News Updates

This clip speaks for itself -- literally. The Columbus Dispatch discovered a homeless man along Ohio's I-71 claiming to have "the God-given gift of voice." His name is Ted Williams, and he's an ex-radio announcer according to the note he scrawled on a piece of cardboard that he uses to solicit change from drivers. And wow, does Williams ever deliver for a dollar. Williams tells the Dispatch about his struggles, but thankfully "alcohol and drugs and a few other things" haven't diminished Williams' velvety vocal cords, and he says he's two years clean now. "I have a god given gift of voice. I'm an ex-radio announcer who has fallen on hard times. Please! Any help will be greatfully appreciated. Thank you and God bless. Happy holidays," says Williams' roadside sign for help. Like Williams, the radio industry has fallen on hard times in the past decade, but given the viral power of this video, we expect more than a ...

You get three extra days to file your taxes this year. They'll be due on Mon., April 18. But it's not because of a previously announced processing delay that will prevent people who itemize their taxes from filing before mid- to late February, the IRS said Tuesday. Instead, the bonus days come thanks to Emancipation Day, a little-known Washington, D.C., holiday that celebrates the freeing of slaves in the district. Emancipation Day falls on Sat., April 16, but it is observed in D.C. on Fri., April 15. That prompted the IRS to extend the tax filing deadline to April 18 this year. Under the tax code, filing deadlines can't fall on Saturdays, Sundays or holidays. The last time an extension was granted for this reason was in 2007. But don't expect a separate -- or longer -- extension to make up for the IRS's processing delay, said IRS spokesman Anthony Burke. The delay -- caused by Congress waiting until late December to pass new tax policies -- means t...

Get great tips on small-space living in style and comfort from a 900-square-foot cottage, eco-friendly loft, vintage trailer, houseboat, bungalow, and more. 1. Santa Monica cottage The owner, an architectural designer, kept most of the walls in the cottage white and added splashes of color with accent pillows, throws, and pottery. > See more of this home 2. Remodeled Airstream home A landscape architect lives in a remodeled 1959 Airstream trailer, which he parks behind a Berkeley, CA, co-op. The space is only 15 ft. long and 7 ft. wide, but Stavropoulos makes it work by avoiding unnecessary possessions and utilizing built-in furniture. > See more of this home 3. Creative loft By using spaces for multiple purposes, the owner is able to maximize the square footage of her small loft. The dining space (shown here, be...

DALLAS – A Texas man declared innocent Tuesday after 30 years in prison had at least two chances to make parole and be set free — if only he would admit he was a sex offender. But Cornelius Dupree Jr. refused to do so, doggedly maintaining his innocence in a 1979 rape and robbery, in the process serving more time for a crime he didn't commit than any other Texas inmate exonerated by DNA evidence. "Whatever your truth is, you have to stick with it," Dupree, 51, said Tuesday, minutes after a Dallas judge overturned his conviction. Nationally, only two others exonerated by DNA evidence spent more time in prison, according to the Innocence Project , a New York legal center that specializes in wrongful conviction cases and represented Dupree. James Bain was wrongly imprisoned for 35 years in Florida, and Lawrence McKinney spent more than 31 years in a Tennessee prison . Dupree was sentenced to 75 years in prison in 1980 for the rape and robber...

The Miami Heat trio of LeBron James (notes) , Dwyane Wade (notes) and Chris Bosh (notes) has been known by many names over the past few months, some clever, some not. There's The Big Three, and Miami Thrice, and even the SuperFriends. All these nicknames have been cooked up by fans and media members, not the members of the team itself ... you know, because giving yourself a nickname is usually frowned upon. But no one told that to LeBron, who informed everyone of a new one after Monday night's 96-82 victory in Charlotte. From Ira Winderman for the Sun-Sentinel : James, on the Heat's ability to pack the house even in Charlotte, "We call ourselves the ‘Heatles' like the Beatles." Cool name, guys, especially because "Rolling Heatones" doesn't really flow off the tongue. I can't wait to hear new singles like "I Want to Hold Your Early Termination Option" and "Sgt. Spoelstra's Lonely Hearts Club Band." Oh...

