to make electric cars 'a real option for motorists'

Consumers could receive incentives of between £2,000 and £5,000 to buy an electric car from 2011, the Government announced today.Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon said the initiative - part of the Government's low-carbon transport plan - would mean an electric car was "a real option for motorists".He announced the five-year initiative with Business Secretary Lord Mandelson, who said that low-carbon vehicles would play a key role in cutting emissions.In the plan, announced in Scotland today, consumer incentives would be introduced to coincide with the expected mass introduction of electric and plug-in hybrid (part electric, part petrol) cars to the market.The plan is for consumers to receive help from the Government worth in the region of £2,000 to £5,000 to allow for the maximum choice of which car they buy.The Department for Transport is beginning discussions with the motor industry and financiers to determine how best to deliver this assistance.To be eligible cars would need to meet modern safety standards and have a range and top speed sufficient to give mass market appeal.Mr Hoon said today: "Cutting road transport CO2 emissions is a key element to tackling climate change. Less than 0.1% of the UK's 26 million cars are electric, so there is a huge untapped potential to reduce emissions."The scale of incentives we're announcing today will mean that an electric car is a real option for motorists as well as helping to make the UK a world leader in low-carbon transport."Lord Mandelson said: "Britain has taken a world lead in setting ambitious targets for carbon reduction. Low-carbon vehicles will play a key role in cutting emissions."Government must act now to ensure that the business benefits of this ambition are realised here in the UK. We want the British motor industry to be a leader in the low-carbon future, and Government must direct and support this, through what I call new industrial activism."The five-year plan involves a £250m scheme to deliver a green motoring transformation and involves promoting the infrastructure and support technology and encouragement of manufacture in the UK that will place low-carbon transport at the centre of the Government's vision for the UK economy.The two ministers were planning to drive a new Mini E electric vehicle in Dunfermline in Scotland to demonstrate the technology of low-carbon motoring.At present the cost of electric cars is high, with one high-performance vehicle, the Tesla Roadster, having a starting price of more than £87,000.At the moment there is also little infrastructure in place to support the recharging that such cars need.Last week London Mayor Boris Johnson announced a plan to introduce thousands of charging points across the capital.The Government is expected to announce in the Budget next week that it is introducing a car scrappage scheme in which owners of older vehicles are given a financial incentive to replace them with newer, less-polluting models.Today, AA president Edmund King said: "An electric car strategy has the potential to spark a personal transport revolution in UK cities. However, if poorly co-ordinated and implemented, such a strategy could short-circuit itself."For electric vehicles to revolutionise our cities we need infrastructure, incentives, clean electricity and affordable, practical vehicles. This announcement is one small step for electric vehicles but we need one massive leap to change the way we travel."He added: "This announcement will help in the medium term but in the short term we urgently need a scrappage incentive to be announced in the Budget next weak to give immediate incentives to purchase cleaner, greener, safer vehicles."RAC Foundation director Professor Stephen Glaister said: "We welcome the initiative, but it must be remembered that while electric cars might be green, the power stations creating that electricity are probably not."Most of the electricity used to charge these vehicles' batteries will be produced by burning coal, oil or gas."The only current carbon-free source of electricity on an industrial scale is nuclear and currently that accounts for just 20% or so of UK electricity production."He went on: "We also need to see how the pot of money will be allocated. If the whole £250 million were divided up so £5,000 is allocated per person this would only put an extra 50,000 electric cars on the road - out of an annual total of some 2.7 million cars sold in the UK."And in the short term there is still much that can and should be done to further increase the efficiency and cleanliness of existing car technology."
Liberal Democrat transport spokesman Norman Baker said: "This announcement is like adding a small dab of green paint to the rusty hulk of the Government's failed transport policy."Discounts on electric cars are all very well for those who can afford to buy a new car but it cannot hide the fact that the Government has forced up rail fares and destroyed many local bus services."This might have been a sensible policy if it was part of an overall climate change strategy, but on its own it is just a gimmick."Friends of the Earth transport campaigner Tony Bosworth said: "The Government must slash emissions from UK transport if Britain is to meet its targets for tackling climate change."Financial support from the Government for electric cars is a welcome step in the right direction. These vehicles could play an important part in a greener future."However, electric cars are only as green as the electricity they run on. Ministers must take action to boost the UK's flagging renewable energy industry."The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders chief executive Paul Everitt said, "The Government has shown its commitment to developing a market for ultra-low carbon vehicles in the UK but we must now ensure that UK design, research and development and manufacturing are at the heart of this growing industry."The motor industry is in the middle of its greatest economic challenge and immediate action to preserve the UK sector in the short-term is essential if we are to stake our claim in the global development of low-carbon technology for the future."Shadow chancellor George Osborne said the electric cars announcement should be taken "with a pinch of salt".He said everyone wanted to see more electric cars on the road, but that there was "a distinct lack of detail" about the Government plans.Mr Osborne went on: "The Government's announcement does not seem to include any of the crucial measures that are actually needed to make electric cars a mainstream reality."There is nothing about building a smart grid that can manage the higher demand for electricity that will result if more people are driving electric cars and too little on creating a national network of car-charging points, so that motorists can actually drive their new electric car around the country."The Labour plan announced today is like giving people a grant to buy an internal combustion engine, without bothering to set up any petrol stations. And of course, there's no detail about how any of this will be funded."It increasingly appears that the Prime Minister is again talking about imaginary money, from an imaginary budget, being spent by Labour politicians who've imagined they've won the next election."

Tens of thousands rally at tax day 'tea parties'

ATLANTA – Whipped up by conservative commentators and bloggers, tens of thousands of protesters staged "tea parties" around the country Wednesday to tap into the collective angst stirred up by a bad economy, government spending and bailouts.

The rallies were directed at President Barack Obama's new administration on a symbolic day: the deadline to file income taxes. Protesters even threw what appeared to be a box of tea bags toward the White House, causing a brief lockdown at the compound.

Shouts rang out from Kentucky, which just passed tax increases on cigarettes and alcohol, to Salt Lake City, where many in the crowd booed Republican Gov. Jon Huntsman for accepting about $1.5 billion in stimulus money. Even in Alaska, where there is no statewide income tax or sales tax, hundreds of people held signs and chanted "No more spending."

"Frankly, I'm mad as hell," said businessman Doug Burnett at a rally at the Iowa Capitol, where many of the about 1,000 people wore red shirts declaring "revolution is brewing." Burnett added: "This country has been on a spending spree for decades, a spending spree we can't afford."

In Boston, a few hundred protesters gathered on the Boston Common — a short distance from the original Tea Party — some dressed in Revolutionary garb and carrying signs that said "Barney Frank, Bernie Madoff: And the Difference Is?" and "D.C.: District of Communism."

