As Michelle Obama celebrates her 47th birthday today, here are 47 things you didn’t know about about the First Lady:

1. Her nickname is “Miche” (pronounced “Meesh”).

2. Her husband calls her “My Rock”

3. Her father worked the swing shift in the boiler room at Chicago’s water purification plant.

4. She grew up with her older brother, Craig, and parents in a one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment. She shared the living room with her brother, which was separated by a room divider.

5. She and her brother both skipped a year at school – second grade.

Read the rest of the list at HelloBeautiful

Chicago — Illinois State Representative Edward Acevedo had a gun pointed at him Friday night on Chicago’s Lower West Side, but the gunman took off when he realized who Acevedo was.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports that the representative was standing on the sidewalk in the 2500 block of South Oakley Avenue when a van pulled up alongside him and an occupant pointed a gun in his direction.

Acevedo then “announced his office” to the gunman and the van sped off.

Aside from being the Illinois House’s assistant majority leader and a representative since 1997, Acevedo has been a Chicago police officer since 1995, the Chicago Tribune reports. It is unclear which office Acevedo announced.

Police have released few details on the incident, and no arrests have been made.

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A Framingham police Swat Team killed an unarmed grandfather of 12 in Framingham Massachusetts, 68-year-old Eurie Stamps. The Boston Herald Reports:

A Framingham SWAT team member yesterday was placed on administrative leave for fatally shooting a 68-year-old grandfather of 12, police said, as relatives struggled to cope with the sudden and violent death.

Early Tuesday morning, police raided the home at 26 Fountain St. as part of a multiweek drug investigation and shot Stamps, who was not the target of the investigation, according to police reports. Two 20-year-old men were arrested on drug charges. No weapons were recovered at the scene.

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The singer’s doctor declared in court documents that James has dementia, as well as an organic brain syndrome, and is currently receiving treatment for leukemia. Dr. Elaine James, no relation, said that James can no longer sign her name or feed and dress herself, but does recognize her husband and children.

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South Carolina Congressman, James Clyburn, responded to Sarah Palin’s speech on the Arizona Shooting, on the Bill Press Morning Show. When asked about her comments, he replied

“She just can’t get it….”You know, Sarah Palin just can’t seem to get it, on any front. I think that she’s an attractive person, she is articulate,But I think intellectually, she seems not to be able to understand what’s going on here.

Read The Whole Story At The Huffington Post

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Illinois — North Central College, a small school in the Chicago suburbs, must have been thrilled at the opportunity to bring world-renowned director Spike Lee to campus as the keynote speaker for its upcoming Martin Luther King Week.

But the Naperville, Ill. university is suddenly facing pressure over the decision, from — oddly enough — an Italian-American advocacy group.

The Italic Institute of America, a group that’s dedicated to “appreciating the total Italic heritage,” has accused Lee of distorted portrayals of Italian-Americans in his films, specifically such works as “Do the Right Thing,” “Jungle Fever,” “Summer of Sam,” and “Miracle at St. Anna.”

Read more at HuffPo

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Miami — After the Cleveland Cavaliers lost the Los Angeles Lakers by 55 points LeBron James left a Twitter message that seemed to be directed at the Cavaliers and their fans.

Crazy. Karma is a b****.. Gets you every time. Its not good to wish bad on anybody. God sees everything!

After a slow start, the Miami Heat have the best record in the Eastern Conference of the NBA, and have won 9 straight games, while the Cavaaliers.

The Cavaliers only scored 57 points in that game while Kobe Bryant only needed 13 points to propel the Lakers to a 112-57 points victory over the Lakers.

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A few days following the Arizona shooting, talking head Rush Limbaugh threw his two cents in by saying that Loughner is smiling in the picture because he knows he is backed by the Democratic Party.

He said that Loughner is getting the exact attention he always wanted.

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CHICAGO — Again and again defense attorneys and prosecutors played the same graphic video of 16-year-old Derrion Albert being beaten to death — grainy, shaky and just a few minutes long.

