A Mississippi man was charged on Saturday in connection with ricin-tainted letters that were sent to the president and several other government officials last week.

FBI spokeswoman Deborah Madden confirmed that James Everett Dutschke was arrested at his home on Saturday morning in connection with the poisonous letters.

Dutschke was charged later in the day with knowingly developing, producing, stockpiling, transferring, acquiring, retaining, and possessing a biological agent, toxin, and delivery system, for use as a weapon. He was also charged with attempting, threatening, and conspiring to do the same.

If the Mississippi man is convicted, he could face life in prison, a $250,000 fine, and five years of supervised release. He is expected in US District Court in Oxford, Mississippi on Monday.

Dutschke’s arrest comes two days after the release and dismissal of charges against Paul Kevin Curtis, also of Mississippi. Curtis was arrested on Tuesday, the day after the first of the ricin letters were found. Curtis’s home and vehicle were searched, but investigators found no evidence of ricin or ricin-making equipment.

He was released from jail on Thursday morning. Charges were dropped against Curtis later that day. Curtis told investigators that Dutschke had a long-standing conflict with him and may have tried to frame him. Dutschke’s home was searched on Tuesday by federal agents.

Curtis’s attorney, Christi McCoy, was thrilled by Curtis’s release. She released a statement saying:

“We’re just thrilled, so happy with the government. Sometimes law enforcement will get on one angle and stay on that angle no matter what, and we are so happy that was not the case here. They went where the evidence led, realized it was a dead end, and went where true evidence was.”

The man charged in the ricin letters case has feuded with Curtis in the past over various matters. He also has a link with local judge Sadie Holland, one of the letter recipients.

Mississippi Man Charged In Ricin Letters Case is a post from: The Inquisitr

Homedale, ID – A 29-year-old Idaho mother told authorities she panicked when her toddler died hours after a fatal head injury last August.

Veronica Herrera described how her 2-year-old, Nakita, leapt from a potty chair during training and struck her head on a nearby heater. Afterwards, Herrera placed the girl into a playpen for a nap, instructed her 9-year-old son to babysit the toddler, and left the home for several hours.

When she returned, Herrera found the girl unresponsive, not breathing, and with a large bump on her head, according to KTVB.

Court records indicate Nakita’s mother admitted to placing the child’s body into a van and purchasing lighter fluid. Fearful her other children would be taken from her custody Herrera attempted to incinerate the body over several days.

In hopes no one would ever find little Nakita, the toddler’s body was placed into a barrel and set ablaze. Two of her siblings periodically fed the flames with garbage.

Consumed with guilt and at the urging of her own parents, Herrera approached an officer and confessed her crimes, saying something bad had happened and that she’d made it worse. The officer at the Nampa Police Department who met with Herrera described her as crying hysterically as she struggled to explain what happened to her daughter.

Initially, charges of first-degree murder and willful destruction of evidence were levied again Herrera, but she later pled out to six felony counts including involuntary manslaughter, failure to report a death, destroying evidence, and three counts of injury to a child – which included having the other children participate in tampering with evidence.

Authorities admit it would have otherwise been difficult to charge the woman with murder beyond a reasonable doubt, seeing as how the evidence had been damaged and the body burned into charred, skeletal remains. Therefore, she was given the option of a plea deal in lieu of a trial.

Herrera remains in custody on $500,000 bond, and sentencing is scheduled for July 25. Prosecutors are seeking 15 to 40 years in prison.

Children Assisted Mother In Disposing Of Sibling’s Body is a post from: The Inquisitr

Tulsa wants the 2024 Olympic games, according to local officials, who are willing to admit the idea is somewhat far-fetched. But despite the long-shot, Oklahoma’s second-largest city wants to try the Olympic rings on for size.

The Midwestern city is one of several smaller cities that received letters from the US Olympic Committee asking if they would be interested in hosting the 2024 summer games.

Neil Mavis, a member of the Tulsa 2024 Olympic Exploratory Committee, stated:

“Some people think of Tulsa as a flyover, Dust Bowl town. Many people think of cowboys and Indians … Bidding for the Olympics is the one way to change those stereotypes.”

