SEOUL, South Korea —(FOX NEWS) North Korea has moved its most advanced long-range missile to a new launch site and has banned ships from the waters off its west coast through the end of July, news reports said Monday, moves that threaten to exacerbate tensions on the peninsula.
The missile, which has arrived at the Dongchang-ni launch site on the northwest coast, is believed to be a version of the Taepodong-2 rocket that the North fired on April 5 saying it was a satellite launch, the South Korean Dong-a Ilbo newspaper reported.
The North could fire the missile as early as June 16 when South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and President Barack Obama hold a summit in Washington, the paper said, citing unidentified officials in Washington and Seoul.
Another mass-market South Korean paper, JoongAng Ilbo, carried a similar report.
The North has also designated a large area off its west coast as a "no-sail" zone through the end of next month, an indication Pyongyang could stage armed provocations around the disputed sea border, the South Korean Chosun Ilbo newspaper said, citing unidentified intelligence officials. The paper also said the North could launch the long-range missile in two weeks.
Seoul's Defense Ministry declined to confirm these reports, saying it does not comment on intelligence matters. But late last week, South Korean officials said U.S. satellites detected apparent preparations to transport a missile for a test launch.
A new missile launch would significantly exacerbate the tensions running high after the North's April rocket launch and its second-ever nuclear test last week. World powers have been discussing at the United Nations how to punish Pyongyang for the atomic blast.
The North's Taepodong-2 rocket flew about 2,000 miles on April 5. The missile being readied for a new launch is believed to be an intercontinental ballistic missile or ICBM with a range of up to 4,000 miles, the JoongAng Ilbo reported, citing an unnamed South Korean official.
That would put Alaska within striking range.
In late April, the North had threatened to conduct nuclear and ICBM tests unless the U.N. Security Council apologized for criticizing its rocket launch. Pyongyang conducted an underground atomic blast last week. On Friday, it also threatened to take a further "self-defensive" measure if it is provoked by the Security Council. That threat was seen as referring to an ICBM test.
CLASHING egos have turned the seating arrangements for MTV's Movie Awards in Los Angeles into a loony game of chess.
The show, which airs tonight, is famous for the onstage antics of the award recipients. But a source who overheard conversations among the event's producers says MTV had a wild time trying to seat its celebrity guests in the audience.
"A producer looked at the original seating chart and realized the whole thing had to be reworked because so many people in the house hated one another," laughs our spy. Among the conflicts:
Whitney Port had to be moved away from "Twilight" star Kristen Stewart after producers realized Port once called the movie "really bad" and found Stewart's role "one-dimensional."
Port and fellow stars of "The Hills" and "The City" -- Lauren Conrad, Stephanie Pratt, Heidi Montag and Brody Jenner -- also had to be kept away from Audrina Patridge because, our source claims, a producer was overheard saying that "everyone on the show hated her." (Patridge will instead sit near "Star Trek" star Chris Pine.) Similarly, Paris Hilton had to be moved away from "The Hills" cast after recently calling the show "so lame and fake" and "cheesy."
Producers also had to scramble to keep Disney's talents -- namely Miley Cyrus and couple Zac Ephron and Vanessa Hudgens -- away from Nickelodeon stars Miranda Cosgrove ("iCarly") and Keke Palmer ("True, Jackson") because Nickelodeon's reps felt that "all the Disney kids are tainted." (Semi-nude photos of Cyrus appeared in Vanity Fair, while Hudgens came under fire after fully nude photos of her circulated online in 2007.)
"Basically," laughs our spy, "it sounded like all hell had broken loose trying to fit all these people into one room." An MTV spokeswoman declined to comment.
NEW YORK —(FOX NEWS) Prince Harry chatted with a math class and competed in an obstacle course Saturday at a Harlem children's organization on Day 2 of his first official visit to the United States.
Harry visited a ninth-grade classroom at the Harlem's Children Zone, a community organization that offers families social and educational services, where 14 students were working on math in preparation for a Regents Exam.
"Who's the best pupil?" he asked the class and joked, "I was always the worst!"
Later, the 24-year-old prince competed in an obstacle course with the Prince Seesio of Lesotho, who co-founded Harry's Lesotho-based charity that aids the African country's impoverished children.
He lost the race but threw his arms in the air and yelled, "Yeah!" to the cheering kids.
The prince was to participate later Saturday in a polo match on Governors Island in New York Harbor, facing off against Argentine polo player and heartthrob Nacho Figueras.
