Bernie Mac dies at age 50

Comic actor Bernie Mac died early Saturday of complications from pneumonia, according to a family member and his publicist. He was 50.

He had been hospitalized in Chicago, Illinois, for more than a week with the lung infection.

Danica Smith, the comedian's publicist, had said Thursday that Mac's condition was "stable," The Associated Press reported.


This is a complete shock. Bernie Mac has been one of my favorite actors since he played Frank Catton in Ocean's 11, one of those movies I could watch (and did) over and over again without getting bored or sick of it.

Here are some interesting facts abut Bernie Mac courtesy of imdb.com:

Started his career in stand-up comedy in 1977. His first professional comedy gig was at The Cotton Club in Chicago. He was so broke, he had to borrow a suit from his brother.

His daughter, Je'Niece, is now 27 years old and has a masters degree in mental health counseling and has been married for 3 years.

His mother and two only brothers have passed away. His mother died from breast cancer during his sophomore year of high school.

He used to be a boxer.

John Edwards Admits to Affair

Former U.S. senator and Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards admitted Friday to an extramarital affair. He denied being the father of the woman's child, as had been alleged in tabloid reports.


"In 2006, I made a serious error in judgment and conducted myself in a way that was disloyal to my family and to my core beliefs," he said in a written statement. "I recognized my mistake and I told my wife that I had a liaison with another woman, and I asked for her forgiveness."

In an interview set to air Friday night on ABC's "Nightline," Edwards acknowledged the affair with 42-year-old Rielle Hunter, which began after she was hired to make documentary videos for his campaign, ABC said.


"You cannot beat me up more than I have already beaten up myself. I have been stripped bare and will now work with everything I have to help my family and others who need my help," he added in the statement.

He said he has not taken a paternity test but that the timing of the affair rules out the possibility that he could be the father of Hunter's 5-month-old daughter. Edwards said Friday night he is "truly hopeful" that a paternity test will be done to squelch the rumors.

Andrew Young, a former Edwards campaign aide who is married, has publicly said he fathered the child. The Washington Post reported Friday that Hunter acknowledged Young as the father.

When the tabloid the National Enquirer first reported the affair in October, Edwards flatly denied it, calling the claims "false" and "ridiculous."

Speaking in support of Obama in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Friday, Edwards' former rival Sen. Hillary Clinton responded briefly to a reporter's question about what, if any, impact the revelation of the affair would have on Democrats.

"My thoughts and prayer are with the Edwards family today," she said. "That's all I have to say."

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History in the making for "So You Think You Can Dance"

"So You Think You Can Dance" made history tonight in more way than one in the 2 hour finale of season of season 4 that aired tonight. Joshua, an untrained street dancer won the $250,000 cash prize and a role in the upcoming movie "Step Up 3-D," not exactly a role I'd be champing at the bit to star in, but hey it's a movie role.


This was the first year that an untrained dancer has one the title of "America's favorite dancer." Twitch, runner up was also an untrained dancer, two of my favorite male dancers that have ever been on the show.

As a dance teacher and dancer myself, I love watching trained dancers and I have always appreciated watching a well trained dancer compete. Will this season was extraordinary. I was in awe of him every time he got on stage no matter which partner or choreographer he worked with.

For the first time on "So You Think You Can Dance" I thought that the top two dancers, Joshua and Twitch were amazing. They blew me away with how graceful they were during the slow romantic numbers and how "buck" (in the words of Little C) they could be during the hip-hop numbers.

My favorite number of the season was the "door" piece with Twitch and Katee. I could watch it 80 times (which I kind of did already).

Tight Security in Beijing

Ten thousand athletes have gathered in China for the Olympics, along with hundreds of thousands of fans and 30,000 journalists. All are being watched over by 100,000 security forces.

In Beijing, heavily armed police roam the airport. Subway passengers must submit to bag checks and go through X-ray machines. The National Stadium is protected by anti-aircraft guns.


"The Chinese are clearly hyper-focused and hyper-worried about security, and this is something they've been working on for at least three or four years by now," said David Finklestein, an expert on China who serves as the director of the China Studies Center.

