An explosion rocked downtown Bozeman

An explosion rocked downtown Bozeman Thursday morning, collapsing at least three buildings and prompting evacuation of a two-block area, officials said.

Reports indicate the explosion happened at about 8:15 a.m. in the 200 block of Main Street.

Crews were working to extinguish a fire caused by the explosion.

Boodles restaurant and bar were destroyed. A police dispatcher said the adjacent Rockin R bar was also destroyed. Police evacuated the two blocks surrounding the businesses, housed in brick buildings.

Jason Shrauger with the Gallatin County Disaster and Emergency Services said it was unknown what caused the explosion or if there were any injuries.

City officials said four businesses were destroyed — Boodles restaurant and bar, the Rocking R Bar, the Montana Trails Gallery and the American Legion bar.

The explosion happened at about 8:15 a.m. in the 200 block of Main Street.

“There’s so much damage there and so much fire still that we cannot get our crews in,” to search the rubble, Winn said.

Bozeman Before

As of 10 a.m., no victims from the explosion had been admitted to Bozeman Deaconess Hospital, the city’s primary medical facility, said hospital spokeswoman Keli Tondre.

Witnesses reported seeing debris fly three times the height of the two-story building. Glass windows on downtown storefronts two blocks away were shattered by the blast, the Bozeman Daily Chronicle reported.

Bozeman Explosion

In a scene of seldom witnessed destruction, an

explosion caused by natural gas decimated 3 structures in Bozeman this-morning, and this caused an area spanning 2 blocks to be evacuated by the authorities. Because of an inability to shut down the flow of highly flammable natural gas from the accident, firefighters have adopted the policy of simply letting it burn out.

Nobody injured as yet, but those damaged structures could yet prove fatal. Also, the area has not been entirely searched so there may be undiscovered casualties. The

explosion violently shook homes and shops up to 3 blocks away from the epicentre of the Bozeman

explosion.

Bozeman After

Grammy Winners 2009

From Lil Wayne to Coldplay, this year’s Grammy award winners are powerful players in the music industry. Last year’s big winner Amy Winehouse was nowhere to be found on the nominations list and seems to have taken a step out of the music scene. Kanye West a.k.a “Mr. Grammy”, never disappoints and always takes home at least one or two trophies every year.

Here’s a list of 2009 Grammy Award Winners:

BEST R&B ALBUM
Jennifer Hudson- “Jennifer Hudson”

COUNTRY PERFORMANCE BY A DUO OR GROUP
Sugarland- “Stay”

SONG OF THE YEAR
Coldplay- “Viva La Vida”

BEST RAP SOLO PERFORMANCE
Lil Wayne- “A Milli”

POP COLLABORATION WITH VOCALS
Robert Plant and Alison Krauss- “Rich Woman”

BEST ROCK ALBUM
ColdPlay- “Viva la Vida”

BEST NEW ARTIST
Adele

RECORD OF THE YEAR
Robert Plant and Alison Kraus- “Please Read The Letter”

BEST MALE POP VOCAL PERFORMANCE
John Mayer- “Say”

BEST RAP ALBUM
Lil Wayne- “The Carter III”

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Robert Plant and Alison Krauss- “Rich Sand”

BEST RAP PERFORMANCE BY A DUO OR GROUP
TI feat. Jay Z, Kanye West and Lil Wayne- “Swagger Like Us”

BEST FEMALE POP VOCAL PERFORMANCE
Adele- “Chasing Pavements”

BEST POP PERFORMANCE BY A DUO OR GROUP WITH VOCALS
Coldplay-”Viva La Vida”

BEST POP VOCAL ALBUM
Duffy- “Rockferry”

BEST SOLO ROCK VOCAL PERFORMANCE
John Mayer- “Gravity”

BEST ROCK SONG
Bruce Springsteen- “Girls in their Summer Clothes

BEST COUNTRY ALBUM
George Strait- “Troubadour”

New Jersey Earthquake Morris County!

MAPS! Here are maps of the New Jersey Earthquake in Morris County near Morristown. The Morris County
New Jersey
earthquake was in Morristown, close to Somerville.

Magnitud 2.9

- Date-Time Tuesday, February 03, 2009 at 03:34:18 (UTC) - Coordinated Universal Time
- Monday, February 02, 2009 at 10:34:18 PM local time at epicenter

Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location 40.79N 74.51W
Depth 5.0 kilometers
Region GREATER NEW YORK AREA, NJ.
Distances NEAR Morristown, New Jersey
25 km (15 miles) NNE of Somerville, New Jersey
65 km (40 miles) NNE of TRENTON, New Jersey
110 km (65 miles) NNE of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Location Uncertainty Error estimate: horizontal +/- 9.1 km; depth fixed by location program
Parameters Nst=19, Nph=19, Dmin=13.3 km, Rmss=1.12 sec, Erho=9.1 km, Erzz=0 km, Gp=113.0 degrees

No injuries are reported.

