Radio Ro Blog

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — An unusually early and powerful nor'easter dumped wet, heavy snow Saturday from the mid-Atlantic to New England, toppling leafy trees and power lines and knocking out electricity to more than 2 million homes and businesses. Communities inland were getting hit hardest, with eastern Pennsylvania serving as the bull's-eye for the storm. West Milford, N.J., about 45 miles northwest of New York City, had received 15.5 inches of snow by Saturday night, while Plainfield, Mass., had gotten 14.3 inches. New York City's Central Park set a record for both the date and the month of October with 1.3 inches of snow. More than 2.2 million customers lost power from Maryland north through Massachusetts, and utilities were bringing in crews from other states to help restore it. More than half a million residents in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Connecticut were without power, including New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. By late Saturday, the storm had vacated most of Pennsylvania and was tracking northeast. Throughout the region, officials had warned that the early storm would bring sticky snow on the heels of the week's warmer weather and could create dangerous conditions. New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts declared states of emergencies. Connecticut authorities blamed at least one traffic death on the storm. "It's a little startling. I mean, it's only October," said Craig Brodur, who was playing keno with a friend at Northampton Convenience in western Massachusetts, which had received about 4 inches of snow by Saturday night. And the storm was expected to worsen as it swept north. The heaviest snowfall was forecast for later in the day into Sunday in the Massachusetts Berkshires, the Litchfield Hills in northwestern Connecticut, southwestern New Hampshire and the southern Green Mountains. Wind gusts of up to 55 mph were predicted especially along coastal areas. Some said that even though they knew a storm was coming, the severity caught them by surprise. "This is absolutely a lot more snow than I expected to see today. I can't believe it's not even Halloween and it's snowing already," Carole Shepherd of Washington Township, N.J., said after shoveling her driveway. The storm disrupted travel along the Eastern Seaboard. Philadelphia International Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport all had hourslong delays Saturday. Amtrak suspended service between Philadelphia and Harrisburg, Pa., and commuter trains in Connecticut and New York were delayed or suspended because of downed trees and signal problems. Residents were urged to avoid travel altogether. Speed limits were reduced on bridges between New Jersey and Pennsylvania. A few roads closed because of accidents and downed trees and power lines, and more were expected, said Sean Brown, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. The storm came on a busy weekend for many, with trick-or-treaters going door-to-door in search of Halloween booty, hunting season opening in some states and a full slate of college and pro football scheduled. But the snow didn't deter the travel plans of Dave Baker, who's been going to Penn State football games for 45 years and made the 200-mile drive from Warminster, outside Philadelphia. He merely adjusted his packing list: Out went the breakfast fixings — his group ate early at a restaurant rather than at the tailgate — in stayed the burgers and hot dogs. And the cold came in handy. "I didn't have to buy as much ice for the beer," he said. Elsewhere outside the stadium, 11-year-old Cody Carnes of Pittsburgh made a large snowball as he sweated underneath five layers of clothes — a rain slicker, coat, sweatshirt, T-shirt and thermal. Another fan wore a foam Donkey Kong costume headpiece as he walked to a tailgate. "It keeps my head nice and warm," explained Matt Langston, 25, a graduate student from Harrisburg. In eastern Pennsylvania, snow caused widespread problems. It toppled trees and a few power lines and led to minor traffic accidents, according to dispatchers. Allentown, expected to get 4 to 8 inches, is likely to break the city's October record of 2.2 inches set on Halloween in 1925. Philadelphia was seeing mostly rain, but what snow fell coated downtown roofs in white. The city was expected to get 1 to 3 inches, its first measurable October snow since 1979, with a bit more in some suburbs, meteorologist Mitchell Gaines said. The last major widespread snowstorm to hit Pennsylvania this early was in 1972, said John LaCorte, a National Weather Service meteorologist in State College. Southern New Jersey was soaked with heavy rains and winds that ranged from 20 to 35 mph, while northern communities awaited the arrival of 5 to 10 inches of snow. Jersey Central Power & Light, which was heavily criticized for being too slow to restore power following Hurricane Irene, had hundreds of workers set to be deployed. Parts of New York saw a mix of snow, rain and slush that made for sheer misery at the Occupy Wall Street encampment in New York City, where drenched protesters hunkered down in tents and under tarps as the plaza filled with rainwater and melted snow. Technically, tents are banned in the park, but protesters say authorities have been looking the other way, even despite a crackdown on generators that were keeping them warm. "I want to thank the New York Police Department," said 32-year-old protester Sam McBee, decked out in a yellow slicker and rain pants. "We're not supposed to have tents. We're not supposed to have sleeping bags. You go to Atlanta, they don't have it. You go to Oakland, you don't have it. And we got it." October snowfall is rare in New York, and Saturday marked just the fourth October day with measurable snowfall in Central Park since record-keeping began 135 years ago, the National Weather Service said. Along the coast and in such cities as Boston, relatively warm water temperatures could keep the snowfall totals much lower, meteorologist Bill Simpson said, with 1 to 3 inches of snowfall forecast along the I-95 corridor. Washington received a trace of snow, tying a record for the date set in 1925. But October snow records could be broken in parts of southern New England, especially at higher elevations. The October record for southern New England is 7.5 inches of snow in Worcester, Mass., in 1979. Rain and snow were due to begin falling on Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine during the day, with the heaviest snow falling overnight. Parts of southern Vermont could receive more than a foot. The first measurable snow in New England usually falls in early December, and normal highs for late October are in the mid-50s. But not everyone was lamenting the unofficial arrival of winter. Two Vermont ski resorts, Killington and Mount Snow, started the ski season early by opening one trail each over the weekend, thanks to the recent snow and cold. Maine's Sunday River ski resort also opened for the weekend. In State College, 14-year-old Mac Charvala and his brother Will, 10, of South Orange, N.J., were using new body boards to slide along an inch of slushy snow covering a parking lot. "We've never been to a snow game before," said their father, Mike. "It's an adventure. If you don't want to have fun, stay home."

