Vice President Joe Biden's son Beau dies of brain cancer

 WASHINGTON (AP) -- Beau Biden, who followed his father, Vice President Joe Biden, into politics and was twice elected attorney general of Delaware, died Saturday of brain cancer less than two years after he was diagnosed. Beau Biden was 46.

The younger Biden, who suffered a series of health problems in recent years, was hospitalized this month at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Washington for then-undisclosed reasons. He suffered a mild stroke in 2010 and three years later underwent surgery at a Texas cancer center to remove what was describe as a small lesion.

He announced last year that he would not seek a third term as attorney general and planned to run for governor in 2016.

"It is with broken hearts that Hallie, Hunter, Ashley, Jill and I announce the passing of our husband, brother and son, Beau, after he battled brain cancer with the same integrity, courage and strength he demonstrated every day of his life," the vice president said late Saturday in announcing the death of his second child. An infant daughter was killed in a car accident more than four decades ago.

"The entire Biden family is saddened beyond words. We know that Beau's spirit will live on in all of us - especially through his brave wife, Hallie, and two remarkable children," he said.
President Barack Obama said he and his wife, Michelle, were grieving alongside the Biden family.

"Michelle and I humbly pray for the good Lord to watch over Beau Biden, and to protect and comfort his family here on Earth," Obama said in a separate statement. The Obamas visited the vice president and his family at their official residence, the Naval Observatory, on Sunday afternoon.

The vice president said his son had dedicated his life to serving others during stints as a lawyer, a major in the Delaware National Guard and as state attorney general. Beau Biden served a yearlong deployment in Iraq and was awarded a Bronze Star.
He most recently was with the Wilmington, Delaware, law firm Grant & Eisenhofer, where he focused on securities litigation and whistleblower cases.

"More than his professional accomplishments, Beau measured himself as a husband, father, son and brother," said Joe Biden, who was at his son's side at the time of his death, along with the rest of the Biden family. "His absolute honor made him a role model for our family. Beau embodied my father's saying that a parent knows success when his child turns out better than he did."

"In the words of the Biden family: Beau Biden was, quite simply, the finest man any of us have ever known," the vice president added.
Beau Biden was first diagnosed with brain cancer in August 2013. He underwent surgery at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston to remove a lesion and was treated with radiation and chemotherapy before doctors gave him a clean bill of health three months later.

He suffered a recurrence of cancer this spring and was admitted to Walter Reed in May, officials said.

Beau Biden gained national prominence after he introduced his father at the Democratic National Convention in Denver on the night in 2008 when Joe Biden accepted the vice presidential nomination. Months later, he returned home from Iraq to see his father sworn into office.

A University of Pennsylvania graduate, Biden earned a law degree from Syracuse University. He was a law clerk for a federal judge in New Hampshire before joining the U.S. Justice Department from 1995 until 2002, including five years as a federal prosecutor in Philadelphia.

In 2001, he volunteered for an interim assignment training judges and prosecutors in postwar Kosovo.

With his father, then Delaware's senior U.S. senator, at his side in 2006, Joseph R. "Beau" Biden III launched his campaign for attorney general. He promised to reorganize the state Department of Justice to better combat identity theft, Internet stalking by pedophiles, street crime and abuse of the elderly.
During the campaign, Biden sidestepped questions about his ultimate political ambitions.

"Sometimes, it's not good to look too far down the road," said Biden, who was critically injured along with his brother in a 1972 car crash that killed their mother and infant sister. The accident happened just weeks after his father was elected to the U.S. Senate.

Beau Biden remained cautious about discussing his long-range plans after suffering the stroke in 2010.

"Having long-term dreams is a good thing ... but having a plan has never worked for me, because life always intervenes," he told The Associated Press. For Biden, that initial health scare was a reminder to balance his job with family time - advice he encouraged others to follow.

Politically astute, photogenic and backed by his father's political machine, Biden was elected attorney general in 2006 with 52.6 percent of the vote.
"He's supped at this table since he's been 3 years old," Biden's beaming father said in celebrating the election of his son, who was a toddler when his father was elected to the Senate.

As attorney general, Biden established a child predator unit, joined other attorneys general in taking on mortgage lenders over foreclosure abuses, proposed tougher bail restrictions for criminal defendants, and put himself at odds with some fellow Democrats by defending the death penalty.

But a spate of shootings in Biden's hometown of Wilmington went largely unabated during his tenure, and his office stumbled in some high-profile murder prosecutions. Biden also faced scrutiny over his office's handling of the case of Earl Bradley, a pediatrician who sexually assaulted scores of patients over more than a decade before his arrest in December 2009.

Biden cited his focus on the Bradley case in announcing in January 2010 that he would not run for the Senate seat his father vacated after being elected vice president in 2008.

The younger Biden's decision stunned political observers and many fellow Democrats who thought Joe Biden's former chief of staff, Ted Kaufman, had been appointed to the Senate on an interim basis to keep the seat warm for the son.

