'STAND UP TO CANCER'

From Jennifer Aniston to the presidential candidates: Over 60 Celebrities, Many Reporters, Presidential Candidates and more 'Stand Up to Cancer' in a Historic Telethon

Recent cancer survivor Christina Applegate joined fellow survivors Sheryl Crow and Melissa Etheridge attend Stand Up to Cancer benefit at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles.

Melina Kanakaredes arrives for the Stand Up to Cancer benefit at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles.

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LOS ANGELES, California - Cancer research advocates and more than 60 celebrities ranging from Jennifer Aniston to the U.S. presidential candidates made history Friday night with a live telethon that aired simultaneously on America's three television networks.

Jack Black, Halle Berry, Keanu Reeves and presidential nominees John McCain and Barack Obama were among those participating in "Stand Up to Cancer," an hourlong, commercial-free fundraising show spearheaded by entertainment-industry heavyweights whose lives have been touched by the disease.

"This is an absolutely historic night, thanks to the unbelievable generosity of the three networks," producer and cancer survivor Laura Ziskin told the audience at the Kodak Theatre before the show began, referring to ABC, NBC and CBS,

"We hope we're going to make you laugh, and I know we're going to make you cry, so I have some party favors," she said as she tossed packets of Kleenex into the crowd.

Cancer survivors Lance Armstrong and Elizabeth Edwards kicked off the program with statistics: Cancer kills 550,000 Americans and six million people worldwide each year.

"That's the equivalent of 9/11 every two days," Armstrong said.

Patrick Swayze, Billy Crystal, Salma Hayek and Christina Applegate urged viewers to call in and donate, while Neil Patrick Harris, America Ferrera, Christina Ricci and Kirsten Dunst answered phones. A visibly pregnant Jennifer Garner, along with Berry, Forest Whitaker and Casey Affleck, read personal accounts from those battling cancer.

Network news anchors Katie Couric, Charles Gibson and Brian Williams hosted the program, discussing advances in research and telling heartwrenching tales of those struggling with the disease.

Black provided a dose of comic relief: "I usually watch these things at home in my underwear," he said, adding that the celebrities answering phones may have some of the fattest pockets around.

"I'm going to make these gravy-trainers pony up," he said. "Who's got Spielberg's number? He's got a lot of dough."

The show featured musical performances by James Taylor and Sheryl Crow, Josh Groban and Monica Mancini, Melissa Etheridge with Sugarland, BeBe Winans and Jason Mraz. It also featured a performance by more than a dozen divas - including Beyonce, Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige and Rihanna - who sang their new charity song, "Just Stand Up," via video from the Fashion Rocks show in New York.

Aniston helped close the program with a nod to Hollywood.

"In our world, the boy gets the girl, the hero defeats the villain and cancer is no more," she said.

Ziskin, one of the event's organizers, has fought cancer since 2004. After seeing what "An Inconvenient Truth" did for environmental awareness, she wanted to make a documentary about cancer. But instead she teamed up with Couric, Sherry Lansing and other cancer community activists to put on the live telethon.

"Cancer is not in the closet anymore, and now that it's out of the closet we have to motivate the public to demand that as a country we do better," she said. "And if the country won't do it, we'll do it. We'll raise money ourselves and try to spend that money in a way that will lead to better, less toxic treatments that we can get to patients more quickly."

The aim of Stand Up to Cancer is to raise funds for "translational research," Ziskin said, which encourages scientists to collaborate rather than compete, translating basic science into applicable therapies for patients. She compared the approach to the Manhattan project.

"We took the best and brightest and locked them up in Los Alamos and said you can't leave until you split the atom and create, unfortunately, a bomb," Ziskin said. "This is no less a problem, with half a million Americans a year dying from this disease. If we take best and brightest, encourage them and reward them for working together, the answers will come much more quickly."

FOXNews.com

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PHOTO's -'Stand Up to Cancer' Benefit- Kodak Theater, Los Angeles

Singers Sheryl Crow and James Taylor pose together before the Stand Up to Cancer benefit at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles.

America Ferrera arrives for the Stand Up to Cancer benefit at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles.

Network news anchors Brian Williams of NBC, Katie Couric of CBS and Charles Gibson of ABC pose together before the Stand Up to Cancer benefit at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles.

Television news anchors Brian Williams of NBC, Katie Couric of CBS and Charles Gibson of ABC pose together before the Stand Up to Cancer benefit at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles.

