Whitney Houston has “140 million albums sold, more awards than any other female performer in history,” boasted Good Morning America today, touting her “first television performance in seven years” (watch it on their Website). The singer bounded out with a lot of energy and yelled “love you!” during first line of “Million Dollar Bill,” but she danced rather than sang the first chorus, confirming yesterday’s reports that her first major television appearance promoting her new I Look to You left the diva breathless. Houston filmed the short set in New York’s Central Park yesterday afternoon.

Read Rolling Stone’s review of I Look to You.

“I love you New York,” she announced at end of the song. “I love you Good Morning America. God bless you all. Thank you for coming, you’re making me feel so good.” She then ran upstage to hug host Diane Sawyer, who Houston called “one of my dearest friends.” Sawyer is the journalist who conducted the infamous “crack is wack” interview in 2002 during which Houston disclosed she had struggled with drug problems. “I’m overwhelmed with love and support, your prayers mean so much to me and I love you all for coming,” Houston told the crowd, adding defiantly, “I never left!”

“Seven years ago, looking in each others’ eyes, it was a very different world then. I was worried for you,” Sawyer told her. “Don’t be worried anymore. If you know God, then don’t be worried,” Houston replied, saying it was “my faith” that brought her here now. “The love and support of my family, which I do have. People who care about you in the good and bad times.” In 2002, Houston told Sawyer, “I partied a lot. Trust me: I partied my tail off. You get to a point where you know the party’s over.”

“I Look to You is about them, all of you all, and that one up there,” she said in Central Park, pointing skyward.

After a commercial break, Houston told the crowd of die-hard fans, “I’m going to do something extra for you, from me to you, this isn’t planned, it’s impromptu,” before starting “My Love Is Your Love.” Singing “See, I got my baby, can you give me a mic, y’all” she welcomed daughter Bobbi Kristina to the stage to sing just a few lines.

“I owe this to my mother. This is the title track to my album, y’all,” Houston said next, before turning to face her mother, Cissy, for the ballad “I Look to You.” “You never left, you stayed, I love you,” she said, looking up with her arms stretched to her sides. After another commercial break she returned bouncing up and down and kicked off “I’m Every Woman,” asking hosts Sawyer and Robin Roberts to join her.

As Rolling Stone reported yesterday, Houston attributed her exhaustion and lack of high notes to having taped her Oprah Winfrey appearance on Monday. Her rep told TMZ Houston had only committed to sing two songs on GMA.

Celebrity actress and model Megan Fox’s thumbs nail and toe thumbs photos here. For some reason, the photographer had (or even allowed her to have) her clubbed thumb up right in the middle of the shot.

In a stunningly misguided program implemented by the British government, all children's book authors who visit schools must register with a national database intended to protect children from pedophiles, and they must pay a fee to do so. Beginning October 12, 2009, the Vetting and Barring Scheme (VBS) will require that all adults who work with children, including authors such as J.K. Rowling and Philip Pullman if they make special visits to schools, will be required to register with the database for a fee of £64 ($105). The Independent reports that as a result, several well-known authors will boycott schools in protest of the requirement. Philip Pullman, Anne Fine, Anthony Horowitz, Michael Morpurgo, and Quentin Blake have all publicly stated that they object to having their names listed in the database. Pullman, author of the popular fantasy trilogy His Dark Materials, called the policy "corrosive and poisonous to every kind of healthy social interaction." He eloquently adds, "This reinforces the culture of suspicion, fear and mistrust that underlies a great deal of present-day society. It teaches children that they should regard every adult as a potential murderer or rapist." Anne Fine, the former Children's Laureate for the U.K. and author of over 50 children's books, labelled the requirement "government idiocy." "When it [the VBS] becomes essential, I shall continue to work only in foreign schools, where sanity prevails," she said. "The whole idea of vetting an adult who visits many schools, but each only for a day, and then always in the presence of other adults, is deeply offensive. Our children will become further impoverished by this tiresome and ill-considered scheme, and yet another gulf will be created between young people and the rest of society."
The VBS was set up in 2002 following the tragic murders of Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells by the janitor at their school, Ian Huntley. A government spokesperson defended the new rigorous regulation, saying, "The new scheme means every individual working in a field that requires more than a tiny amount of contact with children and/or vulnerable adults will have to be vetted. If they are passed, they will be placed on a register that says they are allowed to work in a regulated field. If they are barred, they will go on a separate register and it will be a criminal offence for them to try and obtain work in a regulated field, carrying a penalty of up to five years in prison. It will also be illegal for anyone to employ them."
Indeed, while such reasoning seems to make sense, the ramifications are far from sensible and grossly unfair to children and adults alike. This policy borders on hysteria and panders to the public's basest fears by assuming the worst of everybody. While none of these authors wants to see any child harmed, they point to the damage such a policy has on society as a whole. In an editorial in the Independent, Anthony Horowitz, author of the The Alex Rider Collection (Alex Rider Adventures) and the Power of Five book series, perhaps put it best: "This is a law made by people with a bleak and twisted view of society. And such people, quite simply, should not be making laws."

