Daredevil motorcyclist Evel Knievel dies at the age of 69

EVEL Knievel, the motorcycle daredevil whose jumps over buses, live sharks and Idaho's Snake River Canyon made him an international icon in the 1970s died yesterday aged 69.

Knievel's death was confirmed by his grand-daughter, Krysten Knievel. He had been in failing health for years, suffering from diabetes and pulmonary fibrosis, an incurable condition that scarred his lungs.

Knievel had undergone a liver transplant in 1999 after nearly dying of hepatitis C, probably contracted through a blood transfusion after one of his bone-shattering spills.

Knievel, whose trademark was his red, white and blue spangled jumpsuit, suffered nearly 40 fractures before retiring in 1980.

Among his notable feats was a failed but spectacular attempt to leap the Snake River Canyon on a rocket-powered motorcycle in 1974, sailing over 13 Mack trucks in 1974 and jumping 13 double-decker buses in London in 1975.

Billy Rundel, a longtime friend and promoter, said Knievel had trouble breathing at his Florida condominium and died before an ambulance could get him to a hospital.

"It's been coming for years, but you just don't expect it. Superman just doesn't die, right?" Mr Rundel said.

Knievel's death came just two days after it was announced he and rapper Kanye West had settled a lawsuit over the use of Knievel's trademarked image in a popular West music video.

In an interview in May last year, Knievel said: "No king or prince has lived a better life. You're looking at a guy who's really done it all. There are things I wish I had done better, not only for me but for the ones I loved."

Immortalised in Washington's Smithsonian Institution as "America's Legendary Daredevil," Knievel was best known for the Snake River Canyon jump and a spectacular crash at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas.

"They started out watching me bust my ass, and I became part of their lives," Knievel once said. "People wanted to associate with a winner, not a loser. They wanted to associate with someone who kept trying to be a winner."

Born Robert Craig Knievel in the copper mining town of Butte on 17 October, 1938, Knievel worked in the Montana copper mines and served in the army. He claimed to have also been a swindler, a card thief, a safe cracker and a hold-up man.

He began his daredevil career in 1965, forming a troupe called Evel Knievel's Motorcycle Daredevils, performing stunts such as riding through fire walls and jumping over live rattlesnakes and mountain lions.

In 1966, he began touring alone, increasing the length of jumps until, on New Year's Day 1968, he was nearly killed when he jumped 151ft across the fountains in front of Caesar's Palace.

Knievel retired after a stunt in which he was again seriously injured, attempting to jump a tank full of live sharks in the Chicago Amphitheater.

He continued with smaller exhibitions with his son, Robbie.

Knievel married Linda Joan Bork in 1959 but they separated in the early 1990s. They had four children.

He lived with longtime partner, Krystal Kennedy-Knievel. Married in 1999, they divorced, but remained together.

PRISON NICKNAME GIVEN A TWIST

• A PRISON warder in Montana was responsible for Knievel's nickname. As a youth, he had several run-ins with police and the warder dubbed him "Evil Knievel". In order not to be perceived as a bad guy, Knievel later changed the spelling to "Evel".

Knievel played himself in the 1977 film Viva Knievel! The plot featured a rival trying to kill Knievel and use his 18-wheel truck to smuggle cocaine. George Hamilton portrayed him in a 1971 film and George Eads played him in a 2004 television movie.

• Knievel starred in track and field, hockey and ski-jumping while at school.

This article: http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/

Last updated: 01-Dec-07 01:19 G

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (AP) — Rodney King, whose videotaped police beating in 1991 led to deadly rioting when the officers involved were acquitted, was shot on a street corner, but his wounds were not life-threatening, police said.

King, 42, was shot two or three times from a distance by birdshot fired from a shotgun. He then bicycled about 1 1/2 miles back to his home in neighboring Rialto and called police. King was hit in the face, arms, back and torso, police said.

Authorities said when they arrived at the home, King and others appeared drunk and were largely uncooperative in providing information about the shooting.

