Prepare for Michael Jackson funeral online: Finding live feeds, photos and video

   Preparing for the Michael Jackson funeral online, Internet connection problems and finding live feeds, photos and video amidst bogus websites.  

Michael Jackson’s funeral will air on television and online on Tuesday July 7, 2009. This day may pose problems for online access whether or not Michael Jackson funeral live feeds, photos and video is sought. Fans should also prepare for Internet congestion and bogus website claims.

For starters, many sites claim to have the Michael Jackson funeral live and online already, even though the event has yet to take place. Some of these are harmless sites, others are not. Otherwise, Michael Jackson's funeral is scheduled at 10:00 a.m. at the Staples Center in Los Angeles and a number of legitimate live feeds from the nearby Nokia Center will be available but may be difficult to access. 

When seeking to get a live feed of Michael Jackson's funeral, event photos, video or news – or to avoid Internet use problems – follow these tips:


-- Conduct important transactions online on Monday – or defer to Wednesday –to best avoid Internet congestion problems related to the event.

--Look at the domain name before clicking on a link. Stick with established sources, be it CNN, TMZ or Examiner to best avoid spyware and bait-and-switch website techniques. 

-- Prepare for popular websites hosting funeral video and live feeds to be inaccessible temporarily. YouTube videos, for instance, may be slow to load. Try again rather than clicking on random sites haphazardly.

-- Get the facts on the Michael Jackson funeral and related memorials in advance. As mentioned, the Michael Jackson funeral is to be held at the Staples Center with a live televised feed expected at the Nokia Theater. Some websites may have domain names with similar spellings or play off the Michael Jackson name. Look for “Official“ websites via a search engine.


Michael Jackson funeral and Internet traffic

Perhaps, the interest in Michael Jackson’s death and funeral is difficult to grasp. The closest comparison based on worldwide popularity may be Princess Diana’s death in Sept. 1996. Here, an estimated 2.5 billion people watched the funeral on television alone.


Back then, of course, Twitter, YouTube or SMS messaging – among other technologies – didn’t exist, and the Internet was a loosely organized somewhat rare commodity. Add to this the record-breaking visits to websites with stories on Michael Jackson’s death. From this, a rough prediction on search volume for the Michael Jackson funeral can be applied.


The feverish number may well be in the billions on and around July 7. Individuals with dial-up, public wireless or low-end broadband will fare worse than higher-speed connections.

Australian Airbus makes emergency landing in Guam

SYDNEY, June 11 (Reuters) - An Australian Jetstar aircraft with 203 passengers and crew made an emergency landing on the island of Guam on Thursday after a cockpit fire broke out as the aircraft flew over the Pacific Ocean.

The Airbus A330-200 aircraft was flying from Japan to Australia late on Wednesday night when, four hours into the flight, smoke was seen in the cockpit and the right-hand cockpit window area caught fire, Jetstar said.

"One of our pilots utilised an extinguisher and we conducted an emergency diversion to Guam where the aircraft landed without incident," Jetstar spokesman Simon Westaway told Australian radio. The plane touched down in the early hours of Thursday, Australian time, Jetstar said.

All passengers and crew were safe and no one had been injured, the airline said, adding that the flight was carrying mainly Japanese passengers.

The aircraft was only two years' old and would be held in Guam until the cause of the fire was established, Jetstar said.

An Air France Airbus A330 jet crashed at sea on a flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris last week, killing all 228 people on board.

Jetstar is a unit of Australian carrier Qantas Airways Ltd (QAN.AX).

Chinese Guantanamo Inmates Head for Taiwan Ally Palau

June 10 (Bloomberg) -- The Obama administration will transfer as many as 17 Chinese Muslims from the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay to Palau, a Pacific island nation that recognizes Taiwan sovereignty.

“The United States has asked Palau to assist with such a critical task,” Palau President Johnson Toribiong said in a statement e-mailed today. Palau, a former U.S.-administered territory about a third the size of New York City, is located about 15,000 kilometers (9,322 miles) from Cuba.

China opposes the resettlement of the ethnic Uighur detainees to third countries and has repeatedly urged their repatriation. Lawyers for the group say they would be persecuted at home. Palau is one of 23 countries in the world to have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan instead of China.

The resettlement agreement comes after American government officials speculated that some Uighurs would have to be released in the U.S. to convince other countries to take Guantanamo detainees. The State Department has had trouble relocating the roughly 240 detainees held at the prison camp in Cuba, which President Barack Obama made a campaign pledge to close.

“If the Americans repatriate them, then the U.S. administration would be under a lot of pressure to make sure that these people were treated OK within China,” said Steve Tsang, a fellow in modern Chinese studies at St. Antony’s College, University of Oxford, in the U.K. “That’s actually more problematic for the Chinese than if these people are parked in some pacific island.”

$200 Million?

The U.S. is prepared to give Palau as much as $200 million in development, budget support and other assistance in return for accepting the inmates, the Associated Press reported, citing two U.S. officials that it didn’t identify.

The Uighur detainees are from Xinjiang, a predominantly Muslim far-western desert region of China that borders Kazakhstan. Before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, they traveled to Afghanistan to train in camps in the Tora Bora mountains, according to U.S. court filings.

