Hallmark nixes ‘gay’ from Christmas carol lyric on ornament

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  Hallmark has been criticized over an edited lyric from a classic Christmas song on an ornament for sale on its website.

Hallmark, the Kansas City greeting card company, edited the lyrics of "Deck the Halls" on one of its 2013 ornaments to omit the word 'gay' and has received criticism on its Facebook page that puts the company in an unfamiliar position of defending a product.  

The original carol verse goes: "Don we now our gay apparel." But Hallmark's version, which appears on a Christmas ornamentdesigned as an ugly Christmas sweater goes: "Don we now our FUN apparel."

"Today it (gay) has multiple meanings, which we thought could leave our intent open to misinterpretation."

- Hallmark statement released to media

The company's Facebook page has received posts criticizing the decision to change the lyric. One post read, "Hallmark is insinuating that gay people dress differently than anyone else. If I were gay, I would be more upset with that."

A woman who described herself as a Gold Crown Rewards member, posted that by changing the lyric, the company made an unnecessary political statement.

The ornament, which was reportedly designed by Matt Johnson, a keepsake artist, was described on Hallmark's website as an ornament that can "make your tree's outfit complete."

"With its catchy phrase, Don we now our FUN apparel! everyone will be in on the joke," the website's description reads.

The company, which is more known for apolitical greeting cards wishing a boss a happy retirement, issued a statement to media outlets explaining the history of the song dating back to the 1880s, a time "when "gay" meant festive or merry."

"Today it has multiple meanings, which we thought could leave our intent open to misinterpretation," the statement said. "The trend of wearing festively decorated Christmas sweaters to parties is all about fun, and this ornament is intended to play into that, so the planning team decided to say what we meant: "fun." That's the spirit we intended and the spirit in which we hope ornament buyers will take it."

1949 case that inspired 'The Exorcist' continues to fascinate St. Louis

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  October 29, 2013: In this photo provided by St. Louis University, the Rev. John Padberg, S.J., director of the Institute of Jesuit Sources, speaks during a panel discussion at St. Louis University in St. Louis about the month-long 1949 demon-purging ritual at the school’s former Alexian Brothers Hospital. (AP Photo)

ST. LOUIS –  Saint Louis University junior Zach Grummer-Strawn has never seen "The Exorcist," the 1973 horror film considered one of the finest examples of unadulterated cinematic terror. He's only vaguely familiar with the monthlong 1949 demon-purging ritual at his school that inspired William Peter Blatty's novel and later the movie.

But just in time for Halloween, Jesuit scholars have joined a whole new generation of horror buffs in St. Louis to recount the supernatural incident. The university hosted a panel discussion Tuesday on the exorcism, which involved the treatment of an unidentified suburban Washington, D.C., boy. About 500 people crammed into Pius XII Library, with some spilling into the library aisles, leaning against pillars or sitting on desks.

"I'd like to believe it's the real thing," said Grummer-Strawn, a theology and sociology student from Atlanta. "But you just can't know. That's part of why we're here. It's the pursuit of truth. And it's such a great story."

The university scholars and guest speaker Thomas Allen, author of a 1993 account of the events at the school's former Alexian Brothers Hospital, emphasized that definitive proof that the boy known only as "Robbie" was possessed by malevolent spirits is unattainable. Maybe he instead suffered from mental illness or sexual abuse — or fabricated the entire experience.

Like most of religion's basic tenets, it ultimately comes down to faith.

"If the devil can convince us he does not exist, then half the battle is won," said the Rev. Paul Stark, vice president for mission and ministry at the 195-year-old Catholic school. He opened the discussion with a prayer from the church's exorcism handbook, imploring God to "fill your servants with courage to fight that reprobate dragon."

Some of the non-students in the audience spoke of personal connections to an episode that has enthralled generations of St. Louis residents.

