New Year's Eve King; Dick Clark Has Passed Away!

Dick Clark -- famed TV producer and "New Year's Rockin' Eve" host -- died from a massive heart attack this morning.

Clark's rep states the TV icon had been in St. John's hospital in L.A. after undergoing an outpatient procedure last night. Clark suffered the "massive" heart attack following the procedure. Attempts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful.

Clark was 82.

Clark's health had been on the decline since he suffered a significant stroke in 2004 -- forcing him to retire from his hosting gig at "New Year's Rockin' Eve," which he created in 1972. Ryan Seacrest took over in 2006. Dick has appeared on the show sporadically ever since. His final appearance was in 2011.

Newborn Stolen, Mother Shot Dead Outside Texas Hospital


SPRING, Texas — A newborn boy was abducted from his dying mother after she was repeatedly shot outside a suburban Houston pediatric center on Tuesday, according to investigators searching for the suspected shooter who sped off with the infant in a blood-stained Lexus.
Kayla Marie Golden, 28, was walking to her pickup truck after a checkup with her 3-day-old son, Keegan, when she had a verbal altercation with a woman in a Lexus parked next to her, Montgomery County sheriff's Lt. Dan Norris said.
Witnesses said the woman repeatedly shot Golden, took the infant and sped away, hitting they dying mother as she screamed "my baby" and tried to reach into the Lexus, Norris said. Witnesses also reported hearing as many as seven gunshots and said a man also was in the Lexus, which is blood-stained on the driver's side, Norris said.
The infant was last seen wearing a green-and-white one-piece outfit displaying the word "handsome."
The shooting happened just after 2 p.m. outside the Northwoods Pediatric Center in Spring, which is about 20 miles north of Houston. A statewide emergency alert has been issued for the baby.
Witnesses described the shooting suspect as a thin, gold-haired black woman, apparently in her late 20s or early 30s, Norris said. They also said the Lexus was sky blue or light green.
Joshua Jesson said he was in the clinic with his girlfriend when he heard gunshots. He said he saw the Lexus next to the pickup truck, then later looked back and saw the car was gone and a woman lying in the spot where the Lexus had been parked.
"I thought she just passed out. Then somebody ran in here and said, `Somebody got shot,'" he said.
Police quickly surrounded the clinic and much of the parking lot with crime-scene tape, and yellow markers were placed next to a purse and pair of brown sandals near a red pickup truck. Spent ammunition also was nearby.
The clinic is in an area thick with strip malls.

Brian Stann knocks out Alessio Sakara, then stops fight without help from referee (VIDEO)


UFC middleweight Brian Stann is a fighter, a Marine, and recently, a commentator for Fox. He's used to wearing many hats, so it's no surprise that during his UFC on Fuel 2 win over Alessio Sakara, he was both fighter and referee.
Stann knocked Sakara down with a bevy of knees in the first round. While in Sakara's guard, Stann knocked his opponent out with short elbows. When he saw Sakara was clearly out, he pulled back, waving to referee Marc Goddard that Sakara was knocked out.


Though MMA rules indicate Stann would not have been wrong to continue the bout until Goddard stepped in, he didn't want to inflict any more damage on Sakara.
Immediately after the bout, UFC president Dana White tweeted, "Brian Stann is one of the classiest people on Earth!" Light heavyweight champ Jon Jones, a training partner of Stann's, called the win "very classy" and "good for the sport."
Stann is already known as one of MMA's good guys. He started fighting after a decorated career with the Marines. He founded Hire Heroes, a not-for-profit whose aim is to help veterans transition to civilian jobs. Just before he was scheduled to leave his Atlanta home to train for the Sakara fight in New Mexico, his brother-in-law died. Instead of leaving his grieving wife, Stann trained at home and communicated with his coaches through videos.
As Ben Fowlkes from MMA Fighting wrote, he's such a good guy, you almost want to hate him. Except, he's also the kind of good guy who will stop a fight when he sees his opponent has been knocked out.
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Murder By Candy: Veronica Cirella Killed Her Allergic Daughter With Peanut Chocolates, Cops Say