Texas Gov. Rick Perry fired up a tea party at Austin City Hall with his stance against the federal government, as some in his U.S. flag-waving audience shouted, "Secede!"

But unlike many events around the country, politicians were not allowed to speak at a separate rally in San Antonio.

"They are welcome to come and listen to us, for a change," organizers said in a statement.

In Atlanta, thousands of people gathered outside the Capitol, where Fox News Channel conservative pundit Sean Hannity broadcast his show Wednesday night. One protester's sign read: "Hey Obama you can keep the change."

One of his guests was Samuel "Joe the Plumber" Wurzelbacher, who made news during the presidential campaign when he asked Barack Obama about taxes. The crowd cheered many of Hannity's stances against higher taxes and moves by the Obama administration so far.

Julie Reeves, of Covington, brought her Chihuahua, Arnie, who wore a tiny anti-IRS T-shirt. "I want the government to get its hand the hell out of my wallet," Reeves said.

The tea parties were promoted by FreedomWorks, a conservative nonprofit advocacy group based in Washington and led by former Republican House Majority Leader Dick Armey of Texas, who is now a lobbyist.

Organizers said the movement developed organically through online social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter and through exposure on Fox News.

While FreedomWorks insisted the rallies were nonpartisan, they have been seized on by many prominent Republicans who view them as a promising way for the party to reclaim its momentum.

"All you have to be is a mildly awake Republican candidate for office to get in front of that parade," said Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform.

The movement attracted some Republicans considering 2012 presidential bids.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich took the podium in front of New York's City Hall while the crowd of about 2,000 chanted, "We are America!"

He urged people to tell their lawmakers to vote against big spending or else "we're going to fire you."

As the former House speaker left after his 11-minute speech, passers-by yelled, "2012, Newt!" and "Run for president!" But when asked about a run, Gingrich shook his head emphatically and said, "I'm just part of a citizen movement."

Another possible candidate, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, sent an e-mail to his supporters, letting them know about tea parties throughout the state. South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford attended two tea parties.

In Missouri, Karla Waite, 28, brought her four young children to a rally in Kansas City because she said "it was time to stand up."

"The way we've been going, with the bailouts and the entitlements, we're heading toward socialism," Waite said. "That's not the kind of world I want my children to live in."

There were several small counter-protests, including one that drew about a dozen people at Fountain Square in Cincinnati. A counter-protester held a sign that read, "Where were you when Bush was spending billions a month 'liberating' Iraq?" The anti-tax demonstration there, meanwhile, drew about 4,000 people.

In Lansing, Mich., outside the state Capitol, another 4,000 people waved signs exclaiming "Stop the Fiscal Madness," "Read My Lipstick! No More Bailouts" and "The Pirates Are in D.C." Children held makeshift signs complaining about the rising debt.

In Hawaii, several of the state's eight GOP legislators attended a Capitol rally. But the state's top two Republican officeholders — Gov. Linda Lingle and Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona — stayed away even though they oppose tax hikes to help close the state's significant budget deficit.

More than 1,000 protesters gathered outside a downtown federal building in Salt Lake City despite the rain and snow. Kate Maloney held a cardboard sign that read "Pin the tail on the jacka$$" with a picture of Obama on a Democratic donkey.

Other protesters also took direct aim at Obama. One sign in the crowd in Madison, Wis., compared him to the Antichrist. At a rally in Montgomery, Ala., where Twisted Sister's "We're Not Gonna Take It" blared from loudspeakers, Jim Adams of Selma carried a sign that showed the president with Hitler-style hair and mustache and said, "Sieg Heil Herr Obama."

Still others talked of their children's futures. In Washington, D.C., Joe Hollinger said he took the day off to attend the protest with his 11-year-old daughter.

"I'm concerned about the incredible amount of debt Congress is going to put on our children," Hollinger said, pointing to his daughter's sign, which read, "Congress get your hand off my piggy bank."

___

Associated Press writers who contributed to this report include Joe Biesk in Frankfort, Ky.; Mike Glover in Des Moines, Iowa; Beth Fouhy in New York; Kelsey Abbruzzese in Boston; Scott Bauer in Madison, Wis.; Terry Kinney in Cincinnati; David Eggert in Lansing, Mich.; Phillip Rawls in Montgomery, Ala.; Seanna Adcox in Columbia, S.C.; Brock Vergakis in Salt Lake City; Kamala Lane in Washington, D.C; Kelley Shannon in Austin, Texas; Virginia Byrne in New York; Mary Pemberton in Anchorage, Alaska; and Herbert A. Sample in Honolulu.

Summer movie video games seek to terminate stigma

LOS ANGELES -

Video games based on blockbuster movies typically get panned, yet shamelessly benefit from the buzz of their film inspirations. But the developers of this summer's movie games are more intent than ever on transforming gamers' groans into grins.

"Movie games have a bad history," said Jeff Poffenbarger, senior producer at "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" game developer Raven Software. "There is a stigma to movie games, for a thousand different reasons. They come out and they don't live up to the hype people create. For us, it was all about creating the definitive Wolverine experience, not recreating the movie."

Traditionally, movie games are daunting to develop because they face opening-day deadlines yet take double the time to produce as the films they are based on. Veteran game director Joby Otero, chief creative officer at "Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen" developer Luxoflux Studios, said upgrading the genre's quality has become a primary goal in recent years.

"I think Hollywood is communicating with the games industry on a different level now," said Otero. "There's a recognition that a game's quality can impact the overall franchise. I think part of the reason is that more of the key creative decision makers grew up as gamers themselves. There's an understanding of how wrong these things can go."

In hopes of saying "hasta la vista, baby" to a poorly received game, the Halcyon Co., which owns the rights to the "Terminator" franchise, allowed the "Terminator Salvation" game developers to work under the same roof as the film crew when creating the apocalyptic third-person shooter based on the flick directed by McG and starring Christian Bale.

"It meant that the game developers, art directors and designers could literally sit in the same production studio as the film guys," said Cos Lazouras, Halcyon Games development vice president. "They worked collaboratively side by side. They had access to McG, who was intrinsically involved in the game."

Set two years before the film, the "Terminator Salvation" game serves as a prequel to the film, establishing what John Connor has been up to since "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines." An increasing number of movie games, such as "Watchmen: The End is High," are using characters from their films to tell stories independent of their movie counterparts.

Because the "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" movie mostly deals with the origins of hooded villain Cobra Commander, the developers of the accompanying arcade-style shoot-'em-up decided to let their game serve as a quasi-sequel instead, recruiting elements from the 45-year history of the toy line and cartoon series to enhance the story line.

"We pick up where the movie ends," said Electronic Arts senior product manager Jason Enos. "We tell a genuine story that's exclusive to the game but ties in key plot points in the film. That also allows us to leverage the larger 'G.I. Joe' universe — characters, vehicles, things you're not going to see in the film but you'll get in the game."

