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Starting a business can be fun, and what if you were told you could start a business without having to finish college first? There are some very lucky individuals out there right now who have been able to get money to start a business from PayPal’s founder Peter Thiel. He has offered certain students $100K to begin their business as part of an entrepreneur scheme. He understands that there are some individuals out there that do not need to finish college and in fact it would be a waste to what they could start right now. Well, not exactly a waste, but it would be better for them to give up college and focus on their business concept rather than continuing their education.

A Stanford graduate and sometimes professor has offered 24 individuals a two year fellowship for $100K. These students are going to stop going to school for the time being in order to try and get their companies up and running. One student stated it takes more than 8 hours a day to get a business going. In fact, it is a full time job. He would not have time to study and run the company. Thiel’s offer is giving him the chance to get his idea off the ground when it matters instead of making him wait through college to find the funding.
Most of the kids chosen are those who attend top universities. These students have also shown some high intelligence such as programming computers at age nine or created a solar startup at 19. The point is these students are worthy of the chance to become entrepreneurs and they do not need merchant loans and merchant advances to do it.

You might not be in the same situation, but it is still possible to get a business started. You need a good idea, the drive, and of course you need to have the research and plan to prove you can make it work. Entrepreneurs that succeed do so because they do not let things stand in their way. They are 100 percent dedicated to making something work and trying again if the first attempt fails.

Los Angeles, CA, United States (Celebrity News Service) – Carnival Cruise Lines and Facebook have teamed up to offer five lucky people an amazing trip and special access to summer’s hottest concerts. Carnival’s new marketing campaign, “Hey America, Didja Ever,” encourages people to try new things, which is certainly something the contest winner s will do.

The five contest winners will get to take along three of their friends to a rock, pop, or country music concert. Adding to the excitement is that the artists will not be revealed until the winner is announced.

Anyone who is 18 or older and has a Facebook page simply has to go to the Carnival Facebook page and “Like” it. The first round of the contest goes until June 22. The winner will be heading to Houston, TX, to enjoy a concert along with round trip airfare, hotel, travel to the show in a limo, and $500 spending money.

Jim Berra, senior vice president and chief marketing officer for Carnival Cruise Lines explains the significance of this contest. “Concerts, much like Carnival cruise vacations, provide the perfect opportunity for entertainment, bonding with friends and family, and creating memorable moments.”

The sweepstakes will last from July through September.

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Minneapolis, MN, United States (AHN Sports) – Hunters will have to wait for some time to determine if they have been awarded the necessary Minnesota permit for the bear season starting August through mid-October due to a computer glitch.

A mix up in Minnesota’s bear hunting permit lottery because of a computer-related error has forced the Department of Natural Resources to conduct a rerun of the said lottery.

The Minnesota DNR, in a news release, indicated that no bear hunting licenses have been issued, but forewarns applicants who have been under the mistaken impression of belonging to a lottery winner group after viewing the agency’s website of the mistake.

“The message to bear hunters is that we’ll get the word out when correct lottery results are available,” Dennis Simon, DNR wildlife section chief, said via the agency’s website. “We regret any inconvenience this misinformation has caused.”

According to Simon, the 2009 data was used rather than the most current data from last year by the computer in determining the hunter preference level.

Applicants will have to confer with the DNR’s website for the new lottery results which will be posted early this month. They will also be notified via mail later in June.

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Miami, FL, United States (AHN Entertainment) – The most recent revival of the Broadway musical “Hair,” from director Diane Paulus and the Public Theater, rocked the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami Tuesday night with its free-spirited, interactive performance for a run that lasts through Sunday.

As soon you walk into the 2,400-seat Ziff Ballet Opera House to witness the “American Rock Love-Tribal Musical,” you’ll quickly notice the room feels more intimate than the last time you visited. (You’ll also notice an unusually high number of patrons dressed in tie-dye). That intimate feeling holds up for over throughout the two-hours plus of the entire show.