Going out of town this winter? Traffic, blizzards or spending a long weekend with your crazy uncle may put a damper on the seasonal cheer, but in your haste to come home, make sure you're not transporting six-legged souvenirs: bed bugs. A decade ago bed bugs were still the vermin of lore--blood-sucking creepy-crawlies laid to waste by the amazingly effective (and toxic) pesticide DDT. In Pictures: Worst Bed Bug-Infested Cities These pesky insects have made quite the stateside comeback lately. This year bed bug outbreaks have been reported everywhere from homes to office buildings, hotels, stores, schools and hospitals. No less than former president Bill Clinton's Manhattan offices suffered an outbreak. Bed bugs proliferate across cities Although the exact cause remains a mystery, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency chalk up the resurgence of these tiny terrors to "increased resistance of bed bugs ...

ESPN announcer Ron Franklin was fired by the network on Tuesday after making made a derogatory remark to sideline reporter Jeannine Edwards in a meeting before the Fiesta Bowl. Franklin had been pulled from the game's coverage after the incident. It's yet another incident at the sports network in which a female employee has been subjected to harassing behavior by a male co-worker. Popular television host Tony Kornheiser was suspended last year for comments made on-air about the wardrobe of "SportsCenter" anchor Hannah Storm, and former baseball analysts Harold Reynolds and Steve Phillips were fired for separate incidents involving demeaning behavior toward female employees. Current "Monday Night Football" announcer Mike Tirico was disciplined for harassment in 1992. And Deadspin has been zealous in its pursuit of other stories involving executives and other off-camera employees. [ Related: ESPN anchors' in...

Has someone declared war on America's beloved shoe trees? (And we're not talking about this version of " shoe tree .") The world's largest shoe tree -- located along U.S. 50 in Nevada about 125 miles east of Reno -- was callously chopped down by vandals . And last summer, a well-known shoe tree in Idaho burned to the ground . Nevada's landmark shoe tree -- a spot where travelers on "the loneliest road in America" have stopped for decades to deposit their boots, sneakers, pumps and even roller blades -- is rumored to have come into being years ago after a quarreling couple tossed each others' shoes into the 70-foot cottonwood tree on their wedding night. Others, for some reason, felt compelled to follow suit, and soon a full-fledged phenomenon was born. (You can check out a gallery of earlier photos of the Nevada tree here .) Indeed, shoe trees have become a quirky slice of Americana often sought out by generations of road-trippers. R...

The economy's finally bouncing back, and many Americans are starting to feel a bit more optimistic. But the nation's biggest population group remains in a recessionary funk. The first of the baby boomers--the post-war Americans born between 1946 and 1965--start to hit retirement age in 2011. And they're not coasting gracefully into the golden years. The entire nation, of course, lost its spunk during the recession that lasted from 2007 to 2009. But the once-upbeat baby boomers seem to be taking the longest to shake off the blues. According to surveys by the Pew Research Center, 80 percent of boomers say they're dissatisfied with the way things are going in the country, a higher proportion than any other age group, younger or older. Part of that may be natural, since people in their 50s tend to deal with the highest amounts of stress and show the lowest satisfaction levels. But the boomer bummer may also reflect the changing fortunes of America itself, and...

PHOENIX – At least two people are waking up to find themselves millions of dollars richer. The holders of a ticket sold in Idaho and another in Washington state will be sharing Mega Millions' $355 million jackpot from Tuesday night's drawing, lottery officials said Wednesday. The prize is the fourth-largest in U.S. history and the second-largest in Mega Millions' history, said Arizona Lottery spokeswoman Cindy Esquer. The lottery's prize of $390 million in March 2007 remains the nation's richest on record. The two winners from Tuesday will each get $177.5 million. Besides the jackpot, prizes range from $2 to $250,000. The princely sum drew huge interest across the country as thousands of people lined up to buy tickets in 41 states and Washington, D.C., where the game is available. Hundreds of people poured into the tiny Arizona towns of Littlefield and Beaver Dam, crossing into the state from Nevada and Utah, where Mega Millions tickets are not sold. ...