Fran Drescher and Sharon Osbourne pose together before the Stand Up to Cancer benefit at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus arrives for the Stand Up to Cancer benefit at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles.

Ellen DeGeneres and producer Laura Ziskin of the Stand Up to Cancer Executive Committee pose together before the Stand Up to Cancer benefit at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles.

Forest Whitaker arrives for the Stand Up to Cancer benefit at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles.

Kristian Bush and Jennifer Nettles of the band Sugarland arrive for the Stand Up to Cancer benefit at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles.

Shemar Moore arrives for the Stand Up to Cancer benefit at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles.

Melina Kanakaredes arrives for the Stand Up to Cancer benefit at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles.

Patrick Swayze was one of the highlights of the night when he made a surprise appearance at Friday's Stand Up to Cancer benefit.

Salma Hayek waves to photographers as she arrives for the Stand Up to Cancer benefit at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles.

Singers Sheryl Crow and James Taylor pose together before the Stand Up to Cancer benefit at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles.

Katie Couric arrives for the Stand Up to Cancer benefit at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles.

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STATISTICS - Cancer in the US:

SU2C makes heavy use of cancer-related statistics in its outreach to the public. Frequently utilized statistics include:

• Ending cancer would be worth $50 trillion to the US economy.
• One out of two men, and one out of three women, will be diagnosed with cancer.
• 1,500 Americans die from cancer every day.
• One American dies of cancer every minute.
• There are nearly 11 million cancer survivors in America right now

NEWS & VIEWS

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ENTERTAINMENT_______________________________________

'SARAH PALIN NOT WELCOME ON OPRAH'

Is Oprah Biased or is she right?: Republican VP Nominee Sarah Palin Isn't Welcome on 'Oprah', Huge Obama Supporter Oprah Winfrey said she won't interview Palin!

Fans of Oprah debate whether the talk show host is being bias but not invited Palin on her show before the election.

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The World to pay tribute to Luciano Pavarotti on the 1st anniversary of his death

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The world will mark the first anniversary of the death of Luciano Pavarotti with a series of concerts, an exhibit and other events, organisers and his family have announced.

Among the tributes planned for the celebrated tenor, who died September 6, 2007, are a concert at New York's Metropolitan Opera House on September 18, and an exhibit on his life, with photographs, films and costumes collected by friends and colleagues, that opens in Rome on October 17.

Another concert in Petra, Jordan, is scheduled for October 12, organisers said, while conductor Leone Magiera, who worked with Pavarotti for years, is reportedly planning a tribute concert in Paris on January 27.

The events were announced at a meeting at the culture ministry in Rome that included Pavarotti's widow, Nicoletta Mantovani, and the tenor's longtime friend, Italian film and opera director Franco Zeffirelli.

"Luciano had a great love for life, joy and cheerfulness that we all miss," Mantovani said. "He was able to thrill everyone in the world."

Zeffirelli called the tenor "a prodigy" and said: "He was the highest example of professionalism I've ever seen."

Pavarotti died at age 71 after a year-long battle with cancer. He had married Mantovani in 2003 and they had a daughter.

He also had three daughters from a previous marriage.

Pavarotti's charismatic persona, ebullient showmanship, and powerful voice made him the most beloved and celebrated tenor since the great Caruso, and one of the few opera singers to win crossover fame as a popular superstar.

He appeared in television commercials and sang in hugely lucrative mega-concerts outdoors and in stadiums around the world, also mingling with pop stars in his series of charity concerts, Pavarotti & Friends.

In New York, director James Levine, who worked with Pavarotti in 139 performances at the Metropolitan Opera House, will conduct a performance of Verdi's Requiem Mass on September 18, the opera house said in a statement Friday.

Soloists Barbare Frittoli, soprano; Olga Borodina, mezzo-soprano; Marcello Giordani, tenor; and James Morris, bass, will take part in the free performance.

"Luciano's voice was so extraordinarily beautiful and his delivery so natural and direct, that his singing spoke right to the hearts of listeners," Levine said. "I will never forget the sheer magic of that voice, but I will also remember the warm, generous, and exuberant spirit of the man."

LAST DAY OF THE REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION

John McCain accepts presidential nomination and says will Change America

John McCain entered the Republican convention to a standing ovation.

Republican presidential candidate, Sen., John McCain, R-Ariz. and Sen., Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., smile during a walk through at the Exel Convention Center in St. Paul.

