Miami police union challenges officer’s firing for fatal shooting

The Fraternal Order of Police filed a lawsuit against the city of Miami on Friday, asserting that an officer who fatally shot an unarmed motorist in 2011 was improperly fired from the police department.

Officer Reynaldo Goyos shot and killed Travis McNeil as he sat in a car at a Little Haiti intersection. It was one of a string of seven deadly shootings of black men in the inner city by Miami police officers in 2010 and 2011.

Goyos was cleared of criminal wrongdoing by prosecutors in 2012. But he was terminated last month after the department’s Firearms Review Board concluded that the shooting was unjustified.

The police union lawsuit claims that the board violated state open-government laws by failing to open its meetings to the public.

Goyos “was improperly terminated by the city of Miami Police Department by a review board that violates the law,” union President Javier Ortiz wrote in a statement.

The lawsuit contends that Goyos should be reinstated.

City Attorney Julie O. Bru declined to discuss the specifics of the case. “We reviewed the allegations, and the city maintains that the board has operated consistent with the requirements of law,” she said.

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Buzzmakers: Prince Michael Reports for ET and Mindy McCready Dies

What had ETOnline readers buzzing this week?

1. Prince Michael Jackson is New ET Correspondent

Having grown up in show business, Prince Michael proved to be a gifted interviewer as he conducted his first sit-down as an ET correspondent.

Michael Jackson's 16-year-old son impressed Oz the Great and Powerful stars James Franco and Zach Braff as well as director Sam Raimi with his confidence and competence on his first assignment.

"You're doing awesome," Braff gushed. "You're a natural."

Prince Michael returned the compliment, praising their work in the fantasy flick and getting Franco to shed some light on how he approached playing the lead role of Oscar Diggs, a small-time circus magician with dubious ethics.

"I saw that his particular transformation would allow for comedy," Franco explained. "Because he's a conman -- that would get him into a lot of awkward situations that could be played for comedy."

The movie imagines the origins of L. Frank Baum's beloved character from The Wizard of Oz. After Oscar Diggs (Franco) is hurled away from dusty Kansas to the vibrant Land of Oz, he first thinks he's hit the jackpot -- until he meets three witches, Theodora (Mila Kunis), Evanora (Rachel Weisz) and Glinda (Michelle Williams), who are not convinced he is the great wizard everyone's been expecting.

2. Country Music Stars Mourn Mindy McCready's Death

The country music community is mourning the loss of one of their own. Country crooner Mindy McCready was found dead of apparent suicide on Sunday, Feb. 17, at her Arkansas home. She was 37. Needless to say, this has caused an outpouring of sympathetic tweets from McCready's musician peers.

Here are some of the stars' reactions to the tragic news:

LeAnn Rimes: "Mindy and I both started our careers around the same time. We worked with a lot of the same people, so we ended up spending lots of time around one another. She was always so kind and very protective of me, like a big sis. My heart is broken that she's gone."

Carrie Underwood: "I grew up listening to Mindy McCready...so sad for her family tonight. Many prayers are going out to them..."

Clay Aiken: "I listened admiringly to Mindy McCready growing up. May she finally be at peace and lend her beautiful voice to heaven's."

Lady Antebellum's Hillary Scott: "My heart is breaking hearing of the loss of Mindy McCready. Pray for her 2 precious little boys...may God's peace & protection be on them!"

Jason Aldean: "Just heard about Mindy McCready. My thoughts and prayers are with her 2 boys and her family."

Big and Rich's John Rich: "Very sad to hear about Mindy McCready. When I was in Lonestar she was our label mate and we were friends. A tragic end to a talented life."

Wynona Judd: "Oh my! Mindy. Dear sweet girl. This is so sad. It just breaks my heart what addiction continues to take from this life. Addiction is a dis EASE and not a character flaw. When the pain becomes too much, it causes people to want that pain to stop. This is just so Unbelievable and so sad. God be with the family and those babies. Surround them with your grace & mercy. Sleep in Heavenly peace Mindy."