King was taken to a hospital. His condition on Thursday was not immediately known.

The shooting may have involved a domestic dispute, San Bernardino police Lieutenant Scott Paterson said.

King, who is black, was videotaped being beaten by white Los Angeles police officers after he was stopped for speeding in 1991. Four officers were acquitted of most criminal charges in 1992, triggering rioting in Los Angeles and neighboring cities that left 55 people dead and caused $1 billion in property damage.

King sued the city over the beating and obtained a $3.8 million settlement.

However, he continued to have run-ins with the law. In 2004, he was ordered to spend 120 days in jail and ordered into treatment after pleading guilty to driving under the influence of the drug PCP after he lost control of his SUV in 2003 and slammed into a power pole in Rialto.

Rialto and San Bernardino are about 55 miles east of Los Angeles.

Source: The Associated Press

By ROXANA HEGEMAN

EL DORADO, Kan. (AP) — A missing Kansas college student believed to be the victim of foul play led a double life as an Internet porn star by the name of Zoey Zane, a friend told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

A young woman resembling 18-year-old Emily Sander appears nude in photos posted on a Zoey Zane Web site.

"She enjoyed it. She is a young teenage girl and she wanted to be in the movies and enjoyed movies. She needed the extra money," said Nikki Watson, a close friend of Sander's at Butler Community College. "Nobody in El Dorado knew besides her close friends."

Police said they are aware of the Web site. But police investigator Chad Young would not confirm whether Sander is Zoey Zane and would not say whether the site was connected in any way to her disappearance.

Sander was last seen leaving a bar Friday in El Dorado, about 30 miles from Wichita, with a man identified as Israel Mireles, 24, authorities said. Sander and Mireles met that night at the bar, according to Watson.

Joe Terziu, owner of an Italian restaurant where Mireles worked, told The Wichita Eagle that he saw blood on a bed and carpet in the motel room where Mireles had been staying. Police have not confirmed the account.

A nationwide manhunt was under way for Mireles and his 16-year-old girlfriend. A rental car he had been driving turned up Tuesday in Texas.

Sander recently signed a contract for the pornographic work on the Web site, and told her parents about it on Thanksgiving, Watson said. Her boyfriend broke up with her because he did not approve, Watson said.

Sander's grandmother, Shirley Sander, said: "What you are telling me now is things we have never been told or heard. I don't know what to say. We have never heard anything like this and truthfully I don't believe it."

The company listed as the domain registrant for the Web site lists a Wichita address. Its administrator did not immediately return a call for comment. The site domain record shows the site was created in April.

Watson said she does not believe Sander's pornography work had anything to do with the disappearance.

"Nobody even knew about this until one of our close friends came out and told everybody because Emily did not want anybody to know," Watson said.

The search for Sander led police Saturday to a room at the El Dorado Motel, where a manager reported a fight may have occurred.

On Tuesday, authorities released a photo of a white bedspread with a floral design and asked for the public's help in locating it.

The brown-haired, blue-eyed Sander was last seen wearing low-rider jeans and a "Don't Mess With Texas" T-shirt. She has tattoos and body piercings.

(This version CORRECTS name of college.)

Source: The Associated Press

Zoey Zane Photos

By: Alyssa

As Julianne Hough, 19 year old professional ballroom dancer, sets her sights on her second Mirror Ball Trophy on Dancing with the Stars, rumors are abound for this beautiful (in personality and appearance) dancer in another romantic linking. First people thought her and former dancing partner Apolo Anton Ohno had a romance going - which they don’t. Now, there is speculation that Kevin Connolly, 33-year-old Entourage actor is pursuing her romantically even going as far as spending thousands of dollars on a diamond and 18-karat, white-gold ring for the 19 year old dancer.

