DANCING WITH THE STARS

Dancing With The Stars' Elimination: Kate Gosselin Bids Tearful Farewell

'She's a single mom, so I give her all the credit in the world for showing up,' partner Tony Dovolani says.

Fan favorite Kate Gosselin and her partner Tony Dovolani were sent packing on Tuesday night's "Dancing With the Stars," whittling the celebrity contestants down to seven.

Gosselin and Dovolani landed in the bottom two for the first time this week, and it was an emotional end to her run. In spite of continually receiving low scores, fans of the reality-TV mom voted for her to stay on the show week after week.

Well, you know, it is what it is," Kate offered when co-host Brooke Burke asked if she was surprised to be in the bottom two. "Kind of, maybe, but not really."

The judges didn't seem all that surprised, but they were baffled that Pamela Anderson and partner Damian Whitewood landed in the bottom two.

"It's crazy, and it's not right!" an animated Bruno Tonioli said.

Gosselin was so worked up, she initially was unable to speak upon learning that she had been voted off.

"I'm very proud of Kate, because I know she gets a lot of criticism out there and it is difficult — especially knowing my wife is watching with three kids — [Kate] has eight kids, and she's a single mom, so I give her all the credit in the world for showing up," Dovolani said. "As exhausted as she was, she still showed up every day. As a teacher, I'm very proud of you, because I thought you danced beautifully. You showed America that it doesn't matter how much things go against you, you still come out here and give it your best."

Finally, after crying for a bit, Gosselin could speak. "My gut feelings are always right, and it's OK," she said. "I had the opportunity; I'm very, very honored to have been here. I love everyone that I met. It was a great experience, and I'm sorry I'm crying. I'm a crybaby!"

APPLE

Analysts Raise Targets on Apple Post Results :

At least eight brokerages raised their price targets on Apple Inc Wednesday, a day after the company posted stellar quarterly profit on record iPhone sales and forecast strong third-quarter revenue.

Apple shares, which have risen 16 percent this year, were up about 6 percent at $258.50 in pre-market trade. They closed at $244.59 Tuesday on Nasdaq.

"Altogether, Apple is executing exceptionally well across all product segments and geographies and has given us increased confidence in the company's long-term growth outlook," Thomas Weisel Partners said.

BofA Merrill Lynch analyst Scott Craig said Apple's valuation is compelling, particularly based on the growth potential for its Mac and iPhone segments. These should outweigh the near term slowdown in iPod units.

The analyst raised his price target on the stock to $300 from $260 and maintained his "buy" rating.

Goldman Sachs analyst David Bailey raised his price target on the stock to $270 from $240, but maintained a "neutral" rating, saying he considers the stock to be fairly valued.


The analyst said the substantial revenue and earnings upside in Apple's March quarter highlights the power of the company's expanding product line-up as well as the leverage in its model.

He expects the trend to continue through 2010 and into 2011 as the iPad and the next-gen iPhone ramp.

The iPad has sold more than 500,000 units of its wi-fi model in the United States, in the week after its April 3 launch. The high-speed mobile version of the iPad will hit store shelves on April 30, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.

Deutsche Bank, which raised its price target to $350 from $325, said robust iPhone and Mac demand, international expansion and new product cycles should drive continued momentum.

It raised its iPhone estimates to 41 million from 37.8 million units in 2010 and to 50 million from 46 million for 2011.

VISA

UPDATE 1-Visa to buy online processor CyberSource :

Visa to pay $2 billion for e-commerce company
NEW YORK, April 21 (Reuters) - Visa Inc (V.N) said on Wednesday that it has agreed to buy CyberSource Corp (CYBS.O), a technology company that processes online payments, in a bid to increase its e-commerce business.

Visa, the world's largest credit and debit card processor, will pay $26 a share, or about $2 billion, for CyberSource.

The deal, which is expected to close in Visa's fiscal fourth quarter, will dilute its earnings for that quarter by about 4 cents to 5 cents a share.

CyberSource currently helps process about 25 percent of all online commerce transactions in the United States. Visa said the deal would accelerate the growth of all online payments, including those made using Visa credit, debit and prepaid cards.

CyberSource's president and chief executive, Michael Walsh, is expected to remain with Visa and continue to oversee his company's operations after the deal closes.

DARNELL MCDONALD

McDonald makes instant impact in debut
After hitting game-tying homer, outfielder rips walk-off single


For more than 12 years, Darnell McDonald has been riding busses in the Minor Leagues. Sure, there have been some proverbial cups of coffee along the way, including a 17-game stretch with the Orioles in 2004, a four-game stint with the Twins in '07 and even a 47-game stay with the Reds last year.

But when the Red Sox asked McDonald to fly from Rochester, N.Y., (where Triple-A Pawtucket was playing) to Boston on Tuesday in the event that they might need to put him on the roster, how was he supposed to know it would evolve into the most storybook evening of his career?

ICELAND VOLCANO

Icelandic Volcano Continues To Wreak Havoc On World's Airspace :

Flights between U.S, Britain and some points in Europe were cancelled after a volcano sprayed large amount ash clouds in skies above Northern Europe. “There are no flights that are leaving or coming from the United Kingdom,” said Steve Coleman, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which oversees JFK, LaGuardia and Newark airports.

On an average 600 flights fly between Europe and North America and almost all the flights have been cancelled for Friday. United Airlines said “we are experiencing major disruption to our services and timetable” at London Heathrow airport, and noted the situation was evolving after NATS restricted flights within affected areas. “This is an evolving situation,” it added, saying it had issued travel waivers for its customers to change their travel plans free of charge.

Further developments in operation of flights will depend on the volcano, if it continues then there is no other option than canceling the flights.

BRANDON MARSHALL

Dolphins offer Brandon Marshall a chance to keep shining :

I usually do not get too excited about big offseason moves (as evidenced by the string of posts on this page), but the Dolphins' acquisition of wide receiver Brandon Marshall looks like a great one for he and Miami.

Arguing against Marshall's skill is difficult. At 26, he has three consecutive 100-catch seasons and can be one of the more physically dominant receivers in the league. As evidenced by his 21-catch game last season, Marshall can take over any particular week.

One dead, 200 left on the street after seven alarm Chinatown inferno :

Firefighters found a body on the top floor of one of four Chinatown buildings on Monday night hours after they were gutted by a raging seven-alarm blaze, officials said.
The victim, an elderly man, wasn't immediately identified but is believed to be 87-year-old Sing Ho, who lived on the sixth floor.

Sources said firefighters entered an apartment at 285 Grand St., where He lived, and found the body on a bed.

The blaze started late Sunday in the next-door building at 283 Grand, which records show had racked up numerous violations in the past.

Ho's daughter Nina was too distraught to talk Monday night, but her daughter Kitty, 30, said, "We're so worried."

Family friend Vincent Poon, 26, said Nina was on the phone with her father as the fire raged around him.

"He said that there was a lot of smoke and he couldn't see," Poon said. "A couple of moments later, the line was disconnected. After that she went to the hospital, fire, cops and still had no info."

The blaze was under control by 2:20 a.m. Monday, but pockets of flame erupted throughout the day, officials said.

Four buildings went up, leaving more than 200 people homeless and 30 firefighters injured