US – Thursday, March 11
National
Bank your friend? Don’t fool yourself
Is your bank acting like your new best friend? Calling and writing about how they need to protect you — for a fee — in case you overdraw your account? Don’t buy it.
 
International
Canadian pols eat seal to make point to Europe
Canadian parliamentarians dug into a meal of seal meat yesterday to defy both animal right activists and the European Union, which has banned imports of seal products.
 
The Word
A little mother and daughter quality time
When your mom is the never-aging Demi Moore, you probably have to spice up your mother/daughter relationship with a little more than just having brunch together.
 
Movies
An ‘Ugly’ farewell and a role in a ‘Wedding’
It’s time to say so long to “Ugly Betty” as America Ferrera returns to the big screen this month with “Our Family Wedding,” a culture-clash comedy about a Mexican-American law student (Ferrera) who brings her African-American fiancé (Lance Gross) home to meet her caught-off-guard family. It’s the actress’ first film since the announcement that her 4-year-old ABC comedy won’t be returning in the fall.
 
Business
‘Free’ ad leads to fraud suit
NEW YORK. A Wisconsin college student is suing credit firm Experian — the brains behind the ubiquitous FreeCreditReport.com jingles — for fraudulent advertising after she inadvertently signed up for a monthly $14.95 monitoring service.
 
My Travel
Not your average island getaway
We promise not to get that annoying Beach Boys song stuck in your head — impossible now that we’ve  brought it up. Aruba, heading up that list of tropical islands sung about in “Kokomo,” is often incorrectly lumped with the Caribbean, when in fact, it couldn’t be more unique from the rest.
Like the others, Aruba has the gorgeous beaches and stunning coral reefs. What it doesn’t have are hurricane seasons. Tourists never have to worry about planning a vacation to the island that lands in the middle of hurricanes Brad, Manny or Zach. Instead you’ll be met with cacti and warm, dry breezes.
 
Updated 01:13, February the 9th, 2009
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America’s most miserable cities

 Forbes has released its annual list of most-miserable U.S. cities. Crime, tax rate and weather conditions all rated heavy in Forbes’ rankings.

1. Stockton, Calif.: With only 15 percent of adults having achieved a college degree, and the likelihood of unemployment hitting 15 percent by 2010, there’s not much to envy in Stockton.

2. Memphis, Tenn.: A sales tax of 9.3 percent is enough to launch Memphis into the top 3 on Forbes’ misery index.

3. Chicago: The Windy City’s highest-of-all tax rate — 10.3 percent — was its downfall.

4. Cleveland: With more snow than any major metro center aside from Denver (which is actually very nice), Cleveland’s sidewalk-shoveling necessity helped it make the list.

5. Modesto, Calif.: The United States’ highest car theft rate isn’t the only thing weighing down Modesto. It’s also got an unemployment level expected to top 16 percent by the end of 2009.

6. Flint, Mich.: Most people remember Flint from Michael Moore’s “Roger and Me.” Not much has changed for the better.

7. Detroit: Government corruption isn’t unique to Detroit. But its highest-in-the-country violent crimes rate is. Additionally, the collapse of the auto industry is a real downer.

8. Buffalo, N.Y. : Buffalo gets about 90 inches of snow a year.

9. Miami: The lovely weather couldn’t save this Southern son: According to Moody’s, approximately 26 percent of mortgages are either delinquent or in danger.

10. St. Louis: The Gateway City just scored overall low ratings in all categories. No standout stats, but all around miserable.                                    

Metro/ Forbes magazine