Taliban attack Afghan capital, 3 other cities(Photo)

The Taliban launched a series of coordinated attacks on at least seven sites across the Afghan capital on Sunday, targeting NATO headquarters, the parliament and diplomatic residences. Militants also launched near-simultaneous assaults in three other eastern cities.

The Taliban launched a series of coordinated attacks on at least seven sites across the Afghan capital on

Woman accuses Cain of bold sexual advance

Leaving little to the imagination, a Chicago-area woman on Monday accused Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain of making a crude sexual advance more than a decade ago when she was seeking his help finding a job.

"Come clean," Sharon Bialek challenged Cain at a news conference in New York at which she described herself as "a face and a voice" to support other accusers who have so far remained anonymous.

Cain pointedly denied her charges late Monday and said he would fight the claims head-on at a news conference Tuesday afternoon in Phoenix.

"There is not an ounce of truth to all these allegations," he said on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" I'm going to set the record straight.

He said he got angry and disgusted as he watched the account he said was "totally fabricated." Bialek's nationally broadcast appearance on cable television marked a new and -- for Cain -- dangerous turn in a controversy that he has struggled for more than a week to shed. An upstart in the presidential race, Cain shot to the top of public opinion polls in recent weeks and emerged, however temporarily, as the main conservative challenger to Mitt Romney.

Accompanied by her prominent lawyer, Gloria Allred, Bialek accused Cain of making a sexual advance one night in mid-July 1997, when she had traveled to Washington to have dinner with him in hopes he could help her find work.

She said the two had finished dinner and were in a car for what she thought was a ride to an office building.

"Instead of going into the offices he suddenly reached over and he put his hand on my leg, under my skirt toward my genitals," she said.

"He also pushed my head toward his crotch," she added.

Bialek said she told her boyfriend, an unidentified pediatrician, as well as a longtime male friend about the episode.

None of Cain's other accusers has provided details as graphic as Bialek's account. But Joel Bennett, an attorney who represents one of them, said her details were "similar in nature" to what his client encountered.

Allred, a prominent sex discrimination attorney with Democratic ties, moved preemptively to blunt any attacks on Bialek's motives. She described her client as a registered Republican, a single mother and a woman with a long and successful career.

She also said Bialek "could have attempted to sell her story but chose not to do so," and knew that by stepping forward, she would receive scrutiny.

Court records indicate Bialek had financial difficulties a decade ago when she filed for bankruptcy protection and reported $4,500 in unpaid rent and $13,000 in outstanding credit card bills.

Current property records show she owns a house on an acre of land in a Chicago suburb.Some of Cain's allies immediately made a target of Allred, a Democratic campaign donor, rather than focusing any anger on Cain's accuser.

Georgia state Sen. Joshua McKoon, who has endorsed Cain, accused Allred of "carnival theatrics" fueled by a partisan agenda.

"Her involvement makes it clear that it's a political smear job orchestrated by those on the left because there is nothing more terrifying than Herman Cain as the Republican nominee," the Republican lawmaker said.

But Doug Heye, a political consultant who is unaligned in the GOP race, said Bialek's allegations "are different because they involve a name and specific details."

He said Allred's involvement "is going to make some people disbelieve the charges out of hand because of the sideshow she creates. But Herman Cain has to be clear and convincing in his response."

Even before Bialek stepped forward, presidential rival Jon Huntsman and Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour had publicly urged Cain to address the sexual harassment allegations in greater detail.

After spending much of last week denying accusations, he told reporters who sought to question him Saturday night, "don't even go there."

According to lawyer and client, Bialek was employed for parts of 1996 and 1997 at the Educational Foundation of the National Restaurant Association, an industry trade group that Cain headed at the time. She said she first met him at an organization convention, interacting with him several times over the course of a few days.

After she was fired from her job about a month later, she said her boyfriend told her, "Herman seems to think highly of you. Why don't you contact him?"

That led to a trip to Washington about a month later, where she recalled that Cain upgraded her hotel room to a suite and made his unwanted sexual advance in the car.

She said she asked Cain what he was doing and recalled he replied, "You said you want a job, right?"

Given her experience and those of other accusers, "I want you, Mr. Cain, to come clean," she said. "Just admit what you did. Admit you were inappropriate to people."

She added: "Mr. Cain, I implore you: Make this right so that you and the country can move forward and focus on the real issues at hand."

