How Many Missing Black Boys and White SUVs Are There In Chicago

A child's body was found in the vehicle police were looking for in their search for 7-year-old Julian King, the missing nephew of Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Hudson. (Somebody should point out that he is the son of Julia King before mentioning his aunt. But that's just my opinion.)

The 1994 white Chevrolet Suburban with Illinois license plate X584859 was found in the 1300 block of South Kolin Avenue around 8 a.m. Live TV shots showed a white Chevrolet Suburban being towed away.

The Cook County medical examiner's office has sent investigators to the scene and said the body of a black boy was found inside, an office spokesman said. The child had not been identified.

A Chicago police spokesman released no information about the discovery but are planning a news conference near where the vehicle was found.

Julian was reported missing and an Amber Alert was issued Friday after his grandmother and uncle were found shot to death inside the family's home in the 7000 block of South Yale Avenue.

If the boy is identified as Julian King, it will confirm detectives' worst fears because a law enforcement source said bullet casings were found in the boy's room on Friday. But, the source said they had not found other evidence of violence in the room.

Chicago police have interviewed William Balfour, 27, the estranged husband of the boy's mother, Julia Hudson. He was initially described by police as a suspect in the investigation.

Balfour has denied involvement in the killings or the disappearance of the boy, law-enforcement sources said. But at some point, Balfour stopped talking to authorities, sources told the Tribune.

On Sunday morning, Balfour was transferred to a state facility after officials said he violated conditions of parole for a 1999 conviction for attempted murder. On Sunday, Illinois Department of Corrections spokeswoman Januari Smith said Balfour violated his parole because he is a suspect in the slayings and the boy's disappearance.

According to law-enforcement sources, Balfour's alibi the day of the killings has been contradicted by his girlfriend. Police searched Balfour's girlfriend's house for several hours Friday night after taking him into custody. Her home is located about 2.5 miles from where the SUV was found this morning.

Balfour and Julia Hudson had been separated for some time, his family members said. A family friend said Balfour recently had threatened to take Julian away.

A family member of the girlfriend's said police have interviewed her. Police also tracked Balfour's whereabouts Friday through his cell phone, sources said.

Also on Sunday, Jennifer Hudson, who gained stardom after appearing on "American Idol," and then won an Academy Award for the movie "Dreamgirls," offered a $100,000 reward for the return of her nephew.

Dan Blake, Angela Rozas and Noreen S. Ahmed-Ullah, Chicago Tribune

Update: The Chicago Tribune is reporting that police have identified the body as that of Julian King.
source

Has Julian Kings Body Been Found

A child's body was found in a vehicle on Chicago's West Side this morning and police are investigating if it is that of Julian King, the missing nephew of Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Hudson.

The Cook County medical examiner's office has sent investigators to the scene in the 1300 block of South Kolin Avenue where the body of a black boy was found around 8 a.m., an office spokesman said. The child had not been identified.

A Chicago police spokesman released no information about the discovery.

An Amber Alert was issued Friday after Julian was reported missing after a family member found his grandmother and uncle shot to death inside the family's home in the 7000 block of South Yale Avenue.

Missing from the home was Jennifer Hudson's brother's 1994 white Chevrolet Suburban with Illinois license plate X584859. Live TV shots showed a white Chevrolet Suburban being investigated parked along Kolin this morning and then towed away.

Chicago police have interviewed William Balfour, 27, the estranged husband of the boy's mother, Julia Hudson. He was initially described by police as a suspect in the investigation.

Balfour has denied involvement in the killings or the disappearance of the boy, law-enforcement sources said. But at some point, Balfour stopped talking to authorities, sources told the Tribune.

On Sunday morning, Balfour was transferred to a state facility after officials said he violated conditions of parole for a 1999 conviction for attempted murder. On Sunday, Illinois Department of Corrections spokeswoman Januari Smith said Balfour violated his parole because he is a suspect in the slayings and the boy's disappearance.

