Paul Walker’s Final Estate Agreement

In November 2013, famous Fast and the Furious actor Paul Walker died tragically in a car accident. It has been over four months since then and Walker’s affairs have finally been settled.

The actor left behind a 15-year-old daughter, Meadow Walker. He left his entire estate of $25 million dollars to his only daughter. Prior to his death in Paul’s will he left guardianship of Meadow to her mother, Rebecca Soteros.

Paul Walker’s mother, Cheryl Ann Walker filed paperwork on March 20 to become the legal guardian of Meadow Walker, and to supervise the estate he left her. Paul’s mother alleged that Rebecca has a drinking problem. Public records show that Soteros has a DUI conviction from 2003 and another charge pending in Hawaii.

The hearing for Meadow’s custody was set for March 27 and an agreement has been made between the parties and attorney in the case. Although specific details of the agreement were not provided, “good news is that things are getting better for everyone involved”, said a source.

Part of the agreement includes Meadow living with her mother and getting a place in California, and the agreement does involve both the guardianship and estate issues. Paul’s mother, Cheryl Ann wont be gaining any control. Meadow is said to be content with the agreement between the parties of family.

Although Cheryl Ann’s pervious claims about Soteros having an alcohol problem, an insider has said that “she doesn’t have a problem or a serious drinking problem, Rebecca is a great mother and Meadow is a very happy child.” Soteros has a DUI hearing scheduled for May 2 in Hawaii.

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The First Men to walk on North America

The Pilgrims. The Indians. The Spanish. All of these groups of people have had their reign in inhabiting the body of landmass that we call North America. However, there has always been a debate on who were the first people to walk on present day America. Many experts have stated many groups of people including the ancient Chinese to many aborigines were the first people. In the latest events, a group of people named “Clovis” are said to be the first people who inhabited North America over 13,000 years ago. The only known burial of the Clovis people is around Yellowstone, but there have not been any more findings on these people.

Now, where did these people come from? Many reports are stating that there might have found some clues in some of the Clovis’ tools. Some are arguing that some of their tool structures came from Southwestern Europe, around the area of Spain and France. If these results were true, it would mean that the Clovis group has European ancestry. Furthermore, it is interesting to note that the Clovis point, a remarkable piece of technology, has always said to come from multiple Indian tribes. As more information continues to come out, scientists are starting to maybe rethink the origin of this point.

There are theories stating that the Clovis group began to settle down in the Texas around 15,000 years ago. Why is this important? It is important due to the fact that experts think the time period allows enough time for the group to settle in the Americas and develop the Clovis tools found today. Contrasting reports however state that radiocarbon dating does not support this theory and around 15,000 artifacts are found in the Texas area, but none of them Clovis points. It seems that there still are more questions than answers on who were the first people to walk the Americas.

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Salamanders are smaller compared to their size in the 1950s – researchers think it’s because of climate change

Salamanders ain’t what they used to be. Six species of the amphibian living in the Appalachian Mountains, researchers say, are smaller — by 2 to 18 percent compared to their size in the 1950s — and they think it’s because of climate change.

“This is one of the largest and fastest rates of change ever recorded in any animal,” said author Karen R. Lips. And, she adds, it’s clearly coordinated with the fastest warming of the climate in Earth’s history. The researchers, who published their findings in the journal Global Change Biology, believe the hotter, drier weather is forcing the salamanders to expend more energy, faster, in order to survive. To do so more efficiently, they’re starting to shrink. Here’s more from Nature:

Lips’s analysis draws on salamander specimens collected between 1950 and 2007 by Richard Highton, an ecologist at the University of Maryland who has since retired. In 2011–2012, Lips and her colleagues resampled 78 of the sites originally surveyed by Highton, which stretch over 767 kilometers of varied elevation in the Appalachians. They also included measures they made in 2009 at sites in Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee.

Lips originally sought to determine whether a possible decline in salamander populations first reported by Highton was caused by Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, a fungus that causes deadly infections in amphibians. When she found that fewer than 1% of the animals she studied were infected with the fungus, Lips began to suspect that climate change could be a factor.

Lips and her team found that reduced size was greatest at lower latitudes, areas experiencing increased temperature and decreased rainfall over the 55-year period — although no single factor could explain the declines in body size.

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Former Jacksonville Jaguar runningback Maurice Jones-Drew agrees to play for the Oakland Raiders

The three time pro bowl running back from Oakland, California has decided that he will suit up in Black and Silver for the 2014 season if he passes his physical. The Oakland Raiders have been struggling for a long time trying to compete with other teams in their division because of the lack of talent on both sides of the football. It’s been 10 seasons since they’ve had a winning record or been to the playoffs. This past season, the Raiders finished the season 4-12 sitting at fourth place in the AFC West division. Hopefully, Oakland Raiders head coach Dennis Allen makes some more moves in free agency because it’s been a while since the Raiders had a winning season.

