funding would run out, most federal employees had been told whether they had been deemed essential or would be temporarily laid off in the event of a shutdown.
The military, mail carriers, air traffic controllers and border security guards would still be expected at work, although paychecks could be delayed.
National parks and forests would close, and taxpayers filing paper returns would not receive refunds during a shutdown.
Passports would be available in cases of emergencies only.
Obama canceled a scheduled Friday trip to Indianapolis — and a weekend family visit to Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia — and kept in touch with both Boehner and Reid.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky sounded hopeful, predicting an agreement and saying, "I assure you, these are not unresolvable issues."
The House passed legislation on Thursday to keep the government running for another week while also cutting $12 billion in spending — and providing enough money for the Pentagon to operate through Sept. 30.
Boehner urged Obama to reconsider a veto threat.
That seemed unlikely, although Republicans and Democrats alike talked of trying once more to pass a stopgap bill if the larger agreement remained elusive.
Obama has already signed two of those interim bills, which included a total of $10 billion in spending cuts.
The standoff began several weeks ago, when the new Republican majority in the House passed legislation to cut $61 billion from federal spending and place numerous curbs on the government.
In the weeks since, the two sides have alternately negotiated and taken time out to pass interim measures.
Democrats said Republicans had effectively jettisoned numerous demands to block Environmental Protection Agency regulations aimed at polluters, a key stumbling block in negotiations for weeks.
Originally, Republicans wanted to ban federal funds for Planned Parenthood, a health care services provider that is also the nation's largest provider of abortions.
Federal funds may not be used to pay for abortions except in strictly regulated cases, but supporters of the ban said cutting off government funds for the organization — currently about $330 million a year — would make it harder for it to use its own money for the same purpose.
Democrats rejected the proposal in private talks. Officials in both parties said Republicans returned earlier in the week with a proposal to distribute federal funds for family planning and related health services to the states, rather than directly to Planned Parenthood and other organizations.
Democrats said they rejected that proposal, as well, and then refused to agree to allow a separate Senate vote on the issue as part of debate over any compromise bill.
Instead, they launched a sustained campaign at both ends of the Capitol to criticize Republicans.
"We'll not allow them to use women as pawns," said Sen. Patty Murray, a fourth-term lawmaker from Washington who doubles as head of the Democratic senatorial campaign committee.
For Congress and Obama there are even tougher struggles still ahead — over a Republican budget that would remake entire federal programs, and a vote to raise the nation's debt limit.
____
Associated Press writers Andrew Taylor, Alan Fram, Julie Pace and Ben Feller contributed to this story.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Glenn Beck's Fox show dropped
NEW YORK – Fox News Channel on Wednesday said it was dropping Glenn Beck's afternoon talk show, which has sunk in the ratings and suffered financially due to an advertiser boycott.
Fox and Beck said the show will end later this year.
Fox News and Beck's company, Mercury Radio Arts, said they will work together to create other projects for Fox television and digital.
Beck was a quick burn on Fox News Channel. Almost immediately after joining the network in January 2009, he doubled the ratings at his afternoon time slot. Fans found his conservative populism entertaining, while Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert described Beck's "crank up the crazy and rip off the knob" moments.
He was popular with Tea Party activists and drew thousands of people to the National Mall in Washington last August for a "restoring honor" rally.
Yet some of his statements were getting him in trouble, and critics appealed to advertisers to boycott his show last summer after Beck said President Barack Obama had "a deep-seated hatred for white people."
More than 400 Fox advertisers told the company they did not want their commercials on Beck's show.
Viewers also began turning away. Beck's 5 p.m. ET show averaged 2.7 million viewers during the first three months of 2010, and was at just under 2 million for the same period this year, the Nielsen Co. said. His decline was sharper among younger viewers sought by advertisers.
Increasingly, the show began to be dominated by Beck standing in front of a chalk board giving his theories about the world's troubles.
However, Beck has built a powerful brand for himself with a radio show and digital properties. A key Fox executive, Joel Cheatwood, is joining Mercury Radio Arts later this month.
