Plate on a budget "Pork chops"

So for dinner today I made Pork chops and vegetables with some mushrooms.  This whole meal cost me $1.94 to make.

I have found that it's easy to eat a well balanced diet on the cheap.

Did you know that you can buy a variety of frozen vegetable for $1 at several big grocery stores?  They have a couple of different brands to choose from.

For instance at Ralph's I love these two brands $1 each.  They also have frozen rice.

I know Ralph's also have specials on meet from time to time.  So I usually buy that meat and freeze what I don't use in small freezer bags.  This week they had pork chops on sale, and there was only one bag left, so I took that one.  The original price was $9.06, however I paid $5.79  for 4 pork chops. What a deal.

Just a few tips on finding good protein deals and vegetable deals.

Lollapalooza lineup announced: Eminem, Outkast top 2014 Lollapalooza Artist

Eminem and Outkast will headline a diverse lineup of more than 130 acts at this year's three-day Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago, Jane's Addiction lead singer and Lollapalooza founder Perry Farrell announced Wednesday.

The lineup also includes recent Grammy darling Lorde, rockers Kings of Leon and Arctic Monkeys and electronic dance music stars Calvin Harris and Skrillex.

"Every year you're shooting to have just an incredible bill that people will look at and say, 'I'm there,'" Farrell said in an interview. "The music is going to entertain them and do wonders for their heart and so is the city."

This year marks the festival's 10-year anniversary in Chicago's lakefront Grant Park. This year acts will perform on eight stages from Aug. 1-3. The full lineup is available on Lollapalooza's website.

Last year's lineup included The Cure, Mumford & Sons, The Killers and Nine Inch Nails. Eminem last played Lollapalooza in 2011.

"He's on top of his game and he's doing a great show," Farrell said. "His live show is incorporating really well-made video and guest appearances."

Outkast announced earlier this year that they were coming off hiatus and performing more than 40 festival dates in 2014.

Pop fans will be excited for Lorde, whose hit "Royals" won song of the year and best pop solo performance at this year's Grammy Awards.

"She's got a love affair going with her audience," Farrell said. "They scream and howl for her."

Farrell works each year to curate a lineup. This year he said it wasn't that difficult because so many acts want to play Lollapalooza.

"It has become the gig to get," he said. "Getting all that excitement built around your band. People are throwing themselves at us."

This year's lineup continues the festival's efforts at attracting international acts. Artists from Australia, Chile, Ireland and South Africa will perform.

Last year's festival sold out at 100,000 visitors a day, or 300,000 over the three-day event. Three-day passes sold out on Tuesday. One-day passes go on sale Wednesday morning.

Elton John, Kanye West and Jack White will headline this summer's Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival. OutKast will also headline the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April along with Arcade Fire and Muse at the festival that plays over two weekends in Indio, Calif.

THE LAPD IS ARRESTING VENICE MUSIC LOVERS FOR HAVING DRUM CIRCLES

For Los Angeles locals, Venice has always been a both cheery and dirty daycation spot. The beach is filled with decades-old locals who are mostly leathery hippies, peacefully maintaining it as their own, plus a permanently homeless population just looking for a grassy spot to get drunk and nap.

Ever since the gangs of the 90s were priced out by techies and "creative professionals" creeping in from neighboring white-bread Santa Monica and yacht-bred Marina del Ray, there’s been a calm, commercial peace with the police, allowing the street vendors to hawk their handmade wares.

Unfortunately, the anything-goes, free-love vibe also attracts drug addicts and loud party boys looking to get fucked up, with no regard for cleanliness or spiritual enlightenment via drumming.

New ordinances on vending and excessive noise have ended in a series of violent altercation between cops and locals at the infamous weekend drum circle. The most recent was on Sunday.  

The drumming was just picking up at 4:20.  Concentric circles of decreasing levels of involvement defined their participants. The final circle consisted of vulture-like SUVs in slow orbit around the celebration.  Asked if they expected a bigger police presence than normal: “Oh, yeah,” Officer Mark said. “Last week, people got drunk and high and started throwing bottles at us when we shut down the drum circle.”

The relatively recent noise ordinance allows the LAPD to stop the drumming, but in doing so it effectively pushes the crowd off the beach, despite their right to stay until midnight, sans “excessive noise." Mark continued, “Now, you’re not allowed to smoke weed or drink alcohol, and you’re definitely not allowed to throw glass at police officers.”

The latest ordinances—and the increased police force—were bolstered by a wealthy community looking to preserve the cultural epicenter they’d paid through the nose to live in, missing the point that the original community existed solely because of a lack of such ordinances. Hippies, performance artists, street vendors, and that guy on roller skates playing Hendrix see curfews and permits as antithetical to their very existence.

The previous lack of a police presence hinged on the cooperation of Venice’s residents, the ringleader of which appeared to be an older orange-ish gentleman with long white hair and a matching beard. He was standing on an upturned metal barrel waving a “Peace to All Nations” flag, dancing and occasionally fist-bumping with similarly tanned locals.

The 66-year-old "Eagle Soaring Chief" of Venice Beach wore a security officer badge on his tattered, open shirt. He looked like he’d been ripening in the sun for the past 12 years.

As a self-appointed ambassador to the people, the Chief says he's earned the right to peacefully regulate “his” beach, working with the locals to take care of problems the police either can’t or won’t deal with. “If they don’t like it, I’ll ban them from the beach. The police can’t ban people; I can,” the Chief of the Beach told me.

“I’ve been here for 66 years; [the police] just showed up six days, six minutes ago. I don’t blame them, and hey, I don’t want alcoholics on this beach either. I don’t want drug addicts on this beach. If I catch anybody fighting it—see my teeth?  That’s why they’re all knocked out, sir.”

The Chief explained that the previous week’s altercation was the result of three “knucklehead” drummers nobody knew, and that the police crackdown was in response to three plastic bottles thrown from the boardwalk, not glass.

