Skype updates for Windows and iPhone

Skype is certainly on roll this week. Just yesterday it converted the latest beta of its Windows Mobile phone software into a full-fledged release. On Tuesday the VoIP company did it again for Skype 4.1 for Windows. In addition, Apple okayed Skype 1.1 for the iPhone and iPod Touch, which you can download now. Skype 4.1 beta brought back features like accessibility, birthday reminders, and the ability to send along a contact record to another contact. These had been left out when Skype first updated its interface to the 4.0 style, citing a wish to get core features out the door before piling on the extras.

It's these extras that users nevertheless clamored for. This minor point update also contains a major new feature that was first introduced in Skype 4.1 beta, screen sharing. Screen sharing initiates a video call, using the technology to broadcast a recording of your screen--either a portion or the full screen--to one other viewer. Screen sharing has some limitations. You can't simultaneously see a video of your buddy, and since one viewer at a time can peep your screen, you can't use it as a free, makeshift replacement for collaborative Web conferencing. It doesn't help that the picture quality is still choppy and fuzzy, in both partial screen and full-screen view modes.

In addition to screen sharing, Skype 4.1 lets you feed a search for contacts from outside address books, including Gmail, AOL, MSN, Yahoo, Microsoft Outlook, and a school of other players. If you've got it installed, the Web toolbar will highlight toll-free numbers and of contacts' names so you can call through Skype. Skype 1.1 for iPhone and iPod Touch reintroduces the ability to listen to Skype voicemail and to send and receive SMS messages. These features had been available on the desktop version, but were not activated when Skype first came out for iPhone.It still has far to go if it's to get all the of the extra features and featurettes that round out the Skype experience--games and conference calling are but two.

RIAA triumphs in Usenet copyright case

The Recording Industry Association of America has prevailed in its copyright fight against Usenet.com, according to court documents.In a decision that hands the RIAA an overwhelming victory, U.S. District Judge Harold Baer ruled in favor of the music industry on all its main theories: that Usenet.com is guilty of direct, contributory, and vicarious infringement. In addition, and perhaps most important for future cases, Baer said that Usenet.com can't claim protection under the Sony Betamax decision. That ruling says companies can't be held liable of contributory infringement if the device is "capable of significant non-infringing uses."

Baer noted that in citing the Betamax case, Usenet.com failed to see one important difference between it and Sony. Once Sony sold a Betamax, an early videotape recorder, the company's relationship with the buyer ended. Sony held no sway over what the buyer did with the device after that. Usenet, however, maintains an ongoing relationship with the customer and does has some say in how the customer uses the service. Usenet.com's lawyers could not be reached Tuesday evening.

The two-decade-old Usenet network was one of the early ways to distribute conversations and binary files, long before the Web or peer-to-peer networks existed. Usenet.com enabled users access to the Usenet network.The RIAA filed suit against Usenet.com in October 2007, accusing the company of encouraging customers to pay up to $19 a month by enticing them with copyrighted music. The case is highly unusual because of Baer's many findings of discovery misconduct by the Usenet.com side. The rules of discovery in a civil case requires both sides to exchange information. The RIAA produced evidence, however, that Usenet.com destroying evidence or failed to produce witnesses on multiple occasions.

Twitter reworks following lists, adds functionality

Twitter is in the process of rolling out a new user interface update to its users. This update focuses on Twitter's Following and Follower pages. In addition to a better looking list, Twitter has added more social actions to the page, including @replies, direct messages, and mobile update subscription. An extra collapsed "List View" has also been added to the traditional "Expanded View" and makes for a much more readable and quickly scannable page.

Due to the lack of a good way to browse, filter, and search through these lists, they are largely underused. This update is the first step in making Twitter's Following and Follower lists into much more usable and functional tools. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if Twitter continued to build out these features more in the future, bringing in some of the functionality that third party applications have long included, such as TweetDeck's groups. Twitter reworks following lists, adds functionality Paglo rolls out real-time log search

PayPal's "Do Stuff for Money" puts some cash behind your begging. Paglo fleshes out all-in-one IT management service Facebook adds organization feature to Friend Lists in Chat. Konami Code triggers Easter egg on Facebook too Twitter follower emails, now in HTML! Eight Firefox extensions for the Twitter fanatic 'Why are you ruining Twitter?' Twitter search sites: The three best, and all the rest Less is more. The tweet(ed) revolution.

Postbox gets extensions

Considering that it's based on Mozilla Thunderbird, it was a bit of a surprise that add-ons weren't available for Postbox when it debuted. That's now been remedied in Postbox beta 13 for Windows and Mac. Given Postbox's emphasis on social-networking technology and Mozilla's own success with add-ons, this move puts the e-mail client in an excellent position to attract more users.

A Webware 100 winner, the list of supported extensions isn't long at the moment, and notably it doesn't include Thunderbird's calendaring tool Lightning. Since Postbox doesn't have its own supported calendar, this could prove to be a deal breaker for some. However, the list does include several plug-ins that Thunderbird users should be familiar with, including ReminderFox, QuickText, and MinimizeToTray. MozBackup and Zindus are listed as "coming soon." There's new support for localized dictionaries from Mozilla, too.

Users who wish to install Postbox add-ons while running Firefox can either save the XPI file to their desktop and then install it manually, or drag-and-drop it into Postbox's open Add-ons window. Other changes include fetching profile pictures from your address books in Postbox, Mac OS X, Twitter, and Facebook for the Inspector Pane. Settings can be imported from Mail.app. Multiple attachments can be dragged to your desktop. Along with a large number of stability and usability fixes, the security improvements made to Firefox 3.0.10 have also been folded in. Full release notes can be read here.

Horten 2-29

Horten 2-29, a Nazi fighter plane from World War II, is stored in a U.S. government warehouse akin to the one at the end of 'Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark.' With a mostly pressed-wood body and a sleek all-wing design, it looks like something created in Hollywood, too. But this aircraft isn't just a pretty piece of painted plywood. It very well could have changed the course of the war.

A group of experts from Northrop Grunman, a global security company, recently re-built the Horten 2-29 for a television special airing Sunday on the National Geographic Channel. The team's goal was to determine if the rumors were true; was the Horten 2-29 the world's first stealth fighter? They tested the original aircraft with WWII-era radar technology before building a model held together with primarily wood and glue. Then, they hoisted it on top of a five-story column and subjected the model to the same radar technology.

In the end, the team discovered that the plane would have been detected by radar 80 miles from the British coast instead of 100 miles away. While 20 miles doesn't sound like much, stealth expert Tom Dobrenz did tell National Geographic that it would have cut the Allied Forces' available time for response in half. So, could this plane have changed the course of WWII? Probably not, historian George Cully explained. The Nazis only had time to develop a couple of prototypes of the 2-29 around Christmas in 1944. By then, time was running out for Hitler and his army. [From: National Geographic]

Quinn Sullivan

Quinn Sullivan saw a man drop a McDonald's Chicken McNuggets carton and run from him Sunday night, he knew whatever the box contained probably wasn't destined for a dip in a tasty sauce. Sullivan was right. The 10-piece McNuggets box contained more than an ounce of marijuana, neatly packed to go. By the end of the night, police had arrested three city residents and a suspected drug dealer, seized four more ounces of marijuana and found evidence that more of the stuff was being grown in a North Elm Street apartment.

