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BG Falcon Media

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BG Falcon Media

The BG News
BG24 Newscast
November 30, 2023

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  • Review of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
    Let’s time-travel to the year 2012 and the world is raving about none other than Katniss Everdeen. I remember being in elementary school, begging my mother to let me dress up as her for my birthday. Now it’s over ten years later and I’m still just as excited for the new movie as I was […]
  • Found Family Books for the Holidays
    The holidays are quickly approaching and for some of us that means seeing our family. However, family has a loose definition. It could mean blood or who you were raised with. It could also mean people you’ve found during your life journey. Either way, the holidays are meant for spending quality time with those you […]

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Knight Ridder Newspapers (KRT) Among the many revelations in the documentary “Living With Michael Jackson,” which aired Feb. 6 on ABC, was Jackson’s claim that the only plastic surgery he’s had is two nose jobs _ to help improve his singing voice. But Los Angeles plastic surgeon Wallace Goodstein maintains the musician, 44, has undergone “well over” 50 operations on his face. Goodstein’s claims come in a profile of the embattled King of Pop to be broadcast Monday on NBC’s “Dateline.” According to the New York Post, Goodstein shared a practice with Jackson’s primary plastic surgeon. “Dateline’s” one-hour show, called “Michael Jackson Unmasked,” also features an interview with now-retired Los Angeles Police Detective Bill Dworin, who investigated the singer in 1993 when the parents of a 13-year-old boy alleged he molested their son. Jackson was never charged in the case, but paid a multimillion-dollar out-of-court settlement. The Post reports that Dworin is going to spill the beans on what police found during their investigation and that he believes Jackson may still pose a threat to children. On the show that aired on ABC, the One-Gloved One acknowledged that he still shares his bed with children, albeit in a nonsexual way. ___ JACKSON II The New York Post also reports that celeb manager Jack Gordon is going to pen a tell-all book about Jackson. Gordon, who is LaToya Jackson’s ex-husband, has snagged literary agent Jim Fitzgerald of the Carol Mann agency to peddle” Never Neverland: My Years Inside the Jackson Family.” ___ JACKSON III Here’s a book that’s not likely to hit the best-seller list: Michael Jackson is working on a guide for adults who want to retain their childlike qualities, reports Jeannette Walls, who writes “The Scoop” column for MSNBC.com. The singer, who has said he identifies with Peter Pan, was working on the how-to-stay-in-touch-with-your-inner-child tome with his spiritual guru, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, who has written several books, including “Kosher Sex.” The book’s future seems to be in question, given recent developments. ___ POETS FOR PEACE Playwright Arthur Miller and rapper Mos Def will be among the artists appearing at “Poems Not Fit for the White House,” an antiwar gathering Monday at New York’s Lincoln Center. The event was inspired by the White House’s postponement of a poetry symposium to be hosted by first lady Laura Bush. A spokeswoman for Mrs. Bush had cited concerns that the forum would be politicized by opponents of a possible war with Iraq. Also expected at the Lincoln Center event are former poets laureate Rita Dove, Stanley Kunitz, Robert Pinsky and Mark Strand, and actor-writer Wallace Shawn. The White House symposium was to have been held Wednesday. ___ IT’S ONLY ROCK AND ROLL Richard Nixon may have broken down the wall between China and the West with his 1971 trip to the communist state, but the Rolling Stones are going to “rock out at the Great Wall.” The Stones have confirmed two April concert dates in China _ their first in the country _ after Chinese authorities gave approval, the BBC reports. One concert will be played in Shanghai on April 1 and the other in Beijing on April 4. The Union of China’s Disabled People said money from the concerts will be donated to some of the country’s disabled groups. The Rolling Stones are one of the few rock bands allowed to play in China, and one of even fewer to get the chance to play in Beijing. China isn’t the only new territory Mick Jagger and his fellow ambassadors of Western culture will be conquering on their latest tour. They have also announced their first dates in India: Bombay on April 11, Bangalore on April 13. ___ 50 CENT SCORES BIG Rapper 50 Cent, who gained notoriety for an underground hit about robbing big-name stars of their jewelry, has hit the jackpot: His album “Get Rich or Die Tryin'” debuts on top of the Billboard 200 albums chart this week. The rapper’s major-label debut CD has sold 872,000 copies in just four days. It’s the hottest seller since last year’s “The Eminem Show” debuted with sales of 1.3 million. The total was more than all the other albums in this week’s Top 10 combined. 50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, gained fame in rap circles for the 2000 single “How to Rob,” a rhyme that mocks celebrity rappers and envisions sticking them up in the street. By naming Jay-Z, Big Pun and others, 50 Cent attracted street buzz, but he also earned the wrath of other rappers. He has been shot, stabbed and beaten in the months since. The feuds seem to have paid off. And, so far at any rate, 50 Cent hasn’t died trying. ___ CELEB SAMARITAN What began with Madonna’s granting a dying teen’s wish blossomed into a friendship between the pop star and the teen, who wanted to be an actress and dancer. Kerri Yascheshyn, 17, from Windsor, Canada, died of liver cancer Sunday. Madonna had been calling her daily since late January, chatting about everything from dancing to the afterlife, the Windsor Star reports. The first call had been arranged by the Children’s Wish Foundation, but Madonna kept in touch. She sent the teen books and a case of what she called “healing water.” Madonna’s mother, a French Canadian, died of cancer in 1963. ___ CELEB SAMARITAN II Tom Cruise has come to the aid of a small rural school in New Zealand. A radio station in New Plymouth offered to pay $2,745 to anyone who could persuade Cruise, who’s been in the area to film “The Last Samurai, to call in live on the air. The 40-year-actor called Tuesday, saying he wanted “to do a little negotiating” over the amount. He called “to see if I can get you up to $3,600,” Cruise said, adding that he’d match that amount. He wanted the funds to go to a local school. “They’ve been trying to raise money for a shelter to go outside,” he said. ___ CELEBRITY SAMARITAN III Denzel Washington took a $1 million check with him to a dinner celebrating the 90th anniversary of the Mount Vernon Boys ‘ Girls Club in Mount Vernon, N.Y., where he grew up. The Oscar-winning actor “is truly a great person and very dedicated to the club,” said Councilman Lyndon Williams, a member of the club’s board. Sponsors were hoping to raise about $200,000 from the black-tie, $150-a-plate event, which also featured actor Ossie Davis, singer Jermaine Jackson and several public officials. ___ STORK REPORT Former “Good Morning America” host Joan Lunden said she and her husband, Jeff Konigsberg, are becoming parents of twins born to a surrogate mother. The children, a boy and a girl, are due in mid-June. Lunden, 52, has three daughters ranging in age from 15 to 22 from her first marriage. ___ (Inquirer wire services, the Los Angeles Times, and People.com contributed to this report.) ___ ‘copy 2003, The Philadelphia Inquirer. Visit Philadelphia Online, the Inquirer’s World Wide Web site, at http://www.philly.com/ Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.

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