NATION
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Former Poison frontman and Butler native Bret Michaels made a return to the stage Thursday, just one week after a string of six hospital visits and kidney surgery.
The show was a kind of tuneup and test run for a charity concert that Michaels, 51, is set to do Friday night in Fort Myers, Florida, according to Janna Elias, vice president of operations for Bret Michaels Entertainment.
On stage, Michaels made it clear to the screaming crowd at Mavericks at The Landing that he was just fine, shouting after nearly every song, “Jacksonville, Florida! Jacksonville, Florida! Thank you!”
WASHINGTON — A small group of Social Security judges have improperly approved disability claims for nearly 25,000 people who didn't qualify, costing taxpayers $2 billion over the past seven years, government investigators conclude in a report being released Monday.The price tag will grow by nearly $300 million next year because many of these people are still getting benefits, the report said.Social Security's office of inspector general is scheduled to release a report on the judges Monday. The Associated Press obtained a copy Friday.Investigators examined cases decided by 44 judges who had been approving disability claims at unusually high rates. The judges were labeled “outliers” because they had approved 85 percent of the claims they had heard in at least two of the previous seven years. During these years, the judges decided at least 700 cases a year.
DETROIT — The death of a pregnant Malaysian woman in a car crash involving a faulty air bag has led to another U.S. recall, as the auto industry struggles with a widening problem across the globe.Ford Motor Co. agreed to recall more 2004 and 2005 Ranger small pickup trucks after the crash in Malaysia because their air bags are similar to the one that caused the woman's death, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Friday.At least five deaths and multiple injuries have been linked to the problem, which occurs when air bags inflate with too much force and blow apart metal canisters, sending shrapnel into the passenger compartment.
NEW YORK — Bill Cosby's upcoming appearance on CBS' “Late Show with David Letterman” has been canceled amid a growing uproar over allegations that he sexually assaulted several women in past decades.Cosby representative David Brokaw confirmed Friday that Cosby, 77, would not appear as previously scheduled next Wednesday. He did not say why.Another canceled booking, on “The Queen Latifah Show” on Oct. 30, was characterized by that show as a postponement granted at Cosby's request.
