Hawker 800 Plane Crash Kills Eight People in Owatonna, MN

A plane crash in Owatonna, MN has killed at least eight people, according to reports on Thursday.

The plane, which was identified as a Raytheon Hawker 800, was thought to have had 10 people on board when it left Atlantic City, NJ. FAA officials identified the flight as East Coast Jets 81, inbound from Atlantic City as it left Lehigh Valley International Airport at 5:44 am.

However, due to severe thunderstorms in Minnesota, the plane crashed in Owatonna, 60 miles south of the Twin Cities, killing at least seven passengers.

Authorities were searching for two more people who could not immediately be located. However, officials said they may not have boarded the plane.

One person aboard the plane survived the crack and was taken to a hospital, but died while in the hospital.

The plane was carrying customers to Viracon Inc., an Owatonna-based glass company that earlier this year was awarded a contract to supply glass to the World Trade Center site. Viracon is the nation’s leading single-source glass fabricator.

The plane was not owned by Viracon, but was instead owned by charter firm East Coast Jets Inc, a private jet charter provider based in Allentown, PA.

‘So You Think You Can Dance’: Top six compete

I turn on the television and see last week’s episode on the screen. I’m later informed by Carla Correa that the first hour of the show is last week’s results show. The second of the hour of is new. Thank goodness!

The newest episode starts with the return of judge Adam Shankman. (He’s back from all his success directing Hairspray and Step Up 2 the Streets.)

Host Cat Deeley gets right down to business. Courtney and Mark are the first couple up. They dance a Viennese waltz choreographed by Jason Gilkison to “The Time of My Life” by David Cook. They appear to move really well together. He lifts her with ease to the pleasure of the audience. The routine ends in a tender embrace.

Adam says the top six are so strong. He says that the routine was good. He says Mark’s rise and fall was the best any guy has done during the season. “Overall, it was an absolutely beautiful performance, and America is going to absolutely love it.” Judge Mary Murphy says the lifts were effortless. “Mark, I fell like you really are growing week after week,” she says. “This number did it for me this week.” Judge Nigel Lythgoe says the routine was romantic. “You’ve started the evening really well,” he says. “Congratulations.”

Chelsie is the first solo of the evening. She dances to “When I Grow Up” by the Pussycat Dolls. She throws in a series of spins and ends with a split to the ground. This is a much better solo for her.

Twitch is next with his solo. He dances to “Midas Touch” by Midnight Star. He reveals a set of gold teeth. Then he puts on a pair of glasses. His moves are entertaining as usual. When he’s done, Cat puts on Twitch’s glasses and then tries on his teeth! OMG!!!!! I’m totally grossed out. How unsanitary!

Katee and Joshua are reunited with a contemporary piece choreographed by Tyce Diorio. They dance to “All By Myself” by Celine Dion (such a beautiful song). The stage is lit blue. Joshua does a huge leap over Katee. Then he picks her up with ease for a pretty lift. It is followed by him catching her in the air at the top of her leap. The rest of the routine is spectacular. When Celine hits her high notes, the two seem to go into overdrive. They are powerful, they are graceful, they are so good!

Adam gives a shout-out to Paula Abdul, who is in the audience. (She doesn’t look drunk tonight. Who knew?) Adam then says Katee and Joshua are among the most exciting couples to grace the stage. He calls the pair and Diorio “The Holly Trinity of So You Think You Can Dance.” He tells them that their routine was “awesome.” Mary is gushing over the routine. “This was so filled with passion, strength, the leaps, that leap catch,” she says. She predicts that both will end up in the finale. The three judges then give them a standing ovation. Nigel then gives choreographer Gillien Lynne a shout-out. He says Joshua is absolutely brilliant. “We don’t expect it from you,” he says. Nigel also praises Katee.

Chelsie and Twitch are next with a mambo choreographed by Tony Meredith and Melanie LaPatin. They dance to “Ahora Me Toca a Mi” by Victor Manuelle. Chelsie, as expected, is so strong. Her feet move so fast, it’s almost as if she’s moving in fast-forward mode. Twitch does a pretty good job keeping up with her.

