Empire State Building to be lit red, yellow for anniversary, angering critics of China’s gov’t

September 30th, 2009 Empire State Building lights anger China criticsNEW YORK — The Empire State Building has been lit in red and yellow in honor of communist China's 60th anniversary, amid criticism of the gesture. The building is routinely lit with different colors to mark holidays and big events, but opponents have questioned whether Wednesday's lighting was the right gesture to commemorate a country with a poor human rights record.

September 30th, 2009 Empire State Building lit for China, drawing ireNEW YORK — Red and yellow lights shone from the top of the Empire State Building at dusk Wednesday, a tribute to communist China's 60th anniversary that protesters labeled "blatant approval" of totalitarianism and criticized as inappropriate for an icon in the land of the free. The building is routinely lit with different colors to mark holidays and big events, but opponents questioned whether it's right to commemorate a sensitive political issue, particularly when China has such a poor human rights record.

August 19th, 2009 Empire Resorts to get $55 million investmentMONTICELLO, N.Y. — Struggling gaming company Empire Resorts Inc.

July 23rd, 2009 China's leaders seek economic stabilityBEIJING — China's powerful Politburo said Thursday that economic stability and the success of a $586 billion stimulus package are top priorities ahead of the 60th anniversary of Communist rule in October. A partial transcript of a Politburo meeting was read on state-run China Central Television's evening news broadcast, declaring it "vitally important to have the economic work done well" in the second half of the year when the anniversary is celebrated.

July 15th, 2009 Timeline of changes in color-coded alert systemTimeline of the changes in the color-coded alert system since it was created on March 12, 2002, with the threat level at yellow, or elevated: Sept. 10, 2002 — Raised from yellow to orange, or high, based on intelligence of possible attacks planned for the anniversary of the Sept.

June 11th, 2009 Mass. yellow lobster is a 1 in 30 million rarityEASTHAM, Mass. — This lobster will catch your eye, but not because you're imagining its tail dipped in butter.

May 30th, 2009 Campus building in Ill. named after Lech WalesaCHICAGO — A campus building in Chicago now bears the name of the Nobel Peace Prize laureate whose Solidarity movement in the '80s helped trigger communism's collapse.

May 6th, 2009 Mass. gov's mother-in-law dies on 25th anniversaryBOSTON — Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick's mother-in-law has died on his 25th wedding anniversary.

April 26th, 2009 LONDON - Hollywood movie bosses are taking the comic book heroes 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' back to the big screen, in order to mark the 25th anniversary of the amphibian crime fighters. The turtles namely Leonardo, Michaelangelo, Raphael and Donatello are back in the limelight, as Tribeca Film Festival organizers celebrated their 1984 creation by Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman, with a special bash in New York City April 23, reports hollywood.com.

April 25th, 2009 LONDON - Four jewellers who lent Rihanna around $1 million worth of accessories the night of her alleged beating by ex-boyfriend Chris Brown want their stuff back. Since late March, Rihanna, 21, has been trying to recover the borrowed jewellery from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), who took the items into evidence in their investigation, reported people.com.

April 1st, 2009 NEW YORK - French fashion designer Pierre Cardin is all set to sell of his fashion empire, but only if he gets the right amount. Cardin, 86, has put the price up at 1 billion euros, and will only sell if he gets it.

March 13th, 2009 TAIPEI - Taiwan is opposed to China's plan to extend its national railway network to Taipei, calling it unnecessary, according to a newspaper report Friday. According to the Taipei Times, both the Presidential Office and the Mainland Affairs Council have called China's plan unnecessary from both economic and political perspectives.

February 4th, 2009 LONDON - Actress Drew Barrymore has had a 22-year-long crush on Batman actor Christian Bale and says she still feels the same for him. Contactmusic.com reports that the two met when they were kids after Bale was cast in the 1987 movie 'Empire of the Sun', directed by Steven Spielberg.

January 30th, 2009 VRINDAVAN - Come Basant Panchami and the Hindu holy towns of Vrindavan and Mathura in Uttar Pradesh are awash with yellow to welcome spring. The fields are lush yellow with mustard flowers in full bloom, temples are decorated with yellow and orange marigold flowers and the people are decked in hues of the bright colour.

December 23rd, 2008 JERUSALEM - Israeli archaeologists have found a rare, 1,300-year-old treasure under a car park just outside the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem - 264 golden coins from the Byzantine Empire. The coins bear the image of Byzantine Emperor Heraclius, who ruled over the medieval successor to the Roman Empire from 610 to 641 AD.