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Sara Hall

Likes: Good (read: bad) puns, puppies, embarrassing pop music, burritos, idolizing Beyoncé and Tina Fey Dislikes: Squirrels, typos, socks with sandals (and other unforgivable fashion mistakes) Sara hasn't always been a journalist -- unless you count that time she put out a newspaper in the third grade about her dog. Still, she's been making up for lost time ever since she began attending Eastern Illinois University and started writing for The Daily Eastern News. When people ask her why she wants to be a writer, she tells them it's because she genuinely enjoys journalism and everything that goes with it (which is true, but let's be real, she not-so-secretly wouldn't mind just being Carrie Bradshaw for the rest of her life). In the fall, you'll find her where she really belongs: as online editor, blogging and tweeting like it's her job -- because hey, it actually is (thank God).

Madonna tour demands as extravagant as ever

Madonna reportedly requesting 200-person entourage, furniture shipped from home

The latest reported Madonna tour demands are crazy, and seemingly right on key for what the star has asked for in the past.

In Touch magazine is reporting Madonna, 53, has a slew of requirements for her tour. She must have a 200-person entourage, 30 bodyguards, a yoga instructor, an acupuncturist, a team of personal chefs and a dry cleaner.

The magazine is also reporting she needs a dressing room that is filled with white and light-pink roses and lilies with six-inch long stems (exactly). The room must also have 20 international phone lines.

Other Madonna tour demands include a room draped in special fabric (although the fabric was not named) so her hotel room can feel like home.

She requires all furniture be removed from the remove and be replaced with her own furniture pieces that she ships in just for the occasion.

She also requires her chef to prepare strictly vegan foods as part of the list of Madonna tour demands.

No word yet has been released whether these Madonna tour demands are consistently met.

Microsoft tablet to bring surprises, new operating system

Announcment event for new tablet said to be currently underway

The new Microsoft tablet has the Internet buzzing about what will be offered on it.

This caused Microsoft to address the rumors – kind of.

“This will be a major Microsoft announcement – you will not want to miss it,” the company said in an email invite directed towards the media on Thursday.

One of the biggest buzz topics is what system the Microsoft tablet would run.

The New York Times reported Monday that sources told them the new Microsoft tablet will run the Windows RT software, a surprise considering how much the company had been touting Windows 8 for their regular computers.

However, Windows RT is said to be widely different than Windows 8. While the two have some shared code, they are said to be distinctly different operating systems that perform on different processor platforms.

The apps on the Microsoft tablet are also reported to be designed for exclusively for Windows RT. This means any apps for Windows 8 will not run on the new Microsoft tablet.

The Windows RT software will not be available for download outside of its pre-instillation on the Microsoft tablet devices, although rumors are swirling that it could eventually be brought to other Microsoft devices.

The Microsoft tablet is set to compete with Apple’s iPad and should be available just in time for the holiday season. With a rumored new iPad model around the corner, consumers will inevitably have more tablet options from which they can choose. This competition could also drive down the tablet prices.

The event discussing the Microsoft tablet was set to start at 3:30 p.m. Pacific time. More details are said to be released as the event continues.

Apple stock higher than ever

Analysts saying $600 stock is bargain priced

Apple stock topped out at more than $600 earlier this year, and some analysts are saying this is a steal of a price for a share of the technology giant.

Apple has already taken the title for the most profitable quarter in history among technology companies.

Shares for Apple stock have traded as high as $644 in recent months. They are currently at $581, slightly up from previous weeks.

Topeka Capital Markets analyst Brian White wrote in a note on Monday to clients that Apple stock is currently set to have the most profitable year ever among publicly traded companies.

“In CY12, we believe Apple is poised to generate the highest annual net income of any publicly traded company ever,” White said. “On average, we estimate Apple’s net income in CY12 will be over 6x higher than the three tech companies on an individual basis (when at a $500 billion market cap) or 1.9x the aggregate profit of these three companies combined. When including all five companies, we estimate Apple’s net income in CY12 will be 4x higher than the average.”

White said the reason behind the Apple stock buzz is their complete revamp of their product line. With new iPhone, MacBook Pro, iPad and Apple TV models being released or soon to be released, he said Apple stock is almost guaranteed to continue to rise.

White said a Buy rating on Apple stock ran in at a price target of $1,111, which is twice what the Apple stock was trading ahead of the opening bell on Monday.

He said he is expecting an “exciting September for Apple” based on discussions he’s had with local contacts in Taipei, Apple’s supply chain.

Jack Osbourne diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis comes at rough time

Osbourne, fiancée recently had daughter Pearl Clementine

Jack Osbourne, the reality TV star made famous by his outlandish family’s antics on The Osbournes and through his own TV show Jack Osbourne: Adrenaline Junkie, has announced he has Multiple Sclerosis.

