Archive for November, 2007

Dancing dentist sued for drilling disaster

Friday, November 2nd, 2007

A dentist was dancing to a song on the radio while drilling on a woman’s tooth, and she wound up in the hospital when the drill bit snapped off and lodged near her eye, a lawsuit alleges.

Brandy Fanning, 31, said she had to undergo emergency surgery and spent three days in the hospital because of the October 2004 mishap.

The federal lawsuit filed last month against Dr. George Trusty seeks $600,000 for her medical expenses, pain and suffering

Trusty, 57, a dentist at Syracuse Community Health Center, declined to comment, as did Dr. Ruben Cowart, the center’s president and CEO.

Fanning said she went to the center’s emergency dental clinic after pain in a left molar started getting worse. With a root canal ruled out as an option, Trusty gave her some Novocain and began drilling to break up the tooth before extracting it, she said.

As Trusty drilled, he was “performing rhythmical steps and movements to the song `Car Wash,’” which was on the radio, according to the lawsuit. Then, Fanning heard a snap.

Trusty tried to use a metal hook to pull the bit out, but that only pushed it farther up, driving it through the sinus and bone near her eye socket, the lawsuit alleged.

After first minimizing the problem, Trusty talked to an oral surgeon to set up an appointment — and then told Fanning she needed to get to an emergency room immediately, according to the lawsuit.

She claimed he had initially told she would likely sneeze the drill bit out, but doctors said later that if she really had sneezed, the drill bit could have blinded her left eye.

FBI knew in advance OJ Simpson memorabilia retrieval

Friday, November 2nd, 2007

FBI agents learned three weeks in advance that O.J. Simpson planned an operation to retrieve his memorabilia items.

Federal agents learned three weeks in advance that O.J. Simpson and a memorabilia dealer planned an operation to retrieve personal items Simpson said were stolen from him, according to FBI reports obtained Friday by The Associated Press.

Dealer Thomas Riccio said he reported to the FBI a collector who claimed to have belongings taken from Simpson.

“The guy flat-out told me he had items stolen from O.J.’s house,” Riccio said. “I have a legitimate business.”

Riccio told FBI agents Aug. 21 that Simpson wanted to videotape the confrontation with the collector, who was peddling thousands of pieces of Simpson’s memorabilia.

But Riccio was not clear how the operation would unfold. There was no mention in the report of any plans to use guns.

Riccio was advised to contact a lawyer before taking any action and was told that alerting the FBI would not absolve him of any potential crime, agent Linda Kline wrote of the meeting, which occurred in Los Angeles.

“I went along with O.J.’s plan,” Riccio told the AP on Friday. “It was a self-organized sting operation. Except for the final result, with him bringing people who had guns. I knew nothing about that.”

Simpson, 60, and five other men were arrested after they allegedly stormed a Las Vegas hotel room with guns drawn Sept. 13 to seize items that were believed to include family photos and the suit Simpson wore the day he was acquitted of murdering his ex-wife and her friend.

Las Vegas police said the FBI did not alert them before the confrontation between Simpson and collectors Alfred Beardsley and Bruce Fromong.

“They contacted us afterward and provided us with the documentation,” said Las Vegas Police Detective Andy Caldwell, the investigator handling the case.

Riccio told on Friday that he called Los Angeles police and the FBI about Simpson’s plan and “no one seemed to be concerned about it. They didn’t seem all that interested.”

Simpson is charged with an assortment of felonies including armed robbery and kidnapping. Three of his co-defendants have since pleaded guilty to lesser charges and said they would testify against Simpson. A preliminary hearing is scheduled next week in Las Vegas.

The FBI reports, written Aug. 21 and Sept. 19, said Riccio told agents he had been approached by Beardsley, who wanted to sell thousands of Simpson items.

The documents said Riccio described Beardsley as a fanatic and said Riccio contacted Simpson about the items. Simpson said his belongings were stolen from his Florida house by his former agent, Mike Gilbert, and others who had worked for him.

