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Survivor: Ethan Zohn & Jenna Morasca announce break up

People Magazine is reporting Survivor winners Ethan Zohn and Jenna Morasca have decided to end their long-time relationship:

“It is with much consideration and a heavy heart that we are announcing that after 10 years of a loving relationship, the decision was made to move on without each other,” the couple said in an exclusive statement to PEOPLE Monday morning.

“We will carry with us the memories of a relationship grounded in love, laughter, support and friendship,” the statement continued. “We have experienced some of life’s greatest joys and toughest challenges together and our decision to be apart can never diminish that. We want to thank everyone for their support and we ask that our privacy be respected as we move forward.”

Morasca, 32, and Zohn, 38, have gone through an emotional journey over the years since meeting as winners of Survivor. She won Survivor: Amazon while he won Survivor: Africa. They also competed together on The Amazing Race, and starred on their own show, Everyday Health.

Most memorably, Zohn chronicled his very moving battle with Hodgkins lymphoma here on PEOPLE.com – from diagnosis to remission to its return in 2011. He underwent a stem-cell transplant in February 2012, and through it all, Morasca was by his side as both were outspoken supporters of cancer survival and detection. Zohn even ran the New York City marathon in 2011 in support of a cure.

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Marijuana: Arrests for small amount in NYC won’t stay over night in jail

New York City Major Michael Bloomberg has announced that those found with small amounts will no longer spend the night in jail.

“I personally am not in favor of legalizing marijuana or any other drugs, I think it’s a dangerous thing,” Bloomberg said Friday morning on the John Gambling radio show. “ But the reality is that for small amounts of marijuana there’s an awful lot of kids that have it and you’re just clogging the jails… you’re clogging the courts, you’re clogging the police.”

Rather than clogging the system, Bloomberg said during his State of the City address, the whole adjudication process could take less than a couple days. “It’s consistent with the law, it’s the right thing to do, and it will allow us to target police resources where they’re needed most,” he said. Pressed by Gambling on his WOR radio show, Bloomberg said he’s not condoning marijuana use. “I don’t know [about] condoning, but certainly not penalizing too much,” he said. “Marijuana is just a fact of life in this day and age in a small quantity,” Bloomberg added later. “Cops don’t have the time to go out and go after the real bad guys if they’re gonna worry about throwing a kid in the slammer overnight for a tiny bit.”

Under Bloomberg’s new policy, those arrested for possession will still be taken to the local precinct while the NYPD checks for outstanding warrants. If none are found, the subject will be released with notice to appear before a judge.

(via JMG)

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Illinois: Chicago Tribune urges House to pass marriage equality bill

Strong editorial in the Chicago Tribune urging the Illinois House to do as their Senate counterparts did last week and pass marriage equality.

Excerpt from the editorial:

Allowing same-sex couples to wed under the law would not devalue traditional marriage. It would affirm the bedrock values that underlie and sustain such unions.

Marriage promotes stable families, safeguards the interests of children and rewards committed relationships.

Recognizing same-sex marriages demonstrates respect for personal freedoms and keeps government out of the intimate affairs of citizens. More people in same-sex relationships are adopting or giving birth to children; this provides the security of a legal commitment for those children. It’s the fair thing to do.

It’s also smart politics. Support for gay marriage has been building steadily: A 1996 Gallup poll found 27 percent of Americans in favor of allowing same-sex couples to wed; now it’s at 50 percent with a bullet, since the strongest support comes from younger voters.

Public opinion is shifting with remarkable speed. In November, voters in Maine, Maryland and Washington approved referendums allowing gay marriage, and in Minnesota, voters rejected a constitutional amendment to ban it.

That support has been building in Springfield, too, as evidenced by the Senate vote. Illinois Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady announced his support for same-sex marriage, prompting an attempt by some conservatives to oust him from the party post. That attempt failed. Undeterred by the risk of repercussions, Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka, also a Republican, recently urged lawmakers to “go for it.”

Ladies and gentlemen of the House, it’s your turn to step up.

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Short film: “Niagara”

Two guys in a car and one million dollars in a bag. A road trip starts…

BEST ANIMATION, Screentest 2012
BEST 20-25 AGE GROUP CATEGORY, Leeds Young People’s FF 2012
FIRST PRIZE, Concours de courts 2012

OFFICIAL COMPETITION:
Festival International du Court-Metrage Etudiant de Cergy-Pontoise 2012
Holmfirth FF 2012
Chalon Tout Court 2012
Deep Fried FF 2012
Festival des Nouveaux Cinemas 2012
Aye Aye International FF 2012

With the voices of Matt Kane and Wilfred Taylor
Costumes by Greta Sordo Tang
Music by Alex McGery
Mixed by Tushar Manek
Directed by Leopold Dewolf
University of Westminster

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Herman Cain to join Fox News

Get ready for the return of that hot cup of crazy because Fox News has added Herman Cain to their cast of crackpots pundits.

Fox News continued its talent overhaul this week when they announced they were officially hiring former GOP presidential primary candidate Herman Cain as a paid contributor for the network. The addition of Cain comes less than a month after Fox decided not to renew the contract of another Tea Party favorite: Sarah Palin. In a statement Bill Shine, Fox News’ executive vice-president of programming, praised Cain as “a valuable addition” to the network. “As a political expert with business savvy, he brings an important voice to the nation’s debates,” Shine said.

Mr. “9-9-9” Cain has issued a statement celebrating his new gig, calling it “an opportunity to be one more voice for intelligent thinking in America.”

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Missouri teen can bring his male date to prom

Stacy Dawson, a 17-year-old senior at Scott County Central High School in Sikeston, Mo., had been told last year that he couldn’t bring his boyfriend due to a line in the school’s handbook that said “students will be permitted to invite one guest, girls invite boys and boys invite girls.”

Today, the district superintendent has said Dawson, or any gay teen, may bring a same-sex date, the line forbidding it has been removed from the rule book, NBC News reports:

“I found out why the stipulation in the student handbook was originally put in there, and it’s rather innocent, to be honest,” Alvin McFerren, Scott County Central School District superintendent, said. “This was during a time 10-15 years ago that the previous administration was having issues with some of the students trying to come in on either the single rate or the couple rate. They implemented that to make sure they couldn’t circumvent the rates that students were supposed to pay as they entered into our dances.”

McFerren said Dawson will be allowed to go to prom with his boyfriend.

“It was never intended to be a discriminatory thing,” he said. “We want an educational environment for all of our kids and we’re not ever going to discriminate as to whether or not the board has the policy and we don’t do that based on sexual orientation. Period.”

(source)