"I truly believe that America owes a lot to Roger Ailes and Fox News," Beck said in a statement. "I cannot repay Roger for the lessons I've learned and will continue to learn from him and I look forward to starting this new phase of our partnership."
One of Beck's most prominent critics — David Brock, founder of the liberal watchdog Media Matters for America — said that "the only surprise is that it took Fox News months to reach this decision."
Fox and Beck said the show will end later this year.
Fox News and Beck's company, Mercury Radio Arts, said they will work together to create other projects for Fox television and digital.
Beck was a quick burn on Fox News Channel. Almost immediately after joining the network in January 2009, he doubled the ratings at his afternoon time slot. Fans found his conservative populism entertaining, while Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert described Beck's "crank up the crazy and rip off the knob" moments.
He was popular with Tea Party activists and drew thousands of people to the National Mall in Washington last August for a "restoring honor" rally.
Yet some of his statements were getting him in trouble, and critics appealed to advertisers to boycott his show last summer after Beck said President Barack Obama had "a deep-seated hatred for white people."
More than 400 Fox advertisers told the company they did not want their commercials on Beck's show.
Viewers also began turning away. Beck's 5 p.m. ET show averaged 2.7 million viewers during the first three months of 2010, and was at just under 2 million for the same period this year, the Nielsen Co. said. His decline was sharper among younger viewers sought by advertisers.
Increasingly, the show began to be dominated by Beck standing in front of a chalk board giving his theories about the world's troubles.
However, Beck has built a powerful brand for himself with a radio show and digital properties. A key Fox executive, Joel Cheatwood, is joining Mercury Radio Arts later this month.
"I truly believe that America owes a lot to Roger Ailes and Fox News," Beck said in a statement. "I cannot repay Roger for the lessons I've learned and will continue to learn from him and I look forward to starting this new phase of our partnership."
One of Beck's most prominent critics — David Brock, founder of the liberal watchdog Media Matters for America — said that "the only surprise is that it took Fox News months to reach this decision."
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Indian 'living god' in critical condition: hospital
HYDERABAD, India (AFP) – One of India's best-known spiritual leaders, famous for his apparent miracles and long list of influential followers, is on life support in a southern hospital, officials said on Tuesday.
Satya Sai Baba, 85, who has devotees in more than 100 countries, was admitted to a hospital funded by his organisation in the town of Puttaparthi with lung and chest congestion on March 28.
His condition has since deteriorated and he is now on a ventilator and is receiving kidney dialysis, the most recent health bulletin from the hospital said on Tuesday.
He remains "critical," although his "level of consciousness has considerably improved" and his vital systems are "stable", said the update from the Sri Satya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences.
Thousands of followers have begun arriving in Puttaparthi, home to Sai Baba's ashram in the southeastern state of Andhra Pradesh, with many agitated by conflicting information given out by local authorities.
Government officials have sought to play down the seriousness of his condition, while police are preventing groups from gathering in the town, according to local reports.
The wild-haired leader has a following of millions in India and abroad, many of whom believe him to be a living god, and the reincarnation of the great spiritual guru, Sai Baba of Shirdi, who died in 1918.
The guru, who claims to have performed several miracles including bringing men back to life, counts former Indian prime ministers, top businessmen and even the country's cricketers among his devotees.
His organisation funds health and education projects in India, including a string of hospitals that claim to be able to cure ailments beyond the capabilities of mainstream medicine.
He and Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, the so-called "hugging saint" of Kerala, are the best known of thousands of Hindu ascetics.
The swami's birth in Andhra Pradesh is shrouded in mystery.
One hagiographical account by a biographer claimed the mysterious sounding of drums signalled his impending birth.
In his teens he is said to have begun singing verses in Sanskrit, a language of which he had no prior knowledge, and then became able to materialise flowers and sweets to the astonishment of observers.
His devotees also credit him with an ability to remember his past lives, a frequent claim of Indian holy men, and he is believed to produce sacred ash every day.
