Western governors target global warming; others seek clean energy
Tuesday, February 27, 2007WASHINGTON Five Western governors are taking aim at global warming.The governors of Arizona, California, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington state have agreed to develop a regional target to lower greenhouse gases and create a market-based program aimed at helping businesses reach the still-undecided goals.New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, a Democrat seeking his party's presidential nomination, says the five-state agreement should spur other states ahead. He says "You're going to see a domino e...
No Statue, But A Win Nonetheless For Gore
Tuesday, February 27, 2007Former vice president Al Gore used the success of his documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth" to expand his efforts to educate people about global warming - and to tell a few jokes.
The film turned Gore's road show about climate change into a film that won Academy Awards for best documentary and best song.
The Oscars didn't actually go to Gore. Best documentary was won by "Inconvenient Truth" director Davis Guggenheim and producers Lawrence Bender, Laurie David, Lesley Chilcott and Scott Z. Burns.
Governors Blast Feds On Global Warming
Tuesday, February 27, 2007WASHINGTON -- Fed up with federal inaction and convinced of the dangers from global warming, five governors from Western states agreed Monday to work together to reduce greenhouse gases.
Their promise to target global warming was the latest of a rush of new ideas shared this week as states push ahead on climate change and clean or alternative energy.
"Thankfully the country has reached a tipping point on this issue. I wish we had done it 20 years ago," said Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a Republican who last week signed into law a requirement that utilities generate a quarter of their power from renewable sources such as wind, water and the sun by 2025. "Governors, members of Congress and others are now scrambling to be bold."
Governors team to reduce gas emissions
Tuesday, February 27, 2007WASHINGTON (AP) Fed up with federal inaction and convinced of the dangers from global warming, five governors from Western states agreed Monday to work together to reduce greenhouse gases.
Their promise to target global warming was the latest of a rush of new ideas shared this week as states push ahead on climate change and clean or alternative energy.
"Thankfully the country has reached a tipping point on this issue. I wish we had done it 20 years ago," said Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a Republican who last week signed into law a requirement that utilities generate a quarter of their power from renewable sources such as wind, water and the sun by 2025. "Governors, members of Congress and others are now scrambling to be bold."
Group questions level of energy use at Gore home
Tuesday, February 27, 2007A day after a film about his efforts to combat global warming won an Oscar, former Vice President Al Gore was called a hypocrite by a Tennessee group that said his Belle Meade home is consuming too much energy.The home's average monthly electric bill last year was just under $1,200, according to bills that The Tennessean acquired from Nashville Electric Service.
"As the spokesman of choice for the global warming movement, Al Gore has to be willing to walk (the) walk, not just talk the talk, when it comes to home energy use," said Drew Johnson, president of the Tennessee Center for Policy Research, identified as a free-market think tank.Gore's power bill shows, however, that the former vice president may be doing just that.Gore purchased 108 blocks of "green power" for each of the past three months, according to a summary of the bills.That's a total of $...
Obama and the Illinois political machine
Tuesday, February 27, 2007CHICAGO (AP) Democrat Barack Obama piled on the praise last month as he stood beside Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and embraced the mayor's bid for a sixth term.
"I don't think there's a city in America that has blossomed as much over the last couple of decades than Chicago, and a lot of that has to do with our mayor," Obama said, supporting Daley ahead of Tuesday's city election.
It was a switch from a year earlier, when the Illinois senator brushed off questions about endorsing Daley and said reported corruption at Chicago's City Hall gave him "huge pause."
Western governors target global warming
Tuesday, February 27, 2007WASHINGTON — Fed up with federal inaction and convinced of the dangers from global warming, five governors from Western states agreed Monday to work together to reduce greenhouse gases.
Their promise to target global warming was the latest of a rush of new ideas shared this week as states push ahead on climate change and clean or alternative energy.
“Thankfully the country has reached a tipping point on this issue. I wish we had done it 20 years ago,” said Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a Republican who last week signed into law a requirement that utilities generate a quarter of their power from renewable sources such as wind, water and the sun by 2025.
Oscars draw more viewers and mixed reviews
Tuesday, February 27, 2007LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Daytime talk show host Ellen DeGeneres drew a million more U.S. TV viewers to the Oscars than last year's telecast, but some critics found her easy-going style too low-key for Hollywood's biggest night.