A fellow Democrat, New Castle County executive Chris Coons, won the seat after former Republican governor and longtime congressman Mike Castle was upset by tea party-backed Christine O'Donnell in the GOP primary.

"I have no regrets," Biden said afterward.
He coasted to re-election in 2010 after Republicans declined to field a candidate against him.

Beau Biden is survived by his wife, Hallie, and children Natalie, 11, and Hunter, 9, along with his parents, a brother and sister, a sister-in-law and brother-in-law, and three nieces.

Funeral arrangements were not announced. Beau Biden is entitled to military funeral honors, said Lt. Col. Len Gratteri, a spokesman for the Delaware National Guard.

Our sincere condolence to the  family .
RIP  Beau                         The  PICs

Bill Cosby rape allegations prompt statute of limitations extension in Nevada

                                            Bill COSBY

LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 12: Attorney Gloria Allred (C) speaks during a news conference with Linda Brown (L) and Lise-Lotte Lublin (R), two alleged victims of Bill Cosby, on February 12, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

In this March 6, 2015 photo, William Thompson, right, speaks as his wife, Judith, left, and their daughter Jennifer look on during an interview at their home in Spring Hill, Fla. When William and Judith met comedian Bill Cosby in the late 1980s to discuss their teen daughter’s modeling and acting career, they felt immediately at ease. However, more than 20 women have stepped forward in recent months to level various accusations against Cosby, ranging from unwanted advances to sexual assault and rape. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

The sexual assault allegations against Bill Cosby, from one woman in particular, have led to serious change in Nevada.
Gov. Brian Sandoval will sign a bill into law on Tuesday afternoon to extend the statute of limitations for criminal prosecution of rape.

Lise Lotte Lublin, who has accused the "Cosby Show" star of drugging her in 1989 when she visited his Hilton Hotel suite in Las Vegas at the age of 23, testified in support of the new law and asked Nevada Assembly Member Irene Bustamante Adams to introduce bill AB212 earlier this year.

The state's previous law required that the sexual assault in question have occurred within four years to qualify for prosecution, but the new law will allow incidents as old as 20 years to be prosecuted. Lublin was lobbying for Nevada lawmakers to remove the statute of limitations for rape and sexual assault entirely.

Lublin said her modeling agency connected her with Cosby and he invited her back to his hotel room for what he described as an audition. He allegedly asked her to act, and offered an alcoholic drink to calm her nerves.

"I told him I did not drink, but he insisted, so I drank it ... I trusted him because of who he was and how well he was respected around the world," she said. "My next memory was waking up at home, and for me it felt like several days had passed."

"I am furious and I have decided to fight for my rights and the rights of every man, woman and child who have been victims of a sexual crime," Lublin continued. "I have contacted every senator and assembly person from the state of Nevada and I will continue to rally every victim of sexual assault, every rape crisis center and every supporter who believes in the right to have an offender tried in a court of law."

To date, over 30 women have come forward with similar allegations against Cosby. In April, three more women detailed sexual assault claims in the offices of attorney Gloria Allred, who is also representing Lublin.

Both Allred and Lublin will speak at a press conference at 3 p.m. PT on Tuesday, along with Adams and Linda Kirkpatrick — another woman who claims Cosby sexually assaulted her in Nevada.

Kirkpatrick claimed to have met Cosby during a mixed doubles tennis tournament in Las Vegas in 1981, and then attended his show at the Las Vegas Hilton. After arriving in his dressing room, she says Cosby gave her a "tall, thin champagne type of glass," which contained a clear liquid that "tasted terrible."

Kirkpatrick said he "was on top of me kissing me forcefully" even though she "had no interest in sex of any kind" with him.
She added she has "no conscious recollection of how I got home" and the next day "began violently throwing up ... as a result of what I believe to be ingesting some kind of drug."

Cosby's attorney, Martin Singer, has repeatedly denied the allegations.

"The new, never-before-heard claims from women who have come forward in the past two weeks with unsubstantiated, fantastical stories about things they say occurred 30, 40 or even 50 years ago have escalated far past the point of absurdity," Singer has said in a statement.

Oscar Pistorius could be out on parole in two months

Oscar Pistorius will be able to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest. 

JOHANNESBURG – Oscar Pistorius could be out on parole by the time the State appeals his culpable homicide conviction in the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein.

The blade runner was convicted of culpable homicide, after killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp and is serving a five-year sentence in Pretoria.

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) on Friday said it would only submit its transcripts to the High Court at the end of May; and a date for the appeal would only be set after both the State and defense file their heads of argument.

This will most likely take around two months, which means it would be heard once Pistorius becomes eligible for early release.

Pistorius will be able to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest around August.

The NPA’s Velekhaya Mgobhozi said his application for this will be handled entirely by the Correctional Services Department.

“Mr Pistorius will most likely be due for his release in months to come. It’s generally in the hands of correctional supervision. We have no control on the time frames whatsoever at this time.”

But, the NPA could be asked to make representations to the department on whether this application should be granted.

Meanwhile, the NPA said Judge Thokozile Masipa acceded to its prayers by dismissing Pistorius’ application in the High Court earlier on Friday and a date for the State’s appeal could be set soon.