NEW YORK – Labor talks between NBA owners and players broke down Friday, likely assuring the league will have a shortened season for the second time in the past 13 years. NBA commissioner David Stern canceled games through Nov. 30, though it was unlikely those games would have been played anyway. The impasse came just one day after both sides expressed optimism they were close to an agreement that could save the league’s 2011-12 season. More From Adrian WojnarowskiNBA, players on cusp of agreement Oct 27, 2011 Raptors adding Stefanski to front office Oct 26, 2011 “It’s not practical, possible or prudent to have a full season now,” Stern said. The impasse on the system issues still centered on the NBA not wanting teams over the salary cap and paying luxury tax to be able to use the midlevel and bi-annual exceptions. The players want it allowed. Owners believed the players were prepared to take a 50-50 split on BRI if the system issues were agreed upon. Privately, league sources said most of the luxury tax and exception issues were resolved and the players wouldn’t move off the 52.5 percentage to which they had dropped. There were still issues with tax-paying teams being allowed to use the midlevel exception, but owners thought there was still a compromise to make. Nevertheless, league negotiators privately said they went back to the bargaining table with the union, only because they believed that to be true. Meanwhile, Players Association executive director Billy Hunter said Stern “snookered me” when the commissioner said he would make an economic move on Friday. Hunter insisted nothing had changed on the league’s take-it-or-leave-it 50-50 offer from a week ago. “We told them we were leaving it, just like we left it before,” Hunter said. Stern said Hunter told him the union wouldn’t go below 52 percent on BRI, that he had many calls from agents and he closed his book and left. “I would say both sides are very badly damaged,” Stern said. “There will be two severe sets of losses, but that’s what happens in a labor dispute.”

It's a rare day when positive news surfaces from the frontlines of Iraq's post-occupation government--or from its troubled economy. However, a U.S. Iraq inspector general report that concluded this week that $6.6 billion in shrink-wrapped cash the U.S. government previously feared had gone missing in the chaotic early days of the Iraq occupation has in fact been safely accounted for. "The mystery of $6 billion that seemed to go missing in the early days of the Iraq war has been resolved, according to a new report," CNN national security producer Charles Keyes reported Wednesday. "New evidence shows most of that money, $6.6 billion, did not go astray in that chaotic period, but ended up where it was supposed to be, under the control of the Iraqi government, according to a report from the office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction or SIGIR." Stuart Bowen, the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction, had previously testified that as much as $6.6 billion of the $10 billion the United States shipped to Iraq had disappeared due to "weaknesses in [the Department of Defense's] financial and management controls," Keyes wrote, citing the bureaucratese from a previous SIGIR report. The cash had in part been drawn from Iraq's own international assets, accrued during the pre-war, UN-run Oil for Food program. It was flown to Iraq in the wake of the U.S. 2003 invasion; the idea was that it would help pay for the Iraq reconstruction and development efforts under the Coalition Provisional Authority, the U.S.-led occupation outfit that dissolved in 2004. The original idea was to store most of the money in accounts in the Central Bank of Iraq; U.S. occupation authorities also apparently stored a few hundred million in a vault at one of Saddam Hussein's palaces they used as their headquarters for various cash needs. After the Coalition Provision Authority dissolved in 2004, however, it wasn't clear where the funds had gone, the previous SIGIR report said. But apparently, the money was properly transferred to accounts held at the Central Bank of Iraq, the new SIGIR report found. "But the inspector general's new report says almost all the $6.6 billion was properly handed over to Iraq and its Central Bank," Keyes writes. "'SIGIR was able to account for the unexpected [Development Fund of Iraq] funds remaining in DFI accounts when the [Coalition Provisional Authority] dissolved in June 2004,' the new report says. 'Sufficient evidence exists showing that almost all of the remaining $6.6 billion remaining was transferred to actual and legal [Central Bank of Iraq] control.'" This is not to say that the mystery of all the billions and billions the U.S. spent in Iraq has been entirely resolved. The SIGIR report says that inspectors are still trying to piece together the fate of some of the few hundred million that U.S. officials stowed at one of Saddam Hussein's former palaces. "While the bulk of the money was transferred to the Central Bank of Iraq, $217 million remained in a vault in a former presidential palace and was held by the U.S. Defense Department and most was doled out for a variety of projects and payrolls, the report says," Keyes reported. A February 2008 SIGIR audit found that $24.45 million of the $217 million stored at the palace vault remained, and was later turned over to Iraq. The next SIGIR report on DoD spending on contracting projects in Iraq is expected in January 2012--after the formal withdrawal of the last U.S. troops from the country.

