Since Britney Spears isn't in control of her own affairs at the moment, she can't make a plea bargain in her driving-without-a-license case, a Van Nuys, California, judge decided Wednesday (February 20). Spears' attorney for the criminal case told the court that the singer's conservatorship attorneys don't feel she's capable of making an agreement, giving a deposition or signing a declaration at the moment, so Judge T.K. Herman continued the case until March 20. The misdemeanor charge stems from an incident in August in which Spears was videotaped hitting a parked car and leaving the scene without notifying the other driver (the hit-and-run charge was later dropped). Spears was denied visitation rights with her two sons in an unrelated hearing Tuesday. ...

Hayden Panettiere must have absorbed someone's musical powers, because the "Heroes" star is putting out a debut album later this year on Hollywood Records.

Wolf Pack can't win WAC without help Closing sweep is first task for ...

UNR's quest to win its fifth straight Western Athletic Conference regular-season title is alive. But the Wolf Pack is going to need plenty of help.

To win the conference, UNR probably needs to sweep its final three games and hope Boise State loses two of its last three. The Broncos (10-3) are at San Jose State and Hawaii this week, and no WAC team has swept that trip this season. Boise State ends the season at home against Utah State.

DAMAC reinforces its presence in Egypt

Damac plans to launch three projects, Gamsha Bay located on the Red Sea, Park Avenue in 6th of October City as well as another exclusive project in New Cairo. 'We firmly believe in the Egyptian market's tremendous potential and this is why Egypt is well on the way to becoming one of our largest investment areas outside of Dubai,' said Mr Hussain Sajwani, Chairman and Founder of DAMAC Holding.

'The real estate sector in Egypt is booming and this is only the beginning. There is great scope for growth and we look forward to leading the way towards unparalleled standards in Egypt's real estate sector.'

Lighter side of sports

Darrell Waltrip says every time he thinks of Dale Sr. at Daytona, 'I cry like a rat eating an onion.' How come they can't talk like that in the other sports?"
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Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle, summarizing the upcoming baseball season in the Bay Area: "The A's are rebuilding, the Giants are fumigating.''

6 Nations: France takes on World Cup nemesis England on pivotal ...

Ashton wants his players to bounce back from the poor second half that allowed Italy to rally from 20-6 down to 23-19 in Rome, hoping that Wigglesworth can help prompt a faster match. Richard will bring us variety and energy, Ashton said. He's a good allround footballer and is a bright guy. I think he'll bring the right players into the game at the right time. Nick Mallett made four changes to his starting lineup as Italy seeks to build upon its strong showing against England. Andrea Marcato will start at fullback in place of injured David Bortolussi, and Alberto Sgarbi will be on the right wing, with both starting for the first time.
Simon Picone at scrumhalf and Salvatore Perugini at loosehead prop were the only other changes for Italy. Former captain Marco Bortolami, who missed the first two games of the tournament because of an eye injury, will be in the reserves.

Words fly between La Russa and Slaten

But a skirmish between Cards manager Tony La Russa and talk-show host Kevin Slaten is simmering. Slaten wanted La Russa to be a guest recently on his afternoon drive-time program at KFNS (590 AM, 100.7 FM) but La Russa turned him down — as he has in the past.

Slaten has been harsh on the air about La Russa, lately about him overseeing many players who have been tied to using performance-enhancing substances — including players who have been signed by the club after the release this winter of the Mitchell Report, which investigated use of such substances in baseball. .

Candidates offer final messages before Iowa caucus

She fought a pitched battle against overwhelming odds back in 1993. To prevent this disastrous health care crisis that is now devastating the American people, and America. She fought so hard for the American people that she risk almost completely destroying her husbands presidency. I haven't forgotten her heroic effort. If any Presidential hopeful for universal health care deserves my support, it's her.

Also, if we the American people fail to bring enough pressure on our government to give us HR 676 which we all so desperately need NOW! Then we will need the most skilled politician we can get on our side to broker the best health care plan for the American people that we can get. Though it will be less than we need, and less than we deserve. The politician I think to best do this is Hillary Clinton.

Bush responsible for fiscal mess

It would be harder to buy them off if they made some real money. Far too many industry leaders make more money in a day than they make all year. We will never know which of these multimillionaires has the presidents private phone number and can call at any time. A case could be made that because things happen quickly in the modern world that our industries need that kind of protection. But the case could be made that if we pay him more he might be more independent and get more sleep. When you read a story about a president stopping by Vietnam to pat the troops on the back and hand out a few medals, promising we will never let you down, it sounds great. http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,842924,00.html But the only way we can be certain of politicians loyalty to us would be to be sure that we are the ones paying them the big bucks.

The hottest new cruise ships for 2008

Because mega cruise ships are homogenous in so many areas—from their multiple mall-like restaurants to the pre-fab cabins, giant playrooms and sprawling spas—cruise lines strive to differentiate themselves in any way they can. But what makes a new cruise ship ink-worthy? It's not enough to be adrenaline-pumping and ear-splitting; they need a weird factor to turn our heads. These days, many cruise lines aim to make waves—and grab market share—with outlandish gimmicks.

Justice at Guantanamo

The recorder then culls the information for the most relevant evidence and provides it to the tribunals. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has the exclusive right under the Detainee Treatment Act to review the tribunals' decisions.

In Gates v. Bismullah, a unanimous D.C. Circuit panel found last year that it could not properly rule on a case without seeing all of the information gathered by the recorder -- not just what was forwarded to the tribunal. The administration decried the decision, saying it imposes an extraordinary burden on the government; the administration says it keeps records only of the information presented at a tribunal. Forcing government personnel to reconstruct the original record would squander resources necessary to the preservation of national security, the government claims.

Microsoft: Streaming Office 'infringes license'

Microsoft has said that the Internet service provider Fasthosts, which has started offering a subscription-based version of Microsoft Office 2007, is infringing on the software giant's licence regulations--but Fasthosts has denied this claim.

Earlier this week, the U.K.-based ISP and hosting company started selling a version of Microsoft Office which it advertised as being "streamed to your PC". However, unlike true hosted software, or software as a service (SaaS), it requires the user to download software to their client PC.

"After one initial download, further small downloads are made for additional features and updates.