With a population of roughly 40,000, Tulsa was among the smallest cities on the list of mayors the USOC recently wrote to. The list held nearly three dozen names, including Portland, Oregon, and Memphis, Tennessee. Tulsa Mayor Dewey Bartlett added of the opportunity to host the 2024 Olympics:

“I see this as a great opportunity, I really do. If we come off looking a little lighthearted on it, so much the better, but we are serious about putting our name out there.”

But Tulsa would have to do a lot of work to meet the USOC’s hosting standards. The city would have to add hotel rooms, finance and build an Olympic stadium for major events, and come up with $3.5 billion — roughly the cost to host a Summer Olympics. Tulsa previously hosted the Bassmaster Classic two months ago. The event drew 106,000 people to the mid-size city.

But 106,000 is no comparison to the eight million tickets sold for the 1996 Atlanta Games, or even the nearly seven million sold at Beijing in 2008. Smaller cities commonly host Winter Games, like Lake Placid, New York, and Squaw Valley, California. However, it’s much more rare for a smaller city to host a Summer Olympics event.

Do you think the 2024 Summer Olympics should be held in Tulsa, Oklahoma?

[Image via Caleb Long]

Tulsa Bidding For 2024 Summer Olympics Honors is a post from: The Inquisitr

Evan Rachel Wood seems to have it all. The successful actress is happily married and pregnant for the first time, but in a recent interview with The Daily Beast, Wood recalled a difficult decision she made a few years back: Coming out as bisexual in 2011.

“It’s become more socially acceptable. With me, the reason why I came out is because I felt like now was the time to no longer be silent about it,” Wood said of her decision.

“I wanted to wait for the right time and wait to have enough years under my belt where people knew that it wasn’t a phase or anything and I wasn’t doing it for attention; this is a part of who I am, and I’m old enough to really know who I am by now.”

Wood also shared that she was afraid to tell her family, as well.

“And I had to wait until I told my family, too, which I was really nervous about! And I have a really chill, understanding family, too.”

She also used the opportunity to gush about her husband, actor Jamie Bell. The couple dated from 2005 to 2008, but broke up. They got back together in 2011 and married in October of 2012.

“That’s the real test: If you can go away and come back,” Wood said. “It just never went away. Sometimes, you break up with people and it goes away, but this only got worse. It felt like a fate thing — this thing inside both of us that felt like we needed to be together.”

She’s also getting ready for the couple’s first child together, by playing music for her bun:

“My friend Toby got me this belt that you put around the belly so it’s like Surround Sound,” she said, “and I found all these great lullaby renditions of rock ‘n roll songs, like Nirvana, Led Zeppelin, and Radiohead. It’s awesome.”

Are you a fan of Evan Rachel Wood?

[Image via: Miro Vrlik Photography / Shutterstock.com]

Evan Rachel Wood Talks Pregnancy, Recalls Coming Out As Bi is a post from: The Inquisitr

The Zach Braff Kickstarter campaign to fund the writer-director-star’s latest film Wish I Was Here has hit its $2 million funding goal. As of Saturday, the project was at $2.029 million with still 26 days to go.

(It surpassed $1 million yesterday and has more than 111,000 likes on Facebook.)

The film will tell the story of Aidan Bloom (Braff), a struggling actor, father and husband, in his thirties who is looking to find a purpose in life. According to the Kickstarter page, Bloom and his wife “are barely getting by financially and Aidan passes his time by fantasizing about being the great futuristic Space-Knight he’d always dreamed he’d be as a little kid.”

When Bloom’s father can no longer afford private school payments for his grandkids (ages five and 12), the father undertakes the task of home-schooling, resulting in “some funny chaos, until Aidan decides to scrap the traditional academic curriculum and come up with his own.”

The synopsis continued: “Through teaching them about life his way, Aidan gradually discovers some of the parts of himself he couldn’t find.”

The Zach Braff Kickstarter still has a long way to go before it catches the planned Veronica Mars movie, which set the trend for funding entertainment projects through a crowd-funding website.

