Pete's Hit and Run Notes

A woman, believed to be an obsessed fan of Paula Abdul, was found dead in a car outside of Paula's home in Los Angeles. Paula Goodspeed was apparently a victim of suicide, police found prescription medication in the car along with Paula Abdul Cds and a photo of Paula.  The woman had once auditioned for American Idol.

Angelina Jolie says her pregnancy with twins Knox and Vivienne happened because of, and during the filming of, the movie "Changeling". She says the theme of the movie and her emotional state about children because of it caused something in her to kick into gear. She also says she loves traveling for her work and raising the kids in the world at large.

Idol Gives Back, the American Idol charity event, has decided on the charities that will benefit from the 64 million dollars it raised in April. The causes that will benefit include The Global Fund to fight Aids, TB and Malaria, Children's Health Fund, Save The Children, Children's Defense Fund and Make it Right. Simon Fuller thanked viewers, sponsors and talent for all their contributions.

Former American Idol exec producer, Nigel Lythgoe, tells New York Post he thinks the addition of a fourth judge on the show is unnecessary. He says once you've been told "You Suck", you don't need to be told 3 more times. Songwriter Kara Dioguardi will join the cast in the upcoming season starting in January. 

Actor Brad Garrett gave a photographer a shove in West Hollywood Tuesday night after being surrounded by a group of photogs as he left a restaurant. The mouthy photog called him a name and Brad Garrett challenged him to a fight. No punches were thrown but authorities are investigating the shove as a form of battery.

MacGyver tops the list of the Television's Toughest Action Heroes, according to TV Guide. They say "there is nobody better at saving the day than the mulleted Mr. Wizard of explosive household items. Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Jack Bauer of 24, Sydney Bristow of Alias,  and Magnum P.I. round out the top 5.

Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry is eager to get Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to appear on the show's season finale next Spring. New York Post reports Mr. Cherry is quote "highly enamored of Sarah and sees her as the ultimate guest star". Well, that makes one of us.

Michael Jackson has handed over the deed to Neverland Ranch to a company he partly controls. Sycamore Valley Ranch Company is a joint venture between Michael and Colony Capital, they own the ranch now that Michael had defaulted on the 24.5 million dollars he owes on the property and faced foreclosure.

NBC announced the lineup of talent for the annual Christmas in Rockefeller Center. This year we'll see Beyonce, Tny Bennett, Jonas Brothers, Harry Connick Jr., David Cook and Rosie O'Donnell. Al Roker will host the show, which features the 76^th annual tree-lighting ceremony, and it will air 8 oclock on 3rd December.

City of Hamilton's HSR bus routes are now on Google Maps. The new system will allow us to click on the public transit icon for route times and bus numbers.  Google has partnered with our public works department and spokesperson Tamara Micner says Google is always looking to expand in terms of helping people find local info. Now it will be easy for us to Google our bus !

Hamilton police waste $700,000 a year responding to false alarms at private homes and properties. They've designated November "False Alarm Awareness Month" to urge property owners to upgrade old systems, maintain equipment and make sure everyone at a home or business knows how to use the alarm system.  94 percent of the 8000 yearly calls are false alarms.

Billy Ray Cyrus kinda jumped the gun when he claimed Barack Obama's daughters have been invited to guess star on Hannah Montana. Communications Director for Michelle Obama says "We have received no such inquiry for the girls". In any case, Disney Channel did officially extend a formal invitation yesterday for a visit to the set or a guest role, if their parents say it's alright.

Google is about to launch a new tool that will help U.S. federal officials "track sickness". It's called "Flu Trends" and uses search terms to figure out where flu is highly active and will notify Centers for Disease control in real time. User data will remain anonymous and will only be used to track the flu activity for a given area as an early warning signal.