Dancing With The Stars Season 11

ABC channel has worked everything to start the new season of “ Dancing With The Stars” Season 11.

The cast of the “Dancing with the Stars” Season 11 has been announced and this time there are a few surprising names on the contestant list.

Brooke Burke and Tom Bergeron, the hosts of DWTS announced the cast of the “Dancing With The Stars” season 11 during the ABC show “Bachelor Pad” on Monday.

The official cast of the “Dancing with the Stars” is as under

Women Participants

The female lineup includes Bristol Palin, Sarah Palin’s daughter and she will seriously attract the audience in big numbers. Audrina Patridge, the former star of Hills. Jennifer Grey, the “Dirty Dancing” star. Margaret Cho, the comic star. Florence Henderson, the “Brady Bunch” actress and Brandy the R&B star.

Men Participants

The male lineup includes Mike from “Jersey Shore”, Rick Fox, former Los Angeles Laker. Kurt Warner, former quarterback of Arizona Cardinals, Sorrentino from “The Situation”, Michael Bolton, Kyle Massey and David Hasselhoff.

Well, most importantly, Sarah Palin is very much excited for her daughter who is going to dance on the floor of “Dancing With The Stars” season 11. Bristol Palin stated that Sarah Palin knew it was very hard working but she was looking forward to it and very excited as well.

David Hasselhoff, the former Baywatch star stated that his two daughters loved the show and they convinced him to participate in the contest and he was very happy to be here.

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Katie Vick

Glenn Thomas Jacobs (born April 26, 1967) is a professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name, Kane. He is currently working for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), signed to its SmackDown brand, where he is the reigning World Heavyweight Champion.

Jacobs began his wrestling career in 1992 working on independent circuits. He wrestled in Smoky Mountain Wrestling as Unabomb where he won the SMW Tag Team Championship as a member of The Dynamic Duo, and in the United States Wrestling Association where he won the USWA Heavyweight Championship as Doomsday. He later joined his current promotion, the World Wrestling Federation (which later became World Wrestling Entertainment in 2002) in 1995 where he currently wrestles as Kane, the storyline half-brother of The Undertaker. Together, he and The Undertaker have teamed up as the Brothers of Destruction. His specialty match is the Inferno match.

Recently on WWE Raw, some classic clips of different events in the WWE that are now part of the WWE history, were shown. There were many clips for the entertainment of the crowd, but one in particular caught the attention of a huge WWE fan base; that clip was of Katie Vick.

This was the clip of a sick publicity stunt that the McMahons put up in 2002. Because the incident is 8 years old there are a lot of people out there who don’t know what it’s about. That is the reason that people got very concerned about the incident when the clip was shown.

According to the classic story Katie Vick was a girl who was in a relationship with the wrestler Kane. One night on WWE Raw in October 2002, after Kane won a match teaming up with Hurricane, Triple H interrupted the celebrations and accused Kane of killing a girl named Katie Vick. The crowd was shocked. A few days later Kane said that it was a car accident and Katie Vick was his girlfriend. The cause of the accident according to Kane was getting off the road while trying to save an animal. But Katie died in the accident according to Kane.
After that Triple H accused Kane of having sex with Katie Vick after she was dead. To prove it Triple H showed footage of himself wearing Kane’s mask and pretending to have sex with a manikin in a casket. This was undoubtedly the worst and most disgusting publicity stunt WWE could think of.

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Hurricane Earl Path

Hurricane Earl’s projected path  in 2010 could affect North Carolina. Currently, Earl is out in the Atlantic Ocean, and has maximum sustained winds of 110 mph.  As you can see from the map photo below, the Hurricane could impact the country’s east coast.

Of course, the Hurricane doesn’t appear to be making landfall in the US until Friday of this week. There’s a lot that can happen in the meantime.  The storm system could potentially weaken as it approaches land, or it could change trajectory and head out to sea without impacting the US eastern seaboard.

Currently the storm is near the Caribbean Islands. The storm system is right at the Leeward Islands right now.

The hurricanes are only the most recent natural disasters.  There has been a lot of damage caused this year by mother nature, from earthquakes to the flooding in Pakistan.  Still yet, we have until November for the Hurricane Season.  Considering that Earl is the season’s 5th tropical storm/hurricane it’s been rather mild.  Five years ago, Katrina pelted Louisiana, and that was the season’s 11th tropical storm/hurricane.

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2010 Emmy Winners

The Emmy Awards aired last night, and I must admit there were very few surprises.  George Clooney was charming, Jane Lynch won best supporting actress, Mad Men is the Best Drama and Betty White snagged a trophy for her guest appearance on Saturday Night Live.

However, HBO’s Temple Grandin – which dominated the long-form field with 5 wins Sunday night – had me up off the couch and at my computer.  (Thank you, Google.)

The biopic chronicles the life of Temple Grandin, who, according to Wikipedia, is an internationally recognized cattle handling expert, author and professor – she was also diagnosed with autism at age 4, at a time when most professionals and parents thought that an autism diagnosis was essentially a death sentence to any sort of achievement or productivity in life.

Based on her own experience, Temple advocates early intervention to address autism, as well as supportive teachers and mentors who can direct the child’s fixations in fruitful directions.  She is considered the philosophical leader of both the autism advocacy and animal welfare movements, famously getting down on her hands and knees to visualize the way animals perceive the world in order to design more humane ways to handle livestock.

In addition to her biopic’s Emmy wins, Temple was also recently named a hero on Time Magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

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BBT

Basal body temperature is the lowest temperature attained by the body during rest (usually during sleep). It is generally measured immediately after awakening and before any physical activity has been undertaken, although the temperature measured at that time is somewhat higher than the true basal body temperature. In women, ovulation  causes an increase of one-half to one degree Fahrenheit (one-quarter to one-half degree Celsius) in basal body temperature (BBT); monitoring of BBTs is one way of estimating the day of ovulation. The tendency of a woman to have lower temperatures before ovulation, and higher temperatures afterwards, is known as a biphasic pattern. Charting of this pattern may be used as a component of fertility awareness.

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Hurricane Katrina

U.S. President Barack Obama will visit New Orleans, Louisiana, Sunday to mark the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, a powerful storm that flooded much of the city and devastated the region.

Katrina made landfall on August 29, 2005. The storm and the flooding it caused killed more than 1,800 people and forced more than a million residents from their homes.

The states of Louisiana and Mississippi bore the brunt of Katrina's fury. Eighty percent of the city of New Orleans was covered by floodwater after its protective levees were breached.

As the crisis unfolded, some residents of New Orleans were stranded on the rooftops of flooded homes for days. Thousands of residents sought shelter at the city's indoor sports arena, the Superdome, but ended up going for days with little food or water.

While much of the region has been rebuilt, parts of New Orleans remain scarred by the storm. Many who fled their homes in 2005 have not returned.

The federal response to the disaster was widely criticized as slow and mismanaged, with critics blaming then-President George W. Bush and the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Michael Brown.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says the United States suffered more economic losses from Hurricane Katrina than from any other storm in history. The agency says damages and costs from the storm totaled some $125 billion.

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Randy Couture vs James Toney Fight Video

James Toney Vs Randy Couture Fight Video Result ended in the most predictable way with Randy Couture pinning James Toney on the ground giving him no chance whatsoever to show every body just how good of a boxer he was. Right at the opening bell, Randy Couture charged for the takedown and it went through smoothly and Toney didn't even seem to know what he was going to do while he was on his back.

