Docs admit hospital VIPs get faster care in the ER

In a country where the average emergency room wait now tops four hours, it’s a rare American patient who doesn’t wonder whether a hefty hospital donation or a family connection may be the secret to getting speedier care.

How to score VIP treatment while on the road

When Nicole Hockin vacations in Rome at the end of the month, she will breeze to the front of the security line, jump into a private car from the airport and get a free night at her hotel when she arrives.

SEC: Ex-Countrywide chief approved special loans

Federal regulators say former Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo personally approved mortgages for favored borrowers that violated the company's policies and lending standards.

GOP lawmaker: VIP loans given to Senate staff too

A Republican lawmaker says documents show more senators and staff members than previously known received sweetheart mortgages from the former Countrywide Financial Corp., based on their perceived ability to help the company.

Fatal car crash has Russians seething

A fatal car crash in downtown Moscow has exposed growing public anger at officials who seem to live above the law, as they flout the rules of the road and endanger the lives of ordinary Russians.

Postal Service investigates boss's VIP mortgage

The Postal Service is investigating whether the nation's postmaster general improperly received a sweetheart deal on a mortgage from Countrywide Financial Corp., the chairman of the service's governing board said.

Sen. Conrad donates money over loan deal

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad said Saturday he is donating $10,500 to charity and refinancing his loan on an apartment building after reviewing documents showing he received special treatment from Countrywide Financial Corp.

RAMALLAH, West Bank — Israel has stripped Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of VIP status and given him a watered-down travel permit that is valid for just two months, Palestinian officials charged Sunday. The officials said that Abbas complained about the permit at an …

The U.S. Army ordered a "psychological operations" team in Afghanistan to manipulate visiting members of Congress into providing more troops and funding for the war there, according to a report published late Wednesday. More Articles

During his first nine months in office, President Obama has quietly rewarded scores of top Democratic donors with VIP access to the White House, private briefings with administration advisers and invitations to important speeches and town-hall meetings.

Cooper created the Violence Intervention Program (VIP) at the Shock Trauma Unit of the University of Maryland Medical Center, the state's busiest hospital for violent injuries. It became one of the country's first hospital-based anti-violence programs. More Articles

Some patients in the Denver area are having to ask themselves how much they would pay to stay with their current doctor.

U.S. actress Lindsay Lohan has been pelted with a flour bomb on arrival at a Paris nightclub wearing a fur stole. Animal rights activists showered the 22-year-old actress with flour when she went to the VIP Room Theater in the early hours of Saturday with her friend..

Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) said he and his wife knew Countrywide Inc. was treating them as "VIP" customers when they refinanced mortgages on two homes in 2003, but it didn't cross his mind he was getting a financial perk from the sub-prime lender.

Prada perfume, just like the bags and shoes that made Miuccia Prada a household name, is a classic and elegant, a perfect Prada accessory.

Four Simple Security Tips

I've been listening quite a bit recently to the Security Now! podcast. I must admit that listening to that podcast has made me a bit paranoid and it has driven home the fact that trying to achieve total security is daunting.

"We will tell it to go out to McDonald's and it will go through the drive-through and we sit in the back and it will get our food,"

If it's not Arab oil dollars, it's Russian resources roubles...Roman Abramovich is the lucky lad who not only owns a football club, but will soon grace the skies in his own A380. Just wait for the dogfight as to who gets the contract for interior fitout of this plane...

...Megastars Michael Jackson, R. Kelly and more than a dozen music publishers have banded together against Jay-Z's 40/40 Club - rapping the Chelsea hotspot with a federal lawsuit for allegedly skimping on royalties...

Hot Lead and Hotter Chicks

The kooky conceit behind Pamela Anderson's incredibly popular VIP series was the somewhat sexist in-joke about how unlikely it would be that this ditzy, good-looking blonde with the double-ought hooters could be an effective bodyguard.

Some interior designers really should look for new employment, but these guys clearly know the meaning of the word style.

...The play hasn't even been cast yet, but already film studios are lining up to adapt the upcoming musical about Aretha Franklin into a feature film, and the Queen of Soul herself confirmed that Jennifer Hudson is among the talent considered for the lead...

SERENA WILLIAMS STIRS ZAB JUDAH MARITAL DRAMA: Boxers wife goes off after catching him at the club with tennis star

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