Kelly Preston dead at 57 years old

D E L I G H T F U L - K E L L Y #kellypreston #cancersucks #fighter #mother #wife #actress #philanthropist #warm #Kind #loving #understanding #gentle  #johntravolta #GoneTooSoon #kevinknighton360 #jerrymcguire #restinpeace

What The Hell ...

The estranged wife of a celebrated Ukrainian pianist Vadym Kholodenko has been charged with killing the couple's two daughters at their home in suburban Fort Worth.

Benbrook Police said Sofya Tsygankova, 31, has been charged with two counts of capital murder in the deaths of daughters, Nika, 5, and Michela, 1. Kholodenko, 29, discovered them in their bedrooms early on Thursday when he went to visit them at their mother's house.

"We have probable cause, reason to believe, that she committed the homicides," Benbrook police Commander David Babcock told a news conference.

She will transported to Tarrant County jail after her mental health evaluation.

Tsygankova suffered what appeared to be self-inflicted stab wounds in the incident. She was in the hospital for treatment of her physical injuries and will be undergoing a mental evaluation, he said.

The charges can bring the death penalty in Texas.

In White Folks News ...

Former "Law & Order" director, Jason "Jace" Alexander, plead guilty Tuesday in his child porn case.

Alexander plead guilty to two charges in a Westchester County court, which included promoting a sexual performance by a child and possessing an obscene performance by a child.

42 year old Alexander, who directed multiple episodes of Law & Order,  was arrested last summer after an investigator tracked child porn back to his IP address.

"A forensic examination of computers and external hard drives removed from the location revealed digital files of children who are less than sixteen years of age engaged in child pornography," Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore said in a statement last July.

Jason Alexander faces up to 7 years in prison and is scheduled for sentencing in early May. Alexander is known for his work on The Blacklist, The Tomorrow People, Raising Hope, Lipstick Jungle, Royal Pains, Rescue Me, Burn Noticeand Lizzie McGuire, and of course 32 episodes of Law & Order.

Xxxxxactly, I totally Agree

BBC host Aaron Heslehurst advised Americans this week that they would have to “break” or “dismantle” the National Rifle Association (NRA) if they wanted the mass shootings in the United States to stop. 

On Wednesday’s Morning Business Report, BBC presenter Adnan Nawaz pointed out that journalists still did not have all of the details about the shooting in San Bernardino.

“There have been more mass shootings in the United States this year than there have been days this year,” Nawaz noted. “We’re at about 330-odd days with 350+ mass shootings. And it’s becoming far too common as far as almost any sensible person including President Obama is concerned.”

Columnist Maike Currie agreed that the figures were “staggering.”

“Obama has said this is not normal, this shouldn’t be considered as normal,” she explained. “And Hillary Clinton has said the same thing. And on her presidential campaign, gun control is actually one of the key things she’s looking at.”

Nawaz observed that Clinton was unlikely to put in place new gun safety measures because Congress would block her.

“The thing that everyone points to is the Second Amendment,” Currie said. “But the Second Amendment was set up in 1789. That was a different world then and something needs to be done about this.”

Heslehurst revealed his own “staggering” statistics: “In the last 43 years, more Americans have been shot by another American — shot and killed by another American — than all of America’s soldiers killed in wars in the last 240 years.”

“And you go where’s the priority?” he asked. “You talk about Congress — NRA, right? If Clinton really wants to get serious, that’s what you have to try to break, dismantle.”

Watch the video below from BBC News 24, broadcast Dec. 3, 2015.

More Senseless Killings ...

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — Hours after as many as three gunmen stormed a service center for people with disabilities here on Wednesday, killing at least 14 people and wounding at least 17 others, the police engaged in a shootout in a nearby suburban neighborhood that officials said left one suspect dead, one most likely wounded and a third suspect on the run.

One officer initially came across the suspects as they drove in a black sport utility vehicle less than two miles from where the shooting took place. According to reports, the officer tried to engage with the people in the S.U.V., who put up a fight. It was unclear what happened during that initial exchange, but dozens of heavily armed police in tactical gear quickly descended on the scene. One officer was injured in the shootout, a police official said.

Witnesses described a wild gun battle, with the men in the S.U.V. firing on the police and the police firing back as nearby residents hid in their homes behind locked doors. When the shooting stopped, one gunman remained on the run, officials said, and law enforcement officers, many armed in tactical gear, swarmed the neighborhood, going door-to-door hunting for the suspect.

Video footage from television helicopters circling overhead showed a bullet-riddled black S.U.V., similar to the one witnesses described seeing the suspects flee in earlier in the day.

One suspect could be seen on street outside the S.U.V. in a bloody pool. Another was still in the vehicle, but that person’s condition was unclear. A manhunt continued for the third person, with law enforcement setting up a perimeter around the area where the shootout took place.