Randy Couture showcased to the world that an mma fighter can easily beat up a professional boxer because of the wrestling advantage. Couture is just too experienced and well versed in the whole sport of MMA for James Toney to simply knock out with a lucky knockout punch. Heck, James Tony, wasn't even able to throw a punch while he was standing up. Randy Couture also looked like he was in better shape than the james tony who looked overweight at 237 pounds.

Watch Randy Couture Vs James toney Fight Video at megavideo, wisevid, and zshare. You can also begin to download UFC 118 online through various torrent sites.

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Kanye West Monster

Kanye West has been saying a lot of crazy stuff since he entered the world of digital media a couple weeks back. One minute he's corraling Raekwon for a remix for a Justin Bieber song, the next, he's in the studio with Kobe freaking Bryant recording. He's known to fly anyone out to the Hawaii studio where he's hard at work on  his as yet untitled sixth album. Last week he promised to release a song a week every Friday until the album's November release, dubbing them "Good Fridays" (see what he did there?). Earlier today, he promised to release a five song collaborative album with Jay-Z. Many balked, but sure enough, 'Ye's dropped "Monster", a collaboration with Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj, Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, and Jay-Z. The beat sounds like a Nine Inch Nails track, all cavernous low end, programmed drums, and diced vocal samples. Pick it up, if only for Jay-Z perfectly unhinged horrorcore verse. Grab "Monster" here.

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Cake Boss Arrested

Remy Gonzalez, brother-in-law of Buddy Valastro, the owner of a bakery in “Cake Boss” has been arrested on charges of sexually assaulting a teenager. Gonzalez, who also appeared on the show is being held in jail since last week, when he was arrested on August 18.

The charges against him are: aggravated sexual assault, criminal sexual contact and endangering the welfare of a child.
TLC released a statement in which they support Buddy but at the same time make clear that they don’t have anything to o with the arrest or any criminal behavior from Gonzalez:
“We support Buddy and the Valastro family during this very difficult and challenging time. The network respects the family’s wish for as much privacy as possible, and as this doesn’t involve us, we will not be commenting any further,”

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Ken Mehlman

NEW YORK — Ken Mehlman, President George W. Bush’s campaign manager in 2004 and a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, has revealed to family and friends over the past few months that he is gay, he said in an interview yesterday.

It is a realization, he said, that he came to over time.

“At least for me, it wasn’t like there was a light-bulb moment,’’ he said. “It was an evolutionary process. The reality is, it’s taken me 43 years to come to terms with this part of my life.

“The process has been something that has made me a happier and better person. It’s something I wish I had done years ago.’’

The news was reported by Marc Ambinder, a political blogger for The Atlantic.

For the last few months, Mehlman has been quietly working as a strategist and fund-raiser for an advocacy group, the American Foundation for Equal Rights, that was formed to support a legal challenge to Proposition 8, California’s ballot measure that banned same-sex marriage.

In the past month, Mehlman had been working his thick Rolodex, built from his years in Republican politics, to help organize a fund-raiser for the group in September.

Mehlman was in Bush’s inner circle in both campaigns and ran his campaign for president in 2004.

But Mehlman, in his work as chairman of the Republican National Committee and as head of Bush’s campaign, tended to avoid social issues, arguing that they would undercut the Republican Party’s efforts to expand its appeal.

He was a leading figure in the Bush White House in pushing for the party to try to appeal to black and Hispanic voters.

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Google Voice

Google on Wednesday began offering free and low-cost online phone calls to Gmail users in the U.S. through the integration of its Gmail and Google Voice services.

At a media event at its San Francisco office, Gmail product manager Todd Jackson, Google Voice product manager Vincent Paquet, and Google communications product manager Craig Walker recounted how Gmail has grown from an e-mail client into a communications hub that supports Google Talk instant messaging, video and voice chat, and now phone calls.

"We have this communications platform between computers and phones," said Paquet. "Up until now, those platforms didn't communicate with each other, and that's what's about to change."

By integrating Google Voice with Gmail, Google may be able to help Google Voice avoid the fate of another one of its perhaps too innovative services, Google Wave. Gmail has hundreds of millions of active users and exposing them to the opportunity to make free and low-cost calls should encourage wider use of Google Voice.

Google Voice was made available to the public in June  after a lengthy period of closed testing. Walker declined to reveal current user numbers for the service; in June, Google said it had over a million active users of Google Voice.

Gmail users will be able to make calls from their Web browser -- provided there's a mic and speakers -- to the phones of people in the U.S. and Canada for free, at least for the remainder of the year, and at a low rate internationally.

"We're saving people a lot of money," said Walker. "The prices we offer this at are super-competitive."

According to a price comparison chart published by Google, a call from Gmail to a U.K. landline is billed at $0.02 per minute, compared to $0.021 plus a connection fee using a "leading Internet telephony provider," presumably Skype. A call from Gmail to a U.K. mobile phone is billed at $0.18 per minute, compared to $0.253 per minute plus a connection fee.

Walker said that Google is committed to maintaining free calls to the U.S. and Canada through the end of the year, and that the current plan is to maintain this rate. He said that Google believes it can make enough money on international calls to sustain the service.

Gmail users can make calls without a Google Voice account but cannot receive them; those doing so will appear to be calling from a generic number, which, if called, will promote Google Voice.

Paquet said Google was not ready to offer Gmail calling to business customers using Google Apps. While he would not explicitly state that Google is working on administrative controls to make the service manageable by IT administrators, he made it clear that Gmail calling for Google Apps users will appear eventually.

Gmail calling for users outside the U.S. is also under development and localized versions can be expected in the months ahead.

Walker said that Google continues to work aggressively to allow users to port their existing phone numbers to Google Voice. However, he was unwilling to commit to a specific timeline for availability.

To promote Gmail calling, Google will be deploying Google Voice phone booths at airports and on campuses for travelers and students.

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Jennifer Griffin

Fox News defense correspondent Jennifer Griffin made a teary return to the airwaves Wednesday after being sidelined by breast cancer for nearly a year.

Griffin had been diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer in September 2009, and stepped down from her post to get treatment. She is now cancer-free.

Griffin chose to return in a big way: by heading to Afghanistan to interview General David Petraeus about the war. She was on "Studio B," wrapping up a report, when host Shepard Smith asked her how she was feeling about her return.

That's when Griffin got emotional.

"I must say I've been on the verge of tears all day because I've had so many warm wishes from everyone there," she said, "and I must thank everyone. It's very emotional for me to be back. Now you're going to get me all teared up!"

Smith seemed on the verge of tears himself.

"These are tears of joy," he said to Griffin. "I think you've surprised yourself this time."

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Lisa Murkowski

Back when former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) made her surprise endorsement of Sen. Lisa Murkowski's (R-Alaska) little-known primary opponent in June, both Palin and Murkowski denied that there was any bad blood between them.

What a difference a primary makes.

In a robocall recorded last weekend for Murkowski's opponent, attorney Joe Miller (R), Palin took direct aim at Murkowski.

Murkowski "has voted with the Democrats more than any Republican up for re-election this year," Palin said in the call. "She waffled on the repeal of Obamacare, co-sponsored cap-and-trade and voted for TARP."

And as returns began rolling in Tuesday night, Murkowski took a shot at Palin in an interview with the Anchorage Daily News.

"I think she's out for her own self-interest," Murkowski said, adding: "I don't think she's out for Alaska's interest."

The rivalry between Palin and Murkowski can be traced back nearly a decade.

In 2002, Palin - then mayor of Wasilla -- was in the running to serve as lieutenant governor to then-gubernatorial hopeful Frank Murkowski (R), Murkowski's father. Palin eventually lost narrowly to state Sen. Loren Leman (R).