The denial from Cain's campaign was swift and as unequivocal as the allegation.

"Just as the country finally begins to refocus on our crippling $15 trillion national debt and the unacceptably high unemployment rate, now activist celebrity lawyer Gloria Allred is bringing forth more false accusations against the character of Republican front-runner Herman Cain," it said.

"Mr. Cain has never harassed anyone."

Bialek, in an interview later Monday on CNN's Piers Morgan Tonight, said she had hoped Cain would announce a press conference after her statement to apologize to her. But instead she learned he issued the stern denial.

"I know what happened, and he knows what happened," Bialek said. "One of my whole objectives was to give him the opportunity to come forward, to redeem himself, say, `Hey, I'm sorry. I did this. It happened. And let's move forward. And it is unfortunate. I'm very disappointed that he didn't take the lead in this."

She said in the interview that she was prepared for an expected media onslaught, but more concerned about how it would affect her teenage son. She said she wants him to know she "did something for women" by speaking publicly.

When asked if Cain should be president, Bialek said: "I don't think we can have anyone in the White House who is unable to tell the truth."

Before Bialek first stepped to the microphone, the allegations involved two women who had worked at the National Restaurant Association, both of whom filed sexual harassment complaints.

A third woman told The Associated Press last week that she considered filing a workplace complaint against Cain over what she deemed sexually suggestive remarks and gestures that included a private invitation to his corporate apartment.

A former pollster for the restaurant association has said he witnessed yet another episode involving a fourth woman.

Allred has represented several high-profile clients, including Amber Frey, a witness against convicted California killer Scott Peterson. Allred also represented a woman whom news reports accused of having an affair with golfer Tiger Woods.

"I consider sexual harassment the No. 1 problem in the workplace," she told the AP in an interview last week. "It denies equal opportunity in the workforce. If (women) don't protest it, they'll have to continue to suffer."

Libyan Rebels Say Qaddafi Using Human Shields

Libyan rebels advanced toward Sirte, Muammar Qaddafi’s hometown, where they said forces loyal to the leader used civilians as human shields to block opposition fighters from entering.

Rebels have been waiting for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to bomb Scud missile sites so they can

move ahead even as they negotiate with Sirte tribal leaders to enter the city peacefully.

The rebels will need about 10 days to capture Sirte “if negotiations fail to enter the town without fight,” Colonel Salim Miftah, one of the rebel commanders, told Al-Jazeera. “Our main goal is liberation not blood.”

Sirte is a haven for Qaddafi loyalists, according to the rebel command and NATO. Qaddafi’s whereabouts are unknown. His chief spokesman, Moussa Ibrahim, told the Associated Press Aug. 27 that Qaddafi remains in Libya and wants to negotiate with the rebels to form a transitional government.

At least four Scud missiles have been launched from Sirte at the rebel stronghold of Misrata over the past two weeks, Abdullah Maiteeg, a rebel fighter, said in an interview.

Rebel units pushed toward the town from east and west along the coastal highway yesterday, Commander Ali Ahmed of the rebel Sidra Brigade said in an interview.

The rebels have been trying to find Qaddafi, consolidate their gains and bring stability to the country since entering the capital, Tripoli, last week. The rebel National Transitional Council officially transferred its headquarters to Tripoli from Benghazi, in the east, on Aug. 24.

Lockerbie Bomber

The Libyan rebel government won’t deport the man convicted of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, its justice minister said, according to the Associated Press. U.S. Senator Charles Schumer, Democrat of New York, had encouraged the rebel council to hold Abdel-Baset al-Megrahi fully accountable for the bombing of Pan Am flight 103, which killed 270 people.

Justice Minister Mohammed al-Alagi told reporters in Tripoli that the request had “no meaning” because al-Megrahi had already been tried and convicted.

“We will not hand over any Libyan citizen. It was Qaddafi who handed over Libyan citizens,” the AP quoted him as saying, as he referred to the government’s decision to turn al-Megrahi over to the jurisdiction of the Scottish court for trial in the Netherlands in 1999. Al-Megrahi spent almost nine years in Scottish prison until he was released in 2009 for health reasons. Al-Megrahi’s current whereabouts are unknown.

Water Shortage

With Tripoli under their control, the rebel leaders were turning to domestic concerns including a water shortage and spread of disease.