Adam says Chelsie was an animal on the floor. He asks Twitch to be a little more animal. He says Twitch is a really good partner for Chelsie. Mary explains that the dance is extremely difficult. She praises Twitch for his ability to be on time with the count. She says Chelsie is a hot tamale. She says no one can touch Chelsie when it’s time to dance in the Latin style. “Twitch, I’m very proud of you tonight,” she adds. Nigel says her feet are fantastic. He says Twitch was slightly off. Overall, he praises the performance.

Katee is next with her solo. She dances to “Can’t Stop” by Maroon 5. She’s so full of energy. She moves perfectly with the music.

Joshua is next with his solo. He dances to “Like That” by Memphis Bleek. He throws in some huge jumps and a couple of dazzling tricks. There isn’t much dancing though.

Courtney and Mark are back with a jazz routine choreographed by Sonya Tayek. (She’s been one of my favorite choreographers this year.) They dance to “The Garden” by Mirah. There is some serious acting and passion demonstrated by the pair. It’s very intense. They do a good job.

Adam says the routine was good. “That was sick,” he says. “That was unbelievable.” Mary calls it a weird love story. “I love it,” she screams. Nigel says the routine worked for him. He also praises Courtney’s ability to adapt to any genre of dance. He calls the routine the highlight of the night. (High praise indeed!)

Katee and Joshua are next with a paso doble choreographed by Jason Gilkison. They dance to “Filet” from Le Reve. The pair start off strong. Midway through the routine the music changes, the tempo increases and the pair goes into overdrive. The crowd goes wild. They finish with Joshua dragging Katee across the dance floor like a matador dragging his cape. It is stunning.

Adam says Joshua is brilliant. He tells Katee that she will be so proud of herself when she watches the routine on television. Mary says “true magic” happens on the stage when they are together. Then she screams. Nigel says there were so many good things in the routine. He predicts that Joshua will steal the show if he continues to dance this way.

Courtney is next with her solo. She dances to “Rock Your Soul” by Elisa. She does a good job of balancing the dance and tricks.

Mark performs the final solo of the episode when he dances to “Bum Like You” by Robyn. Mark is so odd! He dances like a bird during most of his routine. It is still entertaining.

Chelsie and Twitch dance a hip-hop routine choreographed by Tabitha and Napoleon D’Umo to “Control” by The Vitamin String Quartet. They are essentially conductors battling for control of an orchestra. It’s highly entertaining watching them move to a classical version of the Janet Jackson hit.

Adam loves the routine. Mary says Twitch was absolutely outstanding. “Everything just clicked,” she says. Mary then praises Chelsie for keeping up with Twitch. Nigel says any of the top six could be in the top four during the finale.

AMERICAN WOMAN LYRICS

(Bachman-Cummings-Kale-Peterson)
(Prologue)
American woman gonna mess your mind
American woman, she gonna mess your mind
American woman gonna mess your mind
American woman gonna mess your mind
Say A,
Say M,
Say E,
Say R,
Say I,
C,
Say A,
N,
American woman gonna mess your mind
American woman gonna mess your mind
American woman gonna mess your mind

American woman, stay away from me
American woman, mama let me be
Don’t come hangin’ around my door
I don’t wanna see your face no more
I got more important things to do
Than spend my time growin’ old with you
Now woman, I said stay away,
American woman, listen what I say.

American woman, get away from me
American woman, mama let me be
Don’t come knockin’ around my door
Don’t wanna see your shadow no more
Coloured lights can hypnotize
Sparkle someone else’s eyes
Now woman, I said get away
American woman, listen what I say.

American woman, said get away
American woman, listen what I say
Don’t come hangin’ around my door
Don’t wanna see your face no more
I don’t need your war machines
I don’t need your ghetto scenes
Coloured lights can hypnotize
Sparkle someone else’s eyes
Now woman, get away from me
American woman, mama let me be.

Go, gotta get away, gotta get away
Now go go go
Gonna leave you, woman
Gonna leave you, woman
Bye-bye
Bye-bye
Bye-bye
Bye-bye
You’re no good for me
I’m no good for you
Gonna look you right in the eye.
Tell you what I’m gonna do
You know I’m gonna leave
You know I’m gonna go
You know I’m gonna leave
You know I’m gonna go, woman
I’m gonna leave, woman
Goodbye, American woman
Goodbye, American chick
Goodbye, American broad …

Scientists Yet to Identify “Monster of Montauk”

Scientists have yet to identify what type of animal the “Monster of Montauk” truly is, according to reports on Thursday.