Veronica Mars creator Rob Thomas was able to raise a little more than $5.7 million before closing the project’s virtual doors earlier this month. Both films were seeking a $2 million goal.

The efforts have not been without criticism. With thousands of eager filmmakers trying (and failing) to reach their funding goals, there is a growing animosity in the indie community among those who would use celebrity to fund projects.

In recent comments to BuzzFeed, Braff wasn’t that concerned about it. “The people who would say, ‘F*** him, he should pay for it himself,’ I don’t expect those people to be the supporters of this project … It’s not a scam. If I wanted to make dough, I’d go back and be on another TV show,” Braff said.

Here’s a promo for the now-funded flick:

Are you glad the Zach Braff Kickstarter project has achieved funding? Will you be donating or waiting for the release date?

Zach Braff Kickstarter Hits $2M Funding Goal is a post from: The Inquisitr

A Texas inmate shouted “Wow!” during his execution on Thursday. The man, Richard Cobb, was the fourth person to receive a lethal injection in Texas so far this year.

Cobb was convicted of using a 20-gauge shotgun to kill Kenneth Vendever in an East Texas field where two women were also killed. One was also raped.

The inmate was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death. Cobb, 29, said his final words in front of the father, stepmother, and stepbrother of the man he killed. One of the women who was shot and attacked but survived was also present. She testified against Cobb at his trial.

Before the lethal injection was administered to execute him, the Texas inmate stated:

“Life is death, death is life. I hope that someday this absurdity that humanity has come to will come to an end. Life is too short. I hope anyone that has negative energy towards me will resolve that. Life is too short to harbor feelings of hatred and anger. That’s it, warden.”

But that was not the final statement Richard Cobb, 29, made. Just before the lethal drug took effect, Cobb twisted his head back toward the warden and loudly exclaimed, ”Wow! That is great. That is awesome! Thank you, warden! Thank you [expletive] Warden!”

Then, Cobb’s head fell back on the pillow, his neck twisted at an odd angle. He remained with his eyes and mouth open for 15 minutes before a physician entered the death chamber and pronounced him dead.

But despite the execution of the Texas inmate responsible for his son’s death, Don Vandever stated, “I think justice was served but it doesn’t change anything to speak of. I do think the justice system needs to be more of a deterrent. All he did was go to sleep. That’s it.”

At the time of the crime, Cobb was just 18. When the Texas inmate was executed on Thursday, he was 29. His partner in the deadly crime, Buenka Adams, was executed last year for his participation in the robbery and slaying.

Texas Execution: ‘Wow!’ One Of Inmate’s Last Words is a post from: The Inquisitr

Rodney Allen Rippy has dropped out of the mayoral race in Compton, California.

Rippy is a former child star who suddenly became famous when he starred in a Jack in the Box commercial back in 1972. The spot found the boy attempting to eat a hamburger that was nearly as big as his head. He was three-years-old when he was cast in the ad.

Following the success of the restaurant’s commercial, Rippy landed roles in a movies and TV shows. He also recorded an album entitled Make Life a Little Easier.

Unlike other child stars from that era, he managed to stay out of trouble. This may have had something to do with words of wisdom he received from his mom.

“My mom always said, ‘Rodney, you need to understand this: It’s very easy to get into trouble. It’s very difficult to get out,’” he explained.

Although Rodney Allen Rippy soon faded into obscurity, he reemerged into the public eye earlier this year when he decided to run for mayor of Compton. Unfortunately, he would receive only 75 votes in the primary election. He placed 10th out of a total of 12 candidates.

Rippy wasn’t using his fame as a former child star to help drive his campaign. Instead of pursuing acting once he finished high school, the Jack in the Box kid decided to go to college. He later graduated with a marketing degree.

“I wanted to continue to act, but at the time acting was a thing that unless you were really burning hot, you better have something on the back burner,” he explained.

In 2000 he formed the Ripped Marketing Group. He took everything he learned from promoting a wide variety of products to help stage his political campaign. Rippy said he wanted to help give Compton a face lift and change the way people viewed the Los Angeles suburb.