His work in education and health have won him widespread acclaim and respectability, but his reputation has also been damaged by allegations of sexual abuse and paedophilia.
A BBC programme in 2004 called "The Secret Swami" featured interviews with former followers who claimed Sai Baba took advantage of them. The allegations were denied by the spiritual leader's organisation.
Satya Sai Baba, 85, who has devotees in more than 100 countries, was admitted to a hospital funded by his organisation in the town of Puttaparthi with lung and chest congestion on March 28.
His condition has since deteriorated and he is now on a ventilator and is receiving kidney dialysis, the most recent health bulletin from the hospital said on Tuesday.
He remains "critical," although his "level of consciousness has considerably improved" and his vital systems are "stable", said the update from the Sri Satya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences.
Thousands of followers have begun arriving in Puttaparthi, home to Sai Baba's ashram in the southeastern state of Andhra Pradesh, with many agitated by conflicting information given out by local authorities.
Government officials have sought to play down the seriousness of his condition, while police are preventing groups from gathering in the town, according to local reports.
The wild-haired leader has a following of millions in India and abroad, many of whom believe him to be a living god, and the reincarnation of the great spiritual guru, Sai Baba of Shirdi, who died in 1918.
The guru, who claims to have performed several miracles including bringing men back to life, counts former Indian prime ministers, top businessmen and even the country's cricketers among his devotees.
His organisation funds health and education projects in India, including a string of hospitals that claim to be able to cure ailments beyond the capabilities of mainstream medicine.
He and Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, the so-called "hugging saint" of Kerala, are the best known of thousands of Hindu ascetics.
The swami's birth in Andhra Pradesh is shrouded in mystery.
One hagiographical account by a biographer claimed the mysterious sounding of drums signalled his impending birth.
In his teens he is said to have begun singing verses in Sanskrit, a language of which he had no prior knowledge, and then became able to materialise flowers and sweets to the astonishment of observers.
His devotees also credit him with an ability to remember his past lives, a frequent claim of Indian holy men, and he is believed to produce sacred ash every day.
His work in education and health have won him widespread acclaim and respectability, but his reputation has also been damaged by allegations of sexual abuse and paedophilia.
A BBC programme in 2004 called "The Secret Swami" featured interviews with former followers who claimed Sai Baba took advantage of them. The allegations were denied by the spiritual leader's organisation.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Sheen gets cheers, not boos in second stop on tour
CHICAGO – This time, Charlie Sheen's stage show began and ended with a standing ovation.
Sheen changed up the format for his 20-city road show after bombing in Detroit, using a master of ceremonies who asked the former "Two and a Half Men" star questions during Sunday night's performance in Chicago. Sheen ditched the rapper, the long monologue and the videos that were part of the Detroit show that had people leaving in droves Saturday night.
The changes seem to have helped. Audience members said the second performance on Sheen's "My Violent Torpedo of Truth/Defeat is not an Option" tour wasn't stellar, but it at least had some amusing moments. And the crowd at the 3,600-seat Chicago Theatre stayed for the entire performance and continued to cheer Sheen throughout.
Mackenzie Barth, 19, said the sold-out show was "weird," but that "at least no one was booing," referring to the reaction Sheen received in Detroit, where audience members chanted "refund" and headed for the exits even before the show abruptly ended.
Those attending the Chicago performance acknowledged they had low expectations going in after hearing the brutal reviews of the inaugural performance, which had started with thunderous applause.
"We figured we'd try it out and see what happens, and if it's bad, we'll leave," said Katie Iglehart, 23, of Chicago, who was attending the show with a friend.
But the talk show-style format kept Sheen from meandering and gave him the chance to make some of the snarky comments that have made him an Internet star since his falling out with CBS and the producers of "Two and a Half Men." Sheen, 45, smoked cigarettes as he talked about his marriages, his career and his life with the women he calls his "goddesses" — a former porn star and an actress who live with him — as he answered question from an interviewer who did not identify himself.
