NEW YORK (LALATE)- Christine O’Donnell today denounced the Gawker “Lady Bug” article while O’Donnell’s opponent Chris Coons has similarly called the article despicable.  The Christine O’Donnell’s article comes just weeks after Krystal Ball had to battle another blogger and photos of her from a costume party.

Krystal Ball had said to women at the time to “Run for office! Fight for this country! Don’t let this sort of tactic deter you!” But while Ball tried to blame her opponent for the leak of Santa Claus costume photos, Christine O’Donnell is not blaming the Gawker piece on Coons. “The Gawker item is despicable, cowardly and has absolutely no value at all to any Delaware voters,” Coons spokesman Daniel McElhatton told POLITICO today. “We denounce it with great vigor.”

The Gawker article was written in first person by a man who claimed he had an encounter with O’Donnell on Halloween 2007, with O’Donnell dressed as Lady Bug. The article was denounced widely for its peculiar “I Had a One” title that didn’t correlate to its copy; in it, the author said he did not have relations with O’Donnell.

Yahoo News’ Michael Calderone when interviewing Gawker today also found problems with the title. “However, the anonymous writer describes O’Donnell’s anatomy in detail, which led to some of the backlash.”

Gawker’s head defended the article as “an example of brilliant packaging”. O’Donnell’s camp said of the article “This story is just another example of the sexism and slander that female candidates are forced to deal with. From Secretary Clinton, to Governor Palin, to soon-to-be Governor Haley, Christine’s political opponents have been willing to engage in appalling and baseless attacks — all with the aim of distracting the press from covering the real issues in this race.”

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NEW YORK (LALATE) – UAE Flight 201 is being escorted by two F-16 fighter jets as Yemen cargo alerts continue. UEA Flight 201 will land at 3:30 PM EST reported CNBC moments ago. The commercial jet is the latest flight prompting concerns today over flights originating form Yemen.

British official swiftly halted flights from Yemen on Friday; President Obama will speak about the Yemen alert at 4:15 pm EST in a news conference. This comes as UPS (NYSE: UPS) and Fedex (NYSE: FDX) cargo arriving from Yemen prompted alerts on Friday.

FBI investigators inspected three of UPS jets from Europe today while Fedex confirms news that one Yemen originating parcel was taken by officials in Dubai. Fedex has embargoed all shipments from Yemen promptly Friday.

No bombs nor detention devices have yet been found in any of the Yemen items or cargo jets. But officials are not sure if today’s alerts were a practice for a later terror attack or simply an effort to prompt fear.

Suspicious packages came under alert late Thursday. The President was quickly briefed about the matter. The White House in a statement today says “Based on close cooperation among U.S. government agencies and with our foreign allies and partners, authorities were able to identify and examine two suspicious packages, one in East Midlands, United Kingdom, and one in Dubai. Both of these packages originated from Yemen.”

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BOULDER (LALATE) – The Dome Fire in Boulder Canyon (fire map below) is prompting evacuations today. Today’s October Boulder Canyon Fire comes just weeks after the Fourmile Canyon fire was contained. The Dome wildfires broke out in the Boulder Canyon near Dome Rock on the City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks property earlier today.

In a news briefing this morning, City Manager Jane S. Brautigam told residents and businesses to follow evacuation orders being swiftly changed Friday. Some parts of the area are under mandatory evacuation as of Friday at noon. Fire officials tell news that as many as 1700 persons are under mandatory evacuations.

“We are asking that residents follow the directions of emergency crews now so that emergency equipment can be positioned and crews can focus on extinguishing the wildfire. Resident and business cooperation is greatly appreciated as we work to contain this fire” said Brautigam. “As a precaution and to aid responders dealing with the Dome Fire, we are ordering a mandatory evacuation in some neighborhoods within the city.”

The specific are of mandatory evacuation as of Friday at noon is west of 7th Street from Canyon Boulevard on the south to North Street on the north. Residents are being sent to an evacuation center at the Coors Event Center on the University of Colorado – Boulder campus.

City fire officials have set up an emergency call center at 303-413-7730. Fire officers say back burning is being deployed to battle blazes on the perimeter. Boulder Community Hospital’s Maxwell and Mapleton facilities were under evacuation by noon. Cmdr. Rick Brough, spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office, says the Dome Fire started at 8:10 am. Fire resources are also having to deal with 30 to 40 mph winds.

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LOS ANGELES (LALATE) – Black Friday sales this year aren’t the day after Thanksgiving; they are the day before Halloween. Top retailers including Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) are trying a new idea, moving Black Friday to October, to drive Holiday sales spending earlier in the fourth quarter for 2010.

The question is whether the retail concept will work.

For years, the nation’s retailers have battled how to attract more consumers, faster, during Black Friday. That often has involved extending store hours, extending Black Friday sales to Thursday and Saturday, and even adding an earlier extra week. But this year, Amazon and Best Buy are among the retailers that are redefining how Americans think of Black Friday.

Starting today and running through Sunday, a series of retailers are introducing their concept of associating Black Friday with the last weekend of October. And if the mixing of one Holiday – Halloween – with retail consumption for another – Christmas – seems a bit peculiar, initial news reports say it’s working.

It seems logical. As you prepare to get dressed up in black for Halloween, why not go shopping for Black Friday sales. Sears (NASDAQ: SHLD) is calling it “Black Friday Now” sales. Other retailers have yet to come up with a catchy name. And while Target (NYSE: TGT) for the first time is having Black Friday on four days before Thanksgiving, other retailers will start this weekend.

Toys R Us is putting all its merchandise in its 80-page Christmas toy book on sale this Sunday, reports NBC-LA. Sears is adding 20% additional sales. “Other retailers offering discounts before Halloween are Amazon, who’s electronics department will offer sales on items like Blu-ray players and high-definition TVs on Friday, and Toys “R” Us who will put all the items in its 80-page Christmas toy book on sale on Sunday, the L.A. Times reports.”

And yet, Consumer Reports tells news today that some of the discounting is not particularly unique to this weekend, with some of the merchandise being slashed in recent weeks. “Amazon has been discounting prices for months and, as a result, its third-quarter sales surged 39 percent.”

With better weather across some parts of the country this weekend, the idea of making shopping easier, faster, with less crowds, earlier make sense. For more click HERE.

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NEW YORK (LALATE) – James Wall, Captain Kangaroo’s Mr Baxter, is dead at 92. Death of James (Jimmy) Wall was confirmed by family today; Wall died of natural causes says reports.

Captain Kangaroo added Mr. Baxter after Wall, a stage manager with the show in 1962, convinced producers to expand the cast. In 1978, his role ended. But for the former vaudeville star who had toured with the USO, life with CBS continued even after Captain Kangaroo.

Wall moved onto other CBS projects in the 1970s where he remained the next three decades. This time Wall was back behind the scenes. Wall returned to his first love, stage manager, working CBS news, sports, even political programs. Among them were CBS hit series Face the Nation and 60 Minutes. Wall would remain working for CBS a reported 41 consecutive years.

With work on everything from elections to NFL broadcasts, Wall did it all. In 1994, the DGA took note. The Director’s Guild of America gave Wall its Franklin J. Schaffner Award for a lifetime of achievement behind the scenes on television.

Funeral arrangements have not been announced.

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