Monday, December 5, 2016
What Will Happen to the Clemency Movement in the Trump Administration?
By Christopher Zoukis Rather than slackening off as the Obama administration nears its final days, the clemency initiative announced in April 2014 for federal is picking up speed. From the Oct. 1 start of the current fiscal year until two days before Election Day, the president had issued 272 sentence commutations — nearly one-third of its total up to that time. On election eve, the sentences of 72 inmates were commuted, followed by 79 more Nov. 22, bringing the total for the Obama administration to 1,023, exceeding the combined total for commutations issued by all 11 presidents from Harry Truman…
Monday, December 5, 2016
Untangling the Many Complex Plot Threads in the ‘Westworld’ Season Finale
(Spoiler alert for the season finale of HBO’s “Westworld” are below. Like, all the spoilers.) “Westworld” is not for the faint of heart, either as a park or a TV show — as we’ve come to expect from HBO’s stable of dramas, “Westworld” is super jam packed with info and subtext and bling-and-you’ll-miss-it details. The season 1 finale brings all those little details together as it concludes this first act in the story of robot revolt, and it’s easy to get lost in it. So if you’re one of those viewers left scratching your head about how some of the various…
Monday, December 5, 2016
Sean Penn — Alleged Stalker Arrested … She Popped Up at My House Twice
Sean Penn usually lays low, but apparently not low enough for one fan who allegedly tried reaching him dozens of times … and got busted for her latest attempt. Law enforcement sources tell TMZ cops picked up the woman last week after Sean says she… Permalink Source: TMZ Feed
Sunday, December 4, 2016
'Frozen' Look-Alike — Nude Pics Are Too Fat to Be Me!
Anna Faith Carlson, the model who’s a dead ringer for Elsa from “Frozen,” is claiming a website posted fake nude pics of her … and says the proof is in the waistline. The site Celeb Jihad posted a bunch of “before-and-after” nude selfies it claims are… Permalink Source: TMZ Feed
Sunday, December 4, 2016
‘Merrily We Roll Along’ LA Theater Review: Stephen Sondheim Still Stuck in Reverse
Stephen Sondheim’s 1981 musical “Merrily We Roll Along” has become as notorious — and beloved in some circles — as one of Shakespeare’s problem plays. The first Broadway production closed after just 16 performances, a high-profile flop that’s chronicled in the brilliant new documentary “Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened” by original cast member Lonny Price. A new Los Angeles revival by young director Michael Arden, which had a delayed press opening on Saturday night at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, is brilliantly sung by a talented cast of 20 led by Broadway veterans Aaron…
Saturday, December 3, 2016
'Tiny House Nation' — Contractor Sues Clients … Your Big Mouth's Gonna Cost You $1 Mil (PHOTO GALLERY + VIDEOS)
A contractor for “Tiny House Nation” has a big problem — the couple who hired him is talking so much smack, they’re crushing his bottom line … according to the lawsuit he just filed. Charles Brzezinski built a compact pad for Jared Logan and Vanessa… Permalink Source: TMZ Feed
Saturday, December 3, 2016
‘Married By Mom and Dad': Devin Reveals His Secret Tinder Past (Exclusive Video)
On this week’s “Married By Mom and Dad,” Devin has a little secret for his bride-to-be: He knows the wedding planner. Knows her very well. Like, in a Biblical sense. “Let’s hope that she’s OK with me getting down with the wedding planner,” the muscled bridegroom says, hopefully, in this exclusive video obtained by TheWrap. Turns out that Devin and Britt met on Tinder, hooked up and have remained friends ever since. TLC’s reality show follows a group of romantically unlucky singles who have finally given up on the dating scene and are allowing their parents to arrange a marriage…
Friday, December 2, 2016
Are Innocent Prisoners' Paths To Justice Distorted?
Donald Trump is now officially our new president-elect. Leading up to this election, Hillary Clinton and Trump spoke here and there about prison reform. But not once did the issue of wrongful convictions become a topic. That’s strange given that, for the last two years, we have witnessed record numbers of innocent prisoners being exonerated–137 in 2014 and 149 in 2015. Were the candidates really less interested in repairing our failing criminal justice system than in emails and videotapes? Back to the topic at hand, there are many ways innocent people wind up being falsely convicted. This serious problem is…
Friday, December 2, 2016
Does The Death Penalty Reduce The Murder Rate?
This week, the death penalty is under fire, as the Supreme Court debates whether or not the death penalty can be applied to convicted murderers with a low IQ, as justices question whether a person can be held accountable for actions that may not be fully understood. It seems an appropriate time to analyze the effectiveness of the death penalty in accomplishing its tasks: reducing the murder rate in the states where it has been applied. To determine whether the death penalty has acted as an effective deterrent to murder, my Research Methods students Katie Chancellor, Brandon Collins, Dan Garrett,…
Friday, December 2, 2016
Luke Bryan on Why He Punched ‘Disruptive’ Heckler During Concert (Video)
Luke Bryan came out swinging on Wednesday night after a concertgoer heckled him from the audience during his Nashville, Tennessee, show. YouTube video captured by Nash Country Daily shows the man flipping off the country singer during charitable show, Charlie Daniels’ Volunteer Jam, and then Bryan aggressively responding by punching him. After videos and photos of the angry interaction flooded social media, Bryan’s camp issued a statement about the heckler on Thursday, Billboard reported. Also Read: Holly Dunn, 'Daddy's Hands' Singer, Dies at 59 “A man in [the] front row was making crude hand gestures toward Luke during his performance,”…
