Added on:2008-04-04

Eliot Spitzer's tryst with 'Kristen' lights a fire under hotel's souvenir sales BY RICHARD SISK DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU Friday, April 4th 2008, 4:00 AM Ex-Gov. Eliot Spitzer's Mayflower night with 'Kristen' has spawned hot gift shop business. WASHINGTON - The lusty travails of the formerly Hon. Eliot Spitzer, who was briefly governor of New York, have become a boon for the Mayflower Hotel's tsotchke biz. "We have seen an increase in sales for all of those items since, um, what happened," hotel spokesman Mark Andre said Thursday. Everything from teddy bears ($18.99) to terry-cloth bathrobes ($69.99) marked with the Mayflower's logo has been flying off the shelves of the luxury hotel's tiny gift shop, Andre said. "It's a crazy thing," a hotel staffer said of the tourists' and guests' need to scarf up mementos of the alleged $4,300 Mayflower dalliance of Spitzer - aka "Client 9," aka "George Fox" - with alleged 22-year-old escort service superstar Ashley Youmans - aka "Ashley Alexandra Dupré," aka "Kristen." "But I guess it's just inevitable with something like this," the staffer, who declined to give her name, said of the spike in gift shop sales. "People just like souvenirs." The biggest souvenir prize went missing for a while after Spitzer allegedly cavorted for at least two hours with "Kristen," who was dispatched by the Emperors Club VIP service, in the Mayflower's Room 871. Somebody pried the 871 number plate off the wall and stole it shortly after Spitzer's Valentine's eve stay at the hotel about five blocks from the White House, but a replacement 871 tag was up again Thursday on the corner room. According to the FBI, which was listening in on Spitzer's dealings with Emperors Club VIP, the former governor rented two rooms on the eighth floor, one for himself and one for visiting with Kristen. He left the door ajar at 871 so she wouldn't have to give her name at the desk to get a key. Several of the items in the gift shop carried the quote about the Mayflower attributed to the late President Harry Truman, who called it "Washington's second best address," after the White House at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Charles Lindbergh chose the Mayflower to celebrate his famed first trans-Atlantic flight and the late President Franklin Roosevelt wrote his first inaugural address in one of its rooms. The Mayflower has also been the scene of other Spitzer-type assignations that the hotel does not mention on its Web site. The late Judith Campbell Exner, who claimed to have been the mistress of the late President John F. Kennedy, was a frequent Mayflower guest in the 1960s. Hotel spokesman Andre was far too discreet to discuss what might happen behind closed doors when out-of-town big shots come to stay. But he acknowledged that, "We do advertise a 'Romance Escape' weekend

Added on:2008-04-04

Naomi Campbell has been released on bail pending further inquiries after being arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police officer. The 37-year-old supermodel had been held at Heathrow Airport following an alleged incident at Terminal 5. A BAA spokeswoman at Heathrow Airport said: "Police today boarded a British Airways plane and removed a passenger." According to Ms Campbell's spokeswoman, the model had checked in two bags but was then told that one had been lost. Ms Campbell is reported to have been handcuffed on board the aircraft, which was believed to be heading for America. 'Forcibly eject' Spokeswoman Annabel Fox said: "Naomi was flying to Los Angeles for a memorial service on Thursday. "She arrived at Heathrow Terminal 5 in plenty of time, checked her two bags in and was told they would make the flight. "Once on the plane she was told one bag could not be found and was missing. They closed the curtains, the screaming went on for quite some time. They brought people on, they escorted the person off and the pilot apologised Passenger on board Ms Campbell's flight "BA decided to resolve this by insisting she leave the flight and then called the police to forcibly eject her from the flight. "She was taken to the Heathrow police station and released on police bail. So far as we are aware BA have still failed to offer any explanation as to why her bag went missing at Terminal 5." One passenger on board the flight told the BBC how he overheard the alleged incident. 'Self-esteem and loneliness' "We heard some screaming, an upset person in first class," he said. "They closed the curtains, the screaming went on for quite some time. They brought people on, they escorted the person off and the pilot apologised. "I had seen her get on the plane [looking] very positive." Ms Campbell was discovered at the age of 15 and was the first black model to appear on the covers of Time magazine and both French and British Vogue. It is not the first time Ms Campbell has been in trouble with the law. Last year she spent five days mopping floors as part of a community service sentence in New York for throwing a mobile phone at her housekeeper during an argument over a pair of jeans. Naomi Campbell tried to avoid photographers after being questioned She was also ordered to attend anger management classes. During an interview with US TV Barbara Walters in June 2000, Naomi broke down and said: "Anger is a manifestation of a deeper issue...and that, for me, is based on insecurity, self-esteem and loneliness. "I was really unhappy. I realised I was going to lose the people who really loved me if I didn't find out what was making me do the things I did." That same year she pleaded guilty in Toronto to an assault charge for beating an assistant while making a film in Canada. Ms Campbell expressed remorse and was released without punishment or a criminal record, In 1993 she was dropped by Modelling agency Elite, who sent out a fax which read: "No amount of money or prestige could further justify the abuse that has been imposed on our staff and clients. All who have experienced this will understand."

