2A LAKE CITY REPORTER DAILY BRIEFING FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2010 Page Editor: Roni Toldanes, 754-0424 (ASH 3 Thursday: Afternoon: 6-1-8 Evening: 0-3-3 Thursday: Afternoon: 0-7-8-6 Evening: 8-6-3-7 Wednesday: 6-14-18-28-33 PEOPLE IN THE NEWS Hawking changes opinion about God LONDON Did creation need a creator? British physicist and mathematician Stephen Hawking says no, arguing in his new book that there need not be a God behind the creation of the universe. The concept is explored in 'The Grand Design," excerpts of which were printed in the British newspaper The Times on Thursday. The book, written with fellow physicist Leonard Mlodinow, is scheduled to be published by Bantam Press on Sept. 9. "The Grand Design," which the publishers call Hawking's first major work in nearly a decade, challenges Isaac Newton's theory God must have been involved in creation because our solar system couldn't have come out of chaos simply through nature. But Hawking says it isn't that simple. To understand the universe, if s necessary to know both how and why it behaves the way it does, calling the pursuit "the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything." "We shall attempt to answer it in � this book," he wrote. "Unlike the � answer given in "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy,' ours won't be simply '42.'" The number 42 is the deliberately absurd answer to the "Ultimate Question" chosen by sci-fi author Douglas Adams. Hawking, who is renowned for his work on black holes, said the 1992 discovery of another planet orbiting a star other than the sun makes "the coincidences of our planetary conditions ... far less remarkable and far less compelling as evidence that the Earth was carefully designed just to please us human beings." In his best-selling 1988 book "A ASSOCIATED PRESS British physicist Stephen Hawking attends the 2010 World Science Festival opening night gala performance at Alice Tully Hall on June 2 in New York. Physicist Stephen Hawking says God wasn't necessary for the creation of the universe. Brief History of Time," Hawking appeared to accept the possibility of a creator, saying the discovery of a complete theory would "be the ultimate triumph of human reason �� for then we should know the mind of God." TV producer in Letterman blackmail freed from jail NEW YORK � The former television producer who tried to blackmail David Letterman was freed Thursday after four months in jail for a plot that put a spotlight on the comic icon's office affairs, city Correction Department records show. Robert "Joe" Halderman got time off for good behavior from his six-month term at the Rikers Island jail complex, but he isn't done with his sentence: He still has to complete 1,000 hours of community service, and he'll be on probation for five years. Halderman, 52, pleaded guilty earlier this spring to attempted grand larceny. He admitted he demanded $2 million in hush money last fall to keep from revealing per1 sonal information about Letterman. Rapper T.I. arrested on drug charges WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. � Grammy-winning rapper T.I. was arrested along with his wife on suspicion of possessing methamphet-amines, five months after the hip-hop star finished a prison stint on weapons charges. The 29-year-old rapper and his wife, Tameka Cottle, were arrested Wednesday night in West Hollywood after deputies smelled marijuana and pulled the couple over, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said. H Associated Press Celebrity Birthdays � "Beetle Bailey" cartoonist Mort Walker is 87. � Actress Anne Jackson is 84. � Actress Eileen Brennan is 78. � Actress Pauline Collins is 70. H Rock singer-musician Al Jardine is 68. I Actress Valerie Perrine is 67. � Actor Steve Schirripa is 53. H Rock singer-musician Todd Lewis is 45. � Actor Charlie Sheen is 45. � Singer Jennifer Paige is 37. � Actress Ashley Jones is 34. � Actress Nichole Hiltz is 32. � Actor Nick Wechsler is 32. I Olympic gold medal snowboarder Shaun White is 24. Daily Scripture "The earth is filled with your love, O LORD; teach me your decrees." � Psalm 119:64 Lake City Reporter HOW TO REACH US Main number........