Unicef, the United Nations Children’s Fund, said it expected to deliver more than 110,000 bottles of water to Tripoli by yesterday.

“Around 5 million liters of water is being procured by Unicef from neighboring countries to be trucked and shipped with the assistance of a UN vessel and regional shipping companies to Tripoli in the coming days,” the organization said in an e- mailed statement.

“We remain extremely concerned about the situation,” Christian Balslev-Olesen, head of the Unicef office in Libya, said. “This could turn into an unprecedented health epidemic.”

The U.K. announced plans for “urgent humanitarian support,” including medical care and food, for people affected by the conflict. The U.K. will supply surgical teams and medicines for the treatment of up to 5,000 war-wounded patients, and food for nearly 690,000 people, International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell said in an e-mail Aug. 27.

Oil Fields

The opposition council claimed full control of Libya’s oil fields. Nouri Balroin, the head of the NTC’s oil production unit, said output will resume within three weeks, Al Jazeera reported yesterday. Oil experts will follow a three-stage plan to restore the flow of oil to 1.6 million barrels a day within 15 months, he said, according to the Qatar-based network. Ras Lanuf refinery is able to restart operations at any time, Al Arabiya reported, citing the director of the facility.

The conflict has all but halted oil exports from Libya, which has the largest proven reserves of any African country. Output dropped to 100,000 barrels a day in July, down from the 1.6 million barrels pumped before the uprising started.

Crude oil for October delivery rose 7 cents to settle at $85.37 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Aug. 26. Futures increased 3.8 percent this week, the first weekly gain since July, and are up 16 percent in the past year.

Civilian Deaths

Evidence of atrocities emerged at a former regime military base, where the handcuffed bodies of 130 Libyan rebels and the remains of 20 civilians were found, a Libyan activist and journalist in Tripoli, Numedia al-Trabulsi, told Al Jazeera in a telephone interview Aug. 27.

The bodies were found in the Khamis Camp in Tripoli, now under rebel control. The Khamis Brigade is a special forces military unit led by Qaddafi’s youngest son, Khamis.

Amnesty International said it has uncovered evidence that loyalist forces killed detainees at two military camps in Tripoli on Aug. 23 and 24.

Umenyiora will play for Giants, but without new contract

Two-time Pro Bowl defensive end Osi Umenyiora is returning to work for the Giants without a new contract.

In an e-mail to the Associated Press last night, Umenyiora said he plans to practice today and that he will play this season under the terms of his current contract.

Umenyiora said the Giants offered to put incentives in his contact, which will pay him $7.1 million over the next two seasons, but he rejected them.

“No deal has been reworked,’’ Umenyiora said. “What has been offered has been unacceptable and shows they don’t really respect the fact I sacrifice my health for the franchise. I will play under my current deal because I love and respect my coaches, my teammates, the fans, and myself. Not for those incentives.’’

The nine-year veteran hasn’t practiced since reporting to training camp July 30, a day late. He failed to report on time because he alleged that general manager Jerry Reese told him after last season that the team would rework his contract.

The Giants told Umenyiora not to practice after he reported to training camp, but a couple of days later the team said he wasn’t working out because of a sore left knee. Giants coach Tom Coughlin said yesterday that team doctors cleared Umenyiora for practice.

The Giants may bring another kicker into camp with Lawrence Tynes bruising his left thigh in Saturday night’s 20-10 loss to the Panthers. Coughlin wasn’t sure how long Tynes would be out. Tynes missed two field goals and had another kick blocked.

Jets get started

The return of Plaxico Burress will have to wait. Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez has work to do with his other receivers anyway when New York opens its preseason schedule against the Texans tonight in Houston.

The game would’ve been notable for the resurfacing of Burress, who signed with the Jets July 31 after serving a 20-month prison sentence on a gun charge. But Burress won’t even make the trip to Texas after spraining his left ankle in practice last week.

In his limited time, Sanchez can focus on building chemistry with free agent pickup Derrick Mason, and reconnecting with go-to receiver Santonio Holmes.

“I think this team has the potential to surpass what we did last year,’’ Sanchez said, “but it starts with this first game.’’

The Jets ranked 22d in passing offense last season (202.6 yards per game), and Sanchez ranked 27th in passer rating among starters (75.3).