“Hair,” more than any other production, tears to shreds the “fourth wall” between viewer and performer before bringing the house down. This show isn’t for the conservative. Performers are in your seats, tousling your hair, and dancing in the aisles. If you think you need to go to the bathroom, hold it, unless you want to be a part of the show. But then again, everyone in attendance already is.

“Hair” plays like a call to action, one for peace, love, and no war. These aren’t dated ideals, as anyone with a beating heart should still have them. Instead of the show feeling like a product of its time, it has no need to prove its relevancy. It transports the audience, like any good period piece should, into the moment of late 60′s sexual freedom and anti-government resistance.

With book and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni, and music by Galt MacDermot, “Hair” follows a tribe of New York hippies whose life filled with love, sex and pot-smoking becomes threatened when draft cards for the Vietnam War arrive. It ultimately becomes the main struggle for Claude (Paris Remillard), who feels torn between service and dissension.

Above all, what makes the show undoubtedly believable is the cast, including energy-filled Steel Burkhardt, Matt DeAngelis as Jagger-loving Woof, and scene-stealing Kacie Shiek as Jeanie. The chemistry between characters, especially between Berger and Claude, is beyond palpable.

There’s no major set pieces or special effects and the Tribe holds the show completely on their shoulders. The cast completely inhabit their roles, all the way down to their bios in the Playbill, which would make you think these aren’t actors at all but fully committed singing and dancing flower children.

The music still holds up incredibly well, with opener “Aquarius” and closer “Let the Sun Shine In” reminding audiences how these Broadway compositions were able to break through boundaries and become huge pop hits. Over 40 years since its original incarnation, “Hair” still feels like it’s pushing boundaries, inspiring some, shocking others, but putting on a show that’s surely unlike anything you’ve ever seen.

“Hair” plays at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts at 1300 Biscayne Blvd in Miami, FL through Sunday. Check arshtcenter.org for tickets or call the box office at (305) 949-6722.

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Mount Everest, Nepal (AHN) – A British school boy, clinched all seven of the world’s tallest peaks including Mt Everest, setting another world record.

George Atkinson, at the age of 16 years and 362 days (three day short to his 17th birth day) reached the summit of Mount Everest on Thursday.

He beat the previous world record of an America Johnny Collinson, who climbedthe seven tallest peaks of the world by the age of 17.

Atkinson had started to set records by climbing the Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain when he was 11 years old in 2005.

Adventure Peaks, Atkinson’s organizer, confirmed his new world record, adding the boy climbed from the Tibetan side. Nepal does not allow teen under the 18 years to climb the Everest.

“A new British Record was set by Geordie as he became the youngest Brit to complete the true Seven Summits…….” the expedition agency said, “……….. an incredible achievement.”

According to the BBC, the British Mountaineering Council confirmed the record. He was accompanied by other 17 climbers.

Atkinson isn’t the youngest to ever summit Everest, 13-year-old Jordan Romero from Big Bear, California, is the youngest climber to conquer the Mount Everest.

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Frankfurt, Germany (AHN) – Three people with symptoms of E coli bacterial infection have died in Germany since Saturday and 350 cases of infection were recorded as of Monday.

Health authorities revealed that the latest fatality was a 24-year-old woman, who died on Monday. The cause of death is still being investigated.

A 83-year-old woman from the Diepholz area in Lower Saxony died from bloody diarrhea on Saturday while another octogenarian woman died Sunday. Both had symptoms of E coli infection.

The outbreak is being blamed on contaminated raw foods in north Germany, where the number of cases rose from 90 on Monday to 200 on Tuesday. Two canteens of consultancy firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers were closed on Friday after 19 diners became infected.

Last year, a similar outbreak affected 1,000 people.

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Charlotte, NC, United States (AHN) – The aircraft in the 2009 flight that ended in the Hudson River is poised to begin its journey to Charlotte, where it will tell the story of survivors in a museum.

