WebProNews

Author: Val Powell

  • Suge Knight In Armed Standoff With LAPD

    Former rap mogul, Marion ‘Suge’ Knight,  was pulled over by police with guns drawn on Friday afternoon. Apparently, the LAPD thought he was an assault suspect, but it later emerged that he was wrongfully mistaken.

    The former boss and friend to rapper, Tupac Shakur, was in the middle of an armed standoff with law enforcement agents in Los Angeles following an assault report.

    Law enforcement sources told TMZ that the LAPD had received a report of an assault that took place Friday afternoon and the suspect was reported to have matched Knight’s description. As a result, Knight was pulled over by the police who jumped out of their patrol cars with their guns drawn.

    Suge Knight is no stranger to legal battles. The ‘Death Row Records‘ boss has been arrested several times for drug and assault charges and has served prison time. When pulled over, he agreed to go to the police station where he explained that he wasn’t the man being sought.

    Sources told TMZ that the police now believe that the initial report of an assault involving Mr. Knight was false. Although he was released, sources close to the hip hop executive say that he is very rattled by the incident. Knight is now considering filing a lawsuit against the Los Angeles Police Department as a result of the misunderstanding. He is currently serving 3 years of unsupervised probation for driving with an invalid license. Earlier in 2012, he had been arrested after police found marijuana in his car.

    (photo via Twitter)

  • Obama Letter Says He Did Not Ridicule “Tea Baggers”

    While responding to a concerned citizen about the Affordable Care Act, president Obama allegedly used a derogatory term “tea baggers.” The president gave a handwritten response to a note he received from one Thomas J. Ritter, a school teacher in Texas who had written to Obama to complain about Obamacare and political issues in general.

    “This bill has caused such a divisive, derisive and toxic environment,” wrote Thomas Ritter. “The reality is that any citizen that disagrees with your administration is targeted and ridiculed.”

    Ritter also said the he was afraid of “retribution” for writing a letter to the president. “I hesitated to write for fear of some kind of retribution . . . I watched you make fun of tea baggers and your press secretary make fun of Ms. [Sarah] Palin which was especially beneath the dignity of the White House . . . Do the right thing not the political thing. Suggest a bill that Americans can support.” wrote Ritter.

    In his reply, Obama said that he appreciated his “concern about the toxic political environment right now.” However, Obama addressed Ritter’s concerns by saying “I do have to challenge you, though, on the notion that any citizen that disagrees with me has been ‘targeted and ridiculed’ or that I have ‘made fun’ of tea baggers,” the president wrote, echoing Ritter’s use of the derogatory term. “[I] defend strongly the right of everyone to speak their mind-including those who call me a ‘Socialist’ or worse,” Obama continued.

    The term ‘tea baggers’ refers to a sexual act but it is commonly used to refer to the Tea Party movement which is a strong Obamacare critic. The leftist critics have been using the term to poke fun at the right-wing protestors. However, it is important to note that the president merely used the term as used in Ritter’s letter. Ritter used the term to refer to the tea party protesters.

    Letters To The President

    (image via whitehouse.gov)

  • OJ Simpson Denied New Trial By Judge

    Former NFL star O.J Simpson has lost his bid for a new trial in his Las Vegas armed robbery and kidnapping sentencing. Clark County District Judge, Linda Marie Bell ruled Tuesday that “all grounds in the petition lack merit and, consequently, are denied”. This means that Simpson could face 4 more years in prison.

    Simpson’s lawyer, Patricia Palm, has said she was disappointed about the ruling and has vowed to appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court. “We’re confident that when we get to the right court we’ll get relief because he deserves relief, because he didn’t get a fair trial,” Palm told The Associated Press.

    Simpson, 66, was sentenced for up to 33 years in Nevada state prison in 2007 after he was found guilty of kidnapping, armed robbery and other charges. In his defense, Simpson said he tried to reclaim collectible and personal items he believed had been stolen from him from two sports memorabilia dealers in a hotel room.

    When committing the act, he was accompanied by five other men who helped in seizing the items from the dealers.  However, Simpson was granted parole on some of the convictions in July 2013, meaning he must serve four more years in prison if his bid for retrial flops.