The 79th annual Academy Awards show on Sunday, featuring big wins for Martin Scorsese's crime thriller "The Departed" and Al Gore's global warming documentary, averaged 39.9 million viewers for the ABC network, Nielsen Media Research reported on Monday.
That's up from the 38.8 million who tuned in last year when another first-time Oscar host, political satirist Jon Stewart, presided over a ceremony in which the racial drama "Crash" won best picture over the gay-cowboy romance "Brokeback Mountain."
Western govs target global warming
Tuesday, February 27, 2007Their promise to target global warming was the latest of a rush of new ideas shared this week as states push ahead on climate change and clean or alternative energy.
"Thankfully the country has reached a tipping point on this issue. I wish we had done it 20 years ago," said Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a Republican who last week signed into law a requirement that utilities generate a quarter of their power from renewable sources such as wind, water and the sun by 2025. "Governors, members of Congress and others are now scrambling to be bold."
The twin challenges of global warming and energy were some of the dominant points of discussion over four days at the annual winter meeting of the National Governors Association.
Inqlings | Stove going cold at Deux Cheminées
Tuesday, February 27, 2007After 26-plus years, walls full of culinary awards, and countless racks of lamb, chef Fritz Blank is preparing to pull the plug on Deux Cheminées, his romantic Center City restaurant.
Blank, who has long planned to move to Thailand, says he will close in early June. The main holdup to relocating is getting the necessary papers for his cat, BoBo.
The building, a Frank Furness- designed double-rowhouse at 1221 Locust St., will be sold, he said yesterday.
Letters to the Editor Letters
Tuesday, February 27, 2007Re: Your Feb. 15 editorial, "Muzzling the GOP: Democratic strong-arming."
You comment, "Republicans, for their part, flood the talk shows with two contradictory riffs: The resolution is 'meaningless,' but passing it would be a huge victory for 'terrorists.' "
In the complex, protracted war against Islamo-fascism, we need to be mindful of not just our view, but also the extremist's view of what we do at home, and especially in Congress.
Green tips for Hollywood's elite
Tuesday, February 27, 2007Who would have thought Sunday's black-tie and Armani-clad crowd at the Oscars would get the added bonus of tips on reducing their carbon admissions: take light rail when possible, install a programmable thermostat and insulate your home.
Messages like those flashed across the screen as Melissa Etheridge was singing her Oscar-winning song "I Need to Wake Up" from the Al Gore global warming documentary "An Inconvenient Truth." Only thing missing were directions to the Hollywood Home Depot, and a picture to show the crowd what light rail means.
Unfortunately, a host of other messages scrolled by all too fast to help Hollywood's elite reduce their energy use and carbon dioxide emissions. As a public service, here's a recap of some of them:
Scorsese Oscar took its sweet time
Tuesday, February 27, 2007At last. At last, the Scorsese Curse has been lifted. At long last, after five previous directing nominations, Martin Scorsese finally struck gold at the Oscars.
Relief and joy exploded in the Kodak Theatre on Sunday night as Steven Spielberg, Scorsese?s longtime friend, opened the envelope and announced that Scorsese had won the Academy Award for best director.
Welcoming him to the stage along with Spielberg were two other members of Hollywood?s directing royalty: Oscar winner Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas.
Scorsese, 'Departed' take home Oscars
Tuesday, February 27, 2007LOS ANGELES (AP) - Martin Scorsese's mob epic 'The Departed' won best picture at the Academy Awards on Sunday and earned the filmmaker the directing prize that had eluded him throughout his illustrious career.
'Could you double-check the envelope?' said Scorsese, who arguably had been the greatest living American filmmaker without an Oscar.
He received his Oscar from three contemporaries and friends, Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas. 'So many people over the years have been wishing this for me," Scorsese said.
Oscar may boost 'The Departed' DVD sales
Monday, February 26, 2007LOS ANGELES - The Warner Bros. film "The Departed" could see a financial boost as soon as Monday morning from its Sunday-night win as best picture at the 79th annual Academy Awards.
The film was released on DVD just two weeks ago, the third of the best-picture nominees to hit retail shelves, and its Oscar buzz is likely to lead to increased sales.
"Little Miss Sunshine," from Fox Searchlight, a News Corp. company, and "Babel" from Paramount Vantage, a division of Viacom Inc., have also been released on DVD.