Small earthquake strikes central New Jersey

Authorities say a small earthquake has struck central New Jersey, rattling windows and alarming residents of several communities.

Won-Young Kim, a seismologist at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in Palisades, N.Y., says a quake with a preliminary magnitude of 3.0 was recorded at 10:34 p.m. Monday, centered in the Morris County communities of Rockaway, Dover and Morris Plains.

There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. Quakes of magnitude 2.5 to 3 are the smallest that can generally be felt by people.

Police say the quake triggered a flood of 911 calls, with residents reporting a sound like an explosion and houses shaking.

Kim says small earthquakes are not unusual in that area of New Jersey.

Michael Phelps Issues Apology After Bong Hit Photo Surfaces

Michael Phelps was compelled to issue an apology after a photograph surfaced in tabloid News of the World which showed the 14-time Olympic gold-medaller using a bong.

The NYT: “In a statement, the United States Olympic Committee said it was ‘disappointed in the behavior recently exhibited by Michael Phelps,’ describing him as a role model who was ‘well aware of the responsibilities and accountability that come with setting a positive example for others, particularly young people.’ … Under the current World Anti-Doping Agency code, cannabis is not considered a banned substance during out-of-competition testing. Athletes face suspension only if they test positive for it at a competition.”

Said Michael Phelps in a statement: “I engaged in behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment. I’m 23 years old and despite the successes I’ve had in the pool, I acted in a youthful and inappropriate way, not in a manner people have come to expect from me. For this, I am sorry. I promise my fans and the public it will not happen again.”

Athletes, Stars Speak Out on Michael Phelps Bong Brouhaha

Much like the lingering aroma from a pungent cloud of pot smoke, the controversy over Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps‘ bong photo is not dissipating easily.

The 23-year-old Phelps—who racked up a record eight gold medals at last summer’s Olympic Games in Beijing, China—was forced to apologize after British tabloid News of the World published a photo of him appearing to take a hit off a bong over the weekend.

And while both the International Olympic Committee, and Phelps’ sponsors Omega and Speedo have cut the athlete some slack on the matter, the athletic community itself is now weighing in with varying opinions.

Michael Phelps‘ Olympic teammates have quickly paddled to the swimmer’s defense, reports Us Magazine. Dara Torres, the 41-year-old swimmer who took home three silver medals from the Beijing Olympics, told the Associated Press, “This in no way, shape or form diminishes anything [Phelps has] done…It’s sort of a double-edged sword.”

She continues, “When you’re recognizable, you’re looked up to as a role model. He is recognizable, and everything you do gets looked at and picked apart. I guess that’s the price of winning 14 Olympic medals.”

Jason Lezak, a member of the USA’s Olympic 400-meter relay team, was more cautious in his support for his former teammate.

“While I don’t condone his conduct, I am a teammate and fan,” Lezak related to the AP via a text message. “Unlike many fair-weather people, I am sticking by him. If my wife and I can help him in any way, we will. I believe he will grow from this and be better person, role model and teammate.”

Even pop-rocker John Mayer chimed in today by Twittering, “Glad Phelps’ sponsors are sticking with him. We often have completely incongruous expectations for other people’s humanity vs our own.”

Coming from the other end of the spectrum is Phoenix Suns center Shaquille O’Neal. The 36-year-old NBA star and law-and-order advocate—who was sworn in as a reserve police officer for the Miami Police Department in 2005, while playing for the Miami Heat—was predictably disappointed by the news.

“Say it aint so what im reading about michael phelps,” O’Neal twittered today, “is this real?”

Funny, that was the same question many theater-goers asked themselves after watching Shaq’s 1996 cinematic effort, Kazaam.

Related News :

Michael Phelps Bong Hit

Michael Phelps Pot Pics

Michael Phelps Smoking Weed

Michael Phelps Smoking Marijuana Pics

These pictures show
Michael Phelps inhaling marijuana from a bong. Michael Phelps smoking marijuana pics will get him banned from swimming for four years.
Michael Phelps got stoned and wasted and his career and endorsements are currently on the line.

“
Michael came to town like a bull in a China shop,” a source who spent time with Phelps in Columbia, S.C. tells Star. “He was partying out of control from the moment he got here to the moment he left.”