The team behind the "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" game want to make one point about their work as sharp as the Marvel superhero's claws: This game is more about the character Wolverine, less about the movie itself. Still, they understand that Hugh Jackman's voice and likeness — and 20th Century Fox's massive movie marketing campaign — will help sell games.

"With a character like Wolverine, without the movies, we'd be solely relying on a hardcore comic audience that understands the character," said Raven Software senior producer Poffenbarger. "The movie actually broadens the appeal. The recognition is there. For us, we like the Wolverine we see in the movies, and the Wolverine in the comics."

Revenues for movie games vary, according to market researcher NPD Group. Box office popularity typically translates to game sales. For example, "Iron Man," last year's second-highest grossing film, was 2008's top-selling game based on a movie, selling a respectable 1.4 million. (A game based on "The Dark Knight," last year's No. 1 movie, wasn't released.)

"Some have done very well. Some have done OK," said NPD analyst Anita Frazier of the overall performance of licensed movie games. "I'd say the younger the target audience, the more important the license itself is in making the game successful. The older the target audience, the gameplay quality comes more to the forefront."

Movies have been a source of inspiration for game developers since the early 1980s when the likes of "Ghostbusters" and "E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial" descended on the Atari 2600. Nowadays, with graphic technologies constantly evolving, replicating film imagery has become easier — even with the games based on those graphically lush Disney-Pixar films.

Heavy Iron Studios executive producer Lyle Hall, who has worked closely with Disney-Pixar over the past seven years to bring such films as "The Incredibles," "WALL-E" and now "Up" into the interactive realm, said that despite the increased focus on creativity, it remains an uphill battle convincing gamers that licensed games aren't just another product.

"I still think they feel like it's the lunch box and the bed sheets," said Hall. "Those things are pressed out of a mold, but other than being on a disc, we are building and offering a creative experience. We're definitely trying to take inspiration from the film, which is built to inspire the audience. We're certainly trying to do the same thing."

Review: BlackBerry App World simple, light on apps

NEW YORK -

I'm typing this in between perusing Facebook, trying (and failing) to master a guitar-simulation game and listening to Internet radio on my smart phone.

And no, I'm not using an iPhone. I'm using a BlackBerry Curve 8900 to try out the recently rolled out BlackBerry App World.

Lately, any smart phone maker worth its salt is operating or about to launch an application store that corrals all kinds of free and paid software you can download straight to your handset. Apple Inc. started the trend with July's release of its App Store for the iPhone and iPod Touch.

Google Inc. runs one for phones that support its Android operating system — currently just the T-Mobile G1, though more are expected — and Nokia Corp. runs several it plans to consolidate into one. Palm Inc. is developing the Palm App Catalog for its upcoming Pre handset, while Microsoft Corp. is making one for phones that use its Windows Mobile OS.

Not wanting to be left in the dust, BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. unveiled App World early this month, marking a major change from the past, when third-party programs were available for BlackBerrys but not in one convenient spot.

App World will undoubtedly appeal to RIM's growing legion of consumer users, as well as business users with some free time.

But with only a fraction of the applications available through Apple's App Store and many fewer than Google's Android Market, App World has a lot of growing to do before it can become a serious contender in the booming smart phone application market. It doesn't help either that starting prices are three times those for Apple and Google programs.

First, the good: Available as a free download from RIM's site, the App World software has a simple design, is easy to navigate and works on all recent BlackBerrys.

It uses eBay Inc.'s online payments service, PayPal, so you can buy applications fairly quickly and seamlessly if you already have a free PayPal account.

App World doesn't look as slick as Apple's App Store, but it is definitely more visually appealing than Google's Android Market. It also includes some of the popular applications available on those platforms, like one for social network MySpace and song-identifying program Shazam.

You can browse through a number of "Featured Items," such as a $12 mobile version of the popular video game "Guitar Hero World Tour," or the free travel simplification program WorldMate Live. As expected, you can also search for applications by title, or view them by category or popularity.

RIM says more than 1,000 applications are available on App World, with more added daily, but you will only see those that work on your device. Using the latest BlackBerry Curve from T-Mobile, I counted fewer than 700 applications.

That's better than the more than 500 applications that Apple had at launch, and that far exceeds the dozens for Google. But Apple's store has since grown to house more than 25,000 and Google had more than 2,300 as of March.

While some popular applications are available, RIM needs to improve its selections before becoming a serious contender.

For example, given that many people still get a BlackBerry for work, I was surprised to see relatively few applications in personal finance and banking, mapping and the professional and business category.

I was miffed to see App World does not yet include applications for watching videos on YouTube or for just posting short messages on Twitter (there are third-party programs, including the free Snap2Twitter, that include Twitter capabilities among their many features, but none dedicated solely to posting the message bursts).

And I was put off by the prices of some applications, too. Many are free, but fees for others start at $3 and rise from there. By contrast, prices start at 99 cents for both Apple and Google.

Fortunately, you can sometimes try before you buy. A ringtone application called "MP3 Ringtone Creator" cost $5 but I downloaded a free trial version.

In some cases, programs that cost money through App World are available on Google's or Apple's application stores for less. This was the case for the $12 "Guitar Hero" game, which you can also find on Android Market for $5.

I decided to buy the game for the Curve, despite being skeptical of its worth. After several attempts to follow the guitar licks of Blondie and Lenny Kravitz, it was clear I wouldn't be mastering the game any time soon, and I felt lame having spent $12 on it. I didn't even bother trying to play it in drumming mode.

I was happy with some of the free applications I downloaded, including Snap2Twitter, Internet radio service Pandora and news browser Viigo.

It's clear that RIM is trying with App World, and its convenience and simplicity are appealing. But until some more tantalizing applications are added to the mix, I'll probably stick with downloading the freebies.

Loney's bases-loaded BB gives Dodgers 5-4 win

LOS ANGELES – James Loney drew his second bases-loaded walk with one out in the ninth inning to give the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday night.

Singles by Orlando Hudson and Manny Ramirez gave the Dodgers runners at the corners with none out against reliever Bob Howry (0-1). Andre Ethier was intentionally walked, and Brian Wilson came on and got Russell Martin to ground into a force at the plate with the infield in. But he lost Loney on a 3-2 pitch.

Jonathan Broxton (1-0) pitched a perfect ninth.

Aaron Rowand hit a three-run homer in the eighth against rookie Ronald Belisario, giving the Giants a 4-2 lead after they were held to one hit over the first seven by 21-year-old left-hander Clayton Kershaw, who struck out a career-high 13.

