A brush fire erupted just about an hour ago in the Griffith Park area of LA in the Hollywood Hills.
According to the Los Angeles Times, crews of firefighters and helicopters are attacking the blaze in a desperate effort to keep the fire from engulfing the famed Hollywood sign and many multi-million dollar homes in the Hollywood Hills.
The warm weather and dry winter season does not help firefighters with such a big fire at this point, officials say.
Stay tuned for live updates. Watch live video of the fire now or here if that link is down, or here. Details are still coming in and will be updated on this page throughout the night.
Here are some still photos taken by Mark Green in Burbank moments after the fire began. Burbank is the home to Universal and Warner Brothers studios.
Source of Hillary Big Brother Apple Spoof Ad Revealed
Breaking News.
A company called Blue State Digital working for the BarackObama campaign has fired an employee responsible for the famous Hillary Clinton Apple ad "Big Brother" spoof video that has made headlines this week and has been viewed online more than one million times.
The company, FOX News said, was founded by members of Howard Dean's Internet campaign team that made history with raising millions of dollars in grassroots online campaigns, changing forever the way political campaigns are run in America. The actual creator of the video, PhilipdeVellis, said he created the video outside of work and resigned as a result. That conflicts with Blue State's claim that deVellis was fired. DeVellis also said he is proud of his work and does not regret it. (If I was this guy's lawyer or PR person, I'd tell him to shut his mouth. He's looking at a good chance Apple Inc. is going to go after him for copyright infringement. Guarantee he'll regret it then.)
Obama's campaign told the Associated Press that they were unaware the video was created by the vendor they used to created media for their campaign. Yet a check of the Obama official website does not show any news release or response to the source revelation.
"The Obama campaign and its employees had no knowledge and had nothing to do with the creation of the ad," an official statement released just minutes ago read.
"We were notified this evening by a vendor of ours, Blue State Digital, that an employee of the company had been involved in the making of this ad. Blue State Digital has separated ties with this individual and we have been assured he did no work on our campaign's account."
Stay tuned for on-going developments of sign up for the MTBRSS feed.
Is this the first time deVellis has gotten himself in trouble in a political campaign? He was accused last year of possibly being someone who wrote "antagonistic comments" against Jews on an Internet forum. Here's the original story. (search the page for PhilipdeVellis)
(Trying to find photo of this guy. Nothing yet, but stay tuned.)
What is the policy of an airline if someone dies aboard the plane while in flight? Apparently on British Airlines an in-flight corpse gets an upgrade from economy class to first class.
What's so bad about that, right? It's the least they can do (health officials please debate this) for the elderly Indian woman who expired shortly after take-off on a flight from New Delhi to London.
Passengers in the first class cabin woke to a commotion that was not just air turbulence. Businessman Paul Trinder, 54, told London's Daily Mail that he woke up in the darkened cabin to what he later learned was a body being moved around "like a sack of potatoes."
Trinder said that air turbulence was causing the body to "rock and roll" all the place even though the body was strapped in with a seat belt for the five hour flight.
A British Airways spokesperson, responding to Trinder's criticism at handling the event said: "...all actions are governed primarily by issues of safety, for example, the deceased must not be placed in the galley or blocking aisles or exits, and there should be clear space around the deceased." Isn't that the same procedure for living passengers? What kind of policy is that?
"On this occasion," the spokesperson said, "the flight was very busy, although there was space in the First Class [sic] cabin which allowed the family members travelling with the deceased some level of privacy in their grief.
"We apologise to passengers in the First [sic] cabin who were distressed by the situation - our cabin crew were working in difficult circumstances and chose the option that they believed would cause the least disruption.
My question is why did they not land at the nearest airport to remove the body from the plane? Passengers complained of possible health hazards, and who wouldn't with a dead body strapped in a seat, bouncing around for five hours in a stuffy cabin? Ugh.
EXCLUSIVE: Presidential Motorcade in Accident Outside Washington, DC
URBANA, MD - An armored SUV in the Presidential motorcade was in an accident outside Washington, DC just minutes ago.
The initial report came from a reliable source this reporter has in Washington, DC and was then confirmed by the FOX pool reporter who was in the motorcade and uninjured.
Apparently, the SUV struck a car occupied by two elderly people. Their condition is presently unknown.