    Simpson now argues that he received bad legal advice from his lawyers led by Yale Galanter and that he was not effectively represented. Galanter has however come out strongly to refute Simpson’s claims saying he feels vindicated by the judge’s ruling.

    “As O.J.’s lawyer and confidante, it was gut-wrenching for me to have to be in a position to defend my strategy and efforts on his behalf as his lawyer and testify against my client,” Galanter said by telephone.

    A section of the 101 page ruling reads, “Mr. Simpson’s convictions stem from serious offences,” the judge wrote. “Mr. Simpson specifically asked two of his co-conspirators to bring weapons … to show the sellers he meant business,” she said.

    Simpson was well known for his exceptional talent as a pro football player. However, he became infamous in 1995 after being acquitted of murdering his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman. In the court of public opinion, his current incarceration is seen by many as retribution for him getting away with murder.

    (image via YouTube)

  • Thanksgiving Day Parade 2013: Big Balloons May Be Grounded

    This year’s 87th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade may not feature its biggest attraction due to inclement weather. A mix of sleet, rain, snow and strong winds could prevent some of  this years balloons from appearing in the parade

    16 inflatable parade characters such as Spiderman, Snoopy, Spongebob Squarepants, and Kermit the frog could lose their flying privileges due to New York City regulations. The city rules that the much loved balloons won’t be able to fly if winds exceed 23 mph or if the gusts exceed 34 mph. The latest weather forecast by The National Weather Service indicates that winds are likely to range between 15-25 mph while the gusts are expected to exceed 35 mph. The authorities will make final decision on Thursday morning.

    “The balloons, as you know, can be flown to various heights… or not brought out at all,” New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said on Tuesday.

    “These are decisions that will be made as we go forward depending on the weather conditions,” Kelly said.

    The restriction is meant to protect the crowd because heavy winds cause a flight risk for oversized balloons. With the tallest balloon reaching over 5 stories high, it could mean that the handlers would have difficulty trying to control the balloons. The Macy’s parade is America’s most watched parade of the year. People come from all over the world to see the spectacle and take part in the celebration. If the balloons don’t fly this year it will surely leave many people heart broken – especially the kids. Let’s hope the weather holds up.

    (main image via Macy’s)

  • Frankie Muniz: Second Stroke At Age 27

    Frankie Muniz, age 27, has suffered another mini stroke. The former star of  “Malcolm in the Middle” revealed in his twitter account that he was in the hospital last Friday for the mini stroke.

    “I was in the hospital last Friday. I suffered a “Mini Stroke”, which was not fun at all. Have to start taking care of my body! Getting old!” He wrote.

    This second stroke comes almost exactly one year after he was hospitalized for a similar health crisis.

    Here’s what Frankie had to say after his first stroke

    “Almost a year to the day, I experienced another mini stroke,” Frankie tweeted Monday ”

    Hopefully that will be the last. Miserable.”

    Although strokes are believed to happen to older people, mini strokes can also happen to younger people. “Stroke has been noted to having an increased frequency in young adults without a clear cause, “says Dr. Richard B. Libman, Vice Chair of Neurology at the Cushing Neuroscience Institute in Manhasset, N.Y. Dr Libman told CBSNews that “stroke has been known as the disease for the elderly especially those with preexistent atherosclerotic and heart disease.

    A stroke is a brain attack that happens when blood supply to the brain is stopped due to narrow blood vessels or when the vessel bursts and fills the spaces around the cells of the brain with blood. As a result, the cells may die due to insufficient oxygen or bleeding.

    (image via YouTube)

  • Lara Logan Suspended For Erroneous ’60 Minutes’ Report

    CBS has suspended its news correspondent, Lara Logan for an erroneous 60 Minutes report about the attack on a US diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya, according to USA Today. Also suspended was the segment’s producer Max McClellan.

