Corrina_Sullivan's Blog

WASHINGTON (AP) -- An internal State Department investigative report suggests that employees may have been snooping on the passport records of celebrities far more than previously disclosed, and urges new steps to secure the files.

A report from the department's inspector general to be released Thursday said that a survey of the records of 150 notable politicians, athletes and entertainers found that 127 of them had been accessed, some of them multiple times.

The report did not say whether they had been viewed for legitimate reasons, but noted that the number seems high.

 "Although an 85 percent hit rate appears to be excessive, the department currently lacks criteria to determine whether this is actually an inordinately high rate," it said.

Nonetheless, the report said investigators found numerous problems in the system that is supposed to protect the confidentiality of passport records and called for 22 specific actions to improve it.

Make you nervous? Couldn't care less?

Corrina

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. (AP) -- Asterisk or not, the ball Barry Bonds launched for his record-breaking 756th home run won't land in the Hall of Fame.

The Hall said Tuesday recent talks with fashion designer Marc Ecko, who bought the souvenir for more than $750,000 last September, had "unfortunately reached an impasse." "The owner's previous commitment to unconditionally donate the baseball has changed to a loan. As a result, the Hall of Fame will not be able to accept the baseball," the Hall said in a statement. "Should the owner choose to unconditionally donate the ball to the museum at a future date, we would be delighted and of course, accept his offer," it said.

Nearly all of the Hall's 35,000-plus artifacts were presented on a permanent basis. The shrine does make exceptions, especially when it has nothing else to illustrate a story -- Willie Mays loaned the glove he used to make his famous, over-the-shoulder catch in the 1954 World Series. Bonds donated the batting helmets he wore when he hit his 755th and 756th home runs last August, breaking Hank Aaron's career record.

Ecko bought the 756 ball a month later in an online auction for $752,467, exceeding most expectations. With some claiming the record was tainted because of steroid allegations against Bonds, Ecko set up a Web site to let people vote on three options for the prize: give it straight to the Hall, mark it with an asterisk before sending it to Cooperstown or shoot it into space on a rocket ship.

In late September, Ecko said 10 million votes were recorded and that 47 percent favored adding an asterisk, 34 percent wanted it sent to the Hall and 19 percent picked outer space.

Now's your chance to vote. Did voters make the right selection? Should the ball be given to the Hall, marked with an asterisk or should NASA shoot it into space on a rocket ship?

Thanks for blogging,

Corrina 

NEW YORK (AP) -- Oil futures climbed to a new record near $143 a barrel Friday on expectations that the weakening dollar, a major factor in crude's stratospheric rise, will extend its decline and add to oil's appeal.

Retail gas prices inched lower overnight, but are likely to resume their own trek into record territory now that oil futures have broken out of the trading range where they had been for nearly 3 weeks.

Light, sweet crude for August delivery rose as high as $142.93 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange before pulling back slightly to trade up $2.80 at $142.44.

On Thursday, the contract shot past $140 and rose more than $5 to a new settlement record.

Oil rose Thursday in part on comments by OPEC officials; the organization's president predicted prices will rise further, and a top Libyan oil official suggested his nation may cut production.

Meanwhile, traders were coming around to the belief that the dollar, whose long decline has contributed greatly to oil's dramatic advance this year, will continue to weaken. The market now expects that the Federal Reserve will be unlikely to raise interest rates until much later than many analysts have forecast; since higher rates tend to strengthen the dollar, traders are anticipating that it will continue to fall and, consequently, that investors will turn to commodities including oil as a hedge against inflation.

At the pump, meanwhile, gas prices slipped 0.1 cent overnight to a national average of $4.066 a gallon, according to a survey of stations by AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and Wright Express. Gas prices have fallen slightly from their June 16 record of $4.08 a gallon, but will likely resume their record breaking rise if oil futures keep trending higher.

Blog us with your thoughts.

Have a fabulous weekend,

Corrina

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) -- A key evangelical leader is accusing Barack Obama of distorting the Bible and pushing a "fruitcake interpretation" of the Constitution.

James Dobson is taking aim at examples Obama cited in 2006 in asking which Biblical passages should guide public policy. Dobson says the likely Democratic presidential nominee has wrongly equated Old Testament texts and dietary codes that no longer apply to Jesus' teachings in the New Testament.

Dobson refers to a speech Obama gave to a liberal Christian group in 2006 where he said passages in the book of Leviticus suggest slavery is OK and eating shellfish is an abomination. Dobson says Obama said Jesus' Sermon on the Mount was "so radical" it's doubtful "our own Defense Department would surviveits application."

Dobson's comments are to air today on his Focus on the Family radio program.

An Obama spokesman says a full reading of the speech questioned by Dobson shows Obama is committed to reaching out to people of faith and standing up for families.

What do you think?

Thanks for blogging,

Corrina

GLOUCESTER, Mass. (AP) -- The city's mayor said Monday there is no evidence a group of young girls made a pact to get pregnant and raise their babies together, seeking to dispel an explosive theory put forth by the high school principal.

"Any planned blood-oath bond to become pregnant -- there is absolutely no evidence of," Mayor Carolyn Kirk said Monday after a closed-door meeting with city, school and health leaders.

Conspicuously absent from that meeting was Gloucester High School Principal Joseph Sullivan, who has not responded to repeated requests for comment after he was quoted last week in a Time magazine story saying the girls planned to get pregnant together.

The mayor, who also sits on the school committee, said she was not comfortable having Sullivan at the meeting.

Kirk cited privacy concerns in refusing to answer many questions about the 17 girls who became pregnant this school year -- more than quadruple the number who generally become pregnant as the school.

Kirk said she and Superintendent Christopher Farmer have been in touch with Sullivan, and that he was "foggy in his memory" about how he came to believe there was a pact.