When Frank Murkowski was elected governor, Palin was among the 26 candidates on his "short list" of those being considered to replace him in the Senate. But Frank Murkowski ultimately appointed his daughter, Lisa, to the seat in December 2002. Frank Murkowski later tapped Palin for a seat on the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.

When Lisa Murkowski ran for election in 2004, Palin considered running against her but decided against it, opting instead to back Murkowski's primary challenger, Mike Miller (R). (Murkowski went on to beat Miller 58 percent to 37 percent.)

Then, in 2006, Palin struck again, defeating Frank Murkowski in a contentious gubernatorial primary. Palin went on to win the governorship over former Gov. Tony Knowles (D).

Three years later, when Palin resigned as governor in 2009, Lisa Murkowski came out with a blistering statement saying that she was disappointed that Palin had chosen to "abandon the state and her constituents." Lisa Murkowski has also criticized Palin since then, most notably for her remarks on "death panels" during the debate over the national health care overhaul.

In her June statement endorsing Miller, Palin wrote that "though the media has tried to portray some sort of feud or bad blood between Lisa and myself, such is not the case."

Still, there's no denying that if Miller emerges victorious -- and he appears likely to do so -- it will mark the second time that Palin has worked to oust a Murkowski in a primary.

The Post's Jason Horowitz explores the Palin-Murkowski dynamic in further depth today, but we'd also like to ask Fixistas to weigh in with your thoughts on political feuds on the whole. What are some of the longstanding political rivalries out there? Are there any particularly nasty ones in your state? Any that have carried over into the 2010 campaign season?

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Soulja Boy Twitter

There have been a lot of rumors going around about Soulja Boy’s Twitter account like how he says some controversial stuff on that and even a few times about how his Twitter account was deleted. Well at the moment Soulja Boy’s Twitter account well up and running but it doesn’t yet contain any response to the video that Kat Stacks made of herself after what she claims was a hot night with Soulja Boy.

In the video she says a lot of stuff but the thing that got everyone’s attention the most was the fact that she called Soulja Boy a coke head. Well I think most of us know what that means; and for those who don’t, it means cocaine sniffer. It doesn’t make much of a difference to the police or whatever if Soulja Boy sniffs coke (of course unless he is caught driving right after) but to his fans this might be a great shock. Well maybe not because all high attitude rappers do this stuff, and they even include stuff like this in their rap lyrics.

In the video Kat Stacks even shows the place Soulja Boy was sniffing coke and that is some controversial footage. Whether the fact that Kat called him a coke head make any difference to him or not, one thing would surely make a difference, and that is the part that Kat Stacks says about Soulja Boy being such a big coke head that he couldn’t even have sex with her correctly.

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Pre Crime

A wave of futuristic technology is beginning to hit law enforcement agencies across the country, as a new computer software program called Pre-Crime makes it’s way to Washington DC. The software which is developed by a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, named Richard Berk, uses algorithms and thousands of historical data sets to predict if, when, how and where a person on probation may commit a crime.

Older versions of the Pre-Crime software which are being used in Baltimore and Philadelphia have been able to predict murder risks by parolees, however the upgraded version, which just arrived in Washington DC law enforcement agencies, is able to take that a step further and predict a large assortment of various crime types.

Richard Berk explained the major uses of the software to ABC news, saying, “When a person goes on probation or parole they are supervised by an officer. The question that officer has to answer is ‘what level of supervision do you provide?” The software program may have an important role in determining bail amounts, and if a person should be let out on bail. In addition to Washington DC, other major cities including Boston, New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago will also begin rolling out the software to their agencies as well.

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Erica Blasberg

LPGA golfer Erica Blasberg's death nearly four months ago has been ruled a suicide.

The Southern California native died of asphyxia coupled with the presence of toxic levels of prescription medication -- including prescription headache, cough, pain and anti-anxiety medications -- in her system, the coroner's office of Clark County, Nev., said Tuesday.

“While asphyxia was the primary cause of death, the presence of prescription drugs in Ms. Blasberg's system was a significant factor,” Coroner Michael Murphy said.

According to the coroner, the drugs in Blasberg's system included butalbital, temazepam, alprazolam, codeine, hydrocodone and tramadol.  The amount of medication present is not permitted to be released, according to Nevada law.

Also on Tuesday, the Henderson Police Department announced it had ruled out foul play in Blasberg's death, but an arrest warrant was issued Tuesday for Dr. Thomas Hess on misdemeanor obstruction of justice charges.

Hess is accused of removing items from the death scene at Blasberg's home in Henderson, Nev., before police arrived. Police have said Hess called 911 from Blasberg's home on the day of her death in May but was not present when they arrived.

Police said Hess admitted to altering the scene -- hiding an apparent suicide note and prescription medications in his vehicle -- and stopped cooperating with detectives.

Blasberg, 25, was in her sixth season on the LPGA Tour. She went to high school in Corona and was a two-time All-American at the University of Arizona, where she was named NCAA freshman of the year and Pac-10 player of the year in 2003.

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Martin Short Wife

Nancy Dolman, actor Martin Short's wife of 30 years, died Saturday morning at the couple's Pacific Palisades home, his manager confirmed Monday. She was 58.

The Los Angeles Fire Department responded to a medical emergency at the home at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, Radar Online first reported. No cause of death was given, and Short's rep had no further comment.

Dolman also had a comedic acting career, appearing in episodes of the sitcom "Soap" in the early 1980s.

Short is currently nominated for an Emmy for his work in "Damages," up for outstanding supporting actor in a drama against Aaron Paul for "Breaking Bad," Terry O'Quinn for "Lost," Michael Emerson for "Lost" and John Slattery for "Mad Men."

Short and Dolman met in 1972 and married in 1980. They have three children: Katherine, 27, Oliver, 24, and Henry, 20.

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Miss Philippines

On Monday over 600 million people watched the Miss Universe 2010 pageant live and they enjoyed it a lot. The hot 83 contestants were looking beautiful and it seemed that all beauty from around the world was gathered there.

Miss Mexico Jimena Navarrete won the contest and crowned by Miss Universe 2009 Stefania Fernandez. It was a colorful event which was also full of excitement. Everyone was waiting eagerly to know who would be crowned as a winner this year.

The top 5 contestants are Miss Universe 2010- Miss Mexico Jimena Navarrete, Miss Jamaica Yendi Phillipps- first runner-up, Miss Australia Jesinta Campbell second runner-up, Miss Ukraine Anna Poslavska third runner-up, Miss Philippines Venus Raj placed fourth.

The 22 year old fourth runner-up Miss Philippines Venus Raj was asked:

    "What is one big mistake that you've made in your life and what did you do to make it right?"
As judge William Baldwin completed his question first of all Raj thanked him for asking such a wonderful question and replied,

    "You know what, Sir in my 22 years of existence I can say that there is nothing major major, I mean, problem that I have done in my life. Because I am very confident with my family, with the love that they are giving to me. So, thank you so much that I am here, thank you thank you so much."


Raj made her country proud and she dedicated her victory to her family and Filipino people. Because she believes that it was their love which made her to become a part of the beauty pageant.

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Jimena Navarrete Miss Mexico

Miss Mexico is new Miss Universe

Miss Mexico, 22-year-old Jimena Navarrete, was crowned Miss Universe Monday night after beating out 82 competitors at the Las Vegas pageant.

Navarrete claimed the title after donning a flowing red gown and telling an audience that it's important to teach kids family values. Earlier, she strutted across the stage in a violet bikini.

First runner-up was Miss Jamaica, Yendi Phillipps, while second runner-up was Miss Australia, Jesinta Campbell.