Country music recording artist Sara Evans can breathe a little easier today.

After last night's memorable performance at the 2009 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, Evans has every reason to bask in her moment of well-deserved glory.

But as my former colleagues over E! Entertainment Television have reported, the news just keeps on getting better for the chart-topping vocalist.

In 2007, Evans' ex-husband husband filed a $20 million slander suit in a Tennessee court against one of his then-wife's divorce lawyers.

Allegations were reportedly made that Evan's ex had a fling with the couple's nanny. So the nanny sued as well. But she didn't get the cool three million she wanted.

E! News reported yesterday that the former caregiver snagged just north of $500,000 in a settlement.

The suit against Sara Evans from her ex-husband is still pending, according to E!

For now, things continue to look up for the show-stopper of country music.

With the return of Indiana Jones, actor Harrison Ford is cashing in on another blockbuster movie. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull brought in $750 million worldwide last year, proving that his fans still want more.

Over the past year, Harrison took home a staggering $65 million–earning him the title of highest paid actor by Forbes magazine.

Landing in second spot on Forbes list is funnyman Adam Sandler, who had two hit movies last year; Bedtime Stories and Don’t Mess With Zohan. Other Hollywood celebs at the top of the heap are Will Smith, Nicolas Cage and Eddie Murphy. See the Top 100 List here.

Harrison and his girlfriend of seven years, Calista Flockhart, are shown above at the Living Legends Aviation Awards. They became engaged on Valentine’s Day 2009 but have not revealed when they will tie the knot.

IMDB.com rating 7.1/10
rottentomatoes.com rating 3.2/10


Terminator Salvation is a big dull, predictable dud that counts on monotonous action sequences far too often, while making characters and story secondary. As Star Trek proved only two weeks earlier, story isn't always important as long as you create entertaining characters and put them in exciting circumstances. Too bad Terminator Salvation has characters such as Christian Bale growling in his Batman voice, bringing absolutely nothing to a character we are meant to believe is the savior of the world, as he battles mindless CG-animated robots. To top it off, you know there's trouble when the emotional core of the film revolves around a robot and that robot isn't named WALL•E.

Set in 2018, we are introduced to a post-apocalyptic world in which the surviving humans are battling the machine-controlled Skynet and its army of robots. It's like watching a poor man's Matrix Revolutions without any back-story. You would have thought if they were going to rip-off The Matrix they would have at least chosen the better of the three films. As it turns out nothing about this film feels new, including Skynet's Blade Runner-esque skyline and a similar Matrix-style computer code, shown as some sort of computer DNA.

The worst part of it all is the story has absolutely nowhere to go but down the already beaten path. The set up from the beginning includes the mention of a robot kill list which contains both the names of John Connor (Bale) and Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin), two names any Terminator junky is sure to recognize immediately. As a result, the humans, known as the Resistance, have found a way to combat the machines that may end the war. But the sudden appearance of a man going by the name of Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington) changes their entire approach — but not really.

Christian Bale playing John Connor is a complete letdown. Early on he is barking his lines offering little more than background noise. He softens his tone when dealing with his wife Kate Connor played by Bryce Dallas Howard, whose pregnancy goes unexplained for the entire film making her appearance worthless unless something major is planned for follow-up films.

As Marcus, Worthington does just fine, but the role is so limited to say any acting was done would be a real stretch. The same could really be said for everyone as the script written by John D. Brancato and Michael Ferris is so boring you just hope the next turn in the plot will manage to surprise you until you finally realize it never will.