One man described living near the suburban St. Louis home where the 13-year-old boy arrived in the winter of 1949 (his Lutheran mother was a St. Louis native who married a Catholic). Another said she was a distant cousin of Father William Bowdern, who led the exorcism ritual after consulting with the archbishop of St. Louis but remained publicly silent about his experiences — though he did tell Allen it was "the real thing."

Bowdern died in 1983.

Bowdern was assisted by the Rev. Walter Halloran, who unlike his colleague spoke openly with Allen and expressed his skepticism about potential paranormal events before his death a decade ago.

"He talked more about the boy, and how much he suffered, and less about the rite," Allen said. "Here was a scared, confused boy caught up in something he didn't understand.

"He told me, 'I simply don't know,' and that is where I leave it," the author added. "I just don't know."

Allen zealously protects the anonymity of "Robbie," despite others' efforts to track him down to this day.

Gary Mackey, a 59-year-old accountant who left work early to attend the campus event, said he also is unsure whether "The Exorcist" was a work of fiction or instead a riveting real-life account of barely comprehensible forces.

He does know this: He cannot forget the movie that he saw with a buddy four decades ago. They drove 100 miles from their home in Louisville, Ky., to the nearest theater showing it across the state line in Cincinnati.

"I saw the movie when I was 19 years old and it scared me to death," Mackey said. "I think it's the scariest movie ever made."

Blatty, who could not be reached for comment on Wednesday, said in a 2011 interview with The Huffington Post that was timed to the book's 40th anniversary, that the "1949 case was the novel's inspiration." The book and film were set at Georgetown University rather than in the Midwest, and the possessed child became a girl instead of a boy.

South Texas woman charged for allegedly injecting clients; authorities seek more victims

MCALLEN, TEXAS –  A woman traveled South Texas injecting people with what appears to be some kind of liquid rubber under the guise that it was collagen or Botox, local and federal authorities said Thursday.

Investigators believe there could be at least 30 victims, many of them exotic dancers or sex workers. They're also looking into one possible death.

Nohemi Gabriela Gonzalez, 46, of Brownsville was charged Thursday with the unlicensed practice of medicine. A judge set bond at $500,000, and she hadn't yet retained a lawyer. She was arrested Wednesday in an undercover sting operation.

Gonzalez allegedly traveled among the spas and massage parlors along the Texas-Mexico border offering her services and leaving advertisements, Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Trevino said. Gonzalez allegedly made injections in lips, buttocks and legs. An advertisement seized by authorities advertised the treatments as collagen with a starting price of $250.

"This woman has done a lot of damage," Trevino said of Gonzalez. He thinks there may be four to five others offering similar services in the area.

One woman who allegedly received a series of injections in her legs in August has been hospitalized since Oct. 9, when she experienced burning in her ankles and difficulty breathing. She allegedly paid $120 per treatment, Trevino said.

Doctors told investigators Thursday that they wouldn't have to amputate one of her legs as originally feared, Trevino said, but she has undergone surgery to remove the substance.

Authorities recovered syringes and bottles of what they preliminarily believe was liquid silicone rubber. It has been sent to the Food and Drug Administration for analysis.

Authorities also believe they have identified the family of a woman who died two weeks ago, who may have been a victim of the treatments, Trevino said. If that's confirmed, the body may be exhumed, he said.

Trevino said authorities believe at least some of the victims were in the country without legal permission, but want to assure them authorities are not interested in their immigration status.

The FBI is asking victims to contact them at 956-984-6300 and seek immediate medical attention.

Fatal or disfiguring results from such underground injections nationwide have been in the news recently. A Philadelphia woman known as "the Black Madam" was charged with third-degree murder after giving injections to a London dancer in an airport hotel room in 2011. The woman died a few hours later. A judge in Pennsylvania upheld the murder charge this month.

Federal appeals court blocks ruling on NYC stop-and-frisk program

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A federal appeals court on Thursday blocked a judge's order requiring changes to the New York Police Department's stop-and-frisk program and removed the judge from the case.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the decisions of Judge Shira Scheindlin will be stayed pending the outcome of an appeal by the city.

The judge had ruled in August the city violated the Constitution in the way it carried out its program of stopping and questioning people.