Cindy McCain, wife of Republican presidential candidate John McCain, appears on stage during a walk through of the Xcel Center where her husband will give his acceptance speech later during the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn.

Police push back a man during a scuffle near the capitol building at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn.

Roberta McCain, mother of Republican presidential candidate John McCain, looks up at her son on stage during his walk through of the Xcel Center where he will give his acceptance speech later during the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn.

REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION

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US Senator John McCain has accepted the Republican Party's presidential nomination at the party's national convention in Saint Paul, Minnesota, saying the party needs to win back the trust of the American people.

Seeking to distance himself from the legacy of current President George W Bush, Senator McCain said the Republican Party had been guilty of being too close to special interest groups and had forgotten about the interests of the nation as a whole.

Billing himself as a battle-scarred reformer, he vowed he and running mate Sarah Palin would change Washington as he accepted the Republican presidential nomination.

"Let me offer an advance warning to the old, big-spending, do-nothing, me-first, country-second Washington crowd, change is coming," Senator McCain said, adding he was honoured to accept the party's nomination.

But his prime-time convention speech was briefly interrupted by several anti-war protesters, who had sneaked into the crowd.

One held up a black sign reading "You can't win an occupation," and started chanting, but was quickly drowned out by the crowd cheering "USA, USA," and then hustled away by security staff.

Senator McCain, 72, touted what he said were decades of working across the political aisle to solve problems, contrasting his record with that of Democratic nominee Barack Obama whom he faces in November's election.

"That's how I will govern as president. I will reach out my hand to anyone to help me get this country moving again," he said.

"I have that record and the scars to prove it. Senator Obama does not."

Senator McCain also tapped into his life story as a former Vietnam prisoner of war to suggest he, and not Senator Obama, should be trusted with the presidency.

"I fell in love with my country when I was a prisoner in someone else's," Senator McCain said.

"I loved it because it was not just a place, but an idea, a cause worth fighting for, I was never the same again.

"I wasn't my own man anymore. I was my country's."

Senator McCain is attempting to co-opt Senator Obama's mantle of change in a year in which polls show Americans overwhelmingly think their country is heading in the wrong direction.

He vowed to work to establish good ties with Russia, but warned the United States could not "turn a blind eye" to aggression.

"As president, I will work to establish good relations with Russia so we need not fear a return of the Cold War," Senator McCain said.

"But we can't turn a blind eye to aggression and international lawlessness that threatens the peace and stability of the world and the security of the American people."

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DEMOCRATS SLAM McCAIN

Hillary Clinton says only Obama can enforce Change to the US

Barack Obama's campaign rejected Republican presidential nominee John McCain's convention address as "more of the same" policies that have already proven "disastrous."

"Tonight, John McCain said that his party was elected to change Washington, but that they let Washington change them," said Democrat Obama's campaign spokesman Bill Burton."He's right, he admonished the 'old, do-nothing crowd' in Washington, but ignored the fact that he's been part of that crowd for twenty-six years."

"He wants to continue this president's disastrous economic and foreign policies for another four years, with John McCain, it's more of the same."

Meanwhile, Democrat Hillary Clinton rejected John McCain's Republican convention address, and gave her first damning judgement on his vice-presidential running mate Sarah Palin.

'No way, no how'

"To slightly amend my comments from Denver," the former first lady said in a statement as soon as the Republican nominee finished his speech.

"No way, No How, No McCain-Palin," Clinton said, reprising her top applause line from last week's Democratic convention.

Clinton says only Barack Obama, who beat her in the bitter Democratic primary and his running mate Senator Joseph Biden, "offered the new ideas and positive change" that America needed.

"After listening to all of the speeches this week, I heard nothing that suggests the Republicans are ready to fix the economy for middle families," Clinton says.

She also commented that McCain offered no plan for quality affordable health care for all Americans, to guarantee equal pay for equal work for women, or to "restore our nation's leadership in a complex world or tackle the myriad of challenges our country faces."

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_____________________AUSTRALIAN POLITICS

AUSTRALIA'S FIRST FEMALE GOVERNOR GENERAL

Quentin Bryce gets sworn in and makes History as Australia's first female Governor General

New Governor General Quentin Bryce shares a joke with PM Kevin Rudd.

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Queenslander Quentin Bryce has made history after becoming Australia's first female governor general.

The former Queensland governor has become Australia's 25th governor general after assuming the post vacated earlier this week by Major General Michael Jeffery.

