GOP Debate Land

The Bachmann vs. T-Paw UFC Smackdown was definitely the highlight of tonight’s GOP debate, both for its entertainment value and its possible impact on the result of Saturday’s straw poll. In a series of heated exchanges, Rep. Michele Bachmann and former Gov. Tim Pawlenty proved definitely that “Minnesota Nice” isn’t always very nice at all. He belittled her record; she belittled his courage. Both hit their targets, but the one she aimed at was a more sensitive spot, so I thought she won.

But what really struck me was that I couldn’t recognize the United States that any of the eight candidates was describing. “The country is bankrupt,” thundered Ron Paul. “We are inches away from no longer having a free economy,” claimed Mitt Romney. Gentlemen, the economy is going through a really tough patch. But come on.

In GOP Debate Land, taxes never, ever need to be raised. No one would admit to being able to imagine a circumstance in which a tax hike might even theoretically be necessary -- even the former governors among the bunch, who raised taxes while calling them “fees” of various kinds. None of the candidates would accept a debt reduction deal that offered $10 in budget cuts for every one dollar in new revenue.

Herman Cain lives in a country where Islamic sharia law is a clear and present danger to our way of life, and he wants us to know that “sharia law does not belong in the courts” of the United States. He also believes that “America’s got to learn how to take a joke,” so maybe his whole Sharia Menace thing is his way of pulling our leg.

Newt Gingrich lives in a reality where “Six Sigma” business theory can and should be applied to government. As someone who has spent his career in academia and public service, not the business world, maybe he’s just a tad confused.

Rick Santorum lives in a nation where the specter of polygamy threatens to pollute our precious bodily fluids. Actually, compared with this bunch, Santorum -- who used to sound radical and scary when he was in the Senate -- actually sounded kind of reasonable. He even tried to explain the principle and practice of legislative compromise.

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WA city ending search warrant hunt for cartoonist

RENTON, Wash. (AP) — The city of Renton is halting any further search warrant efforts to force Google to reveal the real name of the person who created animated Internet videos that mocked Renton police and some city employees.

Renton Chief Administrative Officer Jay Covington said Thursday that police so far have uncovered no relevant information to further a criminal investigation of what they had called a cyberstalking case. Police recently obtained a search warrant that sought to force Google to turn over the filmmaker's real name. The videos were posted on YouTube. A judge issued a stay of the search warrant this week.

Covington says police believe the filmmaker is a current police officer. He says an internal investigation will continue.

The cartoons parody everything from officers of an unidentified law enforcement agency having sex on duty to certain employees getting promoted without necessary qualifications. Renton Police Chief Kevin Milosevich says his officers and several city employees are the targets.

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Moore So You Think You Can Dance winner, are you happy?

Last night was a tough decision when it came to picking the So You Think You Can Dance Winner, but the title finally went to Melanie Moore; judge Nigel Lythgoe had predicted that it would be one of the women and not the men, so he did have a 50 percent probability of being right. The two women danced amazingly and was the first time that it came down to two women.
As you would expect, host Cat Deeley hung it out to announce the winner, but you could see the shock on Moore’s face as her name was announced and then the confetti started to fly. She tried to contain herself but after fighting back the tears all she could muster was a thank you. Do you agree that Melanie Moore should have won, which means that she now has $250,000 in the bank and a sponsorship deal?

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So You Think You Can Dance Has a Winner!

Despite strong performances by all four finalists, head judge Nigel Lythgoe predicted that the winner of So You Think You Can Dance on Thursday night would be one of the two remaining women: Sasha Mallory or Melanie Moore. 

Was he right? Or did the victory go to one of the men, Marko Germar or Tadd Gadduang? Read on to find out. 

Spoiler Alert: Winner to be announced.

With 11.5 million votes, Lythgoe was right: The competition came down to the two women. 

Melanie Moore was crowned America's Favorite Dancer with 47 percent of the Top Four vote. 

"You two are both exquisite dancers, you have both been amazing," Emmy-nominated host Cat Deeley told the dual finalists – both female for the first time in the show's eight seasons – only moments before announcing the winner. 

In the end, with confetti falling upon the stage and pyrotechnics lighting up her face, Moore was crowned America's Favorite Dancer. 

"Thank you," was the only phrase Moore could utter as tears streamed down her face before she was lifted in the air by the entire Top 20. 

With 32 percent of the vote, Mallory came in second; Germar, third; and Gadduang, fourth. 

Tough Contest

What began with a pool of thousands nine weeks ago was whittled down to only 20 dancers vying for $250,000 prize and a sponsorship deal – but in the end, only four could make it to the finals. 