Pretty good police work for an incident that began as a suspicious-persons stop. The bust went down like this: About halfway through his evening shift, Sullivan spotted three people sitting in a car with its engine running in an empty parking lot near 164 N. Elm St. Thinking the group looked a bit shady, Sullivan stopped to interview them, and was told the three were "waiting for someone who was at a gas station and who didn't have a car, but they were nowhere near a gas station," Sullivan said. The box was packed full with more than an ounce of marijuana.

When Sullivan looked up, he saw a man police identified as Glenn M. Brandner, 19, of 167 French St., walking out of an apartment building across the street from the parking lot holding a Chicken McNuggets box. When Brandner saw the officer interviewing his friends, he dropped the box like a scalding coffee and "immediately ran inside" the apartment building, Sullivan said "I kind of figured something was in it because he had dropped it when he saw me," Sullivan said. Once he got Brandner back outside, "I asked him if he had anything illegal on him and he just handed me the box." The nearest McDonald's, at 693 Main St., is a bit of a walk — about a half mile — from the apartment, which also happens to be about a half mile from Forbes Elementary School, in the opposite direction.

Comoros Islands

Comoros has struggled to establish a stable government since independence from its former colonial power, France. French forces took over the Indian Ocean island-nation in 1886 and made it a fully fledged colony 26 years later. The country was the scene of battles during World War II, when British forces ousted the government, which was loyal to the France's Nazi-backed Vichy administration. The British handed the islands to Charles de Gaulle's Free French Forces.

Over the next three decades, the islands gradually loosened ties with Paris, becoming an overseas territory before declaring independence in 1975. But the separation from France was not smooth. One of the islands, Mayotte, did not join the other three main islands in embracing independence. Its 200,000 people - roughly a quarter of the Comoran population - voted to stay a part of France in 1975 as an "overseas collectivity". Earlier this year they voted in a referendum to fully integrate with France. The vote caused huge tensions within the island grouping - with one Comoran official describing it as a declaration of war.

The three main islands making up the Union of the Comoros - Anjouan, Moheli and Grande Comore - believe Mayotte should be part of their country. But the people of Mayotte believe they have powerful reasons for remaining a part of France. Firstly, Mayotte's economy hugely outperforms its near neighbours.And secondly, Mayotte has avoided the recent history of coups and instability that have blighted the other islands.Since independence, Comoros has experienced about 20 coups. Its first post-colonial government was deposed just a month after it declared independence.

Michael jackson autopsy photo

Micheal Jackson’s autopsy results are supposedly leaked to the media. However, the news was reported to be false by E! Online. Also, there are certainly no pictures of the superstar after the autopsy; if there were, they certainly have not made their way to the media. The supposed, ‘exclusive’ last photo of MJ was published by “The Insider” that shows him receiving medical treatment, taken through the ambulance door or window.

TMZ.com, the website that had first reported that the king of pop was taken to a hospital after suffering a cardiac arrest, also confirmed that the autopsy results have not been leaked. Earlier, reports had made their way online that Jackson’s body was mutilated by needle and knives scars, had lost all the hair etc, which might or might not be true; it has not been confirmed yet. A statement released by the Los Angeles County coroner states that “The report that is being published did not come from this office.

I don’t know where the information came from, or who that information came from. It is not accurate. Some of it is totally false.” The Jackson family is said to be unsatisfied with the results of the first autopsy and have ordered for a second, private one in the upcoming days. As for the autopsy photos, it is a remote possibility that they will ever see the light of the day, as the whole affair was a closely guarded and watched. His body is now locked in a special vault from where it will be transferred to his family.

Madoff victims

Madoff victims is that only a small fraction of the nearly $65 billion that disappeared has been recovered. While insurance will fill some of that gap, it is clear that many people will not come close to recouping their losses — meaning that whatever one group of investors get will affect how much is available for another group. Ever mindful that the claims process is, in effect, competitive, some groups of investors are jockeying for favorable treatment from the Securities Investor Protection Corporation, the government-chartered insurance agency.

Ms. Chaitman disapproves of the way Irving H. Picard, the court-appointed trustee overseeing the claims process, is calculating investor losses — on the basis of “net equity,” or simply the difference between the total amountinvested in the fund and the total withdrawn before it collapsed.

Ms. Chaitman, who represents more than 100 others in a lawsuit against Mr. Picard, is adamant that they should be reimbursed for the total value of their accounts with Mr. Madoff, even if their withdrawals exceeded their deposits and even though the balances reflected on their statements were based on fake trades. “Fictitious trades are exactly what SIPC was intended to protect against — a dishonest broker who steals the securities or a broker who never buys the securities,” Ms. Chaitman told The Times, even though she saysshe never took money out of her Madoff account and therefore has a claim under Mr. Picard’s rules.

Kristina Higgins

Kristina Higgins resigned as Miss Georgia 2009 Sunday. She gave up the job less than 24 hours after being crowned late Saturday night. Higgins was Miss Capital City at the time of her resignation. First runner-up Emily Cook, Miss Cobb County, will now represent Georgia at the 2010 Miss America Pageant. Here are a few select stories on the continuing saga after the 2009 Miss Georgia Pageant.

A second Miss Georgia has been crowned in two days. One day after winning the title Saturday night at the annual pageant in Columbus, Gwinnett County school teacher Kristina Higgins relinquished the post, now filled by the runnerup, Emily Cook, a Marietta law student.

Higgins said she stepped down because her responsibilities as a middle school would not leave her time she would need to serve as Miss Georgia. I guess she was just so into proving she could win, she decided to inconvenience everybody else along the way. Dunno. Odd.

Gail Storm

Gail Storm, whose wholesome appearance and perky personality made her one of early television's biggest stars, has died at age 87. The actress died Saturday at a convalescent hospital in Danville, said her son, Peter Bonnell. He says she died of natural causes. Storm was a Texas high schooler named Josephine Owaissa Cottle when she won a talent contest for a radio show called "Gateway to Hollywood" on New Year's Day 1940.

Soon she was in Los Angeles, making movies with Jackie Cooper, Eddie Albert and Audie Murphy. In 1952 she landed the starring role in "My Little Margie," which quickly became an audience favorite and ran until 1955. Ed McMahon was the first one to go. Farrah Fawcett died the morning after, and then Michael Jackson passed away, shockingly. Today even, it was not only Billy Mays who left this earth. Actress Gail Storm, from the 1950s shows My Little Margie and The Gail Storm Show, died of natural causes at 87 years old.

The death of Billy Mays after a tough landing in Tampa, and a bump on the head, was certainly unexpected. The cause of his death is still undetermined officially, but last night he spoke to a Fox reporter and said, "All of a sudden as we hit you know it was just the hardest hit, all the things from the ceiling started dropping. It hit me on the head, but I got a hard head." Sadly, however, he did not wake up this morning.

Don Cornelius

Don Cornelius, creator and host of the long-running TV musical institution "Seoul Train" reminisces about when he found a prodigious early talent and music in late Michael Jackson. "I met Michael Jackson at age 8, when his father, and my new friend, Joe Jackson, began to lead Jackson 5 Chicago, at home, and Gary, Indiana, a concert of the skin, Cornelius spinner said." Sana Jackson 5 on his devastating skills Concert Artists are beginning to spread to the forest fire control with laser-like attention to all areas of the Chicago R & B music stars.