Despite the encroaching presence of the LAPD, many of the locals seemed content with their presence, as it meant fewer drug addicts and troublemakers, although they too seemed oblivious to the effects of increased regulation.

For the next few hours till sundown, the crowd doubled in size, splitting into two interconnected circles. The Chief wandered around, smiling and laughing. Every hour another SUV would pull up to the crowd and empty a few officers onto the sand.

With 20 minutes to go, a half dozen officers surrounded the officer in charge, Sergeant Brian Gura. I asked him how many he had prepared, and he gestured toward the boardwalk: “Enough. We want to avoid a repeat of last week.”

Lining the boardwalk must have been at least 30 officers ready to grab the incoming crowd if things got ugly. As the sun dipped into the water, the cops on the beach piled into their cars and turned on the Christmas lights, driving slowly and deliberately towards the crowd.

The Chief waved toward the drummers and sliced his hand through the air as if to say, “We’re done!” A few other regulars did the same, and about half the crowd dispersed toward the boardwalk.

In Surprise Meeting, China’s President Greets Michelle Obama

First Lady Michelle Obama received an unscheduled greeting today from the President of China at the end of her first full day in the country, a place which President Obama has said he wants to “rebalance” US foreign policy.

But the first lady is not engaging in any formal talks on issues such as human rights or global politics. Her trip to China is purely for cultural reasons.

President Xi Jinping welcomed the first lady and disclosed he had spoken to President Obama by phone a few days ago and confirmed the two presidents are scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting next week in Europe.

“I cherish my sound working relationship and personal friendship I have already established with your husband, and we stay in close touch through meetings, phone conversations and correspondence,” President Xi Jinping said.

Michelle Obama, along with her daughters and mother, spent the first of five days in China visiting schools with Xi’s wife, Madam Peng Liyuan, a popular Chinese singer. The first lady said she is focusing on education and cultural exchanges as she tours the capital Beijing and the interior cities of Xi’an and ChengDu.

At an English language high school in Beijing, the Obama women watched a robotics class, tried their hand at Chinese calligraphy and engaged in a little ping-pong diplomacy — the kind that opened relations with the United States more than a generation ago. They also toured the legendary Forbidden City with Madam Peng.

“We had a wonderful first day here in Beijing,” the first lady said. “We had an opportunity to meet with students, I tried my hand at ping pong — not so good. And our visit to the Forbidden City is one that we will never forget. Being able to see my mother, who doesn’t get to travel internationally often, walk through that ancient city, and to see her excitement and wonder is a moment that I will treasure forever.”

President Obama is traveling to Asia next month, but he is skipping China — stopping instead in Japan, South Korea, and two countries postponed from a cancelled trip last fall, The Philippines and Malaysia, which is currently managing the search for the missing Malaysian Air jetliner 370.

President Obama plans to visit China this fall for the annual APEC Economic summit.

3 Children Starving, 1 Chained to Floor in Filthy House in California!

Three starving children — including one who was chained to the floor to prevent her from getting food — were found last month in the squalid home of a Northern California couple, authorities said.

2 of the children were adopted.  Why adopt if you're not gonna love the children.  Throw them under the Jail.

All three — two boys and a girl — were taken into protective custody, and one was hospitalized, Monterey County Sheriff Scott Miller said Friday.

Authorities discovered them in the Salinas, Calif., home on March 14 after two of the young people missed appointments, according to several published reports.

"It was a particularly heinous case," Miller told the Monterey Herald. The children had "hardly eaten for months."

The boys are 3 and 5 years old, and the girl is 8, authorities said, and they all exhibited bruises and signs of other physical as well as emotional abuse.

The girl, who appeared to have suffered the most extreme abuse, was chained to the floor to prevent her from getting any food, they said.

"It seems that the little girl was the major target of this abuse," Miller continued, adding that she looked "like a concentration camp victim."

The girl was in the hospital for about five days, he said, and seemed "traumatized."

There was evidence that she was may have been put in the closet as well as that she was sometimes shackled at the ankle and at other times by a collar around her neck, Miller said.

Eraca Dwan Craig, 31, and Christian Jessica Deana, 44, were both arrested at the scene on suspicion of felony child cruelty, false imprisonment and other charges.

The women, who are domestic partners, do not appear to have criminal records in Monterey County. They were both arraigned in Monterey County Court on Tuesday and are scheduled for a preliminary hearing on March 28.

Authorities said the women seemed to be making preparations to leave before they were arrested.

Investigators found little food inside the home, which was cluttered and dirty, according to reports.

The girl and the older boy were adopted children, and the younger boy is the biological son of one of the women, Miller said.

NBC's 'Last Comic Standing' names new judges Roseanne Barr, Keenen Ivory Wayans and Russel Peters

NBC's relaunch of its stand up competition "Last Man Standing" has named its judges and its new host.

Comedian and actor JB Smoove will front the show as its new host.

Roseanne Barr ,Keenen Ivory Wayans, and Russel Peters have signed on as judges for the Wanda Sykes-produced show.

It will premiere on Thursday, May 22 at 9 p.m.

"We are ready to bring back the funny with this relaunch of 'Last Comic Standing,' and can't wait to discover the next great stand-up," said NBC's alternative and late night programming president Paul Telegdy in a statement. "With Keenen, Roseanne and Russell set as our new judges, JB as host and Wanda, Page and Javier at the helm, there will be plenty of laughter all summer."

From Universal Television along with Sykes and Page Hurwitz's Push It Productions, this is the first project Sykes and Hurwitz are doing for Universal Television in a production deal.

This will be the eighth season of the show, which has been off the air since 2010.

Hold Me in Contempt by Wendy Williams

Move over 50 Shades, there’s a new romance in town. Superstar Wendy Williams brings on the heat in her first ever, no-holds-barred, down and dirty, romance novel.

