Rogers stepping down as social secretary

February 27, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

WASHINGTON — White House social secretary Desiree Rogers is stepping down three months after an uninvited couple crashed the Obama administration’s first state dinner and she was heavily criticized for her role in allowing the embarrassing episode to happen.

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama issued a statement Friday thanking their longtime friend from their days together in Chicago for the “terrific job she’s done” organizing more than 330 events in little more than a year in the post.

Rogers’ handling of the Nov. 24 state dinner came under fire after a celebrity-seeking northern Virginia couple got into the exclusive South Lawn affair without a formal invitation, despite heavy White House security. As social secretary, Rogers was in charge of the event.

Killer-whale shows resuming at SeaWorld

ORLANDO, Fla. — SeaWorld will restart its killer-whale shows this weekend after Tilikum, the largest orca in captivity, dragged a trainer to her death in the water at the Orlando park.

SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment President Jim Atchison said Friday trainers won’t get in the water with the killer whales for now until officials finish reviewing what happened to veteran trainer Dawn Brancheau, 40.

“We will make improvements and changes, and we will move forward,” Atchison said as killer whales swam in a tank behind him during a news conference at the Florida park, one of three SeaWorld locations. The others are in San Antonio and San Diego.

The trainer was dragged into the water Wednesday by Tilikum. The medical examiner says she likely died of traumatic injuries and drowning.

Atchison says Tilikum will remain an “active, contributing member of the team” at SeaWorld.

TV’s Dr. Drew treats Gary Coleman’s seizure

LOS ANGELES — Gary Coleman suffered a seizure on the set of “The Insider” Friday and received immediate treatment from Dr. Drew Pinsky, who happened to be on set as well. “The Insider” says on its Web site that Coleman was transported to a local hospital in stable condition.

Coleman walked off “The Insider” during a visit to the show earlier this month. He was being interviewed about his arrest in Utah last year on domestic- violence charges when he blew up, telling the attorney questioning him to “drown herself in the ocean” before he stormed off the set. Coleman was briefly hospitalized last month after suffering a seizure. He has had two failed kidney transplants and been plagued by various health problems.

Strong winds fan hotel fire, destroying block

HAMPTON, N.H. — A fire that started in an unoccupied oceanfront hotel was fanned by hurricane-force winds and spread to several nearby buildings, engulfing and destroying an entire block of businesses on a stretch of Hampton Beach popular with summer tourists. No injuries were reported.

The ferocious blaze started late Thursday or early Friday at the three-story Surf Hotel, Hampton Fire Capt. David Lang said. The block of five wooden-frame buildings, including an arcade, a storage facility and a building that housed a gift shop and apartments quickly caught fire.

Hampton is a densely populated community along the Atlantic coast, about an hour north of Boston, and many of the area’s businesses, including the Surf Hotel, are only open in the summer. No one was in any of the buildings that burned. About a dozen people who lived nearby were evacuated.

Pa. historical society to cremate, bury skeleton

KITTANNING, Pa. — She’s been there as long as anyone can remember, and now she’s going to get a decent burial. “She” is a female skeleton owned and exhibited by the Armstrong County Historical Museum and Genealogical Society in Kittanning. That’s about 35 miles northeast of Pittsburgh.

Volunteers have been refurbishing the 167-year-old museum house before it reopens in the spring. During that process, officials debated what to do with the skeleton. The skeleton is that of an unidentified 5-foot-4-inch woman who was likely in her 20s when she died. Historical society vice president Ron Crytzer says, “She’s been here as long as anyone can remember.”

Officials plan to have the bones cremated and then buried in a yet-to-be-determined location.

Associated Press