"The current thinking among the local R & B Stars in relation to this very young group of artists of entertainment called the Jackson 5, was" If Michael Jackson and his brothers were recorded for future display Chicago area, let it alone! Do not subscribe! Do not go for it and get totally blown away and the young Michael Jackson 5! " Jamie Foxx made bet Execs jump to the approaching traffic when he made the necessary public service ads for the HIV / AIDS testing. He made a joke, lighten the subject, says: "When it was necessary to unprotected sex, when one of them, HIV / AIDS advertisements become ... I can not move around a few words, it was not right, but I am sure you can imagine. In addition, I am learned in the evening, better than I can moonwalk Jamie Foxx.

Relationship to star as a child 8 years old, which would, Cornelius has this to say: "Michael Jackson's amazing crescendo of personal power is entertainer was a clear and unique, and it never fell on this day! His passing is a lot of sadness than of any other singer, composer, producer, dancer and choreographer, and the history of the world. In fact, the firmest personal beliefs, it is never, ever, that Michael Jackson else! "

Maria Belen Chapur photos

More Maria Belen Chapur photos and pictures have been revealed: South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford's mistress is quite the hot item. 'Maria Belen Chapur Photo' was one of the most searched internet trends last week until the death of Michael Jackson - but exactly who is sheMore details are emerging about Governor Mark Sanford's 43-year-old mistress and more photos of Maria has surfaced. A video of her doing a news report surfaced on the Internet last week.

ABC reports: 'Maria Belen Chapur, a former television producer, remains under the radar because of intense media scrutiny surrounding her. But in a brief statement conveyed through a television report on Buenos Aires' C5N channel, the 41-year-old said she indeed was involved with Sanford and that the published e-mail correspondence between the two was obtained from her account by a "hacker."'

The (Columbia, S.C.) State newspaper published e-mails last week between Sanford and Maria Belen Chapur when Sanford publicly confessed he had been unfaithful to his wife. The confession came after he returned to South Carolina from Argentina, ending a weeklong mystery as to his whereabouts. Chapur issued a statement to Argentine TV station CN5 Sunday in which she insisted she would not speak about her private life "as it just belongs to me." She denied press accounts indicating that the source of the e-mail leak was another man she had been friendly with.

Gale Storm Actress

Gale Storm actress came to Hollywood as a finalist in a national talent contest, then appeared in numerous movies before starring on TV in the popular ‘My Little Margie’ and ‘The Gale Storm Show.’ died at the age of 87, on Saturday of natural causes at a convalescent hospital in the Northern California community of Danville, according to her son Peter Bonnell.

Gale Storm , whose wholesome appearance and perky personality made her one of early television’s biggest stars, has died at age 87. The actress died Saturday at a convalescent hospital in Danville, said her son, Peter Bonnell. He says she died of natural causes.

Storm was a Texas high schooler named Josephine Owaissa Cottle when she won a talent contest for a radio show called “Gateway to Hollywood” on New Year’s Day 1940. Soon she was in Los Angeles, making movies with Jackie Cooper, Eddie Albert and Audie Murphy. In 1952 she landed the starring role in “My Little Margie,” which quickly became an audience favorite and ran until 1955.

Janet Jackson BET Awards 2009

Janet Jackson and her father Joe Jackson attended the BET Awards on Sunday night in Los Angeles, in order to be on hand for a tribute to Michael Jackson. Joe, who sat in a ringside seat next to the Rev. Al Sharpton, was dressed in a black hat, dark glasses and a dark suit. He said, “I wish the world had recognized him when he was living. Right now, he’s bigger than ever. But I wish he was here to see all this, to hear all this.”

Jamie Foxx opened the show in a red leather “Billie Jean” jacket and demonstrated Jackson’s signature Moonwalk. Foxx admitted he hadn’t done it since 1983 and said, “I hope I can make it.” He told the crowd, “No need to be sad. We want to celebrate this black man.”

Janet Jackson took the stage and spoke briefly before the video tribute began. She said, “My entire family wanted to be here tonight but it was too painful. To you, Michael is an icon. To us, Michael is family. He will forever live in all of our hearts. On behalf of my family and myself, thank you for all of your love, thank you for all of your support. We miss him so much. Thank you so much.”

NBA Draft 2009 Results

"The NBA draft Thursday night was not a time for the Mavericks to make a big splash. It was a time to take care of business as best they could. But the festivities were not the big dealings that fans are waiting for. And there better be some big dealings. The Mavericks are under the microscope because of what has happened around them. So many teams have gained strength that it's guilt by disassociation. While San Antonio, Denver and others fortify themselves, the Mavericks are waiting. Will the right deal come along? All fans can do is trust in the management.

And word out of the Mavericks' draft room as they look forward to free agency is that there's going to be a few more perhaps more prudent options when it comes to making a big splash than the Spurs, Cleveland and Orlando have done in the last week. "NBA executives are always optimistic and upbeat on draft nights, even the general managers of teams selecting late in the first round. Training camp is months away, and everybody feels they improved their team by getting a player who was a 'steal.' In reality, more times than not, it's the GM who's left searching for his wallet after spending big money on a player who just didn't work out. Because of that history, it would be wise to approach the Bulls' draft Thursday night with at least a bit of skepticism -- especially because this year's class was considered the weakest in years.

"Trimming Rodriguez's salary inflates the organization's available cap space by $1.8 million. General manager Kevin Pritchard said the team's draft choice at No. 22 -- Victor Claver -- will end up being stashed overseas next season. The Blazers could have more than $10 million available to pursue free agents beginning July 1, possibly more if they renounce the rights to Joel Freeland and Petteri Koponen. They've also retained a trade exception that would allow the organization to make a lopsided deal if it chooses to do so. The Blazers took Claver even though college prospects such as DeJuan Blair (Pittsburgh), Wayne Ellington (North Carolina) and Sam Young (Pittsburgh) and international prospect Omri Casspi (Israel) were available.

Tom Joyner Morning Show

Tom Joyner Morning Show appears on air, radio listening turns to an absolute delight. This famous show across 38 US states, is named after the Albama born radio host Thomas Tom Joyner. The show is one of a kind and it that started in 1994 and invited commentators and comedians discussing the news of the day besides playing R&B songs of the 1970s as well as the contemporary ones. It also features a soap named “Its your World”.

But the show was again revived in 2005 which saw the inclusion of talent contests as well as performances of the present day music bands like Earth, Wind And Fire and also of artists like Brian McKright, Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds and Toni Braxton. Catering to mainly Afro-American listeners it is a huge success also because the host himself takes initiatives to use the media for philanthropic purposes like registering citizens for voter registration and also influencing people to help the Tony Joyner Foundation. He is also the founder of the REACH Media Inc. and BlackAmericanWeb.com.

This Joyner show was much in news for a couple of months since Tom’s slot had been replaced by Steve Harvey’s show that caused discontent amongst the fans of Joyner who were his regular listeners. The show also gives opportunities to listeners to call and express themselves.Recently, LIGATT Security International CEO Gregory Evans came to the show and facets of cyber security was discussed that will surely prove to be helpful to the listeners.

Diana Ross on Michael Jackson's Death

"Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5," was released in December 1969, and it yielded the No. 1 hit "I Want You Back," with 11-year-old Michael on the lead vocals. "ABC," “I’ll Be There” and other hits followed, and the group soon had their own television series, a Saturday morning cartoon and an array of licensed merchandise aimed at youngsters. Ross said later that she saw herself in the talented and driven Michael. "He could be my son," she said. Another Motown legend, Smokey Robinson, would describe the young performer as "a strange and lovely child, an old soul in the body of a boy."

