John Wayne Dies today in 1979

Today on 11, June in 1979, John Wayne, an iconic American film actor famous for starring in countless westerns, dies at age 72 after battling cancer for more than a decade.

The actor was born Marion Morrison on May 26, 1907, in Winterset, Iowa, and moved as a child to Glendale, California. A football star at Glendale High School, he attended the University of Southern California on a scholarship but dropped out after two years. After finding work as a movie studio laborer, Wayne befriended director John Ford, then a rising talent. His first acting jobs were bit parts in which he was credited as Duke Morrison, a childhood nickname derived from the name of his beloved pet dog.

Wayne's first starring role came in 1930 with The Big Trail, a film directed by his college buddy Raoul Walsh. It was during this time that Marion Morrison became "John Wayne," when director Walsh didn't think Marion was a good name for an actor playing a tough western hero. Despite the lead actor's new name, however, the movie flopped. Throughout the 1930s, Wayne made dozens of mediocre westerns, sometimes churning out two movies a week. In them, he played various rough-and-tumble characters and occasionally appeared as "Singing Sandy," a musical cowpoke a la Roy Rogers.

In 1939, Wayne finally had his breakthrough when his old friend John Ford cast him as Ringo Kid in the Oscar-winning Stagecoach. Wayne went on to play larger-than-life heroes in dozens of movies and came to symbolize a type of rugged, strong, straight-shooting American man. John Ford directed Wayne in some of his best-known films, including Fort Apache (1948), She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949), Rio Grande (1950), The Quiet Man (1952) and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence (1962).

Off-screen, Wayne came to be known for his conservative political views. He produced, directed and starred in The Alamo (1960) and The Green Berets (1968), both of which reflected his patriotic, conservative leanings. In 1969, he won an Oscar for his role as a drunken, one-eyed federal marshal named Rooster Cogburn in True Grit. Wayne's last film was The Shootist (1976), in which he played a legendary gunslinger dying of cancer. The role had particular meaning, as the actor was fighting the disease in real life.

During four decades of acting, Wayne, with his trademark drawl and good looks, appeared in over 250 films. He was married three times and had seven children.

Osama Bin Laden killed in a raid by US Special Forces & CIA

Osama Bin Laden was killed in a raid by US special forces & CIA on a compound in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad in Bilal Town. He is at the top of US most wanted persons.

Jimmy Fallon - Charlie Sheen

It takes a strong late-night host to resist doing Charlie Sheen jokes, and that man is Craig Ferguson. He announced earlier this week that he wouldn’t be doing any Sheen-is-crazy humor.

Dave Duerson Died

Former Bears safety Dave Duerson has died. He was 50.

Duerson was found dead in his Sunny Isles Beach, Fla. home near Miami on Thursday night, police said. A cause of death has not been determined. The case is under investigation by police.

The Bears made the Notre Dame All-American their third-round selection in the 1983 draft. He went on to become a key member of the team’s 1985 Super Bowl championship team before winning another Super Bowl ring with the New York Giants before retiring after an 11-year career.

“When we brought him in out of Notre Dame we knew what we were getting,” former Bears’ coach Mike Ditka said. When Todd [Bell] held out he stepped right in and took over the starter’s job. With Gary [Fencik] back there we had two of the best safeties in the league.”

Ditka also said Duerson attended the 25th anniversary celebration of the 1985 team late last year and had no apparent health problems.

Duerson ran a successful sausage company after his NFL career ended. He started his own company, Duerson Foods, in 2002 but it suffered financially and much of its assets were sold at auction in 2006.

He also served as a trustee at Notre Dame before losing that position after pleading guilty to misdemeanor domestic battery for pushing his wife, Alicia, in 2006. The two filed for divorce in 2007, the same year Duerson’s Highland Park home went into foreclosure.

Most recently he was hosting an Internet radio show and working as a consultant in Florida.