But the San Francisco bullpen couldn't protect its lead, either. Jeremy Affeldt gave up a leadoff single in the bottom half to Andre Ethier, after pitching a perfect seventh in relief of Matt Cain. Martin greeted Howry with a double inside third base, Ethier scored on Loney's sacrifice fly, and Matt Kemp followed with a tying RBI single.

Kershaw allowed only two baserunners, giving up Molina's tying home run leading off the second innings and walking Rich Aurilia with one out in the fourth. He fanned eight of the first 13 batters, then finished with five Ks in a row.

Kershaw became the youngest Dodgers pitcher to strike out 13 or more batters in a game since Sandy Koufax did it on Aug. 27, 1955 at age 19.

He lost the decision when the bullpen failed to make Casey Blake's go-ahead solo homer in the fourth inning stand up.

Hong-Chih Kuo hit his first batter, Pablo Sandoval and pinch-runner Emmanuel Burriss advanced to third on Aurilia's single. Manager Joe Torre brought in Belisario — who promptly surrendered Rowand's homer into the left field pavilion.

Cain allowed two runs and seven hits over six innings and left trailing 2-1 after 115 pitches. The right-hander struck out three and walked four, remaining 0-6 in 12 career starts against the Dodgers with a 3.97 ERA.

Cain is just 16-30 in 68 starts after winning 13 games as a rookie in 2006. Since the beginning of the 2007 season, his teammates have scored fewer than two runs in 30 of his starts. Last season, Cain had the second-lowest run support in the majors (3.14) behind Oakland's Greg Smith (2.88).

Cain walked three batters in the first inning, including Loney with the bases loaded and two outs — but came back to strike out Matt Kemp with his 30th pitch of the inning.

Molina, who had a career-high 95 RBIs last year, tied it when he homered leading off the second. It was the Giants' first home run since the three they hit on opening day.

Kershaw's walk to Aurilia was the first in four games for the Giants, who ended a string of 87 consecutive plate appearances without one going back to the eighth inning of Friday's loss at San Diego. But Aurilia was doubled off first base after Kemp robbed Aaron Rowand of a hit with a diving catch in short center field.

Notes:@ Everyone on both teams wore No. 42 to mark the 62nd anniversary of Jackie Robinson's major league debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers, and former teammate Don Newcombe threw out the first pitch. ... Aside from the team tribute, the only Dodgers player to wear No. 42 after Jackie Robinson's retirement was RHP Ray Lamb, who allowed three runs over 15 innings in his 10 relief appearances as a rookie in 1969 and was 0-1. Lamb switched to No. 34 the following spring. ... Hudson was 0-for-18 against Cain before singling his first two times up. ... Hudson, who on Monday joined Wes Parker (1970) as the only L.A. Dodgers to hit for the cycle, smiled broadly while presenting his 4-year-old son Orlando and 7-year-old daughter Kamari with bicycles at home plate before the game. They were gifts from his new club.

NBA Rockets lose to Dallas, drop division title

DALLAS, – Yao Ming scored 19 of his 23 points in the second quarter but the Chinese superstar struggled in the second half as the Dallas Mavericks dumped Houston 95-84 in a pivotal NBA contest.

The season-ending defeat cost the Rockets the Southwest division title, which went to San Antonio, and a higher seeding position in the playoffs, leaving them to face Portland in the first round of the NBA post-season fight.

German star Dirk Nowitzki scored 30 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to power the Mavericks, who claimed the sixth seed in the Western Conference and will open against San Antonio as a result.

Jason Terry scored 14 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter for the Mavericks, who also had 11 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds from Jason Kidd in the triumph.

Kyle Lowry added 15 points with Ron Artest contributing 10 for the Rockets, who squandered a 14-point lead and had a five-game win streak snapped to cost them their first division crown since 1994.

An 18-4 Dallas run late in the third quarter pulled the hosts level and back-to-back 3-pointers from Kidd and Terry midway into the fourth quarter spelled doom for the Rockets. Yao went scoreless in the final period

Obamas report $2.7 million in income for 2008

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, millionaires from his best-selling books, made $2.7 million last year and paid just under one-third of their adjusted income in federal taxes. While the income, mostly his, was far more than the U.S. median household income of about $50,000, it was quite a decrease from the $4.2 million the Obamas made in 2007.

Both years, nearly all of the earnings came from Obama's best-selling books. "Dreams from My Father" and "The Audacity of Hope" — brought in about $2.5 million in royalties last year, according to copies of the returns released by the White House on Wednesday, the federal filing deadline.

Obama earned $139,204 as a Democratic senator from Illinois last year before leaving his seat after winning the November election. Michelle Obama received a salary of $62,709 from the University of Chicago Hospitals, where she was an executive.

The couple's total federal tax came to $855,323. That was 32 percent of their adjusted gross income of $2,656,902.

The Obamas overpaid by $26,014, and elected to apply that amount to their 2009 taxes.

The couple's federal tax deductions included about $50,000 in home mortgage interest. Their expenses also included $47,488 to send their two daughters to the University of Chicago's elementary school.

They reported contributing $172,050 to charity last year, including $25,000 each to the CARE international relief agency and the United Negro College Fund. That $172,050 represented about 6.5 percent of the family's adjusted gross income. That percentage is roughly two to three times the national average for household donations to charity, according to the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University.

The Obamas gave a total of $1,400 to five churches. In contrast to 2007, they gave nothing to the Trinity United Church of Christ. Barack Obama was a longtime member of the church, and gave it $26,270 in 2007, but resigned from it and cut ties with its pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, after Wright made incendiary comments that became a campaign issue.

The Obamas' total Illinois income tax was $78,765, their state return showed.

The White House also released Vice President Joe Biden's tax returns. Biden and his wife, Jill, earned $269,256 last year.

The Bidens' main sources of income were salaries from the Senate, Widener University, Delaware Technical & Community College and royalties from the audio rights to the vice president's memoir, "Promises to Keep."

According to tax returns released by the vice president's office, the Bidens paid $46,952 in federal income taxes and $11,164 in Delaware state income taxes. They donated $1,885 to charity.

"The charitable donations claimed by the Bidens on their tax returns are not the sum of their annual contributions to charity," a White House statement said. "They donate to their church, and they contribute to their favorite causes with their time, as well as their checkbooks."

Biden served in the Senate from 1973 until Jan. 15 of this year.

French raid pirate ship, US seeks to freeze assets

MOMBASA, Kenya – The U.S. and its allies battled Somalia's pirates on two fronts Wednesday, with French forces seizing a bandit mother ship and Washington seeking to keep the marauders from their spoils. A U.S. freighter that escaped a pirate bombardment of gunshots and grenades steamed into Kenya's Mombasa port Thursday with an armed Navy guard.

