In the news, May 16, 2008

Double - amputee can compete in the Olympics.
Sprinter Oscar Pistorius won an appeal and can compete for a place in the Beijing Olympics.

Getty Photo

South Africa's Oscar Pistorius competing last July in the men's 400m race during the Athletics IAAF Golden Gala in Rome's Olympic Stadium

The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that the South African is eligible to race against able-bodied athletes, overturning a ban imposed by the International Association of Athletics Federations.

The sprinter still must reach a qualifying time to run in the individual 400 meters at the Aug. 8-24 Beijing Games. However, he can be picked for the South African relay squad without qualifying.

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MORE $ MORE $ MORE $
Oil prices soared more than $3 a barrel, surpassing $127 for the first time .

What's the latest reason ?
Pushing oil prices up were speculation that China's demand for diesel needed to fuel its power plants would rise due to reconstruction efforts after this week's earthquakes.
President Bush is appealing to oil-rich Saudi Arabia to increase production just as oil prices have hit the record high. The average price is $3.75/gal.
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The MySpace mom. A Missouri woman was indicted for her alleged role in perpetrating a hoax on the online social network MySpace against a 13-year-old neighbor who committed suicide.
The woman, from suburban St. Louis, allegedly helped create a MySpace account in the name of someone who didn't exist to convince to convince a girls that she was chatting with a 16-year-old boy named Josh Evans.

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It's back.
Osama bin Laden said in a new audio recording that al-Qaida will continue its holy war against Israel and its allies until it liberates Palestine.

Not surprisingly to the idea of Mid-East peace, the terrorist leader’s third statement this year came as President Bush was wrapping up his visit to Israel to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Jewish state.

Bin Laden said the fight for the Palestinian cause (and probably his deviated ego) was the most important factor driving al-Qaida’s war with the West and fueled 19 Muslims to carry out the suicide attacks against the United States on Sept. 11 .


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AP photo

Denis Rodman is in trouble again. Prosecutors say they have charged former NBA star Dennis Rodman with domestic violence for allegedly hitting his girlfriend at a hotel last month.

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Now that same-sex couples across California begin making plans to tie the knot,
Ellen DeGeneres is putting the California Supreme Court ruling into action . DeGeneres says that she and Portia de Rossi plan to wed.

DeGeneres was taping the episode of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" on Thursday, the day the state's high court struck down California laws against gay marriage, and it was to air Friday, a person close to the production said.


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Charles Barkley acknowledged he owes a $400,000 gambling debt to a Las Vegas Strip casino and promisesto repay it after a prosecutor said the retired NBA star faced criminal charges. "My mistake," Barkley said in an interview at a pro-am golf tournament in Hoover, Ala. "I'm not broke, and I'm going to take care of it."


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Joshua Packwood knows what it's like to be a minority.

Joshua Packwood, 22, will be the first white valedictorian at the historically black Morehouse College.

This weekend he'll be the first white valedictorian to graduate from the historically black, all male Morehouse College in the school's 141-year history.

Morehouse, in Atlanta, Georgia, is one the nation's most prestigious universities of its kind.

"Because I'm one of the only white students, it's easy to call me 'the white boy,' I'm naturally going to stand out," says Packwood.