Apple’s shares plunged Friday from $106.50 to $94.65 after a “citizen’s journal” report was posted on CNN’s iReport Web site.

The report said “Steve Jobs was rushed to the ER just a few hours ago after suffering a major heart attack. I have an insider who tells me that paramedics were called after Steve claimed to be suffering from severe chest pains and shortness of breath. My source has opted to remain anonymous, but he is quite reliable. I haven’t seen anything about this anywhere else yet, and as of right now, I have no further information, so I thought this would be a good place to start. If anyone else has more information, please share it.”

iReport is CNN’s public journalism Web site, which allows users to post videos and photos showing news from their local towns. iReport was launched in 2006 and was bought by CNN last January and relaunched in March.

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s spokesperson, John Heine, said staff members are not authorized to confirm or deny whether the SEC “is investigating or not investigating” a company. But Martin said the company has been contacted by the SEC looking for information regarding the person who posted the message.

“The SEC has contacted iReport.com and we are certainly cooperating with them,” Martin told us in a phone interview. “The report was taken off (the Web site) on Friday morning and the user’s, who submitted that report, account was canceled.”

Apple issued a statement Friday denying the…

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Verizon maintains that the deal, which would make it the largest wireless carrier in the United States, is still on track to close by year’s end, company spokeswoman Robin Nicol said Friday.

But a major ratings firm that evaluates companies’ financial strength for world credit markets is not so sure.

“Considering the size of this deal, it would be surprising that Verizon would enter something with such significant risk that it really threatens to preclude this deal from closing,” said Bill Densmore of New York-based Fitch Ratings.

In a Sept. 26 report, largely written by Densmore, Fitch identified several factors that could threaten New Jersey-based Verizon.

For one, it must have enough financial strength to buy assets it will probably have to sell in order for federal regulators to approve the deal. Also, the deal with Little Rock-based Alltel contains triggers that allow Verizon to back out if the company has to divest too many subscribers for federal approval.

So far, nothing has emerged from continuing talks between Verizon and the Department of Justice, Nicol said.

“There could be more markets we have to divest. Right now we have no idea,” she said. “But even if those numbers increase, we still think we’ll be able to reach an agreement with DOJ.”

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The town’s Web site, which also includes a listing of municipal services, parks and recreation information and key town phone numbers, is gone. It’s been replaced by a simple message that the site is “currently unavailable.”

It’s not an error.

Officials in the small Litchfield County town and several other Connecticut communities worry they could face lawsuits if they don’t comply with a new state law requiring towns to post agendas and minutes for every board and commission on their municipal Web sites.

The law went into effect Oct. 1.

Towns such as Harwinton say they don’t have the resources to post agendas at least 24 hours before all public meetings and minutes within a week afterward.

“There are so many questions,” said First Selectman Frank J. Chiaramonte, who worries some town residents may leap at the opportunity to sue if Harwinton doesn’t follow the law perfectly. So they’ve pulled the plug on their site.

The town of Roxbury, population 2,500, has the same fear. First Selectman Barbara Henry says town hall employees work part time, some only two days a week. Getting the town’s board and commission meeting minutes posted on time would be impossible, she said.

State Sen. Andrew Roraback said the new law got little discussion during this year’s General Assembly session. It was tacked onto a law that revokes pensions of state officials who are convicted of illegal activities in office.

Roraback said he’s gotten complaints from officials in the 15 communities he represents, all saying the law is unworkable. Most towns don’t have a full-time Webmaster or other person designated to regularly update municipal Web sites.

“In our zeal to make information more available to the public, we’re making information less available because towns are taking down their Web…

Andree McLeod, a former state worker, filed the lawsuit against Palin, the Republican vice presidential candidate, in Anchorage on Thursday. Palin’s gubernatorial spokeswoman, Sharon Leighow, said Saturday she could not comment on pending litigation.

Palin’s e-mail account with Yahoo Inc. was compromised last month by a hacker who revealed as evidence a few inconsequential personal messages she has received since John McCain selected her as his running mate.

Palin used “gov.sarah” in one of the Yahoo e-mail addresses she sometimes used to conduct state business. The hacker targeted her separate “gov.palin” account. Both have been shut down.

The hacking of Palin’s private account is significant because Palin has sometimes used private e-mail accounts to conduct state business. Previously disclosed e-mails indicate her administration embraced Yahoo accounts as an alternative to government e-mail, which could possibly be released to the public under Alaska’s Open Records Act.

“Palin’s decision to conduct state business in such an unprofessional and secretive manner suggests that her promise to have an ethical, open, honest and transparent administration is pure bogus,” McLeod said in a statement Saturday.

