Pop America

CA Teen Spells "Serrefine" To Win Spelling Bee

Evan O'Dorney always eats fish before his spelling bees. The brain food has served him well: He's the 2007 Scripps National Spelling Bee champion.

The 13-year-old boy from Danville, Calif., aced "serrefine" Thursday night to become the last youngster standing, winning a tense duel with Nate Gartke of Spruce Grove, Alberta, who was attempting to become the first Canadian to win the 80th annual bee.

Evan won a trophy and a $35,000 prize, plus a $5,000 scholarship, a $2,500 savings bond and a set of reference works. He said he knew how to spell the winning word — a noun describing small forceps — as soon as the pronouncer said it.

Evan said he wasn't surprised to win, but he confessed that spelling isn't his favorite thing.

"My favorite things to do were math and music, and with the math I really like the way the numbers fit together," he said. "And with the music I like to let out ideas by composing notes — and the spelling is just a bunch of memorization."

from FOX News

Florida's Version Of Don Imus Under Fire For Monkey Remark

A Daytona Beach radio talk show host and ex-politican is under fire with members of the local NAACP.  The organization has called for the firing of WELE's "Big John" after he compared Daytona Beach Commissioner Dwayne Taylor to a monkey.  On his "Big Talk with Big John" show, the former Volusia County Council member told listners why he thought Taylor shouldn't be elected mayor saying, quote, "The higher the monkey climbs, the better you can see its ass. And we'd really see Dwayne's butt if he got to be mayor."

Members of the local NAACP quickly organized a press conference and demanded the radio station fire Big John for what they called an "inappropriate" and "racist" comment.  Station managers say they have no plan to terminate John and insist he's not a racist.  In fact, they're now calling for the NAACP to apologize.  WELE has been running this statement from its president on-air during the day: "We at WELE believe that Ms. Slater knows that Big John is no racist.  In our society to label someone a racist is serious business. It should be reserved for the Imuses of the world who truly have a racist mindset."

The NAACP has refused to issue an apology.  So has Big John.  State and national NAACP officials have been notified about John's remarks.

Red State Boys Weigh In On Lohan's Latest Crisis

Jackie and Dunlap on Lindsay Lohan's latest car accident, how quickly Hollywood Party Whores age, and the Duncan Hunter campaign.

Check out more of Jackie and Dunlap's videos at Red State Update

Bush Unhinged: "I Am The President!"

Georgie Anne Geyer writes today in the Dallas Morning News about President Bush’s strange behavior during a recent meeting with “[f]riends of his from Texas.”

But by all reports, President Bush is more convinced than ever of his righteousness.

Friends of his from Texas were shocked recently to find him nearly wild-eyed, thumping himself on the chest three times while he repeated “I am the president!” He also made it clear he was setting Iraq up so his successor could not get out of “our country’s destiny.”

This is the second time in recent weeks that accounts have surfaced of Bush lashing out or “ranting” in private meetings when responding to criticism of his Iraq policy. Chris Nelson of the Nelson Report offered a similar account earlier this month:

[S]ome big money players up from Texas recently paid a visit to their friend in the White House. The story goes that they got out exactly one question, and the rest of the meeting consisted of The President in an extended whine, a rant, actually, about no one understands him, the critics are all messed up, if only people would see what he’s doing things would be OK…etc., etc. This is called a “bunker mentality” and it’s not attractive when a friend does it. When the friend is the President of the United States, it can be downright dangerous. Apparently the Texas friends were suitably appalled, hence the story now in circulation.

Like the tearful House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH), Bush needs to channel his bottled up emotions towards a more worthy end — winding down the war in Iraq rather than defending the status quo.

from ThinkProgress

Billy Graham Library To Be Dedicated In Charlotte

from WSOC

Evangelist Billy Graham held his final crusade two years ago and has made few public appearances since. But the group charged with carrying on the work of the frail, 88-year-old preacher believes he can still have an impact, through a new $27 million museum that tells his story.

Today, former Presidents Carter, Clinton and George H.W. Bush are expected to be among 1,500 well-wishers at the private dedication of the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte.  The 40,000-square-foot complex, built near the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, traces the preacher's rise from farm boy to the most widely heard minister of all time, having preached the Gospel in person to more than 210 million people over his long career.