They tied the knot just two months ago, but speculation is already running rampant that the marriage between Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries is on the rocks -- and although Kim admits there's been tension, she seems to think what they're experiencing is only natural given the circumstances. "It's not been ideal because you're newlyweds and you want privacy," Kim told People while celebrating her 31st birthday in Las Vegas with her family and hubby. Alone time is something the couple's packed schedule has hardly allowed for since their wedding. Living in a New York hotel suite while filming "Kourtney and Kim Take New York," the newlyweds shared the intimate space with Kourtney, her boyfriend and their 22-month-old son Mason. Sharing a hotel room with family, including a toddler, is hardly an "ideal" honeymoon for anyone, even a family as close-knit as the Kardashians. "It's a tough crowd," Khloe said, speaking of her own family. "I think it's just a lot of transition [for him]." Khloe, however, remains confident the two can overcome the rough start. "It's a work in progress," she says of her older sister's marriage. "I really think he's a nice guy, and he loves her." Kim's mother Kris Jenner seems to think the marital tension is purely work-related. "They're going two separate directions (with work)," Kris told People. "They'll figure it out as soon as they get back." "We have to find our home base," admitted Kim, echoing her mother's sentiment. Currently, the couple is back in Los Angeles, where they have appeared several times on "Dancing With the Stars" to support Kim's younger brother Rob during the competition. Even that brief on-camera appearance fueled negative rumors, however. Us Weekly described the two as "showing not one iota of affection" to each other during the show. Then again, some couples shy away from PDA: it's not like the two people have to be constantly touching each other to show their love. -- Joseph Brannigan Lynch

Not that one. Or that one. This one. So, maybe no NFL teams showed up to watch Terrell Owens work out on Tuesday. Owens still maintained confidence that some team would be interested in his services, and as it turns out, he was right. It just might not be the team he had in mind. It's the Chicago Rush of the Arena Football League. They want to bring T.O. into the 50-yard indoor war. "We feel that this is an ideal time to approach the future NFL Hall of Famer," said Rush General Manager and President Gene Nudo. "It would be a fantastic honor to add Terrell to our current roster for the 2012 season." It's a bold move by Nudo, who I believe used to be known in the WWE as "Paul Bearer." Here's a later paragraph from the same news article that in no way makes this look like an empty publicity stunt. In honor of this contract offer the Chicago Rush is offering an $81 Flex Plan to its loyal fans. The plan includes four tickets to a Chicago Rush home game. Additionally, the package includes four Rush hats as well as four Rush Nike Dri-Fit training shirts to ensure Rush fans will never have to work out shirtless again. Probably not a reference to this. It's probably motivated purely by football, and not by any media attention Owens is receiving right now, despite the fact that the Arena Football League doesn't play a game until March. Let's hear from the coach. "Terrell would absolutely complement our current wide receiving corps," said Rush Head Coach Bob McMillen. "His animation and over-the-top energy would be an excellent addition in the locker room, and the Chicago fans would undoubtedly welcome him here in Chicago." If you're wondering about the rest of that wide receiving corps, it includes Reggie Gray, Vic Hall(notes), Charles Dillon(notes) and Brandon Fields(notes). I have no idea who any of those fellows are, but I'm sure their styles of play would complement T.O.'s very well.

Anti-corporation demonstrators ignored an order to evacuate their encampment outside Oakland, Calif., city hall, continuing to occupy Frank Ogawa Plaza overnight and going about their business as usual this morning. Music blared and dozens of more tents were erected in the encampment Friday night. It was hardly the scene one would have expected after city officials issued an order that protesters were to vacate the plaza by 10 p.m. "We're here to address the issues that have been raised in terms of public health and safety -- graffiti, urination, vandalism and making specific requests as to what the need to do as to address those issues," Oakland city spokeswoman Karen Boyd told ABC News station KGO-TV in San Francisco. Boyd said demonstrators were welcome to protest in the plaza between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., but no later. Despite the demonstrators' violation of the order to leave the park, there was no sign of an increased police presence. "We've known from the beginning that this is an illegal occupation in the eyes of the city," protester Ali Hakimi told the San Francisco Chronicle. "We're just taking it day by day. We're consumed with people being fed, that they're safe, and outside of that, I don't know how far ahead we're thinking." The problem of pending eviction isn't unique to Oakland. Eleven protesters in San Jose, Calif., were arrested after occupying an area near city hall for nearly four weeks. According to Occupy Together, an online group that seeks to streamline communication between all the Occupy demonstration encampments, protesters in Vancouver, British Columbia, are also facing legal pressure to vacate their tent city, which is on the lawn of an art gallery. And in Melbourne, Australia, 100 protesters were arrested after defying an order to leave the plaza they had been occupying. Protesters said they will suspend their occupation until further notice, according to ABC News Australia. In London, protesters are grappling with whether to leave their post outside St. Paul's Cathedral after the famous tourist spot was shut down for the first time since World War II, due to safety concerns. The dean of St. Paul's initially said he would not make the protesters leave, but many sightseers were angry that they couldn't see the cathedral because of the size of the tent city, which has grown exponentially since it was set up a week ago. "We are very disappointed, because it's the second day we tried to see St. Paul's Cathedral," a tourist told ABC News Radio. "It's a very important point in London." Protesters said they will gather for a vote Sunday about whether to leave the space. In New York, denizens of Zuccotti Park made space for families to spend Friday night camped out as part of the first-ever Occupy Wall Street family sleepover. The event included pizza, a sing-along and a bedtime story. But the families' restful night was interrupted early Saturday morning when Dylan Farenhorst Spaelstra, 21, scaled the park's 70-foot-tall sculpture, refusing to come down until Mayor Michael Bloomberg resigned. "This movement means people take action in different ways. There's certainly respect for different tactics," Occupy Wall Street spokesman Bil lDobbs said. "But as you can see, we've been going out very simply marching over the past month." And more marching is what's in store for the residents of Zuccotti Park and their compatriots in other cities. They'll be joining movements across the country to participate in the 16th National Day of Protest to Stop Police Brutality. The Occuppy Wall Street movement, which began in New York City on Sept. 17 to protest corporate greed, has spread to more than 1,500 cities to date.