“Equally troubling is the fact that most of Palin’s private e-mail accounts have recently been shut down,” she said. “I’m seeking the court’s help by requesting them to tell the governor to obey Alaska’s public record laws.”

McLeod also has submitted an open records request with the state of Alaska seeking copies from Palin’s private e-mail accounts as well as one belonging to her husband, Todd. The Associated Press has submitted similar requests.

In August, McLeod filed an ethics complaint with the attorney general’s office against Palin and members of her staff, accusing them of giving a state job to a man who held a…

Technorati Tags: yahoo

Andree McLeod, a former state worker, filed the lawsuit against Palin, the Republican vice presidential candidate, in Anchorage on Thursday. Palin’s gubernatorial spokeswoman, Sharon Leighow, said Saturday she could not comment on pending litigation.

Palin’s e-mail account with Yahoo Inc. was compromised last month by a hacker who revealed as evidence a few inconsequential personal messages she has received since John McCain selected her as his running mate.

Palin used “gov.sarah” in one of the Yahoo e-mail addresses she sometimes used to conduct state business. The hacker targeted her separate “gov.palin” account. Both have been shut down.

The hacking of Palin’s private account is significant because Palin has sometimes used private e-mail accounts to conduct state business. Previously disclosed e-mails indicate her administration embraced Yahoo accounts as an alternative to government e-mail, which could possibly be released to the public under Alaska’s Open Records Act.

“Palin’s decision to conduct state business in such an unprofessional and secretive manner suggests that her promise to have an ethical, open, honest and transparent administration is pure bogus,” McLeod said in a statement Saturday.

“Equally troubling is the fact that most of Palin’s private e-mail accounts have recently been shut down,” she said. “I’m seeking the court’s help by requesting them to tell the governor to obey Alaska’s public record laws.”

McLeod also has submitted an open records request with the state of Alaska seeking copies from Palin’s private e-mail accounts as well as one belonging to her husband, Todd. The Associated Press has submitted similar requests.

In August, McLeod filed an ethics complaint with the attorney general’s office against Palin and members of her staff, accusing them of giving a state job to a man who held a…

Technorati Tags: yahoo

Apple’s shares plunged Friday from $106.50 to $94.65 after a “citizen’s journal” report was posted on CNN’s iReport Web site.

The report said “Steve Jobs was rushed to the ER just a few hours ago after suffering a major heart attack. I have an insider who tells me that paramedics were called after Steve claimed to be suffering from severe chest pains and shortness of breath. My source has opted to remain anonymous, but he is quite reliable. I haven’t seen anything about this anywhere else yet, and as of right now, I have no further information, so I thought this would be a good place to start. If anyone else has more information, please share it.”

iReport is CNN’s public journalism Web site, which allows users to post videos and photos showing news from their local towns. iReport was launched in 2006 and was bought by CNN last January and relaunched in March.

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s spokesperson, John Heine, said staff members are not authorized to confirm or deny whether the SEC “is investigating or not investigating” a company. But Martin said the company has been contacted by the SEC looking for information regarding the person who posted the message.

“The SEC has contacted iReport.com and we are certainly cooperating with them,” Martin told us in a phone interview. “The report was taken off (the Web site) on Friday morning and the user’s, who submitted that report, account was canceled.”

Apple issued a statement Friday denying the…

Technorati Tags: accord

Apple’s shares plunged Friday from $106.50 to $94.65 after a “citizen’s journal” report was posted on CNN’s iReport Web site.

The report said “Steve Jobs was rushed to the ER just a few hours ago after suffering a major heart attack. I have an insider who tells me that paramedics were called after Steve claimed to be suffering from severe chest pains and shortness of breath. My source has opted to remain anonymous, but he is quite reliable. I haven’t seen anything about this anywhere else yet, and as of right now, I have no further information, so I thought this would be a good place to start. If anyone else has more information, please share it.”

iReport is CNN’s public journalism Web site, which allows users to post videos and photos showing news from their local towns. iReport was launched in 2006 and was bought by CNN last January and relaunched in March.

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s spokesperson, John Heine, said staff members are not authorized to confirm or deny whether the SEC “is investigating or not investigating” a company. But Martin said the company has been contacted by the SEC looking for information regarding the person who posted the message.

“The SEC has contacted iReport.com and we are certainly cooperating with them,” Martin told us in a phone interview. “The report was taken off (the Web site) on Friday morning and the user’s, who submitted that report, account was canceled.”

