Scheana Marie Jancan: New John Mayer Plaything

Looks like John Mayer is done pining Jennifer Aniston.

According to Star Magazine, the douchebag has moved on to a newer, younger and possibly made-up piece of tail - aspiring actress Scheana Marie Jancan!

They met in early April at a Beverly Hills lounge.

Scheana Marie Jancan, who turns 24 in May, was serving drinks at The Grand Havana Room when John Mayer started charming her and chatting her up.

It apparently didn't take long for JM to work it.

“Scheana was shocked and thrilled when John asked her out,” a source said.

John Mayer sets his sights on a new conquest.

“She always thought he was hot, and said yes right away, writing down her cell number on a napkin. They flirted the whole time, and he told her she was cute.”

Things have progressed quickly, as they often do with this man-whore. The brunette, who has modeled for Ed Hardy and Doritos and was a runner-up in a Hawaiian Tropic Pageant, has been hanging out at his rented home in Calabasas, Calif.

“There is always food and beer around," says the Star source, randomly and amusingly. "Scheana is having loads of fun there; it’s like spring break!”

Nice that John keeps her well fed and drunk at all times. Scheana Marie Jancan also raves to friends that John is “tender, sweet and creative."

Someone please kill us now.

Wildfires Hit Myrtle Beach Area

Wildfires swept through a coastal region of South Carolina on Thursday and headed for North Myrtle Beach, destroying more than 40 homes and forcing more than 2,500 people to evacuate, state officials said.

Gov. Mark Sanford declared a state of emergency in Horry County, which includes the Myrtle Beach area, and officials of North Myrtle Beach were scrambling to get residents to pack up and flee.

No injuries have been reported since the fire began on Wednesday, but the blaze jumped a state highway and rapidly headed toward a heavily concentrated residential and tourist area, prompting the mass evacuations and the closing of schools and businesses in North Myrtle Beach.

The blaze began along the coast just west of Myrtle Beach around noon on Wednesday and quickly spread, fueled by 25 mile-an-hour winds and extremely low humidity.

“Our public safety department went door to door and we asked everyone to leave,” Mayor Marilyn Hatley of North Myrtle Beach said at a news conference Thursday. “We tried our best to remove everyone as soon as possible.”

Although the blaze has moved quickly along the coast, it stopped just sort of the Intracoastal Waterway separating the mainland from the coastal area, which firefighters were hoping would act as a natural barrier.

“We realized right away that it had huge potential, that it was a very dangerous fire,” said Russell Hubright, a spokesman for the South Carolina Forestry Commission. “The other serious part is that there’s quite a lot of homes in that immediate area there.”

Todd Cartner, a spokesman for the Horry County Fire Rescue, told The Associated Press that the blaze was the worst to hit the area since 1976, when about 30,000 acres, or 47 square miles, burned.

Typically, wildfires claim about 35 homes a year in South Carolina, Mr. Hubright said, adding that the wildfire that began on Wednesday claimed at least 40 homes and damaged another 100 in barely 24 hours.

“This is the worst fire on record as far as loss of homes,” he added.

Mr. Hubright said that fire and forestry officials responded quickly the blaze, and contained about 25 percent of it by late Wednesday, but that the fire burned vigorously overnight, and by Thursday morning containment was below 10 percent.

By early Thursday, officials said that the blaze had engulfed about 15,000 acres.

Many tourists who had been vacationing in the area --known for its golf courses and beaches and which generates about $16 billion a year in business -- were forced to flee. Officials were directing evacuees, including tourists and local residents, to three nearby shelters.

In the meantime, firefighters tried to fence in the flames with tractor plows and a helicopter equipped with a 750-gallon water bucket. But dry and gusty weather conditions that were expected to continue through Thursday were threatening to stoke the flames. Firefighters said they were concerned that the low humidity and strong winds would allow the fire to “spot,” or send out embers as far as a quarter mile away, causing the blaze to spread more quickly.

“When you’re out there trying to contain a fire and you’ve got fire jumping ahead of you, that makes it even more dangerous,” Mr. Hubright said.

Charlie Sheen says premature twins "doing great"

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Charlie Sheen says his newborn twin sons are "doing great" and that a reported heart problem suffered by one of boys was a normal occurrence in premature babies.

Sheen's sons, Max and Bob, with third wife Brooke Mueller Sheen were born seven weeks premature in March. Max remained in hospital for more than three weeks because he was underweight and was allowed home only two weeks ago.

"They were 7 weeks early so things were still developing. Max has something called ejection fracture," Sheen told celebrity TV show Entertainment Tonight in an interview that will air on Thursday.