Major General Jeffery has described Ms Bryce as ideally suited to the vice-regal role.

"It is a very demanding role, it is a stimulating role and I think she is ideally suited to fulfill it and I wish her every success," he said shortly after her appointment was announced.

Ms Bryce also received a general salute from the Federation Guard, before heading into the Senate for the two hour formal ceremony.

Background

Bryce was raised in the tiny central Queensland town of Ifracombe, she became one of the first women admitted to the Queensland Bar in 1965.

She has been a lifelong supporter of women's and human rights and served as federal sex discrimination commissioner and Queensland director of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission.

She also lectured in law, founded the Queensland Women's Information Service and served as chair of the National Breast Cancer Centre Advisory Council and Australian Women's Cricket Board.

For her many achievements, she was made an officer of the Order of Australia in 1998.

This morning's swearing-in ceremony, in the Senate Chamber of Parliament House in Canberra, will be attended by ministers, MPs, members of the judiciary and the diplomatic corps.

Following the official swearing-in, the new governor-general will address the chamber.

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The Last 8 years of Republican George Bush leading the USA was not what America and the world needs, more HORRIBLE Leadership, If McCain gets elected he will lead America in the wrong direction.

If McCain gets elected, the next 4 years will be the same of the last 8 years!

A DEMOCRAT IS READY TO LEAD IN THE WHITE HOUSE!

FOR REAL CHANGE OBAMA-BIDEN

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forbes.com HOLLYWOOD'S TOP 10 HIGHEST PAID TALK SHOW HOSTS!

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1. Oprah Winfrey

$275 Million

Ratings for the self-made billionaire's flagship production, The Oprah Winfrey Show, may have diminished, but her earning power appears bulletproof--at least for now. She will debut the Oprah Winfrey Network in partnership with Discovery Communications next year. She also has a three-year, $55 million deal with XM Satellite Radio. Her Harpo production company helped create Dr. Phil and Rachael Ray.

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2. Howard Stern

$70 Million

Stern's Sirius Satellite Radio deal pays him $100 million a year (minus the production costs for the show, which come out of his pocket). He's likely to benefit from a bigger audience if, and when, Sirius merges with rival XM Satellite Radio.

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3. David Letterman

$45 Million

The veteran late-night host became a hero last December when his production company hammered out a deal with its striking Writers Guild members to get them working ahead of others.

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4. Judge Judith Sheindlin (tie)

$45 million

The tough-talking former New York City family court judge arrived on the national scene when 60 Minutes profiled her in 1993. Three years later, Hollywood producers offered Sheindlin her own television show, Judge Judy. The series is a ratings phenomenon, trouncing all 11 other court shows and often beating Oprah. Last year she renegotiated her contract with CBS, boosting her annual salary to $45 million.

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5. Dr. Phil McGraw

$40 Million

America's relationship guru attracts consumers--and enhances his brand--through his show (Dr. Phil), books and an endorsement of Match.com. He made a stir when he tried to intervene to help Britney Spears.

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6. Rush Limbaugh

$33 Million

The country's most listened to talk show host banks megabucks with the conservative radio program he's been doing from 20 years. He tried to complicate the 2008 primaries by urging Republicans to vote for Hillary Clinton.

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7. Jay Leno

$32 Million

This is the last full year Leno will be the host of NBC's The Tonight Show; in 2009, he will give up the job to Conan O'Brien. Other networks are reportedly wooing him. He still does stand-up, too.

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8. Tyra Banks

$23 Million

Banks has morphed from model into mogul. She produces and stars at the same time, both on her daytime hit, The Tyra Banks Show, and on the smash reality program America's Next Top Model.

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9. Regis Philbin

$21 Million

The beloved cohost of Live with Regis and Kelly anchored ABC's pre-Oscars show this year, and he just launched CBS' Million Dollar Password, an update of a game show. He's an author and singer, too.

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10. Ellen DeGeneres

$20 Million

The host of The Ellen DeGeneres Show since 2003, she also endorses American Express, and she's an animal fanatic, with an estimated 15% stake in Halo Purely for Pets pet food. She got her start as a stand-up comedian.

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'MOTHER OF ALL STORMS'

Over 1.8 million people have fled New Orleans and thousands more are fleeing as ' STORM OF THE CENTURY' Hurricane Gustav nears the US.

Clouds gather over a deserted New Orleans street.

A deserted Interstate 10 after residents evacuated the metro area of New Orleans.

