Geraldo Rivera provoked outrage on Friday when he said that slain teenager Trayvon Martin was partially responsible for his death because he was wearing a hoodie. The Fox News host later revealed that even his own son was dismayed by the comments.

Speaking on Friday’s “Fox and Friends,” Rivera said, “”I think the hoodie is as much responsible for Trayvon Martin’s death as George Zimmerman was.”

Martin was unarmed when he was shot dead by a self-appointed neighborhood watch volunteer named George Zimmerman in late February. His death has become a national tragedy, fueled by the police’s controversial handling of the case.

After making his original comments about Martin’s hoodie on Friday morning, Rivera weighed in again in a series of tweets. He revealed that his own son — whom he referenced when speaking about Martin — disagreed. “My own son just wrote to say he’s ashamed of my position re hoodies,” he tweeted.

However, he maintained that Martin’s hoodie was to blame for his death. He deniedthat he was “blaming the victim” and called it “common sense” for minorities to avoid wearing hoodies. He said that he was “reminding minority parents of the risk that comes with being a kid of color in America.”

Rivera made his original comments to Brian Kilmeade, Steve Doocy and guest host Juliet Huddy. He said that he believed George Zimmerman should be “investigated to the fullest extent of the law” and “prosecuted” if criminally liable, but blamed Martin’s parents for letting him go outside wearing a hoodie.

“But I am urging the parents of black and Latino youngsters particularly to not let their children go out wearing hoodies,” Rivera insisted.

When asked to clarify his remarks, Rivera said that he cautioned his own son against wearing hoodies. He explained, “When you, when you see a kid walking — Juliet — when you see a kid walking down the street, particularly a dark skinned kid like my son Cruz, who I constantly yelled at when he was going out wearing a damn hoodie or those pants around his ankles. Take that hood off, people look at you and they — what do they think? What’s the instant identification, what’s the instant association?”

“Uh-oh,” remarked Doocy, who nodded in agreement.

Rivera argued that avoiding certain types of attire was a necessary deterrent against racial profiling. “It’s those crime scene surveillance tapes. Every time you see someone sticking up a 7-11, the kid is wearing a hoodie,” Rivera said. “You have to recognize that this whole stylizing yourself as a gangster, you’re gonna be a gangster wannabe? Well, people are gonna perceive you as a menace.”

He stressed that Martin was an “innocent” and “wonderful” kid who “didn’t deserve to die.” However, he reiterated, “I’ll bet you money, if he didn’t have that hoodie on, that nutty neighborhood watch guy wouldn’t have responded in that violent and aggressive way.”

Rivera prefaced his “Fox and Friends” appearance with similar comments on Twitter on Thursday night. He had tweeted, “His hoodie killed Trayvon Martin as surely as George Zimmerman,” and “I’m trying to save lives like Trayvon’s-Parents Alert: hoodies can get your kid killed.”

Moments before he died, Martin was on the phone with his girlfriend. She recalledhim saying that he put his hoodie up because Zimmerman had been following him.

What Kind of Services do Banquet Halls Provide?

The Bonfire Banquet and Restaurant:

999 Market street, Paterson, NJ 07513

The use of banquets has become a popular way of holding such large events as a wedding reception. At The Bonfire Banquet and Restaurant in Paterson NJ,  When you are beginning to plan for the big day, one of the first items on the wedding plan is finding the right banquet hall for the reception. There are many questions you will have such as large a hall do you need? Once you have settled on the size, you will need to know what services the hall will provide to make your wedding day memorable and glitch-free.

Most banquet halls will have a wedding specialist on staff. Spend some time discussing your dreams and let the specialist guide you through the process. The wedding planner will help you determine the size of hall you need, and work out a menu. You will want to consider the size of dance floor, stage, and head table when deciding if the room will work for your affair.

Bonfire restaurant and banquet hall 999 market street paterson, nj 07513

A wedding coordinator at a banquet hall can recommend everything from flowers, limousine service, cakes, balloons, DJ, bands, photographers, videographers, invitations, matches, napkins, tux rentals and dresses.

Part of the planning at the Bonfire Banquet and Restaurant inPaterson NJ will include choice of linens, chair covers, ceiling decorations, specialty lighting. The banquet hall will provide a podium and microphone. A color theme will be chosen and followed through to all your specified details. As well, the centerpieces and candelabra will be provided. Of course, catering is also part of the service offered at banquet halls. Many banquet hall service providers will offer a sampling to the bride and groom when they are making menu choices.