Osbourne, 26, said he first realized he had MS, a disease that affects the autoimmune system, after he lost around 60 percent of his vision in his right eye earlier in the year.

Jack Osbourne said the results that diagnosed him with MS left him with a flurry of mixed emotions.

“While I was waiting for the final results, I got really, really angry,” Jack Osbourne said during an interview with Hello! magazine. “Then I got really sad for about two days, and after that I realized, being angry and upset is not going to do anything at this point – if anything it’s only going to make it worse. ‘Adapt and overcome’ is my new motto.”

The disease is not the same for all patients. While it is usually diagnosed during the young adult years, it can occur at any time. Affecting the nerve fibers of the brain and spinal cord, MS can cause speech difficulties, blindness, loss of coordination and chronic pain.

Jack Osbourne’s diagnosis comes at an especially rough time, as his fiancée Lisa Stelly recently gave birth to daughter Pearl Clementine.

No cure for MS currently exists, but Osbourne says he intends to treat his disease with daily medications and holistic treatments.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. places a kiss on girlfriend after Sprint Cup victory

Earnhardt Jr.’s win marks start of career revival

Dale Earnhardt Jr. kissed his girlfriend in front of thousands of fans on Sunday, and he had good reason to celebrate.

Earnhardt Jr.’s win of the Sprint Cup finally marked the end of one of the longest stretches between wins in the race’s history.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. had gone 143 races without winning prior to Sunday’s race.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s last victory came in 2008 when he beat Tony Stewart by 5.393 seconds.

Since then, Earnhardt Jr. said he knew it was only a matter of time until he was victorious again.

“I feel like we are getting stronger,” Earnhardt said after the race. “This year, we have gotten faster throughout the year. We started off pretty quick and we have gotten quicker, and quicker, especially these last couple weeks. So that’s been a thrill for me.”

Earnhardt Jr. is now positioned to be a contender as a winner of the overall series, but now the pressure is on for him to perform better than ever.

“We have a conference meeting on Tuesday with all of the drivers and crew chiefs and that will be a thrill since we won,” Earnhardt said. “But we have got to start talking about the next race. We need to keep our eye on the goal and, like I said, we’ll enjoy this, but we are ready for the next opportunity to win one, because this is fun.”

Sunday marked Dave Earnhardt Jr.’s 19th Cup victory and his second in 159 starts for Hendrick Motorsports. He had 17 victories in 291 races for Dale Earnhardt Inc.

The day of his win, Father’s Day, seemed fitting for Earnhardt Jr., as his father, Dale Earnhardt Sr. was an avid race car driver. Earnhardt Sr. died during a final lap crash at 2001’s Daytona 500, and he is now remembered as one of the greatest NASCAR drivers of all-time.

Rodney King dies at 47

King dies in apparent drowning

Rodney King, who was best known for sparking discussion around racial tensions, died on Sunday at the age of 47.

King was found at approximately 5:30 a.m. on Sunday at the bottom of his swimming pool.

His death is being treated as a drowning; although, no signs of foul play exist.

Captain Randy De Anda said an autopsy, set for Monday, will determine whether drugs or alcohol played a role in the death of Rodney King.

De Anda continued to say Rodney King was only in the water for three to four minutes from the time when his fiancée called 911 to when the police officers arrived on the scene and removed him from the water.

King was pronounced dead at 6:11 a.m.

King was often known to swim late into the night.

Rodney King marked a milestone in the discussion surrounding racial tensions.

In 1991, King was videotaped being beaten by police. He had been on parole for robbery conviction and had led police on a high-speed chase, only to end with police catching him and striking him with their batons more than 50 times, kicking him and shooting him with stun guns.

The beating, which left Rodney King with 11 skull fractures, a broken eye socket and facial nerve damage, was the catalyst for one of the country’s worst race riots.

Rodney King then left Los Angeles and moved an hour east to the city of Rialato, Calif. in hopes of more solitude.

King was awarded $3.8 million for his civil case, which he spent on a record label and other failed projects.

Rodney King made appearances in pop culture, appearing on the show Celebrity Rehab and boxing matches. He recently finished his memoir, The Riot Within: From Rebellion to Redemption.

Jerry Sandusky sexual abuse scandal still ongoing

“Victim Seven” comes forth

Another witness has come to the stand to testify against Jerry Sandusky in his ongoing sexual abuse scandal.

This time “Victim Seven” is alleging Jerry Sandusky, the former Penn State assistant football coach, sexually abused him by cuddling him and making the two shower together.  