The Uighurs fled China because of racial repression and discrimination, their lawyers said. The camps in Afghanistan were run by a Uighur separatist group designated a terrorist organization by the State Department, according to the U.S.

Enemy Combatants

Many of the Uighurs fled to Pakistan when the U.S.-led coalition’s bombing campaign to oust the Taliban regime began in October 2001, according to the U.S. They were captured, turned over to the American military and branded enemy combatants, though that label was later dropped.

Palau, located 500 miles southeast of the Philippines, consists of eight main islands and 250 smaller ones. Tourism accounts for more than half of its economy, according to the U.S. State Department.

Palau received $450 million in U.S. aid since 1994 under the terms of an independence agreement signed that year. The money is set to stop after this year. The U.S. also agreed to provide defense for the nation of 21,000 people until 2044.

Palau citizens volunteer and serve in the U.S. armed forces. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton cited Palau as one of America’s “staunchest allies” during a May 6 hearing of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Muslim Brotherhood Members to Attend Obama's Cairo Speech

The expected attendance of the Brotherhood members is already stirring some criticism from conservatives in the U.S. who say they do not represent the kind of moderate Muslims Obama should be appealing to.

Egyptian lawmakers from the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood are expected to attend President Obama's highly anticipated speech to the Muslim world Thursday in Cairo.

Khaled Hamza, editor of the Muslim Brotherhood Web site, confirmed to FOXNews.com that 10 members of the Brotherhood's parliamentary bloc received official invitations to attend the speech.

The list includes Mohammed Saad el-Katatni, head of the parliamentary bloc.

The expected attendance of the Brotherhood members already is stirring some criticism from conservatives in the U.S. who say they do not represent the kind of moderate Muslims Obama should be appealing to.

"What kind of signal are we sending?" said Rep. Pete Hoekstra, ranking Republican on the House intelligence committee, warning that such an invitation will be seen more as a sign of weakness than strength. "I think the president takes some big risks by unilaterally putting out these olive branches."

The Muslim Brotherhood, though, has a complicated history.

Though the hard-line group, which calls for an Islamic state and has close ties to the militant Hamas, is officially banned in Egypt, its members have considerable sway in the country and its lawmakers, who run as independents, hold 88 seats in Egypt's 454-seat parliament.

The Brotherhood renounced the use of violence in the 1970s and now says it seeks democratic reform in Egypt. It is the most powerful opposition movement in the country, and many analysts argue Washington should engage the Brotherhood directly to show it is open to dealing with nonviolent Islamist movements.

The group is not on the State Department's official list of foreign terrorist groups.

Despite some reports suggesting the Obama administration arranged the invitations, officials said invitations were only sent out by Cairo University and Al-Azhar University.

"I can tell you that invitations have gone out to the full range of actors in Egyptian political society," Obama adviser Denis McDonough said Friday.

It is unclear what Muslim Brotherhood members hope to hear in the speech. One member said last month on the group's Web site that Obama's trip to Egypt would be "useless" unless preceded by concrete changes in U.S. foreign policy.

Scott Wheeler, director of the National Republican Trust PAC, slammed the administration for apparently allowing the Muslim Brotherhood into the event.

In a written statement, he charged that the group is linked to "international terrorists attacks, advocates suicide bombings, and the very founders of Hamas."

"The American people did not vote for President Barack Hussein Obama to make peace with Muslim terrorists," he said in the statement.

Obama is hoping to strengthen fractured ties between the East and West in his Cairo speech Thursday.

Actor David Carradine Dead at 72

"Kill Bill" star David Carradine was found dead in a Bangkok hotel room Wednesday, his manager told FOX News Thursday. While the cause of death has yet to be determined, a Thai newspaper claims the actor died in an apparent suicide.

Chuck Binder told FOXNews.com Thursday that Carradine, 72, was staying in Bangkok while shooting a movie. The film crew became aware of his absence when they went to dine out at a restaurant yesterday. When a producer went to his room, he discovered that the actor had died.

Binder told FOXNews.com Thursday that the cause of death is "under investigation." While there have been conflicting reports as to the nature of Carradine's death, Thai newspaper The Nation is claiming that an unidentified Thai police source said the actor was found hung in his hotel room from curtain rope in an apparent suicide.

A statement on behalf of his family has yet to be released, but Binder called the death "shocking and sad."

The Nation also reports that the hotel maid discovered Carradine's half naked body in a closet Thursday morning and that there were no signs of a struggle or assault.

Carradine was a leading member of a venerable Hollywood acting family that included his father, character actor John Carradine, and brother Keith.

In all, he appeared in more than 100 feature films with such directors as Martin Scorsese, Ingmar Bergman and Hal Ashby.

But he was best known for his role as Kwai Chang Caine, a Shaolin priest traveling the 1800s American frontier West in the TV series "Kung Fu," which aired in 1972-75.

He reprised the role in a mid-1980s TV movie and played Caine's grandson in the 1990s syndicated series "Kung Fu: The Legend Continues."

He returned to the top in recent years as the title character in Quentin Tarantino's two-part saga "Kill Bill."

Air France Bomb Threat Called In Days Before Crash

A rather eerie coincidence: five days before Air France Flight 447 tragically crashed into the Atlantic Ocean after leaving Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, an Air France flight from Argentina to Paris was delayed due to a bomb threat.