A New York mom is accused of killing her daughter by feeding the little girl peanut M&Ms -- which she was severely allergic to, cops said.
Veronica Cirella, 31, of Plainview, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to second-degree murder in the death of her 8-year-old daughter Julie, who was found dead in her home on July 23 last year, CBS reported.The little girl, who had cerebral palsy, was found just hours before she was to be a flower girl in a cousin's wedding.
Cops found Cirella lying on the floor near her daughter's body. She had allegedly tried to kill herself with a cocktail of insulin injections and painkillers, and then attempted to strangle herself with an electrical cord according to News One. She also left a suicide note detailing the events leading up to her daughter's death.
"I had to give her a better life, which was to give her back to heaven," Cirella allegedly wrote. "She does not deserve to be in pain whatsoever. I don't mind going to hell because I took my life to give her a better life, which is in heaven where she can be free."
Cirella reportedly gave the girl the M&Ms as a treat for agreeing to participate in the wedding. Cops said that she knew her daughter was allergic to peanuts, and claims that she gave the girl a dose of Benadryl in order to counteract any allergic reactions before Cirella went to sleep.
Cirella's mother-in-law, Dolores Cirella, discovered the two when she checked in to see how the wedding preparations were going.
Cirella faces a life sentence for the alleged murder.

The Future:Russia developing a gun that turns people into zombies!


Ever since the game Resident Evil and the movie 28 Days Later breathed new light into the zombie attack genre, America has been on something of an obsessive kick. We all played Plants vs. Zombies. We've designed exercise routines to help keep us safe from the zombie apocalypse. There are even zombie attack bedsheets. Thankfully, though, a zombie attack is an impossibility. Or is it?
Russian President Vladmir Putin confirmed that his country is working on the creation of an electromagnetic gun that attacks its target's central nervous system, putting them in what we hope is a temporary, zombie-like state. According to Russian defense minister Anatoly Serdyukov, "when it was used for dispersing a crowd and it was focused on a man, his body temperature went up immediately as if he was thrown into a frying pan."
"We know very little about this weapon, and even special forces guys can hardly cope with it," added Serdyukov. That doesn't sound very comforting.
While this technology is certainly disturbing, thankfully, it's unlikely to be the cause of the inevitable zombie apocalypse. Victims of the gun don't — as far as we know — develop a taste for human brains. And since the zombie effect isn't viral, those dissidents won't be able to go around turning other people into the restless undead. Phew.

Whitney Houston's Full Coroner's Report: Spoon and Coke!

A "spoon with a white crystal-like substance on it" and a "white powdery substance" -- which we know was later tested and determined to be cocaine -- was found in the hotel room where Whitney Houston died ... this according to the singer's final autopsy report.

The report, which gives a detailed description of Whitney's room when officials arrived, says "Located on the south portion of the counter was a small spoon with a white crystal-like substance in it and a rolled up piece of white paper, along with other miscellaneous items."

"Located in the top drawer, in the north side of the counter were remnants of a white powdery substance, and a portable mirror on a base." Officials found more white powder on the base of the mirror.

The report also states, "[Whitney] possibly overdosed on a narcotic substance, prescription medications, over the counter medications and alcohol."

According to the report, Whitney's body was discovered FACE DOWN in the bath tub ... with a "bloody purge coming from her nose." Officials say there were no signs of foul play. 

The report notes Whitney had a history of substance abuse ... which was evident by a "perforation of posterior nasal septum."

The singer's official cause of death is listed as accidental drowning -- but heart disease and "chronic" cocaine use were contributing factors.

The report notes ... when officials discovered the body, Whitney was wearing a brown wig "tightly attached to the hair."

As previously reported, Whitney had cocaine in her system at the time of her death -- which tests showed she used immediately prior to her death.

Officials say Houston also had traces of marijuana in her system ... as well as Xanax (anxiety medication), Flexeril (muscle relaxer) and Benadryl (allergy medication). 

