News & General Info

Monday, December 8, 2008

Ex-Wal-Mart employee recounts Black Friday experience — Part 1

 Like many I was shocked by the Black Friday death of a Wal-Mart store employee last month. In a totally out of control scene, a crowd of about two thousand eager shoppers broke down doors and stormed into a Wal-Mart in New York the morning after Thanksgiving. A temporary employee, 34-year-old Jdimytai Damour, didn’t move fast enough and was trampled to […]
Sunday, December 7, 2008

Reese & Vince still hot at the Box Office

Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaugh are on a roll. Their romantic comedy movie, “Four Christmases,” is  number one at the Box Office for the second straight weekend. Moviegoers apparently are looking for laughs and romance wrapped up in the spirit of the holidays. “Four Christmases” earned an estimated $18 million this weekend, which brings the film’s domestic total to around […]
Sunday, December 7, 2008

Election Day flashback

FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove Photos of patriotic first-time voter Dr. Danielle Stranc on November 4, 2008.   “I’m very excited,” that’s what Dr. Danielle Stranc told everyone at a Glendale polling place on Election Day, November 4, 2008. Dr. Stranc is from Chile. The 41-year-old anesthesiologist became a U.S. citizen last January. She voted for the first time in the Presidential General Election. Rick Scully snapped […]
Saturday, December 6, 2008

Another John Grisham novel headed for the big screen

Legal crime author John Grisham just keeps cranking out the kind of novels Hollywood loves to turn into movies. Grisham’s latest, “The Associate,” doesn’t hit bookstore shelves until January 27, 2009, but it already has a film deal. Earlier this week, reports came out that actor Shia LaBeouf had won the lead role in the movie version of “The Associate.” Last summer, […]
Friday, December 5, 2008

O.J. Simpson sentenced to prison!

O.J. Simpson after his conviction in October/Las Vegas Metro Police photo/Las Vegas Sun   Former NFL star running back O.J. Simpson fell several more notches from glory and grace today. A tearful and somewhat remorseful Simpson was sentenced on kidnapping and armed robbery convictions by Las Vegas Judge Jackie Glass. On October 3, Simpson and his friend and co-defendant, Clarence C.J. […]
Friday, December 5, 2008

Big three U.S. automaker CEOs should go green everyday

  John F. Martin/General Motors GM Chairman Rick Wagoner poses with a Chevy Malibu Sedan.   The head honchos of the big three U.S. automakers are back on Capitol Hill pleading for an even larger bailout this time. Last month, the executives flew to Washington, D.C. on private corporate jets to ask congress for a helping hand of $25 billion dollars in loans. This week, the big chiefs […]
Thursday, December 4, 2008

Suspect denied bail in the Jennifer Hudson family murder case

The estranged brother-in-law of singer/actress Jennifer Hudson is being held without bail today after a hearing in Chicago where prosecutors laid out some of the evidence in the case. 27-year-old William Balfour, an ex-con and husband of Hudson’s sister Julia, is facing three counts of first degree murder. Prosecutor LuAnn Snow says Balfour shot to death Hudson’s mother, 57-year-old Darnell […]
Thursday, December 4, 2008

2008 Grammy nominations: new artists and old favorites

British singer/Grammy nominee Leona Lewis   Something new for the Grammy nominations. Last night, the Recording Academy had the 51th Annual Grammy nominations announced during a televised live concert aired on CBS. The star-studded affair took place at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles. Most of the media attention went to hip hop artist/rapper Lil Wayne who got eight nominations, Coldplay received seven, Kanye West, Jay-Z, and Ne-Yo […]
Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Elmo Live! The most popular Christmas toy of 2008?

I haven’t been out browsing the toy stores lately, but I’ve heard about Elmo Live. Recently, I was driving in Los Angeles street traffic with the radio on. I heard a local deejay rambling about some contest with a prize of an Elmo Live for the winner.   You can always tell what’s hot by the prizes dangled at listerners by radio stations. During the summer, when gas prices were […]