"It's the volume at which the heart pumps and how much blood the heart can pump. There wasn't anything that any other premature child, especially a twin, doesn't normally go through. Things are gradually going toward normal," the "Two and a Half Men" sitcom star said.

Mueller said their arrival, after a pregnancy in which she suffered from preeclampsia and gestational diabetes, was "scary."

"I went to the NICU to see them and words can't express how amazing and shocking to see two human beings that came out of me. But I was scared. Our babies had so many tubes on them, it was frightening," she said.

The couple said the babies were now "doing great" with Bob looking identical to Charlie Sheen and Max resembling Sheen's actor father Martin Sheen.

Credit companies brace for W.H. visit

Last fall, a group of credit card companies asked Lawrence Summers for a sit-down, with the goal of “educating” the incoming Obama administration about their much-maligned industry.

Now it looks like they’ll be the ones getting schooled.

The CEOs from Visa, Mastercard, American Express and the credit card divisions at about a dozen of the largest banks will get their meeting Thursday, but it will be at the White House, and President Barack Obama and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will join Summers as not-so-happy hosts.

On the Sunday show circuit last weekend, Summers made it clear that the administration wants to talk with the companies about high fees and predatory lending practices.

“If you are the chairman of Citibank, you don’t want your card guy going in there, because you know, having been there, that the companies will get the s—- beat out of them by the president and Summers,” a Republican credit card lobbyist told POLITICO. “You don’t meet with the president to talk about substance. You do that with lower-level guys at the Fed or Treasury — not with Geithner and Summers.”

The meeting is particularly ill-timed for the card industry. On Wednesday, the House Financial Services Committee approved legislation cracking down on credit card billing practices, frequently derided as abusive by consumer advocates. A bill has also passed the Senate Banking Committee but faces a tougher fight on the floor.

Industry representatives are trying to paint a happy face on Thursday’s meeting. “We hope it involves a constructive dialogue about the various complex issues that are involved here,” said Ken Clayton, managing director of credit card policy for the American Bankers Association.

A White House spokeswoman confirmed that the meeting was originally proposed by some banks. “As part of our ongoing outreach to the business community, we decided to expand the group to make the meeting as productive as possible,” said Jen Psaki in an e-mail to POLITICO.

But bashing the credit card industry is Politics 101 for a Ph.D.-level White House.

Consumer outrage about credit cards is at an all-time high. So are delinquencies, which hit 5.56 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008. That’s a 60 percent jump since 2005, according to the Federal Reserve.

And then there are the fears that credit card defaults could be the next financial storm to hit already struggling consumers.

Even some of the industry’s longtime allies on Capitol Hill admit that change is coming.

“Most of the banks realize that some of what they’ve done before — the processes being followed — don’t really look very good in the light of day,” said Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), whose state is home base for a large number of credit card firms.

What remains unclear is whether Obama will throw enough political capital behind the issue to get a bill passed into law.

Conventional wisdom is that any credit card reform bill would have a hard time reaching the 60-vote threshold needed to overcome a filibuster threat in the Senate. Republicans would most likely stand united in voting against it, as would two Democrats from states with a heavy credit card company presence: Carper and Sen. Tim Johnson of South Dakota.

There are signs that the political dynamics are shifting. Carper said he is open to a compromise bill, as did Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), who sits on the Senate Banking Committee.

The House Financial Services Committee approved credit card reform legislation Wednesday, and the bill is expected to pass the House easily as early as next week.

The House would largely codify into law new rules authored by Rep. Carolyn Maloney and approved by the Federal Reserve last year but not scheduled to take effect until July 2010. The House bill wouldn’t kick in much sooner, but Maloney won an amendment that speeds up the start date for a provision requiring card companies to provide consumers with a 45-day notice before they hike interest rates. Under Maloney’s amendment, the companies would be required to give 90 days’ notice.

“The dynamic and the politics have changed dramatically” from last year when the effort died in the Senate, Maloney told POLITICO.

Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, has introduced legislation that goes further than Maloney’s bill. He pushed the bill through committee without a single Republican vote.

Dodd said he moved the bill despite the deep divide in order to get the issue moving, but he plans to work with his committee to find a compromise that could pass the full Senate.

At least one of the Republican on the Banking Committee thinks that’s a realistic goal.

“There are some areas where there is significant agreement,” Corker said. Corker — who has two daughters in college — cited bipartisan support for limits on the marketing of credit cards to students.

He said that the Senate could pass a bill if senators focus on the areas of agreement. But he warned that Dodd’s bill is too partisan in its current form.

A White House push could help tip the scales for the bill.