Asked how many times he had been married, Sheen retorted, "Seven-thousand. That's why I'm broke."
Asked why he's "paid for sex" in the past, Sheen responded, "Because I had millions to blow. I ran out of things to buy."
Overall, he seemed to have a better rapport with the Chicago crowd. As the show began, some began chanting "Detroit sucks." Early on, Sheen urged the audience in an obscenity-laced statement "not to become (expletive) Detroit tonight. Let's show Detroit how it's (expletive) done." Later, when the interviewer asked Sheen when he had started "winning," the actor responded, "The winning started in (expletive) Chicago."
Ellen Olson, who was wearing a black T-shirt with Sheen's catchphrase "Winning!" in white across the front, said she enjoyed the performance.
"I think he interacted with the audience a lot, which made it more funny," said Olson, 55, of Elmwood Park.
Sheen has made headlines in recent years as much for his drug use, failed marriages, custody disputes and run-ins with the police, as for his acting. Martin Sheen has compared his son's struggle with addiction to a cancer patient's struggle for survival.
In August, the wayward star pleaded guilty in Aspen, Colo., to misdemeanor third-degree assault after a Christmas Day altercation with his third wife, Brooke Mueller. The couple have since finalized their divorce.
Charlie Sheen's behavior, which included lashing out at "Two and a Half Men" producer Chuck Lorre, finally became too much for Warner Bros. Television, which fired him March 7.
Sheen fired back with a $100 million lawsuit and all-out media assault in which he informed the world about his standing as a "rock star from Mars" with "Adonis DNA."
___
Associated Press writers Mike Householder and Jeff Karoub in Detroit contributed to this report.
Sheen changed up the format for his 20-city road show after bombing in Detroit, using a master of ceremonies who asked the former "Two and a Half Men" star questions during Sunday night's performance in Chicago. Sheen ditched the rapper, the long monologue and the videos that were part of the Detroit show that had people leaving in droves Saturday night.
The changes seem to have helped. Audience members said the second performance on Sheen's "My Violent Torpedo of Truth/Defeat is not an Option" tour wasn't stellar, but it at least had some amusing moments. And the crowd at the 3,600-seat Chicago Theatre stayed for the entire performance and continued to cheer Sheen throughout.
Mackenzie Barth, 19, said the sold-out show was "weird," but that "at least no one was booing," referring to the reaction Sheen received in Detroit, where audience members chanted "refund" and headed for the exits even before the show abruptly ended.
Those attending the Chicago performance acknowledged they had low expectations going in after hearing the brutal reviews of the inaugural performance, which had started with thunderous applause.
"We figured we'd try it out and see what happens, and if it's bad, we'll leave," said Katie Iglehart, 23, of Chicago, who was attending the show with a friend.
But the talk show-style format kept Sheen from meandering and gave him the chance to make some of the snarky comments that have made him an Internet star since his falling out with CBS and the producers of "Two and a Half Men." Sheen, 45, smoked cigarettes as he talked about his marriages, his career and his life with the women he calls his "goddesses" — a former porn star and an actress who live with him — as he answered question from an interviewer who did not identify himself.
Asked how many times he had been married, Sheen retorted, "Seven-thousand. That's why I'm broke."
Asked why he's "paid for sex" in the past, Sheen responded, "Because I had millions to blow. I ran out of things to buy."
Overall, he seemed to have a better rapport with the Chicago crowd. As the show began, some began chanting "Detroit sucks." Early on, Sheen urged the audience in an obscenity-laced statement "not to become (expletive) Detroit tonight. Let's show Detroit how it's (expletive) done." Later, when the interviewer asked Sheen when he had started "winning," the actor responded, "The winning started in (expletive) Chicago."
Ellen Olson, who was wearing a black T-shirt with Sheen's catchphrase "Winning!" in white across the front, said she enjoyed the performance.
"I think he interacted with the audience a lot, which made it more funny," said Olson, 55, of Elmwood Park.