Kimberly Kind is trying to get beyond her roots. A successful, beautiful, smart lawyer, she’s finally finding direction in her life and getting out of the streets. But a terrible accident threatens to throw her carefully laid plans off course. Now Kim’s hiding a huge secret… one that could threaten everything.

Enter King. A perfect mix of Justin Timberlake and David Beckham, the man oozes sex and has more swagger than anyone Kim’s ever met. Their chemistry is off the charts. But after passion-filled nights, the intensity of their emotions takes both of them by surprise.

Love was not supposed to be an option. Now it’s the only thing holding them together. When their pasts come back with a vengeance, can love possibly be enough?

Book Description

Superstar Wendy Williams brings on the heat in her first-ever, no-holds-barred, down-and-dirty romance novel

Kimberly Kind is trying to get beyond her roots. A successful, beautiful, and smart lawyer, she's finally finding direction in her life and getting off the streets. But a terrible accident threatens to throw her carefully laid plans off course. Now Kim's hiding a huge secret . . . one that could jeopardize everything.

Enter King. A perfect mix of Justin Timberlake and David Beckham, the man oozes sex and has more swagger than anyone Kim's ever met. Their chemistry is off the charts. And after passion-filled nights, the intensity of their emotions takes both of them by surprise.

Love was not supposed to be an option. Now it's the only thing holding them together. When their pasts come back with a vengeance, can love possibly be enough?

SELENA GOMEZ: WHY CAN'T SHE STAY AWAY FROM JUSTIN BIEBER?

a nice change of pace for Selena Gomez, she spent Wednesday night in the company of someone who isn't a petulant, trouble-courting man-boy. The starlet, 21, posed with 34-year-old "girl crush" Zooey Deschanel (again) and another pal for an Instagram photo at Soho House in Los Angeles. The caption: "Ladies being

Ladies. Ladies night."

But the girl-centric evening out probably doesn't mean her boy troubles with repeat ex-boyfriend Bieber are over.

This week's People magazine delves into why Selena keeps reuniting with Justin, whom she first began dating in late 2010.

"It's a pattern," explains a Gomez source. "He does something to get her attention and lure her back."

In the most recent case, he posted an Instagram shot of her posing in a gold gown at the post-Oscars Vanity Fair party, gushing, "Most elegant princess in the world."

At the time, Gomez was coming off a two-week stint in rehab, ostensibly prompted in part by the bad influence that is Bieber. She "felt empowered," recalls the insider. 

"She did well for a few months, then she hung out with him again."

And while they're not "back together" as a "full-fledged couple," despite their recent Texas rendezvous, her camp remains concerned.

"No one's happy about it," sighs the confidant. "But [her family] feels like they've done all they can and it's up to her. She has to figure it out on her own."

So, why does Gomez continue to be drawn into Bieber's dysfunctional orbit?

KIM KARDASHIAN AND KANYE WEST FULFILL DREAM, FINALLY SCORE VOGUE COVER

Kanye's seemingly relentless campaign to land Kim Kardashian on the cover of Vogue has hit paydirt at last. The betrothed couple is featured on the fashion bible's April issue in a wedding-themed pose, with the bride-to-be decked out in an off-white strapless gown, her doorknob-sized engagement ring prominently displayed, while her suit-sporting groom snuggles her from behind.

Oh, and we are now apparently supposed to refer to Kimye as the #worldsmosttalkedaboutcouple.

"This is such a dream come true!!!" tweeted an excited Kardashian, 33. "Thank you @VogueMagazine for this cover! O M GGGGGG!!! I can’t even breath! 

The cover, shot by Annie Leibovitz, marks the end of Kanye's purported years-long push to convince Vogue overlord Anna Wintour that Kim, whom he has given a not-so-subtle (or successful) high-fashion makeover, is an appropriate cover subject for the magazine.

"There's no way Kim Kardashian shouldn't be on the cover of Vogue," the part-time designer declared last year to Ryan Seacrest. "She's like the most intriguing woman right now. She's got Barbara Walters calling her like everyday. Of course, we're the most interesting, and collectively we're the most influential, especially in clothing.”

West made in-roads toward his goal by nabbing Kim an invitation to the Wintour-chaired Met Ball gala in May 2013, although her floral maternity couture, designed by Kanye's good friend Riccardo Tisci, was roundly mocked.

Wintour, however, denies West exerted any editorial influence. 

What does family mean too you?

There is no such thing as a broken family. Family is family, and is not determined by marriage certificates, divorce papers, and adoption documents. Families are made in the heart.

With that said, blood is not always thicker than water, what exactly does that mean anyway?

I know that I have been very supportive of my family, my whole life, and what do I get in return without expecting anything, that's the question?  Family is meant to be there when you need help or advise, not people you hide from and avoid, because you're always the one giving and never receiving support whether mental or physical.

I released two singles on Itunes, and yes they were remakes, however, I didn't get any support from family, and it makes me sad. They couldn't even pay 99cent to support my endeavors.  Even if the singles were crap.  However, I still support each person that I call family without expecting anything in return.   You ask how do you know who supported your music efforts?  Itunes sends out a report where the singles were purchased by city, state or country.  Most of the purchases were made in Europe and Africa.  I even had some support from the Middle East.

My children know for as long as I live, I will always be their parent first, and their friend second. I will stalk them, lecture them, drive them insane, be their worst nightmare, and hunt them down like a bloodhound when I have to, because I love them. When you understand that, I will know you have become a responsible adult. You will never find anyone else in your life who loves, prays, cares, and worries about you more than I do. 

When you're a veteran you adopt many new family members over the years.  Does that make them any less family because their not your blood?  NO, because I would have died for any of them!