Motown moved the Jacksons to California, and in August 1968 they gave a breakthrough performance at a Beverly Hills club called The Daisy. Their first album, "Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5," was released in December 1969, and it yielded the No. 1 hit "I Want You Back," with 11-year-old Michael on the lead vocals. "ABC," “I’ll Be There” and other hits followed, and the group soon had their own television series, a Saturday morning cartoon and an array of licensed merchandise aimed at youngsters. "I never had the chance to do the fun things kids do," Jackson once explained. "There was no Christmas, no holiday celebrating. So now you try to compensate for some of that loss."

Joseph Jackson ruled the family, by most accounts, with his fists and a bellowing rage. In a 2003 documentary by British journalist Martin Bashir, Jackson said his father often brandished a belt during rehearsals and hit his sons or shoved them into walls if they made a misstep. "We were terrified of him," Jackson said. In the Bashir interviews, the singer said his father ridiculed him for his pug nose and adolescent acne. He also described, with obvious discomfort, having to listen to an older brother have sex with a woman in the hotel bedroom they shared."When we sang, people would throw all this money on the floor, tons of dollars, 10s, 20s, lots of change," an adult Jackson once told Newsweek. "I remember my pockets being so full of money that I couldn't keep my pants up. I'd wear a real tight belt. And I'd buy candy like crazy."

Nancy Benoit Hustler Pics

Nancy Benoit's family filed a federal lawsuit against the Larry Flynt Publishing Group last year after the magazine published the photos of Benoit's wife. The lawsuit claims that the woman, a model and former professional wrestler herself, had asked the photographer to destroy the images immediately after they were shot about 20 years ago.The magazine countered by arguing that the photos were part of a greater story on the life and tragic death on Nancy Benoit and that they helped tell the story of "the modest beginnings of Ms. Benoit's career."

A federal judge ruled in the magazine's favor in October 2008, dismissing the lawsuit and concluding that the magazine had the right to publish the photos in part because her death was a "legitimate matter of public interest and concern." In reversing the decision Thursday, the three-judge panel ruled that while Benoit's death may be newsworthy, her nude photographs were not. It noted the article, which advertised "long-lost images of wrestler Chris Benoit's doomed wife," was brief and made only scant mention of her desire to become a model. "These private, nude photographs were not incident to a newsworthy article; rather, the brief biography was incident to the photographs," Judge Charles Wilson wrote in the opinion.

The family's plight gained international attention after the wrestler, his wife and their son were found dead in their suburban Atlanta home. Police said Benoit, then a wrestler for World Wrestling Entertainment, strangled his wife and son and then hanged himself. Maureen Toffoloni, Nancy Benoit's mother, and Hustler attorney Paul Cambria could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday. The decision sends the lawsuit back to the lower court for consideration. Toffoloni has also recently filed a lawsuit against Dr. Phil Astin, the physician who prescribed Benoit steroids and other drugs. The complaint blames the drugs prescribed by the physician for the deaths.

Michael Jackson died

Michael Jackson who was a very famous icon in the world of music died on Thursday, 25 June, 2009. The great dancer, great singer and a songwriter lost his breadth at the age of 50. This news is confirmed. His brother Jermaine Jackson confirmed his death in a short time news conference at Thursday evening.Micheal Jackson known to be the “The King of the Pop” died at the age of 50 at the UCLA Medical Center. According to the news he died because of cardiac arrest he collapse at their home at Holmby Hills and he was run to the hospital immediately but he never revive it was announced that he was dead.

Jermaine Jackson told the press that Michael Jackson was in coma when he was taken to the medical hospital near by. The U.C.L.A. medical hospital was only six minutes away from the rented place where he was living. He further told the press that he was taken there soon after noon and he was marked dead at 2:26 p.m. according to Pacific Time. His brother further shared with the press that the autopsy of Michael Jackson might be done at Friday, June 26, 2009. Michael Jackson’s death is no doubt a great loss to the world. The whole world would be gloomy right now as he had a lot of his die heart fans.

He was a biggest and a very famous star in the world. He has sold over 750 million albums.His moonwalk dance became very famous in the world. His friends, fans and fellow musicians are mourning on his death news. “Michael Jackson was clearly one of the greatest entertainers of our era. His influence dominated and defined our culture not only in music, but in fashion, dance, film and so much more. Often overlooked are his spectacular skills as a songwriter, composing both music and lyrics for his immense body of work. In an era in which most songs are composed by teams, Michael was the sole composer of dozens of songs that endeared him to audiences around the world.

Real World Cancun

The Real World, set in Brooklyn, I thought perhaps MTV was going back to casts that had something to say, wanted to change the people thought, and hoped to make a difference. “Perhaps,” I thought at the time, “the days of the Hollywood cast were behind me forever.” Cue the cast of Cancun, ready to party and get wild in Mexico. What else did you expect, though? This is The Real World and this is Cancun. It’s going to be an absolutely insane season! I’m getting ahead of myself, though. Let’s meet the roomies…

CJ is 24 years old from Boca Raton, FL and is a serious college football players. Ayiiia (with way too many I’s in her name) in 21 years old, hails from San Diego, and was the online winner to get into The Real World house this season. Bartenders Jonna and Derek, both 20 years old and from Arizona, work together and are the only two housemates who previously knew each other. 21 year old Emilee, from Boston, has never lived out of the country and is looking forward to experiencing new things. The jobs are back this season the roomies will be working for StudentCity.com which provides a safe and fun spring break for college students. Is that even a job? That just sounds like fun!

This season, the eight (semi) strangers will be living in a suite, instead of a house which reminds me of the Vegas cast. This suite is pimped out in true Real World style and you can’t help but drool a little over it. Massage chairs, pool tables, group showers, the world’s biggest computer, and a giant pool are just some of the things that will entertain these people over the next few months. I don’t know if he’s trying to be this season’s Puck, but Joey seems on a mission to rub the girls the wrong way. At the bar the first night, he gets so drunk that CJ has to put him in bed before the festivities can continue. Immediately after, Bronne pukes on the floor of a bar. Can no man hold his liquor? Come on now!

Toni Basil

Toni Basil who is a multi-talented individual, is a musician, actor and above all a dancer and a choreographer. Born to a musician father who was an orchestra leader, Toni Basil started her career in the small screen with being an assistant choreographer in an American music variety show Shingdig that was aired in the mid 1960s. From that time, Toni basil’s life is a success story where she continued to choreograph for several music tours as well as creating new dance steps for music videos and films. one of her notable works include her choreography in My best Freind’s Wedding, Pajama Party, Delirious and Things To Do.

Until recent years, in 2008, she has worked in “The Showgirl Must Go On” which is her own creation. But one of the smash hits that gave her international fame was her musical hit, “Mickey”. This is not the first time that she had been invited as a guest judge. She had earlier judged street dance competitions and on television, in a show called “Step It Up and Dance” in 2007. “So You Think You Can Dance”, dancers belonging to various genres showcase their talent. Toni’s genre being pop dance and new wave, it will be interesting to find how she evaluates the dancers in this show, that believes in judging from an unbiased perspective.

Toni Basil received a Gold Album for 1981’s Word Of Mouth and a double platinum record for her smash single Mickey, and holds the same from the UK, Canada and Australia. She received a Grammy nomination for her Word Of Mouth long-form video album, which she produced, choreographed, and directed. Billboard’s #1 song for the month of December, 1982, Mickey was installed in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as one of the groundbreaking singles of the 1980?s, and has appeared on the soundtrack to countless films. Multi-award winning performer/choreographer/director/producer, Toni Basil, has been at the vanguard of dance and music for the last thirty years.