The two sides disagreed about whether it showed that Silvonus Shannon had kicked the Chicago high school honors student in the head. But it was enough for jurors to convict Shannon of first-degree murder on Tuesday night, making him the second person found guilty in the September 2009 attack.

“The truth is the truth,” Albert’s grandfather, Norman Golliday, said after the verdict was announced. And the truth, he said, was that the video showed Shannon helped kill Albert. “It’s obvious.”

Shannon faces a sentence of as long as 60 years in prison when he returns to court Feb. 14. Three more people still face charges in the attack that drew international attention when video of the street brawl was posted online.

Shannon and his lawyers contended he was acting in self-defense, that he was trying to stop the fight and that he fought only after he was attacked himself by a number of young men — including Albert.

Prosecutors disputed that account and contended Shannon’s was the final blow in the fatal attack.

The video shows a group of young people kicking and hitting Albert. At one point, someone slams a board into Albert’s head, then Shannon appears to prepare to kick the fallen teen. But Shannon told jurors he had no recollection of striking Albert.

The video also was the centerpiece of prosecutors’ case in the trial last month of a juvenile convicted of first-degree murder in Albert’s death. It is likely to be played again at trials for the three others, all of whom are charged as adults.

Shannon took the verdict quietly. Hours after speaking on the witness stand, sometimes in almost a whisper that could barely be heard, he silently dropped his head, put his head in his hands and wept.

A few feet away, his family members cried as well, as did the mother of Albert on the other side of the courtroom.

“We empathize with the families of the gentlemen who have been charged, but we are grieving for our loss still,” Golliday said afterward, speaking for Albert’s family. “We’re praying to move forward, but realistically that probably won’t happen until justice is served and all responsible are held accountable.”

The case marked the most vivid example of escalating violence that in a six-month period claimed the lives of more than 20 Chicago public school students. It also prompted President Barack Obama to dispatch top Cabinet officials to Chicago to discuss ways to quell the violence.

Shannon acknowledged in his testimony that the video shows him bending his legs and leaping more than a foot into the air as Albert lay nearby in the street. Where he lands is obstructed in the video by a bystander.

“The tape don’t show me landing on his head,” Shannon told Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney Kathleen Bankhead. “I don’t think I would try to purposely land on anyone’s head.”

But Bankhead relentlessly went after Shannon’s account, replaying the video to make her point. Bankhead asked Shannon about what she called a “punter’s walk” toward Albert’s head as the teen lay on the ground. The prosecutor then asked Shannon if he could see Albert’s head move as the video showed Shannon moving in after someone else struck Albert with a board.

“Yes, ma’am,” he said quietly, but said the movement was caused by the board.

Defense attorney Robert Byman said his client was simply trying to get home from school when he came upon the street fight. He characterized Albert as a willing participant in the brawl, which Byman said stemmed from an earlier dispute between teens at nearby Fenger High School. Shannon was a student at the time.

During closing arguments, Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney James Papa pointed to the video and said Shannon clearly wasn’t acting in self-defense.

“He sticks around, he waits for his opportunity to strike,” Papa said. “Who is he defending himself from? He had ample opportunity throughout that entire incident to get out.”

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LAS VEGAS– The ex-boyfriend of Debbie Flores-Narvaez, the missing Las Vegas burlesque dancer, was arrested on suspicion of her murder after her body was found Friday.

According to Las Vegas police, Jason “Blu” Griffith, 32, was booked Friday night and being held without bail in the Clark County Detention Center in the case in Flores-Narvaez’s disappearance.

Radar Online Reports:

Flores-Narvaez, 31, was reported missing December 14 after missing rehearsal for her production, the Luxor’s Fantasy show. Her dismembered remains were found in a downtown Las Vegas home Friday, placed in cement-filled tubs; an autopsy was scheduled for Monday, officials said.

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People is reporting that Flores-Narvaez was pregnant with Griffith’s child at the time and that Griffith had previously kicked her during an argument.

Florez was featured in Griffith’s video, “Sex Gamez”

Watch a video of the Las Vegas Police press conference on the matter.

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