Mr. Connolly revealed to Howard Stern that he was “actively pursuing” Julianne. Connolly said that they met at the Los Angeles club called Hyde. He states that they see each other almost everyday and he even sat in the studio audience at one of the tapings (not sure when a taping would occur since this show is supposed to be LIVE! - maybe he meant a taping of a Live show - who knows?)

Hough denies all the reports and speculation stating her and Connolly are “just friends.” She calls the situation flattering and thinks it is sweet, but denies any sort of romance. She reportedly did get a ring from Connolly and wore the ring on Monday’s show, but “insisted” that the two are just friends and aren’t dating.

This isn’t the first time that romance rumors have been abound. As mentioned previously, people speculated she had a romance going with Apolo Anton Ohno (4th season winner partnered with Julianne). The rumors really started to fly when Julianne “postponed” her wedding with former dancer, Zach Wilson. The postponement came just 2 weeks before the May broadcast of DWTS Season 4 finale. Julianne revealed that the postponement was due to her hectic rehearsal schedule with Ohno. Ohno also denied any romantic involvement with Hough.

Hough told People “No!, [Zach and I] are still together. We just want [more time] before we get married. It’s all good!” Zack told TV Guide that he and Hough still plan to wed and that they “fallen away from each other at all”. Is that still true though? You would think that Hough would mention her relationship with Wilson in denying her involvement with Connolly, but there was no mention of Wilson. Which seems to me, only adds more fuel to the fire.

Whatever the case may be, Julianne is beautiful inside and out and who wouldn’t want to pursue her? Her personality is magnetic - who wouldn’t be drawn to that? Hough should be flattered. Whether she’s involved or not, or who she is involved with will always be talked about for this very fact. I hope she keeps her spirit about her and not become bitter with all this fuss about her personal life. She’s only 19 years old and is rather new to all this attention. I’m hoping she stays the same old Julianne and learns to focus on the dancing and brush off all the rumors, speculation, and questions. We love you just the way you are, Julianne, stay who you are.

Source:starsdancingontv.com

Rocker, 52, died of unknown causes.

By Chris Harris
Quiet Riot singer Kevin DuBrow died Sunday, drummer Frankie Banali confirmed in a post on his Web site. DuBrow was 52 years old and the official cause of his death has yet to be determined.

"I can't even find words to say," Banali wrote. "Please respect my privacy as I mourn the passing and honor the memory of my dearest friend Kevin DuBrow."

DuBrow's body was discovered on Sunday inside the rocker's Las Vegas home. According to those close to the singer, DuBrow celebrated his birthday last month in New Orleans and seemed to be in good health. Quiet Riot bassist Kelly Garni has asked fans to be patient for details on the singer's death.

"I ask this to all of you not only for myself but for other friends and family," Garni wrote, in a message posted to a Web site honoring the memory of Quiet Riot founding member Randy Rhoads. "I ask that no one here offer any speculation or opinions, theories or other things that could be construed as negative or, and I'm sorry for this, even sympathetic, right at this immediate time. I am already, within hours of this, having to deal with untrue rumors and speculation and that only adds fuel to that. There is a tendency for the subject of Kevin to incite flames on every board, and now is not the time for that. I will explain to everyone here the facts and the truth in the next 24 to 48 hours as I realize this will affect us all. So please, until then, be patient. All details and other pertinent info will be passed on to you here when it becomes available to me."

Bill Chavis, owner of Chavis Records, the label that issued Quiet Riot's last LP, 2006's Rehab, also confirmed the news.

"DuBrow's body was found by friends on Sunday, November 25, in his Las Vegas home," reads the label's site. "As I mourn his death with a heavy heart, I will remember hearing his voice and the music for the very first time on the radio back in 1983. I will remember all the great music Kevin and Quiet Riot gave to so many of us over the years and I will say, 'Thank you, Kevin. May you rest in peace.' "

Credited with helping to launch the 1980s glam-metal scene, Quiet Riot are perhaps best known for their cover of Slade's "Cum on Feel the Noize," which appeared on 1983's Metal Health and eventually peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album was the first by a metal band to reach the chart's #1 position.
Source:mtv.com

Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor was shot at his home in the Miami suburbs early this morning.
By Matt Sedensky | The Associated Press
12:13 PM EST, November 26, 2007

PALMETTO BAY, Fla. - Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor was shot at his home early this morning and was in critical condition. Police are investigating whether a possible robbery led to the incident.