Jets backup quarterback Mark Brunell is questionable after injuring a finger Saturday.

Going with Gano

The Redskins cut Shayne Graham, leaving incumbent Graham Gano as lone kicker at training camp. Graham shanked a 29-yard field goal attempt and also missed a 49-yarder in Friday’s win over Pittsburgh. Gano was 3 for 3 against the Steelers . . . Former Yale tight end Nate Lawrie signed a one-year contract with the 49ers . . . The Lions waived offensive tackle Tony Ugoh.

Michael Jackson trial won't show unreleased footage

Jurors in the Michael Jackson manslaughter trial will not see unreleased footage from This Is It, the documentary-concert film that documents the rehearsals for the tour of the same name that would have kicked off in July of 2009, reports the Associated Press. Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor ruled

Monday that the more than 100 hours of unreleased footage do not show the singer in poor health, and should be left out of the trial as they would offer no assistance to the defense. Attorneys for Dr. Conrad Murray, who has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter, wanted to show four hours of the film, while prosecutors wished to show up to 12 hours.

Pastor reviewed several hours of the footage, then canceled his plans to visit Sony Pictures Studios for the rest. Sony filed a motion Friday citing comments by defense attorney J. Michael Flanagan, who called a review of the footage a “big waste of time.” Pastor agreed that the footage, which could be used for extended versions of This Is It, have significant value to Sony and should not be shown publicly without good reason. Jury selection is slated to begin on Sept. 8.

Syria: US condemns 'brutality and violence'

The US has strongly condemned Syria's "outrageous use of violence" against anti-government protesters. 

The White House said the government was leading Syria down a "dangerous path" and called for "an immediate end to the brutality and violence". At least 28 people were killed in fresh clashes in Idlib province on Friday. The violence came as government forces moved on the town of Jisr al-Shughour where the government said 120 security personnel had been killed. Hundreds of civilians have fled north into Turkey to escape the assault. 

 Assad 'unavailable'

In a statement, White House spokesman Jay Carney repeated calls for the Syrian security forces to exercise restraint, and said the US stood by those Syrians who were "demanding dignity and the transition to democracy that they deserve". "The Syrian government is leading Syria on a dangerous path," he said. "For that reason, it is critical that all Syrians remain united, work to prevent sectarian conflict, and pursue their aspirations peacefully." UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also expressed concern over the high civilian toll, describing the use of military force as "unacceptable". A spokesman for Mr Ban said he was "keen to speak to" Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, but that the president has repeatedly been "unavailable" in recent days. Syria has prevented foreign journalists, including those from the BBC, from entering the country, making it difficult to independently verify reports from there. But anti-government activists said about 15 people died in the northern province of Idlib on Friday, most of them in Maarat al-Numan where tanks and helicopters fired on protesters who had taken to the streets after prayers. Correspondents say it is the first reported use of air power to quell protests in Syria's three-month uprising. A Syrian opposition figure told the Associated Press news agency by telephone that thousands of protesters had overwhelmed security officers and set light to a courthouse and a police station in the town. State TV reported that armed gangs had attacked police stations in the town. Another five anti-government protesters were killed in the coastal city of Latakia, according to activist sources. Two people were reported killed by security forces in Busra al-Harir, southern Deraa province, and another four in the Qaboun district of the capital, Damascus. Jisr al-Shughour was said to be all but deserted as troops moved in on Friday, reportedly bulldozing homes and torching crops and fields on their way. Opposition activists earlier told the BBC that the army was adopting a "scorched earth policy" around the town. The Syrian government has not commented on the claim. "They said they even killed animals," one man who had fled Jisr al-Shughour told AP. "The people have no weapons, they can't defend themselves. The only thing they can do is escape." Witnesses reported explosions coming from near the town and helicopter gunships and tanks were said to be opening fire. The crackdown in Jisr al-Shughour had been long expected after the government blamed armed groups for the deaths of 120 security personnel in the town earlier in the week. Some reports suggested there had been a mutiny among security forces. State TV has been broadcasting images of what it says are soldiers and police shot dead in the town. Officials say local people requested military intervention to restore order. Since March, mass protests against the rule of President Assad have become a regular event following Friday prayers. Human rights groups say more than 1,300 people have died as the government tries to suppress dissent, most of them unarmed civilians. The government rejects the figures and says about 500 security forces have died. With the unrest showing no sign of abating, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) called for immediate access to those affected by the violence and those arrested or detained. Turkey - which shares a long border with northern Syria - says more than 2,000 Syrians have crossed over, seeking refuge from the expected retaliation on Jisr al-Shughour. The city has a population of about 50,000. It is not clear how many other residents have fled to other locations within Syria. Are you in Syria?

