Brittany Murphy's Mom Discovered Simon Monjack's Body

Just before he died, Simon Monjack was making plans for a European getaway and a new book project.

Speaking to PEOPLE on May 14, just nine days before his death at age 40, the onetime screenwriter said he hoped to travel to Europe with Sharon Murphy, the mother of his late wife Brittany.

"Of course I’ll take her with me – I can’t leave her, " he said of Sharon. Planning to begin work on a photography book about ballet, he said he hoped the project would be therapeutic given Brittany’s love of ballet. "It seems fitting to do it, " he said.

A friend of Sharon's confirms that it was she who found Monjack dead in the Hollywood home where the pair continued living after Brittany's death. Already fragile in the wake of her daughter's death five months earlier, a devastated Sharon is "not well at all," says the friend.

"Brittany's mom made the 911 call. He was unresponsive when responders arrived and was pronounced dead at the house," L.A. Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter tells PEOPLE. "It's being reported [by the responding fire department] as a possible heart attack. We're not sure if it is natural causes or a possible accident maybe because of the prescription medication found there."

Late last month, Sharon spoke to PEOPLE to vehemently refute rumors that she and Monjack were romantically involved.

"That's disgusting," she said. "We're close friends and we're family. It's an awful and ridiculous thing to say."


A History of Health Problems
Still, the British-born Monjack was no stranger to controversy. During his three-year marriage to Murphy he drew fire from critics who said he was controlling of her. The scrutiny only intensified after her death at age 32 in December from pneumonia, a low-blood count and multiple drug intoxication.

"Every story needs a villain,” he told PEOPLE. "I don't understand why people say such horrible things. "

Monjack’s own health had long been fraught with problems – and mystery. In January, Monjack's mother, Linda Monjack, told PEOPLE that her son was "unwell” and that he had suffered “a slight heart attack" a week before Brittany’s death.

LAPD spokeswoman Mary Grady says there was no sign of foul play surrounding Monjack's death but that a coroner's investigation is underway. "There were some prescription meds found, " she says. "I don't know if they were involved. They will have to do an autopsy and toxicology report."

In February, Monjack told PEOPLE that he had survived a battle with oral cancer. (Something Linda had claimed she had no knowledge of.) He also noted that an anti-seizure medication found at the house at the time of Brittany's death was intended for his use but did not elaborate.

Having gone up and down on the scale frequently over the years, Monjack had packed on weight since his wife’s death and struggled to regain his footing.

"Some days he wants to kill himself and other days, he seems to be coping better," Linda Monjack said in January, noting that her son’s closeness with his mother-in-law was helping them both to heal. "I think they are really clinging to each other for support."

original article.

10-year-old Brooklyn girl watches in horror as father gunned down in street

Terrible story and i feel for this 10 yr old girls. its horrible. i wish her and the family the best and i hope she can over come this in her life and grow up to be something soo wonderful.


A 10-year-old girl watched in horror as her father was shot to death outside their Brooklyn home while on his way to the corner store.

Ashley Lopez was watching her father, Jose Lopez, 27, from the fourth-floor window of their Cypress Hills home around 9:25 p.m. Sunday when the shooting occurred, her mother said.

"She was just watching him go to the store," said Melissa Delgado, 26, the mother of Ashley and Lopez's two other children, Jose Jr., 5, and Alana, 6 months.

"All of a sudden, I heard a gunshot. It sounded like a firecracker. Then Ashley started screaming, 'Daddy! Daddy! Leave my daddy alone!'" she said. "She said the shooter looked up, right at her. That's what really scared her. She saw him."

Lopez was transported to Brookdale Hospital where he was pronounced dead, police said.

Delgado's uncle, Ismael Ortiz, 38, was visiting the family and tried desperately to save Lopez.

"I heard Ashley screaming, ran downstairs so fast. I came out and saw Jose lying on the ground. He wasn't moving."

"I tried to give him CPR," Ortiz said, "but he took his last breath and just died in my arms.

"I don't understand why this happened."

Police said Lopez had a criminal record dating to 1994, including robbery, criminal possession of marijuana and criminal possession of stolen property.

In 2007, he was busted for reckless endangerment, driving without a license, driving with a suspended license, and disorderly conduct.

But Delgado insisted that "his kids always came first."

"He was crazy about them, always with them, for their appointments, everything," she said. "He never missed out on anything. I don't know what we're going to do now without him."

Friends and family lit candles at the crime scene on Eastern Parkway and left a cigar and a bottle of Hennessey cognac.



Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2010/05/17/2010-05-17_10yearold_brooklyn_girl_watches_in_horror_as_father_gunned_down_in_street.html#ixzz0oD6GEpeS


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Facebook Denies Hiring Former FTC Chief Muris

Facebook on Monday denied that is has hired former Federal Trade Commissioner Chairman Timothy Muris as an official staffer.