Why did President Barack Obama announce Friday that he has decided to end the American troop presence in Iraq by the end of the year? The United States had been negotiating with Iraqi leaders for months on a possible continuing military presence in Iraq. But the negotiations stalled over a key hitch: Iraqi leaders refused to comply with Washington's insistence that any American forces serving in Iraq be granted legal immunity in that country. "The end of war in Iraq reflects a larger transition," Obama said Friday, noting that the number of American troops deployed in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq has decreased from 180,000 when he took office to less than half that by the end of this year. "The tide of war is receding." On Jan. 1, the United States and Iraq will have a "normal relationship between sovereign nations, an equal partnership based on mutual interests and mutual respect," Obama said. Over the summer, however, the United States was asking to keep 10,000 troops in Iraq next year. "This was well below the 20-30,000 troops that military experts believed optimum," Ken Pollack, a member of Bill Clinton's National Security Council who wrote an influential book advocating war with Iraq, wrote in an analysis distributed by the Brookings Institution. "Just a few weeks ago, the Administration then unilaterally decided to cut that number down to about 3,000. There was nothing that 3,000 troops were usefully going to do in Iraq. No mission they could adequately perform from among the long list of critical tasks they have been undertaking until the present. At most, they would be a symbolic force, that might give Tehran some pause before trying to push around the Iraqi government." Pollack continued: However, even playing that role would have been hard for so small a force since they would have had tremendous difficulty defending themselves from the mostly-Shi'ah (these days), Iranian-backed terrorists who continue to attack American troops and bases wherever they can. At that point, it had become almost unimaginable that any Iraqi political leader would champion the cause of a residual American military presence in the face of popular resentment and ferocious Iranian opposition. What Iraqi would publicly demand that Iraq accommodate the highly unpopular American demands for immunity for U.S. troops when Washington was going to leave behind a force incapable of doing anything to preserve Iraq's fragile and increasingly strained peace? Why take the heat for a fig leaf? Of course, the truth was that the Iraqi government itself had already become deeply ambivalent, if not downright hostile to a residual American military presence. Although it was useful to the prime minister to have some American troops there as a signal to Iran that it shouldn't act too overbearing lest Baghdad ask Washington to beef up its presence, he and his cohorts probably believe that they can secure the same advantages from American arms sales and training missions. The flip side to that was that the American military presence had become increasingly burdensome to the government--challenging its interpretation of events, preventing it from acting as it saw fit, hindering their consolidation of power, insisting that Iraqi officials adhered to rule of law, and acting unilaterally against criminals and terrorists the government would have preferred to overlook. All of this had become deeply inconvenient for the government. Though there have been reports for weeks that American-Iraqi negotiations were stuck on that and other disagreements, Pentagon officials had always discounted those reports as premature, saying negotiations were still continuing. And it's worth noting that, in the details of the arrangement Obama announced Friday, the United States will maintain an Office of Security Cooperation in Iraq, which will consist of hundreds, if not thousands of American defense personnel. There were other signs of wiggle room in Obama's announcement. "As I told Prime Minister Maliki, we will continue discussions on how we might help Iraq train and equip its forces, again, just as we offer training and assistance to countries around the world," Obama said Friday. "After all, there will be some difficult days ahead for Iraq and the United States will continue to have an interest in an Iraq that is stable, secure and self-reliant." Still, Obama's announcement Friday does not represent only a linguistic sleight of hand, for either country. Almost nine years after the American invasion to topple Saddam Hussein--and in the year since popular uprisings began to topple a succession of the Middle East's long-entrenched dictators and autocrats from Tunisia to Egypt to Libya, not primarily at the hands of the American military but by the power of those countries' own people--the United States and Iraq will finally be able to have a "fresh start" to their post-war relationship, as Obama put it Friday. "The United States is fulfilling our agreement with an Iraqi government that wants to shape its own future," John Kerry, the Massachusetts Democrat who is the chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee, said in a statement Friday. "We are creating a new partnership that shifts from a clear military focus to a new relationship that is more expansive, hinging on increased diplomatic, economic and cultural relations."