On May 27, Argentina's Momento 24 reported that the airline had received a bomb threat over the phone. Police and firemen inspected the plane but found nothing.

"The routine procedure lasted approximately one hour and a half and, as sources of the airport reported all the passengers are ok and they were not evacuated," it was reported.

It remains unclear how and why Flight 447 went down -- "How could a modern airplane simply drop out of the sky?" the Washington Post asked on Tuesday -- but terrorism does not seem to be a consideration.

Instead of heavy cables, the plane's flying systems are connected by wires, miles of redundant wires linked to computers that are constantly cross-checking one another. But the advanced A330, carrying 228 people, appears to have been little match for fierce thunderstorms over the tropics.

Aviation safety analysts yesterday continued to play down lightning as the force that doomed the French airplane, explaining that aircraft routinely encounter such strikes. French aviation officials have yet to fully detail what went wrong in the A330. But a struggle with a "complex of thunderstorms" is at the heart of current theories about the case.

Bruno's Eminem stunt was staged

At last! We get to watch someone being roundly humiliated on television, and we don't have to tie ourselves up in figure-of-eight knots.

I'm talking, of course, of "Bruno's" magesterial swoop, dressed as a giant angel, onto Eminem's head at the MTV movie awards. Behold, the hubris of the rap star, as he fails to see the humour in being sandwiched between the thighs of an upended English comedian masquerading as a gay Austrian fashion journalist. (If Eminem was in fact in on the act, as has been suggested, then you have to hand it to him for his virtuoso show of hard-man indignation.)

I have to admit I have a soft spot for Sacha Baren Cohen, whose comedy may be crude, but who manages to make such an admirable cross-section of modern society look ridiculous that you can forgive him for the lime-coloured mankini. And his latest persona, Bruno, the flamboyant presenter who satirises the sycophantic, self-righteous world of celebrities and their hangers-on, may be his best yet.

China Blocks Twitter (And Almost Everything Else)

It seems that as of today, the Chinese authorities have blocked internet access to Twitter, Flickr, Bing, Live.com, Hotmail.com and several other sites. Wordpress, YouTube, Blogger are also blocked.

According to early reports on Twitter and on blogs it seems that the Chinese authorities want to quiet down the entire major social networking and social media part of the web ahead of the 20th anniversary of Tiananmen massacre on June 4th.

As far as solutions for evading the block go, you can find some advice here and here. Furthermore, Twitter may be working if you’re using third party apps to access it, such as TweetDeck.

Google Wave

Google Wave is a new communication service previewed today at Google I/O. "A wave is equal parts conversation and document, where people can communicate and work together with richly formatted text, photos, videos, maps, and more."

The service seems to combine Gmail and Google Docs into an interesting free-form workspace that could be used to write documents collaboratively, plan events, play games or discuss a recent news.


Google Wave has been designed by the founders of Where 2 Tech, a start-up acquired by Google to create a cutting-edge mapping service, which later became Google Maps.

"Back in early 2004, Google took an interest in a tiny mapping startup called Where 2 Tech, founded by my brother Jens and me. We were excited to join Google and help create what would become Google Maps. But we also started thinking about what might come next for us after maps. As always, Jens came up with the answer: communication. He pointed out that two of the most spectacular successes in digital communication, email and instant messaging, were originally designed in the '60s to imitate analog formats — email mimicked snail mail, and IM mimicked phone calls. Since then, so many different forms of communication had been invented — blogs, wikis, collaborative documents, etc. — and computers and networks had dramatically improved. So Jens proposed a new communications model that presumed all these advances as a starting point; I was immediately sold," explains Lars Rasmussen.

"In Google Wave you create a wave and add people to it. Everyone on your wave can use richly formatted text, photos, gadgets, and even feeds from other sources on the web. They can insert a reply or edit the wave directly. It's concurrent rich-text editing, where you see on your screen nearly instantly what your fellow collaborators are typing in your wave. That means Google Wave is just as well suited for quick messages as for persistent content -- it allows for both collaboration and communication. You can also use "playback" to rewind the wave to see how it evolved."

You can see some screenshots of the service and find some details about the API that could be used to extend the service and the Wave protocol that allows anyone to run a "wave" server. Google promises that Google Wave will be available later this year.

Mike Tyson's daughter dies after accident.

Mike Tyson's four-year-old daughter died May 26 of injuries sustained in a freak home accident. The champion boxer immediately flew to Arizona.

Exodus Tyson was found Monday morning hanged from a cord that was connected to a treadmill in the family’s activity room in their Phoenix, Arizona home. She was discovered when her mother, who was cleaning in another room, sent the girl’s seven-year-old brother in to check on her.

Police are treating the case as an accident, saying it appears the child was playing on or near the treadmill and became tangled in the cord. The girl’s mother was administering CPR when paramedics arrived on the scene. Exodus died a day later of her injuries.

Tyson was in Las Vegas at the time of the incident but rushed to his daughter’s side upon being notified of the tragedy.

“Mike was very dedicated to that baby,'' said Sig Rogish, a longtime friend of Tyson and his former agent. “I think every parent's greatest fear is that they live beyond their children. I know Mike has had his troubles in his life, but he's always been a good father.”