    CBS News chairman Jeff Fager regretted the incident saying that “the deception got through and it shouldn’t have.” Logan and McClellan had ran the interview in October with a security contractor known as Dylan Davies giving an eyewitness account of the deadly attack on the U.S mission  in Benghazi. The security guard told Logan that he had violated his employer’s orders to stay away from the compound and fought off a militant at the facility. Davies also said that he had seen U.S Ambassador, Christopher Stevens, who was one of four Americans killed in the attack, at a local hospital. FBI later discredited Davies after he told the FBI and his employer that he was in fact nowhere near the scene.

    Ms Logan later called it a mistake. The network acknowledged that more thorough investigations should have been done. After a review of the incident, CBS News director of standards Al Ortiz concluded that the mistake was preventable had Logan and McClellan utilized CBS News resources to authenticate the sources.  “It’s possible that reporters and producers with better access to inside FBI sources could have found out that Davies had given varying and conflicting accounts of his story,” Ortiz said

    “There is a lot to learn from this mistake for the entire organization,” said the chairman in an email communicated to the CBS News employees. “As executive producer, I am responsible for what gets on the air. I pride myself in catching almost everything, but this deception got through, and it shouldn’t have.”

    (image via Wikipedia)

  • Obama Interrupted By Heckler During Immigration Speech

    President Obama was heckled on Monday by a young man during his speech on immigration reform in San Fransisco. The young man was calling on the president to stop deportation.

    “Mr. Obama, my family has been separated for 19 months now!” yelled a young man who stood with others behind the president. Obama continued to speak but the young man did not relent.  “Please, use your executive order,” the young man said, “to halt deportations from all 11.5 million undocumented immigrants in this country right now.”

    “We agree that we need to pass comprehensive immigration reform,” the protestor continued, “but at the same time, you have a power to stop deportations for all.”

    “Actually, I don’t,” the President responded. “And that’s why we’re here.” Several people then joined and started chanting, “Stop the deportations!” along with the “yes we can” slogan.

    The president turned to address the heckler as his security detail tried to eject the young man out of the Betty Ann Ong Chinese Recreation Center. Obama signaled them to let the young man stay. “I respect the passion of these young people because they feel deeply about the concerns for their families,” he said. “The easy way out is to try to yell and pretend like I can do something by violating our laws. He continued, “If in fact I could solve all these problems without passing laws in Congress, I would do so.”

    Having said that, the young man as well as those who had started chanting became calmer. “It won’t be as easy as just shouting. It requires us lobbying and getting it done.” Argued Obama.

    “So for those of you who are committed to getting this done, I am gonna march with you and fight with you every step of the way to make sure that we are welcoming every striving, hardworking immigrant who sees America the same way we do,” he said.

    (main image via YouTube)

  • Amanda Knox: Italian Prosecutor Wants Her Back In Prison

    Italian prosecutor, Alessandro Crini, has appealed an appellate court to convict Amanda Knox for the 2007 murder of her British roommate. The prosecutor urged the appeals court Monday not to repeat mistakes made by the high court that freed her.

    Amanda had been convicted in 2009 of the murder of Meredith Kercher – a British student, and sentenced to serve 26 years. She only served 4 years of the 26-year sentence before her conviction was overturned on October 3, 2011 by an appellate court. In yet another twist, her acquittal was overturned by the Supreme Court on March 26, 2013 and her case was sent back to the high court for reconsideration.

    Kercher’s body was discovered in a pool of blood in her room on Nov. 2, 2007 with her throat slit. There were also signs that she was sexually assaulted. The lower court had argued that the crime was fueled by a sexual game gone wrong, but the prosecutor departed from that line of argument saying that the crime was not so much sexually motivated; instead, it was an act of physical aggression with a sexual expression.

    Prosecutor Crini said that the Supreme Court had “razed to the ground” the appellate court’s 2011 decision to nullify the guilty conviction. The high court has ordered a fresh appeals trials saying that the earlier appeal was marred with contradictions.

    The prosecutor’s demands came after more than 10 hours of closing arguments spread over two days during which he argued that Knox and her boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito (co-defendant) committed  the crime in concert of a third man (Rudy Guede ) who was convicted separately. The crime was reportedly committed as a result of disagreement between the roommates over cleanliness. Testimonies indicate that there had been tensions between Kercher and Knox about the level of cleanliness.