Martina McBride: "So sad."

Chely Wright: "Really really sad to learn the news about Mindy McCready. I will pray for her children and I hope that people are gentle with her memory."

Gretchen Peters: "So sad to hear about Mindy McCready. I met her in the first flush of her early career. This is a hard business. Sometimes success is poison."

3. Mark Hamill Reveals He's in Talks to Appear in New 'Star Wars'

Mark Hamill's new movie Sushi Girl hits DVD and Blu-ray this week, and while talking about the project, the Star Wars legend was more than happy to provide ETonline with an update on his involvement with the in-development Star Wars VII – and what he thinks of those planned spinoff movies…

"It's all very, very exciting and so unexpected," says Hamill. "I think that's the quality I like about it most – it's like getting a pair of pants out of the closet you haven't worn in three years and finding a $20 bill in the pocket. It's just so unexpected."

First off, will he appear in Star Wars VII? "They're talking to us," he reveals. "George [Lucas] wanted to know whether we'd be interested. He did say that if we didn't want to do it, they wouldn't cast another actor in our parts – they would write us out. … I can tell you right away that we haven't signed any contracts. We're in the stage where they want us to go in and meet with Michael Arndt, who is the writer, and Kathleen Kennedy, who is going to run Lucasfilm. Both have had meetings set that were postponed -- on their end, not mine. They're more busy than I am."

Hamill, 61, says he's intrigued about where the new trilogy could go but says he knows nothing about the storyline: "I probably learn more from Entertainment Tonight than I do directly from Lucasfilm – like for instance, when George told us he wanted to do the next trilogy, he didn't tell us it was going to be done for Disney. He saved that little nugget, and I read it online like anybody else."

As for his thoughts about the next trilogy's tone, "I said to George that I wanted to go back to the way it was, in the sense that ours was much more carefree and lighthearted and humorous – in my opinion, anyway. And another thing I'd want to make sure of is are we going to have the whole gang back? Is Carrie and Harrison and Billy Dee and Tony Daniels, everybody that's around from the original [returning]? I want to make sure that everybody's on board here, rather than just one. I guess I'll have to tune into your show to figure out who's on board."

In terms of where we'll pick up with Luke Skywalker in Star Wars VII, "I'm assuming, because I haven't talked to the writers, that these movies would be about our offspring -- like my character would be sort of in the Obi-Wan range [as] an influential character. … When I found out [while making the original trilogy] that ultimate good news/bad news joke – the good news is there's a real attractive, hot girl in the universe; the bad news is she's your sister – I thought, 'Well, I'm going to wind up like Sir Alec [Guinness]. I'm going to be a lonely old hermit living out in some kind of desert igloo with a couple of robots.'"

Hamill concludes of the next movie, "I hope they find the right balance of CGI with practical effects. I love props, I love models, miniatures, matte paintings -- I'm sort of old school. I think if you go too far in the direction of CGI it winds up looking like just a giant a video game, and that's unfortunate. … If they listen to me at all, it'll be, 'Lighten up and go retro with the way it looks.'"

As for those confirmed stand-alone Star Wars films, which may follow the adventures of a young Han Solo, Boba Fett and Yoda, Hamill observes, "That's really smart. Then you're more like James Bond pictures, where they come out and it's not an investment of a three-movie arc. … It's so rich, that [Star Wars] universe, in terms of quirkiness and oddball [nature]. We would talk about that [on the original film's set]. We'd go like, 'That little band that's playing in the Cantina, what's their story?! I mean, are they a traveling band? Are they the house band? Who's their manager?' They didn't have names when we first were talking about them. Now they're called, like, Sy Snootles – they come up with names down the road when they have to name toys."