One pirate issued a new threat to "slaughter" Americans, and Tuesday's assault on a second U.S. cargo ship, the Liberty Sun, underscored the outlaws' ability to act with impunity despite international naval operations against them and mounting concern worldwide over how to end the escalating attacks off the Horn of Africa.

Pirates bombarded the U.S.-flagged Liberty Sun with automatic weapons fire and rocket-propelled grenades, but its American crew of about 20 successfully blockaded themselves in the engine room and warded off the attack with evasive maneuvers.

The ship, carrying food aid for hungry Africans — including Somalis — was damaged "pretty badly" on its bridge, a U.S. official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the record about the ship.

Windows were blown out and the crew had to put out a small fire, the official said, but they were still able to navigate. By the time the USS Bainbridge arrived five hours later, the pirates were gone.

Meanwhile, French naval forces launched an early-morning attack on a suspected pirate "mother ship" 550 miles east of Mombasa and seized 11 men, thwarting an attack on the Liberian cargo ship Safmarine Asia, the French Defense Ministry said. No one was injured.

The ministry said the vessel was a larger ship that pirates use to allow their tiny skiffs to operate hundreds of miles off the coast.

French Foreign Ministry spokesman Christophe Prazuck said a French helicopter in the area heard a distress call from the Safmarine Asia. He described the seized ship as a small, noncommercial vessel carrying fuel, water and food supplies.

The 11 pirates, believed to be Somalis, were being held on the Nivose, a French frigate among the international fleet trying to protect shipping in the Gulf of Aden.

France has been proactive against pirates for at least the past year, intervening to save three of its ships and spearheading a Europe-wide anti-piracy force called Atalanta. French politicians have sought to have other European countries take greater action against pirates.

Three Somali pirates in the French city of Rennes faced judicial investigation after being captured in a hostage rescue Friday. Several other pirates also have been in French custody since last year.

In Washington, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced new diplomatic efforts to freeze the pirates' assets and said the Obama administration will work with shippers and insurers to improve their defenses against pirates, part of a diplomatic initiative to thwart attacks on shipping.

"These pirates are criminals, they are armed gangs on the sea. And those plotting attacks must be stopped," Clinton said at the State Department.

Clinton did not call for military force, although she mentioned "going after" pirate bases in Somalia, as authorized by the U.N. several months ago.

She said it may be possible to stop boat-building companies from doing business with the pirates.

The measures outlined by Clinton are largely stopgap moves while the administration weighs more comprehensive diplomatic and military action.

She acknowledged it will be hard to find the pirates' assets. But she wants the U.S. and others to "explore ways to track and freeze" pirate ransom money and other funds used in purchases of new boats, weapons and communications equipment.

"We have noticed that the pirates are buying more and more sophisticated equipment, they're buying faster and more capable vessels, they are clearly using their ransom money for their benefit — both personally and on behalf of their piracy," she said. "We think we can begin to try and track and prevent that from happening."

Clinton said the administration will also call for immediate meetings of an international counterpiracy task force to expand naval coordination.

The U.S. plans to send an envoy to an April 23 conference on piracy in Brussels. The U.S. will also organize meetings with officials from Somalia's largely powerless transitional national government as well as regional leaders in its semiautonomous Puntland region to encourage them to do more to combat piracy.

Maritime experts say military force alone cannot solve the problem because the pirates operate in an area so vast as to render the flotilla of international warships largely ineffective. And with ships legally unable to carry arms in many ports, the world has struggled to end the scourge.

The Gulf of Aden, which links the Suez Canal and the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean, is the shortest route from Asia to Europe. More than 20,000 ships cross the vital sea lane every year. It is becoming more dangerous by the day.

In 2003, there were only 21 attacks in these waters. In less than four months this year, there have been 79 attacks, compared with 111 for all of 2008, according to the International Maritime Bureau.

Somali pirates are holding more than 280 foreign crewmen on 15 ships — at least 76 of those sailors captured in recent days.

On Wednesday, pirates released the Greek-owned cargo ship Titan and Greek authorities said all 24 crewmen were in good health. The ship was hijacked March 19.

The assault on the Liberty Sun delayed a reunion between freed American sea captain Richard Phillips and the 19 crewmen of the Maersk Alabama he helped save in an attempted hijacking last week. Phillips had planned to meet his crew in Mombasa and fly home with them Wednesday, but he was stuck on the Bainbridge when it was diverted to help the Liberty Sun.

The Liberty Sun arrived safely in Mombasa Wednesday night accompanied by a U.S. Navy vessel, according to the cargo ship's operator, New York-based Liberty Maritime Corp.

The company did not name the naval vessel, but it was likely the Bainbridge. A U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the press about the matter said earlier that the Bainbridge was traveling with the Liberty Sun to port.

The Liberty Sun arrived in Mombasa early Thursday and the Bainbridge was expected soon.

The Alabama's crew left without Phillips Wednesday, arriving at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., on a chartered plane.

"We are very happy to be going home," crewman William Rios of New York City said. But "we are disappointed to not be reuniting with the captain in Mombasa. He is a very brave man."

A pirate whose gang attacked the Liberty Sun claimed his group was targeting American ships and sailors.

"We will seek out the Americans, and if we capture them, we will slaughter them," said a 25-year-old pirate based in the Somali port of Harardhere who gave only his first name, Ismail.

"We will target their ships because we know their flags. Last night, an American-flagged ship escaped us by a whisker. We have showered them with rocket-propelled grenades," said Ismail, who did not take part in the Liberty Sun attack.

US foreclosures up 24 percent in 1st quarter

WASHINGTON – The number of American households threatened with losing their homes grew 24 percent in the first three months of this year and is poised to rise further as major lenders restart foreclosures after a temporary break, according to data released Thursday.

The big unknown for the coming months, however, is President Barack Obama's plan to help up to 9 million borrowers avoid foreclosure through refinanced mortgages or modified loans. The Obama administration expects its plans to make a big dent in the foreclosure crisis. But it remains to be seen whether the lending industry will fully embrace it, despite $75 billion in incentive payments.

The faltering economy is causing the housing crisis to spread. Nationwide, nearly 804,000 homes received at least one foreclosure-related notice from January through March, up from about 650,000 in the same time period a year earlier, according to RealtyTrac Inc., a foreclosure listing firm.

In March, more than 340,000 properties were affected, up 17 percent from February and 46 percent from a year earlier.

Foreclosures "came back with a vengeance" last month and are likely to keep rising, said Rick Sharga, RealtyTrac's senior vice president for marketing.

Nearly 191,000 properties completed the foreclosure process and were repossessed by banks in the quarter. While the number was down 13 percent from the fourth quarter of last year, it is expected to rise through the summer and then possibly taper off.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the big mortgage finance companies, together with many banks had temporarily halted foreclosures in advance of Obama's plan. Now armed with the details about which borrowers can qualify, the mortgage industry has begun foreclosing on ineligible borrowers.