“Riccio and Simpson want to do a television broadcast confronting Beardsley regarding the items that were stolen,” one report said. “Simpson wanted Riccio’s assistance in setting up the operation and helping obtain interviews for Simpson through various media outlets after the fact.”

Beardsley told police he had been robbed by Simpson and a group of men wielding guns. Simpson has denied there were any guns involved. He said Riccio set up the meeting and he planned to surprise Beardsley and retrieve his property. Simpson knew both dealers.

Riccio has released a tape recording he made of the incident and been granted immunity by prosecutors.

Jerry Seinfeld ego Steaming on Larry King

Friday, November 2nd, 2007

Jerry Seinfeld rips into Larry King when the host asks whether his top-rated sitcom was canceled.

“They didn’t cancel you, you canceled them?” Larry King asked and Jerry Seinfeld raised eyebrows and went after Larry. Jerry Seinfeld didn’t like Larry King’s question at all.

screenshot032.jpg

Do you know who I am?
Is this still CNN?
Are you under the impression that I got canceled?
Can we get a resume in here for me that Larry could go over?
I was number 1 show in television!
75 million viewers!

Take it easy Jerry, we all know the difference between being canceled and being #1.
Watch the High Resolution CNN Video

Martina Hingis Denies Cocaine Charges

Thursday, November 1st, 2007

Martina Hingis Retires after Testing Positive for Cocaine

Former World No. 1 tennis player Martina Hingis decided to end her sporting career after she has reportedly tested positive for using cocaine during this year’s Wimbledon tournament.

The 27-year-old Swiss denied that she ever used drugs. Instead, she suggested that somebody from her entourage may have “viciously” poured the substance in a spiked fruit drink and then handed it to her.

Hingis won five Grand Slam tournaments and retired from tennis in 2002 just to make a come back two years ago. Nevertheless, this season she has struggled with a hip injury. She lost in the third round at Wimbledon to Laura Granville, 6-4, 6-2.

“I am frustrated and angry. I believe that I am absolutely, 100 percent innocent,” she said.

Hingis said she was accused by “an outsource testing company” of taking cocaine during Wimbledon. She said she was “shocked and appalled” when notified that her urine sample came back positive after the loss to Granville.

“They say that cocaine increases self-confidence and creates a type of euphoria,” she said in a statement. “I don’t know. I only know that if I were to try to hit the ball while in any state of euphoria, it simply wouldn’t work. “I would think that it would be impossible for anyone to maintain the coordination required to play top class tennis while under the influence of drugs. And I know one other thing — I would personally be terrified of taking drugs.”

Hingis said the positive test, which could lead to a doping suspension of up to two years, led to her retirement because she doesn’t want to spend years fighting the case.

The test was on June 29 but that Hingis heard about the positive result in mid-September and the positive ‘B’ sample two or three weeks later.

WTA Tour chief executive Larry Scott said the tour had not received any official information about a positive test and “as a result we are not in a position to comment on the matter.”

“However, it is important to remember that in the area of anti-doping, all players are presumed innocent until proven otherwise,” Scott said.

Former top-ranked player Mats Wilander and Karel Novacek had positive tests for cocaine at the 1995 French Open. Both were banned for three months and ordered to return prize money and forfeit rankings points.

Others have tested positive for a variety of banned substances.

Martina Hingis’s Career

On March 31, 1997, Hingis became the youngest female player ever to lead the world rankings. She was 16 years, 6 months and 1 day at the time. She is currently ranked No. 19.

She won three straight Australian Open titles from 1997-99, and Wimbledon and the U.S. Open championships in 1997. She came within one match of winning the Grand Slam in 1997, losing only in the French Open final.

Hingis, who lost in the third round of the U.S. Open, hasn’t played since her second-round loss to Peng Shuai of China, 7-5, 6-1, in Beijing on Sept. 19.