According to law-enforcement sources, Balfour's alibi the day of the killings has been contradicted by his girlfriend. Balfour was arrested at the woman's Southwest Side home Friday night. Balfour and Julia Hudson had been separated for some time, his family members said. A family friend said Balfour recently had threatened to take Julian away.

A family member of the girlfriend's said police have interviewed her. Police also tracked Balfour's whereabouts Friday through his cell phone, sources said.

Also on Sunday, Jennifer Hudson, who gained stardom after appearing on "American Idol," and then won an Academy Award for the movie "Dreamgirls," offered a $100,000 reward for the return of her nephew.
Also of Interest:
When Your Boyfriend Kills Your Child

Dan Blake, Chicago Tribune
source

I Was Completely Wrong About Plain Mary

The Plain Mary Kensington Playmat is worth the $190. They were kind enough to send a sample (Which I will be returning, so it has nothing to do with my review. If I think something is horrible, I'm going to say so.) I asked the one person who would know about blanket quality, my 90 year old grandmother. She comes from a time when most products were made with care and to last, and she quilts.


My first question to her was, "Does this look like a nice blanket?" She put it on her lap, turned it over and looked close. She examined the seams and embroidery. She spent about 5 minutes looking at the work that went into the play mat before she told me that it looked like it would last a long time.

Then I asked her, "Would you spend $190 for it?" I also had to explain that it was a baby blanket for the floor. She said she wouldn't buy it for a baby, but it was totally worth $190. If she had the extra $190 (Which is her way of hinting that she wants me to buy it for her.) she would buy one for herself. It seems besides being a good playmat, it is also a good lap throw.

Then she started making puppy dog eyes at me. It seems that I am now expected to buy one for her. Too bad I already have bought her Christmas gift, but Valentine's Day is coming.

So after showing the blanket to my grandmother I went around asking my neighbors with babies what they thought.If you stand in my front yard for ten minutes a baby appears. They all loved it.

My advice is to buy one if you can afford it, but embroider your last name on it. That way it can be used for multiple children and then draped over a chair or sofa.


Plain Mary is also expanding the embroidery options to include teddy bears, name and date, and zodiac signs.And here is the rest of it.
Also of interest:
Plain Mary

Caylee Anthony Update 27 October

Of course Jose Baez is saying that he believes that Caylee Anthony is alive. It is actually his job. If he believes otherwise he still has to say that he believes that Caylee is alive. Because if he said anything otherwise it would lead to questions. If he said that Caylee is dead people would ask who killed her. So don't take his statements to seriously...he has a job to do. (And he isn't doing too well.)

And here is the link to the PDF of the forensic reports. They are only 34 pages long. So they are a quick read compared to earlier reports.
Also of interest:
Caylee Anthony Update 26 October
Jennifer Hudson Update
9 Year Old Jailed
source

Is Tori Spelling Pregnant Again

Star Magazine is reporting that Tori Spelling was spotted buying a pregnancy test.

On Oct. 10, Tori was spotted at a CVS in Westwood, Calif., buying a pregnancy test kit! Friends say that four months after having baby Stella and a year and a half after Liam, she's feeling the urge. "I'd be happy having one of each," Tori says. "But I wouldn't mind having three."

Now I have two theories about what's going on, and both of them involve her wanting more attention. My first theory is that she bought the pregnancy test for no other reason than to get press. And probably leaked the story to Star Magazine herself.

My second theory is that she's pregnant. I have said before, not pregnant Tori is no longer relevant. Her only job is professional pregnant woman. I also said that as soon as the attention from Stella's birth wore off she would get pregnant again.

Either theory screams desperation.
Also of Interest:
Inside Tori Spelling's Home
Tori Spelling Has Given Birth
Tori Spelling
source

Jennifer Hudson Offers Reward In Nephew's Disappearance

Jennifer Hudson, the Oscar-winning actress and singer, offered a $100,000 (That's a lot when you consider that even though she is famous, she probably isn't pulling in the big paychecks. But what she does have she is willing to share with her family.) reward last night for the safe return of her seven-year-old nephew, missing since the double murder of her mother and brother at their home in Chicago on Friday.