The troubles with this film are numerous, but it goes beyond the writing and the acting as director McG did absolutely nothing with the money he was given outside of blowing things up. Seriously, there is a tree line explosion so reminiscent of Tropic Thunder it is the first time I have actually laughed at an explosion in an action film. His use of rain and fire places him above Michael Bay on the list of director's enamored by the use of inexplicable explosions and environmental emotional cues. His action set pieces are fantastic until they are ruined by monotony and coincidental happenings. Had they been anywhere near exciting in the first place I might not have minded, but as it stands it is just one more head slapper as you wonder, What were they thinking? *

There are, however, a couple of bright spots, but unfortunately they are all superficial and don't benefit a film unless what they are gussying up is worth the polish. The production design of Terminator Salvation is spectacular. Shane Hurlbut, the cinematographer that suffered the wrath of Christian Bale in the widely heard on-set rant, shot a very good-looking film. Occasionally the world shown on screen reminded me of images painted in Cormac McCarthy's "The Road" as a gray hue was used to dim the post-apocalyptic set in which this boring action film takes place. To build on that, the effects are quite fancy and I enjoyed seeing the evolution of the Terminator machines (including one surprise appearance), but all that is secondary to what should have been a motivating story. The problem is, there wasn't much to go on.

This all begs the question, where does the Terminator franchise go from here? Quite honestly it could go anywhere since all Terminator Salvation does is establish new actors for characters you are already familiar with. Very little is accomplished in this film and once you get to the end you are no better off than you were in the beginning. This is one of those few times I am giving a low grade to a film I don't have any kind of animosity toward as much as I have no interest. Terminator Salvation bored me. After about 20 minutes I was beginning to think, "Uh oh," and when the friend I was with turned to me 10 minutes later and said, "This is awful!" I knew I wasn't the only one wondering what went wrong.

....Just because... Peep his dope Vivienne Westwood boots ( I have a heeled look of those same ones ;) )

Miley agrees to go steady with Jake again, but she worries that all of the times she complained about Jake might have turned Robbie against the young man. When she learns that Robbie dislikes Jesse, a trouble making teen guitarist in Hannah’s band, Miley hatches a plan to make Jake look great. Download full episode under.

‘iPod Format
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7

I held the rope nervously as a man twice my age with four times my courage ascended the runout Toulumne face climb.

John Bachar moved with a delicate grace. His feet smoothly transitioned onto each rugosity of Hammer Dome's classic 5.10c Shadow of Doubt. At each bolt, he stopped, leaned into the wall and mimicked the stance that he would take if he had been the first ascentionist hand drilling the route on lead. John climbed the route with a casualness and poise I had never seen. .

John had always held a strict ground-up ethic, maintaining that routes should be established with a sense of commitment and adventure. John walked his talk, establishing Yosemite test-pieces like You Asked For It 5.10c X and the infamous Bachar Yerian 5.11c R in a bold and committing style. Beyond his traditional ethic, John Bachar was one of the world's greatest free-soloist. He made numerous ropeless ascents of hard routes across the US. He ushered in the era of the Stonemasters, a hardcore group of Southern California climbers, who vaulted the standards of climbing. With Peter Croft, John made the first one day ascent of both the Nose of El Capitan and the Regular Northwest Face of Half Dome.

A few days ago, John died while climbing on the Dike Wall in Mammoth, California. He leaves behind a 14 year old son, his business as the founder and CEO of Acopa Shoes, and a legacy as not only as one of the best and boldest, but as a good man, a good father, and a good friend to many. He will be missed greatly.


A Young John Bachar

Good news for fans who have been missing Malcolm, Francis, Reese, and Dewey! Nick at Nite has bought the cable rights to all seven seasons of Malcolm in the Middle, the FOX comedy series which ran from 2000 to 2006. Beginning July 5, the series will air every Sunday on Nick in the 8pm time slot, effectively making the network's official starting time an hour earlier.
"We have conducted a great deal of research with kids and families, and two things that we hear continuously are that they want to spend more time together and that watching television is one of their favorite ways of making that happen," Nickelodeon and MTV Kids and Family Group president Cyma Zarghami said as the acquisition of Malcolm in the Middle was announced.

Malcolm in the Middle initially served as a midseason replacement for Futurama. The show, however, quickly attracted a large fan base, kicking off with ratings of 23 million for the debut episode and 26 million for the second episode. The series stars Frankie Muniz, Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad) and Jane Kaczmarek (Raising the Bar).

Malcolm in the Middle joins Nick at Nite's other comedy acquisitions of shows that originally aired on broadcast networks, including George Lopez, Everybody Hates Chris, The Nanny and Home Improvement.

In other news, Jane Kaczmarek and actor Bradley Whitford have filed for divorce to end their 16-year marriage. The pair were married in August 1992, and have three children, ages 12, 9, and 6.