Olaparib

olaparib worked well in an early clinical trial against breast, ovarian and prostate cancers in individuals who were genetically vulnerable to developing these malignancies. Women who carry BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations are susceptible to developing breast and ovarian cancer, and among men these mutations are related to an increased risk for prostate cancer, the British researchers noOlaparib works differently than other cancer drugs in that it blocks Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP), a protein involved in DNA repair. Healthy cells use PARP to repair themselves, but cancer cells do the same, the scientists explained.

"This is an entirely new class of drugs," said Dr. J. Dirk Iglehart, from the department of surgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital and the department of cancer biology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, and co-author of an accompanying journal editorial. When you disable PARP, you prevent the cell from repairing itself, he said, and cancer cells that are deficient in BRCA are much more sensitive to this effect. "When you inhibit PARP, they can't stand it," Iglehart explained. The report is published online June 24 in the New England Journal of Medicine. In this group, there were only a few adverse side effects and they were easily reversed by lowering the dose of the drug, the study noted.

In a phase 1 trial, led by Dr. Johann S. de Bono, from the Institute of Cancer Research at the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust in Sutton, U.K., the scientists treated 60 men and women who were carriers of the BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations, or had a family history of BRCA-related cancer, with olaparib. All of the patients had either breast, ovarian, prostate, colorectal, melanoma, sarcoma or other cancers. The researchers found that olaparib was absorbed quickly, was eliminated from the body quickly, and had mild side effects. In addition, among people with the BRCA mutations the drug shrunk tumors in breast, ovarian and prostate cancer. "Olaparib has few of the adverse effects of conventional chemotherapy, inhibits PARP, and has anti-tumor activity in cancer associated with the BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation," the team concluded.

Teddy Rist

Teddy Rist’s son “Bobby” died leaving him and his wife devastated. Thinking of the past crying for her son, Teddy’s gorgeous wife spent most of that year sitting on her son’s bed. On the other hand, Teddy threw himself into any adventures, or any blind drunken festivities that assures to take him away for few days, hours or minutes. He has remained extraordinarily efficient, though he thoroughly manages the professional part with his company’s partner Philip Maidstone and his wife, Olivia. Teddy found that the vaccine is at the airport in the hands of a corrupt officer, he bribe the officer and get the vaccine; he got on a helicopter on his way to village when DEA agents forced his helicopter down and beat him.

Now as I told you earlier, in yesterday’s episode Teddy Rist visited Nigeria to finalize a business deal, which involves money and oil, where he and his assistant got caught in a brutal storm and there he saw a scared Nigerian boy, whom Teddy Rist rescues instinctively. But this is not the point where video game begins it was then when Teddy finds out that boy came from a destroyed village, which needs a shipment of vaccine desperately. He promises to get that vaccine to the village. The adventure continues while the dying child and a beautiful innocent Harvard-educated doctor wait in the village for the vaccine. The adventure is good and performances are excellent but at the same time, it feels like that some video game developers create the action.

How a wealthy person grows a Conscience, a show intended to stage the beginning of real human sentiment. Teddy Rist, the playboy billionaire hero of “The Philanthropist” on NBC, is finalizing an oil deal in Nigeria when a near-death incident tears away his self-satisfied smugness. James Purefoy played the role of Teddy Rist in NBS’s “The Philanthropist”. Putting aside the rather obvious problem with the “only the rich white man can save us” concept, the fact that this boy is the motivation for Teddy’s struggle for redemption felt a bit forced to me. I don’t mind coincidence, I just don’t like quite this much of it. I would have believed that Teddy needed redemtion without the boy being involved at all. Delivering the vaccine to the village would have been enough. His need to “do something” is still quite understandable given the tragic death of his son. No need to beat us over the head with it.

Shaq

Shaq is one of the most popular Twitter users with nearly 1.4 million followers.He went silent after that. Hopefully his agent called him to tell him the news. Then I fully expect a rush of good rush of tweets name-dropping LeBron James. The trade was rumored to be going down during the regular season, so I'm happy for the big guy that it got done. As well as for my hometown Cleveland Cavs. This looks to be yet another example of Twitter being used to break news. Albeit much, much less substantial than what is going on in Iran.

Look at Shaq's last few tweets. Several minutes ago he tweeted out "I didn't hear dat yet" in response to this tweet, "is it true u a CLEVELAND CAVALIER." A few minutes later someone sent Shaq the following tweet, "U CLEVELAND BOUND¿shaq found out he was traded thru twitter! lmao¿.hahahaaaaaa" Shaq's response? "I kno right." Another day, another weird Twitter story. Tonight the news broke that NBA superstar Shaquille O'Neal was being traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Huge news, but what's humorous is that apparently Shaq found out he was traded on Twitter.

Another day, another weird Twitter story. Tonight the news broke that NBA superstar Shaquille O’Neal was being traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Huge news, but what’s humorous is that apparently Shaq found out he was traded on Twitter. He went silent after that. Hopefully his agent called him to tell him the news. Then I fully expect a rush of good rush of tweets name-dropping LeBron James. The trade was rumored to be going down during the regular season, so I’m happy for the big guy that it got done. As well as for my hometown Cleveland Cavs. Shaq is one of the most popular Twitter users with nearly 1.4 million followers.

WildCharge

WildCharge isn’t quite the same as the Palm’s, which uses electromagnetic inductance to charge. WildCharge uses old-fashioned conductive charging, which means it is wired, sorta, but there’s some cool technology going on there. Not anymore. Today iPhone owners get their own get wireless charging system.You can charge more than one device on the pad at a time, so it can be used to replace a mass of black, boxy wall warts. Cases for the iPod Touch are available immediately. The iPhone cases can be ordered in advance with delivery expected in two to three weeks, said the company.

WildCharge also makes wireless mats and cases for the BlackBerry (those cases don’t cover the data port) and generic models that will fit most any phone. All models of the case are $35 from the WildCharge Web site. You’ll also need a charging pad, which is $50. The mats are UL-listed and have built-in protection against short circuits and shock. “You could take the pad, lick it, stick your hand on it, throw your keys on it,” said George Holmes vice president of sales and marketing and presumably the man to call if you burn your tongue.

There is at least one potential flaw in the system. The case, which is Apple-approved, covers up the port on the phone that is normally used for charging and updates. That’s not a problem if you use Apple’s MobileMe service to update your phone wirelessly, but otherwise you’ll have to take the case off each time you want to update.Cases for the iPod Touch are available immediately. The iPhone cases can be ordered in advance with delivery expected in two to three weeks, said the company.

Daryl Hannah

Daryl Hannah made quite the splash in West Virginia today.The actress and longtime environmental activist was arrested along with 30 others Tuesday for blocking traffic on a major highway during a sit-in to protest mountaintop coal mining, which involves blasting the peaks off the mountains to get at the deposits inside. Police cruisers hauled off the protesters, who ultimately surrendered peacefully after plopping down on a patch of road outside a coal processing plant operated by Massey Energy Co.

All, including Hannah, were released after being cited for impeding traffic and obstructing an officer, a spokesman for the West Virginia State Police told E! News. "It's not necessary," Hannah said before she was arrested. "If you do it wisely, there are ways to use renewables. It's realistic for everybody." The group, which also included a former U.S. senator and a NASA climatologist, had originally planned on taking their beef inside the Massey gates, but several hundred coal miners and their supporters blocked the entrance. "Tensions were pretty high," State Police Sgt. Michael Baylous told the Charleston Gazette. "But nobody got hurt and we're pleased with that."