Have you travelled from Syria to Turkey to flee the situation there? Send us your comments and experiences.

5 foreign journalists freed by Libya and Iran

The Libyan government released four foreign journalists on Wednesday and a fifth reached freedom in Qatar after disappearing while on assignment in Syria, the latest reporters to be freed after being swept up while covering unrest in the Middle East.

Americans Clare Morgana Gillis and James Foley, along with British freelance reporter Nigel Chandler and Spanish photographer Manuel Varela, appeared at a Tripoli hotel after being released from six weeks of detention in Libya.

Earlier, Iranian-born Dorothy Parvaz, who has U.S. and Canadian citizenship and works for Al-Jazeera television, arrived at her network's home base in Doha after being freed by Iran. All five were reported in good health.

"I've spoken to our son," Diane Foley of Rochester, N.H., told The Associated Press. "He's in good health, he's feeling very, very relieved. He's feeling very hopeful."

She said the first thing he said to her on the phone was " 'Hey, ma, it's me. It's Jim. I'm fine, we're at a hotel.' "

She said he told her that the four were to be taken early today to the border with Tunisia, where they would cross out of Libya.

Three of the journalists — Gillis, who freelances for The Atlantic magazine and USA Today; Foley, who writes for the Boston-based news agency GlobalPost; and Varela, who works under the name Manu Brabo, were detained on April 5 near the Libyan town of Brega.

Chandler was detained separately.

They were freed a day after the Libyan government said it had given them a one-year suspended sentence on charges of illegally entering the country.

The 39-year-old Parvaz, who previously worked as a reporter and columnist for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, disappeared soon after arriving in Syria on April 29 to cover the anti-government protests there. The Damascus government disclosed on May 4 that she had been deported to Iran.

There was no word on the fate of another missing journalist, photographer Anton Hammerl, who disappeared in Libya about the same time as the four journalists released Wednesday. Gillis said she had not seen him.

Libyan government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said Libya holds no other reporters. "At the moment, I think we have released all journalists, unless some have been captured in the past two days and I haven't heard about it," he said.

Mariah Carey, Nick Cannon Welcome Newborn Twins

Congratulations to new parents Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon who welcomed twins - a boy and a girl - on Saturday. According to the Associated Press, Mariah gave birth at 12:07 p.m. at an undisclosed location in Los Angeles. The Cannon's bundle of joy come at the same time as the couples fourth wedding anniversary.

Nick Cannon shared his excitement over the news on his Twitter page.

"My wife just gave me the most incredible anniversary gift ever in life!" Cannon wrote. "I won't ever be able to top this!"

Back in February Mariah broke the news that she was expecting twin babies.

"Even before we announced it was twins, I was trying to keep everything gender-neutral, because I didn't want to impose an identity on them too soon," Mariah told Life & Style magazine. "There were fan contests on Twitter about what gender they are and rumors about them being two boys or two girls — but nobody guessed this!"

Friends couldn't be happier for the duo, including one who tells the mag: "It's all about pink and blue these days. It's truly going to be a dream come true for them. They get a son and daughter." The magazine reports that the couple's twin babies are expected sometime in April.

Despite trying to keep details about the pregnancy as private as possible, Cannon admitted in December that the couple were expecting twins. He explained that the pop powerhouse let the news slip during a conversation with the president and first lady backstage at TNT's "Christmas in Washington 2010."

'Let Israel come and take Syria'

The Syrian government continues to crack-down on pro-reform protesters, with Monday's death toll reaching between 11 and 25 people during a demonstration in Daraa, according to varying reports.

Thousands of soldiers backed by tanks poured Monday into the city where the five-week-old uprising began, opening fire indiscriminately on civilians before dawn and killing at least 11 people, witnesses said.

The offensive was planned in detail with electricity, water and mobile phone services cut off and knife-wielding security agents conducting house-to-house sweeps.

Witnesses said busloads of troops poured in before dawn and snipers took up positions on the roofs of houses and high buildings while other security agents searched houses for suspected protesters.