The witness, now 27, was 10-years-old during the time when he said Jerry Sandusky sexually abused him. He said he met Sandusky through his charity, “The Second Mile,” and thereafter, Sandusky repeatedly invited him to sleepovers.

The witness said Jerry Sandusky would be “wrapping himself around me, holding me tightly” when he slept over at his house.

He also said Jerry Sandusky touched him beneath his pants and “caressed” his nipples.

The victim also said Jerry Sandusky provided him with Penn State football tickets from 1995 to 2009, to which he took up the offer.

“I wanted to go to games. I tried to block that stuff out and focus on the positives,” he said during his testimony.

Jerry Sandusky’s attorney, Joe Amendola, pointed out flaws in the victim’s case, saying during a 2004 scholarship application, the victim wrote that Jerry Sandusky “changed my perceptions in life in a positive way. . . He is such a kind and caring gentleman, and I will never, ever forget him.”

The victim said he only recently told his parents of the abuse once he had been approached by the police.

Henry Hill dies at age 69

Hill’s life inspiration behind movie “Goodfellas”

Henry Hill, the inspiration behind the movie Goodfellas, has died at the age of 69.

With his crazy antics and illegal activities, the former mafia associate-gone-FBI informant’s life inspired the 1990 Martin Scorsese mob film Goodfellas.

TMZ reported Hill’s girlfriend said Henry Hill died from a long battle of an unidentified illness.

“He had been sick for a long time…his heart gave out,” she said to TMZ.

Henry Hill was kicked out of the FBI for committing numerous crimes.

The book inspired by the film, Pileggi’s 1986 Wiseguys, and the consequent movie, Goodfellas, were based off the events in Henry Hill’s life.

Henry Hill was known to indulge in drugs and alcohol and have multiple affairs. He was also infamous for his many crimes committed while in the mob.

Henry Hill spent 10 years in prison in the ‘70s for an extortion rap.

Henry Hill was booted from the witness protection program in 1990 because he often blew his own cover and continued to participate in illegal activities.

Henry Hill was never concerned with potentially scorned former mob members and was very open and public with his life. He often appeared on The Howard Stern Show where he would discuss his past mobster life.

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Obama document leaked causes controversy

Document discusses free trade negotiations with Pacific nations

With a critical Obama document leaked about free trade negotiations with eight Pacific nations now public, controversy is brewing.

The Obama document leaked reveals the administration has intentions to place new political powers on multinational corporations, which contradicts their prior claims.

The Obama document leaked has been posted on the Public Citizen website that has been openly critical over the administration’s trade objectives.

Because the Obama document leaked was kept secret, many members of Congress are upset and are complaining that they are not given proper access to trade documents.

“The outrageous stuff in this leaked text may well be why U.S. trade officials have been so extremely secretive about these past two years of (trade) negotiations,” Lori Wallach, director of Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch, said in a statement.

The Obama administration is currently advocating American corporations to be subject to domestic laws and regulation on the environment, banking and other issues. However, the terms of the Obama document leaked say contrary.

“We will not negotiate bilateral trade agreements that stop the government from protecting the environment, food safety, or the health of its citizens; give greater rights to foreign investors than to U.S. investors; require the privatization of our vital public services; or prevent developing country governments from adopting humanitarian licensing policies to improve access to life-saving medications,” the Obama document leaked says.

Still, nearly all promises are violated by the Obama document leaked. More information is to be discussed regarding the leaked document.

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Facebook ads actually effective

Facebook reports companies see a $3 return for every $1 invested

Facebook ads always seem to be the bane of its users, but the company’s executives say they are still effective as ever.

Facebook recently said in a joint report with researcher ComScore Inc. that their marketing and advertising efforts do in fact encourage users to buy products, despite many users’ dislike of Facebook ads.

The report says Facebook users who saw an ad for Starbucks on the site bought an item at the coffee giant within four weeks, 38 percent more often than those who didn’t see an ad. These type of Facebook ads appeared from those who “liked” Starbucks.

ComScore also examined Target Corp. results, saying they show positive results from Facebook ads as well. The report said those users who “like” Target on Facebook bought 21 percent more at the retail store.

However, this report from ComScore Inc. comes on the tails of a contradictory report from Reuters/Ipsos that said just one in five Facebook users bought products because they were influenced by Facebook ads.

Still, Facebook is still reporting companies see a $3 return on every $1 they spend on Facebook ads and marketing, Brad Smallwood, head of measurement and insights at Facebook, said.

For half of the campaigns, there was a $5 return for every $1 invested on Facebook ads.

These reports come from more than 60 advertising campaigns over the past few years, Smallwood said.

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