Connecticut

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — Prosecutors in Santa Barbara have charged Heather Locklear with misdemeanor driving under the influence, citing prescription drugs. The California Highway Patrol said Locklear showed “obvious impairment” when an officer noticed her car parked on a highway and blocking a lane in Montecito in September, but that alcohol was ruled out.The actress was tested for drugs at a police station and released.Locklear, whose television credits include “Dynasty” and “Melrose Place,” divorced from Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora last year and sought treatment for anxiety and depression in June. She is scheduled for arraignment on Jan. 26.Her attorney, Blair Berk, had no comment when reached via e-mail Monday. (Read the full post about ‘Heather Locklear Charged With DUI’…)

NEW YORK — Country singer Mindy McCready said she broke off her relationship with ex-Houston Astro Roger Clemens when the former baseball star wouldn’t marry her.Details are in her interview with “Inside Edition.”But McCready is quoted by the New York Daily News as saying she didn’t want to marry Clemens.McCready told “Inside Edition” she met Clemens when she was 16, not 15. (Read the full post about ‘McCready Opens Up About Clemens’…)

WASHINGTON — Consumer prices plunged by the largest amount in the past 61 years in October as gasoline pump prices dropped by a record amount. The Labor Department said Wednesday that consumer prices fell by 1 percent last month, the biggest one-month decline on records that go back to February 1947. The drop was twice as large as the 0.5 percent decline analysts expected. The big drop reflected not only a huge fall in gasoline and other energy costs, but widespread declines in other areas. Core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy, fell by 0.1 percent last month, the first drop in core prices in more than a quarter-century. (Read the full post about ‘Consumer Price Drop Largest In 61 Years’…)

CAIRO, Egypt — Al-Qaida’s No. 2 leader used a racial epithet to insult Barack Obama in a message posted Wednesday, using a demeaning racial term implying that the president-elect is a black American who does the bidding of whites. The message appeared chiefly aimed at persuading Muslims and Arabs that Obama does not represent a change in U.S. policies.Ayman al-Zawahri said in the message, which appeared on militant Web sites, that Obama is “the direct opposite of honorable black Americans” like Malcolm X, the 1960s African-American rights leader. (Read the full post about ‘Al-Qaida No. 2 Calls Obama Racial Slur’…)

WASHINGTON — Congressional backers of $25 billion in emergency loans to the U.S. auto industry are urging colleagues not to punish Detroit’s Big Three for past mistakes. 2009 Autos | Survey House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank also said there seems to be a congressional bias in agreeing to help white-collar bankers but not blue-collar auto workers. But Alabama Republican Spencer Bacchus said the bailout would only “push the problem further down the path.” The top Senate Banking Committee Republican said nothing will turn around the troubled U.S. auto industry until its top management is ousted and the manufacturing model overhauled. Sen. (Read the full post about ‘Congressional Backers Urge Help For Big 3′…)

LONDON — Rapper Kanye West was arrested after a disturbance outside a nightclub in England early Friday, but he was released without charges.

The British Press Association and other outlets reported that West was detained after tangling with a photographer outside a bar in Newcastle.

Police said only that a 31-year-old man had been arrested on suspicion of assault after an incident at a nightclub and was released.

British police usually do not identify suspects who have not been charged.

A spokeswoman for West did not return calls requesting comment.

LAS VEGAS — Comedian Wanda Sykes said the passage of a same-sex marriage ban in California has led to her be more outspoken about being gay. Before, Sykes said she never felt she had to make a big deal about her sexuality. She said her friends and family knew she was a lesbian, but otherwise she was just living her life, “not necessarily in the closet.” But now she said it’s time to get in people’s faces. (Read the full post about ‘Wanda Sykes Says She’s ‘Proud To Be Gay’’…)

LOS ANGELES — Revenge is sweet — but so is $70.4 million.

That’s how much money has gone through the box office this weekend for the new James Bond film, “Quantum of Solace.” It’s the one in which Bond, played by Daniel Craig, tries to get revenge for the death of his lover in the previous film, “Casino Royale.”

It’s the biggest-ever opening weekend for a Bond flick — easily topping the $47 million for “Die Another Day” in 2002.

Many Bond fans had been unhappy with the choice of Craig as the new Bond — but the success of “Casino Royale” silenced a lot of the critics. (Read the full post about ‘Bond Stirs Up $70M At Box Office’…)

NEW YORK — Joe Jonas said he’s no cad. The teenage heartthrob has been criticized since country star Taylor Swift said the Jonas Brothers singer dumped her with a phone call. But in a posting on the group’s MySpace page, the 19-year-old defended himself. He said he never cheated on a girlfriend. As for claims he dumped Swift in a 27-second phone call, he said, “I did not end the conversation. Someone else did.” The 18-year-old Swift has been talking about the recent breakup as she promotes her new CD, “Fearless.” Both Swift and Jonas are multiplatinum stars. (Read the full post about ‘Jonas Brother Says He’s No Cad’…)

NEW YORK — A person briefed on Citigroup’s plans said the banking giant will cut another 53,000 jobs in the coming quarters. CEO Vikram Pandit will reveal the plan at the company’s town hall meeting Monday with employees. The person didn’t want to be identified because the plans haven’t been made public yet. The 53,000 job cuts are in addition to the 22,000 already being eliminated from Citigroup Inc.’s 375,000-member work force as of the end of 2007. The latest cuts bring the total job reductions to 20 percent.Citigroup, the nation’s second largest bank by assets behind JPMorgan Chase, has been one of the hardest hit financial institutions during the credit crisis.Over the past four quarters, the company has lost more than $20 billion, due in large part to its ill-timed bets on the U.S. (Read the full post about ‘Citigroup To Cut 53,000 More Jobs’…)