"When pressed, his memory failed," Kirk said. Authorities have talked to school and health officials who work most closely with the children and, Kirk said, "The people that worked with the children on a daily basis have said there has been no mention whatsoever of a pact."

Kirk said the spike in pregnancies is in keeping with similar spikes in other cities.

Farmer said there was a "distinct possibility" that the girls who found themselves in similar, challenging situations later decided to "come together for mutual support."

He said the Time magazine piece did not distinguish between "a pact to become pregnant or a pact because we are pregnant."

Farmer also said it was clear some of the girls were not trying very hard not to become pregnant. The principal had said some girls gave high-fives and planned baby showers while others were sullen if their pregnancy tests at the high school clinic came back negative.

Farmer defended Sullivan saying, "I don't believe anyone has acted in particularly bad faith here."

 Gloucester resident Annette Dion, a 45-year-old private music teacher, said school and city officials should have done more to find out whether the girls truly made a pact to become pregnant. She said denying such a pact existed is "pretty naive."

"I don't think we heard the truth today," Dion said, adding that pop culture has glamorized teen pregnancy and that movies and celebrity pregnancies do not give girls an accurate picture of parenthood.

"My personal feeling, my impression, is they probably talked and discussed and thought it would be cool to get pregnant together," she said.

Think Annette Dion is onto something? Has pop culture glamorized teen pregnancy? Movies and celebrity pregnancies giving girls a false picture of parenthood?

Looking forward to your blogs,
Corrina

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Gov. Charlie Crist has dropped his long-standing support for the federal moratorium on offshore drilling. Crist on Tuesday endorsed Sen. John McCain's proposal to instead let each state decide whether to drill for oil and natural gas in waters off its shores. Crist has been mentioned as a possible running mate for McCain, the likely Republican presidential nominee. The governor says the nation needs to look at all options in response to rising fuel prices. Most Florida politicians have opposed drilling because they've been afraid it might damage the state's beaches that are vital to its tourism-dependent economy.

What do you make of this change of heart?

Thanks for blogging,

Corrina

FLINT, Mich. (AP) -- Al Gore says he is backing Barack Obama and will do whatever he can to help him get to the White House. In a letter to be e-mailed to Obama supporters, Gore says Obama has united a movement over the past year and a half. The former vice president also asks for donations to help fund Obama's effort -- the first time he's asked members of his Web site AlGore.com to contribute to a political campaign. Gore is one of the most popular figures in the Democratic Party, but he kept a low profile in the primary campaign. He's planning to appear with Obama at a rally in Detroit Monday night.

How much do you think this will help Obama?

Thanks for blogging,
Corrina

(AP)-- TV-HUCKABEE-FOX NEWS -- Mike Huckabee, a former Republican presidential hopeful, has been hired by Fox News Channel as a political commentator.

We report.  You decide. 

Have a nice weekend,

Corrina

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) -- A lawyer for Osama bin Laden's former driver said Thursday he would try to stop the first scheduled war-crimes trial at Guantanamo Bay now that the Supreme Court says detainees have constitutional rights. Other lawyers are expected to join in a blizzard of filings to the war-crimes tribunal and to U.S. federal courts after the ruling Thursday that detainees at Guantanamo Bay are entitled to habeas corpus, the right to challenge their detention in civilian court. Bin Laden's former driver, Salim Hamdan, has been held at Guantanamo Bay since May 2002, and is one of only 19 of the roughly 270 men still held who has been charged with a crime. His military trial was scheduled to be the first.

President Bush's response:

ROME (AP) -- President Bush on Thursday strongly disagreed with a Supreme Court ruling that clears foreign terrorism suspects at Guantanamo Bay to challenge their detention in U.S. civilian courts. Bush suggested new legislation may now be needed to keep the American people safe. "We'll abide by the court's decision," Bush said during a news conference in Rome. "That doesn't mean I have to agree with it."

What's your take on the Supreme Court's ruling?

Corrina

LONDON (AP) -- Secret government documents on al-Qaida and Iraq were left on a commuter train, prompting a major police investigation into the latest in a series of high-level security breaches, British officials said Wednesday.

The documents belonged to a senior intelligence official in the Cabinet office and were found by a passenger on a London commuter train Tuesday. The envelope was then passed to the British Broadcasting Corp. Seven pages stamped "UK Top Secret" included the latest government intelligence assessment on al-Qaida and Iraq's security forces, the BBC said. The documents were also stamped "for UK/US/Canadian and Australian eyes only." Two of the assessments were made by the British government's Joint Intelligence Committee.

The report on Iraq was commissioned by the Ministry of Defence. The al-Qaida report was commissioned by the Foreign and the Home Offices. The assessments often include intelligence material gathered from agents on the ground. "Two documents which are marked as secret were left on a train and have subsequently been handed to the BBC," according to a Cabinet office spokesman who spoke on condition of anonymity in accordance with government policy for civil servants. The intelligence official was still working at the Cabinet office, pending a police investigation.

What's your take on this security breach? Think it's crazy the intelligence official is likely still working?

Thanks for blogging,

Corrina

SAN ANGELO, Texas (AP) -- Texas authorities and a polygamist sect  have reached a tentative agreement to begin returning children taken by the state starting Monday. A draft agreement released in court by Texas Child Protective Services attorney Gary Banks on Friday says the parents can get their children back after showing identifications and pledging to take parenting classes and remain in Texas. The agreement was reached with the 38 mothers of the 124 children who filed the complaint that prompted the Texas Supreme Court to rule Thursday that the state overstepped its authority in taking more than 400 children. But the deal would affect nearly all the children since they were removed under identical circumstances.

Think this is a mistake?

Have a nice weekend,
Corrina