Moore, 19, of Marietta, Ga., had been the frontrunner from the beginning of the season when she and Germar wowed the judges with their statue routine. With every new partnership, Moore threw herself in to the material and was often called not only a dancer but also an “actress.” 

Mallory, 23, of Bakersfield, Calif., began the competition tied to Alexander Fost, a partner with whom she had trouble finding a connection. But once she broke free she jumped to the head of the pack with routines both emotional – like her wall routine with season 7’s Kent Boyd – and powerful, like her breakfast table routine with season 4’s Twitch. 

Germar, 22, entered the competition after being shot in the shoulder a few years ago, but he never let his injury hold him back and was deemed by judge Mary Murphy to be “a beast just like the girls.” A self-confessed “crier,” the Guam native was moved to tears earlier this season when his mother flew in to watch him dance. 

As the Final Four’s only B-Boy, Gadduang, 25, of West Valley City, Utah, was deemed the underdog because he was forced to dance out of his style all season long. He is the only finalist who was perpetually in the bottom this season, but his “sweetie-pie factor” won Murphy over.

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Men's basketball teams from Cal, Stanford, San Jose State and Santa Clara set for foreign tours

Four Bay Area college basketball teams will show their stuff on foreign soil this month and next, all hoping the experience will benefit them this season and enrich them forever.

College teams are allowed to take summer foreign tours every four years, and Cal, Stanford, San Jose State and Santa Clara are packing their bags.

Cal, headed to northern Europe, and San Jose State, bound for Italy, leave Saturday. Stanford treks to Spain starting Sept. 3, and Santa Clara visits Vancouver, British Columbia, a few days later.

"There are so many elements to these things," San Jose State coach George Nessman said. "There are the (10 extra) practices -- gosh, it's a big advantage. The competition is hit and miss, but just the experience of the travel, the bonding, seeing new things -- all those things are so good."

Cal: The Golden Bears will play in Sweden, Norway and Denmark, including matchups against national teams from the latter two. Coach Mike Montgomery plans to utilize his entire roster, experimenting with players at new positions.

Junior forward Bak Bak returned to Berkeley on Monday from a long stretch at home in Kenya, where he got his passport renewed, but won't travel with the team. "We were concerned," Montgomery said. "Who knows if we still have passport issues. We don't want to risk that."

Allen Crabbe, the reigning Pac-10 Freshman of the Year, is fine after surgery this summer
to repair the nose he broke in two places at the USA under-19 national team tryout. He will wear a protective mask while playing in Europe.

Cal hopes to have sophomore Emerson Murray (foot) and redshirt freshman Alex Rossi (abdominal injury) available, but neither is 100 percent. Montgomery will get the chance to see transfer guard Justin Cobbs and freshmen David Kravish and Christian Behrens in game settings for the first time.

Stanford: The Cardinal has lined up fierce competition in Spain, where it will face 30-time Spanish pro league champion Real Madrid along with FC Barcelona, which last October beat the Los Angeles Lakers.

"Being involved with USA Basketball for a number of years and seeing those teams play, they're terrific," Stanford coach Johnny Dawkins said. "We want to be challenged and kind of gauge where we are."

Forward Andy Brown, recovering from his third anterior cruciate ligament knee injury, won't be available, but highly touted freshman guard Chasson Randle will make his debut. "This will give him a chance to see the adjustments he has to make at this level," Dawkins said.

San Jose State: Nessman said visits to the Colosseum in Rome and the Vatican will highlight the Spartans' trip, but he's also eager to see how his club adapts without departed guards Adrian Oliver and Justin Graham, who combined to score more than 38 points per game.

"I think we're going to be pretty good," said Nessman, who has three starters returning from the program's first winning season since 1993-94. "The kids now look at things a little differently. They definitely see themselves with higher expectations."

Absent from the trip will be junior college transfer Jay Kinney, who is expected to play a major role but is attending summer classes.

Santa Clara: The Broncos are visiting British Columbia, home of senior forward Marc Trasolini and the program's most famous alum -- two-time NBA most valuable player Steve Nash.

"We're trying to reach out to Steve, hoping that with the (NBA) lockout he'd be able to come back to his hometown," Santa Clara coach Kerry Keating said. "We just want our guys to be able to say they've met him."

The Broncos feature three returning starters, including junior guard Kevin Foster, who averaged 20.2 points per game last season. They will travel without incoming JC transfer Chris Caird, a native of England who is in Iceland with his fiancee after the birth this week of their first son.

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Rebecca Black, "Friday" singer, drops out of school due to bullying

(CBS) Rebecca Black says endless teasing and harassment from classmates forced her to pull out of her Orange County, Calif., school.