TV Review: DeGeneres Was Congenial Host
Monday, February 26, 2007NEW YORK - Ellen DeGeneres can probably put anyone at ease. Even nominees for the biggest awards in show business.
"It's my job to relax you," she told them during her Oscarcast monologue. "To put your mind at ease and make you forget that this is a make-or-break night for you. I cannot imagine what you people are going through!" She smiled an even brighter smile. "You SHOULDN'T worry about that."
Teasing but unassuming, DeGeneres is always pleasant company, as she was Sunday night hosting "The 79th Annual Academy Awards" on ABC. Like her, the evening was easygoing, comfortable and reliably unsurprising.
Oscar for Al Gore global warming film
Monday, February 26, 2007LOS ANGELES (AP) - Former vice president Al Gore used the success of his documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth" to expand his efforts to educate people about global warming - and to tell a few jokes.
The film turned Gore's road show about climate change into a film that won Academy Awards for best documentary and best song.
Gore also teased a bit Sunday night about his plans to possibly make another presidential run, although backstage, he said he was not a candidate.
Oscars for Al Gore global warming film
Monday, February 26, 2007LOS ANGELES - Former vice president Al Gore used the success of his documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth" to expand his efforts to educate people about global warming - and to tell a few jokes.
The film turned Gore's road show about climate change into a film that won Academy Awards for best documentary and best song.
Gore also teased a bit Sunday night about his plans to possibly make another presidential run, although backstage, he said he was not a candidate.
Backstage Bustles With Celebrities
Monday, February 26, 2007LOS ANGELES - It was a celebrity mash-up backstage at the Academy Awards as A-list presenters and winners met and mingled in the crowded wings, stage right.
When the show ended, the hallway was jammed with some of the biggest names in Hollywood, including best-director winner Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg and Jack Nicholson, a star of Scorsese's "The Departed," which also won for best picture.
Reese Witherspoon teased the newly bald Nicholson, who shaved his head for a role.
Gore's Global Warming Doc Wins Oscar
Monday, February 26, 2007LOS ANGELES - "An Inconvenient Truth," the documentary that turned former vice president Al Gore's power-point presentation on global warming into an engaging and entertaining film, won the Oscar Sunday night.
The best-documentary win was a triumph for Gore, who has kept a sense of humor about his loss in the 2000 election that was decided in George W. Bush's favor by a U.S. Supreme Court decision.
"I am Al Gore. I used to be the next president of the United States of America," Gore says in the film, repeating a line he has used often.
Oscar Parties Are Diverse, Glamorous
Monday, February 26, 2007WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. - A global mix of British stars, Hispanic ingenues, hip-hop royalty, politicos and Oscar winners united under one language at this year's Academy Awards parties: glamour.
From Vanity Fair's celebrity-packed after-party to Elton John's annual Oscar viewing bash, Sunday night's festivities were as diverse as they were glitzy.
Best supporting actress winner Jennifer Hudson, wearing a snug gold beaded gown, showed up to Vanity Fair's party at Morton's just before 1 a.m., thrusting her trophy for "Dreamgirls" into the air.
'The Departed' wins best-picture Oscar
Monday, February 26, 2007AP Kate Winslet and Helen Mirren arrive for the 79th Academy Awards. Also Online
Partial list of winners
Gary's pick: Best actor
Gore documentary wins Oscar and laughs for former veep
Monday, February 26, 2007LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Former vice president Al Gore used the success of his documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth," to expand his efforts to educate people about global warming - and to tell a few jokes. The film turned Gore's road show about climate change into a film that won Academy Awards for best documentary and best song. Gore also teased a bit Sunday night about his plans to possibly make another presidential run, although backstage, he said he was not a candidate. The win was a triumph f...
Fans pack Oscar's red-carpet bleachers
Monday, February 26, 2007LOS ANGELES - The trickle of celebrities on the red carpet had suddenly become a flood.
Jennifer Hudson passed and smiled warmly at the fans calling her name from the bleachers. Gwyneth Paltrow tilted her head and offered a regal wave. Will Smith dashed over the velvet rope to sign autographs for his admirers.
