T-Time
Weekly News Update for the Week of September 4th-8th 2008

Do you work all day and have no time or energy to find out what's going on in the world? Do you get bored and impatient watching TV anchors tell you over and over what's going on? Do you sometimes care more about what Britney Spears is doing than what President Bush said during his State of the Union address? If you answered yes to even one of these questions this is what you've been waiting for! Every week I'm going to give you a quick rundown of the past week's biggest headlines. I won't bore you with minute details and shove tons of information down your throats. These are just the facts with a little humor for measure! And if you want to know more you can always just Google it or ask me.

The MTV Generation:

The MTV VMAs aired Sunday night, and they were blah, blah, and more blah. It was the 25th annual show so the producers tried to infuse some old school faves but with modern touches...i.e. Katy Perry singing 30 seconds of Madonna's Like a Virgin, Miley Cyrus playing Bon Jovi's Living on a Prayer on Guitar Hero, and even Pete Wentz and Ashlee Simpson-Wentz mocking the infamously creepy Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley moment. Host Russell Brand, a British comedian only really known to the American public for his role in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, was a big fat dud. He made several politically charged comments, and then continued to rail on the poor Jonas Brothers for wearing promise rings (promising to stay virgins till marriage). The big star of the night was Ms. Britney Spears. I'll start with the positive...she looked phenomenal, she did a kind of cute skit with Superbad star Jonah Hill in the beginning, finally won her first (3 in all) VMA Moonmen, and had 2 outfit changes like a true pop diva. But the girl was obviously ridiculously nervous and possibly sedated (with each win she basically repeated herself verbatim). Hey...at least she had the guts to show up after last year's disaster! Katy Perry showed up to the award ceremony with tween sensation Miley Cyrus to disprove all the rumors that they hate each other. I give Miley 6 more months before she's full-blown celeb trouble! Christina Aguilera showed up to promote her greatest hits c.d. She's going for a new look, sexy goth (the only way I can explain it), which isn't really going for her, especially considering her ethereal perfume commercial played on loop throughout the show. X-Tina performed as well...and she LIP-SYNCHED! She's one of the few truly talented performers...why would she ever lip-sync? And lip-sync poorly at that? I don't get it. The rest of the performances were so-so. The standouts for me were Lil Wayne ft. Leona Lewis and T-Pain. He may be scary looking, but he sure puts on a high-energy show! And Kanye West's closing performance was really strong!

You know the world is back in order when Britney is all over the headlines! Brit's mom's book about parenting, a must read for anyone who wants to screw up their children, is being released soon and excerpts have leaked online. Mrs. Spears admits that Brit Brit lost her virginity at the young age of 14. I can't believe she lied about being virgin all that time! Lynne Spears also reveals that Britney did drugs and drank at an early age, and she blames Britney's managers for pushing her as a sex symbol and ruining her adolescence. Poor Brit...who new her childhood was so messed up?!? Well she grew up, had a crazy spell, and is now seemingly back to normal. She proved to the MTV community that she's back!

The Oprah Winfrey Show returned for its new season and premiered with the US Olympic athletes. One guest who won't be on with the Big O for a while? GOP VP pick Sarah Palin. Although Oprah is publically endorsing a candidate, Senator Barack Obama, for the first time in her career, she does not want to use her show as a platform for the presidential campaign. But Oprah's dealing with her own dramz. Her momma, Vernita Lee, is being sued by a high-end clothing store for owing over $155,000. I wonder if Momma O has any family to turn to for help?!?

Blistex came out with the list of the best celeb pouts. I know what you're thinking...Angelina's #1. Well you're wrong! Keira Knightly took the top spot. Keira's lips look like they haven't seen food in months...those Blistex folks are crazy! Surprisingly enough the New Kids On The Block comeback is doing fairly well. And if the 90s are too recent, then maybe a little 80s flashback will make you smile. There may be a new Ghostbusters movie coming soon! Stephen Colbert will have his DNA sent to space as part of the "Immortality Drive". And I'm only writing this because it's so bizarre, and I refuse to believe it, but Michael Jackson and Pam Anderson have reportedly been seen hanging out together. I'm chalking this one up to ridiculously, impossible. Madonna continues to do what she does best...be controversial. While performing on tour in Rome, she dedicated her hit Like a Virgin to the Pope. So naughty! And Tommy Lee Jones is suing Paramount Pictures for $10M claiming he missed out on the profits from his hit movie No Country for Old Men.

