SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY NEWS

Last Update on March 19, 2010 03:09 EDT

IN THE NEWS: SEACREST TWEETS MAY HAVE HURT "IDOL" RATINGS

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Loose tweets sink ratings. It's a lesson "American Idol" host Ryan Seacrest is learning the hard way. After Wednesday's results show aired live for East Coast TV audiences, Seacrest sent a tweet to promote his radio show in Los Angeles the next morning. In it, he said the show would feature Idol castoff Lacey Brown on the show. Only trouble was, the tweet was sent before the show had run on the West Coast. That didn't sit well with left coast Idol fans -- who were so angry Seacrest spoiled the ending, they said they wouldn't watch. And indeed, the Washington Post reports the show had the lowest ratings among key demographics it has ever had for a regular season show.

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IN THE NEWS: SOME PARENTS OBJECT TO SUIT OVER LAPTOP SPYING CASE NEAR PHILLY

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Some suburban Philadelphia parents want to short-circuit a possible class-action lawsuit accusing their school district of using cameras in school-issued laptops to spy on students at home. Three sets of parents who have kids in Lower Merion and Harriton high schools have gone to federal court asking permission to intervene in the case. The family of one high school student wants class-action status for a lawsuit accusing the Lower Merion School District of photographing him in his bedroom. The district has said it activated the cameras only to locate missing laptops. Parents who object to the lawsuit say they're angry about the webcams -- but are more worried about the financial effect a class-action settlement will have on education in the area.

On the Net:

Lower Merion School District site: http://www.lmsd.org

Parents group site: http://www.lmsdparents.org

ON THE WEB: YELP BEING SUED BY BUSINESSES

CYBERSPACE (AP) -- A popular site that lets people rant and/or rave about restaurants, shops and services is being sued. Several small businesses accuse Yelp of pressuring them into advertising -- in exchange for having negative reviews filtered from the site. At least three lawsuits have been filed against the site by a dozen companies -- and each of the suits seeks class-action status. Yelp denies the claims.

On the 'Net:

Yelp site: http://www.yelp.com

NATIONAL HEADLINES

LA thief steals truck as 5-year-old sleeps inside

Associated Press Writers

Associated Press Writer

NYC prosecutor: Mom accused of murder had disorder

Testing overseas may explain big drop in TB cases

BUSINESS NEWS

Stocks fade after recent rally

UNDATED (AP) -- Stock prices have edged lower at midday.

CONSUMER INFO

SCIENCE/TECH NEWS

IN THE NEWS: SEACREST TWEETS MAY HAVE HURT "IDOL" RATINGS

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Loose tweets sink ratings.

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JUST-IN'LOVE SMITH

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) -- When Purdue plays Siena today in the NCAA Tournament -- you may notice the name of senior guard Just-In'Love Smith.