SC investigating changeable electronic license plates [w/poll]

South Carolina may soon lead the way into the future with electronic license plates for cars and trucks. Using so-called electronic paper, technology similar to what is seen on digital readers like the Amazon Kindle, these new license plates would be capable of dynamically changing from normal numbers and letters to a word like SUSPENDED, UNINSURED or STOLEN.

Both passing motorists and police would be able to read the plate's message, and the designers say warning messages could be in bright red or made to flash. Each digital license plate would be linked to the DMV using a cellular connection, and power for the display would be generated either by the vibrations of an automobile or by a solar film over the plate. Power would only be required to change the plate's display – no power is required to keep the current display in place, and its creators say the DMV would not be able to track the plate.

At present, a proposal is in the works that would see state-owned vehicles in South Carolina use these electronic plates in a pilot program. If successful, and if cost can be brought to manageable levels, electronic plates could replace the simple stamped metal plates currently in use across the country. We have to wonder, though, how the general population would react to digital license plates that are connected wireless to an agency like the DMV. Why not voice your opinion in our completely unscientific poll, but not before watching the video report below.

Subway Pitchman Jared Fogle Rolling Deep in the Dough

Jared Fogle lost more than 200 pounds eating Subway sandwiches 15 years ago. Sharing his story paid off. Today, the spokesman has an estimated net worth of $15 million, according to New York's Daily News.

Fogle weighed in at 425 pounds when he bit into his first Subway sandwich as a student at Indiana University.

He said that his weight and appearance fueled habits that contributed to his obesity and that he shied away from dates and parties that other college students enjoyed.

The business major envisioned himself working at an ad agency or public relations firm but never realized his personal weight-loss journey would double as his career. Since he started losing weight, Subway has been his only employer.

Now Fogle carries a "black card" that allows him to eat at Subway free-of-charge and he flies first class when traveling. Those perks and the money for the 300-plus commercials Fogle has appeared in are money well-spent for Subway, an executive told the Daily News.

Tony Pace, Subway's chief marketing officer, said Fogle is "woven into the fabric of the brand."

Since his first commercial aired, Subway's sales have risen 20 percent.

Prior to actively working to lose weight, Fogle said he frequented a Chinese buffet with the goal of leaving "completely full" and would consume heaping plates of food.

He drank 15 to 20 cans of soda each day and a typical snack was two candy bars

'Jurassic Park': 25 Things You Didn't Know About the Classic Dinosaur Movie

Alamy

Maybe you think of "Jurassic Park" as the movie that surpassed "E.T." to become the biggest Steven Spielberg film ever, as well as one of the biggest hits of all time. Or maybe you think of it as the film that, through its landmark CGI dinosaurs, helped usher in the age of digital filmmaking. Or maybe you just think of it as the movie that scared the pants off you when you saw it in theaters two decades ago (the film marks its 20^th anniversary on June 11) and every time you've watched it since on TV.

However you regard it, "Jurassic Park" has seemed a ubiquitous, inescapable fixture of pop culture for 20 years. And yet there are still things about it you may not know, such has how Spielberg chose his cast, how several teams of effects artists came together to build those pioneering dinosaurs, and whether or not it would really be possible to clone dinosaurs from ancient DNA as the geneticists in the movie did. Read on to unearth these and other not-quite-fossilized secrets from "Jurassic Park."

1. Spielberg, a lifelong dinosaur enthusiast who preferred the prehistoric lizards in "King Kong" to the big gorilla, learned about Michael Crichton's dinosaur-cloning tale from the author himself a year before he published his 1990 bestseller. The pair had been developing a screenplay based on Crichton's own early medical career. That project evolved into the long-running TV drama "ER."

2. That preexisting partnership with Crichton helped Spielberg to win the bidding for the movie rights to "Jurassic Park." Several other directors were in the running, including Tim Burton, Richard Donner ("Lethal Weapon"), Joe Dante ("Gremlins"), and (according to Spielberg) James Cameron.

3. Laura Dern, who played Dr. Ellie Sattler, recalled in Entertainment Weekly's recent oral history of "Jurassic Park" how Spielberg pitched her the movie: "I know that you're doing your independent films, but I need you to be chased by dinosaurs, in awe of dinosaurs, and have the adventure of a lifetime. Will you do this with me?" Her "Wild at Heart" co-star Nicolas Cage, who said he'd always dreamed of being in a dinosaur movie, urged her to say yes.