57 Days and Counting:

Now that the Republican National Convention is over, the political craziness has quieted down a smidge. Senator John McCain's VP pick, Sarah Palin, has become the rockstar for good and bad reasons of these elections. Her speech at the RNC brought in over 37.2M viewers (McCain brought in 39M viewers, just edging out Senator Barack Obama who brought in 38.4M). Palin's even helping raise money for Obama's campaign...his campaign raised almost $10M after her speech. Despite not making it onto Oprah's show, Palin has finally agreed to do a sit-down interview with ABC News later this week. The magazine US Weekly, T-Time's Bible, was called out for its bias political coverage for favoring the Dems over the GOPers. No big deal, right? Wrong...they've apparently lost thousands of subscriptions!

What you didn't register/re-register to vote yet? Must have slipped your mind…I'm sure. T-Time did it and so should you!

Wanna See My Muscle?:

Despite the Olympics being over, it was another big week in sports. Disgraced Olympic athlete, Marion Jones, was released from prison after serving time for lying to Feds about about her steroid use. Human dolphin Michael Phelps has been doing his celeb rounds by presenting at the VMAs and will continue by hosting SNL this coming Saturday, Sept. 13th. And what is a T-Time without a little OJ Simpson back in court news? That man must be so comfortable at this point...he probably spends 1/3 of the year either in court or a jail cell. This time he's back in front of a judge and jury to decide his fate after that Vegas robbery incident where he claims he was just trying to get back items that were rightfully his. The Tennis U.S. Open came to an end. Serena Williams beat out Jelena Jankovic for the women's U.S. Open title (her 3rd overall), and Roger Federer beat out Andy Murray for his 5th consecutive U.S. Open title and 13th Grand Slam title. Even the White House got into the sports action by hosting the final t-ball match on South Lawn. And sadly, Patriots QB, resident hottie, and Gisele's bf Tom Brady injured his knee during a game and will be out all season. I wonder if he'll need caretaking while Gisele is out stomping on runways?!?

News Potpourri:

I'll leave you with some quick news tidbits that couldn't fit either here or there so they're getting their own paragraph! NY has been keeping busy. The Tennis U.S. Open finished its run in Flushing, NY, and now all the fashionistas are in town for NYC Fashion Week. You can check out some of the hottest runway shows here. Oddly enough elephants have been ruling the headlines lately. MTV used an elephant in their Russell Brand/Britney Spears VMA promo ads, rapper T-Pain arrived at the VMAs on an elephant, reports show that Japanese elephants are good at math, and an elephant in China became hooked on heroin after eating heroin-laced bananas but is recovering from its addictions after a stint in rehab. That's the beauty of news...you can't make this stuff up! Coney Island's iconic Astroland is closing down for good. Microsoft's much-anticipated commercial response to Apple's funny ads went on air, and it wasn't all that funny. You can decide for yourself. If you didn't know who Bill Gates was or why this commercial was made, you would barely know the product they're promoting! You can decide for yourself.

I hope this gives you an idea of what's going on in the world. Buck up…it's not so bad! Roger Federer is getting closer to becoming the best tennis player ever and Britney's back!!! All is right with the world!

Now go and have an intellectually stimulating conversation with your neighbor about what you've just learned.

~t

You can also check this out on my official blog

T-Time
Weekly News Update for the Week of August 12th-18th 2008

Do you work all day and have no time or energy to find out what's going on in the world? Do you get bored and impatient watching TV anchors tell you over and over what's going on? Do you sometimes care more about what Britney Spears is doing than what President Bush said during his State of the Union address? If you answered yes to even one of these questions this is what you've been waiting for! Every week I'm going to give you a quick rundown of the past week's biggest headlines. I won't bore you with minute details and shove tons of information down your throats. These are just the facts with a little humor for measure! And if you want to know more you can always just Google it or ask me.

