When Tiger Woods is likely to return

On Wednesday, Howard Stern conducted the “Tiger Woods Mistress Beauty Pageant” on his radio show (won by cocktail waitress Jamie Jungers). With one competitive rite of spring out of the way, we can now turn our attention to the next.

How soon will we know if Tiger is going to play in the Masters this April? And will he make Augusta National the site of his comeback or will he first return for a tune-up and circus act at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in late March, as the New York Post is reporting?

Conan O'Brien's tour starts April 12

Conan O'Brien is back! He's hitting the road starting April 12 for his "Legally Prohibited From Being Funny on Television Tour" and will perform across the country until June 14.

Conan is barred from having his own TV show until September, according to his severance deal from NBC.

He will appear on stage performing musical numbers, skits and "occassional awkward silence," with his Tonight Show crew, including sidekick Andy Richter and The Tonight Show band, The Wrap reports.

Federal budget deficit breaks record

WASHINGTON — The government ran up the largest monthly deficit in history in February, keeping the flood of red ink on track to top last year's record for the full year.

The Treasury Department said Wednesday that the February deficit totaled $220.9 billion, 14 percent higher than the previous record set in February of last year.

The deficit through the first five months of this budget year totals $651.6 billion, 10.5 percent higher than a year ago.

Sony unveils PlayStation motion controller

Sony is on the Move.

During an event at the Game Developer's Conference in San Francisco, the company officially unveiled the name of their upcoming Playstation 3 motion control device: Playstation Move. The controller will hit shelves this fall.

"It's fast, precise and accurate," said Peter Dille, Sony's senior VP of marketing. "We like to think this is the next generation of motion-gaming...we're really approaching this as a platform launch."

Can Nancy Pelosi Get the Votes?

Are there enough votes in the House to pass the Senate's health-care bill? As of today, it's clear there aren't. House Democratic leaders have brushed aside White House calls to bring the bill forward by March 18, when President Barack Obama heads to Asia. Nevertheless, analysts close to the Democratic leadership tell me they're confident the leadership will find some way to squeeze out the 216 votes needed for a majority.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi has indeed shown mastery at amassing majorities. But it's hard to see how she'll do so on this one. The arithmetic as I see it doesn't add up.

Texas education board's social studies vote may have wide impact

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas' state education board, rocked by primary elections that may push the influential panel's far-right leanings toward the center, is set to take its first vote on a new social studies curriculum that could reverberate in classrooms nationwide.

Minority births on track to outnumber white births

WASHINGTON – Minorities make up nearly half the children born in the U.S., part of a historic trend in which minorities are expected to become the U.S. majority over the next 40 years.

In fact, demographers say this year could be the "tipping point" when the number of babies born to minorities outnumbers that of babies born to whites.

7.2 aftershock hits Chile as new president takes office

SANTIAGO, Chile – The strongest aftershock since Chile's devastating earthquake rocked the South American country Thursday as President Sebastian Pinera was sworn into office.

The 7.2-magnitude aftershock was stronger than the quake that destroyed the Haitian capital on Jan. 12.

There were no immediate reports of damages or injuries but the temblor — and at least three other aftershocks — strongly swayed buildings — shook windows and provoked nervous smiles among the dignitaries attending Pinera's inauguration at the congressional building in coastal Valparaiso.

Mexico’s Slim tops the list of world’s richest

Carlos Slim Helu takes No. 1 spot on Forbes World's Billionaires list as a record 164 10-figure titans return to the ranking amid the global economic recovery.

For the third time in three years, the world has a new richest man.

Riding surging prices of his various telecom holdings, including giant mobile outfit America Movil, Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim Helu has beaten out Americans Bill Gates and Warren Buffett to become the wealthiest person on earth and nab the top spot on the 2010 Forbes list of the World's Billionaires.

Jamie Jungers wins Tiger Woods mistress beauty pageant

Jamie Jungers won the Tiger Woods Mistress Beauty Pageant on the "Howard Stern Show" this morning. The winning alleged mistress earned $75,000 for her championship performance, and listeners were treated to juicy tidbits from Jungers, Jaimee Grubbs and Loredana Jolie.

According to tweets from listeners and attendees, Jungers claimed that Woods was well endowed. "Tiger's wood was nine inches," she evidently said. Former Playboy model Loredana Jolie, meanwhile, claimed Woods was "bigger and better" than Michael Jordan.

Obama tells Haitian leader that U.S. aid will continue

WASHINGTON — Even as the United States military withdraws the forces it sent urgently to Haiti after its devastating earthquake in January, President Obama on Wednesday pledged a lasting commitment to aid and assistance.

“The situation on the ground remains dire,” Mr. Obama said after meeting with President Rene Preval at the White House. “And people should be under no illusions that the crisis is over.”

Unemployment rises in 30 states in January

WASHINGTON - Unemployment rose in 30 states in January, the Labor Department said Wednesday, evidence that jobs remain scarce in most regions of the country.
The data is somewhat better than December, when 43 states reported higher unemployment rates, but worse than November, when rates fell in most states.

Still, five states reported record-high joblessness in January: California, at 12.5 percent; South Carolina, 12.6 percent; Florida, 11.9 percent; North Carolina, 11.1 percent; and Georgia, 10.4 percent.

House to vote on pullout from Afghanistan

WASHINGTON – In a test of congressional support for President Barack Obama's new Afghanistan strategy, lawmakers are set to vote on Wednesday on a resolution that would direct him to pull U.S. forces out of the war.

The resolution by liberal Democratic Representative Dennis Kucinich is not expected to pass. But it could be an important indicator of how Obama's Democrats feel about the war, particularly ahead of November congressional elections in which Republicans are expected to make gains.

80's icon Corey Haim dies at 38

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Actor Corey Haim has died, Access Hollywood has confirmed.

The Los Angeles County Coroner's office confirmed the actor died at 2:15 AM on Wednesday at St. Joseph's Medical Center in Burbank, Calif.

The Los Angeles Police Department said they received a call from the hospital before 4 AM confirming the actor's death.

He was transported from the home he shared with his mother, Judy, in Toluca Hills, Calif. to the hospital.

Social Security checks may get smaller

A little–noticed law could soon result in smaller Social Security checks for hundreds of thousands of the elderly and disabled who owe the U.S. money from defaulted loans and other debts more than a decade old.

Social Security benefits are off–limits to creditors, such as credit–card companies and banks. But the U.S. can collect debts to federal agencies by "offsetting," or withholding Social Security and disability payments.