"We need international intervention. We need countries to help us," a witness in Daraa told the Associated Press on the phone, adding that he saw five corpses after security forces opened fire on a car.

Watch tanks shoot at civilians in Daraa

"Let Obama come and take Syria. Let Israel come and take Syria. Let the Jews come – anything is better than Bashar Assad," he said, playing on Syria's hatred for Israel to highlight how much town residents despise their leader.

Meanwhile, the White House stepped up its condemnation of President Bashar Assad's regime, but stopped well short of demanding the ouster of a leader some US Democrats had considered a potential reformer and peace broker.

The US State Department on Monday told American citizens to leave Syria as soon as they can and ordered some personnel at the US Embassy in Damascus to depart the country.

Belarus detains suspect in subway blast

Belarus says it has detained a possible suspect in the subway bombing that killed 12 people and wounded more than 200 others.

Deputy Prosecutor General Andrey Shved said Wednesday that CCTV footage showed the Belarusian man leaving a bag in the station in central Minsk.

Authorities earlier said that the bomb apparently was radio-controlled and had been placed under a bench at the Oktyabrskaya station. It exploded Monday as people were coming off trains during the evening rush hour.

There was no claim of responsibility for the blast. Belarus is observing a day of mourning for the victims.

People: Chris Brown trashes dressing room after 'Good Morning America' appearance (Video)

Chris Brown's occasionally discomforting quest for career rehab hit another roadblock Tuesday, when an appearance on "Good Morning America" concluded with the singer trashing his dressing room and storming shirtless out of the ABC New York studio.

The reported meltdown came off-camera, after an interview with co-host Robin Roberts, who asked him about his 2009 assault of Rihanna, and after he performed a song in the "GMA" studio.

He was scheduled to perform another song after a commercial break, but unidentified witnesses told the Associated Press and other news outlets that Brown went to his dressing room, smashed a window -- reports say shards of glass fell several stories onto the street -- broke

several other items and stormed out as security officers were arriving.

Brown was on "GMA" to plug his new album "F.A.M.E." (the title stands, he says, for "Forgiving All My Enemies") which came out Tuesday and already has garnered three hit singles and largely positive reviews. But Brown clearly seemed agitated when Roberts asked him about the assault and continued to emphasize the new album.

"This album is what I want them to talk about and not what happened two years ago," he said.

Brown is still on probation for the Rihanna assault, but ABC said Tuesday it did not plan to press criminal charges against the singer.

Brown is also slated to appear on ABC's "Dancing With the Stars" next week; and so far the gig is still on.

KESHA NIXES JAPAN SHOW; CYNDI LAUPER DOESN'T: Pop singer Kesha, known for her gleefully raunchy songs and stage shows, says she has postponed an upcoming concert tour in Japan, in deference to the earthquake, tsunami and ongoing nuclear power plant crisis there.

She urged fans to donate to relief funds.

"My heart is with Japan right now through this disaster and these hardships," the singer posted on her website. "I genuinely don't think right now would be appropriate timing for me to perform in Japan given the content and the spirit of my show, which is all about feeling exuberant, rowdy and wild."

But Cyndi Lauper has decided to go on with her current tour in Japan and will use the shows to raise funds for relief efforts.

ANOTHER DAY ANOTHER LOHAN ARREST: There are new legal problems for Lindsay Lohan's father, Michael Lohan. He was arrested by Los Angeles police on three felony charges Tuesday after a woman accused him of domestic violence at a nearby apartment, police say.

Police said they arrested Lohan after receiving a call at 9 p.m. about a domestic dispute. Lohan was detained while he was walking on the street near a police station. Police said he did not appear to be intoxicated and was cooperative.

Lohan, 50, was booked for inflicting corporal injury on a cohabitant, false imprisonment and preventing a report of victimization, police said.

No other details of the alleged incident were revealed.

His daughter Lindsay, meanwhile, is expected to inform a judge by today whether she will accept a plea deal with jail time or go to trial in her felony grand theft case.

Reports say a judge has offered Lindsay Lohan a term of 60 to 90 days in county jail, rather than state prison, if she pleads guilty to grand theft, RadarOnline.com reported.

She could face a worse sentence if she rejects the deal and is later convicted.

Lohan is accused of stealing a $2,500 necklace from a jewelry store near her Venice home last month.

