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Jane Russell, the busty brunette who shot to fame as the sexy star of Howard Hughes’ 1941 Western ‘The Outlaw,’ died Monday of respiratory failure, her family said. She was 89.
Although Missis Russell made only a handful of films after the 1960′s, she had remained active in her church, with charitable organizations and with a local singing group until her health began to decline just a couple of weeks ago, said her daughter-in-law Etta Waterfield. She died at her home in Santa Maria.
“She always said I’m going to die in the saddle, I’m not going to sit at home and become an old woman” – Waterfield said. “And that’s exactly what she did, she died in the saddle.”
Hughes, the eccentric billionaire, put her onto the path to stardom when he cast her in ‘The Outlaw,’ a film he fought with censors for nearly a decade to get into wide release.

Jane Russell.

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‘The King’s Speech’ was the big winner at the 2011 Oscars, winning four awards including Best Actor for Colin Firth along with Best Director (Tom Hooper), Best Original Screenplay and the most coveted prize of the night, Best Picture.
The film tied for most Oscar awards with fellow Best Picture nominee Inception which took home Best Cinematography, Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Editing and Best Visual Effects.
Much to the surprise of no one, Natalie Portman took the stage to graciously accept the award for Best Actress for her performance as the insane ballet dancer Nina Sayers in ‘Black Swan’.
Elsewhere, Christian Bale won Best Supporting Actor for his performance in ‘The Fighter’ with the actor delivering a heartfelt and funny speech giving credit to Dicky Eklund, the real-life boxer his role was based on.

The King's Speech.

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It’s February 27, 2011 – the date of the 83rd Academy Awards! And you’re ready, with your Oscars ballot, your Oscars predictions, your Oscars party tips and your Oscars drinking game rules. And you’ve bookmarked the Oscar winners list, which we at Moviefone will be updating in real time. Now you just have one question: What time do the 2011 Oscars start?
For some people, the real show is the red carpet – which starts at 6PM ET / 5PM CT / 3PM PT, and is televised on various channels, though the most popular coverage is on E!. Ryan Seacrest and Giuliana Rancic will be greeting the stars, asking what they’re wearing, and providing fascinating banter of the ‘What parties are you going to?’ variety.
And then the telecast of the Oscars ceremony begins at 8PM ET / 7PM CT / 5PM PT on ABC, hosted by James Franco and Anne Hathaway, who will join the pantheon of Oscar hosts and attempt to rank in your affections somewhere between Billy Crystal and Whoopi Goldberg.

Oscar 2011.

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A frigid winter storm is expected to drop the Southland into the deep freeze this weekend.
The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning for Southern California beginning Friday through Saturday night.
A cold low pressure system is expected to bring periods of heavy precipitation Friday night through Saturday. Along with gusty winds and very cool temperatures with very low snow levels.
Showers are expected to increase Friday becoming heavy at times late Friday night through Saturday morning as this cold front moves through southwest California.

San Francisco snow.

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Charlie Sheen let loose on ‘Two and a Half Men’ co-creator Chuck Lorre earlier in the week, telling radio host Alex Jones: “I embarrassed him in front of his children and the world by healing at a pace that his unevolved mind cannot process.”
Sheen also said: “Last I checked, [Chuck], I spent close to the last decade effortlessly and magically converting your tin cans into pure gold. And the gratitude I get is this charlatan chose not to do his job, which is to write.”
In the interview, Sheen claimed he wanted to return to work but was barred by producers of ‘Two and a Half Men.’
In response, CBS and Warner Bros. Television said they are halting production on the show for the season.
Lorre has had run-ins with stars of his shows in the past. In a December 2010 profile of Lorre in
‘The New Yorker,’ Lorre discusses getting fired from the show ‘Cybill,’ which he created, by saying he was removed from the show because series star Cybill Shepherd was unhappy with “how the humor was being apportioned out” in the show’s second season.
Shepherd told ‘The New Yorker’ simply: “Chuck knows why he was fired.”