4. Richard Attenborough, who played park impresario John Hammond, was best known as a director of biopics ("Gandhi," "Chaplin"). Before that, he'd been a celebrated actor, but he'd put acting on hold after 1979, when his directing career took off. "Jurassic Park" marked his first role in 14 years, and it resuscitated his acting career at age 69, leading to prominent roles in "Miracle on 34^th Street" (as Kris Kringle) and "Elizabeth," among others.

5. To cast Hammond's granddaughter, Lex, Spielberg auditioned a number of girls and asked them to record their screams. Ariana Richards recalled that she won the role because she was the only one whose taped scream was loud enough to awaken a sleeping Kate Capshaw (a.k.a. Mrs. Spielberg) and send her scurrying down the hall to see if her children were all right.

6. Joseph Mazzello, who would play Lex's brother, Tim, had enjoyed some success as a child actor ("Presumed Innocent"), but when he screen-tested for a role in Spielberg's 1991 film "Hook," the director told him he was too young. He recalled that Spielberg told him, "Don't worry about it, Joey. I'm going to get you in a movie this summer." Looking back, Mazzello (who would go on to star in Spielberg's World War II mini-series "The Pacific" as an adult) called the "Jurassic Park" consolation prize a "pretty good trade."

7. For the animatronic dinosaurs, Spielberg hired Stan Winston on the basis of his work creating the alien queen in "Aliens." Winston built the life-size lizards, including the Tyrannosaurus rex and triceratops. Spielberg hired stop-motion puppeteer Phil Tippett to animate model dinosaurs that would be superimposed in post-production, and Dennis Muren (fresh from creating the molten-metal morphing effects in "Terminator 2: Judgment Day") to see if dinosaurs could be created using computer-generated imagery.

8. In fact, the dinosaurs Muren created on the computer were the first major flesh-and-blood CGI creatures in movie history. When he screened for the rest of the filmmakers an early test of wire-frame dinosaurs in motion, Tippett realized he was out of a job. "I think I'm extinct," he told Spielberg, who liked the quip so much that he put it in the movie. (Actually, Tippett stayed on as an adviser to the computer animators, using his knowledge of paleontology and pantomime to instruct the effects artists in how dinosaurs should move.)

9. Spielberg also showed Muren's test footage to legendary stop-motion monster animator Ray Harryhausen. "He was absolutely enthralled and very ­positive about the paradigm changing," Spielberg recalled. "He looked at the test and said, 'Well, that's the future.'"

10. The velociraptors, however, were done Godzilla-style, with puppeteers in lizard suits. The man-sized velociraptors were much bigger than the real species, though shortly before the movie's release, paleontologists discovered a larger related species, the Utahraptor. Winston joked, "We made it, then they discovered it."

11. Sound designer Gary Rydstrom combined a variety of animal cries to make the various dinosaur roars. The cow-like brachiosaurus' bellow was a blend of donkey and whale. Whale sounds were also used for the Tyrannosaurus rex, along with the sound of a tiger, an alligator, and a baby elephant. For the sound the T. rex made when it killed the lawyer, Rydstrom used a recording of his own Jack Russell terrier grappling with a rope toy, played at half-speed. The most complex was the velociraptor, a mix of tortoise, horse, goose, walrus, dolphin, and African crane.

12. For all the work that went into creating lifelike dinosaurs, the lizards got just 15 minutes of screen time in the 127-minute movie.

13. The iconic shot of the water rippling in a cup in the car as the stomping T. rex approaches was inspired by Spielberg watching his car interior vibrate as he listened to bass-heavy funk band Earth, Wind and Fire. To create the water effect, he placed guitar strings under the dashboard and had a crew member pluck them.

14. Sam Neill, who played Dr. Alan Grant, has a scar on his left hand from the scene where he tries to distract the T. rex with a burning flare. Some flaming phosphorus fell from the flare and got trapped under Neill's wristwatch.

15. Before the last day of shooting, Hurricane Iniki, the most powerful storm in Hawaiian history, hit the set. The cast and crew were trapped in their hotel on Kauai. Spielberg helped bide the time by telling ghost stories to the kids. Others passed the time reading the only piece of literature they could find, a Victoria's Secret catalogue.

16. When the movie went into post-production, Spielberg was already in Poland shooting "Schindler's List." He supervised the effects work on his dinosaur thrill ride while filming the horrific Holocaust drama.

