The "Queen of Hollywood" Dies

Many people called it the end of an era when Elizabeth Taylor passed away Wednesday at age 79. For seven decades, Taylor captivated the world with her talent, her love life, her extensive jewelry collection, and her legendary violet eyes. During her high-profile life, Taylor became a bride eight times, won two Academy Awards, and co-founded AmFar. She was also a smart business person. Her perfume, White Diamonds, earned more than $70 million last year.

Taylor began her career with the classic film "National Velvet" at age nine. She starred in movies with many classic film stars, such as Rock Hudson and James Dean. She became the highest paid actress in Hollywood when she earned $1 million for "Cleopatra". Besides her acting, Taylor also provided tabloid fodder.

At age 18, Taylor married Nicky Hilton, heir to the Hilton Hotel company. They divorced after less than a year of marriage. Her second husband was a co-star, Michael Wilding. They had two children together and were married for five years. Her third husband, movie producer Mike Todd, is one of the men Taylor considered a "true love". Their marriage ended when Todd died in a plane crash. Her fourth husband, Eddie Fisher, a famous singer, caused a controversy. They had a very public affair while he was still married to actress Debbie Reynolds. During the filming of "Cleopatra", Taylor began cheating on Fisher with her co-star Richard Burton, who she would marry two times. After their second divorce, Taylor went on to marry a Republic Senator, John Warner. Her last marriage was to a carpenter named Larry Fortensky.

Elizabeth Taylor was an eccentric, unique individual. Her famous friendship with Michael Jackson raised many eyebrows, especially when she supported him during his child molestation trials. Her last public appearance was at his much-delayed funeral in the fall. Taylor was loyal. When her friend Rock Hudson announced he was dying of AIDS, Taylor co-founded AmFar to find a cure after his painful death. For the rest of her life, Taylor devoted herself to that cause. She is a true Hollywood legend, but also a humanitarian. Elizabeth Taylor was as multi-faceted as her beloved Krupp diamond.

Lizzie Borden Is Coming to Your TV Screen

     Actress Chloe Sevigny, known for her work on HBO's popular series "Big Love", will appear on the network's mini-series about the infamous story of Lizzie Borden. Borden was a Fall River resident during the 1800s who shot to fame after being accused of murdering her family with a hatchet. The motive of the murders was believed to be a dispute over property and inheritance. The victims were Borden's father and stepmother, Andrew and Abby. Her father had done a series of things to agitate Borden throughout her life, including an incident where he murdered her pet pigeons because he considered them nuisances. Shortly before the murders, Borden tried to purchase cyanide. No toxins were found during the victims' autopsies.

    During the trial, prosecutors struggled to prove Borden's involvement. The hatchet found within the house lacked fingerprints and was not fully intact. The clothes Borden had allegedly worn during the murders were burned. Although the trial created hysteria throughout the nation, Borden was eventually acquitted of the crimes. Her house has become a tourist attraction and a bed and breakfast.

      In the past few decades, Borden has been the subject of countless documentaries and made-for-TV movies. Alfred Hitchcock used Borden as the subject for an episode of his television show. There have even been ballets and plays written about Borden. Sevigny is the most famous actress to portray Borden. This alleged murderer's popularity has remained although she died long ago. There is even a popular children's poem written about her. The poem says:

      Lizzie Borden took an axe

      Gave her mother forty whacks

      When she saw what she had done

      She gave her father forty-one

Nuclear Crisis in Japan

In the aftermath of the monstrous tsunami in Japan, the Fukushima nuclear power plant has been in turmoil. There have been various fires within the plant since the tsunami's impact. The water pumps within the plant are not working, causing the pipes to overheat. The current disaster rating at the plant is a 5 out of 7. Firefighters are struggling to contain the fires. They can only be inside the plant's buildings for a certain amount of time due to the severely high radiation levels.

Planes cannot be used to fight the fires due to radiation in the air. Over 200,000 people have been evacuated to avoid excessive exposure to radiation. These residents live within 20 kilometers of the plant. For people on the outskirts of this area, it is recommended that they remain inside as much as possible.

Displaced families are greatly suffering. There is a great shortage of food, water, and adequate shelter in the country. Organizations such as the Red Cross are trying to provide aide to Japanese citizens. There are also fundraising efforts underway by companies such as Apple. The disaster in Japan is causing other countries, such as the U.S., to inspect the structure and safety of their own nuclear power plants.