The addition of running back Maurice Jones-Drew will give Oakland a solid running backs corps. Since current Oakland Raider running back Darren McFadden has been struggling with injuries since entering the league, Jones-Drew should be able to fill his role and give Oakland the ground attack they’ve been looking to have for years. Maurice Jones-Drew is a huge get for the Oakland Raiders and it could only get better for them. Not on;y has Oakland signed Jones-Drew at the running back position, they’ve acquired quarterback Matt Schaub from the Houston Texans and Defensive End Justin Tuck from the New York Giants. I expect the three time pro-bowler Maurice Jones-Drew to be productive and make an immediate impact for this Oakland Raiders football team in the 2014 season as long as the offensive line is doing their job.

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Update: Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 landed in Indian Ocean: All lives are Lost

After a 16 day search for Malaysian Airlines Flight 370, Malaysia’s prime minister confirms dreadful news. He announced that the Boeing-777 went down somewhere in the Indian Ocean and that “All lives are lost”. In addition to the breaking news, the search for the plane was suspended due to a terrible storm in the Indian Ocean as search efforts will be hazardous if continued. If the weather permits the search will resume Wednesday in the southern region of the Indian Ocean. Families have been essentially on a roller coaster ride since the plane first disappeared because it was so many theories and not one definite answer. As the days went by, hopes of survival dwindled as there was no sign of life nor a sign of a crash. A British satellite company discovered new data that led to the new conclusion that the plane had in fact went down in a remote area in the ocean.

The most difficult part about this new update is the reaction from the families. Families of the victims of Flight 370 are left with questions that cannot be answered. The news appeared to be devastating as they held out hope for so long, wishing their loved ones would be found alive after 2 weeks. The possibilities of what could have happened have been narrowed down to four options: a potential hijacking, sabotage, psychological issues or personal problems of the passengers and/or crew. Investigators have yet to find a piece of wreckage from the plane and the Prime Minister based his announcement on what he described as unprecedented analysis of satellite data by British satellite provider Inmarsat and the British Air Accidents Investigation Branch.

Malaysia Airlines reports that once the wreckage is found they will fly the families over to Australia. Once the search resumes on Wednesday, officials are hopeful that they will solve the mystery behind the disappearance of flight 370 and bring the families closure during this difficult time.

 

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Disney pays $500 Million for YouTube’s Maker Studios.

The multi-million-dollar Mickey Mouse empire announced Monday that the company will be acquiring the YouTube-established production house Maker Studios. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the deal would result in a $950M of revenue if the projections are correct.

Maker Studios has been in charge of the production of YouTube material since 2009 and as of today is ranked among the top five partners of the website and features the work of talents like Swedish gamer PewDiePie and singer Mike Tompkins. Maker Studios is behind more than 55,000 YouTube channels and its subscriber base has reached the 380-million mark. As reported on their official website, they have managed to pull in more than 4.5 million views a month.

Robert Iger, Disney CEO, stated that the acquisition of Maker Studios will represent a great benefit for his company. Iger believes that “short-form online video is growing at an astonishing pace and with Maker Studios, Disney will now be at the center of this dynamic industry with an unmatched combination of advanced technology and programming expertise and capabilities (…)”.

Disney also announced that Maker Studios will remain located at their Culver City headquarters, in California. Maker CEO, Ynon Kriez will now report to Disney CFO Jay Rasulo. As mentioned before, this move can represent a huge gain for the Disney company because it seems the perfect decision that such powerful corporation as this one can make in order to dominate the online market and specially take over the young YouTube audiences.

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Google Is Creating a Kid-Friendly Version of YouTube

Google is currently working on creating a version of YouTube specifically for children of about 10 years old and younger. YouTube already has settings that allow parents and schools to censor the videos that are available, but this will also encourage more kid-friendly content. The goal is to give children a site of their own on which there won’t be any chance for them to stumble upon any explicit content. The site already verifies if users are older than 18 if there is inappropriate content. Obviously, there is no nudity allowed, but they attempt to keep kids from having access to anything risque.

This site will also allow children to create their own online communities and interact with each other in a safe area. With technology growing the way it is, it is crucial that the youth be prepared for what’s to come. Advancements in technology have exponentially increased the amount of time spend online by people of all ages, and as we move into a “wired” society, it is very important that children develop online skills in addition to face-to-face communication.