Officials stepped up security measures after an attack Monday in the city of Kashgar killed 16 police officers and wounded 16 others. Kashgar is 2,500 miles from Beijing in northwestern China.

The Olympics opening ceremony is Friday at Beijing National Stadium.

Olympic spokesman Sun Weide told the Daily Telegraph of London: "We have strengthened security work in all Olympic venues and in the Olympic village. We are well-prepared in security for the upcoming games."

Steve Vickers, a security assessment expert, said the Chinese security apparatus is more than prepared.

"I've never seen such an extraordinary security effort," said Vickers, the president of International Risk. "We think the Olympics will proceed and they will proceed smoothly and well. We think the Chinese have got it covered as far as humanly possible."

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Is there earthly life on mars?

Scientists working with NASA's Phoenix Lander are reasonably sure they have detected a toxic chemical in the soil near the north pole of Mars.

But they say hearty strains of microbes might be able to live there anyway -- and even thrive on it.

"This is an important piece of the puzzle as we attempt to determine whether habitable conditions exist for microbes on Mars," said Phoenix principal investigator Peter Smith, of the University of Arizona. "In itself, it is neither good nor bad for life."

The chemical, perchlorate, is an oxidant widely used in solid rocket fuel, but can also be naturally occuring on Earth. It is found in soil of Chile's barren Atacama desert -- generally believed to be one of the most lifeless places on Earth -- but scientists have been able to isolate strains of bacteria living in that soil.


Such organisms are known as "extremophiles," because they have evolved to live in harsh environments. And if it could happen on Earth, why not Mars?

"This desert is a hyper-arid environment that rarely sees rain, and has no vascular plants, and is often used by scientists as a matter of fact as a Martian 'analog' site," Smith said Tuesday.

"These compounds are quite stable in soil and water and do not destroy organic materials under normal circumstances. In fact there are species of perchlorate-producing microbes that live on the energy provided by this oxidant."

Researchers are still puzzling over the results, and say they have as many questions as answers right now about what this all means. More data collection, analysis, and review is needed, Smith said.

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Morgan Freeman Seriously Injured in Car Accident

Morgan Freeman is one of my favorite actors. When I saw his face on the CNN homepage I became worried, no one has their picture on the CNN homepage unless something terrible or major happens.

Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman was in serious condition but in "good spirits" Monday at a Tennessee hospital after a car wreck near his home in northern Mississippi, his business partner said.

Sunday night's wreck -- in which Freeman flipped a car owned by his passenger, according to a witness -- left him with a broken left upper arm, other fractures and neck and shoulder injuries, Bill Luckett said.


"He's in good spirits, but he's in a lot of pain," said Luckett, who co-owns a restaurant and blues club with Freeman.

Freeman and a woman were extracted by paramedics after the 11:30 p.m. wreck and airlifted to the hospital, according to Angie Underwood, a Mississippi Highway Patrol spokeswoman.

The condition of the woman, Memphis resident Demaris Meyer -- whom Luckett described as a mutual friend of his and Freeman's -- wasn't released.

Freeman may have surgery as early as Monday evening and could need three to four months to recover, Luckett told reporters outside the Regional Medical Center in Memphis.

The wreck happened on a state highway about five miles outside Charleston, Mississippi, where Freeman has a home. A witness said Freeman was driving Meyer's car when it flipped.

"I heard a noise outside that sounded like a car sliding," said Bill Rogers, who lives on the highway where the accident happened. "I turned around and looked out the window real quick, and I saw a car flipping bumper-to-bumper, head over heels."

Rogers, a former police officer and sheriff's deputy, said Freeman and Meyer were unconscious when the car came to rest on its wheels. But by the time he returned from calling an ambulance, both were talking, he said.

"He wanted to get out of the car and lay on the ground," Rogers said. "I told him no, he needed to stay put until the rescue people got there."

A spokeswoman for the Memphis hospital, Milla Borden, confirmed that Freeman was in serious condition there Monday.

The cause of the wreck is being investigated, the Highway Patrol said. But Rogers said it had rained earlier in the evening, and he saw no sign of alcohol or drug use at the scene.