“If [the president] calls for this to be acted upon, I think that will give it great boost,” said Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), who’s held multiple hearings investigating predatory credit card practices. “I think if this is brought up, there’d be a good chance that we can get 60 votes, even more.”

Regele Mihai: Vrem să arătăm cum trebuie slujit un popor cu adevărat

Regele Mihai a declarat, astăzi, la Palatul Elisabeta, că, prin candidatura Principelui Radu la Preşedinţie, Familia Regală încearcă să arate cum trebuie slujit un popor cu adevărat şi şi-a exprimat încrederea că Principele va putea să poarte această responsabilitate importantă şi acest ideal înalt, scrie Mediafax.

"Prin prezenţa în alegerile democratice pentru instituţia şefului statului, familia mea încearcă să unească şi să însănătoşească România de astăzi. Vrem să arătăm cum trebuie slujit un popor cu adevărat", a declarat Regele Mihai.

Acesta şi-a exprimat încrederea că Principele Radu "va putea să poarte această responsabilitate importantă şi acest ideal înalt".

Regele Mihai a mărturisit că prezenţa unui membru al familiei regale la alegerile prezidenţiale "nu este un lucru obişnuit pentru un membru al Casei Regale".

"Dar viaţa ne-a pus în faţa multor situaţii neobişnuite, pe care am reuşit să le trecem cu bine", a explicat Regele Mihai.

Majestatea Sa a mai spus că a chibzuit îndelung, în ultimii ani, la propunerile ca Familia Regală să se implice din nou "în mersul statal al României".

"Au fost idei ale intelectualilor, ale oamenilor politici sau ale tinerilor. Am făcut mereu bine ţării noastre, nu am forţat niciodată lucrurile şi nu am profitat personal de întorsăturile istoriei recente. Actul potrivit pentru ţară vine la momentul potrivit. Cred că acest moment a venit", a afirmat Regele Mihai.

Acesta şi-a îndreptat discursul către români, pe care i-a chemat "să sprijine acest pas important pentru România".

"În asemenea momente, ţara are nevoie să fiţi uniţi şi generoşi, solidari şi responsabili", a arătat Regele Mihai, apreciind că România trece prin momente grele şi că "nu ne putem juca de-a statul, punând la încercare destinul unui popor".

"Noi românii avem nevoie să fim din nou respectaţi în Italia, în Spania, peste tot în Europa şi America, oriunde în lume. Mai mult ca oricând, trebuie să ne respectăm noi înşine, acasă la noi", a mai spus în discursul său Regele Mihai I al României.

Majestatea Sa a mai arătat că Familia Regală a trăit o jumătate de secol de exil şi încă zece ani de îngrădiri în propria ţară.

"Au fost ani grei pentru noi şi poate şi mai grei pentru România. Am pus toată viaţa în slujba ţării şi ne-am dorit să o vedem puternică, bogată şi mândră în Europa. Speranţele românilor au fost risipite, rând pe rând, timp de şase decenii", le-a transmis românilor Regele Mihai I.

"În acest an, să dăm împreună speranţă României", a adăugat Regele Mihai, încheind: "Aşa să ne ajute Dumnezeu".

Principele Radu şi-a anunţat, în 9 aprilie, candidatura la Preşedinţia României, într-un discurs rostit la Palatul Elisabeta, el declarând că nu-şi propune să restaureze monarhia, schimbarea formei de guvernământ nefiind atributul preşedintelui. Principele Radu a ţinut să sublinieze că va candida independent, fără obligaţii de partid.

Anunţul candidaturii a fost făcut într-o ceremonie organizată la Palatul Elisabeta, în prezenţa Principesei Margareta şi a susţinătorilor.

Principele Radu a afirmat că, prin gestul de a candida la Preşedinţie, doreşte să deblocheze impasul politic şi instituţional în care se găseşte România şi a spus că, dacă va câştiga, va garanta independenţa justiţiei şi domnia legii.

El s-a caracterizat ca nefiind nici candidat de stânga, nici candidat de dreapta, nici candidat politic, în condiţiile în care, în discursul său, a apreciat că în România democraţia s-a inhibat din cauza luptelor permanente între tabele politice.

"Nu sunt aici pentru a arunca cu piatra în nimeni, ci sunt aici pentru a pune o piatră jos, la temelia unei Românii respectate", a spus el.

Principele Radu declara, recent, într-o emisiune televizată, că Regele Mihai nu a vorbit până acum public despre candidatura sa pentru că a fost Săptămâna Mare şi pentru că nu a vrut să îl "eclipseze". (V.A.)