This wasn't Hannah's first ride in a cop car, either. The Kill Bill villain, who drives a truck that she fuels with recycled grease, was part of a group that was arrested in 2006 while protesting the bulldozing of an urban farm in Los Angeles. The 48-year-old "Clan of the Cave Bear" star, a NASA scientist and their ragtag group of protesters were arrested in West Virginia after blocking off a road leading to a coal processing plant in Raleigh County. Hannah's crew was protesting mountaintop removal mining -- a type of mining criticized for allegedly harming the environment. 30 were arrested in total and booked on misdemeanor charges of obstruction and impeding traffic.

Isabel Lucas

Isabel Lucas has received mixed reviews of her red carpet appearance for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen premiere in Tokyo. Lucas wore a short cream frock and striking stilettos in gold. However the actress faced criticism at home for her use of bronzer, with one tabloid claiming it was way too strong. The newspaper claimed Lucas "paled in comparison" to starlet Megan Fox, who wowed in a classic purple Hollywood gown. But a sister paper claimed Lucas indeed "held her own" next to Fox, who has been dubbed the sexiest woman alive.

Lucas also reportedly had her arrest warrant for protesting pilot whale killing by the Japanese ignored by Japanese police in order to attend the gala. When "Transformers" hit the big screen in 2007, audiences knew to expect a turbocharged bunch of feuding robots, backed by an arsenal of CGI wizardry. What they also got was the impossibly hourglass-shaped Megan Fox bending over the engine of hero Sam Witwicky's bumblebee-yellow Camaro. The mechanically savvy Mikaela still holds the crown as every robotics nerd's dream date. But starting today, she better watch out. In "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," she faces competition that comes with sweeter weaponry than the average Decepticon.

Australian hottie Isabel Lucas joins the franchise as Alice, an alluring classmate Sam (Shia LaBeouf) meets in his first days at college. "An interesting relationship develops between myself and Shia," Lucas, 24, has said. In interviews she remains coy about the exact nature of the characters' bond. "I'm not allowed to give too much of that away." The Aussie actress landed the part after shooting an HBO miniseries, "The Pacific," a Steven Spielberg/Tom Hanks-produced foray into World War II action that will hit TV next year. Spielberg suggested Lucas for a role in the "Transformers" sequel.

Kmart

Kmart is the anchor of the strip shopping center, occupying 96,000 square feet of space. The retailer's departure will leave only a handful of small merchants in the center, including a barber shop and a Chinese restaurant.The store's 71 employees will be notified of openings at nearby Kmart and Sears stores, said Kimberly Freely, spokeswoman for Sears Holding Co., the parent of both retailers. "We will encourage them to apply for those jobs,' she said.

She said Kmart management decided to close the store rather than renew the lease on the property. The company would not disclose whether the location was profitable. Sebastian S. Kresge, founder of the S.S. Kresge dime store chain, opened the first Kmart in Garden City, Mich. in 1962. The Kmart store here has been offering Blue Light specials since 1974. Freely said customers soon will not be able to layaway purchases at the store, although other Kmarts will continue to offer the service. Kmart has made arrangements to transfer prescriptions to the Acme on Route 541 after the store closes.

Unlike some other retailers that buy off the rack, Kmart home fashions and apparel are organically designed with the customer in mind. Both the apparel and home fashions collections are created collaboratively among all their top designers rather than being the result of a single influence. Clothing is created according to Kmart’s exacting specifications for style, tailoring details, flattering fit and quality. Although the Kmart Design Team looks to the high-end brands for inspiration, they eschew producing high-end “knock offs” and instead bring the runway to real life by carefully considering the customer’s personal style and lifestyle and applying Kmart sensibility, quality and affordability.

Callum Blue

Callum Blue (who brilliantly played Mason in Dead Like Me) has been cast as General Zod in the CW's SMALLVILLE.
For you non-comic book fans, General Zod is one of the most iconic Superman nemesis. Blue will be playing a younger version of Zod. I have to say that, although I really like Callum, I don't know if he is the right person for this part. There is a certain charisma and coldness that Zod has that I haven't seen Callum Blue play. I hope to be proven wrong.

Zod, however, is not the only baddie the Red-Blue Blur will need to face this fall.

Kneel before Callum Blue. The alum of such shows as Related, The Tudors and Secret Diary of a Call Girl has been tapped to join Smallville in the series regular role of big, bad Zod, says the Hollywood Reporter. He'll first appear in the Season 9 premiere, airing Sept. 25. A criminal castoff from the planet Krypton, Zod was memorably played on the big screen in Superman II by Terence Stamp (who, like Blue, is British). On Smallville, Stamp has somewhat ironically voiced Clark's biological father, Jor-El.

Zod, however, is not the only baddie the Red-Blue Blur will need to face this fall. As exclusively reported by TVGuide.com, Brian Austin Green will bring Metallo to town for the first two episodes of Season 9. Zod’s Smallville return (he possessed Lex/was played by Michael Rosenbaum in Season 6) was forecast in the CW series’ Season 8 finale, when Tess saw the villain rise from a fiery “Z” on the Luthor manse’s lawn.A criminal castoff from the planet Krypton, Zod was memorably played on the big screen in Superman II by Terence Stamp (who, like Blue, is British)

paypal

PayPal is trying to get merchants to sign on to its own service that allows such fees to be disclosed earlier in the order process. The company is working to expand its revenue base away from the auction-based marketplace of its parent company eBay Inc. (EBAY) Davis said that 53% of PayPal's revenues in the first quarter came from its non-eBay busineAccording to research firm comScore Inc, online-retail spending remained flat in the first quarter compared with the same period last year. In a report Monday, Citigroup analyst Mark Mahaney - citing his own research as well as comScore data - said online-retail spending in the United States declined 1% to 2% in the first two months of the second quarter.

This problem could be magnified by the slowing economy, as consumers are more likely to be scared away by expensive freight and other charges. Another factor is that online merchants could be battling each other over a market with slowing growth. Many Web merchants do not disclose shipping prices and fees at the outset because, Davis believes, they figure that "having a low show rate will drive people to the shopping-cart page." But once there, some consumers aren't completing their purchases as the full costs become clear. "Imagine if at Wal-Mart, half the people dropped out of line at the checkout stand," said Eddie Davis, senior director for SMB merchant services at PayPal.

The survey, commissioned by online-payment processor PayPal, found that 45% of Internet shoppers abandon their "carts" before making the final purchase. The most oft-stated reasons for this are high shipping costs and other fees that are not apparent earlier in the process. People shopping online are likely to bail out on planned purchases before making the final click to submit their orders, often because they are surprised by high shipping costs and other fees, according to a new survey out Tuesday. It's the same thing as comparing prices at Home Depot, Lowes, and Ace Hardware but only buying a cordless drill from one of them. It's NOT the same as getting to the checkout at each store then walking away as this story implies.

Bobby Sager

Bobby Sager, former President of Gordon Brothers Group — a global advisory, acquisition and capital solutions company, will talk about the TV series he inspired and hands-on teaching and leadership training, microenterprInspired by the story of Bobby Sager, real-life entrepreneur turned Third World benefactor, the drama weaves a tale for the times about a heroic billionaire/ playboy/vigilante/philanthropist. Consider “The Philanthropist” Fontana’s.

