Playboy Inc. has confirmed reports that Hugh Hefner offering to buy the organization at a value of $5.50 per share and a premium price of $1.56, which makes the total estimated value of the company at $185 million based on the 33 million share stocks of the company.
Heffner had founded the organization in 1953 with the help of Rizvi Traverse Management LLC .  Heffner has made it clear that he is not interested in any kind of discussions with a third party regarding the deal, or in any form of mergers …

The US teen who has been nicknamed the “barefoot bandit” has been arrested after a high-speed boat chase by the Bahamas police. Police recovered a GPS device, laptop and a gun from the teen.
The original name of the teen is Colton, and he has been on the run from the US since 2008 after committing a number of burglaries in different houses in Washington State.
Colton has been involved in a number of theft and burglary cases and has managed to evade the police successfully for two years. The Bahamian authorities …

The Obama administration has come under considerable fire for removing rhetorical references to Islamic radicalism. Terror experts in the US have warned the president, saying that this decision ignores the role which religion can play in motivating a terrorist for his actions.
Several critics have urged the government to make specific definitions of “terrorism “. The Obama government is facing a very difficult situation, as he intends to mend his relation with the Muslim communities, while maintaining his stance on militant terrorism practiced by different Muslim terrorist groups.
On a counter argument, …

In an interesting development, the Oscar winning director has been freed by the Swiss government, and is now free to go anywhere in the world where he will not be arrested .
Swiss Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlump refused to hand him over to the U.S government citing faults in the US extradition requests and the good faith which Polanski has travelled to Switzerland.
Polanski was arrested in Switzerland in September 2009 when he had arrived to receive a lifetime achievement award. Since then, he has been placed under house arrest in the …

Sarah Palin, the former governor of Alaska, has allegedly paid over $ $87,500 to various candidates she has endorsed during the last few months. Palin, who is regarded as a possible candidate for the 2012 Presidential elections is said to be favoring Conservative candidates like  Terry Branstad.  If Branstad wins, then he would be a good support for Palin in the nomination procedure of the 2012 presidential election process.
According to the campaign trail FEC data, the top receivers of donations from Palin includes Republican candidate Joe Miller, John McCain and …

In a report issued in the journal Cell Stem Cell, scientists warn of the dangers of misleading and outright fraudulent stem cell therapies that may cause more harm than good.  The report says that the growing research and excitement caused by stem cell science “has led to unacceptable exploitation of patients’ hopes and fears”.
This comes in response to a growing wave of so-called stem cell treatments that promise to cure everything from dementias to tumors.  People with no hope of a cure for devastating illnesses are desperately mortgaging their homes …

Online giant Google has signed an agreement to buy ITA Software, one of the leading providers of airline travel software.  The deal, for $700 million, is expected to raise more antitrust issues for competitors and the US regulators that have been scrutinizing Google’s every move lately.  Google CEO Eric Schmidt said on a conference call yesterday that he expects “that it would be a significant review” and because of that, could not estimate when the deal would finalize.
ITA Software provides software that organizes and compiles varying airline travel data such …

A new study published June 2 shows the possibility of an eventual cure for the AIDS epidemic.  Scientists have found a way to alter the genetic code in mice that effectively blocks the HIV virus from entering the cells.
For about ten years, scientists have been aware of certain people being resistant to the virus due to a gene variant called CCR5 delta 32 that these immune individuals seemed to lack.  With the technology then, however, there was no way to manipulate the genes like is possible today.
Researchers used humanized mice …

The American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) issued their report yesterday detailing statistics in the bankruptcy industry for the first half of this year.  The data shows close to record numbers of personal bankruptcy cases, 14% more than the same period last year.
According to ABI Executive Director Samuel J. Gerdano’s statement, this is directly attributable to “years of rising consumer debt and low savings rates”.   Coupled with the current high unemployment rate, the bottoming out of the housing market and continued low consumer confidence, bankruptcies are approaching the level they were when …

Known as the gentleman of Hollywood agents, Ed Limato spent 44 years helping turn aspiring young actors into stars.  He worked with many of the big name talents, including Billy Crystal, Sharon Stone, Kevin Costner, Mel Gibson, Michelle Pfeiffer and Denzel Washington.  Even more than their agent, Limato was known for developing real friendships with the actors that he helped to build careers.
In an interview in 2005 with Variety, Limato revealed what is now an unusual perspective on talent and it shows how he thought about his clientele.
“Many agents tend …