Mayor of Hollywood Dies

The honorary mayor of Hollywood, Johnny Grant has died at the age of 84 of natural causes. Grant was found dead on a bed in the Hollywood Roosevelt hotel, where he lived, in a 14^th floor suite.

In his lifetime he inducted more than 500 celebrities into the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He hosted red carpet Oscar arrivals and Walk of Fame festivities. He was in bit parts of movies and produced Hollywood’s annual Christmas Parade. He was an USO ambassador that brought entertainers to war zones to perform in front of the U.S. military during the Korean and Vietnam wars and battles in the Middle East.

Singer Bono Asks For Help From France

The singer Bono from the group U2 has asked the leader of France, Nicholas Sarkozy, to increase the aid given to developing countries. He wants France to increase the development assistance to 0.7 percent of France’s national income instead of the 0.35 percent that it’s currently at.

Nicole Richie Gives Birth to Baby Girl

On Friday, Nicole Richie and her boyfriend, Joel Madden from the rock group Good Charlotte, welcomed a baby girl named Harlow Winter Kate Madden into the world. Richie gave birth at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Nicole Richie is best known as the daughter of Lionel Richie and costarred in the reality show with Paris Hilton called “The Simple Life.” Last year, she was in jail for 82 minutes after she was convicted of driving under the influence of drugs.

Christina Aguilera Gives Birth to Baby Boy

The singer Christina Aguilera has given birth to a baby boy. She and her husband, Jordan Bratman, named the baby Max Liron Bratman. The baby was born Saturday night and weighs 6 pounds and 2 ounces. Aguilera and Bratman married in 2005 and she first found out that she was pregnant during her “Back to Basics” tour.

Marion Jones Sentenced to Prison Time

Marion Jones, the former Olympic Champion, was sentenced to six months in prison for lying about using steroids and for her involvement in a check-fraud scam. She is also given two years of probation and supervised release. She has to do 800 hours of community service. She was ordered to surrender on March 11^th to begin doing her time.

The U.S. District Judge, Kenneth Karas, gave her the maximum sentence under the plea deal to send a message to the athletes that have abused drugs and overlooked the values of hard work, dedication, teamwork, and sportsmanship.

Priest Caught With 7.7 Pounds of Coke Arrested

A Catholic priest was arrested on Friday at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport after he was caught carrying 7.7 pounds of cocaine under his robes. At first, the priest refused to go through the routine body check for religious reasons. The man was then seen lining up at a different entrance gate. He was stopped and searched and drugs were found in packages taped to his body.

The priest was traveling from Bolivia and argued that his rights were violated by the search. When traveling to Europe, a person can’t refuse a body search and has to pass a security check.

James Brown’s Possessions Auctioned

James Brown’s possessions are set to be appraised and auctioned to pay for taxes that his estate owes. It is not clear which items will be auctioned yet or how much the items are worth. Brown died in Atlanta in December of 2006 and his will stated that he wanted his possessions to be divided between his six adult children. His fourth wife, Toni Rae Hynie, contested the will and claims that she is entitled to half of the estate. His children are also contesting the will, which was signed 10 months before Brown died. Trustees have asked Brown’s children and Hynie to make a list of the items that they don’t want to be auctioned.

Eminem Recovering From Pneumonia

The rapper Eminem is currently recovering from pneumonia. He was hospitalized in Detroit from complications due to the disease over the holidays. He has been released from the hospital and is recovering at home.

TiVo’s New Feature of Web Video

TiVo Inc. will soon have a new feature that will allow subscribers to view video from the Internet that would play on a television through their service. People using the service would have to use TiVo’s software on a computer to get this feature. TiVo will also provide a guide on its TV-based menu to record the selected Web videos. This new feature is set to be available in March.

The World’s Largest TV

Panasonic has just unveiled the world’s largest television. The television is a 150-inch high definition plasma TV that has an 8.81 million pixel image resolution. The screen is as big as nine 50-inch televisions. It is not yet released how much the TV will cost. Panasonic also plans to bring videos from YouTube directly to its line of Internet-enabled high-definition plasma televisions.

GM Looking Into Making Cars That Drive Themselves

General Motors is looking into making cars that could drive themselves and even park at their destinations. The cars could be ready for sale by the year 2018. The biggest problems that stand in the way of making the cars are government regulations, liability laws, and privacy concerns.

Automated vehicles could reduce the number of car collisions and reduce traffic jams. GM plans to use a computer chip and an antenna to link vehicles that have the driverless technology.

China Putting Limits on Internet Video

China is putting restrictions on the broadcasting of Internet videos by only allowing citizens to use sites that are ran by state-controlled companies. They are also requiring that providers report questionable content to the government. The regulations will start to take effect on January 31^st and were approved by the State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television and the Ministry of Information Industry.

Under the new policy, Websites that provide videos or allow people to upload videos have to get government permits and applicants have to be state-owned or state-controlled companies. The policy will also ban providers form broadcasting video that has national secrets, hurts the reputation of China, disturbs social stability, or has pornography. Video providers will be required to delete and report this kind of content.

The permits will have to be renewed every three years and video providers that commit major violations might be banned from providing online videos for five years. It is not clear if the popular Website YouTube will be affected since they are available in China and runs a Chinese-language Website. It also isn’t known if any of YouTube’s computer servers are located in China.

Netflix Delivering Movies Directly to Televisions

Netflix, a website where you can rent DVDs online, will start delivering movies and their other programs directly to televisions later this year through a set-top box that will deliver the movies and programs through a high-speed Internet connection. The set-top box will probably cost about $299 to $399. Netflix subscribers will still have to use a computer to choose what they want to watch and they can watch between 5 and 48 hours of programming without any extra costs to their current subscription plan.

How to Get Coupons to Get Digital Converters

There will be millions of $40 government coupons available stating this Tuesday to help people that own older TVs that might not work after the switch to digital broadcasting that starts on February 18, 2009. After that date, anybody who doesn’t have a digital converter will not get a picture on their TV and the television industry will complete its transition from traditional analog broadcasting to digital broadcasting. The converter boxes will cost between $50 and $70 and will be available at many major electronic retail stores.

Beginning on Tuesday, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration will start accepting requests for two $40 coupons per household to be used towards buying the converter boxes. People who have satellite or cable service will not need the converter boxes. A person can request a coupon at www.dtv2009.gov.

Visit This Site to Request a Coupon: http://www.dtv2009.gov

Eddie Murphy and Tracy Edmonds Get Married

It is reported that Eddie Murphy and his fiancée Tracy Edmonds has gotten married over the New Year’s holiday in French Polynesia. The ceremony took place in front of their close family and friends. The two were engaged this past July after Tracey was officially divorced from her husband Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds.

Read More: http://www.okmagazine.com/news/view/3529

Scientists Developing Surgical Robot for Surgeries

There are scientists in London that are developing a surgical robot that could help surgeons do complex surgical procedures without having to cut into the patient’s skin. A team at the Imperial College has been given $4.5 million to build and test a surgical robot that is called the “i-Snake”.

The robot is made up of a long tube that has special motors, sensors, and imaging tools inside of it. It would be inserted through the patient’s mouth or other orifice and would eliminate the need for a keyhole surgery, where several cuts would be made. The i-Snake would cause less invasive treatments, surgeries would be faster, and recovery times would be quicker.

Read More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7155635.stm