How David Blaine Held His Breath

For most non-medical people, the term “apnea” is most familiar when coupled with the word “sleep,” and refers to a dangerous condition in which people inadvertently stop breathing while asleep. But the word literally means a temporary cessation of breathing and it is practiced around the world by an international community of extreme athletes — a brotherhood that now includes magician and stuntman David Blaine. On the set of The Oprah Winfrey Show on April 30, Blaine broke the world record by holding his breath for 17 minutes and 4 seconds — proving that just how temporary apnea can be is a question of training, endurance and will

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Nintendo DSi Game Player

During the summer of my 13th year, my father took me to Japan as a bar mitzvah present. One night in Osaka, we met one of his Japanese business partners at a restaurant, where I was thrilled to learn two geisha awaited us. But my excitement quickly turned to disappointment: the geisha were hardly the sexpots I had envisioned; they were very old, at least 30, and their idea of a good time was getting everyone to play a variety of childish games involving twisted paper napkins

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Sources: Obama to move ahead on immigration reform

The White House is planning to start addressing the nation’s immigration system as early as May, two senior administration officials said Thursday. President Obama will rely on a bipartisan, diverse group of experts to help build the framework for legislation, the officials said. One official noted that immigration will not be “on the same track” as other key initiatives like health care and energy, and “nobody’s promising legislation or a vote this year.” There are roughly 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States

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Stay-at-Home Moms Seek Work

When you’re eight months pregnant, it’s hard to find a good interview suit. But a burgeoning belly didn’t stop Nicole Young, 33, from hitting the job circuit this fall. Her husband, who works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, has seen his income shrink along with the Dow

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Cruz wins best supporting actress

Penelope Cruz won the first Oscar of the night at the 81st annual Academy Awards, a best supporting actress honor for "Vicky Cristina Barcelona." Cruz paid tribute to writer-director Woody Allen, who oversaw “Vicky Cristina,” and Pedro Almodovar, who gave her some of her best roles, and thanked “everyone who has helped me from the beginning.” True to the producers’ promise to give the Academy Awards more of a “party” tone, Hugh Jackman led off the show with cracks about downsizing — “Next year,” said the “Australia” star, “I’ll be starring in a movie called ‘New Zealand’ ” — then segued into a song-and-dance number he said he assembled in his garage. Performing songs about each best picture nominee in various musical styles, with “homemade” backgrounds behind him, at one point he reached into the audience and physically lifted Anne Hathaway on stage to play Richard Nixon in “Frost/Nixon.” Then the gregarious host paid tribute to various celebrities in the audience as if pointing out VIPs in a nightclub.

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