Willie Aames

Willie Aames has had it tough as of recent. After his time as a celebrity (including high-profile roles on Eight is Enough, Charles in Charge and the voice of Hank in the Dungeons & Dragons cartoon), he then spent some time as BibleMan (and if you ever saw BibleMan, you'd understand why that was a bad thing), had an argument with his trainer on Celebrity Fit Club, and tried to commit suicide after his wife left him. Now he's apparently selling some of his possessions in a garage sale in suburban Kansas City.

Why do I have the feeling that this is going to lead to him being on another reality television show like his Charles in Charge co-star, Scott Baio? They say there is no such thing as bad publicity, but I have to wonder.The article lists some of the items he's selling, but it neglects to specifically mention the autographed picture of Scott Baio, the magic bow that shoots fire-arrows and the magic Bible.

Amalia Tabata

Amalia Tabata Pereira, is suspected of kidnapping a two-month old child in Florida. Pereira was found with the missing infant in Bradenton, Fla. about 50 miles away from Plant City, where the baby's mother lives and first reported her missing. No word on how long Pereira, 43, has been married to the 20-year-old ballplayer, but it's being reported that she has four different aliases. I wonder if one of them is Mrs. Robinson.

According to police reports, Rosa Sirilo-Francisco, the baby's mother, handed over her child to a woman she said claimed to be an immigration official. The woman, who called herself 'Janet,' told the mother that immigration officers were waiting for Sirilo-Francisco and the child's father at their home to deport them to Mexico. 'Janet' claimed she wanted to help the couple, but she had to take the baby with her. After Sirilo-Francisco handed over her child but then realized what happened she called authorities and an Amber Alert was issued.

Tabata's wife was turned over Wednesday to authorities in Hillsborough County after she was held Tuesday night in a Bradenton jail in lieu of $750,000 bond. She was arrested after handing over the girl to authorities in a Bradenton shopping center parking lot, less than 24 hours after the infant was taken. Jose Tabata was questioned by Manatee County authorities after his wife's arrest, but they later told the Pirates the outfielder is not involved in the case.

James H. Simons

James H. Simons, a former math professor who has made billions year after year for the hedge fund Renaissance Technologies, earned $2.5 billion running computer-driven trading strategies. John A. Paulson, who rode to riches by betting against the housing market, came in second with reported gains of $2 billion. And George Soros, also a perennial name on the rich list of secretive moneymakers, pulled in $1.1 billion.

Of course, their earnings were not unscathed by the extensive shakeout in the markets. In a year when losses were recorded at two of every three hedge funds, pay for many of these managers was down by several million, and the overall pool of earnings was about half the $22.5 billion the top 25 earned in 2007.

Government scrutiny, over Wall Street pay and the role all kinds of institutions play in the financial markets, is also mounting. Hedge funds are facing proposals for new taxes on their gains, and on Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said he would seek greater power to regulate hedge funds.