JA RULE BROKE DA RULES: Rapper and actor Ja Rule pleaded guilty Tuesday to failing to file tax returns and will pay more than $1 million in back taxes and penalties, Reuters news service reported.

Ja Rule, 35, whose real name is Jeffrey Atkins, 35, pleaded guilty in Newark federal court to three counts of failing to file a tax return, from 2004 through 2008, even though he was making money from royalties and live tours. Atkins was free after posting $500,000 bail, and will be sentenced June 13. He faces a maximum sentence of one year in prison on each count.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Our family weathered a huge storm, and I feel we are stronger than we have ever been." -- Tish Cyrus, referring to her husband Billy Ray Cyrus's decision to halt divorce proceedings against her.

• 1775: Patrick Henry delivered an address to the Virginia Provincial Convention in which he is said to have declared, "Give me liberty or give me death!"

• 1806: Explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, having reached the Pacific Coast, began their journey back East.

• 1919: Benito Mussolini founded his Fascist political movement in Milan, Italy.

• 1933: The German Reichstag adopted the Enabling Act, which effectively granted Adolf Hitler dictatorial powers.

• 1956: Pakistan became an Islamic republic.

• 1981: The U.S. Supreme Court, in H.L. v. Matheson, ruled that states could require, with some exceptions, parental notification when teenage girls seek abortions.

BIRTHDAYS

Comedian Marty Allen (89), Sir Roger Bannister, who broke the 4-minute mile in 1954 (82), movie director Mark Rydell (77), Motorsports Hall of Famer Craig Breedlove (74), singer-producer Ric Ocasek (62), singer Chaka Khan (58), actress Amanda Plummer (54), actress Catherine Keener (52), actress Hope Davis (47), rock singer-musician Damon Albarn of Blur and Gorillaz (43), actress Michelle Monaghan (35), actress Keri Russell (35), gossip columnist-blogger Perez Hilton (33).

Deaths from NYC bus crash rise to 15

NEW YORK — A 70-year-old man yesterday became the 15th fatality from the gruesome weekend crash of a tour bus returning to New York’s Chinatown from a Connecticut casino.
The driver, Ophadell Williams of Brooklyn, 40, survived the crash and was released from St. Barnabas Hospital on Sunday. He has not been charged.
Williams told police that his bus was clipped by a tractor-trailer just as it crossed the New York City line on Interstate 95 early Saturday. But survivors and other witnesses have told investigators that Williams swerved to the right at times before the accident.
The state Department of Correctional Services said yesterday that Williams was convicted of manslaughter for his role in a 1990 stabbing and served just more than two years. He also served about three years for grand larceny.
The National Transportation Safety Board and State Police are investigating Saturday’s crash, studying a data recorder and looking into the drivers’ actions before the deadly trip.
Police said the latest victim died yesterday morning at St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx.
The New York City medical examiner’s office said Sunday that the other fatalities — eight men and six women — all died of blunt force trauma. The bus scraped along a guardrail, toppled, and slid into a sign pole that sheared it end to end in a horrific scene of blood, jumbled bodies, and shattered glass. Some of the dead were tangled up with the living.
At City Hall yesterday, two Democratic politicians — Senator Charles Schumer and Representative Nydia Velazquez — asked the NTSB to go beyond its investigation and examine the regulations governing low-cost tour buses in general.

Another 200 bodies found in quake-hit coastal areas (Photos)

Police in Japan said Sunday they have found another 200 bodies in the quake-ravaged coastal areas of the north.
Police officials in Miyagi told the Associated Press that authorities were recovering the bodies, but did not provide further details and declined to be identified, citing departmental policy.
Meanwhile, Japan's Meteorological Agency has upgraded the magnitude of Friday's quake to 9.0 after analyzing seismic waves. The agency earlier measured it at 8.8 magnitude.
The quake was the biggest to hit Japan since record-keeping began in the late 1800s. The agency warned Sunday of more strong aftershocks after Friday's quake which unleashed massive tsunamis and killed at least 763 people -- with estimates nearing the 1,700 mark.
The U.S. Geological Survey has measured the quake at magnitude 8.9, and that number remained unchanged Sunday.
Rescue and recovery
The Japanese government increased the number of troops dedicated to rescue and recovery operations from 51,000 to about 100,000.
Around 10,000 people are still unaccounted for in the Japanese port town of Minamisanriku which was virtually obliterated after the quake and tsunami. Large areas of the countryside were surrounded by water and unreachable.
Rescue teams searched for missing people along hundreds of kilometres of the Japanese coast. At least a million households are still without water and some 2.5 million households don't have electricity.
Meanwhile, strong aftershocks continued Sunday, including one with a magnitude of 6.2 that originated in the sea, about 179 kilometres east of Tokyo.