The troubles Rogish refers to are numerous. Tyson’s father left the family when Mike was two; his mother died when he was 16. By the age of 13 he had been arrested 38 times, but was saved from a life on the streets after juvenile hall when a counselor discovered his boxing talent.

His short-lived marriage to actress Robin Givens ended amidst allegations of physical and emotional abuse and mental illness. He was convicted of raping a beauty queen and spent three years in prison for the crime. He was stripped of his boxing license for a year after biting off a chunk of Evander Holyfield’s ear during a match, went to prison again on new assault charges, filed for bankruptcy in 2003 after squandering nearly $300 million -- around the same time his second marriage ended due to his reported infidelities -- and was arrested again in 2006 on charges of DUI and felony drug possession.

Tyson knows his life has been one big tragedy of Shakespearean proportions. In 2005 he told USA Today:

"My whole life has been a waste -- I've been a failure. I just want to escape. I'm really embarrassed with myself and my life. I want to be a missionary. I think I could do that while keeping my dignity without letting people know they chased me out of the country. I want to get this part of my life over as soon as possible. In this country nothing good is going to come of me. People put me so high; I wanted to tear that image down."

Cop without a badge

WILKES-BARRE – A former Kingston police detective didn’t have a license for a loaded pistol found inside his vehicle, city police allege in arrest papers.

Daniel Griffin, 45, of Swoyersville, was arraigned on Tuesday by District Judge Martin Kane in Wilkes-Barre on a charge of carrying a firearm without a license. He was released without bail awaiting a preliminary hearing in Central Court on June 3.

Police allege they found a loaded .25-caliber pistol in its holster inside the console of Griffin’s Ford Crown Victoria that had a “Police Interceptor” front license plate and a K9 sticker on the trunk. The vehicle, with tinted windows, was seized when it was found in a parking lot on East Northampton Street on May 13.

Griffin was arrested by city police on Public Square that day on an warrant obtained by Fleetwood police in Berks County accusing him of impersonating a police officer during a traffic stop.

“This started out in Berks County on the search warrant for my car,” Griffin said in a telephone interview after he was arraigned on Tuesday. “It’s true and correct to their beliefs; I don’t believe it to be true. I plan to aggressively defend myself. For me to make further comment right now, I really can’t. I just found out about these new charges this morning. I ask that you please reserve judgment until the deposition of this case.” Fleetwood police said in arrest records that they stopped Griffin, driving the Ford Crown Victoria, for traveling 55 to 60 miles per hour in a 35 mph zone on May 7. Griffin immediately got out of his vehicle waving a badge and identifying himself as a Kingston police officer, according to the criminal complaint filed by Fleetwood police.

Fleetwood police learned that Griffin was no longer an officer with the Kingston Police Department.

Griffin was arraigned by District Judge Gail M. Greth in Richmond Township, Berks County, on Aug. 20 on charges of impersonating a public servant and false identification to law enforcement. He was released on $25,000 unsecured bail.

Griffin has been embattled with Kingston officials since July 2007 when he was charged with forging the name of a former Kingston police chief for reimbursement of a shotgun he personally purchased. A Luzerne county jury convicted Griffin of criminal attempt to commit theft and forgery in September 2008.

Griffin is appealing his conviction.

A year after he was terminated from the Kingston Police Department in December 2007, Griffin filed a federal civil lawsuit accusing Kingston officials of conspiring against him.

Cocaine test prompts Red Bull removal in Germany

BERLIN – Six German states have told retailers to stop selling Red Bull Cola energy drinks after a test found a trace amount of cocaine.

The bans started Friday after a sample test conducted by authorities in North Rhine-Westphalia state found 0.4 micrograms per liter in the drink.

Five other states also banned it from shops amid concerns over possible narcotics law violations.

Germany's Federal Institute for Risk Assessment said Monday that the cocaine level was too low to pose a health risk. It planned to produce a more detailed report Wednesday.

Red Bull said its cola is "harmless and marketable in both the U.S. and Europe." It said similar coca leaf extracts are used worldwide as flavoring, and a test it commissioned itself found no cocaine traces.

Susan Boyle Singing on 'Britain's Got Talent' Semi Final

Famous even before she gets to win 'Britain's Got Talent', Susan Boyle's performance of 'Memory' on Sunday, May 24received a standing ovation.

When Simon Cowell stood up for Adam Lambert on "American Idol", it was not the only one he would like to give out this year. The notoriously acid-tongue and blatant judge got up from his seat for Susan Boyle on another talent show he's judging "Britain's Got Talent" after the 47-year-old woman delivered her rendition of "Memory".

Boyle, whose first audition performance received millions of hits on YouTube, went through to the semi final round on Saturday, May 23 and amazed judges and audience once again on Sunday, May 24 with her performance of the Broadway piece. All the three judges, along with the in-studio audience gave her a standing ovation and rave applause after she finished.
Host Ant & Dec asked what she's feeling in the past few weeks with all the publicity in both U.K. and U.S., and she said "unbelievable". Further asked whether it added up pressure to the night's performance, Susan answered "What pressure? It was really good tonight, I really enjoyed it ... I'm very happy to be here and thank you all for your support."
Cowell then offered a word of apology to Susan. He said, "You know what, I just want to apologize because of the way we treated you before you sang the first time. You made me and everyone else look very stupid and I'm very happy for you, very proud for you."
After the Sunday round, Susan was declared one of the two contestants that have won a ticket to the finals. The live final will be held on Saturday, May 30.