(386) 752-1293 Fax number..............752-9400 Circulation...............755-5445 Online... www.lakecityreporter.com The Lake City Reporter, an affiliate of Community Newspapers Inc., is published Tuesday through Sunday at 180 E. Duval St., Lake City, Fla. 32055. Periodical postage paid at Lake City, Fla. Member Audit Bureau of Circulation and The Associated Press. All material herein is property of the Lake City Reporter. Reproduction in whole or in part is forbidden without the permission of the publisher. U.S. Postal Service No. 310-880. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Lake City Reporter, P.O. Box 1709, Lake City, Fla. 32056. Publisher Todd Wilson.....754-0418 (twilson@lakecityreporter.com) NEWS If you have a news tip, call any member of the news staff or 752-5295. Editor Tom Mayer.........754-0428 (tmayer@lakecityreporter.com) ADVERTISING Publisher Todd Wilson.....754-0418 (twilson@lakecityreporter.com) CLASSIFIED To place a classified ad, call 755-5440. BUSINESS Controller Sue Brannon____754-0419 (sbrannon@lakecityreporter.com) CIRCULATION Home delivery of the Lake City Reporter should be completed by 6:30 a.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and by 7:30 a.m. on Sunday. Please caH 386-755-5445 to report any problems with your delivery service. In Columbia County, customers should call before 10:30 a.m. to report a service error for same day re-delivery. After 10:30 a.m., next day re-delivery or service related credits will be issued. In all other counties where home delivery is available, next day re-delivery or service relatedxredits will be issued. Circulation...............755-5445 (circulation@lakecityreporter.com) Home delivery rates (Tuesday through Sunday) 12 Weeks.................. $26.32 24 Weeks...................$48.79 52 Weeks...................$83.46 Rates include 7% sales tax. Mail rates 12 Weeks.................. $41.40 24 Weeks...................$82.80 52 Weeks..................$179.40 CORRECTION The Lake City Reporter corrects errors of fact in news items. If you have a concern, question or suggestion, please call the executive editor. Corrections and clarifications will run in this space. And thanks for reading. AROUND FLORIDA THE WEATHER Fishing reopened in northern Gulf MIAMI � Fishing and shrimping can resume in federal waters in the northern Gulf of Mexico stretching from Louisiana's far eastern shore into Florida's Panhandle, authorities said Thursday. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration lifted its ban over roughly 5,130 square miles of federal waters from Pensacola west through Alabama and Mississippi to the edge of Louisiana's east coast Shrimping can also resume in federal waters east of Pensacola along the Florida Panhandle, a 5,000 square mile area reopened to other fishing last month. Roughly 43,000 square miles of federal waters remain closed, an area mostly off Louisiana and stretching into the open Gulf. The reopened area is considered low-risk for future exposure to oil. Shrimp, mackerel, snapper and other seafood collected from July 27 through Aug. 11 has not shown any signs of contamination, though NOAA plans to continue , taking samples from the water and dockside from commercial fisherman. SeaWorld hires new chairman ORLANDO �The former chief executive of John Hancock Financial Services Inc. will become non-executive chairman of SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. The theme park company, which owns 10 U.S. parks including the SeaWorld and Busch Gardens properties, announced the appointment of David D'Alessandro on Thursday. The 59-year-old MOSTLY | SUNNY 0 HI 94 LO 69 PARTLY CLOUDY HI 94 LO 67 PARTLY CLOUDY HI 92 LO 67 s\ PARTLY CLOUDY HI 92 LO 