The president usually takes the Marine One helicopter from the White House to Camp David in a secured area near Thurmont, Maryland. However, the weather forced the president and his entourage to take the motorcade instead.
Half of the motorcade turned around after the accident, according to FOX News.
White House spokeswoman Emily Lawimore said at 1:30 pm: "The president is fine, and his car was not involved in the accident."
Lawimore said details are still coming in and there will be updates later in the day.
Geritol, Massive Sun Shade and Volcanoes Might Save Earth, Scientists Claim
Scientists around the world are coming up with ways to help combat global warming, including a 'Geritol solution', a massive sun-shade over the earth and man-made volcanoes.
Yes, those are just some of the ideas from scientists around the world to help fight global warming, according to the Associated Press.
One professor at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California said the proposed "remedies" show just how desperate we are: "Of course it's desperation,” professor Stephen Schneider said.
“It's planetary methadone for our planetary heroin addiction. It does come out of the pessimism of any realist that says this planet can’t be trusted to do the right thing,” Schneider said.
Don't be surprised to see all kinds of interesting, strange and plain old stupid ideas in coming months.
The ideas are spewing like an erupting volcano (scientists want to build man-made volcanoes to emit more sulphur into the atmosphere) after billionaire Richard Branson offered a $25 million prize last month for the first "feasible technology" that would remove carbons from the atmosphere. Carbons are the number one contributor to global warming.
[Photo: Satellite view of sea plankton near coast of France. The organisms help remove carbons from the atmosphere.]
Scandalous Emails Suggest Karl Rove Knew of Federal Attorney Firings of Non-Bush Loyalists
The Bush administration is in the midst of yet another political, potentially legal, scandal as details surface about the firings of dozens of federal attorneys that apparently were not favored by the Bush White House.
MTB is currently working on obtaining the original emails, but a preliminary leak of the documents show the following: (UPDATE: VIEW PDF of "Karl Rove Email")
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales considered eliminating low-performing federal prosecuters but was told by a top aide that such a house-cleaning "would certainly send ripples through the U.S. attorney community if we told folks they got one term only."
The emails between Gonzales and his former chief aide, Kyle Sampson, indicate that at least 15 percent to 20 percent of federal prosecutors were slated to be eliminated.
An email between two White House staffers dated Jan. 6, 2005 is causing particular concern for the Bush administration.
The email, titled "Question from Karl Rove," "Karl Rove stopped by to ask you (roughly quoting), `How we planned to proceed regarding US Attorneys, whether we were going to allow all to stay, request resignations from all and accept only some of them, or selectively replace them, etc.,'" Colin Newman, legal aide to the White House counsel, wrote in the email to deputy counsel David Leitch.
The AP is reporting that Leitch forwarded the email to Sampson. Then, on Jan. 9th, Sampson replied:
"Judge and I discussed briefly a couple of weeks ago," Sampson wrote. The "judge" is actually Gonzales who was once a Texas state Supreme Court justice.
"The vast majority of U.S. Attorneys, 80-85 percent, I would guess, are doing a great job, are loyal Bushies, etc., etc.," he said.
About other attorneys who were 'dangling' Sampson wrote: "Although they serve at the pleasure of the President, it would be weird to ask them to leave before completing at least a 4-year term."
Sampson quit this week. The White House counsel has no comment at this time to the emails.
Politically, Sampson said the firings would upset home-state senators who recommended the prosecutors who lost their jobs. "That said, if Karl thinks there would be political will to do it, than so do I," Sampson wrote.
Read Full, UnclassifiedTranscripts of Al-Qaeda Mastermind Confessing to Planning 911 and Other Bizarre Events
The man that has long been considered to be the mastermind behind the 911 attacks, Khalid Sheihk Mohammed admitted he planned the worst terrorist attacks in U.S. history, according to just obtained military court transcripts (see link below). ''I was responsible for the 9/11 operation from A to Z,'' Mohammed said during a secret military court proceeding last Saturday. The Pentagon unclassified the transcripts today, but did not make them immediately available to the public.