Ms. Camel Toe has an ugly sister "Moose Knuckle"

Fat people from USA are geting ban from fast-food restaurants.
This is what you may hear when you go to your local restaurant in Mississippi who allows super sized food but not people. No Kidding. Should you be required by law to weigh in before the menu arrives? If you didn't flee to Canada during the Vietnam war, I think it is time now.

Lisa Stebic Body Found

CHANNAHON TOWNSHIP — A cleanup crew discovered female human remains on the shore of the Des Plaines River on Wednesday afternoon, prompting speculation that Stacy Peterson or Lisa Stebic may have been found.

Witnesses said it was around 2 p.m. that the crew discovered the remains — not an intact body — while walking near the south shore after spending the past four days clearing logs and debris.

Will County Sheriff's Police block entry to the Will County Coroner's office on Caton Farm Road in Crest Hill on Thursday morning. Media gathered outside seeking information on the body found on the bank of the Des Plaines River in Channahon on Wednesday.
(Liz Wilkinson Allen/Staff photographer)

Investigators search the banks of the Des Plaines River for female human body remains discovered by a barge crew just southwest of I-55 on Wednesday afternoon.
(Michael R. Schmidt/Staff photographer)

A source said the remains looked like that of a smallish female wearing underwear, but that DNA testing likely would be required for a positive ID.

An autopsy will be conducted at 9:30 a.m. Thursday.

State police have taken over the investigation and confirmed remains were found, but would not release any other information Wednesday evening.

State police Master Sgt. Thomas Burek addressed the media around 8:30 p.m., saying only that unidentified human remains were found.

As expected, also at the scene were Channahon and conservation police, both of whom have jurisdiction in the area, and representatives from the state's attorney's office and the coroner's office. Braidwood police brought their canine units. But Plainfield police, who have no jurisdiction there, were called in, too.

Plainfield police have been working on Stebic's disappearance since the Plainfield mom was last scene in 2007. Similarly, state police took over the investigation of Stacy Peterson, the missing Bolingbrook woman, because her husband, Drew Peterson, was a police officer.

But Burek wouldn't say link the appearance of state and Plainfield police to the Stebic or Peterson cases Wednesday.

"We're not attempting to associate with any particular investigation. It would be premature to do that," Burek said.

Boating to scene

The cleanup crew made their grisly find approximately three-quarters of a mile west of the Interstate 55 bridge, near the Big Basin Marina.

The shore area is only accessible by boat, so investigators spent time shuttling down the river from the boat launch at the marina on the river's north side.

Will County Coroner Patrick K. O'Neil rode out to examine the body. Fifteen minutes later, the Channahon Fire Department brought a boat to the landing as news helicopters circled overhead. A forensic team was called in to search the area at 5 p.m. and police said they might need lighting to continue the investigation as the sun went down.

Peterson's family called

Relatives of missing Bolingbrook mother Stacy Peterson said they've been contacted by state police, who told them a woman's body has been found in the river near Channahon, though the remains have not been identified.

"We don't know who it is," said Pam Bosco, a spokeswoman for Stacy Peterson's family. "We're just being patient right now. We're waiting."

She believes there won't be any definitive word Wednesday about the identity of the body.

And Bosco said relatives realize the remains could be those of another woman, possibly missing Plainfield resident Lisa Stebic or someone else.

Bosco said Stacy Peterson's family members just hope the remains can be identified so a family somewhere can learn the fate of a missing loved one.

"We just hope they can identify who it is," Bosco said.

To the morgue

At 7:50 p.m., a skiff carrying detectives and a deputy coroner landed at the marina. A coroner's van backed up to the skiff. A deputy coroner and investigator carried a white body bag from the skiff and loaded it in the van. The drooping ends of the body bag showed that the remains were only about two feet long.

The river was reopened to barge traffic, and the coroner's van left en route to the morgue, where an autopsy will be conducted Thursday morning.

NYC reminds residents of military fly-over plans

The New York City Office of Emergency Management is reminding New Yorkers that plans to kickoff this year's Fleet Week celebrations include a fly-by of the Verrazano Narrows Bridge by four military aircraft.

The warning came about three weeks after a nerve-racking Air Force photo shoot over the Statue of Liberty caused a brief panic in lower Manhattan. That incident sent workers rushing into the streets amid flashbacks of Sept. 11.

Wednesday's fly-over by four F-18 Hornets was scheduled for 11:45 a.m. The aircraft were to head north over the Hudson River, dipping to an altitude of 1,000 feet.

Also planned for the 22nd annual Fleet Week kickoff is a parade of 13 ships along the Hudson. The largest and most familiar is the USS Iwo Jima, a 40,500-ton assault helicopter carrier.

Death of ‘Dolla dreams’- Rapper shot dead in mall

Upcoming rapper rapidly climbing the popularity charts, Roderick Anthony Burton II, popularly known as “Dolla“, succumbed to bullet injury from being shot at, at a Westside mall.

This instance of seemingly unprovoked violence, brings to focus once again, the sinister inextricably of show-business from violence.The Hip-Hop community in particular, has been no stranger to violence and crimes of passion, in recent times.

