HAL 9000′s Apple Sister Siri Goes Nuclear on Google Search–Leo Laporte Warns PubCon to Duck & Cover

James Benham barks orders into his new iPhone4s for the location of a nearby restaurant and a reminder to call his wife when he leaves his office.   More than thirty times a day an obedient assistant named Siri serves up answers to Benham.

Siri’s feminine voice eerily sounds like what I imagine to be the sister of HAL 9000 from the film 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke and Stanley Kubrick.

Benham and I met for the first … Continue Reading »

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“WOBBLE BABY!” Fan In My Hand iPhone App Flash Mob Sweeps Texas A&M University Campus

A flashmob of hundreds of students on their way to classes at Texas A&M University suddenly broke into the line dance craze called the “Wobble” by the rapper V.I.C. The hip artist posted a music video of the Wobble on his website in October of 2009 and its apparently catching fire two years later on college campuses with the start of the Fall 2011 semester.

A class project for an iPhone app called “Fan In My Hand” generated the flashmob … Continue Reading »

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“Mr. Riggs. I have no comment!” Investigative Report Sends State Rep To Federal Prison

I posed a straight forward question to State Representative Terri Hodge, “Who pays your rent?” I already knew the answer to that question as a result of digging day and night into corruption allegations at Dallas City Hall.  Hodge stared into the camera like the proverbial deer caught in headlights.  A deafening silence followed.  Finally Hodge blurted out, “Mr. Riggs. I have, no comment!”  Everything about her body language and tone said guilty and her response entered the lexicon of … Continue Reading »


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Predator Drone TV: Eye in the Sky Protects Soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan

NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, LAS VEGAS, NEVADA OCTOBER 2004

 

In the space of a few minutes, Air Force Captain Catherine Platt says she makes a surreal trip from a pitched battle over Iraq to the choreographed musical fountains in front of the luxurious Bellagio Casino on the Las Vegas strip.

The six-year veteran intelligence officer flies into combat zones half way around the world without ever leaving the ground at her Nevada air base, “You definitely feel that you … Continue Reading »


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Post 9-11 Air Defenders Circle NYC Ready To Shoot Down Terrorist Hijackers

OVER NEW YORK CITY–The crisp blue sky over New York City resembled the day that dawned on September 11, 2001 three years ago. Ground zero could be clearly seen from the cockpit of F-15 fighters circling above Manhattan Island at twenty-three thousand feet.

That was my vantage point from the back seat of an F-15 of the 71st Fighter Squadron known as the “Ironmen” during a combat air patrol that protected the President.

It’s hours of boredom punctuated by seconds … Continue Reading »


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The Original “Cool Hand Luke” of the Texas Prison System

The Investigation Discovery Channel show “I Almost Got Away With It” recently featured me in an hour long profile about Dennis Wayne Hope, Texas most notorious escapee from a state jail and a prison.  Hope is the real life “Cool Hand Luke”.

Here’s the  story behind the story. In 1994, I covered Hope’s escape from the Texas prison system and the  manhunt that followed.  Dennis talked to me inside the Dallas County Jail after his capture by fugitive hunters from … Continue Reading »


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