However, I have exclusively obtained the court transcripts before the rest of the media, including The Washington Post, The New York Times, Associated Press and The Smoking Gun. (You'll need Acrobat since this is a PDF document)
Al-Qaeda Mastermind Confesses to Planning 911 and Claims Responsibility For Bizarre Series of Events
The man that has long been considered to be the mastermind behind the 911 attacks, Khalid Sheihk Mohammed admitted he planned the worst terrorist attacks in U.S. history, according to just obtained military court transcripts (see link below). ''I was responsible for the 9/11 operation from A to Z,'' Mohammed said during a secret military court proceeding last Saturday. The Pentagon unclassified the transcripts today, but did not make them immediately available to the public.
However, I have exclusively obtained the court transcripts before the rest of the media, including The Washington Post, The New York Times, Associated Press and The Smoking Gun. (You'll need Acrobat since this is a PDF document)
Original story broke before most of the media (except FOX):
The Pentagon released this afternoon the unclassified testimony of the man charged with planning the 911 attacks admits to his role and reveals other shocking news, including assassination attempts on former President Carter, Clinton and the Pope.
The Pentagon released court transcripts from Mohammed's confession made during a military hearing at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
THIS IS A FRESH NEWS STORY
Please stay tuned for updates to this page throughout the evening.
Basketball Coach Gives Birth Then Goes to Championship Game
Talk about team loyalty. University of Nebraska at Kearney women's basketball coach Carol Russell is "never" late for practice or a game. In fact, she is notoriously on time and expects that from her players and her own children.
But Russell was about three minutes late for the beginning of her team's championship game last night. The coach had give birth only hours before the game, so she had a most acceptable reason for being late (especially her first time).
Just about five hours before the start of the North Central Region basketball tournament in Grand Forks, North Dakota, the coach gave birth to a 6 pound baby boy. But she didn't let that stop her from being there for her team.
"I could have watched the Webcast, but I wanted to be there for the girls because they've been working so hard for this all year," Russell told the Associated Press.
By half-time Russell and her players were tiring out.
"I usually stand up the whole game, but I didn't have the energy," she said Russell.
Unfortunately, her team, with help from her assistant coach, could not match the might of the the University of North Dakota who beat the University of Nebraska-Kearney Lopers 108-75 to advance to the NCAA Division II tournament.
Russell will have plenty of time to put her maternal coaching to the test.
"My family is kidding me about naming him Dakota," Russell said. "We're still searching for a middle name and that's an option."
FLASH: "Getting Hot In Here" - Astronaut Love Emails Revealed
Emails from the worldwide publicized love triangle among three NASA astronauts - and ended in an arrest for attempted kidnapping - have been revealed.
The emails were leaked from the state attorney's office in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, which has jurisdiction over the bizarre events little over a month ago when former NASA astronaut Lisa Nowak somehow saw the emails and drove nearly 1,000 miles in diapers to and attacked Colleen Shipman with pepper spray in Orlando, Florida.
In building a case against Lisa Nowak for attempted kidnapping, the state attorney's office subpoenaed emails sent among the three astronauts.
The content of the fascinating emails are saucy and provocative. In one email exchange between the target of Nowak's maniac plan, Colleen Shipman writes to Officer William Oefelein on January 8 of this year:
"Lots of love coming your way...and kisses and a great big giant hug with my legs around you."
Oefelein replies sportively but does not acknowledge her racy comment: "Sorry to not be there in person for you now, but I am still with you where it matters."
Shipman replies (edited out extraneous text): "...the thought of you without clothes is pretty nice *sigh* [sic]"
The two correspond back and forth about a charm that is hidden in a picture Oefelein sent her, but Shipman cannot see it after looking at it for a long time.
Shipman sums up her email as follows:
Am only sure of 2 things tonight.
1. I love you and I am head-over-heels IN [sic] love with you.
2. I'd really like a bath today. That might be three things. I miss you.
Oefelein replies with more photographs (with the charm) of him in the Space Shuttle just before "de-orbit" (aka, ascent or return to earth). [Editor's note: Haven't been able to get pictures; working on it.]
"The other was taken just before de-orbit after I had to crawl back into the Ascent/Entry Suit."
Oefelein sent an email to 'Colleen' on January 10, a few days after returning to earth apologizing for not replying to her while orbiting the planet: The subject of the email was "RE: I need a rub down"
"We put away the radar that gave us the ability to receive emails about a day and a half before landing. SO [sic] they saved the one they couldn't uplink in order to give us when we got back.
You write great notes!!
You are the best!! I love you."