The killing of children HAS TO STOP: Houston father shoots and kills boy in teen daughter's room

I have no problem with people owning guns, if their gonna be responsible and use them as a last resort. Because I'm sick and tired of seeing our children shot down in cold blood by people saying it was self defense where there's only one firearm present. If you've had teenagers you know how they sneak and hide whatever they don't want us to see as parents. If you find a boy in your house pre-dawn, in your daughters room, shouldn't you be pulling her aside for an explanation? My son use to lock his bedroom door and sneak out the window. We didn't know this was going on until someone called my mom for a ride at 5am one morning. She goes outside and her Van was gone. I thought it was towed because metro had put a temporary bus stop sign in front of the house and asked that we not park there. However my mom would park there anyway. Then all of sudden the Van pulls up and my son gets out. He had been driving her Van without a License. So I removed the door from the hinges and took out the Stereo. His ways changed quickly. So sometimes teenagers are gonna do stupid things. But the boy did not deserve to lose his life.

A Houston father shot and killed a teenage boy he found in the room of his 16-year-old daughter in the pre-dawn hours of Thursday, the Harris County Sheriff's Office said. The father heard noises coming from the room and went to investigate. Upon finding the 17-year-old boy with his daughter, the father got into a fight with the boy, and "the homeowner, who was armed, shot the male once," the office said. Police have not released the name of the 55-year-old father or the dead teenager, who the daughter first said she did not know and then said she did. The incident was under investigation and no charges have been filed, according to the sheriff's office

Happy One Year Anniversary Pope Francis

March 13, 2014 marks one year since Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergolio became Pope Francis and was elevated to become the head and spiritual leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics. Since replacing Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, Pope Francis has won praise for his more relaxed approach to the papacy, as well as his focus on compassion, tenderness and mercy.

'Fast & Furious 7' to film in Abu Dhabi in April

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Vin Diesel and other members of the "Fast & Furious 7" cast are heading to the Mideast city of Abu Dhabi after months of uncertainty about the fate of the film.

Abu Dhabi's government-backed twofour54 media hub said in a statement Wednesday that shooting in the United Arab Emirates capital is scheduled to take place in April. Filming of "Fast & Furious 7" was put on hold in December following the death of star Paul Walker in a car crash. A crew filmed some helicopter shots, stunt footage and other scenes in Abu Dhabi in November. Cast members including Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez and Chris "Ludacris" Bridges are expected to arrive when filming resumes next month.

George Zimmerman's parents sue Roseanne Barr

The parents of Trayvon Martin's shooter, George Zimmerman, are suing Roseanne Barr for tweeting their home address in what they say was an attempt to send vigilantes after them. Robert Zimmerman and Gladys Zimmerman's lawsuit says the actress and comedian also said she herself might go to their home herself. They said she posted their private information in violation of Twitter's privacy policies. Also from TheWrap: Spike Lee Apologizes for Tweeting Wrong Address for Trayvon Martin Shooter "Roseanne Barr knew at the time of her tweets and her threat to personally come to the Zimmerman's home that it was an open and obvious call for vigilante justice& intended by Roseanne Barr to cause a lynch mob to descend on Robert Zimmerman and Gladys Zimmerman's home," according to the lawsuit, filed in Seminole County, Fla. A spokesman for Barr did not immediately respond to a request for comment from TheWrap. The Zimmermans say Barr tweeted their address on March 29, 2012, later adding, "At first I thought it was good to let ppl know that no one can hide anymore." She added, "If Zimmerman isn't arrested I'll rt his address again -- maybe go to his house myself." But she also wrote, "vigilante-ism is what killed Trayvon. I don't support that," according to The Smoking Gun website. She also admitted to "not fully understanding that it was private not public." Zimmerman's parents said their son had not lived at the home for more than six years. The couple said they had no problems related to his case in the month before Barr tweeted their address, but that news media began arriving at their home almost as soon as she did. They said they were forced to flee and have not returned to their home in the nearly two years since. They do not claim that any lynch mob ever materialized — only that they had to leave to avoid potential vigilantes. But the timeline in their lawsuit conflicts with one Robert Zimmerman gave the Orlando Sentinel in an interview, the paper reported. He said on March 15, 2012 -- two weeks before Barr tweeted the address -- that he and his wife had already moved out of their home because of death threats, the Sentinel said. Barr is the second celebrity to be accused of overzealous tweeting involving the Zimmerman case. Another Florida couple has sued Spike Lee for retweeting their address and mistakenly identifying it as Zimmerman's. He later apologized. George Zimmerman, who said he shot Martin in self-defense, was acquitted in July 2013.

Tyler Perry's 'Haves and the Have Nots' finale is OWN's most-watched program ever

"The Haves and the Have Nots" season finale on Tuesday was OWN's most-watched program ever. A total of 3.6 million viewers watched the drama, a network record. The episode ranked as the No. 1 program in OWN history among total viewers. It was No.2 in the network's target demographic, Women 25-54. "Oprah's Next Chapter" with Whitney Houston's family, retains its No. 1 position in the key demo. Also read: Lindsay Lohan's OWN Reality Show Debuts to 693,000 Viewers In the Tuesday at 9 p.m. timeslot, the season finale was ranked No. 1 among cable networks and No. 4 for all of television. The season finale saw an increase of 38 percent in total viewers, and 24 percent in the target demo over the previous season's finale. The series came close to breaking the record earlier this season. The fifth episode of Season 2 set a series record with 3.4 million viewers, but was only the second most-watched program in OWN history. "Have Nots" is created, written, directed and executive produced by Perry. Set in Savannah, the show follows the complicated dynamic between the rich and powerful Cryer family, and the staff in their opulent mansion.

Lil Wayne ready to retire after 11th solo album

Rapper Lil Wayne has confirmed his upcoming 11th solo album with be his last. The rap star has previously hinted he is ready to retire, but now he has announced his next record, "Tha Carter V," will be his final solo endeavour. He tells MTV.com, "I personally plan on this being my final solo album, yes and it's definitely the final 'Carter' album. It's the final 'Carter' album. It's stopping at five." The fifth installment of his album series is due out in May, and Wayne insists he will only hit the recording studio alone again in the future if he is offered a big payday. He adds, "Twenty five to 35 million [dollars] would get me to do another solo album after this." Last year, the 31-year-old told Katie Couric, "I know I'll be able to retire at 35, because I am so ready to retire now." The superstar will continue to make guest appearances on other artists' tracks and will focus on running his own label, Cash Money Records.