Pistorius’ lawyers had tried to apply for leave to appeal the State’s legal move against the conviction.

However, Masipa ruled that the application by Pistorius’s lawyers should be struck off the roll, saying it would be tantamount to her reviewing her own decision.

Mgobhozi said today’s decision by Masipa would allow them to proceed with arrangements for the appeal in Bloemfontein.

“Suffice to say that by the end of May the state will be filing for the transcript. The transcript is the court record.”

He said if the defense’s application was successful it would have set a new precedent.

Josh Duggar Didn't Make a "Mistake," He Committed a Crime

His supporters are acting as if the sexual abuse of young girls is a youthful indiscretion. It's not.
This week, reports surfaced that Josh Duggar, star of the TLC reality show 19 Kids and Counting and eldest son of the evangelistic Duggar family, sexually abused at least five girls when he was 15 years old. InTouch Weekly first reported the allegations by publishing a graphic and disturbing police report, which documented that Josh touched the genitals of young girls, in some cases as they slept.

"Twelve years ago, as a young teenager, I acted inexcusably for which I am extremely sorry and deeply regret," Duggar said in a statement to People. He continued:

I hurt others, including my family and close friends. I confessed this to my parents who took several steps to help me address the situation. We spoke with the authorities where I confessed my wrongdoing, and my parents arranged for me and those affected by my actions to receive counseling. I understood that if I continued down this wrong road that I would end up ruining my life.
Josh's parents, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, released their own statement, describing the abuse as "bad mistakes" that Josh made as a "young teenager."

The repeated sexual abuse of children is not a "mistake." A mistake is when the barista at Starbucks gives you the wrong amount of change for your latte. Abusing young girls in their sleep is a choice and a crime.

In a post on Facebook, presidential candidate Mike Huckabee echoed the teenage mistake narrative, saying that he and his wife, Janet, still "support" the Duggar family. "Josh's actions when he was an underage teen are as he described them himself, 'inexcusable,' but that doesn't mean 'unforgivable.'... Good people make mistakes and do regrettable and even disgusting things."

Since their show premiered seven years ago, the Duggars have been propped up as the model for evangelical Christian "family values." Their persistent anti-LGBTQ rhetoric made them a darling of the religious right and a photo op for many high-profile Republican politicians, including Jeb Bush and Governors Rick Perry and Bobby Jindal. Until yesterday when he resigned, Josh headed up the conservative lobbying organization the Family Research Council, where he regularly bashed gays and lesbians looking to adopt children. Just last year, in opposition to a new law that would protect the LGBTQ community from discrimination, Michelle Duggar robo-called Arkansas voters to warn them that trans people are dangerous child predators. Oh, the irony.

It's hard to imagine that, if the Duggars weren't held up as such pillars of righteousness, anyone would be rushing to defend Josh. Nobody supported Mama June, the matriarch of another TLC hit reality show, Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, when her show was canceled, for example. (Not that support was deserved in that case either — she was reportedly dating Mark McDaniel, the registered sex offender who was convicted of molesting her daughter Anna.) Just because the Duggars are a family that prays for God's forgiveness, doesn't mean their prayers are a sufficient and serious enough response to the criminal sexual abuse of children. In fact, as the daughter of two pastors, I am disgusted that prayer might be trotted out as some kind of protective shield from public and moral accountability.


By framing Josh's actions as youthful indiscretion that can be prayed away, the Duggar family and its supporters have tried to minimize the seriousness of what happened. But sexual abuse isn't an everyday display of bad judgment, like cutting class. It's a crime. And there are victims on the other side of it — victims who the Duggar parents and their supporters are grossly disregarding.

EXCLUSIVE: Mama June Shannon reacts to TLC pulling '19 Kids and Counting': 'I feel cheated still!

          

Antoinette Bueno

Mama June Shannon is talking to ET exclusively following TLC's decision to pull all episodes of 19 Kids and Counting -- but not canceling the entire series yet.

On Thursday, In Touch reported that 19 Kids' eldest son, Josh Duggar, had molested five girls, starting in 2002. According to In Touch, the girls may have included some of his sisters. "Twelve years ago, as a young teenager, I acted inexcusably," Duggar, now 27, said in a statement on his Facebook.

Shannon's own popular TLC reality show, Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, was canceled last October following reports that she was dating convicted child molester Mark McDaniel. McDaniel was convicted of molesting Shannon's oldest daughter, Anna Cardwell, when she was 8 years old. Shannon denied last fall that she and McDaniel had renewed a romantic relationship.

"I feel cheated still," she tells ET. She also claims TLC knew about the accusations against Duggar for years. "[TLC] knew about [Josh Duggar] since 2006 and didn't do anything. They kept filming the show, but as soon as rumors started they canceled Honey Boo Boo quick."

The 35-year-old reality star says that if 19 Kids and Counting does not get canceled, she is prepared to take legal action against TLC.

