Mexico's Navarrete is Miss Universe

Miss Mexico Jimena Navarrete (22) was crowned Miss Universe 2010 on Tuesday, beating off competition from 82 contestants including Miss India.

Ms. Navarrete, dressed in a red gown with a flowing train, impressed judges by highlighting the importance of teaching children about family values.

Runners-up

She was followed by Miss Jamaica Yendi Philipps while Miss Australia Jenista Campbell was the second runner-up at the 59th annual pageant held here on Monday.

Miss India Ushoshi Sengupta (21) from Kolkata did not make it to the top 15; neither did Miss USA Rima Fakih, who had grabbed international headlines for being the first Muslim American to represent the U.S. in the competition.

Asked by Olympic gold-medal figure skater Evan Lysacek how she felt about unsupervised Internet use, Ms. Navarrete said the Internet was important but parents needed to be careful and watch over their kids.

Ms. Navarrete replaces Miss Universe Stefania Fernandez of Venezuela who won the title in 2009.

As part of her winning, she will get a luxury New York apartment with living expenses, a one-year scholarship to the New York Film Academy, jewellery, clothes, shoes and an undisclosed sum of money.

“I want to give my parents a big hug. There was a lot of effort and a lot of sacrifice,” she said at a press conference after winning the title.

Second Mexican

Ms. Navarrete has been a model since she was 15 years old and is only the second Mexican beauty after Lupita Jones (1991) to win the title of Miss Universe.

Her win earned her a congratulatory message on Twitter from Mexican President Felipe Calderon.

Manila bus hostage-taking ends with 8 dead

This is a very sad news and a big shame to the Filipino community. I woke up this morning and turned the tv on and this was what I have witnessed. A hostage taking took place in the city of Manila today. It was a tragic event especially for the tourist who were headed back home. It is suppose to be their flight going back to Hongkong today but were held by a former policemen. It is not only a big shame to our country but also to the police department. According to the news, 15 Hongkong nationals were held and confirmed that 8 died. This is a very sad day in our country and hopefully justice will be served to the victims.

Rome Police Hold Anniversary

This video is so amazing! Their celebration is just so unique and I guess only in Rome. Way to go!

Battle to halt BP oil spill is nearing its end

The multi - billion company BP is now rejoicing. As I have read on the news they are now celebrating the momentum that their problem is coming to an end. The oils lick has finally stop and hopefully it will continue.

Today the President has declared the US's largest and most politically embarrassing oil spill near an end as BP said it had reached a "significant milestone" in its efforts to permanently seal the Deepwater Horizon well.

"The long battle is finally close to coming to an end, and we are very pleased with that," said the president, who was strongly criticized for what was initially seen as a slow and weak response as millions of barrels of oil poured into the Gulf of Mexico.

BP said it had completed a process known as static kill, in which heavy mud was pumped in to plug the stricken well, producing a "textbook" result.

BP still faces an as yet undetermined number of compensation claims, which Browner said the government was determined to see it meet. "We are going to continue to ensure that BP is held accountable for the damage that they did, for the economic losses and ultimately for the natural resource damages and all of the restoration that will take place in the Gulf communities and in the Gulf at large." The company also has to settle with the families of 11 workers killed in the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that set off the spill.

Lady Gaga Says "NO" To Sex

It was all over the news yesterday when Lady Gaga says "NO" to sex. Everyone was surprised I guess because i did. that Although Lady Gaga is famous for her raunchy and sexy albums, where she does not mind to expose for her fans, but what seems to be rather funny is that now she is promoting and suggesting her fans to keep away from having sex, who have it just for the sake of it. This is really something. Well, we must respect her decision and her views on that. If she is really serious with this "no sex" thing so be it.

Lady Gaga is especially keen on educating women, telling them to keep the courage to choose and make decision related to having sex. Her new concert 'Bad Romance' is going to preach this ideology, a Viva Glam campaign by MAC's AIDS awareness, also propagated by pop star, Cyndi Lauper.

Lady Gaga said that she is single now and prefers to be so because she has no time to be in a relationship because that is not going to make her happy.

Yellow Lobster Caught

I was reading the news today and it was all about the yellow lobster found in Rhode Island's Narragansett Bay. Experts said that this is very rare. My opinion, I do believe that this kind of species are very rare because I personally do not have any experience seeing a yellow lobster. They said this is one in 30 million. Wow! this is really something. Here's the video, I just thought of sharing it.

Amid Super Bowl hoopla, fight over 'Who Dat'

Who owns "Who Dat?"

