Spoke to Adam Schiff about an hour ago before he got on a South Carolina-bound flight, he gave a quick update on agreement for an economic stimulus package:

-- "Rebate checks to 117 million families"
-- "$35 million low-income familes will get tax relief as well."
-- Part of a $150 billion package, "a modest boost" but "given the size of our economy it will be modest but helpful."

UPDATED: Gary Scott, who removed me after lobbying to be included on this blog roll, offers his erudite take:

This is casino economics. Let the drunk who's down $500 at the craps table gamble the house's money and fleece him for another $700 as he tries to dig his way out of the hole he's in.

Posted by Todd at 1:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Hugh Hoyland better clear some board space for this one:

British newspapers went crazy Wednesday morning about an image from Mars that appears to show a humanoid figure descending a shallow hillside.

The "alien" is actually a blurry detail in a huge panoramic photograph snapped on the edge of Mars' Gusev crater by NASA's Spirit rover in early November, and posted on NASA's Web site on Jan. 2.

Posted by Todd at 11:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Federal investigators raided the Pacific Asia Museum this morning and are still there -- we'll have something online shortly.

Federal agents raid Pasadena museum

PASADENA - Federal agents raided the Pacific Asia Museum this morning as part of a multi-year investigation into illegal smuggling of southeast Asian and Native American artifacts.

Officials from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Internal Revenue Service and the National Park Service spent the morning rummaging behind the red iron museum's doors, as employees and visitors watched outside.

According to a search warrant, the museum accepted stolen Thai archaeological resources and conspired to falsify tax returns in November 2005.

Employees showing up for work this morning said they did not know what was going on. One employee said she thought all the commotion was from people waiting for a tour.

"We're as interested in knowing the answers as the IRS is," Museum Director Joan Marshall said. "We're cooperating and we're happy to do that."

Photo by Raul Roa, staff photographer: An Immigration & Customs Enforcement special agent, left, and an Internal Revenue Service agent, center, stand in front of the Pacific Asia Museum in Pasadena on Thursday as an employee enters the building. The officers executed a federal search warrant at the museum.

Posted by Todd at 11:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)