"If they are not completely canceled I will be pissed, and I do have grounds for going after them, for canceling us and wrongfully firing us and not them," she tells ET.

According to the police report -- which In Touch obtained -- Josh allegedly fondled the breasts and genitals of the alleged victims when he was 14 years old.

Duggar posted a lengthy statement on his family's Facebook. "I hurt others, including my family and close friends. I confessed this to my parents who took several steps to help me address the situation. We spoke with the authorities where I confessed my wrongdoing, and my parents arranged for me and those affected by my actions to receive counseling. I understood that if I continued down this wrong road that I would end up ruining my life."

TLC responded to the scandal on Friday. "TLC has pulled all episodes of 19 Kids and Counting currently from the air," the network said in a statement to ET. "We are deeply saddened and troubled by this heartbreaking situation, and our thoughts and prayers are with the family and victims at this difficult time."

Watch the video below for more on Josh's response to the molestation allegations.

Witchy sez : 

The dumbass doesn't know that she can't sue TLC based on how they interact with a different show. In any case, this woman should be in prison for child abuse. Oh, and encouraging your child to become morbidly obese IS a form of child abuse. I doubt anyone misses her show. As for the Duggers, the show has been pulled and most likely will be canceled as well it should be.
HeHeHe

Jaden Smith goes to prom in white Batman costume

"Always be yourself, unless you can be Batman, then always be Batman" -- or be Batman and Jaden Smith at the same time, that's even better.

Like any 17-year-old, Jaden Smith went to prom -- but he decided to go against the cultural norm and wear more of a costume than a tux. Jaden brought out his tried-and-true white Batman costume to escort his lady to prom. After all if it is good enough for Kimye's wedding, why wouldn't it work for prom too?


While the costume has a full-on cape and muscular chest, Smith did put on a suit and tie over his cape. His date Mecca Kalani wore all white, as well.

Dean Potter Dead :Extreme athlete Dean Potter knew dangers of BASE jumping

LOS  ANGELES (AP) — 
Extreme athlete Dean Potter knew the risks every time he flew off a cliff with a parachute.

He lost a friend to a BASE jumping accident last year and spoke about the death-defying nature of the sport at that friend's memorial service."He always recognized how dangerous the sport was and at the same time, how magical it was — the tension between those two things," fellow climber Chris McNamara said.
Potter, renowned for his daring and sometimes rogue climbs and BASE jumps, was one of two men killed after jumping from a 7,500-foot promontory in Yosemite National Park.

Someone called for help late Saturday after losing contact with Potter, 43, and his climbing partner, Graham Hunt, 29.
Park ranger Scott Gediman said rescuers looked for the men overnight but couldn't find them. On Sunday morning, a helicopter crew spotted their bodies in Yosemite Valley.
The men wore wing suits — skintight suits with batwing sleeves and a flap between their legs — to help them glide. However, parachutes designed to slow their descent had not been deployed, Gediman said.

BASE jumping, in which people parachute from a structure or cliff, is illegal in all national parks. It's possible the men jumped at dusk or at night to avoid being caught.
"BASE jumping is the most dangerous thing you can do ... every time you jump it's a roll of the dice," said Corey Rich, a photographer who documented some of Potter's feats. "The odds are not in your favor, and sadly, Dean pulled the unlucky card."
Potter and Hunt, who lived near Yosemite, were prominent figures in the park's climbing community, Gediman said.
"This is a horrible incident, and our deepest sympathies go out to their friends and family," Gediman said. "This is a huge loss for all of us."

Potter is famous for pushing the boundaries of climbing by going up some of the world's most daunting walls and cliffs alone, using his bare hands and without ropes. He took the sport to an extreme level with highlining — walking across a rope suspended between towering rock formations while wearing a parachute for safety in case of a fall.

He drew criticism in May 2006 after he made a free solo climb of Utah's iconic Delicate Arch in Arches National Park. Though it was not illegal, outdoor clothing company Patagonia stopped sponsoring him, saying his actions "compromised access to wild places and generated an inordinate amount of negativity in the climbing community and beyond."

Potter defended his ascent, saying his intention was to inspire people to "get out of their cars and experience the wild with all their senses."

Clif Bar withdrew its sponsorship of Potter and four other top climbers last year, saying they took risks that made the company too uncomfortable to continue financial support.

In recent years, Potter combined his love of climbing and flying with BASE jumping. He produced a film that chronicled his adventures BASE jumping with his beloved dog, Whisper. The miniature Australian cattle dog was not with him on the fatal jump.

In 2009, he set a record for completing the longest BASE jump from the Eiger North Face in Switzerland by staying in flight in a wingsuit for 2 minutes and 50 seconds. The feat earned him the Adventurer of the Year title by National Geographic magazine.
Potter indicated in his writings that he knew the inherent danger of the sport. Last March, his friend and climbing partner Sean "Stanley" Leary died in Zion National Park in Utah after apparently clipping a rock outcropping during a BASE jump. Potter was among a group of people who recovered Leary's body.
"Though sometimes I have felt like I'm above it all and away from any harm, I want people to realize how powerful climbing, extreme sports or any other death-consequence pursuits are," he wrote in an October 2014 blog post on his website. "There is nothing fake about it whether you see it in real life, on YouTube or in a glamorous commercial."