"He hopes the media will respect their wish for privacy as they focus on their children," a rep for Whitford told People.

Aside from playing Lois on Malcolm in the Middle, Kaczmarek is credited for her work Help Me Help You, Felicity and The Simpsons, while Whitford is known for his role on The West Wing as Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman.

Is Miley Cyrus proof that history repeats itself? The Disney Channel tween queen seems to be going back to her old ways these days. First, her rekindled relationship with ex-boyfriend Nick Jonas has been confirmed. Second, it's been said that she's involved in yet another controversial photo.

Let's tackle the Nick Jonas issue. On Larry King Live last Thursday, Nick's brother Joe Jonas revealed that Miley's getting back into their lives. The host of the late night talk show asked Joe about his girlfriend, and later posted a question regarding his brothers' recent romances.
When Larry King wondered aloud if Joe's girl Camilla Belle is as famous as Nick's girlfriend, the 19-year-old Jonas Brother answered: "I don't think anyone's as famous as Miley Cyrus."

There goes the speculation. While neither of the celebrity's reps has responded to Joe Jonas' comments, Miley Cyrus has been quoted saying that she has indeed "reconnected" with Nick. It was over between her and Justin Gaston, so it sounds like there's hope for a "Niley" comeback.

"He's my best friend, and we still hang out all the time, and we've definitely reconnected," she admitted. "And we don't know what's going to happen in the future, but right now we're just kicking it and hanging out as much as we can."

Also in Miley's world, another set of scandalous pictures have surfaced. While it's been quite a while since her last one, she can't seem to stop fooling with the camera. Then again, the Hannah Montana star's representatives told the NY Daily News that the photos are indeed fake.

"The alleged photo of Miley Cyrus circulating the internet is completely fabricated," said the spokesperson. However, it looks far from it once you see the actual shots.

According to the Actress Archives, the latest pictures show Miley Cyrus on the set of her upcoming movie, The Last Song. She was seen posing provocatively with producer Adam Shankman, who posted them on his website.

To their defense, Shankman said: "Miley is a sweet angel who works tirelessly and endlessly, and is allowed to have fun in the make up room! Seriously! Lighten up or no more behind the scenes pics! She's like my angel little sister."

Whatever Miley's up to, there's no doubt that this issue will blow over soon. More fans are anticipating her performance on The Last Song, in which she does admit is a more grown-up role for her. Maybe that explains the photos?

a journal post by Dan Schneider! He wrote a journal entry about their filming iDate a Bad Boy and this is what he had to say -
“People often ask me what my favorite episode of iCarly is, and I’m never sure because I have several favorites. Well, iDate A Bad Boy is absolutely one of my favorite episodes of iCarly ever. I knew this episode was going to be special when we were filming it. You could “feel” it on the set. Miranda certainly had a GREAT time, because she got to kiss actor Drew Roy like a billion times! I’ve never seen Miranda so psyched to be on set. ”

You can read the rest of his post about iDate a Bad Boy here

The show iDate a Bad Boy will be on Nick on May 9, 2009!

Jake Ryan returns on a special episode of Hannah Montana, and actor Cody Linley is as ecstatic as his fans. The upcoming installment "He Could Be the One" is going to be yet another milestone in his career, as well as for the Disney Channel series.

On the one-hour episode, Miley Stewart (Miley Cyrus) and Jake (Cody Linley) are dating once again and she's finding it difficult to tell her father, Robby (Billy Ray Cyrus). She tries and tries to reveal this secret, and soon the dad suspects that she's hiding something. She later pretends to date her male bandmate Jesse (Drew Roy), whose bad-boy attitude isn't really approved of. Miley has to find a way to fix her relationships before it's too late.
The 19-year-old Cody Linley prepped up for his appearance on the show, and recently discussed the projects he's involved in lately. He was interviewed by Just Jared.com, talking about his new music and other plans he has for his career.

"I've written over 50 solid songs, and right now I'm just in the process of narrowing them down and deciding what I want to release," Linley admitted. He's been quite the scene-stealer ever since he appeared on Hannah Montana, earning a spot on Dancing with the Stars and even worked on his own album.

"I take being an artist seriously, and I don't want to release anything prematurely," he said. "We haven't released anything lately but yes, music is a huge part of my life. Songs that I've written all over the world this year will definitely be coming out, and I want to produce it with some of my close friends like Aaron Carter and some other producers."