"This is why the wait is all worth while," said Kyle Wilson, the 45-year-old woman from San Diego whom I'd spent the previous eight hours with on a hard wooden bench, waiting for the stars to arrive at the Kodak Theatre for this year's Academy Awards.
Best Picture Oscar likely to boost DVD sales of 'The Departed'
Monday, February 26, 2007LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The Warner Bros. film "The Departed" could see a financial boost as soon as Monday morning from its Sunday-night win as best picture at the 79th annual Academy Awards. The film was released on DVD just two weeks ago, the third of the best-picture nominees to hit retail shelves, and its Oscar buzz is likely to lead to increased sales. "Little Miss Sunshine," from Fox Searchlight, a News Corp. company, and "Babel" from Paramount Vantage, a division of Viacom Inc., have also...
Backstage bustles with celebrity encounters at Sunday's Oscars
Monday, February 26, 2007LOS ANGELES (AP) -- It was a celebrity mash-up backstage at the Academy Awards as A-list presenters and winners met and mingled in the crowded wings, stage right. When the show ended, the hallway was jammed with some of the biggest names in Hollywood, including best-director winner Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg and Jack Nicholson, a star of Scorsese's "The Departed," which also won for best picture. Reese Witherspoon teased the newly bald Nicholson, who shaved his head for a role. "I lik...
Scorsese Finally Basks in Oscar Triumph
Monday, February 26, 2007LOS ANGELES (AP) -- In a year of unparalleled diversity and international muscle at Hollywood's film honors, the Academy Awards finished as a love fest for a long-overlooked American - Martin Scorsese.
After Scorsese's five previous losses in the direction category, he won for mob epic "The Departed," which also won best picture.
Awards watchers had viewed Scorsese as a lock to win at last, and while he clearly coveted an Oscar, the director said he had not counted on anything.
'The Departed' wins best picture
Monday, February 26, 2007LOS ANGELES - Martin Scorsese's mob epic "The Departed" won best picture at the Academy Awards on Sunday and earned the filmmaker the directing prize that had eluded him throughout his illustrious career.
"Could you double-check the envelope?" said Scorsese, who had been the greatest living American filmmaker without an Oscar. He also had never delivered a best-picture winner before, despite crafting such modern masterpieces as "Raging Bull" and "Goodfellas."
Scorsese received his Oscar from three contemporaries and friends, Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas. "So many people over the years have been wishing this for me," Scorsese said.
Vignettes from backstage at the Oscars
Monday, February 26, 2007LOS ANGELES - To kiss or not to kiss. That was the debate Melissa Etheridge and her lesbian partner were having before this year's Oscar show.
"I have not been one to kiss my partner in public just for sensationalism," Etheridge, who won the Academy Award for original song, told reporters after Sunday's show.
But when her name was called for "I Need to Wake Up" from the film "An Inconvenient Truth," Etheridge planted one right on the lips of Tammy Lynn Michaels.
Suri Cruise among famous faces at the Kodak for Oscar rehearsals
Sunday, February 25, 2007EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the eighth story in this year's Oscar Insider series, a behind-the-scenes look at the Academy Awards.
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Early Attitudes Glance
Sunday, February 25, 2007Gallup polling over the past three decades shows Republican front-runners usually win their party's nomination, but Democrats do not. Some elections:
1972-Democrats
February 1971: Edmund Muskie, 26 percent; Edward Kennedy, 25; Hubert Humphrey, 21; John Lindsay and George McGovern, each at 5.
Suri Cruise Stops by the Academy Awards
Sunday, February 25, 2007LOS ANGELES - Suri Cruise has already made her first Academy Awards appearance.
The 10-month-old daughter of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes joined her father on the Kodak Theatre stage during Saturday's Oscar rehearsals.
"This is Suri," a casually clad Cruise told the audience of stand-ins and show workers - as if one of the world's best-known babies needed an introduction. "She wanted to come check this out this morning."
Global cooling costs too much
Sunday, February 25, 2007Public policy is all about trade-offs. Economists understand this better than politicians because voters want to have their cake and eat it too, and politicians think whatever is popular must also be true.
Economists understand that if we put a chicken in every pot, it might cost us an aircraft carrier or a hospital. We can build a hospital, but it might come at the expense of a little patch of forest. We can protect a wetland, but that will make a new school more expensive.