Pieces of the plane piloted by Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger will be delivered on a specially designed truck from the New Jersey hangar, where it was cleaned and prepared for four months, to the Carolinas Aviation Museum.

The Airbus A320-214 will be re-assembled once all its parts arrive, with the last expected to arrive by June 11. The museum is scheduled to be closed for the day to begin the process of putting the plane back together and preparing it for permanent display.

The museum is located beside Charlotte/Douglas International Airport, the destination of the Airbus when it crash landed on the Hudson. Founded in 1992, the museum won against the Smithsonian and other institutions in January to acquire the aircraft, largely because it is located in a city where more than two thirds of the survivors live.

Sullenberger was forced to land the U.S. Airways jetliner on Jan. 15, 2009, on the river less than two minutes after taking off from LaGuardia Airport. All 150 passengers and five crew members of Flight 1549 survived. A bird strike was found to be the cause of the emergency landing.

The aircraft’s trip to the museum follows an announcement from CBS that the 60-year-old Sullenberger would join the network as an aviation expert who will provide commentary on news programs.

Sullenberger, who flew F-4 Phantoms in the Air Force before becoming a commercial pilot, retired last year after flying his last flight, with his co-pilot on the “Miracle on the Hudson” plane.

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Orlando, FL, United States (AHN Entertainment) – Start planning your 2012 family vacations to Universal Orlando. The theme park is going high-tech and 3-D with their new “Despicable Me” ride and their updated 4K high definition “The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man” attraction.

The overwhelming success of 2010′s “Despicable Me” opened the doors for a fantastic theme park opportunity set to open in 2012.

The 3-D CGI adventure will transform the guests into minions and transport them through Gru’s (the evil mastermind) lair. Guests, er….I mean minions….will meet Gru’s adopted daughters, be trained by Gru and end the experience by having a dance party with their fellow minions.

The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man is already one of the park’s most popular attractions, combining 3-D and live effects, and will now be able to boast its cutting edge technology when it is reworked in 4K high definition. This will create an unbelievable and realistic experience that will transport guests into the world of Spider-Man, Hobgoblin and Electro.

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Melbourne, Australia (AHN) – A Melbourne, Australia-bound Qantas plane got low on fuel before it could reach its destination and landed in Adelaide to refuel before continuing the flight on Tuesday.

Flight 10 with 249 passengers left Singapore airport with an expected arrival time of 5 a.m. The flight crew then learned the Airbus A380 was low on fuel and the pilot decided to divert to Adelaide, landing there safely at 4:15 a.m.

After refueling and an inspection, the plane was cleared to resume its flight at 5:45 a.m., reaching Melbourne at 7:40 a.m., a delay of two hours and 40 minutes.

Strong winds apparently caused the plane to burn more fuel, according to Capt. Richard Woodward, vice-president of the Australian and International Pilots Association. He said diverting to refuel is rare but the pilot has the discretion on how much fuel to use.

An A380 plane can hold 250 tons of fuel, but the amount causes the plane to use more fuel because of its weight.

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Chicago, IL, United States (AHN) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has ordered the state of Illinois to clean up the Chicago River as soon as possible to make it safe for swimming and other recreational activities.

The order requires that the city’s two massive sewage-treatment plants disinfect partially treated human and industrial waste that goes into the river, including the Cal-Sag Channel and Little Calumet River. The said plants are apparently exempted from the said requirement under the Clean Water Act.

Last year, officials from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, which oversees the Chicago-area waterways and operates local sewage-treatment plants, said cleaning up the river will be a waste of money.

The district estimated the cost of disinfecting wastewater from treatment plants to reach $1 billion. However, a U.S. EPA study put the tab at only $242 million based on a sewer bill of $2 per month per household.

The Illinois EPA said Wednesday disinfection equipment will be installed in district’s sewage-treatment plants within three years.

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