Charlie Sheen.

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One year after ‘Deadliest Catch’ star Captain Phil Harris died of a stroke, another crew member has been found dead in an Alaska hotel room, TMZ reported Wednesday.
Justin Tennison (33) of the F/V Time Bandit was found unresponsive Tuesday afternoon at the Best Western Bidarka Inn.
Police discovered a small amount of cannabis and several bottles of alcohol in the room, and believe there had been a party there the night before.
“Justin was tough as a bull and was an all-around good hand” – captain Andy Hillstrand wrote on the Time Bandit website.
“The Captains and Crew appreciated his hard work and many contributions this past year. We will miss him terribly and wish his family all the best during this most difficult time.”
It is unknown whether the drugs an alcohol played a role in Tennison’s death. An autopsy was scheduled for late Wednesday.

Justin Tennison.

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Former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel has been elected mayor Chicago.
Mister Emanuel captured over fifty percent of the vote, avoiding a run off election. Unofficial election results have the Chicago Democrat winning, with the Associated Press and Politico projecting him the winner.
Mister Emanuel is projected to win the mayorship outright by surpassing the 50-percent threshold needed to avoid an April runoff, defeating a number of candidates including former Sen. Carol Moseley Braun who conceded defeat.
“Thank you Chicago! Your hard work & support got us here. Looking forward to working together as your next mayor” – he sent by Twitter.
Mister Emanuel’s candidacy and election captured the nation’s attention after he announced his intention to leave his influential position at the White House. Mister Emanuel received support from a number of high-ranking Democrats, including former President Bill Clinton.

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More than 100 people are believed to be trapped in rubble after a deadly 6,3-magnitude earthquake rocked the southern New Zealand city of Christchurch on Tuesday.
Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker declared a state of emergency and ordered people to evacuate the city centre following the quake, which has killed at least 65 people. Parker said rescue teams including sniffer dogs were fanning out.
“The government is willing to throw everything it can in the rescue effort” – Deputy Prime Minister Bill English said. “Time is going to be of essence.
“I rang my kids to say goodbye” – said Ann Voss, interviewed by TV3 from underneath her desk, where she was trapped in a collapsed office building. “It was absolutely horrible. My daughter was crying and I was crying because I honestly thought that was it. You know, you want to tell them you love them, don’t you?”
She said she could hear other people still alive in the building, and had called out to them and communicated by knocking on rubble.
“I’m not going to give up” – she said. “I’m going to stay awake now. They better come and get me.”

New Zealand earthquake.

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Louisville, KY. Former U of L basketball player, Troy Jackson died Saturday at age 35. Jackson played for coach Denny Crum from 1996 to 1998. He later played on the And-1 Streetball Mixtape Tour.
Jackson is the brother of former NBA star and current NBA TV analyst, Mark Jackson and is the uncle of Mark Jackson Junior, who plays on the current U of L team.
The University of Louisville has not yet released a statement regarding Troy’s passing. But a basketball web site reported that the former Cardinal died in his sleep.

Troy Jackson.

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Daytona Beach, Fla. As the temperatures climbed this week at Daytona International Speedway and the NASCAR Sprint Cup rulebook was altered almost daily, the hottest word around the garage prior to the Daytona 500 was cooling. In the new Daytona era of two-car packs, keeping the engine of the trailing ‘pusher’ car properly cooled will be critical to the outcome.
As a result of the daily rule changes, it was like old times in the Cup garage between practices. Innovative solutions built by hand were being crafted and installed to the noses of cars in the space behind the air inlets and in front of the radiators. After NASCAR shrunk the inlet openings by 50 percent after the Budweiser Shootout, trying to improve the efficiency of the cooling was the goal of all teams.
“NASCAR makes a rule and then we figure out how to get around it” – said Howard Comstock of Dodge Motorsports Engineering.
“Teams will keep coming up with new cooling iterations right up until the race” – said Steve Hallam, the competition director for Michael Waltrip Racing, one of the Toyota teams.

Daytona 500.

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