The “Montauk Monster” washed up onshore of a New York beach in Montauk, Long Island. Several onlookers took pictures of it, sending it via e-mail on Wednesday.

According to Newsday, Alanna Navitski, an employee for Los Angeles’ Evolutionary Media Group, was behind the media frenzy. Navitski sent the picture of the “monster” to Anna Holmes, the managing editor at Jezebel, who then sent it to Gawker.

Gawker published the photo with the headline “Dead Monster Washes Ashore in Montauk”.

“I got this e-mail and opened it from my girlfriend who works at Harris Publications, which has nothing to do with anything,” says Navitski as she retells the story. “Anyway, my girlfriend’s sister was there with her friends and one of them took the picture. And we were like, ‘This is the scariest shit we’ve ever seen.’”

Navitski discredits the rumor that this picture is apart of a viral marketing scheme. ”And so — I’m in marketing — were like, ‘Maybe we should send it to a few blogs and see if anyone else is as freaked out as we are,’” said Navitski. ”We had no idea that it would turn into this. Now it’s literally a beast of its own. But it has nothing to do with any kind of campaign.”

Many believe that it is a sea turtle without a shell or the remnants of a government animal-testing facility nearby. However, no scientific specialist has yet to identify what animal or creature this “Montauk Monster” truly is.

Kate Hudson Already Dating: Spotted With Eric Lindros After Lance Armstrong Split?

Kate Hudson and Lance Armstrong have barely split but there are already reports that she has been spotted with another guy and the charges “maneater are being tossed about.  Lance Armstrong and Kate Hudson dated for about three months and this week a report claims they have split and now there is a report that she is dating former NHL star Eric Lindross.

Kate Hudson Already Dating Again? (Image: Wenn)

Hot on the heels of that is a new claim that she has been spotted out with a new guy already.  The report comes from gossip Perez Hilton and he claims that  “She’s already got herself a new man. And, it’s actually an old man!”

***

Hilton reports that sources have dished to the website that Hudson is once again seeing an ex-boyfriend of hers, a fella by the name of Eric Lindros.  Hilton doesn’t name the source but he does this quote from the insider and it appear that Hilton isn’t clear on exactly who Lindros is but one can only see that Kate must really like athletes.

“Kate and Eric have been holed up at her parent’s [Goldie & Kurt's] house Muskoka, Canada,” a well-placed insider tells us. “She went there immediately after she and Lance ended things.”

Mel Karmazin, Sirius XM Radio

Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. completed its purchase of XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. in an all-stock takeover valued at $2.76 billion. The shares dropped on investor concern over new stock and debt offerings.

The company will change its name to Sirius XM Radio Inc. and continue to be led by Sirius Chief Executive Mel Karmazin.

Existing radios will continue to work and subscribers may keep their current service package, Sirius said Tuesday. The combined company also will sell new programming packages that offer selections from both services and that give consumers the choice of which channels they receive.

Investors in Washington-based XM received 4.6 Sirius shares for each XM share. Sirius fell 30 cents, or 16 percent, to $1.58, the lowest level in almost five years. It was the most heavily traded stock on the Nasdaq.

Cheesecake Factory Offers $1.50 Slices

The Cheesecake Factory celebrates 30 years of service on July 30, marking National Cheesecake Day. The restaurant known for their more-than-generous portions will sell cheesecake slices for $1.50, a well-discounted price; many of their cheesecakes cost about $6 per slice.

The discounted dessert will only be available at The Cheesecake Factory on July 30 for dine-in guests. There is a limit of one cheesecake slice per guest.

The news of the delicious discount was spread not only on The Cheesecake Factory’s Web site, but also through social networking sites. Users on Facebook.com have already “RSVPd” for the tasty event at The Cheesecake Factory. The event/group, entitled “$.150 CHEESECAKE DAY!!,” has over 6,000 confirmed guests ready to dig in to cheesecake. The Facebook event also lists more than 2,000 guests who will “maybe attend,” as well as comments voicing excitement for the restaurant chain’s promotion of National Cheesecake Day.