Officers were sent to Taylor's home at about 1:45 a.m. after his girlfriend called 911 and said he was shot in his lower body, Lt. Nancy Perez said. He was airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital, she said, but did not disclose how many times he was shot.

Investigators were still interviewing the girlfriend and other relatives who were in the home to try to determine what happened, Perez said.
"It could have been a possible burglary; it could have been a possible robbery," Perez said. "It has not been confirmed as yet."

Taylor's father asked that no information about his condition be released, hospital spokeswoman Lorraine Nelson said.

Taylor has a home in the Miami suburb of Palmetto Bay that he bought two years ago. The 24-year-old player is in his fourth season with the Redskins after playing at the University of Miami, where he was an All-American in 2003. He leads the team with five interceptions but has missed the past two games because of a knee injury.

In Ashburn, Va., the Redskins canceled their scheduled open locker room period for reporters today and barred the media from talking to players. Coach Joe Gibbs was to address the team at its usual Monday meeting and was to hold his weekly news conference later in the day.

The Redskins (5-6) lost 19-13 at Tampa yesterday. Taylor did not travel with the team to the game because of his knee injury.

Taylor sprained a ligament in his right knee in the second half of the Nov. 11 loss to Philadelphia. He was expected to miss at least two games, probably more.

Known as one of the NFL's hardest hitters, Taylor played in his first Pro Bowl last season, where he drew attention by leveling the other team's punter in what is usually a well-mannered exhibition game. Even though he has missed two games, his five interceptions remained tied for most in the NFC.

Taylor has been in trouble numerous times since he was drafted as the No. 5 overall pick in 2004. He has been fined at least seven times during his professional career for late hits and other infractions, including a $17,000 penalty for spitting in the face of Tampa Bay running back Michael Pittman during a playoff game in January 2006. He also was fined $25,000 for skipping a mandatory rookie symposium shortly after he was drafted.

Redskins coaches and players have defended Taylor, saying he was smart and misunderstood. Taylor has been slow to let anyone in his inner circle. He has rarely spoken to reporters, saying he does not trust them. Teammates said he became more mature over the last year after he became a father for the first time.

In 2005, Taylor was accused of brandishing a gun at a man and repeatedly hitting him during a fight that broke out after Taylor and some friends went looking for the people who had allegedly stolen his all-terrain vehicles.

Taylor reached a deal with prosecutors last year after they agreed to drop felony charges against him. He pleaded no contest to two misdemeanors in the assault case and was sentenced to 18 months probation. The pleas prompted another fine from the NFL but kept his football career intact.

He also was ordered to talk about the importance of education at 10 Miami schools and had to contribute $1,000 for scholarships to each of those schools.

The man Taylor allegedly hit, Ryan Hill, sued, seeking at least $15,000 in damages. Hill sustained bruises to his body, incurred medical expenses and lost wages because of the fight, the lawsuit said.

Associated Press writers Jessica Gresko in Miami and Joseph White in Ashburn, Va., contributed to this report.
Source:Baltimoresun.com

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A movie on the Sci-Fi Channel distills the themes of the series into one powerful relationship.
By Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

Those of us left slack-jawed by the return of presumed-dead Starbuck in the final minutes of the third-season finale of "Battlestar Galactica" -- how could she be alive? Her ship exploded -- will have to wait until April, when Season 4 begins, for our answers. "Battlestar Galactica: Razor," a two-hour movie designed to keep us happy in the interim, delves into the show's past to find, of course, foreshadowing and peril for the future.