Hal Douglas, legendary movie trailer voiceover artist, dies at 89

Voiceover artist Hal Douglas has died. His booming voice and phrase "audiences everywhere" were known to generations of moviegoers and TV watchers. He was 89.

Douglas' daughter Sarah told The New York Times that the Connecticut native with the famous baritone died of pancreatic cancer last week. Douglas' craggy, ominous narration, which brought promises of brand new worlds and mayhem in our own, introduced films both epic and Oscar-worthy, with a list of credits that range from "Philadelphia" to "Con-Air" and everything in between. He even spoofed himself, with a starring role in the trailer for the Jerry Seinfeld documentary, "Comedian," in 2002. His famous catchphrase — or one variation of it, anyway — was also the inspiration for the title of Lake Bell's 2013 comedy about the voiceover industry, "In a World," in which she played the daughter of a legend in the niche industry trying to make it on her own. Ken Marino played a young voiceover actor whose deep voice certainly owes a debt to Douglas. Douglas was one of three major trailer voiceover artists, along with the late Don LaFontaine and Don Morrow. Douglas was featured in a short documentary about his life and craft, "A Great Voice," last year.

Losing Faith: 21 Percent Say Religion 'Not That Important'

According to reports one in five Americans say religion does not play an important role in their lives, a new NBC/WSJ journal poll shows – the highest percentage since the poll began asking participants about their focus on faith in 1997.

Personally, I can't imagine not praying for peace, happiness, joy, and love. I believe that we should give thanks for everything we have. How can you wake up in the morning and not thank God or the all mighty that you woke up. There are many people that close their eyes at night and not open them in the morning. Too me faith in God is just as important as brushing your teeth and taking a shower. However, twenty one percent of respondents said that religion is “not that important” to their lives, compared to 16 percent who said the same in 1999. In 1997, 14 percent of Americans said religion did not play an important role in their lives. The poll showed that these less religious Americans are more likely to be men, have an income over $75,000, to live in the Northeast or West and to be under the age of 35. More than half of Americans still place a major emphasis on their faith. Thirteen percent of respondents in the new poll said that religion is the most important aspect of their lives, and 41 percent said it is “very important.” The new numbers come as one of the world’s most famous faith leaders celebrates an important anniversary. Pope Francis now has a year under his belt at the Vatican, a Person of the Year title and even his own fan magazine. And the new data shows that he’s making American Catholics more committed to their faith. According to the NBC News/ Wall Street Journal poll, six in ten Catholics agreed that the pope has “renewed and strengthened my religious faith and commitment to the Catholic Church.” Three in ten disagreed. The poll also reinforced the pope’s sky-high popularity in the United States. Fifty-five percent of adults say they have a “somewhat positive” (22 percent) or “very positive” (33 percent) view of the man previously known as Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio. Only seven percent give him a negative rating, with another quarter of respondents saying they’re neutral. Pope Francis, who has urged a focus on humility and service to the disadvantaged, fares much better in public polling than his predecessor, Benedict the Sixteenth. In February 2013, the NBC/WSJ poll found that only 30 percent of respondents viewed Pope Benedict positively, while 17 percent said they held a negative view of him. That poll also found that more than a quarter of Americans gave poor ratings to the Catholic Church as a whole. The new pontiff’s favorability in the United States is comparable to that of Pope John Paul the Second. The famous advocate for human rights, now set for canonization, received a rating of “very positive” from 42 percent of respondents in a January 1998 poll, with an additional 23 percent saying they had a “somewhat positive” view of him.

MATT AND AMY ROLOFF, 'LITTLE PEOPLE, BIG WORLD' COUPLE, SEPARATING AFTER 26 YEARS OF MARRIAGE

The "Little People, Big World" family is dealing with some big changes this year. Matt and Amy Roloff, parents to four kids together, have decided to separate after 26 years of marriage, they announced on March 12. "Though we have weathered many storms together, we recently made the tough decision to engage in a trial separation," the couple said in a statement to Us Weekly. "Matt remains living on the farm in our guesthouse, and we work together every day on the farm, on our business endeavors, and most importantly, raising our amazing children." "We sincerely appreciate the unwavering support, understanding, and prayers from our family, friends, and many fans," the statement continued. "May God bless you." The Helvetia, Ore.-based couple's trial separation will be the focus of a new one-hour special on TLC on March 25. Filmed in the final weeks of 2013, the special shows Matt and Amy figuring out their new family dynamic as they prepare for the holidays with their children, twin sons Jeremy and Zach, 23, daughter Molly, 20, and son Jacob, 17. "Last year, it was long and tough," Matt says in a preview from the episode. "Amy and I had a lot of tensions, so right around Thanksgiving, I thought I would move over to the [guest] house for a little bit." He continues, "Amy and I stuck it out for years when maybe we shouldn't have. I never quite felt at home in my own home, so something needed to change. We needed to try something different." "I think what Matt and I failed to do over many, many years was learn to live together," Amy adds. "It's not my choice for him to leave. I am saddened by it. It's been 26 years. We don't have a plan for how we're going to work this out, so it's not going to be easy."