* Editor's note: In a wave of excitement and birthday joy, I forgot to mention a very important addition to our world. Baby Judah Asher Portnoy (the cutest baby ever according to T-Time) was born August 1st to momma Lindsay, dad Gary, lots of other legit relatives, and "auntie t".

Stars and Hearts:

Can you feel the love? Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi tied the knot at their Beverly Hills home this past weekend and made their love official now that gay marriage is legal in California. Supermodel Rachel Hunter has finally found love again after his split from Rod Stewart. Hunter is engaged to a 12 years younger, ice-hockey player named Jarret Stoll. Shock jock Howard Stern may have married (but I don't think it happened yet) his girlfriend Beth Ostrosky in the Hamptons this past weekend. Whether they made it official or not is still unknown, but what is known is that Kelly Ripa's hubby Mark Consuelos will officiate the ceremony. Not only is he a soap star with a perfect smile, but he's also an ordained minister. Pop/country star Jewel married her boyfriend of 10 years, rodeo star Ty Murray, in a very private ceremony in the Bahamas. Unfortunately 2 stars did not get hit with cupid's arrow. The couple I thought would last for all of time has split. Jennifer Aniston said good-bye to her millionth failed relationship with beau John Mayer.

Madonna is 50. Yes…50…hard to believe considering most people in their 20s don't look half as good as she does nor have the same level of stamina. Although she is welcoming a new decade, heck a new half-century, she is not adopting a new Malawian baby despite reports stating otherwise. Between the new tour and stressed marriage I doubt she wants to go through another adoption drama. She did celebrate with her hubby and 90 other friends in London but was back in the gym the next morning…now that's what I call discipline.

It only took 4 weeks to do it, but Batman's The Dark Knight has finally slipped to #2. Ben Stiller's Tropic Thunder kicked butt this past weekend. Despite the DK curse, Christian Bale can breathe a sigh of relief. He will not be going to jail for his alleged attack on his mom and sister.

The MTV VMAs are fast approaching (Sept. 7th), and our very own Britney is getting in on the action. No word yet if she will be performing (no one could ever forget last year's disaster), but she is helping promote the show (and looking great if I may say so myself). Tyra Banks has been making some headlines lately. First she posed as Michelle Obama in the lastest issue of Harper's Bazaar, then she promoted Italian Vogue's "All Black" Issue (July 2008) which only used black models in an effort to support diversity in the modeling world with her own special, and she just announced that one of her new America's Next Top Model contestants is a transgender woman (male to female). She really is trying to give Oprah a run for her money.

79 Days and Counting:

Senator Barack Obama is gearing up for the Democratic Nat'l Convention in Denver Aug. 25-28th. He still has yet to announce his VP picks, unless of course I just never got my text message :p But big names are being dropped for who will be attending the convention…like the big O, Oprah, Ben Affleck, Charlize Theron, and Josh Brolin (who is making a not so favorable movie about Bush with director Oliver Stone) amongst other stars. Although word spread that former Secretary of State Colin Powell was endorsing Obama and attending the convention, Powell denies all the rumors. But most importantly Senator Obama has just "rick rolled" you!

Senator John McCain has also yet to name his VP choice. Right now the top 2 picks are former Pennsylvania Governor and Member of the House Tom Ridge and Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman. Both men are pro-choice which could lead to a very interesting ticket. He has some more time to choice...the Republican Nat'l Convention in Minneapolis-St. Paul isn't till Sept. 1-4th. Both candidates took part in the "Saddleback Civil Forum on the Presidency" moderated by Pastor Rick Warren. This was not a debate, but a forum. They tossed a coin for who would go first, each got their separate times to answer identical questions, and then came together to hug awkwardly. Pastor Warren asked very direct questions. You can check out what the Senators had to say here.
What you didn't register/re-register to vote yet? Must have slipped your mind…I'm sure. T-Time did it and so should you!

Want to See My 'O' Face?:

Despite some controversy regarding fake fireworks, fake singers, and fake 16 year-old gymnasts the Olympics are running pretty smoothly. The U.S. is rocking the medal count with 72 followed by China with 67 and Russia with a distant 36. You can also keep track of the medal count.