    Following this development, the Meredith Kercher’s 2007 murder case will be getting its third trial. Knox’s co-accused, Sollecito, has also attended two hearings so far. The third person in the case, Rudy Guede, is already serving 16 years in prison after being found guilty of Kercher’s murder.

    (main image via YouTube)

  • Brandon Rios Set To Fight Manny Pacquiao Tonight

    A defeat in this fight could put an end to Manny Pacquiao’s career. When Manny was knocked out by Mexican rival Juan Manuel Marquez, many critics said that the career of the Filipino boxing sensation was over.

    The intriguing Welterweight boxing clash between Manny Pacquiao and the Mexican American lumbering slugger, Brandon Rios, will take place this  Saturday night in Macau, China, as both fighters fight to rebound from defeat.

    When Manny faces Rios tonight, he will be going against a guy who has lost just once to Denver’s Mike Alvarado.

    Alvarado gave Manny some advice. “The important thing is to keep that strong mental (attitude),” Alvarado told sportscaster Rich Marotta in a video interview. He also advised Manny to not giving in to his style [Rios], and to avoid getting into a slugfest.

    “Rios did that with us in the first fight and it gave him more of an opportunity to land that big shot.” Alvarado said.

    Manny has won 10 world titles in eight weight classes and is ranked as one of the best pound for pound boxers in his generation. Although the fighter goes into the match on the back of a defeat, he isn’t letting that rattle his confidence.  “I lost. My next fight, I’m not thinking I’m scared because I’m going to get hit again,” Said Manny is a Video series.

    Rios, also known as “Bam-Bam”, has brushed off his critics who think that his style will be a piece of cake for the lightening-quick style of Manny. “It’s okay, there’s always going to be criticism out there, there is criticism for everything I do,” Rios told USA Today, “It actually motivates me even more. And it gives me the (motivation) to prove everybody wrong. When I fight the best, they always bring the best out of me.”

    http://youtu.be/gMbpuvJYRE4

    (main image via YouTube)

  • Longest Married Couple In U.S. Celebrate 81 Years Together

    102-year-old John Betar and 98-year-old Ann Betar have been married now for 81 years. Given that these days most marriages in the U.S. end in divorce, Mr. and Mrs. Betar are truly an inspiration. The couple, however, admit that “it isn’t a lovey dovey thing for 80 years.” John did however reveal the secret to their long-lasting marriage: “always agree with your wife.”

    Today reported that John and Ann eloped on Nov 25, 1932, escaping their small Syrian neighborhood in Bridgeport, Connecticut because Ann’s father was planning to marry her off to a man twenty years older than her.  “I had no choice but to elope because my father was set on me marrying a much older man, and I was 17. John was not the boy next door, but the boy across the street who I loved,” Ann Betar revealed. “He was 21 and used to drive me to high school in his Ford Roadster,” she added.

    “Everyone was hopping mad, and my wife’s aunt consoled my father-in-law by telling him not to worry, the marriage won’t last,” Added her husband.

    Now, as they celebrate their incredible 81 years of marriage, they can look back on some of the things that have made them stick together for so long. And it seems it is the small things that matter, “We’re always holdings hands,” John says. “We’ll be together forever”

    The couple was named on Valentine’s Day by Worldwide Marriage Encounter as 2013’s longest married couple in America. The couple live in Long Island.

    (main image via YouTube)

  • 50th Anniversary Of JFK Assassination Commemorated

    The 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination was commemorated Friday in Dallas amidst prayers and tears. President Kennedy was only 46 when he was shot and killed in Dallas, Texas. His assassination marks one of the darkest moments in the American history.

    “Our collective hearts were broken,” Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings told a crowd of about 5,000 who came to remember JFK in Dealey Plaza where Kennedy was assassinated. “A new era dawned and another waned a half century ago when hope and hatred collided right here in Dallas,” Rawlings said.

    Kennedy is remembered  for his youthful vigor, his handling of the Cuban missile crisis as well as the founding of the Peace Corps.  Several people attending the event recounted how important JFK was to America’s History.

