William Balfour will never be a free man again. A judge in Chicago made sure of that today. The 31-year old who was found guilty in May of killing Jennifer Hudson’s mother, brother and nephew was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences today, appearing inside a courtroom and maintaining his innocence until the end. Hudson was also present at the sentencing. During the hearing, a judge looked directly at Balfour and told him: “Your soul is as barren as dark space.” Balfour was convicted of triple murder, home innovation and residential burglary after he went into a jealous rage in 2008 because he believed his ex-girlfriend has received a present from another man.
Boston residents will not be eating more chicken any time soon. At least not from Chick-fil-A. Following that company’s President coming out and admitting he’s against gay marriage , Boston Mayor Mayor Thomas Menino has halted plans for Chick-fil-A to open in his city and said in a statement: “Chick-fil-A doesn’t belong in Boston. You can’t have a business in the city of Boston that discriminates against the population. We’re an open city, we’re a city that’s at the forefront of inclusion. That’s the Freedom Trail. That’s where it all started right here. And we’re not going to have a company, Chick-fil-A or whatever the hell the name is, on our Freedom Trail.” Actor Ed Helms first brought attention to Chick-fil-A’s practices in a Tweet. Since then, other stars and organizations, such as Jim Henson Company, have also cut ties with the restaurant chain.
The names and ages of the 12 movie goers who tragically died in Friday’s horrific shooting in Aurora, Colorado have been identified. They are: Jessica Ghawi , 24 Veronica Moser-Sullivan, 6 John T. Larimer, 27 Alexander J. Boik, 18 Jesse E. Childress, 29 Jonathan T. Blunk, 26 Rebecca Ann Wingo, 32 Alex M. Sullivan, 27 Gordon W. Cowdon, 52 Micayla C. Medek, 23 Alexander C. Teves, 24 Matthew R. McQuinn, 27 According to the Coroner’s statement, “the cause of death in all cases is related to gunshot wounds” and all families of those listed have been notified. We send our thoughts and prayers to them all. Meanwhile, with James Holmes in custody and new information continuing to leak out regarding this suspect, President Obama touched down yesterday in Aurora. He visited the University of Colorado Hospital, visited with the families of the victims and met with Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper. “Out of this darkness a brighter day is going to come,” Obama said. “Although the perpetrator of this evil act has received a lot of attention over the last couple of days that attention will fade away. And in the end, after he has felt the full force of our justice system, what will be remembered are the good people who were impacted by this tragedy.”
First, his statue was removed from campus. Now, his name has been removed from the record books. Following the Jerry Sandusky conviction and the subsequent independent investigation that shed light on just how involved Joe Paterno and Penn State officials were with the cover-up of this monster’s sex crimes, the NCAA has come down with a number of punishments. Among them: the football team must forfeit all victories between 1998-2001, meaning Paterno no longer holds the mark for most victories in Division I history. The sanctions imposed against Penn State by the NCAA include: A four-year ban on all postseason play. A reduction in scholarships – 20/season – over the course of those four years. A $60 million fine, which “must be paid into an endowment for external programs preventing child sexual abuse or assisting victims and may not be used to fund such programs at the university,” according to a NCAA statement. Said NCAA President Mark Emmert upon doling out these football-related punishments: “We cannot look to NCAA history to determine how to handle circumstances so disturbing, shocking and disappointing. As the individuals charged with governing college sports, we have a responsibility to act. These events should serve as a call to every single school and athletics department to take an honest look at its campus environment and eradicate the ‘sports are king’ mindset that can so dramatically cloud the judgment of educators.”
A number of celebrities celebrate birthdays today, from actors to singers to former White House interns who got on their knees for the President, but we must start with Harry Potter. Indeed, Daniel Radcliffe is now 23 years old. The actor has made more money and starred in more successful films than most will anchor in a lifetime, but there’s no slowing this young star down. Radcliffe just signed in for his first romantic comedy, F Word , opposite Zoe Kazan. Among other famous people turning a year old today: Philip Seymour Hoffman is 45, Woody Harrelson is 51, Paul Wesley is 30, Monica Lewinsky is 39 and Don Imus is 72.
President Obama to meet with some victim’s families on Sunday. By Gil Kaufman Police use a video camera to look inside James Holmes’ apartment Photo: AP Photo
SMH!!! Rep. Michelle Bachmann is once again making headlines for her claims that prominent Democrats are affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood. Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) laughed off claims by Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) that he has ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and said she makes such baseless accusations because, deep down, she thinks Muslims are “evil.” Bachmann was already in hot water this week for saying Huma Abedin, a top aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, may be part of a Muslim Brotherhood conspiracy to infiltrate the U.S. government. Despite being criticized by leaders of her own party, Bachmann on Thursday said Ellison, one of two Muslims in Congress, also has connections to the hard-line Islamic group. “He has a long record of being associated with [the Council on American–Islamic Relations] and with the Muslim Brotherhood,” Bachmann said during an interview on Glenn Beck’s radio show. If she accused a fellow congressman of being associated with a terrorist organization and can offer no proof, censure isn’t enough. She should be removed from the House. It is very important the we the voters stop these “Joe McCarthy” types from exerting their power in Congress. As as nation, we can NOT experience a repeat performance of McCarthy with Muslims being the replacement for Commies. Source
Let the boycotts begin The mayor of Boston is vowing to block Chick-fil-A from opening a restaurant near the city’s “Freedom Trail” because of the company’s stance on gay marriage . “Chick-fil-A doesn’t belong in Boston. You can’t have a business in the city of Boston that discriminates against a population. We’re an open city, we’re a city that’s at the forefront of inclusion,” Mayor Thomas M. Menino told the Boston Herald Thursday. “That’s the Freedom Trail. That’s where it all started right here. And we’re not going to have a company, Chick-fil-A or whatever the hell the name is, on our Freedom Trail,” he added. Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy told the Baptist Press this week that his privately owned company is “guilty as charged” in support of what he called the biblical definition of the family. Will you still be supporting Chick-fil-A?
‘We’re standing by our neighbors in Colorado during this extraordinarily difficult time,’ president says during a televised speech. By Josh Wigler President Obama Photo: NBC
A longtime proponent of gun control, New York City Michael Bloomberg weighed in on the tragic shooting early Friday morning in Aurora, Colorado, that left 12 dead and dozens more wounded at a showing of The Dark Knight Rises . Twenty-four year-old suspect James Holmes was arrested after allegedly opening fire in the crowded theater and carrying a rifle, handgun and gas mask. The tragedy prompted Bloomberg’s police commissioner to announce increased security at screenings of The Dark Knight Rises in NYC to prevent any possible copycat incidents. “You know, soothing words are nice, but maybe it’s time that the two people who want to be President of the United States stand up and tell us what they are going to do about it, because this is obviously a problem across the country,” Bloomberg said Friday morning on WOR Radio’s The John Gambling Show with Mayor Mike. “Everybody always says ‘Isn’t it tragic?’ And you know, we look for was the guy, as you said, maybe trying to recreate Batman. I mean, there are so many murders with guns every day, it’s just got to stop. And instead of the two people – President Obama and Governor Romney – talking in broad things about they want to make the world a better place, okay, tell us how. And this is a real problem. No matter where you stand on the Second Amendment, no matter where you stand on guns, we have a right to hear from both of them concretely, not just in generalities – specifically what are they going to do about guns?” Watch the full interview below. Thoughts? [Via Denver Post , Huffington Post ]
