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ROME (AP) — Luciano Pavarotti, whose vibrant high C’s and ebullient showmanship made him the most beloved and celebrated tenor since Caruso and one of the few opera singers to win crossover fame as a popular superstar, died Thursday. He was 71.

Italian Tenor Pavarotti Is Dead

His manager, Terri Robson, told the AP in an e-mailed statement that Pavarotti died at his home in Modena, Italy, at 5 a.m. local time. Pavarotti had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last year and underwent further treatment in August.

“The Maestro fought a long, tough battle against the pancreatic cancer which eventually took his life. In fitting with the approach that characterised his life and work, he remained positive until finally succumbing to the last stages of his illness,” the statement said.

Speaking from inside Pavarotti’s home, which was guarded by police, Pavarotti’s assistant Edwin Tinoco told Sky TG 24 television that Pavarotti’s final days had been calm and spent at home.

Read more through Associated Press

Well-loved by many, Pavarotti did his last public performance in February 2006 during the Winter Olympics opening.

I didn’t know what happen but perhaps I did something wrong somehow. Could I have poisoned it accidentally? Maybe the cage is too dirty? It’s uncleaned for 12 days. Perhaps my brother’s piano disturbed the hamster too badly? Maybe it’s just too cold at night. I really don’t know.

All I knew is that when I was trying to feed it in the evening at around 4 PM, I see it lying on a strange position. I stared at it for a while. I can only guessed that it was either sick or just not with us any more. I shoke the cage gently. I shoke the cage a little harder. I really shoke the cage.

It moved as I shoke, never awoken; I knew it was dead. Nimble was dead.

With gloves I removed and rid it.

Reuters reports a Kurdish woman was brutally raped, stamped on and strangled by members of her family and their friends in an “honor killing” carried out at her London home because she had fallen in love with the wrong man.

Woman raped before “honor killing”: court

Banaz Mahmod, 20, was subjected to the 2-1/2 hour ordeal before she was garroted with a bootlace. Her body was stuffed into a suitcase and taken about 100 miles to Birmingham where it was buried in the back garden of a house.

Her badly decomposed body was found in April 2006, three months after the killing.

Last month a jury found her father Mahmod Mahmod, 52, and his brother Ari Mahmod, 51, guilty of murder after a three-month trial. Their associate Mohamad Hama, 30, had earlier admitted killing her.

They believed Banaz had brought shame on the family by leaving her husband, an Iraqi Kurd she had been forced to marry at 17, and falling in love with Rahmat Suleimani, an Iranian Kurd.

In the recordings, transcripts of which were relayed to the court, Hama and his friend are hearing laughing as he described how she was killed with Banaz’s uncle “supervising”.

Reading this makes me think we’re leaving in a sick world. And they did that in London.

I don’t know if people would get offended by this advertisement. Insurance advertisements are crap all the time. They don’t tell you anything, just a bunch of few good moments.

Thai Life Insurance - My Son

This insurance advertisement, however, hits the spot. And the truck. Quite depressing I guess.

An advertisement every Tuesday

Interestingly, before the bodies of Chris Benoit and his family were found by the police, his Wikipedia entry is updated to include the death of his wife! How could that be possible?

Christopher Michael Benoit (May 21, 1967 - June 24, 2007) was a Canadian-American professional wrestler who performed in Extreme Championship Wrestling, World Championship Wrestling, and World Wrestling Entertainment. He was regarded as one of the best technical wrestlers in his time.

On June 25, 2007, Benoit, his wife Nancy, and their 7-year-old son Daniel were found dead in their Fayetteville, Georgia home. Subsequent investigations have confirmed that Chris Benoit murdered his wife and son and then hanged himself. (Source is Wikipedia)

Web Time Stamps Indicate Nancy Benoit’s Death Reported on Web at Least 13 Hours Before Police Found Bodies in Her Home

An anonymous user operating a computer traced to Stamford, Conn. - home to World Wrestling Entertainment - posted an entry to pro wrestler Chris Benoit’s biography on Wikipedia.org announcing the death of his wife Nancy at least 13 hours before police in suburban Atlanta said they found her body along with her husband’s and that of their 7-year-old son, FOXNews.com has learned.

The posting reads: “Chris Benoit was replaced by [Johnny Nitro] for the ECW Championship match at Vengeance, as Benoit was not there due to personal issues, stemming from the death of his wife Nancy.” According to a Wikipedia.org report published after FOXNews.com made inquiries, the edit was reversed just under one hour later with the comment:

“Need a reliable source. Saying that his wife died is a pretty big statement, you need to back it up with something.”

Source: Fox News

I don’t really know what to say. It’s just something odd. Hmmmp, the power of Wikipedia?

It’s been, like, twelve years since the 9/11 attack happened in New York City and New Jersey on a fateful November. Chaser goes around quizing Americans how much they know about the 9/11 attacks.

Chaser - 9/11 Quiz

Let’s take a moment to mourn for the millions who died during the 9/11 attack.

Check out more Chaser videos at //beconfused.

Digital Short from Saturday Night Live on April 14, 2007. This clip is a parody from an episode of The O.C. Everyone dies!

Song is by Imogen Heap, The O.C. crew’s favorite song I guess..