It's fun with a serious purpose, however. The Veuve Cliquot Manhattan Polo Classic will benefit the U.S. arm of Harry's Lesotho-based charity, Sentebale, which aids the African country's impoverished children.
WABC's Saturday Night Oldies is continuing its tradition of the finest in broadcasting entertainment.
Earlier, Mark played Susan Boyle's audition song for a recording contract. Those who have followed her had the opportunity to hear her. This recording could not be heard in the United States.
Gordon Lightfoot was interviewed for the first time by Mark. A very informative interview and Mark wisely played Gordon's hit "If You Could Read My Mind."
Upcoming is another interview with former WABC personality....George Michael.
Another upcoming must-hear segment is a tribute to Jay Leno and the legendary Johnny Carson.
GRAND FORKS, N.D. —(FOX NEWS) A man and woman were thrown from the motorcycle they were riding after it hit a mattress that flew off a pontoon trailer on a Grand Forks County road.
The Highway Patrol says 48-year-old Wesley Thompson and 45-year-old Cheryl Thompson, both of Thompson, were taken to a Grand Forks hospital.
Authorities say the mattress flew off a pontoon trailer pulled by a pickup on Grand Forks County Road 18 between Thompson and Grand Forks.
The pickup driver, Dean Drees of Thompson, was cited for operating a vehicle with a leaking or shifting load.
CHAMONIX, France —(FOX NEWS) Karine Ruby, a former Olympic snowboarding champion who had been training to become a mountain guide, died Friday in a climbing accident on Mont Blanc. She was 31.
Ruby was roped to other climbers when she and some members of the group fell into a deep crack in the glacier on the way down the mountain, Chamonix police official Laurent Sayssac said.
A 38-year-old man from the Paris region died in the fall, and a 27-year-old man was evacuated by helicopter with serious injuries and hospitalized, Sayssac added.
French Prime Minister Francois Fillon called Ruby an "exceptional sportswoman."
"Karine incarnated the emergence of snowboarding in France," Fillon said in a statement. "The people of France will hold on to the memory of her talent and her joie de vivre."
Ruby won a gold medal in the giant slalom at the 1998 Nagano Olympics and a silver in the parallel giant slalom at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games. She was a six-time world champion with 65 snowboard World Cup victories.
She retired after the 2006 Turin Olympics, where she was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the snowboardcross event. Ruby had since been working toward becoming a mountain guide and was expected to finish her training in the coming weeks.
World Journal: Don't let the title of this report fool you, WPLR is still in the business of playing rock music and is one of the few stations which has been in its format for over 35 years. That's very impressive.
(FOX NEWS)--American Express has sued Kurt Cobain widow-turned-rocker-turned-actress Courtney Love for $352,059.67 in unpaid charges and fees on her Amex Gold, Centurion and Platinum Cards.
Of course this isn't the first time that Ms. Love has been accused of skipping out on bills. A high-end rehab facility sued her over a $181,000 unpaid bill for a stay in 2005.
There have also been tax liens and a lawsuit from management and accounting firm London & Co. accusing her of failing to pay the 5% commission due when she sold some of Nirvana's publishing rights for $19.5 million.
WASHINGTON --(FOX NEWS) President Barack Obama is calling digital security a top priority, whether it's guarding the computer systems that keep the lights on in a city and direct airliners to the right runway or those protecting customers who pay their bills online.
To oversee an enhanced security system for U.S. computer networks, Obama is creating a "cyber czar" as part of a long-awaited plan stemming from a review he ordered shortly after taking office.
On Friday, Obama is expected to lay out broad goals for dealing with cyber threats while depicting the U.S. as a digital nation that needs to provide the education required to keep pace with technology and attract and retain a cyber-savvy work force. He also is expected to call for a new education campaign to raise public awareness of the challenges and threats related to cyber security.
The review, however, will not dictate how the government or private industry should tighten digital defenses. Critics say the cyber czar will not have sufficient budgetary and policymaking authority over securing computer systems and spending.
Officials familiar with the discussions say the cyber czar would be a special assistant to the president and would be supported by a new cyber directorate within the National Security Council. The cyber czar would also work with the National Economic Council, said the officials, who described the plan on condition of anonymity because it has not been publicly released.
The special assistant title is not as high in the White House hierarchy as some officials sought. It would not give the czar direct, unfettered access to the president. Instead, the official would report to senior NSC officials -- a situation many say will make it difficult to make major changes within the calcified federal bureaucracy.
