Parachute isn't hijacker Cooper's

hijacker Cooper, DB Cooper's, Parachute Found, db cooper, amboy wa, d.b cooper, db cooper parachute A tangled, torn parachute found buried last month last month is not the one used by plane hijacker D.B. Cooper when he bailed out of a plane over the Pacific Northwest, the FBI said Tuesday. Investigators reached that conclusion after speaking with parachute experts, including Earl Cossey, who packed the chutes provided to Cooper that rainy November night in 1971."From the best we could learn from the people we spoke to, it just didn't look like it was the right kind of parachute in any way," said FBI spokeswoman Robbie Burroughs.Further digging at the site in southwestern Washington turned up no indication that it could have been Cooper's, she added.A man calling himself Dan Cooper — later mistakenly identified as D.B. Cooper — hijacked a Northwest Orient passenger jet from Portland, Ore., to Seattle on Nov. 24, 1971.At Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, he released the passengers in exchange for $200,000 and four parachutes and asked to be flown to Mexico. He jumped out the back of the plane somewhere near the Oregon line.Some of the cash has been found, but his fate is unknown, and investigators doubt he survived.Children playing near a recently graded road found the parachute, and they urged their father to call the FBI because they had seen recent news stories about Cooper's case. The parachute was the right color, and the location was in the middle of what could have been Cooper's landing zone.That got the attention of FBI agent Larry Carr, who drove to the site to see the find for himself.But Cossey told Carr that Cooper's parachute was made of nylon. The one the children found was made of silk and did not feature a harness container. Cossey sold parachutes at a skydiving operation in Issaquah in the 1970s.Cossey has been through the drill before; this is the third time the FBI has asked him to examine parachutes to see whether they might have been Cooper's.One chute found long ago — he couldn't remember when — was just a "pilot chute," used to pull the main chute out of the pack. The other time, in 1988, it was a parachute found by a Columbia River diver seeking clues to Cooper's fate."They keep bringing me garbage," Cossey said. "Every time they find squat, they bring it out and open their trunk and say, 'Is that it?' and I say, 'Nope, go away.' Then a few years later they come back."Cossey, though sounding cantakerous, appeared to relish the spotlight Tuesday. He answered his cell phone with "D.B. Cooper" and said he got a kick out of telling some reporters that the parachute was, in fact, the hijacker's.One reporter called him back angrily, saying he could be fired for writing a false story, but another said the newsroom enjoyed the April Fool's joke."I'm getting mixed reviews," Cossey said. "But I'm having fun with it; what the heck."

Elliot Yamin mom passed away

Elliot Yamin, elliot yamin heartbreak, elliot yamin news, claudette yamin, elliot yamin mother, elliot yamin mom Sad news. Elliot Yamin, who finished third in season 5 of American Idol, lost his mother Claudette Yamin. She passed away last night.Claudette was 65.Condolences to Elliot and his family. The mother of American Idol finalist Elliot Yamin died overnight. The Times-Dispatch reports that Claudette Yamin died last night at Henrico Doctor's Hospital. The 65-year-old was admitted to the hospital over the weekend. Her cause of death has not been released. Elliot Yamin became a local celebrity during his 2006 run on American Idol, where he placed third. (c) 2008. WWBT, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Inside Scoop: Tonight's 'Idol' Song List for 'Dolly Parton Night'

This just in (from a pretty solid source): Though we can't confirm it's 100 percent accurate, an insider-y bird just sent us the set list for tonight's Dolly Parton episode of American Idol. Spoilerphobes, fear not: I've posted all the contestants' song choices after the jump!
Update: Sorry, guys! We went 0 for 9, and clearly (as some of you pointed out) the April Fools' joke was on us. As penance, I will watch Ramiele's performance three extra times tomorrow morning!