"My understanding of it is she was going to give him a ride home and she did not know the way, so he was going to drive the vehicle," Rogers said.

Rogers said the car flew about 45 feet before it landed on its trunk, smashing open the compartment and scattering papers.

"The car was torn up so bad I couldn't tell what it was," he said.

According to The Associated Press, Mississippi Highway Patrol spokesman Sgt. Ben Williams said Freeman was driving a 1997 Nissan Maxima. Meyer and Freeman were wearing seat belts, Williams said.

The crash site is about 90 miles south of Memphis and 35 miles southeast of Clarksdale, Mississippi, where Freeman and Luckett own the Madidi restaurant and the Ground Zero blues club.

Freeman and Meyer were at Luckett's home in Clarksdale before the crash happened, Luckett said.

Freeman won an Academy Award for best supporting actor in 2005 for his role in the gritty boxing film "Million Dollar Baby." He has been nominated for Oscars three other times, for the movies "Street Smart," "Driving Miss Daisy" and "The Shawshank Redemption."
He's currently appearing on movie screens in the action film "Wanted" and in the Batman film "The Dark Knight."

11 Killed After Avalanche On K2

Eleven climbers died on Pakistan's K2 mountain after an ice avalanche knocked down a fixed rope climbers were using to reach the summit, a mountaineer at their base camp said Sunday.

Among the dead was a sherpa who had gone up K2 -- the world's second tallest mountain -- to help in rescue efforts, said mountaineer Fredrik Strang, who also assisted in the rescue attempts.

The deaths happened after 17 climbers, in different expeditions from around the world, had come together to make it to K2's peak on Friday, said Pat Falvey, a climber in Ireland who was in touch with some of the 17.


As the 17 were descending early Saturday, a "moving river of ice broke loose ... like an iceberg breaking loose from a glacier," knocking down the fixed rope the group had been using to move from higher reaches to a camp at a lower altitude, Falvey said.

The rope's collapse caused three climbers to fall to their deaths, said Falvey, who was posting online updates for one of the expeditions.

Two climbers decided to go on and managed to return to base camp, but the rest decided to wait and hope rescuers could reach them, Falvey said.

The avalanche had created "icy, dangerous conditions" on the slope, Falvey said. As time went on and rescuers didn't come, the remaining climbers decided to continue their descent, but some of them fell to their deaths in the mountain's "bottleneck" area, Falvey said.

Among the killed climbers were Dutch, Irish, Italian, French, Norwegian, Korean, and Nepalese citizens, Falvey said.

One of the killed was Irish climber Gerard McDonnell, Falvey said.

The bodies of the 11 may never be recovered, but rescuers and the mountaineers who made it down are certain the 11 are dead, Strang said.

The site of the accidents, about 5 miles up the mountain, is what climbers call the "Dead Zone" because the body would never recover if stuck in such freezing conditions with so little oxygen, Falvey said.

Strang said Sunday the death toll was not expected to rise, because no one else was believed to be missing.

Strang said the deaths could have been avoided. Too many people were climbing together "at a very slow speed" and should have begun their descent sooner, he said.

"Coming down at dawn, in the dark, with little oxygen is very, very dangerous," he said.


Though K2 is the world's second-highest mountain, many climbers consider it more technically challenging than Mount Everest, the world's highest peak.

Statistics compiled by AdventureStats.com suggest this was the deadliest incident at K2. The site says 66 people -- not counting those in the latest incident -- have died on the mountain since 1939.

Article from CNN.com

A chart compiled by viewfinderpanoramas.org lists 284 climbers as having ever reached the summit of K2.

First Double Arm Transplant

Doctors at the Technical University of Munich have conducted the world's first double-arm transplant on a 54-year-old farmer who had lost both his arms in an accident, officials said.


The operation was conducted at the university's "Klinikum rechts der Isar" last week, the clinic said in a statement Friday, following several years of preparatory work.

The man's condition "is very good under the circumstances," the statement said.

"Now it is a matter of avoiding future wound healing disorders, infections, strong side-effects caused by the drugs and in particular any rejective reaction."