He continued by saying "I'm just really trying to find a way to do it independently because I want to bring my true funk sound, and that would be a kind of acoustic soul mixed with funk."

There's also the recurrence of Jake Ryan's alter ego Meelosh on Hannah Montana. "The character Meelosh was actually created by me. I went up to the writers room and they asked me if I could do any special accents, and it was right around the time Borat was coming out," Cody Linley revealed. "I guess Meelosh was Jake Ryan's attempt at hiding, he's kind of like Lola for Emily Osment's character. He dyed his hair black and wore goofy clothes just to disguise himself."

Don't catch Cody Linley's return to Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel.

Only on iCarly! In the next new episode, iDate a Bad Boy!, which will air on May 9th, Carly starts to date a bad boy played by Drew Roy. Spencer gets upset and concerned when he learns about Carly’s new love interest, but does he really have anything to worry about. You’ll have to tune into iCarly to find out. Here are some stills from the iDate a Bad Boy show -

GRAYSVILLE, TN (WRCB) — Graysville police need your help to catch a thief who is on the run.

Police Chief Thomas Mahoney says his officers are searching for James Finch, Junior who is better known in the community by his nickname, “JJ.”

Finch is wanted for:

* Conspiracy to Commit Burglary
* Conspiracy to Commit Theft over $1,000.00

Police say on June 13 Finch broke into a home at 595 Long Street. They say the people living there were trying to move and Finch took everything of value that hadn’t been moved yet. Investigators found that Finch made at least two trips to the address to steal all he could.

On one of his trips to this location, Finch jacked up a 1997 Nissan Four Runner and removed all four Boss brand 20″ custom wheels and tires. The wheels alone were worth $1,200.

Other items taken were:

* 300 - 500 DVD movies
* A small Black Craftsman tool box that contained specialty tools for working on motorcycles worth $1,500.00
* A Toro brand Lawn Mower
* A Homelite Weedeater
* A Black and Decker Sawzall
* A Black and Decker Drill

Police say two other co-conspirators have already confessed to police and have been taken into custody. They are:

* Joshua Allen Mooneyham - age 24
* Amy Michelle Bice - age 32

Police believe that friends or family in the area are hiding Finch. He is homeless, has a drug addiction and is waiting trial for Aggravated Domestic Assault.

Finch was last seen driving a green Ford Ranger with extended cab and there is bondo on the front left fender. Police believe Finch may have painted his truck with black spray paint to disguise his vehicle.

James William Finch is:

* 5 foot 8 inches tall
* has brown hair and brown eyes
* 37 years old
* has the name “JOKER” on his right arm
* last known address was 128 Roberts Road in Graysville, Tennessee .

Anyone who has information on Finch or has bought any of the stolen property ishould call Officer Spandau at the Graysville Police Criminal Investigation Division at 423-775-2525.

Carrie Underwood looks fit and fabulous in bikini photos that were snapped of the former American idol starlet. She seems to have adopted the Courteney Cox pal Jennifer Aniston's way of thinking, if you've got it, flaunt it. Should Jessica Simpson be worried? There are constant reports that Dallas Cowboys signal caller Tony Romo is still a bit interested in his ex Carrie Underwood.

Carrie Underwood Bikini Photos: Should Jessica Simpson Worry?

Many believe that when Jessica Simpson put on her now notorious "Real Girls Eat meat' tee-shirt she was attacking Carrie Underwood. The former American idol winner is a vegetarian and her bikini pictures certainly show a very fit Carrie.


Her sexy swimsuit snaps have been published by the AOL Entertainment website TMZ.Com and they have a series of seventeen snaps that show the sexy country singer from all angles in a skimpy bikini as she soaks up some sun on the beach. They also show the starlet taking a dip in the sea.

The photos are here at TMZ along with a whole lot of discussion. Will Tony Romo be logging on and burning up a bit of bandwidth to check up on his ex and what she looks like on the beach?

Miley Cyrus pregnant - Miley Cyrus is three months pregnant with the love child of Nick Jonas. News of Miley Cyrus pregnant show up after Miley Cyrus Vanity Fair photo scandal news in 2008. In 2008, Cyrus was listed in Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in The World.Forbes magazine ranked her #35 on “The Celebrity 100″ list with earnings of over US$25 million in 2008.

Miley Cyrus or Miley Ray Cyrus is an American singer, actress, and author. Cyrus is best known for starring as Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana in the Disney Channel series Hannah Montana.