Gediman estimates that about five BASE jumping deaths have occurred in Yosemite. He said he watched a BASE jumper leap to her death in 1999 when her chute failed to open.

Jeb Bush confronted by college student: 'Your brother created ISIS'

May 14th 2015 10:34AM
A college student confronted likely Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush over his brother's on Wednesday night in a heated moment at a town hall event in Nevada.

"Your brother created ISIS," ​Ivy Ziedrich, a 19-year-old college student and self-proclaimed Democrat said to the former governor of Florida at the town hall event attended by roughly 250 people in Reno, according to The Washington Post.

Ziedrich made the uncomfortably accusatory line while questioning Bush about his thoughts on the rise of ISIS, which Bush has previously blamed at least in part on President Barack Obama.

"We respectfully disagree, we have a disagreement," Bush said

Real Clear Politics transcribed the heated moment:

JEB BUSH: All right. Is that a question?

IVY ZIEDRICH: You don't need to be pedantic to me, sir.

BUSH: Pedantic? Wow.

IVY ZIEDRICH: Just answer my question. Why are you saying that ISIS was created by us not having a presence in the Middle East, when it's [caused by] pointless wars where we send young American men to die for the idea of American exceptionalism? Why are you spouting nationalist rhetoric to get us involved in more wars?

JEB BUSH: We respectfully disagree. We have a disagreement. When we left Iraq, security had been arranged, Al Qaeda had been taken out. There was a fragile system that could have been brought up to eliminate the sectarian violence...

And we had an agreement that the president could have signed that would have kept 10,000 troops, less than we have in Korea, could have created the stability that would have allowed for Iraq to progress. The result was the opposite occurred. Immediately, that void was filled. Look, you can rewrite history all you want. But the simple fact is that we are in a much more unstable place because American pulled back.


With those final words, Bush turned away, ending their argument.

King of the Blues' blues legend B.B. King dead at age 89

KEN  RITTER 
LAS VEGAS (AP) — B.B. King, whose scorching guitar licks and heartfelt vocals made him the idol of generations of musicians and fans while earning him the nickname King of the Blues, died late Thursday at home in Las Vegas. He was 89.

His attorney, Brent Bryson, told The Associated Press that King died peacefully in his sleep at 9:40 p.m. PDT. He said funeral arrangements were underway.

Clark County Coroner John Fudenberg confirmed the death.
King's eldest surviving daughter Shirley King of the Chicago area said she was upset that she didn't have a chance to see her father before he died.

Although he had continued to perform well into his 80s, the 15-time Grammy winner suffered from diabetes and had been in declining health during the past year. He collapsed during a concert in Chicago last October, later blaming dehydration and exhaustion. He had been in hospice care at his Las Vegas home.
For most of a career spanning nearly 70 years, Riley B. King was not only the undisputed king of the blues but a mentor to scores of guitarists, who included Eric Clapton, Otis Rush, Buddy Guy, Jimi Hendrix, John Mayall and Keith Richards. He recorded more than 50 albums and toured the world well into his 80s, often performing 250 or more concerts a year.

King played a Gibson guitar he affectionately called Lucille with a style that included beautifully crafted single-string runs punctuated by loud chords, subtle vibratos and bent notes.
The result could bring chills to an audience, no more so than when King used it to full effect on his signature song, "The Thrill is Gone." He would make his guitar shout and cry in anguish as he told the tale of forsaken love, then end with a guttural shouting of the final lines: "Now that it's all over, all I can do is wish you well."

His style was unusual. King didn't like to sing and play at the same time, so he developed a call-and-response between him and Lucille.
"Sometimes I just think that there are more things to be said, to make the audience understand what I'm trying to do more," King told The Associated Press in 2006. "When I'm singing, I don't want you to just hear the melody. I want you to relive the story, because most of the songs have pretty good storytelling."

A preacher uncle taught him to play, and he honed his technique in abject poverty in the Mississippi Delta, the birthplace of the blues.
"I've always tried to defend the idea that the blues doesn't have to be sung by a person who comes from Mississippi, as I did," he said in the 1988 book "Off the Record: An Oral History of Popular Music."
"People all over the world have problems," he said. "And as long as people have problems, the blues can never die."

Fellow travelers who took King up on that theory included Clapton, the British-born blues-rocker who collaborated with him on "Riding With the King," a best-seller that won a Grammy in 2000 for best traditional blues album.

Singer Smokey Robinson praised the music legend.
"The world has physically lost not only one of the greatest musical people ever but one of the greatest people ever. Enjoy your eternity," Robinson said.

Still, the Delta's influence was undeniable. King began picking cotton on tenant farms around Indianola, Mississippi, before he was a teenager, being paid as little as 35 cents for every 100 pounds, and was still working off sharecropping debts after he got out of the Army during World War Two.
"He goes back far enough to remember the sound of field hollers and the cornerstone blues figures, like Charley Patton and Robert Johnson," ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons once told Rolling Stone magazine.

