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Ted Kennedy hospitalized after seizure

(CNN) — Sen. Edward Kennedy was hospitalized in Boston, Massachusetts, after suffering an apparent seizure Saturday morning, his family said.

He is undergoing a battery of tests at Massachusetts General Hospital to determine the cause of the seizure. Sen. Kennedy is resting comfortably, and it is unlikely we will know anything more for the next 48 hours, a statement from his office said.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Saturday he spoke to the wife of the Massachussetts Democrat, Vicki, and that she told him that her husband is going to be fine.

Everyone knows he is a strong fighter, Reid said, speaking at the Nevada state Democratic Party convention.

Kennedy was transferred to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston for evaluation after initial treatment at Cape Cod Hospital, an earlier statement from his office said.

The senator spent less than an hour in the Cape Cod facility, hospital spokesman David Reilly said.

Earlier, a well-informed Democratic source in Massachusetts said the 76-year-old senator had symptoms of a stroke at the Kennedy family compound in Hyannis Port. Watch an update on Kennedy’s condition

An official with the Hyannis Fire Department said it received a 911 call from the Kennedy compound at 8:19 a.m. and transported a male patient to the hospital, arriving at 8:50 a.m.

The patient was subsequently transferred to the hospital’s municipal airport, and a Boston Med Flight helicopter flew the man to Massachusetts General, Lt. Bill Rex said.

Family members reported that Kennedy was well enough later in the morning to call to say he would not be able to join them for lunch.

They said they were guardedly optimistic that he would make a full recovery.

Kennedy had surgery in October to clear his carotid artery in hopes of preventing a stroke. Colleagues said he had recovered quickly and was working energetically recently.

He suffers chronic back pain from injuries suffered in a plane crash in 1964.

Kennedy has represented Massachusetts in the Senate since 1962. He is one of only six senators in U.S. history to serve more than 40 years. He is known as a liberal champion of social issues such as health care, family leave, and the minimum wage. Take a closer look at Kennedy’s life

He ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1980. He has endorsed Illinois Sen. Barack Obama for the 2008 nomination.

Obama said that his thoughts and prayers are with Kennedy.

We are going to try to find out as quickly as possible what is going on, Obama said, and added that he would call Kennedy’s wife, Vicky.

He is one of my favorite people, Obama said.

The presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, said in a statement that he was very sorry to hear that Sen. Kennedy has taken ill and, like millions of Americans, Cindy and I anxiously await word of his condition.

The two senators are close friends despite differing political ideologies. They co-sponsored a comprehensive immigration bill that has stalled in the Senate.

He is a legendary lawmaker, McCain said.

Presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-New York, said: My thoughts and prayers are with Ted Kennedy and his family today. We all wish him well and a quick recovery.

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35-year-old chosen to lead NAACP

(CNN) — The NAACP has chosen Ben Jealous as its new president after a contentious debate that lasted long into the night, members of its board of directors said Saturday.

Jealous, 35, will be the youngest president in the NAACP’s 99-year history, The Associated Press reported.

When the 34-21 vote was announced, no one clapped or celebrated, one board member said after the meeting in Baltimore, Maryland.

Jealous was the only finalist presented by the search committee to the full board for consideration. Some board members wanted to hear from two others whom the search committee identified as finalists, but Jealous’ supporters prevented it, sources said.

Jealous steps into a challenging role.

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Diamonds are a girls best friend

Jessica and Tony’s Pre-Wedding Lunch Date!

While according to all the stories it’s all but official that Jessica Simpson and Tony Romo are dunzo, the duo was all smiles out to lunch together in LA yesterday afternoon before she hosted the rehearsal dinner at her house. Apparently Tony met Jessica with a kiss before lunch at Katsuya and as you can see they left together holding hands in the car. Yay. With Ashlee’s wedding today and all the rumors about Tony coming or not coming as Jess’ date, it’s pretty sweet to see the two together before the big day. Hopefully this only means great things as he is by her side as her younger sister ties the knot.

The sandbox

Bauer-Griffin Online

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Fears over China lake sparks more panic

BEICHUAN, China (CNN) — Thousands of Chinese earthquake victims and rescuers are fleeing areas near the epicenter over fears of floods from a river blocked by landslides.

The stampede of thousands of people on Saturday afternoon came as Chinese officials said the official death toll from the earthquake had risen to 28,881 people with 198,347 injured.

Landslides caused by Monday’s quake had blocked the Qingzhu River in Beichuan county, creating two lakes with fast-rising water levels, an official at the Guanzhuang disaster relief center said.

Officials, worried that one or both of the lakes could burst, forced the evacuation of 10 villages and townships downriver, he said. Watch as survivors flee rising waters

About 30,000 people live downstream, not including the many rescuers and others who were in the area because of the quake relief effort, he said.

Journalist Diego Laje, one of those ordered to evacuate, said a stampede of thousands of people began as military officers warned them to leave a low-lying area near the river.

The official at the relief center said the one lake has an estimated 11 million cubic meters of water and the other has 1.5 million cubic meters.