But any and all Olympics coverage must include the star, Michael Phelps (the human dolphin). The 23 year-old swimming phenom won not 1, 2 or even 3 but 8 GOLD MEDALS (7 of which were done in world record time). In his quest to being the best (I'm a poet and I know it) he broke swimmer Mark Spitz's record for 7 gold medals in one Olympic game and became the "winningest" Olympian in history.

The U.S. gymnastics team also kicked butt. Except they they did it more as individual gymnasts than as a team (they got Silver after China). Nastia Liukin won the gold and teammate Shawn Johnson won the silver in the individuals all-around competition. In an even bigger moment Liukin won her gold 20 years after her father won a gymnastics gold for the Soviet Union. But last night the roles reversed and Johnson got silver in the floor routine while Liukin brought in the bronze. More individual events are still to come.

The one sport where the big names disappointed was tennis. Reigning champs Roger Federer and the Williams sisters, Venus and Serena, were all knocked out during their quarter-final matche (they finally saw gold during their doubles games). And although James Black beat Federer, he was no match for Novak Djokovic (the Bronze). Rafael Nadal continues his winning streak by grabbing the Gold.

News Potpourri:

I'll leave you with some quick news tidbits that couldn't fit either here or there so they're getting their own paragraph! Warning: those CNN and MSNBC alerts you may have been getting in your inbox are fakes. Do not click on the links. They will take you to a fake news site and ask you to download program updates which will only spread malware on your computer. So now you know…don't fall for it! Plus you don't need to read alerts when you have T-Time. An Ohio church has released its '7 Rules' detailing what is and is not appropriate for priests to do with children. The list does not allow kissing, tickling, or even piggyback riding (plus some other big no-nos), but high-fives and patting on the back are a-ok. Sandy Allen, the world's tallest woman at 7'7", died at the age of 53. Coincidentally she lived in the same nursing home as the world's oldest person…there's definitely something in the water over there! In fear of indictment and death (the latter being a tad bit scarier) US-backed Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf resigned from his post. Mrs. Fields has filed for bankruptcy. Apparently those bratty teens in the mall aren't eating as many cookies as they used to. I ask all my loyal readers to please find your nearest Mrs. Fields and buy a cookie… consider it your moral duty as Americans. Speaking of women who cook, newly released documents confirmed that famed chef Julia Child who introduced French cooking to America was a spy (for what is now the CIA) back in her heyday. With the country becoming more diverse the U.S. Census Bureau released population projections stating that whites will be in the minority by 2042. In case you guys don't realize T really cares about your well-being. I want you to be happy and healthy. So next time you start craving a Whopper with fries just take a look at what this former Burger King employee did to celebrate his bday.

I hope this gives you an idea of what's going on in the world. Buck up…it's not so bad! Michael Phelps proved he is the better than the best in the world and Madonna is the big 5-0! All is right with the world!

Now go and have an intellectually stimulating conversation with your neighbor about what you've just learned.

~t

You can also check this out on my official blog

T-Time Weekly News Update for the Week of August 4th-11th 2008

Do you work all day and have no time or energy to find out what's going on in the world? Do you get bored and impatient watching TV anchors tell you over and over what's going on? Do you sometimes care more about what Britney Spears is doing than what President Bush said during his State of the Union address? If you answered yes to even one of these questions this is what you've been waiting for! Every week I'm going to give you a quick rundown of the past week's biggest headlines. I won't bore you with minute details and shove tons of information down your throats. These are just the facts with a little humor for measure! And if you want to know more you can always just Google it or ask me.

Batman and Babies:

Batman’s The Dark Knight has been full of good and bad. Although it continues to be #1 in the box office and rake in millions of millions of dollars ($400M in only 18 days), the movie seems to be developing a curse. Morgan Freeman was in a very serious car accident earlier in the week. He has since been released from the hospital and seems to be recovering well. Christian Bale was arrested for assaulting his mother and sister. And the biggest story has been Heath Ledger’s death. In case you don’t remember Ledger’s masseuse found him lying dead in his bed but instead of calling the cops, she called Mary Kate Olsen. Well the Feds tried to subpoena Olsen so she would testify as to where Ledger got his prescription drugs illegally. But she refused to talk without the promise of immunity…shady much? What does she have to hide? Well it doesn’t matter any more cause the case is closed, and his death ruled an accidental overdose.

