Jenna Bush is publishing a children’s novel about a women in Panama living with HIV. Published by HarperCollins, Ana’s Story: A Journey of Hope will be illustrated with photographs by Mia Baxter, a former classmate of Bush’s at the University of Texas and will end with some sort of “call to action,” according to Bush. The book grew out of Bush’s experience working in Panama as an unpaid intern for UNICEF.
Shaquille O’Neal is getting his own reality show… but it’s not about basketball. It’s about child obesity. Apparently, Shaq has been very outspoken on the issue, has worked with Florida schoolchildren to lose weight and has even lobbied local politicians about school nutrition. The show will air on ABC.
Stephen Colbert markets his new ice cream on his own show…the infamous “I’m not a newsman” talk show host aired a hilarious advertorial for his new flavor of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, “Americone Dream,” starring such notables as Anderson Cooper, Tim Robbins, and Master Chef Daniel Boulud, who each sampled the new flavor on air. Colbert then gave all the audience members a free pint of his Ben & Jerry’s flavor.
A would-be thief in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, called the police to help him break into a church, in which he apparently wanted to get married. After police searched him, they discovered marijuana, which prompted him to invite them home to view his stash of pot and prescription drugs. He got booked for all three offenses. Police in Stevens Point have apparently never before met a criminal so helpful in his own arrest.
According to Radaronline.com, Sen. John McCain’s presidential run announcement on Letterman has pissed off several of his staffers…enough that they’ve quit the campaign. According to one top Republican aide, staff was going “crazy” and “pulling their hair out.” So even if they’re not working for McCain, they can at least still look like him.
The relatives of a young Italian student in Bari, Italy beat up the student’s middle school principal as a result of the bad grades that the student received as well as for the principal’s ban on cell phone usage in school. The principal was taken to the hospital, treated for his injuries and returned to school. “Standards must be set and rules respected,” was his reply to the beat-down.
Elvis gets to vote in Papua New Guinea…where apparently almost half of the nation’s 4.9 million voters are “ghost voters” and do not exist. As of March, five of the provinces of the island have 116 to 132 percent voter registration, despite efforts by Election Commissioners to clean up the country’s electoral process. Among the rolls are listed several Elvis Presleys, Tom Joneses, and various kings and queens.