“Unfortunately, he has had some financial problems,” Ditka said. “I didn’t know he was having those kinds of problems. I’m sure that was probably the biggest thing. That can put a lot of pressure on you when things are going bad financially and you’re having family problems.”

The Bears issued the following statement: “We are stunned and saddened to hear the tragic news regarding Dave Duerson. He was a great contributor to our team and the Chicago community. Today is a difficult day for all of us who loved Dave. We’ll miss him. Our prayers are with his family.”

Duerson was a two-time All-American at Notre Dame.

“Our hearts go out to the Duerson family and to all those who knew Dave,” Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick said in a statement. “In addition to being a great football player, Dave represented himself and the University in so many other ways as a team captain, as well as through his work with the Monogram Club and the Board of Trustees. You couldn’t help but be impressed by him when you met Dave Duerson, and I think that was the reaction from anyone who was ever around him.”

Duerson is survived by four children.

The family released this statement: “Our family asks that you please remember Dave as a good, kind and caring man. He loved and cherished his family and friends and was extremely proud of his beloved Notre Dame and Chicago Bears. Please keep Dave and our family in your prayers.”

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Genevieve Morton, Black Eyed Peas Set to Blow Roof Off Pre-Super Bowl Concert

The party people are taking over Dallas this week.

On Friday, the Black Eyed Peas, which is providing half-time entertainment at Super Bowl XLV on Sunday, will join with Sports Illustrated to host - get this - the "Sports Illustrated Presents: The Official Black Eyed Peas Friday NightB4 XLV Party."

That's not a misprint; that's the name of the event, which organizers say means music and models.

According to the Peas' website, there will be DJ sets from will.i.am and David Guetta along with a host of special guests including Sports Illustrated Swimsuit models Genevieve Morton, Christine Teigen, Julie Henderson and Anne V.

It's unusual to have such a high-spirited act play the Super Bowl. Since Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" in 2004, halftime entertainment has been provided by a string of older - but still popular - performers like Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and a terrific, if subdued, Prince.

Omar Suleiman: New Egyptian Vice President

In Picture: Omer Suleiman on left.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak named a vice president Saturday for the first time since coming to power nearly 30 years ago. It was a clear step toward setting up a successor in the midst of the biggest challenge ever to his rule from tens of thousands of anti-government protesters.

Mubarak named his intelligence chief of nearly two decades and close confidant Omar Suleiman, state television reported.

The president had been seen as grooming his son Gamal to succeed him, possibly even as soon as in presidential elections planned for later this year. However, there was significant public opposition to the hereditary succession.

The appointment of Suleiman, 74, answers one of the most intriguing and enduring political questions in Egypt: Who will succeed 82-year-old Mubarak?

Another question is whether his appointment will calm the chaotic streets of Egypt's cities. In the capital Cairo, looting was rampant on Saturday and lawlessness was spreading fast. Residents of affluent neighborhoods in the capital were even boarding up their houses against gangs of thugs roaming the streets with knives and sticks.

Anchal Joseph: Dating with Jim Carrey

A model rebound, if true.

Jim Carrey, who broke up with Jenny McCarthy in April, was photographed Thursday night in New York holding hands with Anchal Joseph, a former 'America's Next Top Model' contestant.

Joseph is 24-years old -- Carrey is 49.

If they are dating, it will be Carrey's third public appearance with a woman -- he was photographed cuddling with an unidentified brunette in October and then with a blonde in New York just last week -- since the split with McCarthy, which she spoke out about months after it went down. In September, McCarthy told Oprah that their relationship "wasn't fun," and in October, said that she "was pretending" with the comedy legend.

There's been more action for McCarthy since the breakup. She dated Jason Tohey for four months before splitting with the bodybuilder in December; now, she's dating sports agent Paul Kerepelka.

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7.0 Magnitude Earthquake hits New Caledonia's Loyalty Islands

A powerful 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck off New Caledonia's Loyalty Islands in the South Pacific, the US Geological Survey said Friday, but there was no tsunami warning in effect.

