BIDEN,
HOUSE HEARING HELD ON BENGHAZI ATTACK: The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee held a politically-charged hearing yesterday (October 10th) on the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, in which U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans were killed last month. The Republican-led committee hammered State Department officials about pre-attack security concerns and criticized the conflicting initial
characterizations from the administration of the attack. The State Department
officials said that, despite requests for more security ahead of the attack, the protection in place had been judged as being sufficient, and that even if there had been more security, it still would have been overwhelmed by the unprecedented assault by dozens of heavily-armed militants. Undersecretary of State Patrick Kennedy said, "An attack of that kind of lethality . . .
we're never going to have enough guns. We are a diplomatic service . . . we are not an armed camp ready to fight it out as the U.S. military does if there was an attack on a U.S. military facility in Afghanistan." Kennedy also explained the shifting initial characterizations of the attack, first as a spontaneous outburst from a protest against an anti-Islam video or militants
taking advantage of the protests, to the current description as a pre-planned
terrorist attack, as being a result of relying on the best intelligence available at the time. Minority Democrats also tried to pin blame on the Republicans, citing the GOP-led House for cutting more than $300 million in diplomatic security funds.
U.S. SENT TROOPS TO JORDAN AS SYRIA PRECAUTION: Defense Secretary Leon
Panetta said yesterday (October 10th) that the U.S. has sent troops to Jordan to bolster its military capabilities if Syria's civil war escalates, reflecting concerns about the conflict spilling over into neighboring nations and about the security of Syria's substantial chemical weapons arsenal. Panetta said the
border from
OUTRAGE IN PAKISTAN
throughout the nation, with many hoping the anger will lead to a turning point in
yesterday after doctors removed a bullet from her neck, but she remained in intensive care.
GODSMACK SINGER RELEASING LIMITED EDITION
The package will also contain collectibles such as a coffee table book, a hat, a T-shirt, guitar pick, poster, incense, Erna's biography, a commemorative backstage pass, and a necklace. The entire set comes in a custom metal Erna-engraved box with a suede lining. Several copies will include golden tickets that will give the winners a chance to join Erna on all-expense paid
trips to
- Other items like autographed guitars, handmade drums, and handwritten lyrics may also turn up as prizes for those purchasing the box set.
- Though an official release date has not been announced, the box set is expected in November.
CHECK IT OUT: Get more info on the box set at www.sullyernaavalon.com and watch a trailer here:
GREEN DAY SONGS TO BE USED ON ‘CSI: NY’- Green Day may be out of sight due to frontman Billie Joe Armstrong's current trip to rehab, but the band is finding other ways to keep itself in the public eye. According to Loudwire, the trio's music will be used as the soundtrack to the October 19th episode of the CBS-TV crime series CSI: NY. In the episode, the character of Lindsay (Anna Belknap) is injured while trying to stop the attempted murder of a political candidate. Songs such as "Stop When the Red Light Flashes," "Amy,"
"Night Life," "The Forgotten" and "Kill The DJ" will help move the storyline along.
- Executive producer Pam Veasey said, "My ultimate goal was to tell a story
without dialogue, and Green Day's music and lyrics beautifully accompanied
the visuals making it a very special episode." - In a statement, the members of Green said,
"We were stoked when we found out CSI: NY wanted to use our
music instead of dialogue to narrate the first few acts of the episode.
It's the first time something like this has been done on the series, and
we are blown away with what we've seen."
FLYLEAF RELESE DATE SET: Flyleaf has set October 30th as the release date for the band's third album, New Horizons. The second single from the disc, "Call You Out," is available now. New Horizons is the Christian act's first album since 2009's Memento Mori, and follows an extended break during which lead singer Lacey Sturm had a baby in 2011. The new disc was recorded in just six weeks.
GUNS N’ ROSES WORKING ON NEW MATERIAL: Guns N' Roses guitarist DJ Ashba says that the band is currently writing material for the follow-up to 2008's Chinese Democracy as it also prepares for a rare acoustic performance at Neil Young's upcoming Bridge School Benefit concerts and a 12-date residency at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas. Ashba said, "(Axl Rose) has tons of stuff done (and) recorded that he's played for me and wants my input on. Axl's put together such a talented group of musicians and there are so many songs that are already worked out. So we've got a good jump on it, for sure."
WILLIE GEIST CONFIRMED FOR 'TODAY': Willie Geist has officially been named a co-host of the Today show. Geist, best known as co-host of MSNBC's Morning Joe, will be
joining the show's
Jim Bell said, "He brings a solid news background with a keen sense of
creativity and humor. From politics to pop culture, Willie is a skilled and
versatile reporter who will make a great addition at
broadcast." His first day on the new job will be November 12th.