Sheen has made headlines in recent years as much for his drug use, failed marriages, custody disputes and run-ins with the police, as for his acting. Martin Sheen has compared his son's struggle with addiction to a cancer patient's struggle for survival.
In August, the wayward star pleaded guilty in Aspen, Colo., to misdemeanor third-degree assault after a Christmas Day altercation with his third wife, Brooke Mueller. The couple have since finalized their divorce.
Charlie Sheen's behavior, which included lashing out at "Two and a Half Men" producer Chuck Lorre, finally became too much for Warner Bros. Television, which fired him March 7.
Sheen fired back with a $100 million lawsuit and all-out media assault in which he informed the world about his standing as a "rock star from Mars" with "Adonis DNA."
___
Associated Press writers Mike Householder and Jeff Karoub in Detroit contributed to this report.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
More customers exposed as big data breach grows
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The names and e-mails of customers of Citigroup Inc and other large U.S. companies, as well as College Board students, were exposed in a massive and growing data breach after a computer hacker penetrated online marketer Epsilon.
In what could be one of the biggest such breaches in U.S. history, a diverse swath of companies that did business with Epsilon stepped forward over the weekend to warn customers some of their electronic information could have been exposed.
Drugstore Walgreen, Video recorder TiVo Inc, credit card lender Capital One Financial Corp and teleshopping company HSN Inc all added their names to a list of targets that also includes some of the nation's largest banks.
The names and electronic contacts of some students affiliated with the U.S.-based College Board -- which represents some 5,900 colleges, universities and schools -- were also potentially compromised.
No personal financial information such as credit cards or social security numbers appeared to be exposed, according to the company statements and e-mails to customers.
Epsilon, an online marketing unit of Alliance Data Systems Corp, said on Friday that a person outside the company hacked into some of its clients' customer files. The vendor sends more than 40 billion e-mail ads and offers annually, usually to people who register for a company's website or who give their e-mail addresses while shopping.
"We learned from our e-mail provider, Epsilon, that limited information about you was accessed by an unauthorized individual or individuals," HSN, also an e-commerce operator, said in an e-mail to customers on Sunday.
"This information included your name and e-mail address and did not include any financial or other sensitive information. We felt it was important to notify you of this incident as soon as possible."
Citigroup customer names and some credit card customers' e-mail addresses -- but no account information -- were part of the data breach, the third-largest U.S. bank said on Saturday.
The College Board, which administers the SAT admissions tests, on Saturday warned students about the breach and asked them to be cautious about receiving "links or attachments from unknown third parties," according to two e-mails reviewed by Reuters.
The not-for-profit organization is in contact with more than 7 million students, according to its website. It did not immediately return calls for comment.
PROBING FOR ANSWERS
Law enforcement authorities are investigating the breach, though it was unclear on Sunday how many customers or students had been exposed. Epsilon is also looking into what went wrong.
"While we are cooperating with authorities and doing a thorough investigation, we cannot say anything else," said Epsilon spokeswoman Jessica Simon. "We can't confirm any impacted or non-impacted clients, or provide a list (of companies) at this point in time."
Capital One, which also runs a bank, and Walgreens, the largest U.S. drugstore, said the Epsilon hacker accessed its customer e-mail addresses, but no personally identifiable information.
TiVo, a maker of digital video recorders, said the information that was obtained was limited to e-mail addresses and clients' first names.
The incident comes three years after hackers penetrated Heartland Payment Systems, a credit and debit card processor, in one of the biggest identity-theft cases in U.S. history.
In that case, notorious hacker Albert Gonzalez led a ring that stole more than 40 million payment card numbers, and was later sentenced to 20 years in prison.
On Friday, JPMorgan Chase & Co, the second-largest U.S. bank, and Kroger Co, the biggest U.S. supermarket operator, said that some customers were exposed as part of the Epsilon data breach.
Citigroup announced that it had been affected on Saturday evening. Spokesman Sean Kevelighan said the bank started informing its customers of the breach on Friday through a link on its website.