According to a recent article in the Chronicle of Philanthropy, inspiring others is certainly one of the hopes of Charlie Corwin, the show’s producer,and Bobby Sager, the philanthropist that the show is very loosely based on Please do not hold your breath waiting for someone to make the connection between the Kingston Frontenacs management structure and OHL Prospects’ view Fronts d-man Taylor Doherty is the league’s biggest “faller” for the NHL draft:

Bobby Sager speaking on “Repairing the World” (Tikkun Olam). Tuesday, February 17, 2009. 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm. Location: Vilna Shul. Event Description: Date: February 17th, 2009 Time: 6:00 to 8:30 pm. Bobby Sager will talk about the TV , 2007 A coming-of-age drama about a boy growing up in astoria ny during the 1980s. As his friends end up dead on drugs or in prison he comes to believe he has been saved from their fate by various so-called saints.

Neda Agha Sultan Video

Neda Agha Sultan was the young woman shot dead during the demonstrations over the Iranian electoral fraud of last week. There was a video taken of her death: showing the ubiquity of camera phones around the world. And, of course, the Neda Agha Sultan video was immediately loaded into Facebook, YouTube and all of the other social media. It's a textbook example of how the world has changed technologically since Tiananmen, since the Berlin Wall fell.

Neda Agha Sultan was 27 years old according to her fiance, Kasamin Makan. Speaking to BBC Persia, he said: "Neda's goal was not Mousavi or Ahmadinejad, it was her country and was important for her to fight for this goal. She had said many times that if she had lost her life or been shot in the heart, which indeed what happened, it was important for her to continue in this path."

The whole world is watching the protest for freedom and justice unfolding on the streets of Iran and it is something. Earlier it was a sea of faceless protest when the students and countrymen/ women got down on the streets but now the protests have been given a face. The face of Neda Agha Sultan.

Linda Pizzuti

Sox owner John Henry and his fiancee, Linda Pizzuti, are trying hard to keep the details of their wedding hush-hush, and who can blame them? But the big day is fast approaching, and people are talking. The precise location of Saturday's ceremony is top secret, but we do know that as many as 450 people will convene afterward at a lavish party in the outfield at friendly Fenway. As you might expect, Henry and his missus have enlisted an extraordinary wedding band: Maroon 5. That's right, Adam Levine and the lads will be performing.

You'll recall that Maroon 5 was the surprise musical guest at the BoSox bash in Colorado after the team's four-game sweep of the Rockies. That night, Levine channeled his inner Freddie Mercury, singing “We Are the Champions’’ for Big Papi, Josh Beckett, and the rest of the world-beaters. (Maroon 5 played for free at the Palm in Denver, but something tells us they're getting paid for Saturday's gig.) If the reception proves to be as entertaining as it sounds, the couple may need a day or two to recover before embarking on their honeymoon.

Johnny Carson

Johnny Carson's Straight Man for 30 Years, Dies in L.A. Hospital Ed McMahon, perhaps the most famous sidekick in television history, has died at a Los Angeles hospital. He was 86. For 30 years, he sat cheerfully on the couch next to Johnny Carson on the set of NBC's "Tonight Show," and it was his trademark phrase that opened the broadcast every evening: "H-e-e-e-e-e-ere's Johnny!"

His publicist, Howard Bragman, did not give a cause of death, saying only that McMahon had a "multitude of health problems the last few months." He had been hospitalized in February, reportedly with bone cancer, and had also suffered a broken neck in a fall in 2007. He died early Tuesday morning at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, surrounded by his family, said Bragman.

"It takes a lot more time to not be nice than to be nice," McMahon once said. Audiences will remember him laughing at Carson's jokes, moving aside on the set to make room for the show's featured guests, and smiling through commercial pitches. McMahon and Carson had worked together for nearly five years on the game show “Who Do You Trust?” when Carson took over NBC’s late-night show from Jack Paar in October 1962. McMahon played second banana on “Tonight” until Carson retired in 1992.

Ed McMahon

Ed McMahon, who died Tuesday in Los Angeles, will be remembered mostly as the man who sat next to Johnny Carson, except when more important celebrities came between them. Notwithstanding the dozen years of hosting "Star Search," a role in the 1997 Tom Arnold sitcom "The Tom Show," a high-profile Cash4Gold ad during the last Super Bowl and all that knocking on people's doors in the name of the Publishers Clearing House.

It's easy to underestimate his accomplishment -- or even to wonder whether it should be called an accomplishment at all. We live in a nation of aspiring quarterbacks, pitchers, lead singers and presidents, where we are told to dream big and have it all. (The vice presidency of the United States is regarded as a rarefied form of failure.) But in a world where everyone is innately a star, what does it mean to settle for life as a mere moon?

And yet, just as the moon plays upon the Earth, animating its tides and its werewolves, the sidekick is not without power of his (or her) own. His very presence is the proof that his presence is required. He may come as a straight man, a stooge, a teacher, an apprentice, a servant or pal, but he completes the star-hero in some way to their mutual advantage -- as a counterweight, an anchor, a witness, a frame for the picture, a setting for the stone.

Madame Curie

Madame Curie,” the 1943 film about the physicist and chemist Maria Sk?odowska, is on TV today. “Madame Curie” is one of director Mervyn LeRoy’s films featured on Turner Classic Movies today. TCM is running a block of LeRoy films starting at 9 am with Little Caesar, then Madame Curie, Million Dollar Mermaid at 1 pm, Anthony Adverse at 3, The Devil at 4 O’Clock, followed by Random Harvest, Brad See, Thirty Seconds over Tokyo and finally Quo Vadis.

The 1943 film was led by Greer Garson in the title role with the book written by Ève Curie. Greer Garson … Marie CurieWalter Pidgeon … Pierre CurieHenry Travers … Eugene CurieAlbert Bassermann … Prof. Jean PerotRobert Walker … David Le GrosC. Aubrey Smith … Lord Kelvin Madame Curie coined the expression radioactivity and discovered two elements, polonium and radium. Polonium was named for her native country. Curie died in 1934.

A second season begins on "Can You Duet" (CMT, 8 p.m.), the country music competition from the makers of "American Idol." Ten pairs of singers compete for a slightly shifted panel of judges. Naomi Judd returns, alongside Big Kenny Alphin of Big and Rich. Also judging is Scott Borchetta, CDO of Big Machine Records, who will be awarding a recording contract for the winners.

Grandmas Marathon

Christopher Raabe crossed the finish line at Grandma's Marathon with a winning time of 2:15:13 Saturday in Duluth. As Christopher Raabe cruised into downtown Duluth Saturday morning, the thousands of spectators lining the Grandma’s Marathon course began chanting, "USA! USA!’’ In Canal Park, cowbells rang out near the finish line as the buzz spread among race fans: an American, and a Minnesota native, was on the cusp of winning the race.

Despite the uproar, Raabe maintained his focus all the way to the line as he became the first American to win Grandma’s Marathon in 14 years. Raabe, a native of Sauk Rapids who ran cross country at North Dakota State, finished in 2 hours, 15 minutes, 13 seconds. The last American man to win Grandma’s was Mark Curp in 1995, and the last Minnesota man to win was Rush City’s Dick Beardsley in 1981 and 1982.