The city appealed her findings and her remedial orders, including a decision to assign a monitor to help the police department changes its policy and training program associated with it.

The appeals court heard arguments Tuesday on the requested stay.

The appeals court said the judge needed to be removed from the case because she ran afoul of the code of conduct for U.S. judges by compromising the necessity for a judge to avoid the appearance of partiality in part because of a series of media interviews and public statements responding publicly to criticism of the court.

The judge had ruled that police officers violated the civil rights of tens of thousands of people by wrongly targeting black and Hispanic men with its stop-and-frisk program. She appointed an outside monitor to oversee major changes, including reforms in policies, training and supervision, and she ordered a pilot program to test body-worn cameras in some precincts where most stops occur.

The stop-and-frisk tactic has been criticized by a number of civil rights advocates.

Texas-bound flight makes emergency landing in Ariz. after threat

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  Oct. 31, 2013: A United Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing at Sky Harbor Thursday night.(MYFOXPHOENIX.COM)

A United Express plane made an emergency landing in Arizona after an onboard threat was made against the plane Thursday afternoon,MyFoxPhoenix.com reported.

The United Express 5573 flight from San Francisco to San Antonio landed at Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix around 4:45 p.m., MyFoxPhoenix.com reports. The 43 passengers, two pilots and two flight attendants were taken off the plane.

The nature of the threat is not known, but Phoenix police spokesman Sgt. Steve Martos said the threat was made on the plane, though he said he couldn't provide further details. A bomb squad boarded the plane and searched for anything suspicious.

Authorities are also searching luggage while passengers stand by in a waiting area.

No other flights have been affected, and police haven't yet said if anyone has been taken into custody

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Southern California community fights relocation of 'pillowcase rapist'

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  Christopher Hubbart, a sexually violent predator dubbed the 'Pillowcase Rapist,' has spent nearly two decades in mental institutions after admitting to sexually assaulting more than three dozen women throughout California between 1971 and 1982.

Residents of a Southern California community are protesting a judge's decision to allow an admitted serial rapist who attacked 38 women to live in their neighborhood when he's released from prison.

A judge in Santa Clara County announced last week that serial rapist Christopher Hubbart could potentially live in the Antelope Valley community of Lake Los Angeles upon his release, which could take place as early as December.

Hubbart, 62, has admitted to raping 38 women in California between 1971 and 1982, often placing pillowcases over the heads of his victims to quiet their screams.

"He would drive around in the early morning and look for homes that had garage doors open, indicating the man of the house had gone to work”

- District Attorney Jackie Lacey

District Attorney Jackie Lacey said in a statement that her office will work with law enforcement to ensure Hubbart is closely monitored. A formal hearing on the matter has been scheduled for Dec. 4.

Santa Clara County Judge Gilbert Brown ruled last week that Hubbart tentatively will be housed at 17132 Laredo Vista in Lake Los Angeles after he's released from custody. The public has until Nov. 29 to submit comments about the suitability of the proposed location to Judge Brown. A website has been established to accept those comments. 

Judge Brown will hold a public hearing on Hubbart's proposed residence at the Santa Clara County Court and anyone wishing to address the judge directly will be allowed to do so, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

In August, the California Supreme Court denied Los Angeles County's appeal to stop his release and his specific relocation to Los Angeles County, which could occur by December.

"He is a serial predator who is not suitable to be living in a civilized society walking the streets," Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich told KABC.com, adding that he is worried Hubbart strike again even with the required ankle monitor.

A landlord in Lake Los Angeles has agreed to rent a home to Hubbart that complies with a state law prohibiting sex offenders released from prison from living within 2,000 feet of parks and schools, KCAL-TV reported.

Residents have staged a protest outside of Hubbart's proposed home and have circulated a petition challenging his possible release into the community.

“How am I supposed to be able to go into my bedroom and lay down at night and go to sleep, knowing that he could come in?” Nichole Stone told KCAL-TV. “There are people talking around town about how they want to burn the house down with him inside of it.”

