Anchorage Feels Quake: Alaska Earthquake Information Center

The Alaska Earthquake Information Center reports that Southern Alaska was hit by an earthquake. Large at 4.9 on the Richter Scale according to the US Geological Survey, the quake of 3:22 PM PDT is one of several that have struck Southern Alaska over the last day alone.

KTNA of Talkeena, Alaska reports:

The Alaska Earthquake Information Center located an earthquake that occurred at about 1:25 (this)Monday afternoon with a preliminary magnitude of 4.9. The quake was located at a depth of 26 miles and centered 13 miles southwest of Anchorage, 25 miles northwest of Hope and 43 miles south of Willow.

The event was widely felt across southern Alaska, with strongest shaking felt in Anchorage. Many people there reported shifting furniture and items falling off shelves. No reports of heavy damage have been received.

The quake was centered 26 miles below the earth and just 13 miles Southwest of Anchorage.

Huffington Post Gets Howard Fineman; Quits Newsweek

Howard Fineman, well-known Washington D.C. Columnist, MSNBC Hardball Personality, and Facebook and Twitter friend to this blogger, has joined the staff of The Huffington Post, leaving Newsweek.

Fineman was Newsweek's Chief Political Correspondent until he heard the siren song of Arianna Huffington's voice and left print for the greener pastures of the Internet. According to The New York Times MediaDecoder, Fineman said the Internet's where the action is. He's right.

Howard Fineman follows a long list of journalists who've left print for the Internet, some succeeding, but most not. The Daily Beast, steered by print media exec Tina Brown, is still trying to find its readership base. According to a quick analysis on Alexa.com, The Daily Beast is six times smaller than The Huffington Post in daily reach. It is now the focus of a new possible arrangement merging it with Newsweek.

Yes. Newsweek online.

If a talk that reportedly was held over cocktails at the Four Seasons in Georgetown between The Daily Beast investor Barry Diller and Newsweek's new owner Sidney Harman materializes as reported in The NY Post, then Brown would take The Daily Beast and transform it into Newsweek online while working to turn-around the failing print magazine.

Since Harman took over, Newsweek staff have jumped ship for other media efforts, mostly online.

Stay tuned.

Metro North Bridge Fire That Stalled New York Traffic, Re-Opened

The giant Metro-North Bridge, a railroad bridge that serves trains going in and out of Grand Central Station, was the scene of a fire Monday, according to The New York Times.



Speculation is that the fire itself broke out as the result of a transformer that went supercritical and blew up, sending a giant plume of smoke thousands of feet into the air, and visible all the way to New Jersey.

The reason for the fire that was stated has not been confirmed as of this writing.

The blaze itself spread due to the placement of wood pilings that surround the bridge's steel footings at the waterline.

The bridge itself is known by several names: The 138th Street Bridge, The Park Avenue Lift Bridge, and The Metro North Bridge. The trains through the bridge into Manhattan also serve Harlem.

Metro North Bridge Re-Opens

As of this writing, the Metro North Bridge fire was brought under control and the bridge has reopened and did so at 1:35 PM EDT. Traffic is operating in both directions.

There's still no word of what caused the fire to breakout, stopping traffic at 11:30 AM EDT Monday morning.

Arrest Warrant Issued for Lindsay Lohan by Tina

An arrest warrant was just issued for Lindsay Lohan. She failed two drug tests - one for cocaine and the other for amphetamines - and her probation has been revoked by the LA judge. Even though a warrant was issued, it is on hold pending her court date on Friday.

The papers were just filed in court stating what the drug was for her second failed test. Amphetamines were the drug found in the second test, however, Adderall, the drug Lindsay was prescribed, is an amphetamine.

But didn't the UCLA people say she wasn't hooked on it? Who do we believe here? The people who are testing the urine or the people who analyzed her? Could Lindsay have been fooling them all along?

Tyler Colvin Video - Chest Impale Case For Body Armor?

Chicago Cubs Rightfielder Tyler Colvin was impaled by wood from a broken, flying bat during the game against the Florida Marlins on Sunday. The incident has resulted in a massive online search for "Tyler Colvin Video;" you can see it here as of this writing:

But the question is why don't Major League Baseball players wear body armor? Consider that players already have helmets used when at bat.

Given what happened to Tyler Colvin, one has to consider all of the possible ways a player can be harmed either by a wild pitch, a broken bat, players sliding into a base, or other possible occurrences.

It's hard to see how something like the equivalent of a light bulletproof vest would be limiting. We certainly have the technology to make it.

Oh, the Cubs won 13 to 3.

Paris Hilton Will Plead Guilty in Las Vegas This Morning by Tina

Paris Hilton looks like she might be taking responsibility for her actions, finally. That, or her lawyer told her it was time she better look like it or she could do some serious jail time. Either way, Paris will admit guilt on two counts in the Las Vegas county where she was caught with cocaine.

Paris has to admit lying to cops about the Twittered picture purse she said wasn't hers and for carrying the coke. In return, she has no jail time and one year of probation. Can she keep clean for one year? Lindsay only had to do it for a few months and managed three weeks. How long can Paris go?

It will probably be a media frenzy outside the courthouse, so stay tuned for more pictures and updates when it happens in an hour or so!

Kim Kardashian Breaks up With Miles Austin by Tina

Kim Kardashian seems to have no luck with men lately. Her romance with Dallas Cowboys Miles Austin is over. At least this split appears to be amicable, and there aren't any ugly cheating allegations being thrown out. Yet.

Kim is a busy girl with red carpets to walk, TV shows to film and stores that need to be shopped. She apparently didn't have time for a boyfriend right now. Friends say the two split by mutual decision.