It tells the story of Kendra Shaw (Stephanie Jacobsen), who served on the crew of the Battlestar Pegasus under the command of both the formidable Adm. Helena Cain (Michelle Forbes) and later first-time commander Lee "Apollo" Adama (Jamie Bamber). Shaw, we learn, joined the crew of the Pegasus mere moments before the Cylon attack that destroyed the 12 colonies. "Razor" goes back in time to explain what happened aboard the Pegasus before it met up with the Galactica in Season 2. (And if none of this means anything to you, the reader, then that might serve as a clue that "Razor" is not for the uninitiated viewer: Prior knowledge of "Battlestar Galactica" is required here.)
Forbes' Cain, who was featured in that memorable Season 2 story arc, is tough enough before the Cylon (near) genocide of the human race; when she realizes her ship may be all that remains of humanity, she becomes utterly ruthless in her desire for revenge. Though some of the crew rebel against Cain's extreme measures, Shaw admires her steely resolve, making choices in Cain's shadow that did not seem possible before the Cylon attack.

These haunt her years later when she is excavated from lowly kitchen duty by the newly appointed Pegasus leader Apollo, who needs a strong XO (executive officer) to shore up a mission to destroy a mysterious weapon the Cylons have guarded for years. Now a "razor," a slang term for a human weapon, Shaw struggles to find redemption, or obliteration, in her task.

"Battlestar Galactica" has always been sci-fi at its best -- an exploration of politics and morality in their purest state: post-apocalypse. As Apollo said outright at the end of Season 3, the battlestar community is no longer a civilization in the traditional sense. All rules have been broken or bent beyond recognition. The necessities of war have stripped society down to its essence, for better and worse.

In "Razor," written by Michael Taylor, those issues and tensions are embodied by Cain and Shaw. How much collateral damage can the greater good afford? What is the greater good? How far is too far when survival is at stake, and what decisions will the soul simply refuse to bear?

If all that sounds a bit Shakespearean, it is. Science fiction, good science fiction, has always dealt with that which plagues the poets and the playwrights -- the nature of love, the value of loyalty, the nature of power, the split-second decisions that change our lives. Shaw is not the only character haunted on "Battlestar Galactica." With its metallic blues and grays, its eerie lighting, echoing corridors and New Age drumbeats, the ship itself is ghostly at times, its inhabitants all damaged, by events and the choices they have made; resilience has become the new heroism.

"Sometimes we have to leave people behind so that we can go on," Cain tells Shaw when she promotes her for what some would consider a war crime. "This war," she continues, "is forcing us all to become razors. Because if we don't, we don't survive and then we don't have the luxury of being simply human again."

Hanging in the air is the question of whether the transformation to "simply human" is even possible for people like Shaw, or any of the battle- and betrayal-tempered members of the Galactica crew. Will finding Earth be enough to restore these warriors to anything approaching normal?

"Razor" distills the themes of the series into one powerful relationship, setting the tone for the final season this spring. It connects more than a few dots, explaining how the Cain we saw in previous episodes came to be so brutal, as well as the circumstances around her death. (Hell hath no fury like a Cylon scorned, and tortured.) As Cain, Forbes is as steely and unblinking as any gimlet-eyed Queeg, or Rutger Hauer character for that matter.

Jacobsen's Shaw -- as the blueprint for the razor -- is different. From fear is born anger and resolve, and with resolve comes the single-mindedness that drives both bravery and madness. With her Aussie accent and shining dark eyes, Shaw is a cinematic wonder -- a pretty thing who has become a weapon. Next to her, Starbuck looks positively sappy. Next to her, Dirty Harry looks positively sappy. The incident that gnaws at her could have been taken from any war, any army, any era, but that doesn't dilute the power of the image, or the realization that some actions are not erasable, that all choices must be paid for in the end.
Source: calendarlive.com