King got his start in radio with a gospel quartet in Mississippi, but soon moved to Memphis, Tennessee, where a job as a disc jockey at WDIA gave him access to a wide range of recordings. He studied the great blues and jazz guitarists, including Django Reinhardt and T-Bone Walker, and played live music a few minutes each day as the "Beale Street Blues Boy," later shortened to B.B.

Through his broadcasts and live performances, he quickly built up a following in the black community, and recorded his first R&B hit, "Three O'Clock Blues," in 1951.
He began to break through to white audiences, particularly young rock fans, in the 1960s with albums like "Live at the Regal," which would later be declared a historic sound recording worthy of preservation by the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry.

He further expanded his audience with a 1968 appearance at the Newport Folk Festival and when he opened shows for the Rolling Stones in 1969.
King was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame in 1984, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 and received the Songwriters Hall of Fame Lifetime Achievement Award in 1990. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George W. Bush, gave a guitar to Pope John Paul II and had President Barack Obama sing along to his "Sweet Home Chicago."

Other Grammys included best male rhythm 'n' blues performance in 1971 for "The Thrill Is Gone," best ethnic or traditional recording in 1982 for "There Must Be a Better World Somewhere" and best traditional blues recording or album several times. His final Grammy came in 2009 for best blues album for "One Kind Favor."

Through it all, King modestly insisted he was simply maintaining a tradition.
"I'm just one who carried the baton because it was started long before me," he told the AP in 2008.
Born Riley B. King on Sept. 16, 1925, on a tenant farm near Itta Bena, Mississippi, King was raised by his grandmother after his parents separated and his mother died. He worked as a sharecropper for five years in Kilmichael, an even smaller town, until his father found him and took him back to Indianola.
"I was a regular hand when I was 7. I picked cotton. I drove tractors. Children grew up not thinking that this is what they must do. We thought this was the thing to do to help your family," he said.

When the weather was bad and he couldn't work in the cotton fields, he walked 10 miles to a one-room school before dropping out in the 10th grade.
After he broke through as a musician, it appeared King might never stop performing. When he wasn't recording, he toured the world relentlessly, playing 342 one-nighters in 1956. In 1989, he spent 300 days on the road. After he turned 80, he vowed he would cut back, and he did, somewhat, to about 100 shows a year.
He had 15 biological and adopted children. Family members say 11 survive.

Associated Press writers John Rogers and Mesfin Fekadu in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

Our sincere condolence to  the  family  ....
RIP    .... The  PICs

Police recover gun from Zimmerman, 2 guns from other man

"He is not looking for trouble. He did not want trouble," NeJame said of Apperson. "He's not following George Zimmerman around. He's not wanting anything to do with George Zimmerman, as it relates to any of this."

Zimmerman suffered minor injuries from flying glass and debris.
Two guns were taken from Apperson's car, including a revolver that had a spent shell casing. Police officers will also execute a search warrant on Zimmerman's pickup truck, said Lake Mary Police Officer Bianca Gillett. Both men had the guns legally.

"He never waved it, displayed it or brandished it," said Zimmerman's attorney, Don West. "He did not threaten Mr. Apperson in any way with a firearm."

Detectives are still investigating and no charges have been filed against Zimmerman or Apperson. Gillett said the investigation could take time. Documents released Tuesday show that detectives are investigating the shooting as a possible aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill.

"It was a busy time of day on a very busy street," Gillett said. "We are thinking there is someone that saw something that they could come forward and provide that information to the Lake Mary Police Department."

Zimmerman and Apperson were involved in a road-rage episode last September. Apperson said Zimmerman had threatened to kill him, asking "Do you know who I am?" during a confrontation in their vehicles. Apperson decided not to pursue charges and police officers were unable to move forward without a license plate number or witnesses.

Two days later, Apperson called police to report that Zimmerman's truck was parked outside, near the disability-benefits office where Apperson works. Zimmerman told police officers that he had an appointment in the same office park, and no charges were filed.

Zimmerman had just recently moved out of Florida. He had returned to the Orlando area for Mother's Day on Sunday and was heading to a doctor's appointment when the confrontation took place, West said.
West refused to say where Zimmerman was now living. Zimmerman would like to continue his education and was looking at taking online classes, the attorney said. He doesn't have a regular-paying job.

Other than Monday's shooting and the incidents in September, Apperson and Zimmerman have had no prior relationship, NeJame said.
"He doesn't know him. They do not have a relationship," NeJame said.

Zimmerman was acquitted in the February 2012 shooting death of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teenager, in a case that sparked protests and a national debate about race relations. The Justice Department later decided not to bring a civil rights case against Zimmerman.

Since then, Zimmerman has had several brushes with the law, including two unrelated cases in which he was charged with assault based on complaints from two girlfriends. In both cases, the girlfriends refused to cooperate and charges were dropped. His estranged wife also accused him of smashing her IPad during an argument days after she filed divorce papers. No charges were filed because of lack of evidence.