You get it already. But in the history of trade-offs, never has there been a better one than trading a tiny amount of global warming for a massive amount of global prosperity. Earth got about 0.7 degrees Celsius warmer in the 20th century while it increased its GDP by 1,800 percent, by one estimate. How much of that 0.7 degrees can be laid at the feet of that 1,800 percent is unknowable, but let's stipulate that all of the warming was the result of our prosperity and that this warming is in fact indisputably bad (which is hardly obvious).
Gore climate change Oscar entry has Cuba's vote
Sunday, February 25, 2007HAVANA (Reuters) - Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore doesn't know if his climate change documentary will win an Oscar on Sunday night -- but he has Cuba's vote.
Sunday's Union of Young Communist's newspaper reported acting Cuban President Raul Castro ``recognized the effort of the former vice president to denounce'' global warming during a two-hour meeting with youth leaders on Friday.
Cuba's official and only television media showed Gore's documentary ``An Inconvenient Truth'' on prime time this month and an update by Gore, giving the one-time presidential contender more positive publicity than any other U.S. leader in decades.
Meet Wal-Mart's man in Tennessee
Sunday, February 25, 2007Dennis Alpert arrived for his newspaper interview in a shiny new hybrid Toyota Prius, paid for by Wal-Mart. He had a cup of Starbucks coffee and was ready to talk about environmentally friendly buildings, sustainable fisheries and health care for workers.It was another day in the life of Wal-Mart's man in Tennessee, a former Al Gore staffer turned lobbyist and director of public affairs for the state's largest employer.
After years of criticism about its impact on workers, small business and the environment, Wal-Mart is hiring more public relations experts such as Alpert, some of them with Democratic or labor union ties. After a little more than a year on the job, the 41-year-old Alpert has been trying to balance protecting the corporation's bottom line and working to "tell our story," as he puts it."We feel we've gotten an unfair shake and a lot of it is as a result of our own inability to tell our story properly," he said.
Retail giant often targeted
Filmmakers say timing of world events helped
Sunday, February 25, 2007The makers of the Oscar-nominated documentary An Inconvenient Truth attribute part of its success to the "perfect storm" of things happening worldwide before the film's release last year.The movie warning of the consequences of global warming became the third highest-grossing in documentary history with a box office take topping $45 million.
A series of events before the documentary's May 2006 release made the public more receptive to and interested in its message, said Lawrence Bender, who produced it with Laurie David and Scott Z. Burns. For instance, America experienced its worst storm season in 2005, Bender said.Hurricane "Katrina was still in the minds of people; it was at our back," Bender said. "Then of course there were those crazy storm systems other than Katrina."The war in Iraq, of course, doesn't have anything to do with...
Slide show basis of film
Additional Stories
Sunday, February 25, 2007If Helen Mirren doesn't go home with an Oscar for best actress tonight, her loss will have defied all predictions.
Other races' outcomes could similarly shock Oscar watchers.
"They could literally put an Oscar on Helen Mirren and Forest Whitaker's seats and call it a night," says Benjamin Eckstein, president and owner of Las Vegas-based America's Line, creator of syndicated columns on sports and entertainment odds.
And in the best mystery category, the winner is . . .
Sunday, February 25, 2007What with blogs and Web sites and 24-hour entertainment news, we've never had more Oscar prognosticators.
So why is it so impossible to get a sense of what film will be named when the final envelope is opened?
Further thoughts on that and other mysteries and sure things of the 79th Academy Awards:
Blowing cool air at global warming
Sunday, February 25, 2007Does hot air about climate change spewed in the U.S. Senate contribute to global warming?
No one really knows for sure, since Al Gore didn't address that question in "An Inconvenient Truth."
But we'll probably find out in January, when, thanks to the Democrats' capture of Congress, Sen. Barbara Boxer takes the wheel of the Environment and Public Works Committee from Republican Sen. James Inhofe and makes a liberal U-turn.
Columnist Steigerwald is all wet
Sunday, February 25, 2007Bill Steigerwald (Columnist WNJ, Dec. 22, 2006) is all wet; he is getting wet from melting glaciers and polar ice caps. Melting ice suggests global warming to me. I'm astounded Steigerwald avoids the scientific data and terms global warming as "scientific silliness."
Maybe he does not read scientific data or believe satellite photos that document thawing glaciers around the world and thawing ice caps at both poles.
