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Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check - Mar 18, 2015
March 18, 2015
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Boxing news:
Three-time Republican Presidential candidate (and 2012 nominee) MITT ROMNEY has volunteered to fight EVANDER HOLYFIELD, five-time heavyweight titleholder, as part of a fundraiser for Charity Vision (they provide equipment and resources to carry out eye operations for the poor).
The fight is scheduled for May 15 in Salt Lake City, UT. Romney was quoted as saying, "It will either be a very short fight, or I will be knocked unconscious." (Lane)The Reel Deal:
A film biography of singer SAM COOKE is underway. Sam, who wrote the classic "You Send Me," (his debut single), along with "Wonderful World," "A Change Is Gonna Come," "Cupid," "Chain Gang" and "Twistin' the Night Away," is getting a movie about his life.
The Hollywood Reporter says music and film producer ROMEO ANTONIO has made a deal with Cooke's family and begun work on a script.
Sam's life ended tragically when he was found dead in a motel in South Los Angeles, after allegedly kidnapping a woman and attacking the motel manager, who shot him.
But the movie is reportedly going to take the angle that Sam was shot because he ran his own business affairs and it was a conspiracy to kill him because he was fighting for black musicians' rights and butting heads with mob-connected music executives.
Antonio, who was a former police officer, then ran his own music label before he went into films and TV, told the show biz tabloid "I am treating [the story] like a murder investigation."Today's police blotter:
A man in New Mexico who allegedly shot his girlfriend had an interesting excuse.
Police say 48-year-old MATTHEW GONZALES turned the gun on the woman after she changed her Facebook status to "single." When questioned about the crime, Gonzales allegedly told authorities the neighbor's dog told him to do it. Officers say the man initially planned to shoot himself, but the dog convinced him to attack the girlfriend by saying "you need to take care of this." The woman survived and is in the hospital. Gonzales is being held on a $150-thousand dollar bond. (Still)Idle gossip & unconfirmed rumors:
Another day, another operation for BRUCE JENNER and this time his shnoz got the royal treatment. TMZ.com reports the Olympian had a nose job a few weeks back to soften his features and look more feminine. Bruce is reportedly undergoing preparations for a sex change and plans to live the rest of his life as a woman. (Lee)
The White House:
ABC News reports that the Secret Service was trying to determine last night whether a letter sent to the White House contained cyanide. The letter returned a presumptive positive for cyanide, but it was being tested again to confirm that result.
The letter was received Monday at the White House Mail Screening Center, and after initial biological testing came up negative, chemical testing came up with the positive for cyanide. The sample was transported to another facility to confirm the results.
A source tells ABC that the sender is someone known to the Secret Service and charges are possible, depending whether the material was indeed hazardous. (Pacelli)Meantime, a Missouri man --24-year-old JAMES STOUT of Stover, MO-- was charged yesterday with threatening several times to shoot PRESIDENT OBAMA. Prosecutors say Stout allegedly met with an informant and an undercover officer who posed as a member of a white supremacist group. (Pacelli)
Off the beaten path:
A drag queen in England is giving up his routine at a local comedy club to take a position with the town council. William Coughlin, aka Kitty Litter, is part of the comedy drag show at Kitty's Show Bar but has a resounding endorsement from the Conservative Party in town to make his run. They call him an "intelligent" candidate with a passion for the people of the small town. He's even going to donate his salary to charity. (Myers)
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