Apple issued a statement Friday denying the…

Technorati Tags: accord

The town’s Web site, which also includes a listing of municipal services, parks and recreation information and key town phone numbers, is gone. It’s been replaced by a simple message that the site is “currently unavailable.”

It’s not an error.

Officials in the small Litchfield County town and several other Connecticut communities worry they could face lawsuits if they don’t comply with a new state law requiring towns to post agendas and minutes for every board and commission on their municipal Web sites.

The law went into effect Oct. 1.

Towns such as Harwinton say they don’t have the resources to post agendas at least 24 hours before all public meetings and minutes within a week afterward.

“There are so many questions,” said First Selectman Frank J. Chiaramonte, who worries some town residents may leap at the opportunity to sue if Harwinton doesn’t follow the law perfectly. So they’ve pulled the plug on their site.

The town of Roxbury, population 2,500, has the same fear. First Selectman Barbara Henry says town hall employees work part time, some only two days a week. Getting the town’s board and commission meeting minutes posted on time would be impossible, she said.

State Sen. Andrew Roraback said the new law got little discussion during this year’s General Assembly session. It was tacked onto a law that revokes pensions of state officials who are convicted of illegal activities in office.

Roraback said he’s gotten complaints from officials in the 15 communities he represents, all saying the law is unworkable. Most towns don’t have a full-time Webmaster or other person designated to regularly update municipal Web sites.

“In our zeal to make information more available to the public, we’re making information less available because towns are taking down their Web…

Andree McLeod, a former state worker, filed the lawsuit against Palin, the Republican vice presidential candidate, in Anchorage on Thursday. Palin’s gubernatorial spokeswoman, Sharon Leighow, said Saturday she could not comment on pending litigation.

Palin’s e-mail account with Yahoo Inc. was compromised last month by a hacker who revealed as evidence a few inconsequential personal messages she has received since John McCain selected her as his running mate.

Palin used “gov.sarah” in one of the Yahoo e-mail addresses she sometimes used to conduct state business. The hacker targeted her separate “gov.palin” account. Both have been shut down.

The hacking of Palin’s private account is significant because Palin has sometimes used private e-mail accounts to conduct state business. Previously disclosed e-mails indicate her administration embraced Yahoo accounts as an alternative to government e-mail, which could possibly be released to the public under Alaska’s Open Records Act.

“Palin’s decision to conduct state business in such an unprofessional and secretive manner suggests that her promise to have an ethical, open, honest and transparent administration is pure bogus,” McLeod said in a statement Saturday.

“Equally troubling is the fact that most of Palin’s private e-mail accounts have recently been shut down,” she said. “I’m seeking the court’s help by requesting them to tell the governor to obey Alaska’s public record laws.”

McLeod also has submitted an open records request with the state of Alaska seeking copies from Palin’s private e-mail accounts as well as one belonging to her husband, Todd. The Associated Press has submitted similar requests.

In August, McLeod filed an ethics complaint with the attorney general’s office against Palin and members of her staff, accusing them of giving a state job to a man who held a…

Technorati Tags: yahoo

Andree McLeod, a former state worker, filed the lawsuit against Palin, the Republican vice presidential candidate, in Anchorage on Thursday. Palin’s gubernatorial spokeswoman, Sharon Leighow, said Saturday she could not comment on pending litigation.

Palin’s e-mail account with Yahoo Inc. was compromised last month by a hacker who revealed as evidence a few inconsequential personal messages she has received since John McCain selected her as his running mate.

Palin used “gov.sarah” in one of the Yahoo e-mail addresses she sometimes used to conduct state business. The hacker targeted her separate “gov.palin” account. Both have been shut down.

The hacking of Palin’s private account is significant because Palin has sometimes used private e-mail accounts to conduct state business. Previously disclosed e-mails indicate her administration embraced Yahoo accounts as an alternative to government e-mail, which could possibly be released to the public under Alaska’s Open Records Act.

“Palin’s decision to conduct state business in such an unprofessional and secretive manner suggests that her promise to have an ethical, open, honest and transparent administration is pure bogus,” McLeod said in a statement Saturday.

“Equally troubling is the fact that most of Palin’s private e-mail accounts have recently been shut down,” she said. “I’m seeking the court’s help by requesting them to tell the governor to obey Alaska’s public record laws.”

McLeod also has submitted an open records request with the state of Alaska seeking copies from Palin’s private e-mail accounts as well as one belonging to her husband, Todd. The Associated Press has submitted similar requests.

In August, McLeod filed an ethics complaint with the attorney general’s office against Palin and members of her staff, accusing them of giving a state job to a man who held a…

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