Lisa Marie Presley, the King’s daughter, is having twins. Little known fact…Elvis was a twin, but his older brother died shortly after birth. Porn star, excuse me ex-porn star, Jenna Jameson is expecting her first child with boyfriend and Ultimate Fighting champ Tito Ortiz. Who’s not expecting? Jennifer Aniston. According to her rep, Aniston and her man John Mayer are not having a baby and are not getting married. Don’t believe all you read…unless it’s on T-Time.

This week we lost 2 great talents. Comedian/actor Bernie Mac died at the young age of 50 due to complications from pneumonia. Grammy and Oscar winning musician and the voice of the Chef from South Park, Isaac Hayes, also passed away. He was 65 years old, but the cause is still unknown (he was found next to his treadmill).

86 Days and Counting:

Senator John McCain’s “celeb” video was quite controversial. But no one expected Paris Hilton, one of the ad’s stars to react like this: http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/64ad536a6d. I never thought I’d utter the words, “Paris for President, Bitches”. McCain has yet to name his VP, but CT Senator Joe Lieberman seems to have taken the lead.

Senator Barack Obama had plenty of reasons to celebrate this past week. Monday, August 4th was his 47th birthday (the 4th also being T’s bday…lest you forget). And how did the presidential candidate celebrate? By boozing it up, dancing on top of a bar? Nope…he gave a speech on his energy policy. You don’t need to feel too bad for him though cause now he’s getting some R&R on his fave island, Hawaii. He is said to be announcing his VP pick some time soon, and he’ll be doing it via text message and/or email for any supporters to sign up to receive the info.

Still don’t know who to vote for? Maybe the candidates’ musical tastes will help you out: http://www.blender.com/WhiteHouseDJBattle/articles/39518.aspx

Ex-presidential hopeful Senator John Edwards is in, what we writers like to call, deep doodoo. Edwards has finally admitted to having an affair with Rielle Hunter back in 2006 but claims to not be the father of her child. What about his terminally ill wife Elizabeth? Well her cancer was in remission at the time, so it wasn’t as bad. One of the sweethearts of the Democratic Party has solidified his exit from the political ring. Hillary Clinton’s advisor blames Edwards for her loss. If this news had broken before the Iowa caucuses she could have possibly had the nod.

What you didn’t register/re-register to vote yet? Must have slipped your mind…I’m sure. www.rockthevote.com. T-Time did it and so should you! You know I’m not the only one trying to spread the message of voting. Gwyneth Paltrow has something to say for all you expats: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amukRM9SSoo.

Want to See My ‘O’ Face?:

The Olympics are in full swing. The opening ceremony was unlike any other and will probably not be topped for quite some time…I recommend watching it if you can. This year’s games are the most watched in history. There have been victories, defeats, and even tragedies.

Michael Phelps is 3 gold medals in to his record-breaking 8 gold medal goal. He continues to live up to his reputation and beyond out swim his competition. The US men’s basketball team defeated China to continue their run for the elusive gold. The US girl’s gymnastics team hasn’t had the greatest of starts, but they still have a chance to rock it in the finals vs. China. And apparently Brad Pitt has gotten into the action…Australian boxer Brad Pitt that is. http://cache.viewimages.com/xc/53268668.jpg?v=1&c=ViewImages&k=2&d=17A4AD9FDB9CF193CC300C081D9F470011A28E6489F82C4896EE826B3DFDDB90A55A1E4F32AD3138. I would totally watch these 2 duke it out.