Rain Rain Go Away

Heavy rain is causing issues worldwide this week. This morning, a tsunami hit Japan after a momumental 8.9 earthquake. The tsunami is expected to hit the California coastline and Hawaii this morning as well. The Japanese tsunami was over 30 feet tall. Sixty people are estimated to have died at this time. There is currently a tsunami warning for Russia, Taiwan, the Philippines, and Indonesia, as well as several South American countries. Everyone is being urged to stay as far away from the beaches as possible.
It is unclear where the tsunami will hit Hawaii. The initial wave is only expected to be three to six feet tall, but could flow miles into the shore. When striking the West Coast, the tsunami is expected to strike down the coast, starting in Seattle, WA.
There has also been substantial flooding this week in the Mid-Atlantic states. Areas of New Jersey and Pennsylvania are both underwater at this time. The state of New York is currently under flood watch. Melting snow is also adding to the flood problems.

Update:
The death toll in Japan is currently estimated to be at least 7,000. There are over 10,000 people still missing.

Child Murderer's Release Causes Uproar

Michael Woodmansee, known for one of the most gruesome murders in Rhode Island history, is set to be released from prison in August. Although originally sentenced to 40 years in prison, Woodmansee will be released 12 years early due to good behavior. Woodmansee was 16 years old when he murdered his five-year-old neighbor, Jason Foreman, in 1975. The murder, which took place in Peace Dale, took over eight years to be solved.

Woodmansee attempted to invite a 14-year-old paper boy into his home. The boy escaped and his father called the police, leading detectives to Woodmansee's home. Police allegedly discovered diaries describing how Woodmansee killed Foreman. It is also alleged that Woodmansee performed cannibalistic acts on Foreman's body. All evidence was sealed to avoid hurting Foreman's family anymore than what had already been done.

Residents of Peace Dale and the southern Rhode Island community are horrified about the possibility of Woodmansee returning to his former home. South Kingstown police officers are concerned about the potential harm cause by Woodmansee, and what the residents may do to him. In an interview with the WPRO radio station, Foreman's father announced his intentions to kill Woodmansee.

South Kingstown residents are planning a protest for Saturday morning. They are hoping to get Woodmansee transferred to a mental health facility, rather than being released into the general population. The protest is expected to be well-organized and non-violent.

Update:
Over 400 people attended the protest in Wakefield. Governor Chaffee is currently considering different options for Woodmansee after his release.

Charlie Sheen: Twitter Phenomenon

This week, Charlie Sheen has been mentioned on every television network and radio station. His photo is splashed across front pages of newspapers and covers of magazines. Currently in a war of words with his bosses as CBS, Sheen has been drumming up publicity with exclusive interviews. The most popular was his 20/20 interview, which aired on Tuesday night. In the interview, Sheen had some memorable quotes and introduced the world to his "goddesses", the two girlfriends he currently shares his home with. After the interview aired, police promptly arrived at Sheen's home and ordered him to surrender his two-year-old twin sons.

During the interview, Sheen used the word "winning" several times. Twitter uses promptly began tweeting the word as a trending phrase. After discovering his popularity on the social networking site, Sheen created his own Twitter account. Within one day, his following grew to over one million. He set a Guiness World Record for the fastest time to reach one million followers. With his trending topic, #winning, Sheen is garnering even more attention on the website. A trending topic is a way to quickly link posts to breaking news or popular topics. By trending a word or phrase, your post is automatically linked to a new feed with other posts featuring the same trending topic.

Elementary, My Dear Watson

In early 2011, IBM debuted its new robot, Watson. Named for the first president of the company, Thomas J. Watson. The robot, which has a lightning quick response time, was tested during a round of Jeopardy (see above video). Competing against the likes of Ken Jennings, the longest running champion of Jeopardy in history, Watson quickly left its competitors in the dust. The robot also competed against Brad Rutlet, who holds the record for the largest amount of money won on the game show.

Watson has more than 200 million pages of information stored on its internal disk. After the game show aired, there were over 134 million comments on the official IBM YouTube video. During the program, Watson did not have access to the internet. The robot received texts of the questions as the host was reading them to the other contestants. Watson has also competed against members of the House of Representatives in Jeopardy!, and had a higher score than its five competitors combined.

IBM plans to use Watson for healthcare purposes. Columbia University and the University of Maryland are currently working on discovering areas of patient diagnosis where Watson could be of use. Watson's software currently sells for $1 million. The price is expected to go down as technological advances continue.