"Tim Muris has not joined Facebook," the company said in a statement.

News reports earlier today suggested that Muris was hired to help defend the social networking site against privacy inquiries. Consumer groups, members of Congress, and privacy watchdogs have filed separate complaints against Facebook with the FTC regarding recent changes to the site's privacy settings.

Muris served as chairman of the FTC from 2001 to 2004. Since 2004, he has worked as an attorney at private firm O'Melveny & Myers, where he is co-chair of the firm's antitrust and competition practice. His profile is still listed on the firm's Web site.

Separately, it was revealed this weekend that Facebook board member Jim Breyer was the victim of a recent hack, which resulted in his personal Facebook account sending phishing e-mails to his friends.

Facebook blocks "malicious links from being shared and work[s] with third parties to get phishing and malware sites added to browser blacklists or taken down completely," a Facebook spokesman said in an e-mail. "Users whose accounts have been compromised are put through a remediation process, where they must take steps to re-secure their account and learn security best practices. This appears to be what happened with Jim Breyer's account."

Facebook urged users not to click on strange links "even if they've been sent by friends" and to be wary of sites that ask you to download or upgrade software.

This post originally appeared on AppScout.

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The once ubiquitous floppy finally being axed by Sony

The 3.5" 1.44MB HD floppy may finally be going gentle into that good night. Sony, one of just a few companies that still produce the archaic computer storage media, has announced plans to end production of floppies in March 2011.

The company sold about 12 million 3.5" floppies in Japan last year, which represents 70 percent of that market (and incidentally, about 17TB of data capacity). Floppies are still used with legacy equipment in education and research sectors, according to Sony. However, the company cited dwindling demand as the reason for ending production.

The 3.5" floppy largely replaced the 5.25" floppy by the early '90s, but other storage mediums had begun to replace it by the late '90s. Apple's original iMac was the first mass-market computer to come without a floppy drive in 1998, and Windows PCs gradually followed suit. Iomega's 100MB Zip disk format became quite popular for larger file transfer for a short while, before succumbing to cheap 650MB CD-Rs early last decade. Today, most file transfer happens via the Internet, USB flash drives, or relatively low-cost, high-capacity portable hard drives.

Memorex and 3M offshoot Imation still offer floppies for sale for the time being, but with Sony ending production, we expect the floppy will rage no more against the dying of the light. Frankly, we're a little surprised it raged this long.


original article.

Android Market hits 50,000 apps

Launched in October 2008, the Android Market now has 50,000 apps to choose from in its application marketplace.

While not nearly as quick as the iPhone to 50,000 apps, which Apple achieved within a year, the Android Market is proving to be the alternative market for mobile apps. The Android Market was announced on August 28, 2008 and was made available to users two months later. This weekend, it passed the 50,000 app mark.



Apple currently has almost 200,000 apps in the App Store, and notably has started purging certain types of apps, like the those in the "sexy-to-porn" category. In fact, Apple CEO Steve Jobs said in an email to a customer, "You know, there’s a porn store for Android. You can download nothing but porn. You can download porn, your kids can download porn. That’s a place we don’t want to go – so we’re not going to go there".

Google (GOOG) has also been forced to remove tethering apps in its US Android Market due to contractual agreements with T-Mobile, though developers who enable their phones for development can get those applications running on their Android phones.

With hot new Android devices like the Dell Mini 5 and Sprint Evo waiting in the wings, the market for Android apps shows no sign of slowing.


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10 Breakfasts that Slim and Energize

Did you eat breakfast today? If your answer is yes—good job!—you’ve already done something pretty fantastic for both your weight and your health and your desire to slim down for spring! Breakfast eaters consume fewer calories and less saturated fat through the day than those who don’t have a morning meal, research shows. Morning munchers also have flatter abs and a lower risk for heart disease.

For these reasons and others, I’m a big fan of breakfast. In fact, I sometimes have two—a quick bite before my workout and then a fiber- and calcium-filled “second breakfast,” such as my favorite parfait of Greek yogurt, granola and fruit, at the office a couple of hours later. A high-fiber, calcium-rich mix of whole grains, protein (including eggs and dairy) and fruit keeps my energy up and my weight down.

If you want quick, healthy breakfasts you can whip up before dashing out of the house, post this list of 350-calorie meals on your fridge door. (Don’t let cholesterol worries keep you away from the egg options—research shows you can eat up to three eggs daily without raising LDL, the harmful cholesterol.) Get set to rise and shine—and slim!

SPEEDY WEEKDAY BREAKFASTS (about 350 calories each)

Breakfast Burrito
Cook 1 Amy's Breakfast Burrito as directed on package. Top with 2 tablespoons plain nonfat yogurt. Serve with 1 orange.

Bacon, Egg and Cheese Sandwich
Order 1 Starbucks Reduced-Fat Turkey Bacon and Egg Whites English Muffin sandwich.