As we previously reported, Whitney was found dead in a bathtub on Feb.11 at the Beverly Hilton hotel.


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Teacher Fired For Denying Facebook Access!


 A Michigan teacher's aide is fighting a legal battle with the Lewis Cass Intermediate School District for removing her from her position after refusing to give the district access to her Facebook page.
Kimberly Hester was a teacher's aide at Frank Squires Elementary School in Cassopolis, Mich. last April when she jokingly posted a photo of a coworker to her personal Facebook page. The picture shows a pair of shoes and pants around the ankles, WSBT-TV reports.
"It was very mild, no pornography," Hester told the station.
A parent who was Facebook friends with Hester, and thus could see her posts, notified the school about the image. A few days later, Lewis Cass ISD Superintendent Robert Colby asked her repeatedly for access to her Facebook. Each time, Hester refused.
In response, the district's special education director wrote to her that "…in the absence of you voluntarily granting Lewis Cass ISD administration access to you[r] Facebook page, we will assume the worst and act accordingly," according to WSBT-TV.
Hester went on paid administrative leave, to collect workers' compensation, before she was suspended. She is now on unpaid leave and is scheduled for arbitration in May.
“I stand by it,” Hester said in a statement. “I did nothing wrong. And I would not, still to this day, let them in my Facebook. And I don’t think it’s OK for an employer to ask you.”
Hester's battle resonates with Michigan Republican state Reps. Matt Lori and Aric Nesbitt, who reportedly contacted the teacher's aide Thursday to include her story in House Bill 5523. The legislation would make it illegal for employers to request employees' login information for social networking sites.
But in Washington last week, the House of Representatives struck down an amendment, titled "Mind Your Own Business On Paswords," that would prevent companies from requiring current or potential employees to surrender their passwords to social networking sites.
In response to widespread controversy over employers' requests for social networking information, Facebook issued a statement March 23 that reinforces its commitment to protecting user privacy, threatening lawsuits against companies who make such requests.

Punished for Wanting an Education!!

 About 50 students were suspended Thursday from the all-boys Frederick Douglass Academy in Detroit, Mich. for walking out of classes in protest, demanding "an education."
Among their complaints: a lack of consistent teachers, the reassignment of the school principal, educators who abuse sick time and a shortage of textbooks.
"We've been wronged and disrespected and lied to and cheated," senior Tevin Hill told the Detroit Free Press. "They didn't listen to us when we complained to the administration. They didn't listen to the parents when they complained to the administration, so I guess this is the only way to get things solved."
One math teacher, parent Sharise Smith tells WJBK-TV, has been absent for more than 68 days.
The students marched outside the school and chanted, "We want... education! When do we want it? Now!"
Students and parents became increasingly alarmed when Frederick Douglass was no longer listed as an application school in the district -- current students had to apply to attend. Smith told the Free Press that her son was given an A in geometry without taking a final exam.
"It was by default, just for showing up. It wasn't because he earned an A," she said.
The Frederick Douglass boys are just some of many students in a city that proved to be the worst-performing urban school area among 21 surveyed across the country. Despite its national rank, Detroit's overall performance increased on the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress.
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan in 2009 branded Detroit "ground zero" for education reform, but changed his tone to a more optimistic one last year. Still, the district is hundreds of millions of dollars in debt and faces dwindling enrollment -- the first day of academic year 2011-2012 saw a 55 percent attendance rate.
Detroit Public Schools spokesperson Steve Wasko noted that Frederick Douglass teachers who abuse sick time "will be reprimanded," and the district aims to keep the school open while adding new courses like debate and engineering.
The 17-year-old Hill told The Detroit News that so many teachers have been simultaneously absent from school that dozens of students had been forced to gather in the gym or other common school areas. Students also went for long periods without homework, and Hill said he struggled on a recent placement exam at Bowling Green State University, where he's been accepted to attend next year.
"I literally couldn't answer a question on there," Hill said. "Right now, I'm not going to be as successful as I should be because I haven't been properly taught."