Rumors were swirling that Jim Jones' ride or die chick Chrissy got into a serious brawl with another castmate on her reality show Love and Hip-Hop, while filming their second season. Well it looks like the rumors are in fact true. Vh1 released the super trailer for the upcoming season and we must say there's so much drama we can't keep up! Chrissy in fact gets into a brawl with castmate Kimbella and she isn't the only one Chrissy has beef with. The on-going friction continues between her and Jim Jones' mother and a new one emerges with another new castmate Yandy Smith, who has been managing Jim for eight years.

Rihanna sure knows how to keep people talking. . Just a week after the pop diva was quoted in "Esquire" magazine vowing her support of ex-boyfriend Chris Brown, who is on probation for assaulting her in 2009, she has released a video that depicts a Brown look-alike as the antagonist in a tumultuous relationship.. In the video for "We Found Love," Rihanna and her bleach-blonde beau, British boxer and model Dudley O-Shaughnessy, start things off upbeat. There are many parallels to her relationship with Brown. Rihanna and her on-screen boyfriend party hard, engross in public displays of affection, give each other tattoos, and joke around like kids. . But according to the storyline, things go awry when drugs takeover.. Tension mounts. Their drug binges lead to hangovers. And there's even a screaming match in a parked car that seems to mirror the police report account of Rihanna's early morning February 2009 brawl with Brown. He was convicted of felony assault against her that same year.. Rihanna didn't reference Brown when she announced the JustJared video premiere on her Twitter page, but many fans have.. "Dear @rihanna im still a little confused on how I feel about the We Found Love video, especially since the guy resembles Chris Brown," Carmen @swttcarma Herrera wrote.. Amanda @atlantictiger Hutchin agreed, writing, "Rihanna's new video = her relationship with Chris Brown 100%. Open to all arguments.". While Rihanna's "We Found Love" video is as shocking and entertaining as her other clips, it's unfortunate that she continues to exploit a similar storyline of domestic abuse.

We live in a Kardashian nation, but President Barack Obama isn't exactly a fan of reality TV's royal family! First Lady Michelle Obama tells iVillage that her hubby, 50, doesn't like Sasha, 10, and Malia, 13, keeping up with Kim, Kourtney and Khloe Kardashian's antics on the boob tube. PHOTOS: The Obama family is just like Us! Michelle, 47, says that like most parents, she and Barack regulate how much TV their daughters watch and what they're allowed to see. "Barack really thinks some of the Kardashians -- when they watch that stuff -- he doesn't like that as much," she told iVillage. PHOTOS: Kardashian family album "But I sort of feel like if we're talking about it, and I'm more concerned with how they take it in -- what did you learn when you watched that," Michelle explained. "And if they're learning the right lessons, like, that was crazy, then I'm like, okay."

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - It was supposed to be Robert Downey Jr.'s night, but somehow Friday's American Cinematheque Award ceremony became all about Mel Gibson. When the evening's honoree took to the stage at the Beverly Hills Hilton to accept his doorstop, he had a clear message for Hollywood. "I urge you to forgive my friend his trespasses," Downey said to loud applause. "Allow him to pursue this art without shame." It was Gibson who handed out the award to the "Iron Man" star. That was a choice Downey made clear he had made in part to help his friend rehabilitate his image. Gibson has become something of an industry pariah in the wake of taped phone calls during which he had used racial slurs and threatened to beat his estranged girlfriend, Oksana Grigorieva. Prior to that, Gibson was already on thin ice with Hollywood, having made anti-Semitic remarks when he was arrested in 2006 for driving under the influence. Gibson was dropped from a cameo in "Hangover 2" after cast-members rebelled, although lately Warner Brothers has made a deal with the actor-director to explore an action film about a Biblical-era Jewish rebellion against oppressors. That too has drawn angry responses from Jewish leaders. Downey, who had well-publicized bouts with drinking and drug abuse, said that by sticking up for Gibson, he was simply returning the favor. After his imprisonment and arrests on drug charges made him uninsurable and thus prevented him from being hired in Hollywood, it was Gibson who stepped up and paid his insurance bond on the 2003 film "The Singing Detective." "He kept a roof over my head and put food on my table," Downey remembered. He said that all Gibson asked in return was that Downey do the same for another person who was struggling. "It is reasonable to assume he didn't know the next guy would be him," Downey joked. In response, Gibson mockingly hit his head against the set. It's not clear if the gambit worked. Gibson's appearance in a sketch video ribbing Downey for playing a white man pretending to be a black man in "Tropic Thunder" drew laughs, but some were of the uncomfortable variety. Moreover, the "Lethal Weapon" star stuck close by his friend and fellow presenter Jodie Foster when he entered the hotel ballroom and remained affixed to her throughout the evening as if she were a bulwark against an unfriendly press and public. However, as Downey has demonstrated, Hollywood loves a comeback. As "Iron Man" director Jon Favreau said of Downey at one point during the evening: "Not since Joseph in the Bible went from prison to prophecy has someone elevated themselves from so low." Now it's Gibson's turn to pull off a miracle.