The Consumer Electronics Show is the tech industry's annual gadget lovefest. It's launched some history-making devices -- and some major disasters. ©SSPL/Getty Images 1970: VCR The Consumer Electronics Show spans five decades: It launched in New York City way back in 1967, mainly as a spinoff of the Chicago Music Show. The show experimented with different cities and twice-a-year schedules until 1998, when it moved permanently to Las Vegas and became an annual extravaganza. In the 1970s, CES was still largely a trade show, with little mainstream media coverage. The first CES of the decade brought the commercial debut of the Videocassette Recorder, which was first marketed as an easy way to record TV shows for later viewing. More from CNNMoney.com : • Galaxy Tab Drops to $500 on Verizon • Valentine's Day iPhone • Internet TV Sales Are Up -- But No One Uses It VCRs had been around since the mid-1950s, but they cost around $50,000 and were used mainly ...

WASHINGTON – The Republican agenda for the new Congress that convenes Wednesday may have a greater impact on the 2012 elections than on the lives of Americans in the next two years. Republicans promise to cut spending, roll back President Barack Obama's health care overhaul and prevent unelected bureaucrats from expanding the government's role in society through regulations that tell people what they must or can't do. Getting this agenda through the House may be easier than in the Senate, given the GOP's 241-194 majority in the House. Getting the Senate to act will be a challenge. Democrats still hold an edge there, though smaller than the one Obama had during his first two years in the White House. Even if the next two years end in gridlock, Republicans will have built a record for the next election that they hope will demonstrate to voters that they can get it right. House Republicans also pledge to hold tough investigations and hearings on the presi...

MORELIA, Mexico – A letter purportedly signed by La Familia drug cartel announcing a one-month truce circulated Sunday in the western state of Michoacan. In the one-page message, distributed by e-mail and in some cities door by door, the gang claims it will halt all crime activity during January to demonstrate that the cartel "is not responsible for the criminal acts federal authorities are reporting to the media." Prosecutors have not verified the letter's authenticity, according to an employee of the Michoacan bureau of the federal Attorney General's Office who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. The government says La Familia has been weakened by a recent string of arrests and deaths of top leaders. In another letter that circulated in November, La Familia purportedly offered to disband. Last month, gunmen torched vehicles across Michoacan and used them as barricades to block all entrances into ...

NEW YORK – Expedia Inc. has stopped selling tickets on American Airlines flights, the latest twist in a simmering pricing dispute between American and travel websites. "Expedia has chosen to no longer offer American Airlines fares on its website," American said in an statement posted on its website. "Customers looking to compare flights or fares online should visit other travel sites such as Kayak.com or Priceline.com for the most accurate and up-to-date information." The Fort Worth, Texas-based airline has said that it would like to sell more tickets through its own website, as paying to have its flights listed on sites such as Expedia can be costly. Airlines have to pay a commission every time people search a particular flight, look up a fare or book a trip. American, which is owned by AMR Corp ., also claims it can offer more personalized packages such as hotel and flight deals to fliers who purchase tickets directly from the airline. Expedia'...

Upon clinching the NFC South title and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, the Atlanta Falcons celebrated with a traditional Gatorade bath. Flipping the script a bit, the target was not coach Mike Smith, but owner Arthur Blank. They just soaked their boss. Try doing that after a meeting this week and see how that goes over in a non-NFL setting. It's interesting to notice that the pourers were two of the Falcons' offensive stars, Roddy White (notes) and Michael Turner (notes) , and not an anonymous special teamer. Probably helps to have some job security before pouring an energy drink on the guy who signs your checks.   [ Related: College coach scolds team for premature Gatorade bath try ] Blank made his fortune as a co-founder of Home Depot and is beloved in Atlanta for keeping the Falcons afloat after Michael Vick (notes) was sent to prison and Bobby Petrino abandoned the team midseason in 2007. But Blank made the great, and unexpected, hire in Smith...

So the holidays are almost over and you're probably feeling like the rest of Americans right now: bloated, tired and a little heavier than usual. Instead of going on a crash diet or thinking that you have to go to the gym for hours on end to start feeling like your pre-holiday self, follow these five tips to post-holiday detox in a healthy way! 1. Break the sugar and salt habit . If you feel especially bloated, cutting out the extra sugar, refined carbs and salt you've been having at holiday gatherings is the first step to getting back to your usual self. Do this for at least three days to get back on track and give your system time to reset. 2. Load up on veggies . Detoxing is all about getting the bad out and the good back in. So after the holidays challenge yourself to eat seven to 12 servings of fruits and veggies a day -- and make clean food the bulk of your diet. Get a variety of produce to ensure that...