Friday, June 21, 2013

Food Network fires Paula Deen and other Friday headlines

More on Paula Deen's firing in a moment, but first this developing story.  The Los Angeles Times is reporting that the CIA was already training Syrian rebels well before President Obama approved giving them arms.  The report claims that U.S. spec-ops teams have been training rebels in the use of Russian-made anti-tank and anti-aircraft weaponry.

The Food Network, in the wake of revelations about Paula Deen's use of racial slurs, including the "n-word" has announced her contract will not be renewed when it runs out at the end of next month.  TMZ.com is calling it a firing.  She has issued three videos of apology thus far and PR experts are calling her reactions to this crisis a "train-wreck".  More on this tomorrow in the daily blog.

The LAPD will increase patrols in the area of Hollywood where a Lynwood woman was stabbed to death earlier this week.

Michael Hastings emailed several people about 15 hours before his death in a car accident, saying his friends were being interviewed by the FBI.  The FBI claims Hastings was not under investigation.

A doctor who is an expert in sleep disorders testified in the wrongful death trial of AEG that Michael Jackson was suffering from "almost total sleep deprivation" at the time of his death.  Dr. Charles Czeisler also stated that Dr. Conrad Murray was not qualified to prescribe the amounts of propofol he was giving to Jackson, or to diagnose and treat a sleep disorder of that magnitude.

A gang member who was only 15 at the time he shot and killed a 14 month old infant in his father's arms was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to 90 years in prison.

Consumers are not pleased with the decision of The Men's Wearhouse to fire its founder and Executive Chairman, George Zimmer.  They have posted messages on the firm's FB page saying they won't shop there any longer.  One person wrote "you're going to miss the way I shopped.  I guarantee it."

Drake wanted to pop into the Miami Heat's locker room after they'd won their second straight NBA championship, but security denied him access.  Being good friends with LeBron James isn't enough, you need the pass to get in.  Better luck next time.

Meanwhile, if someone had asked Heat player Shane Battier "you've just won the NBA championship, what's next?", the answer would have shocked you.  He went and celebrated by having a meal at a local Denny's.

Nearly a quarter-century after Kirk Gibson hit the most famous home run in Los Angeles baseball history, there is one unresolved matter.  No one knows who, if anyone, has the home run ball.  It was never recovered.

Once again, retailer Abercrombie & Fitch has put their corporate foot (hoof?) in their mouth.  They had started selling a t-shirt with the slogan "more boyfriends than t.s." (a reference to Taylor Swift) and her fans went ballistic.  Now the shirt is off the shelves.

Richard Dreyfuss has a daughter named Emily.  She's engaged to be married and her fiance ordered a necktie from Banana Republic to go with his navy blue suit.  What he got instead was a large envelope from the Gap (owners of Banana Republic) with confidential employee files, including their social security numbers.  Gap blames the mix-up on "human error."

Screeners who do background checks to ensure people who work for NSA contractors are qualified to receive Top-Secret security clearances discovered discrepancies in Edward Snowden's resume.  In spite of these problems, he was still granted a clearance and hired.  Reports are that he was less than honest about his educational history.

Sheri Brown thought she'd found the man of her dreams and married him only four months after they'd met.  Then she watched a seven-year old television report about a man who was practicing psychiatry without a license.  It was her new husband.  Now she's out $50,000 in bills she paid on his behalf and is filing for divorce.

The governor of Nevada is telling the federal government to take their nuclear waste somewhere else, he doesn't want it buried in his state.  There is a plan to move 400 cannisters of waste from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee and move it to the former nuclear test site near Mercury, NV.

Aside from posting the link, I'm reserving comment about this next item:  http://www.thespec.com/news-story/3845206-have-your-say-about-the-firestorm-over-a-wedding-gift/