Government and military officials have acknowledged that U.S. computer networks are constantly assailed by attacks and scans, ranging from nuisance hacking to more nefarious probes and attacks. Some suggest that the actions at times are a form of cyber espionage from other nations, such as China.
Obama is not expected to announce who will get the job during Friday's unveiling of the review, according to an administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the selection process is ongoing. Other officials close to the issue say a handful of experts -- both in and out of government -- are under consideration.
Mark Simone is a man of all media. His interviews with everyone connected to the entertainment industry, government, business and more commands our attention. Mark can be heard on 77 WABC New York and seen on CNN, NY1's "What a Week," and regularly on PBS. The best in the business = Mark Simone.
(FOX NEWS)--An Iraqi-born 16-year-old reportedly has cracked a math puzzle that has gone unsolved for over 300 years.
Mohamed Altoumaimi, who immigrated to Sweden six years ago, took only four months to find a formula that explains a sequence of calculations known as the Bernoulli numbers, a code that had stumped some of the best experts in the field, Agence France-Presse reported.
Altoumaimi said after his high school teachers were skeptical about his work he contacted professors at Uppsala University, one of Sweden's top institutions, who confirmed his formula was correct and offered him a place at the university, AFP reported.
The teen opted to continue his general studies but planned to take courses in advanced mathematics and physics this summer, AFP reported.
NEW YORK —(FOX NEWS) Eighteen people have been accused of stealing more than $1 million from hundreds of bank accounts belonging to New York City churches, hospitals, schools and agencies including the police department.
Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau says the defendants targeted nearly every major bank with a retail presence in the city and took money from 350 checking accounts.
A 227-count indictment alleges the identity theft scheme involved the use of specialized software, printers and magnetic ink to manufacture thousands of counterfeit checks. At least three former bank tellers are suspects.
Those arrested are accused of drawing money from accounts belonging to organizations such as Madison Square Garden and Mount Sinai School of Medicine. They've been charged with conspiracy and scheme to defraud.
BAKERSFIELD, California —(FOX NEWS) Police in central California say a 2-year-old boy has died after being accidentally shot by his 3-year-old sister.
Bakersfield police Sgt. Greg Terry says the girl apparently found a .45 caliber semiautomatic handgun under her parents' bed Wednesday afternoon and accidentally shot her brother.
The wounded boy was taken to Kern Medical Center where he was later pronounced dead.
Police say the children's mother was in another area of the apartment at the time of the shooting. Their father was at work.
NEW YORK —(FOX NEWS) Facebook is getting a $200 million investment from a Russian Internet investor that values the social networking company at $10 billion even though it has yet to turn a profit.
The investment gives Digital Sky Technologies a nearly 2 percent stake in Palo Alto, Calif.-based Facebook's preferred stock. Digital Sky won't get a board seat.
The $10 billion valuation for Facebook is less than the $15 billion value implied in 2007, when Microsoft spent $240 million for a 1.6 percent stake in the company — even though Facebook has substantially grown since then. However Facebook's own appraisal after the Microsoft deal gave the company a market value of about $3.7 billion, according to details revealed in a legal settlement.
The latest investment, in preferred stock, does not necessarily compare with what the company's common shares would be worth on the open market. That would be determined if the company were to go public, which is likely a ways off.
During a conference call Tuesday, Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said an IPO is "not something we are rushing toward." He called the Digital Sky investment a "good cash buffer" to support its growth. Facebook now counts 200 million users, 70 percent of whom live outside the U.S.
CLOVIS, N.M. —(FOX NEWS) State police say a 7-year-old Texas girl drove the family's damaged vehicle for about three miles for help after it crashed, killing her father.
State police Capt. Jimmy Glascock said 40-year-old Guillermo Montes of Bovina, Texas, was thrown out Saturday night when he apparently lost control of the vehicle on N.M. 77 and it rolled, coming to rest in a Curry County field.
His daughter, Elizabeth Kazza, realized he was dead, and drove for help until a passing motorist spotted her, Glascock said.
"(It took) a lot of courage. ... It's remarkable anybody could drive after something like that," Glascock said.
Authorities found Montes dead at the scene.
State police said Elizabeth told officers her dad was driving Clovis, about 25 miles from Bovina, to get beer when they crashed.
A state police news release Tuesday evening said alcohol was a factor in the crash. Glascock said beer bottles were found at the scene, and that Elizabeth and her younger brother said Montes was drinking as he drove.
Police said Elizabeth and her 4-year-old brother were treated for minor injuries at a Clovis hospital and were turned over to their mother.