addCredit("Dolly Parton": Shirlaine Forrest/WireImage")
David Cook: "You Know I Love You"Kristy Lee Cook: "Two Doors Down"Michael Johns: "Islands in the Stream"Carly Smithson: "Jolene" David Archuleta: "Travelin Thru"Ramiele Malubay: "9 to 5 " Brooke White: "Coat of Many Colors"Syesha Mercado: "Eagle When She Flies"Jason Castro: "I Will Always Love You"

Melinda Doolittle

FAST FACTS
Age: 29
Hometown: Brentwood, TN
Audition City: Memphis
Voted off: May. 16th
SHOCKING NEWS：The American Idol Melinda DoolittleConspiracy Theories BeginJust when it looked like American Idol 6 was going to escape having a mind-numbing shocker of an elimination, Melinda Doolittle was sent home from the competition. In a season that has often been criticized for not measuring up to past seasons in overall talent, Melinda Doolittle was one of the bright shining lights. By some accounts, she was even the best overall singer ever on American Idol.For someone of such talent not to make it to the finale can mean only one thing. There’s got to be an American Idol conspiracy here somewhere. Just like in previous seasons, outraged viewers are turning to the Internet in massive numbers looking for some type of explanation for an elimination that defies rationale. Without further ado, here are our top five American Idol Melinda Doolittle conspiracy theories.Number one, the whole show is fixed. American Idol producers didn’t want Melinda Doolittle to win. She’s too old. She’s not marketable enough. On the other hand, Jordin Sparks can relate to America’s youth, and Blake Lewis can make young girls swoon. Jordin Sparks and Blake Lewis fit more of the pop image that American Idol producers want in a winner. A version of this conspiracy theory surfaces after every controversial elimination, and while it’s probably not true, it sure would explain a lot.Number two, Simon Cowell did Melinda in. After Melinda’s final performance, Simon Cowell said “If I’m going to award a place in the final to the person who has consistently delivered week after week it’s you.” When Ryan Seacrest asked Simon Cowell who he thought would make it into the finale, Cowell replied “I want to see my girl Melinda in the final.” American Idol viewers don’t like to see judges show excessive favoritism to one contestant, and they were so put off by Simon Cowell’s comments that they abstained from voting for Melinda.Number three, Melinda suffered from the Daughtry effect. One of the most popular conspiracy theories to explain Chris Daughtry’s shocking elimination was that his fans thought he was safe so they didn’t vote enough. Because Melinda received such positive feedback from the judges on the most recent performance show, her fans must have also assumed that she was safe and failed to vote aggressively enough.Number four, Melinda suffered from the Hudson effect. Fantasia Barrino, La Toya London, and Jennifer Hudson were widely regarded as the three best singers of American Idol 3. However, Fantasia was the only one of the three to make it to the finale. When Jennifer Hudson went home early, many claimed it was a racist vote. Melinda Doolittle being eliminated before the finale is season three all over again.Number five, Nashville was busy watching the Academy of Country Music Awards. Melinda Doolittle’s hometown is a suburb of Nashville, Tennessee. The American Idol Top Three performance show aired opposite of the Academy of Country Music Awards show, which is very popular among Nashville viewers. Melinda Doolittle was at an unfair disadvantage because viewers from her hometown were distracted by another show.

Halo 3 beta date confirmed for May 16

What are you still reading for? What more could you possibly want to know? Halo 3. Beta. May 16. Joy. Ok, if you insist, we can tell you a little bit more, straight from Microsoft's official announcement this morning. It's going to be begin at 5 a.m. PDT on May 16 and run for three weeks, until June 6. You'll need to have done the whole "Rule of Three" thing or bought your specially-marked copy of Crackdown and be an Xbox Live Gold member to get all up in heaven. Bungie's reminding fans that it's still a beta and there will be some rough edges, but that it will look "somewhat close" to the final game.
In the beta, you'll get your grubby mitts on three maps, "Snowbound," "High Ground" and "Valhalla," which "represent a mixture of large- and medium-scale combat environments." You'll also get new vehicles, like the Mongoose all-terrain vehicle, and weapons like the new and improved Assault Rifle, Brute Spiker, Spartan Laser and the new Spike Grenades. A lot of the new content is available in a new Halo 3 feature on Xbox Live Marketplace and at Bungie's site called "Quisnam Protero Damno!". So, what are waiting for? Go watch the doc, go buy Crackdown and find a crossword puzzle that'll take you a month to finish.

