College Kid Mistaken for Teenager Wanted for Murder

Zachary Garcia and Zachery Garcia may have homonymous names, but, as you'd imagine, they're actually very different people. The former is a University of Florida student who works at a sandwich shop. The latter is a teenager accused of murder. Investigators in Polk Country, Florida, however, failed to pick up on the subtle difference in spelling between the two names -- a mistake that came to light after a casual Google search.

Turns out, authorities in the region mistakenly circulated a driver's license photo of Zachary (with an 'a'), whom they clearly confused with the real suspect, Zachery (with an 'e'). The college student became aware of the mistake only after Googling his name, and discovering that (surprise!) he was wanted for murder. "I was just very shocked to find my picture and the article saying that I was convicted of a felony murder charge," he told Tampa Bay station WTSP. "And I was just very shocked and angry that someone put my name up there and said I did something I didn't do."

The actual suspect, along with four other teenagers, allegedly broke into a house on September 23rd. One of the homeowners shot and killed one of the teens, but, because the death took place in the middle of a felony, all three kids (including Zachery) were charged with murder. Zachary the sandwich-maker, meanwhile, claims his everyday problems aren't nearly as dramatic. "Everybody makes mistakes," Garcia added. "I work at Publix and I might get somebody's sub (order) wrong. But for somebody to get (the photo of a suspect) wrong... it's not a sandwich, it's somebody's life you're playing with." Very true, but on the bright side, at least Garcia's not wanted for murder. And that's certainly something we take for granted every day.

Actor Leslie Nielsen passes away at 84

Leslie Nielsen, who dazzled with deadpan in The Naked Gun and Airplane!, passed away on Sunday at a hospital near his home in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., where he was being treated for pneumonia, according to the New York Times. He was 84.

The master of parody boasted a talent for delivering the most ridiculous lines in the straightest way possible, cloaking outright absurdity in straight-faced obliviousness. Ironically enough, the foundation of that earnest gravitas was built early in his career as a dramatic actor: After serving in the Royal Canadian Air Force and studying at New York City’s famed Actors Studio, the Saskatchewan-born Nielsen popped up on early ’50s TV. He received his first big film break playing sturdy Commander J.J. Adams in the 1956 sci-fi flick Forbidden Planet. Over the next few decades, he established himself as a reliable, handsome, rich-voiced character actor who graced myriad TV dramas (Peyton Place, Dr. Kildare) and movies (The Poseidon Adventure).
His career took a comical hard left turn when he was cast as Dr. Rumack in the 1980 big-screen parody film Airplane! (Let us honor his famous line, which stands as one of the best retorts in comedic cinema history: “Surely you can’t be serious!” “I am serious. And don’t call me Shirley.”) Two years later he was tapped by the Airplane! brain trust to play Lt. Frank Drebin in the cop-show spoof sitcom Police Squad! Although the series lasted only six episodes, Nielsen earned an Emmy nomination for his work, and in 1988, re-inhabited the bumbling Drebin again for the big-screen adaptation

The Naked Gun. (It may be hard to find more laughs-per-minute in a comedy film than in the film’s baseball-game scene, which culminates with Drebin foiling an assassination attempt on the Queen of England). The success of The Naked Gun paved the way for two sequels in 1991 and 1994, and Nielsen continued down the parody path in not-as-memorable films like Spy Hard, Wrongfully Accused, and Dracula: Dead and Loving It. (He did earn notice in Scary Movie 3 and Scary Movie 4.)

Nielsen worked into his 80s, appearing in even more spoof flicks like Superhero Movie and 2009′s Stan Helsing. Surely, we can’t be more serious when we say: Leslie Nielsen, you will be missed.

Jimmy Fallon & Bruce Springstein - Whip My Hair

Green Lantern Movie Trailer

t's a good day to be Ryan Reynolds. Mr. Scarlett Johansson was just named the Sexiest Man Alive by PEOPLE on the day when the trailer for his 'Green Lantern' hits the Web. At long last, fans can a glimpse Reynolds donning the famous green suit.

The trailer also reveals a bit more of the plot, which finds Hal Jordan (Reynolds) learning new powers and overcoming his fears to protect the Green Lantern Corp. from its new enemy, Parallax. Even more, we get our first official look at Blake Lively, who plays fellow test pilot and love interest Carol Ferris, and Peter Sarsgaard, as the villainous Hector Hammond.



'The Green Lantern' hits theaters June 17, 2011

Trash talking your boss or job on Facebook can get your fired!

I guess it goes without saying that in an age where people freely share so much information that this was bound to happen. I mean it used to be that if you had a gripe you only told a few select friends and it stayed within the group. But not today in the day of Twitter, Facebook, Myspace you name it. People feel that they should say what they want when they want. I mean really who cares what you just ate for dinner or that you are away from the house shopping. If you ask me if you post such things and you are fired and or your house is robbed because a robber sees that you are away you deserve what you get.

Check out the AMNY article below and hear about how some of these fools found themselves on the unemployment line.



AMNY - Emily NGO


Trash your workplace in a status update and you might throw out something else — your job.

With bosses keeping a closer eye on your social-networking life, venting employees are learning the hard way their paychecks don’t come with First Amendment rights.