Added on:2008-04-04

Binge drinking 'damages memory' The effects of heavy drinking may last days Binge drinking teenagers are still at risk of absent-mindedness and forgetfulness days later, a study says. A team from Northumbria and Keele universities compared 26 binge drinkers with 34 non-bingers in memory tests, and found the drinkers fared worse. They told the British Psychological Society conference that binge drinking could be harming developing brains. A spokesman for the charity Addaction said drinking at dangerous levels was putting some young people at risk. There is evidence that excess alcohol and binge drinking in particular damages parts of the brain that underpin everyday memory Dr Thomas Heffernan, University of Northumbria Binge drinking is already known to affect people's memories of past events. In this study, the scientists looked at students aged 17 to 19 - a period when the brain is still developing. Binge drinking was defined as at least eight units a session for a man and six for a woman once or twice a week. The researchers said the binge drinkers studied consumed, on average, 30 units in just two sessions. 'Storing up problems' The teenagers were tested three or four days after their last drinking session, so that their bodies would be free of alcohol. They were asked to answer questions about how often they forgot to carry out tasks they intended to do, such as meeting with friends. They were shown a video clip of a shopping trip after being given a couple of minutes to memorise a set of tasks prompted by various cues in the film, such as remembering to text a friend at a certain shop, or to check their bank accounts after seeing a person sitting on a bench. A small group of young people is drinking earlier in life and at dangerously high levels Addaction spokesman Dr Thomas Heffernan, from the University of Northumbria and who led the study, said: "We found no differences between binge drinkers and non-binge drinkers in the self-reporting questionnaires, but when it came to the video the binge drinkers recalled significantly less than the non-binge drinkers. "Although from their own reports they appeared to have good memories, they didn't perform as well in the video test. "The binge drinkers recalled up to a third less of the items, a significant difference." He said it was possible that the pre-frontal cortex or hippocampus regions of the brain were being impaired. Dr Heffernan added: "There is evidence that excess alcohol and binge drinking in particular damages parts of the brain that underpin everyday memory. "Not only may these teenagers be harming their memory, if their brains are still developing they could be storing up problems for the future." A spokesman for the charity Addaction said: "While official figures show fewer young people are drinking overall, a small group of young people is drinking earlier in life and at dangerously high levels. "Many of these young people are still at primary school and are drinking more than twice the recommended limit for adult women, with uncertain consequences for their future development

Added on:2008-04-04

Global temperatures will drop slightly this year as a result of the cooling effect of the La Nina current in the Pacific, UN meteorologists have said. The World Meteorological Organization's secretary-general, Michel Jarraud, told the BBC it was likely that La Nina would continue into the summer. This would mean global temperatures have not risen since 1998, prompting some to question climate change theory. But experts say we are still clearly in a long-term warming trend - and they forecast a new record high temperature within five years. The WMO points out that the decade from 1998 to 2007 was the warmest on record. Since the beginning of the 20th Century, the global average surface temperature has risen by 0.74C Rises 'stalled' LA NINA KEY FACTS La Nina translates from the Spanish as "The Child Girl" Refers to the extensive cooling of the central and eastern Pacific Increased sea temperatures on the western side of the Pacific mean the atmosphere has more energy and frequency of heavy rain and thunderstorms is increased Typically lasts for up to 12 months and generally less damaging event than the stronger El Nino La Nina and El Nino are two great natural Pacific currents whose effects are so huge they resonate round the world. El Nino warms the planet when it happens; La Nina cools it. This year, the Pacific is in the grip of a powerful La Nina. It has contributed to torrential rains in Australia and to some of the coldest temperatures in memory in snow-bound parts of China. Mr Jarraud told the BBC that the effect was likely to continue into the summer, depressing temperatures globally by a fraction of a degree. This would mean that temperatures have not risen globally since 1998 when El Nino warmed the world. China suffered from heavy snow in January Watching trends A minority of scientists question whether this means global warming has peaked and argue the Earth has proved more resilient to greenhouse gases than predicted. But Mr Jarraud insisted this was not the case and noted that 2008 temperatures would still be well above average for the century. "When you look at climate change you should not look at any particular year," he said. "You should look at trends over a pretty long period and the trend of temperature globally is still very much indicative of warming. "La Nina is part of what we call 'variability'. There has always been and there will always be cooler and warmer years, but what is important for climate change is that the trend is up; the climate on average is warming even if there is a temporary cooling because of La Nina." Adam Scaife, lead scientist for Modelling Climate Variability at the Hadley Centre in Exeter, UK, said their best estimate for 2008 was about 0.4C above the 1961-1990 average, and higher than this if you compared it with further back in the 20th Century. Mr Scaife told the BBC: "What's happened now is that La Nina has come along and depressed temperatures slightly but these changes are very small compared to the long-term climate change signal, and in a few years time we are confident that the current record temperature of 1998 will be beaten when the La Nina has ended."

Added on:2008-04-04

A man accused of stalking Tyra Banks is back in the streets of New York - just 24 hours after he was arrested by police. Brady Green, 37, has allegedly been hounding Banks for months, sending her letters, flowers and leaving her phone messages. Dude reportedly got brave and turned up at the N.Y. TV studio where she films The Tyra Banks Show asking to speak to the star in person. Authorities were alerted to Green’s unwanted presence and found him carrying a large bag packed full of magazine cuttings and notes about Banks. He was removed from the premises, but later returned and waited for Banks to emerge from a fast food restaurant across the street. Police were called back to the scene and officers took Green into custody, charging him with stalking, harassment and criminal trespass, he was freed hours later by a Manhattan Criminal Court judge.