So what spinoff movie would Mark Hamill like to see? "Oh, I don't know, set it on the Wookiee planet -- although that might be prohibitively expensive with that many Wookiees," he says with some resignation. After a little more thought, he muses, "That's what I would love. You pick the most insignificant little [character] – there's this little hawk-beaked character that's somewhere in Jabba's palace, I can't even remember what function he served -- but that's what I would think. You pick something that almost nobody remembers or knows about -- and then have a movie about him! You could probably put about 500 different character's names on a big, giant dart board, throw a dart, and say, 'Okay, wherever it lands we've got to make him the central character.'"
After a hearty laugh, Hamill adds, "I hope we don't overstay our welcome."

4. Nina Dobrev Reflects on Shocking 'Vampire Diaries' Death

Death has loomed large over Elena Gilbert since The Vampire Diaries pilot, but absolutely nothing will compare with the pain she's forced to endure now that her brother, Jeremy, has fallen victim to vampires.

The shocking death not only devastated fans, but the actors -- Steven McQueen included -- as well. And anyone assuming TVD finds a way to make the best of a bad situation is wrong. Dead wrong. According to Nina Dobrev things are about to get real dark for Elena, whose grief will make her unrecognizable to fans in the coming weeks.

ETonline: This season has been a thrill from the start. What's your feeling about season four?

Nina Dobrev: It's been really cool, especially because you always hear actors say doing a TV show for X amount of years can be boring and repetitive, but over the last four years, Elena has been changing and evolving and growing so much. Julie [Plec, executive producer] has done such an incredible job of keeping it fresh and exciting and making me excited to come to work every day. Especially this season -- and especially with the death of Jeremy. Between last week's episode and this week's, it's been very challenging for me as an actress, but very fulfilling. It's an emotional rollercoaster and I had to go to some dark places.

ETonline: What was your reaction to finding out Jeremy would be killed?

Dobrev: I think we were all shocked and surprised, but that's the show -- it's a vampire show, people have to die all the time. And for Elena, it was very important that she lose Jeremy for what she's about to go through. It becomes a big part of her journey. I know Steven was very bummed, but also excited because he had a lot to do leading up to it -- his character grew and became so strong. It's bittersweet but made for some amazing television.

ETonline: In many ways, Jeremy was the person who really kept Elena tethered to her humanity. Will this loss threaten to make Elena embrace the less desirable sides of vampirism?

Dobrev: Jeremy was the last person she had left, so it's very likely that Elena could go off the deep end now that she doesn't have the one thing that kept her human. Elena wants to protect the people she loves and saw this new-found strength as a way to protect everyone. But, in this case, she couldn't protect Jeremy and lost the only family member she had left. She won't take it lightly. It's going to destroy her.

ETonline: Jeremy was also one of the only remaining characters who touched everyone in Mystic Falls. Will his death, in some ways, reinforce the group?

Dobrev: They do come together, but everyone is sort of walking on pins and needles around Elena so they don't trigger something and send her into a psychotic break. They live in a mystical world, so just because Jeremy's dead, it doesn't mean he's really dead in her mind. So she's looking for any solution she can to bring him back -- Elena is basically mentally unstable, going a little crazy and everyone is trying to help.

ETonline: Obviously Elena still misses Jenna and Alaric, but I would imagine losing Jeremy has a much more profound and prolonged effect on her. True?

Dobrev: Losing Jeremy really, really, really changes Elena. Sometimes people recover from tragedy and sometimes they don't -- but it's a long journey for her. Elena's mourning peroid is much different than any I've ever seen depicted on TV before. She goes off the deep end and spirals downwards into a black hole of death and sadness and misery. I mean, your instinct is right when you asked if we'll see an Elena who embraces her vampire side to a different degree. It's an Elena we haven't seen before, and you'll be shocked, quite frankly. I was very surprised where the episodes take her because it's almost like she's a completely different person that you won't recognize to some degree.

5. Fergie Reveals: I'm Pregnant!

Congratulations are in order for Fergie and Josh Duhamel, as the couple announced this week that they're expecting their first child!