New Orleans' mayor instituted a dusk-to-dawn curfew until the storm passes.

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Evacuees from New Orleans take refuge from Hurricane Gustav at the McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base in Alcoa, Tennesse.

This image provided by NOAA taken at 6:32 p.m. EDT, Aug. 29, 2008, shows Hurricane Gustav, moving through Cuba.

Aug 26: Thunderstorms from Hurricane Gustav are seen off the coast of San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Aug. 29: The National Hurricane Center projects Gustav will approach the US Gulf Coast.

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HURRICANE GUSTUV AFFECTS REPUBLICAN CONVENTION

Republicans cancel most of convention over Hurricane Gustuv

John McCain announces the cancellation of much of the Republican convention.

Republican John McCain and Running mate Sarah Palin.

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Republican White House hopeful John McCain today suspended most of tomorrow's first day of his nominating convention, as Hurricane Gustav sparked political turmoil as it zeroed in on New Orleans.

Party leaders scrambled to change their plans, keen not to be seen by voters as mounting a celebratory event while a potential natural disaster unfolds on the Gulf Coast, exactly three years after the Hurricane Katrina tragedy.

"I hope and pray we will be able to resume some of our normal operations as quickly as possible," Mr McCain told reporters via a video link from St Louis, after returning from a tour of relief preparations in Mississippi.

"We're going to suspend most of our activities tomorrow, except for those absolutely necessary," said Mr McCain, who is facing the prospect that his best chance to sell his case to voters will be severely curtailed by the storm.

He said the party's hopes that the convention could be back to normal later in the week were "in the hands of God."

The Arizona senator said convention delegates needed to "take off our Republican hats, and put on our American hats and we say America, we're with you".

Botched recovery effort

Hurricane Gustav's approach has revived painful memories for Republicans of Katrina which drowned large sections of New Orleans in 1995 and killed 1,800 people in the region.

President George W Bush took the lion's share of the blame for the botched recovery effort which saw poverty-stricken people abandoned in the city, and the party's brand has still to recover.

Mr McCain's convention manager Rick Davis said the convention will open for just over two hours tomorrow, solely to go through procedures necessary under law to begin the process of nominating a president and vice president.

"We will refrain from any political rhetoric which would be traditional in an opening session," Mr Davis said.

"Right now we have a horrible storm bearing down on the Gulf, people should be more concerned about that than a political campaign and that is the way we are going to let the chips fall."

Democratic nominee Barack Obama meanwhile said he would open up his vast donor list to channel money or volunteers to help the recovery efforts, in response to Gustav, which is set to hit the Louisiana coast tomorrow.

No political rhetoric

"We can activate an email list of a couple million people who want to give back," Mr Obama told reporters after attending church in Lima, Ohio.

"I think we can get tons of volunteers to travel down there if it becomes necessary."

President Bush said earlier today he would skip the planned convention speech, and instead monitor the storm and evacuation efforts in Texas.

"In light of these events I will not be going to Minnesota for the Republican National Convention," Mr Bush said.

"I will travel down to Texas tomorrow to visit with the emergency operations centre in Austin," where the Texas and Louisiana responses to Hurricane Gustav are being coordinated.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Vice President Dick Cheney has also scrapped his speech planned for tomorrow night.

Speeches scrapped

Mr McCain took to the talk-show circuit earlier today to defend his choice of first term Alaska governor Mrs Palin as his vice presidential pick, as Democrats warned that she's woefully short of experience.

Mr McCain described Mrs Palin as a "soul mate" and a reformer.

"She's got the right judgment.

"She's been a commander in chief of the Alaska national guard," said Mr McCain, adding Mrs Palin's son, who is in the US Army, is shortly to be deployed to Iraq.

Democrats and some political commentators have savaged Mr McCain's pick of Mrs Palin, 44, a mother of five, over her lack of expertise in foreign affairs, saying she is too inexperienced to be a "heartbeat" away from the presidency.

Mr McCain's wife Cindy also defended her husband's decision to turn to Mrs Palin, which electrified the crucial conservative powerbase in the Republican Party.

"Remember, Alaska is the closest part of our continent to Russia. So it's not as if she doesn't understand what's at stake here," she said on ABC.

Democrat John Kerry however, said on the same channel that the selection proved Mr McCain is "erratic".

"John McCain's judgment is once again put at issue, because he's chosen somebody who clearly doesn't meet the national security threshold, who is not ready to be president tomorrow."