In another email, Shipman writes:
"Will have to control myself when I see you, first the urge will be to rip your clothes off, throw you on the ground, and love the hell out of you."
So it's clear by now they NASA astronauts were smitten with one another. Meanwhile, we can reasonably assume, Nowak was aware of their intensifying relationship and allegedly began planning her attack against her love triangle rival.
MTB will publish the entire email contents as soon as we get an OK from a lawyer.
We'll be there to cover what will likely be one of the strangest and most fascinating trials of this century.
NOTE: Recommendation: Don't call your boss a "jackass" (as Shipman did) via email, especially when the email servers are hosted by your employer. Dum, dum, dum, dum...duuummmm.
On Mt. Washington in New Hampshire the winds are the strongest in the world (up to 120 mph) and the temperatures are approximately 30 to 40 below with the wind chill).
This amazing video shows how boiling water can instantly turn to snow. Wow.
This one throwing boiling water into a backyard in sub-zero temperatures is cool too.
Franck and Ludivine Larmande of Michigan got quite the surprise yesterday when a DHL express driver delivered what he thought were bubble wrapped pieces for a table.
But the Larmande's were shocked when they discovered a human liver. As they unwrapped the second package, they stopped when they saw the ear of a human head.
"My husband started to unwrap one and said, 'This is strange, it looks like a liver,'" Ludivine Larmande told The Grand Rapids Press.
"He started the second one, but stopped as soon as we saw the ear. "Something wasn't right. It was scary, and I'm glad I didn't open them."
The body parts were sent from China and meant for medical research labs, but were somehow delivered to the couple's home. Officials warn that two dozen similar packages could be delivered across the United States.
According to The Grand Rapid Press, two packages actually broke up, scattering the body parts. Officials said there was no threat to public health (oh really?).
Check back for updates on this story when more details come in about the tracking down of the other packages.
Thieves stole nearly $5,000 in sound and office equipment from the Guyandotte United Methodist Church in Huntington, West Virginia Monday night only to return the following night to break in again, but this time to return what they had taken, according the Associated Press.
Apparently, the guilt of stealing from a church weighed on their conscious so heavily they felt a need to correct their criminal mischief for breaking the commandment of "Thou shalt not steal."
"They taketh and the Lord giveth back," church treasurer Rocky Frazier said. "It's like there's a higher power at work."
Perhaps it was simply a 'change of hear'.
"It was either that, or our prayer for grace for them," Rev. Julia Bolling said.
Despite the return of all of the items, less $22 dollars in cash, Huntington Police Lt. Rocky Johnson told the Associated Press the investigation remains open.
Johnson noted he had never seen anything quite like this. "It's odd that they brought it back... I'm glad they did."
(above: Heather Johnston and Ashley Miller, the alleged "Barbie Bandits")
Two teenage girls caught on videotape smiling while they robbed a bank in suburban Atlanta, GA on Tuesday have been arrested by police following a car chase, Douglas County sheriff's Major M.O. Harper told CNN.
The two girls, Ashley Miller and Heather Johnston, both 19 years old, were arrested after a brief car chase late Thursday night 20 miles north of where the robbery occurred.
Also arrested was the bank teller Benny Herman Allen III, 22. All three women were charged with felony theft and marijuana possession, Cobb County Police spokeswoman Cassie Reece told the Associated Press.
"It was a conspiracy to take money from the bank," Reece said. "They were in on it."
Michael Chastang, 27, also was arrested and charged with felony theft and drug trafficking.
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"We must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the
military industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist." -
President Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1/17/1961, addressed the nation on his last day in office.
Comic book villains are immortalized in our popular culture dating back to 1930's. Read a little
blurb about villains, view villain photos and videos, and get access to a dozen top villain
websites.
Bjork Live: May 21, 2007
Obtaining some video clips of Bjork's amazing concert at the Shoreline Ampitheatre in Mt. View, CA
two weeks ago, they have been spliced together by Bjork for your enjoyment. She's truly
in a league of her own.
Comic book villains are immortalized in our popular culture dating back to 1930's. Read a little
blurb about villains, view villain photos and videos, and get access to a dozen top villain
websites.
Obtaining some video clips of Bjork's amazing concert at the Shoreline Ampitheatre in Mt. View, CA
two weeks ago, they have been spliced together by Bjork for your enjoyment. She's truly
in a league of her own.