Lindsay Lohan gets extension -- next date, March 25

Lindsay Lohan did not strike a deal with prosecutors who are preparing a case against her for felony grand theft of a designer diamond necklace, but a Los Angeles judge gave the actress more time to decide her plea, setting an interim court date of March 25. Prosecutors and Lohan’s lawyer can continue to work on a plea bargain in the meantime, but Lohan will need to be in court on March 25 if she intends to plead guilty or no contest and accept the parameters of the court’s offer. If she decides to plead not guilty, an April 22 court date has already been set that will hear the felony grand theft case, as well as charges that Lohan has violated conditions of her probation.

Lohan has denied stealing the necklace from a Venice, Calif., jewelry store. The court expects Lohan to inform it of her intentions by March 23.

Screen Captions of Lindsay Lohan's Surveillance Video Released

While talks about Lindsay Lohan's surveillance video are all over the web, a sneak peek to the said footage has hit the web in a form of screen captions. The troubled singer is clearly visible at these images - she is seen inside the store with a companion.

The troubled singer came to Kamofie & Co., a jeweler located near her new home in L.A.'s Venice Beach district, and tried on some jewelry pieces. The pictures were released as a teaser to the video capturing the moment when she allegedly stole a $2,500 necklace from the store.
The footage has been shopped around with its recent price tag reaching around $35,000, and it's expected to come out on Monday night, March 7. It has gone out to the Associated Press, who is handling the licensing and distribution of the tape and stills. Lindsay has been charged with felony grand theft and is due back in court March 10. Since the case is still on going, both the prosecution and defense camps are upset with the video release because they believe it will complicate the case. "Neither side wanted it released," a source told Radar Online. "Neither side sanctioned this sale."
Kamofie & Co. spokesman Christopher Spencer defends the decision to release the tape, claiming that the case ruined their business. "Customers have stayed away from the store because of the paparazzi and the controversy," he said, adding that there is no profit motive because the money made from the release won't come close to covering the loses.
"There were literally thousands of media inquiries asking for the release of the video which is not secret evidence. The video would have been released during the trial anyway, as was stated by several prominent criminal attorneys," he stated. "We worked with the non-profit organization known as the Associated Press to allow legitimate journalists and news outlets access to the video."

Children’s ear infection cases in rapid decline

A recent report shows that ear infections in children have dropped by nearly 30 percent in the last decade and a half.

While breastfeeding advocates — who have long claimed breastfeeding lowers incidents of ear infections — will likely credit the rise of the breastfeeding rate by U.S. mothers (the Centers for Disease Control says currently approximately 75% of mothers at least breastfeed early postpartum), Harvard researchers say it’s the decline in smoking by adults.

Others, like ear, nose and throat specialist Dr. Richard Rosenfeld, tells the Associated Press that the cause is far from certain, saying, “We’re sort of guessing here.”

Rosenfeld added that the large increase in ear infections between 1975-1990 stemmed from the increase in both parents working outside the home, and more children being placed in daycare centers — which every working parent knows can be a cesspool of infectious germs, some of which cause ear infections.

The CDC states that the rate of U.S. nonsmokers exposed to secondhand smoke has plummeted from 88 percent in 1990 to 40 percent in 2008. It’s these numbers a Harvard University study points to, and Dr. Gordon Hughes of the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders was quoted as saying, “Cigarette smoke, inhaled through a child’s nose, can trigger the same kind of irritation and swelling [as a cold would].”

The question is far from answered, however, as anecdotal cases showing the opposite abound, such as the Willis family in North Carolina, who the AP profiles as a non-smoking, vaccinated, breastfeeding household whose two young children have had 14 ear infections between them.

While ear infections are on the decline, they are not going to go completely away anytime soon. The CDC says there are still 12.5 million medical visits each year for children ages 6 and under to be treated for ear infections.