Kayla Irwin, whose family lives across the street from the proposed home, told the station she's considering opening a daycare facility so that, by law, Hubbart would not be able to move in.

“Let’s go through with it because then he can’t live here if we’re going to do a daycare,” she said.

Lake Los Angeles is adjacent to Palmdale.

Lacey, who has called Hubbart a “significant threat to public safety,” petitioned the state Supreme Court in July to block Hubbart’s release, but her request was rejected in late August without comment.

"We aggressively pursued and exhausted all legal avenues to stop the release of sexually violent predator Christopher Hubbart to Los Angeles County," Lacey said in a statement in August. "We now are committed to working with our law enforcement partners to ensure that all terms and conditions of Hubbart's release from custody are strictly enforced. We will do everything within our power to keep all members of our community safe from harm."

Lacey detailed Hubbart’s long history of sexually violent acts in her petition to the court, describing how Hubbart broke into homes to watch women while he was just a teenager.

“He first sexually assaulted a woman when he was a senior in high school; he reached out and touched her breast as she was walking by,” the petition read. “He repeated that type of assault seven or eight times before 1971, and about eight to nine times after he started college in 1971. He would sometime follow women home.”

Then, in 1972, Hubbart committed up to 26 assaults that year, all of them in the Los Angeles area.

“He would drive around in the early morning and look for homes that had garage doors open, indicating the man of the house had gone to work,” the petition continued. “He would also look for children’s toys, believing that mothers would be protective of their children and more likely to cooperate with him. He would bind the women’s hand and cover their faces, then sexually assault them.”

Hubbart was later released from a state hospital in 1979 after doctors determined he longer posed a threat to the public, a federal appeals court ruled. He then moved to the San Francisco area, where he attacked more women there and in Sunnyvale before being convicted and re-committed to a state hospital. He was later paroled in 1990 and was sent back to state prison after attacking a female jogger.

Blind woman faces eviction from home of 55 years

A blind Indiana woman is facing eviction after the land under her house of 55 years was purchased for $43 without her knowledge, the Chicago Tribune reported.

While eviction papers are making their way through court, Delores Pittman, 67, is being charged $300 to remain in the  house in Cedar Lake, roughly 50 miles east of Chicago.

“I want to know,” she told the newspaper through tears, “am I going to be in here on Christmas or am I going to be out?”

The dispute’s origins began in 1958, when Pittman’s parents began renting the home from a local church, a time she remembers vividly.

“It was four days before Christmas and my little brother was 4. And we moved in during a snowstorm, and the first thing I put up was a Christmas tree because it was important that Santa knew where to come,” said the former librarian. “It was security that we had a house. My mother said she just wanted a house that she knew she could die in.”

Eventually, the home – but not the land – was sold to her family, and the clan paid a $10 annual rental fee to Cedar Lake, which they believed had acquired the property from the church, Pittman said.

But the church continued to maintain that it owned the property and didn’t pay property taxes, thanks to its non-profit status. After a new law passed in 2005 revoked the status, the church began receiving tax bills, which it refused to pay.

The land was sold in a county commissioner sale in 2009, but neither the town nor the church bothered to tell Pittman, who continued to pay her annual rental fee to Cedar Lake. 

Now, Pittman, who experienced vision problems for most of her adult life before losing her sight completely five years ago, has to find a new home. Her Social Security and pension checks, which yield her little more than $1,000 a month, don’t provide her with enough money to find a new home.

“If I had money, I’d just say to hell with it and go off someplace,” she said.

New York bus driver saves woman from jumping off bridge

BUFFALO, N.Y. –  A bus driver is being hailed as a hero for preventing a woman from jumping off a Buffalo highway overpass.

About 20 McKinley High School students had just stepped aboard Darnell Barton's Metro bus Oct. 18 when he spotted a woman who had climbed over a guardrail and stood leaning over the afternoon traffic zipping along the Scajaquada Expressway below.