Louisiana inmate Glenn Ford released after 30 years on death row FOR A MURDER HE DID NOT COMMIT

Louisiana inmate Glenn Ford walked free Tuesday after 30 years on death row at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola. My mind going all kind of directions, but it feels good," Ford, now 64, told reporters immediately after his release. Asked whether he felt resentful, Ford said, "Yeah, because I was locked up almost 30 years for something I didn't do." Ford, the longest serving death row inmate, was sentenced to death in 1985 for the 1983 murder of jeweler and watchmaker Isadore Rozeman, who was killed in a shooting at his Shreveport shop. Ford had worked occasionally as his gardener, when in 1984, justice officials charged him and three other suspects in the shooting death. The other men went free, but Ford was convicted by an all-white jury -- based on witness testimony and pawn shop receipts apparently linked to items stolen from Rozeman's shop. Ford's attorneys, Gary Clements and Aaron Novod, said his original trial "profoundly compromised by inexperienced counsel and by the unconstitutional suppression of evidence at his trial, including information from an informant, a suppressed police report related to the time of the crime and evidence of the murder weapon, which implicated the true perpetrator." According to an order signed by District Judge Ramona Emanuel, undisclosed evidence had come to light, "supporting a finding that Glenn Ford was neither present at, nor a participant in, the robbery and murder of Isadore Rozeman." Assistant District Attorney Dale Cox said Rozeman's murder is now an "unsolved homicide."

Jonathan Martin traded to San Francisco 49ers

Jonathan Martin got a shot at a fresh start in the NFL when the Miami Dolphins traded the offensive tackle at the heart of the Miami Dolphins’ locker-room harassment scandal to the San Francisco 49ers on Tuesday night, just hours after NFL free agency began. The move will reunite Martin, 24, with the man who coached him at Stanford, Jim Harbaugh, and gives him probably his best chance at succeeding in the league. In exchange for Martin, the Dolphins will receive a conditional draft pick that would be a seventh-rounder in 2015 if Martin makes the 53-man roster next summer. Martin, who is from Northern California, was thrilled with the news, quickly changing his Twitter background to the 49ers’ logo and tweeted that it was “a great day.” After an independent investigation found that Martin was subjected to a pattern of harassment in the locker room by the Dolphins’ Richie Incognito, John Jerry and Mike Pouncey, it became clear that it was in the best interests of Martin and the Dolphins to make a move. Owner Stephen Ross was instrumental in the trade, the Miami Herald reports, and wanted to send Martin to the right place for him. “We feel that this move is in the best interests of all parties involved,” Dolphins General Manager Dennis Hickey said (via the Herald). “We wish Jonathan well.” Harbaugh was interviewed by Ted Wells, the man who led the NFL investigation into the bullying allegations that Martin said drove him into such a deep depression that he considered suicide. “[Harbaugh] told us that he had never doubted Martin’s tenacity, work ethic and dedication to the game, and that he had never seen Martin exhibit problems with social adjustment,” Wells’s report stated. “Coach Harbaugh told us he believed that Martin likely could continue to have a successful career in the NFL. It appears that Martin was up to the challenge of dealing with physical or verbal intimidation by opposing players during NFL games, but fell victim, at least in part, to persistent taunting from his own teammates.”

Rosie Perez Opens Up About Traumatic Childhood In Memoir

Rosie Perez has never been known to keep quiet, but the Puerto Rican actress was never truly outspoken about her traumatic past until now. Known for her spitfire personality and for breaking barriers for Latinas in the entertainment industry during the 1980s, Perez, 49, said in a recent interview with Fox News Latino that she is now ready to share her story in her new memoir, Handbook for an Unpredictable Life. While recent headlines have focused on what the Oscar-nominated star wrote concerning her infamous feud with Jennifer Lopez during their work together on "In Living Color," the Brooklyn-born actress says the book is truly about how she dealt with her difficult early years. For the record "I saw her and knew right away she had star quality and recommended her to Keenen Ivory Wayans. That's how she got her start" and I love her.

"The bigger issue of the book is surviving childhood," Perez told Fox. "The moral is really, how do you not allow your past to completely define you as an adult? And how do you not allow the emotional responses that served to protect you as a child [to] dictate your emotional responses today?" In her book, released in late February, Perez vividly describes the psychological and physical abuse she endured at the hands of her schizophrenic mother, as well as some of the nuns at the orphanage where her mother eventually left her. In time, Perez found success as a choreographer and actress, starring in such hits as "White Men Can't Jump" and "Do The Right Thing." Today, the Puerto Rican actress is also focused on her activism. She was chosen as part of President Barack Obama's Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS in 2010. She also heads the community organization Urban Arts Partnership, which promotes the arts in New York City classrooms. "We're always encouraging the kids to open up and tell us their stories, so they can get through the difficulties they face on a daily basis," Perez said about the moment she realized she needed to open up about her past. "One day one of the kids said, 'Well Ms. Perez, what's your story?' and I froze. I felt like such a hypocrite because I kept it a secret for so long. That's when my heart started opening up and I felt a little bit lighter. Then I started telling it bit by bit to other people, and when the book offer came my way, I was ready." Last month, Perez also spoke to Belinda Luscombe, Time magazine's editor-at-large, about Handbook and about how she felt when she was diagnosed as an adult with post-traumatic stress disorder caused by her experiences as a child. "First of all, being diagnosed sucked," Perez told Luscombe. "Initially it wasn't a relief. I wanted to believe that I was above all that had happened, all that had gone down. And when a licensed professional doctor said 'No, you have PTSD,' it was kind of like 'Oh my goodness, I'm human.' I didn't have that much control over my emotional response, the way I thought I did. And then there was this big sigh and it was like a weight was lifted off of me."

Kobe Bryant to be shut down for rest of season

As originally thought to be just a small bump in the road. While playing himself back into game shape recovering from a torn Achilles, Kobe Bryant was having one of his best games. He felt good. It was a positive sign, an encouraging outing against one of the NBA's top defenders, Tony Allen.