The Treasury Department has signed contracts with six big loan servicing companies — including Citgroup, Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase. Many have already started processing loans as part of the government's "Making Home Affordable" plan.

"We need to get the long-term solutions for these folks," Shaun Donovan, Obama's housing secretary, said in an interview.

In the coming months, Donovan said, there are still likely to be increased foreclosures, especially from vacant houses, second homes and those owned by speculators. None of those properties will qualify for a loan modification. However, he remained optimistic that overall foreclosures could start to decrease this summer.

But even industry executives who emphatically support the plan emphasize that it's success isn't guaranteed.

"The effectiveness of the plan overall obviously is going to depend on the level of industry participation," said Paul Koches, general counsel of Ocwen Financial, which collects loan payments on subprime loans.

Many borrowers and consumer groups claim the modifications offered by the lending industry don't do enough to help cash-strapped homeowners, despite more than a year of public prodding from regulators. Fewer than half of loan modifications made at the end of last year actually reduced borrowers' payments by more than 10 percent, data released last month show.

Plus, the lending industry has been swamped by the unprecedented wave of calls from distressed borrowers. "You can't wave a magic wand and make the loans suddenly modified," Sharga said. "They're all individual transactions."

In RealtyTrac's report, Nevada, Arizona, California and Florida had the nation's top foreclosure rates. In Nevada, one in every 27 homes received a foreclosure filing, while the number was one in every 54 in Arizona. Rounding out the top 10 were Illinois, Michigan, Georgia, Idaho, Utah and Oregon.

Woody Allen says American Apparel is harassing him

NEW YORK – Actor-director Woody Allen has fired back against American Apparel's effort to drag his personal life into a civil court case, saying the clothing company is harassing him.

Lawyers for the 73-year-old Allen filed new legal papers in federal court in Manhattan on Wednesday. The papers say American Apparel isn't playing fair by trying to expose his family life, personal finances and career. They say it's a "scorched earth" approach.

Los Angeles-based American Apparel was put on the defensive after Allen sued the company last year for putting his image on its billboards in Hollywood and New York and on a Web site.

A trial is scheduled to begin next month.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

NEW YORK (AP) — A clothing company known for its racy ads is fighting a $10 million lawsuit brought by Woody Allen, arguing that it can't have damaged his reputation by using his image because the film director has already ruined it himself.

The 73-year-old Allen started the fight against American Apparel Inc. when he sued the company last year for using his image on the company's billboards in Hollywood and New York and on a Web site.

Allen, who does not endorse products in the United States, said he had not authorized the displays, which the Los Angeles-based company said were up for only a week.

Now the company plans to make Allen's relationships to actress Mia Farrow and her adopted daughter Soon-Yi Previn the focus of a trial scheduled to begin in federal court in Manhattan on May 18, according to the company's lawyer, Stuart Slotnick.

"Woody Allen expects $10 million for use of his image on billboards that were up and down in less than one week. I think Woody Allen overestimates the value of his image," Slotnick said.

"Certainly, our belief is that after the various sex scandals that Woody Allen has been associated with, corporate America's desire to have Woody Allen endorse their product is not what he may believe it is."

One billboard featured a frame from "Annie Hall," a film that won Allen a best-director Oscar. The image showed Allen dressed as a Hasidic Jew with a long beard and black hat and Yiddish text. The words "American Apparel" also were on the billboard.

Allen's lawsuit said the billboard falsely implied that Allen sponsored, endorsed or was associated with American Apparel.

Slotnick said it was not a cheap shot to bring up Allen's sex life in a lawsuit over the billboard and Internet ads.

"It's certainly relevant in assessing the value of an endorsement," he said, noting that Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps lost endorsement power after a photograph surfaced of him using marijuana.

Farrow starred in several of Allen's movies during a relationship with the director that ended in 1992, when she discovered he was having an affair with her oldest adopted daughter, then 22. Allen married Soon-Yi Previn in 1997.

During a bitter custody fight, Farrow accused Allen of sexually abusing their adopted daughter Dylan, 7. Allen was exonerated of the abuse charges, but Farrow won sole custody of the children.

Leslee Dart, a spokeswoman for Allen, said Friday that she does not believe Allen wants to comment on the litigation at this point.

American Apparel is known for its provocative ads of scantily dressed young models in tight-fitting and sometimes see-through garments.

Allen testified at a December deposition that he considered the company's advertising to be "sleazy" and "infantile."

Lawyers for American Apparel have complained that Allen has refused to turn over much of the information they have demanded to prepare for trial.

Among their demands were documents concerning any endorsement requests that were withdrawn after the sex scandal with Farrow and Previn became public.

The documents defined sex scandal as "your relationship with Soon-Yi Previn including the discovery ... (of) nude pictures you took of Soon-Yi Previn."

The lawyers also requested documents concerning Allen's public image and reputation, including his contention during his deposition that he was a "special kind of entity" or a "special taste."

Allen's attorneys said the request for documents related to the sex scandal and custody battle were "vexatious, oppressive, harassing" and not relevant.

Slotnick said he could not discuss whether there were any settlement talks under way but he hinted that the company may be open to avoiding a trial.

"All I can say is that the company has apologized for the use of Mr. Allen's image, however brief. And the company apologized if they offended Mr. Allen's sensibilities," he said.

Iranian group in Iraq part of high-stakes politics

BAGHDAD – The Iraqi government is stepping up efforts to pressure Iranian exiles into leaving the country, pushing an obscure group to the forefront of Baghdad's relations with Washington and the Obama administration's overtures to Iran.

At stake is whether Iraq can resolve the fate of 3,500 members of the People's Mujahedeen Organization of Iran without damaging its ties to both the U.S. and Iran.

In recent weeks, leaders of the People's Mujahedeen, known by its Farsi initials MEK, claim the Iraqis blockaded their Camp Ashraf north of Baghdad, allowing in only limited food and water shipments.

And earlier this month, they say, the Iraqi guards prevented Iraqi surgeons from entering the camp to treat critically ill patients — although the Iraqis ultimately relented.

To outsiders, the MEK may seem a strange cult-like group that bans sex and family life — an image the MEK attributes to "demonization" by the Iranian government.

Both the U.S. and Iran consider it a terrorist organization.

The Iraqi government makes no secret it wants the MEK out of the country in order to improve relations with Iran.

"Remaining in Iraq is not an option," said national security adviser Mouwaffak al-Rubaie. "They have existed in Iraq solely to overthrow the government of a neighbor, Iran. That past permissiveness is over."

Iran has pressed for years to close the camp, but the issue came to a head after Iraqi forces took over security for Camp Ashraf on Jan. 1, under the Iraq-U.S. security pact. The government gave the Americans assurances they would not force the exiles back to Iran, where some face prosecution.