Cream Cheese, Fig and Nut Wrap
Roll up a whole-wheat wrap with 2 tbsp light cream cheese, 4 dried fig halves and 2 tbsp chopped walnuts.

Cherry-Vanilla-Almond Smoothie
Blend together 1 cup frozen cherries, half a medium banana, 1 cup skim milk, 1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt and 1 tbsp sliced almonds. Add a few ice cubes to make it more frothy.

Strawberry Almond Oatmeal
Prepare 1 packet instant plain oatmeal with 1/2 cup skim milk instead of water. Top with 3/4 cup frozen strawberries, thawed; 2 tbsp sliced almonds and 1 teaspoon brown sugar.

Apricot, Almond and Ricotta Toast
Spread 2 slices whole-wheat toast each with 2 tbsp part-skim ricotta and 1 tsp apricot preserves; top each slice with 1 1/2 tsp sliced almonds.

5-Minute Egg and Smoked Salmon Sandwich
Crack 1 egg into a microwave-safe bowl. Cover with a paper towel and microwave until egg is cooked through and not runny. Layer 1 wedge The Laughing Cow Light cheese, egg, 2 oz smoked salmon and 1/4 cup raw baby spinach on a Whole Wheat Arnold Sandwich Thin. Serve with 1large apple.

LEISURELY WEEKEND BREAKFASTS (about 350 calories each)

Portobello and Pesto Egg Scramble
In a medium sauté pan, cook 1 sliced portobello mushroom cap with 1/4 cup chopped red onion in 1 tsp olive oil until soft, about 5 minutes. Whisk 4 egg whites with 1 tbsp water and add to pan. Scramble mixture over medium heat until eggs are no longer runny; add salt and pepper to taste. Just before removing from heat, fold in 1/4 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella and 1 tsp prepared pesto. Serve with 1 slice whole-wheat toast.

Peanut Butter Waffle-wich
Top one toasted whole-grain waffle with 2 tsp peanut butter, 2⁄3 cup sliced apples and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Top with another whole-grain waffle. Serve with a café au lait made with 4 ounces coffee mixed with 4 oz steamed skim milk.

Spinach and Smoked Gouda Egg Sandwich
Sauté 1 cup fresh spinach with olive oil cooking spray until wilted (add pepper and garlic powder if desired); set spinach aside. In same pan, fry 1 egg plus 1 egg white in cooking spray until no longer runny. Top eggs with 2 tbsp shredded smoked Gouda. Sandwich eggs, cheese and spinach between 2 sides of a toasted whole-wheat English muffin. Serve with 1 orange.

original article.

Microsoft debuts 'social' phone

morning!

The software firm says the phones have been created specifically to help people who like to stay in touch with friends and share content.

Fitted with a high-resolution camera, the phone is also the first to access Microsoft's Zune music service.

The launch is designed to counter rivals such as Apple, Google and Research In Motion's Blackberry.

Made by Sharp, the two Kin handsets will go on sale in the US in May. In Europe, the Kin models will be available on the Vodafone network and will be launched in Autumn 2010. No prices have been given for the phones.

"This is a phone that knits together a tight community of kindred spirits..., the phone personifies true kinship between people, technology, friends and customers," said Robbie Bach, president of the entertainment and devices division at Microsoft.

Both phones have a multi-touch screen and a slide-out keyboard. The home screen of the device is always on and shows the latest events, such as text messages, tweets, or shared images, happening among someone's group of friends

The phone has an area dubbed the "spot" onto which owners can drag content, such as videos, and then decide how to share it and who to share it with. The phone works with popular social network sites such as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace.

Also, anything created on the phone is mirrored online and organised into a timeline and can be accessed from any web browser.

"Social is the DNA of this phone," said Microsoft's Derek Snyder, one of the product marketing managers who worked on its development. "Social is the fabric of this experience."

The Kin marks a departure for Microsoft which has typically offered its software to phone makers. With Kin it will have control over both hardware and software.

One question being asked after the launch was if Microsoft was coming too late to the feature-phone party.

Blackberry maker Rim has a firm grip as the market leader for business smartphones and Apple's iPhone is the one to beat among consumers.

"Sure, Microsoft has fallen behind in this space but there is a lot to like here," Van Baker, vice president of research at analyst group Gartner, told the BBC.

"They are not deemed to be very competitive in the marketplace and deemed largely to be an enterprise play and this is their effort to get into the consumer space in a very good way," he said. "I think it is a good entry."

According to research firm Canalys, Microsoft's software currently has about 9% of the smartphone market. That puts it fourth in the global market behind Symbian, Rim and Apple.

In early 2010, Microsoft launched the latest version of its mobile phone operating system, called Windows Phone 7 series.

It will replace Windows Mobile. The next OS will integrate the company's other products including its Bing search engine, Zune media marketplace and Xbox Live video-game network.

original article.