Unfortunately, the former child star didn’t have enough votes to make it happen. The race is now between Aja Brown and former mayor Mayor Omar Bradley, the latter of whom is facing corruption charges.

Do you remember Rodney Allen Rippy from the Jack in the Box commercials?

[Image via Shutterstock]

Rodney Allen Rippy Drops Out Of Compton Mayoral Race is a post from: The Inquisitr

There are two Patricks in this photo. When you see it …

There Are Two Patricks is a post from: The Inquisitr

Injustice: Gods Among Us just landed a trailer for a new DLC character. Say hello to Lobo.

Injustice: Gods Among Us is the critically acclaimed DC Comics fighting game from NeatherRealm, the people who gave us Mortal Kombat and then reinvented it. The story involves Superman being tricked by the Joker into nuking Metropolis, therefore sending the man of steel into a mental breakdown, taking the rest of the Justice League with him. The Justice League from another universe intervenes, and so the brawl begins.

At the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo, NeatherRealm showed off Injustice: Gods Among Us and a trailer for a new DLC character, Lobo. The new character seems to be based on the version of Lobo that existed before Rob Liefeld rebooted the franchise (a move which angered many a fan).

Lobo is an alien bounty hunter, rarely used, but known to be a hardboiled villain. He was the DC Comics equivalent of a combination of Marvel’s Wolverine and Punisher, a biker with regenerative healing powers and heightened senses. A more serious version of Deadpool, in other words.

The Injustice: Gods Among Us DLC trailer begins with Lobo riding in on a floating bike and dismounting. He has a chain wrapped around his forearm and a gun strapped to his back. He puts a cigar up to his mouth and says, “Time to liven up the joint.” He lights the cigar with a flamethrower.

Batman enters in a cloud of bats, poses for battle, and the fight begins.

Lobo shoots the ground, sending Batman off his feet for a second, and follows up with a dive attack. Then he readies his gun as Batman starts knocking him about. Batman approaches the fallen Lobo as the villain gets up and throws him with a spinning move.

Lobo resumes attacking with his guns and various throws, one of which uses his chain. Then he throws Batman into a teleporter of some kind, at which point Darkseid gets off his chair, throws and blasts Batman back out of the room through the device. The rest of the trailer is above.

Are you excited about using Lobo in Injustice: Gods Among Us?

‘Injustice: Gods Among Us’ Lands Lobo DLC Trailer [Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr

Pictured: Doing college right.

College Breakfast is a post from: The Inquisitr

USC quarterback Matt Barkley was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 4th round. His position of 96th pick was surprising to many, who expected him to go in the late first round or early second.

But he went much later than that, likely in part to the Trojans’ fairly poor season. The quarterback didn’t play as well as in 2011, netting the Trojans a record of 7 to 5.

Barkley considered coming out of school after his junior season. But at that time, he would have gone against Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III, and Ryan Tannehill. Despite the odds, he likely would have had a better pick than this year.

Despite the disappointment at being a fourth-round draft pick, Matt Barkley was happy with his new team. Shortly after the pick, the USC quarterback tweeted, “I’m an Eagle!! Time to fly baby.” Former sports agent Joel Corry also tweeted after the announcement:

“Matt Barkley should sign a 4-year deal worth $2,657,028 with a $497,028 signing bonus. His ’13 cap number should be $529,257.”

Chip Kelly previously announced he would be building an offensive team around either Michael Vick of Nick Foles. Because of this, a mobile quarterback wasn’t a requirement. The Eagles’ coach and the team’s front office backed up the statement by their pick of Matt Barkley.

While the pick may have seemed a surprise to some, it wasn’t to the former Southern California quarterback. In a conference call with reporters, Barkley commented:

“I wouldn’t say surprised. I knew they had been interested in me from how their coaching staff expressed it in Indianapolis at the [NFL scouting] combine, and then with their visits out to USC for the workouts. It didn’t come as a complete surprise, but it was a good wake-up call this morning.”