Currently the US is in 1st place for total amount of medals won with 19 followed by China with 14 and Korea with 9. You can check for yourself here: http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRM/ENG/INF/GL/95A/GL0000000.shtml.a

Unfortunately tragedy struck on day 1 of the games when US volleyball coach, Hugh McCutcheon’s father-in-law, Todd Bachman, was stabbed to death in the streets of Beijing for no apparent reason (Bachman’s wife and tour guide were injured but survived). The attacker then killed himself by jumping off a building. Not one of the more pleasant ways to open up the games.

News Potpourri:

I'll leave you with some quick news tidbits that couldn't fit either here or there so they're getting their own paragraph! After all the dramz Brett Favre was reinstated and then traded to the NY Jets. F-A-V-R-E…FAVRE, FAVRE, FAVRE! Speaking of football…Bruce Springsteen will be the half-time performer at next year’s Super Bowl. The Feds believe they caught the Anthrax killer, army scientist Bruce Ivans. Unexpectedly Ivans killed himself before they could get to him. Playgirl Magazine will cease publishing its monthly mag and will be solely online. I can’t imagine that the demand for naked, beefcake men is so low. Utah state employees will begin working a 4-day workweek in an effort to cut energy costs, and T-Time will be moving out there shortly. Russia and Georgia (the country not the state) are heavily fighting over a piece of land called South Ossetia. This is a serious world issue that could potentially pin nations against one another...so T-Time will be on top of it. The Emmys announced who will be designing the show’s gown. Ralph Lauren? Carolina Herrera? No…Lauren Conrad (yes…of The Hills fame). Ever had a snake stuck in your pants (seriously)? No? Well here’s your video of the week: http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2008/08/08/natsot.ia.snake.in.pants.kcci.

I hope this gives you an idea of what's going on in the world. Buck up…it's not so bad! The US is rocking the Olympics and John Edwards admitted to being a cheat! All is right with the world!

Now go and have an intellectually stimulating conversation with your neighbor about what you've just learned.

~t

T-Time Weekly News Update for the Week of July 29th-August 3rd 2008

Do you work all day and have no time or energy to find out what's going on in the world? Do you get bored and impatient watching TV anchors tell you over and over what's going on? Do you sometimes care more about what Britney Spears is doing than what President Bush said during his State of the Union address? If you answered yes to even one of these questions this is what you've been waiting for! Every week I'm going to give you a quick rundown of the past week's biggest headlines. I won't bore you with minute details and shove tons of information down your throats. These are just the facts with a little humor for measure! And if you want to know more you can always just Google it or ask me.

*T-Time is a day early this week cause Monday is the big B-Day, and I’m still fighting to make it a national holiday! Hopefully for all you readers I’ll not only be a year older but a year wiser as well!

Celebrity-Time:

So I’ve been feeling quite sad due to the lack of Britney news lately, but that has all changed with this past week! Brit Brit’s lawyers did not ask for an extension on the restraining order against svengali-like ex-“manager” Sam Lutfi. That doesn’t mean that they’re back in touch, it just means that Britney seems coherent enough to not get involved with the crazies. She may have gotten rid of Sam, but Brit’s still stuck with her dad as her conservator. Dad’s been doing such a good job keeping his daughter in line (only took 25 years) that a judge extended the conservatorship through December 31st. Britney’s little sis Jamie Lynn, mom to Maddie Briann (http://www.buzzfeed.com/blanca/jamie-lynns-baby-photos) may be getting married soon. I guess they just didn’t want to rush into anything…first get pregnant at 16 then think about marriage.

It’s not always sunshine and Botox in Hollywood. Kate Hudson and Lance Armstrong broke up after a whole 3 months of dating. Rumors are flying that Matthew Broderick had an affair while wifey Sarah Jessica Parker was filming Sex and The City: The Movie. But I refuse to believe this cause they’re too cute together and have been together longer than most celeb couples, so I’m chalking this up to tabloid fluff. The former employee accused of abusing students at Oprah’s school in Africa went on trial. If Oprah has anything to do with she’ll be locked up for life…forced to watch Dr. Phil reruns. It seems that although Shia LaBeouf was drunk when he got into the accident that flipped his car, the accident was actually the other driver’s fault (she ran a red light). NY Yankees star A-Rod is going on with his divorce, but he’s making sure that the lawyers stick to the prenup (sounds like someone’s soon-to-be ex-wife is about to get screwed). Christina Applegate, a.k.a. Kelly Bundy, has been diagnosed with breast cancer. Because it was detected early she should expect a full recovery after treatment. Speaking of recovery, Patrick Swayze has been working on a new TV series and looking a million times better than when news broke of his pancreatic cancer diagnosis.