Most banquet halls will offer many options, from casual cocktails and finger foods to formal sit-down multi-course dinners. Some offer printed menu cards at each table. Hors d’oeuvres served during the reception line are an option offered by most halls. Champagne for the toasts can be included in wedding packages at many halls, as well as late-night coffee and tea service. Some offer hot towels after the meal.

The banquet hall provides professional wait staff to ensure that the meal is served and cleared smoothly and with great care. The hall also provides china and silver so that the meal is presented most elegantly. The hall will provide coat check service, and bar set-up and attendants. They also provide ample parking to accommodate all your guests.

Some banquet halls have a wedding chapel on the premises. They will organize the music, flowers and seating in the chapel. Other halls provide a grand piano and experienced piano player to maintain an ambiance for your guests throughout the reception. Other banquet halls have a bridal suite attached which is a room with an ensuite bath in which the happy couple can rest, refresh, and find a few calm moments. Other banquet halls will provide airport shuttle service for out-of-town guests. Some banquet halls have gardens that provide beautiful backdrops for photos of the wedding party. Banquet halls attached to a hotel often offer rooms to the bride and groom, and wedding guests, at a discount.

There are many choices of venue for your wedding. When considering which banquet hall to choose, keep in mind your own personal tastes, which space feels comfortable to you, which options offered are important, and how it all fits your wedding budget. Renting a banquet hall will make your joyous occasion even more wonderful.

UPDATE: WJBK FOX 2 News in Detroit confirms that Franklin has cancer. A family insider told the station that she’s doing, “OK,” but they ask for the public’s prayers.

PREVIOUSLY:
A week after undergoing surgery for a mystery illness, the National Enquirer reports (via PopCrunch) that famed singer Aretha Franklin has incurable pancreatic cancer.

The surgery, labeled a success, came under mysterious circumstances. This is the first time this illness has been reported. In November, she canceled all concerts through May 2011 due to “medical reasons.”

The Enquirer’s report lists pancreatic survival rates at 5-10%, and even lower for someone of Franklin’s age and weight.

Full Story:Deadline.com
EXCLUSIVE: I’ve learned that Jennifer Lopez had been negotiating for a guaranteed “go” motion picture and TV pilots at Fox to accompany an asked-for $15 million American Idol judging paycheck. But the powers-that-be who produce Idol – Fox, Fremantle, and 19 Entertainment — balked. 

It was her manager Benny Medina (whom she once fired) who first orchestrated the meeting with the Idol producers in June, and, by the end of July, J-Lo accepted the offer to be a new Idol judge. Since then, she, Medina and her producing partner Simon Fields have been trying to milk the gig for all they could get from the movie studio and broadcast network/television programmer to further her stalled career in the film/TV area. One bargaining chip they had, I can report, is that Simon Cowell already asked JLo to be a judge on the U.S. version of his The X Factor when it debuts on Fox in Fall 2011.

Among JLo’s demands, “she was angling for an overall deal at Fox, including a put picture, to keep the movie career going. But Fox said no,” one insider tells me. “In the old days, these were called a ‘vanity deal’ for good reason. They simply don’t exist today. Will Smith doesn’t have put pictures.” Another informant says she also was angling for TV development projects to replace the ones that had gone by the wayside when her career grew cold. Also, Team JLo was pissed that the Idol producers never discussed ahead of time their decision to offer a judging job to Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler. Though Team JLo kept threatening she’d bail if she didn’t get what she wanted, Fox called her bluff several times. That’s when real or imagined “Plan B” feelers put out to other talent would wind up in the media. It was left to returning Idol executive producer Nigel Lythgoe to deny these unconfirmed reports circulating that J-Lo was losing the job because of her diva demands.

Full Story:NorthJersey.com

Full Story:NJ.com

PATERSON — The reportedly newest addition to Real Housewives of New Jersey is making news even before she joins the crew of the reality TV show.

Melissa Gorga, the sister-in-law of RHONJ cast member Teresa Giudice, owes a Boonton sprinkler company $50,000 for work on an apartment complex in Paterson, according to a lawsuit filed last week in Superior Court in Morris County.

Gorga initially reneged on an agreement to pay nearly $300,000 for the installation of a fire sprinkler and alarm system at a Paterson apartment complex, the complaint said. The complaint accuses Gorga, her husband Guiseppe and their business, Gorga Enterprises Inc. of breach of contract and unjustly enriching themselves by misdeeds, among other things, by failing to pay for work performed by Bravante Automatic Sprinkler Corp.