While a fourth-round draft pick may not be what Matt Barkley was hoping for, he can rest comfortably knowing the Eagles wanted him enough to trade this year’s seventh pick to the Jaguars in order to grab the quarterback.

[Image via Neon Tommy]

Matt Barkley Drafted By Eagles In 4th Round is a post from: The Inquisitr

Daytona Beach, FL — A woman with an alleged God complex doused her car with gasoline and set it on fire at a gas station, nearly causing a massive explosion.

In this incident, the woman went into the convenience store part of the gas station and grabbed a lighter from behind the counter and took off. One of the employees pursued her and wound up in a tussle over the lighter. The attendant, who reclaimed the lighter, said he smelled gas after the wrestling match, and he was right. He noticed that there was gas on the back of her car and on the ground. She said, “don’t move, I’m going to do it…”

The vehicle allegedly had indeed already been sprayed with gas.

Unfortunately it also turned out that the woman meant business because she had another lighter in the car and used it to set her vehicle on fire at the gas pump. She left two dogs in the burning vehicle.

According to a witness, “It was just lit up into flames, like 15 different barbeques going on, huge into the sky.”

Quick thinking employees disabled the pumps before the gas station could have turned into an inferno.

Another bystander rescued the dogs from the burning vehicle. The local fire department was called out to put out the blaze that engulfed the woman’s car.

The woman then sat down in the middle of US 92 in Daytona Beach so that a car could run her over. According to police, “she said something about that she was ‘God.’ ”

Divine intervention may have been the reason why no one was hurt and there was only minor property damage (a melted pump hose) in what could have been a huge disaster. Perhaps God does work in mysterious ways.

The woman, identified as Alexandra Barnes, 29, was taken to the hospital for a mental evaluation.

[Image via Shutterstock]

Watch a local news report about the woman who set fire to her car at the gas pump in Daytona Beach:

Here’s the famous scene from the 1993 film Malice in which Alec Baldwin denies having a God complex because he is God.

Florida Woman Claiming To Be God Torches Car At Gas Station is a post from: The Inquisitr

Christina Ricci has signed on to star in the upcoming thriller Unmasked.

The film is being directed by Geoffrey Sax, who is working from a script by newcomer Peter Scott Vicaire. Although everything is starting to come together, it’s currently unknown when production on the project is slated to begin.

The plot is centered around “a man who joins a dangerous and mysterious club in order to relive the worst day of his life.” No word yet on which character Christina Ricci will portray in the thriller.

What’s particularly interesting about Unmasked is that the script was discovered by producer Sean Thomas on InkTip. The site helps connect screenwriters with industry professionals. To date, a total of 11 scripts have been optioned through the service.

Fans of the horror genre might be familiar with Sax’s work. He previously directed the 2005 supernatural thriller White Noise starring Michael Keaton.

The filmmaker would shift gears for the family-oriented adventure flick Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker in 2006.

Unmasked will serve as Sax’s first big-screen effort since the 2010 drama Frankie & Alice with Halle Berry, Phylicia Rashad, and Stellan Skarsgard.

Although she has maintained a low profile over the years, Christina Ricci has managed to work steadily in a number of independent movies. Although she would take a stab at the small screen with the short-lived drama Pan Am, she turned her attention back to feature films.

In addition to lending her voice to the upcoming animated sequel The Smurfs 2, Ricci recently wrapped production on Serge Rodnunsky’s Fighting to Forgive. The Civil War-era tale will find her starring alongside Tom Berenger.

The talented actress recently signed on for a role in the forthcoming drama Mothers Day. The project, which also stars Susan Sarandon, Sharon Stone, is described a “web chat” movie that unfolds over the course of a single Mother’s Day.

Are you looking forward to catching Christina Ricci in Geoffrey Sax’s thriller Unmasked?

[Image via vipflash / Shutterstock.com]

Christina Ricci To Star In The Thriller ‘Unmasked’ is a post from: The Inquisitr

Marcus Lattimore was picked up by the San Francisco 49ers in the fourth round of the NFL draft on Saturday. The running back from South Carolina was the second of the 49ers two fourth-round selections.