With cars and an occasional pedestrian continuing to pass by her, Barton wasn't sure at first that the woman was in distress.

He stopped his bus, opened the door and asked if she needed help, at that moment conflicted between the rules of his job, which required him to call his dispatcher, and his training as a former volunteer firefighter and member of the Buffalo Special Police, which told him that if he made contact, he shouldn't break it.

"It was an interesting situation, knowing what you know and knowing what you have to do," he said by phone Wednesday. "Dispatch picked up. I remember giving my location and saying, `Send the authorities, this young lady needs help' and then dashing the phone down."

The bus video system captures Barton, 37, leaving the bus and the 20-something woman looking back at him. Her gaze then returns to the traffic below.

"That's when I went and put my arms around her," said Barton, a father of two. "I felt like if she looked down at that traffic one more time it might be it."

With the woman in a bear hug, Barton asked if she wanted to come back over the rail. She hadn't spoken up to that point but said yes.

The video shows Barton tenderly helping her climb back over the guardrail and sit down. Then he sits next to her on the concrete. He asked her name and other questions to distract her, he said, learning she was a student.

"Then she said, `You smell good,"' he said.

A corrections officer and a female driver who'd been behind the bus came to help, speaking to the woman until police and an ambulance arrived.

"While I was holding her, listening to their questions, I just prayed," the bus driver said. "Whatever was on her mind, it had her. It really, really had her."

When the ambulance drove away, Barton got back on his bus -- and received a standing ovation from the high school students and other passengers who'd been watching through the windows. He finished his route, wrote up a report and went home.

"Being the humble individual that Darnell is, he didn't write it in a way that was going to call attention to himself," said C. Douglas Hartmayer, spokesman for the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority. "It was: I did it, got back on my bus and continued. That speaks volumes about his demeanor and character."

Barton wishes he could speak with the woman again to make sure she's OK.

"Things like this put what's important in perspective," he said. "You hug your kids a little tighter, kiss your wife a little bit longer. You're grateful.

"Things may not be perfect," he said, "but as we say, they're a little bit of all right."

Parents of Georgia teen who died in 'freak accident' believe son was murdered

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  This undated photo, provided by Fox affiliate WAGA-TV, shows Kendrick Johnson.

The parents of a Georgia teenager, whose body was found inside a rolled-up wrestling mat in his high school gym, believe their son was murdered, the family's attorney said Thursday.

Kendrick Johnson, of Valdosta, Ga., was found Jan. 11 stuck in an upright mat propped behind the bleachers inside his high school gym. Lowndes County sheriff's investigators concluded Johnson died in a freak accident, but the 17-year-old's family disputes that. 

"They absolutely think their son was murdered," Benjamin Crump, an attorney representing Kenneth and Jacquelyn Johnson, told FoxNews.com.

"They never believed he died the way the sheriff concluded. They believe that it defies logic, the laws of physics as well as common sense," Crump said. "They think this is a cover-up to protect the person or people responsible for their son’s death."

"They sent their son to school with a book-bag and he was returned to them in a body bag," he said. 

U.S. Attorney Michael Moore said Thursday he is conducting a formal investigation into Johnson's death, noting that several key questions remain unanswered.

"What was the cause of death? Was his death the result of a crime?" Moore said at a press conference Thursday afternoon. "I will follow the facts wherever they lead. My objective is to discovery the truth."

"I am of the opinion that a sufficient basis exists" for a formal investigation, he said. 

Moore told reporters that the initial autopsy indicated Johnson died as a result of "positional asphyxia." A second autopsy, however, listed a different cause of death, according to Moore. 

"There are several questions that must be answered or confirmed," he said. 

Moore added that if he uncovers sufficient evidence to warrant a criminal or civil rights investigation into the death of Johnson he will ask the FBI to conduct it.

A representative from the Lowndes County Sheriff's Office was not immediately available for comment when contacted Thursday. 

A southern Georgia judge on Wednesday ordered authorities to release all surveillance video that investigators reviewed. The teenager's parents said they hope the video footage will contain clues to how he died.