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Who ' s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf

Dame Elizabeth Taylor is a legendary celebrity. A movie star from the 'golden era' of Hollywood, the actress is also famed for her personal life.

Dame Elizabeth Taylor is movie star and Hollywood legend, famous for her movie roles and her tumultuous personal life. Taylor personifies the phrase 'movie star' and has been a pop culture icon since she hit the silver screen as a child star and through her reign as a grande dame of Hollywood.
Elizabeth Taylor Child Star

Elizabeth Taylor was born in England in 1932 and relocated to Los Angeles along with her family in 1939. She signed with MGM in 1942 and was a successful child star, with movies to her credit including Lassie Come Home (1943), Jane Eyre (1943), The White Cliffs of Dover (1944), National Velvet (1944), Courage of Lassie (1946) and Life with Father (1947).
Elizabeth Taylor Movie Star

Elizabeth grew up to become one of the most desired women in Hollywood. As a young actress, Taylor was a true beauty with violet eyes and a show-stopping figure. In a tribute by the late Paul Newman, which was broadcast on Turner Movie Classics (TCM), Newman credited Taylor's ability to bring her emotions to the surface as an actress. Newma and Taylor starred in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof together. Paul Newman a Movie
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At the age of 18, Elizabeth Taylor portrayed the engaging young bride in 'The Father of the Bride' (1950).' Taylor portrayed a young woman in love with her father, portrayed by Spencer Tracy, wrapped around her little finger as the family made wedding plans. It was during this period that Elizabeth Taylor married her first husband, Nicky Hilton, of the Hilton Hotel family.

In A Place in the Sun' (1951), Taylor showed passion and vulnerability in her role of a wealthy young woman in love with a conflicted, social climbing young man portrayed by Montgomery Clift. The actress and actor formed a long- lasting friendship while filming this movie.

Taylor played a serious role in 'The Last Time I Saw Paris (1954), by F. Scott Fitzgerald.The Last Time I Saw Paris - a Post WWII Love Story In 1954 Taylor also portrayed an heiress in Phapsody and a plantation owners wife in Elephant Walk

Taylor started to receive critical raves for her work in the movie Giant (1956) and Raintree County (1957). She received her first Oscar nomination in Raintree County, as a southern belle who went mad during the Civil War era.

In Tennessee Wiliams Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), Taylor scored a triumph as Cat, the wife of Brick Pollit portrayed by Paul Newman. It was during the filming of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof that she experienced a tragic loss. Her third husband, Mike Todd, was killed in an airplane crash and Taylor was in mourning for her husband during the filming of the movie.

Taylor went from grieving widow to scarlet woman by the time Cat on a Hot Tin Roof was released. The actress notoriously stole the husband of her best friend, Debbie Reynolds. Eddie Fisher became Taylor's fourth husband.

It was during the filming of Cleopatra that Taylor met Richard Burton. While portraying Cleopatra and Marc Anthony, Taylor and Burton had a love affair that ended both of their marriages. As an acting couple, Taylor and Burton were in The V.I.P.s (1963), The Sandpiper (1965) and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966). The couple married in 1964 and divorced in . They remarried in 1975 for one year.

Elizabeth Taylor married politician John Warner in 1976 and the marriage lasted in 1982. She married Larry Fortensky at Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch in 1991. Elizabeth Taylor and Michael Jackson were close personal friends. Taylor appeared in an Oprah Winfrey interview with Jackson and stated that although they appeared to be a mismatch, the two had a lot in common, including experiences as child stars. King of Pop Michael Jackson Remembered on Oprah Winfrey Show

Elizabeth Taylor had four children. During her marriage to Michael Wilding (1952-1957) she gave birth to Michael Jr. and Christopher. She had a daughter, Liza Todd, with her third husband Mike Todd. She adopted Maria, a German orphan, in 1964.
Elizabeth Taylor Oscar Nominations and Wins

Elizabeth Taylor was nominated for the Oscar by the Academy Awards five times. She won Oscars for her performances in Butterfield 8 (1960) and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf (1966). She was nominated for her performances in Raintree County (1954), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) and Suddenly Last Summer (1959) according to IMDb.

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Mockingjay

Long before it was published, it reached the coveted top spot on Amazon.com. Its publisher ordered an enormous number of copies printed. Eager readers have planned to celebrate its arrival at elaborate midnight release parties.

“Mockingjay,” the final volume of Suzanne Collins’s “Hunger Games” trilogy, comes out on Tuesday from Scholastic.

It is not “Harry Potter” or “Twilight,” but there are echoes of those phenomena in the reception of “Mockingjay,” the final volume of Suzanne Collins’s “Hunger Games” books, a trilogy of dystopian young-adult novels.

Booksellers around the country are hoping that “Mockingjay,” which is set to be published on Tuesday, will give them a much-needed lift in sales as the summer draws to a close.

“It will be the biggest book in the Y.A. section, probably for the entire year,” said Sarah Hutton, the children’s book buyer and store manager at Village Books in Bellingham, Wash., using the shorthand for young-adult books.

The “Hunger Games” trilogy unfolds in a grim future-world where children are sent into an arena to fight to the death. Ms. Collins has described the story as rooted in the Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur.

While dystopian fiction for teenagers has been around for decades, it has recently experienced a small revival in books like “The Maze Runner” by James Dashner and “Incarceron” by Catherine Fisher. Many of these books have also built a considerable audience among adults.

Much of the conversation about the “Hunger Games” trilogy has happened online, from fan fiction to Facebook pages devoted to the series.

“The teen market is all over the place, but they are what is selling at the moment,” said Connie Griffin, the children’s book specialist at Bookworks in Albuquerque. “We’re getting away from the whole fallen-angels thing, the high school dramas, the dragons and the straight mysteries.”

Scholastic, publisher of the “Hunger Games” trilogy, has planned to print 1.2 million copies of “Mockingjay” and issued strict orders that booksellers not sell it until 12:01 a.m. Tuesday.

Many independent booksellers, including Bookworks, have tried to build excitement by planning book-release parties with trivia, costumes and games, similar to the events held when volumes in the “Harry Potter” and “Twilight” series were released. (Borders has planned release parties for Saturday.)

At Powell’s Books in Portland, Ore., managers have ordered 3,600 copies of “Mockingjay,” a supply they hope will last about three weeks. Gerry Donaghy, the new-book purchasing supervisor at Powell’s, said he expected the book would be right behind the Stieg Larsson “Millennium” series in sales for the year.

After “Mockingjay,” though, booksellers don’t see another surefire hit around the corner.

“It’s one of those waves — this is the big one, and we all want to get our boards up on this,” said Carol Chittenden, the owner of Eight Cousins, a bookstore in Falmouth, Mass. “There are lots of other little waves coming along, but I don’t know what the next big wave will be. That’s part of the fun and part of the frustration of the thing.”

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Kacey Barnfield

The "Resident Evil" star is up with her latest photo shoots showing her gorgeous appearances nearly good like of what we saw in her film. Kacey Louisa Barnfield probably do a posed for a Maxim magazine because it is  pretty spectacular for a regular one we can buy in a news stands. Although nobody confirmed where it will going to showed-out soon but there are bunch of that pics on the line waiting for anyone and might already gained the attention of other folks who are following her.

Kacey Louisa Barnfield New Photo Shoots

Celebrity sites are now talking about her photos, how she handles and managed to appear like a woman of anyone's dream. In what she used to wear and where is that stuff came from? We are still wondering for that mind bending shoots we expect to land in our hands soon.