What Bryant thought was just a hyperextension of his left knee on Dec. 17 in Memphis ended up being a fracture. Still the timetable was a month -- six weeks at the most -- for him to return to the lineup. It has been almost three months, and Bryant still has not seen the floor coping with a rehab process that has been "slow." It appears his return won't be happening anytime soon as the five-time NBA champion is expected to be shut down for the rest of the season, according to Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report. Bryant will not travel with the team for road games to Oklahoma City and San Antonio this week and will be re-evaluated by Dr. Steve Lombardo, according to the report by Ding. Bryant originally said he would like to return this season. But as the wheels continued to fall off the Lakers wagon, many questioned would it make sense for the 35-year-old star to return and log more miles for a team that is headed for the lottery. It appears now Bryant has no choice. The Lakers (22-42) have 18 games remaining in the 2013-14 season. The team is coming off arguably its most impressive win of the season, a 114-110 come-from-behind effort against the Thunder. Leading the way was Jodie Meeks with a career-high 42 points which is also the most points scored in a game by a Laker this season. It also speaks to just how different a year this has been for one of the most iconic franchises in all of sports. Bryant has played in only six games this season and averaged 13.8 points per game. It's the first time since the 2001-02 season that a player not named Kobe Bryant will lead the team in scoring. If the season were to end today, that honor would go to Pau Gasol and his 17.7 points per game. Bryant is expected to once again be the centerpiece of the Lakers next season on a team that could look drastically different. Bryant, after signing a two-year extension earlier this season, is one of just five players on the current roster signed through next season. He's joined by Steve Nash, Robert Sacre, Nick Young who has a player option for next season, and Kendall Marshall who has a team option for 2014-15. Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak has gone on record saying he expects Young to opt out. If so, that would only add to the plethora of cap space the team will have this summer to go along with a healthy Bryant and what they hope will be a top draft pick as the building blocks for next season.

Jerry Sandusky's wife: Victims 'were manipulated, and they saw money'

Dottie Sandusky, Jerry Sandusky’s wife of 37 years, maintains that her husband is innocent of the charges of child sex abuse that resulted in his imprisonment.

“Do I believe him?’’ she told Matt Lauer. “I definitely believe him. Because if I didn't believe him, when I testified at trial, I could have not said what I said. I would have had to tell the truth.” She believes the victims' financial gain was at play. “I think it was, they were manipulated, and they saw money,’’ she said. “Once lawyers came into the case, they said there was money.” Sandusky spoke with Lauer on TODAY in her first TV interview since her husband was convicted on 45 of 48 charges of sexual abuse of young boys in June 2012. She was joined by filmmaker John Ziegler in her State College, Penn. home. Lauer asked Dottie if she believed her husband was guilty of inappropriate behavior with some of the young boys who have accused him. “I don't believe that,’’ she said. “I believe he showered with kids. That’s the generation that Jerry grew up in....There were always people coming in and out no matter what time that was.” “I fully acknowledge, I would not do it in a million years, nor would I recommend anyone do it in a million years, especially in 2014,’’ Ziegler said about the showering. “But that's not what Jerry Sandusky is in prison for. That's not why he's probably going to die in prison and has had his pension taken away. That's not why Joe Paterno was unjustly fired and three Penn State administrators are facing losing their freedom over this case.”

Lauer mentioned a story in the Washington Post in which Melinda Henneberger wrote, "It's a shame that Dottie Sandusky doesn't have a cell of her own next to her notorious husband. We know that predators prey on the more vulnerable. They also tend to choose spouses who can be counted on to suppress any unpleasant ideas that might occur to them." "I'm not a weak spouse,'' she replied. "As you know...they call me 'Sarge' because Jerry said I kept everybody in line. If they want to say that, let them say that. I know who I am. And I know who Jerry is. And I know he did not do the horrible crimes that he's convicted of. "That's one thing I was taught by my parents. And that's something that we've taught our kids, to always be truthful." Sandusky said she did not block out the crimes in her mind. “No, because there was nothing that went on,’’ she said. “Because I was here. I will take you downstairs and let you see the basement. It is not a dungeon. It is not what those kids said. You can scream, and you can hear it up to the second floor.” One of the victims said that he screamed while being sexually abused by Sandusky in the house's basement and Dottie never came to see what was going on. She pointed out the small size of the house, and told Lauer she never heard anyone “because he didn’t scream.” Sandusky took Lauer on a tour of the basement, pointing out its proximity to the rest of the house. "It's not a dungeon," she said. Ziegler, who runs a website called FramingPaterno.com, has frequently spoken out about his belief that Paterno, the late Penn State coach who was fired in the wake of the Sandusky scandal, and other school officials did nothing wrong. “I presumed, like a lot of people, that Dottie has to be delusional or not understand the case,’’ Ziegler said. “I'm certain of one thing above everything else after two years of investigating this case, and that is that Dottie Sandusky is not delusional. She knows the case better than the vast majority of media members, and she is positive that Jerry Sandusky is innocent.” She visits her husband once a week at a maximum security prison in Waynesburg, Penn., a three-hour drive from her home. She said Jerry Sandusky spends 23 hours a day in his cell, with one hour outside in the yard while inside a cage or handcuffed. “Most of the guards, he says, are nice to him,’’ she said. “I guess they don't understand Jerry's a happy person, and he smiles, and he tries to make people laugh. He said, ‘I'm in the situation I'm in, and I'm gonna make the best I can out of it.’’’ Following the trial, one juror noted that Jerry did not react when the verdict was read in the courtroom. “He’s not a show person,’’ his wife said. “He said, ‘I just did not want to make a show. He’s a person that can keep his emotions under control. I’m sure once he left that courtroom, he was a different person.” Sandusky also spoke about the changes she has seen in her husband since his imprisonment. "A friend had written to him and asked him what he missed — what did he take most for granted — and he said family meals, fun time with the grandkids playing ball, (and) doing special things with friends,'' Sandusky said tearfully. Jerry, she said, remains hopeful for an appeal. In January 2013, a judge denied his request for a new trial.