    “If that hadn’t happened, history might have changed. He was a different kind of president,” said Douglas Ducharme, a Canadian attending the event.

    During the event, there were a few scuffles along the perimeter fence around the Dealey plaza between the police and the protesters. There were also some conspiracy theorists who want to take part in the event. Others wanted attention for their concerns about police brutality in Dallas.

    As a result of JFK assassination, several conspiracy theories have been formed as to how he was shot. Conspiracy theorists have expressed doubt about the findings of the official warren commission claiming that the gunman Harvey Oswald might have acted alone. Conspiracy theorists have blamed Fidel Castro, the mob, the CIA,  the  Secret Service, Lyndon Johnson among others.

    A recent Gallup poll  showed that 61%  percent of Americans believe that Oswald did not act alone. Though that percentage may seem high, its the lowest its been since the 1960s.

    Oswald shot the president from the 6th floor of the Texas School Book Depository as Kennedy rode in an open presidential limo. Two days later after the assassination, Oswald was shot dead by Dallas nightclub owner Jack Ruby while in police custody.

    Did Lee Harvey Oswald act alone? Film director Oliver Stone gives his opinion.

    (Source NBC News  and main image via Wikipedia)

  • Probation Officer Returns $223,600 Dropped by Armored Car

    An armored car dropped a bag containing $223,600 in cash while leaving Boomtown Casino in Harvey on Wednesday afternoon. Luckily for the car’s crew, the money was spotted by a Good Samaritan named Jessica Luebke, a probation officer. Luebke saw an unusual bag about 2 x 2.5 foot on the side of the road while driving around 12.30 p.m. It took a while for Luebke to realize what was in the bag but eventually she realized that it was loaded with cash. The cash was in bundles of $20 and $100 bills totaling $223,600.

    “I turned around immediately as soon as it registered what um, that actually was, that it was a huge bag of cash, I turned around immediately and called Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office.” Said Luebke.

    http://youtu.be/nWPvrJbMFvo

    At first, the police officers weren’t sure how the money came to be on the side of the road but later got their answers when an armored car drove up and its crew reported they were tracing a missing cash bag, according to department District Administrator, Jon Reeves.

    Reeves said the armored car had just picked up a deposit from Boomtown club but the bag fell off the car as it neared the probation department’s quarters. Reeves said that it is fortunate that a law enforcement office was first to spot the lost bag as it would have been extremely hard to recover the cash had someone else found it.

    (image via Fox News)

  • Evolution Debate Rages At Texas Board Of Education Meeting

    It seems that the evolution debate is not about to go away; instead, tougher questions are being asked. Ideological objections to the evolution philosophy raged in a Texas Board of Education late night meeting during the approval of science textbooks.  The Associated Press reports that a biology textbook was the main reason the meeting was held up due to fundamental factual errors.

    Some board members singled out the textbook by Pearson Education publishers. Several questions were raised about the book’s proclamations on natural selection, arguing that the evolution theory is not the ultimate explanation for how life developed on Earth. Another point at issue was the differences of opinions on how long it took the earth to cool. Others suggested that the book should “balance between gradualism and sudden appearance,” suggesting that rather than developing over time, life got a boost from an intelligent designer.

    Pearson was not willing to make suggested edits and changes to the book and challenged the list of the alleged errors raised during the meeting. As a result, the book by Pearson was not approved at the meeting. However, they did not block the approval but only delayed it until external experts check the concerns. Three board members shall appoint three experts to scrutinize the book.

    There are those like Thomas Ratliff, a Republican who objected the approval delay saying that the approval process is being hijacked by political process. Ratliff is the board’s vice chairman. He said the book is already being used in over half of United States of America’s classrooms.

    “To ask me — a business degree major from Texas Tech University — to distinguish whether the Earth cooled 4 billion years ago or 4.2 billion years ago for purposes of approving a textbook at 10:15 on a Thursday night is laughable,” Ratliff said. His colleagues on the other side of the debate weren’t laughing.