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Hurricane Danielle

At the 5pm advisory form the National Hurricane Center, Danielle became the second hurricane of the season in the Atlantic. This storm is taping into warm water in the central Atlantic which is averaging about 1 degree above normal.  The upper level winds have relaxed, so there is a strong chance that this storm could strengthen to a category 3 storm.
Left side you will see the visible satellite of Hurricane Danielle which shows the explosive development of this storm over the open water of the central Atlantic.  At this time, there is no immediate threat to land within the next five days.


3 Reasons Hurricane Danielle May Have Been Named After Danielle StaubAs the new Tropical Storm Danielle picks up speed–heading toward being Hurricane Danielle–we simply have to wonder: How coincidental is it that our newest hurricane shares a moniker with the one and only Real Housewives of New Jersey hurricane, Danielle Staub? We’re prepared to make the case for why it would be fitting to compare the tropical storm and the…New Jersey storm.

1. They move quickly, hitting multiple targets along the way. According to Huffington Post, Hurricane Danielle is moving west-northwest, in the direction of Bermuda after starting in the Central Atlantic. Kind of like how Danielle Staub targeted Dina and Caroline in the early days of Real Housewives of New Jersey, then gradually worked her way through the group–having it out with Teresa, Jacqueline, and, of course, Jacqueline’s daughter.

2. They’re destructive and unwanted. We were enjoying summer weather this year, and now we have to deal with worrying about a hurricane invading and ruining our last precious moments of this favorite season. And we think it’s pretty safe to say, the other New Jersey Housewives were pretty blissful in their world of over-spending and gossiping about where they can get their way-too-young daughters manicures and hair blow-outs–until Danielle came along and insisted on incorporating herself and her conspiracy theories into their lives.

3. They’re utterly chaotic. Just looking at those computer generated images of hurricane paths stress us out–we only have a slight idea of where they’re going to go next, and that whole spiral image is completely daunting and totally unnerving.

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Long Island Railroad

Trains on the Long Island Rail Road are now running on a reduced schedule for Monday evening -– and very few will stop at the railroad’s hub of Jamaica Station in Queens — as officials slowly restored service after a nearly century-old piece of equipment caught fire, snarling service all along the railroad.

“Even if it means less service, it’s still train service,” Helena E. Williams, the president of the railroad, said at a news conference. “We restored it; we’ll get them home.”

More than 100,000 commuters leaving the city are having to make do with about 75 trains between 4 and 8 p.m., 40 percent fewer than the usual schedule of 120 trains, officials said. Trains that depart Pennsylvania Station will not stop at Jamaica Station, in Queens, where the fire occurred. Delays are expected, but officials declined to estimate how long they might be. Tuesday morning’s commute also looked uncertain.

Ms. Williams encouraged evening commuters to “take their time” and not rush to Pennsylvania Station, where officials hope to avoid overcrowding. “This is not like a snowstorm where the snow is still falling and everybody tries to get an early seat,” she said. “Enjoy a nice stroll in Manhattan.”

With Jamaica Station, the railroad’s main pivot point, mostly unusable, passengers were asked to make connections to their branches at stations farther east. Trains to Oyster Bay, for instance, will depart Pennsylvania Station and make local stops to Mineola, where passengers can transfer. Passengers on the Port Jefferson line can transfer at stations in Hicksville and Huntington.

The West Hempstead line will run to the Valley Stream station, with farther stops available by shuttle bus. Trains on the Hempstead and Far Rockaway lines will depart from Atlantic Terminal on Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn. And trains on the Montauk, Patchogue and Speonk lines will make transfers at the Babylon station.

The fire occurred around 11 a.m. on Monday after an electrical surge in two or more cables embedded in the tracks near Jamaica Station, officials said. The surge fed into a crucial control tower just east of the station, known as the Hall Tower, and sparked a fire in the ancient equipment that controls the station’s track switches.

That equipment, which was designed in 1913 and requires individual workers to use levers and pulleys to move switches, is scheduled to be replaced this fall with a modern, computerized system.

To restore some service, track workers used mallets and spikes to physically lock the switches into place so trains could move through the station.

The railroad does not yet know how service will be affected Tuesday morning. Officials are assessing the condition of the signal system.

Update, 4:29 p.m. | Service on the Long Island Rail Road is being restored to about 60 percent of normal for the evening rush after an electrical fire in a 1913 vintage, manual train-switching system in Queens crippled the railroad for most of Monday afternoon. Officials said they were not sure whether service would be completely restored in time for Tuesday morning’s commute.

Update, 3:42 p.m. | Service was partially restored on the Long Island Rail Road around 3 p.m., as five trains departed Pennsylvania Station, including trains bound for Ronkonkoma, Babylon and Huntington.

But thousands of riders still remained stranded there — some agitated, some resigned.

Jason Nuñez, 25, a student at Adelphi University trying to get to the school’s Garden City campus, said he saw his train on the Hempstead line listed briefly and tantalizingly on the departure board, only to see it taken down.

Mr. Nuñez said around 3:15 that he needed to hand in paperwork for an internship by 5 p.m.

“I am going to have to beg the manager for an extension,” Mr. Nuñez said. “If he doesn’t give it to me, I might lose my job.”

Updated, 2:59 p.m. | Nearly all train service on the Long Island Rail Road has been suspended since 11 a.m. after a fire broke out in a crucial control tower at the railroad’s hub at Jamaica Station in Queens, the railroad said.

Officials do not know whether repairs can be made in time for the afternoon rush, but service is not expected to be fully restored.

“We are not going to be able to operate all of our trains in the evening rush hour,” said Sam Zambuto, a railroad spokesman.

The railroad is currently unable to control the switches that allow trains to change tracks just east of Jamaica Station, a juncture point for 10 of the railroad’s 11 branches. The problem means that trains headed to and from New York City cannot pass that point.

The railroad has suspended nearly all its trains until the problem can be resolved, but trains on the Port Washington branch, the one route that does not pass through Jamaica Station, are continuing to operate on their tracks through northeastern Queens to Nassau County.

The fire, believed to be electrical, began in the switching tower around 11:10 a.m. and was under control by noon with no injuries, said a Fire Department spokesman, Steve Ritea.

“It was fairly contained, not a lot of damage,” Mr. Ritea said. But the flame apparently did enough to throw the railroad’s switching system out of commission.

Alternative options for evening commuters remained unclear. If operations cannot be restored, “you’re talking a major disaster here,” said William Henderson, executive director of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Council, a riders’ group. “You are going to have a lot of people who are looking for ways to get home tonight.”

Riders leaving Manhattan and Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn may be able to reach Jamaica Station via the E, J, and Z subway lines, but it was unclear whether the railroad would be able to restore eastbound service out of Jamaica.

Mr. Henderson said the station is not built to handle the capacity of the railroad’s primary terminal, Pennsylvania Station in Midtown Manhattan.

“Jamaica is not really designed as a station for people to come in from the outside,” Mr. Henderson said. “It’s designed as a station for people to walk across the platform and transfer to another train. It doesn’t have the capacity to handle a big crowd coming in from the subway.”

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Elin Nordegren

It's official: Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren are now divorced. The papers were finalized today in Bay County Circuit Court in Florida, but no settlement terms were divulged.

"While we are no longer married, we are the parents of two wonderful children and their happiness has been, and will always be, of paramount importance to both of us," the former couple said in a joint statement.

It's tempting to say the mess of the divorce is now behind them. But it probably won't be for a little while. More details -- including that settlement amount -- will undoubtedly be dredged up in the coming days. (TMZ's already  released the court papers, in handy, easy-to-print PDF form.) But Woods and Nordegren are at least a little closer to being able to move on.