The offer was made after Ms Hudson’s sister Julia made an emotional plea on behalf of her son. “Give me my baby back,” she said. “That’s all I ask. I know he’s out there. Put him on the side of the street. Just let him go. I have to believe he is OK.” The boy, Julian King, disappeared from the home of his grandmother, Darnell Donerson, 59, whose body was found there along with that of his uncle, Jason Hudson, 29.

They all lived at the same address, along with Julia Hudson, 31. Post-mortem examinations showed that the pair had died from multiple gunshot wounds.

Ms Hudson, who was ejected from American Idol and derided by the British judge Simon Cowell before going on to win an Oscar for her role in the 2006 musical film Dreamgirls, had to identify the bodies after returning to Chicago from Florida, where she had been promoting her latest film, The Secret Lives of Bees. (We have to remember that this just isn't about Jennifer, but her extended family.) Chicago police issued an amber alert, or child abduction bulletin, on Friday. The authorities in Chicago also requested the help of the FBI in case the boy had been taken across state lines.


“We are doing that as a precautionary measure,” Superintendent Jody Weis, of the Chicago police, said in a television interview.

He added that the murders and the child’s disappearance seemed to be part of a domestic dispute. “From what we know right now, it appears to be some type of domestic situation but that is very preliminary. We just have to follow the evidence.”

The police initially identified William Balfour, the estranged husband of Julia Hudson and stepfather of Julian King, as a suspect in the case. The 27-year-old baker has convictions for attempted murder, carjacking and possession of a stolen motor vehicle, according to the Illinois Department of Corrections. (I'm always going on about being careful about who you bring around your children. If a man has been convicted of attempted murder you don't take him home to meet your family. It shows a predilection to violence.)

He was released from prison in May 2006 and is still on probation. He was not living with his estranged wife at the time of the shooting. The couple had recently fought because Mr Balfour had sold Ms Hudson’s car without her permission, according to local media reports.

On Friday, Chicago police had taken Mr Balfour into custody but the missing boy was not with him. Officially, the police would say only that they were interviewing “a number of people”.

Meanwhile, Mr Balfour’s mother protested her son’s innocence. “This is not my son that did this,” a distraught Michele Balfour said. “You cannot say my child did this. He loved Julia. He loved Julia’s mother.” (The mothers always say things like that. Cindy Anthony is in Florida singing the same song.)

Julia Hudson, who drives a school bus for a living, made no mention of her estranged husband on Saturday as she addressed the world’s media at Pleasant Gift Mission Baptist Church in the Kenwood district of Chicago. Flanked by Greg King, 29, the father of the missing boy, she pleaded over and over again for her son to be brought back home.

She described the child as a sensitive boy who preferred reading a book or doing some “schooling” to playing outdoors, and said that her Oscar-winning sister had been at her side since flying back to Chicago. “She flew in right away and we have been together ever since,” Ms Hudson said, adding: “We are still in a state of shock. It’s hard. We are together. We sit and we pray. Nothing else to do but pray.”

Ms Hudson, 27, whose career was on the up with her new film and a No 1 hit on the Billboard R&B/hip-hop charts, had reportedly encouraged her mother to leave Englewood, the gritty South Side neighborhood where she grew up, and where her mother had lived for two decades, but her mother had steadfastly refused.
Also of interest:
Jennifer Hudson Update
When Your Boyfriend Kills Your Child
source

Duggar Wedding Photo

There finally are a couple of photos of Josh and Anna Duggar on their wedding day. More will probably be available when the wedding is featured on his family's television show. And am I the only one who finds the fact that the wedding coincided with the show's premiere interesting.
Also of interest:
It's Like My Super Sweet Sixteen On Crack
photos