OMAHA, Dec. 6 —A video surveillance camera at the Westroads Mall here showed that Robert Hawkins entered the main entrance of the Von Maur department store Wednesday afternoon, looked around briefly and then left, before entering the store again six minutes later, carrying what was later learned to be a rifle.

“He appeared to be concealing something balled up in a hooded sweatshirt,” Police Chief Thomas Warren said at a televised news conference.

Mr. Hawkins then took an elevator to the store’s third floor, “and upon exiting the elevator, he immediately started firing shots.”

A few terrifying minutes later — which seemed endless to those who lived through it — eight people were left dead in the crowd of panicked holiday shoppers and employees, and Mr. Hawkins had turned the weapon on himself, dying almost instantly.

At the news conference, the chief was joined by the governor of Nebraska, Dave Heineman, and the mayor of Omaha, Mike Fahey, and together they provided a more detailed chronology of what took place inside the Von Maur store during the time it took Mr. Hawkins to carry out the horrific acts that have stunned this city. They also provided more details about Mr. Hawkins’ troubled life, and identified the eight people he killed.

“These were innocent people going about their daily lives, performing their jobs and shopping for the holiday,” the mayor said. “They were men and women who did not deserve the fate that they were given.

“This was an ugly act of cowardice.”

They eight victims included five women and three men, ranging in age from 24 to 66. Six of the victims were employees of the store, the chief said, and two were customers.

The shopping mall remained closed off as a crime scene today, and is not scheduled to re-open until Friday. The authorities do not know yet why Mr. Hawkins chose the Westroads Mall, on Omaha’s west side, or what demons he was battling when he wrote in a note to friends, in a haunting foreshadowing of what he was about to do: “Now I’ll be famous.”

“The shooting victims were randomly selected,” the chief said. Mr. Hawkins’s motives are not completely understood yet, the chief said, but he appeared determined to harm as many people as possible.

“We have not been able to determine why he chose that location, other than the fact that it was a very busy mall, a public place, “ the chief said. “Obviously we’re in the midst of a very busy shopping season. If you were looking to engage in mass casualty type of incident, you would choose a public place “ The governor said that Mr. Hawkins had been a ward of the state from 2002 to 2006 and had previous run-ins with the law, but had not been associated with violence.

Later in the day, Todd Landry, director of the state’s department of Children and Family Services, said that the state provided Mr. Hawkins with stays at residential centers and in-patient facilities and also at a hospital. The facilities provided him with addiction counseling, mental-health counseling and behavioral counseling, among other services, but he said federal and state privacy laws prevented him from being more specific about Mr. Hawkins’ problems.

Mr. Landry said in a news conference that one of the treatment periods came after Mr. Hawkins had threatened to kill his stepmother.

Court records showed that Mr. Hawkins had a felony drug conviction and that several misdemeanor charges had been filed against him, The Associated Press reported. Most recently, he had been charged with having alcohol as a minor, and he was due to appear in court in two weeks.

For the last year, Mr. Hawkins had been living with Debora Maruca-Kovac, whose son was a friend of his. It was Ms. Maruca-Kovac who shared with the authorities a note that Mr. Hawkins’s left her family.

“He basically said how sorry he was for everything,” she told CNN about the note. “He didn’t want to be a burden to people.”



I just took this article from the New York Times. I just wanted to make comments about the entire situation. I cannot believe that this is happening again. It seems like this is becoming a popular act amongst troubled teens on the edge of commiting suicide. That is, to take others lives before they take their own. It makes me sick when I hear stories like this on the news. It is so sad that someone is so miserable with their life that they murder others. These people were complete strangers. What motives were behind his shooting? It is obvious that he was a troubled teen and someone should of known that his behavior would lead to something serious.

Woah, How much money do you really need?

So I always knew that movie stars and actors were paid well. But how much is well? According to Reese Witherspoon who is listed at the top of the highest paid actresses she makes $15 million to $20 million a movie. This 31-year old Academy Award winner is placed at the top of The Hollywood Reperter's annual list of the highest paid actresses. Coming in second was Angelina Jolie with similar salary demands. This 32-year old actress makes just $8 million. Cameron Diaz was third, with a $15 million-per-movie price tag. Nicole Kidman dropped to fourth place, two spots lower than last year, with an asking price of $10 million to $15 million a film. Renee Zellweger and Sandra Bullock also get $10 to $15 million paychecks. So does Julia Roberts, who hasn't appeared on the big screen since 2004. Her next film, "Charlie Wilson's War," is due in theaters in December. Rounding out the top 10 are Drew Barrymore and Jodie Foster, who ask $10 million to $12 million per project, and Halle Berry, who gets $10 million a picture.