    (main image via Wikipedia)

  • Obamacare Delayed: 2015 Enrollment Will Now Start After 2014 Elections

    Obamacare Delayed: 2015 Enrollment Will Now Start After 2014 Elections

    After a slow start to the enrollment of Obamacare, the Obama administration is set to delay enrollment for 2015 by one month from October 15 to November 15. This means that while the 2015 enrollment period had been set to begin Oct. 15, 2014 and end Dec. 7, it will now begin Nov. 15, 2014, and end Jan. 15, 2015.

    White House spokesman Jay Carney said pushing back the start date will give insurers more time to get an idea of their new pool of customers before they set their 2015 premiums accordingly. “What was already going to be a back-loaded process is going to be more back-loaded, and that’s going to leave insurers a lot of data to sort through in a short period of time,” Carney said in a statement.

    This latest Obamacare adjustment will definitely add more political controversy over the embattled new healthcare law. Senator Chuck Grassley, a Republican has already described the move as “a cynical political move” and added that any changes to healthcare plans such as premium increase should be made public before the 2014 election.

    Carney has also denied that next year’s elections are the reason for the postponement but House Majority Leader Eric Cantor has a different view.  Cantor said that the move is meant to hide some weaknesses in the health care act before the election. “Clearly, President Obama does not want voters to see increased prices, more cancellations and decreased options under Obamacare before they go to the ballot box” Cantor said in a statement “If Obamacare is so great, why are Democrats so scared of voters knowing its consequences?”

    But there are others who have welcomed the move saying the postponement will give consumers more time to learn about plans before enrolling. Carney has said that the administration expects more people to sign up for the health care insurance at the end of the current open enrollment period ending 31st march 2014.

    However, this means that the Americans will have to wait until after election before hearing about any potential premium increase rather than in the weeks before.

    (main photo via whitehouse.org)

  • NeNe Leakes Recovers At Home After Health Scare

    “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” star NeNe Leakes is thankful to be alive. In a message she posted on her website, she wrote  “I’m thankful to be alive as the doctor advised me that most people don’t recognize the symptoms of blood clots and don’t go to the doctor and that’s when the big problems start happening.”

    The Daily News reports that she was hospitalized after feeling short of breath and was diagnosed as having blood clots in her lung. NeNe has since been released and is now recovering at home.

    NeNe took time while recovering to reassured her fans that she did not have a heart attack as earlier reported. Part of the statement posted by the 45-year-old Leakes read:

    “Late last week I wasn’t feeling well and was feeling a little short of breath…I know my body and I know when I should be concerned so I went to the hospital to get checked out.”

    “After some routine tests I was diagnosed with blood clots in my lung,” she continued. “I’m told this happened to me because of the constant traveling around the country that I do for my job.”

    She also posted a photo of her dressed in a hospital gown and lying in a hospital bed while hooked up to IV’s.  “My arms are hurting with these IV’s,” she tweeted Monday along with the photo. “I have been very sick for the past couple of days,” she continued. “But I wanted 2 Thank my tweetie pies.”

    (image)

     

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    Nene Leakes is also the star of  I Dream Of Nene: The Wedding on Bravo

    (photos via neneleakesofficial.com)

  • Mike Tyson Returns Evander Holyfield’s Ear In Hilarious Foot Locker Ad [Video]

    Foot Locker’s hilarious new commercial features Mike Tyson and a piece of ear he bit off  about 16 years ago. The retailer is promoting its “week of greatness” in a new ad campaign. The ad starts out with Cleveland Cavaliers star, Kyrie Irving chilling by a basketball court with two friends. ” A whole week of the most premium kicks… feels like all is right with the world” Kyrie says.

    What follows is Kyrie’s daydream sequence.

    Boxer, Mike Tyson innocently rings Evander Holyfield’s doorbell and returns the piece of ear he bit off  in the 3rd round of the now infamous 1997 title fight. The repentant Tyson says,   “I’m sorry, Evander. It’s your ear.” He even placed the piece of ear in a little gift box. “I kept that in formaldehyde,” Tyson adds. The two rivals then hug it out. In reality, Holyfield had his ear sewn in place hours after Tyson had a bite.