Some T-shirt makers are asking that question after they were hit with cease-and-desist letters from the NFL demanding that they stop selling shirts with the traditional cheer of New Orleans Saints fans. The National Football League says the shirts infringe on a legal trademark it owns. Separately, two brothers and longtime Saints fans claim they own the phrase, which was around before the long-downtrodden team's inception in 1966. The chant _ "Who dat say dey gonna beat dem Saints" _ is often shortened to "Who Dat" on shirts and signs and has been a mainstay at the Superdome since the 1980s. Saints fans, still jubilant after the Saints' win over the Minnesota Vikings for their first Super Bowl appearance, have voiced their dismay on radio talk shows, blogs and Web site posts. Many say it's something that simply can't be owned. "How can they put a trademark on something that's been around for 150 years?" said Robert Lauricella, a 50-year-old oil field sales representative. "Just because the Saints have made the Super Bowl, why does everybody have to make a buck?"

Shirts bearing the Saints cheer are big business as the team prepares for the big game against the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV on Feb. 7 in Miami. Lauren Thom, owner of the Fleurty Girl T-shirt shop in New Orleans, said Thursday that she recently received a letter from the NFL demanding that she quit selling "Who Dat" shirts. "I don't mind paying royalties," Thom said. "I just don't know who owns 'Who Dat' or whether it's in the public domain." The NFL doesn't cut much slack when it believes it owns a trademark. This case is no exception. In an e-mail, league spokesman Brian McCarthy said the NFL has sent a handful of letters in the past year asking vendors to stop selling "Who Dat" merchandise. The unlicensed shirts led fans to believe the Saints endorsed the product, he said. "This helps protect the local businesses that are selling legitimate Saints merchandise and also the local printers that are making the licensed Saints apparel," he said. Meanwhile, WhoDat Inc., controlled by longtime Saints fans and brothers Sal and Steve Monistere, also claims rights to the phrase. In 1983, Steve Monistere produced the song "Who Dat Say They Gonna Beat Dem Saints" with Aaron Neville and several Saints players.

In a statement Thursday, WhoDat Inc. said that before that recording, there were no branded items with the motto. The brothers said the company has the only federal trademark for "Who Dat." Steve Monistere said he and his brother were at the Saints' first game in 1967 and have been fans through all the ups and downs _ mostly downs, of course. Storyville shop co-owner Gabriel Harvey pulled his "Who Dat" shirts after getting letters from the NFL and WhoDat Inc. "It seems unclear who, if anyone, owns it," Harvey said. "A lot of people believe it belongs to the city and the people." Two members of Louisiana's congressional delegation _ Republican Sen. David Vitter and Democratic Congressman Charlie Melancon _ took public umbrage at the NFL.
Vitter wrote NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, urging the league to concede that "Who Dat" is in the public domain. Otherwise, Vitter said he will print and sell T-shirts with "WHO DAT say we can't print Who Dat!" on them. "Please either drop your present ridiculous position or sue me," Vitter wrote. Melancon provided a link _ headed "No One Owns WHO DAT" _ on his Twitter page to a petition encouraging the NFL to back off. The "Who Dat" chant's origins are somewhat murky. Some historians say it came about in the days of late 19th-century minstrel shows and later showed up in vaudeville routines. In 1937's "A Day at the Races," the Marx Brothers perform a number _ in blackface _ called "Who Dat Man." "Who Dat" also is used in a 1938 MGM cartoon _ now seldom seen because of its racially offensive nature _ called "Swing Wedding," which featured frog caricatures of black entertainers such as Ethel Waters, the Mills Brothers, Louis Armstrong and Cab Calloway. It's been yelled at high school and college games, and fans of the Cincinnati Bengals are known to chant "Who Dey?" Glenn Lunney, a Tulane University Law School professor specializing in intellectual property, said a trademark is different from a copyright or patent and doesn't necessarily have to be original. For example, computer and iPod manufacturer Apple trademarked the familiar, centuries-old fruit, he said. "You can take a word and by applying it to goods or services get people to think about your goods or services," and get commercial rights, he said. The NFL would likely argue it has a valid trademark because "Who Dat" is so strongly associated with the Saints, he said. In a similar case, bookstores around the University of Wisconsin sold "Bucky Badger" T-shirts royalty-free for years _ until the university trademarked the mascot itself in the late 1980s and won its case in court, Lunney said. As for Thom, she said several New Orleans attorneys have offered free legal help. And how about the WhoDat Inc. guys? They "were nice" about the situation, Thom said _ "they said we should market the shirts together and make more money together."