70 v PARTLY CLOUDY HI 92 LO 70 ASSOCIATED PRESS Ready to fly into Hurricane Earl Pilot Dick Ewers talks to the news media as a team of NASA scientists prepare for a flight into Hurricane Earl to gather data about what makes some tropical storms intensify while others fizzle, in Fort Lauderdale Thursday. The flight is part of a six-week NASA research mission to collect information that could help forecasters accurately predict how strong a hurricane will be. REGIONAL FORECAST MAP for Friday, September 3 Friday's high/Friday night's low 94/73 Tallahassee � 95/70 Panama City 91/74 95/69 Lake City. 94/69 . Gainesville � V93/69 � Jacksonville \94/71 Daytena Beach 94^72 ^3/69 � ? Orlando Cape Canaveral / 94/74 90/74 D'Alessandro retired from Hancock in 2006. He led the financial services and insurance firm through a period of transformation from private mutual company to major publicly held corporation. Man gets life for slaying over safe LARGO�A St. Petersburg man has been sentenced to life in prison for killing a popular body shop owner. A Pinellas County jury found 24-year-old Brandon McCalvin Sutton guilty Wednesday of first-degree murder, and a judge sentenced him immediately after that. Witnesses testified that two men in dark clothing burst into the home of 46-year-old Vinson Phillips in 2007, demanding $50,000 they believed was in a safe. The men shot Phillips without even opening the safe, which only contained coins and jewelry. Man gets probation for child's death FORT MYERS �A Fort Myers man whose 18-month-old daughter died after he accidentally left her in his car has been sentenced to five years probation. Prosecutors said Reginald McKinnon pleaded guilty Thursday to leaving his child unattended in a car. A judge also ordered him to serve 20 community service hours talking to parenting classes about what happened. Police said McKinnon picked up his daughter Payton at daycare on the morning of March 8, 2009, took her to a doctor's appointment and then drove to his job at a telecommunications company at about 11 a.m. He didn't know he'd left her in the back seat of his Ford Explorer until he came out of work and found her at about 3 p.m. H Associated Press lamia^ 91/77/ V FL Myers 93/76 West Palm Beach 91/76 �. FL Lauderdale 91/80 �: ? Naples � . '90/78 Miami Key West. - 91/79 91/81 City Saturday Sunday Cape Canaveral 90/76/pc 90/75/t Daytona Beach 93/75/pc 92/75/pc Ft. Lauderdale 92/79/t 90/78/t Fort Myers 92/75/t 92/75/pc Gainesville 93/68/pc 91/68/pc Jacksonville 94/68/pc 91/69/pc Key West 88/81/t 91/81/t Lake City 94/67/pc . 92/67/pc Miami 92/79/t 92/77/t Naples 90/76/t 90/77/t Ocala 93/69/pc 92/69/pc Orlando 94/75/pc 94/75/pc Panama City 91/70/pc 88/69/pc Pensacola 92/69/s 91/71/s Tallahassee 94/68/pc 93/66/pc Tampa 91/77/pc 92/77/pc Valdosta 94/65/pc 91/65/pc W. Palm Beach 92/75/t 90/76/t LAKE CITY ALMANAC TEMPERATURES High Thursday Low Thursday Normal high Normal low Record high Record low PRECIPITATION Thursday Month total Year total Normal month-to-date Normal year-to-date SUN 89 Sunrise today 7:08 a.m. 70 Sunset today 7:51 p.m. 89 Sunrise torn. 7:09 a.m. 70 Sunset torn. 7:50 p.m. 99 in 1907 63 in 1999 MOON Moonrise today 1:38 am. Moonset today 4:10 p.m. 0.00" Moonrise torn. 2:43 am. Moonset torn. 0.00" 37.07" 0.38" 37.14" 5:00 p.m. �C03 Sept. Sept. Sept. Sept. 8 15 23 30 New First Full Last mm EXTREME 10 minutes to bun Today's ultra-violet radiation risk for the area on a scale from 0 to 10+. An exclusive service brought to our readers by The Weather Channel. The Weather Channel weather.com Forecasts, data and graphics @ 2010 Weather Central lip1* LLC, Madison, Wis. www.weatherpubllsher.com WEATHER BY-THE-HOUR as On this date in 1998, Hurricane Earl made landfall early in the morning near Panama City, Fla., as a category 1 storm with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph. The storm ended a drought through Georgia and the Carolinas. www.lakecityreporter.com Lake City Reporter