FoxNews.com's Cristina Corbin and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

IRS: Scammers Preying On Immigrants, Threatening Deportation If They Don't Disclose Financial Information

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Scam artists posing as Internal Revenue Service agents are calling people with threats of arrest or deportation if they do not send money through a pre-loaded debit card or wire transfer, the agency warned on Thursday.

The IRS said that callers use fake names and badge numbers, and sometimes recite the last four digits of the targeted victim’s Social Security number – tactics which can lower their guard, figuring the other person on the line is legitimate.

Though the agency said the scams have targeted a cross-section of people, it made special mention of immigrants as targets.

Even if callers seem to have knowledge about them, potential victims should be aware of what a real agents actually say or do when interacting with the public.

“This scam has hit taxpayers in nearly every state in the country,” said IRS Acting Commissioner Danny Werfel. “Rest assured, we do not and will not ask for credit card numbers over the phone, nor request a pre-paid debit card or wire transfer.”

Werfel added: “If someone unexpectedly calls claiming to be from the IRS and threatens police arrest, deportation or license revocation if you don’t pay immediately, that is a sign that it really isn’t the IRS calling.”

Werfel said that an authentic attempt by the IRS to communicate with a taxpayer would most likely be made through regular mail, on official and authentic agency letterhead.

The IRS warning comes on the heels of recent reports about IRS scammers targeting Indian immigrants or people of Indian descent in Missouri, New Jersey and California.

In California and New Jersey, scammers took a total of $20,000 from two victims, according to Fox2Now.com, the Fox affiliate station in St. Louis.

The scammers told the victims that they owed back taxes and bullied them into loading money onto Green Dot MoneyPak cards. The victims revealed their cards’ access codes to the thieves, allowing them to strip the cash from the accounts, according to published reports.

“I was very scared; he was controlling everything,” said one of the victims, who is from St. Louis County, according to Fox2Now.com 

The station said that the scammers instructed her to withdraw more than $12,000 from the couple’s bank accounts and "then load $10,890 of that onto the Green Dot cards. She said she purchased the cards from several retail stores in her neighborhood over a period of several hours."

The IRS announcement said that scammers have spoofed the agency’s toll-free number on caller ID to ward off suspicion. They threaten the people they call with deportation if they do not pay money up. They also threaten to arrest them or suspend their business or driver’s licenses.

Recently, immigrants and people who are here on temporary legal visas were warned about scammers who say they are calling from the U.S. government, demanding money. These scammers also spoof immigration agency phone numbers and often reveal personal information about the target to make the call appear authentic.

Immigrant advocacy groups say that immigrants often fall prey to scams, particularly when the prospect of deportation is held over them.

"The immigrant community is often vulnerable to scams, and in particular when they believe they are being contacted by government officials,” Amy Gottlieb, of the American Friends Service Committee in Newark, told Fox News Latino.

“Most immigrants are highly conscious of their responsibilities to file tax returns and pay taxes generally," Gottlieb said. "At a time like now when the immigration debate is heated, this scam is preying on people who are at their most desperate to legalize their status.”

Texas man reportedly arrested due to overdue library book

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  The mugshot of Jory Enck, of Copperas Cove, who was arrested after he allegedly failed to return an overdue library book.(COPPERAS COVE POLICE DEPARTMENT)

A Texas man had the book thrown at him when he failed to return an overdue study guide to a local library, resulting in his being booked by police and slapped with a $200 fine, KWTX.com reported.

Jory C. Enck, of Copperas Cove in central Texas, was arrested Oct. 23 on an outstanding warrant after he allegedly failed to return a GED study guide that he checked out in 2010. He was released on a $200 bond and given a court date, in accordance with a local ordinance.

Copperas Cove City Municipal Judge Bill Price told KWTX that the law, which was passed almost four years ago, was intended to offset the cost of replacing library materials.

“No one wants to get arrested over a library book,” Price said. “The other side of that is people who go to our library and can’t have these materials, they’re put out, too.”