Lattimore will join the 49ers after a junior season, during which he suffered a nearly career-ending injury to his right knee in the university’s ninth game.

The knee injury came after Lattimore suffered from torn ligaments in his left knee during his sophomore year. Despite the two knee injuries, the running back set records at South Carolina with 38 career rushing touchdowns and 41 total touchdowns in 29 games.

His new home with the 49ers seems to be a perfect match for Marcus Lattimore, as the team likely won’t press him to play in the 2013 season. Instead, they will likely keep him on the injured reserve list while he continues rehab for his right knee.

Lattimore will have the benefit of learning more by watching running backs Frank Gore, Kendall Hunter, and LaMichael James. Once he is healthy, he will be a good fit for San Francisco. Before his injury, Marcus was considered one of the best running backs in the country.

The new team will also allow Lattimore to continue his relationship with Gore, who reached out to him after his season-ending injury. The two running backs have remained in touch. The new addition to the 49ers compared himself to Gore at the 2013 scouting combine, saying:

“I feel like we both run hard. He runs like nobody’s there. He runs with total destruction. I feel like if I could compare my game to anybody, it would be Frank Gore. He’s got low pads, he’s got great vision, he can see the whole field. Great balance.”

Marcus Lattimore first burst onto the football scene in 2010 when he earned the NCAA Freshman of the Year honors. He was also a first-team All-SEC selection after he rushed for 1,197 years.

[Image via Ianmccor]

Marcus Lattimore Picked Up By 49ers In Fourth Round is a post from: The Inquisitr

Police think two cars were used in the Watertown shootout, when police closed in on the two brothers believed responsible for the Boston Marathon bombing.

Investigator had initially thought the brothers used only one car during the night, in which they are accused of fatally shooting a Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer before leading police on a rolling gunfight in nearby Watertown.

Police knew that the brothers carjacked a Mercedes 350 SUV after the driver had pulled over to answer a text message. Older brother Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who would be killed in the gunfight with police, reportedly tapped on the window, and when the man rolled it down Tamerlan said he was responsible for the Boston Marathon bombing.

The man, a Chinese national, was made to drive around the area as the brothers withdrew money from his ATM.

“Don’t look at me!” Tamerlan said to the man, who went by Danny to reporters but withheld his Chinese name. “Do you remember my face?”

“No, no, I don’t remember anything,” Danny replied, though he noted he was taking scrupulou mental notes about everything he could.

Danny later took a split-second opportunity to escape, running away at an angle where the brothers would be unable to shoot at him.

In reconstructing the scene of the Watertown shootout, police now say a second car was involved as well, a green Honda the brothers drove to MIT before killing officer Sean Collier. That same car was believed to be parked on Laurel Street, in Watertown, during the brothers’ shootout with police.

Several people at the scene reported that the second car was present at the Watertown shootout, positioned behind the Mercedes. A report from NBC News about the second car did not go into detail on how it made it to the scene of the shootout, however.

Police Believe Second Car Was Used In Watertown Shootout is a post from: The Inquisitr

Soul Sacrifice has boosted the sales of the PlayStation Vita.

PlayStation Vita sales have grown in Japan lately, and the recently released Soul Sacrifice is the biggest reason. Since the game’s debut on March 8, the game has sold about 200,000 units in just over a month. Keiji Inafune, the game’s developer, has already announced that a sequel is being discussed.

Keiji Inafune has gone on record as saying, “Soul Sacrifice is something I specifically designed for the Vita using the hardware’s specific features. To drive Vita sales even more, I have an idea for a Soul Sacrifice sequel. I’m actually approaching [Sony Computer Entertainment] regarding this project.”

The PlayStation Vita had been struggling with sales previously, even resorting to dropping the price of its portable console. Thanks to Soul Sacrifice, Sony is now seeing green for a while. In a way, this proves beyond a doubt that it’s not what the console can do, but what games you have available to play on it. Hopefully, Sony and Microsoft can both remember that in the next generation.