"I see the library as a ministry," said the Rev. Franklin Graham, Billy Graham's son and successor, who serves as chief executive of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

"It's an opportunity to share the message that my father has preached to a different audience and a different group of people. Even after my father is in heaven, whenever that day will be, it will be an opportunity to extend his ministry for several generations."

Billy Graham suffers from fluid on the brain, prostate cancer and Parkinson's disease, and is largely confined to his home in Montreat, N.C. His wife Ruth, 86, has degenerative osteoarthritis of the back and neck and is bedridden at their home.

Franklin Graham said his father is strong enough to appear at the dedication, but "he's preoccupied right now with my mother. She is very weak."

"She's aware of what's happening. Her mind is sharp," Franklin Graham told The Associated Press. "But we're just concerned that she won't be around with us much longer."

Billy Graham, who has met every president since Harry S. Truman, initially opposed plans for the presidential-style library, his son said. But he agreed when Franklin Graham explained that it was not meant as a monument to his father.

"We presented it to him that this is a ministry," Franklin said. "It's about the message you preached and what you dedicated your life to."

The museum, which is set to open Tuesday, will be free to the public.

Abdul: "I Was Taking Far More Medication On Earlier Seasons"

Paula Abdul lashes out at those who've hinted she might be high at times - including fellow "American Idol" judge Simon Cowell.

"I'm sick of it - I've never been drunk, and I don't do recreational drugs," Abdul said in an interview in the new OK! magazine. It all started with Cowell, says the brunette beauty, when he "made a funny accusation that something was in my Coca-Cola cup. And whenever he says, 'Nobody understands [what you're saying], Paula.'"

Abdul does take prescription drugs for pain she still suffers after a 1993 plane crash. "I quit my career. For the next six years, I spent 75% of my time in the hospital. I was also hit by a drunk driver on the freeway after an L.A. Lakers game in 1987, which is when I started getting severe neck pains. I have four titanium plates in my neck. I've had 14 surgeries over the years.

"I inject myself with a shot of Humira every two weeks. ... I also use Enbrel and Relafen [an anti-inflammatory drug] and the painkiller Lidocaine. If I appear exhausted on television, it's because I am! I have a lot of sleepless nights because I'm in so much pain. I was taking far more medication on earlier seasons, and nobody said anything."

from New York Daily News

Nicole Richie Says Skinny E-Mail Was A Joke

Nicole Richie sent friends what she thought was a humorous e-mail invitation to her Memorial Day barbecue – and she can't understand why people don't get the joke.

"Let's glorify this day in your sluttiest tops and your tightest pair of Tsubi jeans, even though we have no clue what Memorial Day really means!!" she wrote. "There will be a scale at the front door. No girls over 100 pounds allowed in. Start starving yourself now. See you all then!!!"

The e-mail was quickly leaked to bloggers, who read it to mean that Richie was making fun of both Memorial Day and her own ongoing weight issues (she said last year she was seeking treatment for what her rep called an inability to put on weight).

But Richie, 25, told Ryan Seacrest on his KIIS-FM radio show Wednesday that she can't understand the fallout: "I mean, it rhymes. Are you really going to take an e-mail that rhymes that seriously? And it's a private e-mail to my friends. I was joking and I don't think there's anything wrong with it."

from People

CNN Reporter Let Go Over Erotic E-Mails?

CNN Africa correspondent Jeff Koinange suddenly finds himself out of a job.  Since 2001, Kenyan-born Koinange has delivered top-notch reporting from a number of Africa's hotspots from the humanitarian crisis in Darfur to the famine in Niger.  In fact, his work in Niger earned him an Emmy award.  More recently, Koinange's reports about Africa have been heavily featured on Anderson Cooper's "360" broadcast.  Without question, for years, Koinange has been the only reporter from any of the major U.S. networks to regularly shine a spotlight on the problems of Africa.

So it came as a surprise yesterday when it was learned Koinange had been let go by CNN.  A spokesman for the network confirmed that the rising star "is no longer employed by CNN" and added the company would have no further comment on the matter saying "we do not discuss personnel matters."

According to MediaBistro.com, Koinange was seen on CNN as recently as May 18th in a "360" special titled "Africa: Dispatches from the Edge."  The site also reports that CNN staffers started wondering about his status last week.