“There were shots fired, officers were involved, and a suspect is down,” a police spokeswoman, Sgt. Vicki Cervantes, said.

The shootout was a latest development in a bloody day that started around 11 a.m., when three gunmen pulled up in a dark S.U.V. at the complex of buildings occupied by the Inland Regional Center, a service center for people with disabilities. The motive in the shooting remained unclear, but Chief Jarrod Burguan of the San Bernardino police said it was clear that the gunmen had planned the deadly assault.

“They came prepared for what they did and they were on a mission,” the chief said. “They came in with a purpose.” He alluded to reports that the men may have worn masks and body armor.

It's a new day for China ...

Hurray for babies! China has officially decided to end its decades-long one-child policy. The country’s officials have opted to change the extremely controversial policy and allow two children per family now. Such amazing news!

In a massive landmark move, China decided on Oct. 29 to scrap their three decade long one-child policy and allow families two children. The policy, which was first implemented in 1979, came with disgusting punishments for those families who did not obey the strict law — like forced abortions.

Lester Holt makes History ...

Lester Holt took over NBC Nightly News yesterday replacing the ousted anchorman Brian Williams, who had issues with telling the whole truth and nothing but.  It's bittersweet, while I remain a fan of Brian Williams, I also really dig Lester Holt's journalism.  At the end of the day Williams clearly crossed the line.  Below is excerpts from 'Holt's' take in the debacle with Williams. *kk*

Even Lester Holt didn't know what was going on while the Brian Williams scandal nearly burned down NBC News.

The NBC brass kept Holt uniformed during the nearly five months he filled in for the disgraced anchor. Finally, last week, the 55-year-old network news journeyman became NBC’s new news star as he was officially anointed the anchor of the flagship program, “Nightly News.”

Ultimately, the embattled Williams lost his prestigious perch behind the anchor desk after an internal investigation revealed that he had spent years exaggerating his role in world events on talk shows, speaking engagements and at parties.

The two newsmen had traded some emails during Williams’ suspension, but they spoke last Thursday for the first time since the scandal.

Holt describes the conversation as “personal,” so he declined to give the details, but he did reveal that he and Williams are on solid ground as colleagues.

“It was a conversation that we both had been craving but didn't know how to initiate,” Holt says. “The bottom line is that we expressed our friendship to each other. We acknowledged that while some might see this as awkward, nothing that has transpired was between the two of us. We are friends and the best way to characterize it is that Brian and I are good.”

During the Williams suspension, Holt quickly became aware that he wasn’t merely filling in for Williams on television. “I was asked to lead the newsroom through this time and it was hard — especially in the first few days and weeks when all of those eyeballs were focused on us.”

Jodi Arias Sentenced ...

PHOENIX (AP) — The nearly seven-year legal saga of Jodi Arias ended Monday as a judge sentenced her to life in prison for killing her ex-boyfriend, and the victim's sisters unleashed their pain over the 2008 murder that captivated social media with its salacious details.

Three of Travis Alexander's sisters tearfully urged Judge Sherry Stephens to impose the harshest penalty available against Arias. They described Arias as "unrepentant" and "evil" and lashed out at her for smearing Alexander's name.

As Arias was leaving the courtroom, Alexander's younger sister, Tanisha Sorenson, said loudly, "Burn in hell," prompting her sister to try to quiet her down.

Samantha Alexander cried as she recalled walking into her brother's house after investigators had finished collecting evidence there. "He was there for five days," she said. "Five days he is there decomposing in the shower. I'm sure his soul was screaming for someone to find him."

Alexander family and friends hugged each other with tears in their eyes but smiles on their faces after the judge imposed the most severe of two available sentences and denied Arias a chance to be eligible for release after serving 25 years.

Before the sentence was handed down, Arias gave a rambling statement in which she stood by her testimony and accused police and prosecutors of changing their story during the investigation. She said she was sorry for the pain she caused Alexander's family and friends.

"I'm truly disgusted and I'm repulsed with myself," Arias said, recalling the moment she put a knife to Alexander's throat.

She has acknowledged killing Alexander but claimed it was self-defense after he attacked her. Prosecutors said Arias killed Alexander in a jealous rage after the victim wanted to end their affair.

Arias, wearing black and white striped jail clothing, cast her gaze away from Alexander's sisters as they spoke to the judge, but looked at her mother as she sought leniency.

The 34-year-old was convicted of first-degree murder last year, but jurors deadlocked on her punishment.

A new jury that was picked to decide her punishment had deadlocked last month over whether she was to be sentenced to death or life in prison, leaving it up to the judge to decide whether she would ever get a chance at release.

Eleven jurors at the second trial voted for the death penalty, while one juror spared Arias' life by insisting that she be sentenced to life in prison. The holdout juror was accused by her colleagues of having a bias toward Arias.