While Soul Sacrifice helped boost the sales of the PlayStation Vita, Sony is still hoping for more games to do the same. Soul Sacrifice is a third person game that rings a little bit of the Monster Hunter games. You can play as an in-your-face melee character, a spellcaster, or a powerhouse muscle-bound tank. This four-player co-op game has you gaining experience and bonus points for winning battles, though you can sacrifice allies and limbs to cast more powerful spells.

With original and fun games like Soul Sacrifice in the wings, any failing console may actually have hope for a brighter tomorrow. Perhaps Nintendo will figure it out before it’s too late. The Wii U has been failing at every step, and Nintendo seriously needs an ace in the hole to get it out of the mess it’s stuck in. Every console needs games like this.

How do you feel about Soul Sacrifice being the reason the PlayStation Vita is selling more?

PlayStation Vita Sales Boosted By ‘Soul Sacrifice’ is a post from: The Inquisitr

The James Franco film As I Lay Dying, based on the classic William Faulkner novel that we all pretended to read in college, has been given a world premiere in the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival, according to Entertainment Weekly.

Adapting the stream of consciousness prose of Faulkner into a big screen endeavor has been difficult, Franco admitted to EW, but it was a story that “haunted” the renaissance man.

(And we do mean “Renaissance Man” — from poems to music videos, this guy can do it all.)

“As I Lay Dying was a book that my father gave me and I can remember spending a weekend reading late into Friday night and Saturday night, when all of my friends were out partying … It was a difficult book back then. I just tried to understand every line of it. It stayed with me,” Franco said.

The book is comprised of 59 chapters told by 15 different narrators. It relates the story of a Mississippi family’s journey to honor their dead mother’s dying burial wishes. The odyssey is met with trouble every step of the way.

In bringing the book to film, Franco said that he had to change some things up in order to remain faithful.

“You want to capture the tone, but you canʼt work in exactly the same way,” Franco told the magazine as he prepped for the project in 2011. “I don’t believe it’ll feel the same if you divide it as rigidly as the book, like titles that say ‘Cash’ and then you’re with Cash. You can slip into the characters’ heads and give them their inner voice for a while, but it has to be more fluid because movies just work differently than books.”

James Franco, in addition to directing and adapting, will also star, joining a somewhat interesting cast that includes Tim Blake Nelson as Anse, Danny McBride (Eastbound and Down) as Vernon, Ahna O’Reilly as Dewey, Beth Grant as Addie, and Logan Marshall-Green as Jewel.

A look at Franco’s IMDb resume reveals a surprisingly prolific career as director. To date, he has 20 titles to his credit with Interior. Leather Bar., Child of God, and Black Dog, Red Dog planned for 2013 and the biopic Bukowski in 2014.

What do you think about James Franco’s ambition to adapt As I Lay Dying? Must-see or too out there?

[Image via cinemafestival / Shutterstock.com]

James Franco, ‘As I Lay Dying’ Target Cannes Film Festival is a post from: The Inquisitr

Algeria’s president suffered a mini-stroke on Saturday without serious complications. Abdelaziz Bouteflika, 76, was resting in the hospital after experiencing a brief blockage of a blood vessel around noon.

Rachid Bougherbal, the director of the national center of sports medicine, stated that the incident is called a transient ischemic attack. Boucherbal added:

“His excellency the president of the republic mys observe a period of rest for further examinations.”

He added that there is no reason to worry for Bouteflika. The Algerian president has ruled the oil-rich North African nation since 1999. But he rarely appears in public. Rumors say that he is in poor health, making the announcement of his mini-stroke not surprising.

The announcement of the health scare also comes as speculation continues that the Algerian president will run for a fourth term in elections next year, though he promised to step down. The Algerian political system is delicate. Power is shared between civilian politicians and the more powerful military.

Algeria is one of the richest countries in Africa, because it is the Number 3 supplier of natural gas to Europe. The country holds $190 billion in reserves — up $8 billion in the last year. Aside from the president’s mini-stroke on Saturday, Algeria was also in the news this year after a band of militants affiliated with al Qaeda attacked the Ain Amenas gas plant in January.