U.S. officials in Baghdad have declined to comment publicly on the MEK issue.

But the U.S. has a stake in the issue because the U.S. military signed an agreement with the militia after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, promising members would be treated as "protected persons" under the Fourth Geneva Convention.

Al-Rubaie says that with Iraqis in control, the MEK is no longer protected by national laws or international conventions and must leave.

He dismisses claims of maltreatment and says Camp Ashraf residents are extremists who have been "brainwashed" by about 15-20 of their most militant leaders. The U.S. has tried to defuse the tensions but without much success.

The MEK has a long history in Iraq.

Founded by Iranian leftists, it opposed Iran's U.S.-backed Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and took part in the 1979 Iranian revolution that brought the Islamic regime to power. Members were implicated in killings of Americans and the U.S. Embassy takeover in Tehran — reasons that put them on the U.S. terror list.

But their blend of Marxism and secular Islamism pitted them against the mullahs and they eventually settled in Iraq, where they fought alongside Saddam Hussein's forces during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war.

During Saddam's time, MEK members staged military parades at Camp Ashraf, marching in uniforms and flaunting an impressive arsenal, and carried out deadly raids into Iran to attack their sworn enemy — Tehran's clerical regime.

They transformed Camp Ashraf from a barren desert stretch in the heart of the volatile Diyala province and only 50 miles from the Iranian border into an oasis of well-kept gardens, sprouting water fountains and palm trees along marked-out streets.

The fenced-off 30-square-mile compound houses 3,418 residents, including 900 women. Men and women obey a strict regimen, sleep in segregated, barrack-style quarters, and are said almost to deify their Paris-based leader, Maryam Rajavi. The camp has mostly been off limits and the government rarely allows media visits.

Al-Rubaie says hundreds of the residents hold documents linking them to a third country. There are five U.S. citizens, 11 Canadians and some European and Australian dual nationals.

Baghdad has tried to get those countries to accept them, and promises MEK members Iranian passports, a one-way ticket to a third country and $1,000 in pocket money, al-Rubaie said.

But Camp Ashraf residents refuse to go.

"It's like somebody comes and tells you to leave the only home you've known for the past 20 years," said Mohammad Mohaddessin, a senior official at MEK's political wing in Paris.

The camp, he says, is a modern "city," with a museum, a cemetery, a bakery — even an "Ashraf Cola" factory. As for sex and family life, Ashraf residents "left this behind them voluntarily," Mohaddessin said.

MEK is now turning to supporters in Europe, where the European Parliament in January removed the organization from its terror list after a British court backed the group's claim to have renounced violence.

If all else fails, the MEK says it may take the Camp Ashraf case to an international tribunal at The Hague.

The Iraqi government says 261 residents were returned to Iran over the last two years and reported no persecution. Spokeswoman Dibeh Fakhr of Iraq's office of the International Red Cross — which visited the camp four times last year — says the last returnee went back to Iran in April 2008.

Although the MEK is no longer a military threat, "symbolically, it's very important for Iran that they are expelled," said Iranian analyst Saeed Leilaz. Washington's acquiescence would be an overture to Tehran and a "good start" for Iran and the U.S., he said.

For now, Iraq's stranglehold of Camp Ashraf has created a shortage of some commodities, including toothpaste, chlorine for water purification and generator fuel, said camp physician Hamid Gazaeri.

The camp's modest clinic is serviced by a few general practitioners, all Iranians living in Ashraf, and depends on regular visits by Iraqi specialists.

Cancer sufferer Fatemeh Alizadeh, one of five patients who waited for a week for surgery until Iraqi doctors were allowed back last Friday, can't imagine the camp closing.

"It would be a catastrophe," she said in a frail voice on the phone, speaking from her hospital bed. "I am not going anywhere."

Iran willing to build new relationship with US

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran's president on Wednesday sent the clearest signal yet that the Islamic Republic wants warmer ties with the U.S., just one day after Washington spoke of new strategies to address the country's disputed nuclear program. Taken together, the developments indicate that the longtime adversaries are seeking ways to return to the negotiating table and ease a nearly 30-year-old diplomatic standoff.

President Barack Obama's administration has sought to start a dialogue with Iran — a departure from the Bush administration's tough talk.

Iran had mostly dismissed the overtures, continuing to take hard-line steps like putting an American journalist on trial on espionage allegations.

But in his speech Wednesday, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad changed his tone, saying that Iran was preparing new proposals aimed at breaking an impasse with the West over its nuclear program.

"The Iranian nation is a generous nation. It may forget the past and start a new era, but any country speaking on the basis of selfishness will get the same response the Iranian nation gave to Mr. Bush," Ahmadinejad told thousands in the southeastern city of Kerman.

In Washington, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton discussed Ahmadinejad's comments during a meeting Wednesday with EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.

"With respect to the latest speeches and remarks out of Iran, we welcome dialogue," Clinton said. "We've been saying that we are looking to have an engagement with Iran, but we haven't seen anything that would amount to any kind of proposal at all."

She said the six nations trying to lure Iran back to the negotiating table would have more to say in the coming days. Those countries, the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany, asked Solana last week to invite Iran to a new round of talks.

Solana said Iran has not formally responded to the invitation, and he declined to comment on Ahmadinejad's remarks.

The U.S. government has declined to publicly discuss possible new strategies for dealing with Iran. The Obama administration said its immediate goal is to get Iran back to nuclear negotiations.

Though there have not been any concrete breakthroughs, Mehrzad Boroujerdi, an Iranian affairs expert at New York's Syracuse University, said Ahmadinejad's comments were a "good omen."

"It certainly signals interest in engaging with the Obama administration," he said, adding that no terms had been set for possible talks.

Iran's uranium enrichment program has been the key point of contention. The Bush administration had insisted that Iran scrap enrichment before talks could begin — a demand Iran repeatedly rejected. On Wednesday, a senior official said the U.S. would be prepared to let Tehran continue enriching uranium at the current level for some time.

Uranium enrichment can be used to produce fuel for nuclear energy or nuclear weapons. The U.S. and some of its allies accuse Tehran of seeking to build nuclear weapons. Iran denies the charges, saying its nuclear program is geared toward generating electricity.

There had been a few efforts in recent years to reach consensus, but they appeared to go nowhere.

Two years ago, Washington briefly softened its position, and its negotiating partners told Tehran that they could accept a continuation of enrichment for a limited time as they moved toward talks. But Iran insisted it be allowed to enrich as part of its rights under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, ending the effort.

A decision by the U.S. to return to the negotiating table last year also did not bear fruit.