Also included in the comments are notes of disappointment, for some individuals will not be able to partake in the cheesecake festivities, due to schedule conflicts or even location.

“This is just too tempting, but I can’t make it,” one woman wrote, from Atlanta, Ga. Included was an emoticon of a sad face.

Employees of The Cheesecake Factory have also used the group to voice their concerns over the upcoming humongous turnout of customers.

Another commented, “I’ll be serving you people. Tips are gonna suck and its gonna be ridiculously busy we wont [sic] have time to [breathe].”

David Overton founded the first Cheesecake Factory restaurant in 1978. His parents, Oscar and Evelyn Overton, began the cheesecake-based business in 1971 with “the last of their savings” in Los Angeles, according to The Cheesecake Factory’s Web site. In 2008, The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated reported the chain’s “total revenues increased 9% to 407.1 million in the second quarter” of the 2008 fiscal year.

PlayStation 3 2.42 Update Now Available (Might Want to Wait Before Installing)

The 2.42 firmware release for PS3 is now out, and you can go grab it now. You might want to wait until tomorrow morning to install it, however, since we all remember what happened with the 2.40 update. We recommend waiting until other people have canaried the situation out for you. As a side note, we really wish Sony would put out changelogs with this thing to let everyone know what’s been added and fixed. Seriously, c’mon.

Shailene Woodly Stars in “The Secret Life of The American Teenager”

ABC Family’s The Secret Life Of The American Teenager is the network’s latest dramatic series from Brenda Hampton, Creator of 7^th Heaven.  The series takes a look at the story of one American teenager, and Amy, played by Shailene Woodly, and her unexpected pregnancy.  Shailene began acting at the age of 5 and has been working steadily ever since.  She is best known for her role as Misha Barton’s younger sister on The OC, and for the lead in the popular WB movie, Felicity: An American Girl Adventure.  She has also had recurring role on Crossing Jordan, and Jack and Bobby and numerous guest appearances on other shows such as Cold Case, My Name is Earl, and CSI NY, and had a lead opposite Anne Margaret and Matthew Settle in the TV movie, Close to Home.

Shailene recently spoke to MediaBlvd about why this drama is different than the other teen dramas on TV, and about the journey that her character will undergo as the secret of her pregnancy becomes known.

MediaBlvd Magazine> I know we’ve all seen the press releases, and everybody’s seen the first episode, but can you tell us in your own words what the series is about and what it’s going to explore throughout the season and then a little bit about the character of Amy, who we got introduced to this week?

Shailene Woodley> The show kind of explores teenagers and decisions they make in high school, you know, like when to have sex decisions.  And the awesome thing about our show is it doesn’t really refer to drugs or alcohol, which is very rare in TV these days.  So I think it’s definitely important for the public to know what teenagers do and talk about at high school and for parents to know what their teens are doing, because often they’re completely clueless.  My character, Amy Juergens, she is a go-getter, she’s excited for life, she wants to go to Julliard, she has all these amazing goals.  And then she finds out she’s pregnant, and her world kind of comes crashing down and her sense of optimism turns to pessimism.  And she freaks out, because all she’s ever known has been completely turned upside down.  And she has no one to go to to talk to about her pregnancy.  So it’s definitely a hard time in her life.

MediaBlvd> How long is it going to be before the secret gets out and her family learns about the pregnancy?  Is that going to happen fairly early in the season or is that going to go for a while with only Amy and her friends knowing about it?

Shailene> Amy tells her friends pretty quickly, obviously, and the rest of her family, they progressively find out.

MediaBlvd> How would you say this show is different from other teenage dramas that are out there that have been on TV in the years past?

Shailene> I think my show is different because, like I said earlier, a lot of the teenage dramas that have been on or are on now all deal with drugs and alcohol and teenagers adding negative things to the world.  The nice thing about our show, which I think is definitely—Brenda Hampton is amazing, it’s part of her complete talent—is our show deals with sex probably 30 or 40 times in the pilot, but it’s all about the confusion about sex and the questions teenagers have and trying to figure out who they are through sex or the consequences of it, like Amy Juergens. I think it’s definitely really amazing that we focus on the positive things on teenagers, because the public right now they kind of have a negative outlook on teens and myself being a teenager, I want to change that and be able to show that we have just as much power to change this world as anyone does.  So I think it’s really cool what Brenda has created.

