Little Rock, Ark. — As governor of Arkansas, Mike Huckabee aggressively pushed for the early release of a convicted rapist despite being warned by numerous women that the convict had sexually assaulted them or their family members, and would likely strike again. The convict went on to rape and murder at least one other woman. In 1996, as a newly elected governor who had received strong support from the Christian right, Huckabee was under intense pressure from conservative activists to pardon Dumond or commute his sentence. The activists claimed that Dumond’s initial imprisonment and various other travails were due to […]
NEWS CLUES: It’s Like Adderall For Your Eyeballs
Italian Court Orders Tweety Bird, Mickey Mouse & Donald Duck Testify ROME, Italy (AP) — Tweety may get a chance to take the witness stand and sing like a canary. An Italian court ordered the animated bird, along with Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and his girlfriend Daisy, to testify in a counterfeiting case. In what lawyers believe was a clerical error worthy of a Looney Tunes cartoon, a court in Naples sent a summons to the characters ordering them to appear Friday in a trial in the southern Italian city, officials said. The court summons cites Titti, Paperino, Paperina, Topolino […]
CONCERT REVIEW: Top Five Things You Should Know About Madlib At The Starlight Ballroom Last Night
WHEN THE SAINTS COME MARCHING IN: Madlib, Starlight Ballroom, Last Night NWA member Arabian Prince was nice enough to start the Bounce Tour early for the Starlight, queuing up a soundtrack of some old and new beats. Even better, Prince tested the crowd’s knowledge of some of the oldest jams, only to scoff at the general level of MC ignorance in the audience. It would appear that he’s still “with attitude.” Percee P has been in the game 19 years longer than you, and therefore is a far doper MC than you could ever hope to be. As if his […]
NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
FRESH AIR In A Slave No More, historian David W. Blight showcases the emancipation narratives of two men, one from Alabama and one from Virginia. Manuscripts written by Wallace Turnage and John Washington, and genealogical information compiled by Blight, combine to tell the stories of their lives as slaves and their harrowing flights to freedom. RADIO TIMES Hour 1 (Rebroadcast tonight at 11) Analysis of Russian elections. Vladimir Putin got a vote of confidence this past weekend, as his United Russia party won big in Parliamentary elections. We’ll talk with JONATHAN BECKER Dean of International Studies at Bard College in […]
RECONSIDER THIS: The Usual Suspects
BY MATTHEW DADDONA In 12 years, Bryan Singer hasn’t made a film nearly as electrifying or groundbreaking as The Usual Suspects, a testament not only to himself but also to the nature of fast, gripping crime stories. Singer, who recently directed the X-Men films and Superman Returns, is the mastermind behind this 1995 drama’s wit and suspense, and quite simply, the delicious irony of its title. The film opens with literal bang: A mysterious explosion on a ship, in which 27 men die over a reported $91 million in cocaine. From there we meet all the ‘usual suspects’ in […]
KILLADELPHIA: One More Dead Since U Went To Bed
Two men were shot – one fatally – last night in Powelton Village, police said. The shooting occurred just before 11 p.m. at 40th and Green Streets in West Philadelphia. A 26-year-old, shot once in the abdomen, was taken to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where he was pronounced dead a few minutes after midnight, police said. The homicide was the city’s 370th this year. The other man, 45, was in stable condition at HUP with a gunshot wound to the left shoulder. Another man was critically wounded this morning in the 100 block of West Thelma Street […]
SHARON JONES & THE DAP KINGS: 1000 Nights
Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings with Budos Band Friday, December 14, 2007 Fillmore at the TLA 334 South Street Philadelphia, PA Doors: 8:00 pm | Show: 9:00 pm
HEAR YE: The Fiery Furnaces Widow City
NOW PLAYING ON PHAWKER RADIO! WHY? BECAUSE WE LIKE YOU!
NEWS CLUES: It’s Like Adderall For Your Eyeballs
Supremes Say City Council Has NO Say Over Casino Built In, Um, The City SugarHouse has won a major victory in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in its fight to build a casino on Philadelphia’s waterfront. The high court has ruled in favor of SugarHouse Casino in its battle with city council over zoning and other necessary approvals. Councilman Frank DiCicco has led the casino fight in council. His spokesman is Brian Abernathy: “We were surprised – maybe not shocked, but certainly surprised. More than anything, I think we’re outraged by the court’s decision.” Abernathy, who says he interprets the high […]
NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE ESTIMATE: Iran Halted Nuclear Weapons Program FOUR Years Ago
In a stunning reversal of Bush administration conventional wisdom, a new assessment by U.S. intelligence agencies concludes Iran shelved its nuclear weapons program over four years ago. “We judge with high confidence that in fall 2003, Tehran halted its nuclear weapons program,” reads a declassified version of the National Intelligence Estimate key findings. “We judge with moderate confidence that the earliest possible date Iran would be technically capable of producing enough highly enriched uranium (HEU) for a weapon is late 2009.” The entire NIE report will remain classified, however the office of the Director of National Intelligence released a declassified […]
NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
FRESH AIR A couple of years ago, director Jake Kasdan woke up in the middle of the night, knowing suddenly that his next film would be a fake music biopic called Walk Hard. He went on to cast John C. Reilly as Dewey Cox, the putative legend at the heart of the story, who has trouble with women and drugs and who tries on a multitude of musical personalities. Walk Hard, due out Dec. 21, also features Jenna Fischer from NBC’s The Office; it was co-written and produced by Judd Apatow. Apatow and Kasdan worked together previously on the critically […]