Chinese government experts were considering blasting holes to allow controlled releases of the water, which was quickly rising, the official said.

The communities ordered evacuated, all in the northern Sichuan province’s Beichuan county, include: Guanzhuang township, Suhe township, Liangshui township, Qifo township, Malu township, Zhuyuan township, Shangsi township, Xiasi township, Baolun township, and Jiuhexiang township.

Elsewhere in Sichuan province, rescuers continued to search for more survivors, buoyed by news of the rescue of two men more than 110 hours after the quake.

A German tourist was pulled out alive from under rubble in Taoguan village Saturday, 114 hours after being buried, China’s official news agency Xinhua reported. The man’s identity remained unknown, Xinhua reported.

Xinhua also reported that soldiers dug out a 52-year-old man who was buried in ruins for 117 hours.

Xinhua said Saturday that the man had been buried under a collapsed building in Beichuan, not far from the epicenter of Monday’s earthquake.

A German Foreign Ministry official said that country’s government had no information about the German man or the rescue. The Xinhua report said more than 20 Chinese soldiers helped rescue the tourist Saturday morning.

The man was taken to a nearby medical center, but his condition was not immediately clear, Xinhua reported.

The discovery of the tourist added urgency to China’s massive rescue operations.

Saving lives is still the top priority, Chinese President Hu Jintao said Friday, as he arrived in the quake zone. Hu described the current situation as the most crucial phase of the rescue effort. We must race against time to overcome all difficulties.

The original magnitude 7.9 earthquake hit Sichuan Province the hardest, shattering communities, leveling dozens of schools and burying transportation routes with landslides.

At least 12,300 people remain buried in the debris of the ruins of at least 436,000 properties, officials say. More than 4.8 million are homeless.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington’s estimate of the number still buried is less than half of the more than 25,000 reported Thursday by state-run news agency Xinhua. Official reports and Xinhua’s numbers have often differed, reflecting the chaotic situation in the days after the earthquake hit.

Most of the victims died in Sichuan province, the embassy spokesman said, quoting provincial officials. At least 500 people died elsewhere. One of the victims was a German citizen, Wang said.

China’s State Council says the number of deaths could top 50,000.

Yet hope still emerged from amid the horror of the nation’s worst disaster in recent years, with survivors pulled from the rubble four days after being buried in the rubble.

Rescuers pulled a student from the debris of Beichuan Middle School, 80 hours after the quake collapsed the building, Xinhua reported.

Two more people were saved after being buried for 95 hours, the agency added.

Rescuers said they could hear a weak yell for help from under the building’s rubble and are expecting more miracles, according to state-run media.

Thousands of people who were uprooted around the region have taken shelter at the city’s main sports gym and other facilities. Reports say 7,395 people have died and 18,645 are trapped in debris in the city.

Xinhua reported 135,000 Chinese troops and medics are involved in the rescue effort across 58 counties and cities.

The scope of the operation is such that Beijing has allocated nearly $5 billion for the rescue relief fund.

Search-and-rescue help is also coming from outside the country. A team from Japan entered Sichuan province early Friday, Xinhua reported. Rescuers from Russia, South Korea and Singapore were expected to arrive soon.

This weekend, the United States will send into China two U.S. Air Force C-17’s carrying supplies, which include tents and generators. The U.S. offer of assistance is open-ended and the flights could be followed by others, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters on Friday.

Earlier, the United States pledged $500,000 to help China in its quake relief efforts and that money has been delivered by the U.S. Red Cross.

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Eja d angelo

Why Jessica Simpson & Tony Romo Broke Up

why is jessica simpson crying in her cowboy boots, more than another relationship that went nowhere?

Lots of reasons, apparently. First, was the talk that Jess was so upset over her ex John Mayer’s new romance with Jennifer Aniston, that boyfriend Tony Romo just had enough of her caring about it. Now, one of Tony’s good college buddies told the Chicago Sun Times that the QB really had no idea what it was going to be like to date someone as popular in the tabs as Jess. Yes, he did have a short romance with other starlets, namely Carrie Underwood and Sophia Bush, but neither of these girls demand the media’s attention the way Jessica does.

Then there was the issue of Papa Joe. Jessica’s dad had, once again, been omnipresent in Jess & Tony’s lives and Tony was sort of like “what is up with that.” According to his pal, Joe had ”not only telling Jessica every move to make, but now has begun to offer unsolicited advice to Tony on his career, endorsement opportunities and things that have nothing to do with him dating Jessica.”

That man needs to back off!

Finally, sources say that Tony was not on board with this “future husband” stuff that Jess had been selling in recent interviews, and was irked that she was announcing to the world that he would be the father of her children.

Melody peterson

Word on the street is that Papa Joe has asked Tony to still show up at Pete Wentz and Ashlee Simpson’s wedding this weekend, to save face, but it is unclear if he will.

Why would Jessica want that? How awkward — she won’t have any fun, and will have to be reminded of their breakup forever, when the photos from the wedding get out. I suggest she get cozy with a bottle of champagne and check out the rocker groomsmen - there has to be one wearing less eyeliner than she is to spend the evening with.

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