MediaBlvd> Did you know who Brenda was and what she had done before you took this role, or at what point did you find out?

Shailene> I did.  I knew her from Seventh Heaven.  I thought Seventh Heaven was an amazing show, and I had no idea what other shows she has done.  Her range of vocabulary and talent – she’s definitely the kind of lady that I aspire to be one day.

MediaBlvd> Back in 1988, Molly Ringwald did the movie, For Keeps, where she played a pregnant teen.  Have you talked to her at all about that dynamic and how teen pregnancy is still an issue?

Shailene> We have talked about it, and it’s funny because I didn’t know she had done that movie until she had told me, and we kind of laughed about it and how ironic it was that she was now playing the mom of a pregnant teen.  Then we talked about the issue of how it had happened back in the day and now how the issue is being brought back up again, and we kind of both decided that it’s not more of an issue now because there was, we think, just as many teens back then that were getting pregnant, it’s just more socially accepted now.  Not that it’s expected; it’s just not as looked down upon quite as much as it was back then.  So, we think that by bringing it up again we’re able to stir up different emotions and different feelings and different controversies and be able to put it in terms that are understandable for everybody.

MediaBlvd> How different is it playing this part where you see yourself on the posters, you’re the lead in this role compared to—well I guess you were the lead in Felicity but that was really a one shot thing, this is a series that you’re on posters for everywhere.  Is that a cool thing, or how does that make you feel?

Shailene> I’ve been acting for almost 13 years, and it’s just been my hobby.  My friends went to soccer practice; I went to auditions.  So I’ve never really thought of it as a job or something that my life could be created after.  It’s just been something that I have an immense passion for.  Seeing my poster up everywhere is so unreal, and it’s almost like a false reality.  I can’t really decipher that that’s actually me.  I’m at the mall with my friends, or whatever, and we all kind of laugh at it because we don’t know how to react.  It’s always been something that I look at as my hobby, not for fame or anything other than the fact that I love it.  So it’s definitely an unreal experience, and it’s weird getting used to.

MediaBlvd> So in the poster, you’re obviously wearing, I don’t know if you’d call it a body suit or a prosthetic that makes you look pregnant.    Is it something that you have to wear around, and is it heavy?

Shailene> Actually, right now in the early stages of the pregnancy and in the poster I was using a stuffed belly.  So it’s not prosthetics or anything, and it’s lighter than a pillow.  So it’s kind of fun just to wear around and walk around set.  People come around and poke your belly, or whatever, just because it’s weird to see a tall, skinny, gangly, 16-year-old wearing a pregnancy belly.

MediaBlvd> How did you decide you wanted to go into?  You’ve been doing it since you were five, I think you said?

Shailene> Yes.  It was kind of an accident, actually.  I’m not even entirely sure how it happened.  My cousin used to be a model and one day brought a talent-call audition thing with her and my mom was like, “Hey, you want to act today?” and I was like, “Sure!”  And it just kind of happened.  I was never forced to do it, and I never forced them to take me to auditions.  It was just kind of one of those things that worked for everybody.

MediaBlvd> The press release for the show says that ABC Family is going to be working with the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, and I was wondering if you’re going to be a part of that at all or if you’re doing anything to support that effort?

Shailene> So far I’ve done a PSA saying how teen pregnancy is preventable and how parents and teenagers can handle it.  Other than that we haven’t done anything so far.  But I definitely hope to be a part of it, because I want to express my feelings on teen pregnancy and how girls can be helped and how they can realize that they’re not alone in this situation.

MediaBlvd> Great.  Did you do anything special to watch the premiere this week?  Did you get friends together and did you have a party or anything?

Shailene> My family and I went to my agent’s house and we all hung out with my agent and managers and just had a blast.  So, that’s what we did.

MediaBlvd> Do you eventually want to go to college?

Shailene> I do.

MediaBlvd> What do you want to study?

