NEW YORK (Reuters) – “American Idol”’s dueling Davids faced off on Tuesday as the two remaining finalists each performed three songs in their bid to take the crown in the talent show’s seventh season. Despite rocker David Cook’s surge in recent weeks, the judges were uncharacteristically united in proclaiming early fan favorite teen David Archuleta had outperformed his rival. “You came out here tonight to win, and what we have witnessed is a knockout,” said prickly judge Simon Cowell. Judge Randy Jackson concurred, proclaiming “the best singer of season 7 is right there,” following Archuleta’s rendition of John Lennon’s “Imagine,” a song that earlier in the competition had brought him some of his best feedback. Cook, 25, and Archuleta, 17, each performed three times in the live telecast before some 7000 people at Los Angeles’ Nokia Theatre. One song was chosen for each by Sony BMG executive Clive Davis, who assigned U2’s “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” to Cook, and the Elton John ballad “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” to Archuleta. Cowell, who had earlier predicted Cook would triumph, firmly stated “Round 1 goes to David Archuleta.” The next set was chosen from the “American Idol” songwriting contest’s top 20 submissions, with Cook doing “Dream Big” by Emily Shackelton, while Archuleta went for Ryan Gillmor’s “In This Moment.” Cowell said Archuleta had definitely made the better choice, calling Cook’s “a bit of a lightweight.” In the third selection, the …

I got a nastygram from American Credit Collections, LLC. out of Scranton, Pennsylvania in the beginning on June, 2007. I immediately called their telephone number and received a series of harassing telephone calls. This company does not appear to be a licensed debt collector in my state, a class I felony. Additionally, their collection letter threatened post-judgment remedies, “aggressive legal action” and stated they were verifying my employment and attempting to locate assets that could satisfy the debt. Please note, this debt, if at all legitimate, is way beyond the statute of limitations. Of course, ACC has somehow managed to re-age or otherwise misrepresent the date of chargeoff. According to my records, the account was opened March 24, 1998, last payment May 10, 1999 and charged off on December 20, 1999 for $658. What follows is fantastic example of the illegal tactics that “fly by night” debt collection companies use. Be warned. Update: If you’ve paid these people by credit card or check, I’d love to find out the name on the account they routed the money through. Please shoot me a PM!