The people who are most bothered by this are the Dallas Cowboys fans. Kim and her sister Khloe have the golden touch with athletes as Kim ex Reggie Bush is a Super Bowl Winner and Khloe's husband is now an NBA champ. The Dallas fans wanted a Super Bowl win in a big way.

Heck, right now they'd probably be happy for any win!

Lindsay Lohan's Comeback and SNL Gig Questionable by Tina

Lindsay Lohan's big comeback and Saturday Night Live hosting gig are questionable. Her big comeback was going to come in the form of interviews with big paydays attached, but it seems Lindsay has blown those chances. Who wants to be her first post-jail interview when she is going back for another 30 days and can have another post jail interview in less than two months?

The judge who is now sitting on Lindsay's case will have some big decisions to make. Does he let Lindsay fly to New York to tape the show? Does he let her fly to Louisiana to film her movie, Inferno? These were the only paydays Lindsay had coming up, so she better hope he does let her.

However, if she's sitting in jail it won't matter. She cant film either from a jail cell.

Katy Perry Defends Russell Brand, Who On Twitter Jokes About Arrest

It reads like California Girls singer Katy Perry and her fiance Russell Brand will be just fine after he attacked a photographer at LAX (Los Angeles Airport) who tried to "put a lens up her dress" according to TMZ.com.  The photographer made a citizen's arrest of Brand, aided by LA police.  

Then, on Twitter Russell Brand wrote:

Mum. Me and "chico" my new homey from the joint. I've been joined his "club". Send condoms. http://twitpic.com/2q4obv

about 9 hours ago via Twitpic

Which is where the photo comes from.

Meanwhile Katy Perry tweeted this message that explains what happened:

If you cross the line & try an put a lens up my dress, my fiancé will do his job & protect me. #standbyyourman #don'tfuckwiththeBrands.
6:06 PM Sep 17th via ÜberTwitter

I seem to recall California passing a tougher paparazzi law this year. Who's enforcing it? That's the question.

Cooper Manning, Peyton Manning's Wife, Archie Manning Top Search Trends

A combination of NBC's Football Night In America and the Colts vs. Giants prime time game, coupled with news and blogs writing posts about them have combined to make Cooper Manning, Peyton Manning's wife, and Archie Manning Top Search trends on Google Trends as of this writing.

What's interesting is the content listed is all over the place. Some of it concerns Peyton Manning's game against the New York Giants.

Other content is an inquiry about Peyton Manning's wife Ashley, who keeps a low profile. There's no one item title that sticks out.

For those Internet media types, this is a study in the power of television to direct search traffic. It's also a measure of the popularity of the football game and of the Manning family.

Are NFL Head Coaches Benching Black QBs Faster Than White QBs?

Are NFL Head Coaches Benching Black QBs Faster Than White QBs? It's a pattern that's starting to emerge, though not in a neat way.

On Sunday, Tennessee Titans QB Vince Young (black) is benched after a 3 interception one fumble performance against the Pittsburgh Steelers for Kerry Collins (white). Oakland Raiders QB Jason Campbell (black) is sent to the sidelines after lackluster first-half play against the St. Louis Rams, and replaced by Bruce Gradkowski (white).

The Philadelphia Eagles trade Donovan McNabb (black) to make room for Kevin Kolb (white), who doesn't play because of a concussion last week, and gives way by need to Michael Vick (black).

Vick, even though he's playing lights-out football, is forced to be humble and say "This is Kevin Kolb's team" because Andy Reid says so, even as Vick's proved in two straight games (and in preseason) that he's a better quarterback.

The point is that many NFL head coaches seem quick to pull their black quarterbacks if they don't play well and replace them with a white quarterback, and let that white quarterback play out of a bad game.

In the case of Oakland Raiders Head Coach Tom Cable, he surprised everyone by pulling Campbell at halftime, and saying to Bruce Gradkowski "Go and win this game for us." That public statement was frankly boneheaded, because Coach Cable sent the message to Campbell that he has no real confidence in him, just two games into the season on a new team and in a new system.

Cable should have not just given Campbell the chance to play into the game, but had his coaching staff coach him out of his slump. That's what they get paid to do, or at least should be able to do. The Raiders won by two points, and Campbell wasn't doing a bad job: he was 8 of 15 for 87 yards, and threw just one interception in the first half.

In the Rams game Sunday, Bruce Gradkowski was 11 of 22, 50 percent versus 53 percent for Campbell.  Bruce had one touchdown, yes, but one interception too. In other words, there was not much difference between Campbell and Gradkowski, yet the Raiders didn't give Campbell a chance to win the game and Coach Cable throws him under the bus.

Now, because the Raiders won by just two point, there will be an irrational, emotional look at the situation and some will say Bruce should start on the basis of one game.  The fact is, no one knows if Campbell could not have rallied the Raiders and himself to win, because they didn't give him a chance to do so.

Bench Favre for Jackson

Hey, The Minnesota Vikings are 0 and 2 and Brett Farve, who's white, has four interceptions in two games.  You don't see Vikings Head Coach Brad Childress pulling him for Tarvaris Jackson, who's black.  Yet, Jackson's more than ready to play and go out and win a game for the Vikings.

And in the case of Vince Young,  Titans Head Coach Jeff Fisher has pulled Young in that way before.  Coach Fisher has to prove he can coach Young out of his slumps - Fisher hasn't done this yet.  If he does, he would be a better coach and Young a better quarterback.

And just for good measure, Baltimore Ravens QB Joe Flacco threw four interceptions against the Cincinnati Bengals, yet was allowed to complete the football game. This fits the pattern in a way such that if Flacco were black, we could bet that he might have been benched for Marc Bulger. The point is, again, that Flacco, who's white, was allowed to finish the game even though he was terrible.

This is an awful pattern that's emerging.  Hopefully, it doesn't continue through the year.