Shailene> I’ve gone to public school my whole life, and three months ago before the show I was planning to apply to NYU in a couple of months.  So it’s crazy how life changes so quickly.  I do want to go to college.  I want to live in New York at some point in my life.  I want to go to NYU, and I want to study psych and interior design.  They’re completely opposite, but I’m creative and I love the arts, so that’s why I like interior design; and I think psychology is just so fascinating to be able to study the human mind and the human characteristics and the way that we work.  So I think that’s definitely up my alley.  I want to have options.

MediaBlvd> Do you think you’ll eventually get out of acting, or will you use that?  I guess those are two things you can kind of pull into an acting career, too.

Shailene> Yes.  I’m the kind of person who likes to try everything in the world, and I will always act just because it’s really the one thing I can express myself fully in and let go of all prerequisites and just be myself in that character, whatever that character may be.  So I’ll always act just because it’s my passion, but I want to do other things on the side, too.  So we’ll see where the path takes me, and I’ll follow and do what I want to do at the time.

MediaBlvd> What do you like to do in your free time, or do you have any free time?

Shailene> Lately free time has been hard to find, but I love to sew.  I love to make bags or shirts or dresses or whatever.  So I do a lot of sewing, and my best friend and I actually—she’s an amazing photographer; she wants to be a fashion photographer when she’s older—so we’ll go to the mountains or whatever and we’ll take pictures and I’ll pose for her so she can get a portfolio together.  We’re just very creative.  We like to go around and make things out of random scraps of anything.  I’m definitely an environmentalist.  I think that nature is very important, and I dedicate a lot of my time studying awareness about recycling and the effects of bamboo and how it can be incredible over wood and a lot of random things.  But I think the environment is something people need to start paying attention to.  And it has.  People have started to pay more attention to it, so that makes me very, very proud.

MediaBlvd> That actually kind of leads into what I was going to ask you next.  With a show like this, especially with you as the lead, you’re kind of developing a voice.  You’re going to have the ability to focus attention on different charities or different activities just by talking about things.  Are there any specific groups that you’re involved with or that you support currently or that you’re going to support?

Shailene> Currently I support the Ronald McDonald Organization and the National Elizabeth Glaser AIDS foundation. I’ve been doing a lot of research, and I haven’t really found an organization that I have connected to completely, and I want to do something—I want to start an organization that allows families who are unable to go on vacation, I want to provide them with money through an organization to be able to let them go on vacation.  I’ve been fortunate enough my entire life to go on one vacation a year, whether it be to Mexico or on a cruise or something, and a lot of my friends never had that opportunity.  I think it’s important for kids to be able to have that one time a year where they can get out of the jungle of life and be themselves.  So I want to start an organization for that, and I want to be a part of the—I don’t know if I want to join Green Peace or something that has to do with nature, but I haven’t figured out what I want to join yet.

MediaBlvd> Who should be watching this show and why?

Shailene> I haven’t really figured out a minimum age, because it all depends on the maturity level of the young individual, but definitely it should focus on teenagers, and I think parents should watch it, too, because there’s a whole other side to the show that I don’t think people realize right off.  That is that parents can learn so much, because Adrian’s mom on the show, she has no idea what her daughter is doing half the time, so I think it’s important for parents to be able to realize that when they leave for a week their teens aren’t necessarily studying for algebra, they’re doing something else.  So I think it’s important to open parents’ eyes all around America.

New Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince Trailer And Images

Though I’m still surprised we didn’t see the first trailer for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince before The Dark Knight, we’ve luckily only had a short wait. The trailer is here! And while the title bears the name of the ostensible lead character, it’s all about Tom Riddle in the sixth movie of the series. The filmmakers seem to have found a structure within J.K. Rowling’s book by focusing on Dumbledore and Harry’s efforts to explore Riddle/Voldemort’s past. We see a lot of the 10-year-old Riddle, whom Dumbledore visits in the orphanage, and a few glimpses of what’s to come– including a second or two of the ghostly white, scary-as-all-get-out Voldemort as played by Ralph Fiennes.

Of course, this is just a teaser, so who knows how much of it will apply to the actual movie. But who cares! It’s the new Harry Potter, and it promises to be even darker than the ones that have come before it. Even though we now know how the series ends in the books, it’s no less exciting to see it all play out on the screen. See the trailer below, along with four new images from the film just sent over to us by WB.