rorky.com

Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, lost a bid for renomination to a seventh term Tuesday — making him the third sitting member of the House this year to fall to a primary opponent.
With all but one precinct reporting early today, Jason Chaffetz — a former Brigham Young University football player who has served as an aide to Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman — had defeated Cannon by 60-40 percent. Despite the landslide nature of Chaffetz’s victory, it did not come as a complete surprise: Chaffetz also bested Cannon by a 3-2 margin at last month’s Utah GOP convention, and came within a handful of delegate votes at that time of heading off a primary and winning the nomination outright.
Chaffetz, 41, will now face Democratic candidate Spencer Bennion, a former television reporter, in the general election in the state’s 3rd District, which stretches from the Salt Lake City suburbs into western Utah. But, given the overwhelmingly Republican and conservative nature of the constituency, Chaffetz is all but assured of being sworn in as a member of the House when the new Congress convenes in January.
From the standpoint of political demographics, Utah’s 3rd District stands in marked contrast to the two other districts - both in Maryland — that ousted incumbents earlier this year. The Washington, D.C. suburban district in which now-Rep. Donna Edwards, D-Md., ousted former Democratic Rep. Albert Wynn in the March primary is majority-black. And the district in which GOP Rep. Wayne Gilchrest lost renomination after almost two decades in office stretches from Baltimore to state’s Eastern Shore, and is regarded by the Democrats as a potential pickup opportunity this fall.
But the underlying cause of Cannon’s defeat was similar to that of Gilchrest and Wynn: All three of the defeated incumbents strayed from their respective party’s base on one or more key issues.

nationaljournal.com

“Biggest Loser” host Alison Sweeney is about to put on a few pounds — and she couldn’t be happier.
Sweeney, who also stars on “Days of Our Lives,” is expecting her second child, according to People.
She revealed the news to the latest “Biggest Loser” cast on Monday.
“She told them that, in a season all about family, hers is about to get bigger,” a rep for the actress told the Web site.
Sweeney, 31, also has a son, three-year-old Ben, with husband Dave Sanov.
Copyright 2008 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Access Exclusive: Fran Drescher
This week marked the one-year anniversary of Fran Drescher’s Cancer Schmancer foundation. Fran, who successfully battled uterine cancer, reveals the confusing misdiagnosis she received.
Access Exclusive: Cindy Crawford
Ricki Lake responded to the attacks she received from the medical profession after she championed home birthing. Now, Cindy Crawford reveals to Maria Menounos what she thinks about Ricki’s birthing controversy.
Access Exclusive: Jamie Lee Curtis On Turning 50
Jamie Lee Curtis shows she’s not afraid of turning 50! She celebrates aging gracefully by posing for “More” magazine and using her celebrity to help the Children Affected by AIDS organization. More info at www.CAAF4kids.org.
Christie Brinkley Divorce Details To Be Public
The Christie Brinkley/Peter Cook divorce trial took a surprising turn, and because of that, every dirty detail will be revealed to the public. This weekend, Access Hollywood was with Christie.
Dazzling Diamond Celebs!
Recently, the ritziest spot on the planet was at a private home in Bel-Air where millions of dollars of diamonds were on display. Everyone from Janet Jackson to Fergie was there to dazzle!
Women In Film’s 2008 Crystal+Lucy Awards
Salma Hayek, Jada Pinkett Smith, Debra Messing, Meg Ryan and Eva Mendes celebrate the 35th Anniversary of Women In Film. The organization honors some of the most creative, productive and socially responsible women in the entertainment industry.

accesshollywood.com

Brian Shaw is more than just another name on the Suns coaching list.
When reports appeared this week that Lakers’ assistant Brian Shaw interviewed for the vacant Suns coaching position [EastValleyTribune.com and AzCentral.com], most people probably brushed it off. It was viewed as Steve Kerr just interviewing another assistant coach, but there is more to this interview than meets the eye (No Shaw isn’t a Transformer).
One of the biggest hurdles for the next head coach of the Phoenix Suns will be Shaquille O’Neal (no pun intended…OK maybe a little). Whoever is selected will have to find a way to motivate and excite Shaq so he comes to camp in shape and ready to play (ask Pat Riley, it’s not an easy job).
Shaw just so happens to be very familiar with that task. Shaw was O’Neal’s teammate on two different occasions, with the Magic and the Lakers.
Shaq respects Shaw so much that he referred to him as “his best teammate ever” and gives credit to Shaw for teaching him “how to be a leader and win championships.”
Quite the ringing endorsement from the Big Aristotle (than again, he does endorse Pepsi-Cola, Taco Bell, Burger King, Radio Shack, his own movies/rap and Vitamin Water so maybe it doesn’t carry that much weight).
The most interesting part of the entire process is that Shaw is one of the few candidates that interviewed before it was reported that he was a candidate. Once it was reported it was not confirmed by the Suns for a few days.
Why the sudden secrecy in their search? Was it just a fluke? Were the Suns just busy with NBA Draft camp? I’m guessing not seeing as Steve Kerr took time to answer fans questions on his blog while Vinny Del Negro and David Griffin both answered Suns.com’s questions? Or better yet, is Shaw the Suns’ main candidate and they are waiting for the Lakers to finish their playoff run (hopefully Boston or Detroit can finish it for them).

