El presidente es caliente
El presidente es caliente
Hugo Chávez calls himself ugly, and his looks earned him the nickname “Goofy” in the military, but the president’s image is changing - he now is considered one of Venezuela’s sexiest men. A poll Thursday listed Chávez as the country’s fifth-most desired man, despite a large nose, protruding lips, forehead mole and a gap in his front teeth. Those who beat him included entertainer Winston Vallenilla of an opposition TV station that Chávez shut down this year.
Marital mess grows
The chaos left behind by singer James Brown when he died last year keeps getting worse. Velma Warren Brown, 73, claims in court papers that she married the Godfather of Soul in 1953 and the two never divorced. Her lawyer, David Bell, says his client has filed court papers in South Carolina saying the couple had three children and lived together 17 years. One of Brown’s former backup singers, Tomi Rae Hynie, has claimed she is Brown’s fourth wife and is involved in a dispute over the singer’s estate.
By the numbers
Smoking stats stagnant
Nearly 21 percent of Americans smoke, a number that has been stalled since 2004, federal researchers reported Thursday. More than 45 million Americans smoked in 2006, or 20.8 percent of the population, 80 percent of them daily smokers, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported. Nearly 24 percent of men and 18 percent of women smoked.
Law & disorder
Actor scoots into custody
A scooter-riding Mickey Rourke, 51, was arrested early Thursday in Miami Beach, Fla., on suspicion of driving under the influence. Rourke, star of “Sin City,” “Diner” and “9 ½ Weeks,” was booked at the Miami-Dade County Jail, a jail spokeswoman said. He was released on a $1,000 bond, she said. A police report said Rourke swerved several times while on a green scooter. He had a flushed face and bloodshot, watery eyes, his speech was slurred, and he had a strong odor of alcohol on his breath, the report said. Police said the actor failed field sobriety and breath tests.
OOPS
Thou shalt not do this
A homeless man has been accused of breaking into a Valley Cottage, N.Y., church so he could dial a sex line. James Macnair, 35, was arraigned Monday night on charges of burglary, possession of a burglar’s tools and petty larceny. He admitted he had sinned before, breaking into the Elim Alliance Church days earlier for the same reason, Clarkstown Justice Scott Ugell said. A church treasurer found Macnair on the phone both times, police said.
Passages
Barbara West Dainton, 96, believed to be one of the last two survivors from the sinking of the Titanic in 1912, died Oct. 16 at a Camborne, England, nursing home.
Marilyn Martinez, 52, a stand-up comic who also performed on stage with other Hispanic comedians in the Hot and Spicy Mamitas, the Hot Tamales and the Original Latin Divas of Comedy, died Saturday in Hollywood, Calif., of colon-cancer complications.
Today in History
1872: Fire destroyed nearly 800 buildings in Boston.
1938: Nazis looted and burned synagogues as well as Jewish-owned stores and houses in Germany and Austria in what became known as “Kristallnacht.”
1963: Twin disasters struck Japan as some 450 miners were killed in a coal-dust explosion, and about 160 people died in a train crash.
1965: The great Northeast blackout happened as a series of power failures lasting up to 13 ½ hours left 30 million people in seven states and part of Canada without electricity.
1989: Communist East Germany threw open its borders, allowing citizens to travel freely to the West; joyous Germans danced atop the Berlin Wall.
2006: Republican Sen. George Allen conceded defeat in the Virginia Senate race to Democrat Jim Webb, sealing the Democrats’ control of Congress.
Today’s Birthdays
Actor Charlie Robinson (”Night Court”), 62. Actor Robert David Hall (”CSI”), 59. Actor Lou Ferrigno, 55. Gospel singer Donnie McClurkin, 48. Rapper Pepa (Salt-N-Pepa), 38. Actor Eric Dane, 35. Singer Nick Lachey (98 Degrees), 34. R&B singer Sisqo (Dru Hill), 29.
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