The video "An Inconvenient Truth, A Global Warning" is certainly sobering and almost frightening. Former Vice-President Al Gore presents an eye-opening and compelling view of the future of the planet - and our civilization. Roger Friedman of Fox News states, "It doesn't matter whether you're a Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative, your mind will be changed in a nanosecond" by the scientific facts presented.
Democrats look toward 2008 at state convention
Sunday, February 25, 2007DETROIT -- Encouraged by last year's election, cheerful Michigan Democrats on Saturday started looking ahead to 2008 and attending to some unfinished business.
While they held onto the governor's office and a U.S. Senate seat, won back the state House and swept races for state boards in November, Democrats who met at Detroit's Cobo Center for their state convention talked about next slicing into Republicans' 9-6 advantage among 15 seats in the U.S. House.
"Everybody's very upbeat, but they also are looking forward to 2008 and finishing the job," said state Democratic Party Chairman Mark Brewer.
Early 2008 polls offer important clues
Sunday, February 25, 2007Gore, prophet of climate crisis, says Oscar bid helps
Sunday, February 25, 2007After years of watching curiously as Al Gore seemed to shout tirelessly into the wind, trying to convince the world of the existence of global warming one wonkish slide show at a time, many people now believe he has been right all along."I take no joy in that part of it," the former vice president said Friday from Los Angeles. "I wish I hadn't been right, believe me. So on one level, if you work hard on an issue, you get some feeling of having worked hard to put the evidence together if it turn...
Gore's three-decade crusade is receiving international attention this weekend as An Inconvenient Truth, the documentary in which his global-warming slide show is the focus, is nominated for two Oscars, including best documentary feature."I think the Oscar nomination was great because for one thing, it helps bring more attention to the message contained in the movie. That is my principal focus, delivering this message to as many people as quickly as possible," said Gore, noting his pleasure in th...
Beyonce, Taylor, Newman to Rock Oscars
Sunday, February 25, 2007LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The Oscars are all about movies, of course, but on this night only music filled the golden guy's hallowed hall.
Beyonce, Celine Dion, James Taylor, Randy Ne
Beyonce, Taylor, Dion, Newman To Rock Oscars
Saturday, February 24, 2007The Oscars are all about movies, of course, but on this night only music filled the golden guy's hallowed hall.
Beyonce, Celine Dion, James Taylor, Randy Newman and Melissa Etheridge were among those who stepped onto the Kodak Theatre stage on Friday evening to rehearse for Sunday's 79th Academy Awards ceremony.
Taylor and Newman performed "Our Town" from the movie "Cars," which earned Newman his 17th Oscar nomination.
"Dreamgirls" no sure thing for Oscar song win
Saturday, February 24, 2007LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Some of this year's most interesting Oscar battles revolve around what Academy Award voters hear -- rather than see.
Some experts are betting that ``Dreamgirls,'' which was snubbed for best picture, will win best song category with one of its three nominations. Others say ``Dreamgirls'' could face a backlash and that Melissa Etheridge's song on global warming, ''I Need to Wake Up,'' is more likely to take the Oscar.
The experts also say the contest for best score is wide open. Among those vying for best score are modern American composer Philip Glass, who is seeking his first Oscar for his work on ``Notes on a Scandal,'' and Argentine composer Gustavo Santaolalla for his music for ``Babel.''
Bestsellers List
Saturday, February 24, 2007Trade Paperback Fiction
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Beware of Celebrities Bearing Gifts
Saturday, February 24, 2007FOR presidential hopefuls, the Hollywood fund-raiser used to be as smooth as an A.T.M. withdrawal: duck in at night, after the East Coast news cycles have closed. Leave in the morning with a hefty check and the soft reflected glow of a few Oscar winners.
The events did not, typically, result in headlines about the ?brawl,? ?throwdown,? or ?rumble in the Hollywood jungle? that greeted Barack Obama?s first foray onto the scene last week.
You can?t begrudge the movie-loving public a great story line. David Geffen, an entertainment industry billionaire power broker and onetime cheerleader for Bill Clinton, not only herds big Hollywood names to a hot-ticket fund-raiser for Mr. Obama, but insults Hillary Rodham Clinton and the former president on the eve of the party. And, as though they were obliging the celebrity tabloids, the Clinton and Obama campaigns jump in the mud right after him.