Full Story: NJ.com

Did the “Real Housewives of New Jersey” reunion leave you, like me, feeling a little verklempt? Did you also start to tear up when Jacqueline Laurita tells Danielle Staub that she wants to let go off all her anger, and Danielle tells her she’s sorry and that she loves her, and they share an interminable hug, and we realize that we won’t have to sit through any more pointless luncheons where the ladies discuss Danielle even though they hate hate hate talking about Danielle, or watch footage from incredibly inappropriate mother-daughter outings, like that trip to the gynecologist, or hear Teresa Giudice deny that her house is in foreclosure as the bankruptcy rolls on (the schadenfreude has long since worn off), or stop ourselves from hurling our highballs at the screen every time Ashley Holmes sneers “Whatever” … for at least nine more months? Yes, the second season of “Real Housewives of New Jersey” is finally over.

Whispers: Please no lost footage special. Please no lost footage special. Please no lost footage special. The second half of the reunion show was a lot like the first part — Teresa snarling epithets at Danielle, Danielle deny, deny, denying any and all accusations lodged against her, then stalking off the set, Jacqueline jumping off the couch to follow her and being restrained by Andy Cohen — hey, has he been working out during the breaks? Okay, the head in the high-end purse was a bit of a curve ball — that was Danielle attempting to illustrate how yanking out hair extensions also pulls out actual hair — and we enjoyed Kim Granatell’s surprise visit and even more surprising hissy fit at Teresa.

 Kim G. wants on this show bad. But nothing was as shocking as Jacqueline’s change of heart in the last few minutes. “The more you would say, the more angry I would get, and the more I wanted to lash out at you,” she tells Danielle. “I hated the person I was becoming, and it’s gotten so ugly and out of control now. I just don’t want to be in that place anymore, and I really don’t want to be this person that’s angry and attacking you all the time.” Danielle tells her she’s truly sorry for everything that’s happened — Teresa rolls her eyes — and promises that Jacqueline won’t hear another word from her on the subject. When Andy asks her if that means she’ll drop any (as far as we know, just rumored) litigation, Danielle says, “I will contact my attorney and make sure there is peace for everybody.” Teresa then tells Danielle that she’s never tried to spread rumors about her, which Danielle takes as an apology of sorts (we didn’t), and Danielle gets up and hugs a flabbergasted Teresa. Then she turns to Jacqueline and envelops her in a hug and whispers, “You have my word, no more … I’m moving on and I’m happy. I’m in a happy place …

I love you and I don’t care who else believes it.” The hug lasts for 43 excruciating seconds. Then she reaches out a hand to Caroline Manzo and tells her she’s sorry for anything she did to her. Caroline shakes her hand. Then she says, “This is the biggest crock of s— I’ve seen in my life.” “I have to be honest. If I’m a bitch, I will own it. I am not a coward. I am not a phony. This was phony.” Oh, Caroline, I think I’ll miss you most of all. BRAVODanielle Staub produces a mannequin head to demonstrate the damage done when Ashley Holmes yanked out her hair extensions. Other highlights: — Vis a vis the baby cancer benefit and Danny Provenzano calling Chris Manzo a gay slur, Danielle maintains that she can’t take responsibility for other people’s actions but says she did talk to Danny about that afterward, and that exchange was left on the cutting room floor.

No one believes this. “I no longer speak to him as a result of that,” Danielle says. She must mean off-camera, because Danny made several appearances after the benefit episode. But then we established during the first part of the reunion show that Danielle is not friends with Danny; she just tapes with him. She also claims that she didn’t know about the entourage at the benefit until she was on her way there. “I’m not responsible for that.” Caroline: “You blame everybody else … Own up to one thing.”

JENNIFER Aniston is desperate to be a mommy!

Insiders say the 41-year-old actress recently had her eggs frozen at a Southern California fertility clinic.

Jen, the pal revealed, will retrieve the eggs for conception soon.

“She will be an amazing mother,” said the Aniston insider. “Jen is incredible with children. For so many years she’s wanted to have children.

“She’s financially positioned to bring kids into the world and provide them with an amazing life.

“There’s definitely someone new in Jen’s life and he’s not a player in the superficial Hollywood scene. That’s all I can say.”

Read more:Shoebizspy.com