During the standoff, which lasted four days, at least 37 hostages were killed. On the fourth day, the Algerian army stormed the facility, killing 29 attackers and capturing three more. One of the hostages killed was from Algeria, while the rest hailed from around the globe.

The American Stroke Association reports that a TIA is caused by a temporary blood clot that lasts a short time. It usually causes no lasting damage to the brain. One-third of those who suffer from TIA go on to have a full stroke in the next year. It is not yet clear when Algeria’s president will leave the hospital.

Algeria’s President Suffers Mini-Stroke is a post from: The Inquisitr

The Vampire Diaries spin-off The Originals has been picked up by The CW.

The story was introduced during the April 25 episode of the hit series. The CW President Mark Pedowitz announced on Friday that the series would be heading to the network next season.

Pedowitz explained:

“As soon as we saw last night’s episode of ‘The Vampire Diaries,’ we knew we wanted more of ‘The Originals’ — Julie Plec and Kevin Williamson have done a fantastic job with ‘The Vampire Diaries,’ which is as fast-paced and well-written as ever, and Julie has created an equally compelling world for ‘The Originals.’”

The Originals wasn’t the only announcement the CW president made on Friday. The network revealed that Arrow, Supernatural, and The Vampire Diaries would return for another go-around next season.

Pedowitz also announced that The CW would also move forward with new episodes of Beauty and the Beast and Hart of Dixie.

“Both series continue to be creatively strong and compelling, and their fans are incredibly passionate. I’m very happy to have all three series on the schedule for next season,” he explained.

Although it’s certainly no surprise that The Vampire Diaries and Arrow are coming back next season, many fans were shocked that The Carries Diaries and the action-packed Maggie Q series Nikita were missing from the list.

Reports suggest that Nikita could return for a much short season in order to wrap up the story. However, nothing about the show’s return has been officially announced by the folks at The CW as of this writing. The fate of The Carrie Diaries also remains unclear.

The Originals did struggle a bit out of the gate on Thursday. The episode which introduced the spin-off only managed to bring in around 2.2 million viewers. However, this apparently didn’t stop the network from seeing the show’s potential.

Are you looking forward to the Vampire Diaries spin-off?

‘The Vampire Diaries’ Spin-Off Picked Up By CW is a post from: The Inquisitr

The Taliban announced it will launch its annual spring offensive on Sunday, meaning the Islamic extremist militants will step up attacks as the weather in Afghanistan warms.

The statement by the former Afghan government comes toward the end of a month that has already seen the most violence so far this year.

The Taliban’s leadership vowed on Saturday that “every possible tactic will be utilized in order to detain or inflict heavy casualties on the foreign transgressors.” The attacks are expected to include suicide attacks on military bases and diplomatic areas.

The announcement is yet another sign that the Taliban is attempting to replace Afghanistan’s government with one that promotes a stricter interpretation of Islamic law. The group named its new spring offensive after Khalid ibn al-Walid, a legendary Muslim military commander also known as “the Drawn Sword of God.”

Along with threatening suicide attacks for the yearly spring offensive, the Taliban also threatened more insider attacks by members of the Afghan security forces. The attacks are committed against their military colleagues and foreign troops. The attacks have threatened the strength of the Afghan forces as they work to take over all power from international troops.

Afghanistan’s defense ministry has already responded to the threat of a Taliban spring offensive. The ministry stated on Saturday, “The Afghan National Army is ready to neutralize the offensive.” They added that the soldiers now have the support and trust of many Afghans.

The Taliban launches a spring offensive every year when the weather warms up. Warmer temperatures mean it is easier to travel and fight in the region. The group sent out a press release about the campaign, saying that the offensive will target “America, NATO and their backers for the gratification of Allah Almighty, independence of Afghanistan and establishing in it an Islamic government while we humbly raise our hands towards Allah Almighty for its success and hope for a favorable and triumphant end.”

It is not yet clear what the United States’ response will be to the annual Taliban spring offensive.

[Image via LCpl. Kenneth Jasik]

Taliban Announces Spring Offensive Starting On Sunday is a post from: The Inquisitr