The 14-year-old, whose much-buzzed video for her song "Friday" became a YouTube phenomenon, is now being homeschooled by her mother.

"When I walk by they'll start singing 'Friday' in a really nasally voice," Black tells ABC News. "Or, you know, they'll be like, 'Oh hey, Rebecca, guess what day it is?"

After the video's release in March, it hit 167 million views, which is roughly half of the population of the United States, ABC News points out.

But it was heavily ridiculed for the song's lyrics ("Kickin' in the front seat / Sittin' in the back seat / Gotta make my mind up / Which seat can I take?"), and many critics questioned if it was the worst song ever.

Black, however, can count a few celebs as fans including Simon Cowell, who told People magazine that he "loves her and the fact that she's gotten so much publicity."

"People are so upset about the song, but I think it's hysterical," he said.

Black, who recently stepped out at the Teen Choice Awards, was also invited to star in Katy Perry's music video for "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)." She even joined Perry onstage at her Los Angeles tour stop last week, where the two sang a duet to "Friday."

"It's hard because everyone wants to say 'Oh my God, I'm this big star now,'" Black said. "But I don't see it that way. I'm still the same 14-year-old girl that loves to hang out with her friends."

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Statue of Liberty Interior Will Close for a Year

After the 9/11 attacks, the federal government closed the Statue of Liberty National Monument, the symbol of a nation’s dreams and one of the city’s best-known and most-visited tourist attractions. Allowing people inside would be unsafe, the National Park Services said, because rescuers might not be able to get them out in an emergency.

Three years later, the base, the pedestal and the observation deck were reopened after $6.7 million in improvements to fire and security systems. Five years after that, in 2009, the crown — and the 146 narrow steps to it — reported on the Fourth of July.

Now the statue is closing again.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar says it needs a $27.25 million renovation for additional safety improvements that he promised in 2009. Officials said the work, which is expected to take a year, could not begin sooner because they did not finish the planning and arrange the financing until a few months ago.

And, they added on Wednesday, they did not want the statue to be closed on the 125th anniversary of its dedication on Oct. 28. So they will shut it down the next day.

“It’s disappointing,” said Vince Swift, the president of the Statue of Liberty Club, a nonprofit group, “but if it has to be any length of time, I’m glad it’s only a year.”

David Luchsinger, the superintendent of the monument and of Ellis Island for the National Park Service, said that the vast majority of visitors do not bother with the climb inside the statue. “They’re going to get the exact same experience” while the statue is closed, he said, because Liberty Island will remain open while the work is going on.

Mr. Salazar called the renovations “a major step in bringing a 19th-century icon into the 21st century.” The Park Service said the project would involve updating the statue’s mechanical and electrical systems, along with its fire-suppression equipment. The two open staircases will be separated from each other,  and one will get walls, a plus for safety. The elevator that runs from the ground floor to the fifth floor will be replaced and will ascend and descend in a new, fire-resistant shaft.

“It’s safe now, but it will be so much safer when we’re done,” said Mr. Luchsinger, adding that he was “guardedly optimistic” that the work would be completed in time for the 126th anniversary in October 2012.

Mr. Luchsinger said he did not believe the closing would affect vendors who depend on the crowds, because Liberty Island would still be open. “Most folks just want to come over, walk around and get their picture taken,” he said.

Mike Burke, a vice president and chief operating officer of Statue Cruises, which operates ferries from Battery Park in Lower Manhattan and Liberty State Park in Jersey City, echoed that idea, saying the crowds would not thin out — if what is happening to the statue is described a certain way.

“It’s a restriction, not a closing,” he said. “We are concerned people will not hear the correct message, and they’ll focus on the word ‘close.’ The operative word to not use — please, please, please — is close. They’re going to restrict access to the statue’s pedestal and the interior. That’s the only change. Everything on Liberty Island outside of the statue is unaffected. There will be no scaffolding and very little interruption of activity.”

But some tourists disagreed. Briana Ezray, 19, of Sacramento, said the statue just would not be the same without full access.

“You can see pictures from the outside all the time,” she said after visiting the statue. “The inside is something you can only experience here.”

Like Mr. Swift of the State of Liberty Club, Fernando Riano, who dresses in a Statue of Liberty outfit as a street performer near Battery Park, said he was disappointed about the construction. Since coming to the United States from Colombia in the 1990s, he said, he has felt a special connection to the statue. Since becoming a citizen in 2005, he said, he has taken pride in watching the crowds intent on going inside the famous monument they had seen only in photographs or on television.

“The first time I came, I was so happy to see the statue,” he said. “This is the symbol of liberty. Everybody dreams of seeing the statue.”

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