"Josh & Me & BABY makes three," she Tweeted, along with the hashtag #MyLovelyBabyBump

Fergie and Duhamel married on January 10, 2009, after five years of dating.

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Off-duty transit worker busted for drunk driving

An off-duty transit worker was busted for drunk driving in Brooklyn early today, authorities said

Cops spotted MTA employee Rosario Luis, 49, sleeping in a black 2010 Acura in Bedford Stuyvesant shortly before 1:30 a.m. today.

Half of his car was on the sidewalk at the corner of Nostrand Avenue and Vernon Avenue, police sources said.

The vehicle was still running, and sources said there was a strong alcohol odor on Luis.

He was taken into police custody, and a Breathalyzer test found his blood alcohol content was more than twice the legal limit of 0.08 percent, sources said.

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South Florida hospitals could lose $368 million from sequestration

A detailed survey shows that South Florida hospitals could lose $368 million over 10 years in federal budget cuts starting next Friday, if the sequestration program kicks in as scheduled.

The Florida Hospital Association, using data from the American Hospital Association, estimates that over the next decade, sequestration would cause Miami-Dade hospitals to lose $223.9 million and Broward facilities $144.4 million under the Congress-mandated budget cuts that hit virtually all federal programs unless Republicans and Democrats can work out a compromise.

The New York Times and other national news organizations are reporting that sequestration, unlike the New Year’s fiscal cliff, seems virtually certain to take place.

The law requires across-the-board spending cuts in domestic and defense programs, with certain exceptions. Because healthcare represents more than one in five dollars of the federal budget, it will be a huge target for cuts.

For hospitals and doctors, the major impact will be felt in Medicare cuts, which according to the budget law are limited to 2 percent of Medicare payments. Medicaid, food stamps and Social Security are exempted from cuts, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center.

The FHA study calculates that over 10 years, Jackson Memorial Hospital stands to lose $30.6 million, Mount Sinai Medical Center on Miami Beach $27.3 million, Holy Cross in Fort Lauderdale $23.8 million and Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood $21.4 million.

“The problem with sequestration is that it just makes broad cuts across the board,” said Linda Quick, president of the South Florida Hospital and Healthcare Association. “The Affordable Care Act is looking at all sorts of intelligent ways to reduce costs,” including coordinated care that will stop duplicated tests and reduce hospital readmissions. “But sequestration takes an ax, and that doesn’t make any sense.”

FierceHealthcare, which produces trade publications, says sequestration cuts over the next decade will include $591 million from prescription drug benefits for seniors, $318 million from the Food and Drug Administration, $2.5 billion from the National Institutes of Health, $490 million from the Centers for Disease Control and $365 million from Indian Health Services.

The National Association of Community Health Centers estimates that 900,000 of its patients nationwide could lose care because of the cuts. The group said the cuts were “penny wise and pound foolish” because they would mean less preventive care while more and sicker patients would end up in emergency rooms.

Like the fiscal cliff, Republicans and Democrats agreed on a sequestration strategy, with the idea that the drastic measure would force the two sides to reach agreement on more deliberative budget adjustments. That hasn’t happened.

The White House reports that the law will mean that nondefense programs will be cut by 5 percent, defense programs by 8 percent. But since the first year’s cuts must be done over seven months, that means in 2013, nondefense programs need to be cut by 9 percent, defense programs by 13 percent.

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Florida task force says no major changes needed to Stand Your Ground law

TALLAHASSEE --
A 19-member task force commissioned by Gov. Rick Scott to review Florida’s Stand Your Ground law has put out its final report, largely voicing its support for the law.

The task force made a handful of recommendations for the Legislature, but began the report by stating that, at its core, the self-defense law is fine as it is.

“All persons who are conducting themselves in a lawful manner have a fundamental right to stand their ground and defend themselves from attack with proportionate force in every place they have a lawful right to be,” the report reads.