azsportshub.com

It’s one of our favorite conversations. It starts as, “Who’s the funniest person ever?”
I always correct the premise to, “Who makes you laugh the hardest?” There could be some guy in a dorm at Montana State University who does this hysterical routine about pizza boxes, and we just don’t know about him.
Some of my friends say Richard Pryor. Some say David Letterman. I have one buddy who swears that Don Rickles cracks him up like none other.
My answer: George Carlin, with Moe of the Three Stooges close behind.
Carlin died Sunday. He was 71.
Carlin is best known for his bits like “The Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television”

Western Iowa Tech graduates GED students
SIOUX CITY — Western Iowa Tech Community College graduated 246 students from its General Educational Development program May 18.
The ceremony took place in the gymnasium of the Corporate College building on WIT’s Sioux City campus.
The program’s keynote speakers were Mark Hahn and Rita Bettin from KG95’s “Breakfast Table” morning show. Other featured speakers were GED graduates Kara Jo Goosmann and Gary Wabashaw, both of Sioux City.
The GED certificates were presented by Dr. Robert Rasmus, president of the WIT Board of directors. Other guest participants included William Lyle and Eldon Schroder, members of the WIT Board of Directors.
Western Iowa Tech Board Scholarships were presented to Crystal Fulmer of Sioux City and Patrick Flannery of Hinton, Iowa, by Dr. Robert Dunker, WIT president. Dr. Terry Murrell, vice president of instruction and student services, introduced the speakers. Dr. Juline Albert, dean of students, presented the GED Achievement Award to Noah Hill of Sioux City. Pamela Woolridge, WIT evening English-as-a-Second-Language coordinator, sang “From a Distance” by Julie Gold.
The GED measures academic ability generally associated with four years of regular high school and provides the opportunity for graduates to pursue higher education and enhance career choices.
Following is a list of WIT’s GED graduates. An asterisk (*) denotes students graduating with honors and the double asterisk (**) denotes the student with the highest score.
Sioux City: Jeremy Eugene Albertsen, Brandy Lynn Anderson, Michael William Anderson, Dezerea Cherie Archer, Lacey Mae Atmore, Jana Marie Barner, Armando Becerra, *Michael David Benson, Anthony Ray Blakey, Brian Joseph Borchers, *Matthew C. Bradley, Dolores A. Camarillo, *Sam Alexander Carnes, Manuel Cariaga Charles, Lori L. Coyle, *Corey Lee Craig, Yusuf Olajide Dawodu, Eric James Dittbenner, Juan Erganyan, Crystal Marie Fulmer, Esther Godfrey, Cullen C. Gomez, Amber Ann Goodwin, Kara Jo Goosmann, Abner Yearim Gurrola, Krystal Rae Harmon, Frank James Hazard, Samantha Lynne Hearty, Rafael Froylan Hernandez, **Noah C. Hill, Jessica Lynn Holtz, Nichole Marie Hovatter, Aaron P. Huls, *James J. Jennings, *Aaron Anthony Jensen, Ashley Nicole Kritis, Tray Michael Kucera, Melissa Christine Lias, *Samuel O. Lockamy, Danny Lee Maas, James Patrick McCabe, Kayla Marie Melbie, *Brandon Timothy Merchant, Michelle Denise Montanye, Nicholas Mathew Murphy, Christopher D. Musselman, Anthony Vincent

siouxcityjournal.com

Nancy Thomas was headed to the airport, and her granddaughter was worried. Whenever the 77-year-old saw brake lights, she hit her brake pedal — hard. If another vehicle came close, she’d slow down — way down.
A few months later, the Plymouth resident said, she took medications that didn’t mix, nodded off behind the wheel and bumped into another car.
“It concerned me,” Thomas said, recalling the accident that happened more than a year ago.
So this spring, Katelin Thomas, 18, urged her grandma to sign up for a senior driving workshop organized by groups including the Traffic Improvement Association (TIA), AARP and AAA. Two months later, the elder Thomas said she is driving with more confidence and is recommending the workshop to her friends.
Designed to aid drivers with fading eyesight, hearing loss and slowed reaction times, the workshops are increasingly popular.
Sylvan Lake-based TIA, which started its workshops in 1989, offers 25 classes a year throughout Michigan, up from 10 a decade ago.
Michigan’s 65-and-older population is steadily growing. In 2000, it was 1.2 million, or 12% of the state’s 10 million residents, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. In 2030, it is projected to grow to 2 million. At the same time, seniors are the group most at risk of being in a fatal crash per mile driven.
“Our roads were designed for an average-age driver in their 40s,” said highway safety engineer Kimberly Lariviere. “Soon, the average driver will be in the 60s.”
Four years ago, the state Department of Transportation started replacing old road signs with larger ones made with brighter reflective material and more readable lettering in order to help.
Within the past two years, the state has widened road stripes by two inches, increased the diameter of traffic lights, and reengineered some intersections by making left turn lanes wider and adding more roundabouts.