One thing I would worry about though, is if kids were able to upload their own videos, it might end up attracting pedophiles. I think it would still be fairly easy to make content private to users and only let them interact with each other though. Like if two kids knew each other, they could be “friends” on the site and have access to each other’s videos. This would be much like Instagram or Facebook, with private profiles.

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PGA: Every takes the win at Arnold Palmer Tournament(Orlando, FL), Scott throws away chance at No. 1 World Ranking.

 

Matt Every obtained his first PGA tour win on Sunday at the Arnold Palmer Invitational played at Bay Hill, Orlando Fl.  But all eyes were on Adam Scott going into Sunday, the No. 2 ranked golfer in the world behind only Tiger Woods.  Scott, last year’s Masters Champion had a record breaking lead going into the weekend of seven strokes.  But it was all downhill for the Australian following a poor weekend of putting.

Every, who was playing in his 92nd PGA tourney as a pro, trailed Scott by 4 strokes going into Sundays final round.  He needed the Aussie to play a sub-par round to even contend and Scott Delivered.  Scott shot 76 Sunday, coming up short to Keagan Bradley’s 2nd place finish and Every’s win.

Every’s win earned him an invitation to the Masters to be played in just two weeks.  Matt was in disbelief after holding up the trophy, saying that “I can’t believe I won…I guess it was just meant to be”.  What better way to punch your ticket to the biggest golf tournament in the world by beating last year’s champion?

With this collapse from Scott Sunday, who is now the favorite to win in Augusta come two weeks from now?  Only two players who were ranked in the top ten of the world at the beginning of the year have come out with a victory on Sunday, Sergio Garcia and Zach Johnson.  Will Tiger Woods, who did not play in Orlando due to back spasms, be healthy for the upcoming Major?  Will Adam Scott tame his putter to capture a consecutive green jacket?  We will find out the answers to all of these questions in two weeks at Augusta.

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The Prosecution Enters New Evidence in the “Bladerunner” Trial, and It’s Not Good For Oscar Pistorius

Monday in Pretoria, South Africa, the infamous “Bladerunner” trial continues with new evidence being presented. In courtroom G.D., as Oscar Pistorius carefully tried to ignore the extremely private text messages his then girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, had sent to him. As the messages were slowly read from the witness stand by a rather large police expert, the Olympian sat timidly in the dock, with silent tears moving down his face.

The conversation recorded on a cell phone application called WhatsApp, was found on Steenkamp’s iPhone, offered an very close insight of a independent woman who wanted to make sure she stood her ground quite early in the relationship. The easily aggitated young man, who she had seemingly fallen in love with, not making it easier.

“I’m the girl who let go with u, even when I was scared out of my mind to,” Reeva Steenkamp typed in a phone message to Oscar Pistorius only less than three weeks before he allegedly murdered her.

“I’m the girl who fell in love with u and wanted to tell u this weekend but I’m also the girl that gets sidestepped when you are in a [expletive] mood. When I feel you think u have me so why try anymore …”

The presentation of the messages in Monday’s testimony was yet another try by the prosecution to show the Pistorius explosive personality. They tried to prove what happened on Valentine’s Day of last year was not a case of mistaken identity and that Pistorius had shot through a locked bathroom door knowing Steenkamp, not anyone else, as he claims, was on the other side.

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Miley Cyrus’s Bangerz Tour Arrived Monday And It Was A Wild One

Miley Cyrus came in to town Monday evening at the downtown anyway arena for her Bangerz tour and it was a wild one. Even thought musically she may not be the most talented,she sure does know how to put on a good show.  Like lady gaga, Miley Cyrus is an entertainer and she knows how to work the crowd. Her controversial outfits and dance moves make her known by even those that do not want to know who she is. Miley Cyrus has a way of turning heads her way and her Bangerz tour is no exception .

Thousands of screaming girls and guys attended they highly controversial show Bangerz. Cyrus opened the concert Monday by coming out of a ginormous tongue. I was able to witness all her raunchy outfits, inappropriate touching, outrageous props and wild dancing for myself and let me tell you the crowd went wild. It was a little too explicit for my taste but she did just what the crowd wanted her to do therefore she delivered as a performer. I myself witnessed her newest controversial move she likes to spit water on people and the crowd loves it.

Miley’s tour has already caught quite the buz recently starting with her famous tongue opening which is being sued for by one of her crew members for injuries. Charles Nicholas Sarris is filling a lawsuit against ShowFx Inc after he fell and hurt himself while helping build the giant tongue. Just last week Mileys tour bus caught on fire, thankfully everyone was okay but the tour was a loss.

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