Witchy Sez this crap  will drive  you to drink :

Zimmerman should relocate to another Country if at all possible. For him, anyplace will be better than here. It doesn't matter that he was acquitted in the Martin case. The hatred against him will continue no matter what, and the current climate in the U.S. will only make matters worse.

How much more do we have to put up with this jerk? How much more of our tax money is going to be waisted on this jerk? If isn't a matter of "IF" he is shot ( possibly killed ) or he shoots or kills someone. Enough is enough. Stop playing around with him, stop giving him the spot light with all his news coverage. Our system is a good system, but it appears not to be working right or might even be broken. We are all concerned about his rights and trying to make sure that he is protected, in the mean time he is getting away with everything. 
He is going to keep it up just as long as we let him. STOP STOP STOP STOP playing his game.

Can Zimmerman just GO AWAY? If he continues to be a nuisance throw his sorry ass in jail until he smartens up.
as far as Apperson, throw his ass in the same cell and whoever comes out after their sentence wins.

Problem solved...at least 1/2 of it

George Zimmerman wounded in shooting incident in Florida: reports

BARBARA  LISTON May 11th 2015 

George Zimmerman, who was acquitted of murder charges in the 2012 shooting death of an unarmed black teenager in Florida, suffered a minor wound after being shot at in a road-rage incident on Monday, media reports said.

Zimmerman did not fire a gun in the incident, the Orlando Sentinel reported, citing a statement by police in Lake Mary, Florida, a suburb of Orlando where the incident occurred.

An attorney for Zimmerman said a bullet missed his head but he was hit by broken glass from the vehicle, according to WESH. The television station also said a bullet hole could be seen in the passenger window of Zimmerman's vehicle.

Police spokeswoman Bianca Gillett said the shooting was under investigation but did not provide details.

Police said it appeared to be a "road-rage incident," according to the FOX 35 television station in Orlando. WESH-TV in Orlando said Zimmerman's injury was minor.

Zimmerman was released from a hospital with a facial wound, the Orlando Sentinel said.

Zimmerman, 31, a former Florida neighborhood watch volunteer, was acquitted of murder in the death of Trayvon Martin, an incident that prompted civil rights rallies and drew international attention to Florida's controversial "stand your ground" law.

Earlier this year, federal prosecutors decided not to press civil rights charges against him.

Zimmerman has had several brushes with the law since his 2013 acquittal on second-degree murder and manslaughter charges in the Martin shooting, which he said was in self-defense.

Zimmerman was arrested in January in connection with a domestic dispute, accused of throwing a wine bottle at his girlfriend. Prosecutors later dropped the charges after she recanted.

He was arrested in November 2013 after allegedly pointing a gun at a different girlfriend during an argument. Those charges were later dropped after the woman withdrew her complaint.

Zimmerman also has drawn the attention of authorities over accusations that he had threatened his then-estranged wife.

In another incident, he was accused of threatening to kill a man in a road-rage incident and he has been stopped for speeding in Texas and Florida.

Baltimore Police Chief Says ‘We Are Part of the Problem’

Justin Worland @justinworland

'We haven't been part of the solution, and now we have to evolve."
Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony Batts said in a new interview Tuesday that police need to acknowledge “we are part of the problem” in the wake of charges brought against cops in the high-profile death of Freddie Gray.

“The community needs to hear that,” Batts told CNN. “The community needs to hear from us that we haven’t been part of the solution, and now we have to evolve. Now we have to change.”
The Baltimore Police led an investigation into Gray’s death for several days with a 40-plus force of investigators before handing the case over to the local prosecutor, who charged six officers with a range of crimes including second-degree murder. Gray died after sustaining injuries while in police custody. Batts learned that prosecutors would press charges only minutes before it was announced publicly. The decision left him “surprised,” he said.

“And then my mind started going to, what is going to be the response in community?” he said. “My officers, how do I keep them engaged, how do I keep them focused on getting their job done as a whole?”
[CNN] 

Baltimore Protests, Then and Now 

Baltimore Police officers arrest a man following the funeral of Freddie Gray near Mowdamin Mall in Baltimore on April 27, 2015.

National Guardsmen seal off a business-residential section of Baltimore and prepare to use tear gas against looters on April 8, 1968.

Smoke billows from a liquor store which was looted during the third day of violence, which saw over 400 fires, in Baltimore on April 8, 1968. 

Fire fighters respond to a fire at a CVS pharmacy in Baltimore on April 27, 2015.

It's a girl! The Duchess of Cambridge gives birth to princess

LONDON (AP) - From Prince Charles to the bettors at the corner store, everyone in Britain was hoping for a girl.
The Duchess of Cambridge delighted her nation and royal enthusiasts around the world Saturday by delivering one such princess. The royal birth was greeted with cheers and elated cries of "Hip, hip, hooray!" outside St. Mary's Hospital in central London, where fans and the world's media have waited for days.
The baby - Prince William and Kate's second child - was born Saturday morning and weighed 8 pounds 3 ounces (3.7 kilograms), officials said. She is fourth in line to the throne, and the fifth great-grandchild of Queen Elizabeth II, 89.