Some of Epsilon's other clients include Verizon Communications Inc, Blackstone Group LP's Hilton Hotels, Kraft Foods Inc, and AstraZeneca.
(Reporting by Jonathan Spicer and Maria Aspan, editing by Maureen Bavdek, Diane Craft and Gunna Dickson)
In what could be one of the biggest such breaches in U.S. history, a diverse swath of companies that did business with Epsilon stepped forward over the weekend to warn customers some of their electronic information could have been exposed.
Drugstore Walgreen, Video recorder TiVo Inc, credit card lender Capital One Financial Corp and teleshopping company HSN Inc all added their names to a list of targets that also includes some of the nation's largest banks.
The names and electronic contacts of some students affiliated with the U.S.-based College Board -- which represents some 5,900 colleges, universities and schools -- were also potentially compromised.
No personal financial information such as credit cards or social security numbers appeared to be exposed, according to the company statements and e-mails to customers.
Epsilon, an online marketing unit of Alliance Data Systems Corp, said on Friday that a person outside the company hacked into some of its clients' customer files. The vendor sends more than 40 billion e-mail ads and offers annually, usually to people who register for a company's website or who give their e-mail addresses while shopping.
"We learned from our e-mail provider, Epsilon, that limited information about you was accessed by an unauthorized individual or individuals," HSN, also an e-commerce operator, said in an e-mail to customers on Sunday.
"This information included your name and e-mail address and did not include any financial or other sensitive information. We felt it was important to notify you of this incident as soon as possible."
Citigroup customer names and some credit card customers' e-mail addresses -- but no account information -- were part of the data breach, the third-largest U.S. bank said on Saturday.
The College Board, which administers the SAT admissions tests, on Saturday warned students about the breach and asked them to be cautious about receiving "links or attachments from unknown third parties," according to two e-mails reviewed by Reuters.
The not-for-profit organization is in contact with more than 7 million students, according to its website. It did not immediately return calls for comment.
PROBING FOR ANSWERS
Law enforcement authorities are investigating the breach, though it was unclear on Sunday how many customers or students had been exposed. Epsilon is also looking into what went wrong.
"While we are cooperating with authorities and doing a thorough investigation, we cannot say anything else," said Epsilon spokeswoman Jessica Simon. "We can't confirm any impacted or non-impacted clients, or provide a list (of companies) at this point in time."
Capital One, which also runs a bank, and Walgreens, the largest U.S. drugstore, said the Epsilon hacker accessed its customer e-mail addresses, but no personally identifiable information.
TiVo, a maker of digital video recorders, said the information that was obtained was limited to e-mail addresses and clients' first names.
The incident comes three years after hackers penetrated Heartland Payment Systems, a credit and debit card processor, in one of the biggest identity-theft cases in U.S. history.
In that case, notorious hacker Albert Gonzalez led a ring that stole more than 40 million payment card numbers, and was later sentenced to 20 years in prison.
On Friday, JPMorgan Chase & Co, the second-largest U.S. bank, and Kroger Co, the biggest U.S. supermarket operator, said that some customers were exposed as part of the Epsilon data breach.
Citigroup announced that it had been affected on Saturday evening. Spokesman Sean Kevelighan said the bank started informing its customers of the breach on Friday through a link on its website.
Some of Epsilon's other clients include Verizon Communications Inc, Blackstone Group LP's Hilton Hotels, Kraft Foods Inc, and AstraZeneca.
(Reporting by Jonathan Spicer and Maria Aspan, editing by Maureen Bavdek, Diane Craft and Gunna Dickson)
Charlie Sheen show sputters in Motor City
DETROIT – Charlie Sheen was heckled, booed and eventually abandoned by the crowd at his inaugural stage show, with many of the audience members chanting "refund" and heading for the exits even before the show abruptly ended.
Winning? Not on opening night.
The first stop on Sheen's "My Violent Torpedo of Truth/Defeat is Not an Option" 20-city variety show started Saturday night with thunderous applause but ended 70 minutes later. In between, Sheen tried to appease his audience with rants, a rapper and a question and answer session, ultimately concluding the first show was "an experiment."