17. Despite the hurricane, the shoot finished 12 days ahead of schedule and on budget. It cost $63 million to make and another $65 million to market.

18. In its initial release, "Jurassic Park" earned $357 million in North America and a total of $914 million worldwide. That was enough to surpass Spielberg's "E.T." to take the record as the biggest hit movie of all time, a record it held for nearly five years, until "Titanic."

19. The film won Oscars for Best Visual Effects (shared in part by Winston, Tippett, and Muren), Best Sound Editing, and Best Sound Mixing (Rydstrom shared both of those). At the same Academy Awards ceremony, Spielberg won Best Picture and Best Director, Michael Kahn won Best Editor, and John Williams won Best Score -- all for "Schindler's List."

20. Spielberg directed a sequel "The Lost World: Jurassic Park" in 1997. Joe Johnston filmed "Jurassic Park III" in 2001. A "Jurassic Park 4" has been on the drawing board for a decade but has yet to emerge with a cast or a workable script. It has a director, Colin Trevorrow ("Safety Not Guaranteed").

21. Even before Spielberg began filming "Jurassic Park," Universal Studios engineers were at work building "Jurassic Park: The Ride," an attraction at Universal Studios in Hollywood that opened in 1996 at a cost of $110 million (nearly twice what the film cost to make). Universal has since added an expansive "Jurassic Park" section to its Islands of Adventure theme park in Orlando, Florida.

22. To this day, Dern says she's recognized as "the girl who put her hand in the dinosaur poo." She adds that kids have refused to shake her hand, "as though I hadn't washed."

23. The CGI dinosaurs of "Jurassic Park" have had a far-reaching legacy, having convinced some of the world's most imaginative filmmakers that the technology finally existed to put whatever they saw in their mind's eye onto the screen. They led Winston and James Cameron to form the Digital Domain effects house, and it led Stanley Kubrick to collaborate with Spielberg on "A.I. Artificial Intelligence," the robot fable he'd dreamed of making for decades (Spielberg would finish the film in 2001, two years after Kubrick's death). They inspired George Lucas to make the three "Star Wars" prequels and Peter Jackson to make "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, "King Kong," and the "Hobbit" trilogy.

24. In April, Universal released a 3D version of "Jurassic Park" in theaters. The conversion from 2D cost $10 million, and it earned the 20-year-old film another $45.4 million in domestic ticket sales.

25. Could scientists really clone dinosaurs from DNA in dinosaur blood found in mosquitoes preserved in amber? Probably not. For one thing, even petrified DNA would probably have degraded too much in the 65 million years since the last dinosaurs died out. Plus, there's no contemporary equivalent to a dinosaur egg in which to incubate the embryos. Still, Jack Horner, the paleontologist who served as a consultant on the film, said he thought it might be possible to genetically modify a chicken embryo to activate dormant genes for dinosaur-like traits. Not quite the same thing, alas.

School Bus Driver Fired Over Facebook Post

Yet another worker has been fired for speaking up on social media and has become a cause celebre in the process. Johnny Cook was a bus driver for the Haralson County Middle School in Georgia. In late May, a student boarding the bus told Cook he was still hungry because he was forty cents short for the reduced lunch. He told Cook that he wasn't even given any lunch, not even the peanut butter offered to everybody, reports Atlanta TV station WXIA. Outraged, Cook posted about it on Facebook on May 21, criticizing the school system, his employer.

In it he wrote:

This child is already on reduced lunch [program] and we can't let him eat. Are you kidding me? I'm certian [sic.] there was leftover food thrown away today. But kids were turned away because they didn't have .40 on there [sic.] account. As a tax payer [sic.], I would much rather feed a child than throw it away. I would rather feed a child than to give food stamps to a crack head [sic.]."

His post, so far, has attracted more than 250 "likes" and 2,000 "shares." It also led to him getting fired. County Superintendent Brett Stanton told local media that the school district has a strict policy about comments on social media. According to CBS Atlanta, the policy says that employees who post anything that causes "substantial disruption to the instructional environment" will be subject to discipline. Stanton told WXIA that Cook never contacted the school system about his concerns, and he said that the school investigated and found no evidence that the incident with the student occurred.

Cook, who is married and the father of two kids, told CBS Atlanta that he felt in his "heart of hearts the kid was telling the truth." His story has captured the public imagination -- a petition has been posted to Change.org calling for Cook's job to be reinstated. It's garnered more than 10,000 signatures.