2 Dead, 22 Hurt, Others Missing in NYC Building Collapse

Two people are dead, 22 are hurt and others are missing after two buildings collapsed following an apparent explosion triggered by a gas leak that rattled upper Manhattan on Wednesday morning.

The two five-story buildings at the northwest corner of 116th Street and Park Avenue in Harlem collapsed around 9:30 a.m., sources tell NBC 4 New York. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio told reporters at the scene that there are a "number of missing individuals" and every effort would be made to verify their safety and whereabouts. "From what we know now, the only indication of danger came 15 minutes earlier when a gas leak was reported to ConEd," the mayor said. "The explosion happened before that team arrived." "This is a tragedy of the worst kind, because there was no indication in time to save people," de Blasio said. Smoke billowed into Central Park and could be seen from miles away in midtown, and New Yorkers said they felt rumbles as far away as 10th Street. Closer to the collapse, groceries were knocked from store shelves and debris floated through the air. City officials said the buildings are destroyed. The cause of the apparent explosion is not known; members of the Joint Terrorism Task Force have responded to the scene out of an abundance of caution, authorities said. "I thought a train had exploded," said Marisa Aquino, who was at her apartment on 115th Street between Park and Lexington. "There are a ton of firefighters and a lot of smoke. Cops and first responders are everywhere." "It sounded like a bomb. That's what it really sounded like," Trey Dey, a laborer who was working in a nearby basement when the buildings exploded, told NBC 4 New York. One real estate website lists one of the buildings as having six residential units and one commercial space. Metro-North service has been suspended out of Grand Central because of debris on tracks.

Heroin overdoses pose 'urgent public health crisis': U.S. attorney general

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said his agency was stepping up efforts to stem sharp increases in deadly heroin overdoses, trafficking in the drug and abuse of prescription narcotics at the root of what he called an "urgent public health crisis."

As part of that campaign, Holder reiterated the Obama administration's call for more law enforcement agencies to train and equip personnel with an overdose-reversal medication called naloxone. The director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy issued a similar plea to police and fire departments last month. Holder said 17 states and the District of Columbia have amended their laws to increase access to naloxone, a blocking agent that can reverse the effects of an overdose and help restore breathing. He said emergency use of naloxone had resulted in more than 10,000 overdose reversals since 2001. Still, fatal heroin overdoses have increased 45 percent from 2006 to 2010, with 3,038 such deaths reported that year, and the numbers are believed to still be on the rise, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. The rising level of heroin use in recent years stems from a corresponding epidemic in the abuse of prescription opiate-based painkillers, such as oxycodone, DEA officials say. Deaths from overdoses of such drugs numbered more than 16,600 in 2010. Many individuals who start out abusing oxycodone turn eventually to heroin as they build up a tolerance to the pain pills and find that they can buy heroin far more cheaply than prescription medications on the black market, experts say. Meanwhile, trafficking in heroin, the bulk of it smuggled into the United States from Mexico, has climbed in conjunction with increasing demand. "When confronting the problem of substance abuse, it makes sense to focus attention on the most dangerous types of drugs. And right now, few substances are more lethal than prescription opiates and heroin," Holder said in a video message posted on Monday on the Justice Department's website. Holder said the DEA was leading a federal enforcement crackdown, and cited a 320 percent increase in the amount of heroin seized by U.S. authorities along the U.S.-Mexico border between 2008 and 2013. The federal government also is enlisting the help of physicians, teachers, police and community leaders to boost support for substance abuse education, prevention and treatment, Holder said. He said the DEA was focusing such efforts in regions experiencing a particularly high incidence of heroin abuse, such as in northern Ohio, where numbers of heroin-related deaths had recently jumped four-fold. National attention on heroin abuse was riveted by the case of acclaimed actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, who was found dead from an accidental drug overdose in his Manhattan apartment last month, a needle still in his arm. An autopsy determined the performer succumbed to acute intoxication from a mixture of heroin, cocaine and other drugs in his system.

Master chef Judge Graham Elliot Loses Nearly 150 Pounds

After undergoing a sleeve gastrectomy at the University of Chicago Medical Center, the MasterChef judge and has lost a whopping 147 lbs. “I thought it would take two or three years to do this,” admits Elliot, 37, who now weighs 253 lbs. after tipping the scales at nearly 400 lbs. at one point. “I thought I’d lose 60 or 70 pounds the first year.”

He requests that his dressing room on the MasterChef set is filled with almonds, dried fruit and seaweed chips instead of the usual sweets. “In the past I would get stressed and ask craft services for cookies and candy,” says Elliot, who is currently in Los Angeles filming the upcoming season of the hit cooking competition show. “But now I know my stomach is the size of a banana and I need to have food that just gives me energy. So I can either have a moment of sweetness but feel really bad or I can order something delicious and light like sashimi.” The perks of his healthy transformation include wearing the same size jeans he did during his freshmen year in high school (that’s a size 36!), finally flying without wearing a seatbelt extender and losing the sleep apnea machine he’s had to use since 2005. “That’s life-changing,” he tells PEOPLE. “It was like being chained to the bed — not being able to lean over and hug [my wife] Allie or snuggle with my kids [Mylo, 7, Conrad, 3, and Jedidiah, 18 months] — because I have a huge mask on my face. Once my machine broke and I had to stay up for 48 hours because I physically couldn’t sleep for five minutes without gasping for air.” Elliot believes his personality has changed too. “I’m more assertive but in a positive way,” explains the chef, who recently opened his newest restaurant Primary Food & Drink in Greenwich, Conn. “I’m still the comedian but in meetings I’m a little more in command and not afraid that if I say something wrong, someone is going to call me fat. And really that’s what has taken control of my life since high school.” But no question, making his three boys proud is the absolute best benefit. “At my son Mylo’s birthday in January, we were all running around playing tag with his friends,” recalls Elliot. “He was telling them, ‘My Dad is the fastest one here. He can beat us in a race.’ That was awesome!”