There were no immediate reports of damage from the quake, which hit at 3.16 am (1616 GMT Thursday).

In a revised statement the USGS said the quake hit at a shallow depth of 4.6 kilometres (2.9 miles), 125 kilometers (80 miles) northeast of Tadine in the Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia, and 135 kilometres southwest of Vanuatu.

The USGS lowered the magnitude from 7.3 after seismologists reviewed the event.

A series of aftershocks, the most powerful measuring 5.9-magnitude, rumbled through the area after the quake.

The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was no warnings or advisories in effect following the quake.

The area has been hit by a series of powerful earthquakes and aftershocks since December 26 last year when a 7.3-magnitude quake which struck near Vanuatu.

The Loyalty Islands, part of the French territory of New Calendonia, are in the "Pacific Ring of Fire" known for its seismic and volcanic activity caused by friction between moving plates in the Earth's crust.

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Eric Mangini Is Fired

The Cleveland Browns announced on Monday that head coach Eric Mangini has been fired which didn't some as a huge surprise as speculation on Mangini's future had been rampant for several weeks. Now that he has been dismissed, the Browns turn to finding their next head coach -- a search that will not include Mike Holmgren.

Holmgren moved into a front office role with the Browns earlier this year and there was some speculation that he could hire himself as the head coach. He says that won't be happening -- at least not this year.

"I was hired to be the president of the Cleveland Browns. I think this year I've grown into the job. Having said that, I am also a coach and will always be a coach. To tell you right now that I would never coach again -- here or any place -- wouldn't be honest. But as of right now, my job is to find the best coach available for this job. That's what I'm trying to do. And that does not include me right now. I probably won't coach again. But I won't rule anything out."

It's interesting that Holmgren left the door open for a possible return to coaching at some point. Frankly, he's as qualified as anyone to lead the Browns but it doesn't sound like he'll be taking the job.

Early names on the Browns possible replacement for Mangini include John Fox, Jon Gruden and Marty Mornhinweg.

Kristi Cornwell: Remains Identified as Missing Georgian Woman

Investigators have positively identified bones found in a wooded area in northern Georgia as those of Kristi Cornwell, a woman who has been missing since 2009.

Cornwell's identity was confirmed through dental records, a spokesman with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said today, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The skeletal remains were discovered Saturday by a passer-by in Union County. The location is about nine miles from where Cornwell, 38, disappeared 18 months ago, police said.

Police believe Cornwell was abducted on Aug. 11, 2009, as she walked along a rural road in Blairsville, Ga., while talking to her boyfriend on her cell phone. He told authorities she said a car was pulling up, and then she screamed, "Don't take me!" and the phone went dead, police said.

Authorities later found Cornwell's personal effects along the side of the road. A weeklong search, conducted by multiple law enforcement agencies, failed to uncover any sign of the missing woman.

Roughly one week before Cornwell's disappearance, a man had tried to abduct a woman who was walking in nearby Ranger, N.C. Authorities suspect the two cases are connected and have released a vehicle description and a suspect sketch.

In January 2010, authorities received a letter, purported to be from "a concerned grandmother." The anonymous sender said the suspect looked like her grandson. The writer also said the vehicle description matched a vehicle owned by her grandson.

"I was horrified to see a newspaper photo of a man that looks like my 27-year-old grandson," the letter stated, according to the Gainesville Times. "He drives a white Nissan Xterra with black bars on the front."

The author of the letter did not identify her grandson and concluded by saying she wanted to "give my grandson the benefit of doubt until proven otherwise."

Authorities released copies of the letter to the media, but they have been unable to identify the sender. However, they have an unnamed person of interest in Cornwell's disappearance, CNN reported.

The GBI did not immediately return calls for comment from AOL News today. Cornwell's family members have been instructed not to speak with the media, according to published reports.

A news conference has been scheduled for 2 p.m. today, Atlanta's WSB-TV reported.