| The terrible reach of online scams
I wanted to make sure this didn't happen to someone else, but I can't." Like thousands of other Minnesotans being scammed on the Internet or on the phone, Giancola found it nearly impossible to do anything. Americans are now taken for more than $5 billion per year in various scams, according to Federal Trade Commission estimates. And while the prevalence of scams is growing as criminals take advantage of increasingly sophisticated technology, prosecutions are few and far between. "We're working it aggressively," said the FBI's Paul McCabe, a special agent in the Twin Cities. "But, sadly, there's so much [fraud] we just have to go after the biggest offenders. Sometimes the best thing we can do is education." Police blotter checks from Twin Cities suburbs in the past few months show dozens of victims or potential victims.
Walid Waked of Track Six: Proving rock is not dead
But when office hours end, Yousry becomes the bass-guitar player with the local band Track Six, discarding his suit in favor of a Ramones t-shirt and jeans. This kind of dichotomy is everywhere nowadays. Struggling Egyptian artists take jobs in investment companies, advertising companies and other fields outside the music industry. If they were living elsewhere, they might have had the chance to pursue their dreams of becoming professional musicians, but here it's a part-time gig for most. .
Obama, Clinton woo black voters in South Carolina
The front lines in next week's Democratic primary battle run through Options hair salon in downtown Orangeburg, S.C.. Michelle Obama, trailed by a gaggle of reporters and cameras, stopped by recently to campaign for her husband, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama. Supporters of Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York also made their pitch amid the whir of blow dryers. It's part of an aggressive effort by both candidates to reach African Americans, who are expected to make up half the vote in the Jan. 26 primary. South Carolina offers Democrats their most diverse test yet and could serve as a springboard to the 24 nominating contests on Feb. 5. Sunday morning, Clinton speaks at a black church in Columbia, S.C.. Obama stumped Thursday in Charleston, S.C.. Recent polls have shown him with double-digit leads over Clinton among African Americans in the state.
Zuma's speech not sabotaged: SABC
The ANC Youth League said in a statement on Sunday that the public broadcaster "t[a]mpered" with the audio during Zuma's address at the party's 96th anniversary rally in Atteridgville in Gauteng. This after most of the broadcast, on radio and television, was marred by badly distorted sound. "We call on SABC to accept the fact that its agenda was defeated in Polokwane and should adapt and accept that there is new leadership in the ANC or face the consequence of its actions. No amount of sabotage will ever move this reality," the league statement said. .
Port Authority faces $13M fee on WTC
The Port Authority is on the hook for $13.5 million in penalties for missing a deadline to turn part of Ground Zero over to developer Larry Silverstein. The estimated 45-day delay will cost the bistate agency the equivalent of 2.25 million George Washington Bridge tolls or 9 million PATH fares. Port Authority contractors missed a Dec. 31 deadline to finish excavating a 3-acre section of the East Bathtub where Towers 3 and 4 will rise, triggering $300,000-a-day fines. Officials said Friday they had wrapped up the excavation of one parcel, the 1.4-acre Tower 4 site at Liberty and Church Sts., where a 977-foot skyscraper is supposed to open by 2011. But the second parcel, the 1.6-acre Tower 3 site, has been excavated only 68 feet below street level and won't be construction-ready until it hits 80 feet.
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