Usually, when there's a bunch of brash and trash talk in a game involving the New York Jets, it's the Jets doing the crowing. From head coach Rex Ryan to receiver Santonio Holmes(notes) to linebacker Bart Scott(notes), the J-E-T-S are always ready to get mouthy with upcoming opponents (unless you'd like to do it like Holmes, and just throw your own offensive line under the bus). But in the media anticipation for this Monday night's battle between the Jets and Miami Dolphins, it was Dolphins receiver Brandon Marshall(notes) who went off with the recorders in his face. Marshall, who has the third-most catches in the NFL since 2007 (Wes Welker(notes) with 477 and Reggie Wayne(notes) with 419 are ahead of him), said on Thursday that he was going to go all out in a way that the league itself couldn't possibly contain. "I think the past four games have been tough for me, trying to control some things, and, hey man, I'm just going to let it out," Marshall said. "I don't care if I have two, three cameras on me. I don't care if I have penalties. It doesn't matter; I'm going to let it all out. I don't care what you guys write or what the commentators say. I'm just going to play football. That's what I'm best at. I'm best when I play emotional. I'm best when I play with passion. You guys are going to see that on 'Monday Night Football.' "I don't know if it's throwing a football 15 yards in the bleachers, or getting a 15-yarder [penalty], or punting the ball and getting thrown out of the game. But something is going to happen. I'll probably get kicked out after the second quarter." Marshall, who recently talked about his struggles with BPD (Borderline Personality Disorder), went on to say that he wasn't kidding about this, and even named names of Jets defenders who might want to watch themselves on the field. "I'm not joking. I'm serious. They want to fine me, hit me with a $50,000 fine. I'm going to play. The quarter and a half I'm out there, I'm going to play like a monster. I might get into a fight with Bart Scott. [Antonio] Cromartie, we pretty much matured our relationship a little bit. We used to fight in Denver and San Diego. If that happens, it happens. We'll see."

According to reports, Colombian winger Juan Pablo Pino was arrested by the Saudi moral police when fellow shoppers in a Riyadh mall complained about the exposed tattoos on his arms, which include the face of Jesus and other religious symbols. Pino joined Saudi club Al Nassr on loan from Galatasaray at the end of August and apparently was not aware that showing his tattoos by wearing a sleeveless shirt in public would cause him any problems. From Colombia Reports: Saudi Arabia is one of the most conservative countries in the Muslim world, and according to one of the country's most respected clerics, Nayimi Sheik Mohammed, Saudi law prohibits tattoos, no matter what their form, and every player has to abide with these rules. The cleric went on to stress the importance of respecting the status of "Sharia" (Islamic law) and that the tattoos must be covered at all times. Pino, who plays in the Saudi league, has expressed "deep sorrow" for his actions and said he respects the laws of the country. He was released from custody when a team delegate arrived and discussed the matter with the police. Gulf News reports that a Saudi Football Federation official "sent a circular to all clubs asking them to advise their professionals and players to respect Saudi traditions and not show their religious symbols in a way disregarding Saudi customs and traditions" after a cross tattoo on the arm of a Romanian player for Al Hilal caused controversy last year. It's unclear whether Al Nassr informed Pino of this in his short time with the club, but he'll probably be investing in some long-sleeve shirts now.

A great general manager is the most valuable individual commodity in baseball. Forget an arm-whispering pitching coach, a soothsaying scout, a tactical-genius manager, a stat-nerd nonpareil, even a power-hitting, swift-running, great-glove shortstop. A general manager, you see, is the only one who can ensure a franchise has all of those things. Theo Epstein is a great general manager, and not just because he won two World Series with the Boston Red Sox, who continued their month of horror by letting him walk to the Chicago Cubs, where he is expected to take over baseball operations. Ask his contemporaries who they most respect and Epstein’s name surfaces more often than any other because of his player-development history, scouting savvy, statistical acuity and the simple fact that good people want to, and like to, work for him. More From Jeff PassanPujols the king puts Morgan the clown in his place Oct 11, 2011 Brewers' Game 1 explosion came out of nowhere Oct 10, 2011 Theo Epstein, pictured here departing for a 2009 division series game in Los Angeles, appears ready to walk away from the Red Sox for good. (AP) How the Red Sox let Epstein go without barricading the doors, writing him a blank check and asking what he wanted and how they could satisfy it was a testament to their ownership’s ability to alienate and undervalue those who thrived in what often seems an untenable Boston bubble. First they did it to manager Terry Francona – and later leaked his marriage troubles and clumsily alleged the Red Sox’s collapse had something to do with his use of painkillers. Next, certainly, will come some damning nugget about Epstein from atop 4 Yawkey Way. Maybe he was eating fried chicken and drinking beer during games with Josh Beckett(notes), Jon Lester(notes) and John Lackey(notes). Ooh! Ooh! Or he and Bill James were spending too much time playing World of Warcraft. Epstein leaves the Red Sox how everyone leaves the Red Sox: on the river of madness that eventually sweeps up their best and brightest. Epstein can be a diva, yes, and he hasn’t acquitted himself well in his last few forays into the free-agent market. But his ability to use big-market resources and streamline an organization through information and intuition proved unrivaled during his nine years with Boston and represents a massive coup for Cubs owner Tom Ricketts.

