N.Y. eases up its scalping laws
Open your wallets, Yankees fans. New York scalpers can now legally sell tickets to the highest bidder without fear of getting pinched. Gov. Eliot Spitzer signed a measure officially ending the limits on how much brokers add to the face price. The previous law limited markups to 45 percent for tickets to large venues such as Yankee Stadium and Madison Square Garden, and 20 percent for facilities with fewer than 6,000 seats, including Broadway theaters.
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D.C. blogger files for bankruptcy
Jessica Cutler, the former Senate aide whose online sex diary landed her a book deal and a Playboy photo spread but got her kicked off Capitol Hill, has filed for bankruptcy. Cutler created the “Washingtonienne” blog in 2004 and wrote about her sex life with six men, including a Senate colleague, who she said paid many of her living expenses.
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‘Dr. Death’ released from Mich. prison
Jack Kevorkian, the retired pathologist dubbed “Dr. Death” for claims that he participated in at least 130 assisted suicides, left prison in Michigan after eight years Friday still believing people have the right to die. A smiling Kevorkian, now 79, said it was “one of the high points in life” as he walked out with his attorney. Attorney Mayer Morganroth said his client planned a news conference on Tuesday.
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More vacation with laptops
One in five people toted laptop computers on their most recent vacations, an AP-Ipsos poll released Friday said. Along with the 80 percent who said they brought along their cell phones, the survey shows going on vacation no longer means being out of the electronic loop. About one in five said they did some work while vacationing, and about the same number checked office messages or called in to see how things were going while they were away, the poll showed.
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AND FINALLY
Scuba lessons at the Eiffel Tower?
A new scuba-diving pool in Paris has something Bali, Belize and other diving hotspots don’t: a terrific view of the Eiffel Tower. To promote the sport, scuba instructors began offering free lessons Friday at the foot of the French capital’s famed landmark. The above-ground pool is under the Tower, between its four legs; for a touch of realism, the bottom of the pool is studded with waterproof photos of fluorescent fish.