94 Days and Counting:

So I guess the Yeshiva student who stole Senator Barack Obama’s note from the Wailing Wall is a T-Time reader cause he finally felt the pangs of guilt and returned the note to its intended location. Now that the elections are in the somewhat near future VP contender names are dropping left and right. The top guys on the list as of now are: Virginia Governor Tim Kaine, Delaware Senator Joe Biden, and Indiana Senator Evan Bayh.

Senator John McCain wanted to get his name in the press more, and his wish was granted. McCain’s campaign debuted a new commercial calling out Obama for being popular just for being popular (making similarities to Britney and Paris). You can check it out right here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHXYsw_ZDXg&feature=related. McCain’s daughter, Meghan, admitted that she was registered as “Independent” but switched to “Republican” for her dad on Father’s Day.

The late Tim Russert’s son Luke will be following in his father’s footsteps. Luke will be a correspondent for NBC news. He will be covering everything from youth issues to the Democratic and Republican conventions (Aug 25-28 in Denver and Sept. 1-4 in Minneapolis-St. Paul, respectively).

Rapper Ludacris has gotten himself involved with the elections as well. He wrote a little ditty about all the candidates and the current president. It goes something like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THRoyvbkCzg.

What you didn’t register/re-register to vote yet? Must have slipped your mind…I’m sure. www.rockthevote.com. T-Time did it and so should you!

Around the World in 4 Stories:

On the domestic front the U.S. is going through some financial hardships. NYC and California are getting hit the hardest and experiencing huge deficits.

Israel’s Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is stepping down from his post in September, after his party reelects a new leader, amongst allegations that he was involved in some shady financial dealings although he continues to claim his innocence.

China is continuing to anger the international community. Although the Olympics are starting this Friday, August 8th there continues to be issues over many of China’s policies. China will continue to censor the Internet and all users (Chinese, athletes, tourists, etc).

There may be a war going on, but that doesn’t seem to be in the way of American capitalism spreading. A KFC, that’s right Kentucky Fried Chicken, has just opened up in Fallujah, Iraq.

News Potpourri:

I'll leave you with some quick news tidbits that couldn't fit either here or there so they're getting their own paragraph! Sir Richard Branson, owner of all things Virgin, unveiled his new personal spacecraft the Virgin Galactic that will be able to take “tourists” (millionaire tourists) to outer space. If you’re looking for a good party…University of Florida is the place to be. The Princeton Review named it the #1 party school…woohoo! Batman’s The Dark Knight continues to kick butt at the box office. For the 2nd week in a row it came in at #1 bringing its grand total to over $395M. T finally saw it, and let me be the millionth person to tell you that it’s a) really good, and b) Heath Ledger really is that amazing as the Joker. Los Angeles got hit with a pretty decent earthquake last Tuesday. You can see the effects during the taping of Judge Judy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5t_p6Adu8E. The 2 major U.S. satellite radio providers Sirius and XM finally completed their merger and became “Sirius XM Radio” (super original). People Magazine has won again by getting the photo rights to Brad and Angie’s twin babies…and I have the first pics right here: http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20216352,00.html. Green Bay Packer’s QB Brett Favre has been stirring up quite a bit of drama. First he tearfully retired and then he claimed he was forced to quit. Well this whole past week has been full of “will he rejoin” or “won’t he”, and it looks like the star player will be reinstated to his former team and joining them at training camp. In honor of the upcoming Olympics here’s your video of the week (not safe for the office): http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/6c2a1615d5.

I hope this gives you an idea of what's going on in the world. Buck up…it's not so bad! Britney’s finally back in the headlines and the Brangelina baby pics have arrived! All is right with the world!

Now go and have an intellectually stimulating conversation with your neighbor about what you've just learned.

~t