The controversial law grants immunity to people who use force, including deadly force, in response to a perceived threat of bodily harm. It was thrust into the spotlight last year after Miami Gardens teenager Trayvon Martin was shot to death in Sanford by a man who later claimed self-defense under Stand Your Ground. The shooter, neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman, was initially not charged, but now awaits trial on second-degree murder charges.

Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll chaired the task force, which held statewide hearings and consisted of two lawmakers who drafted the Stand Your Ground law and others who voted for it. Police, lawyers and neighborhood watch volunteers were also appointed. Critics blasted the group's makeup from the outset, predicting that it would not push for any significant changes to the law.

"It's what I expected,” said Sen. Chris Smith, D-Fort Lauderdale, told the News Service of Florida. “When you put a task force together of people who wrote the bill and full of people who support Stand Your Ground I knew the task force wouldn't come up with anything earth-shattering in their final report."

The group’s recommendations included reconsidering the state’s 10-20-Life law, tightening standards for neighborhood watch groups and commissioning a study to look into issues of racial disparities and unintended consequences of Stand Your Ground.

The task force also urged the Legislature to consider whether Stand Your Ground should apply when an innocent bystander is caught in the crossfire and to clarify whether or not the law’s immunity provision prohibits police from detaining and questioning a shooter.

Two task force members — Miami-Dade State attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle and Tallahassee-based pastor Rev. R.B. Holmes — each submitted letters indicating they wished the group had pushed for more significant changes.

“I have also seen not only from the experiences in my Office, but from the testimony of our citizens and experts who came before our Task Force, that the law has had some consequences which I believe were unintended,” Fernandez-Rundle wrote in a letter attached to the report. She said the law’s “immunity” provision should be scrapped.

Holmes, the vice chair of the task force, said he was concerned about inequalities in the application of the law, pointing out that it has been used to help criminals avoid prosecution and has been used in cases where a victim was shot in the back while fleeing.

“Other studies have shown that this law is associated with an increased death toll that falls disproportionately on minority groups,” Holmes wrote.

There are several bills before the Legislature that would repeal or amend the Stand Your Ground law, but they face long odds in Florida’s gun-friendly Legislature.

A “Million Hoodie March” vigil will take place in New York City on Tuesday, the one-year anniversary of Trayvon Martin’s death.

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Dwayne Johnson Talks 'Snitch'

Dwayne Johnson is forced to drive for a ruthless drug cartel in the gritty action-thriller Snitch, in theaters today, and the towering star with a heart of gold tells ET, "I would go through heaven and hell to protect my child."

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"At the heart of this film it is about family, and I would do anything to protect my family," says Johnson. "It's what we do as adults – we protect our children from harm, from danger."
At the center of the film is a serious showpiece, the edge-of-your-seat big rig chase, and we asked Johnson if he was able to drive the truck himself.

Flashing his trademark grin, he replied, "You bet your ass I know how to drive that big rig. I loved driving that. The big rig became a character in and of itself in this movie."

Snitch finds Johnson as a concerned father faced with a dramatic choice after his teenage son is wrongly accused of a drug distribution crime. With his boy facing a minimum prison sentence of 10 years, the desperate and determined Johnson makes a deal with the U.S. attorney to work as an undercover informant and infiltrate a dangerous drug cartel (whose key player is played by Benjamin Bratt). Willing to risk everything to free his son, can Johnson make it out alive? Susan Sarandon, Barry Pepper and Jon Bernthal also star.

Video: Johnson Talks 'G.I. Joe: Retaliation'

Johnson adds, "Because [the movie is based on a] true story, I wanted to make sure that all of the elements are preserved and respected."

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Most charges dismissed against ex-Blackwater execs

RALEIGH, NC — The federal prosecution of five former employees of the private security firm Blackwater has crumbled after the defendants said they were acting at the behest of the CIA in giving an assault rifle, a shotgun and three pistols to King Abdullah II of Jordan.