freep.com

As the booze-fueled reverie of the CasHank Hootenanny Jamboree spilled out of Buttermilk Bar in south Park Slope, rebel yells could be heard a block away. This last-Thursday-of-the-month tribute to classic three-chord country music trotted out many of the genre’s instrumental tropes, but with twists: Five acoustic guitars shared the stage with two banjos and an accordion, while a Telecaster, a harmonica, and pedal steel (played by a pre-op transsexual) all figured in solos. Jam leader Alex Battles broke his Jew’s harp, but a gut-shaking two-string bass, made from the gas tank of a ‘74 Corvette and a plank of maple, propelled the jam all night.
Yes, the Park Slope jam. Looming condos notwithstanding, the outer- borough country scene is alive, well, and spread out in all directions. The New York Metropolitan Country Music Association has hosted hoedowns for the last 25 years and now holds weekly line dances at the Glendale Memorial Building in Queens; the band, Nashville Attitude, hails from Staten Island. Meanwhile, ersatz honky-tonks are sprouting in Brooklyn’s boondocks, including the funky 74-seat Jalopy Theatre near Red Hook, and salty saloons with names like Sunny’s or Red Hook Bait & Tackle in the isolated neighborhood proper.
Unlike in touristy Manhattan, once the site of Garth Brooks’s Central Park lark, Brooklyn twang is as organic as fertilizer. No poseurs or irony here, or at least not too much: Most participants tend to be talented, intellectual, and eccentric, though not necessarily in that order. The number of trad and alt-country bands whose canon of one-name influences include Hank, Johnny, Woody, and Bob ranges from 50 to 100. “Sometimes a Williamsburg-style element emerges, and people engage in self-parody, the ‘Look at us—we’re toothless rednecks’ approach,” says Leon Chase, the dean of the scene he dubbed the Neo-Country Revolution, though he’s currently on well-deserved hiatus. “But this has never been a minstrel show.”

villagevoice.com

Ryan DeLaughter of the Vermont Lake Monsters had undergone Lasik eye surgery for blurred vision and was hoping it would help with his baseball hitting career.
Instead the Washington Nationals shipped DeLaughter, a designated hitter and right fielder, off to Florida with the plan to turn him into a pitcher. But he got hurt and now looks to rebound.
DeLaughter is back in Vermont and once again focused on making it to the big leagues

Yesterday Jamie Lynn Spears gave birth to a baby girl at a south Mississippi hospital, it’s said that she named her daughter Maddie Briann. Little Maddie weighed 7 pounds, 11 ounces and it’s said that both mother and daughter are doing very well.
According to reports Britney arrived just in time for the 9.30am birth in and also Jamie Lynn’s fianc

A RACIST "joke" has Barack Obama supporters fuming and Republicans cringing, as bizarre claims of sex and drugs were allowed centre stage on the US presidential campaign trail today.
A man who used YouTube to claim he took drugs and performed oral sex on Senator Obama in 1999 was given free rein at the US National Press Club, prompting a two-hour press conference that soon descended into farce.
Appearing with his kilt-wearing lawyer - who said the attire was necessary to accommodate his amply proportioned genitalia - Larry Sinclair presented himself for a grilling over his sensational claims.
"I asked him to wear a suit and tie," Mr Sinclair said of his attorney, according to the Huffington Post’s bemused correspondent. He offered little evidence of his claims, but promised some in the future.
He also promised to take a police lie detector test to prove himself. He may get the chance sooner than he thought - later reports said Mr Sinclair was arrested after the press conference, which might be remembered as the low point in the toxic margins of this campaign.
A post on Politico revealed Mr Sinclair has an extensive criminal history.
Meanwhile in Texas, the man behind a racist badge targeting Senator Obama, which was sold at a Republican party convention, apologised today but said he was just trying to be funny.
A badge bearing the words: "If Obama is President… will we still call it The White House?" was sold at a stall at the Texas Republican party’s get-together over the weekend.
A blogger for the Dallas Morning News spotted the stall, sparking a wave of criticism against the vendor and an almost immediate disavowal of him from the state’s Republicans.
The vendor, Jonathan Alcox, said he had received so many abusive and threatening phone calls he had been forced to disconnect his phone.

news.com.au