You know by now that somebody threw a hot dog at Tiger Woods on Sunday. No one was harmed during the incident, which occurred on the seventh green of the Frys.com Open. The meat-slinger was taken into custody on charges of disturbing the peace but released without doing any hard time. (Video above via TMZ, o'course.) Now, thanks to the intrepid work of the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, we know who that somebody is: 31-year-old Brandon Kelly of Petaluma, Calif. Reporter Julie Johnson spoke with Kelly, and, well ... "I threw the hot dog toward Tiger Woods because I was inspired by the movie 'Drive,'" Kelly told The Press Democrat. "As soon as the movie ended, I thought to myself, 'I have to do something courageous and epic. I have to throw a hot dog on the green in front of Tiger.'"

By Bill WilliamsonThe NFL stopped for a moment Saturday. Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis has died. He was 82 years old. There is going to be a lot said and even more written about the Raiders' owner as we prepare to kick off another NFL weekend. Soak it all in. Use any word you want to describe Davis: legend, pioneer, outlaw, renegade. Each applies. He will never be duplicated or forgotten. The Raiders won three Super Bowl titles under the ownership of Al Davis.Davis did it all his way. He didn’t always make friends in the NFL over the years, but he earned a lot of respect. Expect the tributes to fly in faster than a classic Raiders wide receiver. He fought wars with the league, other owners and even some of his coaches and players. He was a difficult man to deal with for a lot of people over the years. But he was also a caring man who bled Silver and Black. Sadly, this news isn’t a shock. Davis had been in poor health for some time. He had been using a walker for years. He did not travel to Buffalo for the Raiders' Week 2 game against the Bills. But make no mistake -- Al Davis will be in Houston with his team Sunday as the Raiders try to boost their record to 3-2. The Raiders were Davis’ life. They're what he lived for. The man famous for coining the phrase “Just win, baby” lived his life that way. I’m truly convinced Al Davis cared about nothing other than seeing his team win. It is bittersweet that his death comes at a time when his team is finally showing signs of resurgence. If the Raiders push their way into the playoffs for the first time in nine years, it will be because of Davis’ work. There’s a lot of talent in Oakland and every player on that roster is there because Davis picked him. Al Davis Bio • Born July 4, 1929 (he was 82) • Head coach of the Raiders from 1963-65 (23-16-3 record) • Youngest man to hold titles of head coach and general manager at 33 years old • Bought partial ownership of the Raiders in 1966, became managing general partner in 1972 and became principal owner in 1976 • 1963 AFL Coach of the Year • Named AFL commissioner on April 8, 1966, and resigned on July 25 the same year after securing alliance with NFL with common draft and championship game • Won Super Bowls XI, XV, XVIII • Inducted into Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1992 Despite his declining health and advanced age, Davis ran this team nearly up until the time of his death. He picked the players in the last draft and he even negotiated most of the contracts himself. Many agents have told me of their intense conversations with Davis as recently as last month. He worked every day trying to make the team a winner. The Raiders were always and will forever be Al Davis’ team. There will be questions about what will happen with the Raiders. Everything will be sorted out. What is important now is that we take time to reflect on a man who changed football. The Raiders flew to Houston late Friday and awoke to the news of Davis’ death Saturday morning. A team spokesman said it's a very “difficult" time for the team. First-year Raiders coach Hue Jackson loved Davis. He called him “Coach Davis.” Jackson relished the chance Davis gave him to coach an NFL team and he relished the opportunity to pick Davis’ brain. Raiders players also loved Davis. He had his players’ backs and he often paid them handsomely. Several Raiders have been the highest paid at their positions in recent years because Davis valued them so much. This is not just a sad day in Oakland. It’s a sad day for the entire sports world. We lost a legend, a pioneer, an outlaw and a renegade.

When Steve Jobs resigned from Apple in August, 7,000 miles away in Hong Kong, graphic design student Jonathan Mak Long, "shocked" by the CEO's departure, did what he knew best: He created a design to honor the Apple co-founder. The 19-year-old posted the image, the Apple logo with the bite changed to a profile of Jobs, to his Tumblr blog. Known as Jonathan Mak, he initially received about 80 notes on the image. Then word came this past Wednesday that Jobs had died, after a long battle with cancer. Mak reposted the homage, which this time caught fire on the Web, attracting an almost immediate response of 10,000 likes and reblogs on his Tumblr site and surging to 180,000 -- in one day. Comments included "awesome invention like steve jobs." One thought it should be the "new Apple logo." Another wanted to "use it as a tattoo." Speaking in fluent English (which he said he learned from watching the TV show "Friends"), the Polytechnic University School of Design student told Yahoo! in a Skype interview that the image was a tribute to Jobs's contributions to the world: "I wanted to commemorate him. He's such an integral part of Apple. I thought it would be fitting to include him in the Apple logo." Long added, "With Jobs gone, Apple is literally missing a piece." The artist was inspired by the uncompromising personality of the creative genius. He said of Jobs: "He had this vision that he was not afraid to commit to. That's how he broke new ground. His commitment and belief in himself is what inspire me." The designer's vision for his own work is an aesthetic that joins a simple graphic element with a richer meaning, giving the viewer, as he put it, an "a-ha moment." The cyber tribute that became a hit, and along with attracting media attention, the logo found itself as the preferred profile pic on Ashton Kutcher's Twitter account and on merchandise featured on eBay. While the design prodigy has received several job offers, but he hasn't acted on them; "I'm still a student," he said. The artist has a portfolio of minimalist design, but don't call him an Apple fanboy. "I just got my first MacBook Pro a year ago," he admitted -- and he still doesn't own an iPhone. Asked whether he'd gotten any response from Apple, Mak said he had emailed CEO Tim Cook but so far hadn't heard back.