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Lirr

The Long Island Rail Road is expected to run at 60% of capacity during the evening rush hour after a fire in a switching tower shut down almost the entire system on Monday, stranding thousands of commuters across Long Island and at Penn Station.

  
    Sarah Tilly, hoping to catch a train to Long Island for her vacation on Fire Island, stands next to her suitcases as she listens for news of train cancellations at Penn Station.

Service stopped on every part of the railroad except the Port Washington branch just before 11 a.m. Monday. The LIRR said Monday afternoon that “very limited” service was resuming through Jamaica. But the railroad will operate fewer trains than normal, and the 100,000 LIRR commuters leaving New York City will likely face delays and crowded trains.

“Once we lose control of the cable and switch systems, we do not move trains” for safety purposes, LIRR President Helena Williams said Monday.

Passengers heading back to Long Island will have to line up outside Penn Station before going onto trains. Police were going to be on hand for crowd control, Williams said. All trains were going to make local stops.

“There’s a high enough density of train service, even at 60%, that we’ll be able to get our customers home,” she said.

The fire knocked out the large, decades-old switching machine in a tower east of Jamaica Station in Queens. Workers at the tower were briefly evacuated, and the railroad suspended service on almost all of its lines. Firefighters quickly put out the fire, but the railroad was still trying to figure out how much damage had been caused.

Workers at the switching tower control which trains go onto which tracks by flipping a series of levers. LIRR crews spent much of the afternoon setting routes manually with an old-fashioned system called blocking-and-spiking, Charles said.

Richard Jerothe, a 45-year-old executive at a Brooklyn medical transportation company, boarded a 10:11 train at Ronkonkoma headed for Atlantic Terminal. But the train only made it as far as Floral Park, where it sat for hours. Late for an important meeting to discuss backup generators for ambulance depots, Mr. Jerothe’s hopes were briefly lifted when he heard an announcement that the railroad was preparing bus service. But 45 minutes later, he said, another announcement told him there would be no buses.

“The crews on the trains have absolutely no information coming down from corporate or from management to let them know what’s going on,” Jerothe said. “It puts them in a really tough position.”

Charles, the LIRR spokesman, said the railroad has been trying to disseminate information through its e-mail alert system and the news media.

In Manhattan, Maureen Michaels was deciding Monday afternoon whether to share a car service home to Cold Spring Harbor with her sister. Michaels, who chairs the LIRR Commuter Council, wanted to get home to help her daughter pack for her freshman year of college. She blasted the LIRR for not having plans in place to deal with the outage.

“I think that there should be buses parked right out in front of Penn Station,” she said. “They need a contingency plan … other than ‘we’re going to run trains few and far between’.”

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Johnny Damon

Johnny Damon has a chance to return to the one place he thought would never take him again. The Red Sox claimed the Detroit Tigers outfielder on waivers today, he said.

He found out about 3 p.m., when his agent called his wife.

Because of a no-trade clause in his contract, Damon gets to decide whether he returns to the Red Sox. The Tigers are allowed to trade him to eight teams without his permission, but Boston was not one of them. Damon has until Wednesday afternoon to decide whether to allow a deal to be made.

“I have to think long and hard if I’m going to be one of the nicest guys in baseball but, again, the most hated guy in baseball,” Damon said.

Damon left the Red Sox for the archrival New York Yankees after the 2005 season. He signed a one-year, $8-million contract with the Tigers this off-season, after four years in New York.

He often is booed in opposing parks even now and has said it wears on him. On the other hand, Damon said, if he allowed the trade, he would get a chance to repair his fractured relationship with Red Sox fans.

As this afternoon, Boston was 5 1/2 games behind Tampa Bay for a wild-card spot and 6 1/2 games behind the first-place Yankees. Damon called that positioning “intriguing.”

“If, somehow, we (Red Sox) pulled it together and made the playoffs, that could mean a lot to people,” he said.

The Tigers reportedly placed Damon on waivers Friday. Damon figured he might get picked up by Tampa Bay or New York.

But by Boston?

“I thought that ship had sailed,” he said.

Though he enjoyed playing in Boston -- Damon became part of the self-described “Idiots,” a group of scrappy players that led the Red Sox to a World Series title in 2004 -- he said things turned ugly during contract negotiations following the 2005 season.

Damon, 36, said his preference is to stay in Detroit instead of packing up his family for what could be a five-to-six-week stop in Boston. He said he would like to remain a Tiger even next year. He said he loves the organization and that club officials have been “upfront and honest with him.”

However, he said if he did agree to go to the Red Sox, he could help the Tigers by bringing in a prospect.

Entering today’s game against Kansas City, Damon was hitting .270 with four home runs and 40 RBIs.

He said he's glad to have time to think about it because the decision will be tougher than when he chose to leave Boston for New York.

“It’s something I have to think about,” he said. “I promise I won’t think about it during the game.”

Damon was penciled into the third slot of tonight’s lineup against the Royals as the designated hitter.

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Harold Dow Cause Of Death

 Harold Dow, correspondent for CBS’ ‘48 Hours,’ dies unexpectedly at age 62

Harold Dow, a longtime correspondent for the CBS hit show ‘48 Hours,' died suddenly Saturday morning in New Jersey. He was 62.

No cause of death has been announced as of yet.

Executive Producer of ‘48 Hours,’ Susan Zirinsky said “I deeply miss him already… He was the most selfless man I have know. It was his humanity, which was felt by everyone he encountered, even in his toughest interviews, that truly defined the greatness of his work.”

According to fellow ‘48 Hours’ correspondent Peter Van Sent, Dow had announced his semi-retirement recently, but was planning to do several reports in the show’s upcoming season.

The New York Daily News reports that Van Sent wrote “Harold could do it all… His range left me in awe. Harold could talk to anyone from Presidents to pimps, rock stars and accused murderers. He was the kind of man who could make you feel in minutes like you’d known him for a year.”

Sean McManus, President of CBS News and Sports said of Dow “The CBS News family has lost one of its oldest and most talented members… His absence will be felt by many and his on-air presence and reporting skills touched nearly all of our broadcasts.”

Dow began working with CBS almost four decades ago in 1972, spending ten years in Los Angeles before relocating to New York to co-anchor the ‘The CBS Nightly News,’ ‘Sunday Morning,’ and the legal magazine ‘Verdict.’

In 1986 he was a featured correspondent on a special entitled ‘48 Hours on Crack Street,’ which led to the creation of ‘48 Hours,’ in 1988. Dow became a full time correspondent for the show in 1990.

The Daily News notes that Dow won five Emmys and a Peabody Award for a report about runaways. In addition, he was recently given accolades by the National Association of Black Journalists for his report about civil right leader Medger Evers.

Dow is survived by three children, Joelle, Danica, and David, along with his wife, Kathy.

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Philippines

MANILA — An armed policeman who lost his job last year took a tourist bus hostage on Monday, setting off a daylong standoff that ended after police commandos stormed the bus.
Enlarge This Image
Erik De Castro/Reuters

A demand was posted by the hostage taker on the bus window.
Enlarge This Image
Ted Aljibe/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

An ex-policeman who hijacked a tourist bus (inside the bus) speaking with negotiators at the front of the bus in Manila on Monday.

At least 4 of the 15 hostages were killed, and one was critically wounded, a spokesman for the President Benigno S. Aquino III said Monday night. Six others were shown on television crawling out of the bus after police assault teams moved in.

A man shown slumped and apparently lifeless by the main door of the bus was identified on television reports as the gunman, but the authorities did not immediately confirm his fate.

Live video from the scene showed police commandos, their rifles drawn, surrounding the bus, slamming windows with sledgehammers and opening an emergency exit as emergency vehicles converged in the rain. Gunshots were heard as they swarmed the bus.