A team of 40 people participated in the transplant surgery, conducted July 25 and 26. The donor matched the host in sex, age, skin color, size and blood group, the statement said.

The transplant subject had lost both his arms at the upper arm level six years ago, and two attempts with artificial limbs had been unsuccessful.

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Some People Aren't So Lucky When It Comes To First Names

When you hear the name "Indiana Jones," you think of an archaeologist carrying an idol and dodging a giant boulder. When you hear about "Dow Jones," you might wonder if it's up or down that day. However, in this case, Indiana and Dow Jones are siblings, 12 and 7 years old, respectively.

Indiana Elizabeth Jones shared her story and we spoke with her mother, Jennifer Jones. The Port Deposit, Maryland, resident says Indiana got her name simply because her husband's family is from that state.

As for Dow Joseph Jones, there was serious talk of naming him Jack Ryan Jones, to keep the Harrison Ford theme. (Jack Ryan is the character Ford played in a series of action movies.) Instead, her husband named their son Dow on a dare while Jennifer was asleep in the hospital bed after giving birth.


She said she cried when she found out and even thought about having Dow's name changed.

CNN.com asked users to share their unusual names after a 9-year-old New Zealand girl named Talula Does the Hula from Hawaii won the right to change her name.

Dozens of members of iReport.com community explained the stories behind their odd names, as well as what they've experienced in their day-to-day lives.

Some names might not seem problematic until they're actually used on a daily basis. Open Weaver Banks of Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey (speaking of odd names), says that she shared her story with iReport.com in hopes that parents would think twice before giving their children an unusual name.

Open is an unusual name, but it's not necessarily a name that one might expect to cause regular difficulties. Weaver Banks, however, says that she often has problems with it.

"I have a hard time using my credit cards for personal items, because clerks will accuse me of using a business card. I cannot tell my name to someone without having to explain it. Some days, it is exhausting, and I can't even disguise the annoyance in my voice."

Banks' childhood was "painful" because of her name, too. "I still give my mother a hard time about the name choice, and she tries to explain that she was young, she liked how it sounded, it was 1970 and various other reasons," she explains. "I actually tried going by another name for a year, and I realized that as much as I truly hate my name, it is embedded in me and so much a part of my experience."

Some people avoid the use of their name altogether to avoid questions, confusion or embarrassment. "At times, for the sake of avoiding an uncomfortable conversation or throwing someone off guard, I answer to the names of 'Mary' or 'Kelly'," says Bluzette Martin of West Allis, Wisconsin. At restaurants, "the thought of putting an employee through the pain of guessing how to spell and pronounce 'Bluzette' just isn't worth it to me."

Martin was named after "Bluzette," an up-tempo jazz waltz written by Jean "Toots" Thielemans. Despite her daily problems with this name, it certainly has its perks, like when she met Thielemans in 1987 at a club in Los Angeles. "When I met [him], he thanked my mother," she says.

She called her mother in the middle of the night and told her that she had a surprise for her. She gave the phone to Thielemans, and he started doing his famous whistling, to the tune of "Bluzette."

Even celebrities aren't immune to the use of unusual names. Take boxer George Foreman's children, all named George. (Or actor Jason Lee's son, Pilot Inspektor, or comedian Penn Jillette's daughter, Moxie CrimeFighter.) These are just-plain bizarre names, like that of iReporter Holden Holden.

Holden, a sophomore at Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania, says that having a double name has its pros and cons. He says he has a face people will remember because his name is easy to remember. Unfortunately, he says, he's not very good about remembering names himself, so it can lead to some awkward moments.

Holden's grandfather died a month before he was born but was always called by his last name as a nickname. "My last name is my mother's maiden name, which she reverted to after she divorced," he explains.

Holden also says that he plans to run for president in 2036. "Since my name is pretty easy to remember, it'll be easier to garner votes that way."

As for Dow Jones' mother, she didn't go through with changing his name. Now she sees it as something unique for someone with the very common last name "Jones." And perhaps that's the bright side to having an unusual name: It sets you apart from the crowd.

Dow's sister doesn't seem to mind.

"There is a new Indiana Jones movie out this year, so all my friends think it's pretty cool," she says.

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