About a dozen jurors from the two trials were in the courtroom to witness the sentencing. Defense lawyer Jennifer Willmott said she has never seen a similar situation in any of her previous trials.

Prosecutors say Arias killed Alexander after he planned a trip to Mexico with another woman. Arias shot Alexander and stabbed him nearly 30 times in his suburban Phoenix home. She was arrested weeks later and initially denied involvement.

International attention quickly followed the case after Arias gave two television interviews in which she told a bizarre story of masked intruders breaking into the home and killing Alexander while she cowered in fear. She subsequently changed her story and said it was self-defense after Alexander attacked her on the day he died. Her attorneys portrayed Alexander as a sexual deviant who physically and emotionally abused Arias.

Her 2013 trial became a media circus as details of their tawdry relationship and the violent crime scene emerged while the courtroom saga was broadcast live. Spectators traveled to Phoenix and lined up in the middle of the night to get a seat in the courtroom to catch a glimpse of what had become to many a real-life soap opera.

Jennifer Willmott, an attorney for Arias, urged the judge not to be swayed the "lynch mob from social media" that opposes her client. She pleaded with the judge for "just a possibility, a hope to live for."

Stephens was not swayed, imposing a life sentence in which Arias will begin serving in a maximum-security unit at a prison 30 miles west of downtown Phoenix. Willmott spoke to Arias after the sentencing and said she was in good spirits.

"She feels good. She's ready for the next part of her life," she said.

The Alexander family took some solace in seeing that Arias received a full life term, but they became emotional as they talked about the difficulty in enduring the trauma brought on by Alexander's murder.

"I don't wanna remember him anymore," said sister Hillary Wilcox. "Because it hurts too much to remember him alive."

GUILTY ...

PRETORIA, South Africa — Oscar Pistorius, the disabled track star who once commanded stellar heights of international competition at the Paralympic and Olympic Games, was found guilty on Friday of culpable homicide, equivalent to manslaughter, after being acquitted of murder charges for killing his girlfriend.

But he was granted bail and will remain free, at least until a sentence is announced. Sentencing procedures are set to begin Oct. 13.

The verdict, pronounced by Judge Thokozile Matilda Masipa, was the culmination of a closely watched drama that transfixed many around the world. Mr. Pistorius shot and killed his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, 29, in the early hours of Feb. 14, 2013, saying he believed an intruder had entered his home.

Wielding a handgun loaded with hollow-point ammunition, he opened fire on a locked toilet cubicle door only to discover when he broke the door down with a cricket bat that Ms. Steenkamp was inside. The prosecution sought to prove that he intended to kill her, but he called her death an accident and a mistake.

I AM my Sister's Keeper ...

Solange - I said what I said, I did what I did. Am I my sisters keeper YES I AM!!. Spin the story however you choose to spin it, I know the real!!! There's trouble in the Carter-Knowles household. Bruises on Beyonce Knowles neck, is it a coincident? I think not. Look out Floyd Mayweather, Solange is after your title!! #TeamSolange

Say what now???

Michael Dunn 'Cell-bound'

http://news.yahoo.com/39-victim-39-says-loud-music-trial-shooter-030932610--abc-news-topstories.html?soc_src=mediacontentsharebuttons

Heartbreaking ...

This story is devastating and gut wrenching.  I was so hoping and praying that young Avonte would be found alive, unfortunately that didn't happen.  I send prayers up for his family and as horrific as this story is, In my heart, I know that he's in heaven ... at peace. KK

Body parts found along the shore of the East River in Queens have been matched by DNA to Avonte Oquendo, the teen who went missing more than three months ago, according to the city's chief medical examiner.

The announcement was widely expected for several days, but it still devastated the family of Avonte Oquendo, who was 14 and had a form of autism that made it impossible for him to speak.

Avonte's mother, Vanessa Fontaine, was inconsolable, said her lawyer, David Perecman.

"Now that the inevitable, unfortunately, has occurred, undoubtedly she'll go through a metamorphosis of a sort, and I'm sure she'll get good and angry," he said. Perecman said the family intends to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the city, alleging that school officials failed to monitor the boy or call the police quickly enough when he left the school.

The flow of the East River, which is actually a tidal strait and not a river, changes direction with the tide, so it could have flowed from nearby Avonte's school to the place where the parts were found.

Perecman said the child was last seen on surveillance video in a park right along the water. But, he said, the teen is afraid of water and "doesn't like it." The family doesn't believe he would have voluntarily crossed a shoreline barrier.

Carmen Farina, the city's newly appointed education chancellor, said she was heartbroken.

"As chancellor, I am determined that we learn every lesson we can from this terrible tragedy and do everything in our power to prevent incidents like this from ever occurring again," she said.

The city's law department called the boy's death a tragedy and said its attorneys would review the lawsuit once it's filed.