A person must have an overdue book checked out for at least 90 days and not be responding to phone calls or e-mails before the municipal court is notified, according to library policies.

Copperas Cove Police Sgt. Julie Lehmann said an officer will make an arrest for overdue library materials, if during a routine stop or call, they discover an individual has an active warrant.

She told FoxNews.com that such arrests are not frequent, though they've happened before.

"It's not like this is the first time," she said.

Efforts by FoxNews.com to reach Enck on Thursday were not immediately successful, and it was not clear whether he had an attorney. The city did not immediately return a message for comment on Thursday afternoon.

Government paid millions in Medicare to deceased, illegal immigrants

The federal government has paid tens of millions of dollars in Medicare benefits to dead people and illegal immigrants, according to a pair of reports from federal watchdogs released on Thursday.

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services paid out $23 million to beneficiaries after their deaths in 2011, according to one report from HHS’ inspector general.

Another report tallied more than $28 million in payments from 2009 to 2011 to individuals who were in the country illegally.

In all, CMS paid Medicare benefits to 4,139 illegal immigrants and 17,403 deceased people, according to the two reports.

Federal regulations prohibit illegal immigrants from receiving Medicare benefits. CMS has policies in place to prevent people who are unlawfully present from receiving benefits under Medicare Parts A and B, but no such protections for Medicare Part D benefits.

At last! FAA green lights gadgets on planes

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WASHINGTON –  Government safety rules are changing to let airline passengers use most electronic devices from gate-to-gate -- although you'll still have to stow your stuff during take-off and landing.

Passengers will eventually be able to read e-books, play games, and watch videos on their devices during all phases of flight, with very limited exceptions, the Federal Aviation Administration said Thursday morning.

FAQ: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

A new FAQ on the FAA's website offers more information on the new policy in a question and answer format. 

Can I use my e-book reader throughout my flight now?

Once your airline has shown the FAA its airplanes can safely handle radio interference from portable electronics, they can let you use your devices in airplane mode only most of the time. 

Do the new rules apply to both domestic and international flights on U.S. airlines?

Yes. U.S. airlines may expand the use of electronic devices on domestic and international flights.

Read more at FAA.gov

And everyone must put their gizmos down during the safety briefing and listen up, for heaven's sake.

For anyone who's longingly looked at that laptop during a 5-hour cross-country flight, the news will come as a delight, despite several caveats and restrictions. Electronic items, books and magazines, must be held or put in the seat-back pocket during the actual take-off and landing, for example. And cell phones should be in airplane mode or with cellular service disabled -- meaning no signal bars displayed.

Passengers still won't be allowed to use cell phones for voice communications: FCC regulations will still prohibit any airborne calls using them. But Candy Crush? Go for it.

If your air carrier provides Wi-Fi service during flight, you may use those services. You can also continue to use short-range Bluetooth accessories, like wireless keyboards, the FAA said.

“I commend the dedication and excellent work of all the experts who spent the past year working together to give us a solid report so we can now move forward with a safety-based decision on when passengers can use [portable electronic devices] on airplanes,” said FAA Administrator Michael Huerta.

'We're pleased the FAA recognizes that an enjoyable passenger experience is not incompatible with safety and security.'

- Roger Dow, CEO of the U.S. Travel Association

A4A, an aviation industry trade group, applauded the decision.

"A4A commends the Portable Electronic Devices (PED) Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) for its report and recommendations on expanded use of personal electronic devices inflight. A4A and our members will work with the FAA to ensure expanded customer use of electronic devices is implemented safely and expeditiously."

Most new airliners are expected to meet the criteria, but changes won't happen immediately. Timing will depend upon the airline.

Connections to the Internet to surf, exchange emails, text or download data will still be prohibited below 10,000 feet. Heavier devices like laptops will have to be stowed.

A travel industry group welcomed the changes, calling them common-sense accommodations for a traveling public now bristling with technology. "We're pleased the FAA recognizes that an enjoyable passenger experience is not incompatible with safety and security," said Roger Dow, CEO of the U.S. Travel Association.