Miley Cyrus’ solo music career began with the release of her debut album, Meet Miley Cyrus on June 23, 2007. Her second album, Breakout, was released on July 22, 2008.

Miley Cyrus starred in the movie spin-off of Hannah Montana, titled Hannah Montana: The Movie which was released on April 10, 2009. In addition, Miley Cyrus has recorded the main single, “The Climb”, for the movie soundtrack.

Kris Allen called Adam Lambert his "closest gay" and Adam said Kris was "definitely becoming my closest straight" in an interview with E Online.

The two best friends will be spending a lot of time together this summer for the American Idol tour, and when speaking about his relationship with Kris, Lambert said his sexuality "doesn't frickin' matter."

He continued,

"It's just like when people were dealing with race relations. The moment we started getting over it as a society was the moment we stopped paying attention to the differences and paid attention to the similarities."

"People get so scared and uncomfortable with the ways in which they are different," said Adam. "I think it's a testament to Kris that he's completely comfortable in his own skin, comfortable with his sexuality. He's a straight man, he's married and it's not threatening for him to be friends with a gay guy."

Allen agreed, saying, "That's what's wrong with the world. Why can't everyone just get along?"

Perhaps Allen was taking a swipe at KISS bassist Gene Simmons, who recently said Adam had "ruined his career" by publicly coming out.

As far as Adam's relationship with Drake Labry, it doesn't seem they really have one. Adam, who was recenly on People's most eligible bachelors list, said, "I do not have a boyfriend." But he added, "Drake and I are dating."

Kradam said they may do a duet together when the Idol tour is over, although they both seemed a bit reticent about it. Adam said, "Maybe we'll write a song together on the road." Allen smiled and responded, "We'll have to figure it out, but yeah, we should do it."

For a complete transcript of the President's speech, go here.

You could practically hear the collective jaws dropping all over the US today as Sarah Palin announced that she would resign as Governor of Alaska at the end of this month, halfway through her term in office. Now everyone is asking, "Why"?

During an odd, rambling speech, Palin said she was leaving office but didn't explain why, other than offering a rather flimsy explanation that she wasn't planning on running for reelection and didn't want to somehow take advantage of Alaska's people by finishing out her term:

"Many just accept that lame duck status, and they hit that road. They draw a paycheck. They kind of milk it. And I'm not going to put Alaskans through that," Palin said.

Using a basketball analogy, Palin said, "a good point guard knows when to get out of the way, " auspiciously referring to the recent media attention on her and her family because of an ethics probe, or perhaps referring more broadly to her position within the Republican party.

David Gergen, a political pundit for CNN, said he believed Palin's motivations were money and her ambition to run for president in 2012. Gergen pointed out that Palin has a book coming out, and it made sense to him that she would want to hit the lecture circuit, make several million dollars, and build her popularity for a presidential run.

However, political analyst Larry Sabato called Palin's announcement "absolutely bizarre" and said "I think it eliminates her from serious consideration for the presidency in 2012."

Everyone seems to agree that there is some piece missing in Palin's story.

Blogger Susie Bright noticed a cryptic message on Alaska Report last week about a pending bombshell involving an investigation into Palin's finances. Today, the website says, "Big dirty scandal about to hit the Palin universe, as evidenced by Palin's announcement today that she's stepping down." Bright has also been following the efforts of local Alaska blogger Linda Kellen-Biegel's Freedom of Information Act request for emails between the Palin administration and local talk show host and Palin family friend Eddie Burke. Apparently, Palin's office put up one obstacle after another to prevent Kellen-Biegel from obtaining the emails, including charging her nearly $6000.00 for them. The emails were due to be released in a few days.

Huffington Post blogger Shannyn Moore said rumors of an "iceberg scandal" have been circulating, and noted that resignation is certainly out of character for Sarah Palin:

Senator Mark Begich had a meeting with Sarah Palin two days ago with no mention of her leaving office. Palin's press secretary, David Murrow had posted on his Facebook page Wednesday, "David Murrow is considering life's ironies." He was hired less than a month ago. Yesterday he wrote, "There's gonna be some fireworks this weekend!"

Palin's father, Chuck Heath, told Fox News that he thought her resignation was due to the negativity from the media. According to Heath, the governor was unable to be effective while she was constantly having to defend herself against ethics complaints and the media.

However, Linda Kellen Biegel speculated that the real reason Palin was resigning was because of something looming over the horizon -- the next poll of Alaskans. "That would have been the kiss of death for higher office," she wrote.