The former "Two and a Half Men" star learned firsthand at Detroit's 5,100-seat Fox Theatre that show business still requires a show. The debacle called into question the fate of the nascent tour. Some fans already predicted a premature end for the monthlong trek, which was scheduled to resume Sunday in Chicago.
"No way" the show makes it through all the dates, said Bob Orlowski, a lawyer from Plymouth, Mich., who watched with six clients in a suite.
"He's not suited for this," said Orlowski, 46. "It wasn't funny."
Sheen's publicist, Larry Solters, declined to comment after the show. Sheen, 45, reappeared after the house lights went up to thank the hundreds who remained.
It wasn't clear when Sheen lost the audience, but there were many awkward moments.
Sheen, known for his wild partying and rampant drug use, said he thought Detroit would be a good place to tell some stories about crack cocaine. The remark prompted loud, immediate boos.
At another point, Sheen showed a short film he wrote, directed and produced years ago called "RPG." He sat in the front row to watch the flick, which starred a much younger Johnny Depp. Again, more boos.
The show actually started off with a bang.
After a video montage of movie clips — Sheen in "Wall Street" and "Platoon" set to a guitar solo from Sheen friend Rob Patterson — the star emerged to raucous applause and a standing ovation. The cheering increased as the women he calls his "goddesses" took the stage.
The two women, a former porn star and an actress who live with him, carried placards with the words "War" and "Lock," a reference to Sheen's recent description of himself.
When the goddesses locked lips in front of him, Sheen smirked. He had the crowd in the palm of his hand.
"I don't see a single empty seat," he said.
That quickly changed.
As the showed bogged down, an audience member booed, prompting Sheen to reply, "I've already got your money, dude."
Things only got worse.
"Tonight's an experiment," he said.
For some, it was an expensive experiment.
Linda Fugate, who paid $150 for two seats, left the theater and walked up the street, yelling, "I want my money back!"
"I was hoping for something. I didn't think it would be this bad," said Fugate, a 47-year-old from Lincoln Park, Mich.
Fans who arrived at the theater — some flying in for the show — said they were hoping to see the increasingly eccentric actor deliver some of the colorful rants that have made him an Internet star since his ugly falling out with CBS and the producers of "Two and a Half Men."
They got the ranting. It just wasn't funny.
"Brutal. I expected him to at least entertain a little bit," said Rodney Gagnon, 34, of Windsor, Ontario.
Some saw something between victory and defeat.
Geoff Rezek, 69, a computer consultant from Darien, Conn., who met Sheen after the concert and received a poster, said the show needed work, but was salvageable. He believes Sheen is a consummate showman who took a risk.
"I wouldn't miss the first show. Who knows if there's going to be a second show?" Rezek said, perhaps prophetically. He also bought a ticket for Sheen's performance next week in Connecticut.
Sheen has made headlines in recent years as much for his drug use, failed marriages, custody disputes and run-ins with the police, as for his acting. Martin Sheen has compared his son's struggle with addiction to a cancer patient's struggle for survival.
In August, the wayward star pleaded guilty in Aspen, Colo., to misdemeanor third-degree assault after a Christmas Day altercation with his third wife, Brooke Mueller. The couple have since finalized their divorce.
Charlie Sheen's behavior, which included lashing out at "Two and a Half Men" producer Chuck Lorre, finally became too much for Warner Bros. Television, which fired him March 7.
Sheen fired back with a $100 million lawsuit and all-out media assault in which he informed the world about his standing as a "rock star from Mars" with "Adonis DNA."
After one of the sustained booing moments, Sheen tried to calm the crowd.
"Come on, guys. You paid to see me," he said. "... You gave me your hard-earned money without knowing what this (expletive) show was about. I'm here now ... and I'm willing to open up."
Winning? Not on opening night.