'MADE IN
season to get cancelled is CBS's Made in Jersey. After two episodes, CBS
yanked the show from it's Friday night lineup and will replace it will Undercover
Boss beginning on November 2nd. CSI: NY will take its place in the
meantime.
FX SEASON OPENERS: ‘IT’S ALWAYS SUNNY IN
IT'S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA, at
Pop-Pop's history as a Nazi.
THE LEAGUE, at
JOHNNY DEPP IS ALIVE
The rumor started after someone set up an "R.I.P. Johnny Depp" memorial
page on Facebook, claiming he died in a freak drowning accident on the set of The
Lone Ranger. The hoax was reportedly fueled by the recent death of an
actual crew member working on the film.
A rep confirmed that Depp is alive.
- This isn't the first time Depp has faced a hoax; it was once falsely reported that he died in a car crash.
ROMNEY TO STOP TALKING ABOUT EX-NAVY SEAL KILLED IN LIBYA AFTER MOTHER COMPLAINS: One day after Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney began speaking on the campaign trail about meeting Glen Doherty, one of the two former Navy SEALs killed in the attack last month on the U.S. consulate in Libya, his campaign said Wednesday (October 10th) that Romney will stop talking about it after Doherty's mother complained. Romney
first told the story Tuesday about meeting Doherty a few years back at a
neighbor's Christmas party, saying the ex-SEAL told him he kept going back to
the Middle East, first in the military and later as a security contractor, and
said, "You can imagine how I felt when I found out that he was one of the
two former Navy SEALs killed in Benghazi on September 11th." He continued
by talking about how Doherty and his colleagues rushed to the consulate when
they heard it was under attack, saying, "This is the American way -- we go
where there's trouble. We go where we're needed. And right now we're needed.
Right now the American people need us!" But in an interview with Boston TV
station WHDH, Doherty's mother, Barbara Doherty, said of Romney, "He
shouldn't make my son's death part of his political agenda. It's wrong to use
these brave young men, who wanted freedom for all, to degrade [President]
Obama," adding, "I don't trust Romney." In a separate
interview with
spoke about Doherty's take on his encounter with Romney, saying, "He said
it was very comical. Mitt Romney approached him ultimately four times, using
this private gathering as a political venture to further his image. He kept
introducing himself as Mitt Romney, a political figure. The same introduction,
the same opening line. Glen believed it to be very insincere and stale."
TWO AMERICANS
smells, flavors and light, research that's key to developing better medicines.
Drs. Robert Lefkowitz and Brian Kobilka made groundbreaking discoveries about
these proteins, called G-protein-coupled receptors, on which many of today's
drugs act. The two men will split the $1.2 million award.
ZIMMERMAN'S BROTHER IN TWITTER RANT AGAINST LAWYER IN TRAYVON MARTIN CASE: The brother of George Zimmerman, who's charged with murder in the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, went on a Twitter rant this week against a lawyer involved in the case, and it could complicate his brother's legal defense. Robert Zimmerman Jr.
recently appeared on several TV and radio shows complaining about a, quote,
"vast mis-information campaign" about the shooting, which his brother
claims was carried out in self-defense. One of his stops was Piers Morgan's
CNN show on Monday (October 8th), and after he appeared, Natalie Jackson, one
of a group of attorneys and supporters who helped bring public pressure after
Zimmerman's initially wasn't charged for killing Martin, suggested Zimmerman's
family was using the media to raise money. That led to the Twitter rant from
Zimmerman Jr., who wrote to
accountable for your words/actions. You A'
disbarred." George Zimmerman's attorney, Mark O'Mara, told Reuters about
the rant, "We're naturally concerned about anyone associated with the case
speaking publicly, because there is always a risk that their comments could
complicate our defense efforts." Benjamin Crump, an attorney for the
Martin family, said the tweets could help prosecutors if Zimmerman Jr. is
called to testify about what his brother told him about the shooting. Crump said,
"When they go to testify, your character and your credibility is at issue
so I think these [Twitter] comments could have an effect."
STUDY: MORE YOUNG
in 1994. Additionally, the average age of people who experienced a stroke fell
from 71 in 1994 to 69 in 2005. On the positive side, the stroke rate among
people over 75 fell from 1994 to 2005. Study author Dr. Brett Kissela of the
University of Cincinnati College of Medicine said, "The reasons for this
trend could be a rise in risk factors such as diabetes, obesity and high cholesterol."
while also saying factors such as improved diagnosis may also have contributed.