Children OK after school bus plunges into creek

A school bus with about 10 children ran off a rural bridge and plunged into a creek in Douglass, Kan., forcing the children to climb from the windows and seek safety on top of the bus.

Chris Davis, 911 director for Butler County, says the bus went off the bridge Thursday afternoon. He said bus driver was apparently injured and remained in the water an hour later. Davis didn't know the extent of the injuries.

There were no reports of injuries among the children, but Davis says they climbed out of the windows after it hit the creek and landed on its side. The children were on top of it at about 5 p.m.

Davis says crews are working to rescue the children and the driver. The cause of the accident is unclear.

Senate GOP blocks two Obama nominees

Senate Republicans blocked President Barack Obama's nominees to lead an influential federal court and a housing agency on Thursday, despite Democratic warnings of a return to last summer's partisan brawl over who wields power in the Senate.

In rapid succession, Democrats failed to overcome GOP delaying tactics against Patricia Millett to join the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and Rep. Melvin Watt to head the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

The votes were 55-38 to free Millett's nomination for final passage and 56-42 for Watt's, but both fell short of the 60 votes needed to break the Republican procedural blockade.

The Millett nomination was the flashpoint because the D.C. circuit court rules on federal agency and White House actions, and Millett's confirmation would have given that court's judges a 5-4 tilt toward those chosen by Democratic presidents. Appointments to that court, which currently has three vacant judgeships, are lifetime positions.

Republicans argued that the D.C. court's workload was lighter than other districts and didn't merit an additional judge. They also said Democrats want to turn that court, considered second in power only to the Supreme Court, into a rubber stamp for Obama administration policies.

"This is the court that can rule for or against the executive orders of this administration," said Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa. "We need to maintain checks and balances of the government."

Democrats say caseload totals for the D.C. circuit are close to its 10-year average. They also say that when Republicans held the White House, they voted to fill the D.C. court's ninth seat with John Roberts, now the chief justice of the U.S.

They also said GOP opposition to Millett is based strictly on politics and warned they might use their 55-45 Senate majority to weaken the Senate minority party's powers to block nominations.

"If Republican senators are going to hold nominations hostage without consideration of individual merit, we will have drastic measures," said Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.

Last July, Democrats abandoned a threat to change Senate rules after Republicans agreed to supply enough votes for approval of several Obama nominations. Those included his choices to head the Environmental Protection Agency and the Labor Department.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., indicated that Democrats might not act immediately, saying, "I appreciate" a suggestion by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., that the two parties talk about the next steps.

"Always willing to do that," Reid said.

Reid switched his vote to "no" on the roll calls for both Millett and Watt, a procedural move that gives him the right to force fresh votes on both nominees.

Millett was an assistant solicitor general, representing the administration before the Supreme Court, under both Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. She has argued 32 cases before the highest court.

Obama has also nominated attorney Cornelia "Nina" Pillard and U.S. District Judge Robert Wilkins to bring the court to its full strength of 11 judges, nominations that have yet to reach the full Senate.

Republicans are backing a bill by Grassley and others to eliminate one of the D.C. court's 11 judgeships and transfer two others to districts with heavier workloads.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency oversees government-owned mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Watt is a 21-year House veteran who has served his entire tenure on the House Financial Services Committee. At the housing agency, he would succeed acting director Edward DeMarco, a George W. Bush appointee criticized by Democrats for not letting Fannie and Freddie reduce principal costs for homeowners risking foreclosure.

Democrats have praised Watt for having a pro-consumer record, including opposing risky Wall Street behavior that helped produce the 2008 financial industry collapse. He's won support from the National Association of Realtors and the National Association of Home Builders.

Republicans said Watt was short on technical expertise needed to oversee Fannie and Freddie and said he lacked political independence.

He also faced opposition from the influential conservative groups Heritage Action for America and the Club for Growth. They warned Republicans that their votes on Watt would be counted in their ratings of 2014 candidates.