Mary Akor won the women’s race for the third consecutive year, joining Lorraine Moller as the second person to win three Grandma’s in a row. Akor battled Russia’s Alina Ivanova and Kenya’s Janet Cherubon through most of the race before opening up a lead in downtown Duluth to win in 2:36:51. Akor is a naturalized American citizen, and her victory sealed the first American sweep of Grandma’s since 1994.

US Open Golf 2009 Leaderboard

Rainy U.S. Open a water hazard for TV teams Water floods the green at No. 18 on Bethpage State Park's Black Course during the suspended opening round of the U.S. Open on Thursday. NBC and ESPN have plenty of people on hand, but then the deluge halts play. There were lots of bored television media personnel at the U.S. Open golf tournament Thursday. Just about the entire first round was rained out, leaving this roll call of hired help from NBC and ESPN to report on, well, rain.

From NBC, Johnny Miller, Dan Hicks, Roger Maltbie, Gary Koch, Bob Murphy, Peter Jacobsen, Mark Rolfing, Dottie Pepper, Jimmy Roberts, Tim Rosaforte and Bob Costas. From ESPN, Chris Berman, Mike Tirico, Curtis Strange, Andy North, Terry Gannon, Karl Ravech, Scott Van Pelt, Bill Kratzert, Judy Rankin, Tom Rinaldi and Rick Reilly. It was a somber Berman who announced, "No more golf today" at 10:53 a.m. PDT.

ESPN is the loser here. NBC takes over hole-by-hole coverage Saturday and Sunday, so now Berman and Co. are down to one day of measuring the water depth of the fairways and talking about Tiger Woods. We're not sure how much to deduct from ESPN's planned 87 hours of multi-platform coverage after Thursday's rainout. NBC is offering coverage on nine of its channels (including, luckily, the Weather Channel) and even Sirius XM radio was planning 28 hours of coverage -- lots of murmuring followed by . . . more murmuring.

Leighton Meester

Leighton Meester has a wild side. And we’re not just talking about on the popular series in scenes with her GG character, Blair Waldorf's, on-again, off-again lovCelebhotline.com has screen shots of what looks like the buzzed-about sex video that reportedlTMZ reports the private video was shot a few years back by her then-boyfriend and shows Leighton nude – and the antics of her talented tootOh, Lordie. There goes Leighton's shoe spokesmodel career.Celebhotline.com spokesman Kevin Blatt told TMZ earlier "We've seen the tape, and we're hoping to close the deal."sies.

Leighton's rep has -- so far -- issued no comment. Our only comment is that we are not willing to join the site – even with a free seven-day trial – to see this salacious video. And we bet we're not alone. Keep reading to see more hot pictures of Meester with Westwick. Why do you think young actresses are so dumb as to let their boyfriends shoot videos of them making love? Will you pay to see Leighton's sex tape?We've learned a Meester tape is being shopped around town. It was shot a few years back, and shows Leighton in mostly innocuous though nude scenes -- with several big exceptions ... one involving her very talented feet.

All I remember about her is seeing her come out on one of those late-night talk shows wearing some 4-5 inch stiletteo heels and a short black dress..judging by that i'd be willing to make such a tape with her as well. Society can't really blame young & attractive people for having sex, can they? Considering even most of the fat, ugly and old people in society manage to have sex, why is it such a system shock when a beautiful, young female celebrity has a sex life? is it still that much a taboo that we won't even want to imagine someone else doing it in their private life?

Walter Cronkite

Walter Cronkite is seriously ill, network sources told Media Bistro's TV Newser blog yesterday. Last week, the network reportedly began updating the obituary for the 92-year-old newsman, who anchored the CBS Evening News for 19 years, earning him the moniker "Most Trusted Man in America." When reached by EW, a spokesman for CBS News declined to comment on CroThey're strange bedfellows: the old guard of broadcast journalism, the new guard of Media 2.0. But Twitter was atwitter with links and posts to YouTube videos of Walter Cronkite's most famous broadcasts yesterday nkite's health.

Cronkite was the first to break news of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination in the spring of 1968. Cronkite interviewed the president at Hyannisport on Labor Day weekend in 1963. Perhaps his most famous broadcast, Cronkite breaks the news of President Kennedy's assassination. Perhaps many in this generation may not be familiar with this giant of the news media. For them suffice it to say that Walter Cronkite was, without hyperbole, "the most trusted man in America".

Back in the days when television was relatively new and technology was in its early years Americans relied on the reporters such as Cronkite to be unbiased, to be truly "fair and balanced". They relied on them to report the news and not to make it up. Back then, unlike today, if you heard it on television news, you could believe it without question. Back then the news media had not yet sold their soul to the devil of advertising revenue. In those days there were legends in the news media, and towering above all of them was Walter Cronkite. For those not familiar with this giant they should Google him and learn what true reporting was.

Coupon Mom

Coupon Queen more than 30 years ago, was touring South Florida to share her savings secrets. On Thursday morning, the New York native filled her cart at an Oakland Park Publix Super Market with fresh cantaloupe, orange juice, laundry detergent, bread, spaghetti sauce and mouthwash, doing the kind of shopping she might have when she was buying groceries for a family of six. The original price of Thursday's shopping trip was $168.52. Samtur paid just $11.77 after combining dozens of coupons with sale prices.

Samtur's combination of experience, eyes that never miss a deal and organization has helped millions of people shave their food bills. She has shared her coupon techniques during countless television appearances and is a contributing editor for Family Circle magazine. She knows her extreme savings may not be possible for every family, but especially now, she said even saving a fraction of what she does on shopping can really add up. 'People say `What's 50 cents?' You know, if you have 10 50-cent coupons, that's $5. If you have 10 $1 coupons, that's $10. That's $500 a year,'' she said.

She watches for simple savings, such as coupons attached to products at the store, larger-sized products offered at the same price as a smaller-sized item, and store coupons that can be combined with manufacturers' coupons -- on top of sale prices. She also cruises food company websites for coupons for free new products and rebates on products she already buys, netting her $200 in cash a month -- but that's something she knows isn't for everyone because it can be time consuming. The yogurt was priced at 70 cents per cup. Samtur had two coupons that made the items free and two more coupons for 50 cents off. She paid a total of 40 cents for four cups of yogurt -- less than the cost of just one at the regular price.

Ennis House

Ennis House, a Los Feliz hilltop masterpiece composed of patterned and smooth concrete blocks that has been mightily threatened by man and Mother Nature, is being offered for sale at $15 million by the private foundation that has been restoring iFrank Lloyd Wright's iconic Ennis House in Los Feliz is being put up for sale. The nonprofit foundation with title to the house figures private ownership might save the troubled home from itself.

Long Beach Unified School District board member Michael Ellis missed a key vote Tuesday -- his 14th in less than three years. Ellis' absentee rate is nearly three times that of the entire board. Long L.A. taxpayers shell out $1.5 million for phone service for 8,000 unused numbers owned by county government. L.A. L.A. Unified School District chief Ramon Cortines says that even deeper cuts in school budgets, including more teacher layoffs, will be needed if the district doesn't receive more state funds or revenue from a proposed parcel tax. Associated Press.

Eric Lloyd Wright, the architect's grandson and a member of the nonprofit Ennis House Foundation's board, said that, given harsh economic realities, private ownership would be the best way to save the house and honor his grandfather's intentions. Torrential rains had caused a retaining wall to buckle in March 2005, sending several patterned blocks tumbling down the hill. City inspectors briefly red-tagged the estate, spread on half an acre along a ridge with breathtaking views in the Hollywood Hills.