Kissela said, "Regardless, the rising trend found in our study is of great
concern for public health, because strokes in younger people translate to
greater lifetime disability.
PIZZA HUT OFFERING FREE PIZZA, MONEY FOR ASKING 'SAUSAGE OR PEPPERONI?' IN
during the next presidential debate next Tuesday (October 16th), which will
have a town hall format. However, the stunt is unlikely to happen because of
the strict rules for these debates, in which questions are screened ahead of time
by the moderator and at which it's likely any questioner who deviated would be
immediately shut down. AP notes that even if it somehow were to happen, it
could backfire, likely annoying millions of viewers tuned in to see a serious
debate between the candidates.
ARMSTRONG REPORT: 11 TEAMMATES TESTIFIED AGAINST HIM: The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency yesterday (October 10th) released a report on its case against cyclist Lance Armstrong, which revealed that 11 former teammates testified against him. It also details the
way those 11 and other others say performance-enhancing drugs were delivered
and administered to Armstrong's teams, as well as his continuing relationship
and payments to an Italian doctor tied to doping, years after the doctor had
been sanctioned in Italy and after Armstrong claimed to have broken ties with
him. Armstrong decided not to fight the USADA charges, while still maintaining
his innocence. His attorney, Tim Herman, called the report a, quote,
"one-sided hatchet job -- a taxpayer-funded tabloid piece rehashing old,
disproved, unreliable allegations based largely on axe-grinders, serial
perjurers, coerced testimony, sweetheart deals and threat-induced
stories." The USADA has ordered that Armstrong's seven Tour de France
titles be taken away, but there's still a question of whether it or the
International Cycling Federation has ultimate control of being able to do so.
Armstrong was cleared of criminal charges in February after a federal grand
jury investigation that lasted about two years.
CAPTAIN CRASHES 30,000-TON BOAT AFTER GUZZLING BOTTLE OF VODKA: A Russian Captain who allegedly chugged a bottle of vodka before embarking on a trip crashed his 30,000-ton vessel. Viatcheslav Poleshchuk was headed for the
that Poleshchuk had 157 milligrams of alcohol in his blood -- more than four
times the legal limit of 35 milligrams. The sailor pleaded guilty to being over
the prescribed alcohol limit for a ship's master. (The Mirror)
footage of the offender and his arrest is imminent." (Daily Telegraph)
WOMAN CALLS 9-1-1 TO COMPLAIN ABOUT 'CRAPPY SERVICE' AT BURGER KING: An incident report from the Niceville Police Department in Florida shows that an "extremely upset and crying" woman called 9-1-1 to complain that Burger King messed up her
order. The report also noted that the woman said she "got crappy
service" and that the restaurant wouldn't refund her money. Even though the
police called the BK manager to find out what happened, the crying woman was
told to refrain from calling the emergency number unless she has an emergency.
(The Smoking Gun)
HOBBIT CURRENCY IS LEGAL TENDER IN
TWO WOMEN STEAL GOAT
the goat as "almost like a dog," adding "He's really sweet." Dadon added that the goat "jumps on your lap and kisses you." The goat was dropped off unharmed one day after it went missing, but its nails were painted pink. Dadon said of the goat-nappers, "[Goats] go
to the bathroom a lot. I can only imagine what their house looks like. It's
kind of karma for them." (LAist)
WENDY
study by QSR magazine and Insula Research. They won by a landslide as runner-up
Taco Bell was 20 seconds slower on average. Burger King was in last place with
an average drive-thru wait of 201.33 seconds. Other findings? Chick-fil-A had
the most polite service and Taco Bell had the best audio speakers for ordering,
with 98.4 percent of drive-thru employees being clear and understandable. (Fox
News)
THE TOP 5 COLLEGES TO
1.
plentiful, beautiful and progressive according to Playboy.
2.
3.
4. UCLA
5.
INTERPRET YOUR
people decipher their date's cryptic text messages. The new website lets users
upload screen shots of their love interest's texts, and after examination by
people visiting the site, they can vote whether 'he's just not that into you,'
and leave comments about your date's state of mind.
- Check it out: http://hetexted.com/
WOMEN PREFER MEN WITH SHAVED CHESTS: Apparently women really do prefer a man with a smooth chest. Researchers compared the attractiveness of men before and after shaving their chest -- and found only 20 percent of women preferred the bare version.
Scientists are puzzled by this preference as it doesn't appear to have an
evolutionary basis. One of the most prominent theories has been that, by
choosing a hairless mate, women are actually trying to avoid the lice and other
bugs that can live in a furry male -- but a subsequent study found it wasn't
the case. (Daily Mail)