The salary list appears in The Hollywood Reporter's "Women in Entertainment: Power 100" issue.

Pregnant Christina Aguilera

Teen pop sensation Christing Aguilera flaunts her prego stomach on the cover of Marie Claire's January issue. Aguilera is a 26-year old singer. On the cover she is shown wearing a cropped jacket and a bare stomach. This issue will be on newsstands December 11th. Aguilera married Jordan Bratman in 2005. Singer says she learned she was pregnant while on her recent "Back to Basics" tour.

"We were planning on starting to try after the tour. And so, I had gone off the Pill to prepare my body, because I didn't know how much time it would take. You've heard it takes some time -- except with Power Egg and Super Sperm here," she says. "... I'm like, 'Oh my god, can you believe it just happened?'"

Aguilera says she became "paranoid" during the tour.

"There are so many things that could go wrong -- somebody could slip, somebody could fall, I could fall," says Aguilera, who wore a heart monitor during performances. "There was no way ... I was going to jeopardize my baby for my show."

She adds: "Because I hadn't said anything, people thought I was trying to keep it this big, bad secret, and that's not the case at all. I just wasn't commenting. I'm not being like, 'Hey everybody, I'm pregnant!' I'm not that girl."

Paparazzi Mayhem

Hawthorn Heights

On November 24th while his band was in Washington D.C's 9:30 club, the guitarist of Hawthorn Height, Casey Calvert young at 26 passed in his sleep. Reason for death is unknown. Beside being beloved by his own band, many bands showed remorse for Calvert.

"Casey was a fun guy, he was always relaxed, and had a great attitude about touring," said FOB guitarist Joe Trohman. "And he knew how to hang out. I remember that [Black Clouds and Underdogs] tour we did together in Spring 2006, and how much fun it was, and whenever the after-show hang commenced, he was always present with the lone group of us that would get together and just shoot the s--- for hours until we left whichever venue we were at that night. Definitely a really personable guy — always sweet to anyone who walked up to him and I never saw him without a smile. We'll all miss him."

Project Runway, WHAT WHAT!!

Yes, it has finally returned. My absolute favorite Bravo tv show, Project Runway. The show is hosted by Victoria Secrets own, Heidi Klum and a panel of industry luminaries, including judges Michael Kors, top women's and men's wear designer and Nina Garcia, Elle magazine fashion director, as they decide who is “in” and who is “out.” And of coarse my favorite person on the show Tim Gunn, Chief Creative Officer at Liz Claiborne, Inc. once again acts as a mentor to the contestants as they navigate weekly fashion challenges. It is the start of the fourth season with 15 contestants. The show whittles down to a final three who show their final line in front of an audience at New York’s Fashion Week. The winner walks away with a cash prize of $100,000 from TRESemme professional hair care in order to start their own line. They will also have the opportunity to sell a fashion line on Bluefly.com. And will be awarded a 2008 Saturn Astra. How amazing is that. I watch this show religiously and get so excited by all the amazing designs. I can’t believe how beautiful some of these clothes come out to the runway and you watch the designer as they make it. I’ll be looking forward to see who the winner of the 4th season is.

Ahh, I have a priest stalking me!!

Well, no I do not have a priest stalking me, but someone else does. Having a stalker is never a funny thing. It’s a serious matter which sometimes leads to injuries or death of the person being stalked. To know that you have a stalker is a scary thing. Recently late-night talk show host Conan O’Brien has learned that he indeed has a stalker. His stalker is a Massachusetts native as well as O’Brien’s hometown priest. Reverend David Ajemian, 46 worked at a Stoneham Catholic church and wrote O’Brien three threatening letters on parish letterhead, contacted his parents, and showed up to his studio. He was arrested last week while trying to enter a taping session of
Conan’s “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” at New York’s Rockefeller Plaza.

Ajemian referred to himself as “your priest stalker” in one note. He also complained of not being allowed in to see an earlier taping of the show. The letters and e-mails began in September 2006 and continued after Ajemian was asked to stop.

The priest could face up to a year in prison if convicted on charges of aggravated harassment and stalking. Ajemian is a graduate of Harvard and the John XXIII National Seminary and was ordained in May 2001. The New York Times reports that the priest said in his correspondence that he had followed Mr. O'Brien's career since they both attended Harvard.