Remembered primarily for his association with the boy band “Da Rascals” in the 90’s, “Dolla” had just begun to work his way up the big time league. Starting with his rather impressive achievement of signing to Akon’s Konvict records in 2007, his career had been going great guns. The crowning glory of his rise, was his debut album “Feelin’ Myself”, that had raised promising hopes for this fledgling star’s future.

The incident has been reported by sources, to have taken place at the Beverly Center Mall, in the valet parking facility area, when Dolla was reportedly waiting there with fellow rapper D.J Shabazz. The ringing out of gunshots was heard inside the mall, where it caused a wave of hysteria in mall restaurant Chipotle’s patrons who, being unsure as to the cause of the violence, insisted on the restaurant being closed down for their safety. One eye witness said he saw a female suspect at the sight of the shooting. While the police are still investigating all possible leads, there aren’t any major suspects apart from a man who was detained while trying to board a plane out. He reportedly drove a silver Merc SUV to the airport. The search continues, while the Hip-Hop community seems to have grown poorer by a ‘Dolla”.

Taste the Hot Dog That Knocked the Others Out of the Park

Oscar Mayer to Give Away up to $1 Million in Hot Dogs To Celebrate Taste Test Victory; Chef Rocco DiSpirito Heats-Up Times Square Celebration to Kick-Off Giveaway

MADISON, Wis., May 20 /PRNewswire/ -- It's official! As compared to the leading beef franks, the best-tasting beef hot dog has a name; its O-S-C-A-R. That's right, Oscar Mayer Jumbo Beef Franks beat Ball Park(R) and Hebrew National(R) in a national taste test.

To celebrate the win and kick-off barbeque season, the Oscar Mayer brand will give away up to $1 million worth of hot dogs and let everyone in America in on the game on one very special day.That's right, Oscar Mayer is giving away up to $1 million worth of hot dogs, while supplies last.

To help spread the word, the Oscar Mayer brand invited chef Rocco DiSpirito to host a pre-giveaway grill-out yesterday in Times Square. Flanked by the world famous Wienermobile vehicles, Rocco gave New Yorkers a taste of the dog that knocked the others out of the park and helped donate 20,000 hot dogs to Feeding America. Oscar Mayer has committed to donating a minimum of $100,000 worth of hot dogs to Feeding America throughout summer.

The "Best In Taste" Dog

Oscar Mayer Jumbo Beef Franks are made with quality cuts of 100% pure beef to deliver a beefy, juicy hot dog with a taste the whole family will love. The brand also launched two new 'dogs' this season, Oscar Mayer Premium Beef & Cheddar Franks and Oscar Mayer Jalapeno & Cheddar Franks.

In Search of Our Best-Dressed Dog - All Summer Long

Although these beefy, juicy champs have little need for improvement, everyone has their favorite topping combination. Whether mustard only, pickle and ketchup, chili, cheese and onions or "the works," preferences differ from person to person and city to city.

To harness the passion for how Americans dress their 'dogs,' the Wienermobile vehicles are cruising the country asking hot dog fans how they'd top the best-tasting Oscar Mayer Jumbo Beef Franks. Those who visit Wienermobile events will get the chance to dress a larger-than-life Jumbo Beef Frank with their favorite topping combinations, and get their photo taken with their creation.

On-site, hot dog fans can also enter a sweepstakes for a chance to win a Labor Day grill-out, complete with a visit from the Wienermobile, a top of the line grill and most importantly - bragging rights! Oscar Mayer Premium Beef Franks are available nationwide for a suggested retail price of $3.99.

Happy with who won Dancing with the Stars 2009?

Last night was the final of Dancing with the Stars 2009, and the previous 11 weeks had been building up to this moment, but we now have a winner, and that is gold medal-winning gymnast, Shawn Johnson. This was the closest finish ever, with less than one percent between the winner and the runner up.

Johnson, just 17 is the youngest competitor in the show and was a surprise to most. Shawn was not the best dancer on the show, but over the past few weeks, the girl has made a great comeback and improved with each performance.

Gilles Marini, the actor from the Sex and the City movie was the runner up, and was one of the favorites from the start to win the show. Dallas News says that from the start, Marini had managed to take a few wins, but it was not enough on the night.

Missing link found? Scientists unveil fossil of 47 million-year-old primate, Darwinius masillae

Feast your eyes on what a group of scientists call the Holy Grail of human evolution.

A team of researchers Tuesday unveiled an almost perfectly intact fossil of a 47 million-year-old primate they say represents the long-sought missing link between humans and apes.

Officially known as Darwinius masillae, the fossil of the lemur-like creature dubbed Ida shows it had opposable thumbs like humans and fingernails instead of claws.

Scientists say the cat-sized animal's hind legs offer evidence of evolutionary changes that led to primates standing upright - a breakthrough that could finally confirm Charles Darwin's theory of evolution.

"This specimen is like finding the Lost Ark for archeologists," lead scientist Jorn Hurum said at a ceremony at the American Museum of Natural History.

"It is the scientific equivalent of the Holy Grail. This fossil will probably be the one that will be pictured in all textbooks for the next 100 years."

A team of amateur fossil hunters discovered the near-perfect remains inside a mile-wide crater outside of Frankfurt in 1983.