A short time earlier, the driver of the bus managed to escape after cutting himself loose from handcuffs the hostage-taker had put on. The driver jumped through a window, ran from the bus and screamed, “Everybody is dead!” to a group of journalists who had clustered at the scene.

The police began the assault moments after the driver escaped.

At least nine hostages had been released earlier, including three children and a diabetic. Three of the freed were Filipinos. According to the authorities, there were 15 other people inside before the police began their assault.

The drama began at 10 a.m. when a former police officer identified as Rolando Mendoza, 55, boarded a Hong Thai Travel tour bus and took the passengers hostage.

Rodolfo Magtibay, the chief of the Manila Police District, told reporters on the scene that the Mr. Mendoza had demanded the return of his job and benefits. Authorities said that Mr. Mendoza had been dismissed in 2009 after accusations he had extorted money from a hotel chef accused of using drugs.

The bus sat parked with its curtains drawn at the Quirino Grandstand near the Manila Bay, a public plaza where presidents usually take their oaths of office. For hours, live broadcasts indicated no movement inside the bus, except when three shots were fired through the windshield.

The presence of cameras appeared to play a role in how the standoff unfolded.

The situation seemed to escalate after the gunman’s brother, Gregorio Mendoza, who is also a police officer, complained to reporters gathered near the scene that the police had wanted to implicate him in the hostage-taking. He also accused the police of trying to kill him. In front of the cameras, Officer Mendoza was picked up the by the police and shoved into a police car, his relatives wailing behind him.

Earlier, the hostage-taker had warned the authorities not to harm his family.

There were shots heard soon after the gunman’s brother was taken into custody, raising the possibility that those on the bus were watching the crisis play out on television monitors inside.

Throughout the day, the gunman wrote his demands on cardboard, which he would then paste on the windshield of the bus. One of the messages read, “Big mistake to correct a big wrong decision.”

Late in the afternoon, he posted a message saying, “Media now,” apparently telling journalists to come to him. But the police prevented reporters from even getting near the bus.

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UAccess

The UAccess system of the University of Arizona  is an online registration system that isn’t just used for one-time registration. The system could be used by the students to register for courses online and the students have the freedom to add and drop courses as they see fit. Obviously the process isn’t free and there are respective fees and charges attached to the adding or dropping of courses.

For instance, late dropping of courses leads to a fixed amount of fine and adding an extra course on top of the courses that have already been selected for a particular semester costs the student the extra money which is the standard rate of the course. The best thing is that all fees and fines are payable through Master Card and Visa so the students don’t have to worry about any lengthy procedure for their selection and amendments of their course structure.

Another thing that is great about the UAccess is that the system lets the students get the updated schedule of their newly selected or added courses so that they could get the proper classes right away without the hassle of running to notice boards or getting schedule information from other students. This is obviously very useful and this kind of automation was a huge necessity for the University of Arizona because in the past students have had to face a lot of trouble because of the long procedures.

The whole UAccess system is very helpful and it doesn’t even require a lot of work from the web developers because it is a very simple system which is implemented very easily through any web programming language.

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UAccess

The UAccess system of the University of Arizona  is an online registration system that isn’t just used for one-time registration. The system could be used by the students to register for courses online and the students have the freedom to add and drop courses as they see fit. Obviously the process isn’t free and there are respective fees and charges attached to the adding or dropping of courses.

For instance, late dropping of courses leads to a fixed amount of fine and adding an extra course on top of the courses that have already been selected for a particular semester costs the student the extra money which is the standard rate of the course. The best thing is that all fees and fines are payable through Master Card and Visa so the students don’t have to worry about any lengthy procedure for their selection and amendments of their course structure.

Another thing that is great about the UAccess is that the system lets the students get the updated schedule of their newly selected or added courses so that they could get the proper classes right away without the hassle of running to notice boards or getting schedule information from other students. This is obviously very useful and this kind of automation was a huge necessity for the University of Arizona because in the past students have had to face a lot of trouble because of the long procedures.

The whole UAccess system is very helpful and it doesn’t even require a lot of work from the web developers because it is a very simple system which is implemented very easily through any web programming language.

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Keeping Up With The Kardashians

The hugely popular reality TV series “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” returned to our television screens last night, for the season 5 premiere. In last night’s episode – titled “Kim’s House Party” – the newly single Kim Kardashian moved into her beautiful new home.

As reported by starpulse.com, things don’t go down very well however, when Kim’s mom Kris decided to throw her a daughter a housewarming party. The guests aren’t exactly careful, and food ends up being spilled all over Kim’s new and expensive rugs.

On another part of last night’s premiere, Kourtney decided to move in with her sister Khloe and brother-in-law Lamar Odom. Things don’t appear to pan out well there either. You can read more via starpulse.com. What did you think of last night’s premiere?

The installment mainly dealt with Kim throwing a housewarming party to show her friends and family her newly purchased and furnished $4 million dollar home.

Kim who had just broken up with with Reggie Bush and who was enjoying her newly found single status got overwhelmed after realizing that everyone was having more fun than her and to add insults to injury someone dropped red wine on her white pillow.

The drama continues with the sisters when Khloe gets in a fight with Scott Disick.
Kloe and Kourtney went at it after the youngest sister revealed that she did not want Scott into her and Lamar Odom’s luxurious house.

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HGTV Design Star

Emily Henderson, 30, a prop stylist originally from Portland, Ore., has been crowned the season five champion of the hit reality competition HGTV Design Star.  During last night's season finale, 

"I'm so happy! I'm in shock," said Emily about winning the competition. "It's shocking to know that I -- Emily Henderson -- will have my own television show. I am the HGTV Design Star!"

Emily will star in a one-hour special, Secrets From A Stylist, premiering on Sunday, August 29, at 10 p.m. ET/PT. During the special, Emily will work with Ian Brennan, the co-creator of the hit series Glee, to style his new home. Unsure of how to furnish and decorate his place, Ian will rely on Emily's "style diagnostic" to help define his style. Armed with Ian's preferences, such as his favorite fashions and decade, Emily will pinpoint her client's true style as she fine-tunes each layer of the room design.

"Emily's natural hosting skills and unconventional design approach made her stand apart from the other competitors," said Olson. "She creates signature looks that are highly stylized, yet inviting and comfortable."

In the HGTV Design Star finale, Emily and her final competitor, Michael Moeller, battled to create their ideal TV show segment, which involved designing a one-bedroom New York City apartment. To begin the challenge, Emily and Michael selected their teammates and their "design client" from this season's former finalists. While Michael completed a beautiful makeover filled with innovative storage ideas and bold colors for his client, Nina, it was Emily's inventively stylish and modern design for her client, Tom, that impressed the judges.


This season of HGTV Design Star was shot in New York City under the direction of Mark Burnett Productions. The iconic city inspired several of the series' design challenges, including the fire house makeover and the flower market challenge. The finalists also designed a model apartment in the new Trump property, Trump Plaza Residences Jersey City.

"Emily started the competition as the underdog," said Freddy James, senior vice president, program development and production, HGTV.  "But our viewers loved her earnest approach and cheered for her as she became a more confident competitor. In the end, her strength as a designer propelled her to win the competition."

This season, viewers will again have the opportunity to select a Fan Favorite designer who will win his or her own online show on HGTV.com. Viewers can go online at HGTV.com/designstar to vote up to 10 times per day for the designer they believe is the best of this season's talented finalists. Voting ends at 12 p.m. ET on Wednesday, August 25, and the winner will be announced immediately following the voting deadline.

