MEDIA BLITZ -- Daily "Must Reads!"
Obama: Want Jobs? Pass Health Care
Are you unhappy with rising unemployment, which hit a whopping 9.8 percent this week? Well, according to POTUS, pass health-care reform. That's the president's argument, which he laid out Saturday in his weekly radio address. The idea is that by allowing aspiring entrepreneurs to buy affordable health care without an employer, the legislation would lead to growth in new small businesses. Obama said he knew people "who've got a good idea and the expertise and determination to build it into a thriving business. But many can't take that leap because they can't afford to lose the health insurance they have at their current job." 
Billionaire New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is taking no chances on his reelection this year. He has already dropped $65 million of his own moola to power his race against the city's Democratic comptroller, Bill Thompson, who has only spent $3.8 million. The spending spree puts Bloomberg, who already has two similarly priced campaigns under his belt, on a record pace to finish in November with most expensive election in New York history. Some government watchdog groups are concerned his cash advantage could have terrible implications for democracy. “It badly distorts the city’s democracy to have one candidate spend his own money like a drunken sailor—or more accurately, like a million drunken sailors,” said a staff attorney for the New York Public Interest Research Group. Ouch!
Angelina Jolie is speaking out on behalf of the nearly 4.2 million Iraqi refugees displaced by the violence in their home country. According to reports, Jolie, who is a Goodwill Ambassador for The UN Refugee Agency, visited the homes of two Iraqi families in southern Damascus, one of which fled to Iraq after their son was abducted and they were forced to pay a ransom. The mother of the family said, "I was assaulted every day for 13 days by up to 10 men…I wanted to kill myself and the only reason I decided not to go ahead is because of my children.” The UNHCR humanitarian agency helps refugees in neighboring countries, including Syria and Jordan. "Most Iraqi refugees cannot return to Iraq in view of the severe trauma they experienced there, the uncertainty linked to the coming Iraqi elections, the security issues and the lack of basic services,” said Jolie. Props to Angelina Jolie for reaching out and helping the helpless. Wish more in Hollywood would emulate this sista!
Letterman's Late-Night Affairs
Well, Sarah Palin must be smiling now. According to the New York Post, Stephanie Birkitt, the 34-year-old Late Show staffer whose reported affair with the show's host touched off the blackmail scheme, moved out last week after living for several years with alleged blackmailer and CBS producer Joe Halderman, 57. According to the Post's sources, Birkitt's affair with Letterman ended in 2004 after his longtime girlfriend gave birth to their son, Harry. Before that, however, the two allegedly engaged in a longtime relationship as Birkitt moved up the ranks on the show from intern to Letterman's personal assistant to on-air personality. "Aside from being incredibly funny and personable, he is generous, kind, and is great fun to play catch with," Birkitt told her college alumni magazine in 2003. David Letterman is a disgrace, but I'm sure he'll weather this storm.
Read it at New York Post
High-Profile Peeping Tom Arrested
Michael Barrett, 48, was arrested Friday night at O’Hare Airport for allegedly stalking and filming nude videos of the ESPN reporter Erin Andrews. Well, she can sleep easier now. According to USA Today, Barrett is scheduled to appear in federal court Saturday to confront charges of “interstate stalking” and faces up to five years in federal prison. The charges include a creepy series of acts, which include allegedly following Andrews to Nashville hotels, rigging the peepholes to her rooms, taking eight shoddy cellphone videos of her naked, posting the videos online, and trying to sell the videos to TMZ, which alerted police. What is equally shameful is that this man is a parent.
Audiences Love Zombieland
Friday box office numbers have been tallied and it seems like Zombieland was a good weekend for one former Cheers bartender, Woody Harrelson. Zombieland, the low-budget horror comedy, opened with a better-than-expected $9.4 million on Friday. Sony took the second spot as well, with its well-reviewed Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs earning another $3.7 million. Disney’s re-release of audience favorites Toy Story and Toy Story 2 took in $3.2 million on far fewer screens, while the Ricky Gervais comedy The Invention of Lying, starring Jennifer Garner, Jonah Hill, and Tina Fey, also surpassed studio estimates with $2.5 million.
Michael Barrett, 48, was arrested Friday night at O’Hare Airport for allegedly stalking and filming nude videos of the ESPN reporter Erin Andrews. Well, she can sleep easier now. According to USA Today, Barrett is scheduled to appear in federal court Saturday to confront charges of “interstate stalking” and faces up to five years in federal prison. The charges include a creepy series of acts, which include allegedly following Andrews to Nashville hotels, rigging the peepholes to her rooms, taking eight shoddy cellphone videos of her naked, posting the videos online, and trying to sell the videos to TMZ, which alerted police. What is equally shameful is that this man is a parent.
Friday box office numbers have been tallied and it seems like Zombieland was a good weekend for one former Cheers bartender, Woody Harrelson. Zombieland, the low-budget horror comedy, opened with a better-than-expected $9.4 million on Friday. Sony took the second spot as well, with its well-reviewed Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs earning another $3.7 million. Disney’s re-release of audience favorites Toy Story and Toy Story 2 took in $3.2 million on far fewer screens, while the Ricky Gervais comedy The Invention of Lying, starring Jennifer Garner, Jonah Hill, and Tina Fey, also surpassed studio estimates with $2.5 million.
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