Casey Calvert dead today. There is no official news on what caused Casey Calvert to die, but nonetheless for Casey Calvert fans of Hawthorne Heights it is true he has passed away. Casey Calvert was in his twenties which is way too young to die. The band Hawthorne Heights which many considered to be a Christian band included Casey Calvert whom a lot of people respected as being genuine, so what would cause someone like this to die? Was it suicide?
The band that Casy Calvert was a part of got their start in Dayton Ohio in 2001 and was considered the genre of post-hardcore. Their first album The Silence in Black and White, was released in 2004And was kind of a slow moving album, but soon got some air time on MTV. Casey Calvert is the backup vocalist and does a lot of the screaming for the band. Most of the folks that remember him will think of good things. Casey Calvert never seemed like a jerk at all. The band will definitely miss Casey Calvert and the fans. Will the band go on? We can only wait and see.
Source: bu.bulicio.us

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Mary Delgado was arrested and charged with domestic battery on Wednesday for allegedly punching fiancé Byron Velvick.
Mary Delgado (Maribel Liliana Delgado), 2004 contestant on the "The Bachelor", has been arrested and charged with domestic violence in Florida. According to unconfirmed reports, the target of her abuse was her fiancé and star on the 2004 ABC TV show "The Bachelor" Byron Velvick. Allegedly Mary Delgado, who was proposed to by Velvick on the reality show, hit him in the face, causing a cut on his lip. The former cheerleader for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was booked into the Pinellas County Jail in the early hours on Wednesday and was later released on her own recognizance. Mary Delgado's arrest comes just one day after this week's special on ABC "After the Final Rose", where the couple said they planned to marry next November.

Source: OGPaper

One World News: Pitcher Kennedy dies suddenly at 28

TAMPA, Fla. — Joe Kennedy, a journeyman left-hander who pitched for three major-league teams last season, died at his in-laws’ home yesterday. He was 28.

After going to bed early, Kennedy woke up at about 1:15 a.m. yesterday and collapsed as he was leaving a bedroom at the home of his wife’s parents, according to Debbie Carter, a spokeswoman for the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Dept. Hillsborough County Fire Rescue took Kennedy to Brandon Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, she said.

“We were terribly shocked,” Paul Godfrey, the president of the Toronto Blue Jays said. “From what we understand he was in Brandon ... to be the best man at a wedding today.”

Godfrey didn’t have particulars on the cause of death.

Kennedy spent seven years in the majors, playing last season with Oakland, Arizona and Toronto. He also spent time with Tampa Bay and Colorado and had a 43-61 career record with a 4.79 ERA in 222 appearances.

Source:Journalnow.com

CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) — Linda Hogan has filed for divorce from her wrestler husband Hulk Hogan, a newspaper reported Friday.

Hulk Hogan, whose real name is Terry Bollea, told the St. Petersburg Times that he had no idea his wife had filed for divorce. He was informed by a reporter that Pinellas County court records showed that the paperwork was submitted Tuesday.

"Thank you for the great information," he told the reporter.

Family spokesman Adam Handelsman referred calls to another spokesman, who did not immediately respond Friday night.

"My wife has been in California for about three weeks. ... Holy smokes," Bollea later told the newspaper. "Wow, you just knocked the bottom out of me."

The couple star in the VH1 reality TV series "Hogan Knows Best," with their two children. Recent episodes show the normally close couple attending marital counseling, but they eventually reconcile.

On Nov. 7, Hogan's son, 17-year-old Nick Bollea, was arrested on reckless-driving charges after a car crash. Clearwater police said Bollea crashed his 1998 Toyota Supra on Aug. 26 while street racing against a silver Dodge Viper driven by a friend. A report said Bollea was driving faster than 60 mph in a 40 mph zone.

Bollea's passenger, John Graziano, was not wearing a seat belt and was critically injured. Bollea, who was wearing a seat belt, was not seriously injured.

The Hogans moved to a $12 million bayfront estate on Miami Beach in 2006 so their children, Brooke and Nick, could pursue singing and acting careers. They had previously lived in Clearwater, near Tampa.

Source: The Associated Press