The first stop on Sheen's "My Violent Torpedo of Truth/Defeat is Not an Option" 20-city variety show started Saturday night with thunderous applause but ended 70 minutes later. In between, Sheen tried to appease his audience with rants, a rapper and a question and answer session, ultimately concluding the first show was "an experiment."
The former "Two and a Half Men" star learned firsthand at Detroit's 5,100-seat Fox Theatre that show business still requires a show. The debacle called into question the fate of the nascent tour. Some fans already predicted a premature end for the monthlong trek, which was scheduled to resume Sunday in Chicago.
"No way" the show makes it through all the dates, said Bob Orlowski, a lawyer from Plymouth, Mich., who watched with six clients in a suite.
"He's not suited for this," said Orlowski, 46. "It wasn't funny."
Sheen's publicist, Larry Solters, declined to comment after the show. Sheen, 45, reappeared after the house lights went up to thank the hundreds who remained.
It wasn't clear when Sheen lost the audience, but there were many awkward moments.
Sheen, known for his wild partying and rampant drug use, said he thought Detroit would be a good place to tell some stories about crack cocaine. The remark prompted loud, immediate boos.
At another point, Sheen showed a short film he wrote, directed and produced years ago called "RPG." He sat in the front row to watch the flick, which starred a much younger Johnny Depp. Again, more boos.
The show actually started off with a bang.
After a video montage of movie clips — Sheen in "Wall Street" and "Platoon" set to a guitar solo from Sheen friend Rob Patterson — the star emerged to raucous applause and a standing ovation. The cheering increased as the women he calls his "goddesses" took the stage.
The two women, a former porn star and an actress who live with him, carried placards with the words "War" and "Lock," a reference to Sheen's recent description of himself.
When the goddesses locked lips in front of him, Sheen smirked. He had the crowd in the palm of his hand.
"I don't see a single empty seat," he said.
That quickly changed.
As the showed bogged down, an audience member booed, prompting Sheen to reply, "I've already got your money, dude."
Things only got worse.
"Tonight's an experiment," he said.
For some, it was an expensive experiment.
Linda Fugate, who paid $150 for two seats, left the theater and walked up the street, yelling, "I want my money back!"
"I was hoping for something. I didn't think it would be this bad," said Fugate, a 47-year-old from Lincoln Park, Mich.
Fans who arrived at the theater — some flying in for the show — said they were hoping to see the increasingly eccentric actor deliver some of the colorful rants that have made him an Internet star since his ugly falling out with CBS and the producers of "Two and a Half Men."
They got the ranting. It just wasn't funny.
"Brutal. I expected him to at least entertain a little bit," said Rodney Gagnon, 34, of Windsor, Ontario.
Some saw something between victory and defeat.
Geoff Rezek, 69, a computer consultant from Darien, Conn., who met Sheen after the concert and received a poster, said the show needed work, but was salvageable. He believes Sheen is a consummate showman who took a risk.
"I wouldn't miss the first show. Who knows if there's going to be a second show?" Rezek said, perhaps prophetically. He also bought a ticket for Sheen's performance next week in Connecticut.
Sheen has made headlines in recent years as much for his drug use, failed marriages, custody disputes and run-ins with the police, as for his acting. Martin Sheen has compared his son's struggle with addiction to a cancer patient's struggle for survival.
In August, the wayward star pleaded guilty in Aspen, Colo., to misdemeanor third-degree assault after a Christmas Day altercation with his third wife, Brooke Mueller. The couple have since finalized their divorce.
Charlie Sheen's behavior, which included lashing out at "Two and a Half Men" producer Chuck Lorre, finally became too much for Warner Bros. Television, which fired him March 7.
Sheen fired back with a $100 million lawsuit and all-out media assault in which he informed the world about his standing as a "rock star from Mars" with "Adonis DNA."
After one of the sustained booing moments, Sheen tried to calm the crowd.
"Come on, guys. You paid to see me," he said. "... You gave me your hard-earned money without knowing what this (expletive) show was about. I'm here now ... and I'm willing to open up."
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