From its premiere on June 13 through last night's season finale, HGTV Design Star generated strong ratings. As of Sunday, August 15, more than 23 million people had tuned into the fifth season of the series. Additionally, it was a huge hit at HGTV.com with millions of weekly page views driving visitor traffic and video plays.

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Saira Bano

Saira Bano plunged into acting when she was just 17 years old.She is the daughter of a great beautiful actress Nasim (Pari Chehra). Her first film starred the heartthrob of then, Shammi Kapoor in the film Junglee. This was in the year 1961. Her first film itself got her nominated for the Filmfare awards for the category of ‘Best Actress’. That was the starting as well as the turning point of her career and she had no chance to look back then.

Other films that are still counted as one of the bests are ‘Bluff master’, ‘Shagird’, ‘Padosan’ – this was a multi starrer film of that time, that included the big names like Kishore Kumar, Mahmood, Sunil Dutt, Om Prakash, etc., Purab aur Paschim and many more.

Saira was married to the legend acter Dilip Kumar in the year 1980 with loads of controversies hovering on them. That was also the time when she almost called quits to films but officially she ended her career in 1988 with a film called ‘Faisla’.

Saira Bano is in the news as she was arrested by the police officers this morning. She and another popular actress named Jyoti were involved in prostitution. The ladies were accompanied by seven other girls and they were all present for one purpose and that was selling their bodies. This is not the old actress Saira Banu who is the wife of Dilip Kumar, this one is a Telugu actress. She has played main roles in a number of Telugu movies. Jyoti has been working as a supporting actress in a number of Telugu films. A woman from Uzbekistan was also present along these ladies.

The Hyderabad police officers raided a flat in the Kundan Bagh area and caught these women along with their customers. Kundan Bagh is a home to several rich and popular persons. There are houses of some big guns like ministers in the area. The police commissioner had sent his special task force when he got information on this crime. The fans of Saira Banu are very upset and they cannot believe that she could be involved in such an act.

This isn’t the first incident when a Telugu movie star has been arrested after being involved in a crime. Last year an actress named Seema was also arrested for doing prostitution. In the previous days brothers of an actor of the Telugu movie industry were arrested for purchasing drugs. The Commissioner of police stated that he and his men had their eyes on sixty people who were thought to be drug buyers.

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Fools Gold

Rescuers were still searching the areas around Squamish and Coquitlam Saturday for a hiker now six days overdue, according to Sea to Sky region RCMP.

Tyler Wright, 35, of Vancouver, was last seen on Aug. 10, heading out on the Boise Creek Trail east of Squamish, according to an RCMP press release.

Wright reportedly told friends and family that he planned to hike the 24-kilometre Mamquam Pass trail (also called the Fool's Gold trail) and meet up with them five days later, which would have been last Sunday, in the Coquitlam area.

Wright has been the subject of an intensive air and ground search since Wednesday, August 18th.

Searchers with the RCMP and the B.C. Search and Rescue Association have narrowed their search parameters to the areas of Boise Creek and Bull Canyon near Squamish and Widgeon Lake northwest of Coquitlam, according to the release.

A footprint and a tamped down bed area believed to be evidence of Wright have been found by searchers but no other signs of him have been found to date, according to Sea to Sky RCMP spokesman Cpl. Dave Ritchie.

Squamish RCMP say Wright has little experience with wilderness hiking, was wearing running shoes and did not take a tent or sleeping bag with him.

Wright is described as 6-foot-4 with a blond shaved head and blue eyes. He was last known to be wearing grey pants, a black zip-up sweater or fleece, a green T-shirt and toque, and carrying a black backpack.

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Emmys

Our colleagues at the Gold Derby attended the Creative Arts Emmys ceremony in Los Angeles on Saturday and blogged the results.

A few things we noted:

"Modern Family" picked up an Emmy for best casting in a comedy series. Does that mean an Emmy for outstanding comedy is on its way? Most TV critics are predicting the ABC single-camera comedy as the winner next Sunday. This could be a sign the academy agrees.

"Mad Men" nabbed the nod for best casting in a drama series. We do love the cast, but hope this doesn't mean the AMC series will pick up its third Emmy in a row in that category. With "Lost's" final season in the mix and spectacular seasons for "Dexter" and "Breaking Bad," there's got to be a new winner, no?

Choreographer Mia Michaels may have turned off a lot of viewers when she replaced Mary Murphy at the judge's table of "So You Think You Can Dance" this season. But arguing against her immense talents as a choreographer is futile. She deserves the Emmy she won Saturday night.

"Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution" won the Emmy for best reality program, and that's not a bad pick. The charming naked chef took on children's obesity in this weight-loss show and struck a chord with viewers.

Of course, Jeff Probst won his third Emmy for best reality show host for his work on "Survivor." As long as he's in the running, it's not likely anyone will ever beat him. No one can elicit information from contestants and direct a reality competition the way he can. (Boo to the academy for not including this award in the regular telecast Aug. 29).

John Lithgow did amazing work on "Dexter" last season as the Trinity Killer and won an Emmy on Saturday for it. Apparently, he thanked HBO instead of Showtime for the opportunity. Hope Dexter didn't hear that.

Ann-Margret picked up a guest actress Emmy in a drama for her work on "Law & Order: SVU." She apparently knew what network that show is on.

Neil Patrick Harris hasn't won an Emmy for his role on "How I Met Your Mother" but he won Saturday for his guest spot on Fox's "Glee."

Betty White is still on fire. She won an Emmy for guest actress on "Saturday Night Live." But she got bested in the best commercial category by the Old Spice dude. Apparently, you can't have it all Betty.

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Illinois Tollway

CHICAGO

The Illinois State Toll Highway Authority got a tougher watchdog Wednesday to combat its reputation as a "politically connected patronage haven."

Gov. Pat Quinn signed a new law that creates an independent inspector general's office. He has 60 days to name someone to the post that comes with a five-year appointment and subpoena power to investigate wrongdoing.

"The tollway is being transformed from a politically connected patronage haven for insiders to a well-run, well-respected agency that provides efficiencies and ethical standards that will benefit all taxpayers," said state Sen. Susan Garrett, a Democrat from Lake Forest.

The tollway was subpoenaed last year by federal authorities asking about contractors with ties to former Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Lawmakers removed Blagojevich from office last year after he was charged with scheming to sell President Barack Obama's old Senate seat and for illegally pressuring donors for campaign contributions. Blagojevich has pleaded not guilty, and jurors began deliberating his fate Wednesday after a nearly two-month trial.

During the trial, one witness said Blagojevich wanted fundraising help from a road-builder, who was hoping Blagojevich would expand a tollway construction project.

In 2005, an Associated Press analysis of state records showed tollway consultants who had donated to Blagojevich had received no-bid contracts.

Garrett praised the tollway's board chairwoman Paula Wolff for helping to clean up an agency that "once subscribed to backroom, not boardroom standards."

The agency's former internal watchdog resigned last August after Wolff and two other Quinn appointees came onboard. Former FBI agent Jim Wagner has been the agency's watchdog since January, working as head of investigations.

Quinn didn't say whether he would slide Wagner into the new job. Any appointment Quinn makes must be confirmed by the state Senate.

"I think it's very, very important that in Illinois we have a tollway system that's efficient and modern, safe and most of all honest," Quinn said.

Tollway executive director Kristi Lafleur, who was appointed by Quinn in April, said steps have been taken to improve transparency and accountability at the tollway, including a construction tracker online that shows contract awards.

Lafleur said the new inspector general's office would "add integrity" and make sure all decisions are "above board and above reproach."

Illinois' tollways cover 286 miles that span 12 counties in northern Illinois.

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