With ESPN telling Hank Williams Jr. and all his rowdy friends to go home, the Worldwide Leader needed to find someone else to intro "Monday Night Football." Their choice for the first broadcast of the MNF era, post-Hank? Barry Sanders. He won't be singing a country music song, though. He'll be featured in some other form of video segment that previews the game. From the Detroit Free Press: "Ok, I admit it," Barry Sanders tweeted. "I will be at MNF this week and doing the intro." Said ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz, "This is the format we'll likely use the remainder of the season. We haven't made any decisions beyond that."

Uncle Luke is talking big these days. Check out this message he sent out to some of Miami’s current residents… I’ve got a message for Lil Wayne, his Cash Money Brothers, DJ Khaled, Puff Daddy and all the rappers from other parts of the country who now live in Miami. I’m tired of seeing these cats using up our beaches, soaking up our sunshine, taking over the nightclubs, and sleeping with our women without investing anything into the community. I want to know when Lil Wayne is going to do more than show up courtside at the American Airlines Arena. Hell, it’s not like he paid for them anyway. You know he got comped. They rap in their songs about King of Diamonds and LIV nightclub, where Lil Wayne was partying it up with Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks after they beat the Miami Heat for the NBA championship. What kind of sell-out move is that? I want to see Lil Wayne, DJ Khaled, Puff Daddy and all their boys start doing more for Miami. They got until January 1. If I don’t see them giving back to the Magic City, I’m gonna have their Miami cards revoked. They won’t be getting into any more nightclubs. They won’t be able to go near our women. And Lil Wayne is gonna have to find floor seats for New Orleans Hornets home games because he won’t be allowed inside the Triple A. Source

Steve Jobs, the mastermind behind Apple's iPhone, iPad, iPod, iMac and iTunes, has died, Apple said. Jobs was 56. Jobs died "peacefully" surrounded by family members, his family said in a statement. Neither Jobs' family nor Apple revealed where Jobs died or from what cause, though in recent years he had fought a form of pancreatic cancer and had a liver transplant. "We are deeply saddened to announce that Steve Jobs passed away today," read a statement by Apple's board of directors. "Steve's brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives. The world is immeasurably better because of Steve. His greatest love was for his wife, Laurene, and his family. Our hearts go out to them and to all who were touched by his extraordinary gifts." The homepage of Apple's website switched to a full-page image of Jobs with the text, "Steve Jobs 1955-2011." Clicking on the image revealed additional text, credited in a separate memo to Apple employees to current Apple CEO Tim Cook. "Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being," the text read. "Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple." Reaction to Jobs' death came far and wide -- even from the White House. ABC News/ABC NewsApple founder, Steve Jobs has died. View Full Size ABC News/ABC NewsApple founder, Steve Jobs has died. Former Apple CEO Steve Jobs Dies at 56 Watch Video Steve Jobs in 60 Seconds Watch Video Steve Jobs: Ethics of a Private Life Watch Video "Michelle and I are saddened to learn of the passing of Steve Jobs," President Obama said in a written statement. "Steve was among the greatest of American innovators - brave enough to think differently, bold enough to believe he could change the world, and talented enough to do it." Jobs co-founded Apple Computer in 1976 and, with his childhood friend Steve Wozniak, marketed what was considered the world's first personal computer, the Apple II. Shortly after learning of Jobs' death, Wozniak told ABC News, "I'm shocked and disturbed." Industry watchers called Jobs a master innovator -- perhaps on a par with Thomas Edison -- changing the worlds of computing, recorded music and communications. Click Here for Pictures: Steve Jobs Through the Years Jobs' rivals in the development of personal computers, Microsoft co-founders Bill Gates and Paul Allen, immediately reacted to his death and highlighted his importance to their industry. Allen called him "a unique tech pioneer and auteur who knew how to make amazingly great products." Gates extended his condolences and noted in a written statement that he and Jobs "have been colleagues, competitors and friends over the course of more than half our lives." "The world rarely sees someone who has had the profound impact Steve has had, the effects of which will be felt for many generations to come," Gates added. "For those of us lucky enough to get to work with him, it's been an insanely great honor. I will miss Steve immensely." A more recent rival, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, also weighed in with a statement on Jobs. "Steve, thank you for being a mentor and a friend," it read. "Thanks for showing that what you build can change the world. I will miss you."