Beyonce, James Taylor to Rock the Oscars
Saturday, February 24, 2007LOS ANGELES - The Oscars are all about movies, of course, but on this night only music filled the golden guy's hallowed hall.
Beyonce, Celine Dion, James Taylor, Randy Newman and Melissa Etheridge were among those who stepped onto the Kodak Theatre stage on Friday evening to rehearse for Sunday's 79th Academy Awards ceremony.
Taylor and Newman performed "Our Town" from the movie "Cars," which earned Newman his 17th Oscar nomination.
Richardson's Hispanic roots separate him from Democrat pack
Saturday, February 24, 2007WESTON, Fla. (AP) -- For Broward County Democratic Party Chairman Mitch Ceasar, the presidential campaign of New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson has meaning far beyond how well the candidate does against his better-know rivals. Richardson, who was scheduled to speak at a Broward Democrats' dinner Saturday night, represents two important growth targets for the Democrats, Ceasar said: he's Hispanic, and he's from a western state once considered solidly Republican. "The challenge will be for him to...
Gore presidential talk could take on new life if film about him wins an Oscar
Saturday, February 24, 2007NEW YORK If Will Smith or Leonardo DiCaprio wins an Oscar Sunday night, odds are no one will be talking about them running for president. But if a movie about Al Gore wins, then you might hear that kind of chatter.The film is called "An Inconvenient Truth." It portrays the former vice president's crusade against global warming and it's a favorite to win the Oscar for best documentary feature.Should the movie win, it would be the director who would accept the famous golden statuette. But Gore is ...
Al Gore believed to be among 181 nominees for Nobel Peace Prize
Friday, February 23, 2007OSLO, Norway Former vice president and environmental advocate Al Gore is believed to be amont 181 nominees for the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.In releasing the final count yesterday, awards committee secretary Geir Lundstad would only say 135 individuals and 46 organizations have been nominated without naming any of them.The five-member awards committee keeps its list of candidates secret for 50 years. The committee refuses to indicate who might be under consideration, but sometimes those making the ...
As a group, voters pick popularity over principle
Friday, February 23, 2007What is it Tommy Lee Jones says in "Men in Black"? "A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals, and you know it."
For example, sometimes the critter's stall is too damp, or not damp enough. In 2004, Princeton political scientists estimated that some "2.8 million people voted against Al Gore in 2000 because their states were too dry or too wet," costing Gore seven states, any of which would have cinched the election for him.
I can't judge the political scientists' math, but the point is that virtually no individual voter says, "You know, it didn't rain much this year; I'm voting Republican." That's something only voters do in a group.
Gore may cap hot year with "Inconvenient" Oscar
Friday, February 23, 2007BEVERLY HILLS, California (Reuters) - Al Gore narrowly missed becoming president of the United States, but Hollywood may anoint him "King of the Greens" on Sunday with an Oscar for "An Inconvenient Truth," the documentary about his slideshow on global warming.
The film is favored to win best documentary feature after Gore's message of impending climate crisis resounded among Hollywood celebrities and at the box office.
As the third-highest grossing documentary of its kind, it has earned $45 million worldwide, sold 1 million DVDs and is widely credited for helping shift U.S. public opinion on global warming.
Harris may abandon her bid for Florida U.S. Senate seat
Friday, February 23, 2007Reliable sources indicate that Republican U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris will quit her U.S. Senate race against incumbent Bill Nelson this week. U.S. Rep. Mark Foley is considering jumping in if Gov. Jeb Bush gives his blessing. U.S. Sen. Bob Martinez called Foley and urged him to get into the race.
<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><!--[endif]-->American Jewish Committee Southeast Regional Director Bill Gralnick retires Aug. 30.
<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><!--[endif]-->Scott Levine, who owned Snipermail, a Boca company that distributed Internet ads to email addresses, was sentenced in federal court to eight years in prison for stealing records from another firm.
Oscar could cement Gore as activist
Friday, February 23, 2007WASHINGTON -- Marla Romash remembers nearly 20 years ago when reporters would chortle as Al Gore hauled out his global warming slide shows and flip charts.
"Those people are not laughing now because, guess what? He was right," said Romash, a longtime Gore adviser who, like her ex-boss, has moved away from elective politics.
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