Experts believe the pit was a volcanic caldera where scores of animals from the Eocene epoch were killed and their remains were kept remarkably well-preserved.

Though the pit has been a bountiful source of other fossils, the inexperienced archeologists didn't realize the value of their find.

Years later, the University of Oslo bought the 95%-intact fossil, and Hurum studied it in secret for two years.

His colleague, Jens Franzen, hailed the discovery as "the eighth wonder of the world."

"We're not dealing with our grand, grand, grandmother, but perhaps with our grand, grand, grand aunt," Franzen said.

The unveiling of the fossil came as part of a carefully-orchestrated publicity campaign unusual for scientific discoveries.

Britney Lost Her Panties ... and Now She May Lose Her Shirt

After shedding hair and panties last year, Britney Spears rarely shocks.

So when court papers recently revealed that the pop tart doesn't save or invest any of her roughly $737,000 monthly income, financial and entertainment insiders weren't surprised.

In fact, they say, Britney may be on her way to joining the ranks of rapper MC Hammer and members of the R&B group TLC — celeb acts that spent too much, too fast and saved or invested far too little, and wound up filing for bankruptcy.

"Most high earners, like celebrities, should view themselves like ballplayers do," said Everett Weinberger, a financial adviser at Merrill Lynch. "You need to put away money right at the beginning, assuming that it may end. ... Young people can be very shortsighted, forgetting that they're not going to be famous forever."

Celebrities are not unlike many Americans in their spending habits, Weinberger added.

"Most people have not written down a budget, and it turns out that they've spent far more than they think," he said.

Michael Jackson knows this story all too well. He's defaulted on a $23 million loan, and if he doesn't pay the full amount — plus $212,963.83 in interest — by the end of January, he could lose his beloved Neverland Ranch.

Twelve years ago, the female R&B group TLC was also forced to file for bankruptcy, despite selling a staggering 23 million records.

Britney may not be far behind. Court papers show that she spends $102,000 each month on entertainment, gifts and vacations. Her monthly clothing bill is a whopping $16,000 — $1,000 more than she forks over for child support.

Spears' spending habits may seem "Crazy," but Britney has company in her Young Hollywood counterparts.

Lindsay Lohan reportedly spent more than $1 million on clothes last year, but her publicist denied it. (Her stylist Rachel Zoe also reportedly said that her client’s closet is filled with $8,000 Prada dresses and $2,000 Prada bags.)

And Jessica Simpson's penchant for $1,400 Egyptian-cotton sheets was well-documented on MTV's ill-fated "Newlyweds."

These tales are not unusual. Ornate jewels, private jets and multiple homes have become the norm for celebs, not the exception. And a large entourage of handlers is more than ready to go along for the ride.

In the 1990s, after reaping over $33 million from the international hit "U Can't Touch This," MC Hammer hired a whopping 200 employees, added $2 million worth of marble, two pools and three waterfalls to his home south of Oakland, Calif., and bought 17 cars and a stable of thoroughbred race horses. But there wasn't enough money coming in to justify the lifestyle.

Hammer released an album, "Inside Out," in 1995 that was widely panned. The album floundered, peaking at No. 119 on the Billboard charts. Shortly afterward, Giant Records dropped the crooner from its roster.

Thirteen million dollars in debt, Hammer filed for bankruptcy on April 3, 1996.

"There are people like MC Hammer who sort of believe there's an entourage that [needs] to go everywhere with them," said a publicist who’s worked in the entertainment industry for over 10 years. "The show 'Entourage' is a pretty good depiction of how people can suck things out of you."

The prerequisite manager, agent, attorney and publicist are nothing new. But today, celebrities also hire countless assistants, bodyguards and stylists. There are so many people following the herd that the job descriptions quickly become unclear.

"What return are you getting?" the publicist asked. "Are these people doing the job they need to do?"

Weinberger also advises celebs to be careful about the number of people they have on the payroll.

"It's far better to have one person who you trust intimately. That way, the odds of someone ripping you off are much lower," he said.

In 2001, Dana Giacchetto, the former money manager of Leonardo DiCaprio and Cameron Diaz, was found guilty of stealing $10 million from the stars to fuel his lavish lifestyle. He was operating a classic Ponzi scheme — moving money from one account to another, taking funds from one investor to pay another.

With these cautionary tales in mind, some celebrities invest first, spend later. The 29-year-old singer Usher may have an estimated net worth of $35 million, but he's keeping plenty of it in the bank.

Sure, he rides around in a $500,000 chauffer-driven Maybach. And his mansion in Atlanta is no small affair.

Yet Usher told Forbes that he's spent less than 10 percent of his total earnings. Instead, he's opted for fixed-income investments, blue-chip stocks and real estate.

Rapper Jay-Z owns a stake in the New Jersey Nets, co-owns the Rocawear clothing line and is president of Universal Music Group's Def Jam Recording.

Sean "Diddy" Combs has interests in Bad Boy Records, the clothing lines Sean John and Sean by Sean Combs, a movie production company and two restaurants.

And Def Jam Records co-founder Russell Simmons owns a management company, a clothing line called Phat Farm, a movie production house, TV shows, a magazine and an advertising agency.

The three men are worth approximately $547 million, $358 million and $340 million respectively.

