Casey Anthony's lead defense attorney has finished his closing argument insisting that the death of her 2-year-old daughter Caylee was an "accident snowballed out of control."
Jose Baez spent most of his four-hour argument Sunday concentrating on holes in the prosecution's forensic evidence, saying it was based on a "fantasy."
The judge overseeing the case indicated that the jury will begin deliberating on Monday.
Prosecutors contend Caylee was suffocated with duct tape by her mother, who then crafted elaborate lies to mislead investigators and her parents.
Baez says the toddler accidentally drowned in the family swimming pool and that her father made the death look like a murder, which he denies.
Though countryside skies and childhood fairytales promise a notion of their proximity and generosity, the truth is, stars rest in space at a distance beyond the mind's capacity to fully conceive. Steady fireballs burning lightyears away, it's more than their glow that make them the perfect metaphor for Hollywood's fame hierarchy: the sheer will it takes over so many thankless years to reach star status parallels the space flight required.
With that grit and patience and understanding of greatness required to reach that star level, conversely, the meteoritic rise and atmospheric flameouts of Hollywood one-hit wonders mimics the dangers of untethered space travel. So often, it's the child actor, shot from a rocket into show business at an age far earlier than is truly advisable, that assumes that arc of the solar flare, or the imploding dwarf that never shone bright enough. The stories of troubled adulthoods following childhood flame are legion, with a certain extra mettle required to avoid the fate.
Perhaps appropriately, given his character's legendary magical powers and storyline of simmering bravery and valor, it seemed that Daniel Radcliffe, the big screen's Harry Potter, would defy those pitfalls and reach that star status, so calm and collected and level-headed, he. And as his final Hogwarts adventure rushes toward worldwide release, it does indeed look as if he will be the exception to the rule, a star in his adult years akin to a Ron Howard or Michael J. Fox. But as he reveals, it wasn't always so written in stone that he would make that transition.
Speaking to GQ UK about a mid-Potter lapse in self-control and appreciation, Radcliffe revealed that for a while, "I became so reliant on alcohol to enjoy stuff. There were a few years there when I was just so enamored with the idea of living some sort of famous person's lifestyle that really isn't suited to me."
Now 21, Radcliffe largely escaped much paparazzi scrutiny for his hard-partying ways (though some photos were captured by the Daily Mirror), a stroke of luck rarely afforded a child star in the midst of growing pains. And though any photos that would catch him drinking would now only reveal a partier, not a law breaker, Radcliffe says he's moved past that point.
, Mexico (Reuters/Lizbeth Diaz) - Eight American vacationers are presumed to have drowned after a sports fishing charter capsized in a storm and sank off Mexico's Baja California peninsula, authorities said on Monday.
The 115-foot (35-meter) boat Erik left San Felipe on the Sea of Cortez, a haven for windsurfers and sports fishermen, on Saturday for a six-day fishing trip with 43 people on board, including 27 American tourists.
But on its first night out of port, the Erik was struck by an electrical storm and capsized early on Sunday, port and navy officials said.
After searching for almost 24 hours, local rescue officials had found one body and said they had given up hope of finding seven missing people alive. Divers had been brought in to aid in the search.
"We have changed the operation, now we're focusing on recovering ... people, but not alive," said Alfredo Escobedo, the director of emergency services in Baja California state.
The confirmed fatality and all the missing were U.S. citizens, San Felipe port official Dora Winkler said.
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Mexican authorities said the survivors had been rescued by navy teams and locals after the fishing boat's cook and two passengers were saved by local fishermen, who had raised the initial alarm.
The boat was found around 87 miles south of San Felipe, a popular holiday and fishing resort located south of Mexicali.
Local boat operators cater to American retirees and other tourists who flock to the region for inexpensive salt-water fishing. Loyalists boast a sea teaming with yellowtail, sea bass and cabrilla.
"Billy Elliot" playwright Lee Hall says his latest project, a community opera involving 300 children, has collapsed after backers demanded he cut words spoken by a gay character.
Hall said he refused to remove the lines "I am queer" and "I prefer a lad to a lass" from his opera "Beached" as requested by the primary school involved.
Writing in The Guardian, Hall said he had worked with the school to make other changes but that this request "seemed to come from an entirely different era."
Opera North, which commissioned the piece, confirmed Monday that its July 15 premiere in Bridlington, northeast England, had been scrapped.
Opera North said it had tried to mediate between Hall and the school and regretted that "both sides have been unable to move forward."
It's the Fourth of July and what better way to celebrate -- besides the barbecues, pool parties, little bits of sunburn and your iPod at the highest volume blasting Katy Perry's 'Firework' on repeat -- than to see some of Hollywood's hottest names showing off their patriotic sides.