“Everyone thinks, ‘I’m in America. There’s freedom of speech,’ but that’s just when the government is involved,” said Lewis Maltby, president of the National Workrights Institute. “When it’s private sector, you’ve got no rights at all. If you vent a little bit about your boss, you’re toast.”

In a high-profile case last month, a Connecticut woman was ousted in part for badmouthing her boss on Facebook as a “17,” code for a psych patient.

Dawnmarie Souza is hardly the first to be digitally busted. A study last year by Internet security firm Proofpoint showed 8 percent of large companies have canned an employee for social-media-related activities, and experts predict that number has risen dramatically this year.

“The reality is that most employees have a larger potential voice than ever before because of social media,” said New York-based social media consultant Jason Keath. “A lot of companies want to avoid a PR crisis caused by one employee.”

So much so that companies are increasingly adopting social-media policies warning their workers to use common sense, Keath said.

In a twist that could benefit tech-savvy employees, the National Labor Relations Board is defending Souza in the Connecticut case, alleging she was illegally fired. A hearing is scheduled for January.

But don’t blog ill will toward your supervisors just yet.

“The legal aspect is still being hashed out,” said employment lawyer Tyson B. Snow. “There’s a lot of really, really gray area [because] the technology is so young.”

For now, you can be fired for any reason in “employment-at-will” states such as New York unless your ousting violates federal discrimination laws, Snow said.

Bronx resident Christopher Whitaker, whose cousin was fired because of a Facebook post complaining about his job, urged New Yorkers not to be so naïve.

“They forget that what they write stays out there forever,” said Whitaker, 40. “Find a confidante and talk offline, because in this economy, you better be careful of losing your job.”

***

Getting “Facebook fired” has become so common, it’s now a verb on urbandictionary.com. Here are notable examples:

* October: Three NYC public high school teachers were busted for having inappropriate communications with students on Facebook and got canned.

* September: A woman in the group “Fired by Facebook” said she was ousted as a McDonald’s manager for writing “F--- them nuggets” on a friend’s wall.

* March 2009: A newly hired employee on Twitter wrote “Cisco just offered me a job! Now I have to weigh the utility of a fatty paycheck against the daily commute to San Jose and hating the work,” promoter her would-be boss to respond, “Who is the hiring manager. I’m sure they would love to know that you will hate the work. We here at Cisco are versed in the web.”

* March 2009: A Philadelphia Eagles stadium employee was fired for using Facebook to vent his frustration at losing a popular teammate in a trade. “Dam Eagles R Retarded!!” he wrote.

New Michael Jackson Album - Track listing revealed

A new official single from Michael Jackson‘s posthumous album Michael will be released this Monday, his label announced via press release. “Hold My Hand” is a duet with Akon that was recorded in 2007 and leaked in unfinished form the following year. According to the press release, “A handwritten note from Michael belonging to his Estate indicated his desire that ‘Hold My Hand’ be the first single on his next project.”

Epic Records also unveiled the complete track listing for Michael, including collaborations with 50 Cent and Lenny Kravitz. The album is due Dec. 14. Check out the track list after the jump and let us know what you think.
Michael track list:

1. “Hold My Hand” (duet with Akon)
2. “Hollywood Tonight”
3. “Keep Your Head Up”
4. “(I Like) The Way You Love Me”
5. “Monster” (featuring 50 Cent)
6. “Best Of Joy”
7. “Breaking News”
8. “(I Can’t Make It) Another Day” (featuring Lenny Kravitz)
9. “Behind The Mask”
10. “Much Too Soon”

National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility Makes Some Recommendations

Formally called the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility, it was created by Obama in February to recommend policies aimed at balancing the budget by 2015. The final report is due by Dec. 1 -- a date intentionally chosen to come after the midterm congressional elections because the contents were expected to be inflammatory.

Among their recommendations, the commission co-chairs would:

• Try to make Social Security more solvent by reducing annual cost-of-living increases for many recipients; raise the regular retirement age to 68 years by 2050 from the current 66, and to 69 by 2075; and make benefits more progressive to help Americans in lower-earning tax brackets. But changes would only benefit the Social Security program, not broader budget deficits.
• A gradual 15-percent a gallon increase in the federal gasoline tax from the current 18.4 cents.
• Reform cost-of-living increases for early civilian and military retirees.
• Reduce Congressional and White House budgets by 15 percent; freeze federal salaries, bonuses, and other compensation at non-Defense agencies for three years; cut the federal workforce by 10 percent; and slow the growth of foreign aid.
• Eliminate all congressional earmarks.
• Eliminate funding for commercial spaceflight.
• Sell excess federal property.
• Consolidate the tax code into three individual rates and one corporate rate; eliminate the alternative minimum tax and some expense-write-off programs; increase the federal gas tax and some other user fees.
• Reduce farm subsidies by $3 billion per year by reducing direct payments and other subsidies.
• Make scores of other changes, including an end to payments to states and tribes for abandoned mines; an extension of the Federal Communications Commission's authority to auction radio spectrum licenses; a requirement that the Tennessee Valley Authority impose transmission surcharge on electricity sales.