But Wednesday, Ahmadinejad said, "circumstances have changed" — an apparent reference to Obama's election and Iran's own progress in its nuclear program since talks with world powers last year.

Iran says it now controls the entire cycle for producing nuclear fuel — including extracting uranium ore and enriching it.

Ahmadinejad said Iran welcomes dialogue provided it is based on justice and respect, suggesting the West should not try to force it to halt enrichment.

"Today we are preparing a new package. Once it becomes ready, we will present that package (to you)," the president said. "It is a package that constitutes peace and justice throughout the globe and also respects other nations' rights." He didn't elaborate.

The U.S. and Iran broke off diplomatic ties after the 1979 Islamic Revolution and the takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran by hard-line students. Relations became rockier under the Bush administration, which branded Iran part of an "Axis of Evil" along with Saddam Hussein's Iraq and North Korea.

Part of the softening could be tied to the June re-election bid by Ahmadinejad, whose popularity has been declining. His main opponent favors better ties with the United States.

It is unclear, however, whether Ahmadinejad even has the clout to build a new relationship with the U.S. Just last month, Iran's supreme leader — who has the final say on all state matters — abruptly dismissed Obama's offer for dialogue.

"After 30 years, this won't be a matter resolved in a month or two. Any negotiations on the nuclear issue with Iran will take at least one year to work out," Boroujerdi said.

Octuplets' mom says plans documentary series

NEW YORK (Reuters) – An American mother of newborn octuplets says she will do a documentary series following her babies until they are 18 years old, but the production company says it is still in "exclusive negotiations" for the deal.

Nadya Suleman, who gave birth to six boys and two girls in Los Angeles on January 26, said she would allow a television crew to film her family six times a year. The babies are only the second known set of octuplets born alive in the United States.

"It is official. I'm going to be doing a show, but it's not a reality show," Suleman told Life & Style magazine, adding that the series would be made by the British arm of independent production company Eyeworks.

"What I'm doing with this TV show is basically creating documentaries about the lives of my children. It's going to be an ongoing thing, and it will follow them from now until they are 18," she said.

Suleman said the show would be aired in Britain and then possibly the United States.

But Eyeworks Chief Executive Officer Reinout Oerlemans said in a statement on Wednesday that the company was still in "exclusive negotiations" with Suleman for "an unscripted format following the life of Nadya and her children."

"Nadya's story is a very unique and exciting one that needs to be told in the right manner," Oerlemans said. "We are confident that we are the right party to tell their story around the world."

Suleman became a lightning rod for public ridicule after it was learned that she was a divorced, jobless mother of six living with her parents on government assistance when she became pregnant with octuplets through in vitro fertilization.

Suleman -- nicknamed "Octomom" in the U.S. media -- has since moved into a new home with her children and the last of the octuplets was released from the hospital this week.

The Smoking Gun website, www.thesmokinggun.com, reported on Wednesday that Suleman has applied to trademark the name "Octomom." It posted online an application said to be made by Suleman to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

`Idol' judges save finalist from elimination

LOS ANGELES – A sequel has been greenlit for Matt Giraud on "American Idol."

The 23-year-old piano player from Kalamazoo, Mich., who crooned Bryan Adam's "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?" from "Don Juan DeMarco" for his movie song performance Tuesday, received the fewest number of viewer votes Wednesday on the popular Fox singing competition. However, the judges decided to use their one-time power to save him from elimination.

"`Idol' history has been made!" host Ryan Seacrest exclaimed following the salvation.

With the other three judges excitedly gathered around him, Simon Cowell seemed to be foreshadowing Giraud's exit by telling him that his last-chance performance was not as "good as you were last night" and that Giraud did not "really have any chance of winning the competition." But Cowell relented and delivered Giraud's good news — and then some bad news.

"I wouldn't be so quick to congratulate him," he prattled as the other singers huddled around Giraud.

Cowell said because Giraud was rescued this week, two finalists will be dismissed after next week's disco-themed performances, as stipulated by the new rule introduced this earlier season. The other bottom vote-getters were 24-year-old mother of three Lil Rounds from Memphis, Tenn., and 22-year-old college student Anoop Desai from Chapel Hill, N.C.

"I thought I did a good job last night," Desai mused. "I was encouraged by the judges and everything."

Some members of the judging panel used Wednesday's episode to add their two cents after being denied the opportunity Tuesday. Jackson praised Danny Gokey, whose rendition of "Endless Love" he wasn't able to critique Tuesday, while Cowell complimented Kris Allen, whose "Falling Slowly" performance had previously been panned by Jackson and Kara DioGuardi.

"You know we didn't get a chance to talk last night," Cowell said. "Kris, you were brilliant."

After running eight minutes over last week, the show attempted — and failed — to end on time Tuesday by allowing only two judges to review a singer, but the competition still ran three minutes over schedule. On Tuesday, Jackson and DioGuardi reviewed Giraud, Desai and Allen. Cowell and Paula Abdul judged Rounds, Gokey, Allison Iraheta and Adam Lambert.

It wasn't just the judges who were talking back Wednesday. Seacrest offered Lambert, the over-the-top 27-year-old theater actor who sang "Born to Be Wild" from "Easy Rider" during Tuesday's performance episode, the chance to respond to Cowell's taunt from the night before that his edgy performance reminded him of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show."

"I think that's a great movie," Lambert quipped. "I mean, did he mean it as an insult?

The Obamas and Bidens File Taxes

Taxes are the pits, but at least they don't discriminate — everybody has to pay 'em. And that includes the leader of the free world and his right-hand man.

The tax returns for President Obama and Vice President Biden were recently released to the public. Quicker than you can say "spread the wealth," searches on both documents skyrocketed.

Now, normally tax returns don't inspire a lot of buzz. But when it's the Obamas' and the Bidens', the 1040s are actually pretty interesting. According to an article from Reuters, President Obama (who filed jointly with his wife, Michelle), reported an adjusted gross income of $2,656,902. They paid roughly $855,000 in federal income taxes and almost $78,000 in state income taxes.

Now hold up—since when do (honest) politicians make millions of dollars? Well, normally they don't. But Mr. Obama is also a best-selling author. The majority of his 2008 income came from sales of his two memoirs, "Dreams of My Father" and "The Audacity of Hope." Interestingly, the Obamas' income took a substantial drop in 2008. According to Fox News, the couple actually pulled in $4.2 million in 2007.

In comparison to his boss's return, Vice President Biden's 1040 looked downright modest. The VP and his wife reported an income of $269,256 for 2008. That's roughly a tenth of what the Obamas declared. Still, a good portion of that came from sales of Mr. Biden's memoir, "Promises to Keep." UPI reports that the Bidens reported donations of $1,885 to charity in 2008, but the White House notes that the Bidens made additional donations to their church that weren't included (lest you think they're stingy).