Federal prosecutors indicted former Blackwater president Gary Jackson and four others on a long list of felony firearms violations in 2010. Charges against three of the defendants were dropped Thursday.

Jackson and former Blackwater vice president William Matthews pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges related to record keeping violations, resulting in $5,000 fines and no jail time.

The government's case unraveled after defense lawyers produced two retired CIA officials who said they knew about the weapons presented to Abdullah during a 2005 visit to Blackwater's compound.

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National Hotel nears end of long renovation

A panel of frosted glass puts everything in perspective for Delphine Dray as she oversees a years-long, multi-million dollar renovation project at the National Hotel on Miami Beach.

“Chez Claude and Simone,” says the piece of glass stationed between the lobby and restaurant, a reference to Dray’s parents, who bought the hotel in 2007.

“Every time I am exhausted and I pass that glass, I remember why,” said Delphine Dray, who joined her father — a billionaire hotel developer and well-known art collector in France — to restore the hotel after the purchase.

After working with him for years, she is finishing the project alone. Claude Dray, 76, was killed in his Paris home in October of 2011, a shooting that remains under investigation.

In a recent interview and tour of the hotel’s renovations, which are nearly finished, Dray did not discuss her father’s death, which drew extensive media coverage in Europe. But she spoke about the evolution of the father-daughter working relationship, the family’s Art Deco obsession and the inspiration for the hotel’s new old-fashioned touches.

The National is hosting a cocktail party Friday night to give attendees a peek at the progress.

Dray grew up in a home surrounded by Art Deco detail; her parents constantly brought home finds from the flea market. By 2006, they had amassed a fortune in art and furniture, which they sold for $75 million at a Paris auction in 2006.

That sale funded the purchase of the National Hotel at 1677 Collins Ave., which the Drays discovered during a visit to Miami Beach.

After having lunch at the Delano next door, Dray said, “My dad came inside the hotel and fell in love.” The owner was not interested in selling, but Claude Dray persisted, closing the deal in early 2007. Her family also owns the Hôtel de Paris in Saint-Tropez, which reopened Thursday after a complete overhaul overseen by Dray’s mother and older sister.

Delphine Dray said she thought it would be exciting to work on the 1939 hotel with her father, so she moved with her family to South Florida. She quickly discovered challenges, including stringent historic preservation rules and frequent disagreements with her father.

“We did not have at all the same vision,” she said.

For example, she said: “I was preparing mojitos for the Winter Music Conference.” Her father, on the other hand, famously once unplugged a speaker during a party at the hotel because the loud music was disturbing his work.

“We were fighting because that is the way it is supposed to be,” she said. “Now, I understand that he was totally right.”

She described a vision, now her own, of a classic, cozy property that brings guests back to the 1940s.

Joined by her 10-year-old twin girls, Pearl and Swan, and 13-year-old son Chad, Dray pointed out a new telephone meant to look antique mounted on the wall near the elevators on a guest floor. She showed off the entertainment units she designed to resemble furniture that her parents collected. And she highlighted Art Deco flourishes around doorknobs and handles.

“It’s very important for us to have the details,” she said.

With those priorities in mind, she is overseeing the final phase of the renovation, an investment that general manager Jacques Roy said will top $10 million. In addition to the small details, the renovation includes heavier, less obvious work: new drywall in guest rooms, for example, and new windows to replace leaky ones.

Painting of the building’s exterior should be finished in the next two to three weeks, Roy said. Dray compared its earlier unfinished state to resembling “a horror movie — the family Addams.”

And the final couple of guest room floors, as well as the restoration of the original Martini Room, should be done by the end of April.

“At the end, I will be very proud,” Dray said.

The National’s renovation wraps up as nearby properties such as the SLS Hotel South Beach and Gale South Beach & Regent Hotel have been given new life. Jeff Lehman, general manager of The Betsy Hotel and chair of the Miami Beach Visitor and Convention Authority, said the National has always been true to its roots. He managed the hotel for 10 years, including for a few months after Dray bought the property.