When a reporter like Koinange suddenly disappears from a network, it's natural for questions to be asked and for the speculation to begin.  But according to MediaBistro, the mystery of Koinange's dismissal might not be that hard to figure out.

It seems that Koinange may have been conducting a long-distance love affair with a woman from Switerland via e-mail.  From all accounts, the relationship turned sour a few months ago and since then, the woman has been posting erotic e-mails from Koinange on her blog called Distant Lovers Blog .  Needless to say, the blog reads like a raunchy romance novel and once you start reading, you can't stop for some reason.  It's interesting from a journalistic point of view because Koinange touches on some of his experiences covering Africa and frequently references CNN and Anderson Cooper's "360." 

The e-mails also show an insecure side to the reporter who at one point allegedly writes, quote, "You remind me of me sometimes...because I too doubted whether I am good looking enough to be on TV.   in fact when I went to college to study journalism,  I wanted to do strictly RADIO and NOT Television because I didn't think I was good enough for TV ....But now I have overcome that .... my work speaks for itself and even though I don't look like most people,  my work can carry me through on any given day..."  The writer, identified only as "JK," signed off the e-mail by saying, quote, "And remember, SOMEONE in Darfur LOVES and CARES about you very MUCH." 

Other e-mails seem to show the danger that Koinange was in while he was reporting in Africa and you almost feel for these two people when you're reading it.  After informing her that he had been on a patrol, the woman responds, quote, "Seeing your report, I got scared like hell...I knew it...you are in danger...just admit it to yourself...and leave the praying to me." 

All of this might be quite a love story until you read on in the blog and learn that Koinange is married and was apparently having an affair with this woman.  Upon hearing that he just won two "prestigious" French journalism awards, Koinange allegedly wrote, "You are the FIRST to know now...even before my wife...I'll call you shortly."

Then the e-mails take a tawdry turn.  In one e-mail, Koinange details a "hectic" day as his crew flew to the headquarters of the Janjaweed Arab Militia and apparently didn't make it past the airport.  Then he allegedly adds a P.S. that reads like this: "I'm imagining you 'SHAVED' and thinking some VERY DIRTY thoughts...I hope, it's CLEANLY shaved (what they call a 'Brazilian wax').  That way, it's SMOOTH and makes LICKING 'sweeter' and the sensation even more ENJOYABLE!!!" 

The woman, identified as "Marianne," is clearly embarrassed by the subject of the Brazilian wax and responds, quote, "I will try to do my best...but no promise since I never did and never ever thought about doing this...to be honest, I did not even know that this is existing...call me 'old-fashioned' - but that's the way I am..."

And there's even more bombshells and erotic talk on the woman's blog, from e-mails about the two trying phone sex to allegations about HIV and herpes.  You can read it all for yourself at Distant Lovers Blog .  But warning: it's graphic and you may want to remove the ick with a cold shower afterwards.

Matt Lauer, Mitt Romney Apologize For Seatbelt Gaffe

NBC "Today" show host Matt Lauer and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney are both apologizing today after a campaign trail interview on the roads of New Hampshire during which neither man wore a seat belt.

Lauer and Romney were seated in the moving SUV during the interview.

After the piece aired this morning, Lauer told his audience that even though New Hampshire doesn't have a mandatory seat belt law, he set the wrong example by not wearing one. He noted a recent interview he conducted with New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine, who was nearly killed in a car crash while not wearing a seat belt.

The Romney campaign issued a statement with a similar apology, admitting that he sometimes forgets to wear a seat belt and needs to remind himself to always buckle up.

from WPRI/AP

Affleck Compares Romney To "A Ken Doll"

Hollywood has-been Ben Affleck expects ex Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney to be the Republican nominee in 2008. 

Chatting about the upcoming presidential race on the season finale of “Real Time with Bill Maher,” Affleck said he thinks the GOP will end up with Romney because the ex-gov looks good, has nice hair - and the Republicans really don’t have anyone else. “He says he doesn’t like abortion and he’s all clean-cut and he looks like a Ken doll,” said Affleck.

“The Mormonism thing is really suspect,” he added, “but they’ll take it at this point. I mean, who else do they have? Crazy (Rudy) Giuliani and (John) McCain who’s completely insane? They don’t have any other options.”

from Boston Herald