    The other funny moments in the ad feature cameo appearances by Dennis Rodman who joins in making the world a better place by taking a one way flight to North Korea. This becomes a reason for jubilation to people waiting in line behind him at the airport.  “He’s never coming back!” They celebrate.

    Brett Favre meanwhile finally sees the error of his footballing ways by finally declaring , “A man’s gotta know when to walk away,” after the waitress asks if he wants something else. Hilarious.

    Just watch the video!

    http://youtu.be/VqSnozW9IJM

    Why is Tyson returning Holyfield’s ear? For those of you who somehow don’t know what happened – watch the video

    http://youtu.be/fcXYEIhy-rc

    Tyson and Holyfield rehash the “ear bite” incident.

    (main image via YouTube)

  • Christina Ricci Wields Blood Splattered Ax In New Movie

    Christina Ricci looks horrifically murderous as she wields a blood-spattered ax posturing as the infamous Lizzie Borden. The real Lizzie Borden was an American woman who was tried and acquitted in 1892 of the ax murders of her stepmother and father in Massachusetts.

    The case has become folklore among Americans and although Borden was acquitted, Lifetime seems to have convicted her given the image it used for the movie poster. Speculation about Borden’s role in the crime continues even today.

    The movies poster shows the 33-year-old actor carrying a horrific bloody ax with blood splattered around here long white nightgown. Lifetime’s made-for-TV movie, “Lizzie Borden Took an Ax” aires January 25th and also stars Billy Campbell and Clea DuVall.

    (image)

    photo of Lizzie Borden via Wikipedia

    The film storyline recounts how on a scorching, hot summer day in 1892 in Fall River, Massachusetts, Lizzie Borden (Christiana Ricci) returns home to find her stepmother Abby and father, Andrew violently murdered. As usually, the police mount their investigations and several people are questioned but evidence repeatedly points to Lizzie, a Sunday school teacher, as the prime suspect.

    She is eventually hurled to court to face murder charges but her lawyer Andrew Jennings (Campbell) mounts a spirited defense arguing that Lizzie is innocent and there is no way a woman could commit such a heinous crime of brutally murdering her family with an ax. However, this does not prevent the press and the courtroom from sensationalizing the case, forever ruining Lizzie Borden’s name.

    Here’s the horrific story in greater detail

    Source and main image: Huffington Post

     

  • Lindsey Vonn Injured: Possible Setback For Sochi Olympics

    The reigning Olympic champion Lindsey Vonn got injured Tuesday in a training run in Copper Mountain, Colorado ahead of her anticipated return to racing in the World Cup competition next week in Beaver Creek, Colo. Vonn was just recovering from a major right knee surgery. Vonn was however, not admitted to the hospital. Instead, her injury is being evaluated by her doctor, Bill Sterett.

    “We have no reason to believe it’s anything significant right now,” read a statement from U.S. Ski Team spokesman Tom Kelly to the Associated Press. It is not clear whether her right knee was injured or not. She had torn her ligaments in the knee and fractured her tibia in a sickening crash in a high speed accident which occurred on Feb. 5. “We expect to have clarity on the situation in the next 24 hours,” Lewis Kay, a spokesman for Vonn, said.

    Vonn had actually felt that her knee was months ahead of the schedule and in recent weeks she repeatedly said that her right knee was fully recovered.  She thought about expediting her comeback to the season opening Giant Slalom in Soelden, Austria last month but she changed her mind. Opting instead to continue preparing. She had already indicated that the Sochi Olympics this coming February are her priority.

    It is unlikely that Vonn will have adequate time to prepare for the Sochi Olympics in 79 days following the setback. She had said before the season that her main focus was on the Olympics. “If I start off slow, it’s fine I just want to make sure that by the time I get to Sochi that I’m 100% in those events.” Vonn felt that she would have less pressure at the Sochi Olympics since she already has a gold medal. . “My childhood dream was to win the Olympics, and I’ve done that. Everything else is icing on the cake,” she said. “I feel like the pressure is off,”

    (image via Wikipedia)

  • McCaughey Septuplets Reach Their 16th Birthday

    The first septuplets to survive past infancy have turned 16. It was quite a scene when all the seven siblings were delivered by the same mother in 1997. The four boys and 3 girls were conceived as a result of fertility drugs, but when the couple discovered that Bobbi was carrying seven babies, they chose not to use selective reduction to reduce the number of infants on the conviction that they would put it in God’s hands.