It may be a day or two before the world knows what to call her. When Prince George, her older brother, was born in 2013, royal officials waited two days before announcing his name.

Britain hasn't welcomed a princess born this high up the line of succession for decades. Speculation about the new royal's name has been frenetic, and all the top bets for the baby's name have been for girls: Alice and Charlotte are the clear favorites, followed by Elizabeth, Victoria and Diana - all names with strong royal connections.

Royal children are usually given several names - the baby's brother, for example, was christened George Alexander Louis - so the princess's name could incorporate more than one of those guesses.

Anticipation had been building for weeks after Kate, 33, told a well-wisher she was due around late April. Still, journalists were caught slightly off guard when she delivered barely three hours after checking into the hospital at dawn Saturday. William, 32, was present at the birth.

The couple later emerged on the hospital steps with the infant to briefly pose for photographers before leaving for their home at nearby Kensington Palace. Kate, who wore a yellow-and-white floral shift dress, held the sleeping baby wrapped in a white blanket.

The couple didn't answer any questions, though William earlier told reporters he was "very happy" as he brought young George to the hospital to meet his baby sister Saturday afternoon. George, looking slightly alarmed by all the cameras, waved dutifully at the adoring crowds.

The queen and senior royals were "delighted with the news," officials said. The queen marked the occasion by wearing a pink ensemble while carrying out an official engagement in North Yorkshire, 250 miles (400 kilometers) north of London.
Cheers and chants of "Princess! Princess!" rang out from the hundreds of well-wishers and tourists gathered outside the palace and the hospital as soon as the news was announced. One fan who had camped out outside the hospital for days danced with joy.

"I'm top of the world," said royal camper Terry Hutt, 80, decked out in patriotic Union Jack gear. He did not expect the birth to happen as soon as it did, but said: "Babies come when they're ready."
"If Diana was here, she'd be very, very proud," he added, referring to the late Princess Diana, William's mother.

The news was announced on social media sites like Twitter as well as by a traditional bulletin on a gilded easel in front of Buckingham Palace - a practice that dates to 1837.

A town crier in an elaborate costume - with no official connection to the royal family - shouted out the news at the hospital's door, clanging his bell to welcome the new royal.

"May our princess be long-lived, happy and glorious," said Tony Appleton, reading from a scroll in a booming voice.

Britain's political leaders - facing a hard-fought general election in just five days - rushed to congratulate the couple on the baby. Well wishes also poured in from the rest of the world, especially from Commonwealth countries like Canada and Australia.

At 21 months, George is third in line to the throne, after his grandfather Prince Charles and his dad William. The newborn princess becomes the fourth in line, bumping Uncle Harry to fifth.

Congratulating  William and  Kate ... job well done . 
The  PICs

Scientology Feud Exposed! Tom Cruise Secretly Slammed John Travolta To Church Leaders

As the Church of Scientology faces more scrutiny than ever before, a newly leaked video has aired shocking claims that there could be serious dissension within the highest levels of the organization. In fact, one former member claims, A-list members Tom Cruise and John Travolta are secretly locked in a bitter feud kept secret for 15 years!

According to a new report in The National ENQUIRER, Marty Rathbun – the one-time former No. 2 of the religion and Cruise’s personal auditor, has claimed that Cruise blasted Travolta over the failure of his Scientology film Battlefield Earth — even allegedly calling him a “son of a bitch!”

In a newly released video, Rathbun said the Scientology spat began right after Battlefield Earth opened in May 2000 to universally bad reviews – and Cruise came to the Scientology headquarters in Clearwater , Florida. Rathbun claims he and church leader David Miscavige picking him up at the airport.’
“Tom Cruise gets in the car and says: ‘Hey Dave, what’s with ‘Battlefield Earth,’ man? Jesus, it’s the worst PR in the world,'” Rathbun claimed.

“David Miscavige turns to him and says: ‘Man, I swear to God … it’s just ‘Out Ethics.’ If I had anything to do with that thing, it wouldn't  have gone anywhere.”
Rathbun said, “He and Tom just sat there, nattering away full-tilt, and saying what a … Out-of-Ethics son of a b—- John Travolta was.”

Referring to Travolta’s “Out Ethics” was a particularly serious charge, since it’s Scientology jargon for using freedom of choice to make decisions outside the church.
But according to Rathbun the truth was that Battlefield Earth bombed because Travolta allowed Miscavige to approve every sequence of the movie!

“He’s literally seeing daily rushes from ‘Battlefield Earth,’ the shots for the day … he pulls out his dict-a-phone and is dictating his commentary on every shot,” said Rathbun.
The Scientology leader panicked when critics blasted the project, Rathbun claimed, and placed the blame squarely on Travolta, accusing him of torpedoing the film by taking a salary.

Rathbun’s allegations have come to light just as the powerful HBO documentary, Going Clear, has aired new claims of how Scientology affects its celebrity followers