“I think historic preservation and the restoration of the hotels as they were built 70, 80 years ago is such a huge piece of our DNA,” he said. “It’s a lot of what sets us apart from any other destination on the planet.”

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Kids being bullied via calls and text messages? There’s an app for that

As you know, bullying and the prevention of it has become a major focus in our schools. But bullies are no longer limited to just verbal or physical bullying. Text bullying has become a serious problem among adolescents and teens.

Almost 9 out of 10 teens have a cell phone and about 1 in 5 will be victims of a text bully. About 1 in 10 teens engage in text bullying. Many of you have emailed me or called our office asking how you can control what happens with your child’s phone. So to make it easier for you I turned to one of our partners, Kelly Starling from AT&T for the types of apps that are available. Now there is a charge for some of these apps, but some are free but at least the below information gives you an idea as to what to ask for and how they work.

•  BullyBlock (Apple iOS, Android) This app captures and block bullies that are causing you and your family harm. The Bully Block app allows users to blocks bullies that utilize private or unknown numbers to engage in cyberbullying. Bully Block also has instant reporting features that allow the user to email or text abusive behavior to parents, teachers, and law enforcement. All audio, messages, and calls are stored on the phone memory card.

•  TipSubmitMobile (Apple iOS, Android) TipSubmit Mobile allows tipsters to submit secure and anonymous tips to Crime Stoppers, law enforcement agencies or school safety officers and administrators. Thousands of communities, schools and government agencies are covered by this application since it connects directly with TipSoft, an anonymous tip reporting system. Tipsters could receive rewards of up to $1,000 for information submitted to Crime Stoppers and nobody will know your identity.

•  Bully Stop (Android) This app helps protect your children from bully calls, texts and picture messages. The app gives your children the ability to block calls and messages from people they don’t want to hear from. Bully Stop uses a Block List to block unwanted callers and texters. The app maintains a password-protected call log of all attempted contact with your child so you can approach the relevant people, parents, teachers or police and show proof of the bullying communication.

Now here is a unique campaign to stop bullying: It’s called Pink Shirt Day, it’s an international event focused on stopping bullying, and it’s – coming up on Feb. 27, asking kids to wear something pink to school that day. This event started in Canada but it has rolled into the United States so I thought of sharing it with you. For more on the inspiring story of how Pink Shirt Day came about see http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2007/09/18/pink-tshirts-students.html

In closing I want to offer our condolences to the Hialeah Police Department and family of Joe Caragol Jr a detective who passed recently due to cancer. I have known Joe for many years and he truly was an exemplary person and he will be extremely missed.

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Josh Brolin Praises Diane Lane Before Split

News of Josh Brolin and Diane Lane's split after eight years of marriage came as a surprise to many in Hollywood, especially since Josh just recently sang the praises of his spouse while ruminating about how to maintain a successful relationship in the Hollywood spotlight during his recent Gangster Squad junket. Watch the video…

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Diane stars in the upcoming summer blockbuster-to-be Man of Steel as Martha Kent, and Brooke shared a laugh with Josh during the junket that she's a "Woman of Steel."

"She's a very strong woman, extremely strong," the 45-year-old star acknowledged before steering the conversation towards how he hadn't yet seen the new trailer from the Superman film, adding that he's "always excited to see" Diane's performances.

Brooke then more directly asked how the couple manages "a successful relationship in Hollywood in the spotlight," and he replied gamely, "Because we're not really in the spotlight. I mean, we are in times like this [junket interview], but, you know, there's one light. We just do our own thing, and we always have. And we're not in L.A. all the time, we're up north a lot of the time where I grew up, so, you know, you just do what you do. You don't play up into the hype so much."

Video: Diane Lane After Husband Josh Brolin's Arrest

Stay tuned to ET for more news on Josh Brolin and Diane Lane's split.

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