Moral Majority founder Jerry Falwell dies

LYNCHBURG, Va. - The Rev. Jerry Falwell, the television evangelist who founded the Moral Majority and used it to mold the religious right into a political force, died Tuesday shortly after being found unconscious in his office at Liberty University. He was 73.
Ron Godwin, Liberty's executive vice president, said Falwell had been found unresponsive around 10:45 a.m. and was taken to Lynchburg General Hospital.
Godwin said he was not sure what caused the collapse but noted that Falwell had “a history of heart challenges.”

Rice to Putin: Europe and the US cannot be divided

Panama - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Monday warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that Washington and its allies cannot be divided on their mutual defense as a bitter row escalated over a proposed US missile defence shield in eastern Europe.
"The security of the United States and the security of European allies is indivisible," Rice said on the margins of the Organization of American States gathering here.
"It doesn't really help anybody to start threatening Europeans," said Rice.
The top US diplomat said relations between the two countries had been transformed since the Cold War and that there was no need to revert to hostile rhetoric from a bygone era.
Rice said US officials "don't consider Russia adversary and I hope they don't consider the United States an adversary."
She said that Washington and Moscow "are cooperating in a whole range of things," including nuclear proliferation, Iran, North Korea and terrorism.
"This is 2007 and not 1987," Rice continued.
"This isn't the Soviet Union and we need to drop the rhetoric that sounds like what the United States and the Soviet Union used to say about each other, and realize that the United States and Russia are in a very different period."
Special coverage:US, Russia Missile Defense Dispute
Related forum: Putin: US missile shield to raise risksIran: US missile defense plan 'joke'Russia: New ICBM can beat any systemRice said that US officials "have been very active in talking to the Russians about this, not just explaining, but exploring it.
"We are prepared to do more of that," she said.
Putin recently talked openly of a "new arms race" and warned that Russia would have new targets in Europe if Washington went ahead with plans to place elements of a missile defence system in the Czech Republic and Poland, countries once under Moscow's rule but now members of NATO.
Earlier, the White House struck a restrained tone, describing Putin's latest comments in a missile defense feud with the United States as "not helpful."
"There has been some escalation in the rhetoric. We think that that is not helpful," US national security adviser Stephen Hadley told reporters as US President George W. Bush traveled to Europe.
"We would like to have a constructive dialogue with Russia on this issue. We have had it in the past," Hadley said, with Bush due to see Putin at a summit of industrialized nations in Germany this week.
Hadley had been asked about a possible US response after Putin again blasted US plans to deploy a missile shield in Europe and warned that Moscow could redeploy missiles aimed at targets on the continent.
"It does not pose a threat to Russia. Hopefully it is not about a threat from Russia," said Hadley, who added that the two leaders would discuss the issue at the summit in Germany and in a US summit in early July.
Bush will use a speech in Prague on promoting democracy around the world to underscore the need for democratic reforms in China and Russia amid US complaints that Putin has retreated from such openings, said Hadley.
"He'll talk a little bit about the challenge of promoting democracy in countries -- big countries, in particular, where we have a complex relationship with a lot of interests, places like China and Russia," said Hadley.
"The speech is not about Russia, it's about the freedom agenda," he insisted, adding that "the president will handle this in a very responsible way" to avoid further inflaming relations.
Russia will be a focus of the speech because "there are no exceptions to the freedom agenda. So obviously when we look for the progress of freedom and democracy, we look at the progress of freedom and democracy in Russia and China" said Hadley.