RTFA: http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/04/makers…

The following news may not astonish many of you, but feel free to quietly claim your cut: The makers of Airborne, a line of popular herbal supplements that was marketed as a “miracle cold buster,” have decided to settle the false-advertising complaints in a class-action lawsuit for $23.3 million, according to one of the plaintiffs in the suit.
While agreeing to reimburse customers for up to six purchases of Airborne products, the company made no stunning admissions. “Defendants deny any wrongdoing or illegal conduct, but have agreed to settle the litigation,” the company said in a statement.
Under the agreement, a special Web site was created here to accept claims from customers, who have spent far more than $23.3 million on the range of Airborne products, from Airborne On-the-Go and Airborne Nighttime to Airborne Gummi and Airborne Power Pixies, which is sweetened for children.

OMG

RTFA: http://www.ajc.com/multimedia/content/multimedia/v…

Rufus Terrill has had it with the drug dealers, petty thieves and vandals he says roam the streets outside his downtown Atlanta bar, O’Terrills. Instead of calling the police or hiring private security guards, Terrill built his own security robot. (Ryon Horne/AJC)

Yep… that’s actually the headline…

RTFA: http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/business/business-c…

AMSTERDAM/LONDON (Reuters) - A Dutch-listed affiliate of private equity firm Carlyle Group has not been able to meet some margin calls and has received a notice of default, it said on Thursday.Carlyle Capital Corporation (CCC) said it received margin calls totaling more than $37 million from seven financing parties on Wednesday and was unable to meet the demands for extra collateral to cover its market positions for four of them.It said it received one default notice and expected at least one more.Listed on the Amsterdam exchange last July, CCC invests in products including investment grade mortgage-backed securities.CCC as of last month had a $21.7 billion investment portfolio of AAA-rated floating-rate capped U.S. mortgage-backed securities issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Enron!

RTFA: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080306/ap_on_re_us/mi…

Hall alleges he was denied his constitutional right to hold a meeting to discuss atheism while he was deployed in Iraq with his military police unit. He says in the new complaint that his promotion was blocked after the commander of the 1st Infantry Division and Fort Riley sent an e-mail post-wide saying Hall had sued.

Fort Riley spokeswoman Alison Kohler said the post “can’t comment on ongoing legal matters” and offered no further statement.

According to the lawsuit, Hall was counseled by his platoon sergeant after being informed that his promotion was blocked. He says the sergeant explained that Hall would be “unable to put aside his personal convictions and pray with his troops” and would have trouble bonding with them if promoted to a leadership position.

Hall responded that religion is not a requirement of leadership, even though the sergeant wondered how he had rights if atheism wasn’t a religion. Hall said atheism is protected under the Army’s chaplain’s manual…

Maj. Freddy J. Welborn was named in the lawsuit as the officer who prevented Hall from holding a meeting of atheists and non-Christians. It alleges that Welborn threatened to file military charges against Hall and to block his re-enlistment. Welborn has denied the allegations.

The lawsuit alleges that Gates permits a military culture in which officers are encouraged to pressure soldiers to adopt and espouse fundamentalist Christian beliefs, and in which activities by Christian organizations are sanctioned.

Hall’s attorneys say Fort Riley has permitted a culture promoting Christianity and anti-Islamic sentiment, including posters quoting conservative columnist Ann Coulter and sale of a book, “A Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam,” at the post exchange.

RTFA: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7280892.stm

Carlyle Capital Corporation, the fund manager backed by the giant private equity firm Carlyle Group, has not been able to meet several payment demands.

The company said it received margin calls from seven financing groups that totalled $37m and it was not able to meet four of those requests.

A margin call is a payment to guarantee a much larger debt or investment.

Carlyle Capital invested in assets backed by US mortgages, which have been hard to value since the credit crunch.

In a statement, the company’s chief executive, John Stomber, said the last few days had created a market environment that did not fairly value the fund’s assets.

He said that had caused “instability” and “variability” in the company’s financing arrangements.

He said Carlyle Capital was working with the companies involved to sort out the issues.

One creditor has issued a default notice and Carlyle Capital expects to receive a second such notice.