    “I will always remember the day we found out there were so many. It wasn’t like ‘yoohoo!’ There were so many doubts,” she said. “To a lot of people this might sound trite, but God determined the outcome. We’ve built a good foundation that wouldn’t have happened had that situation not occurred. So the message is let God use you. It doesn’t have to be something that makes national news.” Bobbi said

    Now the septuplets are thriving and looking to the future despite being born nine weeks prematurely to Kenny and Bobbi McCaughey. The teens say they are more than friends, and they always back each other no matter what. “We all just are able to — to help each other,” Natalie said.  And today, all seven of them — Kenny, Alexis, Natalie, Kelsey, Nathan, Brandon and Joel want to be drivers. Six of them have already received their learner’s permits, meaning there are six siblings fighting over one car.

    In an ABC News interview, the siblings revealed that they have varied tastes in music and movies, which can sometimes make their home a very lively place to live in. The siblings, however, each have their own room, and enough personal space to make it easier for them to get along with each other.

    Some of the teens are now dating. When questioned by an ABC interviewer, three of the septuplets admitted to being  in steady relationships . The seven septuplets also share an older sister, Mikayla Marie who was born one year earlier.

    (image via YouTube)

  • Leonid Meteor Shower Expected This Weekend

    The long awaited annual mid-November Leonid meteor shower will peak this weekend. The only problem is that the full moon’s glare may obstruct the annual celestial show.

    Assuming that the skies are clear during the peak viewing times, which will be just before the dawn on Sunday morning, you might just see Leonid streaks as well as a comet called ISON (the comet is visible to the naked eye). At its peak, you can expect to see more than 10 meteors per hour. Universe Today estimates the peak time to be about 5 a.m. ET Sunday. The wee hours are best for viewing the Leonid showers because that is when the Earth is turning more directly to the trails left behind by the comet Tempel-Tuttle.

    Here’s what it looked like last year

    The Leonids are so named because they appear to be coming from constellation Leo the Liona in the East – that is another good clue. During the predawn hours, the radiant is high up in the eastern sky; therefore, that is a good place to start with. If you face the east, the Leonid showers should be visible all the way across the sky. The Northeast and across the Southwest have been touted to be best locations to view the showers this weekend.

    (main image via Wikipedia)

  • JFK Grave Site To Be Visited By Obama And Clinton

    The 50th anniversary of the former US president, John F. Kennedy will be commemorated on Friday, November 22.  Before the commemoration, President Obama, accompanied by Bill and Hillary Clinton will visit JFK’s grave site on Wednesday, USA today reports.

    An administration official revealed that Obama will make a visit to the Eternal Flame at Arlington National Cemetery accompanied by Michelle Obama and the Clintons.

    Obama will lay a wreath close to the eternal flame. The visit comes 2 days before the November 22nd half-century of John F. Kennedy’s assassination. Kennedy was shot twice on Friday, November 22, 1963 as he entered Dealey Plaza in an open Presidential limousine in Dallas.

    On Wednesday Obama will present the Presidential Medals of Freedom (the nation’s highest civilian honors) to this year’s recipients in a morning ceremony at the White House.

    Former president, Bill Clinton, will be one of this year’s 16 recipients of the award, according to a statement from the White House. Other awardees include: media mogul and philanthropist, Oprah Winfrey,  astronaut Sally Ride, and Nobel Prize winner Mario Molina among others. On Friday, the actual anniversary day, Obama will meet leaders and volunteers from Peace Corps, an organization established by JFK in 1961.

    John Fitzgerald Kennedy, was the 35th President of the United States, holding office from January 1961 until he was assassinated in November 1963 . JFK’s body is buried in Arlington National Cemetery next to his wife, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

    Footage from the day President Kennedy was assassinated

    http://youtu.be/V-LA0ypFXig

    (image via Wikipedia)