Qantas jet ?flew blind? across Pacific

A Qantas airliner had to follow an Air New Zealand jet across the Pacific after its weather radar broke down leaving it ‘flying blind’.The Air New Zealand flight crew provided information about the weather ahead to the Qantas Boeing 747-400 jumbo jet carrying 284 passengers as the two aircraft made the 12-hour journey from Los [...] "eliotcobb.com"

Anyone who has watched Joe Biden over 35 years in the Senate might have a little bit of trouble recognizing the guy who is running to be Barack Obama’s Vice President. Oh, yes, he looks like the same fellow. But traveling with Biden during this campaign has sometimes been like reporting on a politician packaged [...] "eliotcobb.com"

Sony’s profit plunges 72 percent on strong yen despite sales from TVs, PlayStation3 Sony Corp.’s quarterly profit plunged 72 percent as a surging yen wiped out the benefits of strong flat-panel TV and PlayStation 3 sales, as well as box office revenue from the movie “Hancock.” Sony said Wednesday it posted a net profit of 20.8 billion [...] "eliotcobb.com"

Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand have been suspended from their highly-paid BBC jobs amid the ongoing controversy over their prank phone calls to the veteran Fawlty Towers actor Andrew Sachs. The Corporation announced this morning that both men would be temporarily suspended and their shows taken off air while an internal BBC investigation into the incident [...] "eliotcobb.com"

Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign is allowing donors to use largely untraceable prepaid credit cards that could potentially be used to evade limits on how much an individual is legally allowed to give or to mask a contributor’s identity, campaign officials confirmed. Faced with a huge influx of donations over the Internet, the campaign has also [...] "eliotcobb.com"

Sometimes political races are fought in your mailbox. On Monday, a Republican mailing against Democratic Senate candidate Al Franken roiled the U.S. Senate race in Minnesota. The piece, which looks like a cartoon or comic book, addresses Franken’s past in unsavory ways. Democrats and even Franken’s opponent, Republican Sen. Norm Coleman, condemned the piece, saying it could attract [...] "eliotcobb.com"

A West Hollywood Halloween display showing a likeness of Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin hanging by a noose has caused a furor among some residents who reported it as a hate crime, authorities said Monday. But Los Angeles County sheriff’s officials said the mannequin sporting a beehive hairdo, glasses and a red coat does not [...] "eliotcobb.com"

Barack Obama will be a one-man television blitz on Wednesday, saturating prime-time with a 30-minute ad and popping up on the buzzy late-night TV scene. He is also giving an interview to a prominent network news anchor, and appearing with fellow Democratic star Bill Clinton at a rally that is timed to hit the late-evening news. So [...] "eliotcobb.com"