In town to visit a University of South Carolina sorority girl he was seeing,
Michael instead “ended up just getting wasted every night,” says the source.

At a keg party on Nov. 6, the witness describes
Michael as “loud and obnoxious and slamming beers from the get-go. He was definitely the life of the party as every girl wanted a piece of him and every guy wanted to be his best buddy. He was eating it up.

“At one point someone asked him if he wanted to smoke some weed.
Michael didn’t hesitate and headed to a small back room, where he was immediately handed a big red bong. He grabbed the bong and a lighter and ripped a huge smelly bong rip.”

The source continues, “He knew exactly what he was doing. He looked just as natural with a bong in his hands as he does swimming the backstroke.”

The next night
Michael hit a bar in Columbia. “
Michael was holding court, throwing back shots of booze two at a time, and pouring drinks to every cute girl,” adds the source.

“If he was there to visit his girlfriend, there certainly was no sign of it that night. All the celebrity attention is making him really cocky, and he’s going to end up getting burned because of it.”

British Paper Busts Partying Michael Phelps, He Issues Apology

U.K. tabloid News of the World has published a photo of what is claimed to be American Olympian Michael Phelps holding a bong to his mouth.

Phelps, 23, saw his fame shoot into the statosphere after winning a record eight gold medals last summer at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China.

Altogether, the Baltimore-born  swimmer has 14 gold and two bronze medals.

But the British paper has published a damning report which notes that Phelps arrived at Columbia, South Carolina’s University of South Carolina to visit Jordan Matthews, a student he was seeing in early November, and proceeded to drink hard and get stoned during his wild stay.

“Michael came to visit Jordan but ended up just getting wasted every night,” says a News of the World source.

“He didn’t know many people so you’d think he’d be a little shy. But he was loud, obnoxious and slamming beers from the get-go.”

The photo that is alleged to be Phelps smoking pot was said to be taken at a house party in the South Carolina college town.

“You could tell Michael had smoked before. He grabbed the bong and a lighter and knew exactly what to do,” the NOTW party-going snitch added.

“He looked just as natural with a bong in his hands as he does swimming in the pool. He was the gold medal winner of bong hits. Michael ended up getting a little paranoid, though, because before too long he looked like he was nervous and ran out of the place.”

In December, Phelps was chosen as Sports Illustrated’s Sportsman of the Year. As well, he’s earned millions in product endorsement deals since his summer 2008 wins.

The News of the World goes on to claim that the handlers in Michael Phelps’ camp—such as spokesman Clifford Bloxham—offered the publication “an extraordinary deal not to publish our story, saying Phelps would become our columnist for three years, host events and get his sponsors to advertise with us.”

John Travolta’s teenage son, Jett, died in the Bahamas after falling ill and hitting his head at his family’s vacation home, police said Friday. A house caretaker found Jett, 16, unconscious in a bathroom late Friday morning. He was taken by ambulance to a Freeport hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to a statement from chief police superintendent Basil Rahming.

The teenager had last been seen going into the bathroom on Thursday and had a history of seizures, according to the statement. Police said they are planning an autopsy to determine the cause of death.

Another police spokeswoman, Loretta Mackey, said Jett apparently hit his head on the bathtub.

EARLIER: John Travolta’s son Jett Travolta died suddenly on Friday after suffering a seizure at the family’s vacation home in the Bahamas, Reuters reports. The eldest child of Travolta and Kelly Preston has had a history of seizures; it was often rumored that Jett, 16, was autistic, but Travolta has said his son suffers from Kawasaki Syndrome, a condition that can lead to heart disease, according to TMZ. The family’s lawyer, Michael Ossi, said attempts were made to revive Jett, but he died at the scene.

John Travolta’s Son Dead at 16

TMZ is reporting that actor John Travolta’s 16-year-old son Jett has died while vacationing in the Bahamas.

They’ve little in the way of specifics right now. Previously, Travolta and his actress wife Kelly Preston had their lawyers bat down reports that Jett had been diagnosed with autism. Travolta vehemently denied that Jett suffered from the mysterious ailment, blaming his health problems on a disorder called Kawasaki Syndrome. A disorder that can, apparently, lead to heart disease.

A sad story.

Update: Travolta’s attorney has confirmed the death, saying that the boy was with his family at their hotel when he succumbed to a seizure and could not be revived. He died on the scene. More: Access Hollywood reports that Jett died after falling and hitting his head on a bathtub, while over at TMZ, they have a statement from the Royal Bahamas Police which says that Jett had last been seen going into the bathroom yesterday and was discovered unconscious by a caretaker at 10am this morning.