This hasn't escaped Usher. He's invested $9 million in the Cleveland Cavaliers, provided seed capital for a new bank, launched his own clothing line and record label. And unlike other stars, Usher has not been seduced by real estate.

"Celebrities tend to over-invest in real estate because it's tangible and sexy," Weinberger said. "They see that beautiful house in Florida or California and have to have it. People should know, in general, that real estate is not going to appreciate as well as the stock market."

Nevertheless, real estate can always be sold off to pay creditors, whereas handbags, stilettos and sheaths lose value the minute the tags are cut.

"It's not fun to talk about money. It's much more fun to buy things," Weinberger admits. "I don't want to deny anyone. People should enjoy themselves. The only question is: do you know exactly what you're spending your money on?"

Do you, Britney?

Nude Rihanna photos leaked on the internet

A SERIESof sexually explicit photos purporting to be sexy singing star Rihanna have been leaked on the internet today prompting a web frenzy in the US. A collection of six photos allegedly showing the singer in the nude have been leaked on the net. However, out of the batch, only two actually show her face.

The others show a woman's naked body, and backside, but her face is obscured from view.

Some gossip sites are suggesting Rihanna's ex Chris Brown could be behind the leak as a payback after the couple split.

Celeb site Hollyscoop said today: "Just when Chris Brown's lawyer Mark Geragos went to court to request investigation paperwork in regards to Rihanna's leaked battered photo, these scandalous nude pics surface."

One of the photos shows a message written on a mirror which appears to say 'I love you, Robyn. I miss you' - Robyn is Rihanna's legal first name.

And in the reflection a woman who bears a striking resemblance to the singer has taken the picture.

In one of the other photos from the set, Rihanna's ex Brown is seen with a pair of pink knickers on his head.

The scandal comes as Brown faces felony charges relating to an alleged assault on Rihanna earlier this year.

She suffered cuts and bruising to her face and alleged bite marks to her arm during the vicious attack which shocked fans around the world.

Not long after the attack the couple were seen on holiday together, however they have since gone their separate ways.

China: 5,335 students dead, missing in 2008 quake

BEIJING – A year after the massive Sichuan earthquake leveled hundreds of schools, sparking allegations of corruption and shoddy construction, China finally gave Thursday its first official tally of the numbers of students dead or missing: 5,335.

The government began its count hours after the magnitude-7.9 temblor razed huge portions of the southwestern province on May 12, 2008, but has refused until now to say how many students were among the nearly 90,000 people killed or missing. Another 5 million people were made homeless.

Thousands of classrooms collapsed while buildings around them remained intact. It has become a politically charged issue and an enduring source of bitterness for parents trying to find answers and closure.

Parents say the schools crumbled so easily because corruption and mismanagement led to slipshod construction and weak buildings that were not up to code. Some say materials meant for school construction projects were sold on the side by contractors for personal gain.

So far no one has been held responsible or punished.

Officials, however, blame the sheer power of the temblor as the main cause for the number of flattened schools and have said compiling and confirming the names of the students was a complicated process.

Tu Wentao, head of Sichuan's education department, announced the student death toll at a news conference in the provincial capital of Chengdu.

No reason was given for the release of the figures on Thursday — just days before the one-year anniversary of the disaster — but some say it could be a sign that the government is attempting to stem the ongoing discontent over the issue.

Yet grieving parents took little solace and were skeptical of the toll.

"Announcing the numbers won't bring us any consolation," said Liu Xiaobin, whose 11-year-old son was killed when the three-story Fuxin No. 2 Primary School sank into the ground and the rest of the neighborhood remained standing. "We want the government to investigate the situation."

Liu and other parents have petitioned and protested, only to be detained or warned against speaking out. Activists sympathetic to their cause have been harassed or taken away by police.

In a transcript of the press conference posted on the Sichuan government's Web site, the officials said that "once there is concrete evidence to prove that problems exist in building designs and construction, relevant departments will investigate according to law."

Ai Weiwei, an avant-garde artist and high-profile critic of Beijing's policies, said Thursday's announcement appeared to show that the "pressure of the common people, pressure from the media" had made some difference.

But he said it was still an empty gesture.

"It didn't give any names or any other information on where they died, which schools or which classes they were in," Ai said in a telephone interview. "This is nonsense."

In his blog, Ai has confirmed almost 5,000 student names and estimates that the toll could reach 8,000. At least 20 of his helpers have been detained by local authorities, he said.

Tan Zuoren, another activist who conducted his own investigation into 64 schools in the quake zone, estimated that more than 5,600 students died or were missing. Tan, who has since been detained on suspicion of subversion, said that number was incomplete.

Liu Xiaoying, whose 12-year-old daughter was also killed in the Fuxin No. 2 Primary School, said she is sure that the number of dead schoolchildren is much higher.

"I hope the investigation will continue and that the people responsible will be seriously punished," said Liu, who is under tight surveillance after traveling to Beijing twice to petition the central government.

"I hope the government will really do what they say they would and not brush off us parents," she said. "If this is the case, the hearts of my husband and I will be more at ease."

Also Thursday, the official China Daily newspaper reported that a circular issued by the Cabinet was ordering that safety controls over the construction and rebuilding of schools be strengthened.

The circular said there would be severe punishment for those who engage in illegal practices.

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