More: 1 In 10 Young Job Hunters Rejected Because Of Their Social Media

Cook has since been updating his page, too. On one post, he shared a note from the student, who said he "sat at a table with no lunch while other children ate lunch. ... No one offered to pay for my lunch and no one offered me a sandwich or a banana or apple." Citing that note, Cook has called for the U.S. Department of Agriculture to review the National School Lunch Program.

According to Stanton, students who don't have enough money on their reduced lunch card are still offered up to three alternate meals, most often a peanut butter sandwich. "With the policies we have in place," he said. "It would be almost impossible for a student not to be fed if he went through the line."

The student's parents have expressed support for Cook, according to Time.com. In addition to the online petition, supporters have created a Facebook page, called "Johnny's Kids." And on Thursday, Cook's supporters announced two fundraisers throughout the summer in the Atlanta suburb of Buchanan to help Haralson County students pay for school lunches.

Whatever happens to Cook, his experience is no longer unusual. Just recently, AOL Jobs has reported on a Chili's waitress who got fired after insulting the "stupid cops" in her community on her Facebook page. Previously, a Georgia teacher was asked to resign from her job after posting a photo of herself drinking in a European pub.

Prince Alwaleed, Testy Saudi Billionaire, Owns a Lot of Things: Here Are Some Of Them

By Lisa Mahapatra

Saudi Arabian Prince Alwaleed bin Talal is well known for his extreme wealth and his fun hobbies, like throwing dwarves. But he takes the former very seriously. So much so that he's suing Forbes for libel after the magazine reported his worth at $20 billion, ranking him 29th on its annual list of the world's billionaires. Alwaleed says he's worth at least $9.6 billion more.

He has filed a defamation claim against Forbes in a high court in London, according to the Guardian.

Meanwhile, he can content himself with his toys. Journalist William Cohan interviewed the prince for a feature-length profile for Vanity Fair and wrote about some of the things Alwaleed owns. Here's a sampling:

Kobe Bryant settles with parents, Goldin Auctions on items to be sold

A New Jersey auction house says it has reached a settlement in a lawsuit over memorabilia from NBA star Kobe Bryant's high school and early pro career.
Goldin Auctions sued in federal court last month after Bryant's lawyers wrote the company telling it to cancel the planned June auction. The Los Angeles Lakers star claimed his mother, Pamela, didn't have the right to sell the items.

Bryant sued Goldin Auctions after finding out his parents were going to auction off some of his memorabilia from the early stages of his career. He claimed the memorabilia was not theirs to auction. (AP Photo)

In a statement Monday, the auction house says it will offer some items including jerseys worn by Bryant when he played for Lower Merion High School outside Philadelphia, his 2000 NBA All-Star Game ring and two NBA championship rings from 2000 gifted to his parents.
In all, only about 10 percent of the items originally up for auction will actually be auctioned off, with the other 90 percent taken off the table. On some of the items, including the 2000 All-Star Game ring, will see half of the winning bid be donated to charity.
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Along with taking items out of the auction, Bryant's parents had to issue a public apology.
"We regret our actions and statements related to the Kobe Bryant auction memorabilia," Joe and Pamela Bryant said in the statement provided by a publicist. "We apologize for any misunderstanding and unintended pain we have caused our son and appreciate the financial support he has provided over the years. We also apologize to Goldin Auctions for their inadvertent involvement in this matter and thank them for their assistance."
Goldin had given the Bryants $450,000 up front. That was spent on the purchase of a home in the Las Vegas area.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Lisa Wu suing Keith Sweat for full custody of their children

Lisa Wu, who appeared on the first and second seasons of “The Real Housewives of Atlanta,” is fighting R&B singer Keith Sweat for custody of their sons.
According to Access Atlanta, which accessed the court records, Wu contends that it is in the best interest of their sons, Jordan Sweat (14) and Justin Sweat (11), to live with her.
“The best interest of the minor children will be served by modifying the current custody and visitation provisions to make Mother the primary physical condition of the minor children,” the Fulton County court papers read. “Since the time of the Divorce Decree, Mother has remarried, owns a successful business and will provide a stable, loving, and nurturing environment in which she can raise the minor children.”
Sweat was awarded full custody of the children in 2003.
Wu and Sweat wed in 1992 and had what a judge called an “extremely tumultuous relationship.”
After divorcing, Lisa married Ed Hartwell in 2005 and later divorced the former NFL player in 2011. –danielle canada